Is peace that difficult a concept?

If the USA can look the other way when an entire village of Kashmir dies, then why not Iraq?

If the USA wants to do something to save the world, then do something worthwhile where people benefit without death.

If we offered aid the size of the USA military budget to assist countries to raise the quality of life of their people; we wouldn't have enemies.

9/11/2014
This may shock Americans, (click here) who have trouble pointing to Bolivia on a map, but the country’s President, Evo Morales, had already announced Bolivia’s plan to go nuclear last year, and is establishing a nuclear advisory council to implement this technological future.

Russian President Vladimir Putin practically tore his shirt off to offer Bolivia help in achieving “their rightful role as a Promethean nation.”

When a President's plane is diverted and searched for an American ex-patriot that is not considered a friendly gesture. 

Not there will be a nuclear capacity in the western hemisphere for the very first time.

Potassium Iodide comes in liquid or pill form. Nuclear Fallout is also carried by wind.

August 24, 2014
(Smyrna) – The Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) (click here) and the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) will distribute potassium iodide (KI) tablets free of charge to Delaware residents who live or work within 10 miles of the Salem/Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Stations.  KI tablets will be available to those who have received potassium iodide during previous distribution events, and those who have never received potassium iodide. The tablets to be distributed this year will replace the IOSAT 130 mg tablets set to expire beginning September 2014.  KI distribution was conducted on two prior dates this summer.


Recommended daily dose 130 mg. Check the expiration date.

Bio International Potassium Iodide 30 mg (40 caps) (click here)
On sale for $18.59

Side effects of KI (potassium iodide) may include stomach or gastro-intestinal upset, allergic reactions, rashes, and inflammation of the salivary glands. When taken as recommended, KI (potassium iodide) can cause rare adverse health effects related to the thyroid gland.

The civilian deaths are still being committed by USA and NATO forces.

A Marine pays his final respects to Lt. Col. Christopher Raible, during a Sept. 19, 2012, memorial service at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan. Raible and Sgt. Bradley Atwell were killed after insurgents breached the wire at Camp Bastion on Sept. 14, 2012, launching an attack that destroyed numerous aircraft and damaged multiple buildings. (Photo by Sgt. Keonaona Paulo/ Marine Corps)

September 12, 2014

...Only one (click here) of the armed attackers (there were 15) involved in that Sept. 14, 2012, attack on Camp Bastion survived, military officials said. Mohammed Nazeer, now 24, was convicted and sentenced to death by an Afghan court, said Maj. John Caldwell, a Marine Corps spokesman at the Pentagon. But it still isn’t certain the punishment will stand. An Afghan appellate court affirmed the death penalty July 6, but the case is now before the Afghan Supreme Court for additional review, Caldwell said.

The uncertainty has frustrated the families of the two Marines killed, Lt. Col. Christopher Raible, 40, and Sgt. Bradley Atwell, 27, said Deborah Hatheway, Atwell’s aunt. U.S. military officials in Afghanistan contacted them last year asking for victim impact statements and family photographs to help make the case to the Afghan court that the insurgent should be punished severely for his actions, she said. The families were not informed there was an appellate process until this week, and are concerned it will function more leniently than the U.S. version....

The deadlock in the Afghan presidential election, involving Ashraf Ghani, left, and Abdullah Abdullah, is causing increasing volatility that could force a withdrawal of U.N. staffers from what has been Afghanistan’s most stable region. (Wakil Kohsar/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)


September 13, 2014
By Tim Craig

KABUL — The United Nations is debating (click here) whether to withdraw its staff from one of Afghanistan’s largest and safest cities as concerns grow that a deadlock between the country’s two presidential candidates could lead to unrest.

In a series of stern statements Saturday, the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said it is facing increasing threats as it supervises a recount of votes in Afghanistan’s contentious presidential runoff.....

Ashraf is another Karzai. He will oversee the continued issue of corruption while Dr. Abdullah Abdullah will bring military experience and loyalty to the office. He will seek to root out corruption and confront the Taliban. Abdullah is a better alliance partner. He is not afraid of the Afghan people. 

September 12, 2014
By James Rosen

WASHiNGTON -- The top U.S. official (click here) for monitoring aid to Afghanistan painted a grim portrait of the country’s future Friday, saying it is riddled with corruption and graft.

With most Americans’ attention riveted on Iraq and Syria, John F. Sopko, the U.S. special inspector general for Afghanistan, said the United States’ unprecedented $120 billion reconstruction investment there is at risk....

...President Barack Obama’s vow that only 9,800 U.S. troops will remain in Afghanistan by year’s end, Sopko said, has left many Americans unaware the the United States will spend up to $8 billion a year on reconstruction projects for years to come.

“If corruption is allowed to continue unabated, it will likely jeopardize every gain we’ve made so far in Afghanistan,” Sopko said.

The United States continues to pump billions of dollars into the South Asia country that its government can’t control....

Afghanistan has a drug economy. The drug economy fuels extremists in Afghanistan and in other parts of the world. It is one of the reasons the Taliban did so well in the first place. They were able to reap large incomes to arm themselves and attempt control of Pakistan and it's nuclear resources.

...Some Afghan soldiers and police (click here) are getting paid off by poppy growers to allow them to cultivate the illicit plant, Sopko said.

“The narcotics trade poisons the Afghan financial sector and fuels a growing illicit economy,” he said. “This, in turn, undermines the Afghan state’s legitimacy by stoking corruption, nourishing criminal networks and providing significant financial support to the Taliban and other insurgent groups.”

Sopko warned that Afghanistan “could well become a narco-criminal state in the near future.”

Despite the widespread graft, the United States has no plan for countering corruption, Sopko said, and some U.S. agencies exaggerate progress in Afghanistan in order to justify the huge American investment there....

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/09/12/6702837/us-inspector-billions-in-failed.html#storylink=

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/09/12/6702837/us-inspector-billions-in-failed.html#storylink=cpyead more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/09/12/6702837/us-inspector-billions-in-failed.html#storylink=cpy

September 12, 2014

Islamabad: A judge in Pakistan (click here) has ordered a murderer to be hanged next week, officials said on Friday, in what would be the country’s first civilian execution in six years.

The country has had a de facto moratorium on civilian hangings since 2008. Only one person has been executed since then, a soldier convicted by court martial and hanged in November 2012.

“A judge has passed an order that a murder convict be hanged,” an official at Adiyala Prison in Rawalpindi, the garrison city adjoining Islamabad, said.

“Arrangements for the execution on September 18 are being made,” the official said on condition of anonymity....

September 11, 2014

ISLAMABAD: In a setback (click here) to Pakistan's former president Pervez Musharraf, an investigation has concluded that the ex-military ruler imposed the 2007 emergency as army chief and was guilty of violating the constitution, the special court hearing his treason trial was told on Thursday. 

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) which probed the case informed the court that 71-year-old Musharraf must be held accountable for high treason. 

A three-member bench headed by justice Faisal Arab heard Musharraf's treason case in the Federal shariat court building....

September 14, 2014
By Tahir Kahn

Islamabad: A key faction (click here) of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Saturday announced cessation of violent attacks in Pakistan, in the best interests of both ‘Islam and the nation’. The announcement by Punjabi Taliban was accompanied by an appeal to all other militant groups “to stop their violent activities in Pakistan”.

The group, however, says it would continue to fight in neighbouring Afghanistan where the Afghan Taliban have been fighting a deadly insurgency against US-led foreign forces since 2001.

The Punjabi Taliban is the first group in the TTP, an umbrella of several militant organisations, that has decided to disengage. Analysts say renunciation of violence by the Punjabi Taliban would encourage other extremist groups to follow suit. The Taliban militancy has killed and maimed thousands of people, mostly innocent civilians, in the country over the past 10 years.

“We have decided to give up militancy in Pakistan. I’ve taken the decision in the best interests of Islam and the nation. I also appeal to all other armed groups to stop violent activities in Pakistan,” Asmatullah Muaweya, the chief of the Punjabi Taliban, said in a three-minute video message released to the media on Saturday. He added that his group would now focus on Dawah (Islamic preaching) for the “supremacy of Islam and protection of the system.”...

Summer offensive overruns checkpoints as Afghan security forces struggle to contain insurgency
September 13, 2014

...Hundreds of civilians have been killed or injured (click here) and thousands have fled their homes because of the fierce fighting, less than a year after David Cameron declared "mission accomplished". The military setback in an area that became symbolic of the wider battle for Afghanistan raises uncomfortable questions about Helmand's future and the British sacrifices meant to secure it from insurgent fighters.

"These attacks have been going on for around three months now," said Sulaiman Shah, Sangin district governor, after reluctantly agreeing to a telephone interview. He had been ordered not to speak to journalists. "There are some places which are under Taliban control," he said, naming several villages and warning that the situation was deteriorating. "We have had security problems over the last two or three years, but now it is much worse – the Taliban are getting stronger."

Sangin became a death trap for foreign forces from the moment they arrived in 2006. The first unit in the area endured the most intense ground fighting British soldiers had seen since the Korean war....

Republicans have a new strategy called, "truther."

September 13, 2014

By Ellen O'leary

Thomas Ready, (click here) a one-time major in the United States Army, dentist, and Republican candidate for Commissioner of Pueblo County, Colo., created a stir this week.

During a debate on Wednesday, Democratic incumbent Sal Pace brought up a video that Ready had posted on Facebook challenging the legitimacy of the 2012 Sandy Hook shootings in Newtown, Conn.

“There’s some question about whether it really happened, Sal. Some of the people in the video...,” said Ready, who was briefly stymied by boos and gasps from the audience. He persevered, however, explaining that a photo in which a grieving father was seen “smiling and joking” gave him pause. “I question that,” he concluded.

The term “truther” describes a believer of government conspiracy theories....

The mechanics training needs to be reviewed.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A Malaysia Airlines (click here) flight to Hyderabad, India, has been forced to return to Kuala Lumpur due to an autopilot defect shortly after takeoff.
The airline says the defect didn’t affect the safety of the aircraft or passengers but the captain turned back as a precaution.
The airline statement said that the Boeing 738 plane landed safely at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport early Sunday, nearly four hours after take-off....

I agree the NFL needs to clean up it's act, but, so does the rest of the country.

March 28, 2014

In 19 states, (click here) it's legal for teachers or principals to punish public school students by hitting them repeatedly instead of just giving them detention....

...Teachers or principals may strike students three or more times on the buttocks or upper thighs with a wooden paddle, which is often 15 inches long. In some cases, paddles are made from shaved-down baseball bats. Students may also be hit with a hand or taped-together rulers....

...The first swat knocked [my son] down ... when he fell, the principal said he had five seconds to get back up, or he’d start all over again ... it probably took him a minute and a half to get up again. They gave him two more swats. Then the principal had to go to the nurse’s office to get the asthma inhaler, [my son] couldn’t breathe ... When he came home from school, my wife found the marks on him. … He had severe bruising on his buttocks and on his lower back. His butt was just covered....

Speaking of little gems.

Putin's ceasefire was to have the eastern provinces that were Russia Speaking People govern themselves while Ukraine retained it's sovereign borders. If the folks that were Russian Speaking provided they could govern themselves, without violence I suppose, it is only rational they could decide to be autonomous and free countries.

Cute, huh? That was the terms of the ceasefire. It looks as though neither side cares about a ceasefire under those terms.

September 13, 2014
By Ledyard King

Ukraine fended off an attack by pro-Russian rebels (click here) at a major airport Saturday as Moscow sent another convoy of aid into the country, underscoring the fragility of the cease-fire between the two countries.
Ukrainian military leaders repelled separatists at Donetsk airport as another round of fighting erupted in the eastern part of the country Saturday, about a week after the cease-fire agreement was reached.
A volley of rockets struck residential buildings near the airport but no casualties were reported, according to a statement posted on the City Council website.
Heightening tensions further was Moscow's decision to send a second convoy of trucks into Ukraine without its consent....

I have to share this precious gem. How worried is Snyder about the Michigan state deficit in November?

September 12, 2014

..."Faced with millions of dollars (click here) of lawful refund claims, Governor Snyder and the Michigan Legislature have egregiously denied the rights of corporate taxpayers by rewriting law retroactively to circumvent the Supreme Court ruling, specifically eliminating millions of dollars of taxpayers' rightful claims to refunds," said Susan Traylor Bittick, Principal and Public Affairs Practice Leader of Ryan. "The retroactive language was added to Senate Bill 156, passed by both chambers, and signed by Governor Snyder in a period of less than 48 hours, and without the benefit of a public hearing. This process was an affront to the many Michigan businesses this bill affects, and the legislation sets a dangerous precedent for future overreach to squash the rights of corporate taxpayers, render tax laws meaningless, and provide unlimited power to the taxing authorities."...

See, I always thought Republicans liked giving money back to businesses. It would seem as though Snyder's bragging about balancing the budget comes first.

Republican dogma demands that tax cuts create jobs. It would seem as though those tax cuts have priorities and come somewhere down the life from re-election.

One thing to remember about the current military assessment of the numbers of IS/IS/L soldiers tripling from 10,000 is that is a lie.

They are counting women and figuring for every man there is at least two women battle ready.

The attempted manipulations of Petraeus is amazing.

September 12, 2014

By Leslie Larson

U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus (click here) voiced his confidence in President Obama's strategy to attack ISIS, hopeful for success in Iraq but cautious that the fight in Syria "is going to be years, not months."

At a 9/11 event in Denver, the general who oversaw the 2007 surge in Iraq lauded Obama for presenting a "compelling argument" and setting forth a "good departure point" with airstrikes.

Obama told the nation Wednesday night he was authorizing U.S. airstrikes inside Syria and expanded strikes in Iraq. He also again asked Congress to authorize a program to train and arm Syrian rebels who are fighting both Islamic State militants and forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Describing the fighting as serious but "not that desperate," Petraeus drew a distinction between the "Iraq on fire, complete desperation we had during the surge" and the current state -- echoing Obama's early assessment of ISIS as the al-Qaeda junior varsity team....

First Petraeus states the threat to the USA isn't coming from Iraq because the bombing was successful in destroying the AMERICAN war machines HE left there; then he states the really big threat is from Syria.

Why Syria?

Because he doesn't know shit about what goes on in Syria. I can't wait for the expert testimony before the UN where Petraeus says the Syrians have tubes for centrifuges and mobile anthrax labs.

Why Petraeus?

I think Powell figured out the puppet he actually was to Bush's presidency and Cheney's deluded realities.

Petraeus has a new "Curveball" named John McCain.

Any rational person would think the leaders of the USA, even Obama, would come to the conclusion when rebels want to the heroes of the USA political right wing there is not a thread of truth to what they say.

Syria is actually safer with a Republican in office because it is only ranked 32nd in the world in oil. 400,400 barrels per day as opposed to Iraq's 3,400,00 barrels per day. That is more or less the ambitions of the independent oil operators in the USA. It won't pay Halliburton enough to bother. Democrats might actually think they can save the people from themselves.

There is a reason for film festivals. It is called the truth.

The peace movement has proven to be successful. All Bush and Cheney could do was call up the National Guard and their volunteer army. The exception was the back door draft of Reservists and some bizarre law that allowed former, non-active military to be called up. But, their ability to draft was non-existent.

They did their damage with the poor. If one had no other choice they enlisted. States like Michigan realized that reality all too much. But, Bush/Cheney were limited on their ability to kill Americans in illegitimate war.

The problem with the Democratic Party is that they always run on Republican issues. Currently, Republicans are happy with the country without an immigration policy. They are content with Voter ID laws based in fraud. They are seeking to turn the USA military into a chronic assault force no matter where in the world there is conflict. They are successful in winning elections while defeating women's priorities and they win elections while children have no school books. They are successful in promoting the harvesting of greenhouse gases. They don't talk about those issues in their campaigns, they talk about the problem with Democrats.

Zephyr Teachout (click here) took only 34 percent of the vote in Tuesday's Democratic primary against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, but she succeeded in bringing her old-fashioned populist platform to the attention of the media and a broad audience of voters.
Democratic politics give mass coverage to Republican priorities and their priorities are never are heard by the electorate. It is amazing to watch them defeat themselves.

Why be a member of a party that can't get out of it's own way?

Why do Republicans like low voter turnout? 
Because their voters are more than content with same 'ole, same 'ole. They hate taxes and who doesn't? Ten percent of the USA debt right now is due to the Iraq War and it is known to be based in fraud. 5000 Americans are dead because of a fraudulent war and these bozos are still in office. Republicans have followers, not members. The people of this country DO NOT vote for their platform, they vote for change. If there isn't any change election after election there won't people voting.

"We can't appear to be weak on national defense." - The Iraq war was not national defense, it increased the danger to the country and has proven to be the most irresponsible act any Republicans carried out with our military. Where is everyone?

Any victories with global warming is all grass roots and local. That is the truth of the situation. 

When the pubic is educated to their interest in the problems they face, it is then and only then that the truth is important. Otherwise they don't 'get it.' When people are unable to connect to the problem and it is abstract the Republicans are successful in dismissing it as a policy of cronyism. ie: Scientists get grants and vote opposition Republican.

The climate crisis is best talked about locally and with the truth and examples of that truth. The abstract discussion of global warming is too abstract and people don't connect. 

The flooding in Kashmir is something that occurs once in a blue moon. That is false. The truth of the matter is the same as the truth in the flooding in the USA. The warmed Earth has an air mass that moves because of Coriolis and not because of the jet stream. The reason the flooding occurs with such danger and damage is because it lingers for long periods over the same 'soil' which becomes saturated OR stays saturated. Therefore, the flooding in Kashmir is due to the same processes for the flooding in the USA. The humanitarian crisis that results in Kashmir is due to the poverty of the people and their lack of emergency infrastructure. They don't prepare for disaster, they react to it.

The American political system hasn't changed, we are chronically choosing the least of the worst and then watch as the power within the federal government changes our leaders to move against our best interests.

The changes that we need have to start at the local level. Personally, I am not interested in 'what works' in politics, I'm interested in leadership that knows the truth and stands for it.

What I would not give to have a president of this country to stand up for what is right and best and fight for it. I never thought Obama would crater. Never. When he speaks to this country people listen. We all know that. But, evidently that is not the case for all the country's problems, including the culture of fear that drives the USA military at a moments notice. The media is a real pain in the ass.

The Humboldt Fault and seismicity.

The earliest, (click here) and possibly the strongest, shock reported within Kansas' borders occurred April 24, 1867. Several persons were injured, though not seriously. Plaster cracked, objects were thrown from shelves, and doors and windows were shaken at Lawrence. The earthquake was also felt strongly at Manhattan, where stones loosened on buildings and walls cracked. A heavy wave, about two feet high, was observed on the Kansas River at Manhattan. The tremor was felt over an area of 300,000 square miles in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and possibly Ohio....

Fracking has created earthquakes along an existing and once stable fault.

September 9, 2014

The governor’s (click here) Coordinating Council on Seismic Activity will bring together researchers with policymakers and energy industry experts. Energy Secretary Michael Teague will lead the panel, which will draw on expertise from the Oklahoma Geological Survey, the Corporation Commission, the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board, the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association and the Oklahoma Oil and Gas Association....

I fully expect Fallen to simply blame a fault like that of California on the earthquakes regardless of the findings by scientists pointing to the petroleum industry and it's frequent fracking drills.

The Humboldt Fault is a good example of the problems with fracking. It is primarily a stable fault with no seismic activity. On a rare occasion there is some movement. The increased drilling that accompanies fracking is creating it's own instability while also loosening existing faults.

The truth is the earthquakes occurring with frequency in the country and probably around the globe is due to the ventures of the petroleum industry. When a well is drilled it is permanent and the damage done in regard to that drilling cannot be reversed.

The increased seismicity in the area is also a reason to stop building oil pipelines, either above or below ground.

Did any American media notice the complete and abject tragedy that occurred in Kashmir? 

I didn't think so. I don't think there are any fund raisers anytime soon.

According to reports there are minimal survivors.

The USA is not at war. The air strikes are a matter of protecting ethnic minorities.

The reason President Obama decided the spill over from the Syrian civil war into Iraq was an emergency enough to respond to is because of the large number of diverse cultures within the borders of Iraq. There was no Iraq military to support the border, hence the spillover from the civil war. And the last component was the methodology used by the Islamic State (which could be names The Islamic group of nut cases in cooperation with Western fanatics) which killed men and stole women and it was anyone's guess what was happening with children.

The country of Iraq. It was a sovereign country able to hold it's borders and conduct sovereign issues of any state. The name has come from the ethnic group of Iraqi or Mesopotamian Arabs. They account from about 75% of the population of Iraq. They speak Mesopotamian Arabic.

The American media services are obsessed with power. There is nothing news worthy about their broadcasts.

American infantrymen (women) are glorified as the tip of the sword of American Policy?

Not.

American policy does not begin with war and the armed services are not about being the tip of the spear. The armed services in the USA is about defense, not aggression into another country.

They can glorify themselves all they want, but, guess what? The so called 'thugs' in Syria called the Islamic State are stated as killing according to the Quran.

1. Peaceful quranic verses were before Allah’s commands of slaughter, and are therefore annulled (click here)
Quran 2:106 – “We do not abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten except that We bring forth [one] better than it or similar to it. Do you not know that Allah is over all things competent?”

Considering the extreme nature of these verses, it would seem redundant to claim that ISIS are extremists of Islam, while they actually interpret the quranic commands as literally as possible, resurrecting the barbaric leadership of their prophet Muhammad....

The USA has more problems than a bus load of pregnant nuns and the country is obsessed by war. When people fall victim to racism and violence due to racism at the hands of police don't ask me to sympathize anymore, okay?

The problem with the violence doled out by the Islamic State is that is has a Jihadist Base in anarchy. It is the anarchy and it has always been the anarchy which is the problem. The ONLY aspect of the violence issued by the Islamic State that legitimizes actions against them is that they are no different than the anarchists in the USA.

The Islamic State works in anarchy no different than the 5000 extremists at on federal lands in Arizona.

The Islamic State are anarchists. Their religion has absolutely nothing to do with it.

That was the problem with al Qaeda and every other derivative of jihad on Earth.  They are anarchists seeking power outside that of a sovereign government.

Kindly get at least that much right.

The petroleum industry has been rolling out bribes to frack in the UK.

by Gary Davis
412th Operations Support Squadron staff meteorologist

9/8/2014 - EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The threat of monsoon (click here) thunderstorms becomes a major concern for the 412th Operations Support Squadron Weather Flight in the summer months. During this period, the wind flow in Southern California can shift to a southeast to southerly directional flow. This flow brings tropical moisture in from the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific Ocean, near Baja, into Southern California. This tropical moisture combined with our intense desert heat and mountainous terrain, aid in producing scattered afternoon and evening thunderstorm activity across the Antelope Valley.

When monsoon thunderstorm activity is forecasted to occur, the 25th Operational Weather Squadron will issue weather watches and warnings for Edwards. The squadron is based out of Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., and is responsible for the Western United States....

This is raw video from September 8th and the flooding in Arizona. Flash flooding accounts for at least 90 deaths in the USA annually followed by lightning strikes.

His name is going to be misinterpreted as the attorney fighting against the civil rights of the LGBT community at the Supreme Court.

Paul D. Clement (click here) 

Upton is Koch.

Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), (click here) the new chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is all over the news these days with his calls to block steps by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to curb dangerous pollution from dirty power plants and other big polluters....