Cave Editor's Note: The PowersThatBe are planning to get alot of mileage out of their bio-weapon lab creation and Big Pharma's toxic vaccine they want to force on the world population!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Yellowstone National Park earthquake update - August 27, 2009 10:00pmCDT
Monday, August 3, 2009 15:54 MDT (Monday, August 3, 2009 21:54 UTC)
YELLOWSTONE VOLCANO (CAVW#1205-01-)
44.43°N 110.67°W, Summit Elevation 9203 ft (2805 m)
Volcano Alert Level: NORMAL
Aviation Color Code: GREEN
July 2009 Yellowstone Seismicity Summary
During the month of July 2009, 98 earthquakes were located in the Yellowstone region. The largest event was a magnitude 2.7 on July 8 at 9:08 AM MDT, located about 5 miles south southeast of Fishing Bridge, WY. The swarm that began on June 30th continued through July 3. This small swarm was located about 15 miles east northeast of West Yellowstone, MT and totaled 37 earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 3.3 to -0.2.
Earthquake activity in the Yellowstone region is at relatively normal background levels.
Ground Deformation Summary: Through July 2009, continuous GPS data show that uplift of the Yellowstone Caldera has slowed but may be continuing. The WLWY station, located in the northeastern part of the caldera, has undergone a total of ~23 cm of uplift since mid-2004. Its record can be found at:
http://pboweb.unavco.org/shared/scripts/stations/?checkkey=WLWY&sec=timeseries_plots×eries=raw
The currently observed reduction in uplift rate may be related to seasonal changes related to snowmelt and groundwater recharge. In several of the past 5 years, such changes have caused decreased uplift or slight subsidence, but were followed later in the year by continued uplift. The general uplift of the Yellowstone caldera is of scientific importance and will continue to be monitored closely by YVO staff.
An article on the current uplift episode at Yellowstone and discussion of long-term ground deformation at Yellowstone and elsewhere can be found at: http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/publications/2007/upsanddowns.php
-----
The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) is a partnership of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Yellowstone National Park, and University of Utah to strengthen the long-term monitoring of volcanic and earthquake unrest in the Yellowstone National Park region. Yellowstone is the site of the largest and most diverse collection of natural thermal features in the world and the first National Park. YVO is one of the five USGS Volcano Observatories that monitor volcanoes within the United States for science and public safety.
44.43°N 110.67°W, Summit Elevation 9203 ft (2805 m)
Volcano Alert Level: NORMAL
Aviation Color Code: GREEN
July 2009 Yellowstone Seismicity Summary
During the month of July 2009, 98 earthquakes were located in the Yellowstone region. The largest event was a magnitude 2.7 on July 8 at 9:08 AM MDT, located about 5 miles south southeast of Fishing Bridge, WY. The swarm that began on June 30th continued through July 3. This small swarm was located about 15 miles east northeast of West Yellowstone, MT and totaled 37 earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 3.3 to -0.2.
Earthquake activity in the Yellowstone region is at relatively normal background levels.
Ground Deformation Summary: Through July 2009, continuous GPS data show that uplift of the Yellowstone Caldera has slowed but may be continuing. The WLWY station, located in the northeastern part of the caldera, has undergone a total of ~23 cm of uplift since mid-2004. Its record can be found at:
http://pboweb.unavco.org/shared/scripts/stations/?checkkey=WLWY&sec=timeseries_plots×eries=raw
The currently observed reduction in uplift rate may be related to seasonal changes related to snowmelt and groundwater recharge. In several of the past 5 years, such changes have caused decreased uplift or slight subsidence, but were followed later in the year by continued uplift. The general uplift of the Yellowstone caldera is of scientific importance and will continue to be monitored closely by YVO staff.
An article on the current uplift episode at Yellowstone and discussion of long-term ground deformation at Yellowstone and elsewhere can be found at: http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/publications/2007/upsanddowns.php
-----
The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) is a partnership of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Yellowstone National Park, and University of Utah to strengthen the long-term monitoring of volcanic and earthquake unrest in the Yellowstone National Park region. Yellowstone is the site of the largest and most diverse collection of natural thermal features in the world and the first National Park. YVO is one of the five USGS Volcano Observatories that monitor volcanoes within the United States for science and public safety.
Yellowstone National Park
Update time = Thu Aug 27 21:00:37 MDT 2009
Here are the earthquakes appearing on this map, most recent at top ...
MAG DATE LOCAL-TIME LAT LON DEPTH LOCATION
y/m/d h:m:s deg deg km
0.1 2009/08/27 10:30:54 44.794N 110.985W 8.3 18 km (11 mi) NNE of West Yellowstone, MT
1.5 2009/08/27 09:26:58 44.722N 111.296W 0.9 16 km (10 mi) WNW of West Yellowstone, MT
1.3 2009/08/27 05:28:46 44.719N 111.294W 0.7 16 km (10 mi) WNW of West Yellowstone, MT
1.7 2009/08/27 05:28:24 44.718N 111.298W 3.7 16 km (10 mi) WNW of West Yellowstone, MT
Recent Earthquakes in the Intermountain West
Update time = Thu Aug 27 21:00:37 MDT 2009
MAG DATE LOCAL-TIME LAT LON DEPTH LOCATION
y/m/d h:m:s deg deg km
1.8 2009/08/27 20:19:03 37.601N 116.088W 16.0 40 km (25 mi) W of Tempiute, NV
1.1 2009/08/27 18:59:31 47.387N 114.356W 0.0 8 km ( 5 mi) NNW of Old Agency, MT
2.1 2009/08/27 13:15:19 38.717N 117.060W 0.0 51 km (32 mi) SSE of Washington, NV
0.1 2009/08/27 10:30:54 44.794N 110.985W 8.3 18 km (11 mi) NNE of West Yellowstone, MT
1.5 2009/08/27 10:18:49 39.702N 110.709W 0.5 13 km ( 8 mi) E of Helper, UT
1.5 2009/08/27 09:26:58 44.722N 111.296W 0.9 16 km (10 mi) WNW of West Yellowstone, MT
1.3 2009/08/27 05:28:46 44.719N 111.294W 0.7 16 km (10 mi) WNW of West Yellowstone, MT
1.7 2009/08/27 05:28:24 44.718N 111.298W 3.7 16 km (10 mi) WNW of West Yellowstone, MT
1.7 2009/08/27 00:45:15 39.694N 110.486W 2.9 17 km (11 mi) NNW of Sunnyside, UT
0.9 2009/08/27 00:26:56 36.897N 115.981W 0.0 45 km (28 mi) NW of Indian Springs, NV
PAontheweb.com | $800 Million a week to the Communist Chinese Just in Interest on National Debt, Are You Mad Yet?
To try to give you an idea of how big our national debt is I was going to insert a $100 bill that was too big for this page. I could not make it fit it was so big, so you have to do without, something you had better get use to. Well the new national debt numbers, not the deficit, are now at $11.7 trillion. Now we come to the deficit, according the the Obama administrations own numbers they are looking at a $9 trillion deficit over the next 10 years. So if we add those two together we get, $20.7 trillion as our national debt. Thats big right? Hold on its get better. If Obama gets his way, we can add at least another $1.6 trillion to the total. That number came from the Congressional Budget Office by the way.
Just to make you think, we owe the Communist Chinese approximately $780 billion, with Japan coming in a close second at around $650 billion. Now if you take just the interst payments to the communist’s in China, its approximately $800 million a month. Thats right $800 million a month. For every $1 trillion in debt we have we pay an additonal $50 billion a year in just interest. Does your head hurt yet? If you want more pain come to www.standbyliberty.com, and bring the Excedrin.
FT.com | US Companies using derivatives contracts to hedge - have been lobbying lawmakers due to proposed overhaul of rules on derivatives
European business opposes derivatives reform
By Aline van Duyn in New York
Published: August 27 2009 22:34
European companies are hitting out against proposed reforms of the derivatives markets, saying that new rules requiring contracts to be routed through clearing houses could impose a huge drain on corporate cash.
In a comment paper criticising European Commission proposals for the over-the-counter derivatives market, the London-based Association of Corporate Treasurers wrote that current plans could require companies to hold billions in extra cash against positions or post as margin.
Already, US companies ranging from Caterpillar and Boeing to 3M – which use derivatives contracts to hedge interest rate, currency and commodity price risks – have been lobbying lawmakers to highlight the potential higher costs of a proposed overhaul of rules on derivatives.
Read more...
NaturalNews.com | Featured Stories - August 27, 2009
| The Mothers Act Disease Mongering Campaign - Part IV (NaturalNews) This is part four of an article series by Evelyn Pringle. Find previous parts here: Part One (http://www.naturalnews.com/026634_drugs_suicide_adhd.html), Part Two (http://www.naturalnews.com/026707_health_disease_depression.html) and Part... |
| Statins Cause Serious Structural Muscle Damage (NaturalNews) If there is a super star in Big Pharma's list of money making drugs, it may well be the group of medications known as statins. The New York Times reported last year that statins are, in fact, the biggest selling drugs in the world. Their... |
| Defend Against Disease with Broccoli Juice Broccoli is a member of the cauliflower family or a Brassica. It is a diverse super food that is delicious when steamed or can be finely chopped and sprinkled on food for added nutrition. Juicing is a great way to get the most out of this... |
| Whole Foods Revisited (NaturalNews) After recently writing about Whole Foods stores in a NaturalNews article (http://www.naturalnews.com/026906_food_foods_whole_foods.html), I decided to stop in a Whole Foods store in Florida and see if anything had changed since the last... |
| Trace Mineral Lithium Substantially Reduces Suicides when Present in Local Water (NaturalNews) Trace amounts of lithium in drinking water may reduce a population's suicide rates, according to an analysis conducted by researchers from the universities of Oita and Hiroshima, Japan, and published in the British Journal of Psychiatry... |
| Setting the people up to die: A conspiracy of silence about swine flu natural remedies (NaturalNews) It's emblazoned across the front page of USA Today, just underneath a subhead declaring Michael Jackson was, indeed, killed by a drug overdose: "Flu could infect half of USA." The article goes on to describe the predicted number of... |
RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service | Nuclear Event - Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Lacey Township, New Jersy USA - 27/08/2009
RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service
Budapest, Hungary
EDIS NumberNC-20090827-22940-USA
A leak at the Oyster Creek Generating Station contains tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen, and officials have lowered power at the plant to make repairs. Oyster Creek, the nation's oldest continuously operating nuclear power plant, is now working at about 50 percent capacity, according to spokesman David Benson. There is no threat to public or employee safety, Benson and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said. The tritium has not spread into any public water supplies and is contained on the site, Benson said. The levels of tritium found in this latest leak, which was first identified Monday, are higher than those found in an April leak. The tritium levels have been 10 million picocuries per liter of water, higher than the 5 to 6 million picocuries per liter of tritium identified in the leak found in April, he said. By comparison, anything above 20,000 picocuries per liter is considered unsafe for drinking water. "We are addressing this leak aggressively even as we speak," Benson said. Exelon, the company that owns Oyster Creek, hasn't decided whether to fully shut down the plant to make repairs, Benson said. The plant notified New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection within nine minutes after a water sample from the leak tested positive for tritium, he said.
According to a report released Wednesday morning by the NRC, the leakage appears to come from a 6-inch aluminum transfer line that is used to transport water from condensation. It is leaking at a rate of less than 20 gallons per minute. To operate properly, the plant needs the aluminum line to be in good condition. However, the plant may be able to make temporary repairs and not have to shut down the plant while those repairs are made, according to Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the NRC. The preliminary report from the NRC suggests the leakage is passing through the condenser building wall, which is about 4 feet thick. Staff at Oyster Creek have excavated around the wall and found leakage coming from that area. This suggests that the leak is located inside the wall, Sheehan said. The aluminum pipe is surrounded by a sleeve, so plant personnel would be able to make repairs to the pipe without excavating the wall, according to Sheehan. Oyster Creek is required to stop the leak as soon as possible. This is the second leak to contain tritium that the Oyster Creek plant has faced in 2009. The leak in April occurred within days of the plant's operating license being renewed for another 20 years. Assemblyman Brian E. Rumpf, R-Ocean, Burlington, Atlantic, was pleased that the plant acted appropriately in reporting the leak and immediately attempting to fix it. However, the assemblyman previously pressed the NRC to be more open with documents related to the previous leak at Oyster Creek.
Sheehan said that the documents have been withheld because of concerns from Exelon that the documents could contain private information. "This begs the bigger question of why (the leaks are) happening," Rumpf said Wednesday. New Jersey environmentalists who protested the relicensing pointed to the fact that this is the second leak this year. "This clearly demonstrates that plant should not have been relicensed for another 20 years," said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, in a statement released Wednesday. "The plant is unsafe, and the NRC is more concerned about protecting Exelon than public health and safety." "We know that Oyster Creek is unsafe and unreliable," said Matt Elliott, clean energy advocate for the group Environment New Jersey. "That gets proven every time it leaks. At what point do we pull the plug on this dinosaur's life support and move full-speed ahead toward cleaner, safer, renewable technologies?" The nuclear plant has a capacity of 619 megawatts, enough to generate electricity for about half a million homes in New Jersey. About 450 people are employed at the plant, not including security personnel, according to Exelon's Web site.)
Budapest, Hungary
EDIS NumberNC-20090827-22940-USA
A leak at the Oyster Creek Generating Station contains tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen, and officials have lowered power at the plant to make repairs. Oyster Creek, the nation's oldest continuously operating nuclear power plant, is now working at about 50 percent capacity, according to spokesman David Benson. There is no threat to public or employee safety, Benson and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said. The tritium has not spread into any public water supplies and is contained on the site, Benson said. The levels of tritium found in this latest leak, which was first identified Monday, are higher than those found in an April leak. The tritium levels have been 10 million picocuries per liter of water, higher than the 5 to 6 million picocuries per liter of tritium identified in the leak found in April, he said. By comparison, anything above 20,000 picocuries per liter is considered unsafe for drinking water. "We are addressing this leak aggressively even as we speak," Benson said. Exelon, the company that owns Oyster Creek, hasn't decided whether to fully shut down the plant to make repairs, Benson said. The plant notified New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection within nine minutes after a water sample from the leak tested positive for tritium, he said.
According to a report released Wednesday morning by the NRC, the leakage appears to come from a 6-inch aluminum transfer line that is used to transport water from condensation. It is leaking at a rate of less than 20 gallons per minute. To operate properly, the plant needs the aluminum line to be in good condition. However, the plant may be able to make temporary repairs and not have to shut down the plant while those repairs are made, according to Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the NRC. The preliminary report from the NRC suggests the leakage is passing through the condenser building wall, which is about 4 feet thick. Staff at Oyster Creek have excavated around the wall and found leakage coming from that area. This suggests that the leak is located inside the wall, Sheehan said. The aluminum pipe is surrounded by a sleeve, so plant personnel would be able to make repairs to the pipe without excavating the wall, according to Sheehan. Oyster Creek is required to stop the leak as soon as possible. This is the second leak to contain tritium that the Oyster Creek plant has faced in 2009. The leak in April occurred within days of the plant's operating license being renewed for another 20 years. Assemblyman Brian E. Rumpf, R-Ocean, Burlington, Atlantic, was pleased that the plant acted appropriately in reporting the leak and immediately attempting to fix it. However, the assemblyman previously pressed the NRC to be more open with documents related to the previous leak at Oyster Creek.
Sheehan said that the documents have been withheld because of concerns from Exelon that the documents could contain private information. "This begs the bigger question of why (the leaks are) happening," Rumpf said Wednesday. New Jersey environmentalists who protested the relicensing pointed to the fact that this is the second leak this year. "This clearly demonstrates that plant should not have been relicensed for another 20 years," said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, in a statement released Wednesday. "The plant is unsafe, and the NRC is more concerned about protecting Exelon than public health and safety." "We know that Oyster Creek is unsafe and unreliable," said Matt Elliott, clean energy advocate for the group Environment New Jersey. "That gets proven every time it leaks. At what point do we pull the plug on this dinosaur's life support and move full-speed ahead toward cleaner, safer, renewable technologies?" The nuclear plant has a capacity of 619 megawatts, enough to generate electricity for about half a million homes in New Jersey. About 450 people are employed at the plant, not including security personnel, according to Exelon's Web site.)
Magnitude 6.2 earthquake hits NORTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA - 165 km (103 miles) NNE (24°) from Golmud, Qinghai, China - Friday, August 28, 2009
Magnitude 6.2 - NORTHERN QINGHAI, CHINAEarthquake Details
| Magnitude | 6.2 |
|---|---|
| Date-Time |
|
| Location | 37.721°N, 95.684°E |
| Depth | 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program |
| Region | NORTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA |
| Distances |
|
| Location Uncertainty | horizontal +/- 8.1 km (5.0 miles); depth fixed by location program |
| Parameters | NST= 79, Nph= 79, Dmin=>999 km, Rmss=0.92 sec, Gp= 94°, M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=7 |
| Source |
|
| Event ID | us2009kwaf |
- This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.
6.8 magnitude hits BANDA SEA - Friday, August 28, 2009 at 09:51:20 AM at epicenter
Magnitude 6.8 - BANDA SEAEarthquake Details
| Magnitude | 6.8 (Preliminary magnitude — update expected within 15 minutes) |
|---|---|
| Date-Time |
|
| Location | 7.210°S, 123.510°E |
| Depth | 627 km (389.6 miles) set by location program |
| Region | BANDA SEA |
| Distances |
|
| Location Uncertainty | Error estimate not available |
| Parameters | NST=019, Nph=019, Dmin=0 km, Rmss=0.58 sec, Gp= 68°, M-type="moment" magnitude from initial P wave (tsuboi method) (Mi/Mwp), Version=A |
| Source | |
| Event ID | pt09240000 |
Volcanoes:
| Location | Volcano | Type | Last eruption | Distance |
| Lesser Sunda Is | Sirung | Complex volcano | 99.80 km | |
| Lesser Sunda Is | Iliwerung | Complex volcano | 91.99 km | |
| Lesser Sunda Island | Leroboleng | Complex volcano | 2003 | 91.49 km |
| Lesser Sunda Is | Ililabalekan | Stratovolcano | 91.35 km | |
| Banda Sea | Nieuwerkerk | Submarine volcano ? | 90.28 km | |
| Lesser Sunda Is | Riang Kotang | Fumarole field | 86.32 km | |
| Lesser Sunda Is | Iliboleng | Stratovolcano | 80.04 km | |
| Lesser Sunda Is | Lewotolo | Stratovolcano | 73.33 km | |
| Banda Sea | Emperor of China | Submarine volcano ? | 63.46 km | |
| Lesser Sunda Is | Tara, Batu | Stratovolcano | 40.46 km | |
| Lesser Sunda Is | Yersey | Submarine volcano ? | 37.36 km |
Glenn Beck on Obama's Private Army- 8-27-09 (YouTube Videos)
Glenn Beck on Thursday, August 27, 2009..A Must See. Glenn exposes Obama's New Civilian National Security Force. Gestapo Much?? The Beginning of The Brown Shirts?? Is THIS STILL AMERICA??? Someone wake me up. I'm only dreaming. RIGHT??
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKVrQQc9U_g
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD1X6u9GW-0
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QXPOAcTLf8
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5MaG-WoVEQ
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKALX6oLKF4
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKVrQQc9U_g
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD1X6u9GW-0
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QXPOAcTLf8
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5MaG-WoVEQ
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKALX6oLKF4
GlennBeck.com | List of Obama's Czars
August 21, 2009 - 5:26 ET
As of July 20, 2009:
• The Brainroom counts 32 czars in the Obama administration, based on media reports from reputable sources that have identified the official in question as a czar.
• In addition, President Obama has said that he will create the position of cyber czar, and there have been media reports that there could be a health insurance czar and a copyright czar. When and if those positions are filled, that would bring the total to 35.
• Since czar isn't an official job title, the number is somewhat in the eye of the beholder.
NOTE: positions that also existed under previous administrations are indicated with an *.
1. Afghanistan Czar - Richard Holbrooke
Title: Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State
• Will work with CENTCOM head Gen. David Petraeus to integrate U.S. civilian and military efforts in the region.
• 45 years of experience have made him a fixture of the Democrats' foreign policy establishment.
• Was U.S. ambassador to U.N., 1999-2001
• Brokered the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords in Bosnia
• Also served as Assistant secretary of state, East Asia and the Pacific (1976 to 1980); worked in foreign service (1962 to 1976)
• From 1972 through 1976, was the editor of Foreign Policy magazine.
2. AIDS Czar * - Jeffrey Crowley
Title: Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy
Salary: $102,000
Reports to: President Obama (as part of the Executive Office of the President’s Domestic Policy Council)
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services
• Coordinates HIV/AIDS policy domestically and internationally.
• Senior Research Scholar at Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute and a Senior Scholar at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University Law Center.
• Was Deputy Executive Director for Programs at the National Association of People with AIDS
• Has Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
3. Auto Recovery Czar - Ed Montgomery
Title: Director of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Larry Summers, the president's top economic adviser, and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Labor
• Will work to leverage government resources to support the workers, communities and regions that rely on the American auto industry.
• Was Deputy Secretary and Chief Economist at the Labor Department (1997 to 1998)
• Is Dean of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland (2003 to present)
• Has PhD in economics from Harvard
• In 2008, made $1,200 in political donations, all of which went to Obama’s presidential campaign.
• Wife is the granddaughter of a General Motors worker from Portland, Mich.
• Drives a 2000 Lincoln
4. Border Czar * - Alan Bersin
Title: Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano
Appointed: April 2009
Agencies that might have handled similar issues: Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
• Will coordinate all of the department's border security and law-enforcement efforts.
• Essentially had the same job under President Clinton; served as Attorney General Janet Reno's special representative on border issues, a job that he held while retaining the position of U.S. attorney for San Diego.
• This time, boss will be Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who will expect him to handle illegal immigration and drug violence issues along the Mexican-American border
• Previous experience: Chairman of the San Diego Regional Airport Authority (2006 to 2009); Secretary of Education for California (2005 to 2006); Superintendent of San Diego Public Schools (1998 to 2005); U.S. Attorney for San Diego (1993 to 1998)
• Graduate of Harvard and Yale Law School
• Talking about border security shortly before he was named Clinton border czar in 1995, said he wanted to focus on suspected smugglers of both drugs and people and was not interested in prosecuting “economic migrants.”
• Often tied to the 1994 border policy called “Operation Gatekeeper.” The policy shifted the U.S. focus from the arresting of immigrants who actually crossed the border to an increased border presence designed to stop border crossing in the first place. When Bersin left the position in 1998, border arrests were on pace for an 18-year low of just more than 200,000. Latino groups complained that Operation Gatekeeper was immoral, saying the program monitored the border near San Diego but simply forced illegal immigrants to other, more dangerous areas.
• Has given more than $50,000 to political campaigns since 1999, almost all of it to Democrats.
5. California Water Czar - David J. Hayes
Title: Deputy Interior Secretary
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar
Appointed: June 2009
Confirmed by Senate (as Deputy Interior Security): May 20, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Interior
• Charged with coordinating federal agencies to ease California's water shortage
• Graduate of Stanford Law School; clerked for U.S. District Court for the D.C., has been a partner at two big D.C. law firms
• Was deputy interior secretary under Bruce Babbitt during Clinton administration
• From 1993 to 1995, was chairman of the board at the Environmental Law Institute, a non-profit research center.
• As a lobbyist, represented the Southern California Metropolitan Water District in 2001
• In August 2008, wrote a policy report while working at the Progressive Policy Institute accusing the Bush administration of leaving a “damaging legacy” in their natural resource management policies
• Donated $2,300 to Clinton during 2008 campaign; after she withdrew, donated $2,300 to Obama
6. Car Czar - Ron Bloom
NOTE: on July 13, 2009, Bloom took over as head of the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry, replacing Steven Rattner
Title: Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council head Larry Summers
Appointed: July 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury
• A leader of the White House task force overseeing auto company bailouts; worked on restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler LLC.
• Was special assistant to president of the United Steelworkers union from 1996-Feb 2009
• Has negotiated restructuring deals for more than 50 companies, getting major concessions from unions and companies.
• Was raised in New York in a pro-union family, which included a schoolteacher mother and unionized relatives.
• After working for the Service Employees International Union, got an MBA from Harvard University because he thought unions lacked business smarts, he said in a 1996 interview in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
• From 1985 to 1990, he worked as an investment banker with Lazard Freres & Co., which specializes in mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructuring, before co-founding the investment-banking firm Keilin and Bloom.
7. Central Region Czar - Dennis Ross
Title: Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for the Central Region (encompasses the Middle East, the Gulf, Afghanistan, Pakistan and South Asia)
Salary: unknown
Reports to: National Security Adviser Gen. James L. Jones
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State
• Spent 12 years in the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations trying to create a permanent agreement between the governments of Israel and the Palestinian territories
• In 1981, was named to President Ronald Reagan’s national security staff as the director of Near East and South Asian Affairs.
• Was director of the State Department’s Policy Planning office during President George H. W. Bush’s term.
• 1993: appointed to the position of Middle East coordinator, making him the top negotiator for peace between Israel and Palestinian territories
• After he left government in 2000, headed up Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a hawkish think tank with a pro-Israeli bent
8. Climate Czar - Todd Stern
Title: Special Envoy for Climate Change
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Appointed: January 2009
Agency or department that might have handled similar issues: Environmental Protection Agency; State
• Responsible for developing international approaches to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.
• Served in the Clinton White House from 1993 to 1999; Was Head of the Initiative on Global Climate Change (1997 to 1999) and Adviser to the Secretary of the Treasury (1999 to 2001)
• As a top aide to President Clinton, helped negotiate the Kyoto and Buenos Aires climate pacts, both of which fell apart partially because of a lack of U.S. support during Bush administration.
• After Bush was elected to office, went to the Wilmer Hale law firm, where he is a partner in the regulatory and government affairs division.
• Was most recently a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, where he focused on climate change and environmental issues.
• Has written extensively on climate change, and has called on the American government and the international community to take a series of steps to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.
• Supports a national cap-and-trade system that would limit carbon emissions and reduce U.S. dependency on foreign oil
• Has law degree from Harvard
9. Domestic Violence Czar - Lynn Rosenthal
Title: White House adviser on Violence Against Women
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama and Vice President Biden
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services
• Will advise the President and Vice President on domestic violence and sexual assault issues.
• 2000-2006: served as the Executive Director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence
• Was an advocate for the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2000 and 2005 and has assisted states and local communities with implementation of this federal legislation
• Was director of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence
10. Drug Czar * - Gil Kerlikowske
Title: Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: March 2009
Confirmed by Senate: May 7, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Justice
• Directs drug-control policy in the U.S.; is expected to shift drug policy to intervention, treatment and a reduction of problem drug use.
• Was police chief for the city of Seattle from 2000-2009
• Was Deputy Director of the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (1998 to 2000); Police Chief for the city of Buffalo (1994 to 1998); Police chief of Fort Pierce, Fla. (N/A to 1994)
• A strong gun-control advocate, urged both the Washington legislature and the U.S. Congress to pass an assault-weapons ban and has worked to close the loophole that doesn't require background checks at gun shows
• 2003: admitted that busting people for personal marijuana possession was not a top priority of the Seattle police department.
• As Seattle police chief, assigned an officer full-time to the drug court, which commuted sentences of drug users who complete medical treatment in lieu of going to jail.
11. Economic Czar * - Paul Volcker
Title: Chairman of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board
Salary: Volcker reportedly isn't paid for his advice.
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury
• Charged with offering independent, nonpartisan information, analysis, and advice to the President as he formulates and implements his plans for economic recovery.
• Some reports say he's been marginalized by Larry Summers.
• Former Federal Reserve chairman (1979-1987)
• Was Undersecretary for Monetary Affairs, Department of the Treasury (1969 to 1974); Deputy Undersecretary for Monetary Affairs, Department of the Treasury (1963 to 1965)
• Gave Obama campaign $2,300 in 2008.
12. Energy and Environment Czar - Carol Browner
Title: Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change
Salary: $172,200
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: EPA
• Coordinates energy and climate policy, emphasizing regulation and conservation.
• Was Environmental Protection Agency administrator in the Clinton administration (1993-2000)
• Was Florida Secretary of the Environment (1991 to 1993)
• Founded and continues to serve as a principal of The Albright Group LLC, a global strategy firm led by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Also a principal of Albright Capital Management, an investment advisory firm that concentrates on emerging markets.
• Worked on the Socialist International's Commission for a Sustainable World Society, which argues that the global community must work collectively to address environmental policies
• Described Bush administration as the "worst environmental administration ever"
• While orchestrating private discussions between the White House and auto industry officials on vehicle fuel efficiency standards, kept the talks as quiet as possible. Mary Nichols, the head of the California Air Resources Board, said, "We put nothing in writing, ever."
• 2003: A federal judge held the Environmental Protection Agency in contempt for destroying computer files during the Clinton administration that had been sought by a conservative legal foundation. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth also ordered the EPA to pay the Landmark Legal Foundation's legal fees and costs because the agency disobeyed his order to preserve the electronic records of Browner, the former EPA chief.
13. Faith-Based Czar * - Joshua DuBois
Title: Director of the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
Salary: $98,000
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services
• Acts as a liaison between faith and secular community groups and the White House, often partnering with them to tackle social issues. Helps these groups apply for federal grants available to them.
• Is 26 years old
• Has master’s in public affairs from Princeton University; served as associate pastor
• Worked for Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) as an intern and then as a fellow for Rep. Charles B. Rangel (DN. Y.).
• Hired as a legislative correspondent in Obama’s Senate office in May 2005
• In 2008, at the age of 25, was appointed director of religious affairs for the Obama campaign.
14. Government Performance Czar - Jeffrey Zients
Title: Chief Performance Officer
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orzag
Appointed: April 2009
Confirmed by the Senate (as deputy director for management for the OMB): June 19, 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: OMB
• Charged with cutting costs and finding best practices throughout government.
• Has never worked in government before
• Was a chief executive and former management consultant
• Was founder of Portfolio Logic (2004 to present); Partner of the Washington Baseball Club (2004 to 2006); CEO of the Advisory Board (1998 to 2004)
• Has donated just over $90,000 to political campaigns since 1999, almost all of which went to Democratic candidates
15. Great Lakes Czar - Cameron Davis
Title: Special advisor to the U.S. EPA overseeing its Great Lakes restoration plan
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson
Appointed: June 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: Environmental Protection Agency
• Oversees the administration's initiative to restore the Great Lakes' environment.
• President of the Chicago-based environmentalist group Alliance for the Great Lakes
• Was a litigating attorney and served as an adjunct clinical assistant professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School.
• Served with the United Nations Environment Program in Nairobi, Kenya, where he worked on the Montreal Protocol to protect the Earth’s ozone layer, and U.S. EPA’s Office of Regional Counsel in Chicago.
16. Green Jobs Czar - Van Jones
Title: Special Adviser for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Head of Council on Environmental Quality Nancy Sutley
Appointed: March 2009
Agency or department that might have handled similar issues: Environmental Protection Agency; Labor
• Will focus on environmentally-friendly employment within the administration and boost support for the idea nationwide
• Rose from near obscurity in the Oakland, Calif., grassroots organizing scene to the leader of a national movement to spur the green economy.
• Founded Green For All, an organization focused on creating green jobs in impoverished areas
• Also co-founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Color of Change, which includes Bay Area PoliceWatch, a group devoted to "protect[ing] the community from police misconduct"
• Published New York Times best-seller The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems, in October 2008
• Started career as a prison-reform advocate in Oakland, Calif., lobbying for reform of the juvenile justice system and youth-violence prevention programs
• Has law degree from Yale
• 2007: worked on the Green Jobs Act with then-Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.), who co-sponsored the bill in the House
• 1993: was arrested at the Los Angeles riots that followed the acquittal of cops in the Rodney King beating. "I was arrested simply for being a police observer," says Jones, who had just graduated from Yale Law School and was working with the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights in San Francisco.
• 1999: was arrested in the 1999 Seattle protests against the World Trade Organization
• Excerpt from a Nov. 2005 interview in the East Bay Express:
Jones had planned to move to Washington, DC, and had already landed a job and an apartment there. But in jail, he said, "I met all these young radical people of color -- I mean really radical, communists and anarchists. And it was, like, 'This is what I need to be a part of.'" Although he already had a plane ticket, he decided to stay in San Francisco. "I spent the next ten years of my life working with a lot of those people I met in jail, trying to be a revolutionary." In the months that followed, he let go of any lingering thoughts that he might fit in with the status quo. "I was a rowdy nationalist on April 28th, and then the verdicts came down on April 29th," he said. "By August, I was a communist." In 1994, the young activists formed a socialist collective, Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement, or STORM, which held study groups on the theories of Marx and Lenin and dreamed of a multiracial socialist utopia. They protested police brutality and got arrested for crashing through police barricades. In 1996, Jones decided to launch his own operation, which he named the Ella Baker Center after an unsung hero of the civil-rights movement.
17. Guantanamo Closure Czar - Daniel Fried
Title: Special envoy to oversee the closure of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Justice; State
• Works to get help of foreign governments in moving toward closure of Guantanamo Bay, in fulfillment of Obama's promise to close the prison within a year of taking office.
• Was Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs, State Department (2005 to 2009); Director for European and Eurasian Affairs, State Department (2001 to 2005); U.S. Ambassador to Poland (1997 to 2001)
18. Health Czar * - Nancy-Ann DeParle
Title: Counselor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Health Reform
Salary: $158,500
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services (HHS)
• Coordinates the development of the Administration's healthcare policy agenda.
• Experience: Managing Director, CCMP Capital (since 2001); Adjunct professor (focusing on healthcare policy), Wharton School of Business (since 2001); Commissioner, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (since 2001); Fellow, Harvard Institue of Politics (2000 to 2001); Director, Healthcare Financing Administration (1997 to 2000)
• Has law degree from Harvard
• Served as the OMB’s representative on health-care reform during Bill Clinton’s first term
• As head of the HHS Health Care Financing Administration under Clinton, ran the largest health insurance provider in America, overseeing $600 billion in payments annually to 74 million recipients of Medicare and Medicaid
• 2001: left government to take a year-long fellowship at Harvard’s Institute of Politics, where she was part of Harvard’s Health Care Policy Forum and led a weekly study group on reforming Medicare.
• During Bush administration, sat on the boards of many health companies, from medical treatment producers to hospital systems
• In September 2008, donated $2,300 each to Clinton and Barack Obama.
19. Information Czar - Vivek Kundra
Title: Federal Chief Information Officer
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Director of the Office of Management and Budget Peter Orszag
Appointed: March 2009
Agencies that might have handled similar issues: other federal agency CIOs
• Basically in charge of overseeing other federal agency CIOs and for setting technology policy across the government.
• Head of a federal technology budget that amounts to $71 billion annually
• Operation is housed in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and will likely have authority to question how money in departmental technology budgets is used
• Formerly head of the District of Columbia's technology operations
• Shortly after he joined the OMB, federal authorities raided his old District government office. They arrested two technology office managers and a subcontractor, charging them with a bribery scheme that allegedly defrauded the city out of at least $500,000. Kundra was not a suspect in the case, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
• Has a masters from Maryland in information technology.
• Experience: Washington, D.C. Chief Technology Officer (2007 to 2009); State of Virginia's Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Trade (2006 to 2007); CEO of computer security firm Creostar
20. Intelligence Czar * - Dennis Blair
Title: Director of National Intelligence
Salary: $197,700
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009
Confirmed by Senate: January 28, 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: CIA
• Nation’s top intelligence official.
• Retired four-star admiral.
• Graduate of the United States Naval Academy, 1968; sixth-generation naval officer
• Lacks professional roots in the world of intelligence
• Held a number of prestigious Washington posts, including the Pentagon’s top liaison to the CIA and director of the Joint Staff.
• Ran the non-profit Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), which focuses primarily on issues related to national security, and does a lot of work for the Defense Department. Left IDA under a cloud of controversy in mid-2006.
21. Mideast Peace Czar - George Mitchell
Title: Special Envoy for Middle East Peace
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State
• Works to maintain the shaky peace between Israel and Hamas after recent hostilities
• Senate majority leader from 1989 to 1994
• Was special envoy to Northern Ireland during the Clinton administration and lead investigator into steroid use in Major League Baseball.
• 2000: led a fact-finding committee to study violence in the Middle East; 2001's Mitchell Report formed the basis for the road map for Middle East peace
22. Pay Czar - Kenneth R. Feinberg
Title: Special Master on executive pay
Salary: reportedly receiving no compensation for his work.
Reports to: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury
• Named to examine compensation practices at companies that have been bailed out more than once by the federal government
• Oversaw the payouts to the families of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks
• Was the chief administrator to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, which commemorates the students who died in the April 2007 shooting rampage at Virginia Tech
• Founder and managing partner of Feinberg Rozen LLP (1992 to present), law firm specializing in mediation
• Was Chief of staff for Sen. Edward Kennedy (1978 to 1980)
• While working with the Feinberg Group, donated over $150,000, nearly all of which has gone to Democratic candidates and political action committees. In 2007, donated $2,300 to 2008 presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani (R).
23. Regulatory Czar - Cass R. Sunstein *
Title: Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Office of Management and Budget head Peter Orszag
Appointed: January 2009
Nomination was sent to Senate on April 20, 2009 - no action yet taken
Agency that might have handled similar issues: OMB
• Will be responsible for reviewing draft regulations and assessing their costs and benefits
• Is a Harvard Law School professor; prior to that, was a professor at the Univ. of Chicago Law School (1981-2008)
• Academic specialties: constitutional law, administrative law, and regulatory policy
• Obama: "Cass is not only a valued advisor, he is a dear friend"
• Known for advancing a field called "law and behavioral economics" that seeks to shape law and policy around the way research shows people actually behave; though embraced by conservatives, critics say it fails to account for the sometimes less-than-rational aspects of human behavior.
• In his 2002 book, Republic.com, discussed the drawbacks of limitless choices on the Internet that allow people to seek out only like-minded people and opinions that merely fortify their own views; he talked about the idea of the government requiring sites to link to opposing views. He later came to realize it was a "bad idea."
• In his 2004 book, Animal Rights, suggested that animals ought to be able to bring suit, with private citizens acting as their representatives, to ensure that animals are not treated in a way that violates current law.
• In a 2007 speech at Harvard he called for banning hunting in the U.S.
• The American Conservative Union started a website, Stop Sunstein, in an effort to keep him out of the White House.
24. Science Czar - John Holdren
Title: Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: December 2008
Confirmed by Senate: March 19, 2009
Agency or department that might have handled similar issues: Energy
• Top adviser to Obama on science and technology, issues that are increasingly relevant to other issues such as homeland security, energy and environmentalism
• Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy and Director, Program in Science, Technology, and Public Policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government (1996-2009); Harvard University Professor of Environmental Science and Public Policy (1996-2009); University of California, Berkeley Professor of Energy and Resources Emeritus (1996 to present)
• Studied aerospace engineering and plasma physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — where he earned his BS and MS — and Stanford University, where he received his doctorate in 1970
• Is an outspoken advocate of the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and believes the United States should sign the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty.
• In a 2008 New York Times op-ed, Holdren called climate change skeptics “dangerous” members of a “denier fringe.”
• In 1971, co-authored a paper in Global Ecology suggesting "some form of ecocatastrophe, if not thermonuclear war, seems almost certain to overtake us before the end of the century."
• Some conservative media outlets have called attention to a book Holdren co-authored in 1977 titled Ecoscience: Population, Resources, and Environment. The book reportedly includes this statement: "population-control laws, even including laws requiring compulsory abortion, could be sustained under the existing Constitution." Holdren's office says he "does not now and never has been an advocate of compulsory abortions or other repressive measures to limit fertility."
25. Stimulus Accountability Czar - Earl Devaney
Title: Chair of the Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Vice President Biden
Appointed: February 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: OMB
• Leads oversight board that monitors money spent by the stimulus package
• Experience: Inspector General at the Interior Department (1999 to present); Director of criminal enforcement at the Environmental Protection Agency (1991 to 1999); Special Agent at the Secret Service (1970 to 1991)
• During his tenure at Interior, uncovered the shady dealings of disgraced ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, an investigation that eventually led to Abramoff's imprisonment and the resignation of Interior's no. 2, J. Steven Griles, for lying under oath about his own role in the scandal.
• On July 8, 2009, the U.S. General Services Administration issued a press release announcing an $18 million contract for a new recovery.gov web site, which quoted Devaney as saying, “We are pleased that another major milestone has been achieved."
26. Sudan Czar - J. Scott Gration
Title: Special Envoy to Sudan
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State
• Will coordinate U.S. role in the aftermath of the genocide in Darfur
• Experience: Supreme Allied Command, NATO (2004 to 2005); Air Force assistant deputy undersecretary for international affairs (2003 to 2004)
• Commanded all air operations during the Iraq war in 2003
• 2006: left Air Force position to join Obama’s staff after traveling to Africa with the then-Senator from Illinois, even though he was a Republican
• Has won a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, a Defense Superior Service Medal and 16 other awards
• Is a fluent Swahili speaker who grew up in the Congo
• Has called on the Obama administration to incentivize participation by the Sudanese government in peace talks by lifting sanctions, a position that is controversial. Also worked to position himself as the principal negotiator between the Sudanese government and its adversaries in Darfur, and is planning an international conference for September 2009
• Has M.A. in security studies from Georgetown
27. TARP Czar - Herb Allison
Title: Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury
• Leads the government's $700 billion financial rescue program in the office of financial stability
• Veteran Wall Street banker and interim head of the mortgage-finance company Fannie Mae
• Worked at Merrill Lynch for 28 years, reaching position of president and COO
• Was CEO of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association College Retirement Equities Fund (2002 to 2008); CEO of the Alliance for Lifelong Learning (2000 to 2002)
• Has undergraduate degree from Yale and MBA from Stanford
• 2000: was John McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign finance chairman
• In 2008, donated $2,300 to Obama's presidential campaign
28. Technology Czar - Aneesh Chopra
Title: Chief Technology Officer
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: April 2009
Confirmed by Senate: May 21, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Commerce
• Will lead in the effort to eliminate wasteful government programs
• Will probably work to increase broadband access nationwide and computerize medical records
• Was Virginia’s secretary of technology (2005-2009)
• Has degree in public health from Johns Hopkins, Master's from Harvard in public policy
• Worked at Morgan Stanley as investment banker; also worked at Advisory Board, a health-care research and consultancy firm
• Has donated more than $24,000 since 1997 to various campaigns. With the exception of a $1,000 donation to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) in 2004, all of Chopra’s contributions have gone to Democrats. From 2007 to 2008, Chopra donated $2,750 to Obama’s presidential campaign.
29. Terrorism Czar - John Brennan
Title: Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism
Salary: $172,200
Reports to: National Security Adviser James L. Jones
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Homeland Security
• Under Obama's plan the homeland security adviser’s office would be eliminated, and the National Security Council would take over those duties. Brennan would be responsible for guarding against natural disasters and terrorism.
• Has called for increased integration between the Departments of Commerce, State and Defense
• Graduated from Fordham University in 1977 after a year of intensive Arabic and Middle Eastern studies in Cairo. Earned his J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin before joining the CIA as an intelligence director in 1980.
• Is a CIA veteran and fluent Arabic speaker
• Was CIA deputy executive director (2001 to 2003) and National Counter-Terrorism Center, Chair (2004 to 2005)
• Worked at Analysis Corp, (2005 to 2008);
• Staunch supporter of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Program; defended the use of extraordinary rendition, saying it is “an absolutely vital tool.”
30. Urban Affairs Czar - Adolfo Carrion Jr.
Title: White House Director of Urban Affairs
Salary: $158,500
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Housing and Urban Development
• Job entails coordinating transportation and housing initiatives, as well as serving as a conduit for federal aid to economically hard-hit cities.
• Has undergraduate degree in world religions from Kings College; became an associate pastor at a Bronx church; earned his master’s degree in urban planning from Hunter College
• Was Bronx Borough President (2001-2009); President of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (since 2007); City Council member (1998 to 2000)
• Many reporters say he has higher ambitions and will probably run for New York City mayor in the next ten years.
• Was an active campaigner for Obama, travelling across the country to speak on his behalf. He focused particularly on states with large Hispanic populations.
• The NY Daily News reported numerous developers made tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations to Carrión around the same time he was considering approving their projects in the Bronx.
31. Weapons Czar - Ashton Carter
Title: Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Defense Secretary Robert Gates
Appointed: April 2009
Confirmed by Senate: April 23, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Defense
• Will coordinate the Pentagon's acquisitions, technology and logistics for weapons.
• Will oversee a weapons-buying system that Obama has placed at the top of his list of federal programs he wants to fix and will be asked to quickly weigh in on difficult decisions concerning at least 10 major defense programs, while also instantly dissecting the procurement system’s ailments so he can advise the administration on its Pentagon acquisition reform agenda
• Is a physicist and Harvard academic whose only previous Pentagon stint was in a mid-level policy post from 1993 until 1996 under the Clinton administration
• Graduated from Yale summa cum laude; studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar and earned a doctorate in theoretical physics.
• Chair of Harvard’s International Relations, Science & Security Area International Security Program within the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy (1993 to 1996); Director of the Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School (early 1990s)
• Has donated primarily to Democratic politicians since 2000. He donated $6,900 to then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in 2007 and 2008. He gave the same amount to then Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) during that same span.
32. WMD Policy Czar - Gary Samore
Title: White House Coordinator for Weapons of Mass Destruction, Security and Arms Control
Salary: unknown
Reports to: National Security Advisor Gen. James L. Jones
Appointed: January 2009
Department or agency that might have handled similar issues: NSC; Defense; State
• Will coordinate issues related to weapons of mass destruction across the government. His portfolio includes proliferation, nuclear and conventional arms control, threat reduction, and terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction.
• Position sits within the National Security Council.
• Is a veteran arms control negotiator.
• B.A. in sociology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and his PhD in government from Harvard University in 1984.
• After brief stints with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the RAND Corporation, joined the State Department during the Reagan administration in 1987. Held several positions there, including director of the Office of Regional Non-proliferation Affairs; special assistant to the Ambassador-at-Large for Non-proliferation and Nuclear Energy Policy; and deputy to Ambassador-at-Large for Korean Affairs Robert Gallucci. Helped to negotiate the 1994 U.S.-North Korea Framework Treaty
• Joined the Clinton administration’s National Security Council in 1995 as an adviser on nonproliferation. Coordinated U.S. policy on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
• Was Director, Council on Foreign Relations (2006 to 2009); Vice President for Global Security and Sustainability, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (2005); Researcher, International Institute of Strategic Studies (2001 to 2005)
LogisticsMgmt.com | Railroad shipping: Association of American Railroads (AAR) says rail volumes are down for week ending August 22
Despite decline, volume declines are less than previous weeks
For the week ending August 22, carload freight, which does not include intermodal data, totaled 279,478 cars, a 16.1 percent annual decline. Despite the decline, this is the highest weekly carload freight total since the week ending March 14, which hit 279,287 cars, and it is better than the cumulative 17.2 percent decline from the previous four weeks.
The AAR said that carloadings were down 14.2 percent in the west and 18.9 percent in the east. Weekly carload was higher on a sequential basis, too, topping 276,488 carloads for the week ending August 15.
FDIC.gov | "While challenges remain, evidence is building that the U.S. economy is starting to grow again," said FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair
 | Press Releases FDIC-Insured Institutions Lost $3.7 Billion in the Second Quarter of 2009 Total Reserves of the Deposit Insurance Fund Stood at $42 Billion
Commercial banks and savings institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reported an aggregate net loss of $3.7 billion in the second quarter of 2009, a decline of $8.5 billion from the $4.8 billion in profits the industry reported in the second quarter of 2008. Insured institutions earned $424 million in net operating income during this latest quarter even after a special assessment of $5.5 billion to bolster the FDIC's insurance fund. However, one-time losses and other items totaling $4.1 billion pulled the industry results into negative territory. "While challenges remain, evidence is building that the U.S. economy is starting to grow again," said FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair. "Banking industry performance is -- as always -- a lagging indicator. The banking industry, too, can look forward to better times ahead. But, for now, the difficult and necessary process of recognizing loan losses and cleaning up balance sheets continues to be reflected in the industry's bottom line." Chairman Bair went on to say, "The FDIC was created specifically for times such as these. No matter how challenging the environment, the FDIC has ample resources to continue protecting depositors as we have for the last 75 years. No insured depositor has ever lost a penny of insured deposits...and no one ever will." Provisions for loan losses totaled $66.9 billion in the quarter, an increase of $16.5 billion (32.8 percent) over the second quarter of 2008. Extraordinary losses stemming from writedowns of asset-backed commercial paper totaled $3.6 billion, compared to extraordinary losses of $366 million a year earlier. Noninterest expenses were $1.7 billion (1.7 percent) higher, primarily due to increased FDIC deposit insurance premiums. Indicators of asset quality continued to worsen during the second quarter. Both the quarterly net charge-off rate and the percentage of loans and leases that were noncurrent (90 days or more past due or in nonaccrual status) reached the highest levels registered in the 26 years that insured institutions have reported these data. Insured institutions charged off $48.9 billion in uncollectible loans during the quarter, up from $26.4 billion a year earlier, and noncurrent loans and leases increased by $40.4 billion during the second quarter. At the end of June, noncurrent loans and leases totaled $332 billion, or 4.35 percent of the industry's total loans and leases. "Deteriorating loan quality is having the greatest impact on industry earnings as insured institutions continue to set aside reserves to cover loan losses," Chairman Bair noted. "Of all the major earnings components, the amount that insured institutions added to their reserves for loan losses was, by far, the largest drag on industry earnings compared to a year ago." All told, more than 28 percent of all insured institutions reported a net loss in the second quarter, compared with 18 percent a year earlier. Financial results for the second quarter and first half of 2009 are contained in the FDIC's latest Quarterly Banking Profile, which was released today. Also among the major findings: Net interest margins improved in the quarter. The average margin (the difference between the average yield on interest-earning assets and the average interest expense of funding those assets) rose to 3.48 percent from 3.39 percent in the first quarter and 3.37 percent in the second quarter of 2008. More than half of all institutions reported higher margins than in the first quarter. Net interest income totaled $100 billion in the quarter, up from $96.6 billion a year earlier. Net interest margins improved from the previous quarter at community banks and at larger institutions. "This is good news for community banks, since three-fourths of their revenues come from net interest income," Chairman Bair said. Total assets of insured institutions declined by $238 billion. A $125.5 billion decline in loan and lease balances accounted for more than half of the decline in total assets of insured institutions during the second quarter. The 1.8 percent decline in industry assets followed a $303.2 billion decline in the first quarter of 2009. Banks' balances with Federal Reserve banks fell by $99.4 billion (20.4 percent) during the quarter, and assets in trading accounts declined by $65.5 billion (7.9 percent). The industry's investment securities portfolio increased by $130.6 billion (5.9 percent). The number of institutions on the FDIC's "Problem List" rose. At the end of June, there were 416 insured institutions on the "Problem List," up from 305 on March 31. This is the largest number of institutions on the list since June 30, 1994, when there were 434 institutions on the list. Total assets of "problem" institutions increased during the quarter from $220.0 billion to $299.8 billion, the highest level since December 31, 1993. Total reserves of the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) stood at $42 billion. Just as insured institutions reserve for loan losses, the FDIC has to provide for a contingent loss reserve for future failures. To the extent that the FDIC has already reserved for an anticipated closing, the failure of an institution does not reduce the DIF balance. The contingent loss reserve, which totaled $28.5 billion on March 31, rose to $32.0 billion as of June 30, reflecting higher actual and anticipated losses from failed institutions. Additions to the contingent loss reserve during the second quarter caused the fund balance to decline from $13.0 billion to $10.4 billion. Combined, the total reserves of the DIF equaled $42.4 billion at the end of the quarter. Chairman Bair distinguished the DIF's reserves from the FDIC's cash resources, which included $22 billion of cash and U.S. Treasury securities held as of June 30, as well as the ability to borrow up to $500 billion from the Treasury. "A decline in the fund balance does not diminish our ability to protect insured depositors," Chairman Bair concluded. # # # Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore public confidence in the nation's banking system. The FDIC insures deposits at the nation's 8,195 banks and savings associations and it promotes the safety and soundness of these institutions by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to which they are exposed. The FDIC receives no federal tax dollars – insured financial institutions fund its operations. FDIC press releases and other information are available on the Internet at www.fdic.gov, by subscription electronically (go to www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html) and may also be obtained through the FDIC's Public Information Center (877-275-3342 or 703-562-2200). PR-153-2009 | |||
| Last Updated 8/27/2009 | |||
Interesting Emailing Received
Subject: TRY TO GUESS WHO I AM
I was born in one country, raised in another. My father was born in another country. I was not his only child. He fathered several children with numerous women.
I became very close to my mother, as my father showed no interest in me. My mother died at an early age from cancer.
Later in life, questions arose over my real name. My birth records were sketchy and no one was able to produce a legitimate, reliable birth certificate.
I grew up practicing one faith but converted to Christianity, as it was widely accepted in my country, but I practiced non-traditional beliefs and didn't follow Christianity, except in the public eye under scrutiny.
I worked and lived among lower-class people as a young adult, disguising myself as someone who really cared about them. That was before I decided it was time to get serious about my life and I embarked on a new career.
I wrote a book about my struggles growing up. It was clear to those who read my memoirs that I had difficulties accepting that my father abandoned me as a child.
I became active in local politics in my 30s then with help behind the scenes, I literally burst onto the scene as a candidate for national office in my 40s. They said I had a golden tongue and could talk anyone into anything. That reinforced my conceit.
I had a virtually non-existent resume, little work history, and no experience in leading a single organization. Yet I was a powerful speaker and citizens were drawn to me as though I was a magnet and they were small roofing tacks.
I drew incredibly large crowds during my public appearances. This bolstered my ego.
At first, my political campaign focused on my country's foreign policy. I was very critical of my country in the last war and seized every opportunity to bash my country.
But what launched my rise to national prominence were my views on the country's economy. I pretended to have a really good plan on how we could do better and every poor person would be fed and housed for free.
I knew which group was responsible for getting us into this mess. It was the free market, banks and corporations. I decided to start making citizens hate them and if they were envious of others who did well, the plan was clinched tight.
I called mine "A People's Campaign" and that sounded good to most people.
I was the surprise candidate because I emerged from outside the traditional path of politics and was able to gain widespread popular support.
I knew that, if I merely offered the people 'hope', together we could change our country and the world.
So, I started to make my speeches sound like they were on behalf of the downtrodden, poor, ignorant to include "persecuted minorities" like the Jews. My true views were not widely known and I needed to keep them unknown, until after I became my nation's leader.
I had to carefully guard reality, as anybody could have easily found out what I really believed, if they had simply read my writings and examined those people I associated with.
I'm glad they didn't. Then I became the most powerful man in the world. And the world learned the truth.
Who am I?
I am ADOLF HITLER
Who were you thinking of? Scared yet?
I was born in one country, raised in another. My father was born in another country. I was not his only child. He fathered several children with numerous women.
I became very close to my mother, as my father showed no interest in me. My mother died at an early age from cancer.
Later in life, questions arose over my real name. My birth records were sketchy and no one was able to produce a legitimate, reliable birth certificate.
I grew up practicing one faith but converted to Christianity, as it was widely accepted in my country, but I practiced non-traditional beliefs and didn't follow Christianity, except in the public eye under scrutiny.
I worked and lived among lower-class people as a young adult, disguising myself as someone who really cared about them. That was before I decided it was time to get serious about my life and I embarked on a new career.
I wrote a book about my struggles growing up. It was clear to those who read my memoirs that I had difficulties accepting that my father abandoned me as a child.
I became active in local politics in my 30s then with help behind the scenes, I literally burst onto the scene as a candidate for national office in my 40s. They said I had a golden tongue and could talk anyone into anything. That reinforced my conceit.
I had a virtually non-existent resume, little work history, and no experience in leading a single organization. Yet I was a powerful speaker and citizens were drawn to me as though I was a magnet and they were small roofing tacks.
I drew incredibly large crowds during my public appearances. This bolstered my ego.
At first, my political campaign focused on my country's foreign policy. I was very critical of my country in the last war and seized every opportunity to bash my country.
But what launched my rise to national prominence were my views on the country's economy. I pretended to have a really good plan on how we could do better and every poor person would be fed and housed for free.
I knew which group was responsible for getting us into this mess. It was the free market, banks and corporations. I decided to start making citizens hate them and if they were envious of others who did well, the plan was clinched tight.
I called mine "A People's Campaign" and that sounded good to most people.
I was the surprise candidate because I emerged from outside the traditional path of politics and was able to gain widespread popular support.
I knew that, if I merely offered the people 'hope', together we could change our country and the world.
So, I started to make my speeches sound like they were on behalf of the downtrodden, poor, ignorant to include "persecuted minorities" like the Jews. My true views were not widely known and I needed to keep them unknown, until after I became my nation's leader.
I had to carefully guard reality, as anybody could have easily found out what I really believed, if they had simply read my writings and examined those people I associated with.
I'm glad they didn't. Then I became the most powerful man in the world. And the world learned the truth.
Who am I?
I am ADOLF HITLER
Who were you thinking of? Scared yet?
PressTV.ir | Drug trafficking in US generates $63Billion annually
Drug trafficking in the United States generates an annual income of 63 billion dollars, Mexico's Secretary of Public Safety says.
Genaro Garcia Luna told a security forum in the border city of Ciudad Juarez -- the epicenter of Mexico's drug violence -- on Wednesday that a kilo of cocaine in Europe or the United States can sell for almost 50 times as much as it sells for in some Latin American countries.
"The cost of cocaine per kilogram in a country like Colombia or Mexico is 2,198 dollars, but in cities inside the United States or Europe people buy it for up to 97,400 dollars per kilogram," Garcia Luna said.
Mexico has deployed more than 36,000 troops countrywide to take on the country's powerful cartels as drug violence has spiraled, with almost 10,000 killed in suspected drug attacks since the start of last year.
"Without a market, there would be no drug trafficking or violence," Garcia Luna said, admitting that there had been a rise in drug use in Mexico in recent years.
"In 1998, (drug use) was 0.3 percent of the total population (of 107 million), in 2002 it grew to 0.4 percent and in 10 years it will reach 0.8 percent," the official said.
Mexico last week quietly legalized possession of small quantities of drugs such as heroin, marijuana and cocaine, arguing that limited resources are better used in the fight against organized drug crime.
Genaro Garcia Luna told a security forum in the border city of Ciudad Juarez -- the epicenter of Mexico's drug violence -- on Wednesday that a kilo of cocaine in Europe or the United States can sell for almost 50 times as much as it sells for in some Latin American countries.
"The cost of cocaine per kilogram in a country like Colombia or Mexico is 2,198 dollars, but in cities inside the United States or Europe people buy it for up to 97,400 dollars per kilogram," Garcia Luna said.
Mexico has deployed more than 36,000 troops countrywide to take on the country's powerful cartels as drug violence has spiraled, with almost 10,000 killed in suspected drug attacks since the start of last year.
"Without a market, there would be no drug trafficking or violence," Garcia Luna said, admitting that there had been a rise in drug use in Mexico in recent years.
"In 1998, (drug use) was 0.3 percent of the total population (of 107 million), in 2002 it grew to 0.4 percent and in 10 years it will reach 0.8 percent," the official said.
Mexico last week quietly legalized possession of small quantities of drugs such as heroin, marijuana and cocaine, arguing that limited resources are better used in the fight against organized drug crime.
MercoPress.com | Argentina follows Mexico and decriminalizes personal use of marihuana
Argentina’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday it is unconstitutional to punish an adult for private use of marihuana as long as it doesn’t harm anyone else. The unanimous ruling makes Argentina the second Latinamerican country in the past four days to allow personal use of a formerly illegal drug.
RussiaToday | Obama nervous over a new witch hunt
27 August, 2009, 22:58
The American President does not want to get embroiled in a fight over Bush administration policies, especially while pushing his own agenda forward, believes RT guest Doug Bandow, Senior Fellow at Cato Institute.
The U.S. has launched an investigation into controversial CIA interrogation methods.
The attorney general has announced that the federal prosecutor will be investigating the CIA’s interrogation tactics. The CIA has been linked to questionable activities in recent days, including using members of the Blackwater private military contractor (nowadays Xe) to assassinate top Al-Qaeda leaders.
Meanwhile, a new unit to question terror suspects has also been established and prisoner abuse cases are reportedly being reopened.
Now, with all eyes on the CIA, many believe that it’s high time to check high-ranking American officials who may have helped to create such policies.
Speaking about torture allegations, Doug Bandow said “At the very least, we need to investigate and expose this and have a discussion about what happens in America.”
Bandow recalled the American Constitution and pointed out that “The President has operational control – he is Commander-in-Chief. But the Congress is entitled to set the rules of the game. The U.S. Constitution gives the Congress the power to set the rules of war. The Constitution says the Congress creates the military, Congress decides “I’m going to war”.”
He added, “In fact, the Congress can set the ground rules, which include whether or not to be able to torture. The President has an obligation to follow. He cannot be lawless.”
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