is...back online
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
you too...
that is a cute one...
Out of bounds! Palin confuses Iraq with al Qaida
Throw the flag on: Sarah Palin.
Call: Pass interference.
What Happened: On the 7th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Palin linked Iraq to those attacks.
"You'll be there to defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the deaths of thousands of Americans," Palin told an Army brigade in Alaska that will ship off to Iraq later this month.
Why that's wrong: The bipartisan National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States said it found "no credible evidence that Iraq and al Qaida cooperated on attacks against the United States."
The panel also said that contacts between al Qaida and Iraq before the attacks "do not appear to have resulted in a collaborative relationship."
The group's conclusion confirmed similar findings by the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies. President Bush, who once claimed such a pre 9-11 connection to Iraq, has since backed off.
In fact, the man who planned the 9-11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, is in U.S. custody at the Guantanamo base in Cuba.
It is true that there are terrorists in Iraq, including many associated with a branch of al Qaida. But the Iraq-based al Qaida has no operational connection to the al Qaida that planned and carried out the 9-11 attacks.
Penalty: Set Palin's credibility back 10 yards.
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/523436.html
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/52350.html
Hoorray!!!!!!!!
One year. smoke free is so awesome. I am so glad for you, the family,
All of Isreal!! You are the BEST!!!!
LW LOLOLOL
Israel: The spy who would be PM
Foreign Minister favourite to be first female leader since Golda Meir
By Donald Macintyre in Haifa
Monday, 15 September 2008
Tzipi Livni campaigning for the leadership of Israel?s ruling Kadima party in Haifa. Ms Livni aims to follow in the footsteps of Golda Meir
It was just before the rowdy climax of her meeting with party activists packed into a stifling eighth-floor office on a hot and humid night here that Tzipi Livni displayed her political steel. Having infiltrated the meeting, the national students' leader, Netanel Izak, had grabbed the microphone to ask why she had not responded to his letter seeking her support against higher student fees.
Ms Livni first gave the student a brisk dressing down. "I absolve you from supporting me," she said to a laugh from her loyalists. "But if you try to push me into a corner, you won't get an answer. If you're polite, you will." Israel's Foreign Minister then explained that a solution for higher education funding was the subject of government consultations, but that yes, she did support a rise in tuition fees.
Her intervention was not enough to stop a shouting match between the students and her supporters which ended in the arrival of the police. But it was a pointed indication to the party activists that she is not prepared to make random concessions to every interest group that demands them in order to achieve her goal of being the first woman prime minister of Israel since Golda Meir.
As such it symbolised the break with the old wheeler-dealing tradition of Israeli politics that her campaign purports to mark. That could affect the kind of governing coalition she seeks to build if she wins the leadership of the governing party, Kadima, after 70,000 registered members choose a successor to Ehud Olmert on Wednesday. And that in turn could determine Israel's stances over the coming year on major issues of peace or war: Iran, Syria, and the Palestinians.
Like Hillary Clinton, Ms Livni is seeking to break through the glass ceiling of male-dominated politics. A decade younger than Mrs Clinton, she also favours "pants suits" – though certainly not of the orange variety; in Haifa she wore a demure black one.
And while she remains well ahead in the polls, her activists cannot discount the possibility of a victory for the well-oiled political machine of her only serious opponent, the former chief of staff, Defence Minister, and scourge of the Palestinian intifada, Shaul Mofaz. According to some reports, Mr Mofaz has a much bigger network than Ms Livni of "vote brokers" who have freshly – and dubiously – recruited hundreds of new members for the contest. But unlike Mrs Clinton she keeps her family – a husband in advertising and two sons – wholly out of the public eye. She is projecting herself as the fresh face of a new national politics. Speaker after speaker at the Haifa meeting, stressing her "Mrs Clean" image, untainted by the kind of corruption allegations that have brought Mr Olmert to the brink of an indictment, echoed her own assertion that the wider electorate are "willing to vote for me to restore their trust in politics".
Certainly the polls suggest she is easily Kadima's best hope of confronting a powerful electoral challenge from Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud. "It's Netanyahu or Livni," the local Kadima chairman Itzik Regev told the meeting. "There are no other options."
As a populist security hawk – not least on Iran, on which he has gone further than other Israeli politicians in threatening a military attack – Mr Mofaz has indicated that while he would talk to the Palestinians it would no longer be about the "final status" of a two-state solution. And he has been heavily critical of any plan to divide Jerusalem – a minimum requirement for such an agreement.
Ms Livni is no leftist. A former Mossad agent with family roots in right-wing Zionism, she has her own "red lines" – against even a token admission of Palestinian refugees to Israel, for example. She has been openly critical of Mr Olmert's decision to open talks with Syria without Damascus first "ending its support for terror".
But she says that Israel should be ready to give back territory while adding it must be "by consensus and it must bring an end to the conflict". And she is heavily committed to – and personally embroiled in – the problem-strewn talks with President Abbas's team on the outlines of a future two-state solution.
Ms Livni has said she would not pay "any price" to build the coalition that whoever wins the leadership will need to prevent early elections. That might just rule out the ultra-orthodox Shas, which continually seeks higher child allowances for the large families that make up its support base, and which is strongly opposed to a serious offer to the Palestinians. Mr Mofaz has hinted he will woo not only Shas but the hard-right Yisrael Beiteinu party led by Avigdor Lieberman.
For Mr Mofaz's supporters in Haifa – the biggest Israeli city, with a mixed population of Jews and Arabs – his military record means a welcome return to Israel's tradition of being run by generals after the debacle of a Lebanon war led by the civilian Mr Olmert saw Katyusha rockets raining down here in 2006. "We are living in the Middle East, not Switzerland," says a Jewish Kadima activist, Mira Peleg, 42, who has a son in the army. "We cannot afford another experiment. We should cut the bullshit and think of Israel." Even Mr Mofaz's less bellicose supporters argue his military record is an advantage. "He has seen his friends dying in battle, he knows what war is and so he will want peace," insists another supporter, an Arab lawyer Anan Zubran, 45. Even a man who reportedly called early in the second intifada for a death toll of 70 Palestinians a day? "[Yitzhak] Rabin was a general too, and in the first intifada he talked about breaking the bones of Palestinians. But he did more for peace than any other leader of Israel."
For Arab opponents of Mr Mofaz the comparison with Rabin is frankly incredible. "Ms Livni has clean hands and she can make peace with the Palestinians and the Arab states," says Ashoul Munir, a businessman. "She is a woman and that means a change." As a Jew who has made the same ideological journey from the hard right to the centre as Ms Livni, Itzik Regev points out that she was a favoured protégé of Ariel Sharon.
But he adds: "It is a very good chance for the nation of Israel to take a woman, a young woman, as its leader who is not a general and who may be the one who will avoid the war, rather than the one who will win the war."
The rise of Tzipi Livni
*Born: Tzipora Malka Livni on 8 July 1958 in Tel Aviv
*Youth: Her parents were leading members of Etzel, a radical Zionist organisation. Her views led her to join Mossad in her early 20s. Left after two years to become a lawyer and start a family.
*Family: Married to Naftali Spitzer, two sons, Omri and Yuval
*Career: Elected to the Knesset in 1999 as a member of Likud, and was appointed to a series of ministerial posts. Her views softened into a more centrist position and she began to advocate a two-state solution. Followed Ariel Sharon into new Kadima party in 2005; Foreign Minister since 2006.
*In her own words:
"I am good at persuading people. In convincing the other, I try to start from their point of view, so it's easier for me to find a common denominator."
"I prefer jeans to a suit, sneakers to high heels, markets to malls. [In Paris] I prefer the Quartier Latin to the Champs-Elysees. In general, I don't like formality at all. It is just part of what I do. You know, when I was young, I went to the Sinai and worked as a waitress."
What a great story! Thanks
And once I started realizing
what you wrote... i would agree
and get aggravated!!!
LOL
wonderful pic fats,
so true
I totally agree with you F6
I hate to get dirty, but McCain is going to stir up the race card...
Wow,,
what a boat...
looks like a water bird!! beautiful
That a funny comment,
and the photo is so pretty.
I don't think Obama was too low ball with that comment..
She is scarey.. the hardline Republicans in my little city really like her and think cause she can kill an animal she can think her way in Washinton Politics. Not enough lipstick if you ask me.
Anyone interested??
Group offers Jews $50,000 to move to U.S. Bible Belt town
Larry Blumberg is looking for a few good Jews to move to his heavily Christian corner of the U.S. South.
Blumberg is chairman of the Blumberg Family Relocation Fund, which is offering Jewish families as much as $50,000 to relocate to Dothan, an overwhelmingly Christian town of 58,000 that calls itself the Peanut Capital of the World.
Get involved at Temple Emanu-El and stay at least five years, the group's leaders say, and the money doesn't have to be repaid.
More Jews are living in the southeastern U.S. than ever - about 386,00 at last count in 2001, according to Stuart Rockoff, historian at the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life in Jackson, Mississippi.
But young Jews are leaving small places like Dothan in favor of big southern cities like Atlanta and Birmingham, Rockoff said, and dozens of small-town synagogues in the so-called Bible Belt have closed.
"A lot of the older people have died, and not many of the younger ones have stayed," said Thelma Nomberg, a member of the Dothan temple who grew up in nearby Ozark, where she was the only Jewish student in public school in the 1940s. "We are dying."
Trying to lure Jewish families to a quiet Southern town in a state with a reputation for hard-right politics and racial intolerance might be difficult. About 20 Jewish families have sought information about Dothan, though none has made the move.
Being outside the Christian majority was never a problem, Nomberg said, even six decades ago: She won the Miss Ozark beauty pageant at 14 and sometimes attended church with friends after sleep-overs.
Now a widow, Nomberg has watched two of her four adult children leave for Florida as Temple Emanu-El lost nearly half its membership, down to about 50 families. She can only hope the recruitment plan works for her synagogue.
Launched in June, the Blumberg program has put advertisements in Jewish newspapers in Boston, Miami, Providence, Rhode Island, and Washington, and it plans to expand the campaign.
I think it's important that we try to find young people that we could use in our religious school, our Sunday school and help in the way of trying to create more of a family-type atmosphere in our temple, Blumberg said.
Groups offered financial aid for Jews to return to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and Jewish organizations around the country offer moving assistance for relocating families. A congregation has loans and other benefits for Jewish families moving into an area near Boston.
Our program is distinctive because it's Dothan, but it's also distinctive because of the type of financial assistance, said Rob Goldsmith, executive director of Blumberg Family Jewish Community Services, which will screen applicants and administer the grant program.
Rockoff credits Blumberg and the rest of the congregation with fighting to remain in Dothan, where the synagogue has a full-time rabbi and the temple, which is aligned with the reform movement.
"It is a small community, but they have some deep pockets to be able to do this," said Rockoff. "As a historian, it is fascinating to see them trying to buck this trend."
Dothan lies at the heart of the South's peanut region, in Alabama's southeastern corner, just minutes from Florida and Georgia. It's dotted with big fiberglass peanuts painted to resemble characters and people - there's even an Elvis peanut.
But the Blumberg foundation is selling prospective Jewish residents on Dothan's quality of life - its low cost of living, the heritage of its synagogue and its proximity to Florida beaches, about 80 miles away.
Downtown is filled with quaint red-brick buildings and colorful murals, and traffic never gets too bad.
Rabbi Lynne Goldsmith didn't know quite what to expect when she moved to Dothan a year ago to serve as pastor at Temple Emanu-El, which was founded in 1929. She came with her husband, who directs the Jewish community services group.
A Connecticut native, the rabbi halfway expected the Alabama of old with wide-open racism and dirt roads.
"The Northeast has a really warped perception of what the South is all about, and I found out it was all wrong," she said. "The South is a wonderful place to be. The people are warm and friendly. There's very little traffic. And best of all, there's no snow."
On the Web: Blumberg Family Jewish Community Services: http://www.bfjcs.org
Some one emaliled me with this link
for women's opinions about Sarah.
I believe this is a list of concerns..
women of all ages from all over the US and internationally.
http://womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com
This board is one
of the most optomistic boards I read...
So many people are in denial...
amazing. alot of folks think it just is climate changes,,
has nothing to do with the people of today and
their pollution tree cutting,,, etc.
I wouldn't burn my stove in August even if I were freezing..
Is it getting cloudy yet?
Wow,,, what fun
I remember them all.. thanks
I just found Pandora...
what a great radio staion... I can't believe it!!
A station molded to a person with a mind like mine,closing already!
Arctic sea ice drops to 2nd lowest level on record
SETH BORENSTEIN and DAN JOLING | The Associated Press
8/27/2008 - 8/27/08
WASHINGTON — More ominous signs Wednesday have scientists saying that a global warming "tipping point" in the Arctic is happening before their eyes : Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has melted to its second lowest level since satellite observations began.
The National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo., reported that the extent of sea ice in the Arctic is down to 2.03 million square miles. The lowest point since 1979 is 1.65 million square miles set last September.
With about three weeks left in the Arctic summer, this year could wind up breaking the previous record, scientists said.
Arctic ice always melts in summer and refreezes in winter. But over the years, more of the ice is lost to the sea and with less of it recovered in winter. While ice reflects the sun's heat, the open ocean absorbs more heat and the melting accelerates warming in other parts of the world.
Sea ice also serves as primary habitat for threatened polar bears.
"We could very well be in that quick slide downward in terms of passing a tipping point," said center senior scientist Mark Serreze. "It's tipping now. We're seeing it happen now."
Within a few years — "five to less than 10 years" — the Arctic could be free of sea ice in the summer, said NASA ice scientist Jay Zwally.
"It also means that climate warming is also coming larger and faster than the models are predicting and nobody's really taken into account that change yet," he said.
Other scientists, including James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies in New York, agreed. Hansen in a Wednesday e-mail said the sea ice "is the best current example of a tipping point."
Last year was an unusual year when wind currents and other weather conditions coincided with global warming to worsen sea ice melt, Serreze said. Scientists wondered if last year's melt was an unusual event or the start of a new and disturbing trend.
This year's results suggest the latter because the ice had recovered a bit more than usual thanks to a somewhat cooler winter, Serreze said. Then this month, when the melting rate usually slows, it sped up, he said.
And the melt in sea ice has kicked in another effect, long predicted, called "Arctic amplification," Serreze said.
That's when the warming up north is increased in a feedback mechanism and the effects spill southward starting in autumn, he said. Over the last few years, the bigger melt has meant more warm water that releases more heat into the air during fall cooling, making the atmosphere warmer than normal.
———
Science Writer Seth Borenstein reported from Washington and Dan Joling reported from Anchorage, Alaska.
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/National%20News/Arctic-sea-ice-drops-to-2nd-lowest-level-on-record
This link is a spoof, hope you chickle
No matter how it is sliced,
they performed wonderfully....
thanks for the post B
good weekend,,
still raining...........
Would anyone care to discuss
the issue with the Chinese girls ages?
I am spilt in my opinion..
Borelais,and everyone else here
Just wanted to thank you all,for your time
and effort in posting all the Olympic information.
I really enjoyed reading and learning from all of you!!
Life
It was really a magic time.
The last flight I took with my soon to be ex..
he knew.. I didn't so it was great fun.
We flew all over the place from NM
Here it is great for the lakes...
however,those poor guys and the East coast are getting hammered..
I wanna go there!!!!
Many years ago, I flew in a small airplane from NM
to Alaska through the Yukon.
Agreed, it is a hidden jewel.
It's raining,
it's pouring,
the old person's snoring!!!
lalala
The Southwest
only has droughts... LOL
TS Fay,
the Tropical storm that luckily missed us in Clermont,
Interesting,
waiting for the storm,
Life
On vacation in the early 90's,
we went to Hurricane Ridge. I doddled my first
watercolor in the wind up there...
glorious... I miss the west ..
Thanks for in info..
They are amazing fish,
Love you siggys, near where you live?
Wow!! some photos,
Do the parents eat the young?
How does the father fish fertizlize the eggs?
thanks
Thanks for that Amazing PHOTOS
I was up last night until after
2AM.. I am hooked,
Never thought much of beach volleyball;
but those gals Walsh and May are wicked good!
Having alot of fun
LIe
Aren't they all lead based?
China's Gold Medals Found to Have High Lead Content
China's impressive haul of gold medals at the Beijing Olympics was tarnished somewhat today when it was revealed that "abnormally high levels of lead" were found in the first-place medallions.
The medals, which were supposed to be made entirely of gold, were instead found to be composed of 99% lead alloy and coated with a gold-colored lead-based paint.
The shocking revelations roiled the Olympic complex today and sent officials looking for answers from the Chinese manufacturer of the medals, the Wuhan One Hundred Percent Gold Medal Corporation.
"We are trying to determine how exactly so much lead got into those gold medals," said a spokesman for Wuhan, China's largest exporter of gold medals. "Until we do, we are urging all first-place athletes not to lick, taste or suck on their medals."
The news about the potentially toxic gold medals spread panic among Olympic champions, especially U.S. swimming phenom Michael Phelps.
"I am very, very concerned about my extensive contact with gold medals," Mr. Phelps told reporters. "But what am I supposed to do? Stop being so awesome?"
In other Olympic news, China's hopes for winning more medals in women's gymnastics were dashed when one of their leading gymnasts vanished down a bathtub drain on Tuesday.
Immediately after Jiang Qimin's disappearance, Beijing authorities launched a search for the acclaimed seven-pound athlete.
Jiang had been the subject of speculation earlier this week as many foreign observers doubted China's claims that the two-foot-tall gymnast was sixteen years old.
In an interview with NBC's Bob Costas on Monday, Jiang sparked controversy with this response to a question about her age: "I want my sippy cup."
Andy Borowitz is a comedian and writer whose work appears in The New Yorker and The New York Times, and at his award-winning humor site.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-borowitz/chinas-gold-medals-found_b_118664.html
That was a great post Borealis..
wonderful
Sedona
Very funny