Have You Heard?

Jon Kyl: Debt Ceiling Hike Should Be Paired With $2.5 Trillion In Cuts

2011-06-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON -- Senate Republicans are aiming to cut at least $2.5 trillion over the next decade in a deal to raise the federal debt limit, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said on Tuesday.

Kyl, who is representing Senate Republicans in bipartisan debt talks, told reporters that his party is seeking "$2.5 trillion -- at a minimum -- in savings" over the next 10 years in exchange for raising the debt ceiling by about $2.4 trillion. Kyl's remarks echo House Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) calls for cuts equal to the amount the debt ceiling is raised.

Although those participating in the talks have said they have been productive so far, Kyl cautioned that negotiators could fall short of coming to $2.5 trillion in cuts before Aug. 2 -- the date the government will begin to default on its loans. The government reached its debt limit -- currently set at $14.29 trillion -- on May 16, but Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said the agency will not begin to default on its loans until about Aug. 2.

In that event, Congress might need to pass small, short-term increases on the debt limit while the details of a larger deal are ironed out, Kyl said.

"If we don't get to that $2.5 trillion, I don't think there would be much of an appetite on our side to raise the debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion," he said.

The bipartisan debt ceiling group is aiming to finish its work "sometime in July," Kyl said, throwing water on a call by Boehner to raise the debt ceiling by the Fourth of July.

He declined to go into specifics on the cuts settled so far, which he previously said stand at about $150 billion. But Kyl said the group will have to make cuts to Medicare that go beyond just elimination of waste, fraud and abuse. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/07/jon-kyl-debt-ceiling-shou_n_872743.html

Artists Photography-PixiPort Blogs

2006-12-11T16:28:00.000-08:00

Artists Photography-PixiPort Blogs

Bush’s troubles grow

2006-09-28T10:41:00.000-07:00

Bush’s troubles grow: "Bush’s troubles grow"

Published Sep 28, 2006 1:23 AM
You know that the president and his closest advisers are in a lot of trouble when the “intelligence” agencies of his government will no longer provide the backup he needs to sell his foreign policy to the people.
That’s what is happening right now between Bush and all the secret police agencies of the U.S. government, from the CIA on down.
The National Intelligence Estimate, a classified document, was recently leaked to the press. The New York Times and the Washington Post broke the news about it on Sept. 24. The document had been kept under wraps since its finalization in April and is “the first formal appraisal of global terrorism by United States intelligence agencies since the Iraq war began, and represents a consensus view of the 16 disparate spy services inside government,” according to the Times.
Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte had to approve it. His hard-line background, especially his role in the Contra war against Nicaragua and his stint as U.S. ambassador to Iraq, make its conclusions all the more remarkable.
In brief, the document’s judgment is that the Iraq war, instead of making the U.S. safer, has made it more likely to experience a terrorist attack. “A stark assessment of terrorism trends by American intelligence agencies has found that the American invasion and occupation of Iraq has helped spawn a new generation of Islamic radicalism and that the overall terrorist threat has grown since the Sept. 11 attacks,” was the way the Times summarized it.
Anyone with a clear sense of what is going on already knew that the horrible war crimes committed by the Pentagon in Iraq had made the Bush regime hated all over the world. But no one in the U.S. government would say that openly. Even this document, of course, does not refer to the invasion and occupation as war crimes.
Nevertheless, the damage was done. Bush’s main theme, repeated endlessly since before the war began, has been that he was acting to protect this country from terrorism. He, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have all tried to justify the war by linking Iraq somehow to al-Qaeda and 9/11—a link that never existed.
Because of this kind of hard sell of the war, many young people joined the Army, Marines or National Guard, thinking they were helping to protect their families and communities. But as the fighting and occupation have ground on, enlistments have gone down and skepticism about the aims of the war has risen in the general population.
At the same time, it has become very clear to many in the capitalist establishment, but outside of Bush’s narrow circle, that the war is making things worse for U.S. imperialism in the world. It is not terrorism they fear the most, but popular resistance by oppressed peoples—and it is growing throughout the Middle East and elsewhere.
The release of this document just weeks before the midterm elections is yet another symptom of the bitter struggle going on within the capitalist state itself. It forced Bush to selectively release part of the document for public scrutiny—but only so he could put his own spin on it and claim that it supports his policies.
No one should think that the government’s spy agencies have suddenly become dovish. The CIA is still the CIA. They all just want to promote the Empire more effectively and see Bush and his group as incompetent CEOs who either have to change their ways or step aside so the company can become more profitable.
This article is copyright under a Creative Commons License.

-->Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011Email: ww@workers.orgSubscribe wwnews-subscribe@workersworld.netSupport independent news http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php

Charlene Li's Blog

2006-04-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

Charlene Li's Blog

Chicago Tribune news: Exelon kept leaks quiet, files show

2006-03-19T19:35:00.000-08:00

Chicago Tribune news: Exelon kept leaks quiet, files show: "Exelon kept leaks quiet, files show
Advertisement

By Hal Dardick
Tribune staff reporter

March 19, 2006

Exelon officials took several steps that for years kept the public in the dark about radioactive tritium spills at a Will County nuclear power plant and the groundwater contamination the spills caused, public records obtained by the Tribune show.

Recent company disclosures about four tritium spills between 1996 and 2003 at Braidwood Generating Station came only after the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency pressured Exelon Nuclear to test for contamination, following prodding from the plant's neighbors.

The disclosures of spills triggered lawsuits last week by the Will County state's attorney, the Illinois attorney general and neighbors of the plant accusing the company of not being forthcoming.

The public documents show Exelon Nuclear officials in 2001 and 2002 opposed public discussion of tritium and the release of documents about tritium spills. They also opposed legislation to mandate groundwater monitoring at nuclear plants and a permit review that led to discovery of the contamination, the records show.

'It's apparent that this all points to obfuscation of radioactive material releases at the Braidwood plant,' said Paul Gunter, director of the Reactor Watchdog Project at the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, an anti-nuclear group that has obtained many of the records independently."

2006-02-21T19:14:00.000-08:00

Beorge Broadhurst 1900's

United States Equestrian Federation, Inc : News

2006-02-19T22:43:00.000-08:00

United States Equestrian Federation, Inc : News: "Hay is for Horses: Equine Groups Band Together to Provide Feed for Hurricane-Affected Areas"

Ancient Words of Wisdom

2006-02-17T10:54:00.001-08:00

"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind.

And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry.

Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so.

How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar."

"Naturally the common people don't want war: neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood.

But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship.

Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country."

Hermann Goering, Hitler's #2 man,
before being sentenced to death at the Nuremberg trials.

The Answer to the Threatened Avian Flu Pandemic may be Under Our Nose

2006-02-16T10:37:00.000-08:00

The Answer to the Threatened Avian Flu Pandemic may be Under Our Nose: "If the outcomes of a preliminary study completed by a small Ohio biotech company can be quantified, the ability to respond efficiently to the dreaded Avian Flu may be right under our noses.
Albany, Ohio - February 17, 2006 – If the outcomes of an exploratory study completed by a small Ohio biotech company can be quantified, the ability to respond efficiently to the dreaded Avian Flu may be right under our noses. Using anomalous vocal patterns, the acoustic architecture of the voice is being uniquely investigated for its potential to model biological function, disease process and environmental exposures. "

As remarkable as this idea may seem, groundbreaking studies have shown that the acoustic parameters of the voice have the capacity to provide biometric information regarding states of health. Omeris, a non-profit organization organized to build and accelerate bioscience research in Ohio, has recognized that vocal acoustic studies conducted by Sharry Edwards, MEd through her company Sound Health, Inc., have “brought a revolutionary idea to the forefront of the Bioscience Community.” Preliminary studies done by Edwards included vocal studies for exposures and susceptibility to invading pathogens. Like any other contagion the Avian Flu has an incubation period before actual symptoms occur. If exposure could be verified using vocal samples while the pathogen is still in its incubation stage, it is highly likely that destructive proteins created by the pathogen could be predicted before biological damage occurs.The therapeutic potential of vocal profiling is the identification of pre-diagnostic biometrics which can be used to enhance or render inert, disease based biomarkers depending on the desired outcome. The research protocols have also provided information that can be used to develop a therapy phase using a set of designer frequencies which precisely targets a specific normalizing response.The genomic frequencies and associated proteins associated with the threatened bird flu pandemic have been decoded by Edwards and her team, but as yet there is no general structure in place to allow the public to use the procedure. Assuming that the exploratory investigations with resistant pathogens can be extrapolated to encompass Avian flu, this research modality may provide a means to identify the frequency signatures of the current strains and the on-going mutations in a matter of minutes.One of the most important projects being slated is the development of an on-line vocal sampling program that could gather research data by testing for exposure to any toxin or pathogen. Using this method, strategically located centers throughout the world could systematically sample vocal patterns that would be reported to a central location. Exposure to the bird flu viruses could be monitored through established mathematical templates derived from the acoustic parameters of individuals or groups suspected of contamination. Government and medical authorities have been uncertain that vaccination and/or antibiotic measures can counter the unpredictable conduct, or the severity of the expected pandemic. With an annihilation threat as high as 40% for many populations, it is imperative that researchers be provided the means to explore solutions presently beyond the conventional medical system. All viable remedies need to be made available to the public in order to quell the near panic that is ensuing in some countries. To date, Sound Health has sustained the costs of this research but immediate funding for the expansion of systematic vocal profiling as a potential avenue to combat the expected epidemic needs to be vigorously applied. The risk to public health makes such funding mandatory. If the reported pandemic risks are authentic, our national security may depend on it.A premier public issue of the peer-reviewed Journal BioAcoustic Biology can be found at www.jbab.org. Sound Health can be reached via email at: e-mail protected from spam bots or by phone at: 740-698-9119.About Vocal Sampling and AnalysisVocal analysis has been used experimentally by Sound Health for over twenty years to create individual frequency-based profiles that have supported outcomes that would be considered improbable using current medical standards. For instance, independent nerve-muscle conduction tests (EMG’s) have confirmed the reestablishment of nerve transmission from the waist down for a Multiple Sclerosis patient who used vocal analysis and directed sound presentation as his primary therapy. Vocal analysis has been used during two pilot studies to create protocols that were used to relieve the unrelenting fibromyalgia and back pain for long term sufferers.Several prestigious research facilities have begun to embrace the innovative modality of vocal profiling to test the effects of new drugs, hormone levels and other biometric features of the body. The results promise to add significant confirmation to the idea that our bodies constitute a predictable system of BioAcoustic Biology. Thus far, no research facility other than Sound Health has reported both pre-diagnostic and therapeutic outcomes based on vocal profiling. Like Chemistry, that uses elements and compounds as its basis, BioAcoustic Biology uses vocal acoustics as the foundation to explain our frequency-based biological system. This methodology, christened Sonistry by Edwards, has the potential to significantly expand our understanding of the human body as a collection of predictable math-based compilations. Edwards’ work has been received with both skepticism and admiration, but once the outcomes are observed, and they are significant and impressive to even the casual observer, the efficacy and reliability is obvious. Roman Chrucky, an MD who works with Edwards states, “Sharry has always been at least twenty years ahead of the rest of us. The world just needs to catch up to her genius.” The frequency based principles of the voice are currently being investigated by many health related organizations such as Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and the Institute of Automatic Control Engineering in Taiwan. Complementary research, relating to molecular frequencies of both healthy and unhealthy cellular chemistry is being studied by James Gimjewski of the UCLA’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Edwards believes that her contributions to the field of BioAcoustic Biology will show that human biology can be evaluated using the universally understood language of mathematical design. Her supporters believe that her seminal work will be intimately involved in moving medicine forward. Logically the establishment of a reliable model of BioAcoustic Biology, based on the quantitative analysis of human vocal patterns, will follow as a result of this emerging biometric approach to biological function, disease process and metabolism.References01. Rotman, David: “The Impact of Emerging Technologies: Can Pfizer Deliver.” Technology Review February, (2004).02. Chiu CC, Chang HH, Yang CH. “Objective auscultation for traditional Chinese medical diagnosis using novel acoustic parameters.” Comput Methods Programs Biomed. Jun;62(2) (2000): 99-107.03. Boguslavsky, J. “Biomarkers as Checkpoints.” Drug Discovery & Development. Sept (2004). 04. Moore, C, S Shalet, K Manickam, T Williard, H Maheshwari, and G Baumann. "Voice abnormality in adults with congenital and adult-acquired growth hormone deficiency." J Clin Endocrinol Metab 90(7) (2005): 4128-4132.

ThePittsburghChannel.com - News - Humane Society Statement

2006-02-12T21:01:00.000-08:00

ThePittsburghChannel.com - News - Humane Society Statement: "The following statement by the Humane Society of the United States was e-mailed to ThePittsburghChannel.com on Tuesday afternoon:
Monday's hunting trip to Pennsylvania by Vice President Dick Cheney in which he reportedly shot more than 70 stocked pheasants and an unknown number of mallard ducks at an exclusive private club places a spotlight on an increasingly popular and deplorable form of hunting, in which birds are pen-reared and released to be shot in large numbers by patrons. The ethics of these hunts are called into question by rank-and-file sportsmen, who hunt animals in their native habitat and do not shoot confined or pen-raised animals that cannot escape.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported today that 500 farm-raised pheasants were released yesterday morning at the Rolling Rock Club in Ligonier Township for the benefit of Cheney's 10-person hunting party. The group killed at least 417 of the birds, illustrating the unsporting nature of canned hunts. The party also shot an unknown number of captive mallards in the afternoon.
'This wasn't a hunting ground. It was an open-air abattoir, and the vice president should be ashamed to have patronized this operation and then slaughtered so many animals,' states Wayne Pacelle, a senior vice president of The Humane Society of the United States. 'If the Vice President and his friends wanted to sharpen their shooting skills, they could have shot skeet or clay, not resorted to the slaughter of more than 400 creatures planted right in front of them as animated targets"

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Drilling credibility

2005-11-04T19:11:00.000-08:00

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Drilling credibility

The dishonesty continues with this gang of thugs in our whitehouse.
Republicans shoudl be so ashamed, but ethics are not part of their lives. Greed, lies, zealots are who they are.

NASA - Fireball Sightings

2005-11-04T16:40:00.000-08:00

NASA - Fireball Sightings

November 3, 2005: "I thought some wise guy was shining a spotlight at me," says Josh Bowers of New Germany, Pennsylvania. "Then I realized what it was: a fireball in the southern sky. I was doing some backyard astronomy around 9 p.m. on Halloween (Oct. 31, 2005), and this meteor was so bright it made me lose my night vision."

Independent Online Edition > Science & Technology

2005-11-01T22:00:00.000-08:00

Independent Online Edition > Science & Technology: "Smearing skin with broccoli can help reduce risk of cancer "

Newsview: Bush Allies Say He's Lost His Way

2005-11-01T21:58:00.000-08:00

Newsview: Bush Allies Say He's Lost His Way: "Newsview: Bush Allies Say He's Lost His Way"

White House lie machine exposed

2005-11-01T21:57:00.000-08:00

White House Lie Machine Exposed

Pixiport: Abstract Goldfish Art Photos Fish Photography Gallery

2005-10-31T16:10:00.000-08:00

If You Talk To The Animals
They Will Talk With You
And You Will Know Each Other
If You Do Not Talk To Them
You Will Not Know Them
And What You Do Not Know
You Will Fear
What One Fears One Destroys.
Chief Dan
Goldfish Art Photos

Japan Today: Japan's largest English news and information portal

2005-10-30T18:10:00.000-08:00

Japan Today: Japan's largest English news and information portal

ABC News: Do 'Dolphin Encounters' Depend on Inhumane Captures?

2005-10-27T22:02:00.000-07:00

ABC News: Do 'Dolphin Encounters' Depend on Inhumane Captures?

How Toxic Is Your Bathroom?

2005-10-24T04:09:00.000-07:00

Independent Online Edition > How Toxic Is Your Bathroom?

Thousands Gather in DC for Millions More Movement"

2005-10-15T15:47:00.000-07:00

"Thousands Gather in DC for Millions More Movement"

AlterNet: War on Iraq: Stuck In Baghdad? Yeah, Right

2005-10-13T08:18:00.000-07:00

AlterNet: War on Iraq: Stuck In Baghdad? Yeah, Right

ABC News: Sheehan Arrested During Anti-War Protest

2005-09-26T11:48:00.000-07:00

ABC News: Sheehan Arrested During Anti-War Protest

Muslim American Society

2005-09-26T11:22:00.000-07:00

Demonstrators in Washington Protest Iraq War
Date Posted: Monday, September 26, 2005 ">Muslim American Society "Demonstrators in Washington Protest Iraq War
Date Posted: Monday, September 26, 2005 "

Hundreds of thousands of anti-war demonstrators staged rallies in Washington and throughout the U.S., demanding the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq amid increasing dissatisfaction towards the war.

The Persian Puzzle: Iran and the invention of a nuclear crisis

2005-09-26T10:33:00.000-07:00

The Persian Puzzle: Iran and the invention of a nuclear crisis

Letter From ASPCA

2005-09-25T21:39:00.000-07:00

AH just when you think there is not a thing we can do....we still can...it is about speaking out on injustices...taking a small amount of time to do what is right. Pixie

Thanks to the efforts of members like you, the U.S. Senate voted yesterday to pass an amendment by an overwhelming 68-29 vote, effectively prohibiting the use of any federal taxpayer funds to slaughter horses for food exports. The Ensign-Byrd amendment to the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Bill ensures that no federal tax dollars are used to slaughter horses for human consumption. The amendment, introduced by Senators John Ensign (R-NV) and Robert C. Byrd (D-WV), will effectively stop America's horses from being killed in the three slaughterhouses in the United States that slaughter horses (two in Texas and one in Illinois). It will also prohibit shipping horses to slaughterhouses in Canada or Mexico in order to export their meat to foreign countries. Earlier in the year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an identical amendment. Passage of the Senate amendment ensures that this crucial change will be carried out.

Thanks to your support and action, this amazing victory has been won for our nation’s horses! Please click here to find out how your senator voted! If your senator voted “YEA” on the Ensign-Byrd Amendment, please call and thank him or her for supporting this crucial amendment! If your senator voted “NAY” on the Ensign-Byrd Amendment, please take a moment and call to express your disappointment. Thanks for your support!

ASPCA http://www.aspca.org

Have You Heard?

2005-09-25T21:27:00.000-07:00

Have you heard is a blog about anything in the news or what shoud be in the news.
Feel free to post comments to the articles....share thoughts...

Any Bill Maher fans? Here is his closing statement on last show..Bravo Bill!

....
Bill Maher's closing words from Friday's show.

"Mr. President, this job can't be fun for you any more. There's no more money to spend--you used up all of that. You can't start another war because you used up the army. And now, darn the luck, the rest of your term has become the Bush family nightmare: helping poor people.

Listen to your Mom. The cupboard's bare, the credit cards maxed out. No one's speaking to you. Mission accomplished.

"Now it's time to do what you've always done best: lose interest and walk away. Like you did with your military service and the oil company and the baseball team. It's time. Time to move on and try the next fantasy job. How about cowboy or space man? Now I know what you're saying: there's so many other things that you as President could involve yourself in. Please don't. I know, I know. There's a lot left to do. There's a war with Venezuela. Eliminating the sales tax on yachts. Turning the space program over to the church. And Social Security to Fannie Mae. Giving embryos the vote.

"But, Sir, none of that is going to happen now. Why? Because you govern like Billy Joel drives. You've performed so poorly I'm surprised that you haven't given yourself a medal. You're a catastrophe that walks like a man. Herbert Hoover was a shitty president, but even he never conceded an entire city to rising water and snakes.

"On your watch, we've lost almost all of our allies, the surplus, four airliners, two trade centers, a piece of the Pentagon and the City of New Orleans. Maybe you're just not lucky. I'm not saying you don't love this country. I'm just wondering how much worse it could be if you were on the other side.

"So, yes, God does speak to you. What He is saying is: 'Take a hint.' "