Friday, April 22, 2022
Drought Impact for Agriculture of Ethiopia - January 2022
Returning function to the homeless.
This San Jose housing effort could be a model for other cities. Jobs and job training is a part of returning the homeless to function and function well. Affordable housing is a country wide issue and should be addressed in a way that resolves the problem for individuals and families forever.
...Although few places in the United States have escaped recent hikes, rental spikes have been particularly pronounced along the Sun Belt and in Florida. The state is home to the three metro areas where monthly rent jumped the most: Naples, Sarasota and Tampa. Monthly rents in those cities are up between 29 percent and 39 percent in the past two years, according to CoStar....
Housing increases are a two edged sword. On one hand increased values for homes and property is a boom for the owner(s), but, with an increase in value comes an increase in local taxes and that is passed on directly to those that rent. So, should there be rent control? Or should there be a process to determine what is an appropriate increase in rent vs. exploitation leading to inflation in the market place?
By Grace Hase
A 2020 ballot measure approved by San Jose voters (click here) to fund affordable housing and the city’s burgeoning homeless crisis has brought in a surprising bonanza — a $65 million surplus.
Measure E — a real estate transfer tax for properties over $2 million — was estimated to put $40 million a year into the city’s coffers in both fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022.
But the city’s initial estimates have exceeded expectations, bringing in $50.5 million in fiscal 2021 and $90 million for the current fiscal year.
With the surplus of funds, the San Jose City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to spend some of the dollars to support homeless programs, including the construction of interim, prefabricated homes....
Measure E — a real estate transfer tax for properties over $2 million — was estimated to put $40 million a year into the city’s coffers in both fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022.
But the city’s initial estimates have exceeded expectations, bringing in $50.5 million in fiscal 2021 and $90 million for the current fiscal year.
With the surplus of funds, the San Jose City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to spend some of the dollars to support homeless programs, including the construction of interim, prefabricated homes....
Lying matters.
Steve Bannon was never "in it" for the goverance, he was always "in it" for the money. It was he that willfully attacked and still attacks democracies through their freedom of speech and expression. He appears to be in favor of a candidate that he will mentor to victory, but, he is a "hire" and not a supporter. He has no value of life in the way democracies seek quality of life.
Trump abused power in pardoning Bannon to protect himself and his friend. Trump assaulted and continues to assault the USA Constitution that he rather see as a weak governance rather than one of the people. The only reason Trump sees democracy as weak is because he is so successful in committing fraud within it. That is a criminal and not a constitutionalist.
April 22, 2022
By Shayna Jocobs
April 22, 2022
By Shayna Jocobs
New York - Brian Kolfage, (click here) a disabled veteran who headed a $25 million fundraising effort for a U.S.-Mexico border wall with the help of former Trump aide Stephen K. Bannon, has pleaded guilty in connection to defrauding donors for his own gain.
Kolfage, an amputee who lost three limbs serving in Iraq, could serve more than five years in prison. He was accused of using more than $350,000 in donations on personal expenses such as home renovations and vehicle payments, after telling “We Build the Wall” campaign contributors that he would not take a cut of the collections or give himself a salary. On Thursday, in federal court in Manhattan, he admitted to siphoning off money for himself and also pleaded guilty to tax crimes for failing to report that income.
The Florida resident told U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres that the organization met roadblocks in carrying out its original mission of subsidizing the construction of a border wall but that he “continued to raise funds and promised I would take no salary and would not take a penny in profits.”...
Kolfage, an amputee who lost three limbs serving in Iraq, could serve more than five years in prison. He was accused of using more than $350,000 in donations on personal expenses such as home renovations and vehicle payments, after telling “We Build the Wall” campaign contributors that he would not take a cut of the collections or give himself a salary. On Thursday, in federal court in Manhattan, he admitted to siphoning off money for himself and also pleaded guilty to tax crimes for failing to report that income.
The Florida resident told U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres that the organization met roadblocks in carrying out its original mission of subsidizing the construction of a border wall but that he “continued to raise funds and promised I would take no salary and would not take a penny in profits.”...
A fatal flaw that is Twitter.
I am sure Elon Musk realizes there is dearly little to replace Twitter with another system that is similar. But, the challenge exists.
Twitter became an instrument of control by the dictator named Donald John Trump. He weaponized it. You know there is a limit to free speech. Free speech is not reckless speech. Reckless speech and hate speech are a problem for the democracies of the world and their national security. It is reckless speech we witness with the Trump Republicans. They turn dictionaries on their head.
Much of the defense of reckless speech and at times hate speech lies in colloquial speech. Words that are used off of their definition in attempts to incorporate emotion into words. I don't think colloquail speech is as well defined as it should be. There is a profound need to understand speech far better than it is understood today.
I think as democratic societies go, there is a profound right to protect the democracy from wrongful use of speech that causes issues related to national security. Free expression is not always free speech. They are different. Free expression demands free speech, but, does it also need reckless speech and hate speech to define freedom of expression?
I think what is being obversed with democracies is saturation of wrongful intent. It is similar to the idea of free access to guns. Gun Violence escalates among the best of democracies and the power of gun violence can and has changed the political face of countries. We have seen countries with free access to guns not only change it's politics, but, along side of that is increased deaths and injuries in a free and open society.
There are emotional dynamics in all these issues. Do free societies/democracies need to understand the danger of deleterious dynamics that oppress them in the name of freedom of expression and/or speech. We already know deleterious racial names and epithets carry with it actions in the physical world resulting in human suffering and/or death. I think members of democracies need to understand themselves better to realize the power of society to have far better outcomes through taming of the emotional end of words. There are consequences when freedom of speech becomes oppressive and elicits adverse outcomes to governance in maintaining its constitution. We witnessed such impacts on January 6th in the USA.
Is a polite society a good society?
Being polite brings with it subtile threatening alarms as well as pause.
Today in the USA is Earth Day.
On April 22, 2022 the CO2 level is 417. (click here)
That is too high.
Thursday, April 21, 2022
Let's all just look the other way when it comes to high end sports, okay?
Forbid the candy asses on the tennis courts have their presious lives distrubed. If Djokovic is so set on playing communist players that compete while their countries are carrying out genocide then go to Russia and Belarus and play.
Djokovic states he experienced war as a child. Then he should know how it feels and to go forward with "War Particpants" is to state the children of Ukraine that died are just an acceptable loss in the game of tennis.
April 21, 2022
Novak Djokovic (click here) has hit back at Wimbledon's decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players over the invasion of Ukraine, describing the move as "crazy."
Wimbledon announced on Wednesday that it had barred all Russian and Belarusian players from this year's championships due to the invasion.
Wimbledon announced on Wednesday that it had barred all Russian and Belarusian players from this year's championships due to the invasion.
The grass-court Grand Slam is the first tennis tournament to ban individual competitors from the two countries, meaning men's world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev from Russia and women's fourth-ranked Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will be banned from the competition.
Djokovic, who grew up in war-torn Serbia, said the athletes had nothing to do with the ongoing conflict.
"I will always condemn war; I will never support war being myself a child of war," Djokovic told reporters after narrowly beating compatriot Laslo Dere at the Serbia Open on Wednesday.
So, let's just give it lip service and it will all be okay. Of course, Putin and the Chechen King and the Belerus dictator will listen to Mr. Djokovic, right?
The real shame to Mr. Djokovic's indulgence of Russia and Belarus is that the Ukrainians are too busy to make it to the tennis court. Mr. Djokovic has LOST UKRAINIAN PARTICIPANTS THAT could beat him and show the world what a real champion looks like, but, oops he is dead from a Putin missile.
See, Mr. Djokovic's problem is not the war. It is not the war at all. It is his ego that will be bruised if a win means there is some doubt because some Russian and Belarus players are banned. I think Mr. Djokovic needs to step aside and let people with strong beliefs in life play and win at Wimbleton this year. I really do believe he is in the way of a real champion.
I heard reports that Russia was consulting with China within the window this missile was planned to be launched.
April 21, 2022
By Mark Trevelyan
London - In a show of strength two months into its assault on Ukraine, Russia test (click here) launched a new nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile which President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday would make Moscow's enemies stop and think.
Putin was shown on TV being told by the military that the long-awaited Sarmat missile had been test-launched for the first time from Plesetsk in northwest Russia and hit targets in the Kamchatka peninsula, nearly 6,000 km (3,700 miles) away.
The test of the Sarmat, under development for years, did not surprise the West, but came at a moment of extreme geopolitical tension. Russia has yet to capture any major cities since it sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.....
By Mark Trevelyan
London - In a show of strength two months into its assault on Ukraine, Russia test (click here) launched a new nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile which President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday would make Moscow's enemies stop and think.
Putin was shown on TV being told by the military that the long-awaited Sarmat missile had been test-launched for the first time from Plesetsk in northwest Russia and hit targets in the Kamchatka peninsula, nearly 6,000 km (3,700 miles) away.
The test of the Sarmat, under development for years, did not surprise the West, but came at a moment of extreme geopolitical tension. Russia has yet to capture any major cities since it sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.....
In talks of Ukraine, Russia is not coming to grips with reality. Putin is counting on bullying his way through this and it is not well received.
Putin needs to stop the killing which includes the bombing and allow the Ukrainians to return. They will not view him as their leader since he killed so many of them. Putin has to make the effort, otherwise, the outcomes to this is very poor.
There are too many people dead. There is no stepping away from that.
Putin is still looking for appeasement without realizing he has moved far beyond that possibility. His politics demands global resignation to his power. He will not be able to bridge that gap of reality with propaganda. The launch of a missile is supposed to bring the world to his feet in awe of his power. That is what that is about. Xi Zinping knew this was going to happen and evidently consented to it to force the issue of surrender.
The communists are vastly miscalculating.
Nuclear brinkmanship was always a dialogue without credibility. This genocide has turned the communists into a danger on Earth. They are capable of disregarding all that is peaceful. Their values are not at all what The West has expected of them. They have little to no value of life. Power is their's to use as they see fit without overrating the enormously tragic outcomes. They are not calculating their moves in meaningful ways to even engage in peace talks. The dialogues have words but no meaning except to bide time and propagandize legitmacy of hate to the Russian people.
Putin has an achilles heel with the people of Russia and he is trying in every way to hide it and make excuses for all that has transpired. That is not a leader seeking peace. That is further aggression against his own people. There is a reason Navalny had a hearing before the invasion and that was to make opposition feeble in appearance.
They are really miscalculating and these are the leaders of these countries. There is no place for them to blame a misunderstanding. There is no safe place for them. They are fully invested in their propaganda and wrongly so.
It is one thing to be Goliath with arrogance of victory by the sheer appearance of strenght and it is another thing to be Goliath and approach a fight with the possibility of losing. The communists have got this wrong and they can't see the forest for the trees. That is impossibly dangerous.
The West demands peace. Appeasement has always been overrated when it comes to communists. Appeasement is not a weakness, it is a measured policy to peace. The communists have got this completely wrong.
I never thought I would ever see such carnage again.
The godless communists. Breaking every international law to protect life is disregarded. They have no conscience and now, with this highly illegal genocide by Putin, we know what to expect from them regardless of their pandering otherwise.
To take this back to the G8 that decided to expel Russia, I thought it would matter. I thought having trade relations mattered. Obviously, it doesn't and never did. They were playing The West for fools. It was all an experiment that carried with it hope of a peaceful planet with prosperity abounding, but, it was a failed experiment from the beginning with this generation of communists.
Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin were interested in peace. No one will convince me they weren't. There were human rights violations in the country, but, China could be approached at that time to establish policies to improve those violations. Today, that conscience is dead. I do not believe there is any reason to believe a communist country is capable of great humanity. The HOPE is over.
I remember the first Olympics in Beijing in 2008. We were seeing a very different China. The people and their leaders were proud of every moment and they had a right to be. It was events like that which brought The East and West together. The hope of establishing a profound peace across the globe was real. I know it was.
The communists in Russia began to build power within the country that was unexpected. It was they that brought about the tragedies of 2014 in Ukraine. Even then I never expected this. Never. I still shake my head at the thought of all those dead and wonder why this is even happening. It is Putin's politics. He has to be right to bring about a powerful communist state.
I think the invasion into Iraq was a turning point as well. But, that is a turning point that occurred in 2003. I can understand the communists measuring their power versus that of the USA as the invasion into Iraq was not consented to by major powers in the world and provided a platform to step back from peaceful optimism, but, to assign the displaced right to genocide is still uthinkable in any measure.
There were a lot of options open to Russia and China given the general displeasure with the USA by most every other country. This was not realized at all to be a possiblity. I thought genocide was put to rest with Hitler. Never would I expect Russia to carry out such depersonalized warfare that would kill the people of an entire nation.
This idea of power by the communists is wrongfully assessed. This blatant power to kill is an overreach of any possible outcome to the world. There is no sense to any of this. There are so many other options. Death carries a high definition with communists now. They have opened Pandora's Box. They have no means to back away from it now. They are playing high stake games with life on Earth and that is completely wrong and very arrogant. This will not end well. It already hasn't.
Since it began March 1, (click here) the Russian military has pummeled Mariupol relentlessly with artillery barrages and air raids, flattening most of the once-bustling city. The indiscriminate bombardment has hit homes, hospitals and other public buildings, killing thousands. That includes about 300 people killed in an airstrike on the Mariupol Drama Theater that was being used as a shelter, with officials inscribing the Russian word for “CHILDREN” in huge white letters on the pavement outside.
Mayor Vadym Boychenko told The Associated Press that at least 21,000 people were killed in Mariupol, with bodies “carpeted through the streets.” He said Russia deployed mobile cremation equipment to methodically dispose of the remains in order to destroy evidence of the massacre and prevent international organizations from documenting “the horror the Russian army is responsible for.” He alleged bodies also were dumped into mass graves outside the city.
He estimated that 120,000 people remain in Mariupol out of a prewar population of about 450,000...
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Some of the precious children of Mariupol are finding safe refugee status. Not all though.
By David Averre
A few dozen civilians managed to leave the bombed out urban centre in a small bus convoy yesterday, but Ukraine accused Russia yet again of sealing off previously agreed humanitarian corridor, meaning fewer civilians were able to flee than hoped
...Mariupol (click here) would be the biggest city to be seized by Russia since invading Ukraine eight weeks ago, and the port is seen as a key strategic position for Russia's assault on the east of Ukraine.
But Putin's forces have been forced to reduce what was once a bustling metropolis of 400,000 people to rubble, having met bitter resistance from Ukraine's armed forces and territorial defence units stationed there....
...A few dozen civilians managed to leave the bombed out urban centre in a small bus convoy yesterday, but Ukraine accused Russia yet again of sealing off previously agreed humanitarian corridor, meaning fewer civilians were able to flee than hoped....
...Mariupol (click here) would be the biggest city to be seized by Russia since invading Ukraine eight weeks ago, and the port is seen as a key strategic position for Russia's assault on the east of Ukraine.
But Putin's forces have been forced to reduce what was once a bustling metropolis of 400,000 people to rubble, having met bitter resistance from Ukraine's armed forces and territorial defence units stationed there....
...A few dozen civilians managed to leave the bombed out urban centre in a small bus convoy yesterday, but Ukraine accused Russia yet again of sealing off previously agreed humanitarian corridor, meaning fewer civilians were able to flee than hoped....
One thing to consider are the orphans that find their way to refugee camps. They are dearly import and should not be sent for adoptions unless it is another Ukraine family with hopes of one day returning to their homeland. The adoption industry takes advanage of every opportunity, but, this should not be considered an opportunity so much as oppression and genocide. The children that are orphans from Ukraine are vitally important to Ukraine's future. Now is not the time for adoption agencies to be swooping in to find homes away from Ukraine. They are surviving the genocide and that is vitally important and puts a pause on adoptions outside of Ukraine.
Chinese General Sun Tzu military philosophy is correct.
I would like to assign military genus to Putin, but, it isn't genius. It is the five year plan. The logistics effecting The West is the same all over the world due to the pandemic.
NATO is a strong alliance because the countries are strong in many ways, but, military strength is part of that. The excess preparedness of NATO available to assist the genocide in Ukraine is impressive. But, NATO will not compromise it's readiness. So, part of the frustration facing Ukraine is the ability to manufacture it's military need to assist in the preservation of life.
This war is not about power. NATO will not be stronger for helping Ukraine, it is about saving lives and maintaining the integrity of an entire ethnic in the world. Putin has it wrong about NATO and it is his own peril that he has caused.
Ammunition is one of the Department of Defense's (DOD's) top three largest logistics burdens along with water and fuel.1 Crane Army Ammunition Activity (CAAA), located in central Indiana, has for more than a decade produced conventional munitions and provided them to warfighters. For as long as combat leaders have fought and won battles in Iraq and Afghanistan, they have appreciated the activity's support.
As an Army Working Capital Fund organization, the CAAA operates under a revolving fund concept, relying on revenue from sales to finance operations rather than on budget proposals for direct appropriations from Congress. The activity operates as a business-like enterprise, managing cash and expenses in real time....
Tuesday, April 19, 2022
I don't find it strange that the richest man in the world doesn't own a home.
To begin, he wants to live on Mars, okay?
But, it is my opinion he moves from one friend's house to another as a guest because he finds collaboration enjoyable. I think it helps his genius to find comfort.
Clearly.
And Prince Harry is not going to cause a circus when he visits his Grandmother with his children. His daughter is named for her. Let them have real family moments. I think the Queen is up to it.
No one trusts Russia anymore.
April 19, 2022
By David L. Stern and Paulina Villegas
Mukachevo, Ukraine — The commander of Ukrainian forces’ (click here) last stronghold in the southern port city of Mariupol, surrounded by Russians and subjected to a constant barrage of fire, said Tuesday that his soldiers will not surrender....
...Speaking over a crackling connection made possible by satellite, he said his forces would not repeat the mistake made by others of trusting Russian guarantees of safe passage, only to see the Russians break their word and open fire....
Now, China for whatever reason has built a second battery of radar to detect incoming missiles from all places Japan. There is nothing to be afraid of with Japan. These are very old paradaigms of hate and entitlement. The history books of resentment and hatred need to be nailed shut!
April 18, 2022
By Mike Yeo
Melbourne, Australia — A satellite photo(click here) has revealed that China has built a new long-range, early-warning radar that can be used to detect ballistic missiles from thousands of miles away, likely giving it coverage of all of Japan.
The image, taken on February 2022 by commercial satellite imagery company Maxar Technologies and published on Google Earth, show that a new Large Phased Array Radar, or LPAR, has been built at an existing mountaintop site in Yiyuan County, Shandong Province, some 70 miles southeast of the provincial capital Jinan.
The new array is pointed in a northeasterly direction and was built sometime after November 2019. Its completion can potentially give China early warning of ballistic missile launches from North and South Korea, most of Japan and even parts of Russia’s Far East....
The U.S. has sharply criticized Russia and China for conducting anti-satellite missile tests, although it also used an interceptor missile fired from a U.S. Navy warship more than 14 years ago to destroy a malfunctioning spy satellite....
By David L. Stern and Paulina Villegas
Mukachevo, Ukraine — The commander of Ukrainian forces’ (click here) last stronghold in the southern port city of Mariupol, surrounded by Russians and subjected to a constant barrage of fire, said Tuesday that his soldiers will not surrender....
...Speaking over a crackling connection made possible by satellite, he said his forces would not repeat the mistake made by others of trusting Russian guarantees of safe passage, only to see the Russians break their word and open fire....
We have seen the slaughter of innocent people, what is there to trust?
Ivan Monastyrskyi cruel death in Bucha can only be due to profound hatred. He never did anything to deserve the worst treatment and humiliation a man could receive. He was mocked for his faith in God and slowly drained of his life. I will never forget the severe death of this man. This was an act of barbarism. There is no civilized world in Russia anymore. Russia is propagating hatred in it's citizens and the military is a reflection of it.
The people in Mariupol need assistance in leaving. It isn't as though the soldiers are stubborn and holding on for the sake of holding on, the people of Ukraine no longer trust Russia and Ivan Monastryskyi is a clear demonstration of hatred and barbarism that resides in every Russian heart.
The men of the Ukrainian military need to be able to evacuate the people in the steel plant. They cannot do that because of the unrelenting bombardment of Mariupol. Why is the rest of the world finding it disabling to come up with a plan to assist these people? They are human beings that want to leave and live for the day they can return to Ukraine. They are basically refugees without a safe passage.
I find this war more and more intolerable everyday. Their requests for help should never go unheard or unaddressed. Mariupol is on a sea. There must be some way to relieve these people of their suffering.
The sanctions and pressures are causing problems within Russia, but, so far it hasn't translated into thwarting their killing machine. The Russians must be stopped.
...Arestovich (Ukrainian advisor) laid out three possible outcomes of the renewed fighting: "The first is that the Russians, having exhausted all of their operational reserves, will conduct tactical actions in order to hold onto the territory they currently occupy. The second is that they can leave our territory. And the third is that they can return to peace talks."...
Three reasonable options for the Russians. Why aren't they taking them? I think Putin's military is so far gone down the line of attempted annihilation of Ukrainians there is simply no solution at all. While Mr. Arestovich is seeking a solution to this chronic crisis, there are none. Putin is committed to one outcome and that is to destroy every Ukrainian life he can. Any other possibility put forward by Russia is a ruse.
There is no solution. There never was. This Russian military is a brutal regime with absolutely no reason to end the killing. They could not care less about life. They kill within their own ranks without a second thought. Some of the youngest soldiers kill their own. There are many reasons for that, but, they are overwhelmed with their own tasks.
I see no end point.
Everyone warned against this. The Secretary of State, President Biden, any USA military person that would speak to it; they saw massive death and destruction if Russia moved forward with a war against Ukraine. They were right. But, that is little solace in realizing there is no end to this. I guess the only answer is to isolate Russia and hope that is enough to stop this ridiculous war that began without any provocation except the Ukrainian people were alive.
I never thought I would ever see this level of hatred in my life. I thought the world was over disasterous wars and hideous reasons to kill.
By Mike Yeo
Melbourne, Australia — A satellite photo(click here) has revealed that China has built a new long-range, early-warning radar that can be used to detect ballistic missiles from thousands of miles away, likely giving it coverage of all of Japan.
The image, taken on February 2022 by commercial satellite imagery company Maxar Technologies and published on Google Earth, show that a new Large Phased Array Radar, or LPAR, has been built at an existing mountaintop site in Yiyuan County, Shandong Province, some 70 miles southeast of the provincial capital Jinan.
The new array is pointed in a northeasterly direction and was built sometime after November 2019. Its completion can potentially give China early warning of ballistic missile launches from North and South Korea, most of Japan and even parts of Russia’s Far East....
Communism breeds paranoia. This is so ridiculous. North Korea maybe, but, all the other countries? Come on already. Where is world order when there is this level of paranoia and fear or each other?
Even space is not safe.
April 18, 2022
By Aamer Madhani
Washington - The Biden administration (click here) says it is barring anti-satellite missile testing by the United States, a move that White House officials say is meant to underscore its hopes of establishing new norms for military action in space.
The U.S. has sharply criticized Russia and China for conducting anti-satellite missile tests, although it also used an interceptor missile fired from a U.S. Navy warship more than 14 years ago to destroy a malfunctioning spy satellite....
End the Five Year Plans!
Believe me, Wall Street has no five year plan. This is really antiquated thinking that does not relate to the real world.
Putin woke up one morning while the Russian military was running war games, realized it was February 24th, the anniversary of the end of the Revolution of Dignity in the Euromaidan, looked at the five year plan and said, "This is the day we invade Ukraine," and did.
April 19, 2022
...Moreover, (click here) its latest Five Year Plan for the energy sector, made public in late March, makes it clear that coal will be a mainstay of the country’s electricity mix for a while....
Communists have a profound problem with their Five Year Plans. The world simply doesn't work that way anymore. Economics is based in opportunity and not a plan. This mess it creates is old world. If China and Russia and North Korea can't figure out why they are not in step with everyone else, there is a reason.
China cannot continue to use coal like this. It is out of the question.
Did anyone ask Disney how this is going to work?
April 19, 2022
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis escalated his weeks-long feud with Disney on Tuesday, challenging lawmakers to eliminate the special status that allows the entertainment company to operate as an independent government around its Orlando-area theme park.
In a bombshell announcement dropped just hours before lawmakers returned to Tallahassee for a special session to finalize new congressional maps, DeSantis changed the agenda for the week to also include a review of "independent special districts that were established prior to November 5, 1968." That would include the Reedy Creek Improvement Act, passed by the Legislature in 1967 to help establish Walt Disney World.
...The District (click here) is responsible to oversee land use and environmental protections within the District, and provide essential public services (e.g. fire protection, emergency medical services, potable water production, treatment, storage, pumping & distribution, reclaimed water distribution, chilled and hot water systems, wastewater services, drainage and flood control, electric power generation & distribution, and solid waste and recyclables collection & disposal); regulate the EPCOT Building Code; and operate and maintain all public roadways & bridges. The District operates on a fiscal year, beginning on October 1st and ending on September 30th; and funds its operations, services, and capital improvements by assessing taxes and fees to the District’s landowners and lessees, and by issuing ad valorem and utility revenue bonds....
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis escalated his weeks-long feud with Disney on Tuesday, challenging lawmakers to eliminate the special status that allows the entertainment company to operate as an independent government around its Orlando-area theme park.
In a bombshell announcement dropped just hours before lawmakers returned to Tallahassee for a special session to finalize new congressional maps, DeSantis changed the agenda for the week to also include a review of "independent special districts that were established prior to November 5, 1968." That would include the Reedy Creek Improvement Act, passed by the Legislature in 1967 to help establish Walt Disney World.
A bill filed by a Republican lawmaker soon after DeSantis' announcement would dissolve Disney's special district on June 1, 2023....
Is Disney prepared to eliminate the district it sits on and what has been proposed in the Florida budget to replace the district so Disney is fully supported? If the district falls into disrepair it will effect business. If this is due to ONLY redistricting, there are real concerns about the judgement of the members of the Florida legislature willing to do anything to Republican control of the vote going forward.
Congressional districts can be assigned by the number of people alone living and working within a district. I am quite sure there are significant number of people served in this district. Aren't they voicing there concerns and why not?
It seems to me everything has gone correctly all these decades and now all of a sudden that has to change to satify voting maps. That is not the way a governor is supposed to see a state full of people facing enormous issues the least of which is a climate crisis. Miami is having significant problems already due to climate and that never enters the Republican policy map. I think being responsible is more important than gerrymandering districts to corruptly win elections.
The public needs to hear from the parties most effected by these ridiculous new maps. The threat of well being of a lot of people that visit Disney every year are at stake. Disney's average tourist population is 58 million people (click here). That is a lot of flushing toilets.
...The District (click here) is responsible to oversee land use and environmental protections within the District, and provide essential public services (e.g. fire protection, emergency medical services, potable water production, treatment, storage, pumping & distribution, reclaimed water distribution, chilled and hot water systems, wastewater services, drainage and flood control, electric power generation & distribution, and solid waste and recyclables collection & disposal); regulate the EPCOT Building Code; and operate and maintain all public roadways & bridges. The District operates on a fiscal year, beginning on October 1st and ending on September 30th; and funds its operations, services, and capital improvements by assessing taxes and fees to the District’s landowners and lessees, and by issuing ad valorem and utility revenue bonds....
Reports from the "Daily Mail" state Putin's bomb masters are using metal darts to kill people.
I hate to cast doubt, but, pictures and autopsies would be required to claim this as an effective weapon.
Never heard that from Syria which was attacked with cholorine bombs. Bucha is a wasteland. The cruelty of what transpired there is the work of someone dedicated to killing and now war.
February 6, 2022
The first World War (click here) was a horrific time to be a soldier on the frontlines. Nations were in a rush to quickly develop and implement the newest and most effective tools of destruction. Before the war, troops had no idea of the true devastation that a tank, fighter pilot, or the various gas canisters could bring. And then there were evil darts....
I haven't a clue how that would work. The bomb would have to explode above the ground. And far enough above the ground to allow the darts to pick up velocity.
...If you filed grooves into the top or added a bird’s feather to the dull end, the dart would always land pointy-side down. Now consider the fact that a single pilot could release a canister filled with around 250 of these darts at a time and you can understand the sheer terror that these things wrought.
The Italians invented the darts before the war, but soon, countries on both sides of No Man’s Land were dropping them on opposing trenches. They were also extremely cheap to make and implement, which means they were used constantly — although the Royal Flying Corps felt they were “unsportsmanlike.” The Germans, on the other hand, were very keen on using the darts on the French. In fact, they had them specially imprinted with the text, “invention Française, fabrication Allemande.” Which roughly translates to, “a French invention, German made.”
The elections of 2010 are not accurate depictions of what can occur in 2022.
For any analysis to compare the 2010 elections to the 2022 elections is not accurate. The 2010 election was a majority of "return to Republican" seats in both the US House and Senate. The interesting aspect is the number of Democratic seats maintained in that election.
April 18, 2022
By Jennifer Rubin
Open Secrets (click here) reports that from 2019 to 2020, business PACs poured more than $21.3 million into Republican coffers. (Covering their bets, they also gave roughly $15.8 million to Democrats.) The rotten return on their largesse should prompt corporate executives to rethink their political giving.
After the Jan. 6 insurrection — and after many Republicans voted to overturn the 2020 election - many corporations declared they would no longer give to Republicans. Many have since reconsidered. Did business leaders think these Republicans have turned over a new leaf?
If so, they were terribly naive, given Republicans’ subsequent conduct. In continuing to fund antidemocratic Republicans, corporations are courting disaster not only for the country but also for their corporations, which depend on the rule of law, functional democracy and peaceful transfers of power....
That said, currently there is a January 6th Committee coming back with very upsetting news. There was law breaking regarding this insurrection and yes, it was an insurrection. In that, Republicans are taking up right wing extremism as a moniker for wins in the USA 2022 elections.
THERE IS A REAL DANGER IN THAT.
Some of the undertones of these candidates aren't so much known as maintained in secret, especially as the CULT OF TRUMP has it's witch doctor, sorry, Shaman in prison for a significant length of time. Let me impart some of the stupidity that goes along with this hubris. Very dangerous hubris.
Trump was a known Putin puppet as it revealed during his time in office, the worst of it was the obvious secrecy of the Helsinki meeting. But, for those that declare themselves Republicans while practicing voodoo in their campaigns there is a strange analogy that Trump "is the man" for all season.
The attacks into eastern Ukraine have their problems (click here). It is still bombs away vs. boots on the ground.
This is deranged but not unthinkable as the extreme right is looking for "signs" that will lead to victory. The only reason I bring this up is that a majority Republcan House and Senate will seek to overturn the 2020 elections by legislative directives and will seek to dismantle the USA Constitution to allow for such hideous outcomes following legitimate elections, ie: Georgia. What if Georgia's corruption makes it into federal law? That is a focus and will be a focus of these so called Republicans in the 2022 elections.
There is nothing economically friendly about communism. Nothing. While captialism has been tolerated in Russia and China, it is just that, tolerated. One of the reasons it has been tolerated is due to long term plans to dismantle The West. With The West entangled in communist's capitalism, the hopes have always been to defeat these countries from the inside and send them into ruin. Donald John Trump's economy succeeded because of it's tax structure and no other reason. There was no reason to expect that disasterous strategy to be abandoned if there are majorities in the US House and US Senate. The state races are at risk as well.
This election is just as important to the country as the next 2024 federal races with states falling to Republicans that are right wing extremists. Vladimir Putin is watching to find a USA more friendly to Russia and less supportive to Ukraine.
Communists are not interested in money, they are interested in control. I would think the dictatorships that now exist in Russia and China would reveal that. Poverty is a good friend to the communist elite. There is nothing to say a higher level of poverty won't occur after the next USA elections.
April 18, 2022
By Jennifer Rubin
Open Secrets (click here) reports that from 2019 to 2020, business PACs poured more than $21.3 million into Republican coffers. (Covering their bets, they also gave roughly $15.8 million to Democrats.) The rotten return on their largesse should prompt corporate executives to rethink their political giving.
After the Jan. 6 insurrection — and after many Republicans voted to overturn the 2020 election - many corporations declared they would no longer give to Republicans. Many have since reconsidered. Did business leaders think these Republicans have turned over a new leaf?
If so, they were terribly naive, given Republicans’ subsequent conduct. In continuing to fund antidemocratic Republicans, corporations are courting disaster not only for the country but also for their corporations, which depend on the rule of law, functional democracy and peaceful transfers of power....
The FAA needs to start a category concerned with climate when investigating deaths and incidents.
The Burley Airport (click here) was dedicated on the 4th of July 1930. It is located right on a bend just off the Snake River. It is one of the most stunning airports to fly into in Southern Idaho. The Airport rests just on the east side town but is still close enough to downtown that pilots can walk in for a bite to eat.
Rededication
The picture to the right is the street level view of the Gem State Processing Plant (click here). There are multiple smoke stacks and what appears to be grain elevators at the plant site. The grain elevators are in line with the products produced at this plant. At the very least any tower near any airport should have long lasting digital lights so planes can plainly see them on approach, but, there is something else I need to discuss below.
However, the picture below shows a lovely and competent pilot in Chelsea Brittney Infanger. She looks typical of the women in the Midwest that come from farming areas. Happy and competent in their career choices.
By Rett Nelson
Idaho Falls – A local family (click here) is mourning the loss of their daughter and sister after she was tragically killed in a plane crash Wednesday morning.
Chelsea Brittney Infanger, 30, of Salmon was the pilot of a single-engine Cessna 208B plane registered to Gem Air. It crashed into the Gem State Processing Plant in Heyburn around 8:35 a.m. Details of the crash are still being investigated, but Jim Bob Infanger, the pilot’s dad, tells EastIdahoNews.com Brittney, as she was known to friends and family, was delivering packages for UPS when the crash occurred.
“The company she worked for has a contract with UPS,” Jim Bob says. “They’ve got quite a few pilots and they fly six or eight of these routes every day and she was one of their main pilots flying a UPS route for them.”
Brittney had been flying for 11 years and was a “well-respected pilot way beyond her years,” according to her dad.
Jim Bob explains the Burley Municipal Airport is on the bank of the Snake River and on the opposite side is the processing plant his daughter collided with. He says Brittney flew to this airport all the time and was well aware of any obstacles.
Chelsea Brittney Infanger, 30, of Salmon was the pilot of a single-engine Cessna 208B plane registered to Gem Air. It crashed into the Gem State Processing Plant in Heyburn around 8:35 a.m. Details of the crash are still being investigated, but Jim Bob Infanger, the pilot’s dad, tells EastIdahoNews.com Brittney, as she was known to friends and family, was delivering packages for UPS when the crash occurred.
“The company she worked for has a contract with UPS,” Jim Bob says. “They’ve got quite a few pilots and they fly six or eight of these routes every day and she was one of their main pilots flying a UPS route for them.”
Brittney had been flying for 11 years and was a “well-respected pilot way beyond her years,” according to her dad.
Jim Bob explains the Burley Municipal Airport is on the bank of the Snake River and on the opposite side is the processing plant his daughter collided with. He says Brittney flew to this airport all the time and was well aware of any obstacles.
“There’s a 60-foot chimney sticking out of the top of the food processing plant — no lights on it, dead center — straight across the runway. So whenever you come in, you have to fly over the top of this and drop down,” he says.
Jim Bob doesn’t officially know what happened but suggests she might have hit a bird on the way down and the coroner thinks the wing may have hit the chimney, causing the plane to flip. The Minidoka County Coroner is expected to release more information about what happened Thursday or Friday, according to the Heyburn Police Department....
In the years 2004 through 2009 I flew a lot primarily on the East Coast. It was with Delta airlines and there were brush burn incidents along the way whereby the pilots had to divert their direction and it was ususally straight up and I found myself pulling Gs.
Some small airports are in percarious places and the approaches can be difficult, one in particular was in Juneau, Alaska (Alaskan Air) where one of the runways have an approach between two mountains. On a cloudy day pilots sometimes have problems with coming in too close to the mountains, hence, the upward climb only to come in over the wetlands. So, to wonder about the approach of some small airports is appropriate.
However, in all the many years since my focus has been more intense regarding the climate, there is also a problem with small, light planes. The number per year that crash can be a bit unbelievable. They usually end in death to most adults in those planes. Sometimes a child will be alive, interestingly enough.
The problem as I see it is wind. I know private plane pilots and they tell some harrowing tales about their flights. Many of these pilots are well trained with significant time in the air, so their observations are interesting. There is such a reporting of a very similar set of circumstances and unless one is a pilot the idea that wind could cause these deaths and incidents would not necessarily occur to the average person. It may be some of these airports do need nearby buildings to be lit up and/or doppler radar to detect unexpected changes in wind.
One such tale was imparted to me regarding an approach of an airport in New Jersey called "Kupper Airport." The pilot had made plans and was flying alone coming into his destination airport when suddenly what seems out of nowhere a huge blast of wind literally took control of the airplane. He pushed the acceleration of the plane into high and pulled the nose up. It was all the right moves, but, the plane was now sideways in the air and he believed he was going to crash. The wind had literally held the plane in the path of the wind due to the aerodynamics of a plane now sideways and providing a large surface area. The pilot remembers seeing the wind sock go from gently blowing as expected to standing straight out with a turn in the opposite direction. As he climbed he could feel the aircraft coming back into control and he was now over the hanger where he should have crashed if the plane was not recovered. He was able to rise above the wind and it released the plane so he could circle around and inform the people on the ground he was going to approach a different airport. In about 30 minutes he landed safely, but, not without realizing his hands were shaking as he shutdown the engine.
One of the projects I always wanted to approach was a survey of commercial and small private plane pilots to determine if wind is a problem, how much of a problem and were their changes in normal patterns since 2003 when the chronic Midlatitude Vortexes came into dominance over the Jet Stream. I was never able to get that funding, but, the surveys still need to be done.
The FAA needs to add to these crashes and incidents whereby unexpected wind issues become near fatal, could be caused by the climate crisis. I have to wonder if this very competent UPS pilot met her death due to unexpected wind gusts. We have seen mulitude of YouTube videos of commercial airliners. struggling to land in strong winds with some very large jets even turning at angles before touching down only to have the pilots land safely. I think there is a real need for this research and the FAA should sponsor it if pilot unions do not. If nothing else it can create graphs that indicate the frequency of these incidents and the number of fatalities involved. There are probably more small planes in the air these days than two decades ago, but, the percentages should reveal where concern lies and find a quest to solve these problems.
My sincerest sympathies for the family of this wonderful woman pilot, Chelsea Brittney Infanger. I hope the investigation into her death shows the cause and a path can be laid to correct that danger.
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