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  Morning - December 26, 2009 |
 Sounds like another inch or two yet today ... with a 'snow emergency' in Lincoln - watch where you park! We now have a winter adversary .. no longer a 'blizzard advisory' ... more Al Gore global warming evidence. Hope you all had a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS DAY! |
"Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people" - John Adams - Second President (1797 - 1801) |
KNOWLEDGE - SHOPPING ... SHOPPING ALWAYS WINS IN AMERICA
YOU CAN BE SURE THE WEATHER WON'T STOP THE SHOPPERS
Shoppers return to malls, looking for deals
Taxpayers Help Goldman Reach Height of Profit in New Skyscraper
Bloomberg | About 6,000 employees of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. will move across the southern tip of Manhattan to a new 43-story, steel-and-glass skyscraper.
 SEVERE WEATHER |
http://mapcenter.hamweather.com/warnings/all/uscentral.html?s=640x480&b=flat LANCASTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA Statement as of 4:36 AM CST on December 26, 2009 ... Winter Weather Advisory now in effect until 6 PM CST this evening... ... Blizzard Warning is canceled... The National Weather Service in Omaha/valley has canceled the Blizzard Warning. The Winter Weather Advisory for snow and blowing snow is now in effect until 6 PM CST this evening. * Snow... mostly light... will continue over much of the area today. * Snow accumulations... new snowfall should generally be an inch or so. * Winds... northwest winds will average 15 to 25 mph... with gusts to 30 mph. * Impacts... some visibility restrictions will persist today and many roads remain drifted shut. In addition... blowing and drifting snow across roads that are open will create changeable and hazardous driving conditions. A Winter Weather Advisory for snow and blowing snow means that snow and blowing snow will cause primarily travel difficulties. Be prepared for snow covered roads and limited visibilities... and use caution if you must drive today. |
WILL BILL CLINTON BE GOING TO NORTH KOREA AGAIN TO FREE AN AMERICAN?
| U.S. missionary crosses border into North Korea |
DrudgeReport.com Christmas Day headlines:
Dallas experiences first White Christmas in more than 80 years...
Nearly 2/3rds of Continental US has White Christmas...
| FAILED TERROR ATTEMPT NEWS THIS SATURDAY MORNING DRUDGE HEADLINE:  RELATED: A Nigerian man on an Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight attempted to ignite an incendiary device. He was badly burned.
White House: President Obama Monitoring Failed Terror Attempt From HawaiiLawmakers Call Attempted Airline Attack 'Disturbing,' Pledge to Hold HearingsFOXNews - - 1 hour ago Congressional lawmakers are calling the attempted terrorist attack at a Detroit airport "disturbing" and "extremely serious," with at least one senator pledging to hold hearings, as authorities moved to increase security in response at US airports over ... | |
SOME MEXICO NEWSSaving MexicoWall Street Journal In the 40 years since US President Richard Nixon declared a "war on drugs," the supply and use of drugs has not changed in any fundamental way. Massacre in Mexico Washington Post Along US-Mexico Border, a Torrent of Illicit Cash New York Times | |
There will be many new financial stories in 2010 but one that is certainly to garner much attention is the implosion of the commercial real estate market. A $3.5 trillion market that has taken it on the chin alongside the residential real estate market. The commercial real estate debacle usually follows a similar pattern. Residential real estate pulls back followed by commercial real estate. But in this massive decade long real estate bubble commercial real estate debt ballooned into uncharted territory. The bust is going to be deep and has no parallel in history just like the housing bubble bursting. Yet the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve have already had backroom talks about coming out with a “Plan C” to bailout this segment of the American economy.
The hypocrisy of the corporatocracy has reached a crescendo.
Of the $14 trillion in bailouts Wall Street received 87 percent of all the money:
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Fannie, Freddie: Unlimited FailDecember 25th, 2009 Change Via: Reuters: The Obama administration pledged on Thursday to back beleaguered mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac no matter how big their losses may be in the next three years. It also jettisoned a demand that the two companies cut the size of their mortgage-related investment portfolios next year, allowing them to provide even more support in the near term for a housing market recovering from its worst slump in decades. The Treasury Department said it made the changes to assure financial markets it stood firmly behind both companies and to buy more time for the two government-sponsored enterprises to whittle down their mortgage-related holdings. The two agencies each had a Treasury credit line of $200 billion. Combined, they have so far tapped about $111 billion. The Treasury’s announcement came just hours after the companies said their chief executives would be paid up to $6 million on an annualized basis for 2009. | ||
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-nazareth26-2009dec26,0,1508650.story
 NEBRASKA NEWS |
| Lincoln Nebraska Live Traffic Cams Norfolk NE weather Cam Lewis & Clark Lake Conditions Cam Storms leaves thousands without power in Southeast Nebraska Omaha's water supply was 94th on the list of the 100 largest cities in the United States ranked for water quality by the Environmental Working Group Nebraska's deal could be everyone'sArkansas News - - 7 hours ago There's no evident reason that Nebraska, hardly one of our poorest states, ought to be spared Medicaid matching money that other states aren't spared. ... Cox, critics ready to challenge Nebraska's perk Detroit Free Press Federal Budget Trade-OffsTaxpayers in Nebraska will pay $6.5 billion for total Iraq & Afghanistan war spending since 2001. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:
Notes and Sources Go to Cost of War Counters |
HEALTHCARE
Sausage Making - Culture Of Corruption
This is the information you need to TRULY understand the 'hidden' life-altering details, of this so-called Health Reform Bill - in reality it has little to do with providing quality -affordable care, and everything to do with sweetheart deals, worked out months ago with Big Pharma - Insurance Companies - Hospitals - HMOs - and dozens of lobbyists. Left out are the people - who bear the brunt of obscene costs. Doctors pay special heed to last paragraphs, describing laws already passed in an unrelated bill and how it will greatly affect your practice and decisions for your patients.
Healthcare Mandate vs. the Constitution
Does the United States Constitution allow Congress to force people to purchase a product (health insurance) from a private corporation, and fine them or tax them if they refuse? The answer is a matter of debate, but there is little dispute that such an act of Congress would be unprecedented.
Health care reform bill passes Senate, moves to final stage...
TIRED HARRY REID MISTAKENLY VOTES 'NO'...
Senior Dem: Kill the Senate health reform bill and start over...
Sen. Schumer Says Every State Got Special Treatment in Obamacare Legislation...
Catholic Group Supports Senate on Abortion Aid
CHINA NEWS China Jails Literature Professor Who Demanded Open Elections and the Rule of Law December 26th, 2009 Via: New York Times: The harsh sentence handed down on Friday to Liu Xiaobo, one of China’s most prominent campaigners for democracy and human rights, prompted strong rebukes in the United States and Europe, but it also raised fresh questions over whether the West has much leverage over a government that is increasingly self-assured on the world stage. By sentencing Mr. Liu to 11 years in prison for subversion, the Chinese government sent a chilling message to advocates of political reform and free speech. Mr. Liu, 53, a former literature professor who helped draft a manifesto last December that demanded open elections and the rule of law, was convicted after a closed two-hour trial on Wednesday in which his lawyers were allowed less than 20 minutes to state his case.... |
SOME RUSSIAN NEWS  Russia to start eastward oil, gas shipments via Arctic in 2010
At a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Sergei Frank said Sovcomflot was planning to launch pilot shipments of Russian hydrocarbon reserves in the eastern direction of the Northern Sea Route, from the Atlantic to the Pacific via Russia's Arctic, later this year. "We will make such pilot deliveries in the summer," he said. Frank said the goal was to expand oil and gas markets for domestic energy producers and enter new ones. The businessman said though shipments via the Arctic had been made before, the scale and cargoes were different. "We are cooperating closely with the transportation and nuclear power ministries, and with the federal office of Rosatomflot [state-run civil nuclear fleet corporation] now to arrange everything properly for [oil and gas] shipments," Frank said. He said the eastward shipment experience would later be used in the development of West Siberia's Yamal fields and also for liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies. NOVO-OGARYOVO, December 26 (RIA Novosti) http://en.rian.ru/russia/20091226/157382462.html |
LANDMINES I Volunteered For Obama in 2008, But His Support of Landmines Is the Last Straw When friends of mine learn that I have broken my deal with Barack Obama, and no longer support the "light of the world" (as one English friend calls him), they passionately rally around his presidency, almost pleading with me to give him more time, to keep the faith, and asking, moreover: what choice do we have? |
| NEWS OUT OF JAPAN Japan - is in trouble and headed for worse amidst reports TOKYO — Worries mounted Friday that Japan's economic recovery is running out of steam as data showed the jobless rate rising and deflation continuing to hobble the world's number two economy. The unemployment rate climbed to 5.2 percent in November from 5.1 percent in October, worsening for the first time in four months, the government said ... |
U.S. promises unlimited financial assistance to Fannie May, Freddie Mac
Hugo Chavez is taking on Toyota - threatening to kick them out of Venezuela if they don't make a 4-by-4 for public transport in poor areas. |
| "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail" - Benjamin Franklin | ||
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Hordes of Angry Activists and a $27 Billion Court Case Is Making Oil Giant Chevron Pretty Nervous A dozen nonprofits are going right after the company's greed, and the outcome will likely have repercussions in the oil industry for years to come. December 24, 2009 - The oil industry is more powerful today than at any other time in history save the early 20th century. Thanks to last year's record run-up in oil prices, seven of the world's most valuable corporations are now oil companies. Yet just one of those companies has become the focus of intense consumer ire. Perhaps the largest coordinated activist campaign in history is being launched against the San Ramon-based Chevron Corporation. Foregoing boycotts and other traditional market campaign techniques, non-governmental organizations are creatively communicating the business case for why Chevron should change its ways, focusing on mobilizing company shareholders and consumers to compel the company to come clean and pursue social and environmental leadership. This unprecedented campaign to make Chevron the poster child of corporate irresponsibility has already persuaded pension funds in California, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania to consider selling a total of $12 billion in Chevron shares on the grounds that the firm is mismanaging its operations around the globe. The prime focus of this ongoing anti-Chevron effort has been the company's annual shareholder meetings, but protests at the Richmond refinery and a series of movie and PR stunts have been also been effective tactics. READ MORE.... RELATED: Chevron hires TWELVE public relations firms to discredit indigenous Indians in Ecuador | ||
2009 Continental Congress: The Final DocumentThe quest for individual liberty has not ended. For ten historic days in November, 2009, from the 11th to the 21st, delegates from forty eight of the fifty states met in St. Charles, Illinois to discuss the unconstitutional usurpations of the federal government of the United States of America and peaceful methods available to hold accountable those responsible for constitutional violations. These were ordinary people for the most part, not professional politicians, not rich elitists, not well known activists, but ordinary middle class folk from a variety of backgrounds as diverse as you could find in any community in this great melting pot we call the United States of America. They gathered together because, like most of us, they have come to the realization that something is wrong with this nation of ours. They, like many of us, wish to do something to correct the problem, something that does not involve violence. The Continental Congress 2009 looked to be a solution worth attempting. There’s nothing wrong with demanding elected officials obey the laws they swear an oath to uphold and until and unless we the people raise up and apply the pressure necessary the abuse will continue and nothing will change. |
EARTH ORBITING SATELLITES Science teacher Tom Wagner of Waterloo, Iowa, created the image on Christmas Eve using Makoto Kamada's 3D satellite viewing program. "Earth looks a bit like a Christmas ornament hanging suspended in the middle of the satellite swarm." Geostationary satellites orbit 36,000 kilometers above Earth's surface. They go around our planet once every 24 hours, which means they hang over a fixed point on the ground--perfect for monitoring weather, beaming down TV signals, and relaying telecommunications. The ring is sometimes called the "Clarke Belt" after Arthur C Clarke who popularized the idea of geostationary satellites in the mid-1940s, more than a decade before the Space Age began. In addition to the Clarke Belt, Wagner's image also shows hundreds of low-Earth orbit satellites hugging the planet only a few hundred kilometers high, and many satellites at intermediate altitude. Space is a busy place. You can see how busy by viewing more of Wagner's 3D-sat images here. |
The planet's most eye-catching feature on Mars is the huge polar ice cap, but Kraaikamp points out something else:
Link to above image of Mars rotating.
 OUR PLANET'S PROTECTIVE MAGNETOSPHERE UPDATE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| About Real-Time Magnetosphere Simulation http://www2.nict.go.jp/y/y223/simulation/realtime/index.html DECEMBER 26, 2009 AT 9:16 AM CDT CHRISTMAS DAY DECEMBER 25, 2009 8:33 PM CDT   INTERESTING CHRISTMAS DAY MAGNETIC ACTIVITY Click to view Animated Magnetosphere on YouTube: CHRISTMAS DAY DEC 25, 2009  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/sunspots/ http://solarcycle24.com/ Classification of Solar Flares Magnetic fields trigger solar wind  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 6.0 magnitude earthquake hit the Banda Sea - 146.3 km (90.91 mi) S of Tual, Propinsi Maluku - Saturday, December 26, 2009 at 05:57:24 PM at epicenter
Update time = Sat Dec 26 15:06:45 UTC 2009
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  Poás Volcano Dazzles Christmas Day Visitors With Eruption  December 26, 2009 - The volcán Poás on the north side of the Central Valley gave visitors a display of fireworks on Christmas day, spewing ash and mud some 500 metres into the air, forcing national park officials to control access to the crater. For those who decided to visit the colossus on Christmas day, got the surprise of their life, as the volcano offered a show that topped any of the fireworks displays that are tradition at Christmas. Park officials say access to the park and crater is controlled and may be closed off at any time, depending on the action of the volcano. The eruption occurred at 9:50am and is part of the normal behaviour of the active volcano. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| National Severe Weather Map Surface Temperature Forecast Map  In an infrared (IR) image cold clouds are high clouds, so the colors typically highlight the colder regions. The bar on the right side of the image indicates the pixel brightness values for the corresponding color.  http://www.goes.noaa.gov/ECIR4.html | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 GLOBAL FASCISM NEWS"Fascism should rightly be called Corporatism, as it is the merger of corporate and government power." Benito Mussolini | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Climate Change ‘Scare Tactics’ Won’t Work, Warns Expert
Express.co.uk | A LEADING researcher into attitudes on climate change has claimed Government scare tactics are only increasing public scepticism about global warming. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The United Nations is just a debating society and a 'front' for banks |
A YouTube video suggesting that face recognition cameras installed in HP laptops cannot detect black faces has had over one million views.
The short movie, uploaded earlier this month, features "Black Desi" and his colleague "White Wanda".
When Wanda, a white woman, is in front of the screen, the camera zooms to her face and moves as she moves.
But when Desi, a black man, does the same, the camera does not respond by tracking him.
The clip is light-hearted in tone but is titled "HP computers are racist".
"HP has been informed of a potential issue with the facial-tracking software included on some of its systems, which appears to occur when insufficient foreground lighting is available," an HP spokesman told BBC News.
"We take this seriously and are looking into it with our partners."
 MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL-BANKING COMPLEX NEWS |
Cost of U.S. War and Occupation of Iraq $711,934,235,698 Federal War Spending Exceeds State Government Outlays Via: Public Record: The U.S. spends more for war annually than all state governments combined spend for the health, education, welfare, and safety of 308 million Americans. Joseph Henchman, director of state projects for the Tax Foundation of Washington, D.C. says the states collected a total of $781 billion in taxes in 2008. For a rough comparison, according to Wikipedia data, the total budget for defense in fiscal year 2010 will be at least $880 billion and could possibly top $1 trillion. That’s more than all the state governments collect. Henchman says all American local governments combined (cities, counties, etc.) collect about $500 billion in taxes. Add that to total state tax take and you get over $1.3 trillion. This means Uncle Sam’s Pentagon is sopping up nearly as much money as all state, county, city, and other governmental units spend to run the country. If the Pentagon figure of $1 trillion is somewhat less than all other taxing authorities, keep in mind the FBI, the various intelligence agencies, the VA, the National Institutes of Health (biological warfare) are also spending on war-related activities. READ MORE>>> http://pubrecord.org/nation/6376/federal-spending-exceeds-state/ |
Yemen air strikes kill 30 al "Qaeda suspects": Yemen's military hit suspected al Qaeda hideouts Thursday and targeted a gathering of top militant leaders, possibly killing a radical cleric linked to the U.S. Army major accused of the Fort Hood mass shooting, in strikes carried out with U.S. intelligence help, officials said.
Extrajudicial Killing US reiterates support for Yemen forces after Qaeda raid: The White House on Thursday reiterated its support for Yemeni
authorities after "Yemeni aircraft" killed 34 suspected Al-Qaeda members.
Relatives: US-born Yemeni cleric alive and well: Friends and relatives of a U.S.-born Yemeni radical cleric say he is alive and well following reports he may have been killed in a Yemeni airstrike against suspected al-Qaida hideouts.
18 killed in Iraq violence: Eighteen people including six Shiite worshippers died in attacks across Iraq on Friday, despite intensified security for Christmas Day and Shiite Ashura rituals.
At least 27 killed in Iraq blasts: Thursday: Fears raised ahead of Shi’ite holiday: Bombs hit Shi’ite pilgrims in Baghdad and a central Iraqi city, killing at least 27 people and wounding scores more, in the latest attack in the lead-up to Ashoura, the sect’s most solemn annual rite.
Twelve militants killed in NW Pakistan: Gunship helicopters and warplanes bombed the hideouts of the militants in Ferozkhel Mela region of Orakzai tribal agency, as a result eight militants were killed and 10 others injured, the private channel ARY News reported.
8 killed after man detonates bomb, Afghan police say: A man driving a horse-drawn cart laden with explosives detonated the cache Thursday outside a guesthouse frequented by foreigners in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, killing at least eight people including a child, police said.
Canadian, Afghanistan Soldiers Killed By Roadside Bomb: Lieutenant Andrew Nuttall, along with an Afghan soldier, died when an improvised explosive device detonated in the town of Nakhoney, the military said early Thursday - Christmas Eve.
'No proof Iran nuclear program is military': Moscow is not convinced that Iran plans to weaponize its nuclear program, and has not been shown evidence convincing it otherwise, deputy Russian foreign minister Alexander Saltanov told The Jerusalem Post this week.
Senior US senator promises vote on new Iran sanctions: US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pledged Thursday to move forward to a vote legislation allowing President Barack Obama to sanction companies that export gasoline to Iran.
Egypt blamed for Gaza convoy delay: British politician George Galloway has criticised Egypt for denying a humanitarian aid convoy permission to enter the Gaza Strip.
"Accountability for War Crimes is Imperative"
By Mike Whitney
US ground attacks reported in Pakistan
Amid a deepening political crisis in Pakistan and growing popular unrest over US missile strikes and mercenaries, it has been revealed that over the past five years US special operations troops have conducted a number of clandestine cross-border raids into the country’s tribal areas.
Imam of Fort Hood gunman reported dead in Yemen raid
An unnamed Yemeni official Thursday, Dec. 24 reported the death of Anwar al Awkali, imam of the mosque frequented by US. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the gunman who murdered 13 US military personnel at the Ford Hood, Texas last month. Hasan is also said to have been in email correspondence with Awkali who praised him for killing Americans for more than a year.
Awkali was imam of the Dar al-Hijrah mosque, attended also by three of the 9/11 hijackers.
The Yemen state news agency claimed the same air strike killed at least 30 al Qaeda fighters at a meeting Thursday in the eastern province of Shabwa to plan revenge for the Yemen government’s Dec. 17 raids in the capital Sanaa and the southern province of Abyan, in which 34 jihadis were killed and 17 arrested.
Escalating War in Afghanistan Apt to Hurt Fragile U.S. Economy  - by Sherwood Ross - 2009-12-25If Iraq war spending helped plunge the U.S. economy into its worst slump since the Depression, what does President Obama think his escalation of the Afghan war will do it?
Besides forcing taxpayers to cough up fresh billions to enable the Pentagon to chase down a few hundred Taliban fighters, the Afghan war is liable to continue to inflate oil prices---and this means more than the ongoing swindle of motorists at the pump.
Higher oil prices also slow the global economy, causing our trading partners to buy fewer Made-in-USA goods, thus reducing demand for our products and leading to layoffs.
Spending money on war also siphons billions of dollars from truly productive uses.
“Today, no serious economist holds the view that war is good for the economy,” write Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and Harvard government finance expert Linda Bilmes in their book “The Three Trillion Dollar War: the True Cost of The Iraq Conflict.”
Referring to Iraq, they write, “The question is not whether the economy has been weakened by the war. The question is only by how much.” They note, “Oil prices started to soar just as the war began, and the longer it has dragged on, the higher prices have gone.”
Even so, by their estimate, (a word they stress,) the increased price of oil attributed to the war comes “to somewhat in excess of $1.6 trillion.” Not only consumers but State and local governments “have had to cut back other spending to pay the higher prices of oil imports.” >>" target="_blank" href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=16646" id="fymg">READ MORE>>> |
U.S. – led World Community Fails, Palestinians on Brink of Explosion - by Nicola Nasser - 2009-12-25 "In the absence of all hope, we cry out our cry of hope,” Palestinian Christian leaders, representing churches and church-related organizations, meeting in Bethlehem on December 11, concluded in their 13-page document titled “Kairos Palestine – 2009: A Moment of Truth,” enlisting Christians worldwide in proactive efforts to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. Their “cry” symbolizes the popular mood of their people as well as the political status quo.
On both sides of the inter-Palestinian divide between the U.S. – backed presidency and the Israeli – hunted legislative, the Fatah – led West Bank (where the leadership of the Palestine Liberation organization (PLO) is committed to peace, direct negotiations and security coordination with the Israeli occupying power, but the 16 –year old “peace process’ has reached an impasse and the negotiations are deadlocked in a one –year old stalemate over the cancer – like expanding Jewish colonial settlements) and the Hamas – led Gaza Strip (where the Islamic resistance Movement (Hamas) is strictly committed to ceasefire save in self – defense while conducting indirect negotiations mediated by Egypt and Germany over an exchange of POWs), both political and military solutions for the century – old Arab – Israeli conflict have failed and aborted all prospects of peace, which have proved an elusive mirage, a stark failure of the U.S. led world community. An imminent explosion seems the only breakthrough ahead.
“There is no bilateral solution. The fastest road to the next round of violence is through another failed negotiation process ... and it has zero chance. Next year … could be ripe for an explosion,” Gershon Baskin of the Israel-Palestine Center for Research and Information told a Russian-sponsored debate on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea last week. The “dangerous standstill” needs a “rescue mission,” the speakers said, according to Reuters. Former Russian Prime Minister Evgeny Primakov warned that a “real crisis” could develop if the international community did not intervene, adding that the role of the so-called Middle East Quartet (the United States, United Nations, Russia and the European Union) was in default. On December 15, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the PLO Central Council in Ramallah: “Now the ball is in the international community's court and in America's court.” READ MORE |
Plan Mexico proposed $1.4 billion in mostly foreign military financing Obama's Role in the Militarization of Mexico; An Interview with Laura Carlsen - by Mike Whitney - 2009-12-24  "Militarization is not the way to deal with Mexico's political crisis." Laura CarlsenMike Whitney--- Will you explain what Plan Mexico is and how it relates to the North American Free Trade Agreement? (NAFTA) Laura Carlsen: Plan Mexico, also called the Merida Initiative, is a three-year regional security cooperation plan devised by the former Bush administration and presented in October of 2007. The plan grew out of the extension of NAFTA into security areas, known as the Security and Prosperity Partnership. Originally Plan Mexico was to be announced in the context of the SPP trinational summit but was delayed. It is presented as a petition of the Mexican president Felipe Calderon for US help in the war on drugs but in reality it was designed in Washington as a way to "push out the borders" of the US security perimeter, that is, that Mexico would take on US security priorities including policing its southern border and allowing US companies and agents into Mexico's intelligence and security operations. Plan Mexico proposed $1.4 billion in mostly foreign military financing. It is referred to as a "Counternarcotics, Counterterrorism and Border Security" proposal. MW---Shortly after he was elected president, Felipe Calderon began using the military in the so-called War on Drugs. Since then, there has been a steady rise in troop deployments and an escalation in the violence. What is the Washington's role in this ongoing counterinsurgency operation? Laura Carlsen: The Obama administration has supported the plan and even requested, and received from Congress, additional funds beyond what the Bush administration requested. In the three years since Calderon launched the war on drugs in Mexico with the support of the US government drug related violence has shot up to over 15,000 executions and formal reports of violations of human rights have increased sixfold. More than 45,000 solders have been deployed in streets and communities throughout Mexico. Washington recognizes serious problems with the drug war model and yet continues to claim, absurdly, that the rise in violence in Mexico is a good sign--it means that the cartels are feeling the heat, the argument runs. the plan itself does not contain any real benchmarks of what citizens should expect as signs of progress so it can continue to be funded despite its failure. The State Department was required to submit a human rights report to release 15% of some portions of the appropriations and finally did so last summer. But the report stated that even given a lack of progress in human rights (including reported use of torture with impunity, lack of civilian justice for military forces, killings of civilians and corruption) the mere fact of reporting constituted compliance and released the funds. So far the effort is not described as a counterinsurgency effort, because Mexico does not have a formal widespread insurgency movement. However, the targeting of grassroots opposition leaders in recent years has raised fears that dissidents are and will be a target of the increasingly militarized society. MW--- In your article you say that the Merida Initiative is the direct outgrowth of the national security framework imposed on bilateral relations. Does that mean that the Bush Administration was using the War on Drugs and the War on Terrorism to conceal its real political goals? If so, what are those goals? Laura Carlsen: The Bush administration used the counterterrorism paradigm to extend US presence in strategic areas. In Mexico, the idea was to open up lucrative defense and intelligence contracts while aiding the rightwing government, which still faced serious questions of legitimacy due to unresolved accusations of fraud in the 2006 elections. MW---Are there US intelligence agents, special forces or mercenaries conducting counterinsurgency operations in Mexico? Is Mexico required to allow the US military to operate in Mexico due to security and/or trade agreements? Laura Carlsen: Mexico does not allow US soldiers on its territory. However there is a growing presence of DEA and other types of US agents in the country, as well as a private security companies. We do not have a good system for tracking the presence and activities of the private firms contracted for security and training purposes. This is a major problem. MW---What effect has militarization had on political expression? How has it affected grass roots organizations, unions, and indigenous groups? Has there been an uptick in military-related violence, such as rape, beatings, torture and homicide? Laura Carlsen: There has been an increase in human rights violations by the armed forces. In some regions, dissident leaders have been targeted by the military. Women, indigenous people, migrants, dissidents and youth are particularly vulnerable. Note: "The militarization of Mexico has led to a steep increase in homicides related to the drug war. It has led to rape and abuse of women by soldiers in communities throughout the country. Human rights complaints against the armed forces have increased six-fold.... The Mexican Armed Forces are not subject to civilian justice systems, but to their own military tribunals. These very rarely terminate in convictions." "The Perils of Plan Mexico", Laura Carlsen, counterpunch MW---More than 50 Mexican human rights organizations have petitioned Congress to withdraw support for the Merida Initiative. Their letter reads: READ MORE http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=16654 |
Movie Ratings: Smoking Marijuana=R; Murder=PG-13
Saturday, December 26, 2009
US National Parks Webcams
http://www.webcambiglook.com/nationalparks.shtml
- Glacier National Park, Montana (Multiple Views)
- Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming (View of Old Faithful plus links to Mammoth WebCam)
- Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming (Winter Air Quality Monitoring at Old Faithful parking lot)
- Yosemite National Park, California (Multiple Views)
- Cabrillo National Monument (View of San Diego Bay)
- Zion National Park
updated 12/25/2009 11:30 AM MST •
Visual range measurement is approximately 225 miles
View of Lake Crescent Looking Southeast
updated 12/25/2009 10:00 AM PST •
updated 12/25/2009 01:30 PM EST •
Visual range is approximately 181 miles
updated 12/25/2009 12:30 PM CST •
Visual range measurement is approximately 151 miles
updated 12/25/2009 11:45 AM MST •
 UFO NEWS |
| Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) UFO Database We stumbled upon the following video of what some may say might be space junk or the International Space Station. We have video footage of space junk and the ISS which looks nothing like this footage presented below. We presented footage months ago of an object that moved far more rapidly then what is shown here and some claimed that too was the ISS. It seems as though many skeptics continue to wish against the increasing activity leading up to what is about to happen denying what may very well be right in front of them. This statement can only be referring to the revealing of the truth regarding Extraterrestrial interaction with the human race. It can not be stopped. The time is closing in. We are being prepared like it or not. Check out this video The movement of the object in question is slower and seems to stop at one point. Take a look and leave your comments. |
New brainwave gadget could help free the disabled
Russia Today26 December, 2009, 02:03
Russian scientists have come up with a device which could allow people to control their environment through the power of brainwaves. The new invention gives great hope to those who have lost control of their muscles.
Imagine living life trapped in your own body – unable to move, unable to speak. This is reality for many people who have survived strokes, injured their spines, or suffered other damage to their nervous systems.
But hope may be in sight, thanks to emerging research in Moscow.
“By imagining the movement of the left hand, the patient can make the lights switch on, or by imagining the movement of the right hand, he can learn to switch the TV set on. Since we take the signal right from the brain, this functions potentially even in cases when the patient can’t move his hands at all, when the muscle activity is zero,” says Vadim Roshin, research officer from the Russian Academy of Science.
Aleksandr Kaplan at Moscow State University is developing devices that use the brain’s basic electrical signals to control machines that can help – but he thinks they can do much more.
In one basic program, sensors read the brain’s impulses and send the message to a computer, in this case working to put a puzzle game together. Currently, there are several teams across the globe working on this.
Kaplan’s focus is on increasing the machine’s efficiency, with the goal of introducing this technology for everyday use.
“The main thing is you can use your thoughts directly, without using your muscles. Why use your muscles if you can do the same with just your thoughts? Why do you need to press a button if you have the thought in your brain already? This is the essence of brain-computer interface. We decipher electrical activity and send instructions directly, bypassing muscles,” explains Prof. Aleksandr Kaplan.
The equipment is expensive and the technology is still years from mainstream use. Also, the headwear might not be the best-looking in the world.
However, they promise that, as the technology develops, they will work on something that looks a little bit better. And fashion may be a small price to pay for somebody to be able to interact with the world around them.
NaturalNews.com | Today's Featured Stories - Saturday December 26, 2009 
(Hand-picked by the Health Ranger for your education and amusement)
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Source: AP  GREY squirrels are ruining Christmas in the US state of New Jersey by eating all the festive lights. Well, not all of them - the red ones seem to be off-limits. Officials in the town of Fredericton say the rodents have developed a taste for the lights that decorate their downtown Christmas tree and have implemented several measures to deter them without much success. "The squirrels, I think, are getting the better of us," Downtown Fredericton general manager Bruce McCormack told CBC News. "They seem to be very, very hungry and they like plastic and they like the LED lights and that's all. "We just can't fight them anymore." The squirrels normally diet on nuts, seeds and fruits, but even replacing the lights with bigger ones hasn't stemmed their appetite for plastic Christmas bulbs. However, a local sports team manager has discovered the squirrels only have a taste for blue and white lights. "They will take their time and they will eat through the bulbs of every light," Dave Morell said. "Except the red ones. "I'm a little more determined than Bruce is ... he's tried it so long that he's just given up. "Well, I don't give up. I just keep putting up red ones." | ||||||
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