Steve Moore is a idiot. Please tell me this man, whom has found his way into television commentary, is not as stupid as he appears.

He stated, the SSI Trust Fund does not have $2.7 Trillion US value.

Is he for real because there is nothing real about that statement. The SSI Fund relies on the USA Bond value and if that value is $0.00 then that is something that hasn't reached the rest of us.

Ya know, Senator Bernie Sanders has a point about the Chained CPI. Seniors do not spend money the way the USA Consumer Price Index prescribes spending and increased costs. Seniors do spend their money very differently. He has a point. While the CPI of the nation has been mostly static since the global economic collapse, that is not the case for Senior Americans. 

The moral to story is Seniors may very well need a better defined CPI before Congress decides to 'chain it.'

Plan B is important to prevent teenage pregnancy. It is also the contraceptive of choice on college campuses. The issue is the cost. College Coeds can better afford that form of contraceptive than teens in high school, but, hopefully when it is over the counter the cost will come down if the pharmacist is out of the way. I am very hopeful Plan B will have a significant impact on teen pregnancy and ultimately poverty. 

The decision by the judge also proves Secretary Sebelius is not the best person for the job. My opinion stands.

But, I sincerely hope this stems a life of poverty due to the beginnings in teen pregnancy. It is a crime young girls in the USA are caught in this meat grinder.

From a Times staff writer
April 5, 2013
California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris (click here) doesn't seem to have a problem with President Obama calling her "by far the best-looking attorney general in the country."

The remark touched off a firestorm, with some calling Obama's words sexist.

On Friday, the president apologized for the remark. "He called her to apologize for the distraction created by his comments,"White House press secretary Jay Carney said.

Harris has not commented. But according to PolitiCal, her communications director, Gil Duran, issued a statement saying "the attorney general and the president have been friends for many years. They had a great conversation yesterday and she strongly supports him."...

I think Ms. Harris made her relationship with President Obama clear and quite frankly it sounds like him. It can be said another way, "She has it all." What woman doesn't want that said about her. Brains and beauty. Nice.

But,

I find it somewhat unfortunate and untimely when on the same day First Lady Michelle is sad and forlorn at the White House. I am quite confident she is complimented by President Obama beyond any woman's imagination, but, her comfort and concern should come first. I suggest President Obama consider the happiness of his spouse and her loneliness while he is joyfully enjoying the company of a friend. Sometimes, in the USA, it is difficult for President Obama to find friends, yet alone friends he can let his hair down with. 

The USA is moving to reduce it's footprint in places of occupation since WWII.

TOKYO | Fri Apr 5, 2013 9:41am EDT

The U.S. Marines' Futenma air base (click here) on Okinawa island will be returned to Japan as early as 2022 if a planned relocation within the island is carried out.

By unveiling the deal, which includes time frames for the return of all or part of five other U.S. military facilities on the southern Japanese island, Japan and the United States aim to send a message that their alliance is on a solid footing.

"With the security environment in the Asia-Pacific region getting tougher, I'm glad that we were able to show that the bond of trust in the Japan-U.S. alliance is not wavering at all," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters.

Japan's ties with the United States were strained after then-Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in 2009 sought to keep a campaign promise to move the Futenma base off the island....

World War II was a long time ago and the world is in a different era. It is time to return complete sovereignty to our ally. It is time the war was over.

A German World War II prisoner, released by the Soviet Union, is reunited with his daughter. The child had not seen her father since she was one-year-old.

Did I ever think I would be saying Thank you to Fidel Castro?

They need to pay attention to themselves, don't they Fidel? Once the dogs of war are unleashed there is no putting the genie back in the bottle, is there?

Talk to him sir and tell the young leader of North Korea there are better answers.

Much caution is far more prudent than careless experiments.

It all seems as though a frivolous pursuit. I don't know who needs to stand down first to end this escalation, the USA, South Korea or North Korea. I believe it is hopeless to expect North Korea to do anything less than self destruct.

The war games have not ceased on and near the Korean Peninsula for months now. There are huge numbers of lives at stake including those of the North Koreans. I do believe The West and possibly the world had high hopes for a modern, young leader in North Korea and we are finding disappointment to end decades of tensions between all parties.

Any engagement to war will provide more uncertainty than the international theater would expect. If the new leader of North Korea would make fools of The West by demanding Peace now to aid his people and advance their society, it would end all George Bushs in the future. If that doesn't occur I am worried about the possibility of more and more violence between nations and not less. If the USA ever has another aggressive Neocon in the White House such aggressions by so called "Rouge Countries" would provide impetus for stupidity beyond the imaginations of men.

Fidel Castro to North Korea: nuclear war will benefit no one (click here)

Retired Cuban leader sternly cautions North Korea and US of dangers of nuclear war in first column in nearly nine months
Associated Press in Havana
Friday 5 April 2013

Retired Cuban leader Fidel Castro published his first column in nearly nine months on Friday, urging both friends and foes to use restraint amid tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

In the brief piece published in Communist Party daily Granma and other official media, Castro warned of the impact that nuclear war could unleash in Asia and beyond. He said Havana has always been and will continue to be an ally to North Korea, but gently admonished it to consider the well-being of humankind.

"Now that you have demonstrated your technical and scientific advances, we remind you of your duty to the countries that have been your great friends, and it would not be fair to forget that such a war would affect ... more than 70% of the planet's population," he said.

Castro used stronger language in addressing Washington, saying that if fighting breaks out, President Barack Obama's government "would be buried by a flood of images that would present him as the most sinister figure in US history. The duty to avoid (war) also belongs to him and the people of the United States."...

Winning Freedom for Women's Choice

There may still be problems. The Religious Right Pharmacists are still a hurdle to providing girls and women with the right to make the decisions that are important for their lives. 

If a pharmacist holds the 'stock items' hostage to religious preference there are still problems for some women in the country.

By Reuters

A federal judge on Friday (click here) ordered the Food and Drug Administration to make the "morning-after" emergency contraception pill available without a prescription to all girls of reproductive age.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Edward Korman in Brooklyn, New York, comes in a lawsuit brought by reproductive-rights groups that had sought to remove age and other restrictions on emergency contraception.

Currently, only women age 17 or older can obtain emergency contraception pills without a prescription. Point-of-sale restrictions require that all women present identification to a pharmacist before obtaining the drug.

In his ruling, Korman said the FDA's rejection of requests to remove age restrictions to obtain the pill had been "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable."...

The "Dow" ain't all that.

5 April 2013 Last updated at 04:09 ET

Japan's stock market has hit its highest level in almost five years, after a central bank stimulus plan raised hope of economic revival. (click here)

The main Nikkei 225 stock index climbed as much as 4.7% to 13,225.62, its highest since August 2008.

The Bank of Japan said on Thursday it would double the country's money supply to spur growth and halt falling prices.

The step was much bigger than expected and signalled a more aggressive approach towards driving growth.

After a day of heavy trading, the Nikkei closed up 1.58%, or 199.10 points, at 12,833.64.

The president of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, welcomed the Bank of Japan's commitment to "doing what it takes" to restart growth.

"The critical thing is, a growing Japan is good for everybody. It is very important for the region, but it is important for the entire world," he told the BBC....

Can Americans expand the interest in their craft?

"This Little Piggy"  by S. Thomas Sierak, an American Artist

The view from Europe regarding the rebirth of art is this:

Joe Bill
Thursday, April 4, 2013 

...“But in tougher times (click here) buyers really have to appreciate the work and fall in love with it to consider buying, which can only be a good thing for art, so I’m not complaining.”

The 60-year-old, who attended Simon Langton Grammar School in Canterbury before studying at Maidstone College of Art, is known for recreating Kent’s landscapes, much like the noted JMW Turner, who regularly visited Margate to take advantage of its unique quality of light.

Mr Alexander believes the lack of cash being thrown at more expensive paintings will allow for further talent to emerge....

American artists should make it work. American art can be cultural and not attractive to 'the global citizen.' It is something to think about.

Monday, March 18, 2013

By Franco Ordonez

McClatchy Newspapers

...Opponents (click here) are planning to block his nomination by painting him as a poster boy for big government who pushes an intrusive agenda, and they already have a bill of particulars prepared: that he blocked laws in Texas and South Carolina that require photo IDs at the polls and that a recent critical report by the Justice Department inspector general found that his division suffered from “deep ideological polarization.”

“This is an unfortunate and needlessly divisive nomination,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., a senior member of the Senate Judiciary committee, which overseas the Justice Department. “The top priority of the secretary of labor should be to create jobs and higher wages for American workers. But Mr. Perez has aggressively sought ways to allow the hiring of more illegal workers.”...

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/03/18/186226/confirmation-fight-looms-for-labor.html#storylink=cpy

Among the major groups, the unemployment rates for 

adult men (6.9 percent), 

adult women (7.0 percent), 

teenagers (24.2 percent),

whites (6.7 percent), 

blacks (13.3 percent),

Hispanics (9.2 percent) and

Asians was 5.0 percent 

There are still problems for the 99% in that the NEW ENTRANTS are still not finding work.

Table A-11. Unemployed persons by reason for unemployment (click here)

PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs	57.5	57.0	56.2	54.8	53.5	52.2	53.4	53.9	53.6
On temporary layoff	10.5	11.4	11.1	8.8	9.0	8.8	9.3	8.9	9.4
Not on temporary layoff	47.0	45.6	45.1	45.9	44.6	43.4	44.1	45.0	44.2
Job leavers	8.2	7.6	8.0	8.7	7.7	8.0	7.9	7.9	8.4
Reentrants	24.7	26.5	25.9	25.5	27.7	29.2	28.3	27.6	26.9
New entrants	9.6	8.9	9.9	11.1	11.0	10.5	10.4	10.6	11.1

The future is here. USA Wind Energy's last quarter was it's best yet.

The U.S, wind energy industry (click here) had its strongest year ever in 2012, installing a record 13,124 megawatts (MW). A record-breaking 8,380 MW were installed during the fourth quarter alone. During 2012, utility-scale turbines were installed in 26 states and Puerto Rico.

The milestone of 60,000 MW was also reached just five months after AWEA announced in August that the U.S. industry had installed 50,000 MW. There are now 60,007 MW across 39 states plus Puerto Rico....


...For projects that came online during 2012, 10% of the MW are utility-owned and 90% are owned by independent power producers (IPPs). Among IPPowned MW, 84% of the capacity has a power-purchase agreement and 16% of the MW is being sold on the spot or short-term market....


What does 60 GW mean?

• Powers the equivalent of 14.7 million American homes, or the number of homes in Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada and
Ohio combined.

• Represents $120 billion of investment in the U.S.

• Provides electricity generation equivalent to 14 nuclear power plants or 52 coal plants

• Each year, wind energy produces electricity equivalent to burning 320 million barrels of oil

• Avoids 95.9 million tons of CO2, or roughly 4.2% of the CO2 emissions of the entire power sector

• This CO2 avoidance is the same as taking 17.5 million cars off the road
• Avoids the consumption of 36.6 billion gallons of water annually

The next hurdle for Wind Energy in the USA is to conquer the 'theoretical' complaint of 'dirty air.' In other words is more turbines better because air behind one turbine will be less than the one in front. 

That can be solved easily.

The next 'best thing' in American Wind Energy is a wind field with varying height turbines. Not a big deal, simply the next step so every turbine is as effective and efficient as the next. FLUID MECHANICS.

There are a variety of sizes of turbines.

These are the offshore giants. The 3.6 MW each turbines.

Siemens Wind Power: a profile (click here)
Offshore wind farm Burbo: Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm in Liverpool Bay with 25 wind turbines supplied by Siemens Energy (copyright Siemens). The wind turbines of type SWT-3.6-107 are rated at 3.6 MW each. The offshore wind farm was completed ahead of schedule in only 43 days, and has a total installed capacity of 90MW – supplying power to more than 80,000 households.






These are the 100-KW Wind Turbines Near Mountain Home, Idaho.

The point is the MECHANICS of building wind turbines can happen at any size and in any environment. There is a growing presence of wind energy across the USA and the globe. Why demand a dangerous pipeline through the center of the USA when we don't even need it or want it?

Greenland seeks wealth for it's country in Rare Earth Minerals.

There is new leadership coming to Greenland. As a result, there will be less offshore drilling, but, a focus on mining Rare Earth Minerals. Greenland has the second largest deposits in the world.

The new leadership in Greenland is seeking to limit foreign labor and return it's wealth back to the people of Greenland. They love the land and they want to stop the insult of the petroleum industry to their waters and environment. The new leadership believes providing responsible and much needed minerals to other economies is a better value of their land.


The Ilímaussaq alkaline complex (click here),
South Greenland: status of
mineralogical research with new results (click here for 2001 report - land doesn't change in composition in a decade)

This new leadership comes at a time when Greenland has lost huge amounts of ice off it's glacier fields. These decisions are more moral choices by the people of Greenland.

Greenland’s new government puts the brakes on more offshore drilling (click here)

05 April 2013.

The incoming government lead by Aleqa Hammond in Greenland will put the brakes on further offshore drilling for oil. Licences for 11 new blocks in Northeast Greenland, said to contain more than 30 billion barrels in reserves, will not be handed out after the new administration takes office on April 5^th.

This is an abrupt change of direction from the previous policy under former Premier Kuupik Kleist, but it will not affect existing licences for drilling or exploration....

I congratulate the people of Greenland.

I want to be married again to the same partner I already have.

The word marriage is turning up in society everywhere. Everyone wants to have equal marriage rights. So, what makes anyone believe the abandonment of it is more socially acceptable?

Through the ages women have been held in social status differently then men. Not until recent decades were women not reviled for participating in relationships outside of marriage. But, with marriage at the forefront of change in Western society it is taking on a renewed character of permanence.

The question arises to the status of what exactly marriage is all about. Is it just about legal rights or is it more? And with that understanding enters where children are valued in relationships and a vow to be parents within a marriage rather than parents with children shared.

...At Vera Wang, (click here) arguably the equivalent of Graceland for wedding-dress seekers, women who once dropped $15,000 on a wedding dress are coming back to purchase renewal gowns. Rhonda Diamond, a bridal consultant at Vera Wang’s Toronto location, says there’s been a steady increase of this type of customer over the past few years. “In the case of the vow-renewal dress, they tend to want something more sleek, where as maybe the wedding gown was more about being a princess,” she says. Diamond finds that most women stick to the top-selling ivory even for the second go, though a more daring bride-to-re-be might choose blush or dove.

It’s not just dressmakers that get a chance to double dip – jewellers, caterers, florists, fireworks operators, photo-booth suppliers, dove releasers and everyone else involved in the fatted modern wedding industry benefits from this latest plot point on the relationship trajectory. John de Jong of internationally renowned JdJ Jewellery in Toronto has had a number of clients looking to replace or “super size” existing wedding bling on the occasion of a vow renewal. “It’s really a case of buying power – that and couples are excited to mark the next chapter,” says de Jong....