C.I.A. Is Sharing Data With Climate Scientists

MoonHowler

     Polar Ice from Satellite view

According to the New York Times, data sharing between the C.I.A. and leading scientists  has resumed. 

The nation’s top scientists and spies are collaborating on an effort to use the federal government’s intelligence assets — including spy satellites and other classified sensors — to assess the hidden complexities of environmental change. They seek insights from natural phenomena like clouds and glaciers, deserts and tropical forests.

Basically speaking, US top scientists are receiving top security clearances to have access to C.I.A. reconnaisance material.  This program was shut down by the Bush administration.  It has the strong approval  of the director of the C.I.A. and of leading scientists. 

In the last year, as part of the effort, the collaborators have scrutinized images of Arctic sea ice from reconnaissance satellites in an effort to distinguish things like summer melts from climate trends, and they have had images of the ice pack declassified to speed the scientific analysis.

The trove of images is “really useful,” said Norbert Untersteiner, a professor at the University of Washington who specializes in polar ice and is a member of the team of spies and scientists behind the effort.

Scientists, Dr. Untersteiner said, “have no way to send out 500 people” across the top of the world to match the intelligence gains, adding that the new understandings might one day result in ice forecasts.

“That will be very important economically and logistically,” Dr. Untersteiner said, arguing that Arctic thaws will open new fisheries and sea lanes for shipping and spur the hunt for undersea oil and gas worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

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Terrorism Provides New Rancor Between Democrats and Republicans

MoonHowler

 Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor John Brennan speaks to CNN about the ongoing problem in Yemen:

 

The Democrats and Republicans can now square off over terrorism and all that it embodies.  As the US and Great Britain close their embassies in Yemen, here at home, the 2 primary parties squabble and finger point over who knew what when and who was toughest on terrorism. 

At the heart of the matter is the closing of Gitmo.  If one steps over that issue, one comes face to face with the fact that the Christmas Day underwear would be bomber is being detained in federal court.  Up until recently, interrogators were gathering information.  Now the defendant has a court appointed lawyer, he has ‘lawyered up’ and the information is not as free flowing.

Leading Republicans contend that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the underwear bomber, was trained and send on a mission by Al Qaeda, therefore he should be held as a military combatant, by the military.  Interrogation could continue if he were being held as a military prisoner.  According to the Washington Post:

Brennan’s tour of the talk shows — he also appeared on ABC’s “This Week” — came as the administration tried to counter, and move out in front of, widespread criticism of intelligence systems that did not identify Abdulmutallab as an al-Qaeda operative or detect the explosive he was allegedly carrying before he boarded Northwest Airlines Flight 253.

Much of the criticism Sunday, however, centered on the decision to try him in civilian court rather than hold him as a military prisoner. “If we had treated this Christmas Day bomber as a terrorist, he would have immediately been interrogated military-style, rather than given the rights of an American and lawyers,” Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said on CNN. “We probably lost valuable information.”

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman(I-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said it was a “very serious mistake” to send Abdulmutallab to federal court.

While Senator Lieberman is not a Republican, he often sides with them on matters of war and terrorism.  Should Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the underwear bomber, be held by the military or in by civilian law enforcement?  Does it really matter or is this commotion just a political ploy?  Should our embassies in Yemen be closed?  Should some Gitmo prisoners be returned to Yemen to be punished or set free? 

It appears that sides are squaring off over all issues pertaining to terrorism.  Rather than uniting us towards a common goal, it appears that it is politics and usual.

Stocks Post Biggest Rebound in 2009 Since Great Depression

MoonHowler

Before everyone starts leaping and jumping for joy, it is a good idea to put everything in perspective.  Since March 2009, stocks have made a remarkable recovery.    The bottom had also fallen out of the stock market, so much recovery was needed. 

Several people have said they have broken even to where they were before the crash.  I offer up scenerios.  Those people either weren’t invested heavily in equities or they fed their accounts a lot this past year.  For those who have static accounts, the recovery doesn’t come near to breaking even. 

According to USA Today:

Once it was clear a collapse wasn’t going to happen, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index roared back 64.8% from its early March low. For the full year, the index rose 23.5%, or 211.85 points, it’s best showing since 2003.

 The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1,651.66, or 18.8% for the year. From its March 9 close, the Dow jumped 59.3%. Powered by the recovery in high-tech stocks, the Nasdaq ended 2009 with a gain of 696.12, or 43.9%. Tthe Nasdaq has surged 78.9% from its March low.

 

Up until March of last year, many people were fearful of opening their statements.  If one lost 40% in the crash, and many of us did, it will take a lot more than 40% increase to bring you back even.  That’s the math of percentages.  I have a 401k that increased by 33.6% but I am not even close to being back to the fall 2007 high water mark.  Not even close.

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Gov. Kaine Critical of Snow Removal

MoonHowler

As reported in News & Messenger:

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine was not completely satisfied with the way Virginia’s transportation agency handled snow removal efforts after last month’s historic snowstorm.

At issue was some of the work that the Virginia Department of Transportation outsources to private contractors, he told Charlottesville TV station WVIR. He described the overall snow removal job done by VDOT as “an OK job.”

“We were not completely satisfied with the work that was being done by the private contractor. Without going into it too much, on Saturday [during the snowstorm] basically I asked VDOT to take over a good bit of that work and when that happened things started to go a lot better,” the governor told WVIR.

Kaine said he wasn’t happy with the lack of preparation for the storm or with the lack of urgency plow crews had when it came to clearing the snow from neighborhood streets.

The governor also used this opportunity to blast Republican counterparts in the state, saying that their unwillingness to raise taxes to pay for improvements in transportation led to the plow crew’s slower response time.

While many roads around the Woodbridge and Stafford areas were treated with salt and sand following the storm, others went up to three days following the storm without seeing a plow.

I feel vindicated.  For years I have watched the snowplows clean the main streets over and over while ignoring the harder to clean side streets.  The drivers of the plows are the contract workers, not state employees.  Governor Kaine should have called me.  I would have told him. 

Snow removal is expensive and difficult work.  It requires readiness.  Hopefully the new administration will heed the words of Governor Kaine and stay ready and alert for the next snow fall.  There are still places on Route 50 that have piles of snow on them.  Hitting one would be like hitting a deer. 

Who has some snow horror stories, now the big blow snow is finally over?  And while discussing the weather, how is the temperature out there?  When is this wind going to die down?  I cannot seem to get warm.  This cold snap should drive the energy bills up.   What is the fuel of choice?  I have both gas and a heat pump.  Since the price of natural gas has gotten so reasonable, I am wondering if it is ever cheaper to go all case and forget the heat pump.  How much is a cord of wood these days?

Congressman Gerry Connolly Backs 287(g) Program

MoonHowler

The following letter from Congressman Gerry Connolly should put to rest any fears that Rep. Connolly is soft on crime. He has fought hard for funding for this program and other law enforcement in Prince William, Fairfax and for the state of Virginia. See his letter to the editor printed in the Manassas News & Messenger  in its entirety:

The Dec. 30 News & Messenger editorial opposing legislation in Congress to eliminate the federal 287(g) program that trains and deputizes local law enforcement officials to help identify and remove undocumented immigrants who commit crimes is right on the mark.

The current draft legislation would kill the 287(g) program in use in Prince William County and dozens of other jurisdictions across the nation. I will not support any termination of this vital program.

While there have been some excesses in the program, overall communities enrolled in 287(g) have had success in removing criminal aliens from our midst and targeting gangs, drugs and human smuggling.  Given these facts, I believe 287(g) should be improved, not eliminated.

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The Ugly Side of the Real Estate Market

MoonHowler

What was supposed to be a boon for home buyers, especially first time home buyers, has fallen flat.  Many folks out there trying to buy houses are being squeezed out of the housing market by cash laden investors.  Even those bidding more than asking price are not getting called back. 

The investors are paying cash and buying ‘as is’ at discount prices.  No regular buyer who needs financing and inspections can compete with the cash-rich investors.  Investors are also back to flipping houses.  The buy-fix up- resell cycle has begun again. 

The down side for those of us who aren’t even trying to buy a house is that those foreclosures will now become rental property.  It is no secret that neighborhoods with a disproportionate number of rental properties goes downhill much faster than where homes are owned by the occupants. 

According to the Washington Post:

“There are bidding wars out there. It’s like the 2005 market but at discount prices,” said Stella Barbour, a real estate agent at Jobin Realty in Northern Virginia. “I put in offers for my clients only to find there are already multiple offers. They always choose the one that’s all cash.”

Some of these cash-only investors use their own money to buy properties, while others borrow it at high interest rates from other private sources.

Chris “CC” Cormack, an investor, said she used her own money to beat out four other offers and buy a townhouse in Ashburn this year. The home, a foreclosure, was listed for $214,500, and she got it for $220,000. Cormack fixed it up and sold it a few months later for a sizable profit.

“It had been under contract twice before, and both of those loans fell apart,” said Cormack, who is also a real estate agent. “By the time I came along with all-cash offer, the bank said, ‘I’ll take it.’ They did not want to take a chance on the deal falling apart again.”

Many of the real estate practices are happening right here in Prince William County:

Investors have reemerged with brute force in the Washington region’s real estate market over the past few months, triggering bidding wars in some neighborhoods teeming with foreclosed properties and hindering traditional home buyers such as Melissa Diggins.

Diggins and her fiance, George Mills, made a dozen offers on houses in Prince William County but lost more than half of them to investors making all-cash offers.

Frustrated, they gave up their search for a new home, convinced that they could not compete.

“We thought to ourselves: ‘Enough is enough,’ ” said Diggins, a graphic designer. “We’d sometimes offer more than the asking price and we wouldn’t even get a call back.  It was crazy.”

A year or so ago we heard several commentators singing the praises of the Prince William County Real Estate market. They spoke of how things were snapping back and how new families were moving in, returning the neighborhoods to the pastoral  scenes before the ‘illegals’ came to town. In the first place, many of the foreclosures were not illegal immigrants or even Latino families.  They were families who simply had bitten off more than they could chew.  This new situation truly reminds us of being careful what we wish for.  Homeowner occupancy is generally always superior to a neighborhood of rental units when it comes to homeowner upkeep and the general conditions of the community. One can expect both cities to be undergoing the same real estate situation.

Westgate Stabbing Friday Night

MoonHowler

Westgate became an armed camp around 5:30 Friday night.  Sirens screamed, a chopper swarmed overhead, Rescue squads streamed down the street as well as fire trucks.  Prince William County police are searching for a man, David Marcelis Frye, age 37 and have issued warrants for him for aggrevated assault and malicious wounding.  Meanwhile, his ex-girlfriend was transported from the  96oo block of Lafayette Avenue to an area  trauma unit with life-threatening injuries from knife wounds. 

Frye is also wanted for making threatening phone calls and for failure to show up for court.  Meanwhile this man is not in custody and is being sought by the police.  He is black, with short hair, around 220 pounds and approximately 6 ft. tall.

McDonnell Inauguration Set for 1/16/10

MoonHowler

Governor Elect Bob McDonnell will be sworn in as Virginia’s 71st governor on Saturday, January 16, 2010 at the State Capitol Building.  Click here for a  list of events and the Inauguration Website.

 

What hopes do you have for the Commonwealth of Virginia under this new governor?  We alr4eady know there will be a very tight budget.  Will our state income tax go up by a point?  Does it matter if it does?  Would you rather have a larger sales tax or larger income tax?  Can Governor-elect McDonnell run the state without increasing taxes?  Was his no new tax campaign promise realistic? Does anyone plan on attending the festivities? Will the party faithful from Prince William County be attending?

To-MAY-toe/ To-MAH-Toe?

MoonHowler

2010

 

As the title suggests, people say things differently.  In my own birth family, where most of our speaking habits are formed, my mother savagely clung to To-MAH-Toe while the rest of us thought we were ever so sophisticated  saying To-MAY-toe,  Now we have another dilemma,.  We now live in 2010.  So how does one say those numbers when speaking  of the year in which they live?  Do we say  twenty ten, or do we say two thousand ten?  Do we all have to say the same thing? 

I am at a loss.  I am not in the habit of saying two thousand whatever.  2000, 2001, 2002….we always said two thousand two, two thousand three, etc.  We didn’t say ‘twenty three.’  So what are you contributors going to say?  What is correct?  Will I sound like a bo-hick if I stubbornly cling to two-thousand ten?

Amazing Talent Captures National Tragedy

MoonHowler

Today a friend sent me an amazing email with a video link.   I felt it related to many of our topics we have been discussing here on Anti.  I am going to cut and paste Nancy’s (or whoever she copied them from) words and then post the link.  The woman shown in the video  is a sand artist.  The rest tells the story:

Please read the following paragraphs all the way through and then view the video…

This video shows the winner of “Ukraine’s Got Talent,” Kseniya Simonova, 24, drawing a series of pictures on an illuminated sand table showing how ordinary people were affected by the German invasion during World War II.  Her talent, which admittedly is a strange one, is mesmeric to watch.

The images, projected onto a large screen, moved many in the audience to tears, and she won the top prize of about £75,000. 

She begins by creating a scene showing a couple, sitting holding hands on a bench under a starry  sky, but then warplanes appear, and the happy  scene is obliterated. 

It is replaced by a woman’s face crying, but then a baby arrives, and the woman smiles again. Once again, war returns, and Miss Simonova throws the sand into chaos from which a young woman’s face appears. 

She quickly becomes an old widow, her face wrinkled and sad, before the image turns into a monument to an Unknown Soldier. 

This outdoor scene becomes framed by a window as if the viewer is looking out on the monument from within a house. 

In the final scene, a mother and child appear inside, and a man standing outside, with his hands pressed against the glass, saying  goodbye. 

The Great Patriotic War, as it is called in Ukraine, resulted in one in four of the population’s being killed, with eight to 11 million deaths out of a population of 42 million. 

Kseniya  Simonova says:  “I find  it difficult enough to create art using paper  and pencils or paintbrushes, but using sand and fingers is beyond me. The art, especially when the war is used as the subject matter, even brings some audience members to tears. And, there’s surely no bigger compliment.”

View the video


 

Our country has been blessed.  We have never known our cities to be destroyed and one fourth of our population killed.  Even our own Civil War didn’t destroy the entire country, although many Virginians, Georgians and South Carolinians might beg to differ.   

Sometimes it helps to put things in perspective, when viewing one’s country through the eyes of this very talented young artist.  How does one so young capture the horror of the world in the 40’s?  Those living in the Ukraine must have long national memories to be able to produce such talent.  It would be hard to tell where Stalin stopped and Hitler started.  Judging from the reaction from those in the audience, the feelings are still strong and very much a part of the Ukrainians’s national being.