The world is stronger than Daesh.

November 18, 2015
by Chine Labbe and Crispian Balmer

A Russian Su-24M aircraft makes a raid in Syria. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry Press Service

Paris: France and Russia (click here) bombed Islamic State targets in Syria on Tuesday, punishing the group for attacks in Paris and against a Russian airliner that together killed 353 people, and made  tentative steps towards a possible military alliance.
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a co-ordinated onslaught in Paris on Friday and the downing of a Russian charter jet over Sinai on October 31, saying they were in retaliation for French and Russian air raids in Iraq and Syria....

Here is a good joke.

Mike Enzi did not say that. 

OMG.

Mike Enzi from the US Senate floor stated with the coal power plants gone there won't be enough CO2 for the farmers.

The people are Wyoming are not that stupid.  

According to statistics (click here) the average IQ for Wyoming is (drum roll please), Number  14 in the USA, Wyoming: 102.4.

Europe is doing back flips because of the fear.

Hannover, Germany (AP) — The friendly soccer game (click here) between Germany and the Netherlands was canceled at short notice due to the serious threat of an attack at the stadium on Tuesday.

"We had concrete evidence that someone wanted to set off an explosive device in the stadium," Hannover police chief Volker Kluwe told German TV.

Referring to another bomb threat about an hour beforehand that turned out to be a false alarm, Kluwe said, "After the first object turned out to be harmless, we got a tip that had to be taken seriously that an attack was being planned."
Spectators had only just started entering the Hannover stadium when the evacuation order was given, which affected mainly stadium staff, match workers, VIP guests, and media....

Every which way but loose. Daesh will seek to feed on the fear that resulted in Paris. They have to take them seriously, but, it will interrupt everyone's life and soon what is a false alarm will seem real.

It would not be difficult to reduce and eliminate them from the USA waters if there was a fee paid to fishing boats if they returned them to US inspectors at the docks. Pay the fishing boats for their catch of lionfish rather than return them to the ocean. The lionfish can probably be used for fertilizer or some such thing. I am sure there are plenty of ideas for their use.

The fishermen of the USA and their families are great Americans. Very hard working. They deserve every break the Congress can afford them. Bringing in invasive species is just one way. The more invasive species populations the more competition to consumer fish harvests.

Senator Markey you are incredible. We could not have done it without you. 

Atlantic surf clams that were once common off the coasts of Delaware, Virginia, and Maryland are now rare, but are now more common in deeper waters off the coast of New England. 

Red Mullet that were common in the Mediterranean are now found in the North Sea off the Coast of Great Britain and Norway. 

Species of Triggerfish and Grouper from the Gulf of Mexico are now being caught in Mid-Atlantic waters.

Lionfish native to the western Pacific are invasive species in the Gulf of Mexico but are now being found off the coast of North Carolina.

There should be a real effort to eliminate lionfish from the USA oceans. 

...It is speculated that the root of the problem (click here) was only 6 lionfish accidently released from an aquarium during hurricane Andrew in 1992. Genetic research supports this finger pointing but it is likely that many more have been intentionally released by "retired" aquarium enthusiasts. With no natural enemies and an extremely high reproductive rate of 2 million eggs a year from one female, unsurprisingly they've taken over rapidly (NOAA).

The cold water temperatures are keeping their numbers in check to the north, (this is no longer the case. North Carolina is proof of heating oceans) but this is not the case to the south where lionfish are spreading rapidly through the South Florida Estuaries, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Marine Scientists believe they will have established themselves as far south as Brazil within the next five to ten years. 

Surveys conducted by Paula Whitfield and her team in 2004 found that lionfish were already as abundant as many native groupers, and second in abundance only to scamp (Mycteroperca phenax) (Whitfield et al, 2007). This is extremely concerning given the short time period for this population growth to occur. Recent estimates of lionfish densities show the populations continuing to grow, with the highest estimates reporting over 1,000 lionfish per acre in some locations (NOAA)....

There is far too much on the line.

February 23, 2013
Corvallis, Ore. – Coastal communities in 15 states (click here) that depend on the $1 billion shelled mollusk industry (primarily oysters and clams) are at long-term economic risk from the increasing threat of ocean acidification, a new report concludes.
This first nationwide vulnerability analysis, which was funded through the National Science Foundation’s National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center, was published today in the journal Nature Climate Change.
The Pacific Northwest has been the most frequently cited region with vulnerable shellfish populations, the authors say, but the report notes that newly identified areas of risk from acidification range from Maine to the Chesapeake Bay, to the bayous of Louisiana.
“Ocean acidification has already cost the oyster industry in the Pacific Northwest nearly $110 million and jeopardized about 3,200 jobs,” said Julie Ekstrom, who was lead author on the study while with the Natural Resources Defense Council. She is now at the University of California at Davis....

Ocean Acidification was a warning for a long time by scientists, now it is a reality.

Journal of Shellfish Research 34(2):565-572. 2015 (click here)

In the mid-2000s the U.S. west coast oyster industry experienced several years of significant production failures. This industry has been referred to as the “canary in a coal mine” for ocean acidification (OA). Industry-led collaboration with university and government scientists identified a relationship between elevated carbon dioxide in seawater and poor oyster seed production. This multiyear production slow-down resulted in significant economic losses to the industry and spurred state and regionally led initiatives to examine the current and potential future impacts of OA. To examine the perceptions and understanding of OA by the U.S. west coast shellfish industry, a regional survey of the industry was conducted, covering oyster, mussel, clam, geoduck, and abalone producers. The web-based survey addressed four general areas: experience, understanding, concern, and adaptability. There were 86 total respondents from industry, resulting in a response rate of 46% with 96% of respondents answering all 44 questions. Seventy percent of respondents were owners or managers of a shellfish business. Findings from the survey indicate that approximately half of the industry had personally experienced a negative impact from OA. This personal experience generally led to a higher level of concern about OA; however, self-reported level of understanding of OA resulted in slightly less concordance with the level of concern. Greater than 80% of the shellfish industry noted that OA will have consequences today, approximately four times higher than the U.S. public's perception of the threat. Finally, greater than 50% of the industry felt that they would be able to somewhat or definitely adapt to OA.

August 26, 2016

“The shellfish industry (click here) recognizes the consequences of ocean acidification for people today, people in this lifetime, and for future generations – to a far greater extent than the U.S. public,” said Rebecca Mabardy, a former OSU graduate student and lead author on the study. “The good news is that more than half of the respondents expressed optimism – at least, guarded optimism – for the industry’s ability to adapt to acidification.”

If the US Congress wants to act to help AMERICANS they can work with the fishing industry and protect our fisheries by over fishing of foreign vessels. The fisheries are being depleted of shellfish due to the climate crisis, but, it's fish are depleted because of overfishing.

Please ask the US Coast Guard to increase their patrols of the fisheries.

There has been a shift northward of fish in their habitat due to the warming oceans, so families with generations of fishermen and women are not as savvy as the fish. They need to be brought to new realities for their generation of talents and take on different types of fish harvests. But, they have to have a chance to find fish and right now the US fisheries are over-fished by a lot of competition that doesn't belong there.

That reality of overfishing is on both coasts.

One Canadian power plant failure does not define the USA.

See, there are energy companies in the USA that provide alternative energy sources. Their profits are important, too.

Washington, DC, April 11--Wind energy grew 28 percent in America last year, (click here) setting a new installation record and confirming its status as a mainstream energy source, according to the American Wind Energy Association's U.S. Wind Industry Annual Market Report for 2012, released today on a webinar for association members and reporters.
In its best year ever, the U.S. industry topped all energy sources with 42 percent of all new U.S. electric generating capacity. Over 6,700 new wind turbines were erected, which produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of 3.5 million homes. Overall, America finished the year with 45,100 wind turbines that can power 15.2 million homes.
The bumper crop of wind energy benefited the U.S. economy across all 50 states, through $25 billion in private investment in new U.S. wind farms, tens of millions of dollars paid to landowners and local communities in lease payments and property taxes, and billions in projected savings for electricity consumers....

Announcements and Events (click here)

Help for Coal Miners

We can help if you've been laid off from the mines. There's federal money for classes and training for you, your spouse and children. Even your gas and child care is covered! 

Running Out of Benefits?

Are you long-term unemployed, or have you exhausted or will you soon exhaust unemployment benefits?

Are you long-term unemployed, or have you exhausted or will Attention Veterans

Operation Opportunity Initiatives can help veterans during the job hunt.

Job Openings for West Virginia (click here) 

Now, do the US Senators want to explain how much this is about the people of their states? I doubt any of the Supreme Court Justices are for sale.

November 15, 2015
By Alan Blinder

Lawyers for Donald L. Blankenship, (click here) the former coal executive accused of conspiring to violate federal safety standards before 29 people were killed at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia, rested their case on Monday without calling any witnesses.

The defense’s strategy, which emerged Monday morning in Federal District Court in Charleston, surprised many legal experts who had been monitoring the proceedings. Mr. Blankenship’s lawyers had been expected to summon witness after witness in their effort to undercut the case, which jurors have heard for more than a month. Closing arguments are expected to begin Tuesday.

Continue reading the main story

“It’s clear that the defense team thinks that they inflicted enough body blows in the government’s case to justify resting now,” said Michael B. Hissam, a former federal prosecutor who worked on the Upper Big Branch investigation and now, as a lawyer in private practice, represents coal-industry clients. “This is an unusual strategy, though. The general rule of thumb is that if you feel strongly about your defense, you put your defense case on.”...

US Senator Manchin is wrong.

Coal fired power plants are creating 30 percent of the CO2 emissions of the USA.

The opposition is happy because they are getting political cover from FOX News. The carbon capture is not effective and there has been no resolution for years. The plant that is a model is a failure. The project is way over budget and over the time of delivery of the technology. IT IS NOT POSSIBLE.

Manchin is nothing but rhetoric.

The US EPA report that resulted in regulation. (click here)

November 15, 2015

An outspoken Democratic senator (click here) is challenging the EPA's controversial power plant regulations by alleging they are based on a failing Canadian project, saying it makes “no sense” to force U.S. coal-fired plants to meet new standards using unproven technology. 
“We’ve based our plans on what we should be doing in America to provide the energy people depend upon on a failed operation in Canada, and it’ll be another year or two years before they prove whether it can be done or not,” Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., told Fox News’ Bill Hemmer. Manchin serves on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee in the Senate. 
The Obama administration's Clean Power Plan seeks new standards to dramatically reduce carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants. The limits are based on what the EPA calls “a new efficient coal unit implementing partial carbon capture and storage.”
But Manchin, who has been a vocal critic of the EPA’s plan, says the final rule for coal-fired power plants is based largely off a still-developing power plant unit in Canada – the Boundary Dam CCS project....

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For years, heck decades, (click here) the Union of Concerned Scientists have sought to enlist the USA federal government to act to remove the dangers of the climate crisis by lowering greenhouse gas emissions. 

Finally, the USA has a government administration that sees the danger of the climate crisis caused by greenhouse gases and the age old power plants causing this problem, which is a national security issue, and is acting on it.

The reason Congressmen and Congresswomen are complaining about the regulations is because of their cronies.

The states involved never sought a better and healthier jobs with legislation or industry solicitation for their people. The danger to human alone to the lives of the coal miners and the pollution of the water and air, other than greenhouse gases, of these American communities is hideous and ridiculous. Even if the US EPA did not rule on the greenhouse gases the coal mines should be shut down for the pruely disgusting environmental dangers.

I don't know where everyone thinks they are going with this because there was already a case before the US Supreme Court.

Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency, 549 U.S. 497 (2007) (click here)

The US EPA has been DIRECTED by the US Supreme Court to act against the pollution of greenhouse gases. This is not politics. This is a court decision to protect the lives of Americans and I would expect a Democrat on this day following the profound tragedy in Paris, France to recognize the needed change in the energy sources for the USA. 

Shame on them.

US Senator Bernie Sanders had a in Cleveland, Ohio. It was a huge rally. (click here)

Drought in Syria has contributed to instability (click here)

November 15, 2015

By Justin Worland

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders used the terrorist attacks in Paris to call for action to address climate change at a primary
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders used the terrorist attacks in Paris to call for action to address climate change at a primary debate Saturday. But, while the plea attracted ridicule across the political spectrum, many academics and national security experts agree that climate change contributes to an uncertain world where terrorism can thrive.

U.S. military officials refer to climate change as a “threat multiplier” that takes issues like terrorism that would pose a threat to national security and exacerbates the damage they can cause. A 2014 Department of Defense report identifies climate change as the root of government instability that leads to widespread migration, damages infrastructure and leads to the spread of disease. “These gaps in governance can create an avenue for extremist ideologies and conditions that foster terrorism,” the report says....

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November 15, 2015
By Brad Plumer

One place to see this dynamic at work (click here) is in Syria's ongoing civil war. Few experts would argue that climate change "caused" the horrific violence in Syria (much less the rise of ISIS). That's too simplistic. But environmental factors arguably do figure into the story here.
The short version goes like this:

• The Fertile Crescent region (which includes Syria and Iraq) has experienced periodic droughts for many centuries.
• In recent decades, global warming appears to have increased the odds of more severe, persistent dry spells in the region. (See this recent study, led by Colin Kelley of the University of California Santa Barbara.)
• From 2007 to 2010, Syria suffered an especially brutal drought that, when combined with other social and political factors, helped foster civil unrest — unrest that later became the war that's still raging today.

For the slightly longer version, I'll quote from this 2013 interview I did with Francesco Femia and Caitlin Werrell of the Center for Climate and Security. Here's how Femia described the chain of events....

The crack pots from Oklahoma is back at the lies again. All of a sudden the climate crisis is a plot by Daesh. Amazing.

U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) reports that the adverse effects of climate change on the world extend not only to the environment but also to the political stability of nations.
In a report submitted to the Senate Appropriations Committee, officials from the defense department said that that global warming can aggravate existing international issues, including environmental degradation, social tensions, poverty, ineffectual leadership and frail political institutions. The DOD believes these factors could threaten peace and stability in a number of nations.

If members of the US Senate are stating there is a terrorist element regarding the Climate Crisis, they need to shut down the US military and start over again. The lies on the USA Senate floor today regarding the climate crisis are LIES. The USA national defense is on the line and they don't care!

I have a question.

Who in the United States Congress is real, real sorry they didn't pass immigration reform?

Candidate Huckabee the number is not tens of thousands, it is TEN THOUSAND. If Mike Huckabee can't voice his opinion honestly then he doesn't have one.

End of discussion.

Well, Sarah Palin admires President Putin and his dedication to his people. Being the great Commander and Chief she is she states all the allies have to go into Syria and annihilate people. 

You go get 'em, Palin. Sounds like you don't need allies, but, just a few nukes into Syria. Now, that is what I call annihilation. 

She says there is no Democrat that will protect American to stay safe and sovereign. Of course, she has the only answer that matters. She endorces Ted Cruz. Lucky, man.

Oh, here we go, God's omnipotence is all supreme and where does it say in the Bible "What do you do with refugees?" Hey, what a great idea, let's ask God to separate the Red Sea again.

Sarah can sell tickets and write a book about it.

I love these folks that have god on their side, it makes me feel so powerful. 

FOX says, "Ah, Oh, switch to warm and fuzzy stories and the weather of course. No statement about the climes crisis along with moving pictures of the tornado outbreak?"

Oh, well, I was so looking forward of Sarah walking on water.

Here comes Congressional dysfunction AGAIN!

Huckabee wants the US House to pass legislation banning refugees from the USA. Not even a Gitmo strategy huh, Huck-finn?

Huckabee is stating if the isn't legislation to stop the refugees from coming to the USA Ryan will be looking for a new job. 

Nice, real nice. Amazing.

Take a real good look, folks. This is a Neocon. He has a yellow streak up his back but it is covered by a faux front of anger and flag waving.

Neocons like Huckabee ahve a motto: "Kill, kill, kill." That is a real man of god alright.

November 15, 2015
By AFP

Berlin — Carefully shielding (click here) a lit candle against the cold pouring rain, Syrian refugee Ghaled, 22, had come to the French embassy in Berlin to pay tribute to victims of the Paris attacks.

"We are with them right now, just to help them with this crisis. What's happening to them is happening every day in Syria, 100 times per day for five years, so we know what that means," he told AFP. 

Ghaled was a student in dentistry in Damascus, but decided to leave the Syrian capital after seeing no end to the violence engulfing his homeland.

Like tens of thousands of his fellow countrymen, he first risked his life crossing the Mediterranean in an inflatable boat, before trekking for 17 days to get to Germany five months ago.

But just as he began looking forward to rebuilding his life with German language classes which he hopes would help him return to dentistry school one day, Friday's attacks that killed 129 people in Paris have raised fears of a backlash in Europe....

This is a map of Jordan (click here) where 633,644 refugees call home.

Jordan is 34,495 square miles with 6.459 million people.

The USA 3is .806 million square miles and 318.9 million people.

Jordan has been safe and sovereign for YEARS now. Why doesn't the Republican Party ask Jordan how they do it? In case the Republicans don't know, Jordan is an ally.

The Human Rights Commission of the United Nations needs to send lobbyists to Washington, DC to bring FACTS to the USA Congress, both the House and Senate. They are scared and are afraid the refugees will carry off an attack as in Paris. Kindly provide them with facts and reassurance about the people that will come to the USA.

Representative King is right there in New York and his offices can be found there as well as Washington, DC.

Representative King believes his special breed of politics rely on being scared for his people. New York, you know. It is time the people of the USA get real about being part of the world and being responsible for refugees and the Earth we all live on. They need to come to terms with the fact Sarah Palin can't walk on water. 

The Republican Party believes god is on their side politically while they reject the complete and offensive inhumanity of their political party.

THESE are your allies. Think about it.

BERLIN — Carefully shielding a lit candle against the cold pouring rain, Syrian refugee Ghaled, 22, had come to the French embassy in Berlin to pay tribute to victims of the Paris attacks.

"We are with them right now, just to help them with this crisis. What's happening to them is happening every day in Syria, 100 times per day for five years, so we know what that means," he told AFP. 

Ghaled was a student in dentistry in Damascus, but decided to leave the Syrian capital after seeing no end to the violence engulfing his homeland.

Like tens of thousands of his fellow countrymen, he first risked his life crossing the Mediterranean in an inflatable boat, before trekking for 17 days to get to Germany five months ago.

But just as he began looking forward to rebuilding his life with German language classes which he hopes would help him return to dentistry school one day, Friday's attacks that killed 129 people in Paris have raised fears of a backlash in Europe.

- See more at: http://www.jordantimes.com/news/world/syrian-refugees-brace-backlash-after-paris-attacks#sthash.vIWEiPv6.dpuf

I love the way talking heads actually act as if they know what they are talking about when they never even watched the news conference.

Ground troops in Syria and Iraq are not the answer. Besides the fact the Iraqi military has to act to protect their country, there is the issue of enormous amounts of munitions and fighting between FACTIONS. This is a civil war in Syria.

The war in Syria can be fought best by Hezbollah and soldiers from the crescent. That is the truth and that is what will occur.

If NATO troops went into Syria they would be fighting the Shi'ite forces backed by Russia as well as Daesh. It is not going to happen.

The global community wants to address humanitarian issues and the Assad government is looking forward to it.

The Syrian Refugees

It is okay and preferable to send troops into a hellish set of circumstances by those with the most backbone that want to war all the time, but, forbid refugees come to the USA because the Republicans want to shrink government until it disappears.

Brennan - CIA

That was an interesting speech. It was about a year or so ago, the USA military was visiting IT conventions and asking for people that are 'just that good' from the conventions. Do you know the folks at these conventions? Military? What is a military?

Where is Google? HP? Yahoo? Bing? Where is everyone? This is about YOUR country and the ITs of Silicon Valley are nowhere. But, Senator Feinstein can look the other way when Silicon Valley is on permanent leave from assisting the US military to meet their IT demands. Real good, everyone, real good.

Leadership is not about emotions, politics is.

What happened in France is a set back and so is the jet crash in Egypt. President Obama obviously has a strategy that he was satisfied is working.

Daesh is contained in Syria. ANYONE can get on the internet and recruit. That is a problem for the global community. Daesh is contained in Syria otherwise they wouldn't still be there. Interestingly, at the UN yesterday, the Assad government is planning a ceasefire which means there is more at work in Syria than Daesh.

Does anyone pay attention to the Obama Administration besides me? I guess it doesn't get the rating FOX gets, huh?

IF President Obama sounded annoyed and defense (which I question - his answers were lengthy and through) it is because he had to answer the same question three times. I'd be annoyed, too, if I made every effort EVERY time to make his answers clear.

Okay. Everyone is having a good time with their politics.

Russia states they have detected explosives in the debris of the jet in Egypt. I am surprised it came out. These new problems for Russia will cause disturbances in the politics. So, the next question is what has Egypt done to find the terrorists? And will the US FBI be talking about what they found.

The gun issues. Again. The gun rights lobbyists always believe if the guns were in the crowd the attack could have been snuffed out.

Does anyone actually think a crowd at a rock concert is going to carry AK-47s into the building?

Additionally, France's President Hollande spoke at their parliament yesterday and he stated something very interesting that should be a lesson to everyone. He stated that Daesh wants to change the lives of the people and remove their LIFE STYLE.

It can easily be said that the gun lobbyists that built up their membership and sold guns during the Bush years completely assaulted the life style of many Americans.

If the crowd was armed with hand guns in Paris there was the element of surprise and the fact they would be slaughtered no differently. As a matter of fact those that made it out of the building and found shelter from the bullets may have very well been dead if they STOOD THEIR GROUND. So, for those that believe standing your ground means survival, hasn't been involved in combat with only a hand gun.

I get it. I know all too well what the gun lobbyists believe and where that PHILOSOPHY is applied all over the world, the violence in the society escalates until the safety of citizens is out of their control and then requires brandishing at least a hand gun.

And then there is the enviable celebratory gun fire of Iraq and Syria.

Now, there is a lifestyle I can respect. It certainly is an inviting option for my grandchildren.