Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Immediacy is a good word. Immediacy is a threat.

In application, did this program demonstrate immediacy? Because the efficacy of the program has to live up to the verbiage. So, in other words if the program demands immediacy as a qualifier, then what exactly was the qualifier.

Was the danger to others the qualifier?

Was the ability to intervene with the drone strike the qualifier?

In those two parameters is the revealing quality of the danger of the program.

In the first question the program would act to save the lives of others by acting immediately to kill the perpetrator. In the second question that is a matter of convenience. If the immediacy was due to the location of the subject and the availability of the drone to carry out the strike, then the first qualifier is sincerely null and void.

Of course, the first qualifier has to be met to understand and explain in complete terms why others are in immediate danger. But, the idea there are others in danger also reveals a prior knowledge of the actions to be carried out to put them in danger. So, the subject of the strike has to have an established history of concern to carry out the threat to others. This program is acting on threat. It is a program of pre-emption which brings up many, many more questions. This is not a program of retaliation due to actions suffered by the subject in question. This is a program to pre-empt.

In other words, when September 11, 2001 occurred (which of course there were warning previous to the act by USA intelligence agencies AND the intelligence of allies and even the outspoken Gaddafi) the USA had complete innocence in retaliation. The USA suffered from the attacks, so retribution was a given quality to our military defense.

Those attacks allowed enough concern about other attack potential to have the USA legislature write and pass laws of Pre-Emption. So, the concept is law. The Pre-emption of that first law applies to this program and any adjustments to that definition of the term.

The problem I have with Pre-Emption being a defense of the USA is that it was instituted in fear at the time of September 11, 2001. The real test of Pre-emption as a constitutional paradigm is to ask if the law was in effect before September 11, 2001 would it have prevented the attacks at all? In other words, previous to the jets being hijacked and turned into weapons would a strike of Afghanistan KNOWN to stop them? I think not. Pre-emption of Afghanistan before the attacks would not have wounded those in the country with plans laid. So, THEREFORE, what exactly are we pre-empting. Afghanistan was never armed to destroy the USA. What we are actually pre-empting then is satisfied by intelligence of individuals known to be engaged in activities that may be threatening enough to kill citizens.

The Zacarias Moussaoui (September 11) Trial: A Chronology (click here)

The case of Moussaoui is a clear indication intelligence works. It works so well that it caused the 20th hijacker to stay at home in fear of the others being discovered. Not only that but USA intelligence knew almost immediately those involved as the hijackers within 24 hours. So, there is definately reason to invest in the idea ACTING on intelligence is far more effective than a Pre-emptive war. Iraq basically accomplished nothing.

We do not need wars of Pre-emption because what we are acting against are individuals known to be dangerous by intelligence throughout the globe. So, to carry out drone strikes against individuals that have not acted is somewhat fuzzy.

In the case of Anwar al-Aulaq I believe the USA was acting in a concrete case of defense. It has intelligence AFTER there were Americans slaughtered at Fort Hood. The gunman at Food Hood, Nidal Malik Hasan was known to act due to brainwashing by Anwar al Aulaq. I actually believe Anwar al-Aulaq was considered a danger to carry out more brainwashing to instill the deed again. So, the drone strike that killed al Aulaq was more than justified. He was hiding in Yemen and using a global access to reach the people within the USA borders to kill other Americans. Was it an artificial threat? No. It was a known and successful threat. 

There was not a strong government in Yemen and the USA was left to deal a fatal blow to the threat by itself, hence, the drone was appropriate beyond any argument otherwise.

Now, beyond that realizing this was an American in Yemen is the question actually al Aulaq was unreachable due to his constitutional rights to trial. There is the word immediacy. Was al Aulaq an immediate threat to the people  in the USA? Was the USA correct in acting against an American presenting as am immediate threat? I think the actions were justified.

Beyond that, al Aulaq's son? That is a good question. Was he an immediate threat and willing to carry out his father's wishes?

Sons are known to have turned from their fathers. I do believe one of bin Laden's sons lives a rather interesting life as a celebrity and quite benign to any threat to Americans. So, there is the debate.

Now, we are already seeing unarmed drones at the USA southern border. Why? What exactly is the drone program accomplishing to justify this very aggressive and successful technology?

There is a lot to be sifted through, but, the entire program relies on pre-emption and IN THAT lies its efficacy. Other use of the technology as in the death of al Aulaq is a matter of a known threat to the defense of the USA. Not just citizens, but, soldiers and our very military itself. 

Are Americans exempt from being held responsible for causing the death of others? Al Aulaq was if nothing else an accomplice and a very dangerous one that wanted to propagate more attacks. I think any constitutional right to due process has its limits when an American is known to assist attacks against our very military.

There are other Americans involved in attempts to destroy the USA sovereignty and they are currently listed as treasonists. Do we not have an obligation to know the actual and factual status of that treason and do we not have a right to defend from it?

End.

AG Holder is under the radar again, this time a lawsuit with S&P while looking at Moody's role in the housing collapse.

While the return of relations between Iran and Egypt is historic, I doubt it will be a comfort to others.



Posted by Max Fisher on February 5, 2013 at 10:11 am
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrives in Cairo today, (click title to entry - thank you) the first meeting between an Egyptian and an Iranian head of state in more than 30 years. Their countries are two of the Middle East’s largest and most powerful, but split in 1979 when Egypt sheltered the Shah of Iran, sent into exile by Islamist revolution, and made peace with Israel....

Austerity vs Growth adding a tax base to solve debt problems.

WASHINGTON | Tue Feb 5, 2013 10:47am EST
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama (click here) on Tuesday will propose that Congress pass a small package of spending cuts and tax reforms to put off the "harmful consequences" of huge automatic spending cuts known as the "sequester" for a few months, a White House official said.

"Uncertainty around the sequester is already having a negative impact on our economic growth, and if it was to take effect it would cost hundreds of thousands of American jobs and have devastating impacts on our economy," the official said.

The small budget package would "allow Congress more time to reach a solution that permanently avoids the sequester and significantly reduces the deficit in a balanced way," the official said.

Obama will speak at 1:15 p.m. EST.

I might point out that Dr. Paul Krugman appears in The Ames Tribune. If Iowa is reading him there has to be merit in that for Republicans.

9:34 pm - February 02, 2013 — Updated: 9:34 pm - February 02, 2013
By Paul Krugman
New York Times

...At this point, (click here) you might have expected austerity advocates to consider the possibility that there was something wrong with their analysis and policy prescriptions. But no. They went looking for new heroes and found them in the small Baltic nations, Latvia in particular, a nation that looms amazingly large in the austerian imagination.
At one level this is kind of funny: austerity policies have been applied all across Europe, yet the best example of success the austerians can come up with is a nation with fewer inhabitants than, say, Brooklyn. Still, the International Monetary Fund recently issued two new reports on the Latvian economy, and they really help put this story into perspective.
To be fair to the Latvians, they do have something to be proud of. After experiencing a Great-Depression-level slump, their economy has experienced two years of solid growth and falling unemployment. Despite that growth, however, they have only regained part of the lost ground in terms of either output or employment — and the unemployment rate is still 14 percent.
So what do we learn from the rather pathetic search for austerity success stories? We learn that the doctrine that has dominated elite economic discourse for the past three years is wrong on all fronts. Not only have we been ruled by fear of nonexistent threats, we’ve been promised rewards that haven’t arrived and never will.
It’s time to put the deficit obsession aside and get back to dealing with the real problem — namely, unacceptably high unemployment.

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard Drives EchoDrive

Liquefaction. The more liquefaction sets in the more frequent the quakes.

FEBRUARY 1, 2013 | 11:03 AM
BY TERRENCE HENRY

If you live in the East Texas town of Timpson, (click here) or nearby, chances are you’ve had a shaky week. It all started last...
Friday, very early in the morning, when an earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale struck just north of town, causing minor damage. Then on... 
Tuesday, again, very early in the morning, a smaller 2.8 quake struck. Then... 
yesterday afternoon another quake occurred, just south of town, with a strength of 2.7. That’s three earthquakes within a week.
So what’s going on? We put that question to Dr. Cliff Frohlich, a seismologist that studies manmade earthquakes at the University of Texas at Austin. Yes, manmade.
Frohlich has looked into a string of quakes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that began in 2008. Frohlich has linked many of those quakes to deep injection wells used to dispose of wastewater from oil and gas drilling, which has taken off in recent years with the advent of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. ...

NWS: 2 tornadoes hit Cape Girardeau County (click here)Published: February 2, 2013 The Associated Press
 — The National Weather Service has confirmed that two separate tornadoes hit Cape Girardeau County on Tuesday night.
The Southeast Missourian ( http://bit.ly/Ts0uh9) reports that both were classified as EF-1 tornadoes with maximum winds of 95 mph to 100 mph. The Weather Service office in Paducah, Ky., says they originated around 9:15 p.m....

Tornadoes leave deadly path of destruction (click here)

Feb. 1 - At least two people are killed after tornadoes rip through the southern U.S.. Julie Noce reports


Posted: Jan 30, 2013 7:29 AM ESTUpdated: Feb 04, 2013 9:37 AM EST14 Tornadoes Confirmed Across Middle Tennessee (click here)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Officials with the National Weather Service said 14 tornadoes touched down across the mid-state early Wednesday morning.
By Friday, damage survey teams confirmed the tornadoes, that ranged anywhere from EF-0 to EF-2. The two EF-2 tornadoes struck Hickman County and Wilson County.
Here's the full list of tornadoes from the NWS:
Tornado 1: An EF2 in Mt. Juliet in Wilson County near the intersection of Mount Juliet Road and Lebanon Road.
Tornado 2: An EF0 from south of White Bluff in southeast Dickson county to Kingston Springs in southern Cheatham County.
Tornado 3: An EF2 has been confirmed in Hickman County near the Coble Community.
Tornado 4: An EF0 from Shute Lane in southwest Gallatin in Sumner County throughFairfiew Plantation, to Bay Point to Bledsoe Creek State Park.
Tornado 5: An EF0 has been confirmed in Sumner County, between Millersville andGallatin.
Tornado 6: An EF0 has been confirmed in Sumner County, from HWY 25 and Harsh Lane to the Sumner County RC Fliers area.
Tornado 7: An EF1 has been confirmed in eastern Robertson County near Highway 76 between Springfield and White House...including the Pinson...School Rd area to Bethlehem Rd and Baggett Rd. This tornado continued into western Sumner County.
Tornado 8: An EF1 has been confirmed in north-central Wilson County from along Mann Rd. to southern Trousdale County near Highway 141.
Tornado 9: An EF0 has been confirmed in southwest Macon County about 7 miles southwest of Lafayette.
Tornado 10: An EF0 has been confirmed in northeast Macon County about 7 miles northeast of Lafayette.
Tornado 11: An EF0 has been confirmed in Cheatham County in Ashland City.
Tornado 12: An EF1 has been confirmed in Rutherford County near Eagleville.
Tornado 13: An EF0 has been confirmed in Williamson County in Franklin.
Tornado 14: An EF0 has been confirmed in Coffee County near Manchester....

What are the USA Senators for Tennessee talking about? Video games. Not the Climate Crisis. Not gun control, but, video games. Pathetic!

"I think video games is [sic] (click here) a bigger problem than guns, because video games affect people," Alexander. "The First Amendment limits what we can do about video games....

The King's Kitchen is expanding.

It is called a valuable service to the community which provides employment and building of expertise.

The King’s Bakery… (click here) NOW SERVING BREAKFAST!  Monday – Saturday, 7:00am until… It has been our dream since opening The King’s Kitchen over two years ago to create a bakery that will allow us to expand our efforts to raise money to feed the poor. It will also allow us to make all of the fresh breads and desserts for Jim Noble Restaurants in one location, plus we can expand our offerings to our patrons to include sandwiches, breakfast items and breads in a retail setting....

It started out as a bakery with an affiliation to feed the poor. The possibilities are now endless and the poor comes along with the growth of the business. The business's passion to improve the lives of others is never sacrificed for profits. The Great Recession was an opportunity to find the needs of the community and move it forward.

The opposition starts with definitions and not words.

...A confidential Justice Department memo (click here) concludes that the U.S. government can order the killing of American citizens if they are believed to be “senior operational leaders” of al-Qaida or “an associated force” -- even if there is no intelligence indicating they are engaged in an active plot to attack the U.S....

I see a PROCESS through the judiciary validating the definition of an individual with INTENTIONS and AVAILABLE METHODS.

Coal is a nitch industry in the USA and it needs to stay that way.


Jimmy Murphy of Sprigg, W.Va. (click here) holds a jar filled with well water from his home on November 15, 2010. He says the water was contaminated with coal slurry by Massey Energy and subsidiary Rawl Sales & Processing. Mining company Massey Energy settled a 7-year-old lawsuit with hundreds of southern West Virginia residents who claim the company poisoned their drinking water supplies with coal slurry. (Jeff Gentner/AP) #

Massey Energy has killed people. We don't need it. Coal globally is causing death on a regular basis, both, in mining and breathing the pollution.
It may also be doomed. Lieser's boss, Robert Murray, chief executive of Murray Energy Corp, said he fears for the end of coal, prodded by a U.S. president who has promoted wind and solar power while cracking down on emissions from coal-fired power plants....

Massey Energy is the largest coal producer in the country, what does the CEO do? He throws hundreds of thousands of US$ at Rove's GPS. But, does he invest in the mines, the people. For god sake, the schools in these coal towns have coal dust covering them. The ownership and leadership of Massey are bastards. Just that simple.


May 19, 2011
...The investigation found (click here) that the company's ventilation system didn't work adequately, causing the deadly build-up of explosive gases. The report found that Massey Energy failed to meet federal and state safety standards for the handling of rock dust and that emergency water systems were not properly maintained and failed to function as they should have....

The American people know what is going on. This is NOT an Obama thing. The people of West Virginia need a new beginning. A solid beginning where their health is valued and their children live healthy lives. That would be a good focus right now.

..."This president does not understand what he's doing to the lives of these people. I live it every day. He does not see what he's doing to an entire segment of the United States economy."...

The American people elected President Obama. It is us that demand there is change in this country in the Energy Sector and the safety of citizens. No one in the USA are sacrificial lambs for industries that should have been shuttered decades ago. If the media wants to pick a fight, then the American people are the ones they need to pick on!

The complaining by Massey and attempting to make this a political issue is pure denial of the status of coal in the USA and globally. It is a filthy industry that lacks the ability to move to the new century in a meaningful. Massey should go begging to the antiquated and dangerous petroleum industry for their subsidies.

He is the new leader of the GOP. Absolutely, he is. He stands up to them.

He once said, "I've had enough of the crazies." He is a governor that relies on the truth and solid values.

He has provided changes in the NJ budget in meaningful ways and in incremental steps. He didn't slash and burn everything it his path. He doesn't play with social issues, either.

PUBLISHED: FEBRUARY 4, 2013 12:01 AM EST
UPDATED: FEBRUARY 3, 2013 7:52 PM EST

George Will: 'Un-Romney' Christie has bright future (click here)

...His budget for 2013 calls for spending less than did the state's 2008 budget. He has vetoed a tax on millionaires three times. He has scrapped, exuberantly, with public employee unions. In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, 41,000 families are still homeless. Nevertheless, 61 percent of his constituents think the state is on the right track, compared with 27 percent who thought so when he entered office three years ago. His 74 percent job approval includes 56 percent of Democrats and 78 percent of Independents. This in a state where only 29 percent view the Republican Party favorably. And New Jersey is one of just three states (with New York and Maryland) in which Barack Obama improved upon his 2008 margin of victory (18 points, up from 16)....

The African Union. When they are funded, they get the job done.


Chadian soldiers are known to be experienced desert fighters

Mali conflict: Chad army 'enters Kidal' (click here)

...Islamist fighters are believed to have fled into the mountains around Kidal, near the Algerian border, where French forces have been carrying out air strikes against them....
Al Qaeda is not a viable threat! It doesn't take much in Africa to end the occupation.

The remaining fighters can't reconstitute. There aren't enough to make a stand in the first place. But, arms shipments into the area needs to stop. Rebels against sovereign nations have to be found and rooted out before they act as a force. The sophistication of the nations of Africa need infrastructure and education of their people. Without education and stable movement to progress to achieve a viable economy supported by their own people with good wages, this will happen over and over. Africa is important to this global economy. The development of First World nations there are long overdue. They don't nukes either! They have allies, like France.

The West cannot continue poverty as a strategy in Africa. It is no different than the Middle East. Poverty cannot be a strategy. It can't be tolerated anywhere. Extremists destroy infrastructure and cannot be tolerated by the people. Their path forward have to be made clear to them.

Boeing needs to fly some of their planes on routes where these incidents occurred.



Aerospace giant Boeing Co. has asked the Federal Aviation Administration to let it begin test flights on its grounded 787 Dreamliner passenger jet.

The new plane has been grounded since Jan. 16 by the FAA because of numerous incidents and high-profile fires involving the onboard lithium-ion batteries. Investigators around the world are looking into the matter.

The company disclosed its request for in-flight testing Monday in an email.

“Boeing has submitted an application to conduct test flights, and it is currently under evaluation by the FAA,” said Marc Birtel, a company spokesman, who would not comment further.

The FAA is reportedly looking into Boeing request, but would not comment....



Well done. Men this demented about the USA don't cooperate.


The more tired he got the determined he was. He was going to be the winner no matter what.
...“Within the past 24 hours (click here) negotiations deteriorated and Mr. Dykes was observed holding a gun," Special Agent in Charge Stephen Richardson, of the Mobile, Ala., office, said at a press briefing Monday. "At this point, FBI agents, fearing the child was in imminent danger, entered the bunker and rescued the child.” 
The child was recovered at 3:12 p.m. CT and appears physically unharmed, Richardson said. He is being treated at a local hospital and has been reunited with his mother....

It is by far the most beautiful tribute to the American farmer I have ever seen. Thank you.



Ram tough, huh? Not bad. Not bad at all. It is the truth. If there is one word to describe the American farmer it is dedication and maybe, just maybe the American people know what it takes to be dedicated to the industries that built this country. Wouldn't you say?

Oh, yeah. I own a Jeep now. Bought it just before Christmas 2012.