Sunday, February 18, 2018

Canada as Adviser and Global Climate Chief.

Canada has always been a place where the natural world was important enough to protect. Today, the leadership in Canada reflects the people's values to protect not just their country's beauty, but, protect Earth's climate.

Canada has been an invaluable ally to the USA. It's example today should be an inspiration to all countries. Canada should not stand alone as a climate leader, it should be leading everywhere to a better and safer world. 

I congratulate Prime Minister Trudeau and the Premier of Alberta, Rachel Notley for their brave stand on climate. They are inspirations to everyone. I wish these leaders would be far more outspoken and bring their priorities into the rest of the world. Their values are correct and important and far too obscure in today's dialogues.

Government leaders have the power to protect Earth's climate and biotic nature, they have to exercise it in real ways to return the balance. Canada's leadership has the ability to instill values based strongly in science; not every country has that ability even though they have the will. Canada could possibly share their science based knowledge as consultants and advisers globally to help fund their Arctic research.

Prime Minister Trudeau should work with private foundations to shift the research funding.

Dear Prime Minister Trudeau, (click here)

There is a crisis looming for Canadian climate and atmospheric research that will be felt far beyond Canada’s borders.

As international scientists working in areas related to climate and atmospheric change, we are concerned that seven important research networks supported by the Government of Canada's Climate Change and Atmospheric Research (CCAR) program are set to end in 2018 [1] .

Data continuity, international collaborations and unique Arctic facilities are all at stake.

The CCAR funded projects measure, observe and model many important international environmental issues including: aerosols and their impacts; biogeochemical tracers in the Arctic Ocean; sea ice and snow cover; weather prediction and climate projection; changes to land, water, and climate; exchange of carbon dioxide, oxygen, and heat between the ocean and atmosphere; and the temperature and other properties of the atmosphere in the high Arctic [2] .

The only dedicated program funding climate and atmospheric research in Canada is disappearing....

The soot in the Arctic, the better.

February 19, 2018

The government of Canada (click here) announced actions Feb. 16 aiming to reduce the use of diesel fuel in rural and remote communities, saying this will decrease Canada's carbon footprint, support climate change adaptation, and contribute to healthier communities. Canada's minister of Natural Resources, Jim Carr, announced a call for proposals for the Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities Program, which will provide approximately $220 million in funding for initiatives to reduce reliance on diesel fuel in rural and remote communities, most of which are Indigenous....

...The government said the new announcement is part of its larger vision for Canada's clean energy future, which will provide $21.9 billion over 11 years to support green infrastructure, drive clean growth, and combat climate change. These are investments in renewable power, smart electricity grids, alternative fuel charging stations, and more-energy-efficient homes.

"We are pleased to work together with the provinces and territories on these initiatives to promote cleaner, more reliable energy supply in rural and remote communities, reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Canada's north and create new opportunities for social and economic development in these communities. Our government's green infrastructure funding will also help to ensure that Canada is a global leader in the transition to a greener economy," Carr said....

Don't say it doesn't exist. Maybe the trailers should be cleaner, huh?


Soot Formation in Combustion pp 382-395

  • By Franz Pischinger
  • Gerhard Lepperhoff
  • Michael Houben

  • The formation of soot in diesel engine combustion is discussed. (click here) Different mechanisms of formation of soot corresponding to the different phases of diesel engine combustion, viz. soot formation in the fuel rich zones of the inhomogeneous premixed combustion, soot formation from the fuel injected into the flames, soot formation from the fuel injected into the burnt gases and, finally, soot oxidation, are identified. Some phenomena of soot formation in diesel engines are investigated experimentally by means of rapid sampling techniques and other experiments under diesel engine combustion conditions. From these experiments the need of further experiments for the investigation of single processes for soot formation under diesel engine combustion are concluded. Possible boundary conditions for the experiments are identified....

    Is the USA doing it's part?


    Emissions (click here) from the 13 million diesel engines in the U.S. are associated with respiratory illness, cancer, heart attacks and premature death. Here, for the first time, Clean Air Task Force presents an interactive web site with national, state, metropolitan area and local (county) estimates of the health impacts of diesel particulate matter.

    Some scientists are saying the last bit of Arctic Ocean ice will occur in 2040. Polar Bears aren't sustaining now.

    Polar Bears don't do well on thin ice and that is what is in the Arctic Ocean now. I believe it was last year's assessment when Norwegian scientists couldn't set up their equipment to evaluate the Arctic Ocean because the ice was cracking under it's weight when it never did before. So, where are the bears?


    February 15, 2018

    ...The limited batch (click here) of Polar Ice Vodka bottles from which the brand’s polar bear has been scratched is meant to prompt consumers of the Canadian brand to ask themselves “Where’s the bear?”, the company said in a statement.

    It’s a “nod to what the future will look like as the polar bear population declines and sea ice continually melts in the Arctic,” it added.

    The predators’ populations are likely to fall by more than 30% by around mid-century as global warming shrinks their habitat amid thawing Arctic sea ice, a 2015 study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature has found.

    Polar Ice Vodka, whose makers say is inspired by Canada’s glacial north that includes an archipelago of 36,000 Arctic Ocean islands where polar bears roam, teamed up with US advocacy group Polar Bears International for their campaign....

    The bears know where they are safe.


    22-31,000 (click here)
    polar bears worldwide, estimated
    Source: IUCN (How is this range calculated?)

    19 
    distinct sub-populations (see above map)

    60-80% 
    of polar bears are in Canada


    Russia has no backbone. It likes to manipulate the moment so it carries off stupid assessments about nearly everything. "Indeterminate?" Russians can't count?
    • International: Vulnerable
    • Canada: Special Concern
    • Greenland / Denmark: Vulnerable
    • Norway: Vulnerable
    • Russia: Indeterminate, Rare, or Recovering, depending on population
    • United States: Threatened

    Canada's purpose for the Arctic is far more noble than that of Russia or China. But, Canada needs to protect it's sovereign right.

    Why is it every article I read about Canada and the Arctic Ocean invasion ends in one understanding, they are not a greed driven country? Why is that?

    In 2004, Iceland was stating the passage across "the north" was opening up for ships. Now, 14 years later all of a sudden the rest of the world is noticing. I say the same thing today as in 2004, what is the rush to put soot in the Arctic Ocean when it's greatest value is for "albedo?" 

    Where again, the Wall Street greed makes it's way from the DNA of humans to Earth's invaluable attribute, "a place to live."

    China is trying to make it all very sexy. What a joke.

    Ottawa, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- China emphasizes "respect" in its recently released Arctic policy, seeking to work with the countries concerned to build a "Polar Silk Road," Adam Lajeunesse, a Canadian scholar, said....

    Once again, "The Third World" greed merchants from Russia and China win out over sophisticated understanding of what keeps Earth from overheating. Somehow, Russia and China just can't seem to appreciate the idea of peace, prosperity and Earth's real assets.

    Earth's Arctic has value beyond that of money and sooner or later, mostly likely sooner, everyone will appreciate that. Money can't buy shelter from the ravages of a hot Earth.

    Canada needs to protect it's sovereign borders and the wildlife it treasures even as Russian and China pretends they actually have accomplished something by being in the Arctic Ocean. The only one that ever accomplished anything the "Manhattan" and it's crew. The "Manhattan" actually had risk and danger to face, not simply a boat that floats on water.


    February 9, 2018
    By Paul Koring

    ...In the last few weeks (click here) the increasingly ominous reality that both China and Russia can, and will, operate throughout the Arctic has been clearly demonstrated. Unlike the massive brouhaha of Canadian umbrage that greeted the 1969 voyage of the massive U.S. icebreaker Manhattan that cracked its way through the Northwest Passage to a chorus of ineffectual Canadian dismay, the most recent moves by China and Russia passed almost unnoticed among Canadians now resigned to political tough talk about defending Arctic sovereignty being backed by nothing but hot air.

    Last month, in mid-winter — unlike the late summer voyage of the Manhattan — the Eduard Toll, a Russian-owned liquified natural gas (LNG) tanker about the same size as the Manhattan lopped weeks off the usual voyage time by sailing through the Arctic Ocean from South Korea to Sabetta in northern Russia. The mid-winter voyage was both unescorted and the modern, sophisticated, icebreaking tanker steadily crunched through ice nearly two metres thick without difficulty. The Eduard Toll is just one of a fleet of 15 such icebreaking LNG tankers which will create the first near-year-round commercial tanker route in the Arctic.

    As the Eduard Toll was quietly making history, the Beijing communist government issued a landmark Arctic Policy asserting that a global power like China intended to play a major role in the Arctic. Beijing summarily dismissed as quaint the notion that the eight circumpolar states — Canada, Russia, the United States and the five Nordic nations — that comprise the Arctic Council, should determine the region’s future among themselves....          

    Canada introduces climate to school children.

    Canadian children understand their world. A few summers ago I was involved in teaching teachers about a concept called "Streams, not Screens." It was based on the knowledge that children exposed to nature were more competent learners. THEY PAID ATTENTION. Nature also provides a respite from adults. "The woods" is a place where play can be exercise as well. Walking, climbing and observing.

    The Canadian children study "climate zones." (click here)

    Arctic 

    - Covered by snow and ice, extreme conditions
    - Average Temperatures range from-25 to 12 degrees
    - Precipitation is usually snow, less than 200mm
    - Costal areas have more precipitation
    - Consists of the Northern arctic, southern arctic, and arctic cordillera


    Taiga

    - Also known as the Tundra
    - Located south of the arctic tree line
    - Coniferous trees
    - Contains muskeg type soil
    - Continental climate


    Cordilleran

    - Varies from cold winters to mild summers
    - Higher  elevation, therefore  temperature is lower
    - Average temperatures range from -25 to 15 degrees.
    - More average precipitation, usually snow. (500-1000mm)
    - Coniferous trees below the tree line.
    - Montane cordillera, boreal cordillera


    Maritime

    - Also known as the oceanic climate
    - Moderated temperatures from the ocean
    - Lowest annual temp 3-15 degrees (pacific) -4 - 17 (atlantic)
    - Temperate rainforest
    - Average precipitation 600-2000mm (pacific) ; 1000-1400mm (atlantic)
    - watershed area


    Boreal

    - Located in the southern part of the taiga region
    - Mostly coniferous forests, some deciduous trees.
    - Continental climate (away from the oceans)
    - Average precipitation is 400- 1000 mm 
    - Cold winters and warm dry summer
    - Average temperatures range from -15 - 17º c


    Prairie

    - Flat topographical relief area
    - Few trees, mainly grass and herbs
    - Continental climate
    - Cold winters and hot, dry summers.
    - Average temperatures from -15 to 18 degrees
    - Little precipitation


    Southeastern

    -Also known as the Mixed wood plains
    - Fertile soil
    - Cool winter, warm summers
    - Average temperatures from -5 to 17 degrees
    - Average precipitation (avg. 700-1000m)


    Later...

    There is trouble with connection. Please pay attention to Ohio River. Rarely do we hear about troubles with the Ohio. It is a big river with many people along it's bank. I will finish this later.

    Can the Canadian Goose become threatened or worse?

    A collective effort of waterfowl managers across the continent. (click here)

    February 18, 2018
    By Mike Bleech

    ...Canada goose harvests (click here) by hunters of both the Atlantic Flyway and the Central Flyway in about 2006 began a steep decline.
    Southern James Bay geese gather in large numbers at Pymatuning Lake during the fall migration. Water levels and other habitat factors have been well managed at Pymatuning and other wetlands in the region to make this excellent waterfowl habitat during the migrations. But this alone has not been enough to maintain the Southern James Bay Canada goose population.
    In fact, populations of local Canada geese and Southern James Bay Canada geese both have declined. The number of Southern James Bay geese gathering at Pymatuning has become less significant than the local goose population.
    Currently the Game Commission is managing to increase the resident Canada goose population in the Pymatuning area.
    Asking who is to blame for relatively poor Canada goose hunting in the area during the past few hunting seasons is not a valid question. The question should be what is to blame. Look at climate change as possibly the most significant culprit. Maybe climate change is short term, maybe long term. Whatever it is, it appears to have changed some behavior patterns of Southern James Bay Canada geese, notably for local goose hunters their migration pattern.
    Which all goes to show that what’s going on around here is not necessarily a cause, but rather a result.               

    The real drag on Canada's GHS emissions is Alberta's oil sands.

    August 17, 2005
    By Barrie McKenna

    To the left, the Alberta Oil Sands. Who in their right mind would want to blight land like this?

    It might be (click here) the lofty price of oil, the emergence of China as a voracious consumer of a scarce resource, or perhaps the fly fishing.

    But U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney is coming to Alberta, and a visit to the oil sands is high on his agenda. The trip slated for next month is being billed as a mix of business and pleasure for the former oil executive and acknowledged White House energy guru.

    He's expected to tour one of the major oil sands projects in Fort McMurray, meet Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, speak to a gathering of the conservative Fraser Institute in Calgary, and steal away to an undisclosed location for a little hunting and fishing, according to Canadian and U.S. officials.

    Mr. Cheney would be the highest-ranking member of the Bush administration to make a pilgrimage to the oil sands -- home to the largest reserves of crude outside Saudi Arabia.

    U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow was there in early July at the invitation of Canadian Finance Minister Ralph Goodale, and returned apparently impressed by the scope of existing production and its potential for the future. Officials are also trying to convince U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to come have a look....

    And don't think for one minute Trump's focus on Venezuela is about humanitarian aide. Even in 2005, Venezuela was being coveted for oil.

    ..."The importance to us of Canada and Venezuela is that they are short-haul suppliers," he said. "The infrastructure is there, the supplies are there and it's easy to ship in a matter of days, not weeks."...
    Two ways (click here) to analyze how greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relate to socio-economic developments in Canada are:

    l. the amount of GHGs emitted per person (GHGs per capita), and
    2.the amount of GHGs per unit of gross domestic product (GHG intensity of the economy).

    These indicators show the relationship between the size of Canada's population and the amount of GHGs emitted, and how efficiently sectors in the economy are minimizing GHG emissions while producing goods and services for our consumption and export.

    The level of emissions per unit of gross domestic product was 33% lower in 2015 than in 1990. Over that period, GHGs per unit of gross domestic product decreased from 0.62 megatonnes (Mt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2 eq) per $billion gross domestic producIn 1990 to 0.41 Mt CO2 eq per $billion gross domestic product in 2015. The amount of GHGs emitted per person in Canada decreased to 20.1 tonnes CO2 eq in 2015, compared with 22.1 tonnes CO2 eq in 1990.

    These improvements are attributable to a number of factors such as more efficient industrial processes, a shift to a more service-based economy and a decrease in the emissions associated with energy generation (such as those realized through fuel switching)....

    Canada has a drought monitor as well.

    The Canadian Drought Monitor (CDM) (click here) is Canada's official source for the monitoring and reporting of drought in Canada. From this page you can access a variety of products and information about current drought conditions across the country....

    January 30, 2018

    Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.

    It is interesting to note (click here) that while much of the commodity market attention recently has been on South America there is a large part of North America that has been quite dry this autumn and winter. Drought is affecting many areas from Mexico through the U.S. Plains to the heart of Canada’s Prairies. The area is normally responsible for much of the quality wheat and other small grains that are produced from North America, and if significant moisture does not fall soon the spring season could be marred by drought....

    ...Precipitation in Canada’s Prairies and a part of the northern U.S. Plains also has been well below average this autumn and winter. The only exception has been in southern Alberta and across Montana, where precipitation has been greater than usual in recent weeks. Much of the moisture has occurred as snow remains stacked up on the ground. Some of the moisture from the snow will reach into the topsoil this spring as it melts, but frost in the ground will limit the soil’s ability to take in much of the moisture until the ground completely thaws. That is not likely before the snow melts.

    Drought in Montana and southern Alberta lingering from last summer and autumn is still present, but the situation in these areas is not as serious as that in the heart of Saskatchewan and southward into portions of the western Dakotas. Portions of both Saskatchewan and South Dakota were snow free during the bitter cold outbreaks of late December and January. Temperatures at that time plummeted well below zero Fahrenheit and well below the potential damage threshold for unprotected winter wheat. Damage to crops likely occurred, but in the case of Saskatchewan drought last autumn may already have reduced the amount of wheat planting that took place. Nevertheless, production is bound to be lower due to winterkill and drought....
    February 12, 2018
    By Lucia De Stafani

    When photographer Tali Kimelman returned home after a full day in the forest, a pervasive sense of bliss would linger until night fell. “I went to bed with such a nice feeling, calm, happy, and I didn't even know why… It really effects how you feel," she says.

    Studies have shown (click here) that by immersing into wildlife—observing, breathing, touching—forest bathing (or shinrin-yoku as it’s called in Japanese) benefits the body and the soul. In this hyper-connected, hi-tech era, it can help decrease stress levels, heart rate, blood pressure, and improve overall wellbeing.

    Photographer Tali Kimelman experienced this first hand while immersing herself in Arboretum Lussich, a lush, 470-acre nature reserve on the southeast coast of her native Uruguay. And through her series Open Forest, she brings this soothing, sensory experience to us...

    Canada takes pride in their citizens, their communities and their climate achievements.

    Édouard and Lorraine (click here) and their two children live in Nova Scotia. By embracing new waste prevention, recycling, and composting programs in their community, they will send less waste to their local landfill. When they do send waste to the landfill, the gases will be captured and re-used to generate energy for local homes, businesses and vehicles....
    February 18, 2018
    By Sean Cayton

    Sub Saharan Mali, 1997

    I recently caught up with my friend Joanna Pinneo (click here), a former National Geographicphotographer, who's been covering climate change and its effects on women and families for more than 20 years. 

    Pinneo began photographing rural populations for the International Mission Board, documenting the group helping families, teaching literacy and best practices in agriculture. 

    Later, Pinneo worked for National Geographic and traveled to more than 60 countries on assignment. She photographed many of the same issues she did early on but broadened the scope of her work to explore how climate change effected rural populations globally. 

    From the Tuareg people living in the Sahara to the Inuit in the Northwest territories of Canada, the changes in climate were dramatic.

    “I photographed melting glaciers, farmers planning how they might plant their crops depending on weather changes in Brazil, butterflies in the Pyrenees moving north and changing their migration routes," she says. 

    Recently Pinneo completed the Ted Scripps Fellowship in Environmental Journalism at CU. During her research there, Pinneo focused her lens on what she often overlooked when she began documenting climate change — the kitchen stove. ...
    Canada is known for hockey and maple syrup but Montreal has been known for a long time as the place to find sexy women.  Like “We’ve won a lot of awards for our sexy women” level of known.  Go to a beach or one of the hot spots like Connected Montreal and you may need that free health care to get your heart started again as the women there are knockouts.


    Katherine Barrell
    Voted as one of  Canada's most beautiful women in 2017. She is known for playing Officer Nicole Haught on Wynonna Earp.

    O Canada!
    Our home and native land!
    True patriot love in all of us command.
    With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
    The True North strong and free!
    From far and wide,
    O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
    God keep our land glorious and free!
    O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
    O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.


    French Version

    Ô Canada!
    O Canada!

    Terre de nos aïeux,

    Land of our ancestors

    Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!

    Glorious deeds circle your brow

    Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,

    For your arm knows how to wield the sword

    Il sait porter la croix!

    Your arm knows how to carry the cross;

    Ton histoire est une épopée

    Your history is an epic

    Des plus brillants exploits.

    Of brilliant deeds

    Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,

    And your valour steeped in faith

    Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.

    Will protect our homes and our rights,

    Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.

    Will protect our homes and our rights.

    Unofficial bilingual version

    O Canada!
    Our home and native land!
    True patriot love in all of us command.
    Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,
    Il sait porter la croix!
    Ton histoire est une épopée
    Des plus brillants exploits.
    God keep our land glorious and free!
    O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
    O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.



    Arrest Trump and get it over with. He loves Russia more than the USA.

    Is the word traitor too strong? I don't think so.

    At a time when many Americans are taking a deep sigh that the Mueller investigation is turning up the Russian bad guys and girls, Trump is defending them. Trump needs to reflect on the fact he asked Russia to find emails deleted from the Clinton server after they were scoured by Clinton's attorneys for official content that needed to be included in the USA archives of the State Department.

    Trump is not an innocent by-stander. He invoked Russia's assistance.

    If one recalls the FBI was already looking for the emails when they took possession of the server.

    February 18, 2018

    Amid President Donald Trump's blistering tweetstorm (click here) Sunday morning after special counsel Robert Mueller announced a fresh round of indictments on Friday, several prominent Democrats and Republicans had some tough words for the president.

    Trump's lengthy string of tweets included support for the conspiracy theory that the Russia investigation distracted the FBI from tips about the Florida shooter, claims that he never said Russia hadn't meddled in the election (he did), and attacks on Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, whom Trump called "the leakin' monster of no control."

    The president also reiterated a point he has made after nearly every revelation in the Russia probe — that despite the mounting indictments in the investigation, there is still no evidence against him, and that the probe vindicates him....

    ..."person of murderous zeal"... It could be a real diagnosis in the USA.

    February 16, 2018

    ...Harun's lawyers (click here) had asked Cogan to impose less than a life sentence, but Cogan said Friday that Harun was a "person of murderous zeal" who had to be imprisoned to protect the public....

    I think those are great words and could easily apply to Cruz as well.

    In yet another killing of a small group of American soldiers, they were used for ISIS propaganda purposes. When no one could make sense of the murders, the USA military forgot what ruthless Daesh will go to in recruiting footmen.

    January 24, 2018
    By Ellen Mitchell

    The U.S. military (click here) is reviewing images posted on social media purportedly showing dead American soldiers from the Oct. 4 ambush in Niger....

    ...The video, broadcast by ISIS in Mali (click here) on its attack on the US Special Force in Niger, lasted more than 10 minutes, including scenes of a screaming wounded soldier, in addition to the bodies of three other dead American soldiers....

    Why does the propaganda video still exist? Why isn't the TWEETER already arrested? Has the USA no relationship with other countries to end all Daesh propaganda?

    TAKE THE DAMN SHIT OFF THE NET. I MEAN ALL OF IT! Don't tell me it can't be done. There are professionals in the USA capable of making the world a safer place by tracking down and removing the propaganda while giving the ID information to the intelligence agencies and/or the military!

    DO IT! They can probably track high school assassins, too, with greater accuracy than a hotline!

    Finally, some sanity regarding Turkey and the Kurds; enough of the killing fields with Kurds. The Kurds have a right to defend themselves and Turkey has a really difficult time stating they are some of their best allies.

    Defending the Kurds might be the only thing Tom Bossert has said that makes sense so far; he defended the pardoning of Arpaio. That was a mistake. Silence is better than words when the presidency is used for politics and not national security.

    January 26, 2018
    By Murat Yetkin

    In the White House readout on Jan. 24, (click here) there was an important sentence regarding United States President Donald Trump’s telephone call with Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan. Turkish presidential sources have not denied that sentence.

    The sentence was: “He [Trump] urged Turkey to exercise caution and to avoid any actions that might risk conflict between Turkish and American forces.”

    Shortly before Trump arrived in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum on Jan. 25, his Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert repeated those words in a rather straightforward manner. Bossert said it would be “a terrible outcome if Turkish troops clashed with the proxy forces that we have all been relying on to defeat ISIS, especially if there are U.S. advisers in the region.”

    The “proxy forces” referred to by Bossert are the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a Syrian Kurdish militia that forms the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which the U.S. Central Command uses as ground troops to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) despite objections from its NATO ally Turkey. Ankara has objected to fighting one terrorist organization, ISIL, with the help of another, the YPG, not least because it sees the YPG as having links with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which the U.S has designated as a terrorist organization.

    Bossert also warned Turkey by saying “there would be grave consequences to any miscalculation and escalation” and told Ankara to be “mindful” and “withdraw from Afrin.”...

    When targeting terrorist groups, as if they stood alone and were the real problem, may I suggest learning from the growth of Hezbolla.

    Hezbollah was cut off from it's usual duty of protecting the Alawites in the eastern coastal border of Syria. In response to it's isolation, Hezbollah did not disappear into the vapors, it regrouped and began a drug trade to the rival of none. That drug trade was then used to arm itself and become autonomous from Assad and Iran.

    When Turkey practices ethnic terror against the Kurds it is providing a real reason for the Kurds to rethink it's alliances. I don't believe that is a wise choice on the part of Turkey.

    The only terrorists that have an automatic death sentence in the Middle East is Daesh. I rather have other groups be considered survivors of past misdirected policy and a solution be found for them.

    I think the so called USA "List of Terrorist Organizations" be reviewed for the role these groups played with Daesh and realize their strength AND REASON they fought for their survival. Their victories were our victories and they need to be considered as a stabilizing force in the Middle East and not a destabilizing force. This needs to be done before a stupid list turns into a Middle East war that few will survive.

    No one is sacrificing Israel, it is securing it when solutions for survivors are found. I want no ethnic cleansing in the Middle East and that especially includes the Kurds. The Shi'ites are a minority population and religion and need a permanent place, including, pilgramages.

    There is no reason for a big investigation and/or review in the shooting in FLORIDA, we have seen this before.

    The problem is the same today as it was in Boston and with September 11, 2001; there is no dissemination of information to lower level authorities. That was supposed to be cured with all the legislation after 911, but, evidently if there is a shortage of personnel at the federal level it isn't going to be passed onto anyone.

    While President Trump is tweeting, he might try tweeting law enforcement with information about potential violence in the cities or towns when it is received. As a matter of fact, Trump could set up his own hotline to disseminate information when Americans "See something or say something."

    The FBI needs to pass on information received IMMEDIATELY, if not sooner, to the police authority in towns or cities that will be effected by violence. New York City and Boston learned they needed to be self-sufficient after their attacks on innocent people. New York City even has it's own international authority. Granted New York City has more resources than Parkland, Florida which is why it is important the FBI pass on information AS IT RECEIVES IT to local authorities. 

    That is the issue with the FBI. If Americans are to be safe however, the large gun population in the USA has to be addressed. 

    Cruz took all of twelve seconds to end and imperil the lives of so many. 12 seconds. What is everyone thinking? I know what the NRA is thinking, they believe every American, including children at the age of 5 should be armed. You want to know what that will get you? It will get you a country so armed it can't move without someone dropping dead. "Is that person getting ready to shoot someone?" "Is that a gun I see drawn at that other person?" If every American were armed, there would be massive deaths daily in the USA, but, then again maybe that is how the White Supremacists want it.

    February 18, 2018

    President Trump tweeted (click here) late Saturday that he is "very sad" the FBI missed the possible warning signs about Florida shooting suspect and the they are "spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion." He also added "there is no collusion" and the FBI should "get back to the basics and make us all proud!"...

    ....Attorney General Jeff Sessions later ordered a review of the Justice Department's processes in the wake of the shooting. Sessions on Friday called the shooting a "tragic consequence" of the FBI's failures, and said it's clear the agency missed warning signs.

    The review will examine what went wrong and how the agency responded. Sessions said it may include "possible consultation with family members, mental health officials, school officials and local law enforcement." 

    As for the Russia investigation, Mr. Trump and Republicans have long sought to discredit the FBI's handling of it. On Friday, Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced the indictment of 13 Russian nationals for trying to influence the 2016 election. Mr. Trump indicated Friday the indictment vindicated him, saying it showed "no collusion!"...