Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Let it cool, let it cool, let it cool - Herr frau.
According to the Germans, we (in Southern California) may well experience a cooling trend for ten years. I do so love their modeling. Amazingly, this global warming will stop for ten years and then pick up again. Isn't that convenient. They were becoming flummoxed by all the cold and snow and worried that their funding would dry up so they have now reached a consensus that cooling will occur for ten years. Whew. That gives us until 2018. Enough time for Gore to really do a number on us.
Obama and his bill - must be defeated
The Global Poverty Act. S.2433
I do not even wish to try, at this time, to describe what this bill would and could do.
Instead, you may review a nonpartisan analysis of this bill. Check out its status in the congress, and then determine what you believe you should do.
This will was introduced by the first term Senator from Illinois. In his first term he has introduced a bill that would ... beyond words. Each of the three links opens a separate page that discusses the bill.
So we will raise taxes on the rich, increase all sorts of spending, impose a .7% tax on our GDP - and who one earth would have any money left. The poor would be lucky to have anything. As bad as Hillary is, she isn't looking for a UN to fix things. She wants to spend it all here.
I do not even wish to try, at this time, to describe what this bill would and could do.
Instead, you may review a nonpartisan analysis of this bill. Check out its status in the congress, and then determine what you believe you should do.
This will was introduced by the first term Senator from Illinois. In his first term he has introduced a bill that would ... beyond words. Each of the three links opens a separate page that discusses the bill.
So we will raise taxes on the rich, increase all sorts of spending, impose a .7% tax on our GDP - and who one earth would have any money left. The poor would be lucky to have anything. As bad as Hillary is, she isn't looking for a UN to fix things. She wants to spend it all here.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
SHARPTON RAPS OBAMA
By CHUCK BENNETT and KAVITA
MOKHA
Additional reporting by David Seifman and Ikimulisa
Livingston
April 29, 2008 --
Barack Obama made a call for nonviolence in the aftermath of the Sean Bell verdict - infuriating the Rev. Al Sharpton, who accused the presidential candidate of trying to "grandstand in front of white people," sources told The Post.
During what a source described as a "heated" phone call yesterday, Sharpton told Obama he was disappointed with the Illinois senator's words on Friday, when Obama said "resorting to violence to express displeasure" was "completely unacceptable and counterproductive."
"[Obama] issues this statement and not a single rock had been thrown," said a source. "How does the candidate of change ask people to accept a verdict that is unjust?"
The source said Sharpton had hoped Obama would "side with the Bell family" and not use it as an "opportunity to grandstand in front of white
people."
An Obama spokesman described the conversation as a chance to "hear [Sharpton's] views and to get his perspective."
Sharpton ratcheted up the pressure on federal prosecutors yesterday by bringing Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Judiciary ommittee, to Kalua, the Queens strip club where the Nov. 25, 2006 shooting took place.
"We are going to put together a federal strategy on how to deal with the case," Conyers said. Also yesterday, Queens Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman, who rendered the not-guilty verdict, refused to comment on his decision. "He said what he had to say on the bench," his law clerk said.
So - Sharpton is upset because Obama called for peace and quiet and Sharpton responded with - but it was unfair and unjust ... Obama called for nonviolence and Sharpton responds with "not a single rock had been thrown."
Well, it would be easy then to not resort to violence but Sharpton responds - "How does the candidate of change ask people to accept a verdict that is unjust?"
FOR SHARPTON - CHANGE MEANS taking to the streets and becoming violent.
2 of the 3 officers were Black. And the racism is?
Sharpton spend more time on Black on Black crime in this country and less grandstanding. You are more of a fool than Wright.
Remember - Tawana Brawley.
Run Hillary Run
Dick Morris has an interesting theory on why Hillary will not give up.
I believe he is missing something - I THINK at the convention, the Michigan and Florida delegates will, somehow, through some procedure, get let in and coupled with her success thus far in taking the popular votes and the states needed to win in November, she will argue that she should be the nominee.
However, if I am wrong about the Michigan and Florida delegates then Morris is more likely correct. She is knocking Obama down for McCain and McCain has indicated to Hillary at one time or another that he will only seek 1 term.
Hmmm
UPDATE: As of June 2008, the delegates have been sorted and Hillary resigned herself to oblivion (for now). I was wrong.
.
I believe he is missing something - I THINK at the convention, the Michigan and Florida delegates will, somehow, through some procedure, get let in and coupled with her success thus far in taking the popular votes and the states needed to win in November, she will argue that she should be the nominee.
However, if I am wrong about the Michigan and Florida delegates then Morris is more likely correct. She is knocking Obama down for McCain and McCain has indicated to Hillary at one time or another that he will only seek 1 term.
Hmmm
UPDATE: As of June 2008, the delegates have been sorted and Hillary resigned herself to oblivion (for now). I was wrong.
.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Senator Bingaman - Obama Endorsement. What it doesn't take to get elected Senator in New Mexico
... Brains.
Nicely worded phrases, idealism packaged in words, cliches all - how do we transfer to automatons, some degree of intellect simply because they regurgitate stock phrases.
Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico:
"Our nation faces a daunting number of critical challenges: reasserting America's leadership in the world, meeting our needs for energy independence, addressing global warming, making healthcare accessible and affordable, positioning our economy to effectively compete globally, and extricating ourselves from the war in Iraq, to name a few ... To make progress, we must rise above the partisanship and the issues that divide us to find common ground. We must move the country in a dramatically new direction."
This was his endorsement speech of Barrack H. Obama.
So, let us consider his statement, word for word, phrase for phrase as we all do every time Bush speaks. Goose and Gander.
- Our nation faces a daunting number of critical challenges
* This one is a good start. No one doubts this to be true. Take a truism and then blend in opinion to lend credibility to your assertion.
- reasserting America's leadership in the world
* Do we not lead today. Are we not holding sway today. Have I not heard Democratic leaders say - If Bush told the Sauds to lower oil prices they would. Do we not have the strongest alliances with France, Germany, Russia, Britain, Australia, Italy, Canada ... yes, we do. Our relationship with those countries today is stronger than at any time during the Clinton administration. So what is this idea of reasserting America's leadership ... ???
-meeting our needs for energy independence
* Allow drilling in Anwar. Allow oil exploration off California's coast, the same coastal areas where other countries currently seek oil. Allow oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico ... in areas where other countries are currently exploring. Provide tax breaks for companies to dig for oil in the shale rock of the Rocky mountains. The untold trillions of barrels available became financially feasible at around $75 a barrel. Provide tax incentives to purchasers of any car that gets higher than 35 mpg. Provide rebate for people to sell their old cars. DO THIS and we will not need Middle Eastern oil. We will be independent within 7 years.
- addressing global warming
* It's been addressed. Thank you. The scientific consensus isn't. We will continue to use our technology to develop more efficient methods and in doing so we will reduce emissions without taxes or rate increases, without any UN agency, without any government involvement. Unless government will offer rebates to get rid of old a/c and old water heaters, fridges, and other electrical equipment as an incentive to the consumer and to help defray costs. DO THIS AND WE WILL REDUCE EMISSIONS LOWER THAN KYOTO WITHOUT SIGNING A RESTRICTIVE AND DESTRUCTIVE KYOTO.
-making healthcare accessible and affordable
* This issue is one of the most complicated and misunderstood issues, even more misunderstood than Iraq, as it began long before Iraq.
First, we should sort out a few points before explicating the statements further. I will pose a couple questions and you imagine the first words that come to mind: desert, rum, airline.
Now, without my knowing you picked sand or heat for desert - why didn't you pick cool water or freezing temperatures. For rum why didn't you pick sugar. For airline why didn't you pick Brasilia. Do you think if I set you and four friends in a room and commanded you to research airlines you would ever mention Eastern Airlines or Pan Am? Why not.
When considering health care options we can only consider those options within our world of knowing - so we can look at British models, French models, Canadian models, Swedish models ... we cannot conceive of a plan that does not exist because we as mere mortal beings do not have the mind to conceive of that which cannot and has not ever existed.
The British and French, Canadian, German, Swedish models (with a few minor variations) - the government divides the country into regions or provinces or counties and each REG/PRO/COU gets a certain amount of money BASED upon certain criteria: population, average patient cost X avg pop. That money became the base for the PRO/COU/REG. It works for ONE fiscal year. Assume each province gets $1,000,000,000. That is divided up between hospitals and regional medical centers out of which doctors would work. You want to go and see an Ears Nose and Throat doctor. You call them up, they say, call your family doctor first. You tell your family doctor you would like to see the Ears Nose and Throat doctor. He says he needs to see you first. Come in next week. You make an appt to see your family doctor and go in. he checks you out and says you don't need to see the EN&T doctor, you just need some medicine. You go home, have the same problem. You call the family doctor, he tells you to wait three days for the meds to work and let him know. The third day is Friday. He doesn't work Sat or Sun. You call him Monday. He agrees to see you again, you go in, he checks you and decides that yes, there is an issue and writes out a referral to the EN&T doctor. You call the EN&T doctor and they tell you your appointment will be in two weeks. If you cannot wait, you can go in to the hospital.
You wait two weeks. The EN&T doctor sees you and determines that you have an inner ear infection and you have lost 5% of your hearing. Recourse: NONE. Assume you didn't lose any hearing - it has now been three weeks you have suffered and will be another 2-3 days before the new meds can provide relief.
Now, imagine you go in for open heart surgery. It is October 30. Surgery costs $150,000 plus ancillary costs of another $75,000 for the first six months after surgery including room, meds, care. Another $10,000 in costs for the following two years. You go in October 30. You are 67 years old. What do you think they will tell you? Here is a hint. EVERY BLOODY SILLY PENNY THAT YOU THINK COSTS TOO MUCH AT THIS BLOODY MOMENT WILL COST THE SAME BLOODY AMOUNT IN SWEDEN, BRITAIN, CANADA ... SAME. The difference is the amount is deducted from the total available amount for the province/county/region. They say they can get you in for surgery on November 20. The problem, many people will need care between November and December 31. Many people who are younger and more productive. It is likely they will put you off until January 2. How likely. In Canada: 100% certain they would. In Britain: 98% certain they would. In Germany: 80% certain. Pretty certain.
Why? because models such as those require INPUT to provide OUTPUT. It is a cost benefit analysis. You are 67, no longer paying taxes on income and not as beneficial to society as you were at 50, whereas 40 year olds are more productive and need help. Why spend $400,000 on you when they can spend $400,000 and three people in their twenties and get more taxes out of them! AND THAT IS HOW THEIR SYSTEMS WORK. When older British citizens need real medical care, they come here. When Canadians need real care, they come here.
Well, what about the right of people to care? NO ONE IN THE UNITED STATES can be denied health care for lack of money. NO ONE, NEVER, NOT HERE. You may not get to go to UCLA or to the PPO doctor down the street, but you cannot be denied emergency health care in this country now or ever. Not legal and not illegal - everyone gets the care. If you have no money and are pregnant, you go to county hospital, apply, fill out forms, wait, are seen by a doctor, they provide you with meds and whatever else you need all FREE* or at low cost depending upon how much you make and can pay. THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE CASE. Now, some people do not like the lines and waiting and the cattle mentality of those places. AND YOU THINK what is being suggested by Obama and Clinton would make the rooms any less CATTLE LIKE? Silly you. You have no clue.
That is all the time I have to spend on this issue which has been discussed and explicated so many times at greater length and in more detail elsewhere.
* NOTHING is FREE. if you get a box of pampers from the hospital, the charge of $40 will be deducted from the funds provided by the government raised through taxes, paid by people who pay taxes.
- positioning our economy to effectively compete globally
* what in the heck does this mean. Bill Clinton positioned us to compete globally and the giant sucking sound followed. You cannot create industrial jobs in the US. Steel is gone. you cannot restart steel, especially if you want to save the environment. You cannot bring back the auto industry with workers paid salaries that make lawyers fees in Europe comparable. This is one of those cliches that means little but sounds good. What will you do? Put more people to work? 2/3 of ALL jobs in the US are in the small business sector - not counted by the national unemployment figures. Yet taxes raised on people who make $300,000 would place small business owners in jeopardy for they would count as the extreme wealthy even while they employee a few workers and pay them living wages. Raise the taxes on the rich says Hillary - but a person who makes $500,000 and owns a small business pays taxes on the $500,000 and cannot hire new people, must lay off one person, cannot expand their business ... to satisfy the greed of some.You hurt the economy more. You are more destructive. Set off a nuclear bomb and do less damage.
- extricating ourselves from the war in Iraq
* Neither Obama nor Clinton would remove EVERY military person from Iraq. NEITHER. NEVER. Not in any way shape form, not now or ever. Whatever YOU think they have promised, THEY WILL NOT. WHAT will happen is, if god-forbid either wins, a MASSIVE media spectacle of a few troops changing chairs, but it will sure look like they are leaving and whichever will be standing out front telling us they kept the promise ... and those troops will end up back in Iraq at a later date under an agreement signed with the US that can only be terminated by the Iraqi government for a very long duration of US protection.
The above isn't an opinion. It has been stated several hundred times in different ways on different forums. For ANYONE to believe otherwise is a sign of mental stupidity and retardation of the most severe order. Then, when everything does not transpire as your delusional minds believe it should based upon promises made, you will go in to meltdown and blame Bush. Silly fools. I am telling you now - have your meltdown now and save the time later. By the way, the idiot Senator Bingaman, he knows all this as well. He is pandering and the people of New Mexico do not deserve a pandering fool in the US Senate.
- To make progress, we must rise above the partisanship and the issues that divide us to find common ground.
* So calling republicans names helps heal a division? telling 30% of this country that their strong view on US security is foolish and wrong - that will heal anything? Telling over 50% of the country that we need to apologize to the world when it is the other way around, that is insulting to us and that will NEVER heal anything. This is the most asinine of his statements. What is the general complaint people have about voting - there is no difference. Well, partisanship is what makes the difference. One side believes that we, the United States, have the unilateral right to protect ourselves and our interests without consulting anyone. The other side do not accept that premise. That is the simplest way to decide which side you are on. Common ground: we all are human, we all breathe, we all like children and puppies, we want to live in peace, we value human life, we want all people on earth to live in peace and without death looming over them ... that is where our common ground ends. Versus the rest of the world who may or may not believe that premise.
- We must move the country in a dramatically new direction.
* We were in one direction under Clinton. At the end of his term - the economy tanked. The stock market dropped like a meteor. China used our technology to develop ICBM technology. North Korea developed nuclear weapons. That was the Clinton path. So Mr Bingaman, what path is it you wish us to take? Should we consult the UN more? The Useless Nations of the world are useless on everything but Unicef and WHO. They are an impediment to peace. You want us to consult our allies more - which ones - Germany, Italy, France, Australia, Britain, Canada, Russia. All of them are better friends with the US at this moment than during the 1990s.
Hyperbole and cliches are all Bingaman and the losercrats have in their bag of tricks. Unfortunately they are matched up against the retardicans who couldn't get a hole in one if they were in the hole, holding the ball.
We all lose.
Nicely worded phrases, idealism packaged in words, cliches all - how do we transfer to automatons, some degree of intellect simply because they regurgitate stock phrases.
Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico:
"Our nation faces a daunting number of critical challenges: reasserting America's leadership in the world, meeting our needs for energy independence, addressing global warming, making healthcare accessible and affordable, positioning our economy to effectively compete globally, and extricating ourselves from the war in Iraq, to name a few ... To make progress, we must rise above the partisanship and the issues that divide us to find common ground. We must move the country in a dramatically new direction."
This was his endorsement speech of Barrack H. Obama.
So, let us consider his statement, word for word, phrase for phrase as we all do every time Bush speaks. Goose and Gander.
- Our nation faces a daunting number of critical challenges
* This one is a good start. No one doubts this to be true. Take a truism and then blend in opinion to lend credibility to your assertion.
- reasserting America's leadership in the world
* Do we not lead today. Are we not holding sway today. Have I not heard Democratic leaders say - If Bush told the Sauds to lower oil prices they would. Do we not have the strongest alliances with France, Germany, Russia, Britain, Australia, Italy, Canada ... yes, we do. Our relationship with those countries today is stronger than at any time during the Clinton administration. So what is this idea of reasserting America's leadership ... ???
-meeting our needs for energy independence
* Allow drilling in Anwar. Allow oil exploration off California's coast, the same coastal areas where other countries currently seek oil. Allow oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico ... in areas where other countries are currently exploring. Provide tax breaks for companies to dig for oil in the shale rock of the Rocky mountains. The untold trillions of barrels available became financially feasible at around $75 a barrel. Provide tax incentives to purchasers of any car that gets higher than 35 mpg. Provide rebate for people to sell their old cars. DO THIS and we will not need Middle Eastern oil. We will be independent within 7 years.
- addressing global warming
* It's been addressed. Thank you. The scientific consensus isn't. We will continue to use our technology to develop more efficient methods and in doing so we will reduce emissions without taxes or rate increases, without any UN agency, without any government involvement. Unless government will offer rebates to get rid of old a/c and old water heaters, fridges, and other electrical equipment as an incentive to the consumer and to help defray costs. DO THIS AND WE WILL REDUCE EMISSIONS LOWER THAN KYOTO WITHOUT SIGNING A RESTRICTIVE AND DESTRUCTIVE KYOTO.
-making healthcare accessible and affordable
* This issue is one of the most complicated and misunderstood issues, even more misunderstood than Iraq, as it began long before Iraq.
First, we should sort out a few points before explicating the statements further. I will pose a couple questions and you imagine the first words that come to mind: desert, rum, airline.
Now, without my knowing you picked sand or heat for desert - why didn't you pick cool water or freezing temperatures. For rum why didn't you pick sugar. For airline why didn't you pick Brasilia. Do you think if I set you and four friends in a room and commanded you to research airlines you would ever mention Eastern Airlines or Pan Am? Why not.
When considering health care options we can only consider those options within our world of knowing - so we can look at British models, French models, Canadian models, Swedish models ... we cannot conceive of a plan that does not exist because we as mere mortal beings do not have the mind to conceive of that which cannot and has not ever existed.
The British and French, Canadian, German, Swedish models (with a few minor variations) - the government divides the country into regions or provinces or counties and each REG/PRO/COU gets a certain amount of money BASED upon certain criteria: population, average patient cost X avg pop. That money became the base for the PRO/COU/REG. It works for ONE fiscal year. Assume each province gets $1,000,000,000. That is divided up between hospitals and regional medical centers out of which doctors would work. You want to go and see an Ears Nose and Throat doctor. You call them up, they say, call your family doctor first. You tell your family doctor you would like to see the Ears Nose and Throat doctor. He says he needs to see you first. Come in next week. You make an appt to see your family doctor and go in. he checks you out and says you don't need to see the EN&T doctor, you just need some medicine. You go home, have the same problem. You call the family doctor, he tells you to wait three days for the meds to work and let him know. The third day is Friday. He doesn't work Sat or Sun. You call him Monday. He agrees to see you again, you go in, he checks you and decides that yes, there is an issue and writes out a referral to the EN&T doctor. You call the EN&T doctor and they tell you your appointment will be in two weeks. If you cannot wait, you can go in to the hospital.
You wait two weeks. The EN&T doctor sees you and determines that you have an inner ear infection and you have lost 5% of your hearing. Recourse: NONE. Assume you didn't lose any hearing - it has now been three weeks you have suffered and will be another 2-3 days before the new meds can provide relief.
Now, imagine you go in for open heart surgery. It is October 30. Surgery costs $150,000 plus ancillary costs of another $75,000 for the first six months after surgery including room, meds, care. Another $10,000 in costs for the following two years. You go in October 30. You are 67 years old. What do you think they will tell you? Here is a hint. EVERY BLOODY SILLY PENNY THAT YOU THINK COSTS TOO MUCH AT THIS BLOODY MOMENT WILL COST THE SAME BLOODY AMOUNT IN SWEDEN, BRITAIN, CANADA ... SAME. The difference is the amount is deducted from the total available amount for the province/county/region. They say they can get you in for surgery on November 20. The problem, many people will need care between November and December 31. Many people who are younger and more productive. It is likely they will put you off until January 2. How likely. In Canada: 100% certain they would. In Britain: 98% certain they would. In Germany: 80% certain. Pretty certain.
Why? because models such as those require INPUT to provide OUTPUT. It is a cost benefit analysis. You are 67, no longer paying taxes on income and not as beneficial to society as you were at 50, whereas 40 year olds are more productive and need help. Why spend $400,000 on you when they can spend $400,000 and three people in their twenties and get more taxes out of them! AND THAT IS HOW THEIR SYSTEMS WORK. When older British citizens need real medical care, they come here. When Canadians need real care, they come here.
Well, what about the right of people to care? NO ONE IN THE UNITED STATES can be denied health care for lack of money. NO ONE, NEVER, NOT HERE. You may not get to go to UCLA or to the PPO doctor down the street, but you cannot be denied emergency health care in this country now or ever. Not legal and not illegal - everyone gets the care. If you have no money and are pregnant, you go to county hospital, apply, fill out forms, wait, are seen by a doctor, they provide you with meds and whatever else you need all FREE* or at low cost depending upon how much you make and can pay. THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE CASE. Now, some people do not like the lines and waiting and the cattle mentality of those places. AND YOU THINK what is being suggested by Obama and Clinton would make the rooms any less CATTLE LIKE? Silly you. You have no clue.
That is all the time I have to spend on this issue which has been discussed and explicated so many times at greater length and in more detail elsewhere.
* NOTHING is FREE. if you get a box of pampers from the hospital, the charge of $40 will be deducted from the funds provided by the government raised through taxes, paid by people who pay taxes.
- positioning our economy to effectively compete globally
* what in the heck does this mean. Bill Clinton positioned us to compete globally and the giant sucking sound followed. You cannot create industrial jobs in the US. Steel is gone. you cannot restart steel, especially if you want to save the environment. You cannot bring back the auto industry with workers paid salaries that make lawyers fees in Europe comparable. This is one of those cliches that means little but sounds good. What will you do? Put more people to work? 2/3 of ALL jobs in the US are in the small business sector - not counted by the national unemployment figures. Yet taxes raised on people who make $300,000 would place small business owners in jeopardy for they would count as the extreme wealthy even while they employee a few workers and pay them living wages. Raise the taxes on the rich says Hillary - but a person who makes $500,000 and owns a small business pays taxes on the $500,000 and cannot hire new people, must lay off one person, cannot expand their business ... to satisfy the greed of some.You hurt the economy more. You are more destructive. Set off a nuclear bomb and do less damage.
- extricating ourselves from the war in Iraq
* Neither Obama nor Clinton would remove EVERY military person from Iraq. NEITHER. NEVER. Not in any way shape form, not now or ever. Whatever YOU think they have promised, THEY WILL NOT. WHAT will happen is, if god-forbid either wins, a MASSIVE media spectacle of a few troops changing chairs, but it will sure look like they are leaving and whichever will be standing out front telling us they kept the promise ... and those troops will end up back in Iraq at a later date under an agreement signed with the US that can only be terminated by the Iraqi government for a very long duration of US protection.
The above isn't an opinion. It has been stated several hundred times in different ways on different forums. For ANYONE to believe otherwise is a sign of mental stupidity and retardation of the most severe order. Then, when everything does not transpire as your delusional minds believe it should based upon promises made, you will go in to meltdown and blame Bush. Silly fools. I am telling you now - have your meltdown now and save the time later. By the way, the idiot Senator Bingaman, he knows all this as well. He is pandering and the people of New Mexico do not deserve a pandering fool in the US Senate.
- To make progress, we must rise above the partisanship and the issues that divide us to find common ground.
* So calling republicans names helps heal a division? telling 30% of this country that their strong view on US security is foolish and wrong - that will heal anything? Telling over 50% of the country that we need to apologize to the world when it is the other way around, that is insulting to us and that will NEVER heal anything. This is the most asinine of his statements. What is the general complaint people have about voting - there is no difference. Well, partisanship is what makes the difference. One side believes that we, the United States, have the unilateral right to protect ourselves and our interests without consulting anyone. The other side do not accept that premise. That is the simplest way to decide which side you are on. Common ground: we all are human, we all breathe, we all like children and puppies, we want to live in peace, we value human life, we want all people on earth to live in peace and without death looming over them ... that is where our common ground ends. Versus the rest of the world who may or may not believe that premise.
- We must move the country in a dramatically new direction.
* We were in one direction under Clinton. At the end of his term - the economy tanked. The stock market dropped like a meteor. China used our technology to develop ICBM technology. North Korea developed nuclear weapons. That was the Clinton path. So Mr Bingaman, what path is it you wish us to take? Should we consult the UN more? The Useless Nations of the world are useless on everything but Unicef and WHO. They are an impediment to peace. You want us to consult our allies more - which ones - Germany, Italy, France, Australia, Britain, Canada, Russia. All of them are better friends with the US at this moment than during the 1990s.
Hyperbole and cliches are all Bingaman and the losercrats have in their bag of tricks. Unfortunately they are matched up against the retardicans who couldn't get a hole in one if they were in the hole, holding the ball.
We all lose.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Obama and Blackwell - Questionable Financial Dealings
Washington — After an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 2000, Illinois state Sen. Barack Obama faced serious financial pressure: numerous debts, limited cash and a law practice he had neglected for a year. Help arrived in early 2001 from a significant new legal client — a longtime political supporter.
Chicago entrepreneur Robert Blackwell Jr. paid Obama an $8,000-a-month retainer to give legal advice to his growing technology firm, Electronic Knowledge Interchange. It allowed Obama to supplement his $58,000 part-time state Senate salary for over a year with regular payments from Blackwell’s firm that eventually totaled $112,000.
A few months after receiving his final payment from EKI, Obama sent a request on state Senate letterhead urging Illinois officials to provide a $50,000 tourism promotion grant to another Blackwell company, Killerspin.
LA Times, 3/27/08
********************************************
Obama had help from wealthy donor
Tech firm owner paid him a retainer, got his endorsement
by Chuck Neubauer and Tom Hamburger
Baltimore Sun, Sunday, April 27, 2008
WASHINGTON // After an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 2000, Illinois state Sen. Barack Obama faced serious financial pressure. Help arrived in early 2001 from a significant new legal client — a longtime political supporter.
Chicago entrepreneur Robert Blackwell Jr. paid Obama an $8,000-a-month retainer to give legal advice to his technology firm, Electronic Knowledge Interchange. It allowed Obama to supplement his $58,000 part-time state Senate salary for more than a year with payments from Blackwell’s firmthat totaled $112,000.
A fewmonths after receiving his final payment from EKI, Obama sent a request on state Senate letterhead urging Illinois officials to provide a $50,000 tourism promotion grant to another Blackwell company, Killerspin.
Killerspin specializes in table tennis, running tournaments nationwide and selling its own line of equipment and apparel and DVD recordings of the competitions. With support from Obama, other state officials and an Obama aide who went to work part time for Blackwell’s firms, the company eventually obtained $320,000 in state grants between 2002 and 2004 to subsidize its tournaments.
Obama’s staff said the senator advocated only for the first year’s grant, which was $20,000, not $50,000. The day after Obama wrote his letter urging awarding of the state funds, Obama’s U.S. Senate campaign received a $1,000 donation fromBlackwell.
Obama’s presidential campaign rejects any suggestion that there was a connection between the legal work, the campaign contribution and the help with the grant. “Any implication that Senator Obama would risk an ethical breach in order to secure a small grant for a pingpong tournament is nuts,” said David Axelrod, Obama’s chief political adviser.
Business relationships between lawmakers and people with government interests are not illegal or uncommon in Illinois and other states with a part-time legislature, where lawmakers supplement their state salaries with income from the private sector.
But Obama portrays himself as dedicated to transparency and sensitive even to the appearance of a conflict of interest. Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, who provided the Los Angeles Times with details of Obama’s compensation from EKI, says Obama did nothing wrong acting on behalf of Killerspin. He said the state senator simply wrote a letter backing a project developed by a constituent.
When Blackwell sought backing for his table tennis tournament in 2002, other politicians including U.S. Sen. Richard J. Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley offered support for the event. But Obama was the only one who provided a letter that became part of the initial application for state funds, state records show. In addition, he wrote a state Senate proclamation heralding the first tournament and an official letter welcoming “table tennis friends” to the 2004 contest.
Initially the idea of table tennis receiving funds from a state tourism program — designed to encourage overnight visits to Illinois — was met with skepticism by one Republican state official. But the funding was granted at the $20,000 level that first year and then grew to $200,000 in 2003 and totaled $100,000 in 2004.
Today, Illinois Tourism Director Jan Kosner lauds the state’s decision to support the table tennis tourneys and dismisses the role that letters from politicians play in the grant-making process.
Unofficial estimates place 3,000 to 6,000 spectators in the 8,000-seat University of IllinoisChicago arena during some events.
When Blackwell hired Obama in 2001 to serve as general counsel for his tech company, EKI, the monthly retainer paid by EKI was sent to the law firm that Obama was affiliated with at the time, currently known as Miner, Barnhill & Galland, where he worked part-time when not tending to legislative duties. The entire EKI retainer went to Obama, who was considered “of counsel” to the firm, according to details provided to the Times by the Obama campaign and confirmed by Miner. Obama’s tax returns show that he made no money from his law practice in 2000. But that changed in 2001, when Obama reported $98,158 income for providing legal services. Of that, $80,000 was from Blackwell’s company.
On disclosure forms for 2001 and 2002, Obama did not specify that EKI provided him with the bulk of the private-sector compensation that he received. As was his custom, he attached a multiple-page list of all of the law firm’s clients, which included EKI among the names of hundreds of other firm clients. Illinois law does not require more specific disclosure.
Stanley Brand, a Washington lawyer who counsels members of Congress and others on ethics rules, said he would have advised a lawmaker in Obama’s circumstances to separately disclose such a singularly important client and not simply include it on a list of hundreds of firm clients.
An Illinois ethics advocate who worked with Obama, Cynthia Canary, said his disclosure, by listing all the firm’s clients, “was a more complete disclosure than you see 80 percent of the time in Illinois.” Further, she said that Obama’s letter on behalf of the table tennis tournament did not “rise to the level of a conflict of interest” because Obama did not have decision-making authority over the grant.
Obama’s wife, Michelle, then a member of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, reported her husband’s work for EKI on a city of Chicago financial disclosure form obtained by the Times. Gibbs said she identified EKI on her form after consulting with her husband.
....................... Chuck Neubauer and Tom Hamburger write for the Los Angeles Times.
***************************************************
***************************************************
***************************************************
$8,000 a month retainer.
At just the right moment.
For what.
Hillary's issues with Rose Law Firm are well known, boxes appear on White House couches myserteriously. Obama - he has a whole closet of issues ready to tumble out.
Now what about the money for his home!
Chicago entrepreneur Robert Blackwell Jr. paid Obama an $8,000-a-month retainer to give legal advice to his growing technology firm, Electronic Knowledge Interchange. It allowed Obama to supplement his $58,000 part-time state Senate salary for over a year with regular payments from Blackwell’s firm that eventually totaled $112,000.
A few months after receiving his final payment from EKI, Obama sent a request on state Senate letterhead urging Illinois officials to provide a $50,000 tourism promotion grant to another Blackwell company, Killerspin.
LA Times, 3/27/08
********************************************
Obama had help from wealthy donor
Tech firm owner paid him a retainer, got his endorsement
by Chuck Neubauer and Tom Hamburger
Baltimore Sun, Sunday, April 27, 2008
WASHINGTON // After an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 2000, Illinois state Sen. Barack Obama faced serious financial pressure. Help arrived in early 2001 from a significant new legal client — a longtime political supporter.
Chicago entrepreneur Robert Blackwell Jr. paid Obama an $8,000-a-month retainer to give legal advice to his technology firm, Electronic Knowledge Interchange. It allowed Obama to supplement his $58,000 part-time state Senate salary for more than a year with payments from Blackwell’s firmthat totaled $112,000.
A fewmonths after receiving his final payment from EKI, Obama sent a request on state Senate letterhead urging Illinois officials to provide a $50,000 tourism promotion grant to another Blackwell company, Killerspin.
Killerspin specializes in table tennis, running tournaments nationwide and selling its own line of equipment and apparel and DVD recordings of the competitions. With support from Obama, other state officials and an Obama aide who went to work part time for Blackwell’s firms, the company eventually obtained $320,000 in state grants between 2002 and 2004 to subsidize its tournaments.
Obama’s staff said the senator advocated only for the first year’s grant, which was $20,000, not $50,000. The day after Obama wrote his letter urging awarding of the state funds, Obama’s U.S. Senate campaign received a $1,000 donation fromBlackwell.
Obama’s presidential campaign rejects any suggestion that there was a connection between the legal work, the campaign contribution and the help with the grant. “Any implication that Senator Obama would risk an ethical breach in order to secure a small grant for a pingpong tournament is nuts,” said David Axelrod, Obama’s chief political adviser.
Business relationships between lawmakers and people with government interests are not illegal or uncommon in Illinois and other states with a part-time legislature, where lawmakers supplement their state salaries with income from the private sector.
But Obama portrays himself as dedicated to transparency and sensitive even to the appearance of a conflict of interest. Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, who provided the Los Angeles Times with details of Obama’s compensation from EKI, says Obama did nothing wrong acting on behalf of Killerspin. He said the state senator simply wrote a letter backing a project developed by a constituent.
When Blackwell sought backing for his table tennis tournament in 2002, other politicians including U.S. Sen. Richard J. Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley offered support for the event. But Obama was the only one who provided a letter that became part of the initial application for state funds, state records show. In addition, he wrote a state Senate proclamation heralding the first tournament and an official letter welcoming “table tennis friends” to the 2004 contest.
Initially the idea of table tennis receiving funds from a state tourism program — designed to encourage overnight visits to Illinois — was met with skepticism by one Republican state official. But the funding was granted at the $20,000 level that first year and then grew to $200,000 in 2003 and totaled $100,000 in 2004.
Today, Illinois Tourism Director Jan Kosner lauds the state’s decision to support the table tennis tourneys and dismisses the role that letters from politicians play in the grant-making process.
Unofficial estimates place 3,000 to 6,000 spectators in the 8,000-seat University of IllinoisChicago arena during some events.
When Blackwell hired Obama in 2001 to serve as general counsel for his tech company, EKI, the monthly retainer paid by EKI was sent to the law firm that Obama was affiliated with at the time, currently known as Miner, Barnhill & Galland, where he worked part-time when not tending to legislative duties. The entire EKI retainer went to Obama, who was considered “of counsel” to the firm, according to details provided to the Times by the Obama campaign and confirmed by Miner. Obama’s tax returns show that he made no money from his law practice in 2000. But that changed in 2001, when Obama reported $98,158 income for providing legal services. Of that, $80,000 was from Blackwell’s company.
On disclosure forms for 2001 and 2002, Obama did not specify that EKI provided him with the bulk of the private-sector compensation that he received. As was his custom, he attached a multiple-page list of all of the law firm’s clients, which included EKI among the names of hundreds of other firm clients. Illinois law does not require more specific disclosure.
Stanley Brand, a Washington lawyer who counsels members of Congress and others on ethics rules, said he would have advised a lawmaker in Obama’s circumstances to separately disclose such a singularly important client and not simply include it on a list of hundreds of firm clients.
An Illinois ethics advocate who worked with Obama, Cynthia Canary, said his disclosure, by listing all the firm’s clients, “was a more complete disclosure than you see 80 percent of the time in Illinois.” Further, she said that Obama’s letter on behalf of the table tennis tournament did not “rise to the level of a conflict of interest” because Obama did not have decision-making authority over the grant.
Obama’s wife, Michelle, then a member of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, reported her husband’s work for EKI on a city of Chicago financial disclosure form obtained by the Times. Gibbs said she identified EKI on her form after consulting with her husband.
....................... Chuck Neubauer and Tom Hamburger write for the Los Angeles Times.
***************************************************
***************************************************
***************************************************
$8,000 a month retainer.
At just the right moment.
For what.
Hillary's issues with Rose Law Firm are well known, boxes appear on White House couches myserteriously. Obama - he has a whole closet of issues ready to tumble out.
Now what about the money for his home!
How??
Without question, these things occur. We need look no further than Texas and the freak show unfolding in the Yearning for Zion compound. It is not so much that the initial act occurred that is so disturbing, rather - that it went on for nearly a quarter of a century.
Portrait of a monster.
How does this happen?
***********************************************************
Austrian 'hid daughter in cellar'
A 73-year-old Austrian is under arrest on suspicion of hiding his daughter in a cellar for 24 years and fathering seven children with her, police say.
The existence of the woman, believed missing since 1984 and now 42, emerged after a teenage child fell ill and had to be taken to hospital.
Both the woman and teenage girl are receiving medical treatment and the other children are in care.
A police investigation in Amstetten, Lower Austria Province, is continuing.
The suspect, named only as Josef F, was arrested on suspicion of incest and keeping his daughter in captivity. He has not responded to the charges against him, police say.
One of the children the man allegedly fathered died in infancy, police believe.
Three children, including the 19-year-old, were allegedly kept in the cellar with their mother while the other three reportedly grew up with their grandparents.
DNA tests will be taken to establish whether Josef F was indeed their father.
The alleged crimes came to light after the teenager, named as Kerstin F, was dropped off at the Amstetten hospital last weekend.
Finding Kerstin seriously ill, doctors appealed for her mother, who at that time was assumed to be missing, to come forward to provide more details about her medical history.
Josef F allegedly then released the mother and two other children from the cellar, telling his wife Rosemarie that she had chosen to return home, police say.
It was not immediately clear how police were alerted.
The mother, named as Elisabeth F, has been receiving medical and psychological treatment since being discovered.
She appeared "greatly disturbed" psychologically during questioning and agreed to talk only after authorities assured her that she would no longer have to have contact with her father, and that her children would be taken care of, police added.
The six children are three boys and three girls aged between five and 20.
Police spokesman Franz Polzer told reporters they had been taken to a safe location.
"They are all in psychological care in a secure institution in a clinic here in this area," he said.
"They are being cared for individually - those between 12 and 16 years of age who grew up with their grandparents, and two boys who, when they came out yesterday with their mother, saw the daylight for the first time in their lives."
The police issued a statement giving details of the alleged abuses Elisabeth recounted to them.
She said she had been sexually abused by her father since the age of 11.
Josef allegedly lured her into the cellar of their house in Amstetten on 28 August 1984, drugging and handcuffing her before locking her up.
It was assumed she had disappeared voluntarily when her parents received a letter from her asking them not to search for her.
"Abused continuously during the 24-year-long imprisonment", Elisabeth bore six children while a seventh, one of a set of twins, died soon after birth.
The dead baby was allegedly taken out of the cellar and burnt by Josef.
Elisabeth said Josef had provided her and three of her children, who were locked up along with her, with clothing and food.
His wife Rosemarie had allegedly not been aware of what was going on.
The discovery of another Austrian woman, who was held captive in a cellar by an abductor for more than eight years, gripped the country in 2006.
---------------------
UPDATE:
A series of underground rooms equipped for sleeping and cooking, and with sanitary facilities, lay behind a concealed door, police said.
Josef Fritzl is said to have told his wife, Rosemarie, and local authorities that three babies had been left by Elisabeth on their doorstep, in different years.
Each delivery was accompanied by a letter purportedly signed by Elisabeth Fritzl saying she could not support the child because she already had others to care for.
The trio went to school as normal, seemingly unaware that their mother and three other siblings (a girl of 19, and boys at 18 and five) were trapped underground.
He is said to have told his wife they suddenly re-appeared.
UPDATE: 4/30/08
Yet more clues point to third-party involvement. The door to the dungeon - which had received building permission as a nuclear fallout shelter - weighed 300kg (660lb) and could only have been hinged into position with the help of someone else. Mr Fritzl, moreover, went on several holidays, including at least one three-week stay in Thailand, leaving Elisabeth and her children in the cellar.
******************************************************
So let's recap.
This monster began molesting his 11 year old daughter in 1977. The molestation / rape continued for seven years until she was 18, at which time she was put in the basement and handcuffed and locked up.
The mother of course had NO IDEA for the SEVEN YEARS what was happening.
Then, the monster gets his drugged and handcuffed daughter to write a letter saying she has run away, takes it upstairs and acts surprised when he finds it in the mailbox.
Then she starts having babies.
A few of these babies are taken upstairs and get to live with the grandparents as grandparents. I suspect at least 1 or 2 are female. Good question as to what they had to go through upstairs.
How do you explain to your wife where they are coming from. 'Oh dear, yes, the stork left these on the doorstep and I just had to bring them in to our loving home" "I really wish the stork would stop with these babies, other people are deserving and we are getting quite old to have new babies." "Let me get a shot at that stork and I will ensure it never brings another baby here. We are overcrowded and do not have the money or food to raise any more children."
And the wife obliges.
And someone tipped off the authorities. Who. Why? How???
Portrait of a monster.
How does this happen?
***********************************************************
Austrian 'hid daughter in cellar'
A 73-year-old Austrian is under arrest on suspicion of hiding his daughter in a cellar for 24 years and fathering seven children with her, police say.
The existence of the woman, believed missing since 1984 and now 42, emerged after a teenage child fell ill and had to be taken to hospital.
Both the woman and teenage girl are receiving medical treatment and the other children are in care.
A police investigation in Amstetten, Lower Austria Province, is continuing.
The suspect, named only as Josef F, was arrested on suspicion of incest and keeping his daughter in captivity. He has not responded to the charges against him, police say.
One of the children the man allegedly fathered died in infancy, police believe.
Three children, including the 19-year-old, were allegedly kept in the cellar with their mother while the other three reportedly grew up with their grandparents.
DNA tests will be taken to establish whether Josef F was indeed their father.
The alleged crimes came to light after the teenager, named as Kerstin F, was dropped off at the Amstetten hospital last weekend.
Finding Kerstin seriously ill, doctors appealed for her mother, who at that time was assumed to be missing, to come forward to provide more details about her medical history.
Josef F allegedly then released the mother and two other children from the cellar, telling his wife Rosemarie that she had chosen to return home, police say.
It was not immediately clear how police were alerted.
The mother, named as Elisabeth F, has been receiving medical and psychological treatment since being discovered.
She appeared "greatly disturbed" psychologically during questioning and agreed to talk only after authorities assured her that she would no longer have to have contact with her father, and that her children would be taken care of, police added.
The six children are three boys and three girls aged between five and 20.
Police spokesman Franz Polzer told reporters they had been taken to a safe location.
"They are all in psychological care in a secure institution in a clinic here in this area," he said.
"They are being cared for individually - those between 12 and 16 years of age who grew up with their grandparents, and two boys who, when they came out yesterday with their mother, saw the daylight for the first time in their lives."
The police issued a statement giving details of the alleged abuses Elisabeth recounted to them.
She said she had been sexually abused by her father since the age of 11.
Josef allegedly lured her into the cellar of their house in Amstetten on 28 August 1984, drugging and handcuffing her before locking her up.
It was assumed she had disappeared voluntarily when her parents received a letter from her asking them not to search for her.
"Abused continuously during the 24-year-long imprisonment", Elisabeth bore six children while a seventh, one of a set of twins, died soon after birth.
The dead baby was allegedly taken out of the cellar and burnt by Josef.
Elisabeth said Josef had provided her and three of her children, who were locked up along with her, with clothing and food.
His wife Rosemarie had allegedly not been aware of what was going on.
The discovery of another Austrian woman, who was held captive in a cellar by an abductor for more than eight years, gripped the country in 2006.
---------------------
UPDATE:
A series of underground rooms equipped for sleeping and cooking, and with sanitary facilities, lay behind a concealed door, police said.
Josef Fritzl is said to have told his wife, Rosemarie, and local authorities that three babies had been left by Elisabeth on their doorstep, in different years.
Each delivery was accompanied by a letter purportedly signed by Elisabeth Fritzl saying she could not support the child because she already had others to care for.
The trio went to school as normal, seemingly unaware that their mother and three other siblings (a girl of 19, and boys at 18 and five) were trapped underground.
He is said to have told his wife they suddenly re-appeared.
UPDATE: 4/30/08
Yet more clues point to third-party involvement. The door to the dungeon - which had received building permission as a nuclear fallout shelter - weighed 300kg (660lb) and could only have been hinged into position with the help of someone else. Mr Fritzl, moreover, went on several holidays, including at least one three-week stay in Thailand, leaving Elisabeth and her children in the cellar.
******************************************************
So let's recap.
This monster began molesting his 11 year old daughter in 1977. The molestation / rape continued for seven years until she was 18, at which time she was put in the basement and handcuffed and locked up.
The mother of course had NO IDEA for the SEVEN YEARS what was happening.
Then, the monster gets his drugged and handcuffed daughter to write a letter saying she has run away, takes it upstairs and acts surprised when he finds it in the mailbox.
Then she starts having babies.
A few of these babies are taken upstairs and get to live with the grandparents as grandparents. I suspect at least 1 or 2 are female. Good question as to what they had to go through upstairs.
How do you explain to your wife where they are coming from. 'Oh dear, yes, the stork left these on the doorstep and I just had to bring them in to our loving home" "I really wish the stork would stop with these babies, other people are deserving and we are getting quite old to have new babies." "Let me get a shot at that stork and I will ensure it never brings another baby here. We are overcrowded and do not have the money or food to raise any more children."
And the wife obliges.
And someone tipped off the authorities. Who. Why? How???
Imagine how evil this man is to rape his daughter and then molest his daughters from his daughter. And all during this the wife is .... what is she doing. Never going into the basement for 24 years. Never. Childbirth is loud. Babies crying are loud. Children playing can be loud.
This den of evil is closed. I hope they tear the building down.
And for those sick, deviants wherever you may be - be it Australia, Philippines, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, Singapore, South Africa - you deserve to spend twenty years with Bubba [Bubba is whatever your worst fear would be in prison] being his playmate. It is not a special love or special thing you are doing that no one else understands (like the freaks in Texas) - universally all 6 billion human beings want to rip out your hearts and shove them down your throat. This Frizl person deserves death and if European justice was 'just' he would get death. Unfortunately it is not 'just' and he will end up in prison for 50 years. Valuing life does not mean keeping these type of beings alive, it means so condemning them that the ultimate sanction is imposed. In the alternative, maybe we just hand you over to bin Laden. Drop you from a plane carrying a twinkie, with the words child molester / pedophile branded on your forehead. That would be justice.
Coal and Fuel
As oil costs soar, Air Force hunts for cheaper fuel
By DAVE MONTGOMERY
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON -- Squeezed by the soaring cost of jet fuel, the Air Force is converting its gas-guzzling fleet of aircraft to synthetic fuels and encouraging the creation of a liquefied-coal industry that could tap the nation's vast coal reserves.
This could mean a lucrative new market for coal-producing states such as Texas, Wyoming, Kentucky, Montana, Illinois, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. But advocates of liquefied coal face a counterattack from environmentalists in the debate over global warming and must prove that they can produce an ecologically friendly product with a low carbon footprint.
Air Force officials have been testing synthetic fuels based on coal or natural gas. They plan to certify the fleet of nearly 6,000 aircraft to fly on a 50-50 blend of synthetic fuel and traditional petroleum-based jet fuel by 2011.
Assistant Air Force Secretary Bill Anderson said the search for affordable, cleaner-burning alternative fuels was driven by economic and national-security concerns. The Air Force wants to comply with President Bush's mandate to end America's dependence on foreign oil while escaping soaring fuel prices.
For the Air Force, which consumes more than half of all the fuel the U.S. government uses, the cost of fueling fighters and transports is stratospheric. Every $10 increase in the price of a barrel of oil costs the Air Force $600 million, Anderson said.
Last year, the Air Force spent $5.8 billion to buy 2.6 billion gallons of fuel. In 2003, the service spent about half that -- $2.9 billion -- to buy slightly more fuel, nearly 3 billion gallons.
Air Force officials have successfully flight-tested their 50-50 synthetic fuel blend on B-52 bombers and C-17 transports. They'll soon start testing it with Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor, a stealthy twin-engine fighter that can fly at supersonic speeds.
A B-1 Lancer bomber became the first synthetic fuel-propelled plane to break the sound barrier in a test March 19 at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas.
The synthetic fuel is developed from a technology known as the Fischer-Tropsch process, which can convert coal, natural gas or biomass into clean-burning fuel stripped of impurities such as mercury, sulfur and carbon dioxide. Most of the flight tests have used natural gas, but Air Force officials think that their long-term energy strategy lies in liquefied coal, because the fossil fuel is so abundant in the United States.
The U.S. has 27 percent of the world's coal supply -- 493 billion tons -- and sometimes is referred to as "the Saudi Arabia of coal." Texas is the fifth-largest coal-producing state in the nation, unearthing more than 45.9 million tons annually, mostly from lignite mines scattered through East Texas. It ranks ninth in total coal deposits, with 12.4 billion tons.
Despite its availability, coal seldom has been seriously considered as an alternative energy source because converting it to liquid is so expensive.
However, liquid coal is getting a fresh look as crude-oil prices soar past $100 a barrel.
Although advocates say that the conversion process will result in an ecologically clean product, many environmental groups and their supporters in Congress think that expanding the use of coal will worsen carbon emissions and global warming.
"Across the board there is going to be opposition from the environmental movement," said John C. Topping, president of the Climate Institute in Washington.
The Air Force tentatively plans to lease underused property at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana for the construction of a coal-to-liquid fuel plant. By partnering with private enterprise, Air Force officials hope to foster the development of subsequent plants to create a full-fledged coal-to-liquid industry that could supply military and commercial aviation.
The Air Force's efforts have energized supporters on Capitol Hill, where coal-state lawmakers are pushing legislative initiatives to help promote liquefied-coal development.
At least a dozen lawmakers are members of a Coal-to-Liquids Caucus, which was formed in March 2007 by Sens. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., and Barack Obama, D-Ill. Obama, who's running for president, now says that he won't support liquefied coal unless it emits 20 percent less carbon than conventional fuels.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, calls the Air Force initiatives a "win-win" that would "better utilize America's domestic energy supply" and increase job opportunities in Texas. Cornyn said he may move forward with legislation "to remove impediments" to coal-to-liquid expansion.
DAVE MONTGOMERY, 202-383-6016
By DAVE MONTGOMERY
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON -- Squeezed by the soaring cost of jet fuel, the Air Force is converting its gas-guzzling fleet of aircraft to synthetic fuels and encouraging the creation of a liquefied-coal industry that could tap the nation's vast coal reserves.
This could mean a lucrative new market for coal-producing states such as Texas, Wyoming, Kentucky, Montana, Illinois, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. But advocates of liquefied coal face a counterattack from environmentalists in the debate over global warming and must prove that they can produce an ecologically friendly product with a low carbon footprint.
Air Force officials have been testing synthetic fuels based on coal or natural gas. They plan to certify the fleet of nearly 6,000 aircraft to fly on a 50-50 blend of synthetic fuel and traditional petroleum-based jet fuel by 2011.
Assistant Air Force Secretary Bill Anderson said the search for affordable, cleaner-burning alternative fuels was driven by economic and national-security concerns. The Air Force wants to comply with President Bush's mandate to end America's dependence on foreign oil while escaping soaring fuel prices.
For the Air Force, which consumes more than half of all the fuel the U.S. government uses, the cost of fueling fighters and transports is stratospheric. Every $10 increase in the price of a barrel of oil costs the Air Force $600 million, Anderson said.
Last year, the Air Force spent $5.8 billion to buy 2.6 billion gallons of fuel. In 2003, the service spent about half that -- $2.9 billion -- to buy slightly more fuel, nearly 3 billion gallons.
Air Force officials have successfully flight-tested their 50-50 synthetic fuel blend on B-52 bombers and C-17 transports. They'll soon start testing it with Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor, a stealthy twin-engine fighter that can fly at supersonic speeds.
A B-1 Lancer bomber became the first synthetic fuel-propelled plane to break the sound barrier in a test March 19 at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas.
The synthetic fuel is developed from a technology known as the Fischer-Tropsch process, which can convert coal, natural gas or biomass into clean-burning fuel stripped of impurities such as mercury, sulfur and carbon dioxide. Most of the flight tests have used natural gas, but Air Force officials think that their long-term energy strategy lies in liquefied coal, because the fossil fuel is so abundant in the United States.
The U.S. has 27 percent of the world's coal supply -- 493 billion tons -- and sometimes is referred to as "the Saudi Arabia of coal." Texas is the fifth-largest coal-producing state in the nation, unearthing more than 45.9 million tons annually, mostly from lignite mines scattered through East Texas. It ranks ninth in total coal deposits, with 12.4 billion tons.
Despite its availability, coal seldom has been seriously considered as an alternative energy source because converting it to liquid is so expensive.
However, liquid coal is getting a fresh look as crude-oil prices soar past $100 a barrel.
Although advocates say that the conversion process will result in an ecologically clean product, many environmental groups and their supporters in Congress think that expanding the use of coal will worsen carbon emissions and global warming.
"Across the board there is going to be opposition from the environmental movement," said John C. Topping, president of the Climate Institute in Washington.
The Air Force tentatively plans to lease underused property at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana for the construction of a coal-to-liquid fuel plant. By partnering with private enterprise, Air Force officials hope to foster the development of subsequent plants to create a full-fledged coal-to-liquid industry that could supply military and commercial aviation.
The Air Force's efforts have energized supporters on Capitol Hill, where coal-state lawmakers are pushing legislative initiatives to help promote liquefied-coal development.
At least a dozen lawmakers are members of a Coal-to-Liquids Caucus, which was formed in March 2007 by Sens. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., and Barack Obama, D-Ill. Obama, who's running for president, now says that he won't support liquefied coal unless it emits 20 percent less carbon than conventional fuels.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, calls the Air Force initiatives a "win-win" that would "better utilize America's domestic energy supply" and increase job opportunities in Texas. Cornyn said he may move forward with legislation "to remove impediments" to coal-to-liquid expansion.
DAVE MONTGOMERY, 202-383-6016
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Anti-war Cindy Sheehan files to take on Pelosi
Peace activist Cindy Sheehan wants to snatch House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's congressional seat from her in November, but first she's going to need the help - and signatures - of 10,198 friends and supporters.
Sheehan was at San Francisco City Hall on Friday to take out papers for her independent run for Congress, but without those signatures from voters in the district, her name won't show up on the ballot.
*****************************************
She is at it again. This woman is like a cancer. Surgery doesn't get her to go away. She has made a mockery of her son's life and his death and has humiliated her family and herself.
Pelosi is most likely rabid over this. Pelosi gets rabid quite easily. People on her front lawn protesting - she would like them all arrested ... but for the small issue of free speech so this is a real problem for her, even if Pelosi can't lose.
Sheehan was at San Francisco City Hall on Friday to take out papers for her independent run for Congress, but without those signatures from voters in the district, her name won't show up on the ballot.
*****************************************
She is at it again. This woman is like a cancer. Surgery doesn't get her to go away. She has made a mockery of her son's life and his death and has humiliated her family and herself.
Pelosi is most likely rabid over this. Pelosi gets rabid quite easily. People on her front lawn protesting - she would like them all arrested ... but for the small issue of free speech so this is a real problem for her, even if Pelosi can't lose.
Mobile Phones more dangerous than smoking or asbestos
Brain expert warns of huge rise in tumors. Growing evidence that suggests ten years of cell phone usage leads to brain tumors and cancer. This means potentially tens of millions of people will have cancer in the next twenty years. Tens of millions of people who will overwhelm our medical systems with their medical surgeries and treatments. The Independent, March 30, 2008
Tens of millions who will die.
That fact is as evidenced as global warming and potentially more destructive.
Tens of millions who will die.
That fact is as evidenced as global warming and potentially more destructive.
Food Rationing
After Katrina, the world felt sorry for the US. We were after all in decline. We were weak, needed help from all the neighbors. So they obliged and sent us tents and water and blankets. That part was widely reported. The part that wasn't reported - we sent it back.
Now the New York Sun reports that we are rationing food in the US.
New York Sun, April 21, 2008
First, we should consider what we are rationing - flour: In the stores I have been to, there is no rationing. I called three friends who live in, three different states and none of them noticed any flour issues. Likewise no issues with oil nor rice. The only rationing was on imported long grain rice. Costco has a notice that you may buy as much as is your usual purchase amount. That to will sort itself out when people get over the fear that there isn't enough rice.
It is one thing to tell the world Saddam is a threat and has weapons of mass destruction - he did. It is another thing to tell the world the US, the breadbasket for much of the world has run dry. The fear and panic created by the false stories will create untold panic and speculation, leading to people dying over stupid newspaper sales.
Before we totally dismiss this fear-mongering, analysts are telling us that there will be corn rationing in 2008. Thank you Mr. Gore, you are personally responsible. AP. 3/31/08.
Now the New York Sun reports that we are rationing food in the US.
New York Sun, April 21, 2008
First, we should consider what we are rationing - flour: In the stores I have been to, there is no rationing. I called three friends who live in, three different states and none of them noticed any flour issues. Likewise no issues with oil nor rice. The only rationing was on imported long grain rice. Costco has a notice that you may buy as much as is your usual purchase amount. That to will sort itself out when people get over the fear that there isn't enough rice.
It is one thing to tell the world Saddam is a threat and has weapons of mass destruction - he did. It is another thing to tell the world the US, the breadbasket for much of the world has run dry. The fear and panic created by the false stories will create untold panic and speculation, leading to people dying over stupid newspaper sales.
Before we totally dismiss this fear-mongering, analysts are telling us that there will be corn rationing in 2008. Thank you Mr. Gore, you are personally responsible. AP. 3/31/08.
The AP, White House Correspondents Dinner, and Bush
Great article. The two colored portions particularly.
Bush tweaks candidates at correspondents' dinner
By CHRISTINE SIMMONS, Associated Press Writer
8 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - President Bush poked fun at his potential successors Saturday night, expressing surprise that none of them were in the audience at the White House Correspondents' Association annual dinner.
"Senator McCain's not here," Bush said of GOP nominee-in-waiting John McCain. "He probably wanted to distance himself from me a little bit. You know, he's not alone. Jenna's moving out too."
Bush then referred to scandals that have dogged the campaigns of the two remaining Democratic candidates, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, in explaining their absence: "Hillary Clinton couldn't get in because of sniper fire and Senator Obama's at church."
During the ongoing campaign, Clinton mistakenly claimed to have landed under sniper fire in Bosnia as first lady. Obama's longtime Chicago pastor has been criticized for his negative comments about America.
The president admitted to being "a little wistful" in his final appearance at the dinner, showing video clips of his routines from previous years. He finished by conducting the U.S. Marine Band in a medley of patriotic marches.
Bush was followed by Craig Ferguson, the host of CBS' "Late Late Show."
The Scottish-born Ferguson found middle ground between the tepid impersonations of last year's entertainer, Rich Little, and the merciless satire that Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert delivered in 2006.
Ferguson, who became a U.S. citizen in February, asked Bush what he was going to do after leaving office, then suggested, "You could look for a job with more vacation time." The president has drawn criticism for the amount of time he has spent away from the White House during his presidency.
Vice President Dick Cheney, Ferguson said, "is already moving out of his residence. It takes longer than you think to pack up an entire dungeon."
The guest list for the dinner included plenty of VIPs from outside the Beltway: Actors Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, John Cusack, Pamela Anderson and Claire Danes, singers Ashlee Simpson and the Jonas Brothers and author Salman Rushdie were among the invitees. Washington's power elite was still well represented, with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in attendance.
During the event, the White House Correspondents' Association presented its annual awards, announced earlier this month, to:
• Deb Riechmann of The Associated Press and Ed Henry of CNN, the Merriman Smith Award, the top journalism award for White House reporting under deadline pressure.
Riechmann, the winner in the print category, won for her coverage of President Bush's trip to Iraq's Anbar province last September. Henry won for reporting on the Bush administration's contradicting assertions that top Iranian officials had authorized sending improvised explosive devices to Iraq.
• Alexis Simendinger of the National Journal, the Aldo Beckman Award for sustained excellence in White House coverage. The judges recognized her for breaking the story about the use of Republican National Committee e-mail accounts by some White House officials.
• Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporters Paul Shukovsky, Tracy Johnson and Daniel Lathrop, the Edgar A. Poe Award for excellence in coverage of news of national or regional significance. In a series of articles, "The Terrorism Trade-Off," they revealed a major shift by the FBI away from white-collar crimes as it ramped up its pursuit of suspected terrorists.
The White House Correspondents Association was formed in 1914 as a liaison between the press and the president. Every president since Calvin Coolidge has attended the dinner.
___
On the Net:
White House Correspondents' Association: http://www.whca.net
Bush tweaks candidates at correspondents' dinner
By CHRISTINE SIMMONS, Associated Press Writer
8 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - President Bush poked fun at his potential successors Saturday night, expressing surprise that none of them were in the audience at the White House Correspondents' Association annual dinner.
"Senator McCain's not here," Bush said of GOP nominee-in-waiting John McCain. "He probably wanted to distance himself from me a little bit. You know, he's not alone. Jenna's moving out too."
Bush then referred to scandals that have dogged the campaigns of the two remaining Democratic candidates, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, in explaining their absence: "Hillary Clinton couldn't get in because of sniper fire and Senator Obama's at church."
During the ongoing campaign, Clinton mistakenly claimed to have landed under sniper fire in Bosnia as first lady. Obama's longtime Chicago pastor has been criticized for his negative comments about America.
The president admitted to being "a little wistful" in his final appearance at the dinner, showing video clips of his routines from previous years. He finished by conducting the U.S. Marine Band in a medley of patriotic marches.
Bush was followed by Craig Ferguson, the host of CBS' "Late Late Show."
The Scottish-born Ferguson found middle ground between the tepid impersonations of last year's entertainer, Rich Little, and the merciless satire that Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert delivered in 2006.
Ferguson, who became a U.S. citizen in February, asked Bush what he was going to do after leaving office, then suggested, "You could look for a job with more vacation time." The president has drawn criticism for the amount of time he has spent away from the White House during his presidency.
Vice President Dick Cheney, Ferguson said, "is already moving out of his residence. It takes longer than you think to pack up an entire dungeon."
The guest list for the dinner included plenty of VIPs from outside the Beltway: Actors Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, John Cusack, Pamela Anderson and Claire Danes, singers Ashlee Simpson and the Jonas Brothers and author Salman Rushdie were among the invitees. Washington's power elite was still well represented, with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in attendance.
During the event, the White House Correspondents' Association presented its annual awards, announced earlier this month, to:
• Deb Riechmann of The Associated Press and Ed Henry of CNN, the Merriman Smith Award, the top journalism award for White House reporting under deadline pressure.
Riechmann, the winner in the print category, won for her coverage of President Bush's trip to Iraq's Anbar province last September. Henry won for reporting on the Bush administration's contradicting assertions that top Iranian officials had authorized sending improvised explosive devices to Iraq.
• Alexis Simendinger of the National Journal, the Aldo Beckman Award for sustained excellence in White House coverage. The judges recognized her for breaking the story about the use of Republican National Committee e-mail accounts by some White House officials.
• Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporters Paul Shukovsky, Tracy Johnson and Daniel Lathrop, the Edgar A. Poe Award for excellence in coverage of news of national or regional significance. In a series of articles, "The Terrorism Trade-Off," they revealed a major shift by the FBI away from white-collar crimes as it ramped up its pursuit of suspected terrorists.
The White House Correspondents Association was formed in 1914 as a liaison between the press and the president. Every president since Calvin Coolidge has attended the dinner.
___
On the Net:
White House Correspondents' Association: http://www.whca.net
Al Sharpton - Publicity prostitute
Sharpton vows to 'close this city' after officer acquittals
Apr 26, 2008. 4:42 PM (ET)
By VERENA DOBNIK
NEW YORK (AP) - Hundreds of angry people marched through Harlem on Saturday after the Rev. Al Sharpton promised to "close this city down" to protest the acquittals of three police detectives in the 50-shot barrage that killed a groom on his wedding day and wounded two friends.
"We strategically know how to stop the city so people stand still and realize that you do not have the right to shoot down unarmed, innocent civilians," Sharpton told an overflow crowd of several hundred people at his National Action Network office in the historically black Manhattan neighborhood. "This city is going to deal with the blood of Sean Bell."
Sharpton was joined by the family of 23-year-old Sean Bell - a black man - and a friend of Bell who was wounded in the 2006 shooting outside a Queens strip club. Two of the three officers charged were also black.
**************************************************
He wouldn't know a genuine issue of racisim if it smacked him upside the head. This was not a racist shooting however much he would like to believe it was.
Apr 26, 2008. 4:42 PM (ET)
By VERENA DOBNIK
NEW YORK (AP) - Hundreds of angry people marched through Harlem on Saturday after the Rev. Al Sharpton promised to "close this city down" to protest the acquittals of three police detectives in the 50-shot barrage that killed a groom on his wedding day and wounded two friends.
"We strategically know how to stop the city so people stand still and realize that you do not have the right to shoot down unarmed, innocent civilians," Sharpton told an overflow crowd of several hundred people at his National Action Network office in the historically black Manhattan neighborhood. "This city is going to deal with the blood of Sean Bell."
Sharpton was joined by the family of 23-year-old Sean Bell - a black man - and a friend of Bell who was wounded in the 2006 shooting outside a Queens strip club. Two of the three officers charged were also black.
**************************************************
He wouldn't know a genuine issue of racisim if it smacked him upside the head. This was not a racist shooting however much he would like to believe it was.
In case you wanted to be famous
A German artist, Gregor Schneider is looking for someone to become part of his art work. He has been thinking about this particular project since 1996 and now he is ready to launch his newest art on the world.
What is it? Someone who is about to die. They will spend their remaining moments alive gasping for breath while they are observed.
Apparently the art galleries association in Germany have spoken out - they will not allow it, they do not consider it art.
What is it? Someone who is about to die. They will spend their remaining moments alive gasping for breath while they are observed.
Apparently the art galleries association in Germany have spoken out - they will not allow it, they do not consider it art.
What would happen if ...
... a nuclear device detonated near the White House?
According to the Director of the Institute for Health Management and Mass Destruction, 100,000 people would be killed immediately, destroying buildings within 1/2 mile, sending radioactive ash toward the Capitol building.
Not a question of if, but when.
nuclear
al qaida
According to the Director of the Institute for Health Management and Mass Destruction, 100,000 people would be killed immediately, destroying buildings within 1/2 mile, sending radioactive ash toward the Capitol building.
Not a question of if, but when.
nuclear
al qaida
Maya Angelou and her touting HRC
From Maya Angelou:
"Dear Friend:
I am writing to tell you about my friend, Hillary Clinton, and why I am standing with her in her campaign for the presidency. I know the kind of president Hillary Clinton will be because I know the person she is.
I am inspired by her courage and her honesty. She is a reliable and trustworthy person. She is someone I not only admire but one for whom I have profound affection.
Hillary does not waver in standing up for those who need a champion. She has always been a passionate protector of families. As a child, she was taught that all God’s children are equal, and as a mother, she understood that her child wasn’t safe unless all children were safe. As I wrote about Hillary recently in a praise song: “She is the prayer of every woman, and every man who longs for fair play, healthy families, good schools and a balanced economy.”
It may be easy to view Hillary Clinton through the narrow lens of those who would write her off or grind her down. Hillary sees us as we are, black and brown and white and yellow and pink and relishes our differences knowing that fundamentally we are all more alike than we are unalike. She is able to look through complexion and see community.
She has endured great scrutiny, and still she dares greatly. Hillary Clinton will not give up on you, and all she asks is that you do not give up on her. She is a long-distance runner. I am honored to say I am with her for the long run.
I am supporting Hillary Clinton because I know that she will make the most positive difference in people’s lives and she will help our country become what it can be. Whether you are her supporter, leaning towards her, undecided, or supporting someone else, I believe Hillary Clinton will represent you – she will be a president for all Americans. It is no small thing that along the way we will make history together.
Vote for Hillary Clinton and show your support http://www.hillaryclinton.com/. I know she will make us proud."
My only question - how can Maya Angelou be listened to after this obsequious opening for HRC? Hillary has lied - we have more moments where she has been caught lying than any twenty people combined. Lying about everything from her expanded/limited role in Bill's White House to Whitewater, her role in the education system in Arkansas before Bill ran for president - her being under fire in Bosnia, her supporting NAFTA and her opposing NAFTA all at the same time. She is a walking lie.
Which Americans Maya - 30% who will vote for her. 20-25% of Democrats will not vote for her regardless. The other 50% is probably broken up by 90% who will never and 10% who will because they are passionate about fiscal issues. She does not have the demographics to win and if she did, it would be even more divided than during Bill's administration.
She is as trustworthy as Charles Keating. As loyal as a rabid dog. She cares as much as a mercenary. Your judgment is seriously questioned as a result of your support for her. I have some doubt that you possess very much sense given your miserable judgment with this woman.
IAEA and Syria
The brilliance of the UN can never be overstated nor understated - they are on a level beyond mere corrupt governments or incompetent legislatures.
The IAEA is charged with:
- the safe, secure and peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology. Its key roles contribute to international peace and security, and to the World's Millennium Goals for social, economic and environmental development.
Three main pillars - or areas of work - underpin the mission:
Safeguards & Verification: The IAEA is the world's nuclear inspectorate, with more than four decades of verification experience. Inspectors work to verify that safeguarded nuclear material and activities are not used for military purposes. The Agency is additionally responsible for the nuclear file in Iraq as mandated by the UN Security Council.
Safety and Security: The IAEA helps countries to upgrade nuclear safety and security, and to prepare for and respond to emergencies. Work is keyed to international conventions, standards and expert guidance. The main aim is to protect people and the environment from harmful radiation exposure.
Science & Technology: The IAEA helps countries mobilize peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology. The work contributes to goals of sustainable development in fields of energy, environment, health, and agriculture, among others, and to cooperation in key areas of nuclear science and technology.
In theory just any country cannot have nuclear power / reactors/weapons. The IAEA will investigate and ensure no one is violating any laws.
Just like they did with Iraq.
Just like they did with North Korea.
Just like they have done with Iran.
On September 6, 2007, Israeli war planes attacked and destroyed a site in Syria. The Israelis never said what they did nor whether they did anything. The Syrians denied anyone did anything and if the Israelis had tried to attack anything they were repelled with superior power on the Syrian side.
Well, sort of ... the US has just released secret intelligence data on the nuclear site that had been destroyed. The response of the IAEA - not to be upset with Syria, but rather with the US for not releasing the information sooner and with Israel for not allowing the IAEA time to inspect.
Dr. ElBaradei said “the unilateral use of force by Israel” undermined “the due process of verification that is at the heart of the nonproliferation regime.” He also said the American allegations against Syria would be investigated with due vigor.
They would actively investigate - just like they did in North Korea, until they got the bomb. Just like Iran.
The IAEA is neither qualified nor competent to investigate anything. One would not wish to tell the IAEA anything, lest the government in question learn of possible actions against their nuclear sites.
The IAEA is charged with:
- the safe, secure and peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology. Its key roles contribute to international peace and security, and to the World's Millennium Goals for social, economic and environmental development.
Three main pillars - or areas of work - underpin the mission:
Safeguards & Verification: The IAEA is the world's nuclear inspectorate, with more than four decades of verification experience. Inspectors work to verify that safeguarded nuclear material and activities are not used for military purposes. The Agency is additionally responsible for the nuclear file in Iraq as mandated by the UN Security Council.
Safety and Security: The IAEA helps countries to upgrade nuclear safety and security, and to prepare for and respond to emergencies. Work is keyed to international conventions, standards and expert guidance. The main aim is to protect people and the environment from harmful radiation exposure.
Science & Technology: The IAEA helps countries mobilize peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology. The work contributes to goals of sustainable development in fields of energy, environment, health, and agriculture, among others, and to cooperation in key areas of nuclear science and technology.
In theory just any country cannot have nuclear power / reactors/weapons. The IAEA will investigate and ensure no one is violating any laws.
Just like they did with Iraq.
Just like they did with North Korea.
Just like they have done with Iran.
On September 6, 2007, Israeli war planes attacked and destroyed a site in Syria. The Israelis never said what they did nor whether they did anything. The Syrians denied anyone did anything and if the Israelis had tried to attack anything they were repelled with superior power on the Syrian side.
Well, sort of ... the US has just released secret intelligence data on the nuclear site that had been destroyed. The response of the IAEA - not to be upset with Syria, but rather with the US for not releasing the information sooner and with Israel for not allowing the IAEA time to inspect.
Dr. ElBaradei said “the unilateral use of force by Israel” undermined “the due process of verification that is at the heart of the nonproliferation regime.” He also said the American allegations against Syria would be investigated with due vigor.
They would actively investigate - just like they did in North Korea, until they got the bomb. Just like Iran.
The IAEA is neither qualified nor competent to investigate anything. One would not wish to tell the IAEA anything, lest the government in question learn of possible actions against their nuclear sites.
Friday, April 25, 2008
The Big One is Coming
A recent study suggests we have a 99% chance on any given day (US Geological Survey) of at least a 6.7.
The same study revealed at least a 46% chance of a 7.5 or greater.
Think devastation.
The Northridge (incorrectly labeled) earthquake was a 6.9 (incorrectly registered - should have been listed as 7.0) on a small fault that was limited in scope.
The one that is coming will be a bit more massive in scope on faults not limited to a small stretch in the north valley area.
100% certainty within 30 years. But they have been claiming that since 1970. Yet, all we need do is consider the state of the continental plates. From earthquakes in Indonesia and Japan to Alaska, to volcanoes and quakes in Mexico, to several dozen tiny quakes off the coast of Oregon - what we are left with is pressure built up that MUST be released.
Inevitable. Now - when it happens rescue and rebuilding will be limited. First, an assessment will be taken by local communities. The governor will get involved, the national guard will be called up (and at this time anti-war dimwits will call Bush as responsible for the slow response due to the guard being in Iraq). This will be 24 hours. On day 2, National Guard will be coordinating and Red Cross/Salvation Army forces will be moving in to help. Local police will be on the ground but overwhelmed. Day 3 - guard and resources will now be in the communities with access. Freeways will be down and for those areas that need access via freeways, it will be several more days. Water will be off, electricity will still be off. Day 7 - food and water will be available, Red Cross and Salvation Army centers will be set up. Emergency hospitals will be established. Guard will supplement the police and search and rescue will continue.
DON'T EXPECT IT ANY FASTER THAN THAT. Plan for it. Take care of yourselves. The government is not able to respond any faster nor should it. We must be able to take care of ourselves for at least 72 hours.
The same study revealed at least a 46% chance of a 7.5 or greater.
Think devastation.
The Northridge (incorrectly labeled) earthquake was a 6.9 (incorrectly registered - should have been listed as 7.0) on a small fault that was limited in scope.
The one that is coming will be a bit more massive in scope on faults not limited to a small stretch in the north valley area.
100% certainty within 30 years. But they have been claiming that since 1970. Yet, all we need do is consider the state of the continental plates. From earthquakes in Indonesia and Japan to Alaska, to volcanoes and quakes in Mexico, to several dozen tiny quakes off the coast of Oregon - what we are left with is pressure built up that MUST be released.
Inevitable. Now - when it happens rescue and rebuilding will be limited. First, an assessment will be taken by local communities. The governor will get involved, the national guard will be called up (and at this time anti-war dimwits will call Bush as responsible for the slow response due to the guard being in Iraq). This will be 24 hours. On day 2, National Guard will be coordinating and Red Cross/Salvation Army forces will be moving in to help. Local police will be on the ground but overwhelmed. Day 3 - guard and resources will now be in the communities with access. Freeways will be down and for those areas that need access via freeways, it will be several more days. Water will be off, electricity will still be off. Day 7 - food and water will be available, Red Cross and Salvation Army centers will be set up. Emergency hospitals will be established. Guard will supplement the police and search and rescue will continue.
DON'T EXPECT IT ANY FASTER THAN THAT. Plan for it. Take care of yourselves. The government is not able to respond any faster nor should it. We must be able to take care of ourselves for at least 72 hours.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Let it Snow Let it Snow ....
Let it Snow ... and it did.
In Idaho, they have extended ski season through May 4th.
Why - They received 10 inches of snow over the past week. All total, they received 422 inches of snowfall. The 2nd snowiest season ever.
In Anchorage, Alaska - Friday and Saturday April 25-26:
Anchorage continues to dig out from a snowfall that set a record for the day and the month.The National Weather Service says 17.2 inches fell at its office just south of Anchorage's international airport and 22 inches fell in northeast Anchorage on Friday and Saturday.
In Idaho, they have extended ski season through May 4th.
Why - They received 10 inches of snow over the past week. All total, they received 422 inches of snowfall. The 2nd snowiest season ever.
In Anchorage, Alaska - Friday and Saturday April 25-26:
Anchorage continues to dig out from a snowfall that set a record for the day and the month.The National Weather Service says 17.2 inches fell at its office just south of Anchorage's international airport and 22 inches fell in northeast Anchorage on Friday and Saturday.
Carter and Hamas
Former president Carter said he was going to meet with Hamas as a private citizen. That is a little disingenuous - private citizens do not get to walk up and meet with Hamas. If they did, don't you think Israel would have tried that one.
So why did he go.
Salvage his legacy. If it worked once - Egypt and Israel, he could do it again. if only you get all people to sit down and discuss their issues. He forgets. Camp David was a failure until the last day. Carter was ready to give up, go home, and watch as the remaining visitors departed. he says so in his memoir 'Keeping Faith' ... but for the final moment when the two sides - without the US - made compromises. It was Sadat that made Camp David a success, NOT Carter.
Carter cannot go back and undo Iran, but he can sort of the single greatest obstacle to peace in the Middle East - Israel. Or so he believes. The left believes that there would be peace BUT for Israel's intransigence. The left believes the word of the Palestinian and Hamas leaders - they accept them at their word, but deny the Israeli government's word.
Interesting conundrum you arrive at when you follow that silly logic. You turn reality upside down and make peace with the killers and criticize the people who desire above all else, peace.
After the democratic elections in which Hamas took over and since Israel has pulled out of Gaza, an average of 10 rockets a day have reigned down upon Israel from Hamas controlled Gaza. This included during the time Carter was meeting with Hamas.
Meanwhile, in the West Bank, revitalization, calm, no rocket attacks, no Israeli air raids, no Israeli attacks - quite. Yet Carter blamed the failure of his meetings on Israel, for failing to take part in the meetings.
A difference. But Carter chose Hamas.
When Carter finished his visit, he told the world that Hamas was ready to accept Israel's right to exist if the Palestinian people agreed to peace after a referendum.
Within hours Hamas responded - Carter left without any assurances. Hamas leader Khaled Meshael told a press conference that Hamas would not recognize the Jewish state and would insist on the return of 4.5 million Palestinian refugees.
So why did he go.
Salvage his legacy. If it worked once - Egypt and Israel, he could do it again. if only you get all people to sit down and discuss their issues. He forgets. Camp David was a failure until the last day. Carter was ready to give up, go home, and watch as the remaining visitors departed. he says so in his memoir 'Keeping Faith' ... but for the final moment when the two sides - without the US - made compromises. It was Sadat that made Camp David a success, NOT Carter.
Carter cannot go back and undo Iran, but he can sort of the single greatest obstacle to peace in the Middle East - Israel. Or so he believes. The left believes that there would be peace BUT for Israel's intransigence. The left believes the word of the Palestinian and Hamas leaders - they accept them at their word, but deny the Israeli government's word.
Interesting conundrum you arrive at when you follow that silly logic. You turn reality upside down and make peace with the killers and criticize the people who desire above all else, peace.
After the democratic elections in which Hamas took over and since Israel has pulled out of Gaza, an average of 10 rockets a day have reigned down upon Israel from Hamas controlled Gaza. This included during the time Carter was meeting with Hamas.
Meanwhile, in the West Bank, revitalization, calm, no rocket attacks, no Israeli air raids, no Israeli attacks - quite. Yet Carter blamed the failure of his meetings on Israel, for failing to take part in the meetings.
A difference. But Carter chose Hamas.
When Carter finished his visit, he told the world that Hamas was ready to accept Israel's right to exist if the Palestinian people agreed to peace after a referendum.
Within hours Hamas responded - Carter left without any assurances. Hamas leader Khaled Meshael told a press conference that Hamas would not recognize the Jewish state and would insist on the return of 4.5 million Palestinian refugees.
China and Coal
According to News.com.au, China is down to 12 days worth of coal. It has 12 days worth of consumption, three days less than a month ago - that according to Chinese state media.
China relies on coal for about 70% of its energy demand.
On several levels that is so bad.
Coal is MUCH worse than gasoline on the environment.
All the thousands who work in the coal mines and or shoveling it ... many without masks.
But with a population of 1.3 billion - China doesn't care.
China relies on coal for about 70% of its energy demand.
On several levels that is so bad.
Coal is MUCH worse than gasoline on the environment.
All the thousands who work in the coal mines and or shoveling it ... many without masks.
But with a population of 1.3 billion - China doesn't care.
Who is qualified?
"I think Senator Clinton's suggesting that she and John McCain are the two people who are qualified to be commander in chief is probably something that could end up coming back to haunt us in November," Obama told reporters.
Really don't see Clinton-Obama ticket and doubt he would stomach having her under him on an Obama/Clinton ticket. It isn't as impossible today to suggest she just might, should she lose the nomination, actually say McCain was the one to vote for.
And if we were not sure how Bill felt about Barrack ... he doesn't want to take any shit from anyone. New Yorker, May 5, 2008.
Really don't see Clinton-Obama ticket and doubt he would stomach having her under him on an Obama/Clinton ticket. It isn't as impossible today to suggest she just might, should she lose the nomination, actually say McCain was the one to vote for.
And if we were not sure how Bill felt about Barrack ... he doesn't want to take any shit from anyone. New Yorker, May 5, 2008.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Syria assisting the US ... in some areas
Exclusive: Dispute over former Iraqi VP Izzat Ibrahim’s reported capture
April 24, 2008, 12:21 AM (GMT+02:00)
Iraqi security sources reported that Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, 66, who led the Iraqi Sunni Baath underground campaign against the US Army after Saddam Hussein’s overthrow in 2003, was captured in Salahuddin north of Baghdad. They said that the King of Clubs on the US most wanted deck of cards list was moved to Baghdad and handed over to US forces.
The US military in Baghdad stated: "At this point, we can say that he is not in coalition custody and we have no reports that he was captured by Iraqi security forces either."
DNA tests are being conducted to confirm his identity.
DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s exclusive counter-terror sources report Syrian police pushed him across the border Tuesday, April 23 in an effort to blunt the impact of disclosures in the US Congress on April 24 about its covert nuclear site which Israeli raiders destroyed last September.
April 24, 2008, 12:21 AM (GMT+02:00)
Iraqi security sources reported that Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, 66, who led the Iraqi Sunni Baath underground campaign against the US Army after Saddam Hussein’s overthrow in 2003, was captured in Salahuddin north of Baghdad. They said that the King of Clubs on the US most wanted deck of cards list was moved to Baghdad and handed over to US forces.
The US military in Baghdad stated: "At this point, we can say that he is not in coalition custody and we have no reports that he was captured by Iraqi security forces either."
DNA tests are being conducted to confirm his identity.
DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s exclusive counter-terror sources report Syrian police pushed him across the border Tuesday, April 23 in an effort to blunt the impact of disclosures in the US Congress on April 24 about its covert nuclear site which Israeli raiders destroyed last September.
North Korea and Syria
Exclusive: Pyongyang scrambles to offset impending Syrian plutonium reactor revelations in Congress
April 23, 2008, 8:53 PM (GMT+02:00)
North Korean Embassy in Damascus: Embarrassed!
The CIA plans to reveal to a closed-door congressional panel session Thursday April 24 that the Syrian site targeted by Israel’s air raid last September was a reactor capable of producing plutonium for nuclear weapons, thereby offering final proof of North Korea’s nuclear ties with Syria. This is reported by the LA Times.
DEBKAfile’s Middle East sources reveal that Pyongyang took the unusual step Wed. April 23 his week of ordering its Damascus embassy to gather Arab correspondents in the Syrian capital for an extraordinary briefing: The first secretary told them that North Korea had nothing to do with the destroyed reactor. However, he did not deny that Pyongyang maintained extensive military ties of cooperation with Damascus.
This week, a US delegation arrived in the North Korean capital to discuss Pyongyang’s failure to meet its December deadline for dismantling its nuclear program.
April 23, 2008, 8:53 PM (GMT+02:00)
North Korean Embassy in Damascus: Embarrassed!
The CIA plans to reveal to a closed-door congressional panel session Thursday April 24 that the Syrian site targeted by Israel’s air raid last September was a reactor capable of producing plutonium for nuclear weapons, thereby offering final proof of North Korea’s nuclear ties with Syria. This is reported by the LA Times.
DEBKAfile’s Middle East sources reveal that Pyongyang took the unusual step Wed. April 23 his week of ordering its Damascus embassy to gather Arab correspondents in the Syrian capital for an extraordinary briefing: The first secretary told them that North Korea had nothing to do with the destroyed reactor. However, he did not deny that Pyongyang maintained extensive military ties of cooperation with Damascus.
This week, a US delegation arrived in the North Korean capital to discuss Pyongyang’s failure to meet its December deadline for dismantling its nuclear program.
Genocide
Tomorrow is the commemoration of the Armenia genocide.
On April 24, 1915, the Turkish government rounded up the first group of Armenian intellectual and religious leaders. This date however is not when it began, it is only the date chosen to be the commemorative moment marking the genocide.
In 1895, the Turks began the process that would later expand in to full genocidal actions. Between 80,000 and 300,000 Armenians were killed in the Hamidian massacre.
1895 marked the beginning, with several other attempts in the intervening years (including 1909) and by 1915, the process was much more refined and defined - to be rid of the Armenians and their claim to land. With Russia about to join the war effort, the Turks saw their only chance to forestall Russian advances (Russia had acquired land the Ottoman had claimed in a previous conflict 1877-78), as requiring them to side with Germany and Austria-Hungary against Russia.
Armenians sat in the middle and became the scapegoats.
Between 1 million and 1.5 million people were dead by the end of the genocidal efforts on the part of the Turks. Only war stopped the attempted genocide.
The million plus human beings killed included a large number of Assyrian and Greeks, in addition to the Armenians.
Never again is a tired refrain, but it is necessary to remember this event. In Turkey, it is illegal to discuss the genocide. It is illegal to teach that the Turks committed genocide. Turkey refuses to acknowledge its role in the attempted genocide. THAT is the ONGOING crime. The original act - attempted genocide, was stopped by the allies. The ONGOING crime is denial.
Until we acknowledge, we will repeat, until we say the words NEVER AGAIN and mean it without claiming personal victimhood, until we can say NEVER AGAIN ANYWHERE - Not in Rwanda, Congo, Uganda, Sudan ... the words ring hollow and the deniers escape justice. The innocent will die. And we will never be at peace.
Until we say those words with conviction - the dead will never let us sleep. We will always see the eyes of the millions of men , women and children who have been the victim of genocide in the 20th century. It is greater than any one person or any one genocide. It is about humanity.
Side Note:
In truth and fact, it should be the commemoration of the attempted Armenian genocide as there has never been a successful genocide that we know of with certainty.
END SIDE NOTE
On April 24, 1915, the Turkish government rounded up the first group of Armenian intellectual and religious leaders. This date however is not when it began, it is only the date chosen to be the commemorative moment marking the genocide.
In 1895, the Turks began the process that would later expand in to full genocidal actions. Between 80,000 and 300,000 Armenians were killed in the Hamidian massacre.
1895 marked the beginning, with several other attempts in the intervening years (including 1909) and by 1915, the process was much more refined and defined - to be rid of the Armenians and their claim to land. With Russia about to join the war effort, the Turks saw their only chance to forestall Russian advances (Russia had acquired land the Ottoman had claimed in a previous conflict 1877-78), as requiring them to side with Germany and Austria-Hungary against Russia.
Armenians sat in the middle and became the scapegoats.
Between 1 million and 1.5 million people were dead by the end of the genocidal efforts on the part of the Turks. Only war stopped the attempted genocide.
The million plus human beings killed included a large number of Assyrian and Greeks, in addition to the Armenians.
Never again is a tired refrain, but it is necessary to remember this event. In Turkey, it is illegal to discuss the genocide. It is illegal to teach that the Turks committed genocide. Turkey refuses to acknowledge its role in the attempted genocide. THAT is the ONGOING crime. The original act - attempted genocide, was stopped by the allies. The ONGOING crime is denial.
Until we acknowledge, we will repeat, until we say the words NEVER AGAIN and mean it without claiming personal victimhood, until we can say NEVER AGAIN ANYWHERE - Not in Rwanda, Congo, Uganda, Sudan ... the words ring hollow and the deniers escape justice. The innocent will die. And we will never be at peace.
Until we say those words with conviction - the dead will never let us sleep. We will always see the eyes of the millions of men , women and children who have been the victim of genocide in the 20th century. It is greater than any one person or any one genocide. It is about humanity.
Three points of view
A person, actually a couple people informed me that there were several points of view on issues. I suggested that there were two. I think we are both wrong, yet, perhaps we are right. Perhaps we were talking past each other, and perhaps we are both right and both not so correct.
We grow up today and are told, actually indoctrinated with the belief that no culture is better than any other. We are all the same. We are all equal. No one is better. No belief is better. No behavior is better. It makes sense for us to then translate this into a world view - there is no truth but the one we determine based on our opinion.
That position is simply not rational. Humans are told we cannot fly. We are told only birds and planes can fly. I believe I am a bird - I like seeds, I flap my arms, I like to nest, I am fixated on eggs. I believe I am a bird. I do not believe humans are not able to fly because I am a human-bird. I feel like a bird, I eat like a bird, I have created a nest in my home made of sticks, twigs, yarn, mud, and I sleep in the nest. Am I a bird? Can I fly?
The answer is not subjective nor is it a matter of opinion. It is either yes or no, very clearly so. It is not ambivalent nor can you have your own view of my being a bird. I am or I am not. I am not sort of.
The reason this dishonesty has caught on is because of the examples used to lure young people into accepting it - not everyone can wear the same shoes, even if they are the correct size. Not everyone likes the same type of food and when we do like the same food, we like it produced differently (hot dogs: mustard, ketchup, relish).
This is a failure by those in authority to understand the difference between taste and reality. As for matters of taste: I like blue, I like feathers, I like mud, I like relish on hot dogs - there is no correct/right answer. It is all a matter of taste. as far as issues of reality are concerned - I am not a bird and as much as I believe I am a bird, I will never fly unless I am in a plane. regardless of your opinion or your third view point - I cannot be a bird and I cannot fly.
One person informed the class they did not believe the government. They raised the question of - did the US give Saddam chemical / biological weapons. I explained that they did not. Instead, we provided a sample of a serum for antidote. The serum used contained dead viruses and therefore would not be useful in reproduction or reverse engineering to find out the weapon use. However, using technology provided by Germany, it is possible he was able to develop the blueprint, but would have needed to receive a live sample. Where this live sample came from is questionable - Russia is the best possible source given the close military alliance Saddam had with them.
The student said she didn't believe the government. How do we know they didn't. The student went on to suggest that Americans know less about our government than do other peoples elsewhere.
I was taken aback a bit by that. Another student added their thought - that maybe there is another view, not either or, just different.
The result of the indoctrination of American youth with silliness.
I am a bird or not. There IS NO 3rd position. The US did or did not give chemical weapons to Saddam. There is NO 3rd position.
I was informed that one student never believed anything the US government said. They would believe what the Chinese government says about something before our own.
The result of the indoctrination of American youth with silliness.
50% of ALL NEWS in Russia MUST be positive. All NEWS in RUSSIA must go through the Kremlin and be vetted for positive or negative before it is released. Additionally, all news is vetted by the Kremlin before it can be published.
The Chinese government prohibits access to most western news sources and prohibits ALL ACCESS to anything the government of China does not approve. The US is portrayed as the enemy. All Internet and news follow this standard.
Syria, Lebanon, Iran, N Korea all follow suit. The Internet and news is controlled by the government. You cannot go online and surf Google news for information. In Cuba and Venezuela, the government controls much of the media. The major newspapers print what they are told. There is no criticism of the government. The people are told the enemy of the people is the US.
In Britain, there is censorship. The government prohibits the printing of news about Royals who are either in trouble or in war. THAT is censorship. Whether it is reasonable or prudent, is immaterial to the fact it is censorship.
In Germany and France you cannot deny the holocaust or you will be arrested and imprisoned. That is not FREE SPEECH, that is censorship.
Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines - strict government control over the media - what is reported about their governments and ours.
Superstition and fear are common throughout Asia and Africa to the point supersition grabs hold and doesn't let go - no reality, just fantasy and delusions. I could point out the nuts who marry their goats or the slave trade in Morocco or Portugal. The list is endless and would stop only when i ran out of countries.
I could go on but I hope I have made the point. The world is actually quite ignorant of the US government. Americans are naive about the world. There is a distinction. We believe they are decent and respectful. We are wrong but we can access any information without restriction, on the Internet. They are misinformed and lied to and don't know the difference, but they believe it. They are ignorant.
We grow up today and are told, actually indoctrinated with the belief that no culture is better than any other. We are all the same. We are all equal. No one is better. No belief is better. No behavior is better. It makes sense for us to then translate this into a world view - there is no truth but the one we determine based on our opinion.
That position is simply not rational. Humans are told we cannot fly. We are told only birds and planes can fly. I believe I am a bird - I like seeds, I flap my arms, I like to nest, I am fixated on eggs. I believe I am a bird. I do not believe humans are not able to fly because I am a human-bird. I feel like a bird, I eat like a bird, I have created a nest in my home made of sticks, twigs, yarn, mud, and I sleep in the nest. Am I a bird? Can I fly?
The answer is not subjective nor is it a matter of opinion. It is either yes or no, very clearly so. It is not ambivalent nor can you have your own view of my being a bird. I am or I am not. I am not sort of.
The reason this dishonesty has caught on is because of the examples used to lure young people into accepting it - not everyone can wear the same shoes, even if they are the correct size. Not everyone likes the same type of food and when we do like the same food, we like it produced differently (hot dogs: mustard, ketchup, relish).
This is a failure by those in authority to understand the difference between taste and reality. As for matters of taste: I like blue, I like feathers, I like mud, I like relish on hot dogs - there is no correct/right answer. It is all a matter of taste. as far as issues of reality are concerned - I am not a bird and as much as I believe I am a bird, I will never fly unless I am in a plane. regardless of your opinion or your third view point - I cannot be a bird and I cannot fly.
One person informed the class they did not believe the government. They raised the question of - did the US give Saddam chemical / biological weapons. I explained that they did not. Instead, we provided a sample of a serum for antidote. The serum used contained dead viruses and therefore would not be useful in reproduction or reverse engineering to find out the weapon use. However, using technology provided by Germany, it is possible he was able to develop the blueprint, but would have needed to receive a live sample. Where this live sample came from is questionable - Russia is the best possible source given the close military alliance Saddam had with them.
The student said she didn't believe the government. How do we know they didn't. The student went on to suggest that Americans know less about our government than do other peoples elsewhere.
I was taken aback a bit by that. Another student added their thought - that maybe there is another view, not either or, just different.
The result of the indoctrination of American youth with silliness.
I am a bird or not. There IS NO 3rd position. The US did or did not give chemical weapons to Saddam. There is NO 3rd position.
I was informed that one student never believed anything the US government said. They would believe what the Chinese government says about something before our own.
The result of the indoctrination of American youth with silliness.
50% of ALL NEWS in Russia MUST be positive. All NEWS in RUSSIA must go through the Kremlin and be vetted for positive or negative before it is released. Additionally, all news is vetted by the Kremlin before it can be published.
The Chinese government prohibits access to most western news sources and prohibits ALL ACCESS to anything the government of China does not approve. The US is portrayed as the enemy. All Internet and news follow this standard.
Syria, Lebanon, Iran, N Korea all follow suit. The Internet and news is controlled by the government. You cannot go online and surf Google news for information. In Cuba and Venezuela, the government controls much of the media. The major newspapers print what they are told. There is no criticism of the government. The people are told the enemy of the people is the US.
In Britain, there is censorship. The government prohibits the printing of news about Royals who are either in trouble or in war. THAT is censorship. Whether it is reasonable or prudent, is immaterial to the fact it is censorship.
In Germany and France you cannot deny the holocaust or you will be arrested and imprisoned. That is not FREE SPEECH, that is censorship.
Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines - strict government control over the media - what is reported about their governments and ours.
Superstition and fear are common throughout Asia and Africa to the point supersition grabs hold and doesn't let go - no reality, just fantasy and delusions. I could point out the nuts who marry their goats or the slave trade in Morocco or Portugal. The list is endless and would stop only when i ran out of countries.
I could go on but I hope I have made the point. The world is actually quite ignorant of the US government. Americans are naive about the world. There is a distinction. We believe they are decent and respectful. We are wrong but we can access any information without restriction, on the Internet. They are misinformed and lied to and don't know the difference, but they believe it. They are ignorant.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Pennsylvania - Michigan and Florida
COUNT EVERY VOTE.
For a party that spent untold millions and initiated one of the most divisive campaigns in the last two hundred years, and forced a Supreme Court to deal with the discriminatory voting process established by the Florida Supreme Court over a few votes that were cast by idiots and fools - who voted for two people, no people, everybody and nobody all at the same time versus a clear cut disenfranchisement of millions of voters in Florida and Michigan who voted for Hillary Clinton.
She won the popular vote and with the electoral vote, she would, given the sway it seems to have with the super delegates, win the day for her.
COUNT EVERY VOTE.
DON'T DISCOUNT ANYONE.
DON'T IGNORE ANYONE.
DON'T DISENFRANCHISE VOTERS.
LET THE VOTERS SPEAK.
LET THE VOTERS SPEAK.
For a party that spent untold millions and initiated one of the most divisive campaigns in the last two hundred years, and forced a Supreme Court to deal with the discriminatory voting process established by the Florida Supreme Court over a few votes that were cast by idiots and fools - who voted for two people, no people, everybody and nobody all at the same time versus a clear cut disenfranchisement of millions of voters in Florida and Michigan who voted for Hillary Clinton.
She won the popular vote and with the electoral vote, she would, given the sway it seems to have with the super delegates, win the day for her.
COUNT EVERY VOTE.
DON'T DISCOUNT ANYONE.
DON'T IGNORE ANYONE.
DON'T DISENFRANCHISE VOTERS.
LET THE VOTERS SPEAK.
LET THE VOTERS SPEAK.
Monday, April 21, 2008
They Lack the Will and the Stomach
Time Magazine. The 21st century War to Save Mankind - plant a tree.
For those men and women who will not and cannot fight to save our planet from Islamo-fascists, they will fight the new danger and no it isn't Islamo-fascism, rather it is global warming.
The above magazine cover defines better that nearly any single issue, what it is that distinguishes liberals from conservatives. Liberals believe that they are fighting the equivalent of an Iwo Jima - saving the planet from global warming. That issue for liberals is paramount. All other issues can be debated and compromised - liberals are not willing to wage war, for that would be counter-productive to the green movement. After all, war never solved anything, they believe. Their condescension for those who fought, and for those men and women who fight for us today, is evident.
Europeans are tired of war. They believe that laws prohibiting hate speech saves the day, tolerance for other religions saves the day - these issues are the single issues all rational and intelligent people care about. Only the bitter gun-toting right-wing do not understand the gravity of the threat. Just as the Nazis were a threat, so to, the left believe, global warming is ever more a threat to humanities survival.
For the left, Islamo-fascism is not a threat. For the left, they are people who, if left alone would leave us alone. They have a peaceful religion and only want to be left alone. The left has bought in to the propaganda of the Islamo-fascists, and why not, they hate Bush, he started it, why not accept, lock-stock-and barrel everything the Islamo-fascists claim. It actually works well, the Islamo-facsists use the leftist view points in their arguments against the West -they are mutually reinforcing.
Some would have us believe that the term Islamo-fascist is too judgmental. I can only respond - so what. It characterizes the enemy better than any other two words. When we called the Germans Nazis, we did not indict ALL Germans. When we said the Soviets were Communists, we did not indict ALL Russians. When we called the Japanese an imperialist state, we were not indicting ALL Japanese. The label is just that - a descriptive label of the enemy we face. We do not face criminals. One million supporters of bin Laden are not called criminals. They are the face of Islam as far as we are concerned. Just as the uniform and helmet of Germany defined the Gestapo and officer - the Islamo fascists are defined by their strict adherence to their belief system - Islam.
It looks like Islam is winning. The Europeans do not have the stomach to fight, to wage war. They are more interested in compromise and negotiation. They are looking for the good life and anything that will allow them to secure peace, is fine with them. They have forgotten their history and consequently we are at a crossroads - in one direction, Europe will learn what it is like to face Islam, and will do so alone. The other path, Europe can stand up to radical Islam and take the initiative against them, wherever they are found.
There is some question as to whether Americans are willing to bear the cost. Financially we are also at a crossroads. The issue will be - elect a candidate who will capitulate to European demands for negotiation and compromise to save money; or elect candidates who understand the threat to mankind comes not from global warming but from an evil more insidious and more dangerous than the most extreme fear mongering by the global warming alarmists - Islamo- fascism.
If they act, the US will act in concert with our allies. If they fail to act, we will do it alone when the time comes, and we will prevail, but the cost will be incalculable.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Islamic schools lure African boys into begging
NO ONE in Islam condones or supports, agrees with, or encourages. Islam does not. BUT, what a Bible or Koran say and what people BELIEVE it says or what they believe is permissible can be 360 degrees apart. April 20, 2008.
Consequently it does not matter if it is not encouraged or even tolerated by the faith - it happens and people tolerate it in the name of Islam. That alone is not an indictment. The indictment comes when no one stops it. When the family is terrified of some pedophilic old man and his goons.
Until these 11th century barbarians climb out of the Middle Ages and at least make attempts at climbing in to the 17th century, we should have little to do with them.
Consequently it does not matter if it is not encouraged or even tolerated by the faith - it happens and people tolerate it in the name of Islam. That alone is not an indictment. The indictment comes when no one stops it. When the family is terrified of some pedophilic old man and his goons.
Until these 11th century barbarians climb out of the Middle Ages and at least make attempts at climbing in to the 17th century, we should have little to do with them.
Brigitte Bardot - Animal Lover, Sex Symbol, and Hater
Brigitte Bardot is on trial in France for "inciting racial hatred." This is the fifth time she has been sentenced for this crime. Why? Over remarks she made that the Muslim community was "destroying our country and imposing its acts." Reuters, 4/15/08
In France, it is against the law to speak out against any religion (unless it is against Christians) - the sentence will be tougher this time. The prosecutor has said she is tired of prosecuting Bardot and wants a tougher sentence. $23,000 plus several months sentence (suspended).
Free Speech is alive in Europe.
In France, it is against the law to speak out against any religion (unless it is against Christians) - the sentence will be tougher this time. The prosecutor has said she is tired of prosecuting Bardot and wants a tougher sentence. $23,000 plus several months sentence (suspended).
Free Speech is alive in Europe.
Jerusalem
Police Break up unholy browl in revered Jerusalem church.
The more often this happens, the less of think Muslims should take their sites so seriously.
Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem, born in Bethlehem, from the city of Nazareth ... he walked and played, sat and preached in so many locations along the way - as the son of God, each should indeed be quite holy, touched by the hand of God. Yet, I do not think he thinks about those places as any more important to him as religious sites than any church or religious site anywhere on earth.
Quite honestly, I don't know if I care whether everyone and their brother take those cities and places as their own. Jesus as the son of God, of God, made by God - really doesn't need a place, nor does He need to affix his presence to any site. He is in charge of every site on earth, yet too often we let our petty differences turn in to fighting. If he cared about what is purportedly a site he visited, he would rain down fairy dust on them and let us know.
The last time that I am aware of, when this happened before, was in December. Now again.
Why will these people just not get along and stop with their hate.
The more often this happens, the less of think Muslims should take their sites so seriously.
Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem, born in Bethlehem, from the city of Nazareth ... he walked and played, sat and preached in so many locations along the way - as the son of God, each should indeed be quite holy, touched by the hand of God. Yet, I do not think he thinks about those places as any more important to him as religious sites than any church or religious site anywhere on earth.
Quite honestly, I don't know if I care whether everyone and their brother take those cities and places as their own. Jesus as the son of God, of God, made by God - really doesn't need a place, nor does He need to affix his presence to any site. He is in charge of every site on earth, yet too often we let our petty differences turn in to fighting. If he cared about what is purportedly a site he visited, he would rain down fairy dust on them and let us know.
The last time that I am aware of, when this happened before, was in December. Now again.
Why will these people just not get along and stop with their hate.
Vast RIGHT WING Conspiracy
We ALL remember Hillary on her attack about the VRWC (Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy) against her husband. All the Clinton's ills were as a result of the VRWC. Well ...
PHILADELPHIA - Could it be the "vast right wing conspiracy" is having second thoughts? Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton was endorsed Sunday by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, whose owner and publisher, billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, personally funded many of the investigations that led to President Clinton's impeachment in 1998.
Maybe he felt sorry for her. All the liberal rags have supported Obama.
[NOTE: He didn't FUND government investigations]
PHILADELPHIA - Could it be the "vast right wing conspiracy" is having second thoughts? Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton was endorsed Sunday by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, whose owner and publisher, billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, personally funded many of the investigations that led to President Clinton's impeachment in 1998.
Maybe he felt sorry for her. All the liberal rags have supported Obama.
[NOTE: He didn't FUND government investigations]
My response to the ramblings. Waste of bloody time, but.
I guess it was too much to expect I could tolerate stupid, ignorant, pathetically insipid asinine louts and their ramblings - Hate and the Liberals :
FUCK "W" AND THE 'WHORES HE MARRIED AND SPAWNED' -
Personal attacks not on the individual but on a wife and children.
Like saying your grandmother was a whore because she married your grandfather and spawned racist pigs who inbred.
THE COCKSUCKING
Personal attack. Ad Hominem for those with a bigger vocabulary.
How would you know even if this were true.
MURDERING
If a crime has been committed why have the authorities not arrested the person? The Attorney General, the FBI, the Senate Democrats, the House democrats - why have they not impeached him - after all the standard is not very high - crimes and misdemeanors - and murder would sure count.
Do you realize that anyone who knows of murder and fails to act to stop it and or is aware and fails to tell authorities or assist in the apprehension of a murderer is ALSO GUILTY and can spend many years in prison - accessory, accomplice. So, pack up and get ready for bubba.
VACUOUS
Ad hominem attack.
And this you know how? The fact his grades were equal to or better than Gore and Kerry and for that matter President Kennedy? And before you trip over yourself to inform me he cheated - I would say that Gore needed to cheat more. That Kerry's father paid more money for Kerry's grades. That Bill slept with the smart women and cheated off them. That John Kennedy hired people to take his exams. We know his brother Teddy tried!
ARROGANT
Ad hominem attack.
And you know this how? Because he refuses to do what Bill did a lot of, polling - to determine what he should do. Right and wrong are not determined based upon polling.
MORONIC
Ad hominem attack
And again, how do you know this - the fact he mangles words? That determines moronic status? What do you call a woman who is paid millions for her memoirs and lies in them? What do you call a man who defends himself by saying he mangles words and meaning - Obama.
IMBECILIC
Ad hominem attack
And you know this again, how? From his mangled use of words or the fact his grades throughout college were equal to or higher than Kerry, Gore, and President Kennedy. The definition for this word is a stupid or silly person or a dolt. He can't be stupid - he beat the democratic candidates twice in national elections and nearly every time with bills / proposals in congress. Another definition is a person whose mental acumen is well below par. Again, we know this is not the case. Unless you re-qualify Kerry, Gore, and President Kennedy. A person of moderate to severe mental retardation having a mental age of from three to seven years - he isn't this unless everyone else is 2.
COMMANDER 'N THIEF
Ad hominem attack.
Scurilous.
What has he stolen? If you have proof, why isn't anyone else doing anything about it? I am sure Harry "I didn't do anything wrong - property deal was perfectly legitimate" Reid, Barrack "I have no idea who that man in court is never met him, he isn't the terrorist friend of mine" Obama, Hillary "I was under sniper fire" Clinton ... I am sure someone would do something if he stole anything.
WOULD BE MUCH MORE VALUABLE TO THE WORLD IF HE WERE, RATHER THAN A LAME DUCK, A "DEAD DUCK."
Ad hominem
Veiled threat
As a LAME DUCK he is getting more done than Bill did and for that matter, more than Reagan accomplished. Some presidents - Carter, never got so much accomplished in the entire four years.
THE LYING EMBARRASSMENT TO HUMANITY
Ad hominem attack.
What lies? I'll tell you what. $1,000,000 for every lie that is documented and verified by the Democratic National Committee and any ONE of the major news organizations.
As for the issue of humanity. I do not think much of humanity given its failure to stop Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda, China, Congo ... I think humanity is already tainted and cannot possibly be tainted further.
SWEPT INTO THE GARBAGE BIN OF HISTORY WHERE HE BELONGS.
Ad hominem attack.
ONE MORE EMPTY HEADED FOOL ATTEMPTING TO GET SOME POSITIVE NOTICE,
Ad hominem attack
USING THE UNFORTUNATE SOLDIER, YET ANOTHER HURT PAWN IN THIS WAR
Ad hominem attack on Bush and the soldier.
Every solider, marine, pilot, and naval officer joined freely. They knew what they were getting in to. It has been 7 years and everyone has had a chance to get out of the military in that time who wanted to. Those in TODAY WANT TO BE IN. That is not a pawn when everyone has had the opportunity to choose knowingly, with ignorance like this awash in the media - no one who freely chose to sign up is a pawn.
WAR CRIMINAL'S UNNECESSARY WAR
Scurilous and ad hominem.
War Criminal? According to whom? What law? You imply he has violated laws YET NO ONE ON EARTH IS TRYING TO TRY HIM, ARREST HIM, OR IMPEACH HIM. A lot of people and NO ONE. As for unnecessary - by what standards? The greatest lie of the last twenty years is THIS LIE - the one implied in the statement by the fool with the ad hominem attacks.
TO GET SOME GOOD PUBLICITY
Ad hominem attack.
He could just ask Ted Kennedy to go on his yacht, go to church and allow photos to be taken, cry a lot - that would do it.
THE FILTHY BASTARD
Ad hominem attack
You imply he is dirty. And you know this how?
Bastard - you imply his mother was unmarried and he was born outside of wedlock without a father.
SHOULD COME TO THE STUDIO AND BEG FOR FORGIVENESS NOT ONLY FROM THIS SOLDIER, BUT ALSO FROM THE SURVIVORS OF THE DEAD AMERICANS AND IRAQIS WHO WERE UNNECESSARILY KILLED FOR THIS HORRIDLY SOCIOPATHIC PRESIDENT'S FOLLY.
Can't beg forgiveness from the dead. Unless you speak to them regularly. Do you see dead people? This soldier could spit if he wanted. He doesn't ask for an apology any more than Clinton failed to apologize to the soldiers in Somalia when he turned them over to the UN and refused to stand up for them, refused to allow them the control to protect and defend themselves. UNNECESSARILY killed - you should thank Saddam for the unncessary killing. You should thank our military for being as careful as is humanly possible in any war situation to avoid needless deaths. You should thank al qaida for killing thousands of their fellow muslims.
GODDAMN BUSH AND GODDAMN HIS SOUL
Ad hominem attack. I am pleased you recognize a God because you will have quite a bit to answer for, just guessing, based on all this hate. There are places that can help you. Medications are available.
Virtually every statement, sentence, fragment are ad hominem attacks. You will find that only people unable to think and or with limited vocabulary, use ad hominem attacks like diarrhea.
FUCK "W" AND THE 'WHORES HE MARRIED AND SPAWNED' -
Personal attacks not on the individual but on a wife and children.
Like saying your grandmother was a whore because she married your grandfather and spawned racist pigs who inbred.
THE COCKSUCKING
Personal attack. Ad Hominem for those with a bigger vocabulary.
How would you know even if this were true.
MURDERING
If a crime has been committed why have the authorities not arrested the person? The Attorney General, the FBI, the Senate Democrats, the House democrats - why have they not impeached him - after all the standard is not very high - crimes and misdemeanors - and murder would sure count.
Do you realize that anyone who knows of murder and fails to act to stop it and or is aware and fails to tell authorities or assist in the apprehension of a murderer is ALSO GUILTY and can spend many years in prison - accessory, accomplice. So, pack up and get ready for bubba.
VACUOUS
Ad hominem attack.
And this you know how? The fact his grades were equal to or better than Gore and Kerry and for that matter President Kennedy? And before you trip over yourself to inform me he cheated - I would say that Gore needed to cheat more. That Kerry's father paid more money for Kerry's grades. That Bill slept with the smart women and cheated off them. That John Kennedy hired people to take his exams. We know his brother Teddy tried!
ARROGANT
Ad hominem attack.
And you know this how? Because he refuses to do what Bill did a lot of, polling - to determine what he should do. Right and wrong are not determined based upon polling.
MORONIC
Ad hominem attack
And again, how do you know this - the fact he mangles words? That determines moronic status? What do you call a woman who is paid millions for her memoirs and lies in them? What do you call a man who defends himself by saying he mangles words and meaning - Obama.
IMBECILIC
Ad hominem attack
And you know this again, how? From his mangled use of words or the fact his grades throughout college were equal to or higher than Kerry, Gore, and President Kennedy. The definition for this word is a stupid or silly person or a dolt. He can't be stupid - he beat the democratic candidates twice in national elections and nearly every time with bills / proposals in congress. Another definition is a person whose mental acumen is well below par. Again, we know this is not the case. Unless you re-qualify Kerry, Gore, and President Kennedy. A person of moderate to severe mental retardation having a mental age of from three to seven years - he isn't this unless everyone else is 2.
COMMANDER 'N THIEF
Ad hominem attack.
Scurilous.
What has he stolen? If you have proof, why isn't anyone else doing anything about it? I am sure Harry "I didn't do anything wrong - property deal was perfectly legitimate" Reid, Barrack "I have no idea who that man in court is never met him, he isn't the terrorist friend of mine" Obama, Hillary "I was under sniper fire" Clinton ... I am sure someone would do something if he stole anything.
WOULD BE MUCH MORE VALUABLE TO THE WORLD IF HE WERE, RATHER THAN A LAME DUCK, A "DEAD DUCK."
Ad hominem
Veiled threat
As a LAME DUCK he is getting more done than Bill did and for that matter, more than Reagan accomplished. Some presidents - Carter, never got so much accomplished in the entire four years.
THE LYING EMBARRASSMENT TO HUMANITY
Ad hominem attack.
What lies? I'll tell you what. $1,000,000 for every lie that is documented and verified by the Democratic National Committee and any ONE of the major news organizations.
As for the issue of humanity. I do not think much of humanity given its failure to stop Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda, China, Congo ... I think humanity is already tainted and cannot possibly be tainted further.
SWEPT INTO THE GARBAGE BIN OF HISTORY WHERE HE BELONGS.
Ad hominem attack.
ONE MORE EMPTY HEADED FOOL ATTEMPTING TO GET SOME POSITIVE NOTICE,
Ad hominem attack
USING THE UNFORTUNATE SOLDIER, YET ANOTHER HURT PAWN IN THIS WAR
Ad hominem attack on Bush and the soldier.
Every solider, marine, pilot, and naval officer joined freely. They knew what they were getting in to. It has been 7 years and everyone has had a chance to get out of the military in that time who wanted to. Those in TODAY WANT TO BE IN. That is not a pawn when everyone has had the opportunity to choose knowingly, with ignorance like this awash in the media - no one who freely chose to sign up is a pawn.
WAR CRIMINAL'S UNNECESSARY WAR
Scurilous and ad hominem.
War Criminal? According to whom? What law? You imply he has violated laws YET NO ONE ON EARTH IS TRYING TO TRY HIM, ARREST HIM, OR IMPEACH HIM. A lot of people and NO ONE. As for unnecessary - by what standards? The greatest lie of the last twenty years is THIS LIE - the one implied in the statement by the fool with the ad hominem attacks.
TO GET SOME GOOD PUBLICITY
Ad hominem attack.
He could just ask Ted Kennedy to go on his yacht, go to church and allow photos to be taken, cry a lot - that would do it.
THE FILTHY BASTARD
Ad hominem attack
You imply he is dirty. And you know this how?
Bastard - you imply his mother was unmarried and he was born outside of wedlock without a father.
SHOULD COME TO THE STUDIO AND BEG FOR FORGIVENESS NOT ONLY FROM THIS SOLDIER, BUT ALSO FROM THE SURVIVORS OF THE DEAD AMERICANS AND IRAQIS WHO WERE UNNECESSARILY KILLED FOR THIS HORRIDLY SOCIOPATHIC PRESIDENT'S FOLLY.
Can't beg forgiveness from the dead. Unless you speak to them regularly. Do you see dead people? This soldier could spit if he wanted. He doesn't ask for an apology any more than Clinton failed to apologize to the soldiers in Somalia when he turned them over to the UN and refused to stand up for them, refused to allow them the control to protect and defend themselves. UNNECESSARILY killed - you should thank Saddam for the unncessary killing. You should thank our military for being as careful as is humanly possible in any war situation to avoid needless deaths. You should thank al qaida for killing thousands of their fellow muslims.
GODDAMN BUSH AND GODDAMN HIS SOUL
Ad hominem attack. I am pleased you recognize a God because you will have quite a bit to answer for, just guessing, based on all this hate. There are places that can help you. Medications are available.
Virtually every statement, sentence, fragment are ad hominem attacks. You will find that only people unable to think and or with limited vocabulary, use ad hominem attacks like diarrhea.
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