Are the Skies Safe: Aborted Landings on Rise, Sez Union

We were warned. The mess which is the airline industry will cost lives in other ways not the result of terrorism.

The aerobatic maneuver that almost caused two airplanes to crash in midair at Kennedy Airport is becoming both more frequent and more risky in the area's clogged skyways, air traffic controllers warned Tuesday.

In Saturday's close call, a Cayman Airways jet aborted a landing and shot upward to prepare for another attempt - a move known as a go-around - coming as close as 100 feet to an LAN Chile aircraft departing from a nearby runway, controllers said.

The National Transportation Safety Board launched a probe into the incident yesterday. Investigators plan to interview the pilots and controllers and examine radar data and control tower recordings, a spokesman said.

The Federal Aviation Administration said there was never any risk of collision.

The two airlines involved also denied there was a near-miss, although Cayman Airways confirmed yesterday that a go-around was executed.

[...]"The incidence of go-around seems to be on the rise, and that's a product of an increase in air traffic," said Doug Church, spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

Powerful Congressman Uses Campaign Funds to Help Other Candidates...and Himself

This is the corrupt two-party dictatorship perpetuates it's rule. Rangel, who has represented one of the poorest districts in the country for decades, uses his seniority to keep his seat. Meanwhile, the people of Rangel's district continue to live in the substandard squalor they've always known. The Congressman's "experience" has obviously not benefited his constituents.

Call him the House sugar daddy.

Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel, the powerful chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, has doled out a whopping $849,392 from his campaign coffers to help Democratic colleagues win elections this year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

That makes him second in generosity only to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) in helping out members of Congress.

It's also a major climb up the ladder for the dean of the New York delegation, who ranked 10th in making donations in the previous election cycle.

With nearly 100 members of Congress now indebted to him for his help, Rangel has ratcheted up his influence considerably, and some are wondering what he is going to do with his raft of IOUs.

[...] Over the two years that he has served as Ways and Means chairman, Rangel has pulled in $3.7 million in campaign contributions - more than any other incumbent - and will need to spend very little of it on his own re-election.

Since first being elected to Congress in 1970, Rangel has faced only one serious challenge and has rarely won less than 90 percent of his district.

McCain Jokes about Killing Iranians with Cigarettes

And this man wants to be President of the United States? What a scary thought. Good thing it won't happen. Furthermore, what hypocrisy? Bush doing business with a regime they want to overthrow. Then again didn't Reagan sells arms to the Ayatollahs? See the video here.

Presidential candidate John McCain, who once sang in jest about bombing Iran, on Tuesday reacted to a report of rising U.S. cigarette exports to the country by saying it may be "a way of killing 'em."

McCain, known for acerbic comments and for sometimes firing verbally from the hip, was responding to a report that U.S. exports to Iran rose tenfold during President George W. Bush's term in office despite hostility between the two states.

A rise in cigarette sales was a big part of that, according to an Associated Press analysis of seven years of U.S. trade figures.

"Maybe that's a way of killing 'em," McCain said to reporters during a campaign stop in Pittsburgh. "I meant that as a joke, as a person who hasn't had a cigarette in 28 years, 29 years," he added, laughing.

He declined further comment on the report.

McCain's Fumbling Campaign

How many more shake-ups will John McCain carry out before he realizes the problem is his unprincipled, chaotic style of politics that is the problem. He was fond of ridiculing Romney for his flip-flops. But the Senator could be considered a chameleon. One day he tows the Bush line, the next day he is denouncing the same constituency that he needs to get to the White House.

Then there is the question about his competence. He himself admits he is ignorant on Economic issues. And he proves it by talking about balancing the budget during a recession (although he denies we are in one). He is now for preserving taxcuts that he denounced when they were first proposed. He insists he will balance the budget by 2013. Something he and the Republicans could not achieve while they controlled the government for 6 years. Maybe some reporter could ask him if he intended to cut defense spending at a time when we face serious threats in Iraq and Afghanistance. He's always trying to have it both ways.
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Little Old Lady Berates McCain on Taxes

I don't think McCain was expecting such a verbal attack from this elderly woman during his town hall meeting in Denver yesterday. If the person had been a younger male, the Arizonan would've lashed out at him in keeping with his short temper. Although McCain and the audience laughed at the woman, she had a really good point. The joke was on the Republican nominee.

White House Bio Calls PM Berlusconi "Dilettante", "Controversial"

This is funny. The administration certainly knows how to piss people off. We've never seen such incompetence in our history. This is truly the gang who couldn't shoot straight.

ABC News' Jon Garcia Reports: It's not often that a White House press briefing book gets world attention, but the book issued for the 2008 G8 Summit certainly grabbed headlines today when the Italian press discovered that a biography included of their Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, described him as "one of the most controversial leaders in the history of a country known for governmental corruption and vice" and "a political dilettante who gained his high office only through the use of his considerable influence on the national media."

The Italian media outcry elicited a rare White House apology. In a written statement, WH spokesman Tony Fratto said, "We apologize to Italy and to the Prime Minister for this very unfortunate mistake … The sentiments expressed in the biography do not represent the views of President Bush, the American government, or the American people."

Obama Showed Independent Streak in Lobbyist Dealings

The more we learn the more we realize that Obama is a typical politician, although better than most. He will win in November. But many of his supporters will be disappointed. He is not the saviour many believe.

On Wednesday nights during Illinois General Assembly sessions, a group of lobbyists and lawmakers used to gather at the headquarters of the Illinois Manufacturers' Association for a weekly poker game. Barack Obama, who represented part of Chicago as state senator from 1997-2004, was a regular.

These days, Obama says lobbyists are part of the problem with Washington, and he refuses to accept their fundraising help. But during his eight years in Springfield, Ill., Obama played golf and basketball with them and hit them up for campaign donations, according to records and interviews. He shared meals with them, though he was careful to pay his own way, they say.

Obama also accepted lobbyist money when he ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004, and he later used his influence to help secure grants for 16 Illinois-based institutions represented by six of his lobbyist contributors, public records show.

He did all that while retaining a reputation for independence. "I can't remember a time that state senator Obama wasn't on the side of the consumers," said David Kolata, executive director of the non-partisan Illinois Citizens Utility Board.

A look at Obama's past relationships with lobbyists shows that, for most of his political career, Obama wasn't as attentive to the appearance of coziness with special interests as he is now. But it also shows that he often voted against the interests of his lobbyist friends, and he helped pass two significant upgrades to Illinois campaign finance and ethics laws.

Iraq says may Agree Timetable for U.S. Withdrawal

There's that word again. One way or the other we will have to leave Iraq. Either we leave little by little or are forced out. Our presence in Iraq cannot be sustained.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki raised the prospect on Monday of setting a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops as part of negotiations over a new security agreement with Washington.

It was the first time the U.S.-backed Shi'ite-led government has floated the idea of a timetable for the removal of American forces from Iraq. The Bush administration has always opposed such a move, saying it would give militant groups an advantage.

In a statement, Maliki's office said the prime minister made the comments about the security pact -- which will replace a U.N. mandate for the presence of U.S. troops that expires on December 31 -- to Arab ambassadors in the United Arab Emirates.

"In all cases, the basis for any agreement will be respect for the full sovereignty of Iraq," the statement quoted Maliki as saying.

"The current trend is to reach an agreement on a memorandum of understanding either for the departure of the forces or a memorandum of understanding to put a timetable on their withdrawal."

CNN Revisits the Iraq war’s Deceit and Deception

CNN’s Late Edition celebrated its 10th anniversary today by re-airing some of Wolf Blitzer’s key interviews with Bush administration officials about the Iraq war. Some highlights. BUSH: "If at any time I found that the Iraqis were developing weapons of mass destruction, they wouldn’t exist anymore (Jan. 2000)"

read more | digg story

Why Zimbabwe Horror Ignored: No Oil, No al Qaeda, Wrong Color

It is clear that the lives of black Africans are expendable. That is why their plight is ignored.

South African President Thabo Mbeki has held talks in Harare with Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara, leader of a breakaway opposition faction. Mr Mbeki, the chief regional negotiator on the Zimbabwe crisis, has been trying to persuade Mr Mugabe to form a government of national unity. However, Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the main opposition party, declined to meet Mr Mbeki. Before Saturday’s meeting VOA’s Akwei Thompson spoke with John Makumbe, senior lecturer of political science at the University of Zimbabwe the country’s political future.

Makumbe said that, technically, President Mugabe will rule Zimbabwe for the next five years, however, “it will be interesting to see how he rules this country with an illegitimate presidency that he has acquired ” he added.

On the issue of negotiations for a possible unity government in Zimbabwe Makumbe said that would be possible only if the conditions laid down by the Movement for Democratic change are met.

Mort Zuckerman: We're Headed for Worst Recession Since the Great Depression

Coming from a well known publisher and billionaire, Zuckerman's words carry weight. And he's been saying it all along. You just need to look all around you. There are serious problems that if not addressed will lead to a depression. This blogger is only one of the very few sounding the alarm. Tragically, we have a President who is criminally negligent and won't lift a finger to save us.

- Previous posts:

• We are in a Recession. Are We Headed for a Depression?
• Forecasters see Weak Economy, Higher Unemployment
• Economy in Crisis: Food Shortage in America?
• Economy in Crisis: Bank of America’s Profit Drops Sharply
• Food Stamp Use Is at Record Pace
• How Bad is the Mortgage Crisis Going to Get?

Bush: Olympic Boycott would Insult Chinese

Bush refuses to do the right thing. He will never take the side of the oppressed. He's also been total lapdog of the Chinese. He's once again given the finger to the Tibetans.

President Bush on Sunday defended his decision to attend next month's Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, saying that to boycott "would be an affront to the Chinese people."

Why don't you try this approach with Iran? Why appeasing China good and not with Iran?

Speaking to reporters ahead of this week's summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations in Japan, Bush said he did not need to skip the ceremony to show his position on religious freedom and human rights in China.

He said if he failed to attend the Games it would "make it more difficult to be able to speak more frankly with the Chinese leadership."

Former Cabinet Member: Bush Looked to Invade Iraq before 9-11

"This is the full CBS 60 Minutes 2004 interview of Former Secretary Of Treasury Paul O'Neil and reporter Ron Suskind that discusses Bush asking his National Security Council to "find a way" to invade Iraq during their first meeting in January 2001. Almost 9 months before the September 11th attacks. This seems to have been forgotten by the mainstream media, and the Congress."

January 2001, Bush Sought to "Find A Way" to Invade Iraq
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Child Pornography Becomes Mainstream

This is an extreme example of the anything goes culture we find in the West. The media will do anything it can get away with. It is only a matter of time before this monstrosity comes to the states. After all, don't the ISPs tolerate extreme pornography on their sites? We've become so indifferent that we allow the apologists for decadence, under the guise of freedom, to brainwash us. We've allowed ourselves to be convinced that what's bad for us is in fact good. The best example is the current occupant of the White House. He has destroyed our country and our freedoms and we we've gone along with it.

A TAXPAYER-funded magazine has put a naked six-year-old girl on the cover in protest at the "hysteria" over similar images by photographer Bill Henson.

The July edition of Art Monthly Australia also includes several provocative photos of children posing naked in adult jewellery as well as naked teenage girls.

In the editorial, Maurice O'Riordan said he chose the 2003 picture of the young girl in the "hope of restoring some dignity to the debate" and to "validate nudity and childhood as subjects for art".

The image, taken by Melbourne-based Polixeni Papapetrou, is believed to be her own daughter.

Mr O'Riordan, who does not have children of his own, told The Sunday Telegraph he did not care if it stirred community complaint.

"I believe the image is of a six-year-old girl," he said.

"Maybe this is bold, but I don't see the need to give in to that sort of hysteria or the prospect of complaint.

"I couldn't really understand the furore."

The artist, Ms Papapetrou, said she supports the use of her work for the magazine's cover.

"We need to be clever enough to distinguish art from other types of images, otherwise we live in danger of eradicating any image of childhood in this culture for future generations to see."

[...]Mr Henson was cleared of any wrongdoing following a police investigation.

A spokeswoman for the Australia Council yesterday defended their decision to help fund the magazine. She said the Council regarded Mr Henson as one of the country's premier artists.

Free Enterprisers to Blame for Airline Woes

I was amused to hear Steve Forbes blame the government for the problems with the airline industry and the poor service they provide. It turns out that the problems began when the industry was deregulated in 1978. The greatest consequence of that decision was September 11th. Today's problems have only worsened because of high oil prices and greater security measures. Therefore, Mr.Forbes, you and your type are to blame.
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Salmonella Outbreak's Victims Rise To 943

The government is still clueless...just like this President.

The U.S. government on Saturday announced an increase in the number of people reported being sickened in a record salmonella outbreak in which tomatoes are the leading suspect although investigators are testing other types of fresh produce.

There have been 943 reported cases across the United States, with at least 130 hospitalizations since mid-April after the first salmonella illnesses appeared, the Food and Drug Administration said Saturday.

That compares with a total of 922 people about two days ago and 869 reported earlier in the past week.

On Tuesday, the government it would test numerous other kinds of fresh produce while insisting that tomatoes remained the leading culprit. Investigators have kept quiet about exactly what other vegetables are getting tracked but said they are looking at items commonly served with fresh tomatoes.

Amnesty Urges Indonesia to halt Serial Killer's Execution

Amnesty should concentrate on stopping the oppression of innocent people worldwide, not fighting for murderers. This might explain why they are so ineffective in stopping false imprisonments and torture worldwide:

Rights group Amnesty International called on Indonesia Saturday not to execute a man who murdered 42 women in "black magic" rituals.

Self-proclaimed shaman Ahmad Suraji was sentenced to death in 1998 after police found the women's bodies buried in a sugar cane field.

He confessed to strangling most of the women and drinking their saliva to improve his magical powers after they came to him for help.

Amnesty said it recognised the need to address serious crime, but was "convinced that the death penalty does not provide a solution."

"(We are) calling for the planned execution of Achmad Suradji to be halted immediately and for his sentence to be commuted," it said in a statement.

Prosecutors said this week Suraji and four other Indonesians would "soon" be executed after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyon rejected his clemency application. Amnesty also urged authorities to spare the lives of the four others.

New West Nile Virus Strain may Worsen Epidemic

I've argued for years that West Nile Virus appearing on U.S. soil when it did was an act of terror by Saddam Hussein. And I oppose the Iraq War. Unfortunately, like the anthrax attacks, no one in law enforcement understands the connection. And it would seem the government as a whole is clueless as to how to deal with this menace.

A new strain of West Nile virus is spreading better and earlier across the United States, and may thrive in hot American summers, researchers said on Thursday.

The virus infected an estimated 175,000 people last year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in its weekly report on death and disease on Thursday.

The mosquito-borne virus caused an estimated 35,000 cases of fever, was reported to have killed 117 people and caused serious disease such as encephalitis and meningitis in 1,227 people in 2007, the CDC reported.

A second team of researchers said a new strain of the virus that has completely overtaken the original strain is particularly well suited to hotter weather -- which in turn means West Nile outbreaks may worsen in the north.

It also means that North America may suffer more from West Nile virus than other parts of the world, said Lyle Petersen, who helps lead West Nile surveillance at the CDC.

West Nile was introduced to the United States in 1999 -- during a particularly hot summer in New York City.

Related Link:
- Saddam Connection: West Nile Virus the First Bioweapon?
- Is West Nile virus Saddam's revenge?

16 Civilians said Killed in US-led Strike, Afghan MP Shot Dead

The situation in Afghanistan continues to worsen. It's always bad when you end up killing civilians. It serves as great propaganda for the enemy--even if it is provoked by them.

An Afghan provincial governor said Saturday 16 civilians including women, children and doctors were killed in US-led coalition air strikes but the force insisted the dead were militants.

In other violence, gunmen killed a legislator while 10 militants were blown up by their own bomb in troubled southern Afghanistan, authorities said.

The air strikes were carried out on Friday in the remote district of Waygal in the mountainous northeast province of Nuristan, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the border with Pakistan.

Provincial governor Tamim Nuristani told AFP 16 civilians were killed as they were travelling out of the area after being told by security forces to leave ahead of an operation against Islamic insurgents.

"They included two women, two children and workers and shopkeepers travelling in two pick-up vehicles," Nuristani told AFP. Two doctors and a female nurse were also dead, he said.

But the coalition said Friday and again Saturday the dead were militants who were escaping after attacking an NATO-led military base in the rugged area.

A big part of the problem is Pakistan, where the Taliban go to hide and regroup without much fear of being caught.

Pakistani security forces have eased an operation against insurgents in a tribal region near the border with Afghanistan as local elders try to negotiate peace with a militant leader, a government official said Saturday.

The operation is a shift for Pakistan's government, which has sought to end militant violence through peace deals since coming to power after February elections.

That approach has faced criticism from the United States, where officials say the deals will simply give militants time to regroup and intensify attacks in neighboring Afghanistan.

The operation has also faced criticism from skeptics who say it has met with scant resistance and appears to have led to the death of only one militant. Many militants apparently fled before the operation started.

Hidden Camera Footage Exposes Mugabe 'Vote-rigging'

As I argued previously, the only hope for the people of Zimbabwe, ironically, are cameras. Without video the media ignores oppression. And if the media ignores it the politicians and public ignore the horror.

Secret footage filmed by a Zimbabwean prison guard shows how a supporter of President Robert Mugabe rigged votes in his favour, British newspaper The Guardian said.

The hidden camera images apparently show one of Mugabe's so-called war veterans -- with the power to denounce prison workers as opposition supporters -- supervising their votes, logging each one against the voter's identification number and watching as they mark the ballots.

"It is believed to be the first footage of actual ballot-rigging," The Guardian said.

Harare prison guard Shepherd Yuda, 36, who filmed the clips, has since fled the country with his pregnant wife and their children.

The 10-minute film is on the British daily's website. It was filmed during the six days before the June 27 presidential election second round run-off.

The Guardian gave Yuda the camera to film the daily life of a prison guard but he found himself recording the overseeing of ballots by supporters of Mugabe's ZANU-PF ruling party.

- See the video here.