37 Days until Inauguration - No one has done anything wrong. Stop making empty accusations. Everyone back to their corners.

The Illinois Governor needs to appoint the next Senator for the state. He needs to do it now and I would make it the first thing I did tomorrow morning.
The State legislature has very weak grounds for impeachment proceedings. The ONLY aspect of any of this circus that carries brevity is a POTENTIAL ethical violation for having a ? corrupt ? conversation with his Chief of Staff.
In my opinion, there is a weak case against the Governor every place including any ethics violation. The Governor needs to take the 'bull' by the horns and assign a new Illinois Senator and I won't waste any time either.
The 'feeding frenzy' over this mess is getting stupid and disgusting, but, hey this is America where any media scandal makes money !


Blagojevich Doesn’t Plan to Resign, Spokesman Says (Update2) (click here)
By Joe Carroll and Andrew Harris
Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich doesn’t plan to resign tomorrow, a spokesman said, contradicting speculation by the state’s attorney general that the governor might quit in response to federal corruption charges.
“Not true -- the Gov has no plans of resigning tomorrow,” Lucio Guerrero, a spokesman for Democrat Blagojevich, said today in an e-mailed statement.
Blagojevich, 52, has ignored calls to resign since his Dec. 9 arrest at his Chicago home for what U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald called “a political corruption crime spree.” The governor and his former chief of staff, John Harris, 46, were accused of attempting to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate seat, soliciting bribes and trying to pressure the Chicago Tribune to halt critical editorials.
The scandal means Illinois, the fifth most-populous state, may have to wait several months to bring its Senate contingent to full strength if lawmakers succeed with plans to strip Blagojevich of authority to fill Obama’s seat, said Charlie Wheeler, an associate professor at the University of Illinois- Springfield. Every U.S. state is entitled to two Senate seats....

38 Day until Inauguration - Climate Change is front and center

Wong announces $1.4b climate change fund (click here)
Climate Change Minister Penny Wong says small businesses and community groups will get $1.4 billion over five years to help them adjust to the introduction of an emissions trading scheme.
The money will be available to businesses and groups purchasing energy efficient equipment through a Climate Change Action Fund.
She says there will also be grants for developing long-term energy-efficiency plans.
"This is about the Government delivering on its commitment to ensure that the monies raised from the scheme are invested back into Australian businesses and Australian households to enable everyone to make the transition to a low-pollution future," she said....

Ice storm paralyzes parts of New England

December 13, 2008
07:00:35 AM EDT
Northern North American Satellite (click here to animate satellite). All those 'clouds' are storm clouds. The 'torquoise areas' reflect snow.


December 13, 2008
1130z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of North And West Hemisphere (click here for 24 hour loop) - There are two additional vortex systems coming across the country. One currently over Idaho and the other south of Alaska.

The chances there are some dead is high with this degree of cold and power loss. There is also going to be a repeat of the event in a short period of time. Everybody better get ready ! People at risk should be staying with family or younger folks to be safe.


December 12, 2008
Brunswick, ME


December 11, 2008
Covington, LOUISIANA
Photographer states :: First snow in several years in Covington.


December 11, 2008
Covington, LOUISIANA
Photographer states :: First snow in several years in Covington. If Robert Frost had seen bamboo bending under heavy snow, would he have written "Bamboo" instead of "Birches"? Probably not -- the bamboo merely bends but the stalks don't click as ice-clad branches do.


December 12, 2008
Worcester, MA
Photographer states :: Worcester, MA, looks like a war zone after last night's ice storm.

The trail of the ice storm
The graphic below shows the path of the storm that knocked out power to nearly 1 million New England customers.

Franken proves a point about disenfranchised voters in Minnesota !

Senate recount: 133 + 5 ÷ 87 = 1 big muddle (click title to entry - thank you)
A state panel's haggling over 133 stray Minneapolis votes and previously rejected absentee ballots in all 87 counties fell to Al Franken's favor.
By KEVIN DUCHSCHERE and MARK BRUNSWICK, Star Tribune staff writers
Last update: December 12, 2008 - 11:33 PM
DFLer Al Franken's campaign scored significant victories in the U.S. Senate recount Friday, as the state Canvassing Board approved the use of Election Day results for 133 Minneapolis ballots that can't be found and also recommended that counties sort and count absentee ballots that were mistakenly rejected.
But the five-member board revealed some fissures. That came when its two Supreme Court justices put the brakes on the apparent hopes of its two district judges to declare in advance that the board would accept the new results that include the previously rejected absentee votes.
The board chose instead to wait until those votes come in before deciding whether to accept them.
Coleman campaign officials planned to file a request today for an order from the state Supreme Court requiring counties to follow consistent standards for counting their rejected absentee ballots. They said they hoped to have a decision by early next week.
"This is the kind of chaos the board has walked us into that we are trying to avoid," said Coleman attorney Tony Trimble.
Marc Elias, Franken's lead recount attorney, called the Coleman petition "an extraordinary action to try and halt this count and re-disenfranchise these voters. ... This is all just smoke and mirrors. They are hoping to run out the clock, delay the counting of these ballots."...

Obama transition going well, most in AP poll say

By ALAN FRAM – 1 day ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Barack Obama is getting high marks on his transition so far, with even most Republicans saying he's doing just fine.
Nearly three-quarters overall, or 73 percent, say they approve of the job Obama has done preparing to take office next month, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. The positive reaction is spread broadly across age, gender, income and racial lines, with 73 percent of whites — a group Republican candidate John McCain carried on Election Day — giving a thumbs up.
While 90 percent of Democrats approve of Obama's transition, so do 54 percent of Republicans. Only about one in 10 from the GOP voted for the Democrat Obama last month.
"He's chosen very qualified people for his Cabinet," said Kenyon Thorp, 19, a college student from Northfield, Minn., who voted for McCain. "I don't necessarily agree with all their views, but they're highly educated."
Overall, four in 10 said they strongly approved of how Obama has done so far, compared with about one in 20 who strongly disapproved....

I love this man. Love him. Patriot. He stood alone for a long time about this issue.

Former US Vice President Al Gore gestures as he gives a speech during the UN climate change conference in Poznan December 12, 2008. [Agencies]

(Xinhua)

Updated: 2008-12-13 00:22

POZNAN -- Former US Vice President Al Gore on Friday lauded the great efforts made by China to fight climate change in recent years, while pointing out that its efforts had been largely ignored at the Poznan climate talks.

"China, once seen as a looming obstacle to world efforts to reduce CO2 emissions, has itself a green stimulus of 600 billion dollars over the next two years," said Gore, an environmentalist who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to draw attention to global warming, at a high-level meeting of ministers here.
Gore, a guest speaker, was interrupted by all-around applause each time he spoke the word "China."

Kerry Speaks From Global-warming Conference in Poland (click here)
Written by Warren Mass
Friday, 12 December 2008 19:27

Speaking near the conclusion of the two-week UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland, on December 11, Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), who will chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the next Congress, predicated more aggressive participation by the Obama administration in global climate-change talks than occurred during the Bush administration. According to Kerry, "It will be like the difference between night and day."

Kerry told reporters that President-elect Obama "recognizes the need for the United States to take the lead, and he will push that lead. The United States is determined to lead not just rhetorically, but by example and policies."

UPI quoted the senator as saying that the world was "dangerously, potentially catastrophically outside permissible levels" when it comes to carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. All scheduled climate-protection proposals together would not keep the temperature increase below 2 degrees Celsius, he asserted, "so the urgency of coming together over the next year cannot possibly be overstated."

Speaking from the conference, Kerry told Reuters news service that he believed support in the United States for climate action was strong enough to let Obama sign an agreement to cut emissions in accord with a very ambitious United Nations treaty to be agreed on in Copenhagen in December 2009 — even if the Senate had not by then agreed to legislation conforming U.S. climate laws to the UN pact. Kerry asserted that "we can have commenced the [domestic] legislative process, we don't have to have completed it," before formally agreeing to meeting the terms of a UN treaty. Kerry predicted that by the time the Copenhagen meeting is held, U.S. legislation might have passed "a couple of committees" but might not have been voted on by the full Senate "because of the economic situation and the budget issues and other things."

Kerry stated: "What's important is that we go to Copenhagen understanding that no treaty is going to pass the U.S. Senate unless it is a global solution. China, India, Russia — all countries have to be part of the solution."

"It should be a treaty," said Kerry in an AP interview. "I think Copenhagen should produce a treaty fundamentally geared to reductions of emissions."

The last major UN climate agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, which mandates cuts in so-called greenhouse gases until 2012, was agreed to by President Clinton in 1997. But Clinton, knowing it would fail, refused to send the treaty to the Senate for ratification; the Bush administration did likewise.

In an interview reported by Agence France Presse back on November 26, as Kerry prepared to head to the Poznan conference, he accused the Bush administration of snubbing the other nations that had agreed to the Kyoto Protocol. Kerry said: "Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all. Delay is no longer an option. Denial is no longer an acceptable response. The stakes are too high. The consequences, too serious."

AFP reported that the Senate is expected to consider two sweeping global-warming bills in January and that Barbara Boxer, chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works committee, said one bill would provide $15 billion dollars a year to spur "clean energy innovation" and the development of advanced biofuels. The second piece of legislation would direct the Environmental Protection Agency to set up a cap-and-trade system to stem greenhouse gas emissions.

continued...

39 Days to Inauguration. It is time for the USA to rescue the planet.

Stuttgart Climate
Stuttgart has pleasant climate with warm summers, mild winters and an average annual rainfall of 700 millimetres (28 inches). Temperatures range from around one degree Celsius (34 degrees Fahrenheit) in January to 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) in July and August. It is the warmest part of Baden-Wüttemberg, with other areas of the state having temperatures averaging five degrees colder and almost double the amount of rainfall.


Snow-covered grapes are seen in a vineyard in Weinstadt near Stuttgart, Germany, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008.

After dangerous lull, war on climate change faces crunch year (click here)
1 hour ago
POZNAN, Poland (AFP) — After a year in which it nearly lost its compass, the campaign against climate change heads into 2009 needing top-level political commitment, creative thinking and a deep well of money.
Next year holds a big dream: by its end, the world will have forged a treaty in Copenhagen to shrink global warming from mankind-threatening juggernaut to manageable problem.
Unprecedented in scale and complexity, this accord, due to take effect from 2012, will rein in the greenhouse gases that stoke global warming and throw a lifeline to poor countries exposed to mutated weather patterns.
But realising this vision will now require extraordinary effort....

This guy is an interesting character.

He is some of 'the old school' terrorist network that dates back to when the USA sanctioned the Mujahideen operations against Russia.

Hafiz has made a life out of being a terrorist. Literally, back in the day, it was an 'okay' place to be when it was Russia the USA wanted to oppose, but, now that al Qaeda has taken on the USA, Hafiz finds himself on the other side of the fence when all he has been doing is the same thing he was always doing.

Now let's just take that thought one step further and how a change in 'regime' in Pakistan has returned leadership that will actually see the end to the terrorist networks, including the Taliban, rather than catering to them.

Ready?

The title of this reality provoking entry is called, "why did Musharraf ever take control in the first place?

Let's imagine that the Russia were really the bad guys. The 'idea' is that no matter what Russia does it conflicts with 'The Capitalists' priorities in the USA, so therefore, Russia has to be an enemy. Otherwise, there would be no real reason to have Russia as an enemy. They are Communists. They are an enemy to 'Expansion Hungry Capitalists, AKA Multi-national Conglomerates.' You know the folks Republicans like to call, "Interests of the USA,' that they feel comfortable starting a war over.

Well, Russia didn't like and doesn't like any instability near its borders (see map of USSR above), that has never changed. The Soviet Union was that way and Russia today practices the same intolerance of instability. At one time the USSR and Afghanistan shared a border. Well, guess who was leading all the unrest that eventually dethrowned the Afghan king? Right. Osama bin Laden and the Mujahideen. Get the picture? The same war the USA, NATO, Afghanistan, Pakistan and now India are facing was at one time Russia's nightmare.

So why would captialists be interested in that region of the world? Are you kidding? Russia? Oil? Gaspov? Hello? And what runs from Russia to Europe now? Pipelines? Right? Right.

So, why not take the opportunity to arm terrorists against Russia to defeat them and move forward 'some kind' of agenda to advance the policies of capitalists.

Now, that was capitalists, not freedom, Capitalists.

After all the USSR had to have some kind of reason for the conflict, so even though no one understood the language or really consented to the aggression of terrorists at least it would be something that might actually harm Russia if they were defeated in Afghanistan. Right? I mean defeating the USSR was always a good thing. It wasn't like they ever really did anything to benefit humanity on Earth. I mean just because they defeated Hitler. Who cares about that?

So, the USA armed Osama, who was exiled by most if not all Arab nations by then, to defeat the USSR on its advance into Afghanistan and low and behold they did exactly that. In the wake of their victory did they advance into the USSR? No. They simply basked in their victory and took whatever aid they could get and set up network after network and began to plot to defeat the USA and its "Playboy Culture." After all, they already defeated the USSR with a few shoulder mounted missile launchers with armor piercing capacity.

The 'Playboy Culture' is just an excuse and a psychological trigger to recruit young men into al Qaeda's terrorist networks. That's all. There is nothing wrong and a lot right in having a culture based in 'healthy sex drives.' It is called pleasure and bonding and successful marriages know the benefit of a resolve to physical comfort between partners.

The truth is Osama bin Laden has no basis in religious fervor of any kind to justify killing or recruiting young men and sometimes women to murder for him. He is an incredibly successful sociopath. He's made a science and 'quasi-government' of hating The West. It is a science to plot the successful deaths of innocent civilians through their own infrastructure. See, Osama doesn't have any ultimate goals. He simply likes to kill and have young men believe there are virgins waiting for them after their death. He's sociopath. Nothing magical about him, just a tormented and determined sociopath. That's all.

Just as an example, the attacks on the USA were on 9/11/2001. Why was that a choice of a sociopath? It was not a militarily strategic maneuver UNLESS one was plotting against 'the people' and not the government. 'People' in the USA dial 9-1-1 for emergency purposes. He CHOSE 9/11 for the purpose of creating an emergency out of the 'American cultural icon of 'safety and help,' in the numbers 9-1-1. Al Qaeda's leader is a sociopath. End of story there. So, back to the discussion about Hafiz and Musharraf.

What followed the victory of the Mujahideen was a rise in power of Musharraf. Why? Because there was a new found power base in that region of the world that wanted 'more' in a country primarily engulfed in poverty. So, with Musharraf able to control the military and the tribal regions controlled by a terrorist network the chances of Musharraf ever being overthrown was ZERO. All Musharraf needed from people like Hafiz was to maintain control of the tribal regions while he put up a half hearted presence as a President-General and all was 'safe' for both the terrorists and for him. A mutual understanding you might say.

People like Hafiz were important to the impoverished. He was important to terrorists networks because under one of the pillars of Islam, 'CHARITY' was a vital component to being a legitimate Muslim. Therefore, not different from Hezbollah, these jokers were fronting legitimacy for al Qaeda's recruitment efforts.

And now with the successful attacks into Mumbai, the world has overt proof of the nonsense once called the Musharraf government. There was no government under Musharraf and as soon as he was no longer General, his 'reign' fell into chaos. Now, that the Bhutto government has been re-established after one false accusation after another false accusation; we are witnessing the dismantling of al Qaeda's infrastructure. Suck on that Osama.

So, you see, I don't believe in false accusations by any government. Any government. Especially those that come as 'words' without PROOF of any actual wrong doing. You have to know the facts of history as they relate to the 'maintenance of freedom' and not the indulgence of capitalists. It makes a huge difference and it makes economies safe. When economies are safe, people can advance their societies, find peace among nations and solve problems in ways only dreamed about when war is a priority.

Hafiz Mohammed Saeed

US pleased that committee has decided to move forward on these ‘high-priority designations’
By Khalid Hasan
WASHINGTON: The United Nations Security Council’s Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee on Wednesday added the names of a host of Pakistani organisations and individuals – including Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LT), Jamaatud Daawa (JD), the Al Rashid Trust, Al Akhtar International, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and Haji Muhammad Ashraf – to its consolidated list. Contrary to reports, Gen (r) Hamid Gul’s name was not on the list.

Hafiz Muhammad Saeed – chief of LT – was born in Sargodha in 1950, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi in Okara in 1960 and Haji Muhammad Ashraf – LT’s chief of finance – in 1965. Ashraf is listed as LT’s chief of finance.

The UN announcement says the LT is also known as Al Mansoorian, Paasban-e-Kashmir, Paasban-e-Ahl-e-Hadith.

The Al Rashid Trust is said to be known as the Al Ameen Trust with branches in several Pakistani cities. While headquartered in Pakistan, its operations extend to Afghanistan, Kosovo and Chechnya, and the organisation is said to be involved in the financing of Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Until October 21, this entity appeared also as the Aid Organisation of the Ulema Pakistan. Al Akhtar Trust International – another sanctioned entity – is also known as the Azmat-e-Pakistan Trust with regional offices in Bahawalpur, Bawalnagar, Gilgit, Islamabad, Mirpur Khas and Tando Jan Muhammad. It also runs the Akhtarabad Medical Camp in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan.

US welcomes: On Wednesday, the US welcomed the development in a statement saying, “The US is pleased that the committee has decided to move forward on these high-priority designations.”

Dawa offices in most cities and towns sealed: Hafiz Saeed, others in custody (click here)

Dawn Report

LAHORE, Dec 11: Jamaatud Dawa Amir Hafiz Mohammad Saeed was placed under house arrest for three months as the countrywide crackdown on the organisation continued on Thursday.

Police sealed Qudsia Mosque, the headquarters of Jamaatud Dawa in Chauburji Chowk, and 18 other offices throughout Punjab.

Five offices were sealed in Sialkot. Twenty-five members of the organisation, including Ameer Hamza, Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki, Maulana Naseer Hamza, Saifullah Mansoor, Dawa’s director of public relations, Col (retd) Nazir Ahmed, and Rajanpur district president Talib Rehman, were detained. A large number of publications of the organisation were seized.

Hafiz Saeed was detained at his Johar Town residence under the maintenance of public order ordinance.

“Police have encircled the house of Hafiz Saeed and told him he cannot leave his home. They have told him that the detention order will be formally issued shortly,” his spokesman Abdullah Montazir said.

A police official told Dawn that detention orders had also been issued by the Punjab home department and raids were being conducted to arrest Yahya Mujahid, Abu Umer a number of other prominent members...

Innocent until Proven Guilty. Get your mind around THAT. Nothing else matters. Nothing. Life goes on !

NO ONE HAS BEEN CONVICTED and the Democrats are allowing idiots to turn this into a circus.

Fire the Illinois Attorney General, she has no right to take a federal proceeding into her own hands. NONE !

I don't believe in resignation of any ELECTED official unless the PROOF is overwhelming. I don't consider 'conversations' between a Chief of Staff and a Governor whom were exploring what was possible, right or wrong, overwhelming evidence. As a matter of fact the case is so weak Fitzgerald needs to drop the charges. Libby walked, you know what I mean. This case is even weaker than that one!

The Republicans are laughing their butts off. By the time this is over, the Democrats won't have a candidate for Senate or a Party in Illinois. They are bunch of jerks being lead around by the nose by the media.

And at the end of it all, the Governor will be as clean as a whistle while everyone else sits behind bars or worse if they keep this up. There is nothing to those charges and there is no wrong doing to date. It needs to END there. The people that were solisiting for money to bargain a candidate into public office are lucky. Their offer was never accepted !

Fire the Illinois Attorney General. What she is attempting is Unconstitutional.

Lisa Madigan is wrong. She cannot seek to leverage power against an Elected Governor. She should be fired. She doesn't believe in Due Process. It is unconstitutional to ride the Lisa Madigan Railroad.

Where in the Illinois Constitution does the State Attorney General have the right to remove an Elected Governor. That is the place of the State Legislature. She is way out of line and should be fired immediately.

What she is attempting is anarchy and highly unconstitutioanl under Federal Law as well. Lisa Madigan should be charged minimally with mayhem and seeking to subvert authority of an elected official without grounds.

Illinois Attorney General Files Motion to See Blagojevich Declared "Unfit" (click here)
Submitted by Julie on December 12, 2008 - 12:37pm.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a motion with the state's highest court, asking justices to remove Gov. Rod Blagojevich from office. Madigan filed the motion Friday as pressure on the governor to step down continues to intensify.
The motion filed challenges Blagojevich's scandal-plagued administration by questioning his fitness to serve and asking for the Supreme Court to remove him from office.
The move came as Blagojevich prayed along with several ministers in his home, before heading into work. According to one of the pastors, the governor told them he is innocent and will be vindicated "when you hear each chapter completely written."
AG Lisa Madigan seeks to remove governor from office.

I would actually applaud George Bush if he did something as decent as this. Paulson decided a Middle Class was a good idea, huh?

It's about time, the Bush White House joined the nation in trying to rescue the Middle Class and straighten out the environmental tragedy we are now facing. It can be accomplished. We can do it. The Bush White House needs to do what the Senate Republicans can't seem to appreciate. Thank you, Mr. Paulson. We appreciate it.


White House, Treasury say they won't let automakers fail (click title to entry - thank you)
..."Because Congress failed to act, we will stand ready to prevent an imminent failure until Congress reconvenes and acts to address the long-term viability of the industry," Treasury spokeswoman Brookly McLaughlin said.
And, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said it is considering using the Wall Street rescue fund to prevent the USA's strapped carmakers from failing.
"Given the current weakened state of the U.S. economy, we will consider other options if necessary, including use of the TARP program, to prevent a collapse of troubled automakers," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters aboard Air Force One as President Bush headed to Texas....

I am a little bit confused at some of the reports regarding Malika El Aroud. She and her spouse are known recruiters.

18 months ago: 38-year-old Tunisian Moez Garsallaoui, right, and his wife, Malika El Aroud (click here), arrive at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, Switzerland, Wednesday, June 20, 2007. Switzerland's first Internet terrorism trial opened Wednesday with the prosecution accusing two Muslims of running Web sites that supported al-Qaida linked groups and showed terror executions. The two suspects, Moez Garsallaoui, a Tunisian based in Switzerland, and Malika El Aroud, the Belgian-born widow of an al-Qaida suicide bomber, appeared in the high-security court room on Wednesday morning.

Perhaps the the authorities in Belgium decided to round up those responsible for a planned bombing.

11.12.2008 21:00 UTC
Belgian police arrest 14 terror suspects (click here)
Police in Belgium have arrested 14 suspected members of the al-Qaeda terrorist group. Investigators say at least one of those arrested may have been plotting a suicide attack on Belgian territory. The arrests were made in a series of early morning police raids across the country. Security sources say one of the suspects had trained with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and had links with extremists in Britain, France and elsewhere in Europe.

Some of the reports in the media are treating this like a new arrest of some kind of legend. It is not really. She is known to the intelligence community.

I think there is more concern about their activities and that may be why she was taken off the street with so many others, but, the activities of the folks have been known for awhile now.

Why any of it was tolerated is beyond me. People go around saying they love Osama bin Laden and would do anything for him is automatically an accomplice. Recruiting means they are accomplices to the plans of a murderer. Why leave them on the street? On bail? No reason. Its a different breed of criminal. They are 'international' criminals. They make plans to kill across borders with hopes to disrupt government infrastructure and stability as well as fiscal stability.

AND.

THEY ARE CAPABLE of performing the crime. They can deliver on their activities. If they couldn't do that it would be a different scenario, but, these folks know that recruitment for al Qaeda will deliver the results they are planning.

40 Days until Inauguation - Health Care Reform ! Yes !

Tom Daschle knows something about good health. He was the recipient of the WMD letter ! He was a great legislator and in actuality he was the Democrat that was 'Swift-Boated' along with Kerry for his re-election of 2004. I am glad he is back and Barak has made a great choice once again.


Obama unveils health policy team (click title to entry - thank you)
US President-elect Barack Obama has picked former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle to head the Health and Human Services Department.
Mr Daschle will also lead a new White House Office of Health Reform, with responsbility for pushing Mr Obama's healthcare plan through congress.
The president-elect has chosen Jeanne Lambrew, a close aide to Mr Daschle, to act as his deputy in the White House.
Mr Obama has said healthcare reform is a top priority for his administration.
Mr Daschle, 61, was the top Democrat in the Senate between 2001 and 2003, when he lost his seat to Republican John Thune.
This year, he wrote a book with Ms Lambrew - "Critical" - laying out his proposals for reform of America's health system
He was an early backer of Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.

Give the Senate Republican some PORK and they'll pass it. You know. Somethin' to send home to the folks.

GM and Chrysler rescue faces fight in US Senate (click title of article - thank you)
The US House of Representatives late on Wednesday night approved the $14bn (£9.4bn) rescue package for the country's ailing car industry but its passage through the Senate is far from certain.
By James Quinn, Wall Street Correspondent
Last Updated: 10:58AM GMT 11 Dec 2008
The House voted 237-170 in favour of the bill, which will advance funds to General Motors and Chrysler immediately, and pave the way for further cash for the pair and rival Ford as long as the companies fundamentally restructure.
The trio asked for $34bn, but will only get $14bn because of politicians' continued worries over the use of hard-pressed taxpayers' money. The bill now faces it biggest challenge and needs to gain the support of at least 60 of 100 Senators in order to pass that stage and be handed to President George W. Bush to sign.
A group of leading Republican Senators are resisting the legislation in its current form. The Senators, including Senator Richard Shelby, want more powers for the so-called "car tsar" who will be tasked with monitoring the companies use of the cash and ensuring they restructure by the end of March.
Senator Shelby said of the money: "This is an installment on a huge bail-out that will come later," arguing the $14bn alone would not make the company's become competitive.
"Unless Chrysler, Ford and General Motors become lean and innovative and competitive in the marketplace, this is only delaying their funeral," he continued....

Iraq is splitting. Piece by piece.

Basra in Iraq to decide on holding autonomy vote
By SAMEER N. YACOUB – 10 hours ago
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's election commission will run a petition drive to see if there's enough support for a referendum to decide whether the oil-rich province of Basra will become a self-ruled region, officials said Wednesday.
The Iraqi election commission said it would set up 34 centers across Basra where voters can sign the petition asking for a self-rule referendum. The drive begins on Monday and will last until Jan. 14, commission officials said.
Basra lawmaker Wail Abdul-Latif said that at least 10 percent of registered voters must sign the petition in order for a referendum to be scheduled.
If a majority voted in favor in the referendum, Basra would become a self-ruled region with the same powers as the Kurdish self-ruled area in the north....

The charges aren't against the President-Elect. He needs to mind his own business and let DUE PROCESS take its course. He does believe in Due Process

Carbon-based materials and coatings was the winning project for Fraunhofer's Center (click here) for Coatings and Laser Applications (CCL). The benefits of carbon-based coatings are its electrical, thermal, optical and mechanical properties. Industrial applications range from the automotive industry to biocompatible implants, fuel cells, cell phones, and micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS), sensor technologies, optical and electronic applications.
Fraunhofer USA, Inc. is a non-profit research and development corporation and is a subsidiary of Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Europe's largest organization for applied research. Fraunhofer USA operates through technology Centers that are partnered with major research universities in the United States and also with parent research institutes in Germany.




Obama to name Nobel physicist Steven Chu as Energy secretary
More names leaking out for the Cabinet of Barack Obama and his White House team.
Our conscientious colleague Jim Tankersley over at the Swamp has just reported that at a news conference Thursday in Chicago the president-elect will name Steven Chu, the 1997 Nobel Prize-winning physicist from Berkeley, as his secretary of Energy.

...While still continuing in laser cooling and trapping of atoms (click here), I have recently ventured into polymer physics and biology. In 1986, Ashkin showed that the first optical atom trap demonstrated at Bell Labs also worked on tiny glass spheres embedded in water....


The Governor's Plight is pettiness for a nation with the problems the USA faces. President-Elect Obama needs to continue his focus on his transition before that is derailed by his participation in gossip.

The Governor of Illinois is on trail by MEDIA. There is such a thing in this country as Due Process and I strongly suggest he seek good council and pursue it with vigor. By asking the Governor to step down, President Elect Obama is playing 'The Shame Game.' It is unwise to start down that path and become a Tabloid Darling.

He needs to continue to oversee the transition and allow the laws of the land to precide. If I were the Governor I'd be moving before a court to sue the networks for attempting to place public pressure on his decision making rather than allowing the courts to do their job. I would want a 'Gag Order' to stop THE MEDIA CIRCUS. I wish him the best of luck.

The media is compromising the opportunity for a fair trial and Patrick should be moving before the courts to insure there is no way the case can be compromised more than it has already been, but, if Patrick keeps calling on Dead Presidents there is a good guess he is vying for an interview with Vanity Fair.

In the year 2008, this is a reality?

The White House Boys, as a group of grown men now call themselves, kept one of The Florida State Reform School's most shameful secrets for half a century: what was done to them inside a squat, dark, cinderblock building called The White House.

Guards viciously beat the adolescent boys with a leather lash that was part sheet metal inside of The White House building.

The building still stands on the grounds of what is now called The Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys. A graveyard, bearing crosses made of metal pipes, mark the graves of 32 unidentified bodies in an overgrown field near the school.

EMILY MICHOT / MIAMI HERALD STAF

...The four men, all of whom suffered from brutal beatings while students at the Marianna-based school for delinquent boys in the late 1950s, sent letters to Gov. Charlie Crist, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. attorney general alleging that the boys were victims of state-sponsored hate crimes and murder....

It's tough being 'union' these days. What Governor last participated in a union action?

Governor Supports Workers At Factory (click title to entry - thank you)
Gov. Rod Blagojevich visited the workers occupying the recently closed Republic Windows factory. (Scott Olson - Getty Images)
By Kari Lydersen
Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, December 9, 2008; Page A02
CHICAGO, Dec. 8 -- Workers occupying a Chicago factory that closed abruptly last week gained a significant political ally Monday in their fight to receive back benefits, when Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) ordered state agencies to stop doing business with Bank of America until it uses some of its federal bailout money to keep the factory open.
The standoff at Republic Windows & Doors, which began Friday, has been a throwback to tactics hardly seen since the 1930s that labor experts and union leaders say may become more common if the economy continues its downturn.
More than 200 unionized employees say they will not allow Republic or its creditor, Bank of America, to remove equipment from the factory until they get severance and vacation pay they are owed. Their union alleges that Republic violated federal law by giving its workers only three days' notice before shutting down. Workers were told the company was closing because Bank of America did not extend it enough credit to keep operating....


Gov. Rod Blagojevich visited the workers occupying the recently closed Republic Windows factory. (Scott Olson - Getty Images)

Workers occupying shuttered Chicago factory offered a deal (click here)
8 hours ago
CHICAGO (AFP) — Workers occupying an abruptly shuttered Chicago factory have been offered a lifeline after the bank which cut off financing to the window maker said it would give the company a new loan to help cover the costs of their vacation and severance pay.
The 240 workers who began the sit-in on Friday to fight for compensation they were guaranteed by law have become a symbol of the suffering of hundreds of thousands of people who lost their jobs amid a deepening recession....

It's tough being union sometimes. This company wants to open a plant in Iowa. This is no small issue. Where the heck is the billions US in bailout already? Making Wall Street actually do 'the right thing' is getting resistance. Why?

State threatens Bank of America (click here)

The governor of Illinois has threatened to stop doing business with Bank of America if it does not help laid-off workers occupying a Chicago factory.
Rod Blagojevich said the bank would lose out on hundreds of millions of dollars in fees and commission.
About 200 workers have been occupying Republic Windows and Doors demanding severance pay since they were laid off with only three days notice....

41 Day until Inauguration - "Ever play the child's game "You're getting warmer..."

India and Pakistan must fight this war together. They are no longer on opposite sides of the issue. The terrorist networks that hide in Pakistan 'are' the ones that contain the most dangerous terrorists in the world. India, Pakistan and the USA, along with Afghanistan MUST continue their movement into these two areas, both Kunan and Lahore, to finally dismantle the 'strongest' element of al Qaeda and thus leading to its end.

This is like shutting down "The World Headquarter." We are getting close, very close. It must be pursued. To have NATO, Pakistan, India and Afghanistan all on the same side with the same intent at the same time, rather than fracturing into 'sovereignty only issues' is too good to be true. When they don't work together for the sake of maintaining 'the status quo' the terrorist networks win and thrive.



...A HOAX caller claiming to be India's foreign minister threatened Pakistan's president with war during the final hours of the Mumbai attacks, prompting Pakistan to put its air force on its highest alert for nearly 24 hours, according to a news report.
The report in Pakistan's English-language newspaper Dawn on Saturday underscored the volatile atmosphere between the nuclear-armed neighbours during the 60-hour rampage by gunmen in Mumbai less than a fortnight ago.
India's Ministry of External Affairs responded to the report by issuing a statement expressing concern "that a neighbouring state might even consider acting on the basis of such a hoax call".
It accused Pakistan of trying to "divert attention from the fact of an attack on India from Pakistani territory by elements in Pakistan"....(click here)

Lashkar-e-Taiba had its origins in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan. It is the province the USA believes Osama bin Laden calls home. It is also the place where fighting continues through the winter in Afghanistan with the Taliban. The 'idea' that all these attacks are stemming from the same 'circle' of terrorists is correct. This attack was as much based in 'al Qaeda authority' as any other.
Lashkar-e-Taiba now operates out of Lahore, Pakistan.

...However, before we consider how the world will approach Pakistan (click here), we must take a look at what kind of evidence the Indians will present to Pakistan. Unfortunately, the truth is that India is throwing out hints of aggressive action before concluding the process of putting together all the evidence. The latest finding that domestic Indian terrorists could be involved in the Mumbai attack should change the Indian approach to the matter. Pakistan’s stance has been that if the spoor leads to Pakistan it could only be to the “non-state actors”, and that India should not rule out its own “non state actors”. The latest news from India tends to point to a cooperative approach rather than confrontation....
continued...

December 10, 2008
Mumbai terrorists 'part of a larger group' (click here)
The 10 men known to have carried out the Mumbai terror attacks were part of a larger cadre of 30 who were given military training on how to conduct a suicide mission, according to police.
"Another 20 were ready to die," Mumbai Police Deputy Commissioner Deven Bharti said. "This is the very disturbing part of it," he told the New York Times.
The whereabouts of the 20 other men are unknown....
...Leaders from Lashkar-e-Taiba picked out Kasab and the nine other Mumbai gunmen some months before the attacks. The chosen militants were then divided into five two-man teams, each of which was assigned a target in Mumbai. Each team was forbidden from sharing the information about their target with the others and never saw the other 20 trainees again, according to police.
Each of the 10 gunmen was armed with about a dozen grenades, a 9 mm pistol with two magazines, one AK-47 assault rifle with about seven magazines and 100-150 rounds of ammunition, police said....


Two senior Lashkar members arrested: Pakistani PM (click here)
59 minutes ago
MULTAN, Pakistan (AFP) — Pakistan has arrested two senior members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the group considered the prime suspect in the Mumbai attacks, the country's prime minister said Wednesday.
"The two have been arrested and an investigation is under way," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told journalists in response to a question about Lashkar members Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah.
Gilani said the two, who are both senior members of the banned Islamist group, were being questioned.
Indian media have said the sole surviving Mumbai attacker named Lakhvi as one of the planners of the devastating siege on India's financial capital.
Under intense international pressure, Pakistan launched a major operation over the weekend against militant organisations in the country, raiding a camp in Kashmir run by a charity linked to Lashkar and arresting 15 people....

The good news is they still seem limited to a ground assault. Should that be the best news of the day?


Just ten trained terrorists caused carnage (click here)
By Andrew Buncombe in Mumbai and Jonathan Owen
Sunday, 30 November 2008
Mumbai's ordeal ends after three days with 200 dead – and the Indian authorities piecing together how a small unit of Islamist fanatics were able to mount such terrible attacks
Mumbai's 60 hours of terror were the work of a small team of professionally trained "commando killers", who spent weeks planning their atrocities, according to initial evidence emerging here yesterday.
Officials said they believe the terrorists who carried out attacks that left almost 200 people dead, and who held off the security forces for three days, may have numbered as few as 10. Only one – apparently a Pakistani national identified as Mohammed Ajmal Qasam by a senior Indian official – was captured alive. And a report claimed that, under interrogation, he told officials that he and his colleagues wanted to carry out "India's 9/11" – a title that local television channels have already attached to this week's events. Other reports said the men were linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based group that has fought Indian forces in disputed Kashmir and was blamed for a 2001 attack on India's parliament....



Description: A black AK-47 rifle, placed against a yellow sun in the center, protrudes vertically from an open, green Koran. Above the rifle, in black, is a semi-circular Koranic phrase which translates: "And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah." These images are set against a light blue background. Below the Koran is white lettering against a red background; it bears the group's original name: Markaz al-Dawa wa al-Irshad (the Center for Preaching and Guidance).

Explanation: The Koran signifies the centrality of Islam to Lashkar-e-Taiba's ideology; green is also Islam's traditional color. The blue background represents Allah's mercy and the sun symbolizes wisdom and virtue. The rifle's placement above the Koran, and the inscription above, denote the organization's belief that violent jihad will establish a society based on Islamic precepts. The red on the bottom is a symbol of strength and violence.

Military jet crashes in San Diego neighborhood

Military jet crashes into San Diego neighborhood (click here)
9.December 2008, 08:20
An American military jet on a training mission crashed into a suburban San Diego neighborhood on Monday, destroying two houses, killing three people and leaving one missing, officials said. The pilot of the F/A-18D fighter was able to eject safely after the jet encountered mechanical problems, which some reports say could have been an engine failure.