"Okeydoke"
Sunday, April 03, 2011
When are we going to have some real gun control in this world?
Storms come in all forms these days.
NASA's Cape Canaveral launch base (click here) was hit by a spectacular storm this morning, producing pictures that are truly out of this world.
A full inspection of the space shuttle Endeavour will have to be made after a day of high winds and hail.
No one was injured and no obvious damage could be seen, but did cause a slight delay to the training programme.
The six astronauts were at the Kennedy Space Centre today to practice emergency procedures at launch pad 39A but were prevented by the weather.
US House Representative Gifford's spouse, Mark Kelly will be aboard the next life off of Endeavour. We are all looking forward to Gabby's attendance.
Choose Mark Kelly's wake-up song for shuttle mission (click here)
Posted: Mar 30, 2011 11:13 AM
Updated: Mar 30, 2011 9:30 PM
Updated: Mar 30, 2011 9:30 PM
Traditionally, the song to wake up the astronauts is selected by friends and family of the crews, but for the first time ever, NASA is letting the public decide the music for the crews of Endeavor and Discovery with the "Wakeup Song Contest."
"Space shuttle crews really enjoy the morning wake-up music," STS-134 Commander Mark Kelly said. "While we don't have the best quality speaker in the space shuttle, it will be interesting to hear what the public comes up with. We are looking forward to it."...
Facing victory, Thune spends relentlessly for his re-election in 2012.
One can never be too sure with those Tea Baggers about. He learned his lesson from Murkowski. But, after all those monies are just sitting there, why let it go to waste?
"Cash on Hand" is real interesting (click here).
Ryan's Previous Plans never included any cuts in Military Spending which equals the cost of SSI easily.
His plan is about protecting Wall Street and not the citizen. Certainly not Main Street. It is about power over the citizen.
He states what?
"...will go further than the presidential deficit commission..."
What was that again?
"...will go further than the presidential deficit commission..."
WHY does any debt reduction have to beyond what is recommended? When the debt is reduced, it is reduced.
So.
Like.
What?
...On Sunday, Ryan *click title to entry - thank you) said his proposal will go further than the presidential deficit commission recommendations, which proposed cutting $4 trillion over a decade from the deficit, which is expected to hit $1.4 trillion this year, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Ryan also said his proposal would cap spending and lower corporate tax rates.
Critics say his earlier plan would disproportionately hurt the poor, while it cuts taxes for the wealthy and big companies.
GENERAL SPENDING, TAXES
Creates a mechanism to slow growth in mandatory spending programs like Medicare and Social Security, with automatic across-the-board cuts if Congress fails to act.
Requires a supermajority, or three-fifths vote, in the House and Senate to debate legislation increasing taxes....
He states what?
"...will go further than the presidential deficit commission..."
What was that again?
"...will go further than the presidential deficit commission..."
WHY does any debt reduction have to beyond what is recommended? When the debt is reduced, it is reduced.
So.
Like.
What?
...On Sunday, Ryan *click title to entry - thank you) said his proposal will go further than the presidential deficit commission recommendations, which proposed cutting $4 trillion over a decade from the deficit, which is expected to hit $1.4 trillion this year, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Ryan also said his proposal would cap spending and lower corporate tax rates.
Critics say his earlier plan would disproportionately hurt the poor, while it cuts taxes for the wealthy and big companies.
GENERAL SPENDING, TAXES
Creates a mechanism to slow growth in mandatory spending programs like Medicare and Social Security, with automatic across-the-board cuts if Congress fails to act.
Requires a supermajority, or three-fifths vote, in the House and Senate to debate legislation increasing taxes....
The $4 Trillion Gamble. The Bush Medicare Option is not dead yet.
...Discussing entitlements, (click title to entry - thank you) he said the plan would change Medicare, the federal health care plan for seniors, by creating a "premium support" system that allows seniors "to pick the (private health) plan of their choosing, and then Medicare subsidizes that plan."...
The first new initiative annouced by Bush in 2004 was to provide $2 Trillion to change Medicare to private health care.
$2 Trillion. Here we go again.
The Affordable Care Act REMOVES "Medicare Advantage" to re-enroll participants into regular Medicare enrollment. Why? Because it saves the country money while protecting participants from exploitation of private insurance companies susceptible to fraud and potential bankruptcy no different than the banks.
...Although the ads cite an April report from the office of the chief actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as support for this claim, that report actually discusses cuts the law makes in payments to other providers, such as hospitals and nursing homes – not doctors....
Then once it is privatized, in comes the elite practice of medicine the seniors will never be able to afford. The 'concierge medicine' concept is a Regressive - Elite concept. Just another bad idea. The USA needs to stop this 'health care roller-coaster' and back the establishment of State Pools.
Egypt has its upcoming democratic elections. But, if their new leadership is extremist, Egypt may find a decline in quality of life.
Mubarak has left the house ! Or has he?
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's military council (click here) denied on Sunday a report carried by Al Jazeera television channel that former President Hosni Mubarak had left the country for Germany.
Asked whether Mubarak had left Egypt, a source from the military council told Reuters: "No, this is denied."
Mubarak has been staying in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh since being ousted from office on February 11.
The military council said last week that Mubarak and his family were banned from leaving the country.
(Reporting by Marwa Awad)
What will occur is caution from global contacts with Egypt. There will be less aid, especially when it comes to selling arms and munitions to Egypt. If Egypt does a 180 degree turn regarding peace and relations with Israel, there will be repercussions. Not good ones either.
That is the real danger to the citizens of the Middle East. If the paradigm against Israel shifts as quickly at the leadership seems to be shifting, there will be 'permission' for immediate retaliation. The West and Israel will draw back to defend their interests and 'the games will begin.' The end might be just as quick, too.
While Palestine could use a break, the major hurdle is Hamas. Israel did its part a long time ago, when Prime Minister Sharon closed down the settlements in Gaza. Even with all those concessions, Palestine in Gaza hasn't sought peace so much as more hostilities. The new leadership needs to embarce peace as they did when demonstrations brought them democratic processes. If that changes, there will be dire consequences.
There is an interesting quandry regarding Egypt. If extremists are elected to the new leadership, will the military go the way of the ISI?
Officials of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's leading Islamic group, (click title to entry - thank you) have called for the establishment of a Saudi-style modesty police to combat "immoral" behavior in public areas in what observers say in another sign of a growing Islamic self-confidence in the post-Mubarak era....
The real question for Egyptians this Election Day is: will their choices cost them more freedom than it brought them?
Where is all the press coverage of their elections and the lead up including campaigns. I would think that is where the 'real news' remains. The riots were the easy part, the elections and governing is quite something else.
The real question for Egyptians this Election Day is: will their choices cost them more freedom than it brought them?
Where is all the press coverage of their elections and the lead up including campaigns. I would think that is where the 'real news' remains. The riots were the easy part, the elections and governing is quite something else.
"Drill, Babe, Drill." - "Drill Here, Drill Now" - How is that working our for you?
For Regular is $3.645.
Do Americans actually UNDERSTAND how this 'commodity' issue really work? Because if they did, they would have thrown off fossil fuels a long, long time ago.
If the USA developed the Electric Car for mass production during the Nixon Oil Embargo, where would we be now?
Drilling into the USA continental shelf is dangerous and ridiculous. It will never produce enough of the 'oil commodity' to reduce the price of gas and / or energy 'ONE/TENTH' of a PENNY.
If we stopped using fossil fuels in the 1970s...
There would no enormous fuel costs for families today.
There would be no threat to future generations regarding national security.
There would be no need to dip into the National Reserve for any reason.
There would not be increased food costs due to increased energy costs.
There would be security for generations from the Climate Crisis.
There would be a worry free life, without the huge costs the USA is burdened with today on all venues of economy and life.
What are we waiting for?
Rid the USA of fossil fuel use.
"Tax Freedom Day" (click title to entry - thank you)
...This year, the day the average American would finally be square with Uncle Sam is April 12, the 102nd day of the year.
The Foundation breaks this down by state, as well. Utahns will be tax free on April 10. While the Beehive State (click here) has the 19th highest tax burden in the nation, it's much closer to Mississippi's earliest-in-the-nation March 26 than Connecticut's latest on May 2.
Overall, the Foundation's news seems to be good. The national Tax Freedom Day is almost two weeks earlier than it was in 2007, and it's much earlier than the record of May 1 in 2000. But the date alone doesn't tell the story. We pay less of our income in taxes than in '07 mainly because, on average, we have less income.
The federal tax deficit, meanwhile, looms over our April 12 picnic like a vicious thunderstorm.
The Tax Foundation understands this, which is why it also provides a date for how long we would have to work to pay for the $1.45 trillion deficit, as well. That date is May 23....
Libya, oil, "No Fly Zone." NO Problem.
With oil production of 1.8 million barrels per day we are all confident Libya can eventually pay for the services of NATO.
The immediate problem is that Libyans are not 'getting the hang' of a No Fly Zone. The Opposition Forces are continually running into the Gadaffi forces and then retreating to regroup and recount their survivors.
I really believe the entire 'Good Guy - Bad Guy' thing with the media has to do a lot with sports. You know, Gadaffi vs Opposition, tough to tell whom is winning with a moving goal line.
Hey, did I tell you or did I tell you? Yes? ABC news. Yep.
Fierce clashes rage in Libyan oil town (click title to entry - thank you)
...The key Libyan oil town of Brega was again the theatre of heavy fighting on Sunday as rebel forces advanced only to be forced back in an ambush by forces loyal to Moamar Gaddafi.
The clashes come as Libyan diplomat Ali Treiki became the latest in a string of officials to abandon Mr Gaddafi's regime, while South African Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu said allowing Mr Gaddafi to escape trial could be "the lesser of two evils" if it meant saving lives.Volunteer fighters, who had entered the town 800 kilometres east of the capital Tripoli just hours earlier, said they were staging a tactical withdrawal after being ambushed by loyalists of Libya's veteran strongman....
Did you know the Republicans of the Regression National Committee have a Public Option for health care?
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (click here) today released new data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample -- the largest, all-payer emergency department database in the United States. The Nationwide Emergency Department Sample is designed to help public health experts, policymakers, health care administrators, researchers, journalists and others find the data they need to answer questions about care that occurs in U.S. hospital emergency departments.
These data indicate that uninsured persons accounted for nearly one-fifth of the 120 million hospital-based emergency department visits in 2006....
It is true. I am so excited. I thought I was at opposite sides of the spectrum from Regressives. Seriously. At least there is some common ground to begin 'healing' the huge void of the Regressive agenda and the majority of decent Americans.
Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) (click title to entry - thank you)
In 1986, Congress enacted the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) to ensure public access to emergency services regardless of ability to pay. Section 1867 of the Social Security Act imposes specific obligations on Medicare-participating hospitals that offer emergency services to provide a medical screening examination (MSE) when a request is made for examination or treatment for an emergency medical condition (EMC), including active labor, regardless of an individual's ability to pay. Hospitals are then required to provide stabilizing treatment for patients with EMCs. If a hospital is unable to stabilize a patient within its capability, or if the patient requests, an appropriate transfer should be implemented.,,,
This ACT must have begun at the pleading of the ProLife Movement. I am deeply moved by their dedicate to 'getting them born.' It provides NO Pre-natal care or Early Child Care, but, then there is Planned Parenthood and Head Start, so I guess the Democrats found some needs besides, "Gettin' 'em born."
Armed Services Hearing
Through the example of House Republicans it is safely stated, they are REGRESSIVES. We can now call the RNC the Regressive National Committee.
House Republicans WantDo Over On DADT And DC Marriage Equality (click title to entry - thank you)
04/01/11-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
It has been a hundred days since the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was signed, and the process begun to dismantle the unconstitutional, damaging and discriminatory law, but some Republicans are desperate to prove that they hate gays so much that they would rather American soldiers die in combat because they- not the soldiers- are afraid of lesbians and gays being open about their sexuality. What is more, they want desperately to vote on DC marriage equality in order to show the world just how beholden they are to the hate groups.
It has been a hundred days since the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was signed, and the process begun to dismantle the unconstitutional, damaging and discriminatory law, but some Republicans are desperate to prove that they hate gays so much that they would rather American soldiers die in combat because they- not the soldiers- are afraid of lesbians and gays being open about their sexuality. What is more, they want desperately to vote on DC marriage equality in order to show the world just how beholden they are to the hate groups.
Let us start with military service. Republicans are trying very hard to find a way to “delay, defund, and derail” the full repeal of DADT. They are holding hearings lead by Representative Joe Wilson. Wilson is a noted homophobe and strong opponent of DADT’s repeal....
Does Bahrain have a "No Fly Zone?" No.
Newspapers (click here) with headlines reporting Bahrain has suspended opposition newspaper Al-Wasat are seen in a local coffee shop in Manama, Sunday. Bahrain suspended the Gulf Arab state's main opposition newspaper on Sunday, after accusing it of falsifying news about recent sectarian unrest and a government crackdown on protests.
Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters
Oil output about 40,000 barrels per day.
Please.
We'll leave it to Iran.
...A statement issued (click title to entry - thank you) after a meeting of foreign ministers rejected Iran's "continuing interference" in the internal affairs of the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)....
Tehran is involved in LIBERATION? Curious.
GCC rejects Iran meddling (click here)
Foreign ministers urge Yemen government and opposition to hold talks to end crisis
Published: 00:00 April 4, 2011
...In a statement at the end of an extraordinary meeting of the GCC Ministerial Council in Riyadh, chaired by Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister, the GCC states rejected Iran’s “continuing interference” in their internal affairs.
Iran had criticised Saudi Arabia for sending troops to Bahrain which faces protests against the government.
Tehran’s interference in the region loomed large ahead of the meeting....
Some of the dynamics that causes problems with national security in the Middle East is the ease with which people move from nation to nation. The Arab nations allow such fluid borders due to pilgramages through their land.
Nearly every year Saudi Arabia complains and ponders what to do after pilgramages take place in their nation. Requiring a citizen to register and carry ID is not a bad idea for these nations. It would provide an easy way to identify citizens, the countries they are citizens to while providing services for pilgramages to the religious. It would also provide embassies with information for citizens that find themselves stranded and in need of potential legal help. Identification would provide an easy way to idenitfy extremists and people that simply don't belong. It would have profound effect on those that come to fight 'Jihad' when they aren't members of any national military or militia.
Abu Dhabi to link visas with national IDs (click here)
UAE capital to link issuance and renewal of residence visas with ID card registration in the next three months
By Binsal Abdul Kader, Staff Reporter, Gulf News
The RNC (Regressive National Committee) can't agree on convetion dates because of RIGID rules of engagement.
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS joined the United for Peace and Justice March on Sunday. The "World Says No to the Bush Agenda" marched past the site of the Republican National Convention, and was a massive and inspiring outpouring of dissent. We estimate that at least 500,000 people join us on this march, with the crowd stretching for close to two miles through city streets for six full hours. The final destination for our march was Union Square, where we concluded our historic march. Union Square, of course, is the place where so many New Yorkers gathered spontaneously after September 11, to express our grief at the terrible attack on our city and our conviction that this attack not be used to justify more killing and war. Of course, many thousands converged afterwards on Central Park's Great Lawn for a festive celebration of public space and the right to free assembly. Sunday's protest was the largest ever at a U.S. political convention.
The Republican National Committee needs to be renamed. Its policies are draconian, regressive and destroys the American Dream. It is time to 'get over them.'
...Wilson insisted (click title to entry - thank you) he doesn't want to see Florida usurp South Carolina's traditional position.
"I'm very much in favor of South Carolina retaining its first-in-the-South position," the congressman told The Ballot Box Thursday. "We need to maintain the current schedule of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina."
Wilson said some punitive measures should be considered, but not shifting the convention to a different state.
"I would actually favor us moving our date before I would do any retaliation," he said. "There should be pressure put [on Florida], but the bottom line is that the Republican Party of Florida should see that it's in the interests of the country, and for the party, that the current system be in place."
The Iowa caucuses are currently slated to be held in February 2012 and have traditionally marked the beginning of the presidential nominating campaign. Florida is supposed to wait until early March to hold its vote, but has kept it slated for January, which is the same month it held it in 2008....
"Eating The Cannibals"by Heaven and Hell
I'm sure you've never had this meal before
We're still open, stay and have some more
It's been raised upon your body and your soul
Total control!
Plenty of seating
You know that you're eating the cannibals!
Taking till you've got no more to give
Building boxes where you used to live
The word out on the street is no delay
Do it today!
Come to the meeting
It's true that we're eating the cannibals!
Eating the cannibals
Don’t close your eyes
We'll come while you're sleeping
You reach for the skies
Now we are calling
It's all falling down
Come on in, we love our clientele
You're here to taste the vengeance, so you shall
It's been raised upon your body and your bones
But now you're not alone!
Enough with the greeting
'Cause soon you'll be eating the cannibals!
Eating the cannibals!
It better not take months of 'trying' before the radioactive leak into the sea stops. It is contaminating the ocean circulation.
...On Sunday, engineers attempted to plug the leak with a mixture of sawdust, shredded paper and a polymer or plastic that expanded to 500 times its normal size when exposed to water. They had then hoped to pour concrete on top of the polymer to form a permanent seal, but the polymer did not form a plug either, and as of Sunday night, water was continuing to flow into the ocean.
Radiation levels in the water are an estimated 1,000 millisieverts per hour, a high but not immediately lethal dose.
On Monday, engineers plan to begin injecting nitrogen gas into reactors Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in an attempt to prevent possible explosions from the buildup of hydrogen gas. The nonflammable nitrogen would dilute both oxygen levels and any hydrogen that accumulated from deterioration of the uranium fuel cladding. The zirconium cladding on the fuel rods becomes oxidized when it is exposed to hot water, releasing hydrogen gas....
The statement about the per hour rate may be the truth, but, it neglects to state, the ACCUMULATED amounts in the waters is far, far higher and accumulating in a fluid media that travels.
The nitrogen in a 'gaseous' state won't do much except create a mixture of gases. Nitrogen is heavier than hydrogen, but, lighter than oxygen. Even if the hydrogen is syphoned off through a displacement of the gas, the oxygen will remain explosive. The gas LAWS state the gases will mix but not separate.
In order for 'fine' particles to 'plug' the holes leaking water, it first needs to be mixed with a heavy viscous substance similar to the 'heavy mud' used by the petroleum industry. I don't care if it synthetic, but, a 'fine particle mixture' will not 'begin' a plug.
The heavy particle mixture has to 'bind' AS IT SEEPS through the leaks. The viscosity will slow the flow and allow 'binding' to occur. I would expect 'viscosity' to be effected by 'local temperatures' and ultimately by 'hottest' temperatures should the core begin to melt down. All that HAS TO play a role in the viscosity and the ELEMENTS of the mixture.
Sand, itself, will not be the answer, but, a mixture of 'binding' material and particles of many sizes, including fine, to small and medium has to be introduced to stop the leaks. The plug will look like a cross section of swiss cheese as 'air' can also become trapped in the viscous material and has its own tensil strength. It might be that air in expansion, sensitive to temperature, if the mixture is exposed to high heat will contribute to expansion of the viscous material as more and more solids find their way to 'formation' of the plub. Fine particles 'of the same' binding surface will not succeed.
Sawdust and paper is about as pathetic as it comes. There is no way a plug made of that will even stand up to seawater, yet alone, any heat from the reactor.
THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY doesn't need to get carried away in thinking it can answer all questions. Their efforts in the Gulf of Mexico FAILED, especially at one mile down. This happens to be 'at the surface.'
Radiation levels in the water are an estimated 1,000 millisieverts per hour, a high but not immediately lethal dose.
On Monday, engineers plan to begin injecting nitrogen gas into reactors Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in an attempt to prevent possible explosions from the buildup of hydrogen gas. The nonflammable nitrogen would dilute both oxygen levels and any hydrogen that accumulated from deterioration of the uranium fuel cladding. The zirconium cladding on the fuel rods becomes oxidized when it is exposed to hot water, releasing hydrogen gas....
The statement about the per hour rate may be the truth, but, it neglects to state, the ACCUMULATED amounts in the waters is far, far higher and accumulating in a fluid media that travels.
The nitrogen in a 'gaseous' state won't do much except create a mixture of gases. Nitrogen is heavier than hydrogen, but, lighter than oxygen. Even if the hydrogen is syphoned off through a displacement of the gas, the oxygen will remain explosive. The gas LAWS state the gases will mix but not separate.
In order for 'fine' particles to 'plug' the holes leaking water, it first needs to be mixed with a heavy viscous substance similar to the 'heavy mud' used by the petroleum industry. I don't care if it synthetic, but, a 'fine particle mixture' will not 'begin' a plug.
The heavy particle mixture has to 'bind' AS IT SEEPS through the leaks. The viscosity will slow the flow and allow 'binding' to occur. I would expect 'viscosity' to be effected by 'local temperatures' and ultimately by 'hottest' temperatures should the core begin to melt down. All that HAS TO play a role in the viscosity and the ELEMENTS of the mixture.
Sand, itself, will not be the answer, but, a mixture of 'binding' material and particles of many sizes, including fine, to small and medium has to be introduced to stop the leaks. The plug will look like a cross section of swiss cheese as 'air' can also become trapped in the viscous material and has its own tensil strength. It might be that air in expansion, sensitive to temperature, if the mixture is exposed to high heat will contribute to expansion of the viscous material as more and more solids find their way to 'formation' of the plub. Fine particles 'of the same' binding surface will not succeed.
Sawdust and paper is about as pathetic as it comes. There is no way a plug made of that will even stand up to seawater, yet alone, any heat from the reactor.
THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY doesn't need to get carried away in thinking it can answer all questions. Their efforts in the Gulf of Mexico FAILED, especially at one mile down. This happens to be 'at the surface.'
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