One of my greatest concerns is that the deregulating gods of Trump will remove grading and certificiation from beef as well as other foods.

April 19, 2017

...The study determined (click here) the importance of seven specific on-farm practices in consumers’ purchasing decisions:

Animals were not administered growth hormones.

Genetically modified organisms were not used in the production of this product (non-GMO).

Animals were humanely raised.

Animals were not administered antibiotics.

Animals were raised in a free-range (or cage-free) environment.

Animals were grass-fed (or raised on a vegetarian diet).

The product is certified organic.

The top three attributes overall were “no growth hormones”, “non-GMO”, and “humanely raised”, though there were differences in importance based on product type. The “organic” attribute was ranked lowest in importance for consumers....

April 25, 2017

By Ching Lee

Record rainfall this season (click here) has brought abundant grasses for grazing cattle, but some California ranchers say they remain cautious about increasing their herds, awaiting better market prices and another healthy water year.

“Sometimes you don’t want to get in too big of a hurry to do these things,” said Butte County rancher Myron Openshaw. “One year doesn’t make a whole.”

Many ranchers were forced to reduce their herds during the drought, as pastures went dry and hay prices soared.

Openshaw said even though the North State received ample rain and snow this year, with good feed to show for it, “we’re still not out of the woods yet,” noting that some southern portions of the state remain abnormally dry and ranchers there may be reluctant to add cattle.

But for now, he said there appears to be “more activity” in the market, which he described as “upbeat and looking stronger all the time—better than six months ago.”

“There’s a shortage of numbers, so I think it’s going to be positive for this spring,” he added....

North Korea sold fishing rights to advance it's missile defense. It is not likely to change course soon.

China might want to offer those fishing waters back in exchange for a dismantled nuclear missile program.

Sooner or later Un needs to value the joy his father had for the people of North Korea. Kim Jong il was always seeking to have the children put on celebratory programs. Un looks exactly like his father when younger.

There is a balance to sovereignty. The value of human life goes a long way with the five nuclear countries. I would think they would like to see Un value the lives of his people in a way that these powerful countries value them in preventing attacks.

Taking back those fishing rights in exchange for nuclear disarmament is a strong decision that benefits his people. It is not a point of weakness to put the country's people on the table to illustrate their power and their quality of life in preventing war due to "the value of life" that is within the international community decisions.

Valuing citizens is a real commodity in international negotiations. Most countries do not want war or to kill or be killed. Un needs to realize there are strengths in North Korea's people as well as his weapons.

April 30, 2017
By Kristy Needham

Just as signs emerged (click here) that cooperation between China and the United States on solving the North Korea problem may be fracturing, a ballistic missile was fired....

...But rather than providing unanimous support for the path forward, China and Russia rounded on the United States, demanding that it and South Korea stop massive military drills on the Korean Peninsula, and criticising the US move to install its controversial anti-missile shield, THAAD, in South Korea this week....

...South Korea's Foreign Minister, Yun Byung-se, in turn demanded an explanation of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on the sidelines of the meeting, over US President Donald Trump's comment that he would make South Korea pay the $US1 billion ($1.3 billion) cost of installing THAAD.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported the Trump remark had been seen locally as a "slap in the face"of the US ally, which had agreed to host the controversial missile shield on the understanding that the US would pay....

China is North Korea's largest trading partner, but, not it's only trading partner. Below are 2014 numbers.

North Korea (click here) is the 119th largest export economy in the world. In 2015, North Korea exported $2.83B and imported $3.47B, resulting in a negative trade balance of $640M.

The top exports of North Korea are Coal Briquettes ($951M), Non-Knit Men's Coats ($169M), Non-Knit Men's Suits ($153M), Non-Knit Women's Coats ($131M) and Non-Knit Women's Suits ($97.1M), using the 1992 revision of the HS (Harmonized System) classification. Its top imports are Refined Petroleum ($186M), Synthetic Filament Yarn Woven Fabric($138M), Delivery Trucks ($108M), Soybean Oil ($104M) and Broadcasting Equipment ($59.2M).

The top export destinations of North Korea are China ($2.34B), India ($97.8M), Pakistan ($43.1M), Burkina Faso ($32.8M) and other Asia interests ($26.7M).

The top import origins are China ($2.95M), India ($108M), Russia ($78.2M), Thialand ($73.8M) and the Phillipines ($53.2M.
North Korea borders China, South Korea and Russia by land and Japan by sea.
                          

Mr. Trunbull should stay loyal to the values of his countrymen and arrive at the Oval Office with a full report of the wealth being produced at any Trump properties.

April 28, 2017

...So how should Mr Turnbull (click here) prepare for his first face-to-face meeting with his US counterpart in New York next week?

Mike Green, a former US National Security Council staffer during George W Bush's presidency, says Mr Turnbull should start by watching the powerful right wing Fox News channel, to get a sense of "what's going into the President's head"....

That is fascinating. Australians in Sydney believe FOX News speaks to Trump in a way that will re-elect him. Power. FOX News is power and is inside Trump's head.

NOT.

Trump and greed are inside Trump's head. Mr. Turnbull needs to bring all the insider information that projects wealth for any Trump current investment or the ones to come.

..."[Trump] is not in command of the detail. Most of his information comes from watching Fox TV."

Dr Green, who is now senior vice-president for Asia at the Center​ for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC, adds Mr Abe's February meeting with Mr Trump was successful because the Japanese leader focused on convincing the US President "Japan was his best friend"....

Indeed.

..."Every issue is a potential point of negotiating something," Dr Green explains. "If you ask for something, [Trump] sees that as a weakness."...

Intimidation works with allies for "Trump's Art of the Deal."

...Lieutenant General HR McMaster has taken over from Michael Flynn as National Security Advisor, meaning decision making and briefing have become "much more predictable," Dr Green says....

Amazing. The USA was unpredictable. Wow. The only common ground with the USA are the wars and allied commitment.

..."We're actually very frank with each other." 

I think that is a good thing. I like being frank, especially with this White House. It works for me.

Businesses that are living past their usefulness. The Trump economy is about dinosaurs, not the future.

April 28, 2017
By Matthew Yglesias

Donald Trump (click here) attracted a reputation over the years as a ruthless and unscrupulous businessman. He said on the campaign trail that having been “greedy all my life,” he now wanted to be greedy on behalf of the American people — but nobody seriously believed him. Marco Rubio warned that Trump was a “con artist,” and Ted Cruz labeled him “completely amoral.” Liberals, needless to say, were not kinder in their judgments.

From the day Trump announced his candidacy until the day he took the Oval Office, the smart take on him was that he was running on a lark, as a publicity stunt, or to lay the groundwork for some business endeavor....

President Trump is unscrupulous. No doubt about it, but, it wasn't his negative characteristics that bothered the electorate. The Donald Trump electorate, for the most part, are moral to their god, but, unscrupulous and borderline impoverished. Basically, they are desperate people and Trump was there last hope. They are not finding a savior, although many will attempt to be Trump wannabees PLUS. The PLUS is the promises of their new Neocon god.

I was especially impressed with his extra long ties. They are expensive (Nortstrom click here) But, it is one aspect of his appearance that no one can miss and he sells ties. I am fairly sure he wears his own ties. 

...But Trump isn’t failing (his own wealth). He and his family appear to be making money hand over fist. It's a spectacle the likes of which we've never seen in the United States, and while it may end in disaster for the Trumps someday, for now it shows no real sign of failure....

...The day-to-day management of the companies is in the hands of his two oldest sons, while his oldest daughter and her husband (both of whom run substantial businesses in their own right) serve as high-ranking officials in the White House....

• ...the terms of the trust in which the Trump Organization is held allow the president to pull money out of the company at any time.
• Eric Trump says he is giving his father regular updates on the state of the Trump Organization, on a “probably quarterly” timeline but with no specific commitments.
• Donald Trump Jr. is not only a top executive at the Trump Organization but also does surrogate interviews on behalf of the president.

Like Trump said on the campaign trail, "...I could shoot someone and not lose voters." He is getting away with fraud and corruption because it is in the open. 

So, what are Americans and Wall Street learning?

That a man who was CEO, then became USA President that didn't know much about the job, can get away with anything. Billionaires in the USA can get away with anything, including keeping their personal taxes out of the reach of the media.

And Wall Street is learning. There are issues with cheating the customers if they can get away with it escalating. There are plans, as with Marriott (click here), to expand hotels and go into real debt. There may have been plans on the CEO desk for years, but, shortly after the inauguration Marriott announced it's ambitions. And why shouldn't it be ambitious? The Trump Las Vegas Golden Hotel put his organization into the red. Trump received a moratorium on taxes for 18 years. Wall Street is learning PLENTY.

That brings me to the real reason his taxes are kept behind locked doors, it would give his competition ideas. Who wants that?

There is also a political theory rarely looked at because of it's inclusion of criminals, etc. The idea is that if a real revolution is to take place it will probably be scoundrels that are elected.

Scoundrels. People that have cheated, might have a legal record and are thought of as very unlikely political icons. 

The THEORY is that anyone pleasing to the politics of the day that appear to be upright citizens are more likely to be corrupt and crony puppets. That is true in many instances, isn't it? We have seen decades of corruption with the petroleum industry, while it and the coal industry were propagandized as hero to American power and national defense.

The oil imports never stopped. This is what made the economy run? No, energy made the USA economy run, not petroleum, but, the American people taking the climate crisis seriously were attempting in every way to reduce their carbon footprint. They probably don't have to reduce it at all if one takes Scotland as an example.

April 27, 2017
By Gregory B. Poindexter

Wave Energy Scotland (WES) (click here) is awarding a total of £2.84 million (US$3.7 million) to four wave energy technology developers that have been selected to stage No. 2 of WES’s Novel Wave Energy Converter (NWEC) program, according to a press release today from WES.

The NWEC program focuses on solutions to capture wave movement, which will help in the ultimate goal of commercializing marine energy production.

Stage No. 2 is expected to run until autumn 2018 and after its conclusion, WES said teams may apply for stage No. 3 funding to develop a scaled-prototype device for in-sea testing at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney.

This latest announcement from WES brings the total investment by the organization in wave energy technology development to £24.6 million (US$31.7 million) across 56 projects in just over two years....

Scotland didn't wait for Earth's rebellion against carbon to become so severe it barely supports life, it dove right in without concern for profit margins or motives. In my book that defines bravery and morality.

Scotland's energy diversity (click here)

Scotland (click here) is in the enviable position of having fantastic renewable energy potential. Successfully unlocking this will not only secure our climate goals but provide the means to deliver economic opportunities across Scotland, bring social benefits and improve public health. Much has been achieved already. At last count Scotland generated the equivalent of 57% of its electricity consumption from renewables and had reduced climate emissions by 39.5% since 1990....

Little Scotland. Little Scotland has more guts and glory than anyone else. Little Scotland with it's wind energy alone may be able to power the entire of Europe if it's ambitions heads in that direction. Scotland, the country with guts and wanted to become their own sovereign.

Can the USA claim any of the accomplishments of Scotland, heck, no. The USA has the largest historical carbon dioxide deposit in Earth's troposphere and it points a finger at emerging countries.

If Scotland can do this so can the USA.

What do the immoral business dealings of people like Trump do? They seek to destroy the EPA and remove all carbon emissions control programs. They are cowards and have been since the 1960s where political money has been buying the petroleum industry and their refineries a continued life past their "Peak Oil" or USEFULNESS.

Greed. Donald Trump, in the Oval Office, is the icon to greed.