Monday, January 12, 2009

There are some major storms on the way, including the Carribean.


January 13, 2009
0230z
UNISYS North and West Hemispheric Water Vapor Satellite (click title for 12 hour loop)

There isn't any battle that desperate in Gaza. Israel has always had the upper hand. Is the IDF feeling international pressure to stop?

White Phosphorus is highly unstable due to its highly reactive electron state. A perfect tetrahedron. Phosphorus come from the Greek meaning 'light bearer.' It is highly reactive with oxygen.

Phosphorus is never found as a free element in nature on Earth. White phosphorus (P4) exists as individual molecules made up of four atoms in a tetrahedral arrangement, resulting in very high ring strain and instability. It contains 6 single bonds.
White phosphorus is a white, waxy transparent solid. This allotrope is thermodynamically unstable at normal condition and will gradually change to red phosphorus. This transformation, which is accelerated by light and heat, makes white phosphorus almost always contain some red phosphorus and therefore appear yellow. For this reason, it is also called yellow phosphorus. It glows greenish in the dark (when exposed to oxygen), is highly flammable and pyrophoric (self-igniting) upon contact with air.





Below is a test of white phosphorus by the USA (click here)


That is what white phosphorus looks like when deployed. It just does.


Human Rights Watch says pictures like this point to white phosphorus use, but Israel denies this.

Medics in Gaza say latest casualties include at least 60 people affected by suspected phosphorus shells fired illegally near civilian areas. (click here - video)

It is a 'justified' war, so why do something so unjust when the results of the Israeli efforts have succeeded? This attack doesn't make sense. It is somewhat zealous and foolish.

Israel is achieving a defeat of Hamas for the Palestinian Authority to make life better in Gaza. This possible deployment of white phosphorus makes no sense, strategically or otherwise. Making enemies of the people of Gaza will only make 'peace' more difficult.

Defeating Hamas is totally different than victimizing the Palestinians that remember the way in which the defeat was achieved.

In Israel, a consensus that Gaza war is a just one (click here)
By Ethan Bronner
Published: January 13, 2009

...But voices of dissent in this country have been rare. And while tens of thousands have poured into the streets of world capitals demonstrating against the Israeli military operation, antiwar rallies here have struggled to draw 1,000 participants. The Peace Now organization has received many messages from supporters telling it to stay out of the streets on this one....

8 Days until Inauguration - Get ready for some trials and sentences to be handed down !

Enough with Gitmo. On with Due Process. There isn't anything those detainees can tell us and it is questionable there ever was.

AP: Advisors say Obama preparing order to close Gitmo (click title to article - thank you)
By LARA JAKES
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON -- Advisers to President-elect Barack Obama say one of his first duties in office will be to order the closing of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay. That executive order is expected during Obama's first week on the job - and possibly on his first day, according to two transition team advisers. Both spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly....


It isn't whether there was torture or not, we know there was. It is this blemish on American esteem will be removed and there will be trials for those that are truly responsible for murder and conspiracy.

An Army officer who investigated possible abuse at Guantanamo Bay after some guards purportedly bragged about beating detainees found no evidence they mistreated the prisoners — although he did not interview any of the alleged victims, the U.S. military said Wednesday.



...The investigation centers around Marine Lt Col Colby Vokey, who represents a detainee at the US naval base in eastern Cuba. Vokey filed a "hotline" complaint last October, attaching a sworn statement from his paralegal, Sgt Heather Cerveny, 23, in which she said several guards in a bar at Guantanamo Bay bragged about beating detainees and described it as common practice. "Others were talking about how when they get annoyed with the detainees, about how they hit them, or they punched them in the face," Sgt Cerveny said during a telephone interview.... (click here)

The Prince has more on his mind than just his deployment.


Britain's Prince Harry sits in his Spartan armored vehicle in the desert on February 19, 2008.

He apologized.

That should be enough.

It could be simply 'military chatter' or there might be an underlying concern Harry is working over. The attacks in London not very long ago were carried out by terrorists trained in Pakistan. That is a known fact. Now, India has evidence of the terrorist attack in Mumbai originating from Pakistan.

There is a reality rarely discussed and some of that reality has to be playing on the Prince's nerves from time to time. The reality is the ISI of Pakistan and its long history of 'undetermined purpose.'

India is right to some extent and if Musharraf were still in power there would be more reason for India to go to war, however, there are 'elements' within the ISI that are free-lancing aid to terrorists. I would not be surprised if there were terrorists operating within the ISI. The problem has been entrenched for decades and India is just about at its 'wits end' with the nonsense that exists within Pakistan's 'intelligence' infrastructure.

The political arm of Pakistan's government has never been able to cleanse itself of the corruption that lies within the ISI simply because they operate nearly autonomously within the country simply because they are armed. It would be the same as if there was a subculture whereby the FBI and CIA were to govern themselves outside the hierarchy of authority. Pakistan has a small nightmare within its 'power structure.'

I would not be surprised if, at times, the goodly Prince would simply like to end the 'diplomacy' and bring an end to the speculation of what occurs in Pakistan. I admire his commitment to his country and his determination to rise in rank within the military infrastructure, but, Harry is a Prince of England and with that comes a different reality. Perhaps it is time he join the rest of his family in caring for the country in a way that serves it best in diplomatic efforts rather than donning military gear to protect and defend.

It can't be easy to be Harry.

President Elect keeps his promise on Diversity.

....The Human Rights Campaign and other gay-rights groups sent letters to Obama asking him to rescind the invitation to Warren—who disapproves of homosexuality and who opposes certain gay rights, including the right to marry—after his inauguration role was announced last month. "There was a sense of uproar around Rick Warren," says Darlene Nipper, deputy executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. "People were confused, fearing that maybe the [president-elect] isn't the individual we thought he was.".... (click title to entry - thank you)


Monday, December 4, 2006; Posted: 03:12 PM - by Linda Lenzi
Honoring the 30th birthday of the late Matthew Shepard, an all-star benefit reading of Moises Kaufman's The Laramie Project took place at the Town Hall Theater in Times Square on December 1st, with a V.I.P. cast party following the event. The evening, hosted by former Second Lady Tipper Gore and benefiting the Matthew Shepard Foundation, also included a special live performance by Cyndi Lauper....

..."only a test delivery"....A Test Delivery? The Russian Monitors need to hustle and get in place. This is NOT an EU problem. Come on now !


A gas pressure gauge is seen at a snow-covered transit point on the main pipeline from Russia in the village of Boyarka, near Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009. A natural gas crisis loomed over Europe on Tuesday, as a contract dispute between Russia and Ukraine shut off Russian gas supplies to six countries and reduced gas deliveries to several others. Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Croatia and Turkey all reported a halt in gas shipments. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov) (Sergei Chuzavkov - AP)

The restart of nuclear power plants that are ancient and unsafe is not the answer to Russia's best economic strategy either. There can't be that much of a delay in placing Russian Monitors if there is cooperation in doing so between the two countries. Medvedev's administration needs to ACCOMMODATE the needs of those that are experiencing dangerous delays in gas supply. If all the wrinkles are worked out there should be no delay. It is called good faith. This is no longer an EU problem and they have done everything Russia has requested.

...While the EU monitors were in position last night, Sechin said the Russian experts were not yet stationed in Ukraine, signalling that the deal could still be aborted. Differences over who should pay for "fuel" gas that is used to keep up the pressure in the pipelines for pumping the natural gas to clients could also disrupt the fragile accord and spell more misery for hundreds of thousands of households in central and southern Europe.
Slovakia, which is dependent on Russian gas, said it would have to restart its decommissioned Chernobyl-design reactor at Bohunice, near the border with Austria, because it had received no supplies since Thursday. The nuclear plant is widely viewed as unsafe and its closure was one of the conditions for Slovakia joining the EU in 2004.
Austria, which has banned nuclear power, deplored the move. The environment minister, Nikolaus Berlakovich, described decision to restart the Soviet-era reactor as "completely unacceptable".... (click title to entry - thank you)

I am sincerely happy for Senator-Select Burris. Wonderful ! A new Senate Precedent. History by the moment !

This is so very nice. The President Elect now has his vacated seat filled by a man truly deserving of the office of Senator. Really nice. Congratulations to everyone for making the best decisions and advancing democracy.


Roland Burris prepares before appearing on the CBS television show Face the Nation in Chicago, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009. The Senate's second-in-command, Sen. Dick Durbin, said Sunday that he is moving away from resisting former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris as President-elect Barack Obama's successor and hopes a resolution to the disagreement will be reached soon. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)