Mattb's thought zone

Port of Jeddah gets new cranes

2009-08-11T15:09:00.002-04:00

Good for them! The city of Jeddah has come a long way since being opened as a port by Uthman Ibn Affan in 647 A.D.

Giant cranes lift Jeddah port stature
Roger Harrison | Arab News

JEDDAH: Jeddah’s port skyline changed drastically on Monday with the arrival, 19 months after the beginning of the construction of the Red Sea Gate Terminal (RSGT), of four giant quayside cranes. The huge machines, the biggest type of ship-to-shore crane in the world, berthed at the new Red Sea Gate terminal quay at precisely 10 a.m. after arriving in Jeddah late on Sunday to wait for pilotage.

Mazen Matar, the project director of the RSGT who was on the quayside to see the arrival, looked at the massive machines and commented that high efficiency of the cranes and the huge load capabilities were necessary to deal with the new generation of container super-carriers and would have a tremendous economic impact on the Kingdom. “We have the tools; now we can finish the job,” he observed.

The journey from Shanghai was not without some challenges as the specially designed carrier had to wait out rough seas caused by typhoons for several days. The size and configuration of the cranes carried, already assembled, on deck required that the ship, the Zhen Hua 25, be sailed with great skill and with a constant eye on sea and weather conditions.

The first hint of the arrival was two and a half hours before docking when they were still 15 or so kilometers off shore. Their massive superstructures eased over the horizon, followed a full half hour later by the hull of the ship.

Each crane will require two days to unload from the ship. Each will be rolled on train-type steel wheels onto the quayside where it will be jacked up, the wheel bogeys turned through 90 degrees and the crane lowered onto the rails embedded in the quay.

“It is a very tricky operation,” Peter Reynolds, RSGT project manager commented. “These are massive pieces of equipment and it requires considerable skill to offload them.”

When all 10 of the new cranes have been delivered they will put RSGT in the front rank of the world’s container terminals. The cranes manufactured by ZPMC, China, are specially designed to serve next generation container-ships that can carry over 12,000 full size containers. They are capable of handling two 40-foot or four 20-foot containers in one lift. Their ability to lift 85 tons under their spreader beams and move the load over a distance of up to 24 rows and at 65m above the water level is unique in Jeddah. Only a handful of container terminals around the world have equipment with similar specifications.

An additional two ship-to-shore cranes of the same type will be delivered next month.

Obamacare, another industury give-away

2009-08-11T13:45:00.002-04:00

This effort will do nothing for those in need, it's a disgrace.

Obama's $80 Billion Deal with Pharma Is a Very Bad Deal for Us

By William Greider, The Nation. Posted August 8, 2009.

So now we know why the president wants everyone to make nice in the healthcare debate. His White House has cut a deal with Big Pharma that smells like the same old rotten politics that candidate Obama regularly denounced and promised to end. The drug industry agrees to deliver $80 billion in future savings and the president promises the government will not use its awesome purchasing power to negotiate lower drug prices.

Wow. This is roughly the same deal that George W. Bush cut with the drug makers when he was legislating Medicare's new coverage of drug purchases. It is the same bargain that Democrats in Congress universally condemned as wasteful and corrupt. The deal does not smell any better now that a Democratic president is embracing it.

In effect, Obama wants to give away one of the principal objectives of strong reform. The details were spelled out in today's New York Times and revealed by Big Pharma's top-dog lobbyist, Billy Tauzin, a former Republican congressman who leads the industry association. Tauzin called it a "rock-solid deal," and the White House did not dispute as much. But that is not the last word.

People who believe in real healthcare reform should not be nice about this. They must rise up and rebel against our popular new president's outrageous concession. They must demand that Congress declare the private deal-making null and void. If Congress lacks the nerve to do this, then this exercise in reform begins to look more and more like previous attempts that were eviscerated by the clout of the corporate interests.

The fate of healthcare reform may depend not on the Senate or the White House but on Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives. What prompted Billy Tauzin to spill the beans on his deal-making with White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel was the House measure that specifies government's right to bargain for lower prices. No, no, no! Tauzin said. We've got a deal with the president, who says that won't be allowed.

But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi simply responds that the House is not bound by any deals made with the Senate or the White House. Her caucus must back up her words. They should pass the House bill, which will allow the government to do what any major customer would do in the same circumstances -- use its leverage to demand lower prices.

If House Democrats stand their ground, then they will force a debate they can win with the American public. President Obama will have to choose between standing with the drug manufacturers or defending the original purpose of healthcare reform.

matt is at marx cafe tonight!

2009-07-28T11:05:00.002-04:00

Hey all,

I am going to be spinning records at Marx Cafe starting at 10pm tonight. Hope to see you there!

3203 Mount Pleasant St NW

MV fanina update

2009-07-15T10:54:00.001-04:00

Looks like the Sundanese arms race will continue unabated!

War is Boring: Kenya Allegedly Funneling Arms to Volatile South Sudan
David Axe | Bio | 15 Jul 2009
World Politics Review

The ceremony last Feb. 12 at the commercial seaport in Mombasa, Kenya, was a surprising one. When the Ukrainian-owned merchant ship Faina sailed into port, five months after its capture by Somali pirates and a week after its release, the Kenyan government rolled out the red carpet. Civilian officials and military officers lined the pier, and armed guards patrolled, as Faina's weary seafarers debarked. There were speeches and reluctant testimonies by Faina's senior crew before the strange gathering came to a halting end. Hundreds of vessels had been seized by Somali pirates over the previous decade, and their releases had rarely prompted an official celebration such as this.

The ceremony might have been inspired by the intensive media coverage that had surrounded the Faina's capture and the subsequent stand-off, pitting U.S. Navy warships against the merchant ship's ragtag captors. Faina's captain died of natural causes in the early days of the crisis. Ultimately, the vessel's owners paid a $3.2 million ransom, which itself is not unusual. Faina had stood out, among captured vessels, owing to her cargo: 33 Soviet-designed T-72 main battle tanks, plus other arms and ammunition -- all of murky provenance and ownership. To cynical observers, the June ceremony was seen as an opportunity for Nairobi to voice its official position regarding the weapons' origins and destination.

The pirates, reached by radio, had said the vessel's manifest showed the tanks were bound for the breakaway region of South Sudan, via Mombasa -- this according to U.S. Navy spokesman Lt. Nate Christensen. The allegation, if true, would finger the Kenyan government in a sanctions-skirting arms race that some worry could result in another round of bloody civil warfare in Sudan. The country is already entangled in bitter fighting in its Darfur province, and in civil conflicts in neighboring Chad and Central African Republic. Kenyan military support for South Sudan, if confirmed, would also put Nairobi at odds with the U.S., one of its closest allies.

Nairobi waged a clumsy campaign to first cover up, then deny, its alleged South Sudan connection. In October, Kenyan authorities briefly arrested Andrew Mwangura, a prominent Mombasa seafarers' advocate who had corroborated the U.S. Navy's claim regarding the weapons' destination. Faina's welcoming party was the capstone event in this apparent disinformation strategy.

"We are very happy that our military equipment, purchased by the government from the Ukrainian government, has arrived safely -- and we cannot wait to take possession," spokesman Alfred Mutua said. In the following days, the tanks rolled from Faina's holds and apparently headed to Kahawa Barracks, outside Nairobi. Commercial satellite imagery confirmed the presence of 33 tanks at Kahawa in March, according to Jane's Defence Weekly, a British trade publication.

But subsequent investigation by Jane's appeared to show the tanks migrating elsewhere. The magazine's probe, combining satellite imagery with other photographic evidence and eyewitness reports, showed "a pattern of tanks making their way north" to neighboring South Sudan. The semi-autonomous, predominantly Christian region has in the past waged a bloody separatist campaign against Khartoum and the North's majority Muslim population.

The Faina shipment apparently represented the third and final installment of a large batch of heavy weaponry for South Sudan, sourced from Ukraine and brokered by Nairobi. In November, the German magazine Der Spiegel claimed it had records proving an earlier shipment of 42 tanks that had largely escaped international scrutiny. Khartoum has more than equaled South Sudan's apparent arms program, with large-scale purchases of fighter jets, helicopters and other weapons, sourced mostly from Russia and China.

The mutual re-armament, in violation of a U.N. arms embargo, bodes poorly for reconciliation efforts aimed at forestalling a continuation of the 20-year, North-South civil war. The fighting ended in 2005, and in 2007 former Kenyan President Daniel Moi traveled to Sudan to smooth out the implementation of a formal peace deal. According to the so-called "Comprehensive Peace Agreement," in 2011, South Sudan will vote whether to remain a part of Sudan, or formally secede.

But "the implementation of the CPA has been hampered by the lack of good faith and the absence of political will," according to the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. Ongoing tension might tilt the referendum toward sovereignty, resulting in a fresh round of fighting -- a contingency both the North and South seem to be preparing for, and one to which Kenya seems resigned. Since the CPA's implementation, Kenya has aligned itself closely with South Sudan. Kenya gets discounts on South Sudanese oil. In return, Kenyan banks have financed massive construction projects in South Sudan. Nairobi's apparent military assistance to South Sudan underscores Kenya's investment in the region's eventual, full independence.

The U.S. military's "outing" of the Kenya-South Sudan relationship reflects Washington's delicate stance on regional security. Washington works closely with the Kenyan government to prevent pirate attacks and prosecute captured pirates. But the U.S. seems willing to somewhat jeopardize that relationship in order to prevent arms flowing to South Sudan.

Still, the U.S. State Department is arguably South Sudan's second-most-important supporter. Last year, the State Department awarded a contract to Virginia-based consultancy USIS, to help train up the South Sudanese army -- a deal that does not include arms transfers. The goal, an unnamed State Department source told Wired magazine's Danger Room blog , is to take the South's army "out of the bush, basically, within the construct of the CPA -- as a force that can come together in a unity government. Or if in 2011, the South secedes, that force could become the element of a South Sudan that's sovereign."

Despite the clear risk of massive bloodshed, sovereignty for South Sudan is a prospect both Kenya and the U.S. seem to be preparing for. The difference is in the tactics used. Washington's support for South Sudan is subtle and non-material. Nairobi's alleged support, by contrast, is the stuff of pirate tales and techno-thrillers -- and apparently too obvious to escape major scrutiny.

David Axe is an independent correspondent, a World Politics Review contributing editor, and the author of "War Bots." He blogs at War is Boring. His WPR column, War is Boring, appears every Wednesday.

Photo: Soviet-designed T-72 military tank, part of the cargo carried by the Faina (photo by flickr user cell105, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License).

New discovery for display technology

2009-05-10T19:53:00.001-04:00

Wow, this sounds really cool!

New nanocrystals show potential for cheap lasers, new lighting
Posted On: May 10, 2009 - 6:40pm

For more than a decade, scientists have been frustrated in their attempts to create continuously emitting light sources from individual molecules because of an optical quirk called "blinking," but now scientists at the University of Rochester have uncovered the basic physics behind the phenomenon, and along with researchers at the Eastman Kodak Company, created a nanocrystal that constantly emits light.

The findings, detailed online in today's issue of Nature, may open the door to dramatically less expensive and more versatile lasers, brighter LED lighting, and biological markers that track how a drug interact with a cell at a level never before possible.

Many molecules, as well as crystals just a billionth of a meter in size, can absorb or radiate photons. But they also experience random periods when they absorb a photon, but instead of the photon radiating away, its energy is transformed into heat. These "dark" periods alternate with periods when the molecule can radiate normally, leading to the appearance of them turning on and off, or blinking.

"A nanocrystal that has just absorbed the energy from a photon has two choices to rid itself of the excess energy—emission of light or of heat," says Todd Krauss, professor of chemistry at the University of Rochester and lead author on the study. "If the nanocrystal emits that energy as heat, you've essentially lost that energy."

Krauss worked with engineers at Kodak and researchers at the Naval Research Laboratory and Cornell University to discover the new, non-blinking nanocrystals.

Krauss, an expert in nanocrystals, and Keith Kahen, senior principal scientist of Kodak and an expert in optoelectronic materials and devices, were exploring new types of low-cost lighting similar to organic light-emitting diodes, but which might not suffer from the short lifespans and manufacturing challenges inherent in these diodes. Kahen, with help from Megan Hahn, a postdoctoral fellow in Krauss' laboratory, synthesized nanocrystals of various compositions.

Xiaoyong Wang, another postdoctoral fellow in Krauss laboratory, inspected one of these new nanocrystals and saw no evidence of the expected blinking phenomenon. Remarkably, even after four hours of monitoring, the new nanocrystal showed no sign of a single blink—unheard of when blinks usually happen on a scale of miliseconds to minutes.

After a lengthy investigation, Krauss and Alexander Efros from the Naval Research Laboratory concluded that the reason the blinking didn't occur was due to the unusual structure of the nanocrystal. Normally, nanocrystals have a core of one semiconductor material wrapped in a protective shell of another, with a sharp boundary dividing the two. The new nanocrystal, however, has a continuous gradient from a core of cadmium and selenium to a shell of zinc and selenium. That gradient squelches the processes that prevent photons from radiating, and the result is a stream of emitted photons as steady as the stream of absorbed photons.

With blink-free nanocrystals, Krauss believes lasers and lighting could be incredibly cheap and easy to fabricate. Currently, different color laser light is created using different materials and processes, but with the new nanocrystals a single fabrication process can create any color laser. To alter the light color, an engineer needs only to alter the size of the nanocrystal, which Krauss says is a relatively simple task.

The same is true of what could one day be OLED's successor, says Krauss. Essentially, "painting" a grid of differently sized nanocrystals onto a flat surface could create computer displays as thin as paper, or a wall that lights a room in any desired color.

Source: University of Rochester

Economic Rescue to exceed GDP, WTF!?!?

2009-04-10T10:27:00.000-04:00

This is absurd!!

Financial Rescue Nears GDP as Pledges Top $12.8 Trillion (Update1)

By Mark Pittman and Bob Ivry

March 31 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. government and the Federal Reserve have spent, lent or committed $12.8 trillion, an amount that approaches the value of everything produced in the country last year, to stem the longest recession since the 1930s.

New pledges from the Fed, the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. include $1 trillion for the Public-Private Investment Program, designed to help investors buy distressed loans and other assets from U.S. banks. The money works out to $42,105 for every man, woman and child in the U.S. and 14 times the $899.8 billion of currency in circulation. The nation’s gross domestic product was $14.2 trillion in 2008.

President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner met with the chief executives of the nation’s 12 biggest banks on March 27 at the White House to enlist their support to thaw a 20-month freeze in bank lending.

“The president and Treasury Secretary Geithner have said they will do what it takes,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein said after the meeting. “If it is enough, that will be great. If it is not enough, they will have to do more.”

Commitments include a $500 billion line of credit to the FDIC from the government’s coffers that will enable the agency to guarantee as much as $2 trillion worth of debt for participants in the Term Asset-Backed Lending Facility and the Public-Private Investment Program. FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair warned that the insurance fund to protect customer deposits at U.S. banks could dry up because of bank failures.

‘Within an Eyelash’

The combined commitment has increased by 73 percent since November, when Bloomberg first estimated the funding, loans and guarantees at $7.4 trillion.

“The comparison to GDP serves the useful purpose of underscoring how extraordinary the efforts have been to stabilize the credit markets,” said Dana Johnson, chief economist for Comerica Bank in Dallas.

“Everything the Fed, the FDIC and the Treasury do doesn’t always work out right but back in October we came within an eyelash of having a truly horrible collapse of our financial system, said Johnson, a former Fed senior economist. “They used their creativity to help the worst-case scenario from unfolding and I’m awfully glad they did it.”

Federal Reserve officials project the economy will keep shrinking until at least mid-year, which would mark the longest U.S. recession since the Great Depression.

The following table details how the Fed and the government have committed the money on behalf of American taxpayers over the past 20 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

===========================================================
--- Amounts (Billions)---
Limit Current
===========================================================
Total $12,798.14 $4,169.71
-----------------------------------------------------------
Federal Reserve Total $7,765.64 $1,678.71
Primary Credit Discount $110.74 $61.31
Secondary Credit $0.19 $1.00
Primary dealer and others $147.00 $20.18
ABCP Liquidity $152.11 $6.85
AIG Credit $60.00 $43.19
Net Portfolio CP Funding $1,800.00 $241.31
Maiden Lane (Bear Stearns) $29.50 $28.82
Maiden Lane II (AIG) $22.50 $18.54
Maiden Lane III (AIG) $30.00 $24.04
Term Securities Lending $250.00 $88.55
Term Auction Facility $900.00 $468.59
Securities lending overnight $10.00 $4.41
Term Asset-Backed Loan Facility $900.00 $4.71
Currency Swaps/Other Assets $606.00 $377.87
MMIFF $540.00 $0.00
GSE Debt Purchases $600.00 $50.39
GSE Mortgage-Backed Securities $1,000.00 $236.16
Citigroup Bailout Fed Portion $220.40 $0.00
Bank of America Bailout $87.20 $0.00
Commitment to Buy Treasuries $300.00 $7.50
-----------------------------------------------------------
FDIC Total $2,038.50 $357.50
Public-Private Investment* $500.00 0.00
FDIC Liquidity Guarantees $1,400.00 $316.50
GE $126.00 $41.00
Citigroup Bailout FDIC $10.00 $0.00
Bank of America Bailout FDIC $2.50 $0.00
-----------------------------------------------------------
Treasury Total $2,694.00 $1,833.50
TARP $700.00 $599.50
Tax Break for Banks $29.00 $29.00
Stimulus Package (Bush) $168.00 $168.00
Stimulus II (Obama) $787.00 $787.00
Treasury Exchange Stabilization $50.00 $50.00
Student Loan Purchases $60.00 $0.00
Support for Fannie/Freddie $400.00 $200.00
Line of Credit for FDIC* $500.00 $0.00
-----------------------------------------------------------
HUD Total $300.00 $300.00
Hope for Homeowners FHA $300.00 $300.00
-----------------------------------------------------------
he FDIC’s commitment to guarantee lending under the
Legacy Loan Program and the Legacy Asset Program includes a $500
billion line of credit from the U.S. Treasury.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Mark Pittman in New York at
mpittman@bloomberg.net;
Bob Ivry in New York at
bivry@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 31, 2009 14:20 EDT

Pirates update

2008-12-07T12:36:00.000-05:00

Drama on the high seas!

DAY 72 - FAINA crisis:
Saturday, December 06, 2008 04:25:44 PM

DAY 72 - 1708 hours into the FAINA crisis - UPDATE SUMMARY.

Efforts for a peaceful release continued, but the now over two months long stand-off concerning Ukrainian MV FAINA is not yet solved finally, though intensive negotiations have continued and local reports state that the financial agreement part has been concluded.

Kiev is concerned about an alleged intervention of a US based group, which tried to mediate independently with the captors of MV FAINA and seem to to have the interfered with the critical finalization of the delicate deal concerning the release of the vessel.

Mikhail Boytenko, editor of the Sovfracht maritime bulletin, said that according to various sources, including one in Kenya, "A vessel is approaching the Faina to pay the ransom." "The U.S. military has moved away from the Faina, to create a corridor for the ransom to be delivered, and to guarantee the pirates safe exit from the ship," he said.

"I cannot confirm or deny this information," he added. "Late yesterday evening I spoke to the ship's owner, and he said that talks had been concluded, but that certain details on the delivery of the ransom payment had to be cleared up." No details on who was paying the ransom, or the sum involved, were given, according the Russian agency RIA. Direct contacts could also not confirm this information.

Russian Navy spokesman Capt. 1st Rank Igor Dygalo said on Friday, the Northern Fleet's Neustrashimy (Fearless) frigate is currently escorting the Malbec, flying a Marshall Islands flag, with 21 Russians among the crew, along with the Dutch Kent Locomotion, the Singaporean Maersk, and the Liberian-flagged ELB Jarmani. The warship therefore seems to not stand in the way of a safe release of the Faina.

ECOTERRA Intl. renewed it's call to solve the FAINA and the SIRIUS STAR cases with first priority and peaceful in order to avert a human and environmental disasters at the Somali coast. Anybody encouraging hot-headed and concerning such difficult situations inexperienced and untrained gunmen to try an attempt of a military solution must be held responsible for the surely resulting disaster.

CLEARINGHOUSE: NEWS FROM OTHER ABDUCTED SHIPS

The captors of FV TIAN YU 8 don't find the right court. Those who captured the Kiribati flagged but Chinese operated fishing vessel first, which had been seized for illegally fishing in Somali waters and allegedly carrying illegal ivory had vowed to present the case, vessel and crew to a court of law in Somalia.

But it is reported that they themselves find it difficult to approach a local governance and jurisdiction in Somalia. Since the Islamic Court in Kismaayo would most likely also put the captors on trial for piracy, they have anchored the ship and according to the owner started negotiations for a release-sum directly. It has not been revealed yet to which fishing fleet the longliner belongs, but a Japanese link is presumed, since a Japanese fishing overseer is held among the otherwise Chinese, Taiwanese and Vietnamese crew members.

Negotiations for the safe release of crew and cargo of the vessel, MT BISCAGLIA, have begun a week after it was hijacked in Gulf of Aden. The manager of the vessel, Singapore-based Ishima, a ship management company, has appointed a professional negotiator to talk with the Somali captors, the National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) General Secretary Abdulgani Y Serang stated. The Liberian registered cargo ship was sea-jacked on November 28 and has 31 crew including 25 Indians. Its last port of call was Dumai in Indonesia.

The ship was on its way to Europe via Suez Canal. An Indian naval vessel in Gulf of Aden was refuelling as scheduled at the time of hijacking of this cargo vessel. The ship has now been anchored in Eyl, a town in Somalia, he said. This is the third ship with Indian crew that has been seized in the Gulf of Aden in recent weeks. Apart from 25 Indians, the ship had three Bangladeshis and three security guards as crew.

The two British and one Irish security men abandoned ship upon attack by jumping over board and were taken by helicopter to a naval vessel. Another ship Delight with seven Indian crew has been sea-jacked recently, while the Stolt Valor with 25 Indians on board has been released.

Katharine Houreld reported for AP from Mombasa: For more than two months, Somali pirates and their hostages aboard a Greek cargo ship, the MV CENTAURI. "And when they found out we were Filipino, they said, 'Filipino and Somali — friends!'" said crew member Alvin Genonangan with a laugh.

Together we played cards, caught fish under the blazing sun, and swapped tales of home. By the time all 25 hostages were released unharmed last week, the pirates even made one of the captives a startling offer: Would he like to join them? "Of course I said no. I was praying every day to be free," said crewman Edmundo Capatar, 32, the day after the ship docked in the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

"But I learned a little Somali. I talked a little to some of them. One said his whole family died in the war, that is why he became a pirate," Capatar said. The pirates did not let the crew telephone their families but treated them well, the sailors said, arranging deliveries of live goats to the ship for food, sharing their meals with the hostages, and encouraging them to work, fish and bake bread as a way of keeping busy. The pirates provided the flour, a luxury in impoverished Somalia, where nearly half the population is dependent on aid. Most of the pirates were young, averaging around 25, Tanada said.

They guarded the ship in shifts, with never fewer than 14 armed men on board, to be rotated every four or five days. The pirates slept on mats on the bridge and the deck, and the crew was not allowed above deck after dark. But as the hostages got to know their guards, the crew discovered that the Somalis played a card game similar to a Filipino game. They established the rules with hand signals. Genonangan said he beat the pirates sometimes — but not too often.

With the latest captures and releases still at least 16 foreign vessels with a total of around 354 crew members (of which 108 are Filipinos) are held and are monitored on our actual case-list, while several other cases of ships, which are observed off the coast of Somalia, have been reported or reportedly disappeared without trace or information, are still being followed. Over 115 incidences (including attempted attacks, averted attacks and successful sea-jackings) have been recorded to far for 2008 with until today 51 factual sea-jacking cases (incl. the presently held 16).

Several other vessels with unclear fate, who were reported missing over the last ten years in this area, are still kept on the watch-list, though in some cases it is presumed that they sunk due to bad weather or being unfit to sail.

FIRST VICTIM OF WAR IS THE TRUTH

Smells fishy: A Danish warship rescued a group of suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday after receiving a distress signal from the ship, which was floundering in heavy seas, the Danish Navy said. The Naval Operational Command said the Absalon was bound by international law to help the men and that Danish sailors had uncovered a number of weapons onboard the vessel similar to those often used in pirate attacks on merchant ships. "Due to the weather, it was not possible to take the troubled ship in tow and it was destroyed in the interest of shipping safety," the Navy said in a statement. The men were later handed over to authorities in Yemen.

Immediately serious questions sprung up, like: Will the Danish now destroy every fishermen's vessel in distress or because they carry weapons for self-defence with the same right the Danish do? Who oversees the Danish Navy action, who counter-checks? To balance the reporting it must be said that every Somali fisherman carries at least an AK47 rifle for self-defence to do his legitimate artisanal fishing in the waters of Somalia, because there is no government who could guarantee his safety by other means and the waters near Yemen are even more dangerous.

The Danish Ministry of Defence first didn't like to comment on the incident in the Gulf of Aden, we were told, but a contact to the Her Danish Majesty's Ship ABSALON was established. The Operations Officer on Absalon reveiled that the sunken vessel was a 7m small, white fibreglass boat with a single 60HP outboard engine, one of the typical Somali fishing boats, which were even produced as development aid by Sweden in Mogadishu. The vessel was observed by the naval ship as from 14h26 UTC on 04th December 2008 at position 13:20.1 N / 048:12.9 E.

It is very clear that the 7 men in the boat - all of presumed Somali origin - were not observed in any act or even attempted approach or attack against any other vessel, which would make them suspicious to or which would have constituted an act of piracy. They actually - and that was established by the Somali interpreter on board the Absalon - had been floating since 8 days on the waters because their outboard engine had failed and couldn't be repaired.

The Lt. Commander further explained that after the 7 Somalis were taken on board some first aid had to be provided and the whole case is seen as "sailors in distress" to whom help had to be extended. The Somalis however were found in the possession of not only 5 Kalashnikov rifles incl.

104 rounds but also were holding 4 RPGs (rocket propelled granades) incl. two launchers. The RPGs actually really made them suspicious of being up to no good, though for some Somalis today to carry an RPG launcher is just like one carries any other weapon in the struggle for survival. While the RPGs were destroyed together with the vessel, the 5 AKs were confiscated by the Danish, was stated by the naval officer. Critics might want to state, however, that it was not necessary to destroy the vessel in a filmed shooting exercise, which then was aired on Danish and international TV.

The comparatively tiny boat would certainly not have affected shipping safety and even in the most troubled waters it could have been an interesting exercise for the mariners to also rescue and lift the vessel on board of the Absalon with all its manpower and technical equipment available. The seven Somalis were in the meantime handed over to the Yemen coastguard near Mukallah. Their further fate could not yet be established.

"We had a situation where these guys were shipwrecked persons," Lieutenant Commander Jesper Lynge, a Danish Navy spokesman, told the Tribune. "But we haven't caught them in an act of piracy, and what their main purpose was — your guess is as good as mine." The commander of the HDMS ABSALON has reported the incident to his national command as well to the Combined Task Force overseer with the 5th US fleet in Bahrain, but the official post-incident report is not yet available.

All we are repeatedly asking for is that there must be an independent centre established, where these incident reports have to be filed and its full accountability, responsibility and transparency must be guaranteed and held superior, if the international navies want to maintain any credibility that they do this on behalf of the international community and the Somali governance. If nobody oversees such action room for intentional or unintentional atrocities is provided and such certainly will not contribute to any pacification of the Gulf of Aden.

Arbitrary findings of self-styled kangaroo-courts on the bridges of war-vessels who decide to extradite people from the waters of one nation into the jurisdiction of another state make a mockery of international human rights and international law. In this respect the actual rescue operation, for which the Danish must be applauded, could easily backfire, if the rescued Somalis didn't want to be extradited to Yemen, a country with an awful human rights record, since then handing-over turns into abduction and rendition.

The Danish certainly didn't have the right to hand them to Yemen against their will, but it could, however, not yet be established what the seven Somalis' will was and what happened to them today.

Investigations are ongoing if they are held in cells or if they will be repatriated to Somalia, where certainly an angry boat-owner will think next time twice before lending a boat to such youngsters - the oldest member of the group is 27.

The Danish Navy must be held fully responsible, if it commits atrocities in the once rich tuna-fishing grounds of Somalia. Danmark, whose breakaway Islands of the Faroe commit every year the most bloody slaughter of pilot whales in the world, itself is infamous for its trawlers illegally fishing in the Artic as well as in the Southern Ocean.

Denmark also is involved in the illegal trade in fish e.g. in the Southern Ocean, Greepeace established and implicates Denmark - among others - as home to pirate fishers. Denmark is known also for raiding other nations fishing grounds directly. Danish fishing vessels even dared to illegally fish in British waters, but there at least the Danish got arrested.

The German Navy allegedly warded off a suspected piracy attack on a German cruise ship in the Gulf of Aden, according to a report on Spiegel online Thursday. Two "suspect" speedboats travelling towards the German ocean liner MS Astor in the Gulf of Oman were fired on by machine guns on the frigate Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, according to the report presented to the German parliament this week. The Navy's Mecklenburg-Vorpommern frigate chased off two suspicious speed boats with warning shots last Friday, a spokesman for the mission commando in Postsdam confirmed.

A spokesman for Transocean Tours in Bremen, which is operating the cruise ship, said the 492 guests and crew on board the MS Astor had not noticed the incident. The cruise ship also had not asked for help. The suspicious boats disappeared quickly into Yemen's territorial waters, the report said. Transocean said the speed boats had approached about 3 sea miles distant, and the frigate intercepted them before they got to the cruise ship. The cruise ship was bound for Dubai, where it arrived on Tuesday. Hope remains that the Somali fishermen do not become now free-for-all shooting practice targets for bored and frustrated navies, who can do little once swift real pirate attacks have taken over a ship.

FISHING

Seychelles police launched an investigation on Friday into the deaths of five men killed in an ammonia leak on a French fishing vessel. France has the second largest tuna fleet in the region after Spain. The fishermen risk heavily-armed Somali pirates to trawl some of the world's best tuna stocks in the Gulf of Aden. "The deaths occurred at 3.30 pm (1130 GMT) on Wednesday on board Le Titan at Victoria port and were the result of an ammonia leakage," police spokesman Jean Toussaint told Reuters. "Post mortems will be carried out today."

Frenchman Jacques Sellin, 55, the vessel's chief mechanic, was among the dead. The other victims were a Seychellois and three Indians. Officials said the ship was owned by a Reunion-based company, SAPMER. Ammonia is used on fishing vessels to freeze the tuna out at sea. Tuna is a key source of foreign exchange for the Seychelles' heavily indebted economy. Canned tuna accounts for 46 percent of total exports, with more than 30,000 tonnes sold last year.

OTHER RELATED NEWS

There have been a total 84 reported pirate incidents in just the last three months, according to their account UNOSAT says. Half of them occurred in or around the shipping "corridor" sent up by the international community to protect commercial vessels. And that corridor didn't seem to do much to deter the pirates; their rate of successful attacks dipped only slightly (37 percent, versus 42 percent) inside the protected area. What the corridor did do was concentrate the pirate strikes. "The mean distance between reported attacks has fallen from 30.5km... to 24.6km after," UNOSAT says.

Using images taken from the Quickbird commercial imaging satellite, the group is plotting out exactly where ships are being captured, and where they are being held.(ECOTERRA Intl. - www.ecoterra-international.org)

Islamic militias gear up to take down pirates

2008-12-03T13:54:00.002-05:00

Go get 'em boys, yeehhaa!! Sounds like operation "hijack oil tanker" has resulted in some blowback and there is now going to be a brutal showdown.

Sheikh Ahmed, a spokesman for the Shebab group in the coastal region of Harardhere, told the AFP news agency: "If the pirates want peace, they had better release the tanker."

The Sirius Star, a tanker carrying around $100m worth of crude oil and owned by Saudi Aramco, was hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean on November 15.

Pirates have since anchored it off their base in Harardhere and have demanded a ransom of $25m be paid by November 30.

The Shebab (meaning "youth") armed group controls much of southern and central Somalia, and has positioned fighters in and around Harardhere in recent days.

Islamist leaders have stressed that piracy is a capital offence in Islam and officially condemned the surge in acts of piracy in Somalia's waters.

Sirius Star

Pirates on board the Sirius Star

A member of the pirate group holding the Sirius Star retorted that his own men were not afraid of the Shebab's threats.

Mohamed Said said: "We are the Shebab of the sea and we can't be scared by the Shebab of the land. If anybody attempts to attack, that would be suicide."

Mr Said reiterated that his group is demanding $25m to release the vessel, which is carrying the equivalent of almost a quarter of top producer Saudi Arabia's daily output.

Speaking to AFP by telephone he said: "I am not on the tanker at the moment because I am co-ordinating what is happening on the ground.

"There is a small Shebab vanguard on the ground but we also have a strong presence."

The pirate added: "Every Somali has great respect for the holy kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We have nothing against them but unfortunately what happened was just business for us and I hope the Saudis will understand."

Some residents in Harardhere have argued that the Shebab are divided over the issue of piracy and that some of the Islamist fighters have moved into the region only to claim a share of the ransom.

Authorities have played down the idea of attacking the ship on the grounds that it would be too dangerous and would probably result in the deaths of some or all of the hostage crew.

Marx Cafe tonight!

2008-11-18T12:51:00.001-05:00

Hey all, I'll be playing some dope UKG tonight up in the Mount Pleasant. Music starts at 10pm. See ya there!

hijacked vessel carry acid

2008-11-11T17:14:00.002-05:00

This problem is going to get worse until someone steps up to the plate and offers to fix Somalia.

STOLT TANKER HIJACKED

Tuesday, 11 November 2008

THE 33,209 dwt products tanker Stolt Venture has become the latest ship to be hijacked by Somali based pirates. The ship's charterers, Stolt Tankers BV, issued a statement this morning confirming reports of the hijacking. It says that the vessel was seized while transiting the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia yesterday yesterday. It says: “We understand that the vessel was within the recognised Coalition corridor at the time of the seizure.”

The company adds: “There has been limited communication between the master and the ship manager and it has been confirmed that the fully Filipino crew is safe and accounted for. Stolt is in close communication with the vessel’s managers and owners and will do all it can to ensure the timely and safe return of the crew on board.”

The Stolt Strength was bound for Kandla on passage from Dakar with a cargo of phosphoric acid. Meanwhile, Indian Newspaper The Hindu reports, the Indian Navy has intervened to stop pirates boarding the Indian-flag, Great Eastern-owned bulk carrier Jag Arnav.

The Hindu quote naval sources as saying: "An armed helicopter with marine commandos was launched from the naval warship to intervene and prevent the pirates from boarding and hijacking the merchant vessel. This timely and successful intervention led to the pirates aborting their attempt."

As with other interventions by warships, it appears the Indian Navy did not try to sink or capture the pirate vessels. The ICC International Maritime Bureau is urging governments to set rules of engagement that allow warships to act robustly against pirate craft and especially the mother ships, typically large fishing vessels.

sATURDAY

2008-11-05T23:31:00.000-05:00

THIS WILL BE HOT!!

MV FAINA update

2008-11-05T23:25:00.000-05:00

Good to hear.

Crewmembers of Faina in satisfactory condition, says ship-owner

KYIV, November 4 /UKRINFORM/. The crewmembers of the Faina, a ship seized by Somali pirates, are in satisfactory condition. Drinking water and food (rice, spaghetti, sunflower oil, and fruit) were delivered to the ship on November 3, according to a press release about talks with the pirates provided by the company that owns the ship, UKRINFORM reported, referring to the Maritime Bulletin - Sovfracht Internet publication.

According to the document, the ship-owner and an intermediary company are making all efforts to complete the talks with the pirates successfully. It is stressed that "the situation requires a weighted approach and a comprehensive decision, involving all interested parties. Steps should be taken according to rules drafted by international practice and ragreement should be reached through a party empowered to hold the talks."

Moreover, the company owning the ship denied reports by the Al-Sharq al-Awsat, an Arabic newspaper being published in London, concerning a new date for the release of the Faina, the sum of a ransom and details about the negotiating process. The newspaper reported that the pirates could free the crew of the vessel for a USD 5 million ransom. According to the whip-owner, "this information does not represent the facts, and it is another attempt to spread misleading reports in the media. An impression arises that all this is being done on purpose to bring nervousness in the settlement process."

The press release reads that the company that owns the ship remains a reliable source of information in the situation, which "has not made and won't make any statements in public about the amount of a ransom and other demands."

As UKRINFORM reported, the Faina, a ship transporting ammunition and other weapons bought by the Defense Ministry of Kenya, was seized by pirates off the coast of Somali on September 25. A total of 17 Ukrainians, two Russians and one Latvian citizen are aboard the ship. The captain of the vessel, a Russian citizen, died of natural causes shortly after the seizure of the Faina.

this is what nintendo's webpage looks like right now

2008-11-02T11:23:00.004-05:00

yeah, what a freakin' shame.

An error has occured

java.lang.UnsupportedOperationException: Not supported node test for attributes: node()

Cocoon stacktrace[hide]
Not supported node test for attributes: node()
context://noa3/jx/includes/global_head_content.xml - 64:72
context://noa3/jx/layout/simple.xml - 1:228
context://noa3/sitemap.xmap - 286:38
context://noa3/sitemap.xmap - 285:57
context://noa3/sitemap.xmap - 279:60

Java stacktrace[hide]

java.lang.UnsupportedOperationException: Not supported node test for attributes: node()
at org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.axes.SimplePathInterpreter.getNodeIterator(SimplePathInterpreter.java:828)
at org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.axes.SimplePathInterpreter.doStepNoPredicatesStandard(SimplePathInterpreter.java:256)
at org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.axes.SimplePathInterpreter.doStep(SimplePathInterpreter.java:158)
at org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.axes.SimplePathInterpreter.doPredicate(SimplePathInterpreter.java:429)
at org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.axes.SimplePathInterpreter.interpretSimpleExpressionPath(SimplePathInterpreter.java:97)
at org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.compiler.ExpressionPath.expressionPath(ExpressionPath.java:167)
at org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.compiler.ExpressionPath.computeValue(ExpressionPath.java:129)
at org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.JXPathContextReferenceImpl.getPointer(JXPathContextReferenceImpl.java:396)
at org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.JXPathCompiledExpression.getPointer(JXPathCompiledExpression.java:105)
at org.apache.cocoon.generation.JXTemplateGenerator.execute(JXTemplateGenerator.java:2680)
at org.apache.cocoon.generation.JXTemplateGenerator.execute(JXTemplateGenerator.java:2810)
at org.apache.cocoon.generation.JXTemplateGenerator.execute(JXTemplateGenerator.java:3164)
at org.apache.cocoon.generation.JXTemplateGenerator.toDOMNodeList(JXTemplateGenerator.java:3232)
at org.apache.cocoon.generation.JXTemplateGenerator.execute(JXTemplateGenerator.java:2829)
at org.apache.cocoon.generation.JXTemplateGenerator.performGeneration(JXTemplateGenerator.java:2498)
at org.apache.cocoon.generation.JXTemplateGenerator.generate(JXTemplateGenerator.java:2489)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.pipeline.impl.AbstractCachingProcessingPipeline.processXMLPipeline(AbstractCachingProcessingPipeline.java:367)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.pipeline.AbstractProcessingPipeline.process(AbstractProcessingPipeline.java:481)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.treeprocessor.sitemap.SerializeNode.invoke(SerializeNode.java:121)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.treeprocessor.AbstractParentProcessingNode.invokeNodes(AbstractParentProcessingNode.java:47)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.treeprocessor.sitemap.PreparableMatchNode.invoke(PreparableMatchNode.java:131)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.treeprocessor.AbstractParentProcessingNode.invokeNodes(AbstractParentProcessingNode.java:69)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.treeprocessor.sitemap.PipelineNode.invoke(PipelineNode.java:143)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.treeprocessor.AbstractParentProcessingNode.invokeNodes(AbstractParentProcessingNode.java:69)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.treeprocessor.sitemap.PipelinesNode.invoke(PipelinesNode.java:93)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.treeprocessor.ConcreteTreeProcessor.process(ConcreteTreeProcessor.java:235)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.treeprocessor.ConcreteTreeProcessor.process(ConcreteTreeProcessor.java:177)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.treeprocessor.TreeProcessor.process(TreeProcessor.java:253)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.treeprocessor.sitemap.MountNode.invoke(MountNode.java:118)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.treeprocessor.AbstractParentProcessingNode.invokeNodes(AbstractParentProcessingNode.java:47)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.treeprocessor.sitemap.MatchNode.invoke(MatchNode.java:108)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.treeprocessor.AbstractParentProcessingNode.invokeNodes(AbstractParentProcessingNode.java:69)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.treeprocessor.sitemap.PipelineNode.invoke(PipelineNode.java:143)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.treeprocessor.AbstractParentProcessingNode.invokeNodes(AbstractParentProcessingNode.java:69)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.treeprocessor.sitemap.PipelinesNode.invoke(PipelinesNode.java:93)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.treeprocessor.ConcreteTreeProcessor.process(ConcreteTreeProcessor.java:235)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.treeprocessor.ConcreteTreeProcessor.process(ConcreteTreeProcessor.java:177)
at org.apache.cocoon.components.treeprocessor.TreeProcessor.process(TreeProcessor.java:253)
at org.apache.cocoon.Cocoon.process(Cocoon.java:699)
at org.apache.cocoon.servlet.CocoonServlet.service(CocoonServlet.java:1154)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:803)
ath.ri.compiler.ExpressionPath.expressionPath(ExpressionPath.java:167)
at org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.compiler.ExpressionPath.computeValue(ExpressionPath.java:129)
at org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.JXPathContextReferenceImpl.getPointer(JXPathContextReferenceImpl.java:396)
at org.apache.commons.jxpath.ri.JXPathCompiledExpression.getPointer(JXPathCompiledExpression.java:105)
at org.apache.cocoon.generation.JXTemplateGenerator.execute(JXTemplateGenerator.java:2680)
... 50 more

The Apache Cocoon Project

Pirate's stand firm.

2008-11-01T11:47:00.002-04:00

This is the best article I have found that summarizes the standoff aboard the pirate ship.

30 Days MV FAINA Piracy Crisis – Background by Ecoterra
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
October 25, 2008

In a summarizing paper, ECOTERRA Intl., the Global Society for ECOlogy and sound ECOnomy, an independent, international civil society organisation (CSO), presents the MV FAINA Piracy Crisis background and history. The first part covers the piracy case itself, whereas the second is focused on the arms sales affair. Herewith I publish the first part; in a forthcoming article, I will publish the second part.

MV FAINA - Background & History

The Actual Case:

The Ukrainian MV FAINA operated under cover of a Belize flag when it was hi-jacked on 25. September 2008 in the late afternoon by a gang of Somali pirates in three fast skiffs off the coast of Somalia on the way to its destination at the Kenyan harbour of Mombasa, where it was supposed to arrive in the early morning hours of the 27. September 2008. Reports claimed that Sudan and Russia had a hand in the capture of the ship.

The 21 men crew was taken hostage and the ship turned northwards again to reach the coastal pirate hideout at Eyl in North-Eastern Somalia. While first a smaller military vessel had shadowed the FAINA, the US-American guided missile destroyer USS HOWARD caught up, which caused that the FAINA stopped off the coastal village of Hinbarwaqo, north of the town of Hobyo.

Already at that time it was reported that the captain of the ship had suffered a heat-stroke. First communications were established with the pirates as well as with the first mate, Vladimir Nikolsky, who on 28th Sept. reported that one crew member had died on 27th due to hypertension and took over as captain.

While the ship's captain, Russian national Vladimir Kolobkov, died most likely of a cerebral hemorrhage caused by hypertension and a sun-stroke and not due to a heart attack, the psychological warfare imposed by the encircling warships with overflying helicopters and planes, loudspeakers and communications jamming, according to various reports caused already on Sunday night a problem between a more moderate part of the pirate gang, three Majerteen hailing from Puntland, and the hard-core Habrgedir with the result that all three Majerteen were killed in a shoot-out on board - luckily not affecting the crew. The pirates, however, deny any shooting. The re-enforced group of pirates consists of around 50 men with the youngest being only 14 years of age and is supported by a growing number of heavily armed militia warriors at the shore, believed to have now a strength of over 100 men. Another shooting which did not harm the crew was reported on Tuesday afternoon by Russian ITAR-TASS.

All Somalia experts, including the former Kenyan Ambassador to Somalia, Mohamed Affey, are convinced that in the case of the ill-fated FAINA a peaceful solution still can be achieved, which would avoid a military operation and the resulting humanitarian and environmental disaster.

Nyna Karpachyova, the Ukrainian parliament's human rights ombudsman, said that the real owner of the weapon-ship is an Israeli citizen with the name Vadim Alperin (alias Vadim Oltrena). It is extremely rare for ships to be registered to individual investors such as Mr Alperin. Vadim Alperin was further investigated to have acquired this ship from a Russian state auction during the era of Boris Yeltsin. The ship was refurbished and later conveniently registered to fly the Belize flag. Other ships by the same owner where found to be operating as casinos including one based in the Gulf to entertain rich Arab clients. Vadim Alperin was once quoted to be a "Mossad brother" running a number of clandestine front companies including one Kenyan Meat export company enjoying "good trade" with middle eastern countries, but covertly used for gathering intelligence from countries such as Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

For many years, the Khartoum based Sudan government accused Israel of supplying arms and providing training to South Sudan rebels. Israel once supplied illicit weapons to South Sudan from within Ethiopia's territory, but had lost influence since the Eritrean independence. As relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia had soured, it became impossible to continue this route and Israel sought other alternative routes to get to its Uganda weapons storage for South Sudan militias through Kenyan territories.

The crew, set to make a delivery of cars and normal cargo, was allegedly called just a day before they sailed and they were only informed about its altered cargo when they were on board.

Mrs. Karpachyova also said that relatives of the hostages on board the ship would ask the Ukrainian government to prevent the liberation of the FAINA by force. Ukrainian and Russian citizens already are willing to collect money in order to assist with the ransom payment.

The pirates, who have been in communication with the operator Kaalbye Shipping Ukraine, the Panama registered ship-owner Waterlux AG, TOMAX Team Inc.- the Ukranian shipping agent, as well as the Ukrainian arms exporter Ukrspetzexport, Ukraine's state arms exports monopoly (the cargo belonged to Urkinmash, a subsidiary of Urkspetsexport) demand a ransom of in minimum 5 and maximum of 20 million US-dollar - having come down from an earlier demand of 35 million and peddled lately to the media a sum of 8 million. Like often the real people behind the ships, their management or their cargo are very difficult to establish even for the maritime authorities. The pirates likewise had at first serious problems to find the right people to talk to, because the diplomats, officials and business-people involved had not been really helpful for obvious reasons. Many shippers of clandestine goods drove the usually paid ransom, which the Somalis often call a fee for illegally entering the Somali waters, upwards to the present level, where at least 1-2 million US dollar have to be delivered for any vessel released by the pirates, who usually do not harm the crew.

However, the side-interferences were increasing on both sides every day which passed and complicated the direct negotiations. The captors then threatened on 6th October that they would sink the ship, if the negotiations are not forthcoming fast enough, while the US Navy reported the same day that all crew members are healthy and according to the circumstances all right.

Earlier the pirates on the MV FAINA already had threatened to rather die together with the crew of now two Russians, one non-resident Latvian and 17 Ukrainians, if the ship would be attacked.

Somali TFG President Abdullahi Yuusuf Ahmed gave on 1th October "special status" to the Russian war machinery and a Carte Blanche to engage in military operations in Somali waters as well as on land. Such horror-scenario would include the killing of all on board and the explosion of the ship together with the tank munitions-heads containing depleted uranium.

Many consider DU as extremely hazardous. The Nov. 2007 resolution entitled 'Effects of the use of armaments and ammunitions containing depleted uranium' was passed by 122 votes to six at the UN First Committee in New York; with 35 abstentions. The resolution urges UN member states to re-examine the health hazards posed by the use of uranium weapons. In May 2008 the European Parliament has passed its fourth and most far-reaching resolution yet against the use of uranium weapons. MEPs have called for an EU and NATO-wide moratorium and global ban. Among others the US-American Nuclear Society had criticized the US military for the extensive used of DU ammunition in the wars during the breaking up of former Yugoslavia.

Though Oleksandr Turchynov, the Ukrainian First Vice Prime Minister stated categorically: "Ukraine will never negotiate with pirates, terrorists, other criminals!", he noted at the same time that according to the international practice, the talks about a crew release and ship's further fate are held by the ship-owners with mediators and have started indeed. The ship owner of MV FAINA is the Panamanian Waterlux AG, while the company's manager is registered in Switzerland as stated by the Ukrainian government website. They all must come together and present one negotiator from the Ukrainian side.

"A deal might be sealed by Wednesday and then we will issue a statement regarding the end of the matter," said a "Jama Aden" on the phone of a "Sugule Ali" as spokesman for the captors, according to AP on 10th October, while a "Sugule Ali" told AFP the ransom demand had been reduced.

Though media even quoted uninvolved businessmen like a "Ahmed Omar" from Xaradheere commenting on a done deal, sources truly close to the negotiations reported the continuous struggle by both sides to really get into a straight line of negotiations with the right person without the persistent interferences from all sorts of sidelines. Since with the Ukrainians such focus seems to have been achieved, on the Somali side it still appears not to be clear who really has the final say.

Around 750 people - mainly women and children and old men - from the coastal Somali village of Xinbarwaaqo (Hinbarwago), closest to the weapons-ship MV FAINA, had together with their livestock left their homes already during the first week of the stand-off and shifted inland, where they camp out in makeshift shelters for fear of imminent military action or an explosion of the ship. Elders from another village Ceel Xur and from Obiyo town continue to debate on the question if also their population has to be evacuated. The whole population in the area is terrified, especially by the many night-flights of military aircraft without any lights buzzing or hovering above them. Due to several missile attacks in the recent past at several locations of civilian population in Somalia, the uninvolved and innocent local people are scared to death.

Meanwhile more militiamen from the Mogadishu area, from the Galgadud and even Gaalkacyo town in Mudug Region, mostly comprising of Habrgedir clan members (Ayr, Saad and Saleban) but also some Majerteen (Isse Mahamoud) from Eyl have arrived in the area of the coastal hinterland where the hi-jacked Ukrainian ship is in a stand-off with at least 9 foreign Navy vessels.

Elsewhere and even abroad large meetings of the Habrgedir clan have been held, who discussed solutions to the hi-jacking cases of ships and crews as well as individual foreigners and how to stop their clan-members from any abduction of people. Many expressed thereby that one of the underlying problems is that their clan has been marginalized, isolated and discriminated against and no support from the UN or the international community would reach their population.

Ukrainian and Russian media have called family members of the captured crew for a television campaign against the use of military means to rescue the ship.

They urge the Ukrainian and Russian governments to embrace diplomatic means.

Unfortunately, the Somali side was since Saturday 04th October entangled in and hampered by lengthy clan-based internal discussions, interferences by militia groups and the conclusion to the negotiations drag on, while speed is of the essence to also avoid the outbreak of hostilities at the coastal stretch near to the ship. Too much emphasis is given to the surrounding sagas for whom the weapons are, how the armada of joint navies should act or how Somali politicians and brokers, who have been helpless all along, should assist. Soon there will be no possibility any longer to cut a deal and walk away from it alive - for neither side.

Kenya's Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said, according to BBC, force should be used to rescue the weapons from the pirates. He thereby stands isolated as the only person worldwide, who opts for a forceful solution, which would cause a major humanitarian and environmental disaster. Maybe he just hopes that thereby crucial evidence in that saga would also be destroyed.

According to PANA press agency, Wetangula said the use of force to free the ship was necessary, having been authorized by the United Nations Security Council, which ordered the use of force against any acts of piracy in the Horn of Africa region. "We are going to move with the Chinese and Indians to see that the hijack of the ship along the coast of Somalia (will) be the last in the country," Wetangula said in the PANA press release quoted by the French website www.afriquenligne.fr

It seems that there is some misinterpretation again on the Kenyan side, since the UN allowed, but did not order and specifically did not order to use force in an operation against the pirates of MV FAINA. It is believed and has been stated by the pirates that the ship and its explosive cargo has been prepared for any such attack in a more serious way than some of the other held ships, which are said to now be mined against commando operations.

"The pirates are holding hostages... human lives are at stake. Ultimately, force could result in casualties," warned Somali Foreign minister Ali Ahmed Jama in Nairobi on 7th October, thereby refuting that his Kenyan counterpart had specific permission to use force against the MV FAINA.

The families and relatives of the Ukrainian seafarers together with the rest of the world, this time including the United States of America, hope that the Ukrainian government stands strong on their decision to achieve a peaceful solution and can prevent any unwise action from any side.

The 20 crewmembers aboard the hijacked Ukrainian ship laden with combat tanks and ammunition are living in fear, the U.S. Navy said Thursday 09th October. "They want it to end peaceful and quickly," Lt. Nathan Christensen, a spokesman from the U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain, said and stated that the US-Navy is in regular contact with the crew of the MV FAINA via a satellite phone.

He said the US-Navy did not know when the stand-off might end, but said they would make sure the pirates do not take the heavy weapons ashore. Other contacts reported in addition that the crew is being treated well and the 20 men take regular meals prepared by their own chef, while the pirates are ready and prepare for a quick release.

Based on the Kenyan sabre-rattling a hostile response came on 10. October: "We held a consultative meeting for more than three hours today and decided to blow up the ship and its cargo - us included - if the ship owners did not meet our ransom demand," a "Sugule Ali" told the Associated Press allegedly from aboard MV FAINA and stated: "After three days, starting from tomorrow, the news of the ship will be closed. Either we achieve our goal and get the ransom or perish along with the ship, its crew and cargo." This was according to AP repeated to the Spanish news agency Efe.

The negotiations had continued positively and all sides, except one, were willing to safeguard the human lives at risk and to come now together for a quick solution including the rather complicated modalities, which have to be applied in this case for the release operation. The talks were getting closer, though there is still too much interference from the sidelines, which actually caused that the pirates sometimes spoke to the wrong people and have now the impression that the negotiations are willfully being extended to gain time for the preparation of a military operation. They therefore had given on 11th October an ultimatum of 3 days for the ransom to be paid.

"The talks between pirates and ship owners totally stopped yesterday (11. Oct.) after the pirates insisted that Somali brokers must be removed from the process to negotiate", said Ahmed Abshir Hasan, an elder in the pirates' lair of Harardhere to AFP, who reported also: "They said the process will resume in four days with new brokers", as being said by another elder Abdullahi Moalim Afrah. "We don't want any Somali broker to get involved in this deal and that is why we stopped the talks", added another pirate, who did not want to give out his name.

Somali brokers as well as interested sides from Sudan and other sidelines have interfered since the beginning of the stand-off, just being interested in their own agenda, which had a negative impact on direct negotiations between the one and only negotiator for the side of the hostages and the ship with the commander of the pirates on board.

"We believe that the pirates also have understood now that it doesn't help them to negotiate anything with third parties, who would not have the power to implement and guarantee the modalities for the release of the ship" an official close to the scene said. MV FAINA is pinned down and observed at the Somali coast by six US-American and at least four European warships.

The UN-AU panel warned Kenya on 11. October 2008 from intervening in the hijacked ship and said Kenya has no mandate over the ship. Former Kenya's special envoy to the Sudanese peace talks Lt-Gen Lazarus Sumbeiywo said the hijacking would have affected Kenya had the Ukrainian ship docked in Kenyan territorial waters adding that the services of the Kenyan Navy would then have been sought. "It affects Kenya when it is only in the port of Mombasa. If the international community requires help in the rescue operations, it will be in their interest not Kenya alone", said Sumbeiywo.

Observers feared since Sunday, 12th October 2008, that the vessel might soon run out of fuel for the generators, which produce electricity and thereby could loose main-engine-start, communication, navigation, lights, pumps, air-conditioning, the freshwater and toilet systems, essential units of the kitchen and the cool-room, where also the body of the deceased captain of the ship is kept. These fears were later confirmed and a tonne of fuel has been delivered to the ship, which will be enough for a few days. The pirates have so far refused to accept other support from third parties and ways of how to get food and safe drinking water for the crew are still worked on.

Either we receive our money by tomorrow, or never,'' Sugule Ali, a spokesman for the pirates, said by satellite phone, in comments posted on 13th October at the Web Site of Russian state broadcaster Vesti-24. He ``gave it to be understood'' that the ship, the MV FAINA, could be sunk tonight or tomorrow, Vesti said. Other sources, however, dispute that "spokesman Sugule Ali" really would speak for the Somali commander under whose order the group holding MV FAINA operate.

The crew members' relatives tried but so far failed to meet with Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko in Kiev over the ransom demand, which began at 35 million US$ and has since appeared to drop to below 10 million. They vowed not to leave the president's office.

Kenya will not give in to ransom demands, Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetangula said on Monday during a reception at the Spanish Ambassador's residence in Nairobi and declared that Kenya would not pay the $10 million ransom the hijackers are reported to have agreed on. Somali Ambassador to Kenya Mohamed Ali Nur (nicknamed "Ali America") and the minister ruled out chances of the pirates blowing the ship up.

However, risk analysts raised their eye-brows upon such "insurances" and stated that neither scenario could be ruled out so easily, which either would take the possibility into consideration that meanwhile suicidal jihad fighters could have been brought on board together with the enforcement of the pirates or would evaluate the likelihood that a torpedo or a clandestine commando attack by outside forces could blow up the vessel to "sink the problem", which causes so much governmental embarrassment and diplomatic rows. "In both cases the pirates would anyway be blamed by the world" and "Also the suicide attack against the USS Cole at the coast of Yemen should not be forgotten", one analyst reminded, where two suicide bombers detonated their explosives-packed boat next to the U.S. warship as it re-fuelled on 12th October 2000 in Aden harbour at Yemen's southern tip, killing 17 U.S. sailors, wounding 39 and causing a repair damage of over 150 million US $, not including the only 8 million dollar compensation the families of the dead soldiers still are waiting for. On March 14, 2007, a federal judge in the United States ruled that the Sudanese government (Khartoum) was liable for the bombing. Sudan's hand is felt in the case of the FAINA now also inside Somalia already.

On 14th October the Islamic Courts Union of Somalia (ICU) declared war against western warships in Somali waters accusing them of wanting to re-colonize and spread Christianity in Somalia, ICU spokesperson Abdirahiim Isse Addow stated. Speaking during an interview with African Press Agency (APA), the ICU spokesperson said the US and other western warships, including NATO, are helping the deployment of what he called "Christian soldiers into Somalia and their aim is to re-colonize Somalia."

Meanwhile Prof. Abdulgafur H.S. El-Busaidy, SUPKEM (Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims) chairman and outstanding scholar, as well as many Somali religious leaders warned that the MV FAINA must not be exploded by any side and said it would be an outrageous crime and a big sin (Xaram / Haram) since the destruction of life is not permissible and the consequences for all life forms would be horrible in this case.

A "Sugule Ali" as spokesman for the Somali pirates stated on 15th October they have withdrawn their threat (to blow up the vessel if the ransom would not have been paid by today), because they are again negotiating the release of crew, ship and cargo. He said also negotiations are going very well. "We have withdrawn it," Ali stated, referring to the threat. He spoke to AP via satellite phone from the MV FAINA.

A Ukrainian opposition party said on 15th October it had started a fundraising campaign to raise the $8 million ransom demanded by Somali pirates for the release of the MK FAINA vessel and its crew. The fund-raising campaign was launched by the Party of Regions, led by Russia-friendly Viktor Yanukovych.

A pirate speaking by satellite phone said Wednesday 15th October that an excessive number of mediators had been hampering the negotiations, but that the pirates did not plan to harm the crew. People on shore near the ship said that the pirates had recently hauled aboard enough spaghetti, rice and goat meat to last them several months.

Field observers reported on 16th October renewed attempts by various factions to link up with the pirates on MV FAINA in order to engage into sideline-deals involving the offloading of at least some of the weapons.. Money has allegedly be offered for light arms and ammunition as well as for some weapons-systems on board. Experience from the MV THOR STAR, which has been looted before release, make such claims believable.

Despite increased negotiation efforts, the stand-off concerning Ukrainian MV FAINA was on 17th October still not yet solved, but intensive negotiations have continued and both sides are striving to finalize the safe release, though Ukraine itself is in turmoil. It is believed, however, that the call by Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko for a snap parliamentary election after his coalition collapsed will not affect the release-negotiations concerning MV FAINA.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko had dissolved the legislative body - the Supreme Council (Verkhovna Rada) - on Wednesday morning and called early polls for December 7 after his ruling "orange" coalition with Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's bloc collapsed after the premier's party sided with the opposition in passing a law to cut the president's powers. Yushchenko and Tymoshenko, leaders of the 2004 "Orange Revolution," have drifted apart and are bitter adversaries over a host of issues, including Russia's war with Georgia in August.

The government refused Tuesday to allocate election campaign funds of $80 million from the state reserve and urged President Yushchenko to reverse a decision calling for early parliamentary polls. In a major turnaround, Ukraine's prime minister said on Thursday she was ready to accept any conditions set by the president and his team to salvage the ruling coalition and avoid early parliamentary elections. Both are expected to run for president in 2010. The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers approved now state budget amendments to allocate funding for early parliamentary elections, the country's defense minister, Yuriy Yekhanurov, said earlier Thursday, but Madam Yulia Tymoshenko stated the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was ready to grant Ukraine a loan of between $3 billion and $14 billion to help the country overcome the financial crisis, though the credit would only be provided if the early elections were postponed.

On 17th October Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko's office held a special meeting, with officials saying afterwards that they were working "every hour" to liberate the Ukrainian sailors on board the ship.

Relatives of 17 Ukrainians on the ship have collected money for the ransom, media reports said on Saturday. "The negotiations are ongoing. We still haven't handed over the money but it's all leading up to that," Olga Girzheva, the mother of one of the hostages, told Ukrainian media, without giving a final figure for the ransom. Relatives told reporters that most of the ransom money had come from leading politicians including Viktor Yanukovych, a former prime minister who leads Ukraine's main opposition party, the pro-Russian Regions Party.

While one tonne of fuel could be provided earlier, specific food and fresh-water supplies for the crew have not yet been allowed on board. Emergency electricity also can be produced by the three wind-turbines which the ship is equipped with.

Most recently on 19th October US-American Navy spokesman Lt. Nathan Christensen said that the crew of the MV FAINA looked healthy. The pirates who seized the ship three weeks ago allowed the mostly Ukrainian crew to line up on the deck so U.S. sailors on nearby vessels could see and photograph them together with their mostly extremely young Somali captors.

See: http://www.navy.mil/management/photodb/photos/081019-N-1082Z-082.jpg

A missile frigate from Russia's Baltic Fleet was passing through the Suez Canal on 21st October en route to the coast of Somalia in order to join an international naval group fighting sea piracy in the region, a senior Russian Navy official said. "The task of the destroyer Neustrashimy (Unchallengeable) is to escort and protect Russian vessels or ships with Russian crew-members on board from pirate attacks," Russian Navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo said according to RIA Novosti. Other maritime sources, however, claimed the Russian warship had already arrived in Somali waters. The Russian deployment has raised media speculation that Moscow, which has dealt harshly with hostage-takers in the past, could use force to free the crew of the MV FAINA. Russia's central command, however, had earlier ruled out a direct military engagement with the situation concerning the weapon-laden ship pinned down at the Somali coast by several US and EU navy ships plus a submarine in the area, which regularly is also spotted further South near Mogadishu harbour.

Relatives of the mostly-Ukrainian crew held hostage aboard the ship are preparing to pay a ransom demanded by pirates, a crew spokeswoman told the Ukrainian Fakty newspaper on 21th October. Nina Karpecheva, Ukrainian member of parliament and human rights ombudsperson, is in Kenya since 21th of October to attend a SIDA sponsored conference for National Human Rights Organizations. She is said to be in regular contact with the pirate negotiators as well as with diplomats on the scene.

A spokesman for the shipowners said that the crew ran out of food and water a week ago and the pirates had been feeding the sailors up to October 21 with supplies brought from the mainland.

Ukraine's Segodnya newspaper and RIA Novosti, the Russian news agency, must have misunderstood the Somali pirates holding the MV FAINA when they published on 22nd October that the pirates had threatened to kill the crew tomorrow, quoting: "Tell everybody that the crew will die. Possibly, tomorrow". The group holding the FAINA most likely wanted to simply express that due to the critical food, water and fuel situation serious suffering among the crew can not be ruled out from tomorrow.

The relatives of the crew, a majority of them Ukrainian, are preparing for the payment of ransom. The situation on the FAINA, however, is critical, as reserves of water, food and fuel, including diesel fuel for the ship's generators, will last less than 30 hours, Channel 5 reported on Oct.22, with reference to Verkhovna Rada Human Rights Commissioner Mme. Nina Karpachova.

The operators of the FAINA had said on 23rd October that they had not raised enough money to meet the pirates´ multimillion-dollar ransom demand. Viktor Murenko, the head of Tomex Team, which operates the cargo ship, said the company had accumulated only $1 million toward the ransom. Mr. Murenko said the FAINA´s crew members had received food and water and were in satisfactory condition.

Most importantly, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry renewed on 23rd October its guarantee to save the lives of the hostages on the seized ship as priority in talks with pirates.

A spokesman for those holding the Ukrainian arms ship warned if the ship was attacked by NATO forces its 20-man crew would be among those killed and vowed on 23rd October to fight back if attacked, regardless of the impending arrival of a flotilla of NATO warships. "Either we get the money or hold onto the ship. And if attacked, we will fight back to the bitter end," s "Sugule Ali" told AP via satellite telephone. "The important thing, though, is if we die they will die too," he added, referring to the FAINA's crew.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and other central executive authorities are taking all of the necessary measures aimed at the peaceful settlement of the situation with hostages on the FAINA. "We would like to note that Ukraine as a state cannot be a party in the negotiating process with the pirates. According to the international practice, if pirates hijack ships, government structures don't participate in talks directly with assailants. The mechanism of holding the negotiations foresees talks between a ship-owner or a company managing [the ship] and pirates, directly or through mediators. According to this practice, the FAINA shipowner empowered a professional legal company to hold the talks with the pirates", reads the statement.

"To ensure freedom of actions to fight piracy directly in Somalia's territorial waters, the Foreign Ministry of Russia has requested the agreement of the Interim Federal Government of the Somali Republic to grant the Russian Federation 'cooperating state' status," the ministry said in a statement.

"In cooperation with other nations, the Russian side intends to undertake all measures sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council to improve maritime situation in this region. Russia's navy ship Neustrashimy is already on its way there". "`The Russian side nevertheless considers that the joint efforts of all participants will lead to a successful outcome of the crisis and the freeing of the crew and of the ship", the ministry said.

It is hoped that the crew of the approaching Russian guided missile frigate Neustrashimy is also invited to join the R&R of their NATO naval counterparts at the French Navy Resort in Djibouti and gives the negotiators a few more days to conclude the peaceful deal concerning the MV FAINA. Once released with their crew alive the Russian warship can escort the vessel back home from this ill-fated trip. Russia's foreign ministry said it was "deeply concerned" over the fate of the ship's crew, which includes two of the original three Russian nationals. The Russian captain died after a sun-stroke. "Unfortunately, and because of the pirates' unacceptable conditions, the attempt to secure the assistance of the ICRC and U.S. colleagues in handing over the body of the dead Captain Vladimir Kolobkov have been unsuccessful at the present stage.

Note

Picture: All eyes on MV FAINA

http://www.newsmax.com/international/af_somalia_piracy/2008/10/01/136260.html

Palin's a hypocrite, sorta.

2008-10-31T19:00:00.002-04:00

"Caribou barbie" actually a communist!

Fact Check: Palin's Alaska spreads its wealth

By RITA BEAMISH – 22 hours ago

Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin summon antidemocratic images of a communist state to attack Democrat Barack Obama's tax plan and his comment about spreading the wealth around. But in her home state, Palin embraces Alaska's own version of doing just that.

Palin and McCain seized on a comment Obama made to Ohio plumber Joe Wurzelbacher, who asked about his tax plans.

Obama wants to raise taxes on families earning $250,000 to pay for cutting taxes for the 95 percent of workers and their families making less than $200,000. "I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody," he told Wurzelbacher.

McCain said that sounds "a lot like socialism" to many Americans. Palin has derided the Illinois senator as "Barack the Wealth Spreader."

But in Alaska, Palin is the envy of governors nationwide for the annual checks the state doles out to nearly every resident, representing their share of the revenues from the state's oil riches. She boosted those checks this year by raising taxes on oil.

McCain campaign spokesman Taylor Griffin said Thursday that spreading wealth through Obama's tax plan and doing it through Alaska's oil-profit distribution are not comparable because Alaska requires the state's resource wealth to be shared with residents, but it's not taxing personal income.

"It's how the revenue is shared between the oil companies and the state."

A look at Palin's and McCain's comments and the record in Alaska:

THE SPIN:

"Barack Obama calls it spreading the wealth. Joe Biden calls higher taxes patriotic," Palin told a crowd in Roswell, N.M., and elsewhere. "But Joe the Plumber and Ed the Dairyman, I believe they think it sounds more like socialism.

"Friends, now is no time to experiment with socialism."

In Ohio, she asked, "Are there any Joe the Plumbers in the house?" To cheers, she said, "It doesn't sound like you're supporting Barack the Wealth Spreader."

McCain told a radio audience that Obama's plan "would convert the IRS into a giant welfare agency, redistributing massive amounts of wealth at the direction of politicians in Washington."

"Raising taxes on some in order to give checks to others is not a tax cut; it's just another government giveaway."

THE FACTS:

In Alaska, residents pay no income tax or state sales tax. They receive a yearly dividend check from a $30 billion state investment account built largely from royalties on its oil. When home fuel and gas costs soared last year, Palin raised taxes on big oil and used some of the money to boost residents' checks by $1,200. Thus every eligible man, woman and child got a record $3,269 this fall.

She also suspended the 8-cent tax on gas.

"We can afford to share resource wealth with Alaskans and to temporarily suspend the state fuel tax," she said at the time.

Much as Obama explains his tax hike on the rich as a way to help people who are struggling, Palin's statement talked about the energy costs burdening Alaskans:

"While the unique fiscal circumstances the state finds itself in at the end of this fiscal year warrant a special one-time payment to share some of the state's wealth, the payment comes at a time when Alaskans are facing rising energy prices. High prices for oil are a double-edged sword for Alaskans. While public coffers fill, prices for heating fuel and gasoline have skyrocketed over the last six months and are now running into the $5- to $9-a-gallon range for heating fuel and gasoline across several areas of the state."

In an interview with The New Yorker last summer Palin explained that she would make demands of a new gas pipeline "to maximize benefits for Alaskans":

"And Alaska we're set up, unlike other states in the union, where it's collectively Alaskans own the resources. So we share in the wealth when the development of these resources occurs."

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

economic crisis caused by quadrillion dollar derivative mess

2008-09-25T21:45:00.001-04:00

What is a derivative? It's a financial instrument roughly analogous to placing bets with a bookie. The vast majority of which are not recorded on any balance sheet. These wildly speculative bets are at the heart of the ongoing global economic crisis from which there is no plausible way out as the sums involved are simply to large.

read more | digg story

VPGILF A Ron Paul Fan

2008-08-29T21:58:00.002-04:00

Wow, she compares herself to ron paul? awesome!

Published by MTV News on Friday, August 29, 2008 at 1:58 pm.

Sarah PalinBy Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Dani Carlson

Back in February, on Super Tuesday, MTV News Street Teamer Dani Carlson did a Flixwagon interview with Alaska Governor — and now presumptive Republican vice-presidential candidate — Sarah Palin, who had some interesting things to say about energy policy and the “party machinery.”

In this interview, Palin calls controversial Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul “cool.” “He’s a good guy,” she added. “He’s so independent. He’s independent of the party machine. I’m like, ‘Right on, so am I.’ ”

She also spoke about feeling allegiance with former presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. “He said all the right things about resource development in Alaska,” she said. “I didn’t have an opportunity to speak to all the candidates, but again, it’s not my job to speak to all the candidates and tell Americans who to vote for. That’s Americans’ jobs, to figure out what candidates are standing for. That’s the voters’ jobs.”

Check out Dani Carlson’s video interview with Gov. Sarah Palin after the jump!

She went on to say that she hoped the needs of her state would be addressed in Washington. “I talk about involvement by Americans having a say in where the nation is going to go,” she said. “This is an exciting day. And for Alaska, you know, I hope we register on somebody’s radar screen.”

She also spoke about Alaska’s natural resources, and urged the next president to look to her state for relief from the country’s reliance on foreign oil. “We have so much oil we are just sitting on,” she said. “We would be less reliant on foreign sources of energy [if we utilized that] — we need to have the ability to tap into it and produce for rest of the United States.”

Krugman's vision, the destruction of progress.

2008-08-15T12:42:00.001-04:00

Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Op-Ed Columnist
The Great Illusion

By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: August 14, 2008

So far, the international economic consequences of the war in the Caucasus have been fairly minor, despite Georgia’s role as a major corridor for oil shipments. But as I was reading the latest bad news, I found myself wondering whether this war is an omen — a sign that the second great age of globalization may share the fate of the first.

If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, here’s what you need to know: our grandfathers lived in a world of largely self-sufficient, inward-looking national economies — but our great-great grandfathers lived, as we do, in a world of large-scale international trade and investment, a world destroyed by nationalism.

Writing in 1919, the great British economist John Maynard Keynes described the world economy as it was on the eve of World War I. “The inhabitant of London could order by telephone, sipping his morning tea in bed, the various products of the whole earth ... he could at the same moment and by the same means adventure his wealth in the natural resources and new enterprises of any quarter of the world.”

And Keynes’s Londoner “regarded this state of affairs as normal, certain, and permanent, except in the direction of further improvement ... The projects and politics of militarism and imperialism, of racial and cultural rivalries, of monopolies, restrictions, and exclusion ... appeared to exercise almost no influence at all on the ordinary course of social and economic life, the internationalization of which was nearly complete in practice.”

But then came three decades of war, revolution, political instability, depression and more war. By the end of World War II, the world was fragmented economically as well as politically. And it took a couple of generations to put it back together.

So, can things fall apart again? Yes, they can.

Consider how things have played out in the current food crisis. For years we were told that self-sufficiency was an outmoded concept, and that it was safe to rely on world markets for food supplies. But when the prices of wheat, rice and corn soared, Keynes’s “projects and politics” of “restrictions and exclusion” made a comeback: many governments rushed to protect domestic consumers by banning or limiting exports, leaving food-importing countries in dire straits.

And now comes “militarism and imperialism.” By itself, as I said, the war in Georgia isn’t that big a deal economically. But it does mark the end of the Pax Americana — the era in which the United States more or less maintained a monopoly on the use of military force. And that raises some real questions about the future of globalization.

Most obviously, Europe’s dependence on Russian energy, especially natural gas, now looks very dangerous — more dangerous, arguably, than its dependence on Middle Eastern oil. After all, Russia has already used gas as a weapon: in 2006, it cut off supplies to Ukraine amid a dispute over prices.

And if Russia is willing and able to use force to assert control over its self-declared sphere of influence, won’t others do the same? Just think about the global economic disruption that would follow if China — which is about to surpass the United States as the world’s largest manufacturing nation — were to forcibly assert its claim to Taiwan.

Some analysts tell us not to worry: global economic integration itself protects us against war, they argue, because successful trading economies won’t risk their prosperity by engaging in military adventurism. But this, too, raises unpleasant historical memories.

Shortly before World War I another British author, Norman Angell, published a famous book titled “The Great Illusion,” in which he argued that war had become obsolete, that in the modern industrial era even military victors lose far more than they gain. He was right — but wars kept happening anyway.

So are the foundations of the second global economy any more solid than those of the first? In some ways, yes. For example, war among the nations of Western Europe really does seem inconceivable now, not so much because of economic ties as because of shared democratic values.

Much of the world, however, including nations that play a key role in the global economy, doesn’t share those values. Most of us have proceeded on the belief that, at least as far as economics goes, this doesn’t matter — that we can count on world trade continuing to flow freely simply because it’s so profitable. But that’s not a safe assumption.

Angell was right to describe the belief that conquest pays as a great illusion. But the belief that economic rationality always prevents war is an equally great illusion. And today’s high degree of global economic interdependence, which can be sustained only if all major governments act sensibly, is more fragile than we imagine.

Julia Child. a spook?!?!

2008-08-14T15:13:00.000-04:00

Always knew that broad wasn't on the level.

Newly released files show Julia Child was a spy
WASHINGTON—Before Julia Child became known to the world as a leading chef, she admitted at least one failing when applying for a job as a spy: impulsiveness.

At 28 as an advertising manager at W&J Sloane furniture store in Beverly Hills, Calif., Child clashed with new store managers and left her job abruptly.

"I made a tactical error and was out," she explained in a handwritten note attached to her application to join the Office of Strategic Services, a World War II-era spy agency. "However, I learned a lot about advertising and wish I had been older and more experienced so that I could have handled the situation, as it was a most interesting position."

Child was not yet married and was applying for the job under her maiden name, McWilliams, according to previously top-secret records released by the National Archives on Thursday. She was hired in the summer of 1942 for clerical work with the intelligence agency and later worked directly for OSS Director William Donovan, the personnel records show.

Details about Child's background and nearly 24,000 other OSS employees are revealed in the newly released documents, withheld from public view as classified records for decades by the CIA.

The 750,000 documents identify the vast spy network managed by the OSS, which later became the CIA. President Franklin Roosevelt created the OSS, the country's first centralized intelligence operation.

The OSS files offer details about other agents, including Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg, major league catcher Moe Berg, historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. and film actor Sterling Hayden.

Other notables identified in the files include John Hemingway, son of author Ernest Hemingway; Kermit Roosevelt, son of President Theodore Roosevelt; and Miles Copeland, father of Stewart Copeland, drummer for the band The Police.

Some of those like Child on the list have been identified previously as having worked for the OSS, but their personnel records never have been available before. Those records would show why they were hired, jobs they were assigned to and perhaps even missions they pursued while working for the agency.

The release of the OSS personnel files unmasks one of the last secrets from the short-lived wartime intelligence agency, which for the most part was later folded into the CIA after President Truman disbanded it in 1945.

"I think it's terrific," said Elizabeth McIntosh, 93, a former OSS agent now living in Woodbridge, Va. "They've finally, after all these years, they've gotten the names out. All of these people had been told never to mention they were with the OSS."

The CIA long resisted releasing the records. But a former CIA director, William Casey, himself an OSS veteran, cleared the way for transfer of millions of OSS documents to the National Archives when he took over the spy agency in 1981. The personnel files are the latest documents to be made public.

Information about OSS involvement was so guarded that relatives often could not confirm a family member's work with the group.

Walter Mess, who handled covert OSS operations in Poland and North Africa, said he kept quiet for more than 50 years, only recently telling his wife of 62 years about his OSS activity.

"I was told to keep my mouth shut," said Mess, now 93 and living in Falls Church, Va.

The files provide new information even for those most familiar with the agency. Charles Pinck, president of the OSS Society created by former OSS agents and their relatives, said the nearly 24,000 employees included in the archives far exceed previous estimates of 13,000.

The newly released documents will clarify these and other issues, said William Cunliffe, an archivist who has worked extensively with the OSS records at the National Archives.

"We're saying the OSS was a lot bigger than they were saying," he said.

------

On the Net:

CIA OSS page: http://tinyurl.com/6bvmhf

Index to National Archives OSS personnel files: http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/
© Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

The EMP Threat

2008-08-10T02:12:00.000-04:00

How hard it is to make one of these?

REVIEW & OUTLOOK

The EMP Threat
August 9, 2008; Page A10

Imagine you're a terrorist with a single nuclear weapon. You could wipe out the U.S. city of your choice, or you could decide to destroy the infrastructure of the entire U.S. economy and leave millions of Americans to die of starvation or want of medical care.

The latter scenario is the one envisioned by a long-running commission to assess the threat from electromagnetic pulse, or EMP. The subject of its latest, and little discussed, report to Congress is the effect an EMP attack could have on civilian infrastructure. If you're prone to nightmares, don't read it before bedtime.

An EMP attack occurs when a nuclear bomb explodes high in the Earth's atmosphere. The electromagnetic pulse generated by the blast destroys all the electronics in its line of sight. For a bomb detonated over the Midwest, that includes most of the continental U.S. Few, if any, people die in the blast. It's what comes next that has the potential to be catastrophic. Since an EMP surge wipes out electronics, virtually every aspect of modern American life would come to a standstill.

The commission's list of horribles is 181 pages long. The chapter on food, for instance, catalogs the disruptions up and down the production chain as food spoils or has no way to get to market. Many families have food supplies of several days or more. But after that, and without refrigeration, what? The U.S. also has 75,000 dams and reservoirs, 168,000 drinking water-treatment facilities, and 19,000 wastewater treatment centers -- all with pumps, valves and filters run by electricity.

Getting everything up and running again is not merely a matter of flipping a switch, and the commission estimates that many systems could be out of service for months or a year or more -- far longer than emergency stockpiles or batteries could cover. The large transformers used in electrical transmission are no longer built in the U.S. and delivery time is typically three years. "Lack of high voltage equipment manufacturing capacity represents a glaring weakness in our survival and recovery," the commission notes.

Many industries rely on automated control systems maintained by small work forces. In emergencies -- say, during a blackout -- companies often have arrangements in place to borrow workers from outside the affected area to augment the locals and help with manual repairs. After an EMP attack, those workers would be busy in their home regions -- or foraging for food and water for their families.

The commission offers extensive recommendations for how industry and government can protect against the effects of an EMP attack and ensure a quicker recovery. They include "hardening" more equipment to withstand an electromagnetic pulse; making sure replacement equipment is on hand; training recovery personnel; increasing federal food stockpiles; and many others.

If not, our vulnerability "can both invite and reward attack," the commission's chairman, William Graham, told Congress last month. Iran's military writings "explicitly discuss a nuclear EMP attack that would gravely harm the United States," he said. James Shinn, an assistant secretary of defense, has said that China is developing EMP weapons. The commission calls an EMP attack "one of a small number of threats that can hold our society at risk of catastrophic consequences." The threat is real. It's past time to address it.

See all of today's editorials and op-eds, plus video commentary, on Opinion Journal.

And add your comments to the Opinion Journal forum.

the shrinking world

2008-08-09T21:09:00.000-04:00

It's all getting smaller.

Cost of Living
The Price Is the Same; It’s the Size That Shrinks

By M. P. DUNLEAVEY
Published: August 8, 2008

IMAGINE what would happen if the price of gasoline remained the same, but instead of selling it by the gallon, gas stations knocked down the size a few ounces.

It might seem that you were paying the same amount — about $4 a gallon — but you wouldn’t be. You would be getting, say, a mere 120 ounces instead of 128, and you would be paying more for gas.

If gas stations labeled the change clearly, would there be riots in the street? Would weary consumers simply shrug and pay the same for less at the pump?

We don’t really know how people would react. But something very much like this is already occurring at the supermarket, what Tod Marks, a senior editor at Consumer Reports, calls “the incredibly shrinking package” strategy.

The repackaging trick isn’t new. Who hasn’t opened a box of cereal or a bag of chips and marveled at the abundance of air with the food? But Mr. Marks, who tracks the grocery industry, said, “It’s definitely happening a lot more than it used to.”

According to a study conducted this summer by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, shrinkage is occurring across a broad spectrum of goods, Mr. Marks said. The study will be published by Consumer Reports in October.

Some of the worst offenders are canned tuna, paper towels, chewing gum, butter-type spreads, candy bars — and, perhaps most drastically, coffee and ice cream. In many cases, he said, the traditional one-pound can of coffee has dwindled to 10 or 11 ounces. And many ice cream containers have shrunk from a half-gallon to 1.5 quarts.

Having just bought what I thought was a half-gallon of ice cream, I checked my freezer and was taken aback when I read the label. No 64 ounces here, just a mere 48 ounces dolled up to look like a half-gallon.

I felt snookered, but it was my own fault. I had not checked the container’s actual size or the unit pricing label, steps Mr. Marks says are essential if you are going to get your money’s worth in groceries these days.

Also, he advises, look sideways at a package before you buy it. “Companies won’t change the height or length of a container. It’s the width,” he said. “The Hershey’s bar you pick up at the register looks like the old 3-ounce bar but it’s only 1.5 ounces. Hold it up. It’s as thin as a wafer.”

THE incredible shrinking package game is hardly amusing when one contemplates a rapidly expanding grocery bill. But, in a funny way, it may be a good idea for food manufacturers and shoppers alike, said Harry Balzer, a vice president of the NPD Group, a marketing research firm based in Port Washington, N.Y.

With the soaring cost of wheat, corn, eggs, milk and other staples, grocery producers are faced with a dilemma, said Mr. Balzer, who studies food consumption. “People hate paying more for groceries. How do manufacturers deal with rising food costs without passing it along directly to the consumer?

“One option that you’re seeing, they keep the price the same but lower the amount. In effect, it’s a price increase,” he said, “but it’s not an increase in out-of-pocket expenses.”

Actually, I pointed out to Mr. Balzer, it is certainly an increase in what I pay out of pocket if my half-gallon of ice cream lasts only 1.5 quarts’ worth of servings or my box of cereal runs out after a week instead of two.

Mr. Balzer agreed. “There’s no question that you’re paying more for food,” he said. But, he added, consider the challenge facing food producers. “They have to make a decision: Do you raise the price of a product and risk that customers may not buy it, or do you modify the packaging and risk that people might feel deceived?”

As flawed as the system sounds, Mr. Marks of Consumer Reports believes that the grocery dance keeps everyone happy, more or less. “In effect, grocery manufacturers are still raising prices, yet people are paying the same — which is somehow appealing to the American psyche.”

M. P. Dunleavey is the author of “Money Can Buy Happiness” (Broadway Books, 2007).

White House spy scare?

2008-08-06T16:36:00.000-04:00

SPOOKY!!

Robert Eringer

August 2, 2008 12:00 AM

The Investigator

Few noticed that President George W. Bush quietly revamped the role of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board earlier this year. But nobody knows, until now, that a spy scare was one of the reasons to precipitate this change.

The role of the advisory board, which President Eisenhower created in 1956, has been to monitor U.S. intelligence services and offer non-partisan, expert advise to the president on its conduct. In the mid-1970s, after the exposure of CIA abuses by the Church Committee, PFIAB's clout expanded to investigate crimes within the intelligence community, empowered by President Ford to report criminal activity directly to the attorney general.

On Feb. 29, President Bush signed an executive order that diminishes PFIAB's authority and transfers the investigative powers to the director of national intelligence.

This followed a lengthy FBI counterintelligence investigation into the activities of a retired U.S. Air Force colonel who they suspected of spying on PFIAB for Russia.

It is believed in some quarters that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin personally recruited this colonel while Mr. Putin was posted to Dresden, East Germany, as a KGB intelligence officer. From 1985 to 1990 it was Mr. Putin's job to recruit spies in Germany, where U.S. military officers serving at NATO air bases were considered high priority targets.

At that time, the colonel was based at Borfink Air Force Base, where he supervised top-secret U-2 and SR-71 reconnaissance flights over the Soviet Union.

Soon after retiring from the Air Force, this colonel, in 1992, organized a trade delegation of Russians to the Principality of Monaco. Included in this delegation was an obscure political functionary from St. Petersburg. His name was Vladimir Putin. (Mr. Putin had resigned from the KGB a year before.) This delegation marked a Russian entry into Monaco, a tax haven that provides a variety of shielded opportunities to the very rich.

A Russian presence in Monaco has greatly proliferated during the past two years. As if to consummate the relationship, Prince Albert II of Monaco last August vacationed for a week in Russia with Mr. Putin, as the Russian president's guest. More recently, the Russian state "gifted" Prince Albert with a two-story, three-bedroom dacha, which Russian builders constructed from scratch on the grounds of Roc Agel, the bachelor prince's country hideaway in the French Alps, high above his glamorous principality.

Back to the mid-1990s, the Air Force colonel created a business entity in Monaco with a member of a prominent Monegasque family. Over a five-year period this entity is understood to have laundered $600 million through Monaco's banks for corrupt Russian interests -- funds reputedly channeled into real estate around Western Europe and further laundered through coded accounts at banks in Malta, the Bahamas, and the Turks & Caicos Islands. An estate in Ireland was allegedly purchased on behalf of one "Andrey Vasiliyev," an alias that Mr. Putin, while president, was known to use in correspondence with his intelligence chiefs.

The colonel was also known to carry suitcases full of cash -- presumably on behalf of Russians, maybe for Mr. Putin personally -- from Switzerland to Monaco for deposit in local banks.

Although his last annual salary in the Air Force as an attachè was about $60,000 -- and that by his own admission he "retired broke" -- the colonel quickly amassed $10 million worth of real estate in Monaco, London, Malibu and Whistler, Canada, plus luxury cars, and a collection of ultra-pricey Ming Dynasty antiques.

One of the Russians who figured into the colonel's Monaco-based Russian money laundering scheme was Viktor Bout, a former major in the GRU (Soviet military intelligence), nicknamed "The Bill Gates of Arms Dealing" and now in custody in Thailand, fighting extradition to the United States.

Trouble for both the colonel and Mr. Bout, 41, first began in February 2001 when a prosecutor in Belgium, under pressure from the United States government, issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Bout alleging that this merchant of death had laundered millions of dollars from illegal arms sales, including the sale of Russian military aircraft to the Taliban in Afghanistan, pre-9/11.

The colonel and his Monegasque partner, who has since died, liquidated their entity four months later and are understood to have destroyed the company's documentation. The colonel then left Monaco to lay low in his other homes.

However, the colonel still maintained a link to PFIAB, whose meetings he had occasionally attended while in the Air Force to "flap charts" for senior officers conducting presentations. The colonel, in retirement, had been known to boast to others that he was attached to PFIAB, and that he was engaged in running secret missions on its behalf.

But he was lying. The colonel neither sat on PFIAB's 16-member board nor was he on its staff; nor does PFIAB have operational authority or capability to run missions.

Yet when annual PFIAB meetings rolled around every December, the colonel traveled first-class to Washington, D.C., for precisely the same dates and holed up in five-star hotels -- The Willard or the Hay Adams -- a stone's throw from PFIAB's venue, the Old Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House.

It is believed the colonel knew someone at PFIAB -- a board member or staffer -- whom he wined and dined at expensive restaurants and from whom he weaseled intelligence gossip about PFIAB briefings and discussions. And then reported everything he collected to the Russians.

The colonel has apparently gotten off scot-free, unless the FBI turned him into a double agent. Obviously, they're not saying, and are otherwise preoccupied celebrating their 100th anniversary with a PR campaign.

A call from The Investigator to PFIAB for comment was referred to the White House Media Office, which did not call back.

If you have a story idea for The Investigator, contact him at reringer[at]newspress.com. State if your query is confidential.

marx cafe tonight?

2008-08-05T15:37:00.002-04:00

damn good question. I'm willing to bet that Marx hasn't gotten their permit issue sorted, one has to stop and wonder if I'll ever be dropping records there again. I'll most likely still be there tonight, for a bite to eat and some beers. -m

kiss the dollar menu goodbye!!

2008-08-05T15:22:00.002-04:00

An amazingly tragic reversal of fortune for those dollar-menu-aires!!

McDonald's Tests Changes
In $1 Burger As Costs Rise
By JANET ADAMY
August 4, 2008; Page B1

OAK BROOK, Ill. -- McDonald's Corp. is testing modifications to its popular $1 double cheeseburger, and higher prices for the sandwich, as it prepares to change its Dollar Menu by next year.

In an interview, Don Thompson, president of McDonald's U.S. business, said the company has tested ways to make the burger less expensive to make. Some restaurants are selling it with one slice of cheese instead of two, and billing it as a "double hamburger with cheese." Others are offering a double hamburger without cheese. Some are selling the traditional double cheeseburger at prices ranging from $1.09 to $1.19.

The company is also considering expanding what it considers the middle tier of its menu, items ranging from about $1.30 to $2. "We know customers are facing tough times in this economy," Mr. Thompson said.

Launched in 2003, the Dollar Menu has been a key driver of sales at McDonald's 14,000 U.S. restaurants and has helped it ride out dips in consumer spending. But recently, franchisees have complained that the menu has brought too much unprofitable traffic into their restaurants.

The biggest question for the eight-item menu is what to do with the double cheeseburger, considered its anchor. High dairy prices have pushed up the cost of cheese, and McDonald's predicts more pressure because its beef costs will be higher this year. Mr. Thompson said if McDonald's moves the double cheeseburger off that menu, there would still be some type of $1 burger.

Internal sales documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show that, as of late June, sales of the chain's lattes, cappuccinos and other espresso drinks were off their peak in several main markets where they're being sold. Mr. Thompson said "the numbers really don't tell the story."

Lower-priced beverages, including $1.89 iced coffee and a $1 fountain-drink and sweet-tea promotion, have pulled some sales away from the espresso drinks, which range from about $2 to $3. That was something the company hadn't anticipated, he said.

McDonald's overall beverage expansion, adding espresso drinks, smoothies, cold tea, bottled drinks and ice-blended coffee beverages at U.S. locations, is on track to exceed the company's goal of adding $125,000 a year in sales per restaurant, even though it doesn't yet have national advertising behind it, Mr. Thompson said. He sees McDonald's target of the drinks adding $1 billion a year to the company's sales as "definitely achievable." The rollout will be complete at the end of 2009.

Write to Janet Adamy at janet.adamy@wsj.com

the fed steps in

2008-08-01T00:11:00.003-04:00

Oh great, now with the Federal Reserve backing up the FDIC we can just print more money to cover for the debt crisis.

Fed Loans to Banks Made Easier By Fannie Mae Rescue (Update1)

By Craig Torres
More Photos/Details

July 31 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve will be able to lend more easily to failed banks under government control because of a provision in legislation that bailed out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

In the rescue signed into law by President George W. Bush yesterday, the Fed will no longer have to pay penalties on loans it makes to institutions taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The measure may mean more use of the central bank's balance sheet to prop up the U.S. financial system, after the Fed began lending to investment banks in March, analysts said. The FDIC has taken over seven banks this year, with 90 on a watch-list of troubled firms as lenders are hit by the surge in credit losses.

``We are pushing forward the line on what the government will backstop, and what the Federal Reserve will backstop,'' said Vincent Reinhart, former director of the Fed's Monetary Affairs Division who is now at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.

Fed officials yesterday also extended their two lending programs to Wall Street through January, after judging that markets are still ``fragile.''

The Federal Reserve Act's Section 10B penalizes the Fed for loans to undercapitalized institutions exceeding specific time periods. The original provision was aimed at preventing the central bank from keeping failing banks open.

FDIC Request

The exemption in the new law, which was requested by the FDIC without objection by the Fed's Board of Governors, was aimed at making clear that once banks are taken over by the FDIC, capital rules no longer apply because they are effectively owned, operated and in liquidation by the government.

``It is more of a clarification,'' said FDIC spokesman Andrew Gray in Washington. ``It removes any ambiguity from the current statutory language.''

Fed spokesman David Skidmore declined to comment.

For some, the exemption opens up the Fed to more political pressure to lend to government agencies, instead of forcing Congress, the FDIC, or the Treasury to explain to taxpayers why they need more money.

``Once the Fed starts lending to a bridge bank, or indirectly to the FDIC, where is the incentive to ever stop?'' said Walker Todd, a former Cleveland Fed attorney and visiting research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

Raise Money

The FDIC had $52.8 billion in its deposit-insurance fund as of March 31. The FDIC could raise more money by tapping a $40 billion credit line it has with the U.S. Treasury, increasing assessments on its members, or turning to Congress.

``Throughout this crisis, the government is gradually taking care of anybody who is not insured,'' said Tom Gallagher, senior managing director at ISI Group in Washington. ``The Fed seemed to be limiting its role after Bear Stearns. Now, there seems to be some backsliding.''

``Like any open depository institution, there will be short-term borrowing needs by the bridge bank,'' which may need to ``tap the discount window,'' Gray said, referring to the name for the Fed's direct loans to commercial banks. ``Longer-term borrowing needs would typically be met by a loan from the FDIC.''

The Fed enjoys wide discretion in discount-window lending, and demands collateral, sometimes in excess of the loan's value, to insure against the risk of default.

A request by the FDIC could always be rejected by the central bank. Still, the removal of the penalties may open up the Fed to more political pressure, possibly encroaching on its independence, analysts said.

`Costly and Difficult'

``Why should they be doing it?'' said Robert Eisenbeis, former Atlanta Fed research director and now chief monetary economist at hedge fund Cumberland Advisors LLC. ``The whole idea'' of the rules in the Federal Reserve Act is ``to make it costly and difficult to support an insolvent institution.''

This month, the Fed board voted unanimously to allow direct lending to government-sponsored housing agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ``should such lending prove necessary,'' at the request of U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

Yesterday the central bank extended until Jan. 30 the Primary Dealer Credit Facility for direct loans to securities firms and the Term Securities Lending Facility for loans of Treasuries, both begun in March. The programs will be canceled when the Fed deems that markets ``are no longer unusual and exigent,'' according to a statement from the central bank.

The Fed will start auctions of options of as much as $50 billion in the TSLF on top of the $200 billion program, which loans Treasuries to securities firms in exchange for asset- backed securities and other collateral.

New York Fed officials plan to consult with the primary dealers of U.S. government bonds on the TSLF options program, the district bank said in a statement yesterday. The options plan is aimed at providing liquidity for two weeks or less surrounding key financing periods to be identified. Further details are planned on or before Aug. 8, the New York Fed said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Craig Torres in Washington at ctorres3@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: July 31, 2008 11:20 EDT

still shuttered at the marx

2008-07-31T23:21:00.002-04:00

DC's Alcoholic Beverage Control Board still isn't allowing any live entertainment at the Marx Cafe for the next couple of weeks at least. I felt stupid dragging my record bag there, I should have just called before I left. Mike, the bartender, said that there were investigators in last Saturday night checking up on them, looking to see if they were abiding by the rules. Since having djs is such a huge part of their business, the Saturday and Friday hipster parties draw a lot of people; as much as the drinks, atmosphere and sports ever will by themselves, so if they don't get their paperwork in order soon the place might as well shrivel up and die.

Marx Cafe tonight!

2008-07-29T14:14:00.004-04:00

Hey guys, I'll be at Marx tonight, will I be able to play any records? We don't know yet. Were they able to work out their problems with the city? Haven't a clue! Seeya there!

10 pm
Marx Cafe
3203 Mount Pleasant St NW

Someone is going to jail!!

2008-07-29T14:11:00.001-04:00

About effin' time!!! Now, how's about cleaning up the rest of that den of thieves??

Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska indicted on corruption charges
By David Stout
Published: July 29, 2008

WASHINGTON: Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, the longest-serving Republican senator in United States history and a figure of great influence in Washington as well as in his home state, was indicted Tuesday on federal corruption charges.

Stevens, 84, was indicted on seven counts of falsely reporting income. The charges are related to renovations on his home and to gifts he has received. They arise from an investigation that has been under way for more than a year, in connection with the senator's relationship with a businessman who oversaw the home-remodeling project.

The indictment will surely reverberate through the November elections. Stevens, who has been in the Senate for 40 years, is up for re-election this year. Mark Begich, a popular Democratic mayor of Anchorage, hopes to supplant him.

The Justice Department scheduled a news conference for Tuesday afternoon to announce the indictment.

Republicans on Capitol Hill were already jittery over a lobbying and influence-peddling scandal related to the lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who is now in prison. Stevens's troubles are not linked to that affair. Instead, they stem from his ties to an oil executive whose company won millions of dollars in federal contracts with the help of Stevens, whose home in Alaska was almost doubled in size as a result of the renovation project.

Stevens is a former chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and he is still on the panel. As chairman, he wielded huge influence, and did not hesitate to use it to steer money and projects to his state.

"No other senator fills so central a place in his state's public and economic life as Ted Stevens of Alaska," the Almanac of American Politics says. "Quite possibly, no other senator ever has."

Stevens, one of only a handful of World War II veterans left in the Senate, grew up in Indiana and California and moved to Alaska in 1950, before it was a state, according to the political almanac. He first ran for the Senate in 1962, losing to Ernest Gruening, a Democrat. He was appointed to fill a vacant seat in the Senate in 1968 by the governor at the time, Walter Hickel, and has been re-elected six times since then.

military executions

2008-07-28T20:42:00.004-04:00

Bush got the secretary of the Army’s recommendation to approve Gray’s death sentence in late 2005. This man has been sitting on military death row since April 1988?? Why is it that only now has the prez decided to act? Clinton, Ron, old man bush; they all didn't think to act here? From the details of the case it should be a simple decision. right?

Here's what the ap says.

AP Top News at 8:30 p.m. EDT

45 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush on Monday approved the execution of an Army private, the first time in over a half-century that a president has affirmed a death sentence for a member of the U.S. military. With his signature from the Oval Office, Bush said yes to the military's request to execute Ronald A. Gray, the White House confirmed. Gray had had been convicted in connection with a spree of four murders and eight rapes in the Fayetteville, N.C., area over eight months in the late 1980s while stationed at Fort Bragg.

And what others have said..

Two killers closer to first military executions since 1961
By LISA HOFFMAN
Scripps Howard News Service

February 06, 2006
Monday

WASHINGTON -- President Bush now faces a decision that no commander in chief has confronted in more than 40 years - whether inmates on the U.S. military's death row should live or die.

Bush became the first president since John Kennedy to be faced with that choice when, after years of review, the military recently delivered to the White House recommendations that two convicted multiple murderers be executed for the crimes they committed while in the service.

If Bush signs the warrants, the two convicts - former Army Spec. Ronald Gray, who has been held for 18 years on death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and Pfc. Dwight Loving, who has been there for 17 years - would still have an avenue of appeal through the federal courts before an execution date would be set.

Even so, the arrival of the warrants at the White House brings into sight what would be the first military execution since 1961.

In that case, former Army Pvt. John Bennett, 28, of Chatham, Va., was hanged at Fort Leavenworth for the rape and attempted murder of an 11-year-old girl in Austria while he was stationed in Germany.

In another possible indication of preparations for an execution, the Army issued regulations Jan. 17 updating its procedures for carrying one out.

Gray, 40, a Miami native and Army cook, was convicted of sexually abusing, beating and fatally knifing a prostitute; raping and shooting to death a female college student; killing a female Army private; and raping several other women in the Fayetteville, N.C., area in 1986 while he was stationed at Fort Bragg.

Loving, 37, a former artillery gunner from Rochester, N.Y., was found guilty of the 1988 fatal shooting of two taxi drivers in Killeen, Texas, as well as the robbery of a convenience store near Fort Hood, where he was stationed. One of the cabbies was an Army private, the other a retired Army sergeant.

In Loving's case, acting Secretary of the Army Les Brownlee approved his death sentence Nov. 8, 2004, and the death recommendation was delivered to the White House on Jan. 23, said Lt. Col. Pamela Hart, an Army spokeswoman.

Brownlee endorsed the death penalty for Gray on Nov. 15, 2004, and it arrived at the White House Sept. 1.

In all, seven ex-service members now sit on the military's death row - three former Army soldiers, three former Marines and one Air Force airman.

Among them is ex-Army Sgt. Hasan Akbar, who took his place among the condemned last May, after being convicted of killing two fellow soldiers and attempting to murder 16 others in a rifle-and-grenade attack on his own camp in Kuwait at the start of the war in Iraq.

Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is the military's legal system, only the commander in chief can sign a death order. Presidents also have the option of granting clemency. The military code provides death as a possible punishment for 15 crimes, including murder, rape and espionage in peacetime, and disobedience and desertion during war.

Bennett, the last military convict to die, was the 135th soldier executed by the Army since 1916. In all, about 465 military members have been put to death since the Civil War. Most were deserters or mutineers during wartime, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, an anti-death-penalty advocacy group.

It was unclear Thursday if the White House would conduct its own review of the two men who could be the next to join that list. A request for comment was not immediately answered.

Both Gray and Loving lost their first round of Supreme Court appeals in 2001. If Bush signs their warrants, they will have the right to appeal that decision to the Supreme Court, as well.

Contact Lisa Hoffman at HoffmanL(at)shns.com

spending is out of control!!

2008-07-28T18:34:00.002-04:00

Even John McCain isn't going to be able to fix this before we all go bankrupt.

A Deficit Forecast of $482 Billion, a Record

By ROBERT PEAR and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
Published: July 29, 2008

WASHINGTON — The White House predicted on Monday that the Bush administration would bequeath a record deficit of $482 billion to the next president — a sobering turnabout in the nation’s fiscal condition from 2001 when President Bush took office and inherited three consecutive years of budget surpluses.

By most accounts, the worst seems yet to come. The deficit announced by Jim Nussle, the White House budget director, does not reflect the full cost of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the potential $50 billion cost of another economic stimulus package or the prospect of steeper losses in tax revenue or further declines in the housing market.

Mr. Nussle also predicted Monday that the deficit would more than double in the current 2008 fiscal year — to $389 billion, from $162 billion in 2007.

The deficit projected for 2009 would be the largest in absolute terms. The White House and many economists prefer to measure the deficit as a share of the economy. The White House said the 2009 deficit would be 3.3 percent of the economy. That is the largest share since 2004, but well below the percentages recorded in the mid-1980s and early 1990s.

The outlook for the budget will crimp the ability of the next president to carry out ambitious spending plans of any kind.

Robert L. Bixby, executive director of the Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan fiscal policy group, said that a one-year record deficit would not necessarily be worrisome if not for the overall pessimistic economic atmosphere.

“I think that the fiscal year 2009 deficit could get a lot worse, if you add in war costs, there could well be a real drop-off in revenues from this year’s slowing economy and of course if there are further problems in the housing market, if the federal government does have to inject some money into Freddie and Fannie, that could get worse too,” Mr. Bixby said.

The new estimate of the 2009 deficit was $74 billion higher than Mr. Bush and Mr. Nussle had predicted in the president’s budget six months ago.

Mr. Nussle said the deterioration of the fiscal outlook resulted from “a softening of the economy.” And he attacked Democrats in Congress, saying they had allowed spending to grow out of control.

Representative John Spratt, Democrat of South Carolina and chairman of the House Budget Committee, said the deficit figures confirmed “the dismal legacy of the Bush administration.”

“Under its policies,” he said, “the largest surpluses in history have been converted into the largest deficits in history.”

The new White House report includes these highlights:

¶Total federal revenue would decline from 2007 to 2008.

¶In 2008 and in each of the next three years, corporate income tax collections would be lower than the amount collected in 2007.

¶Federal spending will shoot up nearly 8 percent this year and then another 6.5 percent in 2009. In 2009, federal spending would be equivalent to 21.1 percent of the economy, the largest share since 1993.

Teens rip off MP's bicycle.

2008-07-24T14:04:00.002-04:00

OMG, I know exactly how he feels. This happened to me once and it sucked.

Caught on camera: The moment a gang of teenagers nicked David Cameron's beloved bike

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 6:08 PM on 24th July 2008

This is the moment Conservative leader David Cameron realised his bicycle had been stolen by a gang of teenagers. He had chained up his bike in Portobello Road, less than a mile from his home, as he went into a supermarket to buy salad for dinner.

However, when he returned five minutes later, the bike was gone.

Mr Cameron had chained it to a 2ft bollard, allowing thieves to lift both the bicycle and the lock clear. The moment that the 41-year-old politician realised his mountain bike had gone missing was captured on camera by a reader of the London Evening Starndard.

Today Mr Cameron said that he had reported the theft to the police but was not 'holding his breath' for its return -nearly 20,000 bikes are stolen in London every year. He added: 'I was cycling home and stopped to pick up some things for supper.

The bike is the one Mr Cameron regularly uses to cycle from his home to the House of Commons. He appealed to the thief to return it, saying: 'If anyone has seen it I would very much like it back. To me it was absolutely priceless.' Mr Cameron searched for about 15 minutes, asking passers-by if they had seen anything.

'I chained the bike through the wheel then put it around one of those bollard things. I have reported it using the police’s new online facility but I’m not expecting to get it back any time soon.'

One shop worker, who asked not to be named, said the Tory leader at first could not believe he had been the victim of petty crime. He said: 'He chained his bike to one of the bollards. There had been a couple of kids hanging around.

'They noticed he had chained it to a short bollard and they just picked it up and ran off. 'He was going up and down Portobello Road. He said, ‘I am sure I chained my bike here and it is not here. I left it for five minutes - how can it be gone?’

To start with he was not sure whether he had just left it somewhere else then after a few minutes he realised it was stolen. 'He was embarrassed and a bit annoyed. He was going round talking to people asking them if they had seen it - most people didn’t recognise him.'

At one point the Tory leader asked two men outside a betting shop in a desperate attempt to recover his bike. The shop worker added: 'He was a bit cheesed off. One man asked if he could have his picture taken with him and he just said, ‘Not now’.'

The theft happened outside the Portobello Road branch of Tesco at about 6.30pm yesterday. A Conservative spokesman said today: 'Obviously David is quite hacked off by the theft of his bike, especially having locked it up.

'Unfortunately these kinds of incidents affect everybody and he is just going to take it on the chin and deal with it.'

Tuesday night

2008-07-24T13:57:00.002-04:00

Well, got some bad news, on Tuesday I didn't get to play records at all, apparently Marx Cafe doesn't have a valid 'entertainment license' from the city of Washington, DC. I had no idea this was the case, I have been playing there for almost three years on Tuesday nights, this is the first time we have had any trouble from the law. Alex, one of the co-owners said that when they bought the business from the previous owners they were required to renew the application as the old paperwork didn't transfer with the business. Well, apparently they never got around to it and now we don't know when we'll be able to play there again. I can't imagine this will be good for Marx Cafe at all as a large part of there business seems to revolve around the different DJ nights they rotate in and out of the weekend slots. Hopefully the matter will be resolved soon. I plan on being there next week, but don't know for sure yet.

Marx Cafe tonight!

2008-07-22T15:46:00.002-04:00

Hey all, I'll be at Marx Cafe tonight from 10 until whenever. Hope to see you there!

3203 Mount Pleasant St. NW

hidden accounts uncovered

2008-07-17T11:03:00.001-04:00

Wow, fuck that dude, not fair! Who does this guy think he is, batman or something!?!?

Day of Reckoning? Super Rich Tax Cheats Outed by Bank Clerk
Technician in Liechtenstein Turns Over Names of Americans With Secret Bank Accounts
By BRIAN ROSS and RHONDA SCHWARTZ
July 15, 2008

Hundreds of super-rich American tax cheats have, in effect, turned themselves in to the IRS after a bank computer technician in the tiny European country of Liechtenstein came forward with the names of US citizens who had set up secret accounts there, according to Washington lawyers investigating the scheme.

The bank clerk, Heinrich Kieber, has been branded a thief by the government of Liechtenstein for violating the country's bank secrecy laws.

He is now in hiding but scheduled to testify to the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Thursday via a video statement from a secret location, according to Congressional investigators.

Aides for committee chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) are scheduled to provide reporters with a background briefing later this morning in Washington on the committee's investigation of tax haven banks in Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

Aides say the hearing will also focus on the role of the giant Swiss bank UBS and its alleged efforts to help wealthy Americans hide their money from the IRS through shell companies in Liechtenstein.

Liechtenstein's veil of secrecy was pierced five years ago when the disgruntled technician, Kieber, downloaded the names of foreign citizens connected to the secret accounts.

Kieber reportedly sold three CD's full of names and data to tax authorities to 12 countries including Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy and the United States.

Tax authorities in Italy published the full list of names.

In Germany, the disclosures led to the arrests of several prominent CEO's on charges that had evaded millions of dollars in taxes.

A former UBS private banker, Bradley Birkenfeld, has agreed to a plea deal and is reported to be cooperating with US authorities in bring charges against American citizens on tax evasion charges.

The Liechtenstein bank, LGT, is owned by the tiny country's ruling family led by Prince Hans-Adam II.

Kieber's Washington lawyer, Jack Blum, says Kieber should be considered a whistleblower and a hero, not a thief, for revealing how the super rich hid billions of dollars using the Liechtenstein bank.

The names of the US citizens are now in the hands of the IRS and Senate investigators.

Washington lawyers say a number of prominent citizens have been subpoenaed to testify but have already indicated they will refuse to testify, asserting their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

It is not yet clear whether Senator Levin will insist they appear in front of the committee anyway.

Picken's Plan

2008-07-09T17:01:00.001-04:00

I'm going to go next year!

2008-07-09T09:30:00.000-04:00

Now that's a good vacation.

Tourist gored on third day of Spanish bull run
Wed Jul 9, 2008 8:12am EDT

PAMPLONA, Spain (Reuters) - An American tourist was gored in the abdomen on the third day of the centuries-old annual bull-running festival in the northern Spanish town of Pamplona on Wednesday, organizers said.

The 22-year-old man from California was stable after being admitted to hospital along with a Greek man, aged 20, who suffered facial injuries.

Several of the hundreds who took part were trampled by bulls, but were not reported to require treatment.

Wednesday's injuries added to 13 people treated after the first early morning run on Monday, including a 37-year-old man who suffered a collapsed lung, ruptured spleen and broken ribs.

The San Fermin festival draws tourists from around the world, who don traditional all-white garb with a red sash around the waist and red kerchief around the neck before running through narrow, twisting cobbled streets, pursued by bulls.

The chase lasts about four minutes and is shown live on television. The bulls are usually killed after the runs by bullfighters.

The festival dates back to the 13th century. The bull-running was made famous by Ernest Hemingway's novel "The Sun also Rises", a semi-autobiographical account of an alcohol-fuelled visit to the festival by a group of squabbling British and American friends in the 1920s.

(Reporting by Feliciano Tisera; Writing by Martin Roberts)

It's the birthday of the USA!!!

2008-07-03T15:07:00.001-04:00

The earth... it is crying out.

2008-07-02T16:51:00.001-04:00

I'm going to start recycling more after reading this, tragic.

Earth's Cries Recorded in Space

Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
SPACE.com Tue Jul 1, 12:33 AM ET

The Earth emits an ear-piercing series of chirps and whistles that could be heard by any aliens who might be listening, astronomers have discovered.

The sound is awful, a new recording from space reveals.

Scientists have known about the radiation since the 1970s. It is created high above the planet, where charged particles from the solar wind collide with Earth's magnetic field. It is related to the phenomenon that generates the colorful aurora, or Northern Lights.

The radio waves are blocked by the ionosphere, a charged layer atop our atmosphere, so they do not reach Earth. That's good, because the out-of-this-world radio waves are 10,000 times stronger than even the strongest military signal, the researchers said, and they would overwhelm all radio stations on the planet.

Theorists had long figured the radio waves, which were not well studied, oozed into space in an ever-widening cone, like light from a torch.

But new data from the European Space Agency's Cluster mission, a group of four high-flying satellites, reveals the bursts of radio waves head off to the cosmos in beam-like fashion, instead.

This means they're more detectable to anyone who might be listening.

The Auroral Kilometric Radiation (AKR), as it is called, is beamed out in a narrow plane, as if someone had put a mask over a torch and left a slit for the radiation to escape.

This flat beam could be detected by aliens who've figured this process out, the researchers say. The knowledge could also be used by Earth's astronomers to detect planets around other stars, if they can build a new radio telescope big enough for the search. They could also learn more about Jupiter and Saturn by studying AKR, which should emit from the auroral activity on those worlds, too.

"Whenever you have aurora, you get AKR," said Robert Mutel, a University of Iowa researcher involved in the work.

The AKR bursts -- Mutel and colleagues studied 12,000 of them -- originate in spots the size of a large city a few thousand miles above Earth and above the region where the Northern Lights form.

"We can now determine exactly where the emission is coming from," Mutel said.

Our planet is also known to hum, a mysterious low-frequency sound thought to be caused by the churning ocean or the roiling atmosphere.

Visit SPACE.com and explore our huge collection of Space Pictures, Space Videos, Space Image of the Day, Hot Topics, Top 10s, Multimedia, Trivia, Voting and Amazing Images. Follow the latest developments in the search for life in our universe in our SETI: Search for Life section. Join the community, sign up for our free daily email newsletter, listen to our Podcasts, check out our RSS feeds and other Reader Favorites today!

USA is doomed.

2008-07-02T15:47:00.000-04:00

Scathing!

Why floods could bring America to its knees
01.07.2008

A catastrophe for Iowa farmers will not be just a catastrophe for Midwestern Americans. In the Iowa floods, we’ll see more evidence of how the problems of weird weather (climate change) combine and ramify the problems associated with Peak Oil. In this particular case they lead to an inflection point sometime around the 2008 harvest season, which will also be our time of political harvest.

These are not your daddy’s or granddaddy’s floods. These are 500-year floods, events not seen before non-Indian people started living out on that stretch of the North American prairie. The vast majority of homeowners in Eastern Iowa did not have flood insurance because the likelihood of being affected above the 500-year-line was so miniscule — their insurance agents actually advised them against getting it.

The personal ruin out there will be comprehensive and profound, a wet version of the 1930s Dust Bowl, with families facing total loss and perhaps migrating elsewhere in the nation because they have no home to go back to.

Iowa in 2008 will be an even slower-motion disaster than Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Beyond the troubles of 25,000 people who have lost all their material possessions is a world whose grain reserves stand at record lows. The crop losses in Iowa will aggravate what is already a pretty dire situation. So far, the US public has experienced the world grain situation mainly in higher supermarket prices.

Cheap corn is behind the magic of the American processed food industry — all those pizza pockets and juicy-juice boxes that frantic Americans resort to because they have no time between two jobs and family-chauffeur duties to actually cook (note: reheating is not cooking).

Behind that magic is an agribusiness model of farming cranked up on the steroids of cheap oil and cheap natural-gas-based fertiliser. Both of these 'inputs' have recently entered the realm of the non-cheap. Oil-and-gas-based farming had already reached a crisis stage before the flood of Iowa. Diesel fuel is a dollar-a-gallon higher than gasoline. Natural gas prices have doubled over the past year, sending fertiliser prices way up. American farmers are poorly positioned to reform their practices. All that cheap fossil fuel masks a tremendous decay of skill in husbandry. The farming of the decades ahead will be a lot more complicated than just buying X amount of 'inputs' (on credit) to be dumped on a sterile soil growth medium and spread around with giant diesel-powered machines.

Like a lot of other activities in American life these days, agribusiness is unreformable along its current lines. It will take a convulsion to change it, and in that convulsion it will be dragged kicking-and-screaming into a new reality. As that occurs, the US public will have to contend with more than just higher taco chip prices. We’re heading into the Vale of Malthus — Thomas Robert Malthus, the British economist-philosopher who introduced the notion that eventually world population would overtake world food production capacity. Malthus has been scorned and ridiculed in recent decades, as fossil fuel-cranked farming allowed the global population to go vertical. Techno-triumphalist observers who should have known better attributed this to the “green revolution” of bio-engineering. Malthus is back now, along with his outriders: famine, pestilence, and war.

We’re headed, it seems, toward a fall 'crunch time', and that crunching sound will not be of cheese doodles and taco chips consumed on the sofas of America. I think we’re heading into a season of hoarding. As the presidential campaign moves into its final round, Americans may be hard up for both food and gasoline. On the oil scene, the next event on the horizon is not just higher prices but shortages. Chances are they will occur first in the Southeast states because oil exports from Mexico and Venezuela feeding the Gulf of Mexico refineries are down more than 30% +over 2007.

Perhaps more ominous is the discontent on the trucking scene. Truckers are going broke in droves, unable to carry on their business while getting paid $2,000 for loads that cost them $3,000 to deliver. In Europe last week, enraged truckers paralysed the food distribution networks of Spain and Portugal. The passivity of US truckers so far has been a striking feature of the general zombification of American life. They might continue to just crawl off one-by-one and die. But it’s also possible that, at some point, they’ll mount a Night of the Living Dead offensive and take their vengeance out on 'the system' that has brought them to ruin. America has only about a three-day supply of food in any of its supermarkets.

The yet-more-ominous thing here is that shortages of food and oil are two fiascos that are pretty clearly predictable for the second half of the year. That’s bad enough without figuring in the 'unknowns' that could kick up American hardship a few more notches. The hurricane season just got underway — obscured for the moment by the bigger weather story in Iowa. The fate of the banks is a train wreck still waiting to happen. As it occurs — also heading into the high political and hurricane seasons — we could find ourselves not only a nation wet, hungry, and out-of-gas, but also completely broke. I’m just sorry that Tim Russert will not be here to talk us through it all.

Marx Cafe tonight!

2008-07-01T16:12:00.002-04:00

Yes, we are back for another installation of beats and eats! I'll be playing records at Marx Cafe tonight from 10pm until whenever. Belgian Beer specials are in effect, $5 Dekonek and $4 Chimay. Hope to see you out there!

3203 Mount Pleasant St. NW

How do i get that job?!!?

2008-07-01T16:11:00.000-04:00

Sounds like a hard working crew there, glad the govt has extra monies to burn on crap like this.

Study finds long benefit in illegal mushroom drug

By MALCOLM RITTER
AP Science Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- In 2002, at a Johns Hopkins University laboratory, a business consultant named Dede Osborn took a psychedelic drug as part of a research project.

She felt like she was taking off. She saw colors. Then it felt like her heart was ripping open.

But she called the experience joyful as well as painful, and says that it has helped her to this day.

"I feel more centered in who I am and what I'm doing," said Osborn, now 66, of Providence, R.I. "I don't seem to have those self-doubts like I used to have. I feel much more grounded (and feel that) we are all connected."

Scientists reported Tuesday that when they surveyed volunteers 14 months after they took the drug, most said they were still feeling and behaving better because of the experience.

Two-thirds of them also said the drug had produced one of the five most spiritually significant experiences they'd ever had.

The drug, psilocybin, is found in so-called "magic mushrooms." It's illegal, but it has been used in religious ceremonies for centuries.

The study involved 36 men and women during an eight-hour lab visit. It's one of the few such studies of a hallucinogen in the past 40 years, since research was largely shut down after widespread recreational abuse of such drugs in the 1960s.

The project made headlines in 2006 when researchers published their report on how the volunteers felt just two months after taking the drug. The new study followed them up a year after that.

Experts emphasize that people should not try psilocybin on their own because it could be harmful. Even in the controlled setting of the laboratory, nearly a third of participants felt significant fear under the effects of the drug. Without proper supervision, someone could be harmed, researchers said.

Osborn, in a telephone interview, recalled a powerful feeling of being out of control during her lab experience. "It was ... like taking off, I'm being lifted up," she said. Then came "brilliant colors and beautiful patterns, just stunningly gorgeous, more intense than normal reality."

And then, the sensation that her heart was tearing open.

"It would come in waves," she recalled. "I found myself doing Lamaze-type breathing as the pain came on."

Yet "it was a joyful, ecstatic thing at the same time, like the joy of being alive," she said. She compared it to birthing pains. "There was this sense of relief and joy and ecstasy when my heart was opened."

With further research, psilocybin (pronounced SILL-oh-SY-bin) may prove useful in helping to treat alcoholism and drug dependence, and in aiding seriously ill patients as they deal with psychological distress, said study lead author Roland Griffiths of Johns Hopkins.

Griffiths also said that despite the spiritual characteristics reported for the drug experiences, the study says nothing about whether God exists.

"Is this God in a pill? Absolutely not," he said.

The experiment was funded in part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The results were published online Tuesday by the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

Fourteen months after taking the drug, 64 percent of the volunteers said they still felt at least a moderate increase in well-being or life satisfaction, in terms of things like feeling more creative, self-confident, flexible and optimistic. And 61 percent reported at least a moderate behavior change in what they considered positive ways.

That second question didn't ask for details, but elsewhere the questionnaire answers indicated lasting gains in traits like being more sensitive, tolerant, loving and compassionate.

Researchers didn't try to corroborate what the participants said about their own behavior. But in the earlier analysis at two months after the drug was given, researchers said family and friends backed up what those in the study said about behavior changes. Griffiths said he has no reason to doubt the answers at 14 months.

Dr. Charles Grob, a professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, called the new work an important follow-up to the first study.

He said it is helping to reopen formal study of psychedelic drugs. Grob is on the board of the Heffter Research Institute, which promotes studies of psychedelic substances and helped pay for the new work.

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.

Iran's president speaks out about the price of oil

2008-06-23T11:24:00.004-04:00

Finally, someone who isn't afraid to tell it like it is. There are no supply constrictions! repeat, supply constrictions are not responsible for the rising cost of gasoline.

Market Full Of Oil, Price Trend "Fake": Ahmadinejad
By REUTERS
Published: June 17, 2008

ISFAHAN, Iran (Reuters) - The market is full of oil and the rising price trend is "fake and imposed," Iran's president said on Tuesday, partly blaming a weak U.S. dollar which he said was being pushed lower on purpose.

"At a time when the growth of consumption is lower than the growth of production and the market is full of oil, prices are rising and this trend is completely fake and imposed," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a televised speech.

"It is very clear that visible and invisible hands are controlling prices in a fake way with political and economic aims," he said when opening a meeting of the OPEC Fund for International Development in the central Iranian city of Isfahan.

Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, has repeatedly said the market is well-supplied with crude and blames rising prices on speculation, a weak U.S. currency and geopolitical factors.

"As you know the decrease in the dollar's value and the increase in energy prices are two sides of the same coin which are being introduced as factors behind the recent instability," Ahmadinejad said.

Oil steadied on Tuesday after touching a record near $140 the previous day, with traders caught between a weaker dollar and expectations that top exporter Saudi Arabia will ramp up output to its highest rate in decades.

Iran has often said it sees no need for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to boost output.

"EVER-INCREASING DECREASE"

Ahmadinejad reiterated his view that oil should be sold in a basket of currencies rather than U.S. dollars, an idea which has failed to win over other OPEC members, except Venezuela.

"The ever-increasing decrease in the dollar's value is one of the world's major problems," he said.

"A combination of the world's valid currencies should become a basis for oil transactions or (OPEC) member countries should determine a new currency for oil transactions," he said.

Iran, embroiled in a standoff with the West over its nuclear program, has for more than two years been increasing its sales of oil for currencies other than the dollar, saying the weak U.S. currency is eroding its purchasing power.

Ahmadinejad, who in the past has called the dollar a "worthless piece of paper," suggested "some big powers" were driving it lower on purpose:

"The planners for some big powers are acting to decrease the dollar's value," he said. "For years they imposed inflation and their own economic problems to other nations by injecting the dollar without any support to the global economy."

Foes since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, Tehran and Washington are also at odds over Tehran's disputed nuclear activities as well as over policy in Iraq. Iran says its atomic work is peaceful.

(Additional reporting by Zahra Hosseinian in Tehran; Writing by Fredrik Dahl; Editing by William Hardy)

Yojimbo

2008-06-21T01:51:00.000-04:00

I'm going to go see this Sunday afternoon.

Yojimbo
Sunday, June 22, 2008, 1:00 pm, Meyer Auditorium
In person: Tatsuya Nakadai and Teruyo Nogami, and hosted by Michael Jeck

Two icons of Japanese cinema—actor Tatsuya Nakadai and author Teruyo Nogami—introduce and discuss one of their classic collaborations with the great Akira Kurosawa. Joining acclaimed actor Tatsuya Nakadai is Teruyo Nogami, a legend in her own right whose work as a script supervisor for Kurosawa is commemorated in her memoir Waiting on the Weather: Making Movies with Akira Kurosawa. She signs copies of her book following the screening.

Nakadai stars as a pistol-waving killer opposite Toshiro Mifune's scheming yojimbo (bodyguard) in this Kurosawa classic. Their confrontations are "like a face-off between Elvis Presley and John Wayne," writes Stuart Galbraith in his book The Emperor and the Wolf. Film critic Pauline Kael declared it "a glorious comedy-satire of force: the story of the bodyguard who kills the bodies he is hired to guard." 1961 / 110 min. / B&W

Part of the film series, "Tatsuya Nakadai: Icon of Japanese Cinema." This series is cosponsored by Film Forum, New York, and the Japan Foundation. These films are in Japanese with English subtitles. Film descriptions by Japanese film specialist Michael Jeck.

YOU WOT video n' backscene filming

2008-06-20T19:23:00.003-04:00

I love this song!

BASSLINE ALL STARS

2008-06-20T19:15:00.004-04:00

This looks hot!

BASSLINE ALL STARS

The official bassline launch in London.

Date: Friday 4 July 2008

Location: Mass Nightclub, St Matthews Church, Brixton Hill, London, SW2 1JF

Doors: 10:00 – 06:00

Ticket price: £15 plus booking fee of £1.50

Get Tickets: Online at www.theticketsellers.co.uk or call 0844 870 0000. You can also get tickets on the door on the night.

Playing out on 1Xtra: Broadcasting live on 4 July from Brixton Mass - Bassline House Special hosted by DJ Q between 0200-0600 with Murks, Witty Boy and Shaun Banger Scott.

There is also an additional show on July 5 0200-0400 in the allstar mixshow slot. Bassline Allstars mixshow with sets from the night including burger boy and sub zero and TRC

DJs Playing out: Sub Zero, Burger Boy, DJ Q, Murks, Witty Boy, Shaun Banger Scott and pa's Gemma Fox, Ras Kwame, Andy M B2B Mercury, Kaos, Smalls B2B Sharky, Dub Melitia, Mista Jam, Paleface, TRC and Nay Nay.

Dress code: Smart casual, smart trainers allowed.

Credit writedowns may reach $1.3T

2008-06-20T14:58:00.001-04:00

We've not seen the end of this by a long shot.

Paulson & Co. Says Writedowns May Reach $1.3 Trillion (Update4)

By Tom Cahill and Poppy Trowbridge

June 18 (Bloomberg) -- John Paulson, founder of the hedge fund company Paulson & Co., said global writedowns and losses from the credit crisis may reach $1.3 trillion, exceeding the International Monetary Fund's $945 billion estimate.

``We're only about a third of the way through the writedowns,'' Paulson, 52, told the GAIM International hedge fund conference in Monaco today. ``There are a lot of problems out there and it will continue to be felt through the year. We don't see any signs of stabilizing.''

Paulson, whose New York-based company manages about $33 billion, made bets last year that subprime-mortgage debt would fall after he noticed ``bubble like'' prices. His Paulson Partners fund rose 18 percent a year since it started in 1994, and his main subprime-debt fund rose 591 percent last year. Banks and securities firm worldwide posted more than $395 billion in losses and writedowns since the subprime crisis started last year.

The U.S. is heading into a recession as falling home prices weigh on consumer spending, Paulson said. The second half of this year will be worse than the first as the economic slowdown spills into 2009. Signs of stress are ``accelerating'' in the housing market, and he's betting on falling securities prices, he said.

``I don't consider myself a bull or a bear,'' he told the audience at Monaco's Grimaldi Forum. ``I'm a realist.''

A Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc strategist agrees that stock and credit markets still face the worst in a slump that started almost eight months ago.

`Most Bearish Period'

``Mid-July through to October is likely to be the most bearish period we will experience in the bear market that began in the fourth quarter of last year,'' Bob Janjuah, a credit strategist at the bank in London, wrote in a report dated June 11.

The MSCI World Index has lost 13 percent since reaching a record in October. The index is down 4.1 percent this month after the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank policy makers indicated interest rates may need to increase as the threat of inflation intensifies.

The economic slowdown and inflation have put central bankers ``into a dangerous corner'' where the chance of a ``major policy error has just super-spiked,'' Janjuah wrote.

Ambac Financial Group Inc., the second-biggest bond insurer, is ``the most leveraged, troubled company out there,'' Paulson said. It's at risk of being downgraded to non-investment grade, he said. Ambac spokeswoman Vandana Sharma declined to comment.

Ambac shares have lost 92 percent of their value this year after losses on subprime mortgage securities caused the company to lose its AAA credit rating at Fitch Ratings. Ambac, which said today it will terminate its ratings contract with Fitch, fell 7 cents, or 3.3 percent, to $2.07, in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

`Deteriorate Significantly'

The housing and credit-market slump pushed Ambac to three straight quarterly losses after more than a decade of profit. It has written down $5.2 billion since the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market last year.

Paulson's outlook is consistent with the view of hedge funds meeting in Monaco this week. More than 80 percent of the 1,300 fund managers, investors and service providers gathered in Monaco for the annual conference said they expect the credit crisis will continue, according to a GAIM survey. About 23 percent said the situation ``will deteriorate significantly.''

Bill Browder, founder and head of Hermitage Capital Management, said securities firms have a ``vested interest'' in claiming an early end to the crunch. ``If we're in the seventh or eighth inning, this is a 100-inning game,'' he said.

`$10 Trillion Opportunity'

Paulson's speech was the biggest draw at the event, which comes as the hedge fund industry endures some of its worst performance in nearly two decades, rising just 0.13 percent through May, according to Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research Inc.

``John Paulson has of course been very successful by making the right trade last year,'' said Manuel Echeverria, chief investment officer of Optimal Investment Services SA, a Geneva based investor with about $10 billion under management. ``We'll have to see what he's going to do now that the trade has run out of juice.''

Paulson said he's preparing to buy distressed securities such as bank loans, call them a ``potentially $10 trillion opportunity.'' While it is still ``premature'' to invest in many of them, he sees ``opportunities this year'' to buy mortgage backed debt, he said.

He hired employees this year to research securities firms such as Citigroup Inc. for long-term investment positions. ``We're trying to see the right entrance point,'' he said. ``If you invest too early, you lose money.''

To contact the reporter for this story: Tom Cahill in London at tcahill@bloomberg.net; Poppy Trowbridge in London at ptrowbridge@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: June 18, 2008 16:27 EDT

Marx Cafe Tonight!!

2008-06-17T14:23:00.001-04:00

Hey all, I'll be at the Marx Cafe tonight from 10-whenever, spinning some crunchy UKG, bassline and niche classics. Come by and have a beer or four. see ya there!

3203 Mount Pleasant St NW

McCain's ugly Navy record.

2008-06-17T11:32:00.004-04:00

Wow, he really has much in common with GW. John should go ahead and sign that 180 waiver, what is he afraid of?

Jeffrey Klein

McCain's Secret, Questionable Record

Posted June 16, 2008 | 08:50 PM (EST)

"At a meeting in his Pentagon office in early 1981, Secretary of the Navy John F. Lehman told Capt. John S. McCain III that he was about to attain his life ambition: becoming an admiral.... Mr. McCain declined the prospect of his first admiral's star to make a run for Congress, saying that he could 'do more good there,' Mr. Lehman recalled." So claimed the New York Times in a front-page article on May 29 this year.

This story is highly improbable for several reasons, not least of all because John McCain himself has always told a very different story about his stalled naval career. For example, on page 9 of his memoir Worth The Fighting For, McCain writes:

"Several months before my father died, I informed him that I was leaving the navy. I am sure he had gotten word of my decision from friends in the Pentagon. I had been summoned to see the CNO, Admiral Heyward, who told me I was making a mistake.... His attempt to dissuade me encouraged me to believe that I might have made admiral had I remained in the navy, a prospect that remained an open question in my mind.... Some of my navy friends believed I could earn my star; others doubted it.... When I told my father of my intention, he did not remonstrate me.... But I knew him well enough to know that he was disappointed. For when I left him that day, alone in his study, I took with me his hope that I might someday become the first son and grandson of four-star admirals to achieve the same distinction. That aspiration was well beyond my reach by the time I made my decision...."

McCain's father died on March 22, 1981. McCain retired from the Navy within a week. He wrote about his retirement soon thereafter. McCain never mentioned the alleged offer of an admiralship by Lehman in any of his books, nor in the numerous interviews McCain gave during his first run for the presidency in 1999-2000.

Furthermore, articles written during the current presidential campaign quote McCain's closest friends about McCain's failure to be promoted to admiral before he retired from the Navy. For example, in an April 26, 2008, National Journal cover story, William Cohen (then a Senator, subsequently Secretary of Defense and the best man at McCain's second wedding) recounts that McCain "knew his career in the Navy was limited." Former Senator Gary Hart, who served as a groomsman at McCain's 1980 wedding, says in the National Journal story that he had been told "that [McCain] was not going to receive a star and not going to become an admiral. I think that was the deciding point for him to retire from the Navy."

John Lehman doesn't figure in any accounts of McCain's naval career, probably because Lehman was appointed Secretary of the Navy less than two months before McCain retired. The New York Times didn't note this, or the pertinent fact that John Lehman is currently serving as National Security Adviser to McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. Two admirals in the Times story confirmed Lehman's claim, but for unknown reasons the Times, in violation of its own guidelines, accorded them off-the-record status that makes it impossible to assess their motives and credibility.

The New York Times' front-page story about McCain declining promotion to admiral lacks credibility for other reasons as well. For example, McCain had been promoted to captain on August 1, 1979, so he wouldn't have been due for another promotion by March of 1981.

Retired Admiral Peter Booth, who was promoted to rear admiral in 1981, flatly disputes Lehman's claim about McCain. "No, John McCain was not selected for flag rank, for admiral. With all due respect, I think I was selected that same year, and I have never heard anything even remotely like that. To begin with, John Lehman did not select Navy flag officers. That was done with a very august selection board headed by a four-star admiral. The Secretary of the Navy does not appoint. He is in the approval chain, but he is not on the committee.

"I have never heard a story, even remotely, that John McCain was going to be a flag officer. I was early selected for captain, in 1976, and I was regular selected for admiral in 1981. So it's probably five or six years, I guess. I've never heard of anybody being selected for flag rank within three or four years of making captain, ever."

Retired Admiral John R. Batzler, former commanding officer of the U.S.S. Nimitz, also promoted to rear admiral in 1981, agrees with Retired Admiral Booth.

"I made rear admiral in about five years. I wasn't selected early, and I wasn't selected late. I find it incredible that someone made that statement that John Lehman told John McCain he was going to be promoted to admiral two years after he made captain. First of all, telling him at all is not kosher, but we all know the Secretary of the Navy does what he damn well pleases, in particular John Lehman. This whole idea that John Lehman told John McCain he was going to be promoted to flag two years after he made captain sounds preposterous to me."

All of the evidence, indications and comments that the New York Times published a flattering lie about McCain's career on its front page are easy for John McCain to refute. All he needs to do is sign Standard Form 180, which authorizes the Navy to send an undeleted copy of McCain's naval file to news organizations. A long paper trail about McCain's pending promotion to admiral would be prominent in his file. To date, McCain's advisers have released snippets from his file, but under constrained viewing circumstances. There's no reason McCain's full file shouldn't be released immediately. There's also a recent precedent for McCain signing the simple form that leads to full disclosure: Senator John Kerry signed the 180 waiver, which made his entire naval file public.

The Navy may claim that it already released McCain's record to the Associated Press on May 7, 2008 in response to the AP's Freedom of Information Act request. But the McCain file the Navy released contained 19 pages -- a two-page overview and 17 pages detailing Awards and Decorations. Each of these 17 pages is stamped with a number. These numbers range from 0069 to 0636. When arranged in ascending order, they precisely track the chronology of McCain's career. It seems reasonable to ask the Navy whether there are at least 636 pages in McCain's file, of which 617 weren't released to the Associated Press.

Some of the unreleased pages in McCain's Navy file may not reflect well upon his qualifications for the presidency. From day one in the Navy, McCain screwed-up again and again, only to be forgiven because his father and grandfather were four-star admirals. McCain's sense of entitlement to privileged treatment bears an eerie resemblance to George W. Bush's.

Despite graduating in the bottom 1 percent of his Annapolis class, McCain was offered the most sought-after Navy assignment -- to become an aircraft carrier pilot. According to military historian John Karaagac, "'the Airdales,' the air wing of the Navy, acted and still do, as if unrivaled atop the naval pyramid. They acted as if they owned, not only the Navy, but the entire swath of blue water on the earth's surface." The most accomplished midshipmen compete furiously for the few carrier pilot openings. After four abysmal academic years at Annapolis distinguished only by his misdeeds and malfeasance, no one with a record resembling McCain's would have been offered such a prized career path. The justification for this and subsequent plum assignments should be documented in McCain's naval file.

McCain's file should also include records and analytic reviews of McCain's subsequent sub-par performances. Here are a few cited in two highly favorable biographies, both titled John McCain, one by Robert Timberg and the other by John Karaagac.

Timberg:

"[A]fter a European fling with the tobacco heiress, John McCain reported to flight school at Pensacola in August 1958.... [H]is performance was below par, at best good enough to get by. He liked flying, but didn't love it. What he loved was the kick-the-tire, start-the-fire, scarf-in-the-wind life of a naval aviator. ...One Saturday morning, as McCain was practicing landings, his engine quit and his plane plunged into Corpus Christi. Knocked unconscious by the impact, he came to as the plane settled to the bottom....McCain was an adequate pilot, but he had no patience for studying dry aviation manuals.... His professional growth, though reasonably steady, had its troubled moments. Flying too low over the Iberian Peninsula, he took out some power lines, which led to a spate of newspaper stories in which he was predictably identified as the son of an admiral.... [In 1965] he flew a trainer solo to Philadelphia for the Army-Navy game. Flying by way of Norfolk, he had just begun his descent over unpopulated tidal terrain when the engine died. 'I've got a flameout,' he radioed. He went through the standard relight procedures three times. At one thousand feet he ejected, landing on the deserted beach moments before the plane slammed into a clump of trees."

Adds Karaagac:

"In his memoir, everything becomes a kind of game of adolescent brinksmanship, how much can one press the limits of the acceptable and elude the powers that be....The [fighter jocks'] ethos of exaggerated, almost aggressive sociability becomes an end in itself and an excuse for license. There is a tendency for people, not simply to believe their own mythology but, indeed, to exaggerate it.... Fighter jocks, like politicians around their campaign contributions, often press the limits of the acceptable. It is a type of mild corruption that takes place in a highly privileged atmosphere, where restraints are loosened and excuses made....McCain gives some hint in his memoirs about where he stood in the hierarchy among carrier flyers. Instead of the sleek and newer Phantoms and Crusaders, McCain flew the dependable Douglas A-4 Skyhawk in an attack, not a fighter squadron. He was thus on the lower end of the flying totem pole."

The genius of McCain's mythmaking is his perceived humility amid perpetual defiance. Having been a rebel without cause, and often a rebel without consequences, McCain apparently was not surprised when his Vietnamese captors went relatively easy on him compared to his fellow POWs. The Vietnamese military secretly and frequently filmed the American POWs to learn their propensities. Col. Pham Van Hoa of the Vietnamese People's Army Film Department was in charge of the filming. Asked recently for his dominant impression of McCain, the now-retired Van Hoa said that McCain "seemed superior to other prisoners." How so? "Superior in attitude towards them."

But when Mark Salter, McCain's closest aide and co-author, was asked by the Arizona New Times about the first McCain memoir, Faith of My Fathers, that he was then working on, Salter said "the book will showcase a humble McCain. When I worked on this book with him, he just kept saying, 'Other guys had it a lot worse. I think they took it easier on me because of who my dad was. . . . When they tied me in ropes, they'd roll my sleeve up to give it a little padding between the rope and my bicep, you know, little things I noticed. The only really hard time I had was when I didn't go home, and then it only lasted a week, and sometimes I felt braver, I felt I could get away with more.'"

Is McCain now getting away with more by hiding his official history and by having his national security adviser inflate McCain's resume with a bogus promotion to admiral humbly declined? If so, McCain may be attempting to hide why the Navy was in fact slow to promote him upwards despite his suffering as a POW and his distinguished naval heritage.

One possible reason: After McCain had returned from Vietnam as a war hero and was physically rehabilitated, he was urged by his medical caretakers and military colleagues never to fly again. But McCain insisted on going up. As Carl Bernstein reported in Vanity Fair, he piloted an ultra-light, single propeller plane -- and crashed another time. His fifth loss of a plane has vanished from public records, but should be a subject of discussion in his Navy file. It wouldn't be surprising if his naval superiors worried that McCain was just too defiant, too reckless and too crash prone.

Regardless, McCain owes it to the country to release his complete naval records so that American voters can see his documented history and make an informed decision.

Jeffrey Klein is an investigative journalist who co-founded Mother Jones; directed exposes of Newt Gingrich, Big Tobacco and the introduction of offensive weapons into space; co-produced for The News Hour with Jim Lehrer a series on China's economy that won a Gerald Loeb Award; and taught journalism at Stanford, San Francisco State and Cal. He is currently reporting on assignment for the Investigative Fund of the Nation Institute, which provided research support for this article. Research assistance was provided by Peter Jackson.

Moog guitar to take over world.

2008-06-12T21:12:00.002-04:00

Looks nifty! I think I know how it's made, and don't rekon that it would be that hard to put together. Sure would be cheaper than $7,000, gulp...

http://www.analog.com/en/app/0,3174,999%255F1115,00.html

Moog Unveils Badass Guitar with Infinite Sustain

By Eliot Van Buskirk June 10, 2008 | 8:09:16 AMCategories: Gear, Legends, People

Bob Moog's synthesizers and effects changed the world. Now, the company that bears his name is trying to apply its vision to a new instrument: the guitar.

The Moog Guitar Paul Vo Edition has infinite sustain -- enough to keep Nigel Tufnel holding the guitar up to his ear until the end of time -- while a muted mode allows players to add the sound of their fingers holding down the strings loosely and then taking them away from the strings right away after the strum for a banjo-type sound. These effects operate separately on each pickup, giving players a wider range of sonic options.

The special sauce: strings that have "a specific metallurgy designed to work with the Moog pickups." Marketing manager Chris Stack told Listening Post, "the pickups are simultaneously listening to the strings and controlling them."

The last time we heard from Moog was when it launched the Little Phatty synthesizer in 2006. That synth was basically a modernized, digitally-controlled version of the earlier analog keyboards for which Moog has traditionally been known. This guitar represents a far more significant leap for the company -- perhaps its biggest since Bob Moog left it in '77.

The video above to the right, in which Lou Reed, Vernon Reid (Living Colour) and other musicians put the Moog Guitar - Paul Vo Edition through its paces, does a fine job of explaining how this $6500 piece of six-string bliss sounds. Here's Moog's full run-down on each of the guitar's modes:

FULL SUSTAIN MODE - like no other sustainer; infinite sustain on every string, at every fret position and at any volume. You may have heard sustain before but not with this power (we call it "Vo Power") and clarity.

CONTROLLED SUSTAIN MODE - allows you to play sustained single or polyphonic lines without muting technique. The Moog Guitar sustains the notes you are playing while actively muting the strings you are not playing.

MUTE MODE - removes energy from the strings, resulting in a variety of staccato articulations. The mute mode has never been heard on any other guitar; the Vo Power stops the strings with the same intensity that it sustains them. You feel the instrument transform in your hands.

HARMONIC BLENDS – use the included foot pedal to shift the positive energy of Vo Power in Sustain mode and the subtractive force of Vo Power in Mute mode between the bridge and neck pick-ups to pull both subtle and dramatic harmonics from the strings.

MOOG FILTER - control the frequency of the built-in, resonant Moog ladder filter using the foot pedal or a CV Input.
Bob Moog had had designs on the guitar market, so this move by those representing his legacy isn't out of character. "Bob and Moog President Mike Adams often spoke of entering the guitar market, but it was not until Paul brought this idea forward that we felt we had something truly innovative to bring the market." (Some Gibson guitars contained circuitry designed by Bob Moog, but this will be the first guitar under the Moog brand.)

Kudos to Moog engineer Paul Vo for inventing this guitar. If I had a spare seven grand lying around, I would pre-order one of these right now. Lou Reed feels the same way, and has the necessary scratch: "As soon as it's ready, I want it. The day you can sell it, I would buy it from you."

A Moog spokeswoman told Listening Post that the guitars are not yet in production, but are scheduled to ship in September.

Update: Grant, the 51st commenter below, who appears to be best friends with Paul Vo's son Adam, claimed the frets themselves contain pickups and electromagnets. However, Listening Post confirmed with Moog's Chris Stack that this is not the case. Stack said there's nothing special going on under the frets or inside the guitar's neck in general, and that interaction between the strings and the pickups is responsible for the guitar's mute and sustain effects. After rereading an e-mail from Paul Vo's son, Grant agreed via e-mail.

See Also:

Video: Moog Music from 'Disco Genius' Giorgio Moroder
New Moog on Monday (Nearly)
Moog's New Little Phatty Synth
Is a Moog Renaissance Nigh?

Marx Cafe tonight!

2008-06-10T19:10:00.003-04:00

edit: It's going to storm soon, I'm not going out in that drek! seeya next week.

Hey All! I'll be at Marx Cafe tonight playing from 10-whenever, dropping bassline and UKG. Hope to see you out tonight!

3203 Mount Pleasant St. NW

Is the war in Iraq, result of an Irainian Intelligence operation?

2008-06-08T13:48:00.002-04:00

This explains why Iran is running things in Iraq.

Did Iranian agents dupe Pentagon officials?

By John Walcott | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — Defense Department counterintelligence investigators suspected that Iranian exiles who provided dubious intelligence on Iraq and Iran to a small group of Pentagon officials might have "been used as agents of a foreign intelligence service ... to reach into and influence the highest levels of the U.S. government," a Senate Intelligence Committee report said Thursday.

A top aide to then-secretary of defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, however, shut down the 2003 investigation into the Pentagon officials' activities after only a month, and the Defense Department's top brass never followed up on the investigators' recommendation for a more thorough investigation, the Senate report said.

The revelation raises questions about whether Iran may have used a small cabal of officials in the Pentagon and in Vice President Dick Cheney's office to feed bogus intelligence on Iraq and Iran to senior policymakers in the Bush administration who were eager to oust the Iraqi dictator.

Iran, which was a mortal enemy of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and fought a bloody eight-year war with Iraq during his reign, has been the primary beneficiary of U.S. policy in Iraq, where Iranian-backed groups now run much of the government and the security forces.

The aborted counterintelligence investigation probed some Pentagon officials' contacts with Iranian exile Manucher Ghorbanifar, whom the CIA had labeled a "fabricator" in 1984. Those contacts were brokered by an American civilian, Michael Ledeen, a former Pentagon and National Security Council consultant and a leading advocate of invading Iraq and overthrowing Iran's Islamic regime.

According to the Senate report, the Pentagon's Counterintelligence Field Activity unit concluded in 2003 that Ledeen "was likely unwitting of any counterintelligence issues related to his relationship with Mr. Ghorbanifar."

The counterintelligence unit said, however, that Ledeen's association with Ghorbanifar "was widely known, and therefore it should be presumed other foreign intelligence services, including those of Iran, would know."

Stephen Cambone, then the undersecretary of defense for intelligence, shut down the counterintelligence investigation after only a month, the Senate report said.

The Senate report said that Pentagon officials never followed up on the investigators' recommendation for a comprehensive analysis of whether Ghorbanifar or his associates tried "to directly or indirectly influence or access U.S. government officials."

The counterintelligence investigators recommended that U.S. officials attempt "to map Ghorbanifar's relationship within Iranian elite social networks and, if possible, his contacts with other governments and/or intelligence organizations," but that effort was never undertaken.

The Senate committee also found that Pentagon officials concealed the contacts with Ghorbanifar from the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the State Department. Pentagon officials also provided Senate investigators with an inaccurate account of events and, with support from two unnamed officials in Cheney's office, continued meeting with Ghorbanifar after contact with him was officially ordered to stop.

The first meetings with Ghorbanifar, which were disclosed in August 2003 by the Long Island, N.Y., newspaper Newsday, took place in Rome in December 2001. They were attended by two Pentagon Iran experts, Harold Rhode and Larry Franklin; by an Italian military intelligence official, and by Ledeen.

On the Iranian side were Ghorbanifar, an unidentified Iranian exile from Morocco and an alleged Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps defector.

Among other things, the Iranians told the Americans about:

* Iranian "hit teams" they said were targeting U.S. personnel and facilities in Afghanistan.

* What they claimed was Shiite Muslim Iran's longstanding relationship with the secular Palestine Liberation Organization.

* "Tunnel complexes in Iran for weapons storage or exfiltration of regime leaders," and about the alleged growth of anti-regime sentiment in Iran.

Franklin, who, in an unrelated matter, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison in 2006 for providing classified information on Iran policy to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, passed the information about the alleged Iranian hit squads to a U.S. Special Forces commander in Afghanistan. Although a DIA analyst told the Senate committee that he couldn't speculate on whether the information had been "truly useful," Ledeen and Pentagon officials claimed it saved American lives, the committee said.

During the Rome meetings, Ghorbanifar also laid out a scheme to overthrow the Iranian regime on a napkin during a late night meeting in a bar. "The plan," said the Senate committee, "involved the simultaneous disruption of traffic at key intersections leading to Tehran that would create anxiety, work stoppages and other disruptive measures" in a capital city famous for its traffic congestion.

Ghorbanifar asked for $5 million in seed money, Franklin told the committee, and indicated that if the traffic jam plan succeeded, he'd need additional money.

"The proposed funding for, and foreign involvement in, Mr. Ghorbanifar's plan for regime change were never fully understood," the Senate committee said.

Nevertheless, Ghorbanifar's proposals grew more ambitious — and expensive. A February 2002 memo from Assistant Secretary of Defense Peter Rodman referred to an unnamed foreign government's support for a Ghorbanifar plan that would cost millions of dollars. A later summary referred to contracts "that would assure oil and gas sales in the event of regime change". The U.S. ambassador to Italy said that DOD officials "were talking about 25 million for some kind of Iran program."

After Franklin and Rhode returned from the Rome meetings, the Senate report said, two series of events began to unfold in Washington that were typical of the gamesmanship that plagued the Bush administration's national security team.

"First," the report said, "State Department and CIA officials attempted to determine what Mr. Ledeen and the DOD representatives had done in Rome, and second, DOD officials debated the next course of action."

When the CIA and the State Department discovered that Ledeen and Ghorbanifar were involved, they opposed any further contact with the two. Ledeen's contacts, the Defense Human Intelligence Service concluded, were "nefarious and unreliable," the Senate committee reported.

According to the report, Ledeen, however, persisted, presenting then-Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith with a new 100-day plan to provide, among other things, evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that supposedly had been moved to Iran — Saddam Hussein's archenemy. This time, the report said, Ledeen solicited support from former speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich and from three then-GOP senators, Sam Brownback of Kansas, Jon Kyl of Arizona and Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania.

Rhode and Ghorbanifar met again in Paris in June 2003 with at least the tacit approval of an official in Cheney's office, the Senate report said.

He reported back to officials in the Pentagon and the vice president's office, but "there is no indication that the information collected during the Paris meeting was shared with the Intelligence Community for a determination of potential intelligence value," the report said.
McClatchy Newspapers 2008

US issues threat to Iraq's $50bn foreign reserves in military deal

2008-06-08T13:28:00.001-04:00

Sounds something akin to extortion!

US issues threat to Iraq's $50bn foreign reserves in military deal

By Patrick Cockburn
Friday, 6 June 2008

The US is holding hostage some $50bn (£25bn) of Iraq's money in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to pressure the Iraqi government into signing an agreement seen by many Iraqis as prolonging the US occupation indefinitely, according to information leaked to The Independent.

US negotiators are using the existence of $20bn in outstanding court judgments against Iraq in the US, to pressure their Iraqi counterparts into accepting the terms of the military deal, details of which were reported for the first time in this newspaper yesterday.

Iraq's foreign reserves are currently protected by a presidential order giving them immunity from judicial attachment but the US side in the talks has suggested that if the UN mandate, under which the money is held, lapses and is not replaced by the new agreement, then Iraq's funds would lose this immunity. The cost to Iraq of this happening would be the immediate loss of $20bn. The US is able to threaten Iraq with the loss of 40 per cent of its foreign exchange reserves because Iraq's independence is still limited by the legacy of UN sanctions and restrictions imposed on Iraq since Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in the 1990s. This means that Iraq is still considered a threat to international security and stability under Chapter Seven of the UN charter. The US negotiators say the price of Iraq escaping Chapter Seven is to sign up to a new "strategic alliance" with the United States.

The threat by the American side underlines the personal commitment of President George Bush to pushing the new pact through by 31 July. Although it is in reality a treaty between Iraq and the US, Mr Bush is describing it as an alliance so he does not have to submit it for approval to the US Senate.

Iraqi critics of the agreement say that it means Iraq will be a client state in which the US will keep more than 50 military bases. American forces will be able to carry out arrests of Iraqi citizens and conduct military campaigns without consultation with the Iraqi government. American soldiers and contractors will enjoy legal immunity.

The US had previously denied it wanted permanent bases in Iraq, but American negotiators argue that so long as there is an Iraqi perimeter fence, even if it is manned by only one Iraqi soldier, around a US installation, then Iraq and not the US is in charge.

The US has security agreements with many countries, but none are occupied by 151,000 US soldiers as is Iraq. The US is not even willing to tell the government in Baghdad what American forces are entering or leaving Iraq, apparently because it fears the government will inform the Iranians, said an Iraqi source.

The fact that Iraq's financial reserves, increasing rapidly because of the high price of oil, continue to be held in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is another legacy of international sanctions against Saddam Hussein. Under the UN mandate, oil revenues must be placed in the Development Fund for Iraq which is in the bank.

The funds are under the control of the Iraqi government, though the US Treasury has strong influence on the form in which the reserves are held.

Iraqi officials say that, last year, they wanted to diversify their holdings out of the dollar, as it depreciated, into other assets, such as the euro, more likely to hold their value. This was vetoed by the US Treasury because American officials feared it would show lack of confidence in the dollar.

Iraqi officials say the consequence of the American action was to lose Iraq the equivalent of $5bn. Given intense American pressure on a weak Iraqi government very dependent on US support, it is still probable that the agreement will go through with only cosmetic changes. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the immensely influential Shia cleric, could prevent the pact by issuing a fatwa against it but has so far failed to do so.

The Grand Ayatollah met Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), which is the main supporter of the Iraqi government, earlier this week and did not condemn the agreement or call for a referendum. He said, according to Mr Hakim, that it must guarantee Iraqi national sovereignty, be transparent, command a national consensus and be approved by the Iraqi parliament. Critics of the deal fear that the government will sign the agreement, and parliament approve it, in return for marginal concessions.

LBJ admits murder.

2008-06-03T20:19:00.000-04:00

Marx Cafe Tonight!!

2008-06-03T14:40:00.002-04:00

Hey all, I'll be at Marx tonight, playing records from 10-whenever. Hope to see you there!

-M

Marx Cafe
3203 Mount Pleasant St. NW

Airport Security a huge joke

2008-06-03T14:37:00.002-04:00

Wow, a new low! This could be an Onion article, fo real.

Transformers shirt gets jet ban
By ANDY CRICK
Published: 02 Jun 2008

AIRPORT guards stopped a man boarding a plane — for wearing a Transformers T-shirt showing a cartoon gun.

Brad Jayakody, 30, was shocked when he was told to change his top if he wanted to catch his flight from Heathrow’s Terminal 5.

IT consultant Brad — on a British Airways trip with four colleagues to Dusseldorf, Germany — asked to see the security chief.

He thought the boss would "see sense" — but he backed up the decision and threatened him with ARREST. Aussie-born Brad said: "My mate set off the alarms and was searched.

"But then the guy told me to stop and said ‘you cannot get on the plane because there is a gun on your T-shirt’."

The top has the Transformers film character Optimus Prime on the front.

Brad, of Bayswater, West London, added: "It’s a cartoon robot with a gun as an arm. What was I going to do, use the shirt to pretend I have a gun?

"I was flabbergasted. I thought the supervisor would come over and see sense, but he didn’t. After I changed he said if I changed back I would be arrested."

A spokesman for Heathrow operator BAA said: "If a T-shirt had a rude word or a bomb on it for example, a passenger may be asked to remove it.

"We are investigating what happened to see if it came under this category."

Last year Gatwick guards made a woman hand over a beef sandwich before boarding and last week a PhD student was stopped for wearing a gun-shaped charm necklace at an airport in Canada.

Idiot of the month award

2008-05-20T14:15:00.001-04:00

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Man uses gun for backscratcher, shoots himself

01:43 PM CDT on Tuesday, May 13, 2008

By KIMBERLY DURNAN / The Dallas Morning News
kdurnan@dallasnews.com

A Fort Worth man trying to scratch an itch on his back used a revolver and accidentally shot himself.

Jorge Espinal, 44, was drinking beer and playing poker around 3 a.m. Sunday in his home in the 3500 block of Montague Street, when he got up from the table and walked into another room, said Fort Worth police Lt. Kenneth Dean.

“He told officers he had an itch on his back and grabbed the first thing he could get a hold of, which was a revolver,” Lt. Dean said. “The gun went off."

Mr. Espinal went back and told his buddies that he shot himself. “They didn’t believe him until they saw the blood coming down his back,” Lt. Dean said.

Mr. Espinal was taken to an area hospital, where he was treated and released with non-life-threatening injuries.

No Marx Cafe tonight.

2008-05-20T14:08:00.002-04:00

No spinning all the amazing new music I have, makes me one sad panda, phooey..... I'm going to be working late tonight preparing a presentation for a day long round table style meeting that kicks off at 6am. So staying out till all hours at some dodgy bar playing music for unappreciative hipsters isn't compatible with my career goals. Next week, next week it's on for sure!

-peace

Travis Twiggs RIP

2008-05-17T20:59:00.010-04:00

Wow, reading about this has left me in tears.

Marine who died after cross-state chase wrote of war stress

By ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN – 9 hours ago

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Last month, Marine Staff Sgt. Travis N. "T-Bo" Twiggs went to the White House with a group of Iraq war veterans called the Wounded Warriors Regiment and met the president.

Twiggs had been through four tours in Iraq, one in Afghanistan and months of therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder in which he said he was on up to 12 different medications.

"He said, `Sir, I've served over there many times, and I would serve for you any time,' and he grabbed the president and gave him a big hug," said Kellee Twiggs, his widow.

About two weeks later, Travis Twiggs went absent without leave from his job in Quantico, Va.

He and his brother drove to the Grand Canyon, where their car was found hanging in a tree in what appeared to be a failed attempt to drive into the chasm.

The brothers carjacked a vehicle at the park Monday. Two days later they were at a southwestern Arizona border checkpoint, and took off when they were asked to pull into a secondary inspection area, Border Patrol spokesman Michael Bernacke said.

Eighty miles later, the car was on the Tohono O'odham reservation, its tires wrecked by spike strips.

As tribal police and Border Patrol agents closed in, Twiggs, 36, apparently fatally shot his 38-year-old brother, Willard J. "Will" Twiggs, then killed himself.

Pinal County Sheriff's spokesman Mike Minter said no motive has been established. But Kellee Twiggs said the decorated Marine would still be alive if the military had given him enough help.

"All this violent behavior, him killing his brother, that was not my husband. If the PTSD would have been handled in a correct manner, none of this would have happened," she said in a telephone interview from Stafford, Va.

Travis Twiggs, who enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1993 and held the combat action ribbon, wrote about his efforts to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder in the January issue of the Marine Corps Gazette.

The symptoms would disappear when he began each tour, he said, but came back stronger than ever when he came home.

He wrote that his life began to "spiral downward" after the tour in which two Marines from his platoon died.

"I cannot describe what a leader feels when he does not bring everyone home," he wrote. "To make matters even worse, I arrived at the welcome home site only to find that those two Marines' families were waiting to greet me as well. I remember thinking, 'Why are they here?'"

Weeks later, Twiggs "saw a physician's assistant who said that was the severest case of PTSD she'd seen in her life," his widow said.

He began receiving treatment, but the Marine wrote that he mixed his medications with alcohol and that his symptoms didn't go away until he started his final tour in Iraq.

When he came home, "All of my symptoms were back, and now I was in the process of destroying my family," he wrote. "My only regrets are how I let my command down after they had put so much trust in me and how I let my family down by pushing them away."

Kellee Twiggs said her husband was "very, very different, angry, agitated, isolated and so forth," upon his return. "He was just doing crazy things."

She said her husband was treated in the psychiatric ward of Bethesda Naval Medical Center and then sent to a Veterans Administration facility for four months.

Most recently, Travis Twiggs was assigned to the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory at Quantico, a job he said helped him "get my life back on track."

"Every day is a better day now," he wrote in the Marine Corps Gazette. "...Looking back, I don't believe anyone is to blame for my craziness, but I do think we can do better."

Twiggs urged others suffering from similar problems to seek help. "PTSD is not a weakness. It is a normal reaction to a very violent situation," he wrote.

Kellee Twiggs said she can't understand why her husband was not sent to a specialized PTSD clinic in New Jersey.

"They let him out. He was OK for a while and then it all started over again," she said.

A spokesman at Quantico, 1st Lt. Brian Donnelly, said the Corps is committed to providing full medical, psychological and social support to anyone with a combat-related injury, including PTSD.

"Our leaders are trained to be alert for signs of PTSD in their Marines and to provide a supportive climate in which Marines can feel comfortable seeking help," Donnelly said.

One lingering mystery in Twiggs' case is his older brother. Kellee Twiggs said she thinks the Louisiana man joined her husband in driving west "because T-Bo was hurting so bad and for so long that Will's life was a little in chaos."

"For them to both drive off into the Grand Canyon, they both apparently wanted to end their lives," she said.

Kellee Twiggs said "something needs to be fixed" in treating soldiers coming home from combat with PTSD.

"These boys and girls coming back, they need help, things need to be changed, and they don't need to be made to feel weak for asking for help," she said.

Travis writes about his fight with PTSD.
http://riograndevalleyvamc.com/Agenda.aspx

Article with many details. For updates to this story check out the rest of the blog hosting this article.
http://www.healingcombattrauma.com/2008/05/travis-twiggs-.html

Interview with Kellee Twiggs.
http://cfc.wjla.com/videoondemand.cfm?id=14926

Marx cafe tonight!

2008-05-13T16:29:00.004-04:00

Hey all, were back for another installment of beats and eats, I'll be playing at the Marx from 10-11pm tonight, bringing UKG/bassline to the DC masses once more. Here's to hoping this music is able at some point to break out here across the pond. It keeps getting bigger and bigger over in the UK, at some point it'll break out here. Here's to hoping! Seeya tonight.

3203 Mount Pleasant St. NW

Old gas pumps maxed out at $3.99!

2008-05-13T16:20:00.002-04:00

Flipping hilarious! I hadn't even thought of this until now. What a gas.

Old gas pumps can't handle ever-rising prices

By JOHN K. WILEY – 16 hours ago

REARDAN, Wash. (AP) — Mom-and-pop service stations are running into a problem as gasoline marches toward $4 a gallon: Thousands of old-fashioned pumps can't register more than $3.99 on their spinning mechanical dials.

The pumps, throwbacks to a bygone era on the American road, are difficult and expensive to upgrade, and replacing them is often out of the question for station owners who are still just scraping by.

Many of the same pumps can only count up to $99.99 for the total sale, preventing owners of some SUVs, vans, trucks and tractor-trailers to fill their tanks all the way.

As many as 8,500 of the nation's 170,000 service stations have old-style meters that need to be fixed — about 17,000 individual pumps, said Bob Renkes, executive vice president of the Petroleum Equipment Institute of Tulsa, Okla.

At Chip Colville's Chevron station in this eastern Washington town, where men in the family have pumped gas since 1919, three stubby, gray pumps were installed when gas was less than $1 a gallon. They top out at $3.999, only 30 cents above the price of regular gas at Colville's station.

"In small towns, where you don't have the volume, there's no way you can afford to pay for the replacements for these old pumps," Colville said. "It's just not economically feasible."

The problem is worse in extremely rural areas, where "this might be the only pump in town that people can access," said Mike Rud, director of the North Dakota Petroleum Marketers Association.

Demand for replacements has caused a months-long backlog for companies that make or rebuild the mechanical meters — and that's just for stations that can afford the upgrade.

For many station owners — who, because of relatively small profit margin on gas, aren't raking in money even though gas prices are marching higher — replacing the pumps altogether with electronic ones is just not an option.

"The new ones run between $10,000 and $15,000 apiece," Colville said. "It's an expense that's not worth it."

Mechanical meters can be retrofitted with higher numbers when pump prices climb another dollar. The last time that happened was in late 2005, when gas went over $3 a gallon, and owners of the older pumps installed kits that went to $3.999.

This time around, owners of the old pumps will need to install another kit that can handle prices up to $4.999, and possibly higher. Industry experts say those changes could cost as much as $650 per pump.

It costs less to change the meter to raise the maximum price from $2.99 to $3.99 a gallon, but that option raises the risk of a breakdown, said said Pete Turner, chief operating officer for APS Petroleum Equipment Inc. of Anniston, Ala.

"The computer that they're upgrading was not designed to go any more than what it's going now, and if you do it, they don't last long enough," Turner said. "They run so fast that the gears are wearing out."

The price of fixing the meters jumped in the past three years because old pumps are being phased out for new electronic pumps and demand for refurbished meters is down, Al Eichorn, vice president of PMP Corp., which makes the mechanical meters.

The Avon, Conn., company has hired extra employees who are working overtime but still has a 14-week backlog of orders, Eichorn said.

To deal with the problem, some state regulators are allowing half-pricing — displaying the price for a half-gallon of gas, then doubling the price shown on the meter.

In North Dakota, regulators recently told service stations their mechanical pumps could use half-pricing, provided they use signs to alert costumers and find a permanent solution by April 2009.

South Dakota is preparing similar rules, officials say. And in Minnesota, rural service station owners whose pumps cannot display the right price are being told to cover up the incorrect numbers.

"The consumer can only see the gallons turning," said Bill Walsh, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Commerce. "Then they just have to settle up with a calculator, basically." Colville and about a dozen other service station owners in Washington have received temporary variances from the state to allow them to half-price fuel.

Stations granted variances are required to post signs telling customers that the final price they will pay is twice what the pump meter indicates.

"No, that don't bother me. The price does," said Jim Puls, a third-generation rancher who pulled up to Colville's diesel pump to fill up his flatbed truck at $4.41 a gallon. "I can understand what they have to do."

Nationally, the average price for a gallon of gasoline rose past $3.70 Sunday, while diesel was selling for an average of $4.33 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.

Small stations are struggling to make a profit on gas, even as the price rises. Its small profit margin makes it less lucrative that snacks and other products the stores sell inside.

"If gas is the profit driver and you are one of those guys with the old pumps, you're either evolving or getting out," said Jeff Lenard, spokesman for the National Association of Convenience Stores, a trade group that represents about 115,000 stores that sell gasoline.

"If you're just that kind of image of the '50s gas station where you have a conversation, fill up and have a cup of coffee, that's in the movies."

Associated Press Writer Dale Wetzel in Bismarck, N.D., contributed to this report.

Half of Cleveland’s sub-prime loans resulted in foreclosure

2008-05-13T16:13:00.002-04:00

Wow, the other half are sure to follow.

Report: About Half Of Cleveland's Subprime Loans Ended In Foreclosure

POSTED: 11:33 am EDT May 11, 2008

CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that about half of the city's subprime mortgage loans written by top lenders in 2005 ended in foreclosure filings.

Subprime mortgage loans are generally given to people with poor credit and come with higher fees and interest rates.

Now Cleveland is dealing with one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation.

The Plain Dealer said all five of the city's top lenders in 2005 have since been absorbed by other companies or have gone out of business, and there is no accurate way to determine what percentage of subprime mortgage loans may have been based on fraudulent or unscrupulous lending practices.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Marx cafe tonight!

2008-05-06T17:50:00.003-04:00

Hey all, I'm going to be at the Marx tonight, playing from 10-12, bringing the best UKG to the DC masses, and 4/4 bassline niche pressure, ya heard! Belgian beers are on special all night. Seeya there!

3203 Mount Pleasant St. NW

Importing 6,700 tons of sand from Kuwait?

2008-04-30T20:51:00.001-04:00

What... the... fuck...??!?!?

Crews moving contaminated sand from ship to rail
Tuesday, April 29, 2008 9:07 PM PDT
By Erik Olson

Longshoremen should finish unloading 6,700 tons of sand contaminated with depleted uranium and lead Tuesday afternoon, said Chad Hyslop, spokesman for the disposal company American Ecology.

The BBC Alabama arrived at the port Saturday afternoon with the 306 containers carrying the contaminated sand from Camp Doha, a U.S. Army base in Kuwait. The sand was packaged in bags designed to transport hazardous waste.

Longshoremen unloaded the containers in two shifts Sunday, then two more Monday, Hyslop said. They wore standard safety gear, and dust protection equipment and respirators were available, he said.

However, no one has opted to wear the respirators, he said.

“It’s gone real smooth,” Hyslop said.

Half of the containers will be loaded onto 76 rail cars and transported to an American Ecology disposal site in Idaho. The other half will remain at the port until the trains return to haul them to Idaho. The containers all will be at the disposal site in Idaho within 15 to 30 days, Hyslop said.

State Department of Health personnel are at the port to test radiation levels and to ensure none of the sand spills, Hyslop said. U.S. Customs agents also were on hand to inspect the cargo, he said.

The sand became contaminated with low levels of depleted uranium following a fire at Camp Doha during the first Gulf War in 1991, according to Hyslop and Army sources. The Army then discovered potentially hazardous levels of lead in the shipment.

Hyslop said he’s been happy with the job the port and other government agencies have done in helping with the transport of the material.

“We’re extremely pleased and impressed with the outstanding professionalism of the Port of Longview,” he said.

Marx Cafe tonight!

2008-04-22T16:41:00.002-04:00

Hey all,

I'll be playing groovin' two step, slammin' bassline and the choice niche tunes from 10-2 at Marx Cafe tonight. Belgian beer specials, 4$ Chimay and 5$ Dekonick. Hope to see you there!

3203 Mount Pleasant St. NW

Check out the best campaign poster ever!

2008-04-16T11:36:00.003-04:00

Hillary Clinton, are you taking notes?? This is how a real politician gets things done.

Porn star unveils campaign weapon-her bottom
Fri Apr 11, 2008 1:12pm EDT

By Phil Stewart

ROME (Reuters) - She had no desire to be just another smiling face in Italian politics. So when porn star Milly D'Abbraccio designed her campaign posters, it was obvious she was going to show off her bottom.

Targeting her male fan base, the veteran of Italy's adult entertainment industry has plastered images of her derriere all around the Eternal City in a bid to win a seat in Rome's city hall.

If elected, D'Abbraccio wants to create a red light area with strip clubs, erotic discos and sex shops called "Love City" just kilometers away from the Vatican.

"It would be something cute, clean -- nothing to do with prostitution," said the actress whose films include "The Kiss of the Cobra" and "Paolina Borghese, Imperial Nymphomaniac."

D'Abbraccio, in her 40s, isn't the first adult entertainer to dip her painted toenails into Italian politics. Ilona Staller, known as "Cicciolina," sat in parliament in the 1980s and was famous for her impromptu stripteases.

"It was simpler then," D'Abbraccio said. Public nudity isn't the guaranteed attention-grabber it once was, she noted.

D'Abbraccio hopes to capitalize on increasing disenchantment with Italian politics. The recession-prone nation votes on Sunday and Monday in elections to pick a prime minister as well as lawmakers, mayors and city councilors.

"People don't want to see these politicians' faces anymore," she told Reuters in an interview from her Rome apartment.

She said she was tapping into her popularity among pornography fans as "an act of generosity" to help Italy's socialists, who are fielding her in the municipal race.

"I am the derriere of the Socialist party," she concluded.

Silvio Berlusconi, who leads in opinion polls to become prime minister for a third time, drew scorn recently for saying his party boasted the prettiest women in politics. Critics called him a chauvinist.

D'Abbraccio also objected, but for another reason.

"I think he is wrong, because he lost the prettiest one (me)," said D'Abbraccio, whose campaign and adult professional website is www.millydabbraccio.com.

If D'Abbraccio wins, she says she will represent Romans from the district that is home to Cinecitta studios, Italy's version of Hollywood where classics like "La Dolce Vita" were filmed.

"I will reign over Cinecitta, if I get the votes," she said, reclining on a gold-rimmed, chaise lounge in her living room.

As for experience, D'Abbraccio acknowledges she is a political novice but she did play a powerful lawmaker in an adult film called "L'Onorevole."

"I played the part of the speaker of the lower house of parliament, who got very hot and then let herself go," she said.

(Editing by Robert Woodward)

Iraq's cultural heritage!??!!

2008-04-16T08:57:00.002-04:00

This is unacceptable conduct from our war planners, selecting cultural heritage sites as major staging and logistical bases?! The hell? This whole operation could have been wrapped up by now if only the boneheads who planned this little excursion taken the time to carefully plot the course and leveraged each and every opportunity to gain the trust of the street. Had Iraqis seen our troops as diligent stewards of tens of thousands of years of world heritage, as evidenced by the actions of our service members, it amongst other things, i.e.; sewer, water, electricity and security, this whole violent occupation could have been potentially avoided years ago. Now the world actor and influencer performing these basic responsibilities is Iran. We are so badly behind the eight ball, over budget and hopelessly behind schedule that the only sane option is immediate withdrawal, and a long lessons learned session back at HQ so that the next time it's required we bend a nation to our will we won't make the same horrific mistakes that have doomed this effort.

Desecrating history

Iraq's cultural treasures have been ransacked since 2003. This is no mere side issue: it undermines a key part of the country's collective identity.

April 9, 2008 12:00 PM | Printable version

In the first few days after the end of the "shock and awe" campaign, from April 10-12 2003, Iraq's main museums, libraries and archives were looted and extensively damaged by fire. A Bradley tank and a number of US troops were in the area. At one point a curator from the Iraq Museum staff walked over and asked for assistance but was told by the tank commander (who to give him credit, actually radioed his superiors to request permission) that no orders had been given to help.

At the time, Donald Rumsfeld appeared on our television screens in the US and declared these events a positive sign of the liberation of an oppressed people, "stuff happens" he said.

Those of us who opposed the war from the start, and who implied that the US bore some responsibility for its negligence were dismissed as anti-American radicals even in the mainstream press. But by 2007, Barbara Bodine, the US ambassador at the time, revealed to Charles Ferguson in his documentary film No End in Sight that direct orders had come from Washington stating no one was to interfere with the looting.

The events of that April are still lamented everywhere as the unfortunate collateral damage of war, another consequence of the occupation that was not foreseen, like so many other aspects of the occupation, due to the lack of foresight of the Bush administration. But the looting spree in the museums and libraries was just the tip of the iceberg of a catastrophic destruction of historical treasures that was to come in the following five years, and it was not simply the result of poor planning or the inadvertent damage of war.

Even if the original looting of the museums and libraries could not have been avoided, or was not foreseen (an excuse that I personally find rather weak given the fact that numerous archaeologists and other scholars had warned both US and UK governments against exactly such as scenario months before the war), there are areas of cultural destruction that were entirely avoidable and sometimes pre-planned.

First, there was the Pentagon's strategic decision to use the main cultural heritage sites of the country as military bases. These sites include Ur, the legendary birthplace of Abraham; Babylon, the famed capital of Mesopotamian antiquity; and Samarra, the Abbasid Islamic imperial city. The digging, bulldozing, filling of sand bags and blast-barricade containers, the building of barracks and digging of trenches into the ancient sites; all this has destroyed thousands of years of archaeological material, stratigraphy and historical data. Walls and standing structures have collapsed as a result of shootings, bombings and helicopter landings.

At the risk of repeating myself, I would like to remind readers that such activities are against both Iraqi cultural heritage law and against international laws of war and occupation. In other words, like human rights abuses, the destruction of a people's cultural heritage and history has elsewhere been regarded as a war crime. To be precise, similar to the case of torture, international law has regarded such activities as war crimes when people or states other than the US have been responsible for them.

Imagine, if you will, that Stonehenge was taken over as a military barracks that housed thousands of troops and required the digging of the earth in order to provide plumbing and sewage in the middle of the ancient site itself, while trenches were dug around the megaliths and perhaps some of the smaller monoliths were relocated, and used as blast walls to protect the troops at the checkpoint entries to the base. When leading archaeologists came to point out the damage, they were asked: "Are you suggesting that we risk the lives of our troops?" This is the situation today at some of the most important cultural sites of Iraq.

At other locations we have a second type of massive but preventable destruction. This is the ongoing looting of countless Mesopotamian archaeological sites, looting that continues because the state board of antiquities and heritage has little money or equipment for site guards like those in other countries rich in antiquities such as Egypt, Italy, Turkey or Greece, and because the US and UK governments have had little interest in including such site protection in the multi-trillion dollar budget of the occupation. Despite the noble pledges of commitment to the rescue of cultural heritage and rebuilding of the museum and libraries that were made in 2003, the reality is similar to that of the situation with electricity and water. Almost nothing has been done. The Iraqi government is no better. It has shown a remarkable lack of interest in preserving historical sites, whether they are of the pre-Islamic or Islamic eras. More recently, the Maliki government has actually cut what little money had been allocated for these sites. Worse yet, last summer Iraqi troops marched into the National Library and physically assaulted librarians and other staff.

At the time when the first news of the Iraq Museum looting emerged, there were also allegations made in the western press and media that the curatorial staff had been responsible. These charges were never substantiated, although people's lives and reputations were seriously damaged as a result. In the de-Ba'athification plan of Paul Bremer, qualified curators, archaeologists and professors were removed from their positions. In the following five years, many more scholars left the country, forced into exile because of direct threats to their lives; others were not so fortunate and have just become part of the collateral damage of war.

So on this fifth anniversary of the looting I will repeat what I wrote in April 2003. The destruction of history, which has become a prominent aspect of this violent occupation, is not simply the unfortunate damage of some art objects.

As in other wars at other times and places, the destruction of monuments and historical archives works to erase the historical landscape and the realms of memory around which people define their collective identities. The fact that people's relations to monuments, history and landscape are always and everywhere constructed does not make cultural destruction any more ethical or legal. It is precisely through such destruction that empires have usually re-mapped space.

The continuing destruction of historical sites in Iraq must be addressed more seriously as one of the distinctive aspects of the current occupation of Iraq. History and archaeology are never untainted by politics. If ethnic groups or nations construct identities through monuments and historical narratives, the opposite is also true. In the words of George Orwell, "who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present, controls the past".

Govt peeps abuse the P-Card system.

2008-04-09T10:44:00.001-04:00

Wow.

Investigators: Federal Employees Charged Millions in Questionable Expenses on Credit Cards

By HOPE YEN
Associated Press Writer
AP Photo
AP Photo/Nick Ut
Watch Related Video

VA Runs Up Bills at Sharper Image, Las Vegas
Advertisement
Buy AP Photo Reprints

Your Questions Answered
AP Answers Your Questions on the News, From Military Dress to Rules on Anonymous Sources

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal employees charged millions of dollars for Internet dating, tailor-made suits, lingerie, lavish dinners and other questionable expenses to their government credit cards over a 15-month period, congressional auditors say.

A report by the Government Accountability Office, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, examined spending controls across the federal government following reports of credit-card abuse at departments including Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs.

The review of card spending at more than a dozen departments from 2005 to 2006 found that nearly 41 percent of roughly $14 billion in credit-card purchases, whether legitimate or questionable, did not follow procedure - either because they were not properly authorized or they had not been signed for by an independent third party as called for in federal rules to deter fraud.

For purchases over $2,500, nearly half - or 48 percent - were unauthorized or improperly received.

Out of a sample of purchases totaling $2.7 million, the government could not account for hundreds of laptop computers, iPods and digital cameras worth more than $1.8 million. In one case, the U.S. Army could not say what happened to computer items making up 16 server configurations, each of which cost nearly $100,000.

Agencies often could not provide the required paperwork to justify questionable purchases. Investigators also found that federal employees sometimes double-billed or improperly expensed lavish meals and Internet dating for many months without question from supervisors; the charges were often noticed only after auditors or whistle-blowers raised questions.

"Breakdowns in internal controls over the use of purchase cards leave the government highly vulnerable to fraud, waste and abuse," investigators wrote, calling the governmentwide failure rate in enforcing controls "unacceptably high."

"This audit demonstrates that continued vigilance over purchase card use is necessary," the 57-page report stated.

The report calls for the General Services Administration and Office of Management and Budget, both of which help administer the government's credit-card program, to set guidance to improve accounting for purchased items, particularly Palm Pilots, iPods and other electronic equipment that could be easily stolen.

OMB and GSA were also urged to tighten controls over convenience checks, which are a part of the credit-card program, and to remind federal employees that they will be held responsible for any items if the purchases are later deemed improper.

In response, both OMB and GSA agreed with portions of the report. But GSA administrator Lurita Doan noted the vast majority of federal employees use their cards properly and that many oversight measures already are in place. She acknowledged there is room for improvement but added that by using purchase cards the federal government saves about $1.8 billion in administrative costs each year.

"We agree that no level of abuse or misuse is acceptable," Doan wrote.

The GAO study comes amid increasing scrutiny of purchase cards, which are used by 300,000 federal employees and are directly payable by the U.S. government.

The AP reported Sunday that VA employees last year racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in government credit-card bills at casino and luxury hotels, movie theaters and high-end retailers such as Sharper Image. Government auditors have been investigating these and similar charges, citing past spending abuses.

In Tuesday's report, investigators did not seek to determine the extent of fraud or waste at each agency. They cited numerous cases of questionable spending, which they said represented what could be found government-wide, including the VA.

"The purchase card is a useful tool for the government, and in no way are we suggesting it shouldn't continue to be used widely," said Gregory D. Kutz, GAO's managing director of forensic audits and special investigations, in a telephone interview. "However, I would say these cases once again show that lack of internal controls cost taxpayers millions of dollars and thus continued focus is needed on improving these controls."

Among the expenditures cited in the report:

-An Agriculture Department employee fraudulently wrote 180 convenience checks for more than $642,000 to a live-in boyfriend over a six-year period. The money was used for gambling, car and mortgage payments, dinners and retail purchases that went unnoticed until USDA's inspector general received a tip from a whistle-blower. The employee, who pleaded guilty to embezzlement and tax fraud charges, was sentenced last year to 21 months in prison and ordered to repay the money.

-U.S. Postal Service workers separately billed more than $14,000 to government credit cards for Internet dating services and a dinner at a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Orlando, Fla., for 81 people at a cost of $160 each for steaks and crab. The dinner bill also included more than 200 appetizers and more than $3,000 worth of wine and brand-name liquor such as Courvoisier, Belvedere and Johnny Walker Gold.

In the Internet dating case, a postmaster charged $1,100 over 15 months for two online services, including the Ashley Madison Agency. The expenses went unnoticed for more than a year even though he was under internal investigation for viewing pornography on a government computer. The postmaster was eventually told to repay the Internet charges but faced no disciplinary action.

-At the Pentagon, four employees purchased $77,700 in clothing and accessories at high-end clothing and sporting goods stores. The spending included more than $45,000 at Brooks Brothers and similar stores for tailor-made suits - $7,000 of which were purchased a week before Christmas. The credit-card holders said the items were for service members working at U.S. embassies with civilian attire. Pentagon rules allow purchases of civilian clothing when performing official duty, but generally only up to $860 per person.

-Justice Department and FBI employees charged $11,000 at a Ritz Carlton hotel for coffee and "light" refreshments for 50 to 70 attendees for four days, averaging about $50 per person. Seventy percent of the total conference cost of $15,000 was for the food and beverages, while audiovisual and other support services totaled only about $4,000, or 30 percent of the charges. It was not clear what action, if any, that Justice took in light of the conference expenses, which GAO deemed excessive.

-At the State Department, one credit-card holder bought $360 worth of women's lingerie at Seduccion Boutique for use during jungle training by trainees of a drug enforcement program in Ecuador. One State Department official later agreed that the charge was questionable and stated that he would not have approved the purchase had he known about it.

"Too many government employees have viewed purchase cards as their personal line of credit," said Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security subcommittee on investigations, which requested the GAO report. "When money that was intended to pay for critical infrastructure, education and homeland security is instead being spent on iPods, lingerie and socializing, we must immediately remedy the problem."

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., who chairs the investigations subcommittee, agreed. "Although internal controls over government credit cards have improved, we still have a long way to go to stop the fraudulent use of these cards," he said.

---

On the Net:

Government Accountability Office: http://www.gao.gov

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.

Oil set to rise to $160 a barrell by next week.

2008-04-07T08:28:00.002-04:00

That seems a little far fetched, is the margin between supply and demand really as constrained as this article suggests?

Experts Predict Imminent Oil Squeeze

London, Apr 3 (Prensa Latina) The oil price could hit $160 a barrel as soon as next week, says ´Zapata’ George Blake, the Texan oil analyst quoted by the London-based online newsletter Money Morning.

‘Zapata’ George has a habit of making bold calls that often seem to be proved right. He thinks there’s an imminent supply squeeze ahead, which will cause the oil price to spike.

But, first, Money Morning dispels a couple of common myths about oil. Number one, there is a belief that demand for oil will go down in a recession.

In the last 58 years, according to Worldwatch estimates (based on sources such as BP and the International Energy Agency), year-on-year demand for oil has grown every year, except for two brief periods.

Between 1973 and 1975, amidst a global energy crisis, global demand decreased annually by a whopping 0.01 percent. And between 1979 and 1984 consumption growth levelled, the biggest annual decrease being in 79-80 - down a devastating 0.04 percent.

Thus, demand for oil will not fall by any significant amount, even if the US goes into recession.

Oil myth number two is that increased production will meet demand.

Money Morning reminds those who affirm that, where are the discoveries that will lead to new production?

The last major oil frontiers were discovered as long ago as the late 1960s – the North Sea, the North Slopes of Alaska and Western Siberia.

Since then, there has been some reduction in the number of discoveries, but, more significantly, a huge reduction in their size. In the 1960s over 500 fields were discovered; in the 1970s, over 700; in the 1980s, 856; the 1990s, 510.

But in this decade just 65 oil fields have been discovered.

Of the 65 largest oil producing countries in the world, up to 54 have passed their peak of production and are now in decline, including the USA in 1970/1, Indonesia in 1997, Australia in 2000, the North Sea in 2001, and Mexico in 2004.

‘Zapata’ George points out that the extreme cold spell in February in Alberta in Canada meant that the tar sands couldn’t be mined. One refinery in Edmonton had no oil to refine, while the larger Strathcona Refinery was running at significantly reduced rates due to ‘operational problems’.

He then mentions Australia, where there are currently gasoline shortages. BP and Shell have apologized, citing ‘constraints on imports’, leading to ‘unprecedented level of fuel shortages’. The four biggest oil refineries in Australia are not operational.

Meanwhile, Chinese oil demand went up by 6.5 percent in February, and their oil imports have risen by 18.1 percent. In brief, the Chinese are getting the oil, while Canada and Australia are going short.

ef

PL-34

CIA has shady past in Tibet.

2008-04-02T09:12:00.002-04:00

Can the current unrest, violence and political instability in Tibet be chalked up to CIA shenanigans? Maybe.

Greater China
Mar 26, 2008

Tibet, the 'great game' and the CIA
By Richard M Bennett

Given the historical context of the unrest in Tibet, there is reason to believe Beijing was caught on the hop with the recent demonstrations for the simple reason that their planning took place outside of Tibet and that the direction of the protesters is similarly in the hands of anti-Chinese organizers safely out of reach in Nepal and northern India.

Similarly, the funding and overall control of the unrest has also been linked to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, and by inference to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) because of his close cooperation with US intelligence for over 50 years.

Indeed, with the CIA's deep involvement with the Free Tibet Movement and its funding of the suspiciously well-informed Radio Free Asia, it would seem somewhat unlikely that any revolt could

Click here to find out more!

have been planned or occurred without the prior knowledge, and even perhaps the agreement, of the National Clandestine Service (formerly known as the Directorate of Operations) at CIA headquarters in Langley.

Respected columnist and former senior Indian Intelligence officer, B Raman, commented on March 21 that "on the basis of available evidence, it was possible to assess with a reasonable measure of conviction" that the initial uprising in Lhasa on March 14 "had been pre-planned and well orchestrated".

Could there be a factual basis to the suggestion that the main beneficiaries to the death and destruction sweeping Tibet are in Washington? History would suggest that this is a distinct possibility.

The CIA conducted a large scale covert action campaign against the communist Chinese in Tibet starting in 1956. This led to a disastrous bloody uprising in 1959, leaving tens of thousands of Tibetans dead, while the Dalai Lama and about 100,000 followers were forced to flee across the treacherous Himalayan passes to India and Nepal.

The CIA established a secret military training camp for the Dalai Lama's resistance fighters at Camp Hale near Leadville, Colorado, in the US. The Tibetan guerrillas were trained and equipped by the CIA for guerrilla warfare and sabotage operations against the communist Chinese.

The US-trained guerrillas regularly carried out raids into Tibet, on occasions led by CIA-contract mercenaries and supported by CIA planes. The initial training program ended in December 1961, though the camp in Colorado appears to have remained open until at least 1966.

The CIA Tibetan Task Force created by Roger E McCarthy, alongside the Tibetan guerrilla army, continued the operation codenamed ST CIRCUS to harass the Chinese occupation forces for another 15 years until 1974, when officially sanctioned involvement ceased.

McCarthy, who also served as head of the Tibet Task Force at the height of its activities from 1959 until 1961, later went on to run similar operations in Vietnam and Laos.

By the mid-1960s, the CIA had switched its strategy from parachuting guerrilla fighters and intelligence agents into Tibet to establishing the Chusi Gangdruk, a guerrilla army of some 2,000 ethnic Khamba fighters at bases such as Mustang in Nepal.

This base was only closed down in 1974 by the Nepalese government after being put under tremendous pressure by Beijing.
After the Indo-China War of 1962, the CIA developed a close relationship with the Indian intelligence services in both training and supplying agents in Tibet.

Kenneth Conboy and James Morrison in their book The CIA's Secret War in Tibet disclose that the CIA and the Indian intelligence services cooperated in the training and equipping of Tibetan agents and special forces troops and in forming joint aerial and intelligence units such as the Aviation Research Center and Special Center.

This collaboration continued well into the 1970s and some of the programs that it sponsored, especially the special forces unit of Tibetan refugees which would become an important part of the Indian Special Frontier Force, continue into the present.

Only the deterioration in relations with India which coincided with improvements in those with Beijing brought most of the joint CIA-Indian operations to an end.

Though Washington had been scaling back support for the Tibetan guerrillas since 1968, it is thought that the end of official US backing for the resistance only came during meetings between president Richard Nixon and the Chinese communist leadership in Beijing in February 1972.

Victor Marchetti, a former CIA officer has described the outrage many field agents felt when Washington finally pulled the plug, adding that a number even "[turned] for solace to the Tibetan prayers which they had learned during their years with the Dalai Lama".

The former CIA Tibetan Task Force chief from 1958 to 1965, John Kenneth Knaus, has been quoted as saying, "This was not some CIA black-bag operation." He added, "The initiative was coming from ... the entire US government."

In his book Orphans of the Cold War, Knaus writes of the obligation Americans feel toward the cause of Tibetan independence from China. Significantly, he adds that its realization "would validate the more worthy motives of we who tried to help them achieve this goal over 40 years ago. It would also alleviate the guilt some of us feel over our participation in these efforts, which cost others their lives, but which were the prime adventure of our own."

Despite the lack of official support it is still widely rumored that the CIA were involved, if only by proxy, in another failed revolt in October 1987, the unrest that followed and the consequent Chinese repression continuing till May 1993.

The timing for another serious attempt to destabilize Chinese rule in Tibet would appear to be right for the CIA and Langley will undoubtedly keep all its options open.

China is faced with significant problems, with the Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province; the activities of the Falun Gong among many other dissident groups and of course growing concern over the security of the Summer Olympic Games in August.

China is viewed by Washington as a major threat, both economic and military, not just in Asia, but in Africa and Latin America as well.

The CIA also views China as being "unhelpful" in the "war on terror", with little or no cooperation being offered and nothing positive being done to stop the flow of arms and men from Muslim areas of western China to support Islamic extremist movements in Afghanistan and Central Asian states.

To many in Washington, this may seem the ideal opportunity to knock the Beijing government off balance as Tibet is still seen as China's potential weak spot.

The CIA will undoubtedly ensure that its fingerprints are not discovered all over this growing revolt. Cut-outs and proxies will be used among the Tibetan exiles in Nepal and India's northern border areas.

Indeed, the CIA can expect a significant level of support from a number of security organizations in both India and Nepal and will have no trouble in providing the resistance movement with advice, money and above all, publicity.

However, not until the unrest shows any genuine signs of becoming an open revolt by the great mass of ethnic Tibetans against the Han Chinese and Hui Muslims will any weapons be allowed to appear.

Large quantities of former Eastern bloc small arms and explosives have been reportedly smuggled into Tibet over the past 30 years, but these are likely to remain safely hidden until the right opportunity presents itself.

The weapons have been acquired on the world markets or from stocks captured by US or Israeli forces. They have been sanitized and are deniable, untraceable back to the CIA.

Weapons of this nature also have the advantage of being interchangeable with those used by the Chinese armed forces and of course use the same ammunition, easing the problem of resupply during any future conflict.

Though official support for the Tibetan resistance ended 30 years ago, the CIA has kept open its lines of communications and still funds much of the Tibetan Freedom movement.

So is the CIA once again playing the "great game" in Tibet?

It certainly has the capability, with a significant intelligence and paramilitary presence in the region. Major bases exist in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and several Central Asian states.

It cannot be doubted that it has an interest in undermining China, as well as the more obvious target of Iran.

So the probable answer is yes, and indeed it would be rather surprising if the CIA was not taking more than just a passing interest in Tibet. That is after all what it is paid to do.

Since September 11, 2001, there has been a sea-change in US Intelligence attitudes, requirements and capabilities. Old operational plans have been dusted off and updated. Previous assets re-activated. Tibet and the perceived weakness of China's position there will probably have been fully reassessed.

For Washington and the CIA, this may seem a heaven-sent opportunity to create a significant lever against Beijing, with little risk to American interests; simply a win-win situation.

The Chinese government would be on the receiving end of worldwide condemnation for its continuing repression and violation of human rights and it will be young Tibetans dying on the streets of Lhasa rather than yet more uniformed American kids.

The consequences of any open revolt against Beijing, however, are that once again the fear of arrest, torture and even execution will pervade every corner of both Tibet and those neighboring provinces where large Tibetan populations exist, such as Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuan.

And the Tibetan Freedom movement still has little likelihood of achieving any significant improvement in central Chinese policy in the long run and no chance whatever of removing its control of Lhasa and their homeland.

Once again it would appear that the Tibetan people will find themselves trapped between an oppressive Beijing and a manipulative Washington.

Beijing sends in the heavies
The fear that the United States, Britain and other Western states may try to portray Tibet as another Kosovo may be part of the reason why the Chinese authorities reacted as if faced with a genuine mass revolt rather than their official portrayal of a short-lived outbreak of unrest by malcontents supporting the Dalai Lama.

Indeed, so seriously did Beijing view the situation that a special security coordination unit, the 110 Command Center, has been established in Lhasa with the primary objective of suppressing the disturbances and restoring full central government control.

The center appears to be under the direct control of Zhang Qingli, first secretary of the Tibet Party and a President Hu Jintao loyalist. Zhang is also the former Xinjiang deputy party secretary with considerable experience in counter-terrorism operations in that region.

Others holding important positions in Lhasa are Zhang Xinfeng, vice minister of the Central Public Security Ministry and Zhen Yi, deputy commander of the People's Armed Police Headquarters in Beijing.

The seriousness with which Beijing is treating the present unrest is further illustrated by the deployment of a large number of important army units from the Chengdu Military Region, including brigades from the 149th Mechanized Infantry Division, which acts as the region's rapid reaction force.

According to a United Press International report, elite ground force units of the People's Liberation Army were involved in Lhasa, and the new T-90 armored personnel carrier and T-92 wheeled armored vehicles were deployed. According to the report, China has denied the participation of the army in the crackdown, saying it was carried out by units of the armed police. "Such equipment as mentioned above has never been deployed by China's armed police, however."

Air support is provided by the 2nd Army Aviation Regiment, based at Fenghuangshan, Chengdu, in Sichuan province. It operates a mix of helicopters and STOL transports from a frontline base near Lhasa. Combat air support could be quickly made available from fighter ground attack squadrons based within the Chengdu region.
The Xizang Military District forms the Tibet garrison, which has two mountain infantry units; the 52nd Brigade based at Linzhi and the 53rd Brigade at Yaoxian Shannxi. These are supported by the 8th Motorized Infantry Division and an artillery brigade at Shawan, Xinjiang.

Tibet is also no longer quite as remote or difficult to resupply for the Chinese army. The construction of the first railway between 2001 and 2007 has significantly eased the problems of the movement of large numbers of troops and equipment from Qinghai onto the rugged Tibetan plateau.

Other precautions against a resumption of the long-term Tibetan revolts of previous years has led to a considerable degree of self-sufficiency in logistics and vehicle repair by the Tibetan garrison and an increasing number of small airfields have been built to allow rapid-reaction units to gain access to even the most remote areas.

The Chinese Security Ministry and intelligence services had been thought to have a suffocating presence in the province and indeed the ability to detect any serious protest movement and suppress resistance.

Richard M Bennett, intelligence and security consultant, AFI Research.

(Copyright 2008 Richard M Bennett.)

Boycott the Mail!!!

2008-03-20T11:29:00.004-04:00

Didn't Cosmo Kramer try this? If I remember correctly it did not end well in that case, Wilfred Brimley came down on him like a ton of bricks. good luck.

Efforts to Block Junk Mail Slowed
Postal Service Argues Against Registries to State Lawmakers

By Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 19, 2008; Page A13

Chris Pearson, a state legislator in Vermont, had a sense that the people were with him when he proposed a bill last November to allow residents to block junk mail.

He got media attention, radio interview requests and e-mails from constituents eager to stop the credit card offers, furniture catalogues and store fliers that increasingly clog their mailboxes.

Then came the pushback from the postmasters, who told Pearson and other lawmakers that "standard" mail, the post office's name for junk mail, has become the lifeblood of the U.S. Postal Service and that jobs depend on it.

"The post office and the business groups are pretty well-organized," said Pearson, whose bill remains in a committee and has not been scheduled for a vote.

Barred by law from lobbying, the Postal Service is nonetheless trying to make its case before a growing number of state legislatures that are weighing bills to create Do Not Mail registries, which are similar to the popular National Do Not Call Registry.

The agency has printed 3,000 "information packets" about the economic value of standard mail, with specific data for each of the 18 states that have considered a Do Not Mail Registry. It has dispatched postmasters to testify before legislative committees around the country.

"The Postal Service has come in and clobbered legislators," said Todd Paglia, executive director of ForestEthics, an environmental group that has collected 289,000 signatures on an online petition to Congress that calls for a National Do Not Mail Registry. "It's really a people-versus-special interest kind of battle."

The Postal Service is working closely with the Direct Marketing Association, the trade group that represents retailers and the printing industry, in its new campaign -- Mail Moves America -- which is designed to quash the Do Not Mail initiatives.

So far, their efforts appear effective. None of the states where Do Not Mail legislation has been introduced since 2007 has approved a law. And no similar legislation is pending in Congress.

Sean Sheehan of the Center for a New American Dream, a progressive group based in Takoma Park, said state efforts may precede national action, just as they did with the Do Not Call Registry.

"Federal legislators are more sensitive to the heavy lobbying of the paper industry, as well as the impact on the postal service, whereas a lot of state legislators are really more in tune with local needs," Sheehan said. "It's local governments that have to pay millions to truck that trash out to landfills."

So far in the 2008 campaign cycle, the Direct Marketing Association has made $141,877 in contributions to federal candidates, including $6,610 to Sen. Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.), who chairs the subcommittee that oversees the Postal Service and does not face reelection until 2012.

Perhaps surprisingly, environmental groups -- whose members say they are concerned about junk mail -- are cool to the idea of a registry that prohibits marketers from sending mail to those enrolled and that fines violators.

One reason may be that most environmental groups are themselves junk mailers. They use standard mail for their solicitation letters.

A national registry "would affect anybody who mails," said Laura Hickey, senior director of global warming education at the National Wildlife Foundation, which belongs to the Direct Marketing Association. "I don't think it would be any different whether you were for-profit or nonprofit.'' As an alternative, the National Wildlife Foundation, the Natural Resources Defense Council and other groups have created Catalogue Choice, a program that asks retailers to voluntarily stop sending catalogues to anyone who signs up for the free online service at http://www.catalogchoice.org.

"If people participate in a voluntary system, then I don't see the need for a legislative strategy," Hickey said. When Catalogue Choice was launched in October, the foundation expected about 150,000 people to sign up in the first year. Six months into the project, more than 642,000 people have joined. "It obviously filled a void," Hickey said.

Still, it is unclear how many marketers are voluntarily heeding requests to stop mailing.

The Direct Marketing Association operates its own registry ( http://www.dmachoice.org) and in an e-mail sent last November, instructed its members to ignore Catalogue Choice.

Postal officials say they are aware of the environmental concerns related to junk mail. In testimony on Capitol Hill last week, Postmaster General John E. Potter told lawmakers that the Postal Service has one answer: Recycling bins positioned beneath personal mailboxes at post offices, to catch junk mail as it tumbles out.

GW coming unhinged!?

2008-03-18T15:32:00.001-04:00

Great column, she's got his number: plumb loco! HW should whup his ass good.

Op-Ed Columnist
Soft Shoe in Hard Times

By MAUREEN DOWD
Published: March 16, 2008

WASHINGTON

Everyone here is flummoxed about why the president is in such a fine mood.

The dollar’s crumpling, the recession’s thundering, the Dow’s bungee-jumping and the world’s disapproving, yet George Bush has turned into Gene Kelly, tap dancing and singing in a one-man review called “The Most Happy Fella.”

“I’m coming to you as an optimistic fellow,” he told the Economic Club of New York on Friday. His manner — chortling and joshing — was in odd juxtaposition to the Fed’s bailing out the imploding Bear Stearns and his own acknowledgment that “our economy obviously is going through a tough time,” that gas prices are spiking, and that folks “are concerned about making their bills.”

He began by laughingly calling the latest news on the economic meltdown “a interesting moment” and ended by saying that “our energy policy has not been very wise” and that there was “no quick fix” on gasp-inducing gas prices.

“You know, I guess the best way to describe government policy is like a person trying to drive a car in a rough patch,” he said. “If you ever get stuck in a situation like that, you know full well it’s important not to overcorrect, because when you overcorrect you end up in the ditch.”

Dude, you’re already in the ditch.

Boy George crashed the family station wagon into the globe and now the global economy. Yet the more terrified Americans get, the more bizarrely carefree he seems. The former oilman reacted with cocky ignorance a couple of weeks ago when a reporter informed him that gas was barreling toward $4 a gallon.

In on-the-record sessions with reporters — and more candid off-the-record ones — he has seemed goofily happy in recent weeks, prickly no more but strangely liberated and ebullient.

Even though he ordinarily hates being kept waiting, he made light of it while cooling his heels for John McCain, and did a soft shoe for the White House press. Wearing a cowboy hat, he warbled a comic Western ditty at the Gridiron Dinner a week ago — alluding to Scooter Libby’s conviction, Saudis getting richer from our oil-guzzling, Brownie’s dismal Katrina performance, and Dick Cheney’s winsome habit of withholding documents.

At a dinner on Wednesday, the man who is persona non grata on the campaign trail (except for closed fund-raisers) told morose Republican members of Congress that he was totally confident that “we can retake the House” and “hold the White House.”

“I think 2008 is going to be a fabulous year for the Republican Party!” he said, sounding like Rachael Ray sprinkling paprika on goulash. That must have been news to House Republicans, who have no money, just lost the seat held by their former speaker, and are hemorrhaging incumbents as they head into a campaign marked by an incipient recession and an unpopular war.

If only they could see things as the president does. Bush, who used his family connections to avoid Vietnam, told troops serving in Afghanistan on Thursday that he is “a little envious” of their adventure there, saying it was “in some ways romantic.”

Afghanistan is still roiling, as is Iraq, but W. is serene. “Removing Saddam Hussein was the right decision early in my presidency, it is the right decision now, and it will be the right decision ever,” he said, echoing that great American philosopher Dan Quayle, who once told Samoans, “Happy campers you are, happy campers you have been and, as far as I am concerned, happy campers you will always be.”

W. bragged to Republicans about his “considered judgment” in sending more troops to Iraq and again presented himself as an untroubled instrument of divine will. “I believe there’s an Almighty,” he said, “and I believe a gift of that Almighty to every man, woman and child is freedom.”

Although the president belittled the Democrats for their policy of “retreat,” his surge has been a temporary and expensive place-holder for what Americans want: a policy to get us out of Iraq.

“Has it allowed us to reduce troop levels to below where they were when it started?” Michael Kinsley wrote recently. “The answer is no.” Gen. David Petraeus told The Washington Post last week that no one in the U.S. and Iraqi governments “feels that there has been sufficient progress by any means in the area of national reconciliation.”

Maybe the president is just putting on a good face to keep up American morale, the way Herbert Hoover did after the crash of ’29, when he continued to dress in a tuxedo for dinner.

Or maybe the old Andover cheerleader really believes his own cheers, and that prosperity will turn up any time now, just like the W.M.D. in Iraq.

Or perhaps it’s a Freudian trip. Now that he’s mucked up the world and the country, he can finally stop rebelling against his dad and relax in the certainty that the Bush name will forever be associated with crash-and-burn presidencies.

Whatever the explanation, it’s plumb loco.

marx Cafe tonight!!

2008-03-18T14:44:00.001-04:00

I'll be at Marx tonight, 10-12 spinnin' some ill tunez. Seeya there!

3203 Mount Pleasant St NW

Copper theft closses schools.

2008-03-18T14:41:00.002-04:00

Wow, those kids should count their blessings, a day off from school due to a spike in commodity prices and an unscrupulus smelter!

Copper theft forces school to cancel classes

Elias C. Arnold
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 17, 2008 03:20 PM

Hurley Ranch Elementary School was closed Monday after thieves stole a series of copper pipes that deliver water to the school.

Principal Melanie Block said she learned of the problem Sunday morning and opted to cancel classes, only to discover the next day that thieves had returned.

"Last night, they came in and finished the job and took the remaining three pipes that were out there," Block said Monday.

The initial theft was discovered about 8 a.m. Sunday when a church group noticed there was no running water. The group rents space at the school, near 91st Avenue and Broadway Road in Phoenix.

Officials soon found a pipe that delivers water to the school had been cut off and stolen. They decided to cancel classes when maintenance workers were unable to repair the damage.

Teachers were on campus until about 10 p.m. Sunday calling parents of the school's nearly 950 students about the closure. Only about 50 parents had to be turned away Monday morning, Block said.

But officials arrived by 6 a.m. Monday to learn the remaining water delivery pipes had been cut.

A cage protects the pipes, which stick out of the ground. The thieves apparently used bolt cutters to open the cages, Block said.

She said the repairs should be completed Monday, though students could be sent to other Union Elementary School District schools for classes if the thieves strike again.

"I'm running with the positive intention school will be up and running tomorrow (Tuesday), " she said.

Bear Sterns buy-out a "low ball" offer.

2008-03-18T14:29:00.003-04:00

no way, no way at all this deal goes through at 2$ a share. Not going to happen, the notional value alone is priced above this offer.

Bear Stock Triples JPMorgan Bid as Traders Seek More (Update2)

By Zachary R. Mider and Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam

March 18 (Bloomberg) -- Bear Stearns Cos.' stock rose 44 percent to more than three times the current $275 million value of JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s acquisition as traders increased bets that investors will push for a higher offer.

JPMorgan, with backing from the Federal Reserve, agreed two days ago to buy the New York-based securities firm for about $2 a share in stock to prevent a collapse. The value of the transaction has climbed to $2.31 a share as the bank's stock price has rallied. Bear gained $2.12 to $6.93 at 1:30 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

Yesterday, billionaire Joseph Lewis, Bear's second-biggest shareholder, called the price ``derisory,'' according to a phone interview cited by CNBC. Other investors may share that opinion. During a conference call the day the deal was announced, an individual investor said he would vote against the sale.

``It's perfectly possible that the deal you see right now is not the deal you're going to get,'' said Nancy Havens, president and founder of Havens Advisors LLC, which invests in takeover targets. ``There's every incentive for shareholders to vote `no' the first time.''

Havens said she didn't buy Bear yesterday because she wasn't convinced the offer would rise any more.

Opposition

``Certainly, it looks like a significant number of shareholders are deciding to vote against the deal,'' James Ellman, who oversees $200 million as the president of San Francisco-based SeaCliff Capital. Investors are saying ``Bear Stearns can survive on its own, JPMorgan will have to up the price, or that another bidder is about to emerge,'' he added.

Ellman, whose hedge-fund firm specializes in financial stocks, sold his Bear stock about a year ago.

Bear climbed to $171.51 last year and closed at $30 on March 14, the last trading day before New York-based JPMorgan stepped in. The book value was $84 a share as recently as November.

``It's a race between the bondholders and shareholders to buy as much stock as they can,'' said Brian Shapiro, managing director of Source Capital NY. ``They have divergent interests at this point.''

Bondholders could be buying stock because they want the deal done, while shareholders are trying to amass a larger stake because they want to vote the deal down, Shapiro said.

Bear spokesman Russell Sherman didn't immediately return a call seeking comment. Douglas McMahon, a spokesman for Lewis, didn't return a call seeking comment.

JPMorgan, based in New York, will pay 0.05473 share for each of Bear's 118 million shares outstanding. The bank rose $1.81, or 4.5 percent, to $42.12, after increasing 10 percent yesterday.

To contact the reporters on this story: Zachary R. Mider in New York at zmider1@bloomberg.net; Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam in Boston at sbhaktavatsa@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: March 18, 2008 13:43 EDT

Marx Cafe tonight!

2008-03-11T11:10:00.003-04:00

Hey all, I'll be playing at Marx Cafe tonight, 10pm-12. Join me for half priced Belgian beers and some of the freshest UKG tunez on the scene today. See you there!

3203 Mount Pleasant St NW

Derivatives market set to implode

2008-03-11T11:07:00.002-04:00

I had thought these markets had all ready imploded, but apparently Warren Buffet is convinced there is yet still more wealth destruction to happen before this whole nightmare scenario is wrapped up. Yikes.

Derivatives the new 'ticking bomb'
Buffett and Gross warn: $516 trillion bubble is a disaster waiting to happen

By Paul B. Farrell, MarketWatch
Last update: 7:31 p.m. EDT March 10, 2008

ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- "Charlie and I believe Berkshire should be a fortress of financial strength" wrote Warren Buffett. That was five years before the subprime-credit meltdown.
"We try to be alert to any sort of mega-catastrophe risk, and that posture may make us unduly appreciative about the burgeoning quantities of long-term derivatives contracts and the massive amount of uncollateralized receivables that are growing alongside. In our view, however, derivatives are financial weapons of mass destruction, carrying dangers that, while now latent, are potentially lethal."

That warning was in Buffett's 2002 letter to Berkshire shareholders. He saw a future that many others chose to ignore. The Iraq war build-up was at a fever-pitch. The imagery of WMDs and a mushroom cloud fresh in his mind.
Also fresh on Buffett's mind: His acquisition of General Re four years earlier, about the time the Long-Term Capital Management hedge fund almost killed the global monetary system. How? This is crucial: LTCM nearly killed the system with a relatively small $5 billion trading loss. Peanuts compared with the hundreds of billions of dollars of subprime-credit write-offs now making Wall Street's big shots look like amateurs.
Buffett tried to sell off Gen Re's derivatives group. No buyers. Unwinding it was costly, but led to his warning that derivatives are a "financial weapon of mass destruction." That was 2002.
Derivatives bubble explodes five times bigger in five years
Wall Street didn't listen to Buffett. Derivatives grew into a massive bubble, from about $100 trillion to $516 trillion by 2007. The new derivatives bubble was fueled by five key economic and political trends:

1.
Sarbanes-Oxley increased corporate disclosures and government oversight
2.
Federal Reserve's cheap money policies created the subprime-housing boom
3.
War budgets burdened the U.S. Treasury and future entitlements programs
4.
Trade deficits with China and others destroyed the value of the U.S. dollar
5.
Oil and commodity rich nations demanding equity payments rather than debt

In short, despite Buffett's clear warnings, a massive new derivatives bubble is driving the domestic and global economies, a bubble that continues growing today parallel with the subprime-credit meltdown triggering a bear-recession.
Data on the five-fold growth of derivatives to $516 trillion in five years comes from the most recent survey by the Bank of International Settlements, the world's clearinghouse for central banks in Basel, Switzerland. The BIS is like the cashier's window at a racetrack or casino, where you'd place a bet or cash in chips, except on a massive scale: BIS is where the U.S. settles trade imbalances with Saudi Arabia for all that oil we guzzle and gives China IOUs for the tainted drugs and lead-based toys we buy.
To grasp how significant this five-fold bubble increase is, let's put that $516 trillion in the context of some other domestic and international monetary data:

*
U.S. annual gross domestic product is about $15 trillion
*
U.S. money supply is also about $15 trillion
*
Current proposed U.S. federal budget is $3 trillion
*
U.S. government's maximum legal debt is $9 trillion
*
U.S. mutual fund companies manage about $12 trillion
*
World's GDPs for all nations is approximately $50 trillion
*
Unfunded Social Security and Medicare benefits $50 trillion to $65 trillion
*
Total value of the world's real estate is estimated at about $75 trillion
*
Total value of world's stock and bond markets is more than $100 trillion
*
BIS valuation of world's derivatives back in 2002 was about $100 trillion
*
BIS 2007 valuation of the world's derivatives is now a whopping $516 trillion

Moreover, the folks at BIS tell me their estimate of $516 trillion only includes "transactions in which a major private dealer (bank) is involved on at least one side of the transaction," but doesn't include private deals between two "non-reporting entities." They did, however, add that their reporting central banks estimate that the coverage of the survey is around 95% on average.
Also, keep in mind that while the $516 trillion "notional" value (maximum in case of a meltdown) of the deals is a good measure of the market's size, the 2007 BIS study notes that the $11 trillion "gross market values provides a more accurate measure of the scale of financial risk transfer taking place in derivatives markets."
Bubbles, domino effects and the 'bad 2%'
However, while that may be true as far as the parties to an individual deal, there are broader risks to the world's economies. Remember back in 1998 when LTCM's little $5 billion loss nearly brought down the world's banking system. That "domino effect" is now repeating many times over, straining the world's monetary, economic and political system as the subprime housing mess metastasizes, taking the U.S. stock market and the world economy down with it.
This cascading "domino effect" was brilliantly described in "The $300 Trillion Time Bomb: If Buffett can't figure out derivatives, can anybody?" published early last year in Portfolio magazine, a couple months before the subprime meltdown. Columnist Jesse Eisinger's $300 trillion figure came from an earlier study of the derivatives market as it was growing from $100 trillion to $516 trillion over five years. Eisinger concluded:
"There's nothing intrinsically scary about derivatives, except when the bad 2% blow up." Unfortunately, that "bad 2%" did blow up a few months afterwards, even as Bernanke and Paulson were assuring America that the subprime mess was "contained."
Bottom line: Little things leverage a heck of a big wallop. It only takes a little spark from a "bad 2% deal" to ignite this $516 trillion weapon of mass destruction. Think of this entire unregulated derivatives market like an unsecured, unpredictable nuclear bomb in a Pakistan stockpile. It's only a matter of time.
World's newest and biggest 'black market'
The fact is, derivatives have become the world's biggest "black market," exceeding the illicit traffic in stuff like arms, drugs, alcohol, gambling, cigarettes, stolen art and pirated movies. Why? Because like all black markets, derivatives are a perfect way of getting rich while avoiding taxes and government regulations. And in today's slowdown, plus a volatile global market, Wall Street knows derivatives remain a lucrative business.
Recently Pimco's bond fund king Bill Gross said "What we are witnessing is essentially the breakdown of our modern-day banking system, a complex of leveraged lending so hard to understand that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke required a face-to-face refresher course from hedge fund managers in mid-August." In short, not only Warren Buffett, but Bond King Bill Gross, our Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, the Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and the rest of America's leaders can't "figure out" the world's $516 trillion derivatives.
Why? Gross says we are creating a new "shadow banking system." Derivatives are now not just risk management tools. As Gross and others see it, the real problem is that derivatives are now a new way of creating money outside the normal central bank liquidity rules. How? Because they're private contracts between two companies or institutions.
BIS is primarily a records-keeper, a toothless tiger that merely collects data giving a legitimacy and false sense of security to this chaotic "shadow banking system" that has become the world's biggest "black market."
That's crucial, folks. Why? Because central banks require reserves like stock brokers require margins, something backing up the transaction. Derivatives don't. They're not "real money." They're paper promises closer to "Monopoly" money than real U.S. dollars.
And it takes place outside normal business channels, out there in the "free market." That's the wonderful world of derivatives, and it's creating a massive bubble that could soon implode.
Comments? Yes, we want to hear your thoughts. Tell us what you think about derivatives: as "financial weapons of mass destruction;" as a "shadow banking system;" as a "black market;" as the next big bubble dangerously exposing us to that unpredictable "bad 2%."

hair loss

2008-03-10T21:11:00.003-04:00

How is this guy not in prison yet? Giuseppe Franco's miracle hair thickening treatment, Proede, actually makes hair FALL OUT. Isn't the government tasked with protecting consumers from these snake oil salesmen?

http://www.infomercialratings.com/product/procede_hair_loss

That's messed up.

2008-03-07T11:19:00.000-05:00

If these guys don't deserve to be granted citizenship, then none of us have any more right to the honor.

Bush's broken promises hit war vets

February 24, 2008

PressTV

US President George W. Bush sparks an outcry after breaking promises to grant citizenship to the immigrant members of the US military.

According to the New York Times, the Department of Defense and the Citizenship and Immigration Services are refusing to consider pending citizenship applications of more than 7,200 service members.

"If what I have done for this country is not enough for me to be a citizen, then I don't know what is," said former Marine Abdool Habibullah, a Guyanese immigrant who has been waiting for a citizenship since he returned from Iraq in 2005.

“I've pretty much given up on finding out where my paperwork is, what's gone wrong, what happened to it,” he added.

After the September 11 attacks, Bush signed an administrative order which allowed non-citizens on active duty to apply for citizenship. The broken promises have infuriated migratory affairs lawyers and congressional officials.

“These are men and women who are risking their lives for us,” said Democrat Sen. for New York Charles Schumer.

“They've met all the requirements for citizenship, they have certainly proved their commitment to our country, and yet they could lose their lives while waiting for a bureaucratic snafu to untangle,” he concluded.

Iran seeks world ban on nukes

2008-03-07T00:24:00.001-05:00

Wow, a shocking turn of events.

From correspodents in Geneva

March 05, 2008 01:52am

IRAN wants to ban all nuclear weapons through an international treaty, the country's foreign minister said at the UN's Conference on Disarmament.

"The time has come to ban and eliminate all nuclear weapons," Manouchehr Mottaki told the conference.

The UN Security Council on Monday slapped another round of sanctions on Iran over its refusal to suspend nuclear enrichment activities, while in Vienna, the International Atomic Energy Agency attempted to convince Tehran to cooperate.

Western states have accused Tehran of pursuing a nuclear program under cover of energy production, a charge it has firmly denied.

Iran's foreign minister said during Tuesday's meeting in Geneva that it is necessary to "start negotiations to reach a convention on the ban of stocks and the production of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction".

During the conference, he questioned the right of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to possess nuclear arms.

"The winners of the Second World War have claimed this right and imposed it on the international community," he said.

"Today, the right of veto and the right to possess nuclear arms has become a monetary exchange to obtain illegitimate rights," he added.

Iran, which confirmed that it had launched its first rocket to space February 4, also supported a proposal from Russia and China to ban weapons in space.

The project, which was presented on February 12 by Russia during the Conference on Disarmament, suggested banning the deployment of all types of arms in space. The US has opposed such a treaty.

The UN Conference on Disarmament brokered key Cold War accords such as the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, but has made scant progress over the last decade as the 65 members remain at odds on future priorities.

Bank failures may be in the near future

2008-02-29T13:23:00.004-05:00

Oh wow, this is just plain bad news for anybody that has a checking account right now.

FDIC Girds For Bank Failures
Debra Borchardt
02/26/08 - 04:16 PM EST

Shaky loan portfolios continue to darken the landscape for the nation's banks, as federal regulators prepare for the possibility of an uptick in failures of financial institutions, according to recent government reports.

A record-high $31.3 billion set aside by banks for loan losses, record trading losses and goodwill expenses dragged down fourth-quarter net incomes of insured banks to a 16-year low, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s quarterly banking profile released Tuesday. The cumulative increase to loan-loss provisions was the largest increase in 20 years.

The FDIC report comes on the heels of study from the Government Accountability Office made public last week, which found the FDIC recorded an estimated liability of $124 million at the end of 2007 for the anticipated failure of some insured institutions and also identified potential losses of $1.7 billion should vulnerable insured institutions also fail.

All of this is happening as the FDIC, established during the Great Depression to provide a backstop to depositors during a rash of bank failures, solicits banks' input on ways to accomplish as orderly a wind-down as possible in the event of a major bank's demise. The FDIC sent a notice out to banks requesting their ideas last month.

"The notion that a bank is too big to fail shouldn't be out there," says Jim Marino, of the FDIC's Division of Resolutions and Receiverships.

The grim picture for banks was reiterated by FDIC's report Tuesday. It noted that non-current loans exceeded reserves for first time since 1993. Loans that are 90 days past due, jumped 32.5% to $26.9 billion, the single-largest increase in a quarter in 24 years. The only loan category with an improving picture was farm loans, no doubt aided by soaring commodity prices.

The fourth quarter was notable for several other firsts and record-breaking numbers. Trading losses came to $10.6 billion, making this the first quarter the industry has ever reported a net trading loss. Less than half of the insured banks reported improved earnings for 2007, making this the first time in 23 years that a majority of the banks have not posted earnings increases. It's also the first time since the mid-1970s that non-interest income has declined. On a positive note, domestic deposits rose to $170.6 billion, the largest quarterly increase. But the bad news is that the industry's ratio of deposits to total assets hit an all-time low.

While no major banks have yet failed in the current crisis, some big names have experienced significant troubles. Washington Mutual(WM - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) is one national bank that has been particularly hard hit by poor mortgage and other loans. WaMu cut its dividend and set aside $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter to cushion against greater delinquencies on subprime mortgages and home-equity loans. A number of regional banks, like National City(NCC - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and KeyCorp(KEY - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) also recently increased loan-loss provisions.

"The problems are in all categories, and given the thin coverage of the banking system for such losses, rising charge-offs and loan loss reserves are likely to bite deeply into earnings," wrote John Hussman in a September market comment for Hussman Funds.

FDIC spokesman David Barr pointed out that even as assets increase, the agency is restricted in its ability to get more income for the Depository Insurance Fund (DIF). The DIF is administered by the FDIC and is funded through investments and payments by insured banks. The payment is calculated both on the balance of deposits as well as on the degree of risk posed to the insurance fund. However, Congress sets the ratio level and even though it was raised last year to 1.25, the current level of reserves to insured deposits is only at 1.22. In 2006, it was 1.32.

"Ninety percent of the banks haven't been paying in because the reserve ratio isn't low enough," he said. "Congress increased the number last year, but exempted older banks. We're restricted to income on Treasuries."

So the FDIC is going to be hitting up banks for more money at a time when many can least afford it. The goal for the DIF ratio is to be at 1.25 by 2009. "The number of problem banks is increasing, but still historically low," Barr said. "However, the assets are increasing."

A rise in bank failures exemplifies the burgeoning problem. Douglas National Bank in Missouri failed in January and the three banks that failed in 2007. The FDIC's Marino said that typically three to six banks fail each year, but there were no bank failures during 2005 and 2006, when banks were raking in fees for loans.

Last month, the FDIC issued a two-part Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, seeking comments related to the potential failure of large insured depository institutions. Marino has been working on this project for two years.

When a bank fails, the FDIC has to be able to look at all the accounts of a depositor and figure out how much is insured. "Banks do not know the insurance status of their customers, nor do they really care," Marino said. "What we're saying to larger institutions is that you're going to have to help us out."

Marino said banks with regulatory problems typically used to fail on a Friday, allowing the FDIC to step in and sort But with liquidity issues, failures can come at any time. Moreover, electronic banking leads to a lot of nightly processing, so it's usually not until 4 a.m. in the morning that the FDIC gets a glimpse of the balances.

The proposed rule the FDIC is considering would require the largest institutions to modify their deposit systems so that the FDIC could calculate deposit insurance coverage quickly in the event of failure.

Today's trouble in the banking sector has a long way to go before it rivals the Depression, when 4,000 banks failed. But the symptoms then were similar: banks were bogged down with foreclosures and left with unsalable assets. The banks struggled with liquidity issues, which the Federal Reserve did little to help.

Today's Fed is bending over backwards to create liquidity. Just last month when the Fed's own reports noted that banking reserves had gone into negative territory, the Fed stressed that by making short-term liquidity available through its term auction facility, the banks would have plenty of money. But that money is achieved through loans and not real capital.

Hussmann in September observed that reserves had fallen to their lowest level relative to non-current loans since the third quarter of 2002 and non-current loans experienced the largest uptick since the fourth quarter of 1990 -- representing the last two notable economic downturns.

"Recall that 1990 and 2002 were periods when recessions were already well underway," he wrote. "If we're already seeing these signs of credit stress at the peak of an economic expansion, the figures we observe in a recession are likely to be a lot worse."

Prince Harry is in Afghanistan

2008-02-28T15:12:00.001-05:00

Yeah! I'm glad to hear this news, this young prince sets a fine example. Give 'em hell Harry!

ROUNDUP: Britain's Prince Harry on frontline in Afghanistan

dpa
dpa - International News Service in English

Feb 28, 2008 14:58 EST

London (dpa) - Britain's Prince Harry has been fighting Taliban forces on the frontline in Afghanistan for the past 10 weeks after a long and controversial debate in Britain over whether the 23-year-old should do active service in a conflict zone.

Harry, 23, the younger son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, was stopped from fighting in Iraq last year on security grounds.

A lengthy public debate on the deployment prompted the appearance of T-shirt among insurgency groups in Iraq displaying Harry's head as a target.

The Sandhurst-trained prince, who serves in the Household Cavalry, always insisted that he wanted to "fight with his men."

On Thursday, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in London confirmed that Harry had been fighting in Afghanistan's Helmand province for the past 10 weeks.

The news was leaked on the US website Drudge Report, after the British media had adhered to an agreement with the royal palace that the deployment of the prince should be kept secret.

The head of the British Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, said he was disappointed that the news had come out.

"I am very disappointed that foreign websites have decided to run the story without consulting us," he said.

The move was in "stark contrast to the highly responsible attitude" displayed by the British media, said the general.

Harry, who has a reputation as a "party prince," was understood to have threatened to leave the army if he was not allowed to go on active service.

He is the first senior member of the royal family to serve in a conflict since Prince Andrew, his uncle, fought as a helicopter pilot in the Falklands in 1982.

Harry, third in line to the throne, was told by his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, that the decision had been taken for him to serve in Afghanistan.

The queen had always been supportive of his wish, the prince said in an interview Thursday.

He believed the fighting experience in Afghanistan would change his life. "I finally get the chance to do the soldiering that I want to do," the prince said.

In an interview in the restive southern Afghan province of Helmand, Harry talked about life as a soldier on the frontline.

"I haven't really had a shower for four days, I haven't washed my clothes for a week.

"It's very nice to be sort of a normal person for once, I think it's about as normal as I'm going to get.

"I am still a little bit conscious of the fact that if I show my face too much in and around the area - luckily there's no civilians around here because it's ... a no-man's land.

"But I think that if, up north, when I do go up there, if I do go on patrols in amongst the locals, I'll still be very wary about the fact that I do need to keep my face slightly covered just on the off- chance that I do get recognized, which will put other guys in danger.

The fear that Harry might prove to be a "bullet magnet" - or that his deployment might place his comrades in additional danger, returned Thursday with confirmation of his deployment.

The MoD said no decision had been made on whether it was safe for Prince Harry to remain in Afghanistan, where he was meant to complete a four-month tour.

"The operational chain of command is now looking at a variety of options," said a spokesman. dpa at pmc

Source: dpa - International News Service in English

Treaties need the approval of the senate

2008-02-28T13:34:00.001-05:00

The Senate should have had to approve this, it's a treaty between us and someone else, this is bullshit.

Welcome to the North American Army
By Judi McLeod Monday, February 25, 2008

Will historians one day record that “It happened on Valentine’s Day” when chronicling the timetable of the North American Union (NAU)?

With no warning, a significant military agreement was signed by the chief Armed Forces commanders of both the U.S.A. and Canada on Feb. 14. The agreement allows the armed forces from one nation to support the armed forces of the other nation during a domestic civil emergency.

And as Jerome R. Corsi writes of the range of domestic civil emergencies, in WorldNetDaily, “even one that does not involve a cross-border crisis.”

The Valentine’s Day pact got zero coverage in the mainstream media whose investigative reporters must have been out hunting down chocolate and posies.

Were it not for a USNORTHCOM photo that surfaced depicting a beaming U.S. air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, USNORTHCOM commander and Canadian Air Force Lt. Gen. Marc Dumais, commander of Canada Command, the public the media serve would have been left in the dark.

Perhaps the generals won’t get to tell North American Union suspecting citizens that the NAU is the province of only the conspiracy theorist.

Paperwork always comes in handy when bureaucrats cry “Conspiracy Theory”.

Defined by its architects as a “Civil Assistance Plan”, the agreement was never submitted to Congress for approval.

“Nor did Congress pass any law or treaty specifically authorizing this military agreement to combine the operations of the armed forces of the United States and Canada in the event of a wide range of domestic civil disturbances ranging from violent storms, to heal epidemics, to civil riots or terrorist attacks.” (WorldNetDaily, Feb. 24, 2008).

Mind you, reporter David Pugliese, had the story published by CanWest News Service on Friday.

Imagine an agreement that paves the way for the militaries of the U.S. and Canada to cross each other’s borders to fight domestic emergencies not being announced by either the Harper government or the Canadian military.

“It’s kind of a trend when it comes to issues of Canada-U.S. relations and contentious issues like military integration,” Stuart Trew, a researcher with the Council of Canadians told the CanWest News Service. “We see that this government is reluctant to disclose information to Canadians that is readily available on American and Mexican websites.”

“This document is a unique, bilateral military plan to align our respective national military plans to respond quickly to the other nation’s requests for military support of civil authorities,” Renuart said in a statement published on the USNORTHCom website.

“The signing of this plan is an important symbol of the already strong working relationship between Canada Command and the U.S. Northern Command,” said Lt. Gen. Dumais.

“Our commands were created by our respective governments to respond to the defense and security challenges of the twenty-first century,” he stressed, “and we both realize that these and other challenges are best met through cooperation between friends.”

While Canadian citizens opened their homes to Americans stranded on September 11, 2001, there was no military aid sent to the U.S. from Canada, whose then Prime Minister Jean Chrétien remained silent.

In a program on the first anniversary of the deadly hijackings, Chrétien told CBC TV that a clear signal had been sent to all Western countries: do not abuse your strength or wealth.

“You cannot exercise your powers to the point of humiliation for the others,” Chrétien said. “And that is what the western world—not only the Americans, the Western world—has to realize. Because they are human beings, too.”

Truth is the Chrétien crony Liberals haven’t gone away. They are merely waiting in the wings to bring down the Harper minority government.

The same Liberals who join the Canadian New Democrat Party (NDP) whose mantra is to bring the troops home from Afghanistan.

Some Liberal and NDP MPs continue to hold anti-American sentiments.

That’s a strange environment from which to forge a plan whose “challenges are best met through cooperation between friends”, Lieutenant General Dumais.

U.S. Northern Command was established on Oct. 1, 2002, as a military command tasked with anticipating and conducting homeland defense and civil support operations where U.S. armed forces are used in domestic emergencies.

Canada Command was established on Feb. 1, 2006, to focus on domestic operations and offer a single point of contact for all domestic and continental defense and securities partners.

Meanwhile, since the North American Union is a three-nation initiative, when will the Mexican Army be brought in during a domestic civil emergency?

Posted 02/25 at 07:27 AM Email (Permalink)

UAV xbox skills

2008-02-25T23:38:00.003-05:00

The Air Force should create a video game for the xbox and PS3 to train up young recruits while they are still in Junior High. Eventually we'll be able to find the guy w/ the best current score on XboxLive and patch him into the cockpit in real time. Saving on training costs and time to fight calculations for the resource planner, thus driving value for the war fighter and budget planner. Eventually the entire defense dept could lower their training costs by publishing force specific software titles.

UAV Jocks Get Respect
February 25, 2008: A year ago, the U.S. Air Force created a new job specialty, UAV pilots. Before that, it was just "temporary duty" for underemployed fighter pilots. Late last year, the air force began recruiting people to be career UAV operators. The new air force program expects to attract those who had applied to be regular pilots, but had been denied because of minor physical faults (eyesight not sharp enough being the most common). But the air force is also aware that the current crop of recruits are the X-Box generation. They grew up on video games, and the military has already found that all those thousands of hours wasted (according to parents) playing video games, developed skills that are quite useful in the military.

Classroom instruction is almost identical to what pilots of manned aircraft get. Flight instruction, however, will take place on a customized version of Microsoft Flight Simulator (MFS), which will emulate the Predator (and perhaps other UAVs as well). The air force was satisfied that MFS had an accurate enough flight model to be used for UAV pilot instruction.

The three month Undergraduate Remote Pilot Training (URT) is training 30 students a year, and in two years will be turning out over a hundred pilots a year. After URT, UAV pilots (who will get wings) will get two or three months instruction on Predator or Global Hawk aircraft. There are also now UAV classes and a school for senior air force officers.

The air force also created a sensor operator job category for the enlisted troops who work with UAV operators. Until now, the airmen who operated the cameras on UAVs were given the imagery analyst job title. This made little sense, but it was just an improvisation. But now UAVs are a career path, and many air force officers and troops see it as the future.

Currently, the air force is getting about two pilots applying for each opening for UAV pilots. That's because the air force is downsizing, and a lot of pilots are forced to choose between retraining on another aircraft, trying a few years of UAV work, or leaving the air force. However, few pilots of manned aircraft want to make a career of operating UAVs. The new training program for UAV pilots will be for people who are stick with UAVs until retirement. At the moment, the UAV pilots appear to have brighter long range career prospects than the folks flying manned aircraft. It will take about a decade before all the UAV operators are people with no prior experience in manned aircraft. In the meantime, every fighter and transport pilot who has done a three year tour as a UAV operator, acquires a database entry showing a "secondary skill" as a UAV operator so that, when they return to their F-15 cockpit, they can be recalled if there is an emergency need for more UAV jocks.

Marx cafe tonight!

2008-02-19T14:56:00.004-05:00

All right, no really bad weather, it's not an upcoming holiday weekend, so it's on for sure tonight!

10pm
3203 Mount Pleasant St. NW

Hope to see YOU there!

Party in Havana!?

2008-02-19T14:53:00.001-05:00

Can we US citizens join the rest of the world and vacation in Havava?!?! Please!?

No change in Cuba policy, U.S. says
Posted on Tue, Feb. 19, 2008

By FRANCES ROBLES AND ALEJANDRA LABANCA
frobles@MiamiHerald.com

The Bush administration ruled out on Tuesday any immediate change in policy toward Cuba, deriding Fidel Castro's most likely successor as president of Cuba, his brother Raúl, as ``Fidel-lite.''

''He is simply a continuation of the Castro regime, of the dictatorship,'' State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters, according to the Associated Press. ``There are some very clear indications out there that what this transition would potentially become . . . is a transfer of authority and power from one dictator to dictator-lite, from Fidel to Raúl.''

Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said in Washington he could not even imagine the U.S. lifting the embargo ''any time soon''. The trade embargo against the island has been the centerpiece of American policy toward Cuba since it was first imposed in 1960 and strengthened in 1962.

Cubans on the island, on the other hand, hoped Fidel's decision not to seek reelection may be just the break Raúl had been waiting for to make significant changes in the economy.

''I don't think it will be more of the same,'' dissident economist Oscar Espinosa Chepe said by phone from Havana. ``It's not what we in Cuba want -- we want democracy and freedom -- but this could be the time for some economic changes and maybe, long-term, some political changes.''

Although Raúl has been ruling Cuba for the 19 months that Castro has been ailing, Cuba watchers say he's had his hands tied with the looming presence of his brother. And with Tuesday's announcement that Cuba's 81-year-old leader was stepping down after nearly 50 years in office, Raúl could use the opportunity to enact economic reforms that Cubans so desperately crave.

Castro announced in a letter to the Cuban people Tuesday that his health will not allow him to accept another term as president of the ruling Council of State. His move came five days before the National Assembly meets to elect the new Council of State and its president -- Castro's top official title since the council was established in 1976.

In his letter, Fidel acknowledged that his failing health means he was not up to the job.

''My wishes have always been to discharge my duties to my last breath,'' Castro wrote in a letter published in Tuesday's editions of Cuban newspapers. However, ``it would be a betrayal to my conscience to accept a responsibility requiring more mobility and dedication than I am physically able to offer.''

''This I say devoid of all drama,'' he wrote.

At Miami International Airport, scores of passengers arriving on flights from Camagüey and Havana Tuesday said they saw nothing different on the streets or at the airport and were unaware of the significant development on the island when they arrived in Miami in the early afternoon. Most learned the news from reporters gathered outside the U.S. Customs waiting area at MIA.

''Everything seemed normal. There was nothing different as we headed for the airport. It looked like a normal day in Cuba,'' said María Luisa Morales, 60, of West Palm Beach, who spent three weeks visiting relatives in Camagüey in central Cuba.

''I don't think people know,'' Morales said.

Rafael Almeida, 45, a trucker from Hialeah who was on the same flight, was stunned to hear of Castro's resignation.

''Really? They didn't say anything there. I noticed nothing different at the airport. Are you sure?,'' Almeida queried reporters.

The Associated Press reported that, as radio spread the news across the island, Cubans went about their business as usual, accepting the inevitable with a mix of sadness and hope.

''It is like losing a father,'' said Luis Conte, an elderly museum watchman. Or ``like a marriage -- a very long one that is over.''

Reaction was subdued in Miami's Cuban-American community. Most exiles dismissed Castro's resignation as an insignificant development.

''That's nothing, that's a farce,'' said Jorge Alonso, 79, who was watching other men play poker at Calle Oche's Domino Park on Tuesday. ``With Raúl, there is no solution.''

Miami's arch-conservative Radio Mambí, the Spanish language anti-Castro station, hit on the same skeptical notes they've preached the last two years: This does not represent real change.

News Director Armando Pérez-Roura said Castro's move was a ''pantomime'' typical of ``communists.''

''This is not a change,'' he said in Spanish. ``It's a play by the Cuban government with the help of the European Union and [Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez] Zapatero.''

Castro remains a member of parliament and is likely to be elected to the 31-member Council of State on Sunday, though he will no longer be its president. Castro also retains his powerful post as first secretary of Cuba's Communist Party.

Although there was no indication that the resignation could trigger a mass migration headed for Miami, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez said the county was prepared for any unexpected event.

''Earlier today, I spoke with Gov. Charlie Crist to assure him that Miami-Dade County is prepared for any issues that may arise. As always, we'll continue to monitor the activities of the Cuban government, which are of great interest to our community,'' he said.

Most Cubans believe that the presidency will wind up in the hands of Raúl, the world's longest-serving defense minister. As head of the armed forces, he wields tremendous power not just over troops, but State Security, the Ministry of Interior and the economy.

''This is Raúl's opportunity to consolidate power,'' Espinosa said.

Laura Pollán, a member of the dissident group Ladies in White, said this is Raúl's chance to prove that he is really interested in reform by freeing the more than 200 political prisoners in Cuba. Pollán's husband, Héctor Maseda, is serving a 20-year sentence.

In Africa, a visiting President Bush said he hoped this was the beginning of democracy and called for the liberation of all political prisoners in Cuba.

''First step, of course, will be for people put in these prisons to be let out. I've met with many of the -- or some of the families of prisoners. It just breaks your heart to realize that people have been thrown in prison because they dared speak out,'' he said.

``I view this as a period of transition; that -- and it should be the beginning of the democratic transition for the people in Cuba.'''

On the presidential campaign trail, Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama and Republican John McCain also demanded the release of political prisoners in Cuba.

It remains to be seen whether the 76-year-old Raúl will be elected as the new president, although Castro is widely expected to retain a strong voice in the country's strategic decisions for the time being.

Raúl also may opt to wield power from his current positions and allow the Council of State to choose a younger leader, like the ones Castro alluded to in Tuesday's letter.

''Fortunately, our revolution can still count on cadres from the old guard and others who were very young in the early stages of the process,'' he wrote. ``Some were very young, almost children, when they joined the fight in the mountains and later they have given glory to the country with their heroic performance and their internationalist missions. . . . They have the authority and the experience to guarantee the replacement.''

But his absence from the political scene raises many new possibilities for the revolution, particularly considering that nearly two-thirds of the country's 11.2 million people were born after 1959 and have known no other leader but Fidel.

Castro's successor also will take office amid increasing complaints about the system's shortcomings, particularly high prices and low wages.

When Castro was struck by an intestinal illness in summer 2006, he ''temporarily'' turned over the title of president and several others to Raúl. Castro has not made any public appearances since then.

The jubilation felt on the streets of Miami that summer night that Castro ceded power quickly petered out when Raúl's hold on the job proved firmer than exiles in Miami expected. Raúl's 19 months in office were marked by remarkable stability, which served to underscore the strength of Cuba's military and Communist Party.

Castro began hinting late last year that he did not plan to hold on to his job forever. In a December column, he suggested it was time to make way for newer and younger leadership.

Some experts believe the Council of State will tap Vice President Carlos Lage, 54, as president. But others say it's unlikely both Castro brothers will retire at once. Many on the island think Lage will actually succeed Raúl as Cuba's next No. 2.

The Castro brothers swept into power in 1959 after winning a guerrilla war against Fulgencio Batista. Once in office, Fidel, a former lawyer, nationalized properties as the country's elite and middle class fled. He fostered strong ties to the Soviet Union, but watched his economy collapse when the Soviet bloc came apart -- taking its $4 billion to $6 billion in annual subsidies with it and ushering more than a decade of economic hardship on the Cubans.

Experts say Fidel's decision not to seek reelection to the presidency offers hope that it may become the first step in what could be a long process toward change on the island.

''It took the Soviet Union a generation after Stalin and it was three or four years after Franco before there was change in Spain,'' said Dario Moreno, a Cuba expert at Florida International University. ``The challenge for the Cuban community in Miami is patience. The Cuban government has had a year and a half to work on this transition. The lessons of this period we've gone through is that the Cuban revolutionary institutions are strong enough.''

One lingering question is whether Fidel's less charismatic brother can keep the socialist revolution going in the long-term.

Raúl is known as a man who leads by consensus. Most experts believe he will use the strength of the military, the Communist Party and National Assembly to keep a tight rein on political power while embracing economic changes to improve the daily lot of Cubans.

''Although they have some differences, they are one of a kind. They have the same interests, to stay in power,'' said Tony Alfonso, 70, a former political prisoner in Cuba. ``As long as there are no consequences, nothing is going to change. Liberate all the political prisoners, set the foundation for free elections, other than that it will just be cosmetic changes.''

And again, no one is totally counting Fidel out of the picture. Experts agree it's unlikely that anyone - even Raúl - will even command as much influence as his brother.

''I don't believe someone as narcissistic as him will be absolutely removed from power,'' said Andy Gómez with the University of Miami's Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies. ``He will continue to be consulted. What you may see now are some newer, younger faces.''

Fidel has long been the revolution's icon. While Cubans are fed up with shortages and low salaries, he is still admired and respected as the charismatic chief who defied the United States and kept Cuba afloat despite the post-Soviet economic collapse.

''We are all very sad. We are all Fidelistas in this house. But we understand that he's sick, and physically he doesn't have the strength to continue even though he still has the mental capacity,'' María Cecilia Colón, a woman from Havana told The Miami Herald in a telephone interview.

As for where Cuba needs to go from here, she says, she wants to see ``the country continue to progress. I want to see an elimination of the blockade so that Cuba can be like any other country. We know the a revolution is difficult and rife with challenges, but I believe we can succeed.''

Fidel himself has not taken himself completely out of the picture. He said he plans to continue being a soldier for the revolution, although his weapons this time will only be words.

''This is not my farewell to you,'' he wrote. ' I shall continue to write under the heading of `Reflections by Comrade Fidel.' It will be just another weapon you can count on. Perhaps my voice will be heard. I shall be careful.''

Miami Herald staff writers Luisa Yáñez, Adam Beasley, Jacqueline Charles, Oscar Corral and Alejandra Labanca contributed to this report from Miami.

Marx on hold, for a week...

2008-02-12T21:42:00.000-05:00

Hey all, it's down right nasty outside tonight, ice, freezing rain, all sorts of ugliness. So I elected to stay put and stay dry. See you all next week!

-Matt

Marx Cafe tommorow nite!

2008-02-11T14:17:00.000-05:00

Hey all, barring any personal emergencies or unfortunate accidents, I'll be at Marx Tomorrow night at around 10pm or so to make your ears bleed. We're back to every Tuesday night now I'm happy to note, the short lived "Scoop!" is no more. The bar owner has offered me Tuesday night if I wanted to do something exclusive, not sure what to think of that. Anywho, hope to see you there!

3203 Mount Pleasant St. NW

Get a charge out of walking!

2008-02-11T14:13:00.000-05:00

Great, now if we can just get this attached to a neon shirt and some laser pants we'll be all set. Look ma, no batteries! wee...

Scientists make unique knee-brace power generator
Thu Feb 7, 2008 5:38pm EST

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Talk about a knee-jerk reaction. Scientists in the United States and Canada said on Thursday they have developed a unique device that can be strapped on the knee that exploits the mechanics of human walking to generate a usable supply of electricity.

It generates enough power to charge up 10 cell phones at once, the researchers report in the journal Science.

Researchers have been working on ways to harness the motion of the human body to create power.

A shoe-mounted device was nice and light, but did not generate much electricity. A backpack device that generated power as it bounced up and down while a person walks generated a lot of electricity, but was heavy to lug.

The new energy-capturing knee brace, its inventors said, seems to find a happy medium -- generating decent amounts of power while still being relatively light.

The scientists envisioned numerous applications for such a device. It could be of value to hikers or soldiers who may not have access to electricity, they said. It also could be built into prosthetic knees or other implantable devices whose users occasionally must undergo surgery for a battery replacement.

Arthur Kuo, a University of Michigan mechanical engineer who worked on the device, said it works similarly to the way that regenerative braking charges a battery in hybrid cars.

These regenerative brakes collect kinetic energy that normally dissipate as heat when the car slows down. The knee device collects energy lost when a person brakes the knee after swinging the leg forward to take a step, the researchers said.

"It generates a fairly substantial amount of power compared to previous devices and it does so in a way that doesn't affect the user very much," Kuo said in a telephone interview.

"You could easily power 10 cell phones at once. There are some low power computers that you could power. You could imagine devices like GPS locaters, satellite phones," he said.

With a device placed on each leg, volunteers walking on treadmills generated about 5 watts of electricity walking at a leisurely 2.2 mph (3.5 kph). Each of the devices weighs about 3.5 pounds (1.6 kg), which Kuo said was still too unwieldy.

"Even though we've demonstrated this new way to generate power, we don't mean to say this is a usable product at this time. The principle limitations are that our prototype is pretty heavy and bulky," Kuo said, adding that he thinks it can be made smaller and more practical.

(Editing by Maggie Fox and Eric Beech)
© Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

Important case in CDS debacle

2008-01-31T23:17:00.000-05:00

Tripped across this article noting a case decided last year that very well may be cited during future civil action related to the credit default swap market collapse. Lots of work for lawyers as this mess unwinds! It's a good read.

http://overhedged.blogspot.com/2008/01/little-noted...

SEC bails out mortgage crooks.

2008-01-31T19:50:00.000-05:00

Methinks this isn't going to help foster an environment of accountability.

Subprime Lenders Get Big Accounting Break at SEC: Jonathan Weil

Commentary by Jonathan Weil

Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Just when it seemed as if the mortgage mess had hit a new low, now comes this: The Securities and Exchange Commission's staff has granted the subprime-lending industry a huge exemption from the normal rules for off-balance- sheet accounting.

In effect, the move will let home lenders keep their balance sheets looking much smaller and less leveraged, even while the off-the-books loans they made get a makeover.

For months, banking regulators and politicians have been pressing lenders to freeze the interest rates on many adjustable-rate subprime mortgages that are scheduled to reset soon at higher interest rates. The idea is to minimize defaults and foreclosures.

While that's a noble objective, all good deeds must be accounted for, and that's been a sticking point for many banks. Through September, just 3.5 percent of subprime mortgages that reset in the first eight months of 2007 had been modified, according to Moody's Investors Service. Even lenders inclined to help don't want to hurt their financial results. And now they might not have to, thanks to a Jan. 8 letter from the SEC's chief accountant, Conrad Hewitt.

Here's the background: Many lenders recorded upfront profits by selling loans in bulk to off-balance-sheet trusts -- known as qualified special purpose entities, or QSPEs -- which then repackaged the loan pools into mortgage-backed securities. The trusts are supposed to be beyond the lenders' control. And if the companies servicing the loans tinker with them in ways that aren't spelled out in the trusts' charters, the sales must be reversed, and the trusts must come onto the lenders' books, under the Financial Accounting Standards Board's rules.

Financial Constraints

That would mean much more assets and debt, possibly limiting banks' ability to make new loans. Not surprisingly, some of the biggest mortgage lenders, including Washington Mutual Inc., Countrywide Financial Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co., had been pushing regulators for a break.

By following new guidelines issued last month by a banking- industry group called the American Securitization Forum, Hewitt said servicers will be allowed to modify subprime mortgages where defaults are ``reasonably foreseeable,'' without jeopardizing the trusts' off-balance-sheet treatment.

Hewitt's letter came in response to requests by the ASF, as well as the Treasury Department and others. On Dec. 6, the ASF published a ``streamlined'' framework for evaluating subprime mortgages issued from January 2005 to July 2007, where the initial rates are scheduled to reset before August 2010.

Loans that meet certain criteria -- based on things such as low credit scores, the number of days delinquent, and high loan- to-value ratios -- are eligible for ``fast-track'' modifications, on the basis that it's foreseeable they'll default, the ASF said.

Losing Status

The wholesale approach includes lots of room for discretion. For instance, if a borrower's credit score is too high, mortgage servicers can use an ``alternate analysis'' and consider a ``tailored modification for a borrower.''

Hewitt said such modifications wouldn't cause the QSPEs to lose their off-the-books status, though he did call for more disclosures by lenders about QSPEs' activities.

Hewitt said he realized there's no way to know how accurate the ASF criteria might be at predicting actual defaults, because there ``is a lack of relevant, observable market data that can be used to perform an objective statistical analysis of the correlation.'' Still, he said the group's criteria looked reasonable, ``based upon a qualitative consideration of the expectation of defaults.''

Hewitt declined to be interviewed, as did FASB officials.

Little Discretion

The accounting standard at issue is FASB Statement No. 140. Its rules had envisioned QSPEs as brain-dead vehicles, akin to wind-up toys. Their actions are supposed to be automatic responses that ``were entirely specified in the legal documents that established'' the trusts. When servicers do exercise discretion, it must be ``significantly limited.''

``I do not believe mortgage modification in such a wholesale and proactive fashion can be reasonably viewed as significantly limited,'' says Stephen Ryan, an accounting professor at New York University, who specializes in financial instruments and institutions.

According to the ASF, many QSPEs' legal documents say loan modifications are permitted where default is ``reasonably foreseeable.'' However, the ASF framework wasn't published until last month. So there's no way the activities it describes could be fully specified in the charters at any of the affected QSPEs.

While it may be a good thing under current circumstances to give servicers incentives to modify lots of subprime mortgages, Ryan says, ``I think the chief accountant should have indicated he was providing an exemption to, rather than interpreting a vague area in, FAS 140.''

Changed Rules

The ASF's executive director, George Miller, says that ``the framework itself cannot be specified in trust documents that existed before the framework was issued.'' However, he says ``it does not need to be'' and that Hewitt's letter is ``not an exemption, just an interpretation'' of whether applying the group's criteria would comply with Statement 140.

This might be a slippery slope. Perhaps the auto industry could be saved, for example, if only we devise new accounting ``interpretations'' of the rules governing their massive pension liabilities.

Hewitt couldn't call his Jan. 8 letter an outright exemption, of course. Unlike the SEC itself, he doesn't have the authority to overturn the FASB's rules. Practically speaking, however, that's what he did.

The SEC and the FASB at least should acknowledge this subterfuge for what it is. Don't count on it, though.

(Jonathan Weil is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this column: Jonathan Weil in Boulder, Colorado, at jweil6@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: January 30, 2008 00:06 EST

Chaos in Iraq

2008-01-29T10:44:00.000-05:00

Wow, how was this allowed to go so completely wrong?!?!

The state of the (Iraqi) union
By Pepe Escobar

I say this to the evil Bush - leave my country.
We do not need you and your army of darkness.
We don't need your planes and tanks.
We don't need your policy and your interference.
We don't want your democracy and fake freedom.
Get out of our land.
- Muqtada al-Sadr, Iraqi Shi'ite leader

The George W Bush-sponsored Iraqi "surge" is now one year old. The US$11 billion-a-month (and counting) Iraqi/Afghan joint quagmire keeps adding to the US government's staggering over $9 trillion debt (it was "only" $5.6 trillion when Bush took power in

early 2001).

On the ground in Iraq, the state of the union - Bush's legacy - translates into a completely shattered nation with up to 70% unemployment, a 70% inflation rate, less than six hours of electricity a day and virtually no reconstruction, although White House-connected multinationals have bagged more than $50 billion in competition-free contracts so far. The gleaming reconstruction success stories of course are the Vatican-sized US Embassy in Baghdad - the largest in the world - and the scores of US military bases.

Facts on the ground also attest the "surge" achieved no "political reconciliation" whatsoever in Iraq - regardless of a relentless US corporate media propaganda drive, fed by the Pentagon, to proclaim it a success. The new law to reverse de-Ba'athification - approved by a half-empty Parliament and immediately condemned by Sunni and secular parties as well as former Ba'athists themselves - will only exacerbate sectarian hatred.

What the "surge" has facilitated instead is the total balkanization of Baghdad – as well as the whole of Iraq. There are now at least 5 million Iraqis among refugees and the internally displaced - apart from competing statistics numbering what certainly amounts to hundreds of thousands of dead civilians. So of course there is less violence; there's hardly any people left to be ethnically cleansed.

Everywhere in Iraq there are myriad signs of balkanization - not only in blast wall/partitioned Baghdad. In the Shi'ite south, the big prize is Basra, disputed by at least three militias. The Sadrists - the voice of the streets - are against regional autonomy; the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC)- which controls security - wants Basra as the key node of a southern Shi'iteistan; and the Fadhila party - which control the governorate - wants an autonomous Basra.

In the north, the big prize is oil-rich Kirkuk province, disputed by Kurds, Sunni Arabs and Turkmen; the referendum on Kirkuk has been postponed indefinitely, as everyone knows it will unleash a bloodbath. In al-Anbar province, Sunni Arab tribes bide their time collaborating with the US and controlling the exits to Syria and Jordan while preparing for the inevitable settling of scores with Shi'ites in Baghdad.

Obama and Hillary vs Iraqis
Meanwhile, in the Democratic party presidential race, Hillary Clinton, who voted for the war on Iraq, viciously battles Kennedy clan-supported Barack Obama, who opposed the war, followed at a distance by John "can a white man be president" Edwards, who apologized for his initial support for the war. Obama, Edwards and Clinton basically agree, with some nuance, the "surge" was a fluke.

They have all pledged to end the war if elected. But Edwards is the only pre-candidate who has explicitly called for an immediate US troop withdrawal - up to 50,000, with nearly all of the remaining out within a maximum of 10 months. Edwards insisted Iraqi troops would be trained "outside of Iraq" and no troops would be left to "guard US bases".

For their part, both Clinton and Obama believe substantial numbers of troops must remain in Iraq to "protect US bases" and "to fight al-Qaeda in Iraq". This essentially means the occupation grinding on. Both never said exactly how many troops would be needed: they could be as many as 75,000. Both have steadfastly refused to end the "mission" before 2013.

It's hard to envision an "occupation out" Obama when among his chief advisers one finds former president Jimmy Carter's national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski - the "grand chessboard" ideologue who always preached American domination of Eurasia - and former Middle East negotiator Dennis Ross, who always fought for Israel's dominance of the "mini-chessboard", the Middle East.

So far Obama has not given any signs he would try to counter the logic of global US military hegemony conditioned by control of oil; that's why the US is in Iraq and Africa, that's the reason for so much hostility towards Venezuela, Iran and Russia. As for Clinton - with the constant references to "vital national security interests" - there's no evidence this twin-headed presidency would differ from Bush in wanting to install a puppet, pliable, perennial, anti-Iranian, peppered-with-US-military-bases regime in Iraq.

But more than US presidential candidates stumbling on how to position themselves about Iraq, what really matters is what Iraqis themselves think. According to Asia Times Online sources in Baghdad, apart from the three provinces in Iraqi Kurdistan, more than 75% of Sunnis and Shi'ites alike are certain Washington wants to set up permanent military bases; this roughly equals the bulk of the population in favor of continued attacks against US troops.

Furthermore, Sunni Arabs as a whole as well as the Sadrists are united in infinite suspicion of the key Bush-mandated "benchmark": the eventual approval by the Iraqi Parliament of a new oil law which would in fact de-nationalize the Iraqi oil industry and open it to Big Oil. Iraqi public opinion as a whole is also suspicious of what the Bush administration wants to extract from the cornered, battered Nuri al-Maliki government: full immunity from Iraqi law not only for US troops but for US civilian contractors as well. The empire seems to be oblivious to history: that was exactly one of ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's most popular reasons to dethrone the Shah of Iran in 1979.

Too many fish in the sea
It's impossible to overestimate the widespread anger in Baghdad, among Sunnis and Shi'ites alike, for what has essentially been the balkanization of the city as negotiated by US commanders with a rash of militias; the occupiers after all are only one more militia among many, although better equipped. Now there are insistent rumors - again - in Baghdad that the occupation, allied with the government-sanctioned Badr Organization - is preparing an anti-Sadrist blitzkrieg in oil-rich Basra.

The daily horror in Iraq has all but been erased from US corporate media narrative. But in Baghdad, now virtually a Shi'ite city like Shiraz, Salafi-jihadi suicide bombers continue to attack Shi'ite markets or funerals - especially in mixed neighborhoods, even those only across the Tigris from the Green Zone. Sectarian militias - although theoretical allies of the occupation, paid in US dollars in cash - continue to pursue their own ethnic cleansing agenda. And the "surge" continues to privilege air strikes which inevitably produce scores of civilian "collateral damage".

The Sunni Arab resistance continues to be the "fish" offered protection by the "sea" of the civilian population. All during the "surge", the Sunni Arab guerrillas always kept moving - from west Baghdad to Diyala, Salahuddin, Nineveh and Kirkuk provinces and even to the northern part of Babil province. After the collapse of fuel imports from Turkey used to drive the Iraqi power grid, Baghdad and other Iraqi major cities are most of the time mired in darkness. Fuel shortages are the norm. In addition, the Sunni Arab resistance makes sure sabotage of electricity towers and stations remains endemic.

Contrary to Iraqi government propaganda, only very few among the at least 1 million Iraqis exiled in Syria since the beginning of the "surge" - mostly white-collar middle class - have come back. They are Sunni and Shi'ite alike. People - mostly Sunni - are still fleeing the country. The Shi'ite urban middle class fears there will inevitably be a push by the Sunni Arab resistance - supported and financed by the ultra-wealthy Sunni Gulf monarchies - to "recapture" Baghdad. This includes of course the hundreds of thousands of Baghdad Sunnis forced to abandon their city because of the "surge".

As for the Sadrists, they are convinced the 80,000-strong Sunni Arab "Awakening Councils" - al-Sahwah, in Arabic - gathered in Anbar province are de facto militias biding their time and practicing for the big push. It's fair to assume thousands still keep tight connections with the Salafi-jihadis (including most of all al-Qaeda in the Land of the Two Rivers) they are now supposedly fighting.

Considering the sectarian record of the US-backed Maliki government - which, as well as the Sadrists, considers the Awakening Councils as US-financed Sunni militias - there's no chance they will be incorporated into the Iraqi army or police.

One of the Awakening Council leaders, Abu Marouf, a Saddam Hussein "security officer" before the 2003 invasion and then a commander of the influential Sunni Arab guerrilla group the 1920 Revolutionary Brigades, all but admitted to The Independent's Patrick Cockburn the consequences will be dire if they are not seen to be part of the so-called "reconciliation" process. All this amounts to a certainty: a new battle of Baghdad is all but inevitable, and could happen in 2008.

Occupied of the world, unite
As the occupation/quagmire slouches towards its fifth year, it's obvious the US cannot possibly "win" the Iraqi war - either on a military or political level - as Republican presidential pre-candidate John McCain insists. Sources in Baghdad tell Asia Times Online if not in 2008, by 2009 the post-"surge" Sunni Arab resistance is set to unleash a new national, anti-sectarian, anti-religion-linked-to-politics offensive bound to seal what an overwhelming majority of Iraqis consider the "ideological and cultural" US defeat.

Already now a crucial Sunni-Shi'ite nationalist 12-party coalition is emerging - oblivious to US designs and divorced from the US-backed parties in power (the Shi'ite SIIC and Da'wa and the two main Kurdish parties - the Kurdish Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party ). They have already established a consensus in three key themes: no privatization of the Iraqi oil industry, either via the new oil law or via dodgy deals signed by the Kurds; no breakup of Iraq via a Kurdish state (which implies no Kurdish takeover of Kirkuk); and an end to the civil war.
The 12-party coalition includes almost all Sunni parties, the Sadrists, the Fadhila party, a dissidence of Da'awa and the independents in the Iraqi Parliament. And they want as many factions as possible of the Sunni Arab resistance on board - including the crucial tribal leaders of Awakening.

The ultimate success of this coalition in great measure should be attributed to negotiations led by Muqtada al-Sadr. The Sadrists are betting on parliamentary elections in 2009, when they sense they may reach a non-sectarian, nationalist-based majority to form a government. This would definitely bury Iraq's Defense Minister Abdul Qader Mohammed Jassim's recent estimate that a "significant" number of US troops would have to remain in Iraq at least for another 10 years, until 2018.

Even barring a possible Dr Strangelove-like attack on Iran, Bush is set to leave to Obama or Clinton, apart from a nearly $10 trillion black hole, a lost war in Afghanistan, total chaos in Pakistan, an open wound in Gaza, a virtual civil war in Lebanon and the heart of darkness of Iraq.

Both Obama - still unwilling to defend progressive ideas on progressive grounds - and drowning-in-platitudes Clinton owe it to US and world public opinion to start detailing, in "the fierce urgency of now", how they realistically plan to confront such a state of (dis)union.

Pepe Escobar is the author of Globalistan: How the Globalized World is Dissolving into Liquid War (Nimble Books, 2007). He may be reached at pepeasia@yahoo.com.

(Copyright 2008 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)

No marx tonite.

2008-01-28T23:38:00.000-05:00

Hey, I'm staying in tonight, Tuesday night. Be back in force next week fo sure.

Meanwhile, check out some crazy videos on the web. I mean like anything, it's all good. Try youtube, or metacafe. that's the stuff.

Medically unfit troops sent into battle

2008-01-18T13:27:00.000-05:00

Is our military in such bad shape that we really need to be sending soldiers who are medically unfit to carry out their missions into a war-zone? This is despicable.

Report: Troops to war despite broken leg, torn rotator cuffs

The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jan 17, 2008 11:45:49 EST

DENVER — Soldiers who were medically unfit or considered borderline have been sent to the Middle East to meet Army goals for “deployable strength,” The Denver Post reported Thursday.

Quoting internal Army e-mails and a Fort Carson soldier, the newspaper said that more than 50 troops were deployed to Kuwait en route to Iraq while they were still getting medical treatment for various conditions. At least two have been sent home.

Capt. Scot Tebo, the surgeon for Fort Carson’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, wrote in an e-mail obtained by the newspaper that “We have been having issues reaching deployable strength, and thus have been taking along some borderline soldiers who we would otherwise have left behind for continued treatment.”

Master Sgt. Denny Nelson said he was sent to Kuwait last month despite a severe foot injury. He was sent back to Fort Carson after a military doctor in Kuwait wrote that he never should have been shipped out.

Maj. Harvinder Singh, the 3rd Brigade Combat Team’s rear detachment commander, said he did not believe medically unfit soldiers have been sent to Iraq. He said soldiers with medical problems are deployed only if they can be assigned to light-duty jobs and if medical services are available at their destinations.

Fort Carson spokeswoman Dee McNutt said she knew of no Army policy defining “deployable strength” levels that Army commanders must meet.

Singh said commanders have goals, “but there is no repercussion if you don’t hit that goal.”

Nelson, a 19-year Army veteran who was given the Bronze Star, said he fractured his leg and destroyed tendons in his feet while jumping on his daughter’s trampoline.

He said he was sent to Kuwait last month even though Fort Carson doctors ordered that he not run, jump or carry more than 20 pounds for three months.

Nelson said two other soldiers were deployed with torn rotator cuffs, another was deployed even though he was taking morphine for nerve damage and another had mental health issues.

Nelson said the soldier with nerve damage was sent home after medical staff at a clinic in Iraq turned down his request for more pain medication.

Nelson said that while he was in Kuwait he was told by superiors he would be in charge of 52 soldiers who were receiving medical treatment.

“I expected to find a whole bunch of people, but when I got there, they were all gone. They were already all in Iraq,” Nelson said.

Singh said those soldiers would have received medical treatment in Iraq.

Nelson was sent back to the U.S. after a physician in Kuwait, Maj. Thomas Schymanski, sent Fort Carson officials an e-mail saying, “This soldier should NOT have even left [the continental United States] ... In his current state, he is not full mission capable and in his current condition is a risk to further injury to himself, others and his unit.”

Nelson said he feared he would be a liability to fellow soldiers because of his inability to carry full combat gear.

“I’m not going to Iraq not being able to wear any of my gear, not carry a weapon,” he said. “I become a liability to everybody around me because if they get mortared, they’re going to have to look out for me because obviously, I can’t run. I can’t look out for myself. Now I’ve got soldiers worrying about my welfare, instead of their own.”