This is the woman Jordan has as a prisoner. The suicide bombers claim to be martyrs as well. Evidently, the Islamic extremists use propaganda without an understanding the meaning of martyr.

The event in Amman is on the blog.

November 13, 2005
Police in Jordan (click here) say they have arrested a woman suspected of having wanted to blow herself up in a series of suicide bombings in Amman.
Police say the Iraqi woman is the wife of one of three Iraqi male suicide bombers who attacked three hotels on Wednesday, killing 57 people.
Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher said she was also the sister of a dead key aide to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Zarqawi's al-Qaeda in Iraq group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The three Iraqi bombers, who died in the attacks, were identified as Ali Hussein Ali al-Shamari, from Anbar province, Rawad Jassem Mohammed Abed, 23, and Safaa Mohammed Ali, 23....

Muath Safi Yousef Al-Kasasbeh is a martyred hero in defense of his country and faith.

I had no idea martyrdom was recognized by the Catholic Church. But, then there is Jesus, right?

Francis is a great Pope. 

February 3, 2015

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis (click here) decreed Tuesday that slain Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero was killed in 1980 out of hatred for his Catholic faith, approving a martyrdom declaration that sets the stage for his beatification.
Francis, the first Latin American pope, approved the decree honoring one of the heroes of Latin American Christians at a meeting with the head of the Vatican's saint-making office.

Romero, the archbishop of San Salvador, was gunned down by right-wing death squads March 24, 1980,...

Archbishop Romero was internationally recognized.

Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (August 15, 1917 - March 24, 1980) (click here) was a prominent Roman Catholic priest in El Salvador during the 1960s and 1970s becoming Archbishop of San Salvador in 1977. After witnessing numerous violations of human rights, he began to speak out on behalf of the poor and the victims of repression. This led to numerous conflicts, both with the government in El Salvador and within the Catholic Church. After speaking out against U.S. military support for the government of El Salvador, and calling for soldiers to disobey orders to fire on innocent civilians, Archbishop Romero was shot dead while celebrating Mass at the small chapel of the cancer hospital where he lived....

He was a post humerous Nobel Peace Prize winner. Not to give the wrong impression of the Roman Catholic Church, Archbishop Romero was saving lives. He was ministering to the poor in El Salvador during a time when government corruption, land abuses and combat altercations between those that were powerful. The USA was backing the official government in arming the troops when El Salvador was in civil war. El Salvador had been in conflict for decades. But, this was different this time.. 

The problem arose that the poor became homeless. Land was taken over to insure the standing government had control. The removal of El Salvadorians from the land was named "The Football War." The people were nameless and faceless and they literally had no place to be. It was a four day maneuver with wide ranging impacts including adversity in the El Salvador and Honduras. The years was 1969. The poverty of the people became institutionalized and was permanent from that time forward.

The Archbishop placed himself at the center of the poverty and asked for help. He asked the Vatican and when the Vatican had no answers, he criticized the USA to end the conflict that was being fueled by munitions coming from USA contractors. He didn't have help from anyone. He was at the center of the poverty and his only ally was the poor.  He took his position and told the people where they were in the eyes of God. He instilled faith in their hearts, but, also talked about the reality of their conditions so they knew this was not their fault, but, that of the government and powers they had no method to act against. He made people with power angry. Their anger ended his life.

...1979

Oscar visited the Pope in Rome (click here) and outlined to him, with evidence, the injustices which were part of life in El Salvador. He did not have much support within the church, and was under threat from those outside it. He spoke out against the USA-financed security forces, and became too much of a threat to the government.

1980

He was shot dead while celebrating mass. His last words were: 'May God have mercy on the assassin.' 

1981

Oscar Romero was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (having been nominated in 1978). 

There are many lessons from the death of Archbishop Romero. His frustrations were obvious and his power vacuum too much to bear. He was in a country he loved that had been removed from it's moorings. No one listened, except, the people he ministered to and they were powerless to change their outcomes. Did his life count?

...Just weeks before his murder, (click here) Archbishop Romero published an open letter to President Jimmy Carter in the Salvadoran press, asking the United States not to intervene in El Salvador’s fate by arming brutal security forces against a popular opposition movement. Romero warned that U.S. support would only “sharpen the injustice and repression against the organizations of the people which repeatedly have been struggling to gain respect for their fundamental human rights.” Despite his plea, President Carter moved to approve $5 million in military aid less than one year after the archbishop’s murder, as Carter was leaving office in January 1981.

Included in the posting are documents reporting on a secret, behind-the-scene effort by the United States to enlist the Vatican in pressuring Romero over his perceived support for the Salvadoran left; an account of the archbishop’s powerful March 23, 1980, homily, given the day before his assassination; a description of the murder by the U.S. defense attaché in El Salvador; and an extraordinary embassy cable describing a meeting organized by rightist leader Roberto D’Aubuisson in which participants draw lots to determine who would be the triggerman to kill Romero....

The Archbishop was completely disregarded among any authority that influenced the civil war. The Archbishop wanted the violence to stop. He was actually seeking a power sharing government, but, that concept wasn't considered a valued aspect of any peace settlement. In those years there was war or no war; but, nothing in between. The Archbishop wanted the killing to end and in his own way without official definition was calling the people to come together and for the powerful to have mercy on the poor.

... In 1980 a series of failed military juntas took power, (click here) but none were able to quell the violence. By 1981, leftist guerrillas and political groups jointed forces, forming the FMLN. Then, throughout the 1980s civil war was waged between the FMLN and the U.S.-backed Salvadoran military forces. Increased international attention to the fighting led to an investigation by the U.S. Congress into the conflict and, eventually, the UN intervened to help mediate a resolution upon request of the two warring parties. The Commission on the Truth for El Salvador was mandated by the January 16, 1992 U.N.-brokered peace agreements that ended the war. The commission was set up in July....

From the peace agreement. This was the military the USA built. I was dismantled into a peaceful force to protect the sovereignty of the country that insured the well being of each citizen.
 


Reduction (click here)

The new situation of peace shall include the reduction of the armed forces to a size appropriate to their doctrine and to the functions assigned to them by the Constitution within the framework of the constitutional reform resulting from the Mexico Agreements. Accordingly, pursuant to the New York Agreement, the Government has submitted to the Secretary-General of the United Nations a

plan for the reduction of the armed forces, which the Secretary-General

has made known to FMLN. The implementation of the plan must have the pr

actical consequence of making reductions in the various branches of the armed forces.

 

Chapter 2 established a national civil police, Chapter 3 and 4 are not in the digital record, Chapter 5 addresses the problem with the land and how farmers needed to work the land to feed the people, Chapter 6 recognizes the political party FMLN and removed all political prisoners to a citizen status and Chapter 7 ends the conflict. Chapters that follow outlines the enforcement of the peace agreement by the United Nations.

 

Did life matter? Ultimately the Archbishops demands were met by intervention of the United Nations. He gave his life to bring awareness and urgency to the need for peace. His life mattered. His impact is immeasurable. He deserves the recognition by Pope Francis. 

 

Archbishop Romero is among the modern day recognition of a martyr that changed the face of an entire country. He is a controversial figure, because he took the challenge of the poor to a higher level than simply supporting them through faith. He is no less a saint for the life and passions he had against a superpower and the government it backed that caused the deaths of innocent civilians in El Salvador.  

 

This is the right wing of the GOP. Wackos. North Carolina has a wacko Senator for the next six years.

See, market pressures take care of everything. Certainly the country knows that, right? So, Tillis is a flyin' genius. The private sector doesn't need government and regulation; they need to be left alone. Did I get that right? The only thing the private sector needs is freedom to completely do what they want. Like, "No Blacks May Enter" or "No Single Women Allowed." Right? So, this time it is handwashing.

Children are going to be asking "What's Soap?" Even the vaccinated ones. 

February 3, 2015
By Colby Itkowtz

Once we’re done debating (click here) whether children should be vaccinated, we can move on to other pressing public health questions, such as whether eateries can force their employees to wash their hands after they use the bathroom.
At least one freshman U.S. senator thinks, “nah.” Because freedom.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), at the end of an appearance Monday at the Bipartisan Policy Center, volunteered a story about “his bias when it comes to regulatory reform.”...

Mr. Tillis is a moron. Merrium Webster defines a moron as a very stupid or foolish person.

What Mr. Tillis never bothers to realize is that if one restaurant doesn't require employees to wash their hands, there will be others that don't require their employees to wash their hands. As a matter of fact, McDonald's would save millions of dollars in hand washing soap to add to their profit margin to pay Mr. Tillis a higher stock dividend. 

So, there you have it. The Republicans obsess about government regulation and how it robs Wall Street of profits. They don't care about people. 

I have a better idea. Why not federally mandate all employees everywhere have to supply their hand soap to wash their hands. Not bad, right?

But, is the federal government going to monitor the employer to be sure they are washing their hands and does the federal government allow the employer to fine an employee if they don't wash their hands? Is the employer federally mandated to file the collected fines with the federal government in their taxes or are they actually a tax credit for being good girls and boys?

Barbaric. The Islamic State has no value of human life.

Muath al-Kasaesbeh was a POW. He was protected by the Geneva Conventions. IS can't be tolerated as they assassinate POWs.

A Jordanian girl holds a poster of pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh earlier this week. Kasaesbeh has purportedly been burned alive by his ISIS captors. (Muhammad Hamed/Reuters) 

The Assad forces have been hitting IS hard. One strike was just outside Damascus. 

February 3, 2015
By Thomson Reuters

A video released (click here) by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Tuesday purported to show captive Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh being burned alive.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the video, which showed a man resembling the captive pilot standing in a black cage before being set ablaze. Kasaesbeh has been in ISIS captivity since his plane crashed over Syria in December.
The head of the Jordanian armed forces told his family he had been killed, a member of the family told Reuters....

I think he is leaving some areas in the region to the Kurds and other groups such as Hezbollah. It would appear his military is primarily stripped of any conventional forces and are relying on IEDs. Whether or not that is a wise decision by The West is questionable. Assad was not capable of this level of cruel killing. I know there are many stating he is a cruel and dangerous dictate. That doesn't appear to be the case. No one is saying he is a Boy Scout, but, he isn't IS. He was cooperating and then abandoned. 

February 3 ,2015

...Another 17 people were killed (click here) and tens of others were injured when regime planes attacked the Casim region in Deraa.
Yusuf Bustani, a local activist, told The Anadolu Agency that regime planes attacked residential areas in Douma, about 10 km north-east of the capital.
Bustani said that among the dead were many women and children. Houses, commercial buildings and vehicles were also destroyed in the attack.
Syria has been gripped by constant fighting since the regime launched a violent crackdown in response to anti-government protests in March 2011, triggering a conflict, which has spiraled into civil war....

The voice heard round the world.

Appeared in The New Zealand Herald this morning.

The Homeless are people, too. It isn't unusual to find artists among this community.

Saved by a cat named Bob, James Bowen now has a movie portraying his life starring Daniel Radcliffe.

February 4, 2015
By Linda Morris

Ten years ago, James Bowen (click here) had a methadone habit, no fixed address and no real job. He is now the co-author of five books, a children's book series and, in a film of his life story, he is set to be played by Daniel Radcliffe, the one-time boy wizard.
The life-changing transformation comes down to the unlikely pairing of Bowen with a wily green-eyed tom cat named Bob. Together, they must count as the oddest of London literary couples.
Bob was a stray Bowen adopted in 2007 after finding him curled up on a doormat outside a ground-floor flat in Covent Garden, malnourished and with an abscess on his back leg.
After spending all of his busker's wages to buy a course of antibiotics, Bowen brought the cat home and named him after a character in his favourite television series, Twin Peaks.
The two became local celebrities selling The Big Issue outside Angel tube station, eventually coming to the notice of literary agent, Mary Panchos.
"If I was to go busking now I would probably cause a street hazard," says Bowen on his first publicity tour to Australia, where he once lived....

The Russian separtists have called for a large number of troops to escalate the war.

The conflict is beginning to take on a problematic tone. The negotiations are worth anything because the rebels doesn't listen to Russia. I never thought they did actually. The Russian military on the border with Ukraine have proven an ineffective influence with the rebels.

February 2, 2015
Bloomberg -- Eight top former U.S. officials (click here) urged the White House to start sending lethal weaponry to Ukraine in its battle against pro-Russian rebels, adding to the pressure on the administration as fighting there has escalated again. Administration officials say they are focused on a diplomatic solution but are examining all options.
The call by the eight former officials came in a report on Monday that urges the administration and NATO to send $3 billion of military aid, including anti-armor missiles, to bolster Ukrainian forces over the coming three years... 

Now, the rebels want fresh recruits. The events in eastern Ukraine are completely out of control. If there was ever a major confrontation it would destabilize the region. There are currently at least 5000 dead. That is a burgeoning crisis with major powers in the middle of it.

February 2, 2015

...Mr. Zakharchenko, (click here) the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, said mobilisation was "urgent" and that the call-up would take place in the next 10 days.

"This is to increase our army to 100,000 people," he said. "It does not mean we will take in 100,000, but the joint army of Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics' army should be 100,000."

However, the rebels' ability to raise large numbers of forces is unclear...

If Russia enters Ukraine with troops they will keep on going. They won't some at the western Ukraine border either. There is always the possibility the people in Kiev and other cities will suffer unbelievable outcomes, if the rebels prove successful.

This was never a matter of if, it has always been a matter of when does The West send Ukraine the armaments they are looking for. We always hope there will be a break through with talks, but, Russia has no influence with the rebels. 

Strike Two, Third Strike and the Airlines will be looking for a bailout.

February 2, 2015
By Ben Mutzabaugh

...More than 4,560 flights (click here) had been canceled through Monday. Additionally, most big airlines had issued weather waivers that allowed passengers flying to airports in the storm's path to change their flight plans without paying the standard change fees. Carriers issuing weather waivers included American, Delta, JetBlue, Spirit, Southwest, United, US Airways and Virgin America. Details, dates and cites covered by the waivers varied by airline....

Right now, the House Speaker and the Senate Majority leader is trying to find a way to define a storm as a terrorist to cover everyone in terrorist insurance.

It doesn't get easier from here.  

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? Put the subject in high school education classes along with sex education. That would an interesting reaction from many.

No matter how fanatical some of the media gets over vaccines, I am not changing my mind. I put thought into all those issues along time ago. 

I think the left have developed very flawed analogies. Ebola doesn't have a vaccine and is completely unrelated to the discussion. 

I think Governor Christi did well and I do think the most empowering statements to the public and parents are "I" statements. This is the way I see it. This is what I did with my children. Don't alienate the people that don't vaccinate. They have their reasons. They know the risks.

There is not enough research done to come to a definitive cause for autism. Here I go again, but, it's true. Does a week go by without the New York Times having some kind of article about autism? If any media organization can speak to the research and findings of doctors along any spectrum it is the NY Times. 

I have some problems with Dr. Paul, but, I have done the same thing with my two sons. My oldest at three months old became ill when a 50% strength vaccine was administered to him. I didn't appreciate it and the vaccination regime for my son changed when I spoke with their pediatrician. A pediatrician that saw them every year until their 18th birthday.

Children are personal. Everyone talks about the most major investment anyone will make in their lifetime is the purchase of a home or car. "W"rong. The most major investment any person can make in their lifetimes is the decision to have and raise children. 

Children can change your life. It is why so many women and their spouses practice birth control and DECIDE when to enter parenthood. It is many times why women don't marry until later fertile years. Children are a very big deal. 

When parents bond with an infant they have all kinds of feelings about the fact they have brought a child into the world. That is a good thing. 

When a pediatrician and/or nurse practitioner sees children in their practice, they don't treat the child; they treat the parents and the child. Children don't stand alone as a patient and they never had. So, when decisions like this are clouded by many people who feel the same way there needs to be a consensus to the discussion. There has to be room in that consensus for others to participate.

People should vaccinate their children. It is up to the parents to value their children enough to realize there is a time for vaccinations. 

...From 1956 to 1960, (click here) an average of 450 measles-related deaths were reported each year (∼1 death/ 1000 reported cases), compared with an average of 5300 measles-related deaths during 1912–1916 (26 deaths/ 1000 reported cases) [2]. Nevertheless, in the late 1950s, serious complications due to measles remained frequent and costly. As a result of measles virus infections, an average of 150,000 patients had respiratory complications and 4000 patients had encephalitis each year; the latter was associated with a high risk of neurological sequelae and death. These complications and others resulted in an estimated 48,000 persons with measles being hospitalized every year [3]. In 1966, 3 years after licensure of the first measles vaccines, Sencer et al. [4] announced the first of 3 efforts to terminate indigenous measles transmission in the United States....

Now, if anyone wants to make a difference and have parents vaccinate their children, EDUCATE them. Tell them the odds. And make them realize the decisions they make today can cause even worse outcomes than if they vaccinate.

There is a unifocus on vaccinations and the other side of the picture is always left out. Why should any parent engage in vaccination if the anti-vaccine crowd has the sole argument in our society?

There is only one reason to drug test anyone applying for social welfare programs and that is to reduce the number of recipients.

February 2, 2015
By Jason Stein

Madison — The Dane County (click here) executive signalled Monday he might sue over Gov. Scott Walker's plan to drug test recipients of public health care, food stamp and jobless benefits.
Joe Parisi, a Democrat and head of the state's second largest county, has asked Dane County attorneys to review what legal options he'll have if the Republican governor's proposal is enacted into law this year as part of the state budget.
"People who fall on hard times should not be treated like criminals; they should be treated like people who have fallen on hard times: with dignity and respect. Requiring someone who has just been laid off from their job to pee in a cup is not treating people in a dignified manner; it is degrading and insulting," Parisi said in a statement.
A spokeswoman for Walker had no immediate comment....

This is exceptionally revealing. With a falling wage and employment in Wisconsin where are people going to find help with their monthly budgets? Unemployment, sure. But, also places like food stamps and Medicaid. How does a governor keep those people off social programs? This way when there are less people on social programs the cuts in employment and salary was a good thing without hurting any Wisconsinites.

Anyone working with statics has to take into account all the dynamics when looking for policies that work and policies that are political. This is a political policy. Statistics isn't just about obvious numbers, it goes past that. 

Scott Walker is an extremist. He wants the presidency, but, he is running to attempt to raise his political capital.

The one way to have a place holder politically is to run for President. The reason Paul Ryan is still in office is because he was running with Romney.

Wisconsin is not in good condition. I thought everyone knew that. 


This is from the right wing's Wall Street Journal.

December 18, 2014
By Laura Sparks, Wisconsin Journal

Over the past decade, (click here) Wisconsin has mostly ranked in the middle of all states for employment growth. Among Midwestern states, Wisconsin was once among the leaders, but in recent years that trend has changed. How states rank in percent change of private-sector employees for the second quarter ending in June each year:...

This is what happens when a politician pleases his political funders, but destroys the Middle Class. I don't care where anyone looks to justify the very hostile domestic policy in the USA of destroying unions, the economy falters and it ultimately fails. The Middle Class is vital to any community in the USA.

Scott Walker turned against the people of Wisconsin and is pandering now to cronies. It happens every time. An economy needs consumers. If all the consumers in Wisconsin finds themselves working for Wall Street superstores without a good wage where is the economy going? It will be a subsistence economy and the ONLY growth once gets is with increase in population.

Money bought Scott Walker and office as Governor. That doesn't mean he is the best qualified. 

If this is news to Scott Walker, he and his legislature hasn't bothered to realize their extremely poor governing and policies. This can't possibly be news to Scott Walker.

The Red State Midwest Governors have been using faux facts in their political rhetoric. This graph is good news for people like Pence, because, he can say his policies have excelled about Walkers. But, it isn't like Pence is doing a good job either.

February 2, 2015
By Tony Cook of the Indy Star

Gov. Mike Pence (click here) announced a major leadership shakeup at the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles on the same day that the troubled agency revealed yet another $2 million in mistaken taxes and fees.
BMV Commissioner Don Snemis will be replaced by Kent Abernathy, now chief of staff at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. Snemis will take a new position as special counsel for program integrity at the state's Family and Social Services Administration.
The leadership change came as the BMV acknowledged overcharging nearly 30,000 customers a total of about $2 million over six years. The mistaken charges involved delinquent fees for mobile and manufactured home titles, reinstatement fees paid by people who later proved they had insurance and other miscellaneous taxes and fees.
The BMV plans to issue refunds or credits to affected customers....

This is a clear warning sign about Pence. Any state in the country derives income from it's motor vehicle division. How this happened knowing that agency has the state's back when it comes to the budget is anyone's guess. These Republican governors cut staff in order to score with their electorate and then corruption occurs. The Republicans do not have a good governance model. They simply don't.

Thomas More Society isn't the least bit concerned about the corruption due to oil barrons in North Dakota.

I am a bit curious about public health records and the incidents of STDs in North Dakota.

January 30, 2015
By Associated Press

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Sioux Falls (click here) has become a popular stopping-off point for sex traffickers heading to the booming western North Dakota oil patch, where pimping and prostitution are on the rise, authorities say.
Police statistics show that about two-thirds of the 78 people who have been arrested in the past two years in connection with prostitution in Sioux Falls, South Dakota's largest city, came from Wisconsin, Minnesota and other states. Authorities don't see any signs of the activity slowing, Milwaukee FBI Agent Chad Elgersma said.
"It's logical for traffickers traveling to North Dakota for the oil boom to use it as sort of an in-between stop, as another area to make money on their way up," Elgersma told the Argus Leader newspaper (http://argusne.ws/1ydRV9B ).
In North Dakota, the U.S. attorney, the state attorney general and others have sounded alarms about a surge of trafficking linked to the state's oil boom and its increasing population of transient workers. The Legislature is considering several measures aimed at combating the increasing incidence of prostitution in the state, including increasing the penalties for sex traffickers....

The North Dakota outreach to those that speak languages other than English has to increase.

North Dakota reports their statistics in the number of people effected by disease because their population is smaller than most states in the USA which report in percentages.

Tuberculosis (TB) (click here)

Although the overall rate of TB in the United States has declined substantially since 1992, the rate of decrease among foreign-born persons has been much smaller than that for U.S.-born persons. In 2012, North Dakota: Ranked 7th among the 50 states in TB rates (3.7 per 100,000 persons). 15.4% of TB cases occurred in foreign-born persons. 

Can anyone tell Senator Cornyn is not a Superbowl fan. He just hasn't been the same in the clothing failure with Janet Jackson and Jason Timberlake.

January 29, 2015
By Michelle Ye Hee Lee

 "While most Americans (click here) are going to be getting prepared for the Seahawks and the Patriots to tee off in the Super Bowl, the dirty little secret is that the Super Bowl actually is one of the highest levels of human sex trafficking activity of any event in the country. And in, for example, Dallas in 2011, we saw a 300 percent increase in ads for sex, sexual acts related to human trafficking."

Yes, indeed, the crackpots are out in full strength since November of last year. Senator Cornyn has no right to point a finger at the Superbowl as a means to sex trafficking and prostitution. That is an aliment of the society and doesn't just happen at every Superbowl game. He needs to choose his targets better.

The police across the country are doing their jobs. I could list over a dozen sting operations carried out in the last 48 hours. There is no criticism of the authorities to reduce and end this practice in the USA.

Yes, indeed. Liquor too close to a convent, retirement home and house of worship.

January 30, 2015
By Kate Thayer

A group of nuns and residents (click here) who live near a west suburban strip joint Thursday made allegations that prostitution and liquor law violations were occurring at the club, which they say has changed their neighborhood and which they have been seeking to shut down.

In an amended complaint to a suit filed in Cook County Circuit Court, the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo and others claim Club Allure in Stone Park promotes and allows certain touching and "high friction rubbing" that could be considered prostitution under Illinois law....

No doubt it is headed to the Supreme Court. Too drunks knocking on the convent? Simple proximity is not a legal concern unless it is disruptive and then it is a matter of disturbing the peace.

..."This is not just a strip club," said Thomas Brejcha, president of the Thomas More Society, (click here) which is representing the convent. "This is actual criminal conduct. We will press this for as long as it takes."

Sister Noemia Silva said she's worried about the impact the club's presence will have on children in the neighborhood, who she says are now exposed to "alcohol, drugs, insecurity and human trafficking."...

What is going to follow are zoning laws that say no liquor establishment can be within a hundred miles of any convent. It is unconstitutional to carve out the space around an abortion clinic for everyone's safety, but, it is a different story around a nun's convent.

Remember this guy?

January 30, 2015
Paris

Ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn (pix), (click here) whose sexual proclivities cost him his job and a shot at the French presidency, goes on trial Monday for "pimping" over his alleged role in a prostitution ring.
The 65-year-old saw his high-flying career at the head of the International Monetary Fund and presidential prospects implode when a chambermaid at a New York hotel accused him of sexual assault in 2011.
While those criminal charges were dropped and the case settled in a civil suit, DSK -- as he is known in France -- faced further humiliation when sordid details emerged of his participation in orgies with prostitutes.
It is these sex parties which have once again landed him in the dock, charged with "aggravated pimping in an organised group" after his name came up as part of an investigation into a prostitution ring in northern France and Belgium.
Strauss-Kahn, who denies the charge, was ordered to stand trial in 2012 by investigating magistrates despite prosecutors calling for the charges to be dropped for lack of evidence....

The Patriots by 4 points. Both teams played their best game. The Seahawks got a little too desperate at the end,but, I or anyone else can't really make that call.

The half-time show was oddly interesting. I guess I prefer award winning college bands. Never got used to all that fancy stuff. Katie Perry did a first rate job. She took risks to perform for everyone. A million things could have gone wrong.

I know it is a lot to ask, but, what if all the fantastic stuff were to end and half time was a band, would the tickets be less expensive to allow the actual fans into the stadium without a taking out a second mortgage?

I changed stations right after the game ended and QVC was already selling Patriot - NFL merchandise. But, not to be undone was the commercial for NFL merchandise that included a package of scarf, shirt, hat and Blue-ray. Amazing. It is a bit disappointing to realize merchandizing football has become the way to remember the game. I always thought it was conversation and good friends.

I suppose I am old fashioned.

I noticed something. The players were lean and mean. The more weight they carry the more velocity their collisions and falls carry. Muscles support the rest of the body and when they are strong and at the same time supple, injuries can be minimized and possibly avoided. They appeared to be well practiced on falling and rolling with the velocity of their own bodies. That is very smart. I was impressed. Someone took a sincere interest in trying to end the profound pounding others have taken to bring the sport to the pinnacle it had on February 1, 2015.

When their bodies are allowed to roll rather than pound the ground it disperses the energy of their movements. There are many non-impact sports that see athletes move and turn and even sometimes fall (I am thinking of gymnastics.), but, they don't have the problem with brain injury the way American football players do.

My personal opinion is that a bit block to protect teeth can also act as a shock absorber. The idea is to use the energy of the fall or collision to allow it to dissipate in other parts of the body, ground, ball and/or equipment. With all the sports medicine and research that exists today, I would think the body mechanics of falling and collision is a science by now. From what I saw on many an occasion yesterday the rules could also push a greater safety margin without impeding the game. 

I stopped watching football a long time ago. I think it was the Redskins and not Green Bay, when they became bone breakers and it was all legal, it was no longer a sport to me. Superbowl XLIX was a good game. I thought the players did well.

The rookie Malcolm Butler won the game. It was interesting to watch him first nearly lose it only to turn around to win it. He is a very serious player, even after the win he was more serious than I would expect. He should have a great future. 

The bar room brawl at the end of the game only proves there is little sportsmanship in the game. That is unfortunate. Football is still a game. It is not the life blood of national security or the primary support of the working class as the car industry has become. I don't mean to bring embarrassment to the NFL, I think they want to put out a good product. But, the it is still a game and to that end lies the safety of the players and the longevity of it.

If I were the CEO of the NFL, I'd insist the players that turned the football field into a hockey arena be fined to never repeat it. Fights can cause concussion too. If investment in body mechanics research and the willingness of the players to accept better methods of falling and colliding, then why compromise them with poor tempers? Sportmanship is important.

I don't think the homeless in Albuquerque will be watching the Superbowl.

January 29, 2015
By Aaron Hill

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —A homeless camp (click here) called Tent City along First Street near Iron Avenue downtown has become a big headache for people who live in the area.
Mayor Richard Berry said he's gotten a lot of calls from folks who want it gone. He said they tell him it impacts their quality of life as well as the quality of the neighborhood.
The mayor said he wants to get social workers there to help anyone who wants to find a new place to stay. The mayor also said he's working to root out the criminal element in Tent City. 
APD records show officers have been called to that area more than 100 times since October. Officials said they're concerned about reports of drug use, prostitution, and what they call a militant-type group -- a handful of people taking advantage of the innocent homeless people there. 
"If you have a population of individuals that have substance abuse issues, or alcohol abuse issues, or drug abuse issues, they're vulnerable and they can be preyed upon," said Berry....

Albuquerque needs to find a way to make room for their homeless without violence and confrontation. If there is crime occurring in Tent City, the police need to respond there no different than any other neighborhood in the city. Ultimately, these people need a place out of the weather in a place with walls and windows.

Send the Social Workers with a police officer so they are taken seriously and not in danger if there is criminality in the community. 

Everyone so inclined enjoy the football game. Until tomorrow. 

Former Secretary of State Clinton needs to listen and watch the testimonies of the generals to the Senate. Evidently, there was legislation passed to order the USA military to put forward positions near embassies to prevent another Benghazi. To begin that is in direct conflict with the way the State Department operates in trusting the country where the embassy exists. That trust is important.

It was more than clear to me the generals were uncomfortable with the orders of placing American soldiers in a forward position to embassies. Not that they didn't think it important or below the esteem of the USA military, but, with the cuts in spending there are less soldiers and the generals were having some degree of trouble conducting assets to those locations. It is worth hearing. Evidently, the all wise Congress didn't bother to get an assessment of the feasibility to carry out those demands. Politics is interfering too much with the military.

All the Bushy feelers are out and about.

Former Secretary Robert Gates was on "Meet the Press." He hasn't got a clue about international conflict. There is a reason why if Jeb goes into office we'll start warring around the planet again. They, including Robert Gates, completely discounts the diplomatic process and they disregard the entire United Nations. 

Never once during his narrative did he refer to the United Nations, treaties or other methods to peace. He talked about the fact the President needs different advise. He even insulted FDR and how he molded his policies based in bright people that knew what to do when he was not that bright.

Former Secretary Gates and the military leadership in Washington don't bother to understand diplomacy. The only thing the US military understands is the downsizing of the USA military due to Sequester and repeated deployments of our soldiers. 

The entire dynamic of the USA military is not based in defense. It is based in offense. "Preemption."

Former Secretary Gates stated the USA has to decide what we want in our relationships with Russia and Iran and whoever. "What we want." Does he see past borders? It certainly looks that way.

When Ukraine exploded, what would have happened if there was a Bushy in the White House? I think President Obama was nothing short of genius. If a Neocon had his finger on the trigger we'd be in military conflict with Russia. We are far from that and that is the way Europe wants it. The countries of NATO want peace, not war, not military conflict and it is about time the USA military develop a contingent of officers to work with the State Department as well as our UN Ambassador. 

Peace is pretty boring. For those that believe war is a sense of control necessary in the national defense of the USA, YOU are the problem.

The USA military gave testimony last week to the Senate. They are prepared to do what they are asked, but, they are making choices in expectations of Congress's actions. One of the phrases that came frequently was, "We are always making choices based on readiness and modernization." That was very interesting, because, how can one seek readiness if the weaponry used is not modern and functional in today's world.

One of the generals also stated, "We put in requests for what we want and we are always told by contractors 'You don't want that, but, we have something that will really work for you.'" That type of nonsense is due to the bidding process and procurement. Procurement is broken in the USA military, unless it comes to stocking enough milk in the refrig for flattops and nuclear submarines.

Right now as the USA military stands I wouldn't give a plug nickel of it. Why? Because it is the one place where there should be a garage sale. Better yet replace the junk the USA military has and send the metal to the recycle bin to end iron mining and a portion of the smelting process that causes dangerous emissions to Earth's troposphere where the F35 flies. 

The computer junk and robots are out of there. It causes too many problems with readiness. The computer systems are hacked. There is the "Paperwork Reduction Act" that was passed in 1980, it needs to be updated to include computer pages. The Paperwork Reduction Act means the USA military can easily return to communicating by telephone, fax, telegraph and writing on paper, but, it has to be streamline and effective communication. If the military needed to communicate well and it wanted to streamline the process and keep it secret, then they need code talkers to develop language the battlefield and PREPAREDNESS understands. 

I am completely uncomfortable with the computerized military. I don't think it is a good idea and allows windows for outside interests, be they domestic contractors and/or international terrorists as well as other countries to look into the programs of the USA military. THAT IS A FACT. We know it is a fact because of the whistleblower, Edward Snowden. It is outrageous to realize the deception the liars like Clapper have carried out and Edward Snowden sits in Russia.

The USA military needs to stop thinking they can substitute soldiers for drones, be they flying machines or on the ground soldiers. The entire idea computers and drones can bring about a more secure USA is nonsense. An entire computerized military only places defeat of the USA in the hands of any enemies. Knock it off with this garbage.

Realizing the US military as choosing readiness over modernization is one of the best ideas I have ever heard. The modernization of the USA military has to be a process where the effectiveness of their units are actually assessed in reality and replace old equipment with stuff that works. No pie in the sky junk, because, if any vehicle was a joke it is the F35. The cost is ridiculous. Ain't no way that jet belongs within the procurement process. Look at what has happened. It's a mess and our allies can't afford it. The cost has gone through the roof and it is still having problems. 

The USA military might be asking itself about readiness and modernization, but, it is not making wise decisions. It is getting equipment it doesn't want. It has problems with new budget levels and they still haven't assessed the international stage of our military from a sense of DEFENSE rather than offense. 

The USA military and the Secretary of Defense takes trips to China and Russia and nearly anywhere in the world they believe it necessary to understand what the USA has to do to protect itself. But, at the same time these men develop relationships with foreign military that are valuable beyond belief. The Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Michael Mullens changed the entire battlefield in Afghanistan - Pakistan when he made Pakistan realize they were hosting the Haqquani Network. That is taking charge of the battlefield and speaking truth to power. Power in Pakistan and the USA. It took guts to openly state, "Hey, there is something very wrong here no one wants to talk about." Basically, there is an elephant in the living room. 

President Obama is called a reluctant warrior. I hope so. I think he is brilliant and for the first time in history the countries in the Middle East are talking to each other and finding ways to cooperate. If anyone wants to call anyone a reluctant warrior, they can look to the Middle East leadership. They don't want to accept the fact they have to stand up to extremists and protect their sovereignty. If not now, when? 

Peace doesn't require war to bring it about. The USA is unique in the world. Sure, sure Russia and China try to intimidate the power of the USA, but, they can't. At the very least China wants to move into a venue of peace. It has not had a culture of war. China has always concerned itself with relationships and builds on those relationships to expand it's economy. China is correct. It's best defense is based in economic ties. 

Economies when destroyed by war also destroys the hope and future of the people. That is not a place where any military should have it's sites set. Nuclear Non-Proliferation has to go forward, but, it cannot be blind to the fact some countries don't value non-proliferation. If any country can lean on other countries to bring about movement to non-proliferation it is China. China doesn't have the ankle shackles the USA has with Israel. China is also involved globally with some of the weakest economies in the world. But, that is genius. As China seeks to expand it's markets it values every country as a customer and tries to move them forward as well. That is peace, my friend. That is not war.

The USA needs rehabilitation in the worst way. Oh, by the way will the military stop referring to ships as SHE. The language the military uses, including the generals, is all genderized. The leadership talks about bedding down an aspect of the military. KNOCK IT OFF. Jeeze. The LADIES are now finding rank and I can't imagine they enjoy hearing their gender being bedded down.

The rehabilitation of the US military is a huge culture change, not only in the plans for national defense, but, also the relationships they have and how they conduct that culture. There is no way anyone is going to stop a soldier from saying, "She is such a bitch." But, they are saying it under their breath and not in the Board Room. 

I would love to see our military function and making plans to function in generations to come. Considering the world we live in and the dangers we face, I think our military has done well. The current military wasn't prepared for terrorism in the way it is manifesting, but, there needs to be a tempered approach in a world able to destroy itself in an hour. 

There are changes today that we could only hope for in past decades. Whoever thought in 2014 the world would be in disgust over the attacks in Ukraine. Now that is about the most delicate circumstances this country and it's allies have ever faced and I am hopeful it will resolve for the best interests of Ukraine. But, the President of the Ukraine has been one of the best assets Europe could even hope for. He is a great ally. Who knew only a short time ago, The West would be looking at Ukraine as an ally? 

So. I strongly suggest the US military work on it's battlefields. But, before the dreamscape takes place please come to understand President Obama's vision of the world. Get to know how our US Ambassador works to bring about better outcomes within that institution that would lead to a sustainable peace. Those visions are magnificent and necessary. The USA can't go around the world killing every flea circus to protect the dog. We need peace. As populations grow on Earth we have greater and greater concerns for an outcome to conflict. The USA cannot kill millions of people and expect to have a defensible country. And I am sorry, but, fear in the leadership such as I heard from the Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is his problem and doesn't have a place in the modern military. 

There is a bifurcation between the military and the American people, but, I don't see that as resolvable by the military unless it is going to roll out tanks in every neighborhood. Peace is a military objective and it better figure out quickly where that fits in to the culture and defend that peace.

He is already on his way back to Australia.

Egyptian officials say Australian Al-Jazeera journalist Peter Greste will be deported to Australia today. Photo: AFP

...There was no word (click here) on the fate of his two Al-Jazeera colleagues – Canadian-Egyptian bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy and producer Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian....

It is time to extradite  the other journalists as well. Egypt has been converted into a dictate and no longer has to hold journalists in prison to silence them.