Friday, 31 July 2009
Iraq ,Afghanistan
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Iraqed
Blair to be called before Iraq War inquiry
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will be called before an independent inquiry into the country's role in the Iraq war, its chairman says. John Chilcot tells the assembled media in London he will not "offer a list of witnesses" but that "key decision-makers in the key phases of the Iraq affair" will be called. full story
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will be called before an independent inquiry into the country's role in the Iraq war, its chairman says. John Chilcot tells the assembled media in London he will not "offer a list of witnesses" but that "key decision-makers in the key phases of the Iraq affair" will be called. full story
From Calitics.com
Hi Calitics Readers -
This week, the State of California has been dealt a devastating blow. Not only from the signing of one of the worst budget "compromises" ever seen in the state's history, but also in the Governor's line item vetoes.
He took $6 million from state parks, meaning 100 parks will likely be closed. Healthy Families, the insurance program for children, also lost millions of dollars, and HIV/AIDS funding was hit particularly hard, as the Governor took over $52 million from prevention and other associated services. These are short-sighted and disastrous policy decisions, but that has come to be what we expect from this Governor.
While there will be some wrangling yet to come, the fact is that we have lost control of the state. Despite the fact that California voters are generally progressive leaning, we are controlled by a small minority. Our system is not functional, and our leaders are not fully accountable as there is always the crutch of blaming the other guy. It is no way to run the 8th largest economy in the world.
We've been looking at how a constitutional convention would work, what the progressive goals for such a meeting would be, and what conservatives would want out of the deal. The fact is that this state needs big change that will allow fair and just governance.
On the other hand, what this state does not need is a shifting of taxes from the rich to the poor. The initial goal of the 21st Century Commission was to reduce volatility, but it seems Bush Ranger Gerald Parsky sees that as a good excuse to reduce taxes for those making over $200,000 at the expense of the middle class. If you have a moment, contact your legislator to let them know that we should not be shifiting taxes to the middle class.
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html
If you are a member of Facebook, support Calitics at facebook.com/calitics. You can also donate to the Calitics CaliPAC.
Thanks again for reading Calitics. Please let me know if you have any suggestions. Do you have a story idea? Let me know! If you like these emails, please forward them on.
This week, the State of California has been dealt a devastating blow. Not only from the signing of one of the worst budget "compromises" ever seen in the state's history, but also in the Governor's line item vetoes.
He took $6 million from state parks, meaning 100 parks will likely be closed. Healthy Families, the insurance program for children, also lost millions of dollars, and HIV/AIDS funding was hit particularly hard, as the Governor took over $52 million from prevention and other associated services. These are short-sighted and disastrous policy decisions, but that has come to be what we expect from this Governor.
While there will be some wrangling yet to come, the fact is that we have lost control of the state. Despite the fact that California voters are generally progressive leaning, we are controlled by a small minority. Our system is not functional, and our leaders are not fully accountable as there is always the crutch of blaming the other guy. It is no way to run the 8th largest economy in the world.
We've been looking at how a constitutional convention would work, what the progressive goals for such a meeting would be, and what conservatives would want out of the deal. The fact is that this state needs big change that will allow fair and just governance.
On the other hand, what this state does not need is a shifting of taxes from the rich to the poor. The initial goal of the 21st Century Commission was to reduce volatility, but it seems Bush Ranger Gerald Parsky sees that as a good excuse to reduce taxes for those making over $200,000 at the expense of the middle class. If you have a moment, contact your legislator to let them know that we should not be shifiting taxes to the middle class.
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html
If you are a member of Facebook, support Calitics at facebook.com/calitics. You can also donate to the Calitics CaliPAC.
Thanks again for reading Calitics. Please let me know if you have any suggestions. Do you have a story idea? Let me know! If you like these emails, please forward them on.
Sarah Palins care for the nrg probs of the US
After stepping down on Sunday morning, Sarah Palin posted her final Twitter update to her @AKGovSarahPalin account, which had close to 125k followers. With Palin’s refusal to specifically address her post-gubernatorial plans, speculation has run rampant over what she intends to accomplish out of office. She is reportedly considering joining the ranks of the esteemed talk radio punditry.
An analysis of Palin’s Twitter activity in the weeks leading up to her final @AKGovSarahPalin update on Sunday may provide the best insight into what issue most concerns the former vice presidential nominee.
A comprehensive analysis of Palin’s last two months of Twitter updates (May 26-July 26) reveals that she mentioned energy 53 times out of 400 updates, far more than any other single issue. That is nearly 4 times as many mentions than the economy, and just short of 11 times the mentions of health care. A word cloud based on her Twitter activity reinforces the fact that Palin has been focusing her efforts on leading the GOP’s opposition to clean energy reform. Here’s a chart tracking Palin’s tweets:
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Schwarzenegger blasts unemployment appeals board over backlog
Sometimes, Schwarzenegger complains about the delinquents who illegally subsidize on state welfare. But when the moment comes to protect his spoongos from criticism for their unwill to permit welfare they are dropped like a stinking sock. Axxhole?
LATimes
LATimes
Obama Embraces Bush-Era Immigration Detention System
Obama Embraces Bush-Era Immigration Detention System
The Obama administration has refused to make legally enforceable rules for immigration detention, rejecting a federal court petition by former detainees and their advocates and embracing a Bush-era inspection system that relies in part on private contractors. The decision, contained in a six-page letter received by the plaintiffs this week, disappointed and angered immigration advocacy organizations around the country. They pointed to a stream of newly available documents that underscore the government’s failure to enforce minimum standards it set in 2000, including those concerning detainees’ access to basic health care, telephones and lawyers, even as the number of people detained has soared to more than 400,000 a year.
Italy: Berlusconis sex adventures in a relaxation clinic for back problems
timesonline
A model and soap opera actress said yesterday that she was one of the girls who joined Silvio Berlusconi for a weekend at a health spa last year.
Licia Nunez, 31, said that she joined the Italian Prime Minister at an Umbrian health resort with several other women last November, but was devastated to have been dragged into a scandal surrounding the alleged recruitment of prostitutes to attend parties.
She said that Mr Berlusconi called her a few days ago to tell her how indignant he was about what had been written about her in the newspapers. She has worked for Mr Berlusconi’s television channels.
“I am not an escort, I have never taken money, I have never received gifts, I am not a part of anybody’s entourage,” Ms Nunez told the daily Corriere della Sera in an interview published on its website.
“As soon as my mother read all this dirt she burst into tears. This is very serious, I am really afraid for my career.”
Prosecutors in Bari, southern Italy, are investigating a businessman, Gianpaolo Tarantini, on suspicion that he abetted prostitution by allegedly paying women to attend parties at Mr Berlusconi’s homes in the capital and Sardinia. Mr Tarantini has denied all wrongdoing.
Two weeks ago the weekly magazine L’Espresso reported that Mr Berlusconi, Mr Tarantini and several young women spent the weekend of November 28 last year at the Marc Messegue Health Centre near the medieval hilltop town of Todi, 130 kilometres (80 miles) northeast of Rome.
Ms Nunez said that she joined Mr Berlusconi and his guests but had travelled alone in a car with a driver that the Prime Minister provided.
Ms Nunez, who comes from Barletta outside Bari, said that she had met Mr Berlusconi “six or seven times” and spoke of seeing him at a social event in March 2008 before he was re-elected Prime Minister for the third time.
She described him like a paternal figure who advised her on artistic issues.
“I struck up the courage to give him my cell phone number. Incredibly, he called me after the elections and invited me to Palazzo Grazioli to celebrate the victory,” she said.
She also described what happened when she met Mr Tarantini with Mr Berlusconi and the others at the Todi health spa.
“We all ate together and of course I spoke to this man [Mr Tarantini]. We come from the same place so we cracked jokes in the local Bari dialect. Then we exchanged telephone numbers, it was more of a courtesy,” she said.
“I never ask a stranger if he has a criminal record, it was enough for me that he was the premier’s guest.”
Ms Nunez said she had never accepted any gifts from the Prime Minister but had given him a “beautiful blue cashmere scarf” for his birthday in 2008. “In Umbria he wore it around his neck, which made me happy,” she said.
Mr Berlusconi’s office declined to comment on Ms Nunez’ interview today and her lawyers, Alessandro Varrenti and Annamaria Bernardini de Pace, who are based in Milan declined to speak to The Times on their client’s interview.
Bavaria Motor Works says bye bye F1 - Schuhmacher returns
Looks like Ferrari had to do sth after obstructing Mosley and Ecclestone for a while, now even more because BMW said bye bye. If I was Schuhmacher I wouldnt return. Fate is fatal sometimes. The pressure would be too big 4 me.
Schumi kehrt zurück
Nun also doch: Rekord-Weltmeister Michael Schumacher steht vor einem Comeback in der Formel 1. ...»
Health
Wall Street loves news of fading public option
by SusanG
Wed Jul 29, 2009 at 07:18:02 AM PDT
Give financiers credit--they see through the bullshit and know exactly who's going to benefit if the public option gets dropped from health care reform. Hint: It ain't the public.
Shares of U.S. health insurers rose broadly on Tuesday on hopes a health reform bill would not include a government-run option, which has drawn strong opposition from insurers who fear it would destroy the private marketplace.
The S&P Managed Health Care index of large U.S. health insurers closed 6.5 percent higher.
Aetna rose 12.6 percent, Coventry was up 12.7 percent and Cigna was 7.7 percent higher, all on the New York Stock Exchange. Centene rose 7.9 percent.
Senate Panel Endorses Sotomayor
nytimes
WASHINGTON — President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, moved closer to taking her seat on Tuesday as the Senate Judiciary Committee overwhelmingly approved her nomination and sent it on to the full Senate.
WASHINGTON — President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, moved closer to taking her seat on Tuesday as the Senate Judiciary Committee overwhelmingly approved her nomination and sent it on to the full Senate.
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
Class Warfare in China
I mean there is some left position denying the Chinese doing: you can call this state capitalism. In fact, China stopped the privatization. So, I mean, in the end its a proper decision I think
nytimes:SHANGHAI — China’s state-run press confirmed Monday that a riot broke out at a steel mill in north China Friday evening, leaving the executive of another steel mill dead.
The report, in the English-language China Daily, provided few details on the mayhem, but a report on Saturday by a Hong Kong-based group, the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy, which broke the story on the riot, said that at least 30,000 workers were involved and that about 100 people were wounded.
The riot, at the Tonghua Iron and Steel Works in Jilin Province in northern China, broke out after a visiting steel executive from a related company threatened mass layoffs at the Tonghua steel mills as part of a major restructuring of the state-owned company, China Daily said.
The riot followed a pattern of massive demonstrations that have taken place in various parts of the country over the past few years, many involving citizens outraged over government corruption or threatened with layoffs or orders to relocate.
The China Daily report said Chen Guojun, the steel executive who was beaten to death, had threatened 3,000 Tonghua steelworkers with layoffs, which he had said could take place within three days. He also had signaled that larger jobs cuts were likely at the struggling steel mill.
The report said the rioters blocked the police, ambulances and government officials from reaching Mr. Chen before he died.
- The riot in northern China broke out after the visiting executive threatened mass layoffs at the Tonghua steel mills.New York Times - Jul 26 7:54 PM
nytimes:SHANGHAI — China’s state-run press confirmed Monday that a riot broke out at a steel mill in north China Friday evening, leaving the executive of another steel mill dead.
The report, in the English-language China Daily, provided few details on the mayhem, but a report on Saturday by a Hong Kong-based group, the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy, which broke the story on the riot, said that at least 30,000 workers were involved and that about 100 people were wounded.
The riot, at the Tonghua Iron and Steel Works in Jilin Province in northern China, broke out after a visiting steel executive from a related company threatened mass layoffs at the Tonghua steel mills as part of a major restructuring of the state-owned company, China Daily said.
The riot followed a pattern of massive demonstrations that have taken place in various parts of the country over the past few years, many involving citizens outraged over government corruption or threatened with layoffs or orders to relocate.
The China Daily report said Chen Guojun, the steel executive who was beaten to death, had threatened 3,000 Tonghua steelworkers with layoffs, which he had said could take place within three days. He also had signaled that larger jobs cuts were likely at the struggling steel mill.
The report said the rioters blocked the police, ambulances and government officials from reaching Mr. Chen before he died.
Monday, 27 July 2009
House passes resolution that states Obama was born in Hawaii, 378-0.
House passes resolution that states Obama was born in Hawaii, 378-0.
This evening, the House passed a resolution sponsored by Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) that commemorates Hawaii’s 50th anniversary as a U.S. state by a vote of 378-0. The resolution also contains this provision: “Whereas the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, was born in Hawaii,” a measure that some GOP members may have had trouble supporting. However, many of the Republican representatives who at expressed at least subtle doubt that Obama was not born in the U.S. voted for the resolution. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), who had earlier in the day prevented the resolution from coming to a voice vote on the House floor, and Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL), who sponsored a bill requiring presidential candidates to prove natural-born citizenship, both voted for the resolution. Rep. John Campbell (R-CA), a co-sponsor of Posey’s bill who expressed doubt about Obama’s citizenship last week on MSNBC, did not vote.
MS and EU
I don't get it anyway. An explorer isn't such a huge piece of software. It has 20 MB's at best. And it's most of the time better if the code is shorter. I like netscape nav 9 best because it loads pages as TP and allspinzone fastest. So, I dont know what MS did again what was so evil. There were always competing browsers like netscape for example. I think all the fuzz about the Mozilla browser is made up. I mean u still need to install your macromedia flash player after downloading it dont u? What I'm trying to say: There won't be any wonders in this sector anytime soon. MS will do it's homework and the pervasive crap of accusing ms of maildoing is just another ridiculous EU attempt to obstruct an US digital giant.
Silicon Alley Insider
Silicon Alley Insider
In our opinion, we're about five years into the a decade-long destruction of one of the most powerful and profitable monopolies in history.
The latest EU decision, in which Microsoft will offer European PC buyers a choice of browsers, is not a big deal in and of itself. Many of the users offered a choice will still choose IE, and Europe isn't the world. Also, since Microsoft makes no money from selling the browser, the decision won't have a financial impact.
But the move will hasten the erosion of IE's global share. And this, in turn, will inhibit Microsoft's ability to drive people to its own online services. And it comes as Microsoft's influence is waning in several other critical areas:
- Desktop operating systems. The "operating system" is gradually being reduced to a set of drivers designed to run a single app: The Internet. Microsoft is struggling to maintain its pricing and profit structure in netbook sales (the fastest growing segment of the market), and "desktops" are no longer the center of the computing universe. As more and more resources are shifted to the cloud, and users access the same info and apps from multiple devices and locations, the role of the desktop operating system will be further reduced.
- Mobile computing. Relative to Apple, Research In Motion, and other mobile leaders, Microsoft is nowhere here.
- Cloud computing. In a world in which the processing and the apps live in the cloud, the operating systemon any given device is much less important.
- Office apps. Yes, Google Apps are still weak, especially for professional users. But Google has grabbed the low end of the office app market, and they'll presumably build from there. Meanwhile, Microsoft's features and functionality in Office have vastly overshot the needs of the mainstream market. This makes Office ripe for disruption.
Vernon Forrest killed in robbery
cable news network
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Former boxing champion Vernon Forrest is dead after being shot multiple times in a neighborhood southwest of downtown Atlanta, officials said Sunday.
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Former boxing champion Vernon Forrest is dead after being shot multiple times in a neighborhood southwest of downtown Atlanta, officials said Sunday.
Sunday, 26 July 2009
Sarkozy rushed to hospital in jogging scare
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been taken to hospital for medical tests after falling ill while jogging with bodyguards near Paris, according to French media reports. full story
Palin's resignation day arrives
Palin's resignation day arrives
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin steps down Sunday with her political future clouded by ethics probes, mounting legal bills and dwindling popularity.
Palin has said little of what her life will be like as a private citizen. She is scheduled to speak Aug. 8 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, and has said she plans to write a book, campaign for political candidates from coast to coast and build a right-of-center coalition.
She also plans to continue speaking her mind on the social networking site Twitter.
Saturday, 25 July 2009
NK calls Hillary Clinton a "schoolgirl"
aol
www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE56N3JM20090724
sent by Fiore since 17 hours 47 minutes, published about 1 hour 19 minutes
PHUKET, Thailand (July 23) - Hillary Rodham Clinton and North Korea exchanged pointed barbs Thursday, with Clinton declaring North Korea "has no friends left" and the communist regime calling the U.S. secretary of state a "schoolgirl."
The sharp words came as North Korea announced it had refused to re-enter talks to terminate its nuclear weapons program.
U.S. to transfer $200 million to Palestinians
www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE56N3JM20090724sent by Fiore since 17 hours 47 minutes, published about 1 hour 19 minutes
The United States plans to transfer $200 million to the struggling Palestinian Authority to help cover its budget shortfall, an Obama administration official said on Friday. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to announce the transfer of funds on Friday as part of U.S. efforts to improve conditions on the ground that will bolster attempts to revive stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The money is not new assistance, but part of $900 million in U.S. funds that Clinton pledged at a donors conference in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in March, the official told Reuters.
NYT: Bush weighed using GIs in U.S. arrests
NYT: Bush weighed using GIs in U.S. arrests
WASHINGTON - Top Bush administration officials in 2002 debated testing the Constitution by sending American troops into the suburbs of Buffalo to arrest a group of men suspected of plotting with Al Qaeda, according to former administration officials.
WASHINGTON - Top Bush administration officials in 2002 debated testing the Constitution by sending American troops into the suburbs of Buffalo to arrest a group of men suspected of plotting with Al Qaeda, according to former administration officials.
Some of the advisers to President George W. Bush, including Vice President Dick Cheney, argued that a president had the power to use the military on domestic soil to sweep up the terrorism suspects, who came to be known as the Lackawanna Six, and declare them enemy combatants.
Mr. Bush ultimately decided against the proposal to use military force.
State budgets walloped again
State budgets walloped again
Revenue shortfalls lead to new budget gaps only three weeks into the new fiscal year. States are forced to make more painful budget cuts.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The bad news about state budgets just keeps getting worse. Only three weeks into the new fiscal year, gaps are already opening up. And the shortfalls are only expected to grow.
"If you think legislators are breathing a sigh of relief because their budgets are passed, think again," said William Pound, executive director of the National Conference of State Legislatures.
State legislators and governors had to contend with deficits totaling $142.6 billion as they closed out fiscal 2009, which ended on June 30 for 46 states, according to the conference. Three states have yet to pass balanced budgets for fiscal 2010, as officials tussle over painful budget cuts and tax increases.
But even some states that approved budgets are going back to the drawing board as revenues drop faster and more sharply than they had estimated.
Legislators from around the country, who are meeting in Philadelphia, gathered Tuesday to discuss their common plight. Gallows humor was abundant, according to Corina Eckl, director of the conference's fiscal program.
New bank bankruptcy: Guaranty financial group of Texas is totally bankrupt. It administrated before 16bio$
German NTV
4:48pm: A weak economy and frozen financing markets could spell trouble for regional banks with ballooning commercial loan portfolios. More
7 regional banks fail
No. 2 Texas bank expects to fail
California lawmakers OK budget plan
4:48pm: A weak economy and frozen financing markets could spell trouble for regional banks with ballooning commercial loan portfolios. More7 regional banks fail
No. 2 Texas bank expects to fail
California lawmakers OK budget plan
Friday, 24 July 2009
Cheney triggers Armitage(!)
Perhaps I get this sentence below the headline wrong but it means to me: if cheney doesnt get busted with plame, he ll never will. strange that he increased the load by shooting wittington. I think there was someone important who couldnt bust Cheney anymore. Wonder who this was.
Cheney backs Libby, blames leak on Armitage
That meant taking up the pardon question again was, as a West Wing veteran put it later, like passing a kidney stone — for the second time. Bolten declined to take a stand, according to several associates. Instead, he lateraled the issue to Fielding, claiming that a legal, not a political, call was required. If the counsel’s office decided a pardon wasn’t merited, says an official involved in the discussions, everyone else would have cover with Cheney. “They could say, Our hands are tied — our lawyers said the guy was guilty.”
Cheney backs Libby, blames leak on Armitage
That meant taking up the pardon question again was, as a West Wing veteran put it later, like passing a kidney stone — for the second time. Bolten declined to take a stand, according to several associates. Instead, he lateraled the issue to Fielding, claiming that a legal, not a political, call was required. If the counsel’s office decided a pardon wasn’t merited, says an official involved in the discussions, everyone else would have cover with Cheney. “They could say, Our hands are tied — our lawyers said the guy was guilty.”
New Jersey
Those arrested included Levy Izhak Rosenbaum of Brooklyn, who was charged with conspiring to arrange the sale of an Israeli citizen's kidney for $160,000 for a transplant for the informant's fictitious uncle. Rosenbaum was quoted as saying he had been arranging the sale of kidneys for 10 years.
Microsoft got hit by financial crisis and recession
Microsoft was hit by the ebbing on international financial markets harder than expected. Profit's shrunk for 30% to 3bio$.
Microsoft sales sink another 17%
AmEx profits nearly cut in half
Ford results top forecasts
AT&T beats expectations
Thursday, 23 July 2009
Berlusconi dives for first time since takeover 2008 below 50% trust
RP
Facing ever new relevations about the private life of Mr.Berlusconi, the Italians are loosing more and more their trust into their head of govt. Berlusconi has only 49%left of the trust of his peoples according to a poll of LaRepubblica, the other half thinks of him as not trustworthy or totally untrustworthy. It is the first time since may's 2008 return to power that he dropped below 50%.
Facing ever new relevations about the private life of Mr.Berlusconi, the Italians are loosing more and more their trust into their head of govt. Berlusconi has only 49%left of the trust of his peoples according to a poll of LaRepubblica, the other half thinks of him as not trustworthy or totally untrustworthy. It is the first time since may's 2008 return to power that he dropped below 50%.
Germany: Carstensen's self-aimed defeat
Schleswig-Holstein Carstensens gezielte Niederlage
FAZ - Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - Vor 2 Stunden
Von Frank Pergande, Kiel 23. Juli 2009
The prime used a side entrance to enter the parliament. The hall is one of the nicest in the country. : it offers a wide view over Kiels bay.
The prime used a side entrance to enter the parliament. The hall is one of the nicest in the country. : it offers a wide view over Kiels bay.
Germany: Carstensen is prime of Schleswig-Holstein: Will he be confirmed today by parliamentr?
Carstensen stellt Vertrauensfrage
....»
wants to put up the confidence question today and to bulldoze the way for new elections on sep27.Even the own party doesnt seem to intend to vote for the own guy.
Porsche head Wiedeking says bye bye
50 Mio Euro final pay
Wiedeking takes the hat
The power struggle inside Porsche has been decided. Wiedeking leaves the sports car producer immediately.His successor at the top of the company will be the head of production Macht (German for might). Financial head Härter is also packing his clothes. The Porsche comptroller board confirmed an increase of capital for the company during a nightly Marathon summit, also nodded Katar as a shareholder. ....»
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
RNC's Steele unsure which insurance company covers him
Bruhaha. I mean competence surely is an important factor in politics. Steele avoids for example to extend his life expectancy. He surely is explaining to the American consumer how to save money in times of crisis. Though you might drop dead. This is probably what happens with most of his audience.
What health plan?RNC's Steele unsure which insurance company covers him.» More from Politico
Michael Steele isn’t sure what kind of health insurance he has.
McCain refuses to endorse Steele’s charge that Obama’s health care plan is ‘socialism.’
Ahmadinejad humiliated over vice president choice
So-Khatami isnt such a softy though he always tries to appear like one. Its interesting that the supreme leader may have also some "fundamental" opinions. I was pretty astonished by police and Basji slapping down the demonstrations - a bit too easy without Khatamis help. So hes another Mr.Evil. Lets see what happens next.
Clinton outlines how U.S. might deal with nuclear Iran Reuters – 1 hr 19 mins ago
Ahmadinejad humiliated over vice president choice
AP – 18 mins agoTEHRAN, Iran - Iran's supreme leader ordered the president, a close ally, to dismiss his controversial choice of a top deputy for making pro-Israeli remarks, the semiofficial media reported Wednesday, in a rare split among the country's top conservatives. Full Story »
Clinton outlines how U.S. might deal with nuclear Iran Reuters – 1 hr 19 mins ago
Riot police beat Iranian protesters
'Hundreds of riot police' attack pro-democracy demonstrators.
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
California
terminated
Oil Companies and the Budget Dealby: Robert CruickshankTue Jul 21, 2009 at 14:30:00 PM PDT |
| We've been focusing a lot here on Calitics in the last day or so on the losers in the recent budget deal. But who are the winners? Pretty high on that list would have to be Big Oil. They were able to convince Democrats to drop their demands for an oil severance tax, and were able to convince Democrats to agree to allow the first offshore oil drilling in 40 years to begin off the unspoiled coast of Santa Barbara County near Point Conception. Every other oil-producing state in the union taxes the extraction of oil from its lands - including Texas and Wyoming. Even Sarah Palin raised the oil severance tax in Alaska to 25% in 2007. Instead, as Paul Hogarth pointed out, California is defining itself to the right of Sarah Palin by refusing to embrace such a tax. The California Budget Project estimated a 9.9% oil severance tax would bring it at least $1 billion to state coffers. If oil prices rose again above $100/bbl then we could see $2 billion in revenue per year. Given the high likelihood of such increases, an oil severance tax would be a significant long-term boon to the state's coffers, since oil companies can't exactly shift production out of state, since oil is only going to become more valuable over time. And that money could help prevent the most egregious human services cuts that were agreed to in the budget deal - the cuts to healthy families that will cost 500,000 children their health care coverage, the cuts to in home supportive services that people like Nori need to survive. There are many possible responses to the budget deal. The Courage Campaign is asking our members to zero in on the oil severance tax and ask their legislators to vote "no" on a budget that does not include that tax. We will collect signatures to our letter and deliver it to every legislator in the Capitol ahead of the Thursday budget vote. Californians are being asked to make a choice: give the oil companies a sweetheart deal unprecedented in the United States, or demand that oil companies pay their fair share and help prevent a humanitarian catastrophe that budget cuts will cause. The Courage Campaign thinks the choice is clear. Let's let make sure our legislators hear about that clear choice before the vote on Thursday. Over the flip is the email we sent to our members, which includes the California Closed video produced by community organizers Marta Evry and Laura Velkei. |
| There's More... :: (1 Comments, 463 words in story) |
CIA committed 'fraud on the court'
Monday, 20 July 2009
Basiji militiaman: I raped virgins before their executions
Basiji militiaman: I raped virgins before their executions
A member of Iran’s notorious Basij militia who ran afoul of his superiors when he released two teenaged pro-democracy protesters says he was tasked with taking the virginity of young females sentenced to die.
In an exclusive interview with the Jerusalem Post, the unnamed male described how, as an 18-year-old Basij recruit, he was tasked with taking the virginity of girls who were sentenced to die.
Under Iranian law, a female cannot be executed if she is a virgin. Thus, prison officials forced young women into a brief “marriage” before their sentence was carried out.
Sunday, 19 July 2009
Sanford: 'God will change me'
Sanford: 'God will change me'
SC governor promises voters to be "better and more effective leader."
bruahha. yah well. Delinquents have no belief in human justice anymore I guess
Saturday, 18 July 2009
Friday, 17 July 2009
Walter Cronkite is deceased
clik picIn 1968, Cronkite was credited with turning public opinion against the Vietnam War. Following the Tet Offensive, he visited Vietnam for a first-hand look and reported, “”To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe, in the face of evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past.”
Software
My Skydrive
Hi. I transferred some of "my" public domain software to my skydrive. Have a look.
Any software recopied may or may not infringe copyright law. The owner of this site does not take any responsibility for any infringement of copyright laws. If you think copyright law is concerned, mail me at ccoaler@hotmail.com. The owner of this site will not be liable for any mailfunction caused by the software.
asstutorial-assembler tutorial
3Ddeveloper - C IDE
20-mysql tutorial
a86v372 - A86 Assembler v3.72
apache - apache
birdinflight - bitmap example
bitmap1,bitmap3,bitmap4,bitmap3181 - bitmap tutorials
bitmaps,bitmapfileformat - bitmap 1x1 including some addresses like 0022h (size)
bitmapinversereality - how to invert a bitmap (source)
Carraybitmap - bitmap source
CISBitmap - bitmap source
cmars - raytracing landscape - u can zoom thru by pressing keys
demosrc - bitmap viewer including source
gtk - gtk c++ runtime easy to integrate into your c++ compiler 2 program gadgets and so on
hc2setup - Hyper Cam 2 setup - video framegrabber
hex view - hexadecimal viewer
hvcode - sourcecode for hexviewer
instant unzip - free unzipper
ll_land - dotted landscape (source)
magic cpp - c++ ide
mplab -assembler ide including assembler fast easy thrashing
mysql - build your own server, looser
mysql essentials
mysql tutorial
read.index(sry dysfunctional)
read.php -sql help
textved - some form out of characters that u can steer by keys around axiz
tut0xnew - assembler tutorial with example programs
w95 - driver to run USB sticks on win 95
xfire -old assembler
xnview - framegrabber - can also save any loaded file in many file formats
Hi. I transferred some of "my" public domain software to my skydrive. Have a look.
Any software recopied may or may not infringe copyright law. The owner of this site does not take any responsibility for any infringement of copyright laws. If you think copyright law is concerned, mail me at ccoaler@hotmail.com. The owner of this site will not be liable for any mailfunction caused by the software.
asstutorial-assembler tutorial
3Ddeveloper - C IDE
20-mysql tutorial
a86v372 - A86 Assembler v3.72
apache - apache
birdinflight - bitmap example
bitmap1,bitmap3,bitmap4,bitmap3181 - bitmap tutorials
bitmaps,bitmapfileformat - bitmap 1x1 including some addresses like 0022h (size)
bitmapinversereality - how to invert a bitmap (source)
Carraybitmap - bitmap source
CISBitmap - bitmap source
cmars - raytracing landscape - u can zoom thru by pressing keys
demosrc - bitmap viewer including source
gtk - gtk c++ runtime easy to integrate into your c++ compiler 2 program gadgets and so on
hc2setup - Hyper Cam 2 setup - video framegrabber
hex view - hexadecimal viewer
hvcode - sourcecode for hexviewer
instant unzip - free unzipper
ll_land - dotted landscape (source)
magic cpp - c++ ide
mplab -assembler ide including assembler fast easy thrashing
mysql - build your own server, looser
mysql essentials
mysql tutorial
read.index(sry dysfunctional)
read.php -sql help
textved - some form out of characters that u can steer by keys around axiz
tut0xnew - assembler tutorial with example programs
w95 - driver to run USB sticks on win 95
xfire -old assembler
xnview - framegrabber - can also save any loaded file in many file formats
Thursday, 16 July 2009
President Obama hits the campaign trail Thursday
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama hits the campaign trail Thursday -- not for himself, but for fellow Democrat Jon Corzine.
President Obama campaigns Thursday for New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine.
The president is the main attraction at a rally in Holmdel Township, New Jersey, for Gov. Corzine, who's fighting for re-election this year.
While Obama has headlined seven political fundraising events this year, this will be the first campaign rally he's attended for a fellow Democrat since taking over as president in January.
A poll of New Jersey voters released this week suggests Corzine trails Republican challenger Chris Christie, a former federal prosecutor, by 12 points. The same Quinnipiac University survey indicates that six out of 10 Garden State voters approve of the job Obama's doing as president.
See also: NJ GUBERN. VOTE
Report: Iran's nuclear chief resigns
Report: Iran's nuclear chief resigns
TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- The commander of Iran's nuclear program for more than a decade has resigned, Iran Student News Agency reported Thursday.
Reza Aghazadeh has largely stayed out of politics.
Reza Aghazadeh told ISNA that he submitted his resignation 20 days ago. He said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has now accepted it.
Aghazadeh, who gave no reason for his decision, was promoted to Iran's vice president of atomic energy in 1997 under reformist President Mohammad Khatami.
As head of Iran's atomic program, Aghazadeh was practically handpicked by the senior figures in Iran's clerical establishment and fully trusted by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
He has largely stayed out of politics and refrained from publicly taking sides amid the political turmoil that recently gripped Iran following last month's disputed presidential vote, which triggered massive protests.
His resignation is significant because it will be difficult for Iran to find someone that is both trusted by the clerical rulers and accepted by the international community.
Former South Korean leader on respirator
SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- A former South Korea president who won the Nobel Peace Prize for fostering better relations between North and South Korea has been placed on a respirator in a hospital, a news agency reported Thursday.
Kim (right) with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London in 2001.
Kim Dae-jung "became short of breath on Wednesday night and was put on a respirator around 3 a.m. this morning," Park Chang-il, chief of Severance Hospital in Seoul, was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency.
"His condition has improved since. He is conscious, and his pulse, breathing and body temperature are normal."
Park said Kim, who was being fed through a feeding tube, "has no complications, but has been receiving kidney dialysis for a long time."
He had been hospitalized since Monday and placed in the intensive care unit after being diagnosed with pneumonia, the news agency reported.
Schwarzenegger stinks
He was able to transform the most modern state in the world in five years into a third world country.
And the governator terminates the state.
LOS ANGELES — California lawmakers neared a deal on Wednesday with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to close the state’s $26 billion budget gap in ways that would profoundly alter the state’s relationship with its cities and millions of residents who receive basic services.
And the governator terminates the state.
LOS ANGELES — California lawmakers neared a deal on Wednesday with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to close the state’s $26 billion budget gap in ways that would profoundly alter the state’s relationship with its cities and millions of residents who receive basic services.
Card users get $23,148,855,308,184,500 charge
Card users get $23,148,855,308,184,500 charge
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A technical snafu left some Visa prepaid cardholders stunned and horrified Monday to see a $23,148,855,308,184,500 charge on their statements.
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A technical snafu left some Visa prepaid cardholders stunned and horrified Monday to see a $23,148,855,308,184,500 charge on their statements.
That's about 2,007 times the size of the national debt.
Josh Muszynski, 22, of Manchester, New Hampshire, was one Visa customer aghast to find the 17-digit charge on his bill. Adding insult to injury, he had also been hit with a $15 overdraft fee.
He noticed that his debt exceeded the world GDP while making a routine balance inquiry on his online Bank of America account. According to his statement, he had spent the profound sum in one pop at a nearby Mobil gas station -- his regular stop for Camel cigarettes.
"Very, very panicked," he jumped in his car and sped to the station.
Had they perhaps noticed any "outrageous" charges come across their books recently, he inquired of the cashier there. She checked the records. They had not.Coalition in Kiel close to its termination
Coalition in Kiel close to its termination
Social Dems demand Carstensen to step back from office
DThe schleswig-holsteinian social dems decline regardless of the coalitiontwist the dissolvement of parliament. If the prime cannot continue or doesnt like to continue, hes welcome to step back," declared social dem head Stegner. In a vote that was put up toaday or will be put up today, the Christ dems intend to vote on friday for the dissolvement of parliament....»
One close thought: the recent nuclear accident in NPP Kruemmel. Kruemmel is on Schleswig-Holstinian territory and the nuclear watchdog responsible for the NPP is from Schleswig Holstein. Looks like Mr.Carstensen gets unbelievably busy in the aftermath. Lets have a look bac to the last municipal vote which was in 2008: the Christ Dems got 36% in towns and other municipalities, the social dems 26% and the leftparty 7%. In parliament, there is a total of 69 seats. The social dems got 42% of all seats or 29 seats. A 2/3 majority is needed to dissolve parliament.There is no majority that would guarantee a dissolvement of parliament. The last election was held 2005. I mean the current situation is pretty well and defined, so its not clear to me why the Christ Dems want a dissolvement - except some special or maybe "delicate" circumstance forces them to do so - maybe an investigation into a nuclear accident. So: Carstensens move is politely surprising and doesnt have any guarantee to work.
wiki:Schleswig-Holstein
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
McCain freaks out
"I strongly support the comments of Senator Kyl and call on the administration to retract its threat against the citizens of Arizona."
So... Mccain says we oppose the emasure but we want the money
So... Mccain says we oppose the emasure but we want the money
Germany: recession taking its toll
Germany's Export Champions Slammed by Economic Crisis
The recession is supposedly bottoming out, but where is the upswing? The crisis is hitting southern Germany particularly hard as engineering companies and auto parts manufacturers lose orders at a faster pace than ever before. Ironically, their strength as exporters is the cause of their current troubles. By Alexander Jung more...
Germany's Export Champions Slammed by Economic Crisis
By Alexander Jung
The recession is supposedly bottoming out, but where is the upswing? The crisis is hitting southern Germany particularly hard as engineering companies and auto parts manufacturers lose orders at a faster pace than ever before. Ironically, their strength as exporters is the cause of their current troubles.
Karl Schlecht is standing on the roof terrace of his company headquarters, looking down at his life's work. He moves carefully toward the railing. Schlecht is 77, his bones ache and his new hip is causing problems. But his ailments are minor when compared with the worries of Putzmeister, the company he founded 51 years ago in Aichtal, a town in Germany's southwestern Swabia region.
"It makes my heart ache," says Schlecht, as he stares out at an area devoid of human activity. There is no one to be seen on the factory grounds -- no metal workers, no mechanics, no engineers. Most of the employees have been on short time since January, and the concrete pumps and mortar machines the company produces are beginning to accumulate throughout the plant -- inventory for which there are no longer any buyers. In other words, dead capital.
Only last year, Arab and Asian buyers were clamoring for Schlecht's products. Putzmeister had erected a separate building for making large pieces of equipment designed to convey concrete and mortar hundreds of meters into the sky on high-rise building construction sites in Dubai, Beijing and Shanghai. "It was like a beehive," says Schlecht, referring to the amount of activity in the new building. But nothing is humming on those sites anymore.
Order volume has declined by more than half, and Putzmeister is already losing €5-10 million ($7-14 million) a month. Management consultants have analyzed the company's operations and recommended sharp cutbacks. "Well," says Schlecht, "we'll have to cut the company in half." And this at a time when others are already hoping for a turnaround in the economy?
Putzmeister, with its 3,600 employees, was until recently still being celebrated as one of those typical mid-sized, virtually unknown German companies that is a world leader in its niche market. Many of these companies are mechanical engineering companies and auto parts suppliers, produce first-class products, have exceptional expertise and export a large share of what they make. Putzmeister, for example, exports about 90 percent of its products.
The German economy is famous for such "hidden champions." These closet global market leaders have served as both an engine for growth and a job-creating machine for Germany.
Their concentration is particularly high in southwestern Germany, in small cities and towns along a corridor stretching from Pforzheim to Stuttgart to Ulm. Their benchmark was the world, and now their world is falling apart.
Orders have plunged by anywhere from 30 to 50 percent, in some cases even more. This, in turn, has created massive excess capacity. Temporary workers have long been let go, and fixed-term contracts have expired. Most of the remaining workers are now on state-supported short-time working schemes, where the government helps to make up their lost income.
A company that has lost half of its business needs to grow by about 10 percent a year for at least seven years to return to former levels. More realistically, management should consider itself lucky if there is any growth at all in the near future. The direct consequences include mass layoffs, plant closures and bankruptcies.
Is there any glimmer of hope? "I don't think so," says Peter Zimmermann, the CEO of Mink, a company based in the town of Göppingen near Stuttgart. A family business in its sixth generation, Mink is the world market leader in specialized industrial brushes. Zimmermann is incensed when he hears people say that the worst is over. "This isn't a crisis," he says. "It's a catastrophe."
Zimmermann estimates that the company has been set back by a decade. Orders have declined by 40 percent, and he is now forced to reduce staff, letting people go he would like to have kept on. The priority, says Zimmermann, is to make sure the company survives, "as horrible as it sounds."
Even the boldest of optimists are slowly realizing what a break with the past the global economic crisis represents for Germany, particularly for the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg. More than in most other regions, the population here depends heavily on exports of its products: machinery, industrial equipment and automobiles. The region was one of the main beneficiaries of globalization, making its current plunge all the more precipitous.
This regional slump is relatively unaffected by the most recent figures from Berlin, which indicate that German industry experienced a rise in orders and exports in May. The general euphoria over such figures is difficult to comprehend, especially when one considers that the number of new orders, when compared with May of last year -- the key benchmark -- has declined by almost 30 percent, while exports are down about 25 percent.
SPIEGEL ONLINE
Graphic: German exports
Companies will become more cautious, taking less risk and investing less, even though nothing is more important now than to develop the products of tomorrow. But companies lack the confidence to do that.
This lack of confidence, in turn, has been most detrimental to the dynamics of the economy. "In the coming years," says McKinsey's Frank Mattern, "we will have to get used to lower growth rates."
Nowhere has the impact of economic decline been as harsh as in the region that has come to be known as Germany's Musterländle (loosely translated as "model state"). "Things are getting grim here," says Putzmeister CEO Karl Schlecht.
An economic network with roots dating back to the early 19th century is beginning to crumble. Back then, young businesses located along the Ulm-Stuttgart railroad line, including press maker Schuler in Göppingen (founded 1839), exhaust specialist Eberspächer in Esslingen (1865), auto parts maker Bosch (1886) and carmaker Daimler (1890) in Stuttgart. Companies were founded then that still shape the region's industrial landscape today.
They have survived two world wars and several monetary reforms, but now they face their toughest test yet. Sieghard Bender, the head of the local branch of the IG Metall metalworkers' union, considers 90 of the roughly 100 larger companies in his district to be problem cases. When asked how many of those companies are still doing relatively well, the union leader pauses to think for a moment. Five, he answers.
Bender, an easygoing man in his mid-50s, is sitting on a wooden bench in the garden behind the union's offices. The regional chapter is having a summer party, and Bender is getting himself a serving of pasta salad. He is one of the few people here who has already lived through a severe crisis. In 1991, then IG Metall Chairman Franz Steinkühler sent him to Chemnitz, a traditional location for engineering companies, to save what could be saved after the demise of East Germany. That experience helps him today, says Bender.
For months, he has been rushing from one employee meeting to the next. He senses the discontent brewing among workers, who face growing problems and expectations that are essentially unrealizable. On the bright side, he says, the regional chapter is gaining new members again, at a rate of about 50 a month.
The summer party has given Bender an evening of respite, with the exception of the music booming from the building. The union officials have taken refuge in the garden, where they are discussing the depressing nature of short-time work. "The people are suffering, the way a dog suffers when it has nothing to do," says Bender, slapping a colleague on the back. The man, Roland Weber, is 38 and can easily spend a quarter of an hour giving an impromptu lecture on how a piece of metal achieves the desired strength through a process of heating and cooling. This is his field, and he clearly knows it inside and out.
Weber, a metal hardener by trade, has worked for Index, an Esslingen company that manufactures machine tools, for the past 15 years. He was working six days a week until last fall, but now he works only three days a month. Short-time work has turned his life upside down.
Nowadays, Weber handles many of the household responsibilities, driving his children to sports practice or shopping for groceries. He runs into other Index employees at the supermarket, where he sometimes has a cup of coffee with them. Weber has quit smoking, saving €200 ($280) a month as a result. The family has been forced to cut corners, no longer going out to steakhouses in Stuttgart and canceling its beach vacation in Italy. Nevertheless, Weber estimates that they are still short by about €600 ($840) a month. "There's too much month left at the end of the money," he says.
Weber prefers not to think about how much longer the short-time work will last, what happens after the company's annual summer shutdown, and whether his profession as a metal hardener has a future. "If I did, I would drive myself crazy."
Hundreds of thousands of skilled workers like Weber are now idle, people the center-left Social Democrats 10 years ago were touting as the new "center" of society. They are people who were convinced that happiness is granted to those who work hard, and that success is based on performance.
The sociologist Heinz Bude calls them the "core social classes of the German model." Recently they have been feeling that they are trapped in a downward spiral, and their self-confidence has been undermined. "Fear is rampant in the places where value is created in Germany," says Bude.
SPIEGEL ONLINE
Graphic: German exports
Another 20,000 workers are on short time. Göppingen has become the capital of short-time work and, as a result, the town's reputation is changing.
Schuler, the world's largest manufacturer of presses, is in the red and has cut 600 jobs. The slump in the luxury vehicle market has sharply affected automobile parts supplier Bader, which specializes in leather trim. The well-known model railroad manufacturer Märklin has declared bankruptcy. Hard times are ahead for Göppingen. Mayor Guido Till, a member of the Social Democrats, clings defiantly to every sign of hope.
Only recently, says Till, a producer of construction machinery held a topping-out ceremony to dedicate a new building, in the midst of the recession. And he estimates that the town's commercial tax revenues this year will be almost as high as they were last year. In fact, Till insists, the crisis has not really made itself felt in his town, and it is "not even an issue" for the city council.
A few blocks from the town hall, on the first floor of the municipal employment agency, there is a meeting of a group of people with a completely different take on the crisis. They are employers from the region who have come to the agency to learn more about short-time work.
"Feel free to ask me anything you like," says Ralf Schneider, an expert from the Göppingen labor agency. Schneider knows that it takes some business owners a long time to overcome their misgivings about asking for help.
One of the attendees speaks up. He wants to know whether workers have to use up all of their accumulated vacation days from previous years before they can go onto short-time work. "Yes, the leftover vacation must be used up first," Schneider responds. But what if some have accumulated more than 100 days, going as far back as 2006? "Oh my goodness," says Schneider.
Another attendee asks whether apprentices can be put onto short time. Yes, in principle, says Schneider, but if apprentices fail their final examination later on, they can claim that they weren't properly trained. The employers nod their heads, as it dawns on them that they will have to do more than simply fill out an application form. "Your personnel department won't have to go on short time, I can promise you that," says Schneider.
Until recently, the biggest challenge for the employment advisers in Göppingen was to provide companies with enough skilled workers. Now they are struggling with a completely different set of problems.
For instance, apprentices who have not been offered full-time work after completing their training programs are increasingly claiming unemployment benefits. The number of unemployed workers under 25 has grown by 82 percent within a year. And, says agency director Martin Scheel, those who are coming to the agency to look for work are, for the first time, mainly people who have completed a vocational training program. "This time, we can't say that it's only affecting unskilled workers."
Many people have come to the bitter realization that even the kind of specialized expertise which was always prized in Germany is no guarantee against losing one's job. This is a consequence of global competition, which is becoming considerably more cutthroat now that the prosperous boom years are over.
Today, engineering companies and auto parts makers from Asia are penetrating deeply into markets for high-quality goods, markets once dominated by German specialists. The Chinese competitors are making products "of a quality that would leave you speechless," says Putzmeister founder Karl Schlecht.
Schlecht has a certain amount of admiration for his Asian competitors, for their discipline, their business acumen and their thriftiness -- all traditional Swabian virtues. "They will soon be making the things we make here just as well as we do, but for a much lower price."
For industry veterans, this raises fundamental questions, questions which are on the minds of everyone in the export industry today. Would it have been possible to prevent this sharp downturn? What should companies do now? How can they bring down labor costs even further?
Daimler has led the way in this regard. Roughly 60,000 Daimler employees now earn and work almost 9 percent less than they did before. But is this enough? Or will companies have to shift even more of their production away from Germany? Moving production abroad was in decline until recently, but now corporate strategists are rethinking their calculations.
Or could the solution be for export-focused companies to abandon their niches and expand their range of customers and products? Some companies have already taken this approach. Auto-parts maker Bosch, for example, is expanding its renewable energy business. But this is only effective to a certain extent, because Bosch's customers in the wind and solar power industries are also struggling and are often unable to secure the financing they need.
The options are unsatisfactory. "We did everything right," insists Mink CEO Zimmermann. He says that he consistently emphasized quality, delivered his products on a just-in-time basis, and maintained a broad base of 20,000 customers and 300,000 products. Even more importantly, his company produces brushes, a product which wears out and needs to be replaced. "We thought that was our life insurance policy," says Zimmermann.
Germany: Christ Dems seek dissolvement of Schleswig Holsteins parliament
spiegel-online
Kiel - The Christ Dems intend to finish the coalition with the social dems. The faction in Kiel agreed on a respective proposal on wednesday unanimously. On thursday the dissolvement of parliament will be seeked and on friday therell be a vote about it.
The grand coalition in Schleswig Holstein is close to its end: The christ dem faction in parliament intends to quit the alliance with the social dems. Reason is a twist with the social dem state head Stegner. The Christ Dems desire new elections on 27th of sep - whether the comrades agree is still open.
Kiel - The Christ Dems intend to finish the coalition with the social dems. The faction in Kiel agreed on a respective proposal on wednesday unanimously. On thursday the dissolvement of parliament will be seeked and on friday therell be a vote about it.
NPP Kruemmel: metal splinters seem to have entered reactor core
spiegel-online
On Tuesday of last week, Wulf Bernotat, the CEO of energy giant E.on, which owns 50 percent of the damaged reactor, wrote in a sharply worded letter to Vattenfall management in Sweden that his company was "appalled" by the handling of safety procedures at the plant. The reactor shutdown will cost E.on, as a co-owner, about €20 million ($28 million) a month.
Many details surrounding the series of mishaps are still unknown. Nevertheless, the Social Democrats are already demanding action be taken. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the party's candidate for chancellor in September elections, joined the chorus of those calling for a permanent shutdown of Krümmel. But the SPD's schadenfreude could prove to be premature. Gitta Trauernicht, the Schleswig-Holstein minister of social affairs who is in charge of nuclear energy for the state, is also in hot water over the affair -- and she belongs to the SPD. 
The inconsistencies in the behavior of the Kiel inspectors are also reflected in federal politics in Germany. The debate over the series of problems at Krümmel and the safety of German nuclear power plants reveals even more contradictions, particularly in the nuclear policies of the CDU/CSU and the FDP.
There is another problem lurking in the background that has citizens worried: the unresolved question of disposal. For four years, the CDU/CSU thwarted attempts by Environment Minister Gabriel to find, with the help of scientists, a location where highly radioactive waste could be stored safely. Southern Germany was also included in their search for sites, which was met with resistance from conservative politicians there. The way the CDU/CSU describes the final storage issue in its election platform is fitting: "The CDU and CSU want an immediate lifting of the moratorium on investigation of the Gorleben site, so that the interim storage facilities at nuclear power plants can be closed as quickly as possible." This sounds much more like a decision which has already been made than a genuine investigation.
ATOMIC NIGHTMARE
Krümmel Accident Puts Question Mark over Germany's Nuclear Future
By SPIEGEL Staff
The recent accident at the Krümmel nuclear power plant in northern Germany was more serious than was previously known. Anglea Merkel's Christian Democrats are now finding themselves on the defensive with their plans to extend the life of German nuclear reactors.
Ernst Michael Züfle should never sit down at a poker table, at least not when real money is at stake. When asked last Thursday about damage to the reactor of the Krümmel nuclear power plant, Züfle, the head of the nuclear division of Swedish energy company Vattenfall, swallowed audibly, nervously rolled his pen between his fingers and avoided making eye contact.
AP
The Krümmel nuclear plant near Hamburg: The reactor had to be shut down on July 4 following a short circuit in a transformer.
It was already awkward enough for Vattenfall that the accident, which resembled a similar breakdown two years ago, occurred after it had spent €300 million ($420 million) upgrading the plant. As in the 2007 incident, this time there was also a short circuit in a transformer. The reactor, which had just been started up, quickly had to be shut down again on Saturday, July 4.
Züfle was also forced to admit that the accident in the nuclear power plant was more serious than previously known. In addition to the transformer problem, he conceded, there was damage to "perhaps a few fuel elements," namely the radioactive core of a nuclear power plant. When asked how long the company had known about the problem, he replied, somewhat helplessly: "Please bear with us, because we need time to investigate the incident." He could have offered more of an explanation.
PHOTO GALLERY: NUCLEAR HEADACHES
Click on a picture to launch the image gallery (7 Photos)
What began as a minor technical glitch developed into a serious problem within a few days, especially for Vattenfall, the operator of the Krümmel plant. In addition to revealing a troubling degree of carelessness and mismanagement, what happened in the Krümmel reactor shows that the Swedish energy company has hardly improved its communication strategy since the last accident. Once again, the company has withheld important information and, once again, it has been hesitant to come out with the truth.
Vattenfall has consistently stressed that all safety systems were operational at Krümmel and that no radioactive leaks occurred. But this makes the political fallout from the incident all the more serious, putting Angela Merkel's center-right Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and the business-friendly Free Democratic Party on the defensive with their plans to back nuclear power if they emerge victorious from this fall's parliamentary election in Germany.
The center-left Social Democrats (SPD), on the other hand, who have so far failed to come up with an inspiring issue for their campaign, could hardly believe their good fortune. Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel, a member of the SPD, referred last Friday to the incident as the "Krümmel monster" (a reference to Krümelmonster, the German name for the "Sesame Street" character Cookie Monster), while at the same time unveiling proposed legislation that would speed up the process of taking Germany's oldest reactors, including Krümmel, out of commission. "Of course, this is an election campaign," the minister said candidly, "but we have to make it clear that the CDU/CSU and the FDP are in bed with the nuclear power industry."
There has long been a lot more at stake than just the future of Krümmel. The public discussion in Germany over nuclear power now revolves around the necessary safety culture surrounding a high-risk technology, the newly erupted debate over extending the lives of reactors and the credibility of electric utilities and politicians in an election year.
According to insiders, it is clear that not only Vattenfall, but also the relevant supervisory authorities, did not provide adequate information about what had happened at Krümmel. The Social Affairs Ministry in Kiel, which is responsible for reactor safety in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, where Krümmel is located, was apparently aware of the Krümmel reactor's vulnerability to breakdowns much earlier than was officially admitted.
The damage is considerable, and it extends to the entire nuclear industry. Germany's major energy utilities see the Swedish operator's sloppy management of Krümmel, which is now coming to light, as a major fiasco.
DER SPIEGEL
Graphic: Incidents at the Krümmel nuclear reactor
Industry insiders also believe that this time Vattenfall will not be able to get away by sacrificing a few scapegoats, such as firing the director of the power plant. The resignation of Vattenfall CEO Lars Göran Josefsson can not be ruled out, and there is even talk in the industry that the company could lose its license to operate nuclear power plants. If that happened, E.on, as co-owner, would likely be forced to step into the breach.
The top executives of nuclear power plant operators fear that they can give up their dream of securing government approval for extending the lives of their plants. The vehemence with which Jürgen Grossmann, the head of the German utility giant RWE, insisted, in an interview with the tabloid Bild, that all German nuclear power plants are safe shows just how sensitive the issue is.
The German utility executives' fears that the safety problems at Krümmel could be far worse than previously known are not unjustified. An insider familiar with the work that was done on the Krümmel reactor described to SPIEGEL the causes of the as-yet-unexplained damage to the fuel elements. In his view, Vattenfall is "the discount chain among the nuclear energy companies," and he is convinced that "the elementary rules of our profession were broken there."
What Vattenfall nuclear division manager Züfle did not say last week was that an internal crisis meeting was held at Vattenfall with nuclear technology firms Westinghouse and Areva a few days before the Kiel nuclear regulatory agency on June 19 cleared the reactor to be started up again, after it had been shut down for two years following the last accident. The subject of the meeting was foreign bodies in the reactor.
Prior to the meeting, workers had discovered unusual objects underneath the fuel elements, which are more than 4 meters (13 feet) long. According to the insider, a "pale shimmer" was visible on photos of the objects. An ordinary rod was apparently used to extract a few large metal shavings from the reactor vessel. According to the eyewitness, technicians could not determine whether there were more metal shavings in the vessel. The shavings, which are several centimeters long and very sharp, were apparently the result of work that had been done on fittings and pipes in the power plant, and had also entered pipes in the reactor area as a result of vibrations.
To protect the reactor from such foreign objects, in accordance with internal cleaning procedures, pipe connections are normally required to be flushed out after the completion of inspection work. According to employees, however, this step was omitted because of "time constraints." The reactor was apparently started up with the metal waste lodged in some of its sensitive components.
Vattenfall spokesman Ivo Banek denies the allegation that rules were not followed. "We had the various systems cleaned," he says. At the same time, Vattenfall told SPIEGEL that "salvage equipment (e.g., a short metal rod connected to a cable) was used to recover all detectable metal shavings." On Friday evening, Vattenfall officials still claimed that they had no knowledge about the size of the metal pieces that had been retrieved.
Part 2: In Hot Water
When foreign objects swirl through a reactor, which happens in particular after an emergency shutdown, they can damage the fuel rod casings, where the uranium is stored. The consequences can be serious, because fuel elements that have been damaged or bent as a result of age may compromise the "safe operation" of the plant during, for example, another emergency shutdown -- of the kind that became necessary following the recent transformer short-circuit.
PHOTO GALLERY: NUCLEAR HEADACHES
Click on a picture to launch the image gallery (7 Photos)
If additional metal pieces are found during tests performed on the reactor, which began on Friday when the reactor cover was opened, it may be necessary to remove the entire core from the reactor vessel. "Vattenfall can already order some castors for temporary storage," says someone involved in the investigation, in a reference to the "castor" casks used for storage and transport of radioactive material.
According to a member of the German government's reactor safety commission, smaller foreign objects have also been found occasionally in other reactors, but larger foreign objects in the reactor pose a "serious problem." The safety official says he is unaware of any similar cases ever having occurred in German reactors. A realistic estimate of the cost of cleaning a reactor, including shutdown costs, would range into the triple-digit millions, says the official.
FUEL ROD TESTS
On Monday, Vattenfall began analyzing around 80,000 fuel rods from the Krümmel plant, as at least one of them is thought to be defective. The company said that the tests had nothing to do with the transformer short circuit on July 4.
Trauernicht sharply criticized Vattenfall's information policy, despite the fact that she could have known about problems with the trouble-prone transformer in the reactor. In December 2007, experts from the northern branch of Germany's Technical Inspection Association (TÜV), the Kiel ministry and both Siemens and Vattenfall performed several so-called partial discharge tests on the transformer in question. The tests, which are used to measure short-circuit risk, indicated a value that was five times as high as the normal value. This prompted the inspectors to note in their inspection report that further tests were necessary "in relation to starting up the reactor."
But the outside experts took their testing equipment with them when they left. After that, Vattenfall neglected to install its own instruments. The procedure specified in the "Startup Notice" issued by the nuclear regulators in Kiel on June 19 is relatively vague. In a section titled "Determining the Usability of the Transformer," the document reads: "Partial discharge tests are envisioned for machine transformer AT02 during the course of resumption of normal operation." But the instructions did not state that such tests were required or prescribed, giving the impression that the tests could easily be dispensed with.
It is clear that the ministry did not check to determine whether the procedure arranged with Vattenfall was in fact performed. Such an inspection was not justifiable under nuclear regulatory law, says a spokesman for Trauernicht. But that is only half the truth, because 2007 accidents in the Brunsbüttel and Krümmel nuclear power plants led experts, nuclear regulators and operators to approve an entire package of measures to regulate continued operation. These measures also included procedures with no justification in nuclear regulatory law.
The German Environment Ministry has long believed that legal restraints under nuclear regulatory law should also apply to transformers and generators. "Technologically speaking, there are many interactions between the transformer and the safety of the plant," says Dieter Majer, a subdivision head in charge of nuclear safety at the Environment Ministry. For this reason, he says, it was correct for the problems with the transformer to be mentioned in the applicable notice from the nuclear regulatory agency.
But the nuclear regulators at the ministry in Kiel relied on Vattenfall, which had assured the officials that it planned to perform the tests. "In light of everything we have experienced with Vattenfall in the past, this sort of behavior is shockingly naïve," says a member of the reactor safety commission.
Perhaps the motivations are much more straightforward than one would think. Schleswig-Holstein earns at least €35 million ($49 million) in annual revenues just from surface water fees from three nuclear power plants, Brunsbüttel, Brokdorf and Krümmel -- provided they are up and running. For a state with a current budget deficit of €600 million ($840 million), this is a lot of money. In other words, every day a reactor is connected to the grid in Schleswig-Holstein is a good day.
DER SPIEGEL
Graphic: Decommissioning dates for Germany's nuclear reactors
According to the CDU/CSU's election platform, which Chancellor Merkel presented to the public shortly before the weekend when the Krümmel accident occurred, "nuclear power is, for the present, an indispensible part of a balanced energy mix." Because solar and wind energy are not yet fully available, the document reads, the CDU/CSU supports "an extension of the operating lives of the safe German plants." The FDP holds similar views. But now the Krümmel accident has sparked a debate within the two pro-nuclear parties over what exactly the resolutions mean. There have been vehement protests against demands to allow nuclear power plants to continue operation for an almost unlimited period of time.
Günther Oettinger, the governor of the southwestern state of Baden-Wurttemberg and a member of the CDU, has proposed leaving nuclear power plants connected to the grid for as long as safe operation is possible. Even Krümmel is a "power plant with a future," he said last week.
A look at the United States shows what this could mean. US nuclear power plant operators are staunch advocates of "life beyond 60" for their plants. Almost all are trying to get their operating licenses extended to 60 years, and the US nuclear regulatory agency (NRC) is already planning another round of negotiations for the period beyond 60 years. Deputy FDP Chairman Andreas Pinkwart even says that he "cannot rule out the construction of brand-new nuclear power plants."
Part 3: A New Lease of Life?
Resistance is starting to form against all this pro-nuclear activity. The CDU state government in the western state of Saarland, which will run for reelection in late August, even wants to speed up the pace of shutting down Germany's oldest reactors. "It is very important that we disconnect power plants like Krümmel as early as possible," says the state's environment minister, Stefan Mörsdorf. "Their 'residual electricity volumes' can then be transferred to other, more modern reactors."
PHOTO GALLERY: NUCLEAR HEADACHES
Click on a picture to launch the image gallery (7 Photos)
Under the 2002 German law regulating the decommissioning of nuclear power plants, it is stipulated that for the nuclear power plants currently in operation, the right for their further operation will expire after the production of a certain amount of electricity, known as the "'residual electricity volume," which is fixed individually for each plant. The nuclear phaseout law was introduced by the SPD-Green government under then-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.
At the same time Mörsdorf, a Christian Democratic, wants to leave the question open as to whether the residual electricity volumes now allowable by law can even be raised. According to Mörsdorf, "We won't be able to talk about that until later, perhaps not even until after the next legislative period." The question of whether the government ought to "add another five years" to the lives of nuclear power plants should not be answered, says Mörsdorf, until it becomes clearer how quickly the development of renewable forms of energy will proceed and how reliable natural gas shipments from Russia are.
Bavarian Environment Minister Markus Söder, a member of the Christian Social Union, the sister party to Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, also says that unlimited reactor lifespans are "out of the question," although he advocates extending lifespans "across the board, for all safe reactors, by at least eight to 10 years compared with the (SPD-Green) exit plan." After that, says Söder, Germans will have to "see how renewable energy has developed."
Christian von Boetticher, the Christian Democratic environment minister of Schleswig-Holstein, where the Krümmel reactor is located, has a somewhat different argument: "We must make it clear that we will not automatically extend the life of every nuclear power plant." The CDU/CSU, says Boetticher, must "take a critical look at all nuclear power plants in Germany." The FDP in Schleswig-Holstein, on the other hand, is fundamentally opposed to extending plants' operating lives. It favors the SPD-Green Party plans to phase out nuclear power altogether and would not even allow Krümmel to be reconnected to the grid.
There are also major differences over how Merkel plans to make lifespan extension more appealing to the public. According to the CDU/CSU election platform, the additional profits generated by the measure would be used primarily to support energy research and lower electricity prices.
No Solution
A lot of money is at stake. Nuclear power plants, most of which have already been fully depreciated, are powerful moneymakers for their operators. According to internal industry calculations, they produce annual profits of €7-8 billion ($9.8-11.2 billion), assuming electricity prices are high. If their lifespans were extended by 10 or 15 years, total extra profits would amount to €70-120 billion ($98-168 billion).
But who will monitor the "eco dividend" touted by Bavarian Environment Minister Söder? Should Germany's four major electric utilities be allowed to use the profits to solidify their power in the market, or should the money be spent on non-profit projects? As with the issue of plant lifespan, the CDU/CSU and the FDP lack a clear position on the use of potential profits.
DER SPIEGEL
Graphic: Decommissioning dates for Germany's nuclear reactors
Stephan Kohler, the head of the German Energy Agency, who is often suspected by environmentalists of being on the side of big business, sees the unresolved question of waste disposal as the key argument against an extension of lifespans. "Just because we will have to find a solution eventually doesn't mean we can merrily continue producing radioactive waste," he says, noting that scientists have already spent the last four decades searching for a way to safely dispose of the waste. "It is not the fault of the German anti-nuclear movement that we haven't found a solution yet," says Kohler.
The CDU/CSU and the FDP are pinning their hopes on a single site: Gorleben, a name which has been synonymous in Germany with the conflict over nuclear energy for more than 30 years. The exploratory mine has already consumed €1.5 billion ($2.1 billion) in costs, which suggests that a fait accompli has already been achieved in Gorleben under the pretense of research. Officials at the Environment Ministry say that the exploration of the salt dome at Gorleben has already cost considerably more money than would have been needed for an analysis which did not have a predetermined result in mind. The facility in Gorleben, say ministry officials, has been designed so its dimensions are also sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the planned nuclear waste storage site.
However, placing so much emphasis on Gorleben is dangerous, and possibly very expensive, because a court could very well reject the choice of the site, made as it was without clear criteria, alternatives or previously defined safety standards. That could spell the loss of billions in investments and decades of valuable time expended on the search for alternatives.
Given the heated discussion over nuclear power, an incident that occurred in Gorleben on the same Saturday as the Krümmel accident seems emblematic. The short circuit in the Krümmel nuclear power plant caused, ironically, a power outage in the site's exploration mine. In the future, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection plans to supply green power to the nuclear site.
PETRA BORNHÖFT, MARKUS DEGGERICH, FRANK DOHMEN, SEBASTIAN KNAUER, GUNTHER LATSCH, CHRISTIAN SALEWSKI, CHRISTIAN SCHWÄGERL, SAMIHA SHAFY
Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan
Captain Bullshit Wiedeking seems to be fired
Verwirrung um Wiedeking
Der Sportwagenbauer Porsche hat Meldungen als falsch und konstruiert zurückgewiesen, dass Vorstandschef Wendelin Wiedeking das Unternehmen verlässt. Die "WirtschaftsWoche" hatte berichtet der Manager würde das Unternehmen verlassen. Schon in Kürze werde über den Nachfolger entschieden....»
Germany: Polls
n-tv
Christ Dems 36 change: -1
Lib Dems 14 change: -1
social dems 23 change: +2
leftparty 10 change: +1
ecos 12 change: -1
Christ Dems 36 change: -1
Lib Dems 14 change: -1
social dems 23 change: +2
leftparty 10 change: +1
ecos 12 change: -1
Dependency on oil: 30 Years Ago Today: Jimmy Carter’s Crisis of Confidence Speech
enviroknow
Jimmy Carter gave the following televised speech on July 15th 1979, 30 years ago today. Despite the fact that he was decades ahead of his time, many commentators are of the opinion that this speech cost Carter the 1980 election.
Good evening. This is a special night for me. Exactly three years ago, on July 15, 1976, I accepted the nomination of my party to run for president of the United States.
I promised you a president who is not isolated from the people, who feels your pain, and who shares your dreams and who draws his strength and his wisdom from you.
During the past three years I’ve spoken to you on many occasions about national concerns, the energy crisis, reorganizing the government, our nation’s economy, and issues of war and especially peace. But over those years the subjects of the speeches, the talks, and the press conferences have become increasingly narrow, focused more and more on what the isolated world of Washington thinks is important. Gradually, you’ve heard more and more about what the government thinks or what the government should be doing and less and less about our nation’s hopes, our dreams, and our vision of the future.
Ten days ago I had planned to speak to you again about a very important subject — energy. For the fifth time I would have described the urgency of the problem and laid out a series of legislative recommendations to the Congress. But as I was preparing to speak, I began to ask myself the same question that I now know has been troubling many of you. Why have we not been able to get together as a nation to resolve our serious energy problem?
It’s clear that the true problems of our Nation are much deeper — deeper than gasoline lines or energy shortages, deeper even than inflation or recession. And I realize more than ever that as president I need your help. So I decided to reach out and listen to the voices of America.
EU: Germany: Lib Dems: Koch Mehrin stayed mainly unsupported by conservatives and was hardly elected to eu board
Beinahe-Schlappe für Koch-Mehrin
Westerwelle sauer auf Union
Der Dienstag war kein guter Tag für Silvana Koch-Mehrin. Bei der Wahl zum EU-Parlamentspräsidium entging sie nur knapp einer Blamage. Nun meldet sich die FDP-Spitze zu Wort und übt scharfe Kritik an der Union. ...»
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Madoff
Disgraced Madoff heads for prison
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Bernard Madoff, otherwise known as federal prisoner no. 61727-054, has been transferred to the medium security prison in Atlanta, according to the government's prison Web site.
Federal prison site says the financier who pleaded guilty to 11 counts related to running a Ponzi scheme has been moved to a medium security facility.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Bernard Madoff, otherwise known as federal prisoner no. 61727-054, has been transferred to the medium security prison in Atlanta, according to the government's prison Web site.
Monday, 13 July 2009
Obama Health
Obama Health
300 pounds and reminds you of Georgina Washington - Fat Eagleburger or Benjamina Franklin? All is guided by our friend, Jabba the hut - health care reform remains a BIG MAC
Budget deficit tops $1 trillion for first time
US deficit reaches more than one trillion dollars
Budget deficit tops $1 trillion for first time
Budget deficit tops $1 trillion for first time
Budget deficit tops $1 trillion for first time
AP – 2 hrs 11 mins agoGOP reaction on Cheneys latest scandal politely dull
thinprogress
Bush and Cheney are serial liars. I never understood Cheneys total arrogance, especially when he shot Wittington. I dont know why Cheney is so relevant. He was minister of defense when Saddam invaded Kuwait. Thats true. Despite, he was the chairman of Halliburton for a while. Cheney has an own infrastructure and he doesnt even pretend he likes transparency. Im sure Panetta gave up on the program because its impossible to keep it up without Cheney's infrastructure. Cheney's Halliburton outsourced to Dubai recently. My point is that this program reads 2001. So was it established before 11 sep 2001 or not? perhaps we got sth interesting here. With these guys "outsourcing" and Cheney "suddenly" in retirement, Im pretty curious about the content and the background of this program. Was it a mere reaction or is it maybe a missing link for the "success" of 911 within the US? i mean the defense of the program - though we dont know the content yet - is so already so odd it hurts.
Democrats seek Probe of Bush anti-terror policies
Obama isnt very swift when it comes to prosecuting Bush policies. Perhaps because the transition didnt appear very safe to him. Well to me not either. Anyway, the scale of the latest Cheney revelations is shocking. Thus a thorough investigation is strongly recommended
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama has been reluctant to probe Bush-era torture and anti-terrorism policies, but his Democratic allies aren't likely to let the matters rest
Bush and Cheney are serial liars. I never understood Cheneys total arrogance, especially when he shot Wittington. I dont know why Cheney is so relevant. He was minister of defense when Saddam invaded Kuwait. Thats true. Despite, he was the chairman of Halliburton for a while. Cheney has an own infrastructure and he doesnt even pretend he likes transparency. Im sure Panetta gave up on the program because its impossible to keep it up without Cheney's infrastructure. Cheney's Halliburton outsourced to Dubai recently. My point is that this program reads 2001. So was it established before 11 sep 2001 or not? perhaps we got sth interesting here. With these guys "outsourcing" and Cheney "suddenly" in retirement, Im pretty curious about the content and the background of this program. Was it a mere reaction or is it maybe a missing link for the "success" of 911 within the US? i mean the defense of the program - though we dont know the content yet - is so already so odd it hurts.
Democrats seek Probe of Bush anti-terror policies
Obama isnt very swift when it comes to prosecuting Bush policies. Perhaps because the transition didnt appear very safe to him. Well to me not either. Anyway, the scale of the latest Cheney revelations is shocking. Thus a thorough investigation is strongly recommended
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama has been reluctant to probe Bush-era torture and anti-terrorism policies, but his Democratic allies aren't likely to let the matters rest
Japanese PM to call general election
updated 55 minutes ago
Japanese PM to call general election
Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso will dissolve the lower house of parliament this month and call for a general election in August, the government said Monday. full story
Sunday, 12 July 2009
Germany: Tax-Evasion: with the help of multis, the German state is swindled for billions by derivates
Bund räumt toten Winkel ein
Mitten in der Finanzkrise läuft ein großangelegter Versuch, den Fiskus um gigantische Summen zu prellen. Institutionelle Anleger zocken mit Aktien-Deals rund um den Dividendenausschüttungstermin deutscher Konzerne die Finanzämter ab. Das Finanzministerium warnt....»
Plame/Secret Assassination ring
- WASHINGTON — Vice President Dick Cheney talked with top White House officials about how to respond to reporters' inquiries into who leaked the identity of a CIA operative, according to a court filing.Journal Inquirer - Jul 08 10:35 PM
Seymour Hersh - the very name is repulsive to most conservatives. He was the man who exposed the My Lai massacre by US troops in Vietnam, and since then has gained a bit of an evil reputation in the conservative community. Bush 43 adviser Richard Perle called Hersh "the closest thing American journalism has to a terrorist."
The reporter's most recent big story, as yet unproven, concerns his claim in March of an "executive assassination ring" which reported directly to then-Vice President Dick Cheney. Hersh has said, “Under President Bush’s authority, they’ve been going into countries, not talking to the ambassador or to the CIA station chief, and finding people on a list and executing them and leaving,” There was also a report that Hersh told an Arab television crew that the same unit was responsible for Benazir Bhutto's assassination. There is no hard evidence of this, but considering America's determination to preserve the dictators who work with us, one must admit the possibility exists, but until actual proof is presented, the allegation is only a possibility and nothing more.
Since the initial hullabaloo over Hersh's claim of the assassination ring, we've heard almost nothing—or have we? Just this week, CIA Director, Leon Panetta, briefed the House Intelligence Committee that on the previous day he had just shut a secret CIA program that had been in operation since 2001. None of the House Intelligence Committee members had EVER been briefed on this program. One of the members of the committee, Rep. Anna Eshoo, (D-CA), said she could not discuss what was a “highly classified program.” She did, however, note that when Panetta told House Intelligence Committee members what had been kept secret, “the whole committee was stunned, even Republicans.” A Republican committee member said it was something they hadn’t heard before.
It's really interesting that Director Panetta said the secret program had been in operation since 2001, because on January 3, 2001 Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA) introduced House Resolution 19: Terrorist Elimination Act of 2001. Included in this resolution was a clause that ended the prohibition on assassinations of terrorists or those who support terrorists. It's easy to see how that last phrase could even include heads of state in the view of certain governmental hardliners of the past eight years. Fortunately, the bill never made it out of committee, but with the suspect coincidental timing of Hersh's claim, Director Panetta's briefing this week, and Bob Barr's bill in 2001, one must wonder if the Bush administration decided to continue with the intent of that particular clause in the bill. The content of Bush 43's signing statements, which were effectively government by executive decree as with any monarch, have not all been made public.
Is this Bush-era secret CIA program that "stunned the Republicans" Cheney's alleged executive assassination ring? I truly hope not, because its existence would seriously harm our national image for decades to come. But isn't it naive to think that a nation wouldn't consider assassination as a tool to advance its interests? Assassination has been used as long as there have been human organizations down to the tribal level, so doesn't it make sense that nations would continue to do so now? After all, assassination is a lot cheaper than a war, isn't it?
NYT: Cheney linked to hiding CIA project
NYT: Cheney linked to hiding CIA project
The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the agency’s director, Leon E. Panetta, has told the Senate and House intelligence committees, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday.
The report that Mr. Cheney was behind the decision to conceal the still-unidentified program from Congress deepened the mystery surrounding it, suggesting that the Bush administration had put a high priority on the program and its secrecy.
Mr. Panetta, who ended the program when he first learned of its existence from subordinates on June 23, briefed the two intelligence committees about it in separate closed sessions the next day.
thinkprogress
A congressionally-mandated report by Inspectors General of five separate intelligence agencies confirms that the Bush administration carried out “unprecedented,” massive surveillance activities beyond the warrantless wirteapping program that had previously been revealed. The Bush administration authorized the program without fully notifying Congress:
Former vice president told agency to hide it from Congress, 2 sources say
The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the agency’s director, Leon E. Panetta, has told the Senate and House intelligence committees, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday.
The report that Mr. Cheney was behind the decision to conceal the still-unidentified program from Congress deepened the mystery surrounding it, suggesting that the Bush administration had put a high priority on the program and its secrecy.
Mr. Panetta, who ended the program when he first learned of its existence from subordinates on June 23, briefed the two intelligence committees about it in separate closed sessions the next day.
thinkprogress
A congressionally-mandated report by Inspectors General of five separate intelligence agencies confirms that the Bush administration carried out “unprecedented,” massive surveillance activities beyond the warrantless wirteapping program that had previously been revealed. The Bush administration authorized the program without fully notifying Congress:
Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., told The Associated Press she was shocked to learn of the existence of other classified programs beyond the warrantless wiretapping.
Former Bush Attorney General Alberto Gonzales made a terse reference to other classified programs in an August 2007 letter to Congress. But Harman said that when she had asked Gonzales two years earlier if the government was conducting any other undisclosed intelligence activities, he denied it.
“He looked me in the eye and said ‘no,’” she said Friday.
As ThinkProgress previously reported, former Deputy Attorney General James Comey’s testimony before Congress implied that “other programs exist for domestic spying” outside of the NSA program. Gonzales even stated in 2007 that “other intelligence activities” existed. The new report found Gonzales’ statements to be “incomplete and confusing” and “inaccurate,” though not intentionally misleading.
Attorney General John Ashcroft had originally given authorization for the program based on a “misimpression” of what activities the NSA was actually conducting. The lack of full disclosure led to the showdown in Ashcroft’s hospital room in 2004, which almost caused a mass resignation at DoJ.
According to the report, top Cheney aide David Addington could personally decide who in the administration was “read into” the classified program. The inspectors general interviewed more than 200 people inside and outside the government. But because the inspectors general “lacked the authority to compel testimony,” five former Bush administration officials — Ashcroft, John Yoo, George Tenet, Andrew Card, and Addington — refused to be questioned.
Most of the intelligence leads generated under what was known as the “President’s Surveillance Program,” which began shortly after 9/11, did not have any connection to terrorism, the report said. Moreover, the information produced was of “limited” value to intelligence officials.
White the IGs’ report does not yield any details about the secret programs, Radar reported in 2008 that a program called “Main Core” was engaged in massive data collection of Americans:
According to a senior government official… ”There exists a database of Americans, who, often for the slightest and most trivial reason, are considered unfriendly, and who, in a time of panic, might be incarcerated. The database can identify and locate perceived ‘enemies of the state’ almost instantaneously.” … One knowledgeable source claims that 8 million Americans are now listed in Main Core as potentially suspect. In the event of a national emergency, these people could be subject to everything from heightened surveillance and tracking to direct questioning and possibly even detention.
Glenn Greenwald notes that there likely “will be no consequences” for any of this “rampant and blantant” lawlessness because the Obama administration “opposes all Congressional investigations into Bush-era crimes and, worse, is engaged in extraordinary efforts to block courts from adjudicating the legality of Bush’s surveillance activities by claiming that even long-obsolete and clearly criminal programs are ’state secrets.’”
UpdateJack Balkin writes, "In sum: the Bush Administration used an illegal program that wasn't effective, and when the public found out, it repeatedly used this ineffective program to scare Congress into passing laws that legitimated many of its illegal practices and gave the intelligence agencies greater leeway with less oversight."
UpdateSpencer Ackerman questions: "Does the legal architecture of the original [surveillance program] still remain in place? I suppose if it does, one vehicle for calling attention to it — and perhaps doing something about it — is the debate over reauthorizing sections of the Patriot Act that will take place later this year."
UpdateIn an interview with the AP, former CIA Director Michael Hayden claimed that top members of Congress were kept well-informed all along the way. "One of the points I had in every one of the briefings was to make sure they understood the scope of our activity 'They've got to know this is bigger than a bread box,' I said," said Hayden.
pacificviews.org
Washington Post: Holder Weighs Inquiry Into Alleged Torture
pacificviews.org
TPMMuckraker asks Was Bush Kept In The Dark On DOJ Concerns About Surveillance?
Washington Post:Democrats Eye Secret ProgramOne passage on the IGs report on surveillance suggests something that perhaps shouldn't come as a surprise -- that President Bush was kept in the dark by members of the White House staff about about serious objections to the surveillance program raised by others in the administration.
House plans probe of CIA effort that Bush-era officials kept from Congress for almost eight years.
Paul Kane and Joby WarrickWashington Post: Holder Weighs Inquiry Into Alleged Torture
Attorney general may appoint a prosecutor to investigate CIA treatment of terrorism suspects, despite resistance from administration.
Carrie Johnson At the direction of the then-vice president, Congress was not notified of a highly classified counter-terrorism program for eight years, sources say.
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Former Vice President Dick Cheney directed the CIA eight years ago not to inform Congress about a nascent counterterrorism program that CIA Director Leon Panetta terminated in June, officials with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday.AP via Yahoo! News - 1 hour, 8 minutes ago - The CIA withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress during the Bush administration on direct orders from then-Vice President Dick Cheney, current CIA director Leon Panetta told members of Congress, a knowledgeable source confirmed to CNN.CNN - Jul 11 11:14 PM
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US former vice president Dick Cheney ordered the CIA to withhold information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years, The New York Times reported on its website Saturday.AFP via Yahoo! News - Jul 11 4:36 PM - Government sources say Vice President Dick Cheney directed the CIA not to inform Congress about a nascent counterterrorism program eight years ago that CIA Director Leon Panetta terminated in June.AP via Yahoo! News - Jul 11 4:58 PM
- The CIA withheld information about a secret counter-terrorism program from Congress for eight years on orders from former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, the New York Times said on Saturday.Reuters via Yahoo! News - Jul 11 3:44 PM
- The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the agency's director, Leon Panetta, has told the Senate and House intelligence committees, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday.St. Louis Post-Dispatch - 46 minutes ago
- The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney.Denver Post - 2 hours, 55 minutes ago
- At the direction of the then-vice president, Congress was not notified of a highly classified counter-terrorism program for eight years, sources say. The CIA kept a highly classified counter-terrorism program secret from Congress for eight years at the direction of then-Vice President Dick Cheney, according to sources familiar with an account that agency Director Leon E. Panetta provided ...Chicago Tribune - Jul 11 6:51 PM
- Government officials say former VP Cheney told the CIA to keep Congress in dark over counter-terror program • Hayden: Secret CIA Program Had Congress' SupportFox News - Jul 11 4:54 PM
- Top Bush administration officials, including former CIA Director George J. Tenet and former Vice President Dick Cheney, opted not to brief Congress on a secret program belatedly disclosed to Congress last month by CIA Director Leon E. Panetta, according to an intelligence official with direct knowledge of the program. The official, who asked not to be named because of the classified nature of ...The Washington Times - 48 minutes ago
- WASHINGTON, July 11 (UPI) -- The CIA kept Congress in the dark for eight years about a secret counter-terrorism program on orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, sources said.UPI - Jul 11 4:12 PM
- Government officials with direct knowledge of Panetta's June 24 briefing to congressional intelligence committees confirmed that Cheney had told the CIA not to discuss the program with Congress yet.Fox News - Jul 11 4:51 PM
- he Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the agency's director, Leon Panetta, has told the Senate and House intelligence committees, two people with knowledge of the matter said Saturday.Seattle Times - 2 hours, 58 minutes ago
- CIA Director Leon Panetta reportedly has told Congress that his predecessor kept a counterterrorism program secret from Congress for eight years on orders of then-Vice President Dick Cheney.Market Watch - Jul 11 3:22 PM
- Former Vice President Dick Cheney directed the CIA eight years ago not to inform Congress about a new counterterrorism program that CIA Director Leon Panetta terminated in June, officials with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday.Japan Today - 2 hours, 1 minute ago
- Former Vice President Dick Cheney directed the CIA eight years ago not to inform Congress about a nascent counterterrorism program, officials said today.Detroit Free Press - Jul 11 5:11 PM
- Dick Cheney reportedly ordered the CIA to withhold information about a secret counter-terrorism program from Congress when he was US vice-president.Sky News Australia - Jul 11 10:07 PM
- The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the agency's director, Leon E. Panetta, has told the Senate and House intelligence committees, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said yesterday.Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Jul 11 9:21 PM
- The CIA kept a highly classified counter-terrorism program secret from Congress for eight years at the direction of former Vice President Dick Cheney, according to sources familiar with an account that agency Director Leon Panetta provided recently...The News Journal - 2 hours, 11 minutes ago
- Former Vice President Dick Cheney ordered the CIA not to inform Congress about a secret counterterrorism program for eight years, according to...The Hill - Jul 11 8:50 PM
- Former Vice President Dick Cheney directed the CIA eight years ago not to inform Congress about a nascent counterterrorism...Deseret News - Jul 11 6:12 PM
- WASHINGTON, July 12 — The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism programme from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former US Vice-President Dick Cheney, the agency’s director, Leon E. Panetta, has told the Senate and House intelligence committees, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The report that Cheney was behind ...The Malaysian Insider - Jul 11 11:03 PM
- FILE -- In this June 1, 2009 file photo, former Vice President Dick Cheney speaks at the National Press Club in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)The Huffington Post - Jul 11 9:41 PM
- Citing two unidentified sources, the newspaper said Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta disclosed Cheney's involvement in closed briefings to congressional intelligence committees late last month.The Star - Jul 11 8:04 PM
- DICK Cheney ordered the CIA to withhold information about a secret counter-terrorism program from Congress, it has been reported.Herald Sun - Jul 11 5:22 PM
- Former Vice President Dick Cheney ordered the Central Intelligence Agency to withhold information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years, the New York Times reported Saturday. Agency director Leon Panetta, who ended the program when he learned of its existence on June 23, briefed Senate and House intelligence committees about it in separate closed sessions the next ...CBS 13 Sacramento - Jul 11 8:34 PM
- THE CIA withheld information about a secret counter-terrorism program from Congress for eight years on orders from former US Vice President Dick Cheney, the New York Times said today.The Courier Mail - Jul 11 3:47 PM
- FORMER US Vice-President Dick Cheney ordered the CIA not to tell US Congress about a secret counter-terrorism program.Daily Telegraph - Jul 11 3:47 PM
- Source: Reuters * Panetta disclosed Cheney's involvement to Congress * Program begin after Sept. 11 attacks - officials WASHINGTON, July 11 Reuters - The CIA withheld information about a secret counter- ...AlertNet - Jul 11 4:00 PM
- Associated Press - July 11, 2009 7:23 PM ET WASHINGTON (AP) - Government sources say Vice President Dick Cheney directed the CIA not to inform Congress about a nascent counterterrorism program...KTNV Las Vegas - Jul 11 4:41 PM
- President Dick Cheney directed the CIA eight years ago not to inform Congress about a new counterterrorism program that CIA Director Leon Panetta terminated in June, officials with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday.Times & Transcript - Jul 11 6:01 PM
- by Scott Shane WASHINGTON - The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the agency's director, Leon E. Panetta, has told the Senate and House intelligence committees, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday. read moreCommonDreams.org - Jul 11 4:18 PM
- Wow. The New York Times has two sources reporting: C.I.A. director Leon E. Panetta's been testifying to Congress that Dick Cheney ordered the C.I.A. to withhold information regarding a secret...Gawker - Jul 11 3:03 PM
- The C.I.A. was said to have withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on orders from the former vice president.New York Times - Jul 11 5:10 PM
- Indications are that the threats against Cheney haven't lessened since his term expired.US News & World Report - Jul 10 12:18 PM
- New York Times: Former Vice President Ordered CIA to Withhold Information on Counterterrorism Project from CongressCBS News - Jul 11 3:00 PM
- Sources: Former VP told agency to hide program from CongressSan Jose Mercury News - Jul 11 9:57 PM
- There appears no end in sight for when Dick Cheney, a rare former vice president with Secret Service protection, will lose his security detail. Whispers has learned that the political battler's Secret Service protection has been extended, though there were no details on the length.The Huffington Post - Jul 10 1:26 PM
- Former vice president ordered CIA to exclude Congress from operationAlbany Times Union - Jul 11 10:30 PM
- The New York Times says the CIA withheld information about a counter-terrorism programme from CongressTVNZ - Jul 11 8:52 PM
- A top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee says that the charge leveled on Saturday that then Vice President Dick Cheney ordered the concealment of an eight-year covert spy program from Congress offered validation for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).Politico via Yahoo! News - Jul 11 7:09 PM
- Right now, it's just a conspiracy theory. I hope that's all it will ever be.Blogcritics.org - Jul 11 7:08 PM
- Sources say Cheney directed that counterterrorism effort be kept secret from Congress The CIA kept a highly classified counterterrorism program secret from Congress for eight years at the direction of then-Vice President Dick Cheney, according to sources familiar with an account that agency director Leon Panetta provided recently to House and Senate committees.Baltimore Sun
- The CIA withheld information about a secret counter-terrorism programme for eight years on the orders of former Vice President Dick Cheney, according to a report in The New York Times.Times Online - Jul 11 8:22 PM
Saturday, 11 July 2009
Germany: German Social Dems nerved about Obamas "Merkel has already won"
Furthermore Mr.Obama grinned pretty often towards Berlusconi during the G8 summit.
I think it'll mean that we need more troops on the ground. I mean Mr. Heinz Ketchup ah Kerry is a reknown Ketchup producerFriday, 10 July 2009
mediterranian union
1 year ago Sarkozy created the mediterranian union. The result seems to be abolishable.
Iran
We won't wait for Iran to build nukes: Obama
US President Barack 
Welcoming a rare consensus on Iran among the globe's most powerful nations at the L'Aquila summit, Obama told reporters he hoped Tehran would recognize that "world opinion is very clear".
The G8 joint declaration expressed "serious concern" over post-election violence in Iran but called for a negotiated resolution to the standoff over Tehran's nuclear programme, giving it until September's G20 summit.
"And that's been always our premise, is that we provide that door," said Obama.
Obama benchmarks
Trade gap narrows to smallest in a decade
Geithner to crack down on derivatives
Geithner to crack down on derivatives
Fewer than expected file for unemployment (07.09.2009)
The number of Americans filing for initial unemployment insurance fell last week, while those filing ongoing claims increased, according to government data released Thursday.This Has Got to Stop. If Obama Doesn't Chuck His Goldman Sachs Advisors and Start Taking Back Our Financial System from the River Boat Gamblers of Wall Street, He is Going to Face a Left/Right Populist Revolt: "American International Group is preparing to pay millions of dollars more in bonuses to several dozen top corporate executives after an earlier round of payments four months ago set off a national furor."
GM exits bankruptcy, CEO vows better performance
AP GM exits bankruptcy, CEO vows better performance
AP – 7 mins agoDETROIT – A leaner General Motors arose on Friday, making an unusually quick exit from bankruptcy with ambitions of making money and building cars people are eager to buy. Full Story »
Jackson: LA's police head doesnt exclude murder
I mean which freak ass injects high amounts of Adrenaline directly into the heart? Everybody knows its a fucking stress hormon. It only works if the psyche of the treated really thinks hes under stress. I mean Jackson was before on stage maybe facing 10000 people and I guess he wanted to go to bed. Stage was closed and I guess hed seen bigger audiences before. So why the fuck schould Jackson think hes been under stress? Total bullshit. Dopamine, caffeine, taurin, cocaine, whatsoever. But only use Adrenaline if u know the body will "react."
Mord nicht ausgeschlossen
GOP:Ensign
The Nevada Republican's lawyer says $96,000 was given legally and ethically 'out of concern' for Cynthia Hampton's family. The revelations follow an interview in which her husband criticizes Ensign.
Germany: Gabriel, German minister for environment, is currently visitting Chernobyl
Gabriel in Tschernobyl
Gabriel: Atomlaw should be tightened
Well, there was recently some nuclear accident in a Vattenfall reactor close to Hamburg. The control sticks had to be inserted into the reactor to control the ongoing nuclear reaction. 80% of Hamburgs traffic lights had a blackout.The mailfunction caused a traffic chaos. Well, Vattenfall is principally a Swedish state-run company and noone knows why they are so greedy. They shut Krummel for 2 years till two weeks ago to guarantee a restructuring of the NPP. Obviously the NPP doesnt work any better though.
Worst violence since US pullback hits Iraq
Worst violence since US pullback hits Iraq
BAGHDAD – Bombs killed nearly 60 people in Iraq on Thursday in the worst violence since U.S. combat troops withdrew from urban areas last week, and American forces released five Iranian officials suspected of aiding Shiite insurgents.
U.S. officials said they believe the Iranians, detained in northern Iraq in January 2007, had facilitated attacks on American-led forces but handed them over to the Iraqi government at its request because they were obliged to do so under a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement.
The U.S. State Department said it was concerned their release could present a security threat to American troops in Iraq.
Iraq's foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, called the release a "good initiative" that could encourage dialogue between Washington and Tehran, which are longtime foes.
Iranian Embassy spokesman Amir Arshadi said Iraq had transferred the Iranians, described by their government as diplomats, to the embassy. Washington believes they are associated with the Quds Force, part of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard Corps, and that they trained Iraqi militants.
Germany: Social Dems: Steinbrueck cares for 25-year old - 35 year old, Scholz wants pension fund guarantee
NTV
After Scholz declared not even 6 months ago that payments into retirement funds wont be lifted and he had to admit 3 months later he needs to raise them by almost 20%, Scholz is again at it: He wants a pension payment guarantee for retirees. Who pays? The guys still working.
After Scholz declared not even 6 months ago that payments into retirement funds wont be lifted and he had to admit 3 months later he needs to raise them by almost 20%, Scholz is again at it: He wants a pension payment guarantee for retirees. Who pays? The guys still working.
New General Motors expected to exit Chapter 11
New General Motors expected to exit Chapter 11
AP – 2 hrs 37 mins agoObama set for emotional visits to Vatican, Ghana
AP Obama set for emotional visits to Vatican, Ghana
AP – 19 mins agoL'AQUILA, Italy – President Barack Obama is ending three days of often-wonkish policy discussions with fellow world leaders to embark on two of the most photogenic and emotional events of his young presidency: meeting the pope at the Vatican and becoming the first black American president to visit a mostly black African country. Full Story »
Netanyahu: Rahm 'self-hating Jew'
Netanyahu: Rahm 'self-hating Jew'
Reporter describes 'para- noid' Israeli PM in 'atmos- phere of permanent crisis.'
Netanyahus mental disability circus starts out again with accusing other people of being inane to hide he's himself totally inept. The self immolating ways of these attacks befuddle me most because hes obviously Jewish too and accuses Emanaul and Axelrod of being jews.
jp:revolution
Thursday, 9 July 2009
Software
My Skydrive
Hi. I transferred some of "my" public domain software to my skydrive. Have a look.
Any software recopied may or may not infringe copyright law. The owner of this site does not take any responsibility for any infringement of copyright laws. If you think copyright law is concerned, mail me at ccoaler@hotmail.com. The owner of this site will not be liable for any mailfunction caused by the software.
asstutorial-assembler tutorial
2DROT - nice rotate- has 8 points that remind of a cross and they get rotating. click on .exe to see or read source - compact assembler code really worth watching
3Ddeveloper - C IDE
386ID - detects CPU type
20-mysql tutorial
a86v372 - A86 Assembler v3.72
apache - apache
birdinflight - bitmap example
bitmap1,bitmap3,bitmap4,bitmap3181 - bitmap tutorials
bitmaps,bitmapfileformat - bitmap 1x1 including some addresses like 0022h (size)
bitmapinversereality - how to invert a bitmap (source)
Bitmaprotat - source by what a bitmap rotates
Carraybitmap - bitmap source
CDM - CD copier
CISBitmap - bitmap source
cmars - raytracing landscape - u can zoom thru by pressing keys
Contrsrd - TFL demo
cpu115 - Pascal code that needs to be compiled first - identifies CPU type
date1 - asm progs for time and date - c compatible
demobsrc - bitmap viewer including source
globecod - asm scroller
gtk - gtk c++ runtime easy to integrate into your c++ compiler 2 program gadgets and so on
hc2setup - Hyper Cam 2 setup - video framegrabber
hellsre - nice Cyclone BBS asm demo that masks part of the background so that the font is in flames
hex view - hexadecimal viewer
hvcode - sourcecode for hexviewer
instant unzip - free unzipper
KS_cwarp - reminds of some Amiga copper demo nice crap its a mix of c++ and asm
ll_land - dotted landscape (source)
magic cpp - c++ ide
mplab -assembler ide including assembler fast easy thrashing
mysql - build your own server, looser
mysql essentials
mysql tutorial
palettes -code to generate a color palette
read.index(sry dysfunctional)
read.php -sql help
rotate10 - fast font display in asm
rotateas - gets a box inside a mask moving -asm
rotozoom - gets a plane rotating
texturf - marvellous texture mapping nice to see 1993 click on fantom93.exe
textved - some form out of characters that u can steer by keys around axiz
tfsource - SMA code - starfield scroller and text dispalyer
tut0xnew - assembler tutorial with example programs
txthurr - sin wave effect - color change - fast scroll
vectbalm - blue vectorballs lit by a source of light from a certain point
vectscr - vector scroller - doesnt create font info by bitmap but by vector calc
vexsrc - vec demo (compile yourself) - asm
w95 - driver to run USB sticks on win 95
xfire -old assembler
xnview - framegrabber - can also save any loaded file in many file formats
zoom_ex
Hi. I transferred some of "my" public domain software to my skydrive. Have a look.
Any software recopied may or may not infringe copyright law. The owner of this site does not take any responsibility for any infringement of copyright laws. If you think copyright law is concerned, mail me at ccoaler@hotmail.com. The owner of this site will not be liable for any mailfunction caused by the software.
asstutorial-assembler tutorial
2DROT - nice rotate- has 8 points that remind of a cross and they get rotating. click on .exe to see or read source - compact assembler code really worth watching
3Ddeveloper - C IDE
386ID - detects CPU type
20-mysql tutorial
a86v372 - A86 Assembler v3.72
apache - apache
birdinflight - bitmap example
bitmap1,bitmap3,bitmap4,bitmap3181 - bitmap tutorials
bitmaps,bitmapfileformat - bitmap 1x1 including some addresses like 0022h (size)
bitmapinversereality - how to invert a bitmap (source)
Bitmaprotat - source by what a bitmap rotates
Carraybitmap - bitmap source
CDM - CD copier
CISBitmap - bitmap source
cmars - raytracing landscape - u can zoom thru by pressing keys
Contrsrd - TFL demo
cpu115 - Pascal code that needs to be compiled first - identifies CPU type
date1 - asm progs for time and date - c compatible
demobsrc - bitmap viewer including source
globecod - asm scroller
gtk - gtk c++ runtime easy to integrate into your c++ compiler 2 program gadgets and so on
hc2setup - Hyper Cam 2 setup - video framegrabber
hellsre - nice Cyclone BBS asm demo that masks part of the background so that the font is in flames
hex view - hexadecimal viewer
hvcode - sourcecode for hexviewer
instant unzip - free unzipper
KS_cwarp - reminds of some Amiga copper demo nice crap its a mix of c++ and asm
ll_land - dotted landscape (source)
magic cpp - c++ ide
mplab -assembler ide including assembler fast easy thrashing
mysql - build your own server, looser
mysql essentials
mysql tutorial
palettes -code to generate a color palette
read.index(sry dysfunctional)
read.php -sql help
rotate10 - fast font display in asm
rotateas - gets a box inside a mask moving -asm
rotozoom - gets a plane rotating
texturf - marvellous texture mapping nice to see 1993 click on fantom93.exe
textved - some form out of characters that u can steer by keys around axiz
tfsource - SMA code - starfield scroller and text dispalyer
tut0xnew - assembler tutorial with example programs
txthurr - sin wave effect - color change - fast scroll
vectbalm - blue vectorballs lit by a source of light from a certain point
vectscr - vector scroller - doesnt create font info by bitmap but by vector calc
vexsrc - vec demo (compile yourself) - asm
w95 - driver to run USB sticks on win 95
xfire -old assembler
xnview - framegrabber - can also save any loaded file in many file formats
zoom_ex
Iran beats its on population again
Protests, such as this one on June 15, have been defended by reformist figures. (Getty Images)
updated 11 minutes ago
Iran moves to break up anniversary protests
Iranian pro-government Basij militia disperse crowds in Tehran demonstrating on the 10th anniversary of a 1999 student uprising that, at the time, posed the biggest threat to the Islamic regime since its inception in 1979. Iran has been rocked recently by a series of popular protests that followed the disputed presidential election on June 12. full story
UK may have subcontracted torture to Pakistan
http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/07/08/10132/
its called M(ilitary) I(ntelligence) Section 5 btw, not m15
its called M(ilitary) I(ntelligence) Section 5 btw, not m15
G8 unite on climate
According to French prime Sarkozy the G8 give Iran time till end sep to solve the nuclear standoff. Otherwise Iran will have to face the consequences. Obama plans for a nuclear summit.RAWSTORY: Clinton calls for stricter Iran sanctions
G 8 gets to breakthru at climate protection
G-8-sees good economy ahead
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
Germany: Impressive statements in islamist-trials
German NTV
The suspected terrorists have surprised the court by completly admitting to their crimes. The statements were sure "more universal" than expected. The head judge in Dusseldorf -Ottmar Breidling- made this statement. The statements of the Islamists will be read out from 10aug onwards.
The Islamists declared their intention to admit to their crimes in the mid of june. Since then, their statements are being recorded by officers. Thus the head judge granted a relief of punishment. "Because it happened so early in the trial a clear reduction of punishment is possible" said Breidling. Some similiar willingness to make statements he had only witnessed during the trial against the guards of Oussama Bin laden breidling continued. "This is really impressive."
The suspected terrorists have surprised the court by completly admitting to their crimes. The statements were sure "more universal" than expected. The head judge in Dusseldorf -Ottmar Breidling- made this statement. The statements of the Islamists will be read out from 10aug onwards.
The Islamists declared their intention to admit to their crimes in the mid of june. Since then, their statements are being recorded by officers. Thus the head judge granted a relief of punishment. "Because it happened so early in the trial a clear reduction of punishment is possible" said Breidling. Some similiar willingness to make statements he had only witnessed during the trial against the guards of Oussama Bin laden breidling continued. "This is really impressive."
Karl Rove was questioned (for 8 hours) by House Judiciary Committee lawyers
Former Bush White House official Karl Rove was questioned (for 8 hours) by House Judiciary Committee lawyers Tuesday on any role he may have played in politically motivated firings of U.S. attorneys. An agreement called for Rove to testify "under the penalty for perjury," which is a way Rove's lawyer can claim that he did not technically testify under oath.
Rove deposed in US Attorney firings
GOOGLE-NEWS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Bush White House official Karl Rove was questioned by House Judiciary Committee lawyers Tuesday on any role he may have played in politically motivated firings of U.S. attorneys.
Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., confirmed Rove's closed-door appearance through a committee spokesman who was not authorized to be quoted by name.
The committee has been seeking answers on who created the list of federal prosecutors who would lose their jobs. Conyers has suspected the trail led to the White House but couldn't prove it. Former President George W. Bush asserted executive privilege for Rove and former White House lawyer Harriet Miers and refused to let them testify.
An agreement was struck in March between Rove's lawyer and the committee for Rove, who was Bush's top political adviser, to testify on the prosecutors' firings, as well as the prosecution of former Gov. Don Siegelman of Alabama. Siegelman, a Democrat, has alleged that his prosecution was pushed by Republicans, including Rove.
The agreement called for Rove to testify "under the penalty for perjury," Conyers has said. The committee could release the transcripts afterward, but the agreement also allowed for public testimony.
Rove deposed in US Attorney firings
GOOGLE-NEWS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Bush White House official Karl Rove was questioned by House Judiciary Committee lawyers Tuesday on any role he may have played in politically motivated firings of U.S. attorneys.
Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., confirmed Rove's closed-door appearance through a committee spokesman who was not authorized to be quoted by name.
The committee has been seeking answers on who created the list of federal prosecutors who would lose their jobs. Conyers has suspected the trail led to the White House but couldn't prove it. Former President George W. Bush asserted executive privilege for Rove and former White House lawyer Harriet Miers and refused to let them testify.
An agreement was struck in March between Rove's lawyer and the committee for Rove, who was Bush's top political adviser, to testify on the prosecutors' firings, as well as the prosecution of former Gov. Don Siegelman of Alabama. Siegelman, a Democrat, has alleged that his prosecution was pushed by Republicans, including Rove.
The agreement called for Rove to testify "under the penalty for perjury," Conyers has said. The committee could release the transcripts afterward, but the agreement also allowed for public testimony.
Google to introduce PC operating system
rawstory/msnbc/NYT:Google to introduce PC operating system
SAN FRANCISCO - In a direct challenge to Microsoft, Google is expected to announce on Wednesday that it is developing an operating system for a personal computer based on its Chrome browser, according to two people briefed on Google’s plans.
The details of the technology could not be learned, but Google plans to make the announcement on a company blog on Wednesday afternoon, this person said.
Google did not immediately return calls and e-mail messages seeking comment.
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Bombshell
Report: UK scientist found dead in 2003 was
planning expose on WMD's, germ warfare
British weapons inspector Dr. David Kelly was writing an expose about his work with anthrax and his warnings that Iraq possessed no weapons of mass destruction at the time of his death in July 2003, according to a report published in a British newspaper.
planning expose on WMD's, germ warfare
British weapons inspector Dr. David Kelly was writing an expose about his work with anthrax and his warnings that Iraq possessed no weapons of mass destruction at the time of his death in July 2003, according to a report published in a British newspaper.
Kelly’s death — said to have been a suicide — has stirred controversy, as it came on the heels of testimony to the House of Commons about a memo which purported that Britain had “sexed up” a dossier on Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction. A Parliamentary inquiry ruled that the death had been suicide, though it also included testimony from a former British ambassador who quotes Kelly as having said, “I will probably be found dead in the woods” if Iraq were invaded.
The new report says Kelly had spoken with an Oxford publisher several times about a book.
“He had several discussions with a publisher in Oxford and was seeking advice on how far he could go without breaking the law on secrets,” the UK Daily Express alleged.
Kelly’s computers were seized in the wake of his death. He was a signatory to Britain’s Official Secrets Act, which allows for the prosecution of those who talk to the press about state secrets and prescribes a more stringent framework for secrecy than in the United States.
According to the paper, “he was intending to reveal that he warned Prime Minister Tony Blair there were no weapons of mass destruction anywhere in Iraq weeks before the British and American invasion… and was also intending to lift the lid on a potentially bigger scandal, his own secret dealings in germ warfare with the apartheid regime in South Africa.”
The allegations of a potential Kelly expose come from a new film about biological weapons being debuted in London on the sixth anniversary of Kelly’s death titled “Anthrax War” (the documentary aired earlier this year on Canadian public television). Kelly was an expert in biological warfare agents, as well as a former United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq.
‘Anthrax War’
‘‘The deeper you look into the murky world of governments and germ warfare, the more worrying it becomes,” the film’s director, Bob Coen, is quoted as saying. “We have proved there is a black market in anthrax. David Kelly was of particular interest to us because he was a world expert on anthrax and he was involved in some degree with assisting the secret germ warfare program in apartheid South Africa.”
According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s summary of the film, Coen “was raised in Zimbabwe where the former white regime has been accused of unleashing anthrax against the black population… [who] embarks on a journey that raises troubling questions about the FBI’s investigation of the 21st century’s first act of biological terrorism.
“Coen’s investigation takes him from the U.S. to the U.K. and from the edge of Siberia to the tip of Africa. In a rare interview, Coen confronts ‘Doctor Death’ Wouter Basson, who headed Project Coast, the South African apartheid-era bio-warfare program,” the network’s website adds. “Project Coast used germ warfare against select targets within the country’s black population.
“Anthrax War also investigates the mysterious deaths of some of the world’s leading anthrax scientists, including Dr. David Kelly, the UK’s top military microbiologist, the Soviet defector Dr. Vladimir Pasechnik, and Dr. Bruce Ivins,” the CBC continues. “The FBI claims - despite the doubts of highly ranked U.S. officials - that Ivins was the only person behind the U.S. anthrax murders.”
A Torrent download of Anthrax War is available at this link. Several shorter clips are also available on YouTube.
Monday, 6 July 2009
Atrios thread: Unshitting the bed
Somebody emailed me asking what I really think about Afghanistan. The truth is I have no idea. The fact that 9/11 may have provided a moral justification for an invasion of the country doesn't actually mean that, with hindsight especially, it was good idea given how much George Bush fucked everything up. And, yes, George Bush is a complete fuckup who will fuck everything up was a perfectly valid reason to oppose that war, too, at the time.
As for going forward? Well, as with Iraq the conceit is that we need to stick around to make sure everything doesn't fall apart. I guess we can keep applying scotch type in perpetuity, but...
As I said, I don't know. I asked the question because the question isn't asked enough. Since that one was "the good war" compared with Iraq, there's less questioning of whether we should have a continued presence. Ultimately... to what end? I have no idea.
As for going forward? Well, as with Iraq the conceit is that we need to stick around to make sure everything doesn't fall apart. I guess we can keep applying scotch type in perpetuity, but...
As I said, I don't know. I asked the question because the question isn't asked enough. Since that one was "the good war" compared with Iraq, there's less questioning of whether we should have a continued presence. Ultimately... to what end? I have no idea.
Obama moves to bolster U.S.-Russia ties
Obama moves to bolster U.S.-Russia ties
U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sign a series of agreements -- including one on nuclear arms reduction -- as part of a broader effort to strengthen ties between the one-time Cold War rivals. full story
Berlusconi Sex Saga Titillates The G-8
NPR
Sunday, July 5, 2009 · The annual summit of the Group of 8 industrialized countries opens Wednesday in Italy. The slogan of this summit is sobriety — a quality not usually associated with Italy's media mogul-turned-political leader.
For the past two months, allegations have been made about Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's relationship with an underage teenager — who calls him "daddy" — that he turned favorite starlets into political candidates and entertained high-end prostitutes.
Newspapers have printed photos showing topless women at his sumptuous Sardinian villa.
Prosecutors are probing alleged payments made to several women recruited to attend his parties. Some of the women may have ties to the Mafia.
One call girl has given reporters graphic details of her alleged encounter in bed with the prime minister the night of the U.S. presidential election.
And she says she has tapes to prove it.
Coverage of the scandals has been limited to newspapers not controlled by Berlusconi — which means that 80 percent of Italians, who get their news only from his TV networks or state-run channels, have little or no knowledge of the revelations.
The European media, on the other hand, have been relentless in covering the Berlusconi sex saga. And even traditionally blase Europeans are stunned by seamy tales of the premier's womanizing and hedonistic parties.
British, French, Spanish and German editorialists have called him a "clown," "an aging Lothario" and "a danger for Italian democracy," and have compared him to decadent Roman emperors.
Berlusconi has reacted defiantly. He dismisses the allegations as concoctions of a Communist-led conspiracy that has recruited the likes of Financial Times and The Economist.
After a long silence, some prominent figures of the Catholic Church — one of Berlusconi's staunchest supporters — began to issue stern comments about moral decadence and even suggested that he resign.
This is not Berlusconi's first time in a negative spotlight. In his 15 years in public office, he has survived accusations of Mafia ties, numerous corruption charges and serial conflicts of interest.
And he can count on the support of nearly 50 percent of Italian voters.
But his international image has been badly tarnished.
In the first organized protest against Berlusconi's "sexgate," a group of Italian women academics are appealing for solidarity outside of Italy.
Their petition says Berlusconi's near total control of Italian TV severely restricts freedom of speech and urges the G-8 First Ladies to boycott the summit on the grounds that the prime minister's behavior offends the dignity of all women.
Sarah Palin: An "unholy amalgam"?
yahoo.com
The latest issue of Vanity Fair isn't even on newsstands yet and it's already making headlines for a not-so-politely titled article, "It Came from Wasilla," about Gov. Sarah Palin.
William Kristol at the Weekly Standard is calling it a "hit piece," taking writer Todd Purdum to task for his "dubious claims." A blogger at the Atlantic writes that the article "paints a gruesome picture" of the governor. Politico's Jonathan Martin mulls the "political fallout from the very tough piece."
Early in the almost 10,000-word article, Purdum describes Palin's life as an "unholy amalgam of 'Desperate Housewives' and 'Northern Exposure.'" Purdum has plenty of juicy quotes, but not a single source was willing to go on record. A sampling:
— "One longtime McCain friend and frequent companion on the trail was heard to refer to Palin as 'Little Shop of Horrors.'"
— "Some top aides worried about her mental state: was it possible that she was experiencing postpartum depression?"
— "Several told me, independently of one another, that they had consulted the definition of 'narcissistic personality disorder' in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — 'a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy' — and thought it fit her perfectly.
Purdum also quotes unnamed McCain campaign aides who, he writes, seem to "suffer a kind of survivor's guilt":
"They can’t quite believe that for two frantic months last fall, caught in a Bermuda Triangle of a campaign, they worked their tails off to try to elect as vice president of the United States someone who, by mid-October, they believed for certain was nowhere near ready for the job, and might never be. They quietly ponder the nightmare they lived through."
McNamara, defense chief during Vietnam War, dies
McNamara, defense chief during Vietnam War, dies
AP – 1 min agoWASHINGTON – Robert S. McNamara, the cerebral secretary of defense who was vilified for carrying out the Vietnam War, then devoted himself to helping the world's poorest nations, died Monday. He was 93.
McNamara died at 5:30 a.m. at his home, his wife Diana told The Associated Press. She said he had been in failing health for some time.
For all his healing efforts, McNamara was fundamentally associated with the Vietnam War, "McNamara's war," the country's most disastrous foreign venture, the only American war to end in abject withdrawal rather than victory.
Known as a policymaker with a fixation for statistical analysis, McNamara was recruited to run the Pentagon by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 from the presidency of the Ford Motor Co. He stayed seven years, longer than anyone since the job's creation in 1947.
His association with Vietnam became intensely personal. Even his son, as a Stanford University student, protested against the war while his father was running it. At Harvard, McNamara once had to flee a student mob through underground utility tunnels. Critics mocked McNamara mercilessly; they made much of the fact that his middle name was "Strange."
After leaving the Pentagon on the verge of a nervous breakdown, McNamara became president of the World Bank and devoted evangelical energies to the belief that improving life in rural communities in developing countries was a more promising path to peace than the buildup of arms and armies.
A private person, McNamara for many years declined to write his memoirs, to lay out his view of the war and his side in his quarrels with his generals. In the early 1990s he began to open up. He told Time magazine in 1991 that he did not think the bombing of North Vietnam — the biggest bombing campaign in history up to that time — would work but he went along with it "because we had to try to prove it would not work, number one, and (because) other people thought it would work."
Finally, in 1993, after the Cold War ended, he undertook to write his memoirs because some of the lessons of Vietnam were applicable to the post-Cold War period "odd as though it may seem."
"In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam" appeared in 1995. McNamara disclosed that by 1967 he had deep misgivings about Vietnam — by then he had lost faith in America's capacity to prevail over a guerrilla insurgency that had driven the French from the same jungled countryside.
Despite those doubts, he had continued to express public confidence that the application of enough American firepower would cause the Communists to make peace. In that period, the number of U.S. casualties — dead, missing and wounded — went from 7,466 to over 100,000.
"We of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations acted according to what we thought were the principles and traditions of our country. But we were wrong. We were terribly wrong," McNamara, then 78, told The Associated Press in an interview ahead of the book's release.
The best-selling mea culpa renewed the national debate about the war and prompted bitter criticism against its author. "Where was he when we needed him?" a Boston Globe editorial asked. A New York Times editorial referred to McNamara as offering the war's dead only a "prime-time apology and stale tears, three decades late."
McNamara wrote that he and others had not asked the five most basic questions: "Was it true that the fall of South Vietnam would trigger the fall of all Southeast Asia? Would that constitute a grave threat to the West's security? What kind of war — conventional or guerrilla — might develop? Could we win it with U.S. troops fighting alongside the South Vietnamese? Should we not know the answers to all these questions before deciding whether to commit troops?
He discussed similar themes in the 2003 documentary "