September 29, 2016
0030.20z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of the North and West Hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop)
Below is the UNISYS GOES East satellite. In my estimation Tropical Storm Matthew is approximately 500 miles in diameter.
September 29, 2016
0030.20z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES East (click here for 12 hour loop)
The GOES East satellite shows a very turbulent Atlantic Ocean. There is also a huge water vapor system that straddles Mexico. The system over Mexico is bringing tropical storms that develop into hurricanes in the eastern Pacific. The Gulf of Mexico always has very warm waters and the new path of that heat is to begin as near shore storms with Mexico then jumping over the continent to find a larger bathtub in the Pacific.
continued...
September 28, 2016
By Daphne Matziaraki
When I returned home to Greece(click here) last fall to make a film about the
refugee crisis, I discovered a situation I had never imagined possible.
The turquoise sea that surrounds the beautiful Greek island of Lesbos,
just 4.1 miles from the Turkish coast, is these days a deadly gantlet,
choked with terrified adults and small children on flimsy, dangerous
boats. I had never seen people escaping war before, and neither had the
island’s residents. I couldn’t believe there was no support for these
families to safely escape whatever conflict had caused them to flee. The
scene was haunting....
The Greek men that save the lives of so many are heroes as is the tiny island that accepts them willingly. There is no doubt they are doing the work of humanity. These great people need to be considered for a Nobel Peace Prize for the work they are doing.
This is a long lived reality of senseless and brutal war. There are many countries that have been the recipient of refugees over the centuries. There are people alive today that have survived because humanity would not let them die in the killing fields.
Greece and Turkey and the overflow of refugees into Europe have to come to the United Nations for resolutions as to what will bring about the best outcome for the global community. An entire region of the world has been destabilized by an unnecessary war that occurred in Iraq more than 13 years ago. There needs to be a plan to maintain the stability of Europe and conduct whatever intelligence of terrorist threats that exists because of the refugee crisis and migration of danger.
The terrorist threat Europe has now assessed is a global problem. There needs to be an understanding as to who the refugees are and end the danger. The CIA, FBI, Interpol and KGB along with any intelligence from Turkey and if any intelligence from China applies should create a much needed intelligence network. Israel may want to contribute as well. Those that want to kill forever must be stopped. It will take global cooperation to achieve such stability.
The boat in the film was primarily women and children. They can be assimilated into countries globally if they are willing to accept a new country, with new ideals AND THEY UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF PEACE AND COMPASSION.
The ethnicity of the people should be recorded. They may have descriptions of the atrocities they left behind to insure those that are responsible are found and held for trial.
Refugees need to understand the fact humanity saved them and in return they have a debt of peace to honor that act.
This will not go on forever. Syria and Iraq will find stability again and people can return to their homeland when it is safe.
The right of return must be included in any work at the United Nations.
September 28, 2016
By Lisa Mascaro and Micheal A. Memoli
The GOP lead Congress (click here) has been angling for this moment: the chance to give the President his first stinging override since he took office....
Satisfying political goals is hardly the reason for a veto override.
Congress alone cannot write and ratify changes to foreign policy. It is the participation of the Executive and Legislative Branches that make changes to foreign policy. Congress has the responsibility of ratification, but, not carrying out the negotiations.
Congress is over reaching and interfering in Executive Branch powers. Why bother having a President for checks and balances of power if all Congress has to do is override a veto?
This bill has far ranging consequences besides. Saudi Arabia has been a strong ally to the USA in the Middle East since 1933. The USA could not have functioned all those years if it weren't for a close relationship with Saudi Arabia, primarily because of oil. In passing a law that bypasses Executive Powers to negotiate foreign policy, the USA Congress is telling the world, "You have to deal with us now."
There is the question of the future relations between Saudi Arabia and the USA. If Saudi Arabia decides to cut off relations with the USA, there goes OPEC. Saudi Arabia is a major player in OPEC and if Saudi Arabia decides to end the relationship with the USA, most countries in OPEC will follow that lead.
I remind, Congress foolishly passed a law allowing the export of USA oil and gas.
What happens then? The balance of power will start to tilt more dramatically to Russia and China. The USA, except for Israel and perhaps Jordan, will have lost most of it's allies there.
I think this Congress is among the most foolish of Congresses in history. Their override will prove to be devastating to USA foreign policy and the USA will be more alone than it has ever been before.
Not only foolish, but, lacking of natural resources to back up the veto.
...Events have confirmed that together the President and Congress (click here) make foreign policy,
but they have not resolved the question of which branch originates or
finally determines policy. The two branches share in the process and
each plays an important but different role. The question of who makes
foreign policy does not have a more precise answer for several reasons.
First, U.S.
foreign policy is not created in a vacuum as some sort of indivisible
whole with a single grand design. Rather, making foreign policy is a
prolonged process involving many actors and comprising dozens of
individual policies toward different countries, regions, and functional
problems.
Second, the
complex process of determining foreign policy makes it difficult to
decide who should be credited with initiating or altering any particular
foreign policy. The two branches constantly interact and influence each
other. Under these circumstances, it is difficult to trace an idea back
to its origin, determine when a proposal actually influences policy,
and decide when a modification creates a new policy.
Third, the roles
and relative influence of the two branches in making foreign policy
differ from time to time according to such factors as the personalities
of the President and Members of Congress and the degree of consensus on
policy. Throughout American history there have been ebbs and flows of
Presidential and congressional dominance in making foreign policy,
variously defined by different scholars. One study classified the period
1789-1829 as one of Presidential initiative; 1829-1898 as one of
congressional supremacy, and 1899 through the immediate post World War
II period as one of growing Presidential power.
Another study defined three periods of congressional dominance,
1837-1861, 1869-1897, and 1918-1936, with a fourth one beginning toward
the end of the Vietnam War in 1973. During the Reagan and Bush Administrations the pendulum swung back
toward Presidential dominance, reaching its height in 1991 during
Operation Desert Storm against Iraq. In
the post-Persian Gulf war era, both President and the Congress are
confronted with issues in foreign policy that may well define which
branch of government will play the dominant role during the first decade
of the twenty-first century....
This is not a minor incident. Russia would never carry out such an atrocity, so why allow rebels to do so?
I am quite certain President Putin is more than upset about these findings. He needs to be the leader the Russia people expect and causing international incidents is not one of them.
Minsk II needs reinforcement and peace brought to Ukraine. President Putin needs to take control of these munitions in Ukraine's eastern province and return compliance with Minsk II. Does he honestly believe the current Ukraine government and military wants anything else besides peace? The lack of peace is what spurs conflict; it is time to end this disastrous separation of the people in Ukraine.
Hasn't enough blood been spilled?
September 28, 2016
By Tribune Wire Services
Dutch-led criminal investigators (click here) said Wednesday they have solid
evidence that a Malaysian jet was shot down by a Buk missile moved into
eastern Ukraine from Russia.
Wilbert Paulissen, head of the
Central Crime Investigation department of the Dutch National Police,
said communications intercepts showed that pro-Moscow rebels had called
for deployment of the mobile surface-to-air weapon, and reported its
arrival in rebel-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine.
From that and other evidence collected by the Joint Investigation
Team, "it may be concluded MH17 was shot down by a 9M38 missile launched
by a Buk, brought in from the territory of the Russian Federation, and
that after launch was subsequently returned to the Russian Federation,"
Paulissen told a news conference.
The conclusions were billed as results of a two-year Dutch-led criminal probe of the disaster that claimed 298 lives....
The plutocrats are winning. This is not just sentiment. American values are degraded to allow corporate interests. Whatever happened to the morning newspapers? The net and misinformation. Control of the message is what corporate America is all about. As independent thinkers and writers leave the scene, more and more corporate messing occurs.
It is unfortunate these are the costs of Freedom of Speech. I don't want to hear how newspapers are corrupt and deal in the politics that wins the day. There was always accommodation of bringing forth the opposite or different view of its reporting. It was called "Equal Time" and print newspapers conducted it as well in inches of columns. There was the Letters to the Editor and reading the paper everyday was information most citizens did not have to make informed decisions.
I am really sorry to see this. It was a place where recycled actually meant something. "Local economy" actually had meaning to readers.
September 28, 2016
By Robert Channik
Tribune Tower, (click here) Chicago's monument to newspaper journalism, is sold.
Los Angeles-based developer CIM Group announced Wednesday it completed the $240 million purchase from Tribune Media, with plans to transform the historic North Michigan Avenue property into a mixed-use redevelopment.
Elements of the development could include retail,
residential, office space and a hotel, with the landmarked 36-story
tower at the center of any plans, according to CIM.
"We
are very excited to be involved with such an iconic building — one that
is a significant part of the fabric of Chicago — and we take this
responsibility seriously," said Avi Shemesh, co-founder and principal of
CIM. "Our goal is to work with the city to preserve the historic
aesthetic of the tower and do our best to maintain it within the context
of the surrounding buildings."...
