McCain's budget figures don't add up

...But the Democratic candidate has offered a clearer - and politically braver - idea of how he'd pay for his tax cuts and spending increases and shore up other programs. For example, he'd roll back the Bush tax cuts for those earning more than $250,000 a year and increase rates on capital gains and dividends. He'd also extend Social Security taxes to incomes above $250,000 and reduce subsidies for some Medicare plans....

Obama has also addressed an economic up turn for the USA economy by introducing government support to change the transportation infrastructure and working with auto manufacturers to help with 'that leap of faith' to remove Americans from fossil fuel dependency.

In doing so, he also removes the USA from being the largest polluter of greenhouse gases while returning sanity to the average American budget.

Globe 2008: Beth Lowery Interview (Please click here for video)
GMnext Contributor Matt Kelly talks with Beth Lowery, GM Vice President, Environment, Energy, and Safety Policy during the Globe 2008 event in Vancouver.

The Bush Bozos Return - Their Testimony is Rhetorical and their advise pure Idiocy. They have waged the Fiscal Equivalent of the Iraq War. Immoral !

Stocks look to open lower after Bernanke speech (click here)
By MADLEN READ – 2 days ago
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks headed for a slightly lower open Tuesday as investors, anxious about the nation's stumbling banks, found only modest relief after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed might extend its lending efforts to investment banks.
Bernanke, speaking at a mortgage lending forum hosted by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., said the Fed is considering giving Wall Street firms more time to draw emergency loans from the central bank.
Still, the market remains worried about the banking industry, particularly ahead of second-quarter earnings season, which starts when Alcoa Inc.'s results are released after the market closes Tuesday.
The idea that government-sponsored lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae might need to raise more capital amid worsening credit conditions sent their stocks plummeting on Monday. And later in the afternoon, cash-strapped IndyMac Bancorp Inc. said it is no longer accepting new mortgage loan submissions and is cutting 3,800 jobs — more than half its work force....

Pre-Meditated or Idiocy?

More than likely idiocy.

To begin, Goldman Sachs would never have the stock market price today if it weren't for its nightmarish US Treasurer Henry Paulson. One might ask, how did that occur? Because Paulson, in conversation with his Goldman friends steered their investment portfolios away from any interests that were politically risky to the Bush administration and pointed to the spending of the debt ridden nation.

Literally Bernanke and Paulson have teamed up to create a conglomerate of government supported private industry, at least for the time being and until the government infrastructure can be demised. Bush's administration has always been to destroy USA infrastructure at every turn.

This is a result of such a priority.

What better way to achieve the goal then to put a second rate financial firm, such as Goldman Sachs, in the power of the Secretary of the Treasury and watch the demise of every other financial firm on Earth regardless of the prudency or the idiocy that accompanies that strategy.

The Bush Administration has been completely reckless in regard to foreign policy and the same holds true for the USA economy and financial markets. In order to win the 2004 Presidency, Bush bouyed the USA economy with faux reality and plenty of hubris. For an Executive Branch that believes in 'the free market strategy' they sure seem to enjoy government control !

Bush's fiscal policies may as well be entitle, "WELCOME TO THE LAND OF THE LOST."

Will Bernanke Doom the SEC? (click title to entry)
By JULIE SATOW, Staff Reporter of the Sun

July 11, 2008

As the Federal Reserve chairman pushes ahead with his effort to expand the Fed's oversight of investment banks, traditionally the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission, some officials said the move would severely limit the securities agency's influence on Wall Street and could even lead to its dismantling....

There was NO second Iranian launch. They tested an 'underwater missile' originally developed by the Russians in 1995. The Neocons need to 'Shut Up'

...That's because this Iranian weapon -- called the "Hoot," or "whale" (click here) -- is based on the Russian Shkval, according to former Naval Intelligence Officer Edmond Pope. "I was informed in late 1990's by a Russian government official that they were working with Iran on this subject," he tells Defense Tech. "A cooperative demonstration/program had already been conducted with them at Lake Issy Kul in Kyrgyzstan."...


VA-111 Shkval underwater rocket - Same 'Underwater Missile' as Russia developed. Where do you think they got the technology, certainly not Pakistan. (click here)
Source :: Federation of AMERICAN scientists

There is nothing here to go to war over. These is simply Iran's political 'joker card.' Rice is an idiot !

George Walker Bush planting Pine Trees. NO more chainsaw by the acre, Georgie !

Leaders of the most industrialised nations have planted trees at the G8 summit in Japan.
The G8 members have confirmed a target to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050.

Video :: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/multimedia/video.cfm?c_id=2&gal_objectid=10520724&gallery_id=1450


Japanese firms team up on energy-saving OLED panels (click here)
July 10, 2008 - 5:08PM
Advertisement
A Japanese government body said Thursday it would fund a joint project of leading firms to develop a key technology to produce large, energy-saving organic displays.
The organic light emitting diode (OLED) panel, which is self-luminescent and does not require a backlight, is seen as a promising next-generation display amid fierce competition in the sector.
Smaller OLED screens are used in cellphones and portable music players but no technology has yet been developed to produce large screens.
The project involves one laboratory and 10 companies including leading panel makers Sony Corp., Sharp Corp., and a joint venture between Toshiba Corp. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., as well as materials and devices makers.
The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO) will put up about 668 million yen (6.3 million US dollars) to finance research and development in the first year of the project....

Kennedy Briefly Returns to Senate (click here)
By Deborah Tate Washington10 July 2008
Tate report - Download (MP3) Tate report - Listen (MP3)
Senator Ted Kennedy, battling brain cancer, surprised Senate colleagues Wednesday when he returned to the chamber to cast a decisive vote on government health care legislation for the elderly and disabled, known as Medicare. His vote was key to passing the measure, which had long been stalled amid partisan gridlock. VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill....

The GAO office calls Secretary of WAR on the carpet !

Iran needs NEW Imports. No Smoking Bras.

US exports to Iran include:

Cigarettes: $158m - Exporting Cancer Again !

Commerical aircraft parts: $620,000

Bras: $101,000

Perfume: $8,900

Cosmetics: $96,000

Musical instruments and parts: $30,000

Sculptures: $175,000

Golf carts and/or snowmobiles $21,000

Movies: $4,000Furs: $3,300

Show offs ! Iran and McCain have one thing in common. They are both playing political games.

This image from Iranian Television shows a Shahab-3 missile being launched, which officials have said has a range of 1,250 miles and is armed with a 1-ton conventional warhead. Iran test-fired nine long- and medium-range missiles Wednesday July 9, 2008 during war games that officials say are in response to U.S. and Israeli threats, state television reported. (AP Photo/Iranian TV via APTN)

It is obvious John McCain hasn't done his homework on the lastest sanctions with Iran.

These missiles have been around for decades, they are nothing new (click here).

There were recent announcements about tighter sanctions against Iran with a focus on its nuclear capacity.

New US nuclear sanctions on Iran (click here)
Page last updated at 18:31 GMT, Tuesday, 8 July 2008 19:31 UK
The US has imposed new financial sanctions on Iranian individuals and companies suspected of involvement in the country's nuclear programme.
A senior defence ministry scientist and several companies thought to be linked to Iran's arms industry were among those placed on the restricted list.
The move will ban US companies from trading with those on the list, who will also have US assets frozen.
It came as G8 leaders called for Iran to halt uranium enrichment work.
Western leaders have been attempting to convince Tehran to stop enriching uranium, which it has continued despite the imposition of sanctions by the UN and the European Union.
Iran denies Western assertions that it is developing nuclear weapons and insists its nuclear programme is intended for peaceful purposes....


McCain has made a profoundly 'true' statement and he should listen to his own words, "Their behavior has obviously not changed..." Very good, Mr. McCain you are absolutely correct, the Iranian behavior in regard to advanced weapon technology hasn't changed. Absolutely correct. They have the same 'dud' missiles they have always had and there is a direct correlation between the Iranian missile capacity and that of North Korea.

With Iranian technology STAGNATING, there is no reason to do anything else except continue to level 'EFFECTIVE' sanctions. McCain, the War Mongering Neocon, is "W"rong again !

McCain rejects Obama's call for upped Iran diplomacy (click here)
8 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Republican White House hopeful John McCain demanded action on tougher sanctions against Iran Wednesday, rejecting Democrat Barack Obama's call for aggressive diplomacy following Tehran's missile tests.
The presidential rivals sketched sharply different approaches after Iran's Revolutionary Guard test-fired a missile capable of reaching Israel, provoking global condemnation and jolting the US presidential race.
"We have lines of communication with the Iranians and they are many," McCain told reporters in Pennsylvania, saying Iran had already been offered a sheaf of incentives to change its ways.
"Their behavior has obviously not changed -- the time has now come for effective sanctions on Iran," McCain said....


IRAN-USA/BURNS-RESPONSE
U.S. Says Iran Reply Shows it Wants Common Ground
Iran is interested in trying to find common ground.
Reuters
Photo: archive
Iran's response last week to a revised package of incentives made by major powers over its nuclear program indicates Tehran is interested in finding "common ground," a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday.
U.S. Under Secretary of State for political affairs William Burns told a House of Representatives panel the thrust of Iran's written and oral response was that it was interested in discussing the issue further.
"Iran is interested in trying to find common ground ... We will see if the Iranians are serious," said Burns.

http://www.javno.com/en/world/clanak.php?id=162981



U.S. official says Iran makes "modest" nuclear progress due to sanctions
2008-07-10 00:38:07
WASHINGTON, July 9 (Xinhua) -- A senior U.S. official said Wednesday that Iran has made only "modest" progress in its nuclear program because of the U.N. sanctions.
"While Iran seeks to create the perception of advancement in its nuclear program, real progress has been more modest," U.S. Under Secretary of State for political affairs William Burns said in a testimony to the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee.
If Iran continues its current course, it will face more pressure and sanctions, Burns said.
The United States announced Tuesday to impose new sanctions on four Iranian individuals and four entities for their ties to Iran's nuclear and missile programs.
The United States has accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran has denied the charges. Moreover, Iran has vowed to retaliate if it is attacked by Israel or the United States.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/10/content_8519801.htm



Growth in US exports to Iran surprises lawmakers
By SHARON THEIMER – 7 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Key lawmakers, including Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, criticized the Bush administration Wednesday for increased exports to Iran despite tough talk about its nuclear ambitions and meddling in Iraq.
The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the value of U.S. exports to Iran has grown significantly during President Bush's years in office — from about $8 million in 2001 to nearly $150 million last year. The exports, made under agricultural, medical and humanitarian exemptions to U.S. trade sanctions, included cigarettes, bull semen, corn, soybeans and medicine, among other goods.
"It's that kind of mixed signal that has led to the kind of situation that we're in right now," Obama said Wednesday on ABC's "Good Morning America."
The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Howard Berman, remarked on the growth in U.S. trade during comments on the European Union's recent move to toughen financial sanctions on Iran.
"It's time for them to take far more significant steps along the lines of cutting off all significant commerce with Iran, as we did years ago — or at least I thought we did. I'm not so sure, after yesterday's Associated Press report that U.S. exports to Iran have increased nearly twenty-fold during the Bush administration years, up to nearly $150 million in 2007," Berman, D-Calif., said at a committee hearing Wednesday.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ir8KdsEyRL4d8aTjQKTD3fapykowD91QEQ480

Flash in the Pan Hurricane - Rapid acceleration to Cat 3 and then drop off in the next 24 hours. And the USA is still suffering from drought.

The question is this.

Does the manifestation of "Bertha" exhibit a return to a healthier Earth troposphere due to the efforts of humans to 'sustain' their forests in Africa, thus, again dominating Earth's physics in the Atlantic Ocean?

Or is "Bertha" an anomaly in a 'shifting baseline' due to the 'lack of' 'residual coolness' in Earth's troposphere?

With the loss of the 'North Polar Ice Cube' due in September, we may be seeing a complete dryness of North America that abandons all possiblities of 'rain' even from hurricanes.


2007 Hurricane Season

The 2007 hurricane season was a maximum to the evidence of a 'broken' Earth system in the Atlantic Ocean. All the 'African water vapor' hurricanes were now southerly hurricanes picking up water vapor off the Equator with the assistance of Arctic Ocean vortexes.

The more 'northerly' hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean manifested along 'the paths' of vortex water vapor trails. They no longer were generated from African water vapor. The Atlantic hurricane dynamics were 'broken.' Profoundly. The water vapor for most of the hurricanes last year took sustained periods of time pulling Equatorial water vapor into the physics of a hurricane.


2000 Hurricane Season
The OVERT shift from a 'Earth healthy' climate to a 'carbon dioxide toxic' climate was evident in the 2000 hurricane season.

In the year 2000 and there after, Earth exhibited a change in the regions where hurricanes would manifest. They started to leave the African rainforests' water vapor and moved to far hotter waters.

Hurricanes are a manfestation of Earth's physics. They don't have 'set tropospheric' locations so much as 'tropospheric triggers.' The greatest of those triggers is heat. So, when carbon dioxide started to build most densely in the waters near the USA the 'shift' in 'hurricane activity' left the 'cooler' waters of 'offshore' Africa and took hold 'nearer' shore of the USA.

The 2000 Atlantic hurricane season manifested 'new' trends. Trends that exhibited a shift in the 'physics' of hurricanes. While African water vapor was still a perferred location for hurricanes to start, they were NOW (in 2000) seeking higher water vapor concentration where the waters were hotter and that was the Gulf of Mexico. With 'Hurricane Debbie' there was a more southerly route to African water vapor hurricanes than 'Mid-Atlantic.' That was new. It indicated a 'climatic shift.' IN OTHER WORDS. EARTH was under going a 'Shifting Baseline.' Dangerous stuff.


1999 Hurricane Season
The 'Earth healthy' trend that is dominated by African water vapor continued until a shift started after the 1999 season.


1995 Hurricane Season
This was a far healthier troposphere when hurricanes PRIMARILY manifested near Africa and its dense rainforests.



Wangari Maathai (click here)
The Nobel Peace Prize 2004

Kenyan ecologist wins Nobel prize (click here)
Kenyan environmentalist and human rights campaigner Wangari Maathai has won the Nobel Peace Prize.
She is the first African woman to be awarded the peace prize since it was created in 1901.
A surprised Mrs Maathai broke the news to reporters minutes before the official announcement.
The prize committee says Mrs Maathai, Kenya's Deputy Environment Minister, is an example for all Africans fighting for democracy and peace.
The delighted 64-year-old professor said the award was completely unexpected....


"Bertha" began in the Atlantic Ocean just west of Senegal. It accelerated very quickly from a Tropical Storm (TS) to a Cat 3 Hurricane, because the ocean and air temp is so very hot.

15 18.10 -47.00 07/06/21Z 50 998 TROPICAL STORM
16 18.60 -48.90 07/07/03Z 55 994 TROPICAL STORM
17 19.30 -50.20 07/07/09Z - - TROPICAL DEPRESSION
18 19.60 -51.30 07/07/15Z 80 975 HURRICANE-1
19 20.10 -52.10 07/07/21Z 100 948 HURRICANE-3
20 20.80 -52.80 07/08/03Z 105 952 HURRICANE-3
21 21.40 -53.30 07/08/09Z 105 955 HURRICANE-3

Senegal is very hot, temperatures have been averaging in the high 80's and low 90's, no different than Wilmington, NC. Humidity in Senegal has been no lower than 70%. Humidity in Wilmington, NC runs about 60% these days.

Africa's more biotic areas may be among the healthiest on Earth, along with Indonesia so long as they haven't been hit by raiders and tidal waves. Africa has been engaged in a 'cultural' protection of its biotic content. Nobel Prize. It may be that the African forests are among those that have viable water vapor to sustain some hurricanes.

Any hurricane at this point will help relieve the stress on the Arctic Ocean to cool Earth, but, it is far too late to stop the severe melt due in September. If Earth has a brief recovery due to sustainable water vapor from Africa we might see a slight delay in Arctic demise but not by much. One hurricane season, even if vigorous won't save the entire ocean of ice.

August 8, 2008
1330z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite (12 hour loop here)

Could it be? A real hurricane? One that goes up the face of the planet rather than across it? An Atlantic Hurricane? Amazing. Go to Wilmington.

July 7, 2008
1930z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES East Satellite (12 hour loop)


USAID Announces New Tool to Provide Weather Alerts in Central America and Caribbean (click here)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 24, 2008 Press Office: 202-712-4320
Public Information: 202-712-4810
www.usaid.gov
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Assistant Administrator Jacqueline E. Schafer announced the introduction of NextStorm, a new tool for severe weather prediction useful in developing countries. This new tool was created through a partnership including USAID, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) and the Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean (CATHALAC), based in Panama....

USA Military screams about Natioanl Security due to Climate Change. Bush says, "So what." Where is Homeland Security on Climate Change? No Where !

..."We judge global climate change will have wide-ranging implications for US national security interests over the next 20 years," Thomas Fingar, deputy director of National Intelligence for Analysis, told US lawmakers.
Fingar testified to the House of Representatives that in some countries, global warming and its impacts could affect stability and spark regional conflicts such as over access to water as it grows more scarce.
He presented the findings of 16 US intelligence agencies gathered in a National Intelligence Assessment, based primarily on research done by the United Nations inter-governmental panel on climate change....

July 7, 2008

0730z

UNISYS Infrared Satellite of North and West Hemisphere (12 hour loop)

Tornado spotted near Hugo (click here)
Story By: Source: AP
East Central Colorado Published 20 hour(s) ago
The National Weather Service in Denver issued a Tornado Warning for Central Lincoln County and Southeastern Elbert County in East Central Colorado. It eventually expanded to Cheyenne and Kit Carson Counties as a strong storm front passed through.

At 5:09 p.m. local law enforcement officials reported a tornado 12 miles southwest of Hugo or 16 miles south of Limon. This storm was moving northeast at 17 mph. Locations in the warning included Punkin Center and Hugo.

The safest place to be during a tornado is in a basement. Get under a workbench or other piece of sturdy furniture. If no basement is available, seek shelter on the lowest floor of the building in an interior hallway or room such as a closet. Use blankets or pillows to cover your body and always stay away from windows.

If you are in mobile homes or vehicles, evacuate them and get inside a substantial shelter. If no safe shelter is available, lie flat in the nearest ditch or other low spot and cover your head with your hands.

California 'On Fire' - Justified Anarchy - It's called "...in self defense..."

Micah Curtis, left and his son Tyson show the strains of fighting fires for more than a week at their family's hilltop homes in Big Sur on July 5.

Brothers' backfire saves family compound in Big Sur (click here)
BIG SUR -- As flames swirled toward their family homestead, the Curtis brothers figured they'd get no help and had no choice: The only way to hold on to their 55-acre compound would be to fight fire with fire.In the end, the controlled burn they set helped save the homes on their beloved Apple Pie Ridge -- but not without major consequences.
Outraged authorities arrested Ross Curtis, 48, on Friday on suspicion of illegally setting a backfire after disobeying official orders to stop.His older brother, Micah, remains in Big Sur but is acting like a wanted man, dodging sheriff's deputies when he descends from the homestead to Highway 1."I understand what's going on. They don't want a bunch of idiots setting off fires that could do more harm than good," Micah Curtis, a 57-year-old artist, said as he walked the scene of the crime Saturday. "But we saved our homes. I'm not asking them to condone it, but they've got to understand it."...

The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:

Svalbard Global Seed Vault (click here)


NO SNOW, ICE OR EVEN A PROMISE OF ANY !


Norway to restrict travel to Svalbard in Arctic Ocean to protect environment
2008-06-30 19:07:42
STOCKHOLM, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The Norwegian government said Monday that it would restrict travel to Svalbard in the Arctic Ocean to protect the vulnerable natural environment there, according to reports reaching here from Oslo.
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, between Norway and the North Pole. Cruise traffic to the islands has increased tenfold in just a few years and this summer more than 30,000 tourists will also visit there.
"We must restrict the traffic to Svalbard because the eastern part of the archipelago is one of the most vulnerable nature in the world," Norwegian Minister of Environment and International Development Erik Solheim told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK.
The Norwegian environmental protection authorities have decided that most of Eastern Svalbard would be closed to tourists, apart from a few chosen spots, where tourists will be allowed to land, the NRK said.

Local Time: 10:53 AM AKDT

Lat/Lon: 58.8° N 137.0° W

Temperature :: 55 °F / 13 °C

Conditions :: Overcast

Humidity :: 72%

Dew Point :: 46 °F / 8 °C

Wind :: 6 mph / 9 km/h / 2.6 m/s from the SW

Pressure :: 30.04 in / 1017 hPa (Steady)

Visibility :: 10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers

UV :: 2 out of 16

Clouds:
Overcast 4200 ft / 1280 m
(Above Ground Level)

Elevation :: 33 ft / 10 m

Morning Papers - It's origins

The Rooster

6000 young ladies of China volunteer for Olympic training with USA professionals.

A member from a US professional cheerleading squad practises with Chinese performers during a training session (click here) for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in Dachang County in Hebei province July 4, 2008. [Agencies]


Urban rail in Beijing (click here)

Beijing has an extensive public transportation network. Subway and City Rail with high speed trains running at intervals of 3 to 5 minutes are the fastest public transportation in the city. There are more than 60 thousand taxis in the city. Public buses are the cheapest means of transportation which cover the entire city....

Battle continues between Jammu and Kashmir police and Hindu activists in Jammu

Hindus have a right to exist.

There is a long history of Muslims destroying Hindu temples. Kashmir is one of those places where Hindus take a stand against more impingement on their right to exist.

It's racism, religious bigotry if you will. The missing are probably dead due to chronic confrontation. Peace negotiations have proven to be impossible in this region of the world.

In some ways this is also due to population stress from the one billion people in India with NO contraceptive policy or will to limit family size. India, no different than China, needs to raise its expectations of its people to desire quality of life over indulgences of religion where it comes to high birth rates.

It is considered political suicide in India to ask people to practice birth control. It is considered a hostile act of government against the religious, but, no different than any place else in the world where Holy Men don't know how to balance religious practice with quality of life. It's a hideous concept to believe women can continually bear children in worship. It is uncivilized and completely unsustainable on a shrinking and heating planet.

China did it successfully and through leadership that has brought China out of complete impoverishment to enhance quality of life across the country, even if incremental. Incremental economic changes in places where there was once no hope of any, is more than a foothold to continued improvement. A billion people are a lot of people and China has done incredible work in the last decade to raise the standards of living of its people. Recently, China decided to cut spending on all its budgets by 5% and refocus those funds on rebuilding the lives of its citizens in the earthquake devastated areas.

China's leadership has been moving toward a 'sustainable' population, while India seeks no changes to its ever increasing population growth. Neither of these countries can react to the demands of Climate Change and CO2 pollution either in the way the Bush/Cheney 'diversion' strategies would seek to demand. While it is important both China and India seek to 'develope' their countries with fore-thought of prudent infrastructure, it is up to the USA to stop emitting more than 25% of all the Greenhouse Gases that is destroying Earth's benevolent nature. One of the places India needs to begin is with its unrelenting birth rate.


Silent protest
An activist takes part in a silent demonstration in Srinigar on Monday to protest the disappearance of thousands of Kashmiris. Human Rights Watch has estimated that about 8 000 people have gone missing in "enforced disappearances" in Indian Kashmir, while the government says 3 900 have disappeared.
Irshad Khan, AFP

...Total lawlessness prevailed in the outskirts of the Jammu city where the curfew has been imposed by the administration from the last couple of days. The protestors are coming out in huge numbers. They are indulging in clashes with the cops and causing damage to the public property with out any intervention. Since the curfew has been imposed here, over two-dozen violence incidents have taken place.
PDP and the Islamic terrorists in Pakistan are seeing for the first time the Hindu anger. The slogan is: we like to take back Kashmir and push all anti-Indians back into Pakistan where they came from.

Denying Hindus space5 Jul 2008, 1201 hrs IST, Tarun Vijay (click here)
The Amarnath land row in Kashmir has proved that if Muslim politicians of the valley feel strongly about something they can make the government bend and accept their demands. So it is hypocrisy when they complain in some summits in London that Delhi doesn't heed them or they have less power to rule the valley 'appropriately' and hence need more autonomy. They fought on the streets and denied a piece of land to Hindu pilgrims to be used for facilitating a night’s stay and food in that snowy area just for two months. The land was barren; not a single tree grows there and not one person was to be stationed there permanently. Yet the votaries of Kashmiriyat , who would announce day and night how keen they are to see Kashmiri Hindus return to their localities and how their religion stands for love, compassion and peace, stood firm, spreading lies to ensure that Hindus do not get an inch of space for a temporary shelter....

He can welcome all the new citizens he wants on this July 4th, but, how many innocent people did George Walker Bush Execute ?

...During Bush's six years as governor 150 men and two women were executed in Texas—a record unmatched by any other governor in modern American history....



Texas man freed by DNA after 15 years in prison (click here)
Attorney Gary Udashen, left, and The Innocence Project board of director member John Stickels, right, look on as DNA exonoree Patrick Waller, reacts to the announcement in court that his conviction of a crime that sent him to jail for more than 15 years was being overturned in Criminal Court District 2 at the Frank Crowley Courts Building, Thursday, July 3, 2008, in Dallas. Waller is the 19th man in Dallas County since 2001 shown by DNA evidence to be innocent of the crime for which he was convicted. The Innocence Project in New York says that's a national high. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Morning Papers - continued...

The Cheney Observer - BE AFRAID. BE VERY AFRAID.

Crist, McCain veep possibility, to wed
by John Kennedy
Florida's best-known bachelor, Gov. Charlie Crist, is getting married.
Crist on Thursday popped the question to his girlfriend of nine months, New York socialite Carole Rome, presenting her with a blue sapphire and diamond ring in his gulf-side condo in St. Petersburg.
"I'm very happy," Crist said Thursday evening. "I had a nice ring. It was very romantic. And she said `yes.'
No date has been set for the wedding. But Crist said the fall was the likely time -- in St. Petersburg, where he is a member of a Methodist church. A reception will probably also be held in Tallahassee, he said.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/07/oftmentioned_mccain_veep_to_we.html




Op-Ed Columnist
Rove’s Third Term
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: July 4, 2008
Al Gore never claimed that he invented the Internet. Howard Dean didn’t scream. Hillary Clinton didn’t say she was staying in the race because Barack Obama might be assassinated. And Wesley Clark didn’t impugn John McCain’s military service.
Scott McClellan, the former White House press secretary, titled his tell-all memoir “What Happened.” But a true account of modern American politics should be titled “What Didn’t Happen.” Again and again we’ve had media firestorms over supposedly revealing incidents that never actually took place.
The latest fake scandal fit the usual pattern as an awkwardly phrased remark, lifted out of context and willfully misinterpreted, exploded across the airwaves.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/04/opinion/04krugman.html



Sen. Jesse Helms Dead at 86
Polarizing North Carolina Lawmaker Was Known as "Senator No"
By ANDREA CANNING
July 4, 2008
Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina, an ideological firebrand with a reputation as one of the Senate's most conservative lawmakers, died early this morning of natural causes in Raleigh. He was 86.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=5309543&page=1



Thomson Financial News
Euroshares falter midday on thin newsflow; U.S. closed for Independence Day
07.04.08, 9:24 AM ET
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Europe's leading exchanges remained lower midday with little in the way of news to drive investor interest and with the US markets closed for the Independence day holiday.
At 12:49 p.m., the DJ STOXX 50 was down 25.52 points, or 0.91 percent, at 2848.19 and the DJ STOXX 600 was 2.17 points, or 0.7 percent, lower at 280.95. The auto sector was one of only a few sectors in positive territory as crude prices took a breather after reaching new, all-time highs overnight.
Renault added 1.07 percent and Daimler added 0.39 percent as New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, shed one dollar to $144.29.

http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/07/04/afx5184299.html



European banks need to raise up to $141 billion: Goldman
(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs said the European banks sector needs to raise about 60 billion to 90 billion euros ($94 to $141 billion), or withhold one year of dividends, to reach an aggregate Tier I ratio of 9 percent -- a level achieved by European banks that have recapitalized recently.
The bearish comment by the Goldman analysts weighed on European stocks, with the benchmark FTSEurofirst 300 index down 0.43 percent at 1,172.99 points by 5:40 a.m. EDT.
The analysts said they do not expect the mounting writedowns per se to trigger additional capital calls at this point. "Instead, we believe that regulatory pressures and a sharp turn in the European credit cycle are the two main causes for concern for bank investors."

http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSBNG18856620080704



EU inquiry deadline for Goldman Sachs buy of German property portfolio Aug
BRUSSELS (Thomson Financial) - The European Commission said the deadline for Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s real estate fund Whitehall's proposed 787.1 million euro acquisition of North Rhine-Westphalia's residential property company Landesentwicklungsgesellschaft NRW (LEG) is set for August 6.
LEG owns 93,000 flats and is one of Germany's largest property companies.
The portfolio has a volume of 3.4 billion euros, the North Rhine-Westphalian finance ministry said in June.
Of the purchase price, some 473.6 million euros go to state-owned investment vehicle BVG, while the remaining funds go to NRW Bank, which is 64.74 percent owned by the state, and Deutsche Rentenversicherung Westfalen.
The transaction will be reviewed under the EU's simplified merger review procedure, for cases the commission believes do not pose competition concerns.
nina.chestney@thomsonreuters.com nc/rfw

http://www.hemscott.com/news/static/tfn/item.do?newsId=65116001323185



U.S. and Global Capital Markets
Today I will focus on our capital markets – where the United States and the United Kingdom face similar challenges and are pursuing similar approaches. I see our work in three tranches; first and foremost, our number one priority continues to be promoting market stability and limiting the impact on the broader economy as we work through today's institutional and markets stresses. Second, implementing the appropriate policy responses to recent events to address the deficiencies in our markets which the current problems have exposed. Third, improving our overall financial regulatory structure to better prevent and address future turmoil.

http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/hp1064.htm



74th Secretary of the Treasury
Henry M. Paulson, Jr. was sworn into office as the Secretary of the Treasury on July 10, 2006. As Treasury Secretary, Paulson is the President's leading policy advisor on a broad range of domestic and international economic issues.

http://www.ustreas.gov/initiatives/sec-corner/


Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

July 3, 2008 Stock Quote

178.89

Jul 3 - Close

July 21, 2006 Stock Quote

140.10


January 20, 2000 stock quote

81.80


http://finance.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NYSE:GS



Lehman Brothers Stock Quote

July 3, 2008

22.85

July 14, 2006

60.53

January 21, 2000

17.62

http://finance.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:LEH





UBS AG Stock Quote

July 3, 2008

20.32

July 7, 2006

54.03

May 26, 2000 (initial offering)

22.56


http://finance.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:UBS



Morgan Stanley Stock Quote

July 3, 2008

35.91

July 14, 2006

60.69

January 9, 2000

79.25


http://finance.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:MS




Bear Sterns COS

May 30, 2008 Stock Quote

9.33

July 14, 2006

132.75

January 20, 2000

40.43

http://finance.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3ABSC


DO I NEED TO GO ON ?????

Where did the USA Treasury go?

And whom besides Americans coveted it?

Tax cuts? What tax cuts?

There is just so much corruption at every turn within any infrastructure both domestically and abroad, the next President will have a lot of RECLAMATION of USA priorities. When the Republicans are out of office, the world will no doubt witness exposure of corruption like not witnessed before.

Iran will NOT be another replay of Iraq, so much as THE SUCCESS of North Korea.

...The incentives package from China, the EU, France, Russia, the UK and US was offered to Iran by Mr Solana in June.
He also asked Iran to accept a six-week freeze on further developments on its controversial programme, in return for a similar freeze on new UN sanctions.
The UN Security Council approved a third round of sanctions against Iran over the issue in March 2008.
Separately, the EU also imposed new sanctions on Iran in June.
Tehran denies Western claims that it is seeking to build a nuclear weapon, saying its programme is peaceful.
It has repeatedly rejected demands to halt enriching uranium, which can be used as fuel for power plants or material for weapons if refined to a greater degree....

What Peace with Iran Could Look Like (click here)
By Cassandra Newman, Contributor
July 2, 2008 – Washington, DC
These conversations are about getting to know one another. You can discuss anything you like—we just ask that you be respectful. Our volunteers are… people like you who want to find out more about someone in another country.
With those words printed on the back of a miniature cardboard, a declaration of peace was made. On June 10, on the west terrace of the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, DC, three white tables manned by interpreters stood ready to connect curious Americans and eager Iranians in sometimes awkward, occasionally halting, decidedly scintillating conversations....

Who's war is this anyway? Iraq is a Non-Issue. The "Occupation" is Over especially with "W"rongly lead USA Command Structure !! Retired Generals?

This time next year, the USA may very well be 'evicted' from Iraq and even then, whom are we there for, the oil companies, as Malaki's private militias against Iraq's people or for the Security of the USA. Certainly NOT the interests of National Security of the USA !!!!

Iraq talks advance on deal for US troops (click here)
By Sudarsan Raghavan in Baghdad
Published: July 3 2008 03:00
Last updated: July 3 2008 03:00
The US and Iraq are making progress towards forging a complex political and security agreement to allow US troops to operate legally in Iraq next year, Iraq's foreign minister said yesterday.
"We have reached a comfortable stage of negotiations and the differences have been narrowed," said Hoshyar Zebari.
The comments came two weeks after Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister, said that the negotiations had "reached a dead end".
The talks have been bogged down by concerns over Iraq's sovereignty as well as a growing fear of a possible long-term US presence. A United Nations mandate sanctioning the US role in Iraq is due to expire on December 31 and US officials have said they would like a deal completed by the end of this month....



....An American Blackhawk helicopter has been shot down in Afghanistan in a province bordering the capital, Kabul.
The aircraft was brought down by a rocket-propelled grenade, a military spokesman said.
The pilot managed to land the craft and get the crew and passengers to safety before it caught fire, he said.
Meanwhile, the governor of Nimroz province in the south-west of the country has survived a suicide attack, which killed four other people.
Governor Ghulam Dastageer Azad said the attack took place on a convoy of vehicles he was travelling in....