Video of Saddam Hussein being executed

I include this on my blog site because of the fact our media have shirked their responsibility in this respect. They have not been timid in telecasting grizzly scenes of American dead, yet when it comes to a man responsible for the deaths numbering in the hundreds of thousands .. if not millions .. their knees turn to jelly.

xchagalx SANDY BERGER MAKES FIRST STRING IN THE BUSH LEAGUE

How little importance Sandy Berger concedes to history is appalling. Theft of documents from the National Archives to either protect his reputation or the official he served is as sub-plebeian as one can get. And to think he served as National Security Advisor to President Clinton. The question I must ask is was he or wasn't he doing this at someone else's bidding? If any of us in the general population had done what he did .. and so deceitfully so, I can assure you we would be doing more than 100 hours of community service. Shame on you Sandy .. and then some.

xchagalx Where are our troops? or Where aren't they


There's no doubt the Army and the Marine Corps need more personnel. The problem is the time it will take to recruit and train those same recruits for combat service in Iraq. For whatever reason, be it international politics or fear of stepping on the wrong toes, our Army has literally thousands of available troops trained and in many cases combat equipped. Where are they? Maybe we should ask .. where aren't they? Seems they are marking time in protecting 'allies' who don't want to spend what's needed for their own defense. Specifically, they are in 135 of 192 nations in the world. We have 112,000 troops committed to NATO nations. More than 79,000 of our military personnel are in Germany. Pardon me, but I don't see the Russians as a comparable threat to the immediacy of global terrorism. We have in the neighborhood of 47,000 troops in Japan and another 32,000 in Korea. Most of these committments began in the 1940s and early 1950s. You might say these deployments are habitual. Is our Cold War stance still sensible? Come on General Shoomaker! As Chief of Staff of the Army, make a case for the use of fresh troops and give those two and three-tour troops a rest.

xchagalx
Cutting And Running On America's Allies
Skip directly to the full story.
By MAX BOOT Los Angeles Times
Published: Dec 3, 2006


If you think this headline is exaggerated, .. forgive the headline writer. Still .. read Boot's historical examination of what our country has done in instances involving our stated commitments. It reveals why our reputation has been tarnished .. not so much at home .. as it has abroad.



Many American have been wondering why so many Iraqis are willing to fight for militias and terrorist groups but not for the American-backed government.
Look at it from their perspective. Would you stake your life on a regime whose existence depends on Washington's continuing support? Given our long, shameful record of leaving allies in the lurch, that has never seemed to be a smart bet.
We have been betraying friends since our first overseas conflict, against the Barbary pirates who captured ships off the African coast and enslaved their crews. To defeat the pasha of Tripoli, the United States made common cause with his brother, Hamet Karamanli.
In 1804, American envoy William Eaton led a motley force of mercenaries and Marines across North Africa to install Karamanli on the throne. The offensive was called off prematurely when President Jefferson's envoy reached a deal with the pasha to free his American captives in return for $60,000.
Karamanli was evacuated to the United States, but his family members were left as hostages. Eaton raged: "Our too credulous ally is sacrificed to a policy, at the recollection of which, honor recoils, and humanity bleeds."
Something similar could have been said about U.S. conduct after World War I. President Wilson was the leading champion of "national self-determination" at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, yet the United States did nothing to safeguard the states he helped midwife.
America stood by, for instance, when Czechoslovakia and Poland were occupied by the Nazis. This callous indifference was repeated after World War II when we did too little to save the Eastern Europeans from Russian occupation.
Postwar U.S. administrations compounded this duplicity when they urged the "captive" peoples behind the Iron Curtain to seek their freedom and yet did nothing to help the East Germans in their 1953 uprising, the Hungarians in 1956 or the Czechs in 1968.
If we weren't willing even to put more diplomatic and economic pressure on the Soviet Union to mitigate the worst of their crackdowns, we shouldn't have instigated the uprisings in the first place.
Cuban anti-communists fared just as poorly at American hands. On April 17, 1961, 1,500 exiles organized by the CIA landed at the Bay of Pigs. The Cuban army counterattacked, and the rebels were killed or captured. The outcome might have been different if the United States had been willing to provide air cover, but President Kennedy refused to do so because he wanted to hide U.S. complicity.
In the following years, the United States waged a massive war to stop a communist takeover of South Vietnam. By 1973 we had tired of the conflict, and the South Vietnamese were left to fend for themselves. Many were killed, wound up in brutal re-education camps or took to the seas in leaky boats.
The United States was equally inconstant in its support of rebels battling the Sandinista government in Nicaragua in the 1980s.
And then there was the shah of Iran, installed by the CIA and Britain's MI6 in 1953 and then abandoned by the United States in 1979.
Trail Of Treachery
But that was nothing compared with the betrayal of Iraqi Kurds and Shiites in 1991. President George H.W. Bush urged Iraqis to "take matters into their own hands" yet stood by as Saddam's henchmen brutally put down the uprisings.
This long trail of American treachery has grave consequences for our foreign policy. It emboldens our enemies, dispirits our friends and makes it harder to achieve our objectives.
Knowing our history, few Iraqi leaders are counting on American support in the future. They're making their deals with the devil, whether neighboring states or sectarian militias. And if we do scuttle out of Iraq prematurely, Afghans and others whose support we seek will get the message again: Don't trust Uncle Sam.
The least we can do is to assure those Iraqis who have worked closely with American forces - whether as janitors, translators, soldiers or bureaucrats - that if we do leave, they and their families will receive asylum in the United States. We should not sacrifice another "too credulous ally" on the altar of dishonorable and inhumane policy.
Max Boot is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

This should be required reading for all those elected to the Congress before they receive their next salary check!

Florida Consumer Viewpoint
Keep up to date with Florida Consumer Action Network (FCAN) the state's largest consumer group. FCAN fights for consumers on environmental, insurance, utility, and health care issues.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Insurers Make $60 BILLION Profit
An article in the Wall Street Journal's Market Watch, aptly titled, "Sweet are the uses of adversity," says that "Industry experts are forecasting a $60 billion industry profit in 2006." The article quotes the Insurance Information Instutite as saying that this profit, which doesn't even include investment income, is "the best in a generation (or two)." All this at the expense of consumers.For comparison, an Insurance Information Institute analysis indicates that the cumulative underwriting loss on Florida homeowners insurance from 1990 through 2005 was $13 billion.While you really should read the entire article, I will quote further for those who wish to read only briefly.
"Following every major disaster or scandal, a simple formula protects insurance industry profits: raise rates, reduce coverage and deny claims."
"The American insurance Association justifies increases on account of "horrific" forecasts for upcoming storm seasons -- based on dubious new risk modeling formulae that J. Robert Hunter of the Consumer Federation of America has called 'collusive.'""Over the past ten years, the insurance industry has sought relentlessly to reduce the scope of homeowners' coverage.""As reported by the AP, Cori and Kerri Rigsby, two sisters who had long performed claims work for State Farm on a contract basis, have provided homeowners' attorneys and regulators with 15,000 pages of evidence suggesting that while processing Katrina claims, State Farm had its claims managers memorize language to avoid acknowledging wind damage when water contributed to the loss. Further, these brave whistleblowers allege that when State Farm disliked the results of an engineer's report, the company regularly substituted a second "cookie-cutter" report concluding that the bulk of damage was caused by rising water (as opposed to wind) and therefore excluded. The Rigsby sisters state simply:, "We believe State Farm has committed fraud, and we have turned it over to be investigated."The insurance industry must be regulated to prevent these abuses. The industry is pressing for deregulation, but it is clear it has not earned the right for more responsibility.What is most appalling here in Florida, is that the hurricane "risk models" are grossly wrong and have resulted in vast overcharging of consumers. Where is the Office of Insurance Regulation? Why don't we have a stronger insurance consumer advocate? Why has the legislature not investigated these ripoffs?
posted by Bill Newton @ 9:36 AM 1 comments links to this post

1 Comments:
At 3:16 PM, xchagalx said... $60 Billion profit for Insurers .. sky high costs and rock bottom/diminishing coverage for insurees

Thanks for this information. This insurance gouging is another example of a regulated industry with a powerful lobby force being facilitated by our elected officials in Tallahassee. Result .. out of sight rates and planned increases about which the Florida government feigns action but seldom delivers. The hurricanes and storms are bad enough for realtors, home builders and other segments of the housing arena. Now the 24/7 media have focused on these outrageous costs to the homeowner. The advantage of no personal income tax, in most cases, is nullified by soaring insurance policies. All this contributes to scaring potential residents from coming south of North Carolina. When one considers the mud slides, fires and potential earthquakes in California, flooding throughout the U.S., tornados in the midwest .. why do we stick out like a sore thumb?
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
<$BlogBacklinkTitle$>
<$BlogBacklinkSnippet$> posted by <$BlogBacklinkAuthor$> @ <$BlogBacklinkDateTime$>
if (typeof BL_addOnLoadEvent == 'function') { BL_addOnLoadEvent(function() { BL_writeBacklinks(); }); }
function BlogThis() {
Q=''; x=document; y=window;
if(x.selection) {
Q=x.selection.createRange().text;
} else if (y.getSelection) {
Q=y.getSelection();
} else if (x.getSelection) {
Q=x.getSelection();
}
popw = y.open('http://beta.blogger.com/blog-this.g?t=' +
escape(Q) + '&u=' + escape(location.href) + '&n=' +
escape(document.title),'bloggerForm',
'scrollbars=no,width=475,height=300,top=175,left=75,status=yes,resizable=yes');
void(0);
}
Create a Link
<<>
About Me Name: Bill Newton Location: Tampa, Florida, US View my complete profile -->


Site Feed
Florida Politics Blog
Grapefruit Blog
Homeowners Against Citizens
Fair Insurance Rates in Monroe
Florida Politics
Previous Posts
Those Funky Computer Models
Citizens Rate Increases
Nationwide not on your side
Charlie breaks promise day after election
Davis and Crist on Prescription Drugs
Tax Cuts?
Jennings Slams Crist Plan
More Crist Blather
Insurers Make $60 BILLION Profit
Jim Davis' Insurance Plan
This is a paragraph of text that could go in the sidebar.
-->
© Copyright 2006 Florida Consumer Action Network Inc. All rights reserved.
_uacct = "UA-310563-2";
urchinTracker();
postamble();

xchagalx
Florida Insurance rates .. sky high costs .. rock bottom and diminishing coverage


Florida Consumer Viewpoint
Keep up to date with Florida Consumer Action Network (FCAN) the state's largest consumer group. FCAN fights for consumers on environmental, insurance, utility, and health care issues.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Insurers Make $60 BILLION Profit
An article in the Wall Street Journal's Market Watch, aptly titled, "Sweet are the uses of adversity," says that "Industry experts are forecasting a $60 billion industry profit in 2006." The article quotes the Insurance Information Instutite as saying that this profit, which doesn't even include investment income, is "the best in a generation (or two)." All this at the expense of consumers.For comparison, an Insurance Information Institute analysis indicates that the cumulative underwriting loss on Florida homeowners insurance from 1990 through 2005 was $13 billion.While you really should read the entire article, I will quote further for those who wish to read only briefly.
"Following every major disaster or scandal, a simple formula protects insurance industry profits: raise rates, reduce coverage and deny claims."
"The American insurance Association justifies increases on account of "horrific" forecasts for upcoming storm seasons -- based on dubious new risk modeling formulae that J. Robert Hunter of the Consumer Federation of America has called 'collusive.'""Over the past ten years, the insurance industry has sought relentlessly to reduce the scope of homeowners' coverage.""As reported by the AP, Cori and Kerri Rigsby, two sisters who had long performed claims work for State Farm on a contract basis, have provided homeowners' attorneys and regulators with 15,000 pages of evidence suggesting that while processing Katrina claims, State Farm had its claims managers memorize language to avoid acknowledging wind damage when water contributed to the loss. Further, these brave whistleblowers allege that when State Farm disliked the results of an engineer's report, the company regularly substituted a second "cookie-cutter" report concluding that the bulk of damage was caused by rising water (as opposed to wind) and therefore excluded. The Rigsby sisters state simply:, "We believe State Farm has committed fraud, and we have turned it over to be investigated."The insurance industry must be regulated to prevent these abuses. The industry is pressing for deregulation, but it is clear it has not earned the right for more responsibility.What is most appalling here in Florida, is that the hurricane "risk models" are grossly wrong and have resulted in vast overcharging of consumers. Where is the Office of Insurance Regulation? Why don't we have a stronger insurance consumer advocate? Why has the legislature not investigated these ripoffs?
posted by Bill Newton @ 9:36 AM 1 comments links to this post

1 Comments:
At 3:16 PM, xchagalx said...
Thanks for this information. This insurance gouging is another example of a regulated industry with a powerful lobby force being facilitated by our elected officials in Tallahassee. Result .. out of sight rates and planned increases about which the Florida government feigns action but seldom delivers. The hurricanes and storms are bad enough for realtors, home builders and other segments of the housing arena. Now the 24/7 media have focused on these outrageous costs to the homeowner. The advantage of no personal income tax, in most cases, is nullified by soaring insurance policies. All this contributes to scaring potential residents from coming south of North Carolina. When one considers the mud slides, fires and potential earthquakes in California, flooding throughout the U.S., tornados in the midwest .. why do we stick out like a sore thumb?
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
<$BlogBacklinkTitle$>
<$BlogBacklinkSnippet$> posted by <$BlogBacklinkAuthor$> @ <$BlogBacklinkDateTime$>
if (typeof BL_addOnLoadEvent == 'function') { BL_addOnLoadEvent(function() { BL_writeBacklinks(); }); }
function BlogThis() {
Q=''; x=document; y=window;
if(x.selection) {
Q=x.selection.createRange().text;
} else if (y.getSelection) {
Q=y.getSelection();
} else if (x.getSelection) {
Q=x.getSelection();
}
popw = y.open('http://beta.blogger.com/blog-this.g?t=' +
escape(Q) + '&u=' + escape(location.href) + '&n=' +
escape(document.title),'bloggerForm',
'scrollbars=no,width=475,height=300,top=175,left=75,status=yes,resizable=yes');
void(0);
}
Create a Link
<<>
About Me Name: Bill Newton Location: Tampa, Florida, US View my complete profile -->


Site Feed
Florida Politics Blog
Grapefruit Blog
Homeowners Against Citizens
Fair Insurance Rates in Monroe
Florida Politics
Previous Posts
Those Funky Computer Models
Citizens Rate Increases
Nationwide not on your side
Charlie breaks promise day after election
Davis and Crist on Prescription Drugs
Tax Cuts?
Jennings Slams Crist Plan
More Crist Blather
Insurers Make $60 BILLION Profit
Jim Davis' Insurance Plan
This is a paragraph of text that could go in the sidebar.
-->
© Copyright 2006 Florida Consumer Action Network Inc. All rights reserved.
_uacct = "UA-310563-2";
urchinTracker();
postamble();

xchagalx

5,000 YEARS OF WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST

This HYPERLINK below depicts in 90 seconds what the long haul required in wars amid the turbulence of the middle East .. like determination, stamina, beastiality, hatred, no conscience, specific goals as in "unconditional surrender".. and a predisposition for and the belief in self-sacrifice. All this exacerbated by inexplicable fanaticism.

http://www.mapsofwar.com/images/EMPIRE17.swf

If we don't face the threat and history's lessons ....

xchagalx
Oil Industry Denies Tightening Supply To Boost Prices
Skip directly to the full story at http://www.tbo.com/news/nationworld/MGBLQDLXYUE.html
By JEFF DONN The Associated Press
Published: Nov 26, 2006 in the Tampa Bay Triibune




BAKERSFIELD, CALIF. - You would think it was Texas. Dusty roads crisscross the scrubland toward oil tanks and warehouses. Beefy men talk oil over burritos at lunch. Like grazing herds, oil wells dip nonstop amid the tumbleweed - or even into the asphalt of a parking lot.
That's why the rumor sounded so wrong here in California's lower San Joaquin Valley, where petroleum has gushed up more riches than the entire gold rush. Why would Shell Oil Co. simply close its Bakersfield refinery? Why scrap a profit maker?
The rumor seemed to make no sense. Yet it was true.
The company says it could make more money on other projects. It denies it intended to squeeze the market, as its critics would claim, to drive up gasoline profits at its other refineries in the region.
Whatever the truth in Bakersfield, an Associated Press analysis suggests big oil companies have been crimping supplies in subtler ways across the country for years. Tighter supplies tend to drive up prices.

Let's face it. Oil is worth fighting for until such time as a significant alternative takes over. Oil is a vital artery in the economic viability of this nation. Given that many of us are of the opinion that skyrocketing gasoline prices were a scam arranged without interference by our federal government. It's free enterprise that's the password. Yet when you must have a means to get to work, the hospital, shopping .. there's not much in the way of doing without petrol. You pay the price .. and pay .. and pay some more. Jawboning by our President wasn't even considered throughout this $$$$ surge upward. The true kick in the face was dropping the price of gas late in the election campaign .. then going back up after the political outs won elevation to the ins status. But all this is insignificant to fact .. not fiction. The Mid-East is busting open with turmoil. Yet the billions we are paying to the oil rich nations is helping to fuel that turmoil and feed the Islamic hatred for us and our nation. I may only speak for myself, but I think our huge oil conglomerates don't really give even passing notice to this predicament and its impact on our future.