August 31, 2021

Fire Madison Cawthorn...Action Plan

https://www.democraticunderground.com/106910494

Please consider supporting this cause.

From tweeter @Yancy10005 whose Twitter bio is here:

https://twitter.com/Yancy10005?s=09



Learn more about the campaign to Fire Madison here:

https://firemadison.com/




https://twitter.com/Yancy10005/status/1432178705028239363

August 22, 2021

Watch 1600 hours Presidential Briefing

President Biden provides an update on his administration's response to hurricane Henri and will possibly provide an update on the evacuation mission in Afghanistan.

August 16, 2021

This is simply not entirely true.

◇The country is a literal goldmine of mineral and gem wealth and oil. The Chinese* have a three billion dollar contract for a copper mine, Aynak**, that has been assessed as possibly the largest copper reserves in the world. The rare earth elements, aka REEs, are also abundant. The overall mineral wealth of the country has been assessed at approximately one trillion dollars and could be worth three trillion.

*https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Metallurgical_Group_Corporation

◇List of mines

~Badakhshan Province: Badakhshan Gold, gemstones, lapis lazuli.
~Baghlan Province: Baghlan clay and gypsum, Dudkash industrial minerals
~Balkh Province: oil.
~Bamyan Province: Hajigak Mine (iron oxide).
~Daykundi Province: tin and tungsten
~Farah Province in the west: copper, lithium;
~Ghazni Province: Dashti Nawar lithium salts; Zarkashan Mine(copper, gold)
~Ghor Province: Karnak-Kanjar mercury, Nalbandon lead and zinc
~Helmand Province: Khanneshin carbonatite, gold, rare-earth elements, possible uranium reserves; Chagai Hills travertine, copper and gold.
~Herat Province: Shaida Copper Mine Dusar tin, Tourmaline tin, Herat barite and limestone
~Jowzjan Province: Oil and Gas
~Kabul Province: Jegdalek, Surobi District (gemstones).[26]
~Kandahar Province: copper, cement
~Kapisa Province: copper
~Kunduz Province: Kunduz celestite
~Logar Province: copper (Mes Aynak)**
~Nangarhar Province: elbaite, Ghunday Achin magnesite and talc.
~Nimroz Province: Godzareh (Gaudi Zireh) lithium salts.
~Nuristan Province: Nuristan pegmatites and gemstones.
~Panjshir Province: Panjshir Valley gemstones e.g. emerald.
~Paktika Province: Katawaz gold and Oil
~Samangan Province: Aybak (copper); Shabashak, Dara-I-~Suf District (coking coal).
~Sar-e Pol Province: Balkhab Copper Mine (world's largest deposit), Oil (Kashkari, Angot, etc.).
~Takhar Province: Samti, Panj River Valley (gold), Evaporite.
~Urozgan Province: Bakhud fluorite
~Zabul Province: Kundalyan gold and copper.

Also the following places which have not, as yet, been positively located:

~Southeastern Afghanistan: copper, at the Darband, and the Jawkhar prospects.
~Anjir, Hasar, and Nooraba Valleys: gold

Reference Wikipedia
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining_in_Afghanistan

◇More from Asia Times...
Kabul starts race for Afghan resources
By Robert M Cutler

Snip...
In 2007, China won rights for the $2.9 billion development of a copper mine at Aynak**, Logan province, in the south, leading to the replacement of Afghanistan's previous minister of mines following accusations of bribery. The development of the 24,200-hectare site (over 15 square miles) will destroy an area filled with ruins of fifth-century Buddhist monasteries.

Aynak, believed to contain the second-largest copper reserves in the world, will be Afghanistan's largest infrastructure project. China has a 30-year lease and is expected to spend over $3 billion developing the project, where the deposits are estimated to be worth up to $88 billion.

Aynak's development by China has already led to construction of a coal-fired electrical plant because there were no power sources available, as well as the country's first freight railway. The contract includes obligations by China to contribute significantly to the social infrastructure, building mosques, hospitals, markets and bazaars.

It will take years to develop Afghanistan's mineral wealth, but the potential is significant. Snip...
Link
https://web.archive.org/web/20111214231329/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/ML15Df02.html

◇ https://democraticunderground.com/100215741006

###

There's more but you get my drift.
❤pants

August 15, 2021

For the want of a Nail, Todd Rundgren

For the want of a nail, all was lost.

So it hit me, we are going through so much suffering from Covid and all people need to do to help relieve it is get a simple shot. One small thing that is leading to our ruination, like the nail on up to the kingdom.

The parable seeks to teach us that each of our actions, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem, can lead to major consequences that can affect many more people than just ourselves.

Lyrics

The Want of a Nail
Todd Rundgren

[Intro]
I've been wrong
I had plans so big
But the devil's in the details
I left out one thing
No one to love me
No one to love me
No one to love

For the want of a nail, the world was lost
For the want of a nail, the world was lost

[Verse 1]
For the want of a nail, the shoe was lost
For the want of a shoe, the horse was lost
For the want of a horse, the rider was lost
For the want of a rider, the message was lost

For the want of a nail, the world was lost
For the want of a nail, the world was lost

[Verse 2]
For the want of a rider, the message was lost
For the want of a message, the battle was lost
For the want of a battle, the war was lost
For the want of a war, the kingdom was lost

For the want of a nail, the world was lost
For the want of a nail, the world was lost
(such a tiny thing)

[Intro reprise]
I've been wrong
I had plans so big
But the devil's in the details
I left out one thing
No one to love me
No one to love me
No one to love
Yes and no one to love

[Verse 3]
You're askin'
What's all this talk about horses and war?
Put yourself in the place of the man at the forge
And day after day you live a life without love
'Til the morning you can't take it anymore
And you don't get up

Multiply it a billion times
Spread it all 'round the world
Put the curse of loneliness on every boy and every girl
Until everybody's kicking, everybody's scratching
Everything seems to fail
And it was all for the want of a nail

[Outro]
(For the want of a nail)
Tell me what else could the answer be
(For the want of a nail)
(For the want of a nail)
Don't hold back now
(For the want of a nail)
Hey hey
(For the want of a nail the world was lost)
Want of a nail
(For the want of a nail the world was lost)
Wooh
(For the want of a nail the world was lost)
Don't hold back now
(For the want of a nail the world was lost)
Just a little tiny bit of love
(For the want of a nail the world was lost)
Don't hold back, don't hold back
(For the want of a nail the world was lost)
Give me all your love
(For the want of a nail the world was lost)
Don't hold back, don't hold back
(For the want of a nail the world was lost)
Hey, hey, hey!
(For the want of a nail the world was lost)
(For the want of a nail the world was lost)
(For the want of a nail the world was lost)
(For the want of a nail the world was lost)
(For the want of a nail the world was lost)
(For the want of a nail the world was lost)
(For the want of a nail the world was lost)
(For the want of a nail the world was lost)
(For the want of a nail the world was lost)
(For the want of a nail the world was lost)
(For the want of a nail the world was lost)...

Featuring
Bobby Womack
Produced By
Todd Rundgren
Written By
Todd Rundgren
Release Date
May 18, 1989

https://genius.com/Todd-rundgren-the-want-of-a-nail-lyrics


Stay encouraged.
❤pants

August 15, 2021

Maybe past time. The longer we keep our powder dry the bigger the threat grows.

Not my favorite idiom but I'm feeling glib and beat down. This thing is like a mushroom cloud. The long term repercussions as I am imaging them, have me terrified.

We are heading towards a society crippling cohort of individuals who will have long term debilitating illnesses across all age groups, nationwide.

Compound that with our aging population that we already know we don't have enough cargivers for and who will take care of the sick.

We know that before the pandemic doctors were already committing suicide at alarming rates. The entire health care system of direct care providers is going to be at risk of collapse.

We will need caregivers who are strong, logical, pragmatic, resilient and compassionate. Will they be able to function after all these experiences make them feel more and more jaded? Will people even continue to train in health care after the way they are being belittled, doubted and even physically attacked while trying to help?

There is going to be a wide swath of individuals who are going to outnumber even the horrible numbers of drug addicted individuals and other chronically ill cohorts. People who will not be able to contribute to society because they or someone close to them, refused to get a shot. We are in no way prepared for the pain we are going to suffer as a society.

Covid isn't over. It's just getting warmed up.

Time to inventory all of the tools in the toolbox.

August 15, 2021

The Riches of Afghanistan

This article, opinion piece was a bear to edit down I hope you, the reader, can make some sense of it.

###

https://thediplomat.com/2020/02/afghanistans-mineral-resources-are-a-lost-opportunity-and-a-threat/


THE DEBATE | OPINION

Without a coherent strategy, Afghanistan’s vast mineral resources represent both a lost opportunity and a threat to national security.

By Ahmad Shah Katawazai
February 01, 2020
Afghanistan’s Mineral Resources Are a Lost Opportunity and a Threat

“We are at risk of the curse of plenty, [the] curse of resources.”

— President Ashraf Ghani

Torn by four decades of war and desperate poverty, Afghanistan is believed to be sitting on one of the richest troves of minerals in the world. The value of these resources has been roughly estimated between $1-3 trillion.

Afghanistan has vast reserves of gold, platinum, silver, copper, iron, chromite, lithium, uranium, and aluminium. The country’s high-quality emeralds, rubies, sapphires, turquoise, and lapis lazuli have long charmed the gemstone market. The United States Geological Survey (USGS), through its extensive scientific research of minerals, concluded that Afghanistan may hold 60 million metric tons of copper, 2.2 billion tons of iron ore, 1.4 million tons of rare earth elements (REEs) such as lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, and veins of aluminium, gold, silver, zinc, mercury, and lithium. According to Pentagon officials, their initial analysis at one location in Ghazni province showed the potential for lithium deposits as large as those of Bolivia, which has the world’s largest known lithium reserves. The USGS estimates the Khanneshin deposits in Helmand province will yield 1.1.-1.4 million metric tons of REEs. Some reports estimate Afghanistan REE resources are among the largest on earth.

REEs have become essential part of modern technology. They are used in cell phones, televisions, hybrid engines, computers, lasers, and batteries. U.S. Congressional findings have called REEs critical to national security. According to a Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) report, Washington has not had a unified strategy for the development of Afghanistan’s extractive industries. Realizing the importance, critical capability and the Pentagon’s increasing dependence on Chinese REEs, U.S. President Donald Trump in July 2019 amended section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, thus authorizing the domestic production capability for separation and processing of light REE’s, which are essential to national defense. Moreover, the Trump administration has commenced the Energy Resource Governance Initiative (ERGI), intended to promote mining of minerals that are in high demand. So far, the ERGI initiative includes Canada, Australia, Botswana, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, the Philippines, and Zambia. Afghanistan could be part of the ERGI as well, from which the country could benefit economically and ensure a long-term strategic partnership with the United States. REEs are key to the production of tank navigation systems, missile guidance systems, missile defense components, satellites, and military communications systems.

Snip


Afghanistan’s rich mineral resources, if exploited effectively, could prove to be the best substitutes for foreign aid and decrease the country’s dependence on donor countries and foreign support. These resources, if properly managed, provide an opportunity for Afghanistan to write its own story of economic success. Robust policies, strong institutional arrangements together with clear policy direction will pave the way for attracting both domestic and foreign investors. Better management of mineral resources could end in sustainable economic growth paving the way for a lasting peace.

Snip...

Illegal mining is rampant throughout Afghanistan, with more than 2,000 such sites raising money for warlords and the insurgency.
Snip...


For example, a big chunk of the country’s mineral wealth is currently going toward warlords, armed militias and Taliban insurgents. According to a recent Global Witness report, “the revenue going to these strongmen (warlord and mafia) and the Taliban from just one small area of Badakhshan (province) rivals the government’s declared income from the entire Afghan natural resource sector.” Mineral resources are thought to be the Taliban’s second largest source of revenue.

Fortunately, Afghanistan’s current president Ashraf Ghani, a former World Bank economist, is well aware of the value of mineral resources and the danger they pose to the country. He has spoken of the dangers of the resource curse with refreshing clarity. Shortly after assuming office, Ghani said that he will transform the Afghan economy through minerals. But little has been done regarding mineral sector so far, and mining remains untouched to greater extent.

The Afghan government ...snip...will not be able to regain control of the thousands of illegally exploited mines in Afghanistan any time soon.

Snip

More at the link.

https://thediplomat.com/2020/02/afghanistans-mineral-resources-are-a-lost-opportunity-and-a-threat/

Ahmad Shah Katawazai (the author)
is the member of the Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan and former Diplomat at the Afghan Embassy Washington D.C. Katawazai has a master degree in Global Security Studies from Johns Hopkins University and a master in International Legal Studies from American University. Katawazai is a published writer. You can follow him on Twitter @askatawazai.

###

Of course, we now see what's become of the "best laid plans of mice and men" as the wealth slips between the fingers.

Stay safe everyone.
❤pants

August 14, 2021

North Carolina adopts non-partisan redistricting rules

https://twitter.com/DestinHall/status/1425943190763343873





Hattip to LetMyPeopleVote

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215736342

❤

August 1, 2021

Start shipping those unused doses to the Middle East, Africa and Asia or wherever!

If you can't be bothered to save yourself then you forfeit your doses. There are folks paying thousands of dollars to travel to the USA, just to get the vaccine because they know that they only have to show up and it's free.

So sorry, Charlie...

If you don't get the shots then your doses will be designated as "donation doses" and rerouted to anyone else or all of the listed locations and you will not be able to sign up for the shots after ~such-and-such~ date.

The you snooze, you lose approach.

It's now or never.

###