An 82-year-old retired high school math teacher and business owner with diabetes and leukemia shot out a tire on a pickup truck loaded with stuff allegedly stolen from his house near here and held two men at gunpoint until police arrived. Webmaster's Commentary: If that had happened here in Hawaii he would still be waiting!
With part of the freeway closed Sunday until Monday, many turned back, waited in parking lots or simply stood by their cars. Conditions could remain dangerous through Tuesday.
The Fed that destroys and The Fed that claims to repair, Milken still rich, wake up to revolution in 2011, few jobs created last year, billions in costs to taxpayers, tax breaks for the mega rich, flat Christmas, TSA gets in your pants, understanding the looming crisis.
Congress is likely to pass a 2011 military funding package that includes $160 billion for wars. That is likely to be insufficient. When a "supplemental" spending bill (kept off the books to make the budget look better) is brought up in 2012, we may see a record number of congress members vote against it. The number of members voting No has increased steadily to a high point of 114 this past July (with 218 needed for a majority).
Webmaster's Commentary: A military confrontation against Iran on the part of the US and/or Israel may well result in Russia and China joining the fray on the part of Iran: both nations are nuclear armed. With things going spectacularly badly in Afghanistan and Iraq, one would have to wonder if the Obama administration can actually wait until 2012 to engineer such a a conflict. My sense is that they cannot; they are hoping that such a "distraction" would redirect American fury at every single campaign promise this President has broken during his term of office, not to mention the economic misery his administration's policies have inflicted on the American people.However, before those in the bowels of power in DC decide that this is a really good idea, they need to soberly confront the following facts:
1. Our military is stretched almost beyond tolerance in accomplishing the missions with which it has been tasked. Many of our soldiers are in their third deployments to various parts of the world, and burned out beyond belief. And although the failing US economy has been a boon to recruiters in terms of numbers of applicants, many do not have the skills to pass the basic qualifying tests for military service. http://www.dailynews.com/rss/ci_16915964
2. Unless such an attack is an absolute successful blitzkrieg, the US is incapable of mounting a sustained war for an extended period, because most of our manufacturing has been offshored.
The smell is there, like a phony bin Laden tape, like the mysterious Wikileaks “sensitivity” to Israel, like the takeover of Wikipedia, like the firing of Helen Thomas. Welcome to “game theory warfare,” welcome to the information age. For years, America’s minorities have been exploited by hate mongers of all kinds. At times, the hate was real, America has a racist and Antisemitic history.
In a recent editorial, “The EPA’s Utility Men: Anticarbon regulations and the corporate rent-seekers who love them,” the Wall Street Journal notes that eight leading utility CEOs are cheering on the EPA’s new draconian, climate regulations and other policies because they stand to make huge profits by redistributing wealth to them. As the Journal notes: [T]here are the utility CEOs cheering on the Obama Administration’s plans to wipe out large portions of U.S. electric power capacity.
What might help? How about encouraging the U.S. government to accept North Korean offers to engage in good faith negotiations aimed at signing a peace treaty to officially end the Korean War as a first step toward normalized relations. The fact that our government is reluctant to publicly acknowledge the contested nature of the NLL or pursue an end to the Korean War raises important questions about the motivations driving foreign policy.
The five largest mortgage loan servicers, including Bank of America Corp and JPMorgan Chase & Co, may be the first to settle with 50 state attorneys general who are investigating foreclosure practices, Bloomberg reported, citing Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller. Webmaster's Commentary:
So, the people behind the mortgage fraud loot Americans for trillions of dollars worth of homes, then pay a hundred million or so in fines to the states, and we're supposed to think that is the end of it?
Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer paying victims of BP Plc’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill, said he anticipates about half the $20 billion fund set up by the company should be adequate to cover claims for economic losses. Feinberg said on Bloomberg Television yesterday that it is too early to project how much of the fund will be needed to pay individuals and businesses. He said $10 billion may be enough to compensate victims.
Webmaster's Commentary: Oh, really?!? As reported on 28 June 2010 at:
There are people whose lives have been absolutely ruined, not to mention the entire physical enviornment of the Gulf itself, though this disaster. Putting a price on this is difficult; but as long as human beings are still suffering the consequences of exposure to both the oil and Corexit, these compensation funds should not in any way be diminished or capped. The Corexit BP chose to use as a dispersant is highly toxic.
ou and I live in a totally different world than the ultra-rich and the international banking elite do. Many of them live in a world where they simply do not pay income taxes. Today, it is estimated that a third of all the wealth in the world is held in offshore banks. So why is so much of the wealth of the globe located in places such as Monaco, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and the Isle of Man? It isn't because those are fun places to visit. It is to avoid taxes.
Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer paying victims of BP Plc’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill, said he anticipates about half the $20 billion fund set up by the company should be adequate to cover claims for economic losses.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but officials hastily blamed either Al-Qaida or the Israeli Mousad of being behind the blast, but none of them mentioned the Egyptian state security which is viewed by Copts as the real culprit. Webmaster's Commentary:
I still think Mossad was involved both because of the historical precedent of the Lavon affair and because as soon as the bomb went off my mailbox was flooded with, "See? See? The Muslims are killing Christians! See?" which is a neon sign pointing at Israel's involvement.
Yes, but how can that be? Global warming is in full swing so how can an Ice Age creep or crash in on us? If you are really paying attention to what is happening all around us in the world you will see the shaping story and a tragedy of staggering proportions. Most everything is pointing away from the concept of global warming, everything but the mainstream media and the corporate tyrants that rule it...
Fran Howard Agweb The corn market is extremely tight heading into the New Year, and analysts expect short supplies and heavy use to keep upward pressure on corn prices in 2011...
In the talks he gave in 1972 and 1978, Friedman examined a unique Jewish paradox : “Here are two propositions,” he said. “Each of them are validated by evidence yet they are both incompatible one with the other.” The first proposition is that “there are few peoples if any in the world who owe so great a debt to free enterprise and competitive capitalism as the Jews.“ The second proposition is that “there are few peoples or any in the world who have done so much to undermine the intellectual foundation of capitalism as the Jews.” How do we reconcile these two contradictory propositions?
U.S. troops in Afghanistan have spent $2 billion over six years on 16,000 humanitarian projects through the Commander's Emergency Response Program, which gives a battalion-level commander the power to treat aid dollars as ammunition. A report slated for release this month reveals that CERP projects can quickly slide into neglect after being transferred to Afghan control. The Afghans had problems maintaining about half of the 69 projects reviewed in eastern Laghman province, according to an audit by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.
Webmaster's Commentary:This is what is going to make the construction (and functioning) of the Trans Afghanistan Pipeline so dicey. Which ever consortium is chosen to engineer,build, and maintain this pipeline is going to have to have 24/7 protection of the highest order. The US government keeps saying that ultimately, it will be Afghans who will be guarding this pipeline; but right now, I wouldn't bet on it. My sense is that there will need to be a permanent contingent from somewhere (read: US and/or NATO)which will wind up guarding the construction and maintenance of this pipeline.
Look at religion's explanations. How was the universe created? A big man in the sky just poofed it into existence. Where did humans come from? Same big man created two people — just like a mommy and daddy — and everyone arose from them. What about our history? One chosen people, a remarkable population bottleneck (humanity was reduced to 8 people, all from the same tribe, four of whom were closely related!), all languages traceable to one Middle Eastern source and dispersal. These are cartoon explanations. They're the kind of thing a five-year-old might come up with…and not a very bright five-year-old at that. All of them are clearly drawn from simplistic assumptions about how the world works. They're pathetic.
The site was bought by Fox's parent company, got saturated with spam ads, and censorship of political dissidents and so people quit using it. Webmaster's Commentary:
Rupert Murdoch never realized that the popularity of the internet is not the whiz-bang technology but the content. FOX thought they could buy a social network, then control it the way they control their news programs and everyone would be happy. But the reality is that the public is now aware that the glitzy corporate media has been lying to them all along. People want the truth, and they will go where they can find the truth, whether it is a network connection of a clay tablet.
About 40 mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria will be released at every fourth home at Yorkeys Knob and Gordonvale in the next 12 weeks. The bacteria blocks mosquitoes from infecting people with the dengue fever virus. The $18 million world-first experiment has the potential to lead to a sustainable solution to dengue outbreaks in the tropics.
Webmaster's Commentary: ... and a very pissed-off population when they find out the government is behind the millions of mosquitoes keeping them awake at night.
Here in Hawaii, so much tax money has been spent keeping Michael Chertoff rich that mosquito control is gone, Dengue is back, and I have never seen such a problem with mosquitoes in the 12 years I have lived here in Hawaii. I hope the government hasn't intentionally released some of these experimental mosquitoes because a neighborhood boy has reacted very badly to the bites. This whole idea of using mosquitoes as flying hypodermics strikes me as having a huge potential for abuse, like administering covert birth control or tranquilizers without our permission.
Iran has invited Russia, China, the European Union and its allies among the Arab and developing world to tour its nuclear sites, in an apparent move to gain support ahead of a new round of talks with six world powers. In a letter made available Monday to The Associated Press, senior Iranian envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh suggests the weekend of Jan. 15 and 16 and says that meetings "with high-ranking officials" are envisaged. While no reason was given for the timing of the offer, it comes just weeks before Iran and the six powers follow up on recent talks that ended with agreement on little else but to meet again.
Webmaster's Commentary: Is this the action of a government which believes that it has something to hide?!? Logic would indicate absolutely not.
The number of U.S. consumers who filed for bankruptcy protection in 2010 was the highest in five years, and the figure could rise as Americans struggle with excess debt in an uncertain economy, a report issued Monday said.
Roughly 1.53 million consumer bankruptcy petitions were filed in 2010, up 9 percent from 1.41 million in 2009, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute, citing data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center. Webmaster's Commentary:One cannot say the phrase "economic recovery" with a straight face, looking at numbers like these.
A group of peaceful protesters in front of the US embassy in Reykjavík have been told by police to leave the area, but they refuse to clear out. Police allegedly took down the information of every journalist who arrived at the scene.
Webmaster's Commentary: The Icelanders know that it was Wall Street fraud that killed their economy.
U.S. Bank has filed a federal suit in Washington against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., alleging that the failed bank for which the FDIC was acting as receiver gave U.S. Bank bad tax advice that cost it millions in IRS penalties.
Massive leaks of secret files have recently been shaking many governments, and Israel is no exception. But for the nation's army, the problem appears to come from its own ranks - with sodiers posting secrets on social networks. Paula Slier looks at the Israel Defence Force's struggle to keep its skeletons in the closet.
Although, at first glance, the finger is pointed at extremist Wahabi or Salafi groups, it goes without saying that no Muslim, whatever their political leanings may be, will ever commit such an inhumane act. Attacks on churches in Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq and Tunisia can be analyzed in the context of a Zionist scenario aimed at driving a wedge between Muslims and Arab Christians. Since the emergence of Islam, Muslims and Christians in the East have always coexisted peacefully as Islam pays due respect to the freedom of divine faiths -- especially Christianity. In Egypt, too, Muslims and Christians are living in peace and harmony. Never, ever have the Christians in Egypt complained of any problems keeping them from carrying out their religious duties.
The American Dream What in the world is happening in the middle of the United States right now? Thousands of birds are falling dead from the skies, tens of thousands of fish are washing up on shore dead, earthquakes are popping up in weird and unexpected places and people are starting to get really freaked out about all of this. Well, one theory is...
Mark Hemingway The Examiner The U.S. isn't the only place that's facing a major pension fund crisis. The Christian Science Monitor has this alarming report: People’s retirement savings are a convenient source of revenue for governments that don’t want to reduce spending or make privatizations...
The House will vote next week to repeal the new health care law, making good on a top-tier GOP campaign promise and setting up a showdown with President Barack Obama over his signature domestic policy achievement. The House will vote on a separate resolution that would, in effect, take steps toward creating an alternative Republican health care plan. The repeal effort is not expected to succeed, given that Democrats maintain control of the Senate and the president can veto the legislation.
Rosen also has many options outside his lawsuit. He could become an IRS informant and claim a $5 million share of any retroactive disgorgement of benefits improperly claimed by AIPAC as a tax-exempt charity. Or, with his insider knowledge (and related secret AIPAC documents), he could become an expert witness and indispensable counter-suit asset for information about AIPAC’s illegal campaign contributor and political action committee coordination in a newly filed civil lawsuit over election law violations.
WMR has learned from a long-time Republican Party consultant that the CIA used Sweden to launder the transfer to Wikileaks of carefully screened and redacted State Department cables and the subsequent release of the cables to pre-selected corporate news media entities. Sweden was chosen because of its so-called “press freedom and freedom of expression” traditions in an effort to make the release of the cables by Wikileaks appear to be unconnected to a covert CIA and Pentagon psychological operations program designed to place further controls on the Internet.
One of the mistakes that foreigners make about the United States, millions of Americans make themselves with much less justification: they overestimate the difference between members of the Democratic and Republican Parties in Washington, D.C.
The two parties scream at each other on television quite a lot and attract supporters who come from two very different cultures. But over half of every dollar of income tax in the United States is spent on the military, and that number reliably increases every single year regardless of who is in power. The Afghan and Iraq wars were launched with overwhelming support from both parties' officials, and the Iraq War with Democratic control of the Senate.
The price of energy-saving light bulbs will treble as the final supplies of traditional bulbs dry up, industry experts have warned. The Government has ordered energy companies to scrap the subsidies that have kept the price of eco-bulbs artificially low for the last few years. At the same time, manufacturers are increasing wholesale prices to take advantage of the European ban on ‘energy guzzling’ old-style bulbs.
Flight Attendants! There are two kinds:The ones that work as a flight attendant and then those that think they are flight attendants. The later are the ones that walk through the terminal with their noses so high in the air that that they hit the hanging signs from the ceiling! hehehe They are not the majority, but enough to give us all a bad name. It is a tough job! Well? For us regional airline employees. Well? The job is great and easy, but the hours that we forced to work, more than an average Joe on the street, is enough to make one hate his job, like me. So it is an impossible job. I am so sick of people, although I love working with people.
Lake Washington High School closed early on Monday because it was simply too cold inside. The Lake Washington School District said it wasn't sure if the heat would be fixed in time for classes on Tuesday.
Legal actions against Bank of America are piling up, this time from Attorneys General in Nevada and Arizona, housing bubble ground zero. See a list of all the lawsuits...
What was John P Wheeler III doing at the Mitre Corporation? And why was he found dead New Year’s Eve at the Cherry Island Landfill? The Mitre Corporation - probably the creepiest private not-for-profit US intelligence organization you've never heard of...
The California Highway Patrol began escorting cars across the Grapevine on Monday morning, but thousands remained stranded amid a snowstorm that stymied traffic between Northern and Southern California. Even with escorts, Interstate 5 remained jammed along with other routes into the Los Angeles area. While rains will die down this afternoon, snow is expected to continue not just in the mountains but in valley locations as low as 1,000 feet, according to the National Weather Service. In fact, the Santa Clarita Valley could see an accumulation of 4 inches of snow.
163121.ME.0103.Weather.14.KDM The National Weather Service issued a hazardous weather outlook Monday for area mountains and valleys.
This is a message of hope in modern societies' capacity to overcome conflicts by mutual understanding and patience vigilant. To so, it must be based on rights, violation of which, what that ' in is the ' author, should provoke our indignation. There is not compromise on these rights. For a peaceful uprising J ' have noted - and I'm not the only - government response Israel faces the fact that every Friday citizens Bil'id will, without throwing stones without using force, to the wall against which they protest. The Israeli authorities have called the march of "non-violent terrorism." Not bad ... It should be Israel to a terrorist nonviolence.
Afternoon Price Check, January 3: Crude Oil Hits 2-Year High, Oil Prices Fall from Early Rally to Turn in Moderate Gains The price of crude oil hit a 26-month high point before falling in late trading at the NYMEX today. Crude and heating oil prices started 2011 off with a bang at the NYMEX this morning, shooting upwards out of the gate and touching record highs before paring gains later in the day. In the interim, the price of crude oil rose to $92.58 a barrel, its highest price since October of 2008.
It was revealed today by the AP that the state of Pennsylvania is allowing "wastewater so salty, and so polluted with metals like barium and strontium" to be flushed into local waterways. This wastewater is a result of natural gas extraction method called "fracking" which has been a sore spot with the effected community.
The Canadian Boat to Gaza initiative continues to be a target for a smear campaign that has little regard for law or facts. Rather incredibly, the executive of the University of British Columbia’s Alma Mater Society has subjected a routine donation for our campaign from the student Social Justice Centre to an “investigation” into potential “links to terrorism” A final decision on this so-called investigation is expected at the Jan. 12 AMS meeting. This episode in part reflects the growing desperation of those who seek to justify Israel’s ongoing collective punishment of Gaza. Exactly two years ago, the world’s eyes were opened to Israeli brutality during a three-week attack on Gaza that claimed more than 1,400 lives.
“If you thought it was especially cold in December, it’s not just your imagination. The facts prove it, according to the National Weather Service, which announced Saturday that December 2010 set a record as the coldest December ever in Ft. Lauderdale. Miami, and Key West,” writes CBS News. It is also confirmed now that that Dec 2010 in Britain and probably West Europe, was indeed the coldest for at least a 100 years. Floridians endured bone-chilling blasts in the 30s, from Fort Lauderdale to Jacksonville. Miami is experiencing its coldest December in 115 years, according to the local branch of the National Weather Service. This time of year, the temperature in Miami usually reaches 77°. Last Monday, the mercury stopped 20° below that, at 57.
No comments:
Post a Comment