Antarctica breast cancer survivor struck down again

October 17, 2008 - 5:16AM
SYDNEY - A doctor who diagnosed and treated her own breast cancer while working on an isolated station in Antarctica is facing another fight, this time against a brain tumour.
Dr Jerri Nielsen, a US physician and mother-of-three, took up a medical position at a research facility in the South Pole 10 years ago....

The weather in Antarctica has (Crystal Wind Chime) hotter temperatures across the continent than ever noted before.

Antarctica is experiencing Spring and will enter Summer in December, but, the heat noted across larger square areas of the continent than before.


October 19, 2008
1200 PM UTC
Antarctica (Click here for 24 hour - missing is 3PM and all of AM satellites)

Yesterday Vostok was reporting a temperature of -77 F. That is an increase in temperature of 12 degrees Fahrenheit in less than 24 hours.

Vostok

Local Time: 12:57 AM VOST on October 20, 2008
Lat/Lon: 78.4° S 106.9° E

Elevation :: 11220 ft / 3420 m
Temperature :: -65 °F / -54 °C
Conditions :: Heavy Blowing Snow
Humidity :: 42%
Dew Point :: -72 F / -58 C
Wind :: 18 mph / 30 km/h from the WSW
Wind Gust :: -
Pressure : in / hPa (Rising)
Visibility :: 1.0 miles / 1.0 kilometers
Elevation :: 11220 ft / 3420 m

October 18, 2008
0600 PM UTC
Antarctica

Yesterday Base Orcadas had a mean temperature of 29 F. That is a temperature increase of 15 degrees Fahrenheit in less than 24 hours.

Local Time: 5:07 PM GST
Lat/Lon: 60.8° S 44.7° W20 ft / 6 m
Elevation :: 20 ft / 6 m
Temperature :: 44 °F / 6 °C
Conditions :: Patches of Fog
Humidity :: 50%
Dew Point :: 32 F / 0C
Wind :: 6 mph / 9 km/h from the NW
Wind Gust :: -
Pressure :: 29.40 in / 996 hPa (Rising)
Visibility :: 0.0 miles / 0.8 kilometers
Clouds :: Scattered Clouds 394 ft / 120 m (Above Ground Level)


October 18, 2008
1928 gmt
The satellite above clearly shows heat transfers arriving from the equator to Antarctica at 12 o'clock and 7 o'clock.

Antactica

Congratulations to the Obama Campaign and to Colin Powell for being a Mover and a Shaker

Thank you.



He has served many civilian leaders in the White House and knows when history is about to take a turn for the better. I honestly didn't expect this. We won't let him down.

...“I don’t believe [Palin] is ready to be president of the United States,” Powell said flatly. By contrast, Obama’s running mate, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, “is ready to be president on day one.”
Powell also said he was “troubled” by Republican personal attacks on Obama, especially false intimations that Obama was Muslim and Republicans’ recent focus on Obama’s alleged connections to William Ayers, the founder of the radical ’60 Weather Underground.
Stressing that Obama was a lifelong Christian, Powell denounced Republican tactics that he said were insulting not only to to Obama but also to Muslims.
“The really right answer is what if he is?” Powell said, praising the contributions of millions of Muslim citizens to American society.
“I look at these kind of approaches to the campaign, and they trouble me,” Powell said. “Over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican Party has become narrower and narrower.”...

Chinese support for US economy (A Babe in the Woods)

I told you this was a sovereignty issue. The assets of the USA including Ports and their commerce are finding a fascination again by foreign markets.

This is the price the USA pays for deregulation and 'free will' markets with no taxes to pay the bills. Next will be auctions of USA assets until the only aspect of the country that defines it as sovereign is its Constitution. They didn't auction that off yet, did they?


From the Arab News

...The People’s Bank, for instance, refused $200 billion to help fund the US bank bailout. Such reluctance stems in part from their limited experience of global capital markets. Indeed when the subprime bubble burst, the Beijing authorities were being advised by Wall Street investment bankers on how they could reform their own banking and financial system to bring it into line with the US model. Some of those Masters of the Universe found that suddenly they did not have banks to fly home to, let alone valid credit cards to settle their five-star Beijing hotel bills.
The Chinese understandably must now doubt the validity of the expensive advice on reform they were being given. But the reality is that with some $1.38 trillion of dollar-denominated foreign currency reserves, the Chinese cannot afford to let the US economy sink.
A communist government has to bail out the capitalist system. But their assistance, as that of other sovereign wealth funds, ought to carry a price.
That price should include the removal of invisible barriers US legislators have erected to stop what they regard as key assets, such as their ports, coming under “suspect” foreign ownership. We all know how Dubai World Ports was forced to sell off its portfolio of US ports after it had acquired P&O.
The global economy has to work both ways, not just in favor of US investors. Now is the time to make this clear.

Every Solar Gavitational Phenomena has an Event Horizon

In a politically charged environment that is laced with obvious bigotry and racism, I tend to shy away from using the word 'black.' I mean that with the greatest sincerity. I have some trouble seeing the permission to expressions commonly used out of convenience. That said, this entry is not about politics and it should not be viewed that way, nor is it about physics from the stand point of science, but, perhaps a 'physics' that incorporates the math used by Wall Street when 'Event Horizons' occur.



Simulated view of a black hole in front of the Milky Way. The hole has 10 solar masses and is viewed from a distance of 600 km.<sup>[10]

This entry is about the 'bottomless pit' now casually called The Global Economy and the need for a brevity that brings productive dialogue to a public still struggling to grasp their governments radical approach to failing markets.

I called on media organization to bring brevity to their 'business' sections in having commentary that is meaningful and constructive while being conducted with processes that are 'outside of the box.' I didn't intend for that entry to be considered a potential 'trap' for lesser opinion to be ridiculed by what might be considered 'expert' opinion. I meant that entry to be a call to arms, of sorts.

I'll begin this by stating I am firmly committed to the opinion that any government intervention in a private market place, as Wall Street is, is simply wrong. I do not favor a bailout of Wall Street and in that comes the reality that banks needed to be more insightful when they went like sheep over the cliff with Countrywide Financial. Before doing so. Taking that leap of faith. They should have taken a step back from the brink and insured such radical decisions with Lloyds of London. I could not be more serious.

In a world as interconnected as we live in there is a clear reality that when a pin drops in London is is heard in Brisbane. Realizing all that is 'us' and how little is simply 'me' there needs to be a reality of a dangerous 'idea' that resolve to a negative outcome will simply destroy what civilization is all about and therefore 'knee jerk' reactions to jump to hyperspace and 'allow' government to actually 'bailout' a private entity for the sake of preventing further damage is a hideous game of 'fiscal rolette.' It is simply stupid to 'allow' government 'the foothold' to rule the financial markets. It is a never ending cycle and one laced with enormous pit falls that takes control away from those best to make decisions placing 'instead' that outcome in the hands pressured by politics.

Money is not politics regardless of its demand to pay for campaigns. Money is a country's tender. It is a 'landmark' of a country's wealth and well being. Nothing to be toyed with and CERTAINLY nothing to be used in experimentation as has occurred with Western governments in recent events.

The bailout undertaken by the USA government is nothing short of incompetent and the continued dictatorship by the USA Secretary of the Treasury to the banking sector is simply outrageous. If banks feel the need to 'fill their coffers' with liquidity rather than more lending then they should proceed and seek actions against the USA Treasury Secretary in the courts of law of the USA.

There is a danger to the continued debt allowed to take shape with the bailout and it is the 'slippery slope' of that decision compounded by the decision of other governments of The West to 'throw' a nation's legal tender at 'the problem.' It is NOT the right of a democracy's leadership to simply bring about such a policy of 'infusing' banks with simply more money when that money is doomed to be worthless.

The 'idea' that the USA government is continuing to compromise the financial markets is something to be taken with brevity by all institutions, even the ones that 'faired well' in this past emergency. Why? Because there is one thing in common that can disaffect EVERYONE and that is the value of the currencies of current democracies.

JUST AS A QUICK 'LOOK-SEE.'</sup>

Japan's Yen Posts Weekly Drop Versus Euro as U.S. Stocks Rally

By Ye Xie and Kim-Mai Cutler

Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The yen posted its first weekly decline against the euro in a month as a rally in U.S. stocks encouraged investors to buy higher-yielding assets funded by low-cost loans in Japan.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aTkK5FpSSpLo&refer=japan

Euro gains on dollar to US$1.3490
The Associated Press
Published: October 17, 2008

Frankfurt, Germany : The euro gained on the dollar Friday after Wall Street rebounded strongly overnight and Japan's market recovered from its historic fall in the previous session.

The 15-nation euro bought US$1.3490 in European morning trading, up from the US$1.3428 the night before in New York.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/17/business/EU-Euro-Dollar.php


There comes a time when the populous of a country has to state, 'we've had enough' of reckless fiscal policy and stop this idiocy.

There are basic 'flaws' in the USA Treasury Secretary's methodology.

His 'history' of success is mediocre at best.

The 'institutions' that are still on the outside of the 'failure chain' while involved in the dynamics of 'THE PLAN' deal in liquidity. Those same firms are entering the market place to 'deal with banks' in 'handling' their 'required' debt load.

What does that mean?

There is a preference by those that are managing this enormous debt in the Executive Branch of the USA to fashion 'banks' to serve as a clearinghouse to 'preferred' Liquidity Firms. I might add that those liquidity firms exist to service the military industrial complex of the USA.

This 'bailout' isn't allowing banks to re-establish their fiscal base, they are simply diving further into debt as required in accepting funds. Albeit, the 'new debt' is supposed to be 'better debt' and therefore in the 'long run' it is supposed to have a return, but, that return is so far out on 'the curve' that the recovery won't occur for decades and not simply a short run in the marketplace.

What will occur is the 'chronic' bailout of banks until the monetary structure of any country of The West is literally worthless. All the financial markets are more than willing to 'play the game' and see how it all turns out simply because they can and literally have to because governments are simply taking over their venues of freedom of transaction. To wait and see without profound insight and damn good math realizing margins and exponential failure on those margins is to realize the longevity of this failure and the complete and abject failure of THE PLAN.

There is something to be said about The Stock Market Crash as it played out so long ago. It was decisive, harsh and OVER with little intervention except for a President to give American Labor jobs to reinfuse NOT BANKS but the 'demand side' of the market place while the infrastructure of the USA improved and its 'fiscal' worth increased at the labor of its people. The 'old' Crash provided impetus for infrastructure rebuilding and placed 'the dollar' back on its feet when the country became more valuable to its currency.

<sup>The current 'bailout' is complete stupidity. It saps the value of the dollar without a return in a short course. As a result the 'confidence' so much talked about can't possibly occur unless it is among fools without hope and willing to travel a path as it is the only one available.

The debt load by all countries of The West needs to stop escalating, currency allowed to equilibrate for this episode of 'do something.'

Any further failure of the markets will occur without intervention, while the people of The West realize their choices in government just weren't what SHOULD have occurred when illegal wars and exorbitant expenditures result as 'bandaids' to incompetency in government. People have to realize politics is not a game and sometimes requires backbone of their representation when those incompetencies becomes common place and overlooked to the resolve of which brings impeachment.

The peoples of The West, which is something that can and should be addressed by the UN Security Council, have to realize there are 'instruments' within their constitutions and 'rules of law' that are SUPPOSED to be accessed to prevent gross incompetency and there are very real reasons why. They have to realize there is good leadership and bad leadership and I can't believe I have to consider my fellow citizen to be a person to educate to the ethics and morality of government where it departs from that of religion and faith.

Fiscal policy is NOT of God. It is of competency and morality that is grossly different than simply living by the Ten Commandments and when that 'integrity' is breached there are real consequences to the outcome of the well being of fiscal infrastructure to a country.

The common Editorial to the policies of the Bush Executive Branch would simply 'brush off' as a means of identity as 'hubris.' It was far more than that and this is the result. The legislations of McCain's economic advisors were a direct 'cause' of the current attack on the monetary systems of The West. That cannot be overlooked and to allow more of the same is to allow continued compromise to the fiscal infrastructure of the USA.

There are established entities in the USA, of which Credit Unions are just one, that have come away unscathed by the incompetencies of the Bush Executive Branch and Republican policy changes. That is an extremely valuable aspect to returning 'credit' to consumers and allowing confidence in home ownership. If the recklessness with the value of the currency continues, it can be stated there is no 'safe haven' to the people of a country and the worse of this mess is still to be realized.


KNOCK IT OFF !!!!</sup>

The consequences of Palin's Guilty Findings in regard to the Ethics Statute Violation is yet to be realized.

Palin violated Executive Branch Ethics Act (click here). She has complicated the 'disposition' of any firing of her former Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan.



The findings of the investigation aren't really that she is guilt free of breaking Alaskan statute, but, is indeed guilty of breaking the Ethics Laws governing her ELECTED position as Governor. The Public Safety Commissioner is NOT a political appointment as a cabinet officer would be.

There are definitive consequences to Palin's Ethics Violation. It raises the question, "Does Walter Monegan get his job back?"

It raises the question, "Is there impeachment of Palin that follows this investigation?"

It raises the question, "Is any action against Trooper Wooten considered 'null and void' due to the fact Walter Monegan was facing undue pressure from the Governor of Alaska?"

Basically, how much of the proceedings againt Wooten and Monegan is considered tainted and appealable due to the indiscretions of Palin?

Troopergate for Palin is not small issue. It points to abuse of power for personal satisfaction as a superior authority. If her actions are inappropriate it compromises her personally as well as The State of Alaska opening the possibilty of lawsuits by Wooten and Monegan.

How much has to be returned to these two men? Rank, status, retirement, benefits and possibly monetary considerations for pain and suffering. Due to the 'high profile' of this investigation, both Wooten and Monegan may no longer have viable career paths.

There was a lot of damage done by Alaskan Governor Palin. Who pays? The Alaskan Taxpayer?

I want to see all the e-mails from Sarah Palin, both official and personal regarding the prevention of classifying The Polar Bear in Alaska

Bush administration to Gov. Palin: Beluga whale in Alaska is endangered
Alaska's Gov. Sarah Palin has questioned scientific evidence that the beluga whale population in the waters near Anchorage is declining. In fact last summer she urged the federal government not to list the whale as endangered, citing concerns of what a listing might do to the Cook Inlet economy.
But today the U.S. Government replied with a decisive counter, declaring the beluga whales in Alaska's Cook Inlet an endangered species. The findings by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration trigger a rigorous regimen to protect the whales, dwindled to an estimated 375 from their 1995 high of 653.
The decision by NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service could trump a decision by the U.S. Interior Department to make oil leases available on Cook Inlet, where energy analysts see an estimated $1.38 billion worth of resources.
"In spite of protections already in place, Cook Inlet beluga whales are not recovering," said James Balsiger, NOAA's acting assistant administrator. The agency added that oil and gas exploration had hindered the whale's existence.
As the Associated Press noted, this is the second run-in Palin has had with the Bush administration over the Endangered Species Act. Earlier, the governor, now Republican vice presidential candidate, had asked the courts to overturn an Interior Department decision declaring polar bears threatened.
-- Johanna Neuman

Just a reminder to all those that have lost their way in the last eight years. Come HOME !!! We've been waiting for you.

The last couple of days it would seem The New York Times has found God.

...Based on the information that has come to light so far, the charges appear to be wildly overblown — and intended to hobble Acorn’s efforts....

Let's hope that trend continues at The New York Times. It's been a real bitch since that moron started work there...what's his name? Oh, yeah, Powell...Michael Powell.

Liberate The New York Times.

We are all pulling for you.

Has everyone watched and LISTENED to Michael Moore's Slacker Tour? In that film appears Viggo Mortensen stating that citizens of great democracies should be issued voter registrations automatically (along with their filing of drivers' license and/or draft status).

In the USA, every college student is required to file a draft form in order to receive financial assistance. Right or wrong, it goes on. There is no reason why any form where Americans come in contact with 'the system' doesn't require voter registration.

The New York Times very diplomatically evaded the finger pointing on this exploitation of a 'real issue' spun to defame a Presidential Candidate. The finger points directly at the inflammatory CNN and in this case Drew Griffin. It is irresponsible journalism, biased and exaggerated to cause harm to the character of a candidate. At this point with 'the truth' being known it is debateable at to whom the candidate slated for damage actually is.

HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, ha, ha, ah it feels so good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JERKS !

...But for all of the McCain campaign’s manufactured fury about vote theft (and similar claims from the Republican Party over the years) there is virtually no evidence — anywhere in the country, going back many elections — of people showing up at the polls and voting when they are not entitled to.

Meanwhile, Republicans aren’t saying anything about another more serious voter-registration scandal: the fact that about one-third of eligible voters are not registered. The racial gaps are significant and particularly disturbing. According to a study by Project Vote, a voting-rights group, in 2006, 71 percent of eligible whites were registered, compared with 61 percent of blacks, 54 percent of Latinos and 49 percent of Asian-Americans.

Much of the blame for this lies with overly restrictive registration rules. Earlier this year, the League of Women Voters halted its registration drive in Florida after the state imposed onerous new requirements....

Well. I won't exactly call it a 'surge,' but if it makes everyone feel better for a day or so, ..., what the heck, you know?

Up in NYC, down in Asia, up in Europe, down in South America, bonds down, commodities up.

I guess Hanks, 14,000 is still a long gone artificially dreamscape.

The NY exchange isn't over 9000 yet, right? Didn't think so.

I was wondering how much of 'hit (as in damage)' the entire dynamics of global exchanges took. I haven't had a chance to do a very rough guesstimate to the sustained losses of all exchanges over the past year. Someone needs to do that. There are plenty of financial experts across the media spectrum. I would advocate every one of them to perform their OWN assessment of the Paulson tumble after achieving an artifical 14,000.

What is troubling to me, is that so much of the 'appearance' of improvement can be masked by a 24 hour market loop the size of the circumference of Earth, especially when improvements are relatively small increments (easily within a margin of error to really matter).

While I understand that confidence plays into the markets, what exists in that 'concept' of confidence is that 'artificial' confidence is okay.

What is part of the chronic rollercoaster of the markets in the year 2008, especially since the recent tumbles, is this 'idea' that confidence will be 'restored' through all these huge money manipulations. That entire mess, I believe, isn't restoring confidence because it isn't real, so much as desperate. What is strongly skeptical is that 'the current bottomless pit' of the markets is sincerely that.


A Filipino investor takes a break from monitoring activities at the Philippine Stock Exchange. The Philippine Stock Exchange index fell 116.04 points, or 5.2 percent, to 2,122.37. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Aaron Favila

TORONTO - The Toronto stock market finished modestly lower Thursday, after a late-day rally that saw investors buy beaten up energy stocks despite a big drop in oil prices below the US$70 mark for the first time in more than a year.
New York markets also pulled off a comeback late in the day as investors examined mixed economic and earnings data for clues about the health of the economy.
Toronto's S&P/TSX composite surged about 100 points, dropped well over 500 points and finished the session down 53.88 points to 9,269.97, after an energy-sector rout sent the main index down 632 points on Wednesday....

McCain's Iraq after the Surge - Two more American Soldiers Dead

Oct 16, 2008 21:14
US military: 2 American soldiers die in Iraq
By Associated Press
BAGHDAD
The US military says an American soldier has been killed in a rocket or mortar attack north of Baghdad.
A statement says the soldier was killed Thursday in an indirect fire attack in Diyala province but provides no other details. Indirect fire is the military term for a rocket or mortar attack.
The US military said earlier that an American soldier died of noncombat causes late Wednesday in Baghdad.
At least 4,185 members of the US military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003. That's according to an Associated Press count.

Bush always 'comes up with something' at the last minute when it comes to the occupation of Iraq. If I remember right, Senator Clinton asked how long it would take to rapidly deploy the troops out of Iraq, and I think the answer was three months. Given this is mid-October, I think Bush needs to start is redeployment. This is the type of leadership the Republicans offer the people of the USA.

Inept.

Any agreement about the prolonged stay of the USA in Iraq should have been signed, sealed and delivered to the Congress and the Joint Chiefs a year ago. A year ago, the Iraqi government told Bush he would be required to leave that country. Did he listen? No. Is he listening now? No. Why? Because there is always some kind of bargaining chip he can find to 'put a deal' together. The problem this time, is that there is NO money in the piggy bank anymore.

2012.

How many more soldiers will die? How many more Iraqi citizens will die? How many more refugees will there be? And how much more poverty will be achieved?

By 2012, Afghanistan will once again belong to the Taliban !

Iraq doesn't need anymore USA monies. They have plenty of their own. I suggest Bush act in a responsible fashion and prepare his Commanders on the ground for deployment back home.

Bush team pushes hard for Iraq security deal (click here)
By MATTHEW LEE and JENNIFER LOVEN – 1 hour ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration has launched a top-level lobbying campaign to persuade skeptical U.S. lawmakers and disapproving Iraqi politicians to support a security agreement governing the continued presence of American troops in Iraq.
Although congressional approval is not legally required, U.S. lawmakers' support is considered crucial for an agreement to go forward. In Iraq, where the deal must pass through several complex layers of approval, the going is considered even tougher.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, are reaching out to key members of the House and Senate. Rice also is pressing senior Iraqi leaders to accept the deal.
The agreement includes a timeline for U.S. withdrawal by 2012 and a crucial but unpopular compromise that gives Iraq limited ability to try U.S. contractors or soldiers for major crimes committed off-duty and off-base, officials said Thursday....

McCain actually did this on the debate platform? That isn't doctored?

Holy smokes, what next? Perhaps the Presidential Debates should end with two, earlier in the season, for the Presidency and one for the Vice Presidency. This far along in the process to the elections, it would seem some folks just can't handle a national stage.

Another Right Wing Propaganda Stunt

Joe The Plumber: Not A Licensed Plumber, Real Name Not Joe
Posted by Jason Cherkis on Oct. 16, 2008, at 3:14 pm

Joe Wurzelbacher spoke to Senator Barack Obama about taxes while the candidate campaigned near Toledo, Ohio, last week. (Photo: Jim Young/Reuters)

JOE IS A FRAUD.

Leave it to McCain to find the most pathetic argument in the country to cut taxes. It should be no surprise really, McCain picked a governor known for abuse of power as a Vice Presidential Candidate. There is just plain bad judgement by McCain every place one looks.

There is no one out there paying taxes on a quarter of a million US that doesn't understand their necessity to do so. Sorry, they just don't win my sympathy.

McCain just isn't big on securing the best interest of his campaign. First he doesn't care about vetting a Veep Candidate and now this. When does McCain actually become real, if he is capable of it. Next thing you know, Bin Laden will be Homeland Security Secretary after he's had a face lift.

What is even more interesting, is the media thinks the 'stunt' Joe pulled is a good idea and is rewarding his spirit to innovate an arguement as if its real. That is amazing. The media is nothing but the propaganda arm of the Right Wing. It just is.

Samuel J. Wurzelbacher has issues. He defrauded a reality to disaffect an election. I wonder what name he is actually voting under, IF he votes at all.

The American Dream since the invention of 'American Idol,' is to make a fool out of a politician and win a million dollars. Maybe Sam needs to take his show on the road. He seems to be able to do imitations without any trouble. He could actually find himself in that upper 2% tax bracket after all. Better yet, he needs to be arrested for at least a misdemeanor in attempting to create a fraudulent event that could cause the American people the best President this country has ever seen.

The fact of the matter is that a small business paying taxes on a Quarter of a Million US is taking in a whole lot more. That business is taking in enough receipts to pay salaries, have purchasing power for supplies, office space and HOPEFULLY health insurance if they value their employees that much.

And those expenses that come off the income a small business, is actually feeding more small businesses or even big businesses such as UPS or FedEx. To 'score' a tax burden on a Quarter of a Million US is a significant business and to add to the dynamics of that business such as insuring HUMAN BEINGS that produce product to enhance the business' bottom line will not cause greater damage to the USA economy. It will enhance it.

For every check a small business has to write while achieving a profitable bottom line is more economic growth. Obama knows what he is doing and its about time the USA rewarded THE RIGHT GUY and elected him into the White House.

Many times in describing the dynamics of Antarctica I referred to wind that 'fell off' the higher altitudes to the coastal area. Please see below.

This is Seattle in October?


October 4, 2008
Cedar Hill, Texas
Photographer states :: The weather is still warm, crickets singing, even some mosquitoes tonight. We got some rain today- not a lot, but a couple of good downpours. From the looks of this we have a chance at a bit more- hope so.

SEATTLE TACOMA INTL AP (457473) (click here)
Monthly Totals/Averages
Average Temperature (degrees F)
Years: 1971-2000
Annual Average
Jan
40.9
Feb
43.3
Mar
46.2
Apr
50.1
May
55.7
Jun
60.6
Jul
65.3
Aug
65.6
Sep
61.0
Oct
52.7
Nov
45.2
Dec
40.7
Annual
52.3
Official data and data for additional locations and years are available from the Regional Climate Centers and the National Climatic Data Center.

Seattle Mayor Nickels - US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement
...On February 16, 2005 the Kyoto Protocol, the international agreement to address climate disruption, became law for the 141 countries that have ratified it to date. On that day, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels launched the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement to advance the goals of the Kyoto Protocol through leadership and action. Two years later, The U.S.Conference of Mayors launched the Mayors Climate Protection Center to administer and track the agreement, among its other activities. By November 1, 2007, there were more than 710 signatories to the Agreement....

The dense cold air from the high frigid areas of the ice continent have such dramatic impacts that there are areas of the continent laid bare of any snow. Quite a feat for a quality of Earth called 'air.'



...Known as the Dry Valleys, they are swept free of snow by nearly relentless katabatic winds—cold, dry air that rolls downhill toward the sea from the high altitudes of the ice sheet....

Where have we seen this before? Where huge amounts of money are dumped into the economy to buoy some sort of positive return to the markets?

Only a week or so ago, the USA was seeking to stop the foreclosures of banks and huge amounts of monies were stated to 'fix' it all.

It didn't.

What occurred was the same 'phenomena' that has been recurring over and over and over, no different than the recent attempts by Europe to stabilize their markets.

It won't work.

Why?

Because the monies that are being 'created' to satisfy a public outcry to 'do something' are backed by empty worth. How can a country, which relies on banks and even other nations for loans into their debt load, turn around, print more money and expect that such nonsense would actually work to convert a slippery slope into a stable market.

The 'bailouts' only create more and more of a slippery slope because there is no clear path to this mess. The ONLY clear path is to let the lousy debt ridden market tank. Wall Street did this to themselves.

I stated clearly, "What difference does it make if the collapse happens today or a month from now?" I stated clearly that allies needed to stop assisting these markets. As a result of interventionists attempting to 'play god,' are compromising any resolve.

John McCain (this is freedom?)...We have to change the culture of America....

John McCain claims to be a reformer. What exactly does he mean by that?

He stated tonight that ? we ? have to change the culture of the United States. Really?

I

DON'T

THINK

SO.



John McCain is a zealot. He nor anyone he represents has the RIGHT to simply DECIDE to change the culture of the United States. Where does he get off?

He represents everything "W"rong with this country. He represents tax cuts that drives up deficits, he actually believes people and small businesses that earn a QUARTER of a MILLION dollars US annually should not carry their fair share of taxes, he advocates supposed health care reform that will destroy the minimalist benefit programs we have now, he represents more war at any cost, and more Bush policies.

There was a time in the USA when our State Department negotiated trade policy with any country requiring social supports that demanded insurance to the integrity of workers and citizens, namely environmental regulations and worker safety measures. It was standard. Today, the Repbulicans promote outsourcing while not seeking protections for workers or environmental regulations.

The Republicans demand China to stop polluting while trade with China is at record levels. YET. There are no environmental regulations demanded of China or India for that matter as a premise to trade with the USA. If the Republicans demanded environmental regulations with the intervention of the State Department when negotiating trade deals with China, they would no longer have a basis of complaint about China.

McCain rather point fingers, whine, cry and complain about China and India as the main culprits of Global Climate Change while outsourced jobs exploit the peoples of those countries and allow profits for stockholders. There are ways of engaging regulation from other countries to insure the best 'integrity' of a product which the USA imports and one of those ways is to insist on trade policies that require environmental and worker safety policies as a premise to trade.

Today, the Republicans have negotiated a nuclear deal with New Delhi, without regard for the safety of citizens or the potential pollution of the plant. What happened to a US government that makes sense rather than one that does nothing but faciliate wealth?

PROLIFERATION
How India’s New Nuke Deal Might Set Off an Arms Race (click here)
By Adam B. Kushner NEWSWEEK
Published Oct 11, 2008
From the magazine issue dated Oct 20, 2008
When Congress finally approved the U.S -India nuclear deal this month, it sailed through the body with scarcely a peep. Most analysts in Washington and New Delhi hailed the move. But some observers worry the United States has just helped spark a new arms race.

People like McCain have eliminated the word decency from their vocabulary and replaced it with profit.

A Scientific Illustration of How Epigenetic Mechanisms Can Affect Health

A conversation we all need to have !

Outcry at scale of inheritance project (click here)

...The announcement has amplified rumbling criticism of the initiative. Eight prominent scientists in the field laid out their concerns in a letter2 published in Science on 3 October. Molecular biologist Hiten Madhani, the letter's lead signatory, has also set up an online petition to encourage others to register their opposition. "I hope the next NIH director just eliminates the programme lock, stock and barrel," says Madhani, who works at the University of California, San Francisco.
"We think it's a humongous waste of money for a lot of reasons," says Kevin Struhl of Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, who is one of the letter's signatories....

Anchorage Paper Calls Palin Response to Troopergate 'An Embarrassment'

ACCOUNTABILITY - NOT EVASION



...The Anchorage Daily News' angry editorial today was topped with the headline: "Palin vindicated? Governor offers Orwellian spin." It opens: "Sarah Palin's reaction to the Legislature's Troopergate report is an embarrassment to Alaskans and the nation....

Sarah can't handle herself. She 'leans' on people out of the authority she was granted as Governor. She did it for personal vendettas. Where have we seen this before?

How about Saddam and the chronic statement, "...he tried to kill my Dad."

Republicans practice 'power' NOT goverance. They aren't reasonable people. No one put the power of the USA military in the hands of Bush to avenge a verbal threat by a Iraqi dictator that never manifested into a real threat.

If the USA handed over military authority to the whims of retaliating against 'verbal threats' we would be conducting chronic wars out of hubris while leaving the security of the nation to chance. Bush's practice in the Executive Branch is clear demonstration of Republican 'entitlement' at the expense of the American people, both, fiscal and the actual lives of its soldiers and the pain of their families.

I can see it now. Palin, as Vice President, has called a new Energy Committee, including the National Rifle Association whom are to come up with methodologies to remove the need for 'Threatened' status of Polar Bears, while the committee is seeking clearer territorial boundaries in the Arctic Ocean between the USA, Canada and Russia through daily military patrols.

While these efforts are supposed to be non-confrontational on all aspects of securing our borders, both from Canadian Polar Bears and foreign entities, it should be noted "All Options are on the Table." Now, about that gas pipeline FROM Nowhere to the lower forty-eight....

Palin vindicated? (click here)
Governor offers Orwellian spin
Published: October 13th, 2008 10:17 PMLast Modified: October 13th, 2008 10:17 PM
Sarah Palin's reaction to the Legislature's Troopergate report is an embarrassment to Alaskans and the nation.
She claims the report "vindicates" her. She said that the investigation found "no unlawful or unethical activity on my part."
Her response is either astoundingly ignorant or downright Orwellian.
Page 8, Finding Number One of the report says: "I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act."
In plain English, she did something "unlawful." She broke the state ethics law.
Perhaps Gov. Palin has been too busy to actually read the Troopergate report. Perhaps she is relying on briefings from McCain campaign spinmeisters....

Obama Wins Scholastic News Election Poll (click here)
Almost 250,000 (a quarter of a million) kids voted by paper ballot or online
By Jack Greenberg

October 14 , 2008

It's official. At least for the kids! The Scholastic Presidential Election Poll results are in: Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama won with 57 percent of the vote, to 39 percent for Republican nominee Senator John McCain.The poll was open to kids from grades 1 to 12 in Scholastic News and Junior Scholastic magazines. Almost 250,000 (a quarter of a million) kids voted by paper ballot or online at www.scholastic.com/news. The poll closed on October 10....

Good video

US election: Hope for Barack Obama in the south as Republican campaign turns nasty (click here)
Down at the municipal offices in Decatur, Georgia, opposite the county jail, more than 200 mainly black voters were lining up patiently to cast their ballots for President of the United States.

There were elderly black men, their backs bent but their pride evident, their wives holding their arms. Youths sporting dreadlocks or afros and wearing low-slung jeans. Frazzled young women clutching children and wearing Barack Obama t-shirts. Middle-aged mechanics and builders on their lunch break.
For 40 days before "election day" - a misnomer in Georgia because a quarter of the ballots might be cast by then - residents of Decatur, a suburb of Atlanta, have been voting at a stunning rate of some 2,500 per day.
Less than 10 miles away is Auburn Avenue, site of the civil rights leader Dr Martin Luther King's birth in 1929 and where he was laid to rest after his assassination in 1968.
Among the early voters, mixed with the hope that Mr Obama, the Democratic nominee, will be elected as America's first black president is a gnawing fear that victory will somehow be snatched away. Despite his widening national poll lead and his clear edge in battleground states, few are taking anything for granted in the final 25 days.
"Most people have a sneaking feeling that something will happen to stop Obama," said Nadine Clarkson, 68. "We know what happened in Ohio last time and Florida the time before that. People who want to find a way are very ingenious."...

Sudan Holds Militia Leader Wanted by International Court

Ali Mohamed Abdel-Rahman

We have witnessed trials with Saddam within his own country handled with security, but, at the expense of the lives of judges, prosecutors and witnesses.

It is known that the International Tribunals have issues with longevity of cases and the change in judges during these long proceedings. It may be that the Sudanese government might be capable of trying Abdel-Rahman, but, considering the atrocities are still occuring and have not stopped due to his capture, I would find any trial with Sudan of those believed to be guilty a concern.

I believe the Sudanese government first has to address the atrocities still occuring before they can state they are capable of fair and just trials for all involved.

By Derek Kilner Nairobi

14 October 2008
Sudan has announced it is detaining a militia leader who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes committed in the country's western Darfur region. Derek Kilner reports from VOA's East Africa bureau in Nairobi.

Ali Mohamed Abdel-Rahman, better known as Ali Kushayb, was charged by the International Criminal Court in early 2007 with 50 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity as a commander of the Janjaweed militia in the conflict in Darfur.

The Sudanese government has repeatedly rejected handing over to the ICC either Kushayb, or Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmed Haroun, who is also wanted by the court.

The government says its justice system is capable of dealing with any crimes related to the conflict....

Escalating wars and becoming a global pariah is NOT returning good paying jobs to stressed economies.

This only goes to prove, that 'the poor' fight wars.

Not the 'bailed-out.'

We don't belong in Iraq.

We never did.

Infrastructure projects at HOME. Not every place ELSE but home.


The British Army is recruiting in areas of high unemployment

Better days for military recruiters (click here)
The Pentagon says it met its goals for 2008, and expects the bad economy to increase enlistment further.
By Julian E. Barnes
October 11, 2008
The economic downturn could make it easier to attract new recruits to the military, Defense officials said Friday as they announced that the Pentagon had met its 2008 recruiting goals.
Economic uncertainty and a declining job market are likely to make potential recruits and their parents more receptive to a pitch from the military, said David Chu, undersecretary of Defense for personnel and readiness.
“We do benefit when things look less positive in civil society,” Chu said. “That is a situation where more people are willing to give us a chance.”
Historically, military recruiting has been easier in periods of a weak economy and dim job prospects. If the recent financial turmoil translates into a deep recession and job losses, more high school graduates may consider military service, officials said Friday.
Chu said the military had no plans to adjust its pitch to potential recruits or to set higher enlistment goals....