Good morning 99percenters!
Morning news dump and music by William Clarke.

As Mission Creeps in Iraq and Syria, Lawmakers Ask: Will We Ever Vote on War?
A group of 35 bipartisan House Reps. issued an open letter calling for a Congressional vote on war authorization "as quickly as possible."

Amid intensifying U.S. military operations in Iraq and Syria, a group of 35 bipartisan House lawmakers issued an open letter on Friday calling for Congress to fulfill its responsibility by voting "as quickly as possible" on whether to authorize a war that is well over a year old.

Good morning 99percenters!
Morning news dump and music by Rory Black.

TPP Trade Pact Would Give Wall Street a Trump Card to Block Regulations

Banks and other financial institutions would be able to use provisions in the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership to block new regulations that cut into their profits, according to the text of the trade pact released this week.

I have been absent this week. I keep my C99 buds in mind though.

The days are really busy and I spend my nights thinking.

Good Morning, 99%'ers!

I was expecting to be traveling today, heading south to Florida for my 50th high school reunion. Instead, we decided to leave a day early because my husband had some business he needed to take care of today. Because of this and my own procrastination, this open thread diary is being constructed on the fly. Today's diary is a personal one.

Good morning 99percenters!
Morning news dump and music by Merle Travis.

With War Now Displacing 60 Million, Time for World to 'Reaffirm Its Humanity'
In rare joint call, head of both UN and International Red Cross say human conflict is reaching unprecedented proportions

Citing nearly unprecedent levels of conflict and instability across the world, the heads of both the United Nations and the International Red Cross on Saturday issued a rare joint call warning that nations and global leaders must dramatically step up efforts to scale back wars and miltary actions that are causing massive human suffering while ripping apart families, communities, entire nations, and regions.

Good morning 99percenters!
Morning news dump and music by Johnny Sansone

US Invasion of Syria Begins

As previously warned about in June of 2015, the United States has announced that it will officially begin ground operations in Syria through the use of special forces. The Washington Post in its article, "Obama seeks to intensify operations in Syria with Special Ops troops,"would report that:

Greetings, what a great week! Yesterday was our 32nd wedding anniversary, last night my Pittsburgh Panthers played the UNC Tarheels, tomorrow is Halloween and Sunday is Sweeties birthday.

This one is one of those songs that sounds good LOUD. Turn it up @ 0:45 and let it rip.

Good morning 99%'ers!

This Saturday is Halloween when all the little ghosts and goblins come around to your door begging for candy.

OT 10/26

As a west coaster, I do this in advance, which makes it difficult to be current on current events. So for inspiration I see what's up with this date using da kine wiki and other stuff which google dredges up. This has good points and bad points.

Morning 99percenters!
Sunday morning news dump and music by Savoy Brown.

U.N. Report Calls on Governments to Protect Whistleblowers, Not Prosecute Them

The U.N. envoy charged with protecting free speech around the globe has declared that confidential sources and whistleblowers are a fundamental element of a healthy democracy and that governments must protect them rather than demonize them. The report by David Kaye, the United Nations special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, also sheds light on the punitive treatment of whistleblowers in the United States, most notably former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who is living in Russia as a fugitive from the U.S. government.