"Family premiums are going up three time faster than inflation and wages..." (click title to entry - thank you)

This is not a pre-programmed announcement.

The media is getting too 'interpretive' of every word the President, his cabinet and staff say.

Never once in all the words I heard President Obama speak did I ever hear him say he did not favor a Public Option.

The media is chronically misinterpreting the President, primarily because it gives them something to talk about.

There is also the mistake that 'The President's Staff or Cabinet' speaks for him. I have never found that to be the case. Obama is as Obama does. Just that simple. I understand the way he contextualizes 'emphasis' to 'accent' a 'specific faux pas' by others somewhat focused on one aspect of a legislation or topic.

Okay.

...Obama insisted Sebelius had not misspoken, and asserted that "the press got a little excited and some folks on the left got excited" and had misinterpreted both her meaning and Obama's intentions. He insisted his position has not changed, that he supported a public option, but also that this option was only one part of a larger group of choices. Obama added that he and Sebelius agreed that "all these other insurance reforms are just as important as the public option."...

There is an interesting point to be made at page 149, lines 14-24.

SEC. 313. EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS IN LIEU OF COVERAGE.
IN GENERAK.—A contribution is made in accordance with this section with respect to an employee if such contribution is equal to an amount equal to 8 percent of the average wages paid by the employer during the period of enrollment (determined by taking into account all employees of the employer and in such manner as the Commissioner provides, including rules providing for the appropriate aggregation of related employers). Any such contribution—

There is a provision in the bill which would allow employers to contribute to the Health Choices Commission without opting for any insurance option. In other words, employers don't have to participate in any insurance, but, they would have to pay a penalty. The bill likes to call it a contribution, but, it isn't optional, so its a penalty. Those penalties would go directly into the trust fund and would not be used for paying for any insurance. A penalty is a penalty. Nothing else to say.

Page 150, line 8 begins "Special Rules for Small Employers"

This provision does the same thing except it adds increments to the size of the penalty depending on the annual payroll of the small employer. Of course any of these 'contributions/penalities' are to inspire businesses of any size to have health insurance for their employees, rather than having it fall to the government/public option. That's another thing, if the House Bill was interested in 'taking over' health insurance it would not penalize employers whom do not supply health insurance, it would simply tax them across the board depending on the number of employees and their annual salary payouts.

That is not what is occurring.

The bill obviously wants employers to have health insurance for their employees. It is the traditional method of accessing health care and usually results in fair prices for a group.

So the penalty/contribution for small businesses breaks down into annual salaries paid with 0% for employers that do not pay more than $250,000. The next increment is $250,000 to $300,000 which would be a 2% contribution. Then $300,000 to $350,000 with a contribution of 4% and finally $350,000 to $400,000 which asks for contribution of 6%.

The bill goes on to define more of the terms, state what a violation of this provision would be and the result, (no jail time, just fines/contributions), periodic investigations for non-compliance (assuming employees are making a complaint or feel compromised to complain for fear of losing their jobs), and the definition of what exactly is considered "health coverage participation requirements.' There are more definitions and provisions for full time vs part time employees, and the Secretary may formulate regulations to secure this part of the provision for the bill.

The primary penalty is stated to be a maximum of $100 per day from the day of the infraction to the day it is corrected. No penalty where it is obvious the employer was exerting due diligence to remedy the non-compliance and there is no penalty if the employer corrects the non-compliance within 30 days. This penalty will be assigned to a maximum of $500,000. Now, $100 per day may seem like nothing to some, but, for small employers $100 per day is considerable. There is even a provision that requires a coordination of any excise tax from the Income Tax Code, so there is no duplication of penalites. All penalties will of course be assigned to the USA Treasury. Won't that be something, huh? The USA Treasury is actually going to have an income other than that of Bernanke's printing press.

Then after all that non-compliance mess, there comes a provision on Page 160, beginning with line 1 through 14 that states:

SEC. 323. SATISFACTION OF HEALTH COVERAGE PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT.
IN GENERAL.—Part C of title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
SEC. 2793. NATIONAL HEALTH COVERAGE PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS.
ELECTION OF EMPLOYER TO BE SUBJECT TO NATIONAL HEALTH COVERAGE PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS.—
IN GENERAL.—An employer may make an election with the Secretary to be subject to the health coverage participation requirements.

This of course is the election by an employer to provide health insurance for their employees. That is after all what this bill is all about. This bill is not about ONLY creating a Public Option with yet to be known participating physicians, but, it is to 'cause' every employer to supply health insurance to their employees with shared costs. And it has to be good insurance that is 'reasonable' to the coverage it offers. The employers are not left to the vultures that would see them play pheonomenally high premiums. After all there is a percentage of the premiums paid by the employee, so the bill provides for a pool of health insurance options to choose from for employers, if they so need that.

Each plan will state within the policy purchased by the employer that it satisfies the requirements of the bill. So there. The employers don't have to guess that a particular policy will satisfy the requirements of the bill, any 'options' employers are seeking MUST state within the policy itself they meet standards. Then it just becomes a comparison of prices and increased options such as adding vision or dental, etc. Basically insurance purchasing 'made easy.'

There will be periodic investigations by the Secretary to garner an understanding of compliance within the community of employers participating in the health insurance to employees aspect of the bill. That investigation will result in a discovery as to the compliance somewhat of the employer, but, more the compliance of the insurance provider so long as the policy states it reflects all requirements by the new law. The liability for such non-compliance can't really be that of the employer, so long as the employer is acting in good faith, but, more the insurance companies that have not provided a product that meets government standards.

The bill provides for a 'mix' of health insurance policies to be purchased by the employer providing for Full Time and Less than Full Time employees.

I have a little problem with this provision. Page 162, lines 7 through 14.

TERMINATION OF ELECTION IN CASES OF SUBSTANTIAL NONCOMPLIANCE.—The Secretary may terminate the election of any employer under subsection (a) if the Secretary (in coordination with the Health Choices Commissioner) determines that such employer is in sub stantial noncompliance with the health coverage participation requirements and shall refer any such determination to the Secretary of the Treasury as appropriate.

The problem I have with that is on one hand the bill is stating any health insurance has to state as a 'certification' if you will that the policy is in compliance with the law. Yet, if upon investigation the employer can be designated as "Substantial Noncompliance" and automatically rendered to pay 'contributions/penalties.' Follow? If the health insurance company is certifying the product they are selling an employer meets federal standards, then it should be the insurance company that is brought on charges of fraud. Unless there was a specific policy written for an employer at the request of a company that bends the rules enough to be in somewhat compliance but not complete compliance, then it has to be the insurance company that is 'chargred.' And I do believe the charge has to be fraud with penalities of fines and potentially prison for those that are defrauding an employer. I am assuming the employer is acting in good faith to secure the 'proper' health insurance. I think that provision needs to be reworked to have the responsibilty fall on the insurance company and not the employers. That would assign the employer to 'contributions/penalities' for a time that might be unbearable to the employer.

The bill goes on to define penalties, however, it is still my point of view that once an insurance company that has certified their policy meets federal standards FAILS to achieve that standard, it is not the employer that is 'criminal' and subject to fines and prison, but, the insurance company and to take it a step further. When the insurance company is found to be selling a product that is out of compliance with the federal law, there are also civil remedies by the employees that were to be covered. In other words, the employer having acted in good faith, is not liable either criminally or civily, but, the insurance company that is both criminally and civilly liable to those that were to be covered according to federal law. Employees would have civil remedies to be paid for services they may have paid for out of pocket that were not theirs to pay.

The bill provides for multi-employer health insurance plans. Good idea. If employers with $500,000 in salaries paid annually can be in a pool with other employers of the same size or smaller or larger the base of support for the health insurance carrier widens and the premiums will be less.

Oh, there is also tax on individuals without 'acceptable health care coverage.' Page 167, lines 5 through 17:

TITLE IV—AMENDMENTS TO INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986
Subtitle A—Shared Responsibility

PART 1—INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY
SEC. 401. TAX ON INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT ACCEPTABLE HEALTH CARE COVERAGE.
IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new part:
‘‘PART VIII—HEALTH CARE RELATED TAXES

‘‘SUBPART A. TAX ON INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT ACCEPTABLE HEALTH CARE COVERAGE.
‘‘Subpart A—Tax on Individuals Without Acceptable Health Care Coverage
‘‘Sec. 59B. Tax on individuals without acceptable health care coverage.

That is kind of a big deal, because, there are going to be those folks that will state, "I don't want health insurance." The problem is will the Supreme Court actually hold them responsible for having such insurance, and it is my estimation they will. Why? Because, the people that are 'non-compliant' with their health insurance coverage put burdens on the rest of the citizens that seek to be law abiding with the intent of containing and even lowering health care costs to garner lower insurance costs. I believe, unless a citizen can provide proof of enough personal wealth whereby they can be exempt from having health insurance, the promise of a better health insurance premium to the nation will have more legal weight than someone who simply 'dumps' responsibility on society for their health care costs.

continued below...

continued from previous entry

Page 167, lines 18 through 23 and Page 168, lines 1 through 4:

‘‘SEC. 59B. TAX ON INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT ACCEPTABLE HEALTH CARE COVERAGE.
‘‘(a) TAX IMPOSED.—In the case of any individual who does not meet the requirements of subsection (d) at any time during the taxable year, there is hereby imposed a tax equal to 2.5 percent of the excess of—‘‘(1) the taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income for the taxable year, over ‘‘(2) the amount of gross income specified in section 6012(a)(1) with respect to the taxpayer. ...upto the extent said citizen would have paid a premium for health insurance or any portion thereof, if not insured for a fraction of the calender year.

I think that is fairly self explanatory.

This is interesting. Page 170, lines 1 through 3. Non-Resident Aliens are included in the bill therefore they will have no penalties as they will have no legislated benefits. Hello?

‘‘(2) NONRESIDENT ALIENS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to any individual who is a nonresident alien.

There are provisions for USA citizens living in USA possessions or outside the USA. They are treated as legal citizens and are provided for under this bill.

The religiously 'inclined' are not impressed to submit to this bill. Page 170, lines 19 though 25 and Page 170, lines 1 through 4. It includes the relief of responsibility for health insurance of their children as well. We all know there are times when children are taken into 'state custody' to provide health care and when that happens, it is the State that provides for the cost as well. So, this really isn't anything earth shaking, except, they are not pressed into civilian obligation where it intersects with religious belief. That religious affiliation has to be documentable to the Secretary.

‘‘(5) RELIGIOUS CONSCIENCE EXEMPTION.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to any individual (and any qualifying child residing with such individual) for any period if such individual has in effect an exemption which certifies that such individual is a member of a recognized religious sect or division thereof described in section 1402(g)(1) and an adherent of established tenets or teachings of such sect or division as described in such section.

The bill goes on redundantly stating the same definitions apply and provisions apply, yada, yada, yada. It does say on Page 175 there won't be actions taken against 'minimis lapses of time.' There are provisions for penalties if one fails to file their health care compliance on tax forms. More definitions and compliance issues including the allowance of different instruments for full time and less than full time employees. Reiteration of the same provisions and definitions just for this section of the bill. There is a fair amount of redundancy simply because it is stated for each provision of the bill. It has to be. It is a binding legal document that will impact people's lives, so it has to be clear.

There are provisions beginning on Page 188, line 19 for small businesses:

‘‘SEC. 45R. SMALL BUSINESS EMPLOYEE HEALTH COVERAGE CREDIT.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, in the case of a qualified small employer, the small business employee health coverage credit determined under this section for the taxable year is an amount equal to the applicable percentage of the qualified employee health coverage
expenses of such employer for such taxable year.

‘‘(b) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this section, the applicable percentage is 50 percent.
‘‘(2) PHASEOUT BASED ON AVERAGE COMPENSATION OF EMPLOYEES.—In the case of an employer whose average annual employee compensation for the taxable year exceeds $20,000, the percentage specified in paragraph (1) shall be reduced by a number of percentage points which bears the same ratio to 50 as such excess bears to $20,000.
‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.—
‘‘(1) PHASEOUT BASED ON EMPLOYER SIZE.—In the case of an employer who employs more than 10 qualified employees during the taxable year, the credit determined under subsection (a) shall be reduced by an amount which bears the same ratio to the amount of such credit (determined without regard to this paragraph and after the application ofthe other provisions of this section) as—

I believe what this section states, is there is a 50% credit for small businesses that employ few people of have a small payroll. These businesses can take a credit as much as 50% of the cost of the insurance. As an example, let's say an employer has 10 people he employs and the annual health care cost is $60,000 for his family and that of his employees. This policy has been purchased from a pool whereby there are many more employers subscribing to the same 'certified plan.' The employer would be able to take an additional $30,000 CREDIT for simply going through the trouble of insuring themselves and their employees. I am fairly sure that is how that reads. It's nice. Can't complain about that.

There would be an exception to that in an employee that was making a salary of $80,000 which places them above the $68,000 that would qualify them for compensated care; cannot be taken as a credit to the employer as the individual can provide for their own health insurance at that income level.

Page 192, lines 11 through 19 provide for self employed and partnerships:

‘‘(1) SPECIAL RULE FOR PARTNERSHIPS AND SELF-EMPLOYED.—In the case of a partnership (or a trade or business carried on by an individual) which has one or more qualified employees (determined without regard to this paragraph) with respect to whom the election under 4980H(a) applies, each partner (or, in the case of a trade or business carried on by an individual, such individual) shall be treated as an employee.

There are further definitions of Aggrigate Rule, Denial of Double Benefit, Inflation Adjustment and Credit to be part of a General Business Credit. Primarily all this is substitution of existing language in other codes of government law.

I'll stop there for now. The next section starts, "Disclosures to Carry Out Health Insurance Exchange Subsidies."

I really see this as a well thought out legislation. I believe it covers details I would not have expected and it does it with a great deal of care knowing people's health are tied to its passage as law. I like the bill. I like it alot. It is security.

Tomorrow is another day.

Localize economies and DO NOT look back. - click title to entry for video - thank you

Updated: 11:42 PM Aug 18, 2009
Buying Locally Can Boost Your Local Economy (click title to entry - thank you)
If you want to help your local economy get into an upswing, you may want to try buying locally. Experts say buying from independently owned stores pumps 20 percent more money back into your community than buying from a big box.

"...a grassroots stimulus plan."

TEXT: Bernanke's speech at Jackson Hole Fed conference (click title to entry - thank you)

..."One very clear lesson of the past year--no surprise, of course, to any student of economic history, but worth noting nonetheless--is that a full-blown financial crisis can exact an enormous toll in both human and economic terms. A second lesson--once again, familiar to economic historians--is that financial disruptions do not respect borders. The crisis has been global, with no major country having been immune."...

There is something "W"rong with this picture !!!!!

How does economic recovery occur while banks are still failing on a daily basis?

Huh?

Bernanke can answer that, right?

Or NOT ?!?!?!!?

Meredith Whitney Predicts More Than 300 Bank Failures (Update1) (click here)
By Lynn Thomasson and Margaret Brennan
Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Meredith Whitney, the analyst who predicted that Citigroup Inc. would cut its dividend last year, said the number of U.S. bank failures will quadruple as lenders struggle with bad loans.
“There will be over 300 bank closures,” Whitney said in an interview with Bloomberg Television from Jackson Hole, Wyoming. “The small-business owner on Main Street continues to see liquidity come away.”
Unemployment has risen to the highest since the early 1980s and Americans are falling behind on mortgage payments at a record pace, forcing regulators to seize 77 lenders in 2009, the most in 17 years. Colonial BancGroup Inc. was closed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and taken over by BB&T Corp. on Aug. 14 in the biggest failure since Washington Mutual Inc. collapsed in 2008....

The plan is to let more USA banks fail. What happened? The jerks on Wall Street, like AIG and Goldman Sachs get their asses in a sling, get a free pass on USA Treasury dollars and then proceed to let every other bank attempting to tread water to fail. Like. What the ?Z!#*(! is that?

Hoenig Stirs Debate on Bank Failures as Fed Forum Convenes (click here)
By Scott Lanman

Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The host for central bankers attending the Federal Reserve conference this weekend to discuss the financial crisis is a regional Fed chief who’s making waves with his proposal for letting big U.S. banks fail.
Thomas Hoenig, the Kansas City Fed president, will welcome Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and dozens of other central bankers to the annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, starting today. Hoenig said he hopes the gathering will serve as a model for handling crises in the future.
Bernanke has urged Congress to back part of Hoenig’s proposal for dealing with faltering big banks, which would wipe out shareholder equity in any that receive government aid. The Treasury Department’s so-called resolution authority plan, while likely to result in stockholder losses, doesn’t require it....

When the hell is someone going to dump Bernanke !?!?!?!!

You know the guy.

The one that said putting $1 trillion US into the 'cash stream' would give everyone all the tools they would need.

THAT GUY !

NewsWatch
Aug 15, 2009, 9:00 a.m. EST
Colonial becomes biggest bank failure of 2009 (click here)

BB&T takes over after FDIC shuts Alabama lender at cost of $2.8 billion

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Colonial BancGroup Inc. has become the largest bank failure this year as the 2009 toll of financial institutions approaches 80.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation seized the struggling Alabama-based lender Friday and sold it to BB&T Corp.
Late Friday, the FDIC announced four other banks had been closed: Community Bank of Nevada and its Arizona subsidiary, Community Bank of Arizona; Union Bank, Gilbert, Ariz; and Dwelling House Savings and Loan Association, Pittsburgh.
The Colonial BancGroup deal will knock roughly $2.8 billion off a pool of money, known as the Deposit Insurance Fund, which the FDIC maintains to guarantee bank customer deposits.
BB&T /quotes/comstock/13*!bbt/quotes/nls/bbt (BBT 28.10, +0.32, +1.15%) agreed to assume all of Colonial's deposits, which totaled about $20 billion at the end of June, the FDIC said. Depositors of Colonial will automatically become depositors of BB&T and customers can continue accessing their money by writing checks or using ATMs and debit cards, the regulator stressed....

This is the BEST part.

Ready?

Bank Failures in the United States (click here)

Aug 20, 2009 - 05:02 PM
By: Global_Research

Bob Chapman writes: We had a bank go on Thursday and now we have a continuation of the Friday Night FDIC Financial Follies. Federal and state regulators closed two small Arizona banks Friday evening, but depositors won't feel any pain....

...Much to their dismay, Americans learned last year that they ‘owned’ Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Well, meet their cousin, Ginnie Mae or the Government National Mortgage Association, which will soon join them as a trillion-dollar packager of subprime mortgages. Taxpayers own Ginnie too. Only last week, Ginnie announced that it issued a monthly record of $43 billion in mortgage-backed securities in June. Ginnie Mae President Joseph Murin sounded almost giddy as he cheered this ‘phenomenal growth.’ Ginnie Mae’s mortgage exposure is expected to top $1 trillion by the end of next year—or far more than double the dollar amount of 2007. Ginnie’s mission is to bundle, guarantee and then sell mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration, which is Uncle Sam’s home mortgage shop. Ginnie’s growth is a by-product of the FHA’s spectacular growth. The FHA now insures $560 billion of mortgages—quadruple the amount in 2006. Among the FHA, Ginnie, Fannie and Freddie, nearly nine of every 10 new mortgages in America now carry a federal taxpayer guarantee....

Maybe it wasn't clear enough, so, I'll mention it again.

...nearly nine of every 10 new mortgages in America now carry a federal taxpayer guarantee....

Just because Bubba Bernanke says things are looking up, doesn't mean it is. It's just that everyone else is too blasted scared to argue with him.

"We want our money back." - Click title of entry for trailer - thank you.

I had the profound pleasure this year to be at Traverse City Film Festival from the time the "Friends" rolled out their "Pot Luck Dinner" to the "Closing Night Party." The Traverse City Film Festival was celebrating its fifth year of "Just good films,' but, for the people that have been there from its inception, it was an astounding week.

In a year where 'believers' were worried, the film festival would be struggling to make ends meet, it actually experienced a 37% increase in sponsorships.

Nice. The TCFF is a cultural icon for many reasons, but, it has been a solice for those of us that sincerely believe in 'equitable democracy.'

I attended "Mike's Surprise" and he kindly showed us the trailer to the film, "Capitalism, A Love Story," while it still had all the edits noted in the film loop. I loved the trailer then and now when I see it complete, I can't wait to see the movie.

I will review the movies I attended at the TCFF one of these evenings, but, currently I believe my time is best served reading the tenative House Bill for Health Insurance Reform and hopefully bring a perspective that is not at all talked about in the media, especially the Right Wing mess.

Enjoy the trailer. I've only played it about seven times so far.

Two of the happiest people in Afghanistan. A run off election will be exciting. Click title to entry for video.

Dr. Abdullah Abdullah and President Hamid Karzai

...Partial preliminary results won't be made public before Tuesday, as Afghanistan and the dozens of countries with troops and aid organizations in the country wait to see who will lead the troubled nation for the next five years. The next president faces an agenda filled with crises: rising insurgent violence, rampant corruption and a huge narcotics trade.
Both sides said their candidate was ahead in the count. Officials with the country's Independent Election Commission said it was too early for any campaign to claim itself the winner. Counting at individual polling sites has been completed, but ballots are now being sent to Kabul, election officials said....

NASA's first images of "Bill," "Ana," and "Claudette. August 17, 2009. Click title to entry, thank you.

"Bill" is losing contact with the water vapor of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone. In losing contact with its water vapor source the velocity is slowing. I remain somewhat skeptical of the continued northern vs. western movement of "Bill." If there is a slowing in the velocity there may not be enough speed to propel the storm north so much as a meander to the west and into South Carolina. It will be interesting to watch the progression. But, here again, the further north the storm moves the less velocity it has. If "Bill" were to become a 'near shore' storm it could have the chance of increasing its velocity and decreasing its central pressure again.


August 21, 2009
1630z
UNISYS Infrared GOES East Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop)

...On August 17, 2009, at 1:31 p.m. EST, the latest NASA/NOAA geostationary weather satellite, called GOES-14, returned its first full-disk thermal infrared (IR) image, showing radiation with a wavelength of 10.7 micrometers emanating from Earth. Infrared images are useful because they provide information about temperatures. A wavelength of 10.7 micrometers is 15 times longer than the longest wavelength of light (red) that people can see, but scientists can turn the data into a picture by having a computer display cold temperatures as bright white and hot temperatures as black. The hottest (blackest) features in the scene are land surfaces; the coldest (whitest) features in the scene are clouds....

Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi needs to apologize for the exuberance shown by the family and friends of a dying man.

Libya has come a long way since the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. It has become transparent for the sake of fostering peace. Right now The West would like to demonize all that is transpiring in Libya with the return of the only convicted man responsible for this heinous act.

It would be far better if Libya's al-Gaddafi would come forward during Ramadan to purge the sins of such people that plot evil acts against other human beings of other faiths.

Ramadan is a time of accounting. It is time Libya made an example of one of her own in an accounting of a former terrorist state.


Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi

...Al-Megrahi (click title to entry), believed to have less than three months to live, was released on the order of Scotland’s justice minister despite strong opposition from the United States, which had campaigned to keep him in prison.
Pan Am Flight 103 was carrying 189 Americans when it left London for New York on Dec. 21, 1988. In all, 259 people on board and 11 on the ground were killed in the bombing.
“He is a dying man, he is terminally ill,” Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill told reporters in explanation. “My decision is that he returns home to die.”
In a statement issued by his lawyer after his departure from Glasgow Airport, Al-Megrahi said that he was innocent and had been wrongly jailed, but also thanked the people of Scotland for setting him free.
“To those victims’ relatives who can bear to hear me say this: they continue to have my sincere sympathy for the unimaginable loss that they have suffered,” he said. “Those who bear me ill will, I do not return that to you.
“This horrible ordeal is not ended by my return to Libya. It may never end for me until I die. Perhaps the only liberation for me will be death.”...


Ramadan begins on SaturdayArab News (click here)
JEDDAH: The holy month of Ramadan will start on Saturday, according to a Royal Court statement on Thursday.
“As no crescent sighting was reported on Thursday evening, Friday will be the 30th day of Shaaban and Saturday, the 22nd of August, will be the first day of the holy month of Ramadan,” the Royal Court quoted a statement of the Supreme Court as saying.
The Supreme Court met at its summer headquarters in Taif on Thursday, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Saudi Arabia arrests 44 suspected militants (click here)
APPublished: August 19, 2009, 17:05
Riyadh: The Saudi Interior Ministry says authorities have arrested 44 suspected militants who sought to recruit youths and finance their "deviant activities" through charitable donations.
In a statement carried Wednesday by the official Saudi Press Agency, the ministry says the 44 were arrested in a campaign that began July 9 and ended August 2.
It says some of those arrested have received training on the use of light and heavy weapons in the kingdom and abroad. It says all but one are Saudi.
Saudi Arabia has pursued an aggressive campaign against militants since May 2003, when they first began attacks in the kingdom. The country is the birthplace of Al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and home to 15 of the 19th September 11 hijackers.

"Bill" and 12 hour loop - click here, thank you.

The storm couldn't hold together, so the diameter became wider and the central pressure dropped somewhat to maintain the 'eye.' Wow. It is about the fourth the diameter of the Atlantic Ocean. It will lose that width, but, maintain the velocity with a smaller 'eye.' It is still pulling water vapor off the tropics. It just that its 'eye' is getting further away from its water vapor source. It's interesting.

August 21, 2009

0330z

UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite

Day After Tomorrow. Today the trees, tomorrow, hm??????

August 19, 2009, 12:14 pm
Updated: 5:05 pm
By Sewell Chan AND Sarah Maslin Nir
Storm Toppled Scores of Trees in Central Park (click title to entry - thank you)
...“Central Park has been devastated,” Adrian Benepe, the city parks commissioner, said in an interview on Wednesday morning. “It created more damage than I’ve seen in 30 years of working in the parks.”
Mr. Benepe added: “Some areas have had an almost total loss of trees. The Great Hill, the area around West 106th Street, has very large American elm trees. In that one area, several dozen trees went down.”...