Everyone keeps some sandbags handy outside the door and around the side of the house, right?

September 30, 2016
1230.18z
UNISYS north and east hemispheric water vapor satellite (click here for 12 hour loop)

The next phenomena is noted west of Alaska.



There is a very large vortex, but, it is more than a vortex. There is a hemisphere roll cloud from my assessment. Roll clouds are sometimes stated to be alien invasions, but, they aren't at all.

Roll clouds and shelf clouds fall into the same category, arcus clouds. Roll clouds form because of an outflow of cold air. It makes sense this extra large phenomena would manifest out of Arctic air coming down from the Arctic circle. There is more than sufficient cold air for this to manifest. It is not over Alaska, but, over the Bering Sea and the north Pacific.


To have a hemispheric roll cloud is strange, but, to have one feed by dense water vapor is more than curious (dense white area).

To the left is radar of the phenomena via Accuweather radar (click here)

This is an extremely rare phenomena, but, I have seen it once before in far less dynamics in 2016.

September 30, 2016
1630.18z
UNISYS west and north hemisphere water vapor satellite (click here for 12 hour loop)

Not to ignore the small phenomena. The east Pacific storms rolling over the continent to build into storms has a diminished amount of water vapor to produce those storms. So, while Matthew is growing and moving the tropical storms may abate for a day or so. 

There is also a circulation center developing directly west and off shore of Oregon and Washington state. It is feeding off the water vapor that is also a part of the roll cloud 'system.'

This vortex is nearly the same latitude of the land-based hurricane over Lake Michigan that is now migrating northwest.

There are two offshore circulation centers off the east coast, east of New Jersey and east of the Bahamas. These circulation centers are being somewhat deprived of water vapor by the land based hurricane/tropical storm over Lake Michigan. These offshore systems most probably will not effect land, but, are in oscillation with the Lake Michigan Tropical Storm (hurricane).

Hurricane Matthew is a huge storm. It is so WET with water vapor it has a trail behind it reaching back to the ITCZ. It is that reach full of fuel (water vapor) that concerns me of Matthew's potential. This hurricane is already a Cat Two storm and growing. The central pressures are dropping like a rock and the potential for a very high velocity storm exists due to it's rich water vapor content.

There are multiple phenomena with the air masses over North America today.

September 30, 2016
1230.18z
UNISYS north and east hemispheric water vapor satellite (click here for 12 hour loop)

It took only nine hours as a category one for Hurricane Matthew to become a category two. The storm is now moving at about 25 miles per hour. This is a very fast storm both in the movement west and it's acceleration of velocity.

It took only nine hours as a category one for Hurricane Matthew to become a category two. The storm is now moving at about 25 miles per hour. This is a very fast storm both in the movement west and it's acceleration of velocity.

There is also much to note on the current air masses on this image. There is a solitary land based hurricane over Lake Michigan. It developed over land and is now an independent circulation system.

September 30, 2016
1230.18z
UNISYS modified water vapor satellite of midwest (central North America). (click here forenhanced infrared 12 hour loop)

Since 2006 there have been hurricanes that developed 'near shore.' It only makes sense as the heat increases in the troposphere that ability of Earth to turn water vapor into a hurricane would begin to translate over the Great Lakes.

September 28, 2016
By Richard Ray

At least eight water spouts (click here) formed over Lake Michigan near the Chicago area on Wednesday, the National Weather Service confirmed.

Water spouts formed as early as 8:30 a.m. near the city’s Lincoln Park neighborhood and Navy Pier and continued to form and dissipate into the afternoon, as late as about 3:30 pm...

[Storm where I am (34.2085° N, 77.7964° W) contained rain dense enough to turn the air white with rolling thunder and sharp lightning outside the window. The duration of the storm was approximately five minutes, but, can still be heard in the distance. Rain continued and air appears normal.]

There is some flooding in the house. I'll continue the entry in separate window and clean up this entry a little latter.

Lake Michigan tornadoes.

Matthew is only a Category One.

September 28, 2016
By Horace Cunningham

One person is now dead (click here) in St. Vincent after being crushed by a boulder due to the passage of Tropical Storm Matthew.

The person who is believed to be a teenager in 10th grade, died earlier this evening when a boulder dislodged and crushed him against a house.

The exact circumstances which lead to the unfortunate turn of events is not known at this time.

Tropical Storm Matthew is currently unleashing several inches of rain backed by heavy gusts of winds on the Eastern Caribbean.

Michael Waldman is not someone that is familiar to most Americans.

He is the author of "The Fight to Vote." He is calling attention this year to the importance of voting in a Facebook video. 

Evidently, Donald Trump is stating there is widespread voter fraud in this election of 2016 and those interested in preventing such fraud should confront people in line to vote.

I don't think so. 

Vote. Do it because it is the one right no one can take away. Yet.

"Waldman’s important (click here) and engaging account demonstrates that over the long term, the power of the democratic ideal prevails — as long as the people so demand.” — The Washington Post

"An important history in an election year"—The Miami Herald

“An engaging, concise history of American voting practices...” — The Wall Street Journal

“Waldman draws a clear picture full of amusing anecdotes of voting and voting rights over the past 228 years. He demonstrates how the political establishment, fearing change, usually has been behind the people on this question.” — Buffalo News

"[An] important book…Waldman’s bracing account of voting rights and political equality arrives right on time for the 2016 presidential campaign.” — Booklist, Starred Review

This is Michael Waldman. This is not his Facebook video for 2016. This is a talk he gave.

Applause to Sir Richard Branson for appreciation of human beings being human.

September 29, 2016
By Gianluca Mezzofiore

London — Sir Richard Branson (click here) probably isn't your boss. But if he was, he'd tell you to unplug for a moment, maybe even two.

Virgin, the British multinational company founded by Branson, recently instituted a new requirement that some of its employees turn off email for two hours a week in a bid to improve their wellbeing and creativity. 

The policy comes as companies are coming under fire for creating environments in which workers are expected to be plugged in almost all the time.

The policy, which has been running since June, sees around 200 employees at Virgin Management in the U.S. and the UK getting away from their desks each Wednesday morning — from 10 a.m. to noon — to take part in brainstorming sessions, walking meetings and even running clubs.

With the email system turned off, the employees can use their time slot to go to the Virgin Active gym as a team or chat one-to-one with their bosses rather than via email or Slack. 

"We want people to live a good work-life balance and our mission is to create a happy workforce,"  Lisa Thomas, Virgin's global head of brand, told Mashable ahead of the Virgin Disruptors panel in London....

Some of the imaginations reflecting how people feel have become rather dramatic. Perhaps the appreciation of being human might tame this in a way we can maintain the love of our own species.

I don't understand why the court is stating there is no injury to the teachers regarding voucher programs.

September 26, 2016

Attorneys for the statewide teachers’ union (click here) on Monday filed a brief asking the Florida Supreme Court to review a lower court decision involving the state’s largest private school voucher program.

The Florida Education Association said the supreme court “should accept jurisdiction and review the (1st District Court of Appeal)’s decision.”

The appellate court had sided with a trial court’s decision to throw out the lawsuit filed by the association and others. They argued that its method of funding private-school educations for more than 90,000 schoolchildren this year is unconstitutional.

A three-judge panel said the plaintiffs don’t have standing to sue because they haven’t been harmed by the program. The panel also denied that it violates state law.

The vouchers are funded by corporations, which in turn receive tax credits on money they owe to the state....

There are teachers leaving the profession for the simple fact there is too much monkey business going on with education. They are retiring in large numbers or finding work other than teaching. 

There is currently a 100 teacher shortage in central Florida. School has started and teachers are still being sought.

That puts undo pressure and stress on the teachers working today. The union has a direct interest in having teachers happy with the profession. When teachers leave the profession in large numbers the union is hurt and other teachers are carrying a heavier burden than they should.

THAT IS REAL HARM TO THE TEACHERS AND THEIR UNION.

What would Donald Trump do? (With the Flint River Crisis)

September 28, 2016
By Andrew Prokop

In the big-picture conversation (click here) around the 2016 presidential election, the major negative narratives about Donald Trump have tended to focus on his racism, his temperament, or his tendency to tell lies.

Yet there’s another important Trump trait that’s gotten some attention but really needs to get much more — he’s corrupt, and in a consistent way.

Whenever Trump has been in positions of power or authority, he has demonstrated a pattern of trying to enrich himself by abusing the trust others have placed in him — whether it’s creditors, contractors, charitable givers, Trump University students, regulators, or campaign donors....

I don't buy this argument. The Trump Organization broke the law in real time. There would have been plenty other businesses that DIDN'T.

It took the attention of the entire country to end the travesty in Flint, MI. If Snyder could have swept it under the carpet, he would have.

September 28, 2016

By Chad Livengood and Jonathan Oosting

Lansing — Gov. Rick Snyder (click here) on Wednesday defended state health and human services director Nick Lyon as Attorney General Bill Schuette continues to investigate the role Lyon’s department played in the Flint water crisis.

Snyder was asked at a news conference Wednesday whether he believes Lyon broke any laws in his department’s year-long concealment of an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Genesee County that resulted in 12 deaths in 2014 and 2015.

“I put Nick Lyon in that position to begin with, and I continue to support him as director of the department,” Snyder said.

Asked if Lyon should be charged criminally, the governor replied: “Again, I’m not going to speculate on that. That’s the role for the attorney general.”

Snyder dismissed questions about Lyon facing criminal charges as “speculation.”

“I respect the attorney general’s investigation, and we’re waiting for outcomes and results from that,” he said. “As that progresses, we’ll take appropriate actions. ... Let’s just let the investigation follow its path.”... 

The inspectors for the train crash cannot get to the scene because of safety reasons. There has been other problems including the sports complex I believe where there wasn't enough electricity and there was problems with the switching mechanism.

The roof of the Hoboken station is lying on top of the train, so there is a lot of work to do to return function to the railway.

The public should consider the work the rescue people are doing. They are to be commended and thanked because the scene is very dangerous.

29 September 2016
By Laura Connor, Sophia Evans

...Train crashed (click here) into a rail station in the US today, leaving at least one person dead and more than 100 injured, some critically.
The NJ Transit train ploughed into the station in Hoboken, New Jersey, at rush hour this morning, trapping dozens of terrified passengers.
Horrified witnesses described how the front of the vehicle smashed through the track stop at high speed, before continuing into the terminal.
One woman was killed in the disaster after being struck by flying debris as she stood on a platform, officials said.
A total of 108 others were injured, including the train's driver.
The cause of the incident remains unclear, but officials have said they ‘have no indication’ that the crash was anything other than a tragic accident.
Scroll down for updates on the story from throughout today....

The world is burying a man of peace.

That is a wonderful picture of a great moment in American history.

September 29, 2016
By Kevin Freking

In this June 13, 2012 file photo President Barack Obama looks at Israeli President Shimon Peres after awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a dinner in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Both were Nobel Prize laureates who labored for peace in the Middle East but failed to achieve it. Now, their joint efforts are at an end as President Barack Obama prepares to pay a final tribute to Shimon Peres in Jerusalem. Obama boarded Air Force One Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016, to fly to Israel to join dozens of world leaders at the funeral of Peres, the 93-year-old former prime minister, president and elder statesman.

Washington — Both were Nobel Prize laureates (click here) who labored for peace in the Middle East but failed to achieve it. Now, their joint efforts are at an end as President Barack Obama prepares to pay a final tribute to Shimon Peres in Jerusalem.

Obama boarded Air Force One on Thursday afternoon to fly to Israel to join dozens of other world leaders at the funeral of Peres, the former prime minister, president and elder statesman who died at age 93.

The two leaders shared similar visions for a two-state solution to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Peres’ son-in-law and personal physician, Dr. Rafi Walden, said Obama had called the family overnight on Wednesday during Peres’ final hours and spoke to Peres’ daughter, Tzvia. “We are deeply moved,” Walden said....

A fix is in for genetic defects.

September 28, 2016

By Sara Reardon

A reported world-first in fertility therapy (click here)— a baby boy conceived with a controversial technique that mixes DNA from three people – has made headlines across the world. But with no way of verifying the claim because the specialists behind the procedure aren’t releasing data until October, some researchers are questioning the ethics of the procedure. In particular, they ask why the US-based team behind the operation chose to carry it out in Mexico, a country with less-clear oversight of human embryo modification than, for instance, the United Kingdom or the United States.

Researchers at the New Hope Fertility Center in New York City told New Scientist — which broke the news on 27 September — that they had conducted the procedure for a Jordanian couple, and that the baby boy was born in April. The team, led by John Zhang, is not due to present details until 19 October, at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, but it has published an abstract online with sparse information.

According to the abstract, the boy’s mother has a rare disease called Leigh’s syndrome, a neurological disorder caused by faulty mitochondria, the cell’s energy-producing structures. The couple lost two children to the disease before asking the clinic’s help....

Governors along the Gulf and East Coast need to keep an eye on Tropical Storm Matthew.

September 29, 2016
0030.20z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of the North and West Hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop)

Below is the UNISYS GOES East satellite. In my estimation Tropical Storm Matthew is approximately 500 miles in diameter. 
 

September 29, 2016
0030.20z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES East (click here for 12 hour loop)

The GOES East satellite shows a very turbulent Atlantic Ocean. There is also a huge water vapor system that straddles Mexico. The system over Mexico is bringing tropical storms that develop into hurricanes in the eastern Pacific. The Gulf of Mexico always has very warm waters and the new path of that heat is to begin as near shore storms with Mexico then jumping over the continent to find a larger bathtub in the Pacific.

continued...  

For the orphans there are international adoption agencies that should be working with them. That could happen now.

September 28, 2016
By Daphne Matziaraki

When I returned home to Greece(click here) last fall to make a film about the refugee crisis, I discovered a situation I had never imagined possible. The turquoise sea that surrounds the beautiful Greek island of Lesbos, just 4.1 miles from the Turkish coast, is these days a deadly gantlet, choked with terrified adults and small children on flimsy, dangerous boats. I had never seen people escaping war before, and neither had the island’s residents. I couldn’t believe there was no support for these families to safely escape whatever conflict had caused them to flee. The scene was haunting....

The Greek men that save the lives of so many are heroes as is the tiny island that accepts them willingly. There is no doubt they are doing the work of humanity. These great people need to be considered for a Nobel Peace Prize for the work they are doing.

This is a long lived reality of senseless and brutal war. There are many countries that have been the recipient of refugees over the centuries. There are people alive today that have survived because humanity would not let them die in the killing fields.

Greece and Turkey and the overflow of refugees into Europe have to come to the United Nations for resolutions as to what will bring about the best outcome for the global community. An entire region of the world has been destabilized by an unnecessary war that occurred in Iraq more than 13 years ago. There needs to be a plan to maintain the stability of Europe and conduct whatever intelligence of terrorist threats that exists because of the refugee crisis and migration of danger.

The terrorist threat Europe has now assessed is a global problem. There needs to be an understanding as to who the refugees are and end the danger. The CIA, FBI, Interpol and KGB along with any intelligence from Turkey and if any intelligence from China applies should create a much needed intelligence network. Israel may want to contribute as well. Those that want to kill forever must be stopped. It will take global cooperation to achieve such stability.

The boat in the film was primarily women and children. They can be assimilated into countries globally if they are willing to accept a new country, with new ideals AND THEY UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF PEACE AND COMPASSION.

The ethnicity of the people should be recorded. They may have descriptions of the atrocities they left behind to insure those that are responsible are found and held for trial.

Refugees need to understand the fact humanity saved them and in return they have a debt of peace to honor that act.

This will not go on forever. Syria and Iraq will find stability again and people can return to their homeland when it is safe.

The right of return must be included in any work at the United Nations. 
 

The veto override by Congress of the 911 bill may prove to be unconstitutional. Both branches of government are suppose to ratify changes to foreign policy.

September 28, 2016
By Lisa Mascaro and Micheal A. Memoli

The GOP lead Congress (click here) has been angling for this moment: the chance to give the President his first stinging override since he took office....

Satisfying political goals is hardly the reason for a veto override.

Congress alone cannot write and ratify changes to foreign policy. It is the participation of the Executive and Legislative Branches that make changes to foreign policy. Congress has the responsibility of ratification, but, not carrying out the negotiations.

Congress is over reaching and interfering in Executive Branch powers. Why bother having a President for checks and balances of power if all Congress has to do is override a veto?

This bill has far ranging consequences besides. Saudi Arabia has been a strong ally  to the USA in the Middle East since 1933. The USA could not have functioned all those years if it weren't for a close relationship with Saudi Arabia, primarily because of oil. In passing a law that bypasses Executive Powers to negotiate foreign policy, the USA Congress is telling the world, "You have to deal with us now."

There is the question of the future relations between Saudi Arabia and the USA. If Saudi Arabia decides to cut off relations with the USA, there goes OPEC. Saudi Arabia is a major player in OPEC and if Saudi Arabia decides to end the relationship with the USA, most countries in OPEC will follow that lead.

I remind, Congress foolishly passed a law allowing the export of USA oil and gas.

What happens then? The balance of power will start to tilt more dramatically to Russia and China. The USA, except for Israel and perhaps Jordan, will have lost most of it's allies there.

I think this Congress is among the most foolish of Congresses in history. Their override will prove to be devastating to USA foreign policy and the USA will be more alone than it has ever been before.

Not only foolish, but, lacking of natural resources to back up the veto.

...Events have confirmed that together the President and Congress (click here) make foreign policy, but they have not resolved the question of which branch originates or finally determines policy. The two branches share in the process and each plays an important but different role. The question of who makes foreign policy does not have a more precise answer for several reasons.

First, U.S. foreign policy is not created in a vacuum as some sort of indivisible whole with a single grand design. Rather, making foreign policy is a prolonged process involving many actors and comprising dozens of individual policies toward different countries, regions, and functional problems.

Second, the complex process of determining foreign policy makes it difficult to decide who should be credited with initiating or altering any particular foreign policy. The two branches constantly interact and influence each other. Under these circumstances, it is difficult to trace an idea back to its origin, determine when a proposal actually influences policy, and decide when a modification creates a new policy.

Third, the roles and relative influence of the two branches in making foreign policy differ from time to time according to such factors as the personalities of the President and Members of Congress and the degree of consensus on policy. Throughout American history there have been ebbs and flows of Presidential and congressional dominance in making foreign policy, variously defined by different scholars. One study classified the period 1789-1829 as one of Presidential initiative; 1829-1898 as one of congressional supremacy, and 1899 through the immediate post World War II period as one of growing Presidential power. Another study defined three periods of congressional dominance, 1837-1861, 1869-1897, and 1918-1936, with a fourth one beginning toward the end of the Vietnam War in 1973. During the Reagan and Bush Administrations the pendulum swung back toward Presidential dominance, reaching its height in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm against Iraq. In the post-Persian Gulf war era, both President and the Congress are confronted with issues in foreign policy that may well define which branch of government will play the dominant role during the first decade of the twenty-first century....

This is very distrubing news. Russia, a major country in this world, has allowed incredible power to fall in the hands of rebels.

This is not a minor incident. Russia would never carry out such an atrocity, so why allow rebels to do so?

I am quite certain President Putin is more than upset about these findings. He needs to be the leader the Russia people expect and causing international incidents is not one of them.

Minsk II needs reinforcement and peace brought to Ukraine. President Putin needs to take control of these munitions in Ukraine's eastern province and return compliance with Minsk II. Does he honestly believe the current Ukraine government and military wants anything else besides peace? The lack of peace is what spurs conflict; it is time to end this disastrous separation of the people in Ukraine.

Hasn't enough blood been spilled? 

September 28, 2016
By Tribune Wire Services

Dutch-led criminal investigators (click here) said Wednesday they have solid evidence that a Malaysian jet was shot down by a Buk missile moved into eastern Ukraine from Russia.
Wilbert Paulissen, head of the Central Crime Investigation department of the Dutch National Police, said communications intercepts showed that pro-Moscow rebels had called for deployment of the mobile surface-to-air weapon, and reported its arrival in rebel-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine.
From that and other evidence collected by the Joint Investigation Team, "it may be concluded MH17 was shot down by a 9M38 missile launched by a Buk, brought in from the territory of the Russian Federation, and that after launch was subsequently returned to the Russian Federation," Paulissen told a news conference.
The conclusions were billed as results of a two-year Dutch-led criminal probe of the disaster that claimed 298 lives....

Very sorry to see this happen. More proof of the losses to the American landscape.

The plutocrats are winning. This is not just sentiment. American values are degraded to allow corporate interests. Whatever happened to the morning newspapers? The net and misinformation. Control of the message is what corporate America is all about. As independent thinkers and writers leave the scene, more and more corporate messing occurs. 

It is unfortunate these are the costs of Freedom of Speech. I don't want to hear how newspapers are corrupt and deal in the politics that wins the day. There was always accommodation of bringing forth the opposite or different view of its reporting. It was called "Equal Time" and print newspapers conducted it as well in inches of columns. There was the Letters to the Editor and reading the paper everyday was information most citizens did not have to make informed decisions. 

I am really sorry to see this. It was a place where recycled actually meant something. "Local economy" actually had meaning to readers.

September 28, 2016
By Robert Channik

Tribune Tower, (click here) Chicago's monument to newspaper journalism, is sold.
Los Angeles-based developer CIM Group announced Wednesday it completed the $240 million purchase from Tribune Media, with plans to transform the historic North Michigan Avenue property into a mixed-use redevelopment.
Elements of the development could include retail, residential, office space and a hotel, with the landmarked 36-story tower at the center of any plans, according to CIM.
"We are very excited to be involved with such an iconic building — one that is a significant part of the fabric of Chicago — and we take this responsibility seriously," said Avi Shemesh, co-founder and principal of CIM. "Our goal is to work with the city to preserve the historic aesthetic of the tower and do our best to maintain it within the context of the surrounding buildings."...