We have been here before.

September 9, 2019

U.S. and Taliban representatives (click here) spent months negotiating peace and American withdrawal from Afghanistan. But after canceling meetings in the U.S., President Trump says the talks are dead. Why did they collapse, and what are the prospects for ending the country’s decades of violence and chaos? Judy Woodruff talks to Laurel Miller, former U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan....

I take it the Taliban still haven't made it to the Oval Office for that photo-op and the sweetheart deal, huh?

...Laurel Miller:

They don't have to be dead. It's a question of whether the U.S. has the will to restart the talks.

Some of the statements that have been made by Secretary Pompeo, in particular, have indicated some openness to restarting the talks, and the Taliban has likewise. It's hard to know how to interpret President Trump's latest statements that sound more definitive, given that he has changed his mind on similar issues in the past....

It would seem the talks were restarted from the Trump graveyard (click here). The question no one asks of Pompeo is, "Did you tell Trump to shut up about the peace deal?"

...The scope and prospects of any renewed negotiations remained unclear, and White House officials gave few details beyond Mr. Trump’s sudden revelation. On the flight to Afghanistan, Stephanie Grisham, the White House press secretary, had insisted that the secret trip was “truly about Thanksgiving and supporting the troops” and “nothing about the peace process” with the Taliban....

Did he or didn't he, only Putin knows for sure.

How much is Pompeo and how much is Putin kicking the USA out of the region for mining of it's wealth. (click here)

September 11, 2019
By Samual Ramani 

Over the weekend, (click here) the prospects of a peace deal between the United States and the Taliban seemed to fall apart. That is a major setback, since it will likely delay a U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and could lead to an escalated Taliban offensive on Afghan government-held territories. But one player—Russia—might benefit.

In an otherwise dark period for U.S.-Russian relations, Afghanistan seemed to have recently emerged as a rare bright spot for bilateral cooperation. After a visit to Moscow in May, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described achieving a “reduction in violence” in Afghanistan as a shared interest of the United States and Russia. Dialogue between U.S. and Russian officials on Afghanistan, which was largely frozen after the collapse of the Northern Distribution Network—a rail network passing through Russia that supplied U.S. forces—in 2015 is now commonplace. Russia had even offered to act as a guarantor for any future U.S.-Taliban peace agreement. Although such a deal now seems to be off the table, Russia’s special envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, stated that he believes U.S.-Taliban peace talks are “suspended” but not “dead,” and he announced Moscow’s plans to consult with the United States on the future of the negotiations....

See, most Americans don't know that Afghanistan is now a proxy war with Russia.

23 May 2018

The Chairman of the Afghan Senate, (click here) Upper House of the Parliament (Wolesi Jirga), Fazal Hadi Muslimyar strongly reacted at the remarks of Zamir Kabulov, the special envoy of President Vladimir Putin.

Calling the remarks of Kabulov as shameful and silly, Muslimyar said he strongly condemns the remarks of Kabulov and called on the ministry of foreign affairs to summon the Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan to lodge a strong protest in this regard.

Mulsimyar further added that Russia along with the other countries are interfering in the internal affairs of Afghanistan and support the Taliban to kill the innocent Afghan civilians and destroy the public welfare projects....

...The Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov has urged for the launch of direct talks between US and Taliban in a bid to end the ongoing violence.

He has warned that the US refusal to talk with the group would lead to persistent war and bloodshed for many years in Afghanistan, according to Bloomberg.

Russia backs the deaths of innocent people in order to continue the war and prevent Afghanistan from becoming a stable democracy in the region. The USA has been an ally to Afghanistan before when it was not a war torn country. Afghanistan's mountains were of interest to Americans and scientists alike. The Afghan infrastructure was once compliments of the USA. That was before the fall of the King, Mohammad Zahir Shah (click here), and the rise of the Taliban with the help of Osama bin Laden. The King came back briefly to endorse the new Karzi government that was seated after the USA invasion of 2001.

Nice, right? I mean human beings in Afghanistan are simply trying to live their lives in some of the most remote areas of the world and Russia plays with their lives to stir up anti-American and anti-Afghanistan governments. Karzai was no saint by the time he left office, but, he was far better than the Taliban. 

To some extent the Taliban stand on their own. I believe they have the ancient technology to make guns, but, they can't really conduct war without efforts from Russia.

So, in order for Pompeo to deliver the goods for Trump's re-election he had to stop over in Russia and ask pretty please. 

Russia has no intentions of ending violence in Afghanistan because it serves it's purpose. 

January 29, 2019
By Peter Baker

Washington - One day in October 1979, (click here) an American diplomat named Archer K. Blood arrived at Afghanistan’s government headquarters, summoned by the new president, whose ousted predecessor had just been smothered to death with a pillow.

While the Kabul government was a client of the Soviet Union, the new president, Hafizullah Amin, had something else in mind. “I think he wants an improvement in U.S.-Afghan relations,” Mr. Blood wrote in a cable back to Washington. It was possible, he added, that Mr. Amin wanted “a long-range hedge against over-dependence on the Soviet Union.”

Mr. Blood’s newly published cable sheds light on what really drove the Soviet Union to invade Afghanistan only two months after his meeting with Mr. Amin. Spoiler alert: It was not because of terrorism, as claimed this month by President Trump, who said the Soviets were right to invade. Among the real motivations, the cable and other documents suggest, was a fear that Afghanistan might switch loyalties to the West.

“This was a key moment that raised the Soviet sense of threat,” said Thomas S. Blanton, the director of the National Security Archive, a research organization at George Washington University that recently obtained the cable through the Freedom of Information Act and posted it online on Tuesday. “It’s a fascinating case study of the necessity in all of these international affairs of putting yourself in the other guy’s place — what does it look like over there?”...

So, the peace plan Pompeo is touting is only Part One. It is not a complete and lasting peace plan. Trump needs to "see how it goes." But, the US peace plan is a direct result of talks with Russia. The agreement is with the Taliban. It is unclear if the Afghanistan government is actually backing this mess.

February 21, 2020
By Robbie Gramer

...What remains unclear (click here) is whether the peace negotiations to follow will make the current Afghan government a full partner, an issue that has long been a sticking point, as the Taliban refuse to formally recognize Kabul’s authority. Once the agreement is signed on Feb. 29, Pompeo said, “Intra-Afghan negotiations will start soon thereafter, and will build on this fundamental step to deliver a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire and the future political roadmap for Afghanistan.”...

So, it appears this is Russia's strategy for the Taliban to extricate the USA from Afghanistan and make a happy victory for Trump's re-election.

Yep, Russia is winning the war on democracy, yet again. The only real reason I remain skeptical of any good outcome to Pompeo's efforts is not just about Russia. The presidential elections were just announced and things are not all happy in Mudville (click here).

February 22, 2020
By Daud Khattak

...Amid the nearly five-month delay (click here) in announcing the conclusion, the hotly contested Afghan presidential election had faded into the background as something more important was happening: The much-awaited outcome of the 18-month peace talks between Taliban representatives and the United States. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on February 21 that the two sides plan to formally sign their peace deal at the end of the month.

The Ghani-Abdullah dispute over the poll result, however, sent shockwaves across Afghan society, where people are anxiously awaiting an end to the nearly two decades of violence. The not-so-unexpected row also exposed the ethnic fault lines in Afghanistan — majority Pashtuns vs the rest — at a time when the war-battered country needs unity more than anything else to open a window to lasting peace....

end

Covid-19

On February 1, 2020 the Scientist and scholar Eric Tone (click here) stated that his simulations of the virus proved China's efforts to contain the coronavirus will not be effective. 

February 21, 2020

...The last few days have seen a perceptible flattening in growth of Covid-19 cases in China (click here), raising hopes that the epidemic has peaked. (Though there are doubts about the accuracy of China’s count.) That supports the emerging consensus on the Wuhan quarantine in particular: that, at minimum, it bought China and the world time to prepare. Crucially, the time lag allowed public health agencies to devise and distribute a diagnostic test that hospitals can use to identify patients ill with the novel coronavirus.

“Measures on movement restriction have delayed the dissemination of the outbreak two or three days within China and a few weeks outside China,” Sylvie Briand, director of Infectious Hazard Management at the WHO, told reporters this week. “Those measures, if well implemented, could have an impact on the propagation of the outbreak.”...

Casting doubt on China's census of patients promotes the idea the virus has not reached it's peak of virulence in the country. That is probably a good speculation.

February 22, 2020

...The international COVID-19 response (click here) has been focused on avoiding a pandemic, of which many experts suggest we could be in the early stages. As of Feb 18, 2020, WHO reported 804 total confirmed cases and three deaths in 25 countries outside China. In addition to confirmed cases from travellers to Wuhan and on cruise ships, countries including Singapore, Japan, Thailand, and South Korea have identified clusters of locally transmitted cases. The numbers are small, but the rate of secondary and tertiary transmission is of grave concern and misinformation and fear are rampant. Thousands of medical workers in China are thought to have COVID-19 and, as countries implement scaled up diagnosis and surveillance, the risks from inadequate protective gear and shortages in testing kits are heightened. The first confirmed case in Africa (in Egypt) is worrying, as weak primary health-care systems could undermine preparedness. WHO has called for more investment in surveillance and preparedness, but governments have been slow to take heed. A huge amount of funding has been committed for vaccine platforms but, even with four candidates in development, there is unlikely to be a viable vaccine for at least another 12–18 months. Dozens of clinical trials of treatment are underway, but it will be weeks or months before the results are known....

What does that mean? With reports here and there becoming common place, it means the virus is not contained. While quarantining China has proven to slow the spread, the new areas of the world now reporting in only proves the opportunity to contain it is probably coming to an end. Basically, the window is closing on a potential worldwide pandemic.

The question is will it become an epidemic?

To Third World countries this is just another thing.

February 22, 2020
By Goma and Kampala

There are so many crises in Congo. (click here) ” Gervais Folefack, who co-ordinates the emergency programmes run by the World Health Organisation (who) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has mastered the art of the understatement. The country has been shattered by war and corruption. “All the time we are responding to crises,” says Dr Folefack. He lists the most recent: Ebola, measles, cholera. To them, he may well have to add covid-19, a respiratory disease that originated in China. Those who would need to respond to a surge in covid-19 cases are already busy with the Ebola outbreak that began in 2018. “We are trying to prepare,” continues Dr Folefack, but there is simply not enough time.

So far 99% of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus have been in China. Of the 1,000-odd cases outside mainland China, more than half have been on the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship docked in Japan; the rest are scattered among 27 countries, mostly in Asia....

I am afraid global travel will have to be curtailed and use of electronic media must replace what would usually be essential meetings for whatever purpose it is being held. It is just not a good idea to travel at this time. The new cases in the USA have connections to China, but, diagnosis connected to travel to the Wuhan area does not spell complete containment yet.

...And the warnings come as the United States (click here) reported over the weekend finding three more cases, the country’s third, fourth, and fifth. Two were diagnosed in California. One is a traveler from Wuhan, where the outbreak is believed to have started, who was diagnosed in Orange County. The other is someone who visited Wuhan who was diagnosed in Los Angeles County. The fifth case was diagnosed in Arizona and is a student at Arizona State University; the person had also traveled to Wuhan....

The problem with Covid- 19 is it's manifestation. First it is a flu like illness and the pneumonia is absent in the early stage not showing up until Day 9.

...The results (click here) also showed that the timing of positive swabs changed. On the first day of illness, 80% of oral swabs were positive in a small group of patients, but by day 5, 75% of anal swabs were positive for COVID-19 virual RNA, and only 50% of oral swabs were still positive in the same patients with lab-confirmed COVID-19.

"These data suggested a shift from more oral positive during early period (as indicated by antibody titres) to more anal positive during later period might happen," the authors said.

The results of the study are the first to show COVID-19 could be transmitted via respiratory, fecal-oral, or body fluid routes, the authors say. They also warn that a patient with negative oral swabs after several days of illness may still be capable of transmitting the virus....

It is no longer believed it is solely transmitted through aerosol. That means washing hands is very important and there is no indication the synthetic hand sanitizers work. Good old fashioned soap and water and firm hand washing UNDER RUNNING WATER it necessary at this time. Rinse hands from the wrist down under that running water.

...China’s health minister, Ma Xiaowei, warned Sunday that the virus seems to be becoming more transmissible and the country — which has taken unprecedentedly draconian steps to control the virus — was entering a “crucial stage.”...

...The finding suggests stool can contaminate hands, food, water, and, as with the other study, it points to multiple routes of transmission....

...The authors also provided a timeline for infection: "Among 56 patients who could provide the exact date of close contact with someone with confirmed or suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection, the median incubation period from exposure to symptoms was 4 days (interquartile range 3-5 days). The median time from onset of symptoms to first hospital admission was 2.0 (1.0-4.3) days."

SARS-CoV-2 is another name for the COVID-19 virus....

The thing to remember when reading reports of individuals and the virulence of the illness once contracted brings to mind several things. To begin, everyone is different by if no other measure their birthday. The important fact to remember is that it is easily spread and there is no reason to think lightly of this virus. At least, not yet.

The pandemic is real and the Third World is seeing individuals that are infected. The chance of them spreading the virus is real and potentially there are undiagnosed cases.

As each person is healthier than others there are those that are less healthy than the "norm." How the symptoms manifest and how severe they are is not important. What is important at this time is containment REGARDLESS of virulent strains that might be less virulent in some or most people. The spread has to be contained. Once that is resolved, then the degree people were sick can be assessed, but, viruses are RNA and when they get hold of DNA they replicate quickly. Covid-19's RNA is still out there and probably doing well on fomite (objects or materials which are likely to carry infection, such as clothes, utensils, and furniture.)

...In a study from The Lancet Infectious Diseases, meanwhile, investigators detailed the first case of COVID-19 in a Vietnamese woman who acquired the virus in China. The woman lived in Wuhan for business for 2 months in December and January and did not report visiting the Wuhan seafood market or having close contact with any person with influenza-like symptoms....

If people do well after contracting the disease, that is wonderful. But, at this time there are too many variables to make any definitive conclusions except containment is vital.

2019-nCoV is also another term used for the same virus. There is nothing wrong with having a variety of names for the same entity just so long as people understand there are several names that have evolved out of the identification of the disease in multiple countries. Some languages do not lend itself easily to standard English language. What is important is that there is a global understanding of the disease and it's identity and name. 

The halls of the Trump Administration are lined with "Yes Men and Women."

February 20, 2020
By Adam Goldman, Julian E. Barnes, Maggie Haberman and Nicholas Fandos

Joseph Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence, is planning to leave government, according to an American official.Credit...

...Though intelligence officials have previously told lawmakers(click here) that Russia’s interference campaign was continuing, last week’s briefing included what appeared to be new information: that Russia intended to interfere with the 2020 Democratic primaries as well as the general election.

On Wednesday, the president announced that he was replacing Mr. Maguire with Richard Grenell, the ambassador to Germany and an aggressively vocal Trump supporter. And though some current and former officials speculated that the briefing might have played a role in that move, two administration officials said the timing was coincidental. Mr. Grenell had been in discussions with the administration about taking on new roles, they said, and Mr. Trump had never felt a kinship with Mr. Maguire....

May 11, 2019
By Everett Rosenfeld

Anyone suggesting (click here) that President Donald Trump is not tough enough on Russia is talking crazy, according to America’s top diplomat.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble on Saturday that such criticism — including from members of the previous administration — fails to recognize what Trump’s team has done, or the missteps of past presidents.

“Boy, that’s crazy talk. That’s absolutely crazy talk. And I’ve heard it — I’ve heard it from the previous administration. They say, ‘Oh, we’re not tough on Russia.’ I only wish they would have stopped the election interference,” Pompeo said, referring to Kremlin meddling in the 2016 U.S. elections....

Really? Are they blind? They can't see what is right in front of their face?

The Foreign Minister of Russia arrived the day Jim Comey was fired. Former General Michael Flynn is known to have been sitting at the head table of a pubic affair with Vladimir Putin and IN CONVERSATION WITH HIM. What's his name was just sentenced to jail for assisting with Russian interference in the 2016 elections and the Russian Foreign Minister has been to the White House OVAL OFFICE for a visit recently.

If the intelligence services of the USA are stating Russia is interfering in the Democratic Primary and the upcoming national elections then the Russians are interfering in the Democratic Primary and upcoming national elections.

IMPEACHED PRESIDENT DONALD JOHN TRUMP IS A LIAR!

In a public library, I and the library business manager successfully did CPR on a 20 something overdosed in the public bathroom.

The federal HHS declared an opioid epidemic in the USA in 2017. There were some put in prison for being responsible for overdose deaths (click here). That is fine, but, the deaths are still occurring. It isn't close to being over? Not if young people are dropping dead in public bathrooms.

US Pharma boss gets 5 years jail for fueling opioid crisis. (click here)

When we turned the person over there were track marks on the arm and a syringe on the floor. The person had administered the drug, fully clothed and IMMEDIATELY fell unconscious. If no one else was in the public bathroom, who knows when that 20 something would have been found and dead because at that point the person was barely breathing.

The young 20 something did fine. The police arrived and administered Naloxone twice. Once awake she was able to walk and talk normally. She was taken to the ER from the public library. I didn't follow up at the ER or otherwise because I respect privacy.

It is frightening to have a young person entering into life to some of the best years of life, lie on a public bathroom floor drifting out of life with shallow breaths and unconsciousness. It didn't matter two people were able to administer CPR in anticipation of more help coming, what matters is that a 20 something needed it in the first place.

There are real problems with the people of this country. Gun violence, uninsured, low pay rates and intoxicated to mask the hopelessness of it all.

February 13, 2020
By Madeline Holcomb

If overdose deaths don't slow down in Franklin County, Ohio, (click here) a temporary morgue may be needed to store the bodies.

The county has seen 23 overdose deaths from January 31 to February 7, Dr. Anahi Ortiz, the county's coroner, said in a statement on her Facebook page. The next day, the county had five more.

Most of the deaths were likely due to fentanyl, Ortiz said.

Morgue techs are "constantly working [and] don't take lunch" to keep up with the overdose deaths, the county coroner told CNN affiliate WSYX. If the overdose rate stays at the same pace or worsens, the county may have to bring in a temporary morgue for storage of bodies, Ortiz said.

Ortiz urged those in need of treatment to visit the city of Columbus' opiate crisis information website....

Trump made it known that Roger Stone was railroaded by the Deep State. Trump is worshiped for "The Trump Wall." (click here) His influence in violence is known.

This occurred before the sentencing, but, not before Trump's ranting about the Deep State. The right wing extremists THINK they really have something with Trump and Barr. They need to ask other than hot air from the White House what do they actually have?

February 20, 2020
By Nadine Schmidt, Sheena McKenzie, Rob Picheta and Ivana Kottasova

...The attack took place on Wednesday night (click here) at multiple locations in the city of Hanau, near Frankfurt. Federal prosecutors are treating the mass shooting -- one of the deadliest in Germany in years -- as an act of terrorism.

Authorities believe the suspect, 43, returned home after the rampage and shot himself. He was found dead in his apartment early Thursday, along with the body of his 72-year-old mother. Both died from gunshot wounds, according to the region's interior minister, Peter Beuth.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said the suspect appeared to have acted out of "right-wing extremist, racist motives" and described hatred as a poison in German society. Prosecutors said the suspect did not have a criminal record but had posted xenophobic conspiracy theories online....

There was no spasm of violence in this country. (click here for the official website of Michael Moore - thank you)

February 20, 2020
By Dan Mangan and Kevin Breuninger

A federal judge (click here) sentenced President Donald Trump’s friend, the longtime Republican operative Roger Stone, to more than 3 years in prison on Thursday for lying to Congress and tampering with a witness in an effort to protect Trump.

“He was not prosecuted, as some have complained, for standing up for the president, he was prosecuted for covering up for the president,” said Judge Amy Berman Jackson about Stone, who showed no visible emotion when he was sentenced in U.S District Court in Washington, D.C.

“The truth still exists, the truth still matters. Roger Stone’s insistence that it doesn’t ... are a threat to our most fundamental institutions,” Jackson said in a blistering denunciation of Stone, who he lied about his efforts to obtain damaging emails related to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Democratic presidential campaign that were stolen by Russian agents....

I thank Jeff Bezos for his generous gift to return Earth to its functional self. I am confident generations are appreciative. If I could make a wish it would be for Mr. Bezos to work with Dr. Chris Fields of Stanford University so the precious donation is not squandered. Soil moisture and water vapor must be returned to California in projects that work toward that very positive end. This must start as soon as possible as we also end all emissions of greenhouse gases. Europe needs flood protection. Ethiopia has a dam project that should be used for irrigation of the land and return of water vapor to the air. All these efforts must return chlorophyll to the land. Moist soil and air with plenty of humidity will end fires. Australia is attempting to save any coral reefs and rebuild them. Every penny of money for Earth to help save itself must have good results. The clock is ticking. I will be writing more here as well. I thank Jeff Bezos for generations looking toward the future and not the end of time.

Trump is an idiot.

The chief law enforcement officer of the USA is the US Attorney General. The president is commander and chief. The president cannot summons the courts. He can write letters.

The reason Trump revealed the pardons and commutations today was to distract from the release of the book, “Dark Towers” by David Enrich with discusses the White Collar crime of Donald John Trump with Deutsche Bank and the Russians.

Trump has to maintain the mystique of the Deep State by pointing out that others were victims as well. I hope the Republican Senate is proud of their “gangland boss president” they stated to be abused by the system rather than recognizing abuse of power when they see it. Where is O.J., isn’t he on the list, too?

It is all White Collar crime Trump is dismissing. It just goes to prove there is a divide between the wealthy and the poor. 

Barr is making excuses. He actually reads Trumps tweets? Barr sounds he listens to his master’s voice. It is ridiculous. 

Senator Chris Murphy is being scrutinized for meeting with foreign leaders, especially Iran? That is nonsense. It is the responsibility of Congress persons to under as much as possible any threat to the USA. There was nothing improper about his out reach to foreign leaders. At least he didn’t invite Iran’s Foreign Minister into his office to provide Top Secret information to him.

I find Trump’s sympathy for White Collar Crime very interesting. Frequently, the corrupt see their crimes as victimless. Prison is seen as a place for others and not the corrupt wealthy. Everyone of those people took advantage of the public trust that they took an oath to honor and then used that power to enrich themselves. Even Milken. Those that deal in securities are granted a license (qualified permission) for their trade. The public trust is important but these men, including Trump, find they are entitled to carry out their crimes.

In the case of Roger Stone he was at the very least complicit to the influence of Russia in the 2016 elections. It was a violation against the US Constitution.

I am surprised Michael Bloomberg is doing as well as he is in South Carolina. If he is turning the heads of Black voters, he can win. Voters that are choosing Bloomberg are NOT measuring him against other Democratic candidates, they are measuring him against Trump. Bloomberg’s “sins” are minuscule compared to that of Trump.

The “Kill It” story won’t go anywhere without a DNA test.

"Good Night, Moon"

The waxing crescent

23.2 day old moon

38.9 percent lit

It is the 30th anniversary of the "Blue Dot" picture of Earth. There is definitely something about this light sky thing. It's like the undiscovered country or something.

A detail (click here) from a 1990 NASA photograph taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft, upgraded with current image technology and released on its 30 anniversary this week, depicts Earth from billions of miles away as a "pale blue dot" captured in a ray of sunlight at center-right.

What is it worth to live on Earth without fear? There is no IPO for that.

February 11, 2020
By Louise Tickle

Like many young people (click here), Joe Brindle, 17, is scared for the future because of the climate crisis. He is, he says, “angry about the injustice that is allowing the most vulnerable people in the world to suffer from the actions of the richest and most powerful”. So Brindle, who is preparing for his A-levels in Devizes, Wiltshire, decided to do something. On top of his studies, he founded a campaign group, Teach the Future, which has spent the last few months formulating legislation entitled the climate emergency education bill. The latest version has just arrived in his inbox: it has been written by a professional parliamentary draftsperson, paid for by crowdfunding....

1792 - The financial industry (click here) got its official start on Wall Street on May 17, 1792. On that day, New York's first official stock exchange was established by the signing of the Buttonwood Agreement.

Wall Street, nor any other financial market are blind to morality. The morality people value is found in their faith and/or the value of humanity which includes the world we all live on. Wall Street evolved and has high-jacked consumerism in the First World for exorbitant profits.The Third World has become slaves to their desire for high profits.

The one percent control the biggest share of wealth in the world. One would expect their thirst for wealth would take on issues of human well being. They haven't. It is time to end the value of greed and return to humanity.

Waking up in the morning with clear air to breath and nutritious food in bellies matters. I can walk on two legs. I can teach others to read. I can make furniture with my hands. I can ask others to share in the work for a joint outcome. I can grow food, but, will that continue?

Either take on the change that is necessary or others will take it on for you.

February 11, 2020
By AJ Dellinger

Superstorm Cell sweeps across Kansas, bringing hail and tornadoes (click here)

We often think of the many threats (click here) that face humanity as singular challenges, perhaps locked to the region that is experiencing them. But according to scientists at the international research program Future Earth, these threats aren't just a problem in isolation. We run the risk of these problems combining and compounding the problems that we face. In a recently published report, the experts warn that the interconnection of a number of ecological threats could result in in a potentially devastating series of events that would cascade into a global systemic collapse....

"Our Future on Earth" (click here)

...If the country of Australia was facing one of these difficult ecological situations at a time, it would be challenging to address. But the country no longer has that luxury — it is experiencing them all at once, and it is difficult not to see how each individual condition worsens the overall situation. Heat waves exacerbate droughts, which result in water shortages that push towns to the point of crisis, which leaves these regions high and dry (literally) as bushfires close in, leaving them with a limited supply of water to fight off the flames. Ignoring the interplay of these conditions only serves to allow them to feed into each other — and allows this situation to create potentially worse outcomes in the future, as well. It is expected that the long-term effects of the bush fires could end up contributing to more extreme weather events by pumping more carbon into the atmosphere. Australia's government for decades has largely ignored the role of climate change and the weather events that it has delivered to the nation. It is now experiencing the worst case version of what happens when all of these conditions run head-first into one another....

This level of destruction is not placing future generations first. Generations to come should inherit Earth as a place where high diversity among species exists, otherwise what are we leaving them, dogs, cats, daffodils and pondweed?

February 14, 2020
By Doyle Rice

One-third of all animal and plant species (click here) on the planet could face extinction by 2070 due to climate change, a new study warns.

Researchers studied recent extinctions from climate change to estimate how many species would be lost over the next 50 years.

Specifically, scientists from the University of Arizona studied data from 538 species at 581 sites around the world and focused on plant and animal species that were surveyed at the same sites over time, at least 10 years apart.

"By analyzing the change in 19 climatic variables at each site, we could determine which variables drive local extinctions and how much change a population can tolerate without going extinct," said Cristian Román-Palacios, of the department of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona, in a statement. 

"We also estimated how quickly populations can move to try and escape rising temperatures....

The response of species (click here) to climate change is of increasingly urgent importance. Here, we address the specific changes in climate that were associated with recent population extinctions, using data from 538 plant and animal species distributed globally. Surprisingly, extinctions occurred at sites with smaller changes in mean annual temperatures but larger increases in hottest yearly temperatures. We also evaluate whether species may survive climate change by dispersing, shifting their niches to tolerate warmer conditions, or both. Given dispersal alone, many of these species (∼57–70%) may face extinction. However, niche shifts can potentially reduce this to only 30% or less. Overall, our results show the importance of maximum temperatures for causing species extinction and niche shifts for allowing their survival....

February 16, 2020
By Marc Peterson

I’ve become a climate change alarmist. (click here)

I didn’t start that way. I spent 30 years in the electrical generation industry dealing with fossil fuel and renewable technologies, so I’m well aware of the efficiencies, challenges, pollution and climate impact of those technologies. Because renewable energy is now less expensive than fossil fuel energy and, because of the performance and technological advantages of electric cars over fossil fuel cars, I believed the market would solve our pollution and climate issues.

However, after significant research into the size of our climate problems, it is clear much more than that needs to be done. To limit the damage to only that caused by a global 2-degree Celsius temperature rise, most, if not all, fossil fuels will need to stay in the ground.

I recommend the En-Roads Climate Change Solutions Simulator, created by Climate Interactive in conjunction with MIT, as an effective tool to analyze what it will take to hit that goal.

The Gardner Institute’s Utah Roadmap, a study commissioned by the Utah Legislature, lists the actions we need to take to move in the right direction. Please encourage your state senators and representatives to support the results of this study.

I have not tried this technology, but, evidently Marc has. I simply know from education and experience what lies ahead. The solutions seem very obvious to me. 

En-ROADS is a transparent, (click here) freely-available policy simulation model that provides policymakers, educators, businesses, the media, and the public with the ability to explore, for themselves, the likely consequences of energy, economic growth, land use, and other policies and uncertainties, with the goal of improving their understanding. The simulation, developed by Climate Interactive, Ventana Systems, and MIT Sloan, runs on an ordinary laptop in a fraction of a second, is available online, offers an intuitive interface, has been carefully grounded in the best available science, and has been calibrated against a wide range of existing integrated assessment, climate and energy models....

The fight in Japan is not a new fight. Nearly a year ago the lawsuit was filed.

May 27, 2019

Citizens launch administrative lawsuit to stop JERA from constructingYokosuka coal-fired power plant (click here)

Plaintiff Group and Legal Team for Plaintiff Group, Yokosuka Coal-Fired Power Plant Lawsuit

On May 27, 2019, 45 citizens launched an administrative lawsuit in Tokyo District Court with the national government as defendant. They are seeking cancellation of the notice of finalization of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the construction of two new coal-fired generating units (650 MW x 2 units, totaling 1,300 MW) planned by Japan’s energy behemoth JERA Co. at the site of its Yokosuka thermal power plant, facing Tokyo Bay, south of Yokohama.

The lawsuit is calling on the government to cancel a notice of EIA finalization that was issued by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), which cleared the way for the coal power plant to move ahead to the construction phase. The ministry didn’t request any changes in the EIA in terms of preventing impacts from CO2 emissions (approx. 7.26 million tons annually) and air pollutants from the proposed new generating units.

Rikuro Suzuki, representative for plaintiff group said, “Whatever personal effort citizens make to cut CO2 emissions day to day, we will never stop climate change if big coal power plants continue to be built. Yokosuka is the sole remaining coal plant slated for construction in the Tokyo Bay area. Promoting coal power is going in the wrong direction. We should stop it.”...

The First World governments HAVE TO END their dependence on fossil fuels. This is not a new concept, but, evidently a rather difficult one to tackle from the standpoint of making easy choices for the energy of a country. The USA is the poorest example of any of the First World countries. That doesn't mean there isn't a good fight to be fought. Americans have done all they can to stem the emissions of greenhouse gases within their power to change, the rest of the work has to be conducted in strict regulation and enforcement by all levels of government. In the USA, the most powerful governance is the local authorities that make the decisions regarding energy sources. The radical right wing states are attempting to preempt local authorities from making many different decisions including other issues as well.

Preemption (click here) occurs when law at a higher level of government is used to overrule authority at a lower level. State law can be used to preempt local ordinances, and federal law can be used to preempt state law. This page focuses on preemption of local ordinances by state law.

They amount to court fights. The monies paying for public utilities come directly from the consumer. Ohio is probably the best example of free wheeling expenditures that end up coming out of the citizen's pocket. If the consumer ultimately pays for the building and maintenance of public utilities then they have a right to say what type of electricity they are paying for. In that reality, Ohio now has to list alternative energies as a choice to the power received in the household.

So, if Japanese citizens do not want to pay for energy/electricity produced by coal power plants they should succeed in their lawsuit.

And Corporate Governance never accepts NO as an answer. Somehow the corporations are always a victim to THE PEOPLE and not the other way around.

September 26, 2017
By Valerie Volcovici

Washington - Washington state (click here) on Tuesday rejected a key permit needed for a proposed terminal to export coal to Asia, another blow to companies eager to sell Wyoming and Montana coal to Asian markets and to the Trump administration’s policy of global energy dominance.

Washington’s Department of Ecology rejected a water quality permit for the Millennium Coal Terminal, one of several permits sought by the company to build what would be the largest coal export terminal in the United States.

The state agency rejected the permit on grounds it caused environmental harm in nine key areas, from air quality to vessel traffic.

“There are simply too many unavoidable and negative environmental impacts for the project to move forward,” said Washington state Ecology Director Maia Bellon.

Millennium said it would appeal the decision, and accused the state agency of being biased against the project.

“Ecology appears to have intentionally disregarded decades of law defining the Clean Water Act to reject the water quality certification requested for Millennium’s project,” company president William Chapman said in a statement.

The terminal would export up to 44 million tonnes of coal mined in Wyoming and Montana’s Powder River Basin each year from companies such as Cloud Peak Energy and the coal-producing Crow tribe of southeastern Montana....

The people have rights to clear air, clean water and the prevention and reduction of greenhouse gases. If the coal from the USA is producing deadly greenhouse gas emissions in other parts of the world, it still impacts the people in the USA because it is a global emergency.

Wall Street wants to continue to operate as if there is nothing wrong. As if the climate crisis is a political football. It isn't. It is a life and death global emergency and it is killing Americans.

August 20, 2019
By David Steves

A coal company (click here) has been dealt another legal blow in its attempt to build an export terminal on the lower Columbia River.

The Washington Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling Tuesday that was being challenged by Millennium Bulk Terminals and Northwest Alloys Inc.

During the past decade as many as six projects have been proposed to transport coal by rail from Wyoming to ports in the Pacific Northwest. From there, the fossil fuel would be shipped to Asia. All but one — the Millennium Bulk project in Longview, Washington — has folded....

The USA is exporting the Climate Crisis

Global production, (click here) consumption, and trading of coal have increased over the last decade, and are projected to continue growing. In fact, worldwide coal was the fastest-growing source of primary energy in 2011, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) Coal Medium-Term Market Report 2012. Coal consumption is projected to also grow more than oil or natural gas over the next five years, according to the IEA report, and reach parity with oil as the most used fuel source in the world.

Rating and Investment Information, Inc. (R&I) has announced the following: 

ISSUER: 

Jera Co., Inc. (click here)
Issuer Rating: A+, Previously A 
Rating Outlook: Stable 
Commercial Paper: a-1, Affirmed

Short-term Fuel Procurement Business (click here)

We leverage our world-leading offtake volume to build a fuel portfolio that is price competitive in short-term trading (4 years or less for LNG) and capable of coping with volume and price fluctuation risk. We contribute to Japan’s supply of stable and economical electricity and gas through competitive fuel procurement, and are utilizing the flexibility we have gained to expand our fuel trading business.

Fuel Trading Business

Our coal trading business started in 2008 and have already expanded to LNG. Staffed by about 300 employees, the business is undertaken mainly by JERA Global Markets, which is based in Singapore and London. JERA Global Markets contributes to optimizing the overall supply chain through asset-backed trading by leveraging our world-leading fuel procurement volume.

Nowhere in Jera's Corporate Goverance (click here) will anyone find a concern for planet Earth and controlling greenhouse gas pollution.

Expert Advisory Board (click here)

The Expert Advisory Board has been established in JERA since 2017, whichprovides the Directors and the Management with access to global experts in the core areas of JERA’s business. It aims to strengthen JERA’s core values, “diversity” and “excellence”; and broaden JERA’s network of global contacts.

The new floating 5-MW Hitachi HTW 126, on the way to its final site off the Fukushima coast.

On July 8,(click here) the 5-MW Hitachi HTW 5.0-126 wind turbine, mounted on a floating platform, has been successfully sited off the coast of Fukushima prefecture. The turbine is one of three and the final piece of the “Fukushima Forward”-floating offshore wind farm demonstrator[1], an experimental research project financed with around JPY53bn (ca. EUR477m) by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). The project is part of the overall project to reconstruct and recover the affected areas damaged by the earthquake 2011, which focuses on renewable energy as a pillar for its recovery.

The Fukushima Forward wind farm is currently the world largest. The successful finalization of the flagship project received worldwide attention and reinforced Japan’s position as a global leader in this sector. According to METI, the turbine's rated capacity of 5 MW will make it the second largest capacity in the world behind the 7 MW already installed in the Fukushima Forward project.

Alas, no mention of JERA Power.

Fukushima Forward Consortium
Marubeni	Project coordinator, responsible for initial feasibility studies, licensing, O&M and liaising with regional fishing
University of Tokyo	Technical adviser, responsible for measurements, predictions, navigational safety and public relations
Mitsubishi	Overseas grid integration and EIA
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries	Designed V-shaped submersible floater, supplier of 7 MW SeaAngel turbine in phase II
Japan Marine United	Co-designed 66kV floating substation and advanced spar floater
Mitsui Engineering &	Designed compact semi-submersible floater for first turbine
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal	Supplied advanced steel
Hitachi	Supplied 2 MW and 5 MW turbine, co-designed 66kV floating substation
Furukawa Electric	Supplied undersea and dynamic cables
Shimizu	Responsible for oceanic surveys and construction technologies
Mizuho Information and Research Institute	Responsible for documentation and committee operations