By BobbiV

This happened a couple of weeks ago.  I have been saving it, but I can’t say that I really know why.  Perhaps because I am still shaking at the thought of what BP, with our willing consent, has done to the environment in the Gulf.

The reason I am bringing it out now is really very simple.  After the latest storm  the Gulf of Mexico looks a lot better.  The sheen has dissipated in much of the area that was hit with oil and if you don’t look closely, you might just think everything is just A-OK.

That is a deception.  We still don’t know about the long term impact on the environment, wildlife and the fragile eco-systems of the marshes and swamps.  We also don’t have any idea about the health repercussions for the clean up crews and for Gulf residents.  We have no idea what the dispersants BP pumped into the ocean will do and what they will kill.

However, I don’t intend to let it slip from the consciousness of the people I know and that includes readers of this blog.  So I am putting this video up to remind you of how bad this environmental disaster is.  It will continue to plague this country for many years to come.  We must never forget this and we must not let BP off the hook.  As citizens, our duty is to make sure the Obama administration stays vigilant and collects the money from BP that the Gulf residents are due.

By BobbiV

Ya gotta love the Pentagon and the military.  The DOD has done one great job training these guys.  Now they say they can’t account for eight point seven billion dollars of money that was earned from Iraqi oil sales.  Seems to me I remember Paul Wolfowitz testifying before the House, or maybe it was the Senate, that the Iraqi oil revenues were going to pay for our expenditures in the war.  Actually, he said these oil revenues would more than pay for the war, so no harm, no foul,,,right?  We American citizens don’t have to worry though, because the DOD says the money was just lost due to simple accounting errors.

Noooo… fellas,  simple accounting errors would be a hundred dollars or a thousand dollars,even a million dollars in extreme circumstances.  But we are talking about eight point seven billion dollars. That is no accounting error or group of errors.  It is also most definitely not simple.

From Laurence Lewis at Daily Kos; (emphasis mine)

Now, let’s do the math. $8,700,000,000 divided by $9,100,000,000. That comes to 0.9560. Or 95.6%. Missing. Of the Iraqi oil revenue entrusted to the Defense Department between 2004 and 2007. Which would be during the Bush-Cheney administration. Which would be mostly during the tenure of Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense.

$8,700,000,000.

95.6%.

Unaccounted for. Gone. Missing. Poof. Like magic.

You can read the rest here.

Coming closer to getting the point now, guys?  It wasn’t just the American tax payers you ripped off this time.  We want the money paid back sooner rather than latter and everyone  up through Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld should have to cough up their share.  Out here in the reality based world that is just the way it is.

From The Los Angeles Times; (emphasis mine)

If more money is found to be missing, “Iraq will definitely try to get it back,” said Ali Musawi, a media advisor to Prime Minister Nouri Maliki.

Most of the money covered in the latest audit has been spent, but the study found $34.3 million that should legally have been returned to Iraq in 2007, when Iraq’s government assumed responsibility for its finances.

The Defense Department has not said what it intends to do with the money, which is “at risk” of being spent, the audit said.

In response to the audit findings, the Defense Department concurred with recommendations that it establish better guidelines for managing such funds. But a letter from U.S. Central Command emphasized that failure to establish deposit accounts for the $8.7 billion does not mean it all cannot be accounted for.

Read the rest of this article here.

Okay you guys, left…right…left…right…hup,hup,hup, get back in those little cubicles where you stick the bean counters and start accounting.  And do not stop until you find at least eight point seven billion dollars!

Just to let you know how serious we are about this, take a look at what is going on in Bell, California.  That is over a few million at most.  Imagine when we come after you for billions.  Wait, don’t imagine.  Its too gruesome even for a cardboard cut out, love to wear the medals but haven’t had to do any fighting Pentagon asshat.  It might mess with your sensibilities.

Get going, start accounting, right NOW!

Look how much we spend on you over inflated pieces of crap and this was in 2007. Find the money and stop the waste or we will send you where they don't spend very much at all on the military. To be clear that would be in the "Rest of the World" category on the pie chart. And yes, we will leave you there. Aw....don't cry.

By BobbiV

Tea baggers seem to long for the days of the Cold War when the enemy was easy to categorize.  Simply put they have to have a visible enemy to fight or they come unhinged like they have recently.

The truth is wing nuts cannot believe in global warming or climate change because they claim they cannot see it.  They can’t fight the banks or Wall Street because most of their livelihoods depend on them and wing nuts see them as the good guys.  So they fight a class war because they can see the difference between people right in front of them.  It is so much easier and requires no thought, just reaction.

Now there may finally be a way to get Republicans, conservatives and even a few wing nuts on board for a change to green energy.  The evil Chinese Communists are beating our socks off on this front and they will have a green society long before we do!

Think about it.  It is perfect.  The Democratic, liberal, Progressive side would get an energy bill and we could start toward a future free from fossil fuels.  The Republican, conservative, tea bagger side would get a red menace to again wage a Cold War against.

We wouldn’t have to drag the right wing, kicking and screaming all the way to a clean energy future.  We  could just lead them along like lemmings.  Of course we would have to make sure we were out of he way when their leaders heads started exploding.  But eventually…Viola!….clean energy and a fossil fuel free nation.

So start talking to all the right wingers you can.  Let them know China wants to lead the world in clean energy growth, especially solar.  But they are Communists!  We positively cannot let the win.  It is a point of national pride.

Following are some talking points you can use;

75% of solar-power-making machines are being bought by Chinese companies (i.e., the machines that make solar panels are overwhelmingly going to China).

5 years ago, China made about 5% of solar panels in the world. This year, they’ll make almost 50% of them. 50% of all of the solar panels in the world.

“If all those jobs go someplace else, we’re just trading our energy dependence from Saudi Arabia and the Middle East to China or other countries that are really going to make the investment to produce renewable energy.”

China is investing almost $34 billion a year into clean technologies, nearly double what the U.S. invests.

95% of all vacuum tubes using solar power to heat water (solar-thermal tubes) are made in China. 1/3 of them will be exported, but most will remain in and be used in China.

China already has a model solar city, called Dezhou. 80% of the buildings in the city are outfitted with the above solar water heaters and 1/3 of the people in the city work in the solar industry.

Get out there and get to work.  Convince the knuckle draggers to fight the war for clean energy.  Its not against the lefties, its against the Commies.

You know that we at Luna Canus are not just all politics and environmental issues.  We like a little science, history, humor and even sports thrown into the mix.  This definitely falls into the science and history categories.

Now that we are in the 21′st century and have our computers, cell phones and instant access we believe we know everything about our world.  Recently we were proven totally wrong in that belief.

In what should be a scene right out of an ‘Indiana Jones’ movie a lost Mayan city has been discovered!  It appears to be in pristine condition and to have escaped the plundering of Spanish Conquistadors.  There are pyramids, streets, homes and even harbors clearly visible in the pictures of this city.

The location is being withheld to prevent looting of the site.  It is located somewhere in the Caribbean. What makes it so pristine and allowed it to escape Spanish plundering is the fact that the entire city is under water!

What treasures, artifacts and history of our world this city holds are waiting to be discovered.  One thing it is proves is we should not dismiss warnings of rising sea levels.  This is not the first, and I am sure not the last, underwater city to be discovered.  Others have been found off the coast of England, South America and Japan.

I am sure that the people that lived around tall stone pyramids, paved streets and thriving harbors never believed that one day the city they lived in would be under the oceans waves.

Most of the underwater cities that have been recently discovered are estimated to have been flooded around 8,000 years ago.  That would be during the melting of the ice from the last ice age.  I see this as a lesson and a warning.  Now that polar ice is melting at an alarming rate how long will our coastal cities be safe?

We are much more fortunate than our ancient brothers and sisters.  We are being warned about the potential rise in sea levels.  When will we take action to change it?  The truth is, probably not until the waves are lapping at our own doorstep.

To see some totally awesome pictures of the recently found city and read more about it click here:

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maria-popova/abstracting-atlantis-scie_b_589049.html

We already know about these, but what is under the water?  Can't wait to see!

Posted with permission from fluffy feet;

Most of the readers of this blog know I am crazy for Labrador Retrievers.  As a breed these dogs have done so much for people and yet they don’t get  enough recognition from us.  Individual Labs have been awarded tons of plaques, gifts and trophies, but just how do we thank these valiant animals for the lives they save?  Would anything ever be enough?

Labs are continuing their selfless devotion to man as IED sniffing dogs for troops in Afghanistan.  In case you do not know IEDs are bombs.  They are placed in ways that soldiers drive or walk through their trip mechanism and many of our troops have been killed by them.

These dogs are putting their lives on the line by seeking out these roadside bombs and making sure the soldiers get past them unharmed.  Of course the dogs are specially trained for this duty.  To get an idea of the esteem with which the military views these very special dogs, they are given a military rank one degree above their handler.  So who is the boss in tight situations?  It is the dog and in effect the handler takes orders from the canine.

From CBS News, follow 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines on patrol with their Lab named Tigger;

Lance Corporal Jordan Ridder never owned a dog when he was a boy. But he always liked dogs, and there were plenty around the neighborhood.

So when he joined the Marine Corps and they told him they were looking for dog handlers as part of a new program – a program designed to save Marines’ lives – he applied, and was accepted.

The biggest threat to U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan – as in Iraq – is from IEDs, improvised explosive devices. To counter IEDs the military uses metal detectors, ground penetrating radar, electronic jamming signals, mine rollers attached to the front of vehicles and pretty much anything else they can think of that might be an effective counter-measure. Now comes a four-footed addition to the fight against IEDs – specially-trained dogs who can sniff out explosives under the ground before a Marine gets close to the danger zone.

Read the rest of this article here.

The Marines in Afghanistan are in good paws with these wonderful dogs.  Let’s hope both two footed and four footed soldiers come home safely.  Fluffy feet would like to give a big salute to all the military dogs who are serving now or have served before.  There are not awards big enough to express the thanks of this nation and the families of the troops you keep safe.

Devoted and beautiful and they save lives. What more could you ask? Labrador Retrievers deserve our love, gratitude and respect.

By BobbiV

Is there anyone who doesn’t remember getting ragged on for not making their bed in the morning?  I know I sure do.  I can’t possibly count the number of times the unmade bed conversation was had in our house.

The words pig sty, slob, what would people think and others come to mind when I recall these conversations.  Of course, as a dutiful parent I continued the authoritarian lecturing to my son.  After all, its in the parenting 101 textbook.  However, my son still makes his bed only when he is going to have guests.  The rest of the time it is a mess of tangled bedding, tossed clothing, sometimes the telephone and almost always reading material of some sort.  I don’t look any deeper because I might not be able to handle what I see.

I don’t think it matters what type of politics parents believe in, childhood is an equal opportunity time for slobbishness.  Republican or Democratic, conservative or liberal, wing nut or progressive, all parents have to give the lecture about unmade beds.

That is until now.  According to BBC News, scientists are now telling us an unmade bed is better for your health.

From BBC News;

Failing to make your bed in the morning may actually help keep you healthy, scientists believe.

Research suggests that while an unmade bed may look scruffy it is also unappealing to house dust mites thought to cause asthma and other allergies.

A Kingston University study discovered the bugs cannot survive in the warm, dry conditions found in an unmade bed.

The average bed could be home to up to 1.5 million house dust mites.

You can read the rest here.  I really don’t want to think about it anymore.

By BobbiV

With governors who hike the Appalachian Trail, many members who are very confused as to their sexual identity, birthers, deathers, tea baggers and assorted wing nuts, the Republican Party has no lack of hypocrites, posers and scandal.  In fact, the escapades of Republicans have become so common place, most don’t ping loudly enough on my political radar to warrant taking time to post about them.

However, when a politician in a place of authority over others starts playing politics with a disaster in their state and does things that will harm his constituents while playing those political games, I notice….big time.  I don’t care if it is a Democratic or a Republican politician, they ping loudly and persistently on that same political radar until I am forced to say something.

Recently, Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana has been pinging my radar almost incessantly.  First, he seemed to be jumping on the federal government about their inattention to the needs of Louisiana after the BP oil disaster.  Okay, I thought, just more Republican cum Libertarian hypocrisy about small government and not needing the federal government until it is my ox that is getting gored.  Nothing unusual about that,so I let that pass.

Then the pinging got louder when he attacked President Obama and his administration for their slow response to the disaster.  Jindal has aspirations to the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.  So even though I knew he was playing politics to garner press attention and I knew what he was saying about the Obama response was a lie, I marked this up to more games with politics.

But now the radar is pinging non-stop, Jindal didn’t use even half the National Guard Troops he was sent for the spill clean up.  Those troops he did use were assigned to guard BP from problems.  Now this was getting interesting so I began to watch the little Howdy Dowdy look alike more closely.  What is he up to?

Now the news that this Governor has stripped funding from his budget to help cash strapped Parishes in Louisiana with the spill clean up.  He says BP should pay, not the taxpayer and on that point he is right.  But the state should take care of ongoing costs and collect the dollars from BP.  He shouldn’t be delaying clean up because he wants to prove his conservative creds because he is harming those same taxpayers he claims he is protecting.  See the WWLTV story here.

The latest in radar pinging from Bobby Jindal is his veto of a bill by Louisiana legislators.  The bill would require him to preserve and make public records his office has relating to the Deepwater Horizon explosion and events that followed.  Now my curiosity is piqued.  Just why wouldn’t he want to preserve the records relating to the biggest environmental disaster in US history?  What is he really playing at?

From The Miami Herald;

In his veto letter, the governor said the legislation would have hurt the state’s position in future litigation against BP PLC, the oil giant that leased the rig which exploded April 20 in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and causing the disaster.

“This bill would allow BP and other parties with potential liability to the state to obtain information retained by any state agency responding to this tragic event,” Jindal wrote, saying such access could jeopardize the state’s position in seeking legal remedy for the spill’s damage.

The Senate sponsor of the public records provision said Friday night that Jindal’s veto was expected. He noted that the governor has repeatedly fought attempts to require preservation and open most of his office’s records to public scrutiny.

“This governor has opposed transparency for the three years he’s been in office, so that’s not a surprise. What is sad about all this is it’s just another black eye on Louisiana internationally now,” said Sen. Robert Adley, R-Benton.

Read the rest here.

This idiot Jindal deserves watching.  What he’s doing in regard to this disaster just isn’t adding up to be in the best interests of the citizens of Louisiana.

This is Governor Bobby Jindal,of Louisiana. I told you he was a Howdy Dowdy look alike!

By BobbiV

Is there no end ever to the nightmare the big energy and oil corporation BP has created along the Gulf Coast of this country?  We have a toxic brew of oil and dispersant washing up on our beaches, oil soaked sea birds dying in droves, oily rain falling on Louisiana, toxic rain falling on Southeastern farms and dolphins literally screaming from the burns being inflicted on them by the oily muck.

This all seems to be a little more than people can handle and the national mood is beginning to show it.  A beautiful and fragile environment in the United States is likely ruined forever.  People are beginning to show how testy they can get when something this horrible is happening.

It does not seem to matter if you are Republican or Democratic.  In this situation, everyone suffers the same.  That is unless you are a Republican member of the house or senate.  Then the big corporations are your best friends and contributors.  Even to the point of apologizing to BP for our beaches and wetlands getting in the way of their oil then asking them to pay for it.

Things are really bad along the Gulf Coast and all of the country is aware of it.  But do we now have to have insult added to injury after injury?  It seems we do, because the surf along the beaches in Pensacola, Florida are boiling like they have acid in them.

Come on in the waters fine, according to BP.  Pardon me if I decline the invitation.

As the man at the end of the following video says “God help us all.”