MEDICAL ALPHABET

 

About right.

STATEMENT OF CLARIFICATION

Just because I do not view Edward Snowden as a hero, and just because I was not surprised by the information revealed in the leaks, does not mean that I think the spying and collection of vast amounts of data by our government agencies, especially on its own citizens, is a good thing.

EVELYN UNDERHILL - THE PRACTICAL MYSTIC

The lovely icon of Evelyn Underhill pictured above was written by Tobias Haller.

God is always coming to you in the Sacrament of the Present Moment. Meet and receive Him there with gratitude in that sacrament. 

....

God is acting on your soul all the time, whether you have spiritual sensations or not.

Evelyn Underhill

Evelyn was a wise and practical mystic whose words resonate today, with her emphasis on balance between the heights and the earthy and her reminder to celebrate and give thanks for the miracle of the Incarnation.

IRAN TO SEND TROOPS TO SYRIA TO SUPPORT PRESIDENT ASSAD

Iran will send 4,000 of its troops to Syria to aid president Bashar al-Assad's forces in its fight against rebels, according to the UK's Independent newspaper.

The "military decision" means that Iran is now "fully committed to preserving Assad's regime," wrote journalist Robert Fisk, citing pro-Iranian sources.

As well as sending Revolutionary Guards, Iran has reportedly proposed to open a "Syrian front" against Israel in the Golan Heights.

The decision was reportedly made before Iran's presidential election, and came as the US approved a move to arm the Syrian opposition.

Did anyone in the White House anticipate Iran's "military decision" before the president announced the plan to send light weapons to the rebels in Syria?  Or is the news from Iran another "Who would ever have expected...?" moment?  Why do we continue to meddle in the affairs of countries in the Middle East despite our miserable series of failures?  Many questions...

GRANDPÈRE'S HEIRLOOM TOMATOES

For the first time, Grandpère grew heirloom tomatoes in his garden.  The tomatoes don't look beautiful in the pictures, nor are the colors true, but the taste is delicious. The excellent flavor is different from any tomato I've eaten.  Wikipedia says:

Heirloom tomatoes lack a genetic mutation that gives tomatoes an appealing uniform red color while sacrificing the fruit's sweet taste.

The fruit in the pictures are not quite ripe, because GP is competing with a bird to pick the tomatoes whole without chunks pecked out of them.  The tops of the tomatoes never turn red, so the time is ripe for eating when the feel is slightly soft to the touch.  I'm told by a friend that when the tomatoes can be found in stores or markets, they are expensive.  What a treat for me.

ZAZ WITH JAZZ - "JE VEUX" - ALIVE AND JOYFUL

And she plays the "horn".  Zaz sings in French, in case you wonder.  Her voice reminds me a bit of another French singer.

H/T to my favorite economist.

ALREADY THE TYPICAL LITTLE MAN

Ha ha.  Perfect.  Thanks, Marthe.

ABOUT THE EXPLOSION AT THE CHEMICAL PLANT IN GEISMAR, LOUISIANA

This I did not know, but I am not at all surprised.

A petrochemical plant in Geismar, Louisiana that exploded on Thursday, killing one person and injuring 73, has not been inspected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the past two decades, according to an analysis by ThinkProgress. The Williams Olefins plant, which produces about 1.3 billion pounds of ethylene and 90 million pounds of polymer grade propylene, according to the company’s website, does not have any recorded inspections for plants producing either substance in OSHA’s database since 1993.
....

The same plant also had an accident in 2009, according to Reuters. At that time, 60 pounds of flammable mixture was released, causing a fire that did not lead to injuries. Louisiana has experienced at least two other explosions in petrochemical facilities in the last two years: an explosion at the Westlake Chemicals vinyl plant in Geismar that “sent a cloud of toxic vinyl chloride and hydrochloric acid over the town” in 2012 and another at a Multi-Chem Group plan in New Iberia in 2011. Neither resulted in injuries, Reuters reports.

Petrochemical plants line the Mississippi River in Louisiana.  Due to budget constraints, OSHA inspections occur less and less frequently, thus allowing corporations to self-regulate for the greater part of the time.  The cause of the explosion is not yet known, so we'll have to wait for the results of the investigation to know whether Williams Olefins followed safety regulations in its operation of the plant.

H/T to Charles Pierce at Esquire. 

UPDATE FROM THE ADVOCATE:

A second worker critically injured in Thursday’s explosion at the Williams Olefins chemical plant in Ascension Parish died Friday afternoon as the Tulsa, Okla., company regained control of its shattered Louisiana facility from state emergency officials and while federal regulators looked into the still-unknown cause of the deadly fire.

Scott Thrower, 47, of St. Amant, Williams supervisor of operations and a company employee since April 1999, succumbed to his injuries at Baton Rouge General Medical Center’s burn unit.

The final count of the number of injured is not yet known.

UPDATE 2: OSHA is now on the scene.

THIS IS NOT GOOD

President Barack Obama’s decision to authorize lethal aid to Syrian rebels marks a deepening of U.S. involvement in the two-year civil war. But U.S. officials are still grappling with what type and how much weaponry to send the opposition forces and how to ensure it stays out of the hands of extremists battling for control of Syria.

U.S. officials confirmed Obama’s authorization Thursday after the White House announced it had conclusive evidence that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime used chemical weapons against opposition forces. Obama has said the use of chemical weapons would cross a “red line,” suggesting greater American intervention.

Sending lethal weapons to rebels in an already violent country will not help end the civil war in Syria.  Not everyone agrees with the decision to arm the rebels nor with the assessment by the White House on the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime.  I'm getting flashbacks to the pre-Iraq war period.  Why do we persist in thinking that our weapons and military interventions will benefit the people in the countries in the Middle East?  Look at Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan post-intervention by the US?  Can we claim success in even one of the countries?

The rebels don't even want our light weapons.

Initial consignments are expected to consist of small arms and ammunition, which the rebel Free Syrian Army said on Friday would be largely “meaningless.” The Syrian Opposition Coalition called for “strategic and decisive” support.

I'd hoped Obama would resist the pressure to intervene in Syria with military aid. No good will come of this.  When will the citizens of the US have a say in our military interventions abroad?

UPDATE: This morning, I wrote to President Obama of my sadness that he had decided to send weapons to Syria and requested a reply.  This afternoon, I received a reply which included the following:

Dear June:

Thank you for writing.  I have heard from many Americans about issues affecting seniors.  Today’s economic climate further intensifies the unique challenges they face, and I appreciate your perspective.
 
My Administration continues to support older Americans encountering unfair treatment, financial hardship, or difficulty obtaining health care.  The historic Affordable Care Act strengthens Medicare by not only preserving but also expanding benefits for Americans who depend on Medicare every day.  The law has helped more than five million seniors and people with disabilities save an average of over $600 on prescription drugs in the “donut hole” in Medicare coverage.  Additionally, in 2011, more than 32 million seniors received 1 or more free preventive services, including the new Annual Wellness Visit.  To learn about help available through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, visit www.CMS.gov.
 ....

Thank you, again, for being in touch.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

Blah, blah, blah, with nothing about the subject of my message.  Is this the best the White House staff can do?  Better no reply, n'est-ce pas?

UPDATE 2:  You may want to check Andrew Sullivan's post on sending arms to the Syrian rebels. 

WHO ARE THE PEOPLE MINDING THE STORES?

So there's this vast federal facility for storing data in Utah, the Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative Data Center, and other federal storage facilities, which may have more data than is necessary or even useful in mining for information to protect us from terrorism and cyber attacks.  Vast as is the amount of information gathered and processed, the system did not work well enough to warn the federal agencies of the Tsarnaev brothers' plan to bomb the Boston Marathon, which leads me to think again of the possibility that more is less (Or is it less is more?) or TMI.

As marvelous as is the ability of the machines of technology to function all on their super-intelligent own, human interaction is sometimes necessary for monitoring, repairing, etc. in the facilities, so who are the people minding these stores?  We know that much of the work of government today, including collection and storage of data on persons at home and abroad for purposes of security, is contracted out to private companies.  Who are the people minding the privately-owned stores?

Edward Snowden is a high-school drop-out, who eventually obtained a GED and took college courses, after which he joined the U S Army Special Forces but was discharged after several months, according to Snowden, because he broke both legs in a training exercise.  The Army will not comment on why Snowden was discharged.  As I've said before, a person with Snowden's background does not seem to me an obviously wise choice for a position which requires top security clearance, and, indeed, the choice proved to be disastrous.

Perhaps the good that may come from the Snowden leaks is a conversation about how much information the government can and should be gathering and how it safeguards the information in its possession.