In a continuation of bizzaroworld's concept of 'Supporting the Troops", 2,000 Marines will be further 'supported' by having their tours extended.

Happy Fourth of July and remember, you're fighting for 'Freedom' - even if you yourself are being treated like an indentured servant...... oh wait - even THEY couldn't have the terms of their indenture changed...... make that "being treated WORSE than an indentured servant"

details below

Exxon-Mobil saw the damages awarded for the Valdez Spill cut substantially this week from $2.5 billion to $500,000 - this in a case that did substantial and lasting PHYSICAL harm to Alaskan waters.

http://ap.google.com/...

Yet we see other BILLION dollar settlements remaining intact.  Mastercard will be paying $1.8 BILLION to American Express to settle claims related to an anti-trust lawsuit.  Seven months ago Visa paid more than $2.1 BILLION to American Express to settle similar claims.  Apparently Visa and MasterCard sought to restrict banks that issued their credit cards from issuing OTHER credit cards.  More billion dollar settlements are expected with Discover.

http://www.nytimes.com/...

HOW SCREWED UP IS THIS?

Has ANYONE had a real problem getting a credit card in the last 10 years?  My 10 year old was getting offers - as was my DEAD mother.

continued.........

While our Constitution is being buried, there are ominous signs that the never-ending war on Terror is expanding.  It seems that if Cheney can't get OUR military to take action against Iran, Israel will go ahead and do so.

Of course, ANY attack on Iran will have repurcussions in the region and have a direct effect on US troops in Iraq.  Iran will retaliate through her proxies against Israel and the US. US forces in Iraq will likely suffer real consequences.  Despite efforts to claim that Iran has been behind attacks on US troops in Iraq, Iran has been a restraining influence in many ways, even brokering a cease-fire after Maliki's latest mess.  If Iran is attacked, expect something akin to Israel's latest bloodying in their last Lebanon incursion.  Iran will take off the gloves and let her proxies loose.

http://www.csmonitor.com/...

http://www.iht.com/...

The neo-con dream lives.......   and if this occurs, so will $200 a barrel oil.   more below.......

In the 'olden days' of our great great grandparents, you stopped working when you died - or were crippled horridly. Eventually and largely with the help of Unions, workers managed to obtain benefits like pensions - where employers paid out a defined benefit upon a worker's retirement.  It took years to qualify for what was often a nominal payment.  

Social Security was introduced under FDR as a way to provide the most basic of safety nets for the elderly.  Even then, few people had any real income after 'retirement' - most still scrounged to do what they could to 'get by'.

But things got much better.  My parents could retire without worry - Mom had gone back to work when I was a kid and even her shortened tenure with a Fortune 500 Company left her in great shape for retirement. But even she noticed that things were starting to change for workers younger than her.  We have taken 'retirement' for granted but failed to notice the insideous changes happening to the methods for funding our old age.

Gone are the days of real pensions and defined benefits. 401K's are the rule along with IRA's  The burden of retirement is back on YOU as an individual.

more.....

We're all aware - if only in our subconscious  - of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The FDIC was created by the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 and provides deposit insurance which currently guarantees checking and savings deposits in member banks up to $100,000 per depositor. Its creation was spurred by the large number of bank failures in the Great Depression.  In response the United States Congress creating the FDIC to guarantee deposits held by commercial banks.

I was startled and SHOCKED to find a FULL PAGE ad in the New York Times today - page A5, prime advertising real estate - for the FDIC.

Insuring deposits up to
(Image of a FRB $100,000 note - used for internal transactions only)

without anyone losing a
(Image of a penny)

For 75 years, the FDIC has been protecting people's money

Hmmmmmm...   do we NEED a reminder?  Seems a bit ridiculous celebrating the 75th anniversary of the FDIC in such a costly self-promoting way?  more.......

Well... it's time for real outrage.  Foreigners have owned large chunks of the American economy since our founding.  Mush of the capital that funded railroads in the late 19th century came from Europe.  Large scale ranches in Montana were owned by Englishmen.   But now we're seeing the REAL effects of a cheap dollar.

Why buy US Treasuries and collect paltry interest on your investment when you can buy whole companies at dirt cheap prices?  

There was a huge outcry over the Port management deal cut last year but we are now crossing a sacred line.

US brewer Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Budweiser beer, has said it has received an unsolicited takeover bid from Belgian rival InBev.

more

Many have argued that HRC doesn't really WANT the Vice Presidency - that it would be 'beneath' her, a position that she would feel 'limiting'.  A VP is expected to support their President and show loyalty.

Ignoring whether or not this would be good for Obama and the Democratic Party, why WOULD HRC even agree to take the Vice Presidency?

History provides a good answer.

more.....

That is the incessantly repeated argument from the Clinton supporters about Florida and Michigan.

This argument IMPLIES that all voters in Florida and Michigan voted for the candidates they wanted, that those elections were primaries that truly represented the will of the voters.

They did not.  

You know it, I know it, My 12 year old knows it.  Even Hillary knows it.

more

The New York Times had this story today about how our military is embracing 'Ultimate Fighting' - a sport that had been largely outlawed a decade ago - as a way to recruit (and it would seem 'inspire') new soldiers.

http://www.nytimes.com/...

Wow.... I was astounded to see the military tie-ins to PC games as a recruiting tool for wanna-be soldiers.... It is A LOT harder doing this in the streets of Iraq carrying REAL weapons and getting shot at and blown-up for real than using a game controller in your parent's living room......  

Now we have this 'gladitorial' combat as both a diversionary form of 'entertainment' AND a recruiting tool - a marketing dream tool for reaching violence enthralled, testosterone filled young men. I can see it now:

"You too can kick ass for Democracy"... "Are YOU man enough for today's Army?"  

I wonder if the Roman Legions had sign-up tables outside the Colliseum?

continued

First - I can't take credit for this label - it belongs to 'peepeeray' on Huffington Post - in response to a story on Bush as the USAF Academy graduation.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

"President Blutarsky" was the total comment - quite appropriate in response to the ridiculous 'mugging' for the camera by our fearless leader, once more surrounding himself with those that cannot criticize, those that have taken oaths to preserve and protect our Constitution - committed to giving their lives if that is where their service takes them.

My reaction was both laughing aloud and cringing - because the comment was so accurate - so concise - so appropriate.

continued

This is a repost and rework of a late-night diary whose comments were largely hijacked in a pointless debate over 'name calling' by one of those responding. It is reposted at the request of numerous serious commenters

There is an increasing sense of desperation in HRC's campaign.  It's been escalating as time passes.   She's gone from a civil campaign treating Obama dismissively to one that has increasingly employed Rovian attack techniques.  Her campaign against Obama has not gained her any ground in her campaign for the nomination - she lost it some time ago and playing 'catch up' has not worked.  Recent events and comments have outraged a wide range of voters.  People have noted that this 'slash and burn' campaign is NOT gaining her any ground, that she is 'burning bridges' for any future run and even hurting her status in the Senate.

The one question that nobody seems to be able to answer is "WHY?"

A close look at who she's employing and who's been pushing her talking points may offer some clues to what's really going on.

more

There is an increasing sense of desperation in HRC's campaign.  It's been escalating as time passes.   She's gone from a civil campaign treating Obama dismissively to one that has increasingly employed Rovian attack techniques.  Her campaign against Obama has not gained her any ground in her campaign for the nomination - she lost it some time ago and playing 'catch up' has not worked.  Recent events and comments have outraged a wide range of voters.  People have noted that this 'slash and burn' campaign is NOT gaining her any ground, that she is 'burning bridges' for any future run and even hurting her status in the Senate.

The one question that nobody seems to be able to answer is "WHY?"

continued

TOP SECRET

Distribution limited to NOAH list

Re: Current Status Mars Project

The disinformation campaign proceeds with today's landing and upcoming broadcasts.  It is imperative that nobody outside this project's distribution list find out the true conditions on Mars.

The increasing rate of climate change on Earth has accelerated the ARK project but it is anticipated that the original evacuation dateline of REDACTED will be adequate.  

continued......

In a world where natural disasters are devastating to third world countries, we have some recent examples of how bad things can get.

A typhoon in Mynamar

An earthquake in China

Tornados in the US Midwest

we have other examples from a few years back -

A hurricane in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast

The Tsunami that hit Indonesia.

I'm not going to recap all these disasters and truth is that the number of deaths in US disasters has been lower than elsewhere due to better buildig codes and 'better' emergency response.   However I do wonder what the FINAL death count was after katrina... were all the missing accounted for?  all the dead identified?

but there is an interesting metric for 'measuring' disasters that deserves examination - one that seems conspicuously UNexamined

continued

Oil prices are rising and affecting the rest of the world's economy.  Not too long ago people were debating WHETHER oil would hit $140 a barrel before it hit $110 again.  With oil hitting over $135 - setting new records regularly - it seems as if it's only a matter of how fast it hitrs that level and how fast it will continue to rise.

The Oil Drum is worth a regular visit:

http://www.theoildrum.com/

and the following link deserves a read:

http://www.peakoil.nl/...

Talking heads on Business channels are saying this is 'psychological' - some are saying this is partly due to decreased $US values.  But is it really?  

While some of the recent run-up may be due to traders covering positions and others looking for some protection against inflation, it seems clear that the upward trend will be with us for some time. Playing politics and trying to lay blame isn't going to solve the problem. Reality is that we ARE running out and production is NOT keeping pace with demand.

more

Any political party that has managed to alienate the electorate the way the Republican Party has done is usually doomed.

History has shown that once a party becomes THIS unpopular, associated with failure to this degree, they are finished.  Either some metamorphosis occurs or some group more attuned to the electorate breaks off from the main party, leaving the original to fade away.

Our current two party system - and their lock on fundraising - makes it far harder for a NEW third party to arise, but it may still be possible for a schism to arise with a new party arising.

What are the possibilities after 2008? - presuming that the Democrats don't blow it (I'm becoming guardedly optimistic) and the Republicans ARE 'shown the door' in large numbers

Things are not going so well......

Oil hits new records - even with Saudi Arabia promising  to increase production (I have my doubts that they can do anything meaningful for more than a short 'burst' - upping volumes from their existing fields).  PetroBras is signing up oceangoing drilling rigs and platforms to tap its new offshore finds (in 2 miles of water - with another mile of drilling once you get there).  Who knows when those fields will come on line, but don't expect miracles. Alaska and the North Sea bought us 20 years (when demand was a LOT lower) - time we squandered with SUV's and MORE exurban housing developments. The referenced poll at 'The Oil Drum' does not bode well:  http://www.theoildrum.com/...

Consumer confidence hit a new low - unmatched since 1980. http://www.reuters.com/...  The market was WAY down on this but recovered - mainly because energy stocks soared.

and it goes on........

ADD/EDIT

The declining value of the US dollar has led to the embarassing situation where even our debased coinage is actually worth more for its metal content than its declared face value.

I'm not talking about silver coins being worth more than face value - our currency hasn't had any real link to precious metals since the Nixon years - direct or indirect.  The US quietly removed all silver coins from circulation back in the 1970's after delinking the US dollar to the price of gold.  Seems like the inflation suffered during the War in Vietnam led to a situation where the US was getting killed by nations redeeming dollars for gold bullion.  That same cumulative inflation led to silver coins being worth more than their face value.  

Years later the copper penny ended up being worth more for its copper content - though you didn't see any mad rush to melt them down.  We've been living with Copper clad Zinc pennies for decades now - not that you've been able to buy anything with a penny for decades.

But now even the Zinc based penny costs more than one cent to make.  

More below