He is indicted. It looks like we'll have him contained forever. Mom and Dad can come to visit. And the Prez took responsibility.

I don't really care what the so called experts have to say, I believe the American criminal justice system is a better place to charge murderers or attempted murderers. I have more peace of mind with that venue of prosecution and incarceration.

I think enemy combatant sounds like a tough name for a criminal, but, carries more rights for such an individual than a criminal. An enemy combatant is expected to act like a soldier which includes killing. That makes him a POW and is contained for the time there is a war, but, an enemy combatant also has rights to be returned to his country of origin at some time. That is not the case in the USA Criminal Justice System. Once charged and incarcerated it is for the length of time prescribed by the brevity of the crime.

One needs to remember the issue in Yemen was spawned by enemy combatants returned to Yemen under Bush/Cheney. Abdulmutallab was recruited by those enemy combatants that were released from Gitmo. Hello?

The criminals of the bombing of the World Trade Towers in 1993 will never walk the streets again. That goes for the shoe bomber and otherwise. This is ridiculous as far as I am concerned every person that even contemplates such a crime should be imprisoned forever.

I also believe Abdulmutallab was put on a plane to Detroit to demonstrate the power of such an act to the large Muslim community in that area to inspire those in the USA to follow in his footsteps. Like I said, these idiots are maniacal and will contemplate every aspect of such a stunt.

Now, Abdulmutallab's Mother and Father will know where to find him. It is very unfortunate a young Muslim man with such potential will spend the remaining days of his life in prison. Very unfortunate, but, at least he is alive.



Christmas Day Bombing Suspect Indicted (click title to entry - thank you)

The Nigerian man accused of attempting to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas day was indicted on six charges, Wednesday.

Reports have also surfaced that the Obama administration may try Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in criminal court.

The charges filed against Abdulmutallab include use of a weapon of mass distruction and attempted murder.

Some say trying the 23-year-old as a criminal, rather than a terrorist, would be a big mistake.

David Velloney, a law professor at Regent University and former JAG officer, appeared Wednesday on CBN News' Midday program to discuss the legal implications if the U.S. treats Abdulmutallab as a criminal rather than a terror suspect. Click play for the interview.

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies appeared earlier CBN News' Morning program to weigh in on the matter. Click here to watch the interview.

While there are still significant temperatures in the central and north of the continent, there eastward movement of heat from the west.

January 6, 2010
2030:13 z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of North and West Hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop)

I wouldn't want to be in the Middle of the Atlantic right now. The cold ridge in the center of the USA is still descending but starting to move more east than south. A Mid-latitude vortex is noted to be forming over South Dakota.



January 6, 2010
Dover, Florida - They should be getting relief tonight.
Photographer states :: This was taken this morning, at one of our local Strawberry farms close to Tampa Florida. They have to put an ice layer over the strawberries to keep the damage away.



January 6, 2010
2115 gmt
USA temperature map

Warming is coming up from the south as well. The residual heat never lasts that long. It converts real quick. The frigid temperatures remain dangerous where they exist.

There is no significant frigid air over Antarctica. It has been displaced and heat transfer vortices are regularly dumping heat over the ice.

Australia endures hottest decade on record (click title to entry - thank you)

BRIDIE SMITH

January 6, 2010

EXTREME bushfires and dust-storms with rainfall that was too much in some parts of the country and not enough in others characterised 2009 - Australia's second-warmest year on record.

And as the first decade of the 21st century came to a close, authorities reached for the record books to confirm the 10 years to 2009 as Australia's warmest decade on record.

The annual climate statement, released by the Bureau of Meteorology yesterday, is consistent with global warming trends and shows records also fell in Victoria, with new maximum temperatures recorded.

Overnight temperatures were above normal by about 0.5 to 1 degree in most parts of the state.

Daytime temperatures were up to 3 degrees above normal throughout the year for Victoria, which got off to a hot start with a heatwave producing Melbourne's maximum temperature record of 46.4 degrees on February 7. On the same day, the state recorded its highest temperature of 48.8 degrees in Hopetoun.

In winter, the country remained unusually warm due to a heatwave that warmed up large parts of inland Australia and resulted in the country's hottest August on record....

Janaury 6, 2010
1324 gmt
Antarctica Satellite



January 6, 2010
0900 AM
Antarctica Temperature Image

The coldest reporting stations in Antarctica aren't very cold.

Dome C, Antarctica

Lat/Lon :: 75.1° S 123.4° E

Local Time :: 3:19 PM GMT (GMT +00)

Elevation :: 10761 ft

Temperature ::	-24 °F
Wind Gust :: - Pressure :: in.

Vostok, Antarctica

Lat/Lon: 78.4° S 106.9° E

Local Time: 9:46 PM VOST (GMT +06)

Elevation: 11220 ft

Temperature :: -15 F

Conditions :: Overcast

Humidity :: 47%

Dew Point :: 024 F

Wind :: 7 mph from the SW

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: in

The warmest reporting stations in Antarctica

Zhongshan, Antarctica

Lat/Lon: 69.4° S 76.4° E

Local Time: 4:10 PM GMT (GMT +00)

Elevation :: 59 ft

Updated: 12:00 PM GMT on January 06, 2010

Temperature :: 40 F

Humidity :: 28%

Dew Point :: 18 F

Wind :: 4 mph from the WNW

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: 29.72 in

Visibility :: 19.0 miles

Davis, Antarctica

Lat/Lon: 68.6° S 78.0° E

Local Time: 11:11 PM DAVT (GMT +07)

Elevation :: 59 ft

Temperature :: 38 F

Conditions :: Partly Cloudy

Humidity :: 35%

Dew Point :: 20 F

Humidity :: 35%

Dew Point :: 20 F

Wind :: 6 mph from the WSW

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: 29.69 in (Falling)

Visibility :: 16.0 miles

After President Obama has signed the Health Care Bill, I'll read it in its entirety.

And I don't need C-Span in every corner of my government. The Democrats dedicated a meeting room to exactly the privacy they needed to accomplish a comprehensive health care bill. I don't want the Democrats to sink as low as the Republicans in securing covert meeting places where illicit affairs take place.

The Political Enclave That Dare Not Speak Its Name (click here)

The Sanford and Ensign Scandals Open a Door On Previously Secretive 'C Street' Spiritual Haven

...Although Sanford visited the house, there is no indication that he was ever a resident; when he was in Congress from 1995 to 2000, the parsimonious lawmaker was famous for forgoing his housing allowance and bunking in his Capitol Hill office. But it is not uncommon for residents to invite fellow congressmen to the home for spiritual bonding. There, Sanford enjoyed a kind of alumnus status. Richard Carver, president of the Fellowship Foundation, said, "I don't think it's intended to have someone from South Carolina get counseling there." But he posited that Sanford turned to C Street "because he built a relationship with people who live in the house."

People familiar with the house say the downstairs is generally used for meals and prayer meetings. Volunteers help facilitate prayer meetings, they said. Residents include Reps. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.), Ensign and Coburn. None of the congressmen agreed to be interviewed for this article. But associates of some of Ensign's housemates privately worried that the other residents would be tarred by the scandals...

It is where corruption occurs. The Democrats need to cleanser their souls at their places of worship.

...The house, which is assessed at $1.84 million, is registered to a little-known organization called Youth With a Mission of Washington DC. Carver, who said his Fellowship group is affiliated with the house, said that he has never heard of Youth With a Mission of Washington DC and that he did not have a phone number for it. Later, he said, he spoke with someone who "at one time was involved with the house" and had "heard secondhand" that the organization that runs the house is "subscribing to the no-comment."...

One might note, Senators Dodd and Dorgan had most likely made up their minds to retire from office before they voted on the health care reform legislation. It is uncorrupted from most angles best I can tell. Honest Democrats with long time interest in its outcome and absolutely no Republican corruption. It will be interesting reading.



There was a disservice done to the measure during its visit to the Senate. It was bandied around as if it were a minor measure of legislation. It was not. It won't be viewed as same either. This was a major act of legislation and touches the very right of every American to have their health attended to by a high quality health care system. There should be clear understanding this will improve the American Health Care industry and limit impacts to citizens that result in deaths and poor health.

I am confident it will be a drastic improvement over the previous atrocity of an insurance network in the USA and it needs to be monitored. I am also confident the Health Care Insurance companies will seek to exploit every word and every meaning, so it is appropriate we all understand its words, spirit and definitions.

The Great Democratic Statesmen - Retiring their careers on a high note.

Vicious politics was never their forte. They always enjoyed bi-partisanship and that doesn't exist anymore. And it doesn't exist as a political strategy, not because it wasn't appropriate. That hurts to some people. It is a loss of dignity and purpose to the office. It is unfortunate.

They are retiring at the height of their careers and handing it off to those seeking a chance at leading their nation.

I thank them for all their service.

They have a place in history beyond just their political longevity. They made a difference to the Middle Class.

Senator Byron Dorgan

latimes.com

Democratic Sens. Christopher Dodd and Byron Dorgan to retire (click title to entry - thank you)

Associated Press

January 6, 2010

Connecticut Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, a five-term Democrat whose political stock began falling after the financial meltdown and his failed 2008 presidential bid, has decided not to seek reelection in November, Democratic officials said early today.

Word of Dodd's retirement came hours after North Dakota Democrat Byron L. Dorgan, 67, announced he would not run for reelection. Republicans stand a good chance of taking Dorgan's seat, but Dodd's could stay with the Democrats. Although Dodd was personally unpopular, President Obama won Connecticut handily in 2008....



Senator Christopher Dodd

There is no more 'actionable intelligence' to be gained from inmates at Guantanamo Bay. The prison needs to be closed. It has become irrelevant.

And I will remind, that IF these men are to be considered 'enemy combatants' they are then POWs. POWs have rights under the Geneva Conventions and are required to be returned to their country of origin.

NOW.

If the people of the USA want to call them international criminals and have them tried for the crimes they committed I strongly suggest these men be housed in USA prisons and tried in a court of law.

General Protection Of Prisoners Of War (click title to entry - thank you)

Article 12. Prisoners of war may only be transferred by the Detaining Power to a Power which is a party to the Convention and after the Detaining Power has satisfied itself of the willingness and ability of such transferee Power to apply the Convention.

Article 84. In no circumstances whatever shall a prisoner of war be tried by a court of any kind which does not offer the essential guarantees of independence and impartiality.

Article 99. No prisoner of war may be convicted without having had an opportunity to present his defence and the assistance of a qualified advocate or counsel.

Article 101. If the death penalty is pronounced on a prisoner of war, the sentence shall not be executed before the expiration of a period of at least six months.

Article 102. A prisoner of war can be validly sentenced only if the sentence has been pronounced by the same courts according to the same procedure as in the case of members of the armed forces of the Detaining Power.

Article 103. Judicial investigations relating to a prisoner of war shall be conducted as rapidly as circumstances permit and so that his trial shall take place as soon as possible.

Article 106. Every prisoner of war shall have, in the same manner as the members of the armed forces of the Detaining Power, the right of appeal or petition from any sentence pronounced upon him.

- AP

Terror suspect raised no suspicion in Amsterdam (click here)
January 05, 2010 16:26 EST

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Investigators have been studying more than 200 hours of security video from the Amsterdam airport, to learn more about what the suspect in the Christmas Day bombing attempt was doing while he was there.

And they say they've found no evidence that the Nigerian man contacted any accomplices while in Amsterdam. They also say he had the explosives on him when he arrived from Nigeria on a connecting flight.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab allegedly tried to blow up a Northwest Airlines plane near Detroit by injecting chemicals into a package of explosives concealed in his underwear.

Dutch investigators say he underwent a security interview in Amsterdam, and did nothing unusual in his three-hour stopover there.

Investigators have seized the airline seat Abdulmutallab occupied from Nigeria to Amsterdam and sent it for forensic tests to check for traces of explosives.

Like I said, warmer temperatures are coming in from the west.

January 10, 2010
1915:15z
UNISYS North and West Hemisphere Infrared Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop)

The satellite above clearly shows TWO (one on each coast of the USA) heat driven vortexes moving warmer air from the equatorial regions of Earth to the Arctic Circle and driving the denser and heavier air to the lower latitudes. The intense cold the USA is experiencing is due directly to displacement of frigid air over the lower latitudes. This is NOT normal, it is Human Induced Global Warming. Those are vortexes that are 'heat driven.' The vortexes have replaced the jet stream as the dominant force directing climate. It started in October 2002 and hasn't stopped yet.



This is the most recent map from USGS regarding current flooding in the country. The red dots mean there is currently moderately flooding, the purple dots are major flood events.

Click title to entry for map. It is an interactive map and one can click on any dot for updates. Thank you.





The frigid weather won't last much longer.

The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is finally freezing.

What I don't understand is why would Bush go through so much trouble to HIDE evidence of Human Induced Global Warming? Huh?

This is OUR country, not Bush's country, yet he deliberately blocked use of data received by satellites the USA owns to hide profound evidence of Human Induced Global Warming. I guess there is something to this, huh?

I suppose it would hurt his Cattlemen friends of 'THE TRUTH' actually got out.



A satellite image of the East Siberian Sea from 1999-2008. This image has been degraded to hide the satellite’s true capabilities.

I wish Americans would pay profound attention to the level of deception the Bush/Cheney administered for eight years with the permission of Republicans in the House and Senate. This isn't a political game.

The Bush/Cheney White House deliberately hid evidence of Human Induced Global Warming from the very scientists that wanted the information to discern more and valuable data, yet Republicans are NOT held responsible for these 'political games' with information garnered from satellites paid for by taxpayer dollars. That reality is astounding to me.

That should place a new definition on 'Reality Television' when one realizes the LIES Americans allow in their lives when it come to elections and the people they place in office.

C.I.A. Is Sharing Data With Climate Scientists(click title to entry - thank you)

...The collaboration restarts an effort the Bush administration shut down and has the strong backing of the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. In the last year, as part of the effort, the collaborators have scrutinized images of Arctic sea ice from reconnaissance satellites in an effort to distinguish things like summer melts from climate trends, and they have had images of the ice pack declassified to speed the scientific analysis.

The trove of images is “really useful,” said Norbert Untersteiner, a professor at the University of Washington who specializes in polar ice and is a member of the team of spies and scientists behind the effort.

Scientists, Dr. Untersteiner said, “have no way to send out 500 people” across the top of the world to match the intelligence gains, adding that the new understandings might one day result in ice forecasts....

Lat/Lon: 58.8° N 137.0° W

Local Time: 11:23 AM AKST (GMT -09)

Elevation :: 33 feet

Temperature :: 16 Fahrenheit

Conditions :: Clear

Windchill :: 16 F

Humidity :: 86%

Dew Point :: 12 Fahrenheit

Wind :: Calm

Pressure :: 30.20 inches (steady)

Visibility :: 10 miles

UV :: 0 out of 16

Clouds :: Clear

The Texas Cattlemen and Oil Barons are worried about their money. Not an intact troposphere, money. That's morality? Sure.

The Science is sound and the EPA could not be more correct.

The emitters will lose.

The industries that emit Greenhouse Gases and I don't care whom they are, need to invest in reduction of the gas, not license to kill through Climate Change.

Money.

Forbid Wall Street should not have to sacrifice one thin dime for the sake of environmental safety, but, they can spend 100s of millions if not billions on lawyers. That is just about the sickest priority and value system I have ever witnessed. They don't care, they never cared and this is simply more of the same.

BOYCOTT BEEF !!

I could not mean it more. They have had decades to adjust and they refuse to do it.

I am calling for a global BOYCOTT of BEEF. If they don't make money from growing cows we won't have the problem.

GLOBAL BOYCOTT OF BEEF !!!

January 04, 2010

First up to challenge EPA on CO2: Big Beef (CLICK TITLE TO ENTRY - THANK YOU)

Legal challenges were widely expected the moment the EPA said late last year that it found CO2 and other greenhouse gases to be dangererous substances that needed regulating. The source of the first formal challenge came as a bit of a suprise, however: The National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

The group filed a challenge just before Christmas, saying the finding "is not based on a rigorous scientific analysis" that is being done "despite so much uncertainty surrounding humans' contribution to climate change is perplexing."

"Instead of letting the issue of climate change, and man's alleged contribution to it, be addressed through the proper democratic legislative process, EPA has decided to trump Congress and mandate greenhouse gas regulation under the Clean Air Act," said Tamara Thies. "The Act is ill-equipped to address climate change, and Congress never intended for it to be used for that purpose."

Why is Big Beef so concerned? According to Edmunds:

The cattlemen care because methane gas — which cattle and cattle waste produce a whole lot of — is one of the nastiest of the greenhouse gases in terms of its ability to trap heat in the atmosphere and thus is one of the gases most likely to be subject to tight regulation.

The Arctic Circle dips south, the West Coast needs to brace for the potential of high turbulent weather.

January 4, 2010
0530:15z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES West Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop)

The image below shows a cold air mass that has descended from the Arctic Circle. It occurred because of the continued and chronic warm air moving from the Equator to the Arctic Circle.

There are vortexes off both coasts, both are carrying hot air with them. As that warmer air moves both north from just south of Florida, and east from just west of California, it will mix with some very cold and dense air over North America, primarily the 48 states of the USA. That is not good news.

The snows will melt, flooding will result and the warm low pressure air mass will meet with the cold high pressure system and cause a great deal of turbulence. There will be moisture with the warm air masses and additional rains. Depending on 'local temperatures' it could result in additional flooding and/or ice.



January 4, 2010
1730:13z
UNISYS Water Vapor West and North Hemisphere Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop)

There is your Afghan Corruption Leader and leader of the 'death squads' in Pakistan.

That is what the 'roving Taliban patrols' are that walk into Pakistan villages and attack police stations and innocent people. They are death squads. The sooner they are recognized for what they are the sooner the Pakistani police and military can simply target them as they enter a village or city. They are not peaceful people that have come for pilgrimage to trade. They are 'drug lord' sponsored death squads. And this is their 'organizer.' He has sustained intelligence about operations in and out of Afghanistan for decades. He is very valuable to the Taliban 'network.'



Afghanistan: Several activists detained (click here for original article)

Afghan forces and NATO have arrested several militants Monday in Khost province near the Pakistani border in the east, according to a press release issued by the International Security Assistance Force and Security ( ISAF).

According to the statement, the activists were arrested Monday morning Parukhil, a village in Sabari district, during a joint operation by Afghan and international forces.

The statement did not mention the exact number of militants arrested, adding that among those arrested there is a collaborator in the field of weapons of top Taliban commander, Jalaluddin Haqqani Mawlawi.

The''collaborator Haqqani has confirmed his identity and went, "said the release.

Moreover, international forces have suffered no loss during the operation, the statement said.

Until now, the Taliban militants have made no comment.

Source: Xinhua


Evidently the CIA strike was 'Tit for Tat.' Yes? In true warlord style. I guess that was a warning as to whom it boss. Evidently the USA, Afghanistan and Pakistan forgot for a second, huh?

It is called corruption. Meet Karzai's downfall. At least until now.

Haqqani commanders nabbed in Afghanistan (click here)

Published: Dec. 30, 2009 at 6:10 PM
KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Afghan and international military forces seized several Taliban and Haqqani commanders during operations in the country's volatile south and east.

In southern Afghanistan near Kandahar, Afghan forces uncovered a weapons cache containing several rocket-propelled grenades and around 800 rounds of ammunition. Near Khost along the volatile Pakistani border, Afghan forces uncovered the components used to make suicide vests.

Also near Khost, a team of Afghan and international forces captured several members of the Haqqani terrorist network, the U.S. Defense Department said.

The Haqqani network is believed to have strong ties to al-Qaida leaders in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Taliban last week released a video of U.S. Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl, who was captured by Haqqani fighters in June.

Other Taliban commanders were detained during separate operations in Kandahar. The Defense Department said no Afghan civilians were killed and no shots were fired during the latest operations.

Western forces came under fire by Afghan President Hamid Karzai following the death of 10 Afghan civilians, including eight schoolchildren, during an attack by Western military forces in the northeast province of Kunar during the weekend.

Karzai complained that civilian deaths from military activity in his country only gave insurgents additional recruitment tools to fight Western forces.

I don't believe the NATO forces of which the USA is a part even intend to kill innocent civilians. Ever. I guess he can complain, but, the end of the warlords has to be resolved and the southern provinces cleaned up and populated with lawful civilians. There isn't anything to complain about when one realizes the outcome. Perhaps Karzai is worried about losing his soldiers to 'recruitment' by vengence. He needs to have the people deal with their confusion on the issue of the current military operations in their country. Their lives aren't threatened by the USA military or NATO forces, we are there to stop the violence and bring them peace. They need a President that complains less and acts to return sanity to their country. Karzai seems to forget there are some real 'bad guys' in his neck of the woods.

I understand the Afghan people are tired of the wars. I understand that completely. But, this isn't 'the same' post Russian violence they always USE to complain about. That was a long time ago. This is the 'mistake' the USA made by putting the Mujahideen in control of Afghanistan and a place for Osama bin Laden to call home. We aren't simply annihilating villages of people. If we were that would be an atrocity the world could judge. The more the Taliban and al Qaeda and their associates hide among the people the more civilians will find issue with the military operations.

Hm.