Sunday, February 07, 2016

Until tomorrow...thank you for your interest.

Hillary Clinton states "What happened in Flint was immoral."

February 7, 2016
By Roberto Acosta

Flint, MI -- Hillary Clinton (click here) on Sunday called on Congress to set aside partisan politics and move forward on a $600 million bill to bring some relief to the Flint water crisis.
"Congress needs to pass that bill immediately," she said to a capacity crowd at the House of Prayer Missionary Baptist Church, where Clinton was joined by Flint Mayor Karen Weaver following a sermon by Pastor Kenneth Stewart. "This is no times for politics as usual. Flint should be able to start making the repair you need to restore safe water as soon as possible."
The amendment by Senate Democrats would largely go towards repairs to the city's infrastructure, with the corrosion of lead lines largely targeted as the source of the potentially toxic substance leeching into the water at homes across the city.
Some Flint homes are still showing high lead levels. The Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday, Feb. 4 the result of two of 26 homes showing more than 10 times the acceptable level of 15 parts per billion set as the acceptable federal standard continued to show above 150 ppb....

The Panthers should be sure and have a safe trip home.

I have a suggestion. For football in general. 

There is some thinking in the practice of neurology that eight hours of silence every day, preferably at bedtime, will protect the brains ability to function and preserve it's cognition.

Bedtime is the only time most people have the ability to create silence for their mind.

But, in the case of football, if the players would take a complete day after a game played to do nothing. That's right, nothing. A shower or bath, maybe. Put some clothes in the washer/dryer, but, don't bother pressing them with an iron until tomorrow. 

By nothing I mean no reading, no television except for an occasional short cartoon. Nothing that requires the brain's chemical balance to be used. Each football player regardless the level of the sport (college and high school have their games on Saturday) do nothing the entire day after the sport. 

Football is a contact sport. To counter any blows received during the game, spend an entire day after the game to do nothing. Complete relaxation, no drugs, no alcohol; good food. 

I could not be more serious and the NFL should get this information from neurologists and decide to make it a rule for it's players.

I hope everyone enjoyed the game. It had it's moments. Sometimes with the Super Bowl that is all one gets.

Good night.
The game is better. The players are less determined to cause injuries. That is a good thing. But, there is still some impact that serves no purpose. Opposite team members crashing into each other with real impact that resolved nothing.


I want to buy "Coldplay" on vinyl. Seriously. That goes for Bruno Mars and Beyonce', too. Vinyl has a superior sound. Vinyl is also better for the industry. 

I don't subscribe to all those online mess. I never did. I have CDs, but, that is as exotic as I get. I have vinyl records and tape. I even have eight track tapes. But, vinyl is the best sound one can hear. The industry needs to return to it's roots. 

Broncos are tricky, aren't they? They don't just tackle they try to cause a fumble. Their defensive players will tackle a Panther, but, they reach for the arm carrying the ball to tackle Carolina. It's is a little on the dirty side, but, it's legal. It is the difference between ethics and breaking the law. Ethics isn't illegal, but, frowned on.

Let's just say, the Broncs practice a lot of street smarts on the field.

Super Bowl 50

Carolina didn't come to play. They provided the longest punt return in Super Bowl history to Denver. Not exactly what I expected.They better get serious otherwise take it home and don't get injured along the way.

Thank you, Weathertech. Nice.

Missile defense is lacking? Really?

Supposedly, this is working now. There was a scathing critique of the system by the GAO in 2014.

But, the way this is suppose to work is for this "kill vehicle" is mounted into the 'nose' structure of the missile that takes it aloft. When deployed out of the nose of the missile, it detects the incoming warheads and destroys them. 

I am sure Japan and it's robot culture helped a great deal to perfect the technology. We know it works in Israel in what they call "The Iron Dome." But, sincerely until recent years this has been a "Duck and Cover" military item.

Spurred by a perceived growing ballistic missile threat (click here) from within the Asia-Pacific region and requests from the United States to support research and development on components of a missile defense system, the Japanese government decided in late 1998 and early 1999 to move forward with joint research and development with the United States on ballistic missile defense (BMD). This book explores both the benefits and potential problems of deploying a BMD system in Japan....

The Missile Defense System in Japan is a joint venture with the USA.

August 10, 2015
By 
On August 7, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) (click here) announced that the U.S. State Department has approved a possible $1.5 billion sale of two Lockheed Martin Corp Aegis combat systems as well as new anti-submarine warfare equipment to Japan. According to the DSCA press release:
 The Government of Japan has requested a possible sale of two (2) ship sets of the MK 7 AEGIS Weapon System, AN/SQQ-89A (v) 15J UWS and CEC. Additional items include associated equipment, training, and support for its Japan Fiscal Year (JFY) 2015 and JFY2016 new construction destroyers (DDGs). The ACS and associated support will be procured over a six (6) to seven (7) year period, as approved by Japan in budgets for JFY2015 and JFY2016.
The weapons deal, likely to be approved by Congress, aims to enhance Japan’s capabilities to defend against a ballistic missile attack. Japan is currently upgrading and modifying all of its Aegis destroyers  (the Kongō-class and Atago-class) with the Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) system....

South Korea didn't want to escalate the tensions with the North. It is safe to say the North is escalating tensions with the South.

February 7, 2016
South Korea has agreed (click here) to start negotiations with the US on the possible deployment of a missile defense system on its territory, Seoul officials said.
The announcement of the possible deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) was made by Yoo Jeh-seung, South Korean deputy minister for policy at a meeting with Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal, the commander of USFK's Eighth Army....

It would appear South Korea is the only country in the region with strategic exposure. Considering there are USA subs in the area, I think there is a significant deterrent. 


Ground-Based Interceptors are emplaced at Fort Greely, Alaska and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. A total of 30 interceptors were deployed at the end of 2010.

Fire control, battle management, planning, tasking and threat analysis take place via a dual-node, human-in-control interface located in Fort Greely, Alaska and Colorado Springs, Colorado. Warfighters of the 49th Missile Defense Battalion at Fort Greely, Alaska and of the 100th Missile Defense Brigade at Colorado Springs, Colorado. operate the system.

All GMD components communicate through the GMD communications network, a secure data and voice communications system using SATCOM and fiber optic cabling for long-haul communications....

We ain't goin' back there, no way.

There was no al Qaeda in Iraq when the USA invaded.

March 19, 2003
On this day in 2003, (click here) the United States, along with coalition forces primarily from the United Kingdom, initiates war on Iraq. Just after explosions began to rock Baghdad, Iraq’s capital, U.S. President George W. Bush announced in a televised address, “At this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.” President Bush and his advisors built much of their case for war on the idea that Iraq, under dictator Saddam Hussein, possessed or was in the process of building weapons of mass destruction....

David Kay was sent by "W" Bush to prove there were weapons of mass destruction. The United Nations assessment of no weapons of mass destruction was not appreciated by "W" Bush. Regardless the truth in all that, the USA was far more insightful and correct than the United Nations ever could be according to "W"'s administration.

The truth was the UN No Fly Zones and weapons inspectors worked!

When chief weapons inspector David Kay (click here) bluntly told the senate there were, in fact, no WMDs, he forced a humiliating U-turn in Washington and London. Now, in his first newspaper interview, he tells Julian Borger that the president must admit he got it wrong.

The fact is the people that propelled the USA into an illegal and immoral war into Iraq still populates the establishment GOP. They are liars with no respect for life.

Founded in October 2004, (click here) al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) emerged from a transnational terrorist group created and led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The original iteration of the group, Bayat al Imam, began in Jordan in the early 1990s. The group first associated with al Qaeda’s senior leadership in 1999 and fought alongside al Qaeda core and the Taliban during the U.S. strikes in Afghanistan in late 2001. Shortly after, the group transferred to Iraq in anticipation of the U.S.-led invasion. From 2003 through 2007, the group galvanized the Iraqi insurgency until its high-profile, divisively brutal tactics and failure to deliver meaningful gains to its nominal constituents led to a reversal in its popularity. The death of Zarqawi in 2006 has been followed with a series of successful counterterror strikes against his successors. Nonetheless, the group has proven resilient and though its activities are greatly diminished since its operational peak in 2007, it has proven still capable of carrying out high-profile attacks, particularly against soft targets....

The truth about Saddam is that his trial in Iraq never reflected any crime against an American president. It was for crimes against humanity. Saddam committed genocidal attacks on the Shi'ites of Iraq and the Kurds. Mass graves of Kurds and 50,000 dead Shia when they rose up when their food supply was cut off in the wetlands of Iraq. At the time, there were countries offering Saddam and his family a place to live out his exile. The war to obtain Saddam was never needed. It would not have been a war anyway, it would have been a military maneuver to remove Saddam to the world courts. 

Then to realize the exact same Shia that fell prey to Saddam's particular type of hatred were attacked again by Saddam's replacement, "W." He sent American tanks into the center of worship of the Shi'ites in Iraq to kill holy men after closing their newspaper. Amazing.
To note: There were Shi'ites killed in defense of their mosque before it ended when the USA military was shamed of it's actions. 

Hillary Clinton and I part when it comes to war in the middle east. She is typical manipulation of the facts favoring war. She is a neocon no different than any other.

There is a direct link between the Saddam Ba'athists and Daesh. It is in it's leadership.

Basically, what Hillary Clinton carries as her message regarding war in the middle east is a lie and mind speak. But, it is politically expedient as well.  So, let's get this out of the way right now.

I didn't come to conclusions about al Baghdadi and the post war Iraq because of this article. It didn't hurt my conclusions, however, and it does provide the facts I consider to be important.

October 28, 2014
By Jason M. Breslow

As the Islamic State (click here) continues its march through Syria and Iraq, the jihadist group is quietly utilizing a network of former members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party to help militarize a fighting force that has effectively erased the border between both nations and left roughly 6 million people under its rule.

The extent of this seemingly mismatched alliance is detailed in a new report by the New York-based intelligence firm, The Soufan Group. Despite a deep philosophical divide between ISIS and the Baath Party, the two sides have found “sufficient coincidence of interest to overcome any ideological disagreement,” the analysis, which will be released on Wednesday, found....

I think "Frontline" makes it very obvious Daesh grew out of Iraq. There is no doubt about that. Why is that NOT politically expedient? Because the existing AUMF does not include al Baghdadi in its directions. The current AUMF is from something like 2004 or before. The OPERATIVE words required to continue the war in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Syria and/or Libya is "al Qaeda."

Al Baghdadi does not have a path through al Qaeda. He is a relatively autonomous figure that was absorbed by the forces to end the USA occupation. Given Daesh's pinnacle leader has no relationship with al Qaeda, the AUMF is mute and there is positively not a legal document to bring brevity of the USA to enter Syria and attack Daesh.

The removal of chemicial weapons out of Syria is a different issue. It is a provision in a treaty the USA belongs to at the United Nations. There was no need for an AUMF to leverage power to bring Syria to join the current Chemical Weapons Treaty and remove their stock piles and otherwise.

I have no doubt the USA military has a direct hand in manipulating the information regarding the last AUMF (Authorization for Use of Military Force) and current military presence and activities. The USA military is this tenacious entity in the world that finds it necessary to control every inch, minute and second of longitude and latitude to insure the USA's CONTROL of national security.

When a military general and/or commander come to the President and states they have a reason to invasion and action it really is questionable if it is the will of the American people. The USA is not suppose to be in Iraq, Syria or Afghanistan. That is a fact. To that realize the destruction and deaths at an Afghan hospital is a direct violation of the Geneva Conventions, yet, the USA military persists. But, no different than a CEO that wants to scapegoat employees, there has been a shuffling of personnel within the USA military regarding this incident to end and isolate responsibility in the command structure.

We don't belong in Iraq. 

Nothing has been more clear in the year 2016.

We never did.

Does the NFL have a new gold standard for play to prevent brain concussion?

I've always found it helpful to keep track of the helmets to determine play. 

February 4, 2016 

Dummies guide to Super Bowl 50 (click here) 

The Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos will battle it out on Monday to be crowned champions of Super Bowl 50.
The NFL's best offence (the Panthers) go up against the best defence (the Broncos), with two of the league's most iconic quarterbacks fighting to see their team lift the Vince Lombardi trophy. 
Here's everything you need to know....

The Superbowl is a very big capitalism project. Among that evidence are the commercials which are coveted beyond the game. 

For a very long time, "Spuds" from Budweiser won the hearts of Americans. But, in recent years "Spuds" has been retired and the classic Budweiser Draft Horses and their Budweiser Wagon that mimics the idea of past vehicles of delivery to taverns. Known in some circles as the no-carbon alternative to delivery of brewers.

Interestingly enough is Christopher Walken. Somehow, the "Seven Psychopaths" is more emblematic of the USA these days.

September 7, 2016

Sunday's Super Bowl (click here)

Sunday's Super Bowl (click here) commercials feature hot guys, hot girls, hot cars and, yes, hot dogs in the form of flying Dachshunds. Also ready to roll are the Clydesdales, singing sheep, "Kung Fu Panda" and loads of celebrities. More than three dozen stars will appear in commercials during the big game, according to iSpot.tv which analyzes Super Bowl ad trends.

Christopher Walken, though, can easily steal the show. Walken pops up in a 60 second commercial for the new Kia Optima sedan called, "Walken Closet."  The spot is a bit kooky - but would you expect anything less from a high-profile production starring Walken? For the car company, the Academy Award-winning actor was a perfect "get."...

If unfamiliar with "Seven Psychopaths:" it is very violent. I consider more violent than anything Quentin Tarantino has directed and/or starred in. This is considered "the best scene" from the "Seven Psychopaths." 

There is nothing like bringing violence to the Super Bowl by proxy.

It is called "overland flow" and I mentioned that language before.

Flint's water condition is completely egregious. There is no mystery here. This is a long known fact. The people of Flint's lives were toyed with by a Governor focused on punishing minority communities unable to pay their bills. 

This is not a simple mistake. The State of Michigan needs to begin mediation of Flint and any other Emergency Manager city resulting in adverse living conditions NOW, not when it is convenient.

September 2015
By Nick Krieger

...Any Michigan community (click here) that draws its municipal water from a river or inland source rather than from one of the Great Lakes will likely face this problem to some extent.  River and inland-source water contains higher concentrations of chloride ions than does water pumped directly from one of the Great Lakes.  Why?  Perhaps surprisingly, one of the primary reasons is the overuse of salt to deice our roads in the winter.  As salt molecules dissolve in water, the negative chloride ions are separated from the positive metal ions.  These chloride ions become concentrated in runoff, which makes its way into our streams, rivers, and other waterways.
 
The negative chloride ions are corrosive, so when the high-chloride water is pumped through lead pipes (or iron and copper pipes joined together with lead solder), lead leaches into the water.  It's as simple as that.
 
Why isn't this happening to the same degree in other places, like Detroit for example?  Surely Detroit has old lead pipes, too.  Right?  Absolutely.  But Detroit draws its municipal water directly from the Great Lakes, and water pumped from the big lakes simply isn't as corrosive....


THE RESOLVE TO HELP FLINT IS NOW. Any further delay by the State of Michigan legislature will be viewed as a human rights violation and President Obama administration will have to be tapped to bring about daily fines of the States of Michigan for everyday the people of Flint are exposed to deadly dangers. Beyond that are the International Criminal Courts.

If the parents of Flint's children don't understand their child's complaints may lead to poorer health.

This is from the NIH (National Institute of Health).
.
March 2015
Typically, (click here) when parents think about their children’s health, they don’t think about their bones. But building healthy bones by adopting healthy nutritional and lifestyle habits in childhood is important to help prevent osteoporosis and fractures later in life.
Osteoporosis, the disease that causes bones to become less dense and more prone to fractures, has been called “a pediatric disease with geriatric consequences,” because the bone mass attained in childhood and adolescence is an important determinant of lifelong skeletal health. The health habits your kids are forming now can make, or literally break, their bones as they age....
The reason I bring this up is because normal bone development occurs with interaction of the muscles. If children are sedentary they will be more likely to have more and more problems and not less.
Moms and Dads love their children and seek to understand their complaints, however, if there isn't a sophisticated clinic available to those parents 24 hours a day and 7 days of the week, the children will be compromised without prompt and CORRECT treatment. It is important children have a resolved pain level which might be as simple as an antidepressant. It doesn't mean these children will grow up with a drug addiction, although that be the reality of some. 
It is very important Flint adults and parents have uninterrupted and confidential help TODAY to prevent further compromise of their lives. 

For Flint children experiencing pain on mobility (running, jumping, walking) there is research in regard the operation of acetylcholine and choline in the nervous system.

...In the midbrain, (click here) however, a 30% reduction in Ch levels was observed. Changes in specific activity of Ch and ACh were measured as a function of time in selected brain areas of rats infused with a radio-labeled precursor of Ch. Specific activities of ACh were not altered. Ch specific activities were, however, significantly elevated in all brain areas examined, as compared with age-matched control rats. The in vivo ACh turnover rate in cortex, hippocampus, and striatum was diminished by 35%, 54%, 51%, and 33%, respectively. These findings provide direct evidence for an inhibitory effect of lead exposure from birth on central cholinergic function in vivo. Since a significant reduction of body weight was found in those animals treated with lead acetate, the alteration of central cholinergic function may partially be attributed to malnutrition observed in the lead-exposed animals.

I am not saying the pain isn't from the very bones of the children reporting it, what I am saying is the picture is much bigger and I BELIEVE it is more connected with the nervous system and it's chemicals at the transmission points of stimuli of the nervous system.

The community needs a dedicated set of physicians, one for adults and one for children connected with the University of Michigan.

This is an example of dedicated solutions for a small population compared to the overall population. In Iceland there is something called a "Founders Effect." This does not effect Flint, however, the dedication to detect and cure ill effects of illness is successful. The Founders' Effect in Iceland has bred a genetic disorder that caused this wonderful country a national determined to solve.

...Iceland is well-suited for genomics research (click here) for a few reasons. The island's relative isolation has resulted in a population of approximately 320,000 that is almost entirely descended from a single family tree....

Iceland began their venture into genetic research long before the USA cast money at the mysterious genome. Iceland announced it's success in such research shortly after the USA began its research. The lesson is that other countries may have information regarding the maladies of Flint. A clinic dedicated to Flint residents can attach itself to a far larger data base that might facilitate a faster relief to these injuries caused by polluted water from the Flint River.

There are countries in this world that love their citizens beyond any other priority. Iceland is one of those countries. There should be no delay in providing such a dedicated clinic to Flint. 

Now, in regard to a child's pain. These young people can be effected by their growth plates in laying down bone, however, I suspect it is more due to the nervous system because the bone cells are replaced every six to eight weeks and with growth plates laying down fresh bone with bottled water, the pain should resolve in a reasonalbe time. However, from the descriptor I heard from Mom it sounds more like the child's nervous system. Obviously, Mom is not receiving pertinent information and certainly not enough treatment of her children. 

Flint desperately needs it's own clinic attached to the University of Michigan to initially help with immediate problems and to ultimately to solve the problems of these children and any adults.

THAT IS AN IMMEDIATE NEED that has to be provided by the State of Michigan because of the danger an elected Governor CHOSE to inflict on Flint due to fiscal problems. These people's lives and quality of life were bargained with; human rights violations are a result and the State of Michigan along with elected individuals and others in the private sector are to blame. The State of Michigan has to immediately bring relief to Flint and the responsibility toward these people will continue until their deaths after a very normal longevity. To the extent the EPA is responsible will carry responsibility as well.

GET IT DONE, NOW!!!!!!!!!!