April 28, 2012
0230:00z
UNISYS Enhanced Infrared Satellite of Western Canada (click here for 12 hour loop)


It is a wind tunnel.  It reminds me of a giant roll cloud.  From middle of USA north through east Alberta and west Saskatchewan. Regina has the highest winds but not the lowest temperatures.  Lloydminster and Coronation, Alberta, Canada have the lowest temperatures at zero Celcius.  Winds in Coronation are 20 km NNW, but, in Lloydminster the winds are 12 km NNE.  


Coronation and Lloydminster are less than 100 miles apart and the winds are blowing opposite directions. Both heading north, but, one east and one west. 

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Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
ESE 52 gust 67 km/h

(ESE 32.3 mph/ Gust 41.6 mph)

April 28, 2012

0130:00z

UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of North and West Hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop)

"Congratulations, Mr. Moore."

"Very Happy for You!"

Directors Michael Moore, (click here) Mike Newell and Jim Sheridan and actresses Susan Sarandon,Whoopi Goldberg and Dakota Fanning are among the 39 filmmakers, authors and industry professionals taking part in the six juries that will judge films at the Tribeca Film Festival, which runs April 18-29 in New York City.

We know now our intelligence regarding Osama bin Laden was good.

President Bush seemed to decide 'the risk' of 'missing the mark' was too much risk.


Democrats aren't as politically calculating as the Republicans.  The party is not interested in being politically driven, it is interested in governing. Republicans treat governing as an option if it works to their advantage politically.


When I listen to this news conference answer to a legitimate answer, I hear a President resigned to excuses and justification. He completely justifies his position on bin Laden. He sees broader picture, one that is focused on 'terror.' It is a matter of what he stated to the country long before this. He didn't ask the nation to believe in the war because it was necessary to address 'terror,' he stated the nation wanted bin Laden dead or alive.


Personally, Bush was more interested in reducing the political risk than the continued war in Iraq while abandoning Afghanistan. 


We know where Osama bin Laden was and he was practically living in the Palace basement of Pakistan. It is that reality which undoes all the justification of Bush at this moment. The USA was supporting a regime in Pakistan protecting bin Laden. The USA was spending millions and millions to Pakistan while they were 'providing comfort to the enemy.' 


George W. Bush was afraid of damaging any politics while turning his back on his own directives. Pakistan was giving comfort to the enemy and to that end he should have acted against Osama bin Laden regardless of the political cost. I am confident the USA military was up to it. They certainly were when finally asked.

It takes guts as a President to 'put it on the line.' It was Operation Eagle Claw into Iran and it failed.

The attempt by President Carter to remove USA citizens from Iran when they were held as hostages.  


It wasn't bad enough the Iranian situation took the USA by surprise, but, to have hostages in our own embassy was astounding. I don't know what happened to the intelligence, except to say The West was confident in the leadership of the Shah.  At the time, the Middle East was mostly settled and it was before al Qaeda was a problem.  But, that said, when President Carter attempted a rescue and it failed it cost him dearly politically.

Europe is still a drag on the USA economy.

A comparison of the Adjusted Net National Income (annual percentage growth) of the USA and Europe proves it. (click here)


In 2005 Europe was at 7.23% and in 2007 at 12.22%, but, by 2009 it had tumbled drastically to -8.35%.  That was negative -8.35%.  That was a loss of 15.58% in two years.  It is going to take awhile for Europe to improve.  But, austerity is its worst enemy.


In that graph, the USA economy is far stronger than Europe's economy.  The graph at the link above shows far less swings of highs and lows in the USA economy as compared to that of the Europeans.  Europe is in a bubble and bust economy.  We are setting up an economy of SUSTAINABILITY while weaning the 'bubble and bust' trends that cause all the damage.  We are building our economy to withstand the future with far less escalations and troughs.  It isn't easy, but, like stated in the beginning 'steady as it goes.'  Growth is difficult when rebounding is swallowed up by hidden troughs.


This is not pure growth, it is growth in the face of losses.  We are doing well.

April 27 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks and U.S. index futures rose (click here) as earnings at companies from Amazon.com Inc. to France's Vinci SA beat analysts' estimates, overshadowing lower- than-forecast growth in the American economy. The euro climbed versus the dollar. Treasuries were little changed.

Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index expiring in June rose 0.3 percent at 9:14 a.m. in New York and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index was up 0.8 percent. The euro strengthened 0.3 percent to $1.3263. The yield on the 10-year Italian bond rose two basis points, paring an increase of as much as 13 basis points after a debt auction. Spanish bonds fell as the nation lost its A rating at S&P.

Amazon.com posted earnings-per-share that quadrupled the average analyst estimate, joining about three quarters of S&P 500 companies to exceed forecasts about halfway through the reporting season. The Commerce Department reported the U.S. economy grew at a 2.2 percent annual rate, below the 3 percent pace at the end of last year and the 2.5 percent median forecast of economists. The report showed a smaller contribution from inventories overshadowed higher consumer spending.
"The economy is not gangbusters, but the chance of a recession is dimming," Michael Mullaney, who helps manage $9.5 billion as chief investment officer at Fiduciary Trust in Boston, said in a telephone interview. "We're encouraged by the earnings surprises. We're not happy with today's GDP data, but it shows domestic spending being on track."...


There will be no double dip recession and that is saying something!  We are DOING IT!

Recalls are under attack by Snyder's GOP.

Rachel Maddow found the basis of the 14 font demand and it has conflict of interest, but, the GOP double downed on it.  It is an assault on freedom.

"Michigan Rising" (click here)

There is something profoundly "W"rong in Michigan. The Synder Administration is bordering on a coup of the democracy that elected him. First he removes democracy from city after city after city, he forces farmers to cull their livestock and now pure unadulterated corruption. I believe in change for the better in the USA, but, this?  This isn't even democracy at work.

Michigan Board of State Canvassers voted by a vote of 2 to 2 NOT to validate the petitions to repeal Public Act 4 — Michigan’s Emergency Manager law. By doing so they threw out the signatures of nearly a quarter million Michigan citizens.
The measure was defeated on a required font size.  Instead of delaying the vote to allow compliance the GOP threw our a quarter million of Michigan citizen's signatures.

...However, the petitions (click here) passed around by the group did not have the required font size on them. The law says font size must be 14 point on such petitions handed to legislatures, regardless of type style.

"None of this would have occured today had they approved the petition with our staff in advance like almost everyone else does," said Norman Shinkle the Vice Chair of the Board of Canvassers. "The petition was defective."

Stand Up For Democracy said the petitions do not violate any font size rules and that they substantially adhere to the law.

The president for the NAACP Wendel Anthony said, "We want the people to be impressed. It's not over. This is but a particular battle, the war is still being waged."

Supporters plan to ask for an expedited appeal with the state appeals court.

In the end the Michigan Supreme Court will most likely make the final decision on if this will be on the November ballot.

Reductions in military spending is a good thing.

FA-18 air fighters prepare to take off on the U.S. carrier George Washington in the Pacific near Minamidaito Island in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, during a joint drill with the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. (2010 File)


If defense spending cuts weren't occurring it would be more difficult to achieve these long standing goals.


Aircraft carriers need a dock and fuel not a military base.


Why would any country believe diplomacy for peace was real with a dominant military presence by the country calling for peace? For too long the USA's theory was overwhelming power would bring about stability in the international theater. That wasn't even necessary during WWII. Why would it be necessary afterward? Having a huge military presence in the world has gotten us into wars that were unnecessary. We rose to the threat in the USA when WWII visited our borders.


Peril Harbor was a lesson we learned too well, but, so did the rest of the world. Japan still obverses the lessons of that war. When do we start believing peace initiatives that provide better quality of life for a nation's citizens, over and above military power lead to peace? Overwhelming power isn't the way it works. Not anymore. When the USA, ie: Bush/Cheney, flexes muscle other nations react to meet the challenge. It robs their citizens of monies for war instead of quality of life. Military strength is good, but, preventing war is better.


I have no doubt the USA military is more benevolent than any other nation realizes. But, if a presence is undermining sincere peace initiatives, then the military is not achieving its goals either. We cannot risk unnecessary wars anymore. We need to concentrate on trusting outcomes to diplomacy.


The right political wing of the USA likes to point to Chamberlin and Hitler as a weakness. They never ask what was Chamberlin's choice otherwise? Europe was unable to stand the tide of Hitler without the USA. Chamberlin had no sincere choices, if nothing else he extended the timeline to war. He knew Europe alone could not contain Hilter, yet alone stop him. Hitler knew that, too.


This is a good thing from lessons well learned since WWII.


Friday's announcement (click here) by the United States and Japan that 9,000 U.S. Marines will be transferred from a base on the Japanese island of Okinawa is being hailed as a major diplomatic accomplishment. But there are also concerns the actual transfer will be fraught with numerous complications.

The revised realignment plan, agreed to by Japan and the United States, is seen as both a compromise and a work still in progress.

It calls for moving nearly half of the 19,000 U.S. Marines off Okinawa. Up to 5,000 are to be re-deployed to the Pacific island of Guam and 4,000 moved to either Hawaii or rotated in and out of Australia....

Published on Apr 25, 2012

More than just a flip flopper, he is "The Master's Voice."

Romney shifts his stance on student loans

WASHINGTON — The Great Pivot is underway.

After sternly telling a high school senior during the primary that he shouldn’t expect government help with student debt, Mitt Romney informed reporters on Monday that he sides with President Barack Obama on a key aspect of the issue.

“I fully support the effort to extend the low interest rate on student loans . . . in part because of the extraordinarily poor conditions in the job market,” Romney said.

The position would seem to put Romney at odds with congressional Republicans – perhaps the first clear sign of Romney’s long-expected effort to separate himself from the unpopular House GOP....

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/04/27/2122899/romney-shifts-his-stance-on-student.html#storylink=cpy

"Yes, Master." We have seen this before and we don't it back.

Taking the issues to the people has been a long standing method to focusing the politically driven in Washington to act.  This is about what is best for the students in our country.  In 2007 the majority Democrats had to make concessions to a Republican President so it wouldn't be vetoed.  I am please the President took up the issue before it got out of control.

The Republicans are politically driven in their leadership. It is obvious. They take a stand on everything. Speaker Boner's knee jerk reaction to Romney's statement is evidence to the fact.

Student Loan Interest Rate Vote (click here)

10:33 pm April 26, 2012, by Jamie Dupree

The House on Friday will vote on a bill from Republicans that would insure interest rates for student loans don't jump suddenly in July. How we got here is a very interesting peek into the politics of 2012.

One week ago, the White House announced that President Obama would go on a two day, three state trip to call for action in Congress on a bill that would prevent a doubling of interest rates for student loans....