Monday, March 30, 2015

Missouri's political environment is causing suicide among Republicans.

That is harassment. There are laws.

The deaths need to be investigated and may even ask for the FBI to look at it considering these are candidates to office. The investigation should be through including people that have spoken publicly about the cause of the suicides. I don't care if the two men were emotionally connected, it occurred in the same party with the same players in both instances in the same state of the USA. The investigation needs to bring about a information to prosecute any factual evidence to the reason for their deaths.

March 20, 2010
By the CNN Wire Staff

(CNN) -- Nine Massachusetts teenagers (click here) have been charged with involvement in a months-long campaign of bullying that led to the suicide in January of a 15-year-old girl, a prosecutor said Monday.
Phoebe Prince's body was found hanging in the stairway leading to her family's second-floor apartment in South Hadley, Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth D. Scheibel told reporters in the western Massachusetts town of Northampton.
"It appears that Phoebe's death on January 14 followed a torturous day for her when she was subjected to verbal harassment and physical abuse," she said.
Earlier in the day, Prince had been harassed as she studied in the library at South Hadley High School, apparently in the presence of a faculty member and several students, none of whom reported it until after the death, Scheibel said....

Bullying by any other name is still bullying.

The world that is Monsanto is becoming increasingly worrisome.

March 30, 2015
By Jennifer Larino

An agency of the World Health Organization (click here) has declared glyphosate, the active ingredient in the popular weed killer Roundup, "probably" causes cancer in people, throwing a three decades-long debate back into the spotlight, The New York Times reports. 
Monsanto, maker of Roundup, manufactures the weed killer and glyphosate at a plant in Luling.
The report says the Environmental Protection Agency determined Roundup might cause cancer 30 years ago and then reversed itself six years later after revisiting the mouse study that informed the finding....

The use of herbicides by Monsanto in their seed supply is nearly more worrisome than the chemical itself.

In the summers of 2009 and 2010 I worked with conservation groups to improve on invasive species removal. Herbicide was the last resort in removing invasive species of plants, but, it was a fair amount of the work. About fifty percent. 

According to state statue I had to obtain an application permit and take tests to obtain it. Being I did the work I earned the license. The licensing requirements are very stringent when using herbicides or any kind of chemical including insecticides. Considering insets are animals sort of, they are considered to be important to understand because the human nervous system can be compromised. 

A few decades ago a dear friend and a farmer was exposed to herbicide toxicity while spraying a corn field and had to be treated for the effects of the chemical on his body. The chemicals in some instances assault the chemicals at the nerve endings that transmit impulses. Needless to say these chemicals are not benign. They have never been benign.

When I received by license to apply ...icides the information demanded I protect myself. I applied chemicals that were obtained from Monsanto. A five gallon container cost $350.00. There was a lot of reason to get the mixing correctly. There was the chemical exposure as well as the cost. 

But, let me tell you my daily routine as demanded by law. I would dress in comfortable clothing in the morning. Have breakfast, prepare lunch and fill my water containers I would use for the day to quench my thirst. I then left and traveled to the office of the conservancy where I worked.

At work there was a plan of attack for the day after assessing the weather I and my team mate would encounter. If it was going to rain, there were properties to work on that did not require chemicals. I liked those, it was unfortunate we reserved those for rainy days, but, no matter. 

On a sunny day or mildly cloudy the equipment and chemicals were loaded into a specially equipped van. The van was equipped with a large water drum we would use to dilute the chemicals. We would make a trip to a property some were shared with other interests such as the state and/or other groups. Our activity was known all the way up the chain. Where the property was a private property that was given to the conservancy for stewardship we had to obtain the written permission of the property owner before we could start work.

Once everything was in place, including the weather and the chemicals mixed the property was assaulted for the removal of invasive species. The work was correct to do. The native forests were under assault by these species. 

This was the rules. Rubber boots, gloves and equipment comfortably mounted on the back with straps comfortable and not pinching. The equipment once mounted on the applicators back was checked by partner to be sure there were no loose fittings and all was as safe as possible. The spray was not to be conducted if there was significant wind that would blow it back into the applicator's face. These were the safest chemicals available with a SHORT HALF LIFE that would degrade within hours after application. 

Thank about that a minute. 

Invasive species are very hardy plants otherwise they would not be invasive. Yet, in order to end their existence the chemicals had to be strong enough to work almost on contact because it would degrade in a few hours. The plants died by the way. The short duration was to protect the wildlife from exposure.

The application was always made in the opposite direction of any movement through a forest or across a field. Once the chemical was applied no human being was to reenter the areas where the chemicals were applied.

Once the work day of 7.5 hours with a one half hour lunch was finished the equipment was cleaned upon returning to the office garage where all the equipment was stored. The spray equipment was cleaned several times with water and the contaminated water was then diluted with more water before disposed of.

After all the equipment and chemicals were secured for the night, I went home. Once I was home, I disrobed in the entrance hallway to the back door. I had a robe waiting for me. The clothing was then placed in a plastic bag and taken to the laundry room. Law stated this was the procedure to insure well being from any contamination.

The clothing was immediately washed. They were washed not once, but, twice. After the second washing the dryer could prepare them for the next day or another day. I had several sets of clothing to wear to work. But, that is all they were; work clothing. 

Chemicals are dangerous. They just are. There is a great deal of planning and preparation to use them. When I was married I also was a farmer. We had to have licenses then, too. This stuff is a dangerous deal no matter what chemical it is. 

The problem with Monsanto is that they are out of control. They have a very draconian relationship with the American Farmer. The farmers are nearly always obligated through some legal instrument or understanding with Monsanto. 

Monsanto is doing dangerous things. Monsanto is engineering seeds with chemicals introduced into the seeds DNA. Monsanto has discovered a method to insure their chemicals are now a part of their seeds DNA.

Think about that a minute.

You see, most folks don't understand that the planet itself contains the chemicals in the DNA. Most people believe the seeds are coated with a strange color and that is the chemical. NOT the case at all.  

When Monsanto corn grows and everyone believes they are safe from chemicals they are completely wrong. The DNA carries the chemicals through the entire plant cycle of the plant. If I were to walk through a corn field seeded with Monsanto seed, I would have to wear protective clothing otherwise my skin might soak up the chemicals in the leaves of the corn. 

Now, if you think for one minute there isn't some form of those ...icides in the corn, you'd be a fool. Once a chemical is introduced into the seed DNA that is permanent.  

Monsanto states it is important to have those types of chemicals in order to have the best crop production in a country that feeds the world. LIE. The chemicals that are suppose to end the life of pests (bugs or disease) are CAUSING Superbugs and Resistant Disease.

But, not to worry as soon as Monsanto receives information about Superbugs and resistant disease, they simply find a way to change the DNA so the chemical is still somewhat effective.

There is no such thing as a safe chemical. Protections are suppose to be in place to prevent danger to the public. 

The rule is a cancer doesn't really manifest if ingested for nearly 20 years. That is the rule. There exists research that proves rats exposed to the Monsanto chemicals develop mammary tumors. That research was removed from the annals of a professional journal because they were sued by Monsanto as well as their peers. 

The rodents ate the GM diet over a two-year period - a normal lifetime. (click here)
The study's length made its results far more reliable than previous research, said team-leader Gilles-Eric Seralini.
But independent scientists criticised the work for its statistical methods and for using the wrong type of rat.
They said the albino Sprague-Dawley strain of animal had a tendency to develop cancers, especially the mammary tumours seen in some of the study subjects.

The research team used that particular rat because it was the same type used by Monsanto in their reporting to the appropriate federal government. Dr. Seralini was simply trying to reproduce the same results that Monsanto reported. 

He was unsuccessful in reporting the same results, but, results that proved there was danger as indicated in duplicating the study. 

Oddly, the peer reviewed journal never complained about the journal article nor were there peers in decent until they were sued.

Chemicals in the environment are causing wide ranging problems, including the demise of honey bees and other vectors needed for pollination. 

When I worked in the field there were always alternatives including physically removing the invasive by hand. On rainy days that was the optimal approach. But, there were also predatory insects as well that would have no damage to the property so much as damage to the invasives.

I remember arriving to one property and being greeted by a beautiful Rose Breasted Grosbeak. It simply sat there with morning dew on the tree leaves clucking at me. It wasn't upset, it was simply noticing me and letting me know it was paying attention. He just stayed there the entire time I was preparing to go to work with pruning sheers and large plastic bags that would cook the plants and make them and their seeds far less a threat (if there were any seeds, the best time to remove invasives is before they go to seed). But, sometimes there would be pods that didn't open yet. We caught them in time to inhibit the spread.

But, the wildlife knew we were there. They paid attention. They didn't know quite what to make of it, but, we did and we respected their worry.

Unmatched violence. There was no war. There was a woman of conscience.

The Israeli Supreme Court (click here) ruling in a suit seeking damages over Rachel Corrie’s death sends a dangerous message to Israeli armed forces that they can escape accountability for wrongful actions, Human Rights Watch said today. Israel’s Supreme Court on February 12, 2015, exempted the Israeli defense ministry from liability for actions by its forces that it deemed to be “wartime activity,” but wrongly refused to assess whether those actions violated applicable laws of armed conflict.

What war? The war against Rachel? 

The all too familiar Israeli bulldozers are a moral equivalent of deaths in the public square. No one is exempt from them, not even American protesters.

Iran is not innocent in human rights violations.

Since Iran’s crackdown (click here) against anti-government protests following the 2009 presidential election the human rights crisis in the country has only deepened. There is a broad-based campaign underway to severely weaken civil society by targeting journalists, lawyers, rights activists, and students. The number of executions has risen sharply since 2010, and authorities tightly restrict access to information by blocking websites, slowing down internet speeds, and jamming foreign satellite broadcasts. In March 2011 the UN Human Rights Council appointed a Special Rapporteur on Iran in response to the worsening rights situation in Iran, but authorities have so far refused to allow him access to the country.

One does not equate to the other, both stand in autonomous violations to innocent people unable to protect themselves.

Every country is measured on their own merit. To state one country's violations equate to all other countries conducting the same level of violations would result in a very dangerous world whereby the worst nation holds the standard. 

Allies of the USA are suppose to uphold standards the USA would like to have them emulate. There is no reason for human rights violations in Israel, except, for their politics. Human beings should not be a negotiable instrument in elections. Do I have to close that loop by stating Palestinians are human beings?

The Final Four

The last time a sports issue was causing concern over LGBT members of teams was the Winter Olympics in Russia.

Are we there with Indiana? OMG.

Michael Moore has nothing to do with the Pence mess. That is nothing but inflammatory Republican rhetoric. He has never stated the Democrats disavowed his documentaries, if anything, the Democrats have acted on the issues that have victimized the Middle Class. 

Michael Moore is a Catholic and practices his religion regularly. He understands the spirituality. 

But, he is no different than millions of people that hold Congress to a higher standard to include all Americans in solving their problems. Americans don't need to be assigned to Wall Street companies to solve their problems, we already know that answer, "LEAN ON SOCIAL WELFARE SYSTEMS." That is the Republican's answer. Give every bit of power to Wall Street and let the people struggle for the lives they live. 

Speaking of Republicans (click here) selling out to cronies, this is Pence' political donors.

Shhhh, don't tell anyone, but, Pence is a puppet. 

Club for Growth (click here)

The next Koch Brothers, billionaire hedge fund Manager, Paul Singer. (click here)

Never once does the word Palestine enter a debate of inflammatory rhetoric.
the Billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Singer, emulating the Koch brothers, is creating another right-wing fundraising outlet to back Republican politicians. Politico reports today that Singer’s fundraising network, the American Opportunity Alliance, will “bring together some of the richest pro-business GOP donors in the country, several of whom share Singer’s support for gay rights, immigration reform and the state of Israel.” - See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/pro-gay-pro-immigration-reform-mega-donor-steers-money-anti-gay-anti-immigrant-republicans#sthash.fPPwOn5S.dpuf
Club for Growth (CFG) touts itself as the inheritor of Ronald Reagan's "vision of limited government and lower taxes" and it advances this anti-government vision through its support of political candidates who hew to its right-wing economic orthodoxy. The Culb for Growth has aggressively opposed several moderate Republicans often to the consternation of GOP political leaders. - See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/club-growth#sthash.xt4KgmGg.dpuf
Club for Growth (CFG) touts itself as the inheritor of Ronald Reagan's "vision of limited government and lower taxes" and it advances this anti-government vision through its support of political candidates who hew to its right-wing economic orthodoxy. The Culb for Growth has aggressively opposed several moderate Republicans often to the consternation of GOP political leaders. - See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/club-growth#sthash.xt4KgmGg.dpuf
Iran does not have a nuclear weapon. Does that mean anything to anyone?

But, but, but, yeah right?

No one is declaring war on Iran, did anyone know that? 

It is true. No one is declaring war on Iran. Seriously. The question here is not whether or not there is going to be war, it is whether or not there are sanctions. 

Seriously. Sanctions returns? That is the question. 

Now, when I think about this issue with Iran it is obvious, the USA and other partners can completely pull out of talks, or if the deadline passes, the talks can continue while sanctions return. 

The talks aren't going to end at midnight leaving a prince in search of a glass slipper. 

So, basically, the talks will continue, the sanctions will return and there is a very real question left as to whether or not Iran will develop a nuclear weapon they have stated they don't want. 

Why am I feeling a little impugned right now? 

One issue has nothing to do with the other. The countries in the region are forming stronger and stronger alliance to end dangers at their borders and if Iraq is forced to decide either Iran or the USA, the USA will be leaving. Guaranteed.

As far as Iran in Iraq? Why is the USA there? No clue? We have unlimited power in a sovereign country, huh? 

No. The USA and Iran were invited to help Iraq end violence against innocent people within it's borders.

Questions? 

And, ah. Oh, by the way.

Time and again, Israel allows settlements to be built on Palestinian land. (File photo: Reuters) 

March 30, 2015


enior Palestinian officials (click here) have vehemently denied a report in the Israeli media, which claimed that the Palestinian Authority has agreed to halt efforts to get Israeli charged with war crimes in exchange for Friday's decision by Jerusalem to unfreeze part of the tax revenues collected on behalf of the PA.
A senior Palestinian official told Haaretz that the report, which first appeared in The Jerusalem Post, was entirely false and merely spin put out by the Prime Minister's Office.
"We continue to seek membership of the International Criminal Court and we expect the ICC to open an investigation into Israeli settlements, as well as the
recent war in Gaza," the official said.... 

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki (C) leaves the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague, Aug. 5, 2014. Photo by Reuters


This is real. It is happening. I like President Abbas and I like his leadership and I want him to continue to press his case wherever appropriate. The World Court is an appropriate place to level charges of human rights abuses.

The USA cannot veto the World Court.

If there is any ethnicity of people impugned it is the Palestinians. As Israel continues to take Palestinian land for their own uses, they are committing human rights abuses. As Hamas in Gaza becomes more and more angry because they are impugned from ending the Israeli settlements anywhere on Palestinian land there are invasions that kill them. Those invasions kill their children, women and elderly. It even kills their teenagers in multiples greater than one. 

If the USA continues to impugn the Palestinians from ending the Israelis from killing and invading their lands, the USA will be as guilty of human rights abuses as any Israeli leader indicted in same. 

What has this got to do with Iran? Iran is a chronic distraction from the fact Israel is committing human rights abuses against the Palestinian nation. 

Israel has no grounds to invade the lands of Palestine. The Israeli people are extremely behind a missile shield. I am completely confident Palestine wishes they did as well.

Israel is in violation of any UN agreement regarding Palestine. Does the USA believe in international laws and it's instruments or not?
Governor Pence states he wants to calm the waters. Really?

That is a grossly inappropriate analogy.

Is he saying God is on his side? I didn't know the Governor was at war with the people of the USA.

The social engineering laws of the Clinton years are wrong and proven to be so.

There is no one in the USA that can point to any of the social engineering laws of the Clinton years as valid today. This is just the next one to fall.

In recent years, previous to the Supreme Court decisions, President Clinton has come out to state, these laws are wrong for today. 

President Obama has completely reversed Don't Act Don't Tell. At the time President Clinton stated it was a method to protect the LGBT community within the military. President Clinton stated it was an effective way for the military to maintain a standard of behavior that prevented knowledge and prevented hate.

March 29, 2015

Technically, (click here) there was little if anything in what Gov. Mike Pence said about Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act in his ABC News interview Sunday morning that was factually false.  But much of what he said was materially misleading, due to his desperation to stay on message and to obfuscate.  To understand this crisis for the Pence administration and Indiana, it’s necessary to separrate the law of the RIFRA from its politics....

Additionally, the Supreme Court has struck down Proposition Eight and DOMA. The California Law was passed during the Bush years for the purpose of politics and turning out voters to the polls. DOMA was passed during the Clinton years for the very same reason. Both these laws were passed with Republican majorities. They are wrong and propagate hate.

Governor Pence who probably voted for DOMA is completely inappropriate in invoking the Clinton administration regarding this hideous Indiana law. The Indiana law enforces hate and provides for nothing the USA Constitution already supplies. This is another Republican tactic to victimize minorities in the USA, of which the LGBT Community is a member, and bring attention to a presidential hopeful.  

The Indiana law is discriminatory and has no existing federal law that supports it.

It doesn't get easier than this.

The First Amendment of the US Constitution

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Shall make no law. End of discussion.

Bomb threat.

March 30, 2016

Turkish Airlines TK15 (click here) flights from Istanbul to Sao Paulo making an emergency landing 17,700 ft in Casablanca after bomb threat.

This was reported on March 29, 2015. They appear to be separate incidence. C4? C4 is undetectable of any scans for flights.

Turkish Airlines flight TK-52 (click here) from Istanbul to Tokyo had to return to Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport after a message that said “C-4 Cargo,” referring to the well-known plastic explosive C-4, was discovered in the plane’s lavatory.

Flight TK-52 took off around 1.30am on Sunday, after which the cabin crew noticed the suspicious message and immediately notified the pilot. Upon contacting Ataturk Airport Flight Control to request an emergency landing, the plane circled around the Black Sea airspace and landed back at the airport around 4.30am local time.


Two bomb threats in two days is more than suspicious.
Mr. Lubitz sounds more like a personality disorder rather than a psychological diagnosis of depression.

March 30, 2015

The girlfriend of killer co-pilot Andreas Lubitz (click here) may be pregnant with his child.
Kathrin Goldbach, 26, whom he once planned to marry, discovered that she was expecting a baby as little as two weeks ago, German media reported.
The pair, who are said to have had a patchy relationship over the last seven years, were letting the pregnancy news sink in when Lubitz crashed a Germanwings flight into the French Alps, according to German newspaper Bild.
The news comes as it was suggested that Miss Goldbach broke off her relationship with Lubitz because his erratic personality left her fearing for her safety, the newspaper reported.
One friend said: "He tried to order her what to wear, what men she could speak to, even the length of her skirts. He was a control freak of the highest order."...
"Morning Papers"

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

It was a year ago there was a gas explosion in East Harlem.

March 12, 2014
By Marc Santora

The call to Consolidated Edison (click here) came at 9:13 a.m. on Wednesday: The smell of gas, detectable the night before, had strengthened around two buildings by 116th Street and Park Avenue in East Harlem.
Less than 20 minutes later, the buildings were gone, leveled by a tremendous explosion whose tremors could be felt more than a mile away.
The blast, which city officials said was touched off by a gas leak, killed at least three people and wounded at least two dozen more, including two critically. Rescue workers continued to search the rubble well into the night, hoping to find the nine occupants of the buildings who were still missing late Wednesday....

In March of 2015 there is still another gas explosion in NYC killing two people. There is something very wrong here and I am not talking the newly homeless.

NYC has no regular inspections of gas lines or a building's energy integrity to prevent gas explosions?  This is getting to be a problem because of negligence. The energy infrastructure of NYC has to be assessed for the danger that lies within it. This is not a minor matter. I don't consider deaths of citizens a light matter. 

There is a problem. It is happening regularly and it needs attention.  

March 30, 2015
By Sarah Kaplan

Nicholas Figueroa (click here) was a bowling alley employee out for a lunch date with a co-worker. Moises Ismael Locón Yac was a busboy with plans to return to his home in Guatemala, where a girlfriend was waiting for him. Both had been missing since Thursday afternoon, when a violent explosion and fire tore through Sushi Park, the restaurant where they were eating and working, and transformed a block of Manhattan’s East Village into a disaster site.
The chances that they had survived were slim, Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Esposito acknowledged Saturday, as the scramble to save the living and subdue the fire that leveled three buildings turned into a grim search for the dead. Piles of debris were scooped up by heavy machinery and then dumped onto the street, where rescue workers combed through the heaps of brick and ash with rakes. Specially trained dogs were sent into the rubble to sniff for human remains....

"Good Night, Moon"

Waxing Gibbous

9.9 Days Old

75.9 percent lit

March 29, 2015
By Cheryl Eddy

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (click here) added a feather into the cap of its under-construction museum by purchasing an iconic prop from 2001: A Space Odyssey: the Aries 1B Trans-Lunar Spherical Space Shuttle.
 
According to Deadline, the price was a cool $344,000. The model is especially significant because not much remains from the 2001 production, by deliberate choice:

Most of the props, sets, costumes and models for this landmark 1968 film were purposely destroyed by director Stanley Kubrick in order to keep them from being used in other movies. This one was one of the few items that survived and was originally owned in the 70's by a public school art teacher who was given the lunar model with the agreement the electronics from the shuttle be removed to teach this technology to his students....