Ms. Stenie was buried today and understand what exactly happened in the release and arming of Sanchez is still unclear.

July 8, 2015
By Jaxon Van Derbeken 
 
Mirkarimi’s agency (click here) requested custody of Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez as he was completing a 46-month stint in federal prison in March in San Bernardino County, according to a Sheriff’s Department letter obtained by The Chronicle. Lopez-Sanchez had been deported five times to Mexico and had been imprisoned for illegally re-entering the U.S.

The federal Bureau of Prisons alerted the Sheriff’s Department in March that Lopez-Sanchez was going to be released. Mirkarimi’s agency, realizing that Lopez-Sanchez was wanted on a $5,000 bench warrant related to a 1995 marijuana possession-for-sale case, asked prison officials March 23 to hold him and to notify San Francisco authorities “when the subject is ready for our pick-up....
 
...In the end, the legal division told deputies they had no basis to hold Lopez-Sanchez, and he was released April 15. He was arrested last week in the July 1 shooting death of 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle on San Francisco’s waterfront, and has pleaded not guilty to murder charges....

So, the immigration agencies was disregarded and Sanchez was released. And somewhere between April 15 and July 1, Sanchez stole a gun from a federal agent from the BLM and shot a rather wonderful woman. 

To make things more strange, Sanchez has two other alias.

July 6, 2015
By Lee Romney, Cindy Chang and Joel Rubin

Federal authorities (click here) give his real name as Jose Inez Garcia-Zarate. But the Mexican national has also traced a path through the U.S. immigration system and criminal courts for nearly a quarter of a century as Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez and Juan Jose Dominguez de la Parra....

Sanchez's recent history reveals someone entrenched in the drug culture.

...Handed over to the San Francisco County Sheriff's Department in March on a bench warrant for a 20-year-old marijuana sales case, he was cut loose when prosecutors declined to charge him.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had lodged an "immigration detainer" with the Sheriff's Department asking to be "notified prior to his release," but "the detainer was not honored," ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice said in a statement....

...California's Trust Act, which went into effect in January 2014, bars local law enforcement from detaining defendants with most minor convictions past their release dates in order to hand them over to ICE, but it allows jurisdictions to turn over people such as Sanchez with past felony convictions....

Actually, at first glance, the law doesn't seem to be the issue. I think it can be modified to state a longer period of detention if ICE can't respond before the release date, but, the time would have to be as minimal as possible otherwise the judge from Clackamus County is correct. It would be unconstitutional to hold anyone beyond what a release date stated. - 4th Amendment

The fact the law wasn't honored by San Francisco's lawyers is the issue IF ICE provided a warrant or other legal requirement. The San Francisco County attorneys will have to answer questions on how they came to the conclusion it was correct to release Sanchez with such a long criminal record. 

The law states an illegal immigrant can be detained by a sanctuary city if, "unless there is a warrant or other legal requirement to do so,".

...The issue was complicated further when a federal court in Oregon ruled in April 2014 that Clackamas County had violated a plaintiff's 4th Amendment rights by holding her for immigration authorities beyond her release date. A slew of jurisdictions that had been complying with the detainer requests soon stopped doing so....

Sanchez's case is among more than 10,000 in California and 17,000 nationwide since January 2014 in which an ICE request that an immigrant in the country illegally be detained for pickup was declined or ignored, ICE officials said....

There needs to be a way to discern a difference in detention between an illegal immigrant without a record and one with a record, especially a record such as Sanchez. There was an observation made recently that Mexican illegal immigrants comprise 77 percent of the illegals in federal prison and 16 percent of all inmates, including Americans, in federal prisons.

It is obvious with Sanchez that Mexico is completely unsuccessful in handling a dangerous person. He returned five times to the USA. So, when illegals are dangerous they are in prison in the USA. 

The question with Sanchez is his status with ICE. Did they issue a proper document to detain Sanchez? And considering there seems to be a large number of illegal aliens with criminal records released from January 1, 2014 would Sanchez have been released anyway?

Those are the issues facing this case. Sanchez was known to have a significant criminal record. He was brought to San Francisco County because of a 20 year old warrant. And that was a 20 year old warrant. Sanchez has been between the USA and Mexico for over 20 years.

The charges were dismissed by the county attorneys and when asked if he should be detained for ICE, the response was no Sanchez was to be released. According to statements in the media about 2 days ago, ICE did not issue the proper documents to detain Sanchez. 

There should not be this much ambiguity over the law. This is what happens when a law is not adhered to; people die.

The other issue is the gun and how Sanchez got his hands on it. Regardless of what I am reading there is no clear understanding of how the gun was found and taken in order to kill a woman on Pier 14.

There are at least two issues that contributed to the death of a 30 year old woman.

The moment of the gun shot was facilitated by ambiguous handling of the detainment request and the negligence of a federal agent to secure his gun.   

July 9, 2015
By Chris Nguyen

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- (click here)

The memorial service for San Francisco resident and Pleasanton native Kathryn "Kate" Steinle who was fatally shot on San Francisco's Pier 14 last week was held at a winery in Pleasanton Thursday afternoon....

My sincerest sympathies to the family and friends of Ms. Kathryn Steinle.

Mr. Trump is financing his own campaign. That is admirable. He does not want have to compromise to millionaires and billionaires. However, he may find there are people that would like to donate to his campaign. He should accept donations even though unnecessary. The reason he should accept donations is the fact people who vote like to feel they have taken part in something. 

Running for office is about the people, not the person. People believe they are important to the candidate when they donate. The little guys want to provide a way to say thank you and we appreciate the ambition to govern. 

I suppose he has many reasons to not accept donations into a campaign fund, but, he should consider it. It will be an investment for people into the future and they just might stay with him knowing he was gracious enough to include them. He should think about it. A dollar, five dollars or ten or more matters when it comes time to promote and vote. 

Bumper Sticker - "I own a piece of tomorrow with Donald Trump."

I thought David Duke was voted out of office.

In 2012 Ezra Klein found 14 reasons why Congress was the worst ever. Today they sincerely proved this Congress is far worse than any other. They passed a bill that enforces racism. I never thought I'd see the day. 

I thought the country's Republican Party was slated to welcome minorities as an important electorate in the USA. I thought this was going to be the Congress that would embrace the Hispanic vote and work toward Immigration Reform. Wow, was I wrong. They have every reason to be ridiculed and cast as the "Congress of Hate." Even Lincoln didn't have this problem. 

I look forward to President Obama vetoing any bill that comes to his desk with racist directives. I don't care what bill it is. Hatred is not what the American people value. 

July 13, 2012
By Ezra Klein

This week, (click here) the House of Representatives voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. On its own, such a vote would be unremarkable. Republicans control the House, they oppose President Obama’s health reform law, and so they voted to get rid of it.
But here’s the punchline: This was the 33^rd time they voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Holding that vote once makes sense. Republicans had promised that much during the 2010 campaign. But 33 times? If doing the same thing twice and expecting a different result makes you insane, what does doing the same thing 33 times and expecting a different result make you?...

I don't see any hurry to negotiate with Iran or reconcile trade agreements. Happy adjournment.

There is only one person(s) capable of bringing all the House Republicans to cast a hate vote; the Kochs. Their silence is deafening. 

I would fully expect any donor to the Republican Party to think twice before writing that check. 

I congratulate Governor Haley on moving to a safer place for all South Carolinians. I am sure her thoughts ranged across the state including some of the most important people to South Carolina's future. 


 




She received respect for her courageous asking to bring citizens of South Carolina that much closer together. That is important.

Donald Trump is correct Ford is buiding engine and transmission plants in Mexico.

What Donald Trump stated is that this plant was for cars sold in the US. 

We enable (click here) our plants and facilities around the world to produce world-class products for customers everywhere. We ensure flawless and efficient vehicle assembly and the design and installation of the production tooling that makes it possible.

I am not surprised former President Calderon won't talk to Mr. Trump. This is the thing, we have witnessed the loss of jobs in the USA because of outsourcing. Will there be good paying jobs lost in the US because of this plant? If this is a new facility in Mexico while American jobs are static or even increasing because of this plant, then there isn't much to complain about. 

The sincere way of protecting American jobs is to grow the Middle Class in other countries. When there is a global Middle Class the economic markets will be incredibly successful. However, the Middle Class of one society may have very different product demands due to a difference in culture. Does Wall Street understand what steps are required to bring about a strong Middle Class in all countries? I am not sure they do. 

July 6, 2015 

Production Supervisor (Process Coach - Production) 

July 6, 2015 

Engineering Specialist - Controls 

July 1, 2015 

Controls Engineer 

June 30, 2015 

Global Labor Optimization Industrial Engineer 

Above are the job openings at Ford for Americans. There are currently 98 openings. All are skilled jobs that require college degrees, except, for the Production Supervisor. The Production Supervisor position(s) can be filed with High School graduates, but, they need to have years of experience with Ford or a similar company. There are better paying jobs to those on the assembly line that can be filled by those assembly line workers. None of these jobs are manufacturing positions in an assembly plant. Supervisors are not direct manufacturing jobs. 

The Mexico plant looks like a 'ground to car' manufacturing plant. They are pouring hot metal into engine block molds and transmission parts to build engines and transmissions out the door to assembly plants in the USA. I am assuming these important drive train components will be shipped to the USA for assembly.

Good paying jobs are vital to a global economy that will thrive and grow. The USA has sacrificed dearly while Wall Street outsourced jobs. The idea behind investments in other countries is that the manufacturing will raise citizens out of poverty and into a position to participate in a growing economy, not a subsistence economy.

Up to this point the majority of outsourced jobs put huge profits in the pockets of stockholders and CEOs. CEOs have been rewarded with enormous bonuses to do exactly what they did to the US Middle Class. Those actions by a company have caused stemmed growth relying only on population growth and even then there weren't people within the reach of their products.

The jobs in Mexico is vital to that economy. Of that I have no doubt. But, will the jobs result in increased demand for products from the USA? Will people in Mexico be purchasing cars assembled in the USA? Or will these jobs dissipate into an internal economy that will never benefit the USA trade gap?

To raise people out of poverty is a difficult thing and for Wall Street to seek to grow by building stronger Middle Classes in countries around the globe is an achievement all by itself. But, we don't want another failed company. Are the CEOs looking at the whole picture. Does a CEO see a quick bonus at any cost, or is the CEO growing a community globally that actually sell more product and increase company profits permanently. It is the CEO that increases profits through long term planning that will be the one best receiving the bonus and only a bonus reflecting the increased profit structure for the company.

This is Ford. Ford has been a company with long range plans. They were the 'last man standing' in 2008 because they were looking toward long term goals when they borrowed money while at zero percent interest. These monies were not needed, but, with a zero percent interest the investment was made to fill the treasury to over flowing. These plants are probably a direct result of that long term strategy. 

I have no way to know if Ford did their homework to sustain jobs in the USA at current levels while making investments in foreign countries. I have no doubt this decision to build engines and transmissions in Mexico is due to NAFTA. I hope Ford is also building a safe plant with environmental concerns both inside and out to protect lives. Knowing Ford that is not an option. I do not believe Ford will build plants anywhere that imperil lives. So, in this instance I'd have confidence in realizing these jobs in Mexico will translate into growth. 

That should be the real goal of Wall Street. Their growth needs to be real and continuing and sustainable to add more and more foreign markets to bring about a Middle Class. Sacrificing the Middle Class in the USA is not a reflection of a sustainable company.

I wish Ford good will to understand the USA will not be hurt by this investment, but, will find opportunity to expand markets and bring down the USA's trade deficit. In many ways if this is a Ford we have come to call our own, we can be confident in the decision to build these plants. We look forward to greater demand of USA products because of Ford's investment today.

April 17, 2015 
Mexico City 

Further building (click here) its lineup of increasingly fuel-efficient engines and transmissions, Ford today announced a $2.5 billion investment in two new facilities building a new generation of engines and transmissions in the states of Chihuahua and Guanjuato, respectively.

The investment, which comes during the celebration of Ford’s 90^th anniversary in the country, will bring 3,800 direct new jobs plus additional indirect jobs to Mexico. Ford officials announced the investment today during a ceremony with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and other members of the country’s Federal Government.

“Ford is making a significant commitment to our business in Mexico with investment in two new facilities, while aiming to make our vehicles even more fuel-efficient with a new generation of engines and transmissions our team in Mexico will build,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s President of The Americas. “These new engines and transmissions will help deliver even better driving experiences and fuel economy gains for customers around the world.”...

Let me state this as well. I would be far more confident regarding this investment by Ford if the Mexican government is open to Union representation of their employees. A Union will bring the work force condition to the table and insure a better quality of life that lends itself to increased of foreign trade. The Mexican government has to work to defeat corruption which can be rampant in the country. 

I would hope the Mexican government can also provide a strong secure environment that won't destroy a company because of drug cartels.

This is from the Charleston "Post and Courier."

Thank you South Carolina.

I don't know what it is to be an African American to realize my friends, relatives and elected officials are in continual threat of death because of the hate filled values of some people. I do know it scares me to think about their safety. I feel helpless to protect them, but, this is a beginning to tell those that hate it will not be tolerated. 

I appreciate this action by the South Carolina legislation. It and Governor Haley have acted to honor State Senator Pinckney. I don't want to imagine what it would be like today, if the South Carolina House acted any differently. It was a great act of love of brethren we witnessed in this legislation and I thank you very much.

Rep. Wendell Gilliard and other representatives of the Lowcountry gather to remember the victims of the Emanuel AME Church shootings before the House voted early Thursday morning to bring down the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds. Paul Zoeller/Staff 

July 8, 2015
Cynthia Roldan 

...House members (click here) first approved of the bill on a 93-27 vote around 12:58 a.m. They followed up with a second and final 94-20 vote around 1:11 a.m. 

Gov. Nikki Haley said in a written statement that House members, as senators did before them, served the state and her people with great dignity. 

“I’m grateful for their service and their compassion,” Haley said. “It is a new day in South Carolina, a day we can all be proud of, a day that truly brings us all together as we continue to heal, as one people and one state."... 

There are more pictures, including, Rev. Jessie Jackson (click here).

The reason Donald Trump is getting attention is because the issue of immigration is finally moving.

The Republicans are being forced left because of Mr. Trump. But, the best Republican candidates are stating is that they don't like the words Mr. Trump is using to describe the Undocumented.

Words are easy to oppose. WHERE IS THE LEGISLATION that will result in immigration reform? 

The Republican establishment wants to stop Mr. Trump. They can do it very easily, they can do their jobs in Washington and pass immigration reform.

The IT is failing in too many instances.

A United Airlines (click here) computer fault that disrupted travel for thousands of fliers began with a router malfunctioning and prevented the carrier from ticketing passengers and dispatching crews.
Wednesday’s two-hour failure was separate from other recent digital mishaps, United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said. But United’s persistent travails raise the prospect that customers may pick other carriers, according to consultants such as IdeaWorksCompany’s Jay Sorensen....

In testimony to Congress the CEO of CSX stated the software for the Positive Train Control was defective. If that went into operation the nightmare would be surreal.

At a US Intelligence Committee (click here) hearing this afternoon, Sen. Barbara Mikulski confronted FBI Director James Comey with some real talk about the strange shitstorm of tech failures today: The New York Stock Exchange, United Airlines, and the Wall Street Journal all went down, citing technical difficulties.

“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Mikulski said. “Is the FBI investigating these as breaches?”...

Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (click here) was fined 56 million pounds ($88 million) by British regulators for the 2012 collapse of its computer system that left millions of customers without access to their accounts for weeks. 

US based soft drink company Coca-Cola's IT (click here) system was hacked by Chinese hackers three years ago, but the company kept the cyber attack secret.
According to Bloomberg, the hack came when Coca-Cola was looking to acquire the China Huiyuan Juice for about $2.4bn in 2009.
Bloomberg claimed that the deal, which was collapsed three days after the cyber-attack, would have been the largest foreign takeover of a Chinese firm at the time....

Let's not forget the failure of the federal health care exchanges. 

There is the military problems as well. The number of problems experienced with military IT is an assault on national security. The incompetence in the IT industry is considerable. 

Every year that goes by there are more and more computer engineers coming out of universities across the globe. The number of computer experts do not think alike as their computers are made to do. The variety of computer engineers find their work interacting with other computer programs created by other engineers. The interface is horrible. 

Today United Airlines went down. It was not long after that Wall Street was experiencing problems. That would be a very interesting coincidence and I don't believe in coincidence. 

19 November 2013
By Paul Rubens

...In the height of the summer, for example, the Sabre reservation system used by more than 300 airlines crashed for several hours, resulting in flight cancellations and delays, with some airline staff resorting to paper and pen to check in passengers manually....

...Making the software (click here) more reliable would undoubtedly be possible, but to do so the developers would have to invest so much more time and money that the price of the product would end up having to be unacceptably high....

The New Jersey legislators are stating they will force Christi to resign to run for President.

According to New Jersey State Senator Loretta Weinberg, the New Jersey legislators will pass a bill that will prohibit the Governor to run for another office while serving.

That would make two states that carry that restriction, the other is Kentucky where Senator Rand Paul was debating his approach to skirt the state prohibition.

In the case of Governor Christi, such a law would not take effect until the next election. Governor Christi would be grandfathered into the past legal status of other governors and would not qualify for required resignation.

This new statue might explain this though:

September 21, 2015
By Charles Stile
 
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop (click here) is often seen mingling at fundraisers for Bergen County freeholder candidates.

Phillip Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs executive who served as President Obama’s ambassador to Germany, covered the cost for a sophisticated form of polling that helped Bergen Democrats pinpoint potential Democratic voters in Republican towns.

And Senate President Stephen Sweeney, who lives about 100 miles to the south in Gloucester County, made three appearances in Bergen in recent weeks. The Bergen County Senior Citizens Picnic would have been his fourth visit, but it was rained out.

“I told him, ‘Look, we can call up some real estate people and get you an apartment in Bergen if you want,’ ” quipped Bergen County Democratic Chairman Louis Stellato.

Stellato and other veteran operatives of the Jersey political backroom say they can’t recall a time when the pursuit of the New Jersey governor’s office has started this early, and this aggressively. The governor’s race is not scheduled until 2017....

BLM agents are armed. They have to be. They run across poachers and need to be able to defend themselves.

If this is the type of gun used, it will take down a bear. (click here)

July 8, 2015
By Andrew Blankstein

Multiple law enforcement (click here) sources familiar with the investigation into the slaying of 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle told NBC News on Wednesday that the weapon used in murder belonged to an agent with the Bureau of Land Management. They did not immediately identify the agent.

BLM spokesperson Dan Wilson said the service weapon was issued to a ranger and stolen from the agent's car while he was in San Francisco on business. Originally, sources had said the gun was a personal weapon....

The family stated they don't want their daughter politicized. This isn't about politics. It is about the facts and preventing any more deaths in the unnecessary death of Kathrym Steinle.

 

Donald Trump is winning the debate over his sincereity to office.

(CNN)

 Donald Trump (click here) says he "can't guarantee" that all of the workers he employs have legal status in the United States, and warned that if he were to discover any illegal immigrants working for him, "We would get rid of them immediately."

In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper on Wednesday, the billionaire businessmen and Republican presidential candidate addressed questions about a recent Washington Post report that said there are illegal immigrants working at the Old Post Office Pavilion construction site in Washington, which Trump is converting into a luxury hotel.... 

This interview with Anderson Cooper, Donald Trump was very engaged in the topic and well spoken to any accusations. He is able to navigate the press and the GOP. He also has real ideas. 

There was another interview today with MSNBC and I have to say the same occurred. He was engaged and in this instance very engaging of the topics discussed. I think Kathy Tur did a great job, but, I bet she never interviewed anyone like that before.

In the Anderson Cooper interview Anderson made an extremely important statement about the workers cited by The Washington Post. Anderson stated, "...several of the men mostly hailed from Honduras, Guatemala or El Salvador..." and Anderson goes on to quote the article in that these men were from war torn countries, etc. 

These are the people most able to get court rulings that would recognize the hazards living within their countries. They would be asylum seekers. If they are working for contractors they would be earning a good wage so they could probably afford an attorney to help them move to a legal status.

The children that came to our southern border were from the same countries. The living conditions due to the drug cartels are horrible. It is these people the USA should be worried about. Mr. Trump should accept the fact these people need compassion and not simply shipped back home to possibly be killed. I am sure these men are capable of a good work ethic and are hoping to help their families facing the conditions they left. 

The USA has a responsibility to help people living in terrible conditions and in cases like this there needs to be a relationship with these countries and a resolve to end the violence, but, there should also be paths for these people as well as our Dreamers born in the USA to citizenship. I hope Mr. Trump will appreciate that fact, too.

We can all agree the circumstances in San Francisco is completely objectionable. The facts coming out are sincerely upsetting. Now we know the gun belonged to an agent with the Bureau of Land Management. Does anyone ever wrap a gun in a tee shirt? I would think any government employee would not be this reckless. But, at any rate, who in the Bureau of Land Management has regular contact with people entering the USA illegally?  

The truth of the matter is if it weren't for Donald Trump we wouldn't be having this conversation and finding out some really odd facts. The questions are many and the end of the path isn't even in sight. 

The man has something to say. He needs to say it. He also stated, "I read the article myself." Wow. A Republican that actually reads current events. Interesting. He isn't meeting with cronies 95% of the time begging for money. That means he is probably one of the best informed Republicans in the field. He doesn't have a staff calling the shots either. That should be obvious. So much for being politically correct.

This is an interesting exchange, but, when Mr. Comey addresses the issue it sounds like FISA. FISA already exists. Congress wants to change FISA?

The Judiciary Committee held a hearing today where we discussed whether the government should mandate that manufacturers must include an encryption key in their smartphones that the government could use to access devices. Tell me if you're worried that criminals could use this access too.
Posted by United States Senator Mike Lee on Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Wall Street's Golden Calf. No country's burgeoning stock market should be used as a roulette wheel.

This is absolutely outrageous that a promising country should be played with by profiteers.

July 9, 2015
By Elizabeth Knight

Imagine this scenario: (click here) The Australian stock market plummets by more than 30 per cent over two weeks. The government steps in, ploughing billions of dollars into the hands of stockbrokers to bail out customers that borrowed to buy shares. And when that doesn't work, it just halts share trading in almost half the country's listed companies.
It is bizarre to contemplate, but that is precisely what is going on in China this week....

Anyone notice how United Airlines fixed it's global computer network and Wall Street catches a cold at the same time?

Nothing like stating the obvious. Of course this problem on Wall Street is not nefarious. It's a demonstration how stupidity of CEOs have real life impacts on the global web. 

There is no CONSPIRACY. There are a number of people that are completely incompetent and they are called CEOs. 

FOX. The news network first comes out stating there is no nefarious actions in regard to the markets. Then they came out and stated there is no conspiracy. They report what is obvious as if there is something to report. No wonder people are agitated and upset when they listen to the news from FOX. FOX gives no one any credit for an ounce of intelligence.

Amazing. Then everyone wonders how things get so out of hand when issues finally make their way to the mainstream. The nonsense from FOX actually begins to take on character of non-information. People get upset because they are demanding to know the facts about an issue immediately since FOX doesn't seem to be given the truth. It's crazy to listen to this mess. 

Of course, the President stonewalls all the demands from FOX. What do you expect from Obama.

The Obama administration has been historically transparent and FOX comes out with the FACT Obama is stonewalling.  

These guys are a piece of work. I can't take them seriously. If they were serious rather than hysterical I might, but, they drive people's cortisol levels and that is not good for human health. Bye, FOX.

Beth Ann knows what she is talking about.

July 7, 2015
By Chris Ruvo

When it comes to fracking in Bucks County, (click here) lifelong resident Beth Ann Rinkus’ position is unequivocal.
The Buckingham woman firmly believes that the impacts to human health and the environment, particularly water supply, are so detrimental that fracking should be banned.
“It will pollute and ruin the water, and once you do that, there’s no way of fixing it,” said Rinkus.
Her comments drew applause from the approximately 70 people who attended a Tuesday evening meeting about fracking at the Newtown Friends Meetinghouse in Newtown.
Locals, led by Marguerite Chandler, of Middletown, organized the meeting to galvanize resistance to a proposed joint ordinance that would regulate fracking in Newtown Township, Upper Makefield and Wrightstown....

Our National Forests and National Parks are under attack.

July 8, 2015
By Laura Peters
With the controversy surrounding hydraulic fracturing, (click here) or fracking, in the George Washington National Forest, Virginia petroleum experts are arguing the benefits of it.
Fracking in the national forest may add jobs in the area, and tap the United States' natural resources, rather than outsourcing energy needs, say proponents.
The U.S. Forest Service now prohibits oil and gas drilling on almost all the national forest land, according to its final management plan released Tuesday.
The forest service permits drilling on 167,000 acres with existing private mineral rights and 10,000 acres already leased to oil and gas companies....

The petroleum industry has launched a campaign of deceit to the American public. The first fracking well is stated to be 1865 by a Civil War veteran Col. Edward A. L. Roberts (click here) received the first of his many patents for an “exploding torpedo.”...

The exploding tropedo was nitroglycerin. 

The practice was very limited. In 1949, which is where the petroleum likes to say is their beginnings, the earliest oil discoveries, dynamite or nitroglycerin detonations increased a well’s production. The practice expanded, but, the primary method of extracting oil and gas was through vertical drilling. Fracking was very limited in it's use. It is a dangerous technology otherwise it would have been used more widely.

On March 17, 1949 the first commercial hydraulic fracturing of an oil well took place in 1949 about 12 miles east of Duncan, Oklahoma.

In 2005, the Cheney Energy strategy removed all regulations to allow the practice to expand to very inch of land in the USA. The deregulation has been highly egregious. The deregulation is corruption by Republicans.  

The practice is dangerous to the country and the people. The land is destroyed of any reasonable use, even after the gas and oil harvesting is over.  

The maximum of fracking wells in the USA since the first commercial well in Oklahoma was 1500 until 2005.  Why so few wells for such a long time? 1949 to 2005 spans over five decades. That means there was approximately 300 fracking wells per YEAR. 

The practice was very limited and in states that would allow it. Up to 2005 this technology was mostly outlawed across the country. Why? Because the practice was known to break the law in the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. It was known to emit dangerous greenhouse gases that were more dangerous then carbon dioxide. It was known to cause cancers in the benzine it emitted. There were many, many laws that prohibited this practice, not by naming the practice, but, because federal laws impacted a very dangerous practice. Up to 2005 the practice could not pass the test of federal regulations that protect the American people from harm.

In 2005, corruption hit the USA as issued from the federal government under "W"'s energy committee. The Cheney energy committee removed all the regulations of which protected the American people. Cheney promoted the dissolution of the laws' impacts for the petroleum industry. It specifically put the profits of the petroleum industry over the safety of the American people.

The escalation of the number of fracking wells since 2005 is astronomical. The number of wells in the USA went from 1500 in 2005 to 2 million today of which at least 1.2 million are still working. That is nothing but greed and has absolutely nothing to do with the USA's need for natural gas or any of the by-products of the practice. 

This is a graph from the US Department of Energy. The red line is the production and the blue line is the demand. Let's just say the shortage was hurting the country, which it wasn't. It provided for conservation of energy. But, let's just say the shortage was horrible and more gas wells were needed. 

In 2005, at the time of the deregulation, there was a demand of 22 trillion cubic feet (TCF) and the production was at a low of 18 trillion cubic feet (TCF). Natural gas is measured in cubic feet because it is a gas, not a liquid. 

By 2008, the production exceeded the use in 2005. But, that wasn't good enough for the petroleum industry, they marketed natural gas as an answer to any energy crisis and moved the demand 24 TCF. The demand only recently started to slow and supply is getting closer to demand. 

1.2 trillion wells. Not trillion cubic feet, but, wells are destroying the land in the USA and air quality is very poor as a result of wells. People have died in the USA from water and air contamination. This is not a minor issue. 

Now, mind you this technology was only needed in 1500 wells in 2005. Even with current demand there is no justification for more and more fracking wells. Now the petroleum industry wants to pollute our national forests and national parks with their technology that will destroy the land, kill the trees and pollute the aquifers. 

The petroleum industry is marketing something in a political season that is a very dangerous technology. They don't bother telling the electorate they have plans to destroy our forests and park lands. They want everyone to believe they are supplying a necessary technology and while they might apologize for the pollution and deaths, they purport this is all necessary for national security of the USA.

IT IS A LIE!!!!!!

This is about profits to Wall Street and no other reason.

One might ask why there is a chronic shortfall of TCF from fracking with 1.2 wells in service?

Why?

Because the emissions from the wells into the troposphere is significant. So, while the industry is showing greater amounts of production to attempt to meet leveling demand, there is all that much more methane entering the troposphere. If there were productions from emissions on these well, the 1500 wells in 2005 would STILL be all that is needed. 

The petroleum industry is out of control and is causing a great deal of damage to the country and imposes health risks no American should face. This has to halted. It is greed and not necessity at work. Americans should not have these problems with an industry, but, it does. People have to oppose this technology in their cities and towns. That is why Beth Ann is correct. Besides their towns water supply and air quality being at risk, the American National Forests and National Parks are now the next target. 

Probably for the first time in history, the logging industries have common ground with the American people. The fracking technology will damage the forests forever. The private logging industry is allowed to harvest trees from the forests to reduce leaf litter and make for healthier trees and the opportunity for new growth from the forest floor. 

This is exploitation by the petroleum industry and it should not be tolerated today or in the future.

What is going on in China? The TPP?

...The CSI300 index (click here) <.CSI300> of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen closed down 6.8 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index <.SSEC> dropped 5.9 percent.

With nearly half the market on a trading halt and another round of margin calls forcing leveraged investors to dump whatever shares could find a buyer, blue chips that had been supported by stabilization funds earlier in the week bore the brunt.

"I've never seen (click here) this kind of slump before. I don't think anyone has. Liquidity is totally depleted," said Du Changchun, an analyst at Northeast Securities....

China is not a TPP member country. With the laws passed in Congress last week, the CEOs are looking to make a killing when the laws come into effect. 

Wall Street should not be so anxious, the process of enacting those trade agreements isn't even close. 

So, this might just be one of the untended consequences the US Congress talks about, huh? 

There are layers of authority the trade agreements haven't even been exposed to yet. If Wall Street is expecting to dive into a done deal, they are more foolish than they know. 

The Emerging Markets Index hasn't missed a beat recently. (click here)

Wall Street is dumping China for fast returns on the TPP. Wall Street is anticipating huge initial returns on the markets of the TPP. If one gets the stocks at a low and the law is enacted the immediate investment returns are very high. That means they are buying now and will sell as soon as the anticipated high is reached. That 'high' will be defined by the brokerage themselves depending on their penetration and ability to sustain a small losses.

I can't state enough how speculation is a foolish approach on a US trade agreement that hasn't made it through the processes of those agreements.

Sometimes investors will leave a fluctuating market to be protected by private banks that provide a more or less record of a safe haven during any perceived crisis.

Brown Brothers Harriman is one of those banks. The banks have assets that can buffer an unstable market.

May 16, 2015
By Robert Milburn

...Such quiet, (click here) attentive conservatism shows up in the firm’s asset allocations; the bank has 18% of its clients’ assets in “strategic reserves,” short-duration, investment-grade fixed income. But adventurous clients are also investing up to 2% of their portfolio in an opportunistic, distressed-debt manager that will pick through energy-sector bankruptcies. “It is in our DNA to be patient,” Meskin says.... 

China needs to market it's new infrastructure bank as a good investment that can match assets of any other bank. China needs to provide reassurance and not simply watch the decline.

China should develop, if not already completed, a portfolio of anticipated growth due to it's increasing Middle Class. The Chinese Middle Class is a sure thing. There will be far more purchasing power for products within China itself. This is a aspect of China's economy now that investors are not used to thinking about. China has a vision otherwise called a mission to carry out growth in China. That vision if backed by Chinese assets will be very attractive to investors. Currently, China's stock markets are based in company performance. There probably aren't any 'futures' investment.

The Chinese Middle Class is free standing. It is not at all like the USA from the past when it disappeared as jobs left the country. The Chinese Middle Class will increase the sale of products no different than a USA Middle Class. Wall Street needs to appreciate an expanding client base for their products. This is not a territory for Day Traders. This is establishing an interest in the Chinese Middle Class and its' growing long term returns.  
 

...With so many small-cap companies sheltering on the sidelines, the ChiNext growth board <.CHINEXTC>, which has seen some of the biggest swings in valuations, fell a modest 0.8 percent.

The plunge in China's previously booming stock markets, which had more than doubled in the year to mid-June, is a major headache for President Xi Jinping and China's top leaders, who are already grappling with slowing growth.

Beijing's interventionist response has also raised questions about its ability to enact the market liberalization steps that are a centerpiece of its economic reform agenda.

China has orchestrated brokerages and fund managers to promise to buy billions of dollars' worth of stocks, helped by a state-backed margin finance company which the central bank pledged on Wednesday to provide sufficient liquidity....

Wall Street is also engages profit by taking small increments of pennies. Those fractions can add up, too. the ability of Wall Street to take returns away from companies in this memethodology should be outlawed globally. Removing fractions of pennies from any stock market only creates turbulence. It is an underhanded way of making money. 

China needs to run an investigation to what is causing these swings in investment.

I honestly don't see a future stock market with long term stability. This methodology is like an invisible thief that prevents long term stability. 

Rather than regulation a disincentive to this type of investment should be legislated. A tax on these investment monies specifically should be instituted to end the practice.