Pakistan 'kills 1,000 militants'

Pakistan cleans up 'pro-Taliban' spy agency (click here)
October 1, 2008
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has replaced the head of its powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in an apparent effort to clean up the military spy agency amid western claims that it secretly backs the Taliban.
The move came as the United Nations said fighting between the Pakistani military and pro-Taliban insurgents forced 20,000 people to flee from Pakistan to war-torn Afghanistan, and as the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, turned to the king of Saudi Arabia to help broker peace talks with the Taliban.
Pakistan's military released a statement yesterday saying Lieutenant General Ahmed Shujaa Pasha had been appointed director-general of the ISI, replacing Nadeem Taj, a loyalist of the former president Pervez Musharraf, who took up the post last October.
General Pasha is now director of military operations and is considered a key aide to the army chief, Ashfaq Kayani.
Pakistan's intelligence agency has been at the centre of concerns among Western allies that it is either turning a blind eye to militants in Pakistan's troubled tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, or even actively sponsoring the rebels....



UN: 20,000 flee from Pakistan into Afghanistan (click here)
1 day ago
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The United Nations says 20,000 Pakistani refugees have fled to Afghanistan to avoid fighting between militants and Pakistan's military.
The U.N.'s refugee agency says nearly 4,000 Pakistani families have fled Pakistan's Bajur tribal agency into Afghanistan's Kunar province.
Pakistan's military launched an offensive in Bajur, the most northerly of Pakistan's wild tribal regions, several of which have fallen largely under the control of militants opposed to the Afghan and Pakistani governments.
Tens of thousands of civilians have fled into other parts of Pakistan as a result of the 2-month-old offensive.
The agency says it believes the majority of those who have crossed into Afghanistan will return home once the fighting stops.

NATO Troops

Karzai pleas for Saudi peace role (click here)
Mr Karzai says that he is 'working for peace'
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said that he has made repeated efforts over the last two years to engage Saudi Arabia in peace talks with the Taleban.
The president said there had not yet been any direct negotiations, only requests for help.
He said that Afghan officials had travelled to Saudi Arabia and to Pakistan to kick-start the process.
The comments came during the president's traditional message to the Afghan people during the Eid holiday....

The Surge Worked ? Army sending 10,000 Fort Lewis soldiers to Iraq

Really ?

Whom is going to pay for it ! ? !

Whom among them will pay with their lives?

For how long?

Forever?

This OCCUPATION has to stop.

U.S. deaths in Iraq (click here)
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
As of Monday, at least 4,175 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. At least 3,379 military personnel died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.

The latest deaths reported by the military:
A soldier was killed Monday by small arms fire in northern Baghdad.
The latest identifications reported by the military:
Army Capt. Michael J. Medders, 25, Elyria; died Wednesday in Jisr Naft of wounds suffered in a suicide bombing; assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas.
Army Staff Sgt. Ronald Phillips Jr., 33, Conway, S.C.; died Thursday in Bahbahani after his vehicle struck an explosive; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
Army Pfc. Jamel A. Bryant, 22, Belleville, Ill.; died Saturday in Baghdad of injuries from a vehicle accident in Wahida; assigned to the 40th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany.
SOURCE: Associated Press

The Army is sending about 10,000 Fort Lewis troops to Iraq in a period from this winter into the summer of 2009.

Originally published September 30, 2008 at 9:35 AM

Page modified September 30, 2008 at 9:35 AM
FORT LEWIS, Wash. —
The Army is sending about 10,000 Fort Lewis troops to Iraq in a period from this winter into the summer of 2009.
A spokeswoman says they are the I (First) Corps headquarters unit, and the 3rd and 5th Stryker brigades.
Maj. Kathleen Turner says this is the first combat deployment for the I Corps headquarter unit since the Korean War. She says it will take over in Baghdad as the command and control for multinational units in Iraq.
This will be the first deployment for the 5th Stryker brigade and the third for the 3rd Stryker brigade.
The Fort Lewis troops are part of 26,000 the Pentagon is deploying to maintain 14 combat brigades in Iraq.

Fort Riley brigade tabbed for Iraq (click here)
(Published September 30, 2008)
FORT RILEY, Kan. — A Fort Riley brigade that returned in April from 15 months in Iraq has been notified that it is scheduled to go back in 2009.
The 4th Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division was part of the surge of troops sent to Baghdad in 2007. It was told Tuesday that it would go back to Iraq in the spring or summer of 2009. The 3,500 soldiers will have been back in the U.S. for at least a year....

Pentagon Announces Fort Hood Deployment (click here)

(September 30, 2008)—Seven brigade combat teams, one corps headquarters, a Marine expeditionary force headquarters and Fort Hood’s 1st Cavalry Division Headquarters will deploy to Iraq beginning this winter and continuing into next summer, the Department of Defense announced Tuesday.
The deployment announced Tuesday involves a total of about 26,000 troops, the Pentagon said.
“The deployed headquarters units will provide command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities in support of security operations in the country,” the Pentagon said.
Six of the brigade combat teams will replace units now in Iraq and one security force brigade “will assure freedom of movement and continuity of operations in the country” including base defense and route security, the Pentagon said....

Two Bragg combat brigades scheduled to deploy to Iraq (click here)
A staff report

The 82nd Airborne Division’s 1st and 4th Brigade Combat Teams will deploy to Iraq in the next year, the Department of Defense announced today.
The Fort Bragg brigades are two of seven Army combat brigades scheduled to deploy to Iraq any time this winter through next summer.
Lt. Col. Clarence Counts, spokesman for the 82nd Airborne Division, said he was not sure what months the brigades would deploy.
A corps headquarters from Fort Lewis, Wash., a division headquarters from Fort Hood, Texas, and a Marine expeditionary force headquarters from Camp Lejeune also are scheduled to deploy.
The Department of Defense said that total, about 26,000 people, would be sent to Iraq. The deployments will be replacement forces that will maintain the current troop level in Iraq, the DOD said.

...not ready for prime time...

Bailout failure shows Bush's weakness
Justin Webb
29 Sep 08, 07:22 PM GMT
With the Republican revolt in the House of Representatives, President Bush is now confirmed as the weakest Commander-in-Chief in modern history.
He puts Jimmy Carter in the shade. Just as well America faces no serious problems...
A big opportunity for leadership now from Mr McCain or Mr Obama (or both?) - do they have what it takes?
And as a backdrop for Sarah Palin's prime-time outing on Thursday, it could not be worse. I hear she has been accusing Joe Biden of being old. Eh?

I rarely befriend or agree with Republicans. They have abused power in the Legislature and the Executive Branch and have ignored some of the most sensitive issues in our day, but, I found allies with this 'go round' and they don't include John McCain.

The Paulson Bailout for this Wall Street cronies was just bad government. The Conservatives may not have liked the Pelosi speech, but, they wouldn't have risked their country for the sake of some untoward words. The Conservatives ditched the House Bill yesterday because they found an excuse. A convenient excuse and they went with it.


Old Palin morphs into something new (click here)
DAN FAGANCOMMENT
Published: September 27th, 2008 11:18 PMLast Modified: September 27th, 2008 11:46 PM
What happened to our governor? I don't recognize her anymore.
I still haven't made up my mind if I like the new Sarah Palin or the old one better.
Remember the old Palin. Remember how well she got along with Democrats. Democrats marched in unison with her as she went to war with the oil industry, raised taxes through the stratosphere and gave away free cash.
Ultra-liberal Les Gara was her new best friend and loudest spokesman. The old Palin liked the D's so much she let Sen. Hollis French write her tax code.
The old Palin's only real enemies were a handful of conservative Republicans who were not afraid of a fight.
But look at the new Palin. Her old friends and allies in the Democratic party no longer like her. And now Republicans adore her. The new Palin is sounding like a conservative. This must come as a real shock to her old friends, Democrats Gara, French, and Kerttula....
...The old Palin was clearly more transparent, open and honest. True, the old Palin withheld damaging e-mails just because she wanted to. But you have to credit the old Palin for promising to go along with the independent investigator. The old Palin, for the most part, was an open book. But the new Palin slammed that open door shut....
continued...

2008 Vote begins today in Ohio

This is the year 2008, when the USA has troops deployed, Climate Change is in full swing and there is inflation and unemployment.
Even Dan Quayle, the guy that couldn't spell potato, was more qualified than Palin.

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright says chance of Palin presidency scares her (click here)
by Mark Naymik
Madeleine Albright, who became the first female U.S. Secretary of State and highest ranking woman in government in 1997, is frightened by the possibility that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Republican John McCain's running mate, could assume the presidency.
Asked today in an interview with Plain Dealer editors and reporters if she is scared by the prospect of Palin being a heartbeat away, Albright, who has endorsed Democrat Barack Obama, responded without hesitating, "Yes. Yes."
"Having served two presidents, I think the job of the president is the most difficult job in the world," said Albright, who advised President Carter on national security and foreign policy and later President Clinton as secretary of state. "What you need in a vice president - and I've felt this for a long time because I've watched [vice president Walter] Mondale and [vice president] Al Gore - is that you need a partner. The job is huge and needs somebody not only for the heartbeat part but in the day-to-day governance.
"Gore went a step further of being almost like a prime minister ... taking away the underbrush of issues to do with how two countries relate to each other. So you need somebody that actually knows what they are doing. I see that with the Obama-Joe Biden relationship. I certainly don't see it in the McCain-Palin relationship."...
Tuesday September 30, 2008, 12:15 PM

THE LAST POLAR BEAR

Remember how important scientific investigation is when it comes to protecting species exposed to Climate Change that face extinction. Evidently when it comes to understanding SCIENCE, John McCain believes investigation into species 'specifics' leading to protection and preservation is hideous.

Journal of Wildlife Management
Article: pp. 1592–1600 Abstract PDF (672K)
CONSERVATION RISKS OF MALE-SELECTIVE HARVEST FOR MAMMALS WITH LOW REPRODUCTIVE POTENTIAL (click here)
PHILIP D. McLOUGHLINA, 1, MITCHELL K. TAYLORB, and FRANÇOIS MESSIERC
A. Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E2, Canada, B. Department of the Environment, Government of Nunavut, P.O. Box 209, Igloolik, NU X0A 0L0, Canada, C. Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E2, Canada
We used harvested, stochastic population models for grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and polar bears (U. maritimus) to illustrate the propensity for male-biased harvesting to reduce mean male age and numbers of sexually mature males for species with relatively low reproductive potential....



IN DEPTH
Climate Change
Wildlife photography
Will we see The Last Polar Bear in our lifetime? (click here)
...Essayist Charles Wohlworth describes in detail the drowned polar bears spotted by the U.S. Minerals Management service and the unfortunate walrus calves, far from ice or shore, swimming after the small boats launched from a U.S. National Science Foundation icebreaker....

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

Time of Day :: 10:37 AM AKDT

Lat/Lon: 58.8° N 137.0° W

Temperature :: 59 °F / 15 °C

Conditions :: Partly Cloudy

Humidity :: 88%

Dew Point :: 55 °F / 13 °C

Wind :: 4 mph / 6 km/h / 1.5 m/s from the East

Pressure :: 29.77 in / 1008 hPa (Falling)

Visibility :: 10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers

UV :: 2 out of 16

Lat/Lon :: 58.8° N 137.0° W

Elevation :: 33 ft / 10 m

Waterspout Caught On Camera In Key West - Storms Hit Florida Keys Monday Afternoon

September 8, 2008
1730z
UNISYS Visual Image North and West Hemisphere (click here)

September 29, 2008

Key West, Florida

Photographer states :: This waterspout came right through the Key West harbor

Waterspout spotted over Lake Ontario (click here)
Last Update: 9/08 1:39 pm

Roger Toombs of Cape Vincent remarked to his wife that "the water's funny out there today," as he looked out on Lake Ontario Monday morning.
Moments later he saw a cloud nearly touching the water, and then a waterspout appeared.
It lasted several minutes as Mr. Toombs snapped a number of digital photos, which he passed along to NewsWatch50.
The waterspout was between the shoreline of Mud Bay and Fox Island. Toombs estimates it was a couple of miles out on the water.

Waterspout reported over Lake Buchanan
By Hudson Lockett Wednesday, September 10, 2008, 08:55 AM
The Llano County sheriff’s office and the LCRA reported a rare waterspout over Lake Buchanan on Tuesday night, said a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.
Essentially small-scale tornadoes that form over water, waterspouts are common along the southeast U.S. coast, according to the National Weather Service’s tornado FAQ.
“This type of phenomenon for Lake Buchanan, that’s a rare event,” said Robert Blaha, meteorologist and forecaster for the service. No damage had been reported, he said, and the waterspout, which was seen at about 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, had dissipated that evening.
The waterspout is unrelated to Hurricane Ike, which is still hundreds of miles away...

Twister provides a new sight beside the seaside (click here)

September 19, 2008

A waterspout was photographed off the South Devon coast as a storm swept inland at the same time, bringing high winds and a downpour.
Alison Heather, 21, a student, photographed the twister from her home in Livermead, Torquay. She said: “It was moving across the bay and you could actually see it was drawing the sea spray up a couple of hundred feet into the air.”
Dave Perry, from Torquay, who photographed the waterspout off Torre Abbey Sands, said: “First of all we thought it was a cloud but then we saw it was actually sucking up the water. I haven’t seen anything like it before in Torbay.” Pleasure-boat skippers reported seeing the waterspout two miles (3km) east of Berry Head, near Brixham. One said: “It was a long, thin formation coming out of the sky and when it was near the surface water was sucked up to meet it....

Goldman Sachs (GS) NewsBite - GS Falls on Bailout Disappointment

Above 5 years of stock prices. Note the price took off after Paulson took office as Treasury Secretary.
Below, yesterday. Paulson needs to resign !



Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) opened at $134.49. So far today, the stock has hit a low of $124.37 and a high of $134.62. GS is now trading at $128.39, down $9.60 (-6.96%). Over the last 52 weeks the stock has ranged from a low of $86.31 to a high of $250.70. Shares of GS are falling this morning as investors seem to be disappointed with the $700 billion financial bailout plan currently up for vote in Congress. Judging from this morning's action, it seems like investors are worried the bailout may not stabilize credit markets. Technical indicators for the stock are neutral and S&P gives GS a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking. If you are looking for a hedged play on GS the stock seems like it could be a candidate for an October out-of-the-money bear-call credit spread above the 150 range. [ABR-Seven Summits Strategic Investments NewsBite]

Over-exaggerated - Asian Markets down 0.16%, 2% and 4.12%. Not exactly a plummet. The Paulson Problem is an American 'thing.'

Buy Bonds !

Market Summary
At 3:07 AM ET: Treasuries in London are mixed across the curve today as the 2-year note is down 8/32 to 100 14/32, yielding 1.75%, up from 1.61% at the previous close. The benchmark 10-year bond is down 16/32 to 102 31/32, yielding 3.63%, up from 3.57% while the 3-month T-bill's current discount rate is little changed at 0.13%. The discount rate on the 6-month T-bill is up 0.24 percentage points to 1.44%.


3.63% - US Treasury Bonds. Gee. What a way to make money.


4.12%


0.16%



2%