Well kept secret.

February 18, 2015

Scientists (click here) believe they may have found the strongest natural material known to man, one that could be copied to make the cars, boats and planes of the future - the teeth of the humble limpet.

Researchers at the University of Portsmouth examined the mechanics of limpet teeth by pulling them apart all the way down to the level of the atom. They found the teeth of the snail-like creatures, common to shorelines and rock pools around the world, is potentially stronger than what was previously thought to be the strongest biological material, the silk of a spider.

Scientists believe the structure could be reproduced in high-performance engineering, such as racing cars and in boat hulls.

"Nature is a wonderful source of inspiration for structures that have excellent mechanical properties," said Professor Asa Barber, who led the study....

Previous to this investigation of Limpet teeth, the strongest design in nature was spider silk. The picture to the right are the spinnerets of a spider as they produce silk. And of course, silk is a protein.

By Tom Harris
...Scientists (click here) don't know exactly how spiders form silk, but they do have a basic idea of the spinning process. Spiders have special glands that secrete silk proteins (made up of chains of amino acids), which are dissolved in a water-based solution. The spider pushes the liquid solution through long ducts, leading to microscopic spigots on the spider's spinnerets. Spiders typically have two or three spinneret pairs, located at the rear of the abdomen....

Now we know for sure, Russians is having financial problems.

February 18, 2015

HELSINKI (AP) " Danish brewer Carlsberg (click here) says its profit nose-dived in the fourth quarter due to slumping sales in the key Russian and eastern European markets.
Net profit was 168 million kroner ($25.2 million), compared with 1.1 billion kroner in the same period last year.
The Copenhagen-based company said Wednesday that revenue fell to 14.3 billion kroner from 15.2 billion kroner a year ago.
Carlsberg expects sales in western Europe and Asia to continue develop positively, while currency devaluation both in Russia and Ukraine will put "significant pressure" on its performance this year.
The company owns a range of brands across the world, including Baltika Breweries in Russia....

Feeling the heat of "W," Jeb is his own man.

February 19, 2015

CHICAGO (AP) " Prospective White House (click here) candidate Jeb Bush plans to note he is different from his former president brother George W. Bush in a Chicago speech about U.S. foreign policy.
In excerpts released ahead of the midday speech, Bush answers a question he faces repeatedly in closed-door fundraisers as he marches toward an increasingly likely 2016 Republican presidential bid: What makes you different from your former president father and, more recently, brother, George W. Bush?
Bush says he's "lucky" to have a father, George H. W. Bush, and brother who have shaped America's foreign policy from the Oval Office, but recognizes that "my views will often be held up in comparison to theirs."
But Bush says he's his "own man," and that his views are shaped by his own thinking and experiences.

Jeb in Chicago? It must be like running against President Obama. Next thing you know he'll be in Hawaii.

Pre-emption is a real problem for the USA. The politics are toxic to this country and the lead up to another illegal invasion.

I'll tell you something. The war mongers still engaging their Dreamscape of "Let's kill Muslims," hate those people. They hate them because they can't get them to been to USA will. Why else kill them. Their response to the real world is exactly the same as those they hate. They have no answers to a continuing problem in Islam than kill everyone that don't comply to USA standards.

The reason the Ba'athists were still plotting to overthrow the governments in the Middle East is because they were ostracized and killed at the will of the USA military. 

One would think taking the USA out of the picture would be the best resolve to any strategy. One illegal war isn't enough, huh?

The USA has an obligation to support allies. End of discussion. 

Peter King did not say, "Don't fight Hitler." OMG.

There have been no snubs of Netanyahu. He continues to move into Palestinian territory, that is serious. That is not something a USA President wants from an Israeli Prime Minister.

There are conflicting reports coming out of Ukraine.

February 18, 2015
(Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (click here) said on Wednesday a ceasefire agreed between pro-Russian separatists and government troops in eastern Ukraine was almost entirely in place with the exception of the strategic town of Debaltseve.

"The ceasefire is being observed along practically the entire frontline and in a few regions there is a readiness - at least the militia announced it publicly - to withdraw heavy weapons. The exception is the Debaltseve 'cauldron'," Lavrov told a news conference....

In some reports there is vicious fighting in Debaltseve and in other reports, President Poroshenko has ordered the withdrawal of Ukraine troops.

It is a shame really. The fighting is in eastern Ukraine. These towns were wonderful and now they are rubble.  

There is still oil everywhere.

February 18, 2015
 
MOUNT CARBON, W.Va. - Fires burned (click here) for hours yesterday after a train carrying 109 tankers of crude oil derailed in a snowstorm alongside a West Virginia creek, sending fireballs into the sky and threatening the nearby water supply.
Hundreds of families were evacuated and two water treatment plants were shut down after dozens of the cars left the tracks and 19 caught fire Monday afternoon, creating shuddering explosions and intense heat....

This West Virginia disaster, no different than others, occurs in stages. The first stage is the naphtha that exploded. It burns off quickly, but, what is left behind is the oil. Oil burns and doesn't explode, so it's still burning.

The real question is when are the people of West Virginia going to have their water sources without pollution and contamination? 

If West Virginia Senators and House members want a real life challenge they need to pay attention to the people in West Virgina. 

Damn, usually when the press gets scared the Congress and White House bends to their will. What has gone "W"rong this time?

The Neocon Press has another two years before there is a Bush in office, you want to move on from your vocabulary problem of "ISIS?"

It is the same damn people, too. Amazing. I have to wonder how they celebrate President's Day.

February 18, 2015
By Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Italy pressed (click here) for swifter action Wednesday by the United Nations to find a political solution to Libya's rapidly deteriorating security situation.
Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni, speaking in Parliament, urged the world to "quicken its pace before it is too late."
Egypt this week launched airstrikes in neighboring Libya after the Islamic State group posted a video of the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians there.
Hours before a U.N. Security Council emergency meeting, Gentiloni said the United Nations must "double its efforts" to promote political dialogue among Libyans, who are divided among competing militias, Islamist factions and tribal rivalries....

The UN can begin by pointing out the average longevity of men is far shorter than women in Libya. But, who cares about that, let's just kill them all.

According to the latest WHO data published in April 2011 life expectancy in Libya is: Male 58.1, female 74.1 and total life expectancy is 65.1 which gives Libya a World Life Expectancy ranking of 136. You can see the top 20 causes of death data and rankings for Libya by clicking on the links below or select the full country health profile at the bottom of the page. 

The fact is obvious. Women don't carry guns. NATO doesn't have to beat ISIS because that is a cultural problem and killing them will only increase the problem. NATO has to defend Europe and I think they have that figured out.

February 18, 2015
By David Wroe
The military head of NATO (click here) has confirmed the alliance hopes Australia will remain in Afghanistan - including militarily - beyond the current withdrawal date of the end of 2016.
NATO military committee chairman General Knud Bartels has also told Fairfax Media in a wide-ranging interview that it will take "decades" to defeat Islamic extremism in the Middle East.
"Engaging ISIL and defeating ISIL and putting in place sustainable government institutions across the whole range of the [Middle East] area will take a long time," he said, using the acronym for the Islamic State terror group.
Asked to quantify it, he said "decades"....

The boots on the ground in Syria are being provided an opportunity to call in military air strikes. The tone of the self-righteous Neocon is always, "OMG, the President is an idiot and doesn't even know there is a war that has to be fought." They don't even read their own propaganda in the Wall Street Journal.

February 17, 2015
by Rob Crilly
  The US and Turkey (click here) have reached a tentative deal to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels, according to officials from both countries, amid reports that commanders will be given authority to call in air strikes.

The Pentagon has previously said it was planning to send more than 400 troops, including special forces, to work with opposition forces at sites outside Syria.

At the same time The Wall Street Journal reported that some rebels will be equipped with pick-up trucks modified with mounted machine guns as well as radios for calling in US airstrikes - an approach modelled on that used to successful effect by Kurdish forces in Kobane last month.

American and Turkish officials said an agreement on training fighters on Turkish soil would be signed within days....

There is no Halls of Congress they are on vacation.

The mixture is higher than 50/50 naphtha.

Why? Because it is winter in North Dakota and Canada and in order to have the consistency of the tar correct to flow into oil cars the producer had to add more and more and more naptha until it ran like water to be sure it would load for transportation.

New oil cars regardless of their valued purpose it's going to hold up to that degree of heat and/or force of explosion. There is no vehicle that is impervious to explosion with such chemicals. The problem is not the railroad, it is the manufacturer that loads a substance that is for the most part is naphtha and highly explosive. What I am wonder is, what did the temperature change between North Dakota and West Virginia do to the mixture as well as the oil cars. Expansion and contraction or vice versa. There was a leak somewhere.

No degree of modification will change the tragic outcomes to the oil from North Dakota.

The reason the Texas oil industry has only occasional mishaps like exploding refineries (BP) is because the oil is near the refineries.

I covered all this before. The reason the oil is coming to ports in Texas is because if it is shipped internationally as everyone knows it will for tax advantages. So the idea the tar sands oil. which is 50/50 naphtha, will ever be modified enough to be safe is nonsense. It is a highly explosive mixture and is not crude oil. Not even close. Molecularly they are two different compounds. 

I know this stuff better than I know my own name. This explosion problem is a long term problem so long as the oil is being transported across the country, be it rails or otherwise. This is highly explosive stuff and Trans Canada wants to leverage taxes in their favor before they ship the lousy junk by tanker to the rest of the world.  

This is a long term problem as long as the federal government allows this to happen and no one in Congress is going to do anything about it. The US Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration has to stop the cross country movement of oil from Canada. This is Canadian oil that needs a Canadian solution.

I don't find it at all reasonable to smile with moments of hope that the folks in ND will modify the mixture as if nothing is ever going to happen again. It will happen again and again. This is a volatile mixture and is made to travel over thousands of miles to leverage taxes. This Canadian product is nonsense and a burden to the USA. The clean up costs from any of these explosions needs to be sent to TransCanada to pay for the damages they are causing to US railroads as well as emergency services and clean up and repairs and inspections. 

That distance on the map from ND to Texas is as the crow flies, that is not where the rails are running. The longer the distance from extraction to refinery INCREASE the opportunity for disaster. It won't change.

The Obama White House has to end this circus and forbid the Naphtha laden oil in the country. 

Naphtha is an explosive chemical. 

Chemical Stability: (click here) coniditions to avoid aire and explosion hazards are serious when this product is exposed to heat or flame. Keep away from heat, sparks or open flame.

Does anyone ever stop to realize how completely stupid that statement is in relation to safety? To prevent tragedy with these chemicals one has to be able to predict SPARKS. Right.

Why did the BP Deepwater Horizon occur? Because the petroleum industry has OCD in regard to safety? Heck no. The only OCD the petroleum industry has is making money. 

The oil industry doesn't even play the odds with safety. They completely disregard it. BP had an oil refinery explosion killing employees. A few years later the BP Deepwater Horizon exploded at it's well head.

This is a successful company? No. It is one that has a product worth incredible amounts of money to cover up all the mistakes, injuries and deaths.

...Fatalities (click here) for the industry jumped from 112 in 2011 to 138 in 2012, a 23 percent increase and the largest number of deaths of oil and gas workers since the current data series for the BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) began in 2003. The bureau reported an oil and gas fatality rate of 24.2 deaths per 100,000 workers. That's higher than the 21.2 reported by the notoriously dangerous agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector...

And if this impresses anyone as tragedy and an industry out of control, the rates in the North Sea is worse. Now, an industry that sees paying life insurance to families as an operating expense has little respect for any safety at all. The cities along the transportation routes can forget the idea tragedy will never happen. It will happen and no different than with the BP disaster, the federal laws will enforce payment for the damage, but, also as with the BP Disaster the USA laws become meaningless to these companies as they play and play with the legal system.

In order to end the danger to any American city, the oil needs to be refined near it's origins. That goes for North Dakota, too. There should be a law which prohibits long distance transportation of chemicals including oil, methane of any other by product of oil refineries. 

When this explosion happened and killed those people, I guarantee you the company had no idea what the report was stating as the problem. The CEO simply paid fines, insurance policies and said, "So, we need new heat exchangers, right?" 

This is an industry that hires USA inspectors so there are less inspectors to make their rounds. There is no other reason why the petroleum industry hires USA inspectors into their employ. If the petroleum industry actually hired inspectors to better safety margins and maintain their rigs to the highest standard possible, I'd think it was great. But, that isn't why they hire them. 

They hire them out of the government to minimize the inspections. Maintaining a rig in perfect condition is too expensive and requires time. It slows down the drilling if repairs are necessary. Why was the CEO from BP on the Deepwater Horizon? To check the inspection logs? Heck, no. He was there to push the drilling regardless of whatever safety margins were breached. 

 

Heck, Boston, 95 inches of snow is interesting, but. northwest lower Michigan had 244 inches (over 20 feet) by the end of the season about the time everyone had to send in their taxes on April 15, 2015. See what you have to look forward to yet.

We are having a milder winter this year. This was the first year long time residents can remember there was no snow on Christmas. The entire month of December was green.

Yep. 

Oh, yeah, the 244 inches is twice the norm. 

As if the snow wasn't enough, spring came and the flooding was a disaster to an entire neighborhood near the river.

More of the police state.

This was written in an e-mail today to me from an older white guy.

" ...Right now,anyone that resists arrest is in for a bad day! I am all yes sir and no sir."

The subject line of the e-mail was "Grins a plenty." People are afraid of the police and are developing behaviors to reduce their risk of death.

February 17, 2015
By Olivia Laughland

About 10 years ago, (click here) Antonio Zambrano-Montes arrived in Pasco, Washington, in pursuit of what his family simply describes as “a better future”. He left behind a village in the municipality of De Aquila in the southern Mexican state of Michoacan. It was reportedly a place with no roads and no shops to buy clothes, where residents would travel by horse and cart to the next town to buy basic provisions and most worked as farm labourers.
He brought with him his wife and two daughters to the city of around 70, 000 people, in America’s north-west....

The 35-year-old Washington orchard worker who was born in Mexico was shot dead at 5pm on Tuesday after he was found throwing rocks – one described as "softball sized" – at vehicles on a busy intersection in Pasco. Police said that after "low-level force" failed to bring him under control and the deployment of a Taser had "no effect", officers fired on the suspect after his "threatening behaviour" continued.

The Administrative Procedure Act

It is Texas. It is because the Republicans are letting Homeland Security fall into dissolution.

..."arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with the law."

There is only one way to end the Executive Authority through the courts. What the Republicans are doing, as well as this judge, is nothing short of bloodless coup against the US Constitution.

February 17, 2015
By Jonathan H. Adler

...Although (click here) the court sided with the states, the court did not declare the substance of the policy itself unlawful — at least not yet.  According to the lengthy ruling by Judge Andrew Hanen, the administration failed to comply with the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act.... 

Moving against the APA is gutting the powers of the Executive Branch. Texas has radical courts, that is already known. When looking across the spectrum of Republican politics, it is the Texas legislature, governor and judiciary that becomes creative with words to attempt to undo the federal laws passed under the Obama's Legislature.

The US House is assuming it can be the Executive Branch. It is carrying out legislation that is unconstitutional to take away power from the Executive Branch, including addressing Congress by foreign dignitaries. It is a US House lead coup. There is no other word for it.  

Arbitrary and capricious comes into play when the President pulls a rabbit out of his/her hat. The executive order comes out of nowhere and creates law that is a surprise. What would be a good example? Let's say the President hates dogs and orders the country to remove dogs to shelters for euthanasia. That is how out of line the Congress and this Texas judge has acted to destroy Executive Branch authority.

February 17, 2015
By Michael A. Memoli and Lisa Mascaro
 
After six weeks in session and 139 roll call votes (click here) in a House and Senate that feature some of the largest Republican majorities in generations, one of the most telling statistics from the new Congress is this: President Obama's veto threats outnumber the bills Congress has been able to send him.
When Republicans swept into power last November, they promised a new era of productivity and discipline that would break four years of gridlock. "America's New Congress," they called it.
But far from striking a bold contrast with the last two terms of stalemate, congressional Republicans have quickly run into familiar obstacles, including partisan paralysis and party infighting.
Friday, as members of Congress rushed to leave town on a bitterly cold morning, Republicans celebrated their most visible accomplishment to date: sending the Keystone XL pipeline bill to Obama's desk for his expected veto....

There are several articles in the country today about the complete break down of the federal government. This Congress is extraordinarily adverse to governing. 

The Republicans pander to their financial backers. That is a fact. The Kochs are purchasing the services of the House and Senate. It is written all over the stalemate of the Legislative and Executive Branches.

It doesn't matter if the President is including health care and education in his Executive Order. It is the TRADITION to treat the undocumented with care that most Americans have. The issue of health care is a public health problem. 

It is also not permitted by law to allow a child waste their lives in a hollow existence. The USA has always educated the children of the undocumented simply because it provides a better understanding of this country. The best example was the previous Executive Order allowing room for the "Dreamers." The Dreamers were born or brought to the USA at a very early age and have grown up within the USA and educated here. The standard of 'caring' for the Undocumented and their children has been status quo for decades.

The country's health is determined by individual participation in health care and vaccines. This is nothing the President is doing out of the ordinary. Currently there is a measles outbreak as well as other communicable diseases, because, American parents opted out of vaccines. It is in the best interest of the country to vaccinate and treat disease with anyone in our borders. 

This is a legal definition of "public health." This is listed on WHO, but, it is a standard and not an opinion.

Public health (click here) refers to all organized measures (whether public or private) to prevent disease, promote health, and prolong life among the population as a whole. Its activities aim to provide conditions in which people can be healthy and focus on entire populations, not on individual patients or diseases. Thus, public health is concerned with the total system and not only the eradication of a particular disease. The three main public health functions are:...

Public Schools:

...“There is a compact (click here) that exists between a community and its public school. It is a promise that the school will teach every child that passes through its doors—poor children, affluent children, children with disabilities and children who show great academic promise. The common public school is required to teach the easy to teach and the difficult to teach. The common public school is there for the student with strong parent advocates and for the child who is, for all practical purposes, alone....

The nature of the work of the Undocumented enters into the school attendance of their children. The Undocumented workers are in the field very long hours, leaving the child(ren) home without supervision during that time. 

If the USA were to place Social Service workers in these circumstances the children would be viewed as neglected. The neglected children would be placed in Foster homes. Once in Foster homes the children would be required to attend school anyway. Therefore, the children are left with their families and provided a public school education they would have received in Foster care.

It is unrealistic ICE would be able to find and deport every family in the USA. There has been testimony to that fact before federal Congressional committees. 

President Obama did not assign any status the Undocumented don't already enjoy as if a citizen. President Obama is upholding a long standing status quo while federal officers do necessary work that actually applies to national security. The undocumented, nor their children, have proven to be anything but a necessary element of our economy.

The Republicans just don't get it. They absolutely believe in the imperial Commander and Chief.

The Republicans are pure paid for politicians. They have no clue what reestablishing any war powers is all about, do they?

February 15, 2015
By Keith Laing
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) said Sunday (click here) that President Obama’s request for a war powers authorization against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is “convoluted.”
“It’s probably appropriate to have the debate. But the president hasn’t come forward with a plan or a strategy for us to have success,” McCain, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on NBC’s “Meet The Press.”“In his proposal, [Obama] left out [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad, which is really amazing in that we are training young Syrians to go in and fight against Bashar al-Assad,” McCain said. “It’s really kind of convoluted and I’d say call it an uncertain trumpet.”
Obama sent Congress draft legislation last week authorizing the use of military force against ISIS, asking lawmakers to vote specifically to approve a new war for the first time since the controversial 2002 Iraq War vote.
The proposed legislation limits Obama from the use of “enduring offensive ground combat operations." The request is widely seen as being deliberately vague language in an attempt to win over critics on the left wary of mission creep and those on the right who don’t want to restrict possible military action against ISIS....

Here is a hint:
 

Speaker Boner has a long standing problem with the Jewish in the USA.

He is probably still doing penance for the Jewish community. So, from one right wing extremist to another, the US Congress is available for election fodder.

November 2, 2011
By Jake Gibson
Rich Iott, (click here) who ran as a Republican for Ohio's 9th Congressional District seat last year against incumbent Democrat Marcy Kaptur, donated $2,400 to Boehner's campaign, reported Washington Jewish Week
"Clearly Boehner is so desperate for campaign cash or so removed from reality that he is accepting money from a Nazi enthusiast who insults the memory of six million Jews who died during the Holocaust and our nations' veterans who sacrificed to defend our freedom," said Jesse Ferguson of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
The National Jewish Democratic Council, a left-leaning group, said Boehner has a "responsibility to repudiate Iott's behavior by returning the money or, better yet, donating it to a Holocaust charity."
"Boehner-the most powerful Republican in America and the third person in the presidential succession line-owes American Jews and WWII veterans an explanation as to how he can continue to associate himself with Iott, given his widely-known disturbing behavior," said NJDC President and CEO David A. Harris....

The US rails aren't maintained in a safe manner.

Feb 16 (Reuters) - A CSX Corp train (click here) hauling crude derailed in West Virginia on Monday, setting at least two cars ablaze and forcing the evacuation of two nearby towns in the second significant oil-train incident in three days....

New York State is finding faulty switches and rail cars that can cause derailment. Was the rail inspected in West Virginia after the first derailment a few days ago? I already know the answer. If the tracks and the cars were inspected after the first derailment why were more trains allowed to continue?

December 29, 2014
By Brian Nearing

Trains were slowed on tracks last week (click here) near a large Albany County industrial park — where passing trains routinely carry dozens of tankers filled with flammable crude oil — after state and federal safety inspectors found a faulty switch that could have caused a derailment.
That switch, which feeds trains into the 550-acre Northeast Industrial Park, was examined Dec. 9 as part of the eighth statewide inspection of oil trains and tracks ordered by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in response to safety concerns about a surge of crude oil shipments through New York from the Bakken fields of North Dakota.
The switch is about three miles north of the village of Voorheesville and feeds trains into the park, which itself contains about 15 miles of tracks....

Building another pipeline isn't going to stop this. Building another pipeline only opens up more oil traveling across the country, not less. These rails will have oil on them anyway.

Turkey is having it's own domestic problems, but, it always does in one form or another.

Women on the protest argue that violence against women has become more acceptable in Turkey in recent years.

February 15, 2015
By Selin Girit

Thousands of women in Turkey (click here) have protested at the murder of a young woman who allegedly resisted an attempt by a bus driver to rape her.
Police discovered the burnt body of Ozgecan Aslan, 20, in a riverbed in the city of Mersin, on Friday.
They have arrested three men in connection with her death - a minibus driver, his father and a friend.
The Turkish president and prime minister called Ms Aslan's family to offer their condolences.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu promised the family to hunt those responsible for the crime and punish them.
Ms Aslan, a psychology student, was kidnapped on Wednesday on her way home.
The driver allegedly tried to rape her. She reportedly fought him off with pepper spray, but was then stabbed to death. She was also hit on the head with an iron pipe....

Egypt is building it's own defense force no different than Israel.

February 16, 2015

The Eyptian defence ministry has released video reportedly showing footage of air strikes on Islamic State (IS) targets in eastern Libya.

The strikes were in reprisal for the apparent beheading of a group of up to 21 Coptic Christians by Islamic State extremists.
Egypt says there will be more air attacks and is also demanding that the US-led coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq, extends its operations to Libya.

Last I remember Russia was assisting Egypt with preparedness. Egypt was the first country to confront the threat of Libya in the region.

The countries in the Middle East are best to deploy their own national defense strategy. 

AMMAN  –– Jordan on Monday condemned the cowardly execution of 21 Egyptian Copts   by Daesh terror group in Libya.

Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications and the Government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani said in a statement that Jordan strongly condemns the cowardly and brutal execution of 21 Egyptians, expressing condolences to the egyptian government and the families of the victims.

Momani called on the international community and regional countries, particularly Arabs and Muslims, to fight against the terror group.

On Sunday night, Daesh released a video showed the beheading of 21 Egyptians in Libya.
In response to the beheading of the Egyptians, Egypt's air force bombed Daesh targets inside Libya on Monday, marking an escalation in Cairo's battle against militants.

It was the first time Egypt confirmed launching air strikes against the group in neighbouring Libya, showing President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi is ready to expand his fight against Islamist militancy beyond Egypt's borders....

Daesh wants a global war. The deaths of hostages is sad enough, but, launching an invasion force is a completely different subject. The hostages, no matter where they are or came from were taken some time ago in plans made before they organized in Syria.

ROME: Italy would weigh participating in any military intervention to keep forces from the Islamic State group from advancing in Libya should diplomatic efforts fail, Italian officials said Monday.
Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti has said Rome could contribute 5,000 troops to lead such a military mission. But Pinotti and Premier Matteo Renzi on Monday sought to dispel the notion Italy already decided on military operations if launched under the auspices of the United Nations. Renzi told the private TG5 TV news "the proposal is to wait, so the U.N. Security Council can work with a bit more conviction on Libya" diplomatically.
U.N.-sponsored efforts must involve "all the players, the local tribes, African Union countries, Arab countries, the Europeans," Renzi said.
- See more at: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2015/Feb-16/287641-italy-to-weigh-military-action-in-libya-if-diplomacy-fails.ashx#sthash.ZrDloDQA.dpuf

February 16, 2015

Rome: Italy would weigh participating in any military intervention. (click here)...

Recently 2000 Libyan migrants landed in Italy to save their lives. The USA has a naval port in southern Italy The migrants alarmed Italy and they announced they would contribute 5000 troops to fight in Libya. That may be premature. Italy needs to weed through the migrants to be sure none are not linked to Daesh.

North Africa is a security issue and always has been a security issue for Europe. Within in the past couple weeks the eastern end of Mediterranean Sea has experienced high winds and waves to match. There have been ships that cannot sustain those conditions.

The Mediterranean Sea a closed body of water with only small inlets. That means when winds whip the sea it doesn't stop quickly. The energy is not dissipated across a larger body of water such an ocean. The shipping in the eastern area of this sea has experienced several collisions and problems with navigation.

The migrants came from Libya where the sea is calmer. 

would weigh participating in any military intervention - See more at: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2015/Feb-16/287641-italy-to-weigh-military-action-in-libya-if-diplomacy-fails.ashx#sthash.ZrDloDQA.dpuf

ROME: Italy would weigh participating in any military intervention to keep forces from the Islamic State group from advancing in Libya should diplomatic efforts fail, Italian officials said Monday.
Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti has said Rome could contribute 5,000 troops to lead such a military mission. But Pinotti and Premier Matteo Renzi on Monday sought to dispel the notion Italy already decided on military operations if launched under the auspices of the United Nations. Renzi told the private TG5 TV news "the proposal is to wait, so the U.N. Security Council can work with a bit more conviction on Libya" diplomatically.
U.N.-sponsored efforts must involve "all the players, the local tribes, African Union countries, Arab countries, the Europeans," Renzi said.
- See more at: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2015/Feb-16/287641-italy-to-weigh-military-action-in-libya-if-diplomacy-fails.ashx#sthash.ZrDloDQA.dpuf

ROME: Italy would weigh participating in any military intervention to keep forces from the Islamic State group from advancing in Libya should diplomatic efforts fail, Italian officials said Monday.
Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti has said Rome could contribute 5,000 troops to lead such a military mission. But Pinotti and Premier Matteo Renzi on Monday sought to dispel the notion Italy already decided on military operations if launched under the auspices of the United Nations. Renzi told the private TG5 TV news "the proposal is to wait, so the U.N. Security Council can work with a bit more conviction on Libya" diplomatically.
U.N.-sponsored efforts must involve "all the players, the local tribes, African Union countries, Arab countries, the Europeans," Renzi said.
- See more at: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2015/Feb-16/287641-italy-to-weigh-military-action-in-libya-if-diplomacy-fails.ashx#sthash.ZrDloDQA.dpuf

The Ukraine children are counting on their leaders.

President Poroshenko and President Putin need to work diligently to maintain the ceasefire and move toward peace. The children are already traumatized by the war and I am quite certain some are now orphans and some may be dead. 

February 15, 2015
By Dragana Jovanovic

The cease-fire (click here) that went in effect in eastern Ukraine today may quiet the guns, but the echoes of 10 months of bombardment will likely ring in the ears of the child survivors of the conflict for the rest of their lives.

Just hours before the fighting was supposed to stop, Ekaterina and her 8-year-old brother Ivan played on a slide and jungle gym in a central park of Donetsk with the sound of heavy bombardment raining down around them.

But the two children, who had only left their basement shelter Saturday for some sunshine and fresh air as their mother went to buy food, ignored the explosions.

Ekaterina, who is just 5 years old, even explained that she could tell the difference between mortars, rockets, and other artillery by the sounds they made as they hit the ground.

In 15 minutes, 25 explosions were heard, even though it was just hours before an internationally sponsored ceasefire was to go into effect between Ukrainians and Russian-backed separatists in a conflict that has killed about 5,500 people....

Every communication method possible to reach the global community was harnessed.

Third in a 5-part series 
The Long Melt: The Lingering Influence of ‘The Day After Tomorrow’

Michael Svoboda  —  November 5, 2014

...The film unquestionably (click here) increased the public profile of climate science. Included in a November 2004 Environment article by Anthony Leiserowitz (publisher of this site) was this finding: The Day After Tomorrow generated more than 10 times the news coverage of the 2001 IPCC report.”

This result seemed to confirm what some scientists, including Michael Molitor, the primary science consultant for Day After, had predicted: “This film could do more in helping us move in the right direction than all the scientific work and all the U.S. Congressional testimonies put together. . . . Nothing I have done in the twenty-three years of my climate change career may have a greater impact than this film.” Similarly, in an e-mail exchange, Stefan Rahmstorf (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research) said his review of Day After “is consistently amongst the most-viewed items on [his] home page....

Former President Al Gore still has a group to teach the public about the Climate Crisis. He used this Nobel Peace Prize funding and turned it back into the needed message to everyone. 

Scientists knew this would lead to a human tragedy and they persisted. The most meek and unlikely members of the scientific community became upset and outspoken.

The worst isn't even here. "Earth" doesn't conduct wars, it conducts climate. This is a planet, not an enemy. It is absolutely and completely wrong for any government to make scientists enemies of the state. There is nothing further from the truth.

Indulging political cronies caused this. No doubt in my mind. 

Former Vice President Gore started researching the scientific predictions over 20 years ago.

The Climate Reality Project's (click here) "24 Hours of Reality: The Dirty Weather Report" featured this documentary about the National Geographic Explorer's 2012 expedition to Antarctica. On board were leaders in Science, Arts, Business, Public Policy culture brought on this extraordinary voyage to an isolated continent at the farthest reaches of the earth so they may experience the drastic effects of Global Warming first hand.

"The Climate Reality Project" website (click here)

Everyone was told.

How does -60 degrees interpret in America? 

It caused the heater to click on every 10 to 15 minutes to maintain an air temperature in the house to 65 degrees F regardless of the weather proofing in use.

The house itself was as much an enemy as the snow and ice accumulated. The heat inside the house was being robbed from it's purpose as fast as it was generated. If the heater fell into disrepair the only option would be to leave and move to a heating center. The occupant would have succumbed to the cold that the house already had absorbed. There was a very small 'survival' quotient in that equation. There was nothing else that could be done to expand that survival quotient, except to step into the four wheel drive, turn on the heat and move to a place where heat was available.

Preparedness included running the 4 wheel drive to be sure there was an escape pathway to the highway and be sure the vehicle was capable of 'starting up' to maintain that escape route. 

At that point, snow plows were no longer employed to move the snow, but instead, road graders with plows under them proved effective. The road graders removed the ice as well as the snow providing fool proof routes to residents so long as they made it out of their driveways. Beyond that snowmobiles might prove effectiveness for a rescue in an emergency, however, the wind might prove to difficult to navigate the snowmobile successfully. 

Good luck.