Ida still has potential, especially when it moves out over the Gulf of Mexico

November 6, 2009
1930z
UNISYS Infrared GOES East Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop)

Posted: Nov. 6, 2009
Headlines: Nicaraguan coast walloped by storm (click title to entry - thank you)
COMPILED FROM REPORTS BY FREE PRESS NEWS SERVICES
HURRICANE IDA: Nicaraguan coast walloped
Hurricane Ida ripped into Nicaragua's Atlantic coast Thursday, destroying homes, damaging schools and downing bridges before losing steam and and later becoming a tropical depression.
Ida, clocking 75-m.p.h. winds, struck land around sunrise in Tasbapauni, about 60 miles northeast of Bluefields, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
About 80% of homes were destroyed in nearby Karawala, a fishing village of about 100 shacks, Nicaraguan officials said. No deaths or injuries have been reported....

News RELIABLY without propaganda content or spin or Murdock ads or priviledged Wall Street agendas. No extra flu vaccine in their refrigerators.

Grape Seeds produce Omegas.

Q: Which oil is best for deep-frying? (click title to entry - thank you) If polyunsaturated fat is unstable at a high temperature, then grape seed oil should not be used even though its smoke point is very high. Also, I've read that even monounsaturated fats should not be used for deep-frying. So what should I use?

A: Grape seed oil is an exception -- its rich antioxidants prevent the formation of free radical chains that typically are produced when oils are exposed to high temperatures. Olive oil and canola oil are safe for heating at lower temperatures (for sauteing or warming), but the longer they are heated, the faster they break down. Ironically, butter and organic coconut oil are the ideal fats for frying. They are saturated fats (which means that if used excessively, they might contribute to heart disease over time) but are highly stable.

The controversy to much of this is the manipulation of genetics to achieve a goal for the imporverished.
The African community and those being addressed within this 'corporate' paradigm feel they are sacrificing the biological safety net to achieve an end.
I believe those that are seeking to 'impose' these standards on the impoverished need to conduct research 'first' to insure the safety of their product, rather than producing a product that will make them 'feel good' about their efforts.
I don't see anything wrong with genetic altered crops so long as they are SAFE. And proven safe. My guess is that there is a problem.
I perfer cross breeding crops to achieve a better grape, wheat or corn that is a natural product.
While the 'idea' is noble it is not well received, therefore, why 'go there' in the first place?

Seed maker Monsanto opening first research center in China (click here)
Monsanto opening first research center in China
ST. LOUIS — Monsanto Co., the world’s biggest seed maker, on Tuesday said it is opening its first research center in China.
The Monsanto Biotechnology Research Center in Beijing will boost Monsanto’s ties with Chinese research institutions in plant biotechnology and genomics....

Bill Gates addresses 2009 Borlaug Dialougue (click here)
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Seattle)
Bill Gates' Speech at the World Food Prize Symposium (click here)
15 October 2009
...Melinda and I believe that helping the poorest small-holder farmers grow more crops and get them to market is the world's single most powerful lever for reducing hunger and poverty....

Muscadine grape seeds contain up to 10 times the antioxidant value of other high-antioxidant foods such as blueberries and cranberries. Compared to other grape seeds, Muscadine grape seeds have 40 times the antioxidants and more Resveratrol - the polyphenol found in red wine and proven to benefit cardiovascular health, blood sugar levels and the aging process, among other health issues. In addition, Muscadine grapes offer a unique combination of phytochemicals and phenolic compounds not found in other grapes, fruits or vegetables, such as Resveratrol, Ellagic Acid, OPCs, and Quercetin.




-Grape Seed Extract may be useful to treat heart diseases such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. By limiting lipid oxidation, phenolics in grape seeds may reduce risk of heart disease, such as by inhibiting platelet aggregation and reducing inflammation.


-A polyphenol contained in grape seeds is resveratrol which may interfere with cancer cell growth and proliferation, as well as induce apoptosis, among a variety of potential chemopreventive effects.


-Grape seed components may also be active against HIV by inhibiting virus expression and replication.





Possible Anti-disease Properties


Wound Healing - grape seed proanthocyanidins induced vascular endothelial growth factor and accelerated healing of injured skin.


-Tooth Decay - seed phenolics may inhibit oral sugar metabolism and retard growth of certain bacteria causing dental caries.


-Osteoporosis - grape seed extracts enhanced bone density and strength.


-Skin Cancer - grape seed proanthocyanidins decreased tumor numbers and reduced the malignancy of papillomas.


-Ultraviolet Damage to Skin - dietary proanthocyanidins may protect against carcinogenesis and provide supplementation for sunscreen protection.

Palm Oil is very high in saturated fats. It is NOT like vegetable oil.

There are excellant alternatives, the forests are better left for carbon sink management and preservation of our natural world. Omega 3 is stated to stave off and improve human depression. Leave the trees alone !!!!

Palm oil contains several saturated and unsaturated fats in the forms of lauric (0.1%, saturated), myristic (0.1%, saturated), palmitic (44%, saturated), stearic (5%, saturated), oleic (39%, monounsaturated), linoleic (10%, polyunsaturated), and linolenic (0.3%, polyunsaturated) acids, Like any vegetable oils, palm oil is designated as cholesterol-free, however saturated fat intake increases LDL cholesterol
Palm oil is a very common cooking ingredient in southeast Asia and the tropical belt of Africa. Its increasing use in the commercial food industry in other parts of the world is buoyed by its cheaper pricing and the high oxidative stability of the refined product.
Palm oil contains more saturated fats than other vegetable oils. The palm fruit yields two distinct oils - palm oil and palm kernel oil....

Will palm oil drive deforestation in the Amazon? (click here)
Posted on 23, March, 2009
Rhett A. Butler & William F. Laurance, mongabay.com , March 23, 2009 “Already a significant driver of tropical forest conversion across southeast Asia, oil palm expansion could emerge as threat to the Amazon rainforest due to a proposed change in Brazil’s forest law, new infrastructure, and the influence of foreign companies in the region, according to researchers writing in the open-access journal Tropical Conservation Science.
William F. Laurance, a senior scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama City, Panama, and Rhett A. Butler, founder of environmental science web site Mongabay.com, warn that oil palm expansion in the Brazilian Amazon is likely to occur at the expense of natural forest as a result of a proposed revision to the forest code which requires land owners to retain 80 percent forest on lands in the Amazon. The new law would allow up to 30 percent of this reserve to consist of oil palm....

Absolutely NO postponement of Climate Polcy. The delegates are letting their backbone slip too much.

The phrase vanished completely on the last day of UN climate talks in Bangkok in October.

— "safeguards against the conversion of natural forests to forest plantations" —

— "safeguards against the conversion of natural forests to forest plantations" —

— "safeguards against the conversion of natural forests to forest plantations" —

— "safeguards against the conversion of natural forests to forest plantations" —

— "safeguards against the conversion of natural forests to forest plantations" —

The Geophyscial Dynamics override Bush Era political backpeddling. The CO2 content of Earth has to come down immediately. There needs to be work on methane as well. Earth is in a dangerous negative feedback loop and the food supplies are being drastically effected for many reasons. The carbon sinks are going down and if the ocean becomes to hot for primary producers it will just too bad.

Forest protection hinges on 10-word phrase (click here)
Tue Nov 3, 2009 4:40pm EST
...The 10-word provision — "safeguards against the conversion of natural forests to forest plantations" — was part of the proposal on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation, known as REDD. The words were enclosed in brackets. Meaning, they were still up for negotiation....

What effects the land, effects the seas.


Postponement is NOT an option. NOT ! The dangers and damage are exponential and every moment that passes without resolve creates more possbility the next tipping point might be the last.

Climate change deal must be global priority, says Darling (click title to entry - thank you)
World leaders have been urged not to let money stand in the way of a global deal on climate change.
Published: 11:24AM GMT 06 Nov 2009
The UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December has been billed as humanity’s last chance to stop global warming by reducing greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.
But negotiators meeting in Barcelona this week for the latest round of negotiations have admitted that any meaningful deal is unlikely until the end of next year because the US and other rich nations will not commit to cutting carbon emissions....

Earth is good at OVER ABUNDANCE. It produces far more than any biological entity can consume, BUT, it has a delicate balance and humans have destroyed that balance. Earth's over abundance can no longer 'handle' the MISTAKES of humans and their narcisstic ability to destroy their own home!

Chapter 13: The Sixth Extinction (click here)
by Richard Leakey and Roger Lewin (Doubleday, 1995)
AN ACCIDENT OF HISTORY we may be, but there is no question that Homo sapiens is the single most dominant species on Earth today. We arrived late on the evolutionary scene and at a time when the diversity of life on the planet was near its all-time high. And, as we saw in chapter 10, we arrived equipped with the capacity to devastate that diversity wherever human populations travelled. Blessed with reason and insight, we move toward the twenty-first century in a world of our own creation, an essentially artificial world in which (for some, at least) technology brings material comfort and leisure brings unprecedented artistic creation. So far, unfortunately, our reason and insight have not prevented us from collectively exploiting Earth's resources-biological and physical-in unprecedented ways....

The vaccine is not a killer, the flu is.

Hi risk of misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis!

“The data suggests it starts as a diffuse viral pneumonia,”

It is a wicked virus. What is this 'thirty something?'

I'll be honest, it looks like a designer virus. The appearance even looks engineered. All four components have large surface areas to each other and there are definate boundaries to the four components that are almost like 'organs' to each other. It is weird.

A virus that targets children and those that are productive. Seems odd to me.

What 'biochemical perference' do thirty somethings have?

...Doctors in the study conducted in Australia and New Zealand identified 68 patients critically ill with flu symptoms, most of whom were eventually confirmed to have H1N1. Despite having a median age of 34 years, their fatality rate was 21 percent. Six of the survivors were still in intensive care units when the data were reported....

H1N1 vaccine: Counting side effects (click title to entry - thank you)
By Janet Raloff
Web edition : Monday, November 2nd, 2009
miscarriage within 24 hours.
...But not BECAUSE of their flu shots.
These miscarriages would have normally occurred even if the moms-to-be had foregone vaccinations. And that’s because the average background miscarriage rate for any given day (among women far enough along to recognize they are pregnant) is about 397. Or so reports a new international analysis, which appeared online October 30, ahead of print, in the Lancet. To see an impact of the vaccine on pregnancy losses, miscarriage rates would have to spike well above that roughly 400-per-million figure, it notes....

Inhalers aren't going to help. Asthmatics are especially at risk for detecting the worse case scenerios. People with lung conditions need to be vaccinated, especially children, as they are already compromised.

Getting to the core of H1N1 flu deaths (click here)
Fatalities show lungs are overwhelmed; antiviral drugs, ventilation to replace lost oxygen can rescue patients
By Nathan Seppa
November 7th, 2009; Vol.176 #10 (p. 13)
Lung inflammation and respiratory failure are largely responsible for the fatal cases of H1N1 (swine) flu seen so far, three new studies show. The findings also confirm observations that the influenza hits young adults the hardest but can be fought off in many cases with the use of antiviral flu drugs and a mechanical ventilator to aid breathing.
The new studies offer the first large-scale analyses of how the H1N1 flu causes life-threatening illness. All three reports find a consistent pattern of oxygen deprivation in the blood of critically ill patients, a dangerous condition that in the worst-case scenario leads to shock, organ failure and death, the researchers report online October 12 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The studies were conducted between early March and late August in Canada, Mexico and Australia and New Zealand....

It didn't have to do with redeployment stress, he'd never been in a war environment.

The military is sorta like the Catholic Church, they manage to get 'em all. He'll probably be the star in the next al Qaeda video. Can we please do something about the 'cracks in the sidewalk' here? Okay?


Rampage: Video footage shows Major Nidal Malik Hasan shopping at a 7-11 store just outside Fort Hood, Texas, hours before he shot 13 people

...He received his medical degree from the military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, in 2001.
While an intern at Walter Reed, Hasan had some 'difficulties' that required counseling and extra supervision, said Dr. Thomas Grieger, who was the training director at the time.
Grieger said privacy laws prevented him from going into details but noted that the problems had to do with Hasan's interactions with patients.
He recalled Hasan as a 'mostly very quiet' person who never spoke ill of the military or his country....

There were reasons for the harassment. He scared people. He scared military people that saw him as a threat. And he had PRACTICE issues. What did his superiors think, to put him in a war environment would straighten him out? I mean for real here.

...At least six months ago, Hasan came to the attention of law enforcement officials because of Internet postings about suicide bombings and other threats, including posts that equated suicide bombers to soldiers who throw themselves on a grenade to save the lives of their comrades.
They had not determined for certain whether Hasan is the author of the posting, and a formal investigation had not been opened before the shooting, said law enforcement officials....

He had identity issues? He should not have been where he was doing what he was doing. He was sending out sparks in a powder keg, BUT, he was really nice guy, 'ya know.'

...On a form filled out by those seeking spouses through a programme at the mosque, Hasan listed his birthplace as Arlington, Virginia, but his nationality as Palestinian, Khan said.
'I don't know why he listed Palestinian,' Khan said, 'He was not born in Palestine....


Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan

He was a CO. Conscientious objector. How did a CO ever get to be a Major in the military deploying to Iraq? He shouldn't have had guns in his hands. What the heck happened here?

He is a devout Muslim and he was being harassed by some military bozos. He convinced himself he was going to die in Iraq, possibly by the hand of his own peers. He was paranoid as hell.

They treat themselves as priviledged and above the law. There are priorities for the vaccines. Government priorities.

You want to know why there are shortages? Look no further. The investment bankers of the USA don't believe it is important enough to take a sincere interest in the people of this nation by having manufacturing facilities right here within OUR borders to produce it.

They don't have to worry about how they and their families are going to survive the day. They can EASILY over reach the authority of the government by doing whatever 'priviledged' act they care to and funding their own PRIVATE sovereign COMPANY to protect them. Isn't that right, Hank?

Who is Paulson donating the H1N1 vaccines to, the children of the military?

They put themselves above the law.

President Obama is even standing in line with children and pregnant mothers put before himself and the First Family. And who do these people think they are exactly !!!!!!

Oh, sure, they just did the 'company thing' and got a small supply for the infirmary in the basement, right, Hank?

This is ego. You see, they are more important than the President. I mean after all where would the country and world be without them.

They are such brave souls, aren't they?



What? Michael Moore and FOX News not on the list? Really?
New York Businesses Get H1N1 Vaccine (click title to entry - thank you)
Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and other large city employers have started receiving small quantities of swine flu vaccine for high-risk employees
By Esmé E. Deprez
To the list of hundreds of schools, hospitals, and community health centers that have received limited allocations of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine, you can now add some of New York's largest employers. In the past week or so 13 companies, including Citigroup (C) and Goldman Sachs (GS), have begun receiving small quantities of the vaccine, according to city health authorities.

Citigroup has been supplied with 1,200 units and Goldman with 200, says Jessica Scaperotti, press secretary for the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene. The agency has so far approved orders by 29 employers—including 16 that have yet to receive any vaccine—after they were cleared by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). Big employers that have received or are scheduled to receive vaccine so far include Time Warner (TWX), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Memorial Sloan-Kettering, New York Presbyterian Healthcare System, and New York University....


KDHE reports 2 more H1N1 deaths (click here)
By The Capital-Journal
November 5, 2009 - 5:10pm
Two more Kansans have died after being infected with the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus, bringing the state's death toll to 16, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced Thursday.
The first individual was a 34-year-old man from the Topeka metropolitan area who was confirmed to have pandemic H1N1 on Wednesday. His death was reported to KDHE on Monday. The man had no underlying health conditions that placed him at greater risk.
The second was a 58-year-old female from southwest Kansas who was confirmed to have pandemic H1N1 on Oct. 1. Her death was reported to the KDHE on Wednesday. The woman had underlying health conditions that placed her at greater risk for severe complications of influenza....

3 more swine flu deaths reported in Oklahoma (click here)

By Susan Simpson
Published: November 5, 2009
Three more Oklahomans have died of swine flu, according to state health officials.
The death of a Muskogee County boy, Cleveland County woman and Oklahoma County woman bring the total number of H1N1 deaths this year to 22 in Oklahoma.
A high rate of hospitalization also continued, with 128 Oklahomans admitted to hospitals last week.
Health officials are urging H1N1 vaccinations for those most vulnerable to illness, and mass immunizations clinics are planned throughout the state Saturday.
The vaccines are targeted for children ages 6 months to 18 years, pregnant women, adults under age 65 with chronic medical conditions, health care workers treating acutely ill patients and custodial parents of infants under 6 months old.

Have I gotten my flu shot or my H1N1 flu shot? No. And I won't until my Grandchildren receive theirs.

PTSD again or what?

My sincerest sympathies to the families and friends of the dead.

It looks like this is in response to the murders. It was just posted, so I think this is to bring answers to the community.
I think the military is doing all they can to be open about this incident and including the community and nation as partners in this issue.
I congratulate them for being so responsive. I appreciate the transparency.
I am pleased all this isn't covert and a political issue. If we are going to solve our problems we should be doing it together.
I think the nation knows there are sincere problems with mental health issues with our soldiers because of the heavy burden they and their families have been carrying. Hopefully, this will open a national discussion about what our country's priorities are and how we are addressing them.

Fort Hood TV Town Hall set for Monday (click here)
Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 5 2009 04:51 AM
From staff reports
FORT HOOD – The first live Fort Hood TV Town Hall since Lt. Gen. Bob Cone assumed command of III Corps and Fort Hood is set from 7 to 8 p.m. Monday.
Callers can speak to any of the featured panel members on the show. Panel members are Cone; Command Sgt. Maj. Arthur Coleman Jr., III Corps and Fort Hood senior noncommissioned officer; Col. Bill Hill, Fort Hood garrison commander; and Col. Steve Braverman, Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center commander.
The TV Town Hall forum is meant to encourage open communication and discussion between Fort Hood leaders and the diverse audiences on and off the installation.
To discuss a matter with a panel members, viewers can call (254) 288-4990 during the broadcast.
The live broadcast, featuring viewers' questions, is simulcast on KNCT-TV and Fort Hood Television. KNCT-TV, the Public Broadcasting Station located at Central Texas College, is broadcast on Channel 46 (local cable Channel 4). Fort Hood TV is broadcast on Fort Hood's cable Channel 10.
Before the broadcast, e-mailed questions are accepted via the KNCT Web site at www.knct.org. Click on the "Fort Hood Town Hall" icon and fill out the electronic form to submit a question. Click on the "Fort Hood Town Hall" icon and fill out the electronic form to submit a question.

The Associated Press has some raw footage of the base on lockdown. Very quite. Schools are on lockdown AS IT SHOULD BE and parents are worried. There ya go, texting is a good idea. Texting is good.

http://video.ap.org/?f=1251671&pid=9K1cVsC_3_hzwxLQSK9lnvva8Z1DwzJb

Nope, they were soldiers. What did they think they were doing? Is this like the Iraq incident where a soldier opened up on his peers? Were they on their way in or out? What the heck were they thinking?

12 Dead in Fort Hood Rampage, Gunmen Were Soldiers (click here)
KTLA News
3:58 PM CST, November 5, 2009
...One of the gunmen is among the dead. Two other soldiers are in custody.
An Army spokesman at the Pentagon says the shootings began about 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the sports dome, a personnel and medical processing center known as the Soldier Readiness Center.
The spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Banks says the second incident took place at the near by Howze Theater.
At the Soldier Readiness Center, soldiers who are about to be deployed or who are returning undergo medical screening - on average about 300-400 screened a day, Sgt. Rebekah Lampam, a spokeswoman at Fort Hood said.
Lampam said a graduation ceremony for soldiers who finished college courses while deployed was going on in the auditorium at the time of the shooting.
Authorities say all of the victims are active duty Army personnel....

This just came out of the BBC. Looks like a lot of people were targeted. I bet it was an automatic weapon. I am beginning to doubt it was a soldier, especially if the public was being let into the base for a graduation ceremony. The killers had plans.

Twelve shot dead at US army base (click here)
Twelve people have been killed and 31 injured in a pair of shootings at the Fort Hood military base in Texas, a US Army spokesman has said.
One person has been arrested and at least one more is on the run, officials said. The base has been locked down.
NBC News network said the two suspects were in military uniform and that the shooter-at-large was believed to have a high-powered sniper rifle.
Fort Hood, near the town of Killeen, is the largest US base in the world.
Home to about 40,000 US troops, the base lies between Austin and Waco, about 60 miles (97 km) from each city.
It is not yet clear whether those killed and injured are civilians or military personnel....

Sounds like they wanted to kill a large number of people. Domestic maybe? Doubt it though. Sounds like someone has a complaint.

...That official, who requested anonymity to discuss an evolving incident, said a graduation had been scheduled for 2 p.m. at the theater.... (click here)




Seven dead in Texas army base shooting (click here)
9:35AM Friday Nov 06, 2009
...An Army spokesman at the Pentagon says the shootings began about 1:30pm Thursday.
The first of the two shooting took place at a personnel and medical processing centre.
The facility, called a Soldier Rating and Processing centre, handles administrative details for soldiers.
The second shooting took place at a theatre on the sprawling base.
An Army official identified that site as the Howze Theatre.
A US Army base spokeswoman says one shooter is now in custody and at least two people are believed to have been involved in attack.
The suspects were in military uniform and the shooter-at-large had a high-powered sniper rifle, reports ABC News.
Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Banks, says it is too soon to tell whether there is any link to the shootings and battle stress or repeated deployments.
The Army is suffering a record high suicide rate and other signs of stress from fighting two wars....

There was only a 6% difference in the Maine vote. The "Defense of Marriage Act" needs to be repealed.

The argument in regard to Same Sex Marriage is generational. It is based in religious dogma and there should be clear divisions between Church and State. This is terrible for gay people. They are healthy, happy people that have the same feelings for each other as heterosexuals. It is so wrong to have them excluded from equal rights to marry. The discrimination against these people whom live in our neighborhoods is silly already.

(Click here for graph )

...Yesterday, 53 percent of Maine voters (click title to entry - thank you) repealed the state's gay-marriage law just six months after the governor signed it, and a year after California voters defeated same-sex marriage by a similar margin. It was a devastating blow for national efforts to expand gay marriage since Massachusetts was the first to allow it in 2003, and a victory for opponents who say marriage should be limited to a man and a woman....

I am going to tell you something here. There is a strategy that the gay community hasn't tried yet. Those that support Same Sex Marriage need to organize to beat the Right Wing Republicans that don't see anything "W"rong with discrimination.

Ready.

They have a limited ability to organize against the Gay Community, in my opinion. They are a smaller segment of the USA populous, about 20% or so. How do I believe this is so? Because, George Bush and Dick Cheney never had more than a solid support of about 35% of the people in EVERY year they were in office. That support waxed and wained and in election years they were able to garner support in the high 40 percentile because of other interests in the country including war and money, etc., the usual Republican bastions.

Buy, when the tide of disapproval weighed in on them their support tanked to about 23%. That 23% never waived. Why? Because they had a vested interest in the 'dealings' of the Right Wing President.

So given that, there is a small, well paid army of Right Wing Extremists that believe they can prove their strength in the USA by defeating issues of civil rights. They are issues loaded with controversy and are wedge issues. I think we know who they are, but, that isn't important. What is important is that the leaders of the Gay Community organize a national strategy that will place the Same Sex Marriage issue on every ballot in every state in the USA in the very same year. The opposition to the legislation won't have the manpower to be in every state in the same year.

What is going on now with the Right Wing Extremists is 'wack-a-mole.' They go from state to state and carry out a campaign to defeat Same Sex Marriage whenever it comes to a vote. This is a huge effort. But, I think it can be achieved. It is worth a try.

AND. Where it can be accomplished, it should be on local ballots as well. Dilute the opposition and win the war.

You know I have to laugh, the Right Wing Republicans will always state they are bigger contributors to charity than the Democrats could ever be. That is true. But. Where is the money going? Toward discrimination and hate? Yep. In some cases.

IT IS LESS THAN DOUBLE DIGITS OF THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE DEFEATING THIS.

IT IS DOABLE.

Maybe you have to make an appointment first. That has not been my experience though.

November 3rd, 2009 7:27 PM
Single payers protest at Pelosi's office (click title to entry - thank you)
Politico
About 50 single-payer activists and labor union members held a sit-in at House Speaker Pelosi's San Fransisco office today where 11 people were arrested, said Chuck Idelson, spokesman for the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee. The group was protesting Pelosi's decision to strip the health care reform bill of a provision that would let states set up single-payer systems and withold a vote on Rep. Weiner's amendment to create a national single payer system.
The amendment to create a national single-payer system would have likely failed, but it would have allowed liberal members to go on record with their support. The provision to allow states to create a single payer system would have been a small victory for a movement that has seen little but defeat so far in this debate.
UPDATED: Idelson says that Weiner met with Pelosi last night so it's not certain that the amendment is dead.

The only real upset in yesterday's coveted elections was the Democratic win of a Federal seat in New York State.

The article at the title to this entry is from The San Francisco Chronicle whom were watching the corrupt media sideshow regarding this candidate.


...Owens gained 49 percent of the vote (click title to entry - thank you), versus 46 percent for Hoffman, and six percent for Dede Scozzafava, who's name was still on the ballot, even though she dropped out of the race....

The seat was filled by a Democrat after 16 years of Republican representation. He will be in Washington, DC soon enough to bring change to the issues of immigration policy. Nice.

The two Governor seats, in New Jersey and Virginia, aren't really upsets. The Virginia race was won by Mr. McDonnell some time ago. In a poll by Pollster.com (click here) there is a graph of the popularity of McDonnell. It really is no surprise he maintained a lead to victory and is really no reflection of the feelings about Democrats as voters facing a midterm election next year.

The New Jersey race was a sincere attempt by the current incumbant, John Corzine, to turn his loss to a win. The Governor-elect Mr. Christie was popular for the reason he promised to cut taxes. New Jersey is in a job slow down no different from the rest of the nation, but, the current Governor suffered some sincere doubts about his ability to lead when one of his administration was found to be engaged in unethical and possibly illegal activity within the government. According to Pollster the race would be decided by a narrow margin but also reveals a wide margin that John Corzine was able to close in the last three months of the campaign.

The strange aspect to this is that Chrisie is believed to be personally involved in corruption. This is the statement by the Honorable John Conyers, Jr. (click here).

"...One such example of the potential for politicization has arisen in the agreement between Zimmer Holdings and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, in which U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie chose his former supervisor, namely former Attorney General John Ashcroft, as the corporate monitor. Pursuant to this agreement, Zimmer Holdings has agreed to pay Mr. Ashcroft’s firm anywhere from $28 to $52 million. Prior to Mr. Ashcroft’s appointment, however, there was neither public notice of the monitor position nor any public bidding for the assignment...."

It may be that the people of New Jersey might have their taxes cut, but, that will also mean a cut in services to them and quite possibly a strain on an already strained economy. They may also have inherited the worry that Christie may attempt to continue to exploit his new win for personal gain at any cost. Christie did not win by as wide a margin as expected, only 6 percent rather double digits, which raises doubts to his ability to stave off his soured reputation even in future elections.

If you believe in the Public Option. If you believe in Single Payer. Go Lobby Washington while they are in session.

There are members of the House that are under attack. Representative Kucinich is one of them. It doesn't matter if you an individual or represent a group, go to Washington to lobby the offices of your Representative (click here) and Senators. (click here)

Dress in the best business attire you have and go. Bring any and all petitions or other documents that support what you represent. Don't wait for effective legislation to happen because it will not happen the way you are seeking to achieve the best reform for all Americans.

If at a loss for documents to back your point of view, find 'opinion' papers from the AMA, Nurse Organizations and any other proponent for the right to have freedom from the Health Care Insurance lobbyists. We have come a long way, but, we need to take it further. Don't underestimate what is occurring within the House or Senate. Get the attention of the people that represent you and make your rights known.

American Medical AssociationOctober 2008 (click here)
Q: What are the basic principles of the AMA proposal?
A: The American Medical Association (AMA) proposes that individuals and families receive financial assistance to purchase a health plan of their choice, with more generous assistance to those with lower incomes. The financial assistance could take the form of tax credits or vouchers and must be earmarked for health insurance coverage. Health insurance market regulations should be reformed to establish fair “rules of the game” that protect vulnerable individuals, without unduly driving up premiums for the rest of the population.


Health System Reform (click here)
The American Nurses Association has been advocating for 20 years for health care reforms that would guarantee access to high-quality health care for all. Now, rising healthcare costs, increasing numbers of uninsured and underinsured individuals, and disparities in healthcare access and quality have created an emerging national consensus that the health care system is broken and must be fixed now. Any solution must involve ensuring that the supply of nurses is adequate to make universal access to care a reality.



Health Insurance Industry Overrules House Committee on Single-Payer (click title to entry - thank you)
Monday, November 02, 2009
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) was incensed on Friday upon learning that House Democratic leaders had quietly dropped his provision for allowing states to create their own single-payer health insurance program as part of the federal health reform plan. Kucinich’s amendment passed the House Committee on Labor and Education with bipartisan support in July, but was not included in the larger health care plan unveiled by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi late last week.

Calling the House plan “a bailout for insurance companies,” Kucinich said none of his colleagues gave him any rational explanation for eliminating his opt-in public option for states. “I can only assume the insurance company interests brought pressure to take it out. Otherwise I would have heard from someone,” he said.
-Noel Brinkerhoff

The USA elections of 2009 ain't all that.

While every election is important, the governor elections and any federal seat being filled will be in response to the ability of the Right Wing Republicans to successfuly lie to the electorate of the USA.

We know the TARP monies were a mistake. Recently in an article in The Miami Herald there was a story about the corrupt mechanisms of Goldman Sachs. They would say they are allowed 'corporate privacy' while in reality it is far easier to act in corrupt ways if there is no solid way for the public to identify it. Is this really corruption or a 'spanking new way of making money.' Both. That is what corruption is and when Goldman decided to lump the American Dream into a 'Goldman Sachs Bond Fund' it is corruption. Plain and simple.

The 2009 elections are in 'reaction' to 'government spending' that the electorate is made to believe they have to fear. There should not be improvements to roads and bridges as dying due to their collapse is simply part of living after all.

The public is lead to believe any government intervention with the health care insurance industry will cast them into the Third World and they should fear that.

The idea that appropriating monies through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that 'props up' unemployment benefits and COBRA benefits is fiscally irresponsible while dropping billions into the laps of Goldman Sachs is prudent. Really?

The people of the electorate actually believe the investment banks they bailed out will actually reimburse the USA Treasury with a windfall profit at 7%. Not likely.

The electorate of 2009 believes creating credit for small businesses should be left up to the capitalists of Wall Street. Right.

The electorate of 2009 has been propagandized and will likely NOT be a reflection of the electorate of 2010.

Happy voting everyone.

How Goldman secretly bet on the housing crash (click here)
By GREG GORDON
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON -- In 2006 and 2007, Goldman Sachs Group peddled more than $40 billion in securities backed by at least 200,000 risky home mortgages, but never told the buyers it was secretly betting that a sharp drop in U.S. housing prices would send the value of those securities plummeting.
Goldman's sales and its clandestine wagers, completed at the brink of the housing market meltdown, enabled the nation's premier investment bank to pass most of its potential losses to others before a flood of mortgage defaults staggered the U.S. and global economies.
Only later did investors discover that what Goldman had promoted as triple-A rated investments were closer to junk....

Voters stream to polls in municipal election (click title to entry - thank you)
November 3, 2009 02:40 PM
(Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe)
By Andrew Ryan, Noah Bierman, David Abel, and Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff
A steady stream of voters trekked to the polls today to vote in Boston's most competitive mayor’s race in 16 years. Precincts were particularly busy in the Neponset section of Dorchester, West Roxbury, Mattapan, and Jamaica Plain....
...People walked with dogs and baby strollers to the polling place inside Cathedral High School Gym in the South End, one of Boston's most diverse neighborhoods where the words "vote here" were posted in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese. One voter, Richard Shibley, cast his ballot for the incumbent.
"The city works," said Shibley, a 50-year-old computer consultant. "If someone's doing a bad job, four years is too long. If someone's doing a good job, keep them in the job."...

President Obama's Administration defines the fight against corruption in USA policy both domestic and abroad.

A country can't act in corruption domestically and be respected internationally. It can't preach human rights internationally if it doesn't practice it domestically. It can't develop responsible fiscal policy by favoring the rich over the poor or call it morality when those earning 95% of American income is concentrated in 1% of the populous.


The myth of Fox News' ratings spike (click here)
5 hours and 47 minutes ago
Fact: The breathless claim that Fox News' ratings recently spiked thanks to the White House's public critique is bogus hype -- hype that Fox News and the Beltway press have relentlessly pushed.
It's just not true.
No matter how many times reporters and pundits made the claim, a detailed analysis of Nielsen ratings numbers clearly indicates that in the two weeks after the White House in mid-October sparked a media controversy by claiming Rupert Murdoch's channel was not a legitimate news organization, Fox News' ratings did not soar or go "through the roof." In fact, not only did Fox News' overall ratings not soar, they experienced no significant increase at all. Instead, in the two weeks following the initial verbal jousts with the White House, Fox News' total day ratings virtually flatlined....

For JFK it was whether or nor to pull out of Vietnam, investigate and fight 'the mob,' and further the cause of civil rights.

When President Obama took office the USA had been sapped of its Treasury, used for crony politics, had its icons and reputation exploited, gambled with its citizen's health for profit and deprived of the Middle Class's American dream.

He more than has his hands full. He has declared corruption as a priority to his administration whether he wanted it or not. He is more than correct to give Attorney General Holder the right to proceed with any and all investigations and prosecutions because a large part of ridding the country of corruption is holding everyone accountable under the law of the USA.

He is a prince of a man. He has lent us his life to bring our democracy back to its roots and reinstate the power of the Middle Class and the back bone of our economy. He is a minority. He knows the injustice of this country and has dedicated himself to public service when he never had to. He also achieved perfection in his pursuit of his values. Being the first minority President of the Harvard Law Review was a crowning achievement for him when in his heart of hearts he never intended to profit from the status. It is an amazing reality when one actually devotes themselves to 'knowing' him (And I have never met the man in person, even on the campaign trail.)

To say he is admired is an understatement because there is no word to describe President Obama to sum up the love he has for his countrymen, his devotion to Civil Rights and the esteem he brings to the office of President of the United States of America. He openly embraces his fellow Americans and their priorites that have been left out in the cold by 30 years of Republican exploitation.

To thank him and feel grateful for him seems empty to me, but, it is all we have to realize our best interest lies at the base of all his decisions. He needs to work unafraid. He is loved by this country and will continue to be embraced by all those that affiliate with his values.

Hamid Karzai reaches out to 'Taliban brothers' in Afghanistan (click title to entry - thank you)
Hamid Karzai offered an olive branch to his "Taliban brothers" in a victory speech a day after he was declared president.
By Ben Farmer in Kabul
Published: 6:47PM GMT 03 Nov 2009
He promised an inclusive government and said he would "eradicate the stain of corruption" as his foreign backers pressured him to clean up his regime.
In a televised speech he said: "We call on our Taliban brothers to come home and embrace their land"....

Anyone missing Michael? I am. "This is it" will be the final performance to witness.

This official site's link at the title to this entry. Thank you. I watched the trailer videos at least through so far. I need to get a ticket and see the movie. Wow. Hard to believe he isn't here anymore.

He was on his game. I been swearing under my breath for the last month and a half. I mean for God Sake he wasn't on an apnea monitor. Jesus. There wasn't a damn thing wrong with him. Those rehearsals were effortless for him. "I need to cue that..." I swear.



Michael Jackson's "This Is It" Conquers the Global Box Office/Here at Home, Not So Much. Explain.
November 2, 2009
10:36 AM
Taking in a huge $101 million on its worldwide opening, Michael Jackson's This Is It — a concert film drawn exclusively from rehearsal footage — has now extended its intended two-week run in theaters through Thanksgiving. Maybe now the American audience won't drag its ass. The $21.3 million domestic total for the weekend was enough to hit No. 1 and send the hot-hot-hot Paranormal Activity to second place, with $16.5 million, even on Halloween. But, please, America, your middling interest in This Is It almost had the late King of Pop eating the dust of the OMFG dreadful Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds 3-D Concert Tour.

If the Senate Republicans want to go on haitus during the committee work up of the Clmate Bill is means NO PORK AMENDMENTS. YES !

Former Vice President Al Gore

When did they know and how did they know it?

The Senate Republicans have a real problem. A real problem. It is stated in their own words. When it come to health care reform they wanted more time to study it, when it comes to legislation to protect Earth from the abuses of burning fossil fuels the Senate Republicans want more time to study the issue.

The Senate Republicans are INCOMPETENT. They chronically need time to study issues so well documented the VOLUMES of facts and figures require entire sections of libraries to house. The science stating there would be and NOW is a problem with Greenhouse Gases goes back five decades. There isn't anything else to learn.

The American people, through appropriations to NASA and NOAA have spent billions on the science of Earth and its fragile troposphere. Now, the Senate and House have to pass legislation based on the science of these agencies and a world of scientists that have settled on a consensus.

The issue of health care reform is two decades old. People have died due to the negligence of Republicans to protect them since Gingrich declared, "Contract with America." Does he care people died? No. There is no remorse by Gingrich that people have died, he now seeks to make money and plenty of it by exploiting the conversion of medical records on millions of Americans to electronic media.

People have died from Human Induced Global Warming in the USA. Have the Republicans as recent as today ever expressed remorse regarding those deaths? No. It is time for the Democrats in the House and the Senate, Blue Dog or otherwise to protect the lives of Americans through Climate legislation that controls Greenhouse Gas emissions and through new regulations for the Health Care Industry that includes a ROBUST Public Option.

Let's get the job done. The Democrats were given majorities in the House and Senate and a President in the White House to do exactly that, now they simply need to act on that trust expressed by the people of the USA. Just that simple.

The Retreat of the Greenland Glaciers due to Human Induced Global Warming. The recordkeeping at NASA doesn't get any more perfect than this. What is there to question? Those are trickles from puddles. They are rivers from tonnes of melting ice.

Boxer pushes Climate Bill forward, whether the GOP likes it or not (click here)
November 2, 2009
...As chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Boxer said she is initiating the markup of the bill — revision before it heads to a vote — bringing it one step closer to approval. To do so, she used a loophole in committee rules requiring two members of the minority party to proceed with a markup. As long as a majority of committee members are present, it can happen, she said (a tactic that is rarely used). Luckily for her, democrats outnumber republicans in the group by 12 to 7....

Why do I get the feeling as though the Bush/Paulson $700 billion Bailout didn't work?

EXCEPT, of course, for the CEOs and their personal bailouts. Don't do this again, okay? See, the problem as it exists today, is that Wall Street primarily runs on 'steam.' That's right, water vapor. The moist air that comes out of the lungs of CEOs. But, now that 'steam' if you will, is recognized a 'toxic asset' and all the 'belief system' has wained.



Citizens Financial Group may be sold (click title to entry - thank you)
November 2, 2009 02:46 PM
By Beth Healy, Globe Staff
British regulators have stepped up pressure on the Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC to sell off assets in the wake of its massive government bailout, and the bank could be forced to sell Citizens Financial Group Inc. here in the United States.
The Scottish banking giant, which is 70 percent owned by the British government, is expected to announce its forced divestitures Tuesday, according to UK press reports. In a statement, the company said its decisions "will include some divestments not initially contemplated."...

Joe Lieberman is a liar. There isn't one word he states that is the truth. He is a political hack for the Republicans.

One might note the 'Case in Point' regarding the Right Wing Extremists masquerading as Independants. In case one doesn't understand the terms, "political hack."
A political hack is a negative term ascribed to a person who is part of the political party apparatus, but whose intentions are more aligned with victory than personal conviction.

Tell me the paragraph below makes sense.

"...came out of nowhere."

THAT is a lie. Joe Lieberman is 'playing' with symantics. A Public Option has always been a part of the discussion regarding the reform of health care. Whether it had that same name is the only aspect that is debatable.

"...it (the public option) not necessary to...Make insurance more affordable, and extend it to the 'uninsured (my word not his).'

He makes NO statement about the alternative to doing nothing. He only complains that the approach is going to cost him more in taxes. He doesn't state that, but, by avoiding the issue and spinning its crisis status is clearly stating, "I don't want to pay more taxes."

How indeed will insurance companies lower their costs if they don't have to? They won't. Wall Street has a long history of disregarding the best interest of the public in opting for profits over quality services and inclusion of even people unable to afford the vital services of life such as health insurance.

..."There're so many good things we can do to make health insurance more affordable and to extend it to people who don't have it now, but I feel so strongly about the creation of another government health insurance entitlement, of the government going into the health insurance business, I think it's such a mistake that I would use the power I have as a single Senator to stop a final vote."...

There are so many things? Like what?

"...the creation of another government health insurance entitlement..." There is no CREATION of another entitlement program. The bills before the House and Senate EXTEND the current Medicare and Medicaid programs to the uninsured with financial qualification. There is NO expense in creating anything. We already know how Medicare and Medicaid are run and how much it costs.

"A Single Senator..." My, my what a martyr, huh? There is NO WAY Lieberman is a single Senator within this issue. He represents the opposition to the priorities of the Obama Administration. He is a Republican. There is no other reason to consider him differently. He is an Extremist Conservative. He speaks words that reflect his electorate so they will put him back in office. He has no oppositon to them, now does he?

In his political rant about Afghanistan he simply reiterates the same old song. My words, not his, 'We need to nation build and continue to kill people that don't contribute. And hey, you know, this corruption thing can be overcome as it is simply an addiction that a good 12 step program can take care of.'

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 2009
Lieberman: Public Option Is "Wrong" (click title to entry - thank you)
Renews Vow to Filibuster Any Health Care Reform Legislation that Includes Gov't-Backed Coverage
By David S Morgan
...Lieberman told moderator Bob Schieffer that the public option "came out of nowhere," and said it was not necessary to achieve what he described as the two goals of health reform: "Make health insurance more affordable, and to extend it to people who don't have it now....

The Exploitive Bush Years, when the sky was the limit in Executive Compensation. It isn't realistic to believe it could ever continue.

What has happened to the cost of education?

What has Wall Street learned about the 2008 fiscal bailout?

They learned that money can be printed faster than their executives can spend it.

THAT, however, is not what they are teaching.

Do they practice what they preach? No. When the 'money supply' increases it devalues to actual value of the printed currency. What does that do? INFLATION, uncontrolled and unmitigated inflaction. Perhaps one might recall Germany post WWI.



...Rensselaer, in Troy, New York, paid Jackson $1.6 million in salary and benefits in the year ending June 30, 2008, according to a survey released today by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Columbia University, in New York, paid Lee Bollinger $1.38 million. Bollinger, in sixth place, was the best paid president to lead one of the eight schools in the Ivy League.
Presidential compensation rose 6.5 percent to a median of $358,746 in fiscal 2008, according to the survey of tax data from 419 nonprofit institutions. That growth outstripped the 4.8 percent rise in the consumer price index. Median pay at the 32 biggest research universities grew 16 percent, the Washington- based Chronicle said. Some of Jackson’s compensation included deferred bonuses and other benefits, reflecting increased complexity in the pay packages, said Jeffrey Selingo, the editor.
“It’s not the presidents who set these salaries, it’s their boards and many include people from corporate America,” Selingo said in a conference call with reporters on Oct. 30. “For them, these salaries and pay structures are not unusual.”
Since the financial crisis of 2008, many universities have experienced declines in their endowments and have since frozen pay for presidents, Selingo said. In some cases, presidents are returning a portion of their salaries to the schools, he said....