Triple Soaker. First Florida got all wet with Gustav, now comes Hanna, followed by Ike.

September 5, 2008
1730z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES East Satellite

There was one newspaper headline that caught my attention this morning. From the Boston Globe.

What choice does he have? If McCain were ever to be elected he would face a House and Senate with clear Democratic majorities and then where would we be?

A pledge of bipartisanship (click title to entry)
McCain hits GOP lapses, vows end to old ways in Washington
ST. PAUL - Senator John McCain, returning to the themes that saved his once flailing presidential quest, last night accepted the Republican nomination with a promise to shake up Washington with a bipartisan strategy and patriotic flair, warning political stalwarts that "change is coming."...

Forces align against Republicans in Senate races (click here)
...Democrats have solid chances of winning five seats, according to strategists in both parties and public polls, and realistic shots at picking off another three to five Republican senators. Republicans have only one good opportunity for replacing a Democrat, in Louisiana....

And that article is from USA Today, a primarily conservative paper. Across the board, most polls show a change in Democratic leadership in the Senate by anywhere from 5 seats to as many as 9 seats.

No matter which way one looks at it, a Republican in the White House is a huge mistake. It would mean four more years of Bush policies no matter what. The current RNC is hoping they will maintain control of enough seats in both houses so there lacks a 60% concensus.

And don't tell me John McCain isn't another George Bush. He is playing 'the sympathy' vote of his warrior status in order to have people believe he is telling the truth about being a Maverick.

Did he pick an extremists from the Religious Right as a Vice President?

Yeah.

Did he reveal a side of himself no one knew existed?

Yeah.

Never in my wildest imagination would I expect John McCain to be so blantantly bias in his choices when exhibiting religious preference. And in 25 years, if he wanted a true Maverick status he could have achieved it.

The speakers at the RNC convention repeatedly called for the spread of a religious 'state' making it '...truly a nation under God.' Religion is a personal preference, not a national policy. Its out of the question.

This article was back in March. The Republicans gave up then in dreaming about returning their majority. Now, today, they are not only behind by two seats, but, slipping fast.

Senate Majority No Longer Republicans' Goal (click here)
With Democrats leading in polls and the national mood going against Republicans, Senator Ensign's goal has changed
By Katherine Skiba
Posted March 14, 2008
The battle cry of the Republican Party is "Two seats to capture the Senate." But Nevada Sen. John Ensign, who is leading the charge for the GOP, now concedes the party may not win the fight, particularly after two prospective candidates he had hoped to recruit—one in New Jersey, one in South Dakota— refused to sign up for the struggle. "Realistically, we have a very, very slim chance of getting back into the majority," says Ensign, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. "That's not even our goal anymore. Our [numeric] goal is to hold as close to where we are as possible." Democrats control the chamber by a narrow majority, 51 to 49....

And this is a poll regarding the USA House elections from February 2008, which shows a 55% majority.

Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research (click here)
Democrats Lead in 2008 U.S. House Election
February 16, 2008
Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The Democratic Party holds the upper hand in the early stages of the United States House of Representatives ballot, according to a poll by Gallup released by USA Today. 55 per cent of respondents would vote for the Democratic candidate in their congressional district, while 41 per cent would back the Republican....

Americans want change. They are reaching for it everywhere one looks. There won't be change if there is a Republican Executive Branch and Democratic Legislature. And to realize the people McCain would place in his Cabinet and in top spots in appointments of the Executive Branch considering his Veep choice is simply a nightmare. We just can't risk any chance on McCain. He isn't a Maverick, he's unpredictable.

The USA can't afford any mistakes this election cycle. We need profound change and we need it now.

Obama is the only clear choice for improving the circumstances of the USA. With a clear majority in the House and Senate and a breath of fresh air in the White House, the country can initiate the sweeping changes it has longed for since 2006 !

From Bad to Worse: Unemployment Rate Hits Working Americans Across the Spectrum (click here)
Unemployed workers look for job opportunities at the California Employment Development Department Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008, in Los Angeles. The Labor Department reported today that August unemployment rate soared to a five-year high of 6.1 percent. Employers cut some 84,000 jobs, marking the eighth straight month of contraction in payrolls.

Enough !

Judge Credits Ex-Washington Power Broker for His Cooperation in Wide-Ranging Corruption Probe

The red circle in the picture is Jack Abramoff waiting to speak with Georgie. Does the entire country need to be reminded of the corruption of this administration ? The corruption of the Republicans? If you let one in the front door, there are a million others waiting at the back door.

Republicans in Congress are not about to 'give up' their corrupt social network. Ain't no way.

The investigations and indictments since being conducted now, are a result of the elections of 2006, NOT, the efforts of John McCain. The investigations into Abramoff's Network is only beginning.

People convicted in the Abramoff investigation (click here)
By The Associated Press – 12 minutes ago
Lawmakers, lobbyists, Bush administration officials, congressional staffers and businessmen caught up in the Jack Abramoff public corruption probe:
_Abramoff was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison on charges of mail fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion. Since pleading guilty in 2006, the once-powerful lobbyist has cooperated with the federal investigation of influence-peddling in Washington. He is nearly two years into a six-year prison sentence in a criminal case out of Florida, where he pleaded guilty in January 2006 to charges of conspiracy, honest services fraud and tax evasion in the purchase of gambling cruise boats....

...Mark Zachares, former aide to Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, pleaded guilty to conspiracy. He acknowledged accepting tens of thousands of dollars worth of gifts and a golf trip to Scotland from Abramoff's team in exchange for official acts on the lobbyist's behalf....

...Meantime, Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) was trying to hang on to the chance to defeat his seat in the fall. However, with 70.5 percent of precincts reporting, he trailed Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell by 232 votes....(click here)

Palin's Lobbyist Has Abramoff Ties (click here)
By Kate Klonick and Zachary Roth - September 2, 2008, 1:01PM
It looks like Sarah Palin's claim to represent a cleaner brand of politics could be about to take a bruising.
The Washington Post reports today that, while Mayor of Wasilla, Palin oversaw the hiring of a lobbyist, Steven Silver -- a former chief of staff to now-indicted GOP senator Ted Stevens -- to help win federal earmarks for the city....

Palin's Small Alaska Town Secured Big Federal Funds (click here)
By Paul Kane

Washington Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, September 2, 2008; Page A01
ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 1 -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin employed a lobbying firm to secure almost $27 million in federal earmarks for a town of 6,700 residents while she was its mayor, according to an analysis by an independent government watchdog group.

There was $500,000 for a youth shelter, $1.9 million for a transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a rail project -- all intended to benefit Palin's town, Wasilla, located about 45 miles north of Anchorage....

Listed as one of McCain's most sought after opinions, rather than the Joint Chiefs...

...which more or less explains the vast number of Retired Generals during the Bush/Cheney Administration that McCain threw in with. I mean why stay on as a General with significant rank only to be kicked around by field Commanders?


This is an Iraqi police/infantryman. So, what is the issue already? More deserters ?

Petraeus: No Major Iraq Troop Drawdown in '08 (click at title to entry)
General to Recommend Reduction of Only 1,500 Marines for Now
By JONATHAN KARLSept. 4, 2008
Gen. David Petraeus has recommended against any significant reduction of U.S. forces in Iraq before the end of the year, ABC News has learned.
The only drawdown Petraeus has called for, according to a senior military official familiar with his recommendation, is a modest reduction of two Marine battalions, or about 1,500 Marines, a tiny fraction of the 146,000 U.S. troops now in Iraq.
Under Petraeus's plan, the number of combat brigades -- which now stands at 15 -- would remain unchanged until next January at the earliest....




Now, why, if "The Surge" worked would it be necessary to continue to OCCUPY, Iraq?





We don't belong in Iraq.





We never did !

It is difficult at times to realize what 'Surge' McCain and Palin are discussing. The one that killed thousands more Iraqis...

... without a political solution.

Or.

The surge that killed so many Americans.

Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, a victim to his own government's neglect. (click here for video)

The Repentant Dick Cheney. He couldn't send in the Marines, so he decided to make amends through economic improvements in Georgia.

Now.

If Condi Rice can manage to find her way to Russia and negotiate a peace with an understanding of respect for Russian borders, rather than missile shield threats, this entire mess might actually turn out to be a worthwhile venture into Democratic Principles for this administration and Georgia.

Could it be possible for Cheney to actually be a viable Peace Prize candidate rather than a Neocon?

More incredible things have happened.

Palin called everyone other than her supporters a religious bigot and stated her mayorship was more worthy than her governorship.

...I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities. I might add that in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening....

I guess God knew what he was doing when he decided Moses needed to jot down the ten commandments.

"Thou shalt not kill."

Except of course when your country enters an illegal and immoral war for oil and then its okay.

The speech was on the heels of the Giuliani rant. It was to 'bring to light' the importance of Mayors and why Ms. Palin had such valuable 'experience' that brings her to a national office as if she is actually competent to hold the Vice Presidency.

Sorry, but, being mayor, even of New York City where 'radios failed' and 'caused deaths' is very different than being a Vice President prepared for leadership in the Executive Branch of the USA. Let's face it. Giuliani lost his bid, okay?

Putting up cameras all over Alaska was a 'jobs issue' not a Homeland Security issue and it exploited the needs of a nation to prepare itself for other potential attacks from terrorists actually seeking 'WEAKNESSES' in the USA infrastructure to exploit. Does ANYONE actually think having Ms. Palin in the Vice Presidency isn't a national 'weakness?'

And the zealotry of promoting 'guns and religion' in the same sentence is a little scary.

These guys are religious zealots that seek to define the USA as the world's guardians. We aren't, nor was our government ever conceived in that light.

When the Declaration of Independence stated ... "When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another,..."; it wasn't referring to people outside the boundaries of the USA. At the time, there were 13 colonies and they were happy to be free of British domination, okay?

Where in all the struggles of the founding members of our society was there ever an implication that we would in turn invade Britain to free them of unreasonable sovereignty by a monarch? Where did the concept of being the world's liberator come from? It doesn't exist and people like Palin, Cheney and all the others that seek to impose that value on the USA, in the name of National Security are zealots of the worse kind. They have a faux face to the reality of global stability and the right of other people to cling to what they consider precious.

Palin's 'Red Meat' speech was nothing but political rhetoric laced with 'love me tender' values. It was full of hoaxes and inaccuracies and the very nonsense that facilitated the illegal and immoral invasion into Iraq leaving Afghanistan at risk that has since proved fatal to the allies we left behind.

I find her appaulingly brash without reason to believe she is competent. She is nothing but another Richard Cheney in sheep's clothing, proud of the fact that clothing doesn't come from NYC Fifth Avenue. She believes in unending right to gun use, oil at any cost and wars without sound judgement. If that 'ain't' Cheney, then I don't know what is !

Dillingham AK, Homeland Security

Homeland Security in Alaska? (click here)
Surveillance-camera installation in small fishing town causes clash between police, residents.
Date published: 3/13/2006
By ALEX deMARBAN
ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS
DILLINGHAM, Alaska--If Osama bin Laden ever makes a sneak attack on Dillingham, he might be in big trouble.
That's because the quaint fishing community in southwest Alaska, population 2,400, recently installed about 80 surveillance cameras at the port and around town, courtesy of a $202,000 Homeland Security grant.
Anchorage has fewer than 40 cameras to protect its port.
Dillingham Police Chief Richard Thompson, who came up with the idea of applying for the grant, said the cameras could stop terrorism in Southwest Alaska someday. More to the point, they also may put an end to the drinking, deaths and drug deals that go down at the port every summer when the town fills up with commercial fishermen.
If the system prevents even one death, Thompson said, "I don't care what's said about me."
But some townsfolk are outraged. The only thing being captured by the cameras, they said, are their civil liberties. The white, plastic devices, clustered atop poles at the port or perched on four city buildings, feel like the glaring eyes of Big Brother. Some, with dual lenses for different lighting conditions, even resemble storm trooper helmets from "Star Wars."...


Security for the Homeland, Made in Alaska (click here)
By LESLIE WAYNE
Published: August 12, 2004
As the Pentagon shipped thousands of military police to Iraq over the last year, it had to move quickly to replace guards at important installations around the country, including Fort Bragg, N.C., and West Point. So it turned to the private sector and quietly awarded multimillion-dollar contracts without putting out competitive bids.
The winners hailed from Alaskan corporations representing native tribal groups that are uniquely eligible to win Pentagon contracts in unlimited amounts without having to compete against other companies. But perhaps the main beneficiaries were their minority partners, two big security firms, Wackenhut Services and Vance International.
The Pentagon has made no public announcements of the contracts, in which the joint ventures are being paid $194 million to protect 40 properties. If options to extend them are exercised, the contracts' value could reach $500 million,...


Security Grants Still Streaming to Rural States (click here)
By DEAN E. MURPHY
Published: October 12, 2004
ANCHORAGE, Oct. 10 - In the nationwide scramble for domestic security dollars, officials in Alaska are in a predicament that would be the envy of most other states. They must figure out how to spend $2 million in federal money.
The Department of Homeland Security rejected a proposal by Alaska to use the money to buy a jet, but indicated it would be "happy to entertain" further proposals for the $2 million. Officials are now obliging.
One of the nation's least populous states, Alaska is flush with domestic security grants, on a per-resident basis second only to Wyoming and about three times the amount allocated to New York over the past two years.
Money is so readily available that the Northwest Arctic Borough, a desolate area of 7,300 people that straddles the Arctic Circle, recently stocked up on $233,000 worth of emergency radio equipment, decontamination tents, headlamps, night vision goggles, bullhorns - even rubber boots.
Alaska's good fortune highlights what many critics say is a serious failing in the way that America is fighting the battle against terrorism at home. While there is consensus that the threat of an attack should supersede politics as usual, the billions of federal dollars for terrorism preparedness are being doled out to states in much the same way as money for schools, bridges and other routine federal projects....

Arctic Ice Shelves Crumbling Rapidly

September 3, 2008—Canada's polar scientists have had little time for summer vacation this year.
That's because they've been closely monitoring the country's Arctic ice shelves, which have crumbled at an alarming pace over the past few months.
Nearly 23 percent of the total area—more than three times the size of Manhattan—has disappeared since 2007, satellite images show (above).
In July the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf broke apart, followed by the surprise collapse in August of the Markham Ice Shelf, which is now adrift in the Arctic Ocean.
And the recently named Serson Ice Shelf has shrunk by 60 percent—an "incredible" loss, said Derek Mueller, the Roberta Bondar Fellow in Northern and Polar Studies at Trent University in Ontario.
Large swaths of open water surrounding the shelves near the northern coast of Ellesmere Island have allowed breathing room for the ice to disintegrate, Mueller told National Geographic News. (See map.) ...

This is quite an event. Four tropical systems spinning all at once.

Gustav still has a central pressure of 997 millibars and it is still a Tropical Depression this far inland. Interesting. Once these storms establish a water content they'll continue to have vorticity until the water vapor content drops from rainfall. There are still opportunities for tornadoes with this storm.


September 3, 2008
1830z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES East Satellite

Hanna just can't get enough water vapor off the equator can it. WOW. Talk about thirsty.

I believe I stated when Gustav made landfall, Hanna would accelerate. To that conclusion I want to point to some facts that are rather interesting.

Gustav made landfall as a Cat 2 Hurricane on September 1, 2008 at 10:30 AM EST over Cocodrie, Louisiana. It is pushing a 12 foot (3.6 meter) storm surge. The central pressure of the storm was 955 millibars.

At the very same time, Hanna was building strength into hurricane status. The central pressure of Hanna was 994 millibars and falling. Within 30 minutes Hanna would have a central pressure of 985 millibars and rank as a Cat 1 hurricane, while Gustav was attaining the central pressure of 957 millibars as a low Cat 2 storm and would continue to rise, hence reducing its status to a Cat 1 storm.

This is where it really gets interesting though. Expecting Hanna to accelerate far faster into a greater storm, there was a building turbulence in the storm now known as Ike. Ike manifested into a Tropical Depression at the very time Gustav made landfall, hence blunting the acceleration of Hanna. At the time Gustav made landfall, Ike formed a centeral pressure of 1005 millibars.

Ike maintained a Tropical Depression status until Hanna obtained a central pressure of 983 millibars. At that point Ike became a Tropical Storm with a central pressure of 1000 millibars and Gustav was still decelerating with a central pressure of 966 millibars.

Basically, Earth's troposphere is so hot that even with some cooling occuring with these storms by exchanging heated air for heated water, the elevated warming component of Earth is never really reduced to the place where it was even in the days of Katrina. The year 2005 was a record number of storm, but, none of the storms were as frequent in manifestation as Tropical Depressions and Storms as this season. Earth's cooling capacity is lost and as a result the storms that are appearing in sequence are proof of the chronic heating of Earth's troposphere that is NOT relieved of that heat by these storms as in the past.

Earth's thermostat is broken along with the disappearance of the Arctic Ocean ice as a result of Climate Change due to Human Induced Global Warming.

But to continue, on September 2, 2008 at 0900 gmt, Gustav is increasing its central pressure to 985 and moving from Tropical Strom status to Tropical Depression status, Hanna is now at a central pressure of 978 and within the next thirty minutes will move from a Cat 1 storm to a Tropical Storm status and Ike is maintaining its Tropical Storm status but briefly rises to 1005 central pressure from 1000 millibars. Why is this significant? Because at that very moment, when Gustav, Hanna and Ike were all decelerating another storm would manifest into a Tropical Depression and that is now know as Josephine with a central pressure of 1007.

Getting the picture? It's called oscillation. These storms form and literally react to each other along a continum of heat and tropospheric available water vapor.

What is even more incredible is the 'reach' of these storms to maintain their status and maintain their ability to drive heat into the ocean. In the image above, Hanna is literally pulling 'sparse' tropospheric water vapor from every available source north of the Equator to sustain its presence. Hanna is getting assistance in that dynamic from the vortex over the North Atantic west of the Mid-Atlantic and New England states.

If one doesn't look at the entire dynamics of these system, global systems, it is easy to say "we are having a light hurricane season,' as if nothing is wrong. But, it isn't until the entire global dynamics of Climate Change is taken into consideration that observations relevant to that perspective can be supported.

We are observing a very dangerous and dry troposphere.

Traffic snarls into New Orleans

Traffic comes to stop on the Interstate 10 freeway over Lake Pontchartain between New Orleans and in Slidell, La., Wednesday Sept.. 3, 2008, as residents of New Orleans return home after Hurricane Gustav swept through the city.

(AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

The traffic leaving New Orleans was accommodated by open lanes out of the area without allowing traffic to come in. The traffic returning is going to be considerably slower because the access to the city is halfed by the fact that the lanes are again flowing in both directions.

There needs to be a change in the access rate to the city otherwise the problems will compound until everyone is back in their driveways. Then there are the issues of access to driveways and city steets depending on any damage sustained.

My concern is that with other storm potential in the near future, delays and inconvenience will change the willingness of people to leave the city in the first place.

All checkpoints lifted, city reopens

What's going on with trash and debris cleanup (clean up)
by The Times-Picayune
Wednesday September 03, 2008, 2:17 PM
FRENCH QUARTER
-- Public works departments and private garbage haulers across New Orleans are already clearing streets littered with tree limbs, marquees, light poles and power lines.
-- Trucks with wood chippers caravaned along Interstate 610.
-- SDT waste trucks were out cleaning up debris and sweeping streets in the French Quarter Tuesday morning.
-- Outside of Harrah's Casino, workers trimmed back palm trees.

Unexpected consequence of Hurricane Gustav

Sick baby dies in Texas after family fled Gustav (click here)
By ANGELA K. BROWN – 11 hours ago
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — A couple who fled the New Orleans area in advance of Hurricane Gustav will have to return home without their 7-month-old daughter, who died of a rare genetic disorder after becoming stricken at an amusement park.
Kaitlynn Foret suddenly stopped breathing at Six Flags Over Texas on Monday and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was later pronounced dead....
... Vidal said she does not regret evacuating their Harvey, La., home. Her daughter's death, while an unexpected tragedy, could have happened anywhere, she said.
"Right now, I just can't believe it," said Jason Foret, Vidal's fiance and the baby's father. "One minute she was here — the next minute, she was gone."

Anyone ever notice the skeptics are primarily Oil Folks. "Palin questions global warming science"

Sarah Palin with one of her daughters posing with a caribou she shot in Alaska.

Picture: AP

...Last month, the state of Alaska under Palin's guidance sued Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne in an attempt to reverse his decision to list polar bears as a threatened species. Palin said that scientists' predictions that global warming would eliminate the ice where the bears live in summer were unreliable.

Arctic sea ice shrank to a record low by the end of last summer, and satellites now show that the ice has been reduced to a level very close to last year's with some days remaining before a new winter season begins.

The Anchorage Daily News reported in May that the head of the marine mammals program for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and two other marine mammal biologists on his staff agreed with nine studies the Federal Government cited to justify listing polar bears as a threatened species....

This is the way McCain chooses a Vice President?

Is McCain taking this nomination seriously? I mean for real. He has said odd things such as, "We are just having fun" and now this mess. Did he ever expect to be a serious candidate after Bush/Cheney ravaged the nation and its assets?

...A Republican with ties to the McCain campaign said the team of a dozen communications operatives and lawyers assigned to vet Palin in Alaska had not arrived there until last Friday - a day before presidential nominee Senator John McCain announced her as his running mate.
McCain had his first interview with her on the Friday and "offered her the job moments later", the newspaper said....

There is only ONE WAY Bristol Palin became pregnant. Only one way. Through unprotected sex.

How long has the USA fought to bring insight into protections during sex to Africa where the HIV rates cause nations to become orphanages for parentless children.

Don't start.

This is appalling. Sarah Palin wants to represent the women of the USA?

NEVER !!!

She doesn't even know how to spell the word condom, yet alone advocate for its use globally to save lives.

NEVER !!!!!!

I can hear it now. All the Holy Men of Africa who send out rumors regarding condoms will be saying, "See, the lady Vice President of the USA doesn't even advocate condom use with her own child."

Good.

Real good !

Is Sarah Palin ready to stand up for American Values for Women everywhere? Chattel, Ms. Palin. These women were considered Chattel.

These women were considered OBJECTS OF SOCIAL ORDER. That is what happens when women are valued for their uterus rather than their talents.

I mean, really now !!!!

Shot, then buried alive in honour killings (click title to entry)

September 2, 2008 - 6:31AM
Pakistan has opened an investigation into the killings of five women who tried to choose their own husbands, after a provincial lawmaker defended their deaths as a "centuries-old tradition".
The women, three of whom were teenagers, were shot, thrown into a ditch and buried alive more than a month ago in what authorities have said they suspect were "honour killings". Authorities say they have arrested three relatives of the women in connection with their deaths.
It is considered an insult in some conservative regions of Pakistan for women to have affairs or marry without consent, and rights groups say hundreds are killed by male relatives every year....

If caring for Junior is beneath Todd Palin than the couple needs to investigate the concept of 'Day Care.'

Young women have futures in this country, not burdens.

For eight long years, the zealots of the Republican Right Wing have done NOTHING but moralize over issues exactly like this, but, now that it is one of their own they want the nation to look the other way.

NO WAY !!

The child should have been married BEFORE Mommy took on the Veep Race.

It might play well in the back woods of Alaska, but, NOT the Lower 48. I worked hard when I raised by teens. I worked outside the home, but, I provided a lot of reasons for my children to participate in society in sports and activities where they valued their lives and their futures. This is nonsense. I realize pregnant teenagers are present everyday in this country and we have come a long way to provide room in High School classrooms and Child Care so they can finish their diploma or college paths, but, a future Vice President.

Sorry, this doesn't wash with me. I could no more expect any young woman to shoulder the burden of pregnancy than I would expect them to turn their backs on the promise of their futures. There is no way this should have happened to this young lady, no different than it should not have happened to any teen.

Since 1986, the rate of everything has dropped has dropped in the area of teen pregnancy. The pregnancy rate, the birth rate, the adoption rate and the abortion rate. To realize a woman that is supposed to be esteemed for the highest moral standards to uphold the dignity of women and their career choices is allowing the exploitation of her own daughter for political theater is unthinkable. A simple statement about the reality of her circumstances is all the American Public needed, not a Evangelical Parade of Champions.

I find the ludicrous nature of Sarah Palin disgusting !

I've seen it before. Women dump their responsibilities on their oldest daughter to look after the younger siblings...

... and why shouldn't they become pregnant. It's a way out.

I demand to know the identity of the father. The ability of him to support a family. His age and whether this is statutory rape or NOT !!!!

A woman comes forward to run for Vice President of the USA and she doesn't even bother to teach her children about the 'Fact of Life.' She doesn't believe in birth control, Planned Parenthood, dealing well with unwanted pregnancy OR Sex Education.

She should have been a 'good friend' and been open to the concerns of a daughter that needed Plan B, NOT, a obstetrician.

I guarantee you, Palin's daughters don't even have the Cervical Cancer vaccination.

Welcome to the McCain Big Top where demoralizing a nation is his specialty !!!

In 2008, Rizzo would have had options !

I mean for real here ! This is an outrage. I can just imagine the conversations taking place across the USA, "...but, Sarah, dosen't mind. She's proud."

I don't think so !!!

I am sorry, but, if The Palins want to parade their seventeen year old pregnant daughter in front of an entire nation as 'acceptable' for others, then they need to be prepared to accept the consequences of such blantant abuse of power and images to promote their religious fanaticism.

This is outrageous, to demand an entire nation of people to accept teen pregnancy. We combat this with vigor in this country.

Give me a break !

"Israel today is in more peril than it was eight years ago."

...Israel's gravest external threat comes from Iran. The relevant question, then, is, has Iran become more dangerous to Israel because of Bush's policies, or in spite of Bush's policies? Plainly, the former....


Obama in Berlin. Does the world have a RIGHT to have an interest?

The answer is overwhelmingly, YES!!!!



Israel and Palestinians continue peace talks (click here)
Published: Sunday 31 August 2008
16:56 UTC
Last updated: Sunday 31 August 2008 18:27 UTC Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President of the Palestinian territories Mahmoud Abbas have held peace talks for the second time within a month. During the talks in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Olmert called for a partial Israeli-Palestinian agreement before the end of the year. The agreement would not have touched on the issue of Jerusalem, leaving the matter to be resolved within five-year time scale. Mr Abbas has said he is not in favour of such a partial agreement....


As a Palestinian state recedes, Jordan contacts Hamas (click here)
By Saad Hattar
Jordan's move to thaw relations with the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) following nine years of estrangement has raised eyebrows as to the timing and the motives behind this tactic. Internal and external factors dictated the rapprochement amid growing Jordanian dismay at American and Israeli behavior - the kingdom's main strategic allies since the turn of the century. Hence, the timing bears significance considering the last months of President George W. Bush's tenure and Israel's political paralysis. On the other side, the Palestinian Authority (PA) led by Mahmoud Abbas looks headed toward failure in light of Hamas' pounding and US-Israeli indifference....


Palestinian official: Israel increases cooking gas shipments to Gaza (click here)
2008-09-01 19:26:40
GAZA, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian official said Monday that the amount of cooking gas that Israel allows into Gaza Strip has increased recently.
"The gas shipments have increased recently," said Raed Rajab, deputy director of the Palestinian Petroleum Agency (PPA), adding "if the occupation forces did not close the crossing point two days last week, we would have felt the increase."
The Palestinians consume more cooking gas during the Muslim's holy fasting month of Ramadan which started Monday.
Israel restricted fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip last year after Islamic Hamas movement took over the coastal strip. But in June, Egypt brokered a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel to restore calmness and ease the blockade....

Iran's Moderates are on the rise, again. The sanctions are working and the EU needs to keep its focus along with Russia !

Iran's nuclear containment has been the one point Russia and the EU have agreed. It is important 'the powers that be' find a way to maintain their focus in the face of escalating tensions with Georgia and Poland.

Bush/Cheney created 'a wedge issue' with the Missile Defense Shield that would cause a destabilizing effect between Europe and Russia. With a new Russian President and the 'idea' that Georgie is 'trigger happy' and possibly followed by another Neocon, Russia has gotten nervous.

Besides, the people of South Ossetia are filing charges of Genocide against the Georgian President. That can't be dismissed. Bush/Cheney and now the ranting of McCain is causing instability in what has been progressive relations with The East for decades. Europe cannot sacrifice its relations with The East because the USA Republican politics demands it.


Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri (right) talking to a member of parliament after his re-election (click here).

Iranian conservative attacks president on economy (click here)
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI – 1 day ago
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A top conservative cleric close to Iran's supreme leader criticized the economic policies of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying they threaten to keep Iran from its goal of becoming a regional superpower by 2025.
The remarks by Ali Akbar Nateq Nouri, published Sunday, came just a week after supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei strongly backed Ahmadinejad, praising him for "standing up" to the West and urging him to plan for a second four-year term.
But Nateq Nouri, a confidant of Khamenei, said the strong support didn't mean the president was immune from criticism. And, according to his comments at a banking conference, Iran's economy is faltering....