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Small Asteroid Headed Our Way

A small space rock is on a collision course with Earth, and is expected to burn up in the atmosphere over Sudan in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. Because it's so small, it's not expected to cause any damage, but it may appear as a bright fireball. Astronomers are excited because it's the first time such an impact has been predicted with near certainty. More at Space.com.

• Ancient Peru pyramid spotted by satellite
  New remote-sensing technology reveals huge structure beneath surface. -Discovery
• Elk Grove 'Super-Pumpkin' Breaks State Record
  A massive pumpkin weighing in at 1,536.5 pounds broke the California state record. -News10.net
• A Look at Steve Fossett's Super Secret Submersible
  The late adventurer had started work on an amazing flying submersible. -Gizmodo
• See a Pattern on Wall Street?
  When people were primed to feel out of control, they were more likely to see patterns where none exist. -TierneyLab
• 2012: No Geomagnetic Reversal
  The reasons behind the reversal of the magnetic poles are poorly understood. -Universe Today
• Bugs in your iPhone? Blame Mercury!
  Once again, the planets have aligned to totally ruin your life. -MSNBC
• Fluorescent bulbs may do more harm than good
  New study shows compact fluorescent bulbs may be doing more harm to the environment than good. -kgw.com
• City lights have birds singing the wrong song
  Museum exhibit shows how excessive night lighting throw them off. -Chicago Sun-Times
• Man reads entire Oxford English Dictionary
  Ammon Shea has completed the mammoth task of reading the 20-volume tome cover to cover .-Times Online
• UFOs and Large Hadron Collider connection?
  Conspiracy theorists are suggesting the increase in UFO activity is the result of ET concern over the Large Hadron Collider. -Louth Leader
• The amazing bendy TV screen
  scientists have revealed a screen that can be folded up and put in your pocket (with photo). -Daily Mail
• Big fossil found in Ike-ravaged home's front yard
  A homeowner has found a football-size fossil tooth in the debris (with photo). -AP
• Pterosaurs couldn't soar, says expert
  A Japanese researcher has suggested pterosaurs were unable to fly, New Scientist says. -AFP
• Weird radar images are geese ... we think
  Odd expanding circles show up in NWS radar images from Wisconsin and Illinois. -JS Online
• Marley Woods October 1, 2008 Update
  The Special Investigation Unit continues looking into strange happenings at Marley Woods. -CPTR
• Court dismisses lawsuit to halt particle collider
  Judge says U.S. has no jurisdiction over European Large Hadron Collider. -Computerworld
• Futurists predict a bull market for escapism
  Bad economic times are good times for the entertainment industry. -LA Times
• The Design of Extremely Large Telescopes
  The Giant Magellan Telescope, the Thirty Meter Telescope, and the European Extremely Large Telescope are expected to be completed within a decade. -Wired
• Mother & Son Watched Cow Rise in Beam to Disc
  Linda Moulton Howe interviews Leo Sprinkle, Ph.D., one of the first to study encounters. -Earthfiles
• 10 Most Bizarre World Records
  Records include eye-popping record, typing to one million, and biggest cookie. -weirdynews.blogspot.com
• A Star That Bursts, Blinks and Disappears
  A star 'twinkled' with gamma rays, X-rays, and light -- and then vanished. -NASA
• Natural wonders captured by photographers
  Extraordinary images submitted by finalists for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008 competition. -Daily Mail
• Crowds gather to pray before image in window
  Some Springfield residents believe an apparition of the Virgin Mary appears in second-story window. -The Republican
• The Colors of the Moon
  Photo has enhanced saturation to bring out the differences in colors of the various areas of lunar surface. -Russell Croman Astrophotography
• Woman unable to open eyes 3 days a week
  The woman's mysterious medical condition has left doctors puzzled. -abc.net.au
• Girl who bleeds without being cut baffles doctors
  Twinkle Dwivedi, 13, has a strange disorder which means she loses blood through her skin without being cut or scratched. -The Telegraph

Walter

Obama's Terrorist Connections

I've been saying this for months, Bill Cunningham has been saying it, Neal Boortz has been saying it, Sean Hannity has been saying it and Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin has finally said it.

As Reagan Democrats and Independents weigh who they want to choose for president in November, answer this question. Can you support a candidate who is friends with terrorists? Can you support a candidate who takes money from terrorists? Well, if Obama is your man you have problems. Even Bloomberg News dropped this bombshell as early as February of this year:

Besides Rezko and Giannoulias, Obama could face questions about his relationship with William Ayers, a former member of the radical group the Weather Underground who is now a professor of education at the University of Illinois in Chicago. Ayers donated $200 in 2001 to Obama’s Illinois state Senate campaign and served with him from 1999 to 2002 on the board of the Woods Fund, an anti-poverty group.

A Series of Bombings

The Weather Underground carried out a series of bombings in the early 1970s — including the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon. While Ayers was never prosecuted for those attacks, he told the New York Times in an interview published Sept. 11, 2001, that “I don’t regret setting bombs.”

Bill Burton, Obama’s spokesman, said Ayers “does not have a role on the campaign.” Ayers said he had no comment on his relationship with Obama.

Does not have a role on the campaign? Well thank heaven for that. Are you kidding me?

Peter Hitchens was the first to hint at this relationship, but Tim Burger nails it. William Ayers is an American terrorist. What else do you call someone who plants bombs at Federal facilities? William Ayers has not been prosecuted for the bombings, but he was directly involved. He admits this. And do not give me the nonsense that he was fighting for a good cause. Martin Luther King’s message of non-violence had no place in the political ideology of Mr. Ayers. And Ayers is unrepentant.

First, Ayers contributed money to Obama.

Second, this is more than a casual acquaintance. Obama and Ayers served together on the board of the Woods Fund. Did Obama and Ayers do more than simply sit side-by-side? Did they steer money to favored groups? Those are questions that journalists not bowing at the feet of the Obama god need to ask.

At a minimun this reminds us that there is a pattern of bad judgment by Obama. He goes in on a land deal with Tony Rezko even though he knows Rezko is a target of a Federal investigation. And his explanation? A mistake in judgment. Now this. Anyone thinking of running for President should know they cannot take money from a terrorist and they cannot serve on a board with a terrorist. Period. But this simple lesson apparently escapes the brilliant constitutional law professor.

This much we do know. Obama does not deny having a relationship with William Ayers. Obama has never repudiated the terrorism of William Ayers. If you think this is a record Obama can run on in the fall and survive you are living in an alternate universe. It is time to get some clear answers to tough questions before the Democrats sell their soul to someone whose lapses in judgment will come back to haunt them in the fall.

Some of you folks - including you mainline liberal Democrats need to pour yourself a good stiff drink and do some deep breathing exercises. The facts are quite clear:

1. William Ayers conducted terrorist attacks inside the United States and against the U.S. Government. He does not consider himself a terrorist, but he admits he did the acts.
2. Barack Obama has had a long standing relationship with Ayers and is quite knowledgeable of his past.
3. Barack and Ayers served together on the Wood Fund. I am told, but have not yet confirmed, that they steered money to an individual who is under Federal indictment. If that is true, life gets more interesting.
4. William Ayers made a small financial contribution to Obama’s first campaign. In the total scheme of things, not significant, except it will be used by Republicans against Obama in the fall. How do you explain to Joe or Jane Average American that a guy who describes U.S. Marines as terrorists not only gave you money but also helped raise money for your campaign? Do you really think most Americans will shrug and say, “No big deal”?

My point in getting these issues out on the table now is to get them out now. If you don’t understand how to make a TV ad that opens with dead Marines in Vietnam and Beirut, fade to William Ayers calling them terrorists, fade to Barrack Obama and Ayers on the same board, and fade to Ayers as a fund raiser for Barrack, then you know nothing of politics or choosing elected officials.

Make your decision with the best information available. That’s my point. Let’s get Obama’s skeletons out in the open while something can still be done. Closing one’s eyes and wishing this goes away is silly.

Walter

Sunday Reflections

I have noticed that the best way for me to get a few minutes of solitude at the end of the day is to start washing the dishes or even doing laundry. And a few minutes of solitude is something I need frequently. A time to be alone. A time to reflect.

I think there is a difference between aloneness and loneliness. Aloneness is necessary for the soul to thrive - even to come alive. Not loneliness.

German theologian and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer was arrested and eventually hanged for opposing Hitler. While in prison, he wrote letters to his fiancée. The last letter she received was dated Christmas 1944. Speaking of the war that separated them, Bonhoeffer wrote this:

"These will be quiet days in our homes, but I have had the experience over and over again that the quieter it is around me, the clearer do I feel a connection to you. It is as though in solitude the soul develops senses which we hardly know in everyday life. Therefore I have not felt lonely or abandoned for one moment."

I can be alone without being lonely. In fact, those times of solitude are necessary respite for a beleaguered soul, set upon by the pressures of life. I need to take whatever moments I can to just be still.

Only in quiet waters things mirror themselves undistorted," says Hans Margolius. "Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world."

So I'll find time to ... be still.

Walter

US Navy confirms sunken submarine off Alaska is USS Grunion, missing since World War II

PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII - The Navy has confirmed the wreckage of a sunken vessel found last year off Alaska's Aleutians Islands is that of the USS Grunion, which disappeared during World War II.

Underwater video footage and pictures captured by an expedition hired by sons of the commanding officer, LTCDR Mannert L. Abele, allowed the Navy to confirm the discovery, RADM Douglas McAneny said Thursday in a news release. McAneny said the Navy was very grateful to the Abele family.

"We hope this announcement will help to give closure to the families of the 70 crewmen of Grunion," he said.

The Grunion was last heard from July 30, 1942. The submarine reported heavy anti-submarine activity at the entrance to Kiska, and that it had 10 torpedoes remaining forward. On the same day, the Grunion was directed to return to Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base. The submarine was reported lost Aug. 16, 1942.

Japanese anti-submarine attack data recorded no attack in the Aleutian area at the time of the Grunion's disappearance, so the submarine's fate remained an unsolved mystery for more than 60 years, the Navy said.

Abele's son's, Bruce, Brad, and John, began working on a plan to find the sub after finding information on the Internet in 2002 that helped pinpoint USS Grunion's possible location.

In August 2006, a team of side scan sonar experts hired by the brothers located a target near Kiska almost a mile below the ocean's surface. A second expedition in August 2007 using a high definition camera on a remotely operated vehicle yielded video footage and high resolution photos of the wreckage.

Rest In Peace.

Walter

Sources: Photo courtesy of US Navy; Gathered from various wire services

360 In-depth: Reasons Not to Bail Out Wall Street, Part 2

The Bailout is Pure Treason

(1) Crime that pays is crime that stays.

There is reason to believe that Wall Street and those they represent are holding loans without collateral, multiple loans secured by the same properties, and other fraudulent instruments among the “troubled assets.” Based on the secret "Treasury Conference Call" with 800 Wall Street insiders, we know the deal proposed to be passed by Congress isn’t the real deal promised to Wall Street. The Treasury Conference Call:

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2008/09/mussolini-style-corporatism-in-action.html

This is an audio recording of the conference call with the US Treasury Department, giving information for financial analysts regarding the planned financial bailout legislation. Apologies for the audio quality - it was recorded using a mini digital recorder, half with the microphone and half with an inductive pickup. The first minute or so is cut off (we were too slow!), but the rest is intact through the end.

UPDATE: Now also posted on YouTube in five parts

Memo found at: http://dealbreaker.com/2008/09/treasury-to-hold-conference-ca.php

Or read it below.
MEMORANDUM
TO: SIFMA Government Reps Committee
FR: SIFMA Washington Office
DA: September 28, 2008

RE: Conference Call w. Treasury / 9:00PM TONIGHT

At 9:00pm tonight, Sunday, September 28th, there will be a call with Treasury officials to discuss the Troubled Asset Recovery Plan. This call is specifically for analysts. Please distribute ASAP to analysts in your firm who might be interested in participating. We have also distributed this call notice through various SIFMA Committees to solicit analyst participation.

Please find the conference call information below:

Date: Sunday, September 28th
Time: 9:00PM ET
Toll-free Dial-in: 1-866-843-0890
Entry Code: 1812173#

(2) This smells like obstruction of justice.

Bail-out without due diligence of so called “troubled assets” is a perfect way to hide documentation of financial crimes. It is also a perfect means to launder both the past ill-gotten gains and new federal money spent recklessly and without necessary safeguards and oversight mechanisms. Be very suspicious when they tell you “we just can’t tell what’s in these troubled assets.” We can assure you that the federal government has field offices all across the country that deal with significant amounts of real estate and mortgage assets on a dailyl basis. If Treasury refuses for more than a decade to comply with the laws, with approximately $4 trillion missing (and counting), it is not competent to manage $700 billion of taxpayer money while its arm is twisted by Wall Street. The missing $4 trillion:

Key Documents

U.S. Department of Defense Web Site

"The technology revolution has transformed organizations across the private sector, but not ours, not fully, not yet. We are, as they say, tangled in our anchor chain. Our financial systems are decades old. According to some estimates, we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions. We cannot share information from floor to floor in this building because it's stored on dozens of technological systems that are inaccessible or incompatible."
- Remarks as Delivered by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, The Pentagon, Monday, September 10, 2001

Independent Audit Report - Department of Defense
Re: $1.1 Trillion Missing from DOD
February 26, 2002

Testimony of the Inspector General - Department of Housing & Urban Development
Re: $59 Billion Missing from HUD
March 22, 2000

Discrepancies in America's Accounts Hide a Black Hole
By Daniel Gros, Financial Times
June 15, 2006

Road to Ruin
by Eric Sprott, Sprott Asset Management
Regarding the $11 Trillion Deficit in the US Government in FY 2004
January 2005

U.S.' Missing $Trillions Make Mainstream At Last
Scoop Media's version of the Chronicle Story with more links added
May 26, 2003

Dillon, Read & Co. Inc. and the Aristocracy of Stock Profits
by Catherine Austin Fitts
A case study of two teams each with competing visions for America.
April 2006

Estimate $3.3 Trillion Missing From U.S. Treasury
by Buddy Grizzard
An excellent overview integrating coverage by key investigative journalists
August 2002

Where is the Collateral? and So, Where is the Collateral?
A two-part series by Chris Sanders of Sanders Research Associates in London
These articles connect the dots between the missing money, the Where is the Money? litigation, questionable HUD deals, and the impact on the investment community
October 2003 and July 2004

U.S. "Could Be Going Bankrupt"
by Edmund Conway, Economics Editor
UK Telegraph
July 2006

whereisthemoney.org
Web site documenting the missing money -- includes petition, FAQs, Who's Who ... also available in Spanish

Independent News Coverage

The Great "Incompetency" Heist
by Catherine Austin Fitts, Scoop Media
May 17, 2006

US Government "Misplaces" Trillions of Dollars
Anxiety Culture Bulletin News
September 3, 2003

US' Missing Trillions Make Mainstream At Last
Scoop Media
May 26, 2003

The Solari Solution: A Responsible Way to Fund America's State and Local Government Deficits
Scoop Media
May 2003

On the Money Trail
MetroActive
September 5, 2002

Questions for a Congressman
Scoop Media
July 4, 2002

The Myth of the Rule of Law
Sanders Research Associates
November 2001

Testimony of the HUD Inspector General
House Government Reform
May 2000

Corporate News Coverage

Auditor Quits with NASA Finances in Chaos
By Arindam Nag and Deborah Zabarenko
May 15, 2004

The War on Waste
CBS News
Citing "cooked books" at DoD, Rumsfeld on the missing $2.3 trillion, ...
January 29, 2002

Military Stashes Covert Millions
St. Petersburg Times
September 28, 2003

'High Risk' Finance at the Federal Level
Insight on the News
August 21, 2003

Congressman Kucinich on NPR's 'Morning Edition'
NPR, June 28, 2003

Pentagon Fights for (Its) Freedom
CBS News
May 19, 2003

Color Codes: The Deja Vu View Back to Abnormal
San Francisco Chronicle
May 25, 2003

So Much for the Peace Dividend
The Guardian
May 22, 2003

Military waste under fire $1 trillion missing
San Francisco Chronicle
May 18, 2003

HUD's Financial Woes Continue
Insight, April 18, 2003

HBO The Sopranos: "Watching Too Much Television" (Scamming the Feds)
Sopranos Episode 46
Brian lays out a way to use bogus real estate deals to con money out of the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development...
November 1, 2002

US Treasury Web Site Reveals $ Half-Trillion Deficit
NY Post
May 14, 2002

Government Fails Fiscal Fitness Test
Insight on the News
April 29, 2002

From Insight Magazine's investigative journalist Kelly O'Meara

Treasury Checks and Unbalances
April 14, 2004
The 2003 financial statements mark the seventh year in a row that the federal government could not audit, let alone balance, its books...

Is the US Going for Broke?
July 14, 2003

'High Risk' Finance at the Federal Level August 21, 2003
The US Government reports that its financial management systems are seriously unreliable...

HUD's Financial Woes Continue
April 18, 2003

Government Fails Fiscal Fitness Test
April 29, 2002
This article cites both the $1.1 Trillion and the $59 Billion...

All That Glitters Is Not Gold
March 2002

What Does It Take to Lose a Contract?
March 2002

Cuomo leaves HUD in Shambles
March 2001

Inside HUD's Financial Fiasco
June 2001

A Financial Fiasco is in the Making
July 2001

Rumsfeld Inherits Financial Mess
September 2001

Total Lack of Trust
September 2001

Wasted Riches
October 2001

Bureaucrats Circle Their Wagons
December 2001

Why is $59 Billion Missing from HUD?
November 2000

Government Links

U.S. Code:

• The Chief Officers Act of 1990
• HUD Reform Act of 1989
• Government Management Reform Act of 1994

Executive Branch:

• Department of Treasury
• Department of Treasury -- Internal Revenue Service
• HUD Office of Inspector General
• DOD Office of Inspector General

DOD News Articles:

• Reforming Financial Management System Can Save Big
  American Forces Press, Department of Defense, April 3, 2002
• Remarks as Delivered by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld
  The Pentagon, September 10, 2001
• Zakheim Seeks To Corral, Reconcile 'Lost' Spending
  American Forces Press, Department of Defense, February 20, 2002
• Testimony before the House Budget Committee on the FY 2002 Defense Budget
  As Given by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and Comptroller Dov Zakheim, Cannon House Office Building, American Forces Press, Department of Defense, July 11, 2001

Congress:

• House Committee on Government Reform,
  Government Management, Finance & Accountability Subcommittee
  
  Wikipedia on House Committee on Government Reform
• Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs
  
• Senate Government Affairs Thompson Report
  -- Government at the Brink, Vol. 1
  -- Government at the Brink, Vol. 2
  
• House Appropriations
• Senate Appropriations
• Congressional Audit, Evaluation and Investigation:
  General Accountability Office (GAO)

Case Examples of Missing Money

Where is the Money? Litigation
Ervin & Associates and the US Government shut down Hamilton Securities after it developed software for citizens to learn about HUD spending by place, seized the software, bankrupted the company, and never produced any evidence of wrongdoing ... see http://www.dunwalke.com/gideon/

CPA IG Finds Halliburton Mismanaged Government Property in Iraq
Committee on Government Reform: Minority Office, July 2004

Tennessee's Get Our Money Back Campaign -- 2002
Includes: The Story of the Missing Money; A State by State Breakdown of What the Missing Money is Costing You and Your Family; Questions to Congressman Van Hilleary (R-Tenn.) on Actions a Congressman Could Take to Get Our Money Back

Government Contractors

1. Lockheed Martin

Software That Steals: Mortgage Market Unanswered Questions - Hitting On HUD August 2002

2. AMS

Federal Lawsuit Adds to AMS Woes Company Also Faces Trouble in Ohio, Vermont
Washington Technology
July 2001

A Taxing Dilemma by John Berlau
Insight Magazine
April 2001

IRS Boss Snagged a Clinton Waiver by John Berlau
Insight Magazine
May 2001

News Alert: Eizenstat Explains Why He Gave Waiver to IRS Commissioner by John Berlau
Insight Magazine
May 2001

How Can Rossotti Reform the IRS?
Insight Magazine
May 2001

News Alert: Grassley Questions Rossotti's Ties to AMS by John Berlau
Insight Magazine
May 2001

Rossotti Hires Raise Red Flags
Insight Magazine
September 20001

3. DynCorp

CSC DynCorp & the Economics of Lawlessness
Scoop Media
April 2003

4. Harvard

The Harvard Datadump -- An Update

5. Enron

The Real Deal about Enron -- An Interview with Catherine Austin Fitts by Daniel Armstrong
Scoop Media
February 2003

6. The Carlyle Group

Carlyle's Way -- Making a mint inside "the iron triangle" of defense, government and industry by Dan Briody
Red Herring
January 8, 2002

Missing Money in Iraq

Iraq Audit Can't Find Billions
Boston Globe, October 2004

US Probes $100 Million Missing in Iraq
MSNBC, May 2005

So, Mr. Bremer, Where Did All the Money Go?
The Guardian, July 2005

Billions Wasted in Iraq
CBS News, February 2006

Iraq's Missing Billions (video)
Journeyman Pictures, March 2006

Halliburton Watch: US Mismanaged $8.8 Billion in Iraqi Funds, August 2004

Iraq Revenue Watch: Reports & Briefings
Open Society Institute, December 2004

The Not So Strange Case of Phillip Merrill
Joe Quinn, Signs of the Times, June 2006

Balancing Our Bank Book: The Missing $9 Billion and More (Windows Media Audio; PDF Transcript )
Rep. Cynthia McKinney, June 2006

Those Who Blow Whistle on Contractor Fraud in Iraq Face Penalties
Deborah Hastings, Associated Press, August 2007

Missing Gold

Gold Anti-Trust Action (GATA)
http://www.gata.org

LeMetropole Cafe
http://www.lemetropolecafe.com

All That Glitters Is Not Gold by Kelly O'Meara, March 2002

Is a Silver Scandal on the Horizon? by Kelly O'Meara, March 2004

Quotations

From Kelly O'Meara ~ Treasury Checks and Unbalances April 2004

Robert E. Rubin, 1997, Unauditable
"We believe that the publication of these audited statements is an important step in providing American citizens with more information about the operations of their government."

Robert E. Rubin, 1998, Unauditable
"We believe that the publication of this financial report is an important step in providing the American public with useful information about their government's assets, liabilities and operations."

Lawrence H. Summers, 1999, Unauditable
"We are committed to producing and reporting financial information that meets the highest standards of integrity and to provide to the American people the accountability and professionalism they expect from their government."

Paul H. O'Neill, 2000, Unauditable
"I am committed to producing and reporting financial information that meets the highest standards of integrity and to provide the American people the accountability and professionalism that they expect from the government."

Paul H. O'Neill, 2001, Unauditable
"I believe that the American people deserve the highest standards of accountability and professionalism from their government, and I will not rest until we achieve them."

John W. Snow, 2002, Unauditable
"I intend to continue the commitment to producing and reporting financial information that meets the highest standards of integrity and to provide the American people the accountability and professionalism that they expect from their government."

(3) Wall Street owes the federal government money.

We need to get stolen money back from the banks that served as depositories for the US government (including trillions for which the Pentagon and HUD could not account) and punish them, not create another opportunity for them to game the system and engage in criminal enterprises to rob consumers. To the extent there has been regulatory wrong-doing, let’s not let the miscreants leave town with the evidence.

(4) Good guys are shut out.

A bail-out provides no way for honest leaders to come to the fore and use their creativity and expertise to restore balance and integrity to the system or for unproductive and poorly-managed banks that contribute to current over-capacity in the banking system to die a dignified death.

(5) This results in more investment in the “bubble economy.”

Spending massive amounts on non-productive uses (“buying” worthless credit default swaps, mortgages with no collateral and derivatives, which could even include the derivatives used to manipulate the precious metals markets) as opposed to productive uses (repairing infrastructure, creating alternative energy systems, supporting inventing and production of “green” products) is inflationary.

This bail-out will drive prices of food, water and energy up for the people who can least afford it.

(6) Bail-out does not result in capital circulating in healthy ways.

The bail-out of Wall Street and too-big-to-fail banks and insurance companies that are getting bigger by the minute by swallowing up other failing financial institutions (and creating more institutions that are “too big to fail”) does not result in trickle-down to those whose money was stolen in recent swindles (S&L, dot.com, current housing crisis), i.e., the taxpayers/middle class and working poor.

(7) These arrangements will result in more corruption.

Centralized “fixes” are sure to result in black holes, no-bid contracts and other scandals.

(8) The bail-out drains the real economy, rather than invests in the real economy.

The US economy can’t be productive or grow if consumers don’t have jobs and can’t afford to purchase goods and services. Real stimulation of Main Street is accomplished through productive investment, not bail-outs that shift money to unproductive sectors. We should use all of our precious resources to reinvest in our people in the real economy.

(9) It props up sectors that need to downsize and consolidate.

There is significant overcapacity in the financial and banking sectors. Brainpower and talent needs to stop blowing financial bubbles and shift to economic activities that create real value.

(10) It is a temporary “fix” to keep Wall Street afloat until after the election.

Our resources are better invested in permanent, long-term solutions. This bail-out will not fix anything. Rather, it will help the perpetrators get away and ensure that the ultimate day of reckoning is worse.

The Administration wants to drain the real economy to bail out Wall Street. It seems to us that the more appropriate plan would be to require Wall Street to return the $4 trillion plus that is missing and use that to rebuild the real economy.

We think the time has come to reverse the flow. Go to any business school in the country. That is what they teach. Money should move out of unproductive sectors into productive sectors. The bail-out does just the opposite.

Continued with Part 3

Walter

360 In-depth: Reasons Not to Bail Out Wall Street, Part 1

The Current "sweetened" Bailout Plan has a Side of Pork

This is a very in-depth post with a great deal of information to absorb. I suggest not attempting to read it unless you are prepared to spend an hour or so.

Here we are, in the midst of the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, and the members of the U.S. Senate are busy dispensing pork in a shameless fashion.

In their vote on the $700 billion Wall Street bailout Wednesday night, senators packed the bill with scores of lavish goodies to please favored groups and win support from opponents in today's House vote.

Take, for instance, Section 305 of the 450-page bill, "Modifications of Energy Efficient Appliance Credit."

It runs several pages long and contains separate sections for "dishwashers," "clothes washers" and "refrigerators."

The bill says manufacturers of energy-efficient appliances will qualify for up to $250 in federal tax credits for each machine they produce over the next three years. Total cost to taxpayers: $322 million over 10 years.

In case your refrigerator is on the blink, you should note the bill says nothing about passing any savings on to the consumer.

Among other goodies in the Senate version:

- Two separate tax breaks for film companies that produce movies in the U.S.: the cost, almost $500 million.

- An extension of tax rebates to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on rum duties: Another $192 million over 10 years.

- Six pages of earmarks to benefit Alaskan fishermen who were victims of the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster. That break, worth $239 million, is clearly aimed at winning the vote of U.S. Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), who voted against the bailout package last week.

- A $10 million credit to help employers defray the costs of storing the bicycles of their employees who commute to work!

You can't make this stuff up.

To be fair, there are several provisions of the bill that will undoubtedly help millions of people.

Hurricane disaster relief breaks, for instance, and better deductions for costs of higher education. The most costly, at $62 billion, is a provision that will save some 24 million middle-income families from being hit this year by extra taxes under the IRS' dreaded Alternative Minimum Tax.

Still, why did Senate leaders clutter up a bailout bill that has infuriated millions of Americans with tax breaks that will produce a net cost of an extra $112 billion?

The answer is simple: Because they could.

Because they know America's corporate leaders are desperate to get the financial system off life support. This was the Senate's chance to win a longstanding battle with the House over tax legislation.

"There's been a battle for years with both houses having alternative tax bills," said Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Manhattan), head of the House Ways and Means Committee.

House Republicans and conservative Democrats long ago agreed on a pay-as-you-go rule. Under that rule, all tax breaks must be matched by cuts in spending or by new revenues.

In the Senate, they love to dispense bigger portions of pork, and they rarely worry about how to pay for it. Until this week, the Senate had failed to get the House to agree to its list of tax breaks.

By tacking these breaks onto the Wall Street bailout, Senate leaders expect to peel off enough Republican House members to pass the entire package.

Wall Street gets its bailout. The refrigerator makers get their tax credit. We pay for it all - and then eat leftovers.

Continued with Part 2

Walter

Off Beat News

Cultural Diversity

"In many ways," reported the Los Angeles Times in August, the Torajans of Indonesia's Sulawesi Island "spend a lifetime preparing for their demise," in that the most glorious highlight of their existence appears to be planning the elaborate celebration of the end of it. In fact, taking one's last breath is only the beginning of a lengthy tribute, such as the one for Toraja's last king, who died in 2003 but has not been put away yet, pending completion of the necessary ritual animal sacrifices. (In the interim, the deceased is considered more "sick" than "dead.") Said one local ("cheerfully," according to the Times), "Torajans! (We) live to die!" [Los Angeles Times, 8-14-08]

Castrillo de Murcia, Spain, lacks a "running of the bulls" tradition, but since 1620, it has included in its annual El Colacho festival a "leaping over the babies." In late May, the town's infants are laid on mattresses in the village square, and people in red-and-yellow devil costumes jump over them and keep running, to symbolize the vanquishing of demons from their lives. [Spiegel, 8-28-08]

Toward a More Accessible Anglican Church

In August, Birmingham Cathedral announced plans to open a series of wine bars in London, as (according to an official) one of the "alternative ways" of engaging non-church-goers. [BBC News, 9-1-08]

The new church curate in Dursley, Gloustershire, is Rev. Skye Denno, 29, a married mother of two, whose down time is spent in biker boots, hot pants, a dog collar and her six piercings, listening to the Sex Pistols. Said she, "I don't do it to be difficult. (I) think it makes me more approachable." [Daily Telegraph (London), 9-8-08]

The Continuing Crisis

The Nebraska legislature's new "safe haven" law for unwanted babies, like other states' laws, allows them to be dropped off anonymously at hospitals to discourage abortions (and neglect by unfit parents). However, unlike other states' laws, Nebraska's applies not just to infants, but "minors," because, said Sen. Tom White, "All children deserve our protection." In September, the first two non-infants were abandoned, as exasperated parents gave up on rebellious sons aged 11 and 15, and critics say the law could apply to those up to age 19. [Lincoln Journal Star, 9-15-08]

In August, the U.S. Department of Transportation unveiled new rules for train and bus drivers returning to work from drug-use suspensions. They must now be tested first by a strip search to detect devices for cheating (such as artificial penises), and if none is found, they may re-dress themselves, but a monitor must still "directly watch the urine as it goes from the employee's body into the collection container." Not surprisingly, several unions have challenged the rule in court. [Railway Age, 8-13-08]

In July, Abbie Hawkins, 19, a hotel receptionist in Norwich, England, said she found a baby bat nestled inside the padded bra she had been wearing for several hours. "When I was driving to work, I felt a slight vibration but I thought it was just my mobile phone in my jacket pocket," she told the Daily Telegraph. Hawkins had fetched the bra off of a clothesline that morning, where it had been hanging overnight. First reaction: "I thought how mean I was for disturbing it." [Daily Telegraph, 7-8-08]

Fine Points of the Law

Joey Bergamine, 19, who is preparing for a re-trial in Fayetteville, N.C., on a DUI charge stemming from a July 2007 incident, will argue that he should have been advised of his right to have a lawyer present when his father kicked open his bedroom door hours after the incident to help police officers who had come to question him. Joey's father is the police chief of Fayetteville, and Joey's lawyer said entering a locked room, as well as the subsequent interrogation, constituted "police" action and not "parental" action, and since his dad failed to "Mirandize" him, the charge should be dismissed. [Fayetteville Observer, 8-16-08]

Least Competent Criminals:

More Ways to Consume That Heavenly Food: The fourth annual Big Tex Choice award for best taste this year (at a precursor event to September's Texas State Fair) went to Glen Kusak's chicken fried bacon. [Dallas Morning News, 9-2-08]

Earlier this summer, fourth-generation candymaker Joseph Marini III introduced chocolate-covered bacon bon-bons at his stand on California's Santa Cruz Boardwalk. [MSNBC-AP, 8-8-08]

For the more sophisticated, restaurateur Don Yovicsin of Waltham, Mass., serves bacon-infused Absolut vodka (allowed to sit for four weeks' time and then filtered of the bits) (and for a Bacon Bloody Mary, add mix, a lime wedge, "barbecue rub" and a Slim Jim). [Boston Herald, 9-3-08]

Undignified Deaths

A 21-year-old man fishing off Jones Beach on New York's Long Island in July was killed when he yanked his line back too quickly, propelling his 3-ounce lead sinker out of the water, where it struck his head and penetrated his brain. [Newsday, 7-29-08]

A 32-year-old man lounging beside a pool in Leland, N.C., in August was killed when a burst of wind dislodged a canopy umbrella, thrusting the tip into his skull. [Wilmington Star News, 8-9-08]

A 79-year-old motorist watching a crane lift a steeple onto a new church in Oklahoma City in July was killed when the crane toppled over and crushed his car. [KOCO-TV (Oklahoma City), 7-24-08]

Walter

Do We Live In A Giant Cosmic Bubble?

No, I'm not talking about the bubble that our elected officials exist in; this has more to do with dark matter than it does with gutless politicians.

If the notion of dark energy sounds improbable, get ready for an even more outlandish suggestion.

Earth may be trapped in an abnormal bubble of space-time that is particularly void of matter. Scientists say this condition could account for the apparent acceleration of the universe's expansion, for which dark energy currently is the leading explanation.

Dark energy is the name given to the hypothetical force that could be drawing all the stuff in the universe outward at an ever-increasing rate. Current thinking is that 74% of the universe could be made up of this exotic dark energy, with another 21% being dark matter, and normal matter comprising the remaining 5%.

Until now, there has been no good way to choose between dark energy or the void explanation, but a new study outlines a potential test of the bubble scenario. If we were in an unusually sparse area of the universe, then things could look farther away than they really are and there would be no need to rely on dark energy as an explanation for certain astronomical observations.

"If we lived in a very large under-density, then the space-time itself wouldn't be accelerating," said researcher Timothy Clifton of Oxford University in England. "It would just be that the observations, if interpreted in the usual way, would look like they were."

Scientists first detected the acceleration by noting that distant supernovae seemed to be moving away from us faster than they should be. One type of supernova (called Type Ia) is a useful distance indicator, because the explosions always have the same intrinsic brightness. Since light gets dimmer the farther it travels, that means that when the supernovae appear faint to us, they are far away, and when they appear bright, they are closer in.

But if we happened to be in a portion of the universe with less matter in it than normal, then the space-time around us would be different than it is outside, because matter warps space-time. Light travelling from supernovae outside our bubble would appear dimmer, because the light would diverge more than we would expect once it got inside our void.

One problem with the void idea, though, is that it negates a principle that has reigned in astronomy for more than 450 years: namely, that our place in the universe isn't special. When Nicholas Copernicus argued that it made much more sense for the Earth to be revolving around the sun than vice versa, it revolutionized science. Since then, most theories have to pass the Copernican test. If they require our planet to be unique, or our position to be exalted, the ideas often seem unlikely.

"This idea that we live in a void would really be a statement that we live in a special place," Clifton said. "The regular cosmological model is based on the idea that where we live is a typical place in the universe. This would be a contradiction to the Copernican principle."

Clifton, along with Oxford researchers Pedro G. Ferreira and Kate Land, say that in coming years we may be able to distinguish between dark energy and the void. They point to the upcoming Joint Dark Energy Mission, planned by NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy to launch in 2014 or 2015. The satellite aims to measure the expansion of the universe precisely by observing about 2,300 supernovae.

The scientists suggest that by looking at a large number of supernovae in a certain region of the universe, they should be able to tell whether the objects are really accelerating away, or if their light is merely being distorted in a void.

The new study will be detailed in an upcoming issue of the journal Physical Review Letters.

Walter

Sources: Image Courtesy of NASA/CXC/MIT/UMass Amherst/M.D.Stage

FOUL! Gwen Eiffel is too partisan to lead tonight's VP debate

or any political debate for that matter......

Gwen Eiffel (also spelled Gwen Ifill) is a so-called political journalist and the moderator of tonight's vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. She is the managing editor and moderator for Washington Week (PBS) and a senior correspondant for The NewsHour (PBS).

The "sludge hammer" (not sledge) and self-appointed left-wing angry minority nut job is writing a book to come out on the day the next president takes the oath of office that aims to "shed new light" on Democratic candidate Barack Obama and other "emerging young African American politicians" who are "forging a bold new path to political power."

Gwen Ifill of the Public Broadcasting Service program "Washington Week" is promoting "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama," in which she argues the "black political structure" of the civil rights movement is giving way to men and women who have benefited from the struggles over racial equality.

Ifill declined to return a WND telephone message asking for a comment about her book project and whether its success would be expected should Obama lose. But she has faced criticism previously for not treating candidates of both major parties the same.

During a vice-presidential candidate debate she moderated in 2004 – when Democrat John Edwards attacked Republican Dick Cheney's former employer, Halliburton – the vice president said, "I can respond, Gwen, but it's going to take more than 30 seconds."

PBS viewer Brian Meyers of Granby, Conn., said he was "appalled" by Ifill's commentary directly following Palin's convention speech.

"Her attitude was dismissive and the look on her face was one of disgust," Meyers said. "Clearly, she was agitated by what most critics view as a well-delivered speech. It is quite obvious that Ms. Ifill supports Obama as she struggled to say anything redemptive about Gov. Palin's performance."

Columnist Michelle Malkin, in a post on her blog today, wonders how Ifill can objectively moderate the debate tomorrow night with the personal interest she has in the election's outcome.

"My dictionary defines 'moderator' as 'the nonpartisan presiding officer of a town meeting.' On Thursday, PBS anchor Gwen Ifill will serve as moderator for the first and only vice presidential debate. The stakes are high. The Commission on Presidential Debates, with the assent of the two campaigns, decided not to impose any guidelines on her duties or questions.

"But there is nothing 'moderate' about where Ifill stands on Barack Obama. She's so far in the tank for the Democrat presidential candidate, her oxygen delivery line is running out," Malkin writes.

"Ifill and her publisher are banking on an Obama/Biden win to buoy her book sales. The moderator expected to treat both sides fairly has grandiosely declared this the 'Age of Obama.' Can you imagine a right-leaning journalist writing a book about the 'stunning' McCain campaign and its 'bold' path to reform timed for release on Inauguration Day – and then expecting a slot as a moderator for the nation’s sole vice presidential debate?"

Malkin cited Ifill's previous reporting on Obama for "Essence" magazine, an article titled, "The Obamas: Portrait of an American Family." Ifill's "neutral analysis" about Michelle Obama, Malkin said with irony, was, "A lot of people have never seen anything that looks like a Michelle Obama before. She's educated, she's beautiful, she's tall, she tells you what she thinks and they hope that she can tell a story about Barack Obama and about herself. …"

Fox News commentator Greta Van Susteren reported the McCain campaign didn't know about the book.

"It simply is not fair – in law, this would create a mistrial," she said.

Coming to Ifill's defense was Juan Williams, a senior correspondent with National Public Radio.

"I think Gwen has been a terrific journalist," he told Fox News.

But Williams admitted the appearances could cause difficulties.

"She spent a lot of time with Obama. She praises him in the book," he said. "The book's success [is] invested in Obama. … Suddenly everyone's going to be saying Gwen Ifill is somewhat biased against Gov. Palin."

Ifill, who also works with her network's "NewsHour," told BlackAmericaWeb.com she thinks debates "are the best opportunity most voters have to see the candidates speaking to issues."

She said she is concerned only about getting straight answers from Palin and Democratic rival Sen. Joe Biden.

"You do your best to get candidates to answer your question. But I also trust the viewers to understand when questions are not answered and reach their own conclusions," Ifill told BlackAmericaWeb.

"Four years ago, when neither John Edwards nor Dick Cheney proved capable of answering a question about the domestic epidemic of AIDS among African-American women, viewers flooded me with reaction," she said.

She said she will make her own decisions about what questions to ask, adding "the big questions matter."

In an online video promoting her book, she is enthusiastic about "taking the story of Barack Obama and extending it."

It focuses on four people, "one of them Barack Obama of course," she said.

"They are changing our politics and changing our nation," she said.

On Amazon.com, Ifill is praised for her "incisive, detailed profiles of such prominent leaders as Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and U.S. Congressman Artur Davis of Alabama."

"Ifill shows why this is a pivotal moment in American history," the review says.

She told AP her view of Obama: "I still don't know if he'll be a good president. I'm still capable of looking at his pros and cons in a political sense."

She also describes how she met him at the 2004 Democratic convention and since then has interviewed the Illinois senator and his family.

She also boasted that by the time of the debate, "I'll be a complete expert on both" Palin and Biden.

The debate will be held at Washington University in St. Louis, which has posted information about the evening's events online. Debate officials have made inactive their media page on the Debate's website, and officials did not respond to a WND e-mail requesting a comment.

Ifill's profile on the website describes her as a longtime correspondent and moderator for national news programs and includes her service as moderator of the 2004 debate between Edwards and Cheney.

However, there's no mention of her upcoming book. Nor does the website for the Commission on Presidential Debates mention her book. The Commission was not informed by Ifill, so this is a surprise to them and a disappointment for us. A clear conflict of interest.

This is how the Dems do things. They and the mainstream drive-by media have already picked the candidate for you. To them, the election is over because they believe they have to power to make that choice for you. To anyone with a conscious, this is plainly dirty pool.

Walter

360 October Vent

This is my three-hundred and sixtieth blog topic (344 here, plus 16 from the old 360 site). What more appropriate way to observe this than to vent? It doesn't help to complain except to make you feel better....

I get it now. Let’s drill in the Gulf of Mexico, and off the Florida and Georgia coasts. Thus, we can increase greatly the odds of future fuel shortages. Hurricanes can then shut down the rigs off any one of five states rather than just Texas.

This mess is happening because home ownership went from being the American dream we work for, to the right of every American no matter what their credit score.

If we had started drilling and building refineries off the East Coast 10 years ago, there would be no gas shortage now. Thank the environmentalists for long gas lines.

When the next typhoon is predicted for Guam, I will run right out and fill my gas tank.

I look forward to the Good Old Days when we can once again moan and groan over $4 per gallon gas instead of worrying about finding gas.

Hurray for the Florida University System for not disqualifying Clayton County, GA students because of the misdeeds of the school board. All universities should follow suit.

It’s not the licensed gun owners that you need to worry about. They are the ones that follow the rules.

The ship the USS Economy is sinking, and Congress is rearranging the deck chairs.

Most of the roads we drive on today are paid for by taxes, naturally. In the near future, we will still pay those taxes, but the roads will all be toll roads. We will then be allowed to pay for the roads twice.

The good news about the Dawgs on Saturday night is they have already taken their annual drubbing by a SEC team before Tennessee comes to town this year!

All things considered, maybe the governor should have canceled the UGA vs. Alabama game.

Sonny, please bring me some gas back from Europe. I am willing to pay their prices rather than drive around looking for gas.

Anyone who believes that deregulation is always a good thing only has to look at what’s happened with greedy corporations and irresponsible financial institutions to realize the error of that belief!

Let’s stop waiting for ideal circumstances before we do anything. They never come.

I have a 'married couple-friend' who spents $1,000 per year to home school their children, and $6,000 per year to send them to private school. The state spends nearly $10,000 per year to educate each child. And the government wonders why they support vouchers?

According to Joe Biden, we should denounce the participants in the Boston Tea Party. Hmmm!

Much is made of McCain’s age. Obama smokes and both of his parents died at an early age. Biden has had two brain aneurysms that could have killed him. If they both died while in office, that would leave Nancy Pelosi as president!

Has anyone warned Sarah Palin not to go hunting with VP Dick Cheney?

Politics aside, we need to all pray for our country right now harder than we’ve ever prayed before.

Walter