Sunday, March 01, 2020
The attitude of Trump is unprofessional and toxic.
He wants to take us back to Rodney King's beating. The demeanor and attitude of this president places people in danger. Those with the power to kill begin to rationalize their own reasons for killing that are illegal and self-serving. I don't want to hear about Abu Ghraib and how this happens all the time. Abu Ghraib was not Special Operations. And it is not supposed to happen all the time. (click here)
The Trump administration is steeped in disrespect and extremist views of government. His irresponsible lack of ethics trickles down to the other arms of the USA government. He is a horror and has been a horror the entire time as a candidate and president.
December 5, 2018
By Meghann Myers
This fall has been rough for headlines involving special operations troops. (click here)
Two Navy SEALs and two Marine Raiders face murder charges in the death of a Green Beret last year in Mali. Meanwhile, a Navy SEAL is under investigation for murdering an Iraqi detainee, and a dozen of his colleagues could be called as witnesses.
Now, after U.S. Special Operations Command has been entrenched in the Global War on Terror for going on two decades, Congress is calling on a Defense Department review of the entire organization, from its operational load to ― notably ― the state of its professionalism and ethics programs.
The most recent National Defense Authorization Act points to “growing congressional concern with misconduct, ethics, and professionalism," according to a Congressional Research Service report published in late October.
“That review is ongoing right now,” a defense official told Army Times on Wednesday.
Senior leaders within the Army have also taken notice, pushing out guidance ahead of DoD’s official report back to Congress....
This is not about a fascination with melting ice to promote tourism. It is about the heating of Earth that endangers life on this planet.
February 25, 2020
By Doyle Rice
A heat wave this month in Antarctica (click here) sent temperatures soaring into the mid- to high-60s across northern portions of the normally frigid continent.
Surprisingly, the warmth melted about 20% of an Antarctic island's snow in only nine days, according to newly released images from NASA, leaving behind ponds of melted water where the snow had been.
"I haven’t seen melt ponds develop this quickly in Antarctica," said Mauri Pelto, a glaciologist at Nichols College in Massachusetts, in a statement. “You see these kinds of melt events in Alaska and Greenland, but not usually in Antarctica.”
Pelto said that during the heat wave, which peaked from Feb. 6 to 11, snowpack on Eagle Island melted 4 inches. This means that about 20% of seasonal snow in the region melted in this one event on Eagle Island, Pelto said....
February 25, 2020
By Doyle Rice
A heat wave this month in Antarctica (click here) sent temperatures soaring into the mid- to high-60s across northern portions of the normally frigid continent.
Surprisingly, the warmth melted about 20% of an Antarctic island's snow in only nine days, according to newly released images from NASA, leaving behind ponds of melted water where the snow had been.
"I haven’t seen melt ponds develop this quickly in Antarctica," said Mauri Pelto, a glaciologist at Nichols College in Massachusetts, in a statement. “You see these kinds of melt events in Alaska and Greenland, but not usually in Antarctica.”
Pelto said that during the heat wave, which peaked from Feb. 6 to 11, snowpack on Eagle Island melted 4 inches. This means that about 20% of seasonal snow in the region melted in this one event on Eagle Island, Pelto said....
Robert Mueller is and has always been above reproach when conducting any investigation.
His reputation is so much above reproach that no one could imagine a scenario where he could act against the USA Constitution and granted power to investigate the unthinkable, a rigged election for president of the USA.
December 12, 2017
...In response to a POLITICO Freedom of Information Act request, (click here) the agency released a one-sentence memo Friday confirming that Mueller was granted a conflict-of-interest waiver in order to assume the politically sensitive post....
AUTHORIZATION (click here)
Pursuant to 5 CFR 2635.502(d) (click here), I hereby authorize Robert Mueller's participation in the investigation into Russia's role in the presidential campaign of 2016, and all matters arising from the investigation.
That was signed by Scott Schools on May 18, 2017
December 12, 2017
...In response to a POLITICO Freedom of Information Act request, (click here) the agency released a one-sentence memo Friday confirming that Mueller was granted a conflict-of-interest waiver in order to assume the politically sensitive post....
AUTHORIZATION (click here)
Pursuant to 5 CFR 2635.502(d) (click here), I hereby authorize Robert Mueller's participation in the investigation into Russia's role in the presidential campaign of 2016, and all matters arising from the investigation.
That was signed by Scott Schools on May 18, 2017
(d) Authorization by agency designee. Where an employee's participation in a particular matter involving specific parties would not violate 18 U.S.C. 208(a), but would raise a question in the mind of a reasonable person about his impartiality, the agency designee may authorize the employee to participate in the matter based on a determination, made in light of all relevant circumstances, that the interest of the Government in the employee's participation outweighs the concern that a reasonable person may question the integrity of the agency's programs and operations. Factors which may be taken into consideration include:
(1) The nature of the relationship involved;
(2) The effect that resolution of the matter would have upon the financial interests of the person involved in the relationship;
(3) The nature and importance of the employee's role in the matter, including the extent to which the employee is called upon to exercise discretion in the matter;
(4) The sensitivity of the matter;
(5) The difficulty of reassigning the matter to another employee; and
(6) Adjustments that may be made in the employee's duties that would reduce or eliminate the likelihood that a reasonable person would question the employee's impartiality.
Authorization by the agency designee shall be documented in writing at the agency designee's discretion or when requested by the employee. An employee who has been authorized to participate in a particular matter involving specific parties may not thereafter disqualify himself from participation in the matter on the basis of an appearance problem involving the same circumstances that have been considered by the agency designee.
Antarctica is the coldest place on earth. (click here) It is also the windiest, driest, and highest continent.
The South Pole is not the coldest place in Antarctica.
The coldest temperature recorded in Antarctica was -89.6°C at Vostok station in 1983.
The average winter temperature at the South Pole is about -49°C. Your home freezer is only about -15°C. The wind chill factor means that it can feel much colder.
The lowest temperature ever recorded at the South Pole was – 82.8°C on the 23 June 1982.
It is warmer on the coast. The warmest temperature ever recorded in Antarctica was 15°C on 5 June 1974 at Vanda station.
Warm water or air with temperatures this cold is like pointing a blow torch at the glaciers.
February 27, 2020Inland Antarctic ice (click here) contains volumes of water that can raise global sea levels by several metres. A new study published in the journal Nature shows that glacier ice walls are vital for the climate, as they prevent rising ocean temperatures and melting glacier ice.
The ocean can store much more heat than the atmosphere. The deep sea around Antarctica stores thermal energy that is the equivalent of heating the air above the continent by 400 degrees.
Now, a Swedish-led international research group has explored the physics behind the ocean currents close to the floating glaciers that surround the Antarctic coast.
"Current measurements indicate an increase in melting, particularly near the coast in some parts of Antarctica and Greenland. These increases can likely be linked to the warm, salty ocean currents that circulate on the continental shelf, melting the ice from below," says Anna Wåhlin, lead author of the study and professor of oceanography at the University of Gothenburg.
"What we found here is a crucial feedback process: the ice shelves are their own best protection against warm water intrusions. If the ice thins, more oceanic heat comes in and melts the ice shelf, which becomes even thinner etc. It is worrying, as the ice shelves are already thinning because of global air and ocean warming," says Céline Heuzé, climate researcher at the Department of Earth Sciences of Gothenburg University....
Fmr FBI director testifies at Sept 11 commission (click here for 911 Commission Report - thank you)
Attorney Generals, FBI and CIA Directors report to the US Congress when it merits an understanding as to how wrongful acts against the American people could occur. The culture of the Trump Administration is one that encourages wrongful acts with so many of his associates jailed for crimes. There has never been an administration before Trump that has leveraged so much corruption within the ranks of government. The people missing from important roles in the government is endangering the country and it cannot continue.
Donald John Trump should have been removed from office.
Donald John Trump should have been removed from office.
Ice free waters in the circumpolar circulation around Antarctica is a clear sign of decline of the climate supporting Earth's ice caps.
Just because there are scientists taking advantage of ice free waters doesn't mean it is a good sign of Earth's ice caps. Scientists frequently exploit unusual episodes in time. An example of a measurement of air pollution and CO2 emissions occurred after September 11, 2001. There were measurements made of all kinds of emissions for the three days when no jets were flying after the terrorist attacks on New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC.
It is unfortunate scientists have to exploit ice free waters when they are the ones that have warned of it the entire time and went unheeded. These measures of the Thwaites Glacier were never supposed to be necessary.
20 February 2020
By Jeff Tollefsen
Taking advantage of rare ice-free waters in West Antarctica last February, (click here) scientists got their first look underneath Thwaites Glacier, a massive and increasingly unstable formation perched at the edge of the continent. What they saw only increased fears of a collapse that could raise global sea levels by more than half a metre. Data gathered by a robotic submarine deployed by scientists with the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration suggest that warm water from the deep ocean is welling up from three directions and mixing underneath the ice.
“Thwaites has got these three guns pointed right at it,” says Erin Pettit, a glaciologist at Oregon State University in Corvallis and a co-leader of the five-year, US$50-million project to assess the glacier’s stability. “There is warm water coming from all directions.” She presented initial results from the first two years of the project this week at the American Geophysical Union’s ocean science meeting in San Diego, California.
The warm currents could further destabilize the glacier, which is as large as the island of Great Britain and holds enough ice to boost global sea levels by an estimated 65 centimetres (see 'A precarious position'). If it collapses, Thwaites could take other parts of the western Antarctic ice sheet with it and become the single largest driver of sea-level-rise this century....
It is unfortunate scientists have to exploit ice free waters when they are the ones that have warned of it the entire time and went unheeded. These measures of the Thwaites Glacier were never supposed to be necessary.
20 February 2020
By Jeff Tollefsen
Taking advantage of rare ice-free waters in West Antarctica last February, (click here) scientists got their first look underneath Thwaites Glacier, a massive and increasingly unstable formation perched at the edge of the continent. What they saw only increased fears of a collapse that could raise global sea levels by more than half a metre. Data gathered by a robotic submarine deployed by scientists with the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration suggest that warm water from the deep ocean is welling up from three directions and mixing underneath the ice.
“Thwaites has got these three guns pointed right at it,” says Erin Pettit, a glaciologist at Oregon State University in Corvallis and a co-leader of the five-year, US$50-million project to assess the glacier’s stability. “There is warm water coming from all directions.” She presented initial results from the first two years of the project this week at the American Geophysical Union’s ocean science meeting in San Diego, California.
The warm currents could further destabilize the glacier, which is as large as the island of Great Britain and holds enough ice to boost global sea levels by an estimated 65 centimetres (see 'A precarious position'). If it collapses, Thwaites could take other parts of the western Antarctic ice sheet with it and become the single largest driver of sea-level-rise this century....
The change in administration leading a far different national security focus was obvious.
By Phillip Rucker
Amb. Woolsey (click here) previously served in the United States Government on five different occasions, where he held Presidential appointments in two Republican and two Democratic administrations, most recently (1993-95) as Director of Central Intelligence.
Former CIA director R. James Woolsey Jr., (click here) a veteran of four presidential administrations and one of the nation’s leading intelligence experts, resigned Thursday from President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team because of growing tensions over Trump’s vision for intelligence agencies.
Woolsey’s resignation as a Trump senior adviser comes amid frustrations over the incoming administration’s national security plans and Trump’s public comments undermining the intelligence community.
“Effective immediately, Ambassador Woolsey is no longer a Senior Advisor to President-Elect Trump or the Transition. He wishes the President-Elect and his Administration great success in their time in office,” Jonathan Franks, a spokesman for Woolsey, said in a statement.
Woolsey suggested in a pair of cable television interviews Thursday evening that he was only an informal adviser to Trump, with duties that included speaking to the journalists about Trump and his national security policies....
This year was a tipping point in Antarctica. Surface melting is noted where before glacier terminus was an indication of deterioration.
By Laura Tenenbaum
Boydell Glacier, (click here) Antarctica retreat in Landsat images from 2001 and 2017, terminus in 2001 at red dots in 2017 at yellow dots.
From February 5 through February 13, (click here) temperatures in Antarctica were about the same as in Los Angeles. Esperanza Base on the Antarctic Peninsula reached 65 degrees, the hottest ever recorded. But this hasn’t been the only heatwave in Antarctica this summer. There were major warming events in both November 2019 and January 2020. And sea surface temperatures in the area were also higher than average.
Not surprisingly, these sustained high temperatures, which were significantly above freezing, caused rapid melting. During all three of these warm spells, widespread melting occurred on nearby glaciers. About 0.9 square miles, which equates to about 20 percent of snowpack on Eagle Island, melted during the February event. Satellite images also detected widespread surface melting nearby on Boydell Glacier.
Until the 21st century, this type of persistent high temperature was unusual in Antarctica, but it has become more common in recent years....
Every administration has a culture.
March/April 2014
This week, (click here) after nine years of trying, Freeh and some friends were finally hired as the "go-to investigators" for the scandal-plagued NCAA.
During Louis Freeh’s eight years as the FBI’s director, (click here) he received hundreds of awards, plaques and honors. None of them adorned his office walls at FBI headquarters. However, he eventually papered one entire wall next to his desk with drawings and sketches by his six sons.
“I chose that wall so I could look at them during phone calls or meetings when I needed to keep my focus on reality and what, at the end of any Washington, D.C., day, is really important,” he writes in his 2005 book, “My FBI: Bringing Down the Mafia, Investigating Bill Clinton, and Fighting the War on Terror.”
“I promised myself when I became director that I wouldn’t be one of those D.C. types who would announce — usually when things were going south — that they were leaving government in order to spend more time with their family. I actually spent all the time I needed with them while director,” Freeh wrote.
When Freeh was FBI director, he sent a message to the bureau’s employees about the agency’s Core Values:
- Rigorous obedience to the Constitution of the United States.
- Respect for the dignity of all those we protect.
- Compassion.
- Fairness.
- Uncompromising personal integrity and institutional integrity.
- Accountability by accepting responsibility for our actions and decisions and the consequences of our actions and decisions.
“We who enforce the law must not merely obey it,” he exhorted his people. “We have an obligation to set a moral example, which those whom we protect can follow.”
Freeh, by example, could have added a seventh core value: Keep all things in perspective. He has blended an impressive law enforcement career with raising a large family, which he’s worked to keep as his first priority....
Adademik Vernadsky Station NEVER belonged to Russia.
Until 1996 the Ukrainian Antarctic Akademik Vernadsky (click here) station belonged to the United Kingdom and was named Faraday station.
During the Graham Land Expedition (1934-1937) the British founded a scientific base on the Argentine Islands (Western Antarctica). As a permanent meteorological observatory, the base began to work on the Winter Island from 1947. In 1954 the station was moved to the Marina Point, Galindez Island.
From 1994 to February 1996, the process of transferring the station to Ukraine continued. This was British Government gesture of goodwill. After the collapse of the USSR, Russia declared itself to be its successor, and then, at the request of Ukraine to transfer within the framework of the distribution of assets of the former USSR one of the five operating at that time Antarctic stations gave a negative answer.
On November 21, 1994 “Vidrodzhennia” international fund allocated 12000 dollars for the project “Ukraine goes back to Antarctica”. On December 5, 1994 four Ukrainian experts – Yuri Oskret (station life support system), Dr. Gennady Milinevsky (scientific programs), Оleksandr Lushnivsky (communications service) and Volodymyr Georgiev (diesel stuff) have arrived to Faraday station and worked there till February 15, 1995....
February 28, 2020
By Lily Katzman
Earlier this month, (click here) Antarctica experienced record high temperatures, causing the southernmost continent’s ice caps to melt at an unprecedented rate. As a result, Eagle Island, a small island off Antarctica’s northwest tip, experienced peak melt; brown rock appeared from beneath the ice and several ponds of melt water accumulated at the center.
And with these unprecedented temperatures, the algae that normally thrive in freezing water and lie dormant across the continent’s snow and ice are now in full bloom and cover the Antarctic Peninsula with blood-red, flower-like spores.
On February 24, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine posted photos of the phenomenon to their Facebook page, showing ice around their Vernadsky Research Base—located on the Galindez Island off the coast of Antarctica’s northern Peninsula—covered in what researchers call “raspberry snow” or “watermelon snow”. This red-pigmented algae, also known as Chlamydomonas nivalis, has the potential to jumpstart a feedback loop of warming and melting, worrying scientists about the continued impact of climate change on this critical region....
It is a green algae regardless of it's color. It is like people, the color is different but the basic anatomy remains the same.
C. nivalis, contains a red pigment known as hematochrome, which sometimes imparts a red colour to melting snow.
...We studied temperature and light-dependence of photosynthesis, (click here) and plastid and extraplastid red pigment composition of red snow algae (Chlamydomonas nivalis) from snow patches in the high Alps of Austria. Both photosynthetic and respiratory data support the cryophilic adaptation of snow algal cells, but C. nivalis produced oxygen without any inhibition at temperatures up to 20°C and maintained this for 1 h, at irradiances up to 1800 µmol m−2s−1. Chlorophyll and primary carotenoid pigment composition was similar to that found in most other Chlorophyta....
During the Graham Land Expedition (1934-1937) the British founded a scientific base on the Argentine Islands (Western Antarctica). As a permanent meteorological observatory, the base began to work on the Winter Island from 1947. In 1954 the station was moved to the Marina Point, Galindez Island.
From 1994 to February 1996, the process of transferring the station to Ukraine continued. This was British Government gesture of goodwill. After the collapse of the USSR, Russia declared itself to be its successor, and then, at the request of Ukraine to transfer within the framework of the distribution of assets of the former USSR one of the five operating at that time Antarctic stations gave a negative answer.
On November 21, 1994 “Vidrodzhennia” international fund allocated 12000 dollars for the project “Ukraine goes back to Antarctica”. On December 5, 1994 four Ukrainian experts – Yuri Oskret (station life support system), Dr. Gennady Milinevsky (scientific programs), Оleksandr Lushnivsky (communications service) and Volodymyr Georgiev (diesel stuff) have arrived to Faraday station and worked there till February 15, 1995....
By Lily Katzman
Earlier this month, (click here) Antarctica experienced record high temperatures, causing the southernmost continent’s ice caps to melt at an unprecedented rate. As a result, Eagle Island, a small island off Antarctica’s northwest tip, experienced peak melt; brown rock appeared from beneath the ice and several ponds of melt water accumulated at the center.
And with these unprecedented temperatures, the algae that normally thrive in freezing water and lie dormant across the continent’s snow and ice are now in full bloom and cover the Antarctic Peninsula with blood-red, flower-like spores.
On February 24, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine posted photos of the phenomenon to their Facebook page, showing ice around their Vernadsky Research Base—located on the Galindez Island off the coast of Antarctica’s northern Peninsula—covered in what researchers call “raspberry snow” or “watermelon snow”. This red-pigmented algae, also known as Chlamydomonas nivalis, has the potential to jumpstart a feedback loop of warming and melting, worrying scientists about the continued impact of climate change on this critical region....
It is a green algae regardless of it's color. It is like people, the color is different but the basic anatomy remains the same.
C. nivalis, contains a red pigment known as hematochrome, which sometimes imparts a red colour to melting snow.
...We studied temperature and light-dependence of photosynthesis, (click here) and plastid and extraplastid red pigment composition of red snow algae (Chlamydomonas nivalis) from snow patches in the high Alps of Austria. Both photosynthetic and respiratory data support the cryophilic adaptation of snow algal cells, but C. nivalis produced oxygen without any inhibition at temperatures up to 20°C and maintained this for 1 h, at irradiances up to 1800 µmol m−2s−1. Chlorophyll and primary carotenoid pigment composition was similar to that found in most other Chlorophyta....
The disinformation campaign to bring down the Rule of Law started in Trump's first year.
December 3, 2017
by Jacqueline Thomsen
The head of FBI Agents Association (FBIAA) (click here) fired back at President Trump’s comments against the bureau on Sunday, saying any suggestion that agents aren’t dedicated to their jobs “is simply false.”
“Every day, FBI Special Agents put their lives on the line to protect the American public from national security and criminal threats. Agents perform these duties with unwavering integrity and professionalism and a focus on complying with the law and the Constitution,” FBIAA head Thomas O’Connor said in a statement.
”This is why the FBI continues to be the premier law enforcement agency in the world. FBI Agents are dedicated to their mission; suggesting otherwise is simply false.”
Trump tweeted earlier Sunday that the FBI’s reputation was in “tatters” after being lead by former FBI Director James Comey, whom Trump fired in May.
“After years of Comey, with the phony and dishonest Clinton investigation (and more), running the FBI, its reputation is in Tatters - worst in History! But fear not, we will bring it back to greatness,” Trump tweeted....
by Jacqueline Thomsen
The head of FBI Agents Association (FBIAA) (click here) fired back at President Trump’s comments against the bureau on Sunday, saying any suggestion that agents aren’t dedicated to their jobs “is simply false.”
“Every day, FBI Special Agents put their lives on the line to protect the American public from national security and criminal threats. Agents perform these duties with unwavering integrity and professionalism and a focus on complying with the law and the Constitution,” FBIAA head Thomas O’Connor said in a statement.
”This is why the FBI continues to be the premier law enforcement agency in the world. FBI Agents are dedicated to their mission; suggesting otherwise is simply false.”
Trump tweeted earlier Sunday that the FBI’s reputation was in “tatters” after being lead by former FBI Director James Comey, whom Trump fired in May.
“After years of Comey, with the phony and dishonest Clinton investigation (and more), running the FBI, its reputation is in Tatters - worst in History! But fear not, we will bring it back to greatness,” Trump tweeted....
"Bad Reputation" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (click here fpr official website thank you.)
I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation
You're living in the past, it's a new generation
A girl can do what she wants to do and that's what I'm gonna do
An' I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation
Oh no, not me
An' I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation
Never said I wanted to improve my station
An' I'm only doin' good when I'm havin' fun
An' I don't have to please no one
An' I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation
Oh no, not me, oh no, not me
I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation
I've never been afraid of any deviation
An' I don't really care if you think I'm strange
I ain't gonna change
An' I'm never gonna care 'bout my bad reputation
Oh no, not me, oh no, not me
Pedal, boys!
An' I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation
The world's in trouble, there's no communication
An' everyone can say what they wanna to say
It never gets better, anyway
So why should I care about a bad reputation anyway?
Oh no, not me, oh no, not me
I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation
You're living in the past, it's a new generation
An' I only feel good when I got no pain
An' that's how I'm gonna stay
An' I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation
Oh no, not me, oh no, not me
Not me, not me
I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation
You're living in the past, it's a new generation
A girl can do what she wants to do and that's what I'm gonna do
An' I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation
Oh no, not me
An' I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation
Never said I wanted to improve my station
An' I'm only doin' good when I'm havin' fun
An' I don't have to please no one
An' I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation
Oh no, not me, oh no, not me
I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation
I've never been afraid of any deviation
An' I don't really care if you think I'm strange
I ain't gonna change
An' I'm never gonna care 'bout my bad reputation
Oh no, not me, oh no, not me
Pedal, boys!
An' I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation
The world's in trouble, there's no communication
An' everyone can say what they wanna to say
It never gets better, anyway
So why should I care about a bad reputation anyway?
Oh no, not me, oh no, not me
I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation
You're living in the past, it's a new generation
An' I only feel good when I got no pain
An' that's how I'm gonna stay
An' I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation
Oh no, not me, oh no, not me
Not me, not me
Saturday, February 29, 2020
Unconstitutional. The USA has no official language.
February 25, 2020
The Trump administration (click here) on Monday finalized a rule that would limit access to Social Security disability benefits for non-English speakers.
“It is important that we have an up-to-date disability program,” Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul said.
“The workforce and work opportunities have changed, and outdated regulations need to be revised to reflect today’s world,” he added....
The USA has a proud heritage of multiculturalism. That means language plays a huge role in preserving that heritage. In the past there were deaths during illnesses such as the spread of HIV and the USA needed to change it's health information to communities to include at the very least Spanish. We are now faced with a new threat with it's first death from Covid-19. Now is not the time to rethink the USA policy on open and free speech which demands the intact status of multiculturalism and information in diversity of languages.
The First Amendment guarantees open and free speech, this policy is ludicrous and bigoted.
Unlike many other countries, (click here) the United States does not have an official national language policy. Educational language policy in the country is largely the result of widely held beliefs and values about immigrants and patriotism. Language policies, implicit or explicit, are used to influence and control social behavior, and the U.S. is no different. Nothing prohibits states from having one or official languages, and a majority of U.S. states have designed English their official language policies. New Mexico and the Common Wealth of Puerto Rico have designated both English and Spanish as co-official languages. The state of Hawaii also has two official languages, English and Hawaiian (ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi).
Traditionally, the discourse on language policy in the U.S.has been framed as an either-or choice between English and other languages. In schools, the result was an imposition of English language and Anglo culture on minorities, which goes back to the deculturation of American Indians through the system of English-only boarding schools. During World War 1 and the early 1920s, imposition of English-only policies went along with persecution of German speakers.
For a brief period during the sixties and seventies languages other than English were accommodated in schools. However, since the nineties, the English-only movement has reversed most of those gains, and currently 28 states have English-only policies.
Whenever I see the number of states as 28, I automatically think there is an amendment to the USA Constitution in the works somewhere.
Educational access through English not only ignores the linguistic resources in many immigrant or indigenous communities, but also negatively affects educational equity, achievement, and a sense of identity. Foreign language teaching has generally been restricted to languages useful for defense and intelligence purposes, with foreign language programs delinked from heritage language resources in communities.
In the last decade, we have seen a growth in community schools teaching heritage languages, and in formal dual-language programs. Hopefully this trend will continue and opportunities for developing multilingual competence from an early age will be expanded.
...........................................................................
February 29, 2020
Gov. Jay Inslee (click here) released a statement today on the death of a Washington state individual from the coronavirus (COVID-19).
"It is a sad day in our state as we learn that a Washingtonian has died from COVID-19. Our hearts go out to their family and friends. We will continue to work toward a day where no one dies from this virus.
"In partnership with the Washington State Department of Health, the Washington State Department of Emergency Management and local and community health partners, we are strengthening our preparedness and response efforts. I am committed to keeping Washingtonians healthy, safe and informed."
February 29, 2020
Officials in Washington state (click here) say a person has died of COVID-19, the first such death in the United States.
Health officials in California, Oregon and Washington state worried about the novel coronavirus spreading through West Coast communities after confirming three patients were infected by unknown means.
The patients — an older Northern California woman with chronic health conditions, a high school student in Everett, Washington and an employee at a Portland, Oregon-area school — hadn't recently traveled overseas or had any known close contact with a traveler or an infected person, authorities said....
.........................................................................
March 1, 2018
In the event of an awkward silence, (click here) it’s generally a good idea to have a stockpile of random trivia handy.
So next time you’re at a party and need a topic of conversation that makes you sound smart, whip out these fun facts about bilingual and multilingual U.S. presidents.
Here are 11 commanders-in-chief who could speak another language (and two honorable mentions).
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
James Monroe
John Quincy Adams
Martin Van Buren
Herbert Hoover
Theodore Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Jimmy Carter
William Jefferson Clinton
George W. Bush
Baradk H. Obama
The Trump administration (click here) on Monday finalized a rule that would limit access to Social Security disability benefits for non-English speakers.
“It is important that we have an up-to-date disability program,” Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul said.
“The workforce and work opportunities have changed, and outdated regulations need to be revised to reflect today’s world,” he added....
The USA has a proud heritage of multiculturalism. That means language plays a huge role in preserving that heritage. In the past there were deaths during illnesses such as the spread of HIV and the USA needed to change it's health information to communities to include at the very least Spanish. We are now faced with a new threat with it's first death from Covid-19. Now is not the time to rethink the USA policy on open and free speech which demands the intact status of multiculturalism and information in diversity of languages.
The First Amendment guarantees open and free speech, this policy is ludicrous and bigoted.
Unlike many other countries, (click here) the United States does not have an official national language policy. Educational language policy in the country is largely the result of widely held beliefs and values about immigrants and patriotism. Language policies, implicit or explicit, are used to influence and control social behavior, and the U.S. is no different. Nothing prohibits states from having one or official languages, and a majority of U.S. states have designed English their official language policies. New Mexico and the Common Wealth of Puerto Rico have designated both English and Spanish as co-official languages. The state of Hawaii also has two official languages, English and Hawaiian (ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi).
Traditionally, the discourse on language policy in the U.S.has been framed as an either-or choice between English and other languages. In schools, the result was an imposition of English language and Anglo culture on minorities, which goes back to the deculturation of American Indians through the system of English-only boarding schools. During World War 1 and the early 1920s, imposition of English-only policies went along with persecution of German speakers.
For a brief period during the sixties and seventies languages other than English were accommodated in schools. However, since the nineties, the English-only movement has reversed most of those gains, and currently 28 states have English-only policies.
Whenever I see the number of states as 28, I automatically think there is an amendment to the USA Constitution in the works somewhere.
Educational access through English not only ignores the linguistic resources in many immigrant or indigenous communities, but also negatively affects educational equity, achievement, and a sense of identity. Foreign language teaching has generally been restricted to languages useful for defense and intelligence purposes, with foreign language programs delinked from heritage language resources in communities.
In the last decade, we have seen a growth in community schools teaching heritage languages, and in formal dual-language programs. Hopefully this trend will continue and opportunities for developing multilingual competence from an early age will be expanded.
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February 29, 2020
Gov. Jay Inslee (click here) released a statement today on the death of a Washington state individual from the coronavirus (COVID-19).
"It is a sad day in our state as we learn that a Washingtonian has died from COVID-19. Our hearts go out to their family and friends. We will continue to work toward a day where no one dies from this virus.
"In partnership with the Washington State Department of Health, the Washington State Department of Emergency Management and local and community health partners, we are strengthening our preparedness and response efforts. I am committed to keeping Washingtonians healthy, safe and informed."
February 29, 2020
Officials in Washington state (click here) say a person has died of COVID-19, the first such death in the United States.
Health officials in California, Oregon and Washington state worried about the novel coronavirus spreading through West Coast communities after confirming three patients were infected by unknown means.
The patients — an older Northern California woman with chronic health conditions, a high school student in Everett, Washington and an employee at a Portland, Oregon-area school — hadn't recently traveled overseas or had any known close contact with a traveler or an infected person, authorities said....
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March 1, 2018
In the event of an awkward silence, (click here) it’s generally a good idea to have a stockpile of random trivia handy.
So next time you’re at a party and need a topic of conversation that makes you sound smart, whip out these fun facts about bilingual and multilingual U.S. presidents.
Here are 11 commanders-in-chief who could speak another language (and two honorable mentions).
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
James Monroe
John Quincy Adams
Martin Van Buren
Herbert Hoover
Theodore Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Jimmy Carter
William Jefferson Clinton
George W. Bush
Baradk H. Obama
Assad will not give up Idlib and Russia will back him. This is also not a basis for global war, either. If I may?
The map to the left is from an article from 2018 describing the ongoing civil war in Syria. (click here) These are not new struggles, so much as reignited and the addition in recent times of Turkey is a real problem because Assad ultimately won't accept a Turkish presence. If one recalls, after Trump pulled USA troops from the region there was a Turkish incursion that rejected the Kurds as a partner to the region. Well, when Turkey basically declared an ethnic war against the Kurds, they in turn joined forces with Assad and other Shi'ites in the Shia Crescent. So, now the tensions between Turkey and Assad is manifesting as Assad moves to retake lost ground.There is one other major problem Turkey is now facing, refugees seeking an opportunity to leave Turkey and Erodogan at the European border. (click here) From the picture it looks like the refugees do not deserve sympathy because they are primarily young men. The last time such a movement occurred Europe was not ready for it and the attacks in Paris were a direct result of extremists entering the country.
There are many sympathetic faces and stories, however, the militants manage to make themselves part of the masses.
28 February 2020
At least 33 Turkish soldiers (click here) have died in a Syrian government attack in opposition-held north-western Syria, in a major escalation of the conflict.
Turkey, which backs the opposition, says it hit 200 government targets in response, "neutralising" 309 soldiers.
Russia, Syria's key military ally, says Turkish troops were attacked in Idlib province by Syrian forces while operating alongside jihadist fighters.
The EU has warned the crisis could escalate further.
"There is a risk of sliding into a major open international military confrontation," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tweeted. "It is also causing unbearable humanitarian suffering and putting civilians in danger."...
Before the conflicts in Syria that have taken many lives and instilled an ongoing civil war the coastal region of Syria is HISTORICAL land for the Alawites. In recent years the Alawites migrated from that coastal area because of war that had begun there. If the Alawites are now in Idlib, Assad will protect them beyond any attempt by Turkey or others, including potentially NATO to stop him.
Additionally, the coastal region of Syria are ancestral lands. Idlib provides a region that could pose a threat to that coastal region. Assad will see any forces other than his own as a threat to the Alawites retaking and resettling that coastal region.
So, basically, this is more of the same ongoing war in Syria with one more player in Turkey. Obviously, NATO is not seeing Turkey's actions as their own so much as an attempt for more land possession by Turkey in an effort to remove Kurds from near Turkey's borders or end any claimes there is a Kurdistan in any way.
"There is a risk of sliding into a major open international military confrontation," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tweeted. "It is also causing unbearable humanitarian suffering and putting civilians in danger."...
Before the conflicts in Syria that have taken many lives and instilled an ongoing civil war the coastal region of Syria is HISTORICAL land for the Alawites. In recent years the Alawites migrated from that coastal area because of war that had begun there. If the Alawites are now in Idlib, Assad will protect them beyond any attempt by Turkey or others, including potentially NATO to stop him.
Additionally, the coastal region of Syria are ancestral lands. Idlib provides a region that could pose a threat to that coastal region. Assad will see any forces other than his own as a threat to the Alawites retaking and resettling that coastal region.
So, basically, this is more of the same ongoing war in Syria with one more player in Turkey. Obviously, NATO is not seeing Turkey's actions as their own so much as an attempt for more land possession by Turkey in an effort to remove Kurds from near Turkey's borders or end any claimes there is a Kurdistan in any way.
Trump vs the CDC
Community transmission is exactly what exists in China. China used flying drones to warn people to go back into their homes.
February 29, 2020
By Gerry Shih, James McAuley, Miriam Berger and Katie Mettler
More coronavirus infections (click here) were reported from South Korea to France to Qatar on Saturday after health officials in Washington state, Oregon and California on Friday reported a worrying development: new cases among people who have not traveled recently to countries hit hard by the outbreak or come into contact with anyone known to have the disease, which public health officials refer to as community transmission.
The four new cases Friday bring the total number of covid-19 cases detected through the U.S. public health system to 19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Washington state announced late Friday that a high school student in Snohomish County, just north of Seattle, tested positive for the deadly virus and was in home isolation in a suspected community transmission case. State health officials also said a woman in her 50s in King County tested positive after traveling to Daegu, South Korea, the site of a major coronavirus outbreak. She, too, is in home isolation....
How the heck did a high school kid get the darn stuff? There is nothing in Snohomish County. This lousy virus better not be on wind currents either, but, Washington State is east of South Korea and Japan.
It is possibly the King County resident that traveled to South Korea. King County is directly south of Snohomish County in Washington State, but, where did the transmission occur?
Washington County isn't even close to either Snohomish or King Counties.
February 17, 2020
By Hannah Yasharoff, Jayme Deerwater, and David Oliver
...One plane carrying American passengers (click here) touched down at Travis Air Force Base in northern California just before 11:30 p.m. Sunday local time. A second flight arrived at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas around 2½ hours later, early Monday.
The California flight had 177 people on it, seven of whom tested positive for coronavirus, Walters said. An additional three people were isolated during the flight for fever. Upon arrival, 171 stayed in Travis while six traveled to Omaha....
The FDA is allowing other labs to carry out the complex testing for Covid-19 in anticipation of a widening exposure to the general public. It is officially called a public health emergency.
2/29/2020
By Sarah Owermohle
The Food and Drug Administration (click here) on Saturday morning laid out how academic labs can use in-house coronavirus tests in hopes of expanding the health care system’s ability to detect the virus.
The guidance would let certain labs develop FDA-authorized tests without relying on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We believe this policy strikes the right balance during this public health emergency,” FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said in a statement....
This is current as of yesterday, communities need to mobilize for cases of Covid-19. One thing is sure to result as more hospital labs use techniques to diagnosis the virus, there will be some false positives and false negatives. I think we have already seen false negatives with persons originally thought to be negative. That is due to viral load (click here for similar procedure for HIV) most probably. Where a person's immune system can inhibit the virus to grow there will be false negatives. Statistically, these errors will occur. Every person is different which leads to different outcomes. There is a lot no one knows about this virus, including any latent stage. A latent stage would indicate a "carrier" rather than a symptomatic person. I am quite confident the CDC and WHO are looking at everything.
This virus is a puzzle and isn't neatly fitting into any stereotypes of other coronavirus.
...This report summarizes (click here) the aggressive measures (2,3) that CDC, state and local health departments, multiple other federal agencies, and other partners are implementing to slow and try to contain transmission of COVID-19 in the United States. These measures require the identification of cases and contacts of persons with COVID-19 in the United States and the recommended assessment, monitoring, and care of travelers arriving from areas with substantial COVID-19 transmission. Although these measures might not prevent widespread transmission of the virus in the United States, they are being implemented to
February 29, 2020
By Gerry Shih, James McAuley, Miriam Berger and Katie Mettler
More coronavirus infections (click here) were reported from South Korea to France to Qatar on Saturday after health officials in Washington state, Oregon and California on Friday reported a worrying development: new cases among people who have not traveled recently to countries hit hard by the outbreak or come into contact with anyone known to have the disease, which public health officials refer to as community transmission.
The four new cases Friday bring the total number of covid-19 cases detected through the U.S. public health system to 19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Washington state announced late Friday that a high school student in Snohomish County, just north of Seattle, tested positive for the deadly virus and was in home isolation in a suspected community transmission case. State health officials also said a woman in her 50s in King County tested positive after traveling to Daegu, South Korea, the site of a major coronavirus outbreak. She, too, is in home isolation....
How the heck did a high school kid get the darn stuff? There is nothing in Snohomish County. This lousy virus better not be on wind currents either, but, Washington State is east of South Korea and Japan.It is possibly the King County resident that traveled to South Korea. King County is directly south of Snohomish County in Washington State, but, where did the transmission occur?
Washington County isn't even close to either Snohomish or King Counties.
February 17, 2020
By Hannah Yasharoff, Jayme Deerwater, and David Oliver
...One plane carrying American passengers (click here) touched down at Travis Air Force Base in northern California just before 11:30 p.m. Sunday local time. A second flight arrived at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas around 2½ hours later, early Monday.
The California flight had 177 people on it, seven of whom tested positive for coronavirus, Walters said. An additional three people were isolated during the flight for fever. Upon arrival, 171 stayed in Travis while six traveled to Omaha....
The FDA is allowing other labs to carry out the complex testing for Covid-19 in anticipation of a widening exposure to the general public. It is officially called a public health emergency.
2/29/2020
By Sarah Owermohle
The Food and Drug Administration (click here) on Saturday morning laid out how academic labs can use in-house coronavirus tests in hopes of expanding the health care system’s ability to detect the virus.
The guidance would let certain labs develop FDA-authorized tests without relying on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We believe this policy strikes the right balance during this public health emergency,” FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said in a statement....
This is current as of yesterday, communities need to mobilize for cases of Covid-19. One thing is sure to result as more hospital labs use techniques to diagnosis the virus, there will be some false positives and false negatives. I think we have already seen false negatives with persons originally thought to be negative. That is due to viral load (click here for similar procedure for HIV) most probably. Where a person's immune system can inhibit the virus to grow there will be false negatives. Statistically, these errors will occur. Every person is different which leads to different outcomes. There is a lot no one knows about this virus, including any latent stage. A latent stage would indicate a "carrier" rather than a symptomatic person. I am quite confident the CDC and WHO are looking at everything.
This virus is a puzzle and isn't neatly fitting into any stereotypes of other coronavirus.
...This report summarizes (click here) the aggressive measures (2,3) that CDC, state and local health departments, multiple other federal agencies, and other partners are implementing to slow and try to contain transmission of COVID-19 in the United States. These measures require the identification of cases and contacts of persons with COVID-19 in the United States and the recommended assessment, monitoring, and care of travelers arriving from areas with substantial COVID-19 transmission. Although these measures might not prevent widespread transmission of the virus in the United States, they are being implemented to
1) slow the spread of illness;
2) provide time to better prepare state and local health departments, health care systems, businesses, educational organizations, and the general public in the event that widespread transmission occurs; and
3) better characterize COVID-19 to guide public health recommendations and the development and deployment of medical countermeasures, including diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. U.S. public health authorities are monitoring the situation closely, and CDC is coordinating efforts with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other global partners. Interim guidance is available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html. As more is learned about this novel virus and this outbreak, CDC will rapidly incorporate new knowledge into guidance for action by CDC, state and local health departments, health care providers, and communities.
Person-to-person spread of COVID-19 appears to occur mainly by respiratory transmission. How easily the virus is transmitted between persons is currently unclear. Signs and symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, and shortness of breath (4). Based on the incubation period of illness for Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronaviruses, as well as observational data from reports of travel-related COVID-19, CDC estimates that symptoms of COVID-19 occur within 2–14 days after exposure. Preliminary data suggest that older adults and persons with underlying health conditions or compromised immune systems might be at greater risk for severe illness from this virus (5)....
It is what it is.
Tomoyuki Sugano, (click here) starting pitcher of Yomiuri Giants, throws the first pitch during a behind-closed-doors opening game against the Tokyo Yaklut Swallows at Tokyo Dome baseball stadium in Tokyo on Feb. 29, 2020.
2) provide time to better prepare state and local health departments, health care systems, businesses, educational organizations, and the general public in the event that widespread transmission occurs; and
3) better characterize COVID-19 to guide public health recommendations and the development and deployment of medical countermeasures, including diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. U.S. public health authorities are monitoring the situation closely, and CDC is coordinating efforts with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other global partners. Interim guidance is available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html. As more is learned about this novel virus and this outbreak, CDC will rapidly incorporate new knowledge into guidance for action by CDC, state and local health departments, health care providers, and communities.
Person-to-person spread of COVID-19 appears to occur mainly by respiratory transmission. How easily the virus is transmitted between persons is currently unclear. Signs and symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, and shortness of breath (4). Based on the incubation period of illness for Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronaviruses, as well as observational data from reports of travel-related COVID-19, CDC estimates that symptoms of COVID-19 occur within 2–14 days after exposure. Preliminary data suggest that older adults and persons with underlying health conditions or compromised immune systems might be at greater risk for severe illness from this virus (5)....
Tomoyuki Sugano, (click here) starting pitcher of Yomiuri Giants, throws the first pitch during a behind-closed-doors opening game against the Tokyo Yaklut Swallows at Tokyo Dome baseball stadium in Tokyo on Feb. 29, 2020.
February 29, 2020
By David Welna
U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad attends the Intra-Afghan Dialogue talks in the Qatari capital, Doha, in July.
The U.S. and the Taliban have struck a deal that paves the way for eventual peace in Afghanistan. U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad and the head of the militant Islamist group, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, signed the potentially historic agreement Saturday in Doha, Qatar, where the two sides spent months hashing out its details.
Under the terms of the deal, the U.S. commits to withdrawing all of its military forces and supporting civilian personnel, as well as those of its allies, within 14 months. The drawdown process will begin with the U.S. reducing its troop levels to 8,600 in the first 135 days and pulling its forces from five bases.
The rest of its forces, according to the agreement, will leave "within the remaining nine and a half months."
The Afghan government also will release up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners as a gesture of goodwill, in exchange for 1,000 Afghan security forces held by the Taliban....
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