China's presence looms amid massive U.S.-Japanese AnnualEx war games - CNN.com

More proof that the United States had the greatest and most flexible navy in the world and it isn't to be trifled with, what other military in the world can go from providing humanitarian aide in one region of the world one day, then move to another corner of the globe the next day and flex its military muscles. This is the reason that since the 1940's American Presidents ask where are the carriers whenever their is a confrontation or humanitarian crisis brewing in some part of the world that involves the United States.

I guarantee that even though this exercise "AnnualEx 2013" is a annual exercise and is scheduled every year at this time of the year and every year it involves ship and aircraft movements in the South China Sea, and was already set for this date before china declared their zone, I can tell you one thing that is going to happen, there will be more exercises than normal with Japan in this area triggered by China's new Air Defense Identification Zone and most likely there may be more exercises scheduled with allied nations such as the Philippines and South Korea than normal since both those nations also declare islands in the South China Sea,

The next thing I am waiting for China to do is declare a new Sea Defense Zone, or extend it's economic zone out at sea to cover the same area as the Air Defense Zone, and if that does happen, we will have to watch closely because in such a scenario the possibility of an actual confrontation becomes much more likely with the number of nations which declare many of the same islands in the South China Sea as their own territory as China does, which would include nations such as China, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, Philippines and North Korea. Three of those nations Japan, Philippines and South Korea we have mutual defense treaties with.

To up the anti a bit, this report also states that China is sending it's own aircraft carrier into the region, which can be dangerous but let me tell you their aircraft carrier is no competition for the USS George Washington, here are some comparisons.

George Washington Carries 90 aircraft compared to Liaoning's 30, George Washington is 1,092 feet long, Liaoning is 999 ft long, George Washington carries 5,000 sailors, Liaoning 2,626 and finally George Washington can travel 35 mph (reported, the actual speed is classified and I served on two aircraft carriers and I can tell you it is MUCH faster than that  while the Liaoning can travel 30 mph . The main thing is the fire power difference is mind boggling and then there is crew experience, the United States had been operating Aircraft carriers going on 100 years now and this is China's first.

The United States will not stand for this new zone of China's as shown by the B-52 fly over this zone this week and though this Annualex 2013 had been scheduled prior to China's deceleration, even if it hadn't been plan their would be an exercise to  challenge China, and like I said I believe their will be more than normal exercises until China backs off on its Air Defense Zone.
China's presence looms amid massive U.S.-Japanese AnnualEx war games - CNN.com

US flies bombers over disputed islands claimed by China | Fox News

 First of all, I believe that when China declared this zone, they knew out of all the nations in the world the United States is the one they would be dealing with the most, now I'm not saying that Japan is going to give in to China's demands because they won't and they haven't, but The United States has always been involved with disputes of this nature no matter what part of the globe a country declares as their own when, like China did here it expands into an area where 99% of the countries in the world agree is international waters or air space.
A good example goes to 1989 and the Gulf of Sidra incidents with Libya but you can actually go as far back to our countries independence when first England, France and Spain tried to declare certain areas in international and US territorial waters as their own, matter of fact if you look at the words of the US Marine Corps Hymn where it mentions the Shores of Tripoli resulted from the same type of confrontation with the government of Tripoli declaring an area as theirs and demanding the US pay to transit and trade in the area resulted  in The First Barbary War of 1801-1805.
Of course the difference today from the Gulf of Sidra incident the United States wanted to provoke Libya into military action, we don't want that from China but the United States will prove it's point and defend the right of passage with force if China reacts militarily, either toward our forces or allied forces. The danger I really see here is that China isn't only saying it wants military aircraft to follow their demands but also passenger planes, and as of today Japanese airlines who fly through this zone announced their intention of not following China's demands, this could lead to tragic circumstances even if it is just Chinese military aircraft intercepting civilian aircraft. So for now this is a dangerous situation that requires careful attention from everyone.
US flies bombers over disputed islands claimed by China | Fox News

Lara Logan apologizes for '60 Minutes' Benghazi report - CNN.com

The problem with the media in this country, even though some of them say they don't lean one way or another, they have their own bias depending on who is in power in the government  whether they are anti or pro toward the current presidential administration and I'm talking about the present, past and future. Its always been that way and just because someone is a publisher, editor  or owner of a news media outlet it doesn't exempt them from having their own political thoughts and feelings and because they are only human they will lean in one direction or another. Obviously in this report they were trying to discredit President Obama

Now I am far from being pro Obama however in my opinion CBS News is anti President Obama and are looking for ways to discredit him and his people and where in such a hurry to do so that they failed to completely check out their source and because the information provided by this source aligned with some of the beliefs belonging to people in charge of CBS and 60 Minutes they weren't as  thorough as normal in verifying the information in this report.

Like I said before it doesn't matter what media outlet it is, they do lean one way or another however the normal method when it comes to a anti administration media outlet and a report that is anti administration they will still verify there sources and not put out false reports, and if something that is a pro administration report they just won't mention it or bury it on page 10.

What CBS did here in trying to discredit the current president was a major fail, and they ended up discrediting themselves.

Lara Logan apologizes for '60 Minutes' Benghazi report - CNN.com

10News - Is your smartphone outsmarting you? Operating systems bury ad and tracking settings - 10News.com - News

The fact that cell phone companies can do this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, most of the programs these companies use to track you, keep track of things you do and things you like where originally developed by or for the United States government, for example GPS was developed by and for the military. No matter how democratic and free the country is that you live in, the majority of people who work for the your country's government whether it is the military or the president, prime minister or king/queen they want nothing more than to know what every citizen is doing and thinking, why?

Governments want to know what each and everyone of us is doing because THEY want to feel safe and secure. Yes NSA is going to tell us it's because they want to keep us safe from terror attacks and crime and they may be using some of that technology for that purpose, but in the process the true reason is even the United States government don't trust the average citizen, and though there have been few plots to over throw the US government from with in (and there has been), the biggest thing our government fears is a coup attempt, because there are people in this country from the top to the regular citizen who would love nothing more than to over throw this government, but you know what at least we live in a country where we know about some of it, and its not just because of Edward Snowden, it's because we live in a country where although not perfect, there is transparency. Without transparency we wouldn't even have GPS available to us and would be living in "blissful ignorance".

10News - Is your smartphone outsmarting you? Operating systems bury ad and tracking settings - 10News.com - News

Happy Thanksgiving

Hey everyone, here we are the day before Thanksgiving and I just wanted to take the time out and tell everyone to have a safe and happy thanksgiving. It looks like the weather isn't going to cooperate to make sure everyone gets home in time to spend the holiday with their family and though that will suck just be thankful you have that family.

One thing I haven't talked about in this blog is the fact that I spent 20 years in the United States Navy and retired on 31 Dec 2005. While serving in the navy I served in 3 ships and have been all over the world and because of that I have learned to be thankful for what I have, and right now I don't have a whole lot given the fact I am actually homeless and have been since June, but that is another story I may or may not cover in this blog, probably most likely I will cover it piece by piece but not in one big story.

This Thanksgiving I am spending alone and homeless, my wife is in a hospital in Monroe, Washington and my son is stuck with his evil grandparents (evil to me and my wife) who are my wife's mother and step father, and again that is another story that will 100% be covered in this blog because I want to help make sure what has happened to Sandi and I don't happen to others, however I'm sure there are few people out in the world who are like my in-laws, but again that story is not the purpose of this post.

The purpose of this post is just to tell you to have a Happy Thanksgiving and be thankful for what you have, and even though I am homeless and will spend this Thanksgiving alone, I am still thankful, thankful because even though I am not with my wife and son this thanksgiving, I love them and I am thankful that I have them. I don't own anything right now either except the clothes on my back, some clothes in a back pack, a couple of books (I love to read about history so I always have some type of history book on me), a cell phone and this laptop.

Back when I retired in 2005 my wife and I had everything. We owned our own home, 3 vehicles, a camping trailer and Sandi as many shoes and perfume as she wanted. Jesiah our son was born 3 months after I retired in March 2006 which puts him at 7 years old now, I mean it we had everything we thought we ever wanted. Then I got sick, I have FSH Muscular Dystrophy, or the complete name;  Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy and that will be another thing I blog about, maybe not here but I may start a blog just about that and the progress of the disease.

OK as you can see, sometimes its easy for me to get distracted, so let me get back on track. I learned from seeing things and people in other countries to be thankful for what I have and in some cases for things I don't have. Some of the things I am thankful for follow down below, and it's going to only be a couple because I am thankful for many things because I live and am a citizen of the United States of America.

1. I am thankful that I don't have to go to the San Diego County landfill to find food for my family to eat each night, that when we are together even though I am sick and it's hard for me to work, that I make enough on my retirement from the navy to provide food for the table.
2. I am thankful that I have a wife who has stood by me through thick and thin, and though it seems we have had more than our share of thin times, we have stood by each other. Divorce has become way to accepted in today's day and age, its almost expected to happen.
3. I am thankful that I served in the military and retired in a nation that does what it can to take care of it's veterans, and although the system isn't perfect its better than most.
4. I am thankful that I have medical insurance, one of the benefits of serving 20+ years in the US Navy, my wife and I have insurance for the rest of our lives and Jesiah is taken care of until he is 27. Just think as of right now I don't even have to worry during this time of Obamacare.
5.  Lastly, and their is many more, just like how the government isn't perfect in taking care of it's military veterans, there are still programs that are in place to help the homeless and less fortunate, especially those of us who want help to get off the streets and make a better life for ourselves and families.

Well here I have gone again and got carried away, but I guess that's alright as I have no readers of this blog yet, and if you are reading this and saw my previous entry that tells you the main reason I write this blog is for myself. I know for a normal reader a blog entry this long would probably be skipped by 99.99% of most readers. So let me end it here and just say again, have a Happy Thanksgiving, be safe if your driving (remember the weather is sucking in most of the country and your family would rather have you show up late in your car then show up in a coffin), and be thankful for what you have, and in some case's what you don't have.

10News - San Diego woman may be victim of 'knockout' game - 10News.com - News

I can't believe that people are calling this a game, teenagers are running around the cities of this country thinking this is funny, it's just more proof that teenagers brain's are not fully developed and although they may understand the difference between right and wrong, there brains don't process what the complete consequences of their actions can lead to. One of these times a teenager is going to "play," this "knock out game" and their victim is going to die and when that happens the teen is going to look at the police with a bewildered look like they didn't know something this bad could happen. This to is another example that parents aren't spending time with their kids and giving them guidance, they are getting guidance from their peers and it seems there is never an adult in the loop.

Now I know people reading this are going to pop off with their normal remarks about anchor babies, gang members and how these type of people need to be wiped off the face of the earth, but what I am saying here is scientific fact, children and teenagers brains aren't fully developed until they are about 21-22 years (some scientists and doctors say 26)  old and the last part of the brain to develop is the frontal cortex and until this part of the brain in fully developed teens and young adults tend to behave in more impulsive, irrational and dangerous ways. For example when I was a teen I thought I was invincible, stand on the top of my buddies truck and car surf, I would never think about doing that today.

So it's people say, it's scientific proof that teens don't understand, but we didn't run around that age and knock people out, and I say your right, in my opinion it still comes down to parental guidance and though I took risks back as a teen that put myself in danger my parents, grandparents, teachers and other adults in my life taught me to respect other people, that was a concept I understood and in the process of showing others the respect they deserved I didn't hurt or put others in danger.

Thanks Dad and Mom  

10News - San Diego woman may be victim of 'knockout' game - 10News.com - News

Nurse dies protecting patients in Texas surgical center stabbing - CNN.com

I'm not going to waste my time here trying to get involved in the gun debate here, the thing here is that a very brave lady, a nurse who dedicated her life to helping others gave her life protecting others, it doesn't matter to the family how she was killed, what matters is that she was killed and she died a hero. My prayers go out to this ladies family and what I will be interested about finding out here is if this 22 year old man was suffering from mental problems or was on some type of drug. It sounds to me like he was hallucinating about her mother being injured or dieing here at this surgery center, though the story doesn't even state where his mother was. My prayers go out to his family as well because they to will loose a son either to prison (This happened in Texas so the death penalty is likely possibility) or a mental institution.

Nurse dies protecting patients in Texas surgical center stabbing - CNN.com

Just Me And My Writing

Hello and welcome to another try at a blog. I have been trying to start and continue a excellent blog for years now, not a good blog but an excellent blog. I want to write things that I want to read, that I would take some time out of my busy life and sit down and read it, because I know if I would take the time maybe other people would sit down and take the time to try and read my blog as well.

My name is Duane Donecker and I love to write, but most of the time I find I would never take the time as a reader to sit down and read what I have written, which really bums me out, because I think I am smart and I have a lot of good ideas to put out there but each time I start a blog I get fed up with it because I wouldn't read it if I was just someone browsing blogs to read.

Things are going to be different on this blog however because a friend sat me down and told me that yes most people would love to find out they have dedicated readers of a blog they are writing, but that comes to few writers unless you keep at it and don't quit. He said the first thing you need to think about is something you said to me once before (I wrote that above), I asked him "what is that" and he said you told me once that you love to write", and he reminded me that I had told him at the same time "that I write to get things off my chest because everything that happens around me affects me, from things I see on the news, things my family and I do together and the way I see people act on the streets, especially people I don't know."

I sat the last few days and thought about that, that number one fact, that I do love to write and I do it because I enjoy it whether it means anything to anyone else, it means something to me, but at the same time I don't want to hide it like you might a diary.

One place I write on a daily basis is on news web sites, whether it's local news, CNN, Fox News or the new outbreak Aljazeera. Once I had someone start harassing me about my opinion I had put on a local news station and trying tell tell me I wouldn't back up what I wrote by writing more about it, but I one up'ed that person, if you look at most sites, hell if you look almost anywhere in on the internet people rarely use their real names when posting something, I don't. No Matter where I post I post using my name, I told that person I didn't have to because everything I write  I am serious about and I use my name because I stand by what I write, and if I write something that is suppose to lampoon or not be serious I will still use my name but you will know it was meant to lampoon or make fun.

So here is what I am trying to say, from this day on, I'm writing because I like to write, I like to put my views out there for others to see, and I don't care if they agree with me, and at times I have people say they didn't understand what I was writing because I was rambling. If I ramble that means it's something very passionate  to me, when I read what I wrote and realize I rambled most times I leave it the way it was because it does get my feelings across, if I write something else about the subject it's not to apologize for my rambling but its because I have more to say.

Well here we go, I hope I get people to start reading it but if they don't oh, from this day forward I am writing for my self!

10News - Sinkhole reported on North Harbor Drive in Point Loma - 10News.com - News

The underground piping in this city, actually in about every city is corroding to the point if will soon become emergencies in almost every area of the United States, and with today's economy city and county governments have no clue what to do about it. They know what needs to be done, they need to look at the plans of the city and go from the section with the oldest piping and replace every single mile of pipe, but there is not a government in this country that can afford to do that, so no all we can do is wait to see what part of town the next water main break and sink hole is going to happen, and its happening on a weekly basis. The sinkholes are nothing like the ones in Florida but they can still severely injure or kill someone and there is not a darn thing anyone can afford to do about it with governments with no money.
10News - Sinkhole reported on North Harbor Drive in Point Loma - 10News.com - News