The Bush Coup
New Jersey Gov Corzine: We're in a recession
Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:45pm EDT
By Joseph A. Giannone
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, who once led Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs, on Wednesday told Reuters the U.S. economy already is in a recession that could persist, and that federal authorities have only taken the first steps toward turning things around.
"I certainly concur with the view that we are in a recession," Corzine said in an exclusive interview at Reuters' U.S. headquarters in New York. "We have pretty strong indications that we have seen a major, major downshift in the economy. I think we'll find we started in the last quarter of last year."
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1220997020080312
Big candidate lineup set for Rep. Hunter's seat
By Michele Clock
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 13, 2008
A rare, open seat in Congress' 52nd District is drawing a crowded field of candidates, including one especially familiar name.
Republican Duncan D. Hunter will go after the seat his father, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, has held more than a quarter century.
Advertisement
The elder Hunter declined to run for re-election to pursue an ill-fated presidential bid.
His absence creates the only vacant congressional seat in the county this year. Yesterday was the filing deadline for the district's June 3 primary election.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080313-9999-1m13file.html
Toll of toxic trailers
Anthony Lane
Published 13 March 2008
Two and a half years after Hurricane Katrina 114,000 people are still living in cramped trailers - now it seems many have been exposed to a cancer-causing chemical
Two and a half years after Hurricane Katrina, 38,000 families, or approximately 114,000 people, have yet to receive the compensation promised by the federal government and are still living in cramped trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema).
But just when it seemed that post-Katrina New Orleans could not bear witness to greater suffering or government incompetence, Fema made a stunning announcement. Families living in many of these trailers have been exposed to toxic levels of a cancer-causing chemical.
http://www.newstatesman.com/200803130016
Abramoff's former law firm comments on new indictment
Claiming to be one of many victims of former powerhouse lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the now convicted felon's former employer, the Greenberg Traurig law firm, has responded to criminal charges handed down in an indictment earlier this week. In a statement to KUAM News, director of communications Jill Perry wrote, "This indictment involves rogue conduct by Jack Abramoff. We strongly deny these charges and are confident we will prevail when all the facts are known."
Perry adds Abramoff's plea agreement acknowledged the law firm was a "victim" of their former employee's actions and his conduct. The organization adds they have cooperated with all investigation and, "Have worked to ensure that any former clients were fairly treated. We will address this matter with the same seriousness."
Greenberg Traurig was named in the indictment along with Abramoff and former Superior Court of Guam administrative director Tony Sanchez. They are accused of improperly using more than $300,000 from the Superior Court for lobbying services, as well as various expenses of Greenberg Traurig employees, including political assistance, research on Open Skies, travel, golf trips, and numerous dinners at Abramoff's restaurant, Signatures.
http://www.kuam.com/news/26871.aspx
US House passes resolution to create independent ethics panel
Mike Rosen-Molina at 11:00 AM ET
[JURIST] The US House of Representatives [official website] Tuesday voted 229-182 [roll call] to pass a resolution [HRES 895 materials] creating an independent ethics panel to investigate allegations of malfeasance against House lawmakers. The Office of Congressional Ethics will consist of six non-House members of "exceptional public standing." This represents the first time that the House has delegated the authority to investigate alleged ethics violations to non-House members. Supporters said that the independent panel would help restore public confidence, while opponents worried that it would encourage frivolous investigations. The New York Times has more.
Government watchdog groups praised the outcome of the vote, saying that it showed the House was serious about dealing with ethics violations. Common Cause [advocacy website] called the move a "tremendous improvement to the current system," and noted that the panel would help to improve the House's image [press release] after a series of corruption scandals, including those involving disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former Rep. Randall "Duke" Cunningham [JURIST news archives].
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/03/us-house-passes-resolution-to-create.php
Sanchez, Abramoff indicted
By Stephanie Godlewski
Pacific Daily News
smgodlewski@guampdn.com
A second superseding indictment has been brought against former Superior Court of Guam Administrative Director Tony Sanchez. A few new names and charges have been added.
Sanchez was initially indicted along with California attorney Howard Hills in December 2006, and a superceding indictment came in against the pair in March of 2007, adding more charges to the case.
http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080313/NEWS01/803130301/1002
Condoleezza Rice to avoid Argentina during South American trip
By Alexei Barrionuevo
Published: March 12, 2008
RIO DE JANEIRO: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to arrive in Brazil on Thursday for a two-day visit to South America just days after Colombia's assassination of a top rebel leader enraged Ecuador's president and drew threats of military action by President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela.
Notably absent from Rice's previously scheduled visit to Brazil and Chile, however, will be Argentina, where the first elected female president in the country's history, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, was inaugurated in December. The omission underscores Washington's angst with the new Kirchner government, which has continued to strengthen ties with Chávez while accusing the United States of political motives in an investigation into an alleged $800,000 secret campaign contribution from Venezuela to Kirchner.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/12/africa/rice.php
Five years on, Rice admits mistakes in Iraqi reconstruction
20 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Almost five years after the start of the Iraq war, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice acknowledged Wednesday that US-led efforts to rebuild the country should have begun much earlier.
"I would have to admit, I think we've learned that, yes, it is really important to be able to help others build their states, to help others build their nations," she told US lawmakers.
She was replying to a question on whether the administration of President George W. Bush had changed its mind on the controversial issue of helping other countries with "nation-building."
"My view is, it is still something that we need to do with civilians," Rice, who was national security advisor at the time of the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, told a congressional committee.
She was defending the administration's 2008-2009 budget which has earmarked some 249 million dollars to create 351 diplomatic posts devoted to "nation-building."
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jh4gBeAoLnHACbhFfGs0MS7AViCw
continued...
Thursday, March 13, 2008
The Bush Coup - Part II
Romney to McCain: I would be 'honored' to be your running mate
The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 03/12/2008 01:16:08 PM MDT
Posted: 9:12 AM- WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney says he would be "honored" to be chosen as a running mate to the Republican presidential nominee.
Romney dropped out of the presidential race in February after falling behind in the delegate count in Super Tuesday contests to John McCain. McCain has now clinched enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee.
Romney's comments came on Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes."
He has recently been suggested as a promising option for a McCain ticket by former White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove and other political commentators.
Others say he would not help McCain attract evangelical voters or voters from the South _ segments where both men more often lost to former candidate Mike Huckabee.
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_8545354
Is there one, just one international venue where Condi Rice was actually successful? Nope ! "...The name of the report was "Bin Laden Determined to Strike Within the USA..."
Rice doubts any solution soon in Nagorno-Karabakh
Wed Mar 12, 2008 3:21pm EDT
By Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed doubt on Wednesday that the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh can be solved soon, saying there are problems on both sides.
Rice spoke at a Capitol Hill hearing after two lawmakers expressed concern about the possibility of another war in the Caucasus region and asked why the Bush administration was seeking more military aid for Azerbaijan than Armenia.
Nagorno-Karabakh was seized by pro-Armenian forces from Azerbaijan in a war in the 1990s in which 35,000 people died.
Sixteen soldiers from both sides died in clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh this month, one of the worst breaches of the 1994 cease-fire there. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matt Bryza visited the region afterwards and expressed concerns to both Armenian and Azeri officials that the clashes not recur.
"In the immediate future I don't know that Nagorno-Karabakh can get solved," Rice said at the House appropriations subcommittee hearing on the State Department's budget.
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1242026020080312
Bush's Federal Judges 'Hostile' to Civil Rights, Liberals Say
By Monisha Bansal
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
March 13, 2008
(CNSNews.com) - Noting that the next president will have the opportunity to appoint several federal judges, liberal legal experts said the Bush administration's "legacy will harm American's rights."
President George W. Bush has appointed 277 judges to lifelong terms - almost one-third of the federal judiciary - including two Supreme Court justices, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito.
"While he's only served eight years, [he] will leave a legacy that will harm and do great damage to all of the rights and protections that we Americans cherish so much," Nan Aron, president of the liberal Alliance for Justice, told Cybercast News Service.
"We're going to see increasing numbers of decisions coming down, not just from the Supreme Court, but the courts of appeal from around the country, hostile to the environment, consumer protections, civil and women's rights and hostile to civil liberties," she said.
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/viewstory.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200803/POL20080313a.html
The Roe v. Wade of Gun Rights
By Ken Blackwell
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Editor's Note: This column is part II of a two-part series co-written by Ken Blackwell and Sandy Froman. Part I can be found here.
The two red-hot issues fused by the District of Columbia v. Heller case -- guns and judges -- are two of the most divisive in American politics.
D.C. v. Heller could become one of the most important cases in American history, with profound political and policy implications.
The case will directly affect 90 million American gun owners. Whether they have a constitutional right to own guns immediately makes their ownership either a protected right or merely a privilege that the government can restrict at will. Either way everyone else in our society is indirectly affected.
http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/KenBlackwell/2008/03/13/the_roe_v_wade_of_gun_rights
Goldman Sachs finds the rough in Japan
By Lindsay Whipp
Published: March 12 2008 20:06 Last updated: March 12 2008 20:06
Competition at the prestigious Narita Golf Club is usually confined to its manicured greens, where many of Japan’s business elite would entertain clients during the indulgent years of the country’s bubble economy.
Fast forward past Japan’s lost decade to 2008 and any aggression has shifted from the tee to the courthouse as the passion that some Japanese have for golf has spurred a group of disgruntled members to take on the mighty Goldman Sachs. If they succeed this would be the US investment bank’s third failed golf course investment in Japan, so the stakes are high for both sides when members’ votes on Goldman’s rehabilitation plan for the club are counted on March 19.
The Japanese arm of Goldman Sachs, which bought the club in 2006, put it into bankruptcy protection in October after a number of members demanded the return of their deposits. The club has debts of Y43.7bn ($428m), of which Y29.4bn is membership deposits and Y14.3bn is a loan to the club Goldman bought back from the lender. The club could not afford to repay the deposits and continue to operate, and so filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/860e5662-f03e-11dc-ba7c-0000779fd2ac.html
March 12, 2008, 3:08PM
Sector Glance: Coal Producers Slide
NEW YORK — Shares of coal producers pulled back Wednesday, after a Goldman Sachs analyst suggested that ramped-up production will drag down spot prices and stock values sooner than many on Wall Street currently believe.
Analyst Michael Molnar said that historically high spot prices will lead companies to increase production, which will offset current bullish demand.
"The incentive of huge profits possible at current spot pricing will likely trump many of the barriers in getting production to market," he said in a client note.
Spot prices have been driven by demand from emerging markets, especially China and India. Most recently, supply concerns caused by flooding and power outages in coal powerhouses such as Australia and South Africa have driven U.S. coal prices even higher.
Here's how some major U.S. coal producers performed Wednesday:
Peabody Energy Corp., down $2.68, or 5 percent, to $50.68.
Massey Energy Co., down $1.16, or 3.2 percent, to $35.
Arch Coal Inc., down $2.74, or 5.7 percent, to $45.23.
Foundation Coal Holdings Inc., down $1.94, or 3.6 percent, to $51.53.
Consol Energy Inc., down $1.73, or 2.5 percent, to $68.86.
Alpha Natural Resources Inc. down 74 cents to $39.02.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5613908.html
Goldman Sachs reported as likely to buy a 20% stake in Shriram Credit
By Bangalore Bureau
Last update: 7:04 a.m. EDT March 12, 2008
165.59, +2.58, +1.6%) is close to buying a 20% stake in privately-owned Shriram Credit Co. for INR3 billion in a bid to enter India's equity and commodity brokerage business, the Economic Times reported, citing unnamed sources.
The U.S.-based financial services major, which will buy the stake through a preferential share issue, can also raise its holding by another 5% at a later stage, the report said.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/goldman-sachs-reported-likely-buy/story.aspx?guid=%7BA3C304A9-E229-45F6-8D11-CC924F771281%7D
BB+ Brazil vs. AA- Goldman Sachs: Who's Got the Better Credit Rating?
posted on: March 12, 2008 about stocks: GS
It wasn’t that long ago that Brazil was a fiscal basketcase. But these days, the global credit markets are telling us that it’s a better credit than Goldman Sachs (GS).
As of Monday morning, Goldman’s 2037 6.75% bonds were trading at 85.441, implying a yield of 7.9%. Brazil’s 2037 7.125% 2037 bonds have rallied to 107.19 - generating a yield of 6.647%.
When these two bonds were issued, Goldman’s commanded a rate that was 37.5bps lower than the nation of Brazil. In less than a year, Goldman’s 30-year bonds have backed up 130bps, and are now paying a 340bps premium vs. the 30-year U.S. government bond.
With Goldman sporting a market cap of $61 billion (down 40% from last year’s high), and shareholders equity of $42.8 billion (as of 11/07), those AA minus-rated 7.9% yielding bonds seem to have plenty of cushion under them.
Brazil has performed incredibly well since 2005, when it owed the world $400 billion. Today, it is a net creditor, and expecting to be upgraded to “investment grade” later this year, according to Merrill Lynch (MER).
AA minus bonds are yielding higher than BB+.
Is there a disconnect here? It appears that markets have become so distrusting of the rating agencies that investors will even doubt the credit rating of Goldman itself.
Disclosure: I own GS.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/68206-bb-brazil-vs-aa-goldman-sachs-who-s-got-the-better-credit-rating
WHAT IS THIS?
AOL and Goldman Sachs?
Really ?
Online Video Service NextNew Receives $15 Million Funding; Goldman, Velocity, Pittman Invest
By Rafat Ali - Wed 12 Mar 2008 08:45 AM PST
Online video production and distribution service NextNew Networks has received $15 million in a new second round of funding...the round was co-led by Goldman Sachs and Velocity Interactive Group (Jon Miller is already on the board from before). Previous investors Spark Capital has invested again as has Saban Media Group and Bob Pittman.
NextNew, co-founded by former MTVN (NYSE: VIA) exec Herb Scannell, former Sundance COO Jed Simmonds, former Hanna-Barbera president Fred Seibert, raised a $8 million round in 2006. I have been skeptical of video production studios like NextNew and since the company started, many other competitors have entered the field. It is a hits-driven business in a medium where a definition of hit is still being defined.
Meanwhile, NextNew has also announced a deal with AOL (NYSE: TWX) to provide AOL Video with about 2,000 episodes from some of the short-form videos it has produced since its debut last March. AOL will create a separate video channel for NextNew shows within its portal.
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-online-video-service-nextnew-receives-15-million-funding-goldman-veloci/
continued...
Romney to McCain: I would be 'honored' to be your running mate
The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 03/12/2008 01:16:08 PM MDT
Posted: 9:12 AM- WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney says he would be "honored" to be chosen as a running mate to the Republican presidential nominee.
Romney dropped out of the presidential race in February after falling behind in the delegate count in Super Tuesday contests to John McCain. McCain has now clinched enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee.
Romney's comments came on Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes."
He has recently been suggested as a promising option for a McCain ticket by former White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove and other political commentators.
Others say he would not help McCain attract evangelical voters or voters from the South _ segments where both men more often lost to former candidate Mike Huckabee.
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_8545354
Is there one, just one international venue where Condi Rice was actually successful? Nope ! "...The name of the report was "Bin Laden Determined to Strike Within the USA..."
Rice doubts any solution soon in Nagorno-Karabakh
Wed Mar 12, 2008 3:21pm EDT
By Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed doubt on Wednesday that the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh can be solved soon, saying there are problems on both sides.
Rice spoke at a Capitol Hill hearing after two lawmakers expressed concern about the possibility of another war in the Caucasus region and asked why the Bush administration was seeking more military aid for Azerbaijan than Armenia.
Nagorno-Karabakh was seized by pro-Armenian forces from Azerbaijan in a war in the 1990s in which 35,000 people died.
Sixteen soldiers from both sides died in clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh this month, one of the worst breaches of the 1994 cease-fire there. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matt Bryza visited the region afterwards and expressed concerns to both Armenian and Azeri officials that the clashes not recur.
"In the immediate future I don't know that Nagorno-Karabakh can get solved," Rice said at the House appropriations subcommittee hearing on the State Department's budget.
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1242026020080312
Bush's Federal Judges 'Hostile' to Civil Rights, Liberals Say
By Monisha Bansal
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
March 13, 2008
(CNSNews.com) - Noting that the next president will have the opportunity to appoint several federal judges, liberal legal experts said the Bush administration's "legacy will harm American's rights."
President George W. Bush has appointed 277 judges to lifelong terms - almost one-third of the federal judiciary - including two Supreme Court justices, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito.
"While he's only served eight years, [he] will leave a legacy that will harm and do great damage to all of the rights and protections that we Americans cherish so much," Nan Aron, president of the liberal Alliance for Justice, told Cybercast News Service.
"We're going to see increasing numbers of decisions coming down, not just from the Supreme Court, but the courts of appeal from around the country, hostile to the environment, consumer protections, civil and women's rights and hostile to civil liberties," she said.
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/viewstory.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200803/POL20080313a.html
The Roe v. Wade of Gun Rights
By Ken Blackwell
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Editor's Note: This column is part II of a two-part series co-written by Ken Blackwell and Sandy Froman. Part I can be found here.
The two red-hot issues fused by the District of Columbia v. Heller case -- guns and judges -- are two of the most divisive in American politics.
D.C. v. Heller could become one of the most important cases in American history, with profound political and policy implications.
The case will directly affect 90 million American gun owners. Whether they have a constitutional right to own guns immediately makes their ownership either a protected right or merely a privilege that the government can restrict at will. Either way everyone else in our society is indirectly affected.
http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/KenBlackwell/2008/03/13/the_roe_v_wade_of_gun_rights
Goldman Sachs finds the rough in Japan
By Lindsay Whipp
Published: March 12 2008 20:06 Last updated: March 12 2008 20:06
Competition at the prestigious Narita Golf Club is usually confined to its manicured greens, where many of Japan’s business elite would entertain clients during the indulgent years of the country’s bubble economy.
Fast forward past Japan’s lost decade to 2008 and any aggression has shifted from the tee to the courthouse as the passion that some Japanese have for golf has spurred a group of disgruntled members to take on the mighty Goldman Sachs. If they succeed this would be the US investment bank’s third failed golf course investment in Japan, so the stakes are high for both sides when members’ votes on Goldman’s rehabilitation plan for the club are counted on March 19.
The Japanese arm of Goldman Sachs, which bought the club in 2006, put it into bankruptcy protection in October after a number of members demanded the return of their deposits. The club has debts of Y43.7bn ($428m), of which Y29.4bn is membership deposits and Y14.3bn is a loan to the club Goldman bought back from the lender. The club could not afford to repay the deposits and continue to operate, and so filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/860e5662-f03e-11dc-ba7c-0000779fd2ac.html
March 12, 2008, 3:08PM
Sector Glance: Coal Producers Slide
NEW YORK — Shares of coal producers pulled back Wednesday, after a Goldman Sachs analyst suggested that ramped-up production will drag down spot prices and stock values sooner than many on Wall Street currently believe.
Analyst Michael Molnar said that historically high spot prices will lead companies to increase production, which will offset current bullish demand.
"The incentive of huge profits possible at current spot pricing will likely trump many of the barriers in getting production to market," he said in a client note.
Spot prices have been driven by demand from emerging markets, especially China and India. Most recently, supply concerns caused by flooding and power outages in coal powerhouses such as Australia and South Africa have driven U.S. coal prices even higher.
Here's how some major U.S. coal producers performed Wednesday:
Peabody Energy Corp., down $2.68, or 5 percent, to $50.68.
Massey Energy Co., down $1.16, or 3.2 percent, to $35.
Arch Coal Inc., down $2.74, or 5.7 percent, to $45.23.
Foundation Coal Holdings Inc., down $1.94, or 3.6 percent, to $51.53.
Consol Energy Inc., down $1.73, or 2.5 percent, to $68.86.
Alpha Natural Resources Inc. down 74 cents to $39.02.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5613908.html
Goldman Sachs reported as likely to buy a 20% stake in Shriram Credit
By Bangalore Bureau
Last update: 7:04 a.m. EDT March 12, 2008
165.59, +2.58, +1.6%) is close to buying a 20% stake in privately-owned Shriram Credit Co. for INR3 billion in a bid to enter India's equity and commodity brokerage business, the Economic Times reported, citing unnamed sources.
The U.S.-based financial services major, which will buy the stake through a preferential share issue, can also raise its holding by another 5% at a later stage, the report said.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/goldman-sachs-reported-likely-buy/story.aspx?guid=%7BA3C304A9-E229-45F6-8D11-CC924F771281%7D
BB+ Brazil vs. AA- Goldman Sachs: Who's Got the Better Credit Rating?
posted on: March 12, 2008 about stocks: GS
It wasn’t that long ago that Brazil was a fiscal basketcase. But these days, the global credit markets are telling us that it’s a better credit than Goldman Sachs (GS).
As of Monday morning, Goldman’s 2037 6.75% bonds were trading at 85.441, implying a yield of 7.9%. Brazil’s 2037 7.125% 2037 bonds have rallied to 107.19 - generating a yield of 6.647%.
When these two bonds were issued, Goldman’s commanded a rate that was 37.5bps lower than the nation of Brazil. In less than a year, Goldman’s 30-year bonds have backed up 130bps, and are now paying a 340bps premium vs. the 30-year U.S. government bond.
With Goldman sporting a market cap of $61 billion (down 40% from last year’s high), and shareholders equity of $42.8 billion (as of 11/07), those AA minus-rated 7.9% yielding bonds seem to have plenty of cushion under them.
Brazil has performed incredibly well since 2005, when it owed the world $400 billion. Today, it is a net creditor, and expecting to be upgraded to “investment grade” later this year, according to Merrill Lynch (MER).
AA minus bonds are yielding higher than BB+.
Is there a disconnect here? It appears that markets have become so distrusting of the rating agencies that investors will even doubt the credit rating of Goldman itself.
Disclosure: I own GS.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/68206-bb-brazil-vs-aa-goldman-sachs-who-s-got-the-better-credit-rating
WHAT IS THIS?
AOL and Goldman Sachs?
Really ?
Online Video Service NextNew Receives $15 Million Funding; Goldman, Velocity, Pittman Invest
By Rafat Ali - Wed 12 Mar 2008 08:45 AM PST
Online video production and distribution service NextNew Networks has received $15 million in a new second round of funding...the round was co-led by Goldman Sachs and Velocity Interactive Group (Jon Miller is already on the board from before). Previous investors Spark Capital has invested again as has Saban Media Group and Bob Pittman.
NextNew, co-founded by former MTVN (NYSE: VIA) exec Herb Scannell, former Sundance COO Jed Simmonds, former Hanna-Barbera president Fred Seibert, raised a $8 million round in 2006. I have been skeptical of video production studios like NextNew and since the company started, many other competitors have entered the field. It is a hits-driven business in a medium where a definition of hit is still being defined.
Meanwhile, NextNew has also announced a deal with AOL (NYSE: TWX) to provide AOL Video with about 2,000 episodes from some of the short-form videos it has produced since its debut last March. AOL will create a separate video channel for NextNew shows within its portal.
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-online-video-service-nextnew-receives-15-million-funding-goldman-veloci/
continued...
The Bush Coup - Part III
They are anticipating The Avian Flu is more the issue !
Bio-fuels push up feed costs
POULTRY FACTS
There were 2,792 chicken producers in Canada in 2006.
Canada produced 973.6 million kilograms of chicken worth $1.55 billion, 60 per cent of which came from Quebec and Ontario.
The average chicken farm produced 348,700 kilos of meat.
Domestic chicken consumption was 31.8 kilos per person.
Exports consisted of 5.5 million chicks, worth almost $10 million.
SOURCE: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2006 statistics
Pilgrim's Pride cuts output, jobs as feed cost soars
Mar 13, 2008 04:30 AM
Lisa Wright
Business reporter
Go ahead, grab another drumstick.
Canadian farmers aren't counting their chickens, so to speak, as their poultry-producing pals south of the border struggle with sky-high costs for feed and an oversupply of the popular protein.
That's forcing the world's largest producer to close nearly half of its distribution centres in the United States.
There isn't a poultry glut in Canada yet, but the industry is keeping a close watch on the U.S. chicken scene after Pilgrim's Pride Corp. announced yesterday it will slash 1,100 jobs and close a huge North Carolina chicken-processing complex along with six of its 13 distribution centres by June, citing "unprecedented increases" in feed costs.
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/345249
Royal Veterinary College uses @RISK from Palisade to combat avian flu
By WebitPR (www.webitpr.com) - March 12, 08 at 13:05
The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is using @RISK risk analysis software from Palisade (www.palisade-europe.com) as part of its research aimed at developing methods for controlling and preventing the occurrence of dangerous and infectious diseases in animals. A key area of research for the RVC, the UK's largest vet school and one of the most highly regarded veterinary research centres in Europe, is avian flu.
http://www.edubourse.com/finance/actualites.php?actu=38219
Conger: Coming up with a flu plan
By Clayton Conger, Syndicated columnist
GHS
Posted Mar 12, 2008 @ 12:17 AM
LEXINGTON PARK, Md. - Interest in avian flu seems to have waned recently, but its threat is still present in several rural areas, principally in the Orient. A previously unknown and dangerous strain of the H5N1 bird flu has emerged from southern China and has spread from birds to people in Southeast Asia, marking a third wave of avian flu and rekindling fears of a global pandemic.
http://www.dailynewstribune.com/opinion/x346135634
Spraying away bird flu?
March 12 2008 at 03:03PM
Tokyo - Japanese researchers said on Wednesday they were in the final stage of developing a painless bird flu vaccine which is sprayed up the nose instead of being injected.
The nasal spray could make it easier to vaccinate people in developing countries with limited medical resources, which have borne the brunt of avian influenza since an outbreak in 2003.
Researchers sprayed the vaccine into the noses of mice and monkeys and found it was effective against H5N1, the strain of bird flu that can be deadly for humans, as well as its subtypes.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=31&art_id=nw20080312104728297C146669&set_id=
Government alerts states bordering West Bengal on bird flu
The central government Wednesday alerted states neighbouring West Bengal, where a fresh outbreak of bird flu has left over 190 birds dead over the past nine days.
Tests at the Bhopal's High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) found the presence of bird flu virus in samples from Nayamukundapur in Raghunathgunj block II and Dohapara village in Murshidabad-Jiagunj block of the Murshidabad district, following which the central government alerted adjoining states of Bihar, Orissa, Manipur and Jharkhand.
The Department of Animal Husbandry, after notifying the fresh poultry deaths, said about 90 broiler chicken died in Budhra Village of Jiaganj block on March 5, while 100 birds in backyard poultry in Nayamukundpur village in Raghunathganj-II block were killed due to the H5N1 virus.
Both centres are just a few kilometres from the place where avian influenza was reported last month.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/FullcoverageStoryPage.aspx?id=49fbfe80-1b1e-4433-81d3-1f9a9f7b41d7BirdfluhitsIndia_Special&MatchID1=4663&TeamID1=5&TeamID2=2&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1173&PrimaryID=4663&Headline=States+bordering+WB+alerted+on+bird+flu
Fingers crossed at swannery
By Miriam Phillips
ABBOTSBURY Swannery's boss has his fingers crossed for a normal year' as they open their doors to the public tomorrow.
This comes after a nightmare few months for the famous sanctuary. A bird flu outbreak in January was followed by a storm earlier this week which flooded the grounds and destroyed 80 nests.
The swannery has been sealed off to the public since January 10 when three dead mute swans tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus.
http://www.thisisdorset.net/display.var.2118992.0.fingers_crossed_at_swannery.php
India To Cull 50,000 Birds Amid New Avian Flu Outbreak
March 10, 2008 4:36 p.m. EST
Siddique Islam - AHN South Asia Correspondent
Kolkata, India (AHN) - Health workers have begun culling of poultry in an attempt to combat a fresh bird flu outbreak in the country's eastern state West Bengal, officials said on Monday. State workers planned to destroy nearly 50,000 domestic birds in two districts where officials found infected poultry.
Culling began in a radius of five kilometers (3.1 miles) around the new area of infection. While 22,400 birds are to be culled in Raghunathganj-II, the culling target in respect of Jiaganj is 27,200 birds.
In January 2008, the H5N1 virus affected hit 13 of the state's 19 districts, including Murshidabad, bringing down poultry sales by more than 70 per cent.
The authorities had to cull more than 3.4 million birds in the state after the World Health Organization (WHO) described January's outbreak as the worst in India.
No humans in India are known to have caught the disease, which has killed at least 235 people worldwide according to the WHO.
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7010288399
Bird flu shows signs of mutation - China expert
Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:38am EDT
HONG KONG, March 11 (Reuters) - A Chinese expert on respiratory diseases says the H5N1 bird flu virus has shown signs of mutation and urged vigilance at a time when seasonal human influenza is at a peak, newspapers reported on Tuesday.
"When avian flu is around and human flu appears, this will raise the chances of avian flu turning into a human flu. We have to be very alert and careful in March," Zhong Nanshan was quoted by the Ming Pao newspaper as saying.
"People who were killed by bird flu last year and this year were too poor to seek treatment. If you happen to have high fever and pneumonia, you must seek treatment fast," said Zhong, director of the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases in China's southern Guangdong province.
Experts are worried about seasonal flu, because it could get mixed up with a deadly novel strain, such as the H5N1 bird flu virus. Such a hybrid would not only become easily transmissible between people, but packed with great killing power.
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSHKG228879
EDUCATION LIBERTY CITY CHARTER
Pioneer Liberty City Charter School faces closure
Liberty City Charter School -- the county's first charter school -- could be shut down Wednesday by the Miami-Dade School Board.
Posted on Wed, Mar. 12, 2008
By KATHLEEN McGRORY
Liberty City Charter School, one of the state's first charter schools and a bellwether for hundreds of others that followed, could soon be closing its doors.
The Miami-Dade School Board on Wednesday will consider pulling the plug on the once-touted elementary school, which played a key role in the political careers of its founders, former Gov. Jeb Bush and current state Board of Education Chairman T. Willard Fair.
The school has been in a state of financial emergency for two years, a problem that Principal and CEO Katrina Wilson-Davis blamed on a legal battle that the school lost to a previous landlord. It contributed to the school now being $1 million in debt.
http://www.miamiherald.com/519/story/453143.html
Rascal Flatts and Sheryl Crow to perform in Sioux Falls
Elizabeth Gorder
egorder@argusleader.com
March 12, 2008
Some big names are coming to Sioux Falls, including Rascal Flatts and Sheryl Crow, for the Sanford Festival June 2-7.
But don't get too excited just yet - the performance won't be open to the public.
Dr. Michael Saba of Sanford Health said the event is a gesture of appreciation to Sanford employees to thank them for what they've done to put the organization on the international map.
Rascal Flatts and Sheryl Crow will perform on Saturday night. The event will be themed “Imagine.”
Performances on Saturday night are not open to the public due to space restrictions.
Other big names invited to the event are NBC medical coorespondent Dr. Bob Arnot, Catherine Bach, President Bush's brother Neil Bush, Sen. Bill Frist and Ali and AJ.
Not all invited guests have confirmed yet, said Jolene Loetscher, spokesperson for Sanford.
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080312/UPDATES/80312041/1003/business
Bills that don't pass Tuesday essentially dead for session
By ANDREA JONES, BEN SMITH
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/11/08
Tuesday is "crossover day" at the Capitol, the official do-or-die day on which bills must be approved in their chamber of the Legislature to have a fighting chance at becoming law…
…A House measure that proposed a constitutional amendment to make English the state's official language was voted down, but a Senate bill that essentially would do the same will be on the floor of that chamber today. That law prohibits a state agency from "requiring an employee to speak or learn any language" to get promoted or to keep a job.
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/03/10/crossover_0311.html
Pentagon Dismisses KBR Contaminated Water: Troops Should ‘Just Drink Bottled Water’
On Sunday, the AP reported that contractor KBR has been providing “unmonitored and potentially unsafe” water to U.S. troops in Iraq. According to a Pentagon Inspector General’s report, dozens of soldiers fell sick, suffering “skin abscesses, cellulitis, skin infections, diarrhea and other illnesses” after using the “discolored, smelly water for personal hygiene and laundry.”
In a press briefing on Monday, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell dismissed KBR’s gross negligence. He responded by joking about how everyone knows the water in Iraq is unsafe, and advised everyone to avoid drinking it:
You know, we’ve all been to Iraq several times. Everywhere you go they make it perfectly clear that you don’t want to drink the water, so I’m a little surprised myself that this is an issue. As I understand it, the bottled water, which is what you’re supposed to be drinking in Iraq, had no issues whatsoever in the testing that was done. Evidently, there was some issue with some of the other water that was, I guess, primarily meant for washing. […]
But I think our encouragement is always — for journalists and warfighters alike is read the signs and just drink the bottled water.
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/12/kbr-water/
Farmington approves revenue bond for Halliburton
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 03/12/2008 05:42:24 AM MDT
FARMINGTON, N.M.—The Farmington City Council has approved an industrial revenue bond for Halliburton Energy Services, with Mayor Bill Standley breaking a tie to grant the bonds.
Under the bonds, Farmington gives up an estimated $15,000 annually for 30 years in property taxes and about $200,000 in one-time gross receipts taxes.
But Councilor Dan Darnell says the bonds will let the company do more business.
Proponents argued that the breaks are worth it to keep Halliburton's tax money and 200 jobs in the city. But opponents contend the international company shouldn't need help.
Halliburton will use the revenue toward a $24 million facility to combine and expand its Farmington operations.
The company estimates the project will mean $234,000 more in taxes annually once it's finished.
http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_8544092
continued...
They are anticipating The Avian Flu is more the issue !
Bio-fuels push up feed costs
POULTRY FACTS
There were 2,792 chicken producers in Canada in 2006.
Canada produced 973.6 million kilograms of chicken worth $1.55 billion, 60 per cent of which came from Quebec and Ontario.
The average chicken farm produced 348,700 kilos of meat.
Domestic chicken consumption was 31.8 kilos per person.
Exports consisted of 5.5 million chicks, worth almost $10 million.
SOURCE: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2006 statistics
Pilgrim's Pride cuts output, jobs as feed cost soars
Mar 13, 2008 04:30 AM
Lisa Wright
Business reporter
Go ahead, grab another drumstick.
Canadian farmers aren't counting their chickens, so to speak, as their poultry-producing pals south of the border struggle with sky-high costs for feed and an oversupply of the popular protein.
That's forcing the world's largest producer to close nearly half of its distribution centres in the United States.
There isn't a poultry glut in Canada yet, but the industry is keeping a close watch on the U.S. chicken scene after Pilgrim's Pride Corp. announced yesterday it will slash 1,100 jobs and close a huge North Carolina chicken-processing complex along with six of its 13 distribution centres by June, citing "unprecedented increases" in feed costs.
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/345249
Royal Veterinary College uses @RISK from Palisade to combat avian flu
By WebitPR (www.webitpr.com) - March 12, 08 at 13:05
The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is using @RISK risk analysis software from Palisade (www.palisade-europe.com) as part of its research aimed at developing methods for controlling and preventing the occurrence of dangerous and infectious diseases in animals. A key area of research for the RVC, the UK's largest vet school and one of the most highly regarded veterinary research centres in Europe, is avian flu.
http://www.edubourse.com/finance/actualites.php?actu=38219
Conger: Coming up with a flu plan
By Clayton Conger, Syndicated columnist
GHS
Posted Mar 12, 2008 @ 12:17 AM
LEXINGTON PARK, Md. - Interest in avian flu seems to have waned recently, but its threat is still present in several rural areas, principally in the Orient. A previously unknown and dangerous strain of the H5N1 bird flu has emerged from southern China and has spread from birds to people in Southeast Asia, marking a third wave of avian flu and rekindling fears of a global pandemic.
http://www.dailynewstribune.com/opinion/x346135634
Spraying away bird flu?
March 12 2008 at 03:03PM
Tokyo - Japanese researchers said on Wednesday they were in the final stage of developing a painless bird flu vaccine which is sprayed up the nose instead of being injected.
The nasal spray could make it easier to vaccinate people in developing countries with limited medical resources, which have borne the brunt of avian influenza since an outbreak in 2003.
Researchers sprayed the vaccine into the noses of mice and monkeys and found it was effective against H5N1, the strain of bird flu that can be deadly for humans, as well as its subtypes.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=31&art_id=nw20080312104728297C146669&set_id=
Government alerts states bordering West Bengal on bird flu
The central government Wednesday alerted states neighbouring West Bengal, where a fresh outbreak of bird flu has left over 190 birds dead over the past nine days.
Tests at the Bhopal's High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) found the presence of bird flu virus in samples from Nayamukundapur in Raghunathgunj block II and Dohapara village in Murshidabad-Jiagunj block of the Murshidabad district, following which the central government alerted adjoining states of Bihar, Orissa, Manipur and Jharkhand.
The Department of Animal Husbandry, after notifying the fresh poultry deaths, said about 90 broiler chicken died in Budhra Village of Jiaganj block on March 5, while 100 birds in backyard poultry in Nayamukundpur village in Raghunathganj-II block were killed due to the H5N1 virus.
Both centres are just a few kilometres from the place where avian influenza was reported last month.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/FullcoverageStoryPage.aspx?id=49fbfe80-1b1e-4433-81d3-1f9a9f7b41d7BirdfluhitsIndia_Special&MatchID1=4663&TeamID1=5&TeamID2=2&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1173&PrimaryID=4663&Headline=States+bordering+WB+alerted+on+bird+flu
Fingers crossed at swannery
By Miriam Phillips
ABBOTSBURY Swannery's boss has his fingers crossed for a normal year' as they open their doors to the public tomorrow.
This comes after a nightmare few months for the famous sanctuary. A bird flu outbreak in January was followed by a storm earlier this week which flooded the grounds and destroyed 80 nests.
The swannery has been sealed off to the public since January 10 when three dead mute swans tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus.
http://www.thisisdorset.net/display.var.2118992.0.fingers_crossed_at_swannery.php
India To Cull 50,000 Birds Amid New Avian Flu Outbreak
March 10, 2008 4:36 p.m. EST
Siddique Islam - AHN South Asia Correspondent
Kolkata, India (AHN) - Health workers have begun culling of poultry in an attempt to combat a fresh bird flu outbreak in the country's eastern state West Bengal, officials said on Monday. State workers planned to destroy nearly 50,000 domestic birds in two districts where officials found infected poultry.
Culling began in a radius of five kilometers (3.1 miles) around the new area of infection. While 22,400 birds are to be culled in Raghunathganj-II, the culling target in respect of Jiaganj is 27,200 birds.
In January 2008, the H5N1 virus affected hit 13 of the state's 19 districts, including Murshidabad, bringing down poultry sales by more than 70 per cent.
The authorities had to cull more than 3.4 million birds in the state after the World Health Organization (WHO) described January's outbreak as the worst in India.
No humans in India are known to have caught the disease, which has killed at least 235 people worldwide according to the WHO.
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7010288399
Bird flu shows signs of mutation - China expert
Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:38am EDT
HONG KONG, March 11 (Reuters) - A Chinese expert on respiratory diseases says the H5N1 bird flu virus has shown signs of mutation and urged vigilance at a time when seasonal human influenza is at a peak, newspapers reported on Tuesday.
"When avian flu is around and human flu appears, this will raise the chances of avian flu turning into a human flu. We have to be very alert and careful in March," Zhong Nanshan was quoted by the Ming Pao newspaper as saying.
"People who were killed by bird flu last year and this year were too poor to seek treatment. If you happen to have high fever and pneumonia, you must seek treatment fast," said Zhong, director of the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases in China's southern Guangdong province.
Experts are worried about seasonal flu, because it could get mixed up with a deadly novel strain, such as the H5N1 bird flu virus. Such a hybrid would not only become easily transmissible between people, but packed with great killing power.
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSHKG228879
EDUCATION LIBERTY CITY CHARTER
Pioneer Liberty City Charter School faces closure
Liberty City Charter School -- the county's first charter school -- could be shut down Wednesday by the Miami-Dade School Board.
Posted on Wed, Mar. 12, 2008
By KATHLEEN McGRORY
Liberty City Charter School, one of the state's first charter schools and a bellwether for hundreds of others that followed, could soon be closing its doors.
The Miami-Dade School Board on Wednesday will consider pulling the plug on the once-touted elementary school, which played a key role in the political careers of its founders, former Gov. Jeb Bush and current state Board of Education Chairman T. Willard Fair.
The school has been in a state of financial emergency for two years, a problem that Principal and CEO Katrina Wilson-Davis blamed on a legal battle that the school lost to a previous landlord. It contributed to the school now being $1 million in debt.
http://www.miamiherald.com/519/story/453143.html
Rascal Flatts and Sheryl Crow to perform in Sioux Falls
Elizabeth Gorder
egorder@argusleader.com
March 12, 2008
Some big names are coming to Sioux Falls, including Rascal Flatts and Sheryl Crow, for the Sanford Festival June 2-7.
But don't get too excited just yet - the performance won't be open to the public.
Dr. Michael Saba of Sanford Health said the event is a gesture of appreciation to Sanford employees to thank them for what they've done to put the organization on the international map.
Rascal Flatts and Sheryl Crow will perform on Saturday night. The event will be themed “Imagine.”
Performances on Saturday night are not open to the public due to space restrictions.
Other big names invited to the event are NBC medical coorespondent Dr. Bob Arnot, Catherine Bach, President Bush's brother Neil Bush, Sen. Bill Frist and Ali and AJ.
Not all invited guests have confirmed yet, said Jolene Loetscher, spokesperson for Sanford.
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080312/UPDATES/80312041/1003/business
Bills that don't pass Tuesday essentially dead for session
By ANDREA JONES, BEN SMITH
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/11/08
Tuesday is "crossover day" at the Capitol, the official do-or-die day on which bills must be approved in their chamber of the Legislature to have a fighting chance at becoming law…
…A House measure that proposed a constitutional amendment to make English the state's official language was voted down, but a Senate bill that essentially would do the same will be on the floor of that chamber today. That law prohibits a state agency from "requiring an employee to speak or learn any language" to get promoted or to keep a job.
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/03/10/crossover_0311.html
Pentagon Dismisses KBR Contaminated Water: Troops Should ‘Just Drink Bottled Water’
On Sunday, the AP reported that contractor KBR has been providing “unmonitored and potentially unsafe” water to U.S. troops in Iraq. According to a Pentagon Inspector General’s report, dozens of soldiers fell sick, suffering “skin abscesses, cellulitis, skin infections, diarrhea and other illnesses” after using the “discolored, smelly water for personal hygiene and laundry.”
In a press briefing on Monday, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell dismissed KBR’s gross negligence. He responded by joking about how everyone knows the water in Iraq is unsafe, and advised everyone to avoid drinking it:
You know, we’ve all been to Iraq several times. Everywhere you go they make it perfectly clear that you don’t want to drink the water, so I’m a little surprised myself that this is an issue. As I understand it, the bottled water, which is what you’re supposed to be drinking in Iraq, had no issues whatsoever in the testing that was done. Evidently, there was some issue with some of the other water that was, I guess, primarily meant for washing. […]
But I think our encouragement is always — for journalists and warfighters alike is read the signs and just drink the bottled water.
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/12/kbr-water/
Farmington approves revenue bond for Halliburton
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 03/12/2008 05:42:24 AM MDT
FARMINGTON, N.M.—The Farmington City Council has approved an industrial revenue bond for Halliburton Energy Services, with Mayor Bill Standley breaking a tie to grant the bonds.
Under the bonds, Farmington gives up an estimated $15,000 annually for 30 years in property taxes and about $200,000 in one-time gross receipts taxes.
But Councilor Dan Darnell says the bonds will let the company do more business.
Proponents argued that the breaks are worth it to keep Halliburton's tax money and 200 jobs in the city. But opponents contend the international company shouldn't need help.
Halliburton will use the revenue toward a $24 million facility to combine and expand its Farmington operations.
The company estimates the project will mean $234,000 more in taxes annually once it's finished.
http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_8544092
continued...
The USA Military CONTINUES to Create Its Own War. How else is the country of Iraq going to get rid of them. Its 5 years already !!!
U.S. military says it killed young girl in Iraq
BAGHDAD (AP) — U.S. soldiers fired a warning shot near a woman who "appeared to be signaling to someone" along a dangerous stretch of road north of Baghdad, but the bullet killed a young Iraqi girl, a military official said early Thursday.
The shooting took place Wednesday where several roadside bombs had recently been found in the volatile Diyala province. An exact location was not given in a military statement.
The girl appeared to be "around 10 years old," said Maj. Brad Leighton, a military spokesman.
There has been an increase in the use of women as suicide bombers in Iraq. But Leighton said preliminary reports indicated that soldiers didn't believe the woman posed a threat of being a bomber. Rather "they were afraid she was signaling to someone that the convoy was going by."
In its statement, the military said that "coalition forces fired a warning shot into a berm near a suspicious woman who appeared to be signaling to someone while the soldiers were in the area. A young girl was found behind the berm suffering from a gunshot wound."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2008-03-12-girl_N.htm
3 U.S. soldiers killed in rocket attack in Iraq
From a Times Staff Writer
March 13, 2008
BAGHDAD -- Three American soldiers were killed in a rocket attack Wednesday in southern Iraq, the U.S. military said.
The rocket also wounded two soldiers and a civilian when it hit a military outpost outside Nasiriya, the military said in a statement. It was not immediately clear who fired the rocket.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-iraq13mar13,1,6127336.story
US report shows increase in Iraq violence since January
* Defence Dept says rise partly due to recent offensives against militants
WASHINGTON: Iraq has seen some increased violence since January, including suicide and car bombings, despite a sharp overall decline in attacks in the past eight months, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
The rise in violence was partly as a result of recent US-led offensives against Islamist militants, including Al Qaeda in Iraq, the Defence Department said in its latest quarterly report on the war. The release of the report, which covers December through February, coincided with a surge of violence that killed 46 people across Iraq on Tuesday.
The Pentagon noted a rise in security incidents since January in Nineveh and Diyala provinces and other areas where it said Al Qaeda in Iraq militants have flocked since being driven from former strongholds by US-allied Sunni tribesmen.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C03%5C13%5Cstory_13-3-2008_pg4_9
Iraq’s Mehdi army attacks US base near Kut
By Reuters, March 13
US soldiers and Iraqi militants exchanged fire after a rocket attack from a Shi’ite Mehdi Army militia stronghold on a U.S. base southeast of Baghdad, Iraqi police said on Thursday.
An Iraqi police official, who asked not to be identified, said as many as 11 Katyusha rockets landed on the U.S. base near Kut, 170 km (105 miles) southeast of Baghdad, late on Wednesday.
Two Iraqi men, who the police source said were brothers, were killed and four others, including a 6-year-old girl, were wounded when U.S. soldiers responded to the rocket attack with mortar rounds, the official said.
A U.S. military spokeswoman said the Americans responded after four rockets were fired at the base. She had no information about civilian casualties but said no U.S. soldiers were hurt in the exchange.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2b972d2a-f0da-11dc-a91a-0000779fd2ac.html
Iraq refugee crisis grows
Kerry Sheridan, Washington
March 13, 2008
THE plight of people displaced by the Iraq war is getting worse, refugee experts warn.
Five years after the US-led invasion, a House of Representatives subcommittee heard that serious problems persist for the 2.5 million people displaced inside Iraq and the 2 million who have fled to other countries.
Even though the numbers have levelled off, ambassador Lawrence Foley said the most critical problem was worsening poverty among those displaced inside Iraq and in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey.
Mr Foley, senior co-ordinator for Iraqi refugee issues at the State Department, said Iraqis in other countries are often forbidden to work and so have depleted any remaining family resources.
Gregory Gottlieb, deputy assistant administrator for USAID's bureau for democracy, conflict and humanitarian assistance, said: "Iraq's IDP (internally displaced persons) and refugee crisis is deepening."
In 2007, he said, 60% of internally displaced people reported not receiving any food aid since becoming displaced and 20% reported seeking shelter in informal settlements with no clean water or electricity.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/iraq-refugee-crisis-grows/2008/03/12/1205126007288.html
U.S. soldiers, militia exchange fire in south Iraq
Thu Mar 13, 2008 3:30am EDT
BAGHDAD, March 13 (Reuters) - U.S. soldiers and Iraqi militants exchanged fire after a rocket attack from a Shi'ite Mehdi Army militia stronghold on a U.S. base southeast of Baghdad, Iraqi police said on Thursday.
A U.S. military spokeswoman said the Americans responded after four rockets were fired at the base in Kut late on Wednesday. Iraqi police said two civilians were killed but the U.S. military said it had no details of civilian casualties. (Baghdad newsroom; Editing by Ross Colvin)
http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSL13369817
BAGHDAD (AP) — U.S. soldiers fired a warning shot near a woman who "appeared to be signaling to someone" along a dangerous stretch of road north of Baghdad, but the bullet killed a young Iraqi girl, a military official said early Thursday.
The shooting took place Wednesday where several roadside bombs had recently been found in the volatile Diyala province. An exact location was not given in a military statement.
The girl appeared to be "around 10 years old," said Maj. Brad Leighton, a military spokesman.
There has been an increase in the use of women as suicide bombers in Iraq. But Leighton said preliminary reports indicated that soldiers didn't believe the woman posed a threat of being a bomber. Rather "they were afraid she was signaling to someone that the convoy was going by."
In its statement, the military said that "coalition forces fired a warning shot into a berm near a suspicious woman who appeared to be signaling to someone while the soldiers were in the area. A young girl was found behind the berm suffering from a gunshot wound."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2008-03-12-girl_N.htm
3 U.S. soldiers killed in rocket attack in Iraq
From a Times Staff Writer
March 13, 2008
BAGHDAD -- Three American soldiers were killed in a rocket attack Wednesday in southern Iraq, the U.S. military said.
The rocket also wounded two soldiers and a civilian when it hit a military outpost outside Nasiriya, the military said in a statement. It was not immediately clear who fired the rocket.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-iraq13mar13,1,6127336.story
US report shows increase in Iraq violence since January
* Defence Dept says rise partly due to recent offensives against militants
WASHINGTON: Iraq has seen some increased violence since January, including suicide and car bombings, despite a sharp overall decline in attacks in the past eight months, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
The rise in violence was partly as a result of recent US-led offensives against Islamist militants, including Al Qaeda in Iraq, the Defence Department said in its latest quarterly report on the war. The release of the report, which covers December through February, coincided with a surge of violence that killed 46 people across Iraq on Tuesday.
The Pentagon noted a rise in security incidents since January in Nineveh and Diyala provinces and other areas where it said Al Qaeda in Iraq militants have flocked since being driven from former strongholds by US-allied Sunni tribesmen.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C03%5C13%5Cstory_13-3-2008_pg4_9
Iraq’s Mehdi army attacks US base near Kut
By Reuters, March 13
US soldiers and Iraqi militants exchanged fire after a rocket attack from a Shi’ite Mehdi Army militia stronghold on a U.S. base southeast of Baghdad, Iraqi police said on Thursday.
An Iraqi police official, who asked not to be identified, said as many as 11 Katyusha rockets landed on the U.S. base near Kut, 170 km (105 miles) southeast of Baghdad, late on Wednesday.
Two Iraqi men, who the police source said were brothers, were killed and four others, including a 6-year-old girl, were wounded when U.S. soldiers responded to the rocket attack with mortar rounds, the official said.
A U.S. military spokeswoman said the Americans responded after four rockets were fired at the base. She had no information about civilian casualties but said no U.S. soldiers were hurt in the exchange.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2b972d2a-f0da-11dc-a91a-0000779fd2ac.html
Iraq refugee crisis grows
Kerry Sheridan, Washington
March 13, 2008
THE plight of people displaced by the Iraq war is getting worse, refugee experts warn.
Five years after the US-led invasion, a House of Representatives subcommittee heard that serious problems persist for the 2.5 million people displaced inside Iraq and the 2 million who have fled to other countries.
Even though the numbers have levelled off, ambassador Lawrence Foley said the most critical problem was worsening poverty among those displaced inside Iraq and in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey.
Mr Foley, senior co-ordinator for Iraqi refugee issues at the State Department, said Iraqis in other countries are often forbidden to work and so have depleted any remaining family resources.
Gregory Gottlieb, deputy assistant administrator for USAID's bureau for democracy, conflict and humanitarian assistance, said: "Iraq's IDP (internally displaced persons) and refugee crisis is deepening."
In 2007, he said, 60% of internally displaced people reported not receiving any food aid since becoming displaced and 20% reported seeking shelter in informal settlements with no clean water or electricity.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/iraq-refugee-crisis-grows/2008/03/12/1205126007288.html
U.S. soldiers, militia exchange fire in south Iraq
Thu Mar 13, 2008 3:30am EDT
BAGHDAD, March 13 (Reuters) - U.S. soldiers and Iraqi militants exchanged fire after a rocket attack from a Shi'ite Mehdi Army militia stronghold on a U.S. base southeast of Baghdad, Iraqi police said on Thursday.
A U.S. military spokeswoman said the Americans responded after four rockets were fired at the base in Kut late on Wednesday. Iraqi police said two civilians were killed but the U.S. military said it had no details of civilian casualties. (Baghdad newsroom; Editing by Ross Colvin)
http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSL13369817
The First Catholic Clergy Killed in Iraq - Northern Iraq used to be one of the safest areas before Turkey invaded the Kurds
Chaldean archbishop kidnapped in Iraq found dead (click at title to entry)
5 hours ago
MOSUL, Iraq (AFP) — The body of a kidnapped Chaldean Catholic archbishop was found in northern Iraq on Thursday, sparking outrage from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and an expression of deep sadness from Pope Benedict XVI.
"Yes, we found his body," Iraqi interior ministry spokesman Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf told AFP.
A report from Rome had said the body of Mosul Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho, who was kidnapped on February 29, was found in a grave near the city after the kidnappers telephoned the auxiliary archbishop of Baghdad, Shlemon Warduni.
Rahho, 65, was kidnapped after a shootout in which three of his companions were killed.
The Italian Roman Catholic Church's SIR news agency, quoting Warduni, said the kidnappers had telephoned to say that Rahho, who was in poor health, had died and that they had buried him.
"The kidnappers had told us already (Wednesday) that Monsignor Rahho was very ill, and yesterday afternoon they told us that he died. This morning, they telephoned us to say they had buried him," Warduni said, adding that the kidnappers indicated the location of the body.
"We still don't know whether he died from his poor health or was killed," Warduni said. "The kidnappers only told us that he was dead."
Raban al-Qas, the head of the Chaldean church in Iraq's northern Kurdish region, said there was no trace of any bullet wounds in Rahho's body....
5 hours ago
MOSUL, Iraq (AFP) — The body of a kidnapped Chaldean Catholic archbishop was found in northern Iraq on Thursday, sparking outrage from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and an expression of deep sadness from Pope Benedict XVI.
"Yes, we found his body," Iraqi interior ministry spokesman Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf told AFP.
A report from Rome had said the body of Mosul Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho, who was kidnapped on February 29, was found in a grave near the city after the kidnappers telephoned the auxiliary archbishop of Baghdad, Shlemon Warduni.
Rahho, 65, was kidnapped after a shootout in which three of his companions were killed.
The Italian Roman Catholic Church's SIR news agency, quoting Warduni, said the kidnappers had telephoned to say that Rahho, who was in poor health, had died and that they had buried him.
"The kidnappers had told us already (Wednesday) that Monsignor Rahho was very ill, and yesterday afternoon they told us that he died. This morning, they telephoned us to say they had buried him," Warduni said, adding that the kidnappers indicated the location of the body.
"We still don't know whether he died from his poor health or was killed," Warduni said. "The kidnappers only told us that he was dead."
Raban al-Qas, the head of the Chaldean church in Iraq's northern Kurdish region, said there was no trace of any bullet wounds in Rahho's body....
Atlantic Storm Lashes Southern England
March 6, 2008
1430z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite
What was that last week about an Anti-Cyclonic Vortex in the Mid-Atlantic?
Officials believe a tornado was to blame for two to three miles of damage in Caswell County.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Severe storms cause damage to homes (click here)
03/04/2008 10:17 PM
By: Kira Mathis
ANDERSON, N.C. -- Just before 5 p.m. Tuesday, severe storms hit the town of Anderson in Caswell County.
"The wind just got up real strong and stuff was flying every which a way," said Herman Roberts, whose sister-in-law's house was damaged in the storm.
"The big trees, actually three trees, came up and fell in down in the house," he said.
But luckily everyone inside was OK.
Officials believe a tornado was to blame for two to three miles of damage in Caswell County. "Everybody's fine, there's a whole lot of damage in the yard and the boat shed is gone," Roberts said.
Caswell Emergency Management officials believe it was a tornado that caused damage for two or three miles in Anderson. Officials hope to take a closer look at the damage in the daylight on Wednesday.
"The fire department is taking care of everything as far as covering and helping the family and that's about all we can do for tonight," Jaither Clayton, with Caswell EMS, said.
The National Weather Service will be in Caswell on Wednesday to determine if a tornado touched down.
March 8, 2008
Ocracoke Island, North Carolina
I'd say the 'Atlantic Basin' is a bit aggitated, wouldn't you?
Publicado - Published: 11/03/2008
UNITED KINGDOM.- A powerful storm battered the south and west of Britain today, flooding homes and disrupting sea, air, rail and road travel, with forecasters warning of more potential damage to come.
An initial coastal surge early this morning, caused by a combination of strong winds, low pressure and a high spring tide, flooded some homes and businesses in Cornwall and parts of Wales, although the damage was less severe than feared.
The Environment Agency was warning of a risk of renewed flooding around high tide this evening. One severe flood warning was in place in Chichester, West Sussex, and there were another 22 flood warnings, mostly in the south and south-west of England.
"We are still urging people to find out about local warnings and to be prepared," an Environment Agency spokeswoman said.
Stephen Davenport, a senior forecaster with MeteoGroup, said: "There are still gales of 70-80mph to come this evening, in the south west, in a second wave. It will be windy elsewhere too, but calming down during the night.
"The next event comes on Tuesday night, and early Wednesday, when there will be more high winds, this time across Northern Ireland, southern Scotland, northern England and north Wales, with gusts of more than 70mph expected. There will also be gales then in the south and south west."
March 12, 2008
Chichester, United Kingdom
Photographer states :: Thought I'd go down to the coast at high tide to get some pictures of the abating storm we have just had,wind still gusting to 40 or 50 mph.Picture taken at Bognor Sussex UK,looking west on Bognor Pier.Two days ago I would have not been able to sneek from shelter when a glimpse of sunlight appearedset up tripod and click.The railings on the right denounces the promenade ,see how much shingle is behind.The cottages are about a mile and a half away.Would you venture out and get hit by a flying pebble.Picture taken directly into wind camera covered in spray.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The 'direct' solar radiation from Sol is nearly to the Equator and there is enough relief for some deep freeze over the Blue Ice
March 6, 2008
0900 AM
Antarctica Surface Winds
Both this image and the 24 hour loop (click here) show different air masses. The coastal air masses and the Blue Ice air mass. They are 'non-communicating' except where the frigid air from the 3 mile high Blue Ice 'falls off' its plateau due to its denser weight to the lower coastal elevations.
The heat transfers are 'on shore' winds, while the Blue Ice surface winds, even though swirling and turbulent, are 'off shore' winds.
In that realization is a danger... one not discussed in the literature leaving only speculation to exist... so I propose an experiment...ready? Okay. It's a reasonable hypothesis, so here we go. More than reasonable actually.
I am going to need some items. I need a stack of ice cubes, perhaps three or four, frozen together in a straight line. They can be any kind of ice cubes, lemonade, water or any other liquid substance that freezes 'water like' in its consistency. But the ice cubes have to be frozen together and they all have to be the same liquid regardless of what that chosen liquid may be.
The ice cubes have to be the same size, frozen together in a row.
The ice cubes now have to stand on end as if a tower. These ice cubes represent 'The Three Mile High Blue Ice.' Let's just for the sake of 'hypothesis' call this 'the core' of the ice mass that is Antarctica. It's the one core that always receives some type of recharge and primarily maintains its 'mass balance.' The structure basically always is the same mass. Okay?
Now. While supporting that tower of ice cubes is there anything there to stabilize it so it doesn't fall over, other than a warm finger one is holding the tower with that is causing some melting? Is there any supporting structure to hold the tower of Blue Ice in place? Of course not. The tower of Blue Ice is standing alone.
Now, what would it take to support that tower of Blue Ice? It would take 'terraces, like stair steps to provide enough mass over a wider base, such as the entire coastal area of Antarctica to support that tall tower of Blue Ice.
That is indeed what Antarctica is like. Not just a 'flat' map of white ice as viewed in a National Geographics Map Book. Antarctica is a terraced and structured ice mass at the south polar region of Earth.
Each ice structure of Antarctica, be it 3 mile high Blue Ice, the Ice Terraces, the Ice Fields, the Ice Shelves or the Sea Ice all serve the same exact purpose and that is to work as a team to serve the stability of the overall Antarctica structure.
The issue is this, as the sea ice wanes and the ice shelves collapse and the ice terraces melt into water runoff into the East Wind Drift; what indeed will support that tower of Blue Ice, BECAUSE, it is the knowledge of any Antarctica scientist that the Blue Ice at the very core of the Antarctica Ice Structure will never melt. There will always be 'enough' frigid air mass due to lack of sunlight alone during the winter months to maintain a significant amount of Blue Ice. And while holding a warm finger to a tower of ice cubes will provide enough heat to 'melt down' the structure that is not how Antarctica will meet with demise.
Antarctica will meet its demise through exposure of the 'base' to arriving heat transfer systems as the ice terraces disappear. It will melt from the bottom, leaving a stable and frigid mound of ice on an every shrinking base.
Now, using one's 'breath' begin to blow at the bottom of the ice cube stack as if a heat transfer system arriving to the bottom of the Blue ice. Does it melt in an orderly fashion? No. It melts in an array of indentations that will cause the toppling of the tower.
I have said this before and I'll say it again, human beings are playing with fire to allow Human Induced Global Warming to continue. The toppling of the core of Antarctica's Ice Structure will create a tsunami that will wipe out most life, either flora or fauna, on every coast of Earth.
And when the Antarctica ice cube melts in the Atlantic Ocean the world will no longer have ANY buffer to it's ever increasing heat.
end
March 12, 2008
0600 gmt
Antarctica Polar Vortex/Jet Stream
The Antarctica polar vortex has been impinged upon in this image. In animation (click here) the vortex is obviously disrupted and there is arrival of heat transfer from March 6 through March 12th. The largest heat transfer of March 11th dissipated enough to have only a minimal impact on the Blue Ice. However, that dissipation effected the ice structures otherwise and without a doubt the stability of any ice terraces still existing that acts to stabilize and protect the 3 mile Blue Ice.
The satellites missing this week are 9 AM, 12 Noon and 6 PM.
The coldest reporting stations are:
Amundsen-Scott, Antarctica
Local Time: 9:30 AM NZDT on March 13, 2008
Lat/Lon: 90.0° S 0.0° E
Temperature :: -75 °F / -59 °C
Conditions :: Snow
Wind :: 9 mph / 15 km/h from the East
Wind Gust :: -
Pressure :: in / hPa (Rising)
Visibility :: 2.0 miles / 3.2 kilometers
Clouds :: Few 5906 ft / 1800 m
(Above Ground Level)
Elevation :: 9285 ft / 2830 m
Vostok, Antarctica
Local Time: 2:32 AM VOST on March 13, 2008
Lat/Lon: 78.4° S 106..9° E
Temperature :: -62 °F / -52 °C
Conditions :: Clear
Humidity :: 40%
Dew Point :: -69 °F / -56 °C
Wind :: 14 mph / 22 km/h from the West
Wind Gust :: -
Pressure :: in / hPa (Falling)
Visibility :: 12.0 miles / 20.0 kilometers
Elevation :: 11220 ft / 3420 m
The warmest reporting stations are:
Bellingshausen, Antarctica
Local Time: 8:59 PM GMT
Lat/Lon: 62.2° S 58.9° W
Temperature :: 37 °F / 3 °C
Conditions :: Partly Cloudy
Humidity :: 78%
Dew Point :: 33 °F / 0 °C
Wind :: 12 mph / 18 km/h from the NW
Wind Gust :: -
Pressure :: 28.82 in / 976 hPa (Rising)
Visibility :: 12.0 miles / 20.0 kilometers
Elevation :: 52 ft / 16 m
King Sejong, Antarctica
Local Time: 9:00 PM GMT
Lat/Lon: 62.2° S 58.8° W
Temperature :: 36 °F / 2 °C
Conditions :: Partly Cloudy
Humidity :: 89%
Dew Point :: 34 °F / 1 °C
Wind :: 25 mph / 41 km/h from the WNW
Wind Gust :: -
Pressure :: 28.77 in / 974 hPa (Rising)
Visibility :: 6.0 miles / 10.0 kilometers
Elevation :: 33 ft / 10 m
Some of the frigid air mass is reestablishing as the sun's traverse heads north, but, there is still enormous heat transfer from the equator.
March 12, 2008
1312 gmt
Antarctica
Anti-Whalers End Mission Near Antarctica, Say 500 Mammals Saved (click here)
By Michael Heath
March 11 (Bloomberg) -- A conservation group that clashed with Japanese whalers off Antarctica said its ship is running out of fuel and heading home after saving more than 500 whales.
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said it prevented the Japanese from harpooning any whales for a total of 5 1/2 weeks, or almost half of the whaling season. The season finishes in about 10 days, it added.
``We have no alternative but to retreat from the Southern Ocean,'' Paul Watson, president of Sea Shepherd and captain of the group's ship, the Steve Irwin, said in a statement. ``We have just enough fuel to make it back to port.''
Japanese ships head to Antarctica in November each year to kill as many as 1,000 minke and fin whales in the name of scientific research. Japan says the research is necessary to prove whale stocks have recovered sufficiently to make a return to commercial whaling sustainable.
The Japanese fleet has killed no more than 400 whales, Watson said late last month....
By Michael Heath
March 11 (Bloomberg) -- A conservation group that clashed with Japanese whalers off Antarctica said its ship is running out of fuel and heading home after saving more than 500 whales.
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said it prevented the Japanese from harpooning any whales for a total of 5 1/2 weeks, or almost half of the whaling season. The season finishes in about 10 days, it added.
``We have no alternative but to retreat from the Southern Ocean,'' Paul Watson, president of Sea Shepherd and captain of the group's ship, the Steve Irwin, said in a statement. ``We have just enough fuel to make it back to port.''
Japanese ships head to Antarctica in November each year to kill as many as 1,000 minke and fin whales in the name of scientific research. Japan says the research is necessary to prove whale stocks have recovered sufficiently to make a return to commercial whaling sustainable.
The Japanese fleet has killed no more than 400 whales, Watson said late last month....
The Cheney Observer - Day Two
McCain as Roosevelt (click here) - Who's the Enemy?
Oil's surge hits U.S., lifts Canada
SHAWN MCCARTHY
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
March 11, 2008 at 9:12 PM EDT
OTTAWA — The U.S. economy is showing the increasing strain of the stunning rise in crude oil prices, which topped another record yesterday and is contributing to both growing inflation and slowing growth south of the border.
But the broader Canadian economy appears to be more resilient, thanks to booming energy exports and a strong Canadian dollar.
Fuelled by rising prices, the value of Canadian crude oil exports rose 12 per cent in January, leading to an overall improvement in the country's trade surplus, Statistics Canada said yesterday. For Americans, the spike in oil contributed to an increase in the U.S. trade deficit in January. The contrasting trade figures “are a very good illustration of how the two economies diverge,” said Meny Grauman, a senior economist with CIBC World Markets Inc.
Because of the weaker U.S. dollar, American consumers have had to fully absorb the runup in crude oil, which has touched record highs in the past five days. Mr. Grauman noted that U.S. consumer spending had fallen 7 per cent in the final quarter of last year, and that rising fuel prices were a “big factor” in that slide.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080311.r-oil12/BNStory/energy/?cid=al_gam_nletter_maropen
Condoleezza Rice could help unite Republicans behind McCain
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
BY MARY BETH BROWN
The American Dream is being dealt with and considered on your own merits. In America it doesn't matter where you came from, it matters where you're going." These words summarize Condoleezza Rice's views on the American dream. If Sen. John McCain is to win the difficult race he faces this fall, he should closely consider the merits of this most extraordinary woman as his running mate.
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=403016&Category=14&subCategoryID=
11/03/2008 10:48:24 Õ
It’s still the Occupation, stupid!
By Aijaz Zaka Syed*
In an Op Ed piece for the International Herald Tribune three years ago, I wrote: “If Bush wants to usher in a new era of democracy and peace in the Muslim world, he should be prepared to deal with the (people’s) genuine and legitimate representatives.” (IHT, June 29, 2005).
Commenting on Washington’s refusal to engage the groups like Hamas because it views them as ‘terrorist organizations’, I had pointed out that “terrorists do not take part in elections and political processes,” as Hamas has repeatedly done.
That was three years ago. A friend recently forwarded the article back to me noting how my argument was still relevant.
Indeed, reading it today you are struck by the fact that little has changed in the Middle East and the US’ approach to the Muslim world.
Three years on, the same hypocrisy, the same double standards and the same obstinate refusal to see reason and the big picture prevail in Washington and indeed much of the West.
http://english.alarabonline.org/display.asp?fname=2008%5C03%5C03-11%5Czopinionz%5C960.htm&dismode=x&ts=11/03/2008%2010:48:24%20%C3%95
Amanpour: CNN practiced self-censorship
CNN's top war correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, says that the press muzzled itself during the Iraq war. And, she says CNN "was intimidated" by the Bush administration and Fox News, which "put a climate of fear and self-censorship."
As criticism of the war and its aftermath intensifies, Amanpour joins a chorus of journalists and pundits who charge that the media largely toed the Bush administrationline in covering the war and, by doing so, failed to aggressively question the motives behind the invasion.
On last week's Topic A With Tina Brown on CNBC, Brown, the former Talk magazine editor, asked comedian Al Franken, former Pentagon spokeswoman Torie Clarke and Amanpour if "we in the media, as much as in the administration, drank the Kool-Aid when it came to the war."
Said Amanpour: "I think the press was muzzled, and I think the press self-muzzled. I'm sorry to say, but certainly television and, perhaps, to a certain extent, my station was intimidated by the administration and its foot soldiers at Fox News. And it did, in fact, put a climate of fear and self-censorship, in my view, in terms of the kind of broadcast work we did."
http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/mediamix/2003-09-14-media-mix_x.htm
Audio
http://www.bmivault.org/Multimedia/Audio/2008/2008-03-11-Amanpor-Iraq.mp3
Amanpour Still Faults Media for Iraq War; Defends 'God’s Warriors' Series
By Jeff Poor
March 11, 2008 - 10:24 ET
Long-time CNN foreign correspondent Christiane Amanpour still harbors some resentment toward the American media for the Iraq war.
In September 2003, Amanpour spoke out publicly and said CNN was intimidated by the Bush administration and Fox News, which "put a climate of fear and self-censorship." Over four years later, Amanpour is still disappointed with the media leading up to the invasion of Iraq.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/jeff-poor/2008/03/11/amanpour-still-faults-media-iraq-war-defends-god-s-warriors-series
Goldman Sachs to buy 20 pct in India's Shriram Credit for 3 bln rupees - report
03.12.08, 2:47 AM ET
MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - Investment banking major Goldman Sachs is investing 3 bln rupees for a 20 pct stake in India-based Shriram Group's non-banking finance unit Shriram Credit, the Economic Times reported.
'We are in discussions with certain prospective investors for giving a minority stake in Shriram Credit, which will eventually hold both the broking and distribution business,' the report quoted Shriram Financial Services Holdings managing director DV Ravi as saying.
The report added that unnamed sources, however, say the deal has been finalised with Goldman Sachs.
According to the report, Goldman Sachs also has the right to hike the stake to 25 pct.
The investment in Shriram Credit will be done through Goldman Sachs' Mauritius-based subsidiary GS Strategic Investments.
http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2008/03/12/afx4761120.html
The Audacity of Wealth. Let's see, who should we buy today? As if they are doing everyone a favor. It usually works out to be disasterous to the working class.
Goldman adds Cardinal Health to Buy list
NEW YORK
Shares of Cardinal Health Inc. rose Tuesday after a Goldman Sachs analyst predicted a strong second half of the year for the health care products and services company.
Randall Stanicky placed Cardinal Health shares on the Americas Conviction Buy List, a portfolio of recommended securities. He expects improved results from the company's pharmaceutical distribution business and its clinical and medical products business in the fiscal third quarter.
"Cardinal has outperformed its drug distribution peers, the S&P 500 index, and the healthcare group, as represented by the DJ US Healthcare Index," he wrote in a note to clients. "However, over the last two weeks, shares have given up 11 percent compared to an S&P500 decline of 8 percent, creating an opportunity to get more aggressive on what we consider to be an already attractive valuation."
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8VBHNUO0.htm
'Shell' companies accused of ducking US payroll taxes
Published on Tuesday, March 11, 2008
As a team from the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) takes a look at how the Cayman Islands oversees offshore business, the latest news from the US could hardly have been worse timed.
The Cayman Islands’ reputation as a partner in tax avoidance and fraud has hardly been helped by worldwide media revelations that a major US defence contractor, Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), has used Cayman-registered “shell” companies to avoid payment of “hundreds of millions of dollars” in Federal Medicare and Social Security payments.
The scandal broke after workers returning to the US from KBR contracts overseas, mainly in Iraq, found they did not qualify for unemployment assistance.
Reports in the US describe KBR as the nation’s top Iraq war contractor, and which was, until last year, a subsidiary of Halliburton Corp.
http://caymannetnews.com/news-5912--1-1--.html
Romney open to VP invitaiton
Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor March 11, 2008 07:20 PM
Mitt Romney is declaring that he would jump at the chance to be vice president if Republican John McCain offered the No. 2 slot.
"I think any Republican leader in this country would be honored to be asked to serve as the vice presidential nominee, myself included," Romney said in an interview to be aired tonight on Fox News Channel.
In his first interview after leaving the GOP race, the former Massachusetts governor also called Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama "chihuahuas" and McCain the "big dog" on national security. Unlike many other Republicans, Romney said he hopes Obama wins the Democratic nomination because his inexperience makes him an easier target for McCain.
During the primary campaign, Romney tussled with McCain, who at one point compared Romney to a pig. But Romney endorsed the Arizona senator after suspending his campaign last month and said last night there are no hard feelings.
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/03/romney_open_to.html
Why not Jeb Bush for Vice President and Georgie for Secretary of State ?
Our Fauntleroy Still Thinks He's Special
By Daniel Ruth, The Tampa Tribune
Published: March 11, 2008
It was a royally annoyed Jeb Bush who showed up in Lakeland the other day, which was sort of odd.
After all, the former governor was about make a very nice chunk of change off a bunch of unsuspecting marks, who had coughed up $300-a-pop to listen to a bunch of twaddle about how wonderful the Bush Junta years were for the state.
Instead, the ex-governor was in a sour mood, as if he had given himself a wedgie, after a bunch of nosy reporters started asking the Diocletian of the Apalachee Parkway why he treated his eight years in office as if his reign was one giant Skull & Bones meeting.
The Infamous Scribblers, as George Washington once referred to journalists, peppered Bush with questions about his hatched-in-secret plan to buy up 61 miles of CSX Transportation track in the Orlando area for $491 million, which would then enable the company to enhance its freight line traffic through a new Polk County hub.
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/mar/11/me-our-fauntleroy-still-thinks-hes-special/
McCain Retreats on Terror
Though acclaimed for opposing torture, the Republican presidential nominee votes to keep it
by Nat Hentoff
March 11th, 2008 12:00 AM
On February 13, in a historic vote, the Senate—following the lead of the House—for the first time explicitly prohibited the CIA from using torture in its interrogations. A section of the 2008 Intelligence Authorization Act mandates that the CIA, despite the special powers given it by the president, is bound by the rules of the Army Field Manual, thereby setting a single standard for all interrogations by U.S. forces.
The Army Field Manual bars waterboarding, conducting mock executions, exposing prisoners to extremes of heat or cold, refusing medicine and or mental-health care, beating or using electrodes to shock detainees, and other violations of international treaties and our own laws.
As soon as this proposal had surfaced, the White House's first reaction was: "Dangerous and misguided!" When a majority of Congress disobeyed the commander in chief, Bush vowed to veto the bill.
The Senate measure was brought by Democrats Dianne Feinstein, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Russ Feingold, and Republican Chuck Hagel. Since the vote was 51 to 45, it took four Republicans and one independent—Richard Lugar, Susan Collins, Olympia Snow, Gordon Smith, and Bernie Sanders, respectively—to assure passage by joining the Democrats. (The only other independent in the Senate, Joseph Lieberman, voted for the President and against the anti-torture amendment.)
When the ban on torture passed the House in December, 229 had voted for it. Of the 199 nays, 189 were Republicans. As a December 28 editorial in Vermont's Brattleboro Reformer sardonically noted: "At least the Republicans are honest about their love of torture. . . . Our [Republican] leaders in Washington are . . . complicit in the carrying out of war crimes."
Among the Republicans in the Senate voting to carry out the wishes of Bush, Cheney, and the CIA was presidential nominee John McCain, who had formerly been the leading warrior against our use of torture, famously proclaiming that it's not a matter of "who they [the enemy] are. It's who we are!"
This was not the first time that Mr. Integrity has retreated on torture. McCain voted for the 2006 Military Commissions Act, which gave Bush the authority to allow the CIA to continue its special brand of "coercive interrogations"—a license that Bush himself validated in an executive order last July.
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0811,374048,374048,4.html
Awash in cash, oil patch braces for changes
DAVID EBNER AND NORVAL SCOTT
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
March 10, 2008 at 8:15 PM EDT
CALGARY, EDMONTON — As Alberta's oil sands reach a global scale, they are facing ever tougher environmental scrutiny and now, a new volley of federal legislation.
Ottawa yesterday afternoon unveiled draft rules that would require projects starting operations in 2012 and beyond to reduce greenhouse gases, largely through carbon capture technology.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080310.r-carbon11/BNStory/energy/home
AFL-CIO targets John McCain as 'anti-worker'
by Jill Zuckman
The AFL-CIO is not going to let the lack of a Democratic nominee stand in the way of jumping into general election mode. On Wednesday, the labor organization will announce the launch of a campaign to make sure workers know where the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain, stands on trade, jobs, health care and Social Security.
Political director Karen Ackerman will brief reporters today at noon on McCain’s “anti-worker record and his ties to the failed economic policies of President Bush,” according to an advisory from the AFL-CIO.
The campaign will include a new website called “McCain Revealed,” to explain the senator’s economic record and positions. It will also target union households with leafleting, door knocking, direct mail and union meetings as part of a massive grassroots political effort this year.
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/03/aflcio_targets_john_mccain_as.html
McCain lashes Democrats for criticizing NAFTA
Tue Mar 11, 2008 12:45pm EDT
Sphere
By Steve Holland
ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain criticized his Democratic rivals on Tuesday for pledging to renegotiate a hemispheric trade treaty that Democrats blame for U.S. manufacturing job losses.
At a town-hall meeting in St. Louis, the Arizona senator also called for the Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress to approve a free-trade treaty with Colombia that is being stymied on Capitol Hill.
"On trade, I'm a free trader," McCain told employees at Savvis Internet company, a session dominated by questions about the ailing U.S. economy.
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1157111820080311
Ford Loses $82 Million Rollover Verdict Appeal
California woman paralyzed in Explorer rollover accident
Advertisement
By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.Com
March 11, 2008
A paralyzed California woman has won her appeal of a $82.6 million verdict against the Ford Motor Co. because her Ford Explorer rolled over, resulting in her injury.
Ford appealed the award arguing that the jury unfairly punished Ford even though the design of the vehicle met federal safety standards.
The paralyzed woman, Benetta Buell-Wilson of San Diego, was driving her 1997 Explorer on an Interstate highway on January 19, 2002 when she swerved to avoid a metal object in the road. The SUV went out of control.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/03/ford_rollover.html
Cheney may have to testify
By Felisa Cardona
The Denver Post
Vice President Dick Cheney may be ordered to answer questions about a 2006 encounter he had at a Beaver Creek mall with a citizen who told him that he disagreed with the Iraq war.
Steven Howards, who was arrested for allegedly assaulting Cheney after voicing his objections, asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Craig Shaffer today to order Cheney to undergo a deposition about the exchange.
Howards, who contends he merely patted Cheney's arm when he made the anti-war statement, is suing the Secret Service agents who arrested him for violating his civil rights.
A criminal charge of harassment against Howards was dropped by Eagle County prosecutors.
Shaffer did not rule on Howards' motion but hinted he was leaning toward allowing Cheney to be deposed because he was a direct witness.
James Gilligan, an attorney for the vice president, argued that deposing Cheney would distract from his official duties and that there were other witnesses who could testify instead.
He also argued that allowing a vice president to be deposed in this case may open the door for other high-ranking government officials to be forced to testify.
http://www.denverpost.com/dnc/ci_8534042
The Bush Tragedy
politics
entries
from: Jacob Weisberg
What Bush Believes
Posted Wednesday, March 12, 2008, at 6:57 AM ET
What are George W. Bush's religious beliefs? The question, which would seem central to understanding his presidency, comes up again and again and never receives a satisfactory answer. When religiously inclined writers try to describe Bush's faith, they invariably end up talking about how Bush uses religion, how he relates to other religious people, and what faith means to him. But they seldom say anything about its content. They described all the things his faith is not—fiery, judgmental, dogmatic, exclusive—but don't discover positions on even the most basic theological issues that divide and define denominations, such as whether the Bible is literally true, whether Christians should evangelize, or whether salvation comes through faith alone. They overlook the curious detail that he seldom goes to church. Often, they end up projecting their own beliefs and assumptions onto his blank screen.
After reading a certain amount of what might be called Godly-President Literature—The Faith of George W. Bush by Stephen Mansfield, God and George W. Bush by Paul Kengor, A Man of Faith by David Aikman—the recognition begins to dawn that Bush's faith has no specific theological content.
http://www.slate.com/id/2186343/entry/0/
Oil's surge hits U.S., lifts Canada
SHAWN MCCARTHY
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
March 11, 2008 at 9:12 PM EDT
OTTAWA — The U.S. economy is showing the increasing strain of the stunning rise in crude oil prices, which topped another record yesterday and is contributing to both growing inflation and slowing growth south of the border.
But the broader Canadian economy appears to be more resilient, thanks to booming energy exports and a strong Canadian dollar.
Fuelled by rising prices, the value of Canadian crude oil exports rose 12 per cent in January, leading to an overall improvement in the country's trade surplus, Statistics Canada said yesterday. For Americans, the spike in oil contributed to an increase in the U.S. trade deficit in January. The contrasting trade figures “are a very good illustration of how the two economies diverge,” said Meny Grauman, a senior economist with CIBC World Markets Inc.
Because of the weaker U.S. dollar, American consumers have had to fully absorb the runup in crude oil, which has touched record highs in the past five days. Mr. Grauman noted that U.S. consumer spending had fallen 7 per cent in the final quarter of last year, and that rising fuel prices were a “big factor” in that slide.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080311.r-oil12/BNStory/energy/?cid=al_gam_nletter_maropen
Condoleezza Rice could help unite Republicans behind McCain
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
BY MARY BETH BROWN
The American Dream is being dealt with and considered on your own merits. In America it doesn't matter where you came from, it matters where you're going." These words summarize Condoleezza Rice's views on the American dream. If Sen. John McCain is to win the difficult race he faces this fall, he should closely consider the merits of this most extraordinary woman as his running mate.
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=403016&Category=14&subCategoryID=
11/03/2008 10:48:24 Õ
It’s still the Occupation, stupid!
By Aijaz Zaka Syed*
In an Op Ed piece for the International Herald Tribune three years ago, I wrote: “If Bush wants to usher in a new era of democracy and peace in the Muslim world, he should be prepared to deal with the (people’s) genuine and legitimate representatives.” (IHT, June 29, 2005).
Commenting on Washington’s refusal to engage the groups like Hamas because it views them as ‘terrorist organizations’, I had pointed out that “terrorists do not take part in elections and political processes,” as Hamas has repeatedly done.
That was three years ago. A friend recently forwarded the article back to me noting how my argument was still relevant.
Indeed, reading it today you are struck by the fact that little has changed in the Middle East and the US’ approach to the Muslim world.
Three years on, the same hypocrisy, the same double standards and the same obstinate refusal to see reason and the big picture prevail in Washington and indeed much of the West.
http://english.alarabonline.org/display.asp?fname=2008%5C03%5C03-11%5Czopinionz%5C960.htm&dismode=x&ts=11/03/2008%2010:48:24%20%C3%95
Amanpour: CNN practiced self-censorship
CNN's top war correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, says that the press muzzled itself during the Iraq war. And, she says CNN "was intimidated" by the Bush administration and Fox News, which "put a climate of fear and self-censorship."
As criticism of the war and its aftermath intensifies, Amanpour joins a chorus of journalists and pundits who charge that the media largely toed the Bush administrationline in covering the war and, by doing so, failed to aggressively question the motives behind the invasion.
On last week's Topic A With Tina Brown on CNBC, Brown, the former Talk magazine editor, asked comedian Al Franken, former Pentagon spokeswoman Torie Clarke and Amanpour if "we in the media, as much as in the administration, drank the Kool-Aid when it came to the war."
Said Amanpour: "I think the press was muzzled, and I think the press self-muzzled. I'm sorry to say, but certainly television and, perhaps, to a certain extent, my station was intimidated by the administration and its foot soldiers at Fox News. And it did, in fact, put a climate of fear and self-censorship, in my view, in terms of the kind of broadcast work we did."
http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/mediamix/2003-09-14-media-mix_x.htm
Audio
http://www.bmivault.org/Multimedia/Audio/2008/2008-03-11-Amanpor-Iraq.mp3
Amanpour Still Faults Media for Iraq War; Defends 'God’s Warriors' Series
By Jeff Poor
March 11, 2008 - 10:24 ET
Long-time CNN foreign correspondent Christiane Amanpour still harbors some resentment toward the American media for the Iraq war.
In September 2003, Amanpour spoke out publicly and said CNN was intimidated by the Bush administration and Fox News, which "put a climate of fear and self-censorship." Over four years later, Amanpour is still disappointed with the media leading up to the invasion of Iraq.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/jeff-poor/2008/03/11/amanpour-still-faults-media-iraq-war-defends-god-s-warriors-series
Goldman Sachs to buy 20 pct in India's Shriram Credit for 3 bln rupees - report
03.12.08, 2:47 AM ET
MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - Investment banking major Goldman Sachs is investing 3 bln rupees for a 20 pct stake in India-based Shriram Group's non-banking finance unit Shriram Credit, the Economic Times reported.
'We are in discussions with certain prospective investors for giving a minority stake in Shriram Credit, which will eventually hold both the broking and distribution business,' the report quoted Shriram Financial Services Holdings managing director DV Ravi as saying.
The report added that unnamed sources, however, say the deal has been finalised with Goldman Sachs.
According to the report, Goldman Sachs also has the right to hike the stake to 25 pct.
The investment in Shriram Credit will be done through Goldman Sachs' Mauritius-based subsidiary GS Strategic Investments.
http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2008/03/12/afx4761120.html
The Audacity of Wealth. Let's see, who should we buy today? As if they are doing everyone a favor. It usually works out to be disasterous to the working class.
Goldman adds Cardinal Health to Buy list
NEW YORK
Shares of Cardinal Health Inc. rose Tuesday after a Goldman Sachs analyst predicted a strong second half of the year for the health care products and services company.
Randall Stanicky placed Cardinal Health shares on the Americas Conviction Buy List, a portfolio of recommended securities. He expects improved results from the company's pharmaceutical distribution business and its clinical and medical products business in the fiscal third quarter.
"Cardinal has outperformed its drug distribution peers, the S&P 500 index, and the healthcare group, as represented by the DJ US Healthcare Index," he wrote in a note to clients. "However, over the last two weeks, shares have given up 11 percent compared to an S&P500 decline of 8 percent, creating an opportunity to get more aggressive on what we consider to be an already attractive valuation."
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8VBHNUO0.htm
'Shell' companies accused of ducking US payroll taxes
Published on Tuesday, March 11, 2008
As a team from the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) takes a look at how the Cayman Islands oversees offshore business, the latest news from the US could hardly have been worse timed.
The Cayman Islands’ reputation as a partner in tax avoidance and fraud has hardly been helped by worldwide media revelations that a major US defence contractor, Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), has used Cayman-registered “shell” companies to avoid payment of “hundreds of millions of dollars” in Federal Medicare and Social Security payments.
The scandal broke after workers returning to the US from KBR contracts overseas, mainly in Iraq, found they did not qualify for unemployment assistance.
Reports in the US describe KBR as the nation’s top Iraq war contractor, and which was, until last year, a subsidiary of Halliburton Corp.
http://caymannetnews.com/news-5912--1-1--.html
Romney open to VP invitaiton
Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor March 11, 2008 07:20 PM
Mitt Romney is declaring that he would jump at the chance to be vice president if Republican John McCain offered the No. 2 slot.
"I think any Republican leader in this country would be honored to be asked to serve as the vice presidential nominee, myself included," Romney said in an interview to be aired tonight on Fox News Channel.
In his first interview after leaving the GOP race, the former Massachusetts governor also called Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama "chihuahuas" and McCain the "big dog" on national security. Unlike many other Republicans, Romney said he hopes Obama wins the Democratic nomination because his inexperience makes him an easier target for McCain.
During the primary campaign, Romney tussled with McCain, who at one point compared Romney to a pig. But Romney endorsed the Arizona senator after suspending his campaign last month and said last night there are no hard feelings.
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/03/romney_open_to.html
Why not Jeb Bush for Vice President and Georgie for Secretary of State ?
Our Fauntleroy Still Thinks He's Special
By Daniel Ruth, The Tampa Tribune
Published: March 11, 2008
It was a royally annoyed Jeb Bush who showed up in Lakeland the other day, which was sort of odd.
After all, the former governor was about make a very nice chunk of change off a bunch of unsuspecting marks, who had coughed up $300-a-pop to listen to a bunch of twaddle about how wonderful the Bush Junta years were for the state.
Instead, the ex-governor was in a sour mood, as if he had given himself a wedgie, after a bunch of nosy reporters started asking the Diocletian of the Apalachee Parkway why he treated his eight years in office as if his reign was one giant Skull & Bones meeting.
The Infamous Scribblers, as George Washington once referred to journalists, peppered Bush with questions about his hatched-in-secret plan to buy up 61 miles of CSX Transportation track in the Orlando area for $491 million, which would then enable the company to enhance its freight line traffic through a new Polk County hub.
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/mar/11/me-our-fauntleroy-still-thinks-hes-special/
McCain Retreats on Terror
Though acclaimed for opposing torture, the Republican presidential nominee votes to keep it
by Nat Hentoff
March 11th, 2008 12:00 AM
On February 13, in a historic vote, the Senate—following the lead of the House—for the first time explicitly prohibited the CIA from using torture in its interrogations. A section of the 2008 Intelligence Authorization Act mandates that the CIA, despite the special powers given it by the president, is bound by the rules of the Army Field Manual, thereby setting a single standard for all interrogations by U.S. forces.
The Army Field Manual bars waterboarding, conducting mock executions, exposing prisoners to extremes of heat or cold, refusing medicine and or mental-health care, beating or using electrodes to shock detainees, and other violations of international treaties and our own laws.
As soon as this proposal had surfaced, the White House's first reaction was: "Dangerous and misguided!" When a majority of Congress disobeyed the commander in chief, Bush vowed to veto the bill.
The Senate measure was brought by Democrats Dianne Feinstein, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Russ Feingold, and Republican Chuck Hagel. Since the vote was 51 to 45, it took four Republicans and one independent—Richard Lugar, Susan Collins, Olympia Snow, Gordon Smith, and Bernie Sanders, respectively—to assure passage by joining the Democrats. (The only other independent in the Senate, Joseph Lieberman, voted for the President and against the anti-torture amendment.)
When the ban on torture passed the House in December, 229 had voted for it. Of the 199 nays, 189 were Republicans. As a December 28 editorial in Vermont's Brattleboro Reformer sardonically noted: "At least the Republicans are honest about their love of torture. . . . Our [Republican] leaders in Washington are . . . complicit in the carrying out of war crimes."
Among the Republicans in the Senate voting to carry out the wishes of Bush, Cheney, and the CIA was presidential nominee John McCain, who had formerly been the leading warrior against our use of torture, famously proclaiming that it's not a matter of "who they [the enemy] are. It's who we are!"
This was not the first time that Mr. Integrity has retreated on torture. McCain voted for the 2006 Military Commissions Act, which gave Bush the authority to allow the CIA to continue its special brand of "coercive interrogations"—a license that Bush himself validated in an executive order last July.
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0811,374048,374048,4.html
Awash in cash, oil patch braces for changes
DAVID EBNER AND NORVAL SCOTT
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
March 10, 2008 at 8:15 PM EDT
CALGARY, EDMONTON — As Alberta's oil sands reach a global scale, they are facing ever tougher environmental scrutiny and now, a new volley of federal legislation.
Ottawa yesterday afternoon unveiled draft rules that would require projects starting operations in 2012 and beyond to reduce greenhouse gases, largely through carbon capture technology.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080310.r-carbon11/BNStory/energy/home
AFL-CIO targets John McCain as 'anti-worker'
by Jill Zuckman
The AFL-CIO is not going to let the lack of a Democratic nominee stand in the way of jumping into general election mode. On Wednesday, the labor organization will announce the launch of a campaign to make sure workers know where the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain, stands on trade, jobs, health care and Social Security.
Political director Karen Ackerman will brief reporters today at noon on McCain’s “anti-worker record and his ties to the failed economic policies of President Bush,” according to an advisory from the AFL-CIO.
The campaign will include a new website called “McCain Revealed,” to explain the senator’s economic record and positions. It will also target union households with leafleting, door knocking, direct mail and union meetings as part of a massive grassroots political effort this year.
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/03/aflcio_targets_john_mccain_as.html
McCain lashes Democrats for criticizing NAFTA
Tue Mar 11, 2008 12:45pm EDT
Sphere
By Steve Holland
ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain criticized his Democratic rivals on Tuesday for pledging to renegotiate a hemispheric trade treaty that Democrats blame for U.S. manufacturing job losses.
At a town-hall meeting in St. Louis, the Arizona senator also called for the Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress to approve a free-trade treaty with Colombia that is being stymied on Capitol Hill.
"On trade, I'm a free trader," McCain told employees at Savvis Internet company, a session dominated by questions about the ailing U.S. economy.
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1157111820080311
Ford Loses $82 Million Rollover Verdict Appeal
California woman paralyzed in Explorer rollover accident
Advertisement
By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.Com
March 11, 2008
A paralyzed California woman has won her appeal of a $82.6 million verdict against the Ford Motor Co. because her Ford Explorer rolled over, resulting in her injury.
Ford appealed the award arguing that the jury unfairly punished Ford even though the design of the vehicle met federal safety standards.
The paralyzed woman, Benetta Buell-Wilson of San Diego, was driving her 1997 Explorer on an Interstate highway on January 19, 2002 when she swerved to avoid a metal object in the road. The SUV went out of control.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/03/ford_rollover.html
Cheney may have to testify
By Felisa Cardona
The Denver Post
Vice President Dick Cheney may be ordered to answer questions about a 2006 encounter he had at a Beaver Creek mall with a citizen who told him that he disagreed with the Iraq war.
Steven Howards, who was arrested for allegedly assaulting Cheney after voicing his objections, asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Craig Shaffer today to order Cheney to undergo a deposition about the exchange.
Howards, who contends he merely patted Cheney's arm when he made the anti-war statement, is suing the Secret Service agents who arrested him for violating his civil rights.
A criminal charge of harassment against Howards was dropped by Eagle County prosecutors.
Shaffer did not rule on Howards' motion but hinted he was leaning toward allowing Cheney to be deposed because he was a direct witness.
James Gilligan, an attorney for the vice president, argued that deposing Cheney would distract from his official duties and that there were other witnesses who could testify instead.
He also argued that allowing a vice president to be deposed in this case may open the door for other high-ranking government officials to be forced to testify.
http://www.denverpost.com/dnc/ci_8534042
The Bush Tragedy
politics
entries
from: Jacob Weisberg
What Bush Believes
Posted Wednesday, March 12, 2008, at 6:57 AM ET
What are George W. Bush's religious beliefs? The question, which would seem central to understanding his presidency, comes up again and again and never receives a satisfactory answer. When religiously inclined writers try to describe Bush's faith, they invariably end up talking about how Bush uses religion, how he relates to other religious people, and what faith means to him. But they seldom say anything about its content. They described all the things his faith is not—fiery, judgmental, dogmatic, exclusive—but don't discover positions on even the most basic theological issues that divide and define denominations, such as whether the Bible is literally true, whether Christians should evangelize, or whether salvation comes through faith alone. They overlook the curious detail that he seldom goes to church. Often, they end up projecting their own beliefs and assumptions onto his blank screen.
After reading a certain amount of what might be called Godly-President Literature—The Faith of George W. Bush by Stephen Mansfield, God and George W. Bush by Paul Kengor, A Man of Faith by David Aikman—the recognition begins to dawn that Bush's faith has no specific theological content.
http://www.slate.com/id/2186343/entry/0/
Thank you, Mr. Moore !!!
Dick Cheney likely has nothing to fear
Impeachment Reserved for Sexual Indiscretions
Impeachment Reserved for Sexual Indiscretions
March 11th, 2008 2:45 pm
NY Republicans threaten to impeach Gov. Spitzer (click here)
By Claudia Parsons / Reuters
NEW YORK, March 11 - New York State Republicans threatened on Tuesday to impeach Gov. Eliot Spitzer if he does not quit over a sex scandal that has raised questions over whether he could face criminal charges.
The threat added to pressure on Spitzer, a Democrat and former state chief prosecutor who made his name fighting white-collar crime on Wall Street, to step down after a report that he hired a high-priced prostitute.
The Wall Street Journal quoted a person close to Spitzer, who is 48 and married, as saying he could resign as early as Tuesday but he wanted to deal with his family crisis first.
"If he does not resign within the next 24 to 48 hours, we will prepare articles of impeachment to remove him," said James Tedisco, leader of the Republicans in the state Assembly....
By Claudia Parsons / Reuters
NEW YORK, March 11 - New York State Republicans threatened on Tuesday to impeach Gov. Eliot Spitzer if he does not quit over a sex scandal that has raised questions over whether he could face criminal charges.
The threat added to pressure on Spitzer, a Democrat and former state chief prosecutor who made his name fighting white-collar crime on Wall Street, to step down after a report that he hired a high-priced prostitute.
The Wall Street Journal quoted a person close to Spitzer, who is 48 and married, as saying he could resign as early as Tuesday but he wanted to deal with his family crisis first.
"If he does not resign within the next 24 to 48 hours, we will prepare articles of impeachment to remove him," said James Tedisco, leader of the Republicans in the state Assembly....
I told you it was entrapment. Bush used surveillance for potlical purposes ! The Tax Audit is completely atypical with this administration.
The Bush/Cheney Administration has cut the IRS auditing capacity to the bone in spending cuts. There are dearly few wealthy persons or operations that get audited and when they do, such as when the GAO audits (click here) in regard to Halliburton and the reliability of 'the mission' in Iraq to any consistent and measurable outcome, the audits are completely disregarded and in the case of Halliburton completely dismissed as irrelivant to the interests of the nation.
Only 30 out of more than 180,000 Millionaires Faced Traditional IRS Audits Last YearAudit (click here)
Rates for Low Income Taxpayers Greater than for Top EarnersIRS Says Release of Statistics that Might Explain Aberration "Would Adversely Affect Tax Administration"
Syracuse, March 28 -- According to new data from the Internal Revenue Service only 30 of the nation's thousands of millionaires were subject to a face-to-face IRS audit in 2005. The very small number selected for the traditional and sometimes intensive audits were drawn from 184,054 individual tax returns reporting a total positive income of $1 million or more....
No administration is supposed to be using the assets of a nation to carry out political directives. The USA government's 'Homeland Defense' has turned into a political scam from nearly every aspect of its existance and when we have Generals resigning in fear of losing all their pension benefits after speaking out on behalf of ending the war this is some of the most hideous use of FBI time and it's against the law. The USA government infrastructure is NOT for use by political parties to degrade officals of the other party. Entrapment is a completely legitimate defense and I strongly suggest Eliot Spitzer pursue it.
Eliot is on the "Top Ten Most Wanted List" to be rid of in any government infrastructure. He has successfully prosecuted Bush cronies. I am 'flyin' tired of having a bunch of Neocons running this country and the government. If Eliot has trouble within his marriage than he needs to 'get it right' at home. I don't need a preacher defending my rights as a citizen, I need someone that can get the job done and it's become stupid to continue to allow the Republicans 'their righteous' venue of wiretaps and meaningless surveillence. GROW UP AMERICA, your country is waning into bankrupcy, your children are going into meaningless and illegal wars and this 'mess' regarding Eliot's marriage viability is an issue? Give me a break (click here)!
Spitzer: Eight ex-insurance executives indicted (click here)
Charges for bid-rigging that cost corporate customers millions of dollars
ALBANY, N.Y. - New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer on Thursday announced that a grand jury has indicted eight former insurance executives on felonies involving bid rigging that cost corporate customers millions of dollars.
The former executives — including seven from Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc., the nation’s largest insurance broker — are accused of colluding with executives at major insurance companies to arrange noncompetitive bids. These bids then were given to Marsh & McLennan clients “under false pretenses,” according to Spitzer’s statement....
The audit was conducted on this sleezy little postitution operation because SPITZER was believed to be able to be discredited by its COOPERATION in obtaining the goal of dismantling Eliot's mantle. This is direct use of a federal agency for political purposes. The Democrats need to call into investigation the use of Homeland Security for political purposes and bring to the public even more reasons to impeach the Bush/Cheney Executive Branch.
FBI Watched Spitzer Before February Incident (click here)
By Keith B. Richburg, Susan Schmidt and Carrie Johnson
Washington Post Staff Writers Wednesday, March 12, 2008; Page A01
NEW YORK, March 11 -- Weeks before a hotel meeting with a prostitute that threatens to derail his career, the FBI staked out New York Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer at the same hotel in an unsuccessful effort to catch him with a high-priced call girl, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation.
The majority of the New York State legislators of the General Assembly are Democrats. They would be grossly stupid to initiate an impeachment process when the Governor may be found completely innocent of all charges and have done so over a marital issue alone. That would be setting a dangerous precedent for the state as well as the nation. It would grossly disaffect the party's standing in New York State and without 'due cause' for 'due process' there simply is no legitimate grounds for impeaching Eliot Spitzer.
The General Assembly of New York is caught up in a lot of public pressure because of the Bush/Cheney Neocon Climate of the nation. This 'in time' will pass, too. It would be a far better idea to allow this to 'play out' and bring to light the reason for such scandals rather than seek to 'play to the crowd' allowing this 'political venue' of 'riding the Religious Righteousness' for political gain.
The nation has rid itself of the likes of self-righteous, right wing Rick Santorium (What a nightmare he was.) and it will rid itself of the rest of them, but, it takes a couple of elections. The USA needs a chance to recover its government and as long as this type of illegal use of federal agencies continues, every marital discord will result in losing some of the most vicious defenders of our Constitutions at the local, state and federal level. Either the USA wants government that works for them or they want alter boys that sing to the tune of 'Onward Christian Soldiers' while robbing them blind. The Spitzers need to work toward resolving their marriage issues and quite frankly that is none of my business or concern !
End of Discussion !!
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