Saturday, December 06, 2008

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

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

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





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


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

So, what are they doing in Crawford these days?


STOP the NeoConning of America (click here)


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


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






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

Loblolly pine responds to mechanical wounding with increased resin flow


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

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

I guess Canada will have to truck it in !


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

BLOG (click here)

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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


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

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

Poor decision making in Conservation is also very expensive !

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

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

He's not cabinet level.

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hello?



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

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

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

The Anti-American Bush Administration.



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

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

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

Well, it didn't.

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

Well, it won't.

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

Impeach Bush !

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

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

Mortgage Foreclosure - The Family Farm



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


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




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

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



How to get a Dallas Texas Foreclosure List

Friday, December 05, 2008

46 Day until Inauguration - The Federal Reserve Bankrupts the Country to Cover-Up Failure

There are no guarantees this economy will turn around. If the impetus and beginnings of job growth and an expanding tax base isn't achieved in good measure within the next legislature the country is in trouble. We have to 'go there.' There is no choice. The interest on $3 Trillion US deficit is enough to cause the wheels to spin on the USA economy. It's all uphill from here and it is a royal Republican mess !


Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (2nd from left) speaks to colleagues the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's Annual Conference on Bank Structure and Competition May 15, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois. The three-day conference called "Credit Market Turmoil: Causes, Consequences, and Cures" runs through tomorrow.
(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images North America)


Six years of Republican Rule with Bush and Cheney running the show was a complete fiscal disaster for the USA. This is some of the most hideous debt that has ever been engaged by the USA. How many more days of these idiots? This is a lot of risk taking for any Fed Chairman to embark on considering the future of America rides on it. The Fed isn't suppose to gamble with the assets of this country, they are suppose to insure from the disaster that could beset the country.

Fed Takes a $3 Trillion Gamble to Spur Lending: John M. Berry (click here)
Commentary by John M. Berry
Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve officials are throwing everything they have into the fight to stabilize financial markets and restore economic growth. In the process, the Fed balance sheet is ballooning to $3 trillion, if not more.
It's a risky approach because all the cash piling up in the banking system might spark rising inflation down the road. The alternative -- just relying on traditional interest-rate cuts -- might leave markets and the economy mired in the mud for years.
Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his colleagues know that when the markets stabilize and the economy turns around, they will have to move fast to take back the extra cash and shrink the central bank's balance sheet....


There is only one way that foreclosure serves the market and that is if there are actually buyers from within the USA ready to purchase property. The Federal Reserve and USA Treasury is in such trouble, they are demanding Americans be put of their homes to make room for ANYONE, including foreign purchasers to 'bailout the bailout.'

US Fed demands foreclosures push (click here)
US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has called on the government to take action to stem the increasing number of home foreclosures.
He said banks should consider reducing existing mortgages by writing down negative equity in people's homes.
The Fed chairman said the government had several options, all using public funds, that could reduce foreclosures.
"Weakness in the housing market has proved a serious drag on overall economic activity," he added.
"Despite good-faith efforts by the private and public sectors, the foreclosures rate remains too high."
Mr Bernanke said several solutions were being examined, which would allow borrowers who fell behind with their mortgage payments to stay in their homes....


Bernanke is "W"rong and running scared. There is a model that is working. It was developed by the FDIC, you know the folks that have FOREVER insured the deposits of Americans that bank within the federal system. It is called the IndyMac Model and it is known to benefit Americans already in their homes.

FDIC pushes IndyMac model for troubled mortgages
November 20th, 2008, 4:10 pm The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is encouraging private lending institutions to emulate the agency's program for helping distressed borrowers at IndyMac Federal Bank, which the FDIC seized in July. Under the FDIC's program, distressed borrowers can arrange loan modifications with a goal of 38 percent of gross income going to house payments through the use of interest rate reductions, amortization term extensions, and in some cases, principal deferments."I would encourage all industry participants to adopt the FDIC Loan Modification Program as the standard approach in dealing with the grave problems facing us with continued mounting foreclosures," said Sheila Bair, the FDIC chairwoman.Last week, Bair proposed a $24 billion federally-backed bailout program for distressed homeowners, which has been opposed by other members of the Bush Administration.As of today (Nov. 20) IndyMac has completed more than 5,300 loan modifications in response to mailings sent to more than 23,000 eligible borrowers, the FDIC said. Thousands more modifications are in the pipeline....

http://mortgage.freedomblogging.com/2008/11/20/fdic-pushes-indymac-model-for-other-troubled-mortgages/3366/

The FDIC were the folks who bailed out Bush, Sr. oldest idiot, Neil, Silverado and the S&L failure. Everywhere there is a Bush there is fiscal failure. All the time. H.W. even tanked the economy when he was in office. The problem this time is that "W." is the worst of the bunch thus far. He not only bankrupt every company he was ever affiliated with, along with Cheney, now they have the USA economy to add to their resume. When are Americans going to realize they don't need Bushs on God's side they need to speak to their ministers.

The FDIC is the only entity in this mess that can be trusted at this point and they are worth taking recommendation from. Treasury is talking about a lower interest for securities purchased from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, but, that was supposed to have happened months ago. So, what has taken so long? Paulson had to make sure, Goldman-Sachs had enough latitude that even Obama can't sink them? I mean for real already !

Financial industry pushes for lower mortgage rates
Under the proposal, the Treasury Department would purchase mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae to lower the rate on a 30-year loan to 4.5%.Associated PressDecember 4, 2008Reporting from Washington -- Financial industry lobbyists are urging the Treasury Department to take steps to lower mortgage rates in hopes of stabilizing the housing market.
Under the proposal, the Treasury Department would seek to lower the rate on a 30-year mortgage to 4.5%, Scott Talbott, a vice president at the Financial Services Roundtable, said Wednesday. That's about 1 percentage point below the current rate of 5.6%.


http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-mortgage4-2008dec04,0,6502961.story

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Is Russia Over-reaching?

Medvedev is a very ambitious and aggressive Russian President. Not overly aggressive, but, certainly able to keep up a presence that is daughting impressive to a 'resigned' USA under Bush/Cheney/Rice.

The thing is this. With Russia seeking to advocate for small ethnicities and seeking to support everything from Indian nuclear plants to protection of Cuba and Venezuela with the assistance of China; is the world's biggest brother over extending itself as it is not immune completely to the global economic dynamics as well.

I state this in support of the Russian President and his ambitions for peace and prosperity and to insure that the agenda will occur without paranoid fear of the USA. The agenda of Bush will be put to rest in January. Russia should anticipate peace. Medvedev should be preparing the next ABM Treaty and economic agreements with the USA. Perhaps we have to start over with cultural exchanges.


A woman attended to a child as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of Russia took questions during a nationally televised town hall style session in Moscow on Thursday.

While there is nothing wrong with preparing for global control of any possible threat to Russia and its allies, there may be estimations about USA aggressions that will find itself poorly considered that could sap Russia of its current military agility. I sincerely believe there is nothing about the Black Sea the USA will be actively seeking as a place for war. It will be a place where peace should be a high priority to improve the quality of lives of that region. I would hope Russia's Medvedev would view that same reality as attainable within the Obama administration. I do believe natural gas supplies to Europe are reassuring measures of codependencies that provide paths to peace a higher priority than any war. Quite frankly, I don't know why those realities haven't presented in dialogues over unnecessary Missile Shields.

The Black Sea? The likelihood of Turkey being more a destabilizing entity when chasing down preceived regional terrorist groups, poses a greater threat than anything the USA wants to see happen. The USA under Obama will return to a nation of Defensive measures in cooperation will expanding allies, not aggressive measures that are unattainable.

Obama's possible wars (click here)
...The United States is also likely to concentrate on the former Soviet Union, especially the Black Sea area. It is going all-out to get Ukraine and Georgia into NATO, but in Europe this position is unreservedly backed only by Poland and the Baltic nations. NATO's old members are either adamantly against this, or believe that this step would be premature....

It would be premature for Russia to rachet up the rhetoric to attempt intimidation of a new administration in DC. Gates will not have the same directive as under Bush. Both Gates and the General are there more so for 'transition of national security' of terrorist networks, anticipating a Russia just as concerned as the USA.

Hillary takes a pay cut. It is a matter of whom is best qualified at a time when there is no room for error.

...The Senate is working on a bill to rescind the raise -- a strategy also used in 1973 so that Senator William Saxbe, an Ohio Republican, could become attorney general. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, through a spokesman, said this week that she'd go along....


..."To our knowledge, Senator Clinton played no role in the salary raise, and she clearly had grander ambitions than Secretary of State when the law was signed. But while the issue will strike some as trivial, it is no small matter to ignore the Constitution's direct words. Giving Mrs. Clinton a pay cut is a minimum gesture of deference required to the document that Mr. Obama will soon swear an oath to preserve, protect and defend," it said.

This was interesting. I also believe American Auto Makers have to accept full responsiblity regardless of Union Concessions.




This is a huge issue for the very reason it has disaffected the future of the children of the USA. The car industry is in the middle of a global emergency as their fiscal stability hangs in the breach.

This decision is difficult to make because the car and oil companies have never owned up to their responsiblity regarding Human Induced Global Warming. The question is, are the car manufacturers of the USA being singled out for ridicule when the banking industry is being pandered to in ways that nullifies any hope for the USA economy to recover in a productive way to facilitate the futures of Americans both environmentally and economically?

47 Days until Inauguration - A Supported Party - Everyone should enjoy the moments !


JW Marriott Hotel Washington, DC (click here)

An inauguration for the less fortunate - click title to entry, thank you
A businessman from Virginia snaps up a $1-million hotel package so that people in need can attend.
By Michael E. Ruane

December 4, 2008
...This morning, the Marriott is scheduled to announce that the buyer is a successful Virginia businessman who wants to bring to the inauguration disadvantaged people, terminally ill patients, wounded soldiers and others down on their luck.
Earl Stafford, 60, the founder of a Centreville, Va., technology company who grew up as one of 12 children of a Baptist minister, said he would provide his guests lodging, food and special access, as well as beauticians, gowns and tuxedos, if necessary.
Stafford has paid the $1 million, a spokesman said, and is prepared to spend an additional $600,000 for a breakfast, a luncheon and two balls at the hotel. Stafford said he hopes to recoup some of the $600,000 from sponsors yet to be recruited....




CEO and Chairman


In the 06/29/2006 edition of ExecutiveBiz we had a chance to catch up with Earl Stafford, CEO and Chairman of Universal Systems & Technology, Inc..
Earl Stafford founded UNITECH after a 20-year career in the U.S. Air Force. Today, he serves as Chairman and CEO of the company that provides telecommunications systems integration for engineering, business support systems, and simulation and training services.The company expects to have approximately $78 million in revenue this year. In an exclusive interview, we speak to Earl about why he started his company, if he is looking at an acquisition, and what obstacles he had to overcome to grow his business.


Earl W. Stafford (click here) is Chairman and CEO of Universal Systems and Technology (UNITECH), a company he founded in 1988. UNITECH provides telecommunications systems integration for engineering, business support systems, and simulation and training services, serving federal, state, local, and commercial customers. After graduating from UMass Amherst, Mr. Stafford served 20 years as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. He serves on the board of directors of the Air Traffic Controllers Association; the INOVA Health Systems Foundation; and is a Director of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Foundation.

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Do we really want to go through this again?

Lehman Brothers’ presidential connections (click here)
...- George Herbert Walker IV, President Bush’s second cousin, was global head of asset management at Lehman, having joined from Goldman Sachs (GS) in 2006. In September, when Lehman agreed to sell its asset management unit, including Neuberger Berman, to Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman for $2.15 billion, Walker agreed to go with the deal. He’s now CEO of Neuberger Investment Management, now owned by private equity.
- Jeb Bush, the President’s brother and former Governor of Florida, was a senior adviser for Lehman’s private equity arm. He parted ways with Lehman around the time of the bankruptcy....



Left: CT scan of normal brain; Right: Schiavo's 2002 CT scan provided by Ronald Cranford, showing loss of brain tissue. The black area is liquid, indicating hydrocephalus ex vacuo. The glowing piece in the right image is the Thalamic stimulator implanted in her brain.


Jeb Bush steps in for Schindler-Schiavo (click here)
Supports woman whose court-ordered starvation begins in 8 days
...In papers delivered yesterday afternoon to the Federal Courthouse in Tampa, assistant counsel Christa Calamas, on behalf of Gov. Bush, asked U.S. District Judge Richard A. Lazzara for permission for the governor to appear as a friend of the court and to file an amicus curiae, or friend of the court, brief supporting the preliminary injunction filed by Terri's parents....


Why Rachel Maddow is 'thankful' Bush administration is ending (click here -video)
David Edwards
Published: Thursday November 27, 2008
What is it about the Bush administration that makes people so thankful it's ending? MSNBC's Rachel Maddow put together a list of Bush officials that have been indicted or resigned abruptly in order to recall "just how bad the bad old times have been."...


Jeb Bush's bid for Senate could clear GOP field (click title to entry, thank you)
By BRENDAN FARRINGTON – 36 minutes ago
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Still popular in Florida, former Gov. Jeb Bush said Wednesday that he's interested in the seat Sen. Mel Martinez is giving up, and the field of possible candidates could quickly narrow to make way for the president's younger brother.
Bush, 55, won praise from Democrats and Republicans alike for leading the state through eight hurricanes over a two-year period. He used standardized testing to overhaul the education system, was credited with making government more efficient and lowered taxes to make Florida more business-friendly.
While his older brother, soon-to-be former President George W. Bush, has been so unpopular that he has been a liability to many Republican candidates this year, Jeb Bush remains a popular figure here....


Jeb hadn't gotten the word? We are looking at a National Health Insurance Plan for the nation.

Expand Medicaid Reforms (click here)
By JEB BUSH
Special to the Tribune
Published: November 29, 2008

...The tenets of the reform are simple. New Medicaid is a patient-centered system that respects individual participants by empowering them to direct their own health care. It provides choices, promotes preventive care, reduces inefficiency and prevents fraud. Most importantly, the reform plan harnesses the power of the marketplace to foster innovation and spur competition, which improves the quality of care for our most vulnerable Floridians and drives down the costs to taxpayers who are paying the medical bills....


Number of uninsured children climbs in Florida (click here)
By Kelli Kennedy
The Associated Press
10:50 AM EST, November 28, 2008
MIAMI - Nearly 19 percent or 797,000 children in Florida do not have health insurance -- the second highest percentage in the country -- and experts expect the number to rise as more parents are laid off, according to a report released this week. The number may also rise as employers increase insurance costs, the report said.More troubling, the study was conducted between 2005 and 2007 and does not reflect this year's financial woes.Families USA, a nonprofit health advocacy group, estimates the actual number of uninsured children in the country right now is far greater than the 8.6 million reported in 2007.Only Texas had a higher percentage of uninsured children with 20.5 percent....

...Former Gov. Jeb Bush was widely criticized a few years ago when he made it more difficult for children to enroll, requiring parents to resubmit paperwork more often to prove they were eligible. Some of those restrictions have eased a bit....

Crist v. Rubio on Jeb candidacy
posted by Aaron Deslatte on Dec 3, 2008 2:39:48 PM
Crist v. Rubio on Jeb candidacy posted by Aaron Deslatte on Dec 3, 2008 2:39:48 PM
Gov. Charlie Crist sounded cool today to both the idea of running for the U.S. Senate himself and the chance that former Gov. Jeb Bush might seek the seat.
Advisors to Crist have said the chances are slim to none that the current governor would want to seek the vacancy created by current U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, who won't stand for re-election....



Father Raymond J. De Souza on the Bush legacy: Prosecutors, but no defence (click here)
Posted: November 27, 2008, 9:45 AM by Kelly McParland
Father Raymond J. De Souza

...The current Bush administration, to the contrary, has been dominated by people who had no further aspirations to high public office — Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, John Ashcroft. The lack of political ambition in Bush’s administration, especially in comparison to his two predecessors, explains in part why he felt at liberty to go where the public would not follow. It explains too why so few today have a stake in defending him.

What's next for GOP?: Hispanics key for Republicans (click here)
Kingsley Guy COLUMNIST
November 30, 2008
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist had some savvy advice for his Republican colleagues during the recent Republican Governors Association conference in Miami."You have to be inclusive," Crist said. "You have to work for a big tent. That's about as obvious as the nose on your face."Yet, it's amazing how many Republicans can't tell their noses from their tightly shut eyes. Unless GOP leaders, across the board, open their eyes and work to broaden the GOP base, the party could find itself relegated to permanent minority status....


Thankful for small things, like the Miami Herald business page

...Yes, faithful readers, this dense story is back, and I'm still wondering why Jeb Bush hasn't been called on the carpet over this one....

Harvard Endowment Fell 22 Percent in Four Months

Decline dwarfs University's previous worst single-year loss (click title to entry, thank you)
Published On Tuesday, December 02, 2008 10:01 PM
By CLIFFORD M MARKS and JUNE Q. WU Crimson Staff Writers

Harvard’s endowment—the largest in higher education—fell 22 percent in four months from its June 30 value of $36.9 billion, marking the endowment’s largest decline in modern history, University officials announced yesterday. The precipitous drop will require Harvard’s faculties to take a “hard look at hiring, staffing levels, and compensation,” wrote University President Drew G. Faust and Executive Vice President Edward C. Forst ’82 in a letter informing the deans of Harvard’s losses. The decline, which amounts to more than $8 billion, is larger than the endowments of all but four other universities—Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and MIT. In the same period, the S&P 500 fell 24.6 percent. The index has fallen an additional 12.4 percent since then....



Reprinted courtesy of Barron's, December 2, 1996 (click here)
Some students enter the hallowed halls of Harvard University looking for the meaning of life, while others merely want an Ivy League sheepskin to help them secure their first job. When Barron's recently visited Harvard, however, we were searching for something far more elusive: an investment strategy that will beat the market while taking few risks....

A note from Michael Moore

There is a huge disparity in the cloud cover today and one of forty years ago.


December 3, 2008
1745 utc
Western Hemisphere Satellite Photo


Michael's Message is at title to entry. The sparcity of Earth's cloud cover is no joke. NASA released a photo recently (kindly note at the bottom of the entry) the first picture of Earth as a sphere hung in a background of black space from Apollo 8. The globe was healthier and noted to have huge cloud banks surrounding Earth, with plenty of water vapor. The cloud cover is so dense it is nearly impossible to see the continents.


We are drying up our planet.


It has to stop !

...And I care about what happens with the Big 3 because they are more responsible than almost anyone for the destruction of our fragile atmosphere and the daily melting of our polar ice caps....





Before humanity ventured to the Moon, our view of our home planet consisted of what we could see from horizon to horizon. It was not until this stunning photo (along with many others) came back to Earth with the Apollo 8 astronauts in late December 1968 that we saw Earth as a vibrant, delicate, blue and white globe framed by the velvety blackness of space. From the great distance of the Moon, nearly the entire Western Hemisphere is visible. Clouds cover much of North America in the upper left, but the distinctive coastline of the southeastern United States and the Florida peninsula are clearly visible. A break in the clouds in the far north provides a glimpse of eastern Canada and the mouth of the St. Lawrence River....

The World is getting tired of this mess.

With regard to recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, (click title to entry, thank you) I herewith request the government to seriously step up security efforts to avoid any future terrorist attacks in Indonesia -- also because Christmas will be celebrated soon.
The recent execution of the three Bali bombers has resulted in emotional outbursts and threats by fanatic fundamentalists in this country.
A mutual effort should be made by all countries to combat terrorism. ASEAN countries are already cooperating with Australia; the European Union is excellent in tracking down suspicious individuals.
I herewith wish to express my sincere condolences to the families of those who were butchered in the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
Once again I emphasize that international cooperation is urgently needed with regard to tracking down terrorists, exchanging vital information of terrorist training facilities and networks and the continuous monitoring of suspicious fundamentalists -- all this should be shared with others by countries who already have this information.
LYNNA VAN DER ZEE-OEHMKEBogor, West Java


Bali Nightclub Bombing
On October 12, 2002 a car bomb exploded outside the Sari nightclub in Bali, a popular tourist island in Indonesia. The attack was the worst terrorist incident in the history of Indonesia, with 202 civilians dead and more than 100 wounded.
While the attack was attributed to Jemaah Islamiyah, an Indonesian terrorist group with aims of creating an Islamic state composed of parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Southern Philipennes; according to U.S. and Asian intelligence authorities the attack had been connected to al-Qaeda. The nightclub bombings were the seventh major bombing in the area within 3 weeks, including an explosion in the southern Philippines that killed one U.S. Marine.
The mastermind, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, behind the attacks was al-Qaeda's chief representative and senior planner in Southeast Asia, as well as being operational chief of Jemaah Islamiya, Ryuduan bin Isomuddin, also known as Hambali. Hambali was detained by the U.S. government in August of 2003. Hambali was also believed to have been involved in the 2003 Marriot Hotel bombings in Jakarta, facilitated the January 2000 meeting in Malaysia including two September 11th highjackers, as well as being a close associate of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shekih Mohammed....




Three Australians are believed to be among 25 people killed by a series of bombings which targeted restaurants in Bali. Getty
Macabre Clues Advance Inquiry in Bali Attacks (click here)
By RAYMOND BONNER and JANE PERLEZ
Published: October 3, 2005
KUTA, Indonesia, Monday, Oct. 3 - In the first 24 hours after a series of bombs killed 22 people in a restaurant on a busy street and in two beachfront restaurants five miles away, investigators in Bali made rapid progress on Sunday, in part owing to a macabre bit of luck. As they sifted through bodies and body parts, they say, they found the heads of three men and three sets of legs, with no middles, the forensic signature of suicide bombings. One head was more than 75 feet from the rest of the body....

48 Days until Inauguration - The Governors 'had to wait' for a President-Elect to secure their states from disaster.

Granholm denies rumors of job with Obama's team
December 3, 2008

In the wake of speculation that she would be leaving her job to take a position in the administration of President-elect Barack Obama, Gov. Jennifer Granholm told reporters Tuesday that she hasn't "been asked to join the Obama team" and is "not aware of being vetted in any way."
Granholm, attending the National Governors Association meeting in Philadelphia, met privately with Obama briefly Tuesday to push support for federal loans to the Detroit automakers.
By Chris Christoff



Mich. gov. expects 'significant' stimulus package (click title to entry)
12/2/2008, 5:03 p.m. EST
By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN

The Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Jennifer Granholm said Tuesday after meeting with President-elect Barack Obama that she expects states will see a "significant" stimulus package once Obama is sworn into office.
But Granholm still expects to propose budget cuts this month through an executive order that must pass muster with the House and Senate Appropriations committees. She's just hoping they can be smaller if more federal aid comes through.
"It may lessen the need right now to do immediate, drastic cuts," she said. "With this stimulus coming up, it would be foolish to put up drastic cuts when we know that relief is on the way."...

...So far, "the revenues to the state have been coming in surprisingly on target," Granholm said. "The revenues are still steady."...

Public Works Spending - It sounds like a plan. The nation still needs to deal with long term employment, however, jobs in manufacturing and transportation issues such as high speed magnetic rail. They are huge commitments, but, worth making in the long run. The more sustainable a tax base the USA can attain, the more secure the future of the country.

Stimulus plans laudable but not a quick budget fix (click here)
By JUDY LIN, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
(12-02) 18:08 PST Sacramento, CA (AP) --
One of the critical elements of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to close California's growing budget deficit involves jump-starting the economy with billions of dollars in public works spending.
On Tuesday, Schwarzenegger sought outside help, making a pitch directly to President-elect Barack Obama, who told the nation's governors he wants to put people to work building roads, schools and bridges.
Schwarzenegger said that while California approved $42 billion in infrastructure bonds two years ago, the state could use more help. The governor's office estimated the state has $28 billion-worth of projects the incoming Obama administration could fund within its first 120 days.
Across the nation, the National Governors Association estimated there are more than $136 billion in infrastructure projects ready to break ground....