Politics as usual in Africa

After the widely criticized sham elections in Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's president, attended an African Union (AU) summit in the Egyptian resort of
Sharm el-Sheikh, amid international condemnation of his re-election. But African leaders avoid criticising the 84-year-old president.


"He was hugging everyone, pretty much everyone he could get close to," the delegate said on condition of anonymity.

Amr el-Kahky, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Sharm el-Sheikh,
said: "The [opening] speeches by the African officials, especially
Egyptian president Hosni Mubabrak, did not touch on the Zimbabwe
elections.

"He mentioned Djibouti, Eritrea and Somalia – but he
did not mention Zimbabwe. That tells you about the mood into the
summit. There are people who don't want to talk about it despite all
the Western calls to try to address the subject."

Speaking in Nairobi, Raila Odinga, Kenya's prime minister, said the AU should bar Mugabe from the summit.

"They should suspend him and send peace forces to Zimbabwe to ensure free and fair elections," Odinga said.

The US reaction has been much harsher.

a US-drafted UN
resolution called for the UN Security Council to impose an arms embargo
on Zimbabwe, while rejecting the vote as illegitimate. The draft called for a freeze on the assets and
travel of Zimbabweans individuals and companies who helped Zanu-PF to
"undermine democratic processes".

"We will press for strong action by the United Nations but we could also act unilaterally," White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said.

Politics as usual in Africa

After the widely criticized sham elections in Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's president, attended an African Union (AU) summit in the Egyptian resort of
Sharm el-Sheikh, amid international condemnation of his re-election. But African leaders avoid criticising the 84-year-old president.


"He was hugging everyone, pretty much everyone he could get close to," the delegate said on condition of anonymity.

Amr el-Kahky, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Sharm el-Sheikh,
said: "The [opening] speeches by the African officials, especially
Egyptian president Hosni Mubabrak, did not touch on the Zimbabwe
elections.

"He mentioned Djibouti, Eritrea and Somalia – but he
did not mention Zimbabwe. That tells you about the mood into the
summit. There are people who don't want to talk about it despite all
the Western calls to try to address the subject."

Speaking in Nairobi, Raila Odinga, Kenya's prime minister, said the AU should bar Mugabe from the summit.

"They should suspend him and send peace forces to Zimbabwe to ensure free and fair elections," Odinga said.

The US reaction has been much harsher.

a US-drafted UN
resolution called for the UN Security Council to impose an arms embargo
on Zimbabwe, while rejecting the vote as illegitimate. The draft called for a freeze on the assets and
travel of Zimbabweans individuals and companies who helped Zanu-PF to
"undermine democratic processes".

"We will press for strong action by the United Nations but we could also act unilaterally," White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said.

Hands free, don't forget

The LA times is reporting that in preparation for the 4th of July Weekend the CHP is stepping up staffing by 80% suggesting this is at least in part to enforce the hand's free law and no grace period.

Sgt. Ruben De La Torre said the Los Angeles Police Department will go
through an "educational" period at first, during which those cited will
mostly be drivers who had a mobile phone pressed to their ear and were
driving unsafely.

"It's on a case-by-case basis," he said. "But people have to be aware
that it's a clear and obvious violation. My best advice to people is
don't give an officer a reason to stop you."

Police departments in San Diego and Oceanside are taking it a step
farther, granting an official 30-day grace period before issuing
tickets, even thought the law itself doesn't include a grace period.

I've been hands free for years and I'm looking forward to the law. I'll never forget the day I saw a young lady driving down the 210 passing me, with here cell phone on top of her steering wheel, using both hands to write a text message. I'm not known for driving slow.

Arab memebers of Knesset up in arms

Some of Israel's Arab parliamentarians face a ban
from serving in the next Knesset, after a bill to prohibit anyone who
visited an enemy state in the recent past from becoming an MK became
law on Monday.

Arab
MKs immediately denounced the new law harshly, calling it
unconstitutional, and said it would be challenged and beaten in the
Supreme Court.

But the legislation, which passed by a 52-24 vote, was hailed
by its sponsors as a guarantee that "Trojan horses" and "enemies" would
no longer be allowed to sit in the Knesset.

Iraqi Oil Law

Along with the pressures Iraq is facing to sign a SOFA or Status of Forces Agreement with the United States is the mounting unrest in regards to it Oil and Gas Law, a law still very much hotly contested.

One of the original co-authors of the law Tariq Shafiq has denounced the most recent versions of the law. In a document he prepared for the Center for Strategic International Studies he is very candid about what's at stake. "The last four years have witnessed repeated attempts at dismantling the basis for any well planned resources management for the whole nation only to replace it with market oriented destabilisation and fragmentation policies that are at variance, and in competition with each other and the national interest. Such policies have been advocated in turn by the Coalition Provisional Administration (CPA), the Transition Government of Dr Al’lawi."

At present negotiations are ongoing regarding short-term, no-bid contracts that would allow the U.S. and European oil
companies -- including Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Total SA,
Chevron, and BP.

Last week, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, and Sen. John Kerry,
D-Massachusetts, sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
expressing concerns about those no-bid contracts.

The senators,
who released the letter, said they are worried that unfair distribution
of oil revenue could inflame the violence between the warring religious
and political groups of Iraq.

"We urge you to persuade the
(government of Iraq) to refrain from signing contracts with
multinational oil companies until a hydrocarbon law is in effect in
Iraq," read the letter from Schumer and Kerry.

The Kurdish government of northern Iraq has already negotiated deals with western oil companies which parliament does not recognize as legitimate.

With the announcement today of 6 fields being opened up to foreign oil companies for the first time in 35 years and reports of the Oil Minister's attempts to crush the Iraqi oil union filtering out concerns run high.

The section of the law drawing the most debate allows the 18 provinces to negotiate there own oil deals with foreign oil and control production. "These provinces will have enough money to feel kind of independent and given now the Violence that's going on in Basra and other provinces, this is probably a recipe for the disintegration of Iraq." according to Mohammed-Ali Zany of the Center for Global Energy Studies.

Sami Ramadani, a senior lecturer in sociology at London Metropolitan University and was a political refugee from Saddam’s regime. Is very bold in his accusations that the US is trying to force the SOFA and the Oil law calling it "two pronged attacks on Iraq so that this occupation can bear fruits for the United States."

Iraqi's need a Hydrocarbon law as it's crucial for the countries reconstruction. But valid concerns about the dissection of Iraq buy big oil interests cannot be ignore.

Balancing power - reference card

Who are the players?

The GOP


Founded in 1854 by anti-slavery expansion activists and modernizers, the Republican Party rose to prominence with the election of Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president. The party presided over the American Civil War and Reconstruction and was harried by internal factions and scandals toward the end of the 19th century. Today, the Republican Party supports a conservative platform (as far as American politics are concerned), with further foundations in economic liberalism, fiscal conservatism, and social conservatism.

It is currently the second largest party with 55 million registered members, encompassing roughly one third of the electorate

The Democratic Party


The Democratic Party traces its origins to the Democratic-Republican Party, founded by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and other influential opponents of the Federalists in 1792. Since the division of the Republican Party in the election of 1912, it has consistently positioned itself to the left of the Republican Party in economic as well as social matters. The economically left-leaning activist philosophy of Franklin D. Roosevelt, which has strongly influenced American liberalism, has shaped much of the party's economic agenda since 1932. Roosevelt's New Deal coalition usually controlled the national government until the 1970s. The civil rights movement of the 1960s, championed by the party despite opposition at the time from its Southern wing, has continued to inspire the party's liberal principles,^[2] despite having lost the more conservative South in the process.

In 2004, it was the largest political party, with 72 million voters (42.6% of 169 million registered) claiming affiliation.^[5] Since the 2006 midterm elections, the Democratic Party is the majority party for the 110th Congress; the party holds an outright majority in the House of Representatives and the Democratic caucus (including two independents) constitutes a majority in the United States Senate. Democrats also hold a majority of state governorships and control a plurality of state legislatures.


The Independents


Unaffiliated voters who while leaning one way or another realize the inherent dangers of blindly voting down party lines.
You are either with us or against us doesn't wash with this crowd. As of 2004 the number of independent voters was estimated at roughly 42 million.

A little lie about oil

Every day we are bombarded with Viagra adds and "reality" TV. When our governments have something to say to us about the fuel crisis we have known was coming for a long time all they tell us is we are bad and it's our fault.

The biggest consumer of oil is the same scam which makes it impossible to tell where our tomatoes came from.

Turn off your lights, weather strip your house, conserve gas, don't waste, it's your fault, recycle you barbarians.



It's the rich and powerful who are burning our resources. We fight their wars.
We pay their interest rates. We bear their burden and they foreclose on our homes.

Buy local. Don't feed the monster. If you're close to the boarder go buy gas in Mexico before they wall it off.

"For more than a century ideological extremists at either end of
the political spectrum have seized upon well-publicized incidents ...
to attack the Rockefeller family for the inordinate influence they
claim we wield over American political and economic institutions. Some
even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best
interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as
'internationalists' and of conspiring with others around the world to
build a more integrated global political and economic structure - one
world, if you will. If that's the charge, I stand guilty, and I am
proud of it."

- David Rockefeller, "Memoirs" autobiography (2002, Random House publishers), page 405

I don't see any extremists over here, just a bunch of people bleeding at the gas pump and the grocery store.
I see over 800 people sick from tainted tomatoes and no answers a month later... and a bunch of fat cats sitting in a hot tub smoking there habanos and telling me to conserve.

Obama take the high road as advisor swings low blow

“Sadly, Sen. McCain was not available during those times, and I say that with all due respect to him," said informal Obama adviser Rand Beers with regards to McCain's war record. "I think that the notion that the members of the Senate who were in the ground forces or who were ashore in Vietnam have a very different view of Vietnam and the cost that you described than John McCain does because he was in isolation essentially for many of those years and did not experience the turmoil here or the challenges that were involved for those of us who served in Vietnam during the Vietnam war."

This comes as the public face of the Obama campaign officially takes the high road as the Senator urging supporters not to devalue the military service of rival John McCain.

The unofficial aid bit is pretty slick. It underlines the extent the Democrats are willing to take to win.

While hardcore Obama supporters believe the lies and backhanded tactics are just par for the course many centrists are becoming leery of the tones being set since Obama secured the Democratic nomination.

The Beers remarks, which were made at the liberal Center for American Progress Action Fund in Washington, D.C., drew a swift rebuke from a McCain spokesman who portrayed them as an example of Obama saying one thing and his supporters doing another.

It's to bad there isn't a viable independent candidate as these two have a way of ignoring what's going on around them. It's to bad there are only two choices we can make about our future and they are the same thing.

TAX DAY is coming 4/15/08 Ron Paul & FED CHMN Bernanke

California and the Electric Dream Machine!

I'm bumping this story from the San Francisco Business Times. A couple major reasons, and they all have to do with why I love living in California.

Check out Tesla Motors you think Hillary rocks? move over you old hag. She can pay her own bills Obama give 10 million to these guys.

Some people love Arnold, some people hate him. They call him a nazi sometimes, and he does have a checkered past I guess. But he's the Terminator and one thing he's done is blur the line. He's an old school republican who married into the most infamous and loved Democratic families in the country and he says stuff like this, "We want these cutting-edge companies not to just start in California and do their research and development here-we want them to build in California."

When the Terminator tells you to stay in California it's not hard to listen, especially will $100 million worth of tax insentives. Sure we burn every year and people who don't live here talk about the earthquakes like we live in terror of them, but we've got the good life here, and Tesla's decision to stay makes it that much sweeter.

California has always been in the lead when it comes to environmental advances that make a real impact, even with the failure of ZEV the tone was set. It's a state of both strong republican and democratic enclaves but it's largely walked the center line and adopted the principles of letting people live there lives.

While people see Barbie dolls and silver screen, the heart of California is it's diversity and it's willingness to embrace it. People tend to be more willing to live and let live here and even celibate life together. Tesla is new money with new ideas and California embraces them with open arms.

I have to pay my taxes or I go to jail, This is what I want my taxes spent on, not war!!!

We've been down this road before!

We've already been told the truth

Let the Bankers and the Bushes have there oil

We have to do it ourselves.

We already did it but hate and power won out

Lets do it again and this time don't let them make us forget.

Taking it back from the banks

What American Banks and Media don't want the Citizens to know is...

By Gina Keating - Analysis

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A lawsuit filed by a Wisconsin couple
against their mortgage lender could have major implications for banks
should a U.S. appeals court agree that borrowers can cancel their loans
en masse when their lenders violate a federal lending disclosure law.

In their 2005 lawsuit, the couple said the loan's interest rate had
more than doubled by their second monthly payment from the 1.95 percent
rate they thought was locked in for five years. The interest rate rose
well above the 5.75 percent fixed-rate loan they had refinanced to pay
their children's college tuition.

The Andrews filed the case seeking class action status; and in early
2007, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman ruled that the bank had violated
the Truth in Lending Act, or TILA, and that thousands of other Chevy
Chase borrowers could join them as plaintiffs.

The idea of canceling tainted loans to stem a tide of foreclosures has
caught hold in other quarters; a lawsuit filed last week by the
Illinois attorney general asks a court to rescind or reform Countrywide
Financial Corp mortgages originated under "unfair or deceptive practices."

The above excerpt from Rueters highly three important things. One of the biggest financial scams in history is coming apart, and the individual people left holding the bag have the power to fight back. It also clearly is missing from American media reports, but I have to go to international news sources to find this story front and center where is should be. The same people that have scammed us are running our news.

Smashing atoms

August will be an exciting time as the Hadron Collider comes online. As CNN reports there are those who wish to keep us in the past and will always stand in the way of progress.

Critics of the LHC filed a lawsuit in a Hawaiian court in March seeking
to block its startup, alleging that there was "a significant risk that
... operation of the Collider may have unintended consequences which
could ultimately result in the destruction of our planet."

But people are sick of living under the rules established 2k years ago by some book and it's interpretation by a man in a dress with a funny hat. More people are holding a bible in one hand and a science textbook in the other. More people are reading the texts left out of the canon.

This isn't 325AD and the Coucil of Nicaea is long dead.

This thing could shake the foundations of science and as John Ellis, a British theoretical physicist at CERN, it's going to do it by reproducing "...what nature does every second, what it has been doing for billions of years,"

The largest scientific experiment in history, isn't expected to begin
test runs until August, and ramping up to full power could take months.
But once it is working, it is expected to produce some startling
findings.

Scientists plan to hunt for signs of the invisible "dark matter" and
"dark energy" that make up more than 96 percent of the universe, and
hope to glimpse the elusive Higgs boson, a so-far undiscovered particle
thought to give matter its mass.

I say fire that thing up and lets have the biggest tailgater in history. I'll bring the hot dogs?

eBay the the right to sell your stuff

"We believe that this ruling represents a loss not only for us but for
consumers and small businesses selling online, therefore we will
appeal," eBay says in it's official statement. "It is clear that eBay has become a focal
point for certain brand owners' desire to exact ever greater control
over e-commerce. We view these decisions as a step backward for the
consumers and businesses whom we empower every day."

These comments come in the wake of a landmark ruling by French courts. Fines leveed against eBay for roughly $63 million in a lawsuit brought by French luxury-goods maker LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA.


The case was brought over the sale of counterfeit items using brands owned by LVMH. but of equal or greater significance is the plaintiffs assertion that even the sale of authentic items via eBay violated their authorized sales networks.

This goes to a fundamental principle of a free market. My right to sell stuff I own. When I buy a legitimate hand bag from a legitimate dealer it's mine, take your brand name and stick it in your ass, I own the bag, I payed for it I should be able to sell it when and where I want to.

The internet empowers people in so many ways. Knowledge and information is just part of the equation. People all over the world are waking up to the fact that they have the power of the pocket book. The powers that be are making there moves to take this away.

Who is surprised that this latest blow to global liberty comes from the French? While the east oppresses empowerment of the people by crushing the net, the west begins it's oppression in the courts in earnest.

Who cares about eBay I want my right to sell my stuff, I have to much as it is.

Status of Forces and Slight of Hand

As the dust settles in Iraq the victors are eager to divide the spoils, even if the dust hasn't really settled. Fast approaching is the July 31st deadline for the Iraqi government to accept a Status of Forces Agreement or SOFA. It has broad implications for the future of Iraq.

The US has between 140 and 160 SOFA around the world, including Japan and Germany. While a key condition is immunity for US troops, the is a key condition in all SOFA. By most accounts the Bush administration has dropped the demand for immunity to private contractors.

Many people are focusing on the establishment of permanent or long-term bases. But this is going to be part of any deal and few should be deluding themselves here.

But the sharp spike in violence in Iraq especially around the capital belays the more sinister tons of the deal.

AL Queda in Iraq is largely beaten now and Iraq is occupied by the International Military Force, or INMF under United Nations Charter, Chapter 7. Once Iraq enters into a SOFA with the USA it will no longer be under chapter 7. Further it is doubtful that the USA is including other members of the INMF in it's SOFA, therefore all other members of the INMF would need to negotiate there own SOFA. While many people consider the American presence in Iraq illegitimate now, the flip side is that once out side chapter 7 any military presence in Iraq would be illegitimate as a point of law without a SOFA.

Iraq has a lot of debt, and the Federal reserve is holding $50 billion in Iraqi money. Currently it is protected under Presidential immunity. According to Patrick Cockburn this is being held over the Iraqi government's head as incentive.

Even if the Maliki government wanted to make this deal it's doubtful it would pass through parliament. While the goal for Iraq is to get out of chapter 7, it's the last thing it wants or should do at this moment. It's also a central goal for the current administration before the November elections.

Wanted at the bridge

Reserved tickets last night, best seats in the theater. The bridge is the place to see a movie. Real chairs that don't fold and enough leg room for people to walk by. All the theaters have good sound and when you're tall as more people are these days it matters. With most of the country.. I was going to use some politically correct term but wtf. With all the fat people around it's nice to have the elbow room. The theater is about half full. It's the perfect viewing experience waiting for a great movie to happen. If they didn't sell stale, made in a factory brought in bag popcorn, well I might have had some for old time sake.

I found myself almost immediately wondering if this movie was inspired by a video game. Most recent attempts to converge the finely honed styles of Hollywood with the code driven style of video game developments have left a flat dry taste in the mouth. The intro, without giving anything away was totally cool but in an unfulfilling way. Even if you knew the twist then...
I figured it out early and barely noticed. That sets the tone.

As soon as Angelina hits the screen things change, if for no other reason than you can just look at her. Most of the action was satisfying as she sweeps our hero into the fold and away from evils clutch. Angelina is stunning as ever, but wow she was skinny.

The training was your basic beat the guy till he's tough. Most of it was well done and state of the art. There is nothing to really complain about in this movie, the FX are all solid, but I was never cheering.

Freeman is always a force on stage but I never hated or loved his character. I found myself with no one to really root for or care to much about. At the same time nothing to really care about.

The movie is littered with corpses and brutal depictions of death and none of it had much impact, perhaps a sign of the times.

It was billed as the next matrix, with en emphasis on the effects, but perhaps that was also intended to reference it as an allegory for our times. The basic social comment being we're all blind to the truth of who we are and once we wake up to that truth we will understand that we are powerful.

It was a good movie, perhaps even with it's own message. I liked it and there was a lot of eye candy. But it didn't make me freak out like the Matrix did.

It's always darkest before it's black

"The CIA, as a rule, does not comment on allegations regarding covert operations," CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano said in regards to Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist and author Seymour Hersh's allegations on CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" that Congress has authorized up to $400 million to fund the secret campaign, which involves U.S. special operations troops and Iranian dissidents.

He said the program resulted in "a dramatic increase in kinetic events and chaos" inside Iran, including attacks by Kurdish separatists in the country's north and a May attack on a mosque in Shiraz that killed 13 people.

Hersh first gained worldwide recognition in 1969 for exposing the My Lai Massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War, for which he received the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. His 2004 reports on the US military's mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison gained much attention.

Hersh received the 2004 George Polk Award for Magazine Reporting^[1] given annually by Long Island University to honor contributions to journalistic integrity and investigative reporting. This was his fifth George Polk Award, the first one being a Special Award given to him in 1969.

"They believe that their mission is to make sure that before they get out of office next year, either Iran is attacked or it stops its weapons program," Hersh said. I guess my question is there anyone who doubts they plan on going into Iran before the election?

We have ample forced on two boarders now. We've heard just a little to much about how difficult it would be to take them out to really believe it any more. Israel has completely thrown down the gauntlet. Iran knows it's coming and I can't help but feel a little pain for them.

Muslim, Christian, Jew, the average person just wants to live in a nice place, race a family and not get screwed to hard, and when war comes it's the average person who bears the brunt on both sides.

Iran's parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, warned other countries against moves that would "cost them heavily." In comments that appeared in the semi-official Mehr news agency Sunday, an Iranian general said his troops were digging more than 320,000 graves to bury troops from any invading force with "the respect they deserve."

At a certain point hardliners, regardless of what God they claim to pray to all start sounding the same. The last time I heard anything concrete about Iran's nuclear capability was they were 10 years away.

---

The Auction Rate Securities Scam

Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, subpoenaed documents
from some major market participants. Thursday, he released materials
produced by UBS and filed a civil suit against the firm, accusing it of
defrauding investors.

William F. Galvin, subpoenaed documents from some major market participants. Thursday, he
released materials produced by UBS and filed a civil suit against the
firm, accusing it of defrauding investors.

The complaint says UBS misled investors by peddling auction-rate securities
as cash equivalents and ultrasafe. But the suit also asserts that UBS
dumped these securities on individual investors to minimize its own
exposure to the risks inherent in keeping them on its own books.

E-mail messages attached to the Massachusetts
complaint support Mr. Galvin’s accusations in stunning black and white.

The problem UBS faces began in August, when the credit markets seized.
Corporations — which are big buyers of auction-rate securities because
of their slightly-higher-than-money-market yields — were beginning to
sell. New buyers had to be found or UBS, as underwriter and auction
manager, would be stuck with the securities. The firm was going into
shell shock because of losses from subprime mortgages on its books, so
it needed to find a way out of the auction-rate mess.

It's good to hear stories of heros in government fighting for us amid the increasing stories of families ending up on the streets. But as much credit has to go to the people who wrote in and gave him grounds to proceed.

If you feel you have been defrauded you need to act on your own behalf. The few people in positions to help with the will to do so can not proceed unless you tell them what happened. It's not good enough to fill out form letters, tell your story. Perhaps the secretary of your state is a good place to start.

More than a few people suspect that UBS is only the tip of the iceberg as this $300 billion dollar market began to seize after the sub prime bomb and big money pulled out individual investors of both modest and substantial wealth where left holding the bag. The potential for wide spread fraud and the need to investigate may stand as a turning point pivotal for a rebuilding of confidence in this nations money train.

With so many families being destroyed while our government props up the institutions that created the mess. we perhaps have a moral obligation to look as well, because every big brokerage firm that participated in this market is both underwriters of the securities and managers of
the auctions that set their prices.

This is not just about politics and high finances. It's about the untold lives destroyed by a system with no solid foundation and the greed of so few.

Censorship Vernacular and a Parents right to choose

Far removed from the troubles of the world is the sleepy township of Perry. 2002 One of two high schools in the area Perry Meridian High School was recognized as a National Service Learning Leadership School. But on March 24, 2008 the school was embroiled in a quiet controversy when it suspended an English teacher for a year and a half without pay.

According to the schools board the suspension was for insubordination. But the by the teachers account the issues at stake could have broader impact. Connie Heerman, the teacher in question believes the what's at stake is censorship. According to one parent what's at stake is a parents right to choose what is and is not acceptable for there children's development.

The book at the heart of the controversy is The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them. At it's heart it's the inspirational story of how a group of teens seemingly destined to be swallowed up by the inner city are transformed by a journey of expression and communication that transcends the boundaries of class, race, religion and circumstance. But who cares.

What's important about this story is that by Heermans account the school took three months to answer the question can the students be given this book as part of there curriculum. With no answer and a finite amount of class time, Heerman decided to ask the students parents. She sent permissions slip home for 150 students and got 149 resounding YES replies.

It was not until after the books had been distributed to the students that the school asked her to take them back.

Though our strength in the world has diminished as a nation the USA is still a giant. While out national system of education has fallen into what must now be considered it's own local "Dark Age". I am left asking, is this because the people making the decisions can't finish a book in three months? How can it be that hard for a school board to read a book these days.

I don't buy Ms. Heermans tearful plea that she's fighting for the right to learn. I am concerned more about the people who have continued to fail to secure our children's future. For over a decade our nations school systems have been in sharp decline. Perhaps this is a clue as to why.

Russian Oil - the sleeping giant

With sky rocketing oil prices pressing down on the economy of the United States and indeed the world, American media sides steps the issues with a professionals grace deflecting the populations attention. Focusing mainly on increased demand and sighting decreased supply and the war in Iraq as major causes.

But as the west makes it's moves on the OPEC nations the Russian equations is silently left out of the popular media. Russia is the second largest oil producer in the world next to the combined output of OPEC and is no stranger to the game of manipulating world politics with it's resources.

Since the end of the cold war North American media coverage of Russian affairs has evaporated, but after almost two decades of quiet recovery and expansion of it's economy this sleeping giant has been asserting it's authority, positioning itself as "one of the regional great powers." according to Irina Kobrinskaya of the Institute of World Economy in Russia, in statements made to Al Jazeera on June 15th. She goes on to say that "this is a fact of life and Russia wants it to be admitted by the world."

The last few years have seem amazing growth in Russia, and clearly it has ambitions to regain it's former prominence in world affairs. As the largest single nation producer of OIL the government is flush with dividend and allowing rapid development and quickly increasing it's economic clout. Like us there citizens are bearing the brunt of this paying a premium for fuel.

In fact Russia has been asserting for some time and has been trying to soften it's image of late while at the same time making sure the world knows it's not just a veto power. Russia is reported to be considering an effort to bring other natural gas exporters into an international cartel similar to OPEC. Venezuela and Iran are also said to be pushing the cartel idea for an October unveiling.

A new world economic order "must also be multipolar and must include a more balanced distribution of finances and national resources," said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

As the Russians Shuffle there politics to pot on a kinder face, Vladimir Putin steps down from running Russia as President to running Russia as Prime Minister is quote saying in regards to U.S. plans for a limited defense against ballistic missiles, "a new arms race has been unleashed in the world." He vowed to field new weapons, which have been under development for years, "in response."

Bear Stearns JP Morgan Fed Minutes released

Briefly mentioned in todays news is the Federal Reserves minutes on two meetings March 14,2008 and March 16,2008 regarding the Fed financed takeover of Bear Stearns by JP Morgan.

Two Key points outlined in these minutes not mentioned by most media outlets are the ones with the most significance both historically and relevant from a tax payers point of view.

"At its meeting on March 14, 2008, the Board had authorized the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (New York Reserve Bank) to extend credit to JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPMC) to provide financing on a nonrecourse basis." In other words the financing was made under a condition where if defaulted no other action could be taken to recoup the loss other than liquidating the the assets the financing was secured with, in this case the assets of the company that was being bought with the financing, Bear Stearns. Authorization was made for $30 billion, the final loan was $28.82 billion. JP Morgan put up only $1.15 billion.

"Temporary exemptions from section 23A and capital requirements. In connection with the proposed JPMC/Bear Stearns acquisition, the Board granted an 18-month exemption requested by JP Morgan Chase Bank." While these excemptions are further qualified, this allows the fed to grant the loan even though JP Morgan didn't have the capital to secure the loan and the securing assets couldn't cover it.

Many have speculated that this is not the first time the JP Morgan empire and elements in the Federal Reserve have used times of economic distress to redistribute our nations wealth. Some have even gone as far as to suggest there was no reason to bail out Bear Stearns, wild speculation is what led to the panic.

J.P. Morgan had initially proposed buying Bear for a fire-sale price of
$2 a share, but it later increased the offer to $10 a share. As a
result, the Fed negotiated its loan to a lower amount than originally
anticipated.

Bear had survived one liquidity challenge, in the summer of 2007, when
two of its hedge funds cratered after the subprime mortgage collapse.
The firm had labored to repair its balance sheet and improve its
financing. "Our capital position is strong," said Bear's CFO, Sam
Molinaro, at an investors' conference in February. "Balance-sheet
liquidity has continued to improve throughout the course of the year.
We spent an awful lot of time trying to reduce our higher-risk asset
categories."

But the panic was fueled by wild rumors and on March 10th a major bank - accounts differ on which - had rebuffed Bear's request for a common short-term $2 billion "repo" loan. March 11th Goldman Sachs's credit derivatives group sent its hedge fund clients an e-mail announcing it would no longer step in for them on Bear derivatives deals.

When word of the Goldman e-mail leaked out, the floodgates opened.
Hedge funds and other clients, eventually running into the hundreds,
began yanking their funds.

Even though Bear Stearns stock dropped 40% the day after the bailout, at 1.2 billion it was a fire sale, and not JP Morgans first. Your Income Tax dollars hard at work.

Lucha VaVoom

Last night was our annual pilgrimage to the Mayan theater in downtown LA for Lucha VaVoom. A high flying extravaganza of burlesque booze and luchadores. As always the evening was a thrills of more than one kind.

Highlights of the show are the ever popular Poubelle twins Fifi and Bibi, who in classic luchadore fasion lay beats down on men twice there size with high flying kicks and take downs. The burlesque queen Michelle L'amour who exposes most of her milky white skin much to roused hoots of the male audience. The extravagant rope walking antiques of Cassadora, a cross between a classic luchadore hero and Liberace. Not to mention the areal acrobatics of the WAU WAU sisters.

But as always the show heats up when the crowd favorites, the Crazy Chickens cluck there way on to the ring. Win or loose they steal the show.

It's definitely a unique experience well worth the price of admission.

Gains in Iraq on shakey ground

The Government Accountability Office on Monday released a report sharply criticizing Military commanders assessment on stability in Iraq.

The report acknowledges significant gains on the ground, representing 70% decline since June 2007, confirming many of the security improvements that first became apparent last fall are still holding, a number of the figures that have been used to show broader progress in Iraq are either misleading or simply incorrect, the report says.

Administration figures, according to the report, broadly overstate gains in some categories, including the readiness of the Iraqi Army, electricity production and how much money Iraq is spending on its reconstruction.

Going further the report states the security gains themselves rest in large part not on broad-scale advances in political and social reconciliation and a functioning Iraqi government, but on a few specific advances that remain fragile. The relatively calm period rests mostly on the American troop increase, a shaky cease-fire declared by militias loyal to the Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr, and an American-led program to pay former insurgents to help keep the peace, the report says.

“Clearly there are substantial changes in the security situation on the ground,” said Nathan Freier, a retired Army officer who served in Iraq in 2005 and 2007 and is now a senior fellow in the international security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

The administration prefers to focus on those improvements, Mr.
Freier said. But the accountability office report, which Mr. Freier
read on Monday, and his own observations in Iraq contain a different
message, he said.“Iraq remains a mixed bag and will continue to do so in perpetuity, to be quite honest,” he added.

California hand's free, cover up still continues

All you have to do is drive down California streets for an hour and you will be swearing at those morons driving with one hand and talking on there cellphone with the other. 90% of the time you are cut off you see a cellphone in the drives hand. This is going to change July 1st as the new cellphone laws come into effect. A FAQ about the new laws can be found here.
But the real story about cellphones and why this law was supported by much of the industry dates back almost a decade and is described at length here. Since 2000 the World Health Organization began pushing the precautionary principle and prudent avoidance principle in regards to cellphone usage in the wake of mounting evidence that cellphones drastically increase the risk of cancer.
More recent studies including a long-term Swedish Study and most recently a study by renowned neurosurgeon Dr Vini Khurana draw conclusive links as reported by FOX and ZDNet.
Use your hands free device and whenever possible place your phone at a distance. Limiting cellphone use is still the best course of action.
Dr Vini Khurana's conclusion is that cellphones could be more dangerous than smoking.

When the Levee breaks

The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was an important even for many reasons. Many people were forced to flee to the cities of the Midwest in search of work, contributing to the "Great Migration" of African Americans in the first half of the 20th century. In 1929 Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie wrote and recorded the song English rock group Led Zeppelin would later rework and make famous in 1971 as the last song on there fourth album.
"I's a mean old levee, cause me to weep and moan, gonna leave my baby,
and my happy home". The song focused mainly on when more than 13,000
residents in and near Greenville, Mississippi evacuated to a nearby, unaffected levee
for its shelter at high ground. The tumult that would have been caused
if this and other levees had broken was the song's underlying theme.
After Katrina and the governments failure to help it's own people brought the the fore front once again that the great Mississippi will not be held back. The army core of engineers rebuild the failed levees and assured us they could now stand up to a 100 year storm. 1,836 people lost there lives and the estimated $81.2 billion in damages made Katrina one of the deadliest and certainly the costliest natural disaster in US history.

A June 2007 report released by the American Society of Civil Engineers states that the failures of the federally built levees in New Orleans' were found to be primarily the result of system design flaws.^[119] The US Army Corps of Engineers who by federal mandate
is responsible for the conception, design and construction of the
region's flood-control system failed to pay sufficient attention to
public safety.

According to new modeling and field observations by a team from Louisiana State University, the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet
(MRGO), a 200-meter (660 ft) wide canal designed to provide a shortcut
from New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico, helped provide a funnel for the
storm surge, making it 20% higher and 100%-200% faster as it crashed
into the city. St. Bernard Parish, one of the more devastated areas,
lies just south of the MRGO. The Army Corps of Engineers
disputes this causality and maintains Katrina would have overwhelmed
the levees with or without the contributing effect of the MRGO.^[120]

On April 5, 2006,
months after independent investigators had demonstrated that levee
failures were not caused by natural forces beyond intended design
strength, Lieutenant General Carl Strock testified before the United
States Senate Subcommittee on Energy and Water that "We have now
concluded we had problems with the design of the structure."^[121] He also testified that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not know of this mechanism of failure prior to August 29, 2005.
The claim of ignorance is refuted, however, by the National Science
Foundation investigators hired by the Army Corps of Engineers, who
point to a 1986 study by the Corps itself that such separations were
possible in the I-wall design.^[122]

Compared to Katrina the weather systems causing the current disaster are mild to say the least. Perhaps it's time to let this great river reclaim her wetlands. Wetlands are a vital part of how the planet purifies the water we pollute every day.

Clinton and Obama "Rock" Unity

"I know that he'll work for you. He'll fight for you, and he'll stand
up for you every single day in the White House," Clinton said, calling
Obama "a leader who invests in our future." Her statements today stand in sharp contrast to statements made not to long ago.
"My opponent says that he'll take on the special interests," she said.
"Well, he told people he stood up to the nuclear industry and passed a
bill against them. But he actually let the nuclear industry water down
his bill -- the bill never actually passed."
This is politics and big business. Is there any doubt this support was bought and payed for? Does the sum of $10 million buy support? You bet.
Once again many people in this nation are pinning there hopes on the lies of the wealthy. Obama could not even entertain the idea of paying $10 million to Hillary for her support if he took public finance. The math isn't that hard.

Gloucester Principal stands his ground

Despite local officials aggressive attempts to convince people there is nothing to see in Gloucester High School by calling into question the mental faculties of the schools principle.
"I honestly do not remember specifically using the word 'pact' in my
meeting with the Time magazine reporter, but I do specifically remember
telling [reporter Kathleen Kingsbury] that my understanding was that a
number of the pregnancies were intentional and that the students within
this group were friendly with each other," Sullivan wrote in the
Gloucester Daily Times.
"My sources had informed me that a significant number of the
pregnancies, especially among the younger students, were the result of
deliberate and intentional behavior," he wrote.
Something is going wrong here and instead of addressing the issue with open and honest dialog and investigation the Mayor tried to shut this down with an almost angry address to the press and people. Any time a government official is this agressive in a denial I am always suspicious.
Way to go Sullivan, stand your ground, don't be bullied. If more people take a queue from this guy we have a chance of reclaiming out country.

Airlines summer of hell

It's sucked to fly for a long time. Hidden fees and airline employee's who act like we should be grateful when they bump us because they have overbooked flights. It's going to be getting a lot worse. There used to be a time when companies believed that treating there customers well was the best way to get them back. But decades of mismanagement and government bail outs have shifted there focus to how best to take advantage of us.
50% of an airlines operating costs are fuel based, so with fuel prices reaching critical mass we're in for an even nastier time this summer. Do your self a favor and stay out of the skies. Let these companies implode, they started on this path long before our fuel crisis hit. If you don't have to fly don't. I am sick of paying through the nose to get treated like a criminal. I've started to take the train when I can. It's not fast or cheap but I don't feel like I might explode either.

Earlier this month, a woman was arrested on a JetBlue flight on charges of assaulting flight attendants during a cross-country trip. An autistic toddler and his mother getting kicked off an airplane. Delta will soon add a $25 or $50 fuel fees to its frequent flier SkyMiles.
Thursday marked the 20th attempted airfare increase of the year,
according to Rick Seaney, CEO of FareCompare.com, versus the 23 total
attempts the airlines made last year.
"There is an increase in hostility, and it goes both ways," said Kate
Hanni, founder of the Coalition for an Airline Passengers' Bill of
Rights. "I am, in both ways, seeing a rise in air rage and also a rise
in employee hostility toward the passenger."
Our government isn't about to step in, they are to inept to do anything anyway. If we want to better our situation we the people have to organize and do the job our government and big business refuses, doesn't want to or are incapable of doing, not just with the skies but with everything. This is a consumer based economy, and that means regardless of what lies you are told, the ultimate power is in the hands of the consumer base. We the people have the power to stop giving our money to people who treat us like shit, abuse there position and lie. Take back the skies, don't fly.

N. Korea's nuclear currency

Few would debate the great strides that have been made in regards to bringing North Korea back into the fold of the new world order. While very few details of the latest deal have been made public, it's clear that North Korea has made good on it's plan to trade it's nuclear ambitions for western aid.
North Korea has few natural resources, it's people are some of the most oppressed in the world. Strict military and information control has strangled the North Korean people into submission. While it's people have starved and suffered the international community has compounded the problem by isolating the country further.
Now as the leadership of the world cheers and American tax payers foot the bill N. Korea, after securing US compensation of 2.5 million hands over a 60 page accounting of it's nuclear program and demolishes a cooling tower plant that hasn't been operational for roughly 1 year. This facility was already off line, it's nothing more than a symbolic gesture that's costing American tax payers yet again.
While we hear more and more bad news about how screwed we are, our government plays games with our money. It was after all our own president that sparked the extended political battle with the N. Korean leadership. This is just another step on the road of bullshit that's being rammed down our throats. This problem should have been left to the Chinese to handle, this is there backyard not ours. It's time we stop raping our country to support the global community and start helping our own people who are the ones paying the bill. Our nations continued international games are being payed for with our blood sweat and tears. Remember who's children are dying in Iraq, certainly not Bushes. We need to focus on finishing our job in Iraq and Afghanistan so our troops can come home and stop playing politics around the world while our youngest and brightest go without a proper education or a decent medical system. It's time to fix our country and let the rest of the world deal with there own problems. You can't help others until you help yourself.
The message this sends to other countries is hold fast with your nuclear program and eventually the west will buy you out. That's a pretty stupid message to send.

California carbon cap-and-trade

Designed to help California meat the goals of the 2006 requiring drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the framework of the so called "climate change draft scoping plan" is aimed at electric utilities, industrial users, fuel refiners and builders.
Some are hoping it helps pave the way for a federal program. The USA lags behind most 1st world countries since opting out of the Kyoto Protocol--an amendment to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change--which was adopted in 1997.
It's a promising next step and could have a major impact not only locally but carries with it national implications.
One of the key points of the plan is the trade market program which will allow companies to trade credits with other companies in neighboring states and Canadian provinces that are producing less than their allowed emissions or lower there carbon footprint by for example planting trees.
This last point is important, besides reducing emissions the best way to address the issue of to much C02 in the air is by assisting planet earth in removing it through natural processes.
documented in the June 2008 issue of Popular Science

Remebering Bhutto

I wanted to post a little something about Benazir Bhutto on the 21st in remembrance of her birthday. Well sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men...
One of the greatest forces against terrorism and for democracy in the region, Bhutto was assassinated Dec. 27, 2007.
Shortly before her dead, and leading to claims she was killed because she knew to much, Al Jazeera English aired an interview with David Frost in which Bhutto, discusses the corruption in Pakistan and clearly and unwaveringly states that Osama Bin Laden had been murdered by Omar Sheikh, a refference to Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh.
The interview aired on or about Nov. 2nd, 2007.
The only serious address to this was a statement attributed to Omar Chatriwala of Al Jazeer English in which he claims he did not pursue the story at the time because it was an apparent "slip of the tongue", but if you take a look at the video, she seems pretty in control and sure of what she is saying. Bhutto herself never made any official retraction of the remarks. Imho the entire interview has serious implications. RIP Bhutto.

Frost over the World - Benazir Bhutto - 02 Nov 07

Taliban Bolstered by drug trade

Admits promising reports from Iraq, Afghanistan's troubles seem to be worsening. According to a report from Reuters, while Opium production in the five southern regions controlled by the Taliban have doubled the world's output between 2005 and 2007 as stated in a UN report.
This begs the question how the hell is the Taliban in control of five regions in the south, how come we're barely hearing about their renewed attacks let alone them being in control. Attempts to hide the truth that while things may be improving in Iraq they are quickly getting worse in Afghanistan. Wasn't this and the hunt for Bin Laden our primary mission? We're so off track.

Hope in Iraq?

ABC News is running a story about how hope is taking root in the people of Iraq. We've certainly been hearing of the improving situation. While I strongly oppose our presence there and want our children to come home, this is what I've wanted to hear.
The government and people of Iraq taking there country back. Stay the course to me is bullshit but I have to admit I think Gen. David Howell Petraeus is a pretty solid guy from what I have read. The new tact under his command of bolstering not only the local authority but the communities seems to be having a pay off.
Cut and run to me was always as bad an option as stay the course. We're in a mess on all fronts, lets hope there is some weight to this new hope in Iraq. It's a mess we created after all.

International Beer Wars

Anheuser-Busch board of directors rejected InBev’s $46 billion dollar buy
out, call the offer “financially inadequate.”

While I was happy to laugh at the morons running Yahoo for turning down
Microsoft’s offer, this is different for two major reasons.

While Yahoo has essentially done nothing AB has a rolling business and a
brand name that isn’t laughed at. These guys don’t make any beer that’s in my
fridge but there is more at stake.

Microsoft love them or hate them is an American company, InBev is a foriegn
interest and control the bulk of the global beverage trade, they have
enough.

One of the big problems facing this country is or continued path of selling
out for short term profits, everyone wants the quick injection of cash and
rarely considers the long term or implications beyond there little bubble.
Every time a major player sells out to foriegn interests our country is
weakened.

The consolidation of economic sectors by gigantic Multi-nationals like InBev we the end consumer get just a little more screwed. The destruction of free markets has and will continue to be our greatest source of long term economic danger.

This is turning into a hostile takeover and it should be stopped.

Stock market slammed by surging oil prices

Over shadowing the first good news about the housing market's 2% climb in existing home sales, stocks markets took another dive as surging oil prices hit a new high.
The problem is compounded by troubles in the automotive and high-tech sectors. But probably the most devastating news was comments made by OPEC's president warning of higher oil prices as the dollar continues to slide.
Throwing fuel on the fire is Libya's announcement that it will cut crude production to help bolster energy prices.
The OPEC statement cast a dire prediction of oil prices reaching as high as $170.00 a barrel.
According to Market Watch Kevin Kerr, president of Kerr Trading International said "The Fed is driving weakness in the dollar and that's driving oil prices higher."
We're feeling the pinch in a big way as prices across the board continue to rise.

Support for Gun Violence

To express his unbound support for the Supreme Court ruling on the Second Amendment right to bear arms a 42 year old Spokane Washington man shoots himself in the face.

Booze guns and the Second Amendment.  That’s what I call a good time.

According to police the incident occurred when one of the mans drunken friends suggested playing with the gun was dangerous.  The man decided to show his friend it was safe, since the gun was not loaded.  He pointed the gun at his own face and pulled the trigger.  The unloaded gun magically fired a none existing bullet into the mans face leaving him in critical condition.

Olympic Committee stands up

In an unprecidented move the IOC has released a statement admonishing the statements made by Tibet’s Communist party leader Zhang Qinglin during the closing ceremony of the Olymipic Torch relay.

"The IOC regrets that political statements were made during the closing ceremony of the Torch Relay in Tibet," the two-sentence IOC statement said.  "We have written to BOCOG to remind them of the need to separate sport and politics and to ask for their support in making sure that such situations do not arise again."

Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao also said he had no knowledge of the IOC letter, but insisted that Zhang's remarks had intended only to foster a "stable and harmonious environment for the Olympics," and did not constitute politicization.

 "The sky above Tibet will never change. The red five-star flag will always fly above this land," said Zhang  "We can definitely smash the separatist plot of the Dalai Lama clique completely."

Although the Chinese government says it opposes politicizing the Olympics, the strong political and nationalistic overtones of its preparation have been hard to ignore. 

Supreme Court at it again

Once again proving they have our best interests at heart, the Supreme Court hands big business and Supermajor another pass.  Coming off a year of unsurpassed profits, Exxon Mobil’s liability in the Valdez spill of 11 million gallons of crude oil into the Prince William Sound in Alaska 1989 reduced from $5 billion to $500 million.

We’re paying $5.00 a gallon while big oil rapes us, they don’t need another hand out.  This is just another example of how our government and our courts has not only completely failed us, they have sold out.  Bought and payed for.

This spill cost $2.1 to clean up and took 3 years.  There is still no good gauge for the long term effects of this spill, and the clean up did not address the oil that now lines the bottom of this seaway.

Clearly we’ve been sold down the river once again by the highest court in our once great nation.  Outraged?  That’s what you get for handing control over to the rich, how do you think they get rich.

Axis of Evil loses a wheel

North Korean trade sanctions are being lifted and Bush is “moving” whatever that means, to remove North Korea from the “axis of evil” black list.  Welcome to the nuclear community!

This comes in the wake of North Korea handing over accounting of it’s nuclear work to Chinese officials, fulfilling a key step in the “denuclearizatoin” process.

This is a pretty big leap of faith.  They have the bomb now and everyone knows it.  We’re offering them a lot of incentives. Does this signal a new realization that talking is better than shooting?  Don’t hold your breath.

North Korea is planning the televised destruction of a 65-foot-tall cooling tower at its main nuclear reactor at Yongbyon. The cooling tower is a key element of the reactor, but blowing it up — with the world watching — has little practical meaning because the reactor has already been nearly disabled.

This is good and bad.  Clearly we need to move forward not backward.  The call to reverse course is just plain stupid, there is nothing good to go back to, we need to adjust our course and move forward.  This is a promising step towards setting that tone, but so much of this smells like a rat.

Shouldn't we at least have a look at the documents they handed over before we make these kinds of big moves?

Guns for everyone

The Supreme Court is once again looking out for us and out constitutional rights.  Guns for everyone is there new talking point.

Writing for the 5-4 majority, Justice Antonin Scalia said "We hold that the District's ban on handgun possession in the home violated the Second Amendment, as does its prohibition against rendering any lawful firearm in the home operable for the purpose of immediate self-defense."

Now how about the rest of the constitution?  I’m in support of people being able to protect themselves, but how can this even be near the top of important issues?  Our constitutional rights have been stripped away from us.  Take a look at the patriot act just to name a few.

Our Government has been doing the same thing Dobson accuses Obama of when it comes to our constitution, picking and choosing.  Either enforce the entire Constitution or just drop the charade. 

Our great nations Supreme Court has failed us ever step of the way and this is the best Constitutional protection they can offer us?  How about the right to not get screwed every day?  How about the right to have a war criminal thrown away for a few decades president or not?

Why are we even talking about guns when we have so many bigger problems?  What about our right to have a Supreme Court not filled with morons?

 

Anthrax Attack

We had a small dinner party tonight, some close friends and a couple I used to work with off and on.  It’s funny how people can change, I haven’t seen them in a while.

The other couple left early and we sat around having a little wine and talking.  Wow they are totally hard core now.  Maybe it’s just my memory of them that’s skewed, they always could have been.  They are hard core Obama, say the wrong thing and oh man, hold on tight.

Last night there was some old man causing a scene as we began to leave.  He was yelling shut up shut up at some lady.  “I’m tired of everyone blaming Bush.”  That’s all I heard.

People are so polarized.  But I digress we’re talking about tonight, and somehow the Anthrax attack came out.  I am all for bashing on Bush, but lets get real for just a second.  This one is a pretty good target for conspiracy, it has all the makings of a good one, but lets take a look at without the fervor.

The main cases for it being a conspiracy are:

Both  Tom Daschle and  Patrick Leahy had the heat on the Bush government.  -TRUE that’s a big jump though.

NBC was asking a lot of tough questions.  -TRUE another big jump.

The Anthrax was made at Fort Detrick.  -FALSE, sort of.  There is a lot of conflicting information.  Part of this comes from the discussion of the weaponized quality of the product. Ed Lake operates the web site anthraxinvestigation.com and he’s pretty much got the best information regarding the mis/dis-information of this subject.

What seems clear is that the Anthrax “STRAIN” originated at Fort Detrick and this lead to the investigations of the “persons of interest”.  This is essentially a cold case now.

Now my friends take this list as proof that “…well something fishy is going on.”  Yep.  I’m pretty much going to have to throw down the Ron Paul take on this.  There is most assuredly a cover-up happening.  A cover-up of just how inept our government and it’s increasing bloat is.  The most likely scenarios are:

A) Somehow a couple or one really pissed of scientist was allowed to walk out of a secure facility with some really nasty Anthrax.  WOOPS!

B) We and by that I mean some dumass calling the shots in Washington gave Saddam the strain, him and it’s suggested possibly the Syrians worked on it and came up with the powder then either used it, sold it, or gave it away.

This is the point I pull out the secret weapon in the Bullshit wars, Ockham's razor.

I’m leaning towards A) here.  We’re basically in a national panic at this time, and really it would have gone badly if they just came out and said, ah yah I think we let this stuff slip past us there, sorry.

This case is still Officially open.  The last thing I’ve heard with any credibility on this is that on Sept 4, 2007 Senator Patrick Leahy states in an interview with Vermont blog Vermont Daily Briefing that he is unsatisfied with the progress of the investigation and that he believes that some government officials may know more about the source of the Anthrax than has been disclosed "I think there are people within our government — certainly from the source of it — who know where it came from.

March Fox ran a story about an email.  Frankly who cares, Fox news is about as worth while as a fortune cookie.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss at the Greek

Last night Robert Plant and Alison Krauss payed us a visit at the Greek Theater.  I was a big Zepplin fan but not so much of Plants solo career at least initially.

I’m a no fan of country but bluegrass so I was familiar with Krauss and T bone Burnett but I hadn’t really heard about this whole Raiding Sand thing.

Now there was a lot of people clearly hoping for a ton of Zepplin classics but they were few.  The first was a completely reworked version of “Black Dog” which I thought was pretty sweet.  The next was the “Battle of Evermore” which was one of the song I wore out a record player belt when I was a kid on.  Now I loved Sandy Denny’s work on the original recording, no one can touch that.  But Alison was perfect for this and with a slight Stuart Duncan tore up the Madalin.  It was amazingly new and old at the same time.  Loved it.  The last was “Black Country Woman” and that’s when we got a touch of the old mans vocal prowess even if just briefly.

Plant stepped back to a supportive roll for Krauss’ rendition on “Trampled Rose” and threw down her own haunting wail.  Wow.  And you know she’s not to hard on the eyes either.

The entire band is a power house of talent and a suprizingly good fight.  There was a great range to cover most peoples tastes and by the end of the night we were all “Raising Sand” fans, at least till we got to our cars.

Worth seeing if you get the chance.

A nod to the opening act Sharon Little, we missed most of it but she’s definately got chops and she was just so happy to be there, it was a little touch of dreams can come true which is always nice.

Assassin's call

Can someone shoot Robert Mugabe in the head please?  The fact of the matter is no one is ever going to do anything about guys like him unless oil is discovered in Africa.  So I say we re-instate a policy of assassination.

Look even if you go in there with force all that is going to happen is that innocent people will die.  With the price of fuel these day no way anyone is going to bring any sizable force into the region to help Human beings.

We forget that these kinds of stories are about the people not the tyrant destroying them.

 

The Clinton Buy Out

Straight up I always liked Bill, he’s full of shit but it’s kind of like a gimme, we always knew it and he always knew we knew it, nudge nudge wink wink say no more…

Hillary I was a fan of for a while I guess but she burnt that away pretty quick.

I find it interesting how the media pretty much skimmed over the Obaman buy out of the Clintons.  We all know she was done, the buy out comes after her withdrawal from the race.

Daddy Bill makes a nice little nothing statement in support of Obama, but through a pulicist, wetting the appetite?  Then Obama goes and asks his supporters for $10 million.  ABC news say his top supporters whatever that means.

I don’t give rich people money, if they want to run for office they can do it on there own dime, they are rich after all, I’m not.  But with no real clarification in any of the news outlets or press releases I can find on the topic, I am left wondering who exactly is he expecting to pay of Hillary’s debt?

Is this going to come out of the Obama campaign fund?  As a pay out for Clinton’s support?

Fuck Bill O'riely

Not worthy.  Noth worthy to sniff George Carlins shoes.  It’s one thing to suck, it’s one thing to sell out, it’s one thing to shut up anyone you don’t agree with, every one knows it’s not news it’s opinion, and a bad one.  BUT insulting George Carlin wow dude, you just need to take a few bullets that will fix you up.  And fuck Fox News for airing it.

And while we’re at it fuck Rupert Murdoch.

Ode to George Carlin

I’m so going to miss this guy kicking us all in the pants.  Please don’t take this the wrong way… but this guy was always very timely with everything he did.  Loosing him to the grim reaper sucks, but maybe his timing was pretty good.

If you’re like me you’ve spent the last few nights staying up late watching everything you can find with or about George Carlin on the web.  Brings up a lot of memories for me, and really it’s just put everything into perspective.

It’s an odd condition of humanity that sometimes we forget the people who made the biggest impact on us until they die.  My love for George is bigger than I can say so I mean no disrespect when I say he picked a pretty good time to go.  His perspective is a big help at least to me now and I’m soaking it all in again.

We’ve once again got a divided country of total and complete morons.  These fucking assholes singing Obama’s praises are just as full of shit as the right wing Christian pricks who most liberal minded people blame for everything.

We’re arguing about which rich prick is going to fuck us for another four years as if Obama is some how immune to rich asshole syndrome.

If truth was really important to Obama he wouldn’t have lied to us about campaign funding.  I guess it’s OK he’s full of shit as long as he wins?  Get your heads out of your asses.  Obama and McCain are both just waiting for there chance to fuck us a little harder.  Fall in line assholes.

How about we elect someone who’s playing in our field. According to census.gov press release  Real median household income in the United States climbed between 2005 and 2006, reaching $48,200.

lets put someone in office who is living in our world not some rich asshole who has no clue what it’s like now.  He started poor?  who cares, join the club.

When you go look at there tax returns remember that the “SUMMARY OF SENATOR MCCAIN'S ACTUAL (NOT COMMUNAL) INCOME FOR 2006 AND 2007” means his wife keeps all the money so he doesn’t look like a rich asshole.

 

Navigating the News Cartels

It’s so hard to know wtf is really going on out there.  So much style so little substance is what I see in most major news media today.  One of the biggest problems is the distribution of mainstream media in the US and around the world is owned by very few people.

Know where your news is coming from, stop being led around by the ring in your nose.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch

puts the power of knowledge in your hand and it’s a must have tool in the war on bullshit.

Another great tool is the Internet Archive and it’s way back machine.

 

Iranian drug war

We rarely hear about any common ground between Iran and the west.  That kind of press coverage just doesn’t jive with the company hard line.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Drug traffickers in well-armed desert convoys roll across the border from Afghanistan. Standing in their way are Iranian soldiers and drug agents trying to choke off one of the world's busiest pipelines for opium and heroin.

The battles - waged far from the world's attention in the arid badlands of eastern Iran - represent one of the dwindling patches of common ground between Tehran and the West. The United States has applauded Iran's anti-drug campaign and European nations help fund the fight.

But in the efforts against Tehran’s nuclear policies this common ground is on the chopping block.  Another example of how little the drug war really matters?

A "heroin tsunami" could hit Europe if the drug interdiction by Iran is weakened, warned Antonio Maria Costa, the director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.  "We should definitely assist Iran in this respect," he said.

But now this international support could be threatened by the standoff over Tehran's nuclear policies.

Western nations have told Iran that they could cut off any new help to Iran's anti-drug units unless the Islamic regime halts uranium enrichment, which Washington and its allies worry could be used to develop nuclear arms.

The new stance is a sharp departure from the strong - but mostly behind-the-scenes - cooperation the United States and other Western countries forged with Iran on Afghanistan after the Taliban's fall in late 2001.

32 dead in Afghanistan

Once again we are reminded we should have finished one war before starting another, militants Monday attacked a border police post in an area between Kandahar and Uruzgan provinces in the south, killing three policemen and wounding seven, Uruzgan's provincial police chief said.

A rocket struck a NATO air base at Kandahar, the Taliban's traditional stronghold, Tuesday night, causing a fire that burned for more than an hour. There was no immediate report of casualties, said CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson, who was at the base when the rocket struck.

The fighting across Afghanistan, particularly in the south has continued to rise.  A bunch of cave men laying the smack down?

A British soldier with the International Security Assistance Force died during fighting Tuesday in Helmand province in the south, the UK Defense Ministry said.

NATO said another ISAF service member died Tuesday from wounds suffered when a vehicle struck a mine in Nangarhar province in the east.

In the Sayed Karam district of Paktia province in the east, coalition forces attacked Taliban militants Monday, said Esmatuallah Alizai, Paktia provincial police chief. They killed 15 militants, some of whom are thought to have been foreign fighters, and wounded four, he said.

In the Guzara district of Herat province in the west, gunmen on a motor bike shot dead a policewoman, police said.

While we focus on which rich asshole will destroy our lives for the next 4 years, the bulk or our troops are guarding oil production and distribution facilities and not the people we went to liberate in Iraq.  All the while the combined NATO forces are doing what in Afghanistan.  Forgetting about this problem won’t make it go away.  We already walked out on these people once, it’s going to be a lot worse if we do it a second time.

McCain calls for energy conservation

Sen. John McCain on Tuesday told voters that energy efficiency "should begin at home" and for once we’ve got a politician actually offering a plan.

"Every year the federal government buys upwards of 60,000 cars and other vehicles, not including military or law-enforcement vehicles," McCain said.

"From now on, we're going to make those civilian vehicles flex-fuel capable, plug-in hybrid or cars fueled by clean natural gas. If our great goal is to move American transportation toward lower carbon emissions, then it should start with the federal fleet."

For once the focus is being directed at the the federal government and not us.  I bike to work as much as I can.  I use flourecent bulbs where I can stand them and everyone I know is trying.  But it’s hard when you see the waste of the federal government compounded by there intervention every time a state tries to take the initiative.

A man with a plan?  Obama set forth an aganda to implement conservation during the party nomination process, but there was little substance to it.  Frankly I think they are both full of it, but the Obama supporters have become just as narrow in there retoric as the republicans.

The song and dance will continue to election day and both candidates will talk about all the wonderful things they will do, but I want details, details I can throw back in there face when they don’t follow through.

Just remeber Obama and McCain have both been caught in big lies, people forget about this and focus on a win at all costs.

President Jimmy Carter made symbolic efforts to encourage energy conservation, such as urging citizens in a famous July 15, 1979, 'malaise' speech to turn down their thermostats. He also installed solar power panels on the roof of the White House and a wood-burning stove in the living quarters. However, the panels were removed in August 1986 during the administration of his successor, Ronald Reagan, after a leak and were never replaced.

This stuff never sticks because the rich have no intension of going without, that’s our job.  Suck it up.

 

Catholic Church hunting down US troops

In yet another example of how organized religion prays on people in their weakest hours.

They used to call it shell shock, now we have names for it like post-traumatic stress disorder.  But it boils down to the same thing.  War can really fuck with your brain.  That’s a good time to talk people into doing shit.

So the Catholic Church, masters of fucking with people have decided to take the bullshit of the war to a new level and use it as a recruiting opportunity.

The Rev. John McLaughlin never served in the military, left his parish north of Boston and became the first-ever national vocations director at the Archdiocese of the Military in Washington. McLaughlin will travel the country, speaking to troops about following a commitment to their country with commitment to their faith.

Army chaplain Paul Hurley, who attended seminary with McLaughlin in the early 1990s, advocated for his friend to get the job without McLaughlin's knowledge.

 "He's got that special touch," Hurley said. "He finds a way of connecting with people where they're at."  That’s code for he’s a real good bullshit artist.

Our children are dying so this country and it’s allies can wage a war against OPEC and our religious leaders just want to use them once the government has finished with them.  Well I guess that’s better than just tossing them away.

What our troops need is to be taken care of when they come home.  The last thing they need is to be manipulated again.  Shame on the church once again.