America's Golden Girls - World Cup Champion USA Soccer Team

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It had been sixteen years since the women's soccer team last won the World Cup in Women's Soccer.  Long gone were the memories of that 1999 group who produced the second World Cup championship for the USA.

Here in America we are not only used to winning, we expect to win, practically any kind of sports competition.  Yet soccer or football, one of the most popular sports in the world, always struggled to get a foothold in America.

No doubt, the American brand of football, not to be confused with soccer or football everywhere else, never gave the other football a chance here in the colonies.  While American football became one of the most popular contact sports in history, and one of the richest in terms of the money it could generate, soccer remained far in the background.

Of course, it did not help that the USA men's soccer team has never achieved the fame of their women's counterpart.  In fact the only time in history the men's team reached the semi-finals of the World Cup was way back in 1930, eighty-five years ago.

Brandi-Chastain-Womens-World-Cup-July-10-1999

So, the women had to carry the burden of success to keep soccer alive in the USA.  There are professional leagues but they seldom draw major crowds and certainly do not draw major investment. Only winning can do that, thus people paid attention when the women won the first World Cup in women's soccer back in 1991.

Mia Hamm - Superstar

In 1999 they won their second World Cup powered by Mia Hamm and throughout the relatively young history of women in the World Cup the USA women have consistently been one of the top three teams in the world.

This year the team is much more media savvy, much more physical, and got stronger in every match until meeting Japan in the finals just like the last World Cup in 2011 when Japan won on penalty kicks.  This year they never had a chance as four American goals in the first sixteen minutes sealed the eventual American 5-2 victory.

In addition to drawing record TV audiences in their victory drive, the Women's team became the first female team in our history given a ticker tape parade through downtown Manhattan.  It was a fitting tribute followed by an Espy award for the best team in sports.

Thank you for reigniting American pride and taking the negative news out of our lives for a time.

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China and the World Financial Manipulators - It takes a Communist Country to stop the Financial Corruption

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Just a week ago, here is what world financial analysts said about the economic collapse in China.

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Daily Mail, London

China's tumbling stock markets plunged even further today, intensifying fears the country was tail-spinning towards the biggest financial disaster since the 1929 Wall Street crash.

Almost $3trillion (£2trn) – more than the entire economic output of Brazil – has been wiped out since markets went into reverse just a few weeks ago, posing a bigger headache for many global investors than even the Greek debt crisis.

China's government, regulators and financial institutions are now waging a concerted campaign to prop up the nation's stock markets – a move that failed spectacularly in the 1929 crash that triggered the Great Depression.

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Here is what the experts said just three days later.

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The Toronto Star

China’s battered stocks rebound as officials tighten market controls

Government takes desperate measures to shore up market, while feared internal security police announce they have begun investigating investors accused of ‘maliciously’ shorting blue-chip shares, as bubble bursts.

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The Washington Post

BEIJING—China’s stock market recovered sharply in volatile trading Thursday after the government announced further measures to restore investor confidence, including forbidding major shareholders from selling.

Shanghai’s benchmark share index rose 5.8 per cent on Thursday, reversing direction after sliding 3.8 per cent earlier in the day. But it has still lost around a quarter of its value since a peak in mid-June.

In the latest in a series of desperate measures to shore up the market, regulators banned major shareholders, corporate executives and directors from selling stakes in listed companies for the next six months.

Officials also announced that banks could roll over loans backed by shares.

But, for some investors, it was the entry of the feared Public Security Bureau (PSB) that really changed sentiment.

The powerful internal security police announced they had begun an investigation into a dozen individuals and institutions accused of “maliciously” shorting blue-chip shares.

The state news agency Xinhua said the move showed regulators would “punch” anyone who violates regulations and the law “with a strong fist.”

But if those moves calmed some of the panic in the markets, it was far too early to declare victory, analysts said.

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In the course of a couple of days the stock market experts had declared the worst financial depression since the Great depression of 1929 would befall China.  A couple of days later the strong and immediate reaction of the Chinese government to the market manipulation had driven out the devils and restored the market completely, recovering the $3.2 trillion within days.

The instantaneous action by the Chinese stock regulators and Chinese government left financial experts bewildered, prognosticators stunned, and crooked financial manipulators running for the border.  It seems odd that none of these tactics were employed by our government during the 2009 American financial collapse.

For comparison purposes, the loss of wealth to American households in the 2009 recession totaled an astounding $14 trillion, and the worldwide loss was $34.4 trillion.  Clearly the screams of "depression" by the economic experts about China's $3.2 trillion in lost value, which was erased in a matter of hours, were either efforts to further drive down the Chinese market value, were the result of algorithms gone mad, or were deliberate lies to undermine the Chinese market.

Our little recession of 2009 cost Americans more than four times as much money as the temporary Chinese drop.  We are still trying to recover from 2009 six years later.  China did it in about 48 hours.  Six years later no one is in jail for causing the 2009 crash while the Chinese are preparing to prosecute brokers within a few hours and in China they take corruption and stealing from the public seriously.

It seems as if our financial experts are worthless when it comes to knowing the Chinese market as the latest flurry of lies and scare tactics demonstrate.  This swift and decisive action in China should tell us we continue to depend on a corrupt financial system here in America that is immune from government threats and prosecution.

There are a few things the Chinese can teach us about managing the parasites on Wall Street and their protectors in Congress.

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Russia and China Save Obama Presidential Legacy with Iran Nuclear Votes

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Thank you President  Xi Jinping of China and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia

How bizarre is the news?  After years of negotiating with Iran over nuclear weapons by the Obama administration, at the eleventh-hour the breakthrough came and the world first heard about approval of a treaty between Iran and the United States, and the UK, and Germany, and France, and the European Union, and who did you say?

In the end, it was the vote of Russia and China, equal partners in the negotiations, who gave life to the treaty and hope to the people of Iran, who have lived under the yoke of sanctions for years.  President Xi Jinping of China and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia saved the day for Obama.

 

Funny, you do not hear much about how Russia and China made the Obama treaty possible.  I did not hear Obama and Kerry thanking the two semi-bad boys for making possible perhaps the greatest peace development in the Middle East.

Last year I wrote an article calling for an end to sanctions against Iran, Cuba, and Russia, on the grounds the sanctions did not work.  So far, actions by the Obama administration are ending them in Cuba and Iran.

The wisdom and effectiveness of the lifting of sanctions will take years to determine but the initial hope it has given to the Iranian people is gratifying.  The people of Iran believe they have been set free and that is a good side benefit.

Which brings up another question, why is it the Iranian people were the only people in the world celebrating this new treaty?  They refer to it as "freedom."  Perhaps the significance of the treaty goes way beyond nuclear bombs, and it will open the gate toward improved relations with the people of Iran.

I say give the treaty a try, things cannot get worse with Iran.  At the same time, Obama needs to start mending fences with other friends and allies like Israel, Russia, and China.  Stop blaming them for everything bad and try working toward something good.

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Postscript to Charleston, SC Murders - A Lasting Legacy

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In a fitting postscript to the Charleston murders June 17, the people of South Carolina continued to demonstrate to our leaders in Washington, D.C., the people of the USA, and the rest of the world how to handle a tragedy with compassion and grace.

In a matter of less than a month one of the most divisive and controversial issues was resolved, perhaps bringing to an end, at last, our Civil War.

As mentioned earlier, the shooter in Charleston posted Facebook images of his fascination with the Battle flag of the Virginia Brigade who fought in the Civil War.

Most people and news media mistakenly called it the Confederate Flag although my earlier article about the Confederate flag proved that was false.

In fact, after the Civil War it pretty much disappeared with all the other state militia flags from the South until it was revived in the 1940's through 1960's and was hijacked from being a symbol of patriotic pride for the South to being the face of racial hatred and prejudice.

From 1962 on this flag flew over the statehouse or on statehouse grounds in Charleston.  One of the positive offshoots of the tragic shooting was the actions by Governor Nikki Haley, and the South Carolina legislature ended decades of bitter debate and removed the flag from the grounds of government to the museum where it belonged.

It will forever be a fitting tribute to the Charleston Nine and their legacy.

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Trapped in Alice's Wonderland - the new Reality in America - or is it? Are the Charleston SC Murders a Turning Point in American Race Relations?

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In case you did not notice, I did little writing the past couple of weeks.  Fact is, I was so in awe of the developments in the world I began wondering if I had left reality and was stuck in Alice's Wonderland, where I prefer to be.

At least in Alice's world she admits nothing is as it seems.  Thus, my dilemma occurred when a whole bunch of good things started happening just as most prognosticators were predicting bad things.  Because of our negative conditioning to hearing bad or tragic news, we now put on a frown before turning in the evening newscast.

Can you believe it was not even a month ago that a young man joined a Bible Study group at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. He was White and they were all African American.

An hour later the visitor stood up, pulled a gun, and executed nine members of the Parish including their beloved Senior Pastor and State Senator, Clementa C. Pickney.  When they caught the shooter the next day, they found a Confederate Battle flag license plate holder on his car, and a Facebook photo of him with a full size Confederate Battle flag spewing messages of hate.

Like most of the recent cases of mass killings, the shooter was also on prescription drugs for depression and the usual suspects.  Simply put, he was out of his mind, which is a known side effect from these same prescription drugs.  Makes you wonder why the drug prescriptions are not part of the investigation.

As recent as 2012 we set a record for the most mass killings in one year, but this year was different.  Several cities including St. Louis and Baltimore experienced serious rioting not seen since the late 1960's caused by police shooting African Americans.

Those psychics, channelers, and prophets who predicted we were entering a period of chaos, sort of a last warning that the Earth was ready to shift to a higher dimension or energy frequency, well they seemed to be on the mark.

Everyone from politicians to preachers, pastors to predators seemed to be going crazy simultaneously and it was a bit disconcerting if you were inclined to be open to the psychic hot lines.  A proliferation of propaganda flooded the Internet and overwhelmed the minds of those seeking truth or perfection.

Competition grew into hatred and madness erupted into murder.  People stopped respecting the right of others to disagree.  If I had been a journalist back in the Dark Ages, it would have been great preparation for what we just experienced, which came to a climax that dreaded evening of June 17.

At the same time, politicians were already spewing their own brand of hatred at each other.  Every night I would just shake my head hearing how the stated goal of most politicians was to destroy the credibility of opposing politicians.  President Obama, who often was more of a lightning rod than a healer, did not set a particularly healthy brand of leadership.

At that time when the lid was about to blow off the volcano of evil poisoning the Earth, something quite extraordinary, some described it as miraculous, overwhelmed our battle hardened media and shook the foundations of humanity.

The families of the nine victims faced the killer of their family members, and demonstrated that humanity is not all lost, as they delivered their human acts of kindness forgiving the very man who killed their loved ones barely 48 hours earlier.

Standing face-to-face through video networking with the killer, their compassion shocked the world with its message of forgiveness, of enlightenment, and a degree of grace seldom seen in the modern world.

For once in recent news media reporting the news focus was on the demonstration of grace, not the hatred and violence that motivated the murders.  Once again I say when we listen to the people, really hear them out, they demonstrate far greater wisdom than those we empower to represent them.

A band of South Carolina families brought together through grief gave us a glimpse of what a world of compassion, respect, equality, and opportunity should be.

Such an irony that the first state to secede from the Union and bring about the Civil War, and the state where the first fighting of the Civil War took place, would now be the first state to demonstrate what is missing from society and government today, GRACE.

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Check out music I wrote that was recorded by my band Nashville Bound in Nashville, Tennessee

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Here is band information.


http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=603354

Here are the songs.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_music.cfm?bandID=603354

Click on the song and then song info for detailed info and lyrics.

CPT Twit - Happy Birthday USA - Birthplace of Religious Freedom

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Happy Fourth of July - Independence Day

1776 - 2015

239 years old today

 

At least one revolution got it right!

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