Have a lovely beginning to Passover. Good night.

...As Passover (click here) — a Jewish holiday that celebrates Moses leading the children of Israel out of Egypt — kicks off Monday at sunset, it’s a reminder about what the religious celebration means to society.

Faith Street said Passover is a nod to how the impossible becomes possible as it shows believers how sacrificing and listening to God’s will can yield positive results.

“The Bible offered a blueprint for a master narrative of freedom from oppression that has been mimicked and re-enacted throughout history, from the American Revolution to other liberation theologies,” wrote Erica Brown for Faith Street. “It is one that we relive every time we fight social injustice through our personal commitments. It reminds us, even at our darkest moments, to dwell in sacred possibility.”

But is Passover only for Jews?

The Atlantic reported on Monday that people from multiple faiths are finding ways to celebrate the holiday. Restaurants will often offer Passover-inspired meals to inspire believers to find a connection to the days of exodus, wrote Lauren Davidson of The Atlantic....

No more cheap seats.

Skymark's first Airbus A380 superjumbo takes off on its maiden testing flight. Skymark Airlines will become the first A380 operator in Japan when it takes delivery of its first aircraft later this year and will fit out its superjumbos with premium economy and business seats only. Photo: Airbus

...Skymark (click here) popped up in 1998 after the Japanese domestic airline industry was deregulated and set about acquiring a fleet of Boeing 767s at first and now smaller 737-800s.

But it was squeezed by the low-cost revolution as Australia’s own Jetstar invented Jetstar Japan to serve domestic routes, while other LCCs like AirAsia also briefly got into the act domestically.

While it retains the all-economy 737s to go head-to-head with the LCCs, Skymark decided to go upmarket instead of downmarket on key routes.
It has just begin introducing Airbus A330-300 widebodies with a single class – all premium economy with 97 cms (38 inches) of space per row priced below the competing Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways business class offerings....

The Emirates have an A380 and this is what the inside looks like. The Japan jet may not have the same kind of configuration if it is all premium seats. But, they are big jets.

Stewardesses prepare Economy Class, which occupies the entire main lower deck

...In both configurations, (click here) First and Business are on the upper deck, while economy is on the main lower deck.
On the upper deck is the Onboard Lounge, where First and Business passengers can enjoy a drink. All of the airline's A380s are fitted with wifi.
In January 2013, Emirates opened Concourse A, the dedicated home of its A380 fleet and the world's first purpose-built facility for the aircraft at Dubai International.

Allegiant Air (click here) on the other hand is introducing a new "Giant Seat." I didn't now giants were allowed on jets.

Who knew?

Russia has pulled these stunts in the region before. I don't why, but, they have to make a fuss at times.

...Third World War'

General Wesley Clark, (click here) Nato's supreme commander, immediately ordered 500 British and French paratroopers to be put on standby to occupy the airport.

''I called the [Nato] Secretary General [Javier Solana] and told him what the circumstances were,'' General Clark tells the BBC programme Moral Combat: Nato at War.

''He talked about what the risks were and what might happen if the Russian's got there first, and he said: 'Of course you have to get to the airport'....

...During the stand-off, Moscow insisted its troops would be answerable only to its own commanders.

Nato refused to accept this, predicting it would lead to the partition of Kosovo into an ethnic Albanian south and a Serbian north.

A deal on the deployment of Russian peacekeepers was reached in early July.

The Russians now operate as part of K-For in sectors controlled by Nato states, but are not directly under Nato's command....

We saw the same kind of maneuver in the Crimea at the airport. The Russians sent in a ground presence to allow them to protect runways to begin an occupation. 

They do this stupid stuff and it gets in the way of securing the region and instilling peace.

The tensions existed for two days, there was diplomacy (who know what that was, probably money) and it was over. 

Some speculate Russia proves the limits of USA power when it does this stupid stuff. The thing is they make fools of themselves except within the borders of Russia. The Iranian boats follow the USA Ships in their wake and who knows what that means, but, it is probably the same muscle flexing for their own purpose. The all powerful Iranian boats can appear to threaten an attack while the USA runs away. Same stuff.

These fly-bys were never a real threat to the ship and if there was any detection of real danger the jet would not be in the air for very long. Why would the USA actually attack a jet with a human being piloting it? I am sure he/she has family to go home to. The same with the Iranian boats. The USA follows very specific attack scenarios and it doesn't begin with a jet or small boats. These countries know that. This is just mischief.

I think it is safe to say, Russia don't respect life, otherwise, why even go there.

It doesn't get more stupid than this.

Russian SU-27/30 and SU-24 fighter jets sitting on a tarmac at Buturlinovka Air base, 150 km to the Ukainian border Photo: AFP/Getty Images 

Reuters

12:15AM BST 11 Apr 2014

Nato (click here) presented satellite photographs on Thursday it said showed Russian deployments of 40,000 troops near the Ukrainian frontier along with tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery and aircraft ready for action.

"This is a force that is very capable, at high readiness, and, as we have illustrated through the imagery, is close to routes and lines of communication," British Brigadier Gary Deakin said at a briefing at Nato military headquarters at Mons in southern Belgium.

"It has the resources to be able to move quickly into Ukraine if it was ordered to do so," he said.

If Russian political leaders took a decision to send forces into Ukraine, the first Russian forces could be on the move within 12 hours.

Nato has spotted Russian forces at more than 100 different sites close to the Ukraine border, he said... 

They want the USA to start military actions to justify the Russian presence. Russia is currently involved in significant propaganda. They deny the photo above is not at all a build up along the Ukraine borders. The stunt they pulled over a USA ship would prove them liars.

And I don't want to hear from Republicans the USA has no presence in the region.

April 14, 2014
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Russian fighter aircraft (click here) made repeated low-altitude, close-range passes near a U.S. ship in the Black Sea over the weekend, the Pentagon said on Monday, condemning the action at a time of heightened U.S.-Russian tensions over Ukraine.

"This provocative and unprofessional Russian action is inconsistent with their national protocols and previous agreements on the professional interaction between our militaries," said Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman.

Warren said a Russian Su-24 aircraft, or Fencer, made 12 passes at low altitude near the USS Donald Cook, a destroyer that has been in the Black Sea since April 10. It appeared to be unarmed, he told reporters.

The incident lasted 90 minutes and took place on Saturday evening while the U.S. ship was conducting a patrol in international waters in the western Black Sea, Warren said. The ship is now in a Romanian port.... 

...Warren said the U.S. ship was not in danger during Saturday's incident.

"I would have difficulty believing that two Russian pilots on their own would choose to take such an action," Warren said.

"We've seen the Russians conduct themselves unprofessionally and in violation of international norms in Ukraine now for several months," he said. 

"These continued acts of provocations and unprofessionalism do nothing to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine."

Kasick is really protecting the people this time. Seismic monitors? That is a joke.

Can anyone tell who is cronies are?

Ohio is set to slap the oil and gas industry (click here) with more regulations, due to an alleged link between hydraulic fracturing near fault lines and increased earthquakes.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) said on Friday it would require drilling companies to install seismic monitors if they want to frack within three miles of a known fault line, or where an earthquake has already occurred. If the monitors detect a seismic event above a 1.0 magnitude, drilling operations must be stopped.

But the drilling pause doesn’t stop there. If the state determines there is a “probable connection” between fracking and the quake, oil and gas companies will not be able to complete their well site....

The favorite Republican rant that puts money before people is "We need more study."

Really? 

Well, looky thar. It is a published study in a respected journal. It wasn't just one or two or even three earthquakes. It was a whopping 157 earthquakes in a single year. That is called CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE.

By John Upton
A single fracking wastewater well triggered 167 earthquakes in and around Youngstown, Ohio, during a single year of operation.
That’s according to a study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research by Won-Young Kim, a researcher at Columbia University. Earthquakes had never been recorded at Youngstown before 2010. Then, at the end of that year, frackers started pumping their waste from Marcellus Shale drilling projects into the 9,200-foot deep Northstar 1 injection well. Within two weeks, the area had experienced its first quake....

Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth

Volume 118, Issue 7, pages 3506–3518, July 2013

There is a picture of Ohio. Plain as the nose on Kasich's face.

The image below is the record of seismic activity in magnitude measured in days after injection started. 

Now, there is no doubt and there is no need for further study. Governor Kasick is putting lives and property on the line and he simply doesn't care. Just that simple. He figures most Ohioans just fell off the back of a turnip truck and are as greedy as he and his cronies, too. So, everyone will just look the other way.

What is even more interesting is that the earthquakes are happening right next to the Pennsylvania border. There is at least one that drifted right over the Pennsylvania border.

Here is a few keywords for the Governor.

Keywords:
Induced earthquakes in Youngstown, Ohio
Migration of earthquakes
Injection volume triggered earthquakes

Abstract

Over 109 small earthquakes (M_w 0.4–3.9) were detected during January 2011 to February 2012 in the Youngstown, Ohio area, where there were no known earthquakes in the past. These shocks were close to a deep fluid injection well. The 14 month seismicity included six felt earthquakes and culminated with a M_w 3.9 shock on 31 December 2011. Among the 109 shocks, 12 events greater than M_w 1.8 were detected by regional network and accurately relocated, whereas 97 small earthquakes (0.4 < M_w  < 1.8) were detected by the waveform correlation detector. Accurately located earthquakes were along a subsurface fault trending ENE-WSW—consistent with the focal mechanism of the main shock and occurred at depths 3.5–4.0 km in the Precambrian basement. We conclude that the recent earthquakes in Youngstown, Ohio were induced by the fluid injection at a deep injection well due to increased pore pressure along the preexisting subsurface faults located close to the wellbore. We found that the seismicity initiated at the eastern end of the subsurface fault—close to the injection point, and migrated toward the west—away from the wellbore, indicating that the expanding high fluid pressure front increased the pore pressure along its path and progressively triggered the earthquakes. We observe that several periods of quiescence of seismicity follow the minima in injection volumes and pressure, which may indicate that the earthquakes were directly caused by the pressure buildup and stopped when pressure dropped.

e-cigarettes use among teens continue to rise.

U.S. middle (click here) and high school students are using e-cigarettes at an increasing rate. Between 2011 and 2012, 1.8 million students had tried the devices. Of those, 160,000 had never used regular cigarettes. 

This is a perfect election year issue if there is obstruction to passage. 

April 14, 2014 10:22 AM 

Craig Dellimore, political editor for WBBM 

 CHICAGO (CBS) – U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) (click here) and others were calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to crack down on what they say are efforts to market electronic cigarettes to children.

WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said a new report shows e-cigarette companies have boosted their marketing budgets, and seem to have their eyes on children.

“E-cigarette manufacturers don’t have to play by the same rules. For example, e-cigarette makers are free to sponsor youth-oriented events, or use flavors that appeal to kids,” he said....

 

 

Here is a law abiding citizen of The West.

He is willing to kill federal officers carrying out a judges order by a man with no viable place to graze cattle. This isn't about cows, a man, family or freedom; it is however about anarchy and politics. This takes politics to a new level though.

This isn't about States Rights, that is just another excuse. These jerks simply don't like obeying the law. Just that simple. They are criminal in their intent.

A judge would not have ruled if there was a jurisdictional problem.

An armed civilian waits nearby as the Bundy family and their supporters gather together under the I-15 highway just outside of Bunkerville, Nev. on April 12, 2014. (AP Photo/Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jason Bean)

 

 

 

 

 

 

MARTIN GRIFFITH , ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Apr 13, 2014 

1 day ago

 

Federal land managers (click here) say "escalating tensions" led them to release all 400 or so head of cattle rounded up on public land in southern Nevada from a rancher who has refused to recognize their authority.

Bureau of Land Management Chief Neil Kornze announced an abrupt halt to the weeklong roundup just hours before the release.

"Based on information about conditions on the ground and in consultation with law enforcement, we have made a decision to conclude the cattle gather because of our serious concerns about the safety of employees and members of the public," Kornze said in a statement.

Hundreds of states' rights protesters, including militia members, showed up at corrals outside Mesquite to demand the animals' return to rancher Cliven Bundy. Some protesters were armed with handguns and rifles at the corrals and at an earlier nearby rally....

I do believe that may be a camera the federal ranger is holding.

West Arm of Grand Traverse Bay water covered.

Suttons Bay, MI

Monday 6:00 PM

Snow flurries

Humidity 87%

Wind: 11 mph

There is what appears to be open water all along the shoreline, but, there are waves. There are only wind driven ripples. The surface is melting, but, the bay is still frozen as is any connecting waters to Lake Michigan. Occasionally there is ice structures poking through the surface water. The winds are straight line winds and at the southern end of that bay the wind is strong enough to stunt the ability to walk. There are no wind gusts, only straight line constant wind. The wind is so cold at the southern end of the bay it can do skin damage if exposed for a short duration. 

There is no accumulation of snows, except, on hill sides that is receiving frigid winds and there is about an 8th inch accumulation in those locations.

Traverse City Weather
Monday 6PM
27 degrees F
Snow Flurries - fluffy snowflakes but smaller than earlier in the day
Humidity 75%
Wind 21 mph (It feels stronger than 21 mph at the southern tip of the bay)

The entire area is overcast.

Polar Vortex chronically delivering frigid air.

Suttons Bay, MI

Monday 10:00 AM

Light snow

Wind: 14 mph
Temperature: 32 degrees Fahrenheit

The weekend melted a lot of the ice and snow. The day started today with high winds and rain. Now, there is high winds and snow. Fluffy snowflakes.

The bay is still frozen solid. The lakes and bays in Michigan aren't expected to allow boat and ship traffic without ice breakers until early May. This return of frigid air may even delay that. The farmers were only out on their fields to inspect them to start cultivation this morning, however, they are now facing a longer delay to planting season.

These police have a long history unnecessary shootings and killings.

Published: Monday, April 14, 2014 at 9:32 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, April 14, 2014 at 9:32 a.m. 

A Hampstead man was shot and killed by law enforcement sometime over the weekend, according to the State Bureau of Investigation.

Maynard Paul Thomas, 67, was fatally shot during an altercation with law enforcement at 716 Sloop Point Road in Hampstead, said SBI spokeswoman Noelle Talley.
The State Bureau of Investigation is reviewing the shooting, according to District Attorney Ben David's office.
Further details of the incident were not immediately available, said Samantha Dooies, assistant to David, the district attorney for New Hanover and Pender counties.
Check back later for more on this developing story.
-F.T. Norton

The United Nations is calling for immediate change of power sources.

In all honesty, the best way to change quickly is to install alternatives of solar and wind. Nuclear takes a long time to implement. It needs to start immediately and the only technology that can react that quickly is wind.

It relies on geography quite literally. Wind maps and/or sun exposure maps. The desert communities, especially the Sahara, have the opportunity for incredible solar potential in a grid that can export electricity. This form of energy has unlimited capacity. In my opinion it is the best way of using solar energy and using STEAM turbines to replace many other combustible fuels such as oil and gas. 

The only real hurdle to this is the 'resistance' in transmission lines as it reduces the turbine out put in 'delivery' of the electricity. But, that is a problem no matter the source of the power that boils the steam and turns the turbines. This transmission line problem is generic to all electricity delivery systems including nuclear.

Posted on 03 March 2013

Research by UK’s Nottingham Trent University (click here) shows that Libya could generate approximately five times the amount of energy from solar power than it currently produces in crude oil.

The country has an average daily solar radiation rate of about 7.1 kilowatt hours per square metre per day (kWh/m²/day) on a flat plane on the coast and 8.1kWh/m²/day in the south, compared with just 2.95kWh/m²/day in the UK....

The combination of solar and oil to carry high heat to steam turbines.

The potential for any thermal should be implemented immediately. I have long thought Iceland's thermal potential was overlooked in producing electricity to Europe.

A traffic arrow points on a street that leads by the four cooling towers of the Temelin nuclear power plant on August 11, 2011 near Temelin, Czech Republic.

Dan Vergano

National Geographic News
PUBLISHED APRIL 13, 2014

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (click here) mitigation report, released Sunday in Berlin, explores some 1,200 scenarios to avert the worsening effects of global warming by 2100. The proposals  range from planting more trees to relying much more on nuclear power. (Related: "Global Warming 101.")
"This report is a wake-up call about global economic opportunity we can seize today as we lead on climate change," said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in a statement. "This report makes very clear we face an issue of global willpower, not capacity."
Sunday’s report is the third in a series of UN reports on climate change released in the past year that paint a picture of "virtually certain" climate change, driven by increasing emissions—80 percent of them from the burning of fossil fuels—which is already melting the Arctic, acidifying oceans and harming crops. (See also: "New Climate Change Report Warns of Dire Consequences.")...

Biologists need to work closely with wind field planning and implementation. The emergency of the circumstances may not prevent all dangers to migratory and local populations of birds.

The emergency has gotten to be so bad the question enters, "Save birds at what cost and will lack of action cause their extinction anyway?"

Conservation biologists are paramount to the success in saving all species that may remotely appear to be in danger of change of status to threatened or endangered. 

I remind the Sixth Extinction is occurring. The preservation of species is important and the way to that end is best decided by Conservation Biologists and Ecologists that see 'the entire picture' of a food web and/or ecosystem. 

Human beings first have to stop the deterioration of Earth before it can restore species to their natural habitats and lands. All nations have to work together and literally push the global economy into a far different view of transportation and energy. It has to be. It is too late anything else.

Carbon sinks have to be preserved. Also, countries like Ethiopia has to reverse it's drought. It has to be provided with dams that will in turn provide irrigation. The irrigation is for the return of flora to ultimately return water vapor to very dry areas that have historically been plush with vegetation. Ultimately, 'the vision' is for Ethiopia to never need the dam's potential to irrigation. The water vapor will begin to produce it's own rain. THAT IS THE PICTURE. Return vegetation that will produce water vapor through natural plant processes of EVAPOTRANSPORTATION. Natural transportation of plants will cause higher water vapor content and will produce rain. The dams will ultimately be dismantled as when rain returns could pose a flood problem over time.

It will work, but, the cost has to be minimized. This is an emergency and there is no room for exploitative profits that will prevent it's manifestation. 

The United Nations is in a perfect potential to find countries with the best technology to make this happen and provide the services without destroying a country's economy. This is nearly an international right of way to bring function back to the planet. Those ideas are very threatening to idiots in the USA that want to own the world. They are idiots and don't forget it.

My guess. Is the most benevolent authorities to approach for assistance to make all this happen are the Muslim Sheiks. They are incredible heroes in a moments notice just for the asking. 

I REMIND. There is no rushing to build a nuclear power plant. Details will be sacrificed, safety will be removed, substandard materials will be obtained. The idea cutting corners on nuclear power is completely irresponsible. What good is a nuclear power plant if it creates more danger than the climate crisis itself. No peoples are expendable. The world has this paradigm to own and no peoples are less important than any other. 

Some of the most dedicated to saving and propagating carbon sinks came from Africa among some of the poorest of our global populations. 

This is a real opportunity for Russia to backpeddle and return the status of the treaties.

It was completely wrong of Russia to indulge the idea of dividing a sovereign country that had declared peace it's priority. There was no national defense to defend it's borders. It's ridiculous.

MOSCOW
April 12
ITAR-TASS

The Russian Foreign Ministry (click here) is expecting to receive on April 14 the U.S. reply to the proposed agenda for a four-party meeting on Ukraine, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said on Saturday, April 12.

“In the light of the continuing efforts to explore the possibility of organising a four-party meeting (European Union, Russia, United States, and Ukraine) on the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, we have been surprised to hear the American State Department and the European External Action Service say that the decision to hold it had already been made. To avoid inconsistencies, we would like to confirm that the preparation of the event is continuing, but there is no common understanding either about its agenda or format,” he said.

“If the U.S. has already reached an agreement with other participants among themselves without Russia and determined both the time and place of the meeting and the intention to discuss the situation not only in Ukraine but also around it, maybe they can also announce ‘the results’ right now?” Lukashevich said, adding, “Maybe they will also say how they are going to pay Ukraine’s debt to Gazprom?”...

This is what has resulted because of Russia foreign policy with post soviet nations. Violence. Russia's condescending policy of these nations emboldens the extremists and now innocent people are being beaten. 

By Associated Press 
Published: April 12
Updated: Sunday, April 13, 7:28 PM
 
DONETSK, Ukraine — Turning to force (click here) to try to restore its authority in the vital industrial east, Ukraine’s government announced Sunday it was sending in troops to try to quash an increasingly brazen pro-Russian insurgency, despite repeated warnings from the Kremlin.

Accusing Moscow of fomenting the unrest, Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov said in a televised address that such a “large-scale anti-terrorist operation” would ensure Russia did not “repeat the Crimean scenario in Ukraine’s east.” Turchynov pledged to offer amnesty to anyone surrendering their weapons by Monday morning....

Russia needs to denounce the violence while it's Ruble falls into oblivion.

Supposedly this is a sign on a OB office door.

This is illegal search and seizure. There is absolutely no research validating birth defects to marijuana. This is not Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Cigarette smoking was never linked to 'in utero' fetal development.

This is a scare tactic that will stop women from seeking prenatal health care and in that reality the fetus will be put in danger it would not face otherwise.