Monday, February 25, 2013

The USA media has become petty. It has no conscience so much as sex obsessed and salaciously distracted,


The man did nothing right in his life. He was obsessed with male prostitutes and Wall Street. I knew the truth would come out eventually.

Do I think he is retiring because of health? Yes. You've got to be joking. I find the obsession in the media to defame Pope Benedict nothing short of myths and gossip. There is no dignity in the USA media anymore. It is a shame. Pope Benedict has done great work in his lifetime as well as outspoken to bring an end to senseless killing and violence. I suppose his willingness to attempt to reign in war is not appreciated in some political venues.

Pope Benedict opposed pre-emption. He stated it was not within Christian doctrine. Never hear about that, did we? Only abortion.



What a jerk.

Assumptive?

Not invited?

I wanted to see more of Jack Nicholson?

Donny Deutsch needs to get a life. Picking on the First Lady is minuscule and petty.

CNN can't rise above it, huh? 

First Lady Obama is not the first and only 'hip' Mom in the White House.



This is Betty Ford. She was a modern gal with current ideas about women's issues.

First Lady Michelle is in good company. As a matter of fact, she was a professional dancer at one time.

I can't believe this film was overlooked. It is unfortunate. It is an important film.

'Beasts of the Southern Wild' producers Dan Janvey, left, Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald pose for a photo on the red carpet at the 85th annual Academy Awards on Sunday night (Feb. 24). (Photo by AP)


...Oh, there were hints of disappointment (click here) from the "Beasts" gang after the ceremony -- shrugs of acceptance, sighs of acknowledgment and such. After all, everybody wants to win an Oscar if given the chance, no matter how much of an honor it is to be nominated.
But there was no hanging of heads or wringing of hands on Sunday. These are New Orleans-based filmmakers, after all -- and the creators of a strikingly local film about cultural survival, dogged determination and tooth-and-nail scrappiness. These guys, they won't bow, don't know how....

I was pleased the documentary went to "Searching for Mr. Sugarman." I saw the film and met the Rodriquez. I am fairly sure he still lives in Detroit. It is an amazing story. 

...In 1997, Stephen "Sugar" Segerman set up a website, (click here) called 'The Great Rodriguez Hunt', with the intention of finding any information about the mysterious US musician of 'Cold Fact' fame. In the same year Brian Currin established 'Climb Up On My Music', a tribute site to the life and works of Rodriguez....


I sometimes wonder why artists never give up, but, the fact of the matter is they are artists. They are artists to the bone. Their art is their craft and in many instances, as with Rodriquez, it is their life.

I go to see documentaries whenever I get a chance. That and classic films. More times than I can count, the artists involved in their craft are dedicated to their lives no matter what twist and turns they take. This film is a stark reality for any artist believing their craft is under appreciated. There is always a nitch somewhere in this world appreciating what they do. 

I've heard Rodriquez entertain. He is quite good. Definitely under appreciated. A really nice man. I think he has two daughters. Very decent people. The fact he was not at the Academy Awards by choice begins to define his humility in the appreciation of his craft. 

..."(The) 8mm (app) has been used (click here) by a lot of indie musicians in their music videos but (now it has) been used in a feature film – an Oscar-winning film," Mr Chi said. "That's a surprising and thrilling experience for us...."

Sorry, but, I don't believe Argo was a Best Picture film. I saw the film, it deserved the editing award, but, not Best Picture.

Oh, the Classic Movies thing? It tells me a great deal about culture. I enjoy the films and the plots, but, it is about culture for me.

Rosa Parks memorial statue is to be unveiled.


February 22, 20136:30 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Rosa Parks made history in 1955 (click here) by refusing to move to the back of the bus.  She will make history again next week when her statue is placed in the U.S. Capitol. 
It will be the first full-size statue of an African American in the Capitol collection of more than 180 statues, a popular tourist attraction.  There are busts of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sojourner Truth. A statue of Frederick Douglass is expected to be added soon.
"It’s another breakthrough for someone who has made so many of them possible,’’ House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) of the Parks statue.
Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), for whom Parks worked, said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, "As humble as she was, she would be overwhelmed by the fact that there would be a statue in Statuary Hall in her honor.’’  
President Obama is due to attend the unveiling Wednesday in what congressional leaders describe as an occasion to "recount a watershed event in our history."...

The current Speaker of the USA House of Representatives entered as a Freshman in 1992.

He was one of seven that brought the House Banking Scandal to the media. He signed on to The Contract with America in 1994 with then Speaker Newt Gingrich.

He stated today he was there to save the American Dream for his children.

Okay. When is he going to start, because, he has been among the highest spending Republicans the USA has ever witnessed.

I suppose cutting taxes and spending seems like a nice thing to do now to balance his past performance, but, he is destroying the economy. If the Republican political strategy was to allow this to occur and then blame it all on the Democrats, it isn't going to work. 

The Republicans are responsible for the current agreement of $1.2 trillion in debt cuts to exist in the form it does. There is no compromise and no meaningful measure by the Republicans to recover this economy or reduce the national debt to future generations. This is more campaigning with rhetorical politics that has the USA entering another economic downturn.

President Obama is not campaigning, he is asking the American people to participate in their government. I suppose that is a simply mistake to make when Republican's ambitions is simply the next election.

This is the House Schedule for this week. They don't meet on Thursday:

The Climate Crisis is a lot more than stopping hideous resurrection of carbon fuels in extreme ways.

February 20, 2013
 /EIN Presswire/ -- Payments are at $14.2 billion (click here) and still climbing from 2012's historic drought in U.S. agricultural areas. EIN News, a leading media monitoring company, provides in-depth news about insurance and agriculture issues via the following news sections:...

There is actually an economic pyramid that is disrupted and destroyed when Climate Crisis events occur with our agricultural lands.

It goes like this:

* Record High Crop Losses due to high temperatures, drought, flooding and high winds.

* Processors must cut back or import products raising prices on products.

* Labor is not needed. In some instances that means migrant labor. Migrant labor does not mean illegal immigrants. 

* Equipment doesn't sell.

* Bankers don't loan.

* Local economies suffer.

* No new investments.

* Shelf space for products disappears with substitutions. Maybe with substitutions.

* Research slows causing job losses.

* Transportation is not needed. Trucking and rail services suffer losses.

* Ultimately yields of crops can be damaged for five to seven years or longer depending on the depth of the drought and/or the soil removed and damaged.

At the basis of any decision by the Obama Administration to stop the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is a solid understanding of what occurs when crop losses are realized.

It is more than a pipeline issue. It is a climate issue and that means seriousness and not political rhetoric.

By Associated Press 
on February 25, 2013 at 5:30 AM, updated February 25, 2013 at 6:50 AM

Years of drought are reshaping the U.S. beef industry (click here) with feedlots and a major meatpacking plant closing because there are too few cattle left in the United States to support them.
Some feedlots in the nation’s major cattle-producing states have already been dismantled, and others are sitting empty. Operators say they don’t expect a recovery anytime soon, with high feed prices, much of the country still in drought and a long time needed to rebuild herds.
The closures are the latest ripple in the shockwave the drought sent through rural communities. Most cattle in the U.S. are sent to feedlots for final fattening before slaughter. The dwindling number of animals also is hurting meatpackers, with their much larger workforces. For consumers, the impact will be felt in grocery and restaurant bills as a smaller meat supply means higher prices....

Hank Greenberg is laughable.

A Day in the Life: Hank Greenberg (click here)


He says the reason AIG failed is because of Eliot Spitzer and the aftermath of Enron that sent CEO's running for cover.

Ya think?

He has lawsuits to try to bring the Old Wall Street back like a Pheonix.

He is trying to sell a book he said. Evidently, it is everything anyone needs to know to make millions and billions that you were afraid to ask Bernard Madoff.

Linette Lopez | Jan. 9, 2013, 1:28 PM

...Naturally, (click here) he's outraged about the whole mess, and he's directing that outrage at the insurance company's former CEO, Hank Greenberg.
It makes sense. Greenberg is the man who filed the initial suit on behalf of AIG shareholders alleging that the U.S. government handled the company's bailout in a manner that was contrary to their interests. That argument was dismissed in a NYC Court, but the case was allowed to proceed in Washington D.C....
Let me get this right, now. The shareholders of AIG were upset in how the government has handled the company after AIG crashed to global economy. 
Right. 
He said AIG has lots and lots of assets, it just didn't have liquidity. That the government handled the situation wrong. I suppose The Fed was suppose print more liquidity and hand it out like candy. Oh, wait. I thought it did that already.
Liquidity, huh? It can be arranged with the assets it holds then, right?

No one in their right mind would seek to defend Enron. No one. The entire discourse of this man reeks of desperation.

There is that Culture of the Corrupt that gives carte blanc to the powerfully wealthy to conduct their business as they see fit so that Republicans can state they have an economic strategy.

The Tar Sands was one of Cheney's favorite past times.

Graham Thomson, Edmonton Journal| Feb 22, 2013 | Last Updated: Feb 23, 2013 - 3:13 UTC
...On Wednesday, (click here) John Kerry used his first speech as the new U.S. secretary of state to say much the same thing: “We need to commit ourselves to doing the smart thing and the right thing and to truly take on this challenge, because if we don’t rise to meet it, then rising temperatures and rising sea levels will surely lead to rising costs down the road.”...


Aug 17, 2005 02:00 AM
by Barrie McKenna
Mr. Cheney (click here) would be the highest-ranking member of the Bush administration to make a pilgrimage to the oil sands -- home to the largest reserves of crude outside Saudi Arabia. US Treasury Secretary John Snow was there in early July at the invitation of Canadian Finance Minister Ralph Goodale, and returned apparently impressed by the scope of existing production and its potential for the future. Officials are also trying to convince US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to come have a look.
The visits mark the culmination of a long and aggressive campaign by Ottawa and Alberta to convince Americans that the oil sands are no longer a costly pipe dream. They're real and they represent one of the emerging sources of crude for a world anxiously wondering where they'll get the increasingly expensive commodity....


List of Tar Sands Companies (click here)
Athabasca Oil Sands Corp
Baytex Energy Trust
Bonavista Energy Trust
BP plc
Bronco Energy Ltd
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd
Canadian Oil Sands Trust
CanWest Petroleum Corp
Cenovus Energy Inc
Chevron Corp
China National Petroleum Corp
Connacher Oil & Gas Ltd
ConocoPhillips
Devon Energy Corp
Enbridge Inc

EnCana Corp
Enerplus Resources Fund
Exxon Mobil Corp

Harvest Energy Trust
Husky Energy Inc
Imperial Oil Ltd
Inter Pipeline Fund
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP
Koch Resources LLC
Korea National Oil Corp
Marathon Oil Corp
MEG Energy Corp
Mocal Energy Ltd
Murphy Oil Corp
Nexen Inc
Nippon Oil Corp
Occidental Petroleum Corp

Oilsands Quest Inc
OPTI Canada Inc
Paramount Resources Ltd
Pembina Pipeline Income Fund
Pengrowth Energy Trust
Penn West Energy Trust
Petrobank Energy & Resources Ltd
Petro-Canada
Royal Dutch Shell plc
Sinopec Group
StatoilHydro ASA
Suncor Energy Inc
Syncrude Canada Ltd
Total SA
TransCanada Corp
UTS Energy Cor


CARTER'S SOLAR PANELS: Half of the 32 solar panels that once heated water for the Carter White House still grace the roof of the Unity College cafeteria in Maine.Image: Courtesy of Mark Tardif

One of the 32 solar-thermal panels (click here) that captured energy on the roof of the White House more than 30 years ago landed this week at a science museum in China....

By Andrew Reeves
Oct 20, 2011
Surrey - Roughly 200 protesters arrived in Surrey, B.C. (click here) this morning, many from Occupy Vancouver, to protest the arrival of former U.S. president George W. Bush to speak at the city's economic summit.
Protesters arrived in Surrey, British Columbia this morning in advance of the planned speech by former U.S. president George W. Bush. Despite calls from such groups as Amnesty International that Canada arrest the former president for war crimes, Bush's visit to the Sheraton Guildford hotel for the Surrey Economic Summit appears to have gone smoothly....

The United Nation's Security Council needs to address the gas exploitation venture backed by Cheney.

There can be some interesting approaches.

If I may?

If there is to be development of gas and oil fields in Israel and it involves occupied territories where Palestinians will be further displaced and/or their lives in danger with violence initiated by Hezbollah (rather than lying down to die) there needs to wealth sharing.

Sooner rather than later the United Nation's Security Council has to insist on sovereign borders for Palestine, EVEN IF there continues to be disputes regarding Jerusalem. This hideous problem of moving borders with Israel is going to far. I'll grant Israel the fact that a 9 mile stretch of land is impossible to defend, but, there needs to be an end to the question as to where the lands of Palestine actually exist.

Where this project by Genie Energy crosses the sovereign borders with Israel it will be a clear understanding the natural resources belong to Palestine. No violence, no aggressions, no human rights violations. There needs to be clear, concise lines that are crossed and to that end Palestine has rights to natural resources. 

King Abdullah II of Jordan has been very much involved in talks between Fatah and Hamas. If natural resources came into the picture as a reason to coalesce around sovereignty and a stable state it would promote peace.

Additionally, Palestine should be granted it's own right to negotiate contracts surrounding natural resources. I am not concerned about the petroleum resources within this issue when it comes to the Climate Crisis if it will result in peace and sovereignty for Palestine. The United States is the big greenhouse gas polluter. It's drought is causing problems globally. It's drought is causing problems within it's own borders, so that should speak to the resolve of aggressor political parties in the USA. 

But, that aside. The real problem for the Mideast is stability. The way that stability is achieved is a priority with President Obama and NATO. I can't imagine France not seeking peace in Northern Africa and the Mideast. Europe does not want a war on the other side of the Mediterranean. The European Union wants peace and stability as well. Russia should keep that in mind when it comes to Iranian, Syrian and Gazprom (click here) complaints.

I know the Arab League wants the mischief of Cheney to end. They want stability throughout the region. I know that the Arab Spring seems like the very nightmare the American Neocons need to find a cause to greater war, but, there is some healthy opposition to extremism within it's new governments. Democracy is not easy. It is not a clear path, but, it is a goal that usually  brings about stability with the people. That is important in the Mideast. People have to believe they have control over their very lives and the promise to their children.

Peace brings about economic development when a nation does not have to pour assets into a military posture. So, prosperity and quality of life has to overshadow every aspect of a goal to peace in the Mideast and throughout Africa.

We don't need more armaments in this region of the world, we need far, far less.
"Morning Papers" - It's Origins (click here)

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

Cheney is maniacal. He won't stop seeking power and war. He is the enemy within. Pure evil.

Is there any doubt why Dick Cheney is an adviser for Genie Energy. He is beginning another war, but, this time within Israel. He is inviting confrontation in a country the USA is required to defend. Israel needs to be prepared to carry out it's own national defense it is responsible for confrontation and human atrocities for this project.

Inappropriate placement of the petroleum industry, otherwise called "USA Interests" is the one definitive reason the USA has gone to war under Republican administrations. The more the USA propagates hatred toward itself and Israel is a willing participant; the longer the USA national defense will be escalated out of control in the culture of fear. Cheney will propagate another 911 if it is the last thing he does.

By Daniel J. Graeber | Sun, 24 February 2013 00:00

The Israeli government awarded (click here) a local subsidiary of U.S.-based Genie Energy the rights to explore for oil and natural gas in about 150 square miles of the southern section of the Golan Heights. The United Nations last year extended the mandate for the region's U.N. Disengagement Observer Force mission, one of the oldest peacekeeping missions, for another six months. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said keeping Blue Helmets stationed in the area was essential to peace given the potential for conflict spilling out of the Syrian civil war. Genie Energy said there may be a significant amount of oil and natural gas in the license area. When Israel set its sights on offshore natural gas, Hezbollah warned that Israel shouldn't encroach on Lebanese territory. If recent concerns about Hezbollah's influence are any indication, the Shiite resistance movement may focus its guns onshore amid expanding Israeli energy interests. With former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney serving as an adviser to Genie, however, the implications may go beyond immediate worries over Hezbollah....

The political ambitions within the USA by Cheney are simply too obvious. Isn't it understandable why the extremes in the Republican Party still exists and will persist?


POSTED:   02/25/2013 12:01:00 AM MST
UPDATED:   02/25/2013 03:03:01 AM MST
By Steamboat Pilot and Today



STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Former Vice President Dick Cheney and his eldest daughter, Liz Cheney, (click here) will deliver the keynote address at the Steamboat Institute Freedom Conference in August.

Rick Akin, vice chairman of the Steamboat Institute board of directors, said the group has been working for years to secure an appearance from the 46th vice president of the United States.

Liz Cheney is a political analyst for Fox News and has served as a deputy assistant secretary of state.

"He's been, as we'd say, in the belly of the beast," Akin said. "He has insights you or I wouldn't have. He has insights some of our speakers who are more academic don't have. The idea is to give a real education in that area."

He said, "Liz Cheney will essentially be interviewing her dad. It's going to be a 'torch is passed to a new generation' kind of theme. I think people will find this very interesting — more interesting than just having the vice president by himself."

The speech is set for Aug. 23. The conference will continue through Aug. 24....

So, while Darth Vader invades the Golan Heights, he is seeking to deceive the electorate to find potential candidates and 'smooth movers' that can lace his agenda in the Middle East with a movement to political success in the USA. There is nothing like a Neocon masked as a Progressive.

"...Mr. Thompson (click here) said he was the first comptroller to make city investments in Israeli bonds. He also took part in a panel, at a 2007 conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee headlined by Vice President Dick Cheney, on financial sanctions against “Iran and other state sponsors of terror.”...

There are real reasons Senator Hagel is opposed as Secretary of Defense and it is at the basis of a Neocon agenda. We need to stabilize the nations of Africa and the Mideast facing anarchy and settlements of extremist networks. It needs to be done without declaring war and we need to do it under this administration. Cheney wants his wars.


...But as we reported during the Chuck Hagel confirmation hearing, Blumenthal is a hawk on Israel; he called on Hagel to correct his error of 13 years ago and endorse a letter he had declined to sign in 2000, which was signed by 96 Senators affirming their solidarity with Israel during the Second Intifada. Blumenthal lectured Hagel: 


"And I just want to say about that letter: I wasn’t here when the letter was circulated; I would have signed it. But I would certainly join in urging that you reconsider and commit to the statement of support in the letter for the support of Israel. And if it’s appropriate now and applicable to today’s events, I hope you will consider expressing your support for it."...


Currently, President Obama has 100 personnel in Niger. There needs to be a limit to the purpose of this base. It needs to assist nations of Africa toward stability and better quality of life where the governments don't have their own capacity. At no point in time should there be a military installation, so much as an advisement capacity to the State Department. It needs to be explicit there will be no escalation of purpose to this base, so much as an assistance to the stability of nations. 


I remind France is in Mali. Obama needs to develop a better military model for Africa. There is not that much firepower in Africa. Why should the USA bring heavy artillary and machines of war to a continent where that does not currently exist? The countries in Africa do not have the capacity to cause a significant war, so why offer it the opportunity? I can see the military sales, dictatorships and invasions now. African nations need to pay attention to other nations invaded by The West to know where their fate lies if they accept credit for sales of munitons and escalation of what is necessary to stabilize their nations.

Julie Pace and Robert Burns - The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Feb 23, 2013 14:41:25 EST
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama (click here) said Friday that about 100 American troops have been deployed to the African nation of Niger. Two U.S. defense officials said the troops would be setting up a base for unarmed drones to conduct surveillance.
Obama announced the deployment in a letter to Congress, saying that the forces "will provide support for intelligence collection and will also facilitate intelligence sharing with French forces conducting operations in Mali, and with other partners in the region."....

A Neocon by any other name. The GOP, according to FOX, needs a new savior. He was completely out of line at the National Prayer Breakfast. He was parlayed to incorporation at FOX immediately afterward as if that wasn't suppose to. Amazing what Neocons will do to find a path to war. Here we go again with, "God is on our side."


Dr. Ben Carson, (click here) a pediatric neurosurgeon who used his speaking time at the recent non-partisan National Prayer Breakfast to advocate a ten percent flat tax, told Fox News host Chris Wallace that he was just trying to “please” God.

During the National Prayer Breakfast, Dr. Carson had suggested that Biblical “tithing” of ten percent would be a better system than having the wealthy pay a higher tax rate than the poor....


Aren't we all disgusted by these photos already? Decades of violence in the Mideast? How can a generation of children grow up to know what peace is unless this ends. Israel needs to be a leader to peace.


A Syrian man reacts while standing on the rubble of his house while others look for survivors and bodies in the Tariq al-Bab district of the northern city of Aleppo on February 23, 2013. The Syrian regime is ready to talk with all parties, including armed rebels, who want dialogue to end the conflict, Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said during talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

25 February 2013
Syria regime ready for talks with rebels: Muallem (click here)

AFPThe Syrian regime is ready to talk with all parties, including armed rebels, who want dialogue to end the conflict, Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said on Monday at talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
"We are ready for dialogue with all who want dialogue, including those who are carrying arms," Muallem said at the Moscow talks with Lavrov, in an apparent reference to the rebels battling the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
"We still believe in a peaceful solution to the Syrian problem," said Muallem, pointing to the creation of a government coalition that would negotiate with both the "external and internal opposition."
Lavrov said alongside Muallem that there was no alternative to a political solution to the two-year conflict agreed through talks....

"Good Night, Moon"

Full Moon

99% illuminated

Skywatching the full moon, Saturn, Spica (click here for Podcast)

Michael and Deborah talk about what to see this week in the night sky. Saturn returns to view!