Tensions rise as WikiLeaks release nears (click title - thank you)

A Swedish court (click here) has rejected Wikileaks founder Julian Assange's appeal against a detention order in a rape case.

The appeals court upheld an earlier court order, which allows investigators to bring the 39-year old Australian into custody for questioning.

Mr Assange, who is believed to be in Britain, denies the allegations, saying they are part of a smear campaign....




...WikiLeaks is planning (click title to entry - thank you) to make available up to 400,000 sensitive cables from the past five years that include talks with politicians, government officials and journalists, as well as evaluations by US diplomats about their host countries.
According to the London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Hayat, several documents show that the US had in turn been providing assistance to Turkey's Kurdish separatist movement, the PKK.

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Founded in the 1970s, the PKK is listed as a terrorist organisation in Turkey, the US, the European Union and Australia.
A report in Israel's Jerusalem Post said the US military documents refer to the PKK as ''warriors for freedom and Turkish citizens'' and say that the US had set free arrested PKK members in Iraq.
The documents also point out that US forces in Iraq have given weapons to the PKK and ignored the organisation's operations inside Turkey.....

KCK Declines Responsibility for Bomb Attack - Ceasefire Extended  (click here)

The Democratic Confederation of Kurdistan, the umbrella organization for the militant PKK, distanced itself from the bomb attack in Istanbul on Sunday that left 32 people injured. The organization declared to extend the ceasefire until the general elections in 2011....

Terrorist PKK condemns TAK for Taksim attack

06 November 2010, Saturday / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL

A semi-independent but essentially Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)-affiliated organization’s claiming responsibility for a suicide bomb attack in Taksim on Sunday, which injured 32 people and killed the bomber himself, has drawn the ire of the terrorist PKK, which recently prolonged a unilateral cease-fire until next year’s general elections.

The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack on its website on Thursday. The announcement was met with anger by the PKK, despite TAK saying that the suicide bomber, Vedat Acar, had acted on his own initiative... Suicide bombers due act on their own initiative.  They have to make their peace with god first and then carry out their crime.  That is the way it works.  The blame comes in when the suicide bomber acting on their own initiative is linked with a group sympathetic to their cause.  All the suicide bombers of 911 were acting on their own initiative, but, they are members of al Qaeda.  That is like Murdoch double talk, '...we are fair and balanced.'  Right. What is totally bizarre is the strong inconsistency in reporting.  Does anyone in the West actually know what is going on or simply making headlines out of what they believe is going on?  Because the facts are important and they have to be verified from two sources before they are considered fact.  The Human Error component.  So, TAK is not really taking responsibility, but, portraying the suicide bomber as an individual outside their influence.  Those are the facts.  The only fact undisputed is the fact there was a bombing.  Is the aftermath accurately reported, because, if the bomber didn't attain his goal then what are they trying this at all for? Kurdish TAK rebels say behind Istanbul bombing  (click here)

ISTANBUL | Thu Nov 4, 2010 12:25pm EDT

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A group linked to Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas claimed responsibility on Thursday for a suicide bomb attack in central Istanbul at the weekend.
The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) said on its website it had staged the attack, which wounded 32 people near a police bus at Istanbul's Taksim Square, as an "act of revenge."
"We as TAK claim responsibility for the action carried out against the police force of Turkish fascism at Istanbul's Taksim Square on Oct 31, 2010," TAK said....

 
Tuesday, Nov 9, 2010 15:10 ET 


Government harassing and intimidating Bradley Manning supporters  (click here) 

By Glenn Greewald  

...To date, he has never been charged with any crime or even told he's under investigation for anything; this was clearly a thuggish attempt by federal officials to intimidate any American citizen involved with or supporting WikiLeaks. That campaign of intimidation is now clearly spreading to supporters of Bradley Manning.  Last Wednesday, November 3, David House, a 23-year-old researcher who works at MIT, was returning to the U.S. from a short vacation with his girlfriend in Mexico, and was subjected to similar and even worse treatment,,,,

Suicide blast hits Istanbul (click here)

At least 32 wounded in explosion carried out by suicide bomber in heart of Turkish city, police say. Last Modified: 31 Oct 2010 14:11 GMT

,,,Among those wounded, 17 are civilians while 15 belong to the police force, two of whom are said to be in a serious condition.
"It was a suicide bomb and it appears as if the bomber blew himself up. It appears to be a male body," Huseyin Capkin, the police chief, said.
Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught, reporting from the scene, said police were looking for a second attacker. 
"A second bomb had been planted right next to the suicide bomber," she said.
"That bomb did not go off but had it done so, with huge crowds gathered after the first explosion as you would expect, that bomb was designed to cause maximum damage."
Our correspondent said the only confirmed death was that of the suicide bomber....

Okay, so who is the second bomber that faded into the crowd when he decided he didn't want to die? 

Delaware National Guard home after one year in Afghanistan (click title - thank you)

First Lt. Thomas Emerson IV holds 8-month-old daughter Macie while wife Miranda looks on during a welcome-home ceremony for the Delaware National Guard's 238th Aviation Regiment on Thursday morning. "We have a lot to be thankful for," Miranda Emerson said. (The News Journal/JENNIFER CORBETT)

I am also grateful for...

The liberators of the American Society, they have found the determination to 'stand up' for 'the truth.'  Although ignored for fear of their political prowess and a change in 'wind direction' for the Plutocracy.

Why aren't these men and their father's legacies making front page headlines, other than scandalous, while making indisputable history?

John and Thomas Steinbeck, Alex and Wendell Potter, and others such as Keith Olbermann.  

And, of course, the impetus to the movement toward greatness, Michael Moore.

He was not my father's favorite son, but, then I wasn't his favorite daughter either.  However, I was the one he mentored to do exactly as I am doing today.  The First Child, the truth seeker and the bravest of the family.

Michael Moore on Countdown with Keith Olbermann

Carlsbad Reads Together - Thomas Steinbeck - "Travels with Charley" Part 2

Google should have a Macy's Thanksgiving Day baloon in hte parade every year. It just seems right.

Google has become a verb as well as a noun since its inception.  It has maintained high levels of benevolence due to the love of people by its creators.  Google has morphed in recent years into a 'quality of life' sponsor in every country it now has a presence and we have seen essence of culture sponsored very regularly at the webpage for this incredible company.  

This Thanksgiving we were encouraged to enjoy new recipes for the USA Thanksgiving table (click title to entry - thank you) and it seems 'correct' to have them in the Macy's Day Parade as a part of the American Landscape that has brought a higher quality of life to each American and continues to strive to achieve that.  

I am grateful for the services Google provides to my life and does not ask for a dime in return.

New Zealand is not a country to take these losses well.

YOUNGEST: Joseph Ray Dunbar is the youngest of the miners, he had just turned 17 the day before the explosion. 

Pike River mine: 'West Coast's darkest hour'  (click title to entry - thank you)

5:30 AM Thursday Nov 25, 2010

...It had been a slow acceptance of a grim reality, and yesterday was no different as the sorrowing relatives entered the large auditorium.

But within 10 minutes, a wail split the air: "Oh my God."

People stumbled out in tears, distraught, falling into each other's arms.

Sisters, grandmothers and strong, stocky fathers sobbed and supported one another as they returned to their cars.

A second explosion in the mine two hours earlier had crushed any hope. The 29 men were pronounced dead....

In memory of the Pike River miners  (click here)

Remembering the lives of the Pike River miners. You can leave your message of condolence.

SEVENTEEN (click here)

(In memory of Joseph Ray Dunbar and all those who died in the Pike River Mine.)

Joseph Ray Dunbar was just seventeen.
One week ago - turned seventeen.
No doubt had a few drinks out
with his mates.

He'd been through a rough patch, someone said.
Who doesn't??!
A boy from the Coast, even-eyed.
But he's gotten a job now.

New boots.
The making of him, someone said.
You get a lot of respect with a job.
Couldn't wait!

Probably had his lunch packed.
The unlined face, the big smile.
Probably had a way with the girls.
The local girls.

Couldn't wait!
The local girls are wearing black.
Mothers and sons and husbands too.
He probably ran the last hundred yards....

Joseph Ray Dunbar.
Climbed aboard and headed on down.
A smile and a wave and a joke amongst men.
The biggest day of Joseph's life.

You caught the train, Joseph.
You took the train too soon.
You caught the train before your time.

Israel in a joint venture with the USA is working on a fool proof scan system that is less invasive and more like a 'hound dog's nose.'

TraceGuard, Rapiscan jointly to develop combined bulk/trace detection system  (click here)

Published 11 August 2006

Two innovative developers of baggage screening technologies will jointly develop an improved system which will allow for more accuracy and shorter lines.

Talk of timely announcement: Petach Tikva, Israel-based TraceGuard Technologies (OTCBB: TCGD) has entered into a one-year joint development program with Rapiscan Systems, a subsidiary of Hawthorne, California-based OSI Systems (NASDAQ: OSIS), to develop TraceScan, an advanced combined bulk/trace detection system for interdiction of explosive devices and weapons. When developed, TraceScan will be marketed exclusively by Rapiscan, primarily to the U.S. government, and also through its global direct sales and distributor network....

...Here's what the hoopla (click here)  is all about. The device you see pictured here can check your carry on bag for explosives in about 30 seconds vs the current very lengthy and inexact "swabbing" being used at airport checkpoints today. There are a number of other devices under development by the scientists at TCGD, including a cargo version of this machine.
They have an LOI for a development and marketing agreement with British based Smiths Detection, the second largest security device manufacturer in the world (second to GE, who bought their way into the business)....



Israel is NOT about profiling.  They would investigate a White American Female with children if they believe the case should be made.  It isn't PROFILING and they aren't investing all their security into interviews.

Israel's Top 10 airport securities TECHNOLOGIES  (click title to entry for Business Week article)  and (click here for Israel 21c article)



...1. Trace-Safe - An alternative to body scans
They're in use in at least 19 airports in the US, but most people balk at the idea of a full body scan which essentially strips a passenger naked using radiation technology. Dangerous for the psyche and also for the frequent traveler who is exposed to numerous doses of radiation, an Israeli company working with a US partner could have the solution.

Trace-Safe from Israel and Raptor from the US have co-developed a chemical process, called TraceGuard, which can free particles from fabric and luggage for speedy detection and analysis.
The technology detects harmful substances and not benign ones like perfume or pharmaceuticals. It doesn't show false alarms, doesn't need filters or a cleaning. "You only want to detect the substances that you can make explosives or biological agents out of," says Sela.

It can be integrated into scanners and magnetometers and also into a wand that can be passed over both people and luggage.

While Trace-Safe is struggling financially right now, Sela believes that TraceGuard has the potential to bring an end to the use of all other equipment at airports, including the detested body and shoe scanners. "I am among those experts who believe the full body scans are wrong and not healthy for people," Sela tells ISRAEL21c. "Especially since they are passing through radiation; it defeats the cause."....


...The system, (click here) which could be integrated into scanners, magnetometers and hand-held devices, was designed to rapidly inspect both passengers and luggage without the use of full body scan and has been deployed at about 20 airports in the United States....

This is the Northern Limit Line between South Korea and North Korea. The North claims the line is further south.

This has been an ongoing conflict for over a decade now.  I believe much of the conflict has to do with use of the fisheries and I have to wonder what the quality of the food supply in North Korea is with Winter approaching and there exists sanctions.

This is a report from 2008:

International meetings (click here) on Fisheries Acoustics in Asia were held three times over the last decade. The first meeting was held in Pusan, Korea in 1997, entitled “International Workshop on Acoustic Surveys of North Pacific Fisheries Resources”, and the second meeting was held in Hakodate, Japan in 2000, entitled “International Symposium on Advanced Techniques of Sampling Gear and Acoustical Surveys for Estimation of Fish Abundance and Behavior”, both in conjunction with the PICES (The North Pacific Marine Science Organization) annual meetings.

     The third meeting was held in Dalian, China in 2007. In this meeting, we independently established the Asian Fisheries Acoustics Society (AFAS) based on past activities in order to promote further progress of science and technologies on Fisheries Acoustics in Asian countries.

     The coming fourth meeting will be held in Incheon, Korea as the second annual meeting of AFAS (AFAS2008). Since there are many particular problems in Asian fisheries, the AFAS aims to apply the acoustical technologies for Asian fisheries....

The conflict along this "Northern Limit Line" is not a straight forward declaration of war, it is more or less a boarder war and the prize is fishing rights.  Income also from those fishing rights.

Yeonpyeong Island is officially called "Yeonpyeong Myeon" and is the number 3 island on the map.  It is completely understandable through its location alone why there would be conflicts regarding, 'Who Owns It.'

This is really the second engagement over this island between the North and South; the first occurring in 2002.

It might be that the new emperor is trying out his new clothes.

There was a time when the 'white' tiger was a rarity. Now, all tigers are rare.

The Russian Prime Minister, Former President Putin, is a great and compassionate man.  It is those character strengths that have brought Russia out of the dark and now he casts light on a dearly endangered species.

...Just 3,200 tigers now roam free, (click title to entry - thank you) down from 100,000 a century ago, and those that remain face a losing battle with poachers who supply traders in India and China with tiger parts for traditional medicines and purported aphrodisiacs.

Putin is trying to turn the tables on the poachers by hosting a "tiger summit" with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and representatives from other Asian countries, the highest level meeting ever held to try to save the species.

"Here is a species that is literally on the brink of extinction," the director general of conservation organization WWF, Jim Leape, told the conference. "If we cannot succeed now, if current trends continue, by 2022 we will have only scattered remnants of the populations left."...


Vladimire Putin is not a 'flash in the pan' politician that enjoys power before purpose.  He is a man centered on a legacy of compassion and correctness.  I cannot thank him enough.  He has, in the past, been known to go on expedition to tranquilize these Big Cats and track them with radio tansmission.  He does make his statements lightly, but, with knowledge based in his own research.

As recent as last year he began the same practice with Polar Bears.

DiCaprio to donate $1 mln for tiger conservation (click here)

16:21 23/11/2010

Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio pledged to donate the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) $1 million for tiger conservation efforts, WWF said in a statement on Tuesday.

"DiCaprio today committed $1 million to World Wildlife Fund for urgent tiger conservation efforts through his Fund at the California Community Foundation," the statement, posted on the organization's website, reads.

DiCaprio, who shot to fame for his role in the 1997 blockbuster Titanic, is known for his participation in tiger conservation programs. Earlier this year, he joined WWF in its effort to raise $20 million through the Save Tigers Now campaign. As a WWF board member he recently visited tiger parks in Nepal and Bhutan...

My computer just warned me about the website RIA Novosti, but, it never warns me about Murdoch's media circus.

At any rate, THE TIGER.

It is the experience of scientists engaged in saving small populations of a species that 'severe inbreeding' can exist.  When a population of species shrinks to such small numbers the individuals that survive 'may propagate lethal' traits currently undetectable until it is too late.  Then the scientists and conservationists are left to wonder what occurred, ie: The Florida Panther among others.

Prime Minister Putin should not make the mistake of believing the remaining Tigers are perfect specimans.  He needs to examine the genetic content of the population in the wild as well as those remaining in zoos and captivity as well as 'old museum specimans' as would be found in the New York "Museum of Natural History."  Genetic analysis as well as habitat restoration and protection aided by poacher prosecution is all necessary. 

I wish all the best of luck.

Some would say I worry about 'silly' things, but, I think not.

Antarctica Wind Chime

One of my sincerest concerns about the Climate Crisis is the potential of the Blue Ice to sustain its presence due to the 'chronic cold' of the 'dark season' and the fact it is at the bottom of the world like a tear drop.

But, as the 'support' ice surrounding the Blue Ice melts and degrades, the 'opportunity' of 'ice meander' similar to the Greenland Ice becomes a reality.

The thing is this.

If three mile high Blue Ice sustains while it develops a meander, it will become increasingly unstable.  It is much higher and potentially denser than the Greeland Ice.

I believe there is the potential for 'toppling' of the Blue Ice as it becomes an increasingly 'independent' structure.  And while that would be a Neocon's dream come true for the same reason they pull wings off of flies, it would create a tsunmai that wouild destroy much of any coastal community in the world.

Whoever said powerful Americans are actually civilized.  They believe their money will protect them from anything.  They are their own gods.

Looks hot to me. It only has to be above freezing to melt. There is nothing magic about ice in Antarctica. It is still ice. Just compaced in a large volume.

The Coldest Reporting Station

Vostok, Antarctica

Local Time :: 7:10 AM VOST (GMT +06)

Lat/Lon: : 78.4° S 106.9° E

Elevation :: 11220 ft

Temperature :: -54 °F

Conditions :: Clear

Humidity :: 36%

Dew Point :: -63 °F

Wind :: 7 mph from the SSW

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: in (Steady)

Visibility :: 12.0 miles


Tbe Warmest Reporting Station

Base Jubany, Antarctica Local Time: 1:33 AM GMT (GMT +00)

Lat/Lon: 62.2° S 58.6° W

Elevation :: 13 ft

Temperature :: 38 °F

Conditions :: Partly Cloudy

Humidity :: 66%

Dew Point :: 31 °F

Wind :: 6 mph from the ENE

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: 28.78 in (Falling)

Visibility: 7.0 miles

UV: 0 out of 16 Clouds:
Scattered Clouds
Mostly Cloudy
(Above Ground Level) 6890 ft 984 ft

A glory over the Brunt Ice Shelf. Credit: Michael Studinger

...A glory  (click title to entry - thank you) is an optical phenomenon which appears much like a saint's halo about the head of the observer, is produced by a combination of diffraction, reflection and refraction by a cloud of uniformly-sized water droplets. Diffraction is what occurs when a wave of light encounters an obstacle and is bent, and refraction is the change in the direction of a wave, due to a change in that wave's speed, usually as it passes through a medium, such as water or a crystal. Reflection is the return of a wave after striking a surface.

Glories are much smaller than the typical  rainbows that stretch across the sky. The size of a glory depends on the size of the droplets that create it....

Losing Antarctica is an extreme worry. Not just for penguin survival.

Warming across Antarctica, 1957-2007. The rapidly warming areas of West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula, at left, are in orange and light brown.

My concern is not just about plankton, but, the continent is so massive that the abundance of only 20% of 'normal' and the abundance of somewhat more is probably both true.  Depending on the winds, temperature and 'nutritional content' with warmer waters the 'biotic' content of sea life is going to be spotty, rather than ABUNDANT in its entirety as is 'normal.'
 

22 Nov 2010: Report

The Warming of Antarctica:
A Citadel of Ice Begins to Melt

The fringes of the coldest continent are starting to feel the heat, with the northern Antarctic Peninsula warming faster than virtually any place on Earth. These rapidly rising temperatures represent the first breach in the enormous frozen dome that holds 90 percent of the world’s ice....

by fen montaigne 

...The physical changes — especially the drop in sea-ice duration — have had major ecological effects. Ice-dependent organisms, including certain species of phytoplankton, are declining where sea ice is disappearing. The most important link in the Antarctic food chain — ice-dependent Antarctic krill, on which just about every seabird or marine mammal in Antarctica feeds — also appears to be in decline. (One study suggested that krill in the southwestern Atlantic sector of Antarctic waters had fallen by 80 percent, but other krill specialists think the decline is not nearly so steep.)...

This color-enhanced map of Antarctica, (click here - picture contained in photo gallery) produced by NASA scientists, shows the rate of ice loss from Antarctica’s glaciers, with the glaciers that are shedding ice most rapidly colored pink and red. The Pine Island Glacier, which drains part of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, is discharging more ice into the sea than any other glacier on the continent. The net loss of ice in Antarctica — meaning the amount of ice that melted or calved into the sea without being replaced by more snow and ice — increased from 112 billion tons a year in 1996 to 196 billion tons in 2006.

"Morning Papers" - Its Origin

The Rooster
"Okeydoke"

In his first two years of office, President Obama has found it necessary to BAILOUT the American People.

Nobody else bothered.  The promise of TARP was to save the USA economy as well as the global economy from collapse.

That didn't happen.  The TARP funds were used to bolster the viability of the investment banks which removed their 'investment bank status' in order to receive TARP.  

Instead, the USA was left to figure it out for ourselves.  With no idea to the extent the economy would deteriorate given the level of government neglect due to DOWNSIZING of the Federal Infrastructure which bred all kinds of corruption.  So, the initial action by the Federal Government following the Democrats taking the Congress and the Executive Branch in the 2008 Election was to create a Stimulus Fund, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.of 2009.  The signs are still being seen in regard to the excellent use of those funds.  

The American Infrastructure was badly deteriorated, as noted by a major bridge collapse during the Bush Administration which caused innocent citizens to die.  The ARRA of 2009 has and is correcting many of those issues.  It put some of the construction industry, THEN floundering, back to work quickly since the housing sector was completely unavailable for any funding or loans in the private sector.  At that time private banks were still tanking.

The American People have much to be grateful for with the Obama Administration.  They were the right people for the job and if it were up to the Republicans we would still be looking at failing infrastructure and streets full of unemployed and homeless.  The work this administration has done on all fronts of his cabinet is completely remarkable.  

I thank the Obama Administration for taking care of a country that is always there for the private sector, but, in the years since January 20, 2009 has been 'there' for the citizens.  President Obama is a remarkable President with a full agenda of achievements to date.

Good Night, Moon.

The "W" Bailouts

 $18.6 Billion - The Airline Industry

The terrorist attacks of September 11 crippled an already financially troubled industry. To bail out the airlines, President Bush signed into law the Air Transportation Safety and Stabilization Act, which compensated airlines for the mandatory grounding of aircraft after the attacks. The act released $5 billion in compensation and an additional $10 billion in loan guarantees or other federal credit instruments. 

The Chrysler and airline bailout plans had a commonality: stock warrants. A provision inserted into the ATSS Act, which allowed the Treasury to purchase stock at below-market prices from any airline receiving a loan guarantee, allowed the Treasury to earn money. Reports varied on the total net profit, ranging from $141.7 million to $327 million. The loan guarantee program suffered one loss of about $23.2 million when ATA Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection.

$30 Billion - Bear Sterns

JP Morgan Chase and the federal government bailed out Bear Stearns when the financial giant neared collapse. JP Morgan purchased Bear Stearns for $236 million; the Federal Reserve provided a $30 billion credit line to ensure the sale could move forward.

$400 Billion - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

On Sep. 7, 2008, Fannie and Freddie were essentially nationalized: placed under the conservatorship of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Under the terms of the rescue, the Treasury has invested billions to cover the companies' losses.  Initially, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson put a ceiling of $100 billion for investments in each company. In February, Tim Geithner raised it to $200 billion. The money was authorized by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

$180 Billion - A.I.G (American International Group)

On four separate occasions, the government has offered aid to AIG to keep it from collapsing, rising from an initial $85 billion credit line from the Federal Reserve to a combined $180 billion effort between the Treasury ($70 billion) and Fed ($110 billion). ($40 billion of the Treasury’s commitment is also included in the TARP total.) 

$25 Billion - Auto Industry

In late September 2008, Congress approved a more than $630 billion spending bill, which included a measure for $25 billion in loans to the auto industry. These low-interest loans are intended to aid the industry in its push to build more fuel-efficient, environmentally-friendly vehicles. The Detroit 3 -- General Motors, Ford and Chrysler -- will be the primary beneficiaries.

$700 Billion - Troubled Assets Relief Fund

In October 2008, Congress passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, which authorized the Treasury Department to spend $700 billion to combat the financial crisis. Treasury has been doling out the money via an alphabet soup of different programs. 

In July of 2010, the financial regulation overhaul reduced the amount authorized for TARP to $475 billion.

Below is a breakdown of the money promised or committed through those programs and a plain language description for each.  (click title to entry - thank you)

$280 Billion - Citigroup

Citigroup received a $25 billion investment throught the TARP in October and another $20 billion in November. (That $45 billion is also included in the TARP total.) Additional aid has come in the form of government guarantees to limit losses from a $301 billion pool of toxic assets. In addition to the Treasury's $5 billion commitment, the FDIC has committed $10 billion and the Federal Reserve up to about $220 billion. 

$142.2 Billion - Bank of America 

 Bank of America has received $45 billion through the TARP, which includes $10 billion originally meant for Merrill Lynch. (That $45 billion is also included in the TARP total.) In addition, the government has made guarantees to limit losses from a $118 billion pool of troubled assets. In addition to the Treasury's $7.5 billion commitment, the FDIC has committed $2.5 billion and the Federal Reserve up to $87.2 billion.

I think that brings us up to current events.

President Bill Clinton...

...never instituted any bailouts for any industry during two terms of office and left office with a surplus in the USA Treasury.

41's Bailouts

$293.3 billion - Savings and Loan

After the widespread failure of savings and loan institutions, President George H. W. Bush signed and Congress enacted the Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act in 1989.

The Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act authorized $293.8 billion dollars to finance the folding of numerous failed S&Ls. The final tab for the bailout was roughly $220.32 billion. Of that total, taxpayers were responsible for about $178.56 billion; the private sector covered the rest.

...Between 1981 and 1989, (click title to entry - thank you) when George Bush finally announced that there was a Savings and Loan Crisis to the world, the Reagan/Bush administration worked to cover up Savings and Loan problems by reducing the number and depth of examinations required of S&Ls as well as attacking political opponents who were sounding early alarms about the S&L industry.  Industry insiders were aware of significant S&L problems as early 1986 that they felt would require a bailout.  This information was kept from the media until after Bush had won the 1988 elections.

Jeb Bush defaulted on a $4.56 million loan from Broward Federal Savings in Sunrise, Florida. After federal regulators closed the S&L, the office building that Jeb used the $4.56 million to finance was reappraised by the regulators at  $500,000, which Bush and his partners paid. The taxpayers had to pay back the remaining 4 million plus dollars.

Neil Bush was the most widely targeted member of the Bush family by the press in the S&L scandal.  Neil became director of Silverado Savings and Loan at the age of 30 in 1985.  Three years later the institution was belly up at a cost of $1.6 billion to tax payers to bail out.

The basic actions of Neil Bush in the S&L scandal are as follows:

Neil received a $100,000 "loan" from Ken Good, of Good International, with no obligation to pay any of the money back.

Good was a large shareholder in JNB Explorations, Neil Bush's oil-exploration company.

Neil failed to disclose this conflict-of-interest when loans were given to Good from Silverado, because the money was to be used in joint venture with his own JNB.  This was in essence giving himself a loan from Silverado through a third party.

Neil then helped Silverado S&L approve Good International for a $900,000 line of credit. 

Good defaulted on a total $32 million in loans from Silverado.

During this time Neil Bush did not disclose that $3 million of the $32 million that Good was defaulting on was actually for investment in JNB, his own company.

Good subsequently raised Bush's JNB salary from $75,000 to $125,000 and granted him a $22,500 bonus. 

Neil Bush maintained that he did not see how this constituted a conflict of interest.

Neil approved $106 million in Silverado loans to another JNB investor, Bill Walters.  

Neil also never formally disclosed his relationship with Walters and Walters also defaulted on his loans, all $106 million of them.

Neil Bush was charged with criminal wrongdoing in the case and ended up paying $50,000 to settle out of court.  The chief of Silverado S&L was sentenced to 3.5 years in jail for pleading guilty to $8.7 million in theft. (Keep in mind that you can get more jail time for holding up a gas station for $50.)

Today Neil Bush is working on closing a deal in Florida, where his brother Jeb is governor, to sell a software package to schools with his startup company Ignite.

Update 11/28/2003: Some of Neil Bush's business deals have been exposed in his recent divorce case....

The Reagan Bailouts

9.5 Billion - Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust

Then the nation's eighth largest bank, Continental Illinois had suffered significant losses after purchasing $1 billion in energy loans from the failed Penn Square Bank of Oklahoma. The FDIC and Federal Reserve devised a plan to rescue the bank that included replacing the bank's top executives.

It took the FDIC seven years to completely divest itself of Continental Illinois -- the bailout plan had given the government 80 percent ownership over the bank -- through the gradual sale of its share holdings. By 1991, Continental Illinois had been returned to the private sector, but the FDIC had suffered a $1.8 billion loss. Three years later BankAmerica Corp. acquired the bank.

The Chrysler Bailout. A Democrat bails out a car company. Not a bank? Oh.

$40 Billion

In 1979 Chrysler suffered a loss of $1.1 billion. That year the corporation requested aid from the government. In 1980 the Chrysler Loan Guarantee Act was passed, which provided $1.5 billion in loans to rescue Chrysler from insolvency. In addition, the government's aid was to be matched by U.S. and foreign banks. 

By 1983, seven years earlier than the scheduled deadline, Chrysler had paid back its loan with the aid of the guarantees from the U.S. government. The corporation bought back the 14.4 million stock warrants.  A security entitling the holder to buy a proportionate amount of stock at some specified future date at a specified price, usually one higher than current market. This "warrant" is then traded as a security, the price of which reflects the value of the underlying stock. Warrants are usually issued as a "sweetener" bundled with another class of security to enhance the marketability of the latter. Warrants are like call options, but with much longer time spans -- sometimes years. (Washington Post) given to the government in exchange for the loan guarantee. Because Chrysler's finances had improved and its stock had bounced back -- it reported $1.7 billion in profits for the second quarter of 1984 -- the government netted a profit of more than $660 million from its bailout investment.