Life after ice storm dire, getting worse in spots

A little windy out there too, huh? (click here for UNISYS 12 hour loop)

Just as a reminder, the weather in Ketchikan, Alaska (now 34 F - click here) where Ted Stevens wanted to build a road to nowhere, is warmer than some of the northern tier of the USA.


January 27, 2009
St. Francis, Arkansas


January 27, 2009
Piggott, Arkansas


January 27, 2009
Rector, Arkansas


January 28, 2009
Piggott, Arizona - elevation 301 feet above sea level (not thousands, okay - click here)
Photographer states :: These photos were taken in the Piggott, AR area which has been featured nationally on some networks as a disaster area. We are running on generator power, somehow our phone service is intact, and internet service was restored today. The photos are taken at various times through the storm, which lasted a solid 36 hours. More info on this storm in my blog.


By BRUCE SCHREINER
The Associated Press
Friday, January 30, 2009; 8:59 PM
MARION, Ky. -- In some parts of rural Kentucky, they're getting water the old-fashioned way _ with pails from a creek. There's not room for one more sleeping bag on the shelter floor. The creative are flushing their toilets with melted snow.
At least 42 people have died, including 11 in Kentucky, and conditions are worsening in many places days after an ice storm knocked out power to 1.3 million customers from the Plains to the East Coast. About a million people were still without electric Friday, and with no hope that the lights will come back on soon, small communities are frantically struggling to help their residents.
One county put it bluntly: It can't.
"We're asking people to pack a suitcase and head south and find a motel if they have the means, because we can't service everybody in our shelter," said Crittenden County Judge-Executive Fred Brown, who oversees about 9,000 people, many of whom are sleeping in the town's elementary school.
Local officials were growing angry with what they said was a lack of help from the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In Grayson County, about 80 miles southwest of Louisville, Emergency Management Director Randell Smith said the 25 National Guardsmen who have responded have no chain saws to clear fallen trees....


January 28, 2009
Parkersbury, West Virginia

Nine critical directive by Napolitano. Will she stop any further eroding of the National Security of the USA? Can she stop al Qaeda?

Seeking Global Peace has to include a sincere National Security that honors the principles of Democracy. Can Obama achieve what Bush failed to try, a Homeland that is secure as well as free? Americans must participate in their nation's security by being employed in areas that honor our country.

Homeland Security has 1,000 jobs to fill in Arizona; job fair Saturday (click here)
January 30, 2009, 10:37 p.m.
SHERYL KORNMANTucson Citizen
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has more than 1,000 jobs open in Arizona.
A job fair here Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at U.S. Customs and Border Protection headquarters will allow applicants to fill out paperwork and talk with Homeland Security workers about the openings....

Partnership is proving successful in Santa Cruz Co. (click here)
By Denise HolleyPublished Friday, January 30, 2009 9:52 AM MST
Securing the U.S.- Mexico border is a huge job, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can’t do it alone. That’s why the Department of Homeland Security forged a partnership with local law enforcement called Operation Stonegarden (OPSG) in 2004....

US Customs And Border Protection Job Fair (click here)
Saturday, January 31
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will kick-off National Career Day around the United States to announce CBP’s goal for hiring approximately 11,000 new personnel for frontline, mission support, and operations support positions in 2009.
The multi-city recruitment event themed “A New Year, New Career,” will launch January 31 to raise public awareness on CBP’s mission and broad career options, along with providing potential applicants information on how to apply for a CBP position....


...Secretary Napolitano has already issued nine action directives: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) state and local integration; national planning, cybersecurity; northern border strategy; critical infrastructure protection; risk analysis; state and local intelligence sharing; transportation security; and state, local and tribal integration. She will continue to issue additional action directives in the coming days focused on the missions critical to the department: Protection, Preparedness, Response, Recovery and Immigration....

Canada-U.S. border back in the spotlight (click here)

By BOGDAN KIPLING

Thu. Jan 29 - 7:10 AM

THE OBAMA administration has put Canadian border security among its most pressing issues to be dealt with immediately.
That’s the word Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano sent out in an "action directive" on her third full day in office.
"As we have designed programs to afford greater protection against unlawful entry, members of Congress and homeland security experts have called for increased attention to the Canadian border," says a statement released by her office last Friday. She requested an "oral report" no later than Feb. 10, to be followed by a final report a week later.
Secretary Napolitano’s hurry raises an obvious question: What’s wrong?...

U.S.-Mexico Border Fence Nearly Complete (click here)

2009-01-27 04:42pm
More than 600 miles of a new U.S.-Mexico border fence have been completely, making the stretch nearly complete, the U.S. government reported Tuesday.Customs and Border Protection spokesman Lloyd Easterling said 601 miles of the fence have been completed, with 69 left to go in order to meet a goal set by the Bush administration.In December, then President-elect Obama said he wanted to evaluate border security before committing to finishing the fence begun under his predecessor.Easterling has said the White House has not yet told the Department of Homeland Security to halt construction of the fence.(c) 2009 Newsroom.

Rail lines, bus systems show security shortfalls (click here)

By Thomas Frank, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The first federal evaluation of mass-transit security shows that more than 75% of the nation's major rail and bus systems aren't meeting Homeland Security guidelines.
By contrast, 96% of airlines are complying with security requirements, according to a new report by the department. The report doesn't identify which rail and bus systems fell short.
The assessment comes as new Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says she plans to focus more on mass transit, possibly through "redeployment" of resources from other areas.
"We've done an awful lot in the aviation world," Napolitano said Monday. "We could pay more attention" to surface transportation security.
The department's little-noticed evaluation, published on its website Jan. 15 just before Napolitano took office, found that 37 of the nation's 48 largest transit systems aren't complying with voluntary guidelines set in 2007. There is no sanction for non-compliance, said Paul Lennon, head of mass transit for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

Obama nominates cybercrimes expert to DHS (click here)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama Thursday announced plans to nominate a cybercrimes expert as the U.S. Homeland Security Department's next general counsel.
Obama announced plans to nominate Ivan Fong, a former deputy associate attorney general at the Justice Department, as the next general counsel for the Homeland Security Department.
The announcement coincides with Homeland Security Department Secretary Janet Napolitano's announcement of several key legal positions on her staff.
Fong, who currently works for Cardinal Health Inc. as chief legal officer and secretary, is the primary author of what Homeland Security Department officials say is a "groundbreaking" report on cybercrime policy titled "The Electronic Frontier: The Challenge of Unlawful Conduct Involving the Use of the Internet."
"Ivan's extensive private sector and senior government experience will provide invaluable counsel in managing the complex issues and important tasks we take on daily, and I look forward to the enthusiasm and expertise this accomplished team brings to the important missions of this department," Napolitano said in a statement.

Will the Tamil Tigers finally reach an end to their reign in Sri Lanka?

"The West" has a peril in democracy through its immigration policies. Europe knows it better than any other continent that where there is a struggle within a country for control, including Israel's recent struggle with Gaza, there is a growing strategy 'within' the borders of The West to bring political pressure.

The question is, could adverse decisions be reached in places like Sri Lanka 'in lieu' of fears of terrorist violence within the borders of The West?

I can understand how Tamils in The West that enjoy 'civilization' and the 'idea' of longevity be concerned for family in Sri Lanka and the issue of human shields. But, how can they protest an end to an attempt by the Sri Lankan government to stop the violence by ending the 'Tigers' regime? I find a 'void' of authority in these instances.

Sri Lanka was a victim to the 2004 Tsunami and was supposed to be receiving aid to 'restore and invigorate' the country and its people.


Mahinda Samarasinghe , Sri Lanka's human rights minister. The government offensive drew protests in Toronto.

Canadian Tamils lead protest march (click here)
TORONTO - Thousands of Canadian Tamils formed a human chain through Toronto's downtown yesterday to protest a Sri Lankan government offensive aimed at crushing the separatist Tamil Tigers.
The greater Toronto area is home to 200,000 Tamils, one of the largest Tamil population outside Sri Lanka and the Indian subcontinent. A number of protests have been staged in recent weeks.
The protesters are angry over the military offensive, which has ousted the rebels from all major towns after heavy battles in recent months.
The rebels are now cornered in a 115-square-mile area of jungle and villages where 250,000 civilians are trapped, according to the Red Cross. The Tamil Tigers have been fighting for a separate state for minority Tamils since 1983, and were declared a terrorist organization by the United States in 1997 and by Canada in 2006.
- AP

There has been a long struggle in Sri Lanka to end the reign of a group considered to be terrorist in nature. It might be the current initiative by the Sri Lankan government could actually bring about the end to the violence.

This is an article regarding the Sri Lankan military from 2007:

Tamil Tigers vow to take revenge on army (click here)
By Tom Farrell in Killinochchi
Last Updated: 2:04AM BST 18 Jul 2007
...Speaking at his office in Killinochchi, the de facto rebel capital in the north of the island, SP Thamilselvan told The Daily Telegraph that the Tigers would now switch to guerrilla tactics to recapture territory lost in the east....




Bomb blast kills policeman in Sri Lanka (click title to entry - thank you)
6:00PM Wednesday Jan 21, 2009
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - A bomb blamed on ethnic Tamil rebels exploded this afternoon (NZ time) outside a police station in eastern Sri Lanka, killing a police officer and a civilian and wounding 11 other people, authorities said.
The attack came as the military pushes ahead with an offensive in the north aimed at defeating the Tamil Tiger rebels and ending the country's 25-year-old civil war.
The bomb was attached to a bicycle left near a petrol storage facility outside a police station in the eastern city of Batticaloa, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said....

Sri Lanka deadline for civilian safe passage ends (click here)
By VIJAY JOSHI – 6 hours ago
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A Sri Lankan government deadline for Tamil Tiger rebels to let civilians leave the northern conflict zone ended Saturday with only about a hundred reaching safe areas. The government accused the insurgents of holding the civilians as human shields.
According to the Red Cross, some 250,000 civilians are trapped in the 115-square mile (300-square kilometer) area where the rebels have been boxed in by advancing troops. The government puts the number at about 120,000.
The Defense Ministry said in a statement that more than 100 civilians including 16 children fled the war zone and "sought protection with security forces" on Saturday.
They included 63 people who arrived in Visuamadu town, while 43 others made their way in two boats across the choppy waters off Mullaittivu toward Pulmoddai town, it said.
"We gave a chance to the Tigers to release the civilians during the 48 hours but the terrorists are not allowing innocent civilians to get out. They are using them as human shields," said Lakshman Hulugalla, a government spokesman....

With next election in mind, Karunanidhi strikes (click here)

...He also got the Tamil Nadu Asembly to pass a resolution condemning the killings of Tamils in Sri Lanka. He followed all this by calling UPA Chairman Sonia Gandhi to explain why something should be done.

The government seized upon it as a way to further Indian policy: 'exercising decisive influence without direct involvement' although they knew this was an empty threat because it was simply not tenable: if he had withdrawn support from the centre, the government would have gone into a minority; but if the Congress had withdrawn support to the DMK government in Tamil Nadu, it would have fallen, a risk the Chief Minister was obviously unprepared for.

Significantly, the government of India - and the government of Tamil Nadu - did not at any point voice the demand for a ceasefire in northern Sri Lanka. What they sought was an end to the killing of civilians....

Reducing the 'spectrum' of war will reduce the deficit spending of the USA and enhance economy at home.

Pakistan would be interested in the activities and interests of India in Afghanistan as it would place India in a favorable position in regard to Kashmir as well.

Realizing that 'Taking Back Afghanistan" from the Taliban means redefining Karzai's goals, it would include strong economic development, ridding the region of the Poppy Culture and empowering the security of the villages while disarming the warlords.

It would also include a 'regional' peace between Pakistan and India to faciliate quality of life for the people and disbanding 'terrorist' interests that disrupt peace in Kashmir. What is good for a Kashmirian Peace is also good for Afghanistan, India and Pakistan.

It is a solid conclusion that terrorist networks exist in imporverishment. The Afghan people along with those in Kashmir and the border villages of Pakistan have sustained poverty for longer than any civilized world should allow. Honoring their culture while allowing for solid economic goals, the 'region' could move away from violence and into a benevolence for their children.

A high priority of the region, including Iran, has to be developing a 'strategy' to bring people into housing that can survive earthquakes as well.

US in contact with Pakistan over Afghan deployment: Pentagon (click here)
WASHINGTON: No decision has been made so far on the deployment of additional US troops in Afghanistan and the Pentagon has been in close contact with Islamabad over the proposal, the Pentagon said on Thursday. It said if implemented, the proposal would also help Pakistan curb cross-border militancy. Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said Defence Secretary Robert Gates was expected to give a recommendation on the proposal to US President Barack Obama ‘in the coming days’. He said the additional troops in Afghanistan would be “a delicate plus-up because you have got to do it commensurate to the infrastructure that exists” in Afghanistan. Asked if India was going to play a greater role in Afghanistan, he said, “I know there’s a great deal of investment by India in Afghanistan ... but I couldn’t tell you that I have any knowledge of a game plan for India to play a more pronounced role in Afghanistan.” Morrell said attacks on some of the lines of communication from Pakistan into Afghanistan had ‘not had an operational impact’ on supplies to Afghanistan. app


Nato figures show surge in Afghanistan violence (click here)
Violence soared by nearly a third last year, the highest rise since coalition operations began
Jason Burke
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 31 January 2009 18.52 GMT
Violence in Afghanistan soared by nearly a third last year, the highest rise since coalition operations in the troubled country began more than seven years ago.
According to new Nato statistics obtained by the Observer, violence rose by 31%, taking levels of fighting to a new peak of intensity. In 2007 there were around 5,000 "violent incidents" in the 20 worst-affected districts of the country. Last year the total rose to around 7,000.
Nato officials said the sharp rise was "in large part" due to more international troops pushing into areas that were previously without any military presence – such as the major deployment of US marines to the southern province of Helmand where UK forces are based – provoking more combat....

Obama seems unlikely to widen war in Afghanistan (click here)
By ANNE GEARAN – 5 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama, who pledged during his campaign to shift U.S. troops and resources from Iraq to Afghanistan, has done little since taking office to suggest he will significantly widen the grinding war against a resurgent Taliban....



Army suicides (January 30, 2009)

2006 Courant Investigation (click here)
This award-winning series first published in May 2006 and its follow up coverage examine the U.S. military's gaps in mental health care for its soldiers.

Army Suicides In 2008 Hit Highest Level Ever Recorded (click here)
By MATTHEW KAUFFMAN The Hartford Courant
January 30, 2009
At least 128 active-duty soldiers killed themselves last year — the highest number ever recorded — leading Pentagon officials to declare an Armywide "stand down" to address the problem soldier by soldier....


An Afghan police officer checks a gun as weapons are displayed after being handed over from local commanders of illegal militants through the Disbandment of Illegal Armed Group (DIAG) in Jalalabad, the provincial capital of Ningarhar province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009. DIAG is a U.N.-backed program for disarming the illegal militants in Afghanistan.
Rahmat Gul / AP Photo

US-funded program to arm Afghan groups begins (click here)

By RAHIM FAIEZ
Associated Press Writer
KABUL, Afghanistan -- A U.S.-funded program to train and arm community members in Afghanistan's most dangerous regions as a way to defend against the Taliban has begun, the country's interior minister said Saturday.
The U.S. will provide funds to arm the community force with the same weapons used by Afghan police - Kalashnikov rifles, said Interior Ministry Mohammad Hanif Atmar.
The program has already begun, but Atmar refused to say where, citing security concerns. Other officials have said the program will begin in Wardak, an increasingly dangerous province on the southwest side of Kabul.
"After training they will have the responsibility of protecting the people, providing security for the highways, schools, clinics and other government institutions," Atmar told a news conference....

The Middle East and a 'return' to the Peace Initiative void of War Priorities

Secretary of State Clinton will meet with a far different dynamic in The Middle East opposed to her former Clinton peer, Madeline Albright. Today the nations of the Middle East have been muddling through without much assistance by the USA, while a 'new' war has complicated issues.




Egyptian Islamic activist detained at Gaza border (click here)
Sat Jan 31, 2009 2:25pm EST
ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces detained an Islamist opposition activist on Saturday as he crossed into Egypt from the Gaza Strip, saying they believed he had entered Gaza illegally via a cross-border tunnel, security sources said.
The sources said that Magdy Ahmed Hussein, the head of the Islamist-oriented Labor party, was carrying no papers other than a driving license when he tried to return to Egypt through the Rafah border crossing.
The government suspended the activities of Hussein's party in 2000, partly due to its links with the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition group.
For the 1.5 million people in the Gaza Strip, the tunnels have become a main source of goods, including fuel, since Israel tightened its embargo after Hamas seized control of Gaza from the forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007....

Netanyahu says Iran will not get hands on nukes (click here)
By ARON HELLER – 2 hours ago
JERUSALEM (AP) — Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's leading candidate for prime minister, said Saturday that Iran "will not be armed with a nuclear weapon."
In an interview with Israel's Channel 2 TV, Netanyahu said if elected prime minister his first mission will be to thwart the Iranian nuclear threat. Netanyahu, the current opposition leader and head of the hardline Likud party, called Iran the greatest danger to Israel and to all humanity....


Livni to Cypriot FM: Confiscate weapons from Iranian ship (click here)
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent and The Associated Press
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni spoke to her Cypriot counterpart Markos Kyprianou by phone and requested that he act toward confiscating weapons aboard the ship that were allegedly on their way from Iran to Syria. Livni emphasized that the passage of the weapons is in contravention of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1747 that prohibits trade in weapons with Iran because of its ongoing nuclear program.
The saga of a ship suspected of carrying arms from Iran to Gaza grew more complicated Saturday as Cypriot authorities searched the ship, then backed away from previous assertions that it was violating United Nations resolutions.
Authorities will now conduct a second search, the Cypriot foreign minister said. ...




Replacing Hillary Clinton is no small task, but, Gillibrand was a 'natural' choice for the Governor of New York. Coming from the 20th District of New York (click here) as a US House Representative, Ms. Gillibrand is likely to be re-elected. She is popular in her district and would carry it in any national election. That would give this Democrat a 'leg up' on winning repeatedly. Her district is 'sought' after by the RNC as a must win in the next House election.

"...and I did not ask why."

Voting station attacked as Iraqis go to polls (click title to entry - thank you)
Saturday, 31 January 2009
Mortar shells have fallen near a voting station as Iraq stages its first elections since 2005.
A massive security operation is in place for the local council ballot.
It is seen as a vital test-run before a full parliamentary poll later this year.
Nobody was hurt in the attack which happened in Saddam Hussein's home town of Tikrit.



Shoe monument in Iraq demolished (click here)
Baghdad - A sculpture of an enormous shoe erected in honour of the Iraqi reporter who hurled his shoes at then-US president George W Bush in December, was taken down on Friday.
The huge bronze-coloured sculpture, made of fiberglass, was erected at an orphanage complex in the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit on Thursday.
The head of the Childhood organisation, which the orphanage belongs to, said that the Provincial Joint Coordination Centre told her to take the structure down immediately.
"I did take the shoe down immediately and destroyed it; and I did not ask why," Shahah Daham, the head of the charity organisation, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

But, can Michael Steele be elected as President of the USA in 2004?

Sooner or later, the Bipartisan desires of Barak Obama will become an agenda that won't work. Bipartisanship post Bush White House is more or less 'a game' similar to Fantasy Football (click here) in that 'one is a faux player' with a hopeful agenda that never really has the opportunity to become less a fantasy and more a reality.

The Republican Party 'wants the country's treasury back' and they will stop at nothing. Having Judd Greg in Commerce will play to the Republican agenda for 2004 and don't believe otherwise.

Basically, the Republicans 'don't get it.' They are profound bigots that believe if they change the color of the skin of their Chairman, then fame and fortune will come their way. They believe the African-American Vote is based in 'visual acuity' instead of 'cognitive decision-making.'


When the country moved away from the Bush Republican agenda it was based in cognitive decisions to stop warring in Iraq while reclaiming the American Economy to put people back into American jobs. The African Americans that voted for Barak did so in recognition of a man that sincerely had the 'right message.' He voted against the war in Iraq and believed in American labor while working at the 'grass roots' level of politics as a Community Organizer. He left any promise of wealth at the Harvard Law Review and decided to be one of the most loyal Americans this country would come to know, determined to 'take by the country.'




In a historic move, the Republican National Committee has elected its first black chairman, Michael Steele. And with the White House now occupied by the nation’s first black president, Democrat Barack Obama, both major parties are under the guidance of African Americans – making Friday’s election at the RNC’s winter meeting in Washington doubly historic.
Republicans wanted “a new face, they want[ed] to show that there is change in the party,” said party activist Ann Stone, a Steele supporter.
Evident in Mr. Steele’s election was a desire to send a signal that the GOP has not given up on diversity and inclusion, especially after a presidential election in which 95 percent of African Americans voted Democratic....

This 'move' by the RNC is a true Republican classic. Mimic the Democrats and then redirect the powers elected to and take advantage of the power of the military and prestige of the country for personal gain and wealth. That is all the RNC is doing AGAIN by putting Michael Steele as their Chairperson.

Michael Steele was a delegate to the 2000 Republican convention that nominated George Walker Bush to the top of their ticket. Hello?

Steele was able to be elected as a running mate to the Maryland Governorship because the 'team' took a margin victory away from the Democrats. The small margin they won was due to an unpopular, end of term limits Governor with marital issues. It wasn't as though Steele and his running mate had better ideas, it was just that they was no scandal associated with them that Republican Fundamentals would disapprove.

In 2005, Bush chose Steele as a delegate to the investiture of Pope Benedict XVI at the ceremonial mass in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City.

As with most Republicans, their personal fiscal portfolio is lacking. From Salon (click here). Steele was never overtly illegal, exactly, but always a little shady:

...Update: At first glance, this appears to be the kind of step forward that the Republican Party needs to be successful in the years ahead. As I noted in an earlier post, the race for RNC chair came down to a choice between an African-American moderate and a Southern white man with a troubled history when it comes to racial issues. Clearly, for a party that's increasingly relegated to representing only Southern whites, the RNC's voting members made the right choice, at least judging by that factor alone....

...His record as a businessman wasn't stellar, either. A consulting firm he founded never turned a profit, and was a serious drain on his finances. Shortly after he began his run for lieutenant governor, Steele ran into trouble because of a $25,000 loan his sister had given to his campaign for comptroller that he'd never paid back. Then, there were revelations of an additional $35,000 in personal debt, as well as more than $100,000 he'd taken out of two retirement accounts in order to support his family, leaving a balance of less than $600 at the time the news broke. He suffered further embarrassment over his finances when it was revealed that the Republican Party was paying him a consulting fee of $5,000 a month during his campaign for lieutenant governor.

What would Judd Gregg do? He'd look the other way and encourage everyone to do the same just as any Bush Republican would do !

There was a time in the USA when the FDA 'actually' did protect people.

Hello?

Peanut Corp of America earlier this week expanded the recall to include all products made at the plant since Jan. 1, 2007.
Photograph by: Richard Arless Jr., Montreal Gazette

Feds rarely file charges in tainted food cases (click title to entry - thank you)
By GREG BLUESTEIN – 3 hours ago
ATLANTA (AP) — As federal officials launch a criminal investigation into a Georgia peanut processor at the center of a deadly salmonella outbreak, food safety experts say they hope it's a signal that the government plans to be more aggressive in prosecuting other cases in the future.
Food safety watchdogs and legal experts say criminal charges have only been brought against a handful of companies involved in high-profile outbreaks though federal law allows cases to be prosecuted without proof the company knew it was distributing contaminated food. They say the law is not used often because there has been little will to pursue criminal charges in all but the most noteworthy and outrageous cases, and that has put the public at risk.
"Part of that system is the ability to penalize the people that fail," said Michael Taylor, a food safety scientist at George Washington University. "And there's been a real failure to do so at the federal and state level."
Food safety advocates hope that is starting to change....

Judd Gregg is an ultraconservative that will continue the work of Don Evans whom is currently pandering to China

If Democrats are putting Gregg into Commerce to 'play politics' to hope for a 60 seat majority in the Senate, then that is simply desperation.

The USA needs 'competent' leadership in Commerce to avoid 'road blocks' to effective environmental policy and someone who also believe in labor. Judd Gregg believes in NONE of those issues. He will continue Bush's policies cloaked in Democratic jargon.


Judd Gregg among all 'the greats' of the Republican Party.

Voting Record on Civil Rights (click here)

Voted YES on recommending Constitutional ban on flag desecration.

Voted NO on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage.

Voted NO on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes.

Voted YES on loosening restrictions on cell phone wiretapping.

Voted NO on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation.

Voted NO on setting aside 10% of highway funds for minorities & women.

Voted YES on ending special funding for minority & women-owned business.

Voted YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage.

Voted NO on prohibiting job discrimination by sexual orientation.

Voted YES on Amendment to prohibit flag burning.

Voted YES on banning affirmative action hiring with federal funds.

Supports anti-flag desecration amendment.

Rated 20% by the ACLU, indicating an anti-civil rights voting record.

Rated 33% by the HRC, indicating a mixed record on gay rights.

Rated 7% by the NAACP, indicating an anti-affirmative-action stance.

The remaining Voting Record of Bush's Judd Greg (click here)

Juff Gregg voted NO to priorities of the Clinton Administration. What do you think he will do in Commerce?

Senator Gregg voted NO

Vote to pass a bill that appropriates $13.96 billion for the Interior Department and related agencies for fiscal year 1994.

HR 2520: Making appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1994, and for other purposes. (click here)

- $2.38 billion for the Forest Service
- $1.94 billion for Indian Health Services
- $1.78 billion for the Bureau of Indian Affairs
- $2.03 billion for the Department of Energy, including $690.38 million for energy conservation
- $1.47 billion for the National Park Service
- $1.04 billion for the Bureau of Land Management
- $682.4 million for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- $347.72 million for the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities

Zoos

Today, the zoo is The Illinios State Legislature.

They put the cart before the horse.

We now have a new judge and jury - A US Attorney with a COMPLAINT !

A little scary.

The weather at Scott Base, Ross Island, Antarctica

It is cooler at Scott Base than on the Peninsula, but, there ain't no snow. And the sailing looks remarkably easy in the middle picture.

One of my greatest concerns and one that is dearly not addressed in literature is the outcome of the Blue Ice when the Ice Terraces fail. I hope the world's populations don't learn the 'hard way.' I sincerely believe the terraces protect the Blue Ice from a shrinking base and instability of an ice mass with a very high center of gravity.

The weather in Antarctica is (Crystal Wind Chime) RIDICULOUSLY warm.

Surface winds are mostly 'still' over the Peninsula, but, there is plenty of air movement over the Blue Ice. That is what is keeping any significang accumulation of 'frigid' air. I guanantee there is sublimination of the Blue Ice in Vostok. Has to be.



Arriving Heat Transfer Systems noted.

There is absolutely no 'frigid' air over Antarctica noted below.

Why Climate Change isn't just a matter of 'warming.'

Humans have a heritage. Many have lived in one place for all their lives as have their ancestors. While others have migrated and found new ways of life without incident. But, for Ade'lie Penguines they have only known one home all their years. They only have survived on Antarctica. They don't have the 'capacity' to 'change' as people do.

They are what 'scientists' call 'hard wired.' They have lived exclusively on the Antarctica continent for so very, very long that they do not have the 'genetic variability' to change. Their instincts in nesting and feeding grounds are so deeply imprinted into their genes that they are doomed to fail on a warming Earth.

It isn't as though Antarctica will then be without Penguins. There will always be Penguins, such as the Chinstrap Penguins, that find warmer climates and migration an easy task. But, we, the people of Earth will have failed the Ade'lies. We will have allowed such drastic changes in climate that they can no longer survive in their homeland.

Oh, yeah, we can find ways to keep the species on Earth alive, but, that isn't really the point is it? We are the stewards of planet Earth, the ones that have cognition beyond most of the creatures of this planet. We are the ones that understand the dynamics of climate and science and while animals have instincts that dictate their movements and the methods they nest and reproduce, we are the 'quintessential' species that have control.

We can choose to allow an entire planet to be destroyed by our own inability to grasp the overwhelming power we have over every other species or we can find a way to be 'responsible' and protect those species that can no longer dominate a survival strategy on a warming planet they did not create.

Today, Antarctica is hideously warm. We have the ability to change the course of greenhouse gas emissions and I do not believe for one minute we cannot achieve those goals. We cannot continue on the path as we are now. Its out of the question.


Hollywood penguins threatened by climate change - January 27, 2009 (click title to entry - thank you)
...Emperor penguins rely on sea ice both as a platform to breed on, and because krill – the penguins’ main food source – thrive by grazing algae that grow on the underside of the ice. When the ice shrank suddenly in the 1970s, for instance, half of the emperor penguins in the Adélie Land were wiped out....
..."Unlike some other Antarctic bird species that have altered their life cycles, penguins don’t catch on so quickly," Jenouvrier adds – so the chances of the penguins coping with melting ice by migrating or shifting breeding patterns, for instance, are slim....


Base Arturo Prat, Antarctica (click here)

Local Time :: 3:11 AM GMT (GMT +00)

Lat/Lon :: 62.5° S 59.7° W

Elevation :: 16 ft

Temperature :: 38 °F

Conditions :: Partly Cloudy

Humidity :: 81%

Dew Point :: 34 °F

Wind :: Calm

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: 29.00 in (Rising)

Visibility :: 12.0 miles

Clouds :: Mostly Cloudy 1673 ft
(Above Ground Level)

Vostok, Antarctica (click here)

Local Time: 9:19 AM VOST (GMT +06)

Lat/Lon: 78.4° S 106.9° E

Elevation :: 11220 ft

Temperature :: -36 °F

Humidity :: 37%

Dew Point :: -46 °F

Wind :: 12 mph from the SW

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: in (Rising)

Visibility :: 12.0 miles

Will the voters of Minnesota ever seat a Senator?

Voters ask court to add absentees to MN Recount (click here)
By (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Minnesota voters have waded into the state's U.S. Senate election fracas as Republican Norm Coleman fights for the inclusion of disqualified absentee ballots.

Six voters told their personal stories to a three-judge panel yesterday, saying their ballots had been unfairly rejected.

A statewide recount gives Democrat Al Franken a 225-vote edge. Coleman thinks he'll have the edge, and the win, if the additional votes are counted.

Yesterday, much of the panel's time was spent with state officials, lawyers and court staff working out a plan to get about 11,000 rejected ballots to St. Paul from counties throughout the state.

The case is expected to last weeks.

Fundamental Differences - For as long as there was the North and the South it divided the country.

President Obama has a difficult job, he has to convince the elected Republican members of the House and Senate that it is in their best interest to vote 'as the people of the country' voted. The Republicans are scared of losing their party more than they already have and they simply see this as a temporary 'fix' for the Democrats.

The Republicans don't believe in Human Induced Global Warming or Stem Cell Research. They believe that religion should be taught in public classrooms and science eliminated from any cirriculum. They don't believe in a woman's right to use her own mind and morality to decide about an abortion and they don't care that 'teaching abstinence' is a failed and dangerous agenda for the country. They don't see 'helping' the states as a good idea, because they want to stop taxes and they want to eliminate government at all levels.

The Republicans are 'counter-culture' to the decisions the majority made in the election of 2008. They won't vote for any of the measures of the current President. The Republicans are waiting for the entire Obama administration to fall on its face and then reep the rewards in 2010. They are hoping the country does poorly and they are hoping the job losses increase.

The Republicans don't see the strength of this country and the will of the people as the way to economic growth and success. They cater to MULTI-NATIONAL companies and Wall Street as the only venue of saving grace for the USA economy. Yet. Those very people are the ones that caused the mess in the first place. No restraint, no regulation and now the people of the USA are supposed to bail them out and continue to do so.

I don't think so.

The Obama plan will work and it will revitalize our communities. It will put new technologies back in business creating life saving measures through genetic research, new energy measures and a change in personal transportation, either that be auto or mass transit. It will give jobs back to government infrastructure, move along necessary services, put teachers back to work, place importance on medical streamlining and advanced technologies, it will require large public work projects to replace old energy infrastructure and it will upgrade and enlighten the American road and automakers. And that is only a start.

The Republicans that are still in office don't realize how loudly the American people spoke. They aren't willing to 'give up' the idea that they will return to a majority and again attempt to rule the world with oil wars, tax cuts, rocketing deficits and outsourcing to the point where there are dearly no jobs in the USA and the country is left in ruins.

The Republicans know their people are accustomed to economic impoverishment met with religious fervor that justices their ideologies.

I don't expect to see one Republican to ever vote for a measure by President Obama. In order for him to 'reach' a bipartisan effort, he'll have to 'change the Red States' and bring them out of their economic slumps. That is his sincere challenge. Regaining the international ground is nearly the easiest part of his Presidency. Every country in the world wanted the change that President Obama has to offer, even Russia.

...Last November (click here), President Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow would deploy Iskander missile systems in its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad, sandwiched between NATO members Lithuania and Poland, in response to any deployment by Washington of elements of a missile defense shield in Europe....

Prime Minister Putin is talking about " inter-independence " while sounding like a capitalist.

...Putin also said the financial crisis (click here), which has already brought down energy prices, could lead to a global energy shortage.
The current dramatic decline in oil prices could trigger cuts in investment in the sector and production, and as a result a hike in prices later....

It is these changes that the future electorate of the USA will appreciate and find economic strength and rebuilding as well. President Obama will not fail. He has an entire nation and a global community intently listening to his every word and watching the signing of every bill. He will never fail, but, the Republicans that resist him will.

The weather at Glacier Bay National Park is (Crystal Ice Chime) pleasant?

We are not far from our ancestors in loving this planet, coming to know it and preserving it for generations to come !


Alexander Agassiz, a preeminent oceanographer of the 19th century, attributed the first scientific basis for exploring the Gulf Stream to American statesman Benjamin Franklin. Franklin published this map of the Gulf Stream in 1769, 200 years before a submersible named after him drifted below the surface to study this river in the ocean. (click here)


(Graph derived from Rothrock et al.: Thinning of the Arctic Sea-Ice Cover, 1999) - Click here.
...Although the U.S. Navy has collected ice data for decades, it has only allowed their use in research since the end of the Cold War. Many of the submarine sonar data on sea ice draft collected in the 1990s were acquired through the Scientific Ice Expeditions (SCICEX) program. Because these data cover most of the deep Arctic Ocean basin, they enabled an analysis of variations in ice draft over a much broader region than was previously possible....

Urgency to USA Federal Policy is an understatment.

Repeat Photography of Glaciers (click here title to entry - thank you)
High-resolution image
Image Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center, W. O. Field, B. F. Molnia


On the left is a photograph of Muir Glacier taken on August 13, 1941, by glaciologist William O. Field; on the right, a photograph taken from the same vantage on August 31, 2004, by geologist Bruce F. Molnia of the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
According to Molnia, between 1941 and 2004 the glacier retreated more than twelve kilometers (seven miles) and thinned by more than 800 meters (875 yards).
Ocean water has filled the valley, replacing the ice of Muir Glacier; the end of the glacier has retreated out of the field of view. The glacier’s absence reveals scars where glacier ice once scraped high up against the hillside. In 2004, trees and shrubs grow thickly in the foreground, where in 1941 there was only bare rock.

Local Time :: 11:34 AM AKST (GMT -09)

Lat/Lon :: 58.8° N 137.0° W

Elevation :: 33 ft

Temperature :: 32 °F

Conditions :: Overcast

Windchill :: 26 °F

Humidity :: 87%

Dew Point :: 28 °F

Wind :: 6 mph from the SE

Pressure :: 29.70 in (Rising)

Visibility :: 10.0 miles

UV :: 0 out of 16

Clouds :: Overcast 3500 ft
(Above Ground Level)

It sounds to me as though the 'little black freezing cloud' over Al Gore's head was summoned by the Devil if that is your pleasure.

If it's Al Gore, it's cold (click here)
By Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin
POSTED January 27, 2009 1:56 PM
Stormbringer
Former Vice President Al Gore is set to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this morning on global climate change. Which means, of course, that it's been cold and snowing here. More of the same (freezing rain, actually) is expected while he speaks. Today's high temperature is forecast at 36 degrees, and a Winter Weather Advisory is in effect until noon.
This always seems to happen to the global warming crusader. Last October, freezing temperatures followed Gore to Boston, as he gave a speech at Harvard.
In November 2006, Gore flew to Australia. Cold and snow came with him, despite that the country was nearing its summer months.
In January 2004, a Gore speech in New York was marked by a low temperature that day of 7 degrees.
In fact, climate-change skeptics and other thorns in Gore's side have dubbed the coincidental phenomenon "The Gore Effect."
Sam Kazman, general counsel with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, says it "proves that God has a really good sense of humor."
Ditto Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, who often does battle with Gore: "The ‘Gore Effect’ proves Mother Nature has a sense of humor; she seems to enjoy mocking global warming fear promoters.”

January 26, 2009, 3:08 PM
Clinton Names Special Envoy For Climate Change (click here)

On the day that President Obama took steps to change U.S. energy policy, his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, named a special envoy for climate change.

"American leadership is essential to meeting the challenges of the 21st century, and chief among those is the complex, urgent and global threat of climate change," Clinton said at a State Department ceremony, according to the Associated Press.

The special envoy is Todd Stern, who was a key negotiator for the U.S. over the Kyoto Protocol during Bill Clinton's administration. Clinton said his appointment sends "an unequivocal message that the United States will be energetic, focused, strategic and serious about addressing global climate change and the corollary issue of clean energy."

The Bush administration abandoned the Kyoto Protocol, an international effort to curb emissions, arguing that it favored other nations. There are now international efforts to draft a successor to that agreement.

"The time for denial, delay and dispute is over," Stern said, according to the AP. "The time for the United States to take up its rightful place at the negotiating table is here."

I happen to think the BBC is correct !

Protesters demonstrate in London on Saturday against the BBC (AFP photo)

Gaza is NOT an autonomous 'Nation,' but, every sympathizer on the planet seems to think any aid to that region of Palestine should be treated as if it had its own sovereignty.

It doesn't.

To continue to supply Gaza with 'aid' that is not handled and distributed in accordance with 'joint' concerns of both Palestine and Israel is a threat to the security of the children of Gaza. The children of Gaza should be secured from being human shields and child soldiers and that won't occur as long as Hamas is in control of their futures. The circumstances are loaded with potential to 'end their suffering' if handled correctly and turning 'rescue' efforts over to NOG's is NOT in the best interest of the 'security' of the entire region.

I thought Saudi Arab was involved in all this anyway. If Saudi Arabia is a 'partner' in Gaza, they need to come forward with a plan to secure the children there and incorporate it into the plans Palestine has for its people and the agreement with Israel for security of the region.

UK lawmakers pressure BBC over Gaza appeal (click here)
By GREGORY KATZ – 1 hour ago
LONDON (AP) — Emotional criticism of the British Broadcasting Corp. over its refusal to air a charity appeal for the people of Gaza intensified Tuesday as more legislators demanded the BBC change course.
More than 110 British lawmakers have endorsed motions criticizing the BBC's decision to keep the Gaza appeal off the air, said legislator Richard Burden....

Fatah, Hamas disagree on border reopening (click here)

Mona Salem I

Arab News

CAIRO: Hamas rivals Fatah called yesterday for the forming of a national unity government acceptable to the international community before Gaza’s crossings open, a position in apparent conflict with that of Hamas.

“We want a government of national unity which will supervise reconstruction and crossing points so the crossing points are completely open, so that we can bring in products necessary for reconstruction,” Azzam Al-Ahmed, who heads Fatah’s parliamentary group, told journalists....

End of Discussion.

Fatah is not getting cooperation from Hamas to save THEIR own children.

Financial Institutions in disarray, how much of Timothy Geithner is "Old World?"

The astounding reality of the Obama Presidency is that 'he gets it.' He knows that all the factories that once manufactured 'made in the USA' were vital to the tax base of the country. Barak knows that returning jobs to Americans is more than important to 'making money' it is a matter of supporting a tax base that provides for National Security.

One of the stark realities to the American Landscape is the loss of 'small town' manufacturing jobs. The ONE prime example is the loss of American made pottery, dinnerware, etc. There are dearly few manufacturing companies for something as simple and elegant as dinnerware left in the USA and below is a husband and wife success story.

What is occurring instead, and in the case of Pfaltzgraff, everything is NOW made in China. Over the years there was a 'segment' of their manufacturing that always 'outsourced' but there was always those items consistently "Made in the USA." I don't know about anyone else, but, even when American 'distributors' demand a 'certain' quality of product to sell to the American public, imports are far less desirable and in the instance of pottery can contain lead and glazings that are unsafe.

When American products are met with government standards that are enforced as well as legisltated, we have products of longevity and safety. Today, the Pfaltzgraff stamped with "Made in the USA" is an heirloom item and should be considered valuable beyond its' 'Yard Sale' price.

It is up to us, the people of this country to look beyond the 'discount' way of life we have been living and strive to return manufacturing to our towns and cities. American made pottery is only one example. We should be asking ourselves, "How much of what we purchase actually is "Made in the USA?"


In 2003, husband and wife team, Robin Petravic and Catherine Bailey purchased Heath Ceramics. Their shared mission was to revitalize the company by placing a strong emphasis on design, while preserving Edith Heath’s handcrafted techniques and design legacy. Today, classic designs, as well as new ones are made with the highest level of craftsmanship - ensuring the lasting quality and aesthetic of each of our products. (click here)


THE PFALTZGRAFF FLEMINGTON OUTLET RETAIL STORE ~ NOW CLOSED

How important is Wall Street? In actuality, not very. It is why I truly didn't care if there was a recovery at that level or not. Wall Street is about 'sameness' and maintaining the status quo to insure profits and income, not about 'change.'

The 'real economy' of the USA lies in its ability to collect taxes. Those taxes can be corporate taxes, which when and if increased won't hurt any recovery.

Why?

Because the reduction in their tax burden received for so long under Bush/Cheney was disproportionate to the responsibility they hold to the people of the USA. Under Bush; as noted with 'the extreme' Halliburton; companies' tax burdens were cut to the bone while 'supplemented' with all kinds of 'imagineering' to supposedly support R&D and expansion of an economy.

The opposite was true. Besides being willing to 'con' the American people at the pleasure of their wrongfully elected President, Halliburton did nothing to improve the American economy and now their headquarters are in Dubai. Quite frankly, good riddens.

Halliburton agrees to pay $560 million in KBR bribery case (click here)
By BRETT CLANTONCopyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Jan. 26, 2009, 11:53PM
Nearly two years after cutting ties with KBR, Halliburton Co. said Monday it has one more big bill to pay before it is free and clear of its former subsidiary.
The oil field services giant said it has agreed to shell out nearly $560 million to settle federal bribery allegations against KBR, making it the second-biggest Foreign Corrupt Practices Act settlement deal ever.
Though the deal still faces final approval by the Justice Department, Halliburton said it had already set aside more than $300 million to deal with the matter, a cost that proved to be a drag on its fourth-quarter profit, which the company also reported Monday....

In the coroporate world, the less of a tax burden the companies carried the easier it is for any CEO to satisfy stockholders and the profit margins were far more reliable. When corporations have to carry their full responsibility including paying taxes to the USA Treasury they will expand their business, employ more people and produce more product.


So much for Bush/Reagan economics. The question is how much of the Geithner Treasury will reflect 'Wall Street' indulgences rather than "Main Street" bolstering? I firmly believe that when the manufacturing sector of the USA is 'on track' Wall Street takes care of itself. There is no reason to fixate on corporations IF we as Americans support local economies where we work. Keeping automakers in business is an important sector for the USA, in my opinion the auto manufacturing sector is as much a Homeland Security issue as passenger inspections to airlines. The sector has served the county well when war machines need a 'quick start-up.'

The kiss of death as Iceland loses confidence in it's government.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (R) kisses Iceland's Prime Minister Geir Haarde after a signing ceremony at the State Department in Washington October 11, 2006. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES) - (click here)

The Bush Years have been extremely difficult on Iceland. It met the USA demands for alliance help in Iraq by sending some of its military to support the USA troops, but, that alliance was completely disasterous to its economy. During the years Iceland was affilitated with its support in Iraq, the USA cut major spending on foreign bases in Iceland. Some of that was due to the fact that 'Star Wars' was to have a trangulation component in Iceland and the small country simply didn't want to be 'in the way' of profound retaliation by Russia and potentially China in alliance with Russia.

continued...

Iceland holds breath on fate of government (click here)
By Alex on Jan 26, 2009

A series of meetings is taking place today between the government coalition parties of Iceland, between the party leaders and internal party meetings.
Iceland’s political future is not yet known, but all sides appear committed to coming to a firm decision today.
Options include continuing as things are until the election on 9th May, or continuing the current coalition with a significant reshuffle (possibly including a Social Democrat Prime Minister instead of the current Independence Party one). Other options are a Social Democrat/Left Green/Progressive Party coalition, or a Social Democrat/Left Green Party minority government coalition.
IceNews will keep you updated as new details emerge

A few days ago this report came out of Iceland that protestors were overtaking their government. That, by the way is not a difficult task. Icelanders are usually extreme pacificists and seek domestic peace and tranquility amoung its' thermo-energy dynamics. When Icelanders turn their plows into swords (euphemistically speaking) then there is something drasticly "W"rong in the world. They accepted 'their place' when it came to Iraq, but, when the entire Icelandic banking infrastructure was degraded and food was hard pressed to be found on the table, that was the 'last straw.'

continued below, thank you:

Iceland: Rioters Attack Parliament (click here)

author: None Of Your ConcernJan 22, 2009 17:05
"But we did it peacefully!", the jubilant disciple screams at the nihilist. "What did you do peacefully?" the nihilist asks. "We changed everything." "Please," the nihilist says. "What did you change?" "Everything" "Everything?" "Everything." The ice fell into the ocean. No one had any money.
While Americans were watching the historic inauguration of Barack Obama as successor to the deeply unpopular conservative George W. Bush, thousands of Iceland's citizens were fighting riot police around the Icelandic parliament building Althingi to try to prevent the world's oldest parliament from meeting. "We are calling on the world to help us get rid of this corrupt government," Sturla Jonsson, one of protesters said in a midnight phone call from downtown Reykjavik where a crowd of about 2,000 still surrounded the Althingi House, in front of which a bonfire continued to burn. The protesters pounded drums and other instruments, shouted slogans against the government and parliament and threw eggs and food items, even old shoes at the house of parliament. The protest was nowhere close to slowing down despite it being close to midnight. The parliament postponed meeting until tomorrow afternoon, but protesters, whom police fought all day with teargas, pepperspray, and clubs, vowed to stay downtown all night, "and as long as we have to" Jonsson said. "And I want to tell you that the people gathered here are not "activists" or "militants," he added, "they are just ordinary adults of all ages." One year ago, Iceland was named the most desirable country in the world. Today, its economy has been devastated by the catastrophic collapse of its three largest banks. Unemployment rose 45% between November and December, and a recent survey indicated that 40% of households and 70% of businesses were technically bankrupt. Since the fall of the banks in October, there have been no resignations from the government, the boards of the now nationalized banks have remained substantially the same, and weekly gatherings calling for new elections have been ignored....

There was more 'steam' added to the outrage by the citizens of Iceland when they found Geir Haarde (click here), their former Prime Minister named as one of the 25 most responsible people contributing to the economic collapse of the Free World. Icelanders need some reassurance that their Prime Minister alone did not cause the collapse and more than anyone else in the global economy of The West, it was George W. Bush most responsible. Hopefully, the American outrage will continue in harmony with Iceland's and bring resolve under the new President of the USA.

I believe the 'profound' truth to the global economic crisis, now striking at the heart of the 'supply side' of the economics is that 'I TOLD YOU SO,' was sounded a full three years before any adverse consequences and it was ignored. The 'real question' is why was it ignored.

He told us so (click here)
They called him Dr Doom. He was the economist who three years ago predicted in detail a collapse of the housing market and worldwide recession - and was roundly ridiculed for it. Emma Brockes asks Nouriel Roubini what he foresees now...

The "Dr. Doom" report occurred before Hank Paulson from Goldman-Sachs took office as Treasury Secretary. In retaliation to the reports by Nouriel Roubini, Goldman-Sachs started a PR campaign that would later result in the resignation of Snow the USA Treasury Secretary and the confirmation of Hank Paulson. Paulson continued 'the denial' of obvious issues within the financial sector and road the USA economy to an all time high in the Dow of 14,000 (click here).

continued below...

...Goldman Sachs was angry with Roubini for making public statements about its poor financial health, and fought back through press statements accusing him of working from nothing more than gut instinct. (This was before the investment bank posted losses of $2.2bn.) Like the BBC's Robert Peston, he has been accused of making a bad situation worse by talking it up in public. Roubini finds this absurd. "If Ben Bernanke speaks, he can move markets, but this idea that the media is making a bigger fuss than there is [cause for] is silly. This is the worst financial crisis we've had since the Great Depression. It's going to be the worst recession the global economy has had for the last 50 years. If anything, the media were ignoring what was going on for too long. The idea that it's all driven by panic and by lack of confidence, in my view, is nonsense. If you are a consumer, think about the fundamentals: negative savings for the last couple of years, debt growth, falling home prices, losing 50% of your equity values, falling employment, everything else is going wrong for you. Of course consumer confidence is going down the tube, but is it because people are irrational? No. Your income is falling, you lose your home, you lose on the stock market. Debt, income, jobs, houses, wealth, all the things that affect welfare. If that's not bad, what's bad?"...

The entire manipulation of the 'all time high' (which wouldn't be seen again until the American people 're-harness' a manufacturing, energy and transportation sector) of the DOW was 'all steam' and no substance. It was 'blostered' on investor confidence and nothing else. It was easy to inflat egos to believe the potential was endless when investors simply continued to 'play the markets' for profit rather than 'invest' in markets for POTENTIAL.

See it goes like this and why it was easy for Nouriel Roubini to see the end coming. Markets are supposed to be places where investors can 'facilitate' expansion of 'sectors' by adding needed capital. When a company, as example Krispy Kreme, enters the market it is because it is a proven producer. So, when investors examine the prospectus of any future potential they may have many 'throughts' in mind when doing so, but the purpose of a company becoming a member of the DOW is to obtain investor capital and grow, hence returning 'dividends' to those investors. The 'dividends' are SUPPOSED to be the 'confidence' the investors seek.

The problem is that there is this 'air' that exists called 'speculation' and it can be manipulated to some extent by people who purport to 'know what is best' for investors and make market decisions for them. What Goldman-Sachs did and continues to do is supply 'air' to that speculation and when Nouriel Roubini openly stated there was a limit to any market strategy and that the current trend in 2005 was dangerous, Goldman-Sachs went ballistic and started their own campaign to 'divert' the 'truth and reality' of deception to investor profiles.

In my opinion, Goldman-Sachs was always a marginal company and should have been one of the first to be destroyed by greed and 'bad ideas.' That isn't what happened, instead, they sacrificed their CEO (A rather drastic move, wouldn't you say?) to the Bush Administration which had a HUGE 'interest' in the denial of Nouriel Roubini TRUTH. You getting the picture?

At the time when Nouriel Roubini stated the markets were headed for a huge downturn instead of harnessing 'the truth' and 'stemming' any collapse, Walker Bush decided on a Champion that would 'rocket' the markets and make a liar of Nouriel Roubini. Both Bush and Goldman-Sachs had huge interest in 'making' Nouriel Roubini to be a liar. No different than denying Human Induced Global Warming. THERE was what exactly at the center of 'the market collapse?' Come on. Based on this premise what was at the 'center' of the market collapse and why it happened?

Right. Politics and the Republican agenda for greed. Nothing else. The Republicans didn't care about the country and took all the information before them and DECIDED to 'sacrifice' the lamb rather than herding the flock. They figured if there was dire consequences on the horizon for the markets it would mean their political downfall as well. So, they slaughtered the fatted calf and decided 'if they were going to lose' THAN everyone else would as well.

The collapse of the Free World Capital Markets was due to politics NOT good government. Just that simple. Bush and Paulson 'gambled' they would win. They took speculation to the level of the USA Treasury and lost it all. The world has no other people to blame because Goldman-Sachs has been providing the necessary propaganda the entire time.

I do honestly believe most other government leaders are somewhat 'innocent' in the charges by others and while everyone can attempt to 'find the ROOT cause' of the collapse; or as Bush would say 'recession' that Iceland along with other small countires is a PROFOUND Depression; the ULTIMATE responsibility is The Republican Politica Agenda and its lack of loyalty to 'the truth' and 'good government.' The USA Republican Party runs on rhetoric and when that is tarnished by 'bad faith' in their 'philosophy/fiscal religion' than they lose elections. When investors in the USA 'get hungry' for money they turn on 'good government' and opt for people like Reagan to be elected to deregulate and exploit the USA for purposes of greed.

The USA has to 'establish' an 'honest' economy and stabilize it in the global market place so that morons that come from the RNC no longer can 'outsource' everything Americans work hard to build.