Monday, October 02, 2017

With all this water vapor and turbulence, especially in the Gulf of Mexico, something it going to break loose.

2 October 2017
2130.19z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES East Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)

There is a dual system developing, with one in the Gulf and one over eastern Cuba.

Is the National Hurricane Center on strike? I wouldn't blame them if they were, but, there was a very brief tropical disturbance in the East Pacific off Mexico that looked like it should have had a name.


October 3, 2017
0930.18z
UNISYS Enhanced Infrared GOES West satellite (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)

That disturbance in the lower right corner has an eye. Just sayin'. 

The current picture doesn't look real great for Hawaii. The system currently sitting over top of the island state has been developing over the last four days. Hawaii is experiencing winds of 7 mph out of the east, but, is expecting winds to build with maximum of 23 mph on Thursday, sustaining through to Friday. I am fairly confident Hawaii will have high surf as well.


October 2, 2017
2130.19z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES West satellite (click here for a 12 hour loop - thank you)

Now, I'd be happy to carry out all this forecasting and stuff, but, I took a teaching job, after I realized my own value of course and I set my own hours.

I'll let all the folks at the National Hurricane Center continue their work. Supercomputer capacity can be so expensive.

2 October 2017
2130z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of the north and west hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)

There is activity off West Africa, too.

Donald Trump's campaign was baed in lies. There is no way to know who Americans placed in the White House with Russian help.

October 1, 2017
By Mark Niquette

Donald Trump’s infrastructure guru (click here) spent part of Sept. 26 at a conference in Washington promoting the president’s $1 trillion plan to rebuild the nation’s crumbling roads, bridges and airports relying in part on public-private partnerships. The same day, across town, Trump was telling lawmakers that those kinds of deals don’t work.
The president’s apparent change of heart on what’s been an important pillar of his economic plan left key constituents of the infrastructure initiative reeling.

Trump’s remarks, relayed by three lawmakers after a closed meeting with Republicans and Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee, raised new questions about how the plan would be financed, and whether the president was instead considering increasing federal funding for building projects -- a prospect made harder by the large tax cut the administration proposed Wednesday.
Democratic lawmakers welcomed the potential opening for more federal spending, while deficit hawks bristled. Both sides, though, are still struggling to interpret Trump’s apparent turnaround....

The reason Donald Trump is backpedaling on a National Infrastructure Bank is because he no longer has to compete with Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.

The lying and negligence is mounting with Mr. Trump. This is a pattern causing deaths. The lack of support for Puerto Rico is criminal.

Try this on for size. There is no White House, there is a Washington based office for the Trump Organization. This expression of dual messages exists throughout his administration. Even the generals serving in the staff and cabinet are making statements only to be contradicted by Trump. Does he ever have cabinet and staff meetings to bring his policy decisions to them? Is everything within this administration confused and unpredictable?

August 23, 2016
By Jeff Davis

Investing in national transportation infrastructure (click here) became a significant talking point for both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as the candidates have proposed improvement programs that would respectively cost $275 billion and $550 billion (Trump promised to double his opponent’s plan).

Although Trump has yet to release details for his plan, Hillary Clinton’s involves enacting a five-year, $275 billion injection of infrastructure spending within her first 100 days in office. According to Clinton’s campaign, business tax reform would fully pay for these investments, $250 billion of which would be direct public investments...

Typical of a lone wolf, in that no one ever suspects he was this violent.

I am rather concerned this description is too convenient. A man does not have a sub-machine gun without someone knowing it. He practiced. He didn't wake up this morning and decide today I am going to die and take as many people with me as possible.

There is something more to his anger than simply 'this is the day.'

I am sure the FBI is involved by now. They need to carry the investigation. The Las Vegas PD lost a man and another seriously injured. The spokesman I saw this morning was shaken. He was clear and concise, but, at the same time he just wanted to break down into tears and I am sure it was more than his peers.

October 2, 2017
by Jose A. Delreal and Jonah Engel Bromwich
The man who checked into a Las Vegas hotel (click here) and massacred dozens of concertgoers with a vicious deluge of bullets late Sunday lived in a quiet retirement community in Mesquite, Nev., about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas, the police said. Relatives and neighbors said he and his companion drew little attention.

The gunman, identified by the police as Stephen Craig Paddock, 64, was described as a retiree who loved to gamble and who lived with his girlfriend, Marilou Danley, 62.

Relatives said Mr. Paddock had not displayed strong political or ideological beliefs in their interactions with him.

That modest portrait of Mr. Paddock was upended shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday when, according to the police, he opened fire on fans attending an outdoor country music concert near the Mandalay Bay Resort on the Las Vegas Strip, killing nearly 60 people and injuring at least 500 others.

Mr. Paddock was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot in his room on the 32nd floor of the hotel, said Sheriff Joseph Lombardo of Clark County, which includes Las Vegas.

More than 19 rifles were found in the hotel room, a law enforcement official confirmed, along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Two rifles with scopes were mounted on tripods and positioned in front of the two windows in the hotel room....

Where is the gun range where he practiced?

...Christopher Sullivan, general manager of Guns & Guitars, a gun store in Mesquite, confirmed that Mr. Paddock bought three guns at his shop within the last year — a handgun and two rifles. All the purchases were legal and cleared routine federal screening, Mr. Sullivan said.

“The man does not have a criminal history,” he said of Mr. Paddock.

Mr. Sullivan, who said he had been contacted by the F.B.I. and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, declined to provide detailed descriptions of the guns Mr. Paddock bought. “We have cooperated with local and federal authorities,” he said....

Where did he fly to and why? Two private planes is not a small investment. He had to maintain them and why two? In case the other needed maintenance and his flight was urgent?

...Mr. Paddock had a private pilot’s license, according to Federal Aviation Administration, and had two small single-engine planes registered in his name. There are no records of Mr. Paddock having served in the military....

3 October 2017

KEY POINTS: (click here)

At least 58 dead, 515 hurt as gunman opens fire from 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay Resort

- Gunman Stephen Paddock kills himself as police storm hotel room

- Isis claims responsibility but police say no evidence of any link to international terrorism

- US president Donald Trump describes slaughter as 'act of pure evil'

I am sure Donald Trump knows what evil is all about. Any chance Paddock knew Bundy?

A gunman perched on the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas hotel-casino unleashed a hail of bullets on an outdoor country music festival below, killing at least 58 people as tens of thousands of concertgoers screamed and ran for their lives. It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.

At least 515 others were injured in the Sunday night attack, authorities said....


October 3, 2017

Denise Salmon Burditus pictured with her husband Tony at the festival just 13hrs ago. 

The first victims (click here) of the horrific Las Vegas shooting that left 58 dead and more than 500 injured have been identified.

Sonny Melton, 29, Jordan McIldoon, 23, Quinton Robbins, 20, and Denise Salmon Burditus were killed when 64-year-old Stephen Paddock opened fire on 22,000 people at a country music concert.

Melton was watching country music star Jason Aldean at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas Village with his wife when Paddock opened fire.

"At this point, I'm in complete disbelief and despair. I don't know what to say. Sonny was the most kind-hearted, loving man I have ever met. He saved my life and lost his," Heather Gulish Melton said...

Any chance Paddock was a dyed in the wool Christian? Just sayin'.

Jason Aldean songs (click here) are some of the most popular in contemporary country music. The country superstar has built an enormously successful career around his rockin’ country sound, which emphasizes up-tempo, fun songs about the country lifestyle.
That’s not to say that Aldean doesn’t have his softer side. Though he doesn’t show it often, he’s capable of some gentler ballads, too, balancing out his party-hearty persona with a dose of heartache and romance here and there.
But it is the more raucous songs that have built his brand as one of the leading male country artists of his generation, capable of filling the largest concert arenas and even stadiums. The Boot takes a look at the best of his best with this list of the Top 10 Jason Aldean Songs....

Aldean's current wife is Brittany Kerr.

Sealed with a kiss: (click here) Country music star Jason Aldean, who is married with two children, can be seen kissing former American Idol contestant Brittany Kerr; both have since issued public apologies


April 25, 2013
By Stephen L. Betts

Seven months (click here) after admitting to fans that he “acted inappropriately” with former American Idol contestant Brittany Kerr, country superstar Jason Aldean and his wife, Jessica Ussery, have separated, according to Us Weekly.

A source reveals to the publication that the couple has been apart since January. “There were obvious problems before the bar kiss, but he finally left earlier this year,” the source alleges, noting that Jessica did not attend the ACM Awards with her husband earlier this month.

“I can confirm that Jason and his wife are having problems, but there is nothing more to share at this time,” a rep for the singer tells Us Weekly. “It’s a private family matter, and we hope everyone will respect that he would like to keep it that way.”

The couple, who have been together since high school, and married for 11 years, are parents to two young daughters, Keeley and Kendyl. During a joint appearance on CBS This Morning, last November, Jason and Jessica acknowledged the sometimes rocky road they’ve navigated together....
Sorry this is such a sad good morning. I won't be back online until later this afternoon.

Sincerest sympathies to all family and friends of those effected by this mindless killing.

A submachine gun. People who intend to kill many people at a time can find modification kits online. This is the USA where guns can be all one expects them to be.

Who is this guy? A lone wolf was responsible for the DC shooting, too.  


October 2, 2017

This is stated to be the first picture of the shooter. Who is he affiliated with. Gun clubs. Organizations.

A gunman (click here) opened fire on an outdoor country music concert near Mandalay Bay late Sunday, killing at least 50 people, injuring more than 200 and sending the Las Vegas Strip into chaos.

The massacre is believed to be the worst mass shooting in United States history.

One off-duty Las Vegas police officer attending the concert was among the victims killed.

The suspect, Stephen Paddock, 64, was killed by police on a high-level hotel floor at Mandalay Bay, Sheriff Joe Lombardo said early Monday. He said police believed they had located Marilou Danley, a person of interest associated with Paddock.

Police also found two vehicles, a Hyundai Tucson, Nevada license plate 114 B40, and a Chrysler Pacifica Touring, Nevada license plate 79D 401....            
October 2, 2017

Two women accused of poisoning (click here) the estranged half brother of North Korea's ruler in a brazen airport assassination eight month ago have pleaded not guilty at the start of their trial in Malaysia's High Court.

Siti Aisyah of Indonesia and Doan Thi Huong of Vietnam are accused smearing Kim Jong Nam's face with the banned VX nerve agent on February 13 at a crowded airport terminal in Kuala Lumpur, killing him within about 20 minutes.

The women have previously said they thought they were playing a harmless prank for a hidden-camera show. They face the death penalty if convicted.

Prosecutors will then start to call their witnesses, with the first few likely to be medical experts to establish the cause of death, said Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, Huong's lawyer....

I think the global community is getting better at the intercept. Congratulations.

October 2, 2017

Last August, (click here) a secret message was passed from Washington to Cairo warning about a mysterious vessel steaming toward the Suez Canal. The bulk freighter named Jie Shun was flying Cambodian colours but had sailed from North Korea, the warning said, with a North Korean crew and an unknown cargo shrouded by heavy tarps.

Armed with this tip, customs agents were waiting when the ship entered Egyptian waters. They swarmed the vessel and discovered, concealed under bins of iron ore, a cache of more than 30,000 rocket-propelled grenades. It was, as a United Nations report later concluded, the "largest seizure of ammunition in the history of sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."

But who were the rockets for? The Jie Shun's final secret would take months to resolve and would yield perhaps the biggest surprise of all: The buyers were the Egyptians themselves.

A UN investigation uncovered a complex arrangement in which Egyptian business executives ordered millions of dollars worth of North Korean rockets for the country's military while also taking pains to keep the transaction hidden, according to US. officials and Western diplomats familiar with the findings....

...North Korea's booming illicit arms trade is an outgrowth of a legitimate business that began decades ago. In the 1960s and '70s, the Soviet Union gave away conventional weapons - and, in some cases, entire factories for producing them - to developing countries as a way of winning allies and creating markets for Soviet military technology. Many of these client states would standardise the use of communist-bloc munitions and weapons systems in their armies, thus ensuring a steady demand for replacement parts and ammunition that would continue well into the future.

Sensing an opportunity, North Korea obtained licenses to manufacture replicas of Soviet and Chinese weapons, ranging from assault rifles and artillery rockets to naval frigates and battle tanks. Arms factories sprouted in the 1960s that soon produced enough weapons to supply North Korea's vast military, as well as a surplus that could be sold for cash.

By the end of the Cold War, North Korea's customer base spanned four continents and included dozens of countries, as well as armed insurgencies. The demand for discount North Korean weapons would continue long after the Soviet Union collapsed, and even after North Korea came under international censure and economic isolation because of its nuclear weapons program, said Andrea Berger, a North Korea specialist and senior research associate at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, California.

"Good Night, Moon"

The waxing gibbous

11 day old moon

84.9 percent lit

September 29, 2017
By Ben Burress

On September 22, (click here) a spaceship visited Earth—NASA can confirm that it wasn’t alien property. It was NASA’s own OSIRIS-REx probe, swinging by Earth in a gravitational “slingshot” maneuver designed to fling it toward a 2018 rendezvous with an asteroid named Bennu.

The spacecraft will become NASA’s first mission ever to visit an asteroid, collect samples of its ancient materials, and return them to Earth for laboratory analysis.

More than merely an asteroid-dust collector, however, this mission aims to give scientists a clearer understanding of the formation of the solar system, the Earth, and the origin of life on our planet.

Launched on September 8, 2016, OSIRIS-REx —which stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security-Regolith Explorer—will arrive at Bennu in August 2018, where it will map the asteroid’s surface in detail, and then graze to within a few meters of its surface to collect dust samples. It will then head back to Earth for an expected return in 2023....