Monday Evening - December 28, 2009

It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men. -Samuel Adams Monday Evening - December 28, 2009

I hope Monday night finds all well ... and Tuesday is going on upon the other side of our globe. http://www.smh.com.au/

"Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people" - John Adams - Second President (1797 - 1801)

America’s Artificial Rift: The Two Party System Anthony Gucciardi | The war between left and right diminishes the focus on real issues.

Obamacare sparking 10th Amendment rebellion, action in seven states

December 28th, 2009

By: Mark Tapscott
WashingtonExaminer.com

Looks like the steadily growing list of constitutional, ethical and political outrages that constitute the Harry Reid version of Obamacare is sparking a rebellion in the states, as AP reports South Carolina’s attorney general plans to investigate the vote-buying that surrounded the proposal in the Senate majority leader’s office ...

Nelson's deal with Reid has attracted the most attention because it exempts Nebraska from paying its share of Medicaid expenses in perpetuity. Medicaid expenditures are among the most expensive federal mandates on state governments, and the Obamacare bill will significantly increase costs for all other states that don't somehow wangle a similar deal.

It also raises a constitutional issue, which McMasters explained in a statement issued earlier today:

"The Nelson provision is unusual in that there is not cut off date or phase out. Many provisions in federal law have a sunset date -- say 2, 5, 10, or even 20 years-- but this provision will continue in perpetuity. Quite obviously, this issue raises very serious concerns about equity, tax fairness as well as the constitutionality of having federal tax levies and mandates that treat one state differently from all the others.

"If the Nelson provision is not unprecedented, I feel comfortable in saying it is an exceptionally rare occurrence. States generally are treated in a similar manner. In this case, Nebraska will be treated in a widely divergent manner than any other state.

"Beginning today, I have instructed my attorneys to begin looking into the constitutionality of this provision and exploring the options that may be available to South Carolina and other states to defend taxpayers should this provision ultimately become law."

My colleague David Freddoso wonders what might happen if the governors of states bordering Nebraska - Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Iowa, and Missouri - announce that they are no longer funding their Medicaid programs and encourage those needing Medicaid services to visit the Cornhusker state.

Read the rest of this entry »

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Obamacare-sparking-10th-Amendment-rebellion-79937187.html

Babies in U.S. More Likely to Die than Those in Cuba or Europe Monday, December 28, 2009 High death rates among newborn children have historically been a problem associated with the developing world. But the United States finds itself experiencing a higher infant mortality rate (defined as deaths in the first year of life, per 1,000 live births) than Cuba or many European nations. According to numbers compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics, the U.S. rate in 2005 was 6.9, compared to Cuba’s 6.2 or Poland’s 6.4. The frequency of newborns dying in the U.S. was more than three times that of Singapore (2.1). A big reason why the U.S. infant mortality rate has gone up is because more American mothers are giving birth to premature babies. America’s preterm birth rate (defined as those born between 22 and 36 weeks of gestation) in 2004 was 12.4—considerably higher than that in Ireland (5.5), Finland (5.6), Greece (6.0) and Slovakia (6.3). -Noel Brinkerhoff Where the Youngest Die More (by Philip Cohen, Family Inequality) Behind International Rankings of Infant Mortality: How the United States Compares with Europe (by Marian F. MacDorman and T.J. Mathews, NCHS Data Brief) (pdf) http://www.allgov.com/ViewNews/Babies_in_US_More_Likely_to_Die_than_Those_in_Cuba_or_Europe_91228

Campaign Finance Loopholes - politicians and their allies figure out crafty ways of skirting the rules

Monday, December 28, 2009

Build a better mouse trap, and inevitably someone will build a better mouse. That’s the conundrum facing campaign finance advocates who, despite getting numerous laws in place at the state and federal level to limit big money contributions, have watched politicians and their allies figure out crafty ways of skirting the rules.

A new study by the Center for Governmental Studies (CGS) offers several prime examples of how elected officials have managed to legally receive six-figure donations from special interests that ordinarily are banned. For instance, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is prevented under California law from directly accepting more than $25,900 from each contributor during an election cycle. But through his ballot measure committee, “Schwarzenegger’s California Dream Team,” the GOP governor has taken in eight contributions exceeding $100,000, 15 contributions of $100,000, 16 contributions between $50,000 and $100,000, and 44 contributions between $25,000 and $50,000.

Another way of avoiding campaign finance limits is through inaugural committees. Republican Governor Sonny Perdue of Georgia legally received $200,000 from AT&T in 2007, “four times as much as any other donor and 20 times what the corporation could have donated directly to the governor’s reelection campaign,” according to the Center.

CGS proposes a law that considers almost all funds raised by politicians, campaign and non-campaign, subject to contribution limits. Opponents of campaign financing reform claim that it is a violation of the First Amendment.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

Politicians Evade Contribution Limits Using Loopholes in Laws: Unlimited Sums Can Still Flow into Many Political Funds (Center for Governmental Studies)

Loopholes, Tricks and End Runs: Evasions of Campaign Finance Laws, and a Model Law to Block Them (Center for Governmental Studies) (pdf)

Study: The First Amendment is a Loophole (by Jeff Patch, Center for Competitive Politics)

OBAMA'S GOLF GAME GOT INTERRUPTED 'First family fine' after ambulance scare at Obama vacation home | 3:09 p.m. CHILD OF OBAMA GOLF PAL INJURED BY SURFBOARD... URGENT PRESIDENTIAL MOTORCADE THROUGH ISLAND... A child of someone the President was playing golf with was hurt in a 'run of the mill beach injury'... Will require stitches... MORE

DrudgeReport.com 5:00 PM CDT Headline:

A Wall Street Journal Article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126203574947307987.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126203574947307987.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories

Underwear Bomber Dazed, Stared “Into Nothing”

Daily Telegraph | All the while, Mr Abdulmatallab seemed dazed, he said. “He was staring into nothing.”

Obama seeks answers on Christmas Day jetliner attack

Gibbs: Don’t Disagree With Obama On Response to Underwear Bomber

Kurt Nimmo | Obama’s reaction will result in more dead Yemeni children and grandmothers.

U.S. Widens Terror War to Yemen

New York Times | The Pentagon is spending more than $70 million over the next 18 months, and using teams of Special Forces, to train and equip Yemeni military.

Foreign forces kills schoolchildren and adults in Afghanistan

The Daily Telegraph | President Karzai condemned the killings, which his statement said took place in Kunar province, which borders Pakistan, on Saturday.

The Lap Bomber Mystery December 28th, 2009 by Justin Raimondo AntiWar.com It just wouldn’t be Christmas in the age of terror if we didn’t have a visitation, ostensibly from al-Qaeda, now would it? ‘Tis the season, and all that. Recall Richard Reid, the “shoe bomber,” arrested on December 22, 2001, for trying to blow up American Airlines flight 63, coming into Miami from Paris. As in the current case involving one Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian, the explosive used was PETN, also known as pentaerythritol: Reid, like Umar, was subdued by passengers and airline attendants, and, to add yet another touch of déjà vu, Reid’s stunt led to the imposition of the take-off-your-shoes rule at airport security, just as Umar’s midair antics have now inspired the Transportation Safety Authority to inaugurate a spate of new regulations: nothing in your lap, please, and no getting up from your seat for a solid hour before landing. Read the rest of this entry » Terror and Tyranny: the TNT Approach for 2010 Pyramids of Control | If all it takes is Terror to create Tyranny, then the words of the Underpants Bomber seem to ring true for 2010: There is more to come.

NEBRASKA NEWS

Lincoln Nebraska Live Traffic Cams Snowfall sets record in Nofolk, Nebraska December 28, 2009 Just one week into winter, the City of Norfolk has received almost as much snow as it usually gets in an entire winter season. It was a storm to remember with 19.1 inches recorded over four days. The city has received 29.9 inches so far for the month, according to the National Weather Service. READ MORE Holiday Blizzard Breaks Records in Grand Island and Hastings, Nebraska DECEMBER 28, 2009 AT 4:25 PM CDT Lincoln, Nebraska December 28, 2009 As of last Wednesday, Lincoln City police had issued 1,106 tickets in December for violations of the snow emergency and 24-hour parking ordinances. However, police haven't been able to count the many citations they issued since Wednesday for violation of those ordinances because of the sheer number, Casady said. The fines associated with those citations are: $50 for parking on a bus route, arterial or snow emergency route; $35 for parking on the wrong side of the street in a residential area during a snow emergency; and $10 for violating the 24-hour parking ordinance. After three unpaid tickets, police will tow vehicles that are in violation of parking ordinances. And it seems police and city street crews aren't the only ones worried about snow removal. Police reported the theft of three snow blowers, one snow thrower, four shovels and an ice scraper for a total loss of $1,180. Most of the stolen tools and machines were left out in the open, police said. The residential parking ban was set to switch to odd-numbered sides of city streets, meaning south and west sides, at 8 a.m. Monday. Meanwhile, city street crews continued to work Monday to remove mountains of snow piled along streets but struggled to find new places to dump excess snow. Street crews were expected to work through the night removing snow from residential areas. Frozen snow accumulated after a snowstorm earlier this month was hampering workers' efforts to remove new snow, according to the Citizen Information Center. As a result, many streets were narrowed further as a result of new plowing. Also Monday, Public Works officials reminded residents to clear paths to their mailboxes in order to receive mail. Average Soil Temperature 12/27/2009 Mead, NE 34.8°F Visit our web site for archived issues, ExtensionHorticulture.unl.edu Hort Update for the week of 12/23/2009 Bolded items are new topics is this issue. Lawns 1. Snow mold disease- Conditions could increase incidence of this spring 2. Ice melting products- Choose wisely - may damage soil, plants, concrete, carpet Trees & Shrubs 3. Warm November conditions impact on plant winter hardiness- Cold temperature injury might be possible 4. Shoveling snow around plants- Avoid packing snow around shrubs – branch breakage 5. Planning for spring planting- Select for diversity, water conservation, pest resistance Landscape Ornamentals 6. Winter dieback potential on landscape ornamentals- Cold temperature injury might be increased Indoor & Holiday Plants 7. Post holiday plant care- Care for most holiday plants similar to houseplants 8. Poinsettias not poisonous- Research has proven poinsettia is not poisonous 9. Poisonous houseplants- Be informed of what is poisonous and what is not 10. Fungus gnats- Small fly-like insects flying around houseplants Other 11. Firewood and insects- Do not store firewood indoors to avoid nuisance insects

War on Wall Street as Congress Sees Returning to Glass-Steagall

Bloomberg | A one-page proposal gaining traction in Congress could turn back the clock on Wall Street 10 years, forcing the breakup of banks, including Citigroup Inc.

A Year on From Financial System Collapse, Something is Not Quite Right December 28, 2009 Something's not right here. One year after the great collapse of our financial system, Wall Street is back on top while our politicians dither. As for health care reform, you're about to be forced to buy insurance from companies whose stock is soaring, and that's just dandy with the White House. Truth is, our capitol's being looted, republicans are acting like the town rowdies, the sheriff is firing blanks, and powerful Democrats in Congress are in cahoots with the gang that's pulling the heist. This is not capitalism at work. It's capital. Raw money, mounds of it, buying politicians and policy as if they were futures on the hog market. Here to talk about all this are two journalists who don't pull their punches. Robert Kuttner is an economist who helped create and now co-edits the progressive magazine THE AMERICAN PROSPECT, and the author of the book OBAMA'S CHALLENGE, among others. READ MORE ... http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article16092.html

ECONOMIC BAILOUT OVERWHELMINGLY DEFEATED BY ECONOMIC REGULATION

December 28th, 2009

By Attorney Jonathan Emord

NewsWithViews.com

The Obama Administration and Democratic leaders in Congress keep hinting at greater federal spending to help jump start the economy. As existing spending programs dump some $13 trillion into isolated segments of the economy, the nation’s leaders are greatly expanding food, energy, environmental, and health care regulation. Apparently neither the President nor the Democratic leadership in Congress understands these measures to be contradictory, but most people in business see the contradiction all too clearly.

Read the rest of this entry »

"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail" - Benjamin Franklin

SurvivalBlog.com StanDeyo.com 100 Items to Disappear First Sprouting A free ebook as to what may result if the electrical grid goes down: "Lights Out" pdf “The Last Time That Happened Was During the Great Depression” December 28, 2009 Until a few years ago, running a U.S. city was pretty easy. You added services when voters asked, you hired more workers (who were likely to vote for you come election time) to provide the services, and you promised lavish retirement benefits to cops and teachers who weren’t going to retire until long after you left office. If tax revenues didn’t cover day-to-day operations, no problem; Washington was sending plenty of aid to make up the difference. No longer. The gap between what a typical city gets from sales and property taxes and what it owes its employees is a now a chasm that even trillions in federal stimulus money can’t fill. So for the first time in most Americans’ memory, cities actually have to live within their means. The result, according to today’s Wall Street Journal, isn’t pretty. As Slump Hits Home, Cities Downsize Their Ambitions MESA, Ariz. — The police department in this city of 470,000 has lost about 50 officers, and is hiring lower-paid civilians to do investigative work. The Little League has to pay the city $15 an hour to turn on ball-field lights. The library now closes its main location on Sundays, and city offices are open only four days a week. This holiday season, the city didn’t put up festive lights along the downtown streets. Mesa’s tax receipts, depressed by the recession, will likely come back one of these days. But Mayor Scott Smith doesn’t believe city services will return to prerecession levels for a long time, if ever. “We are redefining what cities are going to be,” says Mr. Smith, a Republican who ran a homebuilding company before his election last year. Months after many economists declared the recession over, cities are only now beginning to feel the full brunt of it. Recessions often take longer to trickle down to local government, in part because it takes time for the sales and property-tax revenues on which municipalities depend to catch up with a depressed economy. But the sting this time around is expected to be far more acute and long-lasting than in previous recessions. Projected deficits are especially deep in some places and tax revenues could be pinched for years as consumers turn thrifty and real-estate prices remain diminished. That means the relatively painless measures such as borrowing, deferred payments to pension plans and scattered layoffs that have been used during past episodes of fiscal strain are unlikely to be effective in some cities. In the decade through 2008, municipal tax revenues grew at a rate of 6.5% a year, faster than the overall economy’s 5.1%, unadjusted for inflation. Those revenues have started to slip. A national tally isn’t yet available, but state tax collections fell 11% across 44 states in the third quarter of 2009, from the same period a year ago, according to a report by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government at the State University of New York. In a recent survey by the National League of Cities, 88% of city budget officers said they were less able to meet their financial needs than they were a year ago. The specter of lean budgets for years ahead has some of the nation’s 89,000 local governments rethinking what services to provide and how to pay for them. From Mesa to Philadelphia, this means some combination of higher taxes and fewer services. In some places, it means more and higher fees for permits and recreation programs. Museums, pools and the like are relying more on income from fees charged to users and from nonprofit organizations, and less on taxpayers. These cuts matter greatly to the economy at large. Local government spending accounts for 8.8% of the nation’s total output, including everything from employee salaries to snowplows. The sector employs one in nine workers — 14.5 million in all, or about 8 million in education and 6.5 million elsewhere. More Americans work for cities, counties and school boards than in all of manufacturing. More likely to be union members, government workers tend to be better paid and have greater job security than many of the taxpayers who pay their salaries. Benefits are often better, too. Virtually all full-time state and local workers have access to retirement benefits; in the private sector, about 76% of full-time employees had retirement benefits. Employment in local government peaked in August 2008 and has fallen by 117,000 since then, or less than 1%, compared with a 6.3% fall in private employment from its December 2007 peak. In Philadelphia, where sales and corporate taxes have taken a hit, budget cuts are limited by the large fixed costs of city workers’ pension and benefits plans. About one fifth of the city’s $3.7 billion budget goes for health-care and pension costs for current and retired workers. The city’s overall tax revenue has fallen 6% over the past two years, while pension costs have risen 6% and health-care costs 11%. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, a Democrat, is pushing union employees to pay more of their health costs and is looking to move new employees to a less generous pension plan. The city has cut about 800 positions in the past year, mostly through attrition, and suspended some services citizens used to take for granted. It has stopped providing snow removal on some smaller, one-way streets, except in emergencies, and it suspended mechanical leaf pick-up in some spots. This fall and early winter, older, tree-lined neighborhoods like Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill were littered with rotting leaves. Anyone who wants to have a parade in Philadelphia now has to pick up the tab. The city’s Mummers Parade, where 10,000 or so string bands and other performers don bright costumes and march up Broad Street on New Year’s Day, won’t receive the $336,000 in prize money that used to go to the best string band and other parade participants. The last time that happened was during the Great Depression. Some thoughts: Local governments have been able to hang on this long mainly because the federal government has borrowed trillions of dollars and handed some of it to mayors and city councils. Since federal borrowing is functionally the same as city borrowing — in the sense that U.S. citizens living in towns or cities eventually have to pay it back — this can go on only as long as someone out there is willing to lend us the money. Which is to say as long as the dollar holds up. Right now the dollar is holding up pretty well, so the Feds will almost certainly step in with more aid for local governments in 2010. This will prevent wholesale cuts in public employment and pension plans, but once again at the cost of bigger problems down the road. In the end we’ll run out of money because our obligations exceed our income. And that means massive cuts in state and local services that First World citizens have come to see as a birthright. Pools and ball fields that used to be free will now charge users. Streets that used to be plowed after a snowstorm will be left untouched. Permits and licenses that used to cost a few dollars will now cost many. After-hours school programs will end, putting low-income kids on the street. Libraries will be closed most of the time. Fewer police will be there when needed. And let’s not even think about what the DMV will be like. These service cuts won’t come smoothly. Public sector wages and benefits now vastly exceed those of comparable private sector workers and the public sector unions won’t give up their advantages without a fight. So on the way to fewer services there will be strikes and slowdowns and tax increases. Things will get messy. But the cuts will come. TINA, as Margaret Thatcher used to say: There Is No Alternative. The price of having it too easy for the past three decades will be having it a lot harder for the next three.

GM Corn, Soy Need MORE Herbicide - Due To GM Weeds!

What To Do Now That Its Been Done

Scene: Courageous Obama, iron-willed Nobel-prize-laureate makes his adorable little girls wait for Christmas while he bludgeons Congress to pass anything they can call heath care reform so the Cavalcade of Czars can fill in the blanks later

By Dr. Robert R. Owens

Monday, December 28, 2009

You can’t beat good political drama. The Nuremberg rallies with all those glistening uniforms and snappy torch light marches. he May Day Parades with the Soviet gerontocracy standing on Lenin’s tomb smiling at the grandchildren of the people they tortured riding on their shiny tanks and missile launchers.

Even little North Korea stages some pretty impressive mass birthday parties for the Glorious Midget. We may disagree with everything these totalitarian nightmare regimes stand for. We may abhor their gangster tactics and hellish fantasies about conquering the world but you have to give them credit for knowing how to wow the crowd. hey know how to stage a scene and then walk on as the Luke Skywalker of megalomania, wave to the great unwashed return to their castle of doom and continue living life large like Dr. No or in Kim Jong-II’ s case Mini-Me.

The Denver acceptance speech with its Styrofoam Acropolis gave us a hint of the political theater to come. he Victory speech to the teaming masses in Grant Park let us know the curtain was rising. Like the Perils of Pauline in a serial of sequels the suspense continues in the never-ending crisis. We must have health care and we must have it now! We’re so far in debt we need to spend a massive amount quickly or we’ll go bankrupt. his is an emergency there’s no time to read the bill hurry up and vote. We need this now even though it won’t be implemented until after the next presidential election. Hurry up vote!!!

There’s nail-biting suspense and edge-of-the-seat excitement as the plot thickens. What will it cost to buy Mary Landrieu’s vote? How much does Ben Nelson want for Nebraska’s vote? Ram it through no matter what the people want. Our lawyer-infested government knows better. Besides, who are we to question the only honest politician to emerge from the swamp of Chicago political corruption? Want to wake up with a horse’s head in our bed? Just pay the big and shut up they obviously know what’s best they’ve got 60 votes.

What a scene. he courageous iron-willed Nobel-prize-laureate makes his adorable little girls wait for Christmas while Daddy bludgeons a compliant Congress to pass anything they can call heath care reform so the Cavalcade of Czars can fill in the blanks later.

Every move they’ve taken since the November Revolution has been to seize control of the economy and society. Following the insurance, banking, and autoImmigration-Reform and watch for the regime to begin acting as if whatever that was the Boss agreed to in Copenhagen is a ratified treaty committing America to the UN administered shake-down carbon tax to help prop up statists around the world.
coups the health care take-over delivers another 1/6 of the economy into their clutches. Swiftly following will be Cap-n-Trade either by legislation or EPA mandate, Import-a-Voter-

The plan is to push through so many changes and to commit us to such enormous debt there will be no way back to the America we’ve known. hey’re also planning on maintaining their power in perpetuity through Acorn voter registration, manipulation of the census and import-a-voter immigration reform. Echoing the question I hear every day as I travel around the country, the question I receive every day in emails from concerned Americans from sea to shining sea, What can we do?

They organized their way into power and we need to organize their way out. We laughed when someone had the audacity to list Community Organizer as their profession on a presidential r√©sum√©. Now we know that wasn’t a joke. We couldn’t believe it when someone from the most corrupt political machine in America was presented as hope for change. But the Corporations Once Known as the Mainstream Media pulled it off. hen after the Republican statists and their casino capitalist pals abandoned free market principles to save the free market it was anti-climatic when a majority of American voters elected a one party regime with unstoppable majorities.

We must organize. We must remain peaceful but we must organize. he Tea Party movement blazed the way. Now a new organization, GOOOH, or Get Out of Our House is growing on the American political horizon with the intention of vetting and backing candidates across the political spectrum. Others such as the Tea Party Patriots and the Tea Party Express are springing up bringing like-minded Americans together for education, encouragement and inspiration. Using the Internet and the exploding social networks these innovative groups are leading the way.

Believers in free enterprise, personal liberty and individual freedom are coalescing to out-organize the organizers. Constitutionally limited government will return to Washington for we shall not go silently into that long dark night. he arrogant career politicians, their media fellow travelers and the entrenched technocrat bureaucracy may think they’ve won the final round. hey may think the America we’ve known and loved is down for the count but in reality all they’ve done is awaken a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve. Don’t despair. Keep the faith. We shall overcome.

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/18358

Car showrooms get a new lease of life 2009-12-29 WITH hard times in the auto industry and car dealerships closing around the United States, the gleaming showrooms that once featured next year's models are becoming this year's store, restaurant, school or yoga studio. In Lane County, Oregon, Joe Softich from Catholic Community Services helps erect shelves and unload boxes for a new food bank warehouse inside a former auto showroom. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, teenagers at Northside Christian Church skateboard in what was once a showroom's auto service center. Students on the campus of the Columbus College of Art & Design in Ohio can learn in a space where evidence of the auto industry's proud past is still visible in the exposed concrete pillars, sturdy tile floors and ascending spiral vehicle ramp. Architects and historians say the shock that auto makers could go bankrupt has combined with depressed real estate values and enthusiasm for green energy to bring a unique level of interest to reusing showrooms. People are reducing their reliance on cars to save money on gas and shrink their carbon footprint; they are renovating showrooms because relying on recycled water or solar energy makes it cheaper to renovate than to build. The number of franchised new car dealerships in the US was already slipping before the auto company bankruptcies, but 1,900 dealerships have closed since January 2008. US auto sales fell to a 26-year low of about 10 million this year, compared with 17 million over most of the previous decade. As part of its deep restructuring, General Motors has said it will cut 2,400 dealers from its 6,000-dealer network by next fall. Chrysler slashed 789 dealers in June. Responding to a backlash from dealership owners, Congress passed a bill this month to give dealers a stronger arbitration process to challenge the auto makers' decisions. The transformation of the boxy, windowed space at Golden Bridge Yoga Studio in Los Angeles has been achieved with the smell of wafting incense, prayer flags draped from the walls and percussive Eastern rhythms. At NEO on Locust in St Louis, long white tablecloths, stylish backlighting and tinkling champagne glasses turn a similar square space into a classy wedding venue. Steve Xiao, manager of the Hua Xing Asia Market in Ypsilanti, Michigan, said the former showroom that is now his grocery store had something else going for it: The price was right. "The first year, the price was too high. When we finally bought it, it had been on the market almost two years."

Our Man in America sees low church attendance, senses moral vacuum

December 29, 2009

EDITOR'S note: Shanghai Daily writer Wan Lixin is now on a three-month study tour in Virginia, the United States. This is the eighth of his impressions about the nation.

SINCE we arrived here in early November, we have been witnessing a prolonged, make-or-break shopping period, which, miraculously, is still gaining momentum after the Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I remember one paper observed sarcastically recently: If Jesus lived today, what would he buy for Christmas? Is there more to Christmas than discounts?

To find an answer, on the 24th after the supper, I went to a nearby Calvary United Methodist Church, in time for the 8-9pm service. There were a lot of handshakes, embraces, and exchange of "Merry Christmas," probably among old neighbors, but when the service began, the seats were only half taken, and the congregation and the choir consisted mainly of elderly people.

I was told a couple of weeks ago at another church nearby that there were fewer and fewer children in the community, because young people could not afford to live there. As a result, that church now shared some of its space with other denominations.

But in these small neighborhood churches you still get more of a human touch. Here people still show interest in and kindness to a stranger.

A couple of weeks ago we visited the enormous Washington National Cathedral, and in addition to its scale, I was rather impressed by the many big flat-panel TV screens installed on the columns in the nave, and the supermodern elevator conveying us to the huge underground parking lot.

But apparently all the modern amenities - air-conditioning, motorized access, and other measures - can do little to stem the decline in church attendance.

Citing a poll, the Washington Post reported on Saturday that 59 percent of Virginians said religion was "very important" in their lives. But is their faith observed by pastors?

More reliable is the survey concluding that this region, like elsewhere, saw a big leap in the number people who identify themselves as having "no religion," reflecting the decline in Americans holding strong denominational identity.

Walter Lippmann (1889-1974), writer, reporter and social commentator, deplored in his "A Preface to Morals" that those who rejected orthodox religion found "a vacancy in their lives," that they missed the conviction that there was "an order in the universe that justified their lives because they were part of it."

But what are the religious moorings on which America's forefathers were believed to have founded their republic?

Most of our lectures here started with the glorification of the First Amendment, which can be traced back to the 132 Protestants on the Mayflower. These pilgrims were fleeing persecution and were instrumental in founding the Plymouth colony in 1620 in Massachusetts.

But the inconvenient truth is that British settlement in America was earlier, at least by 13 years, in Jamestown, a semi-island on the southern fringe of the Chesapeake Bay where on May 14, 1607, about one hundred colonists disembarked.

Both the above-mentioned adventures were financed by a group of venture capitalists called the Virginia Company which wanted a quick return on their investment.

They arrived in Jamestown in the belief that the Chesapeake Bay was laden with gold and silver.

Today Jamestown is more known for inaugurating the great American struggles over democracy (the colony established English America's first representative government).

Upon investigation, this turned out to be a euphemism for a tragic encounter between several civilizations in which British settlers brought with them diseases, tobacco, weapons, and slavery (both captured Africans and the American Indians), to a land of breathtaking beauty, and in a very short time virtually wiped out the native inhabitants.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2009/200912/20091229/article_424092.htm

LewRockwell.com | Headlines - December 28, 2009 Monday, December 28, 2009 The Power Elite Hates LRC Of course, that's just another reason to love it, says Lew Rockwell. What's Next for Flyers? Underwear checks? Article by Ron Holland. Turn It Off Bill Sardi on the cancer switch. Have Americans Traded Freedom for Security? Make that the chimera of security. Article by Paul Craig Roberts. The Astounding Aquinas Murray Rothbard on the great theologian-philosopher. The Austrian Economists Are Right 2009 illustrated it, and so will 2010, says Chris Clancy. Terrible Arguments for Al Gore Legislation Is this the worst? Article by Xon Hostetter. So Much Fun To Kill And the media will cover for you. Article by Glenn Greenwald. A Sinister Green Eco-Plot James Delingpole on "Build-a-Bear." Bug Out Joseph Mercola on avoiding toxic pesticides. Banish the Winter Blues Naturally See the light, says Tom Sykes. Another Reason To Avoid Tap Water Government adds carcinogenic chlorine.

China, Russia shake hands in outer space

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-12/25/content_9227208.htm

OUR PLANET'S PROTECTIVE MAGNETOSPHERE UPDATE

About Real-Time Magnetosphere Simulation http://www2.nict.go.jp/y/y223/simulation/realtime/index.html CaveNews YouTube Channel DECEMBER 28, 2009 AT 6PM CDT Click to view Animated Magnetosphere on YouTube: DECEMBER 28, 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyxg8Bqm5dg

MOON UPDATE

Current Moon Phase http://www.die.net/moon/ I WON'T LET YOU FORGET THE BLUE MOON THIS MONTH! Blue moon sees in the new year NO need for fireworks, Mother Nature will be putting on her own light show for New Year’s Eve revellers, with a rare blue moon setting the Northern Rivers sky ablaze at midnight. The blue moon occurs every two-and-a-half years on average, and it is not timed to the regular monthly pattern. The last time it shone on New Year’s Eve was in 1990. Australian Science magazine spokesperson David Reneke said the Northern Rivers would see a blue moon to rival any in the world, but don’t expect it to literally be blue. “The Blue Moon isn’t blue, shooting stars don’t actually shoot, and then there is the Tooth Fairy and Santa,” Mr Reneke said. The astronomer predicted, if the cloud clears on New Year’s Eve, we should witness a bright, full moon which will peak just before midnight. Mr Reneke advised it was best to witness the blue moon away from city lights. “Smoke from fireworks may even give the moon a reddish tinge,” he said. To top it off, nature’s light show will continue into the New Year with the Quadrantid meteor shower that can be seen around the world from January 3 to 5 each year. “The meteor shower will be bluish and blazing, travelling about 60km a second,” Mr Reneke said. Another New Year’s gift for local amateur astronomers is two months of radiant skies, according to Mr Reneke. “In January and February stars appear in the evening sky rather than the morning sky,” he said. Mr Reneke said now was a good time to spark the interest of budding astronomers but warned the moon’s finer details were best observed before and after the peak of its brightness. The earliest recorded expression of ‘blue moon’ dates back to a 1528 pamphlet that criticised the English clergy. It read: “If they say the moon is blue, then we must believe that it is true.” Mr Reneke said the only time the Blue Moon lived up to its name was after the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, when all the dust in the atmosphere gave the moon a bluish hue for almost two years.

SUN UPDATE

http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/sunspots/ http://solarcycle24.com/ Classification of Solar Flares Magnetic fields trigger solar wind Active Regions: 11039 11037

EARTHQUAKE UPDATES

Minor earthquake struck Victory Gardens, New Jersey over the weekend Dailyrecord.com Borough administrator Deborah Evans, who lives in Victory Gardens, was at home Saturday when she heard what she later described as "a loud boom. ... Latest Earthquakes Magnitude 2.5 or Greater in the United States and Adjacent Areas and Magnitude 4.5 or Greater in the Rest of the World Update time = Tue Dec 29 0:29:44 UTC 2009 MAG UTC DATE-TIME y/m/d h:m:s LAT deg LON deg DEPTH km Region MAP 2.9 2009/12/28 17:55:07 52.531 -166.960 43.4 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA MAP 3.8 2009/12/28 15:14:07 56.306 -152.495 28.1 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA MAP 5.0 2009/12/28 15:00:24 -10.147 124.649 10.0 TIMOR REGION, INDONESIA MAP 2.7 2009/12/28 14:25:39 41.320 -113.305 3.2 UTAH MAP 4.8 2009/12/28 13:48:10 -18.424 -176.920 35.0 FIJI REGION MAP 4.0 2009/12/28 12:56:24 52.071 175.008 7.4 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA MAP 4.6 2009/12/28 12:19:55 -54.801 158.643 10.0 MACQUARIE ISLAND REGION MAP 4.7 2009/12/28 11:51:23 6.597 126.451 58.8 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES MAP 2.5 2009/12/28 10:23:00 38.056 -118.698 6.3 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA MAP 5.3 2009/12/28 10:18:11 3.942 126.865 56.1 KEPULAUAN TALAUD, INDONESIA MAP 2.8 2009/12/28 10:04:52 18.992 -65.111 24.8 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION MAP 2.6 2009/12/28 08:45:44 32.016 -115.500 2.9 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO MAP 5.1 2009/12/28 08:05:43 47.740 153.031 120.5 KURIL ISLANDS MAP 4.5 2009/12/28 06:23:44 2.840 126.450 89.6 MOLUCCA SEA MAP 4.9 2009/12/28 04:13:29 27.959 128.345 95.3 RYUKYU ISLANDS, JAPAN MAP 5.5 2009/12/28 00:57:17 -22.403 -69.931 31.8 ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE MAP 5.2 2009/12/28 00:12:50 43.259 144.519 83.7 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION MAP 3.2 2009/12/28 00:06:44 19.497 -65.765 25.0 PUERTO RICO REGION

VOLCANISM NEWS

Philippines crack down on volcano tourists LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Philippines authorities, dismayed by tourists venturing into dangerous areas near the restive Mayon Volcano, are cracking down, reports indicate. Mount Redoubt Volcano in Alaska Rumbles Again ABC News - ‎1 hour ago‎ AP The Alaska Volcano Observatory says a series of small earthquakes began occurring around the summit of the volcano Sunday and continued Monday. ...

CHANGING WEATHER PATTERNS - NEWS

National Severe Weather Map Surface Temperature Forecast Map www.511nebraska.org Source: http://www.wunderground.com/severe.asp Snowy weather to revisit Dallas-Fort Worth Tuesday Fort Worth Star Telegram - Melody Mcdonald - ‎2 hours ago‎ FORT WORTH -- In North Texas, snow and ice on the roadways is generally not a welcome sight. Unless you drive a tow truck. ... The Big Freeze (part II): Blizzards and ice to sweep Britain as temperatures fall to -15C A foot of snow is predicted to fall in some places in just 48 hours' time, with lighter but 'still significant' falls in areas of central England.

GLOBAL FASCISM NEWS "Fascism should rightly be called Corporatism, as it is the merger of corporate and government power." Benito Mussolini

Chicago CO2 Carbon Trading Exchange "When you ask who’s the biggest winner if the bill goes through, you’ll find the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), co-founded by Hank Paulson and Al Gore. Members include Amtrak, DuPont, Ford, Oakland, Chicago, and the Iowa Farm Bureau." http://whiskeyandgunpowder.com/cap-and-trade-shenanigans-with-the-chicago-climate-exchange/ Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) is 10% owned by Goldman Sachs (GS) and 10% owned by Generation Investment Management (GIM), an investment firm founded & chaired by Al Gore. GIM was co-founded by the former Treasury Secretary under George W. Bush and former Goldman Sachs CEO Hank Paulson. (USA) http://www.chicagoclimatex.com/ (Europe) http://www.ecx.eu/ (China) http://www.climateexchangeplc.com/ "I think that people are justified in being disappointed about the outcome in Copenhagen," he told PBS in a TV interview. "What I said was essentially that rather than see a complete collapse in Copenhagen, in which nothing at all got done and would have been a huge backward step, at least we kind of held ground and there wasn't too much backsliding from where we were." - Obama Al Gore’s Website Covers UN’s World Currency Coins The announcement by the United Nations this week that it will license the minting of silver and gold bullion coins bearing the UN logo may be the button that launches metal prices into orbit. In its wide-ranging report this fall, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) stated that the system of currencies and international banking practices within today’s economies were inadequate, and responsible for the present economic crisis. The report advocates that the present monetary system, wherein the dollar acts as the global reserve currency be re-examined “with urgency”. The UNCTAD Report was the first time a major multinational institution had forwarded such a suggestion or measure, although a number of countries, including Russia and Brazil have supported replacing the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. China’s central bank chief Zhou Xiaochuan has mentioned that the dollar could become a basket of currencies instead. Read entire article Research related links Bilderbergers Want Global Currency UN Says New Currency Is Needed to Fix Broken ‘Confidence Game’ Two-Faced Geithner Assures CFR Puppet Masters He’s “Open” To Global Currency Soros Calls for World Currency and “New World Architecture” U.N. panel says world should ditch dollar Globalists Exploit Financial Meltdown In Move Towards One World Currency The Financial New World Order: Towards a Global Currency and World Government Dollar Falls Most in Month as China Urges New Reserve Currency Dollar Will be Utterly Destroyed: Global Currency, New World Order Nobel-prize winner backs world currency Gold Rises to a Record on Stronger Demand for a Currency Hedge China criticizes dollar Time to Revisit Falsified Science of CO2 EPA declared CO2 a toxic substance and a pollutant. Governments prepare carbon taxes and draconian restrictions crippling economies for a completely non-existent problem. Failed predictions, discredited assumptions, incorrect data did not stop insane policies. Climategate revealed the extent of corruption so more people understand malfeasance and falsities only experts knew or suspected. More important, they are not rejected as conspiracy theorists. Credibility should have collapsed, but political control and insanity persists – at least for a little while longer. Chinese Hackers Linked To Hacked Climate Emails UK Mail online

The United Nations is just a debating society and a 'front' for banks

SteveQuayle.com | Hot Headlines - December 28, 2009

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The Fifth Column: Obama Extends Diplomatic Immunity to Interpol by Executive Order

Obama Executive Order Cedes US Sovereignty, Citizen Rights to Interpol

Congress: Expansion of Global Governance, Interpool, and Obama Drugged on Dependency

Warning America: Time to Prepare for the Illuminati Operation – video

Americans to be Rounded Up – video

Telecom Firms Criticise Plan for 'Stasi'-like Checks on Every Phone Call and Email

First Case of Fearsome TB Strain Found in US

The Cause Behind the Great Potato Famine (and Why it's Coming Back)

U.N. Poised for a Gun Grab

Renminbi Set to Replace US Dollar for Trade in Asia Pacific

It's Still All About Bush

Even as the US Economy Recovers, a Decade of Joblessness and Flat Wages Could Lie Ahead

Goldman Sachs and Others Investigated for Betting Against Securities They Created

Cognitive Commodities in the Neuro Marketplace

US Treasury Bonds a Ponzi Scheme Waiting to Crash

Government Allowed Plane Bomber to Attempt Attack

Iran Cries Out in Pain and Hope of Victory

Senator Max Baucus Drunk / Intoxicated on Senate Floor – video

First Heads of Mission Conference to be Held in Jerusalem

Arab Dictatorships Take 4 of Top 5 Spots in Purchase of U.S. Weapons and Services

Monday, December 28, 2009

Most of the leading buyers of American military hardware in 2008 had two characteristics in common: they speak Arabic and their governments are opposed to democracy and basic freedoms

Information compiled by the Congressional Research Service revealed that the biggest recipients of U.S. arms sales last year were (in order): the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Iraq and Egypt. With the exception of the popularly-elected government in Baghdad, all of these American military partners are ruled by autocratic or theocratic regimes.

The leading defense contractors manufacturing the weapons for these governments are Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, and Raytheon.

Earlier this month, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the potential for $2.2 billion of new weapons sales to Arab dictatorships, in particular $1.2 billion worth to Hosni Mubarak’s Egypt for air-to-surface missiles, anti-ship missiles, aircraft engines, and Fast Missile Crafts (FMC). The rest of the proposed weapons sales are for the royal families of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

U.S. Arms Sales: Agreements with and Deliveries to Major Clients, 2001-2008 (by Richard F. Grimmett, Congressional Research Service) (pdf)

Military Spending and Armaments, 2008 (SIPRI) (pdf)

US DSCA Announces Numerous Foreign Military Sale Opportunities in Middle East (Defence Professionals)

Minding Your Tongue In The US - Everything Is Watched

Too Much Time In Plane Toilet Now A Terror Threat

MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL-BANKING COMPLEX NEWS

Reality-Zone | Africom/Africon; Militarizing The Dark Continent? In this two-part series, Rageh Omaar travels across Africa, investigating the consequences of US involvement in the region. In this first part, he investigates the genesis of Africom, the US military command for Africa which was launched in October 2008, and asks whether Barack Obama can turn US-African relations in a new direction. Video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYoRiCLX6Tk Video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaGBtlcf5g8

Judge decides to pack a pistol BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Dec. 26 (UPI) -- A female judge in Alabama, concerned about court security cutbacks, says she is keeping both a gxx and pepper spray next to her gavel.

White House separates feuding spy chiefs

By Greg Miller | 1:04 p.m.

A classified order is issued to defuse tensions between Dennis Blair, head of national intelligence, and the CIA's Leon Panetta. It deflects a power move by Blair but keeps him closely in the loop.

UFO NEWS

Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) UFO Database Pittsburgh Metro UFO sightings summary for 2009 There were a total of 64 UFO sighting reports filed for the four-county metropolitan Pittsburgh region this year. Leading the way was Westmoreland County with 37 sightings, followed by Allegheny with 18, Beaver 5, and Washington 4. One of the more interesting reports came shortly after the New Year, on January 3. A witness was driving west on Lincoln Way toward the intersection of Route 48, when he noticed a bright string of lights forming a triangular-shaped object hovering motionless above a Giant Eagle parking lot. The witness admitted to being a poor judge of height and size, but claimed the object was huge, and close to the ground. While watching the object, more lights started to appear on the edges. The lights suddenly lit up with a brilliant flash before returning to the original light pattern. The object then seemed to simply vanish into thin air. Another sighting of note was reported on September 7 from a witness who observed a strange object while sitting in his parked car at the Pittsburgh Mills mall. The witness noticed a strange, dark, pea-sized circle. Using a pair of binoculars, the object appeared to be shiny at times, then become more transparent before becoming cylindrical in shape. The witness estimated the size of the object to be between 40-100 feet in length. The "Pittsburgh Lights" reported in September were strikingly similar to a rash of similar reports that came in from all across the United States, including: Anaheim, California; Boise, Idaho; Illinois, and many more. The lights were attributed to an earlier launching of a NASA rocket. At least half of the 37 Westmoreland County sightings came from a single witness out of Murrysville, Pennsylvania. The Mutual UFO Network (Mufon) conducted several investigations including detailed analysis of still photos and digital video submitted by the witness. As a result of the investigations, Mufon determined that these sightings were all a hoax. The following is a delayed report of a sighting that occurred in St. Petersburg, Florida in October. The report was filed today. St. Petersburg, Florida - Coming from the clouds in the northern sky was a large triangular-shaped object. The object was almost the same light gray as the clouds. The witness watched as the object slowly changed to the darkness of the sky. By the time the object came directly over the witness' house he would have never seen it unless he had his eyes fixated on it for the entire time. The object was a giant triangle approximately one mile from tip to tip. The object had a dim light on the front, and it blocked out the stars above as it continued to travel. The object finally disappeared over the clouds to the south. The witness estimated that the total time of travel from north to south was about three minutes.

125 pilot whales died in New Zealand after stranding on the beach over the weekend - 43 of them returned to the sea

2009-12-29

SOME 125 pilot whales died in New Zealand after stranding on the beach over the weekend - but tourists and conservation workers managed to coax 43 others back out to sea on Sunday.

Rescuers monitored the survivors as they swam away from Colville Beach on North Island's Coromandel peninsula, and by yesterday morning they were well out to sea.

Department of Conservation workers and hundreds of volunteers helped re-float the 43 whales at high tide.

The volunteers covered the stranded mammals in sheets and kept them wet through the day. "Some 63 pilot whales stranded but it looks pretty good, we've got 43 live ones," Department of Conservation ranger Steve Bolten said as the pod swam out to sea.

Bolten said one of the whales may have been sick, or their sonar may have led them into the shallow harbor and they couldn't find their way out again.

Meanwhile, on South Island, 105 long-finned pilot whales that stranded died on Saturday, conservation officials said yesterday.

Large numbers of whales become stranded on New Zealand's beaches each summer as they pass by on their way to breeding grounds from Antarctic waters. Scientists so far have been unable to explain why whales become stranded.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=424120#ixzz0b1NS0rMP

Disinfectants 'teach' superbugs to become resistant to antibiotics UK Daily Mail Disinfectants could be fuelling the growth of superbugs by training them to be more resistant to antibiotics, a new study suggests.

Vast tomb of infamous 3rd century Chinese ruler is unearthed by archaeologists

MORE ....

On this date in history: In 1732, the Pennsylvania Gazette carried the first known advertisement for the first issue of "Poor Richard's Almanack" by Richard Saunders (Benjamin Franklin). In 1832, John Calhoun, at odds with U.S. President Andrew Jackson, became the first U.S. vice president to resign. In 1846, Iowa was admitted into the United States as the 29th state. In 1865, French film pioneers Auguste and Louis Lumiere showed the first commercial motion pictures at a Paris cafe. In 1869, The Knights of Labor, a group of tailors in Philadelphia, staged the first Labor Day ceremonies in U.S. history. In 1908, nearly 80,000 people were killed when an earthquake struck the ancient town of Messina, Sicily. In 1945, the U.S. Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States. In 1950, advancing Chinese troops crossed the 38th Parallel, dividing line between North and South Korea, to help the communist North Koreans fight U.S.-led U.N. forces. In 1985, warring Lebanese Muslim and Christian leaders signed a peace agreement backed by Syria In 1992, in a violent day in Lima, Peru, car bombs exploded outside two embassies, police thwarted a bank raid and rebels launched a missile attack on a police station. Five people were killed, 24 injured. In 1997, Hong Kong officials announced that all chickens in the territory would be killed in an attempt to eradicate carriers of the avian flu, which had killed several people. In 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau announced a total of 281,421,906 people in the nation. The figure was a 13.2-percent increase in the last 10 years. In 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush granted permanent normal trade status to China, reversing a 20-year policy. In 2003, officials in Iran's ancient city of Bam said perhaps half the city's population of 80,000 were killed or injured in the earthquake that struck the area. In 2004, at least 18 Iraqi policemen were killed by insurgents in several attacks on police stations. Also in 2004, record numbers of Britons turned out with horses and hounds for a fox hunt on what could be Britain's last legal Boxing Day hunt with a hunting ban scheduled to go into effect in two months. In 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled that certain meat and milk produced by cloned animals are safe to eat. Also in 2006, a Louisiana grand jury indicted seven New Orleans police officers on murder and attempted murder charges related to an alleged 2005 police ambush about one week after Hurricane Katrina struck. In 2007, hundreds of thousands of mourners filled the streets of the Pakistani village of Garhi Khuda Baksh for the funeral of Benazir Bhutto, the assassinated former prime minister. Tempers flared and nine people were killed in rioting before the start of the funeral procession. Also in 2007, Nepal abolished its monarchy and became a federal democratic republic. In 2008, two dozen officials from Saddam Hussein's government went on trial for their roles in the deaths of as many as 250,000 of Saddam's opponents in Iraq.

Pictured: Amazing moment a lion loses patience with his cub... and bites him on the head

TALK AT YOU ALL LATER!!

My News blog: The Cave

Published Version of my News Updates: Surviving the Revolution and Earthchanges

LINKS: Cave's Web Bot Links and Archive Cave's Newsletter - Surviving the Revolution and Earth Changes Joyce Riley's POWER HOUR Alex Jone's InfoWars.com George Ure's UrbanSurvival.com Rense.com StanDeyo.com Mike Adam's Natural News SteveQuayle.com SpaceWeather.com USGS Earthquakes Genesis Internet Radio HAARP Fluxgate Magnetometer Real-time Magnetosphere Simulation (Keeping them in "safekeeping" via emailed News Updates In case my blogs get bombed out of the water AGAIN!) Posted on HalfPastHuman.com: Link to Sun Spot 2012 Cataclysm material An alternative explantion for 2012 (PDF File). Author held anonymous, but permission granted to disperse this material. From Steve Quayle: A free ebook as to what may result if the electrical grid goes down: "Lights Out" pdf The Cave's Page of Maps of Hazardous locations - past, present & potential future Global Internet Monitor http://www.akamai.com/html/technology/dataviz1.html Akamai monitors global Internet conditions around the clock. With this real-time data identify the global regions with the greatest attack traffic, cities with the slowest Web connections (latency), and geographic areas with the most Web traffic (traffic density). Click on "ATTACKS" on the top of the screen at the link. (You can pull the slider from Europe to the US to see number of attacks) SolarCycle24.com National Association of Radio-Distress Signalling and Infocommunications Emergency and Disaster Information Services (EDIS) Budapest Hungary Note:: If you follow this link to the main global map scroll down to find listing of various earthquakes, volcanoes, etc. Link: SolarCyle24.com USGS Latest Earthquakes 2+ US and 4.5+ in (some) of the world - last 7 days USGS Latest Earthquakes 1+ in the US - last 7 days European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre Alaska Volcano Observatory Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Information Live webcams - Alaskan volcanoes Mount St. Helens WebCam The Old Faithful WebCam Recent Volcano Observatory Activity Reports List of Volcanoes of Antarctica and South Sandwich Islands http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/ VOLCANOES by REGION: Mediterranean and W Asia | Africa and Red Sea | Middle East and Indian Ocean | New Zealand to Fiji | Melanesia and Australia | Indonesia | Philippines and SE Asia | Japan, Taiwan, Marianas | Kuril Islands | Kamchatka and Mainland Asia | Alaska | Canada and Western USA | Hawaii and Pacific Ocean | México and Central America | South America | West Indies | Iceland and Arctic Ocean | Atlantic Ocean | Antarctica African Desert Rift Confirmed as New Ocean in the Making - Geologists Show that Seafloor Dynamics Are at Work in Splitting African Continent Space.com | June 10, 2009 - Incoming space rocks now classified by military WHY? A Comprehensive Guide to Meteorite Identification Maps of Nuclear Power Reactors The Living Moon