Al Qaeda compliments of Bush and Cheney. Was it Petraeus that stated, "They are

By BEN HUBBARDJAN. 
25, 2014

...That split, (click here) in June, was a watershed moment in the vast decentralization of Al Qaeda and its ideology since 9/11. As the power of the central leadership created by Osama bin Laden has declined, the vanguard of violent jihad has been taken up by an array of groups in a dozen countries across Africa and the Middle East, attacking Western interests in Algeria and Libya, training bombers in Yemen, seizing territory in Syria and Iraq, and gunning down shoppers in Kenya....

France had the correct approach. They rely on intelligence and seek to dissolve criminal components in these numerous and small nations. They are returning to a presence in the region of 3000 troops.

The map to the right is Africa. The dark band is the Sahel region. 

By Press TV
January 26, 2014

French Defense Minister (click here) Jean-Yves Le Drian says the country is to expand its military presence in Africa’s Sahel region.

“This redeployment will cover about 3000 troops which we are about to reorganize and re-deploy all over the area,” Le Drian said in an address to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. on Friday.

The Sahel spans 5,400 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east.

“I wanted to say all this to you because we think that the intervention in Mali is not enough. We have to go beyond,” he added.

France began a major military intervention in its former colony in January, citing concerns about the growing influence of militants in northern Mali and a rebellion by Tuareg separatists that threatened the French-backed Malian government.

“We have to protect ourselves against different risks, new risks and especially, tomorrow, against the risk of a Libyan chaos,” said the French minister.

The map to the right is the concentration of world aid to the region. These people know suffering all too well. Engaging is war is something that comes natural to them for the violence within their impoverishment. Additional killing in the way of a full scale war will only 'institutionalize' death and it's accompanying economy.

Stability and suppression of violence is what these people need. They don't need more guns or The West to launch large scale plans of attack. The people are not the problem, the institution of the fight for resources is the problem. They need stability, not more chaos.

The defeat of so called al Qaeda does not require a world war. Not even close. I am sure we will be leaving Afghanistan.

The USA is best left out of the civil wars in Iraq and Syria. The body count would be higher if The West were involved. Far higher.

Assad has to give up the idea he will be able to maintain Syria in a Pre-Civil War status. It is too late for that. We has to stop killing the Sunni Muslims.

By Christopher R. Hill
Special to Gulf News
Published: 20:00 January 26, 2014

...What is happening in Anbar (click here) is nothing less than a fight for the existence of Iraq in its current borders. As much as Iraq’s Sunnis fear for their future, the Shiite majority, now overseeing the untested proposition of a Shiite-led Arab state, also have reasons to be fearful. Even paranoids have enemies. While Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki should devote more effort to negotiating and compromising with the Sunni community than he has to cracking down on its leaders and activists, he nonetheless has before him the daunting task of consolidating a Shiite-led Iraqi state with no natural allies in the rest of the Arab world....

...police and military checkpoints are beginning to look like border crossings, essentially cutting off Sunni-dominated Anbar from the rest of Iraq. And while those internal checkpoints are being reinforced, the actual border with Sunni-dominated parts of Syria is becoming more porous by the day....

The map to the left is not Iraq, it is Syria and the religious distribution within the country.

The war in Iraq was fought completely "W:"rong by the USA. The most brutal battles were in Al Anbar. Why would that be? 

The Middle East often divides between religion and/or ethnicity. The resistance in Al Anbar is long lived once the Shi'ites won elections within the central government. The USA fought the Iraq War as if the USA Civil War to unit it under one sovereignty.
When the USA entered Iraq is began to destabilize the entire region. One has to accept there were tensions throughout the region before realizing Iraq triggered the aspirations of generations within the Shi'ite and Kurdish people.

The map to the right is the language distribution in Syria. The most obvious division exists between Kurds and the rest of the nation.

Al Anbar is Sunni.as is the majority of Syria. There are Shi'ites along the coast of Syria where Russia has a port. The north of Iraq and Syria are Kurds. This unrest was boiling below the surface for a long time. It was going to happen. It was just a matter of time.

When the USA entered Iraq is completely changed the face of authority in the country. With that began the emergence of a shift in the 'lines in the sand.'

The more The West puts forward a military front in these nations, the stronger the opposition become and the more al Qaeda will be viewed as an important authority. Al Qaeda erupts when the people are struggling to win their fight. The people don't want war. They want peace, but, they are willing to fight for it on their terms.

The State of the Union won't be given by George W. Bush, but, the song struck me as common ground shared by many people around the world. Is there any question the changes in the USA during the time of that president has caused nearly intractable damage. 

Can the USA claim it is the same beacon of peace and prosperity as it was 15 years ago?

I admire President Obama for realizing the pain of the USA and a global community in sincere loss of the USA as it existed for so long. He has been fighting for the return of our great nation.

The nation has been able to identify problems that were never discussed in past Executive Branch administrations. Even, Former President Clinton wasn't willing to discuss issues such as income inequality. He came into office to recover the economy. He had very little to work with ir from the previous four decades of Republican rule of our economy. If Former President Clinton ever stated, "I am going to return economic viability of the Lower Middle Class, but, for cryin' out loud there is little here that is going to be upward mobility," it would have deadlocked the Republicans in Congress to cause greater pain to the people of the nation during his presidency. Instead, there were more millionaires in the USA during the Clinton presidency than ever imagined and those millionaires hired other Americans.

I found this graph interesting. It is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Harry S. Truman - 1945 thru 1953

Dwight D. Eisenhower - 1953 thru 1961

John F. Kennedy - 1961 thru 1963

Lyndon B. Johnson - 1963 thru 1969

The US unemployment rate was fairly static during these years. 

Richard M. Nixon - 1969 thru 1974 

It at the beginning of this presidency and the end of the Johnson presidency a new reality was beginning to emerge. Job losses. Not worker unemployment, but, job losses.

Gerald R. Ford - 1974 thru 1977

Jimmy Carter - 1977 thru 1981

Ronald Reagan - 1981 thru 1989

George H. W. Bush - 1989 thru 1993

At the end of the Bush presidency a new trend in the American worker erupted. The words Discouraged Workers, Marginally Attached Workers and the chronic Part Time Worker with multiple jobs.

William J. Clinton 1993 thru 2001

The US unemployment rate dropped continually across all sectors during these years .

George H. W. Bush - 2001 thru 2009

 The US unemployment began to creep up again and started an old pattern in all sectors.

Barak Obama - 2009 to present

2008 hit and the unemployment rate across all sectors spiked, it has been dropping ever since.

It is Sunday Night

 "State Of The Union" by Rise Against (click here)

If we're the flagship of peace and prosperity
We're taking on water and about to fuckin' sink
No one seems to notice, no one even blinks
The crew all left the passengers to die under the sea
Countdown, to the very end,
Equality, an invitation that we wont extend
Ready aim, pull the trigger now,
In time you firmly secure your place in hell
State of the union address,
Reads war torn country still a mess
The words: power, death, and distorted truth
Are read between the lines of the red, white, and blue

 

Countdown, to the very end,
Equality, an invitation that we wont extend
Ready aim, pull the trigger now,
In time you firmly secure your place in hell
Your place in hell

Your place in hell

'Guilty' is what our graves will read,
No years, no family, we did
Nothing (nothing) to stop the murder of
A people just like us

Holy smokes, Michigan actually beat Michigan State. That is earth shaking.

By LARRY LAGE

AP Sports Writer

January 25, 2014 

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Nik Stauskas (click here) made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3:12 left and finished with 19 points and freshman Derrick Walton Jr. scored a season-high 19, lifting No. 21 Michigan to an 80-75 win over No. 3 Michigan State on Saturday night to remain the only Big Ten team without a conference loss.

The Wolverines (15-4, 7-0 Big Ten) went on a 10-0 run late in the game to take control and held on to win for just the second time in 15 games at the Breslin Center.

The Spartans (18-2, 7-1) had won 11 straight since losing to North Carolina at home.

Michigan State’s Gary Harris scored a career-high 27 points and didn’t get much help offensively from his team that was without two of its best players.

Last time I saw these two play, Michigan had a good game, but, they ran it all in the first quarter. Their endurance caused their loss. They played hard the first quarter and the other three quarters were dominated by Michigan State. Well, congratulations, they have been working hard.

“It could have been bankruptcy, if something major had happened. . . . You can see your whole life and your whole family fall totally apart,” said Arnold Gamage, a lobsterman in Maine. His old monthly premium was $800. It’s now $480.

By Chelsea Conaboy 
Globe Staff
January 26, 2014

...Many who struggled (click here) without insurance are getting it. Others with poor coverage have found better plans. Some whose policies cost a lot, yet covered little, have obtained more comprehensive coverage that — with government subsidies — often costs less.
 
About 3 million people have signed up for a private health plan through the online insurance exchanges, a senior US health official said Friday. More people are newly enrolled in Medicaid in states expanding that program, which provides coverage to people with low incomes....

...In New England, more than 91,000 people have signed up for private plans through the federal health law....

...More than 1 in 3 health plans sold in the state’s individual market had a deductible of $7,500 or higher, according to a 2011 analysis.

Many of those plans will be prohibited under the Affordable Care Act, which requires insurance to cover at least 60 percent of expected health care costs for a typical patient.

Gamage dropped his coverage early last year. With lobster prices low, he and his wife were forced to gamble on his heart.

“It could have been a nightmare,” he said. “It could have been bankruptcy, if something major had happened . . . You can see your whole life and your whole family fall totally apart.”...

Dennis Rodman needs to remain in the USA. His Passport needs to be pulled for his own good.

I am serious. One of the statements about his behavior in North Korea is that he was drinking too much. Well, guess what? The North Korean dictator is on a rampage.

Knock off Dennis. 

Published time: January 26, 2014 12:27
 
All blood relatives of North Korea’s (click here) erstwhile number two, who was executed a month ago, have apparently suffered the same fate, says the S. Korean Yonhap news agency.

Once all powerful, Jang Song-thaek was the ‘regent’ while Kim was still too young to govern after Kim Jong-il’s death. He was executed on December 12, 2013 at the age of 67, after making an alleged attempt to stage a military coup and dethrone his nephew.

Now Kim Jong-un is believed to have ordered the total elimination of his uncle’s biological relatives to demonstrate decisiveness and to clamp down on mutiny with an iron fist, “multiple” sources in Pyongyang told the Seoul-based Yonhap news agency....

I have just one question about the latest shooting in Maryland. What violent video games was this American playing?

Nearly all of the murderers in these circumstances have a violent game they play that dehumanizes their killing. 

In isolation these games appear to have no effect on the view of young adults about society. However, where that young person has the opportunity to carry out the violence while suffering from self-hatred, these games facilitate their actions. 

They are also sexualized from the point of view, young men tend to act in violent ways more often than do young women. As a rule these games are played by men and not women. These games tap right into the definition of  masculinity in the USA. I mean they aren't handing out flowers to folks, now are they? They don't attempt diplomacy in a suit at a table of strategic language and contract. This is about the masculinity of guns and a superior meaning of their use. 

These games don't portray that guns are misused in our society at all. 

Then enter stage right Smith and Wesson objecting to microstamping and one has to wonder how many guns are actually used for the purpose of self-defense and sport in the USA. Sports hunting is on the decline, but, the sale of guns are astronomical to that reality. 

"Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.

Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is life, fight for it."

-- Mother Teresa

The slaughter of dolphins in Japan is NOT a traditional culture.

These are motor boats. There is nothing traditional about motor boats. Tradition enters into an fishing when the 'chance' of catching a marine mammal equates to when it was done long ago. 

Besides that not all these dolphins are used for consumption. There are many dolphins SOLD for a lot of money. That has absolutely NOTHING to do with tradition.

The United States is sensitive to Aboriginal Hunting. There is an Alaskan tribe that hunts their native waters for whale. They take what they will use in the village that year and use traditional methods for their hunt.

The American Native tribes don't use factory ships either. Everything is done by hand with the involvement of the entire village.

Associated Press 

July 3, 2012 

 

Alaska's three-member (click here) congressional delegation says the International Whaling Commission has extended catch limits of bowhead whales for Alaska Eskimo subsistence hunters.
The six-year extension was approved Tuesday at the IWC's annual meeting, which is taking place in Panama City this year. 

The current Alaska bowhead limits were set to expire at the end of the year.
A statement released by the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission says the IWC adopted catch limits allowing Alaska and Russia Native hunters to land as many as 336 bowhead whales from 2013 to 2018.

The AEWC says annual limits adopted are the same as they have been for the past 15 years. 

Under the current 2012 bowhead quotas, 75 strikes were distributed among 11 Alaska whaling villages and seven were allocated to Russia's Chukotka Natives.

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2012/07/03/2530035/whaling-commission-extends-quotas.html#storylink=cpy

Japan is practicing the slaughter of an endangered species. It has nothing to do with traditional anything.

Posted by Dan Gilgoff
National Geographic News in Ocean Views
January 20, 2014

...Most notably, newly installed U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy sounded a note of alarm,  tweeting: “Deeply concerned by inhumaneness of drive hunt dolphin killing. USG opposes drive hunt fisheries.”...

...But Barry says there is documentation (click here) showing the Taiji Whale Museum, which trains and brokers many dolphins from the Taiji hunt, has in the past sold Taiji dolphins abroad for as much as $150,000 each....

...The steady demand for Taiji dolphins from Japanese marine parks has prompted three Japanese conservation groups–Elsa Nature Conservancy, Help Animals, and Put an End to Animal Cruelty and Exploitation (PEACE)–to renew a call for the World Association Of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) to ensure that members of the Japan Association Of Zoos and Aquariums (JAZA) stop acquiring wild dolphins from the drive hunts....

How is it, there are two young men the same age, in the same community with cancer?

Are there others in other schools? What is the health department and local hospitals doing about this reality? It isn't as though the community can't have a moment of rejoice, but, I find the lack of emphasis on this unsettling.

Why do so many traditional Red States suppress the mortality rates of children? This is State Cancer Profiles by the National Cancer Institute. (click here)

Confidentiality? That is an excuse. Any statistical reporting does not contain confidential material.

There should be NO suppression of any health statistic by any state. It effects the entire picture of how well the nation is doing. The suppression is political and it hides the reality of the people. 

Just because there are less than 16 cases to report doesn't mean that is insignificant to the state AND local statistics. This is ridiculous. The politics suppresses THE COST of reporting and the reality that money needs to be spent in detecting and reversing any trend. This is outrageous.

The Red States are lazy and uncaring.

Senator Paul believes children are best born responsibly.

By Sam Youngman

syoungman@herald-leader.comJanuary 24, 2014 

During a Lexington luncheon Thursday, (click here) U.S. Sen. Rand Paul discussed the possibility of cutting government benefits for unwed mothers who have multiple children, though the potential Republican candidate for president in 2016 didn't directly endorse such a policy.

During a question-and-answer period following his remarks at a Commerce Lexington luncheon, Paul responded to a question about workforce development by including a warning about unwed young mothers doomed to poverty.

Although he said the job of preventing unplanned or unwanted pregnancies should be left to communities and families, Paul left open the possibility of a role for government.

"Maybe we have to say 'enough's enough, you shouldn't be having kids after a certain amount,'" Paul told the business group at one point...

...Speaking about high school students, Paul warned that "if you have children before you are married, the poverty rate is just astronomical."

"We need to be telling kids 'don't have kids until you're married,'" Paul said. "It's your best chance to get in the middle class is not to have kids. There's all kinds of ways, and we can debate ... but there are all kinds of ways to stop having kids."...

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/01/24/3050274/rand-paul-discusses-cutting-government.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/01/24/3050274/rand-paul-discusses-cutting-government.html#storylink=cp...

A real step forward, but, he is a Libertarian more than a Republican. Now, if we can call this "Planned Parenthood" it might actually discern responsibility by government to support the organization that has been on the forefront of preventing poverty as well.

Senator Paul should continue his message to young people and to the country. He should also call out the extremists that cause a problem of impoverishment through control of contraception. 

America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2013

Births to Unmarried Women (click here)

Increases in births to unmarried women are among the many changes in American society that have affected family structure and the economic security of children.⁴ Children of unmarried mothers are at higher risk of adverse birth outcomes such as low birthweight and infant mortality than are children of married mothers. They are also more likely to live in poverty than children of married mothers....

The nation needs to get on the same page regarding contraception. The rightwing had their chance to improve these statistics with extremist views for over a decade now. That stats have only gotten worse. The incidence of poverty has exploded since 2008. Children in the USA are living in poverty in large numbers. That directly effects their success in life and their ability for upward movement. I would encourage all political leaders to make the step forward Senator Paul has found.

Planned Parenthood is not evil and is very necessary to prevent poverty, especially among young women.

 A surge in unwed mothers (cick here) reported this week by the US Census causes a surge in snap judgements. But deep in the stats, the connection between marriage and parenting, it turns out, is a lot more complicated than the shocked pundits might have you believe.

By Stephanie Hanes, Correspondent / May 3, 2013 

Social critics are aflutter this week, with the release of a report from the US Census Bureau showing that 62 percent of new moms in their early 20s are unmarried. The report also found that 36 percent of all moms were unwed in 2011, up from 31 percent in 2005. In families with incomes of less than $10,000, that number goes up to 69 percent....

Interstate 94 reopened after wreckage cleared from pile-up (click here)

January 24, 2014|By Adam Sege and Rosemary Regina Sobol | Tribune reporters

 

Interstate 94 was reopened this morning after cranes and tow trucks worked through the night to untangle a crush of more than 40 semis and cars that collided in near blizzard conditions near Michigan City, Ind., killing three people, including a 65-year-old man from Chicago.

As many as 20 people were injured, some airlifted to hospitals.

 

Log Entry:

Dear Diary,

Yesterday, January 24, 2014 a rather unusual set of circumstances occurred while online. I was online a lot yesterday. I hadn't been the previous three days. 

I was on Blogger and finished an entry, turned off the computer and did some other activities. I returned to Blogger about 30 minutes or so later. I didn't expect to be typing this entry so I don't know the timing for sure. Blogger was down. I could not log on and I could not obtain the Home Page to Blogger.

I went to a help page at Google before attempting to discover whether it was a 'bug' on my personal computer. I discovered on the Help Page that at least two others whom were strangers to me were experiencing the same thing. It became obvious to me the problem was at Google. It is very rare that Blogger has any problems. There have been times when Google upgraded or changed the program, but, to have it down for no obvious reason is extremely rare.

So, while Blogger was down, I went to a gaming site; "World of Warcraft (WOW)." There are characters at the site others in the family had created years ago, probably at the beginnings of WOW. So, when bored and having nothing else to do I log on and enjoy the computer gaming found there. 

I was at WOW at least 30 minutes and here again I wasn't suspicious of anything so I wasn't really paying attention to time. I have alerts set up to bring my attention to other activities so I don't obsess over time online. And I am not so attached to any online activity or identity that I can't stop. That is not an issue for me. But, suddenly I was kicked offline at WOW. Still didn't think anything of it and attempted to sign on again. It wouldn't connect. I knew another player personally so I went to Facebook and left a message as I would expect her to be online to WOW about that time of day. This was the reply: "Yeah, something happened with the servers tonight and a bunch of them went down for a few min. I got kicked off for a while."

What I didn't explain to my friend was that the original interruption in online service at WOW was somewhat limited to the "realm" I was on. When I realized it was limited to that realm I changed to a different realm with a higher number of characters. Within a few minutes that realm went down. I was unable to long on, again. Service returned relatively quickly as per usual with WOW.

I ran scans on the computer and there was nothing there.

But, get this, the Dish Satellite Television had the settings changed today, January 25, 2014. I had to reset the program first by unplugging it and then looking through the menus to be sure they were correct after it rebooted. Some were, some weren't.

This computer is not connected to the television. The power is turned off to this computer as well as the wireless receiver when not in use for any length of time. There is no personal information anywhere on this computer of anyone. This computer doesn't use apps either, by choice, not capacity. I suppose if emails and saved information were hacked into a degree of familiarity could be discerned, but, specific information isn't there.

I don't think this online episode was a figment of my imagination. I have strong opinions I place on Blogger by using computers, but, it isn't always this one. Those opinions are about power in the world. By world I mean Earth and not a realm at WOW.

I sincerely believe this computer was being triangulated yesterday by 'an entity' using a stationary satellite.

Call me crazy, but, I have no intention of changing my point of view and criticism of those that I believe need it, including China who has no conscience about buying out USA companies that have been the cornerstone of this country's economy. China needs to develop it's Middle Class and internalize more of it's economy and THEN it and other nations such as India will actually be emerging economies. But, until then? They are nothing more than parasites to the USA economy. Get over it. And don't buy major US cities like Detroit. That is not developing the internal economies of that will result in emerging economies.

Emerging economies are like islands created in the oceans by volcanoes. They add territory to profits by companies. If China wants to buy Tesla automobiles that ADDS to the companies original investment. It is new territory for Tesla. Additional monies to come into the company. New money. Not simply recycled monies from the USA through outsourcing of jobs. Outsourcing limits the 'circulating money' in the global economy and doesn't increase profits through sales. Wall Street is currently devouring it's own investments to turn them into liquid assets. Liquid assets don't create jobs.

I happen to think China has more integrity than to destroy other nations' economies to have wealth. I sincerely believe China wants a Middle Class. It takes invention or purchasing franchises or building industries within the borders of a country to have a Middle Class with a good income from their jobs. There is a reality very few want to recall about China. It's space program, while a focus of national pride, was achieved through expertise of the USA, not discovered and built by the Chinese. That is a vulnerability of China's national security. China needs to develop it's brain trust and stop steeling it from others.

It wasn't necessarily Chinese hackers either. There are others with the same ability all over the world. I mean even the USA military is seeking criminals to pursue information that is not theirs to have. I know, I know, it is called spying. But, criminals? I don't think so. You mean to tell me the USA PsyOps has no idea about the thought processes of criminals? Really? That might even explain the willingness of the USA to use torture, drones and engage in wars without end.

End of entry. 

The ICZ (Intratropical Convergence Zone) is void of water vapor.

January 25, 2014
1630.19z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of north and west hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop - Thank you.)

The overriding presence of movement appears to be Jet Stream at this point. What is troubling is the vortex in the Atlantic offshore of Africa. It is incorporated into the Jet Stream. There is a significant water vapor at it's northern boundary. It may very well develop into a Superstorm.

There are telltale presence of the ICZ, but, the water vapor is gone. When the vortexes showed up in 2002 I was concerned about the jet stream as it was mostly undetectable. But, every few days there would be similar 'telling signs' of the Jet Stream if one was looking for it. I have records that detailed the jet stream at the time of the vortexes. It got really strange in it's global travel before the vortexes finally appeared. Two. One in the North Atlantic (North Atlantic Oscillation) and one in the North Pacific (Arctic Oscillation). If one knows anything about the oscillation phenomena of Earth, they never appear at the same time.

Hawaii might want to declare a state of emergency if it's tourism business is falling off due to storms.

The 'white foamy' appearance is aeration of ocean salt water. That degree of aeration of Pacific waters means it is really stirred up far into the ocean.

Spectators watch giant waves from the cliffside at Waimea Bay as high surf hits the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii, where a big-wave surfing competition was called off. 


Half Moon Bay, California: (click here) With a Pacific storm pushing big waves toward California, organisers of a contest at one of the world's most perilous surfing spots have told competitors to grab their boards and get ready.

Jeff Clark, director of the Mavericks event, set the contest for Friday after forecasters predicted that the mix of swell size and weather would make for waves with faces exceeding 12 metres.

Twenty-four of the world's best big wave surfers now have until then to make their way to the break a 0.8-kilometre off the coast near Half Moon Bay.
Two seasoned watermen have died there, including legendary big-wave rider Mark Foo from Hawaii in 1994....

...The huge swells are being generated by a powerful low pressure system in the central Pacific.

The same weather system that has delivered monster swells to Hawaii this week.

Some of the biggest waves to hit Hawaii in years began slamming onto shore on Wednesday, turning beachgoers into spectators as waves up to 12 metres tall crashed into idyllic getaways.

Waves up to 15 metres high were feared on the famous North Shore of Oahu and at other islands.

Beaches were closed across the island chain as the surge hit on Wednesday and Thursday.

Coastal roads and parking lots reportedly flooded as wind gusts up to 64 km/h whipped onlookers and tore fronds from palm trees. Officials urged surfers not to risk their lives to ride the violent surges....

The wave height is across the entire Pacific Ocean. The Marine Data (click here) of the central Pacific is unavailable. The other regions of the Pacific are quiet. It is a movement of wind that has raised the water height from the West Pacific completely across to the East Pacific. The velocity must be homogenous for the height to be this consistent across that body of water. Of course, these heights are in the upper layer of the Pacific. The floating 'beige sand' in the picture above is near shore water turbulence. It didn't come from Asia or the bottom of the Pacific.

The Jet Stream is carrying the turbulence. The water vapor is dropping across the planet that supports the vortexes. Below is the current snow fall map of the USA. There is far less snow that one would expect with such severe cold winds and storms.

The areas of the USA where snow has accumulated the drought has been relieved. The Mississippi and East of Mississippi have received tropical water vapor to relieve the drought. But, the Jet Stream is not carrying significant water vapor to cause rain storms in the west.

If the water vapor is significantly absent in the lower troposphere, there may be far less vortexes since they are water vapor dependent. 

Indonesia is receiving rain across the week with little to no wind expected. Australia is expecting another heat wave within a day or so. The last of the ships stuck in the Antarctica sea ice arrived at port a couple days ago.

Australia's climate map states they expect rain at or above the average. The southern hemisphere has less land mass than the northern hemisphere. They might be expecting reasonable temperatures as they move into autumn and winter.

The reason the Christi Administration addresses the monies from the federal government as if their own to distribute is because State Senator Barbara Buono used those issues as a wedge issue during the Governor's race. I suppose Christi could have set the record straight then, but, he didn't want to appear diminished in authority either. He also had some say in trying to prod the federal authority along, so perhaps he did have an interest in it however distant.

Blood Sport. I never liked it in our politics. I don't think it is good for the country. It demands citizens to be held at bay to understand the underpinnings of the American Political Games. It prevents citizens from their personal power to know facts, discern how government works and who indeed is telling the truth or even to discern what is in their best interest. If a politician is relying on his morality be that of the Ten Commandments, that same politician doesn't want the public in on the truth about their real morality.

New Jersey and New York does play blood sport. It is primarily focused on sex scandals and improprieties of power. The defense is always to deny those escaping realities to the public, but, inevitably the media has a strong position in carrying out the bloodletting at will. The New York Times was determined to rid the state of Governor Elliot Spitzer because Wall Street has their back and Spitzer didn't.

Am I naive of this reality and the power it carries? No. I just don't approve of it. 

Politics is a blood sport. (click here) President Obama is not, by temperament, a warrior. That's why he lost last week's debate. Obama is rational, deliberate and thoughtful. They are good things if you're a college professor. They're not if you're fighting a battle.

Democrats were enraged by Obama's performance. It was bloodless. He didn't show enough fight. Partisans expect their standard-bearer to be ruthless and aggressive. Especially if your opponent gets down and dirty, as Mitt Romney did. You're expected to do whatever it takes to win. Remember how Lloyd Bentsen humiliated Dan Quayle in the 1988 vice presidential debate ("Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy")?...