This is the sad reality of Southern California. It's a national disgrace. The USA has NO policy of the prevention of Human Induced Global Warming.

The link at the title above is a review of an interview with the retired founder of CNN, Ted Turner. The staff and crew of CNN should read the words of their 'former boss' and realize how every "W"rong they are in their focus. The rest of the media organizations should follow suit and realize the problems they cause in Western Media with their political bias and pandering.

Ted Turner has been a strong proponent to peace and environmental stability. He has contributed large amounts of funds to the United Nations, especially in the years when Republican administrations in DC wouldn't pay the USA's dues to the United Nations. Not only that but he has been the sponsor of ideas such as 'micro-credit' whereby impoverished citizens of third world countries are able to obtain loans to better their lives.

Ted Turner is not about politics. He is about issues and in this instance I could not agree with him more. The media in recent years turned away from the facts and the brevity of those facts and due to pressure and politics at the FCC have been required to 'administer' justice to the Chrisitan Right without court hearings or regard to other religions in the country. All the media was forced into principles of extremist "Fundamental" agendas for their outlets to cater to war and conservative preferences. It has been "W"rong, it continues to be "W"rong and it needs to stop.

Human Induced Global Warming is not a political issue, it's a matter of survival. It is the most pressing issue facing the USA and as a result 'the world of nations.' The USA has done nothing to prepare for these outcomes, including water source issues and now we have entire metropolitan areas facing the greatest challenge they have ever faced. They are alone in their plight facing only help from their state governments. NOTHING has been done to avert these tragedies including these wildfires in Southern California by stopping the trend of Human Induced Global Warming and reversing that trend. Instead, every available measure to increase the emission of these gases has been given opportunity by the Bush White House and Republican Majority extending back to 1994. It's a national disgrace and it takes on a political tilt because of the cronism of Republicans. The nation can't get anything done to stop this trend because every time it tries there is political partisanism catering to Republican cronies and agenda.

Human Induced Global Warming is not a political issue. It's a matter of Republican corruption and that is all it is.

Iran is not a political issue either. As with Human Induced Global Warming, there is a right path and a "W"rong path. The Republicans insist on choosing the "W"rong path all the time. They are incompetent. They 'sell themselves' to their electorate based on Christian priorities and they are returned to the legislature to wheeled power over the USA treasury and regulatory powers of the federal government. It's "W"rong, it's immoral and it's totally ineffective government.

"Freedom of the Press" has come to be the Fourth Estate of the USA government. The place where citizens get information, help educate each other and affect change in their government. That has been destroyed. Now, the press is partisan and influence peddlers for the Christian Right. It is biased, prejudice, bigoted and now poses real dangers to citizens of the USA and other countries because of the NEGLIGENCE of issues, while allowing the Republicans to spend monies they never had, causing undue burdens on future generations.

The USA has lost it's way. It is due to the corruption of the Republican Party and it's unwillingness to accept facts that relate to real issues the USA federal legislature and Executive Branch had to tackle. Now, we are involved with the unrelenting heating of Earth and STILL nothing is being done in hopes nothing will be done while power pander to electing still another unqualified, biased and incompetent Republican.

I appreciate Ted Turner for riding the white horse again. It's an important position and he among all in the media business has been the mover and shaker to so much including advocating "The Shield Law" for journalists. The media better find it's stride on these issues and if it means condemning Bush and Cheney and the Executive Branch along with the Republicans then I suggest they get on it. NOW !


October 23, 2007
Valley Center, California
Photographer states :: This pic was taked 10/23/07 in Harras Casino in valley center the fire is very close to the big and luxor casino!

The cause for these extensive and unrelenting fires is due to extreme drought and extremely dry conditions as well as high winds. These are extreme conditions. They are not 'normal' even by the longest stretch of the imagination for Southern California. The drought is profound and caused from lack of water vapor in the troposphere.


October 24, 2007
Econdido, California
Photographer states :: This pic was taked 10/24/07 close to Lake Hodges!

Cultural Bias in the Media in reporting the California Wildfires

You know, Old Hallows Eve is on the way and the devil is coming to town so he annouced the fact by burning down California. It is that simplistic thinking and pandering that provides a venue for incompetent government and 'explaining' away much needed policy to prevent such tragedy again. It's unfortunate every news event is an opportunity for policial influence peddling when the reality is Americans die for very real reasons. Spiritual death is another topic and one that should be made by preachers. This is simply outrageous to think the media is this overwhelmed with pandering to a religious minority in order to please the FCC. It's idiocy. At least in this picture there is actually frost on the pumpkin which won't happen in many places across the southern USA this year.


CULT-ural bias and bigotry in the media intended for INFLUENCE PEDDLING ! This is a well established 'cult'ural icon of the Christian Right. Just that simple.


CULT-ural Bias and Bigotry in the media intended to be INFLUENCE PEDDLING !

Do we really need it? There are more than Christian Conservatives that are supposed to have access to UNBIASED reports of such tragedy.

This is the title to the New York Times. CNN is just as bad if not worse.

The New York Times needs to get rid of it's biased staff in their newsrooom. They are chronically overshadowing reality with religious bias and bigotry when they can get away with it. If a person cannot work for a media organization without bigoting their facts then that is nothing but a propaganda campaign against those that see the world differently. Someone should file a class action suit to stop this hideous practice by all media. Pandering to a particular religious 'sect' is hardly American or the practice of freedom !

California Wildfires Have Burned 666 Square Miles

At what point in time were there 666 square miles burnt. I am assuming by that statement it's over now, because if it's not then that is CULTURAL BIAS intended to entertain the thought a spiritual devil at work and it's offending. 666 is stupid and childish and insulting. I am not Christian Conservative and NEVER will be. It's outrageous.

If I appraise the circumstances in California RIGHT NOW there is no determining accurately the description of the FACTS of the fire in square miles because every moment that goes by the area increases, so the reporting is grossly inaccurate.

Last night CNN embarked on the same BIASED CULTURAL RANT. Instead of stating the forests were dry due to drought and Human Induced Global Warming, they used the term "...there is a lot of fuel...' on the ground. That is a 'clue' to the audience that California is mismanaging it's forests and therefore there was more 'wood' on the ground that caused this tragedy. That is hogwash.

Then they emphasied "The Witch Fire" as if there was no other fire at work in Southern California.

It's all propaganda and this an outrageous bias in reporting by The New York Times. Honestly.

The weather in Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is cold. Not real cold, but, cold.

Not all at Scott Base is snow. This is a seal that lives under and on the ice. Click the title to entry to view other animals that visit the scientists at Scott Base.

Location of Lake Chatuge. It spans two states. It is huge. There is a lot "W"rong here. A lot of water evaporated. A lot.


Lake Chatuge before drought (click here)


October 23, 2007
Hiawassee, Georgia
Same location of photo below

October 23, 2007

Hiawassee, Georgia

Photographer states :: North Georgia is experiencing a major drought. These first couple are of Lake Chatuge in Hiawassee. The water levels are below the reach of most floating docks....It has been raining in the North Georgia Mountains for 36 hours, however, it is light and will not help much in the long term...

No relief yet, but, interesting dynamics are taking shape. (click here for 12 hour loop)

October 23, 2007

2330z

UNISYS Water Vapor GOES West

There is a continental vortex forming. Better seen in the loop to the hemispheric water vapor.

Link here: UNISYS Hemisphere Water Vapor (click here)

The tropical storm is dissipated for the most part, except there is a migrating air mass traveling to the west from the tropical storm. It doesn't seem like much right now, but, it could become a larger storm if it can establish a water vapor source to support it.

What good will that do?

It could establish a heat transfer storm. It won't have direct effect in the way of delivering rain, but, a heat transfer would slow the winds to the coastal area of Southern California.

Under these intense Human Induced Global Warming dynamics I have never known a continental vortex to dissipate. Once it forms it continues to build as they are ionic upper tropospheric storms. There is hope for rain if that vortex enlarges it's dynamics and possibly delivers some relief to the area now in flames in Southern California.

Other than those two dynamics, I don't see anything I would call relief for the area on fire.

Did George Walker Bush say the word "DROUGHT" when he came out of his DC 'chambers' to speak of Emergency Measures? I didn't think he did.

Larger image of one below

October 22, 2007 (click here)

1:55 PM U.S. Pacific Daylight Time

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, wildfires ignited in the paper-dry, drought-stricken vegetation of Southern California over the weekend of October 20, 2007, and exploded into massive infernos that forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate their communities. Driven by Santa Ana winds, fires grew thousands of acres in just one to two days. The fires sped down from the mountains into the outskirts of coastal cities, including San Diego. Dozens of homes have burned to the ground, and at least one person has died, according to local news reports. Several of the fires were burning completely out of control as of October 22.

Does Turkey want a war or what? You know the circumstance in Northern Iraq isn't simple.

While most Kurds are Sunni Muslims, the guerrillas reject Islamic fundamentalism. Instead, they trace their roots to a Marxist past and still espouse what they call "scientific socialism" and promote women's rights.

In Iraq, Conflict Simmers on a 2nd Kurdish Front (click here)

...Yet out of the public eye, a chillingly similar battle has been under way on the Iraqi border with Iran. Kurdish guerrillas ambush and kill Iranian forces and retreat to their hide-outs in Iraq. The Americans offer Iran little sympathy. Tehran even says Washington aids the Iranian guerrillas, a charge the United States denies. True or not, that conflict, like the Turkish one, has explosive potential....


WHILE ON THE Eastern border of Northern Iraq the Kurds are viewed as a threat to Turkey, AT THE VERY SAME TIME, they are viewed as insurgents in Iran to the western border. Can the USA make up it's mind? No. Because Bush turned loose Pandora's Box and what do we know about this type of leadership? They are incompetent. They want money out of the deal so they literally allow anarchy otherwise. Bush was never interested in the people of Iraq. That IS his excuse now no different than protection of the American people were an excuse in March of 2003.

I don't care of a Kurd calls themselves PKK or not. This is a nation of people under seige for most of their lives. The best break they ever had was "The Norhtern No Fly Zone' where they established a democracy, admired the values of the USA and it's freedom and organized a government. The Kurds are ready to be their own nation. The issue is not that they can't defend their borders, they can. Easily, to the tune of being called terrorists. The problem is they want to unite ALL KURDS into a nation that would include parts of Turkey and Iran.

That's the issue. This is NOT about terrorism. It's about sovereignty and the right of Kurds to be united and be a nation. That is what is at the heart of these conflicts. The reason they are given such a rough time to achieve that is because it would cause issues with sovereignty of Iran and Turkey. So, why not make the northern Province of Iraq into a Kurdistan province and leave them alone? Why? Because Turkey would love to have the national assets in that territory under their control and destroy any right to the people there to have their own soveriegn authority.

Turkey is wrong on all counts in this issue except for it's sovereign right to protect it's borders. End of discussion.

I'll tell you how stupid this mess has gotten...in an article in RIA Novosti last week the Russian President, in an attempt to contain the Bush potential to expand the Iraq war into surrounding nations, criticized the fact there are now three provinces allowed in the Iraq Constitution. That provision has been there for well over two years now. The provinces are taking up their own border controls, building walls and all sorts of preparedness including accepting their militias as an opportunity to stability.

President Putin is right in that the more division there is within a country the more opportunity for civil war. That is classic textbook theory. He's right. Under normal circumstances a nation divided is going to be incredibly unstable. That is not the case in Iraq. Iraq is the 'hub' of Islamic fundamentalism. There are too many 'powers' (not spiritual either) at play in Iraq to consider a single sovereign government a potential to stability. Too many factions, too many fears, too many human rights abuses and they are all pointing fingers at each other as a threat to SURVIVAL.

The civil war in Iraq is not about economics or power struggles for politics. We would love a political solution for them, but, it isn't going to happen.

Iraq is about fear. It's about losing religion. It is about how strong the Shia can be as a nation of 'people' and NOT laws to protect their very existance on Earth. The Shia are granted the 'right' to fear because of the damage of their religious lineage over decades of Western pandering to Sunni leaders to the sake of oil.

Iraq needs to have autonomy in their provinces so the people feel safe. It's got to happen. There is no way for the Central Governing Authority within Iraq to be established so long as there is overwhelming fear of them. In listening to Iraqi leadership in Baghdad speak today, they have finally come to grips with that fear and are listening and attempting to instill a 'quiet' among their people. All their people. We have to allow the people of Iraq to be separate while sharing national assets. There is only one way to do that and that is to provide them separate provinces and a central authority. Trying now to reverse that won't work, not under the best of 'textbook' conditions.

The people of the USA aren't going to allow Bush to expand his war. The USA troops have to come out of Iraq. There is no way they can stay there and provide a peace for that nation. There is too much 'fire power' within a country the size of Texas to think there will ever be a calm. No way. The munitions have to come out of that country and it should happen as soon as possible. So long as the USA is in Iraq, there will be cooperation by Iran with Shi'ites in the way of arms and humanitarian needs to prevent a spill over into their nation from Iraq.

Do you realize the size of the refugee movement there would be into Iran if it weren't actively involved in Iraq? Do you know how much more destabilizing it would be. The USA has to leave Iraq in order to stop the war. It's never going to stop otherwise. Believe it or not, the politics of Bush and Cheney and Rice about Iran harness the fear of the nuclear reactor. Iran is doing the right thing in Iraq otherwise they would be fighting the American war within their country as well.

The nuclear reactor won't be consented to be dismantled as with North Korea until Iran feels it doesn't now have the same threat facing it. South Korea doesn't have a nuclear weapon. Neither does Japan. However, Israel does and Olmert already stated it. The entire dynamics in the Middle East is so screwed up, it's unbelievable. Israel can't give up it's nuclear potential because of nations such as Pakistan. It's a mess and the ONLY way to a lasting peace is to engage the nations of the region in summits leading to peace and ultimately disarmament. Bush and the Republicans aren't capable of that. Their electorate only sees destruction of Islam the viable solution to American National Security. It's hideous. Islam is not the enemy, Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda are and the USA isn't even in Afghanistan anymore.

No, Vladimir Putin is NOT right in demanding ONLY a 'one government' strategy in Iraq no matter the textbook correctness of it all. It won't work, except to keep the killing and destructive USA depleted within Iraq. To THAT end it is a solution, but, to a stable region WITHOUT genocide of the Shia it is not a solution.

Turkey needs to stay in Turkey. End of Discussion !!!! The Kurds need a homeland in northern Iraq and the Shia need to stop being killed. Iran needs to dismantle it's nuclear reactor and the stronger the sanctions so the people of Iran feel it everyday in their lives the sooner they will return to moderate and reasonable leadership.


LOADED UP: Turkish troops in Cizre head toward the Iraqi border. Turkey threatened to launch an offensive after 12 of its soldiers were killed by Kurdish separatists over the weekend.
PKK says it will stop cross-border attacks from northern Iraq if Ankara drops threats of an offensive there.

250,000 Evacuated - GOOD ! Thank you. The Governor is doing the right thing. National Guard Deployment ! Outstanding !

October 22, 2007
Fall Creek State Park, Tennessee
Photographer states :: 2007 drought in the southeastern U.S. has seriously lowered water levels in streams and lakes. Forests are extremely dry. Fall colors are greatly reduced.

This is from The Atlanta Journal Consitution:
Feds must help us to weather drought (click here)
By SAM OLENSPublished on: 10/23/07
Someone has pulled the stopper from the bathtub and all the water is draining out!
Metro Atlanta and North Georgia, as well as most of the Southeast, is in the grip of what may prove to be the worst drought on record. At the same time, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is releasing extreme amounts of water from Lake Lanier — our region's key water supply source — to enhance the habitat of two species of mussels and to keep a small coal-fired power plant in operation....

Everyone knows about the drought in Atlanta? No joke. People are going to have tankers of water trucked in before too much longer. No one in the federal government gives a hoot. NO ONE. They should have been building desaliation plants a decade ago. Are they yet? It's not going to get better. Did you understand those words? It's NOT going to get better. The USA is profoundly dry under a thick blanket of CO2 and it's only increasing. That drought is not stopping. Ten hurricanes at this point won't stop it and there is no water vapor to support those hurricanes to happen anyway. Wake up. I have to say it? Really?

October 22, 2007
Irvine, California
Photographer states :: A fire east of Irvine produced major air polution

Smoke kills, okay? Ever hear of smoke inhalation? It's not a matter of a 'Bad Fog Day.' I mean I have to be this insulting? You can't protect your house, you can protect your lives.

I'll tell you something, this is more than just a news item. These are people's lives disaffected by government negligence for decades of allowing an oil greedy upper class to dominate the discussion on energy and transportation. These are NOT, I repeat NOT normal Santa Anna winds. No way. The troposphere over the USA is dry and continues to increase in drought conditions.

Politicians that don't care will come to a scene after the tragedy occurs seeking photo ops with residents as if to say, "I am here now." So what! Where were they THEN? Responding to emergencies of a nation is a Republican Specialty. They wean the American people off a supportive government structure, send their National Guard into combat and then show up when the going gets tough to sympathize. Who needs it? There is such a thing as quality of life. THAT is what Americans need to get used to again and not the Bushs and Giulianis of the world ! Time to come home America. You haven't had enough of government abuse yet?





...According to reports the wildfires which are near the Santa Ana desert continue to put thousands of homes at risk of being destroyed....(click here)

Condition of the Nation - Neglected - Deregulation - No Consumer Protections - I'm tired of this Republican Mess - NOT MADE IN CHINA

A retailer tried to distance itself from the Topps Meat scare over the summer that resulted in nearly 22 million pounds of beef being recalled.

They don't care about people ! The federal legislation has the best health insurance on Earth and they don't care whether there are deaths in this nation or not. We are a smart bunch. Smart enough to know when one citizens goes down you raise voices in opposition and make manufacturers dance on the head of a pin.

When is the USA going BACK to consumer protection and PREVENTING tragedy? This is hideous. I have never seen this country in this poor a condition.

It's a darn shame. There was a reason for the regulations in the first place. I am tired of hearing how Democrats make it impossible to make money. I guess so, especially when it saves lives, property, aesthetics of living, provides health and education thats envied by the world and an environmentally safe world including federal budgets that exceed expectations.

It's time to kick 'em out. People are literally sick of corporations taking advantage of them and allowing suffering on all fronts of American lives. Food supplies, water supplies, toys for children, bankruptcy, a melting world and wars.

Get me out of this mad house ! The country doesn't make sense anymore. All the USA is about is "Every man for himself." Greed at any cost and in any manner.

What are these people still doing in their homes? The cars are in driveways and a photographer is taking pictures. Like, ah, what?

October 22, 2007
Ramona, California
Photographer states :: Taked in Ramona

You know, I think the insurance company will believe you, okay? Whatever is going through the minds of people, they need to stop being silly. Why would taking pictures of fire and burning ARTIFACTS ever overshadow anyone's safety. This is not a smart thing to do. I know whoever took this picture was feeling the heat from that fire.


Look at this. The embers are practically falling on the head of this photographer and they haven't left yet !


October 21, 2007
Saugus, CA
Photographer states :: As the smoke got thicker and the sun started to set the smoke started to turn different colors

October 21, 2007

Saugus, California

Photographer states :: Aqua Dulce fire - Massive smoke plume.

Agua Dulce Fire Explodes From 500 to 12,500 Acres (click title to entry please)

Mandatory Evacuations Ordered
AGUA DULCE, Oct. 21, 2007 (CNS) - A 12,500-acre brush fire that started near Agua Dulce and forced hundreds of people to flee their homes Sunday night in the Canyon Country area was not expected to be contained for at least five days, Sheriff Lee Baca said.

Four people were reported injured, including a firefighter, authorities said.
No less than seven wildfires were burning in Southern California Sunday night, including near Malibu and Castaic in Los Angeles County and one burning in Irvine in Orange County, prompting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to proclaim a state of emergency in Los Angeles, Orange and five other counties.
The proclamation allows the state Office of Emergency Services to deploy personnel and equipment to assist in fire fights in the region.
In the Agua Dulce area, some 25 structures have been lost in the wind-driven fire, which is 10 percent contained, a fire official said.
About 900 homes in the Santa Clarita area were without power, but Southern California Edison crews were working through the night to restore electricity, Baca said....

Southwest Alabama dodges severe weather

That is a very unstable system. There is column of air rapidly rising. It can be easily discerned. It's the center of that cloud that already touched down. The clouds are all pointing up. There was a severe and sudden updraft. Alabama was lucky. Buoy.

October 28, 2007
Mobile, Alabama
Photographer states :: I took this photo last Thursday as storms were coming in.


Friday, October 19, 2007 (at title to entry)
Staff Report
Sirens sounded across central Mobile County on Thursday morning after weather officials issued a tornado warning shortly after 6:45 a.m. for a severe storm moving northeastward out of Mississippi and into Alabama.
No tornadoes were reported with the storm in Mobile, according to weather officials.
There were no reports of significant damage in southwest Alabama through early evening, according to weather officials. More storms were expected later in the evening and into early this morning. A cold front should move through the area this morning.
Thursday's storms brought rain to southwest Alabama, but not in any drought-busting amounts.
Doppler radar estimates indicated that most areas saw 1.5 inches or less, though parts of Washington, Clarke, Monroe and southeast Baldwin counties received up to 3 inches through late afternoon.
The Mobile Regional Airport in west Mobile received less than 1 inch Thursday through 5 p.m. while the Pensacola Regional Airport received 7 inches -- a record for that date, according to weather data.
Inland counties suffered no reported damage during the day Thursday, officials said, but several said they would be monitoring the weather throughout the evening.
Chuck Murph, EMA Director for Monroe County, said the area saw much-needed rainfall but no weather damage.
"The rain is a welcome sight," Murph said. "We need more of it."
According to a U.S. Drought Monitor report issued last week, Mobile and Baldwin counties, along with most of southwest Alabama, are experiencing moderate to severe drought, with a few areas classified in extreme drought.
(Staff Reporters Kim Lanier and Connie Baggett contributed to this report)

Two Dozen Tornadoes Touch Down in 24 Hours

October 18, 2007
Cheboygan, Michigan
Same event, same photographer as below.

October 18, 2007

Cheboygan, Michigan

Photographer states :: Tornado over Black Lake, Michigan, during the October 18, 2007 tornado outbreak. This tornado was rated EF1 with winds up to 94 mph. Damage consisted of a barn destroyed just north of M-68. The sporadic damage path up through Black Lake was 1/8 mile wide and around 10 miles long. Some tree damage was seen around Black Lake. The photo taken by Nathan Krinsky from the back deck of his home on Black Lake in northern Michigan, 15 miles southeast of Cheboygan. The sun was setting at 5:25 pm EDT when this photo was taken, and if you look closely, you can see a rainbow, thanks to the spray kicked up by the tornado.

Oct. 19, 2007 (link at title)
The United States has been hit with three days of tornadoes, with two dozen new tornadoes touching down in the last 24 hours — an incredibly rare outbreak for October.
It's all part of a powerful storm front that has blasted across the country's midsection and is now headed to the East Coast....

October 18, 2007
Lawton, Michigan
Photographer states :: Something wicked this way comes.

George W. Bush's Job Approval Rating Drops to 25% - October 22, 2007

George W. Bush's overall job approval rating has dropped to 25% as nearly seven in ten Americans say the national economy is getting worse according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. This matches the lowest approval rating for Bush recorded by the American Research Group.
Among all Americans, 25% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 67% disapprove. When it comes to Bush's handling of the economy, 23% approve and 67% disapprove.
Among Americans registered to vote, 26% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 67% disapprove. When it comes to the way Bush is handling the economy, 25% of registered voters approve of the way Bush is handling the economy and 67% disapprove.
Approval among Republicans has dropped back to 67%. In September, 80% of Republicans approved of the way Bush was handling his job. In August, 66% of Republicans approved of the way Bush was handling his job....

What's there to say except a Bush with or without a Cheney can't manage their own family dynasty without the use of the USA Treasury. Does the USA need another one? NO !

The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:

I believe this picture is from 1982. This is the 'Clear Day' photo. I see a plane in the background. So much for dry ground.


This is the southeast view. Clicking on the title to this entry will bring a view of this scene or an undated edition. This is where it gets interesting though. Looking to the background, ON THE GROUND, there is a lake at the end of the road. When clicking 'Clear Day' at this link one realizes there was once NO LAKE. It's safe to say there has been chronic rainfalls enough to cause the ground to becomes saturated and flooded. Not many people live there so there are no complaints regarding the flooding and whatever wildlife thrived without the lake is no longer there. I'll place a copy of "Clear Day" above this picture.

Elevation :: 33 ft / 10 m

Temperature :: 43 °F / 6 °C

Conditions :: Mostly Cloudy

Humidity :: 81%

Dew Pointt :: 37 °F / 3 °C

Wind :: 10 mph / 17 km/h / 4.6 m/s from the SE

Pressure :: 29.98 in / 1015 hPa (Rising)

Windchill :: 37 °F / 3 °C

Visibility :: 10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers

UV :: 1 out of 16

Clouds:
Few 3800 ft / 1158 m
Scattered Clouds 4800 ft / 1463 m
Mostly Cloudy 5500 ft / 1676 m
(Above Ground Level)


Norway won't plant flag at Arctic (click here)
By Billy Youngson
Filed from Aberdeen
10/22/2007 1:56:17 PM GMT
NORWAY: Norway will not follow in the footsteps of the Russians by planting a flag at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean, Norwegian Foreign Minister Johan Gahr Støre said today. Despite Norway having planted a flag at the South Pole in 1911, Støre said, "We now live in a century when that method can't be employed.
"This issue must be determined with the aid of geological facts in the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) and we have strongly urged the countries around the Arctic to think responsibly. We'll be playing an active role in encouraging greater dialogue.
"The impression which could be left by the flag-planting is that the rule of law doesn't apply in this area, and first-comers can take what they please. That's completely wrong. A rich body of law of the sea applies to the Arctic Ocean, and this is the channel which must be followed."
Asked about the Canadian statement of intent on building two military bases in the Arctic, he said it was the kind of gesture that invites people to talk about a race for resources, adding, "It's quite unnecessary to think in military terms here."
The minister denied that Norway has given up trying to agree a boundary line in the Barents Sea, although the talk today is mostly about cooperation with Russia rather than negotiation....


Senate approves resolution for managing Arctic Ocean fisheries (click here)
By the Journal of Commerce
The U.S. Senate has approved a resolution by Sens. Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski, both R-Alaska, directing the federal government to negotiate an international agreement for managing fish stocks in the Arctic Ocean.
Commercial fishing in the Arctic Ocean is currently limited by the distribution of fish habitat and short fishing seasons. Due to impacts of climate change, ocean temperatures may shift, causing fish to enter new habitats and creating more favorable fishing conditions, the senators said.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, recognizing the importance of properly managing these emerging fisheries, proposed at its June meeting that the U.S. close all federal waters in the Arctic Ocean until a management regime is put in place. Senate Joint Resolution 17, authored by Stevens and Murkowski, is consistent with that effort.
The resolution also addresses the problem of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. It calls upon the federal governor to help prevent fishing on the high seas of the Arctic until an international fisheries management plan is developed, which would contain measures to combat unreported and unregulated fishing that continues to undermine fisheries worldwide.
Stevens said he felt that eliminating these illegal fishing practices is a key to maintaining the health of Alaska's fisheries.


U.S. Coast Guard seeks base in Arctic (click here)
By Matthew L. Wald and Andrew C. Revkin
Published: October 19, 2007
WASHINGTON: For much of human history, the Arctic Ocean has been an ice-locked frontier. But now, in one of the most concrete signs of the effect of a warming climate on government operations, the U.S. Coast Guard wants to establish its first operating base there to deal with the cruise ships and tankers that are already beginning to ply Arctic waters.
With increasingly long seasons of open water in the region, the Coast Guard has also opened discussions with the Russians about controlling anticipated ship traffic through the Bering Strait, a waterway that until now has been crossed mainly by ice-breaking research vessels and native seal and walrus hunters.
The Coast Guard says its base, which possibly would be in the northernmost U.S. town, Barrow, Alaska, on the North Slope coast, would speed responses to oil spills from tankers, which the guard maintains could eventually carry shipments from Scandinavia to Asia through the Bering Strait.
This long imagined "Northern Sea Route" would cut off around 5,000 miles, or 8,000 kilometers, compared with going through the Panama or Suez canals....

Evacuate NOW !

One dead, 14 injured as California braces for more firey days ahead (click here)
Historic Malibu landmark burned to the ground
Story by ABC News
9:52 a.m. Monday, October 22, 2007

Video (click here)

Fire is insideous. It hides under floors and in roofs and what seems like a spark that can be doused with a garden house becomes a blazing inferno in a matter of minutes and someone whom thought they could safe their home is caught in the blaze itself. Get out of the way of these fires. Any modifications to homes to save them, such as slate roofs, should have been done long before now. There is no chance a house can be saved, 'sparks' fly through the wind and nestle on anything dry enough to kindle it. Don't think you can make a difference, you can't. You can make a difference to those you love and get to a safe haven.


October 22, 2007
1530z
UNISYS Enhanced Infrared Satellite of the north and west hemisphers (click for 12 hour loop)

The air mass is far to the north of California. It's might be easier to conceptualize it with this image.


October 22, 2007
1530z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES West Satellite (click here for loop)

There is ONLY ONE difference in the two satellites that spell a possible relief for southern California. There is a tropical storm "KIKO" of the coast of southern Baja Peninsula. If it sustains for a day or so it could shift the current air pattern. But, there is absolutely no water vapor coming near California. What exists in any significant amount is far to the north over Canada. Evacuate and continue to make plans to do so. The planes and helicopters can't get off the ground for sustained intervention. It's a mess, get out of the way !


October 21, 2007
1630z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES West Satellite.

There is no relief in sight from the winds. It's getting worse and rain is not forthcoming ! GET OUT !

The Agua Dulce fire reached the edge of Santa Clarita Valley late Sunday evening. The blaze destroyed several homes, including this one on Camp Plenty Road.

There are at least 12 blazes across seven counties. The Malibu fire is only 10% contained. San Diego braces for the worst.

I conclude this in this way...

...there is more than ample reason to impeach George Walker Bush and Richard Cheney. The list is endless. The human rights against the American people alone is reason enough and to realize the Republicans in the House are obstructing the passage of impeachment is to realize their 'involvement' to defeat the well being of Americans.

Add to that, Democrats won't even try to BEGIN such a measure, which could pick up momentum with the start of the proceedings, is simply more of an atrocity of the trust of the American people whom voted in majority to end a war and stop a runaway Executive Branch. There hasn't even been a modification in the USA Budget to fund the war and reduce and eliminate any occupation in Iraq. Instead, Bush and Rice are at the UN to promote attacks into Iran and expanding the war while continuing to destabilize the region.

For Immediate Release
Office of the Vice President
October 21, 2007
Vice President's Remarks to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy Lansdowne, Virginia (click here)
11:22 A.M. EDT

This is a period of great consequence for the Middle East,...

In his speech, Cheney addresses extraordinary numbers of reasons to consider The Middle East a 'gigantic' enemy of the people of the USA, covering all bases and AGAIN creating a climate of fear as a lead up to a greater war. My first reaction to those words above is, "Who caused '...the great consequence...' in the first place? Dick Cheney did as well as the entire Bush Exectutive Branch as they wound their Culture of Fear into the minds of Americans. Why did anyone ever believe Iraq under Saddam could ever pose a threat of monumental proportion? It was disarmed. It was amazing to watch. I never believed it for a minute.

It's a disgrace to watch a majority of Democrats relinquish the one power granted them that could end all the suffering the USA experiences under this presidency. Not just the suffering of the USA, but, that of the Shia and the Middle East. Iran today is seeking nuclear armament because Bush and Cheney continue this hideous war mongering. There is no reason for it.

The people of the USA have and continue to suffer under this leadership. Only, the shame of it all is that it isn't just Republicans causing it anymore. The simple vote to the Impeachment of Richard Cheney and George Walker Bush would be enough impetus to bring more brevity to that opinion. It would give House debate an opportunity to voice the pains of Americans in regard to this war, the suffering of the Iraqi people as well as a review to the condition of the USA and it's people.

There is more than enough reason to impeach both these men, the American people don't necessarily realize the overwhelming reason for it. Illegal wiretapping, rendition flights, torture, deaths of Americans to Human Induced Global Warming and rising victimization due to higher crime rates including gunmen in our schools. A lot of reasons and these tonight are just a few.

Good Night.

Reason Number One for the impeachment of George Walker Bush and Richard Cheney - The 'condition' of the nation

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of$1.42 billion per day since September 29, 2006!

Market slumps on new US credit fears (click here)
The Australian share market fell by its largest amount in two months amid renewed concerns about credit markets.
A warning by equipment company Caterpillar that the housing slump in the US was starting to spread to other parts of the economy saw US shares fall at the end of the week.
The domestic market followed suit this morning, with shares in most sectors losing value.
At 11.30am AEST, the All Ordinaries Index shed almost 2 per cent to 6,591.
Stocks exposed to the US economy suffered the most, with Macquarie Bank falling by about 4 per cent, while James Hardie Industries was down by almost 2.5 per per cent....

Minorities bear biggest load of subprime loans (click here)
BY JENNIFER BJORHUS Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 10/16/2007 09:56:17 PM CDT
Minnesota ranked No. 12 in the nation last year for how frequently minority homebuyers got high-interest-rate subprime home loans.
Of all the mortgages made to minority homebuyers in Minnesota in 2006, 42 percent were high-rate subprime loans compared with 17 percent for white homebuyers, according to the Annual Minority Lending Report out Tuesday by Richmond, Va.-based Genworth Financial Inc., an insurance company, and Compliance Technologies, a Washington, D.C.-based mortgage-lending consultant.
The Minnesota disparity is slightly wider than the nation's. Nationally, 39 percent of the mortgages minority homebuyers got were subprime compared with 18 percent for whites.
Home buying in Minnesota last year dropped off dramatically for all borrowers, the study also showed - more dramatically than it did for different groups nationally. Nationally, home buying activity picked up a slight 1 percent last year for African-Americans.
Neither the declines, which came as housing prices peaked locally, nor the disparities surprised local housing experts. That minority borrowers are more likely to get subprime loans has been well documented, experts agree, though they don't always agree on why.
Banks and mortgage lenders charge several percentage points more for subprime home loans to people they deem a higher risk because of dented credit or high debt-loads. Housing activists have long accused the country's mortgage lenders of unfairly targeting minority neighborhoods...

August 22, 2005
State of the (Labor) Union (click here)
By Mark Devlin
The AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations) has fractioned. Membership has dwindled. The AFL-CIO, Union Network International, and the National Education Association are boycotting Wal-Mart. Is this a good thing?
According to this article, only a month ago three labor unions split from the AFL-CIO: The Service Employees International Union, The International brotherhood of Teamsters, and the United Food and Commercial Workers. These disaffiliations resulted in the AFL-CIO's loss of 4.6 million members....

Part-time Employment and Labor Unions : Current Trends through the Lens of Wal-Mart Corporation (click here)

Congress Turns Up Heat on United Space Alliance (click here)
Members of the United States Congress are turning up the heat on NASA and the United Space Alliance (USA) to stop their push to gut the economic security of America’s space program workforce. Last June, USA forced IAM members of Local 2061 at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center out on strike by demanding cuts in pension and other key benefits. NASA and USA are now making similar demands in other negotiations at the Houston Space Center.
Congress, who has oversight and budget powers over NASA, is taking notice. This week, Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, spoke out from the floor of the House of Representatives. Kaptur called IAM members “among the most talented and trained workers in our Nation,” and questioned NASA and the United Space Alliance’s attempts to take away pensions from their workers, while USA’s CEO, Richard Covey, qualifies for at least three pensions himself. “I would ask Mr. Covey and the folks at USA Space Alliance to pay close attention because Congress is paying close attention,” said Kaptur.
“We built a great Nation when America had a system where workers could be confident that their wages would increase with increasing productivity and that their retirement years would be secure,” said Kaptur. “I would just say that the Nation is taking very close notice of an agency that gets a $16 billion budget whose top executives all get their pensions and now who hire subcontractors who are telling the very people who have their hands on the equipment down at the Kennedy Space Center that, sorry, you don't get the same type of consideration by the Government of the United States.”...

And when exactly was the REFORM to the bankruptcy laws passed? (click here) Prior to the collapse of the Sub-prime meltdown? Oh. And who are the primary people that suffered due to the subprime lending? Ah, huh. Who works for a living that lost everything they worked for? Who protects the wages that support housing sales?

Help Pass Bankruptcy Reform Bill (click here)
Two similar bills, one in the U.S. Senate and another in the House of Representatives are aimed at protecting the interests of workers and retirees in corporate bankruptcies.
“Wealthy executives get rewarded in bankruptcy for their failures while front-line workers shoulder the burden of corporate restructuring,” said Transportation GVP Robert Roach, Jr. “H.R. 3652, introduced by Representative John Conyers and S. 2092, introduced by Senator Richard Durbin, will address the inequities in the current bankruptcy law.”
IAM Representatives and airline members joined lawmakers at a U.S. Capitol press conference announcing the bills. All IAM members are asked to contact their Senators and Representative to urge their support for the “Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act of 2007.” Messages can be sent directly from the IAM website by following this link.
Key components of the bill include barring companies from leaving pension plans for executives intact when the employees’ pension plan has been terminated, and requiring judicial review of a company’s foreign and domestic holdings in their entirety to determine whether relief from a labor agreement is warranted....

Bankruptcy Rates In United States On The Rise Ahead Of Reform Anniversary (click here)

October 10, 2007 9:10 a.m. EST
Ayinde O. Chase - AHN Staff

Denver, CO (AHN) - A Denver law firm specializing personal and professional bankruptcy says Colorado's bankruptcy cases are on a steady rise -- a bad sign for an economy already under pressure with the mortgage meltdown. Next Monday marks the second anniversary of the bankruptcy reform bill when Congress voted to make declaring bankruptcy more difficult for consumers.
The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 was originally designed to reduce fraud within the bankruptcy system and deter people from filing bankruptcy by adding more legal stipulations and stringently enforced deadlines. While the bill has made filing for bankruptcy more difficult in procedurally it has not been the strong deterrent the bill's authors had hoped for.
Bankruptcy cases plunged to a 20-year low in the first three months of 2006, reflecting the passage of the tough new bankruptcy law, but now the pace of new filings is steadily rising. According to Lundquist Consulting, an organization that tracks bankruptcy trends, courts now see an average of 2,000 new filings a day -- four times the number that were filed in November 2005 after the bankruptcy law went into effect....

Go Figure ! (Time of this particular entry 10.22.07 @ 12:46 AM) My life simply runs into this consequential issues of disruption of information all the time. Dumb luck, huh?

Monday, October 22, 2007 12:43 AM (click here)
The database from the Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey program is currently unavailable. The data will be available as soon as possible. (When this database is not available, it is usually because we are in the process of updating it.)
If you need to contact someone about the program or its data, please send a message to the CPS data questions e-mail address below or call the phone number below.
Thank you for your interest in BLS data, and we apologize for the inconvenience.

I guess a review and analysis of the unemployment rate in the USA will have to wait. But, to scan the papers today, the federal authorities are stating the rate is stable, while states are reporting a rise in some instances since September. Best I can do right now, perhaps another weekend. It would seem as though the 'stats' are top secret due to priorities of war. I mean that is the excuse for every other action of the Bush Regime. Every law of the land falls under "Eminent Domain" to be manipulated 'at a time of war.' Why else continue a war of genocide against the Shia?

The war economy and the costs of war, part II (click at title of entry)

By Cedric Muhammad-Guest Columnist-Updated Oct 4, 2007, 12:15 am

...History will record the years of record budget surpluses, during the Presidency of Bill Clinton, as one of the greatest political opportunities ever squandered. The unexploited opportunity of the American government to utilize tax revenues and fiscal policy to grow the economy, fund certain social programs and pay down its enormous debt, is one that many will live to regret. The decision of President George W. Bush to go to war in Iraq, may be recorded as the event that ensured the breaking of the American economy.
If I were forced to list the factors—all things staying the same as they are now—that make it virtually impossible for the American economy to survive this decade, unbroken, I would point to: 1) the continued fall of the dollar (In September, the American currency reached record lows against the euro and Canadian dollar); 2) the coming boom in the number of Americans who qualify for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits (“We face a demographic tsunami,” says U.S. Comptroller General David Walker); 3) the Federal Reserve policy that effectively mandates a certain level of unemployment (this means that America will never be able to create enough jobs for the poor, and increasingly middle-class); and 4) the increasing commitment to military spending...

essay to follow...

Hurricane Katrina: The Drive: New Orleans Lower 9th Ward

Reason Number Two for the impeachment of George Walker Bush and Richard Cheney - There was no reason for this. None. This is deliberate negligence.

This is a record number of deaths from ANY hurricane to strike the USA. Ever. In recorded history. Realize as time has gone by over decades of USA history, the population of nearly every region of the nation has grown. With that comes responsibility to protect the people that settle their lives in these areas. Births out number deaths in any state of the USA.

This is pure negligence of government and gross misconduct by Bush's Homeland Security. There just isn't anyone else to blame. When Homeland Security was created by Georgie himself, it took overwhelming power away from nearly every other agency of the government filing it under one massive agency 'designed' to protect the American people. It's time to dismantle an agency that has become a place to house cronies that pick and choose priorities and distributions of monies reflecting those priorities.

Katrina Death Toll Inches to 1,420 (click here)
Update: The unofficial Katrina death toll has risen to 4,098 as of March 13, 2007. See my March 30, 2007 post, Katrina Death Toll Passes 4,000, for details. A list of 1,195 people who were killed in Hurricane Katrina is available on this website here.The hard to find Russian neo-Nazi beheading video taking the net by storm is on this blog here. Updated August 15, 2007:The death toll from Hurricane Katrina increased again on January 27 when officials found the body of a woman east of New Orleans in hard-hit St. Bernard Parish, bringing the Louisiana total to 1,104, an increase of three bodies over the previous total three days prior.This according to a very unfortunately worded CNN headline, "Another Body Swells Katrina Death Toll". Note that since the body has been there for five months, a verb other than "swells" would have been more appropriate. In an 18-day period prior to January 27, authorities have counted 28 new deaths from Katrina, or about 1-2 new deaths per day. Four months after the storm, that is pretty amazing....

There was no way, Michael Brown was qualified to save the lives of people. With every storm occurring to Florida during Bush's presidency, he personally went to Florida to promote FEMA's ability to serve Americans. He fully knew the extent a storm could kill and cause damage to American lives, yet, when there was a Category Five storm bearing down on the Gulf States he completely ignored the possiblity of deaths and devastation because it served his political purposes. He immediately blamed the Democratic leadership in Lousiana and New Orleans when it was a national responsibility to empower agencies to declare emergencies through his new CABINET level agency, Homeland Security.

As the link to this entry provides, the deaths and hardship caused by Katrina is disproportionately assigned to minorities little able to secure their safety without direct federal government intervention. That was known by emergency drills run prior to the arrival of Katrina of authorites all the way to the federal government. All necessary provisions should have been in place long before Katrina stuck since there was never a concern for the levees (click here) or the wetlands (click here) until after the tragedy occurred.