Thursday, March 15, 2012

The cost of Human Induced Global Warming otherwise known as The Climate Crisis is...

...drought...


...in Kansas...


...bleached coral reefs and lost carbon sinks...











...the loss of Larson B ice shelf, a ice reserve....



















...underweight and dying Polar Bears in Alaska due to loss of habitat...




...the increasing number of tornadoes across the USA...






...increased arctic temperatures according to NASA...


...James Inhofe is irrelevant and so is his hideous idea of a book.


I"ll never buy it, read it or consider it responsible in the face of deaths of Americans in historic tornadoes.  The cost of Human Induced Global Warming caused by high levels of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels is immeasurable.  Inhofe and those like him are directly responsible for the deaths of Americans.

Kudlow and Cramer are pathetic. They gush all over Hamm, the energy consultant to Romney to promote Hamm's profits.

The Kudlow Report is interested in promoting profits rather than answers to energy problems.  There is no equity in this news program.  Fracking and methane is not green energy.  And lord knows, it ain't safe!

Magnitude 4.0 - YOUNGSTOWN-WARREN URBAN AREA, OHIO (click here)

2011 December 31 20:04:58 UTC

This is what happens in profits before people.

In the waning hours of 2011, (click here) Mother Nature offered up yet another seismic surprise to round out a year of earthquakes in unexpected places — this time a 4.0 quake in Ohio.
The quake struck around 3:05 p.m. Saturday near Youngstown, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was the strongest of 10 quakes recorded in the region in 2011, the agency said.
No major damage was reported, though readers of The Vindicator newspaper in Youngstown certainly had things to say about it on the paper’s website.
“The dogs went crazy!” wrote someone only identified as “HonestAbe.” “I thought a plane went down as we live about 5 miles from the airport. Hadn't felt previous ten earthquakes ... but this one was big!"
The USGS says that the region is no stranger to quakes, though they are indeed rare. Its website notes:
“The Northeast Ohio seismic zone has had moderately frequent earthquakes at least since the first one was reported in 1823. The largest earthquake (magnitude 4.8) caused damage in 1986 in northeasternmost Ohio, and the most recent damaging shock (magnitude 4.5) occurred in 1998 at the seismic zone's eastern edge in northwestern Pennsylvania. Earthquakes too small to cause damage are felt two or three times per decade.”...


Kudlow is a propagandist.  His program never once discusses THIS!  Someone better be regulating this disastrous industry!


Against Youngstown, Ohio's skyline, (click here for USA Today article) a brine injection well owned by Northstar Disposal Services that uses fracking is seen on Jan. 4, 2011. Well operations were halted after a series of earthquakes. 


Ohio agency says fracking-related activity caused earthquakes (click title to entry - thank you)




CLEVELAND (Reuters) - An Ohio state agency said on Friday there is evidence that the high-pressure injection of fluid underground related to fracking caused a series of Ohio earthquakes culminating in a New Year's Eve tremor in any area not known for seismic activity.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which overseas the oil and gas industry, said in a report that the state should pass a new law prohibiting drilling at what is called the Precambrian basement rock level (a depth that begins at 9,184 ft) and would require companies to "review existing geologic data" before drilling.

The agency also said it wants the state to require "continuous pressure monitoring systems with automatic shut-off" that monitor the pressure levels of injected waste fluids that would be controlled remotely by the state.

The report found "geological evidence" suggesting that high pressure fluid from a well near an underground fault caused a series of earthquakes in the Youngstown, Ohio area over the last year.

"A number of coincidental circumstances appear to make a compelling argument that the Youngstown earthquakes were induced," the report said.

Ohio has nearly 200 deep wells in 41 counties, 177 of those wells are used primarily for oil and gas waste disposal. Since 1983, more than 202 million barrels of oilfield fluids have been disposed of in Ohio, more than half of that is from out-of-state....

David Axelrod has no business discussing the Obama Superpac. The law prohibits it.

There has been a long dialogue of animosity between Sarah Palin and the Lame Stream Media.  She has always taken the insults where they belong and that was to the personality involved.


Sarah Palin is a celebrity and has made a target of herself by defaming the media at every turn, hence, retaliation.


If one is going to dish it out, they need to be ready to take it, too.

...Bill Maher wants the world to know that he’s no Rush Limbaugh. (click title to entry - thank you)
The liberal comedian, who has been ripped by the right for previously calling Sarah Palin a “c---” is arguing his name calling is completely different from Limbaugh, who branded Georgetown student Sandra Fluke a “slut.”
Maher told ABC News’ Jake Tapper on Thursday that Limbaugh’s insult wasn’t fair game because Fluke is a private citizen.
Limbaugh “went after a civilian about very specific behavior, that was a lie, speaking for a party that has systematically gone after women’s rights all year, on the public airwaves,” the HBO host argued.
“I used a rude word about a public figure who gives as good as she gets, who’s called people ‘terrorist’ and ‘unAmerican’... The First Amendment was specifically designed for citizens to insult politicians. Libel laws were written to protect law students speaking out on political issues from getting called whores by Oxycontin addicts,” he added....
Is that a double standard?  No.  Celebrities do their job and conduct themselves to get attention and increase their followings and ratings.  Politicians are basically the same way, especially when that personality is affiliated with Murdoch's media machine, which Palin is.
Ms. Fluke expected to be taken seriously when she testified.  She never mentioned Rush Limbaugh or his sex life and whether he uses Viagra, keeps company with a troop of women or not.  Ms. Fluke has conducted herself according to the demeanors of a women seeking recognition for the ISSUE AT HAND and not promoting a show or personality.  


The public forums under the Capital Dome should not be a place where women can be ridiculed because of testimony.  Their reputations should not be ruined because of a political hack of the Right Wing.  If every woman making testimony before the US Congress also risks ruining her life, that is oppression.  It victimizes the victim and any media personality practicing it should be ridiculed along with the likes of Limbaugh.


This country is based in freedom of speech and if women become so aggrieved by coming forward they cannot be heard for the outcomes, they are truly second class citizens and victims to a media.  A media, I might add, out of control when seeking caricatures of serious problems in our country rather than mature journalism.

Afghanistan is taking a chance at returning to where it was in 2008. However, Karzai may be correct in that allied forces belong in major bases right now.

No one can overlook the fact al Qaeda is severely dismantled since President Obama re-entered Afghanistan.  That said, there is a profound concern for NATO forces in Afghanistan.  It is not a matter of retreat, it is about the Afghan people believing they are secure.  They have a right to be secure in their own homes and if being alive is better than ridding their country of the Taliban then the choice to them is obvious.

Taliban attack foreshadows further fighting (click here)
Geopoliticalmonitor.com
June 20, 2008
Summary 
This week’s spectacular attack on a prison in Kandahar demonstrates the Taliban’s reconstitution in southern  Afghanistan and presages a violent summer fighting season. NATO and the Afghan army will reduce the Taliban’s capabilities, but the Taliban will remain a robust force until their sanctuary across the border in Pakistan is eliminated – an unlikely event in 2008. 

I believe President Karzai's request should be honored.  It is not as though he is throwing his loyalty to the Taliban as an answer to the circumstances of the Afghan people.


Taliban talks off; Karzai tells NATO to pull back (click  title to entry - thank you)

Updated 14m ago 
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – The American campaign in Afghanistan suffered a double blow Thursday: The Taliban broke off talks with the U.S., and President Hamid Karzai demanded NATO troops immediately pull out of rural areas in the wake of the killing of 16 civilians....

The Taliban are taking their military stance back.  President Karzai needs to be able to maintain control in order to prove his leadership as legitimate.  So, this might be the time for the Afghan military to take their places with the people.  If Karzai isn't respected by NATO he'll appear to be as much the problem as a rogue soldier.  Karzai has to be able to guarantee the safety of the Afghan citizens otherwise the Taliban will appear to be their best option.


Taliban kills top Pakistani police officer (click here)

Published: Thursday, Mar 15, 2012, 20:04 IST 
By Rezaul H Laskar | Place: ISLAMABAD | Agency: PTI
A senior police officer, known for his anti-Taliban operations, was on Thursday assassinated by a suicide bomber in Peshawar city in the restive northwest Pakistan.
Superintendent of Police Kalam Khan was killed and four others injured when the bomber detonated his explosive vest near the official's car at Pishta Khara Chowk in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
The official was on his way to work with his bodyguards and driver.
Khan was killed instantly while his driver, two bodyguards and a passerby were injured.
The wounded policemen were taken to a nearby hospital.



Taliban regrouping in Peshawar, Fata, says Iftikhar (click here)

PESHAWAR, March 13: Pakistani Taliban were regrouping in Peshawar and tribal areas to counter the impact of the security forces’ crackdown on them, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said here on Tuesday.
During the Khyber Union of Journalists and Peshawar Press Club oath-taking ceremony at the Chief Minister’s House here, the minister said the talks between US and Afghan Taliban had led to a deep split within the Pakistani Taliban.
“The growing desire among Pakistani Taliban for holding talks with the government has created serious differences among the terror outfit. Due to these differences, the Taliban leadership recently sacked their spokesman, Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, for openly supporting the idea of dialogue with the government,” he said.
Mr Iftikhar urged Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US to form a joint team for meaningful dialogue with Taliban leaders to achieve desired goals of peace in the region.

It is safe to say the chance of dividing the Taliban into two factions has ended with the attempt of some to dialogue with the governments.


Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has split into two: Rehman Malik (click here)

Published: Tuesday, Mar 13, 2012, 20:59 IST 
By Rezaul H Laskar | Place: ISLAMABAD | Agency: PTI
Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Tuesday claimed the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has split into two, a remark that comes amidst reports that commanders of the banned group were divided on the issue of holding peace talks with the government.
Malik, however, did not give further details or say why the militant grouping had broken into two factions.
Recent reports have said that commanders of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan were divided on the issue of holding peace talks with the government....


Pakistan parliament to discuss US ties next week (click here)

With a 35% approval rating the Michigan governor believes muscling major cities will win him popularity.


I suppose a consent agreement would get him off the hook for being unable to find ways of improving the economies of cities without seizing their assets.
That is the entire 'Emergency Manager' legislation in a nutshell. The Michigan Republicans have been unable to solve problems without extreme measures.  Other primarily Republican states are finding ways of supporting stressed cities through supplemental financial support due to loss of tax revenues from falling real estate prices.  
But, Snyder doesn't see an answer in the same way, in the face of a recovering auto industry, without adding to the real estate bubble by seizing city assets and adding them to the market.  So, cronies of Snyder are getting city assets at dirt cheap prices, what could be better?
...The state-appointed (click title to entry - thank you) review team examining the city of Detroit's finances is expected to complete its work March 27, Snyder said. According to state law, the team can recommend the appointment of an emergency manager to take over the city's finances. But the governor has said he would prefer the more moderate consent agreement, which would leave the city's elected officials in charge.
An emergency manager, Snyder said, "is a possibility, but it's not something I want to see happen. That would be a failure. … The right answer is, there's a consent agreement.
"What is a consent agreement? Basically, it's people agreeing, here's a path to move forward that we're going to hold people accountable for actually doing (that leads to) stability, basic services and a path for growth.
"Let's put together an agreement."
But the deadline for action is looming — the city is expected to run out of money this spring.
"I am concerned about that," Snyder said. "But I've been happy to do this agreement for months.
"The thing about doing an agreement is, you have to have somebody on the other side agree."
Snyder said he plans to become more publicly vocal about the need for a consent agreement and more vocal about what the consent agreement should contain....

Here is a real problem for Arizona that Ms. Lesko can legislate to solve.

What is Arizona doing to solve the drought brought on by the Climate Crisis?



Perhaps contraception is sincerely secondary when the priorities to the people are sincerely CORRECT.






Maybe it is too difficult a topic for Ms. Lesko.


The truth of the situation is the GOP has not got a clue how to solve the nation's problems so attacking women is their one bastion of hope for a political footprint.  

I am quite confident Ms. Lesko knows the seedy side of birth control intimately.  I mean she isn't a virgin, is she?  According to women that like to victimize other women, now, want to make contraception a dirty, seedy side of life.  I mean, are women allowed to have sex ever in their lives for the pure pleasure of loving?


While numerous (click title to entry - thank you) winter storms have passed through Arizona during the past month, precipitation totals have continued to be much lower than normal for this time of year. Most of the storms have brushed across northern Arizona, leaving the rest of the state dry. Only a small area of northern Navajo County has received enough precipitation to show improvement from extreme drought back down to severe drought.

Elsewhere in the state, the continued dryness led to an expansion of severe drought to the western edge of Maricopa County and into southern Yavapai County; expansion of moderate drought across all of Mohave County; and expansion of abnormally dry conditions over Yuma County.
At this time, the only part of the state with no drought is a sliver of northern Apache County. The dryness is affecting the green-up of winter annual vegetation in the lower deserts. As March begins on a dry note, with warmer than average temperatures in the forecast, conditions are likely to continue to deteriorate. 

The crackpots in Arizona are using legislation for politics, again!

Republican Majority Whip Debbie Lesko, R-Glendale



It is easy to tell a great legislator in the making, they victimize employees of small business as an example of religious freedom.


Huh?


This is still another example of how legislators in Arizona over reach their power to 'make a point.'  It is amazing how the political right wing believe they have the right to include an entire nation in a discussion over the fact they can't prioritize what belongs in the pubic realm and what doesn't.  Then they wonder where the GOP brain trust has gone.  They lose respect and credibility because they over reach.

By IBTIMES STAFF REPORTER
March 15, 2012 9:55 AM EDT
A(nother) new controversial bill (click title to entry - thank you) regarding birth control has been advanced in Arizona which would allow employers to fire women who take the pill to prevent pregnancy, rather than for health purposes, based on religious and moral beliefs.
The current law states that birth control is covered under health insurance plans for women in Arizona for contraceptive purposes as well as health concerns. However, the new birth control bill, House Bill 2625, states that women who want their birth control pill to be covered by their insurance plans must verify its purpose to be solely for medical reasons and not to prevent pregnancy. The bill would grant employers to deny female employees the right to be covered based on religious beliefs....

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

It is a human rights violation. No one is attacking Syria. There is no reason for Syria to continue to receive munitions.



MOSCOW
WEDNESDAY 14 MARCH 2012

Russia insisted yesterday that it would not halt arms shipments to Syria even as evidence mounts that the regime is committing crimes against humanity, with a rights group today releasing a sickening dossier of the torture inflicted on those who oppose President Bashar al-Assad.

The comments by Russia's Deputy Defence Minister, Anatoly Antonov, that existing contracts will be adhered to despite reports of up to 8,000 dead, come as activists prepare to mark a grim year since their call for reform descended into bloodshed. Mr Assad's tanks continued to roll into dissident areas, with the army reported to have recaptured the rebel stronghold of Idlib near the Turkish border, until now held by army defectors fighting for the Free Syrian Army. Activists said dozens of people had been killed in the assault, their bodies dumped in local mosques.

The tens of thousands trying to flee the country face the added danger of landmines that Human Rights Watch says have been laid along Syria's borders with Turkey and Lebanon....

There will be a man missing today at the meetings of two great countries in the USA and Great Britain.

Richard Holbrooke

I would not underestimate Newt Gingrich. Silly thought, huh?


Analysis (click title to entry - thank you)
Before Newt Gingrich emerged Tuesday night in Birmingham to address supporters following his losses in Mississippi and Alabama, his wife Callista introduced him as "the next president of the United States."
At this point, you have to wonder if even she still believes it.
Gingrich has won just two states in this primary process, and on Tuesday night he lost the two contests that he needed to win to have any chance to rejuvenate his campaign. Rick Santorum has now unambiguously claimed the mantle of consensus conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, and the race has now been transformed into a two-man battle for delegates, with Gingrich and Ron Paul on the outside looking in....
This primary is going to the convention.  Newt Gingrich is by far the most seasoned statesman of any of them excluding Ron Paul.  I congratulate Ron Paul for his voracity, very commendable.


But, Newt Gingrich has the toughest group of supporters that know how to work the floor and bring about the resolve they are looking for.  They are not backing Newt because he is a dear friend, it is because they have an agenda they want respected.  So, I wouldn't count Newt out as a sincere nomination to the candidate unless he decides to withdraw.  Up to that point, he has political clout.  


I also believe the people surrounding the Gingrich campaign are having a good time and that is the way it is supposed to be.

It is good to know Mr. Romney has taken all these conservation issues seriously enough to receive the 9 delegates.



These are the lives of the citizens of American Samoa. They are important lives. American Samoa is also very important to the Climate Crisis community because the air quality reflects primarily untainted as a measure of the group of Mauna Loa Laboratory Data. So, American Samoa is not a minor territory to the USA, it is an extra ordinary place.


If one is to receive delegates to become President of the United States of America, I would expect the recipient to be aware and sensitive to the issues presented to them by those seeking representation.  Seriously.

The Cooperative Forestry Programs (click title to entry - thank you) are administered and implemented through a partnership with the Territory of American Samoa Community College/Community & Natural Resources Forestry Department; DPA Fire Department, the USDA Forest Service, and several other private and government entities.  These programs are designed to promote the health and productivity of American Samoa’s forestlands, educational system and rural economies.  Emphasis is placed on public education and tree planting, agroforestry, water resources, coastal stabilization, community beautification, wildlife, and conservation practices.  The goals are to help maintain and improve the health of American Samoa’s community trees, rainforests, and to conserve all natural resources.
These programs are effective because they:
· Are culturally sensitive to the values and decision-making processes of American Samoans
· Reduce costs through the use of partnerships
· Raise awareness about the values of forests and natural resources and,
· Are voluntary and use non-regulatory approaches.
· An avenue that brings people together to share and explore other opportunities in forestry and resource management....

A National Park in America Samoa. Beautiful place.




Many-colored Fruit Dove (Manuma)  is dependent on the Banyan Tree in American Samoa.  Is the coloring of this bird incredible or what?


Romney picks up 9 delegates on islands half way between the USA and Australia, IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN.


PAGO PAGO, American Samoa (AP) — Mitt Romney (click title to entry - thank you) won the Republican caucus in American Samoa, picking up all nine delegates.
About 70 Republicans in the U.S. territory located 2,300 miles south of Hawaii met in caucus Tuesday. The six delegates selected at the meeting and three superdelegates to the Republican National Convention all said they would support Romney....

12 of the most influential Catholics in America. Really?


...It might have been a good idea for Prothero to first outline what he means by the word “influential.” He views influence as meaning primarily political influence, with one entertainer and one prelate thrown in. What of all the Catholics in media, news, and the larger culture? Or better yet, what of all the Catholics who are quietly influencing the lives of those around them through lives of prayer and service?...

Stephen Prothero’s List of 12 Most Influential American Catholics
1-6. Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor
7. Speaker of the House John Boehner
8. Vice President Joe Biden
9. Rick Santorum, former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania
10. Cardinal Timothy Dolan
11. Stephen Colbert
12. Andrew Sullivan
...As Christians, we believe in a supernatural world, a world we cannot see. I would argue that the most “influential” American Catholics are those who are people engaged in that world, not just this one. They are people of prayer, people of sanctity, people of self-sacrificial service. They are people who take up their Cross daily and are willing to die to self. That’s what it means to be Catholic. Being Catholic doesn’t mean getting the most notice by the news media. Anyone with enough money to hire a public relations firm can get noticed....

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Rick Santorum: No Right To Privacy in the Constitution, States Can, But ...

Now, this is the Southern Breakfast folks usually eat in the morning.

No one looked for Paula Deen's endorsement. She has collector grits.


Paula promotes instant grits?  Ah, come on.  Grits is corn.  She doesn't shuck her own grits?  Martha Stewart she is not.

Servings: 4 servings (click title to entry - thank you)
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients Add to grocery list

2 cups water
1 1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup Quaker Grits, quick cooking, not instant 
1/2 cup butter

Directions

In a small pot, bring water, milk, and salt to a boil.  Slowly stir grits into boiling mixture.  Stir continuously and thoroughly until grits are well mixed.  Let the pot return to a boil, cover pot with a lid, lower the temperature, and cook for approximately 30 minutes stirring occasionally.  Add more water if necessary.
Grits are done when they have the consistency of smooth cream of wheat.
Serve with butter, fruit, or savory with a meal.
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen


Baked Garlic Cheese Grits (click here)



Ingredients

  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 cups regular grits
  • 16 ounces Cheddar, cubed
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 4 large eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 8 ounces grated sharp white Cheddar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 4-quart casserole dish.
Bring the broth, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to a boil in a 2-quart sauce pan. Stir in the grits and whisk until completely combined. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the grits are thick, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the cubed Cheddar and milk and stir. Gradually stir in the eggs and butter, stirring until all are combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with the white Cheddar and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until set.


Shrimp and Grits (click here)


Ingredients

  • 2 servings cooked grits
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup diced tasso ham*
  • 2 tablespoons diced leeks
  • 2 tablespoons diced onion
  • 2 tablespoons diced green peppers
  • 20 medium to large shrimp, peeled and de-veined, with tails on
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons white wine
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • Salt and pepper
  • Green onion tops, chopped
  • *Cook's Note: Tasso is a Cajun ham and is often hard to find outside of Louisiana, but you can find it at some specialty gourmet shops or by mail order. If not, you can substitute salt pork, pancetta, or prosciutto, but you will have to beef up your seasonings, as tasso is very flavorful.

Directions

Cook grits according to package directions; set aside and keep warm.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tasso and saute until crisp. Add diced vegetables and saute until onions are translucent. Add shrimp and saute for 30 to 45 seconds, or until pink. Remove from the pan and set aside. Deglaze the pan with a little white wine. Slowly add the cream and let reduce until thickened. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Divide grits among 2 serving plates. Line plate edges with shrimp (10 shrimp per serving). Pour sauce over grits. Garnish with green onion tops.
For a great wedding idea, use martini glasses to serve shrimp and grits, with the grits on the bottom and shrimp and sauce on top.