The Clinton email investigation performed by the FBI under Comey is becoming Republican rhetoric.
Comey is fired and that is the leverage point the Republicans are using to say there was bias in the Clinton email scandal. The Democratic leadership needs to address this. Comey insured Trump's win, so the rhetoric is meaningless from a political point of view. The numbers are there to put forth a graph regarding the falling approval numbers of Clinton AND the down ballot AFTER Comey made the announcement regarding the Weiner laptop.
The extremist right wing sentenced Secretary Clinton during the Trump campaign, "Lock her up." Well, it seems to me there are a lot of people that were involved in the Trump campaign that faced being "locked up" if they didn't cooperate with the Mueller investigation. That has to be driven home to the country. There are real criminals and real crimes and real deals to accumulate as much knowledge as possible about the Russian interference in the 2016 elections.
The are all Trump people involved that are real criminals, with real crime and real deals (not deals by Trump, the deal master) were part of the Trump election strategy and personnel. What else needs to be said, when Trump himself is holding secret meetings with Putin in Helsinki?
Trump should be radioactive to the Republicans, but, his constituency seems to be desperate for some kind of anti-government rant and outcome. Find out what is so attractive to the extremist right wing about any anti-government movement? I remind there are folks from within prison known to run for an out of prison office. They rarely win, but, end up as candidates, the highest office I think was tried from West Virginia. How many of the right wing extremists have or had or are facing a criminal history WITH OR WITHOUT the potential to vote even after they served their time (which is another Democratic stronghold - returning full citizen rights to ex-cons).
This may be a few of the organizations that try to help those released from prison or jail to a life within the law. (click here) The real issue of returning citizen rights to former prisoners is profound. There are companies that would normally attract these former prisoners, like the trucking industry, that won't go near a former felon anymore. Even those with misdemeanors are not necessarily hired. I know J.B. Hunt requires a misdemeanor free record of three years before they consider hiring anyone. That same company won't even talk to former felons.
As far as I am concerned the attitudes of the employers can all be litigated, but, who has the money and legal clinics are few and far between to take this on. The fact of the matter is some of the criminal records that exist are heavy with ACCUSATIONS and not convictions. Those accusations stay on their record forever. An innocent man or woman could be looking at huge hurdles to living their lives because they were wrongly charged. That needs to be investigated by the Democrats and legislation to assist these people passed into law, even if it means subsidizing clinics that specialize in expungement. At least every state should introduce their departing inmates to lawyers that can help clean up a messy record to help facilitate employment and that doesn't happen. Then there is the issue of voting rights that are simply out of reach in many states and they should not be. Someone that has served their time to society should have all their citizen rights returned to them. There needs to be a process before exiting prison to correct the records these men and women need to restart their lives.
At any rate, "Lock him up!" doesn't belong to the former Secretary of State, but, to the administration now in the White House. Interesting isn't it? Trump yells "Lock her up," when a high percentage of his staff was eligible for the chant.
September 16, 2018
By Emily Tillett
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, (click here) says he's intent on ensuring special counsel Robert Mueller completes his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election with political interference. Graham's comments on Sunday's "Face the Nation" come after former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort reached a plea deal with Mueller's team and agreed to cooperate with investigators.
"Nothing's going to happen to Mueller's investigation politically. He's going to be allowed to finish it," Graham said.
Graham said the Senate Judiciary Committee has found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia when asked what Manafort might reveal to Mueller's team....
Sunday, September 16, 2018
Saturday, September 15, 2018
Deadly virus update and speculation.
West Nile Virus
Albany, NY — State agriculture officials (click here) are advising horse owners in New York to vaccinate their horses against West Nile virus.
The Department of Agriculture and Markets says there have been four confirmed equine cases of the mosquito-borne infection in the state this year, in Steuben, Suffolk, Cattaraugus and Livingston counties.
Infected mosquitoes can pass West Nile virus to humans, horses and other animals. Symptoms can resemble the flu, with horses appearing mildly anorexic and depressed. Other symptoms are muscle and skin twitching, fever, hypersensitivity to touch and sound, drowsiness and unsteady gait.
Twelve cases of West Nile virus have been reported in humans this year. Most people have no signs of illness but some develop flu-like symptoms. Fewer than 1 in 150 experience serious symptoms.
There is no vaccine for humans.
September 14, 2018
A horse in York County (click here) has tested positive for the West Nile virus, according to the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
The horse showed signs of the virus last week before testing positive....
September 14, 2018
By Tony Leys
Late-summer mosquitoes (click here) are sparking Iowa’s worst West Nile virus outbreak in 15 years, state experts said Friday.
The virus is believed to have seriously sickened 73 Iowans so far this year, killing three, the Iowa Department of Public Health said. Iowa saw just 12 confirmed cases in all of last year. Mosquito season is likely to continue for at least a few more weeks. "We expect these numbers to rise," said Ann Garvey, the department's deputy epidemiologist.
The virus, which can cause dangerous fevers and brain swelling, arrived in Iowa in 2001 and peaked here in 2003, when it caused 147 confirmed illnesses and killed six Iowans. This year’s total is the highest since then. Garvey said all three deaths were among residents older than 81. Two were in northwest Iowa and one was in central Iowa, she said. Their identities were not released.
Although mosquitoes tend to be more numerous earlier in the summer, the types most likely to carry West Nile tend to come out in late summer and early fall. Culex species of mosquitoes like to feed on birds, including blue jays and crows, which often carry the virus, then bite humans, infecting them....
Zika Virus is a highly specialized virus. It's attack first destroys any possibility to kill the virus with its' host cell. Then it attacks the very
September 10, 2018
By Heather Buschman, PhD
Macrophages are immune cells (click here) that are supposed to protect the body from infection by viruses and bacteria. Yet Zika virus preferentially infects these cells. Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have now unraveled how the virus shuts down the genes that make macrophages function as immune cells.
The study is published the week of September 10 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences...
...“We know Zika virus destroys a number of cell types, particularly in the brain, but we don’t yet understand how it causes cells to die or malfunction,” said first author Aaron Carlin, MD, PhD, associate physician at UC San Diego School of Medicine. “So this loss of general gene transcription and identity we saw in macrophages could also be crucial when a neural stem cell is trying to develop into a new neuron.”...
...The difference they found with the new technique was startling.
“We were surprised at just how different infected and uninfected cells looked, in terms of the genes they had turned on or off, even two cells next to each other,” Glass said. “What’s amazing is that even though they are exposed to the same environment, their responses are completely different. And now we know those differences are truly due to the virus, not any of the other events going on around the cells during an immune response.”
This approach provided a more accurate account of Zika’s effect on macrophages and revealed that the virus suppressed gene production in the cells by two methods. First, the virus specifically blocks hundreds of macrophage genes that should be stimulated by interferon, a molecule that triggers an immune response. For example, the IFITM1 gene, which inhibits Zika virus, is expressed 73-fold less in Zika-infected cells than in neighboring uninfected cells. Second, Zika infection leads to general suppression of gene production because the virus targets RNA Pol II, a crucial part of the cell’s gene transcription machinery. The loss of RNA Pol II is especially notable at genes responsible for macrophage function and identity.
Collectively, these approaches allow Zika virus to stop macrophages from making many genes involved in immune cell recruitment and anti-viral defense....
This research was funded, in part, by the National Institutes of Health (R01DK091183, P01DK074868, R01AI116813, R21NS100477, R21AI127988, 1KL2TR001444), Kyowa Kirin Pharmaceutical Research and Burroughs Wellcome Fund.
Was this virus genetically produced? The argument can be made if there is this depth of knowledge regarding the human genome. I remind that the Novichok was used in Great Britain. I suppose one can argue Russia's biological and chemical weapons are not that advanced, but, they are causing deaths in the United Kingdom.
From the beginning I have wondered what type of mutation of a mosquitoes ability to harbor and carry such specific attacks is possible. In the bigger picture this virus only effects the fetus of human women. That is the strangest form of mutation I can ever imagine.
Why would a virus target the brains of infants in utero? It doesn't make sense. There is nothing the organism (mosquito) needs from a fetus. When I think of a mutation of any kind it is in regard to survival.
This past year a yellow cardinal was discovered as a variant of the red species. The cause is unknown as to why the bird is yellow instead of red. I am sure that is in the works, but, the point is the embryos to the species adapted a different color. The most likely culprit is the food source the mother was eating and then the juveniles were eating the same diet and the color changed. We see that in Flamingos, yes? So, we know the fetus can change/mutate when the mother doesn't. The reason for the survival in this instance was most likely a biochemical reaction from a new diet by the female because the environment didn't produce enough of the preferred diet of the affected cardinal. It is an adaptation that was imposed by the female on the embryo before it is in the eggshell before hatching. It could be both male and female if the males are experiencing the same degree of food stress and it effected their genes. In one case the female has a different biochemical balance before laying her eggs. In the other it is a change of the genetic structure which is far more profound than the female's biochemical diet. In this case, the cardinals probably DID NOT experience a genetic shift, BUT, their offspring might have a permanent variant to their genes. Follow that? The most likely scenario is that a food source to the female caused a biochemical shift in the color of the offspring, so that the offspring now have a variant of colored feathers that is genetically passed on to their offspring, which means there is a new species of cardinal with yellow feathers. OR. The biochemical shift is only temporary for the offspring IF they return to the preferred diet of the parents. HUGE DIFFERNCE one is temporary and one maybe permanent, especially if the food source is permanent. Again, the Flamingos.
But, to return to Zika, this is a permanent shift for the infant that did not occur because of something the mother did, but, from a virus implanted into the blood supply to the fetus. The mother remains healthy throughout her pregnancy with no residual effects to her, but, the infant never had a chance. The infant was the target of the virus. It is a massively important question as to what the heck caused Zika. Was it engineered to end the lives of the human race if it was allowed to spread unabated? How were the mosquitoes exposed to the virus that came to reside in their secretions?
Here there is a virus that has mutated to attack a fetus. What benefit does the mosquito have to that outcome? If, going forward there were only infants born that could not survive on their own it would end the opportunity for the virus to survive. It would kill the host forever.
Zika is a very different type of virus and I challenge the idea it developed/mutated in the natural world.
One could possibly say the same thing about HIV. However, HIV is an attack on the exposed adult. There is nothing genetic about it. except, it uses RNA of it's own and the DNA of the host to reproduce. No one can really call HIV a genetically engineered virus because we know for a fact, that viruses that cross species lines have the capacity of being fatal. HIV crossed species lines and became a fatal virus. The original virus that was found in other primates still exists, regardless, of the outcome of humans. HIV crossing species lines was more a survival method than a mutation method.
Zika is not about survival. If all humans were microcephalic in one generation, Zika dies. It is a very strange virus and I am probably dead wrong and the virus is just a new type of virus that developed in the natural world.
But, remember, Zika is only successful in warm climates. Russia doesn't have that issue unless it's citizens travel.
But, remember, Zika is only successful in warm climates. Russia doesn't have that issue unless it's citizens travel.
JUST SAYIN'.
This is Steve Bryant. He blows up gas pipelines as a CEO.
This is the third time Bryant has controlled a company that had explosions from his natural gas company.
See, infrastructure costs money to manufacture and install. We have seen the issues with water in Flint. The public utilities can ask for rate hikes if they are running into high costs of replacing infrastructure and Steve here, has just received a rate high in Massachusetts from the public utility commission, but, the commissioner hasn't signed it yet. Really? And Governor Charlie Baker states the company is handling this disaster adequately? Really?
September 15, 2018
By Kevin McCoy
...Columbia Gas of Massachusetts (click here) is the business name of Bay State Gas Company, according to a written summary of testimony that Stephen Bryant, the utility's president and chief operating officer, provided in April for a rate hike request submitted to the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities....
Springfield, Mass explosion
West Virginia Pipeline explosion
Ohio Pipeline explosion
Buyer beware.
October 14, 2016
By Jim Kinney
Both Columbia Gas and Berkshire Gas are close, (click here) they say, to going public with plans to increase the supply of natural gas to Hampshire and Franklin counties.
Increasing that supply would end the 2-year-old moratoriums on new gas service hook-ups both utilities have imposed on their territories in the northern half of the Pioneer Valley. The affected communities are Northampton and Easthampton in Columbia Gas' service territory and Amherst, Deerfield, Hadley, Hatfield, Greenfield, Montague, Sunderland and Whatley in Berkshire Gas' territory.
The solutions might involve expanding the existing Northampton lateral gas line, which runs from a main gas line in Southwick north to Greenfield. The solution might also involve swapping capacity on that line with other utilities. Or it might involve creating stations where gas or propane can be added to the network in Franklin and Hampshire counties to backfill supply without over-taxing the Northampton lateral, executives from both companies said Thursday in separate interviews...
Manafort was laundering money. A lot of Russian money.
September 15, 2018
Kiev, Ukraine — At first glance, (click here) what happened to Yevgeny G. Kaseyev hardly seems like misfortune.
Without his knowledge, he says, unknown individuals set up multiple companies in his name and deposited tens of millions of dollars into those companies’ bank accounts.
“Sometimes it seems fun,” Mr. Kaseyev, a 34-year-old hairdresser, said with a shrug during an interview. “I’m a secret millionaire.”
Until the authorities came calling, that is, seeking $30 million in back taxes.
One of the people who did business with a company opened under Mr. Kaseyev’s stolen identity didn’t mean anything to him. But the name certainly caught the eye of investigators in the United States: Paul J. Manafort.
Mr. Manafort, who worked for a decade as a political consultant in Ukraine before becoming chairman of the Trump campaign in 2016, made a deal worth hundreds of thousands of dollars with the shell company under the hairdresser’s name. It was called Neocom Systems Limited, according to a Ukrainian lawmaker....
...The companies set up with Mr. Kaseyev’s identity had bland names like April Limited and Neocom Systems Limited. For example, in 2009, Mr. Manafort signed an invoice for $750,000 addressed to Mr. Kaseyev as director of Neocom Systems....
Just to understand the implications to other investigations and "catch and kill," election tampering and obstruction.
...“I need to open up a company (click here) for the transfer of that info regarding our friend David,” Cohen says. “I’m going to do that right away. I’ve spoken to [Trump Organization CFO] Allen Weisselberg about how to set the whole thing up.”...
Want to know what real corruption is occurring right under the SEC's noses?
Get this. This is a case whereby the SEC was not being provided Whistleblower reports. The Whistleblower Protections under Dodd-Frank was being purposely misinterpreted so the Whitleblower only had to report to his boss for the protections afforded him or her. In other words, a bank or banking company or stock company could have corrupt practices that exist without ever reporting them to the SEC. Somewhere along the way, corporate America decided all the reporting of corruption can be kept in house without anyone from the government knowing about it. AND IT WAS DECIDED BY CORPORATIONS, IT WAS LEGAL to conduct themselves illegally:
March 13, 2018
...Recent U.S. Supreme Court Decision (click here) Limits Whistleblower Protections Under Dodd-Frank –
On February 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Digital Reality Trust v. Somers, in which it held that the protections against retaliation for whistleblowers under Dodd-Frank apply only to whistleblowers who report violations to the SEC and not, for instance, to those who report violations of securities laws to their supervisors, as the SEC had interpreted the law to apply in its rulemaking.
Please see full Newsletter below for more information.
Russia is so corrupted in the financial sector of the world, they have their own notices and newsletter.
AND, whom exactly cozies up to Russia in Helsinki?
Why was Manafort ever in doubt about conviction in the first place? Hello?
"FAKE NEWS, IT IS ALL FAKE NEWS!"
Why burn the books, just censor them. Woodward should sue. The censorship of any library is a concrete assault against the First Amendment.
What next, Russian language lessons and only print approved by Putin?
September 15, 2018
By Alejandro de la Garza
One West Virginia library (click here) director’s decision to keep Bob Woodward’s Fear Out of her library has backfired.
Fear, an explosive book on the Trump Administration, is already regarded by many as one of the most important books of the year. But for Donna Crocker, the director of the Morgan County Public Library in Berkeley Springs, W.Va., the book had no place on her library’s shelves.
She told The Washington Post on Friday that the library had not stocked Fear, but gave no further reason as to why. The Post did report that the town of about 600 voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump in the 2016 election.
“I don’t want to get in the middle of that,” Crocker said. “We have other Trump books.”...
Kiev, Ukraine — At first glance, (click here) what happened to Yevgeny G. Kaseyev hardly seems like misfortune.
Without his knowledge, he says, unknown individuals set up multiple companies in his name and deposited tens of millions of dollars into those companies’ bank accounts.
“Sometimes it seems fun,” Mr. Kaseyev, a 34-year-old hairdresser, said with a shrug during an interview. “I’m a secret millionaire.”
Until the authorities came calling, that is, seeking $30 million in back taxes.
One of the people who did business with a company opened under Mr. Kaseyev’s stolen identity didn’t mean anything to him. But the name certainly caught the eye of investigators in the United States: Paul J. Manafort.
Mr. Manafort, who worked for a decade as a political consultant in Ukraine before becoming chairman of the Trump campaign in 2016, made a deal worth hundreds of thousands of dollars with the shell company under the hairdresser’s name. It was called Neocom Systems Limited, according to a Ukrainian lawmaker....
...The companies set up with Mr. Kaseyev’s identity had bland names like April Limited and Neocom Systems Limited. For example, in 2009, Mr. Manafort signed an invoice for $750,000 addressed to Mr. Kaseyev as director of Neocom Systems....
Just to understand the implications to other investigations and "catch and kill," election tampering and obstruction.
...“I need to open up a company (click here) for the transfer of that info regarding our friend David,” Cohen says. “I’m going to do that right away. I’ve spoken to [Trump Organization CFO] Allen Weisselberg about how to set the whole thing up.”...
Want to know what real corruption is occurring right under the SEC's noses?
Get this. This is a case whereby the SEC was not being provided Whistleblower reports. The Whistleblower Protections under Dodd-Frank was being purposely misinterpreted so the Whitleblower only had to report to his boss for the protections afforded him or her. In other words, a bank or banking company or stock company could have corrupt practices that exist without ever reporting them to the SEC. Somewhere along the way, corporate America decided all the reporting of corruption can be kept in house without anyone from the government knowing about it. AND IT WAS DECIDED BY CORPORATIONS, IT WAS LEGAL to conduct themselves illegally:
March 13, 2018
...Recent U.S. Supreme Court Decision (click here) Limits Whistleblower Protections Under Dodd-Frank –
On February 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Digital Reality Trust v. Somers, in which it held that the protections against retaliation for whistleblowers under Dodd-Frank apply only to whistleblowers who report violations to the SEC and not, for instance, to those who report violations of securities laws to their supervisors, as the SEC had interpreted the law to apply in its rulemaking.
Please see full Newsletter below for more information.
Russia is so corrupted in the financial sector of the world, they have their own notices and newsletter.
AND, whom exactly cozies up to Russia in Helsinki?
Why was Manafort ever in doubt about conviction in the first place? Hello?
"FAKE NEWS, IT IS ALL FAKE NEWS!"
Why burn the books, just censor them. Woodward should sue. The censorship of any library is a concrete assault against the First Amendment.
What next, Russian language lessons and only print approved by Putin?
By Alejandro de la Garza
One West Virginia library (click here) director’s decision to keep Bob Woodward’s Fear Out of her library has backfired.
Fear, an explosive book on the Trump Administration, is already regarded by many as one of the most important books of the year. But for Donna Crocker, the director of the Morgan County Public Library in Berkeley Springs, W.Va., the book had no place on her library’s shelves.
She told The Washington Post on Friday that the library had not stocked Fear, but gave no further reason as to why. The Post did report that the town of about 600 voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump in the 2016 election.
“I don’t want to get in the middle of that,” Crocker said. “We have other Trump books.”...
Exactly. Manafort hasn't been sentenced yet.
I believe he will serve some time, probably at a minimum security prison. What Manafort and those so inclined have to understand is that it is never to occur again. His convictions are so grievous he will serve time somewhere.
I am glad for the Mueller investigation and team, they will get the entire picture and not simply bits and pieces. So, even with whatever shenanigans (including the confirmation of a completely unqualified and tainted Assistant Attorney General - that was quite a stunt) exists behind the scenes, the USA's justice is still the winner.
Also, if the US Justice Department is to constitutionally stand alone in it's purpose; there should be methods to offer a defendant the same type of relief as a sitting President can offer with a pardon.
The laws work. What constitutional crisis?
September 15, 2018
By Deanna Paul
Three days before (click here) the D.C.-based trial against Paul Manafort was set to begin, special counsel Robert S. Mueller III raised eyebrows in the legal community when his office filed a new charging document. Many began to wonder whether an announcement about a plea agreement with Manafort, Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, was coming down the pipeline.
One did.
I’m a former assistant district attorney, and even after news of the plea broke on Friday, I didn’t think Manafort stood to gain much from a cooperation deal.
I still don’t. What’s clear, though, is that Manafort was out of cards to play....
...Mueller holds the keys. Manafort will almost certainly go to prison, notwithstanding the agreement, and only Mueller can bring the sentencing judge’s attention to Manafort’s efficacy or value. If Mueller doesn’t make the motion, the judge cannot consider it.
The caveat, though, is that a federal judge is never locked in. He merely takes Mueller’s recommendations under advisement....
Friday, September 14, 2018
Corrupt water meters? Where is the investigation and rebates to residents?
September 13, 2018
By Monique Judge
As of Thursday, (click here) the people of Flint, Mich., have been without a clean and stable water system they could trust for 1,604 days. The city’s water service lines are in the process of being replaced, but experts have said even that improvement comes with the danger of reintroducing lead into the water supply. The city and the state continue to bicker back and forth over who is the baddest, and all the while the people are the ones who continue to suffer.
In the midst of all this madness, a city official recently revealed that the Flint is unable to account for where the 12 million gallons of water that run through the city’s pipes each day is going.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved a plan that would allow the city to replace thousand of water meters, Michigan Radio reports. Flint Chief Financial Officer Hughey Newsome told the station that the new meters will help the city improve water bill collections and reduce water theft. He then admitted that the city has no idea where all the water being used is going.
“If you think about the 12 million gallons per day of water that flows through the water system; we can’t account for all of that water,” Newsome said.
By Monique Judge
As of Thursday, (click here) the people of Flint, Mich., have been without a clean and stable water system they could trust for 1,604 days. The city’s water service lines are in the process of being replaced, but experts have said even that improvement comes with the danger of reintroducing lead into the water supply. The city and the state continue to bicker back and forth over who is the baddest, and all the while the people are the ones who continue to suffer.
In the midst of all this madness, a city official recently revealed that the Flint is unable to account for where the 12 million gallons of water that run through the city’s pipes each day is going.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved a plan that would allow the city to replace thousand of water meters, Michigan Radio reports. Flint Chief Financial Officer Hughey Newsome told the station that the new meters will help the city improve water bill collections and reduce water theft. He then admitted that the city has no idea where all the water being used is going.
“If you think about the 12 million gallons per day of water that flows through the water system; we can’t account for all of that water,” Newsome said.
Columbia Gas Company states it is conducting safety checks, Someone is going to prison. Deregulation is probably the culprit. Massachusetts is staring to look like Texas. Cut costs to the bone and the public pays the price. California explosion was like this a few years back and it was due to old infrastructure. Deregulation causes neglect and thus what happens. The petroleum industry needs to end their reign over USA utility power. Massachusetts has great offshore wind maps. There isn’t much that can go wrong if wind power is deregulated. I don’t know wind is all that regulated in the first place. Good-bye methane.
Rick Perry is destroying regulations. Check the Department of Energy. Columbua pushed it to far. Pushing the infrastructure too far is gross negligence. There is no excuse for it. Any deregulation will facilitate this level of danger, but, there is no excuse for it. Either Columbia knows what they are doing or they don’t. I expect to see perp-walks.
Massachusetts Governor Baker states the company response was adequate. Really?
Rick Perry is destroying regulations. Check the Department of Energy. Columbua pushed it to far. Pushing the infrastructure too far is gross negligence. There is no excuse for it. Any deregulation will facilitate this level of danger, but, there is no excuse for it. Either Columbia knows what they are doing or they don’t. I expect to see perp-walks.
Massachusetts Governor Baker states the company response was adequate. Really?
Thursday, September 13, 2018
The Outer Banks are probably devastated.
Avalon fishing pier webcam. www.visitob.com
Doesn’t look horrible. Those docks are built to withstand hurricanes. But, the wind and water are calmer than expected. Kill Devil Hills beach camera is streaming live. It looks less than I expected. Daylight will tell the story and no one should be attempting to travel any of those bridges. It was the bridges last time that took a real beating. They’ll probably have to do beach replenishment.
I think the media has got it exactly right. The storms winds are actually not effecting the Outer Banks as I expected. The storms worst winds are south of the Outer Banks.
That is a relief to many. The Outer Banks are not safe in events like this. I am used to having those beautiful places absolutely devastated when these storms visit the state of N.C. I am hopeful they have been spared this time. I hope the whales are okay, too. I more optimistic they are, now.
I was just at the Neuse River last week. There are a lot of residential areas along that river. If that is where the wind is pushing the water, the folks there will need a lot of help.
There are very precious oyster beds in the Neuse. There was a large investment by the state with the help of Duke University in returning the native oyster to the state and their impoverished oystermen and women. It is going to be upsetting to many. It may have really disrupted the river enough to destroy those oyster beds. People are going to be left without seed stock. The oystermen and their families will be in need.
Avalon fishing pier webcam. www.visitob.com
Doesn’t look horrible. Those docks are built to withstand hurricanes. But, the wind and water are calmer than expected. Kill Devil Hills beach camera is streaming live. It looks less than I expected. Daylight will tell the story and no one should be attempting to travel any of those bridges. It was the bridges last time that took a real beating. They’ll probably have to do beach replenishment.
I think the media has got it exactly right. The storms winds are actually not effecting the Outer Banks as I expected. The storms worst winds are south of the Outer Banks.
That is a relief to many. The Outer Banks are not safe in events like this. I am used to having those beautiful places absolutely devastated when these storms visit the state of N.C. I am hopeful they have been spared this time. I hope the whales are okay, too. I more optimistic they are, now.
I was just at the Neuse River last week. There are a lot of residential areas along that river. If that is where the wind is pushing the water, the folks there will need a lot of help.
There are very precious oyster beds in the Neuse. There was a large investment by the state with the help of Duke University in returning the native oyster to the state and their impoverished oystermen and women. It is going to be upsetting to many. It may have really disrupted the river enough to destroy those oyster beds. People are going to be left without seed stock. The oystermen and their families will be in need.
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
This is not Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry, Starry Night."
September 12, 2018
By Brian McNoldy and Matthew Cappuci
The Northern Hemisphere (click here) is facing an onslaught of hurricanes and typhoons, seemingly overnight. With three storms spinning in the North Atlantic — Hurricane Florence one of them — the tropics have exploded to life at the peak of the annual season. At the same, in the tropical Pacific, Super Typhoon Mangkhut is the most intense tropical cyclone in the world, packing 170 mph winds.
Why the remarkable uptick in activity? In the Atlantic, in particular, it's all thanks to a sudden alignment of the two things that fuel hurricanes: energy and wind.
If the winds aloft in the atmosphere are too strong, they can shear apart a developing storm. It’s ironic but true — calm winds are needed to brew a hurricane. The amount of shear in the Atlantic has reached its seasonal minimum, kindling any fledgling storm and fostering its growth....
How many people GLOBALLY are under the threat of severe storms TODAY?
The troposphere is hot, the global movement of air slow and incredible loss of carbon sinks, including massive fires with a three mile high fire tornado and coral reefs that are bleached to the depths of over 130 feet.
From Nature, this is the abstract, but, the entire SCIENTIFIC article is at this link:
Published:
Deep reefs of the Great Barrier Reef offer limited thermal refuge during mass coral bleaching
How many people GLOBALLY are under the threat of severe storms TODAY?
The troposphere is hot, the global movement of air slow and incredible loss of carbon sinks, including massive fires with a three mile high fire tornado and coral reefs that are bleached to the depths of over 130 feet.
From Nature, this is the abstract, but, the entire SCIENTIFIC article is at this link:
Published:
Deep reefs of the Great Barrier Reef offer limited thermal refuge during mass coral bleaching
Nature Communications, volume 9, Article number: 3447 (2018)
Our rapidly warming climate (click here) is threatening coral reefs as thermal anomalies trigger mass coral bleaching events. Deep (or “mesophotic”) coral reefs are hypothesised to act as major ecological refuges from mass bleaching, but empirical assessments are limited. We evaluated the potential of mesophotic reefs within the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and adjacent Coral Sea to act as thermal refuges by characterising long-term temperature conditions and assessing impacts during the 2016 mass bleaching event. We found that summer upwelling initially provided thermal relief at upper mesophotic depths (40 m), but then subsided resulting in anomalously warm temperatures even at depth. Bleaching impacts on the deep reefs were severe (40% bleached and 6% dead colonies at 40 m) but significantly lower than at shallower depths (60–69% bleached and 8–12% dead at 5-25 m). While we confirm that deep reefs can offer refuge from thermal stress, we highlight important caveats in terms of the transient nature of the protection and their limited ability to provide broad ecological refuge....
Earth's beauty lends itself to tourism and economic strength, but, the function of that beauty is far more important than any currency.
The Congress, especially the Republicans chronically make reference to "The captains of industry know their own business;" and bend to their will. But, when it comes to bending to the will of scientists attempting to save Earth, Congress' seeks every idiot form of hubris and slander that can be found to indulge the petroleum industry beyond reason.
The Trump Administration does not know nor care about prioritizing the needs of the American people.
$200 million of diverted funds for Trumps' border war.
September 12, 2018
By Ron Nixon
Washington — The Department of Homeland Security (click here) transferred nearly $10 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to a budget document released by a Democratic senator late Tuesday night, diverting funds from the relief agency at the start of the hurricane season that began in June. The release of the document comes as a major storm barrels toward the East Coast.
The document, which was released by the office of Senator Jeff Merkley, of Oregon, shows that the money would come from FEMA’s operations and support budget and was transferred into accounts at ICE to pay for detention and removal operations. The document also shows that the Department of Homeland Security transferred money from accounts at Customs and Border Protection that pays for border fencing and technology.
The transfer was a part of more than $200 million the Department of Homeland Security moved from the budgets of other agencies to ICE’s detention and removals....
A thirty-eight percent increase in border APPREHENSIONS or ARRRESTS, which is it? Where are the children and is Trump continuing to separate parents and children?
IT DIDN'T STOP IT MR. PRESIDENT, DID IT? They know where the Trump buses stop for a ride to shelter and humanitarian assistance. Hungary, thirsty, exhausted and seeking shelter from severe violence and drug cartels in their homeland.
September 12, 2018
By Julian Aguilar
The number of undocumented immigrant family units (click here) apprehended last month along the U.S. border with Mexico spiked by nearly 40 percent compared to July, the Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday.
About 12,800 family units were apprehended on the border in August, a 38 percent increase from July’s 9,247. In a statement, DHS spokesperson Tyler Q. Houlton attributed the spike, in part, to smugglers and traffickers exploiting immigration laws.
“Smugglers and traffickers understand our broken immigration laws better than most and know that if a family unit illegally enters the U.S. they are likely to be released into the interior,” he said....
Bad attitude Trump NEVER LISTENS. Well, here is the result.
Big election issue is control of the border. That doesn't mean siphoning off funds from every other agency to feed the ICE detentions.
CATCH AND RELEASE
CATCH AND RELEASE
CATCH AND RELEASE
Hello?
September 12, 2018
By Ron Nixon
Washington — The Department of Homeland Security (click here) transferred nearly $10 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to a budget document released by a Democratic senator late Tuesday night, diverting funds from the relief agency at the start of the hurricane season that began in June. The release of the document comes as a major storm barrels toward the East Coast.
The document, which was released by the office of Senator Jeff Merkley, of Oregon, shows that the money would come from FEMA’s operations and support budget and was transferred into accounts at ICE to pay for detention and removal operations. The document also shows that the Department of Homeland Security transferred money from accounts at Customs and Border Protection that pays for border fencing and technology.
The transfer was a part of more than $200 million the Department of Homeland Security moved from the budgets of other agencies to ICE’s detention and removals....
A thirty-eight percent increase in border APPREHENSIONS or ARRRESTS, which is it? Where are the children and is Trump continuing to separate parents and children?
IT DIDN'T STOP IT MR. PRESIDENT, DID IT? They know where the Trump buses stop for a ride to shelter and humanitarian assistance. Hungary, thirsty, exhausted and seeking shelter from severe violence and drug cartels in their homeland.
By Julian Aguilar
The number of undocumented immigrant family units (click here) apprehended last month along the U.S. border with Mexico spiked by nearly 40 percent compared to July, the Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday.
About 12,800 family units were apprehended on the border in August, a 38 percent increase from July’s 9,247. In a statement, DHS spokesperson Tyler Q. Houlton attributed the spike, in part, to smugglers and traffickers exploiting immigration laws.
“Smugglers and traffickers understand our broken immigration laws better than most and know that if a family unit illegally enters the U.S. they are likely to be released into the interior,” he said....
Bad attitude Trump NEVER LISTENS. Well, here is the result.
Big election issue is control of the border. That doesn't mean siphoning off funds from every other agency to feed the ICE detentions.
CATCH AND RELEASE
CATCH AND RELEASE
CATCH AND RELEASE
Hello?
Super Typhoon Mangkhut will remain on it's current path.
1530 UTC
NOAA West Pacific Water Vapor Loop - Himawari-8 (click here for 8 hour loop - thank you)
Unlike the Atlantic storm currently menacing North Carolina there is no interference from the "Gulf of Mexico." In the case of Mangkhut the turbulence to it's west is adding to it's velocity.
It is a very hot troposphere to support so many storms in both oceans while the storms are reaching high velocities, near storm capacity. The capacity of the Pacific storms are greater than the Atlantic storms.
All precautions of this storms path must be taken. Do not under estimate coastal flooding with a large storm surge that accompanies these wind speeds.
Vietnam needs to be prepared for high winds. The diameter of this Super Typhoon will grow and effect their coast as well. Vietnam is probably receiving severe storms currently.
Northern Vietnam, Hanoi, is receiving intermittent thunderstorms while the southern reach of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City is receiving unrelenting thunderstorms. Vietnam will receive significant winds and rain with flooding and coastal erosion.
13 September 2018
Hong Kong is bracing for a super typhoon (click here) this weekend that could be the most intense storm ever to hit the city.
Super Typhoon Mangkhut, equivalent to a category 5 Atlantic hurricane and still gaining strength, was on a collision course for the Philippines first on Wednesday – with Taiwan and Hong Kong next on its forecast track.
The city’s government convened an interdepartmental meeting chaired by the security minister to discuss contingency measures and ensure preparedness.
“Representatives from relevant bureaus and departments also reported their preparatory work and contingency plans, particularly on measures in the prevention and handling of flooding, backflow of seawater and emergency plans for high-risk locations,” a government statement read.
Mangkhut, named after the Thai word for the mangosteen fruit, was forecast to come within 80km of the city on Sunday, but the Hong Kong Observatory said it was too early to predict a direct hit.
“It could be very close to Hong Kong,” senior scientific officer Queenie Lam Ching-chi said. “It has a large circulation with intense winds, so even if it is not a direct hit … it can constitute a great danger to Hong Kong.”...India will receive rains and wind, but, diminished compared to Vietnam. It will primarily be effected on it's east coast, especially the northern coast. Warning for the Indian Ocean for shipping is important, there will be high waves and potential rouge waves. There can be some dust carried from the Sahara as well. The dust will be inconsequential to outcomes from the Super Typhoon.
Madagascar should be fine and central Sub-Sahara Africa can use the rain. Australia (not pictured) is below the equator in the southern hemisphere and will be unaffected by the current storm conditions to it's north.
This lung disease has been affiliated with diacetyl for a long time. Why has the Vape phenomena been allowed to continue unchecked?
...According to the American Lung Association, (click here) using electronic cigarettes or vaping, particularly the flavored varieties, can cause popcorn lung.
Once the dangers associated with diacetyl were discovered in the early 2000s, the majority of popcorn producers stopped using the chemical. However, e-cigarette vapor has been proven to contain diacetyl.
A 2015 study of flavored e-cigarettes found that 39 out of 51 tested brands contained diacetyl. The same study concluded that most of these brands also contained the toxic chemicals acetoin and 2,3 pentanedione.
Manufacturers add diacetyl to the "e-juice" that is vaporized by e-cigarettes, most commonly to the strongly-flavored varieties. Diacetyl occurs in a wide range of different flavored e-cigarette products, ranging from vanilla to caramel and coconut.
The difference between diacetyl and butane are couple oxygens. It is highly organic, so it will become part of the body chemistry.
Page 407 of "The Sensory Evaluation of Dairy Products" (click here) by Stephen Clark, Michael Costello, MaryAnne Drake and Floyd Bodyfelt.
Diacetyl is part of dairy products.
Really?
Sour (cultured) cream, cultured buttermilk, and cultured butter
That really bothers me, because, when I think of milk I think of children.
Diacetyl is produced in two ways, naturally through fermentation to achieve a pH drop to sour what the target cream is and commercially through a process whereby there is dehydrogenation of 2,3-butanediol.
There it is. A four carbon molecule whereby the H s of the O-H molecule is removed through a chemical reaction that turns the H s in to H2 and the bond holding the OH molecule together becomes a double bond from the oxygen to the chain carbon atom.
Every bit of the molecule of Diacetyl is highly organically reactive. That is why it can be produced organically with a bacteria introduced to milk. The bacteria is harmless, but, Diacetyl weather produced organically or industrial is still Diacetyl.
The idea teens make well informed decisions about their bodies is a complete misunderstanding of growth and development. The Vapes, as well as cigarettes, need to be made illegal to anyone under the age of 18 and those caught using them provided education to what both Diacetyl and Tobacco will do to their lungs. This needs to be taught in health classes across the country beginning in the sixth grade. WITHOUT EXCEPTIONS.
The Vape manufacturers and any store selling these products need to be fined for allowing the sale to minors. Every principal across the USA regardless of a private, public or experimental school system (charter schools) is responsible for these products on their campus and need to carry out educational sessions for parents, students and teachers. Teachers should be empowered to remove any appliance used for vaping from a student without notice. Parents need to be made aware these appliances are illegal on any educational campus where minors are present and the school administrators will be held responsible FOR THEIR PRESENCE, whether being used or not. Vaping at any assembly on campus must be forbid and treated as cigarettes to a specific area away from cigarette smokers. Cigarette smoking and vaping have different chemicals involved when incorporated into a person's metabolism, therefore, their isolation for smoking need to be at separate locations, but, AWAY FROM NON-SMOKERS.
September 12, 2018
By Sheila Kaplan and Jan Hoffman
Warning that teenage use of electronic cigarettes (click here) has reached “an epidemic proportion,” the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday gave Juul Labs and four other makers of popular vaping devices 60 days to prove they can keep them away from minors. If they fail, the agency said, it may take the flavored products off the market.
The order was part of a sweeping action that targeted both makers and sellers of e-cigarettes. The agency said it was sending warning letters to 1,100 retailers — including 7-Eleven stores, Walgreens, Circle K convenience shops and Shell gas stations — and issued another 131 fines, for selling e-cigarettes to minors.
In addition, the F.D.A. commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb said in a briefing that the agency would look closely at the manufacturers’ own internet storefronts. He flagged what he called “straw purchases” — bulk orders of the devices, which buyers in turn used to sell to minors.
Such practices, he said, should be readily apparent to product manufacturers.
“If the companies don’t know, or if they don’t want to know, “ he said, that such purchases are underway, “we’ll now be helping to identify it for them.”...
The difference between diacetyl and butane are couple oxygens. It is highly organic, so it will become part of the body chemistry.Page 407 of "The Sensory Evaluation of Dairy Products" (click here) by Stephen Clark, Michael Costello, MaryAnne Drake and Floyd Bodyfelt.
Diacetyl is part of dairy products.
Really?
Sour (cultured) cream, cultured buttermilk, and cultured butter
That really bothers me, because, when I think of milk I think of children.
Diacetyl is produced in two ways, naturally through fermentation to achieve a pH drop to sour what the target cream is and commercially through a process whereby there is dehydrogenation of 2,3-butanediol.
Every bit of the molecule of Diacetyl is highly organically reactive. That is why it can be produced organically with a bacteria introduced to milk. The bacteria is harmless, but, Diacetyl weather produced organically or industrial is still Diacetyl.
The idea teens make well informed decisions about their bodies is a complete misunderstanding of growth and development. The Vapes, as well as cigarettes, need to be made illegal to anyone under the age of 18 and those caught using them provided education to what both Diacetyl and Tobacco will do to their lungs. This needs to be taught in health classes across the country beginning in the sixth grade. WITHOUT EXCEPTIONS.
The Vape manufacturers and any store selling these products need to be fined for allowing the sale to minors. Every principal across the USA regardless of a private, public or experimental school system (charter schools) is responsible for these products on their campus and need to carry out educational sessions for parents, students and teachers. Teachers should be empowered to remove any appliance used for vaping from a student without notice. Parents need to be made aware these appliances are illegal on any educational campus where minors are present and the school administrators will be held responsible FOR THEIR PRESENCE, whether being used or not. Vaping at any assembly on campus must be forbid and treated as cigarettes to a specific area away from cigarette smokers. Cigarette smoking and vaping have different chemicals involved when incorporated into a person's metabolism, therefore, their isolation for smoking need to be at separate locations, but, AWAY FROM NON-SMOKERS.
September 12, 2018
By Sheila Kaplan and Jan Hoffman
Warning that teenage use of electronic cigarettes (click here) has reached “an epidemic proportion,” the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday gave Juul Labs and four other makers of popular vaping devices 60 days to prove they can keep them away from minors. If they fail, the agency said, it may take the flavored products off the market.
The order was part of a sweeping action that targeted both makers and sellers of e-cigarettes. The agency said it was sending warning letters to 1,100 retailers — including 7-Eleven stores, Walgreens, Circle K convenience shops and Shell gas stations — and issued another 131 fines, for selling e-cigarettes to minors.
In addition, the F.D.A. commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb said in a briefing that the agency would look closely at the manufacturers’ own internet storefronts. He flagged what he called “straw purchases” — bulk orders of the devices, which buyers in turn used to sell to minors.
Such practices, he said, should be readily apparent to product manufacturers.
“If the companies don’t know, or if they don’t want to know, “ he said, that such purchases are underway, “we’ll now be helping to identify it for them.”...
1430.30z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of North West Hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)
My best estimate is land fall looks like Emerald Island. Croatan National Forest. It is near Camp Lejuene.
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