Storm chasers have been killed.

The feeder system was somewhat limited to the tornado, but, it was a half mile wide. There have been feeder systems within the last six months that extended far outside the tornado shadow. Some of the tornadoes have pulled tractor trailers over at a distance on a highway.

I think this is irresponsible. The view below has cars in the picture for scale, but, the storm looks like a haboob at this point.

May 9, 2016
By Enjoli Francis

Storm chaser Gabe Cox (click here) today described the "awe-inspiring" tornado he captured on video this weekend as he and driver Scott Peake traveled through Colorado, on the lookout for twisters.

Cox said that he and Peake had not been expecting to see much Saturday evening as they set out on their trek, equipped with Doppler radar and forecast models.

"The ingredients for tornadoes was kind of marginal," Cox told ABC News today, "and so when we saw the storm developing, it was definitely a surprise to us at how big and how powerful this tornado ended up being."...

Does Merrium Webster ever remove words from the dictionary? I have suggestion, remove the word "war."

Ms. Lewinsky clarified any doubt about humiliation and punishment for "...a consensual sex with Bill Clinton." It was media.

Everyone needs to respect her words. She was 19 years old. Get over it. She has.

May 6, 2016
By Monica Lewinsky and Photographer Mark Selinger

...After the scandal, writes Lewinsky, (click here) “I turned down offers that would have earned me more than $10 million, because they didn’t feel like the right thing to do.” After moving between London (where she got her master’s degree in social psychology at the London School of Economics), Los Angeles, New York, and Portland, Oregon, she interviewed for numerous jobs in communications and branding with an emphasis on charity campaigns, but, “because of what potential employers so tactfully referred to as my ‘history,’” she writes, “I was never ‘quite right’ for the position. In some cases, I was right for all the wrong reasons, as in ‘Of course, your job would require you to attend our events.’ And, of course,these would be events at which press would be in attendance.”...

EPI (click here)

The Economic Policy Institute has a unique way of assessing an employer to decide about raising the minimum wage.

Assessment to raising the minimum wage explores the moral priorities of an employer.

The arrow in this case, for the "Head Football Coach states (plus $7 million in additional compensation).

EPI has been around for several decades. They advocate for the middle class. This particular article discusses the return of overtime pay by the Department of Labor. It also points to the fact the pay scale of employers is not centered no the majority of it's workers.

I have never worked a job where I wasn't paid overtime for time over my regular shift and/or 40 hours per week. It is completely alien to me to realize Americans are not paid for time over their daily shift and over 40 hours per week. The 40 hour work week is under attack and has been under attack. I was also paid time and a half when I worked holidays. I was appreciated. I didn't mind to be asked to stay a few more hours or come in on my day off, within reason.

Employees are not appreciated anymore in the USA. They are viewed as an expense and with international trade agreements abandoned. There is a great deal wrong in the USA and how APPRECIATED employees are to their employers.

There may be a light at the end of the tunnel far sooner than expected as long as fire fighting continues aggressively.

The Canadians may be catching a break. If it is exploited to end the flames it might stop it's progression if not it's heat. This are oil sands and will smolder and give off heat for awhile yet. 

May 8, 2016
By Ian Austen

Edmonton, Alberta — A week after it started, (click here) the enormous forest fire that attacked Fort McMurray, Alberta, had abated enough on Sunday to allow police, fire and health workers to move into hotels within the abandoned city.
Although the fire was far from vanquished, lower temperatures and light showers allowed firefighters to check its progress. Rachel Notley, the premier of the province, said the fire was “quite a bit smaller than we feared.” Instead of reaching half a million acres as forecast, she said, it had covered 390,000 acres by Sunday morning.
The fire’s path shifted away from Fort McMurray into a heavily forested and unpopulated area closer to the border with Saskatchewan, said Chad Morrison, Alberta’s wildfire manager. The change in weather, he added, should allow firefighters to start applying a “death grip” on the blaze over the coming days. But fully extinguishing the flames is likely to take months.
“It definitely is a positive point for us, for sure,” Mr. Morrison told reporters... 

While Prime Minister Trudeau has not need for international help at this point, it is important to note the international community has an sincere interest in these events. 

May 7, 2016
By Globe and Mail with contribution from Mark Blinch

- Fort McMurray’s fire chief says 85 per cent of the city is still intact (click here)
- Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says 2,400 buildings were lost, but praised firefighters for saving 25,000 more
- Hospital, municipal building and all functioning schools were saved
- She’ll also be meeting oil-company executives to discuss next steps
- Cooler temperatures are expected to help firefighters get a handle on the fire
- The blaze will take months to extinguish, an Alberta fire official says
- Police found some people in the evacuated city
- Moscow has offered to send water bombers, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there’s no need for international help at the moment
- Analysts are scaling back their projections for Canada’s economic growth because of the fire
- Canadian insurer Intact Financial Corp. is assessing the damage, and suggests it is of “unprecedented” scope

They are high energy tornadoes. These are not minor tornadoes. The tornado two days ago was an F4.

May 9, 2016
2215 gmt
Weather Channel Current Temperature Map

This is only May 9th.

The stark differences in temperature between 43 and 78 where the tornadoes are occurring is unreal. The troposphere has lost it's water vapor balance.

The difference between these two temperature maps is 20 hours.

May 9, 2016
0146 gmt













The center of the vortex in the center of the country has been there for a while.

May 9, 2016
5:35 PM EST

Wind Map (click here)







The water vapor satellite below was the beginning of that vortex. 

8 May 2016
0130.19z
UNISYS Hemispheric Water Vapor Satellite









8 May 2016
1637.23z
UNISYS Cental Plains Enhanced Infrared Satellite

I find this interview by Chris Wallace very revealing.

He stated there are no laws defining gender identity. This is a sincere strategy to dominate the political dialogue going into November 2016.

"This is no longer just a North Carolina issue..." say, "Governor of United States..."

"The federal government discusses sex...." He basically is saying sex is not an identifier. By stating GENDER identity are the correct WORDS for his legislation he is manipulating existing law to seek legitimately. The federal government defines issues with the word sex. There is not an absence of law, except in the manipulation by the Governor of North Carolina and his majority dysfunctional Republican legislature.

If I may?

The country already had this dialogue and voted for an amendment to the USA constitution with a ratification deadline of March 22, 1979.

Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

Do driver's licenses in the USA state "gender" or "sex?" Sex is already an established and legal WORD in US law. The Governor of "oops" the Untied States, oh, I mean North Carolina wants to change the law making "sex" an act of affection rather than identity.

The people of North Carolina are hostage to politics. Not only hostage, but, ignorant hostages as well. The Governor of the United States McCrory is stating through his manipulation that voters are stupid regarding the very law of the land. He also expects Republicans to buy into his manipulation as a winning November strategy.

In the opinion of North Korea's Peace Committee, The West is painting an image that invites war.

BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes and Maria Byrne and cameraman Matthew Goddard were detained in North Korea. They were expelled after eight hours of questions and a signed statement of apology.

Kim is a different leader than his father. He wants to be taken seriously on the world stage. When leaders are taken seriously by the media they usually have government reform in mind that encourages and builds quality of life for the people.

At this point I think the BBC has an excellent opportunity to build a better relationship with Kim Jong Un. The three detained journalists signed a statement of apology. The BBC should seek to build on that.

Media frequently plays the role of bringing issues to the surface that allows authority to recognize a sincere problem and bring about reforms that benefit the people. Sometimes country's are victim to greater power, rightfully or wrongfully, that does not allow the path forward to a better quality of life for the people. I think media needs to deal directly with Kim Jong Un by offering interviews that identify the problems he faces as a leader in the global community.

North Korea is in a position of isolation. The Western media policies that handle reforms in governments are victimizing to the authorities of that country. North Korea's leader wants to be a voice in a global theater and not simply a target of hate for whatever reason found this week. If the western media wants to find a foothold to a welcome by the North Korean authorities it needs to build a relationship that helps the North Korean people through enlightenment of it's leaders.

It could be that Kim Jong Un has real problems with global power that does not allow him to adequately grapple with North Korea's entrenched problems that has existed for over half a century. I think it is the media's responsibility to find a path forward with Kim Jong Un to open dialogue with a global audience. Currently, the only image North Korea has is one of a hostile and aggressive militarized dictatorship. How does that serve North Korea to enter into a far different trade relationship with any country in the world?

May 9, 2016
By The AP
Pyongyang, North Korea  — North Korea's ruling-party congress (click here) on Monday announced a new title for Kim Jong Un, party chairman, in a move that highlights how the authoritarian country's first congress in 36 years is aimed at bolstering the young leader.
The news emerged Monday during the roughly 10 minutes that a small group of foreign media was allowed the watch the congress in the ornate April 25 House of Culture.
As a military band in full uniform played the welcoming song used whenever North Korea's leader enters a public place, Kim strode onto the stage, generating a long loud standing ovation from the several thousand delegates attending.
In unison the delegates shouted, "Mansae! Mansae!" wishing Kim long life.
He and other senior party members took their seats, filling several rows on a stage, below portraits of Kim's grandfather, North Korean founder Kim Il Sung, and father, Kim Jong Il, the walls decked with banners of red with the ruling party's hammer sickle and pen logo embossed in gold. Kim Yong Nam, the head of the North's Parliament, stood to read a roster of top party positions — calling Kim Jong Un chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea for the first time....

He knows Americans. He knows how to win. His candidacy is headed to the west coast.

May 8, 2016

By Jeremy W. Peters

The rift in the Republican Party(click here) grew deeper on Sunday and threatened to upset the July convention as Donald J. Trump refused to rule out blocking Paul D. Ryan, the speaker of the House, from serving as the convention’s chairman.

Mr. Trump’s warning was his latest affront to Republicans who have urged him to adopt a more cooperative and unifying tone. And it amounted to an extraordinary escalation in tensions between the party’s presumptive nominee and its highest-ranking officeholder.

In a series of television interviews that aired Sunday, Mr. Trump demonstrated little interest in making peace with party leaders like Mr. Ryan who have called on him to more convincingly lay out his commitment to the issues and ideas that have animated the conservative movement for the last generation.

“I’m going to do what I have to do — I have millions of people that voted for me,” Mr. Trump said on ABC’s “This Week.” “So I have to stay true to my principles also. And I’m a conservative, but don’t forget, this is called the Republican Party. It’s not called the Conservative Party.”...     

"Good Night, Moon"

The waxing gibbous

9.6 day old moon

72.3 percent lit













8:49 AM Tuesday May 3, 2016

Astronomers (click here) using telescopes at ESO's observatories in Chile have discovered three planets around a dim dwarf star just 40 light-years from Earth. These worlds have sizes and temperatures similar to those of Venus and the Earth, and they are the best targets so far found in the hunt for life elsewhere in the Universe.