Where is the 'CHANGE' President Obama promised? We are "OUTTA' there.

\

Last US Combat Troops Leave Iraq  (click title to entry - thank you)

Dan Robinson
Washington
18 August 2010

Two weeks ahead of the schedule set by President Barack Obama, the last U.S. combat troops have left Iraq. The departure fulfills a commitment that Mr. Obama made to transition the U.S. presence in Iraq from a military-led mission to an advisory and training operation.
U.S. news agencies and television networks embedded with departing troops confirmed the withdrawal, as the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, which was officially designated as the last brigade to leave Iraq, crossed into Kuwait at the Khabari border crossing.
The departure is well ahead of the August 31st deadline set by President Obama for ending combat operations, and comes seven years and five months after the U.S. and coalition forces invaded Iraq in March 2003.
The news came at the end of an otherwise quiet news day in which President Obama was concluding a multi-state cross country trip focused on the U.S. economy and supporting Democratic political candidates.
Neither the president nor officials traveling with him gave any indication in advance of the accelerated withdrawal, nor did the White House issue any immediate statement...

When is the "Ground Breaking Ceremony" for the Lower Manhattan Mosque? This is all getting out of hand.

                                                                                             They are organizing a Sept. 11 rally against the mosque that will feature former U.S. House speaker Newt Gingrich. They advise the FBI and other government security agencies on the threats posed by Islamic radicalism, headline "tea party" events and attract millions of readers concerned or curious about Islam to Web sites with names such as Jihad Watch, Creeping Sharia and Stop Islamization of America....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/18/AR2010081802582.html

It is a political plot.  Innocent people are being victimized to propagate fear and it is taking root in other areas of the country.  This is outrageous !  The media is attempting to produce a fire storm.

...The Pentagon Memorial Chapel, which is maintained by the Pentagon Chaplain's Office, allows Muslims as well as Jews, Protestants, Catholics, Hindus and adherents of other denominations to worship just 80 feet or so from the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in Washington.
Pentagon officials told the AP that no families of the victims of 9/11 or members of the military have ever protested the fact that Muslims worship near hallowed ground -- or that the Pentagon itself promotes the open, nondenominational use of the chapel...

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local-beat/A-Ground-Zero-Mosque-in-Action-101009619.html


The Republicans have NO ISSUES to run on, so they victimize innocent people and who cares if there are injuries or death along the way.  They need to be held responsible should something tragic happen.




The Republicans are so very, very "W"rong.  They need to apologize to the country.


Op-Ed:
Couple behind Ground Zero mosque a model of tolerance


By Walter Ruby · August 18, 2010
NEW YORK (JTA) -- Over the last few months, I have had a front-row seat to history.
Last May, I spoke at a public hearing of Manhattan’s Community Board No. 1 in support of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and Daisy Khan, the husband-and-wife team who initiated plans to build a 13-story Islamic community center two blocks north of Ground Zero.
I was there on behalf of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, which has worked with the group Rauf and Khan lead, the American Society for Muslim Advancement, in ongoing efforts to strengthen Muslim-Jewish relations in the United States and around the world.
In my testimony at the hearing, I said that since our organizations began cooperating three years ago, I have consistently found both Feisal and Khan to be unequivocally opposed to violence and terrorism and deeply committed to the American values of democracy and pluralism. These are values, Feisal argues in his book, “What’s Right with Islam,” that are intrinsic to Islam as well....


http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/08/18/2740526/op-ed-couple-behind-ground-zero-mosque-a-model-of-tolerance


Anyone recall the Mission of The Daniel Pearl Foundation?

No?

Let me remind you.

Mission:  (click title to entry - thank you)
Mutual understanding and improved relationship between Muslim and Jews through frank and respectful dialogue.


The Ongoing Project:
Professors Ahmed and Pearl have been invited to share their dialogue in many stages in the U.S. and abroad. The conversations, which are never the same, cover issues from theology, history and ideology to politics and current news, and encourage audience participation. Two principles guide the conversation; first, no Issue is taboo and, second, respect at all times. Professors Ahmed and Pearl believe that these open and honest dialogues are essential for the future of humanity. It is their hope that these public dialogues will carve a path of legitimacy and inspire individuals and communities to continue the dialogue at the grass roots level.
In 2006, Professors Ahmed and Pearl were among the recipients of the first annual Purpose Prize “in recognition of [their] simple, yet innovative approach to solving one of society’s most pressing problems.”


The opposition to a place of worship and a community center is Anti-American.  I congratulate the Republicans for attaining an all time LOW.

Fighting the good fight. You can always tell when Murdoch is pushing for ratings and/or political bottomlines by the length of the women's skirts that host his shows.

The short skirt issue is especially evident on the "Fox and Friends" show with the low coffee table in front of the hosts.  It will change tomorrow, but, its true.  There were some mornings when the hemline was nearly up to her buttocks while she was sitting down. 

Bye, bye, Laura.  Everyone say good-bye to Laura.  BYEeeeee.

...“Black guys talking (click title to entry - thank you) to each other seem to think it’s O.K.,” she said. “I don’t get it. If anybody without enough melanin says it, it’s a horrible thing. But when black people say it, it’s affectionate.”...

Halliburton wins Iraq oil wells deal (click here)

Baghdad
Mon, 16 Aug 2010

Iraq, along with oil major Royal Dutch Shell and Malaysia's Petronas have awarded a contract to Halliburton Co to drill 15 oil wells in the supergiant Majnoon oilfield, an oil official said on Monday.
Oil and gas services company Petrofac also won a contract to build two new crude processing plants with a capacity of 50,000 bpd per each and to rehabilitate the existing crude plant, the official added. - Reuters

The Iraq invasion was 'designed' by Halliburton under the direction of Dick Cheney when he was Defense Secretary under George H. W. Bush.

Halliburton has a very, very long history of doing business with countries that have supported terrorist networks.  They get away with it because they have so much money they simply pay fines that they view as 'operating costs.'  The USA Justice Department needs to start putting CEOs in prison after the legislature actually puts some 'teeth' into the law.

...Following the end of Operation Desert Storm in February 1991, the Pentagon, led by then Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, paid Halliburton subsidiary Brown & Root Services over $8.5 million to study the use of private military forces with American soldiers in combat zones.[21] Halliburton crews also helped bring 725 burning oil wells under control in Kuwait.[22]
Thomas H. Cruikshank, who served as chairman and CEO from 1989 until 1995, was replaced by Dick Cheney.[23]
In the early 1990s Halliburton was found to be in violation of federal trade barriers in Iraq and Libya, having sold these countries dual-use oil drilling equipment and, through its former subsidiary, Halliburton Logging Services, sending six pulse neutron generators to Libya. After having pleaded guilty, the company was fined $1.2 million, with another $2.61 million in penalties.[24]
During the Balkans conflict in the 1990s, Kellogg Brown-Root (KBR) supported U.S. peacekeeping forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Hungary with food, laundry, transportation and other lifecycle management services.[25]
In 1998 Halliburton merged with Dresser Industries, which included Kellogg. Prescott Bush was a director of Dresser Industries, which is now part of Halliburton. Former United States president George H. W. Bush worked for Dresser Industries in several positions from 1948–1951, before he founded Zapata Corporation.[26]...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halliburton

The corruption won't end until the CEOs and Board of Directors serve time in prison for breaking the law.  To simply fine these huge companies for breaking the law, the USA appears to be a PARTNER that is 'on the take' AFTER THE FACT.

I really don't want to hear how if such laws existed there won't be anyone willing to be a CEO. 

Give me a break!

Alabama Sues BP, Halliburton, & Transocean for "Catastrophic" Oil Spill



Submitted by Leader Staff on August 13, 2010 - 3:50pm.
 
On Friday, Alabama attorney general Troy King announced that the state was suing BP Plc., Halliburton, and Transocean for "catastrophic harm" caused by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Alabama is the first state to sue BP for damage from the worst oil spill in United States' history.
Alabama's decision stems from the fear that economic victims will not be adequately compensated, and that BP will shirk its financial responsibility.
King explained:
"We are making this claim because we believe that BP has inflicted catastrophic harm on the state ... We are suing them for the amount it will take to make Alabama whole."
Amongst others, the lawsuit also named Anadarko Petroleum Corp.
Transocean was the owner of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded and sank in April. BP hired the rig. Hallburton provided the cement work for the well, and Anadarko was a minority owner.
The lawsuit alleges:
"It is believed the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon was a blowout relating to the cementing work."...

http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/14359


Fla. developer sues Halliburton over Gulf spill
August 05, 2010
By SAMANTHA BOMKAMP
AP Business Writer
New York, NY 10001, United States — (08-05) 08:54 PDT New York (AP) --


Florida real estate developer St. Joe Co. is suing Halliburton Co. over its role in the rig explosion that led to the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.


St. Joe said late Wednesday that Halliburton, which was responsible for encasing BP PLC's subsea well in cement, ignored safety procedures and didn't properly manage the cementing process. In deepwater drilling, cementing is a critical element in preventing oil and gas from escaping from the well....

http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-08-05/business/22206452_1_bp-plc-halliburton-rig-explosion

The right to voite without equality. Huh?

On the left, Susan B. Anthony. 


On the right, Elizabeth Kady Stanton.


Their accomplishment?


The 19th Amendment to the USA Constitution which insured women the right to vote.


Whatever happened to The Equal Rights Amendment?


It is outrageous in this country that women out number men and they aren't 'interested' in having equal rights AND RESPONSIBLITIES under the law?  Amazing.  How can women vote on any issue or for any candidate unless they understand the full brevity of citizenship on equal status with the opposite gender? 

Stanton/Anthony Friendship

"I revolted in spirit against the customs of society and the laws of the state that crushed my aspirations and debarred me from the pursuit of almost every object worthy of an intelligent, rational mind."


Emily Collins

These words summed up the sense of protest evoked in a significant number of women by the status allotted to them during the early part of the nineteenth century. Young Elizabeth Cady learned Greek and acquainted herself with law in her father's office. Instead of winning his praise, he only lamented "Elizabeth, if only you were a boy." Young middle-class women of the time watched their brothers depart for college while they stayed at home, lost all rights to property when they married (William Blackstone had said in his famous Commentaries, "Husband and wife are one and that one is the husband"), and, in some cases, were subjected to legally permissible physical punishment at the hands of their spouses to ensure their "obedience." If they spoke in public, they were denounced by the churches for "promiscuous activity." Most important, women were denied any voice in enactment of laws by which they were governed....

So, now as second class citizens women are allowed a voice in the laws created to govern them, but, they aren't allowed the status of men. 

I wonder why there is still a glass ceiling?

And the women of the USA have the audacity to pass judgement on other oppressed women?

Really?

Let's see, women in the USA don't like women to be stoned in public in the Middle East, but, they have no need for completely equal footing with men in their own country.  Isn't that just a tad bit ludicrous? 

What gives USA women the right to speak against the cruel treatment of women elsewhere? 

Freedom of Speech? 

Are you sure?

The Jet Stream was diminished and gone at times. The heat was allowed to linger and build. (click here - thank you)

In early August 2010, the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) released its analysis of global temperatures for the previous month. In July 2010, GISS found, the global average temperature was 0.55 degrees Celsius (almost 1 degree Fahrenheit) warmer than climatology—defined as average temperatures for the same month from 1951 to 1980. July 2010 was practically in a three-way tie for the warmest July on record, tied with July 1998 and July 2005....

It is time people got serious about the Climate Crisis !!!!!!

Judge criticises US over 'soft' fine for Barclays Bank - GIVING a "PASS" to Wall Street !!!!! Geithner and Holder need to do better !!!!!

Bloomberg News
Barclays and government lawyers have to return to court to defend their $298 million settlement. Here, a Barclays branch in London last month.







Washington court criticises 'sweetheart deal' and $298m fine for bank that flouted international sanctions  (click title to entry - thank you)

Andrew Clark in New York The Guardian
Wednesday 18 August 2010

A judge has attacked the US government for striking a "sweetheart deal" with Barclays to settle criminal charges that the British bank flouted international sanctions by doing clandestine business with Iran, Cuba, Libya, Sudan and Burma.

At a court hearing in Washington yesterday, judge Emmet Sullivan refused to rubber-stamp an agreement under which Barclays consented to pay $298m to settle charges that its staff deliberately concealed transactions with financial institutions in regimes frozen out by US foreign policy.


"Why isn't the government getting tough with the banks?" Sullivan asked, pointing out that no individuals were being charged or sent to prison over the breaches. The judge's unexpected resistance threw the settlement into doubt pending a more detailed hearing, scheduled for Wednesday.

Barclays is anxious to move beyond a scandal in which it owned up to sanctions-busting between 1995 and 2006. The bank has joined Lloyds TSB, Credit Suisse and ABN Amro among overseas financial institutions caught by US rules which cover them because they have branch operations in New York.

Plea bargains to settle criminal charges are common in the US and are often nodded through by the bench. But in the latest of several shows of judicial scepticism towards hasty settlements of Wall Street misdemeanours, Sullivan described the agreement as "an accommodation to a foreign bank" and pointed out that the average American caught robbing a bank is not given a deferred prosecution deal or an opportunity to refund the proceeds from crime.

Prosecutors say Barclays staff stripped identifying names from payment information in a deliberate ruse to defy US sanctions against repressive regimes, including countries accused of being state sponsors of terrorism.

Court documents say much of the subterfuge took place at a payment centre in Poole, Dorset, where an "interdiction filter" was installed to spot mentions of countries covered by sanctions. Once spotted, the wording on payments was changed to blur the source or direction of funds.

Among the challenged transactions are 46 fund transfers worth $490,000 involving Burma, 61 transactions worth $6.71m concerning Cuba, three payments amounting to $60,000 involving Iran and 1,175 transfers of $105m benefiting individuals or government entities in Sudan....

The weather at Glacier Bay National Park is (Crystal Wind Chime) still balmy.

Petermann is a sleeping giant (click title to entry - thank you) that is slowly awakening. Removing flow resistance leads to flow acceleration…. The coincidence of this area loss and a 30 square kilometer loss in 2008 with abnormal warmth this year, the setting of increasing sea surface temperatures and sea ice decline are all part of a climate warming pattern.


Lat/Lon: 58.8° N 137.0° W


Elevation: 33 ft


Local Time: 4:33 PM AKDT on August 17, 2010 (GMT -08)


Temperature :: 61 Fahrenheit


Conditions :: Overcast


Humidity :: 82%




Dew Point :: 55 Fahrenheit


Wind :: 10 mph from the Southeast


Pressure :: 29.83 inches (Rising)


Visibility :: 10.0 miles


UV :: 1 out of 16


Clouds :: Mostly Cloudy 4100 feet


Overcast 4700 feet


(Above Ground Level)


Bloomberg Businessweek
Greenland OKs more offshore Arctic drilling
The Associated Press
August 17, 2010, 11:05AM ET text size: TT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark
Greenland has given permission to a Scottish oil and gas company to drill two deepwater exploration wells off the ice-capped island's west coast.
Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy PLC started two other wells in the same area on July 1.
The Greenland government said Tuesday the drilling must cease before drift ice appears in the area.
Greenpeace criticized the decision, and said Cairn should follow the example of oil companies that have suspended deepwater drilling in the wake of the spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Drilling for oil and gas in the deep ocean off Greenland's west coast resumed in 2001, three decades after a previous effort failed to find oil. Exploration so far has been unsuccessful.



http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9HLAAK82.htm
 
 
 
Greenland oil lures Cairn Energy from India
 
- Vedanta pays £5bn for 51% of Cairn India


- Cairn Energy will use proceeds to fund Greenland project


Simon Goodley
guardian.co.uk
Monday 16 August 2010 20.14 BST


Cairn Energy, the oil exploration group, confirmed that it had sold a 51% stake in Cairn India to Vedanta for £5bn to help fund its move towards exploration projects off the coast of Greenland, just as offshore drilling becomes more controversial.
The deal will also allow the Edinburgh-based company, which owns 62% of Cairn India, to return a "substantial sum" to investors while adding to its two rigs positioned 200km away from Aasiaat, on Greenland's west coast.
The explorer insists that the Greenland projects do not classify as "deep water" - a thorny issue after the controversy that engulfed BP this year – as the seabed is less than 1,000 metres below the surface. However, it has hired rigs with deep water capabilities for the drilling....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/aug/16/cairn-energy-vedanta-greenland

Former Virginia "Macaca" Senator George Allen recuits spouse for political organizer.

Washington Whispers
New Group Looks to Tea Party, Sarah Palin (click title to entry - thank you)
By Paul Bedard
Posted: August 17, 2010

Move over, men. Women are mobilizing for the fall elections. "We do all the work. We deserve to have a voice on the direction of the country," says Sonja Eddings Brown, a founder of a new conservative group, The Kitchen Cabinet. Backed by some prominent women such as Susan Allen, wife of former Virginia Sen. George Allen, Brown is launching an aggressive bid to get 1 million new women to vote this November on thekitchencabinet.us. The recession and jobs top the Kitchen Cabinet's issues. "The No. 1 moral issue this year is the economy," says Brown, who looks to the Tea Party and Sarah Palin as examples of the change agents she wants to associate with. While still in its infancy, the group is fast becoming the buzz in the conservative and Tea Party movements because of its aim to give moms, upset with Washington spending and debt, a voice and vote. Brown's goal: dumping Democratic majorities. "We want to change the leadership in Washington," she says.




Tailgate Registration



Note: Fields marked with an * are required.
George Allen’s


Tailgate Party


Saturday, September 18, 2010


T-Miller’s Sports Bar and Grill


Richmond Marriott Hotel


500 E. Broad Street


Richmond, Virginia 23219


Private Reception: 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.


General Reception: 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
EVENT INFORMATION


Head Coach - $5,000


11 Tickets to the Tailgate, Special Recognition, 11 Tickets to Private Reception with photo opportunity


Quarterback - $2,500


7 Tickets to the Tailgate, Special Recognition, 7 Tickets to Private Reception with photo opportunity


Strong Safety - $1,000


4 Tickets to the Tailgate, 4 Tickets to Private Reception with photo opportunity


Special Teams Captain - $500


2 Tickets to the Tailgate, 2 Tickets to Private Reception with photo opportunity


Teammate - $50 Per Ticket
Please make checks payable to Good Government for America


Mail your reply to 101 E. Cary Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219


or fax to (804) 344-0092.


If you have questions, please call (804) 344-8081.
 
https://www.georgeallen.com/tailgate-registration



Aug 05 2010


Elena Kagan Should Not Be Confirmed


George Allen


Elena Kagan's political stand against military recruiters on the campus of the Harvard Law School contrary to the law, her hostility to our personal Second Amendment rights of self-defense, her advocacy for unprecedented expansion of dictates by the federal government are among the salient reasons why Elena Kagan should not be confirmed for a lifetime appointment as a Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Her record as a Dean and her statements indicate that, as a Justice, she would impose her political views above the Constitution and duly passed laws....

http://www.georgeallen.com/blog?ContentRecord_id=d6e5c354-7975-49e6-bfc4-84cefaafcf3f

The Blagojevichs have faired well so far. Go get 'em Rod.

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his wife Patti arrive at the Federal Court building, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2010, in Chicago. A lawyer for the brother of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich says attorneys in the case have been summoned to the courtroom. Michael Ettinger, a lawyer for Robert Blagojevich, says he does not know the reason. It's the 14th day of deliberations. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

By Michael Tarm and Don Babwin
Associated Press Writers 

August 17, 2010

CHICAGO—A federal jury found former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich guilty on Tuesday of one count of lying to federal agents, and the judge said he intended to declare a mistrial on the more serious remaining 23 counts....

One count of lying to federal agents.  NOT selling a Senate seat or any other corruption.  Gee, that must be a real disappointment for the Tea Party and Republicans. 

A miss trial on 23 counts?

On 23 counts there was a mistrial?  Huh?

How could there be fundamental errors on 23 charges and not on one?  Patrick needs to explain himself. 

The jury deliberated for two weeks.  There was significant contemplation during that time.  Why doesn't the government just admit they don't have a case?

People say a lot of things when engaged in political conversation.  Whether it is REAL is the issue.  There is nothing here to accuse Rod of anything except perhaps rudeness.

When is Rod running for his next office?

He was right to not resign and give into pressure by those that don't care about the law and truth, but, only politics.

He wouldn't have been found guilty of lying either if the charges weren't brought wrongfully in the first place.  Sometimes the federal govenrment doesn't have the right to all the information they normally wouldn't have ESPECIALLY since he was not guilty.  I believe he had a right to protect whatever information he felt he need to knowing he was wrongfully charged and not guilty.  Someone is guilty of forcing an elected Governor to be defamed and forced from office.  I think that needs to be INVESTIGATED.

Illinois governor impeached
Friday, 30 January 2009 22:39
Governor Rod Blagojevich of the US State of Illinios has been removed from office after the state Senate unanimously convicted him on impeachment charges.
The charges include trying to sell the US Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama.
The Illinois Senate, acting as a jury, voted 59-0 to oust the second-term Democrat immediately....


http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0130/blagojevichr.html

Sorry I didn't make an entry yesterday. I'll be back in a short while

I do take all this seriously.  I know people read what I write and I appreciate their attention.  But, I received some 'bad news' about my father yesterday and it sort of set me back a bit.

My Dad is a nice man.  He has been a wonderful Father and Husband, a good friend and a great patriot.  He served in the Korean Conflict and I respect his views on many things. 

His health is challenged right now and he is hospitalized.  He is stable and in good spirits.  We are waiting for test results.

I'll write more about him later as it is appropriate. 

I'll be back shortly.

"Morning Papers" - Its Origins

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

Stop the wars and end the oil drilling. We really don't need either. Ask Ford Motor, they'll tell you.

I wonder if the USA stops warring if everyone else will?

Oh.

Wait.

They already have.

There is no other major nation at war anywhere in the world besides the USA and NATO.  China?  Russia?  We aren't even at war with another nation.  We're taking a licking from the Taliban.  Like what?

Think about it. 

Good night, Moon.

Troop deaths in Afghanistan top 2000. (click title)

Is that your son? 


Husband?


Not mine either.

...The deaths of at least one more US service member, an Australian and a Briton announced in the past two days have pushed the total to 2,002 since the Taliban were ousted in late 2001 by US-backed Afghan forces.
The total is less than half that suffered during the seven years of the Iraq war but is a significant milestone nonetheless, with NATO allies like the Netherlands pulling out of the alliance and others reviewing their future roles....



Defense Secretary Robert Gates announces the elimination of the Joint Forces Command and a 10 percent reduction in the use of contractors. It's part of his plan to reform Pentagon spending....

...Among other steps laid out, Gates plans to:
• Freeze the number of positions in the office of the secretary of Defense, among other offices.
• Freeze the number of senior department positions and appoint a task force to study reducing the number of generals and other senior staff to address what is called “brass creep.”
• Close two defense offices and recommend the elimination of a third.
• Find economies of scale, especially in areas like information technology and services.
“To be clear, the task before us is not to reduce the department’s top-line budget,” Gates said. “Rather, it is to significantly reduce its excess overhead costs and apply the savings to force structure and modernization.”...

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2010/0809/Gates-budget-ax-swings-at-Pentagon-overhead-Joint-Forces-Command



...But why should anyone want to cut the U.S. military budget?
One reason is that—with $549 billion requested for basic military expenditures and another $159 billion requested for U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—the record $708 billion military spending called for by the Obama administration for fiscal 2011 will be nearly equivalent to the military spending of all other nations in the world combined. When it comes to military appropriations, the U.S. government already spends about seven times as much as China, thirteen times as much as Russia, and seventy-three times as much as Iran....


http://www.hnn.us/articles/130258.html


The 'problem' with the USA's economy isn't about 'big government' or 'entitlements,' it is about the INEFFECTIVE 'elected' leadership under Republican majority for most of the modern history of the USA.  Democrats always 'get dumped on' when it is 'their turn' to straighten things out so the Republicans can 'do it all over again.'  The country never realizes that Republicans are simply corrupt.  They don't care about the people of the USA, they care about the money of the people of the USA.

I believe Secretary Gates is doing his best to trim the budget demands of the USA, but, in all honesty if the USA is spending MORE than the entire sum of the rest of the world, do we really believe we are less safe than everyone else?

Hello?

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are about nation building and that is why they are taking longer than WWII.  WWII was about the survival of civilization as we know it.  Iraq and Afghanistan is about a 'failed state' and the opportunity in Iraq for oil.  Afghanistan is gas, too.  At least a pipeline or something like that.

But, nation building requires decades of change and not simply a war to end 'a threat' to the world.  Nation building is sapping the USA dry while its economy is shipped to China. 

We need to bring the troops home and let General Petraeus write a book or something.  We can't and shouldn't go on like this.  It is hideous already. 

PEACE !

...and then there is the continued deficit...

I thought the USA military just relieved a commander of his duty for the SAME DAMN REASON as what Petraeus is saying.

Who's military is this anyway?

The only difference is that Petraeus didn't say it to Rolling Stone Magazine.

The 'troop surge' needs to be repealed.

What goes on 'over there,' Poppies or Money or both?  I thought the Taliban were drowning in Pakistan for God's sake !

General Petraeus insists he will not be bound by Obama's Afghan exit date (click title to entry - thank you)
New commander of foreign forces in Afghanistan says July 2011 deadline may not be possible
Jon Boone in Kabul
guardian.co.uk
Sunday 15 August 2010 23.14 BST

The US army general, David Petraeus, made clear today that he would not be bound by Barack Obama's promise to start withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan by July next year.
In his first interview since taking command of Nato troops in the country less than two months ago, the top general said he could foresee circumstances where conditions would make it impossible for him to recommend a reduction in forces.
Such an outcome would scupper President Obama's plans not to appear bogged down in a worsening Afghanistan conflict as he prepares for re-election in 2012.
Speaking on US television from his headquarters in Kabul, Petraeus said the controversial promise made by Obama in November that a surge of 30,000 US troops would be temporary and would start to be reversed in July 2011 was simply an attempt to increase the urgency of the international effort in Afghanistan....

Does anyone besides me believe Citi will never make it ?

...Citibank (NYSE: C) is offering up to $400 for those that live in Los Angeles and open an account with the New York-based bank.
Anyone that opens a regular checking account with Citibank will be automatically eligible for a $200 bonus. Those that open a checking account with Citibank’s Account Package will earn the full $400.00. According to a report from Best Cash Cow, the limited time offer will expire on August 22nd. Citibank’s “ThankYou” Rewards program allows customers to claim rewards for regular banking activtiies as well.
There are limitations to the deal that Citibank is offering. To take advantage of the bonus, Customers must deposit $1,000 or more in the account within the first sixty days. Customers must also make at least one direct deposit into the account for two months. Customers must also make five or more debit card purchases or pay two electronic bills during the first two months....

http://www.americanbankingnews.com/2010/08/15/citibank-nyse-c-offering-up-to-400-bonus-for-new-account-holdings/
 
 
If one recalls, Morgan was the only bank left standing when the collapse occurred UNTIL everyone else was bailed out.  I feel better about Morgan purchasing assets than any other bank, but, the point is this 'shuffle' is still going on.
 
 
JPMorgan buys $3.5B Citibank loan portfolio  (click title to entry - thank you)
August 10, 2010, 1:39PM ET
NEW YORK
JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a $3.5 billion portfolio of real estate loans from Citibank, the company said Tuesday.
JPMorgan said the portfolio includes about 3,800 loans, most of which are multifamily real estate loans for properties in New York, California, and Illinois. It said the portfolio is made up entirely of performing loans that have strong credit performance.
The deal will reduce assets by $3.5 billion at Citi Holdings, Citigroup's portfolio of noncore operating businesses and assets.
Citigroup said it is continuing to reduce the assets of Citi Holdings steadily. Citi Holdings makes up less than a quarter of the company's balance sheet, and Citigroup said it is reducing those noncore holding while working toward profitability and growth for Citicorp.
In afternoon trading, JPMorgan shares fell 54 cents to $39.28. Shares of Citigroup Inc. declined 6 cents to $4.02....

The American Way...

...does have loyal people that care about the people of this nation.  That know how to survive in a world run by billionaire barons that care not about people, but, about bonuses.  And is actually a FAMILY owned and operated business.

Well.

I'll be darn.

There is something left to the American Fabric after all.

A moral company that cares about the priorities of a nation. 

Wow.

But, then there is Ford. American as Apple Pie. And powered by ???? the sun ????

Did someone say it couldn't be done?

by Nino Marchetti,
August 12th, 2010

...An innovative clean energy collaboration (click title to entry - thank you) between auto manufacturer Ford, utility Detroit Edison and energy storage systems builder Xtreme Power plans to bring to Michigan one of its largest solar energy systems, which will be used to help in the production and usage of electric vehicles. The system will be installed at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant....

See, the problem with the USA economy is not just job creation. The USA economy has been robbed of its vitality. Purposefully.

If China has the cheapest labor force in the entire world and all the companies produce their manufactured goods there, what does that do to every other country in the world?

Because that is what is going on in a supposed 'free market economy' where the Chinese government controls the wages and quality of life of their people.

Convenient, isn't it?  The manufacturing companies in China will never have to worry about labor unions or wage increases or health insurance plans or ever being sued.  Sounds like THE PERFECT BUSH DYNASTY WORLD.  No management talent needed, just dictatorial authority.

...Blankfein realized the windfall Wednesday by exercising his right to buy 90,681 Goldman shares at $82.875, according to a Friday regulatory filing. He then sold the stock at prices ranging between $149.49 and $152.Goldman shares closed Friday at $148.08. That's a 79 percent increase from the stock's price in November 2000 when Blankfein received the options.

Goldman is considered the leading Wall Street bank, usually outdistancing its rivals with its trading and investment banking operations. The company beat second-quarter earnings forecasts although its net income fell 83 percent due to the $550 billion it paid to settle civil fraud charges brought by the SEC and a $600 million charge for a British employee bonus tax.


Goldman has been sharply criticized for its high compensation levels after it accepted a $10 billion government bailout during the financial crisis in 2008. It also received $13 billion from insurer American International Group Inc. after the government bailed that company out.

Two other top Goldman executives also profited from expiring options....

China is overtaking Japan in economic strength. I don't know if that is actually saying much, but, ...

...when Nixon went to China to open relations with the USA, it was suppose to expose China to the economic engine of the USA.  Nowhere in the wildest imagination of the people of the USA did we ever believe the Bush Dynasty would take over and actually 'limit' the growth of the global economy by EXCLUSIVELY putting every manufacturing job in the USA into China.

What was suppose to happen is that China was suppose to tour the USA and 'view' its economy and 'take back' the 'model' of the USA economy to 'build' an economy that put its people to work while building ITS OWN market places for its goods. 

See, China, if they were paying their people a 'decent' wage could have a good economy, not a globally dominant economy.  If they left the USA manufacturing sector alone, the 'balance of trade' might even be condusive to economic growth in Europe and the USA.

What occurred was cheap labor and the robbing of the jobs in the USA that was the backbone of its economy.  What China did was to turn the global economy into 'a dirt cheap' economy whereby no one makes enough money to ever have a good quality of life.

That wasn't was suppose to happen.  But, the Bush Dynasty saw a chance to make billions and get rid of the unions besides.  And these Bozos went to Harvard? 

The Bush Dynasty literally destroyed 'the market place' in 'The West' while substituting it with a Chinese manufacturing sector.  They shot themselves and the rest of the world in the foot.

India and China could have their own autonomous economies if they never sold a darn thing outside their own boundaries so long as they paid the citizens there enough of a wage to actually provide a healthy market place.

That is not what is occurring.  What happened is that the Capitalists of Wall Street kept the Chinese in the dark to its own 'internal' potential and imported all their manufacturing plants to find cheap labor.  Same applies to Mexico.  The Capitalists destroyed the global market place and collected huge bonuses besides because they were such geniuses. 

They aren't. 

They are morons that can only add and subtract and 'make up' excuses to create EXOTIC investment equations to look like geniuses while scalping every dollar they can from people that legitimately believe them.  It is called a fiduciary relationship.  A fiduciary relationship was once a highly ethical component to any investement relationship including purchasing a home.  Today?  It gets in the way.

Ethics?  Oh, that only matters if Republicans can defame Democrats to tip election balances.


China overtakes Japan to become no. 2 global economic power



By David Barboza
New York Times
Posted: 08/15/2010 06:18:41 PM PDT

SHANGHAI -- After three decades of spectacular growth, China has passed Japan to become the world's second-largest economy behind the United States, according to government figures released early today.

The milestone, though anticipated for some time, is the most striking evidence yet that China's ascendance is for real and that the rest of the world will have to reckon with a new economic superpower.

The milestone was reached early today, when Tokyo said that in the second quarter, the Japanese economy was valued at about $1.28 trillion, slightly below China's figure of $1.33 trillion. The gross domestic product of the United States was roughly $14 trillion in 2009. Japan's economy grew 0.4 percent in the second quarter, Tokyo said, substantially less than forecast.

Experts say unseating Japan -- and in recent years passing Germany, France and Great Britain -- underscores China's growing clout and bolsters forecasts that China will pass the United States as the world's biggest economy as early as 2030....

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_15789343?source=rss