At one time scientists, including NOAA and NASA were estimating the cost of the climate crisis. I don't recall the mention of failed tourism.

June 22, 2016
By Katy Galimberti

An Ohio teen died (click here) after contracting a brain-eating amoeba that thrives in warm freshwater while swimming on a trip in North Carolina.
The 18-year-old woman was on a church trip and is suspected to have contracted Naegleria Fowleri at a popular outdoor recreation center near Charlotte, NBC affiliate WCMH reported.
Commonly found in warm freshwater such as lakes, ponds and hot springs, humans are infected by the deadly organisms when water containing the amoeba travels through the nose and migrates to the brain, destroying the tissue.
High temperatures in the summer months elevate the risk of coming into contact with the brain-eating amoeba....

From the CDC:

...(click here) (commonly referred to as the "brain-eating amoeba" or "brain-eating ameba"), is a free-living microscopic ameba*, (single-celled living organism). It can cause a rare and devastating infection of the brain called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). The ameba is commonly found in warm freshwater (e.g. lakes, rivers, and hot springs) and soil. Naegleria fowleri usually infects people when contaminated water enters the body through the nose...
Naegleria fowleri

Symptoms (click here) may start about 1 day to 1 week after exposure; initially symptoms may include:

changes in smell and taste,

headache,

fever,

stiff neck, nausea, and vomiting.

The patient may have confusion, ataxia (wobbliness), and seizures; and rapidly worsen over about 3 to 7 days with death occurring about 7 to 14 days after exposure. Patients, who are usually young, may not seek medical care quickly; most patients are diagnosed by examination of autopsied brain tissue....

Brexit and the TiPP, what results?

May 21, 2016

By Suzanne Lynch

It was June 2013 and Ireland (click here) was nearing the end of its six-month presidency of the European Union. At a meeting in Luxembourg, the then minister for trade Richard Bruton hailed an historic agreement. After months of behind-the-scenes negotiations, led mostly by Irish officials, EU member states had agreed to open talks with the US on an ambitious trade agreement.

A last-minute attempt by the French to exclude the heavily-subsidised French film industry from the negotiating mandate threatened to derail the sensitive talks at the 11th hour. Following tense negotiations, the rest of the EU’s member states bowed to French’s demands for “l’exception culturelle”, and the deal was done. EU trade ministers signed on the dotted line.

Three years later the EU-US trade deal is reaching a crucial phase. Experts on both sides of the Atlantic agree that a deal must be reached before the end of US president Barack Obama’s term. If not, plans for creating the world’s largest trade pact will be kicked down the road into the mandate of the next US president, with little hope of agreement in the near term....

It is a change in governance. I don't see the path forward. Changing the boundary lines of an entire continent is not a minor issue. 

June 22, 2016

Even as the day for the referendum (click here) in Britain on whether it wants to remain in or leave the European Union comes closer, opinion polls are divided on the outcome and show that the result could go either way, making the contest a neck-and-neck fight between the two sides.
The Brexit debate, or the debate on the possible exit of Britain from the EU, has two sides: The 'Remain' side which believes that Britain should stay in the EU and the 'Leave' side which supports a Brexit.
Apart from politicians, celebrities have also been saying a lot of things about the Brexit issue.
According to YouGov, a website which displays trends on the basis of information collected from around four million people around the world, the latest trends show that 44 percent of people in Britain want to leave the EU, 42 percent want Britain to remain whereas the rest are undecided on the issue or will not vote in the referendum...

It is a perfect opportunity to end the TiPP process.

June 22, 2016

...The Risks Of Leaving (click here)
But those countries never had Britain's larger global ambitions, the other side argues.
"As a single country we would have minimal influence on world affairs. Does anyone seriously think the prospect of British sanctions would alarm [Russian President] Vladimir Putin, or have persuaded Iran to curtail its nuclear program?" Martin Fletcher, the former foreign editor of the Times of London, wrote in a Facebook post.
"We would be willfully removing ourselves from a single market of 500 million people without the faintest idea whether, or on what terms, we would be allowed to continue trading with 27 E.U. states who would want to punish us. Why on earth would we take such a monumental risk?" he added.
The "Leave" supporters claim that the E.U. has chipped away at Britain's sovereignty, and cutting ties would make Britain stronger and freer to act as it chooses. Their motto is "Take Control."....

Zika has many victims, including the achievements of athletes.

June 22, 2016

...Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy (click here) has withdrawn from contention for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics due to concerns over the Zika virus.

"After speaking with those closest to me, I've come to realise that my health and my family's health comes before anything else," the Northern Irishman said on Wednesday in a statement.

"Even though the risk of infection from the Zika virus is considered low, it is a risk nonetheless and a risk I am unwilling to take."

"I trust the Irish people will understand my decision. The unwavering support I receive every time I compete in a golf tournament at home or abroad means the world to me."

McIlroy has recently slipped to fourth in the world rankings after failing to make the cut at the US Open....

I think it is irresponsible to state Zika virus's risk is low.

June 21, 2016

West Chester, Pa. (WPVI) --

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (click here) has confirmed the first case of Zika virus in Chester County.

The case, according to the Chester County Health Department, involves a Chester County woman who had recently traveled to an area affected by mosquitos carrying the Zika virus. She was not pregnant....

June 22, 2016
By Robyn Ironside

Australia's favourite overseas holiday destination (click here) has been added to the list of countries plagued by Zika virus, in what could be a huge blow for the Bali honey and babymoon industry.

Travel advice issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade warns Indonesia is experiencing “sporadic transmission” of the virus which has been linked to serious birth defects.
The warning advises all travellers to Indonesia to “protect themselves from mosquito bites”.
“Given the possibility that Zika virus can cause severe malformations in unborn babies, and taking a very cautious approach, pregnant women should discuss any travel plans with the travel doctor and consider postponing travel to Indonesia,” reads the advice....

Greed is considered a sin in most religions.

I still remember my childhood picture Bible, (click here) which showed a shiny golden calf with people bowing down before it—a colorful depiction of the idolatry into which the ancient Israelites fell after Moses led them out of Egypt (Ex. 32). The story struck me as incredibly strange for two reasons. First, I wondered why anyone would be so ridiculous as to worship a golden calf. Obviously, the gold statue was not really a living god. Second, I wondered why God would care so much about what they did. They weren’t hurting anyone (were they?). It may be silly to worship a calf of gold, but why would God be concerned?...

I never quote "Newsmax," but, they reported the merchandise of the Trump campaign correctly.

The Donald Trump campaign has always merchandised items through it's grassroots organization which sprang up after he began his unfunded campaign. The people following Donald Trump wanted to donate to the campaign. Everyone knows when people donate to campaigns they become invested and vote and/or work for it.

The day Donald Trump announced wearing a red golf cap I stated on this blog it would be no time and everyone would be wearing red Trump caps. Well. Guess what?

Campaigns are about the people. The Donald Trump campaign is no different. People like to have bragging rights when they display bumper stickers and wear buttons.

Enough already of the "Donald Bashing."

There is no basis to the scrutiny his BOOKKEEPING gets. He is using his assets for whatever reason he does. One thing is sure, he will never be turned away from holding a meeting or rally. Imagine if he didn't have his own infrastructure. The grassroots Republicans would never be able to get out from under the oppressive Republican establishment. I am sure there are many people grateful for him and his infrastructure.

As far as his bookkeeping; is the IRS finished with his audits?

Kindly remember no one held Cheney responsible for cooking the Halliburton books after he launched into exclusive contracts with Halliburton in Iraq.

Why does Donald Trump seem benevolent compared to Dick Cheney?

28 July 2016
By Courtney Coren

...The store clerk (click here) told the Post that all of the campaign merchandise was sold tax free and the money made from the merchandise went to the campaign. The merchandise also takes up a spot that is only for the campaign. However, no information is collected from shoppers, who are de facto donors. 

The situation is actually more complex than it may seem, Larry Noble of the Campaign Legal Center told the Post.

"When you sell something through a store, there's a normal business process you go through," Noble said. "A campaign has to do its dealings in the ordinary course of business. If he were trying to sell campaign material through Walmart, Walmart would have to charge him what they'd normally charge or pay him what they'd normally pay."...

The USA had two flat tops in South China Sea, too. When is China and Russia going to demand the nuclear disarmament of North Korea?

North Korea is turning the Pacific into a dicey mess. That is why the USA flat tops were there. China is putting out markers to their country's borders. That is very aggressive.

What if North Korea decides to make a missile launch count on Japan or the South. I think North Korea knows how stupid a nuclear shot at South Korea is though. But, what if a North Korean missile shot gave Taiwan 'a reason.' Then what? An all out war with China and Taiwan and who knows who else. The USA flat tops (click here) serve to be 'the muscle' in the Pacific and not other island countries that could really make a mess of that hemisphere. 

March 7, 2016
By Bill Gertz

USS John C. Stennis and escorting destroyers in Pacific Ocean exercises last year.

The commander (click here) of the US Pacific Command (Pacom) came under political fire from China last week following recent comments critical of Beijing’s military encroachment in the South China Sea.
The communist party-affiliated Global Times, in a front page report, accused Pacom’s Adm. Harry Harris of “China bashing” and “making waves in the South China Sea” for comments accusing China of regional hegemony made during recent speeches and congressional testimony.
The publication, often used as an official outlet for hardline anti-US propaganda, then issued a veiled threat that harsh comments from the admiral were creating stepped up competition between the United States and China and could lead to conflict.
“If two nuclear powerhouses engage in a competition to test each other’s willpower, the whole world will face the repercussions,” Global Times stated March 4.
The propaganda organ said “Harris’ words and deeds keep reminding us that we have to put more efforts into the building of islands in the South China Sea and deploying more weaponry.”...

EVERYONE CHILL! But, North Korea has to disarm. There is no reason for North Korea to continue to build an arsenal it cannot realistically use. It would be a complete turn around if North Korea would simply focus on it's people and demand humanitarian relief and rebuilding after 60 years or more of hostilities without war.

The Pacific is a powder keg and it is mostly due to North Korea.

June 21, 2016
VOA News

North Korea on Wednesday fired two ballistic missile (click here) from its east coast, U.S. and South Korean military officials said. At least one of the two attempts failed.
The twin launches, early Wednesday, were believed to be an intermediate-range Musudan missile, capable of reaching U.S. military bases in Asia and the Pacific.
North Korea unsuccessfully test-launched a similar missile three times in April. Another launch, most likely of the Musudan, failed in May.
Japan's military was placed on alert for a missile launch, and its navy and anti-missile Patriot batteries were instructed to shoot down any projectile headed for Japan, according to a government source.
The missile has a reported range of 3,000 to 4,000 kilometers which, if fired successfully, could reach targets in Japan, China and Guam.
U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby again chided Pyongyang ahead of the test.

Americans' safety depends on federal interstate prohibition laws.

Ya know. I can't help believe this is looking more and more like the average Republican member. 

June 21, 2016
By Ben Mathis-Lilley

Earlier Tuesday (click here) fear spread across the land when news broke that the huge cache of weapons pictured above, some loaded, had been seized from a car that was attempting to enter New York City through the Holland Tunnel. Initial accounts said a joint terrorism task force was involved with the investigation. Was this a potential attack thwarted at the last minute—the work of ISIS or al-Qaida or some Timothy McVeigh–style white extremist group?

Nope, turns out it was just some regular old "gun enthusiasts"! From DNA Info:

The three are believed to be gun enthusiasts with "drug issues," another law enforcement source said, and told investigators they were heading into the city to help out another friend with drug problems.

In other words, aside from the drug issues—there was heroin reportedly found in the car—these could very well be everyday Americans enjoying their Second Amendment rights to carry around a big ol' collection of murder equipment....

The water vapor has repopulated in large measure at the ITCZ. If there is turbulence in the USA today, it will be tornadoes. Little water vapor.

21 June 2016
1230.18z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES East Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop - Click here)

There is water vapor consolidating in the Gulf of Mexico.

IT TOOK THE FIVE PREVIOUS SEVERE NAMED STORM TO BUILD UP ENOUGH WATER VAPOR IN THE TROPOSPHERE TO SPAWN A LARGER STORM/HURRICANE.

Right now, "Danielle" is a tropical depression, but, is building winds to 20 mph. The tropical depression may develop into a Cat One Hurricane, the first since Alex. There is significant water vapor in the region of Danielle. And what does everyone know? The more water vapor, the more concentration of heat and the higher the velocity of the storm and the more damage it does.

The POWER of water vapor is the reason NASA and NOAA consider it a greenhouse gas. The power is so great that if there is enough 'energy' in the water vapor as it consolidates it could mitigate the CURRENT threat of tornadoes over the USA.

Water vapor mitigates heat on Earth. When it moved up in higher altitudes/elevations the surface of Earth became vulnerable to the ravages of the climate crisis. 

June 16, 2016
By NOLA/Times Picayune

A low pressure system (click here) located over the central Bay of Campeche about 200 miles east of Tuxpan, Mexico, has a 70 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression Sunday (June 19) or Monday, the National Hurricane Center said in a 7 a.m. update. 
The system is expected to continue moving westward and bring heavy rain and possible flooding to Mexico's eastern coast. The low is already producing an area of showers and thunderstorms over the region, forecasters said.
The low is moving westward to west-northwestward at around 10 mph, and is forecast to reach the coast of eastern Mexico on Monday. Although upper-level winds are only marginally conducive, a depression is still likely to form, the hurricane center said.
An Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft is scheduled to investigate the low this afternoon, if necessary....

The Republicans count their treasure chests differently. Recall the RNC did not receive monies from guaranteed donors after the 1st or 2nd quarter (depending when their fiscal year begins) in April. The reason was because there were still 2 candidates. July is coming up. The RNC is not worried. The Republicans are Wall Street. They count donations by the quarter. They don't have to work for a living. The working middle class and working poor budget what they can monthly or weekly for political donations.

June 20, 2016
By David Weigel

...According to Sanders's (click here) latest filing with the Federal Elections Commission, his campaign took in $15.6 million during the last full month of campaigning. That compared with $26.2 million for Clinton, the first time all year that the presumptive nominee has decisively out-raised her surprisingly powerful challenger. And it represented a steep fall from April, when he raised $25.8 million.

As the money came in, however, Sanders spent it at a slower clip than previous months. He ended May with $9.2 million on hand, having ended the previous month with just $5.8 million. The new pace came after high-profile layoffs of staff in early states, and after a strategic decision to focus on grass-roots rallies instead of TV ads in the California primary. And even that swing eschewed some of the expenses of a similar romp through New York, as Sanders traveled by motorcade, renting a pricey campaign plane only for the final weekend of events....

June 21, 2016
By Burgess Everett and Seung Min Kim

A growing number of senators (click here) back changes to a system critics say gives party bosses undue sway to decide the nominee.

...Politico interviewed nearly 20 of Sanders’ colleagues over the past week and found a surprisingly strong appetite for change, including among influential members of the party establishment such as Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a top prospect for vice president. More than half the senators surveyed support at least lowering the number of superdelegates, and all but two said the party should take up the matter at next month’s convention in Philadelphia, despite the potential for a high-profile intraparty feud at a critical moment in the campaign....


June 20, 2016
By Nicole Gaudiano 

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (click here) marked a quiet return to the Senate Monday to vote in favor of Democratic gun measures in the wake of the June 12 mass shooting at a nightclub in Florida....

...The votes were the first he has cast since January. Sanders voted against two Republican gun control measures that were less restrictive than the Democratic proposals. Each of the four measures failed....

Firefighters (click here) in the air and on the ground work to control a fire that broke out in Duarte. Daniel Medina, 14, helps load his family\'s car with important belongings as flames crested the ridgeline near his house. 

Los Angeles " The Latest on wildfires burning in the West (click here) (all times local):

4:30 p.m.

Tawni Atencio was on the way to basketball practice with her mother when her stepfather called and told them they had to evacuate their home northeast of Los Angeles because of a wildfire.

The 17-year-old Atencio says her mom turned the car around Monday and drove straight to their home in Bradbury, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.

They went back to get family photos, their two dogs, clothes, and their five cars and a boat.

Atencio says the flames were just a couple miles from their home and were making the house hot despite air-conditioning.

The teenager says the fire is crazy and scary but also that it was "kind of cool" watching helicopters drop retardant on the blaze.

Atencio says she's at a friend's house in Long Beach, California while her family finishes evacuations...

The fact people are dead from heat exposure and not American residents doesn't change anything.

June 20, 2016
Current Large Incidents (click here)

Phoenix (click here) " The Latest on the extreme heat baking the Southwest (all times local):

5:50 p.m.

Authorities say a man who died and another who is missing after going for a hike in Arizona were from Germany and were in the state for a conference at a resort.

The men were in a group of three who went hiking Sunday on a trail outside the Tucson resort. One of the men is recovering, while 57-year-old Stefan Guenster was found dead.

The third man, 33-year-old Marcus Turowski, was still missing Monday.

Authorities didn't release their hometowns.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department says it likely would end its search at sundown Monday and resume Tuesday.

Tucson hit a record high of 115 degrees Sunday as a heatwave took over parts of the Southwest....

The United States of America must keep guns out of the hands of terrorists, but, domestically and abroad.

There is no reason for the USA to take a backseat to the safety of it's citizens at home or when they are in other lands.

The fact is very, very clear. When the Assault Weapons Ban was sunset by George W. Bush the straw purchasers took 50 percent more assault weapons into Mexico. The USA gun lobbyists are killing Mexicans in their own borders.

There are international conventions to end the free flow of weapons into the hands of those that kill indiscriminately to enforce their own particular idea of law. There is absolutely no reason for Daesh in Syria or Libya to exist or the drug cartels of Mexico. There is no reason for it. NONE!

We have our answers domestically.

June 20, 2016
By Lawrence Murley

The U.S. Supreme Court (click here) on Monday left in place gun control laws in New York and Connecticut that ban military-style assault weapons like the one used in last week's massacre at an Orlando nightclub, rejecting a legal challenge by gun rights advocates.
The court's action underlined its reluctance to insert itself into the simmering national debate on gun control. The Supreme Court issued important rulings in gun cases in 2008 and 2010 but has not taken up a major firearms case since.
The justices declined to hear an appeal of an October ruling by the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld laws prohibiting semiautomatic weapons and large capacity magazines in the two northeastern states....

The interstate travel of assault weapons will continue because of the lack of a cohesive interstate law to prevent such migration of very dangerous weapons.

The USA has never been more divided. We literally have states that care about D the people and good governance of guns and those that don't. It is up to the people to make choices to vacation or live in states with excellence of governance of guns or live and vacation in states that are far more dangerous. It is the choice, liberty if you will, of the people to determine their safety margin in life.

The US House and Senate are completely incompetent.

Here is a little reality about the "mind speak" of the NRA. France has plenty civilian guns and those guns did nothing to prevent or end the violent deaths in Paris. DID NOTHING!

The estimated total number of guns (both licit and illicit) held by civilians in France is 19,000,000.

The estimated rate of private gun ownership (both licit and illicit) in France is 31.2 firearms per 100 people.

In a comparison of the number of privately owned guns in 178 countries, France ranked at No. 5.

In a comparison of the rate of private gun ownership in 178 countries, France ranked at No. 12.

Boston:

Sean Collier, 26, an MIT campus police officer, was fatally shot in his patrol car April 18th by the Boston bombers. The three killed by the explosions were 29-year-old Krystle Campbell (left), 8-year-old Martin Richard (center) and 23-year-old Lu Lingzi (right).

The police officer was shot dead by the deadly international criminals. I came to the conclusion the bombers were indeed international criminals. One had traveled abroad to validate his extremism and radicalization. The other young brother simply followed his brother's example of a great and appropriate warrior for the people of the Chechnya.

The suspects in Monday's deadly Boston Marathon explosions (click here) and the Thursday night murder of a police officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are two brothers from a former Soviet republic who were in the United States legally for years, and lived together in a Cambridge, Mass., apartment....

...NPR's Joe Shapiro interviewed a woman in Toronto who said she's the aunt of the two suspects. She said the boys grew up in Kyrgyzstan and spent a year in Chechnya, 1994....

Why do these people get the idea these violent acts will change the way Americans view such violence. Americans will never capitulate to terrorists. But, the NRA is making the point terrorists don't need guns to kill.

Okay. But, there were three dead civilians from pressure cooker bombs, not 51. The police officer was gunned down. In case the gun lobbyists didn't notice. Do gun lobbyists include the deaths of police officers in their statistics? They should.

It is pretty bad when I have to reach into the tragedy of Americans to diffuse the NRA's propaganda. But, with apologies to all the victims and their families, I had to stop the NRA from comparing apples to oranges. Americans need to understand the truth, not a manipulated picture that will compromise their safety. 

Be safe. Be smart. Plan ahead to decide where one resides and plays.

Years ago road construction workers stated their work day at night time. The politics was for the convenience of the commuter. That was and is a lie. The reason was the heat and the workers ability to conduct themselves in their jobs. 

The modern world needs to begin to address a work day and make it a work night. 

The downside of such change is the increased energy demand that is new to the nighttime lifestyle. That is why we need alternative energies in far larger measure than we have today. 

Turbines don't stop turning when the sun sets. Solar batteries don't lose their charge simply because the sun won't be available for a few nighttime hours. On the other hand, the energy demand may be less considering the need for air conditioning to live will be far less than today.

Decisions have to be made to invoke movement of an entire country that won't like it because their circadian rhythms are out of sync.

STRESS. Besides the heat related deaths, there will be increased deaths due to the very stress people will have when life takes on new paradigms.

Americans are dying, huh? Yes? "I told you so."

Eventually, when a piece of bread is placed in an oven, it will become toast. Even 120 degree Fahrenheit oven.

I strongly suggest all these heat victims receive a through autopsy. The information has to be garnered to the condition of their blood, organs and skin.

Body chemistry, osmolality, every conceivable test not normally conducted. The body overheated SLOWLY, this is far, far different than deaths in a household fire.

20 June 2016
0700
Current temperatures (click here)

June 19, 2016
By Vivian Padilla

Anthem, AZ - The Phoenix Fire Department(click here) says a woman rescued after she stopped breathing while hiking up the Desert Vista Trail has died. 

Calls came in about a woman who was having heat-related issues about a mile up the trail around 9 a.m. Officials say that bystanders started CPR on the 28-year-old woman, who is an avid hiker and personal trainer, after she stopped breathing while mountain biking.

Phoenix Fire Department Capt. Larry Subveri said the woman and friends started mountain biking at 6 a.m. and they had water on them. However, around 9 a.m. she became exhausted. The woman did not have a pulse and stopped breathing, and that's when both of her friends, who are doctors, started CPR on her....

CPR won't help if the blood is too thick to circulate. It may be the best IV solution to hang on these victims may be Ringers Lactate with boluses of D10. They are extremely dehydrated more than likely with devastated electrolytes. There is probably extreme movement of large molecules such as magnesium, calcium and glucose. The body will use every method possible to survive, even shutting down the kidneys to prevent potassium depletion. The heart operates on the sodium potassium pump. What was the sincere cause of death (ORGAN FAILURE or NOT?) other than heat stroke and dehydration.

"Father's Day" at the national parks.

June 19, 2016

By Gregory Korte

Washington — President Obama (click here) has a lot of official reasons for visiting Yosemite this weekend: It's the centennial year of the National Park Service, he's highlighting policy proposals to invest more in public spaces, and he's encouraging more Americans to visit national parks.

But there's another, more personal reason for the president's visit: It's Father's Day.

"This has to be the perfect way to spend Father's Day, and Father's Day weekend," Obama said Saturday at Yosemite's picturesque Half Dome rock formation. "Just look at this scene. You can't capture this on an Ipad or a flat screen, or even an oil painting. You have to come in and breathe it in yourself."...

White House letter to Stephen Mather after the President signed the Organic Act creating the National Park Service on August 25, 1916.

By the Act of March 1, 1872, (click here) Congress established Yellowstone National Park in the Territories of Montana and Wyoming "as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people" and placed it "under exclusive control of the Secretary of the Interior." The founding of Yellowstone National Park began a worldwide national park movement. Today more than 100 nations contain some 1,200 national parks or equivalent preserves.

In the years following the establishment of Yellowstone, the United States authorized additional national parks and monuments, many of them carved from the federal lands of the West. These, also, were administered by the Department of the Interior, while other monuments and natural and historical areas were administered by the War Department and the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture. No single agency provided unified management of the varied federal parklands....

January 27, 2016

America’s National Parks: Record Number of Visitors in 2015 (click here)

WASHINGTON – More than 305 million people visited national parks in 2015, eclipsing the all-time visitation record that the National Park Service saw in the previous year. The unofficial visitation numbers for 2015 were announced by National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis, as the National Park Service (NPS) is celebrating its centennial year....

..."The increase in Congressional appropriations comes at a critical time for the National Park Service and will help us to serve the growing number of visitors,"Jarvis said. "We look forward to continuing to work with Congress as it considers additional legislation in support of the National Park Service Centennial, which would further improve the national parks by encouraging philanthropy and volunteerism, while also allowing us to improve visitor services and connect with a new generation of national park visitors."

By the Numbers: Unofficially, the NPS recorded more than 305 million visits during 2015. That is an increase of more than 12 million visits, and more than four percent, over the 2014 figure of 292.8 million visits. About 365 of 409 parks in the national park system record visitation numbers. The NPS has recorded more than 13 billion visits to parks since park managers began counting visitors in 1904, some 12 years before the NPS was created. Official statistics including the most-visited parks of the national park system and the most-visited national parks will be released in late February.

Statistics below are from "Yosemite National Park" alone: (click here) The US National Parks support local economies. These statistics were from 2009. THAT YEAR WAS 2009. It was the first year of President Obama's first year in his first term. It was a time in our country's history when the USA had to turn around a devastated economy. The National Parks served as a place for many to continue to have a vacation in difficult financial times. The National Parks are valuable to the quality of life of Americans. It is a great time to celebrate the National Parks in President Obama's last year in office in his second term.

9% of visitors were international visitors. With 9% each from Germany, Korea, Taiwan, United Kindgom.

11% of the respondents identified themselves as Hispanic, and 11% as Asian. Of those Asian visitors, the most well-represented races were Chinese (24%) and Japanese (22%).

The median group expenditure in the park and the surrounding 50-mile area was $490.

Assad is not going anywhere. Russia needs to keep active diplomatic relations with him to end any cruelty.

Since when does the US State Department declare war? I go away for a few days and this is what goes on. Disgusting. There is no authority to fill the vacuum in Syria except Assad. The opposition has disintegrated again, hasn't it? That is why Russia placed Assad back in authority, there is no other authority. 

Has everyone gone half crazy? It isn't enough the USA destroyed Iraq and now it is going to destroy Syria all over again? I don't think so! 

Other than the USA led air strikes it is my understanding Syria is still under a cease fire. Is that not the case?

There is an entire Congress that wants to sue Saudi Arabia, too, but, that doesn't make it right. Honestly.

The USA does not decide winners and losers in civil wars anymore. Removing chemical weapons from Syria was the right thing to do for all parties involved. Russia has to provide better munitions to end the use of barrel bombs. Barrel Bombs? Really?

President Assad has to lead an entire country to accept peace and the difference of faiths in Syria. The diversity of the people in Syria are magnificent. There is no other country in the world with such diverse ethnicities and religious denominations of Muslim. Denominations, right? Did I get that right? I don't know if Muslims think of their diversity as denominations or not. The Christians do. You know there are all kinds of variety, Methodist, Lutheran and all that kind of diversity in the Protestant denominations. And then there are the Greek Catholics and the Roman Catholics and stuff like that. I never thought perhaps the Muslims might consider their diversity similar to denominations as other faiths do. I just didn't want to offend anyone.

But, Syria should be a very proud country. The global community has to get rid of the poison in it's borders that is Daesh. That is the common goal. The US State department should remember the COMMON GOAL GLOBALLY TO END DAESH'S CHARISMATIC INFLUENCE. Too much for ya? Huh? It is easier to kill people, right?

"You are all fired!"

June 16, 2016
By Mark Landler

Washington — More than 50 State Department diplomats (click here) have signed an internal memo sharply critical of the Obama administration’s policy in Syria, urging the United States to carry out military strikes against the government of President Bashar al-Assad to stop its persistent violations of a cease-fire in the country’s five-year-old civil war.

The memo, a draft of which was provided to The New York Times by a State Department official, says American policy has been “overwhelmed” by the unrelenting violence in Syria. It calls for “a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons, which would undergird and drive a more focused and hard-nosed U.S.-led diplomatic process.”

Such a step would represent a radical shift in the administration’s approach to the civil war in Syria, and there is little evidence that President Obama has plans to change course. Mr. Obama has emphasized the military campaign against the Islamic State over efforts to dislodge Mr. Assad. Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, led by Secretary of State John Kerry, have all but collapsed....