• Does Medvedev Moscow Mayor Firing Mean Shift?
• New ET Stories Surface
• Ambassador for UN Office of Space Affairs?
• Obama Tells Democrats To Get Off Their Butts.
• Only 38% Want An Obama 2^nd Term
• My Lai Massacre-like Incident in Afghanistan
• “Obama’s War” Dithering, Disarray and Dangers.
• A Post Industrial America
• Feds Want Increase in Internet “Wiretapping”

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is now as unpopular in America as BP. So bad, in fact, thet she is a drag on Democrats. Half say she should be replaced as speaker.

An online poll by Moscow News finds that half of Moscovites don’t care a hoot about  Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov having been fired after 19 years in power saying it means nothing to them personally. That’s not a scientific sample.

Under Putin the position became an appointment not an elected post so when Luzhkov complained to now President Medvedev about returning Russia to a Stalinist country and other unflattering accusations he was fired.

Luzhkov has ruled Russia’s biggest and wealthiest city since 1992 with an authority that would have been the envy of Chicago’s legendary Richard J. Daley. He built grand cathedrals, circled the city with two beltways, erected glass skyscrapers and made sure Moscow retirees received free transportation and pensions that averaged $350 a month, while other Russian citizens made do on $280.

His construction-magnate wife became a billionaire. And he always delivered votes to Putin.

Those things  appear to be peripheral to Medvedev emerging from Putin’s shadow to be a real president not a placeholder for Putin to retake that post giving up his PrimemInstership. Putin, the former KGB chief,  has been the real power in Russis - so Kremlin watchers are watching carefully to see what’s going on.

Luzhkov is about the last of the Gorbachev era - we shall see.

A new WSJ poll finds that Tea Partiers will make-up a third of all likely voters in the fast approaching November 2^nd elections. Despite months of accusation of racism a poll for PJTV finds one-in-three blacks supporting the movement and that younger blacks are tending away from Democrats into the “independent” column.

Several former Air Force officials spoke out about UFO sightings they experienced while on U.S. military bases.

The group of ex-military officers appeared at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on Monday.

They unveiled several alleged UFO sightings which they said shut down nuclear missiles. The former commanders also described pulsating objects, strange markings and a hovering craft that suddenly shot away.

“I believe, these gentlemen believe, that this planet is being visited by beings from another world. Who, for whatever reason, have taken an interest in the nuclear arms race which began at the end of World War II,” said Robert Hastings, a researcher.

Not everybody is buying these allegations, including the curator at the Air and Space Museum.

However, the veterans are sticking to their story.

At the U.N., President Obama called on other countries to help us track down and eliminate radicals and extremists. But they told Obama, “Hey, the tea party is your problem, buddy.”– Leno

Something called the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs dismissed as “nonsense” a newspaper report which said it had appointed a new ambassador as a point of contact for extra-terrestrials.

“The article in the UK Sunday Times is nonsense,” UNOOSA said in a statement, referring to a report this weekend which said the UN was to appoint Malaysian astrophysicist, Mazlan Othman, to be the first contact for any aliens.

UNOOSA’s task is to promote international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space and strengthen the use of space science and technology applications.

Othman heads UNOOSA, a little-known department of the UN based in Vienna with a staff of 27.

El Al security personnel foiled an attempt to carry an explosives device on board a flight from Toronto to Israel last week. It was not a terrorist effort but an unreported military device that was detected in a routine security screening.

Obama has stepped up pressure on Democrats to shame them off the “sidelines” to hold down Republican gains this November. Long gone is any illusion to avoid a November risaster in the House and hopes are fading for Democrats to keep control of the Senate.

Obama and Biden both harshly described their own supporters calling them apathetic, self-defeating pessimists and implored them to shake off the blues — fast. ”Stop Whining” was Biden’s admonition.

“It is inexcusable for any Democrat or progressive right now to stand on the sidelines…” He also said, ” people are sitting on their hands complaining is just irresponsible.” 

It is a desperate move that could backfire since polls show voters of every ilk are disenchanted with the job Obama is doing, and his rantings could actually drive voters away. Nationwide absentee, early voting or vote from home ballots will be mailed 30-days before the November 2 election. Bill Clinton has been deputized to add his finger or fist to the leaking Democrat dike.

Clintonista James “Queball” Carville said Senate Democrats face a “do-or-die” deadline and desperately need contributions to stave off a looming defeat in November. Carville who famously coined Bill Clinton’s 1992 winning slogan “it’s the economy stupid” has joined a highly paid army of Democrats who are attacking the Tea Party as extremists and calling “loyal” Progressives to the barricades to throw back a tidal wave of unhappy Americans surging forward.

RealClear Politics found just 45% approving of the job Obama is doing and 70% disapproving of Congress while 60% now say the country is heading in the wrong direction.

California voters are leaning toward approving a simple majority budget and marijuana legalization, but appear poised to vote against shelving the state’s landmark greenhouse gas emissions reduction law, according to the results of a Field Poll on statewide propositions released over the weekend.

 In what some are comparing to the 1968 My Lai Massacre in South Vietnam an army sergeant is accused of being a ringleader of a group of soldiers accused of murdering civilians in Afghanistan. Reportedly finger and other body part were cut off and kept as souvenirs.

 Murder charges have been filed against him and four other soldiers. If convicted, they could face the death penalty. All have denied the charges during a military hearing held early this week to determine if they will be court marshaled.

 The My Lai Massacre English pronunciation: /ˌmaɪˈleɪ, ˌmaɪˈlaɪ/  was the mass murder conducted by a unit of the U.S. Army on March 16, 1968 of 347-504 unarmed citizens in South Vietnam, all of whom were civilians and a majority of whom were women, children (including babies) and elderly people.  2^nd Lt. William Calley was convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison at the Federal penitentiary at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. After appeals his sentence was reduced and later in 1974, President Nixon tacitly issued Calley a limited Presidential Pardon. Consequently, his general court-martial conviction and dismissal from the U.S. Army were upheld, however, the prison sentence and subsequent parole obligations were commuted to time served, leaving Calley a free man. In August 2009 speaking at a Kiwanis Club of Greater Columbus, Georgia near where he lives he apologized for the My Lai killings..

In the winter of 2010, “My Lai Four”, the story of the My Lai Massacre will be released with American actor, Beau Ballinger portraying Lt. Calley.

Custos morum (KOOS-tohs MOH-room, -ruhm) noun: A guardian of morals; censor. Etymology :From Latin custos morum (guardian of morals, laws, etc.). USAGE:”A self-righteous soul can identify himself as custos morum.”William Safire; Delicious Delicto; The New York Times; Mar 30, 1986.

Only 38 percent of U.S. voters believe President Obama deserves to be re-elected, according to new poll results that figure to greatly complicates the president’s effort to erect a last-minute political firewall to save Democratic control of the House and the Senate.

The latest Politico/George Washington University Battleground Poll confirms that although most continue to admire the personal qualities of the nation’s first African-American president, they are sorely disappointed by his management of key such as health-care reform and the economy.

Obama’s overall approval has plummeted from the near 70 percent level he enjoyed shortly after his inauguration. It’s a variation of the most damning of political assessments, i.e., he/she is a nice person but an awful (insert office).

Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck (1 April 1815 - 30 July 1898) suggested the 65-year retirement age because few lived that long. FDR set Social Security at 65 for the same reason- life expectancy in the mid-1930s was 61 years combined for men and woman. Life expectancy now hovers around 80-years.

Monday’s  Washington Post article on Bob Woodward’s book “Obama’s War” starts with the words, “President Obama was on edge.”

“For two exhausting months”, it says “he had been asking military advisers to give him a range of options for the war in Afghanistan. Instead, he felt that they were steering him toward one outcome and thwarting his search for an exit plan. He would later tell his White House aides that military leaders were “really cooking this thing in the direction they wanted.”

I have not yet finished reading Woodward’s book, “Obama’s War” but I can already see dangerous disarray, confusion and lack of statesmanship.  It’s like asking a plumber to do your electrical work and then being surprised when your house burns down.

We see Obama huffing and puffing at a 2009 Veteran’s Day meeting that DOD Secretary Gates, Admiral Mullin and Gen. David H. Petraeus had not presented him political and diplomatic options but only military advice about Afghanistan.

 If correct the book and various articles are correct the consequence of a naïve inexperienced man in the Oval Office who believes decisions must always be coloured  politically and ideologically squeaking about an “exit strategy” before considering the objective in the war he declared as his own. Therein is the failure. Declaring defeat is not an exit strategy but destructive..

The Post says, “the ghosts of Vietnam hovered. Some participants openly worried that they were on the verge of replaying that history, allowing the military to dictate the force levels.  While Obama sought to build an exit plan.”  The ghostly image was advanced by VP Biden who is so often John Kerryesk

It cannot be forgotten that it was President LBJ’s and Frank McNamara’s mismanagement and intrusion with the military that snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in Southeast Asia. After the crushing defeat of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) in the 1968 Tet Offensive America’s enemy had decided to surrender. Yes, Walter Cronkite’s reporting belittled what had just happened but had the White House listened and not been electioneering that war would have ended then saving a million lives.

So, I do agree that those ghost hover like a murder of crows circling a dying animal.

To prove my contention the Post issued this damning insight:: Obama told Gates, the best I can do is 30,000 (troops). “This is what I’m willing to take on, politically,” the president said. His “best” was a political assessment which Gates, perhaps with one foot if not out the door at least on the threshold, acquiesced to.

Obama appears to fight against the responsibility of Commander and Chief in favor of circumscribing fault to fix blame in ways so he can escape personal responsibility.

In any case I’ll read, research and ponder the book these coming days and revise my thoughts and try to offer a relevant conclusion..

Household incomes plunged for the second year in a row in 2009, as fewer families earned over $100,000 a year while the ranks of the poor rose, according to census statistics released Tuesday

The United States is rapidly becoming the very first “post-industrial” nation on the globe. America was the arsenal of democracy in World War II today is is rapidly moving to third rate status. Consider these facts:

• 1. The United States has lost approximately 42,400 factories since 2001. About 75 percent of those factoriesemployed over 500 people when they were stillin operation.
• 2. Dell Inc., one of America’s largest manufacturers of computers,has announced plansto dramatically expand its operations in China with an investment of over $100 billion over the next decade.
• 3. Dell has announced that itwill be closing its last large U.S. manufacturing facility in Winston-Salem, North Carolinain November. Approximately 900 jobs will be lost.
• 4. In 2008, 1.2 billion cellphones were sold worldwide. So how many of them were manufactured inside the United States? None..
• 5. According to a new study conducted by the Economic Policy Institute, if theU.S. trade deficit with China continues toincrease at its current rate, the U.S. economy willlose over half a million jobs this year alone.
• 6. As of the end of July, the U.S. trade deficit with China had risen 18 percent compared to the same time period a year ago.
• 7. The United States has lost a total of about 5.5 million manufacturing jobs since October 2000.
• 8. According to Tax Notes, between1999and 2008 employment at the foreign affiliates of U.S. parent companiesincreased an astounding30 percent to 10.1 million. During that exact same time period, U.S. employment at American multinational corporationsdeclined 8 percent to 21.1 million.
• 9. In 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of U.S. economic output. In 2008, it represented 11.5 percent.
• 10. Ford Motor Companyrecently announced the closure of a factory that produces the Ford Rangerin St. Paul, Minnesota. Approximately 750 good paying middle class jobs are going to be lost because making Ford Rangers in Minnesota does not fit in with Ford’s new “global” manufacturing strategy.
• 11. As of the end of 2009, less than 12 million Americans worked in manufacturing. The last time less than 12 million Americans were employed in manufacturing was in 1941.
• 12. In the United States today, consumption accounts for 70 percent of GDP. Of this 70 percent, over half is spent on services.
• 13. The United States has lost a whopping 32 percent ofits manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.
• 14. In 2001, the United Statesranked fourth in the world in per capita broadband Internet use. Today it ranks 15th.
• 15. Manufacturing employment in the U.S. computer industry is actually lower in 2010than it was in 1975.
• 16. Printed circuit boards are used in tens of thousands of different products. Asia now produces 84 percent of them worldwide.
• 17. The United Statesspends approximately$3.90 on Chinese goods for every $1 thatthe Chinese spendon goodsfrom the United States.
• 18. One prominent economist is projecting that the Chinese economy will be three times larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2040.
• 19. The U.S. Census Bureau says that 43.6 million Americans are now living in poverty and according to them that is the highest number of poor Americans in the 51 years that records have been kept.

How many more trillions of dollars and millions of jobs are going to leave the country before we realize that we are losing wealth at a pace that is killing our economy?

The deindustrialization of America is a national crisis.  It needs to be treated like one.

America is in crisis yet the White House and Congress insist on sloganizing and social engineering that is accelerating its decline and destruction.

Alarmingly this feels like the collapse of Germany after World War 1, and we know those consequences.

President Obama’s approval rating dropped again. Things are so bad, Muslims are accusing him of being Christian. — Leno

Federal law enforcement and national security officials are preparing to seek sweeping new regulations to tsp the Internet, arguing that their ability to wiretap criminal and terrorism suspects is “going dark” as people increasingly communicate online instead of by telephone. But, of course civil libertarians are arguing this could be an intrusion into everyones personal freedom.

Essentially, officials want Congress to require all services that enable communications - including encrypted e-mail transmitters like BlackBerry, social networking Web sites like Facebook and software that allows direct “peer to peer” messaging like Skype - to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The mandate would include being able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages.

The bill, which the Obama administration plans to submit to lawmakers next year, raises fresh questions about how to balance security needs with protecting privacy and fostering innovation. And because security services around the world face the same problem, it could set an example that is copied globally.

Fatwa (FAHT-wah) noun: 1. A ruling on a point of law given by an Islamic religious leader. 2. A severe denunciation. Etymology from Arabic fatwa (legal opinion, decree), from afta (to decide a legal point). Ultimately from the Semitic root ptw (to advise) that also brought us the word mufti.  NOTES:Although the word has been recorded in the English language since 1625, the incident that brought it into worldwide consciousness took place in 1989. The most infamous of all fatwas took place on February 14 that year when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran pronounced a death sentence on the novelist Salman Rushdie for his book The Satanic Verses.