I want to thank the Iraq Prime Minister for his sincere concern for Americans.

It is good to think there are friends in Arabia that are unafraid to be concerned for Americans. The government here and in France will take the information seriously and decide the threat that actually exists. What is most important is Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi cared and was unafraid. It was a very generous expression of friendship and mutual concern.

September 25, 2014
By Jamie Schram, Rebecca Harshbarger and Gillian Kleiman

The NYPD beefed up subway security (click here) on Thursday following a dire warning from Iraq’s prime minister that Islamic State terrorists are plotting an attack on transit systems in New York City and Paris.

Hundreds of extra cops were put on overtime, with a heavy presence around Yankee Stadium as throngs of New Yorkers took the subways to see Derek Jeter’s last game in The Bronx....

The USA is leading a rather remarkable change in the activities of all Arab nations. I am proud of all of the countries that have joined the USA in it's concern for all the people of Arabia and the Middle East. It has been a long time this country, Arabia and Europe has had a friendly relationship, but, not without such terrible troubles both here and abroad.

It was remarkable to realize Saudi Arabia has a crowned prince and Maj. Mariam Al Mansouri from the United Arab Emirates were flying into battle. The USA has been deprived of knowing such dedication ran so deep in Arabia. It does the heart good to realize how old perceptions can be quickly discarded as myth to a new and wonderful group of nations.

I truly believe if the coalition remains committed and strong we can all remove some of the most desperately evil from the land forever. 

I wish them all safety and well being and their families to be proud of their self-less dedication. I welcome a new day where all nations of the world care this deeply about each other to subscribe to lasting peace.

September 26, 2014
By Terry Atlas

While the U.S. says the fight against Islamic State (click here) may take years, Iraq’s prime minister said he urged President Barack Obama to make the airstrikes “quick and decisive” so Iraq doesn’t become like Pakistan or Yemen.

In an interview yesterday, Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said a prolonged military conflict would draw new fighters to Islamic State, further endanger civilians and complicate his efforts to unify the country based on a more inclusive central government.

Abadi said maintaining Iraq’s sovereign authority over airstrike decisions is important to avoid the kind of situation in Yemen and Pakistan where the U.S.“will hit any target they see fit, and that can lead to mistakes.” In those countries, U.S. airstrikes against militant targets have been blamed for civilian casualties, stirring a popular backlash....

I have to agree. I think the protracted war in Iraq and Afghanistan has acted to prolong it's own purpose. The more entrenched the war became the longer it went on and the more jihadists found their playground.

Thank you for a second time.

Speaker Boehner isn't respected by the US House.

Remember, Cruz runs the House.

9/25/14
By Russell Berman

Members of the House (click here) clamoring for a vote on President Obama's expanded war against the Islamic State will have to wait until 2015 – if they get one at all.

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told the New York Times that while he now sees a need for a more extensive congressional debate on the military campaign, he doesn't think it should occur during the lame-duck session after the November midterm elections....

US Rep. Boehner isn't liked by most folks in Ohio, by the way. 


8/23/2014 (Updated)
By Ariel Edwards Levi

House Speaker John Boehner (click here) is disliked by a majority of voters in his home state of Ohio, according to a poll released Friday by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling.

Just 20 percent of voters polled said they approved of his work in Congress, down from 33 percent in an October PPP poll.

A majority, 59 percent, said they disapproved of Boehner's work. Even Republicans were roughly split on his performance, with 37 percent approving, and 34 percent disapproving, according to the poll.

The poll used automated phone interviews to survey 551 voters between August 16 and August 19....

First thing anyone has to know about police is they are scared of you.

No lie. They are afraid of the public. The first thing they will do is draw a gun if there is one movement they determine can cost them their life. There is a way of dealing with it, but, it takes presence of mind to protect oneself. I had given this advise to others and haven't lost anyone yet.

When found to be confronted by a police officer, put your hands in the air and then tell him/her (most shootings/killings seem to be conducted by men) what movements you are going to make. If the officer says not to make any movements, then don't.

The best thing Mr. Jones could have done is raise his hands and when asked for his driver's license, tell the officer his ID was on the dashboard of the van and then ASK if he wanted him to get it or did the officer want to get it. No lie. Raise hands and describe every action. Even tell the officer you are not being a disobedient citizen or a wise guy, but, you are concerned you will be misinterpreted. When the officer says to move and carry out his order to provide him/her with a license or whatever, then move, otherwise don't flinch a muscle.

The police officer has to believe they are in complete control of the circumstances surrounding THEIR, not yours, THEIR safety. It isn't right or just, but, it is the way it is and all we want to do is stay alive. If one is arrested for no apparent reason one can understand, which is what I believe happened with Michael Brown, Jr., just go along with it and once the officer believes he has control the danger may be over. Just go along with the arrest and call a best friend, parent, spouse to let them know as soon as possible.

There is such a thing as MALICIOUS PROSECUTION. If one is wrongly arrested and charged the police officer and department and prosecutor can be held in liability of your civil rights and monetary damages can be awarded.

September 25, 2014

By Bob Owens

The shooting happened in the parking lot (click here) of a Circle K on Broad River Road Sept. 4 after Lance Cpl. Sean Groubert pulled Levar Edward Jones over for a seatbelt violation.

In the video released Wednesday night, Groubert asks for Jones’ license. Jones then checks his back pocket before going back to his vehicle.

Groubert then fires several shots at Jones before Jones falls to the ground.

While Jones is on the ground with a gunshot wound to the hip, he asks Groubert “What did I do, sir?”

Groubert then asks Jones if he was hit.

“I don’t know what happened,” Jones says in the video. “I just grabbed my license.”

Groubert explains to Jones the reason he shot at him was because Jones dove head first in the vehicle.

Nigeria is on the march. I remind Nigeria may have insufficient prisons to hold them.

September 25, 2014

More than 260 Islamist militants (click here) have surrendered in north-eastern Nigeria, the military has said.

Soldiers had also killed a man who featured in Boko Haram's propaganda videos pretending to be the group's leader Abubakar Shekau, it added.

Last year, the military said that Shekau may have been killed, without providing any proof.

Boko Haram has suffered heavy losses in recent weeks in battles in its stronghold of north-eastern Nigeria.

The military said that 135 Boko Haram members surrendered with their weapons in Biu, Borno state, on Tuesday - and that 133 others surrendered elsewhere in north-eastern Nigeria....

You can't make this stuff up. There is a reason why Francis is hot these days.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference (click here) of Nigeria (CBCN) has declared a national all-night prayer vigil service on the night of the 13 th November in the Capital city of Abuja. The purpose of the all-night prayer vigil will be to pray for a nation, especially its people, suffering at the hands of Boko Haram Islamist militants. The Bishops have asked the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of consolation to intercede for the country.

In a press statement made available to Vatican Radio, on 24 September, by the Catholic News Service of Nigeria, the Bishops say they are alarmed by the scale of destruction of human lives and property unleashed by Boko Haram. The Bishops are also extremely saddened by the disruption of village and community  life in Northeastern Nigeria....

The Cheneys have nothing constructive to add to any discussion.

He forgets all too quickly what actually happened in the Middle East to have the USA find itself at the center of the ONLY answer available. That is not what was to happen here. The Iraqi government and military were suppose to be able to hold it's own borders. 

My, my, my, how quickly some people forget.

September 24, 2014
By Geoff Loftus

...It’s too bad that Dick Cheney (click here) feels the need to set the record straight. He’s encouraging Republicans to oppose the president in a time of foreign-policy crisis—traditionally partisan politics stop during a foreign crisis—and he’s mangling facts right and left as he goes after Obama. The only fact that Cheney seems to have correct is that Obama is doing things differently than the Bush administration. In other words, Obama is getting in Cheney’s way.

What Dick Cheney is doing is conducting a master class in How Not To Retire. Here are two lessons in what to avoid when you leave a senior management position:

Get Your Facts Straight — If you are asked something about the organization you left, reply honestly that you don’t have anything constructive to add to the discussion since you are no longer active in the situation. If you are constitutionally incapable of replying in that fashion, at least have your facts straight. Mr. Cheney constantly accuses the president of being soft on terrorism, however the Bush administration had almost seven years to get Osama bin Laden, “dead or alive,” and failed. Obama took out bin Laden after a little more than two years. And there have been many other al Qaeda leaders have been taken out under Obama’s leadership. So who is/was the softie?...
    

Six years plus time in previous administration makes Eric Holder a profound influence on USA justice.

I am proud of him and his work. He made a difference in this country and no one can dispute that. He will be missed by many. 

I think his years as AG have been the most memorable as he made sweeping changes that brought awareness to social inequities to people. I appreciate his dedication and look forward to his choice of work after he leaves office. Thank you.

I think I know of at least one other person that is happier than anyone else to have you at home.

September 25, 2014
By Kevin Johnson and Richard Wolf

Washington — Two recent scenes (click here) from Eric Holder's nearly six years as the nation's 82nd attorney general reveal how deeply personal his tenure has been:

In Philadelphia last year, Holder spoke from the heart to 17 former convicts who were reporting on their post-prison progress to a federal district judge.

"I grew up in a neighborhood in Queens (N.Y.), where guys like you would have been my boys, you know?" he told the ex-offenders. "We'd have played ball together, we'd have partied together. … Life is not always fair. The question is how do you deal with that unfairness? It will not be easy."

Then this year in Ferguson, Mo., Holder spoke as the top cop leading an investigation into the shooting death of a black man by a white police officer — but also as an African American.....        

Police in London are using a video recreation of Alice Gross in hopes others remember where they saw her last and possibly with whom. (click here) 

It is new method to bring about public interest to participate in finding her.

Reclaiming the modern Middle East

The so called westernization of the Middle East made a huge mistake by not developing a Middle Class. Most of Arabia have appreciated only two classes, the wealthy and the poor. Not to say the wealthy are not generous to the poor, but, the development of the poor culture resulted in hatred of the wealthy by young men.

The future of Arabia is a well developed Middle Class that appreciates the modernization of their culture.

Currently, the reclamation of the ancient identity of the warrior afforded within the Quran, be it right or wrong, is the identity young men appreciate over any work ethic. The Middle Class of any nation holds a strong work ethic to it's identity. The Middle Class reaps the rewards of their work ethic and in that is affordability of education of their children and upward movement is the hope.

I believe 'the warrior culture' of Islamic movements is the only feeling of accomplishment within the current socio-economic cultures in the Middle East. Certainly, Israel doesn't help when it denies land to the Palestinians for their homeland. Women also need to claim their rights of expression to move Arabia forward.

Bloggers trade accusations as they discuss status of women in society (click here)

The Ebola virus has adapted to a longevity in humans.

September 25, 2014

By Abby Phillip

An idea long (click here) viewed as an unlikely possibility is now becoming increasingly real: Ebola might not go away for a very long time.

It has never happened before in the 38-year history of the virus. Every other time Ebola has made the unlikely jump from the animal world to the human one, it has been snuffed out within days, weeks or, at most, months.

This time, though, in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, the Ebola virus is raging like a forest fire, in the words of several public health officials. And some of them are raising the possibility that the outbreak-turned-full-fledged-epidemic could become fundamentally different from any other Ebola outbreak on record, in that it might stick around....

September 24, 2014

By Abby Ohlkeiser

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (click here) sent letters to three companies this week, warning them against marketing their products as possible treatments or cures for Ebola. The letters, posted online on Wednesday, document multiple claims from the companies or their paid representatives that essential oils and other natural remedies can "help prevent your contracting the Ebola virus" and in at least one instance, "effectively kill the Ebola virus."

There are currently no approved treatments, cures or vaccines for Ebola....

Coed killer captured in Texas. Thank you.

I realize Mr. Matthew is not charged with any other abductions or murders, but, the evidence adding up to the loss of two Coeds in Virginia in the last three years was becoming an obvious threat in Charlottesville. It is a relief such potential to the loss of more young women is contained. Thank you, Texas.

September 25, 2014 An Albemarle County man (click here) charged in the disappearance of a University of Virginia student was captured in Texas on Wednesday, a day after police announced they had probable cause to arrest him.

Police believe Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr., 32, was the last person seen with Hannah Graham, an 18-year-old sophomore who went missing Sept. 13.

Authorities obtained a felony warrant for his arrest Tuesday. He has been charged with abduction with intent to defile....

Canberra, Australia - August 24, 2014

Canberra will have just one day of wind and rain before a sunny long weekend is expected according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Lunches across the capital were restricted to the tea room on Thursday when an early afternoon storm hit around midday.

Brisbane, Australia - September 25, 2014

Winds up to 100km/h (click here) and more than 30mm of rain lashed Brisbane on Thursday afternoon.

Localised flooding struck in Rocklea and Energex said more than 12,000 homes lost power in Brisbane's south.

"The main impact is Inala and the suburbs surrounding it," spokeswoman said.

Earth is counter intuitive when it comes to a warming climate. The Arctic Ocean in the northern hemisphere is an ocean and it's ice diminishes as do glaciers on land. But, Antarctica is ice on a continent. When the ice melts in Antarctica is runs off initially into the circumpolar circulation creating expensive sea ice.

The real concern is what happens to the extra water once it hits the ocean as water rather than ice. Increased sea level rise is apparent on every continent on Earth. But, as the water is exposed to not just a liquid state, but, a gaseous state due to increased warming there are huge storms with deluge of water over land. The land is warmer than the oceans.

One the once frozen water reaches the warmer land from storms it again evaporates and becomes water vapor. As time goes by the water vapor continues to move up in altitude until it reaches the upper atmosphere of the mesosphere. Once in the mesosphere the water molecules again condense to increasing layer of noctilucent clouds. 

Basically, as the poles of Earth lose their ice it eventually moves into an unusable layer of ice clouds in the mesosphere. It isn't must rising seas, it is far worse. Mesosphere clouds don't rain.

...The record was finally broken on 15 September and sea ice extent has increased since, according to data from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center analysed by Australia's Bureau of Meteorology in Hobart.

More sea ice may seem odd in a warmer world, but new records are expected every few years, says Jan Lieser of the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre in Hobart. That's because the southern hemisphere warms more slowly than the north, as it has less landmass, boosting the winds that circle Antarctica and pulling cold air onto the sea ice.

The melting of ice on the Antarctic mainland may also be creating more sea ice, by dumping easily frozen fresh water into the ocean, says Nerilie Abram of the Australian National University in Canberra....

The USA is outpaced by other nations in technology advances.

September 24, 2014

Shingo Ito

Tokyo (AFP) - Fifty years ago, (click here) the first bullet train pulled out of Tokyo station and hurtled across the countryside, heralding Japan's arrival as a modern economic powerhouse with a transport system soon to become the envy of the world.

Less than two decades after a bitter World War II defeat that left much of the country in ruins, Japan was at the cutting edge with its sleek, airplane-shaped "shinkansen" that glided over great distances of newly-laid track.

"With the start of the shinkansen, we had a feeling that the starving time would end and Japan would change dramatically," recalled Fumihiro Araki, a former railway engineer.,,,