Back to basics. Stop emitting Green House Gases.

The USA has the largest historic Green House Gas emissions in the world.

27 percent

Graph (click here)

16 Janaury 2012

...Aside from water vapour, (click here) the four principal greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and the halocarbons or CFCs (gases containing fluorine, chlorine and bromine). These gases – described in more detail here – can remain in the atmosphere for different amounts of time, from months to millennia, and affect the climate on very different timescales.

The lifetime in the air of CO2, the most significant man-made greenhouse gas, is probably the most difficult to determine, because there are several processes that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Between 65% and 80% of CO2 released into the air dissolves into the ocean over a period of 20–200 years. The rest is removed by slower processes that take up to several hundreds of thousands of years, including chemical weathering and rock formation. This means that once in the atmosphere, carbon dioxide can continue to affect climate for thousands of years.

Methane, by contrast, is mostly removed from the atmosphere by chemical reaction, persisting for about 12 years. Thus although methane is a potent greenhouse gas, its effect is relatively short-lived.

Nitrous oxide is destroyed in the stratosphere and removed from the atmosphere more slowly than methane, persisting for around 114 years.

Compounds containing chlorine and/or fluorine (CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs, PFCs) include a huge number of different chemical species, each of which can last in the atmosphere for a specific length of time – from less than a year to many thousands of years. The IPCC has published a comprehensive list of the atmospheric lifetime of the various CFCs and other greenhouse gases....

The comprehensive (scientific) list (click here)

The EEA is a bit more demanding in it's analysis and standards.

European Environmental Agency (click here)

This is Hungary's analysis. (click here)

Hungary is on track to be one of the leading examples of success from the Paris Accords.

The "iea" (International Energy Agency) assists countries to meet their goals, however, "iea" is still counting methane as part of clean energy. It is not.

The International Energy Agency (IEA), an autonomous agency, was established in November 1974. Its primary mandate was – and is – two-fold: to promote energy security amongst its member countries through collective response to physical disruptions in oil supply, and provide authoritative research and analysis on ways to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for its 29 member countries and beyond. The IEA carries out a comprehensive programme of energy co-operation among its member countries, each of which is obliged to hold oil stocks equivalent to 90 days of its net imports. 

The Agency’s aims include the following objectives:

- Secure member countries’ access to reliable and ample supplies of all forms of energy; in particular, through maintaining effective emergency response capabilities in case of oil supply disruptions.

- Promote sustainable energy policies that spur economic growth and environmental protection in a global context – particularly in terms of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

- Improve transparency of international markets through collection and analysis of energy data.

-Support global collaboration on energy technology to secure future energy supplies and mitigate their environmental impact, including through improved energy efficiency and development and deployment of low-carbon technologies.

- Find solutions to global energy challenges through engagement and dialogue with non-member countries, industry, international organisations and other stakeholders.

4 May 2018
By Caroline Lee

All around the world, (click here) sustainable energy transitions are underway. But how far have we progressed? It’s clear that action needs to be accelerated, but in which priority areas, and by how much?

Tracking energy transition indicators of both outcomes (e.g. CO2 emissions) and underlying drivers (e.g. clean energy investment) is important for developing a clear understanding of how far we’ve come, while additionally propelling further ambition and action. As the adage goes, “that which is measured, improves.

This year, countries around the world are undertaking an important exercise to assess global progress toward achieving the goals laid out in the Paris Agreement. This exercise – the Talanoa Dialogue – is intended not only to take stock of progress, but also to help inform and raise ambition of the next round of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) – commitments made by countries to tackle climate change.

Increased ambition is greatly needed: the IEA estimates that current NDCs will set us on a path consistent with about 2.7°C warming by 2100, greatly overshooting the Paris Agreement goals of limiting temperature rise to well below 2°C and pursuing efforts towards 1.5 °C.

As a key input to the Talanoa Dialogue and broader tracking efforts, IEA will release Tracking Clean Energy Progress 2018 on 22 May, providing the current status of key energy indicators, measuring their progress today against what would be needed by 2030, and highlighting opportunities for further technology development and innovation.

The Talanoa Dialogue is structured around three questions: Where are we? Where do we want to go? How do we get there? The IEA’s full response to these questions can be read in our first official input to the Talanoa Dialogue.

2018 Talanoa Dialogue (click here)

"Talanoa is a traditional word used in Fiji and across the Pacific to reflect a process of inclusive, participatory and transparent dialogue. The purpose of Talanoa is to share stories, build empathy and to make wise decisions for the collective good. The process of Talanoa involves the sharing of ideas, skills and experience through storytelling.

During the process, participants build trust and advance knowledge through empathy and understanding. Blaming others and making critical observations are inconsistent with building mutual trust and respect, and therefore inconsistent with the Talanoa concept. Talanoa fosters stability and inclusiveness in dialogue, by creating a safe space that embraces mutual respect for a platform for decision making for a greater good.”

A few vital statistics about quality of life.

 

Similar to other countries in NATO, the population is stable.

Joining NATO was a change in freedom, worry from oppression and growth.

One of the highlights (click here) of the Washington Summit will be the presence, for the first time, of the Heads of State and Government of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. These three countries formally joined the Alliance on 12 March 1999, bringing the number of member countries to 19. The entry of these three democracies into the Alliance, under Article 10 of the Washington Treaty, is part of a continuing process. The door to NATO membership remains open to other European countries which are ready and willing to undertake the commitments and obligations stemming from NATO membership and contribute to security in the Euro-Atlantic area. The admission of new democratic members into NATO is itself part of a wider process of greater integration in Europe involving other European institutions....

There is no doubt to me when the USA finds allies, the people do better under a reassurance of their own sovereignty and safety. When examing the day Hungary joined NATO, it is easily noted how the country changed. One of the most important measures of domestic peace and hope for the future is the increased longevity of the people. That does not happen by accident. The loss of NATO would be far more than the loss of a military reassurance to freedom, life itself would change.

The American Lung Association is responsible in telling people the dangers of pollution as opposed to the US EPA that finds it voluntary to self - assessment. Really

American Lung Association (click here)

The American Lung Association on Climate (click here)

From the direct impact of the temperature and weather changes to the special burdens these changes place on the most vulnerable communities, climate change seriously threatens our wellness—especially our lung health.

Below are Current EPA air quality standards:

The levels of health concern (click here) listed below are general guidelines to be used as a reference so that people can figure out their own sensitivity to air pollution.

• Good: Air quality is good and poses little or no risk.
• Moderate: Air quality is acceptable; however, there may be some health concern for a small number of unusually sensitive people. While EPA cannot identify these people, studies indicate that there are people who experience health effects when air quality is in the moderate range.
• Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups: When air quality is in this range, people who are in sensitive groups, whether the increased risk is due to medical conditions, exposure conditions, or innate susceptibility, may experience health effects when engaged in outdoor activities. However, exposures to ambient concentrations in this range are not likely to result in effects in the general population. For particle pollution, the sensitive groups include people with heart and lung disease, older adults, children, people with diabetes, and people of lower SESlower socio-econonmic status (SES) A composite measure that is often comprised of a number of indicators, including economic status measured by income, social status measured by education, and work status measured by occupation. Each of these linked factors can influence a population's susceptibility to particle pollution-related health effects (Dutton and Levine, 1989)..
• Unhealthy: When air quality is in this range, everyone who is active outdoors may experience effects. Members of sensitive groups are likely to experience more serious effects.
• Very Unhealthy: When air quality is in this range, it is expected that there will be widespread effects among the general population and more serious effects in members of sensitive groups. 
• Hazardous: Air quality in this range triggers health warnings of emergency conditions by media outlets. The entire population is more likely to be affected by serious health effects.

November 4th. A perspective of a great people. They

A spontaneous national uprising (click here) that began 12 days before in Hungary is viciously crushed by Soviet tanks and troops on this day in 1956. Thousands were killed and wounded and nearly a quarter-million Hungarians fled the country.
The problems in Hungary began in October 1956, when thousands of protesters took to the streets demanding a more democratic political system and freedom from Soviet oppression. In response, Communist Party officials appointed Imre Nagy, a former premier who had been dismissed from the party for his criticisms of Stalinist policies, as the new premier. Nagy tried to restore peace and asked the Soviets to withdraw their troops. The Soviets did so, but Nagy then tried to push the Hungarian revolt forward by abolishing one-party rule. He also announced that Hungary was withdrawing from the Warsaw Pact (the Soviet bloc’s equivalent of NATO). 

On November 4, 1956, Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest to crush, once and for all, the national uprising. Vicious street fighting broke out, but the Soviets’ great power ensured victory. At 5:20 a.m., Hungarian Prime Minister Imre Nagy announced the invasion to the nation in a grim, 35-second broadcast, declaring: “Our troops are fighting. The Government is in place.” Within hours, though, Nagy sought asylum at the Yugoslav Embassy in Budapest ...  

It is important to understand Hungary better, not because it is NATO, but, because it has become very authoritarian within NATO. There has been more and frequent leanings toward authoritarian leadership in recent times. It is best to pay attention and demand an uptick of sincere democracy and not simply a voting system that returns the same leaders over and over again.

What is incredible about Hungary within NATO is it's desire to ACHIEVE. The achievement of responsible government in the climate crisis is impressive considering it is still a developing economy. 

April 5, 2018

By David Frum   

Hungary is a nato ally, (click here) a member nation of the European Union, a signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights—and also, since 2010, an increasingly authoritarian and illiberal state. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has politicized the country’s court, central bank, and media. On April 8, Orbán and his Fidesz party face the voters. Fidesz has recently suffered losses in local elections. Orbán has responded by running an inflammatory national campaign attributing complaints against his rule to the Hungarian-born financier, George Soros—a campaign whose anti-Semitic messaging has become more and more overt as the vote nears.

One of the last remaining independent media organizations in Hungary is Direkt36. Non-state television and radio have been purchased by political allies of Orbán; print media have been brought to heel by aggressive use of government advertising money to reward and punish. I talked in March to the head of Direkt36, Andras Petho, about the risks to freedom in Hungary—and the prospects for holding Orbán to account. A condensed and edited transcript of our conversation, conducted via Google Document, follows:...      

May 1, 2018
By Ians

The Grouvellinus leonardodicaprioi beetle (click here) was discovered at the bottom of a waterfall in Maliau Basin, a remote nature reserve in Borneo. It was found by Taxon Expeditions, a firm set up to help untrained volunteers discover new species and the expedition was funded by the Inception star’s foundation.

After finding three new species of water beetle, the participants voted to name one of them after DiCaprio. Iva Njunjic, founder of Taxon Expeditions, said: “Tiny and black, this new beetle may not win an Oscar for charisma but in biodiversity conservation, every creature counts.”

The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation aims to reduce the impact of humans on the environment and protect the world’s last wild places. It has awarded over $100 million in grants since 2010....

I am quite sure many consider a beetle to be beneath their dignity to carry their name, however, this is forever. Forever Leonardo DiCaprio will be known for his commitment to the climate and the people he sought out to make a difference. It is a great honor to be considered "one among the scientific community." This welcomes Leonardo as a peer to the scientific community.

Hungary's energy sector was the biggest GHG polluter. Hungary has every reason to be proud of it's efforts and success to overcome GHG emissions.

Source: EEA Report No. 5/2007 

By far, (click here) the biggest GHG-emitting sector was the Energy sector, contributing 76% to Hungary’s total GHG emissions in 2006. Carbon dioxide from fossil fuels is the largest item among greenhouse gas emissions. Its contribution is 94.5% to sectoral emission, followed by CH₄ with 4.1% and by N₂O with 1.4%, in 2006. Among fuels, gases have the highest proportion (47.0%), liquids have less, and solids have the lowest, but the latter still represents 22.2% of the sectoral CO2 emissions. Due to the changes in the fuel structure in the '90s, the most important source in the base years, solid fuel, has been displaced by natural gas, decreasing the total emissions. The most important subsector of the energy sector is “Energy Industries”, which accounts for 32.3%, followed by “Other Sectors”, which represents 28.1% of the total emissions in this sector. “Fugitive Emissions from Fuels” plays only a small role in emissions of the sector with 3.6%. The most dynamically increasing category is that of Transport, which has 4% higher total emissions in 2006 compared to 2005....

Graph below (click here):s

During the period since the last IEA in-depth review in 2011, (click here) Hungary has continued to make progress in the development and implementation of energy policy in some sectors. A number of key policy recommendations contained in the last review, most notably the need to improve security and flexibility of energy supply and clarification on the role of new nuclear power plants, have been implemented. Some recent policy measures, however, may risk having a negative impact on the energy sector over the longer term.

In 2012, the country finalised and published a new energy strategy, the National Energy Strategy to 2030 (NES 2030), which represented a major step in the formulation of a long-term vision for state policy in the energy sector. The main objective of the Strategy is to ensure a sustainable and secure energy sector while supporting the competitiveness of the economy. While the Strategy sets a clear long-term vision for the energy sector, a large amount of work remains to be done. Formulation of clear measures and allocation of responsibilities by means of action plans, highlighted in the NES 2030, are still in progress. Some action plans are under preparation and are expected to be finalised shortly. They should improve the long-term stability of the energy sector. The introduction of an independent process to monitor and evaluate progress in the implementation of policy...         

This is the trailer to a full length documentary called "Jane." She is a living legend, Jane Goodall.

Hungary needs to work with scientists to increase the viability of it's forests. They help mitigate the climate crisis.

8 June 2018

If a tree has a circumference of more than 230 centimetres, it is an old-growth tree. 

The latest statistics of WWF Hungary (click here) show alarming data on the state of Hungarian old-growth forests and their conservation status. Forests older than 120 years, which are crucial to nature conservation, constitute barely two percent of the country’s forest area, or 37,000 hectares, according to the Hungarian National Forest Stand Database. One-third of these forests is not protected, and more than half of the old-growth forests located on protected and specially protected public lands are being exploited.
 
Currently, 95% of the country’s forest area is being used for wood production. This rate reaches 98% in the Nyírség region in Eastern Hungary. Some 90% of the forests that are older than 120 years are being exploited by logging, mainly clear-cutting.
 
For example, the size of old pedunculate oak forests that once enriched Alföld, the Great Hungarian Plain occupying the southern and eastern part of Hungary, has decreased critically due to timber harvesting. The same is true for old-growth mountain beech forests. This not only endangers biodiversity, but threatens to destroy essential public amenity values. Some forests must be kept for the purpose of maintaining nature conservation, the opportunities for tourism and recreation and ecosystem services like soil protection, water and air purification and the reduction of the impacts of climate change.
 
“Wood harvesting is important, but we cannot allow a further decline in biodiversity. This would be against the interests of the Hungarian people. Nature conservation and public amenities in the protected and specially protected state forests is of great importance. We must by all means preserve the nearly 150-year-old forests”, said László Gálhidy, Forest Programme Manager of WWF-Hungary.,,,

The Climate Crisis is increasing disease transmission in the USA.

Introduction: (click here) Vectorborne diseases are major causes of death and illness worldwide. In the United States, the most common vectorborne pathogens are transmitted by ticks or mosquitoes, including those causing Lyme disease; Rocky Mountain spotted fever; and West Nile, dengue, and Zika virus diseases. This report examines trends in occurrence of nationally reportable vectorborne diseases during 2004–2016.

Methods: Data reported to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System for 16 notifiable vectorborne diseases during 2004–2016 were analyzed; findings were tabulated by disease, vector type, location, and year.

Results: A total 642,602 cases were reported. The number of annual reports of tickborne bacterial and protozoan diseases more than doubled during this period, from >22,000 in 2004 to >48,000 in 2016. Lyme disease accounted for 82% of all tickborne disease reports during 2004–2016. The occurrence of mosquitoborne diseases was marked by virus epidemics. Transmission in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa accounted for most reports of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika virus diseases; West Nile virus was endemic, and periodically epidemic, in the continental United States.

Conclusions and Implications for Public Health Practice: Vectorborne diseases are a large and growing public health problem in the United States, characterized by geographic specificity and frequent pathogen emergence and introduction. Differences in distribution and transmission dynamics of tickborne and mosquitoborne diseases are often rooted in biologic differences of the vectors. To effectively reduce transmission and respond to outbreaks will require major national improvement of surveillance, diagnostics, reporting, and vector control, as well as new tools, including vaccines.                 

Hungary is really still considered a burgeoning economy. The USA has far greater wealth to mitigate it's Green House Gas emissions. The USA lacks profound moral commitment.

Zauzsanna Jakobos is a Hungarian competition swimmer.

It's Monday Night

The "Me Too" movement is having an impact in places not quite realized yet.

May 1, 2018

In a bid to demean a power (click here) show orchestrated by rival political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Lahore, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Rana Sanaullah and Abid Sher Ali sparked damning outrage over misogynist statements....

She competed at the 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics in seven events in total, with the best achievement of sixth place in the 4×200 m freestyle relay in 2008 and 2016.

She began competing at age eight. (click here)

It is the short version.

Hungary's National Anthem

Isten, áldd meg a magyart
Jó kedvvel, bőséggel,
Nyújts feléje védő kart,
Ha küzd ellenséggel;
Bal sors akit régen tép,
Hozz rá víg esztendőt,
Megbűnhődte már e nép
A múltat s jövendőt!

O, my God, the Magyar bless
With Thy plenty and good cheer!
With Thine aid his just cause press,
Where his foes to fight appear.
Fate, who for so long did'st frown,
Bring him happy times and ways;
Atoning sorrow hath weighed down
Sins of past and future days.

Őseinket felhozád
Kárpát szent bércére,
Általad nyert szép hazát
Bendegúznak vére.
S merre zúgnak habjai
Tiszának, Dunának,
Árpád hős magzatjai
Felvirágozának.

By Thy help our fathers gained
Kárpát's proud and sacred height;
Here by Thee a home obtained
Heirs of Bendegúz, the knight.
Where'er Danube's waters flow
And the streams of Tisza swell
Árpád's children, Thou dost know,
Flourished and did prosper well.

Értünk Kunság mezein
Ért kalászt lengettél,
Tokaj szőlővesszein
Nektárt csepegtettél.
Zászlónk gyakran plántálád
Vad török sáncára,
S nyögte Mátyás bús hadát
Bécsnek büszke vára.

For us let the golden grain
Grow upon the fields of Kún,
And let nectar's silver rain
Ripen grapes of Tokay soon.
Thou our flags hast planted o'er
Forts where once wild Turks held sway;
Proud Vienna suffered sore
From King Mátyás' dark array.

Hajh, de bűneink miatt
Gyúlt harag kebledben,
S elsújtád villámidat
Dörgő fellegedben,
Most rabló mongol nyilát
Zúgattad felettünk,
Majd töröktől rabigát
Vállainkra vettünk.

But, alas! for our misdeed,
Anger rose within Thy breast,
And Thy lightnings Thou did'st speed
From Thy thundering sky with zest.
Now the Mongol arrow flew
Over our devoted heads;
Or the Turkish yoke we knew,
Which a free-born nation dreads.

Hányszor zengett ajkain
Ozmán vad népének
Vert hadunk csonthalmain
Győzedelmi ének!
Hányszor támadt tenfiad
Szép hazám, kebledre,
S lettél magzatod miatt
Magzatod hamvvedre!

O, how often has the voice
Sounded of wild Osman's hordes,
When in songs they did rejoice
O'er our heroes' captured swords!
Yea, how often rose Thy sons,
My fair land, upon Thy sod,
And Thou gavest to these sons,
Tombs within the breast they trod!

Bújt az üldözött, s felé
Kard nyúlt barlangjában,
Szerte nézett s nem lelé
Honját a hazában,
Bércre hág és völgybe száll,
Bú s kétség mellette,
Vérözön lábainál,
S lángtenger fölette.

Though in caves pursued he lie,
Even then he fears attacks.
Coming forth the land to spy,
Even a home he finds he lacks.
Mountain, vale – go where he would,
Grief and sorrow all the same –
Underneath a sea of blood,
While above a sea of flame.

Vár állott, most kőhalom,
Kedv s öröm röpkedtek,
Halálhörgés, siralom
Zajlik már helyettek.
S ah, szabadság nem virúl
A holtnak véréből,
Kínzó rabság könnye hull
Árvánk hő szeméből!

'Neath the fort, a ruin now,
Joy and pleasure erst were found,
Only groans and sighs, I trow,
In its limits now abound.
But no freedom's flowers return
From the spilt blood of the dead,
And the tears of slavery burn,
Which the eyes of orphans shed.

Szánd meg Isten a magyart
Kit vészek hányának,
Nyújts feléje védő kart
Tengerén kínjának.
Bal sors akit régen tép,
Hozz rá víg esztendőt,
Megbűnhődte már e nép
A múltat s jövendőt!

Pity, God, the Magyar, then,
Long by waves of danger tossed;
Help him by Thy strong hand when
He on grief's sea may be lost.
Fate, who for so long did'st frown,
Bring him happy times and ways;
Atoning sorrow hath weighed down
All the sins of all his days.

Who else better to sell military style weapons, but, a military man.

Oliver L. North, (born Oct. 7, 1943, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.), (click here) American marine colonel involved in the Iran-Contra Affair. North graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and served in the Vietnam War. In 1981 he was assigned to the National Security Council, where his work focused on Central America. Embracing the cause of the Nicaraguan contras, he raised private donations for them. In 1986, after Congressional investigation of the Iran-Contra Affair, he was reluctantly dismissed by then president Ronald Reagan. In 1988 North was indicted for conspiracy to defraud the government and resigned from the Marine Corps; at his 1989 trial, he was found guilty of obstructing the U.S. Congress, destroying documents, and accepting an illegal gratuity and was sentenced to two years’ probation....

May 7, 2018
By Bill Allison and Polly Mosendez

The National Rifle Association (click here) has chosen as its next president Oliver North, a retired Marine Corps officer whose convictions in the late-1980s Iran-Contra affair were overturned, the group said in a statement.

North, an author and conservative commentator, is resigning from Fox News immediately and will take on the new role "within a few weeks," as soon as his business affairs are put in order, according to the statement issued Monday.

“This is the most exciting news for our members since Charlton Heston became president of our association,” NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said in the statement, adding the group’s members "are proud to stand with him.

The decision follows the NRA annual meeting in Dallas over the weekend. President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and other Republican leaders spoke at the event. More than 87,000 people attended, which the NRA said was a record....

It is a mistake to consider Hezbolllah backed completely by Iran.

It is autonomous and might be considered a drug cartel as well as a Shi'ite extremist group. But, take a good look at the face of a Hezbollah supporter. She is young and sophisticated and most probably grateful to be alive after the war with Daesh.

Things have been reshuffled a bit in the Middle East. There have been changes in the way Shi'ite groups are viewed, in many instances, they have proven themselves to be capable soldiers. Let's face it, without every soldier fighting for their right to live, Daesh may have been far more formidable and recruited these groups rather than fought them.

It is time to reassess the so called "Terrorist Groups." I am sure many in The West would like to leave it as it is, but, when election dynamics show a shift in the political reality, it is definitely time to reassess. Those that fought with their lives to end Deash aren't necessarily enemies of The West, are they? 

Daesh was a reality check to the Middle East. It was Arab against Arab with support from Muslims globally. It was the first time sovereignty of nations were challenged by an outside and foreign influence that grew out of instability.

May 7, 2018

A supporter of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah holds up his portrait with Arabic words that read: "We belong with you," during an election campaign speech in a suburb of Beirut, Lebanon.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah group (click here) and its political allies made significant gains in Sunday's parliamentary elections in Lebanon while the main Western-backed faction lost a third of its seats, according to preliminary results released Monday.

Meanwhile, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has said that his Future Movement bloc lost a third of its seats in parliament in Sunday's elections.

The initial results, which were carried by Lebanese media and are more or less expected to match the official count, show that Hariri, a Sunni politician with close ties to Saudi Arabia, has lost at least five seats in Beirut, once considered his party's stronghold....

There is a reason why this image is not cemented in every American woman's mind.

Minority Leader Pelosi understands what it is to be the sole woman responsible for the balance of power among governing genders.

I hope Attorney General Sessions brings a humanitarian to the meeting as well. He should see both sides of the issue, not just one.

I think border security is important, but, it needs to be tempered with an understanding that our neighbors are welcome when there is a need. Taking an example from Europe to understand whom exactly is coming across the border is important, but, paranoia should not rule policy.

Attorney General Sessions needs to be mindful of the needs in Southern California of the shortage of agricultural workers. He needs to solve problems, not simply judge how to close the borders of the USA, which President Trump stated could be a directive with the arrival of a caravan of individuals from Mexico, Central and South America to our southern border.

May 6, 2018
By Chris Jennewein

Attorney General Jeff Sessions (click here) will visit the San Diego border for a press conference on Monday, Justice Department officials said Sunday.

Sessions will hold the conference at 1 p.m. with Immigration and Customs Enforcement Deputy Director Thomas D. Homan. The location was not announced.

Justice Department officials said the two will discuss “immigration enforcement actions of the Trump Administration.”

The conference comes a week after a caravan of a few hundred migrants from Central America arrived at the U.S. border in Tijuana, and it’s likely to be a topic of discussion.

Sessions’ visit marks the third high-profile Trump administration visit to the border region in the last two months....               

No one is trying to torpedo Gina Hasper from leading the CIA. Honestly, most of America is pleased there is someone with decades of experience coming to lead the agency.

Which brings me to another point, do you know parliamentary governments can instill a "caretaker government" when there is a vote of no confidence? It's true.

But, as to Ms. Haspel, she will pass in nomination. The purpose of anyone speaking about the tapes is to be sure, especially with Trump in the White House, the policy of burning interrogation tapes is not policy so much as folly. 

It will never be the same in US intelligence since Pompeo. I hope Europe has solidly held records going forward.

I see it differently than most. I think Pompeo went into the CIA, not to lead but to set up the Secretary of State for war, primarily in the Middle East. It seems all too strange that a caretaker White House existed long enough for the second act to begin. I don't trust people that are extreme and focused on power rather than governance. I think there needs to be extreme caution in the international community when approaching any escalation of violence in the Middle East. Hasn't there been enough already?

C-Span: Airing LIVE Wednesday, May 09 9:30am EDT on C-SPAN3 (click here)

May 6, 2018

Democrats’ obsession (click here) with opposing President Trump on all fronts, no matter the merits, opens a new phase this week as CIA Director-designate Gina Haspel goes before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

That there’s any opposition at all to this supremely qualified candidate only underscores just how petty and partisan the Democrats have become.

Haspel would be not only the first woman to head the CIA, but also the first career officer in 52 years to rise through the ranks directly to the director’s chair.

Little wonder that she’s won the enthusiastic support of past CIA directors from both parties, including several of Trump’s fiercest critics....      

It is Teacher Appreciation Week. First Lady Michelle Obama is continuing to impact students with inspiring talks. Every First Lady is a forever icon to Americans.