Thursday, March 05, 2015

It is definately Secretary Kerry's time. He is able to marry diplomacy with military content. He is amazing.

I watched the February 26, 2015 testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee (Foreign Affairs and State Department Budget). He has achieve great things; chemical weapons out of Syria, support for Ukraine and organizing an unprecedented alliance between nations in the Middle East. That is just the high profile accomplishes.

In regard to Iran:

Iran already has developed the nuclear fuel cycle.

I suppose that is the bad news, but, the good news is they perfected the nuclear fuel cycle in 2003 under Mr. Bush, not under President Obama, and are living within the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Iran is a member of the NPT. 

Iran perfected the nuclear fuel cycle and in 2003 the US Intelligence Estimate stated it has abandoned efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Regardless of that estimate, Mr. Bush continued his rant about Iran's nuclear weapons.

From the Washington Post:

March 21, 2008
By Robin Wright

...But most striking (click here) was Bush's accusation that Iran has openly declared its nuclear weapons intentions, even though a National Intelligence Estimate concluded in December that Iran had stopped its weapons program in 2003, a major reversal in the long-standing U.S. assessment. 

"They've declared they want to have a nuclear weapon to destroy people -- some in the Middle East. And that's unacceptable to the United States, and it's unacceptable to the world," Bush told U.S.-funded Radio Farda, which broadcasts into Iran in Farsi....

Listening to Secretary Kerry give testimony it was obvious to me he has more information in his head than ever makes the news media. He and the President have been busy men and Kerry's testimony showed it.

There was some awakening today about the fact Iranian lead militias are fighting side by side with the Kurds and Iraqi military coordinating through the Iraqi command centers. There is also the information that Sunnis are coming to the fight with Daesh. The West needs pay attention. The war is beginning to sound more like the Iraq-Iran War with a front bordering Syria.

I hope the alliance is maintaining it's integrity and determination to stop extremists. It is the correct fight and the best fight for the best outcome for the region and people. But, there can be a sudden shift in the tone of the war if this takes on an ethnic definition. This is not The West's fight. The region and alliance needs to stick together and get the job done.

Daesh are the old Ba'athists regime. Their death and destruction has to end.


Hillary has always reached for much needed change for women and girls all her life. She is a hero.

There isn't anything else she can do to satisfy the public's request to know what was contained in the emails.

The public will not know everything that is within this domain of government function, but, I am sure there is a good number that can be released. I am not troubled by her practice as Secretary of State or otherwise. Hillary was among the women at the forefront of change. In many ways she lead the charge or best said, "Was the most successful to reach levels of government where change can occur in a larger measure."

I don't think; and I don't want to sound jaded; but, I don't think younger generations have an appreciation of what was the 1960s and early 70s. It was not a joy ride, except for the peers that were in the turbulence of change with you. For her to emerge out of that time to lead change for girls and women is a dream come true. 

Realize "the times" she came from and how long it has taken to reach this pinnacle. If she runs for the Presidency, I'll be at the local Democratic office to see her through. It is just that important and anticipated. 

Hillary is a human being and that is all too obvious. When detractors bring criticism because she is not perfect, that is EXACTLY the 'hate paradigm' women have fought for decades. The social context which women work, live and have their families is dense in the demands for perfection. It is a form of oppression. I could go on and on about that oppression, but, we are nearly at the end so why bother. It was important to know 'it' then as a defense in our daily lives, but, today we simply kick it to the curb.

"We are ready for Hillary." The dream survives.

The book could begin a new appreciation of "The Cocktail." Just plain fun. It might be a girl thing.

It looks like a great book.

In his quest (click here) for historical accuracy, the recipes are presented in their original form and often annotated so heavily they are hard to follow.

Many of the more outlandish drinks are fun as curiosities but not something I'd like to make at home.

Mixology doesn't get enough respect. Cocktails are fun and when done well are not ALCOHOL.

Rose's Lime Juice and Tanquery Gin is my favorite. "The Gimlet" was also known as the gin sour. It was developed in the....get ready for this...the 1920's. The 1920's, specifically 1928, is the height of prohibition. 



In life as on the screen, he loves old stuff. Get well, Indy!

March 5, 2015
By Richard Winton, Matt Hamilton and Matt Steven

Harrison Ford (click here) was injured Thursday after his single-engine plane made a crash landing on a Venice golf course.
The veteran actor had departed from the Santa Monica Municipal Airport in his vintage Ryan plane, according to a source. Around 2:20 p.m., the pilot of the plane notified the airport's control tower about a loss of engine power, said Patrick Jones of the National Transportation Safety Board.

In a recording of communications with the airport's control tower, the actor's voice can be heard saying, "Engine failure; immediate return."...
Sylvia Burwell is being harassed by Republican members of the House Health and Human Budget Committee.

The Republicans are seeking hostile tones and they do so by asking the same question of the Secretary over and over in different words. The Republicans members of the committee are hostile to say the least. 

She is not the Supreme Court and not a fortune teller. If that is what the committee wants, cut the salary and make sure the government crystal ball is genuine and properly held in custody when not in use. 

That was on C-Span on February 26, 2015. They were mean and disrespectful to her. They used her as a pawn in their political gaming. One of the Republicans even manufactured words about how she stated no one in Congress can address governance, only her. That put her on the verge of tears and she denied she ever had any part in that and would like to see what the Congressman was saying. With that he closed his microphone and left the floor. 

I have never witnessed any of the Obama White House in tirade or close to it. Every administrator has been respectful even when they are being used as a scapegoat. When is Congress going to be productive rather than political?

No, these are not your grandfather's dentures.


The Ledi-Geraru mandible fossil. Credit William Kimble/Arizona State University. 

...Mr. Seyoum, (click here) a graduate student in paleoanthropology at Arizona State University, had made a discovery that vaulted evolutionary science over a barren stretch of fossil record between two million and three million years ago. This was a time when the human genus, Homo, was getting underway. The 2.8-million-year-old jawbone of a Homo habilis predates by at least 400,000 years any previously known Homo fossils....

Iowa wants privacy rights for gun owners. I think this is another manufactered gun legislation. There is no permanent invasion of privacy currently.

March 4, 2015
By William Petrosky

Sweeping gun rights legislation (click here) was advanced in the Iowa Senate and House on Wednesday, although victims' advocates and news media lobbyists raised questions about the proposals.
A Senate subcommittee voted 3-0 in support of Senate Study Bill 1251, which includes provisions that would block the public from accessing the names of people who hold permits to carry guns and purchase some weapons. Later on Wednesday, the Iowa House Judiciary Committee approved House Study Bill 201 on a 19-2 vote and sent it to the House floor.
Both bills are intended to make confidential any personally identifiable information on gun permits, such as names, addresses, and dates of birth. Under current law, permits to carry weapons for more than 220,000 Iowans are open records that can be requested and disclosed to the public....

My understanding of purchase permits whereby background checks occur is simply a temporary exposure to a person's identity to prevent guns getting into the hands of those that should not have them.

The Democratic response to the manufactured gun issue should be exactly that. There is no record of gun ownership permanently held by government. The only question I have is will a measure like this compromise the public trust and public well being by allowing guns to flow into the hands of those that should not have them. Otherwise stated, are these laws removing background checks all together. A majority of current gun owners like the idea of background checks.

When it comes to the populous movement surrounding gun ownership such as this law; can be toned by stating background checks at gun firing ranges can prevent deaths that have occurred there. 

There is a need for higher standards at gun ranges, both surrounding children and background checks. 

To benefit those that value gun ownership a background check law for gun ranges can be named after a currently famous movie icon. These background check laws can be federal, but, be a part of state and local government elections as well.

Iowa is more than corny. Joni Ernst wants to crown the next Presidential candidate.

March 5, 2015
By Kathie Obradovich

Presidential candidates (click here) need to do more than just wear a seed-corn cap and get their eggs in the right baskets on farm issues to impress Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey and other Iowa voters.

"I wouldn't want somebody to just walk in and say, 'I'm against California on eggs, I'm for RFS,' and just check the boxes trying to get the positions right," Northey, a Republican, said. "They better explain why … and they should be able to fit that into their overall philosophy of government, if they've thought through those things."

About a dozen potential GOP presidential candidates will be put to the test Saturday at the Iowa Ag Summit, a daylong forum at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Northey will be leaving Saturday on a U.S. Department of Agriculture trip to Asia and will miss most of the summit. But, he said, he'll follow it closely.

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak, is planning to attend. She said she wants to hear potential candidates encouraging support for more types of voluntary soil and water conservation practices and nutrient management.

What's important to her, she said, is "knowing that they understand that these are important to not just Iowa but all of our agricultural communities across the United States and hoping that they understand that again, a one-size-fits-all approach from the federal government does not work for every state."...

On the subject of pipelines.

There are no pipelines available for American produced ethanol. Ethanol is a high explosive fuel throughout. When these derailments occur the immediate danger is the heat from the explosion and the concussion. In this instance the home in the background is still standing. The pollution is far less due to the burning off of the ethanol vs the smoldering of oil.

That said, ethanol produced in the USA have no pipelines available because all are used for oil and natural gas. Ethanol cannot run through those pipelines UNLESS the infrastructure is replaced in new construction to prevent the contamination of the ethanol

I am not setting a double standard. I still firmly believe it is safer to transport the grain used for the production of ethanol vs the explosive product in transit. The incentive for production where the ethanol is being used are jobs and new production facilities. These cars were on their way to New Jersey, building an ethanol production facility in NJ would help any unemployment. In stating that Iowa would be upset if NJ took their jobs away. It is a matter of what is most prudent to the environment. 

Explosive materials should be produced where they are used and that is an easy transition with ethanol. Grain can easily be transported without danger to the public. Ethanol is the best option for the USA as their passenger vehicles are replaced with Flex Fuel cars and trucks as well as though specifically designed for E85.


February 5, 2015
By AP

...Local authorities said three cars caught fire, while three others tumbled down an embankment and partially into the river. The fires were extinguished by Thursday morning, and no injuries were reported.
Baskins said that precautionary notifications have been sent to the downriver cities of Davenport, Burlington and Keokuk, which use the Mississippi River as a drinking water source.
The 81-car train originated in northwest Iowa and was heading to New Jersey. Each tanker car can carry up to 30,000 gallons. Some ethanol burned off in the three cars that caught fire.
The derailed cars are DOT-111 models, which the National Transportation Safety Board has been urging the industry to replace or retrofit since 1991. The NTSB calls the original DOT-111 cars still in use an “unacceptable safety risk.”
The federal government is finalizing new standards for tank cars, but they aren’t expected to be issued until this summer.

Added oil infrastructure is not needed, the old infrastructure needs updating.

Brent Crude has lost more than 50% of it's price since it's peak. There is every reason to believe those prices will not rise much and the only countries able to produce oil at that price are the major producers of OPEC. 

Other countries cannot justify any marketing at all of their oil at these prices. The sale of oil will continue across the spectrum, but, viable companies are those that have established their operations decades ago when infrastructure cost far less than today.

With this trend continuing because of the continued glut into the market for needed cash flow the local economies of the USA will benefit. If they are in need of growth now is the time while energy prices give them room to invest in their own position in any market. I wish the best as the SBA is waiting for them. 

Realizing the bad judgement to increase production to float their businesses by owners of Canadian tar sands oil and North Dakota oil producers there is no justification for any more pipelines. There are plenty that already exist and most need to be replaced with new pipe. There is plenty of opportunity for infrastructure projects by government including replacement of these pipelines with newer and better constructed projects.
Jeb Bush is a new type of Republican. He is not a compassionate conservative, he is an inclusive conservative and he does not sign the tax pledge of Grover Norquist. Inclusive?

Typical to Republicans "The Jeb" wants to rewrite history.

...That makes political sense. (click here) With the economy improving, polls show that voters now consider terrorism to be as important a campaign issue for 2016 as economic issues. And Obama’s incoherent efforts to degrade the Islamic State make him an easy target.
But when Jeb Bush, in a major foreign policy speech last week, tried to pin the blame for the Islamic State’s rise entirely on Obama it made my blood boil. The Mideast collapse that paved the way for the terrorists’ rise was precipitated by his brother’s misbegotten war in Iraq.
And if GOP hopefuls continue to whitewash George W.’s strategic errors (and Jeb has hired some of the very advisors who made them, such as former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz), then Republicans will surely repeat those errors if they take the White House in 2016....

History according to The Jeb says the Iraq War was completely benign, exactly what the region needed and is proud of The Bro in his invasion.

Differently said, "Everything is Obama's fault." 

...The former Florida governor briefly admitted in his speech that “there were mistakes made, for sure” in the Iraq war. He limited those to his brother’s use of intelligence (on Saddam’s nuclear weapons program) that “everyone embraced,” but turned out to be inaccurate, and to “not creating an environment of security” in Iraq after taking out Saddam Hussein.

But Jeb skipped entirely over the bloody Iraq years of 2003-2007. Instead, he praised his brother’s “heroic” surge strategy – which sent thousands more U.S. troops to Iraq and stabilized the country....

Here we go again, "...there were mistakes made..." 

No clue.

Yes, indeed. The Jeb is proud of The Bro for throwing more American troops at the problem, post Iraq Study Group, and killing all that many more legions of radical fascist Islamics.

At least The Bro killed off enough of them before they got in their ships and rowed to America to continue the violence within Iraq. 

Lord knows those radical Islamic facists multiply like rabbits and they would come through the southern border. 

Question: Before the political season beings, is Osama bin Laden really dead? 

I heard that myth was Obama's fault, too.

Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/2015/03/02/6846954_jeb-bush-iraq-and-historical-truth.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

The Florida state educational testing is launching still yet another one.

March 4, 2015
By Allison Neilsen

After technical issues (click here) plagued the writing portion of the Florida Standards earlier this week, two Florida senators called on Gov. Rick Scott to suspend the test entirely until all malfunctions are resolved.


“Yesterday, the first day of testing under the new and untested Florida Standards Assessment, was nothing less than a disaster,” read the letter from Sens. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, and Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth....

The state needs to stop creating more and more problems with new tests all the time. The problems continue to become worse and testing isn't achieving results because it compromises the children's education. 

Children have to learn before they are successful taking tests. There are children placed at a computer that have no experience with computers.

...Bullard and Clemens called for the test to be suspended to allow educators to work out the issues with the test “instead of using our children as guinea pigs for a flawed system.”...

There has to be some other legal venue for the death of this 18 year old.

The autopsy provided a heinous death and there no other recourse? Wow.

March 4, 2015
By Jordan Lebeau

Freedom. Liberty. Racist Policing. (click here) The first two are essential to the American identity. We happily tout them. The third is woven just as deeply into our fabric. We have a responsibility to acknowledge it, just as openly.

The Justice Department has revealed that the Ferguson Police Department has routinely violated the constitutional rights of its citizens, and exhibited a clear bias against blacks within their jurisdiction.... 

It just seems to me the death of this young Black man with the back drop of such a racist police department fits the puzzle piece to the free reigning violence of the police against citizens. Michael Brown, Jr. was walking with a friend when he was interrupted in his travels and before anything was known about any Cigarillos. I think it is very damning.

At the very least Wilson was guilty of harassment. He interrupted the travel of two Black men for no reason at all except jaywalking. Forbid anyone should jaywalk, especially if they ethnically offensive.

I think AG Holder did an incredible thing by bringing out the completely unjust circumstances of the community, but, the justice needed for Michael Brown, Jr. is needing. The way Wilson's grand jury was called on to eliminate any charges is corruption. Blatant corruption.

The entire circumstances of this community is laced with nothing but corruption. 

New Zealand denies the spying was not within the description as described by journalists.

Keys brings the idea the term "Full Take" has a legal definition that does not involve unlawful invasion into citizen's privacy. But, he did say New Zealand was spying. It is the same definition the USA uses. No spying on citizens, but, only those offshore to other destinations. Well, heck if every country is doing this that means the majority of the time everyone is under surveillance by every country involved other than their own. What's the difference?

March 5, 2015
By David Fischer

John Key (click here) says new claims around intelligence collection are wrong - but he won't say why.
He also says the GCSB is acting legally - but won't say how.
And he says we are spying - but won't say on who.
The Prime Minister has fronted media after a day of controversy caused by the publication of documents taken by whistleblower Edward Snowden while a contractor for the United States' National Security Agency.
He refused to talk in specifics but said: "Some of the information was incorrect, some of the information was out of date, some of the assumptions made were just plain wrong."
The documents were published in the Herald today in a collaborative reporting effort with investigative journalist Nicky Hager and the US news site The Intercept, which has access to the Snowden documents....

That is the New Zealand spying facility. It could provide free internet to the entire of New Zealand when the spying agency is shut down.

March 4, 2015
By Ryan Gallagher

...The surveillance, (click here) reported Wednesday by the New Zealand Herald in collaboration with The Intercept, is being carried out by GCSB from an intelligence base in New Zealand’s Waihopai Valley (pictured above). Intercepted data collected at the Waihopai site is being shared through an NSA surveillance system called XKEYSCORE, which is used to analyze vast amounts of emails, internet browsing sessions and online chats that are intercepted from some 150 different locations worldwide.
The documents on the spying, obtained by The Intercept from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, shine a light on New Zealand’s role in the so-called Five Eyes, a surveillance alliance that includes electronic eavesdropping agencies from New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia....

I wonder if the NSA caught Hillary's emails in it's net?

I would not want to be a juror on this trial. A lot of heart ache is going to be heard.

March 4, 2015
By John Waller

Hours (click here) after taking the stand as a witness Wednesday, Boston Marathon bombing survivor Rebekah Gregory wrote a letter to accused bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and posted it on Facebook.


Gregory, who had her left leg amputated below the knee in November after over a year and a half and 17 surgeries, wrote she had been scared of Tsarnaev after the bombing, but not anymore....

They are not afraid of him.

Dear Dzhokhar Tsarnaev,
My name is Rebekah Gregory. We don't really know each other and never will. But over the last two years, I have seen your face not only in pictures, but in almost every one of my nightmares. Moments before the first blast, your stupid backpack even brushed up against my arm, but I doubt you remember because I am no one to you. A complete stranger. And although I was merely just a blip on your radar, (someone that happened to be standing 3 feet from your designated "good spot" for a bomb), you have been so much more to me....

What has this got to do with Benghazi? Some kind of secret to reveal THE REAL HILLARY is incompetent.

55 Thousand is a high number. Four years, Secretary of State and she has submitted all those to the State Department. That number is considerably more than mine of ten years, both new and saved. 

55 Thousand emails is not the entire department. It comes to 38 emails per day for 4 years 24/7. That isn't reasonable? The department receives a lot more via WIRE. She wasn't answering emails from morning to night. It's Hillary and the press always ridicules for the sake of ridicule. 

How many emails are on your account right now?

Just sayin'.