Week Six I plan to cover Tools that will help you do all of the above

Tools fall into a lot of categories the bad thing there is not a tremendous about of overlap.
Over the next few weeks I’m going to comment on several categories of tools.
Automotive
Land working
Construction and Repairing (home and other)
Firearms

We are going to get started this week talking about Automotive tools and supplies.
It will make your life a lot easier if your have a shop. Even a place just to keep your tools out of the weather and to keep organized. Have a hacksaw with several blades. a few files and sand paper. You need to have a good set of jumper cables with heavy cable, extra assorted fuses. A battery charger, electric drill with bits. You ought to have a hand grinder that has grinding wheels and cut off wheels. A couple of different hammers, ball peen, regular claw type and a two pound maul.
The easiest way to get started in automotive tools is to buy a kit. Buy good quality, I prefer Craftsmen, but there are others out there. I would start small and add to them as you can and as you need to fix projects on your vehicle. I would find a toolbox that would accommodate the small starter set. As you become more familiar with them you will want to get another larger set. Leave the first set in your primary vehicle. Leave the second set in a large rolling toolbox. Get a kit that has a good selection of Standard and Metric sizes, and make sure you get all three types 1/4" 3/8" and 1/2" ratchets. Buy several sets of wrenches, the combination box and open type. Several set of assorted screwdrivers and pliers and several vise grip pliers. Add a multimeter and extra fuses. A hydraulic Jack, at least 5 tons is a must also a pair of jack stands. A mechanics creeper is great and easy on the bones, if you have a solid smooth surface to work on. It will allow you to work quicker safer and easier. Get a drain pan, to catch the fluids so they don't go on the ground. Used oil and fluids, have many uses, don't throw them away. While we are here you will need the fluids and filters to change. Go out and get several gallons of engine oil and coolant. I would a few bottles of brake fluid power steering and a case or two of grease and a grease gun. Starting fuild and extra bulbs, belts and hoses would be a good idea also.
Road flares and triangles. I ‘m partial to having one of those 12 volt jump starters also. If it is getting close to Winter, I always put in some chicken wire and kitty litter for getting out of slick spots. A short shovel for digging out of snow is a good idea. Some blankets and food is a good idea to have stored in your car of you get stuck. We talked about communications last week, but very important to keep as informed as you can about road and weather conditions.
This should give you a place to start, some of the tools will do double duty in other areas as well.
That is one of the reasons that a shop is very important to keeping things organized.

Chrysler's In-Car Wi-Fi Ready To Roll Aug. 25
The hotspot will have a radius of about 100 feet, and it will deliver download speeds from 400 to 800 Kbps and average upload speeds of 400 Kbps. By Marin Perez InformationWeek August 13, 2008 05:22 PM Starting Aug. 25, some Chrysler drivers will be able to turn their cars into rolling Wi-Fi hotspots. The company will be the first carmaker to offer Internet capability when it begins to sell its Uconnect Web system, which includes an antenna and trunk-mounted router that are hardwired into the car's electrical system. An EV-DO Rev. A cellular connection is made to the Internet, and a Wi-Fi hotspot that enables laptops and other devices in the car to surf the Web is created. More Mobility InsightsWhite PapersEleven Myths about 802.11 Wi-Fi Networks Physical Inventory, RFID Project for Stratum Global, Inc WebcastsReal-time Visibility of Mobile Inventory, Assets, and Field-Based Employees using RFID Improving Business Processes with WAN Acceleration ReportsCode Of The Road 6 Top Technologies For Remote Office Support ... And 2 To Avoid "With Uconnect Web all passengers in or near the vehicle are continuously connected to the Internet," said Rob Richard, director of sales and service marketing for Chrysler's Mopar division, in a statement. "This can make dinner reservations, check directions or weather, make online purchases, surf Facebook, MySpace, Disney (NYSE: DIS), or Webkinz, watch the latest YouTube videos, upload photos to a Flickr account -- all at the same time." The hotspot will have a radius of about 100 feet, and it will deliver download speeds from 400 to 800 Kbps and average upload speeds of 400 Kbps. To prevent unauthorized access, the connection can be secured with WEP encryption or WAN port restriction, and the system will only operate with the key in the ignition. Being able to check your e-mails in the car will come at a price, as the router will cost about $500 with a $35 to $50 installation fee. Along with a one-time $35 activation fee, the customer will also have to sign up for a $29 monthly subscription plan. The product will only be sold at authorized Chrysler dealerships, the company said. The technology is being provided by Autonet Mobile, which already offers a mobile Internet product that's used by Avis rental car. http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/wifiwimax/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210003709&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Mobility

Researchers offer new way to avoid bogus Web sites August 27, 2008 - 5:13pm
By JORDAN ROBERTSON AP Technology Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Intercepting Internet traffic, and spying on the communication between two computers, is a gold mine for hackers. Now Carnegie Mellon University researchers hope software they've built will make it harder for criminals to hit that jackpot.
The software, a free download for use with latest version of the Firefox Web browser, creates an additional way for people to verify whether the site they're trying to visit is authentic.
Most browsers already alert users when a site appears bogus. One way is by warning that a site that claims to be equipped to handle confidential information securely hasn't been verified by a third party, like VeriSign Inc. or GoDaddy.com Inc. Those are two of many companies that sell so-called Secure Sockets Layer certificates, which generate the padlock icon in the address bar.
The problem, the Carnegie Mellon researchers say, is that many people are perplexed about how to proceed once they get one of those warnings about a bad certificate.
Some click through, going on to malicious sites that steal their personal information, while others retreat, skipping over harmless sites that used less expensive, "self-signed" certificates.
So the researchers _ David Andersen, Adrian Perrig and Dan Wendlandt _ created a program that performs a novel extra step. It can tap into a network of publicly accessible servers that have been programmed to ping Web sites and record changes in the encryption keys they use to secure data.
Any discrepancy can be a sign that hackers are rerouting traffic through machines under their control, a pernicious type of attack known as a "man in the middle."
As a result, the new program either overrides the security warning if a site is deemed legitimate, or throws up another warning if the subsequent probes reveal more red flags.
___
On the Net:
Carnegie Mellon researchers' site:
http://tinyurl.com/6cblaz

Bush urged to block Mexican military
Agents cite rash of incursions
The U.S. Border Patrol's largest union local has asked President Bush to put an end to the scores of Mexican military incursions into the United States that have put Border Patrol agents at risk of being injured or killed.
"It is disgraceful that Border Patrol agents are put in harm's way and our government doesn't do everything reasonably within its power to protect us from marauding Mexican soldiers and others," said Edward "Bud" Tuffly II, head of Local 2544 of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) in Tucson.
"Without a forceful response to these illegal incursions, an agent will eventually be seriously wounded or killed. It is only a matter of time," Mr. Tuffly said. "The incursions will not stop until the Mexican military units and their commanders are held accountable for their actions."
In a letter Saturday to Mr. Bush, Mr. Tuffly asked the president to "take a strong stand against" Mexican military incursions.
He said Mexican soldiers have made hundreds of incursions into the United States and that some of them resulted in agents coming under gunfire and being detained at gunpoint.
"It is a documented fact that the Mexican military is corrupt and is involved in protecting drug cartels, smugglers and other criminals," said Mr. Tuffly, a veteran Border Patrol agent.
The NBPC represents all of the agency's 16,000 nonsupervisory agents. Mr. Tuffly's local is the union's largest, with about 3,000 members.
White House officials said Wednesday that they had not received the letter and referred inquiries to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
CBP spokesman Michael Friel acknowledged that the Mexican military has made incursions into the United States and said those incidents have been treated seriously and reported up the chain of command. He said protocols have been developed to ensure that the incidents are resolved as "quickly and safely" as possible.
"There is an international boundary for a reason and they are to be respected by both governments," Mr. Friel said. "We take very seriously our role in working with our international neighbors to address and resolve these situations."
Last week in separate letters to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Rep. Duncan Hunter raised what he described as "serious questions" about the Mexican military's presence and activities along the southwestern border.
He made the comments in response to an Aug. 3 incident during which a Border Patrol agent was held at gunpoint by members of the Mexican military who had crossed the border into Arizona about 85 miles southwest of Tucson. The soldiers returned to Mexico without incident when backup agents responded to assist.
"The fact that the Mexican military is operating in such close proximity to the border, without any identifiable purpose, calls into question its activities and raises concerns about the vulnerability of our southern land border," said Mr. Hunter, a California Republican who played a key role in the government's efforts to build a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.
"When considering the frequency of incursions and the threat these encounters pose to our Border Patrol agents, it is critical that we take the necessary steps to ensure that Mexican military and law-enforcement personnel do not cross into the U.S. without our knowledge or consent," he said.
Officials at Homeland Security also referred inquiries to CBP.
Mr. Friel noted that the ongoing construction of 670 miles of fencing along the southwestern border "will result in a clearer delineation of the international border" and a reduction in the number of incursions.
Last week, the State Department and the Border Patrol in Washington described the Aug. 3 incursion as a "momentary misunderstanding," saying the Mexican soldiers did not know where they were and needed to make certain that the detained agent was who he said he was - although rank-and-file Border Patrol agents in Arizona said he was dressed in uniform and was driving a well-marked, white-and-green agency vehicle.
The incident occurred on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation, a major corridor for smuggling humans and drugs.
Mr. Tuffly said the four Mexican military personnel who crossed into the United States on Aug. 3 did so after passing vehicle barriers that Homeland Security had erected at the border. The agent was in full uniform and was driving a fully marked Border Patrol vehicle, complete with red and blue lights, large green stripes down the side, and the large words "Border Patrol" on the sides and the rear of the vehicle, he said.
"A reasonable person would conclude that the soldiers knew exactly at whom they were pointing their rifles," Mr. Tuffly said. "Had the agent panicked and fired a shot or attempted to flee in his vehicle, there is little doubt the Mexican soldiers would have opened fire."
He described the State Department's declaration that the incident was a "misunderstanding" as "unfortunate."
"During past incursions, the Mexican government has denied it had soldiers in the area. They have blamed impostors, even when military Humvees were involved," he said. "Time after time they have gotten away with these incursions and time after time our government has not taken a forceful stand against them."
Mr. Hunter said in his letters that 43 Mexican military incursions have been reported in the past 10 months and more than 200 since 2006. In the letter, he asked what action the Homeland Security and State departments were taking "to address the incursion ... and limit or prevent the likelihood of similar incidents in the future."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/28/bush-urged-to-block-mexican-military/

Again in the catagory for what a sick world we live in.
FBI: Pa. student hoped to breed sex slave society
JOE MANDAK ASSOCIATED PRESSOriginally published 05:10 p.m., August 19, 2008, updated 05:08 p.m., August 19, 2008
PITTSBURGH (AP) - A Pennsylvania medical student told a classmate he was trying to recruit a New Zealand woman and her 4-year-old daughter to start a society of sex slaves that would live on a farm or island, the FBI said.
The FBI said in an affidavit filed Aug. 13 that it began investigating Jeremy Noyes, 30, of Erie, after someone tipped them off about his efforts to recruit the New Zealand woman and girl to come to the United States. They said he also possessed child pornography.
The tipster, using a pseudonym, submitted a complaint on an FBI Web page in June in which she wrote, "Noyes has threatened to kill me and my family ... (and) will not rest until we are dead. All the evidence you need is in his computer and that little girl's mind. Please save her."
Investigators got warrants to search Noyes' two e-mail accounts and found "images of prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit activity," the FBI wrote in the affidavit.
The images Noyes is accused of sending and receiving do not depict the New Zealand woman or her daughter. FBI agent William Crowley could not say Tuesday if authorities have determined whether they even exist.
Noyes was in custody Tuesday and faces a hearing before a federal magistrate in Erie on Thursday to determine whether he will remain jailed on the child pornography charges until he stands trial. He is represented by a federal public defender who declined to comment Tuesday in line with the office's policy of not speaking to the media.
The tipster's note said Noyes claimed he had been instructing the girl's mother to train the girl to perform bizarre sexual acts, to expose her to pornography and to mete out "extreme punishments such as locking her in a closet with no food for three days."
The note led the FBI to interview a woman who attended school with Noyes at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. The classmate told the FBI she had dated Noyes and acted as his sex slave.
She also detailed Noyes' plans for the New Zealand woman, who is pregnant, and her daughter, the affidavit said.
Noyes wanted them to move in with him, she said, and his intent was to have sex with the woman and her daughter and breed a family of female sex slaves, according to the affidavit.
The FBI investigation said it found women who corresponded with Noyes online and, in turn, the child-sex images in his e-mail account this month.
A spokesman for the medical school said that confidentiality laws prevent him from commenting on Noyes' status at the school.
Noyes faces as many as 40 years in prison if he is convicted of the child pornography charges. The magistrate on Thursday must determine whether he is likely to flee prosecution or too dangerous to remain free pending trial.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/19/fbi-pa-student-hoped-to-breed-sex-slave-society-1/

If they do it to them, they will being doing it to you.
FBI blames phone flap on miscommunication
Critics unlikely to be mollified
The FBI's top lawyer said miscommunication - not malevolence - led the bureau in 2004 to improperly obtain the telephone records of newspaper reporters writing about Islamic terrorism in Indonesia.
Valerie E. Caproni, the FBI's general counsel, told The Washington Times in an interview that her explanation was based on a preliminary review of e-mails sent among agents at the time.
It was the first time an FBI official described any circumstances surrounding the situation, though the explanation seems unlikely to sway critics.
A more definitive account of the situation is expected to be included in a forthcoming report from the Justice Department's Inspector General (IG) into the use of so-called "exigent letters."
The FBI used such letters to request telephone toll-billing records and subscriber information, but not the content of the calls. The letters sent to the phone companies simply stated the information was being requested because of an emergency.
"Exigent letters" are similar to the controversial National Security Letters (NSLs), which allow agents to gather certain information without normal judicial oversight.

Valerie E. Caproni
In the case regarding the New York Times and The Washington Post, the FBI violated a long-standing Justice Department policy that requires high-level approval before seeking that type of information from journalists.
FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III apologized to The Times and The Post earlier this month, and the case likely will be brought up Sept. 17, when he testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Ms. Caproni said the case agent e-mailed an agent in the terrorism-investigating Communications Analysis Unit (CAU) to suggest seeking Justice Department permission and a grand jury subpoena to obtain the reporters' phone records.
Ms. Caproni said the case agent did not say it was an emergency, but the agent in CAU sent an "exigent letter" anyway.
While it is not known why the agent in CAU sent the letter, Ms. Caproni suggested the agent in CAU may have been trying to be helpful. She also noted CAU is on the front lines of the fight against terrorism and that the unit was busy at the time.

Robert S. Mueller III
Mike German, policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington legislative office, said he didn't buy Ms. Caproni's argument. "It's clear the FBI wants to minimize this as a mistake and not abuse," he said. "The facts are, there was a ridiculous amount of misuse and abuse."
Ms. Caproni said she does not want to minimize the bureau's mistakes, but stressed changes made in recent years should prevent a similar situation in the future.
She said the bureau has banned the use of "exigent letters" and has a new process in place to obtain such information in an emergency.
An agent seeking emergency toll-billing information from a phone company now must write a memo explaining the emergency that makes such a request necessary. Ms. Caproni said a supervisor must approve the request.
In the past, phone companies could refuse the requests made in an "exigent letter." But they were in a difficult position to do so because they didn't know the circumstances of the apparent emergency.
Now, Ms. Caproni said, the letters sent to phone companies must provide more facts to help the company determine whether the emergency is serious enough to turn over the records without first receiving a subpoena.
"This, at least, creates a factual record," Ms. Caproni said. "Assuming it passes the 'straight-face test,' we don't anticipate any problems with the phone companies."
According to a report from the Justice Department's inspector general, more than 700 "exigent letters" were sent from 2003 to 2006.
"The numbers of true emergencies is far smaller than that," Ms. Caproni said. "It's a small number of true emergencies, though there are some. There are times when we have true emergencies, and we need things quickly."
She said she is not sure how many letters have been sent under the new standards.
The upcoming IG report will be its third about the bureau's expanded investigative power under the Patriot Act, which originally was passed in response to the 2001 terrorist attacks.
The first two reports focused mostly on NSLs, which allow the bureau to act unilaterally in demanding financial, phone and other records. Unlike typical subpoenas or search warrants, NSLs do not need judicial approval.
The reports found widespread abuses.
"National Security Letters can be a valuable tool for the FBI to use in detecting and preventing acts of terrorism. But abuses should not be tolerated; there's too much at stake for the FBI to get it wrong," Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican and member of the Judiciary Committee, said Monday. "The FBI needs better transparency and accountability, and those who broke the rules should be held accountable."
Ms. Caproni said the biggest problems with NSLs were similar to those regarding "exigent letters" in the Times and the Post case. She described them not as malicious, but as "procedural" or "failure of care."
In 2007, the bureau increased training about NSLs and created a work-flow system that ensures supervisory review. Every NSL also must be reviewed by a bureau lawyer, she said.
Despite the changes, Ms. Caproni doesn't suspect any fewer NSLs are being sent.
Mr. German thinks the bureau's internal changes are not enough. "This requires outside oversight," he said. "Getting the courts involved is the most important check against abuses of executive power."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/26/fbi-blames-phone-flap-on-miscommunication/

Wind, solar projects race to finish before tax credit expires
By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY
A congressional stand-off that has blocked extension of federal tax credits for renewable energy projects is setting off a boom in the wind and solar industries. Developers and customers are racing to install systems by year's end to qualify for the credits, which can cut the cost of a large commercial system by 30%.
Wind developer EnXco has spent millions to ensure wind farms in Minnesota and California are spinning this year, says CEO Tristan Grimbert. "We will go the extra mile to be on time."
Randall Swisher, head of the American Wind Energy Association, says 8,000 megawatts of wind energy — the equivalent of 16 average coal-fired plants — are under construction, with developers scrambling to finish most by year's end.
Solar panel installations in California are up 74% this year, at least partly due to the tax-break impasse, says Larry Sherwood, a consultant for the Interstate Renewable Energy Council. It's mostly businesses that are racing to beat the clock, says Barry Cinnamon, CEO of installer Akeena Solar.
Sempra Generation is hurrying to finish a solar farm in Nevada, though it hasn't lined up a utility to buy the power. "We stepped out a little bit," says CEO Michael Allman, adding he expects to find a buyer.

Extension of the tax credits has wide support in Congress, but the issue has bogged down in partisan battles. Senate Democrats insist the subsidies — costing the Treasury at least $1.7 billion a year — be offset with new revenue, while Republicans insist on an energy package that includes offshore oil drilling. Energy consultant Stow Walker expects the credits to be extended, but Congress plans to adjourn in early October, leaving just weeks to decide.
The boom could be short-lived. Uncertainty about renewal of the credits is causing projects scheduled for 2009 and beyond to be delayed or scrapped.
Abengoa Solar can't get financing for a $1 billion solar thermal plant in Arizona without the credit, says company senior adviser Fred Morse. National Wind says four Midwest projects are in limbo. EnXco's Grimbert has rerouted turbines intended for the Midwest to the United Kingdom. "This is a classic boom-bust cycle, and it's not at all good for the industry," Sherwood says.
If tax breaks aren't renewed by December, up to 115,000 workers could be laid off in early 2009, according to the trade groups for wind and solar.
The wind industry endured similar gyrations in 1999, 2001 and 2003 when Congress let the tax benefit expire. Lawmakers ultimately renewed it the following years, but wind turbine installations fell as much as 93%.
Now, the stakes are higher, because the 2-year-old solar credit is affected for the first time. And wind energy has nearly tripled the past five years.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2008-08-25-alternative-energy-tax-credits_N.htm

Pet-food recall leads to 6,000 claims and counting
By Julie Schmit, USA TODAY
Almost 6,000 claims have been filed in a class-action settlement stemming from last year's massive pet-food recall.
Menu Foods, other pet-food makers and retailers in May agreed to set up a $24 million cash fund to compensate pet owners whose cats and dogs became sick or died after eating food that had a contaminated ingredient from China.
The filing period for claims began May 30 and will run until Nov. 24.
"I expect that number (of claims) will go up a lot. There's quite a bit of time to go," says attorney Sherrie Savett of plaintiffs' law firm Berger & Montague.
The Food and Drug Administration never identified how many pets were affected, but it received more than 17,000 complaints.

Once a claim is filed, it will be reviewed by an independent claims administrator. Claimants may receive a 100% cash payment for all documented expenses deemed reasonable, including veterinary bills and burial costs. They may receive up to $900 for undocumented expenses. Under the terms of the settlement, most claims are likely to be paid next year.
To be eligible, claimants must have bought or fed their pets one of the recalled pet foods.
A federal judge in New Jersey gave the settlement preliminary approval in May. A hearing for final approval is scheduled for October.
If the court approves the settlement as expected, it would resolve more than 100 lawsuits brought in the U.S. and a dozen in Canada. The $24 million is in addition to $8 million that pet-food makers have already paid to pet owners.
Legal fees and attorneys' expenses, which haven't been determined, will come out of the fund. Attorneys' fees cannot exceed 31% of the fund for the U.S. and Canadian attorneys combined, according to the settlement's terms.
The vast majority of the fund will go to pet owners whose pets were injured or died as a result of kidney failure, which was linked to the contaminant.
The FDA determined that the pet-food ingredients, sold to pet-food makers as wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate, were adulterated in China with the industrial chemical melamine to make them appear richer in protein than they actually were.
The recall was the largest ever for the pet-food industry.
It began March 16, 2007, by Menu Foods, a large maker of wet pet food for many pet-food brands.
The recall grew to involve 12 pet-food makers and 180 brands of pet food and treats. Along with Menu, other defendants include Hill's Pet Nutrition, Iams and retailers such as Wal-Mart.
Menu Foods, which supplied most of the recalled foods, has pegged its recall costs at $55 million, some of which went to the settlement fund.
If there is money remaining after claims have been processed, it will go to charities that promote the well-being of pets, the settlement says.
A website has been set up at www.petfoodsettlement.com. The claims administrator can be reached at 800-392-7785.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/2008-08-25-pet-food-recall_N.htm

Squier's ID found in women's restroom
John McCaslin (Contact)Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Peggy Cusack, chief of staff of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, wrote a rather intriguing e-mail to her staff Tuesday summing up day one of the Denver proceedings, which included speeches by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and Michelle Obama.
"Great job guys! One down, three to go!" she begins, then makes these points, among others:
"1. Morning coordination meeting, we probably don't need one today, unless anyone thinks we still might have outstanding convention issues that haven't been addressed yet?
"2. I think that congressional staffer made a career move when she 'lost' her boss's parking pass.
"3. I just spit coffee.
"4. Who do you want to bet cries first?
"5. No, sir, we actually do not provide food for protesters.
"6. Does anyone know where Mark Squier is? I just found his USSS ID - in the women's restroom."
A convention producer, Mr. Squier is a media consultant and strategic adviser to numerous Democratic candidates, having co-founded Squier/Eskew Communications in 1991. A filmmaker, he produced the Emmy- and Academy Award-winning film "The Blue Men."
Ms. Cusack, when not politicking, is managing director of the Washington office of Rendezvous Consulting Group. For eight years she was the Clinton White House event planner.
DONKEY CHANGE
Among the more outrageous T-shirt messages spotted within the venue of the Democratic National Convention: "Monica Lewinsky's Ex-Boyfriend's Wife for President."
And in the spirit of "change" there's another popular T-shirt showing a donkey sporting an afro with a comb stuck in it.
PAUSE, JOE
Renowned copy editor Merrill Perlman comes to the defense of outspoken Sen. Joe Biden in this week's Columbia Journalism Review, her headline: "Comma Suture: A little punctuation mark can hold things together, or rend them asunder."
She observes that the selection of Mr. Biden to be Barack Obama's running mate has revived the debate over a statement the Delaware Democrat made in early 2007: "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy."
"Now, we're not going to deal with the question of whether his use of words like 'articulate' and 'clean' was racist or otherwise loaded, or whether he was slighting other 'mainstream' African-Americans like Jesse Jackson, Shirley Chisholm or even Jackie Robinson. Instead, we're going to focus on the comma that could have helped make his point clearer," Ms. Perlman writes.
Instead, she quotes Dean Mills, who happens to be dean of the University of Missouri School of Journalism: "Seldom has the distinction between a restrictive and a nonrestrictive clause been more important. Without the comma, which is how every version I've seen is punctuated, it sounds as if Biden is saying that all other African-American candidates were not articulate, bright, etc.
"But if you listen to the clips, Biden pauses significantly between 'African-American' and 'who.' So he could have meant (and almost certainly did): 'I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American, who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.'"
Ms. Perlman says she and Dean Mills "have had frequent run-ins over the serial comma, which he fervently believes in and I don't. But this time, I'm on his side."
POLITICOS GONE WILD
Just in time for the Democratic National Convention hosted by his city, Denver author Kim Long, who has published The American Forecaster Almanac annually since 1984, brings readers the Almanac of Political Corruption, Scandals & Dirty Politics.
All told, he recalls 300 years of political wrongdoing, era-defining misdeeds and indiscretions, from Teapot Dome to Monica Lewinsky.
We've leafed through the book, which goes on sale next Tuesday, to sadly discover that the current decade is as ripe with monkey business as any before.
John McCaslin can be reached at 202/636-3284 or jmccaslin@washingtontimes.com.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/26/squiers-id-found-in-womens-restroom/?page=2


Russia seeks support from eastern neighbors
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan (AP) — Russia's president appealed to the leaders of China and four Central Asian countries for support Thursday amid the fallout over Moscow's invasion of Georgia and its recognition of the country's separatist regions.
Speaking at a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in this impoverished country, President Dmitry Medvedev called Georgia the aggressor in the conflict and said support for Russia would serve as a "serious signal for those who are trying to justify the aggression."
Medvedev's appeal came as Western leaders accuse Russia of using excessive force by sending troops into Georgia earlier this month after a Georgian crackdown on the pro-Russian South Ossetia.
European nations and the United States have also criticized Russian troops' continued presence in Georgia near the two separatist regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and Moscow's recognition of them as independent republics.
Russian leaders, meanwhile, have blamed NATO expansion and Western support for Georgia for raising the specter of a new Cold War.
China and the other Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — were expected to stop short of endorsing Medvedev's recognition of the regions.
Medvedev discussed the situation in Georgia with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday, Medvedev's spokeswoman Natalia Timakova said.
China has traditionally been wary of supporting separatist movements, mindful of its own problems with Tibet and what it describes as radicals seeking to establish a Muslim state in the western territory of Xinjiang.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang was quoted by state news agency Xinhua as saying "the situation in the region ... should be resolved in dialogue."
Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, told reporters Wednesday that China's refusal to recognize South Ossetia or Abkhazia did not mean that China was joining Western opposition to Russia's actions in Georgia.
The other nations in the alliance may be reluctant to strain their relations with Europe and the United States.
The Asian alliance was created in 2001 as a forum for its members to improve regional coordination on terrorism and border security.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-08-28-russia-support_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

100 protesters taken to temporary center
By The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 08/26/2008 01:51:13 AM MDT

Denver police shoot pepper spray at a group gathered in downtown Denver Monday night. Police say they ordered the group to disperse before firing the spray. About 100 protesters were being processed early today at Denver's temporary processing center in a former warehouse.
Depending on their charges, they should be processed by 4 a.m. or 5 a.m., said Capt. Frank Gale of the Denver Sheriff's Office.
"It's working exactly the way it is supposed to do," Gale said of the facility.
If the detainees have the resources, they could post bond, Gale said. Others could end up being taken back to the main jail.
About 7 p.m. Monday, riot police using pepper spray forced a couple of hundred protesters out of Civic Center and then blocked them before they could reach the 16th Street Mall.
Police surrounded the protesters along 15th Street between Court Street and Cleveland Place and then
LIVE FOOTAGE
Watch LIVE VIDEO from the standoff between protesters and police. moved up reinforcements, including at least two armored vehicles.
Lynn Kimbrough, a spokeswoman for the convention's Joint Information Center, said one officer fired pepper spray during the initial confrontation near the City and County Building and one officer fire pepper spray on 15th Street. She also said one officer fired pepper balls in once instance, but wasn't sure of the timing.
She said an officer fired the first spray when several of the protesters charged toward the police line, which had been set up to protect the roadway and prevent any movement toward the pedestrian mall.
Police processed detainees until nearly 11 p.m. using tables set up along Cleveland and loading the detainees onto sheriff's buses for transport to the center.
Larry Hales with the activist group Recreate 68 said his group did nothing wrong Monday and had a permit for the Civic Center gathering when police closed in and created havoc.
Hales said that if they are not released by the morning, the activists will protest outside the police headquarters.
"I'm a little in shock," said Joey-Kenzie, 21, of Denver, after spending about 90 minutes in the crowd of people pinned in by officers in SWAT gear.
Kenzie said she wanted to

Police subdue and arrest a protester near the City and County Building. Approximately 100 protesters were involved in the demonstration, which was an attempt by Unconventional Denver to disrupt what it called a capitalist fundraising orgy. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post)leave but police had surrounded the group and there was no way out.
"At one point we didn't know what we were going to do, we were going to get arrested or maced," said the recent Community College of Denver graduate.
Kenzie said police never asked for her identification.
"I haven't been able to vote for a president yet, but this was an epiphany," she said. "My freedom of speech was suppressed."
Protesters and police had originally lined up across from one another in front of City and County Building about 7 p.m., the police wearing their full riot gear and holding batons, chanting "move back, move back."
Police used pepper spray before the mass of marchers moved back across the park and were cut off by police behind the

Police in riot gear surround protesters on 15th Street near Civic Center park in downtown Denver on Monday night. This is not America. This is what a police state looks like. You re worried about Beijing? This is repression, one activist shouted. (Jason Halley, Special to The Denver Post)Sheraton Hotel.
One protester said police had used the spray "like a supersoaker" in front of the City and County Building. Pepper spray was used again on 15th Street.
A police spokesman said that they had massed their forces in the park based on intelligence about the protesters' actions.
One demonstrator, who would not give his name, said the confrontation began when "a bunch of us were supposed to have a direct action march."
Paralyzed anti-war activist Ron Kovic, who was not part of the march, had talked to protesters on the mall outside of the police parimeter."I came out here for my concern for you," Kovic told them. "We're not going to let them stop you. We're not going to let them intimidate you. But we are emphasizing

At right, Amanda Hubbard rinses out her eyes after being hit with pepper spray. (Jeff Gritchen, Special to The Denver Post)peace and nonviolence. We don't want trouble in Denver tonight."
Curiousity seekers stood outside the police cordon, outnumbering the marchers.
Protestors told reporters they were a mix of Tent State participants and those identifying themselves as anti-capitalist, anti-fascist, anti-war individuals.
The group split, with officers surrounding and detaining the group on 15th Street, while others were pushed back by police toward Civic Center. Once the police organized their lines, the distance widened.
Police officials asked RTD to shut the 16th Street Mall bus shuttle service shortly after 7 p.m., said RTD spokesman Scott Reed. The mall service resumed around 9:30 p.m.
Sam Harper, 36, of Eufaula, Okla., said he was here to protest the war, but he wasn't prepared to be injured.
"When I saw the tear gas, I split. I don't need to get beat down," Harper said.
The detained grouped chanted in unison: "Who screams? We scream."
Some in the crowd outside the police lines, which included onlookers and media, chanted: "Cops here. Bombs there. U.S. out of everywhere."
"Speech is free. Let them be."
"Show me what the First Amendment looks like."
"Let them go."
"Watch out! They're gearing up," some in the crowd shouted, as officers donned gas masks and other protective equipment.
A girl warned anyone with contact lenses to get out of the area.
"The spray will fuse your contact lenses to your eyeballs," she said.
A protester named Timmy said he had slipped out of his all-black outfit and then slipped outside the police cordon.
"We want freedom from oppression," he said. "We want direct democracy where communities are allowed to make decisions based on our own abilities. It takes bottom-up organizing to make change; it doesn't take a leader. We want cooperations, not capitalism."
Meanwhile, in Skyline Park near 18th and Arapahoe, about a dozen people sat surrounded by police, apparently in custody.
http://www.denverpost.com/politicswestnews/ci_10301186 (at link you can view pictures)

Another step in the battle of words over the Georgia area. Russia is not messing around i hope our government understands this.
Russian general criticizes US Black Sea presence
By DAVID RISING, Associated Press Writer Mon Aug 25, 7:19 AM ET
ABOARD THE U.S.S. MCFAUL - A Russian general suggested that U.S. ships in the Black Sea loaded with humanitarian aid would worsen tensions already driven to a post-Cold War high by a short but intense war between Russia and Georgia.
The U.S. Navy destroyer U.S.S. McFaul reached Georgia's Black Sea port of Batumi on Sunday, bringing baby food, bottled water and a message of support for an embattled ally.
The deputy chief of Russia's general staff suggested the arrival of the McFaul and other U.S. and NATO ships would increase tensions: Russia shares the sea with NATO members Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria as well as Georgia and Ukraine, whose pro-Western presidents are leading drives for NATO membership.
"I don't think such a buildup will foster the stabilization of the atmosphere in the region," Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency quoted Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn as saying Saturday.
Georgian Defense Minister David Kezerashvili told The Associated Press on the aft missile deck of the McFaul after greeting U.S. Navy officers that the population of Georgia would feel "more safe" from the "Russian aggression" as a result of the ship's arrival.
"They will feel safe not because the destroyer is here but because they will feel they are not alone facing the Russian aggression," he said.
Local children offered the Americans wine and flowers.
In Europe, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he would convene a special meeting of European Union leaders over the crisis as Russia ignored Western accusations it has fallen short of its commitment to withdraw forces from its smaller neighbor.
The war erupted Aug. 7 as Georgia launched a massive artillery barrage targeting the Russian-backed separatist province of South Ossetia. Russian forces repelled the offensive and drove deep into Georgia, taking crucial positions across the small former Soviet republic.
Russia pulled the bulk of its troops and tanks out Friday under a cease-fire brokered by Sarkozy, but built up its forces in and around South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another separatist region. They also left other military posts at locations inside Georgia proper.
The U.S. and EU say both those moves violated Russia's commitments.
NATO halted the operations of its vehicle for interaction with Russia, demanding a fuller withdrawal, and Moscow responded by freezing military contacts with the alliance — its Cold War foe whose eastward expansion has angered a resurgent Russia.
The guided missile cruiser USS McFaul, carrying about 55 tons of humanitarian aid, is the first of three American ships scheduled to arrive this week. It brought baby food, diapers, bottled water, milk and hygiene products.
Sailors in a chain on deck passed the supplies up from the hold to be lifted by a crane for transport to shore.
The commander of the U.S. task force carrying aid to Georgia by ship, Navy Capt. John Moore, downplayed the significance of a destroyer bringing aid.
"We really are here on a humanitarian mission," he said.
The McFaul, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, is outfitted with an array of weaponry, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, which can carry either conventional or nuclear warheads, and a sophisticated radar system. For security reasons the Navy does not say whether ships are carrying nuclear weapons, but they usually do not.
A U.S. official said the American ship anchored in Batumi, Georgia's main oil port on the Black Sea, because of concerns about damage to the Georgian port of Poti — not because Poti is closer to Russian forces in Abkhazia and Georgia proper.
Russian troops still hold positions near Poti, and Georgian port officials say radar, Coast Guard ships and other port facilities were extensively damaged by Russian forces. AP journalists there have reported on Russians looting the area.
An AP television cameraman and his Georgian driver were treated roughly and briefly detained Sunday by Russian troops outside Poti as he shot video of Russian positions.
Adding to the tension, South Ossetian officials claimed that Georgia was building up military forces in an area along the edge of the battered region and had fired sporadically at villages overnight.
As Moscow's military moved to redraw de facto borders on the ground, Russia's parliament on Monday was planning to consider renewed requests from South Ossetia and Abkhazia for recognition of their claims of independence from Georgia.
Georgia claims Russia wants to annex the regions.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080825/ap_on_re_eu/georgia_russia;_ylt=Amh_ag0G09.7_gGQYW7z53F0bBAF

Russian parliament urges recognition of rebels
By JIM HEINTZ and MANSUR MIROVALEV, Associated Press Writers 29 minutes ago
TBILISI, Georgia - Russian lawmakers on Monday urged the Kremlin to recognize the independence of two separatist Georgian regions, heightening tensions with Georgia where the government said hundreds of Russian soldiers remained at checkpoints.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev did not immediately respond to the unanimous votes in both houses of Russia's parliament, but he has said Moscow would support whatever choice the people of Abkhazia and South Ossetia make about their future status.
Western countries warned Moscow that recognizing the breakaway regions of Georgia, an allied nation pressing for NATO membership, would prompt international denunciation. The U.S. said Russian recognition "would be unacceptable."
"Russia needs to respect the territorial integrity of Georgia," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood.
But Medvedev signaled the criticism was of little concern to the Kremlin.
NATO needs Russia more than Russia needs NATO, Medvedev said, and it would be "nothing frightening" if the Western alliance were to sever all ties. NATO has suspended operations of the NATO-Russia Council over the Georgia crisis, which has broadened Europe's post-Cold War fault lines.
"We don't need an illusion of partnership, when they surround us by bases from all sides, they drag more and more states into the North Atlantic bloc and they tell us, 'Don't worry, everything's fine' — of course we don't like that,' " Medvedev said.
Russian tanks and troops poured into South Ossetia on Aug. 8 after Georgia launched a barrage against the breakaway region's capital then drove deep into Georgia proper.
The Russian forces pulled back Friday in what Moscow claims is fulfillment of a European Union-brokered cease-fire. However, Georgia and its Western allies say Russia has violated the cease-fire's call to pull back to prewar positions because it has set up posts adjacent to South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Georgian Security Council head Alexander Lomaia told The Associated Press on Monday that Russia has set up at least 14 positions in the security zones, apparently manned by hundreds of troops. "It's difficult to count them, but they say they are deploying at least 20 at each checkpoint and two or three heavy armored vehicles," he said.
Although Georgia bitterly opposes the security zones, the country's small military is unlikely to be able to push out the Russian soldiers. Russia's huge armed forces quickly overwhelmed Georgia's, and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has been accused of starting a war that Georgia had no hope of winning.
Lomaia said Georgia will seek to force the Russians out by using "the force of law, not the law of force."
"We will focus on a concentrated international effort to help Georgia to get rid of the Russian forces," he said.
U.S. Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said Russia is "still failing to live up to and honor" the cease-fire accord. "There continues to be a large presence of Russian forces in Georgia," he said.
But how much the U.S. and western Europe, which depends on Russia for oil and natural gas, are willing to force the issue remains unclear.
The European Union declared that South Ossetia and Abkhazia must remain in Georgia, and Germany said the Russian parliament votes were "in no way appropriate to either calming or defusing" tensions.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called a meeting of EU leaders Sept. 1 to discuss aid to Georgia and relations with Russia. The French foreign minister said the EU was not considering sanctions against Moscow.
The White House announced it was dispatching Vice President Dick Cheney to the region Sept. 2, for stops in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine and Italy. In Tbilisi, Cheney will hold talks with Saakashvili.
In Washington, the State Department said senior diplomats from the Group of Seven major industrialized nations talked by phone and agreed the group is "alarmed by reports of Russian plans to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia."
The group reaffirmed support for Georgia's territorial integrity and discussed the possibility of issuing a joint G-7 statement about Russian action, the State Department said. Russia is linked with those seven nations in the Group of Eight, so a statement from just the G-7 would underline the exclusion of Russia.
In another sign of worsening relations with the West, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin backed proposals for Moscow to renege on some commitments it has made during talks on gaining membership in the World Trade Organization, state media reported.
Russia is the largest economy outside the WTO and has been trying to join since 1995.
Western officials, including President Bush, say Russia's entry could be jeopardized by its military actions in Georgia. Analysts said Russia's toughened stance was a response to those warnings.
In Georgia, Russian soldiers remained dug in at two checkpoints near the Black Sea port city of Poti, their most controversial and potentially damaging position. Poti itself lies outside the security zones that Russia claims it has the right to occupy, but the Russian military says it will continue to try to control the city.
Georgian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Nana Intskirveli said Russia has not released 12 of the 22 servicemen it seized last week in Poti. The men were blindfolded and driven away in the presence of photographers; 10 were later released and Russia reportedly promised to free the others.
"Their fate is unknown," Intskirveli said.
South Ossetia, meanwhile, accused Georgian forces of taking control of three villages on the edge of the region Monday after Russian troops withdrew. The province's premier, Boris Chochiyev said a delegation was dispatched for negotiations.
"We are hoping to resolve this situation peacefully. And if that doesn't work out, there are other methods," he said.
Georgian Interior Ministry official Shota Utiashvili said Georgian police were in the villages, not soldiers. He said the villages were under Georgian control before the fighting and that under the cease-fire Georgia has the right to station police there.
"We haven't seized anything," he said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080825/ap_on_re_eu/russia_georgia_11;_ylt=AucSCOca1ggCD6Bb4n2ZXtJbbBAF

Nice to see at least they compromised Update of my August 6th post
Creeping Shar'ia Turned Back-Tyson Reinstates Labor Day
August 8, 2008
Creeping Shari'a Turned Back - Tyson Reinstates Labor Day
By WILLIAM MAYER and BEILA RABINOWITZ
August 8, 2008 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - Tyson Foods, Inc., today announced that it has reinstated Labor Day as a paid holiday as part of a renegotiated contract with the Retail, Wholesale and Dept. Store Union, applicable at the Shelbyville, Tennessee plant only.
Initial local reaction is overwhelmingly positive with high ranking local government officials greeting the decision with approval.
The previous agreement, in effect since last November, substituted the Muslim holiday, Eid al-Fitr for Labor Day, in recognition of the substantial number of Somali Muslims working at the plant. That holiday will remain however, bringing the total number of paid holidays to nine - for 2008 only - for the Shelbyville workforce.
Starting in 2009, the number of holidays will revert back to eight, one of which will be a personal holiday, possibly the employee's birthday, Eid, or another day, as the company press release states, "requested and approved by their supervisor."
The move was clearly an effort to quell the firestorm which erupted upon the revelation of the terms of the original contract, recognizing the Muslim holiday.
The implications of the original contract, essentially a concession to creeping Shari'a, was noted by these authors, who wrote in Shari'a Comes To Shelbyville Tennessee concluding:
"…If the United States is not to become a Balkanized agglomeration of little Mogadishus, Islamabads or Rawalpindis, American citizens must become aware of the grander struggle which is occurring, often under the radar, which threatens our existence in a manner which we have never had to face before and that is why seemingly harmless concessions to Shari'a - such as occurred in the Tyson labor agreement - are potentially so devastating."
Tyson is to be commended for its quick and appropriate action in this matter; perhaps this case will set an example to other employers and unions before they too find themselves in such an untenable situation. http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=shelbyvilleid=8.8.08%2Ehtm
http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/3563

Cows seem to know which way is north August 25, 2008 - 4:59pm
In this April 17, 2008 file photo, cows are seen grazing on the farm near Rio, Wis. Do cows have a compass? Somehow, cattle seem to know how to find north and south, say researchers who studied satellite photos of thousands of cows around the world. Cattle that were grazing or resting tended to align their bodies in a north-south direction, a team of German and Czech researchers reports in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Talk about animal magnetism, cows seem to have a built-in compass. No bull: Somehow, cattle seem to know how to find north and south, say researchers who studied satellite photos of thousands of cows around the world.
Most cattle that were grazing or resting tended to align their bodies in a north-south direction, a team of German and Czech researchers reports in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
And the finding held true regardless of what continent the cattle were on, according to the study led by Hynek Burda and Sabine Begall of the faculty of biology at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany.
"The magnetic field of the Earth has to be considered as a factor," the scientists said.
This challenges scientists to find out why and how these animals align to the magnetic field, Begall said in an interview via e-mail.
"Of course, the question arises whether humans show also such a spontaneous behavior," she said, adding, what "consequences does it have for their health."
The study sent Tina Hinchley, who with her husband Duane operates a dairy farm in Cambridge, Wis., to take a new look at an aerial photo taken of their farm a few years ago.
"The cows that were in the pasture were all over the place ... about two-thirds were north-south," Hinchley said.
Two-thirds is close to what the researchers found in their look at 8,510 cattle in 308 pastures. In the study, 60 percent to 70 percent of cattle were oriented north-south, which Begall termed a "highly significant deviation from random distribution."
Hinchley stressed that one factor that must be considered is cow comfort.
"They don't like to get hot. Their body temperature is 102, and they are wearing black leather jackets, literally! If turning north-south would keep them cooler, they would stand that way."
The research team noted that in very windy conditions cattle tend to face the wind, and have been known to seek out the sun on cold days. But they said they were able to discount weather effects in the study by analyzing clues such as the position of the sun based on shadows.
"This is a surprising discovery," said Kenneth J. Lohmann of the biology department at the University of North Carolina. "Nothing like this has been observed before in cattle or in any large animal."
However Lohmann, who was not part of the research team, cautioned that "the study is based entirely on correlations. To demonstrate conclusively that cattle have a magnetic sense, some kind of experimental manipulation will eventually be needed."
Joseph L. Kirschvink of the California Institute of Technology said he wondered if fences around the pastures could affect cattle orientation.
Passive alignment of animals to magnetic fields has been reported in honeybees and termites, he noted. It requires some type of special sensory organ to detect the magnetic field.
"If they have evidence suggesting that mammals are using magnetic fields to orient their movements, this is very cool," said Mark A. Willis, an associate professor of biomedical sciences at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
Willis, who was not part of the research team, added, "We have only in the last few years begun to understand the mechanisms underlying magnetic field orientation in birds and other smaller animals."
Indeed, it's small animals that led to this study, Begall explained. They were researching the magnetic field effect on African mole-rats.
"At one point last year the question came up whether large animals could also sense the Earth's magnetic field or not. But of course, it is difficult, or maybe impossible, to do these studies in the lab," she said. "So, the idea arose to look for other large mammals like cattle, and Hynek Burda was fascinated when he recognized that cattle could be found on Google Earth satellite images."
With satellite images they could tell the north-south orientation of the animals, but not whether an individual cow was facing north or south. You have to get closer to tell which end is which.
Now the researchers are moving on to study sheep, goats, horses, wild boar and some further deer species, Begall added.
The current study said red and roe deer also were found to orient in a north-south direction when grazing and resting, but unlike the worldwide cattle study, the deer portion was limited to the Czech Republic.
___
On the Net:
PNAS: http://www.pnas.org/

Hate to always be a doom and gloomer person here is more information on the Economy
BankUnited might have status downgraded Posted on Tue, Aug. 26, BankUnited Financial ( BKUNY), Florida's largest bank, may lose its ''well-capitalized'' status under federal rules for financial strength unless it attracts at least $400 million of new capital.
The Office of Thrift Supervision will reclassify BankUnited to ''adequately capitalized'' if the company fails to raise more capital, according to a regulatory filing. More restrictions could be placed on the bank, affecting its financial position and operations, BankUnited said.
http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/657813.html

It is heating up, keep your heads down.
Russia recognizes breakaway Georgian regions Russia recognises South Ossetia, Abkhazia as independent Who Started Cold War II? France 'regrets' Russian recognition of South MOSCOW (AP) - Russia formally recognized the breakaway Georgian territories at the heart of its war with Georgia on Tuesday, heightening tensions with the West as the United States dispatched military ships bearing aid to a port city still controlled by Russian troops. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Georgia forced Russia's hand by launching an attack targeting South Ossetia on Aug. 7 in an apparent bid to seize control of the breakaway region. In response, Russian tanks and troops drove deep into the U.S. ally's territory in a five-day war that Moscow saw as a justified response to a military threat in its backyard and the West viewed as a repeat of Soviet-style intervention in its vassal states. "This is not an easy choice but this is the only chance to save people's lives," Medvedev said Tuesday in a televised address announcing Russia's recognition of the breakaway territories. Russian forces have staked out positions beyond the de-facto borders of the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The two territories have effectively ruled themselves following wars in the 1990s. "Georgia chose the least human way to achieve its goal _ to absorb South Ossetia by eliminating a whole nation," Medvedev said. Russia's military presence seems likely to further weaken Georgia, a Western ally in the Caucasus region, a major transit corridor for energy supplies to Europe and a strategic crossroads close to the Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia and energy-rich Central Asia. On the heels of Russia's first post-Soviet invasion of a foreign country, recognition was another stark demonstration of the Kremlin's determination to hold sway in lands where its clout is jeopardized by NATO's expansion and growing Western influence. Medvedev ignored Western warnings against recognizing the independence claims of the two regions, which broke from Georgian government control in early 1990s wars and have run their own affairs with Russian support. After Russia's parliament urged the move in unanimous votes Monday, the U.S. State Department said recognition would be "unacceptable" and President Bush urged the Kremlin against it.http://wtop.com/?nid=105&sid=1466611

Rice calls Russia's declaration 'regrettable' August 26, 2008 - 8:47am By MATTI FRIEDMAN Associated Press Writer RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is calling Russia's recognition of breakaway Georgian territories "regrettable." Rice said Tuesday at a news conference that Russia's formal recognition of the territories at the heart of its war with Georgia "puts Russia in opposition to the Security Council resolution to which it is a party." Rice termed the move "regrettable." On Monday, President Bush had appealed to Russia's president to ignore the advice of lawmakers and refrain from recognizing Georgia's breakaway regions as independent. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. JERUSALEM (AP) _ Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday urged Israel to stop expanding settlements on disputed territory hours after a new report came out saying the Jewish state has nearly doubled such activity in the past year. Rice is visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories in hopes of furthering the announced goal of brokering a Mideast peace deal by year's end, but she offered few signs of progress. Speaking alongside her Israeli counterpart, Rice said only that she was "heartened" that talks launched at a U.S.-sponsored peace conference last November were "serious and intensive." The sides had hoped to reach a final peace deal before President Bush leaves office in January, but have acknowledged that target is unlikely to be met. Rice made no mention of the timeline on Tuesday. Rice is on her seventh trip to the region since talks were relaunched. While Israel and the Palestinians say all key issues have been under discussion, there has been no word on agreements or breakthroughs. The talks have been complicated by the impending departure of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has said he will step down to battle a corruption investigation, and the Hamas militant group's control of the Gaza Strip. Israel says it cannot carry out any deal until Abbas regains control of Gaza from Hamas, which violently seized power in the coastal area in June 2007. It also says the moderate government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which rules from the West Bank, is not doing enough against militants operating in areas under his control. The Palestinians, meanwhile, have complained about continued Israeli construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem _ areas the Palestinians claim for a future independent state. Israel captured both areas in the 1967 Mideast war. Under the "road map," the international peace plan that serves as the basis of the peace talks, Israel promised to halt all settlement construction. But it has continued to build thousands of homes in areas it hopes to retain under a final peace deal. Rice said the Israeli construction has threatened to undermine the talks. "I think that it is no secret, and I've said it to my Israeli counterparts, that I don't think the settlement activity is helpful to the process," she said. "What we need now are steps that enhance confidence between the parties and ... anything that undermines confidence between the parties ought to be avoided." The dovish Israeli group Peace Now released a report Tuesday saying that while talking peace with the Palestinians, Israel's government has dramatically ratcheted up its construction in the West Bank. Some 2,600 new homes for Israelis are currently under construction in the West Bank _ an increase of 80 percent over last year, Peace Now said. In east Jerusalem, which Palestinians want as the capital of their future state, the number of new government bids for construction has increased from 46 in 2007 to 1,761 so far this year, the report said. Palestinians say the construction undermines the talks and prejudices a final peace deal. But Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Israel's chief negotiator, said the construction would not affect the peace talks. "In the end of the day, the role of the leaders is to try to find a way to live in peace in the future, and not to let any kind of noises that relate to the situation on the ground these days to enter the negotiation room," she said. She said the Palestinians should not "use it as an excuse, and I know they are not using it as an excuse, but I understand their frustration sometimes." After meeting Livni alone, Rice held talks with Livni and the chief Palestinian negotiator, Ahmed Qureia, before heading to the West Bank for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. She was expected to leave the region later in the day. Earlier, Rice met alone with Olmert for an hour, discussing the peace process and other regional issues, said Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev. Israel's government "will continue our efforts to reach a historic agreement before the end of the Bush administration," Regev said. Facing a string of corruption investigations, Olmert announced last month that he will step down after his ruling Kadima Party chooses a new leader in September. But under Israel's legislative rules it could be months before a new Israeli prime minister takes office, leaving Olmert in place. He continues to push forward with peace efforts, though his critics say he has little authority to be negotiating peace deals at this point. Olmert and Abbas are slated to meet Sunday for another of their regular meetings, a Palestinian official close to the negotiations said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting had yet to be officially announced. Regev would not confirm the date. http://wtop.com/?nid=105&sid=1356792

Finally some a County that has a little common sense.
County orders library audio books English-only August 24, 2008 - 9:07am
The Frederick County Commissioners will not pay for audio library books in a language other than English, unless the book is teaching that language.
The new policy was approved Thursday during a routine funding vote and one commissioner is already calling for a reversal.
Three of five commissioners were present during the approval of roughly $411,000 for audio books on CD for fiscal 2009, which began in July.
During the meeting, Republican Commissioner Charles Jenkins said he'd like to put a condition on the spending that would require the library buy books in English.
Commissioner John L. Thompson Jr., also a Republican, agreed with the requirement. Commissioner Kai Hagen, a Democrat who opposes the requirement, decided to go along so he would have standing to revisit it later when all five board members are present.
According to county procedural rules, only those who vote in favor of a measure are able to call for a new vote on it.
Commissioners Jan Gardner and David Gray were not present for the vote.
Library policy is generally decided by an independent Board of Trustees, but county government funds 70 percent of the library budget.
Jenkins said he wants to impose language requirements to prevent taxpayers from bearing the burden of buying books in languages other than English. He made a motion earlier this year that the county adopt English as its official language.
"We adopted a resolution proclaiming that English is the dominant language," Jenkins said. "To me, it still makes sense that we don't use taxpayer dollars buying things in languages other than English."
His in-laws immigrated to Frederick County from Cambodia in the 1970s and did not demand library books in their native language, and he doesn't think today's immigrants should be any different.
He said the commissioners should consider language anytime they are making funding decisions, whether it is for the libraries, Board of Education, Frederick Community College or county agencies.
Darrell Batson, director of Frederick County Public Libraries, said the library has very few books in foreign languages, calling the collection of such books "minuscule" compared to the main collection.
The few that it does have are mostly written in Spanish, he said.
Though the collection in other languages is not significant, he believes the commissioners were tying his hands when it comes to responding to the needs of the community. He is also wondering if the commissioners are going to continue placing restrictions on what books the library can buy.
"Obviously, this is an English speaking county," he said. "That's of course what we stock, that is what meets the needs of our patrons. But we are always evaluating, always seeing what best meets the overall needs."
Hagen is worried about the unintended consequences of a rushed policy choice, and asked whether foreign films would eventually be banned from the library.
"These are decisions that are made by library professionals in a non-political environment and we should not politicize the process," Hagen said. "I trust the staff of the library to continue to make reasonable and responsible purchasing decisions that reflect what they know about the people who use the library."
He asked if the commissioners were going to start approving lists of acceptable books. He also asked if Jenkins would object to books on global warming.
Jenkins has said global warming is a hoax.
Full books in other languages can also be helpful for teaching those languages, even if the book is not specifically designated for teaching, Hagen said.
In that case, Jenkins said, the language learner could go to the bookstore and buy a new book instead of getting one from the library.
Hagen plans to make a motion to revisit the policy sometime in the next month.
(Copyright 2008 by The Frederick News-Post. All rights reserved.)
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=598&sid=1465532

Ever wonder if that gas in the shed is still good? Found this on Survival Blog on 8/25/08 it is good to know. It is a good practice to have a can of fuel with a fuel extender in it. I try to fill my equipment with it, then run it, so it is in the system. That keeps good protected fuel in the system and you don't get the gumming up problems over the winter. It is always ready for work that way also.
Jim -Last week, I rotated some gasoline that was put into storage ont he 1st of March, 2005. It was in plastic fuel cans with Sta-Bil added, per the directions. They sat in a storage garage subject to midwest summer temps for one year, in an un-cooled basement garage the other years. I poured the fuel into a 1/3 tank of gas in my car. No noticeable difference in starting or running of the engine. Almost 3.5 years - not bad - just wish I could have replaced it for te same cost I originally filled the cans for![It was then around $1.95 per gallon.] I did buy on the recent dip to $3.65 per gallon [when I re-filled the cans.]
On another topic: Last week, the home market in KC dropped an average of 1% in just one week. How much longer before the house of cards collapses? - Beach
http://www.survivalblog.com/

Very sad, the way this country is going down hill, it is showing up in the family. What in the world was going on this parents mind that she thought this was a good idea?
Mom, son mark birthday with robbery spreePublished: Aug. 20, 2008 at 3:46 PMOrder MILWAUKEE, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Milwaukee-area police say they arrested a woman who used the occasion of her teenage son's birthday visit to go out and rob two gas stations.
The 37-year-old woman and her 17-year-old son from Chicago were in jail Wednesday after being arrested overnight by Greenfield, Wis., police following a holdup Tuesday evening.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said the boy was in town for his mom's birthday party and allegedly held up two gas stations while she acted as the getaway driver.
Police added that the woman's other two sons -- ages 10 and 14 – were aware of the capers and were turned over to child welfare officials along with their 13-month-old sister.
http://www.newstin.com/go-to-link/75032954/http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2008/08/20/Mom_son_mark_birthday_with_robbery_spree/UPI-59551219261574/

Came across this article about Fay, i have a friend, that lived through it. He was out of electric for days at a time. Are you ready to go through something like this?
Fay is one for the record books
8/24/2008 11:06 PM;
By Andrea Stone, USA TODAY
The remnants of Tropical Storm Fay lumbered inland Sunday, dumping heavy rains across the South and putting Gulf Coast cities including New Orleans on flood watch as the region prepares to mark the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina this week.
Fay never reached hurricane strength and was downgraded Saturday to a tropical depression. Yet during its eight days as a tropical storm, it notched a record four landfalls in Florida.
The zigzagging storm that unleashed 25.38 inches of rain near Melbourne Beach, Fla., also ranks among the top four tropical rainmakers to hit the state since 1950, according to the federal Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. Tropical Storm Amelia in 1978 produced the heaviest single rainfall — 48 inches at Medina, Texas.
The storm still has a few days left before it peters out, said Mike Eckert, a meteorologist at the center in Camp Springs, Md. "Fay is not finished yet," he said. "Sometimes, the weaker storms that move very, very slowly can be your biggest rainfall makers."
President Bush declared Brevard, Monroe, Okeechobee and St. Lucie counties in Florida major disaster areas, clearing the way for funds to help local governments do emergency work and repairs.
The aid does not yet include individual homeowners whose properties were damaged by high winds or flood waters. Florida's emergency management center said Fay damaged or destroyed nearly 1,100 homes. Gov. Charlie Crist said the storm caused millions of dollars in property and agricultural damage.
Late Sunday, rescue teams began evacuating people from 180 homes in a town about 25 miles north of Orlando. Workers used boats to evacuate people from DeBary, where some streets were under 4 feet of water.
The tropical depression that Fay became brought heavy rain to southern Alabama and Mississippi on Sunday. Forecasters predicted that Fay would move slowly west before stalling over southwestern Mississippi or eastern Louisiana, possibly lingering until Tuesday. Flash-flood watches and warnings are in effect for most of the central Gulf Coast, eastern Louisiana, southeastern Arkansas and much of Mississippi.
The Coast Guard closed several ports and waterways between Panama City, Fla., and Mobile, Ala. Shelters were opened in low-lying areas of Alabama and sandbags handed out in Ocean Springs, Gulfport and Biloxi on the Mississippi coast and in St. Bernard Parish, La., among the hardest areas hit by Katrina in 2005.
The precautionary measures came as emergency officials in Alabama attributed another death to Fay on Sunday after recovering the body of a man from Lake Martin. That brought the storm's death toll to at least 36, including 11 in Florida, one in Georgia and 23 in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Fay pummeled Florida with torrential rains from the Keys to Naples, Cape Canaveral and along the Panhandle.
In northeast Tallahassee, a 100-foot oak tree toppled into Sheldon Gusky's yard, tearing off a corner of his roof, puncturing his porch and crushing a fence and swimming pool equipment. But it missed a direct hit on his house by inches.
"As unlucky as I was, I was very lucky," said Gusky, 58. "It could have been a heck of a lot worse."
In Palm Bay on Florida's Atlantic coast, Susie McGlown tossed out water-drenched bed comforters from a home meant to give her a second start. The 49-year-old mother of two said she didn't have flood insurance and is praying she will hear some good news when federal and state officials begin assessing damages from Fay.
"We knew it was going to flood but we didn't know it was going to be this bad. It was above my knees," said McGlown, who lives in a one-story home built by Habitat for Humanity. "I was just putting towels and comforters down to keep it out of the house but it kept coming."
In nearby Melbourne, which received some of the heaviest rainfall, Marianne Dalcero watched as a dozen workers ripped out waterlogged drywall, set up dehumidifiers and carried out ruined belongings from her flooded house.
"I said I'm not going to cry because if I start I won't stop," Dalcero said.
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/2008-08-24-fay_N.htm

What has eally amazed me about his is that there has been 36 banks closed since 2000. And nothing has really been repoted about it. It is akes since now why the FDIC is almost out of funding forthe take overs

Columbian Bank and Trust of Kansas Closed by U.S. Regulators
By Alison Vekshin and Ari Levy
Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Columbian Bank and Trust Co. of Topeka, Kansas, was closed by U.S. regulators, the nation's ninth bank to collapse this year amid bad real-estate loans and writedowns stemming from a drop in home prices.
The bank, with $752 million in assets and $622 million in total deposits, was shuttered by the Kansas state bank commissioner's office and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the FDIC said yesterday in a statement.
Citizens Bank and Trust will assume the failed bank's insured deposits. Columbian Bank's nine branches will open Aug. 25 as Citizens Bank and Trust offices, the FDIC said. Customers can access their accounts over the weekend by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards.
``There is no need for customers to change their banking relationship to retain their deposit insurance coverage,'' the FDIC said.
The pace of bank closings is accelerating as financial firms have reported more than $500 billion in writedowns and credit losses since 2007. The FDIC's ``problem'' bank list grew by 18 percent in the first quarter from the fourth, to 90 banks with combined assets of $26.3 billion.
Prior to yesterday, the FDIC had closed 36 banks since October 2000, according to a list at fdic.gov. The U.S. shut 12 banks in 2002, the highest in the period, and 2005 and 2006 had no closures.
U.S. bank regulators closed Florida's First Priority Bank on Aug. 1; Reno-based First National Bank of Nevada, Newport Beach, California-based First Heritage Bank, and Pasadena-based IndyMac Bancorp Inc. in July; Staples, Minnesota-based First Integrity Bank and ANB Financial in Bentonville, Arkansas, in May; Hume Bank in Hume, Missouri, in March; and Douglass National Bank in Kansas City, Missouri, in January.
To contact the reporters on this story: Alison Vekshin in Washington at avekshin@bloomberg.net; Ari Levy in San Francisco at alevy5@bloomberg.net.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a9iX_1ShWWAs&refer=home

Sterling Tumbles as UK Economy Grinds to a Halt August 22nd, 2008
Via: Financial Times:
Sterling tumbled on Friday as official figures showed UK economic growth ground to a halt in the second quarter of this year, strengthening fears the economy is already contracting.
The Office for National Statistics revised its first estimate of second quarter growth by more than expected as it said output had been flat quarter on quarter, the lowest figure since the second quarter of 1992.
Gross domestic product was 1.4 per cent higher than in the second quarter of 2007, the lowest year-on-year growth rate since the end of 1992.
Economists had anticipated a smaller downwards revision to the ONS’ initial estimate of 0.2 per cent quarter on quarter growth, and its scale and broad-based nature may raise hopes of an eventual cut in interest rates.
However, the Bank of England had already forecast output would stagnate for the next year, and minutes of the monetary policy committee’s last meeting suggested fears of persistently high inflation could keep rates on hold for some time.
“Even in our gloomy scenario for growth, we would have not expected such an abrupt loss of momentum – and we think the Bank of England would be also surprised,” said Chiara Corsa at Unicredit.
http://cryptogon.com/?p=3671

100% H1N1 Tamiflu Resistance in Australia and South Africa Recombinomics Commentary 21:44August 21, 2008In South Africa, a total of 139 A(H1N1) viruses have been isolated during the 2008 influenza season to date. Of those, 107 isolates have been tested for oseltamivir resistance by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) and 100% were found to be resistant to oseltamivir by genotypic analysis. From Australia, 10 of 10 A(H1N1) viruses tested, and from Chile, 4 of 32 A(H1N1) viruses tested showed the specific neuraminidase mutation (H274Y) associated with oseltamivir resistance.The above comments suggest that Tamiflu (oseltamivir) resistance (H274Y) is running at 100% in South Africa and Australia, strongly suggesting that similar levels will be seen in the upcoming flu season in the northern hemisphere.The latest update extends earlier results from South Africa, which included analysis of the first 23 isolates. All contained H274Y, which was confirmed by the release of 16 HA and NA sequences. The sequences fell into two sub-clades and one of the sub-clades had 5 clustered polymorphisms near the receptor binding domain position of 190 (H3 numbering). Three of these five changes were non-synonymous, raising concerns that the H1 was rapidly evolving away from the Brisbane/59 sequences, which are the target of the northern hemisphere vaccine, which will be released in the next few months. Moreover, the two polymorphisms from the 3’ side of the cluster matched H1N1 sequences from the 1940’sThe detection of H274Y in all 107 isolates sequenced, coupled with 100% in Australian isolates, indicates that those isolates with H274Y are becoming dominant. These sequences may be linked to recent reports of high frequency pneumonia levels in Zimbabwe.More information of the severity of the H1N1 cases in South Africa and Australia would be useful.
http://www.recombinomics.com/News/08210802/H274Y_100_SA_Australia.html

This is an idea past it prime, i personally believe that the prison should bring bck the road gangs and pc up trash and such. I'm not talking about Cool Hand Luke, but someting needs to be done.
Virginia's prison farms grow crops to feed inmates August 23, 2008 - 2:55pm
JARRATT, Va. (AP) - Prisoners learn skills, help feed fellow inmates and save Virginia taxpayers millions per year at Yarden Farm near Jarratt.
The Virginia Department of Corrections has nearly 160 acres of crops growing at the farm located about 50 miles south of Richmond. But it is just a small part of one of the largest agricultural enterprises in the state.
About 10,000 acres across Virginia are being cultivated or in use as pasture in an expanding effort to employ prisoners and control the cost of feeding 30,000 of them. The operation saves state taxpayers about $6 million per year, said William H. Gillette, the agribusiness manager for the state prison system.
"As far as I know, we are the only (prison) program in the country that can handle _ statewide _ fresh produce, frozen produce, meat and milk, all of it delivered to any institution in less than 24 hours," Gillette said.
The program employs about 1,000 inmates who earn up to 45 cents an hour, Gillette said. Much of the work is simple labor, but many inmates learn skills and gain experience that can help them get jobs on the outside.
All of the dairy, pork, beef and fish consumed by inmates is produced or otherwise handled by the program, which officials say nearly has doubled its sales in the past five years.
The crops include feed and sweet corn, apples, tomatoes, broccoli, squash, beans, peppers, asparagus, cantaloupes, watermelons, sweet potatoes, carrots, cabbage, lettuce, kale, collards, strawberries and soybeans.
The system has an expanding frozen-food operation; two milk- and juice-processing plants; a produce sorting and distribution center; a small fleet of trucks and a maintenance shop. It also has three sawmills; 30 greenhouses to start plants; hydroponics for year-round growing; two meat-processing plants; and more than 200 beehives for crop pollination and honey.
Inmates have done much of the construction. Ron Lintz, who runs the produce-distribution center in Jarratt, said, "We have some talented individuals locked up here in the state. ... It's saved a lot of money."
The James River Correctional Center Work Center in Goochland County is home for 34-year-old Richard Bartole, an unlikely dairy farmer. The Teaneck, N.J., native is serving a 12-year sentence for fraud and other crimes.
"I'd never been close to a cow. ... I'd never been near a tractor before I came here," said Bartole, who now cares for dairy cows "from birth to breeding," on workdays that can last 14 hours.
Bartole said he believes he is learning skills he can use once he is released.
"I can milk them. I can feed them. I can raise the calves. We learn construction. We can work the farm equipment _ everything," Bartole said.
___
Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.timesdispatch.com
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=600&sid=1465260

New angle on the old "Bait and Switch"
Internet provider's usage cap raises questions August 22, 2008 - 10:34am
NEW YORK (AP) - Three months ago, Guy Distaffen switched Internet providers, lured from his cable company to his phone company by a year of free service on a two-year contract. But soon the company quietly updated its policies to say it would limit his Internet activity each month.
"We felt that were suckered," said Distaffen, who lives in the small village of Silver Springs in upstate New York.
The phone company, Frontier Communications Corp., is one of several Internet service providers that are moving to curb the growth of traffic on their networks, or at least make the subscribers who download the most pay more.
This could have consequences not just for consumers _ who would have to learn to watch how much data their Internet use entails _ but also for companies that hope to make the Internet a conduit for movies and other content that comes in huge files.
Cable companies have been at the forefront of imposing and talking about usage caps, because their lines are shared between households. Frontier's announcement is noteworthy because it is a phone company _ and it is matching a seemingly low ceiling set by a main cable rival: just 5 gigabytes per month, the equivalent of about 3 DVD-quality movies.
"We go through that in a week," Distaffen said. "If they start enforcing the caps we're going to have to change service." Other subscribers on Broadbandreports.com, where the cap was first reported, echoed his feelings.
But since the other option for wired broadband in the village is Time Warner Cable Inc., switching providers isn't necessarily going to get Distaffen away from a bandwidth cap. The cable company is trying out a 5-gigabyte traffic cap for new users in Beaumont, Texas. Every gigabyte above that costs $1. More expensive plans have higher caps _ at $54.90 per month, the allowance is 40 gigabytes. Depending on the results of the trial, Time Warner Cable may apply the same pricing structure elsewhere.
Frontier's biggest market is in Rochester, N.Y., where it competes with Time Warner Cable.
"This isn't really an issue that's just going to be about Frontier," said Philip Dampier, a Rochester-based technology writer who is campaigning to get Frontier to back off its plans. "Virtually every broadband provider has been suddenly discovering that there's this so-called `bandwidth crisis' going on in the United States."
In a sense, caps on Internet use are no stranger than the limited number of minutes a cell phone subscriber gets each month. Internet use varies hugely from person to person, and service providers argue that the people who use it the most should pay the most. But the industry hasn't worked out where to set the limits, or how much to charge users who exceed them. Fearing a customer backlash, most providers are setting the limits at levels where very few would bump into them. Comcast Corp. has floated the idea of a 250-gigabyte monthly cap.
Frontier says it plans to start enforcing its 5-gigabyte cap next year. First, it will let customers know how much data they use each month, a figure that most people don't know how to track on their own (the tech-savvy Distaffen gets it from his Internet router). Then it will offer premium plans with higher caps to those who use more data.
Frontier says most of its 559,300 broadband subscribers consume less than 1.5 gigabytes per month. But in an e-mail to Frontier employees, Chief Executive Maggie Wilderotter said traffic is doubling every year, which means that by the time the caps would be put in place, a lot more users will exceed them. In two years, the average user could be consuming 6 gigabytes of traffic per month if the current growth rate holds up.
The growth of traffic means the company has to invest millions in its network and infrastructure, threatening its profitability, according to the e-mail.
Dampier disagrees, saying the costs of network equipment and connecting to the wider Internet are falling.
"If they continue to make the necessary investments ... there's no reason they can't keep up" with increasing customer traffic, he said.
Frontier spokeswoman Karen Miller referred questions about the cap to the company's Web site. On one page, the site says there "are no plans to limit customer usage," but on another page, the company already reserves the right to suspend or terminate users who exceed 5 gigabytes of traffic per month.
The traffic allowance is enough for maybe 15,000 Web pages, or tens of thousands of e-mails, but as the Internet becomes rich with video, there is more and more content available that eats up gigabytes.
Distaffen said he reaches 5 gigabytes in a week even though he doesn't download movies or play games online. He does have a device that links a ham radio to the Internet, allowing distant radio enthusiasts to use his broadband connection. But that makes up only a fifth of his traffic, he said.
"We really aren't heavy users," he said. "I don't see how they came up with their numbers."
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=108&sid=1464727