Saturday, July 17, 2010

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

...BP and government officials decided to extend the integrity testing on the busted well in the Gulf of Mexico for another 24 hours, (click title to entry - thank you) National Incident Commander Thad Allen said Saturday in a statement.

Allen said the government ordered more monitoring of the area while the test continues, including doubling the seismic mapping runs over the well site....

I don't know how accurate this assessment is, but, it seems to me the cap has been influenced by 'submarine' technology.  It reminds me of a bulk head, scaled down,' as if it were torpedo doors of a submarine.

When the 'universal fitting' was placed.  The large brass collar.  I had an overwhelming view of a Navy influence in its design. 

Basically, the 'metal' replaces the two miles of Earth removed to make the hole.  It equalizes the force of the water, which at one mile down is about 2200 PSI, with the force of the oil and methane escaping from the vat.  The 'metal' and its design is the equivalent of the missing Earth. 

See, the oil industry has been focused on 'concrete' compliments of Halliburton to answer all its problems. 

"W"rong.

I hope the tests continue to go well and the best decisions are made. 

All my hopes.

If we get rid of the FDA panels we might find more funding for a new 'peacetime' economy.

To say the clean up and revitalization of the fisheries of Louisiana is important is an understatement.  The chemical dispersant needs to be monitored for its dilution with ocean waters and how it is going to be removed.

Options For High-Speed Rail Discussed Again
Officials Envision Train Between B.R., N.O., Beyond



POSTED: 12:21 pm CDT July 16, 2010


UPDATED: 12:43 pm CDT July 16, 2010


NEW ORLEANS -- With the south Louisiana economy taking one hit after another, an economic engine could be on the horizon, in the form a high-speed rail line along the Gulf Coast.
Some of the best railroad minds in America are in New Orleans this week talking about high-speed rail, because they believe it will work here. A high-speed train between Baton Rouge and New Orleans has been discussed for decades, but now there is a sense of urgency to see it become a reality.
"It depends on us. I think we can see more progress in the near future with the mayors of the two cities coming together," said state Rep. Michael Jackson of Baton Rouge.
It could be just what the Crescent City needs, proponents say.


"We stand to gain a huge economic development project. We stand to gain a transportation-oriented development along the corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans," Jackson said.
Funding for the project has always been the biggest stumbling block....

Bring the troops home.

US Army soldier from Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion of the 508 Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne, climbs over high wall during patrol in volatile Arghandab Valley, outside Kandahar City, 10 July 2010


The U.S. Army has released new statistics indicating a record number of suicides occurred in the month of June. (click title to entry - thank you)

C0IN is not a legitimate strategy to any war.  It causes conflict within the soldier.  Any soldier should have a 'clear strategy' and that is not happening.  I am not blaming anyone in the military, not even the Secretary of Defense.  COIN was a 'last chance effort' for a failed war strategy to allow a President to stay in office.  It was a 'think tank' answer, not one centered on the mental health of soldiers.  The military has simply been doing its job.  It is time to speak truth to power.  The soldiers need to come home.


...NATO says five of its troops have been killed in improvised-bomb attacks in southern and eastern Afghanistan.
Three soldiers died in separate attacks Saturday, and NATO officials said a single explosion killed two others on Friday.
Two of the casualties were British troops fighting in Helmand province; two others were identified as Americans, and NATO did not disclose the nationality of the person killed in the third fatal bombing on Saturday.
Roadside bombs, also known as improvised explosive devices (or IEDs), are a major cause of troop deaths in Afghanistan....

http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/Four-NATO-Troops-Killed-in-Afghanistan-98662424.html



 
...U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaves Washington Saturday on a week-long, four-nation, trip to South and East Asia. She will attend the Kabul conference aimed at shoring up the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai.
Clinton will join foreign ministers from dozens of countries from around the world including neighboring Iran at the Kabul conference.
It is the largest international meeting in Afghanistan since the 1970's and is intended to generate support for Mr. Karzai's plans to build security and good governance, and reintegrate reconcilable elements of the Taliban into government security forces.
The United States has supported the Afghan leader's effort to try to draw from the battlefield Taliban members who renounce violence and pledge allegiance to the government, but it has been less enthusiastic about efforts at talks with senior Taliban leaders....

http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/asia/Clinton-Beginning-Trip-to-South-and-East-Asia-98634329.html


The Obstructionist Republicans.  Our troops are just part of the 'NO Agenda' for the RNC.
 
...If Congress doesn’t act on the fiscal 2010 request for supplemental war funding, Defense Department employees may not get paid, Morrell said during a news conference.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is disappointed that Congress did not pass the supplemental spending bill before its Fourth of July break, Morrell told reporters.
“He’s very concerned about the predicament that puts us in,” he said. “And in order to assure that war operations are not interrupted, the services will now have to begin cash-flowing operating costs for war activities using their base budgets.” This means that the services will begin borrowing money from fourth-quarter accounts to pay for current obligations, but even that won’t be enough, he added.
“We project that certain Army and Marine Corps accounts will run dry in August,” Morrell said. “So we urgently need Congress to pass the supplemental before members leave town for the next break in August.”
In the meantime, he added, the department is obligated to begin planning what to do if Congress does not pass the spending measure. “Needless to say, all of this is extraordinarily disruptive to the department,” he said....

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=60024

Earth's delicate atmospheres.

...Emmert said there were still other possibilities unaccounted for that could have contributed to this phenomenon.
"It could be that we're underestimating the effects [of carbon dioxide] somehow. It could be because there were some physics that we're missing in the region of the atmosphere below the thermosphere, which quickly affects the thermosphere," he said.
The researchers say they will continue to monitor the upper atmosphere, which is already rebounding.
"So we're probably going to work in the next couple of years to try and unravel this," Emmert said.

Earth has limits.  A near collapse of an atmospheric layer is not a minor issue.  No one listens. 

$550 million is no joke, but, to realize it could be a drop in the bucket to a group of banks that disregard ethics and morality; it is a little scary.


Protestors jeer Goldman Sachs chairman Lloyd Blankfein as he prepares to face US Senators over the banking crisis. Photograph: Jim Young/REUTERS


For those seeking greater satisfaction out of the loss of homes and the exploitation of The American Dream, look to Europe.

.. .Last Thursday, Goldman agreed to pay a $550m fine to settle US regulators' claims that the bank misled investors in (click title to entry - thank you) a mortgage-backed security. Goldman admitted that its marketing materials were incomplete, because they failed to state that the same third party that helped choose the assets had taken a bet against them.
But governments have also been shocked at the emergence of past transactions between Goldman and Greece and Italy, where products the bank helped to sell aided both in hiding government debt. Greece, which used Goldman in a bond sale this year, is practically at war with the bank. A sharp contrast with the situation months before, when Goldman bankers dined with the prime minister in a private meeting overlooking the Acropolis. The relationship broke down, though, after news leaked earlier this year that Goldman was about to strike a bond sale deal with China's sovereign fund – which never materialised....

Something tells me it is going to be a while before Goldman and its cohorts are going to be out of trouble.  Don't blame the falling DOW completely on the USA Economy.  The picture of 'insecurity' is much bigger than that.  And much to the lying Republicans chagrin, the cause is not about socialism either, but, more about exploitive capitalism.

He has't been the same since he directed god. George Burns never had this issue.

If you're Mel Gibson, (click title to entry -thank you) you know you're really in trouble when your epic ranting misadventures take the leap from the showbiz blogosphere and tabloids to the august New York Times Op-Ed pages, where the Times' house conservative David Brooks nails the rage-filled actor as the quintessential modern-day narcissist....

Even reruns of interviews with Larry King isn't going to help.

According to the 'tapes' of Mel's Ex-girlfriend, he is an Anti-Semite turned woman beater.

What else is new?  However, I remind, there was once a lady named Nicole Brown Simpson who no one believed either.

The T.P.M. is a group of P.A.C.s - At the very least. What is this about no organization? Liars.


This isn't racist?  In who's book?  Nice try.  To demand the USA government return to the "Original" Constitution and Bill of Rights negates any and all the Civil Rights Movements.  The Civil Rights Movement wasn't a PAC either.  Take a look into the archives of Martin Luther King and try and find the PAC he organized.  I dare you. 

No joke.  Shut up.  The Tea Party are a bunch of hard nose greed merchants that have no respect for anyone except their bankers.

See effigies mean something.  If you don't think so ask the CEO's of BOA and Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan how it felt to have their images marched in a parade against their exploitation of Americans? 

Apologies count, too.  The Tea Party needs to apologize.


Tea party PAC endorses Barela
By Matthew Reichbach
6/17/10 12:01 AM
The FreedomWorks PAC, the campaign arm of the group that has mentored the tea party movement, has endorsed Jon Barela in the New Mexico 1st Congressional District race. The group, chaired by former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey, called Barela a “fiscal hero” in its endorsement.



“A vote for Jon Barela would clearly be a vote for individual liberty and economic prosperity,” Armey said in a statement.
The group endorsed Barela because they say he believes in lowering taxes and accused incumbent Democrat Martin Heinrich of being a “big-spender.”
FreedomWorks said it will fund get-out-the-vote efforts, including direct mailings, yard sign distribution, volunteer phone banks and neighborhood literature drops in support of Barela.
Armey recently pooh-poohed the idea that he’s the leader of the tea party movement, saying Freedom Works is only a “mentoring” organization. FreedomWorks launched a nationwide tea party tour last year.

http://newmexicoindependent.com/57559/tea-party-pac-endorses-barela

I think it is bizarre to ask the NAACP to have town meetings next to the Tea Party.  The Tea Party absolutely hates President Obama.  I don't see that as a resolution.  Lacks respect for the President in an attempt to try to divide people rather than unite them.  Besides, it could result in violence.  I don't believe it is a good idea.

Confront racism, don’t deny it  (click title to entry - thank you)


Since when has it become racist to point out racism in America? That’s where this country finds itself, as many purporting to want a color-blind nation refuse to admit that not everyone shares their dream.
Case in point, the beat-down the NAACP has been receiving for having the audacity to point out the obvious: that racists have been infiltrating tea-party gatherings because any criticism of America’s first black president gives them a buzz.
A resolution passed by the NAACP didn’t say being a tea-party member was equivalent to being a racist. It asked the movement to condemn the extremists too frequently seen at its meetings. If the tea-partiers truly want to change America for the better, they will act on the NAACP’s charge and work harder to make sure that no one — regardless of skin color, religion, or country of origin — would feel unwelcome.


Philadelphia Inquirer editorial

 
I tell you what.  Why doesn't the Tea Party simply apologize for their insulting manners and 'Let's Move' for the First Lady and advocate for taxes on soft drinks and fruit drinks that add calories to a child's diet.

Sound fair?  I would be an extention of 'good will' between everyone.

Money, money and mo' money

Every aspect of the Palin Family experience has resulted in 'bankrolling' millions. 

Sarah Palin has a PAC that banks millions on a regular basis.  She acts as a catalyst to the GOP Base to attempt to get out the vote in November.

Britol has her own non-profit of which she earns plenty of money to act as a 'celebrity' that carries the message.

And boyfriend has been making the rounds to all kinds of appearances, with and without cloths.

Then the insult of all insults, Levi would have to part with thousands upon thousands in order to support his son.

"Oh, no !" 

Better to marry the heifer and keep the money in the family than to hand it over to Bristol and the potential of another man. 

Nothing new here.

Go ahead, tell me the photo on the cover of "US" was a volunteer effort. 


As the Diva was taking a sip of her freshly ground gourmet coffee (click title to entry - thank you) earlier this week, she heard something so shocking, she sprayed java onto her polished marble countertop. No, it wasn't the news that BP had successfully capped the ruptured oil well. Bristol Palin was back in the arms of baby daddy Levi Johnston, the hockey stud from Wasilla, Alaska, with the good looks of a privileged jock in a John Huhgesian teen romp and, if interviews are any indication, the brains to match....

http://www.cleveland.com/people/index.ssf/2010/07/lebron_james_bristol_palin_and.html

Darth Vadar gets a mechanical heart

Rove should tell him what I said, it might actually give him back his blood pressure.

Basically, Dick Cheney now has an artificial heart.  The "Left Ventricular Assist" is what has resulted instead of an artificial heart.

He is probably on a transplant waiting list, however, for the majority populous of the USA, transplants are
'off the table' if a person is over sixty years old.

The former Veep is very ill.  No one should understate that for the purpose political manipulation.  At this point, I would hope there is a bipartisan concern for the life of Mr. Cheney.

All that 'fuch you' meanness did it, Dick.  "Ah, only if he could take it all back now."

I wonder which insurance policy is paying for all this?  Halliburton or the USA or both.  What's fair is fair.  This is an example of how the wealthy recieve every advantage by a lopsided heatlh care system while others are only spectators to others good luck.

And there are no antibiotics in Haiti.  Oh, well.  Who ever said life is fair?  Be well, Dick.

CNN's Gupta, "...unnecessary lose of life and suffering..." - Sean Penn "...no antibiotics...need a planned tent camp...lights help with security..."

...Cox, however, said the pledges were coming in at a normal pace, recalling that donor pledges made after the devastating 2004 tsunami in Asia took up to two years to arrive.
The World Bank official said the rest of the donations pledged in March were coming in on a bilateral basis between Haiti and the donor countries.
Some 250,000 people were killed and 1.5 million left homeless when the earth shook on January 12, unleashing a trail of destruction on the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Haitians on Monday marked the first six-months after the disaster with growing impatience at the slow trickle of aid and the crawling pace of reconstruction, with experts predicting it could take 20 years just to clear the rubble from the streets.
According to the United Nations office in Haiti, nearly 4,000 small homes have been built in a project that anticipates building some 10,000 houses.
Cox admitted "the pace of reconstruction has not been as rapid as we would have hoped."...
 
http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-23958--2-2--.html
 
Why does this process of providing International Aid have to take so long and why is there loss of progress only to cost more later to restart the effort all over again?
 
...The United States Congress and many parliaments have made clear that funds given to Haiti should be managed in the most efficient way and to the highest governance standards. Speed is of the essence, but so are controls to ensure that funds are not misspent. That means we need to know who will get the money and how it will be spent. Projects must truly benefit the poor. The record of aid to Haiti over the last 20 years demands nothing less.


Sri Mulyani Indrawati


Managing Director, The World Bank
Washington, July 15, 2010

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/opinion/l16haiti.html


...Lobbying for change
The US Congress is considering a proposal by the Barack Obama administration for $2.8 billion in aid for Haiti, and Watkins and the representatives of 33 development, human rights and faith-based organizations were lobbying to change the way the government delivered it. Nearly all US food aid is produced by American agribusinesses.
In a letter to congressional leaders on 12 April the lobby group asked for "greater flexibility in how we deliver food aid, by permitting local or regional purchase of emergency food aid for Haiti, and the use of emergency non-food assistance, including vouchers, cash transfers, or safety-net programmes."
There are signs that US policy may be shifting. Watkins noted a small pilot programme in the 2007 Farm Bill that earmarked funds for the local and regional purchase of emergency food aid, and to a provision in a 2008 appropriations bill that allowed for similar procurements. "Both of these actions are precedent-setting," he said.
All this is in keeping with the wishes of the Haitian government; President Rene Preval expressed the hope that emergency food aid from abroad would soon come to a halt, saying: "If food and water continues to be sent from abroad, that will undermine Haitian national production and Haitian trade."...


http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=88857

The FDA Advisory Panels need to be reviewed for competency. Secretary Sebilius has a responsiblity to make safety a priority.

About Advisory CommitteesThe Food and Drug Administration, to assist in its mission to protect and promote the public health, uses 49 committees and panels to obtain independent expert advice on scientific, technical, and policy matters.  (click title to entry - thank you)

The FDA Panels have become political activists that act as a buffer for the plutocracy while being willing to place the 'consumer' in the middle of decisions that easily can be out of their reach to understand.

The 'generation' of pharmaceuticals that attack 'the necessary fat' around the heart, such as Avandia and Zioxx are very dangerous.  There is no need for them.  There are very good alternatives and the risks DO NOT outweigh the benefits.  Such 'generation of dangerous drugs' should only be considered in conditions where the prognosis of the patient is poor and there is a benefit to perscribe.

The FDA Panels are expensive and add to the burden of our health care system.  Secretary Sebelius needs to re-examine the necessity of the FDA Panels and ANY benefit to their existance.

The FDA has to start taking a hardline against these pharmaceuticals.  They are metabolized with body fat that is vital to its survival and not 'spare or obese fat.'  This is ridiculous and there are better options then these drugs.  This is a no brainer.  PULL AVANDIA and review the 'integrity' of the "Panel Process."


FDA Panels Votes to Keep Avandia



Matthew Perrone


Drug Discovery & Development - July 15, 2010
WASHINGTON (AP) - GlaxoSmithKline's drug Avandia should stay on the market, federal health experts voted, but the controversial diabetes pill should be subject to new restrictions due to risky heart side effects.
A panel of Food and Drug Administration advisers voted 20-12 to keep the once blockbuster pill available for diabetics. But 10 panelists also called for limiting who can receive and prescribe the much-debated medication.
The vote marks a tough win for British drugmaker Glaxo, which is facing thousands of lawsuits from patients who say Avandia caused their heart attacks or strokes. While the company may fare better in court due to the panel ruling, sales of Avandia are likely to shrink to minuscule levels.
The FDA is not required to follow the advice of its panelists, though it usually does. FDA officials said they would review the recommendations and make a decision on Avandia as soon as possible....

http://dddmag.com/news-FDA-Panels-Votes-to-Keep-Avandia-71510.aspx


The troubling move toward theology on these Panels during the Bush/Cheney Administration is more then troubling.  It is time to 'weed out' the process and how it was effected by these bozos.



...''The pattern of actions we are watching is troubling,'' Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrat of New York, said in an interview. ''It's one thing to have a political perspective, which all of us do. But we are going to be in trouble in this country if we start moving toward theology-based science or ideological research.''
Mr. Thompson and his aides have defended their selections. In a letter this week to Senator Clinton and Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, Mr. Thompson denied that the administration uses a litmus test and said, ''We will continue to recruit the best scientific minds to serve.''
The issue also came up on Monday at the Senate confirmation hearing of Dr. Mark B. McClellan, President Bush's nominee for commissioner of food and drugs.
''Expertise and objectivity are important criteria for selection,'' Dr. McClellan told the committee, in response to a question from Senator Kennedy. But, he added, so is ''diversity of viewpoints.''
The committee changes come at a time when Mr. Thompson is restructuring the health and human services advisory system, which consists of 258 outside boards and panels. In any given year, Mr. Thompson said in his letter, his office can appoint roughly 450 people....

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/10/us/bush-s-science-advisers-drawing-criticism.html


The National Debt needs to be addressed.  These panels are unnecessary as they divide their loyality between patients and Wall Street.  Cut the budget and reduce the panels; dismiss their participants.
It's Saturday Night

"Social Insecurity" by Citizen Fish

Growling as I stare at smiles from the other side of the street


is it the speed I'm walking at or the shoes upon my feet?


I couldn't afford the baseball boots that's not the game I play


and if you'd rather hang about I won't get in your way


if the words you backhand to your friend were meant for me to hear
I'll show you a better way to spend your time over a beer


or a coffee - come on mutant-head! let's drop the social games


call it a bluff call it enough quit calling each other names


there's hardly any difference in the nature of the threat


some like to be remembered by the reaction they can get


others need security in a certain social set


both are too aware of what they yet still have to get


is no one ever satisfied with being what they are?


if you show me all your barbed wire I'll only show you scars


but tell me where you got it from and what it costs in friends


and I'll start to get a picture of a person not a trend


ignorance and affinity to outside influence


rejects the inner feeling at anyone's expense


what provoked attack was the nature of defense


the weak are strong in knowing that such strength is all pretence


so while you're staring at me I'll be grinning back at you


at various intensities we'll both


know it's true


that what each other represents is an image we've been fed


If I'm a fucking waste of space than you're a mutant head


so let's discuss these attitudes and find some common ground


just doing that is ground enough to exorcise the sound of insults, sights of malice, inbred scorn and ignorance

once beyond the posing we can find the relevance

Maintaining Internet Connections at the USA borders still isn't all that, UNLESS, one has Verizon.

No lie.  Working near the border has been interesting. 

There are regular patrols by the Border Patrol, too.  The Border Patrol makes a difference.  I have seen the Border Patrol shut down seasonal business that was opened by Canadian citizens without proper documents and taxation.  The USA economy is definately served by the Border Patrol.

But, the only 'phone and internet' service that has been at all reliable has been Verizon.

Sorry.  Simply the truth.

I'll do a review of the weeks events this evening. 

Until later.