How many African American jockeys have won the Triple Crown of Horse Racing.

January 20, 2017
By Linda Blackford

Jockey Isaac Murphy won the Kentucky Derby three times in the late 1800s. Keeneland Library

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/living/article127647019.html#storylink=cpy

Over the past few years, (click here) historians have gradually unveiled the rich history of black jockeys in the 19th-century United States.

At the International Museum of the Horse at the Kentucky Horse Park, director Bill Cooke has been working on a permanent exhibit of this important — but long ignored — part of equine history. “Black Horsemen of the Kentucky Turf” is scheduled to open in 2018.

“But it just kept turning into a much bigger story than I thought it was,” Cooke said in a recent interview. “There were so many major points that needed to be addressed to even understand what happened around Lexington, not to mention the rest of the country.”

And those points went beyond the Kentucky Derby-winning jockeys Isaac Murphy and Jimmy Winkfield, who dominated 19th-century racing....

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/living/article127647019.html#storylink=cpy

This is no surprise, "W" did the exact same thing.

January 23, 2017
By Jessie Hellmann

President Trump on Monday (click here) reignited the war over abortion by signing an executive order blocking foreign aid or federal funding for international nongovernmental organizations that provide or "promote" abortions.

The so-called Mexico City policy, established by Republican President Ronald Reagan in 1984, blocks federal funding for international family planning charities that provide abortions or "promote" the procedure by providing patients with information about it, including by offering referrals to abortion providers.

Referred to by critics as the "global gag rule," the policy has been subjected to a game of political football over the years, with Democratic presidents rescinding the policy upon taking office, as President Obama did in 2009, and Republican presidents reinstating it.

The move comes amid a roiling public debate about women’s rights, jump-started Saturday by women’s marches held in major cities around the world....

It has been a long time since USA money assisted other countries to improve their quality of life by curtailing large population growth. Such initiatives provided for longevity for women. The countries served by such funding should have developed their own compounding pharmacies and/or pharmaceutical manufacturing to bring quality birth control to women. 

USA funding should never be forever, but, should provide a beginning that sustains until a country can service their own citizen's needs. If I remember correctly, in some areas of Africa they are producing their own HIV/AIDS drugs. 

January 11, 2017
By Clare 

...Africa is in a transition phase, (click here) on its way to achieving adherence to global standards, such as the WHO pre-qualification for manufacturing. Local production is regarded as a key strategy for sustained access to quality-assured medicines for the long term. The regulatory environment for manufacturing in regions such as East Africa seems to grow rapidly, owing to regional harmonisation. Healthcare coverage is expected to expand to a greater proportion of the population through National Health Insurance (NHI) initiatives, as well as through memberships with private health insurance providers, particularly among the emerging middle class.

South Africa remains as the best established region for pharmaceutical manufacturing in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the local manufacturing markets in East and West Africa are relatively well developed and positioned to grow. A bulk of Africa-based pharmaceutical companies that are developing medicines have simple formulations and mixtures, which are easy to do. Technology transfer is paramount to developing the manufacturing sector in Africa, particularly as the disease burden is changing. There is a paradigm shift coming from the lower end to the higher end of adoption of complex formulations, in line with treatment guidelines, especially in HIV and AIDS and NCDs.

This research service presents findings on 2 fast-growing pharmaceutical markets in sub-Saharan Africa: Kenya and Nigeria....

This is exactly what should be occurring all over the globe. Societies growing in education, expertise and the ability to solve the problems of their own people. There is nothing wrong in offering or asking for help to accomplish manufacturing of pharmaceuticals for Africa, but, don't keep other countries dependent and poor. It is not the American way.

There is much to be discussed with Burnei, including the rights of women. The TPP would not provide a strong platform for such efforts.

15th century - Islamic sultanate of Brunei (click here)nominally in control of Borneo, including Sabah and Sarawak state of Malaysia, and some parts of the Sulu islands in the Philippines.

1888 - Brunei becomes a British protectorate.

1963 - Brunei chooses to remain a British dependency rather than join the Federation of Malaysia.

1967 - Hassanal Bolkiah becomes sultan following the abdication of his father, Sultan Omar.

1984 - Brunei becomes independent.

2014 - Brunei becomes the first East Asian country to adopt Islamic sharia law despite widespread international condemnation.

Brunei needs to protect it's beauty as a tourist destination. A few hotels with exclusive experiences will bring the country it's most dignity. That is the type of trade deals that are respectable to the values and morals of the American people.

Brunei is an experience and not a production plant. The cultural items produced by the people can be marketed abroad while exclusive items sold only in the country. Brunei's petroleum industry is well known, but, the demand is falling and the price is still to volatile to make good predictions. Shell petroleum and a state owned industry round out the Brunei wealth, but, it is time to move on and begin a new focus to Brunei's wealth and it is it's people, their talent and their educated young people.

Brunei can stock up on film supplies, too. It can never have too much. Perhaps domestic sophisticated services to serve every need of any photographer. In such luxury the filming will never end.

National security is important as well.

President Trump should post the document he signed on the White House page and Hillary Clinton needs to take a lesson.

I am glad it is gone. He promised he would end it and he did.

All the doom sayers should end their dire bad times ahead warning.

The USA is not ending trade, it is negotiating with every country interested in trading with the USA. Global Trade Agreements are silly and hideous; they lump countries together and it serves the least purposeful trade possible while Wall Street walks away with everything.

Every country is different. Their cultures are different and their economic structure and infrastructure are different. The best for each country is to learn the strength they have in trade and open talks to have trade flow both ways. I don't buy the idea China is walking away with the Pacific. That is nonsense. 

The Mexican President is already asking the Pacific countries for trade deals. That is the way it is supposed to be. 

23.01.17

Mexico City — The White House confirmed (click here) earlier on Monday that US President Donald Trump had signed an executive order starting the withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement.

"Mexico will immediately start talks that would lead to bilateral agreements [with TPP signatories]," Nieto said.

The TPP free trade deal, covering 40 percent of the global economy, was signed last February by Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, and the United States....

Pence has no right to gloat. 

October 4, 2016
By Gary Shapiro

...As a congressman, (click here) Pence voted to support every trade deal that he was asked to consider. As governor, Pence wrote the following to the Indiana Congressional delegation:

“I encourage your support for Trade Promotion Authority, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and any other trade-related measures when they are brought before the Congress for consideration.”...

The way it is suppose to work is that a president goes to another country agreeing on good relations. There should not be lobbyists in tow or prearranged 
Wall Street contracts. The way it used to work is for a foreign country to begin science and cultural exchanges. I am sure China and Russia remember those days. But, what grows out of such GOOD WILL are potentials for each country to expand the sale of goods they already produce.

What also comes out of such presidential trips and/or state dinners are agreements to limit any hostilities AS WELL AS commercial trade. The trade between the two countries should not begin with Wall Street and lobbyists, it should begin WITH REAL FRIENDSHIPS AND RELATIONS. Peace before war and exchange of current goods without outsourcing American jobs.

Does that sound in the least realistic? It was and it should be. Good relations, calm diplomatic missions and the OPPORTUNITY for foreign countries to invite American businesses to BUILD jobs in their country that will improve THE QUALITY OF LIFE of the people that would be their employees, INCLUDING GOOD WAGES so the employees can buy the products as well as manufacturer them.

January 23, 2017
By Ylan Q. Mui

President Trump (click here) began recasting America’s role in the global economy Monday, canceling an agreement for a sweeping trade deal with Asia that he once called a “potential disaster.”

Trump signed the executive order formally ending the United States’ participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership in the Oval Office after discussing American manufacturing with business leaders in the Roosevelt Room. The order was largely symbolic — the deal was already essentially dead in Congress — but served to signal that Trump’s tough talk on trade during the campaign will carry over to his new administration.

Trump did not directly address the North American Free Trade Agreement on Monday as he had promised during the election. However, he repeated his threat to punish U.S. companies that build factories overseas and ship products back home — a charge he has primarily leveled at automakers with operations in Mexico. And his hard-line opening stance could portend a contentious renegotiation of the 22-year-old deal with Mexico and Canada that Trump’s senior advisers have called a top priority for the new administration.

“This abrupt action so early in the Trump administration puts the world on notice that all of America's traditional economic and political alliances are now open to reassessment and renegotiation,” said Eswar Prasad, trade policy professor at Cornell University. “This could have an adverse long-run impact on the ability of the U.S. to maintain its influence and leadership in world economic and political affairs.”...

The One China Global Trade Arrangements are over !!!!!

The Chinese wanted to monopolize the manufacturing sector in the world. Sure, if Wall Street and the global economy actually worked that way, but, it doesn't.

China invested a great deal in ports and cranes around the world, but, it never stopped to realize it had to import as well as export. China did it "The Wall Street" way and without a clear understanding of what the priorities of trade would be. China did not treat it's people with respect, it bent a knee to oligarchs.

The American people look at their counter part in other countries and no matter how long China has monopolized the manufacturing sector, the people of China have not improved their status for the most part. There is an emerging Middle Class in China, but, that should have been China's priority from the beginning. I don't know if China was played for a fool in allowing Wall Street to walk all over it and the world in general or if China was THAT RUTHLESS. I think not. I think China, in the beginning of it's capitalism, received bad advice. China was exploited rather than DEVELOPED.

It was always curious as to China's official visits to the USA with shunned leadership and incomplete diplomatic missions. Let's just say, "China wasn't invited to dinner."

Why? China was doing exactly what was expected of it, so why the cold shoulder?

Oh, human rights abuses. Is that it? How many human rights abuses in China occurred because of the oligarchs of greed and Wall Street profits. Who in China has actually been responsible for the human rights abuses, China or it's trading partners?

But, the relationship with Chinese workers extends back a long time and they weren't treated with respect then. So maybe the real exploitation of the Chinese people belongs to Americans.

...Mine owners (click here) have a long history of exploiting workers. After buying the mineral rights in a region, usually at a paltry sum, the company would offer employment to the typically poor and uneducated locals on the land. Race relations were often tense in the coal camps, as coal companies frequently used the mistreatment of and prejudices against African American, Chinese, and Italian workers as tools to keep white workers complacent. These minority workers were also often brought in as replacement workers should a strike occur, which angered white miners....

Hapless and helpless, that was the beginning of the financial empires back in the day. Minorities, children and the poor were all fair game for the hardest, dirtiest and most dangerous jobs in the country.

So, if the USA is to have a conscience and returns good pay to the American Middle Class, that is good for everyone. 

See when Americans make good money, they have confidence in the world they live, they purchase goods made domestically and abroad. And those items purchased in the USA but made in places like China or Brunei brings good purchase prices because they are MADE WELL, not because they are cheap and will fall apart in six months, only to be purchased again on Black Friday for gifts for Christmas that will fall apart in six months.

Good quality products, fair prices, well paid workers and growing middle class in every country the USA touches. THAT IS THE AMERICAN WAY and not the Wall Street way.

Oh, yeah, as to quality of life of the people; there is also areas of quality of life that must end and be proven to end such as child labor and pollution. Some of the best news I ever heard out of China came in February 2016.

February 29, 2016

China will lay off about 1.8 million steel and coal workers (click here) as President Xi Jinping drives efforts to cut the country’s industrial overcapacity and reform it’s bloated state-run enterprises.

About 1.3 million workers in the coal industry and 500,000 in steel will be cut, Yin Weimin, human resources and social security minister, said Monday, according to a transcript posted on the government’s website. The employees would be reallocated, Yin said, without providing further details.

The world’s largest steel and coal producer is seeking to ease a glut of industrial capacity as its economy shifts toward consumer-led growth and as it tries to curb pollution. The government has set up a 100 billion yuan ($15.3 billion) fund to be spent over two years to help companies resettle workers cut during restructuring....

China came of age and realized it was foolish all these decades to entertain the wealthy at the expense of it's poor. China finally came to terms with the reality that being a world class power means having moral and ethical treatment for it's own people.

It is safe to say consumer confidence is not at an all time high.

President Trump needs a session with Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen.

Look, I don't care if Wall Street disappears over the horizon and never comes back, but, the Trump administration needs a session with Chairwoman Yellen, like it or not.

This is not difficult; when the USA Dollar drops the national debt and deficit goes up without spending another dime.

One of the nonsense issues that always plays out with presidents and the media is the CONFIDENCE of Wall Street to make investments. Do I care about Wall Streets' confidence? No. What I do care about is the stability of the USA Dollar. The USA is a steadfast democracy with strong capitalism as it's economic basis. That should be enough to anchor the USA Dollar as a sound investment in any market. Our USA Bonds are the best in the world when it comes to stability, but, what can impact the dollar are stupid investors.

January 23, 2017

The New Zealand dollar rose above 72 US cents (click here) as investors remain uneasy about what US President Donald Trump will deliver in his much-anticipated infrastructure spending programme.

The kiwi gained to 72.02 US cents as at 5pm in Wellington from 71.56 cents at 8am and 71.66 cents on Friday in New York. The trade-weighted index was little changed at 78.65 from 78.69 last week.

The greenback has come under pressure as investors second-guess the extent of Trump's promised infrastructure spending, which is seen as adding inflationary pressures to the world's biggest economy. Trump campaigned on a platform of increased spending, tax reform, and protectionist trade and immigration policies, though detail remains scant since his inauguration on January 20....

Yes, I said that correctly. Stupid investors. They are not interested in using their education, but, only computers that figure derivatives and all that mess. Why computers? Really? Like I said, stupid investors. When the global economic recession, the largest in history besides the Great Depression hit, there was not a Wall Street executive that could explain derivatives or swaps. All these bozos knew was that if they gambled with derivatives ( dy/dx ) and lost they could get their money back with credit default swaps.

Leibniz's notation  d(3x³)/dx = 9x²

If anyone wants to know if the broker throwing around the investment in derivatives and credit default swaps is worthy of trust ask them this.

"Do you know anything about Leibniz's notation?"

But, as to the USA Dollar, President Trump needs to speak with Chairwoman Yellen for a session in the value of the USA dollar and how it is maintained and enhanced. It should be interesting.

January 19, 2017 (Pre-Trump uncertainty)
By Reuters

The US dollar rose (click here) and stocks also gained ground on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen suggested the US central bank was ready to raise interest rates quickly this year.

US Treasury yields rose too after Yellen said “waiting too long to begin moving towards the neutral rate could risk a nasty surprise down the road – either too much inflation, financial instability, or both.”

Oil futures tumbled, however, dragging down the energy sector index , which was one of the biggest weights on the S&P 500....

A tornado outbreak in January and 19 Americans known dead.

January 23, 2017
1230.18z
UNISYS GOES East Water Vapor Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)

This is the current satellite picture of the east coast of North America. The torndoes were coming from the high troposphere.

January 23, 2017

An outbreak of tornadoes (click here) tore through parts of the Deep South from January 21-22, 2017. At least 19 deaths are being blamed on severe weather across the Deep South and Gulf Coast.

From the morning of January 21 through January 22, 37 reports of tornadoes were received by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center in five southern states from Louisiana to South Carolina.

A deadly EF3 tornado touched down in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, early on January 21, which caused considerable damage and killed four people.

Middle Georgia saw numerous reports of tornadoes during the day on Saturday with damage reported....

Since the cross continent earthquake recently beginning in Oklahoma and ending in Iowa, the minor quakes are more important than ever to understand. Fractures can become important when they were forever stable before.

January 21, 2017
By David Charns

West Paris, Maine - A magnitude 2.1 earthquake (click here) was measured Saturday afternoon near West Paris, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The minor quake was recorded at 4:51 p.m. Saturday at a depth of 4 kilometers.

Earthquakes below a 3.0 magnitude are considered low intensity and are felt "by very few under especially favorable conditions," the USGS writes.

Several minor earthquakes have been reported across Maine since last winter.

Earthquakes below a 3.0 magnitude are considered low intensity and are felt "by very few under especially favorable conditions," the USGS writes.

The last significant earthquake in Maine happened on Oct. 16, 2012. It was felt more than 100 miles away in Boston.

The strongest earthquake recorded in Maine, a magnitude 5.1, happened in March 1904.

This is California and it has it's own west coast paradigm of safety. But, there is still drilling along those faults. Got to be crazy!

California needs to enter it's best scientists into a partnership at least annually with the USGS to discuss the future of California and drilling. The petroleum industry is dying. Why risk American lives for the sake of foreign exports? End it before more infrastructure fails.

Reassessments are really in order considering all the water that has moved through California with flooding and otherwise. The flooding might recede, but, the HYDROLOGIC PRESSURE created in California fissures and faults will not go away. Reassessment of all California's stability, including coastal landslides has to be conducted. Please.

January 21, 2017
By Ryan Hagen

San Bernadino - Plans are on track (click here) for City Hall to be vacated by April, as all employees move out of a building determined to be a substantial earthquake risk.

The roughly 200 employees now at City Hall will move to several locations, with officials yet to finalize details about which department will be where.

The City Council voted 7-0 in November to authorize City Manager Mark Scott to lease office space in Vanir Tower, 290 N. D St., and space at 215 N. D St., both on the same block as the City Hall building that’s stood at 300 N. D St. for 45 years.

Officials also plan to move a portion of the City Hall employees to 600 N. Arrowhead Ave., which was occupied by San Bernardino Employment and Training Agency until last March, when SBETA closed.

But the lease for that building isn’t yet finalized, city spokeswoman Monica Lagos said Friday....

Either push it through or permanently remove the agenda of destroying Palestine.

Either way it will be an outcome that can take action within the World Court or not. If the measure is left on the agenda it will take a covert identity and find a route to success in other means. 

End it. Either Israel is guilty of genocide or not!

January 23, 2017
By Josef Federman

Jerusalem — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel (click here) delayed a vote Sunday on an explosive proposal to annex one of the West Bank’s largest settlements, apparently to coordinate his policy toward the Palestinians with the new administration of President Trump.

The move put on hold legislation that threatens to unleash fresh violence and damage already faded hopes for Palestinian independence. It also might mark Trump’s first foray into Middle East diplomacy....

An Executive Order is not necessary.

It is the responsibility of the President to negotiate treaties. Donny Trump needs to go to the southern wall, cross it and have a meeting with the Mexican president along with the Canadian Prime Minister. 

That's it! That's all folks.

Maybe what the media really needs are experts to speak to finance and constitutional content. 

Congress has to dissolve any trade agreement it passed. So, if the Congress is not willing and able to dissolve NAFTA, dah, then it has to be renegotiated. Either Mexico and Canada are allies and receive the benefit of negotiations or we will really have to worry about near border wars.

That would be a hoot, wouldn't it. "Trump the first president since the Mexican-American War to sit through an interior war." Now, that is a headline.

January 23, 2017
By Kristen Welker

President Donald Trump (click here) is expected to sign an executive order as early as Monday stating his intention to renegotiate the free trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico, a White House official told NBC News.

Eliminating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which was crafted by former President Bill Clinton and enacted in 1994, was a frequent Trump campaign promise.

The deal was intended to eliminate most trade tariffs between the three nations, increase investment and tighten protection and enforcement of intellectual property....

The Courts!

...“under the impression that we just had an election!”

Nobody cares. Trump is just a mouth piece for Goldman Sachs. He will be fed information and then Goldman will receive their reward for manipulating the economy.

There is no real economy under Trump. It is Wall Street fun with figures and with the repeal of Dodd-Frank there will be another collapse and bailout. This is not difficult to imagine.

Conway: "Trump will not release income tax returns."

No one cares. They would only be fodder for night shows for the next year. 

January 22, 2017
By Eric Lipton and Adam Liptak

Washington— A team of prominent constitutional scholars, (click here) Supreme Court litigators and former White House ethics lawyers intends to file a lawsuit Monday morning alleging that President Trump is violating the Constitution by allowing his hotels and other business operations to accept payments from foreign governments.

The lawsuit is among a barrage of legal actions against the Trump administration that have been initiated or are being planned by major liberal advocacy organizations. Such suits are among the few outlets they have to challenge the administration now that Republicans are in control of the government.

In the new case, the lawyers argue that a provision in the Constitution known as the Emoluments Clause bans payments from foreign powers like the ones to Mr. Trump’s companies. They cite fears among the framers of the Constitution that United States officials could be corrupted by gifts or payments....

This is the US Constitution, the document that is suppose to protect the lives and livelihoods of Americans.

The Patriots are on track for the SuperBowl so there is no living with Boston.

Personally, I think the "revenge thing" is a drag. I would like to think no matter what anyone throws at the Patriots they come out on top. In more sportier words, "Bring it on!"

The real story is the owners and their unsportsmanlike behavior that does not even believe in their players. It is the players that are the heroes not any cheating the owners encourage or tolerate. Shame on them!

TELL 'EM LADIES !!!!

January 22, 2017
By Dan Shaughnessy

History. And revenge. (click here)

The Patriots trumped the Pittsburgh Steelers, 36-17, in the AFC Championship game Sunday night to advance to Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons in Houston Feb. 5. New England becomes the first NFL franchise to make it to nine Super Bowls, and Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have a chance to become the first coach and quarterback to win five.

But this New England matchup with Matt Ryan and the Falcons is much more than a shot at ring records and grid immortality.

Above all else, it will be a showdown with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Patriots-Falcons is going to be New England’s Super Bowl In Context, an opportunity to make Goodell swallow his shield and present Bob Kraft, Belichick, and Brady with their fifth Lombardi Trophy just a few months after Brady dropped his court appeals and served his heinous four-game suspension....