Author: Frank V. Vernuccio, Jr.

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A State of Disgrace

The recent federal indictment of New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver highlighted the mismanagement and corruption in what was once called the “Empire State.”

Once the most powerful state in the Union, New York, despite possessing favorable geographic assets, abundant natural resources, and a well- educated population, has been laid low by elected officials that are increasingly venal and ideologically obsessed.

Speaker Silver represents both vices. His brand of uncompromising left-wing ideology was a deterrent to business development and job creation. Further, according to the charges levied against him, he road-blocked many legislative items until he could gain a personal profit from them.

His example of unethical leadership set a tone that was followed throughout state government, extending even to blocking investigations of sexual harassment of female legislative employees.

Other branches of NY government failed to move effectively against Silver’s rising tide of corruption.  It has been noted that more New York elected officials leave office through death or indictment than through being voted out of office.

Those who rebelled against Silver’s reign faced career-ending punishment.  In an exclusive interview with this publication, former Assembly Member Stephen B. Kaufman, who unsuccessfully attempted to oust the Speaker, noted:
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“During my tenure in the New York State Assembly, I actively opposed the reign of Speaker Sheldon Silver. I firmly believed that his lack of ethics and strong-arm tactics were an insult to the integrity of both the government and the people of New York State.

“It was obvious that my principled opposition would lead to dire consequences for my political career, and indeed, I did suffer substantially for my action.  Frankly, despite that, I remain proud of my battle against the Speaker, and would willingly make that sacrifice again.  No one should be more concerned for their career than for the people they were elected to serve.”

New York’s government has become a national embarrassment because of the corruption and self-interest of too many elected officials like Sheldon Silver. The challenges facing this state are extremely serious, and require honest and intelligent leadership that puts the needs of New Yorkers above venal personal gain.

Bringing Speaker Silver to justice is long overdue. I hope that it represents a solid move towards the development of truly representative government for the people of this great state.”

New York, like many other states, has problems that extend beyond corruption. Excessive taxes, burdensome regulations, and a failure to allow the exploitation of its natural resources due to pressure from environmental extremists have left the once wealthy state in a perilous financial condition.

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NY Analysis

Will increased federal spending on education truly produce substantial results?

Americans are dissatisfied with the disappointing results from their educational system. Many seek to resolve that issue by increased spending.

A number of salient questions must be raised regarding the concept, not the least of which is affordability.  With the nation’s debt doubling during the current Administration and now standing at over $18 trillion, with vast new amounts being added each year for the foreseeable future, is this new federal expense affordable at all?  With U.S. taxes already excessive, can the taxpayers be burdened further?

While the financial considerations are important, there is an even more relevant point: will increased spending provide improved results?

 Current federal spending, & disappointing results

Washington already spends a great deal on higher education.  A New America Foundation  report notes that “The federal government provided $30.2 billion in grant aid to help individuals pay for a higher education in the 2014-15 school year. Nearly all of the aid was directed to students from lower income families. Grant aid does not need to be paid back and generally may be used to pay for tuition, housing and other expenses at any institution of higher education that the recipient wishes to attend. The largest federal grant program is the Pell Grant program, followed by the Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant program. These two programs award grants based solely on a student’s financial status.”

A CBS news study revealed that:

“The United States spends more than other developed nations on its students’ education each year, with parents and private foundations picking up more of the costs, an international survey released Tuesday found. Despite the spending, U.S. students still trail their rivals on international tests. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development – which groups the world’s most developed countries – writes in its annual report that brand-new and experienced teachers alike in the United States out-earn most of their counterparts around the globe. But U.S. salaries have not risen at the same pace as other nations. The findings, part of a 440-page tome of statistics, put the United States’ spending on its young people in context.

“The United States spent more than $11,000 per elementary student in 2010 and more than $12,000 per high school student. When researchers factored in the cost for programs after high school education such as college or vocational training, the United States spent $15,171 on each young person in the system – more than any other nation covered in the report.

“That sum inched past some developed countries and far surpassed others. Switzerland’s total spending per student was $14,922 while Mexico averaged $2,993 in 2010. The average OECD nation spent $9,313 per young person.”

Critics of government spending have noted that additional sending for education has not produced notable results.

According to Downsizing Government.org:

“Despite large increases in federal intervention since the 1960s, combined with large increases in funding by all levels of government, K-12 educational achievement has improved little. The most widely used measures of school achievement are scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which are available back to the early 1970s…The average NAEP mathematics score rose just two points to 306 in 2008 from 304 in 1973. The average NAEP reading score rose just one point to 286 in 2008 from 285 in 1971. These scores are on a 500-point scale.

“Other measures show similarly poor achievement, or at least a lack of improvement. For example, the percentage of students who had completed high school within four years of entering ninth grade is 75 percent today, about the same as it was in the mid-1970s.

“How have things fared under the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act? It is difficult to isolate the effects of the law because numerous other changes might have affected recent school results, and no results with start and end dates closely reflecting the period during which NCLB has been in effect are available. With those caveats in mind, NAEP subject test (as opposed to long-term-trend data) and long-term data do not paint a particularly positive picture.

“On subject tests, there have been very small gains in fourth-grade mathematics, with the average score rising from 235 to 240 (on a 500-point scale) between 2003 and 2007. However, the average score on this test increased much faster in the period before NCLB was fully implemented, rising from 226 to 235 between 2000 and 2003. In reading, the average score dropped slightly in eighth grade, from 264 in 2002 to 263 in 2007.

“On the long-term-trends test, the closest start date to NCLB’s 2002 enactment is 1999, so it is very hard to gauge changes for NCLB’s time frame, much less the law’s effect on those results.  The greatest improvements between 1999 and 2008 were for 9-year-olds in mathematics, where scores rose from 232 to 243. Reading scores for that age also rose significantly, from 212 to 220. The final appreciable improvements were for 13-year-olds in mathematics, where scores rose from 276 to 281. For 13-year-olds in reading, in contrast, scores only rose a point, and for 17-year-olds reading and mathematics scores both dropped two points.

“Aside from looking at overall test scores, an examination of the effectiveness of particular federal programs indicates generally poor results. Consider Title I, the core federal education subsidy program. In a recent book, education policy experts Marvin Kosters and Brent Mast concluded the following:

“After more than thirty-five years of experience and numerous careful efforts to evaluate its performance, the evidence has failed to demonstrate that Title I programs have been systematically and significantly contributing to reducing disparities in achievement by improving the performance of its beneficiaries . . . Experiments by federal, state, and local authorities and major shifts in the emphasis of federal policy have all failed to bring systematic improvement. Or consider the Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement, which has a budget of about $1 billion. OII claims to be “a nimble, entrepreneurial arm of the U.S. Department of Education” making “strategic investments in innovative educational practices.”

The Eli & Edyth Broad Foundation, which blames excessive bureaucracy for many of the failings of the U.S. educational system, has compiled worrisome statistics:

  • “Two out of three eighth-graders can’t read proficiently. (NAEP, 2011) (NAEP, 2011)
  • Nearly two-thirds of eighth-graders scored below proficient in math. (NAEP, 2011)
  • Seventy-five percent of students are not proficient in civics. (NAEP, 2011)
  • Nearly three out of four eighth- and 12th-grade students cannot write proficiently. (NAEP, 2012)
  • Some 1.1 million American students drop out of school every year. (EPE, 2012)
  • For African-American and Hispanic students across the country, dropout rates are close to 40 percent, compared to the national average of 27 percent. (EPE, 2012)
  • After World War II, the United States had the #1 high school graduation rate in the world. Today, we have dropped to # 22 among 27 industrialized nations. (OECD, 2012)
  • American students rank 25th in math, 17th in science and 14th in reading compared to students in 27 industrialized countries.(OECD, 2012)
  • By the end of the eighth grade, U.S. students are two years behind in math compared to their peers in other countries. (OECD, 2009)
  • The U.S. ranks behind 13 other countries in terms of the percentage of 25- to 34-year-olds who have completed some college coursework. (OECD, 2012)
  • American students tend to perform worse in math and science as they age, according to recent studies measuring fourth- and eighth-graders’ academic achievement against other industrialized nations. Gaps with high performing countries like South Korea and Singapore are widening. (TIMSS, 2012)
  • Less than half of American students – 46 percent – finish college. The U.S. ranks last among 18 countries measured on this indicator. (OECD, 2010)
  • Only one in four high school students graduate ready for college in all four core subjects (English, reading, math and science), which is why a third of students entering college have to take remedial courses. (ACT, 2011)
  • Only 4 percent of African American students and 11 percent of Hispanic students finish high school ready for college in their core subjects. (ACT, 2011)
  • Two-thirds of college professors report that what is taught in high school does not prepare students for college. (Alliance for Excellent Education)”

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 Conclusion

 It is abundantly clear that the U.S. has major problems facing its educational system.  Clearly, however, underfunding is not one of them.

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Growing danger from Iran

Several days ago, I had the opportunity to speak with Reza Kahlili. “Reza Kahlili” is the pseudonym of a former Iranian Revolutionary Guard member who worked undercover as a CIA agent for several years. He frequently risked exposure and finally managed to leave Iran. His clandestine activities continued in Europe before he and his family  moved to the U.S. After the 9/11 attack, Reza Kahlili activated a handful of sources within Iran on the CIA’s behalf. He continues as an active voice for a free Iran and works toward ending the thugocracy of the mullah’s regime.

Reza is deeply concerned over the lack of U.S. resolve in the nuclear negotiations with Tehran, and believes that it is now inevitable that the mullahs will get the weapon and will engage in threatening actions soon after they do. He believes that Iran is planning an attack, conventional or otherwise, on Israel.  He also notes that Iran is increasing its military relations with several Latin American nations.

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Iran has become increasingly allied with Russia and China, forming a powerful axis against the West.

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Quick Analysis

WIll the EPA power grab be stopped?

With a new Republican majority in the Senate, will the Environmental Protection Agency’s unprecedented power grab, which some believe seeks to give the federal government massive new powers by exercising control over every puddle in America, finally be halted?

Last September, the House of Representatives moved to enact legislation that would prevent the agency from re-writing the Clean Water Act to grant Washington extraordinary and unjustifiable powers. Many in Congress were angered not only at the extent of the action but also that it was done without going through the legislative process. The measure didn’t stand a chance at becoming a law since the Democrat-controlled Senate road-blocked it.

Keep in mind to conduct the exercise only once every day. viagra purchase uk Do not mix KAMAGRA with viagra pills from canada alcohol or recreational drugs which may worsen the situation. But the problem comes when people get cheap cialis furious with some inferior quality products which worsen their condition. Standard drug manufacturers make generic version next page viagra without prescription canada of every drug so that individuals can buy generic drugs and save money while taking quality medicine. The EPA action flied in the face not only of the rights of Congress, but also of past court decisions. In the 2001Supreme Court decision in the case  of SWANCC vs. Army Corps of Engineers, “Chief Justice Rehnquist said that ‘[t]he term ‘navigable’ has…the import of showing us what Congress had in mind as its authority for enacting the Clean Water Act: its traditional jurisdiction over waters that were or had been navigable in fact or which could reasonably be so made.”

Farmers, as well as both large and small property owners across America have been enraged at draconian EPA actions seeking to exercise control over land with water features that had absolutely no relation to the intentions of the Clean Water Act.

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Obama’s unjustified optimism

A realistic assessment of international dangers facing the United States and its allies was completely missing from the President’s State of the Union Address.

Unfortunately for Mr. Obama, a number of serious incidents this week splashed icy cold water on his assessment that the world had turned a corner on issues such as terrorism and global relations.  Consider just a few specific items that apparently the Commander-in-Chief wasn’t briefed on or didn’t care to discuss:

  • As talks with Cuba prepared to commence, a Russian spy ship docked in that island nation, another entry into the growing Russian, Chinese, and Iranian military presence in Latin America.
  • In Argentina, a prosecutor who is reviewing Iranian involvement in a past terrorist attack was found dead just before he could testify.
  • In the African nation of Namibia, discussions are underway to develop a Chinese naval base in the Walvis Bay area.
  • In Yemen, often cited by the White House as a Middle Eastern success story, militant Shiites invaded the Presidential palace.
  • The Russians have developed new and more potent missiles, part of a massive military buildup that in some areas violates past arms accords.
  • China continues its own extraordinary military buildup, continuing at a pace faster than either the U.S. or the U.S.S.R. did at the height of the Cold War.
  • Terrorists control more geography than ever in the Middle East, and are poised to make gains in Afghanistan as well.
  • North Korea and Iran continue on with their nuclear and missile development programs as well.
  • All of this occurs as the United States and its allies continue to underfund their own militaries. With clearly no threat from the west, what justification can Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea provide for their vast weapons programs and aggressive tactics?

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It is increasingly difficult to understand Mr. Obama’s foreign policy views.

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Reza Kahlili, Iranian Patriot, on the Vernuccio/Novak Report

Our guest for the upcoming Vernuccio/Novak report is Reza Kahlili.

“Reza Kahlili”  is the pseudonym of a former Iranian Revolutionary Guard member who worked undercover as a CIA agent for several years.
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He frequently risked exposure and finally  managed to leave Iran. His clandestine activities continued in Europe before he and his family  moved tothe U.S. After the 9/11 attack, Reza Kahlili activated a handful of sources within Iran on the CIA’s behalf. He continues as an active voice for a free Iran and works toward ending the thugocracy of the mullah’s regime. He is the author of an extraordinary work on Iran, “A Time to Betray.”

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Obama’s community college plan: Is it education or politics?

The White House has unveiled plans  to make the taxpayers pay for community college tuition:

“…[T]he President is unveiling the America’s College Promise proposal to make two years of community college free for responsible students, letting students earn the first half of a bachelor’s degree and earn skills needed in the workforce at no cost. This proposal will require everyone to do their part: community colleges must strengthen their programs and increase the number of students who graduate, states must invest more in higher education and training, and students must take responsibility for their education, earn good grades, and stay on track to graduate. The program would be undertaken in partnership with states and is inspired by new programs in Tennessee and Chicago. If all states participate, an estimated 9 million students could benefit. A full-time community college student could save an average of $3,800 in tuition per year. In addition, today the President will propose a new American Technical Training Fund to expand innovative, high-quality technical training programs similar to Tennessee Tech Centers that meet employer needs and help prepare more Americans for better paying jobs. These proposals build on a number of historic investments the President has made in college affordability and quality since taking office, including a $1,000 increase in the maximum Pell Grant award to help working and middle class families, the creation of the $2,500 American Opportunity Tax Credit, reforming student loans to eliminate subsidies to banks to invest in making college more affordable and keeping student debt manageable, and making available over $2 billion in grants to connect community colleges with employers to develop programs that are designed to get hard-working students good jobs.”

A number of salient questions must be raised regarding the concept, not the least of which is affordability.  With the nation’s debt doubling during the current Administration and now standing at over $18 trillion, with vast new amounts being added each year for the foreseeable future, is this new federal expense affordable at all?  With U.S. taxes already excessive, can the taxpayers be burdened further?

Critics have raised other issues. The Las Vegas Review-Journal notes: “It’s a curious proposition because affordability is not a barrier to enrollment in community colleges, unlike four-year universities. The president’s plan says community college costs about $3,800 a year, although the College Board reports average annual tuition at community colleges is $3,300. Either of those figures might seem high for low-income families, but the figure represents a full course schedule. About two-thirds of community college students attend part-time, because they also work. Plus, students can qualify for financial aid to offset what is already a good value.”

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The student-oriented publication Turningpoint usa.net notes:

“College students will still pay the same amount on education, just not in the same way, and even if they do manage to pay a little less it will ultimately hurt them more after they get out of college because it will become increasingly more difficult to find a job as the job creators are forced to pay for their education through taxes thus making that four year bachelor’s degree worth even less. The President may act concerned about high costs but he is apathetic to the $60 Billion his proposal would place on taxpayers. When you also take into account the influx of new students stampeding through the doors to get a “free” education, universities will have to hire more professors, materials, and space to accommodate. In order for the university to pay for that, the only logical step would be to increase the cost of tuition making the final price tag for those pursuing a bachelor’s degree even costlier than before it was ‘free”.

There is ample reason to question whether the President’s proposal is actually centered on providing additional educational incentives, or is more concerned with buying support for his political party, which was substantially defeated in the last election and faces significant defections from its youth base due to the depressed job market.

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The Real State of the Union

The President will deliver the 2015 State of the Union Address this evening.

The event is, of course, more an exercise in public relations and politics than an actual analysis of the nation’s true condition.  This year, an authentic look at America’s condition would be painful. Here’s what a candid assessment would disclose:

THE ECONOMY

The United States continues to spend more in imports than it earns from exports.  This is unsustainable.  A deficit of over $39 billion was reported in the last month for which statistics have been reported. Even this troubling statistic was a marginal improvement, but it is due almost entirely to the greater availability of domestically produced energy. This minor upswing will not last if the White House’s proposed EPA regulations take effect.

The U.S.’s continued maintenance of the highest corporate tax rate among America’s key trading partners does not bode well for future gains. According to the Congressional Research Service,  “China displaced the United States as the largest manufacturing country in 2010, as the United States’ share of global manufacturing activity declined from 30% in 2002 to 17.4% in 2012.”

Despite what at first glance appears to be an improved employment figure, the reality is that America still faces significant job market challenges.  Many have stopped looking for work out of frustration, or have exhausted benefits, and are not counted in the unemployment statistics. Further, well-paying jobs have been replaced by lower-paying positions. Approximately one-third of those unemployed are in the long-term unemployed category, a worrisome trend.  The labor participation rate is the worst it has been in over three decades.

The American middle class continues to be hard hit by rising prices and lower wages. Extraordinary spending since the 1960’s on anti-poverty programs—to the tune of $22 trillion– have not lifted the poor out of poverty, but have detrimentally impacted the middle class through both taxes and reduced funds left in the private sector for job creation.

The national debt has doubled during the current administration, with no noticeable gain in employment, infrastructure, or national security. The crisis continues to worsen as annual deficits continue at unsustainable levels ($483 billion in FY 2014.)

NATIONAL SECURITY

America faces the greatest military threat since the middle of the Second World War. Unlike the Cold War, when China was tacitly aligned with the U.S., Russia, China, and Iran form an unofficial axis against the U.S.

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Both Russia and China have made massive improvements to their conventional military power, as well.

Uniquely, America faces a significant threat within the western Hemisphere, as China, Russia and Iran continue to make significant inroads in military relations with a number of Latin American nations.

Terrorism continues to be a significant and growing threat.  Islamic extremists control more territory than ever in the Middle East, and present a growing threat in Africa.  The planned withdrawal of U.S. combat forces in Afghanistan may signal the return of the Taliban in that nation.

Facing these threats is an American military significantly weakened by budget cuts, the laying off of experienced personnel, and aging weapons and equipment.

DOMESTIC RELATIONS

Unexpectedly, America, despite the election of the first black president, has experienced deterioration in race relations during the past several years.  The division between left and right has widened as well.

Free speech issues once thought fairly settled have become inflammatory, as the White House has attempted to broaden the powers of the Federal Communications Commission, surrender control of the internet to an international body containing pro-censorship members, and contradict Supreme Court decisions regarding campaign expenditures. The growth in anti-free speech regulations in academia has been explosive.

CONCLUSION

Clearly, the state of the union is troubling.  At home and abroad, the United States faces extraordinary challenges. Policies over the past several years have been guided more by ideological zeal than a candid response to reality.

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Would Martin Luther King Approve?

Today we commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, who played a pivotal role in ending segregation and discrimination throughout the nation.

Thanks to his leadership, racism, both government and private, were legally eliminated.  Some may quibble about that fact, but it is a reality. Through legislation and judicial action, this stain on America’s soul was ended.  Indeed, the U.S. clearly did all it could to reverse prior offensive practices.

It is a tragic irony that after enduring slavery and segregation, African Americans are now subjected to harmful practices at the hands of those who dishonestly profess to be crusaders against discrimination. Hucksters and shakedown artists continue to attempt to revive racial hostility in order to make a living off of it.  To a large extent, the mass media has culpability by continuing to give a platform to these fraudsters, even when the falseness of their message is evident.  As Dr. King once said:

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A number of politicians, both black and white, base their careers not on bringing blacks and whites together, but on promoting and exploiting any incident to create harsh feelings. They are reminiscent of the cliché about the two-man glazier firm: One guy has the rock to break your window, and the other has the glass to replace it.

Dr. King would not approve.

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Dangers from the failed state of Mexico

When Americans think of Mexico, it is generally in the context of vast numbers of unlawful immigrants, or of a place for vacations on sandy beaches.

It is time to start thinking of that nation in a different and frightening context: that of a dangerously failed state on our border, a vacuum of power that is attracting America’s enemies. The murder several months ago of 43 teachers-in-training by drug cartels highlights the depths to which Mexico has fallen. Despite the viciousness of this atrocity, Washington has been comparatively silent, even though in parts of the Texas border area, the kidnapping, murder, and harassment of landowners within the U.S. by these cartels are already occurring.

According to the National Interest, “Since 2008, the seven main drug cartels have emerged as an existential threat to Mexico’s future. Cartels like Los Zetas, which recruit members from Mexico’s Special Forces and federal police, behave like organized paramilitaries, not ordinary criminals. They generate perhaps $30 to $40 billion a year in illicit profits. And the price has been horrendous. Between 2007 and 2012, around 47,000 Mexicans were killed in the drug war. Some estimate that the true toll is over 60,000.”

Violent crime may be the least of the threats.

The illegal drug trade provides an opening for the infiltration of the U.S.’s southern neighbor by antagonist nations across the globe. According to theJamestown Foundation, “In April 2012, authorities in the prosperous and generally peaceful Caribbean nation of Belize intercepted a shipment of precursor chemicals sent from China and apparently bound for representatives of the Mexican cartel “Los Zetas.” The shipment—sufficient to produce an estimated $10 billion in methamphetamines—highlights growing criminal ties between China and Latin America that have accompanied, but, to date, have lagged behind the exponential growth of trade and investment between the two regions.”
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The national security implications for the United States are staggering, and some are already occurring. With Russia, China and Iran’s Hezbollah aggressively seeking increased footholds in the Western Hemisphere, a failed state—especially one right on the U.S. border—represents a great prize. It is attractive as well to Al Qaeda and ISIS as a launching pad for terror attacks on American soil.

Robert Kaplan, author of a notable study on the impact of geography on world events notes, “While we have spent billions of dollars to affect historical outcomes in Eurasia, we are curiously passive about what is happening to a country with which we have to share a long land border, and whose population is close to double that of Iraq and Afghanistan combined.”

Recently, the Judicial Watch organization reported that “Islamic terrorist groups are operating in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez and planning to attack the United States with car bombs or other vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIED). High-level federal law enforcement, intelligence and other sources have confirmed to Judicial Watch that a warning bulletin for an imminent terrorist attack on the border has been issued… Specifically, the government sources reveal that the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) is confirmed to now be operating in Juarez, a famously crime-infested narcotics hotbed situated across from El Paso, Texas.”

The Washington Times notes that Mexico, along with Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia recently purchased Chinese arms. “A joint Mexico-China statement said Mexico pledged not to interfere in China’s affairs on Taiwan and Tibet.” The move is part of increased closeness between Mexico and China. The Wall Street Journal recently noted that China has become the largest financier for Venezuela, a nation whose government is rabidly anti-American.