"Alberto" the first storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.

May 20, 2012
1940:00z
UNISYS Enhanced Infrared Southeast USA (click here for 12 hour loop)


It has been more than interesting to witness first hand how a 'near shore hurricane' forms. I was in Wilmington, North Carolina for a few days and will probably return there before much longer to observe "Alberto" more closely.


It is the 'sea spray' you see. The sun goes down, but, the tide never stops. While the air is cool along the coast the sea mist consolidates into clouds above the ocean. After the initial beginning the clouds then take on a very odd characteristic during the day as the moisture from the repeating sea spray is carried to higher altitudes to begin to spin and form a heat vortex.

May 20, 2012
1930:00z
UNISYS Water Vapor USA (click here for 12 hour loop)


There are two front boundaries moving toward each other. The hurricane is noted off Georgia/South Carolina. Interestingly though, the two boundaries are defining themselves along another moisture source, the Mississippi River.

May 20, 2012
1930:00z
UNISYS Water Vapor of North and West Hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop)

But the accumulation for the Alberto isn't all from near shore sea spray, there is also a very dense water vapor trail immediately to the east of it.

From The Boston Globe:


...Alberto (click here) is this years first tropical storm and radar is already picking up some rain off the southeast coast. Alberto is expected to stay off the coast and not make landfall. Some moisture from Alberto could get pulled into our area Monday and enhance our showers just a bit. Anytime you get a tropical system involved with another low pressure area, the rainfall from the non-tropical storm can be higher. Most of the heaviest rain should stay off the coast Monday night.


It was interesting to watch this hurricane develop and all the weather persons be wrong. They were predicting a movement out to sea and a good weekend. By Friday evening they finally realized this system wasn't going anywhere. I was waiting for someone to say this is looking like the first storm of the season, but, I guess they are still expecting them to come from Africa. The air next to Earth is very dry and very hot. Where air evaporates in large quantities it will accumulate and form a turbulent system. There is too much heat for it to simply move offshore.

The Age of Fossil Fuel is Over.

Peak Oil occurred in 2005. When the Oil Embargo of 1973 should have been a turning point in the USA to perfect and change the methodology of energy to the domestic need. That turning point never occurred in the face of scientists stating is was vital to make the coarse correction.


In ten years or less, there is a very strong probability the fossil fuels will double in cost and the global economy will tank unless that coarse correction is made NOW.


Oh, yeah. This is a report by the International Monetary Fund. I take it this is news to you. It didn't exactly make front page headlines in the USA since Republicans are demanding the XL Pipeline is their bottom line to energy dependence from Canada.


Interesting, isn't it? 

World Oil Price to Double by 2022 – IMF Report

MOSCOW, May 15 (RIA Novosti)

World oil prices may double (click here) in the next decade with a disastrous effect on the global economy according to a report commissioned by the IMF, The Telegraph reported on Tuesday .

Global oil prices are currently hovering at historically high levels of $110 per barrel but a combination of rising demand and constrained supply could have major consequences for the global economy, the paper said.

"Our prediction of small further increases in world oil production comes at the expense of a near doubling, permanently, of real oil prices over the coming decade," the paper quoted the report's authors as saying.

"This is uncharted territory for the world economy, which has never experienced such prices for more than a few months."

Persistently high oil prices are already threatening the global economic recovery, International Energy Agency Director Maria van der Hoeven said.

Although prices have eased somewhat in recent weeks, the threat of heightened political tension over Iran, limited spare production capacity and unplanned supply outages remain, she said....

It's Sunday Night

Donna Summer - She Works Hard For The Money ( HQ )

Donna Summer (click here)

She works hard for the money
so hard for it honey
she works hard for the money
so you better treat her right

She works hard for the money
so hard for it honey
she works hard for the money
so you better treat her right

Onetta there in the corner stand
and wonders where she is and
it's strange to her
some people seem to have everything

Nine a.m. on the hour hand
and she's waiting for the bell
and she's looking real pretty
just wait for her clientele

She works hard for the money
so hard for it honey
she works hard for the money
so you better treat her right

She works hard for the money
so hard for it honey
she works hard for the money
so you better treat her right

Twenty five years have
come and gone
and she' seen a lot of tears
of the ones who come in
they really seem to need her there

It's a sacrifice working day to day
for little money just tips for pay
But it's worth it all
just to hear them say that they care

She works hard for the money
so hard for it honey
she works hard for the money
so you better treat her right

She already knows
she's seen her bad times
she already knows
these are the good times

She'll never sell out
she never will
not for a dollar bill
she works hard

She works hard for the money
so hard for it honey
she works hard for the money
so you better treat her right

She works hard for the money
so hard for it honey
she works hard for the money
so you better treat her right

She works hard for the money
so hard for it honey
she works hard for the money
so you better treat her right

The DNC can't win this one? Joking!

Preibus became RNC Chairman for winning Wisconsin with a huge victory for Republicans in 2010. This is why he displaced Michael Steele. There is more than one career riding on this race.

We recommend Walker; his removal isn't justified (click here)

May 19, 2012 6:49 p.m.

Here's ours: We see no reason to remove Walker from office. We recommend him in the June 5 recall election.

Walker's rematch with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett was prompted by one issue: Walker's tough stance with the state's public-employee unions. It's inconceivable that the recall election would be occurring absent that. And a disagreement over a single policy is simply not enough to justify a vote against the governor.

A Marquette Law School Poll in January showed that many people in the Badger State agree. In that poll, 72% of Republicans, 44% of independents and 17% of Democrats said recalls should be limited to criminal wrongdoing. Republican state Rep. Robin Vos has proposed tightening the recall mechanism; he should continue to push for that after the election, regardless of who wins....

Mayor Tom Barrett, no relation, must demand an Op-Ed and end this charade.


Walker and Preibus are among the most corrupt politicians in the league. They take huge amounts of money to win elections to return the monies to cronies as a favor. This is America? Where?


Walker is using the union busting to obtain more funds to fill in budget gaps. He isn't doing anything extraordinary to grow the Wisconsin economy, so much as piece aspects of the public sector together to fill in the gaps.


Walker is a typical Republican that wants to cut and raise taxes on the Middle Class. That is what his union busting proposals are all about. It is about filling in budget gaps he can't find money from increased employment and fiscal soundness, so he is taxing the Middle Class by increasing pension contributions out of their paycheck.


A cut in the Middle Class income is austerity. Walker is practicing austerity. He hasn't been doing anything to help Wisconsin since the former Governor Jim Doyle made budget cuts, RAISED TAXES and brought in stimulus monies from DC. The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act dollars brought in by Jim Doyle ran out in June 2011 and Walker has been unsuccessful in job creation or increased tax revenues from increased economic growth.


Wisconsin is weaker today, as the citizens are weakened through budget cuts and lays offs. Wisconsin is not better.


The State Workers didn't cause the problem and neither did the Unions. The problem was caused by the banks. It is time to be sure there is not more damage done to the Wisconsin economy before it is too late. The global economic collapse of 2008 destroyed Wisconsin's economy, not the teachers or any other public worker. It is time to stop penalizing the people that do their jobs and do it well.

"I love them more." Elisa Barrett.

Still limping from a foot injury, Chen arrives as another victory for US-China relations.

Activist Chen Guangcheng being accompanied by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell (front R) and U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke (C), in Beijing, May 2, 2012.


There is a movement in China to end "The One Child Policy." The movement started years ago, as reported in the New York Times and it may be noted this blog, as the Chinese society changed, the demand for change emerged among the wealthy.

China has an enormous population of which many have lived in substandard conditions. If one ventures into the countryside the poverty and illiteracy is still very much a noted part of the citizens lives. It is not a simple task to move a nation larger than a billion people into a First World quality of life. If Communism didn't exist whereby the people were provided for by the government there would be conditions far worse than exist today. China is an emerging First World nation. For that reason, there is a huge division of culture in the country. The wealthy, the brain trust have their rewards through achievement and cultural enrichment. The politics of "The One Child Policy" is a part of the awakening of the upper class and status. They want more than one child in their family.


It is the common experience of any person to want egalitarianism as a moral imperative, hence, the activists and the movement to free all Chinese citizens of this burden. The One Child Policy is a burden of the state on the people. It is imposed to help relieve the fiscal burden of supporting so many people under a Communist government and improve their quality of life by minimizing the population growth. For a long time, it was a solution to a problem then out of control, today, it is an imposition on a changing culture that now enjoys greater wealthy while seeking freedom of expression. This expression is the love of family and the desire to have more children as they can afford more children themselves and know far better how to nurture them into the future.


The Chinese government has divided loyalties to the outcome of the opposition of The One Child Policy. This Communist government sees its country flourishing in new ways afforded by the sweat of their people in producing consumer products for capital based markets. The strides China has made in the past two decades could not have been achieved without the hard work of its citizens, yet, it is still too ungainly for an egalitarian culture for all its citizens.


The provincial authorities is really where most of the short fall is when it comes to changing culture. There is much tolerance of change, but, there is also intolerance to drastic change or paradigm shift. The provincial governments maintain order. The citizens don't necessarily like it, but, they live with it. And they do live, by the way. The provincial governments are not killing machines for the central authority.


The Chinese are still perfecting their work a day worlds, finding ways to make the lives of their citizens better. In turn, when citizens that work for companies understand better quality of life they will be able to translate it into better work environments and better products. Over the years the Chinese products have fallen short of expectations at times, but, I am confident that is under scrutiny, there have been executions in relation to these incidents. 


China still has a long way to go before its internal consumerism is enough to keep their own manufacturing humming. It is happening though and it is happening without internal upheaval. 


Someday, the One Child Policy will be a thing of the past. It will happen. Until then lawyers and those that are striving to be lawyers like Chen Guangcheng will continue to remind the central authority there is a country preparing for and in many ways are ready for change.

By Lisa Mascaro and Barbara Demick

May 19, 2012, 4:28 p.m.

WASHINGTON — After years of detention (click here) and a bold escape to the U.S. Embassyin Beijing, blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng arrived in the United States, a bittersweet moment in a harrowing journey that had touched off a diplomatic crisis and poses continued challenges for U.S.-Chinese relations.

The human rights leader and his family were whisked quickly and suddenly out of Beijing, as Chen expressed gratitude but also concerns about the safety of the relatives he was leaving behind in China. He arrived Saturday night in Newark, N.J....

To good to be true. Someone actually cares.

Perhaps the First Lady Michelle Obama might make a trip to Chef Batali's kitchen to discuss nutrition, deserts and the challenge of our nation to reform our diets.

Never before have I witnessed an act of compassion quite like this. A well accomplished chef comes forward to put his reputation on the line to make a political statement. That takes guts. I'd like to see our USA Congress live on Food Stamps for a week.

Posted on Friday, 05.18.12

BY LEANNE ITALIE

To much of the world, (click here) it was Monday. To Mario Batali, it was Day Four.

The chef, his wife and their two teenage sons were eating for a week on the equivalent of a food stamp budget in protest of cuts pending in Congress to the benefit program used by more than 46 million Americans.

That’s $31 per person for the week, or about $1.48 per meal each.

“I’m [expletive] starving,” said Batali, who’s on the board of the food relief agency Food Bank for New York City, which issued the challenge.

Batali said his first reaction when asked to join was a big “gulp,” then he realized while shopping that with a little forethought it wouldn’t be all that brutal.

One lesson: forget organic and anything pesticide- or hormone-free. “The organic word slides out and saves you about 50 percent.”...

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/18/2804458/mario-batali-a-hungry-chef-on.html#storylink=cpy

They seemed to hit all the high spots.

World leaders attend the family photo session during the G-8 Summit at Camp David, Md., Saturday, May 19, 2012. From left are European Commission President Jose' Manuel Barroso, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, French President Francois Hollande, U.S. President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minster David Cameron, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy. (AP Photo/Philippe Wojazer, Pool)


I was pleased there was a concensus on Iran and that President Medvedev could bring the leaders together. It will be a nice finish to his Presidency. Added to the accomplishments was a discussion and consensus on austerity vs growth. Let's home the global economy can stop growing in 'fits and starts' so much as a continuity that provides security for all the nations. Nations need to put their people first while allowing concern for investment instruments, but, generally there probably should be a return to something more "Glass - Steagal"l which began the FDIC and separated investing from banking.


The FDIC is a clear indication of the thought placed on security for citizens. That should never be sacrificed for those that have MONEY TO WASTE as venturists.


With the surprising news from Morgan-Stanley recently, there can be no doubt consumers need more protection and even separation from the risk takers, even if that means their governments don't recognize the investment banks as viable from the standpoint of a stable entity in global economies.


Corporations need their own equity content to their treasuries and not a 'line of equity' with an end to risk taking to make stockholders more important than the USA economy they rely on for their product profit margin. Citizens are allowed to have security in life and a safe home to retire into.


Published: May 19, 2012 5:17 PM
By The Associated Press 
DAVID McHUGH (AP Business Writer)

WASHINGTON - (AP) -- President Barack Obama (click here) and other leaders of wealthy nations underscored an increasing consensus that their countries need to adopt growth measures alongside relentless budget cutbacks to work their way out of their debt troubles.

It's a juggle that's much harder in real life than it is on paper.

Their eight-paragraph statement from the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md., on Saturday seamlessly bridged both sides of the austerity versus growth debate and let each decide exactly what the new growth emphasis is going to mean. And it said little about where the money for more spending might come from....

Morgan Stanley is more or less the canary in the mine and I simply don't believe any government has an obligation to rescue them ever again. If this venue continues the global economy will never stabilize and insure citizens security or a future they have relied upon.

I do believe Morgan Stanley passed the most recent stress test, too. Hello? And now the total lose will be close to $5 billion US. That can't be tolerated when each country on each continent are trying to recover from that last party Wall Street held.

Will the G8 become overrun by Wall Street?

 "...Italy and, in particular, Spain must be offered hope (click here) — an economic environment in which they have some reasonable prospect of emerging from austerity and depression. Realistically, the only way to provide such an environment would be for the central bank to drop its obsession with price stability, to accept and indeed encourage several years of 3 percent or 4 percent inflation in Europe (and more than that in Germany)."...


There are bigger problems. I agree with Dr. Krugman. The European Union took on a protectionist approach when it comes to the 2008 global economic plunder of Wall Street. The UNION never really was a union so much as a skeptical group of countries minding their own business. The countries still struggling after very strong austerity cuts were never rewarded for the bravery in agreeing to them in the first place. There was never any growth potential introduced by other member nations to assist with austerity.


In other words, while austerity shrunk the GDP of these countries, there was no effort to replace the austeric losses with new economic trends by boosting local economies and infusing economic expansion to assist in growth while still reducing the debt.


The approach by the EU was very draconian and never applied optimism to a better outcome.


Gang arrested in Beirut for assaulting foreign workers (click here)
May 18, 2012 02:50 PM

The Daily Star

BEIRUT: A six-member gang wanted by the Lebanese Army for assaulting and blackmailing foreign workers has been arrested, a military communiqué said Friday.
“As part of its fight against organized crime, and as a result of investigations and follow-ups, Lebanese Army Intelligence in Beirut managed this week to arrest a gang of six people for attacking and blackmailing foreign workers,” the statement said....


I am curious as to why Russia believes Iran is not a nuclear risk. Do the Russians actually believe Iran would never nuke "The Dome of the Rock?"

11:08  17/05/12
MOSCOW, May 17 (RIA Novosti)

The Group of Eight (click here) industrial nations meeting outside Washington on 18-19 May will begin with talks on Syria and Iran, a Kremlin aide said on Thursday.

"The G8 meeting will kick off with a working lunch, which will be devoted to the issues of global security and national scenarios, inlcuding, of course, the problems of Syria and Iran," Arkady Dvorkovich said at a news briefing in Moscow. "Here, the most important question for us is to follow the principles we have declared previously."

"We would also like to eliminate attempts to include in the G8's declarations... the points which were being imposed on the UN Security Council as it prepared its decisions," he said.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who is attending the meeting instead of President Vladimir Putin, will hold bilateral talks with U.S. President Barack Obama, Dvorkovich said....

It is not estimated there are 10,000 dead in Syria. UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon states al Qaeda was responsible for an attack within Damascus.


3:10PM BST 
18 May 2012

Ban said President Bashar al-Assad (click here) has still not implemented a peace plan agreed with UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.

"Very alarmingly and surprisingly, a few days ago, there was a huge serious massive terrorist attack. I believe that there must be al-Qaeda behind it. This has created again very serious problems," Ban said at a youth event at the UN headquarters.

Suicide attackers detonated huge bombs in Damascus on May 10, killing at least 55 people and wounding nearly 400....

Al Qaeda in Syria, what a joy. Assad has brought this new violence upon himself. Rather than seeking peace at every turn to quell the unrest, he has been aggressive and unwilling to show good will to the people of Syria. Assad may be defeated, but, it won't be by the West, it will be by the surrogates of the Arab nations. If al Qaeda defeats Assad to stop the killing they will hold a far better standing than the West would care for them to hold.


10,000 people dead in Syria !


10,000 people dead in Syria !


10,000 people dead in Syria !

Police are paranoid of the public and looking for excuses.

By Rosemary Sobol, David Heinzmann and Jeremy GornerTribune reporters

10:48 a.m. CDT, May 18, 2012

The National Lawyers Guild (click here) says Chicago police wrongly arrested a group of NATO protesters inBridgeport this week, alleging they were making Molotov cocktails, but the lawyers say the protesters only had beer brewing equipment.

Police have so far declined to discuss or even acknowledge the arrests, and the details of the alleged raid are murky.

Police reports obtained by the Tribune show that nine people were arrested Wednesday in the 1000 block of West 32nd Street for allegedly making or possessing Molotov cocktails....

Facebook? I don't know, as an IPO I have some moral issues with it.

People are trying to tie Bono with it, but, it is an IPO. Ya know?

Mark Zuckerberg's IPO challenge: A company that can 'friend' the 99 percent (click here)

Will the new publicly traded Facebook cater singularly to its wealthy shareholders? Mark Zuckerberg must strive to include ‘we the users,’ who made such a megabillion dollar concept possible, in his corporate model. He can start by offering a free share to each Facebook user.

By Alexander Heffner / May 18, 2012

...Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive officer, contends this maxim remains at the core of the organization’s purpose. And on the pages of Facebook, these words still ring true, from facilitating communication between people who reside hemispheres apart, to disseminating the messages of citizens protesting repressive regimes like Syria’s, to connecting organ-seekers with potential donors....


I may simply leave the community. I can intellectualize the 'good side' of Facebook and Bono's involvement to whatever extent he is involved, but, this is still Wall Street.


I never participated with "My Space" as soon as I realized it was connected to FOX, so why patronize a site I no longer agree with in its moral content?


I don't see a benefit to allowing Wall Street stockholders dictate the destination of the social media. I simply don't. Facebook will change hands at one point and then what? I sincerely believe there is a moral danger to being involved with the site now and I can't believe having friends on this site will be benevolent to our understanding of each other. 


I want this generation to be successful, but, will that happen in a financial environment as hostile and volatile as Wall Street? Makes no sense to me. No different than the Republicans seeing an opportunity for profit taking from any community funding site. Doesn't that defeat the purpose?

It is more than obvious what happened. Those are minor injuries to Gangsta Zimmerman.

This Feb. 27, 2012 photo released by the State Attorney's Office shows George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot Trayvon Martin, with blood on the back of his head.(Associated Press / May 17, 2012)




"Free Country" Really? The question that comes to mind is "free of what?"


By Michael Muskal

May 17, 2011

5:11 p.m.

...Officials late Thursday afternoon (click here) released a massive cache of documents, photographs and investigative reports on the Feb. 26 confrontation between Zimmerman and Martin, a fateful meeting that left Martin dead and Zimmerman eventually facing second-degree murder charges. The documents include the medical examiner’s report on Martin, photographs of the scene and of Zimmerman taken that night, and investigators’ recommendations that Zimmerman be charged. The file, called discovery material, was turned over to the defense this week....

The evidence is more than clear. Trayvon Martin in a hoodie carrying his Skittles and Arizona Iced Tea walking home found himself followed by "Mr. Free Country" in his fan. In his progression home Trayvon Martin was INTERRUPTED. He was interrupted by a man determined to make a point about the lack ability of the police to respond in a timely way to stop criminals.

Mr. Neighborhood Watch was emboldened with a side arm and proceeded to take the law into his own hands. He followed Trayvon Martin and confronted him. Trayvon Martin did the only thing he could and punched a 'would be assailant' in the nose. The punch was strong coming from a young man and knocked Mr. Neighborhood Watch Gangsta to the ground. In fear of what was now a reality of his own making he pulled the gun and shot Trayvon Martin standing at least 3 feet away, at point blank range. 

Trayvon Martin has probably never held a gun in his hands or fired one and he certainly had his mind on his own business in conversation with his girlfriend. Trayvon Martin had no 'mind set' regarding danger or the danger of guns or the idea his Father's neighborhood was riddled with gun violence. He felt confident enough to take on someone who decided to act in aggression while following him. Trayvon Martin acting to protect himself from an assailant was killed by that assailant.


Trayvon Martin was labeled by Mr. Gangsta Zimmerman from the "Free Nation" 'mind set' as a hooded criminal causing loss of property in the neighborhood with absolutely no proof and not even knowing whom Trayvon was to his Father whom lived there. 


So, let me get this right, Gangsta George was a neighborhood watch person but didn't know SHIT about whom lived there or whom there guests were.


Zimmerman has money and he will run. That head wound is NOTHING. Scalp wounds bleed a lot by any means obtained. How many times does a child receive attention for 'splitting open their scalp' after falling. 


Trayvon Martin had a small abrasion on one hand ONLY because he never was allowed a second punch or a chance to run. On the other hand, Zimmerman had a chance to 'cry chicken' and leave, but, never did.


George Zimmerman was not pummeled by Trayvon Martin, there are no RACOON EYES, broken cheek bones or any other facial lacerations. Trayvon Martin landed one good punch of which he was completely within the laws of self defense to do when he was gunned down by a self-righteous right wing gun slinger.

Small scale vortex over west Kansas with changing air pressures.

May 17, 2012
23:31:00Z
UNISYS Enhanced Infrared Satellite of Central Plains USA (click here for 12 hour loop)


There has been a rapid change in air pressure over the country, there is a small scale vortex forming over western Kansas resulting in thunderstorms. It may get worse than that, though.

May 17, 2012
23:30.00z
UNISYS Infrared Satellite USA (click here for 12 hour loop)

May 17, 2012
23:30.00Z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of North and West Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop)


The first Eastern Pacific hurricane of the season is noted 15 degrees north. It is called "Aletta" and is west of Guatemala on the same latitude. The highest wind speed was 40 mph and a Tropical Storm. Aletta is currently a tropical depression with a central pressure of 1005 millibars. Currently, winds are sustained at 30 mph with gusts to 40 mph.


A dissipating Aletta could contribute to higher air turbulence reflected in the change in air pressure over North America.

The Debt Ceiling foundered and now its the Bush Tax Cuts.

JUST SAY, "NO!" HARRY.


No more Bush Tax Cuts!


3:46 PM, May. 17, 2012


Republican lawmakers (click here) intensified their efforts on Thursday to get quick congressional action on heading off automatic tax increases and revamping the federal tax code.


In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., 41 Senate Republicans said they wanted a vote this summer — before the November elections —


on preventing tax increases that will take effect Jan. 1 unless Congress acts. Those increases would be a result of the expiration of tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush and would affect people across all income levels.


“The time to begin is now. Inaction is irresponsible,” said the letter, which was led by Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee....


It is unfortunate poor Orin is up against the rope in his re-election, Harry, but demanding a return of the biggest mistake in the country's history, namely The Bush Tax Cuts, is not the way to go. Show Orin how to have some backbone, Harry and have him stand up for reality and the Middle Class! The GOP wants a campaign wedge issue, Harry. I say, give 'em one, demand they put their pants on and 'man up' to support a vibrant Middle Class.

SALT LAKE CITY — U.S. Senate candidate Dan Liljenquist (click here) renewed his call this week for  televised debates with Sen. Orrin Hatch before next month's Republican primary election. But the longtime senator refuses to debate on television and maintains that the single scheduled radio debate is sufficient.

KSL and the Deseret News this month offered the candidates an hour-long prime time debate in early June, an invitation Liljenquist quickly accepted. Hatch did not respond.

Two days later, the Hatch campaign agreed to a debate on KSL Radio's "Doug Wright Show" to be conducted a week or so before the June 26 primary. Hatch campaign manager Dave Hansen said it would be the only debate the senator would do before the election. A date has yet to be scheduled.

This week, KSL-TV proposed to the Hatch campaign that the radio debate be videotaped and rebroadcast on television, and offered to conduct and air a debate from Washington, D.C., to accommodate the senator's schedule....

Orin should appreciate this is the "Year of the Middle Class" for Republicans. Absolutely. It is a year of redeeming grace for Republicans to finally shed their obedience to the Plutocrats and join 99% of the country! Come on Orin, we know you can do it!

Dagan should seek diplomatic mission to Russia.

...Former Mossad head Meir Dagan, (click here) who since leaving office last year has been outspoken in his opposition to an Israeli strike at this time on Iran, joined two other former intelligence heads, one American and the other German, in writing in The Wall Street Journal Thursday that crushing new sanctions need to be imposed against Tehran.

“As the Iranian regime races to fulfill its nuclear ambitions, the world faces a stark choice,” read the article....

How unfortunate a young black man was shot to death with traces of having experimented with marijuana.

The effects of smoking marijuana fade quickly, (click here) but the drug, known affectionately as "weed," can be detected in the body for weeks and sometimes longer. How long it remains in the system depends on how often or how much marijuana the user has been smoking.


There is absolutely no proof ANYWHERE Trayvon Martin was taunting Zimmerman into a confrontation. NONE! Zimmerman killed a young black man for no reason, no reason at all!



Trayvon Martin (click here) had traces of marijuana in his system on the night he was shot dead by a neighbourhood watch leader later charged with the teenager's murder, a post mortem report has revealed.


According to the document released ton Thursday by prosecutors in Florida, traces of the drug THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient of marijuana, were found in Martin's blood and urine during an autopsy on 27 February, the day after he was killed in a confrontation with George Zimmerman.


Lawyers for Zimmerman, 28, who faces at least 25 years in jail if he is convicted of second-degree murder, insist it was Martin, 17, who provoked the fatal incident, forcing their client to fire in self-defence....