Director Comey, "...were sent overseas..."

There is a basic understanding about the ability of the White House computers and interface with other countries.

The American people had first hand experience with the new website for applications for insurance. We all know what happened after the federal health care website collapsed. We also know the State Department has high communication costs because of wire services. 

The e-mail CHAINS were to and from outside the USA borders. It is impossible to litigate it. The 'chains' were important to the function of the State Department and they were on a private server known to a former President.

Get of it.

I would think it obvious by now, the Michigan State Attorney's office is not working for the victims of Flint.

When average employees powerless to direct their own jobs are indicted for incompetence, it should be blatantly obvious it is a cover up for those in power that should be on trial.

Like I said. The Michigan State Attorney General should forget the investigation, spend the monies on rehabilitating Flint's pipes and indict the only person responsible, Governor Rick Snyder.

July 3, 2016
By Chad Halcom

Attorneys in the Flint water crisis (click here) say Attorney General Bill Schuette's recent lawsuit in Genesee County Circuit Court makes him a powerful ally against the engineering and environmental companies that worked for the city — for now.

If and when the various lawsuits against Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc. and Veolia North America Inc. reach settlement talks, however, the state and the city residents' interests may be less aligned.

More than 315 cases are pending in various state and federal courts, including the Schuette case filed in Genesee County last week. Many are still awaiting rulings on proper jurisdiction, but in general the LAN and Veolia suits are expected to coalesce over time in Genesee Circuit. Lawsuits targeting the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Gov. Rick Snyder, various state-appointed emergency managers for Flint or other state employees began landing in June at the Michigan Court of Claims, which hears cases against state agencies....

An apology to his daughter for the world she is inheriting.

My dearest daughter, (click here)

When I see your smiling, exuberant face each morning, it seems like my worldly worries evaporate, at least for the hour or so before I drop you off at your little country school. You prattle on about Water Sparkles and other imaginary creatures and worlds, while I drink my tea and watch you eat your mother's sourdough toast and the eggs you collected from your hens the day before.

Despite the rush of the weekday morning's preparations, your exuberance and boundless anticipation of what the day will bring gives me a peace of mind I am usually unable to replicate for the rest of my day. I will forever treasure these times.

You are 9 now, and quite old enough to comprehend that the world you so enthusiastically desire to experience and understand is changing fast, and mostly in ways that will make your future much more challenging than mine was at your age. I remember broaching the subject of climate disruption with you when you were but 5 years old; it was almost a casual comment that I do not think I prepared you for adequately....

...Through my work though, I hope to convince enough people of enough political clout that our future is not predestined to descend into the hellish depths of resource warfare. Change for the worse is inevitable, but we have technologies, social capacities, finances, and even historical precedents to be able to avert the worst of it.

If I can claim on my deathbed that I tried my best to diminish the hardships that you will one day endure, I will have justified my actions as a scientist, and most importantly, as a parent.

I hope you can forgive our generation and be clever enough to avoid the mistakes we have already made and the ones we are still unfortunately perpetuating.

My love for you and my need to protect you helps me get out of bed each morning and face the overwhelming challenges of my profession.

Thank you for being my inspiration.

Papa.

It sounds as though female Hollywood stars have grounds to file lawsuits as well.

Their images are now attached to a prostitution ring. Oh, sorry, an escort service.

July 5, 2016
By Neil Connor

A Chinese businessman (click here) is suing an Australian escort agency to which he paid millions of dollars believing he was going to get to spend the night with Hollywood stars including Megan Fox, it has been claimed.

The man paid A$3.7 million ($3.8 million) for supposed encounters with Fox, star of the Transformers movie franchise, along with Victoria's Secret model Candice Swanepoel and Chinese model and actress Yang Ying, according to court documents cited by Australia's the Sunday Telegraph.

Named as Yu Xu by the newspaper, the businessman believed he had arranged for the women to meet him in China.

He has now launched a legal action against the parent company of the Sydney-based agency Royal Court Escorts, the report stated....

A murder in Fiji remains unsolved. It is gruesome.

July 5, 2016

By Tess Nichol

...Although he and his wife (click here) chose not to open the bundle, police later confirmed it contained a human head, but did not say who the victim was.

"It's a funny little feeling in your tummy. Like, that was somebody's life a few days ago," Mr Bickley said.

"It's also a funny feeling about how the people who had put that package together had been so inhuman.

"[They had] been able to cut it up and spend considerable time putting it into this parcel, which was very neatly and securely fastened so it actually survived all the tides that brought it ashore again."

Fiji police this week said DNA tests showed the body parts belonged to Russian couple Yuri and Natalia Shipulin, who went missing on June 16.

Police believe the Russians, who had reportedly been in Fiji since 2011, were murdered and dismembered.

This sounds remarkably like security problems for the London Olympics.

Is the USA going to be stuck picking up the cost again? If a country doesn't have a strong security infrastructure, why is that country chosen? Any country will do and the Olympic Committee simply understands when it becomes obvious the country is in over it's head, the USA will come to the rescue? This is the second time.

July 5, 2016
By Sebastian Smith and Madeleine Prade

It wasn't the welcome (click here) those arriving at Rio de Janeiro's main airport would have hoped for - police holding up banners that read "Welcome to Hell".

The demonstration today - a month before the Olympics open- was the latest by Brazilian police protesting over unpaid salaries and a string of recent police deaths.

More than 100 emergency services workers, including firefighters, took part in the protest in the arrival hall at Galeao International Airport, which will be a key entry point for the expected half-million tourists to the Games starting on August 5.

Officers held up a banner reading: "Welcome to hell. Police and firefighters don't get paid, whoever comes to Rio de Janeiro will not be safe."

Mannequins dressed in uniform were laid out on the floor to represent the more than 50 officers killed in Rio de Janeiro so far this year. A female officer with fake blood smeared on her face and hands clutched a mannequin dressed in a T-shirt reading "SOS policia"....

Syria's instability has to do with the Shia Crescent and the impacts of the Arab Spring.

End of discussion.

If Mars is any indication this is the chosen neighborhood for human beings on their way out of the Milky Way.

It is amazing how men design plans to abandon Earth when it gets to hot. Do you know I and my female peers have been saying that for at least two decades?

We have always stated when it comes to HEALING Earth from the abuses of Wall Street men's first choice is to abandon it. It is true. Here we are with an Earth of unheeded warnings and men are looking to Mars as their first "Star Trek" choice.

President Obama was the first president to INVEST in Earth in our history. He is not an old white man. He is a father with two daughters. That is significant. When there is a 'child' connection to a person's life the instinct is to always 'fix it' in preservation of their future. All the presidents before President Obama were mostly old white men. The exception was Bill Clinton. To his credit former President Carter placed solar panels on the roof of the White House. I guess that is more a statement about old Republican White men. Look what Cheney did to Canada and the "Halliburton Loophole."

I suppose the correct statement is "Republicans are untrustworthy." War. Abuses of Earth. Exploitation of impoverished populations for profit. Lack of any kind of economic understanding. Oppression of people to force a poor and waning middle class. I would think the Republicans would get the message by now that they have it all "W"rong. 

July 5, 2016
By Kenneth Chang

Ducking through intense belts of violent radiation (click here) as it skimmed over the clouds of Jupiter at 130,000 miles per hour, NASA’s Juno spacecraft finally clinched its spot on Monday in the orbit of the solar system’s largest planet.
It took five years for Juno to travel this far on its $1.1 billion mission, and the moment was one that NASA scientists and space enthusiasts had eagerly — and anxiously — anticipated.
At 11:53 p.m., Eastern time, a signal from the spacecraft announced the end of a 35-minute engine burn that left it in the grip of its desired orbit around Jupiter. Cheers and clapping erupted at the mission operations center at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, Calif., which is managing Juno.
“This is the hardest thing NASA has ever done,” Scott Bolton, Juno’s principal investigator, told the mission team a few minutes later. “That’s my claim.”...

I didn't talk all weekend about a tweet. I think that has unspoken status.

The anti-Hillary ad with the anti semitic star and then replacing such an ad is TYPICAL Republican dog whistle.

Kindly move on from there.

continued...

"Morning Papers"

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

This bird looks a little roughed up. Animals do fight for dominance. Will men ever get over their animal instincts and end their impulsion to violence?

According to Merriam-Webster, a patriot is a person who loves and strongly supports or fights for his or her country.

I am a patriot. I do not recognize another country as my homeland. I do not condone violence and power brokering by the USA defined in killing.

I am a patriot and I want peace!

CNN is warmongering. Is that what the media considers patriot anymore? That is propaganda and not reality.

Places like Bangladesh are caught completely off guard from people that like to kill to deliver a message.

It was amazing to see Bangladesh rise to take over the hostage circumstances. They surprised me. I never thought there would be this type of issue in that country. 

When I hear the country Bangladesh mentioned I first think of all the people forced to live in boats on the water because there isn't enough infrastructure to provide a home on land. Do I think about such violence? No.

The violence in Iraq is due to hatred. There exists profound hatred in the Middle East. it is long standing hatred based in religious differences. No one in the West should be pointing a finger at this region of the world and say "Shame, Shame." There has been hatred in The West for centuries due to religious differences. I am not going to chronicle it here, but, the most profound can be realized in Northern Ireland.

There is nothing valiant about killing to deliver a message. It is the coward's way of showing strength as if they should be most favored as a leader.

There has been violence around the world for as long as organized groups of people existed, including the USA west's history, including the Native American "Trail of Tears." The reason the white man conquered "The West" is because they nearly genocide the populations of American Indian. In actuality, there was genocide. The Native American never gave up and the reality of that today are the reservations within the borders of the USA belonging to them. They fought and fought and won land.

The Middle East has issues due to the religious regions called "The Shia Crescent" within the region. The reason "The Crescent" exists is because of religious differences. There is no animosity on a societal level toward those differences. Those that would hate are in the minority of citizens, but, that is the case in the USA as well. "Hate" is the issue. The religious differences is the excuse for violence. "GOD" is a very powerful driver of hate. supposedly those killing to deliver a message are doing so in the name of God/Allah. If God wanted to deliver a message he would not need violence between men.

Today, media states the violence is due to Daesh. Not. Daesh is the propaganda organization of international criminals. There is no cohesive effort by Daesh to carry out violence. The minority of hate related persons find solace in having an agreeable identity to an organization more powerful than themselves. 

Delivering a message needs attention to be effective. Killing certainly does get the attention of the world. It is important the governments remain resolved to end the violence.

If there is one country that participates in violence, it is Iran. Iran is giving other countries a reason to actually view it unfavorably. That is not going to cure the Iranian people's problems; it will make it worse.

Iran just moved out sanctions due to it's nuclear proliferation. The country must like being hated because it is now giving the world reason to apply sanctions all over again and it has nothing to do with nuclear proliferation. Iran armed the Houthi rebels. But, the USA has no room to complain, it armed Syrian rebels.

There is a reason there is a United Nations' Small Arms Treaty. When the DIM of the world, including the USA, figure out why the treaty exists there might actually be an end to violence. When the violence ends people will be looking at each other for the first time to wrestle with their differences rather than killing it.

"Good Night, Moon"

The new moon

29.2 day old moon

0.2 percent lit

The skies will be dark for fireworks.

July 3, 2016
By Chris Pagan

Sunday: (click here) Tomorrow is Independence Day and we start the day with the new moon. Without the moon in the sky, it will be easier to enjoy the fireworks. Also tomorrow Earth reaches aphelion in its orbit around the sun. Now before you read on, does this mean we are at our closest or farthest from the sun? Well, for the northern hemisphere, summer occurs when Earth is farthest from the sun. Seasons are caused by the tilt of Earth’s axis and not our distance from the sun. Tomorrow, Earth is more than 94.5 million miles from the sun.....

Fossil Fuels is the single largest cause of the over abundance of CO2 through emissions.

Add caption

The idea one form of fossil fuel can be substituted for another was appropriate in 1960, today it is antiquated.


Carbon dioxide (CO2) (click here) - Fossil fuel use is the primary source of CO2. The way in which people use land is also an important source of CO2, especially when it involves deforestation. CO2 can also be emitted from direct human-induced impacts on forestry and other land use, such as through deforestation, land clearing for agriculture, and degradation of soils. Likewise, land can also remove CO2from the atmosphere through reforestation, improvement of soils, and other activities.

Methane (CH4) - Agricultural activities, waste management, energy use, and biomass burning all contribute to CH4emissions.

Together fossil fuels, industrial processes (including peat burning, wood burning and slash and burn) and methane comprise 81 percent of all the dangerous gases causing the climate crisis.

By far burning gasoline is the largest contributor to the dangers of the climate crisis.

Ten very dangerous chemicals associated with the petroleum industry.

1. Benzene (click here)

Fossil Fuel Use: Oil, Coal and Natural Gas

Benzene is a well-established carcinogen with specific links to leukemia as well as breast and urinary tract cancers. Exposure to benzene reduces red and white blood cell production in bone marrow; decreases auto-immune cell function (T-cell and B-cells); and has been linked to sperm-head abnormalities and generalized chromosome aberrations.

Benzene is one of the largest-volume petrochemical solvents used in the fossil fuel industry. It is a major component in all major fossil fuel production: oil, coal and gas.

People are exposed to it from inhaling automobile exhaust and gasoline fumes, industrial burning such as oil and coal combustion, and exposure to fracking fluids...

2. Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)

3. Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)

4. Petroleum Coke (Pet Coke)

5. Formaldehyde

6. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH)

7.  Mercury

8. Silica (Silicon Dust/Fracking Sand)

9. Radon

10. Hydrofluoric Acid (HF) / Hydrogen Fluoride

April 20, 2010. It took over six years to obtain a settlement. How many Americans will receive the benefit of that?

It wasn't obvious? It wasn't like angry Americans blew up the well, BP did it all by itself. If the truth be known, greed blew up the well. Greed with no reverence for life blew up the BP Deepwater Horizon.

June 30, 2016

By AP

Baton Rouge (AP) — Louisiana (click here) is expecting Friday (July 1) to receive $200 million from BP, the first portion of the state's settlement for economic damages associated with the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill.

Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne updated state officials Thursday about the payment, which is earmarked to fill state budget gaps.

Louisiana is expected to receive up to $1 billion from BP as compensation for the spill's economic damages, with payments to arrive over 15 years. Lawmakers earmarked the rest of the money for the state's "rainy day" fund and an elderly trust fund....

CAFE Standards do more than improve fuel economy, they benefit the general economy with more disposable income.

The majority of crude oil is gasoline for automobiles. There are CAFE Standards to be met by the automobile industry.

Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) (click here)

Enacted by Congress in 1975, CAFE's purpose is to reduce energy consumption by increasing the fuel economy of cars and light trucks. NHTSA has set standards to increase CAFE levels rapidly over the next several years, which will improve our nation’s energy security and save consumers money at the pump. This site contains an immense amount of information about the CAFE program including an overview, rulemaking actions, fleet characteristics data, compliance activities, summaries of manufacturers’ fuel economy performances since 1978, and related studies....

How many other Wall Street commodities rise with terrorist incidents?

July 3, 2016

By James Paton

Brent oil (click here) held gains above $50 a barrel as Nigerian militants claimed fresh attacks over the weekend, threatening the country’s efforts to raise output.

Futures rose as much as 0.7 percent in London after advancing 1.3 percent Friday. Niger Delta Avengers said it attacked five crude-pumping facilities overnight Sunday, dealing a blow to government effort to enforce a cease-fire. Shale drillers in the U.S. brought back the most oil rigs of any week this year as confidence in a stabilized market prompts talk of expansion....

Falling US Supply and Congress passed the right for petroleum companies to export. Amazing how Big Oil owns the US Congress.

Brent has recovered about 80 percent since tumbling to a 12-year low in January amid supply disruptions and falling U.S. supply....

Nigerians become upset because of pollution and the impacts of human health. Nigeria is not alone.

Below is regulatory information from the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) of crude oil.

This is it. This is all the regulation of crude oil. The regulations say, please don't pollute our water, don't expose human beings to dangerous conditions. Is it too much to ask?

Is it too much to ask to have Americans safe in their person from contamination of their air, water or food?

PROP 65 WARNING LABEL: Chemicals known to the State to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm are found in gasoline, crude oil, and many other petroleum products and their vapors, or result from their use. Read and follow label directions and use care when handling or using all petroleum products.

February 1, 2013

In 1986, California voters(click here) approved an initiative to address their growing concerns about exposure to toxic chemicals. That initiative became the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, better known by its original name of Proposition 65. Proposition 65 requires the State to publish a list of chemicalsknown to cause cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm. This list, which must be updated at least once a year, has grown to include approximately 800 chemicals since it was first published in 1987.

Proposition 65 requires businesses to notify Californians about significant amounts of chemicals in the products they purchase, in their homes or workplaces, or that are released into the environment. By providing this information, Proposition 65 enables Californians to make informed decisions about protecting themselves from exposure to these chemicals. Proposition 65 also prohibits California businesses from knowingly discharging significant amounts of listed chemicals into sources of drinking water....

The body count in West Virginia is currently 26. These deaths were caused by the climate crisis.

July 3, 2016
By Brie Jackson

West Virginia (WSLS 10)  On Sunday, (click here) officials released more information regarding the damage caused by floods and severe weather in West Virginia. According to West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director Jimmy Gianato, these are the latest facts and figures:

The State Emergency Operations Center continues to track the potential severe weather threat forecast for this region, in close coordination with the local National Weather Service offices. The SEOC is hosting daily briefings for county and local emergency officials and other responders, and will schedule special weather briefings as warranted.

· A flash flood watch is in effect from the predawn hours of Monday, July 4 through late that night. The watch applies to 21 West Virginia counties including the federal disaster declaration counties of Clay, Jackson, Nicholas, Roane and Webster. A flash flood watch means that conditions may develop that lead to flash flooding....

...Flood survivors may call West Virginia 211, a free information and referral service available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. They can call 2-1-1 for help finding food, childcare, crisis counseling, and many other resources in their local communities....

This is a molecule of oil. Crude oil. How many carbons are there?

Figure 1. Some examples of organic compounds in petroleum (schematic), from the simplest (methane) to the most complex (asphaltene). Pyrolysis gas-chromatography of kerogen, the precursor of petroleum in source rocks, directly translates to petroleum composition and properties and is used for predictions ahead of drilling.

Every molecule of oil has methane released with it.  This is fossil fuels. It is all organic because the dead dinosaurs and their lagoons were all living and organic.

Petroleum source rocks (click here) can be formed in a variety of depositional environments. Key controls are organic matter production and preservation in the sediment. The organic matter deposited can be of algal, bacterial, or planktonic origin, or stem from terrestrial land plants. In any case, preserved organic matter assemblages can be variable in source rock sequences, depending on input and preservation conditions. Figure 2 shows the macroscopic lithologic variability observed in the Jurassic Posidonia shale, and indicates variability in depositional environment and diagenetic overprint, which in turn can result in organofacies variability. The first step in source rock assessment is thus the detailed investigation of organic facies using pyrolysis techniques....