Friday, July 17, 2015

He should have given it to the Nature Conservancy. They would have given a sign on the property.

But, TNC would also have invested in the land, surveyed it for all species of animals, plants and forest. There might be something unique there, but, we'll never know now.

March 2, 2010
By Corey Kilgannon

Although (click here) he is known for his high-rises, resorts and golf courses, Donald J. Trump helped create a little-known state park in northern Westchester County, donating the land for public use in 2006.


Like many things, the park is named after him. It is called the Donald J. Trump State Park. It also happens to be on a list of 58 parks and historic sites the state plans to close because of budget cuts.

The plan, released Feb. 19, coupled with the fact that the state would save only the park’s $2,500 annual budget by closing it, has infuriated Mr. Trump....

I know everyone wants to make fun of Mr. Trump, but, this is something conservationists call wonderful. It is land. It is land with forests and birds and all sorts of things. But, because the state of New York didn't invest in having their rangers and researchers discover the interior of the property, the sincere value it brings to our natural world will never be known. 

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a very dedicated organization. Many people leave land to them simply because they do invest in the land and come to understand it. Value it. Land is important to people and leaving it to the care of TNC is an extremely good decision.

I will say this. TNC frequently PARTNERS with states and local governments to assist in the care of land. TNC comes in and does what it does best, it conducts surveys of land, decides how much of the survey are invasive species and then sets up a plan to renew the land to it's original condition and content. 

If Mr. Trump, being the name sake of the park, wants to talk to TNC about the land they may still be interested. If not complete owner of the land, then perhaps as a partner with the State of New York to return the land to a pristine condition that is valued for it's natural value.

Quite frankly, it is a good idea especially with small towns nearby, to actually come to understand the land and make it a benefit to the communities it shares. I wish he would contact the State of New York about the land and then contact TNC for any interest they might have.

I wish everyone good luck.

It hasn't made it to the large incident map yet.

A helicopter drops water on vehicles burning on the 15 Freeway during the North Fire on July 17, 2015. (Credit: KTLA)

A dangerous, fast-moving wildfire spread through the Cajon Pass on Friday afternoon, jumping the 15 Freeway, burning at least 10 vehicles stopped on the pavement, and prompting mandatory evacuations in the Baldy Mesa area.

The fire started about 2:30 p.m. off the freeway just north of State Route 138 (map), prompting the closure of all southbound and northbound lanes of the 15 Freeway soon after. Responding fire crews were stuck in traffic and CHP was urging drivers to avoid the area.

The North Fire was at 500 acres about 3:45 p.m., and firefighting aircraft were temporarily grounded due to drone activity, the San Bernardino County Fire Department stated on Twitter. Within an hour, it was 2,000 acres.

How big is the effort to bring this fire under control?

A DC-10 drop Phos-chek on the North Fire on July 17, 2015. (Credit: KTLA)

I have no idea how the pilot can fly a DC-10 that low to the terrain. 

July 17, 2015 Large Fire Incidents (click here)

California is definitely a tinderbox.  People weren't prepared for this emergency. They panicked. 

Tomorrow July 18th begins the public offering for tickets to the 2015 Traverse City Film Festival.





This year's theme is "1 GREAT MOVIE CAN CHANGE YOU."(click here)

This is the PDF Guide (click here)

There is something for everyone. There are free movies in the super big screen by the bay. There are movies about incredible people, like Amy Winehouse, the daughter of the infamous Charlie Chaplin, Geraldine Chaplin and the wife of Robert Altman the creator of M.A.S.H. and Nashville Kathryn Altman will be there to celebrate 45 years of film influence and a life that entertained millions.

There are kids movies and midnight movies and tween movies. There is even a live tween band coming to celebrate a summer fest of movies.

There are foreign films, LGBTQ films, films about women and mommies and what might be Lilly Tomlins swan song and the greatest accomplishment to date.

Start to plan to join people from across the country who congregate every year in this magnificent city on Lake Michigan. 

"See you at the movies."

Sure to be my favorite. 

"Radical Islamist Extremists/Terrorists" is inflammatory and doesn't describe any government in the world.

It is a false interpretation of the Quran. It is a political tool within extremists such as the old Ba'athists. 

President Obama doesn't recognize any radical Islamic extremists because there is no official designation. If the President of the USA, especially President Obama (man of peace), used inflammatory language there would many in the Middle East that would take offense. If words count, the words that count with President Obama are those that translate into peace, cooperation and stability. Inflammatory language is destabilizing. Why use it in an international dialogue? Any dialogue that is public is an international dialogue.

President Obama is not about to recognize illegitimate political movements. We all should be glad about that. 

January 26, 2014
By Ryan Mauro
Islamic extremism (click here) is driven by an interpretation of Islam that believes that Islamic law, or sharia, is an all-encompassing religious-political system. Since it is believed to be proscribed by Allah (Arabic for “God”) sharia must be enforced in the public sphere by a global Islamic state. As such, Islamic extremists consider it to be the only truly legitimate form of governance and reject democracy and human rights values.... 

...Islamic extremists believe they are obligated to install this form of governance in Muslim-majority territories, countries and, eventually, the entire world. In the minds of Islamic extremists, they are promoting justice and freedom by instituting sharia....

They are wackos. Just that simple. Why reward wackos with a title they prefer or demand. Wackos are wackos.

This Daesh bullshit is directly out of the fact the Ba'athists in Iraq were ostracized and hunted by some. They aren't anything holy or soulful that have suffered for decade after decade; they were scared of what was transpiring in Iraq and hid in Syria. There is nothing here that legitimizes their hate of human beings. There is nothing spiritual about them.

When Mullahs and Clerics are coming out to state there are venues of peace among people in Islam that pretty much excludes Daesh. The Mullahs and Clerics are recognizing the fact there are differences in the region both ethnic and religious. They don't want to split people up so they feel better represented by war. They want peace and they want the killing to stop. The Middle East cannot afford instability and the holy men know it. 

Grand Ayatollah Ali Husayni Sistani and the Supreme Leader of Iran need to dialogue and come together over Shi'ite aggression and the stability in the region. The Grand Ayatollah has maintained peace can survive the recognition of one's Muslims neighbors. It is time the leaders in Islam find an enforceable peace. Sistani has been preaching peace for a very long, long time. There is nothing new here. 

"Radical Islamist Extremist" was a political term drummed up by Bush/Cheney for the purpose of instilling fear. There is no use of it in a real venue anywhere else except the right wing extremist American Neocons. 

The radical right in the USA have their own dictionary, their own realities and their own idea of what is right and wrong. Did I make that clear. THEY HAVE THEIR OWN SENSE OF RIGHT AND WRONG. The only reason they are even listened to is because they managed to make it into the White House and terrified the entire country with WMD. AND. WMD that was never a real threat. 

Bush lies and people die!

March 20, 2015
By Julia Lurie 

The United States (click here) began its invasion of Iraq 12 years ago. Yesterday, a previously classified Central Intelligence Agency report containing supposed proof of the country's weapons of mass destruction was published by Jason Leopold of Vice News. Put together nine months before the start of the war, the National Intelligence Estimate spells out what the CIA knew about Iraq's ability to produce biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons. It would become the backbone of the Bush administration's mistaken assertions that Saddam Hussein possessed WMDs and posed a direct threat to the post-9/11 world.

The report is rife with what now are obvious red flags that the Bush White House oversold the case for war. It asserts that Iraq had an active chemical weapons program at one point, though it admits that the CIA had found no evidence of the program's continuation. It repeatedly includes caveats like "credible evidence is limited." It gives little space to the doubts of the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, which found the CIA's findings on Iraq's nuclear program unconvincing and "at best ambiguous."...

May 29, 2011
By NPR Staff

In 2004, (click here) almost a year after the start of the Iraq War, David Kay resigned his post as the United States' chief weapons inspector in Iraq. Kay said his group had found no evidence that Iraq had stockpiled chemical and biological weapons before the U.S.-led invasion. His findings were at odds with assertions from the Bush administration at the time. Host Liane Hansen talks with Kay about the conflict in Iraq since then....

Now. 

Where exactly are the extremists?

Taxis can't compete with Uber and Lyft. Deregulate taxis and refund medallion costs.

July 17, 2015

...depending on the city, (click here) Uber drivers aren’t necessarily regulated by government taxi licensing authorities.
Both Uber and competitor Lyft insure their drivers during paid rides and also require the drivers to carry personal auto insurance that covers them the rest of the time.
In a few cities, Uber beat out taxis by a wide margin for business travelers.
In its home town of San Francisco, 79 percent of rides expensed through Certify during the second quarter were for Uber.
In Dallas, 60 percent were for Uber and 54 percent in Los Angeles. Certify noted that it saw rental car transactions drop at the same time.
July 17, 2015
By UK/Progressive
 
...Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), (click here) an aggressive hawk and no ally of Democrats, conceded not too long ago, “I think the Bush administration, they were a miserable failure when it came to controlling Iran’s nuclear ambition.”
 
It was Cheney’s policy that greatly expanded Iran’s power and influence in the Middle East. It was Cheney’s policy that allowed Iran to advance its nuclear-weapons program without consequence. It was Cheney’s mess that President Obama is now successfully cleaning up.
 
If the Republican wants to apologize for his failures, I suspect Obama would be gracious about it. But for Cheney to run to Fox to whine for no reason is a bit much.
July 18, 2015

NEWARK, New Jersey (AP) " A U.S. restaurant owner (click here) has been fined $3,000 for his role in a plot to sell firearms believed to have been owned by Saddam Hussein's family.

Fifty-eight-year-old Carlos Quirola-Ordonez had faced up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine after he pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport stolen firearms.

The investigation into the plot began in April 2012, when federal law enforcement officers learned of plans to sell the weapons.

Seven guns with an estimated value of $250,000 to $350,000 were seized in December 2012. Among the firearms was a .357 semi-automatic pistol featuring a gold medallion "QS." That's presumed to refer to the late Iraqi president's son Qusay.

Quirola-Ordonez and three other defendants pleaded guilty in the case.

This is from the March issue of The Atlantic.

There are militia members through out the USA. The military needs to arm their personnel. US agents faced 5000 militia members in Arizona. They were armed. The US military cannot dismiss that occurring in their recruitment stations.

March 19, 2015
By David A. Graham

Every mass shooting is shocking, (click here) but some are more shocking than others. While the proximate cause of an incident in Mesa, Arizona, that left one dead and five others wounded seems to have been a simple disagreement, the suspect is a man with a long rap sheet and a history of ties to violent, racist organizations. Ryan Giroux might seem like the classic culprit of such a rampage.

But Giroux's case doesn't obviously fit in the domestic-terrorism box, despite some tempting reasons to put it there. On the one hand, he had ties to extremist groups that foster hatreds. But his spree Wednesday seems to have been neither premeditated nor triggered by any sort of racial incident, but instead sparked by an argument. How do we think about such cases? As manifestations of extremism? As domestic terrorism? As simple, horrifying murder?...

...A retired Mesa Police detective who once infiltrated local skinhead groups told Hatewatch that he knew Giroux from previous encounters, and that Giroux was a member of Hammerskin Nation, a notoriously violent racist skinhead group, and an associate of the Aryan Brotherhood, a national prison gang with a long list of murders to its credit. “He’s a violent guy,” said the former detective, who knew Giroux as a young skinhead in the 1990s and early 2000s. “I think his time in prison contributed to that.”...

Why is Donald Trump leading the Republican field? Because he is a martyr for the little guy. That's why. He's got backbone.

Why is Scott Walker second in the Republican field? Because he is the King of Rhetoric and invoked legislation to prove he is willing to sink any economy in order to be president.

Why are the others at single digits? Because they can't decide if they should be Donald Trump or Scott Walker. 

Would Donald Trump actually be able to fire those that oppose him? Republicans are counting on his ability to steer the ship through all the rocks. Some believe he can. 

July 15, 2015
By Igor Bobic

WASHINGTON -- Donald Trump (click here) has a lot of money, as he frequently likes to remind people. The celebrity mogul's entire brand rests on his wealth -- including his hotels, yachts, clubs and even the $100 million luxury jet that contains a gold-plated toilet. 
 
So why, then, did some of his supporters feel inclined to donate to his presidential campaign in recent weeks, given that he could probably finance his own bid for the White House two or three times over if he so wished? The answer has more to do about disillusionment with both major political parties, and the belief that an outspoken outsider like Trump could accomplish what even Barack Obama could not -- a radical change to the political process.

"I didn’t donate to him because he needed money," Kinsey Craichy, who gave Trump's campaign $250, told The Huffington Post on Thursday. "I donated to him because he’s not afraid to speak the truth."

Craichy, the CEO of Living Fuel, a nutritional company based in Florida, supported Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential race. This go-round, however, he's looking for a bolder nominee who isn't afraid to stand up for what he believes in....

So let me get this right. This is for sale online in Chattanooga, Tennessee for $1200, but, Marines aren't armed. Who wants to explain that?

8.5 inch AR pistol (click here) in 300 blackout. This is a legal pistol, the sig brace does not make it an SBR, so it can be transferred without the $200 tax stamp and carried anywhere a pistol can be carried. Setup with Simmons 3-9x scope and retractable bipod for distance shooting. Muzzle brake installed to eliminate muzzle jump for quick followup shots. The muzzle brake is threaded but is not a suppressor - any googling you do on these sorts of threaded adapters and diy suppressors is up to you. 300 blackout was made for an 8-9" barrel, so this barrel makes great use of the cartridge. Good shooter, eats supersonic and subsonic ammo. Only around 150 rounds through it. Comes with a pmag and some ammo.

This is Thomas Sullivan, the fearless, from Massachusetts.

He died yesterday. He died yesterday because some punk actually thought he was somebody.

The fact of the matter is Thomas Sullivan was somebody. He was somebody to his family and his country, but, after fighting and surviving in war he was unarmed and could not do what he did at war. 

July 17, 2014
By Jason Molinet

One of four Marines (click here) killed in a Tennessee shooting rampage by a Kuwaiti-born gunman Thursday was a 40-year-old Massachusetts native who made a career of the military.

Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, an Iraq War veteran and Purple Heart recipient, died when Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez, 24, went on a rampage at two military facilities in Chattanooga, Tenn., family confirmed....

...“There’s no Marine you would want that was better in combat than him,” friend Josh Parnell, of Chicago, told Oak Lawn Patch....

Seems to me he knows how to take care of himself and those that surround him.

Americans aren't afraid to go to the place where unnecessary deaths occurred. We are not happy this happened.