Puerto Rico is our territory in the USA. Negligence of the people there is a human rights violation.

The WHO and UN needs to act with the CDC to prosecute the human rights violation the US House lead by, oh, what's his name, Ryan. Paul Ryan. Put his name on a document with the authorizations to the World Court and don't delay.

Local mosquito transmission of Zika virus infection (Zika) (click here) has been reported in Puerto Rico. Local mosquito transmission means that mosquitoes in the area are infected with Zika virus and are spreading it to people.

This level of hatred by Ryan and his US House is typical these days. Everything is always political. Well, it is time for Paul Ryan to grow up. There are people at real risk for heinous health conditions. Enough.

There is no excuse for these idiotic priorities. The same Speaker of the House approves billions upon billions into trillions on the F35 jet fighter and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. There is no excuse for NOT funding both Ebola and Zika.

This Speaker and House rather kill than heal. This time they are killing the wellness of infants. The Republicans claim to be Pro-Life, there is no indication of that.

Get on with it.

May 30, 2016

Orange County, Fla. — The Zika virus (click here) has already taken a toll on Puerto Rico’s tourism industry, now international publications are warning Florida could be next.
Some tourists on International Drive told Channel 9’s Nancy Alvarez they’ve been warned about the Zika virus, while others said they’ve never heard of it.
Visitors from Argentina said they heard about the virus when they arrived at the airport in Miami a week ago.
Kami Kallio told Eyewitness News she was warned about the virus back home in Spain.
“It’s all over the news,” Kallio said.
There are signs more tourists may have Zika on their minds as the busy travel season approaches.
In Puerto Rico, where more than 1,100 cases have been reported, tourism officials said hotel reservations have been canceled; it adds up to $28 million in lost revenue....

I'll tell you how moronic (and you will of course excuse the language) this asshole Ryan is. When the problems beset Puerto Rico to the point of collapse beyond any recovery the USA will have to respond and take action to end the suffering.

GET ON WITH IT. This is not a minor problem and I cannot imagine what it is to live in Puerto Rico and have this nightmare staring you in the face moment to moment. These mosquito are out and about during daytime. There is no relief from this. It is time to assist Puerto Rico and end the DANGER and not the SUFFERING of the future.

Paul Ryan might even understand the FACT, if the USA Government acts today it will cost less than if picking up the pieces afterward. Sometimes the CDC, UN and WHO just has to talk their plutocratic language. Don't leave it out, I am sure the World Courts will be appreciative of the real reason Ryan and the rest of the Republicans can't seem to identify humanity.

There is no choice in choosing between the funding for Eboli and Zika, they are equally as heinous. No one human being is more important than another. If anything Eboli is more heinous than Zika. The USA government has become a danger to it's own citizens.

The Trump University Documents

I hope the judge didn't compromise the proceedings by releasing documents because that is a problem for any appeal by the plaintiffs. If the Trump organization believes their position was compromised because the documents were released they may have a reason to appeal.

That said:

How many of the Trump University enrollees actually are participating in the lawsuit. How many students attended and graduated and how many didn't graduate? Are those filling the lawsuit people that graduated? Would they feel comfortable coming forward to speak to the media? Are there people who benefited from their enrollment?

The reason for the request of the numbers is to determine the percentage of successful candidates compared to other similar learning venues. We have had a great number of unsuccessful schools in the USA that received federal funds for tuition. Not all those schools delivered on jobs/success.

There probably are graduates that have done well. By releasing the documents their position may be compromised. There is also the issue that the curriculum will be duplicated by others. TU's (Trump University) brand is about the exclusivity of the curriculum. 

The definition of success by the Trump University is important as well. I think statistics are important simply because it clarifies the claims by people who obviously feels they weren't served well by their enrollment. 

The reason to conceal the documents may not have come from Donald Trump, but, his lawyers. I am assuming he listens to lawyers. Perhaps not. The proceedings were not reported by the media as if there were hearings, so I have to assume the dialogue regarding this Trump enterprise is taking place between the lawyers and the judge and not necessarily in open court.

Congratulations to the Washington Post for taking the lead on this issue. I hope the public will be satisfied with the media's coverage. 

There is no way of knowing for sure what the backlash will be regarding this, if I were a candidate I'd be cautious about the rhetoric. But, that is me. I believe in the truth and I think it is prudent to have the court come to a conclusion before espousing any lessons from this episode of the Trump enterprise.

The GI Bill has to be reviewed for modernization.

The GI Bill has objections to it's success. This is an interesting article in the New York Times yesterday. It addresses issues that should be among the public, including veteran advocacy groups, to demand clarification of the educational opportunities for men and women who have served.

The very online universities that provide worthless graduation certificates are the larger part of the providers in the GI Bill program.

May 30, 2016
By Alexander McCoy

My six years in the Marine Corps (click here) taught me the importance of learning the basics. When the Marines teach a young recruit to shoot, they don’t skip parts of the training. Whether you have never touched a gun in your life or grew up hunting every weekend, the Marines drill you in how to steady your sights, master your breathing and control recoil. Every recruit is taught and then tested in the fundamentals of marksmanship before he or she advances in basic training.College education shouldn’t be any different....

...But among some colleges, the A.C.E.’s dubious guidelines have effectively created a race to the bottom. Low-quality colleges, predominantly online and for-profit, which would otherwise be violating federal law by relying too heavily on federal student aid dollars, have a financial incentive to recruit veterans, whose benefits count as nonfederal funding thanks to a legal loophole. The A.C.E.’s credit recommendations provide these colleges with justification to offer easy credit, encouraging veterans to enroll with advertising that says their transfer credit policies are veteran-friendly. Unwary veterans are often attracted by the promise of a shortcut to a degree, without realizing that receiving a partial education will cripple them when they apply for graduate school or private-sector jobs....

There is advocacy for the veterans and the GI Bill, but, is it well informed advocacy, because the GI Bill should be providing real jobs for veterans, not empty promises. What GI Bill are advocacy groups actually backing?

February 9, 2016
By George Altman

The House of Representatives on Tuesday (click here) approved a bill that would cut, by half, the housing stipend for children of service members going to school with transferred Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.
The reduction, which would not apply to benefits already transferred or transferred within 180 days of the bill becoming law, was included to pay for other aspects of the legislation, according to a spokesman for the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
The bill, passed on a voice vote, includes measures on veterans health care, jobs and transition out of the military.
But the sharp reduction in the housing stipend, often one of the most valuable parts of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, has generated some pointed criticism and split military and veterans advocacy groups....

Opponents to those Congressmen and Congresswomen that have voted for this addition to the budget should not receive their seats back in Congress. The vote to limit the stipends is only one aspect of the GI Bill. The entire law that supports veterans into a better quality of life through education has to be reworked and made MEANINGFUL.

Right now the stipends is the only part that is direly important, but, the long term return on the very educations veterans are receiving under the GI Bill is in question. Advocates and universities should be working together to bring better outcomes for the veterans. This online mess has to end and for those disabled veterans without transportation they need to be reassured there is a reasonably good paying job waiting for them and not an empty destination for their graduate certificate.

The Democratic Party is not over. That should be evident when Secretary Clinton is leaving for California after raising money in New York. She hasn't got California cliched. That validates the Sanders' campaign claims.

I think Secretary Clinton has a real chance to win Sanders' voters without violating their ideals. She should find one issue they want and propose how it would pass a Congress and how it will fail. Making headway into any subject requires a Congress that sees the advantage for bill passage. Currently, the President is obstructed over immigration reform. How does the numbers in Congress have to change to pass reform and she see a possibility to pass a bill with the current Congress?

Hillary has to deliver. How is she going to do that. The truth on that issue is a strong and realisitic platform. That's my opinion.

Donald Trump states the press should be ashamed of themselves for raising doubt about the monies raised for veterans. He states currently the initiative has raised over $6 million dollars which $1 million was Donald Trump alone. He said all the monies are spent, but, groups have to be vetted. He states he received a letter from a man that received $100,000. He does not believe a private effort to raise monies has to disclose individual groups : "22 Kill" is a group receiving $200,000, "The veteran canine corp, Inc. received $75,000," etc. 

I think Donald Trump is legitimate about these monies. He is not a fool. 

When Donald Trump begins his national campaign against whoever is running every one of these groups will come out to endorse him on behalf of the veterans they serve. Tell me this man doesn't know what he is doing. 

The Libertarian candidate, former Governor Gary Johnson, was on NPR today. He is an interesting person and slices through the both sides of the aisle. He is not a flip-flopper. When asked if he would change his views to benefit extreme right wing agendas he simply restated the policy he already presented. He is someone a voter can believe, trust and knows where he stands on policy. Libertarians absolutely know what their votes mean. 

Liberty has a meaning and value. Gary Johnson does not waiver from it. He doesn't play with words and their meaning. 

Governor Gary Johnson has always been a fringe candidate. He and the Libertarian Party are excited about the funding they are receiving. It should be interesting, but, the Libertarian Party needs to keep the people that drink too much off the stage! 

Trickle down economics is a myth.

The Republicans lost their base because they lied to them in order to win elections and did nothing but make their lives worse. The most impoverished people in the USA are in red states.

The Values Voter has money and previously pushed their demands for religious based (social conservativism) government. The religious right ONLY provided guidance to be in God's graces and nothing more. The red states have the worst socioeconomic problems and are handed a Bible to resolve them.

Those behind Donald Trump want real relief from their economic disaster under Republican leadership. They don't want to be lied to anymore and if Trump takes them for granted when he is nominated he'll lose them as quick as the establishment Republicans.

Republicans focus on the wealthy in trickle down economics. Hello?

The very best example of how Republicans make their myth real is to dance to their victory on a Democratic established economy; "W" destroyed the Clinton surplus, declared an illegal and immoral war in Iraq and the economy was moving toward a crash the entire eight years. Every bill from 2001 to 2006 in the Congress was a spending bill.

Weren't those 'economic stimulus' great!

The American people paid for their own bailout in the way of government spending after the Clinton surplus was gone. The last breath of the growing recession was the crash of 2008. It initially was noted as starting in 2006. In 2006 the Democrats took the majority in Congress because the Great Recession was being felt in the country and people realized the Republican promises were lies. This was five years after 911 and the wars were realized to be wrong and losing legitimate grounds.

The Levantine Sea surrounds Cyrus and is believe to be where EgyptAir 804 found it's last destination.

The greatest depth of the Levantine Sea is 4384 meters is found in the Pliny Trench, about 80 km south of Crete. The Levantine Sea stretches over an area of 320,000 km². The northern part of the Levantine Sea between Cyprus and Turkey is called Cilician Sea.

4384 meters is a 14383.2 feet depth. That translates into 2.72 miles. It is time to retrieve the black boxes without excuses.


31 May 2016
By Guardian staff

Egyptian authorities (click here) have confirmed a distress signal was received from EgyptAir flight 804 when it crashed in the Mediterranean with 66 people on board.
A US official from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) also said an emergency beacon was picked up by satellites minutes after the airliner disappeared from radar on 19 May as it flew from Paris to Cairo, according to reports.
A posting on Egypt’s State Information Service website said investigators had “received satellite reports indicating receiving an electronic distress call from the plane’s emergency locator transmitter (ELT)”. The co-ordinates were being used to narrow down the search area, the statement said....

The facts surrounding the Snowden disclosure is already known as well as the dialogue that lead to changes in government attitudes and law.

The Obama administration should be able to come to a conclusion and offer Edward Snowden a reason to return home.

Carlyle is already off the hook for their invasion of privacy. Let's face it the entire scenario was about the license Carlyle took with American's information. Edward Snowden is a whistleblower and nothing more.

How did Americans think nearly a decade of government intelligence abuse would end, by saying pretty please?

The ONLY Americans demanding an outcome for treason of Edward Snowden are FOX News propagandists. Edward Snowden's life and freedom should not be determined by propagandists.

May 30, 2016
By Michael Biesecker

Washington (AP) — Edward Snowden (click here) performed a "public service" in stoking a national debate about secret domestic surveillance programs, but he should still return to the U.S. to stand trial, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a podcast released on Monday.
As a National Security Agency contractor, Snowden leaked classified details in 2013 of the U.S. government's warrantless surveillance of its citizens before fleeing the country. He now lives in Russia and faces U.S. charges that could land him in prison for up to 30 years.
In a podcast interview with CNN political commentator David Axelrod, Holder said that Snowden had grown concerned that the domestic spying programs weren't providing a "substantial" return of useful intelligence even before even before he revealed the secrets.
Axelrod is a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama, while Holder served as attorney general from 2009 to 2015.
"We can certainly argue about the way in which Snowden did what he did, but I think that he actually performed a public service by raising the debate we engaged in and by the changes that we made," Holder said. "Now, I would say doing what he did in the way he did it was inappropriate and illegal."...

Empathy is set aside when a child's well being is in question.

The Cincinnati mother who's child fell into the Gorilla enclosure is not guilty of neglect. It was an accident and the child is fine.

Is there any chance the barrier was altered in any way?

There is no second guessing the zookeepers and their experience with Harambe. They have the greatest exposure in knowing him and there is no greater knowledge than those caring for him. They are educated people that handle these animals. They don't do this work without empathy for the animal.

The question could be asked if with such a safety record did the staff at the Cincinnati zoo overreact. I don't think so. There could have been a tranquilizer used to bring about a good end for Harambe to these bizarre circumstances, but, I think peers have already responded with sympathy and in support of an excellent decision. Children are important people. There is just no doubt who's life was paramount when the staff came to their decision.

May 30, 2016
Saturday was first barrier breach in Cincinnati Zoo's Gorilla World since 1978 Opening (click here)

...The boy crawled under a railing and through wires and bushes to make it into Gorilla World before falling 15 feet into a moat surrounding the yard. Once there, a 17-year-old male gorilla spotted the boy and approached him.

After about 10 minutes of the gorilla handling the boy, the animal was shot dead by zoo officials to protect the boy, the zoo said....

I am sure at Harambe's age he had contributed to the existing gene pool of the Lowland Gorilla. It is sad loosing him. People invest a great deal into the protections of animals classified endangered. They invest financially, but, they also invest more importantly emotionally. This is a tragedy and can be equivalent to losing a beloved pet. The Cincinnati Zoo obviously respects that fact.

In all honesty, Harambe was acting magnificently in the circumstances he was faced with, but, he was a strong gorilla. There is no doubt the chance for injury would have become greater than had taken place. Administering tranquilizers would have resulted in a greater confusion by Harambe while trying to handle the circumstances before him in the only way he knew how. His lack of sophistication as a gorilla caused his death. There is no way of mitigating that. If that was the case, Harambe would still be alive with a successful rescue of the very young child.

Animals are not people, at times sadly so. They have strong instincts and rightfully so. I can't image the grief over the lose of Harambe, but, the professionalism is completely evident.

I might add, Harambe was at an excellent zoo with an incredible safety record. That was no mistake for this endangered species. The world lost Digit to poachers and the species could not sustain more losses like that. I am sure this placement of Harambe was not simply by chance.

Where does the "One Percent" live?

The best part of One57 is the "Pet Wash Room." (click here)

May 30, 2016

Billionaires' Row. (click here)
That's what New York real estate experts have dubbed a lineup of a half-dozen new superluxury skyscrapers overlooking Central Park that are home to some of the world's most expensive apartments.
One penthouse on the 89th and 90th floors of a skyscraper near Carnegie Hall that went for more than US$100 million seems almost a bargain compared to what will appear next year in a high-rise being built on Central Park South (click here for ground view living): a 2136 sq m, four-storey apartment offered at a US$250 million.
That jaw-dropping price was contained in documents the developer filed with the state attorney-general's office. Floor plans show 16 bedrooms, 17 bathrooms, five balconies and a massive terrace....

How are the public school infrastructures holding up?

A single Air Force F-35A (click here) costs a whopping $148 million. One Marine Corps F-35B costs an unbelievable $251 million. A lone Navy F-35C costs a mind-boggling $337 million. Average the three models together, and a “generic” F-35 costs $178 million.

In all fairness there are the advocates for the spending on this junk. Shh, don't use the word propagandists, because, the truth is otherwise they might tout their credentials as 'good enough' justification for the propaganda.

When the story broke (click here) about the Joint Strike Fighter’s shortcomings as a dogfighter, the reaction among JSF advocates was swift and predictable. Most objected that the F-35’s poor performance is perfectly acceptable and even expected because that jet was never supposed to do air-to-air combat anyway. That claim does not hold up well to scrutiny and rather begs the question of why the Air Force staged the mock air battle between an F-35 and an F-16 in the first place. Probably because, as the Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Mark Welsh explained in December of 2013, “You have to have the F-35 to augment the F-22 to do the air superiority fight.” In other words, the USAF needs the F-35 to be a dogfighter....

On the Monday before Memorial Day...

When we separate the soldier from the war it is possible to create propaganda that supports illegal wars.

It is stated one percent of Americans protects the USA. There should be less and not more to deploy them into regions of combat where we don't belong. 

Jack Jacobs is a propagandist. He states if there were more Americans that served in the military, PTSD would not be such an issue in the American landscape. That is a complete lie. PTSD is not caused by society. It shows up while military personnel are in the society and have issues they didn't in battle. Having more people effected by PTSD is not the answer to not noticing it.

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter stated, "Security is like oxygen, you don't notice it until it is gone." This is a quote from Joseph Nye, (click here) a professor on international relations, writer, and political advisor. He’s a bit of a personal hero for all of the positive things he’s done to make the world a better place, and it was interesting to hear Taiwanese quote him this week....

Joseph Nye was a writer, not a soldier. I think those words apply more to "W"s administration than any war that could be fought. The freedoms removed from Americans has been completely hideous.

Osama bin Laden is dead and the war in Afghanistan is a civil war as are the conflicts in Iraq. The outbreak of anarchy in Syria in the manifestation of Daesh is a foregone conclusion a result of the illegal war of the USA into Iraq. And who is suffering the most in The West from the outbreak of anarchy in the form of Daesh? Mainland Europe is suffering because Daesh and the USA's illegal invasion into Iraq. Allies such as Turkey and Jordan have far more refugees as the result of Daesh's rise to prominence in the middle east.

The words "...the last full measure of devotion..." comes from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. 

Does anyone want to explain how the USA Civil War relates at all to the mess the USA military is involved today?

Memorial Day is NOT about veterans. Politics takes advantage of the living when attending Memorial Day ceremonies. Propaganda and the loss of the focus on our dead.

Propagandists. That is who is speaking today on the Monday before Memorial Day 2016.

I should state the traditional Memorial Day is May 30th. This year is simply happenstance and nothing more. No one should confuse the issue with respect or the USA war dead.

From "Fortune" magazine, the news about cancer is nothing to worry about.

The death of Johnnie Cochran at the age of 67 was a surprise to everyone. According to his family the brain tumor that killed him was very rare. Ever since then cell phones have been investigated for causing brain tumors. I think people that disregard reasonable concern open themselves up for danger and in this case it is brain AND heart cancer. Why heart cancer? Because cell phones are frequently carried in left hand pockets in a shirt or inside a jacket.

I think Fortune magazine is irresponsible. They should publish the facts, but, with a tone that cancers are still a concern.

No one can simply look the other way when brain tumors AND heart cancer (not necessarily in the same person) are finding common factors in cell phones. Heart cancer was extremely rare.

May 29, 2016
For a start, (click here) while there were slight increases in some types of cancer in male rats in the study, Carroll points out that female rats were treated to the same signals—and there was no increase in their cancer rates. And a statistically significant increased incidence of brain cancer for male rats was only found for CDMA signals, not GSM.

That’s surprising because, while real-world GSM phones emit more radiation than CDMA phones, the experimental radiation exposure levels were held constant between parallel groups. And since the main difference between GSM and CDMA is their data standard, there should only be different impacts if DNA could be corrupted by binary code....

The study. Rodent are used for such studies for important reasons.

National Toxicology Program (click here)

May 26, 2016  (PDF - click here)
Authors: Michael Wyde, Mark Cesta, Chad Blystone, Susan Elmore, Paul Foster, Michelle Hooth, Grace Kissling,David Malarkey, Robert Sills, Matthew Stout,  View ORCID ProfileNigel Walker, Kristine Witt, Mary Wolfe, John Bucher

The US National Toxicology Program (NTP) (click here) has carried out extensive rodent toxicology and carcinogenesis studies of radiofrequency radiation (RFR) at frequencies and modulations used in the US telecommunications industry. This report presents partial findings from these studies. The occurrences of two tumor types in male Harlan Sprague Dawley rats exposed to RFR, malignant gliomas in the brain and schwannomas of the heart, were considered of particular interest, and are the subject of this report....

Okay, this is outrageous. A game developer is getting death threats on PlayStation?

This is how completely stupid the world has become. A game is more important than life. There needs to be arrests and convictions. Next thing will be court awards for disappointment.

May 30, 2016

One of the developers (click here) of the highly-anticipated No Man's Sky says he has received death threats after confirming a six-week delay to the release date of his game.

Confirming last week's rumour, Hello Games developer Sean Murray wrote on the PlayStation Blog that "some key moments needed extra polish".

As a result, the space exploration game is releasing on August 9 on Playstation 4 and PC, rather than the original date of June 21.

"We understand that this news is disappointing," wrote Murray. "We hope you'll accept our sincere apology and I am humbly asking that you'll still look forward to exploring our universe despite the slight delay."

Following the announcement, Murray says he received death threats from gamers angry about the delay....