I am really with them on this. They are correct.

March 13, 2018
By Ryan Lillis

Sacramento Mayor Darrell (click here) Steinberg not only supports high school students walking out on Wednesday to protest gun violence. - he plans to join the students.

Steinberg called the planned National School Walkout "a vital part of (students') education." The mayor plans to take part in a protest at Hiram Johnson High School in south Sacramento. City schools Superintendent Jorge Aguilar and school board president Jessie Ryan are expected to be at Hiram Johnson as well.

The mayor said he would "march beside (the students), or maybe even behind them."

"Practicing peaceful political advocacy is an essential part of their education and to miss this opportunity would be nothing but a shame," the mayor said. "I think they have an opportunity to not only make a profound statement, but to activate more people towards a safer community and safer society."...

Children don't have many rights in the USA. They have strong laws to protect them from violence and abuse by others, but, they don't have a real voice. No may like this, but, a long time ago when a former Secretary of State worked after college, she identified the need for children to have rights in the USA. Yes, Hillary Clinton was and has always been a strong advocate for children's rights. Her work from the beginning of her career proves it.

I never thought "Glamour" magazine, which has been around a long time and before the internet, would be reporting activism.

Not very far some the US Capital Dome another pair of Ruby Red Slippers lay on display at the Smithsonian Museum. We want childhood return to children of America. 

March 14, 2018
By Jennifer Lance

In the days following the death of 17 people (click here) at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida last month, intense outcries of protest have materialized across the country as student survivors and their families began calling for the immediate reform of federal gun control legislation and the ultimate end to mass shootings.

And yesterday, in a powerful demonstration, members of the global advocacy group Avaaz helped assemble 7,000 pairs of shoes on the southeast lawn of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.—a commemorative act memorializing those 7,000 students who've lost their lives in U.S. school shootings since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, CT in 2012. The anti-gun demonstration included shoes donated by protestors, as well as some gifted by the victims' families, and collectively covered more than 10,000 square feet of the Capitol lawn, ABC reports.

According to Avaaz, the installment—which they've titled the "Monument for our Kids"—was meant to serve as a jarring wakeup call for Congress, with the high quantity of shoes intended to invoke the understanding that legislative action is what's necessary to curtail these mass killings. "We are bringing Congress face-to-face with the heartbreak of gun violence," Oscar Soria, a senior campaigner with Avaaz, told ABC News at the demonstration....

Europe needs to rethink it's exportation of guns to the USA. The EU and UK should ban private sale of guns outside their borders. Then when they have measured their economy to make the change, they need to ban all exportation of guns from the European continent, with an exception of any military contracts between allies.

March 7, 2018
By John Detrixhe

Austria, home of the 55-year-old gun maker Glock, (click here) accounts for many of the handguns brought into the US, at some 1.2 million in 2017. (Austria is also one of the rare European countries in which citizens are permitted to buy firearms for self defense.) Croatia, Italy, and Germany are also among the top five handgun exporters to America. Gun makers like Glock and the Swiss-German firm Sig Sauer have production facilities in the US as well.

Glock’s pistols are used by about 65% of US police departments, but the company also lobbies in favor of the American public’s access to firearms. Glock says it gave more than $100,000 to the National Rifle Association and its programs in 2016. Italy’s gun-making Beretta family is a big contributor to the gun lobby group.

Donald Trump’s election in 2016 appeared to be a major win for the NRA, which spent more than $30 million to boost his candidacy, according to OpenSecrets.org. The president shocked many in Washington when, following last month’s school shooting in Parkland, Florida, he signaled support for reforms like higher age limits for buying assault weapons. However that position that seemed to wither after meeting with the NRA’s top lobbyist....

Europe needs to ban any automatic or semi-automatic weapons from USA borders. They are killing the kids.

I know Europe is in horror over this issue. This is going to be painful, but, the Intratec DC-9 semi-automatic pistol carried by Dylan Klebold is manufactured in the USA which is a subsidiary of a Swedish company; "Interdynamic AB." The American people and it's children are looking for control of this issue and our government is not responding because of powerful interests of the NRA and other right wing extremist groups.

The American people and their children are asking all that can make a difference to end this violence within our country to do so.

PLEASE!

Interesting that President Trump chose a loyalist for Secretary of State.

Rex Tillerson lost Donald Trump when South Korea took the lead in a peace process including the athletes from the north to participate. Hate, anger and war is the political stamp of Trump and the Republicans. When peace broke out on the Korean Peninsula, Trump felt threatened politically.

I find it reassuring there is a real career intelligence agent has taken over the CIA. I thought for sure Trump would find Pompeo at the CIA an asset with an active investigation of Russia. I doubt much will be accomplished with Pompeo in State. He isn't a diplomat. Former Secretary Tillerson was a gentleman, scholar and was capable of diplomacy.

There are so many empty chairs in the State Department that it was impossible for Tillerson to do his job in a manner that would please Trump. I welcome Tillerson leaving because every country in the world was an oyster for the petroleum industry. I found him unhelpful to protect Earth's climate.

I believe an unsaid agenda with Trump is to limit the number of federal employees. The hubris among Wall Street and practiced by Goldman Sachs is that corporate America could run the country better and more efficiently than any civilian politician. I think Trump is determined to carry out that agenda. His advisors are the same as on his television show and within his business dealings; his family. The SWEEP of the cabinet is probably coming from them as well as the replacement recommendations, simply because "Daddy isn't happy."

I think of Donald Trump as a carnival barker in a circus as leader of the GOP. The longer his administration continues the more that image becomes permanent.

It is also amazing how many people have come into the White House, Trump's inner circle and received security clearance. There isn't any chance his family is selling tickets to the opportunity? Maybe paying off gambling debts or something?

It is becoming a joke. A friend stated, "Trump's spinning his cabinet again, he is putting Putin in as Secretary of State and a new First Lady, Stormy Daniels." I told my friend, "Look, he might really like them this time. Be happy for him. And I don't know that Putin could not be asked to be Secretary of State, but, I doubt he'd pass the security clearance."

Mike Pompeo (click here) was a hardline Republican congressman before President Donald Trump appointed him to direct the CIA and later to lead the US Department of State.

The former Tea Party representative from Kansas was tipped by Mr Trump to be the top US diplomat after he fired former state department chief Rex Tillerson.

"He will do a fantastic job!" Mr Trump said on Twitter shortly after appointing him.

Hours before Mr Trump announced that he would meet the leader of North Korea, Mr Pompeo was seen in the Oval Office with Mr Trump during a meeting with a South Korean delegation at the White House.

Mr Pompeo is seen as a Trump loyalist who performed a delicate balancing act at the CIA in managing frayed relations between the spy agency and a commander-in-chief who compared America's intelligence services to Nazis.

He has in the past played down findings by the CIA that the Russians attempted to influence last year's US election....

This makes more sense. Pompeo is being brought in to seal the deals Tillerson started. Tillerson has too much understanding of law to be corrupt past the point of the word of law, but, Pompeo is different. He sees law as an obstacle and not something to be respected. It is clearer now.

March 13, 2018
By John Nichols

In the Republican wave election of 2010, (click here) when Charles and David Koch emerged as defining figures in American politics, the greatest beneficiary of Koch Industries largesse was a political newcomer named Mike Pompeo. After his election to the House eight years ago, Pompeo was referred to as the “Koch Brothers’ Congressman” and “the congressman from Koch.”

Now Pompeo is positioned to become a Koch brothers–influenced secretary of state.....

Congratulations, US Representative Conor Lamb.

The Democrats did this one right. They had a candidate with a great deal of potential and interest in his district. He was not cookie-cutter. He ran a great campaign and now will be a man of the people in Washington, DC. He won't become Washington. He will be sure Washington comes to serve the people.

March 14, 2018
By Bill Barrow, Marc Levy and Steve Peoples

Canonsburg, Pa. - A razor’s edge (click here) separated Democrat Conor Lamb and Republican Rick Saccone early Wednesday in their closely watched special election in Pennsylvania, where a surprisingly strong bid by first-time candidate Lamb severely tested Donald Trump’s sway in a GOP stronghold.

Lamb claimed victory before exuberant supporters after midnight, though many absentee ballots were still to be counted in the contest that has drawn national attention as a bellwether for the midterm elections in November when the Republican Party’s House and Senate majorities are at risk....

Stephen Hawking was simply magnificent and very loved. Sincerest sympathy to family, friends and colleagues.

Farewell, Stephen, a man that was always larger than life. It is astounding the incredible wealth of his life he has left us all. His intellect and perseverance will inspire the world for a very long time. 

Stephen Hawking (click here) was the Director of Research in the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge, and also the Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Scholar at Caltech. For over 45 years he has been a world leader in research on the birth of the universe, black holes, and the nature of space, time, and gravity.

 * His children Lucy, Robert and Tim: (click here)

“He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years. His courage and persistence with his brilliance and humour inspired people across the world. He once said: ‘It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love.’ We will miss him forever.”

* Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web:

“We have lost a colossal mind and a wonderful spirit. Rest in peace, Stephen Hawking.”

Professor Stephen Toope, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge:

“Professor Hawking was a unique individual who will be remembered with warmth and affection not only in Cambridge but all over the world. His exceptional contributions to scientific knowledge and the popularisation of science and mathematics have left an indelible legacy. His character was an inspiration to millions. He will be much missed.”...                  

If I was going to run a war from Ukraine against Europe I would want to end any potential of expats from helping The West.

March 13, 2018
By Bill Chappell

Nikolai Glushkov, (click here) a Russian exile who was a close friend of a noted critic of President Vladimir Putin, has died from an "unexplained" cause in London, police say. The Metropolitan Police says that its counterterrorism unit is handling the case "because of associations that the man is believed to have had."

Glushkov, 68, was a close friend of Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, a prominent critic of the Kremlin who was found dead in 2013. At the time, an inquiry found he had hanged himself — but Glushkov publicly disputed the idea that his friend and former business ally would have killed himself.

As British media began reporting Glushkov's death, the police issued a statement saying, "An investigation is underway following the death of a man in his 60s in Kingston borough."...

This goes beyond projecting an image as a strong man to benefit a Russian election.

I think Putin is shaken. He is facing charges due to his order to destroy a commercial airliner. I am fairly confident there are Russians questioning other crashes that have occurred in Russia as well. In most instances, those domestic crashes have important people on them. 

I would expect more of these executions/assassinations now that Putin is unglued. His reputation internationally has lost luster. He is a dangerous man. Something is brewing.

He was agitated in the recent interview with a US journalist. Putin portrays himself as a victim. He wants the Russian people to believe they are victims. With all that is wrong, including Crimea and Ukraine, Russians and Putin are hardly victims. It was not The West that doped Russian athletes. He is responsible for a lot of mischief and it is conducted under his presidency. The West would have to be very busy to drum up all the problems Putin's Russia is involved in.

He is aggitated/short tempered because it is not going his way.

The EU should consider giving Russian expats protections for now.

Deputy Director-General of Aeroflot and a Finance Manager of AvtoVAZ. ("cash cow to support international spying operations")

Dead men can't testify anywhere about anything. 

The most recent domestic crash in Russia was with Saratov Airlines. (click here) The Russians weren't in no a hurry to clean it up. Granted it is winter in Russia, but, there was a slow response to the crash. 

Saratov was a fairly successful airline until the Russian authorities stated it was worried about security breaches. The entire company was then limited to flights inside Russia. There simply is a lot of concerns about Russian aircraft including the downed jet in Egypt. I think there is a pattern Putin might be held responsible for now that he is facing the downing of a commercial jet.

I may be mistaken, but, I am fairly sure I read something about Saratov Airlines looking to return to international service. Putin would not see that as important because as far as he is concerned Russians belong in Russia and sanctions are not soon to be lifted. Pure speculation.

Congratulations to Ms. Haspel, the first female director of the CIA.

She burned tapes related to waterboarding. Really? Who's name was on the order? I hope she realizes that is minimally an ethics violation. She is going to be a worry if she sees these measures as a methodology to the agencies records. She needs to let the American people know burning government tapes is not permissible unless the building is being taken over by an enemy. I would also expect redundancy in federal domestic offices before records are destroyed to protect the country. In this case, the records protected Dick Cheney.

Washington — President Donald Trump’s choice (click here) to be the first female director of the CIA is a career spymaster who once ran an agency prison in Thailand where terror suspects were subjected to a harsh interrogation technique that the president has supported.

Trump tweeted Tuesday that CIA Director Mike Pompeo will replace Rex Tillerson as secretary of state and that he has selected Gina Haspel to replace Pompeo. Haspel, the current deputy CIA director, also helped carry out an order that the agency destroy its waterboarding videos. That order prompted a lengthy Justice Department investigation that ended without charges....

Porn is a part of American life. As a woman dedicated to equal treatment of women, I refuse to look beyond that reality.

Pron isn't going anywhere. It will be with Americans forever. The women participating in this art form, need to be viewed as valuable stars that have intricate needs for their health and well being.

March 10, 2018

By Petula Devorak

Meet May Irwin, (click here) the Stormy Daniels of the Victorian era.

And her pornographer, Thomas Edison.

That’s right, that guy.

Edison’s 1896 creation capturing Irwin and actor John C. Rice doing something naughty caused a nationwide uproar as newspaper editorials declared the end of American morality and called for police action in theaters that dared to show the 18-second flick....               

I think Ms. Clifford and her attorney are being very smart about this decision.

March 12, 2018
By Eliza Relman

...Under the new agreement, (click here) Clifford would be allowed to "(a) speak openly and freely about her prior relationship with the President and the attempts to silence her and (b) use and publish any text messages, photos and/or videos relating to the President that she may have in her possession, all without fear of retribution and/or legal liability for damages."...

I think non-disclosure agreements when linked with sexual consent is a very murky area. They call it hush money, but, it is a delayed payment for sex. It can be interpreted very differently under a microscope.

This entire scenario is unfortunate. This is the third marriage for Mr. Trump. Besides infidelity, it carries the reality that if the information was disclosed weeks before the election the country may be looking at a different administration in the White House. Such information does make differences in elections, obviously, Mr. Trump knows that as well.

I wish Ms. Clifford the best. I also hope she is well received by the public when she makes her appearance on 60 minutes. She is coming forward with the truth in a way that can be verified. She is providing the truth to the country. She should not be a victim as others in the past have become.

The women involved with powerful men are demonized after they simply speak the truth. That fact is part of the oppression of women in the USA. It fits the picture of the recent enlightenment regarding sexual assault. If powerful men can keep women 'inline' the world of sexual exploitation is theirs to enjoy. It is astounding to me this has been the rules of the road for men in the USA. It is some of the best kept social secrets on the planet. For women who have not experienced this level of exploitation in their lives, we thought everything was fine. Wow.

Ms. Clifford needs to be respected no differently than her detractors need to be ridiculed. She is speaking the truth. I naively believed that was the baseline for social knowledge in the USA, especially when choosing a president.

I believe President Trump about the national security issues with computer chip consolidation.

March 12, 2018

San Francisco — President Trump (click here) has blocked Singapore-based Broadcom's proposed $117 billion takeovers of U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm for national security reasons.

In the order released Monday night, Trump cited "credible evidence" that the takeover "threatens to impair the national security of the United States."...

There are many concerns regarding AI. It is still a developing technology that has a great deal of potential to be dangerous to the operation of military infrastructure.

Currently, the US has the lead in mastering the fate of AI and chip makers will be a vital part of that. I don't care if Broadcom is based in Singapore, there is a lot on the line. This decision is based on assessments important to the USA national security.

...Coming just hours after Broadcom CEO Hock Tan met with security officials at the Pentagon in an effort to save the deal, the order follows an investigation by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which reviews purchases of American companies by foreign investors. The investigation recommended blocking the deal, citing national security risks....

I am sorry to hear President Trump is having a problem finding economic advisers. If he wants a comprehensive view of the world he should consider having co-advisers, including a union leader with significant time and experience with the USA workforce.

Union leadership would provide insight into his new directions in trade. Unions should offer help in the pool of economic advisers to the President.

November 27, 2017
By Reinhardt Krause

• 
  

...UBS forecasts that the AI chip market (click here) will boom to $35 billion by 2021, up from roughly $6 billion in 2016. But AI stakes are higher than mere chip sales.

AI technology is expected to transform economies. Artificial intelligence has been called a "winner take all" technology, meaning that companies and countries that gain an edge will build upon that lead over time.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that whichever country leads in AI  will dominate global affairs.

"Artificial intelligence is the future, not only for Russia, but for all humankind," said Putin. "It comes with colossal opportunities, but also threats that are difficult to predict. Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world."...

Putin would love to have computer chip manufacturing exclusively in Asia. I think President Trump is correct on this one and the decision was made with significant national security interests.

Americans know what is wrong with the public schools, they are underfunded.

Hundreds of Edison students (click here) walk out of class to protest deteriorating culture at school. A negative climate and teacher turnover are cited by students as the reason

March 4, 2018
By Andrea Eger, Curtis Killman and Samuel Hardiman

Teacher turnover (click here) at Tulsa Public Schools spiked the past two years, with an exodus of 1,057, or 35 percent, of all 3,000 school-based certified staff....

The pay rate in Oklahoma is not the reason. Nope. Not the pay.

...Tulsa World data analysis found a significant portion of those former TPS teachers — 295, or 28 percent — are not in higher-paying states but in other Oklahoma school districts with comparable pay....

Teachers take their responsibility seriously. They expect to believe they have won over students and helped them learn and achieve. 

...“If I don’t think something is best for my students, it’s really hard for me to buy in. And I didn’t agree with the curriculum,” said Howard. “It was very scripted....

...combined with inadequate funding for supporting teachers with the extraordinary challenges of teaching in the inner city....

West Virginia has just concluded a teacher strike. Yes, they were given more pay, BUT, don't teachers purchase their own supplies? Teachers in the year 2018 look forward to additional salary because it makes their job easier, not more rewarding in a personal agenda.

...Suburban districts benefited most from all of the turnover, led by Broken Arrow, Jenks and Union, in that order. And a host of Tulsa charter schools also now count former TPS teachers as their own.

In both years, about 14 percent of the 1,057 exits were retirements, for a two-year total of 145 former employees, according to state data.

Counted among those retirees was an East Central High School teacher who said he threw in the towel two years before he had originally planned because of a lack of support with student discipline issues....

I think I mentioned I was teaching. Right? There is a sincere problem with discipline IN THE CLASSROOM. Why? Because students no longer are expelled from school and they are catered to in inventive ways to keep their derriere in the seat. The seat is worth money to support the school and every student is vital to keep the lights on.

The "W" Republican movement that DeVos is a proponent of, has destroyed the public school. The public schools have lost monies, lots of money and each student is valued by the dollar amount they bring with them. This is not about learning anymore. There is curriculum. Definitely. teachers work hard every day to carry out their lifetime of dedication to their students.

There are new paradigms in the public schools, including parents attending school with their troubled child, one on one teaching assistants for students with significant poor behaviors. Poor behavior is best described as dangerous behavior. Children now can get up from their desks and travel anywhere throughout the school as a behavioral disorder. They sometimes are found outside the school grounds because they are clever enough to get to a playground and climb school fences to simply "be mischievous" and provocative. No other reason. They like to be a troublemaker.

This type of paradigm disrupts the learning of students without behavioral problems, because, it is distracting. I was teaching students math one day. I introduced the subject, the concepts behind the math and asked for questions. There was a low level of conversation in the room even after I called for silence. There were no questions. I then stated, "If you are having any trouble with the math, please come to the table at the front of the classroom and I will go over the math individually. 

There is a chair at that table. I took the chair and began to look through the rest of the days cirriculum. All of a sudden there is a student standing next to me. She wanted individual help with her math learning. As I looked up I realize there was a line of students waiting for individual attention to their learning. A line. I mean two thirds of the classroom. 

The noise level increased after I introduced the material. I ignored the noise and proceeded to teach each individual student until they exhibited a correct understanding of the math. Everyone of them "got it." One student came back three times to stand in line and further explore her learning for correctness.

Why the line? Because the ones that really wanted to learn could not because of a culture within the classroom that put up invisible walls that keep them from participating. The wall is chaos. 

I have taught all subjects now from math, English, geography, social studies, chemistry, physics, history and social studies at all grade levels. It is all the same. There is chaos in the public schools and it travels with them from grade to grade. When I offer individual help, they finally are rescued from the chaos and learn. Just that simple. I love teaching them one on one and seeing their faces light up when they understand and 'get it' is a real reward for me. You want to know the best part, when they 'get it' they can work well at their desks and complete an assignment.

When students don't understand the material they are taught, they act out as an ego defense from criticism. The chaos is from under achieving. When MY students are given individual attention, they sit at their desks, open a book and carry out their assignments and some even finish homework before they go home. They want to learn, but, the chaos keeps them from it. When they are provided individual attention, they soak up the subject matter like a sponge. They smile and they are happy with themselves and I guarantee you they are also happier at home.

This teaching methodology manifested by itself. I did not anticipate any of the chaos i found in the classrooms. Providing individual attention to any student in the class I am teaching is now my new work ethic.

Charter schools were designed to try new curriculum and new teaching techniques and new concepts. They were not about destroying the public school systems and creating a hostile environment in the classroom.

There is one other paradigm principals and administrators are trying and it called, "Looping." It is where a teacher follows the same students year after year for three years. This is an attempt to minimize the chaos and build learning relationships.

The Charter School phenomena have destroyed the public schools and school systems like Tulsa are trying to find better ways. I am not sure there are better ways. The public schools need their structure back and teach again.

Teachers need good salaries to enhance personal gratification AGAIN. They need not purchase school supplies, that is the responsibility of the school system. 

I am going to keep teaching because I love it. "W" made a mess and no one in education seems to know how to straighten it out because they are oppressed by their own mission and the lack of resources they face. DeVos is not interested in public schools, she wants them to fail and allow every school in the country to be nothing but wall to wall Charter Schools. Americans needs to decide if they want good education for their children or designer learning that MAY teach them something.

It ain't like it used to be and it needs to return to a classroom with order and learning.

"Tulsa World" featured a two-part expose' on the schools in the area, in case anyone is interested in the entire insight it provides.

Republican US House Intelligence Committee; now that is an oxymoron.

They weren't going to find anything from the beginning. There is plenty of information indicating collusion. Maybe Nunes didn't notice, but, Trump's former campaign chairman has two ankle bracelets today he didn't have when the Mueller probe opened. Nunes should be able to duplicate the obvious at the very least. 

March 12, 2018
By Erin Kelley

Washington — Republicans (click here) on the House Intelligence Committee called an end on Monday to their year-long investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election despite protests from Democrats that key documents and testimony have not been obtained.

The GOP majority on the House panel still plans to produce a final report in the next few weeks that is expected to conclude that the Trump campaign did not collude with Russians who interfered in the election. Democrats will write a separate report that will likely conclude there is strong evidence of collusion.

The investigation's abrupt end underscores the bitter partisan divide that has plagued the committee's work. And it increases pressure on the collegial Senate Intelligence Committee to come out with a credible bipartisan report from its own Russia probe....

There have been charges filed against high level Trump campaign staff that later went on to serve in the administration and I suppose Trump is just hard of hearing. There was collusion everywhere. A person would have to be completely obtuse not to realize the degree of collusion there was. I don't see Clinton staffers at any RT events with Vladimir Putin.

March 12, 2018
By Kevin Johnson

Washington — Despite unrelenting criticism (click here) from the White House on the course of the investigation into Russia's election interference, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Monday offered unqualified support for special counsel Robert Mueller.

"The special counsel is not an unguided missile," Rosenstein said in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY. "I don't believe there is any justification at this point for terminating the special counsel."

Rosenstein's remarks are among the first to address Mueller's status since it was disclosed more than a month ago that President Trump sought to have the special counsel dismissed last summer. The president relented only when White House counsel Donald McGahn threatened to resign if forced to carry out the directive...

How stupid does it get? The day after Comey was fired by Trump, Russians show up in the Oval Office. They weren't trading golf scores. It is easy to tell that Republicans have their own agenda that does not include the truth.

President Putin made the wrong decision. If this is how he decerns what actions to take regarding incoming flying objects, we could all be in nuclear holocaust in minutes.

Most of the free world does not do things this way.

To begin, he never made a phone call to the airline to be sure the facts were accurate. Then when any such emergency exists in the air; the USA scrabbles jets to escort the airliner to an airport. If the airliner does not yield, only then will it be shot down IF it is a danger to people. There is no indication in the reporting that facts were checked and proper channels were open to provide a safe landing for the jet.

This is an astounding revelation by the Russian President. I can't say this is not like him, it tends to be, including the impulsivity of Crimea and Ukraine. World leaders are supposed to be "cool headed." It looks as though that character strength has evaded President Putin.

I am not seeing a flight number or any mention of who was on that plane. Who was on the plane?

12 March 2018

Russia's President Putin (click here) ordered the shooting down of a passenger plane that was reportedly carrying a bomb and targeting the opening of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, he says in a new film.

In the two-hour film, posted online, Mr Putin says he was told a plane from Ukraine to Turkey had been hijacked as the Games were about to start.

It was found to be a false alarm, he says. The plane was not shot down.

The film comes ahead of an election he is expected to win on 18 March.

Mr Putin faces seven challengers but none are expected to attract widespread support and the most prominent opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, has been barred from standing.

"I was told: a plane en route from Ukraine to Istanbul was seized, captors demand landing in Sochi," Mr Putin says in the film, Reuters reported.

The pilots of a Turkish Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-800, flying from Kharkiv to Istanbul with 110 people on board, said a passenger had a bomb and had told them to divert the plane to Sochi, reporter Andrey Kondrashov says....

"The value of statistical life."

"Morning Papers"

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

I have been listening to Dan Rather's broadcast as of late. In this film loop, he discusses politics of the day and mentions that the EPA has armed agents. Well, every branch of the Executive Branch of the USA federal system has armed agents. There aren't nearly as many in present day, because, under the "W" administration they were being actively defunded.

But, that is beside the point I am trying to make.

Dan Rather's reference to the armed agents of the EPA caused me to reflect on the definition of what the EPA calls life. I mean it is true the US EPA intervenes in invoking scientifically based standards that improve the quality of life of Americans. What they have to go through in real life scenarios when a governor becomes difficult to deal with or an American is polluting water calls upon to them defend the rulings made that have received public comment; either through courts of US law or with side arms.

What gives the US EPA the right to conduct any of this other than a law? Well, the idea that poisoning in everyday life is immoral is not difficult to understand. The USA, no different than other country records citizen's longevity and for the most part, tries to sustain that life in a way called longevity.

So, how is all that important morality and longevity measured to understand when poisons in our environment are harmful? There is a concept and I do not doubt there will be many offended by the thought, but, each American life is assigned a value. That value quantifies life for the sake of government action. It is called, "The value of statistical life."

There comes a point in a country when it can't defend its own borders due to a lack of population. If a poison were to enter the American environment as they did when "The Clean Air Act" and "Clean Water Act" was first legislated and passed into law; there could be a worse case scenario whereby something of that nature actually happened. There have been severe polluting events, such as the water pollution in recent years in West Virginia, that require vigilance past the event and the institutional measures to stop the event and provide relief. In West Virginia, the relief came in the way of clean water. 

Such a scenario occurred in Flint, Michigan when lead was allowed to exist in the water causing deaths, including unplanned abortions and brain damage to children. If that was allowed to exist in the USA, we would be seeing vast problems in even simple functions of a society. A stark example is the HIV pandemic that struck Africa and wiped out entire adult populations. 

So, in understanding government has an interest in preventing pollution and danger to American's environment, there is a quantity as I mentioned above called, "The value of statistical life." There is a dollar amount applied to it and the basis of such value has been adopted by the US EPA a long time ago.

EPA recommends (click here) that the central estimate of $7.4 million ($2006), updated to the year of the analysis, be used in all benefits analyses that seek to quantify mortality risk reduction benefits regardless of the age, income, or other population characteristics of the affected population until revised guidance becomes available (see "What is the current process for updating the Agency's estimates?” below). This approach was vetted and endorsed by the Agency when the 2000 Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses were drafted. Although $7.4 million ($2006) remains EPA's default guidance for valuing mortality risk changes, the Agency has considered and presented others (see "What Values Has EPA Used in the Past?"

By now, I think readers are getting the idea.

The US EPA in fact recommends this value to evalute the impact on Americans. The point to this, is that Dan Rather through his reference of the US EPA and armed agents, caused me to reflect on the value of human life and what causes armed agents to approach an American's home. In other words, "The value of statistical life" weighs heavy when one American is polluting the waters of so many others. Many claim land ownership is absolute, that is not the case if endangering the lives of others.

It is my opinion that Scott Pruitt is not abiding by long-standing measure at the US EPA and is completely incompetent to conduct the work of the USA EPA. I believe strongly he brushes aside "The value of statistical life" as no other director of the US EPA has ever done before. When Christine Todd Whitman was Secretary of the US EPA she stated clearly her administration would be upholding standards that provide Americans with the quality of life, because, the lives effected could be any American and it is not permissible at any level.

Therefore, the defunding of the US EPA is not only gross negligence, it is hostile to the sovereignty of the USA. These practices in the US EPA and other cabinet offices are vital to the well being and future of all Americans. It is time to shut down the Trump administration for breaking the law!

One more important thing, Scott Pruitt is applying his own "God Standard" to the operations of the EPA. That standard is unknown, arbitrary and discriminatory of other faiths. He cannot vow to honor only God. He is sworn to uphold the well being of the American people by the standards laid out for him to do so. He is not only incompetent, he is arrogant and unwilling to conduct those standards to insure the well being of Americans.

"Good Night, Moon"

The waning crescent

24.5 day old moon

26.2 percent lit

“We are stardust
Billion-year-old carbon.
We are golden
Caught in the devil's bargain.
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden.”
– “Woodstock” 
by Joni Mitchell

March 8, 2018
By Rolf Parker

When I first heard Joni Mitchell (click here) sing this song, accompanying herself with a tremolo-ed Wurlitzer electric piano, I was moved by the idea of being “made of stardust,” without thinking much about whether it was literally true.

While she wasn’t writing a science essay, she was more than half right. We are made of ancient, cosmic dust. Some of that dust originally came from the first explosion, the Big Bang, which released matter into the void in the form of the lightest elements: hydrogen, helium and lithium. (Of those, only hydrogen and lithium are found in human beings.)

The origin of the elements is covered in great detail in an amazing episode of “NOVA,” with the easy to remember title, “The Origin of the Elements.”

“We are all star dust,” says host Neil deGrasse Tyson. “The carbon in our bodies, iron in our blood, the calcium in our bones.”...

This is an article by a teacher to his students. He was moved to write it by another article in "The New York Times" about eating a vegetarian diet.

"Woodstock" was written by a brilliant woman; Joni Mitichell. Her words reflect a beautiful and complex mind, a revolutionary spirit and the morality of the times. I really do like her idea of the gold standard. Our brain trust is still magnificent. Unfortunately, that generation was demonized by a President that valued war and Wall Street as his politics.