Does the Fed know ANYTHING about what one hand is doing with the other? Nah.

Daniel Tarullo, member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, gestures before testifying before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Security and International Trade and Finance Subcommittee on Capitol Hill in Washington in this September 30, 2009 file photo.
Credit: Reuters/Molly Riley

Is any of this making sense.  Germany is scoring record GDP and their 'sovereign' debt is foremost on the minds of the Fed.  The Fed was what got us into this mess and now they have trillions upon trillions of currency floating around the planet and they are all having a wonderful time.  In the meantime, the 'small people' are screaming about jobs.  Does the Fed care?  Nah.  Why should they, just print money, it works for them.

...Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo (click title to entry - thank you) said Europe's debt woes, if not contained, could cause financial markets to freeze and spark a global crisis akin to the market meltdown of late 2008.
Until last week, Fed officials had been playing down the possible impact to the United States from Europe's turmoil.
"The European sovereign debt problems are a potentially serious setback," Tarullo told two congressional subcommittees.
Thursday marked another turbulent day in global financial markets. U.S. stocks plunged nearly 4 percent and investors fled from risky assets around the world. The euro, which this week hit a four-year low, was again under pressure, and the cost of inter-bank dollar borrowing hit a fresh 10-month high.
Investors' anxiety still centers on Greece, but fears have grown that even the roughly $1 trillion emergency fund put together by the European Union and International Monetary Fund will not be enough to solve Europe's debt problems....

Guess where all the jobs are going AGAIN ! OUTSOURCING.

Bernard Wheeler, a trader with Kellogg Capital Markets LLC, work at his booth during early trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday Aug. 6, 2010, in New York. (AP Photos/Bebeto Matthews)

...The recovery has stalled as consumers, watching the labor market stagnate, have been reluctant to spend. Meanwhile, bank lending levels have remained low, the result of caution on the part of borrowers as well as bankers....

http://www.boston.com/business/markets/articles/2010/08/09/stocks_rise_as_europe_shows_signs_of_growth/


No small business loans and banks are racking in some of the highest profit margins they have ever had.  UBS can work over the USA, but, hey who cares?  Let's all move to Germany.  It is where the action is after all.  They don't even have to worry about 49 other states and BP, too.


Record German Growth Drives Euro-Region Expansion  (click title to entry - thank you)
By Christian Vits - Aug 13, 2010 6:14 AM ET
 
Germany’s economy grew in the second quarter at the fastest pace since the country’s reunification two decades ago, driving faster-than-forecast expansion in the 16-nation euro area.
German gross domestic product surged 2.2 percent from the first quarter, fueling euro-area growth of 1 percent, the fastest in four years. Economists had forecast GDP would rise 1.3 percent in Germany and 0.7 percent in the currency bloc.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, is benefiting from a recovery in global demand after last year’s recession just as the euro’s 10 percent decline against the dollar this year makes its exports more competitive outside the region. At the same time, European governments are cutting spending to rein in ballooning budget deficits, threatening to slow growth in coming months....

General Motors has to REVIVE their European Unit in order to move to an IPO.

It isn't the USA based industry at GM that is causing the losses.  Yet, it is the USA plants GM is abandoning.

...In Europe, the Detroit-based automaker’s only unprofitable region, losses totaled $637 million before interest and taxes in the first half. Its updated Astra compact failed to reverse a drop in market share and unions still are stinging over plans to close Adam Opel GmbH’s factory in Antwerp, Belgium.
Akerson’s appointment last week erased one of the biggest questions over the IPO, giving investors a long-term chief instead of 68-year-old Ed Whitacre. Possible buyers now want to know whether Akerson has a plan to stem the losses in Europe, investors said. GM may seek to raise as much as $16 billion in the offering, a person familiar with the situation has said.
“One of the aspects to consider before deciding upon the IPO is to see a more specific roadmap for how, and by when, they are going to turn Opel around,” said Raimund Saxinger, a fund manager at Frankfurt Trust Investment GmbH, which oversees about $21 billion including automaker shares....

I always understood, GM was suppose to sell OPEL to receive the monies for the USA people.  No?
 
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- General Motors said Thursday it will sell a majority stake in its European Opel and Vauxhall operations to the consortium of Canada's Magna International Inc. and Russia's Sberbank, ending weeks of speculation and handing an important victory to Germany's chancellor ahead of national elections....
 
 http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gm-set-to-sell-opel-unit-to-magna-reports-2009-09-10
 
 
And GM is closing down plants in the USA yet today.  So let me see if I get this right.  GM is losing money in Europe, but, in order to return to an IPO, which would give the CEO an nice bonus, they are selling American assets in order to boost the losing operations in Europe. 
 
See, that is why they want to move the entire manufacture of the Volt to Europe.  So they can have their bonuses and IPO.  Has nothing to do with morality, loyality or good worker ethic or even pride in their heritage.  It is all about M. O. N. E. Y.
 
 
Showdown Set Over GM's Indy Facility



By wibc.com


8/15/2010
The future of General Motors' stamping plant in Indianapolis will likely be decided this week.
A United Auto Workers official tells our partners at Inside INdiana Business that the automaker will post details of a wind down of operations at its Indianapolis stamping plant "Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest."
National UAW representatives were in Indianapolis Sunday to present details of a tentative agreement to sell the facility, but Region 3 Director Mo Davison says workers "were unruly, chanting and making it impossible to conduct the meeting." He adds that "some of the (national) representatives feared for their safety"
In recent months, UAW Local 23 members have rejected the idea of concessions as part of a sale of the plant. Davison says he's "never seen anything like it."
GM has said if a sale is not completed, it would close the stamping plant, which currently employs more than 650.
 
http://www.wibc.com/news/Story.aspx?id=1265178


Who told you Akerson was a hatchet man?

Did I tell you Carlyle's Akerson was a hatchet man? 

Did I tell you or did I tell you? 

Now. 

Who do you believe here? 

Huh? 

Who loves you?

Secretary Ken Salazar is taking a beating over an appropriate oil moratorium and why? The Plutocrats of the South 'hate the wait.'

Rigs drilling a relief well and preparing the static kill are seen at the site of the Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Texas is full of crazy people that live on the extremes of society in the USA and NOT within its reality. 

Texas is NOT even in touch with the real world.  They don't care about the USA, except, as a market place of its oil.

We don't want these issues anymore and there is no reason for the entire country to have to suffer the political slings and arrows of Texas Oil Lawmen just because it is fun.

Texas sues feds over offshore drilling ban (click title to entry - thank you)
8/12/2010 3:24 PM
By Jessica M. Karmasek
 
...."The federal government ignored the State of Texas and failed to comply with the law when the Secretary of the Interior unilaterally imposed the Administration's offshore drilling ban," Abbott said in a statement.
"Under federal law, affected states are guaranteed the right to participate in offshore drilling-related policy decisions, but the Obama Administration did not bother to communicate, coordinate or cooperate with Texas. Worse, the Secretary of the Interior failed to consider the economic consequences of his decision, which will cost the Texas economy millions of dollars -- and threatens far too many hard-working Texans' jobs."....

The Federal government does not have to answer to the States in an emergency situation.  Did Bush and Cheney call up the States and ask permission to ground jets in the USA for three days after 911?  Except for the ones that flew the Bin Laden family home to Saudi Arabia, that is.

NO !

This is no different and just because this is OIL there is suppose to be SPECIAL circumstances?

NO !

The majority of the USA has had enough of the 'dirty' industries of The South and the hardship they cause the rest of us.  Eat this Texas!

The environmental groups seeking relief in lawsuits against the Interior Department ALSO need to file against the Gulf States, espeically Texas and Louisiana with the worst track records in the nation !

Environmental group sues Interior Secretary Salazar over oil spill negligence  (click here)

By Virginia Chamlee
7/27/10 9:56 AM
The Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group based in Arizona, filed suit against Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Monday, alleging the U.S. government negligently assessed effects of a potential oil spill.

In a press release detailing the lawsuit, the center’s oceans director, Miyoko Sakashita, says that the risks of offshore drilling weren’t properly examined in the past: “While Salazar’s conclusion that exploration drilling in the Gulf posed little risk of a large oil spill was dubious at the time it was made, in light of BP’s calamity that position is completely untenable. … The public deserves disclosure and a full analysis of the true impacts of oil drilling off our coasts.”

According the the center, all oil drilling currently taking place in the gulf is reliant upon “assumptions made in 2007 that oil spills would not put endangered species at risk.” In a 2007 Oil-Spill Risk Analysis published by the Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service, the liklihood of a spill seriously affecting endangered species was dubbed “extremely low.”

But Sakashita doesn’t place all the blame on the Interior Department. In the June 26 press release, she said that statements made by the president were also incorrect: “Like Obama’s April 2 statement that ‘oil rigs today generally don’t cause spills,’ the administration’s assumption that the largest possible oil spill was 15,000 barrels — less than one day of oil spilled from the ruptured BP well — has been proven absurd by the Gulf oil disaster.”...

The Current Louisiana leadership has no comprehensive rehabilitation for their State.

To begin with the President and his staff, including the Coast Guard, have done incredible work.  I was reading comments yesterday by Jindal, the Parish Presidents and other right wing pundits; I was not impressed.

Ret. Adm. Thad Allen met Friday with Louisiana's parish presidents to discuss clean-up efforts on the state's coastline. Some local officials are suspicious of the government's claim that most of the oil that leaked in the BP oil spill has been cleaned up or broken down by dispersants. They don't want the Coast Guard to remove any equipment until they're satisfied the job is complete.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/features/npr.php?id=129195927

In one comment Jindal and a Louisiana parish president stated the gulf fisheries can't be open because the oil was still an issue.  I get the impression Jindal is sad to see the crisis end.  The State of Louisiana chronically states each Parish has unique needs and has to have individual plans for restoration.  Fine, but, there can't be THAT many issues that differ from each other.  It is appearing more and more like Louisiana politics and not a real emergency.

Not long ago Jindal was stating he had the best seafood in the nation and it was safe.  It was even being certified to be safe.

..."We need to be able to demonstrate, based on hundreds of samples every month, that this continues to be the safest seafood you can get anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world," Jindal said at a press conference Monday in Venice....

http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/08/with_commercial_fisheries_reop.html

Now it seems as though the same people that were forcing the Gulf fish onto the dinner plates of Americans can't find satisfaction with the same certification idea UNTIL they get a twenty year commentment by BP to carry out these tests.

Tell me that makes sense.  Jindal states the Louisiana fish are safe through certification and yet they want a 20 year commitment from BP to certify the fish is safe.

??????????????

The issue here is not what is APPROPRIATE for BP to fund or not to fund or to certify or not to certify, it is a matter of how long Jindal can keep the Louisiana people on 'the gravy train' and him in office and aspiring to be the next USA President.

The political volley has to stop.  There is no reason for Jindal and the Parish Presidents to continue to treat each parish as if it were their own 'nation.'  There are issues Louisiana faces and there is a 20 billion dollar trust fund that will settle those issues.  There is no way BP should or could commit to anything above what they already have committed to providing.

...The fund does not represent a cap on BP liabilities, (click title to entry - thank you) but will be available to satisfy legitimate claims. Further and more detailed terms regarding the establishment and operation of the claims fund and the ICF will be finalized and announced as soon as possible.
As a consequence of this agreement, the BP Board has reviewed its dividend policy. Notwithstanding BP's strong financial and asset position, the current circumstances require the Board to be prudent and it has therefore decided to cancel the previously declared first quarter dividend scheduled for payment on 21st June, and that no interim dividends will be declared in respect of the second and third quarters of 2010....
 
I don't like any of this either.  The entire disaster is monumental and it has turned the economy of the USA into mush.  The entire Gulf Coast is in ruins and we gratefully are still only looking at a 9.5% unemployment rate which never increased in the face of this mess into double digits.  The USA is losing jobs, but, can anyone ever say they didn't expect that after this struck.  No one in DC expected the 'recovery' to include an oil disaster with global implications.
 
The fact of the matter is BP has been 'on the job.'  They have never left the Gulf of Mexico and abandoned their responsiblity.  Someone has to be at least grateful for that much.  They have worked incredibly well with the Obama administration and painfully and carefully this nightmare is coming to an end.
 
One of the most bizarre comments I read yesterday stated, "The East Coast was never struck by oil spills like everyone said so therefore the officials at the head of this thing have been scaring people for no reason."
 
Like what?
 
The reason there wasn't huge oil amounts traversing the East Coast is because the oil dispersants kept it in the water column in the Gulf of Mexico.  It had nothing to do about the immediate estimates and danger to the global circulation because of the Gulf Loop Current.  NOTHING.  I wish the political lies would end so the USA could live 'with reality' and make good decisions regarding the future of its oceans and coast lines.  Florida gets my vote in being sure their beaches are nowhere near offshore drilling.
 
The people of the Gulf Coast have to take a long and hard look at the 'opportunists' that line their State and Local governments.  They have to reflect on their lives and the intensity of the misery within them.  It is unconscionable the people that service the BP oil rigs are living in poverty while stockholders are scoffing up large dividends quarter after quarter and CEOs are receiving huge bonuses.  It is an immoral 'business ethic' and it has to end.  The only way that is going to happen is for the State of Louisiana or any other state to mandate 'standards' and 'practices' that include reimbursement of 'service workers' and 'employees' that reflect a government deeply concerned for its people and the use of their limited resources.  The oil belongs to the people of the USA, not BP.  To allow corporations to have huge profit margins while the people that own the resources live in misery is a standard that is more than immoral, it is corrupt.
 
The people of the States with these issues have to prioritize their importance for a high standard of living and their abiltiy to attain it while allowing their leadership to get away with highway robbery. 
 
The States of the Gulf have to have a short and long term plan to improve their citizens' quality of life on all levels before they ever should be allowed into office.  Opportunities to 'ride the gravy train' is NOT a long term plan for the future of their citizens.

It's Sunday Night

"This is for the Poor" by The Others

This is for all you people

This is for all you people
This is for all you people
This is for all you people


This is for anyone whos left their hometown
This is for all the kids who stand out in the crowd
This is for anyone whos left their hometown
This is for all the kids who stand out in the crowd


This is for every dissapointment
This is for every dissapointment
This is for every dissapointment
This is for every dissapointment


This is for anyone whos been shoved around
This is for all the ones who stood up for themselves
This is for anyone whos been shoved around
This is for all the ones who stood up for themselves


This is for the poor and not you rich kids
This is for the poor and not you rich kids
This is for the poor and not you rich kids
This is for the poor and not you rich kids
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
And not you rich kids


This is for all the ones who had to fight for it all
This is for the kids who had to leave their schools
This is for all the ones who had to fight for it all
This is for the kids who had to leave their schools


This is for every dissapointment
This is for every dissapointment
This is for every dissapointment
This is for every dissapointment


This is for the poor and not you rich kids
This is for the poor and not you rich kids
This is for the poor and not you rich kids
This is for the poor and not you rich kids
This is for the poor and not you rich kids
This is for the poor and not you rich kids
This is for the poor and not you rich kids
This is for the poor and not you rich kids


This is what is wrong with this town of ours
This is what is wrong with this town of ours
This is what is wrong with this town of ours
This is what is wrong with this town of ours


This is for every dissapointment
This is for all of your dissapointments
This is for every dissapointment
This is for all of your dissapointments


This is for the poor and not you rich kids
This is for the poor and not you rich kids
This is for the poor and not you rich kids
This is for the poor and not you rich kids
This is for the poor and not you rich kids
This is for the poor and not you rich kids
This is for the poor and not you rich kids
This is for the poor and not you rich kids

Does Representative Peter King ever listen to his own words.

Reaching beyond sanity, he stated one of the reasons he finds legitimate in opposition to building a Mosque in Lower Manhattan is that the plane that hit the tower nearly did the same thing to the building where the Mosque is to be built.

Huh?

That is not only one of the poorest reasons to oppose a Mosque in Lower Manhattan, it is beyond 'logic' to even consider the 'near miss' a significant event in judging ground where a place of worship will stand.

When are people going to realize this is nothing more than a victory for al Qaeda and their ability to contort reality in a way that instills 'generational' fear of a 'hint' of their 'plans' for the destruction of the USA.

In decades past, Nikita Khrushchev banged his shoe on a table in hatred of the USA, stating they would bury the USA from the inside.  That hasn't happened.  It isn't going to happen and today Russia and the USA are seeking non-proliferation that will sustain not only our two countries, but, will influence the entire global concept of national security.

Today, North and South Korea are engaged in talks that outline a 'Peace Peninsula' where nuclear weapons could never be a part of their children's future.

Why is it that Peter King will allow such hideous notions to actually take brevity when it is the worst possible scenario for healing of the USA. 

A building cannot defeat the USA and it cannot destroy Lower Manhattan.  I am sorry some 911 families are still traumatized by the mire 'idea' of a Muslim near Ground Zero, but, that is something they need to address and not on a social level.  The USA has honored the dead and engaged in war to stop the threat.  What more do they want?

The more this charade of democracy plays out the more I believe the Mosque belongs two blocks from Ground Zero more than ever.  I was neutral when I first heard about this, but, now that I hear the hatred and fear; I think the nation has some healing to do.  It is time to move on.

This is what hubris does. It is not a benign quality that might cause 'dislike' in a social context.

Philip Markoff, shown at a BU medical school ceremony, is to be arraigned today. (Globe Staff/File 2007 Photo / David L. Ryan)

Somewhere along the way Phillip Markoff came under the impression he was untouchable no matter what he did.  Smarter than the average bear and able to leap buildings in a single bound.

In a society where 'character' can be assassinated in a 15 second news cycle, he wasn't going to take the chance a woman, he considered disposable for his own pleasure, could cause his 'perfect life' any issues.

He hadn't been found guilty, but, when he was arrested his 'alternate reality' came crashing down.  He was on suicide watch initially in jail, but, was removed when the authorities found no reason to continue it.  Given a chance he decided to sentence himself and carry it out, unable to live with the crime he committed. 

Nowhere along the way to his medical school degree did anyone tell him life, no matter whom's life it is, is precious. 

I am sorry Phillip is dead.  He would have not received the death penalty and his age and circumstances would have dictated a different resolve to his ultimate sentence should he had been found guilty.  Once he was betrayed by his own understanding of life and his own reality, he trusted no one but his own judgement to render his life mute.

As a society we failed.  We failed the beautiful, provocative and desperately achieving actess, Julia Brisman and we failed Phillip Markoff.

Sympathy to their families at this time.

Russia could have used some of the rains that hit Melbourne in March of this year.

August 15, 2010
04:19z
12 hour loop - click here


The only 'force' moving the vortices is Coriolis and whatever dynamic 'local water vapor' brings.  But, then I've said that before.  Right?

One might ask, where is the water vapor in the lower troposphere?  Water vapor drives weather and where there is no water vapor, there is no wind.  No jet stream.  The heat will result in 'air' movement such as tornadoes. 

It is easy to deny there is a Climate Crisis when the media simply reports 'the weather,' rather than the 'CLIMATE' that dominates 'the weather.'

Denial is a dangerous thing.

There might be a chance of a hurricane from Africa.  Might get lucky.  This is the Atlantic Ocean Satellite.  There is no Jet Stream near the Equator.  There is still some water vapor due to 'surviving' jungles in Africa.  At least for now.

Currently there are 'heat alerts' in 15 states in the USA.


Weather blocker: jet stream stops and causes disasters  (click title to entry - thank you)
Glenda Kwek  
August 12, 2010

The devastating Russian heatwave and Pakistan floods are caused by one unusual weather pattern - the static jet stream, meteorologists say.The northern hemisphere jet stream, a fast-moving high-altitude air current, circles the earth from west to east.

But in the past month, a "blocking event" has brought the jet stream to a halt, keeping weather patterns stationary over certain countries.

"Over Pakistan, the weather pattern is just staying with the monsoon, and the monsoon is bringing drenching rains," weatherzone.com.au meteorologist Josh Fisher said.
"But this jet stream is also bringing dry air from eastern Africa right up into Russia and this continuous heatwave is allowing the wildfires to build."
Australia is not caught up in this rare phenomenon, as the southern hemisphere has a separate jet stream based around the south pole, Mr Fisher said.
The effects of the stalled jet stream across Europe and the US have been catastrophic.
In early July in the eastern states of the US and Canada, a heatwave caused numerous deaths and power cuts.
In Pakistan, about 1600 people have died since floods struck in July and early August, while about 14 million are struggling to cope with the consequences of the natural disaster, the UN and Pakistani government said.
In Russia, an unprecedented heatwave has triggered about 557 wildfires and left the capital Moscow cloaked in heavy smog. Moscow's daily mortality rate has doubled to about 700, the city's health department head said, with city morgues almost full.
Mr Fisher said the Rossby waves - spinning wind currents that give the jet stream its wavy form by pushing it north and south - are responsible for the stalled jet stream.
The waves have been stronger this year, working against the jet stream and bringing it to a halt.
This blocking pattern, while difficult to predict, usually lasts about eight to 11 days, he said.
"The one that brought the hot temperatures to the US lasted over a week, while the current one affecting Pakistan and Russia has been persisting for already around eight days and could last for a few more days."
But less is known about what triggers this abnormal activity.
Climate change has been cited as one possibility, but scientist Gerald Meehl of the National Centre for Atmospheric Research in Colorado told the New Scientist magazine there was no way to test the theory, as the resolution in climate change models was too low to replicate weather patterns such as blocking events.
Another cause could be low solar activity, Mr Fisher said.
Low solar activity has already been linked to an increase in cold winters in Europe, with activity on the sun declining since 1985, Professor Mike Lockwood of the University of Reading said in findings published in April.
Mr Fisher said "heat sources such as surface heating and cooling can [also] have an affect on these blocking events".
There are no current indications that any similar patterns are set to affect Australia, Mr Fisher said.
The planet has never been as hot as it has been in the first half of this year, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a July report.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which has tracked the impact of human activity on climate for the past 20 years, droughts and heatwaves likes those affecting Russia and 18 US states become longer and more intense in a warming planet.
"Whether in frequency or intensity, virtually every year has broken records, and sometimes several times in a week," said Omar Baddour, who tracks climate change for the World Meteorological Organisation.
"In Russia, the record temperature in Moscow [38.2 degrees in late July] - which had not been seen since records began 130 years ago - was broken again at the start of August. In Pakistan, the magnitude of the floods is unheard of," he said.
- with AFP
Weatherzone.com.au is a Fairfax Digital company.




The air pollution from the Russian fires is still an issue and the chance of the fires reigniting still exists.
 
The Climate Crisis is real and scientists warned of this and the costs.
 




09:22 15/08/2010
...A smell of smoke from peat bog fires raging outside Moscow returned to the Russian capital on Sunday after a brief respite.
The smoke has shrouded Moscow's southeast, with the visibility dropping to several hundred meters. In south Moscow, the smell of the smoke was stronger on Sunday morning than on Saturday.
The smoke is also present in the center of the Russian capital while air remains relatively clean in western Moscow.
Since mid-June, the Moscow Region has been in the grips of an abnormal heat wave sparking peat bog and forest fires. During two weeks the capital was blanketed in acrid dense smog.
The worst smoky days were August 6 and 7, when the carbon monoxide concentration in the air exceeded the maximum permissible level 6 to 7 times over....

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100815/160207970.html


There is a very severe drought that has hit Hawaii.  Very severe.


USDA DESIGNATES ALL FOUR COUNTIES IN HAWAII AS PRIMARY NATURAL DISASTER AREAS

Honolulu, Hawaii, July 21, 2010 – On July 19, 2010, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom
Vilsack designated the counties of Hawaii, Maui, Honolulu and Kauai as primary natural disaster areas
due to losses caused by the continuing drought that began on January 1, 2010.

The Secretarial Designation makes available to all qualified farm operators low interest Emergency Loansfrom USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). Farmers have eight months from the date of the declaration toapply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. The FSA will consider each loan application on itsown merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the Emergency Loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.

USDA has also made other programs available to assist farmers such as the Noninsured Crop Disaster
Assistance Program (NAP), the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) program. Ranchers may also qualify for the Livestock Indemnity Program
(LIP).

http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/drought/news/FSA20100721.pdf


Snap storm brings hail to Sydney
Rachel Olding
August 15, 2010
 
...Hail was reported in Dee Why, Turramurra, North Sydney and further west to Baulkham Hills.
"In some parts it fell as rain and in other parts where it was cool enough on the surface, that hail has been sustained," Mr Stefanac said. "But it was small hail, less than two centimetres."
Bill Scott was travelling on the M2 motorway through Winston Hills when the freak storm hit.
‘‘It started raining and then pea-sized hail stones just suddenly engulfed us,’’ he said.
‘‘About a dozen cars near us had to pull over because it was so heavy, you couldn’t see more than three metres or so in front of you.
..."Then within 10 minutes it was blue sky again.’’
It was possible for hail to form despite warm temperatures and sunny weather because the atmosphere was unstable, Mr Stefanac said. A strong updraft could hold moisture in the air above the freezing level in the atmosphere.
In most cases, the hail would melt before it hit the ground but if the stones were big enough they could still land unfrozen on a hot day.
By 1pm, however, Mr Stefanac said the weather had stabilised and the sun had returned with a slight chance of a shower for the rest of the afternoon.
The State Emergency Service took 10 calls for assistance.

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/snap-storm-brings-hail-to-sydney-20100815-124xl.html

It would appear as though the tensions between Lebanon and Israel are not abating.

...Last week, the Al-Arabiya satellite channel reported (click title to entry - thank you) that Ali Hassin Najam Adin and Mohammed Karaki and 12 Iranians were swapped for two diplomats and an Azeri nuclear scientist, who were sent to Azerbaijan. A spokesman for the Azerbaijan prison service said Thursday that all 14 will continue serving their sentences there.

Meanwhile, the Trend news service in Iran quoted a figure from the Azerbaijan justice ministry, Zafar Gabarov, as saying his government released Iranian citizens who will continue serving their sentences in Iran, but denied Lebanese prisoners were released....

While in Iran the reports are about Israel to change the attention of the issues.  This is going to be out of hand and the debate in the USA is about a Mosque in Lower Manhattan.  Where has the sanity in the USA gone?

Israeli plane violates Lebanon airspace



Sat, 14 Aug 2010 12:52:50 GMT
The Lebanese Army says an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft has conducted another unwarranted overflight across the country's airspace in what appears to have become a continuing trend.
On Friday, the plane flew over the southern border town of Naqoura before veering toward eastern Lebanon, the Army said in a statement.
The drone entered Lebanese airspace at 6:05 p.m. (local time) and headed out more than eight hours later....


http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=138666§ionid=351020203
 
 
Never send money into areas where terrorist organizations are known to thrive.  Send food, medical supplies and educational materials.  When will Congress ever learn?
 
...Lebanon has opened a bank account to receive donations towards supplying the country's army with new weapons.
Elias Murr, Lebanon's defence minister, said on Saturday that he and his father had already put $665,000 into the account, which was set up after a US congressman blocked $100m in military aid.
"I announce the launching of a fund to support and equip the army," the official news agency NNA quoted Murr as saying.
He said that there would be a plan to communicate with the Lebanese diaspora about supporting the fund.
Howard Berman, the chairman of the US House foreign affairs committee, said on Monday that he had suspended US assistance to Lebanon on August 2 amid growing concern in congress that weapons would find their way to Hezbollah fighters.
A day after the decision, clashes on the Lebanese-Israel borderled to the death of two Lebanese soldiers, a Lebanese journalist and an Israeli officer. Berman, a strong supporter of Israel, said that the incident reaffirmed the concerns of congress.
The US has given more than $720 million to Lebanon in military aid, including assault rifles, Humvees, missile and grenade launchers and night vision goggles, since 2006.


http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/08/2010814232417967579.html

US aid should never be about dumping money into the hands of political leaders in troubled areas of the world.  It should always be about the people and the need for their well being, including, protecting them from extremists within the 'influence' of the political structure.

Republicans don't care about the laws of the USA. They lead by populous concensus and 'dam' the Constitution.

I want to hear Gingrich, Boner and King say EXACTLY those words to a group of Muslims engaged in Ramadan.

The three 'brave' Republican leaders need to hold a rally at the place where the Mosque is proposed in NYC and invite all those that hope to worship there to come. 

The Republicans couldn't defeat al Qaeda in Afghanistan, so they think they'll divert their defeat to Lower Manhattan and verbally defeat innocent and unarmed people there.

The issue is not about a Mosque, it is about religious freedom, the rights to practice and the fear of a religion abused by extremists to justify the deaths of people on September 11, 2001.  The Mosque is unfortunately being used as a symbol of an al Qaeda victory.  It has nothing to do with that and this is how 'cross burning' begins, too. 

The USA is not an exclusively a Christian nation UNLESS one wants to rule every event by 'populous concensus.'  This political debate is really a national shame. 

...The debate over the proposed Islamic center in Manhattan (click title to entry - thank you) only intensified on Saturday, as the conservative blogosphere lighted up with criticism of Mr. Obama, and leading Republicans — including Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker; Representative John A. Boehner, the House minority leader; and Representative Peter T. King of New York — forcefully rejected the president’s stance.


Mr. Gingrich accused the president of “pandering to radical Islam.” Mr. Boehner said the decision to build a mosque so close to ground zero was “deeply troubling, as is the president’s decision to endorse it.” And Mr. King flatly said the president “is wrong,” adding that Mr. Obama had “caved in to political correctness.”...

Sad.  Very sad.  Nine years later and Lower Manhattan is still without a building and now this political debate only adds to the indignity of it all.  The diversoin of the war we should have fought into Iraq and the resultant corruption of Afghanistan should never have occurred and this issue would have been settled a half a decade ago.  Why is it a failed Republican administration and Congress is only perpetuated by evidence of its obvious failures?

NOT. Journey is an incredible band. The song has dignity for all involved. The song seeks 'the depth' of relationship.

"...survive the tide...

"She won't be lonely long" by Clay Walker

Somethin bout the way she’s wearing her dress a little tighter

Somethin bout the way she’s starin, she’s lookin to start a fire
Somethin bout the way she’s dancin and drinkin chill patron
If she’s lonely now she won’t be lonely long


Heaven help the fool who did her wrong
It’s too late, too bad, she’s too far gone
He should’ve thought of that before he left her all alone
If she’s lonely now, she won’t be lonely long


Somethin bout the way she’s blushin you can tell she isn’t sure
Let you know she’s up to something she’s never done before
Tonight she wants to hold a stranger but not the one at home
If she’s lonely now she won’t be lonely long


Heaven help the fool who did her wrong
It’s too late, too bad, she’s too far gone
He should’ve thought of that before he left her all alone
If she’s lonely now, she won’t be lonely long


If I had a woman like that
Man I’d let her know
I’d hold her tight
I’d hold her close
Do anything, do everything to let her know
She’d never ever be alone


Heaven help the fool who did her wrong
It’s too late, too bad, she’s too far gone
He should’ve thought of that before he left her all alone
If she’s lonely now, lord if she’s lonely now
If she’s lonely now, she won’t be lonely long
 

"Separate Ways (World's Apart) by Journey

Here we stand
Worlds apart
Hearts broken in two, two, two
Sleepless nights
Losing ground
I'm reaching for you, you, you




Feelin' that it's gone
Can't change your mind
If we can't go on
To survive the tide
Love divides




Someday love will find you
Break those chains that bind you
One night will remind you
How we touched
And went our separate ways
If he ever hurts you
True love won't desert you
You know I still love you
Though we touched
And went our separate ways


Troubled times
Caught between confusions and pain, pain, pain
Disant eyes
Promises we made were in vain
In vain, vain


If you must go
I wish you love
You'll never walk alone
Take care my love
Miss you love




Someday love will find you
Break those chains that bind you
One night will remind you
How we touched
And went our separate ways
If he ever hurts you
True love won't desert you
You know I still love you
Though we touched
And went our separate ways


[Instrumental Interlude]


Oooooooooh
Someday love will find you
Break those chains that bind you
One night will remind you
If he ever hurts you
True love won't desert you
You know I still love you




I still love you, girl
I really love you, girl
And if he ever hurts you
True love won't desert you
Nooooooooo
Nooooooooo

Until tomorrow,...

...contemplate which song is an assault against fidelity and which isn't.

Forgiveness is a form of peaceful consensus. Why do Muslims have to victimized by 19 terrorists?

Trinity Church is no more entitled to be 'near' ground zero than a mosque. The Islamic Cultural Center is at 96th Street in Manhattan.

I haven't heard any good reason to insist that building a Mosque invites another attack on Lower Manhattan.

Former Governor Pataki does not have a good argument.  He attacked the Imam.  If there is an issue with an Imam that has nothing to do with a building where worship takes place.

A Mosque is not an Imam and an Imam is not a Mosque.  Nor should words of hate of any kind that advocates actions of murder of others be tolerated.

Quite frankly, Palin's religious bigotry is nothing more than hate mongering and an expression of cowards.  It is important the 'culture of fear' remain a viable part of their rhetoric. 

Fear works.  And as noted with the Tea Party Group it moves them to tote guns as well.  There is no reason for any words of hate surrounding religion in the USA.

I believe the 'statement' New York City has made in providing 'room' for a Mosque/Community Center near Ground Zero is a remarkable expression of forgiveness and inclusion in seeking a 'common peace' between all religions.

While the attacks on Ground Zero will never be erased from the memory or history of the country, in generations from now, with the inclusion of a Muslim community on 'tainted ground,' it will be a total mystery why extremists could ever establish the 'hate' necessary to carry out terrorist attacks against innocent people. 

Now, looking down the road to our childrens' futures, do you want to view this building as an expression of peace and inclusion or an act of fear in not being able to contain the hate of extremists.  Who, then, wins?  How long is the 'fear' suppose to continue to victimize all Americans and the global community? 

I believe the answers are simple and an insult not to realize.

There should be no confusion to realize there are 'issues of gender discimination' within many religious doctrines.  The building of a Mosque near Ground Zero should not be overshadowed by political agenda or dogma.  It may be that this Mosque will be the one that ends the 'stereotype,' so why risk the opportunity to provide a venue for the change the future demands?  Clouding construction of a Mosque with other agendas will not solve them nor settle them because concrete was poured.

The Climate Crisis is real and it won't go away by itself !

Disease Threatens Pakistan Flood Victims
13 August 2010

...Health officials Friday said the lack of clean drinking water and sanitation is spreading diarrhea and other diseases that could threaten lives.
An estimated 1,600 people have died from over two weeks of record flooding in the country brought on by heavy monsoon rains. More storms are expected in the coming days across much of the country....

http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/Disease-Threatens-Pakistan-Flood-Victims-100611299.html


12 August 2010
Last updated at 13:02 ET

In pictures: Pakistan's flood victims

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10950599

Thousands have fled their homes for fear of floods and landslides [AFP]

More Flood Misery in China as Mudslides Trap Thousands

Daniel Schearf


Beijing
 
13 August 2010
 
Fresh rains in western China have caused more flooding and mudslides, adding at least 20 people to a death toll well over 1,000 in Gansu Province alone. In addition, more than 10,000 people in the province are trapped in rising flood waters. Rescue workers have already been sent to the affected areas and more rains are expected in the coming days....
 
Link below has audio report.
 
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/Deadly-Mudslides-Continue-in-China-100608914.html


Better predicting is nice, but, the Climate Crisis needs to addressed in EFFECTIVE measuares that reduce emissions of ALL Greenhouse Gases including methane.

Fires, flooding fit into climate change predictions



This summer's weather disasters fit into the pattern forecast by climate scientists in key 2007 report on global warming  (click title to entry - thank you)
 
By Charles J. Hanley
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: 8:15 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12, 2010

NEW YORK — Floods, fires, melting ice and feverish heat: From smoke-choked Moscow to water-logged Pakistan, the planet seems to be having a midsummer breakdown.
The weather-related cataclysms of July and August fit patterns predicted by climate scientists, the Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization says — although those scientists always shy from tying individual disasters directly to global warming.
The experts now see an urgent need for better ways to forecast extreme events like Russia's heat wave and the record deluge devastating Pakistan. They'll discuss such tools in meetings this month and next in Europe and America.


"There is no time to waste," because societies must be equipped to deal with global warming, British government climatologist Peter Stott said.
The U.N.'s network of climate scientists — the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — has long predicted that rising global temperatures would produce more frequent and intense heat waves, and more intense rainfalls. In its latest assessment, in 2007, the Nobel Prize-winning panel said these trends "have already been observed."...

The RNC 'miracle workers' had to put Cheney back together with mechanical parts, so the RNC is sending in the second string.

About five months after the house went up for sale Rove dumps his 'DC Wife.'

All the kings horses and all the kings men find it easy to divorce when their party in out of power and there is little to no focus on their 'misgivings' as moral men.

So, Rove decided he wasn't pleased with Limbaugh's lack of impulsion as measured by the 'bye-gone days' of George W., so he takes over the microphone to 'fine tune' the propaganda.  Believe me, if Rove didn't feel things weren't going well he wouldn't be 'on the air.'

...Rove, who didn't know the show's call-in phone number, also admitted that he didn’t know what he had on tap for the program.

http://www.politico.com/click/stories/1008/rove_yuks_it_up_on_rush_.html


July 25, 2009
Former presidential advisor Karl Rove places his five-bedroom, Federal-style house in Washington, DC on the market for $1.585M
 
http://www.bergproperties.com/blog/former-presidential-advisor-karl-rove-places-his-five-bedroom-federal-style-house-in-washington-dc-on-the-market-for-1-585m/

I have to agree, if there is anything the Bush's love, it is the USA military.

Dallas, TX) -- Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, yesterday made a surprise visit to U.S. troops.



The former First Couple showed up at the USO in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, mingling with returning soldiers and thanking them for their service.


The former president chatted and posed for photos, which were posted on the USO's Facebook page.


The Los Angeles "Times" reports that those commenting on the photos appreciated that the former President and first lady took the time to encourage the returning troops.


"What an AWESOME moment," Robert Rowe wrote. "If anyone can't see the President and First Lady's love for our nations troops, they must be dead or blind.


May God Bless them ALL !" Richard Cruz wrote: "The look on that kid's face says it all...." And Shirley Lovely Fry added: "A President and First Lady who love their country and their country's military."

http://mystateline.com/fulltext-news?nxd_id=185885

Why is it the women of the GOP support Same Sex Marriage, but, the men run and hide?  Mary Cheney is gay and in a relationship with a child, Megan McCain and her Mom speak out loudly for the right to marry for same sex couples and even Laura Bush provides emotional support. 

But, why are THE MEN removed from making a difference in their own children's lives?  States Rights is a cop-out.


....After more than eight years of silence on the controversial issues, Mrs. Bush said in an interview with CNN's Larry KingTuesday, that gay marriage and abortion were points of contention with her husband, former President George W. Bush.
Mrs. Bush in recent weeks has been promoting her memoir "Spoken from the Heart," in which she writes about her life both before and after becoming first lady....

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/laura-bush-supports-gay-marriage-abortion/story?id=10629213

I guess the 'distaff' side can openly embrace their children and their children's CIVIL RIGHTS, but, it ain't 'politically correct' for the men to do the same.  Gee, what a bunch of two faced political puppets.

What is the difference between One United Bank and GM? RACE !

This is NOT playing the 'race card' either.

I don't want to hear it anymore.  GM was bailed out with huge amounts of money from the USA Treasury and its CEO left with a golder parachuet. 

Wall Street is racist and they may as well admit it !!!!!  If ya ain't the 'color' of money the way they like it, ya ain't nobody,

OneUnited Bank has been criticized as having a poor record of lending to people in some low-income areas. It also paid for a luxurious lifestyle for its chairman despite posting huge losses.

This is absolutely no different than the issue with Countrywide.  The minority banks cater to a very challenged patron and it was fine so long as it served the purpose of the Wall Street Wealth Merchants, but, now that they and the Republicans need 'scapegoats' so it all changes and there is EVERYTHING worng with issues of the 'same challenged' American populous.

The 'American Dream' is mostly unattainable by the people represented in Congressional districts where poverty exists.  I have no doubt the Congressional people representing these districts seek to provide 'an edge' in the market place to minority citizens.

You know, I remember when President Clinton was in the White House, one of the issues he addressed was how to move minority citizens out of an impoverished status to where they can enjoy the American Dream.  I believe it was Hillary at the time that had an interest in Wal-Mart and proposed to build them in stressed population areas. 

Then there was a study indicating that Walmart did not improve the status of impoverished citizens, but, reinforced it.  The reality was that Wall Street enjoys its profits and CEOs like the bonuses regardless of how poor their employees and contractors 'quality of life' remainds.

5. POVERTY RATES
Counties that have gained Wal-Mart stores have fared worse in terms of family poverty rates, according to this study.

Wal-Mart and County-Wide Poverty - by Stephan Goetz and Hema Swaminathan, Social Science Quarterly, June 2006

The presence of a Wal-Mart store hinders a community's ability to move families out of poverty, according to this study. After controlling for other factors that influence poverty rates, the study found that U.S. counties that had more Wal-Mart stores in 1987 had a higher poverty rate in 1999 than did counties that started the period with fewer or no Wal-Mart stores. The study also found that counties that added Wal-Mart stores between 1987 and 1998 experienced higher poverty rates and greater usage of food stamps than counties where Wal-Mart did not build, all other things being equal. Although the study does not attempt to draw a conclusion about why Wal-Mart expands poverty, the study's authors suggest several possible factors, including a loss of social capital that occurs when locally owned businesses close and the shift from comparatively better paying jobs at independent retailers to lower paying jobs at Wal-Mart (an earlier, unpublished draft can be downloaded for free here.) Many university libraries also carry Social Science Quarterly.

6. SOCIAL AND CIVIC WELL-BEING
This study found that Wal-Mart reduces a community's level of social capital, as measured by voter turnout and the number of active community organizations.

Wal-Mart and Social Capital - by Stephan J. Goetz and Anil Rupasingha, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Dec. 2006.

The presence of a Wal-Mart store reduces a community's level of social capital, this study found. The study examined communities that had or gained Wal-Mart stores in the 1990s and controlled for other variables known to affect social capital stocks in a community, such as educational attainment. "Both the initial number of [Wal-Mart] stores and each store added per 10,000 persons during the decade reduced the overall social capital measure," Goetz and Rupasingha found. Communities that gained a Wal-Mart had fewer non-profit groups and social capital-generating associations (such as churches, political organizations, and business groups) per capita than those that did not. Wal-Mart's presence also depressed civic participation and is associated with lower voter turnout in the 2000 presidential election. Goetz and Rupasingha hypothesize that the drop in social capital is owned to the disappearance of local businesses and the decline of the downtown following Wal-Mart's arrival.

http://www.newrules.org/retail/key-studies-walmart-and-bigbox-retail#5

The 'idea' of moving Wall Street to 'Ghetto Main Street' was to improve their qualify of life by offering benefits and equity to minority citizens.  The reality works out to be just the opposite.  Where pvoerty exists these 'low end' employers enjoy the profits without the hassle of unions.

The point is there is no solution Wall Street can offer that improves the impoverishment of citizens in the USA.  And if Henry Paulson can walk away form racking the USA over the coals for bailouts to banks then there is a double standard at work with the minority members of the USA Congress currently being 'muckracked' for November.