RWC Unedited 7-17-2011

• Obama’s Class Warfare Wearing Thin Among Young Hispanics
• $10,000 A Foot Obama Sidewalks.
• Social Security Checks Be Damned Obama To Throw Lavish Party
• Israel Wants Alternative to U.S. F-35
• Chinese South Seas Aggression Prelude to War
• $130,000 for Racist. Anti-American “Diversity Manuals”
• New Light Bulbs Leaves Us all In The Dark
• Obama Acting Like Petulant Adolescent
• Proof Obama Hates Fox and Interferes In News
• MI5 Docs Prove Hitler Nincompoop Nut- Planned 4^th Reich
• Captain America Title Dropped For America Hater Cash
• California To Teach Homosexuality In Schools
• Obama Lied About Own Mother
• Debt Crisis Dumbbells
• Iran Scoffs at Panetta Warning
• Peace Will Cost Russia Big
• LA’s “Carmagedon” Overhyped Zero

 Although Hispanics still overwhelmingly favor the Democrat Party a recent survey shows a wide conservative streak among young Hispanics including:

• By nearly a 3:1 ratio, Hispanic young adults prefer “reducing federal spending” (69%) to “raising taxes on individuals” (27%) in order to balance the federal budget.
• 70% of Hispanic young adults would decrease federal spending if given the chance to set America’s fiscal priorities.
• A 57%-majority of Hispanics agree that “if taxes on business profits were reduced, companies would be more likely to hire.”
• In a separate question, a 56%-majority concurred “the economy grows best when individuals are allowed to create businesses without government interference.”

It is an indication that Obama’s incessant demagoguery about taxing the “rich” and slams at corporate jets has worn thin at least among this group.

The George Soros funded Media Matters is having a field day ripping rival Rubert Murdock’s media empire that includes Fox News. Wall Street Journal and others. Murdock employees reportedly hacked into phone records of 9-11 families, and if proved that will shake his news empire to the core.

In a dilapidated neighborhood of Detroit, Mich., federal dollars have been hard at work, sometimes forging a trail through overgrown weeds over 6 feet high, in order to construct sidewalks in front of empty, abandoned lots. The cost $10,000 a foot.

Detroit resident Brenda Price was driving through the neighborhood near the intersection of John R Street and 7 Mile Road on her way home from work one day, when she noticed construction crews and wondered why the city would be replacing sidewalks in front of long-term abandoned properties.

“I just thought that that was a waste of taxpayer money,” Price told WXYZ-TV in Detroit, “or it could be more strategically spent.”

The gap between what Washington takes in to pay its IOUs and what it actually owes on those IOUs is taking on Grand-Canyonesque proportions, with unfunded liabilities hovering around $62 trillion, according to a USA Today analysis that breaks down to a staggering $534,000 per U.S. household, USA Today’s analysis finds. By the end of September, another $5,240 that has accumulated will push the household share to nearly $540,000.

As nervous American’s wonder and wait for Social Security checks that may never come on Aug. 3, Obama will be celebrating at a birthday party fund raiser with tickets costing up to $35,800 each.

Obama has chosen the first day of the potential default to throw his 50th birthday bash, combining it with raising money for next year’s reelection. His actual birthday is Aug. 4.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Obama said on Tuesday that he cannot guarantee that social security checks will go out from August 3 unless a deal can be reached on raising the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt limit. “There may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it,” he told CBS’ Scott Pelley.

 108 of the 157 billion in unaccounted for cash given to Greece by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is being paid by the U. S. treasury with borrowed money to bail out the Greeks while Americans are bleeding. Brainiac-like “Tiny Tim” Geithner, U. S. Treasury Secretary must be held accountable.

 The Institute for National Security Studies asserted that the Israel Air Force cannot rely on the U.S.-origin Joint Strike Fighter alone. In a report, INSS said Israel requires an alternative to the fifth-generation F-35 to ensure air superiority in any regional war.

“Currently, the Air Force can attain sufficient aerial superiority and means for dealing with advanced surface-to-air missiles other than the F-35,” the report, titled “Israel and the F-35,” said. “[These means] are being developed.”

Authored by analyst Gur Laish, the report questioned whether Israel required JSF, a $1 trillion program hampered by technical delays. Laish, deemed an expert on the Israel Air Force, said the military could employ advanced versions of fourth-generation aircraft to counter increasingly lethal enemy SAM systems built by Russia, refined by China and sold to Israel’s enemies

“In this context, one may look at the alternatives to the F-35 as improved versions of fourth-generation planes,” the report said. “To the extent that these will allow fourth-generation aircraft to operate effectively in areas defended with advanced surface-to-air missiles, they represent relevant alternatives.”

The report said Israel would need aircraft with sufficient munitions to attack a range of targets. In contrast, JSF carries stand-off missiles that require persistent surveillance and intelligence to validate fixed enemy targets.

At this point, Laish said, neither four-generation manned aircraft nor unmanned aerial vehicles could replace the capabilities of JSF. The report said the use of advanced surface-to-surface missiles would also fail to strike the targets of those assigned to a manned fighter-jet.

“The main features of the F-35 would allow it to operate before aerial superiority is achieved and be the primary tool for attaining it,” the report said.

But INSS said the Air Force should follow up on the JSF purchase by examining advanced UAVs and surface-to-surface missiles. The report stressed that the UAVs and missiles would serve to complement rather than replace JSF.

The Obama administration has approved an Egyptian request to co-produce the M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank  arguably the most advanced anywhere. Under the request, Egypt would help manufacture 125 Abrams platforms in a project reported at nearly $1.33 billion.  The move is a dagger pointed at Israel’s heart.

“The additional M1A1 tanks will provide Egypt with a modern tank fleet, enhancing its capability to meet current and future threats,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said.

China’s aggressive assertion of maritime controls over the South China Sea is increasing the risk of a future war in Asia, according to an Australian think tank. Should that occur the U. S. Navy will be on the bullseye.

 The Sydney-based Lowy Institute for International Policy said Chinese military activities in both South and East China Seas, combined with China’s growing demands for resources and greater assertiveness, is the basis for the assessment.

“The sea lanes of Indo-Pacific Asia are becoming more crowded, contested and vulnerable to armed strife,” the study said. “Naval and air forces are being strengthened amid shifting balances of economic strategic weight.” The report was written by Rory Medcalf and Raoul Heinrichs.

“China’s frictions with the United States, Japan and India are likely to persist and intensify,” it said. “As the number and tempo of incidents increases, so does the likelihood that an episode will escalate to armed confrontation, diplomatic crisis or possibly even conflict.”

The report said increased maritime patrols and surveillance, growing nationalism and resources disputes are making the management of disputes over maritime sovereignty more difficult.

“All of these factors are making Asia a danger zone for incidents at sea: close-range encounters involving vessels and aircraft from competing powers, typically in sensitive or contested zones,” the report said.

Ants make up 1/10 of the total world’s animal tissue. The total biomass of all the ants on Earth is about equal to the total biomass of all the people. Ants began “farming” 5- million years before humans started argriculture and they did it with John Deere.

Schools in Omaha, Nebraska, have used $130,000 in federal stimulus money to purchase 8,000 “social justice” diversity manuals that include inherently racist assertions and tout the federal government as the only thing capable of ensuring equity. The manuals will be required staff reading for employees at Omaha schools including custodians.

Entitled The Cultural Proficiency Journal: Moving Beyond Ethical Barriers Toward Profound School Change, the manual is dubbed as a “manifesto on cultural awareness.”

According to the manual, the federal government and other institutions “channel wealth and power to white people,” and therefore calls upon educators to “take action on social justice.”

The Omaha World-Herald reports on some of the shocking contentions found in the manual. “Only those educators who acknowledge the existence of white privilege in America, that ‘white’ is a culture in America and that race ‘is a definer for social and economic status’ can reach proficiency,” the Herald notes. The manual then goes on to ask those educators what they will do “to align yourself with the values expressed.”

The manual also insists that readers must reject the idea of being “color blind.” According to the Omaha World-Herald:

• The book says teachers must overcome irrational fear of homosexuality and reject the “color-blind” approach to teaching in which teachers treat all children the same(?). Instead, the group identity of students of color should be recognized and esteemed, the authors say.
• The authors ask readers to reflect on several hypothetical cases, including that of a gay “teacher of the year” afraid to post family photos of his male partner for his school’s Family Day, an African-American parent upset by a sixth-grade Early-American Day because African-Americans were enslaved in those days, and a principal whose attempt to reach out to Muslim students backfires when he announces over the intercom that students should welcome Muslims though they “might believe in violence.”

The manual was approved by the Omaha school board in April and is being distributed to all employees of the school, including janitors.

Naturally, the purchase has garnered some criticism, both over the content of the manuals and the misuse of taxpayer dollars.

Paul Peterson of the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University, remarking on the notion of “cultural proficiency” that is being advocated by the manual, said, “I would like to know whether the teachers are proficient in the subject they’re going to be teaching. It would be nice, if they’re going to be teaching science, to be proficient in science, or math, to be proficient in math.”

School board president Sandra Jensen admits that the district does not agree with all of the assertions made in the manual, but says it is intended to encourage open discussion. “The purpose of providing this resource is to help staff see that people come from a multitude of different backgrounds which cause them to respond differently to the same set of facts, depending on their personal perspectives,” she said. “Recognition that one might have a certain perspective is critical to treating all people equally.”

Peterson refutes these assertions and asserts that the manual is clearly intended to push a political agenda. He calls the book’s message “derivative, intellectually muddled, [and] extraordinary arrogant in its presumptions.”

According to one of the manual’s authors, Franklin CampbellJones, the book is also being used in school districts in New York, California, Maryland, Kansas, and Minnesota, as well as some areas in Canada.

Mokhairul Islam, 40, won a first prize of a color television for killing some 83,450 rats in the past nine months in Gazipur district near the Bangledesh capital, Dhaka. He collected their tails for proof.

“I am so happy to get this honor,” he said after receiving a 14-inch television and a certificate amid cheers at an official ceremony packed with 500 farmers and officials. “I had no idea that the government gives prizes for this.”

“This is an exciting moment. I will continue to kill them,” he vowed.

One-in-five Americans (20%) say they or someone they know has bought large quantities of traditional light bulbs to use when those bulbs disappear off store shelves next year under new federal light bulb regulations.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 70% of Adults aren’t doing that themselves or don’t know anyone who is, but another 10% are not sure.

67% of Americans oppose the ban on traditional light bulbs in favor the new and the troublesome hazmat danger CFL bulbs.

The Republicans are trying to extend the manufacturing of 100 watt incandescent bulbs for one year while Democrats vow to kill them once and for all in favor of the much more expensive and hazardous material CFL bulbs.

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

 Obama threw a conniption fit at Wednesday’s White House Debt meeting earning himself the label as a petulant adolescent. It was one (and only one) example where his inexperience shows.  Had he ever led a business, been CEO of anything, had executive experience as a governor, ever done anything of significance beyond 144 days in the senate before running for president we might be further along in these negotiations,

Obama’s childish, hissy fit, and we all have had such foolish moments, are embarrassing personally and professionally but we are not President - so we do not have to act like one - not act like a spoiled child and throw a tantrum.

The simple fact is the U. S. government has plenty of tax income to pay all necessary bills. As far as Moody’s popping off about lowering the nation’s credit worthiness goes it is more political pandering from an executive suite that has been and continues to be an effort to support a “progressive” agenda that it has learned to manipulate to lines its pockets.

But, the bad news on Thursday was Weiss Ratings saying it was “very close” to downgrading U.S. government debt another notch, to “C-minus” on its own scale, just a step above junk, Martin Weiss, president of the ratings group, tells CNBC.

Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s should have ditched the triple-A rating long ago, Weiss says.

“(The United States) has a huge debt load compared to most other countries,” he says. “It has a very unstable economy over the last 10 years compared to most other countries.”

The federal government’s debt is close to 100 percent of GDP.

There are 1.7 million American homes are in foreclosure now and another 1.2 million expected next year.

New documents obtained by the Freedom of Information Act demand shows that the Obama Administration purposefully and systematically excluded FOX News.

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has uncovered documents from the Obama Department of Treasury showing that the Obama administration, contrary to its repeated denials, attempted to exclude the Fox News Channel (FNC) from a round of interviews with Treasury’s “Executive Pay Czar” Kenneth Feinberg. The documents, which include email exchanges within the Department of the Treasury and between Treasury and White House staff, also provide colorful evidence of an anti-Fox News bias within the Obama White House.

The documents, obtained last week by Judicial Watch pursuant to an October, 28, 2009, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, concern a series of interviews with Feinberg, who served as the Special Master for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) Executive Compensation, on October 22, 2009, organized by the Treasury Department. According to press reports, the Fox News Channel was specifically excluded from joining the pool of reporters which precipitated a backlash among the networks and a reversal by the Obama Treasury Department.

According to The New York Times: “Fox’s television news competitors refused to go along with a Treasury Department effort on Thursday [October 22, 2009] to exclude Fox from a round of interviews with the executive-pay czar Kenneth R. Feinberg that was to be conducted with a ‘pool’ camera crew…”. Fox News Channel’s James Rosen reported this backlash forced the Obama administration to reconsider its position on the matter: “The Washington bureau chiefs of the five TV news network consulted and decided that none of them would interview Feinberg unless Fox was included, and the administration relented…,” reported Rosen. Ultimately, after other media representatives objected, Fox News Channel was allowed to participate in the interviews.

The Treasury Department’s official response, as detailed in back-and-forth emails uncovered by Judicial Watch, included a clear denial of any such plot to exclude Fox News from the interviews: “There was no plot to exclude Fox News, and they had the same interview that their competitors did. Much ado about absolutely nothing.” Moreover, in an October 23, 2009 email to one reporter (name redacted), Jake Siewart, Counselor to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, repeated the denial that there was an effort to exclude Fox News Channel: “Call me today on your Fox-Treasury report,” Siewart wrote. “Not true that there was an ‘effort to exclude’ Fox.”

On Thursday the Washington Post reported the FBI has opened a preliminary review into allegations that News Corp. employees sought to hack into the phones of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Of the six men who made up the Three Stooges, three of them were real brothers (Moe, Curly and Shemp.)

It is news to virtually no one that Adolph Hitler was a megalomaniacal nincompoop. But, recently declassified British Intelligence MI5 documents released in London in April, revealing just how weird the schemes for Nazis to rise again if they lost the war were. Including scattering sleeper agents around the world; and by killing Allied officers with poison infused in sausages, chocolate, Nescafé coffee, cigarettes, schnapps and Bayer aspirin.

German agents said they were instructed to first offer Allied targets a cigarette treated by Nazi scientists to give the smoker a headache, then finish the job with a poisoned Baywe aspirin that would kill within 10 minutes.

Secret weapons included a pellet that would emit a fatal vapor when heated by cigarette ash; poison for books, desks and door handles; a tablet of exploding powder that would activate when placed next to a wet glass; and a belt buckle with a silver swastika that concealed a .32 pistol that could fire two shots.

“The Werewolf organization, a network of Nazi saboteurs who would fight to create a Fourth Reich in the event Hitler’s empire crumbled, were to leave tins of instant coffee powder and other foods laced with toxins where they could be found by British and American soldiers,” The Daily Mail of London wrote, describing the declassified dossier.

Four German spies captured after they parachuted into France in 1945, including one woman, spilled some of the assassination plots. Female agents were given purse mirrors with microbes hidden inside them, so they might infect top Allied occupiers with deadly bacteria.

British military officials at the time considered the agents’ stories “somewhat fantastic,” but were worried enough to prohibit “the eating of German food or the smoking of German cigarettes” by advancing Allied troops.

A new book, “Amazing Dogs,” by Dr. Jan Bondeson, a senior lecturer at Cardiff University School of Medicine in Wales, reveals that Hitler supported a German school that tried to teach large, muscular mastiffs to “talk” to humans. This story set off a panting spate of “Heel Hitler,” “Furred Reich,” “Wooffan SS” and “Arf Wiedersehen” headlines in British tabloids and plenty of claims that Hitler was “barking mad.”

“There were some very strange experiments going on in wartime Germany, with regard to dog-human communication,” Bondeson writes, wondering: “Were the Nazis trying to develop a breed of super-intelligent canine storm troopers, capable of communicating with their human masters of the Herrenvolk?”

He discovered a 1943 Nazi magazine piece about the headmistress of the canine school, a Frau Schmitt, claiming that some of the dogs spoke a few words. “At a Nazi study course, a talking dog was once asked ‘Who is Adolf Hitler?’ and replied ‘Mein Führer!” Bondeson writes of these claims, noting that “the Nazis, who had such conspicuous disregard for human rights, felt more strongly about the animals.”

Nazi propaganda dwelled on Hitler as a dog lover. He owned two German shepherds named Bella and Blondi. He tested a cyanide capsule on Blondi and killed her just before he committed suicide.

In the moment marked by a global yawn the national flag of the newly independent South Sudan went up outside the United Nations on Thursday, shortly after becoming the world body’s 193rd member.

Is Hollywood trying to placate anti-American sentiment in exchange for some extra box-office cash?

It sure looks like it.

Reports indicated that Paramount and Marvel offered overseas distributors an alternative title for this summer’s comic book superhero movie, “Captain America: The First Avenger,” allowing them to shorten it to “The First Avenger.”

So far Russia, Ukraine and South Korea are the only countries that have opted for the truncated title.

In several other countries, the foreign distribution companies had expressed concern that without the authentic name of the comic book hero, the movie may not be as successful.

The studio has also implemented additional changes that appear to be less than patriotic.

In Australia, the slogan “Heroes are made in America” has been replaced with “When evil rises, a hero will stand.”

Such spineless stunts are akin to asking U.S. movie distributors to change the titles of “Chinatown,” “The French Connection” or “The Italian Job.”

Alexander the Great (20/21 July, 357 BC to June 7/8, 323 BC) was an epileptic he succumbed to a mysterious illness that could have been related.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Thursday that makes California the first state in the nation to require the inclusion of the contributions of gay, lesbian and transgender Americans in school history lessons and textbooks.

An education department spokesman called it an important step forward for the state of California,” Duran said. “It revises existing law to make sure people are not excluded from history books. History should reflect reality.”

The bill by state Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) had sparked hot debate in the Legislature where it was pushed through by the Democratic majority. Republicans argued it forces a “gay agenda” on students, but Leno said it would reduce bullying by educating young people about the accomplishments of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, community.

“Today we are making history in California by ensuring that our textbooks and instructional materials no longer exclude the contributions of LGBT Americans.”

Critics were fast to point out the decrepit state of California public education and question how such new inclusion would improve it.

To “testify” was based on men in the Roman court swearing to a statement made by swearing on their testicles.

During his 2008 campaign it appears Obama told one of the most despicable lies imaginable. Lying about his own mother’s dying and death.

Video tapes of the event picture the then candidate saying, “For my mother to die of cancer at the age of 53 and have to spend the last months of her life in a hospital room arguing with insurance companies because they’re saying that this may be a preexisting condition and they don’t have to pay her treatment, there’s something fundamentally wrong about that.

Investigators say, “There is something fundamentally wrong about that. It’s a lie,” Pat said. “Her insurance company covered her completely for the problem that she was suffering.”

“That is weird. According now to the records in January 1995, she left Indonesia to go to Honolulu where she was diagnosed with an advanced uterine and ovarian cancer. She began a regimen of surgery and chemotherapy. This is the time which womb says his mother battled the insurance companies to cover her illness. But Scott, an author of a new book who has access to Dunham’s correspondence from the time reveals that she unquestionably had health coverage. Ann’s compensation for her job in Jakarta had included health insurance which covered most of the cost of her medical treatment,”

If proved true Obama has dishonored himself, and his mother. Perhaps in his imagination this happened it explains his obsession.

When George Lucas was mixing the American Graffiti soundtrack, he numbered the reels of film starting with an R and numbered the dialog starting with a D. Sound designer Walter Murch asked George for Reel 2, Dialog 2 by saying “R2D2″. George liked the way that sounded so much he integrated that into another project he was working on - Star Wars.

Obama is to blame for the current political crisis. He refused to engage in discussions about lifting the debt ceiling until very late in the process. He has not been serious about controlling runaway deficits. In fact, the budget he proposed earlier this year dramatically boosted federal spending. It was voted down in the Senate 97-0. Even Democrats considered it irresponsible and reckless. Mr. Obama has buried America under a mountain of debt. His claim to be above partisan bickering, a supposedly frustrated patriotic statesman who is worried about our long-term debt bomb, is preposterous; it is merely a charade. He is playing to the TV cameras.

His administration has argued that unless the government’s borrowing authority is lifted, Uncle Sam will default after Aug. 2, leading to economic turmoil - and maybe fiscal collapse. Mr. Obama even has played the Grandma card, threatening seniors with not receiving their Social Security benefits.

“I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on Aug. 3 if we haven’t resolved this issue,” he told CBS News. “Because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it.”

This is shameless demagoguery. The president knows full well that Washington will continue to take in more than enough to pay easily for Social Security as well as other basic government services - including the financing of our debt. The sky will not fall if an agreement is not reached by Aug. 2. At worst, there may be a partial government shutdown, but that would take several weeks. Hence, the GOP - and the nation - should not be bull-rushed, or bull-anything’d, into accepting any deal.

The reason for Mr. Obama’s political - and perhaps psychological - disintegration is a simple one: He is in a corner. He wants a “big” deal,” one that would slash $4 trillion from the deficit over 10 years. In particular, he insists on huge, $1 trillion tax increases, which would deliver a death blow to the staggering economy and most probably send it into a depression. Moreover, he has publicly vowed that he will veto short-term debt-limit raises coupled with equal spending cuts. In short, he has boxed himself into a my-way-or-the-highway negotiating strategy.

Republicans understand that agreeing to any new taxes would violate their seminal campaign pledge. House Republican fiscal hawks are right to insist on a short-term deal that makes any increase in the debt ceiling contingent upon accompanying spending reductions. This would avoid destructive tax increases, force the administration to accept substantial cuts and call Mr. Obama’s bluff. Either he vetoes the House GOP-backed bill and throws America into default - for which he will be solely blamed - or he capitulates, signs the legislation and is exposed as a political weakling. This is why Mr. Obama exploded at Mr. Cantor and walked out. He is desperately trying to bully Republicans into breaking their promise to voters.

“I have reached the point where I say enough,” Mr. Obama said, according to Reuters news agency. “Would Ronald Reagan be sitting here? I’ve reached my limit. This may bring my presidency down, but I will not yield on this.”

If that’s the case, Republicans should let him go down. Mr. Obama’s refusal to contemplate a short-term deal reveals that he wants permanent higher revenues - tax increases - to finance his entitlement society. This has been his Machiavellian plan all along. If that’s not possible, he then wants the other debt-limit option: a blank check. Raise the ceiling without any cuts.

That is what Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell plans to give him. The Republicans are the Palestinians of American politics: They never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. With Mr. Obama on the ropes, Mr. McConnell is throwing in the towel. He argues that any agreement with the president is impossible and the GOP will be politically eviscerated if there is a government shutdown. Therefore, Mr. McConnell is putting forth a convoluted plan that would enable Mr. Obama to vote himself three successive debt-ceiling increases totaling $2.5 trillion - enough to get the government past the 2012 election - without Republican votes. The minority leader thinks this will make the president own the debt-limit issue. The record deficits, the skyrocketing debt, the addiction to spending - all of this clearly would be pinned on Mr. Obama.

Mr. McConnell is wrong. The GOP rightly will be blamed by its base and independents for selling out. America can no longer sustain its borrowing-and-spending binge: We are going broke. If Republicans cannot block Mr. Obama’s voracious socialist appetites, what good are they? A blank check would dangerously rack up the debt, demoralize the Tea Party and cripple the GOP’s credibility as champions of fiscal responsibility and small government. It easily could spark a third-party movement.

Mr. McConnell’s proposal enables Mr. Obama to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. The president is in free fall. He is a victim of his own colossal hubris and incompetence. Don’t throw him a lifeline. Balance the budget and stop stupid spending.

In 1963, baseball pitcher Gaylord Perry remarked, “They’ll put a man on the moon before I hit a home run.” On July 20, 1969, a few hours after Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, Gaylord Perry hit his first (and only) home run.

Officials said the U.S. military command in Iraq has ordered troops to expand operations to protect bases and convoys amid rising Iranian backed Shi’ite attacks. They said the command also planned to relax the rules of engagement against suspected enemy forces.

“We can’t allow this to continue,” U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said. Few believe such flaccid talk with do anything to influence Iran to stop or even reduce attacks. To the contrary most believe attacks on U. S. forces will be increased as a way to ensure a complete U. S. pull out by yearend.

During a surprise visit to Baghdad on July 11, Panetta blamed Iran for the spike in Shi’ite militia attacks on the U.S. military. Panetta said the U.S. military would act without Iraq Army approval to stop what he termed the Iranian campaign against American troops.

“We have to unilaterally be able to go after those threats,” Panetta said. “We’re doing that.”

Panetta did not elaborate. But other officials said the U.S. military was operating without the consent of the Baghdad government in bolstering security operations. They said Washington has been disappointed by the lackluster response from the Iraqi military to the Iranian-backed insurgency offensive.

“We have self-defense authorities under the security agreement [with Baghdad] to take on our own measures,” Colin Kahl, an adviser to Panetta, told a briefing.

The United States has a military presence of 46,000 troops in Iraq, scheduled to leave by 2012.

Iceland consumes more Coca-Cola per capita than any other nation.

The Foreign Policy Research Institute asserted that the Kremlin was trying to maintain weapons sales to the regime of Col. Moammar Gadhafi. In a report, the U.S. institute said Russia might be transferring weapons to Tripoli through Belarus, long deemed a violator of international sanctions.

“Russia already stands to lose, by its own account, $4.5 billion in arms deals with Libya and that figure excludes Syria,” the report, titled “Russia’s Anxieties About The Arab Revolution,” said.

The report said Libya has played a significant role in Russia’s strategy in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. The report said Libya was prepared to supply the Russian Navy with docking rights in the North African state.

“Beyond that, Libya has also reportedly offered Russia a naval base in Benghazi while Syria has offered Moscow a naval base at Tartous,” the report said.

“These events suggest that in return for arms sales host states are being pressured to give Moscow access to foreign bases.”

San Diego, California wants to levy a $25 tax on each cat in its jurisdiction. The tax is simply yo raise revenue because cats are no licensed, and no one can suggest how the tax will be collected or what it will cost to catch or trap cats and find their owners.

Los Angeles shut down a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 405 at midnight Friday, putting out of commission, for a projected 53 hours, one of the most heavily travelled road sin the world. The bridge is at the top of the grade as 405 exits the San Frenando Valley and descends into the LA Basin. The next exit ramp is Sunset Blvd going south into LA or various others going north including the 134 Ventura freeway that goes west to the coast or East to Burbank and inland freeways.

The world did not end and except for a few nuts there was scant trouble. About 500,000 cars pass over that stretch of road daily. The bridge is to be removed by 5AM Monday morning so the 405 can return to its status of slow moving parking lot. If the contractor does not make the 5AM dealines it is facing a fine of $6,000 for every 10 minutes it goes beyond the deadline.

The answer was simple stay away.

The Nobel Peace Prize medal depicts three naked men with their hands on each other’s shoulders! It symbolically represents a group of three men forming a fraternal bond. It was designed by Gustav Vigeland (11 April 1869 - 12 March 1943) a renowned Norwegian sculptor

The inscription reads: Pro pace et fraternitate gentium translated “For the peace and brotherhood of men”.