Cornish beach hides cable that keeps the internet running smooth.

Interesting story on the newest and most advanced undersea cable that connects internet feeds from New York to Britain

Most people think the internet is beamed around the planet by satellites. In fact, 90 per cent of global internet traffic is carried by a vast cable network, thousands of miles of which snake under the oceans. The two busiest internet hubs are New York and London, and nine cables link them. But the one pictured above is the Atlantic's newest and most advanced submarine cable system. It is so powerful that it could carry the entire internet content in both directions even if the other eight lines failed simultaneously. It travels 3,800 miles along the seabed from New York and reaches land at this north Cornish beach, making this remote footnote on Britain's coastline one of the most important and powerful telecommunications hubs in the world

Hell with them; New G.M. Must Win Fans Quickly

I am boycotting GM and Chrysler and the only American car maker I would look at is Ford and only because Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear made the Ford Fiesta look like a boss a couple of season ago. As long as GM and Chrysler have UAW ownership and taxpayer money backing it, the faster they burn to the ground the better it will be for everyone.

G.M. and the Obama administration are hoping to close the sale by Thursday, when a four-day stay ordered by the judge expires. Then the real work begins on rebuilding G.M, which tumbled into bankruptcy on June 1 after decades as the dominant automaker in the American market. G.M. executives were unavailable for comment on Monday, but a senior member of President Obama’s auto task force said he expected the company to be a “leaner and meaner” competitor once bankruptcy was in its rear-view mirror. The adviser, Steven Rattner, said the government would not “micromanage” G.M., or interfere with decisions made by its chief executive, Fritz Henderson, or its new board, led by the former chairman of AT&T, Edward Whitacre. But Mr. Rattner emphasized that G.M. could not continue to lose ground to rivals like Ford and Toyota in its home market. “The share loss has to stop at some point for this company to be truly viable,” Mr. Rattner said on a conference call with reporters.

Automakers’ Swift Cases in Bankruptcy Shock Experts

Why would you be stunned? When you have the federal government putting pressure on creditors to drop their claims and all opposition to be quiet, bankruptcy will be quick.

Obama was one of those ban nukes students.

Not surprising but you would think in the subsequent years he would learn what a pipe dream he was advocating for in the student papers. The article is the typical give peace a chance and beware the evil militarism spreading around the nation scaremongering.

He also showed that dislike for the "military-industrial interests". That is the liberal code word for hating on the military which I seriously doubt he has grown out of since publication.

In the depths of the cold war, in 1983, a senior at Columbia University wrote in a campus newsmagazine, Sundial, about the vision of “a nuclear free world.” He railed against discussions of “first- versus second-strike capabilities” that “suit the military-industrial interests” with their “billion-dollar erector sets,” and agitated for the elimination of global arsenals holding tens of thousands of deadly warheads. The student was Barack Obama, and he was clearly trying to sort out his thoughts. In the conclusion, he denounced “the twisted logic of which we are a part today” and praised student efforts to realize “the possibility of a decent world.” But his article, “Breaking the War Mentality,” which only recently has been rediscovered, said little about how to achieve the utopian dream. Twenty-six years later, the author, in his new job as president of the United States, has begun pushing for new global rules, treaties and alliances that he insists can establish a nuclear-free world. “I’m not naïve,” President Obama told a cheering throng in Prague this spring. “This goal will not be reached quickly — perhaps not in my lifetime. It will take patience and persistence.” Yet no previous American president has set out a step-by-step agenda for the eventual elimination of nuclear arms. Mr. Obama is starting relatively small, using a visit to Russia that starts Monday to advance an intense negotiation, with a treaty deadline of the year’s end, to reduce the arsenals of the nuclear superpowers to roughly 1,500 warheads each, from about 2,200. In an interview on Saturday, Mr. Obama, conscious of his critics, stressed that “I’ve made clear that we will retain our deterrent capacity as long as there is a country with nuclear weapons.”

Obama's idea that if America gives up its nukes, everyone will follow is ridiculous.
It would be the same as running a race, cutting off you legs and thinking everyone else will do the same. There is zero incentives for countries not to expand their arsenal. If America wants to go in reverse, better for them will be their thinking.

Zelaya expected back in Washington

Chavez's lapdog Zelaya is acting up and causing US officials some headaches, never saw that coming because Obama had to interject himself into the situation on Zelaya side.

Diplomats with the United Nations, the OAS, the United States and European countries worked behind the scenes Monday to seek common ground with interim President Roberto Micheletti, who heads the government that replaced Zelaya. But Micheletti has vowed not to negotiate until "things return to normal." One option under consideration is trying to forge a compromise between Zelaya, Micheletti and the Honduran military under which the ousted president would be allowed to return and serve out his remaining six months in office with limited and clearly defined powers, according to a senior U.S. official. In exchange, Zelaya would pledge to drop aspirations for a possible constitutional change that could allow him to run for another term, the official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic exchanges. ....Another senior administration official expressed some frustration with Zelaya, who rejected advice from the U.S. and others not to press for the constitutional change and not to try to return to Honduras on Sunday while the situation remained volatile. The new Honduran government that replaced Zelaya has vowed to arrest him for 18 alleged criminal acts, including treason and failing to implement more than 80 laws approved by Congress since he took office in 2006. Zelaya also refused to comply with a Supreme Court ruling against his planned referendum on whether to hold an assembly to consider changing the constitution.

Zelaya is in a win win situation, either the backing of America gets him into power again which he changes the constitution or he doesn't go back and starts to blame imperalist America for his failure. Helping this guy was not thought out very well.

Saving electricity could end up costing Missourians

You have to be nuts to support this sort of taxation on your power usage.

Though it might seem illogical, the new energy efficiency charge has support from utilities, most lawmakers, the governor, environmentalists and even the state’s official utility consumer advocate. The charge covers the cost of utilities’ efforts to promote energy efficiency and cut power use. The assumption is that charging consumers for those initiatives ultimately will cost less than charging them to build the new power plants that will be needed if electricity use isn’t curtailed. Legislation pending before Gov. Jay Nixon would set the criteria for state utility regulators to approve the energy-savings charges. If he signs the bill, the new law would take effect Aug. 28. When lawmakers adjourned in mid-May, Nixon listed the little-publicized energy legislation as among his proudest accomplishments, describing it as a “good, good start on an energy policy” to be developed by his Department of Natural Resources. “To save power is the equivalent of making power,” Nixon said, “and it’s a pretty seismic shift” in Missouri’s energy strategy. Usually, regulators allow utilities to recoup the cost of building power plants or buying more power to meet customer demand. Recently, the Missouri Public Service Commission began allowing some utilities to pass along to customers the cost of programs that reduce demand for electricity. For example, the commission last week approved a program in which St. Louis-based AmerenUE can offer credits to businesses that voluntarily shut down or scale back their electricity use during peak demand. AmerenUE will be able to recoup the cost for the program that starts Thursday by increasing the rates it charges business customers.

So if you use more power, you get a rate hike, if you use less power, you get to pay a price for it. You have to be some sort of rube to fall for this program.

The legislation applies to KCP&L, AmerenUE and the Empire District Electric Co., the publicly traded utilities that serve nearly three-fourths of the state’s population. The utilities would have to get approval from the five-member Public Service Commission to pass on the cost of their energy-saving programs. To do that, the programs must result in an overall reduction in energy use. The legislation also requires the charges for the energy-saving programs to be listed as a separate line item on customer bills. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that energy-saving programs offered by utilities will add about 3 percent to the average electricity rates. But it says customers who participate in the programs could save 10 percent to 20 percent on their energy bills, and even those who don’t participate might save if utilities don’t have to buy more energy or build new power plants. “It’s one of those rare utility bills that actually works out to everyone’s benefit,” said Missouri Public Counsel Lewis Mills, the state’s official consumer advocate.

Anyone in America who has ever used power for their homes ever seen the power company lower their rates due to lower power consumption? Does anyone really think the power company and the government will allow the type of losses that would occur if people started using less power which equals less revenue? Revenue goes down, rates and taxes go up. Government is a crack whore when it comes to tax revenue.

Basically you have the idiot public in Missouri getting scammed for a price hike while thinking they are getting this massive saving value.

Tough times for latin leftist leaders

Chavez Populism sounds like a great idea at the time till it gets a double bitchslap by economic reality and common sense. The example below with Bolivia and Chile is a fine example of not thinking things out.

The populist leaders of the six countries have seemed to operate from a stylebook written by Chavez, albeit with some differences, analysts said. In general, the populists have brooked little opposition while bashing capitalism, knocking the press, denouncing the United States whenever possible and dividing the public by viciously attacking real and imagined enemies. In most cases now, however, the six presidents find their national bank accounts dropping dangerously low because they doled out too much cash during the boom times. The drop in oil prices has forced Chavez, for example, to slow the import of car parts, while Ecuador's Rafael Correa has practically stopped the import of new clothes. Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega is getting less foreign aid that he badly needs because of his virulent speeches against the United States and foreign investors. "Populism is running out of gas in Latin America, and it's beginning to show," Arturo Porzecanski, a native Uruguayan who is a professor of International Finance at American University, said in a telephone interview. .....In Bolivia, which has an Indian majority, Morales is the first self-identified indigenous president in the country's history and remains popular. But investment in the country's most important industry — natural gas — has been moribund with Morales' decision to jack up taxes on the foreign producers and force them to operate under new contracts. In an ominous sign for Bolivia, neighboring Chile last week began receiving its first shipment of natural gas delivered in tankers from foreign countries. Chile has built the infrastructure to receive the natural gas to avoid the need for natural gas from Bolivia. Brazil, Bolivia's biggest customer, will soon lessen its dependence on Bolivia by opening its own natural gas ports. "The populists are very good at leveling indictments against the old political order and getting a political bounce for that," said Michael Shifter, vice president of the Inter-American Dialogue. "But it's no substitute for governing."

U.S. missed magnitude of Honduran Rift

I can see it happening if you have diplomats who don't see why people in Honduras would have a negative reaction of their President kissing up to Hugo Chavez. Diplomats, state department and the Obama admin are treating Chavez as a non-threat to the region and to be taken aback by this reaction points out a lack of critical thinking.

Although the U.S. government knew for months that Honduras was on the brink of political chaos, officials say they underestimated how fearful the Honduran elite and the military were of ousted President Manuel Zelaya and his ally President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela. Rumors were buzzing in the capital that the fight between Zelaya and his conservative opponents had reached the boiling point, but diplomatic officials said the Obama administration and its embassy were surprised when Honduran soldiers burst into the presidential palace last Sunday and removed Zelaya from power. U.S. diplomats had been trying to broker a compromise and were speaking to both sides hours before the coup. For decades, Washington has trained the Honduran military, and senior U.S. officials say they did not think that the Honduran military would carry out a coup. .....Zelaya angered the business community when he raised the minimum monthly wage for Hondurans by 60 percent. Many companies responded by firing workers. Other businesses ignored the decree. When U.S. Ambassador Hugo Llorens arrived last year, Zelaya postponed the ceremony allowing the newly arrived diplomat to present his credentials. He fought with his Congress, insisting that lawmakers accept his nominees to the Supreme Court. He refused to sign the budget and he stalled on dozens of bills approved by the Congress. All along, Zelaya grew closer to Latin America's leftist leaders, especially Chávez. He traveled frequently to Venezuela, where he stood beside Chávez as he gave fiery speeches railing against capitalists.

An example of the lack of critical thinking.

But the same diplomats are puzzled about exactly what Zelaya was after in his attempt to rewrite the constitution. The boiling point came when Zelaya began to push for a national survey, a kind of nonbinding referendum for a constitutional assembly that could led to a new law that allowed a president to serve more than one term. But Honduras's lengthy, sometimes contradictory document contains language that makes a person a traitor for even suggesting such a change. As Zelaya pressed ahead with his plan to hold the vote last Sunday, the day of the coup, the leader of the Honduran military, Gen. Romeo Vásquez, balked, because the Supreme Court told him that the referendum was illegal. Zelaya tried to fire Vásquez, which further riled the military. "Look, we're democratic and here we respect the ideologies of other countries," said Gabriela Nuñez, the new finance minister. "But we do not want to change our system of government."

Broadcasters downgrading OTA HD signals for fun and profit.

First it was the cable companies and now its the broadcasters themselves downgrading the signal quality to shove two or more channels in their feed. When does it get to the point that consumers can take action against them?

For years, broadcasters have told consumers seeking the best high-definition picture quality to use an antenna to receive signals over-the-air, instead of relying on a cable or satellite operator to deliver the programming. That's because many multichannel operators have recompressed, or “rate-shaped,” broadcasters' HD video to reduce the bandwidth needed to pass along the signal. For example, a cable operator might receive an 18 megabit-per-second HD stream at the headend and recompress it to 15 Mbps before passing it down the pipe. So, receiving the signal directly over-the-air would ensure that the viewer got exactly what the station transmitted. But increasingly it is local broadcasters, not multichannel operators, that are degrading their hi-def picture quality. The culprit is multicasting, i.e., transmitting digital subchannels alongside the primary HD stream within a station's 19.4 Mbps digital TV pipe. While such subchannels are finally starting to gain traction and generate meaningful revenues (see Station to Station, June 22), many are doing so at the expense of the high-definition images that were the primary impetus for the DTV standard. Engineers and HD aficionados note, with considerable irony, that while there is far more HD content available today, the relative picture quality may not be as good as the first HD broadcasts more than a decade ago.

Little People Urge FCC to ban "Midget" from the airwaves

I think the FCC has bigger things to worry about at the moment. Its a tall order to get movement on such a small matter(constitutional issues aside) in the grand scheme of things.

The group Little People of America called Sunday for the Federal Communications Commission to ban the use of the word "midget" on broadcast TV. Leaders of the group said the word, which was prominently featured in an episode of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice," is as offensive as racial slurs. "Historically, the word 'midget' has been used to objectify people, like in the circus," said Clinton Brown III co-chairman of the 52nd Annual National Conference of Little People of America, which is taking place in New York this week. "We're in the 21st century. We're beyond that."

credit to neogaf posters for the mashup intro above.

California's problem is not enough high taxes

Via instapundit this slam against NYTIMES magazine about California's problems

THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE looks at California’s problems. But Chris Reed at the Union-Tribune notes that they forgot to mention public employee unions. “It was even worse than I expected. . . . The article focuses on the volatility of income taxes, which is a key point. But it never offers the context that California’s other taxes are almost all among the nation’s highest. It leaves the impression, as do all East Coast media, that California is relatively undertaxed. . . . Pathetically enough, in 8,000 words, the author never mentions the fact that the public thinks the state’s biggest problem is an inability to live within its means, not the difficulty of raising taxes. . . . There is a reference to same-sex unions. There is a reference to Gavin Newsom dealing with the SEIU in San Francisco. But the CTA? The prison guards union? AFSCME? The SEIU’s lobbying in Sacramento? All unmentioned. Incredible. Pathetic. Typical. Even by the rotten standards of the East Coast media, the New York Times has hit a new low.”

Time magazine blames Prop 13. LATIMES blames everything but the out of control spending. You are never going to get the full picture from the MSM if it involves pointing out the unions and curbing spending.

Muslim Dentist can still practice despite discriminatory actions.

The guy should be thrown out of the profession because of how he conducts himself in practice but the politically correct disciplinary panel just dismisses it. If it were a Christian or Catholic you know the punishment would have been severe.

A dentist has been allowed to continue practising - despite telling Muslim patients he would only treat them if they wore Islamic dress. Dr Omer Butt, of Prestwich, Greater Manchester, ordered two women to wear a head scarf before he treated them. The General Dental Council (GDC) said the events took place "a considerable time ago". The GDC found that Dr Butt had "discriminated" against people on the basis he "disapproved of their attitude to the requirements of Islam" and "did not act in the best interests of his patients". It was "in no doubt that it amounted to misconduct" but found his fitness to practise was not impaired because he had not repeated the conduct since September 2007. In addition, the committee accepted he had changed his approach as a result of the action taken against him.

So what were the charges?

The GDC committee found: "Your evidence was that you regard yourself as a Muslim first and a dentist second, and it is clear that you were using your position as a dentist to seek to influence patients as to non-clinical issues. "You have explained that you had a moral and religious obligation to persuade other Muslims to comply with Islamic requirements. "You admitted that you would offer rewards to some patients who complied with the dress code. "The committee concludes that these actions are more consistent with a person who has gone beyond mere persuasion or request and is seeking to impose a dress code." This is the second time the dentist has appeared before a disciplinary committee over his stance on traditional Muslim dress. In September 2007, Dr Butt received an admonition from the GDC after being found guilty of discriminating against a female patient by refusing to treat her unless she wore "appropriate Islamic dress".

He will come up again on charges, someone like this doesn't change just like that for anyone.

Somali youths in Minneapolis harass gay man video.

Why do I get the feeling if it were some Christian group there would be a bit more of an uproar?

Approximately 15 youths physically and verbally taunted a gay man as he was leaving Twin Cities Pride in Minneapolis on Saturday, in an incident captured on video. The Somali youths asked the man if he was gay, and when he responded yes, the young people yelled "I hate gay people" and reportedly threw rocks at the man, whose name is not known. On the video various youths can be heard saying "I hate gay people" repeatedly, along with "Gay is not the way" and "Fuck gay people. They can go fuck each other." About one minute into the video, a police officer can be seen walking through the crowd of young people. The man who was taunted walked away, telling the kids, "See how I'm not scared at all?"

Illegal supporters demand tutition breaks, license in Wisconsin.

Same old arguments that illegals should be given the same privileges as the rest of the population who are legal under the guise of safety. Also throw in the threat of alienating the growing Latino voting bloc and it becomes a hostage situation.

Allowing illegal immigrants to qualify for special driver's cards would make the roads safer, reduce insurance rates and generate much-needed revenue for state government, supporters said Monday. Supporters pressed those points at a news conference, a noisy rally outside the Capitol and in meetings with lawmakers as they pushed for Wisconsin to follow Utah in offering the cards. The Legislature's budget committee last month approved a last-minute addition to the state budget to establish the cards and the Assembly approved the plan. The state Senate, however, stripped the provision out of its version of the budget passed last week. Assembly and Senate leaders are expected to begin reconciling their differences in the budget this week. Ortiz-Neumann and others also pressed senators to agree to let illegal immigrants pay in-state tuition at University of Wisconsin System schools if they graduate from Wisconsin high schools. Senators also stripped that proposal from the budget last week. Supporters warned Carpenter and other Democrats who control the Legislature they would alienate the growing bloc of Latino voters if they did not switch their stance on both issues.

Houston's mayor defends sanctuary policy over officer's deaths.

Another public official who puts the needs of pushing a sanc policy over general public safety.

Houston’s largest police union, citing the death of six officers during Mayor Bill White’s tenure, called on the mayor and City Council this week to hire more officers, restore $14 million in overtime pay and overturn the long-standing policy of not questioning residents about their immigration status. In a letter to White, Gary Blankinship, president of the Houston Police Officers Union, called last week’s slaying of veteran officer Henry Canales a “trifeca failure” of federal, state and city government to protect citizens and police officers from criminal illegal immigrants. White responded with a news conference Thursday to make clear there would be no change in the department’s policy on illegal immigrants.

San Francisco's Kamala Harris clears illegal criminal records

Yet another ditzy San Franc official who put a program in place that is more concerned with criminals than victims.

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris' office on Monday defended allowing about a half dozen first-time drug offenders to clear their records by going through a job-training program, even after prosecutors learned they were deportable as undocumented immigrants. But Harris' aides said they have since made changes in the program that would prevent a recurrence of instances in which illegal immigrants got their criminal records cleared by going through the Back on Track jobs program, which trains offenders for jobs that undocumented immigrants legally would be prevented from holding. The Los Angeles Times first reported Monday that illegal immigrants had been enrolled in the program and that Harris' office had let several graduate and go free even after learning of their status.

Hollywood is already backing her for higher office which tells you something about her.

Sarah Palin being run out of politics.

Via Instapundit and NR's Geraghty.

JIM GERAGHTY: “The lesson that the ruthless corners of the political world will take from the rise, fall, and departure of Sarah Palin that if you attack a politician’s children nastily enough and relentlessly enough, you can get anybody to quit.” And I don’t want to hear any of that dishonest have-you-no-decency posturing from the usual moral poseurs if that happens to somebody they like. They have sown the wind. Posted at 10:14 am by Glenn Reynolds

Blame also goes to GOP "leaders" and her detractors within the party. Even if you disliked her or jealous of her support. When her children get attacked by the MSM and liberals who hate her because she embodies everything a woman should not be in their world(pro choice, family and successful) The least you can do is fight back against this sort of gutter politics which now seen as successful will be used against any GOP politician they deem as a threat since no one was called on it.

Remember, if those people come after you, its because you are a threat.

Obama can't get Arabs to commit to normal Israel ties

Ya think? My question is Obama really this naive that he thought with a few kind suck up words in Cairo that anything would change towards Israel from Arab countries?

They have used Israel as a foil and enemy for decades in part to distract from their own problems, they are not going to give that up anytime soon.

The U.S. administration has not been successful in securing commitments from Arab countries to take steps toward normalizing relations with Israel, a senior source in Jerusalem said Wednesday. The source said U.S. President Barack Obama's recent meeting with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia did not produce a commitment to encourage the other Arab states to begin normalization. "In such a situation, the Americans can't continue demanding gestures only from Israel, such as the demand that Israel freeze settlement construction," the source said. In response, a senior White House source said talks with the Arab states are continuing with the aim of obtaining a commitment to make gestures toward Israel, and there is still hope for progress.

Obama to block G8 sanctions against Iran.

The smart power on display here will get more people killed while boosting Iran power in the region.

The United States is opposed to enacting a new set of financial sanctions against Iran that are due to be discussed in the G8 summit next week, diplomatic officials in New York reported Friday. According to officials, sanctions against Iran are expected to top the G8's agenda. Sources are also predicting a pointed debate between the heads of the industrialized nations over an appropriate response to Iranian authorities' suppression of reformist demonstrations in Iran led by Mir Hossein Mousavi and other Iranian opposition leaders. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi hinted in a newspaper interview earlier in the week that the G8 is due to decide on new financial sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Berlusconi disclosed that he had spoken with the heads of the G8 nations and has discussed such steps with them. According to the Italian prime minister, "the general leaning [among G8 leaders] is toward sanctions." However, diplomatic sources in New York reported that American officials are working behind the scenes to prevent new sanctions from being imposed against Iran. U.S. officials claimed that a tough stance toward Iran could backfire, bringing about an opposite outcome to that desired by those who support such measures. ....In addition to U.S. reluctance to enact fresh sanctions, G8 members Russia and China have been known to oppose any punitive steps against Tehran.

Some UK Muslims are 7/7 truthers now

What started out as an inquiry by family members of the victims of 7/7 to reconcile official report mistakes and what law enforcement knew about the 7/7 bombers has turned into UK version of the truthers here. But slightly more disturbing.

This week, a television documentary on BBC2 called Conspiracy Files 7/7 revealed the existence of a conspiracy theorist's 56-minute video called Ripple Effect. It accuses Tony Blair, the Government, the police, and the British and Israeli Secret Services of murdering the innocent people who died that day to stir up anti-Islamic fervour and create public support for the 'war on terror'. It alleges that the four British Muslims were tricked by the authorities into taking part in what they were told would be a mock anti-terror training exercise. What they weren't told, the video alleges, was that the Government was going to blow them up, along with other passengers, then pretend the four were suicide bombers. Without any evidence, the Ripple Effect video accuses government agents of setting off pre-planted explosives under the three Tube trains and on the bus. .....Even some senior Islamists believe the events of 7/7 were fabricated. As Dr Mohammad Naseem, the chairman of Birmingham's Central Mosque, says in the BBC2 documentary: 'We do not accept the government version of July 7, 2005. The Ripple Effect video is more convincing than the official statements.' Mr Naseem, a well-educated man, had made 2,000 copies of Ripple Effect for members of his mosque. Research has revealed that even before the contentious video came out, one in four British Muslims thought the Government or the Secret Services were responsible for the 7/7 atrocities. Now the number of doubters is growing. At Friday prayers recently, Dr Naseem asked the congregation to raise their hands if they did not accept the government version of events. Nearly the entire gathering of 150 men and boys did so. He then urged his audience to collect free copies of Ripple Effect at the back of the mosque. ....Fact or fiction, it does not matter. The impact of the video is swaying Muslim feeling. The BBC2 documentary shows worshippers in the Birmingham mosque commenting on 7/7 after seeing Ripple Effect. One elderly man states: 'There can be little doubt that the Government did this themselves to these four young men.' Another adds: 'We have been deceived by the British authorities, and Muslims have been framed for these attacks. They are lying from A to Z.'

Now Colin Powell expresses concern about Obama's agenda.

This is hilarious.

In a wide-ranging interview set to air Sunday on CNN's State of the Union, one of President Barack Obama's most prominent Republican supporters says he is 'concerned' about the new president's ambitious agenda and the high price tags accompanying many of Obama's initiatives. "I'm a little concerned," former Secretary of State Colin Powell says. "I'm concerned at the number of programs that are being presented, the bills associated with these programs and the additional government that will be needed to execute them." Powell also seems to sound a note of warning to the young president. "I think one of the cautions that has to be given to the president — and I've talked to some of his people about this — is that you can't have so many things on the table that you can't absorb it all. And we can't pay for it all." Even as he raises concerns about the new Democratic president's agenda, Powell also seems to back away from some of his own conservative views. "I don't like slogans anymore like 'limited government.' That's not the right answer. The right answer is, give me a government that works." "The people want their problems solved," Powell also says in the interview. "And very often, it's government that has to do that. So let's have good government, effective government, whether you call it limited or not."

If Powell is in anyway surprised at the size of the programs that Obama advocates then he was truly blind when he threw his support to him. Everyone saw and heard what Obama was promising which is the nanny state that Powell then goes ahead as his vision of government.

We are in good hands.

North Korea launching beer ads now.

Extremely weird.

Amsterdam becoming a no fun zone.

Who or what is in the political offices in Amsterdam where they are cracking down on stupid stuff like this that is a part of the cafe charm in the city?

Hospitality businesses in Amsterdam are complaining that the city council is making their live a misery. They are faced with wildfire growth of regulations and strict compliance, De Telegraaf reports. Drinking a beer standing up on Amsterdam terraces is not allowed any more. "The cafe owner is responsible. After five warnings, the cafe has to close. Additionally, the local council maintains strict demarcation of the terrace space. Ten centimetres outside the lines and a fine of hundreds of euros will follow. The same thing happens if customers move a table," the newspaper reports. Lawyer Raoul Meester, who defends the interests of hundreds of Amsterdam hospitality businesses, says the checkups are rigorous. "Terraces are sneakily photographed from a car by the environmental police. They never get out. They take a photo from behind the dashboard. They did that in East Germany as well." Rene van Veen, owner of the P96 cafe, says it is impossible to keep the rules. "The minute I tell a guest that he has to sit down, someone else stands up. Tourists think you are making a joke." Another cafe owner says business people who go to the press to complain are extra severely penalised. "If your name is in the paper, you get two extra checkups."

Nigaz in Nigeria causes white bloggers to be offended!

So is it mostly white bloggers being offended for Nigerians?

Russian energy giant Gazprom has inadvertently walked into an online racism debate with the announcement of its new joint venture in Nigeria -- Nigaz. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Nigerian counterpart last week agreed the $2.5 billion venture to build refineries, pipelines and gas power stations in Africa's most populous nation. The name is meant to be an amalgamation of "Nigeria" and "Gazprom", pronounced "nye-gaz", but can be read phonetically as an offensive term for people of black African origin. "How more derogatory can it be ... let's join forces in making our government rename this JV," said the creator of "Nigerians No Nigaz", a group set up on social networking website Facebook. Other bloggers took a more mocking approach. One African-American blogger recommended a playlist of songs from U.S. hip-hop artists including 50 Cent and Tupac Shakur for the Nigaz launch party. But many comments about the branding blunder on the Twitter and other social networking sites were from white bloggers. "White people are making too much of this. As long as the Russians pay us, they can call it what they like," said one Nigerian in the commercial hub, Lagos, asking not to be named.

Sotomayor worked for Puerto Rican "rights group"

One of those professional race/ethnic groups that pushed for affirmative action at the expense of everyone else when it came to jobs.

Sotomayor, a judge on the New York-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, was nominated by President Obama in May to fill the vacancy of retiring Justice David Souter. Her confirmation hearings are set to begin July 13. She served as a board member of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund from 1980-92, leaving when she became a federal judge. During her years on the PRLDEF board, the group opposed President Reagan's 1987 nomination of the conservative Bork -- then a federal appeals judge -- "because of the threat he poses to the civil rights of the Latino community," according to the documents. The group's attorneys prepared press releases and "worked on numerous efforts to build coalitions against the nominee," according to the documents. Bork was ultimately rejected by the Senate. The Fund also met in 1987 with staff at the New York Daily News to address what it called "negative images of Puerto Ricans presented by the News' staff," including well-known columnist Jimmy Breslin. ....However, they reflect the Fund's strong push to establish a precedent of cases that would establish legal authority to uphold workplace quotas for minorities. One case dealt with promotions in the New York City Police Department. A May 1992 memo on "litigation highlights" noted, "We obtained quota promotions for Latinos and African Americans to the rank of sergeant." A PRLDEF class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of minority applicants claimed advancement exams were "discriminatory and not job related." The city settled, agreeing to promotions that reflected the percentage of Hispanic test-takers. Backpay and retroactive seniority were also provided.

But she will be an impartial judge who will never based her opinions on race just legal precedents or something.

Obama's Strategy on Illicit Work by Immigrants slap on the wrist.

Civil fines and a stern UN like letter warning to employers who hire illegal immigrants. Unfortunately, American Apparel is the worst example to use for this because the owner is pushing for Amnesty and so far the fines may amount to nothing on his bottom line.

Immigration authorities had bad news this week for American Apparel, the T-shirt maker based in downtown Los Angeles: About 1,800 of its employees appeared to be illegal immigrants not authorized to work in the United States. But in contrast to the high-profile raids that marked the enforcement approach of the Bush administration, no federal agents with criminal warrants stormed the company’s factories and rounded up employees. Instead, the federal immigration agency sent American Apparel a written notice that it faced civil fines and would have to fire any workers confirmed to be unauthorized. The treatment of American Apparel, which has more than 5,600 factory employees in Los Angeles alone, is the most prominent demonstration of a new strategy by the Obama administration to curb the employment of illegal immigrants by focusing on employers who hire them — and doing so in a less confrontational manner than in years past. Unlike the approach of the Bush administration, which brought criminal charges in its final two years against many illegal immigrant workers, the new effort makes broader use of fines and other civil sanctions, federal officials said Thursday. Federal agents will concentrate on businesses employing large numbers of workers suspected of being illegal immigrants, the officials said, and will reserve tough criminal charges mostly for employers who serially hire illegal immigrants and engage in wage and labor violations.

How much are the fines and jail time for business owners? The owner of American Apparel is a huge amnesty supporter and will the Obama admin let ICE have means to go after the guy when they find him in violation again? These are just some of the questions that need to be answered. The fact they won't go after illegals and deport is typical as it would upset one of the Dems voting group.

Obama: Court leaves room for affirmative action

You can tell he really doesn't understand the reaction against AA.

Obama was critical of the process that New Haven, Conn., used to administer promotion exams and then toss them aside because of the racially skewed results. The president said the city might have prevailed if it "had thought through how it was going to approach the issue ahead of time and said, 'We think merit and highly qualified firefighters are absolutely important. That doesn't contradict our desire to make sure that there is diversity in a city that's 60 percent black and Hispanic. Let's design promotion approaches that reconcile those two things.'" Instead, Obama said, "I think what people instinctively, probably, reacted to on that particular case had more to do with the fact that the people that studied for those tests already had a set of expectations that were thwarted."

There is no logical common sense way to design promotions that reconciles merit vs a person's color. In the New Haven case they would have had to lower standards to make the black firefighters pass which is unacceptable. BTW, to date I have yet to see the test or even read about the black firefighters objections to it.

Small business lending crashes despite Obama's recovery act

Robert Gibbs says Obama owns the economy now and this was one of his first acts.

Despite emergency stimulus measures, small business lending continues to fall. In the just-ended quarter, the Small Business Administration's flagship program backed 30% fewer loans than it did a year ago, and 55% fewer loans than it did in 2007, before the recession set in. The numbers bear out the grim reports from business owners who say that credit is dangerously scarce for small firms. The SBA's 7(a) program approved 11,580 loans in the quarter ended June 30, valued at $2.5 billion. That's down from 16,490 loans, worth $3.4 billion, in the same quarter last year. For the full year to date, the situation is even darker. In the first nine months of its 2009 fiscal year, the SBA has approved roughly half as many loans as it did last year.

California Pays With I.O.U.’s. Some more equal than others.

Anyone shocked that public workers getting paid on the taxpayer's dime will get cash no matter what? I didn't think so.

People who get California IOUs	People California pays in cash
Grants to aged, blind or disabled persons	University of California
People needing temporary assistance for basic family needs	Public Employees’ Retirement System
People in drug prevention, treatment, and recovery services	Legislators, legislative employees, and appointees
Persons with developmental disablities	Judges
People in mental health treatment	Department of Corrections
Small Business Vendors	Health Care Services payments to Institutional Providers

Gen Y'ers using slur words as terms of affection.

Typical story of idiot young people thinking you can reclaim a word by using it in a nice way. My view is if you are under 18 and using slur words, you are just young and stupid.

If you are pass high school and running around calling people MY NIGGA! You are just guttertrash and no hope for being a productive member of civilized society.

"....I use the word beaner on my show a lot. I started to say Hispanic, and people were saying things, like, 'I'm not Hispanic. Hispanic is a word created by the Nixon administration.' Chicano? 'Well, I'm from El Salvador and Chicano means Mexican, but a Mexican that was born here.' How about I use Latino? 'I don't speak Latin. I speak Spanish, and I don't even speak Spanish that well.' Um, what about beaner? Nobody? Fine. That is comedian Carlos Mencia explaining on National Public Radio why he uses an ethnic slur in much the same way Chris Rock uses the N-word in stand-up routines. South Florida teens, like these comedians, are doing what linguists call "melioration"-- reclaiming a word meant to sting by removing its barb. "It's a generational thing," said Robin Lakoff, professor of linguistics at University of California/Berkeley. "Younger people don't feel or experience the same barriers between people that older people have been brought up to assume. And that, of course, would be reflected in language." While students "like to present themselves as a so-called post-racial generation," tensions still exist, said Jean Muteba Rahier, director of African and African-Diaspora Studies at Florida International University. "All racial slurs are not equal.'' Daniel Forbes, 20, a black Jamaican-American who grew up in Delray Beach and attends Lynn University in Boca Raton, says he doesn't have a problem with the N-word but draws the line at being called Haitian. He equates the Haitian community with poverty and the N-word with mainstream music and kinship, no different than the saying "hey, that's my dawg." Jordon Wilson, a black 17-year-old senior at Coral Glades High School in Coral Springs, says the use of the N-word is not all that black and white. He says his white friends can use it only at parties, yet words such as chico, ese and mami are always acceptable in his crowd. Alexander Adams has his limits, too. The 17-year-old senior at Deerfield Beach High School says he'll walk up one of his female friends and say: "Hey, bitch." But he said he would never call a gay friend a fag, which "is more offensive than racial slurs."

New Dem Health Plan only $ 600 billion over 10 years.

That is just to make it easier in political speak to shove down everyone's throats since employers in the end will pay a price to cover the uninsured.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats on a key Senate Committee outlined a revised and far less costly health care plan Wednesday night that includes a government-run insurance option and an annual fee on employers who do not offer coverage to their workers. The plan carries a 10-year price tag of slightly over $600 billion, and would lead toward an estimated 97 percent of all Americans having coverage, according to the Congressional Budget Office, Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and Chris Dodd said in a letter to other members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The AP obtained a copy. By contrast, an earlier, incomplete proposal carried a price tag of roughly $1 trillion and would have left millions uninsured, CBO analysts said in mid-June. The letter indicated the cost and coverage improvements resulted from two changes. The first calls for a government-run health insurance option to compete with private coverage plans, an option that has drawn intense opposition from Republicans. "We must not settle for legislation that merely gestures at reform," the two Democrats wrote. "We must deliver on the promise of true change." Additionally, the revised proposal calls for a $750 annual fee on employers for each full-time worker not offered coverage through their job. The fee would be set at $375 for part-time workers. Companies with fewer than 25 employees would be exempt. The fee was forecast to generate $52 billion over 10 years, money the government would use to help provide subsidies to those who cannot afford insurance. The same provision is also estimated to greatly reduce the number of workers whose employers would drop coverage, thus addressing a major concern noted by CBO when it reviewed the earlier proposals.

Government run plan costs as pointed out before will skyrocket as employers encourage and employees move to the artificially lower public plan. Then you add on a fee that will be paid by employers which is paid by their customers to allegedly cover those who can't afford it. All this for 600 billion over 10 years? Bogus.

Federal agencies on a hiring spree.

At this rate, someone should take a clue from the UK's Daily Mail and make a chart with a public vs private job numbers.

Though the number of unemployed people is rising in the Washington area, Kimberly A. Holder of the Food and Drug Administration has an opposite problem: She's looking for people to fill hundreds of positions slated to open soon. "We're expanding," said Holder, the FDA's assistant commissioner for management, who is among representatives from numerous federal agencies trying to figure out how the government can fill an estimated 600,000 positions over the next few years. After falling for two consecutive months, the unemployment rate in the metropolitan region rose to 6.2 percent in May from 5.7 percent in April. The figure, which is not seasonally adjusted, is the highest rate for May since recordkeeping began in 1990. (The Bureau of Labor Statistics revised the April figure from 5.6 percent.) More than 30,000 regional jobs were lost in the past 12 months. Most sectors -- construction, retail, hospitality, information and transportation -- either continued their job slide or slowed the pace of losses. The federal government and the contracting industry are among the few sectors in the area creating jobs. For instance, according to the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, the Defense Department is looking for 50,000 contracting and acquisition officers as part of President Obama's plan to reduce outsourcing. The Department of Veterans Affairs is hiring 17,000 doctors, nurses and others to work in VA hospitals as Obama seeks to improve services for veterans. The Social Security Administration, which already has hired 5,800 people this year, is planning to fill 5,500 more positions next year. And the FDA is seeking to fill up to 600 positions, including inspectors and contract officers to staff the new Center for Tobacco Products. About one-fifth, or about 120,000, of the positions would be in the region, experts said.

Iran hangs 6 opposition backers

If the report is true by the Jerusalem Post, but full steam ahead on those talks with Iran.

Woman takes too long in the bathroom and hubby leaves.

He was looking to get out of it and any old excuse will do at this point.

They were preparing to fly home after an idyllic honeymoon in Malaysia. But after only a week of married life, one couple's romance came to a dramatic end after the bridegroom decided his wife simply spent too long in the bathroom. His solution was simple. Get on the plane without her. The woman in question, a teacher, had gone to use the facilities at the airport before boarding a flight back in Saudi Arabia. Quite how long she stayed in the toilet remains unclear. What is certain is she emerged to discover her husband had vanished without trace. The woman, who had paid for the holiday, began a desperate search of the airport and grew increasingly concerned that something terrible had happened to him. It eventually emerged that he had in fact boarded a plane, according to the Saudi Gazette. When he arrived at his destination, he calmly told relatives his new wife was still in Malaysia. His bride was not so calm about his behaviour. She has demanded an immediate divorce.

Muslim groups warn Bloomberg to pass Muslim holidays.

There will be election consequences if he doesn't do as they say or something.

Spurred by a broad coalition of religious, labor and immigrant groups, the City Council overwhelmingly passed a resolution on Tuesday to add two of the most important Muslim holy days to the public schools’ holiday calendar. But the vote, which was nonbinding, put the Council in conflict with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who has the final say to designate the days off and has said he is resolutely opposed to the idea. The mayor told reporters before the vote that not all religions could be accommodated on the holiday schedule, only those with “a very large number of kids who practice.” “If you close the schools for every single holiday, there won’t be any school,” he said. “Educating our kids requires time in the classroom, and that’s the most important thing to us.” The current school calendar recognizes major Christian and Jewish holy days like Christmas and Yom Kippur, but no Muslim holy days. Mr. Bloomberg’s stance has irritated advocates of the measure, and some said he risked alienating many in New York’s fast-growing Muslim population as he seeks re-election in the fall. Imam Talib Abdur-Rashid, a leader of the campaign to add the holidays, said that if the mayor continued to oppose the move, the results for him at the voting booth could be “catastrophic” among the city’s roughly 600,000 Muslims.

Newspapers find mug shots to be sure fire hit.

Something kinda troubling in this piece if you are an advertiser.

Newspapers, particularly those in Florida, have discovered that the public has a huge appetite for jail mug shots. In May, the booking blotter generated about 52 percent of the 45.2 million page views to The Palm Beach Post's websites. For some sites, those hits can translate into ad sales. That motivation bothers Bob Steele, a member of the ethics faculty at the Poynter Institute, which owns the St. Petersburg Times and is a national center for journalism training. ''This tactic is not one that's driven by a meaningful journalism purpose. It is driven by financial incentives,'' he said. Newspaper editors point out that publishing information about crime is a primary mission. ''Newspapers have always run police blotters,'' said Tim Burke, executive editor of The Palm Beach Post. ``The obvious difference with the online blotter is the sheer number of mug shots. But we're still telling readers (and now users) who broke the law. We still think arrests are of significant interest to the public.''

Not really a great sign for the rest of the paper if one section of pics is getting more than half your views.