This Blog is created to stress the importance of Peace as an environmental directive. “I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.” – Harry Truman
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It would seem the Ensign Affair was more extortion than love.
...Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a watchdog group (click title to entry - thank you), filed complaints Wednesday with the Senate ethics committee and the Federal Elections Commission, seeking the appropriate inquiries. Among the issues are whether the dismissals of the woman and her husband, once a top Ensign aide, were tied to the affair and, if so, could constitute sexual harassment; whether improper severance payments were paid to the woman or her husband; and what the circumstances were behind the hiring of the couple's son by the National Republican Senatorial Committee chaired by Mr. Ensign. CREW also questions Mr. Ensign's conduct if, as some media reported, he told people close to him that he was being extorted for money by the husband. Mr. Ensign never publicly said he was being blackmailed; his spokesman said the husband, through an attorney, made exorbitant demands for "cash and other financial benefits."...
Who Collected the Republican Soft Money
RNC = Republican National Committee
NRSC = National Republican Senatorial Committee
NRCC = National Republican Congressional Committee
July 7, 2009 12:07 AM S.C. Republicans Censure Sanford (click title to entry - thank you)
(AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastian)South Carolina's top Republicans voted overwhelmingly to censure Gov. Mark Sanford – who admitted to a lengthy affair with an Argentine woman – but fell well short of calling for his resignation. The state's GOP executive committee met for about three hours Monday. Twenty-two members supported the censure. Ten voted to call for his resignation and nine others voted against any reprimand. In a statement, Sanford says he appreciates the party's position and will continue to work to earn back its trust, the Associated Press reported. The governor has said repeatedly that he will serve his remaining 18 months in office. Some members of the state's Republican party reportedly do not want Sanford to resign because they wish to compete for the governor's mansion in 2011 and the state's current lieutenant governor, Andre Bauer, might have an advantage in running for reelection as the incumbent governor.
Two senators: CIA concealment may have broken law (click title to entry - thank you) By PETE YOST – 26 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Six months into Barack Obama's presidency, twin investigations may be on the horizon into Bush-era policies in the war on terror....
...Regarding the 8-year-old counter-terrorism program, the Bush administration's failure to notify Congress "is a big problem, because the law is very clear," said Senate Intelligence Committee chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif....
Go figure.
Dick Cheney ordered the CIA to conceal counter-terrorism plan from Congress (click here) ...According to US intelligence officials quoted in the US media the CIA director, Leon Panetta, told congressional intelligence committees that information about the programme was withheld on Cheney's orders. Panetta told the committees that as soon as he learned of the programme's existence last month he shut it down....
The debate between Senator Leahy and Jeff Sessions is ludicrous. The video at the article below shows the very 'heavy' politiking that is going on by Republicans to salvage the Republican Party and force the JUSTICE that is guaranteed to the American people to the back of any priority. There is always this 'intricate' 'cloud of uncertainty' regarding the Bush Executive Branch and their demeanor in carrying out their power. Jeff Sessions plays it to the hilt !
Dick Cheney came to office with an agenda, within two weeks after inauguration he conducted a covert Energy Committee, followed by a downed Spy Plane over China, shortly followed by sidelining FBI and CIA intelligence regarding pending attacks by al Qaeda, to allow the attacks to happen, followed by a short war into Afghanistan while plotting an illegal war into Iraq.
The Bush/Cheney White House was among the most insidious of enemy to the USA Constitution and the Obama Justice Department needs to do what it needs to do !!!!
Leahy on Cheney: No One Is Above the Law (click here) July 12, 2009 11:48 AM Posted by David S Morgan "There was no evidence that the higher-ups participated in any way," Sessions replied, adding that one Abu Ghraib defendant said "there would have been hell to pay" had they known what was happening. "It was an unusual event and the military did the right thing in prosecuting the people who were responsible," he said....
New Evidence Cheney Swayed Reaction to Leak (click here) Discussions of CIA Agent Listed in Filing
By R. Jeffrey Smith Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, July 3, 2009
A document filed in federal court this week by the Justice Department offers new evidence that former vice president Richard B. Cheney helped steer the Bush administration's public response to the disclosure of Valerie Plame Wilson's employment by the CIA and that he was at the center of many related administration deliberations.
The administration's discussion of Wilson's link to the CIA was meant to undermine criticism by her husband of administration allegations that Iraq attempted to acquire uranium, a matter that her husband had probed for the CIA, according to testimony presented in a 2007 trial....
How convenient. The Supreme Court turns a blind eye to the Plame appeal just in time for the truth to be known. Isn't that intersting.
Cheney, Rove, Libby Shielded From Leak Suit as Appeal Rejected (click here) Last Updated: June 22, 2009 10:09 EDT By Greg Stohr ...The justices, without comment, turned away an appeal by Plame, who worked at the Central Intelligence Agency’s headquarters in Virginia, and her husband, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson.
Plame and Wilson sued the three officials, along with former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, in 2006. The suit accused the men of leaking Plame’s identity to reporters in retaliation for a New York Times opinion piece by Wilson questioning then-President George W. Bush’s basis for invading Iraq....
Sounds like someone needs to make testimony !
Hastert son running for Congress (click here) By DENNIS CONRAD – 2 days ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Illinois congressional seat that former House Speaker Dennis Hastert once held for 20 years may see a Hastert comeback.
Hastert's son, Ethan, is running as a Republican for the seat now held by Democratic Rep. Bill Foster, a former physicist who succeeded the elder Hastert after a special election early in 2008.... ...For two years, until June 2002, Ethan Hastert worked in former Vice President Dick Cheney's office as a special assistant to Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Years later, Libby was convicted on felony charges of obstruction of justice and lying to investigators about his conversations with reporters.
"If they want to run against the former vice president, fine," Ethan Hastert said. "The fact of the matter is I am going to be on the ticket."
Judge Questions Justice Dept. Effort to Keep Cheney Remarks Secret (click here) By R. Jeffrey Smith Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, June 19, 2009 A federal judge yesterday sharply questioned an assertion by the Obama administration that former Vice President Richard B. Cheney's statements to a special prosecutor about the Valerie Plame case must be kept secret, partly so they do not become fodder for Cheney's political enemies or late-night commentary on "The Daily Show."
Karl Rove inks $1M-plus memoir deal (click here) The Associated Press
Updated: 07/02/2009 02:40:30 PM MDT
New York » GOP strategist Karl Rove has agreed to write about his years as an adviser to President Bush in a deal worth over $1.5 million with former colleague Mary Matalin's conservative imprint at Simon & Schuster, officials said Friday.
Rove, the architect of Bush's 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns and one of the most influential political advisers of his time, signed the deal with Threshold Editions, the imprint's publisher and executive vice president Louise Burke said.
"All of us at Threshold are thrilled to publish the book from the man who had the president's ear for two terms," Burke said.... Nigeria: NBA Seeks Urgent Action On Corruption, Halliburton (click here) 7 July 2009 President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), has urged the Federal Government to take a more critical look at the issue of corruption and specifically the Halliburton, Siemens and Wilbros scandals. The NBA boss who led a team of the association on a visit to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice (AGF), Michael Aondoakaa, in Abuja on Monday, expressed concerns of Nigerians on the high level of corruption on the country and urged the government not to pay lip service to the menace.
Responding, the AGF commended the leadership of the NBA for the timely visit despite the tension between his office and them, a development he described as constructive and not defined by disagreements.... ...Aondoakaa told the NBA team that Nigerians must be assured by the knowledge that the laws and institutions that form the basis of their legal system are there to uphold their rights and enforce responsibilities of every member of their community.
Justice, and the means to enforce it, must be available equally to every member of the community, regardless of means and without discrimination, he said....
JULY 8, 2009, 12:42 P.M. ET Weatherford, Halliburton, Schlumberger Eye Mexico Gas Project (click here) MEXICO CITY (Dow Jones)--Oil-services giants Weatherford International Ltd. (WFT), Halliburton Co. (HAL) and Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) have submitted proposals for a natural-gas drilling contract in Mexico's Burgos basin, said state-run Petroleos Mexicanos on Wednesday.
Two Mexican companies, Industrial Perforadoa de Campeche and CCC Fabricantes y Construcciones, also submitted proposals. Pemex, as the state-run oil company is known, is looking to boost natural-gas output at Burgos, which pumped 22% of Mexico's gas in May.
The three-year contract is scheduled to start in mid-August, according to documents on Compranet, the government procurement Web site.
Mexico is increasing oil investments this year, even though prices have fallen compared with 2008, providing opportunities to major oil-service firms at a time when most oil companies are slashing budgets to adjust to lower prices.
Mexico is spending heavily to reverse a decline in oil production and expand natural-gas output. The company expects to increase capital expenditures by about 10% this year to $20 billion.
-By Peter Millard, Dow Jones Newswires; 5255-5001-5724; peter.millard@dowjones.com
Wall Street is notorious for taking without regard to the rights of the people of the country they 'occupy.' In the case of Nigeria, the people revolted against the 'filth' of the oil barrons that took the Nigerian oil without a care about the environmental devastation they were also conducting.
The Nigerian Oil Cartel literally took the government away from the people by villanizing the people as lawless when they were only attempting to stand up for their 'unlegislated' rights to a clean environment including clean air and water.
The Nigerian people, nor their government, ever faced such horrendous pollution and danger to their tribes. The people knew they were being poisoned by the oil industry, but, were characterized by The Wall Street Gangs as savages and illiterate. The Nigerian Oil Cartel demanded the government protect them from the savages as they had 'contracted' for the oil and gas rights regardless of any 'after thought' the people may have.
We all know the conditions in Mexico. There is poverty, uneducation of many of the people, water supplies are sometimes trucked into villages, there is crime networks not yet surmounted by the Mexican authorities and there was the beginnings of H1N1. The people of Mexico have many enemies already. Do they need anymore?
I strongly suggest when Wall Street decides to 'occupy' a country they do so with benevolence at the heart of their initiative. The people of Mexico need infrastructure to fight crime and return their streets back to them, they need clean water supply and healthy air to breath and they need to move from poverty and filth to stop any escalation of potential illnesses while becoming healthier and better educated. In other words, the profitable 'bottom line' to the oil drilling in 'occupied' Mexico just shrunk because Wall Street is going to do the 'right thing' from now on !!!!!
NM eligible for flu preparation funds (click here) Associated Press - July 11, 2009 9:05 AM ET
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - New Mexico is eligible for more than $2.2 million in grants to help the state prepare for the fall flu season and swine flu.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the grants Friday. They're being funded by a supplemental appropriations bill signed by President Barack Obama in June.
New Mexico is eligible to receive $1.6 million in Public Health Emergency Response grants and $577,036 in Hospital Preparedness grants.
A total of $350 million in grants will be distributed nationwide.
The public health grants help states prepare for potential vaccination campaigns, implement strategies to reduce exposure and improve flu surveillance. The hospital grants help hospitals and health care systems prepare for health emergencies.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Mexico currently as has 10,200 known cases of H1N1.
2 to plead guilty in Big Dig concrete case (click here) By (AP) Published: 2009-07-08 14:50:05 Location: BOSTON Two former managers of a Big Dig contractor pleaded guilty Wednesday to being part of a conspiracy to deliver substandard concrete to the massive highway project.
Six former managers of Aggregate Industries NE Inc. were indicted in 2006 on charges they falsified records to hide the inferior quality of more than 5,000 truckloads of concrete.
They were accused of recycling concrete that was too old or already rejected by inspectors and in some cases double-billing for the loads. Gerard McNally, a former quality control manager, and Keith Thomas, a former dispatch manager, pleaded guilty to 12 charges, including 2 conspiracy counts, five mail fraud counts and five counts of filing false reports in connection with a federal highway project....
2 plead guilty in Big Dig concrete case (click here) By Associated Press Wednesday, July 8, 2009 Two former managers of a Big Dig contractor pleaded guilty today to being part of a conspiracy to deliver substandard concrete to the massive highway project.
Six former managers of Aggregate Industries NE Inc. were indicted in 2006 on charges they falsified records to hide the inferior quality of more than 5,000 truckloads of concrete.
They were accused of recycling concrete that was too old or already rejected by inspectors and in some cases double-billing for the loads....
Bechtel engineered and contracted The Big Dig in Boston. In Panama, who is to say what is substandard and what is not? Will the people be valued for the final product and the way production unfolds to protect the workers, the populous and the environment? In Panama?
Bechtel financially fittest in Panama bid-analysts (click here) Tue Jul 7, 2009 6:46am EDT * Bechtel-led group seen financially strongest
* European groups bring technical strengths
* Price looks key factor for contract
By Danilo Masoni and Sean Mattson
MILAN/PANAMA CITY, July 7 (Reuters) - A team led by U.S. group Bechtel is financially best placed to win the race for an estimated $3.3 billion contract to expand the Panama Canal, analysts said.
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) overseeing the bidding will open price bids on Wednesday but may take several weeks before announcing a winner. This $3.3 billion contract is the largest chunk of a $5.25 billion project to expand the canal....
Facebook Racism LOL-er Audra Shay: Wins bid to Chair Young Republicans (click here) July 12, 2009 (ChattahBox)—Audra Shay, a promoter of despicable hate and racism now serves as the national chair of the Young Republicans organization. The delegates tapped 38-year-old Shay to lead them in a vote of 470 to 415 over the weekend, effectively endorsing hate, racism and bigotry as the now and future platform of the GOP.
The election of the chair of the Young Republicans would have largely gone unnoticed, were it not for the discovery of racial slurs and hate found on Shay’s Facebook page. Certainly, a public endorsement of hate and racism should disqualify a person from becoming a leader of a major political party, but think again. This is the GOP and if anything, despite some outcries from a few fellow Young Republicans, Shay’s display of hate seemed to work to actually embolden her supporters.....
Gentilly's recovery from Hurricane Katrina is finally gaining momentum (click here) Posted by Kate Moran, The Times-Picayune July 12, 2009 7:49AM Among the city's devastated neighborhoods, Gentilly was something of an orphan after the storm. The Lower 9th Ward, with its manifest hardships, proved a magnet for volunteer groups. Lakeview and Broadmoor were meanwhile buoyed by robust and highly organized neighborhood associations. But momentum has gathered in recent months in Gentilly, a sprawling, diverse area that in many ways is a microcosm of the city itself. The post office and 3rd District police headquarters have returned, and construction is nearly complete on two major high schools. The high-profile public investments have begun to kindle the return of private business as well....
It would seem as though, Pastor Rick Warren is trying to unite the Muslim community and Christian community in 'good works.' Not a bad idea. However, the organization he is trying to unite with first has a bit of controversy laced with it because it supports Hamas.
Rick Warren envisions coalition of faith (click here) By Julia Duin Sunday, July 5, 2009 ..."I am not interested in interfaith dialogue but interfaith projects," said the pastor of the 24,000-member Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., who is widely known for his bestseller "The Purpose-Driven Life."...
Rick Warren is Wrong (click here) MADISON, Wisc., July 6 Christian Newswire Steve McConkey submits the following and is available for comment:
Rick Warren spoke to 8000 Muslim listeners at the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) at the Washington Convention Center on July 4th. He said, "Muslims and Christians can work together for the common good without compromising my convictions or your convictions. I am not interested in interfaith dialogue but interfaith projects."
Earlier, a Canada Free Press article said ISNA is an organization with ties to Hamasand other terrorist groups. According to the article, the organization's website has quotations like the following, "The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. 'O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.'"
Rick Warren is putting works first and faith second. According to the Bible in James 2:14-26, works should follow a person's faith. Warren has reversed this and has put works first and faith second.
According to the book of James, true faith is believing the exclusive claims of Christ and not putting faith behind works. Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven according to the Bible. As we share this truth with the world, we should then do good works....
...Interior Minister Rehman Malik said investigations were complete for these suspects and named another 12 men still wanted in connection with the case. The charges show Pakistan is serious in pursuing suspects in the case despite Indian claims to the contrary, he said. More than 170 people died in the attacks, including nine gunmen. India has accused Pakistan-based fighters from the banned militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba of carrying out the attacks. Pakistan has admitted they were partly planned on its soil and the two countries have suffered seriously strained relations....
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A pilotless U.S. drone fired two missiles into a Taliban communication center in an ethnic Pashtun tribal region on the Afghan border, killing five militants, intelligence officials said Saturday. The attack on the center run by Baitullah Mehsud, Pakistani Taliban chief and an al Qaeda ally, took place late Friday in the South Waziristan region. Here are some facts about the U.S. missile attacks, the controversy they have caused, and a list of some of the more prominent militants killed, according to Pakistani officials....
...January 28, 2008 - A senior al Qaeda member, Abu Laith al-Libi, was killed in a strike in North Waziristan.
July 28 - An al Qaeda chemical and biological weapons expert, Abu Khabab al-Masri, was killed in South Waziristan.
November 22 - Rashid Rauf, a Briton with al Qaeda links and the suspected ringleader of a 2006 plot to blow up airliners over the Atlantic, was killed in an attack in North Waziristan. An Egyptian named as Abu Zubair al-Masri was said to be among the dead in the same attack.
January 1, 2009 - A U.S. drone killed three foreign fighters in South Waziristan, Pakistani agents said. A week later, a U.S. counter-terrorism official said al Qaeda's operational chief Usama al-Kini and an aide had been killed in South Waziristan. The U.S. official declined to say how or when they died....
Tribal region poses harsh test for Pakistan army (click here) By NAHAL TOOSI – 4 hours ago ISLAMABAD (AP) — After relative success against Islamic extremists elsewhere, Pakistan's military faces its toughest test yet — a surgical operation against the country's most dangerous militant in a region of harsh terrain and fierce tribal rivalries. The target of the air and ground offensive now in its early phases is Baitullah Mehsud, the top commander of Pakistan's Taliban who has ties to al-Qaida. Mehsud is believed responsible for scores of suicide attacks — possibly including the December 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Pakistan considers Mehsud its greatest domestic threat. The U.S. views him as a danger to its war effort in Afghanistan because his base in South Waziristan harbors militants fleeing across the border. The Obama administration fears that a destabilized, nuclear-armed Pakistan could endanger the entire region. In recent months, U.S. missile strikes have increasingly focused on Mehsud-linked targets....
The Pakistani Government is claiming victory in its war against Taliban militants based in the Swat Valley. The army launched an offensive against the militants earlier this year after they began taking control of more areas outside the valley in breach of a peace agreement with the Government. Two million civilians fled the fighting and have spent the last two months living in makeshift refugee camps. The Government now says they can begin to return to their homes next week as the Swat region is now secure. It claims 1,500 militants have been killed in the offensive and nearly all of the valley has now been cleared of rebels.
Pakistani refugees begin returning home (click here) By RYAN LUCAS – 1 day ago SULTANWAS, Pakistan (AP) — Crammed into rickety vans with electric fans and sacks of flour roped to the roof, the first of Pakistan's 2 million refugees have begun returning to their homes after the army said it expelled Taliban militants from some northern strongholds. Their return is unlikely to end Pakistan's refugee crisis. The military is preparing for a major offensive in a neighboring region, ensuring that other Pakistanis will be displaced. The refugees have spent the past two months in crowded camps and squeezed into houses with relatives and friends south of the war zone, and are eager to restart their lives. The government must now quickly restore electricity and water — and prevent the militants from coming back. If the government fails, it could lose the goodwill it won among the public by confronting the Taliban during last spring's offensive. The military operation began after militants poured out of bases in the Swat Valley into the neighboring district of Buner and moved within 60 miles of the capital, Islamabad....
The sooner USA Forces are out of there the better. Allies need support in Afghanistan. That is if there is to be a defeat of al Qaeda. I guarantee you, Europe does not see it any other way.
Kurds lay claim to land and oil, defying Iraq's central government (click title to entry - thank you)
12:00 AM CDT on Saturday, July 11, 2009
By REESE ERLICH / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News Reese Erlich is a freelance journalist based in Oakland, Calif.
TAK TAK OIL FIELD, Iraq – With the passage of a controversial new constitution, the Kurdish regional parliament has added fuel to an already raging fire between Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq and Iraq's central government. The constitution, which still must be ratified in a popular vote, asserts Kurdish sovereignty over Kirkuk and other disputed areas, including oil fields. The constitution would require Baghdad to get Kurdish government approval of any international treaty signed by Baghdad that affects several disputed provinces with sizable Kurdish populations. Officials in the central government strongly oppose the constitution, saying it's an illegal grab for power. Behind the legal and political dispute, however, lies a fierce struggle for control of the country's oil....
They can keep their oil. I strongly suggest Detroit 'get busy' with producing the Electric Car. And I believe the Obama Administration is opening up 13 NEW High Speed Rail Systems across the country. Well. I suggest we get on with it !
The Iraqi Central Government is trying to gain 'confidence' of the people and the international community by attempting to bring International Soccer to Baghdad.
ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq hopes to convince FIFA the country is safe enough to host official soccer matches again when the national team plays Palestine on Monday in their first international in Baghdad since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. The country hosted its first match since the war late on Friday, with Iraq beating Palestine 3-0 in front of jubilant supporters in the northern Kurdish city of Arbil....
Friday, July 10, 2009, 8:31am EDT Modified: Friday, July 10, 2009, 9:55am Senate pulls all-nighter, passes 135 bills (click title to entry - thank you) The Business Review Early Friday morning, the state Senate revived a popular program that provides low-cost power to businesses. The program, called Power for Jobs, died during the unprecedented battle for control of the Senate that lasted for more than a month. The stalemate broke on July 9, and senators passed 135 bills in an overnight session that ended just before 2 a.m. on Friday. The bills are expected to be sent to Gov. David Paterson for his signature. In early June, two Democrats broke ranks and voted with Republicans in a surprise attempt to oust Democrats from power. Democrats had a 32-30 majority in the chamber, the first time the party had controlled the Senate in nearly 45 years. One Democrat—Sen. Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens)--later left the Republican-led voting bloc, creating a 31-31 split. There was no way to break a tie vote, because the state had no lieutenant governor. The Senate went more than a month without conducting any official business. Those most responsible for the delay need to return a month's worth of paychecks and an investigation should follow ! The investigation should speak to the monies that were added to the New York State taxpayer because of the Abuse of Power by those individuals.
The products have always been of sufficient quality. I own some old models. They are collector items. They get reasonable fuel milage, but not by today standards. They are definately not for a commute.
The problem with GM has been their unwillingness to build autos the American people demand. With a 60% ownership to this company, the American People should participate in a burgeoning new company that has yielded to the demands of our priorities to 'survive the day.'
That is a huge victory for the people of this nation. Mounting draconian capitalism meant destroying the entity before allowing its Pheonix. Not bad. The people of the USA are powerful when they adhere with dignity to their moral directives. How many other countries can make that statement? How many should?
I would encourage all Americans to scrutinize the achievements of the new GM, write the company and let them know how they are doing. It is our right to participate in our democracy.
Buy the cars. They are made with us in mind. Be proud of the product the USA produces.
I thank Mr. Lutz for his dedication to his maintain his role in a transitioning American company.
Thursday, July 9, 2009 Lutz to remain at GM as it emerges from bankruptcy (click title to entry - thank you) ...They are widely expected to announce structural changes marking the start of a new era for GM, which will also have a new name, General Motors Co. Henderson told senior executives that the bulk of management changes would come at the end of July. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan cleared the way for GM to exit bankruptcy when he rejected a request to delay the sale of its valuable assets into an entity that will be the future GM. GM's bad assets, including liabilities and brands it is shedding, will remain in bankruptcy and be sold off or liquidated. Kaplan denied a request to stay U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber's ruling that allowed a Treasury Department-sponsored entity to buy the bulk of GM's assets. The Treasury will own a 60.8 percent stake in GM, which hopes to launch an initial public offering in 2010. Members of the White House auto task force are expected to hold a conference call with reporters tomorrow following the GM announcement. A United Auto Workers health care trust fund will hold 17.5 percent of GM; the Canadian and Ontario governments will hold 11.7 percent. Unsecured creditors will hold 10 percent of GM....
I would. A trillion dollar US over ten years for health care is what the Republicans have been complaining about.
One Trillion Dollars over TEN (10) years. That's all it costs to insure Americans through a federally mandated health care system.
Let's get real here.
Kindly remember, these are the same Republicans that bailed out banks for $700 Billion US and we haven't got that money back yet. $700 Billion blown by people that don't give a damn about the people of the USA. If you remember those billions went to other countries as well. Okay? So, I don't want to hear squat about the cost of health care.
But, for the sake of argument.
The USA Health Care Industry is approximtately one sixth the entire economy of this country. One sixth. It will grow to far more once every American has affordable health care. It will not only grow, it will invest in R&D and grow even more jobs. It will expand and become the best health care the world has ever known. Better, far better than even today. Why? Because there will be monies and liquidity and a KNOWN populous to an industry devoted to supplying this life line to Americans. The cost of any industry always gets cheaper when there are more people to share its cost. The quality of any industry always gets better with R&D and the striving to improve on what is considered The Best.
When this legislation comes 'online' it will provide an entire country, 300 million people, to a health care industry already engaged in improving the wellness of its clients. A known knowledge bank to improve not only the quality of health care, but, its cost and delivary efficiency. A healthier population means less demand on 'chronic' illness and the issues that cause them. A healthier population is a better and ready work force.
With obesity in children and adults ruling the work force of the USA, the efficiency across the board to the health cost to employers has plummeted and its cost skyrocketed. We will be a healthier nation, when this administration is finished. They will provide guidance and education while returning 'gym classes' to our children in schools across the USA and reining in hideous foods in our American diet.
Perhaps every child in the USA, should be provided a Flintstone's vitamin at the beginning of lunch period everyday. Whatever. The idea of slimming this country and providing quality of life that comes with activity and wellness is a dream we should all strive towards. A safe food supply and a health care system that eliminates dangers to us at every turn will give Americans what they long for.
Now, the nuts and bolts of cost.
One trillion dollar US over ten years.
That breaks down to $334.00 per year. That is three hundred, thirty-four dollars US per year per American.
Can you afford that? I can.
Is it worth it? Yep.
Should there be complaints? Nope.
Will the cost of health care be paid in that methodology? Nope.
Why not?
Because the current Democratic House and Senate want to remove the pains of financial 'entrapment' from the Middle, Lower Middle and Poor Classes of populous of this nation.
So, what is the problem? The Republicans are complaining because the burden to the WEALTHY bunch will go up.
SO WHAT !!!!!!!!!!
We need to pass comprehensive health care for a nation desperately in need of it and we need to do it now.
Return FUNCTION to the American government. Vote Democrat in the 2010 elections.
Mr. Feinberg needs to define 'Excessive Risk Taking.' I also want to know with billions US owed to the USA Treasury, why is there Risk Taking allowed at all? How are those payments coming along, by the way? Where do Americans go to read the achievements of those indebted to them and their ability to pay back their exorbitant debt?
It would seem to me ANY Risk Taking should only insue ensue when their public debt has been satisfied. Until that point, I don't believe any form of 'experimentation' of financial instruments should be conducted. The landscape hasn't changed that much and basically, AIG should never have existed anyway. There is no private entity capable of insuring banks or investment corporations. The only entity capable of such 'high roller' stakes is a sovereign government. When will the financial industry stop gambling with the lives of Americans and their future?
AIG heads back to pig trough for bosses' pay (Click title to entry - thank you) Kenneth Bazinet and Bill Hutchinson Daily News Staff Writers Friday, July 10th 2009, 4:00 AM Just months after sparking national outrage by paying executives big bonuses, the American International Group is hoping to dole out $2.4 million more to top bosses. AIG is hoping President Obama's new compensation czar, Kenneth Feinberg, goes along with dishing out more gravy to about 40 corporate officers next week, The Washington Post reported on Thursday. Bosses are hoping approval by the government will shield the company from public furor. A Treasury Department spokesman wouldn't reveal Feinberg's view on the bonuses but said, "Companies will need to convince Mr. Feinberg that they have struck the right balance to discourage excessive risk taking and reward performance for their top executives."
Every form of Economic Recovery Method, be it, domestic or international, needs to have a component of Anti-Warming Methodologies.
The G8 is simply being irresponsible as are the USA's Governors in many cases. The Earth is on track to the destruction of its biotic content. That is fact. There is dearly little time to surmount the 'tasks' of changing the path human population and consumerism has inflicted on Earth. Earth is the only planet we have. That won't change in any reasonable time frame. This is a must do, not a please do.
In the USA, the Stimulus Package and its 'theme' has been somewhat abused. The Stimulus definately had a theme. It was intended to change the infrastructure of the USA to accommodate changes in energy and transportation. There are some Governors that are sadly ignoring that theme, the most profound is the State of Alaska, which defines its 'Stimulus Energy Package' in the same 'ole methodologies that caused these emergencies in the first place. There is virtually nothing in the Alaska stimulus package that 'changes' the path of energy sources for that State, while some of the best wind patterns for Wind Turbines exist in abundance in Alaska.
In the case of South Carolina and Louisiana, the Governors there have decided to decline the safety of the futures of their children, to play rhetorical games and dangerous political agendas.
The International Community CANNOT criticize the Obama Administration for complete responsibility for their lethargy to focusing on the Emergency called, Human Induced Global Warming. Upon taking office, President Obama harnessed the power of the American Legislature and instituted trillions of 'Stimulus' dollars US to changing the course of the USA to a benevolent status on energy and transportation. He has facilitated the salvage of the American Auto Industries with a firm directive to change the face of the American Automobile to one of benevolence to a 'challenged' planet. I don't want to hear from ANYONE how President Obama is a novice to the leadership of the G8. He is exemplary in his 'example' to his new adminisration and the burgeoning changes of the USA.
Below, Andrea Merkel walks through the wreckage of the earthquake in Italy. There were monies pledged to restore the tragic ruins. Those monies from every country of the G8 need to be accompanied by two conditions. The monies need to classicly return the aesthetics of the structures, along with the construction integrity that should include 'quake resistent or quake proof' construction along with energy efficient construction that liberates this small hovel from any energy dependency other than that of solar or wind.
Please see below.
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel tours the ruined city of Onna near L'Aquila (click title to entry - thank you) in central Italy with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi , July 8, 2009. Onna was almost totally destroyed in the April 6, 2009 earthquake in which some 300 people died. Merkel will attend the G8 summit near L'Aquilla from July 8-10. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
The FEARS of 'giving up' old economic methodologies based in exploitation of natural resources has to be abandoned. Never while AIG attempted to justify its "Financial Instruments Division" did I hear anything except attempts to manipulate economies based in 'Old World' values.
Never once did the so called geniuses explore the expansion of economies based in CHANGING to benevolent measures that would save Earth from Human's Bad Habits. A $700 tillion US Bush/Paulson Bailout simply turned loose the biggest bailout to American History without any pre-determined agendas for securing the future of the planet. Never once when Bernanke stated, "...to be sure they have all the instruments they need..." did it come with conditions that investments beyond the recovery of the housing market needs to be focused on 'the future' and the well being of an endangered planet along with its generations of young and yet to be born.
The Financial and Banking Industry has 'yet' to catch up with the reality of the rest of us that actually live the reality of their idiot decisions. The boys of Goldman Sachs and their golden parachuetts and platinum guilded board rooms are completely out of touch with the 'best' decisions that safe guard Earth and the lives of the people that occupy it.
The G8 Leaders have a clear and undisputed role in envisioning the future that will provide a 'safety margin' for Earth. They need to act, without recidivism, on EVERY venue of economy to change the emissions of DEADLY Greenhouse Gases. Economic growth in a world destined for peace is based in exploitation of 'knowledge' and 'learning' including innovative formulas from composers that provide new platforms for the arts. The 'intangibles' are more important than any aspect of economy.
Invention; exploring previously discarded technologies as too expensive, yet, morally superior are all the aspects of 'tomorrow.' All industries can survive this change in global economies, including, medicine and the dispensing of remedies that include Genetic Medicine. Every industry 'can' have a future if they can find innovations that are inclusive to the 'Vision for Earth.'
One of the most offensive industries in the USA is the coal industry. For decades they have touted 'Clean Coal Technology' without being able to achieve it. If this industry is to be included in the future the importance of 'delivering' on rhetoric is mandatory and not optional or they are no longer the future's focus. Those industries that pretend to be 'the future' or a part of it without APPLIED tangible results have to be abandoned to better invest in those technologies and innovations that actually CONTRIBUTE to our future as it is unfolding. The Financial and Banking Industries have to reflect preference for investment and lending that is 'prudent' of such priorities, otherwise, we don't need any of them. To have financial institutions that are on a separate track from the nations that preserve the sovereignty of their populous and force same nations to accept THEIR PRIORITIES is not just Anti-Trust, it is attack on a nation's sovereignty.
The challenge of surmounting the realities presented by "Human Induced Global Warming" demands the 'Best of the Best' be in service to nations. Nations that have to bring to bear the pressure on all venues of economy of CHANGE.
Good luck, I'll be watching as well as participating.
First the New York State Republicans danced around issues of 'loyalty' by recruiting two Democrats (both of which have legal issues) to vote in their favor to take control of the State Legislature through 'Abracadabra measure, rather, than doing the business of the people.
Governor Patterson is not required by New York State Constitution to assign a Lieutenant Governor, but, tried to do so to act as a breaking vote to put the New York Senate back to work. Now that the N Y Republicans can't stall the processes of 'governance,' they have chosen to impeach the new Lieutenant by petitioning the New York State Courts in an attempt to prove Governor Patterson is outside his jurisdictional authority in assigning a Lieutenant.
The New York State Republicans in the Senate have abandoned their responsibilites to the people whom elected them and have chosen to 'game the power' of the State Governorship. Each 'gamer' should be impeached, not a highly qualified Lieutenant Governor.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (L) speaks with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a press conference announcing Climate Week NYC June 23, 2009 in New York City. Climate Week NYC will be a five day program of events addressing the need for climate change action and coinciding with the opening of U.N. General Assembly from September 21-25. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images North America)
Ban blasts G8 emissions targets (click title to entry - thank you)
Page last updated at 13:07 GMT, Thursday, 9 July 2009 14:07 UK
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has criticised leaders of the G8 industrial nations for failing to make deeper commitments to combat climate change. On Wednesday, the leaders, meeting in Italy, agreed to cut emissions by 80% by 2050, but Mr Ban said big cuts were needed sooner rather than later. The leaders are set to meet their counterparts from emerging economies to discuss a new deal on global warming. US President Barack Obama will chair the session, in the city of L'Aquila....
Iranian reformist 2005 Presidential candidate Mostafa Moin (L) and former Iranian reformist Interior Minister Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari attend the opening ceremony of the 10th Congress of Islamic Iran Participation in Tehran October 26, 2007.
In a 2006 interview with Nature (click title to entry - thank you), Moin, a former minister for higher education and for science, argued that building a stronger civil and democratic society in Iran was key to the country's scientific development and it becoming a knowledge-based society. In an exclusive new interview, he discusses where the current situation leaves those ambitions.
...In our last interview, you said that support by Iranian young people and women for the principles of a civil and democratic society were what would "shape Iran's future". Has that shaping moment come?
Yes. The recent growth in Iranian women's and young people's political and social awareness has set the stage for their current demands for greater civil liberties, and structural and democratic reforms. The outcome of the 2005 presidential election, combined with the subsequent mismanagement of the government, has catalysed this process — and explains the 85% voter turnout in last month's presidential election, and the demand for change. The youth, and in particular the supporters of the reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, played a major role in creating the extraordinary enthusiasm and motivation surrounding the elections. I remain optimistic as to the role, and the movement, of Iran's youth....
President Barack Obama and Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi tour earthquake damage on the sidelines of the G8 Summit in L'Aquila, Italy, Wednesday, July 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
G8 summit: leaders warn global economy faces more danger (click here) The global economy faces "significant" dangers in the coming months and a recovery from recession is still some way off, world leaders have warned. By James Kirkup in L'Aquila Published: 7:38PM BST 08 Jul 2009 ...Despite seeing some signs of stabilisation in economies, the G8 listed rising oil prices, fragile banking sectors, falling trade and investment and rising unemployment as the main threats to a recovery. Speaking after their talks on the economic outlook, leaders signalled they feared the world may not have seen the worst of the slowdown yet. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, said: "The crisis is a long way from being over. If we are lucky, then we have nearly reached the bottom." Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, said: "There are warning signs about the world economy we cannot afford to ignore."...
U.S. President Barack Obama, left, and his first lady Michelle Obama, right, arrive in Pratica di Mare military airport on the outskirts of Rome, Wednesday, July 8, 2009. Obama is in Italy to attend the G8 (Group of Eight) summit in L'Aquila from July 8 to July 10. (AP Photo/Mauro Scrobogna, LaPresse)
This summit is more or less a planning session for the December Conference in Copenhagen where plans surrounding initiatives on Climate Change should take shape.
I have said from the beginning of this entire mess, the USA has to lead and it has to stop being the biggest CO2 emitter on the planet. That is a sincere reduction. If that reduction puts other countries ahead of the USA through the changes the USA impliments alone, then so be it.
The USA has to 'lead by example' and provide mentoring while opening technologies to countries such as China and India. Kyoto Protocol was never designed to burden third world countries with the sins of the USA. Never in the wildest imaginations of the authors of Kyoto did anyone believe the USA would sit on the sidelines hoping everyone else would carry its burden.
The next Kyoto meeting in 2012 will have to address the new economic achievements of China and India and bring them on board. Hopefully, by the time 2012 has rolled around there will be notable reductions in all countries CO2 levels or at the very least strategies that are legislated to engage with the new protocol. President Obama isn't responsible for the lethargy and 'blaming' of other countries by Bush. China is NOT the 'first' problem, the USA is.
Very inventive. Clever. Well done. The 'art' of opposition that is, not the planet. Activists wearing masks of G8 leaders from left; French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, US President Barack Obama, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and dressed as chefs "cook the planet" in a fake cauldron as they stage a demonstration against the G8 (Group of Eight) summit scheduled from July 8 to July 10 in L'Aquila, in front of the ancient Temple of Vesta, in Rome, Wednesday, July 8, 2009. The G8 is schedule(AP Photo/Sandro Pace)
A dollar a day could keep climate change away-EPA (click here) Tue Jul 7, 2009 3:21pm EDT * Fighting climate change to cost families under $1 a day * Energy efficiency, R&D key to cutting emissions in U.S. * Top Obama officials confident a climate bill can pass(Adds details on carbon offsets and comments from Salazar) By Jasmin Melvin WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters) - The average American family would pay at most $1 a day more to fight climate change, the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told a Senate committee on Tuesday. EPA head Lisa Jackson said carbon-cutting legislation would, on average, amount to a 50-cent per day cost per household in 2020 and edge up for wealthier families, people who drive long distances and those living in states dependent on coal for electricity. But even a doubling of the national average would only cost families $1 per day, Jackson said....
"We intend to secure our present and future prosperity by taking the lead in the fight against climate change," the statement said.
I think we have every right to BELIEVE and not hope the new adminisration in DC will definitively stand and lead with an ambitious agenda on Climate Change. It has to be. There are no more options.
ROME — Advocacy groups such as Greenpeace, Water Aid and End Water Poverty issued a call to leaders of the G8 nations prior to the start of their 2009 summit in Italy to tackle global water and sanitation issues, especially those in developing countries....
There is much about the G8 that will be pivotal from here on. The 'idea' that rain will return with adjustments to carbon dioxide levels is not realistic. It took five decades to achieve this insult to Earth and it is complicated by the negative feedback loop of Human Induced Global Warming.
This year the Atlantic Hurricane season is proving to be very puny. The reason for that is the lack of water vapor in the lower troposphere.
Technologies have to supply water to populous until Earth returns to a reasonable balance and that includes desalination plants. California is already planning desalination plants for help with a very dry southern region. Desalinations plants should have been in the works for California a long time ago, it is a far better alternative than syphoning off Mona Lake and running aqueducts that evaporate the very water they carry. With a melting ice cap and diluted ocean salinity, there should be thoughts about depositing the unused salt back into the global ocean circulation depending on measured and monitored ocean salinity levels.
New Bin Laden Recording Accuses Obama of Planting Seeds of Hatred Across America (click title to entry for video - thank you) by Steven Emerson ...BREWER: It's interesting though, because we've seen this recent poll that shows that 8 out of 11 Arab countries show double-digit jumps in the amount of positive feelings toward the United States....
The nay-sayers can down the new statistics all they want. An up tick of approval to USA policy CHANGE is a clear indication there is 'interest' in the words President Obama spoke to the Arab Community. Where there is interest, there is opportunity. The current USA administration is not going 'soft' on Israel. There is a great deal of hope in that statistic and one that should not be ignored. We all have to 'start' somewhere and beginning with 'the old agenda' for the Arab populous as a place of common understanding is a good place to be.
This is President Obama's first term. It is his first year in his first term. With the ground laying ability he has exhibited across the spectrum of international and domestic policy we will see significant changes during his administration. Anyone that is not impressed hasn't opened their eyes to the disaster of the past eight years.
One of these days, President Obama, First Lady Michelle and the girls and Bo will vacation. It might be a breather the country needs as well. This adminisration is very fast paced and ambitious. It is a new dynamic for Americans. They are 'used to' slow progress in areas of federal government. I believe some of the skepticism shown by Americans is due to the uneasy feeling of such a fast pace, but, this administration doesn't dare slow its progress. The economy was inherited on an already 'very, slippery slope.' I sincerely believe that slope is flattening out and it wouldn't have been achieved without the ambitions of this young administration.
To say Berlusconi is on shakey ground with the Italians is an understatement.
Silvio Berlusconi picks former topless model Mara Carfagna as G8 escort (click here) Faced with the thorny problem of having no "First Lady" to look after the G8 leaders' spouses on their three day trip to Italy, Silvio Berlusconi has come up with a solution in keeping with his reputation. By Nick Squires in Rome Published: 6:37PM BST 06 Jul 2009 The Italian prime minister has asked a former topless model turned government minister to stand in for his estranged wife. The 72-year-old premier has chosen Mara Carfagna – now Italy's equal opportunities minister – to take care of the likes of Michelle Obama and Sarah Brown. Miss Carfagna, 33, is an ex-glamour girl whose sultry looks and portfolio of lingerie calendars earned her the title of the world's sexiest government minister from men's magazine Maxim. The one-time Miss Italy contestant will be supported in the role by another attractive young member of the cabinet, education minister Maria Stella Gelmini. Mr Berlusconi is said to have chosen Miss Carfagna and Miss Gelmini to reward them for being "staunch champions" as he has battled allegations that he slept with a high-class call-girl at his mansion in Rome last November. Together they will guide the G8 wives around Rome and the mountain town of L'Aquila 65 miles away, where the summit is being held from Wednesday to Friday....
By Steve Scherer and Brian Parkin July 8 (Bloomberg) -- As world leaders arrived in L’Aquila, Italy to begin their annual summit, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.began showing his counterparts damage from the earthquake that prompted him to move their meeting there. Berlusconi led German Chancellor Angela Merkel through Onna, where the April 6 temblor damaged or destroyed virtually every building and killed 41 people, more than 10 percent of its population. The German government pledged to rebuild the town, partly as compensation for the Nazi execution of 16 residents of Onna during World War II....
G8 summit: Silvio Berlusconi faces new party allegations (click here) Silvio Berlusconi, the host of the G8 summit in Italy, has faced new allegations about his parties attended by young women. By Nick Squires in Rome Published: 12:00PM BST 08 Jul 2009 A fourth woman has come forward to claim that she was paid 1,000 euros (£870) to attend a party at one of the Italian prime minister's private homes. Maria Teresa De Nicolo, 37, said the 72-year-old premier was the "perfect host" when he danced with her after the candle-lit dinner and that contrary to reports he did not have his hands all over her "like an octopus". "I danced with the prime minister and also with some of the other men who were present," said Miss De Nicolo. "When he danced, he was very formal: his hands didn't wander, he wasn't like an octopus as some of the other girls have told the papers in the last few days." Miss De Nicolo corroborated much of the detail offered by the three other women who have said they attended Mr Berlusconi's parties....
