Goldman Sachs Reach

Should the United States Intervene Militarily in Syria Over the Assad Regime's Use of Chemical Weapons?

The 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) prohibits the production, acquisition, stockpiling, transfer, retention, and use of chemical weapons (classified as WMD under Title 50, USC). Syria is not a signatory.

A UN inspection team reported that the nerve agent sarin, a fluorinated organophosphate, was used in the Ghouta area of Damascus on 21 August 2013. Some 3600 people were affected; 355 died. The U.S. presented convincing evidence that the Bashar al-Assad government was responsible for the attack. Assad denies this.

Assad also denied having chemical weapons, but has now agreed, as part of a US - Russia brokered deal, to sign the CWC and place his chemical weapons under the control of the UN-affiliated Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Syria has already submitted an initial declaration outlining its inventory of chemical weapons to the OPCW.

Identifying all of Syria’s chemical weapons and chemical weapons manufacturing facilities and materiel will be a massive undertaking fraught with difficulties. Nevertheless, the process should be allowed to proceed under the auspices of the OPCW. US military intervention in Syria should be undertaken only as a last resort, should the Assad government fail to abide by its CWC obligations.

The US should now concentrate its efforts on effecting a ceasefire in the Syrian civil war, in which, according to UN estimates, over 100,000 people have been killed.

Republicans Improve Nutrition for America's Poor

Sixteen million American children live in poverty. Many go hungry.

The House of Representatives made drastic cuts to the Nation's food stamp program under a bill titled, H.R. 3102: Nutrition Reform and Work Opportunity Act of 2013. Under the bill put forward and supported by all but a few Republicans, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would be cut by $40 billion over ten years. You have to be exceptionally needy to qualify for SNAP (for example, a family of 4 can only have a net income of $1921/mo.), but Republicans feel that too many people receiving benefits from the program would get out and work (or beg on the streets), if they were only starving (some more).

Republicans see a family of 4 on SNAP receiving a handout from the government of $668/mo., or $5.56/day each, and recoil in outrage. "What the hell! Our fossil fuel industry only receives upwards of $52 billion a year, and that has to support the whole damned industry!"

Louie ("go crazy") Gohmert (R-TX)

Under SNAP currently, people between 18 and 50 who do not have any dependent children can get SNAP benefits only for 3 months in a 36-month period, if they do not work or participate in a workfare or employment and training program other than job search. With some exceptions, able-bodied adults between 16 and 60 must register for work, accept suitable employment, and take part in an employment and training program to which they are referred by the local office. Failure to comply with these requirements can result in disqualification from the Program.

One of the things that irks Republicans the most is Michelle Obama's eat healthy program. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) demands to know, "Who's she to tell us how to eat?! Look at her big butt." Clinically obese, Sensenbrenner objects to the First Lady's initiative on two counts: (1) he's not about to give up beer and brats, and (2) he's trying to pass a "nutrition reform" bill that will make "eating healthy" impossible for 16 million American kids.

Jim Sensenbrenner letting it all hang out.

Those of us from Washington State's 4th district need not ask how our representative, Doc Hastings voted. He voted "Yea," because he's a dyed-in-the-wool, go along with the pack, Republican hack, and no one is hungry in his district. Except that people are living in poverty in Pasco and Kennewick at higher levels than state and national averages, and one in seven people in Benton and Franklin Counties are facing hunger.

"Five dollars a day per child is just too darned much!"

It could happen again

Deja vu all over again? Financial reform continues to be fought tooth and nail by financial industry lobbyists and their minions in Congress. If Republicans succeed in shuting down the government over the debt ceiling debate and the Affordable Care Act, it could happen again. 

Universal Background Checks

Universal background checks wouldn't have stopped
the Navy Yard mass shooting, or the
Hialeah apartment shooting

Santa Monica rampage

Pinewood Village Apartment shooting

Mohawk Valley shootings

Newtown school shooting

Accent Signage Systems shooting

Sikh temple shooting

Aurora theater shooting

Seattle cafe shooting

Oikos University killings

Su Jung Health Sauna shooting

Seal Beach shooting

IHOP shooting

Tucson shooting

Hartford Beer Distributor shooting

Coffee shop police killings

Fort Hood massacre

Binghamton shootings

Carthage nursing home shooting

Atlantis Plastics shooting

Northern Illinois University shooting

Kirkwood City Council shooting

Westroads Mall shooting

Crandon shooting

Virginia Tech massacre

Trolley Square shooting

Amish school shooting

Capitol Hill massacre

Goleta postal shootings

Red Lake massacre

Living Church of God shooting

Damageplan show shooting

Lockheed Martin shooting

Navistar shooting

Wakefield massacre
or the...

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Alien Life on Earth

The Mexican Axolotl

The Mexican axolotl (pronounced ACK-suh-LAH-tuhl) salamander has the rare trait of retaining its larval features throughout its adult life. This condition, called neoteny, means it keeps its tadpole-like dorsal fin, which runs almost the length of its body, and its feathery external gills, which protrude from the back of its wide head. It also seems to allow the Axolotl to regenerate lost body parts, including parts of its brain.

Found exclusively in the lake complex of Xochimilco (pronounced SO-chee-MILL-koh) near Mexico City, axolotls differ from most other salamanders in that they live permanently in water. In extremely rare cases, an axolotl will progress to maturity and emerge from the water, but by and large, they are content to stay on the bottom of Xochimilco’s lakes and canals.

Close relatives of the tiger salamander, axolotls can be quite large, reaching up to a foot (30 centimeters) in length, although the average size is closer to half that. They are typically black or mottled brown, but albino and white varieties are somewhat common, particularly among captive specimens.

Axolotls are long-lived, surviving up to 15 years on a diet of mollusks, worms, insect larvae, crustaceans, and some fish. Accustomed to being a top predator in its habitat, this species has begun to suffer from the introduction of large fish into its lake habitat. Natural threats include predatory birds such as herons.

Populations are in decline as the demands of nearby Mexico City have led to the draining and contamination of much of the waters of the Xochimilco Lake complex. They are also popular in the aquarium trade, and roasted axolotl is considered a delicacy in Mexico, further shrinking their numbers. They are considered a critically endangered species.

From: National Geographic