Is this the third week for Oklahoma and Texas. There is still severe flooding.

April 29, 2016
By KSWO and David Folkert

Lawton, Oklahoma - Tornadoes, (click here) large hail, and strong winds were all reported in a storm that passed through Texoma Friday afternoon.

At 3:30 p.m., storm spotters reported a tornado on the ground at the intersection of Highway 277 and Highway 281. A large and extremely dangerous tornado was reported near Agawam, OK moving toward Ninnekah, OK, at 4:15 p.m.

Massive hail, up to four inches in diameter, was reported near Lake Lawtonka. Other hail, pea to pear sized, was reported in Indiahoma, Cache, Elgin, Meers and Lawton.

Winds of up to 115 mph were reported and at least one mobile home and semi-truck near the Elgin and Fletcher area were blown over. Families in Fletcher reported damage from the storm.

Near Oklahoma City, there is a rain-wrapped tornado. The University of Oklahoma issued a warning for students and faculty to take shelter.

Northbound I-35 was shut down at mile marker 98 in Purcell, OK and southbound I-35 was shut down in Norman at Tecumseh Road as the storm approached that area. Highway 76 between Blanchard and Lindsey was also shut down....

There is a developing vortex from border to border in the USA. North to south and west to east. 

April 30, 2016

2030.17a

UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of north and west hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)

The wind map (click here) below is very telling. I hope I can make it clear what I see. It is a very abstract map. 

The center of the country is covered by the developing vortex. I think that is fairly obvious. The link to the map is posted in the previous paragraph. This continental system has been consolidating for the past 12 hours. But, it was pulling water vapor from the equator for the past day. Kindly note the system is pulling water vapor directly south of the USA. Why would that happen? It is physics. The greatest density of greenhouse gas heat is over the USA. That is why.

But, the west and east seems different from the primary vortex. But, if one takes a closer look the air masses are turning into the central circulation of the vortex. The last time I saw this happen we had twin tornadoes. The worst tornadoes usually hit at night when there this water vapor condensing with cooler air and the air turbulence increases. I hope that doesn't happen tonight, but, I would be remiss to not point it out.

Thank you.

The only human error was trusting the technology in the first place.

What did they think they were doing? The military stated they got word about the Taliban having a surface to air missile. So. That gives the USA military the right to cut corners? That is what happened here. The software needed time to open all the operating systems and the pilot(s) didn't think they had that kind of time. Really. So, they took a chance they would be able to take out a surface to air missile with partially loaded software. 

This isn't gross error, this is complete and utter misuse of technology that doesn't belong in Afghanistan anymore. Osama bin Laden is dead. The people of Afghanistan have to reject the Taliban. Currently, the Taliban are squeezed into a corner of land that straddles Pakistan and Afghanistan. The people of Pakistan had no problem rejecting the Taliban. Afghanistan has to do the same. 

So, the entire scenario is gross negligence. Somehow a surface to air missile was more important than human beings on the ground. It was flawed from the start. What if there was no drone to send into some kind of intercept? Then the USA would have to ground their helicopters and jets and planes until the missile was found.

This is ridiculous. If the technology can be this grossly MISUSED, it needs to be ended as a purposeful weapon in combat. This was a mindless drone that counts on computer screens for accuracy. There was no accuracy. People come first. A surface to air missile wasn't going to kill the people on the ground, so keep the flying machines grounded until the missile could be found. The USA military was grossly negligent of civilians. End of discussion.

April 29, 2016
By Gregor Aisch, Josh Keller and Sergio Pecanha 

Human errors and technical and communication failures (click here) led to a devastating attack on a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, last year that killed 42 people, the Defense Department announced Friday.

Sixteen American military personnel have been punished for their roles in the attack, but none of them will face criminal charges because a military investigation determined the attack to be unintentional. “This was an extraordinarily intense combat situation,” the top officer of the military’s Central Command, Gen. Joseph L. Votel, told reporters.

The disciplinary measures were unlikely to satisfy Doctors Without Borders and other rights groups that have said the attack may have constituted a war crime and that have called for an independent criminal investigation. The punishments were “administrative actions” that could include suspension or removal from command....

The 2014 elections in the USA was a complete embarrassment to the Democrats. Why? Because they played the woman card called, "The War on Women."

I would advise Puerto Rico to file their status with the United Nations. The humanitarian crisis should have been avoided at all costs to the USA. 

This can be viewed though ethnic cleansing outcomes. It sounds harsh but who ever thought Puerto Rico would be suffering to this degree. 

When the earthquake struck Haiti, there was significant relief sent by the USA. Why is Puerto Rico different unless it is based in racial issues known to the USA Congress with a majority of Republicans.

There is no excuse for this. 

Any ethnicity on Earth has the right to seek attention from the United Nations. It needs to start now and should have begun a decade ago.

Besides the obvious deterioration of Puerto Rico's economy, there are issues with Zika. That health emergency has resulted in travel warnings. Puerto Rico would be suffering from economic downturn anyway at this point in it's history as a USA possession. The legislature needed from the USA should include much needed humanitarian supplies. This issue is no longer simply some kind of mismanagement, but, is a sincere and what seems like permanent health emergency. 

When the Haiti 7.0 earthquake hit on January 12, 2010; the Congress was a Democratic majority in both legislative houses and there was no hesitation to the response. The USA military was even dispatched because of the turmoil. The USA's moral content is horrible under this Congress and getting worse with the awareness of these people.

Pence is establishment. It is the exhausted effort to stop Donald Trump.

Pence has always been Republican establishment even when he was in Congress. Establishment Republicans sell out to their funding cronies.

It should be predictable by now.

March 23, 2016
By Shane Goldmacher

The political arm of the Club for Growth, (click here) which has invested millions in ads to stop Donald Trump, is going one step further and endorsing Ted Cruz.

“Ted Cruz is the best free-market, pro-growth, limited-government candidate in the presidential race,” Club for Growth President David McIntosh said in a statement.

The Club for Growth PAC has never previously endorsed in a presidential race.

“This year is different,” McIntosh said, "because there is a vast gulf between the two leading Republican candidates on matters of economic liberty. Their records make clear that Ted Cruz is a consistent conservative who will fight to shrink the federal footprint, while Donald Trump would seek to remake government in his desired image."....

I've never seen so many people willing to end their political career in this election.

Cruz can go back to being a lawyer, but, for Kasich this is it. I don't know what he'll do besides politics. He'd probably be looking for a job on the assembly line.

April 29, 2016

By Jesse Byrne

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump(click here) is ahead by 9 points in Indiana ahead of the state's Tuesday primary, according to a poll released Friday.

Trump has 41 percent support among likely GOP primary voters, the American Research Group poll found, followed by Ted Cruz, at 32 percent, and John Kasich, at 21 percent....

While Kasich is in Oregon:

"My wife told me to go for it." (click here)

The USA is the only NATO hold out in Afghanistan and needs to conclude their mission.

The USA military has been in Afghanistan since 2001 and is still learning lessons. Isn't it just a little to late for that?

A full investigation needs to be conducted, INCLUDING THE TECHNOLOGY! There are former CIA, FBI and military intelligence in the USA completely capable of conducting an independent investigation. It is the very least we can do to Doctors Without Borders. This group facilitated the end of Eboli in Africa, the very least we can do is carry the requests of their leadership!

April 29, 2016
By Barbara Starr and Ryan Browne

...Doctors Without Borders (click here) says that more than 100 patients were admitted to the hospital when it was struck.

Pablo Marco, operations manager for Doctors Without Borders in the Middle East, told CNN Thursday that his group would continue to push for an independent external investigation into the strike.

"We just need to remember that since the beginning, MSF has asked for an independent investigation to really understand and to make clear what happened in Kunduz and that unfortunately despite the fact that the U.S. has had an internal investigation, this independent investigation hasn't happened yet and we keep asking for it," he said.

At the news conference, Votel stressed, "We extend our deepest condolences to those injured and to the families of those killed in this tragic incident," adding that the Pentagon was "fully committed to learning from this tragedy and minimizing the risk of civilian casualties during future combat operations."

"This was an extreme situation we were dealing with," Votel said, noting that the Taliban in the area were in possession of a surface-to-air missile, a rarity in the Afghanistan conflict....

The Mediterranean Sea has to rebuild it's reputation as a tourist haven.

April 29 2016
By Peter S. Goodman

The strongest economies in the eurozone (click here) — major exporters like Germany and the Netherlands — may have recaptured healthy momentum. But in the worst-hit countries — Cyprus, Greece, Ireland and Italy — ordinary people continue to grapple with the consequences of deep job losses and wage cuts, which have slashed away at incomes....

Ireland's economy is fairly new. Previous to the build up of a new economy the Irish economy was always soft. Ireland's leadership needs to work toward stability as mapped out in it's stability program (click here)

But, the countries of Cyprus, Greece and Italy have some real downsides of their tourism. Tourism is the second pillar in Greece. The Greek islands have been receiving refugees and some of those refugees have proven to be killers in Paris. Security has to accompany the Greek economic resurgence. This is one of the reasons Syria has to be stabilized and sovereign borders of countries in the region hardened.

Security can be an economy all by itself. The security doesn't have to be uniformed people. The streets of places like Corfu can have strolling security officers without a frank appearance, however, in difficult times the occasional officers patrolling can be rather reassuring.

There are points of pride in Greece in their family based shipping heritage and the vast preservation of the ruins. Security to protect those structures is paramount. We know what vicious militias do to long standing heritage areas. Greece has to boast it's humanitarian efforts while maintaining domestic peace.

I cannot imagine anyone who would not want to tour Corfu. It is an astounding place and it is still ours to marvel at with understanding to it's history. Greek cuisine is unique and not found anywhere else in the world. France has it's vineyards unique to it's country. Europe has significant history. All that cultural wealth should not be overlooked, but, exaggerated to bring about interest. The world's economy is not going to improve overnight, it needs to be nudged. But, as the uptick comes, hold onto the edge and keep pushing. 

The European economies that have been viewed as a place where killers hide have to reclaim their luster. There is no way Paris can lose it's economic base. The economic stability has to be maintained. Security has to be the very base of Europe's economy. Security cannot be lost. The authorities in France were merciless when hunting down the killers. That has to occur. Each countries instability enhance the potential for more. That cannot be tolerated. Security, security and more security.

Tourism for any country is completely dependent on the ability of tourists to afford travel. Countries have to bring about the growth of it's middle class. The middle class is where people can begin to afford travel. It is a global dynamic and it is vitally important. Wages have to move upward following 2008. It is all counter intuitive, but, it is where growth, security and the future lives.

Isn't there a from of tourism that allows SERVICE to the country as a method to improve the economy? I thought that had a dimension of growth.

Volunteer tourism. Security is vitally important in the areas where volunteers can concentrate their experience. Enjoyment is a part of the volunteer movement. Work during the day and dine at magnificent restaurants in the evening or however it works out. It is a cutting edge economic opportunity. But, safety of the volunteers has to be rock solid.

July 31, 2014
Carrie Kahn

As you plan (click here) — or even go — on your summer vacation, think about this: More and more Americans are no longer taking a few weeks off to suntan and sightsee abroad. Instead they're working in orphanages, building schools and teaching English.
It's called volunteer tourism, or "voluntourism," and it's one of the fastest growing trends in travel today. More than 1.6 million volunteer tourists are spending about $2 billion each year.
But some people who work in the industry are skeptical of voluntourism's rising popularity. They question whether some trips help young adults pad their resumes or college applications more than they help those in need....

The United Nations might have Peacekeepers to provide for areas where volunteer tourists can visit and experience the country's humanitarian effort. I think a lot is possible even if it incremental at first. The longer the security is established the more of a 'future' concept will manifest in the plans of the tourism industry. Sincerely good tourism demands the understanding security and safety is stable to attract the PLANNING needed for the growth of tourism.

"Future Think" and expectations delivered is very important to planning for tourists.

I think Greek shipping has always been a mystery to most people. It is historic with incredible beginnings and today with places of danger such as pirates.

May 17, 2013
By Ted Kemp

Like the Caribbean of old, (click here) the waters near Somalia used to be the most heavily pirated in the world. Now there's a new king of the pirates that's quickly become a headache for governments, shipping companies, cruise lines, energy firms, global conglomerates and — perhaps most immediately — for sailors trying to ply trade....

People love to learn about their world. And, NO, do not have volunteerism to experience what happens when a ship is pirated. But, there can be that aspect to any tour of a family's shipping history.  Demystify the world. Inquisitive people and surprises about reality.

Assess assets, find the curiosity to be satisfied and create a market. "The Lives of the Shipping Families" from the time of their beginnings would be something to explore. Safety on shipping docks have to be absolute without the ability for any tourist to be a stowaway. 

Scoundrels within a shipping family will bring about amusement. Every family has at least one.

Guns in the USA are probably boring by now for the collectors. I would think highlighting the gun culture and/or lack of it would attract many people to Europe. Reality based information with moral content. That is what people are looking for. They want to close the loop to modern day and how we got here.

Good luck.

That is billion with a "B."

1999 - US Military Budget - $382,700,000,000

2008 - US Military Budget - 
$754,100,000,000

The highest was 2011
$836,950,000,000 (click here)

In twelve years, (click here) the USA had entered two wars without end and had nearly tripled it's defense spending touching almost on a trillion US dollars annually. There is something very wrong here and we need to return to our sovereign borders and missions of humanitarian aid. Since WWII when we joined allies to win the war, the USA has been grossly lacking sound military principles or methods.

I'd like to say this movement's growth is a surprise, but, I do believe Bernie Sanders knew it would take over pessimism among young Americans. I remember him saying the USA needs a political movement to take over the country. He started with a few people, it grew into hundreds, then thousands and now he is a railroad train.

PLOW THE ROAD!

The worst thing that could happen is for his supporter to think they lost anything. Lost is what they were before Bernie's leadership. They have gained a political movement from a couple that profoundly believes in them, their potential and their RIGHTFUL place in demanding and invoking political change.

Right now the Democratic and Republican establishment can't believe what is taking over the USA. It is about time. Wall Street is forced to the sidelines and they are worried. I am confident they are worried. 

For those dedicated to a far different USA the idea Wall Street big money actually existed in cronies demanding influence is so very, very alien it is hard to understand why the corrupted can't see it. 

In the 1960s the American generation known as the Baby Boomers started to demonstrate to end "The Draft." At the height of the Vietnam War there were 300 to 500 dead per week. Every young heart and mind felt it. All to often it manifested as a funeral of someone nearly legally able to drink alcohol. 

The change came, but, it didn't happen in one presidential election. It happened over a few years. But, with every election the opposition by the 'educated generation' was felt and as the body counts showed up in the news it was evident the Vietnam War was not really a war in a country far smaller than Europe when the USA moved in during WWII.

A political movement needs tending. Occupy Wall Street was a great beginning. There needs to be more and more young hearts and minds moving into politics at all levels of government. The change will come. I promise it will. But, any great movement needs people to carry it forward. This movement is right, just and moral. 

By the way, there was 'the establishment' during the sixties, too. There was a counter culture that spoke opposition out loud. Long hair, far different clothes and there were days I used to wear my father's old air force jacket and shirt. There were times I would wear a college sweater with a tie. The jerks would call me Mr..... I loved it. I rocked the boat on a regular basis and argued opposition views with instructors whenever they had the guts to dive in. A girl gets a sexy reputation after awhile. I went to church every Sunday and still had a few party dresses. I believed in pushing the envelope in which ever way it would expand. 

Opposition culture is a great thing and it acts as a cohesive to know who ones friends are. Marches are vital. Organizing a million person march for change in DC works to make an impression.

No one knows what the DNC convention will bring. I do know though, the establishment of both parties are simply waiting for this temper tantrum to be over. I'd be damned to be called a temper tantrum.

By Phillip Locker

...Contradicting the cynics (click here) say Americans are hopelessly apathetic and conservative, his announcement has been met with a tremendous wave of enthusiasm. In the first day of his campaign 100,000 people signed up to get involved on his website and 35,000 people donated $1.5 million, more than any other presidential contender raised in their first day. By the fourth day of his campaign, an incredible 75,000 people had donated $3 million at an average of $43 per donation. Over 99% of contributions to Sanders were for $250 or less.

This campaign can gain a big echo among the millions who are disgusted by corporate politics that are making the rich richer while living standards for the rest of us are increasingly lagging behind. This is why first the Occupy movement and now the Fight for $15 have won such support across the country. It is also why there is increasing openness to the idea of a “third party” and explains how Kshama Sawant won almost 100,000 votes in 2013 when she was elected as a socialist to the Seattle City Council.

Unfortunately, despite Sanders being an independent member of Congress for the past 25 years, he has declared he will be seeking the Democratic Party nomination, a move Socialist Alternative has argued against over the past year....

The assault against Aleppo has been ongoing. The bombing of the hospital is tragic, but, with the USA bombing a hospital in Afghanistan, there isn't much room to criticize.

The red marker is Aleppo and the island is Cyrus. This instability is very near Europe. Turkey is just north of that white border line. The coastal Syrian land is where the Alawites had lived before the fighting forced them out of the area. Assad probably wants to stabilize Aleppo, hence bring the Alawite refugees back to their land. That is my best guess.

February 7, 2016
By Tim Lester
...Last week, (click here) the regime of Bashar al-Assad, supported by Iranian and Lebanese Shia militia, severed the main road from Aleppo to the Turkish border, a narrow corridor through which the rebels and NGOs alike moved supplies. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that several villages in the area were hit by airstrikes on Sunday.

A defining battle for Aleppo, Syria's largest city before the war, seems imminent. Regime forces and their allies on the ground, supported by Russian bombers in the air, are tightening the noose around the eastern half of the city, still held by a coalition of rebel groups. It's estimated some 320,000 people still live, or subsist, there -- under continual bombardment....

It would be far better if the civil war ended and a governance established. The West can pretend to have an enemy in Assad, but, what the region needs is stability and not quibbling over who is going to establishment it. It's not like there is an alternative. There needs to be stability and as soon as possible. The reason this hospital was effected is because the government forces are moving into the area for a final push.

I realize Doctors without Borders performs the impossible. But, sometimes the impossible is impossible.

One the dust settles and hopefully people return to attempt to RESETTLE Aleppo they will need hospitals. I am sure this was more than tragic from both sides of the military movement into the city.

Rescuers (click here) search the rubble of the MSF-supported al-Quds hospital in Aleppo after a series of airstrikes pummeled the besieged Syrian city on Wednesday evening. Screenshot courtesy of euronews

April 28, 2016
By Andrew V. Pestano

Aleppo -- Doctors Without Borders said its hospital in the Syrian city of Aleppo was destroyed by an airstrike that killed at least 27 patients and doctors.
The organization -- known officially as Médecins Sans Frontières or MSF -- has sharply condemned the Wednesday airstrike that local sources are blaming on Russia or the Syrian regime under President Bashar al-Assad. MSF warns the death toll is expected to rise.
"We are outraged at the destruction of Al-Quds hospital in Aleppo, Syria," MSF said in a statement. "The destroyed MSF-supported hospital in Aleppo had an [emergency room], an [out-patient department], intensive care unit and an operating theater. All now destroyed."
No official comment or claim of responsibility has been made over the bombing. One of the city's last pediatricians was killed....

There is always the possibility ti was purely decided on ethnicity. If there is a way of knowing it was a planned strike on Sunnis, it would take on a somewhat different light. The fact this civil war is along religious lines makes it somewhat difficult assessment.

This picture to the right is when Aleppo's market was intact and the center of life and economy. Perhaps re-establishing the market would bring back some degree of order in their lives. It would help distribute foods and water. The promise of survival is a strong force for peace.

Aleppo is the largest city in Syria. In that is the strategic definition. There is over 2 million people in Aleppo. A large percentage of Allepo is rubble. (click here) It will be a challenge to not simply roll into Allepo of end the killing, but, what does a governance have in place to try to establish the city again? 

Ted Cruz is power hungry at every turn. I hope John Bohner sets him straight once and for all. He never respected John Bohner. Who is Ted Cruz as a Senator someone to come to the US House and tell the Speaker what to do? 

McConnell didn't even do that!

Donald Trump does not have a problem with strong women. His wives and the mother of his children are not weak women. They are all business women. Pageant queens are not weak women. Cruz needs to stop talking, he is going to have the Republican Party arguing with him. He just needs to stop talking.  

Cruz is digging himself in deeper and deeper. He has no respect for authority. He didn't take his argument to McConnell and he had no right riding rough shod over the Speaker of the House. Ted Cruz has been inappropriate in most of his grandstanding.  

A political crisis? Oh, really.

Baghdad (AP) Vice President Joe Biden (click here) has arrived in Iraq for a visit intended to help resolve a political crisis that's hindering efforts to defeat the Islamic State group.
Biden flew overnight from Washington to the Iraqi capital overnight. The White House isn't publicly disclosing his itinerary due to security concerns, but Biden is expected to meet with Iraqi leaders.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is struggling to deliver on reforms pressed by protesters who are angry about corruption and political patronage. Al-Abadi has tried to appease critics but faces opposition from Iraq's entrenched political groups.
The Obama administration this month agreed to send 200 more troops and Apache helicopters for the fight against IS. But the political turmoil has become a distraction and diverted critical resources.

Let me guess with the arrival of 250 more USA military the Iraqi's are saying, "Here, you do it."

Not a good idea. The last time American hardware was placed in Iraq, it was used against the very people it was suppose to protect. Placing Apache helicopters in Iraq will only fuel the drive of Daesh to take control of them.

The USA presence in Iraq doesn't de-escalate anything. The USA should not be making more commitments in the way of military hardware. It is time to bring the Americans home.

We have NATO and other allies to worry about, we cannot intervene in Iraq, a country divided against itself, anymore. We should offer assistance to the Kurds, but, then Turkey turns around and kills them. 

The USA military budget is idiocy.

Global powers operate in defense of their countries. 

Every time the USA adds a new jet to it's Air Force it is met with other countries running to keep up. 

The more global the USA military is the more the rest of the world has to defend and attempt to match the power of the USA military. 

Given THOSE FACTS equates to the USA causing the defeat of it's own military. Every time a drone is deployed there is a response to that aggression. Americans named the USA's military the Defense Department. How is the USA going to defend itself from the self escalation of tensions and military armament?

The U.S. is the only global superpower, with capabilities and responsibilities that dwarf any and every other state in the world. And, as the below charts show, the U.S. defense budget reflects that reality, outspending all other nations by a significant amount. What is notable about the scale of the U.S. budget is not just its relative size to other nations, but also how many other of the major players (albeit an order of magnitude smaller) are close U.S. allies, like the UK or Japan, or unlikely foes, like India or Brazil. Only two of the top ten, China and Russia could be put in the category of potential adversaries....

The USA military is hideously out of control. If the USA military was a defense force it could never have invaded Iraq. The USA military is causing it's own problems.

The "Megatons to Megawatts" program was conceived because the spending on creating nuclear weapons was stupid. The number of nuclear weapons constructed during The Cold War could have killed everyone on Earth many times over. That was the result of the Cold War. When the USA built a nuclear bomb so did the Soviet Union. The two nuclear programs were completely irrational and out of control. When the Megatons to Megawatt program ended it had converted a total of 20,008 nuclear warheads to nuclear fuel.

The Megatons to Megawatts program IS PROOF of the irrational spending that occurs globally due to the out of control USA Department of Defense. 

If an inventory of nuclear weapons were conducted globally those same stupid ratios of bombs to human lives annihilated would still be the same. The potential to ending life on Earth through mutual nuclear annihilation is still very real. Not only is it still real, but, it is escalating. India is the most recent country to add nuclear armaments to the global stockpile. Every time a new country takes a nuclear posture to it's military, another neighbor decides to pursue the nuclear route. When does it stop? Is every country in every corner of the world going to arm with nuclear weapons? To what end? Never peace? Never economic ties that matter? The ability to kill mass numbers of people to what end?

The USA has to stop it's aggression. It's most recent aggression is now the Pacific Ocean. ??????????????  The Pacific Ocean ????????????? 

The USA military is completely out of control and the most recent pivot is proof. The USA has sovereign borders, we should re - learn to live within them.

Living within our borders while seeking diplomacy to end tensions and threats between OTHER COUNTRIES enhances the economics of world trade. Trade routes should be secure from pirates and not threatened by mutual assured destruction.