I can never understand why President Obama's approval rating is hideously low.

He has worked diligently at providing a platform for so very many Democratic values. What good are values if they can't be expressed within society and government. 

We have a health care system that did not destroy insurance companies, but, gave them a place in the USA's culture.

We have a President that says the worlds global warming and climate crisis with an EPA changing the face of our country to end greenhouse gas pollution.

President Obama popular with environmentalists or not has provided an energy independent country.

The first first act as President saw the coarse correction for woman in the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay act.

He has brought our military out of Iraq without returning our soldiers, but, instead building a strong alliance between countries in the region. Their failure is not ours anymore.

Osama bin Laden is dead. Does no one understand that meaning of that? Most of his henchmen are dead as well. 

The Afghan people have a government of all their choosing and there is every reason to believe their will be a unified Afghanistan and not one divided against itself.

There have been strides in non-proliferation. It is astounding there hasn't been fireworks between the USA and Russia over Ukraine. Any other administration would be loading canons and not economic treaties. 

The economy which suffered the greatest recession of our history has come back to an unemployment rate of 5.9%. I agree we have to increase the level of those resigned to never finding employment, but, the USA economy is better than we could have imagined in 2008. We made our recovery because of small businesses the President targeted when no loans were available. This recovery is not a Wall Street recover, it is a citizen's economic recovery. 

Wall Street has realized some of the highest levels of value in their history. While Wall Street bobs around it's universe seeking direction, our first woman Chair of the Federal Reserve are using words like wealth inequality. I never thought I'd hear those words from anyone at the Federal Reserve yet alone the Chairwoman.

President Obama has placed the first Hispanic minority in the Supreme Court and a woman besides. The US Supreme Court has a record number of women sitting today. 

The Obama Justice Department has moved mountains in making aware the gross injustice and remaining racism still in the USA. They have stood in defiance of a tainted police culture that permeates many of our cities. The Holder Justice Department has taken the lead in bring about awareness.

Saturday represented the two month anniversary of the death of Michael Brown, shot down in the street of Ferguson by police officer Darren Wilson.

I don't remember one week that has gone by when I thought, Obama is really some kind of President isn't he and yet his favorable ratings never reflected. 

Today in the USA, the electorate or at least the polled people in the country react in measuring the President's favorable ratings by the negative universe of the RNC. When the Affordable Care Act passed it was frowned upon as people didn't know the impact on their lives, but, today they do. The reach of that law has been incredible and is changing health care and budgets of hospital systems across the country. I would think if nothing else a President that has saved the lives of Americans while rolling back the danger in health care would receive a 100 percent rating at the very least. The rest of his accomplishments can only be 110 percent or 120 percent or 130 percent.

I am proud of my President and I don't appreciate the lack of express of his incredible administration by so many in the country. War and fear is all anyone understands as an American anymore? Well. Then there won't be favorable ratings for a President that not only avoid wars, but, empowers countries to defend themselves.

It is amusing to realize generations of Americans honestly don't know and can't appreciate peace.

Ron Klain is a welcome face at the White House. I guess an emergency was required to bring him back.

I am quite sure President Obama is relieved to have a capable person take over the day to day management of this national emergency. It is still best if Mr. Klain had a US Surgeon General at the other end of a phone. I thank Mr. Klain for accepting this difficult position.

President Obama meets with Cynthia Hogan, Counsel to the Vice-President and Ron Klain, Chief of Staff to the Vice President in the Oval Office, May 21, 2009. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza) 

October 17, 2014
By David Jackson

Washington — President Obama (click here) tapped veteran government insider Ron Klain to coordinate his administration's efforts to contain the Ebola virus Friday.

Klain, a former chief of staff to Vice Presidents Joe Biden and Al Gore, is well-known by Obama and White House aides. He was selected for his management experience and contacts throughout the government, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

"He is the right person for the job," Earnest said, particularly the challenge of "integrating the interagency response."

Klain's appointment marks a swift turnabout for Obama, who until Thursday had resisted calls to appoint a single official to run the government's response to Ebola....      

Cliven's hope is yet to be elected.

If Cliven wants to meet with AG Holder I am sure he'd be happy to arrange a meeting if he is accompanied by his lawyer.

The black man in the ad might bring some class to the congressional district. But, if I am reading the signs right when a white horse lifts it's tail along side a black cowboy it is a bad omen. No one can make up this stuff.

Perry seems to aspire to follow in "W"'s footsteps. He was "W"'s Lt. Governor. Sort of explains things.

The Islamic State has Ebola? We have that on record from them? Problem solved.

There is no autoclave in West Africa.

20 September, 2014

by Mark Doyle

...In West Africa (click here) the normal thing to do would be to stop, reach out one hand, or even two, shake warmly and then embrace.

This is followed by much backslapping, more handshaking on points of agreement and even the odd high five.

It's what children do, it's what men do, it's what elderly ladies do.

Well, not any more. Ebola is spread by contact with bodily fluids, so these days people shun contact with others - including handshakes....

...President Johnson Sirleaf had earlier said the disease was damaging Liberians' way of life. One thing she was surely referring to was the unusual Liberian handshake....

A.B.C. - Avoid Body Contact

The Ebola Handshake has several difference styles, but, it is a very effective way of putting this dangerous virus into a social environment. I love it. Congratulations.

This storm has reached category 4 hurricane status twice.

October 17, 2014

Hurricane Gonzalo (click here) barreled toward Bermuda on Friday, with forecasters warning of significant damage ahead and life-threatening storm surge. The National Hurricane Center said the eye of Gonzalo — currently packing Category 3 winds of 125 mph — will near the island Friday afternoon. "Gonzalo is expected to be a dangerous hurricane when it moves near Bermuda," according to the National Hurricane Center, which said the storm was moving north-northeastward and is expected to gain speed through Saturday....

The first time it reached category four status was on October 15, 2014 at 3PM with winds at 115 knots (132.5 mph) and a central pressure of 949. It sustained this status for six hours and then down graded to a category 3 for 12 hours with winds of 105 to 110 knots (121 - 126.7 mph) with a consistent central pressure of 953 millibars of pressure.

The second category 4 status was achieved the lowest central pressure 940 mbar or hPa which ever one prefers. The Cat 4 status sustained then for 27 hours with maximum sustained winds of 125 knots (144 mph). The storm is expected to hit Bermuda directly and cause damage. 

This is not an unusual event for Bermuda having sustained these storms since 1874 (click here). Of all these storms more than 16 percent were major hurricanes. In recent years 2003 was Hurricane Fabian with sustained winds of 104 knots (120 mph).

October 17, 2014
1630.19z
Unisys Goes East Water Vapor Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop)

I think anyone can discern the hurricane and the little red dot that is Bermuda.

The safety of Americans are already compromised do to lack of governance.

A travel ban won't work. Will a refugee stop seeking refuge? A travel ban will only encourage circumventing the ports of entry to the USA.

Right now the traveler is better off being caught having an infection than to go it alone and hope to make it to an emergency room on their own disregarding any safety or monitoring along the way.

What occurred with Mr. Duncan is exactly what this country should not want. At either end of the monitoring, the potential patient will be found and provided monitoring and treatment. That is the only method whereby a person who may be ill knowingly or not will be found before they spread the disease.

Americans in West Africa has a right to come home. This disease may have been stemmed completely if there was sufficient funding for research. The Republican priorities are completely backward. A country with means does not abandon research and it does not create danger for its own citizens by turning sane people into fugitives from a travel ban. Republican priorities are dangerous and completely disregard the public when dismissing the importance of governance and policy.

Eboli is not the avian flu.

October 17, 2014
By Daniel M. Keller

PHILADELPHIA — A vaccine (click here) containing small amounts of influenza H7N9 antigen elicited good immune responses when mixed with a common adjuvant, according to the results of a new study.

"The H7 hemagglutinin is a very poor antigen," said Mark Mulligan, MD, director of the Hope Clinic of the Emory Vaccine Center and professor of medicine at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. "We know that from earlier H7 containing subtype vaccines that there is very little immune response to the protein alone."

Speaking here at IDWeek 2014, Dr Mulligan reported that two doses of 45 μg of hemagglutinin antigen raised antibody titers only minimally, but when mixed with MF59 adjuvant, doses as low as 3.75 μg were very effective. The technique may be valuable during pandemics, when vaccine antigen is in short supply, and may help raise antibodies to poorly immunogenic antigens.

The study was also published in the October 8 issue of JAMA....

Any person is most likely to seek out government authority for help when there are no penalties to do so. Not only will they seek government authority and/or hospitals when they are infected, but, citizens within the USA are also willing to come forward without reservations to their treatment. 

The emergency rooms today around the country where people believe they have been exposed for whatever reasons they believe that are coming in fairly large numbers to be checked. It is important open doors continue to receive information. If this virus gets out of control the entire character of the country will change. Monitoring those that might be infected provides information to the public that proves tracing people and monitoring them works. Not only does it work, but, treatment appears to be successful.

The blame game is going to continue? Really? Then there is only one place to put it and that is on Congress.

The Surgeon General reports to the Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH), who may be a four-star admiral in the United States Public Health Service, Commissioned Corps (PHSCC), and who serves as the principal adviser to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on public health and scientific issues.

Rand Paul is going to be losing supporters, even among Libertarians. He is becoming too extreme and backing candidates that fill the description of extreme. He says Dr. Murthy is primarily a political animal and that is life.

It is very strange to have a man who is an optomologist state another health care professional is a political animal. Hello?

October 16, 2014

...Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak (click here) has been acting surgeon general since Regina Benjamin’s resignation in July 2013.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) put a hold on Murthy’s nomination in February, noting “the majority of Dr. Murthy’s non-clinical experience is in political advocacy.”

“Historically, the Surgeon General of the United States has been a position with the purpose of educating Americans so that they may lead healthier lives, rather than advancing a political agenda,” Paul wrote at the time to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). “Dr. Murthy has disqualified himself from being Surgeon General because of his intent to use that position to launch an attack on Americans’ right to own a firearm under the guise of a public health and safety campaign.”...

There needs to be criminal penalties for assaulting the sovereignty of the USA.

There is only one thing I think of other than friends when it comes to South Carolina and that is the iconic Palmetto Palm Tree. 

This is outrageous behavior by a Governor obviously pandering to racists for votes.

There needs to be criminal charges for desecrating the image of the USA by displaying and holding fond, especially by an elected official, the confederate flag. The confederate flag is an indication people still hold the ideas of the past dear seeking to adhere to them. It is an assault again the country. 

October 17, 2014 Nikki Haley (click here) has come under fire for declaring the confederate flag above the South Carolina statehouse a non-issue because no CEO has mentioned it. Haley, the incumbent Republican governor of South Carolina, said the line in a debate with gubernatorial candidate Democrat Vincent Sheheen.

The South Carolina flag controversy has existed for sometime. The confederate flag was originally placed on the main dome of the statehouse until a heated debate after the 2000 presidential race created a compromise. A monument was created for the soldiers who died for the South in the civil war and the flag was moved to the top of that monument, where it still flies today.

The confederate flag remains an issue for Nikki Haley’s opponent Sheheen, who has called for the flag to be taken down all together.

Saying in the Tuesday debate, “I think the people of South Carolina are tired of having an image across America that’s not truly who we are. We should rally together under a flag that unites us all, the American flag, that looks toward the future, and not the past.”...

I am very happy for Nina. Dallas did a great job with her recovery.

October 17, 2014

The first nurse (click here) to test positive for the Ebola virus arrived in Maryland Thursday evening on a chartered flight from Dallas, bound for treatment at a federal hospital outside Washington, D.C.,Nina Pham, saying "I'm doing really well,'' left Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in an ambulance for a chartered small jet waiting at the city's Love Field. The plane departed at 7:09 p.m. CT and arrived at an airport at Frederick, Md., less than three hours later....

I think it makes a great deal of difference if an individual contracts the virus when they are healthy and early to begin recovery. 

:But, I didn't have trip insurance." Everyone's got their priorities.

Oct. 15, 2014
WASHINGTON -- Obama administration officials (click here) said Friday that a Dallas health care worker who handled a lab specimen from an Ebola-infected man from Liberia who died of the disease was on a Caribbean cruise ship where she has self-quarantined and was being monitored for any signs of infection.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement that the woman had shown no signs of the disease and had been asymptomatic for 19 days.

The government was working to return the woman and her husband to the U.S. before the ship completes its cruise. The White House said the State Department was working with an unidentified country to secure their transportation home....

"I'm goin' on this cruise if it kills me."

"Ya only go around once, ya know."

"What goes around comes around."

Only in America are people with money this stupid.

"But, I wasn't thinking." 

Okay, then.

I sincerely can't imagine having the pursue gingerly knock on my stateroom door saying, "The Secretary of State of the USA is really upset right now." 

Depending on who one talks to there are either a total of nine or ten top tier infection control beds in the USA.

Currently that is all that is necessary, but, if there was a need for more I am confident the USA could gear up for it. 

The first thing to remember is these bio-containment units existed before Ebola came to the USA. One might want to ask why they existed in the first place and how long ago.

...The NIH released a statement, (click here) saying, "The NIH Clinical Center's Special Clinical Studies Unit is specifically designed to provide high-level isolation capabilities and is staffed by infectious diseases and critical care specialists. The unit staff is trained in strict infection control practices optimized to prevent spread of potentially transmissible agents such as Ebola. No additional details about the patient are being shared at this time. NIH is taking every precaution to ensure the safety of NIH patients, staff, and the public."...

This is going to sound strange, but, remember when the astronauts came back from space? Right? They were bio-contained for a short while before returning to circulation among others. Bio-containment units are built to contain any dangerous microbs from circulation among human beings.

I'll say this much, the health care workers need to be healthy in case others aren't. If your health care workers go down, there is less capacity to be cared for. 

Also remember there are survivors of Ebola in West Africa. West Africa does not have bio-containment units, best to my knowledge. 

Also remember when SARS struck China it was very successful in limiting the spread of that disease. 

Medical professionals are just that good, but, they have to have the equipment, even freelancing with duct tape, to protect themselves from infection.

Equipment is the need and one of the failures in West Africa and the reason for it spreading so quickly is because the population is different than that of the USA and the governments are locked in political turmoil while supplies languish in airport cargo areas or worse. I would not doubt the equipment was sold in an underground market even though one has to understand how to use it. The equipment doesn't come with instructions.

In the USA nearly every hospital have negative pressure rooms. Where to do the microbs go? Good question. Very good question.

I was looking for a picture of something called a "Micron-machine."......Here it is.

Mobile Negative Pressure Isolation Rooms TB Tuberculosis (click here)

There is an average of one or two in every major trauma center. That is the usual requirement for the population that utilize any major trauma center. These little guys sort of remind me of R2D2 and they suck in air  to create negative pressure while purifying the air of TB microbs.

I don't know if they can be used for Ebola, but, I am sure there are plenty of questions being asked right now. I would feel better though if the USA actually had a Surgeon General.

If these negative pressure machines can't filter for Ebola, which I don't know why they couldn't, there are probably changes that can be made to them to 'make it so.'

The point is the USA has a lot of stuff, some probably in the basement of the NIH that can be used in case of a wider outbreak. Don't sell the country short, however, the USA does need leadership and not simply Congressmen/women to lazy to tell their constituents "We are doing everything that can be done and instituting a travel ban is not indicated as the best path for this problem."

It just amazed me to hear Republican lawmakers kiss the ass of their constituency and then pass it along as legitimate questions to those at the CDC and otherwise. The Republicans scare me more than usual. While they are always willing to jump into war no matter the reason, to realize they pander that intently to constituents that have the IQ of a fly is WORSE than Ebola.

I have said over and over, DO NOT POLITICIZE THIS VIRUS. I mean it. And if every Republican is going to be as much as an ass as I witnessed today they need to be thrown out on their butts while President Obama writes Executive Orders. Republicans are dangerous because they DO NOT ACCEPT expertise. They know what is best and the hell with the rest of the world. Well, that won't wash this time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To Fly or Not To Fly should not be answered by a potential patient of Ebola.

The CDC should have control of listing and delisting people possibly infected by Ebola.

"CDC No Fly List" 

The list should be available to the airlines no different than the current No Fly List.

It should be at least a 21 day quarantine list. That is what the CDC No Fly List would be. It automatically drops a person's name after 21 days. There is nothing saying a person's name would not reappear if they have been determined to have a second or third, etc. exposure.

The idea is to create a 21 day quarantine for anyone that has been exposed and is being monitored for fever.

There is the possibility a person's name may appear more than once on the list as the 21 days timeline might expire for a single exposure but they were exposed more than once. So, the last exposure would dictate the date a person's name would fall off the list.

Just because a person's name might appear more than once or a second or third time really is not definitive to infection, simply occurrences of exposure.

On a lighter note, the Florida Gubernatorial Debate.

The rule that was suppose to prevent a fan placed within the debate was prohibitive of electronic equipment. 

Everyone knows the provision in any debate rule in regard to electronic equipment is about devices such as lap top computers or cell phones or ear pieces that receive transmission from off stage. The electronic device in question was outlawed because it would provide an edge over the other participants.

Unless the electric fan in question can talk or send covert messages to Governor Crist there really was no reason for Governor Scott to challenge the rule.

What next?

So. Ebola paid a visit to Ohio, too.

Judge Jenkins isn't responsible for the infection of any health care workers. There are now two young women, one on her way to a wedding, now infected. That is statistically is not a coincidence. There was something wrong with the response at the hospital.

Judge Jenkins is a good and decent man that carries the people of Dallas in his heart. He strives to be as perfect in his protection of people as possible, but, he doesn't set policy regarding Ebola. At this point, however, he is the only one that seems to be doing that.

The Judge in writing the law stating those exposed may not travel until cleared of any infective state is correct in doing so and I am sure he doesn't need anyone to tell him that. My concern is rather simple. While he can limit the travel in Dallas, it doesn't apply to Ohio. 

This is now an inter-state and not an intra-city problem. There needs to be a federal response including someone at the President's Cabinet that is writing policy. It is now a federal problem.

President Obama is becoming a juggler of priorities with both a threat in the Middle East and the actual threat at home regarding Ebola. This is not a good situation for the country.

"Frontier Airlines" is based in Colorado. Now it is the FAA that has to examine it's authority in acting to prevent the spread of disease. The FAA has no personnel to address this. The policies have to come from the Executive Branch only there is no one there to write policies including that of airlines. There has to be a central authority that understands the dynamics of Ebola and it's potential.

At this point, considering Mr. Duncan came from West Africa and the potential for wider spread of the virus is a potential with jet flight, maybe the WHO has overriding authority. If nothing else the WHO could present a protocol that would apply to end the spread of the virus.

The WHO is probably the most expedient at this point. The American people need to demand a Surgeon General.

Anyone denying the climate crisis in Iowa is lying.

October 6, 2014
On the (click here) Iowa Peace Network website, there is a nice article and slide show about the Iowa City Peoples Climate March and Campaign Nonviolence Rally on September 21....

July 11, 2013
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Five years (click here) after record flooding drowned this manufacturing town and caused billions of dollars in damage, city officials and private investors are rebuilding homes and businesses on the Cedar River banks. But some people here are troubled to see structures rising in places where, not long ago, entire first stories were underwater....

We can't risk Iowa to anyone who is unwilling to see the forest for the trees in regard to the climate crisis.

Iowa ranks first in the nation in corn and soybean production. (click here)

Iowa pork producers raise 28% of all U.S. pork.

Hamburger from a single steer will make about 720 quarter-pound hamburgers.

The average size of an Iowa farm is around 333 acres (as of 2008).

In 2012 the production of Iowa corn was 1,835,358,239 bushels from 13,709,408 acres of 47,477 farms. These are small family farmers with about 300 acres of cropland dedicated to corn as a grain with a production of approximately 133 bushels per acre.

The same corn production in 2007 was 2,292,163,101 bushels from 13,842,202 acres of 50,095. These are small family farmers with about 300 acres of cropland dedicated to corn as a grain with a production of approximately 163 bushels per acre.

That is a net loss of 30 bushels per acre or more 20 percent in Iowa's corn crop. Noted also is the loss of nearly 3000 farms. With falling yields a small family farm would have a difficult time surviving.

The global economic collapse of 2008 also contributed to the loss in small family farms in Iowa.

These statistics came from the 2012 Census, Iowa (click here)

It is easy to see the climate is playing a role in the corn production in Iowa. I would think US Senator Harkin could speak to the changes in corp production in Iowa with his longevity as their Senator.

The Braley campaign needs to request a redress by USA Today which lists Ernst as a Democrat in their visuals to this poll.

Article (click here) 

Perhaps a one on one interview with the Senate Candidate Braley may prove to be appropriate in redressing this gross error.

Below is a chart from a report regarding the climate crisis and soil temperature in Iowa. It speaks to the increased temperatures experienced in Iowa's soil and the delay in applying fertilizer in the fall. The report also speaks to rainfall and flooding resulting in lower crop yields and loss of fertile soil due to erosion.

...Greater precipitation during the growing season, (click here) as we have been experiencing in Iowa (Takle 2011), has been associated with increased yields; however, excessive precipitation early in the growing season adversely affects crop productivity. Waterlogged soil conditions during early plant growth often result in shallower root systems that are more prone to diseases, nutrient deficiencies, and drought stress later in the season (Stolzy and Sojka 1984). An Iowa study indicated that waterlogged conditions are responsible for an average 32 percent loss in crop yields, and 100 percent crop production loss is expected in four out of 10 years on poorly drained areas (Kanwar et al. 1984). The maximum crop damage is observed when flooding occurs at the early stages of growth (Bhan 1977, Chaudhary et al. 1975). These data reinforce the common understanding that a dry spring followed by a wet summer is much better for yields than a wet spring followed by a dry summer....


The information listed in this article comes from several authors which is perfectly fine. Comprehensive reports regularly are drafted from individual reports authored by different scientists.

...Application of N in the fall when soil temperatures fall 
below 50 degrees Fahrenheit is a common practice in Iowa. According to Iowa Environmental Mesonet observations (2010), soil temperatures in Ames, Iowa, historically are almost 
certain to drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit by October 2. However, on 
October 24, 2010, most of Iowa still had soil temperatures into the mid to high 50s, which resulted in delaying N application that fall. The first fall day when the average soil temperatures are below 50oF is occurring later and later in the season (Fig. 3-2), a change that delays the time of fall N application....

Talking crops can be a difficult topic and talking climate almost impossible, however, local Ag agents and even the farmers themselves can spell out the changes in their crops and yields and how it effects the family farms in Iowa. Mr. Braley should not attempt to be an expert where he is not as Ms. Ernst has stated, however, there is a difference between a US Senator engaged in finding out the information from scientists and one content to ignore the science completely simply because she isn't one.

The evidence of the climate crisis in any state is everywhere, a candidate just has to look for it.

"Losing Ground" discusses the unrelenting damage to crop production in the USA by the climate crisis.

"Losing Ground" (click here)

By Craig Cox, Andrew Hug and Nils Bruzelius

Across wide swaths of Iowa and other Corn Belt states, the rich, dark soil that made this region the nation’s breadbasket is being swept away at rates many times higher than official estimates.

That is the disturbing picture revealed by scientists tracking soil erosion in Iowa after every storm that hits the state and producing an unprecedented degree of precision in soil erosion estimates. The Environmental Working Group corroborated the scientists’ findings with aerial surveys that produced striking visual evidence of the damage.

In April 2010, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) released data estimating the rate of soil erosion on agricultural land in the United States. On the surface, the data from the 2007 National Resources Inventory (NRI) were reassuring. Erosion in Iowa averaged 5.2 tons per acre per year, only slightly higher than the allegedly “sustainable” rate of five tons per acre per year for most Iowa soils — the amount that can supposedly be lost each year without reducing agricultural productivity. Across the entire Corn Belt, erosion averaged only 3.9 tons per acre per year, according to the NRCS data....

The latest Ebola victim was on an airplane?

Prime example of a missing Surgeon General. This is a national emergency and Congress needs to return to DC. The Director of the CDC is filling in for someone who should have been making policy all along. This is tragic. All this could have been avoided.

The current nominee has exceptional credentials. Given the urgency of the need for a policy author it would take too much time to seek anyone else with the same qualifications.

In 2011 Dr. Murthy served on the U.S. Presidential Advisory Council on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He was ready for Surgeon General.

...Sure he has an impressive resume. (click here) Undergrad at Harvard. Yale MD/MBA program. Co-founder and president of Doctors for America. But we asked ourselves, what else does the young doctor do when he’s not busy saving lives at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and teaching at Harvard? His Facebook page tells us he enjoys listening to U2, hip-hop and Enya, as well as watching Glee, but what else should you know about him? Here’s what we found out....

...He pays it forward. Murthy was born in England, but his family immigrated to Miami, Florida, when he was just three years old. His father grew up in Hallegere village in the Mandya District of Karnataka in southern India. As a young undergraduate at Harvard, Murthy co-founded VISIONS Worldwide, Inc., a nonprofit organization that organized HIV/AIDS preventive education and empowerment programs in India and the United States. Two years later, he also co-founded Swasthya, a community health partnership to promote basic health education, clinical care, and social support in Sringeri, India....

He has done all this before. He is more qualified to handle Ebola and increase the expertise for a Third World victory over this deadly disease. The global community needs someone who can get this done and he is the most qualified.

TransCanada's pipe dream cost it more than the potential for reality. 30% sale is enormous. Who is kidding who?

Canadian Tutelage (click here)

Back in 2007, Kuwait had much more ambitious plans for the Ratqa oil field.

Though the current goal is to suck 120,000 barrels per day of heavy oil out of the field, back in 2007 the goal was 900,000 barrels per day by 2020. And Alberta's petroleum engineers would lend their expertise to the cause, or at least that was the plan for Kuwait Oil Company at the time. 

"Unless we seek the experience of the industry here, we will not be able to reach our target," Ali al-Shammari, at the time the deputy managing director for finance for the Kuwait Oil Company, told the Calgary Herald. "We will need [international oil companies'] help in developing the reservoirs and may also consider the options of signing enhanced technical services agreements."

Kuwait's entrance into Canada depicts how important Alberta's tar sands have become for the global geopolitical landscape. And Kuwait opening its doors to the oil majors depicts the country as an emerging player in the global oil market.

Kuwait got sold a pipe dream. The tar sands oil is not efficient and is far too costly to postpone the shift to alternative fuels. It is the matter of making the investment. 

Will a pipeline so dangerous to water sources and farmland in the USA ever be built? No. T

he investment today demands alternative energy, reduction of greenhouse gases and very prudent use of water sources. The trend that took the USA to the brink of disaster has to be reversed and it won't happen overnight. There is no simple answer, but, one thing is true we have to start shifting the climate crisis as time is running out to salvage enough sustainable land. California's drought is a warning no one can ignore.

...Expensive and grainy. (click here) California produces a sizable majority of many American fruits, vegetables, and nuts: 99 percent of artichokes, 99 percent of walnuts, 97 percent of kiwis, 97 percent of plums, 95 percent of celery, 95 percent of garlic, 89 percent of cauliflower, 71 percent of spinach, and 69 percent of carrots (and the list goes on and on). Some of this is due to climate and soil. No other state, or even a combination of states, can match California’s output per acre. Lemon yields in California, for example, are more than 50 percent higher than in Arizona. California spinach yield per acre is 60 percent higher than the national average. Without California, supply of all these products in the United States and abroad would dip, and in the first few years, a few might be nearly impossible to find. Orchard-based products in particular, such as nuts and some fruits, would take many years to spring back....

The risk for investment into petroleum products is far to high to continue to consider.

Kuwait is eleventh in production with about 2.96 percent of current global oil. I find it interesting the Kuwaitis are interested in investment for their country's income. They should seek to find investment that is more sustainable that will also supply it's treasury with enough income to benefit the Kuwaiti people.

If I may? Rather than continued investment into oil, Kuwait and other countries seeking income to their treasuries can examine the several wind farm companies in the USA. If these alternative energy companies had significant investment, including the Great Lakes, their return on the dollar would be good as more and more USA energy came from alternatives in wind and solar. These investors in places like Kuwait should consider the opportunities available in the USA in alternative energies.