A New President of the USA and The Chain of Command in Iraq marches in step. Odd. Isn't it?

Gates to Bush, "I don't know what Rumsfeld was thinking, we can't fight a two front war."


Admiral Michael Mullens
Gates wants more troops for Afghanistan in shift of priorities (click here)


Iraq eyes full security control
BAGHDAD: Iraq hopes to have security control of all its provinces by the year-end, the national security adviser said yesterday, underscoring the government's growing confidence in its own forces.
Mowaffaq Al Rubaie was speaking at a ceremony where US-led troops transferred security responsibilities for the southern Shi'ite Diwaniya province to Iraqi forces.
The handover puts Baghdad in control of security in 10 of the country's 18 provinces, all mainly Shi'ite areas.
"We aspire to reach to the 18th province before the end of this year. God willing, all provinces will be under the control of the Iraqi security authorities before the end of this year," said Rubaie.
US Ambassador Ryan Crocker and military commander General David Petraeus, said the transfer reflected the improved capabilities of Iraqi security forces in the province.
US military officials have been much more cautious about timeframes for handing security control of some of the remaining provinces back, especially in the north and Baghdad....


Bush’s mistake in Iraq was not to go, but to stay: Jonas (click here)
George Jonas, Canwest News Service
Published: Wednesday, July 16, 2008
...Five years ago, at the high noon of his presidency, Mr. Bush appeared to be doing the right thing. Today, as his presidency is winding down, his global policies have fewer and fewer supporters inside or outside the United States. Some old allies, like Britain's Tony Blair, have withdrawn from the arena altogether. Those who remain or have newly entered, like Canada's Stephen Harper or France's Nicolas Sarkozy, are busy with their own agendas. Bush cannot count on his current allies as reliable supporters on any issue, be it the missile shield, the Far East or the Persian Gulf.
Domestically, his situation is better but also worse. Better, because as president he can implement certain foreign policy items without anyone's support, and worse because his support at home is even less than it is internationally....

Let's see if I get this right. There was no criminal charges, BUT, nothing was done right. Sounds like Republican Neocon administration at work to me !

Cases against Iraq IG, deputy, end without charges (click here)
By LARA JAKES JORDAN – 12 hours ago

...Bowen's office polices an uneven reconstruction effort in Iraq that has cost U.S. taxpayers more than $100 billion. His latest report, issued in April, found that millions of dollars of lucrative Iraq reconstruction contracts were never finished because of excessive delays, poor performance or other factors — including failed projects that are being falsely described by the U.S. government as complete.

Cheney claims to be part of the legislative branch of the government because his paycheck is generated from that division of the government accounting office. So, he need Georgie to 'cover his back.' Contempt charges to follow.

Bush claims executive privilege to keep CIA leak records from Congress; contempt vote delayed (click here)
By LAURIE KELLMAN Associated Press Writer
4:43 AM CDT, July 17, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) _ President Bush invoked executive privilege to keep Congress from seeing the FBI report of an interview with Vice President Dick Cheney and other records related to the administration's leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity in 2003.The president's decision drew a sharp protest Wednesday from Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of House Oversight Committee, which had subpoenaed Attorney General Michael Mukasey to turn over the documents."This unfounded assertion of executive privilege does not protect a principle; it protects a person," the California Democrat said. "If the vice president did nothing wrong, what is there to hide?"Waxman left little doubt he would soon move for a committee vote to hold Mukasey in contempt of Congress....

Sudan is not that big ! The dye is cast. The world must act.

Bush doesn't recognize The World Courts either. He does that to justify his policies in Gitmo, torture and rendition. Maybe he'll even send help to protect al-Bashir. You think?

Let me see if I get this right. Bush doesn't believe in The World Court, won't participate in UN peacekeeping efforts (feels it is a waste of USA military potential), doesn't believe in the UN (basically), sees the "Oil for Food Program" of the former Iraq as a scam, believes he can throw his weight around militarily no matter what the UN Security Council states, BUT, he recognizes the genocide of al-Bashir as human rights violations and believes the UN should instill more African Union troops into Sudan.

? Hm ?

Sounds like a real zealot to me. No policy really, just shoot from the hip to justify his lack of will and interest. Has to look like a good guy as he is an American after all. Not really such a puzzle, really. Mostly. Bush is a fraud ! Unfortunately he was born in the USA, but, his roots really belong in Saudi Arabia, right? There. And China.


Bush Wants to Keep Working With Sudanese President (click here)
By Scott Stearns White House15 July 2008
Stearns report - Download (MP3) Stearns report - Listen (MP3)
President Bush has long criticized Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for permitting many of the same human rights abuses included in his ICC indictment.But the United States is not part of that court and has long questioned its jurisdiction to prosecute government officials or military personnel serving as peacekeepers.Asked about President Bashir's indictment, President Bush told a White House news conference that the court's action should not affect ongoing negotiations with Khartoum to get more African Union troops into Darfur....


WANTED :: Omar al-Bashir, for crimes against humanity. "I do not recognize the World Court" But. It recognizes him. The beginning of the end of the terror to Darfur. The International War Crimes Court has done its work, now it is time for the Global Community to bring the genocidist to justice. The people of Darfur are in greater peril today and need the global community to act to protect them.



170+ UN members leave Darfur (click title to entry, thank you)
16/07/2008 21:07 - (SA)
Khartoum - The UN has flown more than 170 staff members out of Darfur with peacekeepers on alert following a deadly attack and moves to charge Sudan's president with war crimes, an official said on Wednesday.
"Today we had about 100 people who left. One flight in the morning and one flight in the afternoon from Darfur and they travelled to Entebbe," said Josephine Guerrero, spokesperson for the UN-led mission called UNAMID.
Another 46 were air-lifted from El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state where the joint AU-UN mission is based, bound for Al-Obeid, the capital of Northern Kordofan in central Sudan.
Thirty-two staff members left Nyala, the capital of South Darfur on Tuesday, bringing the total to around 178 in the last two days.
The numbers leaving are a fraction of the some 10 000 UNAMID staff deployed the western region of Sudan. Officials said staff could return within days or weeks if the mission downgrades its security alert.
UNAMID is flying out non-essential staff following months of worsening security despite assurances from Sudan that it would protect peacekeepers.
Officials feared a violent backlash after International Criminal Court chief prosecutor on Monday sought an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir on 10 counts including war crimes and genocide in Darfur.
Seven UNAMID peacekeepers died and 22 wounded in an ambush by heavily armed militia on July 8, the deadliest in a series of attacks since the UN assumed command of peacekeeping in the region last December.

Storm "Bertha" is a lesson in the sparcity of water vapor. It is a very unusual occurrence.

July 15, 2008
1830z
UNISYS water vapor satellite

Storm Bertha began on July 3, 2008. It was spawned out of the water vapor of western Africa. It was a storm that quickly went from Cat 1 to a Cat 3 in a matter of six hours on July 7th. The 'traverse' of this storm was more traditional, but, its activity is completely unique. The velocity of the storm as a Cat 3 moved it 'into position' where it took up residence for eight days between LONGITUDE 58.1, oscillating to the nearer shore longitude of 64.10. During this time it existed primarily as a Cat 1 oscillating to a Tropical Storm and then returning to Cat 1, but, now returning to TS velocities.

During that eight days, even though its velocity diminished to a tropical storm status, the pressure within the storm never returned to over 1000 millibars. It ranged from a low of 948 to a high of 995.

The position of the storm is interesting. It matches other entries on this blog whereby 'long sustained' vortexes were noted. Literally, what is occurring with "Bertha" is a shunting of heat into the oceans while the Arctic Ocean melts. "Bertha" is a 'help' to the heating troposphere and in an Earth plentiful with water vapor the storm would probably never dissipate. With the absence of the Arctic Ocean ice (which took tens of thousand of years to establish and only a century to destroy) we would see a 'permanent' vortex shunting heat into the ocean.

However, that won't happen here. There isn't enough water vapor at the Earth's surface to support such a benevolent phenomena. If there was plentiful water vapor there would be many Berthas in the ocean and not just one.

While there has been other hurricanes that have lasted up to two weeks historically, none have this dynamics. Most of the sustained hurricanes lasting such a long time have become deadly storms with minimal Cat 3 velocities. This 'sustained' hurricane is very, very different and outside the definition of 'usual' in any way.

The two images below illustrate clearly a storm deprived of water vapor as it traversed Earth's ocean on a northward movement. Here again, without the support of Equatorial water vapor the storm weakened. The picture of July 15th shows a 'thirsty' storm while the picture of July 7th shows a 'well sustained' storm.

The high pressure that exists from Hawaii to the eastern seaboard of North America is supported by Bertha. The storm literally has removed water vapor and shunted heat from the troposphere into the ocean allowing a 'drying' of the entire area of interest and virtually calming winds. California has a respit, but, it won't last.

The storm that continues to be Bertha is a symptom of a very hot Earth under the blanket of carbon dioxide generated by the burning of fossil fuels.

July 15, 2008 (NASA link - click here)


July 7, 2008 (NASA link - click here)

It is an interesting satellite view - click for 3 hour loop

July 15, 1008
1730z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of the North and West Hemisphere

The USA has an opportunity to dispatch available fire personnel to assist Califonia while "Bertha" is still spinning offshore. It has created a 'high pressure' over a large area of the USA including Hawaii and an opportunity for low winds and optimal conditions to fight the still raging California wildfires. The high pressure system won't last forever.

I am far from finished today, but, I'll be back a little later.

Probably this afternoon.

North Carolina is the dumping ground of every undesirable industry in the world. Wilmington and New Hanover county is facing the 'instillation' of huge levels of environmental pollutants, with designs to build a concrete plant and now a uranium enrichment facility.

The politicans in that county are among the worst in the world. Don't care about anything except the money that lines their pockets.

There are fisheries throughout the region and North Carolina State government has worked hard to return the native osyter to prominence for the poeple that harvest them. When is New Hanover County going to stop being the pariah in North Carolina. It's a coastal community and has some of the worst water quality and fishery experts in the world in their local and county government. And now with idiots like Rosemary DePaolo in the chancellorship at UNCW the future of the North Carolina coast is in question. The former chancellor, Dr. James Leutze (currently Chancellor Emeritus), brought a level of expertise the region needed along with the authority to carry it out. It is a mess in New Hanover County, NC.

This stupidity in government for this county never stops. Its amazing.

NRC will hold meeting here Thursday on GE uranium proposal (click here)
Federal regulators are coming to Wilmington on Thursday for a public meeting about what GE Hitachi must do to win a license to build a uranium enrichment plant - specifically what it will do to protect public safety, worker health and the environment.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will field questions and comments during the meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday on the campus of the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
"Our role is to review the application for the technical programs the company has to protect people from radioactive and chemical hazards, and to do an environmental impact statement," NRC Senior Project Manager T.C. Johnson said Monday....

The warming of the region never stopped even though there was severe cold at the top of the 3 mile Blue Ice.

This is the NASA photoes from March, but, the article at this link (click here) shows images from the European Space Agency and more recent images from June and July. The 'ice bridge' to the island is nearly gone.

The Wilkins Ice Sheet has been rapidly deteriorating. The lastest report is that its integrity is rapidly diminishing.

Photos from NASA (click here)

The destruction of the Wilkins Ice Sheet is notable as unique and still another danger sign of the impacts of Human Induced Global Warming. While the initial collapse occurred in the Summer of the Southern Hemisphere it didn't stop into the Winter and today the deteriorating effects are relentless even during the coldest months there.

The 'sound' must be interesting in Antarctica. There is nothing similar to that of cracking and creeking ice when it is in mass of a glacier or ice sheet. It can cause 'ice quakes' and all sorts of havoc.

The weather at Scott Base, Ross Island, Antarctica is (Crystal Ice Chime) getting warmer. Vostok was - 96 F, it ain't no more.

Some of the conservation societies have been waging a battle to save the biotic content of the Southern Oceans.

One of the them is "Sea Shepard."

Greenpeace is known globally for its good work in saving the lives of whales from immoral ambitions of whaling ships around Antarctica.

But, Sea Shepard is rarely noted for its determined efforts. They have an interesting website and seek protection for more than whales.

Not to diminish that importance. Baleen whales are one of the vital links to stopping and reversing the trend in Human Induced Global Warming, but, the other species that feed on algae, diatoms and krill are just as important. And Sea Shepard is correct in protecting them.

This is NOT satire. It is defamation of character and everyone knows it ! The Obama Campaign and its affiliates should file a "Class Action" lawsuit

Michelle Obama and her family. Lucky, lucky girl.
She is a brilliant woman and Harvard attorney. She is a great wife and mother.

..."Anyone - anyone! - who equates the struggle for equality of women in this country with the struggle of blacks up from slavery is talking total bullshit." Head cast down, eyes averted from his opponent, he furiously addressed his half-drunk glass of wine....

Let's talk about the 14th amendment for a minute (click here). The above paragraph is from the article with a link at the title to this entry. It illustrates a more than interesting 'phenomena' in American history.

At the time of American politics that resulted in an amendment to the USA Constitution which would grant all citizens equality, there were 'two' Civil Rights movements occurring at the same time. One of the recognition of the Black American and the other was The Sufferage Movement.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton (click here).

Susan B. Anthony (click here).

Black Suffrage and the Struggle for Civil Rights (click here).

The mature population of the USA, when it comes to 'class stuggles' for power are literally divided between White Guys and Minorities. The definition of minority in the USA includes women. Women, although more than 50% of the populous of the USA, are also 'minority' when it comes to 'power' and 'influence' to 'affect' laws of the USA to benefit women.

Before the Fourteenth Amendment was passed, these two camps of Americans were petitioning their government and rallying for change together. It was a joint effort, the irony to the passage of the Amendment is that it didn't change the circumstances of women very much. At least not right away. The 14th Amendment was a clear victory for movement into equality for primarily Black Men, but, for women of any ethnicity it was still a loss of their movement for equal rights.

The issue of bigotry in the USA is deeply entrenched. I believe it is because people are 'comfortable' with traditional Christian values being 'built into' their laws when it comes to 'social content.' There were no Black Men at the signing of the Declaration of Independance or the USA Constitution, so it is obvious that 'globally' White Folks were in charge of things and they were comfortable with that.

To stop to realize that a 14th amendment was even necessary in 'the land of the free and home of the brave' is astounding all by itself. The fact of the matter is that although 'the colonies' broke free of British domination, the British empire over centuries of a billiant military domination of 'literally the world' facilitated by an even more brilliant navy shaped the 'culture' of the world it dominated. With rare exception, in every corner of the world, there is British influence to be found. The Chinese, the Orient was a good exception, but, even noting the West Indies is testiment to modern day laws and culture.

Enough said about the British, except to realize, that Republicans still believe in slave labor. Illegal Immigrants are welcome and marginally supported by any true Republican crony.

The point is why the 'heck' did the Democratic Primaries turn into a 'dog and pony show' over Civil Rights? Because it was destined to be exactly that. It 'had' to 'go there.' Both women and Blacks STILL had issues to bring to the 'class struggle for political power.' The same issues that beset the Americans at the time of the Fourteeth Amendment still exist today. Granted the oppression is watered down by freedoms demanded by women and minorities and primarily facilitated through opportunities in education. But they still exist. So, the 'Anti-Oppression' movement so long ago, while successful, didn't solve all the problems.

The Democrats are the people in the USA that represent the oppressed. The Republicans are factilitated by money. They 'buy' their way into their own priorities. Money is a leverage with Republicans and where they can't 'capture' enough money in the private sector they obviously covet government treasuries to faciliate their 'greed.' And it ain't just the USA Treasury. That is why the global markets are a disaster and why sovereignty is such an issue. Bush, Jr. is a zealot and I defy anyone to say differently. So is Cheney. They found a great deal of comfort in the power of the Executive Branch of the USA and 'settled in' for as much global expansion of their fiscal recklessness as they could muster while proclaiming the 'need' for war.

That is nearly an essay all by itself. And brings me to a film clip I saw yesterday regarding an Iranian militant. The 'ranting' about Iran is displaced and such articles are 'used' to illustrate a 'supposed' fact for invasion, due to misplaced paranoya over the Iranian nuclear potential. That faux priority regarding Iran is, excuse the expression, but it's 'horse shit.' The Iranian militants existed BEFORE Bush invaded Iran and Iran was on its way to being a more liberated country before the elections of Ahmadinejad. So when a major newspaper displays Iranian militants in a short span of time of articles regarding nuclear weapons there is only ONE way to interpret the 'subliminal' message in that stategy. But, like I stated, that is another essay.

But, to clarify the Democratic Primary season and the aftermath, I am wondering if writing about the 'obvious' here is actually necessary, but, I'll do it anyway.

The 2008 Democratic Primary season was necessary. It needed to re-invigorate the basic Constitutional right of equality. Justice. Love of freedom. Right to self expression. And more importantly 'the eviction of the DC blood sucking political culture.'

That, my friends is very 'dangerous stuff' to those in long, held and personally coveted political infrastructure. Imagine a political landscape in the USA without any more DeLays, Cheneys, Bushs and the list goes on and on and on and on.

Imagine 'instead' a return to a political landscape dominated by 'honesty, quality in leadership and the 'entitlement' of a Brave New World' whereby generations of Americans are free to 'plan' on an American Dream insured to them by their Constitution that even includes a safe troposphere of Earth and sound legislated fiscal policy.

My good heavens, include with that cooperation among nations globally and you might have a really stable and BORING predictable life WITHOUT oil, war or strife.

What good what that do anyone in DC?

They might even have to shorten their legislative sessions out of pure boredom and lack of purpose due to a world of stability and international cooperation that ACTUALLY stops terrorist networks.

Won't that be interesting, huh?

Or uninteresting depending on your point of view.

So to bring these ramblings to a close, I want you to take a darn good look at the picture below. Don't miss any detail. Because the ONE MAN that can stop the insanity of the last eight years is being portrayed as the most dangerous man on Earth. The ONE MAN that can stop and kill Osama bin Laden with the will to do exactly that is being 'toyed' with in a CARTOON to bring about the reality that there are some idiosyncrasies about his name and parentage that should instill FEAR into every reasonable American.

That, my friends is the viciousness of the 'Anti-Change' DC establishment.

This is NOT satire. It is defamation for all its worth !

I want a Class Action Suit !! No doubt in my mind !! I want respect and I want it NOW !!



The is the most astounding display of bigotry I have ever witnessed in my lifetime. Dear God, what next ! They crossed 'the line' to give permission to such ideas.


A class action suit is necessary. The FCC should be fronting the deliberate use of media of any kind that leads a nation into defamation this angry and obviously politically insideous with the goal to defeat a worthy Presidential Hopeful and his spouse.


I am not laughing. The Class Action suit should encompass any and all such attack ads that seek personal attacks against Barak Obama or his family. These people are great Americans with a history of standing up for 'the truth.' The only thing Barak and his wife are guilty is 'not playing the DC insider game.'


I guess The New Yorker is seeking to bring focus to issues of bigotry in what they coin as satire. There is a limit to "Freedom of Speech." That limit stops at defamation. That is what this is.


If "The New Yorker" wanted to make a spoof of the people that expound such hatred masked in images and statements based in fear mongering, they should have put the image in a 'cartoon' quote bubble above 'Bubba's Head.'


This is pure unadulterated bigotry and defamation. That is what this illustrates. It should not be tolerated.


KNOCK IT OFF !!!!!


NOW !!!!!!!!!!

"...inside the perimeter...nine USA troops dead" "555"

Long about now I would expect high altitude bombers to be dropping substantial sorties at the Pakistan border. The problem with that and any other significant 'air support' to NATO troops is that the 2 mile runway needed for sizable munitions and aircraft is at Baghdad International Airport, NOT, Kabul !

Farah Airport (click here)
Due to the absence of railroads and the inadequacy of the road networks this airfield is one of many that have been constructed for the hauling of freight and passengers. However, it has deteriorated to the point where it is unusable due to vegetation encroachment and erosion along the entire runway length.


Afghan President Hamid Karzai, right, gives 200,000 Afghanis (4,000 USD) to an Afghan man whose relative was one of two men who was beheaded by Pakistani militants, at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan on July 14, 2008.
Militants executed two men in Bajaur's tribal district in Pakistan, accusing them of spying and passing information to US forces in Afghanistan that enabled a deadly missile strike.
Afghanistan lashed out at neighboring Pakistan on Monday alleging that its intelligence service and army are behind the bloody Taliban-led insurgency that has killed thousands and is threatening the country. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)


USA Troops in Afghanistan

NATO is floundering badly. Regardless of the leadership of allies such as Canada and Great Britain, the war to defeat the terrorist network of al Qaeda is struggling against the ravages of a nurtured Taliban from inside Pakistan !



From the beginnings of the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld lead invasion into Afghanistan woefully few American troops were deployed to carry forth a 'deadly force' to end the terrorist network of al Qaeda. Instead, the war that the USA had moral authority to fight to destroy al Qaeda was diverted for a crony, oil war through deception of the American Legislature and the American people.


Today, the American people or their allies are no safer than before the attacks of September 11, 2001.


Deadly attack on US base sends worrying signal (click here)
By FISNIK ABRASHI – 3 hours ago
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An insurgent raid that penetrated an American outpost in eastern Afghanistan, killing nine soldiers, has deepened doubts about the U.S. military's effort to contain Islamic militants and keep locals on its side.
Moving in darkness before dawn Sunday, some 200 fighters surrounded the newly built base in a remote area near the Pakistan border without being spotted by the troops inside, said Gen. Mohammad Qasim Jangalbagh, the provincial police chief.
He said people in the adjacent village of Wanat aided the assault. About 20 local families left their homes in anticipation of the raid, while other tribesmen stayed behind "and helped the insurgents during the fight," Jangalbagh said.
The result was the deadliest incident for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since June 2005, when 16 American soldiers were killed as a rocket-propelled grenade shot down their helicopter....

Obama to visit P.A. (That is not an abbreviation for Pennsylvania, by the way)

Everyone that understands the Middle East and its dynamically dangerous fronts, realizes peace between Israel and Palestine is paramount to establishing a lasting peace in the region. There has been virtually no movement to a successful peace by the Bush/Cheney Administration which presented 'A Road Map' that was an abject failure. More proof of incompetency of an administration that direly is asking to be relieved of its responsibilites.

Published: 07/14/2008
Barack Obama will meet with Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank on his Middle East trip next week.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and senator from Illinois, will visit Ramallah on July 23 and will meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Obama will first travel to Israel on July 22-23, where he is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, President Shimon Peres and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, according to Israeli officials....
continued...

More Executive Branch incompetency noted by failing decisions by the Supreme Court to insure Domestic Tranquility

By BRIAN WESTLEY Associated Press Writer © 2008 The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia Council planned to vote Tuesday on emergency legislation to allow handguns if they are used only for self-defense in the home and carry fewer than 12 rounds of ammunition.
The legislation announced Monday comes as officials scramble to comply with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month striking down the city's 32-year-old ban.
The proposal, which maintains some of the city's strict gun ownership rules and adds more regulations, was immediately criticized by gun rights advocates threatening more legal action.
The nation's capital would still require rifles and shotguns be kept in the home unloaded and disassembled, or equipped with trigger locks. There would be an exception for guns used against the "reasonably perceived threat of immediate harm."
The proposed legislation also maintains the city's unusual regulation of machine guns, defined as weapons that shoot at least 12 rounds without reloading. That applies to most semiautomatic firearms.
"We have crafted what I believe to be a model for the nation in terms of complying with the Supreme Court's Second Amendment decision and at the same time protecting our citizens," interim Attorney General Peter Nickles said....

Activists with the Brady Campaign for gun control hold signs outside the Supreme Court in Washington June 26, 2008. For the first time in U.S. history, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that individual Americans have the right to own guns for personal use, and struck down a strict gun control law in the U.S. capital. The landmark 5-4 ruling marked the first time in nearly 70 years the country's high court has addressed whether the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects an individual right to keep and bear arms, rather than a right tied to service in a state militia. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas (UNITED STATES)

The NRA (National Rifle Association) has its own 'SIRIUS' radio station to promote their propaganda (click here if you actually care to hear that mess). The Florida Gun law allowing employees the right to carry weapons into the work place is a profound joke. Every decent employer seeking to protect its employees from danger and itself from lawsuits is scrambling for protection.

Corporate 'protectionism' seeking sanity from the Bush Gun Toting Liberalism of Crony Interests began with Disney !

Toilet paper firm puts a lid on gun law (click here)

BY MARC CAPUTO
mcaputo@MiamiHerald.com
NRA
National Rifle Association lobbyist Marion Hammer calls Georgia Pacific's interpretation of the law not just 'anti-gun' but 'ridiculous.'
TALLAHASSEE -- Georgia-Pacific has declared that its Palatka toilet- and tissue-paper plant isn't bound by a controversial employee gun-rights law, citing a Homeland Security exemption because the company handles barge-loads of explosive fuel.
The company's decision -- following Disney World's recent decision that it'sexempt because of its federal explosives permit -- has enraged the National Rifle Association and spotlighted the Legislature's difficulty in drafting clear laws, especially when major lobbies clash during the brief 60-day lawmaking session.
The law's intent: Allow employees with concealed weapons permits the right to have their firearms locked in their car in workplace parking lots....

The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) has been warm far too long:

This is a picture of the Polar Bears that were frequent visitors to a 'floating' Russian research station. This picture is posted at North Pole Station 33 (click here). There is a Russian research station, North Pole 35, whoms members need rescue as the ice that supports the station, no different than the ice that defines Polar Bear habitat is disappearing.

The research station was established in 2007, staffed by world class scientific staff. Their purpose was to extrapolate information regarding weather and climate.


Drifting station 'North Pole-35' set up in Arctic (click here)
16:39
21/ 09/ 2007
ST. PETERSBURG, September 21 (RIA Novosti) - The drifting station research unit 'North Pole-35' was set up in the Arctic Friday, said Sergei Balyasnikov, a spokesman for the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute.
"The research unit will begin work by sending the first weather-report to the Global Weather Network", he said, adding that the Russian and St Petersburg flags would also be hoisted.
Balyasnikov said 22 researchers and scientists would work at the unit, most of them Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) staff, plus a German scientist from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research.
The unit was set up on a 3.3km-wide and 5km-long ice-floe with an average ice thickness of 1.5m....

I recommend 'the sound' of "Russian International Radio" at the link below. It's Russian, but, the 'sound' is classic. The preparation of North Pole - 35 was extensive and obviously was supposed to have a research and information longevity of more than its ten months of operation.

North Pole-35 drifting station is opened (click here)
Another project of the Arctic-2007, North Pole-35 drifting station has started to function. Academic Fyodorov scientific research ship found an ice floe with a suitable thickness 65 kilometers west of Northern Land. About 300 tons of cargo was unloaded on the ice floe and a scientific laboratory and 20 living quarters were installed on it. A diesel generator and a radio station were launched. The polar explorers have already sent details of weather conditions to the global network that collects meteorological data. There are 22 researchers, including a German scientist at the station. The work of the station will help explaining the reasons for global climatic changes and improving weather forecast. The North Pole-35 station was opened 70 years after the work of the famous North Pole-1 station headed by Russian polar explorer Ivan Papanin.

This is the link to North Pole 35 (click here). Or should I say, this WAS the link to North Pole 35. They obviously collected invaluable weather and therefore climate data.

To say the USA Executive Branch is 'out of touch' with reality is an understatement. When is impeachment proceedings going to go forward? The disruption of Russian North Pole 35 is concrete proof of the rapidly deteriorating global climate. What is occurring with the rapidly disappearing Arctic Ocean ice is Rapid Climate Change.

The inhabitants of Earth ain't seen nothing yet.

The USA should have a strong leadership position regarding this issue and we indeed have not only an Executive Branch that is troubled on all fronts; economic, militariy, domestic peace and strategies to provide viable and sustainable agriculture in the USA. but people 'without a clue.' To say the circumstances facing the future of Americans and their allies due to the incompetency of the USA Executive Branch is dire, is only to ignore the responsibility of the USA Legislative Branch to seek relief of the dangers that await continued leadership by Bush, Cheney, their cabinet and policital administration.

Write your legislators in the House and Senate asking for funding for alternative energies and transportation while seeking the impeachment of the President and Vice President !

The continued pursuit of fossil fuels is the most idiotic directive any educated leader could pursue. It makes no sense to continue down this path !

UPDATE 1-Reid rejects Bush call to lift drilling moratorium (click here)
WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, on Monday rejected a call by U.S. President George W. Bush to lift a moratorium on offshore oil drilling.
Bush announced on Monday that he lifted the executive branch's restriction on offshore exploration, saying only Congress stood in the way of opening up America's untapped oil riches.
But Reid said oil companies should focus instead on drilling on much of the 68 million acres that they have leased but not used for exploration.
Asked, however, if he expected to have the votes to block legislation to lift the moratorium in face of soaring gasoline prices, Reid told a news conferences, "We will have to wait and see."
Reid said he hoped to have legislation introduced this week to crack down on oil speculators....

Glacier Bay Date Below

Local Time: 12:47 PM AKDT
Lat/Lon: 58.8° N 137..0° W

Time :: 3:46 PM EST

Temperature :: 55 °F / 13 °C

Conditions :: Overcast

Humidity :: 88%

Dew Point :: 52 °F / 11 °C

Wind :: Calm

Pressure :: 30.14 in / 1020 hPa (Steady)

Visibility :: 8.0 miles / 12.9 kilometers

UV :: 2 out of 16

Clouds:
Scattered Clouds 3100 ft / 944 m
Mostly Cloudy 3900 ft / 1188 m
Overcast 9000 ft / 2743 m
(Above Ground Level)

Elevation :: 33 ft / 10 m

Morning Papers - It's Origins

The Rooster

Sympathies to the Snow Family for their loss of a husband and father.

As believed by most Bush Neocons, the "image" is everything and what you DON'T say is more important than what you do say. Therefore, in the long tradition of 'Thumper's Mother,' "If you can't say something nice then don't say anything at all." (click here)

...Number 10 (33 minutes :20 seconds)…the enactment clause of the Senate Joint Resolution 45 was predicated on misstatements to Congress...

The Truth Tellers.

Why is it that ONLY Democrats and Independents believe them?

Any statement made by any elected official in any capacity when intended to mislead or redirect the powers of the government is a violation of 'the public trust' whether they are under oath or not !

McCain's budget figures don't add up

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pre-Meditated or Idiocy?

More than likely idiocy.

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

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

This is a result of such a priority.

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

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

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

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

July 11, 2008

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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


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

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