This is the first time I have had to listen to the House Judiciary Committee on the President's Executive Order,

Link to hearing (click here).

It is all political rhetoric and driven by Ms. Elizabeth Price Foley who is affiliated with "The Tea Party" through the book she wrote (click here) and she appears as an author on the Wall Street opinion pages.

After all her notoriety to the public she came before the committee as a professional capable of opinion without conflict of interest. I don't that ever came through in her testimony. I was not impressed with her testimony nor that of Attorney General Laxalt of Arizona. I wasn't impressed for basically the same reason.

Rep. Jackson Lee was impressive and very well prepared to discuss the question. 

The folks with the political pinion about the executive order regarding immigration had no definitive measures to discuss. They hold the President hostage to his own words stated 22 times that carries the words, "...I don't have the power to..." That is NOT a legal opinion or carries legal brevity. It is hearsay. So, the committee has no legal basis to proceed in any way. The AG of Nevada's only focus was the President's words. That is why they filed the lawsuit. On one hand the plaintiffs state the President has no right to be dictator while they insist his 22 time stated words are law and the basis to the lawsuit. Go figure. 

The entire issue regarding the accusation against the President in regard to his Executive Order is nonsense. It is all politics.

Ms. What's her name,..., Price states the President is "boot strapping" his order. In other words he is committing conspiracy against the constitution. According to her this boot strapping has occurred with every action the President takes in order to (my words, not hers) over throw the Constitution.

The other reason Ms. Price states the President is unlawful in his Executive Authority is the fact he stated (again 22 times) he has changed the law. As was pointed out by others it was nothing but a slip of language. The President has the right to effect POLICY and not LAW. 

So, the people that would benefit from the Executive Order regarding 5 million Undocumented are being postponed because of these words stated 22 different times and an activist judge AND references to "The Federalist Papers" and it's warning about dictatorships. 

I can't believe this country is carrying on by Federalist Papers that have become antiquated in their paranoia and political rhetoric in a stump speech by President Obama in his visits across the USA to bring about an understanding of his promise to these people.

The lawsuit should have been thrown out a long time ago. I think it was Rep. Jackson Lee that stated, the DHS funding should never have been held separate from the rest of the budget because the funding was approved for 2 years long before the Republicans decided to make an political exception of it.

This hearing is 3 hours, ten minutes and 34 seconds long spending the American people's treasury on political nonsense.

Bootstrapping rule was used in a criminal prosecution for conspiracy, while deciding whether to allow the jury to consider a statement of conspiracy. Moreover, the allegation must be supported by an independent evidence. If an independent evidence can convince the court that a conspiracy existed, only then such a statement can be introduced into trial and heard by the jury.

Bootstrapping in the case of President Obama's executive authority means measures he is taking are adding up to destroying the US Constitution.

Those are the three premise of the lawsuit that is prohibiting 5 million Undocumented from carrying on with their lives without worrying about deportation. The words stating, "...I changed the law" by President Obama 22 times, the alleged bootstrapping and some nonsense in the Federalist papers. 

That's all of it. There is no basis for the lawsuit, Congress has not acted to legislate Immigration Reform and the President's Executive Order is being postponed because of an activist judge and President Obama's respect for the process of our legal system.

The Federalist Papers (click here) can be called "The paranoia of the colonists" and they are not the US Constitution.

Conclusion section of the Federalist Papers:

To the People of the State of New York:
ACCORDING to the formal division of the subject of these papers, announced in my first number, there would appear still to remain for discussion two points: "the analogy of the proposed government to your own State constitution," and "the additional security which its adoption will afford to republican government, to liberty, and to property." But these heads have been so fully anticipated and exhausted in the progress of the work, that it would now scarcely be possible to do any thing more than repeat, in a more dilated form, what has been heretofore said, which the advanced stage of the question, and the time already spent upon it, conspire to forbid....

They are a framework of which laws or better said a state's constitution can be written. It was an intellectual exercise to provide a document that would allow consistency in understanding freedom. The USA is an experiment. It started over 200 years ago and the Founding Fathers while hopeful never expected it to hold up centuries. The Federalist Papers are interesting. They show the thinking of some of the most important people in the construction of our democracy, but, they are not law and have no place in any legal proceedings.

It is completely obvious the Republicans are engaged in racism and have no real reasons to OBSTRUCT immigration reform. 

Ask Ted Cruz what his plans are for immigration reform and where he can point to it in The Federalist Papers. And make sure he includes his birth certificate. I think there might be a reference to that in the Federalist Papers somewhere.

The Constitution’s Natural Born Citizenship Clause states that “no person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President.”

The Founding Fathers, there were no women, didn't know who should be President because they were a citizen of a colony of England. The land they were standing on had a sovereignty and a name. So, when they wrote the Constitution they basically IMMIGRATED from a British colony to the USA of 13 states. The constitutionally sound policy of a natural citizen had to start somewhere.

Bush. His political profile had to be perfect. All this was swept under the carpet.

I think this is really strange. The exact same thing was occurring at US Minerals and Mining Management under his presidency, too.

No one can accuse Bush of being transparent. 

March 26, 2015
By Adam Edelman

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (click here) agents partook in wild sex parties with hookers hired by Colombian drug cartels, claims a bombshell report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General.
The parties, which took place between 2005 and 2008, were held at properties in Colombia paid for by the U.S. government and were ignored by multiple federal agencies, according to the report.
In addition, the report says, several DEA agents were gifted money and weapons from drug cartel members in Colombia.
“The (DEA) foreign officer allegedly arranged ‘sex parties’ with prostitutes funded by the local drug cartels for these DEA agents at their government-leased quarters, over a period of several years,” the report said.

The relationship between the USA and Israel is not damaged. The use of the word 'occupation' of the West Bank is correct. Very correct.

The only dynamic that occurred with the self-righteous Netanyahu is that he didn't receive the political endoresement by the Oval Office. That is also correct. The USA should not be picking and choosing leadership in Israel.

There are many, many documents that state Palestine is to be an autonomous people with a homeland. Currently and in the past, Israel has destroyed the villages of Palestinians living a pastoral existence. Got that part, A PASTORAL EXISTENCE. These villages never attacked Israel and lived to grow their livestock and their olives. Their reward in life was to have their land taken from them without any other place to live. Palestinians have been made homeless with no place to be or to have a way to find a livelihood. It is ridiculous. Israel is wrong and it is absolutely correct to state that Israel is occupying land that belongs to Palestine.

Former Prime Minister Sharon is rolling over in his grave realizing the destructive relationship that now exists between Israel and Palestine. This has been a continual degradation of the Palestinian lands under Netanyahu. Those occupied lands have to go back to the Palestinian people.

Kindly rid the conversation of 'on the brink.' The USA had drones in Yemen long before the brink.

The New York Times has it correct. The Middle East is in the midst of power struggles. This is not entirely new. There have been groups since the beginning of time seeking to unseat any government, other than their holy men.

Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East, (click here) is embroiled in a struggle for power that has serious implications for the region and the security of the United States. The expanding conflict took an ominous step on Wednesday when Saudi Arabia said it launched airstrikes against rebels who have tightened their grip on Yemen.

Here are some concerns raised by the crisis in Yemen. 

The New York Times also had an interesting article regarding the numerous power groups in the region. I'll see if I can find it. 

I mean, if we are to understand the region and it's problems we need to be on the same page. Right? 

This is a better understanding of the growing relationships of 'fighting men' in Iraq.

March 24, 2015
By Anne Barnard and Kareem Fhaim
 
...The progress in Tikrit (click here) raises the possibility of increased cooperation among the militias, the army and Kurdish pesh merga forces, including those battling ISIS nearby around the northeastern oil hub of Kirkuk. But it will not be as simple as just having those two sets of forces link up and march onward....

There is also the fact the United Nations has weighed in on genocide by Daesh. So, it is determined legally this organization is an enemy of nations. This isn't just a civil war in Syria, this is a regime of ruthless killers willing to wipe out generations of people with a methodology. An easy reference are the camps of the Nazis. The camps had a one way process and it was to eliminate the very presence of genetic material in the world. The same thing applies to Daesh.

This very finding of Daesh being genocidal should be giving everyone pause, including the young people seduced by the propaganda. This is a legal determination by the joint powers of Earth this is a regime that is a danger to everyone. Young people need to realize they are being seduced into servitude to this regime. They have no reason to believe this is a group of people in service to god. That is all lies and propaganda preying on the innocent.

March 19, 2015
By Nick Cumming Bruce

GENEVA — United Nations human rights investigators (click here) on Thursday leveled accusations of genocide and war crimes at the Islamic State, citing evidence that the extremist group’s fighters had sought to wipe out the Yazidi minority in Iraq.

The investigators reported that the pattern of attacks against the Yazidis, a religious minority living mostly in northern Iraq, pointed to the intention of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, “to destroy the Yazidi as a group.”

Although the report states cautiously that the extremists “may have committed” genocide, one of the most serious international crimes, Hanny Megally, a senior United Nations rights official, told reporters in Geneva that “all the information points in that direction.”

Iraqi government forces and affiliated militia groups also appear to have committed war crimes, the United Nations said, pointing to what it called credible accounts of scores of summary killings, torture, abductions and indiscriminate attacks on civilians, including the use of barrel bombs....

I am fairly sure the article was in the NYTimes yesterday. It was about the groups such as the Pakistani Taliban and the Afghan Taliban whom tend to be different groups. It also about their pledged allegiance to Daesh and it discussed Mullah Omar as a leader and al Qaeda as a presence. It drew many lines between the groups in the region that state they are a threat to any peace in the region. 

That is the kind of detail I believe journalists should have regardless of their positions/jobs in the news media. The reason the public gets more upset than they should is because 'the element of fear' is lumped into one understanding without knowing the sincere lack of reality that exists. But, that is me and what I always hope to bring to the discussions about the USA's involvement in other regions of the world.

Today there is controversy over Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Saudi Arabia knows what it is doing. The USA is there for allies if needed, but, Saudi Arabia has a very sophisticated national defense. They are competent to handle their own issues and have in the past. We don't have to be big brother to a competent Saudi defense force.

If interested, this article begins to identify how fluid the existence of militant groups form and continue their variety of composition.

The Early Development of the Islamic State in Khorasan Network
Defining the ISK network is a difficult task. The network is dynamic and changes occur weekly, (In my opinion, changes can happen daily as well. The idea turns to the "war lord" understanding in the region. That entire war lord capacity of the people unwittingly causes them a great deal of problems and danger in their lives. But, it is the way they understand life.) if not more frequently. The creation, spread, and development of the ISK network is also clouded in rumor and speculation, fanned by informational wars being waged by Islamic State supporters, the Afghan and Pakistani government, and their respective agents. The number of militant groups operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the diversity of their agendas, and the shifting and at times unclear nature of their allegiances often obscures things even further. Thus, what follows is an attempt to describe the contours of the ISK network in Afghanistan and Pakistan as it currently exists. It does not claim to be comprehensive....

What occurred on September 11, 2001 is not what is occurring right now. That network of terrorists lead by Osama bin Laden to attack the USA is dead. It doesn't exist and the only remnants of it can be found in the leadership of Daesh and even that is questionable.

The leadership of Daesh are the old Saddam soldiers. They are a political party.

The Arab Baath party (click here) is a political movement that drives its program from an "Arab adaptation" of European ultra nationalist ideology mixed with a bad dose of interpretation of Arab Muslim history. The result is terror, wars, and racist and chauvinist policies in dealing with non-Arab ethnic groups living within the Arab World. Unfortunately, Iraq, that great cosmopolitan society ended up with a political party with such an ideology on the reign of power. 

The reason they can be considered an enemy of the USA is really through the danger the pose to allies. The US military states there are members of Daesh with history back to Iraq in the Arabian Peninsula. I suppose, but, they have transformed into something very different. The relationship between Daesh and it's roots in al Qaeda is diffuse. I think it is.

Osama bin Laden has exposure to the USA. We were infidels. His hate of the USA was played out in wars. The people in Daesh are more sophisticated because of the internet, not because they earned their strips in study like bin Laden did. It is different. What isn't different is the propaganda provided to innocents willing to be bombs and killers for god. That propaganda is the same and I suppose to them the USA is still the great evil in the world. 

It could easily be stated, the USA and it's war into Iraq actually facilitated Daesh. Daesh had our military equipment and I am fairly confident the soldiers in the beginning days of this "Death Regime" were trained by USA advisers in Iraq. So, the use of the USA in the Middle East is best left out of it. We cause more problems than we could ever solve. 

A commentator stated Airbus is breathing a sigh of relief today because this was a deliberate act? Seriously? 

This happened on an Airbus jet, what safeguards are built into a jet to prevent this type of tragedy. I would not be breathing a sigh of relief if I were them.

This isn't the first time this type of disaster has occurred. There is no reason for guns on board and there should be no axes on board, there has to be different locking mechanisms on the cockpit door to provide free and easy access to the crew members while keeping passengers out of any potential to interfere with the flight.  

The locking mechanism has to be mechanical and not electronic. This could have been prevented, Airbus needs to take their quality control seriously. 

The fact that a cockpit door locks and can't be opened is insane. It should never exist and the barbaric idea axes and guns are in access of the pilots is hideous. 

Legislators are not engineers. To actually have a major company such as Airbus sit ideally by to allow legislators decide what needs to be done is extremely negligent. Airbus should have answers before there are questions even asked.  

Why should a jet be considered safe transportation if the manufacturers have no regard for the passenger and their safety to live through that transit. Airbus and every other jet manufacturer have a lot in the balance of this investigation.

There is no excuse here.

We have witnessed large jets used as bombs and now as an end to some distress by a young pilot. Yet the jet manufacturers sit by to wait for the decisions of legislators so they can do MINIMAL modifications to their jets.

This is so typical of major Wall Street companies. They lobby legislators, they buy elections to prevent from regulation that MAY cost them a miniscule dollar in the cost of their jets. Every possible scenario of danger should be realized before the jets are even put into blueprints. 

No one is even discussing how much fuel was in that jet that caused it to be completely destroyed on impact.

All airlines need to immediately protect from this scenario.

There is no reason for this to happen. Flights should be grounded until there are guarantees in place to end this type of scenario. 

This was not a lengthy flight. Why did the pilot leave the cockpit at all?

There are already standards in place to prevent such scenarios. There is no excuse to have this type of tragedy occur by today's standards. I honestly don't care why the co-pilot decided he had the right to kill everyone along with himself. Every airline has to institute safeguards against such an act. 

There is no understanding 'the poor man.' This is inexcusable. 

There are guns in the cockpit with some airlines. That would be a possibility of murder to anyone who tried to stop the sabotage of the jet. All this has to end and people need to have confidence when flying.  

Europe has been traumatized. It has been one tragedy after another. There could be many reasons why this co-pilot decided to take his life and those of the passengers. The reason the countries' leadership is so public is to bring about reassurances of stability. All those leaders in Europe are very worried about the people due to all these tragedies that don't seem to be ending. This young co-pilot could have did this for a variety of reasons.

Europe is a very different place from the USA in many ways. People care about each other. This deeply traumatizes the public in Europe. 

Europe has a different social contract, this type of violence especially in Germany, is not conceivable. Germany has strong opinions about this type of violence. They have very little tolerance of any violence in their society. So, this is a major upset for everyone. 

March 26, 2015
By Ben Candea and Corinne Cathcart

The co-pilot (click here) of the doomed Germanwings plane appeared to want to "destroy the plane," Brice Robin, Public Prosecutor of Marseille, said today.

The co-pilot of the Germanwings airbus that crashed in the French Alps Tuesday had 630 hours of flight experience and had started working in 2013, an airline spokeswoman told ABC News.

Germanwings would not provide any other information on the co-pilot's identity.

One of the pilots may have been locked out of the cockpit, a senior military official involved in the investigation told The New York Times.

The official said the audio on the cockpit voice recorder indicated one of the pilots was outside of the cockpit and unable to re-enter, according to the paper. The unnamed official described hearing the pilot unable to re-enter the cockpit and lightly knock on the door at first, before pounding on it...

Thank god there is no parallels.

March 26, 2015
By David A. Graham

First-term senator. (click here) Son of a foreign-born father. Electoral longshot. Harvard Law Review editor. Constitutional lawyer. Lauded orator.
 
Is that Ted Cruz? Or is it Barack Obama? It's both, of course. The similarities between the two men are somewhat superficial—you'd be hard-pressed to find many parallels deeper than what's listed here—but it's enough to have set off a debate among conservatives about whether Cruz is a "Republican Obama." And that debate offers a view of a different and more interesting debate in the same group, about whether President Obama has been a disastrous failure or a disastrous success....

Ted Cruz does not practice politics, he allows the Third World to dominate his portion of the electorate. I don't think it is funny either. We have witnessed the political deterioration of the political right wing in the USA and he is at the pinnacle of that status.

I would think Harvard at the very least would be railing against the political strategy of Texas Senator Ted Cruz. He is a parasite to the status of Americans in the USA. He is the most verbal member of the US Senate that has absolutely nothing to be proud of. He is not alone in that status, Mr. Gohmert in the US House runs with the same sad standards of their politics. The USA demands more from the leaders in Afghanistan then Boehner or McConnell demands of their members.

I would expect "The Atlantic" to end any stenographic willingness to these wayward legislators and hold them responsible in their editorial pages.

This is ridiculous. Cruz is not an extremist, he is exploitative to the political process in the USA. He has no valid reason to carry on the way he does. 

The American people pay huge amounts of money into the US Treasury and the budgets submitted by the right wing in the House and Senate is shameful. Joe the Plumber has more power within the USA government than the working poor and minorities could hope to have. The right wing has TESTIFIED to the oppression of the vote and the estrangement of the electorate to obtain and hold onto leadership in this democracy. The USA should have never fallen into the extremists that have obvious plans to cast the USA into war while casting the poor and minorities to their own means of begging for food. 

Any legislator at any level of government needs to be called out when they make that step into oppression and racism. The media is not doing that and it is not only irresponsible, but, to laugh it off is more hideous than politics. 

I am worried about my country and this very strange paradigm of politics is one of the reasons why. Either legislators are interested in solving the country's problems or they are simply taking up space and a paycheck that belongs to someone else. 

The USA has many problems and they are not being taken on to solve, they are being held in contention as a symbol to prove the USA government doesn't belong to the people so much as the rich and powerful. This is a complete abstraction to the founders of this democracy. 

The young woman murdered in the public square in Kabul has to be dealt with.

The new coalition government stated in their visit to the USA they were proud of the status of women in their government. Women enjoy a twenty percent status in the Afghan government. The new leaders have to bring law and order to the streets of Kabul. This is nothing more than men hanging on to antiquated traditions and power.

To begin with they killed a woman in public. That in itself is a crime. Then to realize they had no basis of any accusation is to realize the men involved don't believe women are human beings with human rights. These men need to be arrested and held for murder. 

March 25, 2015

Large numbers of people took to the streets in the Afghan capital Kabul (click here) for a second day on Tuesday, protesting against the brutal death of a woman who was falsely accused of burning the Quran and killed by an enraged mob.

Men and women painted their faces red and carried banners bearing pictures of 27-year-old Farkhunda’s bloody face while chanting, “Justice for Farkhunda” and “Death to the killers,” reports the Associated Press....

Bergdahl was in the military for the wrong reasons.

If I remember right, Bergdahl wanted to attain rank so he could create his own militia for religious reasons. He is lucky he isn't charged with treason. 

There is absolutely no political issue here. Bergdahl was a US soldier and he was held captive. We are stepping down from any battle position and POW exchange is the legal demand of the Geneva Accords. End of discussion. 

The USA command structure needs to review why this soldier was repeatedly allowed to remain in the ranks when there was a desertion pattern in his activities. The command structure is responsible for this mess.

But, as far as receiving POWs after war is standard operating procedure.

July 16, 2014
By Brian Ross and Luis Martinez

President Obama called it a "good day" when Bergdahl was freed, (click here) but critics, including some high-ranking Republicans, loudly denounced the deal, likening it to negotiating with terrorists. Also, lawmakers complained that Congress had not been consulted about the exchange, as they said the law requires. The White House defended the deal, saying that rescuing a prisoner of war was “absolutely the right thing to do” and that the deal had to be done secretly and urgently to be successful. 

After Bergdahl's dramatic return to the U.S., the Army launched an investigation into whether the soldier willfully left his post in Afghanistan before he was taken by the Taliban in 2009, as some Afghan war veterans alleged. 

The Army said today Bergdahl has been charged with two counts under the Uniform Code of Military Justice: one count of “desertion with intent to shirk important or hazardous duty” and one count of “misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit or place.” 

The second count is the more severe of the two, carrying a potential sentence of “confinement for life” should Bergdahl be convicted.... 

The other detainees in Gitmo have to be renamed as POWs. I can't help but believe if the USA took these detainees before the World Court their disposition would require life in prison or a death sentence. I think the World Court is where these detainees belong. They are too dangerous if returned to their native countries. The World Court understand that and consider testimony to the knowledge our intelligence already has about their activities.

There is no political issue here, it is the obligation of the President of the United States of America to secure the return of POWs. Ask McCain. Joe the Plumber has no vote in the matter. 

This is already policy and the USA is not going to turn it's back on POWs because the Boehner right wing needs a reason for living.

This is odd. They aren't releasing the information on the black box.

There are three Americans dead in this air incident, the USA should have representation with other national leadership. The ambassador or someone needs to be receiving this information if it is not forthcoming to the public.

March 25, 2015
By Kim Willsher

French air accident investigators (click here) said Wednesday they had extracted an audio file from the cockpit voice recorder of the Germanwings Airbus that crashed in the Alps with 150 people  aboard. U.S. officials confirmed that three Americans were among the dead.
A spokesman for the BEA, the French air accident investigations bureau, refused to give more details about the voice recorder, except to say it contains "sounds, voices, alarms."
The spokesman, Remy Jouty, said the recording was extracted with "some difficulty" and suggested there was no "mid-air explosion" and the Airbus A320 jet had not suffered a "classic depressurization situation."...

It was decompression, but, seems as though the cause is more obscure than expected.

We are seeking theories? The Associated Press has information the investigators need. They have contact with a passenger reporting noise he was hearing.

I would like NASA to submit the conditions of the air masses at the point of take off to the investigators.

Other air flight crews were alarmed about the mechanical integrity of the jet. They need to be interviewed. There is a culture problem at the very least and their understanding about their safety needs to be part of the investigation. 

No one is making accusations, but, there are DYNAMICS at play here that matters. The concerns of REASONABLE people are important, especially, the professionals including the pilot and entire crew.  

Ten minutes of helplessness by air traffic control.

...10:30:00 Germanwings flight 4U9525,(click here) call sign "Germanwings One Eight Golf", confirmed instructions from French air traffic control 

10:31:02 Flight 4U9525 leaves its assigned cruising altitude without approval and begins to descend. Radar observes an average descent rate of approximately 17.8 metres per second (3,500 feet per minute). Attempts by French air traffic control to contact the flight on the assigned radio frequency radio link are not answered 

10:35:08 Attempts to contact the flight on the international distress frequency are also unsuccessful 

10:36:00 French air traffic control declares an international normalized emergency according to international norms. French search and rescue services are informed. Flight 4U9525 passes through an altitude of around 7600m (25,000 feet). 

10:36:47 French air traffic control tries one last time to contact Flight 4U9525 German Wings on the international distress frequency. There is no response 

10:40:00 Flight 4U9525 disappears from radar. The last known altitude was about 1890m (6,200 feet)...

Ten minutes is a long time. If there were conscience pilots they could have responded and corrected the course of the airline. When is the seat belt sign taken off after the flight stabilizes at cruising altitude? I don't know if I ever paid that much attention to it. 

One minute after contact the jet leaves it's course without a word otherwise. It's a strange one.

24 March 2015

...Several Germanwings flights (click here) were cancelled on Tuesday after their crews refused to fly, as it emerged that the aircraft which crashed in the French Alps had been grounded for an hour for repairs the day before the accident. 

Pilots and cabin crew refused to fly over concerns the crash may have been linked to a repair to the nose-wheel landing doors on Monday, according to an unconfirmed report in Spiegel magazine....

He is a nice man. His diplomatic skills are considerable. It is understandable why he was elected.

He states the reality of the circumstances of our troops and their continuing draw down. He wants his country to autonomous. I appreciate his gratitude. I think he is genuine. I was surprised he visited a widow. That was decent of him. He states the readiness of his Afghan troops will be accelerated this year. 

Do these leaders understand what readiness is? If the leadership doesn't have an understanding of readiness they can't demand it from their generals. I hope both Mr. Ghani and Mr. Abdullah Abdullah are meeting with the US military to understand what readiness is and how to demand it from military leaders. I hope they understand how important oversight by Presidential power translates into a military addressing the concerns of a sovereign country.  

I think there is a missing link there. The Iraqi leaders didn't have it either. Our military trainers didn't work with the civilian leadership, they worked with the military. Just a thought. There has to be that closed loop in the relationship between the people and their military as lead by their elected civilian leadership.

Is the Afghan and Iraqi civilian leadership receiving PDBs of their own? Do they have an intelligence service of some kind?

It seems to me the civilian leadership needs to understand when their ranks of soldiers are dividing along sectarian lines and how that threatens their national security. That is not happening, is it? The military has it's own gravity and they  are finding comfort zones that are traditional rather than functional. 

That is what is leading to corruption. The ranks are anchored in security so much as their religious and ethnic affiliations.

The infrastructure has to be reviewed by the Joint Chiefs to be sure it is functional. These soldiers live in their villages and their villages are ethnic with village elders that carry out tribunals of order for crime and punishment. I think those elder tribunals have to have an appreciation of the ability of their nonsectarian military to provide national security. I don't think the Joint Chiefs are taking this all the way to the lower levels of local government. I suppose that is the role of the Presidents. They is a power sharing government that is an excellent example of how cooperation has to come together for national security. 

The Parliament needs to be briefed as well. They are going to be approving war and peace they need to appreciate the difference and how to protect from violence and war. I think our military leadership has some homework to do. 

NEW YORK (March 30, 2011)—Researchers (click here) from the Wildlife Conservation Society have stumbled upon a geological colossus in a remote corner of Afghanistan: a natural stone arch spanning more than 200 feet across its base.
 
Located at the central highlands of Afghanistan, the recently discovered Hazarchishma Natural Bridge is more than 3,000 meters (nearly 10,000 feet) above sea level, making it one of the highest large natural bridges in the world. It also ranks among the largest such structures known.   

“It’s one of the most spectacular discoveries ever made in this region,” said Joe Walston, Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Asia Program. “The arch is emblematic of the natural marvels that still await discovery in Afghanistan.”...

The Wall Street Journal offered no proof. No proof about the Prime Minister of Israel.

I don't buy it. The Prime Minister has denied it and that is good enough for me. Even if it were true, what was Israel going to learn? What do Israelis think the USA is going to do? They think we would harm them? I think the entire episode is bizarre and it reflects the piss poor leadership in the US House.

Africans Elephants are in profound danger of extinction due to poaching.

Africa needs special soldiers, either private or public to end the poaching. We have to find a way. There are many excellent elephant groups. They need to get permission, if in the USA, through the Kerry State Department to raise monies on source funding sites and hire the soldiers needed to protect these special animals. 

If anyone understands the profound and incredible society that exists with elephants, they will want to end this massacre. The US State Department could work with the countries in Africa to end this tragedy. The effort will not attack the sovereignty of the countries, it will improve their status and their economic tourism.
 
File photo shows a Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) officer standing near a burning pile of 15 tonnes of elephant ivory seized in kenya at Nairobi National Park on March 3, 2015 (AFP Photo/Carl De Souza) 

March 23, 2015
By Christophe Beaudufe

Kasane (Botswana) (AFP) - African elephants (click here) could be extinct in the wild within a few decades, experts warned at a major conservation summit in Botswana that highlighted an alarming decline in numbers due to poaching for ivory.

The Africa Elephant Summit, held at a tourist resort in Kasane, gathered delegates from about 20 countries across Europe, Africa and Asia, including China -- which is accused of fuelling the illegal poaching trade.

"This species could be extinct in our lifetime, within one or two decades, if the current trend continues," Dune Ives, senior researcher at Vulcan, a philanthropic organisation run by US billionaire Paul Allen, said.

"In five years we may have lost the opportunity to save this magnificent and iconic animal."

The conference heard latest figures from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which reported that the African elephant population had dropped from 550,000 in 2006 to 470,000 in 2013....

The House and Senate are engaged in "The Fantasy Congress."

The latest Republican Budget balances the budget over 10 years by cutting $5 and a half trillion. They are canceling the Affordable Care Act, keeping the taxes, completely changing Medicare and Social Security payments.

The Fantasy Congress. This is not a sincere balanced budget, it assaults the American public to benefit no one. It is pure nonsense and politics at the cost of the American Taxpayer. Gaming the electorate. 

The House is playing with "Queen of the Hill."

"Queen of the Hill is a type of special rule from the House Rules Committee that permits only one amendment of a series of amendments adopted on the House floor to prevail. The others fall aside, even if adopted. 

"Queen of the Hill" rules specify that only the amendment with the largest margin of victory prevails in the end.

GAMES. This is all fun and games for the right wing extremists.

The entire mess is politics and the Congress goes on recess for two weeks following the latest 'Under the Circus Tent' antics. 

I wish the President would speak out about this before Congress leaves so the electorate can be called on to take their legislators to task. 

Please don't send these Republican House members and Senators back to Congress, they don't deserve recognition of having been productive or APPROPRIATE demeanor. They have no respect for the people.  

These people are engaged in fun and games. Just that simple. There is nothing serious about these antics and it needs to stop. 

Candidate Clinton needs to take notice of this mess of a Congress. She might not even want it when she realizes now ridiculous this country's government has become. There will need to be a strong Democratic Congress to even engage Immigration Reform. 

I already know it will take on the characteristics of the Affordable Care Act as soon as it is introduced for passage by both houses. 

Additionally, I don't know how anyone can say their lives are improved by the Affordable Care Act. If they are thinking with their wallets, they need to realize the old insurance paradigm could refuse to pay a claim and throw a person off their insurance. Don't even try to tell me or many other Americans they are worse off with the Affordable Care Act, it is a lie. And if it is a Congressman or woman making the statement, well then, they are very welcome to the insurance they receive at taxpayer expense. We should all be so lucky.

Unfortunately today, Senator Sander's amendment to create an automatic "War Tax" should the USA continue and/or enter war was rejected. If this tax was employed with the previous administration the country would not be in debt as we are today.

RT is reporting the black box has been found,

It would appear France is ready to receive any parts and people of the crash site.

French fire brigade rescue units gather in a field near a farm buidling as they prepare to reach the crash site of an Airbus A320, near Seyne-les-Alpes, in the French Alps, March 24, 2015.(Reuters / Robert Pratta)

French rescue workers (click here) have discovered a flight recorder from the Germanwings A320 jetliner, which crashed in the in the French Alps on Tuesday, local media report.

France Info radio station cites parliamentarian Christophe Castaner, who said that one of the black boxes from flight 4U 9525 has been found. Same reports were broadcast by BFM TV and Le Monde.... 

This is being reported as a site of the crash. He has less issues than most thought.

Another photo of the crash site of #Germanwings flight #4U9525.

Until later.

The more I hear the more it sounds structural and decompression. Time will tell. 

Have a better day, everyone. 

Until later.

I am not surprised it will hours to reach the aircraft. BUT. It is only hours and not days and weeks.

Those recovering the site need to start to plan for the worst conditions possible to recover what lies there.

The wind conditions in the region is probably difficult. But, there will most probably be a need for "Hueys" or whatever is the equivalent today. Weather conditions at the site will dictate the ability to recover the entire fuselage. The actual jet may not be recoverable. The human toll and the black box should be recoverable. The people and the equipment may have to be brought down the mountain with sleds and arctic equipment. 

No one in the world needs more tragedy by risk taking in the recovery. Thank you.

There is enough risk built into these regions. No one needs to add more. The people able to respond are specialists. The call needs to go out to bring those able to the scene and then leave them alone to carry out a recovery with safety. Give them what they need and ask for.

France will need a coordinator/team leader to the efforts with military background. I think Alaska also has a unique team for these occasions. It will get done. 

I don't believe this one:

February 18, 2015
By Zachariah Hughes, KSKA - Anchorage

Soldiers from 12 countries and units all over the United States convened to discuss tactics, programs, and pedagogy on training military forces for operating in extreme cold environments. (Photo: Zachariah Hughes, KSKA).

Just as the Defense Department (click here) is putting the country’s military focus on the Arctic and Pacific, the U.S. Army in Alaska held its first ever international summit on cold weather combat. Elite specialists in mountaineering, skiing, and Arctic survival came to the Northern Warfare Training Center near Fairbanks to learn new techniques for fighting in terrain that can itself be a weapon against troops....

Leave it to Obama. Well, there seems to be a ready unit to do the impossible. Crevasses are no joke. They have to know what they are doing and this is a READY TEAM. The folks involved have to take care of and look out for each other in these environments.

This doesn't preclude a civilian team either. There are those probably more experienced and trustworthy to carry out the recovery, too. Climbers are awesome people. They know the responsibility to each other on a team. It is inherent to the craft.

Can jet computers be hacked? I've made that observation before in relation to drone military. It's ridiculous to rely on computers at the very least in a methodology for the defense of a sovereign country. Would someone want to make a point and hacked the computer? Anything is possible. I think the last person in "Anonymous" is in jail as of about a month ago, so it ain't them. 

Sabotage for life insurance? No. That requires a lot of expertise to carry out such a plot. The chance of making that connection from an average commercial flight is nearly zero. 

It would have to be a sophisticated computer expert and that would be a government authority, not a commercial one. I would not believe an incident like that could be accomplished by any one person. In my opinion it would require a government capacity. 

I will say though, all these online access sites that provide information about where jets are in their route would provide an access point to the transponders at the very least. The transponders should be secured as an 'end point' to their purpose. In other words, there needs to be dedicated transponders to that information that does not lead to the computer flying the jet. 

That outcome is an interesting 'mind game' but I don't believe it is realistic to consider it as a serious reason for the loss of this jet and the people aboard. I trust the major powers in the world. It is far different to hack into "Target Stores" and create mischief and the downing of a commercial jet. I would not expect any government to allow this type of disaster with their computer capacity. Any government on this planet has far better things to do with their computers. I trust them.  

It would require a rouge in order to have that occur and it would require 'practice' to carry out such a tragedy. If there was someone practicing on a government computer to commit murder I am fairly sure it would be picked up before it occurred. Computers are assessed on a regular basis. It would be a real surprise for any government to be that negligence. The USA has incredible capacity to detect such activity. Probably on a global basis to the disappointment of Chancellor Merkel. 

I just don't see that as a potential. Sorry. Interesting thought.

The Associated Press is reporting a passenger hearing noise? Wow. That could be structural integrity. In the absence of any other cause. The airlines need to do that research and don't stop with Western Pilots and airlines, invite everyone, including China and Russian commercial airlines. Those pilots fly some turbulent places. Iceland Air has amazing pilots. Everyone gets in on the project and the report is provided to everyone. This is my idea and while costs can be returned to the companies involved through whatever sources provide it, the report is to be free to everyone. End of discussion! No one is going to make a million $$$ on this project. It needs to be done. Experts can receive their pay. If all the major airlines got together they could accomplish a cooperative account in a reputable bank for their project. No outrageous expenses and 5 star hotels. Complimentary breakfast is the best they get.

Dear France,

Having a rough go of it these days, huh? We in the US know the disturbing reality that is sometimes that of airliners. This, in time, will pass as well. 

France knows the dignity of retrieving people from the farthest depths. We know when it comes to life and life shortened by tragedy France is one of the most dedicated countries and people to the integrity in understanding those lives lost.

Be comforted,
An American Woman

French Alps near Digne

Meteos-Prime - Europe Channel Water Vapor Satellite
March 24, 2015
0000

The time the jet went down was 1036 ? est ? that would make it a five hour difference in time to GMT at 0536 gmt. (click here for loop)

If emergency services are on the way, they know exactly where the aircraft has been downed. 

There has been a strong set of vortexes through the region in the past few hours. This is the northern vortex.

Below is the southern vortex. There would be a 'weather front' between the two that would create turbulence in a jet crossing that front.

Meteos-Prime - Europe Channel Water Vapor Satellite
March 24, 2015
0600

There is six hours between the two radar images.

In the loop there is also a very small vortex traversing the two vortex moving from west to east. It is nearly invisible, but, it is there. The major vortexes traveling from west to east. This other air mass was moving from east to west. There was high tropospheric air turbulence. Whether or not that effected the jet is a potential. The smaller vortex moving east to west develops out of the turbulence of the two other vortex passing each other. It is off the southern tip of the northern vortex as the other approaches. The air stream was present all the way from the farthest point on the right of the image. That air injection was the turbulence that separated the two vortex. It is nearly invisible because it has little to no water vapor until it meets the lower vortex at it's entrance from the Atlantic Ocean.

I am sorry, but, Digne falls under that air injection. I can't dismiss it right now. If there is debris in Barcelona that could be the air injection carrying some of the jet from a higher altitude. I am confident the authorities in the area will have the most minor of details soon.

My sympathies to the families and friends to those lost. It is horrible when these tragedies strike. 

24 March 2015
By Adam Withnall

An Airbus A320 (click here) carrying 148 people has crashed in the Alps in southeastern France.

French authorities confirmed the German Wings plane was flying from Barcelona to Dusseldorf when it disappeared from radar.

142 passengers, two pilots and four stewards were on board.

It crashed in the Massif des Trois évêchs in the valley of Haute-Bléone, in the region of Digne.

Emergency services are on their way. 

I'll be honest about these high altitude vortexes, the 'fly by wire' technology may not have the software it needs to understand these air masses. This jet had to discern three different air mass conditions with it's on board computers within a short period of time. Jets are exposed to these air masses on a regular basis and the entire populous of pilots should be surveyed for their input regarding turbulence. The most experienced pilots will have the most information with depth as to the difference there is today as opposed to the past to MAINTAIN the trajectory and stability of the aircraft. The industry needs their input and they can do it anonymously on audio tape. Anonymous identity would create an air of honesty. The information is too important to play any kind of industry politics.

The industry needs to come to terms with the Climate Crisis. It can be classified information as computer software can be written to allow pilots their autonomous flight skills in times they believe to be questionable for a computer to be competent IF that proves to be an issue. 

Reports state it was not a careening decent. In other words it did not move swiftly and in an uncontrolled way in a specified direction. It sounds as though the pilot(s) had control of the jet. If there was an on board explosion it would not have a controlled movement.

If "Fly by Wire" was discerning the flight in varying ways due to very drastic air mass differences, it could cause it's own loss of structural integrity. Just stating what is obvious to me and not making the final analysis from solid information. 

These are large jets with large surface area. The A320 does not have an exemplary record. This is from Wiki (click here). The "Miracle on the Hudson" was a A320, but, the pilot and his experience is what saved the lives. The downing of that A320 in NYC was not the fault of the jet.

No one is stating the airline industry is unsafe or they don't care enough to be safe, but, there are real estimates regarding the public knowledge of what actually occurs. When there is inconsistency in the information the public is more rattled than the industry should allow. Honest assessments, please.

The fact of the matter is the Alps have considerable number of people competent in traversing the region. There will be recovery as soon as the best folks are at the scene. If it requires large equipment to remove the plane from the crevasse it might be a challenge. But, I am sure there are people already there or soon given the expert climbers in the area.

Given the popularity of the area there are probably witnesses to the crash much to their surprise and concern.