Wednesday, November 4, 2009
U.S.S. of A., a new original song written and performed by Ron and Kay Rivoli of The Rivoli Revue (YouTube)
UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing visited Pine Ridge - reflects housing problem in Indian country throughout the United States

International Indian Treaty Councilhttp://www.treatycouncil.org/
Bill Means, a native of the Pine Ridge reservation who serves on the International Indian Treaty Council, said, "We hope that the inspector's visit will expose the atrocious conditions on the reservation that the U.S. allows to happen. The reason for asking the U.N. to help is that we can't get that type of attention in Washington ... We are looking for policy change. Real change. Not just more promises."Tribal members testified that severe overcrowding marks living conditions on the reservation. With an unemployment rate of 80 percent it is difficult for residents to maintain housing. Among the problems are inadequate repairs and mold that is hazardous to health.
A report prepared by the Oglala Sioux Lakota Housing Authority states that “housing built and indirectly maintained by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is in a deplorable state. The Lakota Nation, among other Indian nations, is a party to treaties with the United States, signed in the mid and late 1800s. Among the United States treaty obligations is the provision of subsistence and housing.”
“We are a sovereign nation built on treaties that the U.S. doesn’t honor,” said Myron Pourier, a tribal council member. “We don’t have the necessities people take for granted. They have nice homes that have running water, bathrooms and a kitchen.
Sixty percent of the housing on the reservation has three to four families living in a single house, including children and extended family members. We are severely underfunded.”
Willie stressed that the housing problems facing Indian nations are much more complicated than those of other populations in the United States. “It is estimated that 200,000 housing units are needed in Indian country. Currently 90,000 Native American families are homeless or under-housed. The president’s budget for housing block grants is $646 million, but $854 million is needed just to meet the backlog.”
PRNewsChannel.com | “Sinkholes are to Florida what forest fires are to southern California,” says a sinkhole expert
In May, 2008 a large sinkhole gobbled up half of this home in Spring Hill, Florida, displacing a couple and their three dogs, according to WFTS Action News in Tampa, FL. Fortunately, the couple was not home at the time of the incident, but the dogs were; they have since been rescued.(PRNewsChannel) / November 04, 2009 / Tampa, Fla. /
With sinkhole coverage set to disappear from certain Florida homeowner policies in January, Florida property insurance lawyer Ted Corless says it's not too late to renew this vital type of insurance.
“Sinkholes are to Florida what forest fires are to southern California,” says Corless, a sinkhole expert who has most recently been tracking Ocala sinkhole damage.
"Damage from sinkholes in Ocala is nothing new, and certainly not the worst place for this," adds Corless. "But it's an area of Florida that's particularly vulnerable to what has created a disastrous situation for families."
Sinkhole damage is largely created by the acidity of Florida rainwater, which erodes the underground limestone. In September, a sinkhole in Pasco County swallowed a driveway and was measured 80 feet deep by 40 feet wide.
Property insurance lawyers recommend annually using a video camera to track the progress of any cracks throughout a home, and requesting sinkhole protection when renewing insurance coverage. Sinkhole coverage will no longer exist for Pasco and Hernando County homeowners effective in January, unless homeowners specifically renew it.
USGS | 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit NORTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA - Thursday, November 05, 2009 at 05:56:10 AM at epicenter
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2009npb3.php#details
Earthquake: Location 37.684°N, 95.756°E
RELATED:
FAS: Federation of American Scientistshttp://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/china/facility/da_qaidam.htm
Da Qaidam - 412 Brigade
Ta-ch'ai-tan / Tsaidam
37°50'N 95°18'E
Active Volcanoes in East Africa: Potential for Human Peril and Prosperity
uses satellite imagery to identify active magma systems in East Africa's Rift Valley
A team from University of Miami, University of El Paso and University of Rochester used Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) images compiled over a decade to study volcanic activity in the African Rift. A paper, published in the November issue of Geology, focuses on the section of the rift in Kenya. Surface deformation of four active volcanoes underscore possibility for human hazard, as well as the potential of geothermal resources. Credit: J. Biggs, E.Y. Anthony,C.J. EbingerFULL STORY
USGS | The epic flooding hitting the Atlanta area in September was so extremely rare - six weeks later this event has defied attempts to describe it
November 4, 2009 - The epic flooding that hit the Atlanta area in September was so extremely rare that, six weeks later this event has defied attempts to describe it. Scientists have reviewed the numbers and they are stunning.
“At some sites, the annual chance of a flood of this magnitude was so significantly less than 1 in 500 that, given the relatively short length of streamgaging records (well less than 100 years), the U.S. Geological Survey cannot accurately characterize the probability due to its extreme rarity," said Robert Holmes, USGS National Flood Program Coordinator. “Nationwide, given that our oldest streamgaging records span about 100 years, the USGS does not cite probabilities for floods that are beyond a 0.2 percent (500-year) flood.”
“If a 0.2 percent (500-year) flood was a cup of coffee, this one brewed a full pot,” said Brian McCallum, Assistant Director for the USGS Georgia Water Science Center in Atlanta. “This flood overtopped 20 USGS streamgages – one by 12 feet. The closest numbers we have seen like these in Georgia were from Tropical Storm Alberto in 1994. This flood was off the charts.”......FULL STORY.....
Science Now | The Mountains That Froze the World - Rise of Appalachians may have triggered an ice age
NPR | Visualizing The U.S. Electric Grid
RELATEDA report issued by the National Research Council (NRC) in January 2009 has warned of the far reaching consequences of a solar storm hitting the Earth as the sun becomes more active during solar cycle 24 which began in 2008 and peaks around 2012. A March 23 article in the New Scientist discussed the significance of the NRC report which details how a solar storm could wipe out the electrical power grid causing massive disruption in the U.S. and around the planet. The impact of the plasma energy directly bombarding the Earth during a solar storm could lead to electrical power stations being off line for weeks and months at a time, as overworked workers try to repair badly damaged electrical equipment. According to the NRC report, this would lead to “disruption of the transportation, communication, banking, and finance systems, and government services; the breakdown of the distribution of potable water owing to pump failure; and the loss of perishable foods and medications because of lack of refrigeration.” Imagine life without running water from a tap, no refrigeration for storing food, gas for your car, or mass transit due to the power grid being off line for months. Millions of Americans could subsequently die in such a scenario described by Michael Brooks author of the New Scientist article, “Space storm alert: 90 seconds from catastrophe.” Such disturbing scenarios are very possible according to the National Research Council report. Now is the right time for bold action to replace the outdated electrical power grid with a decentralized form of fuelless or 'new energy' generators that can be mass produced for homes, small businesses and essential services.
A workshop was convened on May 22-23, 2008 by the Committee on the Societal and Economic Impacts of Severe Space Weather to “consider both direct and collateral effects of severe space weather events, the current state of the space weather services infrastructure in the United States, the needs of users of space weather data and services, and the ramifications of future technological developments for contemporary society's vulnerability to space weather.” The panel of scientists that met and issued a report warning about the impact of a severe solar storm hitting the Earth based their findings on data concerning the sun becoming more active around 2012. At the time of their meeting, they did not consider what was later revealed by NASA on December 16, 2008 to be a giant hole in the Earth’s magnetosphere that will last the entire 11 year duration of cycle 24. What this means is that the low possibility discussed by the May 2008 panel for solar storms impacting the Earth, is in fact much more likely to occur around 2012 as the sun become increasingly active. Indeed, the increased possibility of solar storms directly impacting the Earth due to the magnetosphere breach will last for the next ten years.
The National Research Council report and the December 2008 NASA announcement concerning a rip in the magnetosphere, together point to severe solar storms directly impacting the Earth and taking out the electrical power grid for extended periods of time around 2012, or collapsing altogether. Therefore, the U.S. and other nations have only two or three years to prepare for life where a centralized electrical power grid become increasingly unreliable or disappears altogether. The need for an alternative electrical power supply for the U.S. and the planet has never been more urgent. Fortunately, a possible solution was supplied by an early 20th century inventor.
An innovative attempt to develop power generators independent of the centralized electrical grid based fossil fuels are found in patents developed by the great inventor, Nikola Tesla (1856-1943). Tesla claimed that he could harness energy from the environment to power electrical devices. He said in 1933:
This new power for the driving of the world's machinery will be derived from the energy which operates the universe, the cosmic energy, whose central source for the earth is the sun and which is everywhere present in unlimited quantities.”
On November 5, 1901, Tesla was granted his first patent for his 'free' or 'new energy' device which he called: "Apparatus for the Utilization of Radiant Energy." Many inventors, inspired by Tesla’s theories and patents, have claimed they have been able to replicate and improve on his basic models. Numerous research papers have been written supporting the feasibility of Tesla’s ideas and patents.
Unfortunately, many inventors of 'free energy' generators and supporters of Tesla’s ideas have been harassed or intimidated by unknown government agencies and/or corporate entities opposed to creation of such devices. Fuelless energy generators threaten vested interests dependent on conventional fossil fuels for providing electricity to the general public. A number of non-governmental initiatives are underway to support inventors wanting to develop new energy generators. These include the New Energy Movement, the New Energy Congress and the Orion Project, all of which are privately funded and seeking public assistance. The time has arrived where inventors and organizations seeking the creation of new energy generators need to be supported. The alternative is to watch the centralized electrical power system become increasingly unreliable and even collapse as solar storms sweep over the planet as Solar Cycle 24 moves into its active phase. President Obama needs to urgently support an ambitious plan to develop and supply American families, small business and essential services with small scale new energy generators.
USGS | 6.0 magnitude earthquake hit the AZORES ISLANDS REGION - Wednesday, November 04, 2009 at 04:41:44 PM at epicenter

| MAG | UTC DATE-TIME y/m/d h:m:s | LAT deg | LON deg | DEPTH km | Region | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAP | 6.0 | 2009/11/04 18:41:45 | 36.120 | -33.893 | 10.0 | AZORES ISLANDS REGION |
RELATED:
http://www.ewpnet.com/azores/geology.htm

The oldest of the islands, Santa Maria, was formed some 7 million years ago and then sank and reappeared. As a result it is the only island to have appreciable marine fossils in its rocks. The youngest island is Pico. it was mainly formed some 300 thousand years ago. There was an even younger island - Sabrina - not far off from Sao Miguel that appeared in 1811 and was claimed by the British but sadly it vanished under the oceans just a few months later.
CoinFlation.com | U.S. Circulated Silver Coins (What coins to hang onto)
| U.S. Circulated Silver Coins Silver coin values below are based on the closing bid price at the NYMEX. These coins were in standard circulation until silver was removed from all coinage in 1965 and 1970 (40% silver half-dollars). The values below only reflect the silver value, not rarity or numismatic value. All values shown in USD. Coin value calculations use the 1:30 PM EST silver price for November 04, 2009: Silver $17.37/oz |
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Silver Melt Value Calculator
Calculate your own silver melt values using the Silver Melt Value Calculator. It allows you to select which U.S. silver coin to measure, quantity, and silver price (defaults to today's price, but you can enter any number). Go There Now |
SteveQuayle.com | Hot Headlines - November 4, 2009
E-mail from Eyewitness in Romania Concerning Pneumonic Plague
Pneunomic Plague and Aerosol Delivery
Real Estate Price Plunge Makes U.S. Homeownership Perilous Path
India Buys Gold – UK Buys Banks
India Enjoys a Post Sex Cigarette
Months of Gains Ahead for Commodities
Goldman Takes on New Role: Taking People's Homes
Capitol to be Filled with Livid Americans
Vacant Apartments Host WMD Exercises
It’s Radical Islam, Stupid
Jihadi Training Compounds, U.S.A.
Foreign Policy and National Security ‘On Hold’
Choosing Federalism, Choosing Freedom
Big Brother Antics Mocking Openness
Apollyon Rising 2012 Part 29
Come Against One of God's Ministries, God Will Smite You
Italy, Vatican in Uproar Over Court Crucifix Ruling
L.A. to N.Y. in Half an Hour? — 10,000mph Tunnel Train Plan Developed
Psychic Computer Shows Your Thoughts on Screen
Bill Weldon, chair and chief executive of Johnson & Johnson Pays $8.5M For Florida beachfront Lots ... As Johnson & Johnson Cuts some 8,000 Jobs
http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2009/11/jj_ceo_william_weldon_pays_845.htmlBy Ed Silverman
November 3rd, 2009 3:07 pm
Just a week before announcing that Johnson & Johnson will cut some 8,000 jobs, J&J chair and chief executive Bill Weldon plunked down $8.45 million for two adjacent vacant waterfront lots in North Palm Beach, Fl., and he bought them from former General Electric chair and chief executive Jack Welch, according to The Palm Beach Daily News and brought to our attention by Bnet.
The properties are listed as 1264 Lake Worth Lane in Lost Tree Village with 113 feet of water frontage for $2.975 million and 1284 Lake Worth Lane, with 111 feet of frontage, for $5 million, according to the Property Appraiser’s Office records, the paper writes. Several realtors advertise exclusive properties in the enclave (see here and here).
One of the realtors has this to say: “Lost Tree…is known for its Ocean, intracoastal, golf course, and lake views…There are homes on Lake Worth with wide water views and deep water ocean access, golf cottages located near the private golf course, and homes on interior lakes in this beautiful community. Lost Tree offers a private 18 hole golf course, 8 tennis courts, private beach…a beautiful beach club with a private restaurant open 2 days a week for dinner and for lunches most of the year.”
As for J&J employees? Some will be canvassing severance packages, COBRA health plans and, possibly, unemployment benefits. “These types of changes are difficult under any circumstances, and will have a very personal impact on people who have been dedicated to the mission of Johnson & Johnson,” Weldon says in today’s statement about the reorganization. Well, if nothing else, he’s stimulating the economy, albeit a well-to-do pocket.
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal | Johnson and Johnson Plans Staff Cut Of Up to 8,200 Jobs
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) announced several restructuring moves Tuesday, including cutting its workforce of nearly 120,000 employees by up to 7 percent. J&J will take other restructuring moves in order to save up to $900 million next year. While the job cuts prompted a restructuring charge of up to $1.3 billion pretax in the fourth quarter, J&J confirmed guidance. JNJ shares climbed some 2 percent ahead of the bell.
Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens For Legitimate Government | 04 Nov 2009
Italian judge to reach verdict in CIA kidnap trial --25 CIA agents, US air force colonel tried in absentia in case 03 Nov 2009 An Italian judge was expected to reach a verdict Wednesday in the landmark trial of 26 US secret agents in the 2003 abduction of a terror suspect from a Milan street. The trial, which opened in June 2007, is the highest profile case involving the CIA's covert "extraordinary rendition" programme in which scores of terror suspects are thought to have been transferred to countries known to practise torture. Twenty-five 25 CIA agents and a US air force colonel were tried in absentia in the case, which also involved seven Italian secret service officials including the former head of military intelligence, Nicolo Pollari, who was forced to quit over the affair.
FBI knew of CIA torture, considered prosecution By Tom Eley 04 Nov 2009 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents witnessed the torture of inmates at secret Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) overseas prisons in 2002, according to documents partially declassified in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the advocacy group Judicial Watch. In September 2002, the FBI agents saw prisoners chained naked to chairs, "manacled to the ceiling and subjected to blaring music around the clock," and knew of written orders to CIA agents asking them to compare "How close is each [interrogation] technique to the 'rack and screw' " (an extreme method of torture). The Obama administration resisted release of the documents, and continues to withhold critical information, including a transcript of an interview between FBI Director Robert Mueller and investigators on the question of "terror suspect" interrogations.
US Offers Taliban 6 Provinces for 8 Bases 02 Nov 2009 The emboldened Taliban movement in Afghanistan turned down an American offer of power-sharing in exchange for accepting the presence of foreign troops, Afghan government sources confirmed. "US negotiators had offered the Taliban leadership through Mullah Wakil Ahmed Mutawakkil (former Taliban foreign minister) that if they accept the presence of NATO troops in Afghanistan, they would be given the governorship of six provinces in the south and northeast," a senior Afghan Foreign Ministry official told IslamOnline.net requesting anonymity for not being authorized to talk about the sensitive issue with the media. He said the talks, brokered by Saudi Arabia and Turkey, continued for weeks at different locations including the Afghan capital Kabul. [See: Persistent accounts: Western forces in Afghanistan using their helicopters to ferry Taleban fighters By Ahmad Kawoosh 26 Oct 2009.]
Former minister: British should leave Afghanistan 'sooner rather than later' 04 Nov 2009 British troops should withdraw from Afghanistan "sooner rather than later", former Labour minister Kim Howells has said. The former foreign office minister suggested that the money saved should be invested in protecting Britain from terrorist attacks instead. Mr Howells, who is now chairman of the parliamentary intelligence and security committee, said there was no evidence that spending more time in the country would result in significant gains, and accused the government in Kabul of "squandering" the help offered by other nations.
Five British soldiers shot dead by rogue Afghanistan policeman 04 Nov 2009 Five soldiers have been shot dead by a "rogue" Afghan policeman in an attack at a police checkpoint. Three Grenadier Guards and two Royal Military Police were attacked as they rested inside a compound. The soldiers, who had removed their body armour and helmets, were shot by an Afghan national policeman who then fled. The gunman is thought to go by the name Gulbuddin and is believed to have had an accomplice.
British medics in Afghanistan see more traumas than UK hospitals put together 03 Nov 2009 British medics in Afghanistan are seeing more major trauma cases every day than all the UK hospitals put together, the colonel in charge of the main field hospital in Helmand said. Many of the injured have lost limbs after being caught by roadside bombs or improvised explosive devices (IEDs), Colonel Peter Gilbert said.
Mission accomplished! Iraq Signs Contract to Develop Oil Field 04 Nov 2009 Iraq formally signed a contract with a consortium of foreign oil companies Tuesday to develop its largest oil field. A partnership of British Petroleum and the Chinese National Petroleum Company signed a 20-year deal to develop the Rumalia field in southern Iraq, which contains about 17.8 billion barrels of oil. The field currently produces about one million barrels per day, but the companies plan to increase production to 2.85 million barrels per day within six years.
Israel intercepts ship carrying weapons: military 04 Nov 2009 The Israeli navy intercepted a ship carrying weapons 100 nautical miles (185 kilometres) off its coastline overnight, a military spokeswoman said on Wednesday. "During the night a special marine force intercepted a ship that was supposed to be carrying cargo around 100 (nautical) miles from our shore," the spokeswoman said, adding that the vessel was sailing under an Antigua flag.
Peres to Join Military Exercise 04 Nov 2009 President Shimon Peres will participate in the joint Israel-U.S. Juniper Cobra military exercise on Wednesday. Joining Peres will be Israel Air Force commander Ido Nechushtan, chief of IDF Operations Tal Russo, and other senior officers.
Pentagon: Defense personnel to get H1N1 vaccine before Guantanamo detainees 03 Nov 2009 The Pentagon stressed Tuesday that detainees prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, won't be receiving H1N1 flu vaccinations until well after all Department of Defense active duty and civilian employees have received their vaccinations. Pentagon officials said doses of the vaccine are on order for Guantanamo and are expected to arrive at the base in late November.
Inspections are top priority at Minot AFB 04 Nov 2009 The new commander of the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base said his first priority is to make sure the wing is ready for inspections. Col. Douglas Cox began Monday as the top officer of the bomb wing. Cox replaced Col. Joel Westa, who, along with the commander of the base's 5th Operations Support Squadron, were relieved of duty... "Building that credibility is one of the biggest challenges that we are working on." [I'd say so. It would be much easier to clean the Augean stables in a single day.] "We actually are inspected all the time so every day we're either inspecting ourselves or we're expecting inspectors to come from outside of Minot Air Force Base," Cox said.
New Wing Commander at Minot AFB 03 Nov 2009 There's a new wing commander at Minot Air Force base. [This happens about once a week.] Col. Douglas Cox is the new commander of the 5th bomb Wing. Col. Cox took over the wing after Col. Joel Westa was relieved of command on Friday. Westa was removed due to the Air Force losing confidence in his ability to command. Col. Cox says he is ready to lead the 5th bomb wing knowing that perfection is the standard.
Terror plot case: In bid to deny bail, prosecutors allege suspect also tried to skirt immigration laws --Man passed tips to an associate of a terror group, prosecutors allege 04 Nov 2009 A Chicago businessman linked to a plot to attack a Danish newspaper that published controversial cartoons about the Prophet Muhammad passed on tips to an associate of a terror group on how to illegally enter the United States, prosecutors alleged Tuesday. The new allegations against Tahawwur Hussain Rana came as the government renewed its push to keep him in custody pending trial. The filing in federal court delayed a bond hearing for Rana until next week.
Government planning to impose quarantines in regions with growing number of flu patients 04 Nov 2009 The Ukrainian government is planning to impose quarantines in the Ukrainian regions in which the number of patients with flu and acute respiratory infections is growing, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has said. As reported, quarantines were imposed in nine Ukrainian regions on October 30 due to the epidemic of flu and acute respiratory infections.
Ukraine virus mystery deepens 03 Nov 2009 The mystery of the unidentified flu virus in the Ukraine, first reported by RNW on 29 October, has deepened... In August 2009, a man called Joseph Mosse, who claims to be a former microbiologist with the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, was arrested in Los Angeles, having made threats against the White House. Shortly after his arrest, there were reports that he had called into a radio show with a warning about a biological weapon being prepared in the Ukraine by a company called Baxter International. According to these reports, Mr Mosse said that the weapon would be spread via a flu vaccine. Credence is being given to these reports because Mr Mosse's qualifications as a microbiologist are confirmed by his research profile on this website. There is also a story doing the rounds that a light aircraft has been spotted spraying an unidentified substance over the capital, Kiev, but this has been denied by the country’s Office of Emergency Response. [See: Baxter working on vaccine to stop swine flu, though admitted sending live pandemic flu viruses to subcontractor By Lori Price 26 Apr 2009.]
Swine flu could raise constitutional issues --Most governors have the power to take drastic measures such as quarantining people, seizing medications, overturning laws and using martial police power. 03 Nov 2009 Civil liberties advocates caution that mandatory vaccinations, forced quarantines and restricted interstate travel would not only endanger individual rights but also would be unlikely to prevent disease in the event of a severe H1N1 outbreak. "These raise the highest constitutional problems," said Michael Greenberger, director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security at the University of Maryland, at a recent panel discussion. Greenberger said in the case of a pandemic, state and federal governments have extensive executive emergency powers. State laws give governors the authority to contravene any law that interferes with the governor's ability to deal with an emergency.
School District's H1N1 Flu Vaccine Ruined 03 Nov 2009 (PA) With a shortage of H1N1 flu vaccine all across the country thousands of doses in the Stroudsburg Area School District are being thrown out because the refrigerator storing the doses somehow ended up at the wrong temperature. Five thousand swine flu vaccinations, enough for every student in the district, were ruined because of a mechanical malfunction.
Republicans win Virginia and New Jersey elections in blow for Barack Obama 04 Nov 2009 American voters have delivered a sharp rebuke to Barack Obama by rejecting his allies in Virginia, the swing state that helped deliver him the White House almost exactly a year ago, and the Democratic stronghold of New Jersey. Bob McDonnell, the Republican candidate, trounced his Democratic opponent Creigh Deeds, for whom Mr Obama had campaigned, by 17 points to become Virginia governor. Republicans also won the races in Virginia for lieutenant governor and attorney general. Governor Jon Corzine, the incumbent Democrat, was defeated by Chris Christie in New Jersey, where no Republican had won state-wide since 1997.
Democrat wins House seat in heavily GOP area in NY 04 Nov 2009 A Democrat running in a historically Republican stronghold won a closely watched special congressional election in northern New York on Tuesday, capitalizing on a split that emerged between moderates and conservatives for control of the GOP. Lawyer and retired Air Force Capt. Bill Owens defeated businessman Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate, 49 percent to 45 percent, after a boost from unified labor efforts in the last days of the campaign and the withdrawal of the Republican candidate over the weekend.
Bloomberg Wins 3rd Term as Mayor in Unexpectedly Close Race 04 Nov 2009 Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg pulled out a narrow re-election victory on Tuesday, as voters angry over his maneuver to undo the city’s term limits law and his extravagant campaign spending provided an unexpected lift to his vastly underfinanced challenger, William C. Thompson Jr. Unofficial returns showed Mr. Bloomberg with 51 percent and Mr. Thompson with 46 percent. The result will make Mr. Bloomberg only the fourth three-term mayor in the last century.
Maine voters overturn legal same-sex marriage 04 Nov 2009 Voters in Maine repealed a state law legalizing same sex marriage, which backers of the measure said shows "voters don't want to change what you call marriage." Advocates of same-sex marriage refused to concede defeat early Wednesday after supporters declared victory. Nearly 53 percent of voters backed the referendum of a law the state legislature approved in May and the governor signed.
The Halliburton Loophole (The New York Times) 03 Nov 2009 Among the many dubious provisions in the 2005 energy bill was one dubbed the Halliburton loophole, which was inserted at the behest of -- you guessed it -- then-Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney, a former chief executive of Halliburton. It stripped the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to regulate a drilling process called hydraulic fracturing. Invented by Halliburton in the 1940s, it involves injecting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals, some of them toxic, into underground rock formations to blast them open and release natural gas. Hydraulic fracturing has been implicated in a growing number of water pollution cases across the country. It has become especially controversial in New York, where regulators are eager to clear the way for drilling in the New York City watershed, potentially imperiling the city’s water supply. Thankfully, the main company involved has now decided not to go ahead.
California to withhold a bigger chunk of paychecks --The amount goes up 10% on Sunday as Sacramento borrows from taxpayers. 31 Oct 2009 Starting Sunday, cash-strapped California will dig deeper into the pocketbooks of wage earners -- holding back 10% more than it already does in state income taxes just as the biggest shopping season of the year kicks into gear. Technically, it's not a tax increase, even though it may feel like one when your next paycheck arrives. As part of a bundle of budget patches adopted in the summer, the state is taking more money now in withholding, even though workers' annual tax bills won't change.
US wages and salaries rise at record-low levels By Andre Damon 31 Oct 2009 Employment costs in the US rose at the lowest annual amount in at least 27 years, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department. Stagnant wages and salaries are the outcome of government policies designed to lower the living standards of workers. Over the past 12 months, the Labor Department’s Employment Cost Index rose by 1.5 percent, marking the lowest wage and salary growth since these figures started to be collected in 1982.
Previous lead stories: Persistent accounts: Western forces in Afghanistan using their helicopters to ferry Taleban fighters --The local talk is of the insurgency being consciously moved north, with international troops ferrying fighters in from the volatile south, to create mayhem in a new location. By Ahmad Kawoosh 26 Oct 2009 Persistent accounts of western forces in Afghanistan using their helicopters to ferry Taleban fighters, strongly denied by the military, is feeding mistrust of the forces that are supposed to be bringing order to the country. One such tale came from a soldier from the 209th Shahin Corps of the Afghan National Army, fighting against the growing insurgency in Kunduz province in northern Afghanistan. Over several months, he had taken part in several pitched battles against the armed opposition. "Just when the police and army managed to surround the Taleban in a village of Qala-e-Zaal district, we saw helicopters land with support teams," he said... Dozens of people claim to have seen Taleban fighters disembark from foreign helicopters in several provinces. For months or even years, rumours have been circulating in Afghanistan that the Taleban are being financed or even directly supported militarily by the foreign forces.
Jet named in torture flight report is met by SAS at British airport --The Gulfstream, registration number N478GS, is owned by a company called L-3 Integrated Systems. 31 Oct 2009 A U.S. plane that featured in a European Parliament report into the 'extraordinary rendition' of terror suspects was met by two SAS helicopters in a secret operation at one of Britain's biggest airports. The Gulfstream jet landed at Birmingham International Airport on Friday, October 2, having flown in from an undisclosed location, and was seen by a member of staff being met minutes later by the Special Forces regiment aircraft. Records show that the jet is owned by a subsidiary of L-3 Communications, a multi-billion-dollar defence corporation based in New York, whose clients include several American government departments, among them the Department of Homeland Security.
USGS - TWO earthquakes 5.3 and 5.0 hit OFF THE COAST OF OREGON - Wednesday November 4, 2009
| MAG | UTC DATE-TIME y/m/d h:m:s | LAT deg | LON deg | DEPTH km | Region | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAP | 5.3 | 2009/11/04 12:38:29 | 43.460 | -126.774 | 10.0 | OFF THE COAST OF OREGON |
| MAP | 5.0 | 2009/11/04 12:38:00 | 43.407 | -126.593 | 12.0 | OFF THE COAST OF OREGON |
- 195 km (121 miles) WNW (282°) from Bandon, OR
- 199 km (124 miles) W (274°) from Barview, OR
- 201 km (125 miles) WNW (294°) from Port Orford, OR
- 283 km (176 miles) NW (313°) from Crescent City, CA
- 400 km (249 miles) SW (236°) from Portland, OR
LIST OF 9 EARTHQUAKES ON THE ABOVE MAP| MAG | UTC DATE-TIME y/m/d h:m:s | LAT deg | LON deg | DEPTH km | Region | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAP | 5.3 | 2009/11/04 12:38:29 | 43.460 | -126.774 | 10.0 | OFF THE COAST OF OREGON |
| MAP | 5.0 | 2009/11/04 12:38:00 | 43.407 | -126.593 | 12.0 | OFF THE COAST OF OREGON |
| MAP | 4.1 | 2009/11/04 02:16:59 | 40.465 | -125.150 | 0.2 | OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA |
| MAP | 2.5 | 2009/11/03 21:54:53 | 40.465 | -121.538 | 5.4 | LASSEN PEAK AREA, CALIFORNIA |
| MAP | 2.9 | 2009/11/03 20:19:23 | 40.983 | -125.338 | 23.7 | OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA |
| MAP | 2.5 | 2009/11/02 02:46:51 | 40.404 | -125.514 | 10.0 | OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA |
| MAP | 2.7 | 2009/11/01 11:48:47 | 40.393 | -124.499 | 26.5 | OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA |
| MAP | 2.7 | 2009/10/31 17:06:25 | 40.364 | -124.774 | 20.0 | OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA |
| MAP | 3.6 | 2009/10/29 21:13:43 | 40.722 | -127.243 | 10.0 | OFF THE COAST OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA |
Joyce Riley's THE POWER HOUR NEWS | November 4, 2009
Brasscheck TV: How the US military poisons its own troops -- Pentagon resumes experimental vaccine testing on US troops. (This is a clip from Beyond Treason)
Massachusetts pandemic bill nears passage -- The Massachusetts House has overwhelmingly approved an effort giving public health officials the power to isolate individuals and order quarantines to contain the outbreak of serious contagious diseases. The bill – S2028 – is designed to protect public health in case of a variety of possible emergencies, including natural disasters, chemical spills, bioterrorist attacks and infectious diseases. The H1N1 virus, or swine flu, is covered under infectious diseases.
Government appoints task force to handle swine flu propaganda -- The U.S. government has appointed what the media is ludicrously billing as an “independent” group of health advisors whose job it will be to whitewash adverse reactions to the swine flu vaccine and “explain” them to the public as mere coincidence.
CFR recording suggests creating false scarcity to drive up demand for H1N1 vaccine -- A recording of a recent Council On Foreign Relations symposium reveals attendees discussing ways and means of getting the public to take the H1N1 flu vaccine in spite of the mass resistance that has arisen due to questions over it’s safety.
Swine flu or worse? The debate on what the heck is going on in the Ukraine rages on -- At this hour a team of experts from the World Health Organization is on the ground in Ukraine, but the search for solid answers about what in the world is going on there has not made much progress.
Online coupon site -- List of stores with discount codes.
Can marijuana help kids with autism? -- As the mother of an autistic child, Marie Myung-Ok Lee is navigating uncharted territory as she struggles to manage her son's condition. She has bravely come forward to share her son's battle with this mysterious disorder, and to discuss how medical marijuana has brought them both back from the brink of despair.
FDA hid research that damned Aspartame -- Fatal Studies Should Have Blocked NutraSweet Approval.
Author says G20 meeting in Scotland this week about dumping US dollar -- Best-selling author Daniel Estulin states that the key issue to be discussed this week at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, being held in St. Andrews, Scotland, is how to bring down the present world financial system through dumping the US dollar.
Layoffs, bankruptcies & business closings for the month of October -- Your source for daily job news regarding layoffs, bankrupcy's and closings.
It's time to bring back the BBS network-bypass the internet -- Before the World Wide Web (WWW) came into its own in the latter 1990’s, the BBS or Bulletin Board System was the popular means of communicating by computer. Read More...
Copy of consent form issued by GSK before taking flu vaccine -- This form is to be filled in by candidates for vaccination prior to the administration of
the Pandemrix (GSK) vaccine against influenza A/H1N1. Two copies are to be signed, one to be retained by the doctor.
The silence about vaccine deaths in media is due to confidential contracts with the vaccine makers -- If you are to receive the "Pandremix" against the benign “new-type” H1N1-flu this season, we recommend that you first learn about the possible side effects, as GSK asked their own employees to sign an "informed consent form" before receiving the vaccine.
Swine flu scare tightens borders around Ukraine -- Russia and Slovakia tightened their borders with Ukraine on Tuesday as the World Health Organization began investigating a suspected swine flu outbreak.
Consumer goods made with radioactive metals -- A lack of regulatory oversight has led to massive quantities of radioactive metal entering the U.S. raw materials supply, meaning that many consumer products may expose users to dangerous levels of radiation, a Scripps Howard News Service investigation has found.
Parents: send this note to your school principal to protect your child from swine flu vaccines -- After reading about the forced vaccination of a Brooklyn schoolgirl who ended up in the hospital, many parents are concerned about how they might protect their own children from school-based vaccination schemes.
Companies are cashing in in swine flu -- Business is booming for shady internet pharmacies peddling fake vaccines. Be especially wary of unauthorized versions of Tamiflu. The real swine flu vaccine can be sold only through doctors.
Swine flu causes brawl on NY Subway -- Fight heats up on subway between two women because one did not cover her mouth while coughing.
Chinese drywall studies released by various agencies -- The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has received thousands of reports involving corroding metal components in houses built using Chinese drywall materials. The Chinese Drywall complaints and reports come from 30 US States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Obama election defeat termed 'astonishing' -- The Obama freight train that has been steamrolling American politics ever since his election one year ago ran squarely into a political brick wall Tuesday night, as Democrats suffered stunning setbacks in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races.
Honolulu symphony may file for bankruptcy this week -- The Honolulu Symphony may file for bankruptcy protection as early as tomorrow, according to people familiar with the situation.
Al Gore could become world's first carbon billionaire -- Al Gore, the former US vice president, could become the world's first carbon billionaire after investing heavily in green energy companies.
Sustainably grown garlic! -- Fueled by factors including the growth of the "local foods" movement, interest in world cuisines, and widespread reports touting its numerous health benefits, demand for high-quality, locally grown garlic is increasing throughout the U.S. (plant garlic in the fall!)
TV exposure may be associated with aggressive behavior in young children -- Three-year-old children who are exposed to more TV appear to be at an increased risk for exhibiting aggressive behavior, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Maryland cities create school zones for speed camera use -- Baltimore and New Carrollton, Maryland create new school zones in areas that have no children for the purpose of installing speed cameras.
Related Article:
Stop big brother Maryland website -- Welcome to Maryland! Smile, Big Brother is Watching You!top big brother Maryland website -- Welcome to Maryland! Smile, Big Brother is Watching You!
Website to bypass other website registrations -- You're browsing the web and you click a link to an article on a site (let's say nytimes.com) but instead of getting the article you get a screen asking you to login or register. Infuriated at the idea of pointlessly registering for yet another site you turn to your good buddy bugmenot.com. Read More...








