If you thought drought was bad before Human Induced Global Warming, then you ain't seen nothin' yet.

This is a Cyanobacteria (Blue-Green Algae) Bloom in the Baltic Sea. Below is the reference that speaks to the issues Florida NOW faces from drought due to Human Induced Global Warming. There is no reason for any other country to carry more responsiblity for this plight other than the USA. Russia is a member of Kyoto. China has already stated it is taking steps to 'prevent' their economy from causing additional problems to the tropospheric biotic nature of Earth. It is the USA that stands on the sidelines and does nothing.

Burgess, Carla. 2001. A Wave of Momentum for Toxic Algae Study, Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 109, No. 4 (Apr., 2001), pp. A160-A161. (click here for link)

...Florida's situation illustrates the need for more and better information on the human health effects of cyanobacteria. Florida surface waters are significantly contaminated by toxin-producing cyanobacteria. Of 167 samples taken from Florida waters in a 1999 study, 88 samples representing 75 individual bodies of water contained significant levels of toxic cyanobacterial species, says John Burns, Jr., an environmental scientist for the St. Johns River Water Management District in Palatka, Florida. Seventy-eight percent of samples with measurable levels of microcystins and cylindrospermopsin were lethal when injected into mice, and 80% of the microcystin-laden samples showed potential tumor-producing properties....

At issue is the fact the USA stopped advancing the need for Phycologists and there are currently about six in the USA that still can identify these species to delineate whether they are toxic and how toxic they actually are. The priorities of the USA has moved away from taking care of it's people so much as exploiting them for wealth. The infrastructure of the USA needs to be rebuilt including it's brain trust, especially in the face of Human Induced Global Warming.

Lake Okeechobee reaches record low

Deep cracks cover the bottom of what should be five-feet deep Lake Okeechobe near Okeechobee, Fla. in this May 1, 2007 file photo. State water and wildlife managers are taking advantage of unprecedented drought conditions by removing life-choking muck along Lake Okeechobee's shoreline. The 500,000 cubic yards of rotted, dead plant life and sediment will be trucked from the southwest portion of the lake starting Thursday, May 23, 2007, to pastures for disposal. Its removal over several months will return the lake's bottom along its shoreline in that area to a more natural sandy base and create clearer water and better habitat for plants and wildlife.




Lake Okeechobee reached a record low Wednesday, and experts said little relief is in sight for Florida's drought.
It's confirmed: Florida's deepening drought has dehydrated Lake Okeechobee to a record low.
The lake officially stood at 8.97 feet above sea level early Wednesday, matching its lowest level since record-keeping began in 1931. Then, it didn't rain again, and the sun evaporated water from the lake again.
''We know we're sitting at a new record low,'' Randy Smith, a spokesman for the South Florida Water Management District, said Wednesday evening, ``but how much of a record low, we won't know until the morning.''
The most severe water restrictions in South Florida history already are in effect and are expected to continue well into the summer rainy season.
Those lawn-crunching, plant-shriveling measures reduced water use by 25 to 30 percent, Smith said, but nature provided precious little assistance.
An average of just seven inches of rain has fallen across the region during the last five months, according to district gauges, well below normal.
''There's nothing coming back in,'' Smith said. ``There's just no recharge whatsoever.''
Lake Okeechobee serves as the primary backup water supply for millions of South Floridians. But when the lake drops below a certain level, its waters cannot be used to replenish the regional supply....



Under the Jeb Bush administration there was a measure issued to determine how to utilize surface ground water and shallow water sources because it was reported by Florida scientists that the human water supply for Florida would be extremely insuffienct by the year 2010. There was one glitch however in the Jeb Bush plan and that was the contamination by Blue Green Algae of most of Florida's shallow water supply. The components of Blue Green Algae are known to be some of the most toxic to humans of any algae species. The 'BUSHES' need to get off their tuffs and stop the carbon dioxide emissions from the USA, otherwise, the international community should consider sanctions against the USA to force compliance ! If Jeb Bush ignored the threat to the people of Florida he 'ruled' over for many years, it can be easily concluded there will be extreme measures of manipulation by the Bush/Cheney White House to evade any responsibly or action. The Supreme Court ruled in this nation. Bush and Cheney are ignoring that decision. Every international environmental meeting since that ruling has never reflected the Supreme Court's decision. The Oval Office is out of control and evidently out of the reach of the American electorate. The international community has to act against the USA.

A chick is seen at the tip of the beak of parent white stork in a nest at Toyooka, western Japan. An endangered white stork egg laid in the wild has hatched naturally in western Japan for the first time in more than 40 years, a local stork museum announced Sunday. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) (May 20, 2007)

A two-toed sloth sits on a tree at the London Zoo. Sloths' natural habitats are tropical rainforests of South America.

An elephant enjoys a ball game with a zoo keeper at the Munich Zoo, Germany.

A worker from Rome's Biopark zoo holds a Testudo Kleinmanni hatchling, an endangered species also known as an Egyptian tortoise, Italy. Photo / Reuters

Four white lions born in French zoo

Read my lips, "No shared environmental standards !"

This was Georgie at his cabinet meeting this morning, pointing a finger at every other nation on Earth for causing Human Induced Global Warming. Interesting to watch him have a hissy fit, isn't it? After all, he is "The Decider" and he has decided everyone in the world besides himself needs to 'shape up' or 'else.'

The most ludicrous cronyism came from NASA itself today. Who do these people think they are?

NASA Chief Questions Urgency of Global Warming (click here)

...To assume that it is a problem is to assume that the state of Earth's climate today is the optimal climate, the best climate that we could have or ever have had and that we need to take steps to make sure that it doesn't change....

The people 'answering to' Bush and the Bush administration are soulless and highly immoral ! End of Discussion ! Their words mean nothing ! Impeach Bush and Cheney and fire that jerk at NASA! This is the United States of America. The Benevolent Leader of the Free World. The USA is in dire need of leadership and soon.

Warming as dangerous as war, U.N. chief says (click here)
Upheaval from droughts, floods 'likely to become a major driver of war'
UNITED NATIONS - Human-induced global warming poses as much danger to the world as war, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday as he urged the United States to take the lead in the fight against global warming.
In his first address on the subject at the U.N. General Assembly hall, Ban said he would emphasize the climate crisis with the leaders at a June meeting in Germany of the Group of Eight industrialized nations — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, the United States and Russia.
“The majority of the United Nations work still focuses on preventing and ending conflict,” Ban told an international U.N. school conference on global warming. “But the danger posed by war to all of humanity and to our planet is at least matched by the climate crisis and global warming.”

The statement from Michael Griffin is nothing but personal views that lack moral character. There is absolutely no scientific basis for the 'attitude' or 'ideas' he holds as loftier than life. End this already. Impeach Bush and Cheney.

We love you, Rosie.

Kelli O'Donnell and Rosie O'Donnell host a group of gay parents and their children on a cruise ship in the HBO special 'All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise.'

Rosie's Broadway Kids (click here)

Her detractors are morally corrupt people. One is Donald Trump whom has some profound personal, deep seated problems. Does 'The Don' have a child's program? No. He has a Miss Universe Program. Hello?

Traverse Film Festival is a permanent fixture on the American Reality. Go, Michael, Go !!

Michael Moore Down With Love PremiereTribeca Film Festival, 5/6/2003Photo: RJ Capak, Wireimage.com

Dear Friends of the Traverse City Film Festival,

I have some very good news for you. Yesterday at 10 a.m., I signed thepapers that make the Traverse City Film Festival the new owner of thehistoric State Theatre in downtown Traverse City! That's right -- the filmfestival not only now has a permanent home, we are going to re-open theState Theatre as a year-round, state-of-the-art film theater showing thebest of American independent, classic, and foreign cinema.

This resurrection of the State has been made possible through the generosityof Rotary Charities of Traverse City -- until Tuesday, the owner of thebuilding. They have "sold" it to us for a performance-based mortgage whichstates that the $600,000 "cost" of the theater is forgiven if we keep itopen a certain number of days for at least five years. If we do, themortgage is torn up and the theater is ours for free.

In order to bring the State back to life, it will take the activeinvolvement of our area's very large group of movie lovers -- namely, you!Those of you who live in the Traverse City area know about the long historyof a variety of groups trying to re-open the State. Each group attempted amajor fundraising campaign to restore the theater. Sadly, their goals werenot met, and the darkened theater changed hands a number of times.

In taking ownership of the theater (after a negotiation process that took 20months), we have decided not to conduct such a major fundraising campaign.We decided that we just needed to open the theater once and for all. At lastyear's founders party, I announced that I would personally be responsiblefor the $150,000 worth of projection and sound equipment needed to make theState a world-class theater. I then asked for one "angel" in the communityto step forward and match me. Within 10 minutes, Buzz Wilson, one of thefestival's chief film sponsors, said he would pay for the improvements to building up to code -- and a big new popcorn popper. Between what Buzz and I\u003cbr /\>will do, the State can open this year.the roof, a new handicap restroom, various other repairs to bring thebuilding up to code -- and a big new popcorn popper. Between what Buzz and Iwill do, the State can open this year.

But for the State to stay open -- and to serve as the anchor of our belovedfilm festival -- it will require the active participation of our friendsgroup and anyone else who would love to see the State's lights stay on forgood.

In the coming weeks, we will announce the grand re-opening date and what wewill need to sustain this wonderful, old movie palace. It will be staffed byvolunteers and it will be supported by the small donations from what we hopewill be the thousands of the State Theater's new "members." And if there isanother angel or two who can help us repair the marquee or put airconditioning in the lobby, then please let us know who you are!

We'll have much more to share with you next month as we get closer to thefestival. For now, I and my fellow festival board members -- John RobertWilliams, Doug Stanton, Terry George and Larry Charles -- and our festivalmanager, Deb Lake, wanted to let you hear the good news before it hits themedia in a few hours. All of you, through your hard work and financialsupport, have made the festival what it has become -- and you have broughtus to this day where we now have a permanent home for all of those who lovethis art form we call the movies.

Thank you again for being part of something special.

Yours,

Michael Moore

President, Traverse City Film Festival

PS. If you're free at 9:30 this morning (Wednesday), come on down to the State for the big announcement.

New York Times Review - I wish Al would reclaim his stolen presidency. Please.

Hail Piles Up 4 Inches Deep in Denver

Upto 4 inches in of hail in Denver, Colorado. Regardless of all the 'happy-slappy' commercial television media, life ain't all that for most Americans.

May 28, 2007

Round Rock, Texas

Photographer states :: More flash flooding - The Memorial Day holiday brought sustained heavy rains to Central Texas, bringing more flooding and flash flooding to the area. At least six Texans lost their lives over this period of sustained rainfall, most if not all from attempting to cross flooded roadways. These photos show water cresting the low water bridge at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock. The Round Rock Police were notified before these photos were taken and the gates to this crossing were then locked, preventing any problems as the water continued to rise. Remember, when faced with water over the roadway, "turn around, don't drown."

Hailstorm Batters Denver (click here)
Heavy Rain Also Soaks Plains States

DENVER -- A strong cold front nosed into northern Colorado early Tuesday, bringing with it much cooler temperatures, gusty north winds, rain, hail and tornado warnings.
Residents in Denver were startled by grape-sized hail on Tuesday.
Small, pea-sized hail fell so fast in places that storm drains became clogged, prompting minor street-flooding. The hail made it seem as if a fresh blanket of snow had fallen in the area.
Brazil Redd was outside when the rain and hail began to fall. She said, "It hurt. I probably got bruises. It was huge."
Motorists scurried under bridges or into garages and pedestrians scrambled for cover to avoid being pelted. Up to 4 inches of hail fell at an area amusement park.
Heavy rain also soaked the Plains states from Colorado up to Minnesota on Tuesday, causing minor flooding in some places.
The National Weather Service has issued tornado warnings for areas southeast of Denver and for parts of Nebraska.

They're back. Click here for 12 hour loop. The 'chronic' vortices that were noted at lower latitudes a week or so ago are back in 'maximum.'

May 30, 2007
0030z
UNISYS water vapor 'north' and 'east' hemisphere satellite



May 30, 2007
1130z
UNISYS water vapor 'north' and 'west' hemisphere satellite

The sun is traversing north and the 'air dynamics' of the troposphere is somewhat 'fixed.' The small vortices that were 'fixed' in the lower latitudes in small diameter circulation are reaching maximum with higher heat content. The 'weather' pattern is somewhat the same only worse over North America. Noted are small vortices over the Atlantic, east of the Carribean, these may manifest into hurricanes. That potential is matched with systems within the equatorial air over the Pacific. THAT combination always spelled hurricane potential in the past three years.

So much for Homeland Security ! (click here for WHO link)

The administration in DC is again scrambling to 'find a way' to handle an exposure issue with Multi-Drug Resistant TB. It's amazing.

The airlines don't have contact information on the people on the flights?

Yeah they do.

They don't have police force across the USA that can locate the folks that may have been exposed?

Yeah they do.

I suppose announcing it over the airwaves is marginally effective, but, I would think there would be a far more EFFECTIVE Homeland Security mechanism for an exposure such as this. What would prevent a jihadist from entering the USA with a highly contageous disease such as this and expose the nation to that danger?

NOTHING.

Is there? NO !

Bush wants one hundred billion dollars (US) for war but has absolutely no way of protecting the USA from a simple exposure of a seriously significant disease.

People are actually voting Republican?

WHY?

The year was 1993. I was an Registered Nurse at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. I was the 'Union Rep' to the unit I-Blue. I reported on to work and began to receive 'report' from an off going RN. We had received a female patient, age 45 years old. Nice lady. The diagnosis was new to me, but, that was never unusual at UMDNJ. We received all kinds of disease issues on this cutting edge cardiac telemetry/step-down/medical/surgical floor. We received the first two cases of that Mouse Virus in New Jersey, it was a retrovirus. The virus was so virulent it was killing people in NYC and this was a man with a high rate tachycardia due to the virus and fever. We got him through it. His daughter was on Peds and she survived it as well. He stated, there was a mouse in the apartment the day before and it must have been in the kitchen.

But, that day in 1993, the patient was a woman and the diagnosis was Multi-Drug Resistant TB. I looked at the reporting nurse and said, what? MTB he said. Multi-Drug Resistance TB. She was in a room without negative pressure and the diagnosis alone required a 'stand' by the floor's Union Rep. Evidently, the admitting physicians saw no reason to place her in an Anti-Room where there were several layers of isolation. I didn't waste time and called the Vice President of Nursing and simply stated, we had a serious TB case and there was insufficient mechanism to protect the staff. She personally got up from her desk as this was the hospital's first extremely resistant TB case, and went to Unit H-Yellow taking one of their 'micro' filtration machines. It was a large square unit that provided a filtration of viruses as well as a negative pressure. She gowned and gloved and put it in the room herself and started the filtrations. It was her responsiblity to protect the staff and it was my place to make sure it happened. That's all.
This bacteria is well known to the medical profession. It is a serious form of TB, very difficult to treat but it is somewhat treatable if the patient takes all their medications, but, in some instances the medicines are as bad as the bacteria if there are co-morbid issues. I remember assessing this woman's lungs. There were irreversible cavities in her lungs because of the bacteria. She sounded cavernous when she breathed.

Yep.

1993. This bacteria is NOT that unknown to the USA. Rare? Depends the city you live. It was not that rare in Newark after we discovered the first case. Oh, well, that is the Bush World of the Culture of Fear.

I guess Bush is trying to prove he knows more about 'health threats' to the American people than those revealed in "Sicko." Ah, but, Georgie, what do you care?

Our Peace Rose - We look forward to her future influence...

... while healing her own wounds.

Gold Star Families for Peace lives on (click here). The speech by Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey spoke well for the peace movers and shakers. Her support is hardly a defeat to the movement.

The Antarctica Ice Chime

May 29, 2007 at 0121 gmt, West Pacific Satellite. The heat intensity here is diminished from past weeks because of the sun's northern traverse. The transfer is still divided between north and south hemispheres.







May 29, 2007 at 0033 gmt, Pacific Global Satellite. Heat transfer from the Equator noted with diminished intensity.

















May 29, 2007, 0109 gmt, South Pole Satellite. Heat transfer systems at 3 o'clock and 6 o'clock and 11:30 o'clock.

May 28, 2007

1800 gmt

Jet stream. Turbulence compared to last week. There is still some distribution of heat but with the shortening daylight the temperatures are still cold.

24 hour loop - the only views are 3PM on May 26 and 6AM on May 25, 2007. I'll probably revisit it tomorrow.

Casey on May 28, 2007 at 9:40 AM at -12.9 C with wind at 17 km/h



Casey on May 29,2007 at 9:40 AM with -5.7 C with wind of 56 km/h ENE. 56, that was 56 km/h. 56. At Casey today. It was 17 yesterday.




Mawson Station May 28, 2007 at 7:36 PM with -11.g C and wind 39 km/h SE

It's cold in every area of Antartica today. Not as cold as it has been, but, cold just the same. The 24 hour loop is somewhat more interesting than this view, but, it reveals a continent that is cold in all areas in at least two views.

The coldest areas:

Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica

Time :: 6:00 AM NZST

Elevation :: 9285 ft / 2830 m

Temperature :: -67 °F / -55 °C

Conditions :: Snow

Wind :: 20 mph / 32 km/h / from the NNE

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: in / hPa (Rising)

Visibility :: 1.0 miles / 1.2 kilometers

UV :: 0 out of 16

Clouds :: Overcast 6890 ft / 2100 m
(Above Ground Level)

Flight Rule :: IFR ()
Wind Speed :: 20 mph / 32 km/h /
Wind Dir :: 20° (NNE)
Ceiling :: 6900 ft / 2100 m



Vostok, Antarctica

Time :: 12:00 AM VOST

Elevation :: 11220 ft / 3420 m

Temperature :: -66 °F / -55 °C

Conditions :: Clear

Humidity :: 43%

Dew Point :: -73 °F / -58 °C

Wind :: 12 mph / 18 km/h / from the South

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: in / hPa (Rising)

Visibility :: 12.0 miles / 20.0 kilometers
Flight Rule :: VFR ()
Wind Speed :: 12 mph / 18 km/h /
Wind Dir :: 170° (South)
Ceiling :: 100000 ft / 100000 m



The warmest area:

Base San Martin, Antarctica

9:00 PM GMT

Elevation :: 13 ft / 4 m

Temperature :: 32 °F / 0 °C

Conditions :: Overcast

Humidity :: 87%

Dew Point :: 30 °F / -1 °C

Wind :: Calm

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: 29.81 in / 1009 hPa (Falling)

Visibility :: 12.0 miles / 20.0 kilometers

UV :: 0 out of 16

Clouds :: Overcast 1969 ft / 600 m
(Above Ground Level)

The weather at Scott Base, Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is:

Scott Base Webcam (click here)

The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:

Meso-tornadic clouds over what's left of Glacier Bay National Park.

The last Sea Otter Study (click on title) available on the internet was 2001. Why?

Elevation :: 33 ft / 10 m

Temperature :: 52 °F / 11 °C

Conditions :: Mostly Cloudy

Humidity :: 54%

Dew Point :: 36 °F / 2 °C

Wind :: 6 mph / 9 km/h / 2.6 m/s from the ESE

Pressure :: 30.20 in / 1023 hPa (Steady)

Visibility :: 10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers

UV :: 4 out of 16

Clouds:
Mostly Cloudy 3800 ft / 1158 m
Mostly Cloudy 4700 ft / 1432 m
(Above Ground Level)

Americus, Georgia suffered a tornado three months ago.

Eye Clinic across the street from Sumter Regional Hospital after three months

May 27, 2007
Americus, Georgia
Photographer states :: Closed Emergency Room on NorthEastern corner of Sumter Regional Hospital shows damage that occurred nearly three months ago


"AMERICUS, Ga., March 2 — The tornado that ripped through this southwest Georgia town Thursday not only left a trail of death and devastation, it also stripped bare the only major medical facilities for thousands of people in a sprawling rural community.
The storm, which killed two people here, tore apart buildings and unearthed 100-year-old oak trees, left this town of nearly 17,000 and the outlying area without a hospital or clinic that could handle emergencies...."



TORNADO 5...UPDATED (click here)
TRACKED ACROSS WEBSTER...SUMTER...AND MACON COUNTIES...FROMCHAMBLISS TO ABOUT 17 MILES NORTHEAST OF AMERICUS. RATED EF3. PATHLENGTH APPROXIMATELY 38 MILES AND MAXIMUM WIDTH OF ONE MILE INAMERICUS. HEAVIEST DAMAGE WAS IN THE CITY OF AMERICUS AROUND THESUMTER REGIONAL HOSPITAL. THE HOSPITAL WAS EVACUATED AND IS NOTBEING USED. HUNDREDS OF HOMES...BUSINESSES AND VEHICLES WEREAFFECTED WITH SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE OR TOTALLY DESTROYED. TWO CONFIRMEDDEATHS AND NUMEROUS INJURIES WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS STORM INAMERICUS. THREE INJURIES ALSO OCCURRED NORTHEAST OF CHAMBLISS ONEAST CENTERPOINT ROAD WHEN A CONCRETE BLOCK HOUSE AND TWO MACHINESHOPS WERE TOTALLY DESTROYED. THE ROAD IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE HAD 25FEET OF ASPHALT RIPPED OUT. FIVE COWS WERE KILLED IN THE SAME AREA.A TRACTOR TRAILER WAS OVERTURNED AND BURNED AT THE INTERSECTION OFHIGHWAY 520 AND TV TOWER ROAD IN SOUTH WEBSTER COUNTY. ONE PERSONWAS INJURED. THE 1096 FOOT GEORGIA PUBLIC TELEVISION TOWER IN THESAME AREA WAS SNAPPED OFF WITH ONLY 150 FEET STILL STANDING.

I am not impressed. Bush is demented. Has to be or he is playing politics with lives. Seriously. Playing politics with lives.

This is today in Iraq. The president of the USA needs to see a doctor. No doubt. His statements about Americans agreeing with him is dangerously demented. He is currently Commander and Chief, putting troops in harm ways, causing escalations in the conflict without end and he states he is 'actually' supported in his focus of Iraq by the American people. Not from what I can note.



Above
Iraqis inspect the area surrounding Abdul-Qadir al-Gailani mosque, the biggest Sunni mosque in Iraq, after a suicide car bomber blew himself up in the busy commercial district in central Baghdad on Monday, May 28, 2007, killing at least 21 people and wounding 66, police and hospital officials said.


I wanted to read the account of this rescue mission from "The Army Times." I simply cannot believe how ludicrous the military describes the 'loyalty' of the civilians within this incident.


42 captives freed from al-Qaida hide-out (click here)
By Ravi Nessman - The Associated PressPosted : Monday May 28, 2007 13:56:26 EDT

BAGHDAD — American forces freed 42 kidnapped Iraqis — some of whom had been hung from ceilings and tortured for months — in a raid Sunday on an al-Qaida hideout north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.
Military officials said the operation, launched on tips from residents, showed that Iraqis in the turbulent Diyala province were turning against Sunni insurgents and beginning to trust U.S. troops.

“The people in Diyala are speaking up against al-Qaida,” said Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq.


That is a lie. The general, as Bush, is playing politics with lives. The USA is reporting this 'camp' was there for months. You mean to tell me that the USA gets a phone call AFTER THE FACT. After the people have been tortured by some 'entity' the USA is calling al Qaeda. After this 'group' extracted their information from this hostages. And I am to believe this was a 'good thing?' All of a sudden "The people of Diyala are speaking up against al-Qaida,"


The general must believe the American people are brainless idiots without the ability to discern 'nonsense' over fact. The people of that village didn't dare speak up against the hostage takers. They called the USA military because they knew they would come to free the hostages whom might even be sabotaged with trip wires and bombs ready to explode when attempts were made to free them. The people of the neighborhood wanted the hostages saved but were unable to carry out their rescue for of untold dangers.


That is NOT '...speaking up against al Qaeda...." That is simply survival and knowing whom would carry out the rescue. That is all that is. This is NOT a trend. This is just another day in Iraq. That's all it is. The rescue of 42 captives is not PROOF of a change in the direction of the war.


This incident proves the USA is completely outside 'the loop.' I suppose this is another learning experience, huh? I found it completely horrifying to hear a retired general state we have to 'keep at it in Iraq' because we learn more and more everyday about the fighting tactics we use against this enemy. THIS IS NOT A TRAINING GROUND !!!!! Bush invaded that country illegally. GET OUT OF IRAQ ! Now ! The reality of this 'dicotomy regarding the difference in views by the gross majority of the people of the USA and the USA military institution is scary. Completely. There is no 'reality' in the belief system of the USA military leadership. Amazing.

If the citizens called the USA military while the hostage takers were still at the camp those citizens and the hostages would have been killed. Either due to the fight between the soldiers and hostage takers or out of revenge for calling the USA military in the first place. There is 'no confidence' in the USA military in Iraq. Everyone takes their chances with the militias. At least with the militias, if people behave they are still alive. A better chance that they will be alive when the militias are around rather than the USA miltiary.


Elsewhere in Diyala, a U.S. soldier was killed when an explosion hit his vehicle and a second soldier was killed in an explosion in Baghdad, the military said. The deaths brought the number of troops killed this month to at least 102, putting May on pace to become the deadliest month for Americans here in more than 2½ years.
In other violence, a barrage of mortar rounds struck houses in a Shiite village just northeast of Baghdad, killing three women and a child and wounding seven other children, Baghdad police said.

I'll end it here for tonight.

Journalology, the New Science
Charles D. Johnson
Social Forces, Vol. 6, No. 3 (Mar., 1928), pp. 382-385



In my opinion, the profession needs to clearly define it's history that is recorded from about the 1920s-30s, it's mission and it's purpose. It needs clear parameters in promoting journalistic expertise in other nations allowing it's practice without providing for impetus to revolution. The profession needs to be seen by international agencies such as the United Nations and Amnesty International as an enhancement to their missions. Through advocacy and not insistance there can be a better and safer practice that promotes knowledge of a populous. One of the best success stories of a country that moved toward democratic reform is Brazil. It didnt' happen overnight but it did happen. Progressive education of qualified journalism schools in countries that long for higher practice of expertise working in conjuction with State Departments and Foreign ministries will prevent tragic loss of life and keep promising journalists at their typewriters rather than behind bars.



Journalism can 'enhance' the movement of a society toward better quality of life, but, it can't create a government by insistance. The knowledge people have to move a society forward will bring about change, not the inspiration of violence. In my opinion, profits as a support to the profession has caused a bit of crisis. It needs to be addressed. The USA does not need it's own 'media outlets,' it needs to support those in private 'status' insuring they continue to do it autonomously and well.



From here an exploration of journalism's history and how it can better define itself in autonomy of a profession rather than a popularity contest for profits.



Good night.

Ever hear of Farmland Preservation - New Jersey has it. Very successful program.

Statistics compiled by the American Farmland Trust, which seeks to protect farmland from non-farm development, show this about New Jersey:



While it is the fourth smallest state in area, it has spent more money than any other to buy development rights from farmers and permanently deed-restrict farm property against development. Since 1985, the state has spent $465 million in public funds and another $237 million from non-public funding sources on purchase of development rights (PDRs). It has another $137 million in the bank earmarked for spending. That is more than a quarter of all PDR spending nationally.



I propose this. A similar program to preserve 'the power of the ? hm ?' and insure our heritage is untouched except for those private 'insitutions' that have proven to be superior in it's patriotism and loyalty to the country. I like The New York Times. So, let's put it this way. What if the stockholders of The New York Times were treated as a preservation policy no different than precious New Jersey Farmland and the owners could literally sell the 'corporate' rights, as if airspace over a New York Property for 99 years. How does that sound. A profession so important to the USA that is needs preservation efforts while allowing complete freedom of the profession to thrive and do it's work as it has all these years. I think it's great idea. It can be a state program, but, I would like to see a federal program that maintains the private operations of these institutions. At the same time, journalism offices should have tax reductions no different than the fertile soils of the USA. Intellectual property rights that require tax cuts to preserves and guarantees the smooth operations of our newspapers. This could be extrapolated to media services as well should there be the desire of the profession to take it in that direction.

Journalists are very powerful people. They 'handle' a process of thought that 'creates' change.

The power of the "hm?"



Model for Reflective Thinking



The foundation of higher order thinking should not be limited in focus to one's task-based performance, just as it should not be limited to a post-task activity. The foundation should have a broader range that is concerned with one's ability to rely on the operations of the mind in all circumstances to create an understanding through one's experience and knowledge when one cannot access some absolute meaning. Focus on a specific task may be the best way to learn the thinking process, and reflection on a task after it is complete is an important facet of reflective thinking practices. However, good reflective thinking, is a more encompassing process whereby an individual--aware of her own knowledge and the gaps in her knowledge, assumptions, and past experiences




-determines what information is needed for understanding the issue at hand
-accesses and gathers the available information
-gathers the opinions of reliable sources in related fields
-synthesizes the information and opinions
-considers the synthesis from all perspectives and frames of reference
-finally, creates some plausible temporary meaning that may be reconsidered and modified as she/he learns more relevant information and opinions

Journalism has to 'get past' the idea of 'Breaking News' to enhance the profession.

"We have learned that, in order to participate fully in democratic civil life, individuals must be culturally grounded, confident of their own voices, and certain of the value of their contributions. Art and culture give us this grounding.”
— Graciela Sanchez, Esperanza Peace and Justice Center



Selling newspapers should be guaranteed to any long standing publication with a reputation of providing good service to the people of this country. At every turn there are mergers, sales and chronic change within the profession. I believe the 'honest' news media is under seige. What is being done? Is the profession being wittled away by corporate takeover with faux fronts to political priorities that will come to endanger the democracy of The West? I think so.



There has to be an appreciation of the profession of journalism by the government with guarantees that some aspects of the profession will never change. It is generational reassurance that transends this country when one can point to the archives of companies like The New York Times to provide continuity of whom we are as people.



When Hurricane Katrina struck, The Times Picayune was in danger of losing it's archives. What would we do if those archives were in danger of slipping away from public assess through the sale of that paper? Where would our generational 'truths' come from? There is a part of the profession of journalism that is more than a corporate 'dream' of value. There is the value of patriotism, history and a social record that is never recorded in government. A private institution that makes government accountable to it's people. An INSTITUTION, a private institution with legislative permanence realizing the applications of law translates sometimes in embarrassing ways and needs fine tuning or elimination depending on how it affects the populous of the USA.



Reading the newspaper is reassuring to many people in the USA and I imagine the EU as well. It is reassuring to know the world is 'with us' and 'we are with them.' That cannot be truncated. If 'the truth' demanded by a professional journalistic corp were ever to end, the people that would 'control' social content reading could literally change the course of history by rewriting it. We as a country cannot allow that to happen. Journalism is the 'fourth estate' of the USA Constitution. Quite frankly, I see the 'corporate' treatment of journalism ruining the profession. I don't believe 'the truth' can be a marketable commodity so much as an awakening. Journalism is as much a part of the social structure of a populous in similar content of 'a job.' It's necessary and the life blood of an lifestyle, but, it's can't be a corporate authority that 'dictates' it's outcome.



Fears of Corporate Colonization in Journalism (click here)
This article examines almost a decade of reporting on public journalism published in the two largest and most widely read US journalism reviews: Columbia Journalism Review and American Journalism Review . It argues that instead of examining its historical underpinnings, theoretical claims, and practical manifestations, these two publications treated public journalism at best as just another manifestation of the increasing profit orientation of news media. At worst, it was scapegoated for the failings of all news organizations, including pandering to local communities and other practices that put immediate market interests ahead of democratic processes. While this description finds little support in the empirical research literature on public journalism, it may reflect mainstream journalists' increasing fears of a corporate colonization of journalism. Critics used the introduction of public journalism into newsrooms as an opportunity to express anxiety about how extra-journalistic (primarily economic) forces are encroaching upon journalists' professional autonomy and undermining the quality of news coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The NO spin zone. Permanently a no spin zone. No endangering people or their journalists.

China is a country of a billion people. So is India. It is skeptical as to whether those populous will ever achieve the quality of life of the USA. I find this demonstration which took on a violent 'tone' leading to endangering the participants unfortunate. The journalists that are part of China's 'news corp' can add to the quality of life by working within political directives. It is upto the profession in other nations that enjoy a somewhat 'higer standard/rating' to seek legislation that 'brings on' the issue of journalism internationally for a professional result that adds incentive for change in any country as it can be accommodated by the authorities there.



The State Departments, Ministeries of nations able to facilitate a 'FREER press' in countries capable of providing it have to provide guidelines for the practice. The Safe Practice. Promoting unrest recklessly without good alternatives in government can lead to anarchy and with a population of one billion people that is a lot hardship. Responsible journalism that brings the issues of the populous to the attention of authority without risk of disrupting the society so much that it can't care of it's people is the only way a professional standard can be developed. This isn't pity. It is knowing the power of knowledge, the power of information, the power of motivation and applying it responsibly.



Countries with different structure than the USA, the EU, Australia and the like need to ALLOW a transcendence of the 'authority' of journalism that provides quality of life. In the USA the politics are the 'release' for the change people seek. In countries like China, respect of authority while bring people closer to that authority and will move mountains without victimizing the professionals that seek a better life for the towns, city, hamlets and villages. Countries like China and Russia get such a bad rap from the press in countries they trade with that it causes a deterioration of the quality of life within it's borders. These countries don't need diminishment of their poeple, they need a higher dignity placed on them.



Bridging the professional gap between journalism and government while promoting positive experiences of press corps internationally will make the journalistic experience more fulfilling for all people. I have yet to see 'on the ground' promotion of the 2008 Olympics from Chinese journalists that can provide insight and interviews from the 'workers' in China that took pride in their efforts to make it all possible. Why?






During riots







Tiananmen incident ... workers clean the picture of Chairman Mao at the entrance to the Forbidden City in Beijing.



On Saturday, May 12, an unemployed Xinjiang man lobbed an incendiary device at the iconic portrait of Mao Zedong that hangs over the entrance to the Forbidden City (or the Palace Museum as the Chinese call it). Here's a photograph, taken on a mobile phone camera, of Mao's portrait burning. The witness who took the photograph was driving by moments after the painting caught alight and said he saw flames coming from the bottom of the portrait, then some sort of foam shooting upwards, presumably from the fire brigade, to extinguish the fire, then just the smoke.
In the south-west, villagers have been rioting over oppressive enforcement of China's one-child policy. Coverage of both events was censored within China, but footage of the rioting in Guangxi has been widely posted on blogs accessible in Hong Kong, which although returned to Chinese rule in 1997, under the one country, two systems deal worked out with the British, enjoys a greater deal of press and other freedoms for the first 50 years of its post-colonial life.
International media such as CNN have also broadcast footage of the aftermath of the rioting, but predictably whenever the story was promoted as ''coming up next'', or the footage shown, the television screen went blank, although technical glitches meant mainland viewers still got the announced headline of the story. Such clumsy censorship is common on any stories considered sensitive by the Government, despite satellite or cable stations such as CNN and BBC (the BBC website is banned in China, although the broadcast station is not) being ostensibly only permitted in diplomatic compounds, residential areas where foreigners live, big hotels etc, far away from the eyes of most ordinary Chinese. But of course this is China, and anyone who wants satellite television can simply pay for a dish ... hence the need to censor sensitive topics in case such events - as rioting villagers fed up with corrupt or overzealous bureaucrats - gets too widely disseminated and creates flow-on social unrest, ie. gives people ideas.
The Government's justification for censorship is that its overriding interest is to maintain social order. In the case of the attack on Mao's portrait, many Chinese, who still respect and even revere the late paramount leader who, for all his subsequent mistakes, restored China's pride after a century of humiliation at the hands of Western powers, would be outraged. And many people understand and accept, even if they don't like, the Government's one-child policy because as people are wont to say ''it is for the good of the nation''. The issue in Guangxi appears to be not so much the policy as such but the corrupt and brutal way the authorities chose to enforce and collect fines. So why can't the Chinese public be allowed to know of and debate such issues?

Title: INTERNAL FRAGMENTATION OF THE NEWS.

Any profession has to have control over their standards and expertise in order to maintain them. How can the profession of journalism 'pass on' the necessary requirements in other venues of other countries if it hasn't maintained a standard 'thread' throughout the profession. There is a huge difference between daily news and tabloids, yet they are all lumped together under one umbrella of journalism. I don't consider "Lad Mags" a professional journal, BUT, there is nothing saying they cannot have profound articles and well paid professionals writing investigative journalism to 'bring up' the profession across the board. "Specializing" in entertainment has it's benefit, but, there has to be a way of translating that enjoyment into a serious tone that connects to a profession of excellance within the content of such publications and broadcasts. Professionalism has to be a part of Playgirl and a lead to an enthusiam that brings the readership to the front pages of The New York Times other than once a month. It's a form of outreach to benefit the profession as well as the circulation of magazines. Respect the reader and they will thrive under the professional standards that are enforced through ethics. Quality newsprint in every venue, audio rendition and visual media. A QUALITY that international authorities can recognize and strive to meet.



Ben-Porath, Eran N.
Source:
Journalism Studies; Aug2007, Vol. 8 Issue 3, p414-431, 18p


Unlike the edited news package, which dominates network and local news in America, the cable news channels recount the day's news predominantly through conversation, a format dubbed here dialogical news. At the center of this article is the concept of internal fragmentation, a consequence of the turn to conversation-based reporting, and its central implications: (1) the authority of the news reporter diminishes; (2) question-asking replaces fact-checking; (3) news organizations relinquish their accountability for news content; and (4) the news audience assumes the role of witness or participant rather than receiver. As dialogical news becomes prominent in the repertoire of viewers, short- and long-term prospects are suggested here. In the short-run, journalists are losing their battle to control their sources and maintain their gatekeeping function. In the long run, journalism might lose its significance as society's reflexive storyteller, reverting instead to its former role as a partisan instrument, a source of entertainment or a bit of both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EMERGING MODELS OF JOURNALISTIC AUTHORITY IN MTV'S COVERAGE OF THE 2004 US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.

Somehow the Founding Father's of Journalism didn't imagine MTV as an authority. I realize in order to 'stimulate' voters to go to the polls it can be a 'trendy' issue. Rock the vote and all that, but, in all honesty whom is going to host this 'walk on the wild side' for journalism. It is a concern that 'trends' can 'take authority' in a profession so vital to connecting people to their own authority in expressing their vote. There needs to be a moderator capacity of the profession for new venues to maintain a 'standard.'

During the 2004 US presidential campaign, MTV produced an intriguing series of news reports, documentaries, and other programming designed to educate its youthful audience about the presidential election and democratic politics. The Choose or Lose series was an unlikely discursive blend, mixing MTV's usual fare of music, celebrity, and style, with serious information, issue coverage, and social advocacy. It also experimented with the parameters of journalistic authority, combining elements drawn from a traditional paradigm of professional journalism with a variety of alternative, emergent claims to credibility, in the hope of reaching a demographic that largely has "tuned out" from news and politics. To explore the changing nature of journalistic authority as articulated on MTV News, this study first develops a theory of discursive integration - the blending of once-distinct discursive domains, standards, and styles. It then identifies five potential models of journalistic authority constructed in the Choose or Lose series. It concludes by considering the implications of discursive integration and the ongoing re-conceptualization of journalistic authority for young people's engagement with broadcast journalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I looked through some professional journals to define the profession

It was diffuse. The profession has been very fluid and I am not sure it for the better or it's survival.



I believe practicing in multi-media is fine, it reaches readership. But, the fluidity of the profession in the year 2007 has brought a casualness to it that I believe falls outside the practice. Accepted. Sure, but, is it really journalism or the dumming down of the profession.



Are there ethical reviews of journalists as in the practice of law? There probably should be with an increase and not decrease in the specialty of 'investigative' journalism. It's disturbing to find the profession is moving away from the venue.




Journalism requires honesty and good faith (click on title)
By ROSEMARY MCLEODIt's no surprise that Kevin McNeil, son of murdered Tokoroa teacher Lois Dear, would get death threats. We like to crush people who speak out.
McNeil has had malicious calls since his mother's death, he revealed last week. Such bullying would have silenced many people, but he refused to tone down his victim impact statement at the killer's sentencing in spite of them.
Admittedly his initial outbursts were a bit rugged. He said he wanted the killer to "swing off the nearest tree". But by the time he made the statement that really mattered, time had passed, and he'd become more reasonable.
Who are the people who make furtive calls like this? I suspect they come from the same pool as people who write mean-spirited letters to newspapers, and to journalists. The late great Frank Haden used to insist that they all live in boarding houses, taking pen (red biro) to paper on wet Sundays when they have nothing to do but brood. The most virulent usually don't sign their offerings, and write in capital letters. Now that they have the internet to rant on, you rather miss that red ink. It gave fair warning.
The casual malice of such mail still gets to me sometimes; it can overpower kind and reasonable correspondence on a bad day. I always imagine its authors' families, postmen, neighbours, and the local body politicians they surely harass over easement disputes and stray cats. Why don't they take up something useful, like canasta, and give us all a break?
Last week I confessed in this column that I'd wept over an unpleasant magazine article targeting people I knew.

Have to change computers. I'll be back in a bit.

Journalism

I don't do this for sport everyday. I do it because I have long respected a profession vital to the democracy of the USA. It has been badly bruised and beaten since 2000 and there needs to be a reassessment of the practive domestically.

Since this administration has taken office the deaths and jailing of journalists globally has skyrocketed. This is the life blood of hope for people of all nations. For that reason I intend to attempt to begin a dialogue on what is best for the profession. The reason for the scrutiny of journalists internationally is not so much terrorist influence in societies but more the tightening of boarders and closing any chance that authority is challenged by unrest. The reason is simple. The Bush/Cheney administration is a threat, a known threat to global stability and the damage is directly related in the need of countries to define their sovereignty and reign in any discension. Hence. Journalism is the first rhelm of oppression.

To begin I see a broader responsibility for a profession in terms of setting up panels to develop guidelines for 'behavior' of journalists in the USA and a broad. Domestically the role of journalists need to be broadened and court decisions challenged. Internationally I propose a 'rating system' based in literacy or illiteracy, government and laws, population of the country and overall expertise of those that practice the profession within any country. A support if you will to develop an education process that can be measurable in diplomatic dealings to advance the profession in a responsible way along with the development of the country.

I don't see countries advancing without a press in place to connect people to their lifestyle choices, their government and social advances.

With a global rating system, the State Department can be held responsible in legislation to answer to the press organization of the USA as to the adverse arrests, detentions and deaths of collegues while demanding the 'art of journalism' be promoted along with and no different than child labor laws and environemental standards.

It's Sunday Night

"Write it down" by George Strait

Write this down

Write this down

I never saw the end in sight
Fools are kind of blind
Thought everything was going alright
But I was running out of time
cause you had one foot out the door

I swear I didnt see
But if youre rally going away
Heres some final words from me

Stick it on your frigerator door
Hang it in a picture frame up above the mantel
Where you'll see it for sure

You can find a chisel, I can find a stone
Folks will be reading these words, long after were gone

Baby, write this down, take a little note
To remind you in case you didnt know
Tell yourself I love you and I dont want you to go
Write this down

You can find a chisel, I can find a stone
Folks will be reading these words, long after were gone

Take my words, readem everday
Keepem close by dont you letem fade away
So youll remember what I forgot to say
Write this down

Ill sign it at the bottom of this page
Ill swear under oath
cause every single word is true
And I think you need to know
So use it as a bookmark

Stick it on your frigerator door
Hang it in a picture frame up above the mantel
Where youll see it for sure

Stick it on your frigerator door
Hang it in a picture frame up above the mantel
Where you'll see it for sure

You can find a chisel, I can find a stone
Folks will be reading these words, long after we're gone

You can find a chisel, I can find a stone
Folks will be reading these words, long after we're gone

Oh I love you and I dont want you to go

Baby write this down

"It's Saturday Night" will assemble tomorrow night at 8:30 PM

Living with War (click here)

I believe in competent leaders, in all areas of the American experience. I have exhibited my disgust for the leadership of the Republican Party when it is based in extremist views, values and budgets that rob Americans of their lives, dignity while providing debt for generations that will never benefit from a safer world.

I have a presentation on journalism. I think it is unique and provides a 'new standard' or at least one forgotten. One that even China can find comfort. I look forward to presenting it to you. I have a surprise visitor for Memorial Day Weekend. It's lovely to realize people simply plan to come to enjoy the weekend unexpectedly. I love surprises when they are full of joy and excitement.

The link under the title of this blog by Michael Knight is entitled "Pat Tillman, Memorial Day and Veterans." Mr. Knight reflects strong sentiment I share. It's worth reading. It is in no way Anti-Americanism. It reflects people that realize their military is vital to a secure nation and a secure world, however, a breed of American that doesn't appreciate their patriotism and loyalty toyed with as occured under Richard Cheney and Don Rumsfeld twice in the USA's history. Shame on us, we should have known better. Oh. Wait. Some of us did.

We don't belong in Iraq.

We never did.

Bring the troops home now.

Oppose the draft.

Write your US House and Senate representative demanding impeachment.

Until tomorrow night ...

Morning Papers - It's Origins

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

Wild rooster, Poipu, Kauai, Hawaii

May 26, 2007

Greeneville, Tennessee

Photographer states :: Results of a lightning strike on a drought stricken mountain. At this point 600 acres have burned and is completely out of control. All pictures in this series are of different parts of the fire.

Singapore is at the tip of Malaysia. Southeast of Kuala Lumpur.




May 25, 2007
Singapore
Photographer states :: A waterspout off the east coast of singapore

5 die in storm surge

May 25, 2007
Polvadera, New Mexico
Photographer states :: Green Storm - A different area of the sky showing the clouds from a fairly strong thunderstorm just passed through with 30mph winds, heavy rain, and a bit of hail. This is a single RAW image with minimal processing, just a little contrast adjustment.


Green clouds such as these are usually hail clouds. Dangerous stuff. Hail can accompany tornadoes.


"By Justin Cox
Killeen Daily Herald

Ravaging floodwaters claimed the lives of at least five people in the Killeen area in less than a 12-hour period during the overnight hours Thursday.

Three of the five victims met their fate in Killeen, and one man is still missing, while two others died in Copperas Cove.

Carroll Smith, public information coordienator for the Killeen Police Department, said authorities were called after a report of an overturned vehicle on Watercrest Drive between 8 and 9 p.m. Thursday. A woman and two of her children had been rescued from her white Ford Excursion.

But her two other children remained trapped in the vehicle and could not be rescued, Smith said, adding that the SUV was swept away in the swift current, eventually sinking below the surface.

Divers from the Morgan's Point Water Recovery Team were not able to locate the vehicle until 8:32 a.m. Friday, when the two boys, 5-year-old Jarvis Tarrance, and 6-year-old Javiante Tarrance, were recovered from the vehicle, stuck engine down in an estimated 18 feet of water that flowed across Watercrest Drive.

Justice of the Peace Garland Potvin pronounced the two brothers dead at just after 9 a.m.

Potvin said the mother and the two other children, a 3-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy, owe their lives to a man who transported them from their flooding vehicle by canoe to the safety of the banks."

The mother drove the vehicle into the water, and it got picked up and carried it off the roadway," Potvin said. "He just heard the screaming, and he went and tried to help. He got in his canoe and paddled out there to help."

That guy saved three of them, because they wouldn't have gotten out of there by themselves, I don't believe."

Potvin said the height of the water at that location was unprecedented...."

This was a rough guestimate of the civilian toll as of November 4, 2006; three days before the majority shift.

It was Baghdad then and it still is. It would seem as though the USA military takes solice in applying "Lessons Learned" while civilians die. This is one of my favorite "Lessons Learned" by the USA military. It was post illegal invasion and the way Saddam's munitions, under UN Seal were never secured although they drove around them and through them, the bunkers were never considered significant to secure. Yep, one of my favorites.

GAO-07-444 Operation Iraqi Freedom: DOD Should Apply Lessons Learned Concerning the

Need ..... gov.

Following the invasion of Iraq in March 2003—known as ... on unsecured conventional munitions in Iraq, (2) report related risk mitigation ... conventional munitions storage sites in Iraq, combined with certain prewar planning ...

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07444.pdf

OVERVIEW:-->Following the invasion of Iraq in March 2003--known as Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)--concerns were raised about how the Department of Defense (DOD) secured Iraqi conventional munitions storage sites during and after major combat operations. Because of the broad interest in this issue, GAO conducted this work under the Comptroller General's authority to conduct evaluations.

This report examines

(1) the security provided by U.S. forces over Iraqi conventional munitions storage sites and

(2) DOD actions to mitigate risks associated with an adversary's conventional munitions storage sites for future operations on the basis of OIF lessons learned. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed ...

Background: Following the invasion of Iraq in March 2003--known as Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)--concerns were raised about how the Department of Defense (DOD) secured Iraqi conventional munitions storage sites during and after major combat operations. Because of the broad interest in this issue, GAO conducted this work under the Comptroller General's authority to conduct evaluations. This report examines (1) the security provided by U.S. forces over Iraqi conventional munitions storage sites and (2) DOD actions to mitigate risks associated with an adversary's conventional munitions storage sites for future operations on the basis of OIF lessons learned. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed ...

There was this report that I haven't found at the GAO yet. I would be nice if they would include a link to the report they refer to:

Despite the ‘surge’ A ‘continuing high level of attacks’ in Iraq (click here)

The number of attacks carried out by factions in Iraq’s overlapping conflicts has dipped slightly since the start of a new security plan but remains high, according to a US report released last week.The Government Accountability Office report recorded only the raw number of attacks, not the number of casualties, so it remains possible that a recent spate of large-scale car bombings had kept civilian deaths at record levels.

The GAO’s report into the problems facing US reconstruction efforts cites Pentagon figures showing the number of daily attacks peaked in October before dropping off in recent months, but remained twice as high as one year ago.“The US reconstruction effort was predicated on the assumption that a permissive security environment would exist. However, since June 2003, overall security conditions in Iraq have deteriorated”, the report said.“The average total number of attacks per day has risen from 71 per day in January 2006 to a record high of 176 per day in October 2006”, it added.“For the last three months, average attacks per day were 164 in February, 157 in March, and 149 in April 2007”.

The GAO used the Pentagon’s figures to compile its estimates, despite these being compiled using a methodology which has been much criticized in the past as likely to severely underestimate the true level of violence.

Last year’s report by a panel of senior American lawmakers and policy experts headed by former Secretary of State James Baker said the military’s method for recording attacks led to “significant underreporting of the violence”.

“For example”, it said, “on one day in July 2006 there were 93 attacks or significant acts of violence reported. Yet a careful review of the reports for that single day brought to light 1,100 acts of violence”.

Whether complete or not, the US government’s figures show a clear trend of escalating daily attacks since the invasion of March 2003, dipping slightly after the launch of a security operation in February this year.

"...Dipping slightly..." That justifies everything doesn't it. Slight dip. Bush has no conscience.