The USA Economy has been exported with tax breaks from Republicans, while the nation sinks into insoluble debt

The American Economy. An Economy of Conscience. See comments below. Thank you.


If $3-a-gallon gasoline doesn't make you hate the big oil companies, the shocking revelations in Chris Paine's thought-provoking documentary Who Killed the Electric Car? will.- V. A. Musetto, New York Post (click here)


Hydraulic excavators are parked at a Shin Caterpillar Mitsubishi Ltd. branch in Kanagawa Prefecture, on Oct. 8, 2007. Photographer: Robert Gilhooly/Bloomberg News


Everywhere one looks to find hope in the USA Economy there is none. Why is Wall Street still afloat, even though the USA has been abandoned? Because the marketability of products is still alive in other economies.

Traditionally American Companies that have exported in the past, preserving high paying American jobs to support the market demands of the USA; now derive their income from foreign markets, bolstered by Republican tax breaks that bankrupt the USA Treasury.

Just that simple. The Bush Republicans have abandoned the USA economy depriving it of anything except government issue GI uniforms.

Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest maker of bulldozers and excavators, said fourth-quarter earnings rose 11 percent as international demand overcame slower sales in the U.S., where recession is ``a definite threat.''
Net income increased to $975 million, or $1.50 a share, from $882 million, or $1.32, a year earlier, the Peoria, Illinois-based company said today in a statement. Caterpillar rose the most in fourth months in New York trading after beating average analyst estimates for profit and sales, which gained 10 percent to $12.1 billion.
Sales rose by more than third in both Europe and Asia, countering a slowdown in U.S. construction and mining demand. The deepest U.S. housing slump in more than a decade contributed to an 11 percent drop in North American machine sales for 2007.
``While we expect anemic growth in the U.S. economy, we continue to see positive conditions for our sales in most of the rest of the world,'' Chief Executive Officer Jim Owens said in the statement.
The company beat the average of 17 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg for profit of $1.49 a share and sales of $11.4 billion. Caterpillar rose $1.98, or 3 percent, to $67.23 at 10:54 a.m. in New York stock Exchange composite trading. Earlier it reached $67.75 in the biggest gain since Sept. 18. The stock had gained 9.2 percent in the 12 months before today.
The machinery maker forecast sales may rise 5 percent to 10 percent this year, with ``below average'' growth in North America. Overseas revenue may climb as much as 13 percent....

And why would the Republicans undermine the USA economy without a care otherwise?

Why?

Why, did you say?

To destroy the union structure that insured the best work force in the world received their share of the wealth. That's why !!!

The GM-Toyota Hanging Chad (click here)
January 24, 2008 02:32 PM ET
General Motors and Toyota both want this story to go away—but it only seems to be intensifying.
Everybody in the auto industry knows that sooner or later, Toyota will unambiguously surpass GM in sales and become the world's biggest automaker. So when it happens, it should be anticlimactic—an iconic moment, sure, marking the end of GM's 77-year reign as the No. 1 carmaker. But then everybody will just go on with the business of building and selling cars.
Unless the two auto giants tie. Or the horse race is too close to call. Or there's a technical dispute over the numbers. All of which seem to have happened, dragging out a story that even journalists are getting tired of.
Both GM and Toyota reported selling 9.37 million vehicles worldwide in 2007. But that's just a round number, so auto analysts are looking a few more digits past the decimal point to see who actually sold more. Executives at Toyota hate this story because it draws unwanted attention in the United States to a surging importer, and at first they refused to elaborate on their rounded number. But a besieged Toyota executive in Japan finally agreed to add an extra digit to the number, pegging Toyota's 2007 sales at a more precise 9.366 million. GM's number comes out to 9.369 million, about 3,000 more cars than Toyota—so that settles it! "GM Edges Toyota for Global Sales Title," Automotive News proclaimed in a headline on Wednesday. The American giant can keep the title for one more year, after all....

Rather than working with their unions, following market trends in cutting edge transportation that would free the USA of fossil fuels, what did American corporation do?

What did they do?

They continued to fuel the most corrupt industry the USA has ever entertained, "Cheney's Big Oil." That's what they did. Rather than leading, the auto maufacturers were followers. Bad idea !!!

We need new manufactering in the USA, that fills it's need to lead into the next decade. We need it now. Consumer products of conscience. Electric cars, high speed rail and alternative energy sources. It's not that hard. An economy laced with progressive ideas. Industries where tax breaks belong while out dated and antiquated technologies are refused those incentives due to their poor environmental records leading to far lower carbon dioxide emisssions in USA products.

The USA has the advantage to change it's way and become a global leader in alternatives while it sheds it's old economy. This is the choice of Americans. They want out of the Bush/Cheney nightmare. The question remains, who can bring that to us?

No More Neocons In Government !!!!!

GM downplays possibility of cuts (click here)
Fri, January 25, 2008
By SUN MEDIA NEWS SERVICES
TORONTO -- General Motors Corp. and the Canadian Auto Workers union both say the company still needs to determine what new vehicles will be built at car-assembly complex in Oshawa, but they're downplaying speculation that production cuts are on the way.
GM Canada spokesperson Stew Low said yesterday the company had studied the possibility of producing more rear-wheel drive cars at one point, but abandoned that plan once the U.S. passed a fuel efficiency bill in December. "The inference that this was a program that was approved, that there was money set aside, that Oshawa was identified as the manufacturing location, is not correct," Low said. "It was only at the study phase and it never saw the light of day."...

The $34 to $69 Billion Economic Stimulus Package - University Health Care - Costs less than Iraq. Saves Lives.

The Republicans don't want Universal Health Care because it takes away funding to their war cronies and limits there ability to wage WWIII. Your next President will decide the path to WWIII or PEACE. Think about it America !

The fact is plainly obvious. Americans need competent health care in the face of a failing privatized industry. Universal health care insures a healthy nation and work force. Enough already !!

Which do you perfer? War? Or a government that takes of it's own and minds it's own business with international relationships that support democratic principles supported through economic trade policies? It seems to me, that after six long years of failed wars and spending, the choice is obvious !

That price tag, by the way, includes all Americans, Veterans and those already on government subsidized programs. Veterans might even be able to get enough attention to keep them from suicide. Would be nice.


Warm to universal coverage (click here)
Americans show far more enthusiasm for universal health coverage than many of the candidates for president, a recent survey shows. The clear message: Candidates, for Congress and state offices as well as president, shouldn't be so cautious.
Americans may be divided about the form that health coverage should take, but they're united on the need for better access to health insurance: 81 percent of the respondents in a survey performed by the Commonwealth Fund, a health care research group, said employers should cover all or part of the cost of health insurance, while 68 percent "strongly or somewhat" favored an individual mandate to carry health insurance, similar to the requirement to carry car insurance. And 66 percent said they felt the responsibility for coverage should be shared between employers, individuals and the government.
When survey respondents were separated by partisan affiliation, Republicans showed slightly less enthusiasm for universal coverage -- but still, a majority of respondents supported a requirement that everyone carry health insurance and want that responsibility to be shared....

Bush the Dictator, the USA cannot be 'assigned' a forever war by the Executive Branch. No handshakes with Cheney otherwise prision (click here)

Anyone besides me believe the USA Foreign Policies have failed? This doesn't even begin to address the mess currently between Eqypt and Palestine. Disaster. The world is a disaster and it's economies are tanking besides. Global economic depression brought on by a "Global War on Terror." Every person for themselves. Only a Bush and a Cheney could accomplish global anarchy.


Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai appears on a large video screen as he delivers his opening speech for the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Swiss Alpine resort town of Davos January 23, 2008. This year's annual meeting of some 2,500 political, business and cultural leaders will address the forum's overall theme 'The Power of Collaborative Innovation'.

Karzai says war "engulfing region" around Afghanistan (click here)
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai said on Wednesday that violence was engulfing his region and called on countries to confront militancy with action not rhetoric.
"While Afghanistan is still a critical battlefield, a rapidly spreading war is engulfing the wider region," Karzai said in a speech to the World Economic Forum.
"Our strategies in this war have often been short-changed by a host of deceptive rhetoric," he said. "Governments in the region need to move beyond rhetoric and cease to seek the pursuit of interests in the use of extremist politics".
Karzai did not accuse any country by name, but his relations with Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf have at times virtually broken down over Afghan complaints that Taliban insurgents operate from Pakistan's side of their common border.
Many al Qaeda and Taliban militants took refuge in the border areas after U.S.-led troops drove Afghanistan's Taliban government from power after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Afghanistan is now battling an intense Taliban insurgency while Pakistani forces are confronting pro-Taliban militants in different parts of the northwest, near the Afghan border....


Government can't be trusted on Afghanistan, lawyers argue
ALEXANDER PANETTA
Canadian Press
January 24, 2008 at 4:23 PM EST
OTTAWA — Human-rights lawyers pushing for a stop to prisoner transfers argued in court Thursday that Canada's government cannot be trusted to tell the truth about what goes on in Afghanistan.
Lawyer Paul Champ told a Federal Court hearing that the government would clearly have covered up prisoner abuses by Afghan authorities had it not been for the ongoing legal battle.
In a secret policy shift almost three months ago, Canadian soldiers stopped transferring detainees to Afghan authorities after they were convinced some had been beaten in violation of the Geneva conventions.
“The government shouldn't be making those decisions,” Mr. Champ said during a break in proceedings.
Members of Parachute Company, Third Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment Battalion Group lead detainees from a residential compound in southwest Kabul in this 2004 file photo. (MCpl Brian Walsh)
“It should be the court because (the government has) shown in the past they're wrong and the consequence of their errors has been that torture had been committed.”
The move came after the government spent nearly a year dismissing abuse allegations and ridiculing opponents who raised them.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080124.wdetaineereax0124/BNStory/Afghanistan/home?cid=al_gam_mostemail


Turkey launches fourth air raid on Iraqi Kurds (click here)
By Tom Chivers and agencies
Last Updated: 2:29am GMT 16/01/2008
Turkish aircraft have bombed targets in northern Iraq as part of their ongoing campaign against Kurdish rebels, according to the Turkish army.
One-hundred thousand Turkish troops are camped near the Iraqi border, and in October the country's parliament authorised cross-border military attacks against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) for the coming year. Turkey, together with the USA and EU, consider the PKK to be a terrorist organisation. The strikes, described as "intensive", hit PKK positions in the Avasin-Basyan and Hakurk regions of the country, said the statement, which was posted on a website by the Turkish military.
The statement said that "maximum care" was taken to avoid civilian casualties, although no figure was given. "The aircraft returned safely to base after successfully completing their mission," it added.
The strike was the fourth such cross-border air attack confirmed by the Turkish military since Dec 16 last year. There have also been ground operations intended to stop militants entering Turkey.
Iraqi Kurds in the region claim that there have also been two more, unconfirmed, air raids....



Remeber these? The million dollar Anti-Death machine, guaranteed to keep American forces safe while destroying any living thing in it's path?

U.S. soldier in Iraq becomes first to die in attack on new MRAP vehicle
By Associated Press
BAGHDAD (AP) - A soldier killed over the weekend south of Baghdad was the first American casualty in a roadside bomb attack on a newly introduced, heavily armored vehicle, a military spokeswoman said Tuesday.
The V-shaped hull of the huge MRAP - Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected - truck is designed to deflect blasts from roadside bombs, a weapon that has killed more American soldiers than any other tactic used by Sunni insurgents and militia fighters in Iraq.
The soldier who died Saturday was the gunner who sits atop the MRAP vehicle. Three crew members tucked inside the cabin were wounded. The vehicle rolled over after the blast and it was not clear how the gunner died - from wounds in the explosion or in the subsequent roll-over.
Maj. Alayne P. Conway, deputy spokeswoman for the 3rd Infantry Division, said the attack and the death were under investigation.
There now are more than 1,500 of the costly vehicles in service in Iraq and the Pentagon is working to get at least 12,000 more, using $21 billion provided by Congress. MRAPs cost between $500,000 and $1 million, depending on their size and how they are equipped.

http://www.klewtv.com/news/national/13970682.html



And while Bush lusts after dictatorship, Cheney seeks to destroy the USA Constitution.

Cheney Again Calls For Telecom Immunity

By Jason Lee Miller - Thu, 01/24/2008 - 11:26am.More BS from the BA
Let me preface by saying I think the current administration – from the top all the way down to appointees who blindly cooperate – should be tried for treason. That way we bring any allegations of bias or slant to the forefront and you know where I stand. No need to bring in theories about what lies beneath the words; the words are out in the open.
That doesn't make me anti-Republican or anti-conservative. It makes me anti-this-administration, which has about 10 months left to screw with everything, and protesting against governmental abuses of power is the American way – not the liberal or conservative way.
So, what's fired me up this morning is Vice President Cheney's latest call to expand the government's ability to spy on the American people whenever it wants for whatever reason without accountability, whether it is Constitutional or not, and his demand that the people be denied their right to even the pursuit of justice via lawsuits against the telecommunications industry for participating in illegal government activities.
Is there anything less ideologically American than the US government not only abusing its power to get around Constitutional authority but also denying the people their right to hold them (and co-abusers) accountable for it? Wasn't that the whole point of our break from Britain? The madness of King George, redux.

http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/01/24/cheney-again-calls-for-telecom-immunity


Reid Clears Hurdle for Bush-Cheney Spying Bill
The Nation Thu Jan 24, 3:24 PM ET
The Nation -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid cleared a key hurdle for the FISA Amendments Act on Thursday, advancing President Bush's preferred version of the spying bill, a move opposed by the majority of Reid's Democratic colleagues. The vote, 60-34, sets the Senate on a course to validate more warrantless spying by the Bush administration and provide retroactive amnesty to telephone companies accused of breaking surveillance laws -- an unpopular approach.
The ACLU, which has collaborated with a network of constitutional activists and bloggers to oppose the administration's surveillance policies, condemned the Democratic leadership in unusually tough language after the vote. "Under Democratic leadership, the Senate will now continue its debate on surveillance with a bill that resembles something from the administration's playbook. Six months after being hoodwinked into passing the Protect America Act, Americans are still waiting for Congress to grow a spine," read an official statement released Thursday afternoon.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20080124/cm_thenation/15274927

Bush has far bigger problems than Iraq as Commander and Chief. When are these people going to be impeached !!!


Bush plan for Iraq would be a first
No OK from Congress seen; Constitutional issues raised
By Charlie Savage
Globe Staff / January 25, 2008
WASHINGTON - President Bush's plan to forge a long-term agreement with the Iraqi government that could commit the US military to defending Iraq's security would be the first time such a sweeping mutual defense compact has been enacted without congressional approval, according to legal specialists.
After World War II, for example - when the United States gave security commitments to Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, and NATO members - Presidents Truman and Eisenhower designated the agreements as treaties requiring Senate ratification. In 1985, when President Ronald Reagan guaranteed that the US military would defend the Marshall Islands and Micronesia if they were attacked, the compacts were put to a vote by both chambers of Congress.
By contrast, Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki have already agreed that a coming compact will include the United States providing "security assurances and commitments" to Iraq to deter any foreign invasion or internal terrorism by "outlaw groups." But a top White House official has also said that Bush does not intend to submit the deal to Congress.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/25/bush_plan_for_iraq_would_be_a_first/


Taliban seize Nato supplies in Pakistan
By Isambard Wilkinson in Tank, Pakistan
Last Updated: 3:38am GMT 25/01/2008
The suspected mastermind behind Benazir Bhutto's assassination has stolen sophisticated Nato equipment by raiding the alliance's supply lines running through Pakistani territory.
Baitullah Mehsud, the Taliban commander who American officials hold responsible for Miss Bhutto's death, has emerged as a threat to the flow of supplies for British and American forces fighting in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Mehsud's increasing prominence shows how Pakistan under President Pervez Musharraf is steadily falling under the sway of Islamist militants.
Mr Musharraf, who is touring Europe, will speak in London today on "a vision for Pakistan and regional harmony". His critics believe, however, that turmoil in Pakistan is fuelling the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan and helping to destabilise South Asia as a whole.
A senior government official, based near the frontier town of Tank, told The Daily Telegraph that Mehsud's men regularly ambushed container lorries carrying hardware bound for Nato forces in Afghanistan.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/25/wpak125.xml



Imran Khan Brings Anti-Musharraf Campaign to U.S.
by Steve Inskeep
Audio for this story will be available at approx. 9:00 a.m. ET
Alex Wong
Imran Khan holds a briefing at the National Press Club in Washington, Jan. 24, 2008. Getty Images
Morning Edition, January 25, 2008 · A former cricket star who leads one of Pakistan's minority parties spent time in Washington this week meeting with lawmakers and speaking out against U.S. support of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.
Imran Khan, an international celebrity since his days as a sports star, leads a much smaller party than that of Benazir Bhutto, the leader who was killed last month. But in Pakistan, he's nearly as well known as Bhutto.
And he says that next month's elections there won't be real, if they happen at all.
Musharraf removed the independent judges who would referee them. Yet Khan knows the president remains a U.S. ally in the war on terrorism.
"Gen. Musharraf has done a brilliant PR job here where he has convinced the people that he is one man holding these hordes of terrorists, the bastion against these extremists...." Khan says.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18402782

The Antarctica Ice Chime

Why is Antarctica chronically warm now? Because it's vortex has extended to higher latitudes pulling in hot air all the time.

January 24, 2008
0721 gmt
Antarctica


January 24, 2008
1045 pm
Scott Base, Ross Island, Antarctica

The weather in Antarctica is (Crystal Ice Chime) chronically warm.

January 23, 2008
0900 AM
Antarctica Temperature Satellite


The Warmest Reporting Stations

Time of Day is 7 PM

Rothera Point, Antarctica

Elevation :: 52 ft / 16 m

Temperature :: 37 °F / 3 °C

Conditions :: Light Rain Showers

Humidity :: 74%

Dew Point :: 32 °F / 0 °C

Wind :: 5 mph / 7 km/h from the West

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: 29.24 in / 990 hPa (Rising)

Visibility :: 16.0 miles / 25.0 kilometers

UV :: 0 out of 16

Clouds:
Scattered Clouds 984 ft / 300 m
Mostly Cloudy 6890 ft / 2100 m
(Above Ground Level)
Aviation
Flight Rule :: VFR ()
Wind Speed :: 5 mph / 7 km/h /
Wind Dir :: 260° (West)
Ceiling :: 6900 ft / 2100 m



Base San Martin, Antarctica

Elevation :: 13 ft / 4 m

Temperature :: 37 °F / 3 °C

Conditions :: Overcast

Humidity :: 81%

Dew Point :: 33 °F / 1 °C

Wind :: Calm

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: 29.28 in / 992 hPa (Rising)

Visibility :: 12.0 miles / 20.0 kilometers

UV :: 0 out of 16

Clouds :: Overcast 4921 ft / 1500 m
(Above Ground Level)

Aviation
Flight Rule:
VFR ()
Wind Speed :: 0 mph / 0 km/h /
Wind Dir :: N/A
Ceiling :: 4900 ft / 1500 m


The Coldest Reporting Stations

Vostok, Antarctica

Elevation :: 11220 ft / 3420 m

Temperature :: -39 °F / -40 °C

Humidity :: 36%

Dew Point :: -49 °F / -45 °C

Wind :: 9 mph / 15 km/h from the West

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: in / hPa (Rising)

Visibility :: 12.0 miles / 20.0 kilometers

Aviation
Flight Rule:
VFR ()
Wind Speed :: 9 mph / 15 km/h /
Wind Dir :: 260° (West)
Ceiling :: 100000 ft / 100000 m



University Wi Id 8904, Antarctica

Elevation :: 10761 ft / 3280 m

Temperature :: -30 °F / -34 °C

Wind :: 4 mph / 6 km/h from the ESE

Wind Gust :: -

Pressure :: in / hPa (Falling)


Aviation
Flight Rule :: NA
Wind Speed :: 4 mph / 6 km/h /
Wind Dir :: 110° (ESE)
Ceiling :: -



Amundsen-Scott, AA

Elevation :: 9285 ft / 2830 m

Temperature :: -29 °F / -34 °C

Conditions :: Partly Cloudy

Wind :: 6 mph / 9 km/h / 2.6 m/s from the ENE

Pressure :: 28.76 in / 974 hPa (Rising)

Windchill :: -46 °F / -44 °C

Visibility :: 6.2 miles / 10.0 kilometers

UV :: 2 out of 16

Clouds :: Few 200 ft / 60 m
Few 6000 ft / 1828 m
(Above Ground Level)

Aviation
Flight Rule:
VFR (NZSP)
Wind Speed :: 6 mph / 9 km/h / 2.6 m/s
Wind Dir :: 70° (ENE)
Ceiling :: Unlimited


The Warmest Reporting Stations are:

Base Marambio Centro Met. Antartico, Antarctica

Elevation:650 ft / 198 m

Temperature :: 46 °F / 8 °C

Conditions :: Partly Cloudy

Humidity:52%

Dew Point:34 °F / 1 °C

Wind:12 mph / 18 km/h from the NW

Wind Gust:-

Pressure:29.08 in / 985 hPa (Falling)

Visibility:19.0 miles / 30.0 kilometers

Clouds:Scattered Clouds 9843 ft / 3000 m

Mostly Cloudy 19685 ft / 6000 m

(Above Ground Level)




Base San Martin, Antarctica

Elevation:13 ft / 4 m

Temperature :: 42 °F / 5 °C

Conditions :: Overcast

Humidity:55%

Dew Point:31 °F / 0 °C

Wind:Calm

Wind Gust:-

Pressure:29.05 in / 984 hPa (Rising)

Visibility:12.0 miles / 20.0 kilometers

UV:1 out of 16

Clouds:Overcast 9843 ft / 3000 m

(Above Ground Level)


The Coldest Reporting Stations are:

Vostok, Antarctica

Elevation:11220 ft / 3420 m

Temperature :: -41 °F / -40 °C

Conditions :: Clear

Humidity:41%

Dew Point:-50 °F / -45 °C

Wind:7 mph / 11 km/h from the NW

Wind Gust:-

Pressure: in / hPa (Rising)

Visibility:12.0 miles / 20.0 kilometers

Raw METAR Aviation
Flight Rule:VFR ()
Wind Speed:7 mph / 11 km/h /
Wind Dir:320° (NW)
Ceiling:100000 ft / 100000 m



Amundsen-Scott, AA

Elevation:9285 ft / 2830 m

Temperature :: -24 °F / -31 °C

Conditions :: Partly Cloudy

Wind:12 mph / 18 km/h / 5.1 m/s from the NNE

Pressure:28.59 in / 968 hPa (Falling)

Windchill:-47 °F / -44 °C

Visibility:6.2 miles / 10.0 kilometers
UV:2 out of 16
Clouds:Few 6000 ft / 1828 m
Few 8000 ft / 2438 m
(Above Ground



Amundsen-Scott, AA

Elevation:9285 ft / 2830 m

Temperature :: -24 °F / -31 °C

Conditions :: Partly Cloudy

Wind:12 mph / 18 km/h / 5.1 m/s from the NNE

Pressure:28.59 in / 968 hPa (Falling)

Windchill:-47 °F / -44 °C

Visibility:6.2 miles / 10.0 kilometers

UV:2 out of 16

Clouds:Few 6000 ft / 1828 m
Few 8000 ft / 2438 m
(Above Ground Level)




January 16, 2008


0900


Antarctica Temperature Satellite

Bush officials narrow foreign horizons

Cartoon from The Arab News

The USA Executive Branch is a global horror. Bush goes to the Middle East in a peace initiative while having invaded Iraq illegally, causing the entire region to be destabilized, killed innumerable Iraqi citizens just because he could as a methodology to victory in order to expand the war, sent millions of Iraqis to refugee camps and cast a full one third of the country into poverty. It's called genocide by every defintion known to international law. If Saddam Hussein had done this in a proportional scale to Kuwait, he'd be hung by now. Oh, wait. He was hung and didn't accomplish nearly what Bush and Cheney did. That is simply amazing.

In this LA Times report, the word "Failed" and "Illegal" appears nowhere, except, in 'description.'

Saudi Arabia is not stupid. In order to prevent invasion across their borders in Bush's 'final war year' they lavished him with jewels and honors while wining him and dining him to insure their annual allotment of USA military hardware.

(click title to entry, thank you)
In the final year, Bush administration officials are scaling back ambitious diplomatic goals, and appear more intent on managing crises than on reaching legacy milestones.
By Paul Richter, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
January 21, 2008
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is beginning its last year in office by quietly scaling back its foreign policy ambitions as it struggles with new obstacles and rapidly dwindling influence.
Only a few months ago, senior officials predicted that before their exit, they could deliver the Middle East peace deal that had eluded so many predecessors. But this month, as President Bush toured Israel and the West Bank, officials made it clear that the deal he's now talking about is not a long-awaited final agreement, but a preliminary pact to set the terms for talks.
In addition, the administration's efforts to get North Korea and Iran to end their nuclear programs have suffered deflating setbacks in recent weeks. And although the administration's greatest foreign policy undertaking, Iraq, has seen encouraging security improvements, the goal of Iraqi political reconciliation remains distant.
The upshot is that the Bush administration is going to be spending the next year managing crises and tidying up messes until the next president takes over, rather than reaching legacy milestones, as officials recently had hoped.

How do you ask Americans to support an illegal war? Oh, wait. It's not Americans that support the Iraq War. It's Republicans that do.

Wasn't it Nixon that found political solice in Vietnam ? Just the same way George Walker Bush and Richard Cheney does with Iraq? These men are still in the Executive Branch? Why?

"Read my lips...just go out and kill Iraqis. The less there are the sooner we'll have control of the country and the less Americans will die."

The methodology seems fairly clear. I doubt these men would openly lie about committing war crimes. The Bush Surge Strategy was simply more soldiers to kill more people to get the civilian numbers down.

Anyone still wondering why there are insurgents?

Read my Lips - No More Tax Cuts!!! The Supply Side of the current USA Economics is NOT the issue. Businesses are not losing their homes !!!

The Republicans practice "Supply Side" economics when they institute tax cuts. In other words, for some reason businesses have problems meeting demand for their goods due to cost of production related to government taxes. Therefore, in order to stimulate the economy, tax cuts allow MANUFACTURING to increase it's production, increase supply, bring down the costs of the goods, make them more affordable and open up venues of the market in two ways; more product to sell to more people while lowering product cost and allowing more consumers the 'ability' to purchse.

In the USA today, the consumer is impoverished through poor wages, increased health care costs, an energy and transporation system that is antiquated, and a supply of products they just don't want. Imports of far poorer quality than anything normally manufacturered in the USA; when, at one time, those products increased employment opportunity.

Today, Americans don't have savings, they don't have homes and many face medical costs they don't have insurance for or are under insured. The American Dream has been squandered by The Bush Curse, which chronically and inappropriately gives money 'away' to business while keeping their fingers crossed that their cronies will 'come up with something' that will turn the corner on a poor economic outlook.

Until the Energy and Transportation needs of Americans are addressed and manufacturing of high quality goods is returned to the USA using energy efficient methods, that also stop and reverse, Human Induced Global Warming, there isn't a darn thing any legislation is going to do to turn this mess around. This is THE RESULT of incompetency in government which encouraged corrupt business practices that drove American wages into poverty economics. Businesses under the Bush Curse literally robbed the people of their ability to sustain their lives and put corrupted practices to work in knowing they were morally "W"rong in the treatment of American Labor.

The Republicans just don't 'get it.' When JFK instituted tax cuts and got a huge return on every reduced tax dollar it was to give American Business a 'breather' to increase production, grow, hire Americans and sell more product.

The Economy since Bush '41 has suffered by low wages, two or more incomes to a household, diminished quality of life, and huge influx of imports. When an economy is a service economy and the choices in the 'market place' are all imported it does not translate into American Jobs.

Outsourcing to India and China has removed American jobs to countries that we import from, but, has also caused businesses to invest in infrastructure abroad and now that the instructure abroad is in place, it's demanding higher prices for their outsourced economy. Therefore, the products imported to the USA are no longer inexpensive, but, are increasing in cost, especially when considering the poor quality. Americans have not only lost jobs to outsourcing they have lost 'quality' in their 'market place' with increasing prices from the 'outsourced suppy side.'

It doesn't matter how many 'tax breaks' crony companies like Ford or Halliburton get, they put out products Americans don't want and therefore, seek products from foreign sources that supply products they do want.

The Energy and Transportation of the USA is grossly outdated in it's consumer demands, hence, any tax breaks are going to the "W"rong place. The USA is better off without an economic stimulus bill out of the House and Senate unless it adequately addresses the 'real' concerns of the American people.

Get of Iraq. Address the militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Make America safe. Secure the borders with People and not Walls. Change the Energy and Transportation infrastructure. Return the USA's dignity and address Climate Change in a real way. Stop using Fossil Fuels and throwing billions after billions to exploitation of Alaska and other resources of the USA because the oil doesn't come to Americans anyway. Put in place Universal Healthcare. Retool America for the products it's citizens want such as electric cars and high speed magnetic rail !!!

And.

Impeach George Walker Bush and Richard Cheney.
'

End of Discussion (click here).

The weather at Scott Base, Antarctica is (Crystal Wind Chime) warm:

Hillary honoured at new US South Pole base (click title to entry, thank you)
The Press
Wednesday, 16 January 2008
The new American base at the South Pole took 10 years and $220 million to build but when the flag was hoisted at the official opening, it was raised only to half-mast - in memory of Sir Edmund Hillary.
A delegation of dignitaries from the United States travelled through Christchurch to the South Pole for the inauguration on Saturday of the new elevated Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
Prime Minister Helen Clark had invited Hillary to the pole for the 50th anniversary of reaching it by tractor, but he was prevented by his failing health.
However, Arden Bement, director of the National Science Foundation, which runs the United States Antarctic Programme, used his speech opening the station to say he believed Hillary was present in spirit.
"At this moment of exciting celebration, however, it is fitting that we pause for a moment to remember the accomplishments of Sir Edmund Hillary, the noted New Zealand explorer who stood on this very spot in January 1958, the first person to do so since Robert Falcon Scott in 1912," he said....

COUNTRY ON FLOOD ALERT AS STORMS WORSEN

January 15, 2008

Cardiff-Wales, United Kingdom

Photographer states :: Atlantic storms lash England and Wales - some pictures around my area in Wales. Hasent stopped raining in 2 days and there is a further 4 days of it! winds of over 70 mph have been recorded once again. Stricken counties of the diaster in summer 2007 in England and Wales under water again. Its been 1 year scence hurricane kyrill struck Europe killing over 50 people.

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

Geography of Walrus Habitat noted below.

Habitat and Distribution (click here)
A. Distribution.
Walruses are circumpolar, but they are concentrated in several geographically separated areas, with little or no chance of interbreeding.
1. Pacific walruses inhabit the Bering, Chukchi, and Laptev seas.
2. Atlantic walruses inhabit coastal areas of north eastern Canada and Greenland.

B. Habitat.
1. Walruses are generally found where the water is not more than about 80 m (262 ft.) deep. They prefer a habitat with a gravelly bottom.
2. Walruses spend about two-thirds of their lives in the water.
3. Walruses haul out to rest and bear their young.

E. Calf at birth. (click here)
1. Newborn calves weigh about 45 to 75 kg (99-165 lb.) and are about 95 to 123 cm (3-4 ft.) long.
2. Calves are ashen gray to brown with dense, short soft fur. About two to three months before birth, the calf sheds a fine white layer of soft fetal hair called the lanugo.
3. Within days or weeks, the calf becomes more robust. Its fur turns reddish-brown to tawny within one to two weeks. Calves shed and replace their natal coat when they are one or two months old. This first molt is usually completed by August. Calves then molt annually.

Time :: 9:55 AM

Elevation :: 33 feet / 10 meters

Temperature :: 37 F / 3 C

Conditions :: Overcast

Humidity :: 81%

Dew Point :: 32 F / O C

Wind :: 12 mph / 18 km/h / 5.1 m/s from the SE

Pressure :: 30.13 inches / 1020 hPa (rising)

Visibility :: 10.0 miles / 16.l kilometers

UV :: 0 out of 16

Clouds :: Few 1200 ft / 365 m
Mostly Cloudy 2000 ft / 609 m
Overcast 2600 ft / 792 m
(Above Ground Level)

I told you so. It's just that simple. The underestimation of the melting of the Arctic Ocean was due to the fact, the vortexes were never accounted for in any warming curve. The 'trend' scientists were looking at resulted from a 'straight line' assessment of 'past' melting.

See, the oscillations of the Arctic, North and South Atlantic were very rarely studied and considered to be insignificant to Earth's climate because their occurrence was so rare. However, on October 4, 2002 when the two vortices showed up at the same time in the Northern Hemisphere at each coast of North America, there HAD to be a general understanding that 'the melting curve' due to Human Induced Global Warming had changed.

Now, for any scientist that didn't make the leap of faith then and it took until now, REALIZING the nature of water and it's different states, to start to alarm the world about this issue only states the gross imbalance of the acceptance of the science by society and governments.

I began to look for severe trends years before October 4, 2002 and were seeing issues with seals in Great Britain, changes in breeding seasons and migratory patterns with birds wihin that country and it was Great Britain that were among the first to begin to demand a movement toward climate issues a decade or more before anyone else simply because they are an island in the midddle of some very dynamic waters and very near the origins of the Deep Ocean Conveyor Belt in the North Atlantic.

The point is THIS IS VERY LATE and still today countries that contribute to the degradation of habitable climate, especially the USA, are still lacking policy regarding these deadly dynamics. I noted the other evening that some of the major network news programs were talking about the melting polar sea. All I can say is 'Finally, the public is aware of this." I appreciate every aspect of the coverage of this issue, it's a dire one and needs EFFECTIVE address by the global community. The USA has been a horror under this administration regarding this issue and the international community has to bring pressure to bring about change.

..."The sea ice is decreasing faster than all the models predicted," says Jay Zwally, the ice satellite project scientist at NASA Goddard, "We not only have the warming of the atmosphere, we have a warming of the ocean that is affecting this. It has been surprising to everybody, this decrease in area. This is a marked departure, and this is suggesting to us that maybe we are getting at this tipping point."...

Considering President Chavez's long history in the region, his success in handling crisis, I think it's time he have a chance to explain...

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (R) and senior rebel commander Ivan Marquez of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) walk at Miraflores Palace in Caracas November 8, 2007. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has asked Chavez to mediate with the Marxist guerrillas from Latin America's oldest insurgency, the FARC, to break an impasse in negotiations meant to win the release of the group's most high-profile captives. REUTERS/Jorge Silva (VENEZUELA)

...how rebels, after generations of being rebels aren't necessarily terrorists so much as entrenched in lives they don't necessarily have control within or ways to change. It's time to listen to an unpopular leader and discern if he indeed can make a difference in the lives of those so involved with violence that they can't find their way out.


Mathaba News Network (click here)
Chavez: 'I support the search for peace, not the FARC'
Posted: 2008/01/15
From: Mathaba
'I do not support the FARC ''Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia'', I support the search for peace,' Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said Sunday.

Good night...

...and then there was that whole Massachusetts oil deal which was interesting.

Considering Georgie just grandstanded in Saudi Arabia for the exact same issue, 'Cheaper Oil for the USA" in exchange for advanced weaponry, Chavez didn't even ask for anything in return. Hello?


August 28th 2005, by Bernardo Delgado - Venezuelanalysis.com
Caracas, Venezuela, August 28, 2005 —Venezuela’s Chavez said to visiting Rev. Jesse Jackson (click here) today that he would like Jackson to help with finding a way to provide discounted heating oil and free eye operations to poor communities in the U.S. Pointing out that Venezuela provides 1.5 million barrels of oil per day to the U.S., Chavez said, “we would like to provide a part of this 1.5 million barrels of oil to poor communities.”

...and Hugo Chavez has made good use of the oil monies of the People of Venezuela...

He has been true to his 'theme' of liberating Venezuela from the clutches of insitutions that have, in the past, locked South American countries into insoluble debt. He, along with Brazilian President, Inácio Lula Da Silva and Paraguay's Nicanor Duarte created a South American alternative to the IMF. I hope it goes well. It's philosophy is something the people of South America understand and approve of. Not bad, for a man Bush simply dispises.

Venezuela cuts oil payment time (click here)
Published: Jan. 8, 2008 at 11:26 PM
CARACAS, Venezuela, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Venezuela's state energy company, PDVSA, decided Tuesday to cut the period for which foreign companies can pay for oil from 30 days to eight. Venezuelan officials said they decided to reduce the length of its payment period so PDVSA can, in turn, reinvest in its infrastructure sooner, Globovision TV reported Tuesday. Officials also attributed the decision to the declining value of the dollar. In 2007, Venezuela assumed majority control of several large oil projects, including those of U.S. producer ExxonMobil.

So, in a role not frequently notable to Hugo Chavez, he assisted with the release of hostages.

Consuelo Gonzalez, released hostage of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, with her daughters Patricia, second left, and Maria Fernanda Perdomo in Caracas, Venezuela, on Monday.Photo: AFP

Now realizing, Columbia and Venezuela are in a very dangerous neighborhood, is to realize why it took Hugoo Chavez to secure the hostages.

But, these acts of caring for people get him a lot of mileage and to a greater degree, rightfully so. I don't know about you, but, if push came to shove I would rather have a man with the background and sincere commitment to democratic socialist principles than otherwise. After all, he thought nothing of intervening.

The results were good results. Can anyone else claim such a success given the nature of the hostage takers? I don't think so. Not without causing a war. And a war is the last thing the people of South America need. So, Hugo did good. He did better than good, he did great.

See, Hugo is 'kinda' typical of those that seek to thwart harmful and out of control American policy. There is this espionage story about the USSR...

...Speaking through an interpreter, Chavez called on nations to rise up against what he called America's hegemony. He even had some recommended reading for his colleagues: Noam Chomsky's Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance.
"It's an excellent book to help us understand what's been happening in the world throughout the 20th century," Chavez said, "and what's happening now."...

...Dallas was a television program about this wealthy oil family, living on a go-zillion acres of land in Texas (click here). The series was very spicey and it was a long held view that the 'illegal' market of Dallas videos at the time was rampant through the USSR with the country of Georgia leading the assault, or should I say the profiteering. There was no way that Dallas was marketed illegally throughout Russia for the purpose of destabilizing it, but, there is a long held belief it contributed to 'the thinking' including Parastroyka and Glasnov.

So, when Chomsky wrote his book about Hegemony and the like, it is assumed there is a lot of truth in it. Now, to some degree there is, in that, when listening to most Neocons/Right Wing Republicans they sincerely believe conquering the world and so called spreading democracy is 'the right of the USA.' In other words, in order to insure the USA remains a democracy it needs to destroy every other sovereign government on Earth. To realize how close Bush/Cheney has come with that 'strategy' is a little scary.

Hegemony is not about waging 'fair' and 'conventional' wars. It's about destroying everything in the path of American wrath and never regreting it. That is what Hitler did, okay? There are still Right Wing Republicans talking that way on national radio. Iraq wasn't enough of a mistake, they are still determined to blow up anything not American and be happy about it.

So, realizing books like Chomsky's are read and mostly backed up by the actions of the Bush/Cheney administration, it gets fairly obvious that Hugo Chavez believes in the potential to be invaded FOR NO GOOD REASON by a Superpower that even Russia opposes with defunct USA Star Wars Technology. So, Hugo got a bad rap. He stated his sincerest fears. It didn't go over well.

I think want really got Hugo in trouble with the world and his people was the 'Devil thing.'

...by the way, I thought it was a great speech. I really did. I still do. Considering Hugo is a Christian, there was a lot of 'himself' and sincerity, I thought.

..."And it smells of sulfur still today," Chavez said. "Yesterday, ladies and gentlemen, from this rostrum -- the president of the United States, the gentleman whom I refer to as 'the devil' -- came here, talking as if he owned the world."...

Whether anyone wants to say it or not, Venezuela is a nation in a tough neighborhood.

Colombian Troops Begin Retaking Rebel-Held Territory (click here)

...But although most of the guerrillas responded to the offensive by disappearing into the jungle, some shot at helicopters this morning, hitting three aircraft and wounding two soldiers and a pilot, Gen. Fernando Tapias, chief of the armed forces, told reporters at the Defense Ministry in Bogotá this morning. He suggested that the takeover of the region would be slow, since the military was wary of anti-personnel mines on the roads and the possibility of rebel ambushes....