There are a couple of other things that came to mind...

..."Whiplash?" You've got to be joking. I won't see that film. Artists have to be beaten to perform to a higher standard. I take issue with that film. It has no place in reality and the mere idea that beatings should be an acceptable standard anywhere in the USA is outrageous.

And why were the animated shorts and full length films given to Disney. No other artist can compete with Disney and Pixar. But, there is talent other than Disney. The Disney animation is more sophisticated, but, it doesn't have the best story line. 

The Animated Short that won the Oscar was about the life of a cute little doggie and the fact he ate human food at the height of pleasure in his life. I don't consider any of that a good message. The name of the short was "Feast."

"The Dam Keeper" was the best animated film. It's technical cartoon is not as sophisticated and well polished as Disney, but, it's message was about bullies and friendship and heroic standards. It carried sympathy as it's leading emotion throughout the animation. When is the Academy of Arts and Science going to get real about the CONTENT of animation as well as the technical imagery?.

It's later.

The Academy Awards have yet to fail to disappoint me in some ways. I noticed the documentary by Barak Obama didn't even get a nomination, but, the one about Edward Snowden won tonight. Something about democracy?

I'd like to know from the Academy how Wes Anderson's film "The Grand Budapest Hotel" won every category that a director is responsible to bring to life, but, he didn't win for Film Director. How does that happen? It takes place during war and everything. It must be the fact it illustrates the sanity of society in spite of war. And there was an immigrant in the picture, too. They need to explain that. 

I wasn't surprised about Birdman. It is a rather specular film about a forty something former superhero that develops schizophrenia. The reason none of the actors or actresses didn't win is because they completely missed the fact the guy had a mental health problem. I didn't find it to be the best picture. It wasn't my first choice. Micheal Keaton was over cast for that film. He did it with one hand tied behind his back. It was not a challenging role for him. It was easy to tell. The film entertained about the meaning of life. 

The "Selma" music won an Oscar. The cast was disappointed and there were tears flowing in the audience after "Glory" was played. I need clarify something about this minority stuff. It is not going away. Our experience as a country with our minorities populations was rather violent. There are going to be repercussions of that for some time, especially given the fact no Caucasian unarmed man has ever been killed by police in NYC.

There are other countries that have minority populations. The way it is suppose to work is for society to become aware of their prejudices and then find a path forward to correct them. Without violence. Without hate. It should be as if the majority ethnicity of the country tripped up in realizing their laws victimized the minority ethnicity. It is suppose to be a corrective issue, not one of law enforcement.

Selma was a great film. There are many Americans that had no clue about the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Even if they saw the film, they would not a clue about the significance of that bridge. As a society we don't talk about minorities near enough. There is a large segment of the political theater in the Congress that wants to continue to deny there is a disparity of rights with the USA minority populations.

"Boyhood" was appropriately rewarded because the dedication of the cast to stay involved with this film over a decade is something to be rewarded. It is a good film. It covers a lot of ground. I could relate to some of the events in that film. Recognizing the dedication Boyhood took was the right thing to do.

"American Sniper" received an Oscar for sound editing or sound mixing. Something like that. Sorry, but, it was not a great film. 

Lady Gaga was magnificent in the tribute to the Sound of Music and Julie Andrews. 

There were two films with Alzheimer themes. I didn't see "Still Alice." I will though. Evidently, Glenn Campbell is in a treatment facility for the disease. It is a really lousy disease.

Alejandro Iñárritu found himself on the stage three times, it took the third time for Best Picture when he finally told the USA what a lousy deal the Undocumented are getting.

It was a good show. There had five gigantic bowling pins in the middle of the stage that moved around. I didn't get it. That instead of curtains? I thought they were strange. But, it was a good show and it is probably a record setter for the number of men on stage in their underwear.

The awards still made America proud. Snowden, Alzheimers, the strife African Americans still face and Mexican immigrants were all on stage tonight. And for that I thank everyone for being the people they are. They don't put themselves out front and center without important messages. Wes Anderson reminds us that even in war there is civility, love and victims. 

Until later.

...until later.

It's a bird! It's a boy! (click here)

It's the 2015 Academy Awards, where "Birdman" and "Boyhood" are widely considered the frontrunners for the best picture Oscar.
The two films go up against "The Grand Budapest Hotel," which tied with "Birdman" for the most nominations, nine, as well as "American Sniper" (which also earned Bradley Cooper his third straight nod for best actor), "The Imitation Game," "Selma," "Whiplash," and "The Theory of  Everything."

Federal funding for education is important, but, it does not allow the government the right to control the learning experience. 

The idea behind the federal funding of education is to bring additional monies to schools with low level budgets because the population provides for a disparity of local taxes.

Example: 

North Dakota has fewer people and students than California. So, the tax income to the state is far less than California. The federal government seeks to bring additional funding to states with smaller populations. The reason this was once a model for federal funding is because it is just as expensive to educate a child in North Dakota as in California. So, the federal treasury picks up the slack and allows equity in spending throughout each state.

Where the Secretary of Education becomes involved in learning is to target the problems states are having in educating their children. That is usually decided through standardized testing to exhibit how children are achieving in learning in school. Where there are problems in learning, the Secretary of Education has to act as a problem solver to bring better learning to these schools.

And standardized testing didn't occur whereby the children were educated to take the test. The standardized testing was a diagnostic tool to find where the problems existed. The ONLY standardized testing that actually were used for student performance were the college board tests; PSAT and SATs. Back in the day, we only took these tests once, not every month in our junior and senior year.

I always saw the multiple attempts at college board tests as cheating. I was astounded when my oldest son stated he wanted to take the test three times to better his scores. I told him I thought that was cheating. He said, "But, Mom everyone does that these days." Three times he took the college board tests. I couldn't believe it. Amazing.

We need a parent uprising and remove these tests from the hands of states.

Florida spends 45 days out of 180 taking standardized tests.

School year by state (click here). 

The legislature is trying to teach the students by interrupting the learning process frequently with testing. The teachers have no choice but to chronically teach to the test rather than having a teaching plan to cover the material needed by students. 

With 45 testing days per year there is a test every three teaching days. There is nothing else happening in those classrooms except teaching to the test. That is at least one test per week. This is crazy. There aren't report cards in Florida?

February 18, 2015
By Amy Sherman

...The Florida Badass Teachers Association, (click here) which is part of a national association that formed in recent years in an effort to fight back against testing, raised concerns about the tests as they planned to protest Bush’s Feb. 10 speech in Tallahassee.
Thomas James, an association spokesman and Miami-Dade history teacher, leveled many criticisms of Florida schools, including this one in a statement provided to the Miami Herald before Bush’s speech.
"Florida public school students have become little more than ‘test drones’ being bombarded with an array of standardized high stakes tests which eat up as much as 45 school days per year," James said.
James’ claim about the amount of days eaten up by tests caught our eye because it was more than double the number we heard from state legislative leaders in 2013 -- though Florida has made changes to tests since that time.
How many days a year do students actually take standardized tests....

This is crazy. The month of September is taken up by tests and then the tests start again in March and continue through May. That is five months of teaching with some interruption by District Testing that are not required by the state. When do these students receive their report cards and how are those grades determined?

In Maimi-Dade there is not even any month without testing. (click here) 

There are fifty state tests out of fifty-four annual tests and that doesn't include all the pre-college testing. Of those same tests thirteen are required by federal standards. 

I never had that kind of standardized testing. We had some testing, but, nothing like this. I worried about my grades that came home on my quarterly report card and we had a "Summer Vacation," too. This is crazy. No one trusts teachers anymore. The educational process in the USA is far too politicized and the school year outcomes have become contentious politically. This is nonsense. 

Children are soft targets and should be hands off for political agendas. The School Board should be the only political vote any parent should be concerned with. The way to influence a child's learning is to attend school board meetings.

February 22, 2015
By Bob Driehaus

MASON -- The sheer number of state tests that Ohio students (click here) face each year is stifling creative learning, some educators say, and a coalition of Greater Cincinnati districts is lobbying state lawmakers to cut the number of mandated tests.
Mason, Deer Park and West Clermont school districts are among those lobbying to reduce the number of tests for students in grades 3-12 from two or three a year – depending on the grade level – to one. They recommend staggering English, math, science and social studies testing so that none take place in the same year. Some also want to eliminate Common Core-based testing for high schoolers, replacing those exams with the ACT college prep test for juniors.
"It would allow our teachers to be more innovative, creative and engaging with their instruction," Deer Park Superintendent Jeff Langdon told WCPO. "We're assessing our kids more than we ever have. And we're doing less teaching."...

"We've gone overboard with testing," Mason Superintendent Gail Kist-Kline said. "The pendulum has swung too far."

"Every which way but loose." 

These tests are expensive as well.

November 7, 2012
By Andrew Ujifysa 

...It also says that the District of Columbia I(click here) spends the most on its assessments per student—$114—of the 45 jurisdictions Brookings measured, followed by Hawaii, Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, and Massachusetts. New York, where test scoring is a local responsibility, spent the least—$7 per student—followed by Kansas, North Carolina, Oregon, and Utah.
Despite the relatively small amount states spend on tests overall, compared with total education spending nationally, the report, written by Brown Center fellow Matthew M. Chingos, warns that the testing costs take on growing importance during difficult budget periods for states....

Schools get Gold and Silver medals? You've got to be joking.

April 21, 2014
By Robert Morse 
 

A state-by-state (click here) breakdown of the 2014 Best High Schools rankings shows that Maine is this year's leading performer, with 22.2 percent of its eligible schools earning gold and silver medals.
California came in second with 22.2 percent, since the rankings are based on unrounded percentages of schools with gold or silver medals. Connecticut was third with 19.7 percent.
The gold and silver awards reflect which schools are most successfully preparing students for college, based on students participating in and achieving passing scores on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests. For a school to be eligible for a gold or silver medal, its students must also do well on the appropriate statewide tests, as explained in the 2014 Best High Schools rankings methodology....

This is ridiculous. After junior high school most students decided whether they wanted to attend regular high school or the county technical schools. Those in high school knew they faced the challenge of learning to prepare for college entrance. 

We never did any of this. We were advanced through school based on our performance on our report cards. This is crazy. It has to estrange parents from the the learning experience. I can't relate to this mess. Wow. How can a parent participate when all that is being taught is how to pass the test? What if a child is a bad test taker? This is nonsense; very expensive nonsense.

I received a state scholarship to the college I chose to attend. I didn't even apply for the scholarship, the school system automatically submitted students names that were eligible based on their grades and college board tests with colleges already chosen. 

I really don't want to hear how a child is doing poorly because parents aren't involved. There is no way a parent can relate to this mess. This is state controlled education. The state is the teacher. The state has taken the classroom out of the reach of teaching and placed in test performance. This is never going to result in students that can compete internationally. It will never happen. No wonder the USA is ranked 25th in world.

The control has to be returned to the local school boards. I am surprised this isn't unconstitutional. 

What does a hero look like? The Turkish military and the Middle East Alliance carried out a successful campaign last night.

A Turkish soldier on a tank is pictured in the northern Syrian town of Kobani as he returns from a military operation inside Syria February 22, 2015.
Credit: REUTERS/Mursel Coban/Depo Photos'

By Orhan Coskun

(Reuters) - Turkish forces (click here) swept into Syria overnight to rescue about 40 soldiers who had been surrounded for months by Islamic State militants while guarding the tomb of a revered Turkish figure.
The Syrian government described the operation as act of "flagrant aggression" and said it would hold Ankara responsible for its repercussions.
The action, which involved tanks, drones and reconnaissance planes as well as several hundred ground troops, was the first such incursion by Turkish troops into Syria since the start of the civil war there nearly four years ago. The military said no clashes took place during the operation although one soldier had been killed in an accident....

The Turkish military went unchallenged by either Daesh or the Syrian military.

...A Turkish security source said the operation was conducted via the Syrian Kurdish border town of Kobani with the support of local Kurdish authorities. Kurdish forces, backed by U.S.-led air strikes, drove Islamic State from Kobani last month....

...Syria accuses Turkey of supporting insurgent groups that have seized control of wide areas of northern and eastern Syria, including Islamic State....

The insurgent groups are Kurds. Turkey has no support for Daesh.

...Islamic State and other Islamist groups, whose strict Salafi interpretation of Islam deems the veneration of tombs to be idolatrous, have destroyed several tombs and mosques in Syria....

The truth of the situation is that the Syrian forces have been unable to defend the sovereign borders of Syria. The Kurds have been successful in defending land in northeast Syria where they have lived for some time now. They have lived there under the No Fly Zone.

This is what a Peshmerga Kurd looks like.

October 24, 2014
By Scott Bleiwis

...To say the least, (click here) the government of Turkey has long had a contentious relationship with the country’s Kurdish population. Turkey has barred its Kurds from entering Syria to join the fight against the Islamic State. But it fully supports Kurdish soldiers from Iraq, and is allowing them to cross the Turkish border into Syria to defend the border town of Kobane. Explaining this divergent attitude towards Kurds sheds light on the delicate cultural and political relationships is this increasingly volatile region. Kurds make up about 15–20 percent of the Turkish population, and were in conflict with the government for decades. Clashes with the semi-political, semi-militant group Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) resulted in 40,000 fatalities. Despite an uneasy truce reached in 2013 PKK is still considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, and the U.S. for that matter. As I wrote about in August, PKK has grown into a key player in pushing back IS advances in Iraq while its leader remains imprisoned in Turkey....

The challenge to the alliance is to protect the Kurds during any battles for their land. But, the Kurds have been in that region for decades. Syria can complain the Kurds are insurgents, but, the Kurds defend people in Syria that the Syrian military never has defended.

Republicans have become toxic to the American Dream and the quality of life of the people.

In Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part I when Prince Hal finds the cowardly Falstaff pretending to be dead on the battlefield, the prince assumes he has been killed. After the prince leaves the stage, Falstaff rationalizes “The better part of Valour, is Discretion; in the which better part, I haue saued my life” from the First Folio, Act 5, Scene 3, lines 3085–3086).

Falstaff is saying that the best part of courage is caution, which we are to take as a joke. Truly courageous people may be cautious, but caution is not the most important characteristic of courage.

This passage is loosely alluded to in the saying “discretion is the better part of valor,” which is usually taken to mean that caution is better than rash courage or that discretion is the best kind of courage.

The Washington Post has got it exactly correct. Abrupt changes are the most dangerous.

February 20, 2015
By Angela Fritz.

Friday arrived (click here) with an icy slap as Arctic air surged into the eastern United States. The cold snap caused long-standing records to tumble across the Midwest and Eastern Seaboard.
A new, all-time record low for any month was set in Lynchburg, Va., on Friday morning, when the city dropped to minus 11 degrees. The previous all-time low was minus 10, set in 1985 and 1996.
Flint, Mich., has tied its all-time record low for any month when the temperature dropped to a brutal minus 25 degrees on Friday morning. The last time it was so cold in Flint was on Jan. 18, 1976.
Cleveland broke its all-time record low for the month of February when the thermometer bottomed out at 17 degrees below zero on Friday morning. The new record surpassed the previous by one degree, set more than a century ago on Feb. 10, 1899....

The maps from The Weather Channel tell an interesting tale.

February 22, 2015
0007 gmt
The Weather Channel 24 hour Temperatures Change Map.

Southwest Pennsylvania changed temperature within 24 hours. But, the temperature is achieved was only 33 degrees F.

Personal preparedness for rapid temperature change is necessary.

February 22, 2015
0045 gmt
The Weather Channel Current Temperatures

China is used to governing different languages and cultures. In the USA the primary language is English. China's approach to governance is based in the reality of diversity as a natural state, not one enforced by laws to reduce hate.

US politicians not able to engage Spanish as a second language, only want to make it illegal in any governmental authority. China doesn't have that luxury. I think most business in China is conducted in Mandarin, at least when it comes to international business.

 Around 600,000 Nong Zhuang (click here) people live in southeastern Yunnan Province, primarily in the counties of Guangnan, Yanshan, Wenshan, Maguan, Malipo, and Xichou, as well as a smaller population in the Vietnamese provinces of Lao Cai and Ha Giang.

Most members of this ethnic group continue to speak a unique Central Taic language, though some young people who group up in or near cities only speak Chinese. Many Nong Zhuang people also have a functional ability in standard Mandarin or the local dialect of Chinese, though older people and those who have not left the villages often have more limited Chinese comprehension and some Nong are completely monolingual.

The Nong Zhuang, who call themselves Pu Nong or Pu Day ("Pu" meaning "people" or "tribe"), are known to surrounding ethnic groups as "Nongzu" or "Longzu" (侬族) and were classified into the official Zhuang nationality in 1958....

There is no reason for the USA to continue it's presence in Afghanistan. China may be involved in peace negotiations.

February 19, 2015
By Mehreen Zahra-Malid and Hamid Shalizi

(Reuters) - Senior Pakistani army, Afghan and diplomatic officials (click here) said on Thursday the Afghan Taliban had signalled they were willing to open peace talks with Kabul.
The reports raised hopes for a breakthrough in peace efforts following the withdrawal of most U.S.-led troops last year, and of a boost for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
The renewed push for negotiations appeared to be driven by evolving relationships between Afghanistan, Pakistan and China, which recently offered to help broker talks.
On Thursday, a senior Pakistani military official said Pakistan's army chief, General Raheel Sharif, told Ghani during a visit this week the Taliban were willing to begin negotiations as early as March.
"They have expressed their willingness and there will be progress in March. But these things are not so quick and easy," the official, who is close to the army chief, told Reuters on condition of anonymity....

China is already in prisoner releases. This is not a minor interest by China. China shares a narrow border with Afghanistan. It has also seen an uptick in domestic terrorism this past year. There are many reasons why China and other countries will honor the small arms treaties, this is only one of them. 

Ever since President Obama spent time with General Secretary Xi Jinping in November of 2014 the Chinese leader has expressed a great deal of influence within it's international sphere. China has had it's own awakening to insure it's influence throughout it's trading partners.

China is peddling peace and prosperity with it's trading partners. It and other countries are willing to put the improvement of their people's economic growth first. It is a known fact that when a country spends valuable resources on war preparedness, it's people are placed on the shelf only to continue a life of impoverishment. China wants to end the poverty within it's sphere and grow economies as a benevolent power. I think it will be successful and The West will have viable trading partners as well due to the leadership China in what are normally very difficult countries to foster such growth.

The West doesn't realize how difficult it is to actually change the circumstances of Third World countries. Iraq is an example of American Nation Building. It is too much of a reach. But, most of those opposing the war knew it would be a disaster. How can a country like Iraq simply change overnight as with a dusting of fairy dust. It's ridiculous to conceive. China, however, has been able to move these countries forward to focus on their people and better outcomes. China has done so without spending large amounts of their budget without a return on that investment.  

When the USA implements nation building it starts with the top and works down. China only provides direction to the activity of local authorities and intervenes when it diverges from the 5 year plan. The governance is very different. China's economic model doesn't require war, it only asks for cooperation. The governance isn't disturbed. Human rights are discussed as a Third World trade partner is brought into China's sphere of influence. That is the moral fabric of China's international relations. Human rights is not a political issue with China, it is a practicle issue that improves the people's quality of life along with it's work ethic and output. 

With America involved in multiple front wars, one might ask, how many wars is China involved with? Is there any doubt that China is leading a global revolution based in economic growth? It is believed to be surpassing the USA in GDP? That isn't an economic advantage? If China has a trading alliance with every country in Central and South America, what does that say about the USA in the same hemisphere?

The USA's military is not needed in Afghanistan. It should never be an imperial power for any foreign president.These countries are divided ethnically. The USA cannot simply pledge an allegiance to the cowboy crowned by the USA to be the one with the white hat. It is far more complicated than that.

February 20, 2015
By Hamid Shalzi

...Hopes for a peace process (click here) were raised on Thursday when Pakistani and Afghan officials said members of the Taliban leadership had signaled they were willing to begin talks as soon as next month.
The apparent Taliban change of position was said to have been made under pressure from Pakistan, although the official Taliban spokesman denied any move toward negotiations with the Afghan government. Pakistan has been under pressure from China, which is concerned about Islamists among its Muslim minority, to step up pressure against militants.Three senior Afghan police and intelligence officials described the operation last month to capture ethnic Uighur militants, members of a separatist movement opposed to Beijing's rule over the Xinjiang region, which is home to the Turkic-speaking, mostly Muslim Uighurs....

There are more veterans dying of PTSD than died in the war.

Today, hundreds of thousands of service men and women and recent military veterans have seen combat. Many have been shot at, seen their buddies killed, or witnessed death up close. These are types of events that can lead to PTSD.'''

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that PTSD afflicts: (click here)

- Almost 31 percent of Vietnam veterans
- As many as 10 percent of Gulf War (Desert Storm) veterans
- 11 percent of veterans of the war in Afghanistan
- 20 percent of Iraqi war veterans

Of the four branches of service to the USA, the Army has suffered the longest cumulative deployments in no less than 12 months with some as long as thirty months.

This is a Rand Corporation study.

Most AC soldiers (73 percent) (click here) have deployed to OIF/OND and/or OEF—an increase of 6 percentage points from December 2008. Most of those soldiers have spent, cumulatively, more than one year deployed (49 percent of all ACsoldiers and 68 percent of AC soldiers that have deployed)....

The cumulative total is 1,400,020. Of that only 34% have never been deployed to the Iraq/Afghanistan theater. That means all other soldiers over 65% are candidates for PTSD. We know for a fact those numbers with PTSD currently involved with treatment is increasing.

The USA cannot afford these wars anymore. The causalities continue to grow in the ranks of our veterans. To extend the USA longer in any of these theaters means the USA grows closer and closer to a military that is not ready to defend the country.

 Enough!

The effectiveness of the "Arms Trade Treaty" (click here) is not yet realized.  It was put into force December 24, 2014 and won't have it's first statistics reported until December 24, 2015.

The region throughout this area is highly diverse when it comes to ethnicities. There is no stopping the killing as long as generations of intolerance and hate continue. The only viable solution is to end the shipment of weapons in the region.

From the "Stars and Stripes".

February 21, 2015
By Heidi Pzybyla

...Aside from backing down on their demand, (click here) or allowing funding to expire, there’s a third option under consideration that could take pressure off McConnell and Boehner. Lawmakers may vote on 30-day funding for the agency, according to a congressional aide who didn’t want to be identified because talks are continuing.
The congressional debate will focus attention on Obama’s directives on immigration that would ease deportation for about 5 million undocumented immigrants including those brought to the U.S. as children. A Texas judge’s order this week forced the White House to delay carrying out its immigration orders.
The issue may reverberate in the 2016 presidential election campaign as Democrats and Republicans vie for support from Hispanics, who make up 17 percent of the U.S. population and carry increasing influence in national election...

The Undocumented are good enough to live and die for the USA, but, to serve the country as a citizen in working capacity is not allowed. It is ridiculous. The Undocumented have proven in their loyalty in the USA while serving in our military. But, their families that may be living in the USA are to be deported as criminals.

September 25, 2014
By Andrew Tilghman
 
...For the first time, the program — (click here) known as Military Accessions in the National Interest, or MAVNI — will be open to immigrants without a proper visa if they came to the U.S. with their parents before age 16. More specifically, they must be approved under a 2012 Obama administration policy known as Deferred Action for Child Arrivals, or DACA....

Afghanistan isn't going to stabilize. They don't want Americans there.

January 30, 2015
By Ali M. Latifi

In Afghan in military uniform (click here) shot to death three U.S. military contractors Thursday at Kabul International Airport’s military facility, the U.S.-led coalition said. The attacker was then shot and killed by security forces.
The International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan released few details of the attack, but the the Taliban on Friday claimed responsibility....

...Jan. 30, 2:49 a.m.: An earlier version of this article stated that a gunman had killed three foreigners and a fellow Afghan in the attack. The Afghan who died was the gunman, who was shot and killed by security forces after the attack. The foreigners slain were U.S. military contractors....

There are domestic problems for Afghanistan. Why is the USA always viewed as the much needed police in any country? Why? Because Americans are disposable and trouble makers, Afghans don't die and it is easy to be angry with people viewed as trouble makers.

A co-leader in Abdullah Abdullah knows the way to build and implement a military and police presence in a region. Americans aren't need to potentially protect another corrupt government in the co-leader Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai.

I do not see the USA continuing it's role as any country's national police. It is out of the question. In Iraq, the Prime Minister used our soldiers as his private militia. It is time to let the people of Afghan to find their own way.

I am sure Co-President Abdullah Abdullah is more than capable of conducting a Afghan military without the interference of American soldiers. 

September 22, 2014
By Paul D, Shrinkman

Presidential candidates Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, (click here) the former finance minister, and Abdullah Abdullah, the former foreign minister, announced over the weekend they would form a unity government. The news follows the April election that singled out the pair, a runoff election plagued with accusations of tampering, and a subsequent and lengthy ballot auditing process....

I am quite disgusted with the USA military being the force that protects corruption of a poppy culture. No more. The USA military has never been able to rid that country of any poppy culture. There is no sense in continuing this.

The Northern Alliance was already a fighting force that was anti-Taliban. The co-President Abdullah Abdullah already has successful military credentials.

...When the Taliban emerged in late 1994, (click here) they were initially welcomed for neutralizing and disbanding many of the violent, mercenary militias that had formed throughout Afghanistan.  However, as the Pashtun-dominated faction gained more power and seized control of more territory, the Northern Alliance formed in opposition of the Taliban's use of indiscriminate violence and repression. (The Economist, 22 Oct. 1999)...

Nearly seven months is a long time to work for an employer without a contract.

Union workers take their contract seriously as they should. When workers state a union action in picketing their employers is important, it is usually because the employer has either disengaged from negotiations or never sincerely participated at all.

The negotiations for a new contract began two months before the past contract ended. The employers are suppose to engage these negotiations with the purpose of signing a new contract. At the end of the contract union members were not obligated to work past that day, but, they did. They worked without a contract for more than half a year. That is disingenuous of any employer.

The only method of getting an employer to take a contract as seriously as the worker is a strike. It is the one action empowering the Middle Class in the USA. Peaceful demonstrations are important and bring a message about the state of our society in relation to private industry. The Middle Class doesn't hate employers, they depend on them, but when workers are scoffed at as unimportant it is time to end a deadlock and walk out. 

There is no union worker that likes the idea of walking off a job and picketing to move contract negotiations along. They want to work. It is there way of supporting their families. It is a serious decision. 

The USA Middle Class needs to support those that have been patient in waiting for a contract to be settled. And on a rare occasion insist on their own job action to support those ignored and aggrieved by an employer.

It is a national shame to focus on breaking up unions to benefit profits. The conversation about income inequality begins with the demand to break up unions and remove the dignity of the Middle Class as the world's best labor force. The Middle Class in the USA has to reclaim the Middle Class by raising their standard of living and continue to maintain a living wage. A living wage has to carry with it the understanding retirement is a need in saving for a home, children's education and the future.

Wall Street benefits from a strong Middle Class in stability of the markets and a healthy consumer base. When the Middle Class saves for the future banks and lending institutions benefit directly. The unions make a great deal possible in a healthy economy, they should not be attacked as trouble makers. There is no shame for unions in supporting workers. There is a great deal of shame by employers when workers face a strike after working longer than six months without one.

February 20, 2015

Shipping companies and dockworkers (click here) reached a tentative deal late Friday on a new labor contract, avoiding a shutdown of 29 ports that would have choked off trade through the West Coast.
The agreement, which still needs approval from union members and individual employers, should start easing severe congestion that’s been building for months at the nation’s busiest ports, in Los Angeles and Long Beach, along with other major gateways.
Details of the proposed five-year contract for about 20,000 West Coast dockworkers were not released. The dockworkers have been without a contract since July. The two sides had been negotiating since May.
The dispute caused businesses across the nation to lose money because imports were trapped on boats and exports trapped on land....

The Ebola Virus needs reassessment.

The fact even hospital workers have backed away from their precautions reveals the longing for the end to this virus before it is actually eradicated. Infection control takes a great deal of energy and time when caring for a hospital population of patients.

This uptick of patients only indicates the virus has to be assessed for any mutations as well as redoubling efforts of prevention and education. 

February 22, 2015

MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) " Eight health workers (click here) at a hospital in Liberia's capital have been sent home for observation after coming into contact with a patient who later tested positive for Ebola, the country's assistant health minister said Saturday.
The incident occurred at the S.D. Cooper Hospital in Monrovia's Sinkor neighborhood, Tolbert Nyenswah said. The patient, a woman, was transferred to the hospital from a smaller hospital, and staff began treating her before an Ebola test was conducted, Nyenswah said.
The health workers will be under observation for 21 days and will not be coming into work during that period, he said.
"You cannot be under observation and then at the same time go to work to expose people. No way," he said....

I am not convinced the quality of life of the people of Liberia is going up support complete recovery so much as mutation. When the virus was in decline it was noted the precautions at any social venue were slacking off. ie: the bleach solutions.

February 20, 2015
By Kate Kelland

...About 60 percent of patients (click here) have died in this outbreak.

Ebola is spread via contact with the body fluids of an infected person. Disease experts say the recent downturn in the epidemic has been largely due to better hygiene and handwashing, tracing and monitoring of contacts, and changing behaviours such as ending the practice of open burials.

Working with the Christian charity Samaritan's Purse, MacDermott, a 33-year-old British paediatrician, has been based in Liberia on and off since July last year.

She, too, says messages about how to prevent Ebola and halt its spread by basic but vital changes in behaviour are getting through to many people in cities, towns and rural communities. But she worries that not everyone believes them.

In the absence of health and aid workers and community leadership from those educated about Ebola, already the voices of conspiracy theorists are increasingly being heard again.

"Some people don't want to believe that their family member has Ebola, they don't want the concept of Ebola to exist. Others believe we (international aid workers) are stealing people's organs in the treatment centres, or that Ebola was made up to get aid money," MacDermott said....

Educating in regard to Ebola isn't dominant voice with the people. The unwillingness to accept Ebola as a reality is similar to the people's reaction to HIV/AIDS. They live in denial because of the severity of the disease and their ability to be treated for it or avoid it. 

The words are helplessness and hopelessness. That quality of life can put the complete recovery of the region at risk.

February 21, 2015
AP
UNITED NATIONS: The steep decline in Ebola case numbers (click here) has leveled off over the past month and the development is a cause for concern, the official leading the World Health Organization's response to the outbreak said on Friday.

Dr. Bruce Aylward told reporters "today is the first time we have the data to demonstrate this" flattening of the curve.

The United Nations has said 10 times fewer people are being diagnosed with Ebola each week than in September. Over the past four weeks, however, the line of the graph has flattened out, with the rate around 120 to 150 new cases a week...  

Active people don't eat junk. They respect their bodies. An active lifestyle is good for America.

 The cooperative I belong to takes themselves very seriously. They shop for products we like.

This is a snake food the cooperative has stocked recently. I like the Vadalia Onion flavor, which is not shown on their website, so the flavor is probably new.

There are no GMOs, no cholesterol, no trans fats, low sodium, Kosher, vegan, produced with green energy, no msg and certified gluten free.

Boulder Canyons Natural Food - Boulder Benefits (click here)

America's Best Potato Chips is voted #1 with Rachel Ray (click here).

Before travel is actually possible and life sustainable on any foreign body, the atmosphere has to be perfected.

At 6:31pm, (click here) Roger Chaffee reported “Fire, I smell fire.”  Seconds later, Ed White exclaimed, “Fire in the Cockpit.”  Several other voice transmissions included “They’re fighting a bad fire—let’s get out.”  “Open’er up.”  “We’re burning up….”  The last transmission ended within 17 seconds after the first report of the fire.  Grissom, White, and Chaffee perished within 30 seconds due to smoke inhalation and burns....

I am sure the International Space Station has addressed all that, but, changing a planet's atmosphere is quite different. Pure oxygen environments do not sustain life. That has to be perfected before life is viable anywhere else, but, Earth.

Thank you.

This is remarkable. We are all connected. We see values in the same light and can completely relate to the tragedies we have. This is quite a statement by "Pussy Riot." I deeply appreciate it. 

I prefer to admire space from a far.

February 20, 2015
By Alexandra Petri

A recent Monmouth University (click here) poll of Americans on the subject of space travel found that most people were not exactly screaming to leave Earth. “If you won a free trip on a private company’s rocket ship into space, would you take the trip, or not?” the poll asked.

Sixty-nine percent said they would not. Only 28 percent were keen on the idea.
Seriously?

Here are a few possible theories of why we’re chary about leaving terra firma....

There was a time when space travel entertained the imagination of Americans, but, that has diminished. It is kinda neat to look through the pictures of Mars, but, live there? It is somewhat unrealistic. There needs to be a lot more research to the idea of a livable environment on another planet that is far colder than Earth.

Mars and Earth are the same age. The real question is what makes anyone think Mars is the optimal choice for their next residence?

I think we need to realize we are launching into extra-solar system travel. If that is the case and any Mars launch means no one is coming back, then follow Voyager as a marker to exit the solar winds. The ship that will be their life long residence is complicated, but, it may possible. At least as possible as Mars.

"The LEGO Movie" is too violent for it's targeted audience. "How to Train Your Dragon 2" should receive the Best Animated Feature Film. This film was a sellout anytime it is shown.