Another Arms Race? Really? Do We Never Learn?

If one side (person, family, city, nation, alliance) has a weapon and acts like they might kill another side, then the other side has to respond. There is no limit in the effort to survive.

Ronald Reagan said he would give the Soviet Union technological plans to build perfect defenses, so they wouldn't have to be afraid of "The West". They declined, but now they have their own home-made defenses which are very good. Why isn't this sufficient?

What if both sides have sufficient defenses, but one side chooses to act in small acts of micro-terrorism which are difficult to assign to them. How do you limit continual bad behavior by one side?

It's natural that people who once thought "more bigger better" was always the answer to this question. But, isn't the greater security of each side more important? Let's not ruin a security balance wherein both sides are free from constant worry about their existence. Let's find the appropriate solution, the proportionate effective response.

http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-defenses-stop-us-air-force-artillery-upgrades-2018-3

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/380923-trump-to-putin-if-you-want-to-have-an-arms-race-we-can-do-that-but

This worries me. It may be only because our current president (Trump) has a desire to lead a war. He has even said he likes war. But, for now this is what we must notice and oppose.

French Rudeness Has Become Tiresome to the French

In France, the people are growing weary of rudeness and it hurts their tourism business. France is the most visited nation in the world.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/rude-awakening-french-sick-incivility-new-study-shows-article-1.1123280

Is It Possible To Discover A New Bodily Organ At This Late Date?

I don't read scientific journals, so I don't know the provenance of this one "New Scientist", but if it's a serious journal with a good reputation, then they might be reporting on something very important -- possible discovery of a system within the body which essentially constitutes an organ, never before known.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2164903-newly-discovered-human-organ-may-help-explain-how-cancer-spreads/

It's an intriguing possibility.

https://qz.com/1239639/scientists-found-a-whole-new-part-of-the-body-through-advanced-imaging/

Science du Jour

Today class, we discuss stars, dark matter, and ... and cows. Yes there I said it, cows.

First an article about a galaxy larger than the Milky Way, but with fewer stars and little or no dark matter

http://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1806/

Then the seismic question of how much the impact from celestial bodies upon us (or cows) would have. Would it change if there is no dark matter around that star?

https://www.johndcook.com/blog/2018/03/28/cow-astrology/

Enjoy, or ignore to your peril!

Mercer "Invests" in Cambridge Analytica Helping the Trump Campaign: Money Laundering?

When I heard Rachel Maddow describing the method by which Robert Mercer was 'investing' in Cambridge Analytica and how CA was charging less than full rate because Mercer can afford it. This immediately indicated to me that this very same technique could be used for money laundering. Or, one might say, people who do money laundering thought of this idea for funneling money to a political campaign beyond standard political campaign donation laws.

For Donald Trump

Tied to the Whippin' Post by the Allman Brothers Boston Massachusetts, 2011

(THEY CALL IT) STORMY MONDAY (1966) by John Mayall's Bluesbreakers live in London w/Eric Clapton

Oh What A Tangled Web They Wove

http://www.madcowprod.com/2018/03/03/jerome-corsis-inks-to-alt-right-connected-russian-hackers/

This story lists Russian bad guys and details some of their actions and their connections to one another AND to Americans.

"The phony companies were often led by former agents from U.S. military intelligence, the CIA, and the NSA (at Skyway Aircraft, which we'll get to presently), as well as alt-right factotums like Andy Badolato, Jerome Corsi, and Jonathan Curshen."

Trump, Florida, Russians

http://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/pleads-guilty-russian-donald-trump/8947/

No wonder Donald Trump is concerned about immigration and chain immigration, his business is providing them housing.

Furniture As Investment

Apparently a lot of rich people are collecting furniture, particularly "name" furniture, for investments. This is a lot different than the somewhat recent crazy of collecting mansions and big city homes. Great furniture can be used and enjoyed while it appreciates in value!

Cheap Eames Aeron and Barcelona chairs inside the black market for fake designer furniture

While I don't have a lot of money to spend on great furniture and I don't have a huge spacious place to put things, I do enjoy furniture and art and music as great expressions of culture. But buyer beware -- there are fakes! Surprise surprise.

In the picture at left Steven Jobs and Bill Gates sit on Eames chair and ottoman in Jobs home (long ago).

Putin's Strategic Goal(s) and Trump

My impression of Vladimir Putin's strategic goals has been that he wants to hurt America without having to engage in direct war between Russia and America. To that end he has perhaps funded various causes around the globe which have been problems America had to spend a lot of money solving. He has also recently brought Turkey into his sphere of influence and then watches Turkey going after the Kurds in Syria while the U.S. forces work with and defend the Kurds.

Putin wants proxies to do his dirty work. This is probably a remnant of his training as a KGB officer. Act quietly, act behind the veil, let others take the risks.

With regard to his limited economy and oil, he has attacked Ukraine and tried to blackmail Europeans into letting him do anything he wants or else face cold winters without natural gas from Russia. More recently he has (apparently) used Pres. Trump and the new leader of Saudi Arabia to bully another Middle-Eastern country which has natural gas reserve, to intimidate them into NOT selling gas to France. Russia (Putin) wants to have domination of the natural gas market for Europe.

Politically Putin has opponents and it appears he has become much more aggressive jailing, smearing, attacking, stealing the wealth of, and killing opponents, even in the United Kingdom (an American ally and a NATO member). Is there proof he did this? It seems he wants the world to know he did this by using a weapon nobody else has. Why would he pull back the veil and show his hand? He has already ensured America will be at odds with any calls from NATO members. It's a way of stirring the pot of anger and frustration. Besides, it may have helped his election efforts to appear a nationalist hero who kills "traitors", even when they have gone abroad.

Recent actions by Pres. Trump include personnel changes, but also the beginning of what appears to be a trade war with China (and perhaps some other countries). Why is that important? Putin has made treaty agreements with China and may be interested in watching China and/or Turkey fighting U.S. forces while he watches in safety. It's a typical bully game: "Let's you and him fight!"

Putin is dangerous and Trump seems a willing tool.

Trump on Center Stage: Fires McMaster, Hires Bolton

I guess the world will be coming to a close soon. Bolton hasn't been known as a 'voice of reason' or a 'peace-maker'. If Putin is pulling the strings and Bolton is brought on-stage, it probably means there will be some crazy foreign policy for America. Pray for our military.

Trump Replaces McMaster with Bolton as National Security Adviser

This is clearly more than a replacement of ONE adviser. He already removed Secretary of State Tillerson. I watched his farewell speech today and he sounded like a sane kind man. Mr. Bolton is not. Pres. Trump is not.

Trump Trade War

Is it really a surprise Pres. Trump would try to trash the economy? He opposed everything the Democrats did to save the economy in 2009- and he is a Republican.

http://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-today-selloff-trump-china-tariff-escalates-trade-war-fears-2018-3

It's inevitable that some people aren't satisfied with a stock market which goes up steadily forever. They can't stand success for everyone when they could be making so much more money by stealing, committing fraud, or pumping & dumping the stock market.

There were a lot of people who made money when Wall St. crashed in 2007-09 and many weren't succeeding just because they were smart. Some were overjoyed America appeared to be failing. There were probably some foreigners who felt that way, maybe even some in Russia or the Middle East or Asia. We don't know for certain.

We have to face the facts. Pres. Trump shouldn't be authorized to do more than stand in front of a camera for silly pictures (like the one where he acted like a six-year-old driving a big truck).

Lewis Powell Wrote...

Powell Memo

There are often major changes of direction in a society. Rarely are these accompanied by specific events, speeches, or documents. But, one particular document has lately come to indicate a major shift, or at least the beginning of discussions leading to a major shift in American society: the rise of Conservatism.

"The Powell Memo was first published August 23, 1971".

At the time of the Vietnam war there was also a 'war' of sorts against poverty and inequality of Social Rights where Americans of color were denied Equal Rights. Mr. Powell wrote about all that, how the business world (the Establishment really) was under siege, and how the Right might respond. I believe he points correctly to certain events, but fails to diagnose the problems properly. The resulting changes have come nonetheless. Below I give a few selected quotes, but read the entire article/memo (URL Link above).

Quotes

"In 1971, Lewis Powell, then a corporate lawyer and member of the boards of 11 corporations, wrote a memo to his friend Eugene Sydnor, Jr., the Director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The memorandum was dated August 23, 1971, two months prior to Powell’s nomination by President Nixon to the U.S. Supreme Court."

Yes, there was politics and corruption at that time, and his payoff was to become a Justice.


"...the Chamber and corporate activists took his advice to heart and began building a powerful array of institutions designed to shift public attitudes and beliefs over the course of years and decades"

This idea of changing the country, rather than governing it, is inherent in the Right.


"The fact that this is either political demagoguery or economic illiteracy is of slight comfort. This setting of the “rich” against the “poor,” of business against the people, is the cheapest and most dangerous kind of politics."

And thus, the Right chose to use that technique, to "divide and conquer"!


"Strength lies in organization, in careful long-range planning and implementation, in consistency of action over an indefinite period of years, in the scale of financing available only through joint effort, and in the political power available only through united action and national organizations."

We have seen that clearly for many decades. The Right has FOX News, think-tanks, book publishing, and all the rest.


"as noted by columnist Stewart Alsop, writing about his alma mater: “Yale, like every other major college, is graduating scores’ of bright young men … who despise the American political and economic system.”

As these “bright young men,” from campuses across the country, seek opportunities to change a system which they have been taught to distrust — if not, indeed “despise” — they seek employment in the centers of the real power and influence in our country, namely: (i) with the news media, especially television; (ii) in government, as “staffers” and consultants at various levels; (iii) in elective politics; (iv) as lecturers and writers, and (v) on the faculties at various levels of education."

That last quote makes me think he already knew the Clintons (who studied at Yale) and their ambitions!


"But if academic freedom is to retain the qualities of “openness,” “fairness” and “balance” — which are essential to its intellectual significance — there is a great opportunity for constructive action. The thrust of such action must be to restore the qualities just mentioned to the academic communities."

The words "openness", "fairness" and "balance" make me think of FOX News and their use of the phrase "Fair and Balanced". Apparently they didn't think much of "openness".



"The national television networks should be monitored in the same way that textbooks should be kept under constant surveillance. This applies not merely to so-called educational programs (such as “Selling of the Pentagon”), but to the daily “news analysis” which so often includes the most insidious type of criticism of the enterprise system."

Is that the kind of system we would call 'open' or 'fair'?


"Business must learn the lesson, long ago learned by labor and other self-interest groups. This is the lesson that political power is necessary; that such power must be assidously (sic) cultivated; and that when necessary, it must be used aggressively and with determination — without embarrassment and without the reluctance which has been so characteristic of American business."

The politicians who read this must have loved it. They were being given a rationale for shaking down businesses for campaign funds. They would become fascists and work for the businesses in return for funding.


"The question which merits the most thorough examination is how can the weight and influence of stockholders — 20 million voters — be mobilized to support (i) an educational program and (ii) a political action program."

" The first step should be a thorough study. But this would be an exercise in futility unless the Board of Directors of the Chamber accepts the fundamental premise of this paper, namely, that business and the enterprise system are in deep trouble, and the hour is late."

People read his memo and responded powerfully. The social trend turned their direction and in the economy the unions have receded to bare existence while corporations and the rich individuals of today (2018) have much more wealth than 99% of the people. It is a situation similar to that which existed in 1929 when Wall St. crashed and the Great Depression began. We had a similar kind of crash in 2007-09, but it wasn't so catastrophic because the government response was powerful. Will another crash be defeated?

It's Official: Republicans Will Run a NAZI in the IL-03 District Race

Ha. You thought it was a joke. No sirree Bob, it is real!

https://crooksandliars.com/2018/03/its-official-gop-run-nazi-il-07

"Arthur Jones is a Holocaust denier and former leader of the American Nazi Party, but that's good enough for today's Republicans."

CIA Destroys Tapes of (Business) Meeting

Gina Haspel is the new appointee to become CIA Director. She believed that tapes of the interrogation of prisoners in the aftermath of 9/11 were like 'business meetings' and they didn't need to be retained.

https://thinkprogress.org/cia-tried-to-argue-torture-sessions-are-meetings-to-destroy-videotapes-3acc130ae036/

"Remarkably, the CIA argued that it did not need to preserve videotapes of its "enhanced interrogations" — torture sessions with suspects that involved methods like wall slams, confinement boxes, and waterboarding — because they were like formal government meetings, and therefore less stringent guidelines applied when it came to preserving records of such a "meeting.""

California Cops Shoot and Kill White Man in His Backyard, No Weapon Found

Just kidding. You know that has never happened. No, it was another Black man.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/unarmed-black-man-stephon-clark-fatally-shot-by-california-cops-in-own-back-yard_us_5ab2708fe4b008c9e5f35eda

It clearly isn't an inability to differentiate a cell phone and a weapon. If that were true a lot of White guys would also have been killed over the decades since this trend was noticed.

Cambridge Analytica, American Politics, and Russians

I don't know about this article. I haven't yet seen it corroborated, but if it's by the British newspaper, The Guardian, it's probably as reliable as any of the big American newspapers. It's a story about the connections and operations of the title groups.

Here is one passage from the article which jumps off the page and gets your attention (Dr. Kogan was essential for Cambridge Analytica):

Dr Kogan – who later changed his name to Dr Spectre, but has subsequently changed it back to Dr Kogan – is still a faculty member at Cambridge University, a senior research associate. But what his fellow academics didn't know until Kogan revealed it in emails to the Observer (although Cambridge University says that Kogan told the head of the psychology department), is that he is also an associate professor at St Petersburg University. Further research revealed that he's received grants from the Russian government to research "Stress, health and psychological wellbeing in social networks". The opportunity came about on a trip to the city to visit friends and family, he said.

There are other dramatic documents in Wylie's stash, including a pitch made by Cambridge Analytica to Lukoil, Russia's second biggest oil producer. In an email dated 17 July 2014, about the US presidential primaries, Nix wrote to Wylie: "We have been asked to write a memo to Lukoil (the Russian oil and gas company) to explain to them how our services are going to apply to the petroleum business. Nix said that "they understand behavioural microtargeting in the context of elections" but that they were "failing to make the connection between voters and their consumers". The work, he said, would be "shared with the CEO of the business", a former Soviet oil minister and associate of Putin, Vagit Alekperov.

"It didn't make any sense to me," says Wylie. "I didn't understand either the email or the pitch presentation we did. Why would a Russian oil company want to target information on American voters?"

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/17/data-war-whistleblower-christopher-wylie-faceook-nix-bannon-trump

Another One Bites the Dust or A Russian Dies in London

London police confirm Putin critic Nikolai Glushkov was murdered in London

Either Vladimir Putin is anxious to be recognized as a great mass murderer or someone else is killing and pointing the finger at Putin. Of course, this makes the British government look weak and ineffective. It also sends a clear signal to other Russians, particularly those who know about dirt, to stay quiet, stay in Russia, or become dead.

Any or all of these are possibilities and they are a problem for the West. If it is Putin doing this, then he probably wants some notoriety before his next election (soon). If it isn't Putin who is killing these Russian ex-pats, then who is doing it and why? Does someone want war with Putin and Russia? Resolving these questions is a huge issue.

How Long Has There Been a Republican - Russian Connection?

Here's an old article from DailyKos.com dating 2006 about Tom Delay and the Republicans of those times.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2006/2/23/189455/-

It may go back further. The Republicans aren't saying.

How Close Are We to Curing Huntington's Disease

Apparently pretty close.


One paragraph from the article:

"On the day that the UCL trial's success was declared, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche announced that it would take up a $45 million option to move IONIS-HTT_Rx on to the next stage: a phase III trial involving hundreds of patients over a longer period to assess whether it can reverse symptoms. At this stage, there's only evidence that it combats the cause of Huntington's in humans, not the disease itself—though Ionis and its collaborators have used an ASO to reverse symptoms in mice."


https://qz.com/1230035/how-close-are-we-to-a-cure-for-huntingtons/

Less Nitrogen, Less Climate Change Problems

This article says that in China they have done a massive study and found they could reduce nitrogen use in their farming and produce greater yields. This could not only help feed the growing population of the world, but reduce nitrogen in the atmosphere (a major greenhouse gas). It's unclear how much the rest of the world could benefit since China has been using more nitrogen fertilizer than other nations.

https://qz.com/1228061/chinas-agricultural-miracle-that-could-feed-the-planet-without-destroying-it/

More News on Autism

In the article it says a commonly used anti-cancer drug has been used to reverse some of the social deficit effects of autism in ANIMALS (mice). If it were to prove useful for humans it would be a huge breakthrough and improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of people (both the victims and their families).

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180312201647.htm

On the Attack in the U.K.

Something which recently happened may advise us about the unfortunate attack on an ex-Russian double spy in the U.K. So, I decided to look at some recent responses to the interview of Vladimir Putin.

NBC's journalist Megyn Kelly [interviewed Vladimir Putin] in Kaliningrad, Russia March 2, 2018.

 
Remembering that the interviewer had formerly worked for FOX News and that her agenda may have been tied to another larger Conservative Republican or Trumpian agenda, I looked at some news articles about the interview and what Putin said.

First, from Haaretz, some background on the identity of Jews in Russia:

"When Boruch Gorin, a well-known rabbi in Moscow (and a senior aide to Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar, the head of the Chabad movement in Russia), traveled for the first time from Russia to the United States, a U.S. Customs officer asked him whether he was Russian

“I said, ‘No, I’m not Russian — I’m Jewish,’” Gorin recalled Monday,"


So, the identity of peoples within the old Soviet Union or even Russia today are less clear than in many countries. When an American hears someone is Russian they think of national citizenship, but in Russia or many other European countries, it means they are of Russian ethnicity.

Gorin’s benign view of Putin’s remark is shared by the chief rabbi of Moscow, Pinchas Goldschmidt.


Putin said,

"In the interview with NBC News, Putin said that Russians who allegedly interfered with the 2016 U.S. presidential election perhaps are “not even Russians,” adding “Maybe they’re Ukrainians, Tatars, Jews, just with Russian citizenship. Even that needs to be checked. Maybe they have dual citizenship. Or maybe a green card. Maybe it was the Americans who paid them for this work. How do you know? I don’t know.”  "

https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/why-jews-in-russia-don-t-think-putin-s-comments-are-anti-semitic-1.5896535

Remember that the interview wasn't just with NBC News, but with a former FOX 'journalist'.


In an article of the Jerusalem Post, Putin is quoted as saying that,

"he “could not care less” about indictments issued by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller accusing Russian nationals and companies of election interference, stating that “they do not represent the interests of the Russian state” and are unrelated to the Kremlin"

Meanwhile, Pres. Trump has said (at a joint news conference with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven),

“Well, the Russians had no impact on our votes whatsoever, but certainly there was meddling and probably there was meddling from other countries and maybe other individuals,...”.

http://www.jpost.com/International/Putin-Jews-might-have-been-behind-US-election-interference-544708"


In another article Putin repeated a claim he has made before,

"In the interview, Putin claimed that the United States interferes in Russian elections "all the time" but that it was "impossible for us" to do the same."

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-10/putin-on-alleged-us-election-interference-i-don-t-care


In another article about the conduct of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State,

"And in January, he blamed Russia for chemical attacks in Syria -- an impossible starting position for any discussion with the Kremlin."

"In his telling, the Trump administration tried to talk things through with Russia, but, "quite frankly, after a year, we didn't get very far." There are no public traces of these attempts, though."

"In the latest Russia-related scandal, the attempted poisoning of former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal in the U.K., Tillerson hastened to put the blame on Russia, echoing and even somewhat amplifying the assessment of U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May."


https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-03-13/tillerson-refused-to-do-another-deal-with-russia


It is his public statement agreeing with PM May which may have led to his firing. Pres. Trump doesn't countenance any criticism of Putin from members of his administration.


In an article by Huffington Post they quote Putin (from the interview),

"“There are 146 million Russians. ... I couldn’t care less. ... They do not represent the interests of the Russian state.”"

He added that though they might have been Russian citizens, they were NOT Russian government employees. He did not clarify that they may have been private citizens working for the government on a contract basis.

Putin: "Maybe it was the Americans who paid them for this work. How do you know? I don’t know.”"

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/vladimir-putin-election-interference-jews-ukrainians_us_5aa49b2fe4b086698a9e7274



In an article from TheHill.com,

"A deadline set by Prime Minister Theresa May passed early Wednesday without comment from Russia after the British government demanded answers about an ex-Russian spy attacked on British soil with a nerve agent."

"Reuters reports that British diplomats accused Russia of violating international law by attempting an assassination of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy who defected to the U.K., on foreign soil on Wednesday after Moscow did not respond to the deadline."

"“The council and the United Nations General Assembly have decried Russia’s violations of international law with alarming regularity. Its reckless behavior is an affront to all this body stands for,” British Ambassador Julian Braithwaite told the U.N. Human Rights Council, according to the news service."

"“Moscow had nothing to do with what happened in Britain. It will not accept any totally unfounded accusations directed against it and will also not accept the language of ultimatums,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday, Reuters reported."

http://thehill.com/policy/international/378298-deadline-passes-without-explanation-from-russia-on-ex-spys-poisoning


Like the meddling done in U.S. elections, Vladimir Putin simply denies involvement and would supposedly await evidence from the U.S. or the U.K. of their wrong-doing. Such evidence is rarely available and Putin's political opponents or other enemies of his continue to die. In America, Pres. Trump has no comment on that fact.


So, what can be made of these conversations and statements and known events? Putin stonewalls very consistently. The West may have intelligence information they cannot (or will not) reveal (for now). Pres. Trump is steadfastly with Putin. PM May has a serious problem as Russian ex-pats keep dying in her country. This time British citizens were also harmed!

It may be that people are confused by the recent Putin remarks about Jews or other people having committed the election-meddling. Some people are very sensitive about anti-Semitism (anti-Jews) and it may not be relative to recent events at all.

Perhaps most dangerous is the question of whether anyone could have had their hands on the nerve agent used in the U.K., other than Russian government employees directed by Vladimir Putin. Since Putin won't answer the question directly, people will fear the worst. The worst may be that he ordered it OR that he lost control of it. He certainly couldn't answer publicly during a political campaign moment that he has lost control of the nerve agent. Perhaps among the Russian electorate who generally support Putin, he could gain support for being seen as using the nerve agent intentionally. The fearless leader who says all traitors will be punished or killed could do that.

Is that the key to this? The timing. Has someone utilized this nerve agent in order to destroy Putin? Or, has Putin done this specifically to bolster his image within Russia as a derring-do heroic figure? When is his election? How will his chances be changed by this event? Is he evil/heroic for using the nerve agent or is he out of control and not to be trusted as the Russian leader?

Here in America everyone can see the light at the end of the tunnel for the "Election Meddling" investigation. Many suspect it will end the Trump presidency. Is there a similar attempt to destroy Putin? Is this part of the retaliation against Russia (Putin) for the election meddling? Or, is Trump trying to be rid of Putin to tie-off any potential blow-back from Russia in order to establish some kind of defense from attacks here in America?

All these speculations and it seems much more likely the purposes of the attack in the U.K. were political as well as directed at the ex-spy. The nerve agent used was obviously far more than necessary to kill one man. So, this is political terrorism with a strategic purpose: destroy Putin.

One other thing which has been on my mind recently is the difficulties with Russia in Syria and the waffling of Turkey between NATO and Russia. It is possible that with Trump supporting Putin, the attack on a NATO country (the U.K.) may have been done by Putin to stress the NATO relationship. Already PM May has called for pressure on Putin, but Pres. Trump has said he isn't interested in responding. This is not good.

Like many crises, this one has all the uncertainty and confusion. Like 9/11 in America, the purposes, the parties behind the act, even the means, can be uncertain. It's as though someone wants an act done publicly to create a reaction, but to remain hidden to ensure the calculated act cannot be undone by THE TRUTH.

Was it a false flag attack? Was the U.S. election meddling a false flag attack? Is blame being placed where it does not belong? Rarely do we see all the facts the intelligence community can discover, but I hope the political leaders truly do have sufficient information to make good judgments.

Autistic Bees?

I saw an article on autism and forwarded the URL link to a friend of mine who is a bee keeper.

How autism may stem from problems with prediction | Spectrum | Autism Research News

Later in the day he replied with an article about autistic bees. Was he trying to trump my story? I don't know, but it's interesting nonetheless.

http://www.beeculture.com/catch-buzz-study-finds-parallels-unresponsive-honey-bees-human-autism/?utm_source=Catch+The+Buzz&utm_campaign=1959f520c4-Catch_The_Buzz_4_29_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0272f190ab-1959f520c4-256260865

Good News on the Energy Front

picture by Reuters

We just need to improve regularity of usage by building new homes with more solar and wind

rather than natural gas or electricity from burnt coal or nuclear power.

Things are really changing! Go team.

Message In A Bottle Yeah

Someone found an old bottle on a beach in West Australia. It's 132 years old with a message in it (a new record).

http://museum.wa.gov.au/about/latest-news/132-year-old-message-bottle-found-on-wa-beach


the Police play "message in a bottle" for your listening pleasure (no ads):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e2CuyIG7x8

Elimination of Cervical Cancer in Australia?

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/mar/04/australia-could-become-first-country-to-eradicate-cervical-cancer?CMP=twt_a-science_b-gdnscience

Trump's Steel and Aluminum Tariff Announcement

On Sunday's morning talk shows our Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, said we don't have to worry about the steel and aluminum tariffs Pres. Trump recently announced.

https://thinkprogress.org/wilbur-ross-trump-tariffs-can-of-soup-and-coke-af4102d5cbc2/

He said the added cost to a can of soup would be pennies and the added cost to a typical car would be less than $200. Obviously this whole thing is about $201 dollars. Why should that bother anyone?

But wait, don't we buy a lot of canned goods and cars? Wouldn't all that add up to a lot of money for the nation? Won't foreign nations seek retribution by increasing the tariffs on U.S. goods?

It's typical Trump chaos. Nobody knows what he might do or what effects it could have and it upsets everyone. And, on top of that, Ross said that Trump might change his mind. We have no idea if this will all happen or if he will change it tomorrow. It's a disaster having a president nobody can trust and who changes his mind so quickly, but whose word is heard and causes people to react. The stock market does not wait for clarification.

Speaking of the stock market, why did no Sunday Morning Talk Show hosts ask Ross if he or Pres. Trump had discussed the timing of this announcement with anyone outside the administration (namely Carl Icahn)?

How much does Trump hate the FBI? And, other recent bizarre things.

How much does Donald Trump hate the FBI?

The FBI is currently housed in the Hoover building in Washington, D.C. It doesn't have a lot of room for growth, so Congress, a few years ago, decided to consider alternatives. They settled on a plan to build a new campus-style site which would be more modern, more spacious, and more secure from spies. Recently the FBI canceled that contract and has told Congress they must go back to re-building the Hoover building.

Why did they do this?

When they were questioned in Congressional hearing they just said it was their FBI decision. When asked pointedly and repeatedly by several Democratic Senators if they were aware of any conversations had with the President about this project, they deflected, dodged, and simply said they were unable to give a suitable answer about their own knowledge. Did they know of such discussion? "I am not in a position to answer that." If a person doesn't even know their own knowledge of something, they are in a lot of trouble and shouldn't be working for the FBI.

Apparently President Trump has spoken to the FBI and made it clear he doesn't want the FBI to move from the Hoover Building. Does this mean he is taking orders from Vladimir Putin to keep the FBI in the Hoover building where eavesdropping is easier?

If it weren't for this decision the builders could already be constructing a new better campus. But no, Donald Trump squashed that plan.

Texas Early Voting

More Democrats than Republicans are voting in Texas.

http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/376520-texas-sets-early-voting-record-in-nonpresidential-year

/quote

Texans have set a record for early voting in a nonpresidential primary election year, the Laredo Morning Times reported Friday.

More than 602,000 voters have cast ballots in the largest counties through Wednesday. That total includes votes cast in both Democratic and Republican primaries, with more ballots cast by Democrats than Republicans.

It does not include ballots that were cast on Thursday or Friday, the last day of voting.

It's the first time since 2008 — when former President Obama was battling Hillary Clinton in a presidential primary — that Texas Democrats have seen the largest turnout in a primary.

Democrats have outvoted Republicans by more than 25,000 ballots since early voting began on Feb. 20.

/end-quote

Honk if you hate guns!

 The NRA loves guns. The Russians gave the NRA money, so they could fund political candidates they prefer.

https://crooksandliars.com/2018/03/npr-russian-banker-used-nra-campaign-money

The article quotes largely from the transcript of an MS-NBC television show hosted by Stephanie Ruhle and a guest she interviewed, Tim Mock of National Public Radio.

/quote

TRANSCRIPT
STEPHANIE RUHLE: A new report by NPR reveals a Russian politician linked to the Kremlin has tied himself to the NRA. NPR says, quote, Alexander Torshin claimed his ties to the National Rifle Association provided him access to Donald Trump and the opportunity to serve as a foreign election observer in the United States during the 2012 election. I want to bring in NPR's Tim Mock. Tim, walk us through this. You say Torshin used his ties to the NRA specifically to access Trump? How'd he do this

TIM MOCK, NPR: This is through looking at Mr. Torshin's long history of tweets. This is a man who really likes to use Twitter. He's tweeted 150,000 times over the course of the last six or seven years. We see he has meticulously cultivated a network with the National Rifle Association. Mr. Torshin is the deputy governor of the Bank of Russia. He's in Vladimir Putin's party. He's served in the Russian Dualla. And has served in sensitive security roles there. It's clear he's tried to cultivate links with the National Rifle Association over time.
/end-quote



Trump's Steel and Aluminum Tariff Announcement

Did Donald Trump intentionally scare Wall St. with his steel and aluminum tariff announcement? Carl Icahn, a super-rich investor friend of Trump's wasn't scared. He made a ton of money dumping his steel stocks earlier. Now something new:

https://crooksandliars.com/cltv/2018/03/msnbc-wilbur-ross-engineered-tariff

It appears the Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, secretly arranged it. See the video where Stephanie Ruhle tells the story after Al Veshi's intro.

And all that, is just the beginning. Let's hope the weekend goes better.

How To Learn - Link to an excellent article

http://blog.ncase.me/how-do-we-learn-a-zine/

It's quite short, but excellent.

UPDATED 3/2/18: Trump Guilty of Pump & Dump of Steel and Aluminum Stocks

 Today Donald Trump announced tariffs on steel and aluminum manufacturing countries (mostly China) to punish them for 'dumping' product at less than manufacturing costs. There was immediate talk-down from other administration officials, then debate around town, and finally Trump reissued the order. Naturally, the stock market reacted: it dropped a bunch.

This is a classic case of someone in a position to influence others talking down a stock price. It's manipulation. It's a crime. People go to jail for this kind of thing.

Was there an actual tariff announced? No, that has yet to be seen. Trump changes his mind when it suits him.

What if there is no tariff and the stocks go back up? Will Trump or his family benefit? Will Trump friends and allies in the market benefit? Trump is using his office (the presidency) to manipulate people beyond his duties.

UPDATE

Apparently Carl Icahn was able to read Donald Trump's mind and took advantage by selling (dumping) "$31.3 million of stock in a company heavily dependent on steel last week, just days before Trump announced plans to impose steep tariffs on steel imports".

Icahn Dumps Steel Stocks 

There is No Reason for Alarm

In this post I quote from several news articles about Russia's new nuclear capabilities.

Link to article: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/vladimir-putin-russia-nuclear-weapons-including-invincible-cruise-missile/

/quotes

MOSCOW -- Russia has tested an array of new strategic nuclear weapons that can't be intercepted, President Vladimir Putin announced Thursday, marking a technological breakthrough that would dramatically increase Russia's military capability and boost the Kremlin's global position. Speaking in a state-of-the-nation speech, Putin said the weapons include a nuclear-powered cruise missile,a nuclear-powered underwater drone and new hypersonic missile.

He said the creation of the new weapons has made NATO's U.S.-led missile defense "useless," and means an effective end to what he described as Western efforts to stymie Russia's development.

"I want to tell all those who have fueled the arms race over the last 15 years, sought to win unilateral advantages over Russia, introduced unlawful sanctions aimed to contain our country's development: all what you wanted to impede with your policies have already happened," he said. "You have failed to contain Russia."

...

The Russian leader emphasized that the development of new weapons that have no equivalent in the West came in response to the U.S. withdrawal from a Cold war-era treaty banning missile defenses and U.S. efforts to develop a missile defense system.

He said that the U.S. has ignored Russian complaints.

"No one has listened to us," he said. "You listen to us now."

/end-quotes

Link to article: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-iskander-missiles-kaliningrad-threat-europe-lithuania-vladimir-putin/

/quotes

From Kaliningrad, which is sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland, Iskander missiles can reach targets in both countries as well as Baltic neighbors Latvia and Estonia, all of them NATO members.

The head of the Russian parliament's defense committee, Vladimir Shamanov, confirmed the missiles' deployment in remarks carried by Russian news agencies. He added that the move was a response to a NATO buildup near Russia's borders, with the number of U.S. weapons in Poland a particular irritation to Moscow.

...

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov wouldn't verify the missile deployment to Kaliningrad specifically, but said any weapons deployment "on Russian territory is exclusively a sovereign issue for the Russian Federation. "Russia has never threatened anyone and is not threatening anyone. Naturally Russia has this sovereign right. It should hardly be cause for anyone to worry," Peskov said.

/end-quotes


Link to: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/vladimir-putin-new-nuclear-weapons_us_5a9832f7e4b09c872bb238ca


/begin-quotes

MOSCOW, March 1 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin unveiled an array of new nuclear weapons on Thursday, in one of his most bellicose speeches in years, saying they could hit almost any point in the world and evade a U.S.-built missile shield.

Putin was speaking ahead of an election on March 18 that polls indicate he should win easily. He said a nuclear attack on any of Moscow’s allies would be regarded as an attack on Russia itself and draw an immediate response.

...

“We will view any use of nuclear weapons against Russia or its allies, be it of small, medium or any force, as a nuclear attack on our country,” he said.

“Our response will be immediate. Nobody should have any doubts about that.”

Putin said that Russia did not plan to attack anyone however. Russia’s growing military might was a guarantee of world peace, he said, designed to preserve a strategic balance of power on the planet.

...

Earlier in the speech, he had struck a very different tone, ordering officials to halve the number of Russians living in poverty by sharply boosting social and infrastructure spending in an obvious pre-election pitch to voters.

/end-quotes


Link to: http://www.businessinsider.com/putin-confirms-russian-doomsday-nuclear-weapon-in-annual-speech-2018-3

/quote

Putin described at least five new weapons systems, emphasizing how each could defeat US missile defenses and characterizing nearly all of them as nuclear-capable

But in typical fashion, Putin's descriptions contained wild, scientifically unimaginable claims about how great the weapons were.

/end-quote