A military I can be proud of. Thank you, Secretary Gates and I don't care to hear from any extremists either.

April 6, 2010 7:33 PM

A Layman's Guide to Obama's Nuclear Posture Review  (click title to entry - thank you)
Posted by Marc Ambinder
Don't worry. You don't have to read all 72 pages of the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) to understand some of the finer points of Armagaddeon-gery.


Here's a guide to some of the key debates -- and key questions -- about President Obama, nuclear weapons, and terrorism. In other words, a layman's guide to understanding what the wonks are talking about?...



Current as of December 3, 1998
SIGNATORIES AND PARTIES TO THE TREATY ON  (click here)


THE NON-PROLIFERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS


(Note: Changes from Fact Sheet of January 23, 1997 indicated in bold type.)

The countries that are signatories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty should not be in the sites of USA missiles regardless of what the other nuclear nations decide.  If the USA is going to advocate sincere peace, it needs to take the initiative.

From the years 2000-2008 there was unprecedented nuclear proliferation on this planet.  Like what did that prove? 

As far as I am concerned it was nothing but profit seeking through government treasuries with absolutely no realistic national strategy for security at all.  It made no sense to advocate that level of nuclear exposure to Earth's people.  It could never be deployed and it took monies away from peaceful pursuits for strong and viable economies.  The more countries spend on military weapons the less they spend on their domestic agendas and an increase of quality of life of its people.

The complaints on the Right is that the sky is falling.

The complaints from the far Left is that the USA needs to go one more step further and promise there will never be a nuclear first strike.  It is an admirable goal, but, it is grossly foolish to set such a policy unilaterally.  However, if other nuclear nations decide to act in such a responsible nature, then a form of verificiation has to be established so that it is never an empty treaty.

The Party of "No" becomes the Party of "Steele." Last man standing and he is crying about his skin color. I don't think so.

Is there anything that needs to be said, except, ????

 NO SURPRISE HERE.

 Do I detect a hubris more poisonous than the truth?

RNC Spending Questions Go Beyond Recent Headlines 

by Peter Overby

March 30, 2010

The Republican National Committee is busy this week doing damage control after its monthly financial report was filed with a nugget about a $1,900 tab run up by some donors at a topless nightclub. But beneath that furor lies another question: If the RNC is raising record amounts of money, why does it have so little of it left in the bank?

The RNC says one staffer went on the nightclub jaunt, submitted the bill as a committee expense, and has now been fired. But that was only the raciest bit of a West Coast trip by RNC Chairman Michael Steele and other party officials. Some other items cost considerably more than an evening watching simulated sex.

"You had more than $9,000 that was spent at a Beverly Hills hotel," said David Levinthal, communications director of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. "There was more than $6,500 that was spent at a Four Seasons hotel."...

Regardless the loss of life, the earthquake still caused structural damage and people need to be prudent.

There was an interesting video circulating in the media showing a swimming pool spilling over during the earthquake.  I sincerely doubt the pool will continue to hold water.  The infrastructure damage to homes and buildings need to be checked.

...The Imperial Valley withstood Sunday’s 7.2-magnitude earthquake (click title to entry - thank you)  without fatalities or major widespread damage, but the temblor made its presence known nonetheless.

U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Paul Caruso said the earthquake was the largest recorded in the California desert region since 1892.

“It was a big earthquake,” Caruso said. “It’s basically the equivalent of the biggest earthquake ever recorded in that part of the country.”

POWER OUTAGE

The 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit at 3:40 p.m. about 38 miles southeast of Mexicali, in Baja California. It mainly caused headaches on the U.S. side of the border. However, an unidentified man was injured during the earthquake after being struck on the head by a sign at an El Centro car wash.

Some roads have been closed, several stores are not open and many glass storefronts were reduced to shards. Other buildings were closed due to safety concerns, including the Calexico downtown Port of Entry.

Electricity in the Valley went out for a couple of hours after the earthquake. However, the Imperial Irrigation District power grid had been mostly restored by 6 p.m. Sunday, said IID Assistant to the General Manager Kevin Kelley. He said any continuing power outages are due to external factors like fuses in homes....

The Rescue Efforts are all fine and good, but, who and/or what caused the explosion.

 I am tired of the mine companies getting away with murder.  They always say, "We are all family here."  Well, they aren't.  They conduct horrible industries whereby people are a commodity and they are sacrificed for safety and prudent practice.  In the decade whereby alternative energies are state of the art, why are the American people still being sold a bill of goods regarding fossil fuels?

There is absolutely NOTHING in any of the reporting I have read yet that holds the company responsible or seeks to answer the question, Who, What, Where or Why.  The company is doing a very good job of steering the attentions of the public from anything except the current rescue efforts.  That sort of 'public awareness' campaign to save the image of the company and prevent fiscal responsibility toward the families and area is well planned and evasive.


With the USA Plutocracy seeking to over throw the government, all the reporting seems a bit aloof and victimizing to allow this to happen still yet again.  I realize a miracle is necessary at this point, but, I sincerely believe that should be left up to the ministers and not the company.

Is the Union anywhere to be seen here?  Are they doing anyone any good?

...Four miners were still missing, (click title to entry - thank you) and the officials said it was likely that those men also had been killed in the explosion on Monday.

A recovery operation was called off early Tuesday morning because high levels of methane gas made the mine unsafe for rescuers. Workers were boring holes into the mine to try to get more oxygen inside.

“The bodies will not be recovered until the mine is ventilated,” Ronald L. Wooten, the state’s mine health safety director, said at a news conference early Tuesday.

The accident was the worst in an American mine since Dec. 19, 1984, when 27 workers died in a fire at the Wilberg Mine in Orangeville, Utah.

The explosion occurred about 3 p.m. Monday at the Upper Big Branch mine, 30 miles south of Charleston, in Raleigh County.

The mine, which employs about 200, is owned by the Massey Energy Company, based in Virginia, and operated by the Performance Coal Company.

Mine safety officials said that there were three groups of miners affected by the blast. One group consisted of nine miners who were leaving the site at the end of their shift in a vehicle known as a “man trip.” Seven of the miners in the man trip were killed by the explosion while two others were injured and taken to the hospital by rescue workers.

A second group of 18 miners was said to be working a bit deeper in the mine, closest to the area where coal was actually being extracted. All 18 of them died.

A third group of four miners — the ones still unaccounted for — was even deeper in the mine...