President Assad should know if they found something or manufactured it.

Mustard Gas is more a genocidal agent than a war compliment. It's effects are found in the long term and not the immediacy of the battlefield.

November 5, 2015
By Anthony Deutsch

Chemical weapons experts (click here) have determined that mustard gas was used in a Syrian town where Islamic State insurgents were battling another rebel group, according to a report by an international watchdog seen by Reuters. A confidential Oct. 29 report by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), a summary of which was shown to Reuters, concluded "with the utmost confidence that at least two people were exposed to sulfur mustard" in the town of Marea, north of Aleppo, on Aug. 21.

"It is very likely that the effects of sulfur mustard resulted in the death of a baby," it said.

The findings provide the first official confirmation of use of sulfur mustard, commonly known as mustard gas, in Syria since it agreed to destroy its chemical weapons stockpile, which included sulfur mustard.
The report did not mention Islamic State, as the fact-finding mission was not mandated to assign blame, but diplomatic sources said the chemical had been used in the clashes between Islamic State and another rebel group taking place in the town at the time.
"It raises the major question of where the sulfur mustard came from," one source said. "Either they (IS) gained the ability to make it themselves, or it may have come from an undeclared stockpile overtaken by IS. Both are worrying options."
Syria is supposed to have completely surrendered the toxic chemicals 18 months ago. Their use violates U.N. Security Council resolutions and the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention....

Sulfur mustard is a type of chemical warfare agent. (click here)  These kinds of agents cause blistering of the skin and mucous membranes on contact. They are called vesicants or blistering agents. .

...Sulfur mustard is not found naturally in the environment.

Sulfur mustard was introduced in World War I as a chemical warfare agent. Historically it was available for use in the treatment of a skin condition called psoriasis. Today it has no medical use....

Excuse for #43 and a therapy tour for JEB!. I don't think so.

November 5, 2015
By Peter Baker

Washington — After years of holding back, (click here) former President George Bush has finally broken his public silence about some of the key figures in his son’s administration, issuing scathing critiques of Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
In interviews with his biographer, Mr. Bush said that Mr. Cheney built “his own empire” and asserted too much “hard-line” influence within George W. Bush’s White House in pushing for the use of force around the world. Mr. Rumsfeld, the elder Mr. Bush said, was an “arrogant fellow” who could not see how others thought and “served the president badly.”...

13 years later and a college appliction. College Deans and Chancellors need to be checking their student identities.

November 5, 2015
By Amber Roberson

Vestavia Hills, Ala. —A child (click here) reported missing from Vestavia Hills 13 years ago has been found unharmed.

"I've been doing this 25 years and its something I've never experienced before," said Lt. Johnny Evans, of Vestavia Hills police.
According to Vestavia Hills police, Julian Hernandez, who is now 18, was reported missing by his mother on Aug. 28, 2002. Police say he was suspected to have been abducted by a non-custodial parent. 
"They (investigators) spent tireless hours doing everything they could to try to find him," said Evans.
Jefferson County District Attorney Brandon Falls said the case broke when Julian Hernandez was trying to apply for college when his Social Security number didn’t....

I heard a report about a 30 second conversation between USA and Russian jet pilots over Syria. I like that. I think that is great. I am hoping 30 seconds turned into far more.

It is time China, Russia and The West find peace leading to non-proliferation. The world has become too small and if it is possible to cooperate over Syria we can find that resolve all the time. There is no disagreement that can't be resolved in peace and in support of the entire global community.

Cooperation and mutual respect can be achieved. President Obama and his administration is capable of achieving it. Hate is not a complimentary form of relationship for any country today. Pope Francis knows peace is possible. He also knows the children of the world are important enough to make it happen.

November 5, 2015

Cairo -- The Egyptian minister (click here) for civil aviation insisted Thursday that its airport security is up to international standards, and said there was no evidence yet to support the theory that a bomb was planted on the Metrojet plane that came apart over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

"The investigation team does not have yet any evidence or data confirming this hypothesis," Hossam Kamal said....

I have to admit the debris field tells the story. I can't dismiss what I see there.
There is no reason for a tail section to be intact as the rest of the jet obviously was destroyed into a million pieces. It doesn't look as though the tail belongs to the rest of the jet. The only way that tail stayed intact is if it fell and hit the ground first while the remaining jet was still moving forward away from the tail section and the fuel tanks ignited. The break in the tail would have exposed the cargo area of the jet including fuel and electric wiring. The electrical system for a jet isn't like house wiring, it is industrial and would have been carrying substantial charge that could have ignited a central fuel tank.

The main part of the jet fell symmetrically. That means the explosion was more center than any other parts of the jet. The more I think about the debris field the more I see the incident in the sky. I think it is obvious.

The turbine fins from the engines look just like TWA 800.

The only reason I would change my mind is the questioning of the staff revealed the actual delivery of a bomb. If there was absolute proof of a bomb it would raise other questions about the jet and it's fall to Earth, but, proof is proof.

The jet downing in Egypt. My only doubt revolves around the tail section. It was a full three miles from the rest of the debris. It was first thing to hit the ground. It just was. The flash could be full fuel tanks when the jet's integrity was compromised. Electrical sparks occurred and the fuel ignited.

If that picture proves false then so be it, but, the tail section would not necessarily have landed so far from the rest of the debris and INTACT. The tail section appears intact and looks as though it fell off the jet. I can't deny the physics. The three mile distance and intact appearance of the tail section is overwhelming in that debris field.

I am finished. The climate extremes and a fractured tail section is too much for me to rule out.

I wish never happened.

Matt Bevin was a $2.5 million experiment for the GOP.

Kentucky is Clinton Country. The GOP wanted to find the path to defeating Hillary Clinton. Unfortunately, it means a return to poverty and poor health for the people of Kentucky.

Bevin changes could be "extremely radical"

November 4, 2015
By Tom Loftus and Mike Wynn

Frankfort, Ky. - The State Capitol (click here) saw the first steps Wednesday in a dramatic five-week transition of power that is spreading both hope and concern across the commonwealth.

The preliminary steps from the eight-year leadership of moderate Democrat Steve Beshear to Tea Party conservative Matt Bevin began behind the scenes and in a cooperative spirit.

But emotions are stirring about a candidate elected with a mandate Tuesday who has promised to cut the size of government, rework public pensions, initiate charter schools, adopt a so-called right-to-work law, blasted Obamacare and embraced the cause of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis....

I have to point out the parallel hatred of people that cross his path. "W" sent us to war because Saddam made empty threats to H.W. Bush. Now, we see "Jeb!" taking vengeance on Terry Shiavo's estranged spouse. That is a personality trait that does not belong in the White House. 

"W"s problem with revenge and Jeb's problem with revenge are FACTS. It is not political or contrived. There are specific events one can point to and illustrate character traits with both men. 

I am sure any potential candidate has already read this book, however, in case there are one or two that haven't; it is a worthy read.

Below are some of the facts from the book. The book also states the Governor Jeb Bush office was secretive and closed to any scrutiny. Some other highlights stated include rigged school testing. The standards were too low and it would be nearly impossible for a child to fail. Bush was the first to institute educational testing in Florida while he emptied public schools into religious schools that are exempt from testing.

Jeb, as stated by author plays with numbers in comparing Florida with national percentages. Florida did well in most numbers when compared nationally, HOWEVER, the damage Bush did would show up when his numbers were compared to past Governors of Florida. The Florida Bush's statistics showed he had the worst administration ever to hold office in the state. 

The author describes austerity to Bush's form of economic policy including rising unemployment that would be the highest the State of Florida ever had.

The author Shirish V. Date had credibility. (click here) He had been following Florida politics and law for a long time. He knows what he is talking about.
The only way to understand the Florida Bush's bragging statistics is to compare Governor to Governor, not Governor to national statistics.
 

Jeb and his partner Armondo Codina purchased 1390 Brickell Avenue, a downtown office building, in 1984. The two found an insurance company to lend them $7 million, and J. Edward Houston put up another $4.6 million, borrowed from Broward Federal Savings and Loan.Broward , having made a number of these sweetheart loans, collapsed in the national savings and loan crisis. Federal regulators negotiated a deal that Jeb and Codina keep the building by closing out the $4.6 million Broward liability for a mere $505,000. The two partners had to pay $1.3 million in income tax on the forgiven loan.
The question here is not whether Jeb turned a profit. The question is the 7-figure contribution that US taxpayers made to Jeb's net worth. How do we know there was a 7-figure contribution? Because Jeb and Codina paid $1.3 million in income tax on it. Asked if they were aware that the funds for the repayment of the Broward loans came from the taxpayers, Jeb phrased it, "Helllllll, no. Absolutely not."

This is another article that claims manipulation of facts was always used in Bush's politics from "The Atlantic." I am sure there are many more, including, the time he took revenge on the spouse of Mr. Schiavo through the Florida Justice Department.

August 9, 2015
Emily Deruy
...So while it is technically true (click here) in terms of sheer numbers that more black and Latino students are enrolling in college, percentage-wise, black enrollment is down, and there’s little evidence to suggest that Bush’s policies contributed to an increase in Hispanic enrollment.

What can honestly be said about the Atlantic article is that Jeb Bush as a reputation that stigmatizes African Americans. He disenfranchized minority voters in Dade County and in this article, while other minorities were doing fine and Caucasian students were enrolling in college there was out reach to provide a more optimistic view for the African American student. The numbers were higher simply because there were more enrolling regardless of race, but, the percentages before the surge in student numbers showed a far different percentage. Bush didn't care about the fact estranged students needed out reach. He didn't care. 
  

Another Russian plane is down.

Satellite (click here)

If the winds at 30 thousand feet are strong, a once damaged tail section of a jet can be weak enough to cause loss of control of the jet.

It is not easy to spot because there are few clouds, but, there is a convergence of a north air mass moving south and a southern air mass moving north. 

What has the weather been like in Africa? There is some extreme turbulence that has been across Yemen and the UAE. 

The area where that cargo jet went down is not all that far from the adverse weather in Yemen. There is turbulence exactly where this jet went down and given where the crash occurred in the Sinai I believe there are upper winds causing issues. 

The air masses are converging near Jordan. This is a better satellite image to not. It is the most current water vapor image and there is a circulation center that has been the result.

A lot of the air turbulence is not in the lower troposphere anymore. It is in the upper troposphere and 30 thousand feet would be reasonable to consider that scenario.

The turbulence has to be considered as a potential cause of these jet failures. Why they are both Russian bound is a darn good question. 

T

The scene of a cargo airplane that crashed after take-off near Juba Airport in South Sudan on November 4, 2015 (Photo Reuters)

November 4, 2015 (JUBA) - Over 40 people (click here) are feared dead after a Russian plane crashed shortly after taking off from Juba International Airport Wednesday morning....

Those that wrote the ballot thought they could get away with corruption. I am proud of Ohio, they know crooks when they see them.

November 3, 2015
By AP

Columbus, Ohio (AP) — Ohio voters rejected a ballot (click here) proposal Tuesday that would have legalized both recreational and medical marijuana in a single vote — a vote-getting strategy that was being watched as a test case for the nation.
Failure of the proposed state constitutional amendment followed an expensive campaign, a legal fight over its ballot wording, an investigation into petition signatures — and, predominantly, a counter campaign fueled by Ohio lawmakers. It was the only marijuana legalization question on the 2015 statewide ballots.
With three-quarters of the votes counted, the issue was losing 65 percent to 35 percent.
Issue 3 would have allowed adults 21 and older to use, purchase or grow certain amounts of marijuana. It also outlined a proposed regulatory and taxation scheme for cannabis and created a network of 10 growing facilities....

And a new redistricting committee - applause, applause

The amendment (click here) would create a new, bipartisan commission to draw legislative districts that are compact and do not favor one political party or another. The amendment would take effect in 2021 when the next redistricting will occur. Issue 1 is the fourth citizen initiative to attempt to change the redistricting process in the last 30 years....

And last but not least is pure heroism. How did Ohioans pull it off? This is magnificent. It inspires the idea Americans are still alive out there in the country. Real Americans. Moral Americans. I love this amendment.

Under the amendment, (click here) the Ohio Ballot Board would regulate initiatives concerning monopolies.
If the board decides an initiative certified for the ballot creates an economic monopoly or special privilege for any nonpublic entity, including individuals, corporations and organizations, then two questions would appear on the ballot.
The first question would ask, "Shall the petitioner, in violation of division (B)(1) of Section 1e of Article II of the Ohio Constitution, be authorized to initiate a constitutional amendment that grants or creates a monopoly, oligopoly, or cartel, specifies or determines a tax rate, or confers a commercial interest, commercial right, or commercial license that is not available to other similarly situated persons?" The second is the original question that was certified for the ballot....

I can't believe a majority of Ohioans are thinking the same and completely resolved to end corruption in their state. It must be a great feeling. Congratulations.

Capitalism is at it's best when there is competition. Competition means more jobs and better pay when American labor is needed to build quality products. It is a great law.

Finally, an email that proves exactly what I have been saying.

The messaging to the public was controlled in order to limit any impetus to more attacks and deaths.

November 2, 2015
By Sarah Westwood

An email released by the House Select Committee on Benghazi (click here) Saturday suggests Hillary Clinton's State Department was advised to tell two different stories about what sparked the 2012 Benghazi terror attack: one to the U.S., and another in Libya.
"[O]ur view at Embassy Tripoli is that we must be cautious in our local messaging with regard to the inflammatory film trailer, adapting it to Libyan conditions," wrote an embassy official whose name was redacted from the Sept. 14, 2012 email.
The unidentified official said the offensive YouTube clip was "not as explosive as an issue" in Libya as it had been in other countries, such as Egypt.
"[I]f we post messaging about the video specifically, we may draw unwanted attention to it," the official said. "And it is becoming increasingly clear that the series of events in Benghazi was much more terrorist attack than a protest which escalated into violence."...

Ah, someone dies of natural causes in Iraq.

The idea ANYONE can push a US President into war is absurd. If that occurred then Bush should have been impeached. We aren't suppose to fight wars for anyone else. The Iraq invasion never was a threat to the USA. 

Do we have to go through lie after lie all over again every time someone involved with Bush lies die?

We know Chalabi was corrupt. He went from nobody to Minister of Oil in Iraq after the USA committed an invasion that changed the face of the Middle East. 

November 3, 2015
By Stephen Kalin and Saif Hameed

Ahmed Chalabi, (click here) the smooth-talking Iraqi politician who pushed Washington to invade Iraq in 2003 with discredited information on Saddam Hussein's military capabilities, died on Tuesday of an apparent heart attack.
Haitham al-Jabouri, secretary of parliament's financial panel that Chalabi had chaired, said attendants had found him dead in his bed in his Baghdad home. A news flash on Iraqi state television said the cause was a heart attack.
A secular Shi'ite, Chalabi rose to prominence as leader of the then-exiled Iraqi National Congress, which played a major role in encouraging the U.S. administration of former President George W. Bush to invade Iraq and oust Saddam....

Can the international community stop worrying about public reputations regarding this jet?

Jet crashes have occurred around the world to many countries. I don't blame anyone. The USA investigation process looks to find the EXACT cause so it doesn't happen again. If the investigative process has to go silent until all the facts are known than so be it. The truth has to be known and I don't see any blaming in the public sector. All that needs to be reported ARE THE FACTS without defaming countries and persons.

It is vital the airlines have the best and correct facts. I would think the governments would as well. If this investigation has to be classified than it needs to be classified and not discussed in public. The integrity of the investigation is most important and not politics. PLEASE.

November 3, 2015
Andrew Roth and Daniela Deane

...A public quarrel erupted Monday (click here) after Metrojet, the small Russian airline scrambling to protect its reputation after the devastating crash, said that external factors were the cause of the plane’s disintegration rather than technical issues or pilot error.
Russian government officials responded with a swift rebuke that it was both premature and without foundation to speculate on what caused the crash, wanting to contain speculation — and potential embarassment — over what led to the deadliest civil aviation disaster in Russia’s history.
On Tuesday morning, Russia’s Interfax news service, citing a source in the investigation, said there were no signs of a malfunction with the plane and that pilots were chatting normally with air-traffic controllers until four minutes before an “emergency situation occurred on board unexpectedly.”
“In the recordings, sounds uncharacteristic of a standard flight precede the moment of the airliner’s disappearance from radar screens,” the news service reported without elaboration. “The pilots had no time to send out a distress signal.”
Metrojet said Monday there were no signs of an “external impact,” however, meaning a missile or other projectile.
Russia continued Tuesday to repatriate the remains of its citizens who died aboard the Airbus 320-200 Saturday shortly after take-off from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on its way to St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city.
What happened in those last four minutes of flight remains a mystery....

I realize these two events were worlds apart. But, there was a recent fire with a jet on a USA runway. This incident in Egypt and the one in the USA were smaller airlines. Is there a possibility the quality of jet fuel needs to be examined? Was there a recent professional standard changed?

World Jet Fuel Specifications - 2005 (click here)

Aviation Fuel Standard Takes Flight - Sept/Oct 2011 (click here)

...What’s Ahead

The D7566 specification lays out a framework for the aviation industry to make use of HEFA- and Fischer-Tropsch-processed blendstocks, and other potential synthetic fuel components that may become part of D7566 in the future.
Oil companies, refiners and producers of aviation turbine fuel and new alternative fuel producers will use the new specification in their operations to manufacture the fuel. These fuels are recertified, usually by the refinery or transportation company, as D1655 fuels as they move into the distribution infrastructure that moves aviation turbine fuel from producers to end users. “The airline has ultimate responsibility for ensuring the fuel meets the specification before loading it on the aircraft,” says Rumizen.
Now the biggest challenge facing the industry is the investment required to scale up production and produce the quantities of fuel needed to make an impact in the industry....

There may be different changes and more recently. There is also the issue of QUALITY. Is there a difference in quality from supplier to supplier. With different incidence so far from each other it most probably would be an industry standard that changed and allowed a different quality.

The date the jet is manufactured might be an issue with new fuels. I still think the fueling process is in question in the runway fire in the USA and I really believe the damage done to the tail SECTION of the jet in the Egypt incident has a strong possibility of influence.

Also, the damage done 14 years ago can result in suspicion in the Egypt incident when in fact it might be something more subtle. It is just that the damage will show up again in the investigation. It should show up, BUT, is it conclusive to the cause of the crash. There was obviously a fire or explosion according to a USA satellite image.

When I stated I thought there might be a Russian satellite and it was the USA that came forward does not mean Russia doesn't have their own satellite; they just didn't share it with the public.

Three meters is nearly ten feet.

November 3, 2015
By AFP

...This time, researchers at Germany's Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (click here) pointed to the long-term impacts of the crucial Amundsen Sea sector of West Antarctica, which they said "has most likely been destabilized."
While previous studies "examined the short-term future evolution of this region, here we take the next step and simulate the long-term evolution of the whole West Antarctic Ice Sheet," the authors said in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
They used computer models to project the effects of 60 more years of melting at the current rate.
This "would drive the West Antarctic Ice sheet past a critical threshold beyond which a complete, long-term disintegration would occur."
In other words, "the entire marine ice sheet will discharge into the ocean, causing a global sea-level rise of about three meters," the authors wrote....

When a repeating pattern turns up in scientific research that means it is validated and there is no question. There is no more theory, it is proven.

May 12, 2014

The "Unstable" West Antarctic Ice Sheet: A Primer (click here)

The new finding that the eventual loss of a major section of West Antarctica's ice sheet "appears unstoppable" was not completely unexpected by scientists who study this area. The study, led by glaciologist Eric Rignot at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, and the University of California, Irvine, follows decades of research and theory suggesting the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is inherently vulnerable to change.
Antarctica is so harsh and remote that scientists only began true investigation of its ice sheet in the 1950s. It didn't take long for the verdict on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to come in. "Unstable," wrote Ohio State University glaciologist John Mercer in 1968. It was identified then and remains today the single largest threat of rapid sea level rise.

Why is West Antarctica's ice sheet considered "unstable"?

The defining characteristic of West Antarctica is that the majority of the ice sheet is "grounded" on a bed that lies below sea level.
In his 1968 paper, Mercer called the West Antarctic Ice Sheet a "uniquely vulnerable and unstable body of ice." Mercer based his statement on geologic evidence that West Antarctica’s ice had changed considerably many, many millennia ago at times when the ice sheets of East Antarctica and Greenland had not...

Interview with Charles Koch

Mr. Koch can you say how the accusations of crony capitalism effects you?

Mr. Koch: Dah, well, it doesn't effect me at all and I don't know why people say it.

What should have been asked:

Charles did you donate to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's campaign?

Charles: Yes

Charles are you now proposing a mine in Wisconsin?

Charles: Yes

Charles would like to explain how you donated monies to Scott Walker and are now mining in Wisconsin?

The interview with Charles Koch is absolutely lame. 

March 4, 2014
By  Dean Obeidallah 

...This isn’t a movie, (click here) however, it’s actually happening in Iron County, Wisconsin ‘s April 1 County Board of Supervisors election.   This sleepy part of Northern Wisconsin, home to about 6,000 people, is described as “a place of incredible natural beauty” with “300 pristine lakes,” waterfalls, and “500 miles of great snowmobile trails.” 
But Iron County has one other thing:  Iron ore.  And therein lies the interest of the billionaires. And not just one, but three, plus Wisconsin’s ambitious Governor Scott Walker.
Billionaire number one is Chris Cline, the man behind Gogebic Taconite (GTAC), the company that in 2011 first proposed $1.5 billion dollar massive open pit iron ore mine. The (over) promise of new jobs excited many in the county.  But some local residents, including the nearby Chippewa Indian tribe, objected because of the environmental hazards posed by the mine that would ultimately extend for 22 miles.......So enter billionaires two and three: Charles and David Koch and their Americans for Prosperity group. This is the same group that spent $120 million plus in the 2012 election cycle supporting Republicans and are currently pouring millions into the 2014 election cycle on behalf of GOP candidates.
Last week, the Koch brothers’ AFP mailed out two different sets of fliers to Iron County residents, the first attacking candidates who oppose the mine and the second praising those who support it. As AFP’s Wisconsin director David Fladeboe told The Wisconsin State Journal, these mailing were just the start of a campaign, “to educate folks in Iron County about the issue.”...

There are plenty of interviews with the Kochs that actually prove the snake in the garden they are. What does MSNBC do? Shined them on.

USA Today:

April 24, 2015

Charles Koch: We're not in politics to boost our bottom line (click here)

Lie. That is a blatant lie. It is a fact the Kochs contribute to political campaigns expecting Quid Pro Quo.

Pathetic. The interview with the Kochs on MSNBC is pathetic. How much money did they hand MSNBC to promote an ideological image on their Morning Joe program? 

The Kochs belong in prison for the bribery they practice. Hello? Bribery is still illegal even with Citizen's United.