Well. I won't exactly call it a 'surge,' but if it makes everyone feel better for a day or so, ..., what the heck, you know?

Up in NYC, down in Asia, up in Europe, down in South America, bonds down, commodities up.

I guess Hanks, 14,000 is still a long gone artificially dreamscape.

The NY exchange isn't over 9000 yet, right? Didn't think so.

I was wondering how much of 'hit (as in damage)' the entire dynamics of global exchanges took. I haven't had a chance to do a very rough guesstimate to the sustained losses of all exchanges over the past year. Someone needs to do that. There are plenty of financial experts across the media spectrum. I would advocate every one of them to perform their OWN assessment of the Paulson tumble after achieving an artifical 14,000.

What is troubling to me, is that so much of the 'appearance' of improvement can be masked by a 24 hour market loop the size of the circumference of Earth, especially when improvements are relatively small increments (easily within a margin of error to really matter).

While I understand that confidence plays into the markets, what exists in that 'concept' of confidence is that 'artificial' confidence is okay.

What is part of the chronic rollercoaster of the markets in the year 2008, especially since the recent tumbles, is this 'idea' that confidence will be 'restored' through all these huge money manipulations. That entire mess, I believe, isn't restoring confidence because it isn't real, so much as desperate. What is strongly skeptical is that 'the current bottomless pit' of the markets is sincerely that.


A Filipino investor takes a break from monitoring activities at the Philippine Stock Exchange. The Philippine Stock Exchange index fell 116.04 points, or 5.2 percent, to 2,122.37. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Aaron Favila

TORONTO - The Toronto stock market finished modestly lower Thursday, after a late-day rally that saw investors buy beaten up energy stocks despite a big drop in oil prices below the US$70 mark for the first time in more than a year.
New York markets also pulled off a comeback late in the day as investors examined mixed economic and earnings data for clues about the health of the economy.
Toronto's S&P/TSX composite surged about 100 points, dropped well over 500 points and finished the session down 53.88 points to 9,269.97, after an energy-sector rout sent the main index down 632 points on Wednesday....

McCain's Iraq after the Surge - Two more American Soldiers Dead

Oct 16, 2008 21:14
US military: 2 American soldiers die in Iraq
By Associated Press
BAGHDAD
The US military says an American soldier has been killed in a rocket or mortar attack north of Baghdad.
A statement says the soldier was killed Thursday in an indirect fire attack in Diyala province but provides no other details. Indirect fire is the military term for a rocket or mortar attack.
The US military said earlier that an American soldier died of noncombat causes late Wednesday in Baghdad.
At least 4,185 members of the US military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003. That's according to an Associated Press count.

Bush always 'comes up with something' at the last minute when it comes to the occupation of Iraq. If I remember right, Senator Clinton asked how long it would take to rapidly deploy the troops out of Iraq, and I think the answer was three months. Given this is mid-October, I think Bush needs to start is redeployment. This is the type of leadership the Republicans offer the people of the USA.

Inept.

Any agreement about the prolonged stay of the USA in Iraq should have been signed, sealed and delivered to the Congress and the Joint Chiefs a year ago. A year ago, the Iraqi government told Bush he would be required to leave that country. Did he listen? No. Is he listening now? No. Why? Because there is always some kind of bargaining chip he can find to 'put a deal' together. The problem this time, is that there is NO money in the piggy bank anymore.

2012.

How many more soldiers will die? How many more Iraqi citizens will die? How many more refugees will there be? And how much more poverty will be achieved?

By 2012, Afghanistan will once again belong to the Taliban !

Iraq doesn't need anymore USA monies. They have plenty of their own. I suggest Bush act in a responsible fashion and prepare his Commanders on the ground for deployment back home.

Bush team pushes hard for Iraq security deal (click here)
By MATTHEW LEE and JENNIFER LOVEN – 1 hour ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration has launched a top-level lobbying campaign to persuade skeptical U.S. lawmakers and disapproving Iraqi politicians to support a security agreement governing the continued presence of American troops in Iraq.
Although congressional approval is not legally required, U.S. lawmakers' support is considered crucial for an agreement to go forward. In Iraq, where the deal must pass through several complex layers of approval, the going is considered even tougher.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, are reaching out to key members of the House and Senate. Rice also is pressing senior Iraqi leaders to accept the deal.
The agreement includes a timeline for U.S. withdrawal by 2012 and a crucial but unpopular compromise that gives Iraq limited ability to try U.S. contractors or soldiers for major crimes committed off-duty and off-base, officials said Thursday....

McCain actually did this on the debate platform? That isn't doctored?

Holy smokes, what next? Perhaps the Presidential Debates should end with two, earlier in the season, for the Presidency and one for the Vice Presidency. This far along in the process to the elections, it would seem some folks just can't handle a national stage.

Another Right Wing Propaganda Stunt

Joe The Plumber: Not A Licensed Plumber, Real Name Not Joe
Posted by Jason Cherkis on Oct. 16, 2008, at 3:14 pm

Joe Wurzelbacher spoke to Senator Barack Obama about taxes while the candidate campaigned near Toledo, Ohio, last week. (Photo: Jim Young/Reuters)

JOE IS A FRAUD.

Leave it to McCain to find the most pathetic argument in the country to cut taxes. It should be no surprise really, McCain picked a governor known for abuse of power as a Vice Presidential Candidate. There is just plain bad judgement by McCain every place one looks.

There is no one out there paying taxes on a quarter of a million US that doesn't understand their necessity to do so. Sorry, they just don't win my sympathy.

McCain just isn't big on securing the best interest of his campaign. First he doesn't care about vetting a Veep Candidate and now this. When does McCain actually become real, if he is capable of it. Next thing you know, Bin Laden will be Homeland Security Secretary after he's had a face lift.

What is even more interesting, is the media thinks the 'stunt' Joe pulled is a good idea and is rewarding his spirit to innovate an arguement as if its real. That is amazing. The media is nothing but the propaganda arm of the Right Wing. It just is.

Samuel J. Wurzelbacher has issues. He defrauded a reality to disaffect an election. I wonder what name he is actually voting under, IF he votes at all.

The American Dream since the invention of 'American Idol,' is to make a fool out of a politician and win a million dollars. Maybe Sam needs to take his show on the road. He seems to be able to do imitations without any trouble. He could actually find himself in that upper 2% tax bracket after all. Better yet, he needs to be arrested for at least a misdemeanor in attempting to create a fraudulent event that could cause the American people the best President this country has ever seen.

The fact of the matter is that a small business paying taxes on a Quarter of a Million US is taking in a whole lot more. That business is taking in enough receipts to pay salaries, have purchasing power for supplies, office space and HOPEFULLY health insurance if they value their employees that much.

And those expenses that come off the income a small business, is actually feeding more small businesses or even big businesses such as UPS or FedEx. To 'score' a tax burden on a Quarter of a Million US is a significant business and to add to the dynamics of that business such as insuring HUMAN BEINGS that produce product to enhance the business' bottom line will not cause greater damage to the USA economy. It will enhance it.

For every check a small business has to write while achieving a profitable bottom line is more economic growth. Obama knows what he is doing and its about time the USA rewarded THE RIGHT GUY and elected him into the White House.

Many times in describing the dynamics of Antarctica I referred to wind that 'fell off' the higher altitudes to the coastal area. Please see below.

This is Seattle in October?


October 4, 2008
Cedar Hill, Texas
Photographer states :: The weather is still warm, crickets singing, even some mosquitoes tonight. We got some rain today- not a lot, but a couple of good downpours. From the looks of this we have a chance at a bit more- hope so.

SEATTLE TACOMA INTL AP (457473) (click here)
Monthly Totals/Averages
Average Temperature (degrees F)
Years: 1971-2000
Annual Average
Jan
40.9
Feb
43.3
Mar
46.2
Apr
50.1
May
55.7
Jun
60.6
Jul
65.3
Aug
65.6
Sep
61.0
Oct
52.7
Nov
45.2
Dec
40.7
Annual
52.3
Official data and data for additional locations and years are available from the Regional Climate Centers and the National Climatic Data Center.

Seattle Mayor Nickels - US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement
...On February 16, 2005 the Kyoto Protocol, the international agreement to address climate disruption, became law for the 141 countries that have ratified it to date. On that day, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels launched the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement to advance the goals of the Kyoto Protocol through leadership and action. Two years later, The U.S.Conference of Mayors launched the Mayors Climate Protection Center to administer and track the agreement, among its other activities. By November 1, 2007, there were more than 710 signatories to the Agreement....

The dense cold air from the high frigid areas of the ice continent have such dramatic impacts that there are areas of the continent laid bare of any snow. Quite a feat for a quality of Earth called 'air.'



...Known as the Dry Valleys, they are swept free of snow by nearly relentless katabatic winds—cold, dry air that rolls downhill toward the sea from the high altitudes of the ice sheet....

Where have we seen this before? Where huge amounts of money are dumped into the economy to buoy some sort of positive return to the markets?

Only a week or so ago, the USA was seeking to stop the foreclosures of banks and huge amounts of monies were stated to 'fix' it all.

It didn't.

What occurred was the same 'phenomena' that has been recurring over and over and over, no different than the recent attempts by Europe to stabilize their markets.

It won't work.

Why?

Because the monies that are being 'created' to satisfy a public outcry to 'do something' are backed by empty worth. How can a country, which relies on banks and even other nations for loans into their debt load, turn around, print more money and expect that such nonsense would actually work to convert a slippery slope into a stable market.

The 'bailouts' only create more and more of a slippery slope because there is no clear path to this mess. The ONLY clear path is to let the lousy debt ridden market tank. Wall Street did this to themselves.

I stated clearly, "What difference does it make if the collapse happens today or a month from now?" I stated clearly that allies needed to stop assisting these markets. As a result of interventionists attempting to 'play god,' are compromising any resolve.

John McCain (this is freedom?)...We have to change the culture of America....

John McCain claims to be a reformer. What exactly does he mean by that?

He stated tonight that ? we ? have to change the culture of the United States. Really?

I

DON'T

THINK

SO.



John McCain is a zealot. He nor anyone he represents has the RIGHT to simply DECIDE to change the culture of the United States. Where does he get off?

He represents everything "W"rong with this country. He represents tax cuts that drives up deficits, he actually believes people and small businesses that earn a QUARTER of a MILLION dollars US annually should not carry their fair share of taxes, he advocates supposed health care reform that will destroy the minimalist benefit programs we have now, he represents more war at any cost, and more Bush policies.

There was a time in the USA when our State Department negotiated trade policy with any country requiring social supports that demanded insurance to the integrity of workers and citizens, namely environmental regulations and worker safety measures. It was standard. Today, the Repbulicans promote outsourcing while not seeking protections for workers or environmental regulations.

The Republicans demand China to stop polluting while trade with China is at record levels. YET. There are no environmental regulations demanded of China or India for that matter as a premise to trade with the USA. If the Republicans demanded environmental regulations with the intervention of the State Department when negotiating trade deals with China, they would no longer have a basis of complaint about China.

McCain rather point fingers, whine, cry and complain about China and India as the main culprits of Global Climate Change while outsourced jobs exploit the peoples of those countries and allow profits for stockholders. There are ways of engaging regulation from other countries to insure the best 'integrity' of a product which the USA imports and one of those ways is to insist on trade policies that require environmental and worker safety policies as a premise to trade.

Today, the Republicans have negotiated a nuclear deal with New Delhi, without regard for the safety of citizens or the potential pollution of the plant. What happened to a US government that makes sense rather than one that does nothing but faciliate wealth?

PROLIFERATION
How India’s New Nuke Deal Might Set Off an Arms Race (click here)
By Adam B. Kushner NEWSWEEK
Published Oct 11, 2008
From the magazine issue dated Oct 20, 2008
When Congress finally approved the U.S -India nuclear deal this month, it sailed through the body with scarcely a peep. Most analysts in Washington and New Delhi hailed the move. But some observers worry the United States has just helped spark a new arms race.

People like McCain have eliminated the word decency from their vocabulary and replaced it with profit.

A Scientific Illustration of How Epigenetic Mechanisms Can Affect Health

A conversation we all need to have !

Outcry at scale of inheritance project (click here)

...The announcement has amplified rumbling criticism of the initiative. Eight prominent scientists in the field laid out their concerns in a letter2 published in Science on 3 October. Molecular biologist Hiten Madhani, the letter's lead signatory, has also set up an online petition to encourage others to register their opposition. "I hope the next NIH director just eliminates the programme lock, stock and barrel," says Madhani, who works at the University of California, San Francisco.
"We think it's a humongous waste of money for a lot of reasons," says Kevin Struhl of Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, who is one of the letter's signatories....

Anchorage Paper Calls Palin Response to Troopergate 'An Embarrassment'

ACCOUNTABILITY - NOT EVASION



...The Anchorage Daily News' angry editorial today was topped with the headline: "Palin vindicated? Governor offers Orwellian spin." It opens: "Sarah Palin's reaction to the Legislature's Troopergate report is an embarrassment to Alaskans and the nation....

Sarah can't handle herself. She 'leans' on people out of the authority she was granted as Governor. She did it for personal vendettas. Where have we seen this before?

How about Saddam and the chronic statement, "...he tried to kill my Dad."

Republicans practice 'power' NOT goverance. They aren't reasonable people. No one put the power of the USA military in the hands of Bush to avenge a verbal threat by a Iraqi dictator that never manifested into a real threat.

If the USA handed over military authority to the whims of retaliating against 'verbal threats' we would be conducting chronic wars out of hubris while leaving the security of the nation to chance. Bush's practice in the Executive Branch is clear demonstration of Republican 'entitlement' at the expense of the American people, both, fiscal and the actual lives of its soldiers and the pain of their families.

I can see it now. Palin, as Vice President, has called a new Energy Committee, including the National Rifle Association whom are to come up with methodologies to remove the need for 'Threatened' status of Polar Bears, while the committee is seeking clearer territorial boundaries in the Arctic Ocean between the USA, Canada and Russia through daily military patrols.

While these efforts are supposed to be non-confrontational on all aspects of securing our borders, both from Canadian Polar Bears and foreign entities, it should be noted "All Options are on the Table." Now, about that gas pipeline FROM Nowhere to the lower forty-eight....

Palin vindicated? (click here)
Governor offers Orwellian spin
Published: October 13th, 2008 10:17 PMLast Modified: October 13th, 2008 10:17 PM
Sarah Palin's reaction to the Legislature's Troopergate report is an embarrassment to Alaskans and the nation.
She claims the report "vindicates" her. She said that the investigation found "no unlawful or unethical activity on my part."
Her response is either astoundingly ignorant or downright Orwellian.
Page 8, Finding Number One of the report says: "I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act."
In plain English, she did something "unlawful." She broke the state ethics law.
Perhaps Gov. Palin has been too busy to actually read the Troopergate report. Perhaps she is relying on briefings from McCain campaign spinmeisters....

Obama Wins Scholastic News Election Poll (click here)
Almost 250,000 (a quarter of a million) kids voted by paper ballot or online
By Jack Greenberg

October 14 , 2008

It's official. At least for the kids! The Scholastic Presidential Election Poll results are in: Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama won with 57 percent of the vote, to 39 percent for Republican nominee Senator John McCain.The poll was open to kids from grades 1 to 12 in Scholastic News and Junior Scholastic magazines. Almost 250,000 (a quarter of a million) kids voted by paper ballot or online at www.scholastic.com/news. The poll closed on October 10....

Good video

US election: Hope for Barack Obama in the south as Republican campaign turns nasty (click here)
Down at the municipal offices in Decatur, Georgia, opposite the county jail, more than 200 mainly black voters were lining up patiently to cast their ballots for President of the United States.

There were elderly black men, their backs bent but their pride evident, their wives holding their arms. Youths sporting dreadlocks or afros and wearing low-slung jeans. Frazzled young women clutching children and wearing Barack Obama t-shirts. Middle-aged mechanics and builders on their lunch break.
For 40 days before "election day" - a misnomer in Georgia because a quarter of the ballots might be cast by then - residents of Decatur, a suburb of Atlanta, have been voting at a stunning rate of some 2,500 per day.
Less than 10 miles away is Auburn Avenue, site of the civil rights leader Dr Martin Luther King's birth in 1929 and where he was laid to rest after his assassination in 1968.
Among the early voters, mixed with the hope that Mr Obama, the Democratic nominee, will be elected as America's first black president is a gnawing fear that victory will somehow be snatched away. Despite his widening national poll lead and his clear edge in battleground states, few are taking anything for granted in the final 25 days.
"Most people have a sneaking feeling that something will happen to stop Obama," said Nadine Clarkson, 68. "We know what happened in Ohio last time and Florida the time before that. People who want to find a way are very ingenious."...

Sudan Holds Militia Leader Wanted by International Court

Ali Mohamed Abdel-Rahman

We have witnessed trials with Saddam within his own country handled with security, but, at the expense of the lives of judges, prosecutors and witnesses.

It is known that the International Tribunals have issues with longevity of cases and the change in judges during these long proceedings. It may be that the Sudanese government might be capable of trying Abdel-Rahman, but, considering the atrocities are still occuring and have not stopped due to his capture, I would find any trial with Sudan of those believed to be guilty a concern.

I believe the Sudanese government first has to address the atrocities still occuring before they can state they are capable of fair and just trials for all involved.

By Derek Kilner Nairobi

14 October 2008
Sudan has announced it is detaining a militia leader who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes committed in the country's western Darfur region. Derek Kilner reports from VOA's East Africa bureau in Nairobi.

Ali Mohamed Abdel-Rahman, better known as Ali Kushayb, was charged by the International Criminal Court in early 2007 with 50 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity as a commander of the Janjaweed militia in the conflict in Darfur.

The Sudanese government has repeatedly rejected handing over to the ICC either Kushayb, or Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmed Haroun, who is also wanted by the court.

The government says its justice system is capable of dealing with any crimes related to the conflict....

Escalating wars and becoming a global pariah is NOT returning good paying jobs to stressed economies.

This only goes to prove, that 'the poor' fight wars.

Not the 'bailed-out.'

We don't belong in Iraq.

We never did.

Infrastructure projects at HOME. Not every place ELSE but home.


The British Army is recruiting in areas of high unemployment

Better days for military recruiters (click here)
The Pentagon says it met its goals for 2008, and expects the bad economy to increase enlistment further.
By Julian E. Barnes
October 11, 2008
The economic downturn could make it easier to attract new recruits to the military, Defense officials said Friday as they announced that the Pentagon had met its 2008 recruiting goals.
Economic uncertainty and a declining job market are likely to make potential recruits and their parents more receptive to a pitch from the military, said David Chu, undersecretary of Defense for personnel and readiness.
“We do benefit when things look less positive in civil society,” Chu said. “That is a situation where more people are willing to give us a chance.”
Historically, military recruiting has been easier in periods of a weak economy and dim job prospects. If the recent financial turmoil translates into a deep recession and job losses, more high school graduates may consider military service, officials said Friday.
Chu said the military had no plans to adjust its pitch to potential recruits or to set higher enlistment goals....

Nationally, the USA is exhibiting dispair

The "Bailout" was required because of collapse of the housing market, an economic recession with job losses. Coming to the rescue of banks isn't going to return jobs. Economic strength of the USA has to be returned. The only way to do that is through insight and significant infrastructure changes that will create good paying jobs with sustainable longevity.

Americans understand and value a strong work ethic.

Work is hope.

Hope saves lives.

Put this nation back to work, not JUST 'bailed out.'



In this Oct. 6, 2008 file photo, Los Angeles Police investigators walk to a news conference in front of the home where six bodies were found, left, in a gated community in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Porter Ranch area of Los Angeles. Karthik Rajaram, 45, a former money manager, fatally shot his wife, three sons and his mother-in-law before killing himself. Across the country, authorities are becoming concerned that the nation's financial woes could turn increasingly violent, and they are urging people to get help. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

But tragedies keep mounting:
_ In Los Angeles last week, a former money manager fatally shot his wife, three sons and his mother-in-law before killing himself.
Karthik Rajaram, 45, left a suicide note saying he was in financial trouble and contemplated killing just himself. But he said he decided to kill his entire family because that was more honorable, police said.
Rajaram once worked for a major accounting firm and for Sony Pictures, and he had been part-owner of a financial holding company. But he had been out of work for several months, police said.
After the murder-suicide, police and mental-health officials in Los Angeles took the unusual step of urging people to seek help for themselves or loved ones if they feel overwhelmed by grim financial news. They said they were specifically afraid of the "copycat phenomenon."
"This is a perfect American family behind me that has absolutely been destroyed, apparently because of a man who just got stuck in a rabbit hole, if you will, of absolute despair," Deputy Police Chief Michel Moore said. "It is critical to step up and recognize we are in some pretty troubled times."
_ In Tennessee, a woman fatally shot herself last week as sheriff's deputies went to evict her from her foreclosed home.
Pamela Ross, 57, and her husband were fighting foreclosure on their home when sheriff's deputies in Sevierville came to serve an eviction notice. They were across the street when they heard a gunshot and found Ross dead from a wound to the chest. The case was even more tragic because the couple had recently been granted an extra 10 days to appeal.
_ In Akron, Ohio, the 90-year-old widow who shot herself on Oct. 1 is recovering. A congressman told Addie Polk's story on the House floor before lawmakers voted to approve a $700 billion financial rescue package. Mortgage finance company Fannie Mae dropped the foreclosure, forgave her mortgage and said she could remain in the home.
_ In Ocala, Fla., Roland Gore shot his wife and dog in March and then set fire to the couple's home, which had been in foreclosure, before killing himself. His case was one of several in which people killed spouses or pets, destroyed property or attacked police before taking their own lives.
"The financial stress builds up to the point the person feels they can't go on, and the person believes their family is better off dead than left without a financial support," said Kristen Rand, legislative director of the Washington D.C.-based Violence Policy Center.
Dr. Edward Charlesworth, a clinical psychologist in Houston, said the current crisis is breeding a sense of chronic anxiety among people who feel helpless and panic-stricken, as well as angry that their government has let them down.
"They feel like in this great society that we live in we should have more protection for the individuals rather than just the corporation," he said.
It's not yet clear there is a statistical link between suicides and the financial downturn since there is generally a two-year lag in national suicide figures. But historically, suicides increase in times of economic hardship. And the current financial crisis is already being called the worst since the Great Depression.
Rising mortgage defaults and falling home values are at the heart of it. More than 4 million Americans were at least one month behind on their mortgages at the end of June, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
A record 500,000 had entered the foreclosure process. And that trend is expected to continue through next year, despite the current programs from the government and the lending industry to refinance delinquent homeowners into more affordable loans.
Counselors at Catholic Charities USA report seeing a "significant increase" in the need for housing counseling.
One counselor said half of her clients were on some form of antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication. The agency has seen a decrease in overall funding, but it has expanded foreclosure counseling and received nearly $2 million for such services in late 2007.
Adding to financially tense households is an air of secrecy. Experts said it's common for one spouse to blame the other for their financial mess or to hide it entirely, as Balderrama did.
After falling 3 1/2 years behind in payments, the Taunton, Mass., housewife had been intercepting letters from the mortgage company and shredding them before her husband saw them. She tried to refinance but was declined.
In July, on the day the house was to be auctioned, she faxed the note to the mortgage company. Then the 52-year-old walked outside, shot her three beloved cats and then herself with her husband's rifle.
Notes left on the table revealed months of planning. She'd picked out her funeral home, laid out the insurance policy and left a note saying, "pay off the house with the insurance money."
"She put in her suicide note that it got overwhelming for her," said her husband, John Balderrama. "Apparently she didn't have anyone to talk to. She didn't come to me. I don't know why. There's gotta be some help out there for people that are hurting, (something better) than to see somebody lose a life over a stupid house."

British interpreter 'spied for Iran'

By Kim Sengupta
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
A British soldier working as an interpreter for the commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan began spying for Iran because he felt he was the victim of racism in the Army, a jury at the Old Bailey has heard.
At the start of one of the most high-profile espionage trials in recent times, the court heard that Cpl Daniel James, 45, used his position, working for General Sir David Richards, to offer secrets to an officer at the Iranian embassy in Kabul. The Iranian-born reservist of 18 years' service had become "aggrieved and bitter" at his treatment by the military, blaming his lack of promotion on prejudice, Mark Dennis, for the prosecution, told the court.
"The allegation in this case is that, during the latter part of 2006, the defendant's loyalty to this country wavered and his loyalty turned to Iran, the country of his birth," said Mr Dennis. "He turned his back on those with whom he was serving in Afghanistan and sought to become an agent for a foreign power... He began to complain to others about what he perceived as discrimination against him in the Army – linking racist attitudes to his lack of promotion."…

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/british-interpreter-spied-for-iran-960256.html

Afghanistan's best hope is for controlled warlordism (click here)
The Taliban are losing the battles but winning the war. The prognosis is wretched, yet we must sustain military aid

While most of the world spent the weekend trembling for its wealth, in Afghanistan the Taliban busied themselves dying in quite large numbers, during an ill-advised assault on Helmand's provincial capital, Lashkar Gar. Around 50 insurgents were killed, for no loss to Nato and Afghan security forces.
This fits the war's pattern. Almost every time the Taliban fights a battle, it loses to overwhelming firepower. Unfortunately, such western successes are strategically meaningless. Nato is absent from vast areas of this intractable country, where the insurgents prosper. There is greater gloom about the conflict than at any time since the Taliban was ousted in 2001....


The Big Question: Why is opium production rising in Afghanistan, and can it be stopped?
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
Why are we asking this now?
Nato and the US are ramping up the war on drugs in Afghanistan. American ground forces are set to help guard poppy eradication teams for the first time later this year, while Nato's defence ministers agreed to let their 50,000-strong force target heroin laboratories and smuggling networks.
Until now, going after drug lords and their labs was down to a small and secretive band of Afghan commandos, known as Taskforce 333, and their mentors from Britain's Special Boat Service. Eradicating poppy fields was the job of specially trained, but poorly resourced, police left to protect themselves from angry farmers. All that is set to change.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-big-question-why-is-opium-production-rising-in-afghanistan-and-can-it-be-stopped-960276.html

Poll: Tired of warfare, LIers want troops brought home
BY DAVE MARCUS dave.marcus@newsday.co
October 14, 2008
Long Islanders are tired of seeing America wage two wars and want troops to come home from Iraq and Afghanistan, a Newsday poll found. Nearly two-thirds want a timetable for pulling troops out of Iraq. That overwhelming sentiment echoes the opinions of other Americans, and puts Long Islanders in line with Barack Obama's position on Iraq.

At the same time, about half of Long Islanders say the United States should decrease troops in Afghanistan or even pull out. That's a sharp disagreement with both Obama and his Republican challenger, John McCain.

The poll surveyed 761 likely Long Island voters from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-uspoll145882942oct14,0,1958183.story

Pakistani Officials: American Arrested in Pakistan's Tribal Region
By VOA News 14 October 2008
Pakistani police say they have arrested a U.S. citizen in the country's restive tribal area, along the Afghan border.

Police say the man was detained Monday at a police checkpoint, while trying to enter the Mohmand area of North Waziristan tribal region. Officials say he was carrying an American passport and a laptop.

Foreigners require special permission from the Pakistani government to enter the tribal area. Authorities say the man told police he was a college student from the southern U.S. state of Florida.

Police are questioning the man. A U.S. embassy spokesman said he had no information about the arrest.

Elsewhere in Pakistan's northwest today, Pakistani security officials said government troops killed more than 38 militants in the latest fighting in the tribal area....

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-10-14-voa1.cfm

Pakistanis flee as war on Taliban flares up (click here)
By RNW correspondent Suzanna Koster in Nowshera*
13-10-2008

Hundreds of thousand of Pakistanis have fled the conflict in the tribal regions on the Afghan border, where the Pakistani army is involved in heavy fighting against Taliban militants. Moreover - as the United States revealed some time ago - around 20,000 refugees have actually sought shelter in neighbouring war-torn Afghanistan

As a helicopter hovers over the refugee camp and its hundreds of tents in Nowshera, a town in northwest Pakistan, four-year-old refugee Hubaibullah looks up at it in fear. "Boom, boom," he mimics the sound of a bomb.

Hubaibullah was at school in the Pakistani border region Bajaur when a bomb fell. It was supposed to kill militants but destroyed the school building instead, says his father Lal Bahadur, a watchmaker. Blinded by dust, the boy ran away. His father found him shaking and as white as a sheet in a street close-by. Since then the toddler has not said a word, except "boom, boom". The family fled straightaway.

Heavy fighting

For months, a 9000-strong army force has been involved in heavy fighting with militants in Bajaur - one of the seven semi-autonomous regions in Pakistan which lie along the Afghan border. Experts say these regions are havens for militants, who carry out suicide attacks on Pakistani security forces and soldiers in Afghanistan, including Dutch troops. The fighting is so fierce because the militants are supported from Afghanistan. Reports speak of dozens of Pakistani soldiers having already been killed and hundreds more wounded. The army says it has killed around 1000 militants....

First Syrian ambassador to Iraq since 1980s takes up duties

Mourners carry the coffin of a victim killed in a bomb attack outside his house, during a funeral in Baghdad Monday (Reuters photo)

Agencies
Syria's first ambassador to Iraq in 26 years took up his post in Baghdad on Monday, marking the official end of more than two decades of frosty relations, the government said.
Nawaf Fares, who was the governor of Quneitra in the Golan Heights, presented his credentials in Baghdad Monday, a statement from the foreign ministry said.
Fares' appointment will "enhance relations with Syria and take us to a new phase of cooperation and coordination in the interest of both countries," it said.
He is the first Syrian ambassador to Baghdad in almost three decades due to rivalry between the opposing wings of the Baath Party which rules Syria and held power in Saddam's Iraq.
Syria and Iraq restored diplomatic relations in November 2006, ending 24 years of animosity after Damascus accused Baghdad of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in anti-government riots in 1982.
Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have all named ambassadors in the past month, although due to security concerns the only other Arab ambassador actually posted in Baghdad is the Emirati....

Iraq says British troops should leave (click here)
By Basil Adas, CorrespondentPublished: October 13, 2008, 08:39
Baghdad: Iraq's prime minister said the 4,100 British troops in southern Iraq are no longer necessary to provide security, a newspaper reported on Monday.
Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki told The Times of London that there may be a need for a few British troops to remain for training and technical issues. But as a fighting force, Al Maliki said the British were no longer needed.
"There might be a need for their expertise in training and some technical issues, yes, but as a fighting force, I do not think it is necessary," he said. His comments were in line with an August report that most of Britain's contingent in Iraq would be withdrawn over the next nine months, leaving only a few hundred soldiers there....

Iraq
Turkey says no need for buffer zone inside Iraq (click here)
AgenciesPublished: October 13, 2008, 16:52
Ankara: Turkey has no need at present to set up a buffer zone in northern Iraq to halt cross--border raids by Kurdish guerrillas, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.
His statment came in response to opposition calls for such a move. Turkish opposition nationalist parties and retired generals have been floating the idea of setting up a buffer zone for at least two years, but have stepped up calls since the latest attacks in which 17 soldiers were killed.
Erdogan's comments follow a warning from a senior Iraqi Kurdish official against Turkey stationing troops inside Iraq, saying it would not stop attacks by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels....

Iraq official warns Turkey over barrier (click here)
AgenciesPublished: October 10, 2008, 00:27
Ankara: A senior Iraqi Kurdish official warned Turkey on Thursday against stationing troops inside Iraq and said such a move would not stop cross-border raids by Kurdish guerrillas.
New attacks on Turkish security forces by Kurd-istan Workers Party (PKK) rebels based in Iraq have strained ties between Baghdad and Ankara, which accuses its neighbour of not doing enough to combat the separatists....

Could 'the Bush Surge' with attacks killing 700 in Sadr City be 'the end' of USA occupation for the majority Shia Government?

Still no security pact, so U.S., Iraq study options
Last update: October 13, 2008 - 10:38 PM

With time running out for the conclusion of an agreement governing U.S. forces in Iraq, nervous negotiators have begun examining alternatives that would allow U.S. troops to stay beyond the Dec. 31 deadline, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials.
Neither side finds the options attractive. One possibility is an extension of the U.N. mandate that expires at the end of the year. That would require a Security Council vote, and both governments think that could be complicated by Russia or others opposed to the U.S.-led war. Another alternative would amount to a simple handshake agreement between Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Bush to leave things as they are until a new deal, under a new U.S. administration, can be negotiated.
Negotiators have been stuck for months on the question of legal jurisdiction over U.S. troops and immunity for possible crimes....

Iraq strives to move beyond body count (click here)
Tue Oct 14, 2008 2:42am EDT

By Missy Ryan
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - In five years of war, Iraq has been hostage to a parade of grim statistics: car bombs, corpses, cholera and refugees fleeing rampant bloodshed.
But as violence drops sharply and Iraq turns toward reconstruction, officials seize upon a more quotidian, yet scarcely less important, set of numbers: economic output, employment, childhood vaccinations and even the whereabouts of Iraq's war-weary population.
The U.S. government, World Bank and other donors have backed efforts in recent years to help Iraqi's statistics agency, COSIT, get a better grasp of the country's vital figures....

Iraq kicks off first oil bid round (click here)
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER

Iraqi oil officials on Monday set the conditions under which foreign energy companies will be allowed to share in the country's enormous oil and gas wealth.
The rules, detailed at talks that involved executives from 34 international oil companies, stipulate that Iraqis will keep overall control of any future joint venture but underscored the need for boosting foreign investment.
"This is a very important milestone in the history of the Iraqi oil industry," said Natik al-Bayati, the director-general of Iraq's Petroleum Licensing Directorate and one of Iraq's top oil negotiators.
Foreign investment in Iraq's energy infrastructure is politically sensitive because of accusations that the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein was fought in part to exploit Iraq's vast oil reserves....

IRAQI FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBERS - NO LONGER SHOCKING (click here)

Posted: Monday, October 13, 2008 1:37 PM

Filed Under: Baghdad, Iraq
By Carla Marcus, NBC News Producer
BAGHDAD – Attacks carried out by female suicide bombers have become as common an occurrence here as roadside bombings, political assassinations and public mourning. No longer do I react with surprise when I hear about an explosion triggered by a woman.
Just last week on Oct. 8, a young woman in Baqouba blew herself up in front of a courthouse – killing 10 people and injuring 17. She was wearing an abaya, a traditional black robe, which allows explosive devices to be easily concealed. According to the doctor who examined the remains of her body, she may have been as young as 14....

Police say car bomb kills 2 in Baghdad
By HAMID AHMED – 1 day ago
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi police say a car bomb has exploded in southwestern Baghdad, killing two civilians.
Three others were wounded by the blast Sunday afternoon in the predominantly Shiite Bayaa district.
A police official says the bomb-rigged car was parked on a major commercial street in the neighborhood.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
Bayaa was the scene of Sunni-Shiite fighting last year when Shiite militias displaced many Sunnis.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hwK_CSpBxsNuVUEaDuOwmSSCiqGwD93OTACO0

Baghdad car bomb kills nine, wounds 13: police
Sun Oct 12, 2008 1:19pm EDT
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A car bomb killed nine people and wounded 13 in the Bayaa district of southern Baghdad on Sunday, police said.
The bomb exploded in a car parked on a busy commercial street in Bayaa, a mainly Shi'ite area, police said, adding the death toll could rise.
Violence in Iraq has dropped to four-year lows, but militants still carry out bombings and other attacks almost daily.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE49B1JE20081012

Oct 10, 2008 19:14 Updated Oct 10, 2008 19:16
Iraq: 13 dead, 27 wounded in car bomb
By

ASSOCIATED PRESS BAGHDAD
Talkbacks for this article: 2
A car bomb killed 13 people Friday in a market in a Shi'ite enclave of southern Baghdad, police and hospital officials said. At least 27 people were wounded.
Two police officers said the car exploded at 4:30 p.m. in the main market area of Abu Dshir, a Shi'ite part of the majority Sunni neighborhood of Dora, a former insurgent stronghold. The casualties included women and children, they said.
The policemen and officials at two hospitals who gave casualty figures spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media.
Security has improved in the area over the last year largely because Sunnis once hostile to the government joined with US-led forces to chase out al-Qaida in Iraq and other extremists.
Still, security in the area is by no means certain.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017504554&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


Baghdad not as ‘secure’ as government claims, residents say
By Ahmad Arhimiya
Azzaman, October 13, 2008
The security situation in Baghdad has aggravated recently amid a rise in car bombings and attacks directed mainly at government troops.
Residents say conditions are worsening in the Iraqi capital once again despite the heavy presence of Iraqi security forces and a surge in number of checkpoints.
The troops have complicated life in the city as they regularly cordon off streets and areas, set up temporary checkpoints and shut streets and bridges to traffic.
Some residents spend most of the day in their cars before reaching their offices or shops.
“There is a direct link between traffic jams and security. Congested streets in Baghdad are an indication of an upsurge in insecurity,” said a resident refusing to be named.
Snipers have returned to the city but now they aim their bullets solely at Iraqi troops.
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news%5C2008-10-13%5Ckurd.htm

Blasts Hit Iraqi Markets, Police Patrol; 16 Civilians Dead
October 11, 2008 6:33 a.m. EST
Baghdad, Iraq (AHN) - A bomb exploded at a market in southern Baghdad and two other explosions in Mosul, Nineveh province also hit a market and police patrol Friday. The mayhem killed 16 Iraqi civilians.
The bomb attack on a market in Abu Dshir, a mainly Shia enclave in the predominantly Sunni district of Dora, resulted in 13 deaths, including women and children, while 27 were wounded, authorities said. Shops and parked cars were also destroyed.
The attack on another market in Mosul killed two people and injured 12 others. The explosion targeting a police patrol in Mosul killed one person and wounded 12 others.

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7012613276

Attacks on Christians in Iraqi city raise concern
By KIM GAMEL – 5 days ago
BAGHDAD (AP) — An Iraqi archbishop expressed concern Wednesday over what he called a "campaign of killings and deportations" against Christians in the northern city of Mosul after police reported seven Christians killed in separate attacks this month.
A female suicide bomber also blew herself up near government offices in Baqouba, northeast of the capital, killing 11 people, Iraqi officials said.
The violence in both cities occurred despite U.S.-Iraqi operations launched over the summer aimed at routing al-Qaida in Iraq and other insurgents from remaining strongholds north of the capital.
Iraqi police in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, have reported finding the bullet-riddled bodies of seven Christians in separate attacks so far in October, the latest a day laborer found on Wednesday.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hwK_CSpBxsNuVUEaDuOwmSSCiqGwD93MGRHG0

Christians flee Iraqi city of Mosul after killings
By KIM GAMEL – 11 hours ago
BAGHDAD (AP) — Cars and trucks loaded with suitcases, mattresses and passengers cradling baskets stuffed with clothes lined up at checkpoints Monday to flee Mosul, a day after the 10th killing of an Iraqi Christian in the northern city so far this month.
Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but local leaders have blamed al-Qaida in Iraq, which maintains influence in the region despite an ongoing U.S.-Iraqi military operation launched in May.
The latest victim was a music store owner who was gunned down Sunday evening at work in an attack that left his teenage nephew wounded, according to police and a neighbor.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hwK_CSpBxsNuVUEaDuOwmSSCiqGwD93PQR106

Iraq's missing generation
The future of Iraq hinges on its young, but far too many of them have been driven into exile
Elizabeth Ferris and Navtej Dhillon
guardian.co.uk,
Monday October 13 2008 21.30 BST
Article history
· The reconstruction of Iraq needs the commitment and resources of its entire people. Yet the Iraqi government and the international community have neglected the current generation of Iraqi youth. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the case of young Iraqi refugees who have the potential to transform their homeland.
· Youth, not oil, is Iraq's most precious asset in building a stable and prosperous future. In 2002, before the US invasion, around 60% of Iraq's population was under the age of 30 – many with high school and university education. Today, too many of those young people are among the 2.2 million Iraqi refugees living in countries such as Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.
· As Iraq takes important steps towards national reconciliation and economic development, no one is paying attention to young Iraqi refugees. Their plight is largely portrayed through a sectarian lens. But when the focus shifts to the age of those uprooted, it is clear that a large number are young men and women, struggling with displacement at the prime of their life. Rather than building their future careers and families, their plans are on hold and their hopes are in limbo.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/13/iraq-middleeast

Bush nears Cheney's all time low of 19% in job approval rating

Poll: Bush's disapproval rating hits record high

Posted by Mike Carney

02:14 PM/ET

October 13, 2008

President Bush has one of the worst approval ratings in modern American history, according a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll.
The survey suggests 25% of Americans approve of the president's performance in office.
A record 71% say they disapprove of the way he's handling his job.
Only 4% didn't have an opinion about Bush's performance.
(By comparison, historical Gallup data show that Harry Truman's approval rating fell as low as 22% in 1952, but his disapproval rating never exceeded 67%.)
In election news, USA TODAY's On Politics blog says the poll shows Democrat Barack Obama leading Republican John McCain among likely voters.

October 14, 2008
0230z
UNISYS Infrared GOES East Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop)

End of hurricane season is traditionally Novermber 1st. I think it might go beyond that. There is a lot of turbulnce in the Caribbean. The Yucatan. North of Venezuela.

Everyone's getting in on the bottom of the market, huh?

I hope Europe knows when to rein in the monies. When will they know that the recovery has been realized and sustainable?

Texas Crop Report

October 9, 2008
Dimmit, Texas
Photographer states :: These guys were trying to beat the sun and rain. They made it just in time for the sun to go down and it started raining right after they pulled out of the field.

...COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M Agrilife Extension regional crop reports for Oct. 8:
CENTRAL: Area conditions remained dry, and topsoils were quickly drying out. Cotton yields were low but exceeded expectations somewhat. Lack of moisture impeded planting of wheat and oats. Stock water tanks were still low.
COASTAL BEND: Dry conditions continued to worsen throughout the district. No rainfall and near-to-above-normal temperatures were beginning to stress forage and fall corn. Open fields were being cleaned and prepared for 2009 crops.
EAST: Due to the lack of rain, soil moisture was low and delayed winter forage planting. Many producers continued to bale hay. Armyworms remained a problem in many counties....

...SOUTH PLAINS: The region experienced another week of warm, open fall weather throughout, which was followed by a weekend of rain showers. Soil moisture was short to adequate. Cotton was in fair to good condition. A few cotton fields were defoliated, and harvest should begin soon for some fields. However, much of the cotton crop needed more time for bolls to open. Later-planted sorghum fields continued to mature. Yields of earlier-planted sorghum varied widely. Winter wheat planting continued. Corn harvest neared completion with average yields reported. Pumpkin harvest was in full swing. Peanuts were being dug, and combining should start next week. Pastures and ranges were in fair to good condition. Cattle were in good shape with little to no supplemental feeding....

October 13th, 2008

San Francisco Bay - The jewel in the crown of San Francisco Bay, 740 acre Angel Island has been a destination and landmark of sailors for centuries, and enjoys one of the few mooring fields in all of California. Last night at 2100 local time, a fire was reported on the island (which is entirely a State Park). With the recent dry northerlies, the blaze was out of control in minutes, and was burning many acres within an hour, which is when YachtPals shot these night photos....