Donald Trump needs to recognize cultural differences when he sees them.

She is his wife and comfortable at his side. It was good of her to come with her husband. What I admired the most about this good looking couple is the longevity of their marriage.

Intolerance of cultural differences is crude. I found her particularly charming as she stood at her husband's side while he talked about a dearly loved son. As the gentleman said, "...(they) aren't usually this outspoken about any issue, but, they could not let this pass...."

Quiet and shy has it's virtues. Certainly, Mrs. Trump would understand the role of a devoted and loving wife.

July 30, 2016

By Phillip Bump

Donald Trump (click here) has spoken out about Khizr Khan, the father of a soldier killed in Iraq who issued a devastating critique of Trump at the Democratic convention.

Khan, his wife, Ghazala, at his side, demanded that Trump read the Constitution when considering his proposal to bar Muslims from the country, pulling a copy of the document of his pocket and offering to lend it to the Republican nominee. Had Trump's policies been in place, he said, his family wouldn't have been in the country, and his son Humayun Khan would not have served in Iraq, giving his life to save his men. "You have sacrificed nothing and no one," Khan said to Trump....

New Zealand does it better.

July 3, 2016

By Neil Reid

A teenaged cop killer has become a high-achieving student behind bars. (click here)

In September 2002, Daniel Luff was sentenced to a 17-year minimum non-parole period for the murder of 39-year-old detective constable Duncan Taylor - the father of an 11-month-old boy - and the attempted murder of detective Jeanette Park.

Luff was just 17 when he shot the officers at a rural Awahuri property, 12km from Palmerston North.

Now 30, Luff has become a high-achieving student, winning a Massey University "Outstanding Achiever's Award" and has written a research paper with Canterbury University academic Greg Newbold.

Luff is expected to complete a psychology BA with honours this year.

He wants to do a doctorate and then seek an academic career upon his eventual release from prison....

Cyanobacteria. I believe there has been outbreaks recently in ? Lake Ontario?, no, it was Lake Erie.

July 2, 2016

Stuart, Fla. – Jordan Schwartz, (click here) owner of the Ohana Surf Shop, said he wanted to cry when he saw the green slime — a toxic algae bloom — covering his swath of Stuart Beach on Florida’s east coast.

“Animals are in distress, some are dying, the smell is horrible,” he told CNN on Friday. “You have to wear a mask in the marina and the river. It’s heartbreaking and there is no end in sight.”

The economic impact is devastating, he said.

“This town is 100% driven by tourism but the tourism is empty,” he said. “You go to the beach and it’s the height of summer and we have empty beaches, empty restaurants, empty hotels.”

Gov. Rick Scott,declared a state of emergency midweek in Martin, St. Lucie, Lee and Palm Beach counties because of the toxic algae bloom that originated in Lake Okeechobee and spread to the beaches....

In order for cyanobacteria to thrive and develop this strong an area of a bloom, the nutrients have to be there. Cyanobacteria are usually found in fresh water, however, this area of Florida has estuaries which mix fresh and salty ocean water. 

The most commonly (click here) occurring groups of freshwater algae are diatoms and green algae. Blue-green algae, which are more correctly known as cyanobacteria, are also frequently found in freshwater systems, however, they are not algae but microorganisms that possess characteristics of algae (chlorophyll-a and oxygenic photosynthesis). They are found in fresh, estuarine, and marine (salt water) waters in the U.S. Cyanobacteria are often confused with filamentous green algae, because both can produce dense mats that can impede activities like swimming and fishing, and may cause odor problems and oxygen depletion; however, unlike cyanobacteria, filamentous algae are not generally thought to produce toxins. Freshwater cyanobacterial blooms that produce highly potent cyanotoxins are known as cyanobacterial HABs (cyanoHABs). However, some cyanobacteria species are capable to release toxins into the water without cell rupture or death....

There is also the Indian River Lagoon. These are all coastal waters that occur naturally. We live on a hot planet and these blooms will occur more frequently because the nutrients will occur more frequently. More biological activity, more nutrients. AND. There are issues of overland flow and pollution runoff from the land which is wall to wall condominiums.

The Indian River Lagoon (IRL) (click here) is part of the  longest barrier island complex in the United States, occupying  more than 30% of Florida's east coast.  The extent of the IRL system spans approximately 156 miles from Ponce de Leon Inlet in the Mosquito Lagoon to Jupiter Inlet near West Palm Beach

Whether anyone likes this or not, the cyanobacteria is pulling CO2 out of the air. It is not all bad news. At least from a scientific perspective. It is a shame it is happening on the ($$$$) 4th of July.

I never did think much of the federal Monday holidays, but, the 4th is on a Monday this year, so it really is unfortunate this happened.

She is a leader. She has wanted to move on from this topic for some time and it wasn't happening.

This topic needs closure. Recently, the Benghazi hearings came to a conclusion and this political volley needs to have a conclusion.

She is a leader. She is unafraid. She is more than willing to point to shortfalls of the USA Government. The FBI had originally stated this would be concluded in May. It is long past May. Will it go until November or later? 

I think she has asked for this meeting for the peace of mind of the American people. She wants them voting with confidence. 

July 2, 2016
By Chris Strohm, Ben Brody and Margaret Talev

Hillary Clinton (click here) was questioned on Saturday as part of the FBI’s inquiry into her use of a private e-mail server while secretary of state, a practice that’s dogged her presidential run, fueled Republican charges that she’s unfit for office, and caused Clinton herself to say she wishes she could take it back.
The roughly 3 and a half hour meeting, which took place at FBI headquarters in Washington, was confirmed by Clinton’s campaign. It threatens more turbulence for the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee days after Attorney General Loretta Lynch was criticized for meeting former President Bill Clinton privately on an aircraft in Phoenix.
“Secretary Clinton gave a voluntary interview this morning about her e-mail arrangements while she was Secretary. She is pleased to have had the opportunity to assist the Department of Justice in bringing this review to a conclusion,” Nick Merrill, a spokesman for Clinton, said in an e-mailed statement. “Out of respect for the investigative process, she will not comment further on her interview.”
Once it finishes its investigation, the FBI will make a recommendation to Lynch about whether to pursue a prosecution of Clinton or her aides, guidance the attorney general said Friday that she expects to accept....

Women don't have to be accepted on a global beauty standard.

They only have to be accepted by their own self esteem and PERHAPS a significant other. Dove has incredible products. I use them everyday. This is not a commercial. It is however testimony.

There is one other thing. Some women are valued as beautiful on a societal level. They have a right to be alive and enjoy life, too. They do not have a right to judge others though.

The billionaires feeling the Brexit vote in their stock prices might ask, why?

There are some values more important than money. Freedom is one of those values. That is who won the vote to leave the EU. It was not a foolish vote and the people were taken for granted when the Brexit vote was scoffed at. Recession and unemployment is not a guaranteed outcome. There is opportunity today that has yet to be tapped. Local economies should value any opportunity before them and expand on it. "Bed and Breakfast" has always been a good place to start up a local economy. Advertise on the internet. 

June 30, 2016
By Tom Sykes
...“Brexit (click here) means different things to different people, and everybody I have spoken to is trying to work out what it means to them,” says Roarie Scarisbrick of super prime property consultants Property Vision. “There’s a 50/50 split between clients who are worried, and putting everything on hold, and an equal number who want to rev it up, who see this as an opportunity to step-up their exposure while leveraging the currency advantage.”...

The average quality of life across the globe has deteriorated since the global economic collapse in 2008. The poor and middle class, where a middle class still exists, have to rebuild their lives without homes, investment or savings. The assets of the poor and middle class disappeared in 2008 and reappeared in the hands of a few billionaires. It is time for those that value money over others quality of life to reflect on the hatred of human dignity that lies in those values.

Land. The movement of people and the availability of land.

July 2, 2016

By Callistasia Anggun Wijaya

The Jakarta administration (click here) has predicted the arrival of at least 10,000 newcomers to the capital after the Idul Fitri holidays (Idul Fitri is a different language for Eid.) People tend to flock to the capital in search of opportunity, Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat said on Friday.

Jakarta has always been considered a lucrative destination for people living outside Jakarta. Approximately 70,000 new people moved to the city after Idul Fitri 2015, Djarot said.

While the Jakarta administration is open to newcomers, there is always a chance that the city will be burdened.

“Most of the newcomers are unskilled laborers, so it’s the informal sector that will benefit. We must record the newcomer’s data properly,” Djarot said at City Hall on Friday.

The administration plans to record data of all new comers to the city in what has been referred to as a ‘population operation’. The data collection is likely to begin 15 days after Idul Fitri. The city plan to use its Jakarta Smart City program to document the data properly, he added.

If it is found that the newcomers do not have jobs to enable them to live sufficiently in Jakarta, the city plan to send them back to their hometowns.

February 20, 2014
By Sanskrity Sinha

About 1,500 islands in Indonesia (click here) are threatened by the rising sea levels and are considered at high or extreme risk.
The islands will be under water by 2050, according to a latest report in The Strait Times.
Threat from climate change is worse for Indonesia due to several other socio-economic factors prevalent in the country.
"High poverty and population density levels, along with the concentration of economic assets in areas exposed to extreme events associated with climate change, exacerbate risks in Indonesia," the report said.
The report suggests that Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, which is about 5km from the seafront and serves Indonesian capital Jakarta, will be wiped off the map by 2030....

Magnificent. The bravery that was exhibited by the Bangladesh forces was unexpected and heroic.

July 2, 2016

Passers-by helped to carry the injured away from the Holey Artisan Bakery

Hundreds of troops (click here) have stormed a cafe in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, where gunmen took at least 20 hostages on Friday, security officials say.

Explosions and heavy gunfire were heard in the area around the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe. Twelve hostages, including four foreigners, were rescued, police say. The fate of the others is unknown.

Several of those held are believed to be Italian, and some may be Japanese.

The militant group Islamic State (IS) has said it carried out the attack....

They never live to win. The terrorists that carry out this madness never live past the murders. There was the Boston bomber that lived, but, he is on trial and contained in his hatred.

They don't live to gain influence.

The Daesh occupation of Syria is conducted to protect international criminals that were Ba'athists under Saddam. When do Muslims start to realize the deaths in Syria can easily be assigned to Daesh. The 400,000 dead is due to a civil war that served the purpose of international criminals. There is no holy war in Syria. The Ba'athists managed to instill the belief there was a Caliphate to reclaim. They are conmen because without their civil war they would be in prison awaiting trial and/or sentence. These so called leaders of the Calaphate should have been tried with Saddam Hussein. They hid among innocent people to build a faux god for their own purpose.

These terrorist episodes are lies. They have no god. They are killed every time. 

Mogadishu occurred in 1993. (click here) Bin Laden is dead and foolish Muslim men believe there is still a war to be fought. Mogadishu was twenty-three years ago. Those that fight a faux holy war are dead. They don't accomplish anything. If anything the world today looks at these incidence as an opportunity to learn more about these groups and end them. 

None of it makes sense. They are not acting in the light of Allah.