New hopes for Ukraine's ambition for peace. Congratulations.

June 25, 2014
Russia’s Federation Council (click here) has voted to repeal the legislation which allows the use of Russian armed forces on the territory of Ukraine if there is a threat to the local Russian population. The decision follows request of President Vladimir Putin.

153 MPs out of 154 voted in favor of the law’s cancelation, which comes in force the day it is approved.

Russia will continue monitoring the situation in Ukraine, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko told the journalists after the vote.

“It doesn’t mean that, repealing this legislation, we will be turning a blind eye if there are serious violations of people’s rights [in Ukraine] or threats to their safety,” she said.

Matvienko said she doesn’t’ believe that the Federation Council will vote again to adopt legislation allowing military action in Ukraine.

“I think that we shouldn’t prepare ourselves for such a scenario, we should all strive to continue dialogue, and a peaceful way out of the crisis,” she added.

I doubt anyone would disagree with that focus. It will a great achievement for Russia and Ukraine to settle into a sincere and productive peace. I think that will best serve Russia's new economic union. Power is best used for real threats and not simply used for oppression.

I was trying to think what a real threat might be...???...I suppose once the nukes are disarmed the only real threat would come from a hostile Extra-Terrestrial. To that end, neither Ukraine or Russia would be alone. And even then perhaps all any ET would be looking for rather clumsily not knowing the language would be a phone to call home.

Condoms are not covered by insurance.

Feb. 14, 2011

BY LIZ NEPORENT, ABC Medical Unit

February (click here) is the shortest month, but don't be fooled; it has still been declared National Condom Month. More than 5 billion condoms worldwide are sold every year, according to Michael S. Zedalis, senior vice president in charge of science and technology for condom-maker Ansell Limited.

Known as Dr. Condom to his friends and colleagues, Zedalis offers seven factoids you probably don't know -- or didn't think to ask -- about the oft-maligned yet always useful "love glove."...

However, an IUD and/or birth control pills require a physician's prescription because it either requires a procedure or medical evaluation to provide a medication to effective the female ovulation cycle.

The practice of birth control becomes unaffordable when insurance does not pay for it. In order for a woman to compete without concern to her financial outcomes in a career she has to be able to determine the best time for child birth and child rearing, especially if she is a single woman.

In the USA, marriage is not a requirement to conception and pregnancy. Women need the right to control their fertility and when to exercise it to provide for a stable and secure life and future for herself and/or her child(ren). Unless, the USA Supreme Court is going to turn the clocks back to limiting the freedoms and choices of women there should be free and open access to all forms of birth control including it's affordability.

The type of birth control a woman chooses is a matter of lifestyle. Women are allowed to have a life style of choice. If there is a ruling from the Supreme Court hostile to freedom for women, it will be recognition of a growing theocracy in the USA Supreme Court decisions that impose gender discrimination and oppression.

Such oppressive laws prohibit employment unless a woman is willing to experience financial hardship to prevent unwanted pregnancies. In most cases that expense is not possible to indulge and unwanted pregnancies then become the financial burden to the woman and impoverish her and her children. Life then becomes a struggle for survival and children limited to their outcomes with increasing costs of education and available financial aid. The wealth of the nation is diminished and it's brain trust robbed. 

Yes. This is that oppressive a decision.

Police are the only people upset about today's rulings. That says something.

June 25, 2014
Roger Yu and Mike Snider
USA Today 

Fans of streaming (click here) prime-time network TV live will have to wait a bit longer.

In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Aereo, a start-up backed by media mogul Barry Diller, violated the copyrighted work of major TV networks by streaming their content to paid subscribers.

Each subscriber leases a small Aereo antenna that's stored in the company's warehouse, a point that Aereo emphasizes in differentiating its service from other streaming companies. The service has been available in 11 markets....

It is starting to look like the USA again, rather than a paranoid Neocon occupation. I expect there are going to be many, many more appeals with this decision, but, it was the right decision to make regardless. Anyone jailed on illegally obtained information is a threat to every American.

By Tony Perry

The U.S. Supreme Court (click here) decision Wednesday in favor of a San Diego gang member convicted, in part, based on information gathered from his cellphone without a warrant does not guarantee that he will be released from prison, the Stanford law professor who was part of his appeals team said.

But it will allow attorneys for David Riley to return to state appeals court in San Diego to argue that Riley deserves a new trial because his original trial was "tainted" because of the cellphone evidence that the high court says was illegally obtained, said professor Jeffrey Fisher.

Fisher, co-director of Stanford's Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, said he and his students took up the Riley case because it was on the cutting-edge of privacy issues in the digital age....

Nowhere in my contract with a cell phone company does it say "Beware of government monitoring."
Americans can go back to their love affair with talking and illicit activities. Just talking about illicit activities is more fun than actually engaging in them. That is the primary reason I have a problem with FBI sting operations. They make it happen when before it never could.

As it should be. I have no problem with Iran assisting it's neighbor.

My memory nags me about the name Michael Gordon. I haven't read his credentials, but, I thought there was a Michael Gordon that was a consistent correspondent during the Iraq War.

June 25, 2014
By Michael R. Gordon and Eric Schmitt

Brussels — Iran is directing surveillance drones (click here) over Iraq from an airfield in Baghdad and is secretly supplying Iraq with tons of military equipment, supplies and other assistance, American officials said. Tehran has also deployed an intelligence unit there to intercept communications, the officials said.The secret Iranian programs are part of a broader effort by Tehran to gather intelligence and help Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s government in its struggle against Sunni militants with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria....

There is absolutely no indication Iran will do anything except provide defense measures for the Iraqi people. Iran has not proven to be an aggressor nation so much as a nation in defense of it's people. I really haven't noticed any other ambitions. So, if Iraq likes and trusts the government of Iran there is no reason to inhibit the help being provided in defense of people who have known fear, war and death for too many decades.

By: Sameer N. Yacoub
The Associated Press
Published on Wed Jun 25 2014

BAGHDAD—A defiant Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (click here) rejected calls Wednesday for an interim “national salvation government” intended to undermine the Sunni insurgency by presenting a unified front among Iraq’s three main groups, calling it a “coup against the constitution.”

Al-Maliki’s televised address to the nation was his first public statement since U.S. President Barack Obama challenged him last week to create a more inclusive government or risk his country descending into sectarian civil war....

Regardless of the estrangement of Sunnis within the Iraq government, the elections were legitimate. It isn't Maliki's fault Saddam was Sunni and people feared a return of such an authority. But, Maliki falls within his rights to oppose a sudden change in government because he didn't actively attack and kill Sunnis. This is a revolution that started outside of Iraq. 

The Iraqi Defense Force wasn't sufficiently prepared to oppose a sincere confrontation with killers. It isn't as though the Iraqi government and military threw up their hands and said, "Okay, we have been impossible to deal with therefore you can now have a place in the government." That isn't the way it happened. The revolution is far more traditional than that. The Sunni opposition took every opportunity to form a militia stronger than most national militaries in the area.

ISIS is stronger than the Syrian military, no surprise there, McCain was sending them arms.

I don't blame Secretary Kerry for trying to mitigate the situation with a change in Iraqi government to satiate any civil war, but, the current government has a point and right now they have to protect the citizens. Lives come before politics and right now there are citizens that are at risk and the Prime Minister must be compelled to put them first.

The international community can argue this is a war Iraq has longer for to kill Sunnis and build a relationship with Iran, but, that won't hold water. This isn't a faux war to change alliance or priorities. This is a real threat to people and it is that threat which has to be stopped.

None of Iraq's allies have been shunned or shown a preference. I sincerely believe this is a government entrenched in an unexpected war accepting all the help it can get to stop and reverse the aggression of Sunni militants.

The new EPA regulations are to CUT greenhouse gas pollution by the USA, not export it.

Greenhouse gas emissions must end. Exporting greenhouse gas production to another country does not solve the problem. The requirements for USA to emit 30% less by 2030 is a joke if it is simply being exported and not sincerely reduced. This is horrible idea and defeats the efforts we have worked so hard for as announced by Secretary McCarthy.

Every country needs to take a stand against the USA exporting CO2 emissions to make goals achievable. 

I believe there needs to be lawsuits filed to stop this practice as well as exports of any form of carbon fuel from the USA.

By JOHN MCDONNELL 
UPDATED: 03:45 EST, 2 June 2011

...Meanwhile, (click here) the thawing of billions of tons of frozen plant matter in the Arctic could result in an acceleration in climate change as locked away organic carbon is released into the atmosphere, according to scientists.

The ice in the far reaches of the northern hemisphere is melting so quickly that a 'tipping point' - where the region no longer becomes a 'sink' for carbon dioxide - could occur within 20 years.

By 2200, around two-thirds of the world's permafrost will have melted, unleashing close to 200 billion tons of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere - a process which cannot be reversed.

'Once the frozen carbon thaws out and decays, there is no way to put it back into the permafrost,' Kevin Schaefer of the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Centre in Boulder, Colorado told the Independent...

There is baseline knowledge of global warming, in that the entire population of the world hangs in the balance not just the USA. Baseline knowledge of global warming also includes the fact the USA it the biggest historic emitter of greenhouse gases. More than most other countries, the USA has the highest historic emissions which provides ownership of the current crisis square on the shoulders of those that allowed it.

Exporting CO2 hurts real people. Exporting condensates only makes it worse.

Cronyism that boosts the demand for fracking.

Condensate is a distillate from natural gas. When natural gas is extracted from the fracking wells it brings a lot of 'other stuff' with it. A gas condensate is one of them.

June 25, 2014
By Steve LeVine
...The US decision (click here) allows two Texas companies—Pioneer Natural Resources and Enterprise Products Partners—to export a form of extremely light oil called condensate. The Journal’s report does not provide the volume. US condensate production in 2012, the last year provided by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), was about 250,000 barrels a day. That is not much, relatively speaking, but the exports could have a dramatic impact if the Commerce Department provides a broader definition of what counts as condensate for export purposes....

So, let me get this right. We regulate CO2 in the USA only to ship CO2 out of the USA. Tell me that makes sense?

It is GLOBAL warming, not  USA Warming.

So, let me get this right. First the USA was suppose to provide support the rebels only to drop bombs now.

September 22, 2012

Brigadier General Mustafa al-Sheikh, (click here) who heads the FSA's Military Council, said the move aims to unite all rebel groups.
He said the move was made the week before, without specifying the FSA's new location.
Commander Colonel Riad al-Asaad issued a video titled "Free Syrian Army Communique Number 1 from Inside" revealing that the command has moved to "liberated areas".
The FSA has been the most prominent of the rebel groups trying to remove President Bashar Assad from power.
But its commanders have come under criticism in the past for leading from Turkey, and its authority over numerous locally-based networks of fighters is limited.
Earlier, Syrian activists said rebels and government troops had fought a fierce battle near the border with Jordan. The activists said the fighting in and around the Syrian border town of Nasib continued until dawn on Saturday.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there were casualties on both sides without giving figures. Mohammed Abu Houran, an activist in the area, said the rebels first attacked an air defence base near Nassib and as they were withdrawing they clashed with Syrian border guards....

May 28, 2013
John McCain (click here) crossed into Syria from Turkey to meet with Salim Idris, the general commander of the Free Syrian Army. McCain wants the U.S. to support the Free Syrian Army with arms and a no-fly zone. NBC’s Richard Engel reports and NBC’s David Gregory discusses the visit....

May 27, 2013

The leaders (click here) of the Supreme Military Council of the Free Syrian Army told the senator they want the U.S. to provide arms, a no-fly zone, and strikes on Hezbollah. Josh Rogin reports....

Turkey did not create this mayhem alone. It was completely assisted by Senator McCain's influence and demand for arming of rebels he knew nothing about. Well, guess what, the rebels McCain insisted on arming were exactly what Assad said they were and they have now moved into Iraq with USA munitions and hardware to facilitate their advance. Well done, John.

And guess who helped move all those guns and munitions into Syria? The very truckers now held as captives.

A driver waiting in a slow line of trucks on Saturday to cross into Iraq from southeastern Turkey. Among 80 Turks recently kidnapped by ISIS were 31 truckers.CreditAndrea Bruce for The New York Times

June 24, 2013

...Once this border was wide open, as Turkey allowed rebel groups of any stripe easy access to the battlefields in Syria in an effort to topple President Bashar al-Assad. But that created fertile ground in Syria for the development of the Sunni militant group that launched a blitzkrieg in Iraq this month, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
“For three years, we have seen ISIS flags in Syria, and that is because of Turkey,” Mr. Aydin said, eyeing hundreds of Iraq-bound trucks that snaked in a line over the horizon. “Turkey let them in.”
Now, with the rise of ISIS, the Turkish government is paying a steep price for the chaos it helped create....

Senator McCain forgot to get the contract signed that says, "If you turn against the hand that feeds you the USA will bomb you."

Not only did US Senator McCain arm ISIS the Saudi sheiks joined right in and supported the holy war. I suppose the Saudis are suppose to be condemned now too since they mimicked and supported John McCain's efforts, right?

The USA military is out of the Middle East and will only support established allies such as Jordan, Turkey and Israel. There will be no more meddling.

Additionally, Iran is correct, the USA is bringing to much press to bear in Baghdad. If Maliki was calling for religious resolve to protect the populations in Iraq, it was because of the advance of Sunni rebels. It is a crime the USA has caused such huge problems in the Middle East. It is the regional leaders that have to stop the violence and end the USA created war. 

There will be no Iraq War 2.0.

June 25, 2014

BAGHDAD — Embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (click here) called Wednesday for political unity in the face of a brutal al-Qaeda-inspired insurgency, as he sought to shore up crumbling support for his government.

Striking a conciliatory but desperate tone in a televised address to the nation, Maliki urged political parties to lay aside their differences before the first session of Iraq’s newly elected parliament, expected to take place next week.

“We desperately need a united national stance to defy terrorism,” said Maliki, who is under pressure from the United States to reach out to those who oppose him,

His speech, delivered two days after he met with Secretary of State John F. Kerry, contrasted sharply with his public declarations earlier in the crisis, which have appealed to religious motivations and called for citizens to protect the country’s Shiite Muslim shrines....

Provocateurs in charge or differently said, "Kerry go home."

It is interesting, isn't it? There are so many in the Middle East not even moved by these events and the USA Congress is spastic over the moment. If they cannot capture the 'cult of fear' of the Republicans party soon, the moment might get away.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) speaks with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Robert S. Beecroft (L) and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Brett McGurk before departing from Arbil International Airport June 24, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool


June 25, 2014
The Daily Star

After suffering from a decade of foreign occupation, (click here) Iraq entered a new phase of its 21st century history this month when a multipronged insurgency seized large parts of the country from the central government.
Signs of a recovery on the part of the Iraqi state aren’t encouraging. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to the Kurdish region to talk with Massoud Barzani, and was informed that a “new Iraq” had already emerged. The Kurdish authorities have begun to strike out on their own, seizing the city of Kirkuk, lying outside their regional government zone, and ignoring the central authorities to export oil, with one of the buyers being Israel.
Amid these worrying indications of the direction a “new Iraq” will take, there is the performance of the central government – Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has agreed to give legal protection to U.S. military personnel who are being sent to salvage the situation.
This is the same Maliki who opposed such a move on principle a few years ago, when Washington and Baghdad were negotiating the future of the American military presence. It’s obvious that his objections weren’t based on principle, if one looks to the rapid acceptance of what was so unpalatable before.
Yet another Baghdad decision – no pay for state employees in insurgent-held areas until “hostilities” end – signals only retreat and expediency, instead of vision and resolve.
As American and Iraqi officials discuss ways to help the “new Iraq” move forward, people should remember that many of the players being asked to fix things are actually responsible for the current mess.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on June 25, 2014, on page 7.

And what is especially tragic in this edition of the Morning Star is that if you don't act quickly DISH might not be yours at $10.00 per month of the Arabic Elite Super Pack.

With politics a hot issue these days, all the government officials both domestic and foreign are condemning the suicide bombing in recent days.

June 25, 2014 12:25 AM
By Nizar Hassan

The Daily Star

BEIRUT: Lebanese politicians and foreign officials (click here) Tuesday condemned the suicide bombing that killed one and wounded 25 in a southern suburb of Beirut, the second such attack in less than a week.
Hezbollah, whose party headquarters is located in the oft-targeted suburbs south of Beirut, issued a statement condemning “this cowardly action and whoever is responsible for it,” adding that the party “hails the recent achievements by the relevant military and security forces, calling on them to keep up their blessed efforts in order to topple the criminal conspiracies and plans against Lebanon.”...

...“The security situation is dangerous in light of what is happening in Iraq and the Saudi-Iranian alienation,” Berri was quoted as saying, referring to the rift between the Sunni Gulf kingdom and Shiite Iran.
Prime Minister Tammam Salam also condemned the bombing, saying: “This criminal action ... is a clear attempt to undermine Lebanon’s stability and strike at its national unity.”
Hezbollah condemned “this cowardly action and whoever stood behind it,” calling on the military and security forces to continue their efforts “to thwart criminal conspiracies and plans against Lebanon and the Lebanese.”...

Here is an interesting clue to what is occurring. If one recalls Hezbollah responded well to border talks with Assad, Syria and Lebanon. Hezbollah was causing a great deal of problems at the Syrian border. When Assad made movements toward securing the border between Syria and Lebanon with him as President in Syria, Hezbollah immediately took up the fight to support his presidency. Things quieted at the border. Now, with Hezbollah fighting for Assad in Syria, there are elements that don't like it. Hezbollah is Shi'ite just like Assad, but, the elements in Syria they are fighting are Sunni and evidently like to call themselves a Qaeda affiliate. 

...Meanwhile, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated group warned Hezbollah of more attacks in the southern suburbs in what appeared to be an indirect claim of responsibility for Monday’s suicide bombing in Tayyouneh.
Sirajeddine Zuraiqat, the religious guide of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, said the explosions were part of a series of attacks in response to Hezbollah’s military intervention in Syria. “[Hezbollah] will not be living safely, until security is returned to the people of Syria and Lebanon,” he wrote on Twitter....

As much as The West wants to label this simply a problem for Iraq in it's central government, it is larger than that. It is sectarian. It is hatred between the religions and ethnicities. There is nothing The West can do to remedy this. There really isn't.

...Meanwhile, a French national who was detained during a police raid on a hotel in Beirut last week said the Al-Qaeda-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) recruited him to carry out a suicide attack in Lebanon, a source close to the investigation said. French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal confirmed Tuesday that a French national had been arrested in Lebanon on suspicion of planning a terror attack.
The man, originally from the Comoros islands, confessed “to having been recruited by ISIS from abroad, tasking him to move to Lebanon and prepare himself for a suicide operation that would be scheduled later,” the judicial source told The Daily Star....

The Comoros Islands are off Mozambique. ???? This is a holy war and the jihadists are coming from everywhere. The West is best to stay out of it and be hypervigilant to Homeland Security. 

That is 'the thing' about The West being involved. The attacks by ISIL is retaliation for attacks on them. The more involvement, as Prime Minister Hariri stated, the more problems will result. When The West was in Iraq before, setting aside the illegality and immorality of it, the military was viewed as simply more fighters. The West are the infidels and the playground so to speak just added more contestants.

...adding that the detainee said he arrived in Beirut a week before his arrest accompanied by another person tasked with a similar mission.
According to the source, the suspect told investigators that a room was reserved for him and the other man, who then changed his mind and decided to leave Beirut two days before the ISF raided the hotel.
The detainee claimed that people he did not know used to come to the hotel and give him money to pay for his residence and food, the source said.

This is a holy war. People from all over the world will come to fight in it. There will be Saudis that will give money to them and all sorts of messy involvement The West would never appreciate. The West has no place in this. It is very messy and it has resulted because of the Iraq War, their JUSTIFIED view of the world through the deaths of so many and the continued tensions between the ethnicities and religions. It isn't going to end on a happy note. 

The ONLY suggestion I have is for the United Nations to continue to insist on small arms reduction and nations need to convene a pact that completely eliminates shipments of any form of munitions into the area. Every potential shipment of arms, munitions and bomb making components should be stopped at borders and/or within ship routes and prevented from making port or the destination by land.

And by all means, those in Lebanon should get DISH and watch The World Cup. Absolutely. 

Unisys Infrared GOES East Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop)

June 24, 2014

2030z

By Kevin Byrne

Staff Writer

AccuWeather.com 

June 24, 2014; 2:52 PM

A dangerous tornado (click here) situation unfolded near Indianapolis this afternoon, after a destructive tornado touched down in the area.

Parts of Indiana and Ohio should remain on alert for isolated tornadoes throughout the afternoon and evening hours.

I noticed a turbulent region around Panama in this 12 hour loop. I am hoping there will be some defined circulation centers soon to bring Tropical Depressions/Storms, to alleviate the incredible heat forcing tornadoes in the USA.

The TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) costs the USA plenty of jobs, but, also quality.

This is a case in point. A family member thought they would send me a gift for my birthday and knowing I am outdoors a lot they sent emergency lanterns. They work on batteries. They came in the mail the other week.

AmeriMark Catalog Number 027509 (click here)

Not bad, 2 for $19.99. Member price 2 for $18.99

The outside of the box is stamped, "Made in China." It came with directions in English and stated in the small print "Lights are not replaceable, do not open light assembly it will damage product."

This are basically disposable lanterns. They do a good job. I tried one out, 4 D batteries and the entire room is lit. But, there is something missing. 

One of the first things I look for in any equipment I purchase is CERTIFICATION that the item is safe, RENEWABLE/REUSABLE and easy to use and understand.

The lanterns are completely missing a certification of environmentally safe Underwriter's Laboratories Certified.

Using UL-certified components (click here) during production helps reduce costs and time to market. If the components have already been found to be in compliance with the applicable component requirements, costly redesign issues that may be identified during the certification process relating to components can be minimized. Certification also adds a valuable product differentiator; manufacturers know that UL’s component certification program drives supply chain and product integrity through rigorous examinations and follow-up surveillance.

Just like my family member who is young with a lower paying job, but, important enough to purchase something for my birthday, others purchasing this item never checked for the quality of the item. They trusted the sale catalog to provide some of the nicest gifts imaginable for a thrifty price.

This product takes advantage of the vast possibilities of the American market place. If the USA weren't open to China's products China could never have moved as fast as it did in building an economy or moving citizens into a Middle Class. That isn't the issue. What is the issue is the continued circumventing of USA product standards. 

The Free Trade or Partnership agreements are contracts between countries. They eliminate requirements for product quality to allow cheaper goods into the American market place. What these agreements don't do is dissolve the same product requirements for American made products, so the cost of American made products are far higher than is possible for competition with foreign made products. These lanterns are perfect examples. They are junk. They will work for as long as they will work and then they are put in the trash and not recycled because there is no indication on them as to the type of plastic they are. They will go into a land fill with plastics that last forever along with electrical components.

This is my government at work? Heck, no. This is Wall Street CEOs finding cheap foreign labor at immorally run factories that practice human rights abuses. That is exactly what this is. 

I want quality like I am used to to the standards in USA LAW. I want all the items coming into the USA to meet the EXACT same environmental standards of USA products. I want a level playing field for USA products that provide for FAIR market value and good wages. By the way the 'good wages' part can be enforced by the Chinese government through union organizing, too.

There is to be NO child labor with any product I purchase in Americans stores or through delivery of USPS or FedEx or UPS. 

The contracts are to be EQUITABLE. They are to be based in introducing American products in competition with foreign products in THEIR markets, too. The contracts are not to ever provide such market pressures in the USA that forces the American Middle Class into poverty. NEVER.

The USA is fully capable of producing any product a consumer needs or wants. It has that capacity. Or should I say, it did have that capacity. But, if the USA closed it's borders today, there would be factories to reopen or rebuild and refurbish to produce every item an American would need or want and people 'learned enough' to work in those plants and receive a good wage. People that receive good wages can afford items that are safe, certified and meet regulations for consumer confidence.

Trade agreements between countries, be they Trans Pacific or Trans Atlantic or South America or otherwise; are suppose to ENHANCE the market place not destroy it. These partnerships and free trade agreements are promises to Wall Street they can make higher profits regardless of whether or not it puts human beings anywhere in the world, including the USA, into poverty and poor working conditions. 

When the USA opens it's doors to foreign products it is a wealth for that country's markets. Why? Because there are over 300 million Americans to purchase those products, that's why. The other country can provide the same dynamic to the USA if it has a Middle Class and not simply the wealthy and the poor as their population.

But, trade agreements can also levy tariffs to make imported products EQUITABLE to those in the American market place. Never should a substandard product make the American market place as these lanterns have. 

The FAST TRACK is out of the question. Trade agreements need to meet the standards set in law in the USA and are REQUIRED to elevate the standard of living of the people in the partnered country to MEET MIDDLE CLASS populous requirements. They need to meet environmental, child labor law and working condition requirements OTHERWISE they don't trade with the USA.

Having Wall Street in one's back pocket for elections is not the reason a free trade agreement or partnership should be written. THAT is a form of treason to the sovereignty of the USA when it's people are forced into substandard quality of life.

24 June 2014

A free trade agreement (click here) between all 12 Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries is still possible despite problems that have come up during negotiations, Prime Minister John Key says.

Mr Key discussed the TPP with US President Barack Obama in Washington at the weekend, and says he's "pretty confident" outstanding issues will be resolved.

"Every country in there has some sensitivity, New Zealand's is agriculture, America's is intellectual property, everyone is a bit different," he said.

"There's always an arm wrestle, there's always give and take... but in the end, the preference is that the 12 can find a way through."...

Let the "give and take" begin with a USA in a strong position to leverage the best outcomes for both countries. Bring them up to standard, don't bring the USA down!

Everyone knows the name Rebekah Brooks, but, Andy who?

24 June 2014

..."I am extremely sorry I employed him. (click here) It was the wrong decision," he said.

He spoke after the ex-News of the World editor was found guilty at the Old Bailey of conspiring to hack phones between 2000 and 2006.

Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "This isn't just a serious error of judgement, it taints David Cameron's government."

Mr Cameron appointed Coulson as his media chief in July 2007 - six months after he had quit as NoW editor on the day the paper's former royal editor was jailed for four months for phone hacking....

It is always the way, find the nearest woman and blame her.

...In a statement to the media after Tuesday's verdicts, Mr Cameron said he took "full responsibility for employing Andy Coulson"....

What would Romney do?

It must be nice to have so much attention paid to any wealth gap the Clintons experience. Could it be the Clintons need to release their past two income tax returns to settle this speculation about Rich or Poor? 

By Catalina Camina
...Bill Clinton (click here) says his wife, Hillary, is “not out of touch” despite her recent comments that drew negative attention to their personal wealth....

Could it be we have the first woman President that sincerely understands income inequality? She needs to write another book about how money changed my life.

That's better. The Kurds. They know the deal.

And one of the reasons Mosul fell was because any and all actions had to come from Baghdad. The other reason is the Iraqi military had no clue what they were doing. "Here is my gun and I pull the trigger." Not exactly.

A central government will not work for Iraq. The government has to be decentralized. The Kurds know what they are doing and leave them alone. The Shia know what they are doing and leave them alone. Now it has to be determined if Saudi Arabia is actively interested in the insurgents in al Anbar and what is going to be done to stop any killing, if anything. If there is nothing Saudi Arabia can do to influence the vicious killings then decisions lie ahead about bombing, where and how.

June 24, 2014
VOA News

...In Kurdistan, (click here) Kerry thanked the Kurdish leader for helping battle the militants during their meeting. He went on to stress that resolving the current conflict revolves around forming an inclusive new government in Baghdad.

“As everybody knows, this is a very critical time for Iraq as a whole and the government formation challenge is the central challenge that we face," Kerry said. "In recent days the security cooperation between the forces here in the Kurdish area has been really critical in helping to draw a line with respect to ISIL and also to provide some support to the Iraqi security forces.”

But Barzani was cautious about cooperating with the Baghdad forces, saying it was impossible to fight the militants, "without a clear future, a complete agreement and a complete political solution."

Kerry told U.S. broadcaster CBS that President Barack Obama is not planning to help the government of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki with air support, due to the lack of political consensus among Iraqi leaders.  He said it would be a "total act of irresponsibility" for the president to order air strikes when the current Iraqi government is not unified.

Fly by wire. No different than depending on driverless cars and trucks. It will be a nightmare.

I told you so. I told you so. I told you so.

June 24, 2014
Bart Jansen
...Contributing factors (click here) included the complexities of the Boeing 777's autothrottle, which were inadequately described in the manufacturer's documents, along with inadequate pilot training and monitoring, the board said.

The board agreed to the cause and contributing factors by a series of 4-0 votes. To avoid future crashes. the board agreed to recommendations including enhancing training for the autothrottle and requiring pilots to land flights manually more often to remain familiar with it....

I am grateful for the endorsement by business regarding scientific findings. But, I may or may not have new insight regarding compliance.

By Meagan Clark - Global warming (click here) if unchecked could ruin businesses from tourism to construction, according to a report, Risky Business, released Tuesday by slew of politicians and economic figures from left, right and center political leanings, including former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, hedge-fund billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer and former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson....

Compliance to the EPA regulations regarding greenhouse gases is needed to achieve relief and reversal of this deadly warming trend on Earth. I am sure everyone would agree.

I have a source within the petroleum industry and this is the 'entire' of the petroleum industry which states the regulations are made mute by those within the industry scouring them for loopholes.

Here is just one. The petroleum industry uses a lot of ancillary equipment such as huge compressors to force air into drill sites to push all the oil out of any crack and crevasse and to push fracking materials into the deep recesses of Earth's crust to extract whatever they choose.

Perhaps, one might recall Catepillar shut down it's production of some of their engines. Well, it goes like this. The industry does not want to hire technicians to make field visits to monitor or maintain any of their equipment. See, to modify the ancillary equipment used in the oil and gas field it requires technological changes. Changes that would probably increase the USA work force. But, the industry doesn't want to hire anymore personnel they want to simply set up the equipment, drill the hole and let it run all by itself. No human beings needed.

So, let's just say the oil fields need an air compressor (value about a quarter million) with about 600 horsepower. The industry is making the decision to abandon the 600 horsepower engines and circumvent the regulations to use a 720 horsepower engine. The 720 isn't impacted by required technology. 

So, the petroleum industry is not only circumventing any regulations of greenhouse gases, they are producing more than it did before. I suggest those with a conscience divest of the petroleum stocks and instead invest those monies into...let's say..."Tesla" who is sharing their technology with other auto producers to increase the number of electric cars in use. Tesla absolutely has proven itself to be a 'high moral' content partner to defeat global warming. I can't thank them enough. To me it was enough they found the technology and never gave up on producing cars, but, to share the technology they developed is a commit to 'moral concept cars' I can not repay.