More racism, more human rights violations, more falling oil prices

More cronyism. Just stop to think about the land use violations behind more hubris by Trump. This isn't about oil or prices; it is about the blatant disregard for American Indian culture, values and right to clean water.

The article states the pipeline is valued at $3.8 billion, but, never once is there a mention of priceless sacred land, priceless peace of mind and the clean water that accompanies it.

That is what is so wrong about this action by the Executive Branch. It is about the loss of land with many coveted meanings other than Wall Street money. Intangible treasures such as clean water and precious land aren't valued anymore. 

This is a new legal document that reflects the disregard of the value of the land and water. There isn't a legal instrument to stop it?

February 8, 2017

By Valerie Volcovici and Earnest Scheyder

Washington/Houston (Reuters) - The U.S. Army (click here) will grant the final permit for the controversial Dakota Access oil pipeline after an order from President Donald Trump to expedite the project despite opposition from Native American tribes and climate activists.

In a court filing on Tuesday, the Army said that it would allow the final section of the line to tunnel under North Dakota's Lake Oahe, part of the Missouri River system. This could enable the $3.8 billion pipeline to begin operation as soon as June.

Energy Transfer Partners <ETP.N> is building the 1,170-mile (1,885 km) line to help move crude from the shale oilfields of North Dakota to Illinois en route to the Gulf of Mexico, where many U.S. refineries are located....

This is permanent health damage. It is shortened longevity. It is wrong!

January 25, 2017
By Erin Brodwin

An in-depth report in 2010 (click here) from Worcester Polytechnic Institute that looked at the effects of three major oil spills found increased incidences of cancer and digestive problems in people who had ingested the oil directly (in drinking water) or indirectly (through eating the meat of livestock exposed to the oil).

In addition, people who had used contaminated water for bathing or laundry appeared to experience more skin problems, ranging from mild rashes to severe and lasting eczema and malignant skin cancers....

"The final report" (click here)

This is not making America great again.

The ice condition report is from Norwegian scientists that were on the ice as they are usually when making these measurements. fIt isn't on this computer. I actually think it is on my phone.

The scientists were unable to establish their usual cites without suddenly moving the equipment and jump with the equipment to safety. Literally, the ice was destabilizing under their weight. That has never occurred before.

When I run across it, I will post it.

HEAT STRESS is Australia's number one natural killer.

4 September 2014

Heatwaves (click here)have killed more Australians than all other natural hazards combined. It's a situation that has the community sector calling for action....

January 16, 2017

By Shea McDonald

People of all ages (click here) are being urged to stay cool during this week's heatwave after a 30-year-old Brisbane man died of heatstroke while out dirt bike riding.

Temperatures are tipped to climb as high as eight degrees above average as the second heatwave in as many weeks makes its way across much of the east coast of Australia.

Matthew Hall died of heatstroke in the Beerburrum State Forest on the Sunshine Coast on Friday after a day of dirt bike riding with a friend.

A Queensland Police spokeswoman said Mr Hall stopped for a "breather" about 2pm while his friend rode ahead.

"When he came back he (the friend) located the deceased lying on the ground," she said.

"At that stage he was still conscious and breathing."

The friend called an ambulance and attempted to cool Mr Hall down by pouring water on him.... 

It isn't just the amount of ice, it is the deteriorating condition of the ice.

I need to locate the report I read about two weeks ago. The ice is in very poor condition.

Arctic sea ice extent (click here) for January 2017 averaged 13.38 million square kilometers (5.17 million square miles), the lowest January extent in the 38-year satellite record. This is 260,000 square kilometers (100,000 square miles) below January 2016, the previous lowest January extent, and 1.26 million square kilometers (487,000 square miles) below the January 1981 to 2010 long-term average.

Ice growth stalled during the second week of the month, and the ice edge retreated within the Kara and Barents Seas, and within the Sea of Okhotsk. After January 16, extent increased at a more rapid pace, but the rate of ice growth was still below average for January as a whole. For a few days towards the end of the month, the extent was slightly greater than recorded in 2006, a year which also saw many record low days in January, but by the 30th it was tracking below 2006....

Earth's heating this time is different than any other time in history. The greenhouse gases are produced by an artificial source (human activity). We are still living with residual cold, it won't last forever. 

This is an article from "Nature," but, I read a far more detailed reporting about the condition of the Arctic Circle ice.

08 February 2017
By Julia Rosen

As the Arctic (click here) slipped into the half-darkness of autumn last year, it seemed to enter the Twilight Zone. In the span of a few months, all manner of strange things happened.

The cap of sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean started to shrink when it should have been growing. Temperatures at the North Pole soared more than 20 °C above normal at times. And polar bears prowling the shorelines of Hudson Bay had a record number of run-ins with people while waiting for the water to freeze over.

It was a stark illustration of just how quickly climate change is reshaping the far north. And if last autumn was bizarre, it's the summers that have really got scientists worried. As early as 2030, researchers say, the Arctic Ocean could lose essentially all of its ice during the warmest months of the year — a radical transformation that would upend Arctic ecosystems and disrupt many northern communities....

Australia has been experiencing a horrible oppressing heat.

There have been blackouts in Australian cities. After the first blackouts the utilities started a rolling black out plan. 

February 9, 2017

Following Sydney's soaking (click here) on Tuesday the summer sunshine will return at the weekend with some regions predicted to reach an unseasonably hot mid-40s (equivalent 104 F).

Residents of Sydney, Australia, are preparing for another heatwave with temperatures forecast to sizzle into the 40s over the next few days.

The mercury is expected to reach 34C (equivalent 93.2 F) on Thursday, but climb to at least 40C on Friday and across the weekend.

Parts of NSW will endure temperatures of 45 degrees (equivalent 113 F) or hotter on Saturday, elevating temperatures and fire risks across much of the nation's south east, the Bureau of Meteorology said....

...Even if Sydney misses out, the scale and longevity of the abnormal heat is likely to break heat records either for February, or for any month.

Three NSW towns are also in the running to beat the current record of 50 days above 35 degrees: Walgett, Moree and Mungindi, Martin said.

The largest area of scorching conditions during the current heatwave may come on Saturday....

The heating is unrelenting. This is the third year in a row with increasing temperatures. This is a steady escalation in heat and it won't be changing. Chicago has reported this year it's lowest snow fall in its recorded history. The ice in the Arctic Circle is all "first year ice" and is showing evidence of instability.

In it my opinion Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is leading the Ultra White attack on the American democracy.

Senator Edward Kennedy was a member of a family that have lead strong opposition to racism. They are heroes, everyone of them. When US Senator Warren read a letter once held dear to the Kennedy leadership on the floor of the US Senate is was far more appropriate than Mitch McConnell could ever hope to be.

November 22, 2016
By Christina Prignano

Three decades before Senator Elizabeth Warren (click here) was calling for the rejection of Senator Jeff Sessions for a federal post, the late Senator Ted Kennedy was doing the same.

In 1986, when Sessions was under consideration by the Senate for a federal judgeship, Kennedy made a fiery statement slamming Sessions’ ultimately unsuccessful nomination.

The controversy over Sessions, now President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for US attorney general, centered then around remarks Sessions allegedly made to an African American former assistant US attorney. Thomas Figures alleged that in the 1980s Sessions called him “boy” and warned him to be careful about what he says to “white folks.” Sessions has denied the claim....

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) is not the reason for rising health costs.

The bloated costs in the USA was built by wealth leaving the poor without healthcare or substandard healthcare.

We are now faced with the same wealthy that created the bloated system in the first place.

2011

Rising health care costs (click here) are a problem across the industrialized world, but they are higher and rising faster in the United States than in other industrialized countries.  The Commonwealth Fund, a non-profit foundation which researches ways to improve health care, produced this chart showing the rise in health care costs in 11 leading industrial countries.  Even though we Americans spend more per person than the other 10 countries, these countries have broader coverage than we do.

An estimated 42 percent of Americans last year went without health care they thought they needed because of cost.  This included 68 percent of those without health insurance, and also 31 percent of those who supposedly have adequate health insurance....

Her voice will not be silenced. The greatest Senator of our time.

The Ultra White is in power. They are the American Plutocrats. It is now known. They demand the silence of the minority.

The Ultra White was able to be covert, but, no more. It is obvious and their hatred of our country, our diversity and their thirst for power should be the concern of all.

February 8, 2017
By Mark Katrov

The words were those of Coretta Scott King, (click here) widow of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

But they resulted in a rarely-invoked Senate rule being used to formally silence Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

On the Senate floor yesterday Warren was reading from a letter Scott King wrote in 1986 objecting to President Ronald Reagan's ultimately unsuccessful nomination of then-U.S. Attorney Jeff Sessions to a federal district court seat.

King wrote that Sessions used "the awesome power of his office to chill the pre-exercise of the vote by black citizens."

Now-Sen. Sessions, R-Ala., is President Trump's nominee for U.S. attorney general. Warren was speaking in the debate leading up to Sessions' likely confirmation Wednesday....

There are three African American billionaires and none were tapped for service to the USA.

Michael Jordan, $1.14 billion (click here)

American, Basketball

Basketball’s greatest player is the majority shareholder of Charlotte Bobcats and enjoys lucrative deals with the likes of Gatorade, Hanes and Upper Deck. His biggest pile comes from Brand Jordan, a $1 billion (sales) sportswear partnership with Nike.

Ms. Oprah Winfrey or Mr. Michael Jordon would have equally qualified, if not more so, and excellent Secretaries of Education. They are just not Trump cronies.

Oprah Winfrey, $3.1 billion

American, Television

Oprah, once the queen of daytime TV, is still the richest African-American person in the world. Her once struggling cable channel, OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) is now cash flow positive and is enjoying soaring ratings on the back of a series of successful sitcom and drama collaborations with director Tyler Perry. She also owns a 10% stake in Weight Watchers.

I am quite certain Mr. Robert Smith is equally, if not more qualified, as any Goldman Sachs hire.

Robert Smith, $2.5 billion

American, Private Equity

Smith is the founder of Vista Equity Partners, a private equity shop that has an impressive portfolio of leading enterprise software companies such as Websense, Applied Systems and Mediaocean.

Mr. Trump likes to line the halls of the White House with billionaires, just so long as they are Ultra White.