British interpreter 'spied for Iran'

By Kim Sengupta
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
A British soldier working as an interpreter for the commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan began spying for Iran because he felt he was the victim of racism in the Army, a jury at the Old Bailey has heard.
At the start of one of the most high-profile espionage trials in recent times, the court heard that Cpl Daniel James, 45, used his position, working for General Sir David Richards, to offer secrets to an officer at the Iranian embassy in Kabul. The Iranian-born reservist of 18 years' service had become "aggrieved and bitter" at his treatment by the military, blaming his lack of promotion on prejudice, Mark Dennis, for the prosecution, told the court.
"The allegation in this case is that, during the latter part of 2006, the defendant's loyalty to this country wavered and his loyalty turned to Iran, the country of his birth," said Mr Dennis. "He turned his back on those with whom he was serving in Afghanistan and sought to become an agent for a foreign power... He began to complain to others about what he perceived as discrimination against him in the Army – linking racist attitudes to his lack of promotion."…

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/british-interpreter-spied-for-iran-960256.html

Afghanistan's best hope is for controlled warlordism (click here)
The Taliban are losing the battles but winning the war. The prognosis is wretched, yet we must sustain military aid

While most of the world spent the weekend trembling for its wealth, in Afghanistan the Taliban busied themselves dying in quite large numbers, during an ill-advised assault on Helmand's provincial capital, Lashkar Gar. Around 50 insurgents were killed, for no loss to Nato and Afghan security forces.
This fits the war's pattern. Almost every time the Taliban fights a battle, it loses to overwhelming firepower. Unfortunately, such western successes are strategically meaningless. Nato is absent from vast areas of this intractable country, where the insurgents prosper. There is greater gloom about the conflict than at any time since the Taliban was ousted in 2001....


The Big Question: Why is opium production rising in Afghanistan, and can it be stopped?
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
Why are we asking this now?
Nato and the US are ramping up the war on drugs in Afghanistan. American ground forces are set to help guard poppy eradication teams for the first time later this year, while Nato's defence ministers agreed to let their 50,000-strong force target heroin laboratories and smuggling networks.
Until now, going after drug lords and their labs was down to a small and secretive band of Afghan commandos, known as Taskforce 333, and their mentors from Britain's Special Boat Service. Eradicating poppy fields was the job of specially trained, but poorly resourced, police left to protect themselves from angry farmers. All that is set to change.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-big-question-why-is-opium-production-rising-in-afghanistan-and-can-it-be-stopped-960276.html

Poll: Tired of warfare, LIers want troops brought home
BY DAVE MARCUS dave.marcus@newsday.co
October 14, 2008
Long Islanders are tired of seeing America wage two wars and want troops to come home from Iraq and Afghanistan, a Newsday poll found. Nearly two-thirds want a timetable for pulling troops out of Iraq. That overwhelming sentiment echoes the opinions of other Americans, and puts Long Islanders in line with Barack Obama's position on Iraq.

At the same time, about half of Long Islanders say the United States should decrease troops in Afghanistan or even pull out. That's a sharp disagreement with both Obama and his Republican challenger, John McCain.

The poll surveyed 761 likely Long Island voters from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-uspoll145882942oct14,0,1958183.story

Pakistani Officials: American Arrested in Pakistan's Tribal Region
By VOA News 14 October 2008
Pakistani police say they have arrested a U.S. citizen in the country's restive tribal area, along the Afghan border.

Police say the man was detained Monday at a police checkpoint, while trying to enter the Mohmand area of North Waziristan tribal region. Officials say he was carrying an American passport and a laptop.

Foreigners require special permission from the Pakistani government to enter the tribal area. Authorities say the man told police he was a college student from the southern U.S. state of Florida.

Police are questioning the man. A U.S. embassy spokesman said he had no information about the arrest.

Elsewhere in Pakistan's northwest today, Pakistani security officials said government troops killed more than 38 militants in the latest fighting in the tribal area....

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-10-14-voa1.cfm

Pakistanis flee as war on Taliban flares up (click here)
By RNW correspondent Suzanna Koster in Nowshera*
13-10-2008

Hundreds of thousand of Pakistanis have fled the conflict in the tribal regions on the Afghan border, where the Pakistani army is involved in heavy fighting against Taliban militants. Moreover - as the United States revealed some time ago - around 20,000 refugees have actually sought shelter in neighbouring war-torn Afghanistan

As a helicopter hovers over the refugee camp and its hundreds of tents in Nowshera, a town in northwest Pakistan, four-year-old refugee Hubaibullah looks up at it in fear. "Boom, boom," he mimics the sound of a bomb.

Hubaibullah was at school in the Pakistani border region Bajaur when a bomb fell. It was supposed to kill militants but destroyed the school building instead, says his father Lal Bahadur, a watchmaker. Blinded by dust, the boy ran away. His father found him shaking and as white as a sheet in a street close-by. Since then the toddler has not said a word, except "boom, boom". The family fled straightaway.

Heavy fighting

For months, a 9000-strong army force has been involved in heavy fighting with militants in Bajaur - one of the seven semi-autonomous regions in Pakistan which lie along the Afghan border. Experts say these regions are havens for militants, who carry out suicide attacks on Pakistani security forces and soldiers in Afghanistan, including Dutch troops. The fighting is so fierce because the militants are supported from Afghanistan. Reports speak of dozens of Pakistani soldiers having already been killed and hundreds more wounded. The army says it has killed around 1000 militants....

First Syrian ambassador to Iraq since 1980s takes up duties

Mourners carry the coffin of a victim killed in a bomb attack outside his house, during a funeral in Baghdad Monday (Reuters photo)

Agencies
Syria's first ambassador to Iraq in 26 years took up his post in Baghdad on Monday, marking the official end of more than two decades of frosty relations, the government said.
Nawaf Fares, who was the governor of Quneitra in the Golan Heights, presented his credentials in Baghdad Monday, a statement from the foreign ministry said.
Fares' appointment will "enhance relations with Syria and take us to a new phase of cooperation and coordination in the interest of both countries," it said.
He is the first Syrian ambassador to Baghdad in almost three decades due to rivalry between the opposing wings of the Baath Party which rules Syria and held power in Saddam's Iraq.
Syria and Iraq restored diplomatic relations in November 2006, ending 24 years of animosity after Damascus accused Baghdad of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in anti-government riots in 1982.
Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have all named ambassadors in the past month, although due to security concerns the only other Arab ambassador actually posted in Baghdad is the Emirati....

Iraq says British troops should leave (click here)
By Basil Adas, CorrespondentPublished: October 13, 2008, 08:39
Baghdad: Iraq's prime minister said the 4,100 British troops in southern Iraq are no longer necessary to provide security, a newspaper reported on Monday.
Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki told The Times of London that there may be a need for a few British troops to remain for training and technical issues. But as a fighting force, Al Maliki said the British were no longer needed.
"There might be a need for their expertise in training and some technical issues, yes, but as a fighting force, I do not think it is necessary," he said. His comments were in line with an August report that most of Britain's contingent in Iraq would be withdrawn over the next nine months, leaving only a few hundred soldiers there....

Iraq
Turkey says no need for buffer zone inside Iraq (click here)
AgenciesPublished: October 13, 2008, 16:52
Ankara: Turkey has no need at present to set up a buffer zone in northern Iraq to halt cross--border raids by Kurdish guerrillas, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.
His statment came in response to opposition calls for such a move. Turkish opposition nationalist parties and retired generals have been floating the idea of setting up a buffer zone for at least two years, but have stepped up calls since the latest attacks in which 17 soldiers were killed.
Erdogan's comments follow a warning from a senior Iraqi Kurdish official against Turkey stationing troops inside Iraq, saying it would not stop attacks by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels....

Iraq official warns Turkey over barrier (click here)
AgenciesPublished: October 10, 2008, 00:27
Ankara: A senior Iraqi Kurdish official warned Turkey on Thursday against stationing troops inside Iraq and said such a move would not stop cross-border raids by Kurdish guerrillas.
New attacks on Turkish security forces by Kurd-istan Workers Party (PKK) rebels based in Iraq have strained ties between Baghdad and Ankara, which accuses its neighbour of not doing enough to combat the separatists....

Could 'the Bush Surge' with attacks killing 700 in Sadr City be 'the end' of USA occupation for the majority Shia Government?

Still no security pact, so U.S., Iraq study options
Last update: October 13, 2008 - 10:38 PM

With time running out for the conclusion of an agreement governing U.S. forces in Iraq, nervous negotiators have begun examining alternatives that would allow U.S. troops to stay beyond the Dec. 31 deadline, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials.
Neither side finds the options attractive. One possibility is an extension of the U.N. mandate that expires at the end of the year. That would require a Security Council vote, and both governments think that could be complicated by Russia or others opposed to the U.S.-led war. Another alternative would amount to a simple handshake agreement between Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Bush to leave things as they are until a new deal, under a new U.S. administration, can be negotiated.
Negotiators have been stuck for months on the question of legal jurisdiction over U.S. troops and immunity for possible crimes....

Iraq strives to move beyond body count (click here)
Tue Oct 14, 2008 2:42am EDT

By Missy Ryan
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - In five years of war, Iraq has been hostage to a parade of grim statistics: car bombs, corpses, cholera and refugees fleeing rampant bloodshed.
But as violence drops sharply and Iraq turns toward reconstruction, officials seize upon a more quotidian, yet scarcely less important, set of numbers: economic output, employment, childhood vaccinations and even the whereabouts of Iraq's war-weary population.
The U.S. government, World Bank and other donors have backed efforts in recent years to help Iraqi's statistics agency, COSIT, get a better grasp of the country's vital figures....

Iraq kicks off first oil bid round (click here)
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER

Iraqi oil officials on Monday set the conditions under which foreign energy companies will be allowed to share in the country's enormous oil and gas wealth.
The rules, detailed at talks that involved executives from 34 international oil companies, stipulate that Iraqis will keep overall control of any future joint venture but underscored the need for boosting foreign investment.
"This is a very important milestone in the history of the Iraqi oil industry," said Natik al-Bayati, the director-general of Iraq's Petroleum Licensing Directorate and one of Iraq's top oil negotiators.
Foreign investment in Iraq's energy infrastructure is politically sensitive because of accusations that the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein was fought in part to exploit Iraq's vast oil reserves....

IRAQI FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBERS - NO LONGER SHOCKING (click here)

Posted: Monday, October 13, 2008 1:37 PM

Filed Under: Baghdad, Iraq
By Carla Marcus, NBC News Producer
BAGHDAD – Attacks carried out by female suicide bombers have become as common an occurrence here as roadside bombings, political assassinations and public mourning. No longer do I react with surprise when I hear about an explosion triggered by a woman.
Just last week on Oct. 8, a young woman in Baqouba blew herself up in front of a courthouse – killing 10 people and injuring 17. She was wearing an abaya, a traditional black robe, which allows explosive devices to be easily concealed. According to the doctor who examined the remains of her body, she may have been as young as 14....

Police say car bomb kills 2 in Baghdad
By HAMID AHMED – 1 day ago
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi police say a car bomb has exploded in southwestern Baghdad, killing two civilians.
Three others were wounded by the blast Sunday afternoon in the predominantly Shiite Bayaa district.
A police official says the bomb-rigged car was parked on a major commercial street in the neighborhood.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
Bayaa was the scene of Sunni-Shiite fighting last year when Shiite militias displaced many Sunnis.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hwK_CSpBxsNuVUEaDuOwmSSCiqGwD93OTACO0

Baghdad car bomb kills nine, wounds 13: police
Sun Oct 12, 2008 1:19pm EDT
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A car bomb killed nine people and wounded 13 in the Bayaa district of southern Baghdad on Sunday, police said.
The bomb exploded in a car parked on a busy commercial street in Bayaa, a mainly Shi'ite area, police said, adding the death toll could rise.
Violence in Iraq has dropped to four-year lows, but militants still carry out bombings and other attacks almost daily.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE49B1JE20081012

Oct 10, 2008 19:14 Updated Oct 10, 2008 19:16
Iraq: 13 dead, 27 wounded in car bomb
By

ASSOCIATED PRESS BAGHDAD
Talkbacks for this article: 2
A car bomb killed 13 people Friday in a market in a Shi'ite enclave of southern Baghdad, police and hospital officials said. At least 27 people were wounded.
Two police officers said the car exploded at 4:30 p.m. in the main market area of Abu Dshir, a Shi'ite part of the majority Sunni neighborhood of Dora, a former insurgent stronghold. The casualties included women and children, they said.
The policemen and officials at two hospitals who gave casualty figures spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media.
Security has improved in the area over the last year largely because Sunnis once hostile to the government joined with US-led forces to chase out al-Qaida in Iraq and other extremists.
Still, security in the area is by no means certain.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017504554&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


Baghdad not as ‘secure’ as government claims, residents say
By Ahmad Arhimiya
Azzaman, October 13, 2008
The security situation in Baghdad has aggravated recently amid a rise in car bombings and attacks directed mainly at government troops.
Residents say conditions are worsening in the Iraqi capital once again despite the heavy presence of Iraqi security forces and a surge in number of checkpoints.
The troops have complicated life in the city as they regularly cordon off streets and areas, set up temporary checkpoints and shut streets and bridges to traffic.
Some residents spend most of the day in their cars before reaching their offices or shops.
“There is a direct link between traffic jams and security. Congested streets in Baghdad are an indication of an upsurge in insecurity,” said a resident refusing to be named.
Snipers have returned to the city but now they aim their bullets solely at Iraqi troops.
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news%5C2008-10-13%5Ckurd.htm

Blasts Hit Iraqi Markets, Police Patrol; 16 Civilians Dead
October 11, 2008 6:33 a.m. EST
Baghdad, Iraq (AHN) - A bomb exploded at a market in southern Baghdad and two other explosions in Mosul, Nineveh province also hit a market and police patrol Friday. The mayhem killed 16 Iraqi civilians.
The bomb attack on a market in Abu Dshir, a mainly Shia enclave in the predominantly Sunni district of Dora, resulted in 13 deaths, including women and children, while 27 were wounded, authorities said. Shops and parked cars were also destroyed.
The attack on another market in Mosul killed two people and injured 12 others. The explosion targeting a police patrol in Mosul killed one person and wounded 12 others.

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7012613276

Attacks on Christians in Iraqi city raise concern
By KIM GAMEL – 5 days ago
BAGHDAD (AP) — An Iraqi archbishop expressed concern Wednesday over what he called a "campaign of killings and deportations" against Christians in the northern city of Mosul after police reported seven Christians killed in separate attacks this month.
A female suicide bomber also blew herself up near government offices in Baqouba, northeast of the capital, killing 11 people, Iraqi officials said.
The violence in both cities occurred despite U.S.-Iraqi operations launched over the summer aimed at routing al-Qaida in Iraq and other insurgents from remaining strongholds north of the capital.
Iraqi police in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, have reported finding the bullet-riddled bodies of seven Christians in separate attacks so far in October, the latest a day laborer found on Wednesday.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hwK_CSpBxsNuVUEaDuOwmSSCiqGwD93MGRHG0

Christians flee Iraqi city of Mosul after killings
By KIM GAMEL – 11 hours ago
BAGHDAD (AP) — Cars and trucks loaded with suitcases, mattresses and passengers cradling baskets stuffed with clothes lined up at checkpoints Monday to flee Mosul, a day after the 10th killing of an Iraqi Christian in the northern city so far this month.
Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but local leaders have blamed al-Qaida in Iraq, which maintains influence in the region despite an ongoing U.S.-Iraqi military operation launched in May.
The latest victim was a music store owner who was gunned down Sunday evening at work in an attack that left his teenage nephew wounded, according to police and a neighbor.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hwK_CSpBxsNuVUEaDuOwmSSCiqGwD93PQR106

Iraq's missing generation
The future of Iraq hinges on its young, but far too many of them have been driven into exile
Elizabeth Ferris and Navtej Dhillon
guardian.co.uk,
Monday October 13 2008 21.30 BST
Article history
· The reconstruction of Iraq needs the commitment and resources of its entire people. Yet the Iraqi government and the international community have neglected the current generation of Iraqi youth. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the case of young Iraqi refugees who have the potential to transform their homeland.
· Youth, not oil, is Iraq's most precious asset in building a stable and prosperous future. In 2002, before the US invasion, around 60% of Iraq's population was under the age of 30 – many with high school and university education. Today, too many of those young people are among the 2.2 million Iraqi refugees living in countries such as Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.
· As Iraq takes important steps towards national reconciliation and economic development, no one is paying attention to young Iraqi refugees. Their plight is largely portrayed through a sectarian lens. But when the focus shifts to the age of those uprooted, it is clear that a large number are young men and women, struggling with displacement at the prime of their life. Rather than building their future careers and families, their plans are on hold and their hopes are in limbo.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/13/iraq-middleeast

Bush nears Cheney's all time low of 19% in job approval rating

Poll: Bush's disapproval rating hits record high

Posted by Mike Carney

02:14 PM/ET

October 13, 2008

President Bush has one of the worst approval ratings in modern American history, according a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll.
The survey suggests 25% of Americans approve of the president's performance in office.
A record 71% say they disapprove of the way he's handling his job.
Only 4% didn't have an opinion about Bush's performance.
(By comparison, historical Gallup data show that Harry Truman's approval rating fell as low as 22% in 1952, but his disapproval rating never exceeded 67%.)
In election news, USA TODAY's On Politics blog says the poll shows Democrat Barack Obama leading Republican John McCain among likely voters.

October 14, 2008
0230z
UNISYS Infrared GOES East Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop)

End of hurricane season is traditionally Novermber 1st. I think it might go beyond that. There is a lot of turbulnce in the Caribbean. The Yucatan. North of Venezuela.

Everyone's getting in on the bottom of the market, huh?

I hope Europe knows when to rein in the monies. When will they know that the recovery has been realized and sustainable?

Texas Crop Report

October 9, 2008
Dimmit, Texas
Photographer states :: These guys were trying to beat the sun and rain. They made it just in time for the sun to go down and it started raining right after they pulled out of the field.

...COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M Agrilife Extension regional crop reports for Oct. 8:
CENTRAL: Area conditions remained dry, and topsoils were quickly drying out. Cotton yields were low but exceeded expectations somewhat. Lack of moisture impeded planting of wheat and oats. Stock water tanks were still low.
COASTAL BEND: Dry conditions continued to worsen throughout the district. No rainfall and near-to-above-normal temperatures were beginning to stress forage and fall corn. Open fields were being cleaned and prepared for 2009 crops.
EAST: Due to the lack of rain, soil moisture was low and delayed winter forage planting. Many producers continued to bale hay. Armyworms remained a problem in many counties....

...SOUTH PLAINS: The region experienced another week of warm, open fall weather throughout, which was followed by a weekend of rain showers. Soil moisture was short to adequate. Cotton was in fair to good condition. A few cotton fields were defoliated, and harvest should begin soon for some fields. However, much of the cotton crop needed more time for bolls to open. Later-planted sorghum fields continued to mature. Yields of earlier-planted sorghum varied widely. Winter wheat planting continued. Corn harvest neared completion with average yields reported. Pumpkin harvest was in full swing. Peanuts were being dug, and combining should start next week. Pastures and ranges were in fair to good condition. Cattle were in good shape with little to no supplemental feeding....

October 13th, 2008

San Francisco Bay - The jewel in the crown of San Francisco Bay, 740 acre Angel Island has been a destination and landmark of sailors for centuries, and enjoys one of the few mooring fields in all of California. Last night at 2100 local time, a fire was reported on the island (which is entirely a State Park). With the recent dry northerlies, the blaze was out of control in minutes, and was burning many acres within an hour, which is when YachtPals shot these night photos....

Global Markets are better today. Where is the USA Markets? Still depressed. WHY?

4,067.97
+135.91
+3.46%

Because the USA has a Republican Executive Branch that needed coaching regarding 'effective' action to take from European allies, AFTER, the 'Bailout' legislation was already passed. We don't need MORE OF THE SAME ! (click here) What was it that everyone was saying about the Bush $700 billion Bailout Plan BEFORE the trip to Europe?

IT ISN'T A GOOD PLAN.


8,451.19
–128.00
–1.49%

October 13, 2008, 7:50 am
Updated: 8:02 am
Paul Krugman Wins Economics Nobel (click here)
By Catherine Rampel
Paul Krugman, a professor at Princeton University and an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times, was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science on Monday.
Mr. Krugman received the award for his work on international trade and economic geography. In particular, the prize committee lauded his work on for “having shown the effects of economies of scale on trade patterns and on the location of economic activity.” He has developed models that explain observed patterns of trade between countries, as well as what goods are produced where and why. Traditional trade theory assumes that countries are different and will exchange different kinds of goods with each other; Mr. Krugman’s theories have explained why worldwide trade is dominated by a few countries that are similar to each other, and why some countries might import the same goods that it exports...


October 12, 2008, 10:44 am
Wrong-way Paulson (click here)
Henry Paulson, September 23:
Some said we should just stick capital in the banks, take preferred stock in the banks. That’s what you do when you have failure. This is about success.
Me, September 21:
[S]houldn’t the public intervention also be at stage 2 — that is, shouldn’t it take the form of public injections of capital, in return for a stake in the upside?
Let’s not be railroaded into accepting an enormously expensive plan that doesn’t seem to address the real problem
I’m not claiming special insight here — a number of economists arrived at the same conclusion. What’s striking is the way Treasury misfired, yet again.
New management can’t arrive a moment too soon.

Six Marylanders share their views on the presidential candidate and his message of change

Farm
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
The stakes could not be higher for Democratic candidates than in Iowa, which holds the nation's first voting for the presidential nomination. Here, Obama arrives at a "rural issues summit" on a family farm in Adel — one in a series of campaign events intended to illustrate his keenness to hear from the public to shape ideas and work toward change.

...To paraphrase Michelle Obama, the candidacy of Barack Obama is the first time I've ever felt like an American. I'd completely given up on the democratic process in this country. I became disenchanted because it felt like voters were put in a situation to choose the lesser of two evils. It seemed like a shell game, a con.
Like many people, I was skeptical at first about Obama's chances. I wasn't sure if he could overcome the racism that still exists in America, and the self-hatred in certain segments of the black community. I also wasn't sure if he could raise the amount of money it takes to run a presidential campaign.
But he has run a very sophisticated campaign,...


High five
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
The youth demographic is often seen as apathetic, but Max Swinton, 5, puts the lie to that, greeting Obama at Cedar Bridge County Park in Iowa. The campaign often emphasizes Obama's relative youth, casting him as the only candidate able to deliver real change, and as a model for the future.

Beloved pup's fate becomes international cause - click here for blog

USACHPPM TG 281B
A Soldier’s Guide to Female Soldier Readiness
CHAPTER 2. REPODUCTIVE HAZARDS, PREGNANCY, AND PARENTING (click here)

So, let me see if I get this right. Women in the military an get pregnant if they want, but, they can't own a dog or adopt one.

I see. Adopt a guy rather than a dog. Right. Life long commitments to babies are okay in a battle zone, but, not dogs. That's insane. Dogs are not only good for companionship, but, they 'help.' Dogs are good entities to have around.

You know it kinda reminds me of the episode of the sleeping platoon that was visited by an Iraqi man on his way home. He passed by these Amerian soldiers sound asleep and when startled by the man walking by, shot him dead. The man was unarmed. Now, if those men had a watch dog, none of that mess would have happened now would it have?

You know. There are dogs in the USA trained to sniff out drugs and munitions and even cancer on the breath of their owners. Now, explain to me why this hideous set of circumstances seems to exist with Ratchet? Because I really believe there is dearly NOTHING the USA military can explain that makes sense here !

Dicipline? In Iraq? What discipline?


“I couldn’t have made it through this deployment without his wagging tail and understanding eyes,” said Sgt. Gwen Beberg, shown with Ratchet in Iraq. An animal group hopes to pick up Ratchet and five other pets this week.

A mutt named Ratchet has helped Gwen Beberg survive Iraq. Now, will Ratchet survive? (click here)

By MARY JANE SMETANKA, Star Tribune
Last update: October 12, 2008 - 1:13 PM

...On Oct. 1, Beberg placed 6-month-old Ratchet on an Army convoy to the Baghdad airport, where he was to be flown to her parents' home in Minnesota by a rescue group called Operation Baghdad Pups. But the dog was taken away by an Army officer before it reached the airplane. Beberg's family and Operation Baghdad Pups officials now fear Ratchet will be shot....

Dorchester attorney comes to ACORN’s defense

Project Vote Smart (click here) - Consider Donating !

...“It’s very frustrating to do all this great work and have 99 percent of our employees, sometimes in inclement weather, standing outside of bus stops and in front of stores to help register people in their community and have their work attacked because one percent steal from us,” said Brian W. Mellor, senior counsel for the Washington-based Project Vote.
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, which partnered with Project Vote in a national voter registration drive, is under fire for voter registration irregularities in Nevada, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Missouri....

Voter registration explodes in Southeastern N.C. (click here)
By Chris Mazzolini

Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 5:01 p.m. Last Modified: Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 5:40 p.m.
Crowds of people. Unending stacks of registration forms. Phones ringing off the hook.

Welcome to your local board of elections, only weeks before one of the most hyped presidential elections in recent U.S. history.
If you don’t think Southeastern North Carolina is buzzing about the battle between Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain, take a look at the numbers. New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties have added about 21,000 voters to their rolls in the last year, according to state election data.
Election officials can’t recall any other race like it.
“It’s a phenomenon,” said Bonnie Williams, New Hanover County’s election director. “It’s just unbelievable what we’re experiencing.”...

There is no mention of 'independent' voters which is also recorded in these countries. But, who cares about Independents anyway !

LOCAL PARTY GAINS

Voter registration totals and percentage increases for the two major parties in area counties between January 2005 and this month.

New Hanover

(The Difference between TOTAL and the Party Registrations are 37,613 UNAFFILAITED Voters.)

TOTAL: 142,707 (+9 percent)

DEMOCRATS: 54,809 (+8 percent)

REPUBLICANS: 50,285 (+0.7 percent)

Brunswick

(The difference between TOTAL and Party Registrations are 17,752 UNAFFILIATED Voters.)

TOTAL: 73,200 (+21 percent)

DEMOCRATS: 28,489 (+11 percent)

REPUBLICANS: 26,959 (+18 percent)

Pender

(The difference between TOTAL and Party Registrations are 7155 UNAFFILIATED Voters.)

TOTAL: 32,741 (+18 percent)

DEMOCRATS: 14,278 (+6 percent)

REPUBLICAN: 11,308 (+19 percent)

Source: N.C. Board of Elections, New Hanover County Board of Elections

This is an exceptionally good year to register voters. They have clear choices on issues. There are significant issues that touch everyone's lives. The reason there are so many unaffiliated voters in this region of the country is because of the social pressure that accompanies political issues.

Hollywood can say what they want about Conservatives being a minority, but, in Red States the acceptance of Democratic affiliations is not fostered, due to the incredible penetration of 'talk radio.' There is a lot of bias and forced embarassment in the social strata. Having a minority candidate for President has 'raised the heads' of minorities in the region and have brought them to the reality that there is a place of 'hope' they need to explore.

Voter Fraud in the GOP

...Leonard Seagren, owner of a cigar shop in Portsmouth, N.H., (click here) continued his store’s 24-year tradition by conducting a matchbook poll the week prior to the vote. Seagren boasts an 80% accuracy rate over the years. Last week’s results showed Paul winning with 31% over McCain with 27% and Obama beating Hillary again.
Could all the polls be so far off the mark? It’s doubtful, but any speculation is a long way from proving vote fraud. However, this next example leaves the New Hampshire officials with a lot of explaining to do.
There is a little town called Sutton, and 386 people voted there, but not one for Paul, at least not from the official count. However, as of noon the next day, 31 people, after angrily viewing the results in the morning newspaper, had come forward to say publicly that they had voted for Paul.
By mid-afternoon, the echoing uproar was heard nationwide via talk radio, with dozens of callers urging Paul to ask for an investigation of this and other suspect precincts. These would include but not be limited to:
Roxbury (33 votes cast, 2 for Paul), Landaff (91 cast, 3 for Paul), Greenville (144 cast, 0 for Paul), Waterville (71 cast, 1 for Paul) and Easton (52 cast, 3 for Paul)....




McCain campaign enticing voter fraud
by colinski
Tue Sep 9th, 2008 at 01:48:21 AM EST
The McCain recently called a relative of mine, who I'll call 'Sam,' to inform him that they would be sending an absentee ballot request. This is where the story gets interesting -- the absentee ballot request arrived and was for Florida rather Colorado, where Sam has lived since 2005.
What the McCain campaign is doing is comparing voter registration data bases in order to come up with previous registration addresses. The absentee request form is essentially an invitation to vote twice....



McCain voter fraud in Ohio , write your senator (click here)
geo tech
Torrington, CT
Friday Sep 12
The McCain campagne showing its level of contempt for the democratic process is currently mailing out millions of absenty ballots to low income and minority area's in ohio , on these forms which are not in the format used by the state is a discret box asking if you are allowed to vote. if this hidden box is left blank by law the person is not allowed to vote. Talk about reform . THIS IS WHAT PASSES FOR A PATRIOT. THIS IS THE LOWEST FORM OF VOTER MANIPULATION, ANYONE THAT READS THIS DO YOUR PART AND MAKE SOME NOISE!!!!!!!!!!



Sep 12, 2008
GOP absentee ballot mailings called voter fraud (click here)
Democratic voters in at least two Wisconsin communities have received absentee voter forms from the McCain campaign that -- if used -- could cause their votes to be ignored.Is it a simple error? Or campaign shenanigans and voter fraud? You be the judge.Keith Heck, a former Racine Unified School Board member who lives in Mount Pleasant, reports receiving a mailing containing two tear-out requests for an absentee ballot. The preprinted request form -- an 11x17 piece of card stock folded over twice for mailing -- is addressed to the clerk in the the village of Caledonia....


Smear Campaign? Is that what the pundits of the GOP are calling it? How about DISTRACTION from the fact McCain's campaign is engaged in fraud and has been for sometime? This is more than a smear campaign, it's an all out effort from the moment Paris Hilton appeared to turn a legitimate election for President of the USA into a popularity contest. The McCain campaign can't run on the issues. Their party, policies and their politics ARE THE ISSUE !


Smear Campaigning Should Be Beneath John McCain (click here)
Friday, October 10, 2008
By Susan Estrich
William Ayers and voter fraud. Cindy McCain on the attack. Say it ain’t so, John.
The economy is in a tailspin, and so is John McCain. Our retirement plans and college savings accounts are shrinking, and McCain is shrinking right with them. He’s not just on the verge of getting clobbered in the election. He’s on the verge of becoming an object of utter ridicule. It isn’t pretty to watch. Even for a Democrat....
…They’re screaming bloody murder that Barack Obama left a phone message two years ago for a guy who engaged in radical activity when Barack Obama was 8 years old and living in Indonesia. Ayers, who is a neighbor of Obama’s, even had some kind of meet-and-greet for him 13 years ago, when Obama was running for state Senate, making him one of about a million people who’ve opened their homes and their checkbooks to the guy.
Imagine that. We’re in the midst of an international economic crisis and the McCain folks are trying to make hay out of what a guy who hosted a reception for Obama 13 years ago was doing 20 years before that….

McCann's health insurance plan won't work.

To begin, the McCain plan allows 'too much' latitude with insurance regulations. He basically is deregulating the industry including diving right into the issue of States' Rights by allowing 'portability' across state lines and knocking current State regulations out of enforcement as they will then be nullified .

Everything McCain does is to create competition. What if the industry does a 'OPEC' and simply refuses to participate in very much competition. When one approaches the issue of insurance, its insurance okay? Insurance is supposed to insure and competition in any case simply doesn't work. The health insurance policies out there already are simply taking consumers for a ride. They hardly provide coverage as it is.

But, the 'idea' that McCain is going to deregulate the industry, basically, will allow too much latitude in what can happen afterward. McCain's estimates are based on figures as they are now. The reaction of the electorate is that it costs $12,000 annually for coverage.

THAT is $12,000 TODAY.

If McCain dereguates the health insurance industry to benefit competition, there is nothing to say the costs won't be MORE than $12,000 annually. But, the consumer, IF they can get health insurance will STILL ONLY receive $5000 annually for assistance with the cost. That $5000 won't amount to anything if deregulation takes over.

Then it simply becomes a slippery slope after that because if health insurance premiums become unaffordable after the $5000 credit, we are right back where we started from, but, only worse.

McCain's answer to the uninsured is completely hideous. He proposes the creation of a non-profit corporation for those UNINSURABLE. What constitutes 'uninsurable.' Does it mean that they are uninsurable by private insurance standards or simply uninsured? And when declaring people uninsurable, what standards are we using?

The idea behind a non-profit corporation is simply outrageous. Where is the money coming from for the non-profit corporation, our taxes? If we are contributing to a non-profit corporation through our taxes does that mean we have a deductible to our regular tax schedule as well?

And if McCain is hoping a non-profit corporation will receive DONATIONS to cover Americans that are uninsurable, where is the 'market share' of donors contributing huge amounts of money that will actually do it?

Obama on rare occassion is using current government institutions proven to be able to deliver care to Americans. His plan is measurable in the way of actually providing benefit to Americans. McCain's plans have no measurable way of proving it can provide care. Its another Republican scheme to allow competition and private Wall Street industry to benefit while Americans suffer.

Haven't we had enough to Republican schemes and dreams?

I have !

Congress must rescind the 'bailout' plan as the Executive Branch 'changes the rules' without legislative authority.

The meeting between G7 leaders this weekend is simply that, a meeting. The G7 does not replace the authority of the USA Legislature. In fact, this meeting should have been held before the legislation was 'demanded' by Paulson.

To 'inject' funds into banks is to undermine the ability of the purpose of the legislation which was to 'rescue' homeowners from foreclosure.

Literally, with this 'move' by Bush/Paulson, they are 'outsourcing' the purpose of the 'bailout.' Typical Bush, "Anyplace by home."


Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck and U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr., shown at the U.S. Treasury Department yesterday, met with other finance and central bank governors as part of this week's G7 meetings. Mr. Flaherty stressed the need for unified action: 'We need to look forward and not dwell on what has happened in terms of failures, and then governments having to be involved with different financial institutions.'Photograph by : Brendan Smialowski, Getty Images

Some of these polls are hard to believe, but quite possibly, this collapse in the investment markets is teaching everyone a lesson they won't forget.

Could the map be correct? (click here)



Survey USA

Date: 10/4-5
Virginia Added: 10/6/08
Barack Obama - 53%
John McCain - 43%
Unsure - 1%
Other - 3%

Virginia is a big win for Barak. Even if that 10% is a stretch to most polling formulas, it isn't THAT much of a stretch.

As McCain's Lead Among White Virginians Shrinks, So Too His Chances of Holding The State's 13 Electoral Votes: 29 days until votes are counted in Virginia, Democrat Barack Obama is ahead 53% to 43%, according to this SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for WDBJ-TV in Roanoke, WJLA-TV in Washington DC, WTVR-TV in Richmond, and WJHL-TV in the Tri-Cities. In 4 tracking polls conducted since the Republican Convention, McCain has gone from up by 2 to down by 10....

Typical Republican. No different than any Bush Republican we've seen before. Using power inappropriately.

Is this what the American people want RETURNED to the White House? We got rid of Abramoff and DeLay and all the other scandalous manipulators, with the exception of Bush and Cheney due to the fact that the Democrats still don't have a clear 60% majority.

Is this the kind of government the American people want in power?

Palin protest planned for tomorrow (click here)
Story last updated at 10/10/2008 - 4:55 pm
JUNEAU - Opponents of Gov. Sarah Palin’s run for the vice presidency are planning a protest Saturday morning in front of the Capitol.
Organizer Jeannette Lacey said she hopes the protest will draw a “few hundred” people. She said there will be 10 speakers to discuss why Palin’s policies are “not good for Alaskans or the American people.”
Last month, an anti-Palin protest in Anchorage drew hundreds of people, according to media accounts.
The protest is scheduled to start at 10 a.m.



Palin abused powers, Alaska ethics probe finds (click here)
Governor's pressure on subordinates to get trooper fired violated executive code
From Sun news services
October 11, 2008
Gov. Sarah Palin abused the powers of her office by pressuring subordinates to get her former brother-in-law, a state trooper, fired, an investigation by the Alaska Legislature has concluded.A report on the bipartisan inquiry that was released yesterday by lawmakers in Anchorage concluded, however, that Palin was within her right to dismiss her public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, who was the trooper's boss.The public portion of the report on the inquiry concluded that Palin violated the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act by allowing pressure to be exerted to get Trooper Michael Wooten, her former brother-in-law, dismissed.In the 263 pages that were released, the independent investigator, Stephen E. Branchflower, a former Anchorage prosecutor, said that Palin wrongfully allowed her husband, Todd, to use state resources as part of the effort to have Wooten dismissed....

Tell me that bringing Sarah Palin 'on board' as a Vice Presidential candidate isn't completely denying the importance of 'ethics in government.' That reality alone has to bring to light that the 'real' John McCain is still alive and well and looking forward to abusing power as he has before. (click here)

During the Republican dominated years of the House and Senate, there has been a rolling back of ethical standards in those committees. Either the people of this country want to return decency to government or they are willing to chronically excuse the abuse of the infrastructure of this country, both militarily as with Iraq and fiscally with the chronic erosion of the USA Treasury currently pushing $11 tillion in debt.

Now what's it going to be?

NOW, in the face of his Veep choice being found ethically UNSOUND, McCain want to 'be nice' and stated in a recent appearance with pundits that Barak is a decent man and has done great work for this country. Well, we all knew that, I guess John finally 'read up' on Barak. Maybe one of his books.

See attack ads have worked for McCain before. They have worked for Bush in 2004. While stating Kerry was a great man, Bush was silent in condemning the attacks ads by independent organizations, namely the 'swift boaters.'

So, you see, McCain 'speak with forked tongue.' Two faced. On one hand he'll praise is opposition to 'sooth' the reality of the attacks going on as to not 'resound' off him personally, while, looking the other way.

It is unethical. It is slick. It is TYPICAL Republican strategy. Tabloid smear campaigns. And John McCain approves all those messages, at least 'subliminally.' I don't see a court action to stop them, do you?

McCain Ads Attack Romney (click here)
New Web and radio ads by the Arizona senator lack context.
By Lori Robertson and Jess Henig factcheck.org
Jan 29, 2008 Updated: 9:22 a.m. ET Jan 29, 2008
SummaryOn the eve of the crucial Florida GOP primary, John McCain is attacking Mitt Romney with some out-of-context or misleading statements on radio and the Internet:A Web ad says Romney's health care program in Massachusetts is "not very good" and "is failing." But official figures indicate that roughly 200,000 previously uninsured residents have gained health coverage, and those persons might disagree.
The ad says the Romney plan is costing $400 million more than expected. That's because more people are benefiting than were expected.
A radio ad running in Florida accuses Romney of proposing $20 billion to Detroit "to bail out the auto industry." Romney actually proposed a $16 billion increase in federal research into "energy research, fuel technology, materials science, and automotive technology."...

Pay attention. Norbert is a Cat 4. So much for heading out to sea

October 11, 2008
1230z
UNISYS Enhanced Infrared GOES WEST Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop)

Noted also is a second storm in approximately the same region where Norbert began. The second storm is considered to be a Tropical Storm by the national weather service who originally stated Norbert would be going out to sea. The name assigned to this storm is Odile. The name's definition means 'female.' How touching. I am sure there are many lovely Odiles in the world. The name's orgin is French.



October 11, 2008
1230z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of the North and West Hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop)

Norbert achieved Cat 4 status on the eighth of October. That means this storm has great potential for pushing a large storm surge. While some of the water in front of the storm will diminish in capacity due to its fall in velocity to a Cat 2 storm, not all of it will be reduced as the 'capacity' to maximize its potential has already been reached. The landfall of the storm will be met with higher than average flood potential into any rivers and streams in its path.

20 16.60 -111.20 10/08/21Z 115 948 HURRICANE-4

21 17.10 -111.80 10/09/03Z 115 948 HURRICANE-4

Hurricane Norbert, Baja California-bound, gains strength (click title to entry, thank you)
8:47 PM, October 10, 2008
...Hurricane Norbert is now only 200 miles west of Cabo San Lucas and still on a course to make landfall Saturday morning about 200 miles north of the resort city on the Baja California peninsula....

October 9, 2008
0730z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of the North andWest Hemisphere

U.S. Marine to shut down Navassa shop; 270 jobs lost

We can do without Wall Street. We cannot do without jobs. These are relatively small production plants.

As Wall Street continues to fail, the fallout is the closure of production plants. This boat building facility is one of the few manufacturing industries left in the USA. The production workers know how to put together their product. Finding the raw materials and marketing costs are the only other expenses they face to SELF MARKETING. To that end, state and local governments can look to market-share to attempt to return jobs to economies.

These skilled workers will have needs, have to pay mortgages and basically make a living. They contribute to the economy as well as produce a product. By ridding the USA of Wall Street's draconian hold on the USA, a 'market' economy can ensue beginning at local levels. To return to a 'Wall Street' level of production isn't in the best interest of the people of the USA.

To have skilled workers to join in 'cooperatives' of labor will produce an economy when that effort is accompanied by state and local governments that provide nurturing environments and 'grants' for 'start-up' operations. No one is going to tell me there aren't people that want to buy boats. I know there are. Some of them are on the production line of their own factory. To allow this level of degradation to the economy of any market in reaction to Wall Street's disappointment in profit taking is done so in helplessness and not lack of will or ability by the American people.

The market share that remains in the absense of this boat manufacturer will 'go elsewhere' to fulfill their needs. When that happens, the USA economy has not only lose jobs, but, future growth.

Think about it.

While sitting on unemployment waiting for a miracle, what are you doing to insure the future of your well being and that of your country ?



So much for everyone's second tax deductible home.

.

...The company said it would “mothball” the facility by year-end, meaning that it reserved the right to reopen operations if the dismal market for fiberglass boats turns around, said Daniel Kubera, a spokesman for Brunswick in Lake Forest, Ill.
The boatyard’s closing is part of an accelerated plan to cut costs by $300 million. Three other fiberglass boat plants – in Minnesota, Oregon and Washington – will be permanently closed, Brunswick said.
Kubera did not hold out much hope that the Navassa plant would return to operation soon....



Brunswick Plans Corporate Restructuring; To Eliminate 1,450 Jobs (click here)
10/9/2008 5:08 PM ET
....The company said that due to the anticipated drop in sales, following the proposed closure of plants, it does not expect to achieve its goal of posting positive earnings in fiscal 2008. On the news, the stock dropped by 20.8% and hit a 52-week low of $7.92.....

An Alaska Native Speaks Out on Palin, Oil and Alaska

...As Alaska Governor, Palin has continued the path of her predecessor Frank Murkowski in challenging attempts by Alaska Native people to regain their human right to their traditional way of life through subsistence....


Run organizers (L to R) Susan Secakuku, Nelia Naha, Bonnie Secakuku, Bucky Preston and Evon Peter. Everyone put in a lot of time over the past year to make the run go smoothly. (click here)




We cannot change nature, our past, and other people for
that matter, but we can control our own thoughts and
actions and participate in global efforts to cope with
these global climate changes.That I think is the most
empowering thing we can do as individuals. George
Noongwook, St. Lawrence Island Yupik, Savoonga,
Alaska, as quoted in Noongwook, 2000 (click here)


...Those outside indigenous communities have not always
recognized or respected the value of this knowledge.
Occasionally used and less frequently credited prior to
and during most of the twentieth century, indigenous
knowledge from the Arctic has received increasing
attention over the past couple of decades...

(e.g., Freeman, 1976; Inglis, 1993; Nadasdy, 1999; Stevenson, 1996).

This interest, arising from research in the ethnosciences,
has taken the form of studies to document indigenous
knowledge about various aspects of the environment...
(Ferguson and Messier, 1997; Fox, 2002; Huntington et
al., 1999; Kilabuck, 1998; McDonald et al., 1997;
Mymrin, et al., 1999; Riedlinger and Berkes, 2001),
...the increasing use of cooperative approaches to wildlife
and environmental management (Berkes, 1998, 1999;
Freeman and Carbyn, 1988; Huntington 1992a,b;
Pinkerton, 1989; Usher, 2000), and a greater emphasis
on collaborative research between scientists and indigenous
people (Huntington, 2000a; Krupnik and Jolly,
2002).

This section describes some of the characteristics
of indigenous knowledge and its relevance for studies of
climate change and its implications....

The really scary part for Palin is that indigenous knowledge might actually value the Polar Bear.