The Repentant Dick Cheney. He couldn't send in the Marines, so he decided to make amends through economic improvements in Georgia.

Now.

If Condi Rice can manage to find her way to Russia and negotiate a peace with an understanding of respect for Russian borders, rather than missile shield threats, this entire mess might actually turn out to be a worthwhile venture into Democratic Principles for this administration and Georgia.

Could it be possible for Cheney to actually be a viable Peace Prize candidate rather than a Neocon?

More incredible things have happened.

Palin called everyone other than her supporters a religious bigot and stated her mayorship was more worthy than her governorship.

...I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities. I might add that in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening....

I guess God knew what he was doing when he decided Moses needed to jot down the ten commandments.

"Thou shalt not kill."

Except of course when your country enters an illegal and immoral war for oil and then its okay.

The speech was on the heels of the Giuliani rant. It was to 'bring to light' the importance of Mayors and why Ms. Palin had such valuable 'experience' that brings her to a national office as if she is actually competent to hold the Vice Presidency.

Sorry, but, being mayor, even of New York City where 'radios failed' and 'caused deaths' is very different than being a Vice President prepared for leadership in the Executive Branch of the USA. Let's face it. Giuliani lost his bid, okay?

Putting up cameras all over Alaska was a 'jobs issue' not a Homeland Security issue and it exploited the needs of a nation to prepare itself for other potential attacks from terrorists actually seeking 'WEAKNESSES' in the USA infrastructure to exploit. Does ANYONE actually think having Ms. Palin in the Vice Presidency isn't a national 'weakness?'

And the zealotry of promoting 'guns and religion' in the same sentence is a little scary.

These guys are religious zealots that seek to define the USA as the world's guardians. We aren't, nor was our government ever conceived in that light.

When the Declaration of Independence stated ... "When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another,..."; it wasn't referring to people outside the boundaries of the USA. At the time, there were 13 colonies and they were happy to be free of British domination, okay?

Where in all the struggles of the founding members of our society was there ever an implication that we would in turn invade Britain to free them of unreasonable sovereignty by a monarch? Where did the concept of being the world's liberator come from? It doesn't exist and people like Palin, Cheney and all the others that seek to impose that value on the USA, in the name of National Security are zealots of the worse kind. They have a faux face to the reality of global stability and the right of other people to cling to what they consider precious.

Palin's 'Red Meat' speech was nothing but political rhetoric laced with 'love me tender' values. It was full of hoaxes and inaccuracies and the very nonsense that facilitated the illegal and immoral invasion into Iraq leaving Afghanistan at risk that has since proved fatal to the allies we left behind.

I find her appaulingly brash without reason to believe she is competent. She is nothing but another Richard Cheney in sheep's clothing, proud of the fact that clothing doesn't come from NYC Fifth Avenue. She believes in unending right to gun use, oil at any cost and wars without sound judgement. If that 'ain't' Cheney, then I don't know what is !

Dillingham AK, Homeland Security

Homeland Security in Alaska? (click here)
Surveillance-camera installation in small fishing town causes clash between police, residents.
Date published: 3/13/2006
By ALEX deMARBAN
ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS
DILLINGHAM, Alaska--If Osama bin Laden ever makes a sneak attack on Dillingham, he might be in big trouble.
That's because the quaint fishing community in southwest Alaska, population 2,400, recently installed about 80 surveillance cameras at the port and around town, courtesy of a $202,000 Homeland Security grant.
Anchorage has fewer than 40 cameras to protect its port.
Dillingham Police Chief Richard Thompson, who came up with the idea of applying for the grant, said the cameras could stop terrorism in Southwest Alaska someday. More to the point, they also may put an end to the drinking, deaths and drug deals that go down at the port every summer when the town fills up with commercial fishermen.
If the system prevents even one death, Thompson said, "I don't care what's said about me."
But some townsfolk are outraged. The only thing being captured by the cameras, they said, are their civil liberties. The white, plastic devices, clustered atop poles at the port or perched on four city buildings, feel like the glaring eyes of Big Brother. Some, with dual lenses for different lighting conditions, even resemble storm trooper helmets from "Star Wars."...


Security for the Homeland, Made in Alaska (click here)
By LESLIE WAYNE
Published: August 12, 2004
As the Pentagon shipped thousands of military police to Iraq over the last year, it had to move quickly to replace guards at important installations around the country, including Fort Bragg, N.C., and West Point. So it turned to the private sector and quietly awarded multimillion-dollar contracts without putting out competitive bids.
The winners hailed from Alaskan corporations representing native tribal groups that are uniquely eligible to win Pentagon contracts in unlimited amounts without having to compete against other companies. But perhaps the main beneficiaries were their minority partners, two big security firms, Wackenhut Services and Vance International.
The Pentagon has made no public announcements of the contracts, in which the joint ventures are being paid $194 million to protect 40 properties. If options to extend them are exercised, the contracts' value could reach $500 million,...


Security Grants Still Streaming to Rural States (click here)
By DEAN E. MURPHY
Published: October 12, 2004
ANCHORAGE, Oct. 10 - In the nationwide scramble for domestic security dollars, officials in Alaska are in a predicament that would be the envy of most other states. They must figure out how to spend $2 million in federal money.
The Department of Homeland Security rejected a proposal by Alaska to use the money to buy a jet, but indicated it would be "happy to entertain" further proposals for the $2 million. Officials are now obliging.
One of the nation's least populous states, Alaska is flush with domestic security grants, on a per-resident basis second only to Wyoming and about three times the amount allocated to New York over the past two years.
Money is so readily available that the Northwest Arctic Borough, a desolate area of 7,300 people that straddles the Arctic Circle, recently stocked up on $233,000 worth of emergency radio equipment, decontamination tents, headlamps, night vision goggles, bullhorns - even rubber boots.
Alaska's good fortune highlights what many critics say is a serious failing in the way that America is fighting the battle against terrorism at home. While there is consensus that the threat of an attack should supersede politics as usual, the billions of federal dollars for terrorism preparedness are being doled out to states in much the same way as money for schools, bridges and other routine federal projects....

Arctic Ice Shelves Crumbling Rapidly

September 3, 2008—Canada's polar scientists have had little time for summer vacation this year.
That's because they've been closely monitoring the country's Arctic ice shelves, which have crumbled at an alarming pace over the past few months.
Nearly 23 percent of the total area—more than three times the size of Manhattan—has disappeared since 2007, satellite images show (above).
In July the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf broke apart, followed by the surprise collapse in August of the Markham Ice Shelf, which is now adrift in the Arctic Ocean.
And the recently named Serson Ice Shelf has shrunk by 60 percent—an "incredible" loss, said Derek Mueller, the Roberta Bondar Fellow in Northern and Polar Studies at Trent University in Ontario.
Large swaths of open water surrounding the shelves near the northern coast of Ellesmere Island have allowed breathing room for the ice to disintegrate, Mueller told National Geographic News. (See map.) ...

This is quite an event. Four tropical systems spinning all at once.

Gustav still has a central pressure of 997 millibars and it is still a Tropical Depression this far inland. Interesting. Once these storms establish a water content they'll continue to have vorticity until the water vapor content drops from rainfall. There are still opportunities for tornadoes with this storm.


September 3, 2008
1830z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES East Satellite

Hanna just can't get enough water vapor off the equator can it. WOW. Talk about thirsty.

I believe I stated when Gustav made landfall, Hanna would accelerate. To that conclusion I want to point to some facts that are rather interesting.

Gustav made landfall as a Cat 2 Hurricane on September 1, 2008 at 10:30 AM EST over Cocodrie, Louisiana. It is pushing a 12 foot (3.6 meter) storm surge. The central pressure of the storm was 955 millibars.

At the very same time, Hanna was building strength into hurricane status. The central pressure of Hanna was 994 millibars and falling. Within 30 minutes Hanna would have a central pressure of 985 millibars and rank as a Cat 1 hurricane, while Gustav was attaining the central pressure of 957 millibars as a low Cat 2 storm and would continue to rise, hence reducing its status to a Cat 1 storm.

This is where it really gets interesting though. Expecting Hanna to accelerate far faster into a greater storm, there was a building turbulence in the storm now known as Ike. Ike manifested into a Tropical Depression at the very time Gustav made landfall, hence blunting the acceleration of Hanna. At the time Gustav made landfall, Ike formed a centeral pressure of 1005 millibars.

Ike maintained a Tropical Depression status until Hanna obtained a central pressure of 983 millibars. At that point Ike became a Tropical Storm with a central pressure of 1000 millibars and Gustav was still decelerating with a central pressure of 966 millibars.

Basically, Earth's troposphere is so hot that even with some cooling occuring with these storms by exchanging heated air for heated water, the elevated warming component of Earth is never really reduced to the place where it was even in the days of Katrina. The year 2005 was a record number of storm, but, none of the storms were as frequent in manifestation as Tropical Depressions and Storms as this season. Earth's cooling capacity is lost and as a result the storms that are appearing in sequence are proof of the chronic heating of Earth's troposphere that is NOT relieved of that heat by these storms as in the past.

Earth's thermostat is broken along with the disappearance of the Arctic Ocean ice as a result of Climate Change due to Human Induced Global Warming.

But to continue, on September 2, 2008 at 0900 gmt, Gustav is increasing its central pressure to 985 and moving from Tropical Strom status to Tropical Depression status, Hanna is now at a central pressure of 978 and within the next thirty minutes will move from a Cat 1 storm to a Tropical Storm status and Ike is maintaining its Tropical Storm status but briefly rises to 1005 central pressure from 1000 millibars. Why is this significant? Because at that very moment, when Gustav, Hanna and Ike were all decelerating another storm would manifest into a Tropical Depression and that is now know as Josephine with a central pressure of 1007.

Getting the picture? It's called oscillation. These storms form and literally react to each other along a continum of heat and tropospheric available water vapor.

What is even more incredible is the 'reach' of these storms to maintain their status and maintain their ability to drive heat into the ocean. In the image above, Hanna is literally pulling 'sparse' tropospheric water vapor from every available source north of the Equator to sustain its presence. Hanna is getting assistance in that dynamic from the vortex over the North Atantic west of the Mid-Atlantic and New England states.

If one doesn't look at the entire dynamics of these system, global systems, it is easy to say "we are having a light hurricane season,' as if nothing is wrong. But, it isn't until the entire global dynamics of Climate Change is taken into consideration that observations relevant to that perspective can be supported.

We are observing a very dangerous and dry troposphere.

Traffic snarls into New Orleans

Traffic comes to stop on the Interstate 10 freeway over Lake Pontchartain between New Orleans and in Slidell, La., Wednesday Sept.. 3, 2008, as residents of New Orleans return home after Hurricane Gustav swept through the city.

(AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

The traffic leaving New Orleans was accommodated by open lanes out of the area without allowing traffic to come in. The traffic returning is going to be considerably slower because the access to the city is halfed by the fact that the lanes are again flowing in both directions.

There needs to be a change in the access rate to the city otherwise the problems will compound until everyone is back in their driveways. Then there are the issues of access to driveways and city steets depending on any damage sustained.

My concern is that with other storm potential in the near future, delays and inconvenience will change the willingness of people to leave the city in the first place.

All checkpoints lifted, city reopens

What's going on with trash and debris cleanup (clean up)
by The Times-Picayune
Wednesday September 03, 2008, 2:17 PM
FRENCH QUARTER
-- Public works departments and private garbage haulers across New Orleans are already clearing streets littered with tree limbs, marquees, light poles and power lines.
-- Trucks with wood chippers caravaned along Interstate 610.
-- SDT waste trucks were out cleaning up debris and sweeping streets in the French Quarter Tuesday morning.
-- Outside of Harrah's Casino, workers trimmed back palm trees.

Unexpected consequence of Hurricane Gustav

Sick baby dies in Texas after family fled Gustav (click here)
By ANGELA K. BROWN – 11 hours ago
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — A couple who fled the New Orleans area in advance of Hurricane Gustav will have to return home without their 7-month-old daughter, who died of a rare genetic disorder after becoming stricken at an amusement park.
Kaitlynn Foret suddenly stopped breathing at Six Flags Over Texas on Monday and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was later pronounced dead....
... Vidal said she does not regret evacuating their Harvey, La., home. Her daughter's death, while an unexpected tragedy, could have happened anywhere, she said.
"Right now, I just can't believe it," said Jason Foret, Vidal's fiance and the baby's father. "One minute she was here — the next minute, she was gone."

Anyone ever notice the skeptics are primarily Oil Folks. "Palin questions global warming science"

Sarah Palin with one of her daughters posing with a caribou she shot in Alaska.

Picture: AP

...Last month, the state of Alaska under Palin's guidance sued Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne in an attempt to reverse his decision to list polar bears as a threatened species. Palin said that scientists' predictions that global warming would eliminate the ice where the bears live in summer were unreliable.

Arctic sea ice shrank to a record low by the end of last summer, and satellites now show that the ice has been reduced to a level very close to last year's with some days remaining before a new winter season begins.

The Anchorage Daily News reported in May that the head of the marine mammals program for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and two other marine mammal biologists on his staff agreed with nine studies the Federal Government cited to justify listing polar bears as a threatened species....

This is the way McCain chooses a Vice President?

Is McCain taking this nomination seriously? I mean for real. He has said odd things such as, "We are just having fun" and now this mess. Did he ever expect to be a serious candidate after Bush/Cheney ravaged the nation and its assets?

...A Republican with ties to the McCain campaign said the team of a dozen communications operatives and lawyers assigned to vet Palin in Alaska had not arrived there until last Friday - a day before presidential nominee Senator John McCain announced her as his running mate.
McCain had his first interview with her on the Friday and "offered her the job moments later", the newspaper said....

There is only ONE WAY Bristol Palin became pregnant. Only one way. Through unprotected sex.

How long has the USA fought to bring insight into protections during sex to Africa where the HIV rates cause nations to become orphanages for parentless children.

Don't start.

This is appalling. Sarah Palin wants to represent the women of the USA?

NEVER !!!

She doesn't even know how to spell the word condom, yet alone advocate for its use globally to save lives.

NEVER !!!!!!

I can hear it now. All the Holy Men of Africa who send out rumors regarding condoms will be saying, "See, the lady Vice President of the USA doesn't even advocate condom use with her own child."

Good.

Real good !

Is Sarah Palin ready to stand up for American Values for Women everywhere? Chattel, Ms. Palin. These women were considered Chattel.

These women were considered OBJECTS OF SOCIAL ORDER. That is what happens when women are valued for their uterus rather than their talents.

I mean, really now !!!!

Shot, then buried alive in honour killings (click title to entry)

September 2, 2008 - 6:31AM
Pakistan has opened an investigation into the killings of five women who tried to choose their own husbands, after a provincial lawmaker defended their deaths as a "centuries-old tradition".
The women, three of whom were teenagers, were shot, thrown into a ditch and buried alive more than a month ago in what authorities have said they suspect were "honour killings". Authorities say they have arrested three relatives of the women in connection with their deaths.
It is considered an insult in some conservative regions of Pakistan for women to have affairs or marry without consent, and rights groups say hundreds are killed by male relatives every year....

If caring for Junior is beneath Todd Palin than the couple needs to investigate the concept of 'Day Care.'

Young women have futures in this country, not burdens.

For eight long years, the zealots of the Republican Right Wing have done NOTHING but moralize over issues exactly like this, but, now that it is one of their own they want the nation to look the other way.

NO WAY !!

The child should have been married BEFORE Mommy took on the Veep Race.

It might play well in the back woods of Alaska, but, NOT the Lower 48. I worked hard when I raised by teens. I worked outside the home, but, I provided a lot of reasons for my children to participate in society in sports and activities where they valued their lives and their futures. This is nonsense. I realize pregnant teenagers are present everyday in this country and we have come a long way to provide room in High School classrooms and Child Care so they can finish their diploma or college paths, but, a future Vice President.

Sorry, this doesn't wash with me. I could no more expect any young woman to shoulder the burden of pregnancy than I would expect them to turn their backs on the promise of their futures. There is no way this should have happened to this young lady, no different than it should not have happened to any teen.

Since 1986, the rate of everything has dropped has dropped in the area of teen pregnancy. The pregnancy rate, the birth rate, the adoption rate and the abortion rate. To realize a woman that is supposed to be esteemed for the highest moral standards to uphold the dignity of women and their career choices is allowing the exploitation of her own daughter for political theater is unthinkable. A simple statement about the reality of her circumstances is all the American Public needed, not a Evangelical Parade of Champions.

I find the ludicrous nature of Sarah Palin disgusting !

I've seen it before. Women dump their responsibilities on their oldest daughter to look after the younger siblings...

... and why shouldn't they become pregnant. It's a way out.

I demand to know the identity of the father. The ability of him to support a family. His age and whether this is statutory rape or NOT !!!!

A woman comes forward to run for Vice President of the USA and she doesn't even bother to teach her children about the 'Fact of Life.' She doesn't believe in birth control, Planned Parenthood, dealing well with unwanted pregnancy OR Sex Education.

She should have been a 'good friend' and been open to the concerns of a daughter that needed Plan B, NOT, a obstetrician.

I guarantee you, Palin's daughters don't even have the Cervical Cancer vaccination.

Welcome to the McCain Big Top where demoralizing a nation is his specialty !!!

In 2008, Rizzo would have had options !

I mean for real here ! This is an outrage. I can just imagine the conversations taking place across the USA, "...but, Sarah, dosen't mind. She's proud."

I don't think so !!!

I am sorry, but, if The Palins want to parade their seventeen year old pregnant daughter in front of an entire nation as 'acceptable' for others, then they need to be prepared to accept the consequences of such blantant abuse of power and images to promote their religious fanaticism.

This is outrageous, to demand an entire nation of people to accept teen pregnancy. We combat this with vigor in this country.

Give me a break !

"Israel today is in more peril than it was eight years ago."

...Israel's gravest external threat comes from Iran. The relevant question, then, is, has Iran become more dangerous to Israel because of Bush's policies, or in spite of Bush's policies? Plainly, the former....


Obama in Berlin. Does the world have a RIGHT to have an interest?

The answer is overwhelmingly, YES!!!!



Israel and Palestinians continue peace talks (click here)
Published: Sunday 31 August 2008
16:56 UTC
Last updated: Sunday 31 August 2008 18:27 UTC Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President of the Palestinian territories Mahmoud Abbas have held peace talks for the second time within a month. During the talks in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Olmert called for a partial Israeli-Palestinian agreement before the end of the year. The agreement would not have touched on the issue of Jerusalem, leaving the matter to be resolved within five-year time scale. Mr Abbas has said he is not in favour of such a partial agreement....


As a Palestinian state recedes, Jordan contacts Hamas (click here)
By Saad Hattar
Jordan's move to thaw relations with the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) following nine years of estrangement has raised eyebrows as to the timing and the motives behind this tactic. Internal and external factors dictated the rapprochement amid growing Jordanian dismay at American and Israeli behavior - the kingdom's main strategic allies since the turn of the century. Hence, the timing bears significance considering the last months of President George W. Bush's tenure and Israel's political paralysis. On the other side, the Palestinian Authority (PA) led by Mahmoud Abbas looks headed toward failure in light of Hamas' pounding and US-Israeli indifference....


Palestinian official: Israel increases cooking gas shipments to Gaza (click here)
2008-09-01 19:26:40
GAZA, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian official said Monday that the amount of cooking gas that Israel allows into Gaza Strip has increased recently.
"The gas shipments have increased recently," said Raed Rajab, deputy director of the Palestinian Petroleum Agency (PPA), adding "if the occupation forces did not close the crossing point two days last week, we would have felt the increase."
The Palestinians consume more cooking gas during the Muslim's holy fasting month of Ramadan which started Monday.
Israel restricted fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip last year after Islamic Hamas movement took over the coastal strip. But in June, Egypt brokered a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel to restore calmness and ease the blockade....

Iran's Moderates are on the rise, again. The sanctions are working and the EU needs to keep its focus along with Russia !

Iran's nuclear containment has been the one point Russia and the EU have agreed. It is important 'the powers that be' find a way to maintain their focus in the face of escalating tensions with Georgia and Poland.

Bush/Cheney created 'a wedge issue' with the Missile Defense Shield that would cause a destabilizing effect between Europe and Russia. With a new Russian President and the 'idea' that Georgie is 'trigger happy' and possibly followed by another Neocon, Russia has gotten nervous.

Besides, the people of South Ossetia are filing charges of Genocide against the Georgian President. That can't be dismissed. Bush/Cheney and now the ranting of McCain is causing instability in what has been progressive relations with The East for decades. Europe cannot sacrifice its relations with The East because the USA Republican politics demands it.


Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri (right) talking to a member of parliament after his re-election (click here).

Iranian conservative attacks president on economy (click here)
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI – 1 day ago
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A top conservative cleric close to Iran's supreme leader criticized the economic policies of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying they threaten to keep Iran from its goal of becoming a regional superpower by 2025.
The remarks by Ali Akbar Nateq Nouri, published Sunday, came just a week after supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei strongly backed Ahmadinejad, praising him for "standing up" to the West and urging him to plan for a second four-year term.
But Nateq Nouri, a confidant of Khamenei, said the strong support didn't mean the president was immune from criticism. And, according to his comments at a banking conference, Iran's economy is faltering....

Protesters meet USS Dallas while Russia speaks of resistance to any initiative by The West

Albright slams US handling of Georgia crisis (click here)
22 hours ago (on August 31, 2008)
BERLIN (AFP) — Former secretary of state Madeleine Albright has blasted the current US administration's handling of the Georgia crisis, saying her first move would have been to travel to Russia for talks....


For the Republicans, it is all about oil. The diplomacy with Russia doesn't matter because they want conflict to exist. The ultimate goal for Cheney was to have control over the Caspian Sea. That came to light with his Energy Committee and its report to the nation. The Caspian Sea was part of the Cheney Energy Strategy and was published in the report.

That is simply outrageous.

There is no conceivable way the Caspian Sea security would ever be dominated by the USA, it borders with Russia. Diplomacy and economic ties while promoting Nuclear Non-Proliferation was the only viable solution for the region and it would have stabilized the former Soviet States in a benevolent way without threatening Russia.

The Republicans see 'nuclear war' as an option with Russia. They completely discount China's alliance with Russia and wear blinders when it comes to the vulnerabilities of the USA and its allys.

18:12 01/09/2008
U.S. Coastguard cutter Dallas enters Sevastopol Harbor (click here)
Russian sailors said the escort ship’s arrival could be linked with Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko’s recent decree concerning Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, and that the Dallas would monitor Russian ship movements. (47 sec./1.76Mb, shows: 86)


USS Dallas at sea

South Ossetian parliament: Genocide of Ossetians could be stopped? (click here)
Recognition of independence of South Ossetia is the only way to stop the genocide of the people of South Ossetia, the republican parliament's Vice Speaker Yuri Dzidsoity stated at a press conference at the Tskhinval-2008 international press center in Tskhinval. Georgian invasion of South Ossetia on Aug 7, 2008 became another stage in Tbilisi's policy of genocide against South Ossetians, REGNUM correspondent quotes Dzidsoity to state....


EU Spars Over Georgian Crisis, Won't Sanction Russia (Update1) (click here)
By James G. Neuger
Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- European Union leaders sparred over how to respond to Russia's invasion of Georgia, shying away from sanctions that would undercut EU-Russia trade and aggravate the economic slowdown.
``Sanctions are not on the agenda today,'' EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told reporters before an EU summit in Brussels today.
The meeting, convened by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, threatens to showcase the EU's divisions over how to handle Russia, the bloc's principal oil and gas supplier and third- biggest trading partner....


Berlusconi signs Libya 'sorry' pact (click here)
Paola Totaro, Europe Correspondent
September 1, 2008 - 11:24AM
The Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has signed a five billion euro "sorry" pact for his nation's occupation and colonisation of oil rich Libya - in return for a halt to the flow of illegal immigration from North Africa.
The memorandum, signed between Berlusconi and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi over the weekend, paves the way for a symbolic compensation package which will provide pensions for Libyan soldiers who served with the Italians in World War II, as well as a raft of student grants and reconstruction projects.
"It is my duty, as a head of government, to express to you in the name of the Italian people our regret and apologies for the deep wounds that we have caused you," said Berlusconi.
The weekend's events come on the eve of the European Union meeting to discuss the Georgian crisis....


European nations divided over Georgia crisis (click here)
Posted Sun Aug 31, 2008 12:31pm AEST
There are increasing signs of division between European countries over the crisis in Georgia.
Germany has blamed both Russia and Georgia for taking unilateral actions that have made the situation worse.
But Britain has blamed Moscow for the crisis.
The comments could hardly be further apart.
Germany's Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said both Russia and Georgia were to blame for the growing tension....

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,151

09/01/2008 01:02 PM
Iraq Signs Oil Deal With China (click here)

Iraq: Government officials have announced that a $3 billion contract has been negotiated with China's national oil company to produce 125,000 barrels a day from the al-Ahdab oil field in the south of the country.
In return for security guarantees China will provide equipment, workers, and expert advice. The deal is the first large foreign contract signed since the collapse of the Saddam regime.
Iraq has oil reserves believed to be in the vicinity of 115 billion barrels, equal with Iran and second only to Saudi Arabia. Officals are also negotiating short term deals with companies including Exxon, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, and Chevron.

Mike has the most incredible satellite image of both storms...

The storms are staying in the lower latitudes because of the availability of water vapor off the Equator and the 'lack of it' inland. This is in tribute to Mike's Little Prayer. We all feel the pain of the people along the Gulf. Its not like they were ever alone, so much as abandoned three years ago.


...and he has every right to call on God, first as a life long Roman Catholic and second as an American scared for his country that has been turned on its ear.

"...Now, heavenly Father, we all know You have a great sense of humor and impeccable timing. To send a hurricane on the third anniversary of the Katrina disaster AND right at the beginning of the Republican Convention was, at first blush, a stroke of divine irony. I don't blame You, I know You're angry that the Republicans tried to blame YOU for Katrina by calling it an "Act of God" -- when the truth was that the hurricane itself caused few casualties in New Orleans. Over a thousand people died because of the mistakes and neglect caused by humans, not You...."

We all seek solice with you on this turbulent Labor Day, Mike.

..."So please God, let the storm die out at sea. It's done enough damage already. If you do this one favor for me, I promise not to invoke your name again."...

Gustav slowed to 16 mph in the Gulf, Mike, sparing New Orleans its worst outcome. But, the truly incredible TRUTH is that it will batter Texas for days. Amazing (click here). It must be divine providence.

UPDATE: Gustav to Linger Over East Texas for Days
Heavy rain and high winds from decaying Hurricane Gustav are likely to affect Tyler and the East Texas area from early-morning Tuesday through early-morning Thursday.
The National Weather Service in Shreveport has issued both a wind advisory and a flash flood watch, commencing at 7 p.m. CDT today and presently continuing through 7 p.m. CDT Tuesday. However, the period of strong winds should end some time Wednesday.
At 6 a.m. CDT today, Gustav contained maximum sustained winds of 115 mph, was moving northwestward at 16 mph, and was 150 miles southeast of Lafayette, La., 340 miles southeast of Tyler....

McCain 'Flip-Flops' on his own standards, AGAIN (Besides the rumors of a nude beauty queen.)

Barak Obama's credentials are impressive. I suppose that is why the people of Illinois have trusted him for so long. But, Ms. Palin's credentials lack in expertise, especially in the venue of foreign affairs.

By placing Ms. Palin in the 'competency' range of the Executive Branch, John McCain has eliminated any and all issues regarding 'length of time in office as a prerequisite.'

John McCain is asking the American electorate 'to look the other way' when it comes to the 'competencies' of Ms. Palin. He chose her for one reason and one reason only, 'it could possibly sell well,' especially to those disgruntled over a Democratic ticket without Hillary.

If John McCain considers Ms. Palin competent to be the next President in his relinquishment of office for whatever reason that might occur, there is either a 'strategy' for Palin to resign in such an instance or McCain is stating that longevity in office has NO RELEVANCY to competency in the Executive Branch.

John McCain no longer has a moral authority to cite 'experience' in relation to 'longevity' as a reason to decide on the elections of 2008 when it comes to 'competency' to serve.

Sarah shouldn't worry so condesendingly about THE LOWER 48, it doesn't need Alaska's Gas Pipeline. It has plenty of its own !

Stevens on the gas pipeline (click here)
Posted by Wesley Loy
Posted: February 19, 2008 - 3:56 pm
...No pipeline will be built until the companies holding the gas – chiefly Exxon Mobil, Conoco Phillips and BP – are sure of all the costs including state fiscal or tax terms, Stevens said.
That’s because of the enormous expense of the project – up to $40 billion.
As a press conference following his address to lawmakers, Stevens stopped short of saying Gov. Sarah Palin should sit down and start negotiating taxes with the oil giants....


See, Alaska has always been a frontier. It has never been a 'developed' state. Juneau, the state capital, has no road access. The only way into Juneau is by boat, ferry or plane. It is part of the charm of the city and the place where the lower extremes of the Juneau Ice Fields can be observed in the Mendenhall Glacier (click here).

By being elected Vice President, Ms. Palin, would be leaving Alaska and that has to be a relief somewhat to those still longing for Alaskan Frontier Politics. I haven't heard her comment on Ted Stevens yet, but, I am sure it would be 'the old Republican' stand-by-your-party routine whereby, "...well, we just don't know the truth regarding 'all that' with Senator Stevens, its only an indictment at this point and he was renominated after all by the same party I am a part of.

Senator, Alaska politics under siege (click here)
Wide-ranging corruption probe threatens to change the face of state government (click here)
Hal Bernton and Ralph Thomas
The Seattle Times
...The agents opened the door with the aid of a locksmith, and they didn't leave until about midnight as they sought evidence of a major campaign contributor's involvement in the remodeling of Stevens' home.
"I don't know how the senator feels about this," Pederson said. "But if this happened to me, I would feel so violated."...

Alaska is 'small town politics' spread out over a vast land mass which designates it as the largest state in the union. Its strengths are its beauty, not its natural gas. Tourism and its fisheries are Alaska's best economy and sometimes to folks this far north, that just ain't enough.

Currently, Alaskans receive a stipends of $1500 per year due to taxes received on 'the inflated value of oil' to the Alaskan treasury. Ms. Palin states she was able to give that stipends to Alaskans due to the huge profits that fell under the tax structure of that state.

On 'whom's back' did Alaskans' receive their stipends?

How about the folks from the Lower 48?

Ms. Palin's reply to Big Oil's Big Profits, is 'bring it on' because with her stipends to Alaskans, it makes for good politics.

Don't talk to me about Big Oil and corruption. There are all kinds and the form it takes with McCain and Palin is very creative indeed !

The 'exposure' of the Veco Corruption was NOT done by Ms. Palin, it was conducted by the FBI.

THAT WAS A FEDERAL INDICTMENT. Not an Alaskan State Bureau finding, okay?

Ted Steven's son, President of the Alaskan legislature, was paid off.

An interview with a former Alaska lawmaker on the Veco scandal (click here).
Posted by Anupama, May 14th, 2007 ·
On May 4, federal prosecutors charged Rep. Vic Kohring, an Alaska state lawmaker, and two former statehouse colleagues, Bruce Weyhrauch, and Pete Kott, for conspiracy to commit extortion and bribery. Three days later, two top officials from the oil services firm Veco Corp., CEO Bill Allen and Rick Smith, vice president for community and government affairs, pled guilty to bribing four Alaska lawmakers—Kohring, Weyhrauch and Kott and former state Sen. Ben Stevens, the son of U.S. Sen Ted Stevens, R-Alaska....

While Sarah Palin is clean as a whistle of any Veco corruption, that doesn't mean 'she has her head screwed on straight' when it comes to Big Oil and the exploitation of the USA's treasury to benefit Alaska if she were to become Ms. Veep.

Ms. Palin is nothing more than pure unadultered ambition and IF she were ever to achieve the Vice Presidency, she would see to it that every state had an oil derrick, including offshore, and that Alaska got its gas pipeline regardless of its NEEDLESSNESS.

By the way.

It was Hillary that achieved 18 million cracks in the White House Ceiling. NOT SARAH.