There needs to be a global concensus this is hideous technology that will destroy our oceans.

I don't at all see this as an option for the world. There is no reason for it. We have a troposphere to protect and this is not the answer.

Escalating the use of carbon fuels is completely immoral, both from understanding a heating globe, the future of our children and leaving resources for them should their need arise.

Part of the immorality of the current status of our climate is the fact consumerism proved to be gluttons of carbon fuel. They had no reverence for it, still today. There have been viable alternatives since the time of the Great Inventors, Ford and Bell. Those inventors promoted the use of alternatives and perfecting them over hundred years ago. If that was accomplished with the advise of these great men carbon pollution would not even be an issue today. But, greed of a few took over the entire landscape of sanity and today the global community suffers at the hand of those same few.
 
May 30, 2013
By David Wethe

The oil field of the future is taking shape 2 miles undersea. (click here) As exploration crews search for new deposits at ever-greater depths offshore, the industry is grappling with the technical challenges of piping crude and natural gas through more than 10,000 feet of water. That’s spurring a drive to anchor production equipment directly to the seafloor, rather than placing it on expensive floating platforms that can be buffeted by powerful storms. 

Professors at the University of Houston (Texas), which this fall will launch a graduate program in subsea engineering, envision an underwater oil city overseen by swimming robots. “Subsea engineering is like a new frontier,” says Matthew Franchek, who’s heading the program. “We can at least walk on the moon. You’re not walking in subsea.”...

We cannot forget the enormous damage the BP Deepwater Horizon has caused and continues to cause. The ripple effect of that disaster will continue for at least the next thirty years for people and for at least a half century for the natural world. No different than Valdez. Nothing is the same yet.

I am quite confident the petroleum industry was using the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster as testing ground for Corexit as a way to maintain oil ruptures this deep at the bottom of the ocean. The industry literally sees the bottom of the ocean as a dumping ground for their mistakes, mismanagement and cost cutting; as they did the Gulf of Mexico.

June 21, 2013
By Margaret Cronin Fisk

Lawyers suing BP Plc (BP/) (click here) asked a federal judge in New Orleans to find that the company and its contractors acted with gross negligence in the April 2010 blowout of the Macondo well and the subsequent Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier will determine whether the London-based company or its contractors, Transocean Ltd. (RIG) and Halliburton Co. (HAL), acted with willful or wanton misconduct or reckless indifference, the legal requirement for establishing gross negligence. A ruling against BP could subject it to billions of dollars more in damages....

There is a very good chance this case will have to be appealed to a higher court for the victims to receive any justice at all. The judge, Carl Barbier found the government moratorium more damaging than the oil spill in any of his rulings. He never believed the realization these rigs weren't managed well and inspections lacked was an issue.  Somehow the economic damage by the moritorium was more devastating than any damage the oil spill could do. He is an amazing man. Water quality, air quality and the chance of cancer means little to him.

So, the point is the USA's petroleum interests are in direct conflict with a good outcome for Earth and it's populous. The deep sea oil drilling is adverse to life and the UNCLOS needs to include strict prohibitions to this technology until the world's populous needs the resources sometime in the distant future. The UN also needs to push for radification of all nations for UNCLOS.

Is USA produced steel worth it? By using Chinese steel the USA is inviting trade imbalances.

This is production by tonnes, not necessarily quality. We all know capitalism solves problems by minimizing costs. The problem with steel is that quality is a much a component to it's value as cost. The most likely cheapest steel has poorer quality.

I want to take a look. This list is from 2012 (click here).

ArcelorMittal is the largest steel producer in the world. It was ranked 70th in the Fortune 500 of 2012. It is headquartered in Luxembourg with 260,000 persons employed, of which 53% of those employees in Europe, 14% in North America and 16% in Asia.

I am sure I don't know as much as I should about the ArcelorMittal definition of sustainability, but, I sincerely believe they worry about the planet and the emissions of their company. They define themselves as a sustainable company. A very interesting word to describe a steel and mining company.

That said, besides poorer quality of Chinese steel due to unsophisticated processes and Third World manufacturing values, China has a lot of problems with pollution. Air pollution. Besides extremely high levels of NOX and SOX there are also problems with volatiles and radioactive air pollution. The CO2 component to Chinese steel is extremely high.

So, I am quite surprised USA Governors and Mayors are actually using Chinese steel, especially on the basis of CO2 emissions and employee health standards.

I am very surprised. In an era where the people of Bangladesh are dying for the production of USA clothing, our government is contracting for Chinese Steel? I am very surprised.

This article about ArcelorMittal makes a lot of sense when it comes to obtaining steel for production purposes. This steel was manufactured and used in production within France. It's transportation costs, especially that of fuel costs, was very low. The production plant used far less fuel to move the steel to the ship building plant and reduced it's global carbon footprint by enormous amounts.

Not only that, but, steel for a ship floating in the ocean is vital. A good paint job alone won't prevent deterioration of that steel. Strong steel to specification of it's use is vital.

One of the ten largest ships (click here) in the world recently made its maiden voyage, with the vessel’s 17 decks all made of ArcelorMittal steel supplied by the company’s site in Saint Nazaire. 

The MSC Preziosa, built by French company STX (les Chantiers de l’Atlantique) and owned by MSC – the world’s biggest ship-owners – weighs 141,303 tonnes.

ArcelorMittal’s Distribution Solutions business division supplied 1,000 tonnes of steel for the decks. One truck a day delivered the steel between our Saint Nazaire plant and the nearby STX premises. The plant produced the naval specification steel sheets, which have long been popular with maritime builders and suppliers worldwide.

The light, thin grades A and H36 in lengths 16,000mm and 20,000mm and thicknesses as low as 5, 6, 7 and 8mm were supplied for the MSC Preziosa....

The strength of any steel is based in it's CARBON content. The higher the carbon content the stronger the steel becomes when heated. Steel is GRADED according to that content. Different grades mean different uses and cost. There are basically four categories of steel; carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless and tool. Within each one of those categories are many grades of steel. Each grade is defined to specific characteristic and the steel has to match those characteristics.

The production of steel has a lot of technical information that would require a lot to explain it. But, bridge steels, especially suspension bridge steels have to exceed any doubt about their strength.

Before major infrastructure is reinforced and/or built any Governor or Mayor needs to pay attention to details. This is not simply passing on money. The 'VALUE' of the project lies in it's service to the taxpayer over time. So, if construction or repair of any major public works project is going to be repeated within five years due to poor quality materials and/or engineering and/or construction, then why bother doing it in the first place. Simply shut it down. 

Planned obsolescence for the 'idea' of increasing jobs year after year is not a viable economy. That sort of public works project will run treasuries into the negative range and taxpayers into the poor house. The quality of all the aspects of public works projects have to be scrutinized and valued for safety of the public and longevity of the structure.

If governors and mayors are allowing poor quality construction (substandard) to hold down immediate costs they are not then seeking high value within the project which is measured differently than a balance sheet.The balance sheet for any public works project is measured in 'taxpayer dollars' for the service of the project over time; it's lifetime. 

In other words if a project is immediately costing $100 million but will stand for 20 years the cost to taxpayer dollars is $5 million per year. If the longevity of the project can be extended to 25 years or 30 years due to higher quality materials and work the value to taxpayer dollars is now reduced depending on the increase in cost if any.

If higher quality materials means less maintenance, the value to taxpayer dollar is also reduced. The more maintenance public works structures require the larger the work force to keep up with the maintenance demands creating higher demands on state or local budgets. So, it needs to be done right.

USA manufactured steel is the most safe form of production with the best trained workers under tight standards.

The American Iron and Steel Institute’s Mission (click here) is to influence public policy, educate and shape public opinion in support of a strong, sustainable U.S. and North American steel industry committed to manufacturing products that meet society’s needs....

When states and cities have infrastructure projects and want the best for their citizens they need to seek USA manufactured steel before any other. In doing so they increase USA jobs in the USA, increase the manufacturing sector for Wall Street and reduce carbon emissions while protecting the lives of employees involved in this very dangerous form of manufacturing.

One thing never measured on a balance sheet at any level of government spending is the number of jobs it adds to USA's citizens, the quality of those jobs, the ability of the job to be sustainable and the return of income from those jobs to the USA Treasury.

See, if jobs are important enough to the treasuries of local, state and federal governments, then the return on investment by the government monies spent should be as important to any project.

Either Washington needs to get their heads screwed on straight about supporting the USA economy before it supports the Chinese economy, including the Chinese military or we desperately need to change those making the spending rules of these infrastructure projects. 

Chinese steel should be allowed in use of government infrastructure projects. Shame on everyone.

What is a healthy company? Unions have to define that to their employee memberships.

Employees need to understand where they fit in to the concept of a healthy company and why they are so valuable they demand good wages, reasonable work hours and quality of life. Quality of life is not simply for the stockholders, officers of the company or CEOs.

"Returns on Investment"

Stockholders invest monies into a company. There are all kinds of investments made by the 'managing interest' (CEOs, Board Officers, etc.). Some are capital investments and some NEED to be the well being of the people that produce their products or supply their services. 

A return on investment does not mean stockholders get all their invested monies back the first year they made the investment. When investors achieve high levels of return they can easily consider their interest returned and abandon their benevolent interest in the company. When investors abandon companies, they can deteriorate and jobs are lost. So, return on investment is important, but, it is never a place where all profit is appropriated. 

The longevity of any country's healthy economy is when companies provide good services and/or products along with good service to their employees with longevity.

Along with all these concepts there is the idea of sustainability. These are products and services benevolent to the entire picture including the future as well as the present. This is where issues of regulation and environmental responsibility become reality. 

But, the longevity of employment means many things, including pensions. Investments by the company for the comfort of their retired employees after many years of service. 

Guess what those pension monies do? They add stability to companies when they 'in turn' invest to provide an income to the pension fund. These are all tried and true standards that provide stability today and into the future. They are important concepts.  

Why pensions? Because the elderly and retired provide a huge dynamic to any economy, the promise of a country to quality of life and respect for aging and the longing for a quality aging. There should never be truncation of any of these values for the sake of profits. They are all doable and should be valued.

March 21, 2011
By Ken Favaro and Greg Rotz

For the past 20 years (click here) we have been working with the CEOs and CFOs of large, global public companies, helping them implement management approaches and capabilities, with the explicit objective of generating superior total shareholder returns (TSR). Total shareholder return is a measure of corporate performance. But as we shall see, it is also a system of management, grounded in a set of metrics and practices for running a company to maximize its value creation, over both the short term and the long haul....

...Primary TSR Metrics

These are the four primary metrics to use when managing for top-tier TSR.
1. Total shareholder return. This is the change in a company’s stock price for a given period, plus its free cash flow over the same period, as a percentage of the beginning stock price. For example, if a company has a stock price of US$100 at the beginning of a year, free cash flow of $3 during the year, and a stock price of $110 at the end of the year, its TSR for that year is 13 percent. TSR can be measured only for publicly traded companies because it requires observable stock prices.
In any given year, a company’s TSR doesn’t mean all that much. But when measured over time, it is the single best indicator of success. This is because it reflects how well a company has created long-term value in highly competitive capital, labor, and product markets — markets that are often very short-term-oriented (or that at least feel that way).

2. Free cash flow (from a shareholder perspective). This is the difference between earnings and retained earnings (sometimes called equity cash flow). At the company level, it is the portion of earnings paid out to investors. In a year when a company neither issues nor repurchases equity, free cash flow is simply the dividends paid to shareholders. At the operating level, it is the portion of an operating unit’s earnings that are available to be paid to investors after it takes care of all its other investment needs. In any year when an operating unit’s investment needs exceed its earnings, its free cash flow is negative.

3. Economic profit. This is the difference between earnings and the cost of invested capital for a given period of time. A business that is earning at least its cost of capital is generating positive economic profit; a business that is earning less than its cost of capital has negative economic profit, even if its earnings are positive. For example, if a company has $15 of earnings, a 10 percent cost of capital, and $100 of invested capital, its economic profit is $5 (15 minus 10 percent of 100). But if its earnings are only $8, it has $2 of economic loss (8 minus 10 percent of 100).

continued...

Wall Street has to comply with safety laws in other nations and other parts of the USA. It needs to have a conscience and when it doesn't the people have to.

The companies don't go out of business. They don't disappear. They pay good wages and provide safe work environments. Stockholders have a reason to be proud of their holdings and they will be in business for long time.

A union is people. People with employment in common. They aren't interested in losing their jobs or putting them at risk by excluding stockholders as an important part of their picture. They do know how to produce the product, produce it well and have a worry free life. A worry free life allows them to focus on work and not huge personal problems out of control because of impoverishment as with Walmart.

These are moral standards and where unions don't recognize the importance of them then they are at fault. The company consists of many levels of interest, but, they can't exist without their employees and employment should not be a revolving door or a graveyard regardless the country. 

Companies have attempted to replace employees at every turn, but, since 2008 they have learned when people don't work they don't sell their products. If products don't sell, there is no Wall Street.

June 22, 2013

A GLADSTONE union (click here) has claimed victory in what it says is a year-long fight with Bechtel, over testing and tagging on Curtis Island. 

On Thursday, a representative from the Electrical Trades Union visited an office on the APLNG site, and raised concerns about "non-compliant electrical material". 

ETU central Queensland organiser Craig Giddins said he proceeded to turn off all distribution boards, and other electrical items including computers.
"For about a year now, I've been asking Bechtel to comply with requirements (for testing and tagging) under the act - since Curtis Island is deemed a construction site," Mr Giddins said. 

"The wiring for a construction site needs to be tested and tagged very six months, but Bechtel in their wisdom decided to do it every 12 months. They decided they were above the law!" he said. 

Mr Giddins said he was satisfied Bechtel eventually complied with required testing and tagging on Thursday....

Let's see what Tort Reform and lack of regulation had done for Texas.

FEMA does not belong in West, Texas. It is not a natural disaster and just because this is Texas doesn't exempt it from statutes. I guess the State of Texas is going to have to take out a loan to rebuild West. 

Seriously. 

This is criminal liability. So, there is a lot that has to happen here including COMPLETE reform of the corrupt governing system in Texas. The state needs LEGISLATORS and not "Officials of Hubris."

I would never, ever back legislation in Washington, DC that supported this level of corruption in government. NEVER! 

The ONLY way this can be legislated federally is if there are statutes at the federal level that NEGLECT the dangers presented at this chemical plant and that is ABSOLUTELY not the case. There were laws to stop this, the problem is the owners of the facility never followed them. There are no records anywhere to prove the owners were vigilant and took every precaution.

Businesses like this have 'ODDS' no different than Las Vegas. Texas enforces safety in citizens lives by playing "The Odds." The people in West, Texas lost the gamble by their government in West, Texas. Now there is suppose to be a big payoff from all kinds of places in sympathy of piss poor government and corrupt legislation and regulation.

I don't think so.

People's lives are NOT valued enough in Texas. It shows. It is time there are huge changes in the way people value their own lives and the demands of their governments to value them, too.

Profits on the backs of the unfortunate is at an end in Texas. It is time to move into the modern era where human life is a precious commodity.

One of the strong suits of unions is safety in the workplace. I am quite sure there was no union affiliated with this tragedy, now was there.

This is ridiculous and ranks right up there with the BP refinery explosion, the explosions in Louisiana and the BP Deepwater Horizon. Hard working, decent and innocent people died. This country runs on hard working Americans. It is time it stopped! All of it!

June 22, 2013
By AP

WACO, Texas (AP) -- Officials of the small Texas town (click here) devastated by an April 17 fertilizer plant blast that killed 15 people has filed suit against the plant owner and supplier.
The lawsuit filed Friday seeks unspecified damages from plant owner Adair Grain and CF Industries, which supplied agricultural-grade ammonium nitrate toe the plant. A fire at the plant ignited the explosive chemical, flattening homes, schools and businesses and killing firefighters and other first-responders.
The lawsuit filed in state district court in Waco alleges Adair Grain was negligent in how it stored the chemical. It says CF Industries was liable for an inherently hazardous product.

Unattainable.

The problem with smokestacks in the USA is the refusal to change to alternative energy and/or build new facilities.

We have new C.A.F.E. (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards for automobiles. That is a good thing and long overdue.

But, the problem with smokestacks persist with no real sundowning in sight. 

Smokestacks are not like cars. There is no 'new model' on the market that moves the consumer to increase fuel efficiency or reduce emissions to create a 'planet friendly' outcome.

Smokestacks are major infrastructure investments. That is why President Obama insisted on funding for alternative energy efforts after he was elected. He thought it would fix this lethargic component to USA carbon emissions. It hasn't and it has been four years and lots of opportunity. There is only thing that is going to change this and it is regulation that forces this out of it's lethargic state. 

There are many, many smokestacks in the USA classified as "Unattainable." That means they are supplying a service BUT unable to comply to standards for cleaner air even under The Clean Air Act. Do the owners of these smokestacks care? Heck, no. So what if they spew tons of emissions every year. It doesn't matter if people are effected by the profiteers. To them they are providing the ONLY valuable service possible. This is nothing but Old Money holding onto their pathetic profits. 

It is unfortunate this level of action has to occur because for decades the federal government since The Clean Air Act has asked private industry to consider the changes they had to make. Asking and providing funding was not enough, so now we are at a climate impasse and we can't put it off any longer.

I am grateful President Obama is willing to move forward with these long overdue changes. He has been infinitely patient as have we all. It is time power pre-empted profiteers that do not care about people. They accept danger to life for profitability when it does not have to exist. 

Enough.

Trayvon Martin was not an eminent danger. He is dead because he was a perceived threat by Mr. Zimmerman. For some reason, probably media/social/political hubris (of which guns are), Mr. Zimmerman believed he was within his rights to follow Mr. Martin into a courtyard. 

It was within that courtyard, within a short distance of his Father's doorstep, Mr. Martin believed he was threatened. He either believed or knew his life was in danger. We don't know. He is dead. 

Did Mr. Zimmerman actually present himself to Mr. Martin as an eminent danger? I would think so. Mr. Martin knew he was being followed. I have been followed on occasion and it does not feel right. Instincts become aware of a disturbing set of facts and one begins to formulate a self-defense no matter what means that takes.

So, the circumstances to Mr. Martin's death are aggravated by the content in which it occurred. Mr. Martin gave no reason for Mr. Zimmerman to believe his life was in danger to bring about alarm to the follow him that proceeded to his death. There is no justification for Mr. Martin's death. Mr. Zimmerman did not know him, there was no personal identification of Mr. Martin in a way that would illustrate a history of any kind, this entire scenario is based in perception. That was the impetus. There was 'prejudice' to act, no solid facts, no reasonable behavior by Mr. Martin to bring about suspicions. 

Mr. Zimmerman did the right thing, he called the police. He did the wrong thing when he became the police. 

Citizens can carry whatever belief system they want about themselves and their world. But, what they can't do is carry out justice about their belief systems UNLESS the laws allow them to do so. The Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground laws have interesting names, but, they go too far. This is the result.

This case is going to have controversy regardless of the final decisions.

The very laws allowing the release of Mr. Zimmerman at the time of the killing are also on trial.

There are definitely issues of prejudice and race. And by prejudice there is a larger meaning. Can a person with  a gun prejudice the soon to be victim to? 

A gun is a powerful thing, are victims actually subjected to social prejudice when they are shot? What are those social prejudices and why do they exist? 

All those will be part of this trial. They are legitimate parts of this trial. The gun rights advocates want the right to define the use of their guns no matter what their prejudices might be. 

In other words, "I perceived that person as a threat (not even an eminent danger, but, a threat) to me and I shot them to end my perceived threat." 
Gun advocates believe they are perfectly justified in that point of view. It is a very dangerous point of view and provides power to overshadow sincere justice. The justice turns to gun violence and not laws. We will be creating a society where laws sincerely do not matter and are simply words on a page if our society has to be armed to live our lives.

There is a lot here and not all will apply to the trial in it's context, but, more in a social context and those implications on our country. I am quite confident this case is being show cased by the NRA no matter the outcome,

Here is something too cute for words. And they are future voters, too.

Good night.

See that, the current Governor brought in a good, hard working Mainer into the race when he proved how corrupt he was.

I hear the Governor PREFERS to be a US House Representative. He'll fit right in and Speaker Boner won't even know he is there.
 

Did you know this was coming? I had a suspicion this was coming. I betcha Mr. Snowden did, too.

The New York Times

Published: 21 June 2013 09:09 PM

Updated: 21 June 2013 09:09 PM

Edward Snowden, (click here) the former National Security Agency contractor whose leak of agency documents has set off a national debate over the proper limits of government surveillance, has been charged with violating the Espionage Act and stealing government property for disclosing classified information to The Guardian and The Washington Post, the Justice Department said Friday.

Each of the three charges unsealed Friday carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, for a total of 30 years. Snowden is likely to be indicted, and additional counts may well be added. In addition to the theft charge, the two charges under the Espionage Act include “unauthorized communication of national defense information” and “willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person.” Communications intelligence is the technical term for eavesdropping and other electronic intercepts....

This is oppression. Texas already has the highest pregnancy rate in the nation, now it will go higher.

Texas was the home of Roe v Wade. Democracy denied by the politicians of Texas. This new law will be litigable. It is unconstitutional. It harms women. So, like every other extremist move in the country, this has to go to the courts to be declared unconstitutional. 

In the meantime, women's lives are in the balance.

This is the trend with the Right Wing. Perhaps the Progressive caucuses should try it to see if the electorate likes it. It is a cheap trick for political ads. These events are photo ops and shows the willingness of the candidate to do what is unthinkable and no cronies are involved. So, it is a cheap trick and there are probably some Progressive caucuses that would benefit from conducting their own political grandstanding stunt. Who knows?

AUSTIN, Texas—A Texas House committee (click here) has approved new restrictions on abortions in the state, after cutting short an 11-hour hearing and denying hundreds of people the opportunity to testify against them.
House Affairs Committee Chairman Byron Cook held a perfunctory meeting Friday to approve all of the measures, with Republicans voting for the measures and Democrats opposing. The vote came after hundreds of abortion rights supporters packed a hearing Thursday until 3:30 a.m. Friday morning.
Opponents hoped to stall the measures, but Cook cut off public testimony saying it was becoming repetitive. Houston Democrat Jessica Farrar said in 20 years she'd never seen a chairman cut short testimony.
The proposed laws would limit what clinics and doctors can perform abortions, and ban them after 20 weeks instead of 24... 

In this picture to the left is Byron Cook. The best option and this is just my opinion, is to seek out his political funders and advertise their interest in backing him. I'm going to tell you why.

He won his district by 73%. He isn't worried about his government seat. He isn't worried at all and he should be as this measure is a grievous offense against women. But, due to his status as a rock solid candidate he acts as a front man for the entire Republican Party that might have a tight race or two.

Now, this is a really good place to start because it is tough territory, so everything here is down hill. But, there are women in his district that are going to be very unhappy with his oppress of them. It has to pointed out this is oppression. This is NOT a religious or moral issue, this is endangering a woman's life. These decisions are between a woman and her doctor. 

Mr. Cook does not expect to be confronted with any challenge, but, he needs to be. These are his donors from 2010. This is not a big war chest because no one can seek to challenge the man. Now, the word is challenge. 

Did you know when women run for office, they win? Women will vote for another woman before their husbands will vote for her. I thought I'd throw that out there.

2010 (click here)

Cook raised a total of $303,243 in 2010. Below are Cook's top 5 campaign contributors in the 2010 election

Bob Perry	$10,000
Valero Energy	$8,500
Texas Association of Realtors	$7,500
Harold Simmons	$6,000
NRG Energy	$6,000

I sincerely doubt the Texas Association of Realtors will be interested in funding another campaign if his polls show a CHALLENGE to his office based on the fact he thinks nothing of oppression of women. As a matter of fact they might even frown on the idea that he is the sledge hammer for the Republican's party when this is grandstanding for political gain while putting the lives of women at risk.

It is my strong suggestion the women of Texas that turned out in large numbers last night come together to do their own fundraising. A good place to start is a bake sale and work from there. 

I am quite confident there are very smart women in Texas to replace these wayward men. It is important they do. Why? Because I want to elect someone like Sandra Day O'Connor to the Presidency of the USA someday and I don't want to wait forever. 

You know, the State of Texas has some very nice, intelligent, strong and powerful women within it's borders. Women are great at being allies when it comes to what is important.

DO NOT IGNORE those folks that supported everyone at the hearing. Those folks will do fundraisers for the women THAT WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE in the lives of the women in Texas. 

So, it is my opinion, there is an entire network of very savvy women in Texas not yet organized to take down these wayward thinking men mired in Old Age values that victimize woman and prevent them from reaching their potential. A woman has to be alive to be successful. I suggest they get on with it. These men have proven to be incompetent.

"A House divided against itself can't stand." Abraham Lincoln. YES!!!!!!!!!!!

Turn up the volume!!!!!!!

It was a trillion dollar bill, Boner and we weren't even feeding the poor or supporting the Small Family Farm!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This time it is the pipeline that exploded in of all places, Louisiana, the best governed state in the unino.

Edward McAllister and Eileen Houlihan Reuters

12:25 p.m. CDT, June 18, 2013

(Reuters) - A major natural gas pipeline exploded (click here) on Tuesday in Washington Parish, Louisiana, destroying a mobile home and causing an evacuation of the area but no injuries were reported, local officials said.

The blast on the Florida Gas Transmission (FGT) pipeline, which transports gas from Texas to south Florida, sent a mushroom cloud into the sky and sparked a fire on the line, according to Lauren Ritchie, a spokeswoman for the Washington Parish sheriff's department....

Look, I am confident I have mentioned this before; the pipelines cannot and WILL NOT hold up to the Canadian CRUD.

There are different grades of OIL. The Canadian Crud is among the lowest grades of oil. It is thick and won't flow through pipelines.

This is the actual picture of the garbage Canada is selling.

Secondary Upgrading (click here)
In the Secondary Upgrading process (SUG), hydrogen is added to stabilize the hydrocarbon molecules. Impurities like sulphur and nitrogen are removed. The remaining different hydrocarbons: naptha, diesel and gas oil, are then blended to make a mixture called Synthetic Crude

Oil (SCO). The SCO is the product that is transported via pipelines to refineries across North America. 

Naphtha is a corrosive. The Canadian Oil Sands PROCESS requires the corrosive properties of naphtha to make the lousy stuff flow. Otherwise, the Canadian Tar Sands Crud couldn't flow through pipelines. The petroleum industry knows naphtha is corroding the pipelines. That is a given. They ain't that stupid, they simply don't care.

MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet)  Number: 888100004450 Version: 2.12

This material (click here) is considered hazardous by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200).

DANGER

Hazard Summary

Extremely flammable. Irritating to eyes and respiratory system. Affects central nervous system. Harmful or fatal if swallowed. Aspiration Hazard. 

Why in god's name would anyone want this traveling across this country?

Long-term exposure may cause effects to specific organs, such as to the liver, kidneys, blood, nervous system, and skin. Contains benzene, which can cause blood disease, including anemia and leukemia.

Target Organs: Skin, Central nervous system, Liver, Kidney, Blood 

Naphtha is highly organic. Naphtha is a mixture of many volatile hydrocarbons. 

Naphthalene is a Polycyclic Aromatic Compound. Each white dot in the molecule below is a hydrogen. It is those hydrogens that make this compound so organic and so very dangerous to a person's well being.

Naphtha has many forms as a compound extracted through the petroleum process. But, the ONE sincere characteristic of Naphtha are the hydrogens no matter the COMPOUND formula. 

When there is an oil spill these compounds are released into the environment. This is not a minor problem. In the case of the BP Deepwater Horizon, marine biologists have found newly born dolphins dead washed up on shore. The reason they were dead was because of birth defects caused while they were in utero. The females were exposed to these volatile compounds and it caused fatal birth defects.

There is no doubt the cancer rates will increase where people are exposed to petroleum compounds. That is a fact. Having these compounds traveling across the country was dangerous enough, BUT, now the Canadian Oil Crud not only contains these compounds they contain A LOT of these compounds that actually corrodes the pipeline itself. The increase in pipeline breaks and in this case explosion is very predictable.

The entire petroleum industry has gotten this desperate for OLD WORLD wealth. The petroleum industry does not have new products. All they have is their old products in differing forms because PEAK OIL has already occurred. This form of oil did not delay Peak Oil, it created a different one that is more dangerous than the first.

Remember how the deadly tornado took a jog to the southeast resulting in the deaths of professional meterologists?

There is now a way of tracking the frequency and CHANGE in tornado patterns. This is an interesting way to approach and I am grateful this is a focus now, BUT, the REASON for that jog is related to 'oscillation' within the troposphere itself.

This is an excellent tool. Pure genius.

June 19, 2013
By Liz Klimas

“Not surprisingly, (click here) the lion’s share of storms travel in a northeastern direction along with the prevailing winds (and carry F5 storms at double the rate as the other quadrants),” Nelson wrote on the blog. “I was interested in seeing just how great a proportion actually do. Beyond that, I was interested in seeing regional trends where historic storms have bucked that NE trend and traveled some other direction.”

Nelson said he got the idea from New York-based meteorologist Robert Staskowski who wrote about the  ”[carving] up the country into tornado warning zones.” These maps, Nelson told io9, are part of his effort to do just that — create tornado warning zones that have more educated input on the twister’s direction.

 

The Google (click here)

June 20, 2013
My Melissa Cronin
The Huffington Post

The longest day of 2013 (click here) is finally here -- but this year, it comes with a twist.
While the solstice in the northern hemisphere traditionally falls on June 21 -- and this year it will occur on that date at 1:04 a.m. EDT -- it will begin on Thursday, June 20, for parts of the western U.S., according to the website of the Clark Planetarium. The time of the solstice depends upon your position on Earth and, as a consequence, where you are in relation to the sun....

June 21, 2013
10:45 GMT (5:45 AM)
The Weather Channel Current Temperature Map

I think of the Summer Solstice as an inflection point. It is the highest degree of solar rays to reach the northern hemisphere.

The Summer Solstice is the point where 'direct' solar rays start to move to the southern hemisphere again. 

The Sun Rays Simulator (click here)

So, what does that mean exactly? Right? So what. Maybe a person needs better sun screen today.

The sun heats the planet. Sol heats Earth, but, it is not a passive heating. It happens due to the nature of Earth. There is no human life on Venus or Mars, but, only Earth. So it is safe for anyone to recognize the fact there is a unique quality about Earth that lends itself to life. That unique quality is Earth's ACTIVE INTERACTION with the solar rays. 

Now if you accept that reality. The reality that Earth actively interacts with the sun's solar rays, then today is significant.

Do you know where I currently live the sky starts to go from black to blue long before the sun comes up and when the sun sets about 9:30 PM, the sky doesn't move from blue to black for another hour and 45 minutes. Lots of light with a very short nighttime. The farmers like it. It makes their growing season different than those folks in Kansas. DAYLIGHT HOURS. See, the closer one measures 'daylight hours' to the North Pole, the land of the midnight sun, the more interesting it gets.

But, that isn't really my point. 

The point is Earth has unique qualities. Those qualities are it's ability to generate 'infrared' radiation of it's surface and (THIS IS THE BIG ONE) that infrared radiation is trapped by Greenhouse Gases (the thin blue line).

The Thin Blue Line (click here)

The thin line of Earth's atmosphere and the setting sun are featured in this image photographed by the crew of the International Space Station while space shuttle Atlantis on the STS-129 mission was docked with the station.

The Thin Blue Line is the ATMOSPHERE of Earth. The gaseous layer of Earth, the way I think about it. Earth's atmosphere is the ONE unique character that ALLOWS life to exist.

So, today the northern hemisphere has been 'heated' as much as it is going to for THIS YEAR in the northern traverse of the sun's direct solar rays. But, that  is not the end of the heating of the northern hemisphere this year. Now, the direct solar rays start to 'REHEAT' the same land and water it has already heated once this year. 

This was the highest temperatures from yesterday. The highest temperatures didn't happen at noon time sun.

June 21, 2013
0100 GMT (8:00 PM EST)
The Weather Channel Actual Highs Map

The reason the highest temperatures don't happen at noontime is because EARTH ITSELF emits infrared radiation that heats the atmosphere and that 'latency' doesn't end at noontime, it goes on the entire time Earth is exposed to sunshine. In my case, Earth continues to absorb sunshine and turn it into heat until 11:15 PM today. 

So, one of the realities of THIS INFLECTION POINT in the traverse of direct solar rays across the face of Earth is the unrelenting heating and REHEATING of the northern hemisphere from here on. From here on the northern hemisphere will REHEAT. Those temperatures in the map above will go higher. Until the hurricanes kick in. Then the temperatures will fall as the ocean warms instead. The land will then REHEAT again at the end of the 'physics cycle' and the next hurricane will do the same thing. 

What is oddly interesting to me is the degree tornadoes will continue to spawn over land because the water vapor to support hurricanes has moved to higher elevations / altitudes.

"Ya all have a better day now."

Oh, yeah. "Drill, babe, drill."

June 21, 2013
1130:18 z (6:30:18 AM EST0
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of north and west hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)

There are no signs of hurricane turbulence, but, there is a connection to equatorial water vapor into the center of the USA. If anyone has been paying attention to this blog, that statement will make sense. Basically, high potential for tornadoes.