I've been following the coverage CNN is giving the 'bullying' issues in American schools.

CNN likes their exposes'. They have a 'composition' style of journalism and it lends itself well to their form reporting. I am not going to beleaguer this point. The descriptions I have heard sound a great deal as if they are influenced by outside forces resulting in 'social pressure,' and not just 'peer pressure.'

If I may?

There was a straight A student that recently ended his own life. Some of the 'hazing' that occurred sounded as though it has come right out of movies and television scenes of 'tough guys.'

"His head was put in a toilet bowl."

Sure parental supervision of children could be blamed, but, it is more than that. It has been years since Columbine and now rather than 'mass murder' with guns in schools, there are misguided young people that are playing out images against their school mates and sending them into self destruction.



District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel, said nine teens had been charged in the 'unrelenting' bullying of Phoebe Prince. Photograph: Michael S. Gordon/AP

There needs to be better 'models' for school administrations to bring in authority, such as, police when hazing is an issue, no matter the grade. The students doing the 'hazing' might have to be removed from the environment where learning takes place in compassion of others. Maybe Bullies need their own schools. Like a 'Bully Magnet Academy,' where they focus on overachievement rather than their OWN insecurities and self-esteem issues when they find out they have some of the worst character flaws in society.

Some of the Principals and Superintendents might be intimidated by potential lawsuits by parents or by retaliation of violence by the students against them or increased intimidation or worse of the student being hazed.

At any rate, I believe they are at a loss to know what to do. Additionally, I believe it is grossly negligent of State governments NOT to outlaw 'social networking sites' from minors. They should NOT be allowed to recruit students under the age of 18.

At all.

Social networking sites provide a venue for the exploitation of young people and children. It provides too much access to 'personal' information without proper supervision. It is 'the wilds' of our society. A child and young person should not be exposed to 'the wild' until they are prepared to handle it.

There should not be violence allowed in commercials in venues where young minds meet. And the information provided to 'youth' cell phones should be strictly regulated with severe penalties for any victimization of American children and young people.

The youthful minds of the American society should not be saturated with violence in any venue, but, with learning and achievement in academics, social competency and athletic ability to some degree along with GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP.

I am appalled that young people and children are being prosecuted for pedophilia when they are exchanging nude pictures of themselves over their cell phones or any other means that is possible over the internet.

Placing 'adult' crimes in the lives of youth is NOT the answer to protecting them. That is further victimization of American youth by commercial technical venues.

The responsibility and the prosecution lies with the venue provider and their allowance of such a crime to occur. Our youth are not protected and that is plainly obvious. Our American children and young people are NOT 'for profit' entities within our society.

The American Violence Culture needs to be off limits to American youth and I don't care what form that takes, it is simply "W"rong.

If technology cannot protect young minds, then we don't need the technology. Where parents don't follow protection laws of the youth of the country, they need to be fined and ultimately jailed instead of their children.

It isn't easy being an elected official in the USA. The Governors are being threatened as the States are partnered with the Federal Government...

...on Health Care. Call out the National Guard to take care of the Governor if the State Police protection isn't enough or stretched to thin because of budget cut backs OR if the State Police just aren't armed the right way. I wouldn't hesitate for a minute.

Guardians of the free Republics sends extremist letters to governors, including Perdue, NC

Office of Governor Beverly Perdue

Nut Case militias. They kill abortion doctors and now they threaten Governors. Nice, real nice. And the FCC can't do anything about the propaganda that facilitates this mess. What doesn't the FCC understand about this? Maybe we need a few lynching or something. I just don't know.

It is called 'treason.' Maybe that might be helpful. When people call for the over throw of the government by hook or by crook, it is treason.

Guardians of the free Republics sends extremist letters to 30 governors, including Bev Perdue (click title to entry - thank you)

April 2, 6:18 PMRaleigh Headlines ExaminerThomas Wyatt

An extremist group called Guardians of the free Republics has sent menacing letters to over 30 state governors, demanding their resignations, over the last few days. The group intends to restore America by limiting the influence of the government.

Bev Perdue, governor of North Carolina was one of the recipients of the letters, which demanded that the governors step down within three days, or they will be removed from office. The FBI and DHS (Department of Homeland Security) do not suspect violent intentions, but, according to a report from CNN on the extremist letters, "law enforcement should be aware that this could be interpreted as a justification for violence or other criminal actions."

The letters are still under investigation, but Guardians of the free Republics openly opposes violent action. The group wants to make it clear that it also opposes many aspects of government, and that viewpoint was the subject of the letters sent to governors calling for their resignations.

Professor Phil Jones exonerated. When is the criminal 'e-mail' break-in going to be prosecuted?

The British Government's Science and Technology Committee (click title to entry - thank you) have today released their report into the disclosure of climate data from the University of East Anglia, largely exonerating Professor Phil Jones and the rest of the university's Climatic Research Unit (CRU). Professor Jones (pictured above), the director of the CRU, became the centre of a global media whirlwind late last year after the university's servers were hacked and several years worth of his team's personal email correspondence were released onto the internet. Climate sceptics used phrases from these emails to attack the CRU and Climate Science as a whole; however the committee today concluded that there is no evidence to challenge the "scientific consensus" that global warming is induced by human activities.

Much of the furore focused on two particular phrases in the emails - "trick" and "hiding the decline." However, today's report accepted that they were colloquial terms used in private e-mails and the "balance of evidence is that they were not part of a systematic attempt to mislead." The report also noted that Phil Jones and his workmates were scapegoats on whom the focus had been "largely misplaced." It went on to blame the university itself for its poor handling of freedom of information requests and a culture of non-disclosure....

The President is mislead in lifting the moritorim on offshore drilling.

Wry Heat (click here)

by Jonathan DuHamel, Economic Geologist

by wryheat on Apr.02, 2010, under energy

“Obama greatly expands drilling for oil, gas off American shores” read the front page headline in the April 1 edition of the Arizona Daily Star. This Associated Press story claimed that “President Obama threw open a huge swath of East Coast waters and other protected areas in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico to drilling Wednesday, widening the politically explosive hunt for more homegrown oil and gas.” “The president’s move allows drilling from Delaware to central Florida, plus the northern waters of Alaska, and exploration could begin 50 miles off the Virginia coast by 2012.”...

Besides all the other reasons I already stated, primarily safety of coastal communities and Haiti. It is morally "W"rong to break the moratorium.

If the USA has ONLY 2% of the oil in the world, that belongs to the military, no one else. It might be that future generations will need that oil to protect USA borders. It is wrong, completely wrong to allow not only offshore drilling, but, ANY drilling at all.

...The fundamental problem is this: there is a finite amount of fossil fuel....(click title to entry - thank you)

...The more of it we find and burn, the more carbon we put into the atmosphere, and the more severe the greenhouse effect becomes. Once the carbon is in the atmosphere, it stays there. If we want to limit climate change, what we have to do, one way or another, is to leave fuels in the ground wherever possible, not find and burn them....

March came in like a lion and left like a lion, but, with record double digit temperatures and floods, one would never know it according to ...

I am completely disillusioned with the FCC and their inability to take these liars and racists off the air. There is a gross difference between what Murdoch and Limbaugh do vs the KKK. With the KKK, one knows where they stand and they don't lie about where they stand. Calling themselves 'infotainment' is a gross distortion of Freedom of Speech.

One other thing. As Spring wears on into Summer, there will be sustained triple digit temperatures. Those without any way of coping with the heat and cities unaccustomed to helping citizens with heat related issues might want to prepare.

This is ONLY the beginning.

It may be the year that will realize nearly an iceless Arctic Ocean. That isn't a good thing. As there are occurrences of less and less ice in the Arctic Ocean for longer and longer periods of time, it will facilitate the heating of the oceans and terra firma.



April 2, 2010
10:45 GMT
USA Temperature Map

...the Right Wing media. Not cold enough for them?

Today, as Neil Boortz gets closer and closer to the goal of his April Rally in DC, the distortions and 'dream weaving' is more and more hideous.

His movement wants to instill "The Fair Tax" while dismantling the 16th and 17th Amendment in the Bill of Rights.

According to him when the ? Fair Tax ? is passed it will take effect after the 16th Amendment has been repealed.

Now the entire 'idea' that a Bill passed into Law could repeal a Ratified Amendment to the USA Constitution is unconstitutional. A bill can be passed to repeal an Amendment. At least there can be. But, at any rate, the circus these broadcast's cause is grossly misleading to the audience they have. I believe IF there was to be a repeal of any amendment to the USA Constitution it has to go through the same process as when it was ratified. To actually have people in the USA believe a Bill passed into Law can achieve all that is hideous. Quite frankly, the Boortz Fair Tax Bill could sit idle FOREVER, if the 16th Amendment was never repealed. Additionally, to think the USA would never face ANY set of circumstances where taxation of income wasn't necessary is only attempting to dismantle the military when we might need it most. None of it makes sense. The ? Fair ? Tax is a victimization of the people, both, in concept and in actual practice.

Amendment 16 - Status of Income Tax Clarified. Ratified 2/3/1913.

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

In 1895, in the Supreme Court case of Pollock v Farmer's Loan and Trust (157 U.S. 429), the Court disallowed a federal tax on income from real property. The tax was designed to be an indirect tax, which would mean that states need not contribute portions of a whole relative to its census figures. The Court, however, ruled that the tax was a direct tax and subject to apportionment. This was the last in a series of conflicting court decisions dating back to the Civil War. Between 1895 and 1909, when the amendment was passed by Congress, the Court began to back down on its position, as it became clear not only to accountants but to everyone that the solvency of the nation was in jeopardy. In a series of cases, the definition of "direct tax" was modified, bent, twisted, and coaxed to allow more taxation efforts that approached an income tax.

Finally, with the ratification of the 16th Amendment, any doubt was removed. The text of the Amendment makes it clear that though the categories of direct and indirect taxation still exist, any determination that income tax is a direct tax will be irrelevant, because taxes on incomes, from salary or from real estate, are explicitly to be treated as indirect. The Congress passed the Amendment on July 12, 1909, and it was ratified on February 3, 1913 (1,302 days).

Boortz and his listening audience wants to dismantle the USA Senate by claiming the States don't have representation in Washington, DC. Evidently, (P) Andora and Russia do, but, the States don't. Well, regardless the dream scape of this idiot the process would have to be the same. A bill would propose a repeal and in this case, I really don't see that bill passing ANY Senate vote, regardless, of its political composition.

- Senators Elected by Popular Vote. Ratified 4/8/1913.

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.

The this afternoon's session of Rush Lamebaugh was nothing but pure unadulterated racism. According to Lamebaugh, the President hats White People because he hasn't gotten his feet wet in Rhode Island yet. Not only that but evidently President Obama has been speaking about USA Labor in Russia. According to Lamebaugh, President Obama has been using the words, 'worker,' 'factory,' and 'storefront' and they are all Marxist words. Funny, I always thought storefront was a small business word. But, alas that is only when "W" speaks it and not a freely elected Democratic President. Then again, maybe it is that 'hate for white people' that keeps bleeding through the Russian dialect that Lamebaugh is detecting.

I guess one could tell I just finished a long drive on the paved roads of the USA.

The "chronic" unemployment rate are in States with chronically contracted economies based on the "W" standard.

There is recovery happening, but, the Red States are dragging the recovery into the failure zone. When the Red States receive unemployment extentions it has to be to add disincentives to old infrastruture that is NOT recovering and actually lost jobs permanently. The "W" economy was based in construction while depriving education and conservation. The Red States are waiting for all that to return. It's not coming back, the construction 'bubble' accompanied the "investment bank" collapse and the investment banks have left the country. Okay? These States value systems are screwed up.

U.S. Adds 162,000 Jobs in March; Rate Remains 9.7% (click here)
By JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ
Published: April 2, 2010
The American economy added 162,000 jobs in March, the Labor Department reported Friday, while the unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 percent....

Unenemployment Monthly Rates for States (click here)
Rankings
Seasonally Adjusted
Feb. 2010p

Of the top 11, there are three that are Blue States during the Obama election of 2008 and Number 10 is a tie with New Hampshire (blue) and Utah (red) are a tie. More traditionally, New Hampshire is a Red State with what's his name, Gregg as a Senator. So, given that reality, the "W" States are the ones with the greatest trouble in the recovery.

These states have little 'social' infrastructure. They don't provide their populations with monies to support the 'lag' in employment. They always have a lackluster economy. So, while the economic infrastructure is supported by Blue State policies and constitutions, the Red States will be the poorest performers of all. It is WHY the recovery has been exceptionally long at the rate of 9+%.

If I may?

These are the States that only recently had their legislatures meet. Their legislators are all 'OLD WORLD" legislators and believe in reducing the fiscal infrastructure rather than expanding it. Arizona is an interesting example of the 'drag' a State can create on the Federal Treasury and government. They have one of the lowest income tax rates in the country and their Governor is crying for National Guard help with their border issues.

These States shoot themselves in the foot and the House and Senate need to treat them differently. These states have to have incentive to 'change' the way they structure their infrastructure and handle their government presence in the economy. A good example of where North Carolina and South Carolina can improve their economic performance is to shift monies from Construction to Conservation and put all the people within those States to work doing what they love most.

Same is true in Arizona. Arizona is shutting down their State Park Systems with Spring and Summer coming when it should be hiring people to work in areas of their parks to increase their treasury income.

The Red States chronically work against their best interests because they have 'philosophies' that work against them.

In North Carolina, they have put to work some lunatic educational authorities that have removed 'The Civil War' from the High School History cirriculum due to the fact The South lost the war. The NC Educational lunatics now start their High School History education with Reconstruction and the victimization of the people of the South.

They are idiots that are acively seeking to change the course of history to 'fit' the way their electorate wants it to be rather than the way it actually occurred.

These States definately need PHILOSOPHICAL rehab and soon. It is why Democrats are either Blue or not elected.

This is insane. There is no such thing as 'close range' survival in nuclear weaponry.

This was back in the day when no one knew the long term effects and immediacy of the radiation sickness that follows such an explosion. Jihadists might not care, but, the people they would seek to liberate would be destroyed by their own attempts at war. Just think now what the neighborhood wars of the USA will look like, with Balloon Boy technology on the loose and the inspiration of Palin. Everyone load up on potassium iodide.



The Davy Crockett (click title to entry - thank you) was one of the smallest nuclear weapons ever made by the United States. Built in the late 1950s, and designed for the battlefields of Europe to stop a possible Warsaw Pact invasion, the warhead looked like a watermelon, being only 30 inches long and weighing about 76 pounds. From a portable tripod launcher, it could be fired at the enemy as close as 1,000 feet or up to 13,000 feet away. It was a weapon for nuclear war at close range.
Today, the Davy Crockett system has long since been retired, and is now a neat museum piece. You can see a casing of the warhead at the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History in Albuquerque.
But the little nuclear watermelon is a reminder of the big work still to be done in arms control. The just-completed strategic weapons treaty that U.S. President Barack Obama will sign in Prague next week with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev does not cover smaller nuclear warheads in both arsenals that are a legacy of the Cold War -- the so-called battlefield, or tactical weapons....

Interesting place for the Commander and Chief to make a star appearance, but, the USA military has been working on this 'survival' approach awhile.

...The U.S. Navy’s “Great Green Fleet” goal (click title to entry - thank you) grabbed a bit more attention today when President Barack Obama used a so-called “Green Hornet” as a backdrop to his announcement over offshore drilling.
Navy officials already had announced their intent to fly the Boeing F-18F supersonically, burning a 50:50 blend of conventional jet fuel and biofuel, on April 22 - otherwise known as Earth Day (Aerospace DAILY, March 22). Indeed, Naval Air Systems Command officials announced efforts toward a biofuel-powered General Electric F414 engine like those in F-18s last fall....

There is nothing new about this approach to 'fuel' by the USA military. It is a survival tactic as well as a means to reduce 'carbon load' by the 'carbon heavy' military.

The USA military does consider the Climate Crisis a sincere crisis and it is a national security issue, so this for of fuel for its use has been in the works a long time.

The real crime to the situation is that George W. Bush would see it as a way to insuring an invading force it could take an oil nation regardless of any embargo.

I can honestly say, national defense is a high priority by anyone, inside or outside the environmental movement. The USA military is NOT an 'anti-environment' entity to the USA government structure. Quite the contrary, it actually prides itself of saving and re-establishing 'biotic content' to countries it has invaded. And it is true. BUT, the reason that is true is because with invasion, right or "W"rong, comes a clear improvement in the quality of life for survivors of the invasion and increased biotic content of the land is usually a vital part of that.

So.

While this was a nice photo-op, this administration alone cannot take credit for this jet, it has been in 'the works' by the 'military industrial complex' for some time.

The by-product of this national defense initiative is a mix of jet fuel that when used commercially MIGHT add an uptick to the protections of Earth.

Biomass in many instances is 'not all that' and quite frankly the EPA should be holding hearings regarding biomass and it PROPER use and MEASUREABLE benefit before everyone in the USA actually believes their land is the next great OPEC. It ain't.

T. Boone Pickens is such a joker !

Plant, babe, plant !!



Where can I buy BioDiesel? (click here)
It can be purchased directly from biodiesel producers and marketers, petroleum distributors, or at a handful of throughout the nation. Family Farmers growing fuel for America and the World...

Biodiesel (click title to entry - thank you) is a renewable alternative fuel produced from a wide range of vegetable oils and animal fats. Pure biodiesel or biodiesel blended with petroleum diesel can be used to fuel diesel vehicles, providing energy security and emissions and safety benefits....

Why is the name "Tea Bagger" far more appropriate? Joking?

"Lipton" seems to be a favorite.

Bondage? How appropriate for the RNC. How many of these 'sex starved' folks are actually intimidated to 'toe the party line' due to 'evidence' that RNC holds against them? And art no less? My, my. No waterboarding art, huh?

Hm. Hoover anyone?

Why doesn't the FBI relieve these young people of their concerns about their reputation and demand all records that haven't been shredded from the RNC and get to the bottom of the decision making on this?

Rove: "The Architect" on RNC bondage bar scandal, Cal politics, Jerry Brown (click here)

Call him "the Architect" or "Bush's Brain,'' but former presidential advisor Karl Rove had plenty to say in Lafayette today -- about the RNC's latest scandal, and California's electoral landscape this year.
First, Rove on the near-$2000 reimbursement to Orange County GOP operative Erik Brown to pay for a "Young Eagles" fundraiser at the now-infamous West Hollywood lesbian/bondage-themed strip club called "Voyeur." He said he's called for the RNC staffer responsible for that repayment to be fired; Allison Meyers, the "Young Eagles" director, was indeed -- on Monday....

When is Attorney General Brown going to endorse a Governor hopeful that can actually win? Then the DNC is wondering what is occurring in California? Where are all their young hopefuls with the 'heart' of the future in mind?

Respect for senior members of the party is great. I endorse that, but, it would be greater to have new Democratic blood infuse a 'real' economic plan for California rather than just the same old RNC rhetoric that never works, but, only retreats to that 'feel good feeling.'

...The Republican Governors Assn. has developed (click here) a lesson plan to explain why it thinks voters shouldn't elect Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, as governor of California this year.
In "What's Brown Done," a seemingly low-budget video (based on the use of a dry erase board and markers that appear to be low on ink), a shaggy-haired, college-type (apparently Republican-looking) guy draws lines away from a stick figure labeled "You" to all the ways he says Brown has endorsed higher taxes and spending....

Why is it wrong to apologize to a Republican about anything? Because they never take responsibilty for their own behavior. They just exploit it.

Eric Cantor accuses Democrats of 'fanning flames' on member threats (click here)
Updated 6:05 p.m.By Ben PershingHouse Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) angrily lashed out at Democratic leaders for their handling of reported threats against members of Congress Thursday, accusing them of "dangerously fanning the flames" by blaming the GOP and confiding that he has also been the recipient of threats...

The flames of hate and violence were begotten by the right, including Palin and the Tea Baggers. Actions result in reactions. When citizens provoke fear and there is a reaction against them, why should any counter threat be a surprise?

Eric Cantor has a perfect opportunity to take control of the issue and disarm the threat to anyone, but, did he do it? No, he continued to play politics and continue to 'fan the flames' himself, THEREFORE, as guilty as anyone involved.

What does such irresponsible behavior clearly illustrate?

Republicans cannot govern, they can only campaign.

The FBI investigation is non-partisan.

FBI probes threats over Democrats' healthcare vote (click here)
* Senior House Democrat decries "very serious incidents"
* Palin tells supporters, "Don't Retreat, Instead -- RELOAD"
By Deborah Zabarenko
WASHINGTON, March 24 (Reuters) - The FBI and police are investigating attacks and threats against Democratic members of Congress who voted for healthcare reform, and a senior House of Representatives Democrat said on Wednesday his colleagues are at risk.
Democrats decried heated Republican rhetoric, including 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's Twitter comment urging supporters, "Don't Retreat, Instead -- RELOAD."
A Palin Facebook post continued the firearms theme, featuring a U.S. map targeting 20 members of Congress who backed the healthcare legislation, using the crosshairs of a gunsight to note each of their home states....

Obama continues the 'old world' mistakes of the Republicans.

USGS Provinces (click here) - WHAT????????? is this ? The USA has provinces in Russia and the Middle East. Well I have not seen any income tax returns from those nations so this is simply a coveting of the sovereignty of other nations that is grossly inappropriate and it should never exist.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY (click here)
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WORLD PETROLEUM ASSESSMENT 2000 – DESCRIPTION AND RESULTS
By USGS World Energy Assessment Team*
U.S. Geological Survey Digital Data Series - DDS-60

...The Orinoco Oil Belt Assessment Unit (click here) of the La Luna-Quercual Total Petroleum System encompasses approximately 50,000 km2 of the East Venezuela Basin Province that is underlain by more than 1 trillion barrels of heavy oil-in-place....

OH, I don't think so !!!!!!!!!

MAPS SHOWING GEOLOGY, OIL AND GAS FIELDS AND GEOLOGIC PROVINCES OF IRAN version 1.0 (click here)

This document was produced in 2006. It was made in cooperation with the Afghan government to allow for potential for national income. Well, wouldn't it be great to hand that over to the Taliban? I don't doubt this was done in cooperation, but, Iran? Iran cooperated with USA intelligence about its oil reserves? Really?

One other thing defies logic. Why would this assessment happen in the midst of a war with an uncertain outcome that was abandoned for the oil reserves of Iraq?

Prepared in cooperation with the Afghanistan Ministry of Mines and Industry Joint Oil and Gas Resource Assessment Team and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency
Petroleum Resource Potential GIS of Northern Afghanistan (click here)
By Douglas W. Steinshouer6, Timothy R. Klett1, Gregory F. Ulmishek1, Craig J. Wandrey1, Ronald R. Wahl2, Ronald J. Hill1, Michael Pribil1, Mark J. Pawlewicz3, J. David King3, Warren F. Agena1, David J. Taylor1, Abdulla Amirzada4, Amir Mohammad Selab5, Abdul-Salam Mutteh5, Ghulam Naqshband Haidari5 and Moeengul Gullabudeen Wardak5

Short of military demands there is NO NEED in the USA for fossil fuels at all. The continued focus on oil and natural gas as a means to provide domestic energy will only continue the 'culture' and at every turn the USA will seek war with foreign nations for the purpose of import.

Even after every domestic source is exhausted, a cultural oil dependency will provide an impetus for the need for military expansion and aggression.

On multiple occassions the geological scientists in the USA have stated there is danger in disturbing the fissure offshore of the East Coast and I would think Haiti would be enough proof of any of those predictions. Oil exploration has PROVEN to depress land elevations and cause changes in topography, hence, earthquakes.

..

...From 1979 to 1985 OPEC's share of the world oil market (click here) shrank from 50% to 30% as members (especially Saudi Arabia) continuously cut production to maintain high prices. But loss of market share did not alter the fact that OPEC members held 75% of the world's proven reserves and approximately 55% of the ultimate resources of conventional oil. Unless world oil demand could be curbed or economical substitutes to oil quickly developed, OPEC would inevitably regain lost market share. In 1999-2000, with help from Russia, Norway, and Mexico, OPEC engineered a doubling of world oil prices....
Whether it is an illegal oil war in Iraq or one on the East Coast of the USA, the 'idea' is old, antiquated and dangerous.

When fossil fuels are a priority in the economy of the USA they will continue to be a priority period. The way this has to resolve is for the USA to rid its economy of the nasty fossel fuel dependency. Electric cars, wind turbines, solar energy and high speed trains, magnetic preferably. This is an outrage in the 2010 when wars are being excluded as a method to economic viability and coastal areas may very well see less and less land as potential for habitation and economy.

The only domestic assessments of the natural resources of the USA in relation to oil and gas should be archived with the military and nowhere else. T. Boone Pickens and his natural gas car can go straight to hell.

The changes in Student Loan and Pell Grants will assist students facing increasing costs due to State deficits.

U.S. GDP Revision Fail to Downplay Strength of Q4 Recovery (click here)

Posted 3/26/2010 5:01 AM ET by from FX360
Although U.S. fourth quarter GDP growth was revised down from 5.9 to 5.6 percent, the impact on the U.S. dollar was minimal. The greenback sold off slightly against the euro and quickly rebounded after its knee jerk sell-off against the Japanese Yen. With the EU officially announcing its financial mechanism for Greece today, a mild downward revision to the U.S. growth numbers will not be enough to offset the positive sentiment....



University of California at Berkeley student Natalia Garcia protests on campus (click here) Thursday in Berkeley, Calif. Demonstrations, marches, teach-ins and walkouts are planned nationwide Thursday in what is being called the "March 4th National Day of Action for Public Education." Events are being held at most of California's public colleges and universities to protest budget cuts that have led to canceled classes, faculty furloughs and steep fee hikes. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

The Global Economic Crisis of October 2008 has come to roost in State budgets. As a result of that reality has been the increasing tuition rates at state funded colleges and universities. California has already raised tuition at least twice to the students in their colleges. The students are facing leaving their educational opportunities behind as rates continue to increase and become unattainable to them.

The USA cannot afford to have its 'brain trust' shrunk to endanger its future and sovereignty. These actions by the federal government are necessary and correct to insure the continuation of excellence and achievement at the State Universities.

Feds take over student loan program from banks (click here)

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

President Obama will sign a bill today that ends a 45-year-old program under which banks and other private-sector lenders such as Sallie Mae receive a federal subsidy for making government-guaranteed college loans.

Instead, the U.S. Department of Education - which already makes roughly a third of these loans through its direct-lending program - will make 100 percent of them starting July 1.

The change will have a big impact on some lenders and colleges but relatively little on borrowers. They will continue to get the same loans - including Stafford loans for students and Plus loans for parents and graduate students - on largely the same terms....

BEFORE THE BELL: US Stock Futures Edge Higher After Fed Data (click here)

MARCH 17, 2010, 8:26 A.M. ET

U.S. stock futures on Wednesday pointed to an extension of the slow but steady gains over the past week, as markets continued to respond to news of the Federal Reserve's unchanged stance on interest rates.

S&P 500 futures rose 2.4 points to 1157.20 and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 3.5 points to 1932.00. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 22 points.

U.S. stocks rose Tuesday, with the DJIA closing higher for a sixth straight time and the S&P 500 finishing at a 17-month high as the Federal Reserve again said it would keep interest rates low for an extended period and as Standard & Poor's said it would not imminently downgrade Greece.

While expectations are growing that next month the Fed may change its language to a slightly more hawkish posture, the Bank of Japan doubled a loan program to $221 billion as it kept interest rates at 0.1%....

Obama: healthcare will need adjustments to cut costs

Obama signs health care reconciliation bill (click here)

(AP) – 2 hours ago

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is signing a bill Tuesday that finalizes his big health care overhaul and revamps the U.S. student loan system.

Obama will sign the bill and speak at Northern Virginia Community College, just outside Washington. That's the college where Vice President Joe Biden's wife, Jill, is an instructor.

The student loan provisions were included in a health care overhaul bill Obama signed last week. This final legislation tweaks some parts of the health bill that House members insisted be changed.

The president will meet later with French President Nicolas Sarkozy (sar-koh-ZEE'). Obama and the first lady also will host a private dinner for Sarkozy and his wife.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Monday (click title to entry - thank you) that a U.S. healthcare overhaul is a "critical first step" but that adjustments will be needed in the new law to further reduce costs.

Healthcare Reform

Critics of the ten-year, $940 billion overhaul have complained the revamp does not go far enough in reducing healthcare costs.

Obama, in an NBC News interview to air on Tuesday on the "Today" show, said adjustments will be needed to the law.

"I think it is a critical first step in making a healthcare system that works for all Americans. It is not going to be the only thing. We are still going to have adjustments that have to be made to further reduce costs," he said.

Obama is to sign a package of final changes to the new law on Tuesday in Alexandria, Virginia.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; editing by Todd Eastham

When is the FCC finally going to do their job and shut down Murdoch and Rush Limbaugh?

Yesterday we witnessed the arrest of nine Christian Based militia members. Their goal? To kill police officers and inspire more violence against them. The Murdoch and Rush enterprises do NOTHING by lace blatant lies with truth and insight violence.

This is the headlines from FOX news yesterday. It didn't denounce the intended actions of the militia members, IT WARNED THEM.

This article is a warning to the people of their viewer and listening audience. When is the FCC going to do shut them down, when they are giving out locations of police officers? All the programs yesterday evening O'Rielly, Hannity and the rest were nothing but lies laced with the truth.

FBI stages raids against christian militia group (click title to entry - thank you)

Kjerstin Ramsing

2:02 PM EST, March 29, 2010

HAMMOND, IN - Federal authorities are expected to unseal charges against several people arrested in a series of weekend raids in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.

Sources accuse the FBI of targeting a christian militia group called the Hutaree. Two people were arrested in northwest Ohio, a third in Illinois. All this happened a day after cameras captured a raid in Hammond, Indiana. On its website, the group claims it's preparing for the end time battles to keep the testimony of Jesus Christ alive.

Some of the seven people arrested face gun charges. Officials say they're also pursuing other suspects.



On February 16, 2010 I blogged this (click here):

Yesterday Senator Bayh said something that made me pause in wondering what this is all about, regardless of how I like or dislike his opinions. He appeared at a podium with his wife and children. How much of the 'hate' he understands does he carry as worry for his family or himself for that matter?

Beck is doing nothing, but, maligning the federal government and advocating violence. He stated the other day, "I saw a police officer standing on a corner the other day. He had a gun strapped to his belt and I wanted to ask him how he could handle the fact he had a gun and wasn't using it, because, if it were me I would be using it all the time."

There are a couple of things in that statement. It indicates those that are 'like' Glenn Beck are self-righteous and above the law. It also implants logistics to 'easily had' weapons that police carry on them. You know I never think about the weapons police carry. I mean never. I assume they are human beings and police officers first and expect them to defend and protect. I never see a police officer as a potential source for weapons.

Nor do I see a police officer as a threat. Beck saw the officer as a threat. A man or woman carry a weapon when he has none and he is trying to carry out a so called revolution against Progressives.

There is a limit to freedom of speech. Glenn Beck is way over that limit. I sincerely believe someone like Senator Bayh may be making adverse decisions in the best interest of the country because he is more a human being than someone like Beck ever could be.

In the article of this entry, the UK has noted an uptick in hate toward Muslims. The government is suppose to track these things and advice the Justice Department and leadership regarding issues that threaten innocent citizens. It is time the USA federal system do the job that needs to be done.

Glenn Beck on multiple occasions has advocated violence. He should not have access to the media and the FCC should begin prosecutions regarding the violence he advocates.

The United Nations prosecuted three journalists in regard to the Rwanda Genocide. Beck is not giving out locations of people to kill, YET. At least not that I know of. The guy is on a real power trip these days and the people in 'his movement' have substantially invested in its outcome.

There is something sincerely wrong when a well established and respected Senator doesn't seek re-election after he already researched and invested in his victory in 2010. I wish Senator Bayh well and hope he is successful.

Glenn Beck needs to be recognized for what he is and stop him from hiding behind the First Amendment of the USA Constitution. He is abusing the right to practice it. Fear accompanied by hatred is a real commodity and that is Beck's product. His only product.

When is this going to stop? When are our Congressional elected officials going to be safe and when will the FCC finally act to stop the hate mongers that are MORE than rhetorical, but, finding success in actually encouraging militias to act in violence against the USA Constitution?

I wish someone at the World Courts would do something if the federal administration in the USA are stymied.

Agreement to acquire Aviation Worldwide Services (AWS) from Xe Services LLC (Formerly Blackwater)

The company formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide, known for its security work in Iraq, is selling its aircraft company. (2007 Photo By Marko Drobnjakovic/associated Press)

Ft Lauderdale, Florida 3/27/2010 05:20 AM GMT (TransWorldNews)

AAR Corp. (NYSE: AIR) has signed an agreement to acquire Aviation Worldwide Services (AWS) from Xe Services LLC. AAR is acquiring the business as part of its long-term strategy to expand its products, services and capabilities in support of government customers.

The purchase price for the acquisition is $200 million, which will be funded by a combination of available cash, a new 270-day credit facility and a 5-year term loan secured against certain aircraft. The business is expected to generate about $175 million of revenue on an annual basis and to be accretive to earnings and margins within the first year of ownership....


Federal prosecutors (click here) are considering weapons charges against former executives at Blackwater Worldwide over allegations that the private security company illegally stockpiled automatic rifles, including AK-47s, at its North Carolina headquarters, people close to the case said. Justice Department officials are reviewing a draft indictment against former Blackwater president Gary Jackson, former general counsel Andrew Howell and a third employee, the sources said. The company has changed its name to Xe.


With Iraq winding down and progress in Afghanistan the country doesn't need any so called expertise by them.

Gates concerned about Blackwater's conduct: Pentagon (click here)

(Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates will review allegations of misconduct in Afghanistan by the company formerly known as Blackwater and shares concerns raised by a top senator, the Pentagon said on Friday.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin had made a personal appeal to Gates last week for the Pentagon to consider blocking a potential $1 billion contract with Blackwater, which has changed its name to Xe, to train Afghan police.

Levin cited what he called evidence of misconduct in a previous subcontract awarded to a Blackwater affiliate to conduct weapons training for the Afghan National Army.

"He is looking into it and he takes it seriously," Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said of Gates. "He shares (Levin's) concerns," Morrell told reporters.

But Morrell played down the chances of any swift action to bar Blackwater from contracts, citing Pentagon rules and the company's unique capabilities....

... was also evidence Blackwater may have misappropriated government weapons, carried weapons without authorization and hired unqualified personnel with backgrounds that included assault and battery, as well as drug and alcohol abuse, Levin said.

Xe was not immediately available for comment on Friday....

Experts: Christian militia part of growing trend. I don't know, Sarah, looks like your electorate will be in prison come November.

A New Name in American Paranoia: The Hutaree Militia (click here)

By Steven Gray / Detroit Monday, Mar. 29, 2010

A U.S. Marshal composite photo of some of the suspects tied to Hutaree, a Christian militia that was preparing for the Antichrist, were charged with conspiring to kill police officers.

U.S. Marshal / AP

..................................................................................

Posted: 3:29 p.m. March 29, 2010

By Niraj Warikoo
Free Press Staff Writer
The actions of the Christian militia group (click title to entry - thank you) raided in Michigan are part of a growing trend of militant activity across the U.S. because of the weak economy and an African-American president, experts and a civil rights group said today....

Who is David Brian Stone, leader of the Hutaree militia? (click here)

A picture of Hutaree militia leader David Brian Stone is slowly emerging. His interest in guns and religion gradually spiraled out of control, reports suggest, leading to his arrest on charges of conspiring to kill police officers and oppose the US government by force.

By Will Buchanan, Contributor / March 29, 2010

Members called him "Captain Hutaree" or, somewhat cryptically, "RD." A federal indictment calls him the “principal leader” of the Hutaree militia – an extremist group federal authorities say was preparing to "levy war" against the US government by killing police officers....

Hutaree Militia: Parallels To Tim McVeigh; Cable News’ Next Big Story? (click here for video)

by Colby Hall | 12:15 pm, March 29th, 2010

...Jesus wanted us to be ready to defend ourselves using the sword and stay alive using equipment...

Jesus and equipment, huh? Wow.

Sympathies to the Russian people.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday visited the scene of a deadly suicide bombing in the Moscow subway and laid flowers at the site.

Twin blasts occurred on Monday morning in the Moscow metro, killing at least 38 people and injuring more than 70. Following the attacks, which drew international condemnation, Medvedev ordered enhanced security measures across Russia.

The first blast took place at 7:52 a.m. (03:52 GMT) at the Lubyanka station near the former KGB headquarters, which now houses the Federal Security Service. The second bomb was detonated some 40 minutes later four stops along the line at Park Kultury station, which is also within walking distance of the Kremlin.

Medvedev laid a wreath at the spot on the Lubyanka station platform where the doors of the second carriage opened and the first bomber detonated her explosives, killing at least 24 people.

The president said those behind the terrorist attacks would be tracked down and eliminated.

"These are simply beasts, and regardless of their motives, what they did is a crime by any legal or moral standard," Medvedev told reporters on hand for the occasion.

"I have no doubts whatsoever that we will find them and eliminate all of them," he said, adding that everyone involved in the November bombing of the Nevsky Express had been killed. Twenty-seven passengers died in that attack, the first major terrorist incident beyond Russia's North Caucasus since 2004.

He also said he would soon sign a decree to establish a modern transport control and warning system in Russia.

Full service has by now been restored on the Sokolnicheskaya metro line, including for the stations where the bombings occurred.

Two women and a man are wanted in connection with the terrorist attack, a law enforcement source said.

Eyewitnesses described the chaos and panic that followed the blasts.

"I was in shock. I was deafened by the sound of the blast, but at first I didn't think it was a terrorist attack. Then I saw all the smoke and realized it had been an explosion. My only thought was to get away as quickly as possible," said Alexandra Antonova, who was at the Lubyanka station when the first explosion occurred.

Another witness said that some of the wounded were pushed along in the crowd of around 1,000 people trying to leave the station via one escalator.

"At the exit near the escalator two wounded women, who had been carried along in the crowd, overtook me. They had cuts on their faces and burnt hair. There was also a man with a wound on his neck."

Putin returns to Moscow

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin vowed that the terrorists behind the attack would be eliminated.

"As you know, today in Moscow we saw a terrible crime against peaceful civilians," Putin said in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk before canceling his engagements and returning to Moscow, where he visited one of the Moscow hospitals where some of the injured are undergoing treatment.

"I am certain our law enforcement agencies will do everything to find and punish these criminals. The terrorists will be eliminated," he added....

I also consider the issue of Jerusalem a simple one.

The problem at hand is a 'shifting baseline.' In many of the diplomatic efforts to achieve peace between Palestine and Israel, the topic of Jerusalem has always revolved around 'demographic' composition of the city.

It has become a 'strategy' of both Palestinians and Israelis to 'effect' the demographics of the city.

That directive needs to end. There needs to be a 'target date (historical or otherwise)' of 'census' that clearly illustrates the 'true demographics' of Jerusalem. The difference of population growth between the two peoples is due to cultural differences. Those cultural differences are allowed to exist without effecting the authority of the two states in the city.

Stability is the answer to not only Jerusalem, but, all areas these two peoples share. The sooner the stability is reached the sooner a SINCERE peace can be reached and not just one for the sake of politics and arguments.



...Jerusalem’s Palestinian growth (click title to entry - thank you) rate has been high. Jerusalem’s Arab population is growing by 3 percent a year.

In contrast, Jerusalem’s Jewish population is growing by a little over 1 percent a year, and this primarily due to Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox population. On average, ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem – about a quarter of the city’s population - have more than seven children.

The expansion of Jerusalem’s Arab and ultra-Orthodox communities has contributed to increased political and religious tensions in the city. At the same time, it has weakened the city’s tax base and strained municipal services. Consequently, secular, middle-class Jews are moving out of Jerusalem....

It is obvious Ed Koch will never receive a Nobel Peace Prize. Perhaps that should be left up to Secretary of State Clinton.

None of the Obama Administration or any peoples wanting a definitive peace for the region are NOT antisemitic. It is grossly wrong to even imply that. Those that do should be ashamed. Secretary Clinton is sensitive to the Jewish Community both in Israel and of the diaspora.



The Former Mayor's abysmal attitude is hate mongering at its worst.

What any other diplomacy has failed to garner is a sincere definition of Palestinian sovereignty. Coming to terms with that will result in a peace between Israel and Palestine.

No one in the USA has deaf ears, however, there are some in Israel.

...In portraying Israel (click title to entry - thank you) as the cause of the lack of progress in the peace process, President Obama ignores the numerous offers and concessions that Israel has made over the years for the sake of peace, and the Palestinians' repeated rejections of those offers. Not only have Israel's peace proposals, which include ceding virtually the entire West Bank and parts of Jerusalem to the Palestinians, been rejected, but each Israeli concession has been met with even greater demands, no reciprocity, and frequently horrific violence directed at Israeli civilians. Thus, Prime Minister Netanyahu's agreement to suspend construction on the West Bank - a move heralded by Secretary of State Clinton as unprecedented by an Israeli government - has now led to a demand that Israel also halt all construction in East Jerusalem, which is part of Israel's capital. Meanwhile, Palestinians are upping the ante, with violent protests in Jerusalem and elsewhere. And the Obama administration's request that our Arab allies make some conciliatory gesture towards Israel has fallen on deaf ears....

The peace settlement between Palestine and Israel can go a long way if there was agreement on what exactly defines Palestinian lands. Negotiations should never be this difficult.

Working with Fatah to limit the impact of Hamas is the best way to a peace settlement, so long as a Palestinian sovereignty can be agreed upon. The violence has to stop. Fatah has been trying diligently to bring Hamas to justice to end the extremism. Mr. Dahlan is one of the best hopes for the Palestinians.

Dahlan: Hamas jails fighter involved in Friday clashes (click here)
Monday 29/03/2010, 23:48 (Jerusalem)
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Fatah Central Committee member Muhammad Dahlan said Monday the de facto government has detained an operative involved in Friday's deadly clashes in the Gaza Strip, killing two Palestinian fighters and two Israeli soldiers.

The detainee, a member of Hamas' security forces, has been jailed in Gaza, Dahlan told students at the An-Najjah University, who refused to reveal his name.

Dahlan told students at the Nablus university that Hamas has yet to build anything substantial for Gaza throughout its rule over the coastal enclave "except for the total destruction of Gaza and murder."

Friday's deadly clashes in southern Gaza were the most violent since Israel ended its devastating assault on the coastal enclave 14 months ago....

There is still a lot of fear of Israel by Hamas for the offensive that was conducted under Bush when White Phosphorus was used. It is known it was supplied by the USA military under Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld. That level of determination to kill Hamas Palestinians is over kill. The offensive was far to aggressive for the issue at hand. The violence has to stop and using such extreme weaponry only solidifies the extremist views of Israel and destabilizes Palestine further, while radicalizing other militant groups in the region.

January 15, 2009

Spent shells prove Israeli use of white phosphorus, Gaza doctors say (click here)

Remnants of an Israeli white phosphorus shell, identified by the marking on the outer casing — M825A1 — have been found in the village of Sheikh Ajilin in western Gaza.

Witnesses in Gaza said that the shell was fired on January 9 and was taken indoors as evidence. They recalled seeing thick smoke and smelling a strong odour in keeping with the garlic-like smell associated with white phosphorus...

Simply denying these issues while complaining about Palestine isn't solving anything.