The Presidential Bush Twins - One attempted to placate the American Voter with the Hydrogen Car and Now McCain wants to do what?

Electric cars are already a reality. They were never marketed because of the political pressures of Big Oil. McCain has it all "W"rong.

The electric car isn't the issue...

...THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS !!!!!!!!!!!

DEMS: $300 MILLION OFFER A 'GIMMICK' (click here)

Multimillion-dollar prizes have been offered to send a rover to the moon, speed up human genome sequencing, cure childhood diseases. Now, John McCain wants to offer $300 million in taxpayer money to the inventor of a more efficient car battery to power hybrid and electric vehicles....

Bush's Hydrogen Car is Fossil Fuel Dependant ! (click here for article from 2003)

...According to the administration's National Hydrogen Energy Roadmap, drafted last year in concert with the energy industry, up to 90 percent of all hydrogen will be refined from oil, natural gas, and other fossil fuels -- in a process using energy generated by burning oil, coal, and natural gas. The remaining 10 percent will be cracked from water using nuclear energy....

From the US Department of Energy (click here)

... Coal Gasification (with and without carbon sequestration - click here) ...

REPUBLICANS don't care about 'Energy Independence' that eliminates carbon dioxide pollution which is why the laws of the USA need to 'target' Carbon Dioxide under the provisions of The Clean Air Act and treat it as a toxic gas when it 'defines' an induced Global Warming of Earth.

The Republican 'definition' of ALTERNATIVE FUELS does not lead to independence from 'FOSSIL FUELs (click here).' Quite the contrary, the Republicans 'define' alternatives as ANYTHING but imported oil. That INCLUDES fossil fuels manipulated from SHALE. Shale is just a synonym for COAL.

Shale Coal Technology has been tried before and failed. It continues to be an excuse for NOT changing the infrastruture of Big Oil in the USA.

Why?

Because once the USA changes direction and begins down a path of 'Vast Alternative Energies' like Wind, Solar and driving freedom again like The Electric Car there is NO GOING BACK.

The 'wealth managers' of the Republican Elite are heavily invested in 'existing' infrastruture. They stand to loss BIG TIME when the USA converts its 'consumer economy' away from OIL DEPENDENCE. It's all about money where the Republicans hold the monopoly.

And that's all its about.

Once the USA is 'free' from its old and dilapidated' Fossil Fuel Infrastruture there will be no more assault on the environment either and the Polar Bear will return to its 'sea ice' without any further threat.

We can do this. "Oh, yes we can." We can save the future for our children IN OUR LIFETIMES. "OH, YES WE CAN !"

Stop this hideous and desperate use of BLM (Bureau of Land Management) lands. Democrats MUST win in 2008. If we are to protect the future there is only one clear choice and that is to keep RESPONSIBLE Democrats in the majority and in the White House to take back our country. There is no choice, the Republicans are far too corrupt and corrupted ! This is a moral issue. We are the stewards of the future. A future that belongs to us and the rest of the populous of Earth. We cannot fail. Not this time !

BLM is moving forward to lease public lands for shale-oil development, despite still-evolving technology and objections over the environmental costs (click here).

...Even so, BLM is still considering leasing about 1.9 million acres for shale-oil development—an action that would displace activities such as recreation, mining, oil and gas drilling, and livestock grazing and that would also result in the loss of thousands of existing jobs. In addition, the new industry would consume unknown quantities of water (water? what water? - click here - the only places without drought conditions are places like Iowa where floods have destroyed farmland); degrade wildlife habitats, streams, and air quality; and catalyze a huge expansion of infrastructure to support industrial operations and services for thousands of new workers....

..."Despite all the attempts to develop a shale-oil industry in the U.S. over the past 100 years, the fact remains that no proven method exists for efficiently removing the oil from the rock," says Bob Loucks, a former shale-oil project manager. Efforts to jump-start western shale-oil production during the 1970s propelled the region through a boom-and-bust economy that ended when Congress abolished the $8 billion Synthetic Liquid Fuels Program in 1985....

USA 2008 Wheat Harvest - Reports began June 22, 2008

This picture is from the wheat harvest in Israel, 2008 (click here).

A combine harvester pours wheat kernels into a truck as the lucrative crop is harvested April 28, 2008 in the fields near Kibbutz Be?eri in southern Israel. Local farmers are looking to expand the area under wheat cultivation after prices reached record levels in 2008.
(Photo by David Silverman/Getty Images Europe)

In regard to the USA

Rain promotes 'head scab' outbreak in Kansas wheat (click here)

Posted :: (6/19/2008 6:03 AM) ;4d 9h ago

Wheat stand ready for harvest in a field near Hazelton, Kan., Wednesday, June 18, 2008.

(AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

By Roxana Hegeman, Associated Press Writer
WICHITA, Kan. — Untimely rainfall has led to an epidemic of a toxic fungal disease in some fields of winter wheat, reducing yields and quality just as harvest gets under way in the nation's breadbasket, industry experts say.
Low levels of Fusarium head blight, also known as "head scab," are not uncommon in grain crops. But this season the disease appears to be widespread, particularly in Kansas where rain fell this spring when winter wheat was flowering.
Some scab also has been reported in Missouri and north-central Oklahoma. The extent of infestation in northern wheat-producing states may not be known until those crops reach maturity.
"Based on past yield loss estimates, this is going to represent a total loss to Kansas wheat production of 1 or 2 percent," said Erick DeWolf, a plant pathologist at Kansas State University. "It is not trivial, but it is not the end of the world, either."
That represents a potential yield loss worth $50 million for Kansas farmers, based on a forecast of production and current wheat prices, said Mike Woolverton, a grain marketing economist at Kansas State.

The 'idea' of USA Farmers becoming the next OPEC has everyone in a panic.

It would seem as though the USA harvest according to early reports are seeing returns in the high 50s and low 60s, with protein content 'averaging' about 10%.

Wheat fields are finally beginning to dry out in much of the southern half of Kansas, allowing many farmers to begin wheat harvest over the weekend. Harvest has reached as far north as Salina in central Kansas, yet progress has languished in the eastern and western portions of the state.
In Pratt County, harvest is in full swing, according to Lisa, at the Kanza Co-op Association Pratt location. Test weights have been as high as 63 pounds, although the average is about 59 pounds. Yields are hard to gauge, as cutting is still spotty. Wheat is being taken at all the cooperative’s locations.
At the Fowler Equity Exchange, Fowler, harvest has swung into high gear, reports Jason. Before rain showers suspended harvest last week, test weights averaged about 61 pounds per bushel. Now, they average about 58 pounds; yields are averaging between 30 and 50 bushels per acre. As of Sunday, harvest is about 15% complete.
Chris at Farmers Co-op Grain Association, Conway Springs, says harvest has just started, with farmers dodging mudholes to cut wheat on hillsides and sandy soils. Test weights are averaging about 57 pounds per bushel, with yields averaging between 30- and 50-bushels per acre. Some farmers are having 60-plus bushel per acre yields. In the Conway Springs area, harvest is about 10% complete.
At the Right Co-op, Wright, Brenda says about 250,000 bushels has been taken in thus far, with harvest beginning in earnest on Saturday. Test weights are consistently around 60 pounds per bushel, with protein ranging from 8.3-14.5%.
Bart George at Cargill AgHorizons, Salina, reports about 150,000 bushels of wheat were taken in over the weekend. Harvesting is spotty due to last week’s rain showers, but George says farmers north of Salina are cutting. Test weights are in the upper 50s and low 60s, with protein ranging from 9-10%.
Kansas Wheat Commissioner Ron Suppes, Dighton, says he will begin harvesting in Finney County on Monday. There is no harvest going on in Scott and Lane counties, Suppes says, although sporadic harvest is occurring near Garden City.
Kansas Association of Wheat Growers vice president Paul Penner began cutting for a neighbor Saturday. He reports 60-plus bushel yields, with test weights averaging more than 61 pounds per bushel. A hail storm last week has reduced yield potential somewhat. With harvest just getting underway, Penner believes yields in Marion County could be above average.
The 2008 Harvest Salute to Producers is brought to you by Kansas Wheat in conjunction with sponsors Kansas City Board of Trade, DeBruce Grain and the Kansas Grain and Feed Association.

Conventional crops should NOT compete for biofuel production, they are NOT the best source ! The very best source of biofuel is from Prairie Grass in the USA. Its production will compete for acreage of 'investment' in relation to 'food and feed crop' production, but, shouldn't.

HOWEVER and especially.

The 'type' of land needed for Prairie Grass Production doesn't even have to compete with the lands needed for conventional crop production. There is absolutely NO REASON for biofuels to disaffect food production or food prices ! These are NOT genetically altered or 'designer crops' either !

Back to the future: Prairie grasses emerge as rich energy source (click here)
Mixtures of grasses make best source of biofuel

...The beauty of mixed prairie grasses, say the researchers, is that, unlike corn, they can grow in old farmland or in marginal, degraded lands with little or no application of water or fertilizers. The challenge is finding enough such land....

THESE GRASSES are able to thrive in drought conditions.

Biofuels from Switchgrass: Greener Energy Pastures (click here)

-Test plots of switchgrass at Auburn University have produced up to 15 tons of dry biomass per acre, and five- year yields average 11.5 tons—enough to make 1,150 gallons of ethanol per acre each year.

-Many farmers are already experienced at raising switchgrass for forage or to protect soil from erosion. Besides showing great promise for energy production, switchgrass also restores vital organic nutrients to farmed-out soils.

-Switchgrass can be cut and baled with standard farming equipment.

-Switchgrass offers excellent habitat for a wide variety of birds and small mammals.

Erosion control can be realized by INVESTING in Priarie Grass as a harvestable crop along with regular crops. Grasses protect from erosion far better than simple farmland. A change in the way farmers view 'land use' has to be realized. This is not a new concept, simply an under-utalized one. Harvesting 'protective' grass embankments can be an applied technology which would allow for reducing sediment in these areas as well.

Cross breeding, not genetic engineering, some of these grasses will allow a 'high yield 'Prairie/Switchgrass' production in areas now underutilized or even 'thought about' as crop production or as a NEW farm income. Research needs to be conducted and monies need to be appropriated by a newly elected President that BELIEVES change in the way America applies knowledge can lead our nation back to greatness.

Flood recovery turns to erosion; Some farmers' grass waterways crucial in saving their crops (click here)
By Lyn Jerde, Daily Register
No one has to sell Cambria-area farmer Carl Stiemsma on the benefits of grass waterways in crop fields.
"I've got a lot of them," he said, "and I think I might get some more."
The recent Columbia County deluges were a textbook example of what some people colloquially call a "gully-washer."
But, if Stiemsma had planted his waterways in crops, instead of in soil-saving grasses, those crops and the soil in which they were planted would have been swept away onto roadways or neighboring fields. And, the yield in his fields — corn, soybeans, green beans, wheat and other crops — would have been drastically reduced.
Stiemsma has utilized grass waterways since the 1970s, but he's considering placing a call to the Columbia County Land and Water Conservation Department to help build news ones and replace old ones that, encrusted with several years' accumulation of sediment, have become less effective.
Kurt Calkins, director of the land and water conservation department, said landowners are now being strongly encouraged to get in touch with his department, which is offering help for farmers wishing to implement erosion-control practices....

2007 Kansas wheat harvest shattered

August 9, 2007
Shelby, Montana
Photographer states :: Montana wheat harvest


By Roxana Hegeman, Associated Press Writer
WICHITA, Kan. — Sodden wheat lies flat in fields across southern Kansas. Insurance companies are writing off acreage as total losses. Test weights for the few truckloads of grain straggling into area elevators are awful. And it is still sprinkling.
The start of the 2007 Kansas wheat harvest will long be remembered for its shattered prospects. After seven years of drought, the wet winter and even wetter spring had nourished a crop that once promised a bin-busting harvest.
But that was before the Easter weekend freeze, before the disease pressure, before the insect infestations and the heavy rains. Before the floods.
"Everything combined has really challenged this year's crop -- especially in southern Kansas," said Dusti Fritz, chief executive officer for Kansas Wheat, a venture of the Kansas Wheat Commission and the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers.
The government's outlook is equally grim. Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service reported Monday that 37 percent of the wheat crop was in poor to very poor condition. About 29 percent was rated in fair condition, 25 percent was in good condition and only 9 percent rated as excellent.

At the Anthony Farmers Co-op, manager Dan Cashier said most wheat around Anthony has been abandoned, and custom cutters have moved on in search of other work. "I wish I could give you a happier scenario, but it is not there," Cashier said.
He blamed disease and freeze for the crop's problems in his area this year. Wheat samples brought in to the Anthony elevator have been averaging about 50 pounds per bushel -- far below the 60 pounds per bushel needed for No. 1 graded wheat. And yields have been running anywhere from zero to 20 bushels per acre.
He expected harvest to resume in a couple of days, if it ever stops raining.
"We probably got in 5 percent of the crop, but it might be all we get in if it keeps raining," Cashier said.
On Monday, the Statistics Service reported just 2 percent of wheat fields in Kansas have been harvested. By this time last year, about 48 percent had been cut, while the average for this late into harvest is about 19 percent.
Kansas is not alone in its late harvest start.
In Oklahoma, about 41 percent of the crop has been harvested -- far short of the 92 percent that would have been normal for this date. In Texas, about 31 percent has been harvested, compared with the 63 percent that was in the bin by this time last season, the National Agricultural Statistics Service said Monday.
But there is a bright side for farmers.
While the untimely rains at harvest time have wreaked havoc on the Kansas wheat crop, the moisture has helped spring-planted crops like corn, soybeans and sorghum thrive.








July 4, 2007
Buhler, Kansas
Photographer states :: Thunderstorm arrives.

Hazy conditions to persist

June 22, 2008
Blacksburg, Virginia
Photographer states :: This hail storm ripped through our town shortly before 9pm Sunday evening shredding plants and knocking birds out of trees. The dime-sized hail was more than 2" thick on the ground in some places.


June 22, 2008
Blacksburg, Virginia
Photographer states :: This hail storm ripped through our town shortly before 9pm Sunday evening shredding plants and knocking birds out of trees. The dime-sized hail was more than 2

Noted in the picture below, the ball of hail at the right upper corner of the USA dollar has a flat bottom. That indicates the force with which the hail had landed. A solidly frozen ice ball that large was falling with the force of gravity. It could have done damage if it hit any 'living' thing on Earth.


June 23, 2008
Galena, Kansas
Photographer states :: This hail is from a storm that hit at 1:20am 6/23/2008


June 12, 2008
Columbus, MI
Photographer states :: First Day of Summer Haboob Southern Luna County, NM

By Jason Gibbs Sun-News reporter
Article Launched: 06/21/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT
LAS CRUCES — The lazy days of summer are off to a hazy start.
Smoke and dust that moved Friday into the Mesilla Valley likely will linger throughout today — the first official day of summer.
The brown cloud, which also blanketed El Paso, was ushered into the area early Friday morning after a weak storm front pushed down from the Great Plains, said Dave Novlan, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Santa Teresa.
"It's dust and smoke," Novlan said. "The dust is due to a weak (storm) front and, as it comes down the Great Plains and east of the (Sacramento Mountains), it picks up some dust and it picked up some smoke from the Rocky Fire."
The Rocky Fire is burning roughly 35 miles west of Carlsbad and was started by a lightning strike June 17. It has grown to 20,000 acres, according to the New Mexico Fire Information Web site.
An increasing chance of rain today, combined with normal wind patterns, should blow the bulk of smoke out by Sunday morning.
"We'll stay hazy through (Saturday) because we will have east winds," Novlan said.
He said no air quality alerts had been issued as of Friday afternoon.
"I think it's light to moderate impact," he said. "People who are sensitive or with asthma

Heads Up ! (click for 12 hour loop).

June 21, 2008
1630z
UNISYS Enhanced Infrared Satellite

THERE HAS BEEN A change in the weather patterns within the last five hours. More turbulence over central North American Continent and a building potential of a hurrican in the Mid-Tropical-Atlantic. The 'lull' was destined to end.


June 21, 2008
2130z
UNISYS Enhanced Infrared Satellite of the North and West Hemisphere.

Who cares about "Right to Privacy" there is a Telecommunication Industry with more rights than American Citizens after all !!!

The point is that under the 'insistance' of a Republican Dominated administration that screamed 'National Security' since September 11, 2001, industries that exploit American's Rights have been developed. Those industries are reliant on changing the 'Rights of Americans' and exploit the very nature of 'Freedom.' Unless we remain aware of the dangers that 'exploitive' Executive Branchs of the USA Constitution bring to our lives, more and more of our Civil Rights will continue to be violated to insure corporate profits.

It is a form of corruption that the USA has to rid itself of. The Telecommunication companies that cooperated under the demands of Bush and Cheney, against the existing laws of the USA, need to be penalized for their role in destoying the Right to Privacy guaranteed to Americans.

The technology currently being marketed as 'state of the art' of Homeland Security will continue to compromise the lives of Americans and exploit the very meaning of our Democracy. This Sunnyvale Company is an example of protectionism by of these laws. I am quite confident, Bush and Cheney point regularly to the 'opportunities' of such companies IF rules are bent and even broken.

Enough already. Even the health considerations of these technologies are not known. We don't need our privacy monitored by invasive and potentially dangerous technologies for the benefit of convenience. Wire taps on even conventional methods of communication, now that Homeland Security has microwaves, have the potential to alter human wellness. We still don't know the dangers 'cell phone' technology has brought our society and won't for many years. The 'idea' that technology and products should be allowed to cause health risks with the 'potential' advent of improvements in 'treatments of the infirmed' is simply outrageous.

In a country without adequate access to health care, what will we be facing in a country with compromised wellness when the capacity of consumer protections are reduced for the sake of an economy. Americans have never had so few 'rights' to safety in the history of this country since Child Labor Laws began. We need a return to competency in government before laws such as this mess are considered into longevity !

These issues are huge and none are minor, they require the return of the capacity of our government agencies such as the FDA, FCC and adequate protections of a vigorous Justice Department. We have witnessed none of this under this Executive Branch but continually witness the exploitive nature of our laws while chasing innocent people with Rendition, Detention and Torture. Those are the focus of a Neocon Executive Branch and not the interest of consumer protection. We witnessed Homeless Men in Florida carted off to prison while it was touted as a victory for Homeland Security at the cost of American's Civil Rights.

We need a government that reflects 'reasonable' provisions for investigations and not those conducted and politically exploited at any cost. "The Culture of Fear" developed within our society has to be irradicated before our Civil Rights are meaningless and disposed of for profit for the lack of a 'real economy' of innovation !

Endwave's Experienced Management Team Includes (click here):
Edward A. Keible, Jr. Chief Executive Officer and President
John J. Mikulsky Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President
Brett W. Wallace Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President
David M. Hall Senior Vice President and General Manager, Defense and Security Products Division
Steven F. Layton Senior Vice President and General Manager, Telecom Products Division
Daniel P. Teuthorn Senior Vice President, Technology
Arthur A. Arrington Vice President of Manufacturing
James R. Crossen Vice President and General Counsel
Mark A. Hebeisen Vice President of Marketing and Business Development
Curt P. Sacks Vice President of Finance and Corporate Controller


Wireless point to multi-point communication apparatus and method (click here)
United States Patent 7006794
Assignee:Endwave Corporation (Sunnyvale, CA, US)

A wireless communication system that provides energy efficient, high bandwidth and low cost wireless communication. In one embodiment, the communication system utilizes a fan out, pencil beam arrangement in which electro-magnetic energy is transmitted from a hub to customer premises equipment (CPE) with a fan or similar antenna and from the CPEs to the hub via pencil beam antennas. The pencil beam antennas provided higher link margin. The hub may include a shared aperture antenna device for receiving pencil beam transmissions from the CPEs. A shared aperture antenna device may also be used for transmission from the hub to the CPEs....


Endwave Corporation (click here)
...Item 1. Business
Introduction
We design, manufacture and market radio frequency, or RF, modules that enable the transmission, reception and processing of high frequency signals in telecommunication networks, defense electronics, homeland security and other systems....



Telecommunication Stocks (click here)
Updated as of: Jun 20, 2008 @ 11:02 pm ET
Sym.
Company Name
Last
Change
%Chg
High
Low
Vol.

AIT
Ameritech Corp
26.62
-0.03
-0.1
26.77
26.07
455K

AT
Alltel Corp
71.46
+0.26
+0.4
71.48
71.17
0

ATNI
Atlantic Tele Network
29.74
-0.59
-1.9
30.38
29.34
85.2K

BCE
B C E Inc
34.10
+0.20
+0.6
34.32
33.85
6.90M

BEL
Bell Atlantic Corp
0.66
-0.04
-5.7
0.70
0.66
0

BLS
Bellsouth Corp
47.11
+0.31
+0.7
47.82
47.00
0
CSN

Cincinnati Bell Inc
0.08
+0.01
+14.3
0.09
0.0785
0

CTEX
C Tec Corp
0.0005
+0.0002
+66.7
0.0005
0.0003
39.0M

CTL
Century Tele Enterprises
31.04
-0.97
-3.0
31.85
30.86
1.40M

DIS
Walt Disney Co.
31.94
-0.95
-2.9
32.73
31.94
21.3M

GTE
G T E Corp
7.45
-0.30
-3.9
7.90
7.01
3.69M

LTEC
Lincoln Telecomm
4.60
-0.08
-1.7
5.04
4.1201
4.10K

PAC
Pacific Telesis Group
33.46
-0.24
-0.7
33.79
32.57
339K

PHI
Philippine Long Dist Tel
54.85
-0.52
-0.9
55.66
54.82
109K

SNG
Southern New Engl Telcm
4.33
+0.01
+0.2
4.40
4.30
418K

TAR
Telefonica De Argentia
11.32
-0.32
-2.7
12.00
11.32
5.40K

TDS
Telephone & Data Sys
48.85
-1.60
-3.2
50.45
48.84
575K

TEF
Telefonica De Espana Adr
79.08
-1.31
-1.6
79.76
78.68
383K

TFONY
Telefonos De Mexico Sa
22.77
-0.15
-0.7
23.50
22.77
1.30K

TMX
Telefonos De Mexico Cl L
22.91
-0.44
-1.9
23.31
22.89
1.21M

TWX
Time Warner Inc.
14.60
-0.34
-2.3
14.89
14.35
29.2M
Updated as of: Jun 20, 2008 @ 11:02 pm ET
continued...

THE 'USA' MINIMALIST REALITY - It's only about 20 levee breaks that have cost people life and limb to improve the potential flooding 'downstream.'

White House invokes executive privilege in EPA inquiry (click here)
The Bush administration refuses to turn over subpoenaed documents related to the agency's decision to prevent California from enacting stricter emissions standards than the federal government.
By Richard Simon, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
7:26 PM PDT, June 20, 2008
...The administration's claim of executive privilege is the latest twist in the escalating legal and political battle over California's efforts to implement its own law combating global warming. Critics of the EPA decision contend that it was based on politics, not science or the law....


Towboat Senior Deckhand Al Davis, right, and Junior Deck Hand Randy Howard, left, work on securing barges they anchored earlier on Mississippi River the near Quincy, Ill., Monday, June 16, 2008. The barges which contain soybeans and corn will be anchored in the river until the flood waters recede. The Mississippi River is closed to barge traffic due to flood conditions that have destroyed homes and thousands of acres of corn and soybeans. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

After all, the dead of this country, whether it is in Iraq or domestically serve a purpose to their loss. The DEAD FOLKS in the Midwest have suffered the consequences so those 'DOWNSTREAM' have a better outcome after all !

It must be God's Plan after all. I mean George Walker Bush and John McCain would know best about that, right?

How ludicrous does this have to get? What will it take finally for Bush and McCain to pull the plug on oil exploration and begin to retool the nation's infrastructure to stop this travesty called GOVERNMENT !

I tell you what, rather than 'deal with the issue' of Human Induced Global Warming, let's just blame this mess on The Army Corp of Engineers that don't have the RIGHT to do what's necessary because the USA has a Government under Republican Domination for Decades that have denied the issue of Carbon Dioxide Pollution right up to the last 'go round' in the Senate recently. So, let's make the Army Corp the SCAPEGOAT to this Republican travesty and forget about those dead. I mean Bush and Cheney can ignore over 4000 American soldiers in an illegal war in Iraq they can certainly ignore trivial domestic losses due to Human Induced Global Warming. Oh, I forgot. There is no such thing as Global Warming and Carbon Dixoide could never be a toxic gas !

Neocons are simply amazing people. They believe that 'control' of the media and the 'political spin' will stop any reality handed them. Well, it would seem THIS ACT OF GOD has its own idea of reality and a nation now faced with potential food short falls and escalating food costs have a lot to answer for when in fact, IT AIN'T OVER !

13 Dead In Midwest Floods; Hundreds Flee (click here)
Flash Flood Warnings Posted From Texas To Pennsylvania; At Least 3 People Missing
(CBS/AP) Residents of low-lying towns stacked sandbags or grabbed belongings and evacuated Wednesday after a foot of rain pushed rivers and creeks out of their banks in the nation's midsection. At least 13 deaths had been linked to the weather, and three people were missing. Record or near-record flood crests were forecast at several towns in Missouri. Flooding was reported in large areas of Arkansas and parts of southern Illinois, southern Indiana and southwestern Ohio, and schools were closed in parts of western Kentucky because of flooded roads. "We've got water rising everywhere," said Jeff Korb, president of the Vanderbugh County, Ind., commissioners. The National Weather Service posted flood and flash flood warnings from Texas to Pennsylvania....


Battle to save farmland at fever pitch (click here)
By Jeffrey Meitrodt and Tim Jones, Tribune correspondents
6:18 PM PDT, June 18, 2008
URSA, Ill. -- Despite a history of heart problems, Larry Ippensen lifted shovel after shovel of sand Wednesday afternoon with scraped and sunburned hands in a desperate sandbagging effort to save his 160-acre family farm from a nearby faltering levee."If the levee goes, my crop is gone," said Ippensen, 62, who spent more than five hours filling bags with his two adult children and a 12-year-old grandson.
For miles around Ippensen's corn and soybean farm, the Mississippi River – raging at all-time flood highs or near them – devoured thousands of acres of prime farmland. At least nine levees were overrun Wednesday alone and more than 20 in recent days....

FEMA and The Farmer's Home Administration AIN'T GOT ENOUGH MONEY to reconstruct the Agricultural Infrastructure of the USA, yet alone rebuild levees. Do you have the remotest idea of the monies needed to supply 'loans' to farmers that have lost crops? Plenty. Do you know the monies approved for the illegal war in Iraq by the House today? Outrageous. Where are the priorities to a nation abandoned by it's Executive Branch to the ravages of corporate profits and dealings? The 'sink hole' called the USA Treasury keeps getting deeper and deeper and deeper and we haven't seen any substantial impeachment hearings yet. Amazing. And Wall Street thought all they had to do was restructure mortgages.

What.

A.

Joke !

And of course all this flooding was a complete surprise to the Executive Branch.

EXCEPT.

FOR THE COMPLETE SURPRISE LAST YEAR !

Central U.S. staggers from storm punches (click here)
updated 10:25 p.m. ET
Tues., Aug. 21, 2007
Ohio latest area to see new flooding; death toll reaches 22
RUSHFORD, Minn. - Water-weary residents across the Midwest began counting their losses Tuesday as damage estimates from this weekend’s deadly flash floods climbed into the tens of millions.
The rain moved into Ohio, where roads flooded, schools canceled classes and residents were rescued from flooded homes by boats.
The death toll from the two storm systems — one in the Upper Midwest and the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin in Texas and Oklahoma — climbed to 22 when searchers found the body of a man tangled in a tree about four miles from his wrecked, upside-down car near a creek south of Lewiston, Minn....

Regardless of the 'insurance' Bush has given to their Red State Agricultural Community, that isn't going to return the crop losses or a reasonable food policy for the people of the USA ! Anyone hungry or losing their homes due to food prices ?

You know its a darn shame that the USA's farmers will end up 'with relief' money when the cost of agricultural products, especially biofuel products, are going through the roof. Amazing. The 'very product' that would serve to bring farmers OUT OF LONG STANDING DEBT, is being washed away along with the soil. Darn shame.

Agricultural Assistance Act of 2007 (click here)

On May 25, 2007, President Bush signed into law the "U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007" (2007 Act).

The 2007 Act provides approximately $3 billion in agricultural disaster aid for America's farmers and ranchers. The aid will cover crop losses, livestock and feed losses, emergency conservation practices and dairy losses. The Act also extends the Emergency Forestry Conservation Reserve Program (EFCRP) and the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program.

This page serves as a clearinghouse for information about the farm programs addressed in the 2007 Act....

No, they can't !

Mistakes ? Mistakes ? That is what they call it when they expose a CIA agent for political purposes? A Mistake?

"W"rong !

A mistake is something one takes care of with "White Out." This is NOT a mistake !

Loyalty...In heart I am a public servant...the mistakes this White House made...I do not know if there was a crime committed...nor do I know if there was an attempt…to engage in a cover up during the investigation…I do know it was wrong to reveal her identity because it compromised the identity of a covert official for political reasons. I regret I played a role, however unintentionally in relaying false information to the public about it…

I made my donation today. What about you? The man is living history. We can change the face of this nation. "Yes We Can."

Republicans have had their way for far too long. The DNC has been suffering from the battle for the nomination and our future President made the right decision. He cannot rely on 'the system' and RISK the future of our country.

We are taking back our country our own way !

Denver short $11.6M in raising funds for DNC (click here)

Denver Business Journal - by Noelle Leavitt

The Denver 2008 Host Committee revealed Monday that it's short $11.6 million in its fund-raising efforts for the Democratic National Convention that's slated to hit Denver in roughly 10 weeks.
The host committee is under contract with the Democratic National Party to raise $40.6 million by June 16. The committee said that it currently has $29 million in the bank.
"We don't want to make excuses," said Chris Lopez, spokesman for the host committee. "We have another couple of months to finish our fund-raising efforts."
Lopez said that Colorado congressmen, senators, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and various organizations are pulling together -- now more than ever -- to raise the $11.6 million that's needed to meet the fund-raising benchmark before the convention in August.
"I don't know that we see it as a shortfall," Lopez said, adding that when the fund-raising deadlines were set, no one could have predicted a hot primary race. The slumping economy also doesn't help, he said.
"We are asking leaders across Denver in securing donations of $52.80," Lopez said.

Obama says no to public financing; McCain throws hissy fit (click here)

Given Barack Obama's astronomical fundraising numbers, it was only a matter of time before he decided to eschew public funds to finance his campaign. From today's Times:
Democrat Barack Obama today rejected public financing for his presidential campaign, changing an earlier stand and becoming the first major party candidate to drop out of the system since it began after the Watergate scandal....Early in the primary season, Obama had said he would use public financing if his Republican opponent did. But that was before the presumptive Democratic nominee harnessed the Internet and became a fund-raising powerhouse.
This move not only makes Obama the first major candidate in more than 30 years to reject public funding (which forbids candidates from raising private funds), but also goes back on his very public indications he would agree to public funding....

The weather in Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is cold, but, not nearly as cold as it should be. Not in complete darkness.

The shortest day of the year in Antarctica occurs tonight at 7:59 PM EDT. From here out for another year the days get longer in the Southern Hemisphere and light will return to the Ice Continent.


Climate change threat to whales: study (click here)
June 19, 2008 - 4:51PM
The effect of climate change on the ecology of krill and whales in the Southern Ocean urgently needs monitoring, a group of Australian scientists warn.
The Australian Antarctic Division scientists say the effects of climate change on the sea ice that breeds krill which feeds whales can no longer be ignored.
"It is a matter of urgency that long-term studies are initiated to examine variability and change at all trophic levels in the Southern Ocean ecosystem to reduce uncertainty and to improve predictive power," Stephen Nicol, Anthony Worby and Rebecca Leaper say in their paper published on Thursday in the journal Marine and Freshwater Research.
Dr Worby on Thursday told AAP that, basically, less sea ice means less krill and less krill could also mean fewer whales.
The massive declines in Arctic sea ice has not been repeated in Antarctica but the Antarctic Peninsula is one of the most rapidly warming areas on the globe, he said.
"The concern is that if we have a significant decline in the amount of sea ice around Antarctica what does that mean for the krill habitat and what does that mean for whale populations," he said.
The study was particularly concerned with the ecological effects of climate change on baleen whales and the reproduction of krill, the Southern Ocean staple which feeds and breeds under the sea ice.
Sea ice is projected to shrink in the Arctic and Antarctic under all future emissions scenarios, the study says.
If the sea ice environment changes and if this is associated with changes in oceanic circulation, then it will undoubtedly affect the ecosystems on which predators such as baleen whales depend, the study says.
There is now unequivocal evidence of long-term changes in the physical environment of the Antarctic region that are thought to have a dominant effect on biological productivity in the sea ice zone, it says.
"Understanding the changes occurring in Southern Ocean ecosystems will require concerted integrated studies in the future, and not a little ingenuity," it says.

Like I said, Republicans practice 'good politics' NOT 'good policy.'

Weather Underground Launches Online Flood Alert Product (click here)
...Each river observation is color coordinated to reflect its dry/wet percentile and users can click on each observation point to view data and graphs that display Flow Rate, Percentile, Current Stage, Forecast Stage and Flood Stage. Flood Alert symbols will appear on every river icon whenever a river is in danger of flooding....

Just because there are media announcements about receding water levels doesn't truly indicate 'good news.' A water level can recede if there is breach of a levee elsewhere and with the sustained weather patterns currently over Mid-continent USA, there is every indication this is only the beginning to the tragic reality that has been an agriculturally rich area of the USA. The agriculturally rich soils in this region of the country, historically, didn't get there by mistake.


June 16, 2008
Nauvoo, Illinois
Photographer states :: Statement as of 9:35 PM CDT on June 16, 2008 ... Flood Warning remains in effect until further notice... The Flood Warning continues for the Mississippi River at Keokuk ld19. * Until further notice. *
At 8:00 PM Monday the stage was 26.0 feet... and falling. * Major flooding is occurring and record flooding is forecast. * Recent activity... the river is currently falling due to a levee failure near Gregory Landing. * Flood stage is 16 feet. * Forecast... rise to 28.4 feet
Wednesday evening... then begin falling. * Impact... at 27 feet... water affects residences in Nauvoo and reaches the top of the levee protecting the historical Nauvoo house.
935 PM CDT Mon Jun 16 2008 ... Flood Warning remains in effect until further notice... The Flood Warning continues for the Mississippi River at Burlington. * Until further notice. *
At 9:00 PM Monday the stage was 25.4 feet... and rising. * Record flooding is occurring. * Flood stage is 15 feet. * Forecast... rise to 26.0 feet
Tuesday evening... then begin falling. * Impact... at 26 feet... water reaches the top of the Gulfport town levee.


June 16, 2008
Montrose, Iowa
Photographer states :: I am trying to get back from a riverfront home that I am trying to keep the pumps running at. This was a well traveled road.


Some residents have lost their homes altogether.

Something for everyone, is the slogan of the RNC. To that end McCain has clarified his struggle with 'both sides of his mouth.'

John McCain open to drilling offshore, not in Arctic Refuge (click here with video)
WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain's call today to lift a 27-year federal moratorium on new oil and gas drilling along the nation's coastline angered many in the environmental community and put him at odds with several key Republican governors....

Lacking any 'orginal' thinking to his administration and struggling to return legitimacy to the Republican Party after a gloriously failed 8 years and a war misguided and exploitive, Bush is throwing in with McCain which leads me to wonder why he was never his first choice for Vice President. Somehow this is most appropriate to reflect on with an article from Bloomberg.

Any measure such as this is simply a desperate act. The oil that is offshore wouldn't reach the American public, if at all, for at least six to eight years. It is NOT a 'fix' to the current crisis and will serve no purpose to reduce oil prices or availablity today. This is simply politics, bad politics and is why Bush encouraged the falsely inflated prices to Americans in the first place. It is why the national oil reserve has been topped off over and over and over again even in the face of climbing prices. It was the high prices and economic stress this administration and McCain has wanted all along to remove the constraints on offshore oil drilling the American people have demanded for decades.

Just more 'politics without purpose' and not 'policy with results.' Old ideas with age old outcomes. In fact, the people of this planet need to come to terms with the reality that 'fossil fuel' use is toxic to their lives. They need to realize that THEY have to become 'user friendly' if they want their children to have a sustainable lifestyle. It will take a change in the DC Regime in order to achieve it. The infrastructure of the USA has to be 'retooled' including goverment empowerment in transporation and energy. It is unattainable for the private sector to achieve profound change in direction of economics without government investment and laws that enforce it.

I am sure when it comes to realizing the weather patterns of the USA have profoundly changed brought on my Climate Change, there is a cute little political anecdote that can be gleened about Noah, but, the profound reality is that the USA has 'shot itself in the foot' when it comes to its economy and it is time to be accountable to 'the little people' and not to 'big oil.'


Harvesting big oil profits which resulted at the cost of the American ecoonomy including an illegal war into Iraq, seems right and the taxes to them instead of subsidies should provide for much needed restructuring of the American economy and lifestyle. The USA is the world's largest contributor to Greenhouse Gases, it is time to now become the economic innovator and inspiration to a world in need of relief from the Climate Crisis.

McCain is out for a 'short term' political bounce and not the best interest of the people of this country. Somehow in that misconstrued thinking of John McCain, everyone will 'buy into' a conservation effort sustained in ANWR which is now guaranteed to the Polar Bear, while greedily diving into ANY and ALL oil that can be obtained offshore of the USA. That oil is best viewed as a matter of National Security and left for generations to come with an Earth recovered from its tragic outcome at the hand of Republicans.

Bush Will Urge Congress to Lift Offshore Oil Drilling Ban (click here)
By Holly Rosenkrantz
June 18 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush today will urge Congress to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling, a move that is in line with a similar push by Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
``With gasoline now over $4 a gallon, tomorrow he will explicitly call on Congress to pass legislation lifting the congressional ban,'' White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said yesterday. ``He wants to work with states to determine where offshore drilling should occur, and also for the federal government to share revenues with the states.''
Democrats have long opposed efforts by Republicans to end the ban on offshore drilling that has existed in some areas since 1981.
Arizona Senator McCain, 71, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, made a similar call for offshore oil drilling yesterday, even as he promised a break from the energy policies of the Bush administration. Illinois Senator Barack Obama, 46, the presumptive Democratic nominee, said there is no evidence that lifting the ban on oil drilling would provide relief to consumers.
``This is not something that is going to give relief now, and it's not a long-term solution,'' Obama said yesterday....


Officials have declared most of Iowa a disaster zone after it was swamped by severe flooding following days of heavy rain.

Thunderstorms, hail may hit this evening

June 18, 2008
0030z
UNISYS Enhanced Infrared GOES East Satellite (12 hour loop click here)

There is also a 'hot spot' off the east coast of North Carolina.


June 17, 2008
0015z
UNISYS Infrared Satellite of Northeast (12 hour loop click here)

The rotation system over the Great Lakes extends to the Eastern Seaboard.


June 16, 2008
Canton, Massachusetts
Photographer states :: boston costline as the storm comes in

June 16, 2008 12:55 PM
By Globe Staff
A cold front rumbling east may bring violent thunderstorms to metropolitan Boston early this evening, creating the potential for large hail and winds that could reach 25 to 35 miles per hour.
A hazardous weather outlook is in effect for all of Southern New England, with the greatest likelihood for thunderstorms in Western and Central Massachusetts. There is the potential that some intense, scattered storms may produce large hail and down tree limbs after 4 p.m. in Lawrence, Fall River, and Boston. However, the low clouds and fog over the coast may take some of the bite out of the storm, reducing the threat of thunder and lighting to simple rain.
"The rest of the week we are going to have this unsettled, showery kind of pattern," said Charlie Foley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton.
The long-term forecast shows a chance of rain and thunderstorms every day this week.


County weathers outages, flooding (click here)
By Amy Carr, Berkshire Eagle Staff
Article Last Updated: 06/17/2008 08:01:51 AM EDT
Tuesday, June 17A severe thunderstorm barreled across the county yesterday, causing power outages and flooding, and toppling trees.
An estimated 1,000 residents in Lenox lost power for a brief period as the storm caused a small fire on the top of a utility pole on East Street, according to National Grid spokeswoman Amy Atwood. The fire was quickly put out, and power was restored in under five minutes.
Outages were reported throughout the county by Western Massachusetts Electric Co. As of press time, according to the WMECO Web site, the following number of customers were without power: Becket, 1; Dalton, 48; Hinsdale, 3; Lanesborough, 45; Lee, 3; Otis, 30; Pittsfield, 53; and Windsor, 1.
According to the National Weather Service in Albany, the thunderstorm brought periods of large hail, high wind gusts and rain totaling 1 to 2 inches.
More than 2,500 customers were without electricity after severe thunderstorms rolled through eastern New York, knocking down trees and power lines and pelting some areas with popcorn-size hail. Hail fell in the Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse areas as well as the Hudson Valley.
Pittsfield Police reported downed wires and trees resulting from the storm. Wires fell at 356 Wahconah St., but the scene was quickly cleared by police. The wind toppled trees at the intersection of Peck's Road and Dan Casey Memorial Drive, on Cheshire Road and at Oak Hills Apartments on Crane Avenue....

Does anyone recognize this facility? One might notice the river nearby. (Note facility at end of entry.)

What would happen if Katrina arrived over Iowa?

June 15, 2008
Alexandria, Missouri
Photographer states :: From the bridge at the IA/MO state line it does not look like much is left.

This picture below was very interesting to me.
This cloud formation is not unusual to me.
It is obviously a 'rotation system.'
However, it is remarkably similar to that of a hurricane.
Those periphery clouds are similar to those that have arrived previous to any hurricane over Wrightsville Beach, NC. The clouds are frequently larger and longer, but, very similar in formation.
Considering the high winds and the high rain events, the 'lack' of Atlantic storms there might be a climate change. What literally might be occurring are 'land based hurricanes.' High temperature along with high moisture content where Arctic and Equatorial air meet could conceivably spawn the dynamics on a 'mini-scale' of what is normally found over warm Atlantic Ocean waters.
After all, hurricanes occur over surface waters, not deep ocean currents. Where those dynamics can be mimicked over land, why shouldn't there be the manifestation of similar content?


June 15, 2008
Anderson, Indiana
Photographer states :: This was a wind event that knocked out our power for about 3 hours.


Floods in Iowa (click here). Previous to the flooding, the land was somewhat parched. Within the last year, Iowa was impacted by drought (click here). However, with the floods, the lack of drought means little as the 'agricultural' planting season is ending. Some of the most productive agricultural land in the USA is in Iowa, Indiana and Illinois.


June 17, 2008
2230z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of North and West Hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop)


June 17, 2008
2230z
Water Vapor Satellite of USA and Southern Canada (click here)


Floods in Indiana, Illinois (click here) - the change from May 28, 2008 and June 10, 2008 in satellite images from NASA.

One might ask, "What happened to all the tornadoes?"

Well, the rains were an equivalent to 'cooling.' The weather pattern has 'calmed down' a bit because Mid-Continent is currently cooler than before. Once the surface waters 'run off' and 'burn off;' the storms and tornadoes could begin again.

The 'interim' coolness provides a wider 'band' of area between Arctic cold air and Equatorial hot air. There is however a forming vortex forming at the USA - Canada border near the Great Lakes which illustrates still a disparity in 'stable' tropospheric conditions.


Above is the map illustrating all the guages of the USA.
143 Locations in Flood (click here)
Of concern is the current record at Morgan City, Louisiana which is currently recording 4.88 feet above flood stage (click here).


The Cresting Waters of the Mississippi River System (click here)

NRC Monitoring Unusual Event at Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant (click here)
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region III office in Lisle, Illinois, has activated its Incident Response Center to monitor an Unusual Event declared at the Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant triggered by the loss of three major sources of telecommunications at the station due to rising floodwaters. The plant, operated by FPL Energy, is located in Palo, Iowa.
The plant is in a stable condition at 100 percent power. There have been no unplanned radioactive releases. State and local officials have been informed.
The commercial telephone lines, the federal telephone system and the microwave communication system were lost due to flooding in the area of the plant. Communications with the NRC and other local, state and federal agencies are currently maintained though the use of satellite phones and cellular phones....


Duane Arnold Nuclear Power Facility (click here).
From every indication I can see, this is a matter of a minor chance of flooding disaffecting the facility. It is a 'zero' elevation above the river. There is no flood protections for the facility.

When the Federal Government states 'There is no such thing as Global Warming and Carbon Dixoide could never be a toxic gas,' this is the type of LACK OF PREPAREDNESS the nation faces due to lack of funding and realistic research to PROVIDE the USA with a workable HOMELAND SECURITY for it's NATIONAL DEFENSE !

Recognizing National Emergencies BEFORE they happen is key to a strong National Defense. Hello? Disregarding science is NOT an option so much as a 'theology.'


Flooding around the state (click title to entry - thank you)

...PALO: A small army of volunteers filled sandbags here Tuesday as they braced for record flooding on the Cedar River that threatens to engulf about four-fifths of this Linn County town of 900. Levels are expected to exceed 1993 flooding.

Jo Ellen Marconi, a single mother of twins, feverishly worked until 5 a.m. Tuesday trying to move her computer and other property from the lower level of her three-level home.

"Everybody here is concerned. They say it is the worst in 50 years. I don't know what to expect," Marconi said.

The Duane Arnold Nuclear Energy Center, Iowa's only nuclear power plant, is located in Palo, about nine miles northwest of Cedar Rapids. Linn County Sheriff Donald Zeller said the nuclear plant is not in danger of being flooded and the plant has made preparations to ensure there will be sufficient workers to safely operate the facility....

Mike has got a great message today. The future President Obama is seeking to revitalize the auto industry. Nice.

..."Not only is it impossible to turn back the tide of globalization, but efforts to do so can make us worse off," the Illinois senator told a crowd of more than 1,000 at Kettering University in Flint that cheered loudly when he talked of his plans for universal health insurance, grants for students to attend college and more support for research and development....

Obama: Auto industry must look to fuel-efficient vehicles (click here)
May 7, 2007
BY COREY WILLIAMS Associated Press
DETROIT -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Monday that U.S. energy policy must change in order to help domestic automakers answer the rising global demand for fuel-efficient vehicles.
''For years, while foreign competitors were investing in more fuel-efficient technology for their vehicles, American automakers were spending their time investing in bigger, faster cars,'' the Illinois senator told Detroit business and political leaders.
Obama said his plan encourages domestic automakers to make fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles by giving them health care assistance for retirees. Federal financial assistance would cover 10 percent -- up to $7 billion -- of automakers' annual legacy health care costs through 2017, under Obama's plan, which would require automakers to invest at least half of their health care savings into technology to produce fuel-efficient cars.
As a second choice, Obama's plan would provide $3 billion to automakers over 10 years to help retool plants to make fuel-efficient cars and trucks....

...and the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer...Was McCain a member of Cheney's Energy Committee? Just curious.

McCain: Lift the ban on offshore oil drilling (click here)

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Sen. John McCain said Monday the federal moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling should be lifted, and individual states given the right to pursue energy exploration in waters near their own coasts.
With gasoline prices rising and the United States chronically dependent on foreign oil, the Republican presidential contender said his proposal would "be very helpful in the short term resolving our energy crisis."
McCain also suggested giving the states incentives, including a greater share of royalties paid by companies that drill for oil, as an incentive to permit exploration.
Asked how far offshore states should be given control of drilling rights, he said that was a matter for negotiation....

"Alaskans want to drill for oil..."

But.

McCain, the "Federalist" opposes drilling in the Arctic. However, McCain will say States have the right to determine whether they drill or not.

How does a Federalist that oppose drilling in the Arctic CONTROL 'one state' that is Alaska from drilling in the Arctic?

It isn't possible. If all bans are removed from drilling offshore, there is no discriminating between states. McCain does not have good policies so much as good politics.

The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Cyrstal Wind Chime) is warmer and warmer by the day:

Bush and British PM focus on Iraq (click here for video). Let's hope they continue to focus on issues of The Middle East and promoting PEACE rather than inflammatory international conditions that 'aid terrorists' while destabilizing international infrastructure.

BP's Russian partnership turns sour (click here)
BP's reputation in Russia came under withering attack yesterday when the billionaire oligarch at the centre of a row over the company's troubled Russian joint venture accused BP of "arrogance" and Nazi-style behaviour.
Mikhail Fridman said the oil venture TNK-BP had performed "dismally" since BP took a 50% stake in the company in 2003. Fridman owns half of the venture with three other oligarchs.
He also implicitly compared BP's chairman Peter Sutherland to Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda chief. Sutherland last week suggested that Fridman and the other Russian shareholders were trying to grab control of TNK-BP, in a 1990s style corporate raid. Asked whether he planned to usurp BP, Fridman told the business daily Vedomosti: "That's in the best tradition of Goebbels propaganda." Fridman insisted he was not a "typical cash-grabbing oligarch"....

ANOTHER OIL WAR IN THE MAKING !!!

BP accuses Russian tycoons of corporate raid attempt on TNK-BP (click here)
MOSCOW, June 12 (RIA Novosti) - British oil major BP said on Thursday that the Russian tycoons owning half of oil venture TNK-BP are attempting a corporate raid on the company, and that the Kremlin is failing to stop them.
Earlier in the day the Russian shareholders in TNK-BP, Russia's third-largest oil company, said they would start legal proceedings against BP, reportedly over management and strategy issues.
BP Chairman Peter Sutherland told reporters in Stockholm: "It is unfortunately a much simpler dispute over control, and perhaps ultimately ownership of the company."
"This is just a return to the corporate raiding activities that were prevalent in Russia in the 1990s." ...


Dark Green - Ratified
Light Green - Signed, but not yet ratified
Grat - Did not sign

Ratifying the "Law of the Sea" by the USA would eliminate any confrontation. It is a treaty. The USA plays with being responsible by signing the treaty, no different than Kyoto, but simply doesn't have the 'backbone' to ratify treaties, just 'in case' the Neocons can instigate still another crony war. That's Republicans for you.


The Trouble Makers of the USA are arrogant (click title to entry) and 'enforce' the idea that 'any conflict will do.' Those are the Neocons for you.

...Last month at the Arctic Ocean Conference (AOC) in Ilulissat, Greenland, high-level diplomats from the United States and the other four nations that border the Arctic region--Canada, Denmark, Norway, and Russia--met to discuss territorial claims regarding the Arctic Circle. At the conclusion of the meeting, the five countries issued a joint statement declaring that, "[b]y virtue of their sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in large areas of the Arctic Ocean," each nation was in a unique position to address the exploitation of natural resources in the Arctic....

Russian Strategic Bombers Fly Routine Patrol Over The Arctic (click here)

..."Two Tu-95 bombers have started a regular patrol flight over remote areas of the Arctic," Lt. Col. Vladimir Drik said. "The aircraft will perform a variety of tasks, including midair refueling from two Il-78 aerial tankers based at the Dyagilevo airbase [also in central Russia]."...

An F-15C Eagle from the 12th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base flies next to a Russian Tu-95 Bear Bomber during a Russian exercise Sept. 28, which brought the Bear near the west coast of Alaska. The Eagle took off as part of North American Aerospace Defense Command’s reaction to this training opportunity provided by the Russian 137th Air Army.



Elevation :: 33 ft / 10 m

Local Time: 12:56 PM AKDT

Lat/Lon: 58.8° N 137.0° W

Temperature :: 57 °F / 14 °C

Conditions :: Overcast

Humidity :: 67%

Dew Point: :: 46 °F / 8 °C

Wind :: 4 mph / 6 km/h / 1.5 m/s from the NW

Pressure :: 30.06 in / 1018 hPa (Rising)

Visibility :: 10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers

UV :: 3 out of 16

Clouds:
Mostly Cloudy 3000 ft / 914 m
Mostly Cloudy 3500 ft / 1066 m
Overcast 5000 ft / 1524 m
(Above Ground Level)