Monday, June 02, 2014

There is nothing to understand. The USA under President Obama subscribes to The Geneva Conventions.

Spencer Akerman and Dan Roberts
The Guardian
Tuesday 25 February 2014

(President) Barack Obama (click here) formally ordered the Pentagon on Tuesday to make plans for a full pullout of American troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year, pointing to a way out of the conflict that is reminiscent of his end to the Iraq campaign....

War is not murder. War is a conflict. It is governed by international laws. If the Republicans wanted to have trials of prisoners, they should have conducted it a long time ago.

President Obama does not answer to Hamid Karzai and it is his obligation to honor the international laws the USA subscribes to which maintains military power within the realm of civilized.

I know what war is and what war isn't. It is unfortunate the USA House doesn't. 

List of Signing Statements by George W. Bush (click here), "The Decider."

The end of war does not mean it continues through detentions of POWs and/or trials to maintain prisoners in detention. The detainees that remain in Gitmo will no longer be legitimately held by this year's end.

SECTION 11 (click here)
RELEAS E AND REPATRIATION OF PRISONERS OF W AR
AT THE CLOSE OF HOSTILITIES

Article 118

Prisoners of war shall be released and repatriated without delay after the cessation of active hostilities.
In the absence of stipulations to the above effect in any agreement concluded between the Parties to the conflict with a view to the cessation of hostilities, or failing any such agreement, each of the Detaining Powers shall itself establish and execute without delay a plan of repatriation in conformity with the principle laid down in the foregoing paragraph.
In either case, the measures adopted shall be brought to the knowledge of the prisoners of war.
The costs of repatriation of prisoners of war shall in all cases be equitably apportioned between the Detaining Power and the Power on which the prisoners depend. This apportionment shall be carried out on the following basis:
(a) If the two Powers are contigu ou s , the Power on wh ich the prisoners of war depend shall bear the costs of repatriation from the frontiers of the Detaining Power.
(b) If the two Powers are not contiguous, the Detaining Power shall bear the costs of transport of prisoners of war over its own territory as far as its frontier or its port of embarkation nearest to the territory of the Power on which the prisoners of war depend. The Parties concerned shall agree between themselves as to the equitable apportionment of the remaining costs of the repatriation. The conclusion of this agreement shall in no circumstances justify any delay in the repatriation of the prisoners of war.

Article 119

Repatriation shall be effected in conditions similar to those laid down in Articles 46 to 48 inclusive of the present Convention for the transfer of prisoners of war, having regard to the provisions of Article 118 and to those of the following paragraphs.
On repatriation, any articles of value impounded from prisoners of war under Article 18, and any foreign currency which has not been converted into the currency of the Detaining Power, shall be restored to them. Articles of value and foreign currency which, for any reason whatever, are not restored to prisoners of war on repatriation, shall be despatched to the Information Bureau set up under Article 122.
Prisoners of war shall be allowed to take with them their personal effects, and any correspondence and parcels which have arrived for them. The weight of such baggage may be limited, if the conditions of repatriation so require, to what each prisoner can reasonably carry. Each prisoner shall in all cases be authorized to carry at least twenty-five kilograms.
The other personal effects of the repatriated prisoner shall be left in the charge of the Detaining Power which shall have them forwarded to him as soon as it has concluded an agreement to this effect, regulating the conditions of transport and the payment of the costs involved, with the Power on which the prisoner depends.
Prisoners of war against whom criminal proceedings for an indictable offence are pending may be detained until the end of such proceedings, and, if necessary, until the completion of the punishment. The same shall apply to, prisoners of war already convicted for an indictable offence.
Parties to the conflict shall communicate to each other the names of any prisoners of war who are detained until the end of the proceedings or until punishment has been completed.
By agreement between the Parties to the conflict, commissions shall be established for the purpose of searching for dispersed prisoners of war and
of assuring their repatriation with the least possible delay.

She is a champion. She has been in the trenches as long as we have. She deserves the standing ovation for being 'that person' for all of us. Her words are golden.


Administrator Gina McCarthy on Climate Action Plan (click here) 

Administrator Gina McCarthy spoke to reporters about steps the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was taking under the Clean Air Act to carry out President Obama’s climate Action Plan.

We go forward with her help and dedication. It is 2014 and 16 years is a long time to continue to emit CO2 and methane. The agenda is at our doorstep and the message is best when it brings the nation with us. The country needs a new direction and we all now know what it is and without looking back.

The New Emissions Cap also known as "Save the Planet, Our Only Home."

March 14, 2014: The coal-fired Jim Bridger Power Plant outside Point of the Rocks, Wyoming.REUTERS

There are a few rhetorical talking points to cover.

This is not about energy prices. The USA has this chronic ability to complain that when government does WHAT IS HAS TO DO and in this case a climate emergency because of global warming (manmade or not, everything contributes and humanS have control over their part of the problem). But, there is this chronic bemoaning of money that precedes DOING THE RIGHT THING when it comes to regulation, especially with the oil tycoons.

To be noted, I am sure I'll have complaints about what the regulations are and I fully expect many others will because the wealth merchants are always somewhat accommodated for political purposes. So, consider this the first round.

But, the chronic bellyaching comes from the Reagan Wall Street cronies and politicians that can't stand having their nickels pinched. They don't use pennies anymore, did you know that? The penny pincher are left to the Poor and Middle Class in the USA.

The Reagan Plutocrats and their politicians always say, the costs of regulation are going to be passed on to the consumers and it is the prime reason not to carry out any regulation. In the case of global warming, the cost is being carried to the American taxpayer at all levels and devastating personal wealth, the American Dream and upward movement. Any cost of regulating Greenhouse Gases and the cause of human induced global warming will actually RETURN MONEY TO THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER for ever dollar of regulation levied.

Now, about this energy cost myth. Energy costs are set by capitalism and so called free market economy. The cost of regulation is suppose to increase those prices. 

Winter 2013 and 2014.

What happened to the 'cheap fuel' of natural gas? 

 
I especially like that line under "Residential Price" stating percentage of "Total Residential Deliveries included in Prices." From October 2013 to March 2014 there were no less than 95 percent of consumers using natural gas included in the price of the product. That means nearly everyone saw their disposable income disappear and/or the grocery bill become a daunting task. 

Right now, all those people who have and/or converted to natural gas because it was the 'cheap' fuel rather than making the leap to alternative sources are sorry they never made the jump to hyperspace. Why? Because the cost of solar and wind didn't change one penny. As a matter of fact this climate produces so much wind energy it can be sold back to the power company to pay the food bill and/or the mortgage and/or the loan on the new car.

Now, who is living a better QUALITY OF LIFE today? The people with alternative fuels subscribing to every ball game ticket they can attend or the fools that actually bought into the petroleum commercials with that woman stating there are all kinds of good reasons for natural gas to cause water and air pollution? 

Money talks and people fall into those traps and their right wing legislators will not move away from their crony political contributions. Americans caught in the trap should not feel bad at all. They were crowded into those decisions by a lot of people and that decision carried bias, both profiteer's bias and political bias. Should government be in the energy business causing bias to consumers?  

So, let's get right down to it. The free market system caused the jump in natural gas prices since capitalism demands prices to increase when there is a higher demand. There was a Polar Vortex that came to visit because of human induced global warming. It displaced all that frigid air normally found at the north pole down to lower latitudes because there was no longer enough Arctic Ocean ice to support the vortex over the Arctic Ocean which means the oceans keep getting warmer and the Polar Vortex no longer behaves itself. 

Everyone was warned beginning most verbally in the 1960s. The cost of natural gas went up because the demand went up and sustained. There were some areas of the country where space heaters could not be found, UGG boots were in demand, thermostats were between 55 and 60 during daytime hours, water faucets were left open to prevent household pipes from freezing, people did die and consumers were told they are only getting half their normal delivery because there just isn't enough to go around. 

The answer to all this suffering belongs squarely on the shoulders of the petroleum industry, their government subsidies and the politicians willing and at the ready to conduct corrupt legislation to benefit those corporations rather than protect the American people. What will the petroleum industry say? 

"Drill, babe, drill." 

Really?

The Legislature is not the Executive Branch, but, thank god they have another Benghazi.

Jani and Bob Bergdahl speak in Boise, Idaho, about the release of their son, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was captured in Afghanistan and held for five years. (Otto Kitsinger / Associated Press)

June 1, 2014
By David S. Cloud Senior Republicans (click here) criticized President Obama on Sunday for releasing five high-ranking Taliban prisoners to secure the return of an American prisoner of war, arguing that it breached longstanding U.S. policy against negotiating with terrorists....

The Republicans haven't read the memo, "The war is over." 

"Good Night, Moon"

Let's not put them to bed hungry, malnourished, at danger for diabetes or under educated.

Okay?