"High Ideals" by Elbow (click here for official website)

There's a laddered tear in my high ideals
Like I took a chair on the battle field
And any noble fire that was burning in my chest
Is acid in my belt at the very best

There's a bayonet in my family things
It was made in the USA to defend the king
And though the sinew that thrust
And all the bones it splintered are dust
It's passed from hand to hand
With the wedding rings

Oh settle down little heart of mine
Oh settle down you're doing double time
You're so far away and she's right there
By your side
Oh settle down little heart of mine

Thank you, Israel. You solved Russia's problem.

Now the region can begin to stabilize. I would expect all missile silo doors to be closed around the world at this point.

"Initial reports point (click here) to these explosions being a result of Israeli missiles that targeted the research center in Jamraya," SANA said. Israel has said it will not allow sophisticated weapons to flow from Syria to the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad and a heavily armed foe of the Jewish state.

Whether anyone wants to admit it or not Israel just saved millions of lives. I know Israel understands what it means to save millions of lives from destruction of their right to exist.

Now, Jordan, Lebanon and the Arab League can begin to thank Israel for removing such a horrible danger allowed to exist because Assad would not sign a simple treaty.

Israel took care of it's own people and sovereignty by eliminating such horrible dangers from the entire region. It is quite a side effect to realize the entire region is breathing a sign of relief.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed by the Boston / Watertown Police in defense of the citizens of Massachusetts. Bury the man.

We are decent people in the USA. There won't be any backlash. The cemetery that will bury those killed by officers in the line of duty will have hero status. 

We don't begrudge the soul of it's final disposition determined by god. Burying Tamerlan and providing a place for the family to grieve is the right thing to do. We are a country that honors ourselves with decency.

The cemetery can be one where the Boston and Watertown dead are not buried if that is possible, but, there is some place in the northeast where this can be done. Please.

...Funeral director Peter Stefan (click here) has asked cemeteries in New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts, but each of the cemeteries have passed on burying the older Tsarnaev brother, who was killed during a shootout with police.

Stefan says that if no cemeteries agree, then he would “have to go to the federal government and then we have to ask them for assistance.” The Tsarnaev family has requested a Muslim burial along with a grave near their home in Massachusetts.

Protests have taken place outside of the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home in Worcester, Mass., where the body of Tsarnaev is being kept. Police have posted security outside.

“Everybody has a right to be buried. I can’t separate the sins from the sinner,” Stefan, the funeral director, said....

NRA's Royal Family continues it's reign of terror.

Following in his Daddy's footsteps. Considering he lives in Alabama I am sure it is vital to hold on to your job.

He is now president of the NRA. He stated, the Civil War is the "War of Northern Aggression" and says it was started by 'some Yankee generals."

I thought the Yankees had a coach. No? The only war I know about is the one for the World Series. I suppose it is a civil war. Right? I mean if a person has to relate to it differently, civil war is a good analogy.

Does Alabama have a MLB (Major League Baseball)? Maybe that is the breakdown in understanding a coach from a general. Ya think?

That would be a hell of an idea, though. MLB in Alabama. The only problem is they don't have money for stadium and the citizens can't afford the tickets. It would all have to be subsidized by the federal government. Is there such a thing as a federally subsidized baseball ticket?

I got it, Alabama could tax the petroleum companies and build their stadium, right after they rebuild their ports. The team could be called The Alabama Porters.

James W. Porter II, (click here) a resident of Birmingham, Alabama, is the son of Irvine C. Porter, who served as the NRA President from 1959-1960. Porter received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama in 1971, and a law degree from the Cumberland School of Law. While in law school, Porter spent a summer working for John Wilson, who served as outside legal counsel for the NRA in Washington, D.C. Wilson also represented John Ehrlichman and Bob Haldeman during the Watergate hearings in the U.S. Congress. In 2009, Porter was elected as first vice president of the NRA Board of Directors. He had previously served as second vice president and president of the NRA Foundation Board of Trustees....

It is the "Threat Level." The FBI needs to disseminate information to local authority to provide better surveillance and intervention.

Talking about it isn't going to do anything, but, legislation and funding would be good here.

WASHINGTON | Wed May 1, 2013 11:19am EDT

(Reuters) - The House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee (click here) will hold a hearing on May 9 to examine the deadly Boston marathon bombings and their impact on national security.

Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis, Massachusetts Undersecretary for Homeland Security Director Kurt Schwartz and U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman have been asked to testify.

The committee will hold a series of hearings examining the events leading up to last month's attack, which killed three people and injured 264, as well as the reaction by law enforcement.

"Ultimately the investigation will assess how our efforts have evolved to meet the dynamic terrorist threat of foreign-inspired attacks on our soil, and what changes may be necessary to protect the homeland," Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said in a statement.

(Reporting by Deborah Charles; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

The US Senate has already convened a hearing with USA Intelligence Services.

FBI investigators search the shooting scene near the boat where bombing suspect was hiding from police on Franklin Street on April 20, 2013 in Watertown, Massachusetts. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images/AFP)

Published time: April 23, 2013 14:15 
Edited time: April 24, 2013 07:10

High-ranking FBI officials faced questioning (click here) by US lawmakers on Tuesday over whether they missed red flags surrounding slain Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

The FBI officials briefed the Senate Intelligence Committee in a closed hearing about the investigation around the Boston Marathon bombings – which killed three people and injured 164 others – and the two suspects involved, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19.

After the briefing led by Deputy FBI Director Sean Joyce concluded, senators said that there may have been a breakdown in communication that prevented authorities from tracking Tamerlan’s radicalization....

Walmart - Boycott - The workers in Bangladesh earn $38.00 per month.

Relatives show pictures of garment workers who are missing, during a protest to demand capital punishment for those responsible for the collapse of the Rana Plaza building, in Savar, outside Dhaka.

It would cost between $5.00 to $10.00 per garment to produce them in the USA.

I've heard of horses having goats for companions, but, this is a new one.

As a point of reference for the House hearing on Wednesday regarding Benghanzi.

There isn't anyone in the USA that is happy about the death of our ambassador. I am sure there are many within the State Department that are angry. I don't blame them, but, report after report including a Blue Ribbon Panel established as an autonomy review of the incident found no wrong doing by anyone.

I don't know what the witnesses will say on Wednesday and I am sure every word will be valued. I look forward to the panel to clear the air on this for the last time. If there will ever be a last time.

The report below found sincere deficiencies in the 'quartering' of our foreign service. Those type of changes to secure them does not happen overnight. There is every reason to believe Ambassador Stevens and his security staff were under funded and under staffed. The complaint is that the State Department needed to 'answer the call' for more security. Quite frankly, that would not have been possible without an occupying force.

There has been an occupying force in Afghanistan and what good has that done?

During post management inspections (click here) conducted in 2012, OIG found that more than half of the posts inspected did not provide a safe area for employees working outside the main office buildings. Inspectors identified 11 posts out of 17 that needed additional safe areas on the compound, including 4 missions rated high or critical for political violence and/or terrorist threat. Inspectors also found that new embassy compounds constructed after the leddah attack did not include remote safe areas. OIG subsequently learned that the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) will implement the standards for all new embassy compound projects planned after FY 2012.

There is a law that established the "Accountability Review Board" and it is below. It was established under Title III of the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986 and modified in 2005. For a law to be in effect since 1986 and actively used all this time, the USA sure hasn't made much progress in establishing secure facilities for our foreign service. That most dramatic example of that is the report above.

(a) In general

(1) Convening a Board (click here)

Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), in any case of serious injury, loss of life, or significant destruction of property at, or related to, a United States Government mission abroad, and in any case of a serious breach of security involving intelligence activities of a foreign government directed at a United States Government mission abroad, which is covered by the provisions of this chapter (other than a facility or installation subject to the control of a United States area military commander), the Secretary of State shall convene an Accountability Review Board (in this subchapter referred to as the “Board”). The Secretary shall not convene a Board where the Secretary determines that a case clearly involves only causes unrelated to security.

The real question about all this is not whether or not we need boots on the ground or better facilities, it is whether or not we actually belong there. Now, if Congressman Issa wants to stress the need for better facilities before our foreign service is deployed, then the episode in Libya will illustrate that, but, if he plans to play politics with life after neglecting the need for secure facilities then there no need for the hearings on Wednesday.

On 27 Jan 2003, an Accountability Review Board was convened for the Murder of Laurence Foley, USAID Official in Amman, Jordan. Secretary Colin Powell appointed Ambassador Wesley Egan as Chair of the Board. He was assisted by Frederick Mecke, Timothy Deerr, George Wachtenheim, Charles S. Phalen, Jr., and by Executive Secretary Howard Perlow.

On 11 Mar 2005, the Accountability Review Board for theDecember 6, 2004 Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia was convened.  Secretary Condolezza Rice appointed David C. Fields, a retired U.S. ambassador, as Chair of the Board. He was assisted by Melvin Harrison, John Geoff O’Connell, Carolee Heileman, Robert Benedetti and by the Executive Secretary to the Board, Mark Jackson.|

On 8 December 2005, Secretary Rice convened another Accountability Review Board to Examine the Circumstances of the Death of DS Special Agent Stephen Sullivan and Seven Security Contractors in September 2005 in Iraq.  She appointed Edward G. Lanpher, a retired U.S. Ambassador, as Chair of the Board. He was assisted by M. Bart Flaherty, Frederick Mecke, Mike Absher, Laurie Tracy and Executive Secretary to the Board, Robert A. Bradtke.

On May 2006  an Accountability Review Board To Examine the Circumstances of the Death of David E. Foy and Mr. Iftikhar Ahmed in March 2006, Karachi, Pakistan was convened. Secretary Rice appointed David C. Fields, a retired U.S. Ambassador, as Chair of the Board. He was assisted by Carolee Heileman, William Pope, Melvin Harrison, John Weber and the Executive Secretary to the Board, Hugo Carl Gettinger.

On 14 April 2008, Secretary Rice convened her fourth ARB, this time to Examine the Circumstances of the Death of John M. Granville and Abdelrahman Abees in Khartoum, Sudan in January 2008.  She appointed Michael W. Marine, a retired U.S. ambassador, as Chair of the Board. He was assisted by M. Bart Flaherty, Wayne S. Rychak, Lewis R. Atherton, Michael Pastirik and by Executive Secretary to the Board, Hugo Carl Gettinger.

On 22 October 2010, Secretary Clinton convened the first ARB during her tenure relating to the Death of Three DoD Personnel Assigned to the U.S. Embassy’s Office of Defense Representative Pakistan (ODRP) on February 3, 2010. She appointed Joseph Lake, a retired U.S. ambassador, as Chair of the Board. He was assisted by Robert Bryson, Lewis Atherton, Barbara Martin, Wayne Rychak and by the Executive Secretary to the Board, Linda Hartley.

We can add one more now. When is the US House and the US Senate going to finally realize there are needs within the State Department that continues to be neglected.

Sug said he's been running really well since the Florida Derby.

Ya, see. Among the best bloodlines and no pushing him. When he came into his own he was ready for the Derby. He wasn't pushed into the Derby, he proved himself to his trainer.

I am happy for them.

BY JIM FREER

SPECIAL TO THE MIAMI HERALD

Their names are (click here) Itsmyluckyday, Shanghai Bobby and Orb and racing publications have been calling them “the Big Three” in the build-up to Saturday’s $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park....

He earns his feedbag just fine.

He had plenty of run in him, too.

He ran his own race. He stayed in the track where he was comfortable and didn't run the sprinters race the leader set. He didn't run himself out, either. He took the outside and without missing a beat. He was going to win and all he needed was a straight away. He ran a great race.

He has been undefeated now since Florida.

The Kentucky Derby is important. It is the first star in the Triple Crown. It makes an impression on fans. It is a very important race. It was a great day.

He is not a flash in the pan thoroughbred. He has been running in all the right stake races with consistency and winning. He is reliable. He isn't delicate. 

Jason Collins isn't about gender, it is about football and the American masculine mystique.

Sacrilegious! 

Men will lose their love of football, their love of women and life in the USA will end as we know it. 

It is much more than a man stating he is comfortable in his own skin as many before him have done. It is about destroying the very nature of what supports the American Male Ego and whether or not marriages will disintegrate in large numbers.

The closet is much larger than any American has imagined. And what if it really is contagious?

What happens if Americans are revealed as being genetically predisposed to gayism. The entire market pressures will change and the world will come to an end.

This story appears in the May 6, 2013, issue of Sports Illustrated.

I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay. (click here)

I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, "I'm different." If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand.

My journey of self-discovery and self-acknowledgement began in my hometown of Los Angeles and has taken me through two state high school championships, the NCAA Final Four and the Elite Eight, and nine playoffs in 12 NBA seasons....

I take issue with the idea the Black Community discriminated against their own.

If Black America appears to be late in coming to the equality of gay members of the community it is because the white folks didn't notice.

If the idea this is the first understanding of the acknowledgement by a gay black man then it was grossly missed in content with in the communities themselves.

WATCH: Nevada Lawmaker Comes Out During Gay Marriage Debate (click here)
by EYDER PERALTA
April 24, 2013 2:46 PM
..."In a particularly emotional moment, Sen. Kelvin Atkinson, D-North Las Vegas, publicly declared for the first time that he is gay.
" 'I'm black. I'm gay,' Atkinson said in a trembling voice after describing his father's interracial re-marriage that would have been banned earlier in American history. 'I know this is the first time many of you have heard me say that I am a black, gay male.'
"Atkinson went on to rebut the argument that gay marriage threatens any other definition of marriage.""If this hurts your marriage, then your marriage was in trouble in the first place," Atkinson added....

I worked in Newark, New Jersey at one of the largest employers in the city, namely UMDNJ, and there was no discrimination, no cruelty, no gay bashing at all in our work environment with staff members openly gay. The African American community was completely accepting of the sexual orientation of their community members. They were all accepted and had good paying jobs. Some had relationships, some didn't.

The acceptance of the gay community member was well established in the black community a long time ago. There is no shame there.

I worked with a man by the name of Roosevelt. He was openly gay, had a lover, talked about their troubles, was African American, talked about his south migrated north experience and was excellent in his work ethic.

So, if Mr. Atkinson is the first member of the African American community that white American believes is the first outting of a gay community member, it is because of chronic oppression and ignorance about how wonderful the minority communities are in the USA.

When he spoke up, it was because his acknowledgement carried brevity to the subject, not because he felt a relief it was finally over. He spoke with purpose, not self reward.

You know, white America lives in their own creation of America. They really do. They are so out of touch with poverty, reality and the real condition of the country and it's minority communities they rather commit themselves to six foot under than actually realize many people live outside of the rewards of Wall Street. The reason African American suicide numbers aren't going up in the same proportion as white Americans is because 'they been there before.'

Buck up for god's sake. Hang around long enough to make your vote count to put people into office, like President Obama, that actually cares about all Americans without discrimination favoring Wall Street.

Be an American, not a coward.

There is the problem. This are statistics recorded on Wikipedia. The quality of the thoroughbred within the industry is very diminished compared to the earliest individuals such as Man'O'War. They are genetically compromised and the trainers are pushing them as hard as if they were not an inferior 'type' for racing.

The thoroughbred industry has to go back to the great farms of the past such as Clairborne and harvest DNA from sincere great horses. Not just the record winners. Bold Ruler was a lousy stakes horse but he produced Secretariat.

One of the foundation sires has been Princequillo. I sincerely believe his bloodline is gone from the modern day thoroughbred.

There are reasons for thoroughbred deaths, cardiac failure is considered to be among the most minor of occurrence in the industry. Sudden cardiac death has no recovery for the horse. I find it most curious that a minority cause of death should be so concentrated in a practice by one trainer.

It is impossible to push these horses that hard anymore. They might have 'good bone' so they stay sound, but, their heart and lungs just dont' have what it takes. The reason for that is the high use of drugs for generation after generation. The drug abuse in horse racing created a Superhorse that was not genetically capable of dominating 'the win.' There is a lot of junk in the breed lines. A lot. The industry has to start over and pushing a two and three year old thoroughbred, when they don't reach maturity until the age of five, past their capacity isn't helping at all.

The reason two year olds are started is because of the cost of maintaining them. In the day of horses like Man'O'War, a horse was genetically capable of running a distance without demise at two. Decades later with multiple generations of race horses within a decade the breed has been ruined. To run these horses at that age is not only cruel, it is leading the end of the industry.

Thoroughbred racing needs to redefine itself, if at this point it can.

Breeding

There has been a lot of debate since 2006 about how sound the Thoroughbred is today compared to the 1960s and earlier. The only real data even remotely pertaining to the subject involves the average number of starts per horse, which The Jockey Club started tracking in 1950.

Year	Avg. Starts	Starts	Runners
2010	6.11	417,192	68,235
2000	7.10	493,682	69,569
1990	7.94	712,494	89,716
1980	9.21	593,849	64,506
1970	10.22	488,326	47,778
1960	11.31	337,060	29,798
1950	10.91	244,343	22,388

Those who argue the Thoroughbred is unsound also point to the fact that horse races are run over shorter distances today. Monmouth Park Racetrack general manager Bob Kulina said long distance races disappeared across America because not enough horses entered to race.A prime example of a race that reduced its distance to keep drawing horses is the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Year	Distance
2010	1.25 Miles
2000	1.25 Miles
1990	1.25 Miles
1980	1.50 Miles
1970	2.00 Miles
1960	2.00 Miles
1950	2.00 Miles

Horse conformation, which is a visible outcome of breeding practices, clearly plays a significant role in injury.

Exercise rider Peter Shelton rides Kentucky Derby entrant Itsmyluckyday for a workout at Churchill Downs, in Louisville.

Riders get ready for their morning workouts at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

 Great White Pelicans play in the Dresden Zoo, eastern Germany.

Trickdogs (L-R): Pepper, Ben and Tom Tom pose with a German flag, a whistle, a board rading "Champions League" and a mini football during a press conference to promote the fair 'dog and pet' in Dortmund, western Germany.

This picture taken with a slow exposure shows seagulls flying in the sky over Rome, Italy.

A baby monkey, a lion cub and tiger cubs play at the Guaipo Manchurian Tiger Park in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China.

Tigers are endangered. It is a species President Putin seeks to protect from extinction. It would seem as though China intends to lend a hand.

Israel has every right to defend itself from potential of chemical warfare.

It has been known previous to any of the Israeli strikes Assad has asked Hezbollah to take part in retribution against the people of Syria from it's current positions in Lebanon. This is not about the sovereign nation of Lebanon, this is about the strong history and continuing relationship between Assad and Hezbollah in Lebanon. This is not new. Quite the contrary, Assad has a long established history of carrying out violence in Lebanon through acts by Hezbollah, including the death of a Prime Minister.

Published time: May 04, 2013 01:26 
Edited time: May 04, 2013 01:59

Israel has reportedly conducted (click here) an airstrike into Syrian territory this evening in a bid to halt the flow of arms out of that country, according to American officials who confirmed with both CNN and NBC News.

According to initial reports, Israeli warplanes were observed over Lebanese airspace, but there is no confirmation that any entered Syria’s.

According to CNN, US and Western intelligence agencies are reviewing classified data showing that Israel most likely conducted a strike in the Thursday-Friday time frame. Lebanon’s army website had  listed an unusual 16 flights by Israeli warplanes penetrating Lebanon's airspace from Thursday evening through Friday afternoon local time.

Anonymous US officials who spoke with NBC said they believed that the target struck by Israeli forces was a weapons shipment meant for Lebanon's Hezbollah, and was "related to" chemical weapons technology.

In Washington, an Israeli spokesman would not comment on the reports, but stated that the transfer of weapons to the Lebanese political party would not be tolerated....