Jonathan

Australia Under Water

2011-01-19T13:16:00.000-08:00

Australia Under Water

A levee is in place around a power substation in an attempt to hold back water from the swollen Loddon River at Kerang, Australia. Up to 1,500 homes in Kerang, in the north of Victoria state, could be affected if the Lodden River rises any further.

I'd get a house boat if I was in Australia.

Emergency workers herd cattle along a flooded road at Kerang, Australia. Something like 1,500 homes in Kerang, in the north of Victoria state, could be affected if the Lodden River rises any further. it's bad!!!
A car wrecks outside the town of Grantham in South East Queensland, Australia. The small town was hit by flash flooding causing mass destruction. Deadly floodwaters that have cut a swath across northeastern Australia flowed onto the streets of Brisbane, the nation's third-largest city, forcing people to flee suburbs and skyscrapers.

An entire suburb is submerged outside Ipswich, west of Brisbane, Australia. Emergency sirens blared across Australia's third-largest city Wednesday as floodwaters that have torn a deadly path across the northeast poured into an empty downtown, swamping neighborhoods in what may be Brisbane's worst flooding in 100 years.

A farmland is flooded in South East Queensland. Deadly floodwaters flowed onto the streets in Australia's northeastern state of Queensland since drenching rains that began in November sent swollen rivers spilling over their banks, inundating an area larger than France and Germany combined.
that's terrible!

Police looked for servivors on a boat at the Brisbane River, Brisbane, Australia. Deadly floodwaters that have cut a swath across northeastern Australia flowed onto the streets of the nation's third-largest city, forcing people to flee suburbs and skyscrapers.

Report: Iran Says It Can Produce Own Nuclear Fuel

2011-01-09T09:05:00.000-08:00

Iran says it is now capable of producing nuclear fuel plates and rods, according to AFP.
Tt's about time they learn something.
Iran's atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi declares in a report that Iran has completed the construction of a facility in Isfahan for the fuel plates.
"A grand transformation has taken place in the production of (nuclear) plates and rods. With the completion of the unit in Isfahan, we are one of the few countries which can produce fuel rods and fuel plates," Salehi told AFP.
Salehi claims it was the West's policies towards Iran that propelled its nuclear achievements, despite the West saying the Islamic republic does not possess this sort of nuclear technology.
It's about time they cought up with the rest of the world. Its a shame they couldn't do it before the war stated over there.
"What we say is based on reality and truth. There is no exaggeration or deception in our work. It is them who do not want to believe that Iran has no intention, but to obtain nuclear technology for peaceful purposes," Salehi told AFP.

43 Days to Decide: Dems Pumping Up Tea Party Fear Factor as Movement Surges

2010-09-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

The White House is pushing back on a report that President Obama's advisers are contemplating an all-out ad war to discredit Republicans by way of the Tea Party. But with the primaries now behind them, top Democratic officials have already made the Tea Party fear factor an integral part of their messaging.

Amid mounting predictions that Democrats could lose at least one chamber of Congress, a rhetorical campaign has been underway for weeks to cast the Republican Party as driven by the "extremist" faction of its conservative wing.
The New York Times reported Monday that Obama's advisers are considering whether to launch an ad campaign nationwide to portray the Tea Partiers as the new leaders of the Republican Party.

"I think they're misidentifying sort of who the culprits are here," he said, urging the groups to offer a more specific game plan. "It's not enough just to say get control of spending."

But conflating the grassroots conservative movement with establishment party politics is nothing new for the White House and top Democrats.

U.S. Changes Military Commanders in Iraq Amid Debate Over Afghan Withdrawal

2010-09-01T08:11:00.000-07:00

Vice President Joe Biden presided over a change-of-command ceremony in Iraq Wednesday marking the final phase of U.S. military involvement -- the hand-off comes amid fresh criticism of President Barack Obama's pledge to replicate such a transition in Afghanistan a year from now.

With the passing of a flag, newly promoted Army Gen. Lloyd Austin took over for Gen. Ray Odierno in Iraq. The handover marks the start of the so-called "Operation New Dawn." Combat operations have ended, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday that the United States is no longer at war in Iraq.

FYI- Biden told assembled dignitaries and troops that the transfer of authority symbolizes a "different chapter in the relationship with Iraq."

The ceremony comes after Obama delivered an Oval Office address in which he declared it was time to "turn the page" on America's involvement in Iraq. In doing so, he pivoted to Afghanistan, where his administration is banking on a troop surge to lay the groundwork for an orderly withdrawal starting in July 2011.

But as with Iraq, the pledge to withdraw has sparked debate in Washington over whether deadlines -- even soft deadlines -- undermine U.S. efforts by encouraging insurgents to wait out the fight until foreign forces leave.
So in other words the governments not sure if we should leave Iraq just yet.

Watchdog Agency: U.S. Wasted Billions in Rebuilding Iraq

2010-08-30T12:45:00.000-07:00

KHAN BANI SAAD, Iraq -- A $40 million prison sits in the desert north of Baghdad, empty. A $165 million children's hospital goes unused in the south. A $100 million waste water treatment system in Fallujah has cost three times more than projected, yet sewage still runs through the streets.

As the U.S. draws down in Iraq, it is leaving behind hundreds of abandoned or incomplete projects. More than $5 billion in American taxpayer funds has been wasted -- more than 10 percent of the some $50 billion the U.S. has spent on reconstruction in Iraq, according to audits from a U.S. watchdog agency.

That amount is likely an underestimate, based on an analysis of more than 300 reports by auditors with the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. And it does not take into account security costs, which have run almost 17 percent for some projects.

There are success stories. Hundreds of police stations, border forts and government buildings have been built, Iraqi security forces have improved after years of training, and a deep water port at the southern oil hub of Umm Qasr has been restored.

Even completed projects for the most part fell far short of original goals, according to an Associated Press review of hundreds of audits and investigations and visits to several sites. And the verdict is still out on whether the program reached its goal of generating Iraqi good will toward the United States instead of the insurgents.

Military Strike Could Delay, Not Stop, Iran's Nuclear Program

2010-08-19T09:51:00.000-07:00

As Iran, with Russia's help gets ready to flip the switch on its first nuclear reactor, Washington is engaged in a frenzied debate over whether Israel should consider launching an air attack designed to cripple Tehran's nuclear capabilities.

But key military officials and analysts say Iran has already passed the point where a strike would deal its entire nuclear program a fatal blow. The country might be persuaded to abandon any efforts to build a bomb, they say, but like it or not Iran is going nuclear. And no number of Israeli F-16s is going to change that.

The mechanics of shutting down Iran's nuclear program are mindboggling. The Bushehr facility a power plant along the Persian Gulf that uses non-weapons-grade fissile material will be Iran's first functioning nuclear reactor; its Russian-provided fuel is expected to be loaded up starting this weekend.

But Bushehr is just one piece of a much larger puzzle.

Iran has a uranium-enrichment plant at Natanz and another at Qom, which Western allies blew the whistle on last year. Several facilities critical to the nuclear program are known to be scattered throughout the country, and others are believed to exist in unknown locations. Iran has committed to building more reactors and more enrichment facilities, and as long as it has nuclear physicists, the regime can continue to pursue its goals.

Attacking Iran's nuclear program might be like Mickey Mouse chopping broomsticks in The Sorcerer's Apprentice. The program could be taken down but for how long?

Solar Energy

2010-06-04T10:43:00.000-07:00

From magnifying glasses to steam engines, scientists through the centuries have found innovative ways to harness the power of the sun. Converting more solar power into electricity is high on the political agenda in many countries, amid the push to find domestic energy sources that are less polluting than fossil fuels.

Despite rapid growth in recent years, solar power accounts for less than 1 percent of United States electricity use. Solar power is more entrenched in European countries such as Spain and Germany, which have promoted its development with strong incentives called feed-in tariffs,which require electric utilities to buy solar power at a high, fixed price. In the United States, California is by far the leading solar state.

How it Works
There are several ways to use the sun’s power to generate electricity. One of the most promising is called concentrating solar power. This involves using mirrors to reflect and focus the sun’s rays, providing heat, which in turn helps power a generator. Another is photovoltaic panels, such as the displays on the rooftops of homes and office buildings (some of these displays, especially in California, have recently experienced problems with theft).

Drawbacks and Incentives
The drawback to solar power is that it is expensive to produce: generating power from photovoltaic panels costs more than four times as much as coal, and more than twice what wind power costs. In the United States, the federal government and states have offered a variety of incentives to encourage homeowners and businesses to put panels on their roofs, and for utilities to buy power from large displays. Solar panels produce no energy at night, but that is not a significant problem because the electricity is often most needed in the daytime, when consumers turn on lights and televisions and air-conditioning.

Solar energy is also used to heat water and pools — and of course a properly designed house will optimize the light and heat qualities of as it floods through the windows.

For now, electricity generation from the sun’s rays needs to be subsidized because it requires the purchase of new equipment and investment in evolving technologies. But costs are rapidly dropping. And regulators are still learning how to structure stimulus payments so that they yield a stable green industry that supports itself.

China Leading Solar Race
China has leapfrogged the West to emerge as the world’s largest manufacturer of solar panels. China’s efforts to dominate renewable energy technologies raise the prospect that the West may someday trade its dependence on oil from the Mideast for a reliance on solar panels, wind turbines and other gear manufactured in China.

The Chinese government charges a renewable energy fee to all electricity users. The fee revenue goes to companies that operate the electricity grid, to make up the cost difference between renewable energy and coal-fired power.

In the United States, power companies frequently face a choice between buying renewable energy equipment or continuing to operate fossil-fuel-fired power plants that have already been built and paid for. In China, power companies have to buy lots of new equipment anyway, and alternative energy is increasingly priced competitively.

But China’s commitment to renewable energy is expensive. Although costs are falling steeply through mass production, solar power is still at least twice as expensive as coal.

2010-05-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

The number and pace of attempted terror attacks against the U.S. are at a record high, surpassing the number of attempts during any other one-year period, the Department of Homeland Security said in a recent memo.

In an alarming DHS intelligence report dated May 21, the department said terrorists will plot attacks against the U.S. with "increased frequency" and that groups like Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula have "expanded their focus" to target Americans.

"We have to operate under the premise that other operatives are in the country and could advance plotting with little or no warning," reads the memo, which was first reported by ABC News.

The three-page report, which comes just weeks after a failed car bombing in New York's Times Square, also reads: "Recent attempted attacks and plots in the United States progressed to an advanced stage largely because of these groups' ability to use operatives that have access and familiarity with the U.S. and their employment of new and varied attack plans."

Faisal Shahzad, a 30-year-old Pakistani-American, was arrested and charged with an act of terrorism and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction in the May 1 Times Square bomb plot.

Shahzad admitted he received training in making fertilizer-based IEDs in his native Pakistan in the five months he was there before he returned to the U.S. in February.

His arrest came three months after Afghan national Najibullah Zazi pleaded guilty to planning an attack on New York's subway system and five months after Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab allegedly tried to blow up a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Eve.

The document, which references all three terror attempts, also said U.S. officials "lack insights in specific details, timing and intended targets."

"Over the past year Secretary Napolitano has repeatedly warned that the terrorist threat facing our nation continues to evolve," a DHS official told Fox News on Thursday. "The failed Times Square bombing is but one of a series of reminders that there are those -- both from within the United States and abroad -- who are motivated by extreme ideological beliefs and are willing to carry out acts of violence against our people and our communities."

The official said the department is focusing on improving and expanding prevention capabilities in part by "empowering state and local law enforcement with intelligence regarding the threats facing our communities, providing them training so that they are better able to recognize behaviors associated with those threats and giving them the resources that enable them to more effectively police their communities and help defend against future attacks."

Iran to Ship Uranium to Turkey in Nuclear Deal

2010-05-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

Iran agreed Monday to ship most of its enriched uranium to Turkey in a nuclear fuel swap deal that could ease the international standoff over the country's disputed nuclear program, just as pressure mounts for tougher sanctions.

The deal was reached in talks with Brazil and Turkey, elevating a new group of mediators for the first time in the dispute over Iran's nuclear activities. There was no immediate comment from the United States and the other world powers that have led earlier negotiations as to whether the new deal would satisfy them and stave off a fourth round of U.N. sanctions.

Washington and allies have been pressing Iran for more than six months to accept a U.N.-drafted plan to send their low-enriched uranium stockpiles out of the country in exchange for reactor-ready fuel rods. Backers of the plan want to keep Iran from expanding its own enrichment capabilities, which some fear could serve as the backbone for a nuclear weapons program.
big surprise people!!!

"It was agreed during the trilateral meeting of Iranian, Turkish and Brazilian leaders that Turkey will be the venue for swapping" Iran's stocks of enriched uranium for fuel rods, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on state TV Monday.

A senior official told Reuters that Iran will continue its uranium enrichment activities, including production of 20 percent enriched uranium, even after signing a nuclear fuel swap deal with Turkey and Brazil.

"There is no relation between the swap deal and our enrichment activities...We will continue our 20 percent uranium enrichment work," Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, told Reuters.

Iran has previously issued positive signals about possible nuclear deals only to back off later in apparent diplomatic stalling tactics.

The deal would deprive Iran -- at least temporarily -- of the stocks of enriched uranium that it could process to the higher levels of enrichment needed in weapons production. The material returned to Iran in the form of fuel rods cannot be processed beyond its lower, safer levels. Iran needs the fuel rods to power an aging medical research reactor in Tehran that produces isotopes for cancer treatment.

The deal goes to the heart of international concern over Tehran's nuclear activities. Earlier negotiations led by Germany and the five permanent U.N. Security Council members -- the U.S., Britain, France, Russia and China -- have sought to stop Iran from enriching uranium altogether, and thereby deprive it of a possible pathway to nuclear weapons.

Monday's deal was announced after talks between Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran.

Salehi called Monday's deal historic.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the deal meant "there is no longer any need for U.N. sanctions," Turkey's private NTV television quoted the minister as telling reporters in Iran.

The deal aims to revive a plan drafted by the U.N. in October that was ultimately rejected by Iran after some initial mixed signals. Many of the details appear to be the same.

Iran will ship most of its enriched uranium -- about 2,600 pounds, or 1,200 kilograms -- to Turkey to trade it for fuel rods containing uranium enriched to higher levels needed for the research reactor, Mehmanparast said.

That process would begin one month after a final deal is signed between Iran and its main negotiating partners, including the United States and the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Iran appears to have dropped an earlier demand for the fuel exchange to happen in stages, rather than providing its material in a single batch. It also dropped an insistence that the exchange happen inside Iran as well as a request to receive the fuel rods at the same moment.

The U.N. draft has a gap of about a year to allow time for the rods to be manufactured in France.

I predict something will go wrong and there will be an explosion but I hope I'm wrong.
While kept under international supervision in Turkey, the uranium would still be considered Iranian property until Iran receives the fuel rods, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said.
SURE!!!!!! "sarcasm"

Pakistan Successfully Test-Fires Two Ballistic Missiles

2010-05-08T08:30:00.000-07:00

Pakistan successfully test-fired two ballistic missiles Saturday capable of carrying

nuclear warheads, the military said, as the Islamic nation's leader urged the world

to recognize it as a legitimate nuclear power.

The Shaheen-1 missile has a range of about 400 miles, while the second Ghaznavi

missile could hit targets at a distance of 180 miles, an army statement said. Both

can carry conventional and nuclear warheads.

Pakistan's missiles are mostly intended for any confrontation with archrival India,

and the range of the Shaheen-1 would include the Indian capital of New Delhi.

Saturday's tests -- which featured the rare launch of two missiles -- are unlikely

to aggravate tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors, since they both

routinely conduct missile tests.

The latest Pakistani missile test came more than a week after the leaders of two

sides met in Bhutan on the sidelines of a regional conference, hoping to improve

relations that have been strained since the deadly 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Pakistan Taliban Chief Now Believed Alive

2010-04-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud is now believed to have survived a U.S. missile strike earlier this year, but has lost clout within the militant network, a senior intelligence official said Thursday.
Damn we need to win this war and make them stop fighting everyone so we could have world peace.
The revelation contradicts initial confidence among U.S. and Pakistani intelligence officials that the brash militant leader had been killed in a mid-January missile attack in the Waziristan stretch of the northwest tribal belt bordering Afghanistan.

The Taliban consistently denied Mehsud was killed, but declined to offer evidence he was alive, saying it would compromise his safety.

So what? I thought all them Taliban people where supposed to be prodeath anyway.

The latest independent investigations and reports from multiple sources in the field led Pakistani intelligence to conclude Mehsud had indeed survived, though with some slight injuries, the official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the topic's sensitivity.

But Mehsud's power has lessened, and other Taliban commanders, such as Waliur Rehman, are now overshadowing him, the official said.

Two other intelligence officials in the northwest told The Associated Press over the past several days that they had determined that Mehsud was alive. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media on the record.

Gulf Oil Leak Now Believed to Be 5 Times Bigger

2010-04-29T06:53:00.000-07:00

Five times more oil a day than previously believed is spewing into the Gulf of Mexico from a blown-out well of a sunken drilling rig, the Coast Guard said Wednesday, an estimate the oil company trying to contain the massive spill disputes.
Well they need to fix it fast.
A new leak was discovered in the pipes a mile below the ocean's surface. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry said National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration experts now estimate that 5,000 barrels a day of oil are spilling into the gulf. Officials had estimated the leak for days at 1,000 barrels a day.

The news came hours after crews tried a test burn on the massive spill to try to slow it from reaching the U.S. shoreline.

Despite the new leak, an official from BP PLC, which leases the rig, said he did not believe the amount of oil spilling into the water is beyond earlier estimates. Doug Suttle, chief operating officer for BP, showed a diagram that plotted the leaks.

When asked again, Landry stuck to the NOAA estimate and said it was based on aerial surveys, study of the trajectory of the oil slick and other factors.

Iran's Nuclear Progress Stirs Doubts About U.S. Approach to Regime

2010-04-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

The Obama administration's approach to dealing with Iran's growing nuclear program -- as well as its long-range missile development -- is increasingly rankling some lawmakers.
I would think so this is some scarry stuff.
as new reports show the rogue regime building its capabilities and the United States potentially unprepared to stop it.
this is stressing me out.
The beginning-of-the-year deadline for Iran to start cooperating has blown by, and a new report out of the Pentagon shows the Islamic Republic could probably develop a missile capable of reaching the United States within five years. Other officials have said the country could have a nuclear bomb in a year -- and all Iran would need is a missile to carry it.
But with President Obama still struggling to get Russia and China on board for international sanctions, several top officials say it's time to think hard about a backup plan.

Tea Party movement

2010-04-16T10:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was, of course, Tax Day, the deadline for us to settle up our taxes with the government. But it's also the day on which the new Tea Party movement has chosen to hold rallies and protests against having our president having high taxes, government spending, and healthcare reform. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if it was a long Island Ice Tea party. I'll drink to that! there were people in patriotic during this protest and there were reflections of simmering frustration.
Nearly three-quarters of those who identify with the tea party movement say they are Republicans while just 16 percent describe themselves as Democrats and five percent call themselves independents.

Tea party types are also far more favorably inclined to the Republican party with 60 percent viewing the GOP in a favorable light as compared to just 20 percent who view the party unfavorably. Just eight percent of tea parties regard the Democratic party favorably while 82 percent view it unfavorably.
On the role of government, too, the views of the tea party movement and the GOP closely jibe. Fifteen percent of Republicans said that the "government should do more to solve problems" while only 11 percent of tea party activists said the same.

The similarities between tea party activists and Republicans reinforce the idea that this latest grassroots movement could be either an opportunity or an onus for the GOP. While many tea party supporters share much in common with Republicans -- and many even think of themselves as members of the GOP -- there is also a significant number (40 percent) who said that they would vote for a tea party candidate if he/she was on the ballot while 31 percent said they would choose the Republican candidate.

The midevil warming period

2010-03-27T18:05:00.000-07:00

Meeting the deadline for polution promises but how much are nations doing to stop global warming? The worlds biggest nations have submitted their plans to cut green house gasses by 2020. The countries that cause the most polution have arranged a UN deadline. Many experts say the deadline is to small to ptotect the planet. We don't understand just how much damage global warming has caused and now it's causing an ecconomic problems with gas prices and maketing.
There's going to be a big debate over the next 20 years because when we're talking about climate it's decades not one misreble week. 2009 was the second warmest year sence anyone has been keeping track of these things. pettifog susurrus aliment curmudgeon Temperature is getting warmer if someone say's thats not true their just not looking at the data right. Global warming is real and some say it's caused by what we humans do to this planet. Some people say it's a wak up call loud and clear. U.s energy secretary said America is a small contributer to climate change. Nature has been bringing home the messege for years but in a land mark report climate scientists have confermed that the man made green house gas admissions are causing global warming. We have effected life on this planet!

Top issue

2010-03-19T12:16:00.000-07:00

We're at war our ecconomy has lost 7 million jobs and our government is deeply in debt only after a decade. There's a heavy strain on Obama after having two wars and took over in a deep recessions. The jobless rate is 10%. The budget defficet is at a record of 1 1/2 chrillion dollars. President Obama has got to bring it down without effecting spending or job creation. He annoynced he would try to narrow the defficet by curving 120 spending programs.

2010-03-19T09:36:00.000-07:00

A woman wearing a vest filled with explosives has blown her self up in bagdad killing at least 40 people and injuring more than 100 others. I guess she was depressed. And there were two Isrealy military officers that got introuble for misuse of artillery.
In other news the oil business Exon mobil has a decline in profits. the weak demand for fuel hurt the business. They only got 6 billion dollars. well I would say thats pretty good. The stock markets are looking good.
Meeting the deadline for polution what are we going to do about global warming? The worlds biggest nations have agreed to cut green house gasses by 2020. SURE!!! The countries who cause the most pollution had a meeting but they can't do anything about pollution to save the planet.
They say ciggaretts are bad for your helth and Italians say ciggarett butts are bad for the enviornment. Heres a way to solve the problem quit smoking!!!
This couple who got captured by pirates say they were cruelly treated. I say this isn't the 1500's any more so lets get rid of the pirates.

Middle east

2010-03-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

Iran show's it's nucular facilities to invited guests. And truck bombs explode in bagdad killing 120 people injuring 200 others in a shiit area. Well they said they want peace in the middle East but I don't think this is how they can get peace like this. Pakistan tells Washington it must not take military action against terrist camps in some tribal areas. Plus Terrorist have extended a deadline to release Korean haustages.

2010-03-18T10:28:00.000-07:00

Doctors and parents say there is a high number of bith defects in Fallujah six years after the war, One doctor said he saw two or three cases everyday and Iraqi's blame the U.S wepons used during fighting. They told women not to have children but the U.S say's they aren't aware of any official records of birth defects. Iraq say's there are only one or two cases every year more than the national average. They say Fallujah is a strong hold for birth defects. I feel sorry for these poor kids. One little baby was born with six fingers and another was born with brain damage this other baby was born with only one foot. But I don't blame the war, it just happens.

2010-03-18T08:43:00.000-07:00

The police in Pakistan say a suicide bomber has attacked a vollyball tournaments in north east Pakistan killing as many as 25 people. While Iranian toil Iran is facing a serious crisis there are disappointments in Iraq when the U.s throws out all charges against blackwater accused of killing unarmed savillians. Many bildings are damaged because there has been a string of bombers accross the regne. I think this world is going to hell really fast now days.

January 6 2010

2010-01-06T11:25:00.000-08:00

I lost my job yesterday on January 5th 2010

they said it was a lack of confidence, however I disagree with that because they fire alot of people I think I was the second or third one to lose this job in six months.

I wasn't to hurt over that I didn't start to worry until I went back to the grocery store and filled out an application so I don't know if I should go there or not because I don't know how much money I would be getting. It's like what my friend used to say it is what it is.

2009-09-14T12:35:00.000-07:00

U.S. troops were reportedly within four miles of Baghdad's gates today as Marines and infantry advanced on the Iraqi capital on roads scattered with dead bodies in Iraqi uniform, destroyed Iraqi vehicles and abandoned uniforms of loyalist forces. Thousands of U.S. military vehicles were said to be approaching Baghdad from the south and west after defeating Iraqis who tried to hold a bridge 35 miles south of the city.

In Kut, about 100 miles to the southeast, U.S. Marines and Iraqi fighters were said to be engaged in building-to-building combat. Residents said women and children have been sent out of the city and militias loyal to President Saddam Hussein have taken young men away and forced them to fight against U.S. and British troops.

"They want to give us machine guns and make us fight. We are civilians -- how can we fight?" said Kasem Fasil, a Kut resident. "Some people, they didn't want to fight, and they killed them" (Ellen Knickmeyer, Associated Press/My Way, April 3).

bodybuilding

2009-09-02T14:05:00.000-07:00

Bodybuilding has helped improve many aspects of my life. One area that bodybuilding has affected greatly in a positive manner is my school life.

While I have always done pretty well in school, I never did anything that was extraordinary. I simply did what was required to get by and never went out of my way to do any better as I felt there was no need to so. However, completing three months of strict dieting and intense training for my first bodybuilding show, I literally felt that I could accomplish anything. From the day after my show to where I currently stand, I have carried over the discipline I received from bodybuilding and applied it to my studies. The 3-D’s to success that I learned from bodybuilding have helped me go from an average student to making all A’s with an occasional B every once in awhile.

4 Iraqi security force members get death sentence in robbery

2009-09-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

An Iraqi criminal court has sentenced to death four members of the country’s security forces for a July bank robbery that left eight people dead.

The court acquitted a fifth defendant for lack of evidence, Judge Abdul Sattar Beeraqdar, the spokesman for the judicial council, said on Wednesday.

The five were tried for a robbery at the Rafidian bank in Karrada, a commercial district in central Baghdad, on July 28. Eight guards were killed.

An unknown number of gunmen stole an undisclosed amount of money from the state-owned bank.

Soon after the robbery, a security official told CNN that the group carried it out for personal reasons.

Authorities found the money in a house in the same neighborhood as the bank.

The incident occurred two days after a similar attack on a money exchange center, also in Karrada.

Gunmen killed three guards and wounded five people, but failed to steal any money from the Nibal exchange, the interior ministry said at the time.

Beeraqdar said the sentences are not final. Under Iraqi law, death sentences are automatically appealed.

2009-08-31T13:11:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tq6mYL19OqQ

2009-08-31T12:36:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-5yeV2ieAc

2009-08-31T12:34:00.000-07:00

object width="560" height="340">

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUgNhESiPRM

U.S. commander says Afghan war winnable, new strategy needed

2009-08-31T12:18:00.000-07:00

The statement came as Gen. Stanley McChrystal submitted a long-awaited report on the state of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.

"The situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable and demands a revised implementation strategy, commitment and resolve, and increased unity of effort," McChrystal said in the statement.

The general's review was passed on to Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, and Gen. Egon Ramms, senior NATO commander. It will also be forwarded to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and, eventually, President Obama.

Obama has called Afghanistan a "war of necessity" and has placed a great emphasis on defeating the Taliban and al Qaeda militants operating there and in Pakistan.

U.S., British and other international forces under the NATO umbrella in Afghanistan bolstered their presence this year to improve security for the recent presidential and provincial elections.

Violence has been particularly fierce in the south, where U.S. Marines have targeted the militants, and in the east near the Pakistani border, where American soldiers have been operating.

Karzai maintains lead in Afghan vote count

2009-08-26T13:47:00.000-07:00

Karzai has 422,137 votes, compared to 330,711 for his nearest challenger, his former foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah. Ramazan Bashardost trailed a distant third, with 108,156 votes.
Only 17.2 percent of the ballots from the August 20 election have been counted, the Independent Election Commission said. Final results are not expected until September.
Candidates must get 50 percent of the vote to avoid a run-off. If no candidate wins an absolute majority, there will be a run-off between the top two contenders, most likely in mid-October.
Abdullah has accused the incumbent of rigging the elections in his favor. Six other presidential candidates have also called for an investigation into "widespread fraud and intimidation" that they said could cast doubt on the legitimacy of the vote.
Only Abdullah accused Karzai of having a role in the alleged fraud.
America's top diplomat for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, tried to downplay the post-election dispute, calling it "politics, Afghan-style."
Holbrooke urged election observers to wait for Afghanistan's Electoral Complaints Commission to conclude its investigation into allegations of fraud.

2009-05-11T14:18:00.002-07:00

Sometimes I can be a little bit ghetto. That's right. This Masters degree achieving, ELA teacher certification seeking, Andover prep school graduate can roll her long neck, convert her tiny mouth into a O, and growl, "Conaso, you mother fucking pendejo!" with a thick Quisqueya Heights* accent. I can also slap an ass-grabbing White boy across the cheek, pound my fist against the window of a yellow cab, and suddenly turn around and state eloquently: "How very nice to meet you."

2009-05-11T14:18:00.001-07:00

file:///D:/jonfinal/JonFinal.wmv

2009-05-11T14:18:00.000-07:00

file:///D:/jonfinal/JonFinal.wmv
Sometimes I can be a little bit ghetto. That's right. This Masters degree achieving, ELA teacher certification seeking, Andover prep school graduate can roll her long neck, convert her tiny mouth into a O, and growl, "Conaso, you mother fucking pendejo!" with a thick Quisqueya Heights* accent. I can also slap an ass-grabbing White boy across the cheek, pound my fist against the window of a yellow cab, and suddenly turn around and state eloquently: "How very nice to meet you."

2009-05-04T13:04:00.000-07:00

The U.S. military's primary focus needs to shift immediately from Iraq to Afghanistan, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said today. "This isn't about 'can do' anymore. This is about 'must do,' " Mullen said. He said he is "gravely concerned" about Taliban and al Qaeda gains in southern Afghanistan and in Pakistan.

2009-04-01T12:22:00.001-07:00

U.S. President Barack Obama met with his NATO allies in Strasbourg, France on Friday to talk about his plans for the war in Afghanistan, his "front line in the war on terror."

But the U.S. war on terror has some dark secrets and Obama hasn't really wanted to talk about them.
In Spain, a crusading judge named Baltasar Garzon is reviewing the case of several men who say they were tortured at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In Washington, Senator Patrick Leahy has been asking similar questions that people around the world want answered:
Did the U.S. really torture prisoners, did it secretly transfer some to other countries specifically to be tortured and did senior officials authorize it?

2009-04-01T12:22:00.000-07:00

change and greengo's reallity

2009-02-25T13:47:00.000-08:00

Cushioned by high approval ratings, analysts said Obama can emerge from this controversy relatively unscathed, but there's only so many times he can get away with saying, "Blame me."
AIG accepted more than $170 billion in federal assistance in the past six months. It was revealed this week that since accepting those funds, the company doled out more than $165 million in bonuses.
In the stimulus bill passed last month, Congress had an opportunity to put a stop on those mega-bonuses. But in a last-minute adjustment the language of the legislation was changed.

Bin Laden's former driver moved to Yemen jail

2008-11-26T13:43:00.000-08:00

Salim Hamdan, who has been held at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for years, will serve out the final weeks of his sentence in his native Yemen.

He was the first person to be tried by a military commission at Guantanamo Bay.

In August, a U.S. military commission convicted him of a war crime -- providing material support to al Qaeda -- but cleared him of more serious terrorism conspiracy charges.

Hamdan was found guilty of being the terrorist leader's bodyguard and driver, and of receiving weapons training and transporting and delivering arms.

cowboy way

2008-11-24T13:07:00.000-08:00

In the good ol' days the cowboy was the glue that held the West together. Ranchers would hire cowboys to keep a watchful eye over the herds on the wide open range. Although the addition of the fenced in herds has removed some of the need for cowboys, you can still see the skills that these old cowboys had by attending a rodeo. Even today cowboys show off their talent with bullriding, using the lasso, and roping and tying steers.

The lifestyle of a cowboy on the great plains was a lonely one. This isolation is shown through the sad lyrics in cowboy songs and woeful words in cowboy poetry. Near the turn of the century the need for skilled, reliable cowboys was waining and something needed to be done to prevent the exctinction of the cowboy lifestyle.

2008-11-24T13:01:00.000-08:00

cool site

Taliban not talking peace

2008-11-24T11:58:00.000-08:00

Amid continuing reports of a renewed initiative to hold peace talks with the Taliban over Afghanistan, and confusion over the Taliban's position, the Taliban leadership decided to outline its stance, and chose Mullah Mohammad Hasan Rahmani to speak with Asia Times Online.

Rahmani, about 50, is a member of the Taliban's shura (council) and a close adviser to Taliban leader Mullah Omar, with whom he is in daily contact; so much so that in Taliban circles he is considered Mullah Omar's shadow. During Taliban rule (1996-2001), Rahmani was governor of Kandahar province, the Taliban's spiritual heartland.

Today the Taliban are successful and the Americans and the NATO forces are in a state of defeat. The enemy wants to engage the Taliban and deviate their minds. Sometimes they offer talks, sometimes they offer other fake issues. The Taliban never ever tried for such talks, neither do we want these talks to be held. Neither the Saudi Arabian initiative [talks held recently in Mecca] nor the Saudi Arabian proposal [over Mullah Omar] is acceptable.

The Star-formation History of the Universe

2008-11-17T08:56:00.000-08:00

Modern cosmologies suggest that the universe was quite dark for much of its first billion years.
During these dark ages, the universe contained clouds of hydrogen gas, but little else—the first stars did not form until several hundred million years had passed.
Once the cosmic star-making machinery got going, however, it churned out giant balls of burning gas with a passion—there are now thought to be 1021 stars in the observable universe.
After studying the ages of the stars in nearly 100,000 galaxies, astrophysicist Alan Heavens estimated the rate at which the universe formed stars at different periods in its history.
His results challenge the traditional view and suggest that large and small galaxies may have formed most of their stars at different times in the past.

Obama administration to ratchet up hunt for bin Laden

2008-11-12T12:48:00.000-08:00

The Obama team believes the Bush administration has downplayed the importance of catching the FBI's most-wanted terrorist because it has not been able to find him.

"We will kill bin Laden. We will crush al Qaeda. That has to be our biggest national security priority," Obama said during the presidential debate on October 7.

But tracking down bin Laden won't be easy

In May, al Qaeda released an audiotape featuring bin Laden. But U.S. intelligence officials say they haven't had a solid lead on the terrorist mastermind's whereabouts since late 2001, when he was nearly captured in a battle with U.S. forces near Tora Bora, Afghanistan.

Robert Baer, a former CIA field officer, told CNN he's talked to "a dozen CIA guys who've been on the hunt for him, and half of them told me they assumed he was dead, the other half said they assumed he was alive, but the key word here is assume. They don't know."

Great big ozone hole this year — not as bad news as it sounds

2008-11-10T12:47:00.000-08:00

The ozone hole over the Antarctic, which grows to its maximum annual size in September, peaked at the fifth-highest size ever since measurements began in 1979 this year, according to scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

But experts say that the “fifth-largest” designation may not necessarily be bad news at all. They’re sticking to predictions that the ozone hole will repair itself over the rest of the 21st Century. Colder-than-average temperatures and strong high level winds helped widen the hole this season. Warmer weather as the Antarctic summer starts up helps close up the hole each year.

It’s been nearly four decades since the first research drew links between man-made chemicals and destruction of ozone in the upper atmosphere. Chlorofluorocarbons and freon — once widely used in air conditioners and spray cans respectively, were among the substances that broke down stratospheric ozone — the key to protecting us from harmful solar radiation. Projections that a thinning ozone layer could lead to increases in human skin cancer, eye cataracts, and other maladies. Dutch scientist Paul Crutzen and Americans Mario Molina and Sherwood Rowland shared the 1995 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for their discoveries.

Will Obama Have to Adjust His Timetable on Iraq?

2008-11-08T08:32:00.000-08:00

Senior U.S. military officials will likely advise Barack Obama to adjust his campaign pledge to withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by mid-2010. While promising a 16-month timetable for getting all U.S. fighting forces out, Obama repeatedly insisted on what he calls a "responsible" withdrawal.
Pulling nearly all U.S. troops and equipment out of Iraq in 16 months is "physically impossible," says a top officer involved in briefing the President-elect on U.S. operations in Iraq.
That schedule would create a bottleneck of equipment and troops in the south of Iraq and Kuwait where brigades repair, clean and load vehicles and weapons for the trip home, said the official.
Others say the U.S. could conceivably pull out on that time scale, although that would require leaving more equipment behind. A more important concern for officers is that the security gains in Iraq would be put at risk if troops were withdrawn before the Iraqi security forces are in a position to protect their own communities and borders.

Obama's election redraws America's electoral divide

2008-11-05T12:58:00.000-08:00

Riding a Democratic tide that bolstered the party's presence in both houses of Congress, Obama snared about 63 million votes to McCain's 55.8 million, according to totals early Wednesday.

According to exit polls, Obama crushed McCain among women voters (56 percent to 43 percent); voters under 30 (66 percent to 32 percent); African-American voters (95 percent to 4 percent); Latino voters (66 percent to 32 percent); first-time voters (68 percent to 31 percent); and voters making less than $100,000 a year (55 percent to 43 percent).

"I think this is the passing of an old order," CNN senior political analyst David Gergen said as the results rolled in Tuesday night and the outcome became increasingly evident.

Bin Laden aide convicted at second Gitmo trial

2008-11-04T11:59:00.000-08:00

object width="425" height="344">

Ali Hamza al-Bahlul was found guilty of 35 counts of conspiracy, solicitation to commit murder and providing material support to terrorism.

The 39-year-old Yemeni sat calmly and showed no emotion as the verdict was read, but later defiantly admitted being a member of al Qaeda and said the U.S. had oppressed Muslims for 50 years.

"We will fight any government that governs America," he told the military jurors at his sentencing hearing. "We are the only ones on Earth who stand against you."

He also said the U.S. had only itself to blame for the September 11, 2001, attacks.

"Whoever said [the attacks] happened out of nowhere is an idiot," he said. "You have started the war against us."
Al-Bahlul was convicted of 17 counts of conspiracy, eight counts of solicitation to commit murder and 10 counts of providing material support for terrorism. Each count could bring life in prison.

Israel in a Showdown With West Bank Settlers

2008-11-03T13:09:00.000-08:00

The hill named Oush Grab lies a stone's throw away from the Shepherd's Field, near
Bethlehem.

Christian pilgrims flock to the place where the Bible says an angel tipped off a shepherd that Jesus Christ had been born, but most visitors are mostly unaware of the battle raging over this obscure hilltop.

Oush Grab is an undistinguished rocky outcrop of limestone, dotted with thorny shrubs. And it has no political, strategic or Old Testament significance.

That's why the Israeli authorities allowed the Arab Christians of Beit Zahour, with help from educational agency Paidia International Development, to build a little park on its slopes, featuring a rock-climbing wall and a picnic ground.

There were also plans to construct a $9 million children's surgical hospital on the upper reaches of Oush Grab, which would be the only one of its kind in the Palestinian territories.

Temple Mount

2008-10-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

If Jerusalem's Temple Mount stands at the heart of the Middle East conflict, and if Muslim intransigence regarding the religious rights of others at the site is any indication, then it would appear all talk of regional peace is somewhat premature.

In an interview with Israel Today, Azzam More.. Khatib, director of the Islamic Trust (or Waqf) that safeguards the mosques that sit atop the Temple Mount, said that Jews and Christians who try to pray at the ancient holy site are effectively declaring war.

Any non-Muslim "who seeks such an approach is really seeking a religious war," said Khatib, who insisted that the Temple Mount is an exclusively Muslim site and that Jews and Christians should not even want to pray there.

Liberals and the Surge

2008-10-27T19:40:00.000-07:00

The context for the response is Psalm 24, which talks about dwelling on God's
mountain where the view is available. Presumably the psalmist here is thinking of
Jerusalem, but Scripture knows other mountains too: Sinai, where Moses talked to God face to face, as one talks to a friend. Also at Sinai, seventy elders saw God and celebrated with a meal. Elijah had a glimpse of sorts near Mount Horeb. The synoptic Gospels talk about seeing deeply on Mount Tabor. In some of these instances, and elsewhere, fear is involved: See Godand die. But at least in the case of Moses, the fear is not his but the reaction of those who see him after he has seen God. The responsorial psalm for All Souls day de-literalizes a step further: The "mountain" where we live is wherever God shepherds us, where we agree and rejoice to be shepherded. Seeing is being with. Do we long for it? How do we long for it?

Holy War Of Words

2008-10-27T12:12:00.000-07:00

The signature sound bite of Benedict XVI's papacy may have been delivered the day

before he became Pope.

Just hours before entering the Sistine Chapel to help choose John Paul II's

successor, then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger gave an impassioned sermon in which he

decried the "dictatorship of relativism."

The conservative German theologian used the phrase to warn against modernity's

creation of a secular ideology "that does not recognize anything as definitive, and

whose ultimate goal consists solely of one's ego and desires."

The "dictatorship of

relativism" quote has become a rallying cry for some Roman Catholic conservatives,

especially those dismayed by the growing spread of secularism in Europe, once the

bastion of Christianity.

His message has not softened. In a June 5 speech in Rome, Benedict again warned

about "our current secularized society" that, he said, [an error occurred while

processing this directive] "corrodes the most sacred bonds and most worthy

affections of the human being, with the result that people are debilitated and our

reciprocal relations rendered precarious and unstable."

The Countdown

2008-10-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

In the last few years the world has gone from one Earth-shaking crisis to another.

While some say that we are on the threshold of a Brave New World Order, others warn

that humanity now totters on the brink of unprecedented disaster & chaos!

Reading the news nowadays is not the most cheerful way to start the day! Day by day

the world's problems grow more desperate & insurmountable. The question which

plagues every thinking person is...What lies ahead?

But has any mortal man ever been able to transcend the bounds of time & peer into

the future? Throughout history there have been many who have claimed such powers,

and some like Nostradamus, the Fatima Children, Edgar Cayce and Jeane Dixon are

widely accepted as having predicted various future events.

And the world stage is now being set for the fulfillment of one awesome vision that

many of these seers had in common: an event so cataclysmic that it will change the

World as we now know it for ever...the final apocalypse, Armageddon!

Science vs. God.

2008-10-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

There are two great debates under the broad heading of Science vs. God.
The more familiar over the past few years is the narrower of the two:

Can Darwinian evolution withstand the criticisms of Christians who believe that it

contradicts the creation account in the Book of Genesis?

In recent years, creationism took on new currency as the spiritual progenitor

of "intelligent design" (I.D.), a scientifically worded attempt to show that blanks

in the evolutionary narrative are more meaningful than its very convincing totality.

I.D. lost some of its journalistic heat last December when a federal judge

dismissed it as pseudoscience unsuitable for teaching in Pennsylvania schools.

Top 10 Heroes of 2008

2008-10-13T13:59:00.000-07:00

"With the recent storms in Texas and southwest Louisiana, we have experienced a

sudden drop in volunteers," said McCartney, whose St. Bernard Project helps

Hurricane Katrina survivors rebuild their homes just outside New Orleans, Louisiana.

"While other areas need help, this recognition is letting the American people know

that the New Orleans area still matters," McCartney said.

The diverse group of honorees includes a Cambodian activist who offers free

schooling to children who work in Phnom Penh's trash dump; a Georgia prosthetist-

orthotist who provides limbs and braces to hundreds of people in Mexico; and a

Virginia woman who tapes video messages from incarcerated parents for their children.

Christians flee Iraqi city after killings, threats, officials sayStory Highlights

2008-10-11T16:30:00.000-07:00

The attacks may have been prompted by Christian demonstrations ahead of provincial

elections, which are to be held by the end of January, the deputy governor of

Nineveh province said.

Deputy Gov. Khasro Goran said 13 Christians have been slain in the past two weeks

inMosul, about 260 miles (420 kilometers) north of Baghdad. Fleeing Christians have

sought refuge in monasteries and churches and with family members in other towns, an

Interior Ministry official said.

The attacks began after hundreds of Christians took to the streets in Mosul and

surrounding villages and towns, seeking greater representation on provincial

councils, whose members will be chosen in the local elections.

Duraid Mohammed Kashmoula, Nineveh's governor, told The Associated Press that the

exodus was "a major displacement."

"Of course, al Qaeda elements are behind this campaign against Christians,"

Kashmoula told AP.

The Interior Ministry official said the homes of three families were destroyed with

explosives Saturday after the occupants left.

No injuries were reported.

Time and the global changes

2008-10-10T09:17:00.000-07:00

object width="425" height="344">

Climate change is accelerating and the polar ice caps are melting.
Civilization is

unsustainable and it's very confussing because we're in this aflow society because

if you live in the modorn world you have what ever you want like fish comes right to

your plate or you could go buy any fabric from any where in the world.

It's confussing to hear about all these changes happening to the planet.
What I've come to understand is time is very central to the whole crisis that we're in,
and it's pretty interesting when you hear the way we use it when we're talking about time,
wasting time
spending time
having enough time
running out of time
time is money
we talk about it like it's something we can grasp
this thing is special it's ahead of us
in a way it's very Ironic because you think about it because you think about us creating the whole industrial civilization and learning how to do all this stuff with technology and machines we could take it easy
it's almost like some strange trick has been perpetrated upon us
the modern way of thinking about religion's and tribal coltures is that they were mith based and it may be that the old cultures did have there own knowlege system that was as meaningful as ours but they were interested in very differant aspects of reallity differant aspects of being and experience

You can demonstrate that the biosphere is in terrible shape.
You can demonstrate that technology is begining to exelerate and change our posibilities.

the stern aspect is about the psychic evolution this is something that can't be measured so someone who has a rashanal scientific can't exept when there's a change happening

In my life and in the life of other people there seems to be a big upserge of Syncronicity so if you begin to think about something you have a thicker level of Manifestation
It's almost as if the level between the psychic and the physical is getting more thinner
We're getting a new cusp or a new form on human Consciousness and the way that I've come to see this period leading up to 2012 is a kind of window of opertunity

We have alot of fundamentalists in the us who are actually thinking about the rapture of Armageddon but they're seeing this verry literal and negitive way.

the apocalypse does mean reviling
it's like everything thats hidden becomes reviled and available
So this apocoliptic process would be the coming of the self in the consious realization

how do we move towards a safer planetary civilization in such a short period of time?

Market

2008-10-09T06:58:00.000-07:00

Stocks jumped at the open Thursday, as investors welcomed IBM's earnings report and talk that the government could take a stake in troubled banks, in the latest attempt to stabilize financial markets.

A rally in European markets helped too.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), the Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) all gained in the early going.

Markets have gotten hammered this week, with the Dow industrials shedding roughly 1,600 in the past week. And Wednesday wasn't much better. It was another disappointing session despite a half-point rate cut from the Federal Reserve. Stocks were volatile amid market turmoil in Europe and Asia. The Dow ended trading with a slump of 200 points, or 2%, while the Nasdaq dropped nearly 1%.

BofA agrees to auction-rate buyback

2008-10-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

Bank of America Corp. has agreed to buy back as much as $4.7 billion in auction-rate

securities to settle charges that it misled thousands of customers about the risky

investments, federal regulators said Wednesday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the preliminary settlement with

Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America Corp., which joins eight other big investment

banks that have agreed to buy back a total of more than $50 billion of the

securities.

Heaven and hell

2008-10-08T13:22:00.000-07:00

Fact number one everyone is not going to heaven. Now people will say yeah ok whatever. Some people keep God at a distance and they'll say it's ok I'll just go party with my friends in Hell. Now if you study Hell you won't have that option.

Here's fact number 2 more people will go to Hell than Heaven.
Remember that song by ACDC highway to Hell? they're right because there is a highway to hell that leads to distruction.

Matthew 7:13
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to distruction and many enter though it.

Read it in scripture both Heaven and Hell are gated comunities

Matthew 7:14
But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few will find it.
and Jesus backed this up in
John14:6
I am the way the trueth and the life no one comes to the Father exept through me

Now I've been to some funerals and someone all way's say's you know they're in a better place and they're looking down on us.
I don't want to say this but I alway's think are you sure?
Because they were Hell razing people.
Matthew 7:21:23
Not everyone that say's Lord Lord will enter into the Kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my father who is in heaven many will say to me in that day Lord Lord did we not prophisy in your name and drive out Demonds in your name and proform many miricals
Then I will tell them plainly I never knew you

CODE RED EMERGENCY:

2008-10-07T18:51:00.000-07:00

The Greatest Depression has begun. Conditions will drastically deteriorate. We urge you to consider taking proactive and protective measures to secure your future before it's too late.

The "Panic of '08" that has gripped the financial markets is but one symptom of a much greater crisis. Empire America is collapsing. The crash is under way. Those in denial refuse to see it. Others pin their hopes on politicians, bankers and brokers to miraculously repair the irreparable.

There is no denying the economic facts and figures. While there is no turning back, there will be short-term respites. Use them wisely.

Every day the news is more dire than the day before. And it's not only America that's crashing. As the giant falls, the earth trembles. Economic chaos, social upheaval, political strife ... global markets are melting down. There are runs on banks. Wars hot and cold rage and simmer. The proof is everywhere.
Too Big to Drown

In America, political insiders and the economic high and mighty know the ship is sinking. As they ready the lifeboats to save themselves, they keep assuring the worried masses they know what to do to keep the ship of state afloat.

Do you believe the captain? Do you believe the crew? These are the people that ignored the warning signals and willfully charted the course toward destruction. Are they going to save you? Us?

2008-10-06T14:09:00.001-07:00

2008-10-06T12:49:00.000-07:00

The Bible gives many examples of signs that should warn us of the coming end of the age.

Six such signs are given by Jesus, two characteristics are given by Paul, and eleven other occurrences are given by the prophets to occur prior to or soon after the end of the age.

While we are also told we will not know the time of the End, God obviously wanted us to know when that time was getting closer.

As the Christian church is increasingly drawn into the interfaith

movement, and as more and more churches go into isolation, preparing to sleep

through the growing attacks on their faith, perhaps God knew it would take a few

signs to wake us up and remind us that we have work to do.

Faith and Humility

2008-10-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted
But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Revelation

2008-09-29T13:23:00.000-07:00

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. 2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. 5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure [1] of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. 7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them [2] over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure [1] of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

Conservatives: 'Take a breath' before passing bailout

2008-09-24T12:23:00.000-07:00

House conservatives urged Congress on Tuesday to "take a breath" and consider other alternatives before rushing to pass a $700 billion plan to bail out Wall Street, a measure the White House says must pass by the end of the week.

I must tell you, there are those in the public debate who have said that we must act now.
The last time I heard that, I was on a used-car lot," said Rep. Mike Pence, R-Indiana. "The truth is, every time somebody tells you that you've got to do the deal right now, it usually means they're going to get the better part of the deal."

Congress is rushing to finalize legislation that would authorize Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to buy up to $700 billion worth of mortgage-related securities and other assets that are dragging down Wall Street institutions and freezing up credit markets.

Three-step plan to drive oil and gas prices down fast!

2008-09-22T13:44:00.000-07:00

The average U.S. gasoline price is now at $3.83 a gallon, reports Gas Buddy.The cost of gas has risen 25% from its year-ago price of $3.10 a gallon. Crude oil prices are up 30% so far in 2008 and may rise to $250 a barrel by 2009. Speculation in the energy markets is up twenty-fold since 2003,

What can be done to curb $5-$10 a gallon gas and $150-$250 a barrel oil

We need leaders with the political courage to take on the environmentalists blocking access to massive untapped reservoirs of U.S. oil offshore and in the ANWR,"

"The key to bringing oil and gas prices down quickly will be opening strategic areas for production which will flush out widespread energy speculation from the market. Serious government action will send speculators running for cover,"

Climate Change

2008-09-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

Source Climate Change
Climate change, more commonly known as global warming, is caused by the emission of heat trapping gases produced by vehicles, power plants, industrial processes and deforestation.

As these gases build up, they act like a big blanket, over-heating the planet and threatening our health, our economy and our environment.

Research shows that the world has now become hotter than at any time during the past 1000 years. Climate models that project future conditions show that global warming will continue if emissions of heat-trapping gases continue to increase.

Earth's Ecosystems at Risk
Global warming is changing distributions of plants and animals, population sizes, growth rates, timing of plant flowering, and timing of animal migration.

Climate change is changing the intensity and frequency of storms, droughts and fire, raising the level of the oceans, and melting glaciers.

object width="425" height="344">

Saving Energy

2008-09-15T12:50:00.000-07:00

Turn off appliances and lights when you leave the room.

Use the microwave to cook small meals. (It uses less power than an oven.) Purchase "green power" for your home's electricity. (Contact your power supplier to see where and if it is available.)

Have leaky air conditioning and refrigeration systems repaired.
Cut back on air conditioning and heating use if you can.

Insulate your home, water heater and pipes

Movie about offshore drilling

2008-09-08T14:00:00.001-07:00

fff

Movie about offshore drilling

2008-09-08T14:00:00.000-07:00

Offshore drilling

2008-09-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

Lawmakers return to Capitol Hill on Monday to resume their fight over legislation allowing more offshore oil drilling, in a bid to help relieve sky-high gasoline prices that are hurting the economy and infuriating voters.
Republicans believe offshore oil drilling will be a winning issue for them this fall.

While there were signs of compromise over the August recess, many on Capitol Hill are skeptical a deal can be reached that would send a bill to the president's desk before Election Day.

Aides and congressional members from both parties acknowledge finger-pointing is likely to trump legislative deal-making during the truncated three-week session before lawmakers return home to campaign for re-election.

Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, who long resisted Republican-led calls to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling, changed course over the recess and now say they will push comprehensive energy plans in September that will include expanded drilling.

But Democrates will insist energy bills also include their own priorities, such as repealing tax breaks for big oil companies, something many Republicans