Saturday, December 06, 2008

Tim Whewell, a Russian favorite, wins The Golden Word award.

19:37 05/12/2008
Tim Whewell wins Golden Word prize for film about conflict in South Ossetia.

(click title to entry - thank you)
British journalist Tim Whewell won the Mediasoyuz association’s Golden Word prize for a film that changed Europe’s view on the war in South Ossetia.





What really happened in South Ossetia? (click here)
Page last updated at 16:56 GMT, Tuesday, 28 October 2008
After gaining exclusive access to South Ossetia, Tim Whewell has discovered evidence Georgia may have committed war crimes in its attack on its breakaway region in August.


The Kremlin and the World - Part One (click here)
...Tim Whewell's journey begins with a look at what the newly elected Russian President, Vladimir Putin had envisaged for his country back in 1999.
He promised to promote democracy and strength and to make peace Russia's priority.
He was the first foreign leader to reach out to President George Bush, immediately after the 9/11 attacks.
As a favour, he persuaded many leaders in Central Asia to allow US military bases in their countries
He thought this would bring Russia and the US closer in the fight against terror and make the world understand his stance in Chechnya.
However, this act of sympathy backfired and what enraged the Kremlin most was that it saw the hidden hand of the West behind the wave of revolutions in former Soviet republics....

So, what are they doing in Crawford these days?


STOP the NeoConning of America (click here)


"They Drown the Bullets in Blood" (click here)
"...Albatross wings, they cover the sun
As the destiny of nukes pervade
But the dove is truth in America's heart
In the winds of war charade....


...Your name's on the bullet that sail in Iraq
Your name's on the bullet at home.
Til justice prevails and the scoundels are tasked
That bullet continues to roam."






...The US government, formally known as the Municipal Corporation of the District of Columbia, has decided to indenture our great-great grandchildren with a debt paid into the coffers of their friends and associates, banks in Europe that have been stealing us blind for generations already. The wrongness of it is so palpable that Congress was inundated with a rage of missives, calls and emails....

Loblolly pine responds to mechanical wounding with increased resin flow


Jonathan J. Ruel, Matthew P. Ayres, and Peter L. Lorio, Jr.
Abstract: The oleoresin produced by many conifers has a deleterious effect on numerous associated herbivores, including bark beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), and may have evolved as a plant defense mechanism. Three experiments with juvenile loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) used mechanical wounding to drain resin reserves and assess the effects of prior bark wounding on subsequent resin flow up to 7 days post-treatment. Resin flow returned to pre-treatment values within 2 days after wounding began and, in nearly every tree in each experiment, continued to increase on subsequent days. On average, resin flow reached double the pre-treatment values (mean ± SE: 2.10 ± 0.10 vs. 1.13 ± 0.10 g/3 h and 2.28 ± 0.09 vs. 0.90 ± 0.09 g/3 h for wounded vs. pre-treatment in experiments 1 and 2, respectively). Considering its timing and magnitude, this previously undescribed response may be important in modulating interactions between pine trees and bark beetles. In addition, resin flow following treatment was greater in trees in larger crown size classes (thinned > edge of stand = unthinned in experiment 1; edge of stand > thinned > unthinned in experiment 2). This may help explain why trees in thinned stands are less susceptible to southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis Zimm.) infestation than trees in unthinned stands.

More violations of Native American Tribal Rights. By whom? Bush of course ! No surprise here.

I guess Canada will have to truck it in !


Tribes seek to stop pipeline (click here)
By Joe Kafka, The Associated Press
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
PIERRE -- Four Native American tribes have gone to federal court at Pierre in an effort to stop construction of the Keystone oil pipeline through eastern South Dakota and North Dakota.
The tribes argue that treaties, as well as federal laws and regulations, were broken during the environmental assessment of the route and subsequent granting of a presidential permit for the pipeline....

BLOG (click here)

...The Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, Rosebud, Santee and Yankton Sioux Tribes filed the lawsuit. Tribal leaders say that officials have not done a proper environmental assessment of the pipeling. The leaders also say the pipeline corridor will affect at least 87 tribes in six states....

Food ! The Pacific Fisheries are in rapid and dangerous decline.

Marine Harvest, an enterprise backed by Canada (click here).


...Twenty years ago the people of Klemtu turned to salmon aquaculture to try to replace the economic opportunity lost in the decline of the commercial salmon fishery. This pioneering salmon aquaculture business lasted for five years but eventually declining salmon prices and high operating costs combined to shut down the operations in 1993....

...“After two years of regional collaboration on a plan for Columbia and Snake River salmon and steelhead, it is clear we have found common ground,” said the statement from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Bonneville Power Administration. “This is no longer just a federal plan, it is now more of a regional plan explicitly supported by three states and six tribes.”Columbia Basin salmon returns have historically been the West Coast’s largest, and once numbered 10 million to 30 million, but overfishing, habitat loss, pollution and dam construction over the past century have caused their numbers to dwindle precipitously....

...When dams block rivers, however, the migrating fish – especially juveniles – can have a tough time traveling between their spawning grounds and the open ocean....

Why is it important to chose the correct form of conservation? Because the "W"rong kind causes more problems than it solves, and decisions can't be based in 'cultural' consent. Why monitor species depletion and unusal events in the natural world? Because poor choices by humans frequently show up in ways that are warnings to the outcome.

At the basis of all this, are scientists that know they are correct in species preservation. To safe species in the world is to save human civilization. 60% of the breathable air of Earth comes from single cell plants in Earth's oceans, that cannot be ignored and the food chain they sponsor is vital to human survival. Fisheries along any coast is a primary source of survival in many countries.


Oregon expert tries to solve salmon shark deaths (click here)
by Michael Milstein, The Oregonian
Friday December 05, 2008, 8:59 PM
First came the fang-toothed lancetfish, washing up on Oregon beaches last spring and summer.
Then came the young salmon sharks -- which resemble baby great whites -- turning up on the sand through October.

Now Bill Hanshumaker, a marine education specialist at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, wants to figure out why at least 10 or more of each species beached up on Oregon shores in the past several months. It's not unusual to find a few each summer, but this year's high numbers remain a mystery....

Poor decision making in Conservation is also very expensive !

Demoralizing science and scientists in their 'best practice' should never be directed as a 'cultural right' in this society or any other. And if that is a scary thought, than examine your own ethics and the treatment of people that feel differently !

Thursday, December 4, 2008
Commercial fisherman, river guides, charter boat operators, fish processors and other salmon related businesses harmed by the closure of the 2008 Chinook salmon season could be eligible for $170 million in disaster relief appropriated by Congress.
The California Salmon Council is conducting outreach efforts to identify eligible businesses who faced economic hardship from the closure.
Disaster relief will be disbursed to fishing communities in California, Oregon and Washington.
Salmon related enterprises that require a Department of Fish and Game license to operate have been sent disaster forms.
The deadline to apply for the relief is Dec. 31.
Disaster relief forms can by obtained at the following websites:
Eligible businesses must demonstrate that salmon is at least 30 percent of their normal business. They must also provide documentation indicating a loss of up to a maximum of $225,000.
For more information contact the California Salmon Council at 916-933-7050 or the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission at 877-695-3457.

He's not cabinet level.

The problem today is that we are still picking up after eights years of a Bush, a really nasty one, too. So, it takes one to know how to deal with one. It will be up to the American people to rate the performance of these people and advocate for their replacement as they are found to be ineffective.


This move is about a 'no-brainer' as it gets.

The President of the USA shouldn't be out to destroy a State's role in the lives of citizens. It was a goal that Bush had. He hated the 'idea' that people in Blue States were willing to accept higher taxes to fund their State's government. As a result, the federal cuts to States became hideously deep while his Republicans continued to pour money into Pork within their own districts and states to satisfy their electorate.

So, this measure is automatically re-vitalizes a sluggish economy without having to 're-build' the management infrastructure to do it. Governor's are in place and their staff and employees are ready to take on some great projects for the citizens of their state. With federal dollars to assist in the return of a State Tax Base, it will automatically renew people's faith in their Governors, so don't look for a high turnover in Governors for awhile. And that 'faith' is not wrongly placed. The Governors got their act together and took their case to Obama. Fair enough. With a widening State tax base there automatically is a widened federal tax base and there in lies recovery. With additional dollars coming into the USA Federal Treasury, there can be allotments to the car industy and changes in energy and transportation infrastructure.

However. Even though we are 'cleaning up' after a Bush, it shouldn't take forever to see real change in the way the USA is structuring its economy and the return to sound American values, including the passage of aggressive regulations to control Human Induced Global Warming and a return to Conservation measures including restoration of National Parks enhancing fire control. We also need species monitoring as well as maintained National Forests. We have a bettle to defeat.

There is a lot to do in the USA. The values dear to the average American have been ignored for a long time and all that means 'catching up' and lots of work. Neglect of America's 'dearest' values rather than maintenance, means there is restoration along with a return to sanity in maintaining our treasures and deterioriating infrastructure.

One other thing. If there are infrastructure improvements in the States, such as roads and bridges, Americans need 'state of the art' cars to utilize them. This measure by Obama and his financial team is not very different than FDR. Did I say FDR? Oh. That explains why the Republicans are raiding the Treasury.

Obama Pledges Public Works on a Vast Scale (click here)
By PETER BAKER and JOHN M. BRODER
Published: December 6, 2008

...Mr. Obama’s remarks sought to expand the definition of traditional work programs for the middle class, like infrastructure projects to repair roads and bridges, while also pushing a federal effort to bring in new-era jobs in technology and so-called green jobs....

45 Day until Inauguration - Are Marine Mammals Important Enough? Doesn't seem like it.

How many of our scientists are under-employed in their chosen profession? How many of 'the liberal's values' in education are working in low paying service jobs? How many college graduates never find the work they love and the country needs to nuture?

There is plenty of opportunity for invigorating the USA economy; one just has to be attuned to it. When is a high school education going to bring a person fulfillment of a dream and desire rather than failure to achieve a noble cause? When will a high school diploma become a great achievement and a promise to a better life? There are many disappointments in the USA and they employed in the jobs service and construction industry.

Hello?



...Escalating noise from ships, seismic surveys for oil and gas, and military sonar is drowning out the sounds whales and dolphins use to communicate, said groups led by the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, who were attending a UN conference on the Convention on Migratory Species. The volume could get pumped up, they added, by surprise effects of ocean acidification, plus an oil and gas rush in the thawing Arctic....

...problems in our housing, credit and financial markets...

Bush on the Economy Dec 05, 2008 Unemployment 34 Year High!

The Anti-American Bush Administration.



The current opportunity before the country, is to have what they want finally from the USA Auto Industry. We have yet to have available to us the automobiles that will facilitate the future of our children on a planet well protected from Human Induced Global Warming.

With the USA as a partner we could actually oversee the biggest corporate restructing of an industry to help our economy and provide safe, reliable and environmentally friendly personal transportation. It is one part of the overall transportation industry. It has its place and it may as well have a benevolent place.

The reason the USA Automakers have failed IS BECAUSE the USA has had over 30 years of Republican policy whereby they 'dictated' that the 'free market economy' would take care of everything.

Well, it didn't.

What did occur was a highly contentious experience with the USA Automaker as a result of their determination to produce vehicles no one wanted. Everything the Republicans have to say about this issue is no different than the nonsense they have rhetorically put forward about national health insurance. They believe competition in the market place will take care of everything.

Well, it won't.

The reason a free market economy will take place in a benevolent way is because there is government regulation to provide for products the country needs and Americans want. Throughout history, the government regulated the way in which corporations impacted the country. It was healthy and necessary. It limited 'the market share' available to an industry and honed the best out of it. Whenever, one looks at the past and Republican deregulation it has resulted in greed and 'disasterous opportunity' for those unequipped to provide a valued service to the country.


Private enterprise in the USA isn't about 'any' opportunity at 'any' time in order to buoy politics. It is however about providing necessary services to the country, both in what is needed and enjoyed. Regulation to protect workers, their jobs and their families has always been a vital role of the USA infrastructure. Research and Development has to be a vital aspect to free economy that protects its citizens from disaster.

It is time the country 'got over' the 'moralistic' nonsense of the Republican Party. They mix religion with politics and then in order to keep 'their base' they attempt to legislate morality while raiding the USA Treasury and its regulatory infrastructure. The Obama Administration has to provide re-examination of all regulation as they existed before Reagan and find those laws that have done the most damage and their effectiveness in protecting the rights of Americans today.

The housing market slumped because of the 'Republican High Life Lie' to all their electorate and constituency. It was a myth without any end in sight and if regulatory measures were in place could have never occurred. The increase in unemployment due to housing, credit and finance will have to be redirected back into productive jobs that benefit the USA. Why? Because there are far more houses on the market today than will be necessary in the future. Americans were purchasing three or more houses under Bush's Re-election strategy. You gotta be joking? Four Americans can be living in houses previously owned by one.

The 'math' on this in the next five years just isn't there, folks !

If construction workers can't find jobs, its because they won't in the near future either.

The finance industry needs to examine its methodology in foreclosure. To change the locks on the door and taking over a deed isn't effective or beneficial foreclosure. To begin the houses are in such high volume they can't be maintained in good condition for resale. Houses foreclosed by banks literally are left empty without regard to a leaky pipe or broken pipes especially when freezing temperatures penetrate a home. Then to realize that the foreclosure market has few to no buyers makes it hideous to even proceed. It is better to offer some kind of rental agreement than foreclose and then maintain the homes until sale can be made.

The volumes of empty and foreclosed homes and devastated families in the USA because of an election strategy is not only ruthless, but, hideous in its manifestation. The construction industry has to scale back its expectations and to completely believe as Bush and Paulson and Bernanke do that simply adding liquidity to the market will 'fix it' is nothing but pure moronity.


Americans today are happy to be able to salvage one home out of this 'free for all' Republican Ritual of Deregulation for the facilitating of an economy. Barak Obama is more than correct when he states we need to address the needs of Americans in the future by addressing our infrastructure today. Investing in a car industry that actually produces cars that Americans need is not only a 'nice idea' it is a 'requirement' to a return of a 'worker's economy.' We have to change our energy and transportation infrastructure and realize how much that makes every aspect of our economy more valuable.

In the very near future, when there is no more oil, what car are you going to buy and which ones will maintain their value? When oil, in October-November of 2009, starts to skyrocket again, which home will have more value, the one with the solar collector or the one with the oil/gas fired furnace. OPEC has already stated, this fall in prices is only for a little over a year. It will end about the fourth quarter of next year.

We need a different economy, one that will actually return jobs and a tax base to the USA economy. You won't achieve that by 'waiting' for the housing glut to turn around. You'll achieve an economy by invigorating 'innovation' and applying it to need and then to leisure. Got to think outside the box everyone. It is time to 'Take American Back' and it won't happen by indulging the financial markets while depriving the job markets. Investing only in Wall Street will only provide 'More of the Same.' It won't work. We need to change the way we conduct 'business' in the USA. We need to return to 'sensible' regulation that faciliates growth and protects Americans.

Impeach Bush !

This house was purchased at the worst time possible. The President is indulging in a market slump? Come on, so something with this guy !

Who's going to grow your food, America? Bush? Cheney? Paulson? No. But, they might sell you some melamine. Kindly click video below. Thank you.

Mortgage Foreclosure - The Family Farm



First couple drops $2.07 million on 1.13 acre Dallas spread.


Corporate raiders aren't the people to put into government office. This house is bought in completely poor taste based on the struggle of the nation. That is amazing.




Foreclosures carry same sting when it comes to credit (click here)
BY COURTENAY EDELHART, Californian staff writer cedelhart@bakersfield.com
Friday, Dec 5 2008 6:11 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Dec 5 2008 5:57 PM
Brent Bowser assumed that with a credit score of 725, he’d have no trouble getting a conventional home loan.

But because he only had 5 percent to put down, he was forced into a Federal Housing Administration loan insured by the federal government. That’s going to cost him at least another $100 a month more than a conventional loan.
“I understand they had to tighten up their criteria because of the foreclosures, but I think they’ve gone too far,” lamented Bowser, who is bidding on a short sale with his fiancee.
Nance Fillmore of Fillmore Realty and Financial Services thinks so, too....



How to get a Dallas Texas Foreclosure List