Harvey Fierstein. You are wrong about the Olympics.

To begin this is not WWII or Hitler. You are going out on a limb without the support of the tree.

This is going to sound strange Mr. Fierstein, but, it is the truth. Russia's political culture is none of our business. We are attending the Olympics, we are not observers to their elections.

Do you remember Matthew Shepard? Matthew was killed by those that have no value for human life. They treated Matthew as an object and killed him. Something tells me that Russia is not ready for a cultural revolution.

Now, I don't know about you, but, when I run a revolution and/or resistance I want to be sure there are people alive at the end of the revolution or why bother fighting it in the first place?

Russia doesn't even have hate crime legislation to tell the country if they kill a young man for being himself there will penalties over and above that of what the initial crime is.

Mr. Fierstein, do you know we had a Secretary of State named Hillary Clinton? Sometimes people are too busy to keep up. You are very successful and that did not happen over night. You are respected and that didn't happen without building a substantial understanding of your talent and personable insight. But, if you had the chance to hear Former Secretary Clinton speak while serving in office you would have heard words that would rattle the most extremist of any country. She traveled with body guards. She measured her content and leveled opinion in a way that was non-threatening to governments so there would be no retaliation of people living in their borders.

I am quite sure Secretary Kerry is just as forthright in regard to women's rights and gay rights. The USA believes oppression of any group regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or whom they love is a human rights violation. That same focus is in the UN among some very powerful nations, but, leaders know how to bring opinion without causing adverse effects that kill people.

Freedom of speech is a right in the USA. At least most of us like to think so. The USA has never stood in support of oppression of any people and demands retraction of it under this administration. I realize sometimes a single person can move mountains. But, in order for that to occur, Mr. Fierstein the country has to be ready for the movement. Russia is not there. The changes President Obama's administration instituted spread like wildfire. The country was more than ready we were disgusted with the oppression and victimization.

There are signs there is movement in Russia. There are more political leaders standing up to what they state are illegal elections. There have been demonstrators expressing themselves and they are serving time in prison for their bravery. But, they are alive Mr. Fierstein. We need to work to keep them alive. We need to value their message and be sure our leaders value them as well and make inquiry to their well being. They are our heroes as well as those in the country.

And it is their message we need to hear. Not ours. If we are to respect them for their cultural differences while gay we need to hear them correctly, not just in our own understanding.

I believe in much of President Obama's administration has accomplished in regard to Gay Rights in the USA. I am proud of it. I am not gay. But, I have a country now that is unashamed of our citizens and providing a path to personal happiness for all our people. I am sure you are aware of the struggle, but, our Freedom of Speech protected many regardless of those that died violently and without cause.

Boycotting the Olympics is huge, Mr. Fierstein. We don't have to boycott those events when we have an administration we can trust. The changes for our gay community in the USA are historic. Someday, many more countries will be able to measure that same pride for their citizens, too. But, in Russia at this time 'the church' is a focus of cultural clout. Odd, isn't it? I mean I grew up being told the church in Russia was simply for 'Show and Tell.' It was propaganda. Now, we know how deeply that propaganda was wrong. 

When I run into a wall with others of the same mind and it feels as though we are defeated; what I say is, "We keep at it." That is the best we can do Mr. Fierstein. We hold up our heads, deny the defeat and point to the short comings of those that appear to be the victor.

"We keep at it" and I promise you the day will come and probably not to much of a distance into the future when all citizens of Russia will respect diversity while changing the culture of their identity. 

Non-threatening, Mr. Fierstein and steady dialogue. It will happen. It is inevitable. Russians aren't stupid people and they love their social content. When they realize how their social culture will be enriched when they open their minds and hearts to diversity it will happen. We will rejoice with them, but, we will do it together and trust our President and his administration to help.

I wish you well. I wish you much success. Hey. Every hear of Radio Free Europe? Just a thought.

June 9, 2013 10:12 AM

These days it's not easy (click here) for Harvey Fierstein to make his way through the crowded Theatre District. He has two hits playing nearby: "Newsies," which won a Tony last year; and "Kinky Boots," which is up for a slew of them tonight.
If you don't know him Harvey Fierstein by sight, you know him by sound. His VOICE was once compared to "a deep-throated jazz diva who has just tossed back a double-bourbon."
"One of my favorites was 'a sixth grader in shop class learning to use a rasp,'" Fierstein said.
"I mean, at very least, I'm the guy with the voice, you know? Then hopefully, I'm the guy who's really funny with the voice. And then the guy who can not only do comedy, but can do tragedy as well with the voice. And the guy that can really command a stage with the voice."
He comes by the voice naturally...

There is no commercial enterprise that is suppose to have more power than the USA government.

I take it "The Suits" in the picture don't have much flight time logged.

Horton (click here) has a long track record of leadership and results in both business transformation and operational performance. Since his appointment as Chairman and CEO in November 2011, Horton has led a disciplined strategy to put American back on top as the leading global airline.

There is no one company that is suppose to monopolize the markets either. Too big to fail has become a strategy, rather than a plight on our country. It is about time the courts started to look at these companies and decide about the viability of such a strategy when it impacts our economy and way of life.

It doesn't matter how benevolent the facade is, companies are never suppose to be able to control any aspect of our economy to the point of being more powerful than the government.

Airlines have always had trouble being viable. They always come to the USA to reorganize and continue to serve their customers. I appreciate the Justice Department for acting to keep our nation's economy diverse and healthy with room to grow. This merger is appropriate to challenge for anti-trust. Enough is enough.

If the merger goes through it will create unemployment and challenges to other airlines to compete. This merger will lead to more of the same. It is time to stop the downward spiral of our economy due to lack of competition and poverty wages.

11/14/2012
...Some of the nation’s largest (click here) operating companies have succumbed to the temptation to profit off their employees’ retirement savings plans by creating investment advisory subsidiaries that earn rich fees from managing the assets in these plans. American Airlines, Bechtel, Caterpillar, General Dynamics and General Electric are but a few of the major corporations that have, or had, affiliated investment advisory firms which none-too-coincidentally were selected by pension fiduciaries to manage the retirement assets of their employees....

...When the assets of retirement plans are managed by an affiliate of the employer, I refer to these plans as “conflicted” because of the obvious conflict of interest that exists whenever an employer, or named fiduciary of a plan controlled by the employer, decides to hire itself (or an affiliate) to manage the plan....

When there is competition, companies also have to compete for talent. That means if there is one less airline there is less of a market for pilots, mechanics and other staff. Their wages will be controlled by few and few companies. This is ridiculous. We don't need an airline cartel.

August 29, 2012
...Remember the old joke: (click here) the doctors all agreed the operation was a great success … unfortunately, the patient died. Only lawyers could conclude that the results of a retirement plan investment program don’t matter. I can assure you that the results do matter to the workers that participate in these plans and rely upon them for retirement security....

Boo hoo, boo hoo the CEO won't be making his billion dollar bonus this year. If the airlines aren't viable I know of a half dozen airlines waiting to be at the garage sale. Just because there is a merger doesn't mean American Airlines won't file for bankruptcy in the future anyway. It seems to me the Board of these airlines needs to look at the 'talent at the top' more than other means to save themselves.

By Terry Maxon 
Staff Writer
August 14, 2013

American Airlines’ (click here) future may have changed dramatically Tuesday. But it will take time to determine what that future holds.

American plans to go forward with its date Thursday with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane. It will ask Lane to approve the plan of reorganization, despite the cloud now hanging over the proposal.

American and merger partner US Airways express confidence that they’ll win the legal challenge. But at the least, the lawsuit will delay indefinitely a deal that the two carriers had expected to close next month.

“While we do not yet know how long the court process will run, it will likely take a few months,” American chairman and chief executive Tom Horton told employees in a message....

This was the sky yesterday, August 13, 2013 at "Day Farm."

Those are mesocyclonic clouds at the lower end of the cloud, near the horizon.

Day grew hay and corn (click here) to feed his 400 hogs and prize herd of 200 Holsteins. The farm is just south of Glen Haven and has a large white barn and several out-buildings that stand as a landmark of the agricultural heritage of this area. The buildings were built in the 1880s and 1890s.

National Park faces major decisions as spotlight focuses on D.H. Day farm

published August 28, 2003

By Jacob R. Wheeler
Sun editor

At least once a day (click here) a curious tourist nudges up to the fence surrounding the D.H. Day farm to snap a photo or draw a sketch of the majestic 116-foot-long dairy barn that dominates the landscape along historic route M-109. This is one of the images that people associate with Northern Michigan, nearly as much as the great lake just to the west. In fact, the Society of Architectural Historians chose the D.H. Day farm as one of the “50 Most Significant Structures in Michigan”, alongside stalwarts like the Mackinac Bridge and the Renaissance Center....

Does Secretary Sebilius actually believe the companies of any nature complaining about the law belongs in the economy?

She is "W"rong. Some of the most verbose complaints are coming out of Texas. Too bad. If a company has to close it's door and can't discern the best venue for their employees they don't need to be there anymore. Texas doesn't have a viable economy or government. The people are impoverished and so are their businesses. That goes for Louisiana, too.

There are going to be businesses that will have to reflect on what they are doing with their employees pay rates and the benefits they offer and whether or not they can stay in business. No American should be choosing between a paycheck and their life. 

NONE. 

We can do better across the board and should.

The current "Dysfunction" in the Affordable Care Act is due to mischief by the Republicans.

Sebilius didn't implement this correctly at all. She was far too willing to 'work with everyone' rather than leveling the law. Because she has been to soft 'on crime' there is all kinds of mischief by the Republicans. She played into the political demands of Republicans.

The waivers should never have occurred and now the Republicans are simply attempting to obstruct the Affordable Care Act year after year for their political pandering.

She has allowed 40 votes in the House to continue this idiocy.

There are going to be industry SURVIVORS to this law and there are going to be those that can't 'hack it.' That is life. The egregious nature of the Wall Street companies in handling the well being of the American people in regard to their health care insurance has caused DEATHS. These bastards need to go down and go down hard. There is to be no more DOMESTIC American Deaths allowed! 

Sebilius has allowed playing with the law for 'economic' purposes. This isn't JUST about economics, it is about the health and well being of the American people.

Corporate deaths will occur. Too Bad!!!!!!!!! 

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14, 2013

By Devin Dwyer via World News

Devin Dwyer More from Devin »

...The delay means some Americans (click here) will have to wait a little longer to realize the full benefit of one of the Affordable Care Act's key consumer protections -- a first-ever legal limit on how much people have to spend on their own health care.
The hiccup in implementation primarily affects people enrolled in group health plans with separate administrators for medical services and prescription drug benefits, government officials and industry representatives told ABC News.
Under the law, combined out-of-pocket spending on medical care and prescription drugs cannot exceed $6,350 a year for an individual or $12,700 a year for a family, including co-payments and deductibles, starting in 2014.
Those caps will take effect as planned for all health plans sold in the new insurance exchanges and offered through employers whose medical and drug benefits are administered by the same entity. But Americans enrolled in other plans could still face higher costs.... 

This is appalling job performance by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to implement the Affordable Care Act. I would have fired her at the first blush of failure. The Affordable Care Act was passed on March 23, 2010 after a full year of debate and law writing. Four years have passed and there has to be delays because computer systems aren't ready? Then don't participate and we'll find a better way. 

Since when does it take four years to implement computer changes? That stuff happens overnight which also means the National Security of the USA from Wall Street NSA invasion "Need to Know" should have been solved already.

For god sakes Computer Apps multiple like rabbits.

When are the Egyptian elections? The military is decentralizing the power. It is not good.

Supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsy distribute cold waters to protesters outside Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque, in Cairo. File photo 

This is insight from "The Hindu" a long standing news media source in India. It is fairly reliable. They are reporting this military crackdown is not simply clearing the streets of demonstrations. Better said, they aren't just dispersing.

August 14, 2013

...Eyewitnesses reported (click here) thick smoke rising from the areas of the assemblage amid sounds of gunfire. Television pictures showed an army bulldozer taking down the tents, sandbags and a makeshift brick wall that the protesters had erected in Nasr city encampment for their illusionary defence. Protesters set alight tires as the raid progressed, while the security forces torched the tents.

Significant casualties

The storming of the two sit-ins has caused significant casualties, but claims of the death toll have fluctuated wildly. The Muslim Brotherhood - Mr. Morsy’s parent organisation - claimed that 250 people had been killed, describing the encounter with the police as a “massacre.” In the absence of an official count, others estimated that 40 people had died.

"This is not an attempt to disperse, but a bloody attempt to crush all voices of opposition to the military coup," said Brotherhood spokesman Gehad al-Haddad on Twitter.

The intrusion by the security forces triggered an impassioned call by the Brotherhood for countrywide protests—its appeal finding deep resonance in several cities in Upper Egypt—the Brotherhood’s stronghold.... 

The New York Times is stating there are now 19 military governors of 25 in Egypt. I mean Egypt isn't that big a country. The USA has 50 okay? But, when one considers this decentralization of military authority it helps explain the escalation in confrontation.

By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and MAYY EL SHEIKH

Published: August 13, 2013 

CAIRO — Egypt’s new military-appointed government (click here) on Tuesday named a roster of generals as provincial governors, raising fears of a return to the authoritarianism of former President Hosni Mubarak.

Of the 25 provincial governors named, 19 are generals: 17 from the military and 2 from the police. One police general has become well known for his openly insubordinate refusal to protect supporters of Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, an Islamist whose candidacy was advanced by the Muslim Brotherhood.

A military general appointee, Gov. Mahmoud Othman Ateeq of Sohag, a former deputy governor in Alexandria, was filmed in 2011 raising a gun at a demonstration of teachers, who can be heard begging for their lives.... 

I am not willing to point fingers at Murbarak or anti-Murbarak and the same for Morsi. The 'brain trust' within the Morsi camp is simply not there. When a country is in disarray I am not surprised the leaders are coming from the most experienced people. The elections have to go forward. 

Some of this is the concern for a sovereign nation and the influx of militants. The Egyptian military in all honesty is attempting to keep order and function within the country. If the country is in complete disarray there can't be elections.

That said, the UN needs to entertain a power sharing arrangement that should come out of the elections. There should be Morsi influence in the country within a structured settlement after the elections. The purpose is to grow the brain trust of the Muslim Brotherhood. It is not pacifying them, it is about bringing them on board within a power structure that demands civility and ECONOMIC FUNCTION.

There can be dual candidate outcomes. The majority leader and the minority leader. The 'authority' of the power sharing can be proportional to the electorate favor, but, the minority has to have a function and not just a figurehead in the government. If the Muslim Brotherhood is to ever have a real place in Egypt it has to have some degree of recognition within the government to help mold policy.

There can't be a defacto dictatorship on either side of the equation. We value culture. Seeking to eliminate one culture over another is a form of genocide. Those at UN know that. Politics is part of the culture, it's integrity must be respected. 

How is it Jessie Jackson Jr. and his wife is slammed with negativity and Governor McDonnel and his wife simply say, "Oops."

Fox, CNN Provide Minimal Coverage Of VA Governor's Donor Scandal
August 7, 2013
Savlatore Colleluori & Charlie Rafkin

McDonnell Family Benefitted (click here) From At Least $145,000 In Gifts From A Wealthy Businessman And Donor. A Washington Post report highlighted the gifts given to the McDonnell family by businessman Jonnie R. Williams Sr., CEO of dietary supplement manufacturer Star Scientific Inc., which are part of a federal and state investigation:

A prominent political donor gave $70,000 to a corporation owned by Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell and his sister last year, and the governor did not disclose the money as a gift or loan, according to people with knowledge of the payments.

The donor, wealthy businessman Jonnie R. Williams Sr., also gave a previously unknown $50,000 check to the governor's wife, Maureen, in 2011, the people said.

The money to the corporation and Maureen McDonnell brings to $145,000 the amount Williams gave to assist the McDonnell family in 2011 and 2012 -- funds that are now at the center of federal and state investigations.

Williams, the chief executive of dietary supplement manufacturer Star Scientific Inc., also provided a $10,000 check in December as a present to McDonnell's eldest daughter, Jeanine, intended to help defray costs at her May 2013 wedding, the people said. [The Washington Post, 7/9/13]...

How does that work exactly? How does the media weight these issues to virtually eliminate the scandal in Virginia?

Jesse Jackson Jr., wife await sentencing (click here)

By Katherine Skiba and Marina Villeneuve Tribune Newspapers

6:46 a.m. CDT, August 14, 2013

WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who pleaded guilty to misspending about $750,000 in campaign funds, will learn today how much his crime will cost him.
A federal judge will sentence Jackson on a felony conspiracy count and also will sentence his wife, Sandi, on a related charge of failing to report about $600,000 in taxable income.  
The sentencing hearings are scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. Chicago time in U.S. District Court in Washington before Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who is no relation to the defendants.

Land reclaimation of nuclear power plants is ridiculous. It takes generations.

How long San Onofre's decommissioning takes and how much it eventually costs will depend on how and where the plant’s radioactive fuel rods are stored and how long it takes to remove low-level radioactive material, a state Senate panel was told Tuesday. (Mark Boster, Los Angeles Times / June 7, 2013)

By Marc Lifsher

August 13, 2013, 8:51 p.m.

SACRAMENTO — Southern California Edison Co., (click here) by law, can spend up to 60 years to completely scrap its San Onofre nuclear plant near San Clemente, but less than 10 years is more realistic, lawmakers were told.
That was an estimate Tuesday from Michael F. Weber, deputy executive director of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. If the Rosemead-based utility is close to the national average in dismantling such technically challenging and potentially dangerous facilities, he said, the process will last seven to 10 years....

The Sydney Morning Herald is featuring Baby Cakes.

Baby showers have cakes to commemorate the occasion. These are some of them. Believe me this one is the best of the bunch.

2 Aug 

From misshapen (click here) cake babies to questionable text, from odd colour choices to internal organ recreation, these are the baby shower cakes that taste forgot. All pictures from cakewrecks.com.

The building needs to be condemned. Just that simple.

Barbara Liston Reuters

3:09 p.m. CDT, August 13, 2013

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A Florida time-share resort (click here) where a sinkhole devoured a building Sunday night said that it is open for business and next week's guests should "come on down."

Paul Caldwell, the general manager of Summer Bay Resorts, which is located 6 miles from Walt Disney World, made the pitch to guests at a news conference on Tuesday. He said that geological and structural testing under way on the 100-foot wide cavern and the surrounding buildings should be complete by Wednesday....

So what? They don't intend to continue to use this hotel do they?

...Guests staying in the downed building were evacuated by an alert security guard who ran inside to wake occupants as the structure was twisting and collapsing around him. No one was injured.

A total of 36 people were evacuated from two buildings on the sprawling 64-acre property, which has a total of 900 units, the resort said....

This turbulence is rather abrupt. THere is a hemispheric system crossing the troposphere.

August 14, 2013
0030.19z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of North and West Hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop)

The hemispheric system is reaching from the bottom to the top of this image. It is massive. 

There is usually hurricanes crossing oceans by now every year, but, the troposphere has been very quiet. The water vapor is in the upper troposphere. It appears to me to be a heat transfer system, but, it is not connected to a Mid-latitude vortex. It has to be connected to a vortex over the Arctic Ocean. There are multiple vortices in the mid-latitudes, but, they are independent to this new air mass movement.

I've watched this develop over the past twelve hours and the vortex offshore of Vancouver is nearly stationary. This is somewhat new. There is also a 'street' of vortexes east of the tropospheric air mass. The 'street' begins offshore Florida and traverses northeast.

I think that air mass traveling across the center of the North American continent is connected to that Vancouver air mass. That moisture accumulation of vortex is very new.

August 14, 2013
0030:19z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES West Satellite (click here)

The satellite below is about 11 hours ago. The water vapor accumulation is significant and is probably being pulled from the Equator. Although this is moving toward the end of summer and the water vapor from the Arctic Ocean and icefields is increased.

August 13, 2013
1330:20z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES West Satellite 

It sincerely appears this is the driving vortex to that new turbulence across the continent. As a stationary vortex it would dominate the moving water vapor and build strength to direct the equatorial air.  

The Jet Stream passing over Southern California (the dark air) is making an impression on that water vapor content. The Jet is dry and pulling the water vapor right out of the that heat transfer system where they intersect

This is interesting. There are large incident fires across the northwest and Alaska.

Well, the heat from them added CO2 to the region and might help explain the stationary aspect of that vortex and why it is fueling with water vapor now. 

If CO2 is concentrated before it dissipates into 'the entire' of the troposphere (gas laws) it will concentrate heat (infrared reflected off Eart) under it. 

With any luck, the firefighters will be getting some help soon. Let's hope it is not too much help. Mudslides. 

There ya go.

There is your heat concentration. 

August 13, 2013
1330:20z
UNISYS Enhanced Infrared GOES West Satellite (click here)

Yep.

The temperatures are still high. Earth started to spin hurricanes when we were here earlier this summer.
 

August 13, 2013
The Weather Channel
Actual High Daily Temperature Map

In the UNISYS map at the top of this entry has a promise of growing turbulence in the Gulf. With the building water vapor at the vortex in the northwest, there is a promise of storms there as well.

The Drought Monitor is no surprise. Drought due to Climate Crisis resulting in wildfires. 
 
August 6, 2013
US Drought Monitor

The next monitor will be out in two days. It should be interesting because it will be dated for August 13, 2013. Today.

This is called a NEGATIVE Feedback Loop. High levels of CO2 in the troposphere lead to drought which leads to fires which leads to increase in CO2 from the fires while the troposphere is already up to 400 ppm of CO2. It is a dangerous troposphere and should have been avoided at all costs. Everyone was told. It should never have been a political issue. The DEPENDENCE of the USA elections on special interest monies is the enemy. 

The political system in the USA has a lot of problems. This is one of them. The government is failing to protect it's citizens. 

It sincerely is time for the USA Air Force to get back to basics. Seriously.

This view of the missile base was considered a work of art. (click here)

It is so good to know that Russia can have confidence in our peace initiatives and non-proliferation. 

David T. Hanson, Malmstrom Air Force Missile Site #Kilo-11 341st Strategic Missile Wing Judith..., 1985; chromogenic print, 19 13/16 in. x 24 in. (50.32 cm x 60.96 cm); Collection SFMOMA, Accessions Committee Fund purchase; © David T. Hanson 

WASHINGTON | Tue Aug 13, 2013 7:37pm EDT

 

(Reuters) - A U.S. Air Force inspection (click here) of a Montana base found errors that resulted in a failing grade for the nuclear missile unit, the latest in a series of issues involving the Air Force's management of nuclear weapons, authorities said on Tuesday.

The failed inspection at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana does not pose any safety risks to the U.S. nuclear, Air Force Global Strike Command Commander Lieutenant General Jim Kowalski said in a statement.

The August 5-13 evaluation of the 341st Missile Wing covered operations, maintenance, security, safety and support activities and received unsatisfactory rating after making "tactical-level errors during one of several exercises," the statement said.

Carla Pampe, chief of civic outreach and internal information for Air Force Global Strike Command, told Reuters the Air Force does not release details of the inspection results in view of "operational security considerations."...


...The Air Force has sought to tighten controls over its nuclear weapons after a 2008 incident in which a B-52 bomber accidentally transported nuclear armed missiles across the country, leading to the ouster of then-Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and General T. Michael Moseley, the top uniformed officer in the Air Force.

The 341st Missile Wing, based at Malmstrom, operates 150 Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) - one third of the country's missile wings. The other two wings are at bases in Wyoming and North Dakota....

I'm okay, you're not okay, so who cares?

Study: Whites favor meritocracy when meritocracy favors whites (click here)

 

Rob Beschizza at 9:33 am Tue, Aug 13, 2013 

When asked about "leadership" as an admissions criterion, white ranking of the measure went up in importance when respondents were informed of the Asian success in University of California admissions. "Sociologists have found that whites refer to 'qualifications' and a meritocratic distribution of opportunities and rewards, and the purported failure of blacks to live up to this meritocratic standard, to bolster the belief that racial inequality in the United States has some legitimacy," Samson writes in the paper. "However, the results here suggest that the importance of meritocratic criteria for whites varies depending upon certain circumstances. To wit, white Californians do not hold a principled commitment to a fixed standard of merit."

The very basis of bigotry and racism is connected to the concept of meritocracy. When the Right Wing 'measures' their responsibility in racism in the USA, they often rely on the idea that every American is born with the same opportunity to succeed. That view of world only validates those that hold it don't look beyond their nose to understand their own countrymen and women.

"I'm no racist!" 

Myopic views of the world counts. 

Meritocracy or Bias? (click here) 

...Specifically, he found, in a survey of white California adults, they generally favor admissions policies that place a high priority on high school grade-point averages and standardized test scores. But when these white people are focused on the success of Asian-American students, their views change....

I think Chancellor Merkel's political campaign is extremely brave and genuine.

She broke the mold with this election. I love it. She decided to take the front of a classroom to teach the children. There is no better way to state she believes in the education and future of the children of Germany.

Put away all the antics of the political spectrum and bring profound ethics and commitment to reach the people. I think she is great. 

13 August 2013

Pupils in Germany (click here) got a lesson from a very important person this week.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel - who's as important as the UK's prime minister - turned up at a high school in Berlin to give a history class.
She wanted to teach the students about the building of the Berlin Wall 52 years ago in 1961.
Germany used to be two countries. It was divided after the second world war into East and West Germany.

Part of the city of Berlin belonged to the east and the other to the west.

Life in East Germany was very different to West Germany. The type of government was different. People in the East didn't have as much freedom and had to live under strict rules.

She put together a personal brochure to the voters allowing them to see her in her life. She is genuine, committed, in love with her country and the life it provides to her. She threw away the facade to prove to her country she is real. She is sincere. She is unafraid of her past, present and the desire she has for the future of her country. It is beautiful. It is very spiritual. It puts directly in the lives of her constituents. 

I don't find this at all desperate, but, inspired. I hope it works for her. How can a leader of the free world maintain a distance from the people and still remain genuine? "She is Us." I hope it starts a discussion that brings her into the lives of the German people.

12 August 2013 
By Jeevan Vasagar, Berlin

Mrs Merkel (click here) will return from a holiday spent hiking in the Italian Alps to deliver her first campaign speech in the city of Seligenstadt on August 14, one of seven rallies this week. The latest poll, published in the Bild am Sonntag, has the CDU on 41pc and the opposition Social Democrats on 25pc.
 

Strange picture, isn't it? But, it becomes less strange when it is put into context.

This is Wes Jackson, Founder and President of The Land Institute. Get it yet? No?

 
Here he is again, is the picture still clear as mud? Hint: No that is not a Taliban beard.

Below is one of their research projects. 

Still, no? 

Come on now, I am quite sure everyone knows what a plant root looks like, now don't you?

The Land Institute is one of those dedicated organizations to prevent crop collapse when no one ever cares about it. The Land Institute has dedicated itself to finding species that would sustain drought. It is easy to say they are way ahead of everyone else.

Here is a final view of the research conducted by dedicated PROFESSIONALS at The Land Institute. In this picture is comparison of a Perennial Wheat Grass to that of the annuals currently dominating crop production in the Midwest of the USA.  The Perennial, by visual inspection alone, out performs the commercial variety of annual plantings. 

In case no one guessed, the Perennial Wheat Grass is on the right in this picture. The long beard like structure extending to the bottom of the cloth is it's root structure. That long root structure out performs annual wheat in a million different ways, but, besides production there is being drought proof while it prevents soil erosion.

I am not the only fan Wes Jackson has, recently Thomas Friedman found him very interesting company on a trip to the MidEast. 

Ah, the Climate Crisis and the Arab Spring.

August 13, 2013

Thomas Friedman: The parallels to be drawn between prairie, al-Qaeda (click here)

I’ve spent the last few months filming a Showtime documentary about how climate and environmental stresses helped trigger the Arab awakening. It’s been a fascinating journey because it forced me to look at the Middle East through the lens of Arab environmentalists instead of politicians.

When you do that, you see the problems and solutions very differently. Environmentalists always start by thinking about the health of the “commons” — the shared air, soil, forests and water — that are the basis of all life and which, if not preserved, will undermine the whole society. The notion that securing the interests of any single group — Shiite or Sunni, Christian or Muslim, secular or Islamist — over the health of the commons is nuts to them. It’s as laughable as pictures of gun-toting fighters strutting on the rubble of broken buildings in Aleppo or Benghazi, claiming “victory,” only to discover that they’ve “won” a country with eroding soil, degrading forests, scarce water, shrinking jobs — a deteriorating commons.

Our film crew came to look at the connection between the drought in Kansas and the rise in global food prices that helped to fuel the Arab uprisings. But I stumbled upon another powerful environmental insight here: the parallel between how fossil fuels are being used to power monoculture farms in the Middle West and how fossil fuels are being used to power wars to create monoculture societies in the Middle East. And why both are really unhealthy for their commons....

Fighting "The Good Fight."

There is no indication 70% of North Carolina voters approve the the stricter voting rights laws.

There was a 63% voter turnout in national elections in 2012. That is the highest in modern history. When Americans understand their rights are under assault they turn out to defeat those seeking to oppress them.

The oppression is palpable and obvious. It is real. This is not a political strategy through propagandized ideology. 

The legal challenges to these laws are important. These laws set very dangerous precedent that could escalate into a "Voting Class." The turnout in 2012 alone is evidence enough to demand the roll back of these oppressive laws. Voting hours should expand and not be eliminated. In the case of NC there are multiple incomes in a family, it is difficult for the Poor and Lower Middle Class to 'find time' to vote in their demanding fiscal infrastructure.

While the legal challenges go forward, there also has to be a grass roots effort to register voters. If Campus IDs aren't enough, then a movement should ensue by Campus organizations to schedule buses to Motor Vehicle Offices so the community can obtain so called 'legal' IDs. The Campus population has to recognize the planned attack on their rights and act to diminish and eliminate it. The same goes for impoverished communities. Take Absentee Ballots to voters that cannot get to the polls or find that intense activity overwhelming to participate in person. The elderly can certainly be provided absentee ballots.

These measures have to go forward as well. The legal arguments are important to defeat precedent, but, Americans need to armed with legal IDs as dictated by oppressive legislatures. We are war within the USA. We are fighting for our freedoms and this is one of the most important venues of fighting "The Good Fight." 

Updated 4:30 a.m. ET Aug. 13, 2013

NEW YORK 
North Carolina Gov. Patrick McCrory (click here) has signed a sweeping voting reform bill that imposes strict photo identification requirements on the state's 4.5 million voters, rolls back the early voting period and repeals one-stop registration during early voting.
Almost immediately following the signing, civil rights groups filed lawsuits in federal court challenging the law....