It is a very sad time for the UK. It has been quite a day.

September 13, 2022
By Tara John, Jack Guy, David Wilkinson and Arnaud Siad

People watch the hearse carrying the coffin of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, following her death, in London on September 13.

Queen Elizabeth II's coffin (click here) has arrived at Buckingham Palace, after being transported from west London's RAF Northholt airbase by car.

The Queen's family received the coffin on its arrival at the palace, where it will rest in the Bow Room overnight.

The coffin was transported from Edinburgh earlier on Tuesday on a C-17 Globemaster transport plane, Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston told Sky News Tuesday in an on-camera interview....

The family has been very dedicated to the Late Queen. I believe Princess Anne has been present to the movement of the Late Queen Elizabeth II since her death.

On Monday evening, (click here) King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward came together to conduct the Vigil of the Princes as their mother's coffin laid in state at St. Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland.

I really feel badly for the UK. They really loved their Queen.

It is a great ad and Charlie Crist is not misrepresenting anything.

September 9, 2022
By Brea Jones of FactCheck.org

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (click here) wants to eliminate state permit requirements for carrying concealed firearms, and he supports banning abortion, with limited exceptions, after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

But political ads from former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s campaign misleadingly claim that DeSantis opposes “any background checks” on gun buyers and “wants to ban abortion” in all cases....

When Ron DeSantis states he wants to eliminate state permit requirements that is an elimination of background checks.

Here are the current requirements which are bare bones requirements:

To be eligible for a Florida concealed weapon or firearm license: (click here)

You must be 21 years of age or older.

You must be able to demonstrate competency with a firearm.

Unless you are serving overseas in the United States Armed Forces, you must currently reside in the United States and be a U.S. citizen or deemed a lawful permanent resident alien by Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. If you are serving overseas in the U.S. Armed Forces, submit a copy of your deployment documentation with your application. Those who are Resident Aliens must provide a valid Permanent Resident Alien card.

There are NO SAFEGUARDS NOW!

There are absolutely no requirements by the State of Florida for ANY background checks. The requirements for current background checks are due to federal requirements. 

Gun buyers are required to submit to a background check (click here) through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

A prospective buyer fills out ATF Form 4473 and the federally licensed firearms dealers relays this information to the NICS. NICS staff perform a background check to verify the prospective buyer does not have a criminal record and is not otherwise ineligible to purchase a firearm.

The NICS has conducted more than 300 million checks since launching in 1998, leading to over 3 million denials.

I believe President Biden has updated requirements for a gun purchase. so this may be outdated. 

States can have their own requirements that are much tighter than the federal laws, the example is Connecticut (click here). There is also every reason for background checks to be more stringent, the example is Dylann Roof (click here) who found a loophole that allowed him to obtain a gun purchase before his background check was completed. 

...Mr. Roof exploited the three-day waiting time that has allowed thousands of prohibited buyers to legally purchase firearms over the past decade — and some of those weapons were ultimately used in crimes, according to court records and government documents....

As far as abortion goes, the government needs to get out of the way completely. Abortions are a private decision between a doctor and the woman. The Republicans are touting 15 weeks as the end of legal abortions. The majority probably fall in that category, but, not all and certainly if a woman's life is in danger no matter when the pregnancy was conceived she should be able to get a procedure to save her life.

The current ability to allow a fetus to survive an abortion is 23 weeks or later. There are an occasional infant that will survive in a neo-natal critical care unit, but, that is very rare.

Results: (click here) Termination of pregnancy accounted for 33% of deliveries at 20–23 weeks; these were excluded from further analysis. Spontaneous delivery occurred at a frequency of 2.5/1000 deliveries; 30% died before the onset of labour, 27% died during labour, and 35% showed signs of life at birth. Of the latter, 8% were not registered as statutory live births. Of the live born infants, the largest group (39%) had a heart beat but no other signs of life. There was no trend for infants of lower gestation to show fewer signs of life. Duration of survival varied widely (median 60 minutes at 20–22 weeks), and this did not increase with gestation until 23 weeks (median six hours), probably because of selective treatment. Survival curves are presented for each gestation group. At 23 weeks, 4.5% survived to 1 year of age; all were > 500 g birth weight. Below 23 weeks gestation, none survived, and 94% had died within 4 hours of age.

Conclusions: This information on surviving labour, signs of life at birth, duration of survival, and birth weight at 20–23 weeks gestation should help decision making in the management of pre-viable delivery.

The viability of the fetus to maintain life can only be determined by a neonatologist. Viability is rare in fetus less than 500 grams of body weight.

This is from Kaiser.

Reasons individuals seek abortions later in pregnancy include medical concerns such as fetal anomalies or maternal life endangerment, as well as barriers to care that cause delays in obtaining an abortion.

Abortions occurring at or after 21 weeks gestational age are rare. (click here) They are often difficult to obtain, as they are typically costly, time-intensive and only performed by a small subset of abortion providers. Yet these abortions receive a disproportionate amount of attention in the news, policy and the law, and discussions on this topic are often fraught with misinformation; for example, intense public discussions have been sparked after several policymakers have theorized about abortions occurring “moments before birth” or even “after birth.” In reality, these scenarios do not occur, nor are they legal, in the U.S. Discussion of this topic is further obscured due to the terms sometimes used to describe abortions later in pregnancy– including “late-term,” “post-viability,” “partial birth,” “dismemberment” and “born-alive” abortions—despite many medical professionals criticizing and opposing their use. This fact sheet explains why individuals may seek abortions later in pregnancy, how often these procedures occur, how the concepts of viability and fetal pain play into this topic, and the various laws which regulate access to abortions later in pregnancy....

No one will say this besides me, but, politicians that invade a woman's right to privacy and control of her own body are moralizing to attract votes and not protections for babies. It is a rare occurrence in the USA that any late term abortions are conducted and when they are it is to save the life of the woman. 

When a politician states he or she opposes abortion after 15 weeks is saying women that seek abortion after that are wrong and immoral. That is the furthest from the truth. Women have a right to privacy and the advise of their doctors uninterrupted by government.

In my opinion, the Republican Party is hoping the 15 week bill will make everyone unhappy with them to now become happy with them to vote them into office. I don't think so. The Republican Party did not expect the uproar of women across the USA to the wrongful nullification of Roe v. Wade. Believe it or not, it is legal and correct to have case law in the USA. The Robert's Court doesn't  believe in case law. It is a convenient belief that allows them to play politics with existing case law. By overturning every case law the Evangelical funding sources don't like and returning it to the states as State's Rights is ridiculous and gross malpractice.

States Rights is an allowance in the USA Constitution when states are best left to decide if the Colorado River Compact is a good idea or not. The States Rights issue is about PARTICULAR decisions that are unique to that state. In the case of abortion, a woman is a woman. Every woman that once fell under the case law of Roe v. Wade was allowed to decide about their own bodies and the future of a pregnancy and to do so with the guidance of her doctor(s). There was absolutely nothing wrong with case law of Roe v. Wade. Nothing. It was a protection for all women and there were no States Rights that applied as far as I am concerned. The Robert's Court began to allow this provision or that provision because they premeditated the end of Roe v. Wade. Just that simple. There is no magic in what the Robert's Court has been up to all these years since Bush placed right wing conservatives on the court that came as a favor to the Federalist Society and it's treasury and members bank accounts.

Pregnancy is an intimate issue between the persons involved. There is no place for government in that decision. Just imagine the impact of anti-abortion laws and the havoc is reeks on adult lives. I do not in any way approve of a child giving birth to a child. It is harmful.

So, when Charlie Christ states he believes in the right for a woman to choose, he is simply putting back the protections of women and their doctors. He is getting out of the way of privacy and allowing good and informed decisions to exist. He is also not dictating any religion will have sway over the USA Constitution.

The fifteen week ban is not necessary and is pure politics without any regard to a woman's ability to make her own decisions and a physicians right to protect the life of his patient, a woman.

Blue lightning. I have a theory.

This storm was yesterday, September 13, 2022. Early morning. It was an enormous system. There is a blip in the data transfer, but, the specific PART of the system is seen plainly.

The water vapor in the lower left corner is over the Pacific with it concentrating at the equator. That concentrated water vapor is very warm as seen by pink and green on the radar. It traveled northeast from the equator and covered the east coast of North America.

The vortex north of Chicago is part of the cold air system coming from Canada. There is a clear division of water vapor STRUCTURES discerned from this satellite. Noted just north of the division of water vapor is a trough that mixes the two systems. It is approximately over West Virginia but that is not an exact location but an assessment. 

There is a mixing, but, no trubulence at the mixing which I find strange for a meeting of a warm and cold front. Normally, that would explain thunder and lightning. The turbulence I observed with consistent rain occurs north of Chicago (more about that in a minute), but, as to the patter of SETS OF TWO thunder and lightning.

The turbulence seen in pink north of Chicago was over Grand Traverse County.

Currently over northwest Michigan it is raining. It is not torrential, but, steady. There are occasional burst of increased rain rates, but, mostly consistent. The rain bursts are not affiliated with the lightning.

The lightening accompanying this storm is reportable. The entire sky lights up in a blue color approximately the same natural color of the sky. It is preceded by a boom of thunder. It occurs in a set of two, one loud boom accompanied immediately by a bright blue flash and followed by a second boom with the same blue flash. 

This dual flashing occurs between one minute to ten minutes apart.

At 4:25 am est the lightning has seemed to have stopped but the rain continues with slightly increased volume.

The rain is cold. The air temperature is 66 degrees Fahrenheit. The rain is colder than that.

THEORY 9/13/22

The vortex near Chicago was over Grand Traverse County (it was a big system and not concentrated over one particular city). The pattern of the blue lightening was first boom (not rolling thunder) followed by a sky full of blue lightning, then immediately the second Boom (not rolling thunder) followed by a sky full of blue lightning. The PATTERN repeated itself variably between one minute to ten minutes apart. 

I believe the water vapor was breaking down. H2O. If the very stable molecules met up with the perfect conditions to boil icy cold water within seconds, I believe the molecules broke apart. The boom was the explosion of a group of hydrogen atoms which would set off a blue lightening in the sky. The second boom was the other group of hydrogen atoms exploding followed by a flash of blue light. 

Oxygen atoms when excited will glow a purplish blue, but, blue is the predominant color.

Liquid oxygen in a beaker, (click here) showing its characteristic pale-blue color. Credit to U.S. Air Force photo

The lightening in this episode was very close to that color with the exception of it being an air mass.

I strongly believe, in contemplation of the sound patter, I am correct. I believe the mixing of the two different water vapor structures with movement near and over a body of lake water caused the destruction of H20 into two independent hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. There is absolutely nothing else that explains the color or the pattern. The PATTERN was consistent and exhibited in the same exact timing. There was no variability.

The spacing of the booms (not rolling thunder) I believe was due to the arrival of a water vapor pattern from a southeast location of the pink area of the vortex north of Chicago. I will illustrate that arrival pattern below.

This is image one. There is a puff of water vapor over Lake City, Michigan. This puff of water vapor will more north.

This is image two. The water vapor puff is concentrating and gaining and moving north-northeast. It will continue to move north-northeast.

This is image three. The first puff of water vapor is picking up more water vapor over Fife Lake and moving northeast and not just north-northeast. It is joined by a second water vapor concentration that originated over Lake City again. This is a pattern that repeats itself depending on the movement of the vortex and the heat in the region.

This is satellite image four. The two water vapor masses are moving northeast into the area of the vortex inner border over Grand Traverse County. Now, I repeat the volume of the rain falling does not change. But, I believe the addition of this additional water vapor and the temperature difference between it and the vortex creates enough instability to cause a heated reaction that quickly results in the splitting of the H2O.

One more image to go.

This is image five and it is easy to seek the water vapor that originated over Lake City, gathered mass near Fife Lake has moved into the boundary of the vortex. There is also a pink puff east of Mount Pleasant. That is a continuation of the movement of water from the surface of lakes into the atmosphere and incorporated into the vortex. 

The State of Michigan has over one thousand lakes. It only makes sense this phenomena would show up clearly in this dynamic.

There is one more image that will help complete the clarity of this phenomena.

In image six, the cloud formation that began at Lake City and grew in volume moved into the vortex northeast of Traverse City. It has the same structure as the water vapor in image five. It is well incorporated into the vortex border. It is this addition of a different temperature water vapor structure is what made the timing erratic.

I believe I am correct. I simply don't see it any other way, unless scientists elsewhere can explain the repeating EXACT pattern. 

I also believe this is a clear illustration of the impact of heat on our water supply at Earth's surface and how easy it is for conditions to rob Earth of it's water.

This phenomena is serious and needs to be addressed by a society that has the means to change it's greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible. This occurred over the USA, not any place else. If the USA wants to keep it's water, the time to act to reduce and end emissions of greenhouse gases is now.

This is what is occurring in Edinburgh, Scotland.

People wait (click here) to enter St. Giles' Cathedral to pay their respect to Queen Elizabeth II on Monday, September 12. 

The people absolutely adored and loved Queen Elizabeth II. When the people turned out during the Queen's jubilee, it was a complete contradiction of the often negative media.

 

Ukraine

Soldiers of the Ukraine military have reached the border between Ukraine and Russia at Kharkiv. 

I am very happy for the freedom and peace loving people in that region. Evidently, the people, while speaking Russian, did not want the governance of communists. Unfortunately, a Putin missile destroyed the power plant and the people now have danger in their lives due to the lack of electricity. This danger includes the health care facilities.

The people of the Kharkiv area are good people. They are the same flesh and blood that existed there under communist oppression. All of a sudden they deserve cruelty in their lives because they are now free. Those Ukrainians hold no desire to invade Russia, yet, they are considered to be irreverent children to Mother Russia and need to be punished.

That mind set with the Russian military leadership must stop. Those are political opinions sending those missiles. Those politics belonging to Russia must stop and allow people of Ukraine peace.

In the UK…

 …there is a peaceful transfer of power after a reigning monarch passed away at the age of 96 with a broken heart missing her dearly beloved husband.

The topic of the royals are chronically in the news and if media is not gawking at the latest frock of Kate Middleton there are complaints about the monarchy and it’s persistent place in society and government. The complaining is nonsense and the UK has a talented as well as beautiful member of the royal family in Kate Middleton.

I am witnessing through people I know and people they know absolute grief for the Late Queen Elizabeth II. Chronically puffy eyes from being assaulted by reality, advise to get back in touch with the here and now through nature walks and reports of young people and young children crying themselves to sleep. I am certain the Princes William and Harry are feeling the brevity of the loss of their mother at this difficult time.

The propaganda regarding the royal family of the United Kingdom is nothing less than flamboyant attempts at making money. The people, the citizens of the United Kingdom love the royal family because they are as much family to them as those that are immediate relatives.

I wish all the citizens of the United Kingdom and The Commonwealth sincerest sympathy for a difficult time for their countries and nations of people. I believe King Charles III and the Queen Consort Camilla are traveling to Edinburg, Scotland for official duties but also to honor the Late Queen Elizabeth II as she begins her final journey as she is laid to rest.

I wish the entire family of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth peace.

21 years ago…

 …there were deadly strikes against the people of the USA. Those strikes were intended to destroy the USA in a way that would instill fear of living their own lives.

The attacks were at a financial center of the USA in Lower Manhattan of New York City in the great State of New York. The attacks targeted the military base within our national capital, the Pentagon. Then a third attack was thwarted by great Americans as a commercial jet was in route to the Capital building to destroy it and any lives inside. Those Americans died for their country. I think the story of the crash into a Pennsylvania field is an astounding portrait of the love Americans have for their country and humanity.

In the remembrance of September 11, 2001 the real story is the USA is resilient in every aspect of the life Americans live. 

I am sorry so many families suffered after the terrorists strike that day. Most are living independent lives with a return of peace and happiness. Americans are resilient and if ever there was a reason to fall apart in every way those heinous acts were a reason for the families and the country.

Today and after two very long generational wars that were questionably fought we are all okay. We are not only okay, but, known now to our enemies as among the greatest people that ever lived within a democracy. 

Today, Americans can pause and realize exactly who we are on this Earth.

Peace and prosperity to every American.

Good night.

President Biden…

…needs to write an Executive Order prohibiting the further judicial review of highly classified national security documents. There are at least 100 documents that the DOJ will not submit and he needs to back them up.

The judiciary wants to release them publicly. Their out of their damn minds.

The prosecution of Donald John Trump needs to go forward now.

The Arizona US Senate Election

There is no contest here. US Senator Mark Kelley is a national hero. His love of the USA cannot be challenged.

Blake Masters is owned by Peter Thiel. Peter Thiel is a German Immigrant who is a successful financial wizard. Peter Thiel wants to own a piece of the USA Senate and his former employee, Blake Masters is just the ticket. I would not doubt Peter Thiel will dump a billion into the race convinced his money will win him power.

The last thing the USA Senate needs is a Wall Street billionaire.

September 8, 2022
By Sara Sidner and Meridith Edwards

Jackson, Mississippi, and Flint, Michigan (CNN)Six-year-old Charles Wilson V (click here) is scared to drink out of the water fountain at his school.

"I will die," he says matter-of-factly when asked the reason why.

It's a fear his father agrees with. At home in Jackson, Mississippi, Charles Wilson III -- who lost his first namesake son when he was just a baby -- gets bottled water for his family to drink, and he boils water for everything else.

The water is back on in Jackson after historic flooding took out the water treatment plant where pumps were already failing, but the Wilson family has lost faith....

Those are personal information and pictures. They were presented in a legal case to allow the jury to witness the issues of the children. There is no place for this in a defendant's possession.

Anyone can get transcripts from any trial. There is no reason for this request.

September 8, 2022
By Ron Fonger

Flint - A civil bellwether trial (click here) tied to the Flint water crisis ended in a mistrial last month, but attorneys for an engineering consultant that was sued is remaining active in U.S. District Court.

Attorneys for Veolia North America, one of two consultants sued by four Flint children for professional negligence in the case, has asked Judge Judith E. Levy to require the children’s attorneys to turn over a copy of the PowerPoint slide presentation they showed during their closing argument.

After final arguments from the children, Veolia and a second consultant -- Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, the eight-member jury deadlocked after six days of deliberation before a mistrial was declared. Jurors reported in a note that they had become deadlocked and that continuing the trial would affect their “physical and emotional health.”

The new motion by Veolia says it wants the slide show, which included pictures of the four children and clips of videotaped testimony, in order to supplement the trial record in the case....

April 13, 2022

By Ron Fonger

...Attorneys for the children told Levy (click here) on Wednesday that they’ve already been forced to rearrange witnesses as they make their case against Veolia and LAN and suggested that the 5th Amendment appeals are harming their ability to present a coherent case to the jury.

Levy said attorneys may have to play videotaped depositions from witnesses and reserve in-person questions -- if allowed by the Appeals Court -- at a later time....

September 6, 2022
By Ron Fonger

Flint - The Michigan Supreme Court (click here) won’t alter a requirement that Flint water prosecutors use a taint team in their prosection of government officials, including former Gov. Rick Snyder, a decision that could delay the criminal cases for years.

In a two-paragraph order on Tuesday, Sept. 6, the Supreme Court said justices were “not persuaded that the question presented should be reviewed by this Court.”...

"The Daily Show" and Jeffery Toobin on "Taint Team."

It is about physical health of people. Climate Crisis temperatures are very dangerous.

August 13, 2022
By Rachel Ramirez

People cool off at a fountain in Piazza del Popolo in Rome in early August.

It is important to keep the head cool. He is doing the absolutely best thing by cooling his head. Think of neck veins and the blood flowing through them. Personal cooling appliances around the neck work, right? There is a reason for that. Cooler neck veins, cool the blood and that blood goes up to the circle of Willis and down to the heart to distribute it around the body. So cooling the head is also cooling the body.

Extreme heat is on the rise around the world, (click here) and a new study shows it is taking a significant toll not just on our physical health but also our sense of well-being.

A new analysis by Gallup in collaboration with Citi, shared first with CNN, found that people who experienced extreme heat -- days that were significantly hotter than normal -- also reported a decrease in their sense of well-being around the same time. On average, the global population experienced three times as many extreme heat days in 2020 than it did in 2008, Gallup reported, and well-being decreased globally by 6.5% in that time as well.

Researchers also found that because the climate crisis is pushing temperatures even hotter, global well-being could decrease by another 17% by the end of this decade....

The climate crisis is very hard on Americans. Very hard.

January 5, 2022

By Sarah Kaplan

 and 

Andrew Ba Tran

Alzile Marie Hand, 66, right, is comforted by her son Thomas James Hand, 19, outside their damaged house after Hurricane Ida passed through in Houma, La., on Aug. 30. 

2021 ended as it began: (click here) with disaster. Twelve months after an atmospheric river deluged California, triggering mudslides in burned landscapes and leaving a half-million people without power, a late-season wildfire destroyed hundreds of homes in the suburbs of Denver. In between, Americans suffered blistering heat waves, merciless droughts and monstrous hurricanes. People collapsed in farm fields and drowned in basement apartments; entire communities were obliterated by surging seas and encroaching flames.

More than 4 in 10 Americans live in a county that was struck by climate-related extreme weather last year, according to a new Washington Post analysis of federal disaster declarations, and more than 80 percent experienced a heat wave. In the country that has generated more greenhouse gases than any other nation in history, global warming is expanding its reach and exacting an escalating toll....

This is not the way Americans treat elections. It is however the way Russia does it.

September 8, 2022
By Bob Ortega, Audrey Ash, Yahya Abou-Ghazala and Drew Griffin

The evening before Michigan's state primary, (click here) Wayne County GOP leaders held a Zoom training session for poll workers and partisan observers -- warning them about "bad stuff happening" during the election and encouraging them to ignore local election rules barring cell phones and pens from polling places and vote-counting centers.

"None of the constraints that they're putting on this are legal," former state senator Patrick Colbeck told trainees on the August 1 call.

As far as cell phones, "I would say maybe just hide it or something, and maybe hide a small pad and a small pen or something like that because you need to take accurate notes," Cheryl Costantino, the GOP county chairwoman and host of the call, told participants.

Some participants raised concerns about being tossed out if they broke the rules. "That's why you got to do it secretly," Costantino replied....

Wayne County, Michigan Republican Officials need a perp walk. Voters should know who they are dealing with.

Wayne County, Michigan Elected Officials (click here)

Wanted for law violation and election fixing:

Chairman, Doug Deeken

Deputy Chairman, Charlie Hardman

Secretary, Christine Kobak

Treasurer, Dave Tschanz

Shame on you all!

His Majesty, if following in his father and mother's steps, should be a generous and concerned sovereign.

September 9, 2022
By Alex Barker

At the moment of the Queen’s passing (click here) on Thursday, her eldest son acceded to the throne as King Charles III, head of state of the UK and 14 other Commonwealth countries.

The King, aged 73, is the oldest monarch to take the crown, as well as the longest-serving heir apparent in British history. Unlike his late mother, who became queen at just 25, King Charles’s life has been one of extended preparation for this moment.

The historic transition from one royal generation to another will be marked by a period of national mourning and what is expected to be a relatively low-key coronation, which will set the tone for King Charles’s reign.

Alongside the ceremonial formalities of succession, the moment of the King’s elevation will also be one of personal loss and grief; he has been beside the deathbed of both his parents in the past 18 months.

“The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family,” he said in a statement on Thursday evening. “We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished sovereign and a much-loved mother.”...

I wish he and the people of the UK the very best through a time of transition and reflection.

Allies

Trump has exposed the military defense of our allies. He has compromised the national security of the USA. It is time for the USA to empower our allies, with the exception of the likes of Orban, to overcome the knowledge our enemies have. It is the best we can do now.

Trump should be arrested and jailed until his trial.

Farewell, Queen Elizabeth II

 https://youtu.be/WoWlWb6vbzA

They are great portraits. President Obama opted for an all white background. Interesting.

September 7, 2022

Former President (click here) Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama unveil their official White House portraits during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022, in Washington. 

Washington - It’s been more than a decade (click here) since President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, welcomed back George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, for the unveiling of their White House portraits, part of a beloved Washington tradition that for decades managed to transcend partisan politics.

President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, are set to revive that ritual — after an awkward and anomalous gap in the Trump years — as they host the Obamas today for the big reveal of their portraits in front of scores of friends, family and staff.

The Obama paintings will not look like any in the White House portrait collection to which they will be added. They were America’s first Black president and first lady.

The ceremony will also mark Michelle Obama’s first visit to the White House since Obama’s presidency ended in January 2017, and only the second visit for Barack Obama. He was at the White House in April to mark the 12th anniversary of the health care law he signed in 2010....

The United Nations should set a policy for this extremist actions by any military engaged in war.

The only people that should be permitted in the plant are those qualified to be there and run it to maintain safety. It is wiser to shut the power producing capacity of the plant down to only maintain safety. Allowing power generation of the plant will invite attacks by Russia. That potential has to be minimized and the only way forward is to stop electrical generation at all. 

All troops, except for a UN peacekeeping force, should be removed from the power station. There needs to be neutral oversight and the UN IAEA can decide who best would be able to protect the plant while Ukraine and Russia work out their differences. The war of shelling and bombing is a wayward plan, but, until both parties end the conflict the nuclear power plant will have to be considered neutral territory void of soldiers.

The propaganda has to stop as well. Russia cannot be calling attention to the IAEA and increasing any danger to them. The area is to be neutral and handled by neutral peacekeepers. No propaganda can be leveled to ensure the well being of outside agencies to protect from a nuclear disaster. This is a human rights issue and cannot be ignored by Russia any longer.

Europe needs to move away from Russian energy anyway. The G-7 (click here) came up with a reasonable solution to this dilemma, but, Russia will be difficult regardless. Scotland for one will never have much of a problem since it went into 100 percent wind power. As for the rest of Europe each country has it's own agenda for independence from Russia natural gas. But, the USA has been attempting to build LNG facilities to send gas to Europe. Here again for as important a gesture this is, the vulnerabilities of this form of energy over the distance of the Atlantic with three hurricanes in the middle of the ocean spinning up, the practicality is lacking. Europe must build as much alternative energy as it can including Long Lines from the geothermal giant, Iceland.

September 6, 2022
By Hanna Arhirova

Kyiv, Ukraine - The U.N. atomic watchdog agency (click here) urged Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday to establish a “nuclear safety and security protection zone” around the Zaporizhzhia power plant amid mounting fears the fighting could trigger a catastrophe in a country still haunted by the Chernobyl disaster.

In a report following a visit by an inspection team last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency said “shelling on site and in its vicinity should be stopped immediately to avoid any further damages to the plant and associated facilities, for the safety of the operating staff and to maintain the physical integrity to support safe and secure operation.”

“This requires agreement by all relevant parties to the establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection zone” around the plant, it said.

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi, who led the inspection visit, was due to brief the U.N. Security Council later Tuesday on his findings.

Shelling continued around Europe’s largest nuclear plant on Tuesday, a day after it was again knocked off Ukraine’s electrical grid and put in the precarious position of relying on its own power to run its safety systems....

I think the man is confused.

...Although newspaper and periodical ownership (click here) cannot be the monopoly of any one ownership, Axel Springer Verlag AG controls a significant share of the market. Other major newspaper publishers, some of which also publish magazines and other periodicals, include Gruner+Jahr AG (a Bertelsmann company), Süddeutscher Verlag, Bauer Media Group, and Hubert Burda Media....

“We want (click here) to be the leading digital publisher in democracies around the world,” says Mathias Döpfner, shown here on the rooftop of Axel Springer's headquarters in Berlin.

His media interests will not do well. He is another Murdoch wannabee. You can't be looking at the remnants of the Berlin Wall and pray for Trump to win a presidency. It makes no sense.

Praying for Trump to win is not a non-partisan act. I never thought of Politico as non-partisan. 

While every country (click here) has the responsibility to fight antisemitism within its borders, only one country has the responsibility to lead this battle on a global scale, and that is Israel.

Anti-semitism is a problem in the USA. There has been killings in synagogues by right wing White Supremacists. That is why I can't see that Mr. Dopfner has his understanding of Trump correct. I don't know what he has been feed by partisans at Politico, but, Trump is a danger to democracy. He openly rebuffed Palestine and increased tensions rather than brought about peace. Trump had no intentions of entertaining the idea of a Palestinian homeland. He fully condoned a war by Israel of the Palestinian people. He believes in expansionism in the Middle East no different than Russia. 

I think the Rupert Wannabee needs to come to terms with the reality of Trump's hatred and set his media services on a real non-partisan track. Trump is not the answer, he is the problem.

August 19, 2021
By James Kirchik

...Döpfner took a different tack. (click here) “I think, and I’m being very frank with you,” he said on a companywide conference call, “a person who has an issue with an Israeli flag being raised for one week here, after antisemitic demonstrations, should look for a new job.” And with that, the minor uprising at Axel Springer was kaput.

For American observers, this exchange was notable not so much for what it said about media bias, Germany’s ongoing attempt to reckon with its past, or the impact of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in other countries. What made it significant was something more basic and universal concerning the integrity of elite institutions. Put aside your beliefs, for a moment, about the propriety of an independent media outlet appearing to take sides in a war halfway around the world. By flying the Israeli flag while the Jewish state was under attack, and while European Jews were threatened close to home, Axel Springer was adhering to one of its fundamental principles.

Since 1967, the Axel Springer media empire has officially committed itself to upholding a set of values devised by its eponymous founder, which he called the company’s “Essentials,” and which have been updated over time. They are as follows:

1. We stand up for freedom, the rule of law, democracy and a united Europe.

2. We support the Jewish people and the right of existence of the State of Israel.

3. We advocate the transatlantic alliance between the United States of America and Europe.

4. We uphold the principles of a free market economy and its social responsibility.

5. We reject political and religious extremism and all forms of racism and sexual discrimination.

Every Axel Springer journalist signs a contract agreeing to uphold the Essentials, which function less as rigid dogmas than as guiding professional precepts; wide latitude exists, for instance, within the scope of what constitutes “a united Europe,” “the transatlantic alliance,” and “the principles of a free market economy.”...

At least Dopfner has Putin right.

March 26, 2022

By Mathias Döpfner 

Mathias Döpfner speaks with Elon Musk at Tesla's factory in Fremont, CA.

...Mathias Döpfner: Before we talk about the future, (click here) let's look at the present. There is war in Europe. If you see the horrible images of Putin's troops invading Ukraine, killing people. What are your thoughts?

Elon Musk: It is surprising to see that in this day and age. I thought we had sort of moved beyond such things for the most part. It is concerning. If you can get away with it, then this will be a message to other countries that perhaps they could get away with it too....

I think he sounds interesting, but, praying for Trump to win an election to take on the Tech Giants is only reaffirming there is nothing non-partisan about his intentions in obtaining a media organization like Politico. Non-partisan has to be devoid of the self-interest of an owner within an influential media service. Wielding power to vanquish a competitor is highly unethical and ethics in any profession has to rule the outcomes of the principles of that profession. Media is no different and to state there is partisanship in major news outlets in the USA is completely uninformed.

The New York Times reports both sides and as a climate advocate I have often found NYT leaning against the best wind for this planet. There are many times I found right wing opinions insightful, but leaves the less fortunate in the breach, in the NYT.

The Washington Post is not left leaning. It has a clear understanding of decades of "inside Washington" and where politics has gone bad to the point of breaking the law. The Post has been one of the most decent newspapers in the history of the USA and considering it's neighborhood the paper has protected democracy when it was clear the path forward was adverse to it.

I admire the values Mathias Dopfner brings to his media services, but, he really needs to get to know the USA before he thinks he can dictate to it. If he tries to take on the Tech Giants alone, he may find himself very much ostracized from being legitimate.

Dopfner needs to extend himself beyond the usual comfort of Europe to realize he is in foreign territory and it can eat him alive. I hope he succeeds in creating a non-partisan media service in the USA, but, that is a hard climb considering the corruption that exists in the MAGA party at this point. I mean. MAGA is an insurgency. That is a fact. There is nothing beneficial about it.

Dopfner needs to interview Michael Cohen and he will then know what Trump is all about and it isn't about loyalty to others, so much as others need to be loyal to him. Trump destroys lives and will think nothing of destroying media services when they don't serve his interests.

Livermore Air Force Base hits 116 degrees F

There is a very dry troposphere with three hurricanes manifesting in the middle of the Atlantic. By this time in 2005 Hurricane Katrina had already decimated the Louisiana coastline. 

Trump declassified documents.

The classification process in the White House or any branch of government of anything or any document, electronic or otherwise is a process. Declassification is also a process. Trump had no right as president or former president to declassify any document he wanted.

Trump has clearly demonstrated why any aspect of national security has redundancy. 

Obama wrote an executive order about all of it. I do believe there was some legislation passed regarding it as well. I think the legislation was a Republican bill. It all started because of the political wrangling surrounding the Clinton server and emails.

No national security issue is decided unilaterally. Trump is lying and his base is just as deranged in their thinking about everything and everyone. Everything in the government before Trump was “up to something.” Trump is a nut case.

He plays to his estranged American audience.

So. There are rules regarding the stolen documents and we know what the rules are.

If there ever is any doubt Trump was leading an insurgency look to the Queen of England. Remember how Queen Elizabeth and Trump were reviewing the troops? Trump stepped out of line to walk ahead of the Queen. None of Trump’s behaviors made sense “in context,” but, put an audience of one in the circumstances and it all makes sense. Trump insulted Queen Elizabeth to impress Putin. Putin was Trump’s only audience, go ahead America drink bleach.