Are We Killing Ourselves?

Were honey bees the "canary in the coal mine" wrt humans in America? The rate of autism in children has skyrocketed. Read the article linked to below and tell me if we would react dramatically if we learned foreigners were doing this to us?

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/23267-autism-nation-americas-chemical-brain-drain

Al Qaeda never did so much damage?

The Soviet Union didn't achieve this to hurt us?

What can we do to avoid total annihilation of ourselves?

Ukraine and Russia

One major concern I have with America's response to the crisis in Ukraine is that it is very very easy to recognize so many familiar situations and events that we are drawn to responding as if it were a replay of events from by-gone days. For example, Vladimir Putin is not George W. Bush and to respond to him as though he were would be a mistake. Both may act as bullies or recklessly or as overly aggressive or similar in some other ways, but that is not all Putin is and to put blinders on ourselves to only see those similarities blinds us to other things. Similarly, this Russian aggression is not Saddam Hussein's aggression against Kuwait. To claim total purity and exclaim, "This aggression shall not stand!" is to misunderstand the differences between then and now, there and here, and to ignore the mistakes of the past. Furthermore, the current Russian excitement about Ukraine is far from being similar to their invasion of Afghanistan in 1980. Recognize what exists now and don't rely on the sure-fire solutions of the past because today is a new day and may end in a new way.

There are some obvious things America can and should do without fail: support our NATO partners and require our NATO partners to support one another; support international law regarding national sovereignty; of course a major one is to "jaw jaw rather than war war", if that's possible. Beyond those there has to be some understanding of America's proper role in this situation, of the president's foreign policy, of the Russian goals, of Putin's personal goals and of limitations we all face. Rushing to war or to any solution without understanding the situation as it exists today is far too likely to result in problems.

So far the president's foreign policy has been one of peace & prosperity with tense situations being guided by and assisted by America, but in most cases requiring the participation of the peoples involved. In Libya we didn't put boots on the ground, but had Europeans and Libyan rebels involved while we provided information. In Syria we've had so much difficulty finding groups worthy of our support we haven't done as much, mostly non-lethal aid and help for Jordan to deal with refugees. America's interests are not always so directly involved that we have put our own troops in the fight. We did that in Afghanistan because it was necessary to get al Qaeda and bin Laden. We don't do that in other parts of the Middle East, though we often use drones to fight AQAP. This means our natural position wrt Ukraine and Russia is to assist the Ukrainians and others who support them with information, diplomatic efforts, non-lethal aid and economic sanctions against Russia. Of course, the degree of these efforts is variable.

Viewing this conflict as being like Vietnam and requiring massive troop involvement should require the support of the American people and today they're not even slightly interested. This isn't the Cold War era and Ukraine is not Vietnam. Viewing this as being similar to Saddam Hussein's Iraq would also be a big mistake because the Russian military, and Russia itself, is much larger and even more dangerous than Iraq's or Iran's. We don't attack Iran because it's not necessary and because militarily it would be extremely difficult to succeed. What would success against Russia look like? No, we must deal with the reality before us and not shadows of the past.

It would appear naive to ignore the secret forces behind revolutions or the Russian (supporter) instigators, but ignore them we must to have a sensible solution to the problem. As long as Americans are not secretly involved (and they should be punished if they are) and as long as we know the armed instigators are not Russians aiming to take over Ukraine there is no need to knee-jerk respond in a big military way. If Putin wants to use his army in a big way then he will have shown the world he is dangerous and would have to be stopped. Until then this is just a situation of provocation and instigation and intrigue, but without the huge dangers of all-out war.

No, without our national debt and our people's tiredness of war and all the other major issues facing us we should avoid massive involvement of our military. This doesn't mean our actions are etched in stone. They could change if the situation changes. But, the reality of today, not our memories of how things happened in the past, should inform us.

More News on "Alternative" Energy Technologies

Alternative energy technology stories:

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/19/researchers-use-nanomaterials-to-create-energy-producing-bionic-plants/

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/22/solar-power-is-a-huge-water-saver/

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/04/02/32-new-hybrid-trains-coming-to-america/

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/04/05/3422885/cars-of-the-future-solar-hydrogen-aluminum/

Solar roadway materials are ready to roll!

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/04/07/3422342/hybrid-diesel-electric-trains/


and then there are Republicans in Congress

Republicans oppose background checks on guns despite evidence they work

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/31/arizona-gop-gives-private-prison-company-1-million-to-house-inmates-who-dont-exist/


I'd rather focus on the good things being done, but the Republicans stand in the way of a lot of it.

Insurance Policies Banks take on their Employees

WallStreetOnParade has an interesting article on insurance policies corporations, particularly banks, have taken on their own employees. It's rather amazing.

http://wallstreetonparade.com/2014/03/document-jpmorgan-chase-bets-10-4-billion-on-the-early-death-of-workers/

I can imagine some employees would be of such value to a company that their loss could do great economic harm. Why a policy would continue after an employee has left the company isn't so clear.

Even more confusing is why a bank would have policies on many lower-level employees who can be replaced without undue stress on the bank.

Then I saw the following...

"It is doubtful that regulators are fully aware that BOLI assets may actually remain under the control and management of the banks, rather than the insurance companies providing the death benefits."

What this means is they aren't actually putting the insurance premiums into the hands of an insurance company. The bank is holding onto those assets and continuing to use them to make profits.

But, that's not where the trickery ends.

"Both the buildup in the cash value of the policy over time and the payment of the death benefit are tax-free income to the bank; the more workers they insure, the more tax-free income they receive to help their bottom line; and the less corporations pay in their share of Federal income taxes, shifting more and more of the burden to the struggling middle class."

Yes, that's right, both the profits made from investing the premiums (as any corporations would invest) AND the death benefit paid to the bank are TAX FREE.

Wow, that's a big incentive to insure everyone in the world that you can afford and to gamble big with that money to make huge profits and then to kill all the insured people to collect huge death benefits...TAX-FREE.

This is clearly financial trickery run amok and it must be stopped.

The number of unusual deaths of JPMorgan bank employees in the last year or so has been hard to understand. Now it makes a lot of sense. Whether this means there is foul play isn't yet known.

Connecting Geopolitical Dots

Why was Assistant Secretary of State (for European affairs) Victoria Nuland caught talking to someone on a telephone about a revolution or coup for Ukraine?

Ms. Nuland's husband is Robert Kagan, co-founder of the Project for a New American Century (Neo-Conservatives). She had also been Principal Deputy National Security Advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney for the period 2003-05.

Who was pushing for NATO and the European Union to reach all the way to the border of Russia (including Ukraine)? Wasn't it the Republicans in Congress during the Clinton administration who made that the U.S. policy? Was it the Bush administration?

When Russia's President Putin took control of Crimea there was mention of how he had done the same in Georgia (the former Soviet republic) during the Bush administration. It appears Putin has a strategy for grabbing a bit of territory here and a bit there to reestablish some kind of Russian empire. He has also said the fall of the Soviet Union was tragic. It's pretty clear his approach was (and is) entirely predictable.

Put these points together and it's easy to see how the recent events in Crimea (part of Ukraine, but formerly part of the Soviet Union) could come to be. But, was the overthrow of Ukraine's democratically elected president a policy of President Obama? I can't imagine it.

If not President Obama's policy, then whose was Ms. Nuland promoting? Who exactly was in Ukraine fomenting these changes? Was it entirely a domestic Ukrainian desire to align with the EU? But, was it also their desire to join NATO?

Recently the Neo-Conservative (Neo-Con) Bill Kristol lamented the American people are "war-weary", but he added that with the right leadership they can be led to awaken and fight. That was the same kind of language the Project for a New American Century used before 9/11. They said a "new Pearl Harbor" can stir the public. Does Mr. Kristol foresee another such tragedy? It should be remembered Bill Kristol was a key player in picking Sarah Palin to become Senator John McCain's running mate for the Republicans in 2008. John McCain is a war hawk who has promoted war against Iran and in Syria and more recently against Russia. He also said that if we couldn't have war, couldn't we at least sell military armaments to Ukraine.

These are (some of) the players:  Nuland, her husband Robert Kagan, Bill Kristol, Senator John McCain. It's the same people who brought us "a new Pearl Harbor", the Iraq war and a lot of rhetoric about President Obama being weak on foreign policy, feckless and yet a dictator. What a bunch.

Then there's the missing Malaysian aircraft. In all likelihood it's just a tragic event, but speculating I wonder: is it possible someone has stolen it to use it as an attack weapon? Could it be part of a plan to create a new Pearl Harbor (a sudden devastating attack which awakens a war-weary public) or is it possibly just a diversion from thinking about Ukraine? Who knows. But, with the PNAC Neo-Cons it pays to consider many possibilities. They're a creative determined bunch who want war at nearly any cost.

Neo-Con Bliss...WAR WAR WAR

"In fact, the idol of war-weariness can be challenged," Kristol writes "A war-weary public can be awakened and rallied. Indeed, events are right now doing the awakening. All that’s needed is the rallying. And the turnaround can be fast."

Maybe what he would like to see is a modern-day Pearl Harbor Attack, much like what happened on 9/11/01. It allowed the Republicans to push some very dramatic legislation into law and many Americans are regretting it today.

Perhaps the missing Maylasian Boeing 777 could be used for such a surprise attack. There is some evidence al Qaeda members have wanted to do such a hijacking. We shall see.

Meanwhile,

Sen. McCain wants us to war with Russia, or at least sell military aid to Ukraine. That's a big industry in Arizona.

At the same time, and despite the unsigned Ukraine-EU deal, some U.S. corporations are investing heavily in Ukraine and the surrounding area. What do they know nobody else is privy to?

Maybe Mitt Romney knew something special when he said Russia was a major geo-political foe. Is something which has been planned for years now in the works? Are Right-wing (and corporate) Americans plotting war, committing us to a foreign policy the government can't undo?

It makes me sad to think this can happen.

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) Salutes the Irish

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/03/senator-dumbass


Need I say more?