To Russian with Love - The USA and Russia are off to a good start to reduce nuclear stores. An example the world should emulate.

If NATO ever found the backbone to live with the truth, Russia would be more an ally, but, Europe is afraid of Russia. When will they 'get over it?' They saved Europe from Hitler and that still isn't enough.


South Ossetian man holds his dead son.

...The President of South Ossetia, Eduard Kokoity, click here) was quoted as saying about 1,400 people had been killed as a result of "Georgian aggression".
"About 1,400 died, we will check these figures, but the order of the numbers is around this. We have this on the basis of reports from relatives," he told Russia's Interfax news agency.
The crisis, the first to confront the Russian President since he took office in May, has flared in a region emerging as a key energy transit route, and where Russia and the West are vying for influence.

　
I disagree with President Obama on his position regarding Georgian sovereignty to reclaim the territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. His position reflects that of NATO and it does not uphold the integrity of Human Rights.

President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin should bring their evidence before the United Nations to secure the independence of these two former Georgian provinces.

Basically, due to the dependency on Russian gas and the fear that Russia would go futher into Georgia, NATO has decided to make Russia 'the bad guy.' It is NOT and neither are the Russian soldiers that acted as peacekeepers or the Russian people.

Over 1000 people dead in South Ossetia at the hand of a maniac and ego inflated Georgian President. Those people had no way of attacking the Georgian authority or protect themselves. They were helpless and they were slaughtered !

...Georgia can win only if it is backed by the United States and its other allies. And even with such support, its victory will mean heavy losses, and entail lengthy guerilla warfare. (click here)


President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed documents on nuclear-arms reduction before their joint news conference at the Kremlin in Moscow Monday.
Jim Young/Reuters

US, Russia deal would cut nukes to post-cold-war lows (click here)
Obama and Russian President Medvedev on Monday outlined reductions in strategic warheads and launch vehicles.
By Howard LaFranchi

Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the July 6, 2009 edition

Washington - President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev committed Monday to reaching a new nuclear-arms reduction agreement that would set both strategic warheads and warhead delivery vehicles, such as missiles, at post-cold-war lows.
Yet despite the upbeat tone at the first of two days of summit talks in Moscow, the two leaders offered few specifics on how the looming stumbling blocks to a new era of cooperation will be overcome. Those issues include American plans for a missile-defense system in Eastern Europe and US-supported expansion of NATO to Ukraine and Georgia....


Russian countryside.

...Pledging to reverse a "sense of drift" (click title to entry - thank you) in Washington's relations with Moscow, the US president said he hoped a new nuclear arms reduction treaty to replace the Start-1 pact, which expires this December, would be ready by the end of the year. "We must lead by example and that is what we are doing here today," he said in Moscow....

A "sense of drift" is a nice way of saying the past administration and the Republican Party in DC didn't give a damn about starting a nuclear holocaust.

President Medvedev and President Obama should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. They are making history. Two young Presidents in the two Superpowers are signing an agreement to make the world safer AND to 'lead by example.' That is remarkable. Simply remarkable. Considering where the relationship between Russia and the USA existed before this NEW administration came into office in DC with a Democratic majority in the House and Senate, it is a remarkable accomplishment.

I thank them both, but, especially President Medvedev. He is showing trust toward the USA again. I can't thank him enough.

With this initiative there hangs in the balance a safe Middle East. Iran is still a wild card. There is no other way of putting it.

The USA stance today, according to Vice President Biden, is one that backs the Israeli policy regarding Iran. That has been the policy of the USA. I defy anyone to say differently. Israel has always maintained vigilance and always gave itself permission to defend their borders.

It is Iran that has openly declared Israel as an enemy by denying the Holocaust and chronically acting in Anti-Semetic tones. I have stated before there are limited choices with Iran as so many nations of the region hang in the balance. North Korea is slightly different in that both China and Russia disapprove of the North Korean nuclear program and maintain their own vigilance over an unpredictable nuclear nation.


Biden says Israel has the right to attack Iran (click here)
The U.S. wouldn't interfere with a sovereign nation's actions, he says, even as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says such an attack would be destabilizing.
Associated Press
July 6, 2009
Washington -- Vice President Joe Biden signaled that the Obama administration would not stand in the way if Israel chose to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, even as the top U.S. military officer said any attack on Iran would be destabilizing.Biden's remarks suggested a tougher U.S. stance against Iran's nuclear ambitions, but administration officials denied that. Instead, White House officials said, his televised remarks Sunday simply reflected the U.S. view that Israel had a right to defend itself and make its own decisions on national security.
In an interview on ABC's "This Week," Biden also said the U.S. offer to negotiate with Tehran on its nuclear program still stood. Some thought the administration's approach might change in light of the Iranian government's harsh crackdown on protesters after the June 12 presidential election. Opponents of the ruling authorities contend the vote was rigged in favor of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad....

The Arab News (Saudia Arabia)

Biden gives Israel OK for Iran attack (click here)
Associated Press
...The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it prefers to see Iran’s nuclear program stopped through diplomacy but has not ruled out a military strike. “If the Netanyahu government decides to take a course of action different than the one being pursued now, that is their sovereign right to do that. That is not our choice,” Biden said....

The Jordan Times

The way out (click here)
Political tension is escalating in Iran by the day, with conservative followers of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad trading accusations and blame for the current state of affairs in the country with reformers, headed by the defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.
Some of these charges reached a new pitch when a pro-Khamenei newspaper accused Mousavi of being a US agent responsible for the crimes committed during demonstrations against the results of the presidential elections, viewed by many as fraudulent, rigged in favour of the incumbent Iranian president.
Such charges will do the country no good. If the crackdown on the reformists might temporarily silence them, the political wounds will still fester and deepen unless the two sides find a formula to reconcile.
Many Iranians feel that the recent elections robbed them of a victory; they cannot be silenced by the force of guns, arbitrary arrests or intimidation....


Jordan free of swine flu for now, but remains vigilant (click here)
By Khetam Malkawi
AMMAN - The last patient previously diagnosed with H1N1 (swine) influenza was discharged from hospital on Monday after fully recovering, with no new cases reported, Health Ministry officials announced yesterday....

The Gulf News (United Arab Emerits)

...The Saudi official was commenting on press reports (click here) claiming the Israeli intelligence service had assured Premier Benjamin Netanyahu that Riyadh would turn a blind eye to Israeli jets flying over the kingdom during ay future raid on Iran.
Israel has also denied these reports.
Moreover, Kuwait parliament speaker Jaseem Al Khorafi said his country would never allow Israeli planes to use its airspace.
"I am surprised at such a question that comes as if it were an accomplished fact," Khorafi was quoted as saying by Kuwait official news agency (KUNA). "Has the Israeli press become a source from which we may get information?" he added.
Biden, in what was described as a giving Israel a green light to eliminate the Iranian's "nuclear threat" by military force, said in an interview with ABC television on Sunday that the US "cannot dictate to another sovereign nation what they can and cannot do."
However, US military commanders gave different positions.
Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, warned that any strike against Iran would be "unintended consequences" and would be "very destabilising".
Meanwhile, press reports noted that Israel, in a major shift of policy, sent one of its three Dolphin-class submarines through the Suez Canal to the Red Sea.
Israeli defence officials described the naval drill as a show of strategic reach in the face of Iran....

Haaretz (Israel)

Last update - 09:07 05/07/2009
U.S., Saudis push Syria over IDF withdrawal from Shaba Farms (click here)
By Zvi Bar'el
Saudi Arabia and the United States are pressing Syria to demarcate its border with Lebanon, in order to allow for the beginning of an Israeli withdrawal from the disputed Shaba Farms area, straddling the border between Lebanon and the Golan Heights.
These moves come amid warming relations between Damascus and Washington. This past weekend Syrian President Bashar Assad issued an unofficial invitation to his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama to visit the Syrian capital.
Marking the Syrian-Lebanese border would neutralize the Israeli claim that Shaba Farms was previously Syrian territory, and that a withdrawal must be carried out only in the course of negotiations with Damascus. The United Nations also defines the area as Syrian territory, and did not call on Israel to pull back from it during its 2000 withdrawal from southern Lebanon....

Jerusalem Post

Jul 7, 2009 16:52

Updated Jul 7, 2009 19:30
'The problem is that there's no real Israeli partner for peace'

By AP AND JPOST.COM

Syrian President Bashar Assad said Tuesday that there is no "real partner" in Israel to make peace, stressing that a halt to settlements is essential in order to restart peace talks.
Syria has said it is willing to resume indirect peace talks mediated by Turkey as long as they focus on a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights.
But Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said he is not willing to cede the territory.
"What Syria is proposing for peace is not conditions but rather they are rights that cannot be negotiated or abandoned," Syria's official news agency SANA quoted Assad as saying. "The problem is that there is no real Israeli partner to make peace." ...

continued (see below)...

...continued...

Netanyahu demands peace for peace.

Israel PM calls for demilitarized Palestinian state (click here)

updated 4:43 p.m. EDT, Sun June 14, 2009

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel could accept a peace agreement with a "demilitarized Palestinian state" as its neighbor....

The Daily Star (Lebanon)

The editorial below clearly indicates Israel's Netanyahu is a brilliant strategic diplomat. What Abdel Monem is articulating could be called, "Gaming the Diplomacy." There is no reason to 'play one's hand' to the end ahead of deciding on the shape of the table. If Israel does not put all it's cards on the table, it doesn't know exactly what the possiblities are when the final agreement is reached. It is important the Palestinians do exactly the same thing. One of the huge hurdles of the Middle East process, eliminating the chronic religious based violence, is there is 'cultural' covert measures that play out AFTER agreements are reached. That has to end. What Israel's Netanyahu has done is brilliant. He is placing ALL the exponential factors exactly in transparency of the 'process.' It is 'best' for the outcome and will derive a 'true peace' rather than a 'settled upon agreement.' In other words, "Let the diplomatic games begin." This time. Let's 'get it right.'

The Arabs' blanket rejection of Netanyahu's speech is short-sighted (click title to entry - thank you)
By Abdel Monem Said Commentary by Tuesday, July 07, 2009
...The Netanyahu speech, in turn, triggered two general responses. Whereas the United States and the European Union welcomed the speech, the Arabs rejected it, with some Arab media insisting it had effectively sounded a death knell for the negotiating process....
...Having correctly gauged the global temperature, Netanyahu, chose not to openly buck the tide. Instead, he hit upon a formula that sounded conciliatory but, in fact, was calculated to dismantle any Arab-Western-global consensus, minimize Israeli losses and buy time.
Netanyahu's speech was designed to send out mixed signals....
...Such a strategic handling of the Netanyahu speech is far removed from blanket rejection, which serves only to hand Europe and Washington to Israel on a silver platter. Through such a rational strategy of engagement we can build momentum to support the Palestinian cause. Above all, we must remain on guard against behaving in the way Netanyahu is banking on.

Iran's Assembly of Experts has power to remove Ayatollah Khamenei (click here)
By Gareth Smyth
Tuesday, July 07, 2009


(Ahmadinejad's qualifications for President was being mayor of Tehran. Popular within a large city in Iran with significant number of votes. Do I see a 'rut' here? Yep.)


...By November 2005, just three months after Ahmadinejad took office, Rafsanjani used his sermon at Tehran Friday prayers to rebuke the president for damaging "national unity." This came two days after Khamenei had defended Ahmadinejad's government and called for it to be given more time.
"Our society has been divided into two poles and some are behaving aggressively," said Rafsanjani, who criticized "a current trying to remove and isolate invaluable individuals and efficient managers" and attacked the president for "vague pictures" in his proclaimed fight against corruption.
Rafsanjani soon joined Mohammad Khatami, the former reformist president, and Mehdi Karrubi, the former parliamentary speaker, in coordinating a "coalition of the concerned" against Ahmadinejad.
This group came together in alarm at the president's foreign policy pronouncements, which they felt imperilled Iran's position, and in concern at the harm inflicted by Ahmadinejad's reflationary economics....
...But a notion as malleable as "adequate capacity for leadership" could now work against Ayatollah Khamenei.
From the arguments over the conduct of the election used by Rafsanjani, as well as by reformist figures like defeated candidate Mir-Hossein Musavi, it is easy to see potential constitutional grounds for a challenge to Khamenei within the Assembly of Experts.
It would be a huge step for the clerics who make up the Assembly, and indeed a huge step for Iran.
Gareth Smyth, a former opinion editor of The Daily Star, was chief Iran correspondent of the Financial Times, 2003-7. This article was contributed to The Daily Star law page.

A legal manifesto for Iran's Green RevolutionIranians deserve support of democrats, activists (click here)

By Chibli Mallat

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

1. Violent deaths v. non-violent demonstrations. By end of the first week, between 20 and 40 people had been killed, and many more wounded. Responsibility for keeping order lies first and foremost with the government, headed by the president under the watch of the supreme leader (rahbar), Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The deaths mark a grave failure of the system. Under Article 27 of the Iranian Constitution, corresponding to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent covenants, "public gatherings and marches may be freely held, provided arms are not carried and that they are not detrimental to the fundamental principles of Islam."...

...2. Election results and arbitration. When people in large numbers descend onto the streets with the support of two major candidates to question election results, their concerns cannot be brushed aside. Iranians need to get to the bottom of what happened.
So far, the arguments are hazy and cancel each other out. Two theses stand opposed. The Leader has asked the Council of Guardians (CG) to carry out its constitutional mandate under Article 99 of the Constitution to investigate if the elections were valid. But in his speech last Friday, Khamenei said that a victory of 11 million votes could not have been rigged. In fact, both he and two presidential candidates doubted that the CG could change the results: Khamenei on the grounds that the winner's majority was so large, Musavi and Mehdi Karrubi, because of their lack of trust in the CG. Ironically, they were both right....

...3. The Iranian constitutional system. The outcome of the tenth presidential election suggests that central traits of the Iranian Constitution should be re-examined. For a republic where citizens choose their leader, the Iranian Constitution fails two major tests.
The first is the Council of Guardians itself, which regularly vetoes presidential candidates (Art.110.9). In the current elections, over 450 Iranians presented their candidacy, and the Council rejected all but four. This is unsustainable in any democracy and the practice should be removed from the Constitution....

Restoring the full rule of law to America: indemnify torture victims (click here)

By Owen Fiss

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

One 'thing' to remember. The USA just concluded eight years of incompetency in the Executive Branch with an endorsing Republican majority in the legislature for six of those years due to the 'cultural' issues beset to the Amercian electorate post September 11, 2001.

What does that mean?

It means, example Alito and Roberts and realize that the judicial system of the country has been 'contaminated' with incompetency and those that focus on 'wealth' and 'ideologies' that secure their so called wealth through assignments by the then Executive Branch. That 'contamination' will exist for some time and it seems as though when it comes to 'Constitutional Rights' and the issue of ? terrorists ? the judiciary is scared to move in favor of 'rights' verses 'containment.'

The only reason I refer to this 'formality' of discourse is that to rely on the USA Judiciary as an example to freedom and personal liberties as well as personal rights is not necessaroly the best reference to those subjects. Each review of any judicial proceeding from here on needs to be reviewed in the particulars of the Justice themselves. With a Supreme Court weighted to the 'right' as the current Robert's Court (You know the guy, the one that couldn't get the oath of office right.) is; one has to examine closely the Minority Opinion in heavy scrutiny of the Majority opinion. The same holds true for the lower courts. The judiciary has to be under scrutiny until it is relieved of the contamination of incompetency under Bush/Cheney.

The 'right' leaning of the American Judiciary post Bush is consistent in denying Civil Rights and granting Fiscal Exploitation of 'The American System of Living' which includes impeding Civil Rights to contain 'difference' and Civil Liberties that would provide 'fiscal management' of 'HUMAN RESOURCES.'

Such Civil Liberties have consistently been impeded to benefit 'fiscal' consideration in the area of Environmental Statues. This past year in the Robert's Courts, environmental statues were ruled AGAINST regardless of the 'spirit' that was intended by the American Legislature.

That said, it is up to the current Democratic Majority to focus on Legislative measures that return rights to Americans in the face of a hostile Supreme Court based in 'Right Wing Ideologies.' ESPECIALLY. In the face of the Global Economic Crisis. The Robert's Court will act in 'knee jerk' reactions as did Bernanke when he opened up a full $1 Trillion US from the Federal Reserve with the excuse, "I wanted to be sure they had all the instruments they needed for ANY recovery." Bernanke opened up 'advantage' to the very idiots that sunk the economy in the first place; The Robert's Court does the exact same thing. The Robert's Court which likes to send cases back to the lower courts (as a punitive measure) will consistently seek NOT 'legal' remedies, but, 'fiscal ideological' ones.

Hence, and therefore, the struggle to return the USA to its best luster does not end with the courts, but, with the legislature and the striving of the American people to return their country to its 'resolves.' Those resolves are solidly reflected in the persistent 'tone' of the NEW President Barak Obama who seeks to build 'Coalitions' of people seeking peace and NOT war.

...A special test of these promises is now pending before the Second Circuit which sits in New York. It involves Canadian citizen Maher Arar, who was taken into custody by US officials at JFK airport in September 2002, and then transferred to Syria for interrogation under conditions of torture. At issue is the legality of the practice known as extraordinary rendition, the transportation of individuals suspected of terrorist activity to foreign countries for interrogation, sometimes torture. After a panel of three judges refused to reach the merits of Arar's claim, 12 judges of the Second Circuit, sitting en banc, reheard the case. They are expected to rule soon.
In this suit, Arar asked for monetary damages and a declaratory judgment that the law had been broken. On the first claim, the three-judge panel ruled that it did not have congressional authorization to give damages. Such a ruling seems odd in the extreme. It is not clear why Congress, a political body, must give the judiciary authorization before allowing damages for the violation of a constitutional right....

...Obama has disavowed many of the policies of the Bush administration and assured the nation there will be not torture on his watch. Yet a willingness to speak only to the future is not sufficient. Not only must the new administration establish policies that preclude torture in the future; it must also account for the wrongs of the past. It must prosecute those who engaged in practices clearly understood to be torture and provide civil remedies to those who were in fact tortured....

Here's how Europe can help in closing down Guantanamo (click here)
By Gilles De Kerchove Commentary by Tuesday, July 07, 2009
...We share Obama's assessment that "Guantanamo became a symbol that helped Al-Qaeda recruit terrorists to its cause. Indeed, the existence of Guantanamo likely created more terrorists around the world than it ever detained." We in the European Union believe that it is our common interest with Washington to prevent radicalization and recruitment to terrorism throughout the world....
... More generally, we agree with Obama that "in the long run we ... cannot keep ... safe unless we enlist the power of our most fundamental values," and that "we uphold our most cherished values not only because doing so is right, but because it strengthens [us] and keeps us safe." The experience of European democracies confronted with a long-term terrorist threat shows that human rights and the rule of law are our strongest assets. That is why terrorists want to destroy them.
The closure of Guantanamo must be accompanied by a fundamental review of the underlying policies that gave rise to its existence. Obama's decisions to ban "enhanced interrogation" techniques and end secret detention are important steps in the right direction.
But more steps are needed....

With Al-Jazeera's American challenge comes responsibility (click here)
By Mohamed Elmenshawy Commentary by Monday, July 06, 2009
...As the president said, he seeks a fresh relationship, one "based upon mutual interest and mutual respect" and "upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition." The new Obama administration has taken the lead seeking to advance cooperation and understanding. In order to promote constructive dialogue along similar lines, Al-Jazeera must follow suit.
Al-Jazeera's coverage of the United States has yet to offer viewers a complete picture of American society. Since September 11, 2001, interest in America has risen noticeably in the Arab world. Few Arab media outlets, however, have satisfied this growing demand. Everyone reports on America the "superpower," but few report on America as the complex, diverse and democratic society that it is. Al-Jazeera's coverage of the United States and its policies has tended to reflect a limited understanding of the country's inner workings or its history. This has created a skewed image of America in the Arab world - one which must be adjusted....
...It might be useful, here, to recall the former Israeli prime minister, Menachem Begin's positions regarding Israeli settlements, airports and land in the Sinai and then to recall that the Sinai was subsequently returned in full to Egypt. It is also useful to bear in mind that many Third World countries, upon reaching independence, started under conditions of less than full sovereignty which was eventually acquired as circumstances changed....

Anything short of a completely Lebanese Cabinet is not sovereign.

Riyadh urges independent Lebanese cabinet formation (click here)
By Elias Sakr Daily Star staff
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
..."Saudi officials called on Lebanese politicians not to abandon to foreign forces their right to form a government," a March 14 source said.
Commenting on media reports that implied the cabinet formation process was stalled until a Syrian-Saudi rapprochement could be reached, the source stressed that the formation course was "a strictly Lebanese domestic affair."...

Okay, where is this guy. Cherokee County ain't that big.

They may have found him? Gaston County, North Carolina? Close enough. We'll see what his profile is.


Cherokee County is located in the Upstate of South Carolina. The County sits in a prime location just off I-85 between Charlotte, North Carolina and Greenville/ Spartanburg, South Carolina, two of the nation's fastest growing metropolitan areas. (click here)

He is believed to be about 200 pounds. Coroner, we are receiving reports from coroners. That has to be a first. If anyone is hiding him or protecting him, they need to be a part of the 'Wanted Poster,' too.

Police released this sketch of a suspected serial killer who they believe is responsible for four deaths in South Carolina. They describe him as a white male with salt and pepper hair who is about 6 feet 2 inches, approximately 250 pounds. The suspect's vehicle is a 1991 to1994 Ford Explorer Sport: a two-door SUV with faded paint that is gray or champagne in color. (Cherokee County Sheriff's Office)

Coroner: Teen 5th Killed by Apparent Serial Killer (click title to entry - thank you)
Coroner: Teenage girl shot in father's store becomes 5th slain by suspected SC serial killer

By MITCH WEISS Associated Press Writer

GAFFNEY, S.C. July 4, 2009 (AP)

According to this report, it would seem at least three of the victims were conducting business in private enterprises at the time of their death, so it is my guess the killer is looking for cash money or anything that can be 'fluid.' He doesn't regard life at any age important. He made up his mind the world dealt him a bad hand and he doesn't care what it takes to get by. Might want to check unemployment roles in the Cherokee County area for someone who was just dropped from the benefit or receiving benefits that meet this description. He seems to know who is running these businesses and when it is vulnerable to carry out his crime. It is my g.uess he is from the area as it seems common knowledge to him to assault these people

A teenage girl shot while helping her father in their family's small furniture and appliance store died Saturday, becoming the fifth victim of a suspected serial killer terrorizing a small South Carolina community, authorities said.
Abby Tyler, 15, died about 11:15 a.m. at a Spartanburg hospital after fighting for her life for two days, Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler said.
Tyler was wounded and her father was killed Thursday as they worked to close the Tyler Home Center near downtown Gaffney....

When did this killing spree start? I haven't been following it. These victims, one had a peach orchard (a private commercial enterprise). May have been selling products from the orchard and believed to have money around.

The 83 year old would have some cash assets. SSI and a daughter she lived with. There was probably money in the house. It is my guess, and why I asked as to when he started his killing spree, is that he started locally. With people vulnerable. Probably don't lock their doors and if they did, a 200+ pound man would be able to knock the door down. You know what? The South Carolina State Police and National Guard need to start patrolling these back roads. I wouldn't let it be known the area law enforcement was going to be beefed up either. The FBI needs to start door to door interviews. I don't buy it that even family members of this man didn't notice he was different or had more money in his pocket.

...An 83-year-old mother and her daughter were shot to death Wednesday, and a 63-year-old peach farmer was found dead at his home a week ago....

I don't believe this guy is crazy. I think he knows exactly what he is doing and thinking someone like the Green River Killer or that other guy, the Kansas Sherrif Killer, (Forget his name - they knew him by initals.) got away with it for a long time, too. Reports don't say anything about sexual attacks so much as simply killing. Even if sexual assaults occurred, that doesn't rule out robbery either.

...Blanton said all the victims were shot, but he would not say how the deaths were linked. The shootings all occurred within about 10 miles of each other in Cherokee County, a rural community of 54,000 people set amid peach orchards and farms some 50 miles west of Charlotte, N.C....

I don't think he's from Charlotte. He knows where the money is in the rural area. I still think he is a local. Probably a farmer himself. Is there any chance that killing local farmers would benefit another one? Land arguments? Losing a farm? Any chance this guy could have been a debtor to the commercial businesses in town?

Wheels down in Moscow. Tight security. Obama is here !!!!

Peace.

End the possiblity of nuclear detonation.

If the leaders of the USA and Russia cannot save the world from itself, then we are lost.


The First Family in Russia. Good news to follow.

RIA NOVOSTI
U.S. not to blame for global economic crisis - Obama (click title to entry - thank you)
15:16
06/07/2009
...He said the economic crisis resulted from "a culture of irresponsibility regarding financial matters" in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, and urged efforts to promote an era of responsibility.
"We're called upon to recognize that the free market is the most powerful generative force for our prosperity -- but it is not a free license to ignore the consequences of our actions," Obama said.
Commenting on the priority of his visit - to "reset" relations with Russia, Obama said he was guided by the pursuit of common interests....

Russia was the nation that ratified The Kyoto Protocol and made it a valid global priority.

Russia, U.S. can agree on arms cuts - Medvedev (click here)
15:47

06/07/2009

..."Our countries are encountering a variety of problems, including global security and strategic offensive weapons. I believe that we have every chance of taking important and necessary decisions," Dmitry Medvedev said at the opening of talks with U.S. President Barack Obama.
Medvedev expressed the hope that talks with Obama, who arrived in Moscow earlier in the day, would help to resolve a number of bilateral problems.
"We hope that as a result of today and tomorrow's work and full-scale bilateral talks we will resolve a number of difficult issues in the history of Russian-American relations and will turn a new page," the Russian president said....

Russians full of energy, certainly express their quality of life and freedom of speech far differently than decades past. A welcome change. We welcome the partnership of the Russian people in peace.

As long as we are near the melting Alaska...Bye, bye. Everyone say bye, bye to Sarah.

Imagine McCain winning the election. Then six months into the new administration the Vice President decides to resign. Okay, maybe 2 and a half years. She doesn't have what it takes, she never did. She won because she pledged to sell a jet. Alaska needs people that sincerely care about it, not people that exploit its 'hard core' Republican 'theme' to grab power and the wealth of oil.

And guess who is astounded? The man claimed by USA Today to be the lead Republican. Grassley. Grassley, is the new Republican leader? Well, he certainly knows how to get rid of bankers, I'll give him that much.

　

..."It's astounding," Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican said on CBS' Face the Nation. Grassley, whose state holds the crucial first contest of the presidential campaign, said he would welcome a Palin presidential candidacy but thought it might now be harder to launch....

　

Obama Gets Boost as Palin Departure Deepens Republican Disarray (click here)
By Julianna Goldman and Edwin Chen

...According to Gallup polling, just 34 percent of Americans view the party favorably. Even among Republicans, 38 percent have an unfavorable view of their party and almost half can’t name an individual who speaks for it. And those polls were conducted before Palin resigned and two other Republicans, Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Senator John Ensign of Nevada, acknowledged having extramarital affairs....

Local Time: 4:06 AM AKDT (GMT -08)

Lat/Lon: 58.8° N 137.0° W

Updated: 11 min 9 sec ago

Temperature :: 61 °F

Conditions :: Clear

Humidity :: 55%

Dew Point :: 45 °F

Wind :: 9 mph from the NW

Pressure :: 29.94 in (Rising)

Visibility :: 10.0 miles

UV :: 0 out of 16

Clouds :: Clear -
(Above Ground Level)

Elevation :: 33 ft


Arctic sea ice at second lowest level (click title to entry - thank you)
DAN JOLING
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Associated Press Last updated on Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2009 08:33PM EDT
Arctic Ocean sea ice has melted to the second lowest minimum since satellite observations began, according to scientists at the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center.
Sea ice melt recorded on Monday exceeded the low recorded in 2005, which had held second place.
With several weeks left in the melting season, ice in summer 2008 has a chance to go below last year's record low, the scientists at the University of Colorado said.
Environmental groups said the ice melt is another alarm bell warning of global warming.
“It's an unfortunate sign that climate change is coming rapidly to the Arctic and that we really need to address the issue of global warming on a national level,” said Christopher Krenz, Arctic project manager for Oceana....