Rabbis can sometimes be the worst people to talk to about Israel and it's global posturing. So, I am not surprised to here rhetorical hate espoused by a rabbi today. Israel doesn't have a vote regarding the international relationship of Iran to the five permanent countries at the UN Security Council.

This is Yossi Melman. He is a citizen of Israel and maybe that is what makes him so very interesting. He is a writer and journalist for Haaretz. His specialty is intelligence and strategic affairs.

He wrote a book entitled "The Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran." He co-authored it with Meir Javedanfar.

In the book the former President of Iran is more than criticized, but, a foolish man who uses rhetorical hate to gain political clout and power. The book points to every aspect of Iran's society that opposes the position of the then President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It appears as though President Ahmadinejad pivoted 180 degrees after his election and turned away from the domestic problem he was elected to solve. 

Ahmadinejad was in office while the USA was occupying Iraq. In his estimation the rhetorical hate was necessary to define the country as strong enough to stand the tide of the USA military should it decide to come across the Iranian border. Kindly remember, the USA was the Shah's sponsor. There was every reason for Iran to be fearful of the USA declaring war into Iran as Bush named it as an Axis of Evil member.

The people of Iran wanted the disillusionment of their country in the international theater to end. They wanted to be accepted as a legitimate country doing the best it could for the people within it's borders. The re-election of the President was primarily due to the fact the USA was occupying Iraq and President Ahmadinejad was holding Iran against the perceived tide of invasion. Those that re-elected him were afraid of what many believed would be an inevitable invasion into Iran.

The priorities of the people under Ahmadinejad never changed, they wanted a better life and that meant a better domestic policy and economy. When President Hassan Rouhani was elected and approached the global community to begin the long process back to return as a trusted country, it was more the true face of the Iranian people.

But, as to Yossi Melman. He and his co-author were the people that researched the opposition within Iran to a nuclear bomb. These authors are Hebrew. They are Jewish and they live in Israel. It was these two authors that reported and journaled the very real fact that after the Iranian Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeine considered nuclear weapons as sinful and called a fatwa on them. That is a fact. It cannot be disputed and President Obama didn't lie.

The Rabbis in the world need to get over themselves and stop being antagonistic against the Palestinians or any other country that is conveniently their political standard. I think it is very poor judgement to build a political system on fear of other nations rather than seeking peace with a strong national defense. By the way, that is the reason Israel has the interceptor missiles. The missiles are suppose to give Israel and it's people the understanding there is no limit to insure them and their country being a part of this world on Earth. It is time for Israel to stop it's war mongering and join the many countries seeking a peaceful and productive world.

There is a growing danger to the Phillpines. This storm has been on the radar for about 2 days.

This is a framework.

I don't see the role of the US Congress.

Article 2, Section II (click here)

...He (the President) shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.

The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session.

It is a framework and not a treaty. The Senate has to have two-thirds agreement before their treaty passes Congress. The Democrats have a place in the outcomes of the treaty.

Israel does not have veto power. 

It is good news.

Iran's only ambition is peaceful use of nuclear energy. It sounds as though the USA is back to the beginning of it's relationship with Iran to be sure there is a quality reactor for peaceful purposes. There was mischief last time by the USA. Secretary Kerry has returned a trust relationship with Iran so their peaceful use can go forward. That is amazing. I am happy. Why am I happy? Because the largest population of Shi'ites are safe today.

Iran produced 254 billion kWh gross in 2012, (click here) with consumption of about 200 TWh, per capita about 2600 kWh/yr. Its 2012 electricity production comprised 170 TWh from gas, 69 TWh from oil, both of which it has in abundance, 12.5 TWh from hydro which is less reliably available, and 2 TWh from nuclear power. Demand is growing about 4% per year, and Iran trades electricity with Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Turkmenistan and Turkey. Net export is about 7 TWh/yr. 
 
In mid-2013 generating capacity was 68 GWe. The country plans to boost generating capacity to 122 GWe by 2022, with substantial export potential.

Iran derives an income from the production of electricity.

It has been a long and difficult road back for Iran. This is a new chapter for the country and it's relationship with global powers. There is every reason to believe the June agreement will be important to allow Iran to have a greater economic footprint which is good for everyone.

The RFRA is not needed in the states.

This is a political issue and it is running over to the general population. It is discriminatory and with the inability or unwillingness of states' legislatures to repeal the laws there is a very strong element of bigotry. These can't and won't stand. 

The states currently playing with the lives of our LGBT community can't go unnoticed. They can pass any hate law they want, but, it won't hold up in a court of law. These laws are defeated before they are written.

This melodrama for the benefit of religious politics is far from appropriate and is a huge waste of the people's monies. The legislatures and the governors aren't getting anything done as they play with language to protect the religious right funders. I really think these legislators and governors are impeachable.

This mess is completely unnecessary. There is no such thing in the USA as the perfect spiritual world except for enclaves that have chosen that path. Religious biased citizens need to accept that. This is a democracy that values the lives of all citizens. This is a democracy with it's economics based in capitalism and defines the REQUIREMENT for work and wages. If the LGBT community is ostracized from work because of religious bias that assaults their very lives. It is completely unacceptable.

Let me put this plainly, the RFRA laws being played with today are unconstitutional. That is already known as fact.

Looking across the spectrum of the international world where religion is important their are major differences between the greater world and the Right Wing Radical Party of the USA. At one point the Vatican was concerned about the well being of prostitutes. Prostitution is a part of reality in many countries. It is legal in many countries and ironically those same countries value religion to the degree the USA's right wing party does.  

The difference between the American religious radicals and the rest of the world is that the rest of the world are grown ups that accept the world they live in while striving to be as near to God as they can. I suppose those folks practice pray far more than one might even realize. The carrying on by the USA religious radicals is outrageous. They are insisting on having control of the USA government to bring about a perfect world FOR THEM and only for them. Get of the way. You can't have the military to conquer the world.

The same USA religious radicals also tout the fact they find the world a challenge by many to live a life within the shadow of God. If the world is perfect to human's understanding, where are the people striving to live in the perfect shadow of God going to prove it? I find this 'perfect world' idea the agenda of cowards. Mother Teresa of Calcutta surely did not live in a perfect world, received a Nobel Peace Prize and after her death is receiving attention from the Vatican to declare her a saint. The Evangelicals need to get real, this is a political ploy and not a matter of living within their doctrine to God. The Evangelicals are shameful to their understanding of faith and living within a democracy that recognizes all of it's citizens in equality. There is no charity in an Evangelicals definition of religious. NONE.

Their survival will require human intervention to supplement their diet.

They aren't suppose to be treated like pets.  That is the value scientists carry in assessing a species ability to return from any endangered or threatened status. 

It is coming summer and the first year of cubs. These cubs are not going to survive as they aren't learning their natural hunting skills. There will be a need for wildlife management to reassess the recovery plan for these giant marine mammals. 

The loss of ice in the Arctic Ocean is most probably causing a collapse of the ecosystem. I wouldn't doubt the seals have declining numbers, too. Last year we witnessed walruses moving to land as well. Even the Native Americans would be threatened if they didn't have access to other food sources such as a grocery store. Even then they need a source of income. The Native Americans in the USA aren't the only native people in the region. There are other groups throughout the Arctic region. 

The world’s oceans are in trouble. (click here) Every day, 22 million tons of carbon dioxide from factories, cars, power plants and other human sources are absorbed by the world’s oceans.

The result? A frightening phenomenon that's making seawater more acidic, spelling disaster for many marine animals, from plankton and coral up the food chain to sea stars, salmon, sea otters, whales — and ultimately people, who rely on oceans for food....

The phytoplankton are at the center of the ocean food chain, the Arctic Ocean is no different. The phytoplankton are single cells organisms. The change in pH will effect their existence. Is is the global phytoplankton that produce the majority of Earth's oxygen as well.

In this June 15, 2014 photo, a polar bear dries off after taking a swim in the Chukchi Sea in Alaska. A paper published Wednesday, April 1, 2015 says polar bears forced onto land because of melting ice are unlikely to find enough food to replace their diet of seals. (U.S. Geological Survey, Brian Battaile/Associated Press)

April 1, 2015
By Dan Joling

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A group of researchers (click here) say polar bears forced off melting sea ice will not find enough food to replace their current diet of fat-laden marine mammals such as seals, a conclusion that contradicts studies indicating that bears may be benefiting from bird eggs, berries and other land food sources.
Few bears are using land food and what they find can’t replace lipid-rich ringed or bearded seals, said Karyn Rode, a U.S. Geological Survey research wildlife biologist and lead author of the review paper published Wednesday in the journal, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.
The paper by federal and academic researchers reviews current polar bear research. It’s aimed at recent research documenting bears feeding on land and suggestions that those foods are becoming more important for them, which could increase their chance for survival as summer sea ice recedes, preventing seal hunting....