I will be blogging tomorrow.

Thank you for your interest.

There are nations of people all over the world looking to the USA and the Free Countries for safe haven.

It is so easy to simply be a climate denier, huh?

Yeah.

Dead people can't complain.

President of Vanuatu Nikenike Vurobaravu addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Sept. 23, 2022, at the U.N. headquarters. Vurobaravu argued it was time for the International Court of Justice to begin considering climate change.

September 30, 2022

By Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson

APIA, Samoa (AP) — When and if an island nation fully submerges due to rising seas, (click here) what happens to the nationalities of its citizens?

This and other related questions are being considered by island nations advocating for changes to international law as climate change threatens their existence.

“Climate change induced sea level rise is a defining issue for many Pacific Island states and like most climate change issues, Pacific Island states have been at the forefront of challenging international law to develop in a way which is equitable and just,” said Fleur Ramsay, head of litigation and climate lead of the Pasifika Program at the Australia-based Environmental Defenders Office.

During a recent with The Associated Press, Ramsay noted the shortcomings in the development of international law. For example, under international law, there are discussions of nomadic tribes making claims over lands they have historically passed over. However, rights over historical ocean passages have not yet been explored for citizens of island nations.

“If you ask our people to move, there is no way we would voluntarily leave,” said Eseta Vusamu, who is currently working in Samoa but from a village on the island of Ovalau, Fiji. “There are graves there, these are our ancestral lands.”...

Republican governors don't care about people except when the vote.

This is Fort Myers. (click here) These boats were never moored in a way that would protect them.

There are millions of dollars of insurance money piled up in a heap.

When DeSantis was watching Ian as a subtropical system on the way to the Gulf of Mexico he should have evacuated the islands and told boat owners to find a safe place to anchor their ships because it was going to be bad. Is that what DeSantis did? Heck, no.

See, the government knows nothing. Ian is just a subtropical storm and nothing is going to come of it. Right? That is the Republican line, MINIMALISTS. Everything will be okay and if not well who knew?

How many times over the past two decades, as long as this blog existed have Atlantic storms come in from the ocean as tropical storms or Cat One storms only to hit the Gulf of Mexico and become monsters? How many? Far too many to count here.

When Ian was a subtropical storm in the Caribbean Sea, it was then that evacuations should have occurred, especially from any outer islands that were connected by one bridge to safety. When Ian was a subtropical storm in the Caribbean Sea the warnings by the governors should have gone out long before the sport boats and yachts were piled in a heap in Fort Myers, Florida.

It is all predictable in a climate crisis. The Gulf of Mexico is exceptionally warm. As soon as a storm in much cooler waters begins to move toward the Gulf of Mexico is is highly predictable. HIGHLY PREDICTABLE that as soon as those winds find warm Gulf water it is going to spin up to destroy life in it's path.

Ron DeSantis does not think for a living. He lives his politics and if a subtropical storm off the Keys is nearly the Gulf of Mexico then scientists involved with the climate crisis are nobody's in Ron's life in the capital city of Florida.

It took an enormous storm surge to raise those boats from their anchor to carry them into shore and destroy their hulls. That was all predictable. I personally don't need the National Weather Service to say it. I have been watching this growing climate disaster personally for more than two decades and it is bad. I knew the disaster that would exist in the aftermath. 

October 1, 2022

By Melissa Montoya

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno (click here) said the death toll from Ian has risen to 35 deaths.

Marceno made the announcement in a Facebook post.
Marceno also said there have been about 600 to 700 rescues as of Saturday morning.

Marceno said authorities need to notify next of kin before releasing the identities of those who died.

“It is with a heavy heard that I say that number,” Marceno said.

“We are going to work harder and we are going to be stronger than ever,” Marceno said....

The rescue crews across Florida were extremely busy. Why? Because people didn't evacuate. Why? 

I remember Hurricane Harvey. When I left Wilmington, NC with my young college students that were my responsibility, as the storm was bearing down on the state, there were license plates on cars from Florida and Georgia as well as North Carolina heading west on Interstate 40. All lanes were headed west and the roads surrounding Wilmington and some areas of I-40 just past the first rest area were already flooding. There was no turning around. Hotels were booked all the way to Raleigh and even Greensboro.

Harvey was an enormous storm and it cut off Wilmington from the mainland as it flooded the roads and lowlands. Twenty-one people died in that storm. It did a lot of damage and it took nearly two weeks to get back home to Wilmington and see those young college students back to studies.

What happened? Where is the vigilance that warns people that far ahead to instill a healthy fear of the inevitable when the present seems safe? What happened here?

Harvey was 1999. Late August, early September, after Dennis visited North Carolina twice. It, Dennis, went out to the sea (ocean) and turned around and came back. I saw Dennis' outer clouds from I 40 as it meandered through. It was myself and my son that decided to see what a hurricane cloud bank on the exterior of the storm really looked like. It was amazing to see. We were completely safe with our red with white pin stripes (boys) Chevy Camaro sitting completely alone in the middle of I-40 east. The education those boys received was more than incredible.

People attend college to learn more than a trade. Not to demean trades, they are very important and they are more important today as we move through old ideas to new climate crisis strategies. But, those that attend college learn to think. They learn to think and experience life in a way that is predictable for them, the ones they love and the people surrounding their lives in the capacity that education provided for them to think.

WHAT IN THE HELL HAPPENED HERE!!!!

If Ron DeSantis thinks he is going to run for president of this great country he is sorely wrong. The people will remember this storm and the deaths it caused and the damage it did and the frantic way people had to be saved from NEVER RECEIVING ENOUGH WARNING TO GET OUT OF IT'S WAY!

Cuba

The United States should consider assistance to Cuba for relief from the hurricane damage. The USA must begin to build back friendships, especially with near shore countries. Russia is primarily defeated and has no military to send to assist communist countries with devastation from major storms. The Cuban embassy must be made safe with the cooperation of a friendly Cuban government. The USA must take request from abandoned countries of Russia and China seriously.

In the “Kyiv Independent “…

 …the leader of the Ukraine Parliament, the Prime Minister and the President are asking to fast track Ukraine into NATO.

Ukraine should be made a member of NATO as soon as possible. They have fought and won. It is time to make them safe. 

Candidates for the Michigan Supreme Court. It is not an empty vote anymore.

Candidates to fill two seats on the Michigan Supreme Court (click here) were near unanimous during a candidate forum Wednesday evening: They said they would be impartial judges, not merely politicians sitting on the bench of the state's highest court.

The forum, held virtually by the League of Women Voters and the Jewish Bar Association of Michigan, was an opportunity for voters to hear from five candidates who will be on the ballot this November: Justice Brian Zahra, Justice Richard Bernstein, state Rep. Kyra Bolden, Paul Hudson and Kerry Morgan.

All of the individuals have been endorsed by a political party for the contest — Democrats have backed Bernstein and Bolden, while Republicans have endorsed Zahra and Hudson. Morgan has been endorsed by the Libertarian Party of Michigan....

...Zahra and Bernstein will likely be boosted by their incumbent status, as voters will see "Justice of the Supreme Court" next to their names when they receive their ballots, either on Election Day or during early voting. Zahra was appointed to the court by former Gov. Rick Snyder in 2011 before winning a partial term the next year and a full term in 2014. During the forum, Zahra highlighted his work as co-chair of the Michigan Justice For All Commission, a state-sponsored group that works to ensure equitable access to justice.

"One of the biggest areas of injustice in our civil justice system is when people who have legal problems are denied assistance," Zahra said.

Bernstein, whose family name is synonymous with the Sam Bernstein Law Firm in Michigan, is the first and only blind person to serve on the court....

..Bolden, a state representative whose district includes Southfield and other nearby communities, is in her second term in the Michigan House of Representatives. She is also an attorney, and would be the first Black woman to serve on the Michigan Supreme Court.

Hudson leads Miller Canfield's appeals division. Hudson has argued more than 150 cases in the Michigan appellate system, per his website.

Morgan is an attorney for Pentiuk, Couvreur and Kobiljak. He specializes in a variety of fields, including labor law and municipal law, according to the law firm's website.

While there are two seats on the court that will be decided at the ballot box this November, a third new face will appear on the Michigan Supreme Court before next year. Chief Justice Bridget McCormack has announced her retirement from the court. Whitmer will name her replacement before the end of the year.

Snyder is not mentioned in any proceedings.

Have the payments to the lawyers for Snyder and his co-defendants ended?

September 30, 2022
By Ryan Jeltema

Days after the Flint City Council approved $300 water bill credits, over 28,000 customers got their money. (click here)

Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley said $8.4 million worth of bill credits were successfully applied to all active water customers in the city by Friday. City Council members approved the spending on Monday.

Money for the credits came from Flint's share of American Rescue Plan Act funding.

"I'm so proud that this administration has accomplished another one of our goals in reducing the cost of water for Flint residents,” Neeley said. “I’m grateful to our staff who were prepared to implement this so quickly following the resolution passing earlier this week."...

September 30, 2022

By Ron Fonger

A federal judge (click here) who presided over a bellwether Flint water crisis trial that ended with a hung jury in August has set the schedule for a retrial in 2023.

U.S. District Court Judge Judith E. Levy published the schedule in an order filed Thursday, Sept. 29, targeting Feb. 22 as the first day of jury selection in the retrial at the federal courthouse in Ann Arbor.

Levy’s scheduling motion also sets multiple deadlines for later this year in preparation for the second trial, including the filing of expert depositions and reports....

September 30, 2022

By Katrenia Busch

Statistics released Friday by the Flint Police Department show a reduction in overall crime from last year.

Murder/nonnegligent manslaughter is down 50 percent for 2022 in comparison to 2021.  First-degree criminal sexual conduct is down just over 70 percent compared to 2021.  Overall crime is down 13.05 percent, according to the city’s Crimestat report.

September 30, 2022

By Ron Fonger

The House of Esther (click here) is asking a Genesee County Circuit Court judge to block the city from selling property that the organization says it has the right of first refusal to purchase — the former St. Agnes Catholic Church.

Paul Taylor, an attorney for the nonprofit group, asked Judge David J. Newblatt for the temporary restraining order in a motion filed Thursday, Sept. 29, just days after the Flint City Council voted down a resolution asking Mayor Sheldon Neeley to halt the sale of the property and the eviction of the House of Esther and the Flint Freedom School Collaborative....

42 dead in Florida is the first count by Ian.

September 30, 2022
By Tim Renaud

Hurricane Ian (click here) officially made landfall at 2:05 p.m. near Georgetown with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph. This is Ian’s second landfall in the United States. It first made landfall in Cuba before taking on Florida’s west coast, making landfall as a powerful Category 4 storm at Cayo Costa near Fort Myers.

Ian collapsed a bridge and isolated two islands in Florida. That is where two of the deaths occurred.

September 30, 2022
By Amy Simonson, Christina Maxouris, Paul P. Murphy, Rebekah Riess and Dakin Andone

Hurricane Ian has left at least two people dead on Sanibel Island (click here) and ripped away several parts of the causeway that was the island’s only access to Florida’s mainland.

On Thursday night, dozens of people remained stranded, according to Sanibel Mayor Holly Smith. At least five sections of the Sanibel Causeway – which connects the barrier islands, including Sanibel and Captiva, to the mainland – were washed away by the storm, Lee County officials said. (Lee County includes Fort Myers in addition to Sanibel and Captiva islands and Cape Coral.)

Twelve people were rescued off Sanibel Island with injuries and about 40 people were rescued without injuries, the mayor told CNN on Thursday. Sanibel City Manager Dana Souza reported the two fatalities....

The world is witnessing the rebirth of Hitler…

 …in Vladimir Putin and his military. Hitler never had nukes. If he did he wouldn’t be as reckless as Putin.

Literally, Putin commits genocide in the name of Russian speaking people and then takes their land for his own purposes. 

He wants to end NATO by repeating the same process over and over. He wants to reconstitute the USSR in the name of Russian speaking people. He is coming. He needs to be stopped now while the people he is supposed to be protecting run from him.

Lavrov is just as bad in trying to defend him and make excuses. The communists of Russia will use every method of propaganda and aggression and death to maintain Putin in power as their puppet president.

Putin and his communists are Hitler and the Third Reich all over again only worse. His annexation is at the cost of genocide and is completely illegitimate. All of it is a war crime.

Evacuate Florida

Begin to open southbound lanes to north bound. 

Ian may very well cross Florida and then scour the entire eastern seaboard of the USA. People need to prepare and move to safety. 

NOW!

The Gulf is not immune. Ian has nearly entered the Gulf waters and is a Cat 3. If it continues to increase in velocity it will increase in size to support those lower central pressures while churning very, very warm waters.

The DIAMETER is as important as the “eye.” Pay attention.

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/mobile/refresh/MIATCPAT4+html/MIATCPAT4_261456.html

WDSU is reporting hurricane recon plane central pressures of 947 millibars. That is a dangerous storm. Katrina was a Cat 5 at 902 millibars.

North Ossetia?

 https://www.kyivpost.com/world/fsb-at-georgia-border-to-stop-russians-trying-to-flee-mobilization.html

Ossetia was taken as a possession years ago because of the mobilization of tanks by Poland. Now, they want to come to Poland because they are going to be drafted into military service. This is an interesting development. They need to make up their minds about what kind of governance is best.

It is a civil uprising in Russia.

https://www.kyivpost.com/russia/russian-military-registration-and-enlistment-offices-on-fire.html

They are rebelling against Putin’s plans for them.

The Post Soviet states need refugee assistance for Russians as well as Ukrainians. Putin’s generals need to stop this insanity. A neutral delegation needs to travel to Moscow and present all available information to Putin and demand he live with reality.

Putin has been defeated in his special military exercise and now he wants a war. It isn’t going to happen and he needs to stop his brinkmanship. It isn’t working and the world is fully disgusted with him!

Putin should go on permanent vacation in Sochi. He has been president of Russia since 2012. Lenin was president of the USSR for 7 and 1/2 years. Enough of Putin’s mourning for the good ole days. He is up for re-election in 2024. No one will be living in Russia by then. Instead, the Russian speaking people will be living anywhere but Russia.

There is no land left in Europe or the border countries with Russia for entire nations of people to gladly leave their homeland for a chance to stay alive with their families. This cannot continue. 

The people leaving from Ossetia want to be Polish again.

Ian is now a killer storm…

 …as soon as the storms outer bans reached the Gulf of Mexico. From subtropical to category 3 hurricane in less than 24 hours.

It is a strong storm. Basically, it crossed Cuba without a pause. 

In six weeks,…

 Vote!

Charging Stations

All major truck stops for both car and tractor-trailers. Owners of the truck stops profit.

Drive-in Movie Theaters so charging can take place while watching movies. The Drive-In owners profit.

State Rest Areas should have charging stations for autos as well as tractor-trailers. The state profits.

Door to Door

It is said Russian soldiers are going door to door to bring people to vote. There are doors to knock on? But, that is not proof of citizenship. The entire infrastructure of the region near the Russian border is destroyed. Who exactly is voting?

Recruiting people to vote is also pressing them to act. A vote not cast is the same as a no vote.

This is Putin’s strategy. Be it war or voting he kills off people opposed to his point of view and then carries out a so-called democratic process and states it is the will of the people. Really? Who is voting for the dead?

Tax Credits

$5.49 and 9/10 per gallon is damaging the Transportation Industry including Independents. The cost of diesel effects truckers (ie: truck demonstrations), bus companies (including casinos that provide transportation to older citizens) AND, AND Farmers. The USA cannot over look the vital part farmers are playing globally. The cost of diesel is exploitive and a money grab.

The alternative to diesel is biodiesel and it should be made a priority along with a sizable diesel tax credit for commercial and agricultural use.

Any energy bill MUST include a hefty tax credit to bring the cost in line with AFFORDABILITY.

Tax credits for the purchase of electrical vehicles is a must. Going forward Americans will be energy independent with electric vehicles from cars, to pickup trucks, to semis. The tax credit should be consistent going forward year after year. Even when one electric vehicle is traded in for a new electric vehicle a tax credit should apply.

FIRST time homeowners need a huge tax incentive beginning now to purchase their new home. This must occur as the edu at credit is provided. All this is exploitation and greed. We need a User Friendly Senate majority that loves Americans and America to being about the end of greed.

US Senate Warnock should address the issue of Football Concussion that does not put the NFL out of business. Also concussion prevention at the educational level, including the youngest age levels of the sport, high school, colleges and universities. His opposition is a sympathetic figure.

US Senator Warnock should have a clear reason why abortion is between a woman and her doctor of which the best reason is the health of the mother. Physicians always try to protect life. Always. That is what they do. In the case of danger to a woman’s health the decision between the baby or woman is not best decided by government.

Liz Cheney…

 …is spot on. Going forward Americas need to vote for the US Constitution and not bizarre values that will bring anarchy and danger. Voting for an unknown future is just plain dangerous. There is a right way to change ruling laws and a wrong way. Denying an obvious danger to the US Constitution in voting for Republican extremists is wrong. 

Liz Cheney is absolutely correct in her message to the American people. It is obvious Liz Cheney loves the country, the people, and the US Constitution.

I will not be blogging…

 …tonight but a little later. I am traveling and having trouble with WiFi for my laptop. I am not going to spend hours blogging on my phone.

I can’t even use the phone as a hot pot because of heavy cloud cover. I will be home by Wednesday afternoon and will pursue this then.

The elections being held in Ukraine’s occupied provinces are fraudulent and an act of genocide.

Part of the problem in Iran is that the Kurds are oppressed and that is putting it mildly. The Kurds need a homeland. The problem is that no one will provide it for them. They have fought and died for their right to exist in the region, but, they are never provided the land they deserve. They were safe under Clinton’s no fly zone, but, not since. 

The Kurds need a homeland. Turkey has to stop displacing them. It would be a good start.

There have been at least 30 million Kurds spread throughout the region of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey and nowhere are they safe. I blogged this issue before and it was probably a decade or more ago. This is a chronic problem and it needs to be resolved.

I have a limited view of Ian but it appears to be moving northeast. I realize the current conditions have it coming up the west side of Florida. That’s fine, but, given the heat in the Gulf it will spin up over open waters. I think at this point it is wise for the entire Gulf Coast to pay attention.

People along the Gulf don’t react well to surprises. That is one of the reasons there were so many deaths with Katrina. There needs to be awareness that this could be a killer storm with a larger than average degree of uncertainty in its path. Just the size of the storm indicates a large land area of involvement. I would be very surprised to see this storm diminish when it hits the Gulf. That is not a reality expectation. The Gulf needs to be on alert at this point.

Rosh Hashanah is tomorrow, September 26, 2022.

If the Jewish people are ever to be recognized and endeared their holy days must be a part of the American conscience, especially now when White Supremacy is not only sought, but, given equal standing. Hate is on the rise and it must be confronted on all fronts.

Rosh Hashanah will end sundown, Tuesday, September 27, 2922.

Thank you for your interest.

Good night for now. 

More genocide by Putin

Voting held during war is a war crime. Both sides of the war have not held peace talks that have resulted in a joint agreement to allow such a vote. A vote such as this has to be consented to by all sovereign powers and demands a ceasefire.

Holding unilateral votes is nothing short of genocide as land is removed from a sovereign country for its people. Under such conditions people lose the homeland and benevolent government. It is nothing short of a hostile act that increases the danger to the people.

These were the same tactics Putin used in Crimea. The reason there was no resistance then was because Ukraine’s national military was disarmed by Yanukovych. This time the Ukraine national military has regained their sovereign strength and can fight back at Russia’s aggression.

Any voting held will be illegal as a large number of people in the occupied land are dead or refugees. This is very different than the illegitimate vote taken in Crimea. Additionally, Russia has reminded bed a large number of civilians from these regions and relocated them within Russia. Any returning people will be at the choice of Russia. Russia will weigh the outcome of any voting and completely corrupt any voting process.

The voting that Russia is trying to manipulate to change the language in regard to sovereignty is absolutely genocide and an international act of war. Putin in demanding this is the leader of a rouge country and has lost legitimacy to his purposes. Even before the vote occurs, the proposal is genocide by definition and Ukraine remains the sovereign power fighting for its homeland.

This is communist aggression. It can happen to other countries. If the information is correct that I read there is a build up of military aggression along Poland’s borders. Occupying these lands is only a military strategy to carry out greater war against NATO. 

This communist aggression is quickly turning into a regional challenge of sovereignty. Putin is attempting to recreate the failed Soviet Union to advance war against the Free World to attempt world domination by the communists. The entire dreamscape has no basis in international law or even practicality to even attempt it. 

All this aggression has no chance and is nothing but empty brinkmanship and people will die and remain displaced because the communists can’t admit defeat. Russians do not have to die to defend their country because no one is attacking Russia. If Putin continues his genocidal agenda NATO will be forced into it. NATO is not interested in a greater war. That is obvious. 

It was a great speech at the United Nations.

Classic Joe Biden. 

No frills, no deceptions, the truth. 

The world has a problem in Vladimir Putin. He thinks nothing of genocide for his political benefit. He has engaged in a ridiculous paradigm in calling up reservists. How many actually will fight will be a good question. The idea of releasing nuclear radiation into the atmosphere is crazy. There is no other word for Putin but desperate and it is time the Russian people have their way and end this hideous war. It is genocide, the Russian people don't consent to it!

I think I need to read the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on line (click here). I think there is a lot of politics that overshadows a very important issue.