Today's News

Bernanke Chides Banks On Risk - Chicago Tribune
Commercial banks and other financial institutions need to beef up their ability to detect and protect themselves against risks like the credit and mortgage debacles, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday.

The trio of crises -- housing, credit and financial -- have exposed weaknesses in financial firms' so-called risk-management practices. That is their ability to sufficiently detect and hedge against risks. Banks and other financial players have racked up multibillion-dollar losses when investments in complex mortgage-backed securities soured with the collapse of the housing market. Credit problems in housing quickly spread to other areas, intensifying the turmoil.

"Improvements in banks' risk management will provide a more-stable financial system by making firms more resilient to shocks," Bernanke said in a speech to a Federal Reserve banking conference in Chicago.

Banks need to improve upon efforts to identify and measure risk, value their assets and liabilities, and prepare for "liquidity" disruptions, when access to cash or the ability to smoothly buy and sell can be impaired, the Fed chief said. (end excerpt)

Bernanke's own bail out polices are the biggest impediment to Banks forseeing and managing risk. As long as there are no consequences for bad investment decisions risk management will remain passe. Rather, the banks today are rewarded, not severely punished (in the markets with real bankruptcy). Bernanke is just preaching the risk 'gospel' in a den of iniquity to people who are beyond any hope of redemption. No one is listening or is about to, not while the business of throwing all investment caution to the wind is paying off so well for them. They are getting all kinds of money from the Feds new lending facilities and can unload all of that paper onto you and me so that we foot the bill for the Banks woeful inaptitude. You want to force the banks to manage risk? Here is how you do it. You let them fail, set up a program where you let the Federal Reserve run the bank until its assets can be sold off.

Ultimately this is about who will pay for years of American fiscal dissipation. It will not be those who wrought these excesses, but those who were the victims of some of the worst financial scams since Al Capone and Lucky Luciano. Conventional wisdom says to save the banks at any and all expense. I say you can keep the banking system in place but the bad banks have got to go and a long hard look needs to be taken and potential criminal charges at some of the overtly criminal acts that have been going on for years while the SEC and justice department looked the other way.. What Bernanke's policy is can be summarized this way; it is to delay the worst part of the day of reckoning for as long as possible, no matter the cost to the overall financial system. This is not over yet, not by a long shot as banks may have been able to deal with the bad paper in their balance sheets but now must deal with another rising problem the actual foreclosures, non-payment of debt, declining value of the underlying asset. Let the Cheerleaders deceive you into the November if you want them to, but you will pay for your own ignorance in the form of much higher taxes, much higher gas prices, much higher heating bills, food bills... you name it. Bernanke's policy is a boon to the Banks but it will turn out to be a disaster for ordinary Americans and the US dollar. The world may be forced to step in and deal with the dollar situation, but if they do it will be done forcefully and America will, in such an event, lose a lot of control over policy decisions that could effect its value.

This may be very much part of the plan to further the religion of globalization and undermine the nation-state.

California Lifts Gay Marriage Ban - TO
A Sign of the times, brethren a sign of the times. This is merely the Courts putting a stamp of approval on a deep seated trend in America that cannot be stopped. Simply put, this is America's moral decay given the approval of her reprobate and corrupt legal system. One of the most evil men in history summed up America's power a half a decade ago, he said, 'America is great because she is good, once she stops being good she will cease being great'. In the past several years we have seen that as any American who regularly travels abroad will tell you. We are hated. Why? Because this nation is slipping into deeper and deeper evil, displayed by her violence and her perversions so vividly demonstrated by Abu Ghraib and other facilities across Iraq where atrocities are still being committed. I posted a video a few weeks ago that showed you the kinds of men we have in uniform, taunting young children with the most vile of sexual innuendo. This is the real America. It is populated with violent and sexually perverted people who show their true colors when they know there is no punishment for their heinous acts... even against young children.

Angola Now Africa's Largest Oil Producer - Africa News
Angola is since last month Africa's largest oil producer surpassing Nigeria whose output was sharply cut by unrest in the oil-rich Niger Delta region. The announcement was made on Thursday by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).(end excerpt)

The Chinese are all over Angola and its oil.

Turkey: Trial Of Murderer Of Christians - ME Concern
The two widows and their legal team are frustrated that the judges are blocking their attempts to gather and submit evidence against the five defendants and those alleged to have been behind them. Recall that shortly after the murders seven other men were arrested on suspicion of having aided or conspired with the perpetrators. Several were charged and released on bail. They have not yet been tried.

The hearing was attended by many Turkish and expatriate journalists.

Turkish Christians request our continued prayers to our perfect loving heavenly Father that:

* Semse and Suzanne will know the presence of Jesus throughout the trial process
* Justice will be done concerning the perpetrators
* Those charged with having aided or conspiring with the perpetrators will be brought to trial
* Semse and Suzanne legal team will know the Spirit’s guiding and equipping
* He will use the media attention will be used to promote justice and other purposes
* The judges, other officials, lawyers and journalists involved will hear the gospel of Jesus and be drawn to the Father’s love.

Rumsfeld: 911 Worked: Lets Do It Again - OP Ed News
“But by far the most extraordinary part of this luncheon is the antipathy the gathered members exhibit toward the American people for having the temerity to vote the Democrats back into power. When Lt. Gen. Michael DeLong bemoans the lack of "sympathetic ears" on Capitol Hill, Rumsfeld offers that the American people lack "the maturity to recognize the seriousness of the threats." What's to be done? According to Rumsfeld, "The correction for that, I suppose, is [another] attack."(end excerpt)

I have said almost from the beginning that 911 was in inside Job, when so very many thought I was nuts or a 'raving conspiracy theorist'. All of the evidence would lead any reasonable person to conclude that those attacks were either executed or facilitated by people inside the Bush administration. You want to go after the terrorists who planned 911, you can start with Nancy, 'Impeachment is off the table" Pelosi, who is Bush's most important protector. We have spent billions and billions of dollars and lost thousands of lives chasing the wrong terrorists and turned the world against us. Osama himself could not have done more damage the the US if were sitting in the White House.

Once one looks at the trial of disinformation on the TV in the form of its 'military analysts' who had investments in contractors and the trail of money being made by members of this administration you can see the real goal of this war and it has little to do with terrorism. Like most wars it is about money, large contracts and yet more money.

Quake Pictures - Cryptome
Lots of photo's of the damage including some of the Dams that are in trouble. Who is going to pay? China's Insurance industry? Not likely.

The Secret Bailout Of JP Morgan - Web Of Debt
Highly suspicious trades and other activity leads writer to conclude that there was more to the Bear Stearns collapse than meets the eye. OF course there was. Wall Street is a lawless place, it is as I often call it the 'worlds biggest criminal enterprise' made so by deliberate weak enforcement mechanisms and high powered political connections that keep the crooks in the money and you in debt slavery.

Signs Of The Times - WW
When asked by his followers what signs would precede his coming, Our Lord laid out the things we are to look for. The First thing he said was

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. (Mat 24:4-5)

Today there are false prophets and false religions galore. There is a plethora of sites dedicated to giving some pretty food evidence that many of our best known religious leaders are False prophets, and they are deceiving many. How can you spot one? First is to know study and really understand scripture. Two: stop following the crowd and latest fad in the Church that the MANY follow. Why? Because only the FEW (with discernment) will be saved.

And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. (Mat 24:6-7)

Yes these things are clearly happening now, today. Everywhere you hear of wars and rumors of wars and we are seeing famines, strange diseases and yes, earthquakes (like the one in China where entire towns were razed to the ground) all over the world, even in places not normally known for them. Christians are not to be troubled by this. These, as the LORD said are the beginnings of sorrows, not the end of them.

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. (Mat 24:9-10)

Here is when real persecution begins in earnest. It is already happening in much of the world, especially in the Islamic world but in other places as well.

-Persecution in China

-Afghan On Trial For 'Crime' Of Christianity.

-Christians Killed In Turkey For Printing Bibles

-The worst can be expected in Saudi Arabia and North Korea

61% Say US trading Away Jobs - Pew
By a margin of more than six-to-one (61% to 9%), the U.S. public now says free trade agreements result in job losses rather than in new jobs; a solid majority (56%) also says that free trade makes wages lower in the United States, and half (50%) say it slows the economy. (end excerpt)

Finally a light come on in the American mind. I have been saying this for years, even before men like Ross Perot (remember him?) were touting it. When will the rest of America figure it out? When their job is gone and their home os foreclosed on and they line up in an overcrowded homeless shelter... and not one minute before!

California Foreclosures Hit New Record High - Mercury News
More than 1,000 California properties were foreclosed upon each weekday in April, setting a bleak new record for the state's troubled housing market, while foreclosures in Santa Clara County surged 585 percent from a year earlier.

Last month's foreclosures totaled 22,838 statewide, according to ForeclosureRadar.com, a Discovery Bay company that provides such information to subscribers. That's an average of 1,038 foreclosure auction sales occurring each business day in April, said company president and founder Sean O'Toole.(end excerpt)

The worst is behind us, didn't you hear? Who are you going to believe, Bernanke, Bush, Greenspan or your lying eyes? Meanwhile the FBI is warning of new Mortgage scams as folks get desperate.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday reiterated its warning against mortgage scams, saying the fraudulent activities are likely to escalate with the extended housing market slump. In a report, the FBI said it recorded 46,717 cases of mortgage fraud last year, compared to 35,617 in 2006. The scams cost the industry some $813 million. According to the bureau, mortgage fraud is "the intentional misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission by an applicant or other interested parties, relied on by a lender or underwriter to provide funding for, to purchase, or to insure a mortgage loan." - AHN

Meanwhile Fannie And Freddie are in a 'capital alert, says the Financial Times:

The government-backed mortgage companies that finance the bulk of new US home loans may not have enough capital to withstand the plunge in the country’s housing market, according to one of Washington’s most senior financial legislators. In an interview with the Financial Times, Richard Shelby, the senior Republican on the Senate banking committee, said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were “thinly capitalised, highly leveraged and pose a systemic risk to taxpayers”.

“I worry about the failure of the institutions,” he said. “My interest ... is to try to make sure they are strong enough financially to withstand a real downturn in the housing market.” - FT

Pay attention because me thinks the next administartion will be forced to bail them out, but not until Ben Bernanke can get all of the bad paper out of his buddies Wall Street Banks and shifted over to Fannie and Freddie so that they then cry 'we need a taxpayer bailout' and then blame the Democrats for' big government bailouts'. You, my fellow Americans, are going to pay for the mistakes and crimes of others. The Democrats and Republicans are going to see to it that you, and you alone foot the bill.

Putin Still In Control - Sabah
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday appointed three of Vladimir Putin's closest aides to run his administration, ensuring Putin retains his strong grip on power despite leaving the Kremlin. Putin, who moves to become prime minister, also announced a cabinet which combined key ministers and powerful figures into what analysts said was an unusually strong team. Medvedev and Putin have pledged to rule Russia together in an unprecedented "tandem" arrangement. But many analysts said the appointments confirmed that Putin remains the real boss, at least for now.

Interesting Blog With Video Footage From Burma - Blogspot
Just some footage of real people talking about the tragedy as well as the conditions there now.

Sudan-Chad: War Next? - WWIV Report
Sadly, most reliable news reporting in this area is lacking. I do not know exactly what is happening here as the propaganda is running at full tilt. Yet, clearly there are new signs of tension and an armed conflict is not something that can be counted out. Yet one must consider this in light of three factors, the refugee crisis in Darfur which borders Chad, Oil found in this region as well as China and its great influence over the Sudanese Government and its desire to be the dominant power in the region. While many sites, blogs and analysts focus on the tribal aspects of this, I see the hand of China attempting to gain more influence here using surrogates on both sides of the border. However, it may not be so much that China is fueling the crisis, but rather will use it to further its interests.

Barr Launches Libertarian Pres. Bid - MSNBC
Former Republican Rep. Bob Barr launched a Libertarian Party presidential bid Monday, saying voters are hungry for an alternative to the status quo who would dramatically cut the federal government.

His candidacy throws a wild card into the White House race that many believe could peel away votes from Republican Sen. John McCain given the candidates' similar positions on fiscal policy.

Barr, who has hired Ross Perot's former campaign manager, acknowledged that some Republicans have tried to discourage him from running. But he said he's getting in the race to win, not to play spoiler or to make a point.

Former CEO Says AIG 'In Crisis' - AP
Maurice R. Greenberg, the former chief executive and largest individual shareholder of AIG, says the insurer is "in crisis" and urged it to postpone its annual meeting in the wake of its massive first-quarter loss, according to regulatory filing Monday.

In a letter to American International Group Inc.'s board dated Sunday, Greenberg said he and other top shareholders are deeply concerned "about the persistent and seemingly endless destruction of value at AIG." He said the leadership of the world's largest insurer has also lost credibility with the investment community.

"AIG is in crisis," Greenberg wrote.

"The company's problems are more than financial and extend far beyond its subprime credit exposure or approach to capital management," he said in the letter. "Core businesses are also deteriorating."

Banks Have Enourmous Unrecognized Losses - Bloomberg
U.S. and European banks and financial institutions have ``enormous losses'' from bad loans they haven't yet recognized and may have a harder time wooing sovereign-fund rescuers, Carlyle Group Chairman David Rubenstein said.

``Based on information I see,'' it will take at least a year before all losses are realized, and some financial institutions may fail, Rubenstein said at a breakfast meeting of the Institute for Education Public Policy Roundtable in Washington. He didn't name any companies.(end excerpt)

A rather interesting article. Here the chairman of Carlyle says that he sees Private Equity Groups trying to buy each other out.

Chavez Cements Closer Ties To China - Reuters
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday the OPEC nation will buy Chinese military training planes, expanding recent arms purchases and further cementing a growing relationship with China.

Chavez in recent years has stepped up purchases of weapons and planes. Washington accuses the self-styled revolutionary of carrying out an arms spending spree that could destabilize the region.

Venezuela and China on Friday signed an accord to build a refinery on Chinese soil as part of a broader plan to reduce Venezuela's reliance on U.S. energy markets.

The real tragedy here in my opinion is that the US and Venezueala could and should be closer. The real reason Chavez is dealing with China is as a counterweight to US antagonism, which is borne from Chavez's willingness to extract serious concessions from, I'll say it, rapacious US oil companies. the fact that China and to a lesser degree Russia are getting warmer receptions in South America is due to our polices there the past 50 years, of which 'Big Oil' has played a key role. I am not anti-oil or anti-profit. I am anti-exploitation and anti-corruption and from my humble perspective Oil companies have engaged in both consistently, with the full knowledge and assistance of the US government; both Democrat and Republican administrations.

Changing The Way Your Brain Works - Daily Mail
Human identity, the idea that defines each and every one of us, could be facing an unprecedented crisis. It is a crisis that would threaten long-held notions of who we are, what we do and how we behave. It goes right to the heart - or the head - of us all.

This crisis could reshape how we interact with each other, alter what makes us happy, and modify our capacity for reaching our full potential as individuals. And it's caused by one simple fact: the human brain, that most sensitive of organs, is under threat from the modern world. Unless we wake up to the damage that the gadget-filled, pharmaceutically-enhanced 21st century is doing to our brains, we could be sleepwalking towards a future in which neuro-chip technology blurs the line between living and non-living machines, and between our bodies and the outside world.

Lebanese Amry Threatens Use Of Force - Arabian Business
The latest unrest, which dramatically raised the stakes in an 18-month standoff between the ruling majority and the Syrian and Iranian-backed opposition, erupted after a government crackdown against Hezbollah activities which the Shi'ite Muslim militant group said amounted to a declaration of war.

The ensuing sectarian clashes saw Hezbollah gunmen and their allies take over large swathes of majority Sunni areas of mainly Muslim west Beirut, routing pro-government forces.

Hezbollah ended its takeover at the weekend but only after the army reversed the government's decision to probe the group's communication network and to reassign the head of airport security over claims he was close to Hezbollah.

New Zealand Volcano May Erupt - Reuters
Volcanic activity at New Zealand's Mount Ruapehu is increasing and an eruption could occur at any time, scientists warned on Tuesday. The volcano in central North Island, famed as a location in the "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy, last erupted on Sept. 25 2007, spitting 2 metre (6 feet) boulders distances of up to 2 kms (1.5 miles).

Ruapehu's elevated alert level has not been changed, but scientists said on Tuesday that activity within the mountain was greater, with high levels of gas spewing out, a warmer than average crater lake and ongoing volcanic tremors. "The volcano remains in a status of unrest and the possibility of further activity remains. If further eruptions occur, they may occur without warning," Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS) said in a statement.

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Sudan- Chad Cuts Diplomatic Ties - BBC
Sudan says it has cut off diplomatic relations with Chad, blaming it for helping rebels from Darfur to launch an attack on Sudan's capital, Khartoum.

Both Chad and Jem rebels deny working together to launch the assault on the Khartoum suburb of Omdurman, which the rebels say they have taken control of.

Thousands Dead In 7.8 China Quake - BBC
Between 3,000 and 5,000 people may have been killed by an earthquake measuring 7.8 in just one county of south-western China's Sichuan province, reports say.

Some 10,000 people are also feared to have been injured in Beichuan county.

Desperate efforts are under way to find survivors. One school that collapsed has buried an estimated 900 students.

President Hu Jintao has urged "all-out" efforts to rescue victims of the quake, which hit 92km (57 miles) from Chengdu, Sichuan's provincial capital.(end excerpt)

This is a terrible tragedy. Yet it is rather ironic that China has been a major impediment to the US and other western donors giving aid in Burma. Behind the scenes the diplomatic situation has been far more tense than the UN or US has let on in public and the next 24 hours or so will tell is a lot. But Burma has finally relented and is allowing some aid workers in.

Well, now the shoe is on the other foot so to speak and it is China that needs aid.

This Years Third Bank Failure - MW
NB Financial N.A., a Bentonville, Ark.-based bank, has been closed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has been named receiver, the FDIC said late Friday. The failure of ANB Financial marks the third bank failure of the year, following the closure of Hume, Mo.-based Hume Bank in early March. See related story. The FDIC said in a statement that while ANB Financial's failure is the third FDIC-insured institution to be closed so far in 2008, there were a total of three such closures last year.

EU Sovereingty: Green Light For Galileo - ISN
The European Parliament gave its backing last month to the deployment phase of Galileo, the EU's most ambitious technology project to date and its only space-oriented one, paving the way for system to be operational in five years time.

The project is intended for civilian use for the time being, with military use potential still under discussion among EU member-nations.

Its costs are estimated at around €3.4 billion (US$5.2 billion), which will be covered by the EU budget. Discussions on raising private funds to cover some of the costs failed.

Approval by the lawmakers was the final political hurdle for Galileo. Only a year ago, the project was all but abandoned after a consortium of private technology companies withdrew their support...

..."Galileo is to some extent also about the profile of the EU in a world where the US, China, Russia and India have or are planning satellite navigation systems of their own. Without Galileo, whose services would we use?" Michele Cercone, European Commission's transport spokesman, told ISN Security Watch. "Apart from this, the security aspect is an important one due to the vulnerability of all GNSS [Global Navigation Satellite] systems to hostile actions." Last month, EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot put it succinctly, saying that Galileo represented "a tool of sovereignty for Europe."

US Special Ops Shift Away From Rumsfeld Doctrine - Pilot Online
The military command overseeing the nation's most elite forces has moved away from a contentious plan that gave it broad control over anti-terrorism operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and other hot spots around the globe.

The expanded authority for U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa, Fla., was hammered through by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld well before he resigned in November 2006. The shift caused friction among leaders at other warfighting organizations who saw it an intrusion into their geographic domains.

Navy Adm. Eric Olson, the command's senior officer since July 2007, has steered clear of micromanaging specific missions against al-Qaida or other terrorist groups. The command's primary focus is to ensure these plans are fused into a broader strategy for defeating extremist ideologies. That reflects Olson's position that the troops closest to the action know best how to handle it.

"It's a much different place," Army Lt. Gen. David Fridovich, a Green Beret who runs the command's Center for Special Operations, said in an Associated Press interview.

Etna Erupts - Javno
Italian volcano Etna has awakened. Lava started gushing from the 3,350 metre mountain and the surrounding Sicily area, without any residents, was shaken by 200 earthquakes measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale.

'Pompeii Scenario' Forcast For Chilean Volcano - Merco Press Armegeddon
Very much a “worst case scenario,” the possibility is nevertheless a very real one, vulcanologist Luis Lara of Chile’s National Geologic and Mining Service (SERNAGEOMIN) told reporters Thursday afternoon.

“That’s precisely the reason we recommended that authorities define a restricted area, because this is a real possibility with volcanoes that are similar to Chaitén. We can’t offer any kind of probability that this will happen, or say for sure how things will play out. It’s a worst case scenario” said Lara.

There is precedent for such concern, according to the SERNAGEOMIN official who pointed out that similar volcanoes (in Mexico and the Philippines, for example) have collapsed on the seventh or eight day of continuous eruption.

Ecuador Has No Confidence In World Bank Arbitration - Taipei Times
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said on Saturday he has “no confidence” in the World Bank arbitration branch that is hearing US oil company Occidental’s lawsuit against Ecuador.

Ecuador “handed over its sovereignty” when it signed international accords binding it to the bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), Correa said during his weekly radio address.

The ICSID is an autonomous court established to resolve investment disputes.

Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum Corp is seeking US$1 billion in damages from Ecuador, alleging its property was confiscated illegally when the Andean nation canceled its operating contract in May 2006.

Occidental, whose production represented about 20 percent of Ecuador’s total output, also is seeking to recover the oil fields.

Ecuador accuses the company of illegally selling 40 percent of its concession to EnCana Corp of Canada without Energy Ministry authorization.

A Rough 24 Hours For Windows Users - Secunia
The title pretty much says it all. During the last 24 hours, we have seen security updates for some very popular Windows programs from four major vendors: Sun, Adobe, Apple, and Skype.

Based on these four security updates, we have gathered some statistics from our free Secunia PSI that shows a startling picture, detailing the amount of users who need to patch their computers, in order to safely do something as ordinary as surfing the Internet.

Currently, the Secunia PSI has been installed on 282,726 computers.

Unique installations, counting each application only once per. computer:

Adobe Reader 8.x 172,653 61.07% of all computers affected
Apple Quicktime 7.x 133,169 47.10% of all computers affected
Sun Java 1.5.x 98,618 34.88% of all computers affected
Skype 3.x 57,496 20.34% of all computers affected

Fema Drills - National Expositor
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) along with other government institutions are currently conducting an 8-day anti-terror and disaster exercise from May 1st through May 8th called National Level Exercise 2-08 in the United States. We recently covered this exercise in great detail using press releases from FEMA and U.S. Northern Command as source material. We also raised the prospect of the government using this exercise as cover for a potential false flag terror attack. Considering the historical precedent of the government running drills on the day of the 9/11 attacks as cover for the actual operation, this 8-day long anti-terror and disaster exercise sparked some concern. According to the press releases from both FEMA and U.S. Northern Command, drills are slated to take place in Oregon, Washington State and in the Washington DC or mid-Atlantic area. With this in mind, it is incredibly strange to see reports from the Des Moines Register and the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier indicating that a secretive FEMA exercise is taking place in Waterloo, Iowa. According to these reports, the federal government has leased out the entire National Cattle Congress fairgrounds until May 25th for an exercise.

Civil War Fears In Lebanon - FT
Fierce clashes involving rockets and heavy machine guns erupted in Lebanon on Sunday between pro-government forces and opposition gunmen in mountains east of Beirut as Arab foreign ministers held an emergency meeting in a bid to find a solution to worsening crisis. The increasing violence in areas outside the capital marks a dangerous escalation of an armed conflict that began after Hizbollah, the Shia militant group, and its opposition allies, sealed off the airport and seized areas of west Beirut last week. The clashes will heighten fears the country is sliding back towards full-blown civil war.(end excerpt)

The Situation is more serious than most papers are saying. Israel is very concerned about Hizbollah gaining control over not only Beirut, but most of Lebanon. Sources in the Intelligence community have shown real concern that Israel, may be forced to act to protect its interests and keep the Iranian funded Hizbollah out of Lebanon. This is an important issue to watch as I do not think Israel will sit back and let Lebanon fall to Islamic extremists.

The Dirty Little Secret - Financial Sense
There is a dirty little secret no one is talking about. Private direct investment into the United States has come to a standstill. The external current account and budget deficits are now being financed by foreign central banks almost exclusively. The US is living on the grace of foreign central bankers. They are rightly defending the value of their foreign reserves denominated in dollars and they have trillions and trillions of them to defend.

Yields will have to rise and the dollar will have to fall further to create the incentive of higher returns so foreign direct investment will resume. The return on investment in the US has fallen to the point where VERY FEW will send investment dollars here. Investment returns must rise to the point where greed will overcome fear in the minds of foreign private investors. The dollar may correct higher but a move lower is more probable. As a note to the future you can expect the dollar index to decline to 50 in the coming years.(end excerpt)

This is an excellent article that should be read in its entirety.

Running to the Right: Barack Obama and the DLC Strategy - BAR
The fragility of Barack Obama's DLC-inspired electoral strategy is now exposed for all to see. Obama has chosen to “reach out” to white and Republican voters while challenging none of their assumptions about America, racism or empire, at the same time, counting on on a deaf and blind black nationalism to shield him from accountability to African Americans. Republicans (and Hillary Clinton) know all they need do to counter him is prove to whites that he is not as conservative as he seems. Obama will thus be forced scramble relentlessly rightward from here on, disowning, denouncing and dishonoring any and all stirrings of black or grassroots militancy to keep white support without telling white America anything it doesn't want to know.(end excerpt)

This is a very interesting look at Obama by Blacks who are not blinded by color. I post this for two reasons. One, to show you the reader the kinds of folks who are backing Obama. Two, to show you that the Black community is diverse and not a monolith. Please understand, I am not trying to 'bash' Obama or take cheap shots at him. I do however, want to know more about him than, 'Yes we can'. I think there are still about 20% of voters out there who want to know more too. But while this article is rather negative, I know this; Obama has 'passed' a very critical test in my book. He refused the help of the most corrupt elements connected to our government, and this was not I repeat NOT easy to do. He has consistently shown far more integrity than any of the other candidates. So, while others will bash him because he's black or a democrat or not a woman or is not a Neocon, I will not. I say again, the most important test he has passed, that is the integrity test. The second most important test, where he gets his money is, sadly, not a cause for hope. Read this with discernment and care as this comes from a site that bills itself as Black and progressive.

Losing Everything - NYT
urning to these humble cinderblock and sheet-metal boxes to store their stuff. But some people cannot keep up with their storage bills any better than they could handle their mortgage payments, and storage companies are auctioning off their property for a pittance.

A cottage industry has developed to profit from these lost and abandoned items. The other day in this Chicago suburb, Stephanie Donahou and her son Marcus had only a moment to decide whether to bid on a unit in default. They could see a couch, a sewing machine, a fish tank, a washer and dryer, lots of Christmas wrapping paper, a television and other trappings of daily life.

“This is someone’s house,” Mrs. Donahou said. Her bid, for $160, was the highest. Mr. Donahou was not impressed. “Ma, you bought a junker,” he said, rooting through the material. They began to fill their U-Haul. Good material they would auction on eBay; middling stuff would go to yard sales.

Citi Considers $400 Billion Asset Sale - FT
TCitigroup will on Friday identify as much as $400bn in non-core assets that could be sold as part of plans to reduce costs and restore profit growth to double-digit rates, according to people close to the situation.

At a long-awaited meeting with Wall Street analysts, Vikram Pandit, Citi’s chief executive, also plans to confirm his pledge, first disclosed in the Financial Times, to cut Citi’s cost base of over $60bn by about 20 per cent.

Despite his desire to prune Citi’s balance sheet aggressively, Mr Pandit will use the meeting to rebuff calls for a break-up of the company, say sources familiar with his thinking. They say he will defend Citi’s “universal banking model” combining consumer and wholesale banking.(end excerpt)

Meanwhile the talking heads that brought this crisis on are saying it is all but over or the worst is behind us. Pooppycock!... and they know it. They just want to deceive Joe Sixpac of that lie as we move into the November elections. Think about it, Citi has received billions in bailouts and still has to sell close to half a trillion in assets. Does that sound like 'over' to you?. The big banks are still, as we speak, getting bailouts from the Feds new bailout windows. NOTHING HAS CHANGED other than the tone and spin of he headlines of major financial publications. The only thing that has happened is that they have just shipped a ton of money over to Wall Street to slow (not stop) the titanic from sinking and she is still listing and taking in water. Foreclosures are still at record highs and growing, housing prices are tumbling and jobs are still going away (despite the BLS's fictitious, election year motivated numbers). They just want to pass this crisis on to the Democrats so the GOP can say, 'We had it all solved and the Democrats messsed it all up!' Bernanke's, Paulson's and Greenspans public pronouncements are not economic statements, they are political statements and once you understand that, things will be a little clearer.

Barnabas Fund Is Reaching Burma Cyclone Victims - Barnabas Fund
Barnabas Fund’s aid for Christian victims of the Burma cyclone is being channelled through Christian organisations and churches on the ground in Burma, to which we have access. It is NOT going through the Burmese government.

We have already sent a first grant and we would like to assure supporters that our partners are based in Burma and do not need to get visas to enter the country. They are already there.

Please do continue to give. There will be a great need for many months as we move from emergency relief to reconstruction and the rebuilding of the homes and lives of the Christian community.

The Clintons: Triangulating With China - Baltimore Chron.
Read this and you will know why no working person who wishes to go on working should even consider voting for a Clinton. Like I said On Wesndesday, you might as well turn the entire American nation over to the Chinese Politburo if you vote for Clinton.

Now Hillary has finally donned that white sheet she has been hiding in the closet and says she speaks for 'White Americas'. Not for all Americans, or Hispanic Americans and certainly not Black Americans but 'White Americans'. Is stirring up racial hate the only way she thinks she can win?

Quick! Get some water for Hillary.... her cross is burning!

How You Will Pay For Bernankes Bailouts - IHT
Though inflation may be an easier sell to America's voters, if not its creditors, make no mistake: It is toxic to investors, makes overall economic growth structurally lower, and ultimately is likely to boil over. "There are terrible costs associated with inflation, but all the costs are later," Malmgren said.

The Fed has cut rates to 2.0 percent from 5.25 percent since last September, though investors are now betting that rates stay on hold for several months and may next rise.

Tim Bond, global head of asset allocation at Barclays Capital in London, sees a possibility of higher inflation becoming entrenched in the United States and ultimately ending with a deep "policy recession" in several years' time.(end excerpt)

In related story OPEC's chief says the US economy is to blame for high oil prices;

"There is a direct correlation between the decrease in the value of the dollar and the increase in oil prices," Khelil said. "A week ago the dollar improved by a few percent and we saw that directly expressed in the oil price. The oil price went down. Now prospects of not only the U.S. economy, the possibility of recession, possibility for continuing devaluation of the dollar, will have an important impact on the oil price in the future."

He said this is pushing commodity speculators' actions, thus further boosting the price of oil.

"The dollar is the currency of commerce; it's the currency of reserves, currency of payments in lots of commodities, including the oil. The impact is that when the currency loses its value then the investors will go into the paper oil market and invest where they can get better returns than they would get investing in normal stock operations or investments, because they're not really attractive opportunities there." - UPI

You Know Your Country Is Broke When... - CNN
Further evidence that times are tough: It now costs more than a penny to make a penny. And the cost of a nickel is more than 7 1/2 cents.

Surging prices for copper, zinc and nickel have some in Congress trying to bring back the steel-made pennies of World War II, and maybe using steel for nickels, as well.

Copper and nickel prices have tripled since 2003 and the price of zinc has quadrupled, said Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., whose subcommittee oversees the U.S. Mint.

America: The Third World Country - Financial Armegeddon
In Financial Armageddon, I noted an Infrastructure Report Card by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) that called for $1.6 trillion to be spent over a five-year period to bring the nation's infrastructure to a good condition. My point was that this was another in a long list of multi-trillion dollar obligation that were undermining the economic and financial wellbeing of the United States. A commentary in the Financial Times by John Gapper expands upon what decaying roads, rail networks, bridges, dams and the like mean for our future in "On the Pot-Holed Highway to Hell."

Hizbollah Overruns West Beirut - The Age
Hezbollah gunmen seized control of west Beirut on Friday after a third day of battles with pro-government foes in the Lebanese capital pushed the nation dangerously close to all-out civil war.

The sectarian fighting had eased by early afternoon as the army and police moved across areas now in the hands of Shiite opposition forces who fired celebratory gunshots wildly into the air after routing Sunni militants loyal to the Western-backed government.

"There are no clashes anymore because no one is standing in the way of the opposition forces," a security official said on condition of anonymity.

But as the guns fell largely silent, it was unclear what the immediate future would hold for Lebanon, amid fears the protracted political feud could plunge the nation back to the dark days of the 1975-1990 civil war.

Armed Conflict Feared In Georgia - Reuters
The United States fears there could be bloodshed in the dispute between Russia and ex-Soviet Georgia, a State Department official said on Thursday, as he urged Moscow to stop intimidating its southern neighbor.

Acting Undersecretary of State Dan Fried said he does not believe the Russians want to go to war over Georgia's breakaway regions, and is sure that the Caucasus nation does not either.

"But what we fear is that with so much tension, so many armed people in close proximity, and a record of provocations, that there could be a spark setting off a wider problem, and suddenly you're dealing with deaths and shooting and an out-of-control incident," he told a hearing of Helsinki Commission on Capitol Hill. "We worry about that a great deal," Fried said.

FBI Raids OSC Offices - Fox
There's word that federal agents have raided the office of a U.S. special counsel as part of an obstruction of justice probe.

Law enforcement officials say the target of the probe is Scott Bloch, the nation's top protector of federal workers and whistle-blowers.

An FBI spokesman confirms that agents with the FBI and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management have executed "a number" of federal search warrants. Two other officials say the raids took place at Bloch's home in Virginia and office in downtown Washington. They say computers and documents were seized.

Bloch has been on the hot seat since taking office in 2004, in part for closing hundreds of whistle-blower cases allegedly without investigating them.

(end excerpt)

Watch this story. I say again watch this story, as there are some very, very powerful people in DC sweating this one BIG TIME. This goes to a very big network of corruption that is (no exaggerating) ruining America.

Much more can be found here. This investigations scope was so wide because there is much more they are looking for than is hitting the newswires or blogoshere. They not only raided Bloch's offices but his home as well. I have heard it said by some insiders that if you want to wind up dead, send your Whistleblower complaint to Bloch's office. Sadly, very few in the Blogoshpere know what is really up and can only touch around the edges of just how messed up this office is. Clearly the FBI is only giving canned answers as to the scope of the probe and the seized documents which have been sealed. The level of corruption the FBI is investigating is truly staggering. This is pandora's box and the powers who have run this network are for once, very seriously on the defensive. Hopefully, they will not shut this investigation down due to political pressure, as so many others.

Christians, pray to God to expose this network of pure evil into the full view of the American people. It will shock a great many to action. Believe me, there is much more to this story than you will find on the net.

Govexec has a pretty good story here.

Quarter Of A Million Dead? - QC Times
The linked story is a low ball figure. Those with access to pictures and on the ground info gained from assessments say clearly that the toll could easily top 200,000. The Burmese Military in the region also took a huge hit. It is essentially non-existent. Overturned aircraft mark and ruined roads describe the terrain. The US has aid, ships and all that is needed to aid the Burmese people, the obstacle is the Burmese Junta. These evil old fogey's don't care about their own people but are clinging to power like a heroin addict clings to his needle.

If Bush had any real 'gumption' he would move aid and materials into Burma without the permission of the Burmese government and if China responds negatively (as they will), he can brow beat them on their human rights record at home, in Sudan and other places they have influence. He can ask the Chinese if they think that any one but their politburo has the right to eat, drink and live between the heavens and the earth without the constant fear of death, imprisonment or enslavement.

The Death toll in Burma does not need to be so high but will grow as there is little potable water, food or medicine. Thus those that are alive now may not be in a few more days.

Bush: 'Bail Out The Banks, Screw The People!' - FIP
Deriding the bailing out of 'Specultors' he threatens a veto. Now what does he think the big banks were doing with all those fancy derivatives that are now causing them to run to the Fed to get BAILED OUT? Is Bush loopy, out of touch or just evil? I cannot judge, but I can say this... something is horribly wrong with a President who hates his own citizens so much and remains in love with the banksters whose only product is debt-usury/debt-slaver. The same guys that are now raiding the US Treasury for bailouts, while they let you sink. I hate to be so hard on our befuddled President, but people are losing everything and are being forced to live in tent cities because of this man's polices. Some of you may not have any sympathy for 'those people' who are now getting shafted. I can assure you that this crisis is no where near over and will claim a lot of folks who are sitting smug now and think they got it made. They too will soon be looking at hard times. The time to act is now (with your votes), not when you get a a pink slip at work and a forclosure notice in the mail. Where are you going to live when its your turn to get the shaft by Wall Street/Bush/Bernanke/Pelosi et al?

Persecution And Prayer Alert - VOM
In this issue:

--Somali Christian Killed by Muslim Militants

--Pastor Killed in Mindanao, Philippines

--Pastor Martyred in Jharkhand, India

--Christian Doctor Falsely Accused of Blasphemy in Pakistan

--House Church Pastors Detained in Inner Mongolia, China

--Jailed Chinese Bookstore Owner Facing New Charges

Burma: 60,000 Dead Or Missing - WP
The number of dead and missing in the Burma cyclone soared past 60,000 Tuesday amid signs the toll will rise even higher, as much of the disaster zone remained flooded by seawater, threatened by disease and out of reach of an international relief operation that is taking shape.

President Bush offered to send U.S. Navy units to help in the operation, and sharply criticized Burma's military-run government for delays in approving visas for emergency teams. Burmese dissident groups took issue with the timing of the administration's criticism, suggesting it could complicate the relief effort.

New Bailout Plan: Pay Interest On Bank Reserves - Bloomberg
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, seeking ways to stabilize money markets, will ask Congress for authority to pay interest on commercial-bank reserves this year, a person familiar with the discussions said.

The central bank isn't authorized by Congress to begin making such payments until 2011. Allowing interest on bank reserves may allow the Fed to pump more funds into the banking system without pushing its main policy rate lower, in effect separating action to boost liquidity from monetary policy.

``It would have the effect of putting a floor under the federal funds rate,'' said Walker Todd, a research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.(end excerpt)

Attempting to stabilize a monster of the Fed's own making. He seems to want to do anything to keep insolvent banks in business, a broken financial system rolling along and do as little as possible for ordinary people who are being thrown out of their homes. There is a lot the Fed could do if it really wanted to. It could make coming to the window of these new auction facilities dependent on the banks clear and verifiable efforts to re-negotiate loan terms of homeowners stuck in ARMS. 'Hey... you wanna bailout? Here is what you gotta do, otherwise we have an army of regulators standing by once your institution goes into receivership, your choice'. But Washington is ganging up on ordinary Americans while they cry crocodile tears on TV on how much they want to help. No one wants to help really, though they want to fool you into thinking they do.

Clinton's Election Strategy In NC: 'Back Of The Bus, Darkie' - Andrew Sullivan
Here's what now seems obvious: African-American voters killed the Clinton candidacy. It is a fitting end to the Clintons' campaign and an almost Shakespearean coda to their career. The Clintons were exposed in their long-running exploitation and reliance on minority votes. No group was more loyal to them than African-Americans; and in the end, like everyone else, African-Americans realized that the Clintons are frauds, disloyal to the core, cynical to their finger-tips, and finally, finally, returned the favor. A reader writes:

I found it striking that Clinton did not even pretend to be courting African Americans in North Carolina. Had the tables somehow been turned and had Obama's soul been implanted in her body, he would have made a show of at least organizing one major African American outreach event there or in Indiana. Obama went bowling in Altoona, after all. I kept expecting Hillary, ever since South Carolina, and certainly since Louisiana, to give her own major speech on race to a black audience in which she expressed sincere regret for Bill Clinton's Jesse Jackson and related comments by her surrogates. She could have done that while still stressing that her and Bill's mistakes were innocent in their intent, but that she is someone who looks not only at intentions but effects and regrets the rift.

Instead, she let Ferrarro rub salt in the wound. Don't get me wrong. Obama is such a talented candidate and such a symbol of hope to African Americans that he was going to get 80% of the black vote no matter what. But 92% and even higher than that in Gary! She got numbers in the past few states worse than Nixon and worse than Reagan.

Top UBS Banker Detained By US - FT
One of the most senior private bankers at UBS, the world’s leading wealth manager, has been detained by authorities in the US investigating whether the Swiss bank helped its American clients evade tax.

Martin Liechti, the Zurich-based head of North and South America for UBS’s international wealth management business, was held in connection with a US justice department investigation into investment advice that UBS gave its American private banking clients between 2000 and 2007.(end excerpt)

This is a world all unto itself. What many of these bankers do is to use the same methodologies drug dealers and organized crime elements use to launder money, only theri clients are the rich and the super rich. This has been going on for years with the full knowledge of Western authorities nothing much was done about it. What UBS did to gain such animosity of US authorities is unknown but its recent spate of massive losses may not be wholly unrelated. Wachovia also is under investigation for money laundering. I am just guessing but I do not think the political impetus behind these two case can be separated.

$200 Oil Coming - FT
Crude oil prices could surge to $200 a barrel in the next two years, according to the Goldman Sachs analyst who three years ago correctly predicted a price “super-spike” above $100 a barrel. The warning by Arjun Murti came as oil prices hit a fresh high above $122 a barrel, boosted by supply disruptions in Nigeria, lower output in Russia and continued robust demand in China ahead of the Olympics.

Mr Murti said the energy crisis could be coming to a head as a lack of adequate supply growth was becoming apparent.

He said: “The possibility of $150-$200 per barrel seems increasingly likely over the next six to 24 months.”

He added that the spare capacity of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cushion against unexpected supply shocks was very low.

Meanwhile in other oil News, Indonesia is considering leaving OPEC. Reason? Declining oil output:

Indonesia said on Tuesday it may quit Opec, citing a decline in crude oil output that has reduced its influence in the cartel.

Indonesia is Asia-Pacific's only member of Opec, but its crude oil output has fallen in recent years due to ageing wells, a lack of investment, and the absence of any major oil finds.

Its status as a net importer means it would benefit from lower oil prices, putting it at odds with other Opec members, who favour higher prices. - Arabian Business

Illegal Immigrants Detained Leaving US - LAT
U.S. border authorities no longer apprehend illegal immigrants only as they enter the country. Now they're catching them on the way out.

At random times near the Tijuana-San Diego border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have been setting up checkpoints, boarding buses destined for Mexico and pulling off people who don't have proper documentation.

The operation appears to be an expansion of a broader federal crackdown targeting illegal immigrants in jails, airports and workplaces across the country.

The checkpoints, which are not announced in advance, are set up on southbound Interstate 5 about 100 yards north of the border. Vehicles in all lanes must stop.

(end excerpt)The LA times, having to cater to a very large hispanic community in LA spins this as some great tragedy, a horrible way to mistreat people. I cannot disagree more. Detaining criminals who enter a country illegally is done in every nation in the world. It is a crime. Entering and leaving a country illegally is what a terrorist or subversive would do. If we do not know who they are or what they are doing here it behooves us to find out.

Hypothetical: A foreign agent for a foreign government gives a Mexican peasant $2000 to enter the US and carry drugs across the border and with it a strange package (that glows in the dark). He is told to pass the package and drugs onto someone he is told to meet. When he returns to Mexico, he is promised $2000 more dollars and more work in the future.

I can assure you that things like this have happened before and will happen again, though the packages may 'only' be plastics or bio-weapons. If you think that foreign nations are not using our open border as a weapon against us you are very much mistaken. This scourge of illegal immigration may very well be our undoing and beleive me, I am not exaggerating. When criminal gangs of non-citizens go about and terrorize Americans and run them out of their neigborhoods you have the makings of an open and insidious subversion that America had better get a handle on quickly. Because if the bleeding hearts get their way we will not find out what these criminals are doing until there is a mushroom cloud over LA, Chicago or Miami.

Families Refuse To Flee Chilean Volcano - Guardian
Around 20 families were today refusing to leave their homes despite an order for all residents near an erupting Chilean volcano to be evacuated.

Lava began spewing from the Chaitén volcano, in southern Chile, yesterday, prompting authorities to demand the immediate evacuation of all those remaining in a nearby town.

However, some families were refusing to leave their homes in the town of Chaitén despite of the order.

The eruption has not been reported to have directly caused any deaths or injuries, but a 92-year-old woman died of a heart attack as she was evacuated on Sunday.

A picture of this spectacular eruption can be found here.

Outsourcing Intelligence In Iraq - CorpWatch
When U.S. troops or embassy officials want to track and investigate Iraqis — such as interrogating prisoners accused of terrorism, doing background checks on potential employees, or even to chat with ordinary citizens on the street — the principal intermediary is a relatively obscure company named L-3, that is just over a decade old. Although it is not as well known as companies like Halliburton , it is now the ninth-largest military contractor in the United States. Based in Manhattan, it is headquartered on the upper floors of a skyscraper on Third Avenue, a few blocks from the United Nations. The bulk of this work is done by a recently acquired L-3 subsidiary: Titan Corporation of San Diego.

The company’s principal role is to recruit, vet, hire, place and pay these personnel. The U.S. military oversees and directs the day-to-day work, but L-3 and Titan play a key role in staffing and maintaining what was once considered an inherently governmental function: the acquisition and analysis of human intelligence during war. All told, L-3 and Titan are now being paid approximately one billion dollars a year for this work, with a cumulative total approaching $3 billion since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.(1)

L-3/Titan is now probably the second largest employer in Iraq (after Kellogg, Brown & Root, a former Halliburton subsidiary) with almost 7,000 translators and more than 300 intelligence specialists.(2) Unfortunately, a number of the personnel hired by L-3 and Titan have been barely competent and several have been indicted for criminal acts. (end excerpt)

Corpwatch always has some very interesting investigative reports that should not be missed.

Christian Leader In India Killed For 'Black Magicc' - Worthy News
Villagers in India's state of Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, May 3, recalled that exactly one month ago a local Christian leader was killed because his faith in Christ was wrongly understood, BosNewsLife monitored.

Thakur Sing Bhi was killed April 3 in Gatiya Dev village by his own brother, a father who believed Christianity was "black magic" and responsible for his teenage daughter's death, Indian Christians and relatives said.

Bhil, also known locally as Thakur Baba, apparently died of an arrow shot to the chest. The killing did not came as a surprise, villagers told media. The Christian leader, who is in his 50s, had faced opposition from relatives after converting to Christianity.

Relatives said his brother, identified as a middle-aged man. was especially angry about the conversion. He allegedly entered the house in a drunken rage at noon and shot an arrow into this chest from close range. Police have reportedly detained the man.(end excerpt)

A frightening thing, not for the pastor who has gone on to glory, but for the people who ascribe God's works to the devil. This is the same thing that happened to our Lord who faced the very same spiritual blindness and wickedness to which he gave the most chilling response found in the Bible.

And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. (Mat 12:25-32)

____

War Strains US Mental Health System - Reuters
F A report by advocacy group Veterans for America said the mental healthcare system at Fort Drum was not meeting the demands placed on it and had prepared inadequately for the return of more than 3,500 soldiers from Iraq late last year. "Even though we knew this group were coming back from their 4th deployment and there would be these problems, we still had massive waits of two months (for appointments)," Veterans for America spokeswoman Adrienne Willis said. The report, released in February, said there were not enough counselors, pschologists and psychiatrists, there was too much reliance on group therapy over individual care and there was a lack of continuity in care. The lack of a hospital on base was also a problem.(end excerpt)

Sad, very sad that our nation is not, repeat not taking care of its wounded vets in a manner they deserve. They are treated like garbage, to be thrown away after prolonged misuse.

Wireless Resellers Going Under - USAT
FA few years ago, organizations from Disney to 7-Eleven to the local pinochle club were jumping into the cellphone business, leveraging their brands to appeal to niches untapped by the big carriers.

Now, many are digesting a hard reality: Running a wirel