China has been flexing it's muscles. It is expanding it's borders rather aggressively. It is not showing up at WTO complaints because the other party was the Philippines and China can out wrangle them. 

China is a sincere threat. 

It is changing it's stance.

The phone call with Taiwan put the frosting on the cake. 

China is moving aggressively because it can. 

China is moving past the 'idea' it is the billionaires happy place with jobs for Chinese citizens. The Chinese government is not invested in it's economy, it's oligarchs are invested in the Chinese economy. 

China is a communist country. The Chinese economy that so many American million-billionaires-wanna-be covet is not coveted by the Chinese government. If China loses it's middle class tomorrow and the wealthy oligarchs leave to protect their wealth, the Chinese government could not care less.

If the Chinese government witnesses it's people return to Third World status then that is the way it is and the communists will find a way to insure their existence. The Chinese government wants a better quality of life for it's citizens, but, if the progress made is a threat to it's sovereign status, China will shed it as a deception and start over again.

The Flint River Water Project is ongoing. It is time to sort through the information I have at this point and begin to write. 

Thank you,

I just think Tom Hanks is among the best actors of our time.

There was a break in to a Democratic National Committee Office. What makes what Russia did at the request of Donald Trump any different? Is the United States of American actually surrendering to "the ends justify the means?" Really? Wow. It isn't the USA then. The USA would never tolerate this.

The Champion of all Causes is finishing his work. Thank you, President Obama.

Interestingly, Marsha Blackburn is completely wrong about the RNC cyber security.

The mouth. Where would Republicans be without their oral character? I have to admit Trump out ranks every other Republican oral character in office. That should make Marsha Blackburn feel better, or should I say, "Feel that feel good feeling."

In an election year, (click here) and the political theater is in full swing. As the Republican National Convention wraps up this week and the Democratic National Convention waits around the corner, there's one issue that seems to be missing from the political conversation again: cybersecurity. You won't hear many candidates discussing cybersecurity matters on the campaign trail, but that's not to say that their parties - and U.S. voters - haven't already been impacted by cyber attacks and data loss. Check out our latest infographic below for a short history of some of the major political security incidents in recent years.

Both parties were impacted by cyber attacks. There is some difference to the source of the hacking, but, there is no difference in the cyber security of the RNC.

What is really interesting is the fact the RNC's information never made it to Wikileaks.

As per usual, Marsha Blackburn is a clueless Republican that spouts propaganda.

Infographic by Digital Guardian

Americans treat White Supremacists as criminals, but, in Europe and Asia they are far more organized.

Europe is dealing with the influx of Daesh from Syria, but, below the surface are White Supremacists that may very well become inspired by Trump and Putin.

NATO is available for stability in Europe, however, Trump wants to dissolve the alliance or hold it hostage for payments of money.

This is real. It is not fiction. White Supremacy is alive and well on the two continents. Putin has scapegoated White Supremacists as those that lead the protesters in the Ukraine's Maidan Square, but, yet he embraces Trump as an ally.

August 31, 2014
By Tom Porter

Kremlin ideologue Alexander Dugin (click here) is to appear alongside US white nationalists at a far-right conference in Hungary in October.

Dugin, who recently called for the Ukrainian "race of bastards" to be "cleansed", will appear at the event in Budapest alongside figures including Richard Spencer, president of the US white nationalist thinkmtank the National Policy Institute.

Spencer told Buzzfeed that the conference would offer the chance for nationalists from across Europe and beyond to exchange ideas.

"I think there are a lot of things happening in Europe that I think would excite people like me and people who want to go to the conference, and would excite Americans who care about their European identity," Spencer said....

How is the USA going to maintain it's dignity when Trump goes to Norway, IF he goes to Norway?

21 July 2016
By Pierre-Henry Deshayes

Five years after its worst attack since World War 2, (click here) Norway sees its liberal and open values as intact despite the horrific massacre of 77 people by rightwing fanatic Anders Behring Breivik.

As more and more countries ponder how to respond to such atrocities, Norway -- which on Friday marks the fifth anniversary of Breivik's hate-filled massacre on Utøya island -- has sought the path of "openness" and "love"....      

The USA will not only lose it's dignity under Trump, it will forever be known as a country without a moral compass.

THE REASON Donald Trump is 'acting out' and carrying on with his children at meetings while he is President - Elect, is that he expects Congress to be as corrupt as he is. ie: "The Emoluments Clause" would require impeachment. Donald Trump fully expects Congress to look the other way and impeachment will never get off the ground. He is expecting the American electorate to provide the impetus to Congress to look the other way.

It isn't that Donald Trump is moral and a quality businessman, it is the unleashed pure power of corruption that he is counting on.

The real question is not will Trump break the law, the real question is, does it matter he breaks the law?

We now know why he has focused on China as an enemy. He owes China money and plenty of it. I am sure if China feels the wrath of President Donald Trump it will shrink at the mere thought of him and the arrangements will be made to service his loan differently. The power of his Secretary of State is heralded and the new friendship between China and the USA will be inspired.

How does Donald Trump create international thirst for his administration? Why not fill the cabinet with those that will carry out corrupt practices, which the petroleum industry is famous for, to gain leverage over other sovereign countries, ie: Russia and Exxon.

Let me say that again, Donald Trump has exhibited power over Russia for the corruption Putin added to the elections of 2016. There is no doubt about it. Trump called out for corrupt practices by Putin and he delivered. Trump has power over Russia. Trump's cabinet is lusted after by Putin. The "Panama Papers" is nothing compared to the underlying corruption between Russia and Trump.

14 April 2016
By Roland Oliphant

Millions of dollars funnelled (click here) through offshore companies owned by one of Vladimir Putin’s closest friends were used to buy rare musical instruments, including a cello once owned by Frederick the Great, the Russian president has said.

In his most detailed comments on the Panama Papers scandal to date, Mr Putin said recent revelations about the business interests Sergei Roldugin, who is the godfather to his eldest daughter, are “accurate” but do not reveal any wrong doing....

Is there anyone in Russia going to tell Putin he is a criminal? Of course not.

Donald Trump is counting on everyone, without except, to cower in the corner waiting for permission to speak and receive the good graces of the President of the USA. He is not a president, he is intimidator and chief. Oh, I forget, he is 'dealer and chief.'

I would never want to be a part of the Trump administration. There are no rules and breaking the law is SOP. People will be going to jail after a year or two of this mess.

No other heads of state will ever tell Trump he is breaking the law. He will be felling his way through anything and Exxon's CEO will expect to be above reproach. When international agreements have to be drawn up, who is going to know the rules? Who cares about the rules.

ie: Rumsfeld and Pakistan. Rumsfeld paid for the airspace into Afghanistan, Pakistan turned around and bought weapons from China and then China used the money to build more nukes pointed at the USA. And to add insult to injury, Osama bin Laden was living a few blocks away from the military academy. I don't know how many times I stated, "Where is bin Laden, Mushy, in the palace basement?" I underestimated the pure idiocy of American Presidents and their cabinet; bin Laden wasn't in a basement!

There was no place else for bin Laden to be. There was only one place he could be living, in Pakistan. He was wanted in every other country in the world. If he raised his head anywhere else, especially the Middle East, he would be a dead man. Pure process of elimination would point to Pakistan. Was he welcomed in Pakistan? Hell, no. But, the tribal areas were a place where any terrorist could find a cozy corner. No, one is going to tell me the leadership in the ISI or the civilian leadership didn't know bin Laden was there. Of course, they knew he was there. They didn't ruffle feathers in fear of having their car blown up on a bridge.

When a so called leader pretends to know what they are doing, there is huge problems brewing. Look at the "Axis of Evil" speech. Trump is a babe in the woods and every nation's leaders will take him on a ride into hell for the USA.

Donald Trump is counting on intimidation and power to make his administration successful. Ready for another spy plane loss?

I do not see a USA President with a White Supremacist on his staff as being welcome to any country, but, the USA will be welcome for what a country can get out of it.  

Changes in the powers of the North Carolina Governor requires a vote by the electorate.

ARTICLE III (click here)

EXECUTIVE

Section 1.  Executive power.

The executive power of the State shall be vested in the Governor....   

December 15, 2016

By Rebecca Herscher

The Republican-controlled North Carolina Legislature (click here) has introduced measures to limit the powers of the incoming Democratic governor.

Roy Cooper, the state's current attorney general, beat current Republican Gov. Pat McCrory by a slim margin in the November election. McCrory initially refused to concede until a vote recount proved he had lost by about 10,000 votes.

On Wednesday, the state Legislature met for a special session called by Republican lawmakers ostensibly to pass a disaster relief bill for Hurricane Matthew.

But once the relief bill had been passed, the Legislature moved to introduce a slew of new laws which, if passed, would go to McCrory to sign....

I am sure Dylann Roof will receive a severe sentence. But, this needs to be a wake up call about hate in the USA.

Dylann Roof is 22 years old, but, I believe he was 21 when he committed the hate crime. What does this say about us as Americans? There are extremists all over this country that embrace violence. Besides trials such as this there isn't any focus on the end of such violence, it lives below the radar.

Roof got away besides. He carried out the murders and left to return to his life. He was not effected what so ever. It was a woman of conscience that noticed him and called the police. We do have a conscience about such issues, but, we do nothing to end this senseless violence.

Keeping people alive begins with efforts to end the hate. As a country we are facing this very task. There are escalating incidence of violence in the country and they are targeting people of ethnic and religious difference. It has never been more important to end the hate to end the violence.

The people in that church were among the most precious in this country. They believed in God and they believed in prayer. I am sure there are many words of wisdom from them. I think to honor them for the lives they lived, there should be a vigilance carried out regularly, perhaps monthly or weekly, as a national movement. We need to make a statement about their lives and it needs to be a continued vigilance to end the hate in this country.

Dylann Roof will be sentenced to the justice these dear people deserve, but, the hate lives even after his sentence. He will no doubt provide a defense of himself in that courtroom when he is sentenced and we all will be appalled at his words. That defense will no doubt be laced with hate and self-righteousness to inspire anyone that hears them. His defense needs to be censored by the judge. There should be no media coverage to his words. Let that be the beginning to end the hate.

June 19, 2016

By Seth Ferranti

...Roof never did time (click here) in prison despite having been previously arrested, and nothing so far has tied him to any white supremacist groups. But the quote being attributed to him in the final moments before the shooting—"You are raping our women and taking over the country"—is loud and clear. While it's appalling to think the type of hate it takes to murder nine people in cold blood exists today, it does. And that kind of resentment is probably strongest in America's prisons, where white supremacist inmates are celebrating the crime.

"Dylann will be my next tattoo," a skinhead doing time in the feds for a gun charge told VICE after watching the news of the church shootings....

...White supremacists generally want to isolate themselves from other races. (click here) They want their own schools. They want white women to marry white men and produce white babies.

When asked, Big tried to explain why he ended up like this.

"The way I grew up in a small town where the race was only white, I heard my grandparents talking about niggers and spics and wetbacks and how they were different from the white race," he said. "When I grew older, I saw opposite races with my own race, and it didn't look right to me."

By talking about ideals like loyalty, dedication, solidarity, and kinship, white supremacist gangs can easily sell themselves to prospective members, even if they also require a lot from them. "I can't associate with homos, chomps [child molesters], or snitches. You can only affiliate with opposite races if you're gaining something from them. You can't eat with the opposite race or fraternize with them or cell with them. You have to keep it right, so keep it white," Big said. "We are running the prison for whites. We are brothers, comrades-in-arms. We go to war together. We represent the white race. We are the soldiers at the front of the war."

Big's prison time is almost up, but he'll take his views into the outside with him....                            

Did I hear that right?

His children NEED an office in the White House because they are able to calm him down in his decision making?

Trump is a hot head and is unreasonable when he becomes angry.

That is 100 percent unacceptable. The President of the USA can't be 'handled.' 

The sovereign country of Ukraine retains their national treasures.

This is a ruling that upholds the assets of a sovereign country. The Crimea was one of the provinces of Ukraine before it was annexed by Russia. The annexation is not recognized by the international community and still has provisions in Minsk II.

A sovereign country has a right to enter into debt. That debt is covered by assets of a country. Assets in the USA are it's people and their work ethic. In this case, the assets of Ukraine are important for the functioning of it's government.

Ukraine should consider allowing Europe to keep these incredible national treasures until domestic peace returns.

The Scythians (click here) are known to be tribal in the 5th century. They roamed the region of Ukraine and believed to have migrated into and out of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and possibly Mongolia.

December 14, 2016
By Merrit Kennedy

A Scythian gold helmet from the fourth century B.C., which is part of the collection that was in limbo after Russia annexed Crimea.

When Russia annexed Crimea (click here) from Ukraine in 2014, many of the region's most precious artifacts were on loan to a museum in Amsterdam.

This kicked off a two year legal battle over where The Netherlands should return the priceless collection of gold and jewels: to Ukraine or to the four Crimean museums that lent the objects.

Now, "the Dutch court says only sovereign countries can claim objects as 'cultural heritage.' So since Crimea is not a country, the artifacts will go back to Ukraine," as reporter Teri Schultz tells our Newscast unit. "The judges say there a Ukrainian court can settle the question of who actually owns the precious items."

Schultz adds that "Crimea is expected to appeal, so the collection will remain in Amsterdam for the next three months and Ukraine will help pay to store it."...   

Larsen A Iceshelf, a 4000 year old ice structure, was destroyed by heating in 1995.

Larsen B Iceshelf, a 12,000 year old ice structure, collapsed during the first quarter of 2002.

In late August 2016, (click here) sunlight returned to the Antarctic Peninsula and unveiled a rift across the Larsen C Ice Shelf that had grown longer and deeper over the austral winter. Satellites spotted it in natural-color imagery. By November, the arrival of longer days and favorable weather made it possible for scientists to take a closer look.

These photographs show close and wide views of the rift from the vantage point of NASA’s DC-8 research aircraft. NASA scientist John Sonntag snapped the photos on November 10, 2016, during an Operation IceBridge flight. The mission, which makes airborne surveys of changes in polar ice, completed its eighth consecutive Antarctic deployment later that month.

The rift in Larsen C measures about 100 meters (300 feet) wide and cuts about half a kilometer (one-third of a mile) deep—completely through to the bottom of the ice shelf. While the rift is long and growing longer, it does not yet reach across the entire shelf. When that happens, Larsen C will shed an iceberg about the size of Delaware.

Cracks and calving of ice from the front of an ice shelf are normal. Shelves are fed by glaciers and ice streams coming from the interior of the continent. They advance into the ocean until a calving event takes place. The shelf front retreats and then advances again. The whole cycle can occur over the span of a few decades.

But calving that happens faster than a shelf can re-advance can mean trouble for an ice shelf. For example, large and frequent calving events at Larsen B preceded that shelf’s final period of rapid disintegration, which occurred in just six weeks in 2002. Whether Larsen C will respond in a similar way remains to be seen, but that’s one reason why scientists plan to make observations before and after the next calving event.

Ice shelves float, so they do not directly contribute to sea level rise. They are important, however, because they buttress land ice and keep it inland. If a shelf disintegrates, glaciers that feed it can flow more quickly out to sea—a process that directly increases sea level.

The continuing earthquakes of Oklahoma.

News OK (click here)

The earthquakes in Oklahoma are so frequent there is a special section of reporting them in the Oklahoma media.

The new regulations. I'll be darn, the state of Oklahoma has passed regulations of fracking water. That is amazing. I thought regulations are the enemy with oil barons. 

November 7, 2016
By Matthew Philips

Sunday night's 5.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Cushing, Okla., is the latest and, in some ways, the most troubling in a series of temblors that has rocked the Sooner State over the past few years. Not only did it strike within a mile of what is arguably one of the country's most important strategic assets—Cushing is the largest crude oil trading hubin North America, with almost 60 million barrels of stored crude—but its occurrence raises questions over the state's ability to do anything about the significant rise in earthquakes, which has been linked to oil and gas activity.

While regulations limiting the underground disposal of wastewater have succeeded in reducing the overall frequency of earthquakes, they haven't been able to stop the really big ones from happening. And when they hit close to Cushing, they suddenly become an issue of national security....

Cushing, Oklahoma has the largest commercial oil storage facility. I stress commercial because it is not the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. 

This is outrageous. Ivanka and what's his name was not elected. The White House is a matter of national security.

The White House is a museum for the public and a secure place for the First Family. The First Family does not include extended family. The law prohibits family members from participating in the activities of the President.

Who is residing in the Vice President's residence? Republican impoverishment takes on a new meaning with these idiots.

Is Donald Trump competent? Why is he and Ivanka joined at the hip? 

Finding loopholes is a Wall Street activity. Finding loopholes lacks dignity and purpose. By looking for loopholes the idea the Trump White House is honest and trustworthy goes right out the window. 

So, let's see. Melania and Barron get to stay in New York City for continuity to the boy's education, but, Ivanka can be in the White House to keep her father honest. I don't think so. The Obama children had absolutely no problem transitioning to the White House; it is called tutors.

Donald Trump needs regular assessment to the insult of the laws governing the White House and the Executive Branch. Ethic violations need to be reported to the people on a regular basis. If Mr. Trump finds the White House INCONVENIENT to his mixing of government and business, then he should move to old post office and resign his elected position. The White House is not a hotel.

By Rose Donohue

President-elect Donald Trump (click here) has revealed he is still trying to find a loophole to a rule preventing him from appointing family members into his administration.
Mr Trump previously announced plans to hand over his business empire to his elder children Ivanka, Donald Jr and Eric Trump, but told Fox News on Sunday that his transition team was trying to engineer daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, jobs in Washington.
A federal nepotism law preventing Mr Trump from hiring from within the family could prove a problem, however.

“We will have to see how the laws read,” Mr Trump told Fox News Sunday‘s Chris Wallace.

“If you look at Ivanka, you take a look and she’s so strong, as you know, on the women’s issue and childcare and so many things … nobody could do better than her – we’ll have to see whether or not we can do that.”...

People are concerned about Mr. Trump's lax attitude about the USA intelligence. Yes? Has anyone asked where he is getting his intelligence?

There is nothing saying Mr. Trump is not receiving some sort of intelligence. The question is where and by whom is his intelligence compiled?

December 12, 2016
By Gregory Korte

Washington — Donald Trump's (click here) reluctance to receive daily intelligence briefings — and his blunt rejection of the CIA's assessment of Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election — suggest a rocky start to the president-elect's relationship with intelligence agencies.

Since the election, Trump has received the President's Daily Briefing only four times, amid meetings with potential Cabinet secretaries and other transition business. And on Sunday, the president-elect suggested that the rate of briefings won't change once he's sworn in next month.

"I get it when I need it," Trump told Fox News Sunday. "I'm a smart person. I don't have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day for the next eight years."...

Climate science is multidisciplinary and always has been.

The space program of the USA cannot function without understanding Earth's condition.

Earth’s ice is changing, (click here) from mountain glaciers to ice sheets to ice shelves. For the most part, land-based ice has been shrinking, and the very definition of a “glacial pace” has changed within our lifetimes. Now researchers have the tools to see those changes every few weeks and at scales as small as 5 meters (16 feet).

Using freely available data from the Landsat 8 satellite, scientists are working to provide a near-real-time view of every large glacier and ice sheet on Earth. A group of scientists from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), the University of Alaska–Fairbanks, the University of Bristol, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have started the Global Land Ice Velocity Extraction project (GoLIVE), a NASA-funded effort to better understand how ice flow is changing worldwide.

“We are now able to map how the skin of the ice is moving,” said Ted Scambos, senior research scientist at NSIDC and lead for the GoLIVE project. “From now on, we’re going to be able to track all of the different types of changes in glaciers. There’s so much science to extract from the data.” The effort was described at the 2016 fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union....

Here come the Neocon morons; war is associated with their morals. Killing innocent people in the process is just a side effect.

There was nothing to be done. Turkey was right there and did nothing until recently when Russia decided they could be allies regarding Syria. 

December 14, 2016
By Brian Flood

“Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough (click here) blasted President Barack Obama over the Syria uprising on Wednesday morning, saying he was “frozen and did nothing.”

Hundreds of thousands have been killed by the Syrian authoritarian forces as president Bashar al-Assad seeks to regain complete control, but million of people have been displaced from their homes in the process.

Obama once made a “red line” threat to intervene if chemical weapons were used, but they were used and he didn’t act. Scarborough called out the president by saying, “At the end of the day, we did nothing.”...


The idea the USA could have prevented deaths in Syria means the USA would be successful in defeating Russia and Assad. It wasn't going to happen. The USA had no right to fly over Syria. There was no plan that would have prevented deaths by USA bombs.

Syria has been in the grips of a civil war. The USA does not belong in civil wars. If the USA engages in civil war, it has to choose one side over the other. When that occurs it becomes a proxy war with Russia. Proxy wars never end. There is no reason for a proxy war to end. The assets are ample between the USA and Russia. I would think the USA learned it's lesson in Vietnam, when China was the ally of North Vietnam. It was proxy war with China. 

Russian Sukhoi Su-25 ground attack aircraft take off from the Hmeimim military base in Latakia province, Syria on March 16, 2016.


October 28, 2016
By Thomas Walkins

Aboard a US military aircraft (AFP) - (click here) A Russian fighter flew dangerously close to a US warplane over eastern Syria, US defence officials said Friday, highlighting the risks of a serious mishap in the increasingly crowded airspace.

The "near miss" occurred late on October 17, when a Russian jet that was escorting a larger spy plane manoeuvred near an American warplane, Air Force Lieutenant General Jeff Harrigian said.

The Russian jet came to "inside of half a mile" of the US jet, he added.

Another US military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the American pilot was buffeted by the turbulence from the Russian jet's engines.

"It was close enough you could feel the jet wash of the plane passing by," the official said....

Neocons are amoral. They propagandize high minded ideas such as democracy and freedom, but, they advocate war to achieve it. That doesn't seem very free or democratic to me.

Civil wars have consequences. 

I do not believe Russia is invested in Assad. I do believe Russia is willing to work with the existing power structures that happen to be Assad. Russia believes in stable states. Assad is the only available power to bring about stability. What is so hard about this? It is not that complicated.

Oh, let me guess, the people of Aleppo should be inspired and planting USA flags. Who is delusional now?

There is no such thing as a secure internet. Stop using it as if it is your best friend. It isn't and never was.

December 14, 2016
By Elizabeth Weise

San Francisco — Yahoo late Wednesday (click here) disclosed a breach that took place in August 2013 that may have resulted in the theft of data associated with more than one billion user accounts.

This new, 1-billion-account breach is separate from a 500-million-account breach the company disclosed in September. At the time, the 500-million-account breach was believed to be the largest on record. Yahoo shares fell 2% after hours.

The new revelation comes at a time when cybercrime issues loom large as never before.

The CIA has accused Russia of specifically attempting to tamper with the U.S. election via hacked emails, ransomware hit the nation's seventh largest transit system, in San Francisco and a monster botnet of hijacked devices took down much of the East Coast's Internet traffic for a day in October....

This is radicalism. Russia will never attack China alone or with us.

This is pathetic. There is no political basis for a relationship between Russia and the USA, it is all about exploiting natural resources. Exploiting natural resources is the only economy the Republicans know besides pandering to Wall Street and billionaire families such as the Kochs and Waltons.

Rep. Rohrabacher justifies Russian alliance with USA in attempt to present himself for Secretary of State. Amazing.

Global news media doesn't know what to make of it all. It has nothing to do with peace, it is about money. The pressure still exists on countries that Russia currently covets but does not govern. People are dying today because of Russian priorities, including Ukraine. There is no rolling back any Russian aggression in the world. What is left for The West to do, with a weak and subservient USA president as an ally, is prepare for the worst.

Meet three of the men (click here) likely to be working at the top of US President-elect Donald Trump's administration- all of whom have affiliations with Russia.