Hazmat and the Lightbulb

Why are fluorescent light bulbs touted as more energy and eco conscious?

It seems that someone said that they were and therefore they are. This is my conclusion because everything about them seems less green than the Average-Joe-Light bulb. After all, they contain mercury and are therefore hazardous to dispose of and they save (maybe) a few cents on electrical bills where they are utilized. And, as for my house, they seem to burn out at the same rate, if not sooner than their opponent, Average-Joe-Light bulb.

Do you need Hazmat to dispose of a broken eco-bulb? No, just this giant list (longer than my kids' lists to Santa Claus) of clean-up procedures from the EPA...

Before Clean-up: Air Out the Room

Have people and pets leave the room, and don't let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out.
Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.
Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces

Carefully scoop up glass pieces and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place towels in the glass jar or plastic bag.
Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.
Clean-up Steps for Carpeting or Rug

Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken.
Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag.
Clean-up Steps for Clothing, Bedding and Other Soft Materials

If clothing or bedding materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from inside the bulb that may stick to the fabric, the clothing or bedding should be thrown away. Do not wash such clothing or bedding because mercury fragments in the clothing may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage.
You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that have been exposed to the mercury vapor from a broken CFL, such as the clothing you are wearing when you cleaned up the broken CFL, as long as that clothing has not come into direct contact with the materials from the broken bulb.
If shoes come into direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from the bulb, wipe them off with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels or wipes in a glass jar or plastic bag for disposal.
Disposal of Clean-up Materials

Immediately place all clean-up materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area for the next normal trash pickup.
Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.
Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states do not allow such trash disposal. Instead, they require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.
Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug: Air Out the Room During and After Vacuuming

The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window before vacuuming.
Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed.

Geez! You could actually work during the clean-up time, make a couple hundred dollars, and spend a fraction of it on new bulbs without mercury. What do you think?

News of the Day.

Michael Jackson's mother is stepping up to the plate, attempting to file for guardianship of the late-pop star's three children. Being ages 7, 11, and 12, they need a home suitable for them to have some semblance of normalcy...or something like that...although it may be a bit of a shock to have any normalcy after the flamboyant and paranoid lifestyle lived by their father, Michael Jackson. Following a life in environments such as Neverland, a normal children's lifestyle may be hard to realize.

Billy Mays' cause of death is being labeled as heart disease and not the rough plane landing where he bumped his head. It's interesting to note that there could be a wrongful death suit towards the airliner, and it would therefore be advantageous for the Mays' family to tie the heart disease and rough landing together as one aggravating the other. It's an awful thing for any family to have to go through.

In other news, Judge Sonia Sotomayor's ruling as an appeals court judge has been reversed. Which ruling, you ask? Remember the ruling that caused the white firefighters in New Haven, Conn. to be denied promotions (a bit of reverse racism)...that is the one that has been reversed. Hallelujah, someone actually is doing the right thing! Racism is horrible whether it is the typical, or reverse-type racism! An amazing way to start the week, eh?!

Sabbath Day, June 28, 2009

Billy Mays Passes After Airline Incident.

Associated Press
11:46 AM PDT, June 28, 2009


TAMPA, Fla. -- Billy Mays, the burly, bearded television pitchman whose boisterous hawking of products such as Orange Glo, OxiClean and ESPN made him a pop-culture icon, died today. He was 50.

Tampa police said Mays was found unresponsive by his wife, Deborah Mays, this morning. A fire rescue crew pronounced him dead at 7:45 a.m. Investigators do not suspect foul play, said Lt. Brian Dugan of the Tampa Police Department.

Mays reportedly was hit on the head Saturday while aboard a US Airways flight that made a rough landing, and Mays' wife told investigators the TV personality didn't feel well before he went to bed Saturday night.

The coroner's office expects to have an autopsy done by Monday afternoon.

US Airways confirmed today that Mays was among the passengers on a flight that landed Saturday afternoon at Tampa International Airport, leaving debris on the runway after apparently blowing its front tires.

Tampa Bay's Fox television affiliate interviewed Mays after the incident.

"All of a sudden, as we hit, you know it was just the hardest hit, all the things from the ceiling started dropping," MyFox Tampa Bay quoted him as saying. "It hit me on the head, but I got a hard head."

Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said linking Mays' death to the rough landing Saturday afternoon would "purely be speculation." She said Mays' family members didn't report any health issues with the pitchman, but they said he was due to have hip replacement surgery in the coming weeks

Read More From Source Here

Michael Jackson or an American Angel

So, I was sitting down to see what was on the TV and saw on my satellite guide that TVGN (TV Guide Channel) was showing "Farrah Fawcett: American Angel Remembered". So, since every other channel has been airing non-stop tributes to Michael Jackson, I thought I'd check the Farrah Fawcett tribute.

Sure, I wore the parachute pants and learned the moves to Thriller. They were great times!

However, when I clicked on the directory on the show about Farrah Fawcett, guess what came up...A tribute to Michael Jackson. Does anyone else think that is tacky?...not to show something about Michael Jackson, but tacky in the advertising of the tribute to Farrah Fawcett and instead showing something on Michael Jackson.

I guess it's all about the green.

Definition of Single-payer Health Care vs Universal Health Care

Single-payer health care: A system of health care characterized by universal and comprehensive coverage. Single-payer health care is similar to the health services provided by Medicare in the US. The government pays for care that is delivered in the private (mostly not-for-profit) sector. Doctors are in private practice and are paid on a fee-for-service basis from government funds. The government does not own or manage their medical practices or hospitals.

Single-payer health care is distinct and different from socialized medicine in which doctors and hospitals work for and draw salaries from the government.

Read From Source Here


Universal Health Care

Universal health care is health care coverage for all eligible residents of a political region and often covers medical, dental and mental health care. These programs vary in their structure and funding mechanisms. Typically, most costs are met via a single-payer health care system or national health insurance, or else by compulsory regulated pluralist insurance (public, private or mutual) meeting certain regulated standards. Universal health care is implemented in all but one of the wealthy, industrialized countries, with the exception being the United States.

Read From Source Here

Farrah Fawcett Gone at Age 62

Farrah Fawcett dies at 62
BY B.J. HAMMERSTEIN • METROMIX EDITOR • June 25, 2009

The iconic “Charlie's Angels” actress Farrah Fawcett died today after a three-year battle with cancer. She was 62.

According to People.com, Fawcett died at 9:28 a.m. PST at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif.


Over the last few days, loved ones had been gathering at Fawcett’s bedside as her health took a turn for the worse, the New York Daily News reported.


A Catholic priest performed last rites at the Los Angeles hospital where the star was being treated for the anal cancer that has spread to her liver, according to ABC News.


The actress was diagnosed with cancer in 2006 and her fight for survival was chronicled in the NBC documentary, "Farrah's Story."

Read Source Here

Michael Jackson Dies at Age 50.

LOS ANGELES -- Michael Jackson, the sensationally gifted child star who rose to become the King of Pop and the biggest celebrity in the world only to fall from his throne in a freakish series of scandals, died today.


Read from source here

North Korea is a Larger Threat Than the US is Letting On.

Editorial: Maybe the threat to North Korea isn't external

Submitted by SHNS on Thu, 06/25/2009 - 16:37. An editorial / By Dale McFeatters

North Korea celebrated the 59th anniversary of the start of the Korean War by threatening another war and much else besides.

In what seems to be an orchestrated effort to keep its people continuously alarmed and their minds off their poverty and malnutrition, the regime of Kim Jong Il regularly forecasts an imminent attack by the United States and South Korea.

If that happened, the North Korean people were told, "a fire shower of nuclear retaliation" would fall on South Korea. And as for us, the U.S. imperialists, we would be wiped off the face of the globe "once and for all."

Actually, under the Colin Powell doctrine of "you break it, you've bought it," North Korea, short of a deliberate act of war, is remarkably safe from attack. No one -- not the United States, South Korea and Russia -- wants to be responsible for 24 million desperate and starving North Koreans in a land ravaged by a war that they would certainly lose. Daunted by the prospect of refugees flooding over its border, China refuses to give Kim's regime the shove that would bring it down.

A crowd of 100,000 turned out -- or, perhaps more accurately, was turned out -- in Pyongyang for the anniversary. The dramatic show of national unity, the bellicose rhetoric and a likely series of short- and medium-range-missile tests may have less to do with any imagined threat from outside and more to do with turmoil within. A not-unreasonable guess might be that the ailing Kim's plan to name his clearly unqualified 26-year-old son as his successor might not be going all that smoothly.

Meanwhile, President Obama quietly extended U.S. economic sanctions on North Korea for another year, and a U.S. Navy ship is tracking a North Korean freighter in accord with a new U.N. resolution that gives the organization the right to approve the interdiction and search of North Korean ships believed to be trafficking in illicit weapons.

Read More From Source Here

The Pentagon shrugged off a threat from North Korea Wednesday to wipe the United States off the map.

"I don't even know how to respond to that. It's silliness," said Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell."For what and with what?"

But even as the spokesman discounted the threat from the communist nation, which reportedly may fire a Taepodong-2 toward Hawaii in early July, he defended Defense Secretary Robert Gate's decision to move the THAAD system to Hawaii along with the massive SBX radar system.

"I don't think he would have deployed that THAAD if he didn't think there was a reason to do so," he said.

Tensions have been high since North Korea walked away from nuclear disarmament talks and warned it would fire a long-range missile.

U.S. officials have said it would take at least three to five years for North Korea to pose a real threat to the U.S. west coast.
Read More From Source Here

Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), formerly Theater High Altitude Area Defense, is a United States Army project to develop a system to shoot down short- and medium-range ballistic missiles using a hit-to-kill approach. The missile carries no warhead but relies on the kinetic energy of the impact. THAAD was designed to hit Scuds and similar weapons, but also has a limited capability against ICBMs.

The THAAD system is being designed, built, and integrated by Lockheed Martin Space Systems acting as prime contractor. Key subcontractors include Raytheon, Boeing, Aerojet, Rocketdyne, Honeywell, BAE Systems, and MiltonCAT. Development was budgeted at over USD$700 million for 2004, and full deployment is expected to cost tens of billions of dollars[citation needed].

Although originally a U.S. Army program, THAAD has come under the umbrella of the Missile Defense Agency. The Navy has a similar program, the sea-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. THAAD was originally scheduled for deployment in 2012, but deployment has recently been accelerated to 2009.

Read More From This Source Here

Sea-Based X-Band Radar is a floating, self-propelled, mobile radar station designed to operate in high winds and heavy seas. It is part of the U.S. Defense Department Ballistic Missile Defense System.

The Sea-Based X-Band Radar is mounted on a fifth generation Norwegian-designed, Russian-built CS-50 semi-submersible twin-hulled oil-drilling platform.

Read More From Source Here

After the radar has been mounted on the vessel, the entire structure will measure over 280 feet from the keel to the top of the radar’s dome, displacing 50,000 tons of water. To put this in perspective, SBX will be roughly the size of two football fields. A commercial C-band satellite will establish communications between the platform and shore facilities. It will take between 50 and 55 people on the platform and an addition 30 to 40 on shore to maintain the system.

Once operational, SBX will use its finely focused beam to track an incoming ballistic missile through space during the 20 or so minutes that it is outside the Earth’s atmosphere.

Read More From Source Here

Since these items that are made to take out missiles if launched, let's just say, from North Korea, and are being done from Alaska, which has a missile defense battalion, is it a coincidence that Sarah Palin took a "top secret" trip to meet with the missile defense battalion this week?

If anyone has more information on this, please do tell.

Additional resources:

Missile Defense Agency click here for information

Fed Evaluating Radical Economic Programs

By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer Jeannine Aversa, Ap Economics Writer –

WASHINGTON – With signs the economy is improving but still fragile, Federal Reserve policymakers are considering whether some programs intended to drive down rates on mortgages and other consumer debt should be slowed down.

Most economists predict that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues, who resumed meeting Wednesday morning, won't launch any bold new efforts at the end of their two-day gathering.

Fears have grown on Wall Street that the Fed's radical efforts to lift the country out of the longest recession since World War II could ignite inflation later on.

"Injecting additional money into the banking system is a pretty dangerous game right now, and the Fed cannot afford to press on the accelerator amid a potentially inflationary environment," said Richard Yamarone, economist at Argus Research.

Wanting to snuff out any rise in inflation expectations, the Fed could opt to tweak its already-announced programs to slow down purchases of either government debt or mortgage-backed securities. Doing so also could help avert possible market disruptions and make it easier for the Fed to reel in these programs once the economy rebounds.

Read More From Source Here

Housing Sales Drop

By ALAN ZIBEL, AP Real Estate Writer Alan Zibel, Ap Real Estate Writer –

WASHINGTON – New U.S. home sales fell slightly last month, in another sign that the housing market's recovery is likely to be gradual and prolonged.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that sales dropped 0.6 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 342,000, from a downwardly revised April rate of 344,000. Sales were down nearly 33 percent from May last year.

The results fell far short of economists' forecast of a 360,000 sales pace, according to Thomson Reuters. However, many analysts think new home sales hit bottom in January and will increase gradually as the economy gathers steam.

The median sales price of $221,600 was up 4.2 percent from April, but down 3.4 percent from a year ago.

Still, houses are still sitting on the market unsold for months. There were 292,000 new homes for sale at the end of May, down more than 2 percent from April. At this sluggish rate of sales, that's a 10-month
Read More From Source Here

Clashes Around Iran's Parliament

By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN, Associated Press Writer Michael Weissenstein, Associated Press Writer –

CAIRO – Protesters and riot police clashed in the streets around Iran's parliament Wednesday as hundreds of people converged on a Tehran square in defiance of government orders to halt demonstrations demanding a new presidential election, witnesses said.

Security forces appeared to vastly outnumber the demonstrators, and they beat protesters gathered on Baharestan Square with batons and fired tear gas canisters and rounds of ammunition into the air, witnesses told The Associated Press. They said some demonstrators fought back while others fled to another Tehran plaza, Sepah Square, about a mile (2 kilometers) to the north.

A helicopter could be seen hovering over central Tehran, where a witness told the AP that the area was swarming with hundreds of riot police who were trying to prevent people from gathering even briefly. Thousands more security officers filled the surrounding streets, said the witness, who declined to give his name for fear of government reprisals.

"There was a lot of police — riot police and Basiji everywhere," a 53-year-old housewife said, referring to Iran's volunteer militia corps. She said police stopped her and others from entering the square.

Severe restrictions on reporters have made it almost impossible to independently verify reports on demonstrations, clashes and casualties. Iran has ordered journalists for international news agencies to stay in their offices, barring them from reporting on the streets.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's refusal earlier Wednesday to bow to demands from protesters effectively closed the door to any compromise with the opposition.

The wife of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi was defiant, saying protesters refused to buckle under a situation she compared to martial law.

Mousavi's official Web site had said a protest was planned outside parliament. But the site distanced him from the action, calling it independent and saying it had not been organized by the reformist candidate.

Mousavi's wife, Zahra Rahnavard, a former university dean who campaigned beside him, said on another of his Web sites that his followers had the constitutional right to protest and the government should not deal with them "as if martial law has been imposed in the streets."

Read More From Source Here

North Korean Ship Carrying Illicit Arms

By HYUNG-JIN KIM, Associated Press Writer Hyung-jin Kim, Associated Press Writer –

SEOUL, South Korea – An American destroyer tailed a North Korean ship Tuesday as it sailed along China's coast, U.S. officials said, amid concerns the vessel is carrying illicit arms destined for Myanmar.

The sailing sets up the first test of a new U.N. Security Council resolution that authorizes member states to inspect North Korean vessels suspected of carrying banned weapons or materials. The sanctions are punishment for an underground nuclear test the North carried out last month in defiance of past resolutions.

A U.S. official said last week that the American destroyer has no orders to intercept the ship, but experts say the vessel will need to stop to refuel soon. The resolution prohibits member states from providing such services to ships accused of bearing banned goods.

Nearby Singapore — the world's largest refueling hub — says it will "act appropriately" if the ship docks at its port with suspicious goods on board.

The North Korean-flagged Kang Nam left the port of Nampo last Wednesday, with the U.S. destroyer following it. Two Pentagon officials described a relay operation in which the destroyer USS John S. McCain would hand over surveillance of the ship to the destroyer USS McCampbell. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence.

TO READ MORE ON THIS STORY CLICK HERE

Latenight Loss.

By LYNN ELBER, AP Television Writer Lynn Elber, Ap Television Writer –

LOS ANGELES – Ed McMahon, the loyal "Tonight Show" sidekick who bolstered boss Johnny Carson with guffaws and a resounding "H-e-e-e-e-e-ere's Johnny!" for 30 years, died early Tuesday. He was 86.

McMahon died shortly after midnight at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center surrounded by his wife, Pam, and other family members, said his publicist, Howard Bragman.

Bragman didn't give a cause of death, saying only that McMahon had a "multitude of health problems the last few months."

McMahon broke his neck in a fall in March 2007, and battled a series of financial problems as his injuries prevented him from working.

Doc Severinson, "Tonight" bandleader during the Carson era, said McMahon was a man "full of life and joy and celebration."

"He will be sorely missed. He was one of the greats in show business, but most of all he was a gentleman. I miss my friend," Severinson said in a statement.

Jerry Digney, who was McMahon's longtime publicist, said McMahon was the most "courtly, good-natured person you could ever meet" and that he brought "elegance, humor and a new sense of importance" to the role of second banana.

McMahon and Carson had worked together for nearly five years on the game show "Who Do You Trust?" when Carson took over NBC's late-night show from Jack Paar in October 1962. McMahon played second banana on "Tonight" until Carson retired in 1992.

"You can't imagine hooking up with a guy like Carson," McMahon said in an interview with The Associated Press in 1993. "There's the old phrase, hook your wagon to a star. I hitched my wagon to a great star."

McMahon, who never failed to laugh at his Carson's quips, kept his supporting role in perspective.

"It's like a pitcher who has a favorite catcher," he said. "The pitcher gets a little help from the catcher, but the pitcher's got to throw the ball. Well, Johnny Carson had to throw the ball, but I could give him a little help."

"And now h-e-e-e-e-e-ere's Johnny!" was McMahon's trademark opener for each "Tonight" show, followed by a small, respectful bow toward the star. McMahon's style was honed during his youthful days as a carnival hawker.

The highlight for McMahon came just after the monologue, when he and Carson would chat before the guests took the stage.

"We would just have a free-for-all," he said in the AP interview. "Now to sit there, with one of the brightest, most well-read men I've ever met, the funniest, and just to hold your own in that conversation. ... I loved that."

When Carson died in 2005, McMahon said he was "like a brother to me," and recalled bantering with him on the phone a few months earlier.

READ MORE BY CLICKING HERE

Iran. Disturbing and Somewhat Graphic.

A little chronological look at recent events in Iran, starting with about 1 year ago.













To watch the latest from Obama...click here ON THIS LINK I was unable to embed because it was disabled. Of Course, it's like CBS was bought out by Obama's administration (and the same goes for ABC).

Let's look back a little bit.



What's going on today?

Click Here To Get Updated.

Happy Father's Day!

The Love of America.

"When an American says that he loves his country, he means not only that he loves the New England hills, the prairies glistening in the sun, the wide and rising plains, the great mountains, and the sea. He means that he loves an inner air, an inner light in which freedom lives and in which a man can draw the breath of self-respect." ~Adlai Stevenson

Obama vs The Fly.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

We The People are Disgusted!

From Glenn Beck and the masses of We The People who are entirely getting disgusted are growing and gathering torches.

"I'm a home grown American citizen, ... I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?

Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:

One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty...This isn't to be confused with legal immigration.

Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway...

Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.

Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.

Five, universal health care. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision...

Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. ...

Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations...

Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. ...

Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources...

Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. ...
...Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.

Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try ‑‑ please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.

Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.

Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some non politicians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.

I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. ... Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. ... Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could....There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.

From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. ... We want our voice back. ...We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. ... Stop treating us like we're morons.

We want all of you to stop focusing on your re-election and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. ...They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. ...We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. ... We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when he will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.

Democrat, Republican, Independent, Libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. ...

It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? ...

We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming."

Click Here For Complete Letter

Jury Duty ID Scam

Subject: Jury Duty ID Scam very important

This has been verified by the FBI (their link is also included below). Please pass this on to everyone in your email address book. It is spreading fast so be prepared should you get this call. Most of us take those summonses for jury duty seriously, but enough people skip out on their civic duty, that a new and ominous kind of fraud has surfaced.

The caller claims to be a jury coordinator. If you protest that you never received a summons for jury duty, the Scammer asks you for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify the information and cancel the arrest warrant. Give out any of this information and bingo; your identity was just stolen.

The fraud has been reported so far in 11 states, including Oklahoma , Illinois , and Colorado . This (swindle) is particularly insidious because they use intimidation over the phone to try to bully people into giving information by pretending they are with the court system. The FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on their web sites, warning consumers about the fraud.

Check it out here: FBI

And here: SNOPES

Signs from lack of seasons.

Watch the signs...since the beginning of the year alone there has been a mix-up of the seasons all over the globe.

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"Yea," he replied. "The weather has been very weird lately. Just last week we went from 20 degrees on one day to 70 degrees the next. Everybody went from parkas to golfing in 24 hours. Weird."

Weird indeed.

After a terribly uncomfortable night in my Wilmington hotel (they turn all the AC units off in the hotels during winter, because, you see, it is supposed to be COLD in Delaware in winter), I awake to a rainy, humid day. My client picked me up at the hotel and the first thing he said to me as I jumped into his car for the ride to the office... "Weird weather man. Did you bring an umbrella?" I laughed and told him that "Weird weather" was the mantra of the week, and shared my story with him.

Later that day, as I was facilitating a meeting with a group of government employees, I noticed that their attention was no longer on me. Everybody was looking past me, out the windows. I stopped talking and slowly looked outside, and to my surprise noticed that it was snowing! Huge, beautiful white snowflakes fluttering to the ground! And just yesterday I was uncomfortable because of humidity and heat. This morning it wasn't even cold...now it is snowing?

Weird weather!

EnzineArticles

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Weird weather around the world

In the middle of the desert, snowflakes are falling. Of all places, it was snowing this morning in Baghdad, which made headlines in publications like the New York Times and TIME Magazine. Some people interviewed said they've never heard of snow in Baghdad while others say it's been at least forty years.

That alone is a strange enough incident. But get this. It's spring-time in New York City. How's that for topsy turvy. This week, when New Yorkers should have been bundled up in their wool scarves and rubber boots, they've been walking around in t-shirts.

Gadling.com

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For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV
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Twelve dust storms barreled into the southern Rockies from the deserts of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico so far this year. In contrast, four storms hit the mountains all year long in 2003. Eight occurred in each of the last three years.
The Thin Green Line

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NovaNewsNow.com

Meteorologists at Environment Canada are all abuzz about an ominous, dark, fast moving cloud that passed over much of Yarmouth County between 7 and 9 p.m. on April 28.

Meteorologist Serge Deschamps says the cloud seems to be what is known as a roll cloud. The report created quite a stir in the office.

“It is very rare phenomena. All the right conditions have to be set up and I guess you had it set up yesterday,” he said.
Prison Planet

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The forecast this morning was clear skies in the Southland. What did we get? Lightning, hail, and a little rain.

InteractMD

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A rare outbreak of tornadoes moved across the Midwest in January 2008. These tornadoes destroyed homes and caused trains to blow off their tracks.

AllMomReviews

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The weather has been incredibly strange in the tropics. It has been unusually cool and rainy. Yesterday a violent thunderstorm ripped through and it rained most of the day. Usually rains last ten minutes and they move on.

During the night there were violent winds and the patio was covered with windblown debris.
CosmologicalCabbage

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We had a tornado on February 18, 2009. The next weekend it snowed. The weekend after we had a deluge of rain. Then sunny weather and in the 70's. I know I'm missing a few weeks in between, but the weather has been from one extreme to the other.

This weekend we had an earthquake, in Georgia! Today the forecast is for snow and temps in the lower 30's to 28.

This is crazy!

Almanac

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February 2009

In North Korea, Kim's birthday means festivals with singing soldiers, dancing in the street, a few extra handfuls of rice for workers and sweets for children. The North said "a mysterious moon halo" was seen above Mt Jong-il just before the birthday.


Reuters

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After the wettest winter on record and the driest May on record, the kind citizens are experiencing what looks to be the wettest and coolest June on record. Many of them are wondering if they will ever get to put up any hay.

HubbasHouse.com

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Well now, isn't this interesting! We are to have SNOW in June in the Sierras centered on Lake Tahoe, as seen in the map below. The blue area in northern California is under a snow watch. Who wants to bet that this will be front-page news across the country on main-stream media? California legislators need to be aware of this as they continue writing the AB 32 regulations, which are predicated on a disappearing snow pack due to global warming.

Energy Guys Musings

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Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Snow In New Jersey Today?

Is it really going to snow in New Jersey today? Yep!!! Enjoy the New Jersey snow today! And watch out for hail. What a weird weather forecast...

Digging The News

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Anyone else want to add?

Death of A Good Friend.

The Obituary of Mr. Common Sense

Today this baby boomer is mourning the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies - don't spend more than you can earn; and reliable strategies - Adults, not Children, are in charge.

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place; reports of a 6 -year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate. Teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent a band-aid or an aspirin to a student.

Common Sense lost the will to live as churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by His parents, Truth and Trust; His wife,
Discretion; His daughter, Responsibility; and His son, Reason. He is survived by his 3 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

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Note: another version
Obituary for
Common Sense

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend by the name of Common Sense who has been with us for many years.

No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such value lessons as
knowing when to come in out of the rain,
why the early bird gets the worm,
and that life isn't always fair.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn)and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge).

His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.

Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate,teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch,and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student, but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Finally, Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, she spilled a bit on her lap,and was awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son,Reason.

He is survived by two stepbrothers, My Rights and Ima Whiner.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

If you still know him pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

- Author Unknown

Layoff Letterman! It's in bad taste!

Lay Off Letterman! It's in bad taste! Don't blame it on your writers. You are the one who delivered the lines and continue to promote them.

Palin eviscerates Letterman
After Letterman made crude sexual jokes about Palin looking like a 'slutty flight attendant' and her 14 year old daughter getting knocked up by Alex Rodriguez, Sarah Palin fought back -- and she is absolutely destroying the lame late night host. To demonstrate their seething hatred for Palin, many in the mainstream media are still trying to find the negative for Palin in this spat. Olbermann called her a 'delusional maniac' and Yahoo had this headline running all day calling her solid interview with Matt Lauer 'awkward' -- but all in all it's a fairly universal decision for Palin. Even Joy Behar and Barbara Walters took Palin's side on the matter today on The View. Glenn talks about how Palin is getting the best of it with Letterman.

Source Here

Why can these guys get away with such poor taste and have most people in the media support them? Doesn't this remind you of Perez Hilton? We all know where that led in regard to Carrie Prejean.

Prejean, who also appeared on "Geraldo at Large," stood by her belief she was stripped of her title due to her political views.

"They are not going to tell the truth on a lot of things. I've heard I've missed 52 missed appearances. Since the press conference was only a month ago, that would be two a day," said Prejean.

She also says Lewis asked her to give him a "response in writing" over a Playboy partial nudity photo shoot — a request that "absolutely shocked" her.

Source Here

So, essentially, the only way you can succeed in this world of ours is if you defame someone else's name or you hold a place on the planet as a victim and martyr, expect special attention and have zero values. Anyone else have a point of view on this subject matter?

It's sad that these type of issues have come to mean so much because there are so many REALLY important things, such as pay monitoring by the Treasury, beginning with TARP companies.

Sabbath Day, June 14, 2009

Clashes erupt in Iran over disputed election

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI and ANNA JOHNSON, Associated Press Writers Ali Akbar Dareini And Anna Johnson, Associated Press Writers

TEHRAN, Iran – Supporters of the main election challenger to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad clashed with police and set up barricades of burning tires Saturday as authorities claimed the hard-line president was re-elected in a landslide. The rival candidate said the vote was tainted by widespread fraud and his followers responded with the most serious unrest in the capital in a decade.

By nightfall, cell phone service appeared to have been cut in the capital Tehran. And Ahmadinejad, in a nationally televised victory speech, accused the foreign media of coverage that harms the Iranian people. There was more rioting at night and fires continued to burn on the streets of Tehran.

Several hundred demonstrators — many wearing the trademark green colors of pro-reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi's campaign — chanted "the government lied to the people" and gathered near the Interior Ministry as the final count from Friday's presidential election was announced.

It gave 62.6 percent of the vote to Ahmadinejad and 33.75 to Mousavi — a former prime minister who has become the hero of a youth-driven movement seeking greater liberties and a gentler face for Iran abroad.

To read full story click HERE

Defying sanctions, NKorea vows to make more nukes

By KWANG-TAE KIM, Associated Press Writer Kwang-tae Kim, Associated Press Writer –

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea responded to new U.N. sanctions with more defiance, promising Saturday to step up its nuclear bomb-making program by enriching uranium and threatening war on any country that dares to stop its ships on the high seas.

The North's threats were the first public acknowledgment that the reclusive communist nation has been running a secret uranium enrichment program. Suspicions of the program touched off the latest nuclear crisis in 2002.

The country also vowed never to give up its nuclear ambitions as a way to protect its sovereignty amid signs of preparations for naming its ailing leader Kim Jong Il's youngest son, Jong Un, as his successor.

Despite repeated assurances from Washington, North Korea has harbored deep-rooted suspicions that the U.S. could invade to topple its regime.


Read Full Story HERE

Government Cover-up? UFO Intelligence.

Why would our government start to classify space objects?

"For 15 years, scientists have benefited from data gleaned by U.S. classified satellites of natural fireball events in Earth's atmosphere — but no longer.

A recent U.S. military policy decision now explicitly states that observations by hush-hush government spacecraft of incoming bolides and fireballs are classified secret and are not to be released, SPACE.com has learned.

The satellites' main objectives include detecting nuclear bomb tests, and their characterizations of asteroids and lesser meteoroids as they crash through the atmosphere has been a byproduct data bonanza for scientists." -- Click for source HERE

Maybe the government is worried that there may be actual intelligent life out there after all and that if they came to earth they may actually create some semblance of order. Perhaps this is the New World Order that conspiracy theorists have been discussing so heavily.

"Stunned families watched as the lights in the sky lined up in a flying formation before disappearing upwards into space...

"After five minutes of moving around, the flickering yellow objects hung in the air for a second then shot off into the sky and disappeared.

"I have no idea what they were - I'm not usually a believer but what I saw was really weird.

"I have flown planes and helicopters before and I know these were not them, helicopters couldn't line up like that or move that fast."

Phil Hoyle, from UK-based UFO Investigation Unit, said the way the UFOs had moved indicated a form of intelligence." -- Click HERE to read full story

What do you think? Sound off here!

Cap and Trade, The Global Warming Myth

American Solutions.com

"What Would a Successful Cap-and-Trade Program Look Like?
The goal: To limit the rise in global temperature to approximately 2.0 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by 2050 by reducing carbon dioxide and other emissions from companies as part of a larger plan for curbing global warming.

The cap: To achieve this goal, the U.S. government should steadily tighten the cap until emissions are reduced to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Businesses would have to obtain permits entitling them to emit a certain quantity of carbon dioxide or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases. All permits would be auctioned off by the government. Emissions permits in the near term would likely fall in the range of $10 to $15 per metric ton of carbon dioxide or its equivalent.

The trade: Companies unable to meet their emissions quotas could purchase allowances from other companies that have acquired more permits than they need to account for their emissions. The cost of buying and selling these credits would be determined by the marketplace, which over time would reduce the cost of trading the credits as trading becomes more widespread and efficient.

The profits: Initial estimates by the Congressional Budget Office project that an economy-wide cap-and-trade program would generate at least $50 billion per year, but could reach up to $300 billion. Approximately 10 percent of this revenue should be allocated to help offset costs to businesses and shareholders of affected industries. Of the remaining revenue, approximately half should be devoted to help offset any energy price increases for low- and middle-income Americans that may occur as a result of the transition to more efficient energy sources. The other half of the remaining revenue should be used to invest in renewable energy, efficiency, low-carbon transportation technologies, green-collar job training, and the transition to a low-carbon economy. Some resources should also be invested in the energy, environment, and infrastructure sectors in developing nations to alleviate energy poverty with low-carbon energy systems and help these nations adapt to the inevitable effects of global warming. Revenues from the permit auction would essentially be “recycled” back into the economy to facilitate the transition to an efficient, low-carbon energy economy and ensure that consumers are not unduly burdened by potentially higher energy costs."

American Progress.org

STEVE Fielding has had a conversion that could blow apart the great global warming scare.

No wonder the Rudd Government is scrambling and the ABC is already sliming the Family First senator.

You see, Fielding has suddenly realised that global warming may not be caused by humans after all.

What has startled him out of merely accepting we're heating the world to hell with our carbon dioxide emissions is one fact in particular.

While our emissions are increasing fast each year, satellite measurements show the world's temperatures have still not risen above the 1998 record, and have actually fallen since 2002.

Of course, all this has been pointed out before. I've asked both Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Climate Change Minister Penny Wong - to their faces - to explain why the world isn't still warming as it should if their global warming theories are right.

Neither has given me an answer. Nor have they answered similar challenges from the few sceptics in Parliament who have dared to reveal themselves - notably the Nationals' Barnaby Joyce and the Liberals' Dennis Jensen.

But here's why Fielding's conversion is potentially so much more dangerous to the Government than sniping from mere columnists or Coalition MPs.

Fielding is not just in a position to ask the Government the same question. He can also demand a straight answer.

If he does not get it, his vote in the Senate could destroy the Rudd Government's plan to impose billions of dollars of taxes on all our sources of emissions - from power stations and smelters to, eventually, even cows.

With the Liberals refusing to back the scheme this year, the Government needs not just the votes of the Greens but of the two crossbench senators, Nick Xenophon . . . and Fielding.

But Fielding, an engineer, is now insisting he be shown the proof that the world is even still warming, and the Government must at last justify its plan's most basic assumption.

Five days ago, in the US, he put this very question to Joseph Aldy, President Barack Obama's special assistant on energy and the environment, and is yet to get the answer he's been promised.

Now he'll sit down with Wong - probably within the week - and ask again: Why is the world still not warming when our emissions are increasing?

See the Government now frantically wondering how to answer. Climate Change Assistant Minister Greg Combet yesterday would not even say if he'd allow Fielding to consult Government scientists.

Amazing. Is science now so political that its findings must be restricted?

Yet perhaps the strangest thing about Fielding's conversion is his confession:

"Until recently I, like most Australians, simply accepted without question the notion that global warming was a result of increased carbon emissions."

How is it that even a politician did not know until someone the other day thrust graphs into his hand that thousands of scientists doubt man is warming the world?

Or that the warming has paused this decade?

The ABC's treatment of Fielding since he announced his new position explains perhaps why such information isn't getting out, and why so many sceptics do not dare speak.

Take Fielding's interview on Jon Faine's ABC 774 program yesterday.

Faine refused to ask about the problems in the warming theory that had made Fielding demand answers.

Instead he asked angrily whether Fielding's "religious approach" was messing with his thinking, and whether we could take seriously a Christian who allegedly believed in "creation science".

Wasn't Fielding just "positioning himself" for more political clout, and why would he not just give the planet the "benefit of the doubt".

Faine insisted, without evidence, that just a handful of scientists were sceptics, and even libelled an Australian one, Prof Bob Carter, suggesting he was just a "gun for hire" - a man who'd say what he was paid to.

Immediately afterwards, Faine interviewed (gently) a climate alarmist who claimed Fielding was the kind of patsy who'd say smoking didn't kill.

Debate? This is more like a religious war, with heretics to be burned, not reasoned with.

Except for this: Fielding has his priceless vote, and for once we have someone who must be answered. Has the world stopped warming? And why?

HeraldSun

Stimulus Not Actually Stimulating. Big Surprise?

June 5, 2009


Dear Mrs. XXXXXX,


President Obama's $1.1 trillion stimulus package is not delivering the expected economic benefits, even according to the President's own benchmarks. The President projected that his stimulus package would prevent the unemployment rate from exceeding 8%. Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that May's unemployment reached 9.4%, and economists project that the rate will go even higher in the next several months.


Not only does the unemployment rate exceed the President's stimulus projection, it also exceeds the unemployment rate that the President projected if Congress had NOT approved the stimulus package. According to the President's own numbers, the unemployment rate would not have exceeded 9% if Congress had rejected the President's stimulus package.


Stimulus proponents may argue that more time is needed for the stimulus package to work. However, the following graph shows that the President was claiming that the impact of the stimulus package would be immediate. Not only is the recovery taking longer than promised, the job losses are higher than projected.


The Democrats' fiscally irresponsible stimulus plan has not delivered the promised benefits and has driven us further into debt, which already exceeds $11 trillion.


Click here for the report and please keep in mind the following:


(1) The only change to the President's graph is the insertion of the actual unemployment rate (in red) for the months since the President's signing of the "stimulus" law.


(2) As the graphic displays, the May 2009 unemployment rate of 9.4 percent is HIGHER than the worst unemployment rate the President predicted WITHOUT passage of the "stimulus" law.



Sincerely,
Jason Chaffetz Member of Congress

Universal Healthcare and Mistakes.

Do you think that Universal or Nationalized Healthcare is going to make things better? Sheer numbers of patients will cause more human error. Take a look at this example from 2003.

Surgical Tools Left in 1,500 Patients Per Year

A study done by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard School of Public Health, in Boston was published in the January 16, 2003 New England Journal of Medicine reported on the high number of surgical tools left inside patients during surgery.

The study on medical mistakes found that operating room teams around the country leave sponges, clamps and other tools inside about 1,500 patients every year, largely because of stress from emergencies or complications discovered during surgery. The researchers checked insurance records from about 800,000 operations in Massachusetts for 16 years ending in 2001. They counted 61 forgotten pieces of surgical equipment in 54 patients. From that, they calculated a national estimate of 1,500 cases yearly. A total of $3 million was paid out in the Massachusetts cases, mostly in settlements.

The study showed that two-thirds of the mistakes happened even though the equipment was counted before and after the procedure, in keeping with the standard practice. It also claimed that these types of mistakes happen more often to fat patients, simply because there is more room inside them to lose equipment.

Most lost objects were sponges, but also included were metal clamps and electrodes. In two cases, 11-inch retractors, metal strips used to hold back tissue, were forgotten inside patients. The study found that emergency operations are nine times more likely to lead to such mistakes, and operating-room complications requiring a change in procedure are four times more likely. The lost objects were usually lodged around the abdomen or hips but sometimes in the chest, vagina or other cavities. They often caused tears, obstructions or infections. One patient died of complications.

Dr. Sidney Wolfe, health research director of the public-interest lobby group Public Citizen, said the real number of lost instruments may be even higher, because hospitals are not required to report such mistakes to public agencies. Dr. Kaveh Shojania, author of a 2001 federal study on medical mistakes, summed the report up by saying, "Something has to be done about this. It's just a very tough balance to decide."

CLICK HERE for SOURCE.

Sabbath Day, June 7, 2009

Printing Money, Domestic Inflation WILL Rise.

No Sunshine and Lollipops in the U.S. Economic Future
June 4th, 2009 1:29 pm | by Mike Miller of Liberty Maven

If you’ve been following the actions of the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Secretary, and big spenders in government, it’s quite clear that our economic woes won’t be over any time soon. In fact, we’re potentially headed for a cataclysmic disaster (if that’s not repetitively redundant enough for you).

The Fed has lowered interested rates to effectively zero, and is now embarking on massive quantitative easing (a fancy euphemism for printing money) which could ultimately result in the destruction of the U.S. Dollar.

China is buying less and less of our bonds, and foreign governments are holding less and less dollars in favor of the Euro or other currencies, and there are even calls to have the dollar replaced as the world’s reserve currency.

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has gone to China to calm the fears. However, even before he arrived, a Chinese central bank spokesman gave Geithner the message that the US should not assume China will continue to finance Washington’s extravagant budgets. The governor of China’s central bank is calling for the abandonment of the dollar as reserve currency, using the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights in its place.

The method by which the Fed “prints money” is by creating money out of thin air and then uses this money to buy our own Treasuries.

Washington’s financial irresponsibility has brought pressure on the dollar and the US bond market. Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke thought he could push down interest rates on Treasuries by purchasing $300 billion of them. However, the result was to cause a sharp drop in Treasury prices and a rise in interest rates.

As monetization of federal debt goes forward, US interest rates will continue to rise, worsening the problems in the real estate sector. The dollar will continue to lose value, making it harder for the US to finance its budget and trade deficits. Domestic inflation will raise its ugly head despite high unemployment.

The incompetents who manage US economic policy have created a perfect storm.

…

Life for most Americans will become truly stressful.

No sunshine and lollipops here.

Read As the Dollar Falls off a Cliff… by Paul Craig Roberts in its entirety and subscribe to Liberty Maven.

U.S. Nuclear Locations and Activity Revealed.

Associated Press Writer Eileen Sullivan And H. Josef Hebert, Associated Press

Writer – 18 mins ago
WASHINGTON – The government accidentally posted on the Internet a list of government and civilian nuclear facilities and their activities in the United States, but U.S. officials said Wednesday the posting included no information that compromised national security.

However, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, questioned about the disclosure at a House hearing, expressed concern with respect to a uranium storage facility at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Y-12 facility in Tennessee. The facility holds large quantities of highly enriched uranium, which if obtained can be used to fashion a nuclear weapon.

"That's of great concern," said Chu, referring to the Y-12 site. "We will be looking hard and making sure physical security of those sites (at Y12) is sufficient to prevent eco-terrorists and others getting hold of that material."

The 266-page document was published on May 6 as a transmission from President Barack Obama to Congress. According to the document, the list was required by law and will be provided to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Some of the pages are marked "highly confidential safeguards sensitive."

Chu said he had no details as to how the document was released, beyond that it involved the government printing office. "Someone made a mistake," said Chu, appearing before a House Appropriations subcommittee .

Damien LaVera, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration, said the document had been reviewed by a number of U.S. agencies and that disclosure of the information did not jeopardize national security. He said the document is part of an agreement on nuclear material inspection under the IAEA's nuclear nonproliferation effort.

"While we would have preferred it not be released, the Departments of Energy, Defense, and Commerce and the NRC all thoroughly reviewed it to ensure that no information of direct national security significance would be compromised," LaVera said in a statement.

An Energy Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the situation publicly, said none of the sites on the list are directly part of the government's nuclear weapons infrastructure.

Included in the report, however, are details on a storage facility for highly enriched uranium at the Y-12 complex at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and some sites at the Energy Department's Hanford nuclear site in Washington state, this official acknowledged.

Beth Hayden, a spokeswoman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said the agency reviewed the document as it relates to civilian facilities with NRC licenses and "we are confident that information of direct national security significance was not compromised."

The NRC has jurisdiction over commercial nuclear power plants and civilian uranium processing and storage facilities.

The publication of the list was first reported in an online secrecy newsletter Monday. The document had been posted on the Government Printing Office Web site, but has since been removed from that site.

In a statement, the Government Printing Office said Wednesday: "Upon being informed about potential sensitive nature of the attachment in this document, the Public Printer of the United States removed it from GPO's Web site pending further review. After consulting with the White House and Congress, it was determined that the document, including sensitive attachment, should be permanently removed from the Web site."

The GPO said it processes and produces approximately 160 House documents during the two-year congressional cycle, and the list was received by the agency in the normal process and produced under routine operating procedures.

The document includes both government and civilian nuclear facilities, all of which have various levels of security, including details and location of nation's 103 commercial nuclear power reactors, information readily available from various sources.

The document details the location of the nuclear sites and what is being done there.

For instance, there are nuclear reactors at the Westinghouse Electric Company in Pittsburgh, Pa. This facility is currently working on research into what happens when there are accidents with the nuclear reactors. The project started in 2006 and is expected to end in 2012, according to the document.

There are "zero" national security implications to the publication of this document, said Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy. Aftergood found the document on the GPO Web site and highlighted it in his online bulletin.

"I regret that some people are painting it as a roadmap for terrorists because that's not what it is," Aftergood said.

"This is not a disclosure of sensitive nuclear technologies or of facility security procedures. It is simply a listing of the numerous nuclear research sites and the programs that are under way," Aftergood said. "And so it poses no security threat whatsoever."

__

Associated Press reporter Pamela Hess contributed to this report from Washington.

Click HERE to view source

U.S. Ranks 38th.

One of the "duh" comments of the day that I've read is as follows...

The Israeli Foreign Minister says that Israel does not intend to bomb Iran but add that "The whole world should understand that Iran's entrance into the nuclear club...is a threat to the entire world order." Read Source Here

The only actually interesting, yet not surprising, component of this statement is, notice that they mention the "world order". If you are following such things, that specific component of the statement probably stands out. Otherwise, I just have to say "duh!" and "no kidding!".

Also, as you may already know, Obama is in Egypt today and is going to speak at the University of Cairo. He seems to somewhat be leeching off of Biden, so let's hope he doesn't say anything like he said on French TV about the U.S. being "one of the largest Muslim countries in the world." Why? Because the U.S. actually ranks about 38th. This administration seems to be helping our country succeed in one focused area. What is that area? They are making us look ignorant, like our under budget educational system started to fail when Biden and Obama were in it. Thanks a million to this administration for proving that our educational system was failing at least 40-50 years ago.

The Law of Giving.

The Law of Giving:

The universe operates through dynamic exchange...giving and receiving are different aspects of the flow of energy in the universe.

And in our willingness to give that which we seek, we keep the abundance of the universe circulating in our lives.


Source:

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra

American Decent Into Marxism.

It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.

True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.

Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.

First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their "right" to choke down a McDonalds burger or a Burger King burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our "democracy". Pride blind the foolish.

Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different "branches and denominations" were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the "winning" side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the "winning" side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America.

The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.

These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?

To read the complete article, CLICK HERE

Solar Flare in 2012?

May 29, 2009: An international panel of experts led by NOAA and sponsored by NASA has released a new prediction for the next solar cycle. Solar Cycle 24 will peak, they say, in May 2013 with a below-average number of sunspots.

"If our prediction is correct, Solar Cycle 24 will have a peak sunspot number of 90, the lowest of any cycle since 1928 when Solar Cycle 16 peaked at 78," says panel chairman Doug Biesecker of the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center.
It is tempting to describe such a cycle as "weak" or "mild," but that could give the wrong impression.

"Even a below-average cycle is capable of producing severe space weather," points out Biesecker. "The great geomagnetic storm of 1859, for instance, occurred during a solar cycle of about the same size we’re predicting for 2013."

The 1859 storm--known as the "Carrington Event" after astronomer Richard Carrington who witnessed the instigating solar flare--electrified transmission cables, set fires in telegraph offices, and produced Northern Lights so bright that people could read newspapers by their red and green glow. A recent report by the National Academy of Sciences found that if a similar storm occurred today, it could cause $1 to 2 trillion in damages to society's high-tech infrastructure and require four to ten years for complete recovery. For comparison, Hurricane Katrina caused "only" $80 to 125 billion in damage.

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Right now, the solar cycle is in a valley--the deepest of the past century. In 2008 and 2009, the sun set Space Age records for low sunspot counts, weak solar wind, and low solar irradiance. The sun has gone more than two years without a significant solar flare.

"In our professional careers, we've never seen anything quite like it," says Pesnell. "Solar minimum has lasted far beyond the date we predicted in 2007."

In recent months, however, the sun has begun to show timorous signs of life. Small sunspots and "proto-sunspots" are popping up with increasing frequency. Enormous currents of plasma on the sun’s surface ("zonal flows") are gaining strength and slowly drifting toward the sun’s equator. Radio astronomers have detected a tiny but significant uptick in solar radio emissions. All these things are precursors of an awakening Solar Cycle 24 and form the basis for the panel's new, almost unanimous forecast.

According to the forecast, the sun should remain generally calm for at least another year. From a research point of view, that's good news because solar minimum has proven to be more interesting than anyone imagined. Low solar activity has a profound effect on Earth’s atmosphere, allowing it to cool and contract. Space junk accumulates in Earth orbit because there is less aerodynamic drag. The becalmed solar wind whips up fewer magnetic storms around Earth's poles. Cosmic rays that are normally pushed back by solar wind instead intrude on the near-Earth environment. There are other side-effects, too, that can be studied only so long as the sun remains quiet.

Meanwhile, the sun pays little heed to human committees. There could be more surprises, panelists acknowledge, and more revisions to the forecast.

"Go ahead and mark your calendar for May 2013," says Pesnell. "But use a pencil."

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Massive Israeli Emergency Drill

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israel started its biggest emergency drill in the nation's history Sunday to prepare civilians, soldiers and rescue crews for the possibility of war, the defense force said in a statement.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has expressed skepticism that Iran can be persuaded to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

The five-day drill, nicknamed Turning Point 3, comes amid the nation's rising tensions with Iran.

It will be conducted in public facilities, including schools, military bases and government offices. Students, soldiers and other civilians will practice how to gather at protected places during an emergency.

Officials said the drill will include simulated rockets, air raids and other attacks on infrastructure and essential facilities, and use of weapons on civilians.

Everyone is expected to go to a protected place at the sound of sirens, the defense force said, adding that more instructions will be broadcast on a public channel.

"It is of great importance that every civilian, institute and workplace will seriously practice in order to improve our preparedness and national resilience," Maj. Gen. Yair Golan of the Home Front Command said in a news statement.

The move comes amid tension between Israel and Tehran.

The Israeli government considers Iran's nuclear program as the dominant threat facing the country. Israel is publicly supportive of President Barack Obama administration's outreach to the Islamic state.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Israeli Army Radio last week that he believes "that the chance the dialogue has of stopping Iran's nuclear efforts is very low."

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Venezuela has U.S. on edge.

"VENEZUELA
Missile buildup in Venezuela has U.S. on edge...

Venezuela's recent weapons-buying binge has stoked U.S. fears that portable missile launchers could end up in the hands of Colombia's FARC rebels.

Venezuela's recent purchase of the most lethal shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles in the Russian arsenal is sharpening U.S. concerns that parts of President Hugo Chávez's massive weapons buildup could wind up in the hands of terrorists or guerrillas in neighboring Colombia.

Washington's unease is well-founded, U.S. government officials say, because of credible evidence that three top Venezuelan officials offered Colombia's FARC rebels weapons, money and contacts to buy anti-aircraft missiles in 2007.

Such missiles in the hands of the FARC would mark a steep escalation of the 45-year-old conflict in Colombia, where government forces in recent years have deployed a fleet of slow-moving ground-attack warplanes and U.S.-built helicopters to deal devastating blows to rebel jungle camps.

''We are concerned about Venezuelan arms purchases that exceed its needs and are therefore potentially destabilizing,'' State Department spokeswoman Sara Mangiaracina said. ``The Man-Portable Air Defense Systems Venezuela have purchased from Russia are sophisticated weapons systems. It is important that these weapons systems be appropriately controlled to avoid the possibility of diversion.''

Financed by high oil prices, Chávez has been on a weapons-buying binge since 2006, purchasing more than $4 billion worth of Russian Sukhoi jets, Mi helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles for what he says is the professionalization of his 62,000-member armed forces and the defense of his ''socialist revolution'' from U.S. aggression.

U.S. officials have long voiced concerns about the weapons buildup. ''I can't imagine what's going to happen to those 100,000 [Kalashnikovs] and I can't imagine that if it did happen, that it would be good for the hemisphere,'' then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said in 2005.

But the purchase of the SA-24 man-portable missiles -- the most sophisticated version manufactured in Russia -- spiked U.S. anxiety.

The missile and launcher weigh just 42 pounds, can hit targets flying at up to 19,500 feet, employ a ''fire and forget'' system that is highly resistant to countermeasures, has night-vision capability and is easy to maintain, U.S. military experts said. Previously, Venezuela only had pedestal-mounted Swedish RBS-70 and French Mistral surface-to-air missiles.

Chávez's press office did not respond to faxed requests for comments.

Until last month, Venezuela's purchase of the SA-24s had been mentioned in public only once and briefly, in a November Russian defense industry report noting ''plans'' for a sale. One former Bush administration official, who requested anonymity to speak about the sensitive issue, said he recalled reports of missiles in Venezuela, but no confirmation.

But on April 19, during the Venezuelan armed forces' annual parade in Caracas, Chávez made a point of halting the march from the reviewing stand to address a unit of about 50 soldiers carrying missiles on their shoulders.

''We have decided to make this brief halt in the parade to highlight the importance that this new unit has for the sovereignty and defense of the country,'' he declared, identifying the weapons as SA-24s and boasting about their speed and weight. "We are a peaceful country. The revolution is peaceful . . . We do not want war but we are required to be capable of defending ourselves."

Addressing Chávez, the captain who commanded the unit described it as "part of the process of strengthening and transforming our revolutionary, anti-imperialist and socialist" armed forces.

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