Eeyore's Important News and Views

Worries rise in Texas as Ike looms in the Gulf
TEXAS EVACUATIONS
Some of the evacuations ordered by officials in Texas in advance of Hurricane Ike:
MANDATORY EVACUATIONS (with approximate population totals, where available):
Brazoria County (288,000 people)Jefferson County (244,000)Orange County (84,000)Galveston Island (58,000)Eastern portion of San Patricio CountyLow-lying areas of Harris County ("tens of thousands," according to county officials)Low-lying areas of Chambers CountyAreas south of Texas 35 and the Blessing area in Matagorda CountyGoose Island and Mustang Island state parks
VOLUNTARY EVACUATIONS
Hardin CountyAreas north of Texas 35 in Matagorda County, as well as for residents of low-lying areas of Bay City and Van Vleck.The city of Kingsville
By Oren Dorell and Rick Hampson, USA TODAY
GALVESTON, Texas — Some are hunkering down, some heading out and all holding their breath as Hurricane Ike churns toward a weekend landfall on Texas' Gulf Coast. The storm threatens millions of people and an array of oil refineries with wind, rain and a wall of water up to two stories high.
Ike appeared headed toward this island city, wiped out 108 years ago in a hurricane that killed 8,000 — the deadliest storm in U.S. history. This time the mayor ordered all 57,000 residents evacuated, and elsewhere along the coast an additional half-million Texans also were ordered to flee.
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/hurricane/2008-09-12-hurricane-ike-texas_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

This week we continue talking about tools
Construction tools and Land working tools this weekYou never know what you will have to repair, build or make. But to do it you need to one know how to use the tools and two have them on hand. For me tools fall into two categories, big ones and hand tools. Tools can make a difficult job easier or make an impossible job possible.

Scrounging ToolsHammers (straight and curved claw, framing and 2 pound and sledge hammers), wrecking bars (several different ones, long and short ones) nail pullers Chisels and saws.Ropes or cables and a come-a-long. If you have electric, a skill saw, sawzall and drill.You need a way to haul stuff, a pick up, trailer or van.Why scrounging? Because you never know when you might have to make due. Taking the dog house apart to patch the window, that the tree limb just came through, could make a big difference about how much damage the rain causes, or how cold it gets in the house.
Big toolsArc welder, sometimes you can’t repair or make something without one. It makes doing the impossible possible sometimes. If you can afford one get one with a generator attached, it will make life easier.Chainsaw, indispensable if you plan to leave in a hurry. It will make removing a downed tree a lot easier. I remember when I was growing up, I went hunting on a Saturday, at 4 am we got to the place, a tree was across the road. I had a ¾ inch rope, we tried to use that to move it by using the truck. Trying to move the tree broke the rope. No big deal we lost a hunting day, but if we needed to leave because of a storm, we would have been stuck or worse. I would buy at least a 20” and get a good brand. McCullough, Husqvana, Stihl or even Homelitte.
Carpentry Tools Hammers (at least two one 16 and the other a 20 oz).Saws (at least two, one 10 point cross cut and a rip saw, also a keyhole saw)Levels (1- 4 foot level, 1-6” one)Squares (1 framing square, combination or Tee square and 1 speed square)Several Measuring devices (tapes [from 50 feet long to 10 feet], yard sticks, and wooden rulers)Plumb Bob and chalk lines (bottles of chalk)Wood chiselsScrew driversDrill and bits (for both a bit and brace, egg beater type and electric)Pliers ( slip-joint, channel locks lineman’s)Back saw and miter box (electric one if you have it) several ones are betterBlock planes and jack planesGood viceStaple gun (regular one, slap stapler)Nail sets and punchesClamps many and varied.Carpenters apron (cheap canvas ones and good leather ones)A good folding 6’ ladder and good heavy extension ladder (longer then you need)If your rich get a table saw router and drill press (1/2 inch)
Plumbing Tools You have most of them in your carpentry tools, but you will need a hack saw with bladesFaucet wrenches, Allen wrenches, sand paper, torches if you are going to use copper, but PVC is easier to use.
Masonry Tools Wheel barrow bigger the better, two wheel models are very stableTrowels large, brick and pointing up typeLine level and regular levelsPlumb bobHammers chisels, wire brushShovels (long and short handled) and hoeMotor type mixer
Metal working tools Vice grips (the more different types the better and sizes)Wire cuttersTin cutters, yellow, red and green handles, duckbillHammer ball peenAgain a lot of the tools that have been mentioned (wrenches, screw drivers hammersYou will need punches, files, chisels, and more drill bits.Drill press and arc welder
Land working Tools (if you have a piece of land)Tractor with attachments, it will save you more time and let you do more workGrader box (for roads), plow, disk and a blade for the frontAxes, Picks, Maddox and shovels. As many as possible with extra handles.Maul, sledge hammer and extra wedges
Land Clearing Tools Again axes (both double bit and single bit) Maddox, Machete. Bush axe.Chain saw and come-a-long
Fencing Tools Again a come-a-longFencing PliersWire cuttersBolt cuttersAgain if your rich a backhoe would be nice and a well drillers rig.
Next time will talk about Kitchen tools and then guns as tools.Here is an interesting article i found on the web, it is about what will happen (or what is happening) when people get what they think is desperate. We are a lazy society, we think as a whole that we are owed something. We are owed nothing, just because someone has something you want or you think that you need, you expect to get it or steal it if you have to. Very sad how much character we lack now a days as a people.
This i guess will segway into next weeks Saturday Prep Talk post on tools for protection and this weeks post land working tools. I understand that this is England, but if i looked on the web hard enough i'm sure i could find a similar article about the US.

Allotments get night guards as credit crunch sparks vegetable thefts Allotment-holders are introducing security patrols after a surge in fruit and vegetable thefts which has been blamed on rising food prices.By Alice KleinLast Updated: 5:58PM BST 06 Sep 2008Gardeners fear that with economic conditions worsening and household budgets under strain, people are stealing produce in order to save themselves money at the checkouts.A series of raids have prompted the Ottery St Mary allotment committee in Devon to launch evening patrols, with members visiting the set to keep an eye out for suspicious characters.The town council has arranged for a lock to be put on the allotment gate and local police have asked nearby residents to report anything unusual.Chairman of the committee, Adrian Foster, who has had raspberries, peas and runner beans stolen from his own allotment, said he had never experienced such high levels of thefts in the 22 years he has been there.He said: "In times gone by, we occasionally had thefts of produce or equipment but it was negligible. It's definitely the case that over the last three or four months we've noticed that a lot more produce has gone missing."People are much more aware now of locally grown vegetables and they do carry quite a high premium. I think that's contributing to the problem because people see that kind of thing as more valuable than hitherto."Torpoint Allotment Association in Cornwall has also introduced night time patrols. Chairman Peter McLaren said the regular inspections, introduced to tackle vandalism, were also deterring thieves.Ayesha Wilkinson, from the South West Counties Allotment Association, said: "Thefts are becoming more common. It's produce more than anything now because of the price of food. It's definitely got worse over the last few months."Mrs Wilkinson said it has been difficult to protect crops from produce thieves as most allotments are not very secure.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2694925/Allotments-get-night-guards-as-credit-crunch-sparks-vegetable-thefts.html

Paul: Reject the major parties, go for a third September 9, 2008 - 10:08pm
By SUZANNE GAMBOA and SAM HANANEL Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON (AP) - Libertarian-leaning congressman Ron Paul is urging voters to reject John McCain and Barack Obama and support one of the third-party candidates for president.
Paul, a Republican who abandoned his White House bid earlier this year, is gathering some of the candidates, independent Ralph Nader among them, on Wednesday to make his plea.
"The strongest message can be sent by rejecting the two party system," Paul said in prepared remarks obtained by The Associated Press. "This can be accomplished by voting for one of the non-establishment, principled candidates."
He recommended Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party, former Georgia Republican Rep. Bob Barr of the Libertarian Party, former Georgia Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney of the Green Party and possibly others. He invited them to his news conference Wednesday.
Paul won no primaries in the Republican nomination contest but developed a strong following on the Internet and set a single-day record for raising money online. Thousands attended his protest last week near the GOP convention in St. Paul, Minn.
Some Republicans have been concerned Paul could siphon votes from the party in the same way Democrats accused Nader of doing in 2000 when he ran under the Green Party banner.
But when Nader ran in 2004 as an independent, he garnered just 0.3 percent of the vote from 34 states. The Constitution, Green and Libertarian candidates received even fewer votes. Nader claims he has enough signatures to get on the ballot in 45 states this year.
Nader predicted the gathering of third-party candidates would "raise the eyebrows" of pundits who are skeptical of the viability of independent presidential campaigns. The candidates will agree on several common issues they believe are being ignored by the major parties.
"This is the beginning of the realignment of American politics," Nader said.
Paul espouses limited government and individual responsibility. He is a critic of election laws that he says are designed to prevent third-party candidates from getting on ballots and participating in debates.
http://wtop.com/?nid=213&sid=1475202

Venezuela's Chavez says US ambassador must leave September 12, 2008 - 12:27am
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez ordered the U.S. ambassador to leave Venezuela within 72 hours on Thursday, accusing the diplomat of conspiring against his government and saying he would also withdraw his own envoy from Washington immediately.
Chavez made the move in solidarity with Bolivia after his Andean ally expelled the U.S. diplomat there, accusing him of aiding violent protests. He said a new American ambassador will not be welcome in Caracas "until there's a U.S. government that respects the people of Latin America," suggesting that diplomatic relations will be scaled back until President Bush leaves the White House.
"They're trying to do here what they were doing in Bolivia," Chavez said, accusing Washington of trying to oust him.
"That's enough ... from you, Yankees," Chavez said, using an expletive. Waving his fists in the air, he added: "I hold the government of the United States responsible for being behind all the conspiracies against our nations!"
Holding up a watch to check the time, Chavez declared: "From this moment, the Yankee ambassador in Caracas has 72 hours to leave Venezuela!" He told his foreign minister to recall Venezuela's ambassador to Washington, Bernardo Alvarez, "before they kick him out of there."
The U.S. Embassy said it was aware of Chavez's speech but had not received official notification. Embassy spokeswoman Robin Holzhauer said Ambassador Patrick Duddy is traveling in the United States this week.
The diplomatic spat brings relations between the two countries to a new low and raises questions about whether it could hurt trade. Venezuela is the fourth-largest oil supplier to the United States, and Chavez also threatened to cut off crude shipments "if there's any aggression against Venezuela."
Chavez has threatened to stop selling oil to the United States on a number of occasions. But the U.S. is Venezuela's No. 1 oil client, and taking such an action would debilitate his government financially.
Duddy, who was posted in Venezuela just last year, irritated Chavez last month when he lamented that U.S. and Venezuelan officials have not been cooperating in fighting drug trafficking. Deteriorating relations were giving cocaine smugglers the upper hand, he said.
The socialist president responded by warning that Duddy could soon be "packing his bags."
Simmering tensions between Venezuela and the U.S. began heating up even more this week after two Russian strategic bombers were deployed to the country at Chavez's invitation.
"The presence of those Russian planes in Venezuela is a warning," Chavez said Thursday. "There's nothing better to keep yourself from being attacked than to dissuade."
Hours before announcing the ambassador's expulsion, Chavez said his government had detained a group of alleged conspirators in a plot to overthrow him. He accused the group of active and former military officers of trying to assassinate him with backing from the United States.
Chavez has repeatedly accused Washington of backing plots to have him killed or ousted _ and U.S. officials have repeatedly denied the allegations.
____
Associated Press writers Ian James and Fabiola Sanchez contributed to this report.http://wtop.com/?nid=105&sid=1365402

August 29, 2008RFID Tags Enable 24/7 Surveillance [Part I]Are you ready to begin living a tagged life? If you are, the future is here, courtesy of radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags.Stage 1 of your tagged life is now here, in the form of new high-tech driver's licenses, which can be used at U.S. border crossings in Mexico and Canada. Each license incorporates a RFID tag encoded with a unique identification number. As you approach a border crossing, a RFID reader sends out a signal that an antenna on the tag picks up. The tag in turn reveals its ID number. By the time you arrive at the border crossing, Customs agents already have your name, address, photo, and other details in front of them. Ordinary U.S. passports also contain a RFID tag. The only difference is that the tag can't be read remotely, at least in theory. States on the U.S. and Mexican border have now started to issue RFID-equipped licenses. The state of Washington now issues an RFID tagged "enhanced driver license," which can be used for border crossings to and from Canada. In the near future, Arizona, Michigan, New York, and Vermont will begin issuing them.Although there's no law requiring you to obtain an enhanced driver license, once you sign up, you open the door to privacy invasion on an unprecedented scale. That's because the RFID tag number on your license is associated with your identity. Anyone with a RFID reader—an item you can pick up for a few hundred dollars—can interrogate the tag and access the data on it. Combine that with the growing number of products which contain RFID tags—credit cards, ATM cards, cell phones, key cards, etc.—and the potential grows exponentially for surreptitious tracking, wherever you go. Some people don't believe that's a problem. I do, though, because the data on the RFID tags in enhanced drivers' licenses isn't encrypted. An identity thief, a stalker, a private investigator, or anyone else who wants to learn your identity, and potentially match it to the growing array of data tied to your tag number, can remotely interrogate the tag with a simple RFID reader. You won't even know when it happens. (In contrast, the data on the RFID tags in U.S. passports is encrypted--although hackers have already figured out how to clone the data). Combine this potential for abuse with the huge plans corporations—and the government—have for "people tracking" via RFID tags, and the potential for 24/7 surveillance is obvious. For instance, an IBM patent granted in 2006 describes a network of interconnected RFID readers that IBM calls "person tracking units" (PTUs). IBM envisions installing PTUs everywhere that people go—in airports, shopping malls, sports arenas, theaters, etc. According to the patent, the PTU network would "keep records of different locations where the person has visited, as well as the visitation times."How do corporate America and the U.S. government plan to use the massive amounts of data gathered through RFID tags? Essentially, to facilitate 24/7 surveillance of everything you do and everywhere you go. I'll have more to say about that in my next blog entry...stay tuned. Copyright © 2008 by Mark Nestmann September 02, 2008RFID Tags Enable 24/7 Surveillance [Part II]in my last blog entry, I described how states on the U.S. and Mexican borders have begun to issue "enhanced driver licenses," which can be used at U.S. border crossings in Mexico and Canada. Each license incorporates a RFID tag encoded with a unique identification number. The ID tag number on your license is associated with your identity. I also described how corporate American plans to install a nationwide network of"person tracking units" (PTUs) everywhere that people go--from airports to shopping malls to museums. How do corporate America and the U.S. government plan to use the massive amounts of data gathered through RFID tags? ssentially, to facilitate 24/7 surveillance of everything you do and everywhere you go. Here's how I think it will work. Even if the RFID tag contains no personally identifiable data, that doesn't matter. That's because once the PTU establishes the link between your unique RFID number and your identity, "personal information will be obtained when the person uses his or her credit card, bank card, shopper card or the like." Enhanced driver licenses are ideal for this purpose because they are compatible with scanners already in use by many large retailers.Corporate America plans to aggregate this data and use it to make better decisions about how to market specific products to specific individuals. Based on your RFID profile, for instance, you might see the type of personalized advertising pitches that were a staple of the movie "Minority Report" (highly recommended). But naturally, this data would also be available for government inspection as well…and there's the real danger. Consider how China plans to use RFID tags. The new high-tech Chinese national ID card contains a record of the cardholder's employment status, ethnicity, health and reproductive history, and even religion. Plans are underway to use these cards in conjunction with state-of-the-art CCTV and related surveillance technologies in Chinese cities. The primary goal of the program, according to a company manufacturing the RFID tags, is "for the government to control the population in the future." The same potential exists in the United States or any other country that adopts this technology without careful consideration of the consequences. What can you do to slow down the RFID juggernaut? For starters, don't apply for an enhanced driver's license if the state you live in offers one. And while you're at it, get involved in the effort to reduce RFID surveillance. The most influential organization in this fight is CASPIAN—Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering. Visit their Web site at http://www.nocards.org to learn more.Copyright © 2008 by Mark Nestmann http://nestmannblog.sovereignsociety.com/

Social Networking Sites Not Just for Friends — It’s Also for the Feds Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Guess who may be checking you out on Facebook, Wikipedia and MySpace? The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are poring over non-verifiable profiles on the Web to help decide who should be allowed into the country and who may pose a threat to national security. Information is even being collected through Google searches, DHS and FBI sources confirmed to FOXNews.com. Sources say that immigration officials vetting applicants for citizenship or asylum scan personal profiles, looking for telling pictures or information to help confirm marriages, verify background details and see with whom they're chatting online. Even U.S. citizens are having their Web profiles reviewed. People who buy one-way airline tickets, for example, are automatically flagged for security reasons, and authorities say a passenger’s name may be crosschecked against Facebook, YouTube or MySpace. Remember those hunting pictures that you proudly posted online — the ones that show you holding a gun? If Homeland Security doesn't like what it sees, it could use them to ban you from stepping on American soil. Charles H. Kuck, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said millions of ordinary people check out their friends and other people's friends on Facebook and MySpace, so it shouldn't be surprising that the government does, too. "We've known for years that immigration's been using these [sites] — Facebook, MySpace, going on Google, you name it — both at the ports of entry and beforehand, when [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] is determining cases," said Kuck. "It's the information age and the folks at CSI and DHS are taking advantage of it." But some critics say using these Web sites to gather information about individuals is unfair. The problem, they say, is that the sites have no verification process. Wikipedia and Facebook can be edited by anyone with access to the Internet. Sites such as YouTube and MySpace have no content requirements, beyond those that filter offensive or objectionable material. And nearly all sites allow users to make up a profile in someone else's name. (Just see how many fake celebrity profiles there are out there.) "When you have someone's personal freedom at stake, when you're getting into who's going to be allowed in the country, it's too important to rely on open source online sites that can't be trusted," said Jason Richards, a Florida attorney who has written about the use of Wikipedia. "It's a travesty." Two weeks ago a federal appeals court ruled that the Department of Homeland Security should be disallowed from using Wikipedia as its sole source of information after agents consulted the online encyclopedia entry of a woman from Ethiopia who was seeking asylum. Immigration officials questioned whether an Ethiopian travel document proved the woman's nationality. Agents presented a Wikipedia entry as evidence that the document didn't prove nationality. The judge agreed, but the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the decision, saying more information was needed. As of yet, no legal precedent has been set for the use of other open source Web sites such as Facebook, but many experts say as long as DHS continues to use these sites, it is just a matter of time. "We've gotten into culture of laziness. It's the easy way out when you go look up someone online, go to Google, Facebook, etc." Richards said. "It's a good starting point, it can take you places, but it can't be the end point." Former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner said immigration officers are told to consult as wide a range of available sources as possible — Facebook and MySpace among them — and it is common knowledge that some sites carry more weight than others. "At least with Wikipedia, there is ongoing updating and editing, and the updating may not be authoritative but it is an increasingly trusted source," Meissner said. "[MySpace and Facebook] are even less reliable sources," she said. Officials are also trained to be cautious of applicants who set up fake Web sites or stage photos to improve their immigration status, Meissner said. "You can never be sure if an attorney or a person is trying to approximate or copy circumstances or game the system," she said. "[DHS officials] might try to Google to get information, and follow those leads. But it would not seem — on the face of it — that it would not seem to be sufficient for determining something that is as significant- for the government as well as the individual." Kuck said more needs to be done to train federal authorities to use some common sense in their Web investigations. "Someone writes something about you that says, 'Hey, you're a terrorist,' well, that's serious," Kuck said. "But other times one of the main problems is they don't use the rule of reason. It's a culture of no." Ultimately, he warned, when it comes to personal information, it’s up to the individual to show good judgment when posting anything online. "It's shocking what's out there about you on the Internet — what you wrote on that Facebook page, MySpace page back in high school that you don't use anymore. Anything you've ever written and anything anyone's ever written about you, it's all still there," said Kuck. For now, experts say that until Facebook meets Wikipedia's fate in court, how DHS officials react to that photo of you smiling, dressed in local garb and brandishing a spear while on vacation is up to them, and you'll be judged accordingly. "You hate to tell people, "You should go online and Google yourself." But before you go and get on that plane, well, maybe you should," Kuck said. Now might be a good time to change that profile picture. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,419705,00.html

EU moves to protect Ukraine from Russia
Jamey Keaten - Associated Press Writer - 9/10/2008 12:25:00 PM

PARIS - The European Union is drawing a line in the sand with Russia: the bloc isn't going to let Ukraine get dissected like Georgia.

The EU tugged Ukraine westward on Tuesday by launching a symbolic new accord, wading into Moscow's backyard for a second straight day on fears that Russia is flexing its muscle among former Soviet states.The 27-member bloc stopped short of offering Ukraine membership during an EU-Ukraine summit hosted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. But the two sides began work on an "association accord" - a step that offers closer political and economic ties and in the past has been designed to prepare nations for eventual membership.The summit was a potential boost for Ukraine's pro-Western President Victor Yushchenko, who hailed the move. He has recently faced the unraveling of a political alliance that was behind his country's Orange Revolution in 2004."The EU does a huge favor to Ukraine by inviting it into this accord. This shows that (the EU) cares," said Arkady Moshes, director of Russian program at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, by telephone."The EU wants to try at least to show Russia that the old sphere of influence is obsolete ... and that bringing the old Soviet borders back would not be accepted," he added.The meeting came a day after Sarkozy, whose country now holds the rotating EU presidency, led a diplomatic push in Georgia and Russia to cement a cease-fire deal and soothe tensions between the two neighbors following last month's war.He won a commitment from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to let EU monitors into parts of Georgia now occupied by Russian troops, and a timetable for Russian pullback of some forces from key positions inside the Caucasus Mountains nation. They also set a date for international talks on security in the region.Georgia amounts to a test case for a potentially more complex and consequential situation with Ukraine, which has historic ties to Russia and like Georgia has been signaling its hope to join the EU and NATO.Ukraine's population of about 45 million is nearly 10 times that of Georgia, and about one in six are ethnic Russians _ and a political fracture between the Western-minded president and prime minister has given ethnic Russians more political clout in recent months.The Kremlin has watched warily in recent years as Ukraine and other former Soviet republics have pressed for closer Western ties _ and Moscow vehemently objects to their joining the Atlantic alliance.Many Ukranians fear that Moscow covets Ukraine's strategic Crimea peninsula on the Black Sea, which is home to an ethnic Russian majority and is the site of a proud Russian naval base in the port of Sevastopol.The head of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, said closer ties between Europe and Ukraine should not upset Russia. "We don't need a Cold War in Europe, we need cool heads," he said at a news conference after the Paris summit.Sarkozy insisted that the EU's overtures with its eastern neighbors "aren't directed against anyone," but he also sought to cast Ukraine as part of the bloc's orbit in the strongest terms yet."We say solemnly that Ukraine is a European country that shares a common history and values with European Union countries," he said.However, French diplomatic officials have acknowledged that EU member countries are divided about how quickly to try to integrate Ukraine _ if at all.In a clear message to Moscow, Sarkozy said Ukraine's borders are "perfectly non-negotiable. And for that matter, nothing in the discussions we had yesterday in Moscow led me to believe there's any question about them."Russia's intentions are clearly on many minds. "These aren't the best of times to take on this dialogue," Yushchenko said.The association accord launched Tuesday has three key objectives: freeing up travel restrictions to EU states for Ukrainians, pointing out that future ties remain "open" between Ukraine and the bloc, and emphasizing that the country shares a common history and values with Europe.The accord isn't likely to be signed until next year at the earliest. Its launch came with a call for deeper ties in foreign policy, military cooperation, and energy policy, among other issues.For Sarkozy, the summit culminated a two-day focus on former Soviet states.After marathon negotiations with Medvedev in Moscow on Monday, Sarkozy said that at one point he threatened to walk out of the talks.When Medvedev stepped out of the negotiation room, the European delegation noticed that a draft of the text eliminated a reference to Russia pulling back its forces to positions held before Aug. 7, Sarkozy said.With jacket in hand, Sarkozy threatened to leave, saying "we cannot accept the invasion of a country," he said. At that point the Russians wheedled him back to the table and agreed to put that back in, he added, speaking to pool reporters on the flight from Moscow to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.The Finnish institute's Moshes said both sides can claim a partial victory after Monday's talks.The EU helped cool tensions in its neighborhood, he said, while predicting the bloc will "acquiesce" to Russian recognition of independence of the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.The real question, though, he added, is whether the latest Sarkozy-brokered Russia-Georgia agreement will hold. "The EU is trying to do what it can; whether it will succeed is another matter."

Eeyore's Important News and Views

Venezuela gets cozy with terrorists
Chad Groening - OneNewsNow - 9/8/2008 11:25:00 AM
Senior Army strategist and Pentagon advisor Bob Maginnis is concerned about the increasing problems with Hugo Chavez's rogue regime in Venezuela and its cozy ties with both Iran and the terrorist group Hezbollah.
Recently the Los Angeles Times reported that anti-terrorism officials are increasingly concerned that Hezbollah is using Venezuela as a base of operations. The report indicates that Hezbollah may be taking advantage of Venezuela's ties with Iran, the terrorist group's longtime sponsor, to move "people" and "things" into the Americas. Lt. Colonel Maginnis (USA-Ret.) has studied the geo-political situation in the Latin American country. "Hugo Chavez is an enemy of the United States. It doesn't matter what party in this country; he just doesn't like us," he contends. "He is a very close friend of radicals such as [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran." Maginnis asserts Chavez is allowing terrorists to spread Islam. "I've seen evidence of Hezbollah being involved in, I suppose, conversion of Indian tribes to Islam, away from Christianity or maybe native religions," he adds. "That is significant because Hugo Chavez is giving them the green light to do that." According to Maginnis, there are concerns that spies – operating in Venezuela – could be Hezbollah operatives using the Iranian embassy as a cover.

Kill it, grill it: Nugent on the Palin diet
Moose burger, anyone?
Moose burgers? Well, yes, wild game - though not widely hunted, served or sold in urban areas - is the name of the game for many Americans, including people like Republican vice-presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin and hunter-rock-star Ted Nugent.
"Venison is perfect food," says Mr. Nugent (who, by the way, is a huge Palin fan and called her "a political savior" in a recent column for HumanEvents.com) via e-mail from Jackson, Mich., where he's recording an audio version of his book "Ted, White, and Blue: The Nugent Manifesto," which comes out later this fall.
Jackson is also where Mr. Nugent hunts.
"We hunt, fish and trap all legal renewable game," Mr. Nugent says.
This includes rabbit, fox, elk, grouse and his favorite, venison.
"Young venison over hot coals, smothered in garlic and butter, rare, with family and friends in the great outdoors around a fire, with a slug of good African red wine," Mr. Nugent says of his favorite food and setting.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/sep/10/nugent-on-the-palin-diet/

Tripping over CIA's bureaucratic hurdles
Sunday, September 7, 2008
REVIEWED BY JOHN WEISMAN
If even half of what Ishmael Jones, the pseudonymous author of "The Human Factor: Inside the CIA's Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture" tells us is true, we have reason to be afraid, very afraid. Mr. Jones, who spent almost two decades as a NOC, or non-official cover case officer at CIA, paints a picture of a bloated, top-heavy, molasses-slow bureaucracy in which careerism trumps initiative, risk aversion wins over audacity, and spying — the CIA's core mission, the spotting, assessing, developing and recruiting of foreign nationals to steal or divulge secrets — can become a career-killer.
Mr. Jones is not the first CIA operative to describe an agency incapable of performing its core mission. But he is the first to do so without going through CIA's vetting process.
It is understandable that CIA wouldn't want any of "The Human Factor" published. Mr. Jones relates not dozens, not scores, but hundreds of incidents in which CIA managers created a system of bureaucratic hurdles that effectively prevented Mr. Jones and his fellow deep-cover case officers from doing their jobs, lied to Congress and covered up ineptitude with obfuscation and smoke and mirrors. Some examples:
On assignment to an unnamed Middle East country, Mr. Jones queries headquarters about his mission — recruiting a scientist with knowledge of chemical weapons and WMD programs. "After a month," he writes, "responses began to dribble in . . . Then came long lists of questions about my operational proposals, as well as reasons why things might go wrong. When I answered the questions more followed. The time it was taking them to come to a decision was making it impossible to move the operation forward. In one case — I'd met the target multiple times — the chief asked, 'What will you tell him when he asks you where you got his name?'"
"Congress," Mr. Jones writes, "asked the Agency how many new personnel it had hired as non-State Department officers. The Agency created a number by tallying all of the support staff, the officers in training, and the people who were assigned to posts in the United States. The number looked good."
"After President Bush gave his 'Axis of Evil' speech," Mr. Jones writes, "the Agency began sending my colleagues on missions to these and other rogue states. They didn't conduct any intelligence operations there — just visited, stayed in hotels and returned to write detailed after-action reports about their itineraries. HQs briefed Congress about all of them. This became known around HQs as Axis of Evil Tourism." And then there's the Three Stooges mentality at headquarters. "Like most organizations, the CIA had its own stationery. Its official envelopes had 'Central Intelligence Agency' written on the return address. The Agency mistakenly used this stationery for a mailing on its new diversity policy, a mailing sent to officers ... who were working deep under cover in foreign countries."
In the early 1990s, Mr. Jones sought permission to recruit Abdul Qadir Khan, Pakistan's leading nuclear scientist when Khan made a trip to the Middle East. "Our station in Islamabad would hear none of it. The Agency had no interest in contact with Khan or his subordinates." This is the same A.Q. Khan, of course, who the CIA had to admit a decade later sold and exported nuclear technology to rogue states.
Because the CIA had been so badly burned by double agents working for East Germany, Cuba and the Soviet Union, headquarters developed a system for testing that "turned out to be an enormous pile of rear-end covering extra paperwork. ... Lots of the tests were silly or inconclusive."
Charlton, one of Mr. Jones' deep-cover colleagues spent his time creating "front companies, offices, residence apartments, corporate shell companies often in out of the way countries where the Agency had limited access." Why did Charlton do that? Because, Mr. Jones explains, "during Agency briefings to Congress, the Agency could point to a map studded with pins, each representing an Agency presence. Many of these pins were the Potemkin facilities Charlton had created."
Some NOCs became so frustrated over the CIA's inability to deal with operational approval requests in a timely fashion that they took desperate measures. Loman, another of Mr. Jones' deep-cover colleagues, "had been assigned to a country in North Africa. He reported directly to headquarters, cutting a local agency station out of the loop. Still, he received no replies to his requests for approval." Loman's solution? "Finally he flew to HQs, found a computer terminal and answered his own requests. He returned to North Africa and carried out his operations,. When he needed new approvals he traveled back to HQs and sent them to himself. He continued to answer his own messages for about six months until he was caught."
In 2003 and 2004, at the height of the Global War on Terror, Mr. Jones says CIA's leaders were "inventing new ways to draw down our overseas presence. For instance, they were requiring officers to change assignments every two years." For NOCs, who had to weave themselves into the societal fabric of the country in which they worked, a two-year tour virtually guaranteed that they'd be able to produce no useful intel.
"During the spring of 2006, American intelligence activities in Europe shut down. The Agency had been terrified of conducting intel operations in France for some time. Then the Italian station sent a cable to Agency offices worldwide stating that did not intend to approve travel to . . . Italy because hotel rooms were difficult to reserve from early spring to late fall." Similar cables were sent worldwide by CIA stations in Switzerland and Germany. "No one," writes Mr. Jones, "seemed to find it unusual that a major part of the Agency's operational territory had just been shut down."
The Central Intelligence Agency is not happy with Mr. Jones. A CIA spokesperson has referred to "The Human Factor" as "fiction." To be candid, Mr. Jones does divulge information that might be considered sources and methods. He provides readers with several operational details that CIA is loath to talk about. He points out for example that CIA stations are actually sometimes located in U.S. embassies, and that many CIA officers work under State Department cover. He confirms that CIA has multiple stations and bases inside the continental United States, from which the agency targets foreign nationals. And in a couple of cases, he slips up and actually identifies a specific country in which he worked.
None of this is particularly shocking. But Mr. Jones did - as all CIA employees do - sign an agreement not to publish anything without it being vetted. This agreement Mr. Jones has obviously broken.
His goal, however, is noble. Mr. Jones obviously believes that the United States deserves the best intelligence organization in the world. He believes passionately that every American taxpayer is being cheated because we are paying scores of billions of dollars for a bloated, ineffective, risk-averse organization that cannot perform the mission for which it was created. Since the intelligence disaster that was 9/11, precious few heads in the intelligence community have rolled. In fact, George Tenet, the director of central intelligence responsible for the greatest intelligence failure since Pearl Harbor actually received the Medal of Freedom for presiding over the 9/11 debacle.
One wonders what sort of award Mr. Jones will get. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/sep/07/baring-bureaucratic-hurdles-at-cia/

A while back i posted about how badly our government is messed up. It will spend millions on a war then not even keep the men fighting it for you safe, it is absurd.
Petraeus: More than 80,000 buildings under review September 8, 2008 - 6:24pm
By KIMBERLY HEFLING Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The number of U.S. troops and contractors electrocuted in Iraq is higher than previously reported, and now stands at 18, a senator said Monday.
Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., issued a statement with the revised number after a briefing by the Pentagon's inspector general's office. The IG's office has been investigating the death of a Green Beret from Pittsburgh, Sgt. Ryan Maseth, who was electrocuted in January while showering in his barracks in Iraq.
Gary Comerford, a spokesman for the Pentagon's IG, confirmed the department is reviewing investigations conducted by the Army's Criminal Investigation Division and Criminal Investigation Command of 18 possible deaths.
Several of those cases have been deemed accidents because they involved situations such as coming into contact with power lines. Others resulted from situations where individuals were repairing air-conditioning units, providing generator maintenance or using a shower, according to the IG.
The IG's office is also examining the military's response in fixing the problem after the incidents.
Of those electrocuted, 16 were U.S. military personnel and two others were U.S. contractors, Casey's office said. The military has previously put the tally at slightly lower than 18.
Casey also said as part of the investigation he was told the IG's office is subpoenaing Houston-based military contractor KBR Inc., which holds a multibillion-dollar contract to provide basic services at facilities in Iraq for U.S. soldiers.
In an e-mailed statement on Monday, KBR spokeswoman Heather Browne said the Houston-based company is fully cooperating. The company has denied a link between its work and the deaths.
In July, Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, ordered a comprehensive electrical safety review of facilities in Iraq.
____http://wtop.com/?nid=116&sid=1438770

Reports: US remains 'dangerously vulnerable' September 9, 2008 - 6:58am
By BRETT J. BLACKLEDGE and EILEEN SULLIVAN Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States remains "dangerously vulnerable" to chemical, biological and nuclear attacks seven years after 9/11, a forthcoming independent study concludes. And a House Democrats' report says the Bush administration has missed one opportunity after another to improve the nation's security.
The recent political rupture between Russia and the U.S. only makes matters worse, said Lee Hamilton, the former Indiana Democratic congressman who helped lead the 9/11 Commission and now chairs the independent group's latest study.
Efforts to reduce access to nuclear technology and bomb-making materials have slowed, thousands of U.S. chemical plants remain unprotected, and the U.S. government continues to oppose strengthening an international treaty to prevent bioterrorism, according to the report produced by the bipartisan Partnership for a Secure America.
The group includes leaders of the disbanded 9/11 Commission, the bipartisan panel that investigated government missteps before the 2001 terror attacks on the United States.
"The threat of a new, major terrorist attack on the United States is still very real," concludes the report to be released Wednesday, the same day a congressional commission will hold a hearing in New York on nuclear and biological terrorism threats.
"A nuclear, chemical or biological weapon in the hands of terrorists remains the single greatest threat to our nation. While progress has been made in securing these weapons and materials, we are still dangerously vulnerable," the report said.
Congressional Democrats, meanwhile, had harsher criticism of the Bush administration's efforts. Their report, written by the staffs of the House Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs committees, found little or no progress across the board on national security initiatives.
"The Bush administration has not delivered on a myriad of critical homeland and national security mandates," the Democrats' report states. That report was being released Tuesday.
"The administration has just failed to act in so many ways," said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. "Let's say that we've been fortunate that we have not been attacked" since 2001, said Thompson, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee.
The independent report focuses narrowly on weapons of mass destruction.
The report and supporting studies describe the failure of international cooperation to prevent terrorists from obtaining weapons of mass destruction, which they call a major problem. Many countries continue to ignore a United Nations mandate to prevent the spread of weapons; the ability of many countries to monitor potential bioterrorism is "essentially nonexistent," and dangerous chemical weapons stockpiles remain in some countries, including Russia and Libya, the report said.
Russia has been a significant player in U.S. efforts to secure nuclear weapons and to eliminate inventories of chemical weapons in the former Soviet region. That cooperation could be jeopardized as the two countries face off over the Russian invasion of Georgia and concerns about a U.S. missile defense base in Poland, Hamilton said.
Bush on Monday Bush on canceled a civilian nuclear cooperation deal with Russia.
"The things we do to penalize Russia will make it more difficult for us to deal with Russia on other matters," Hamilton said.
State Department spokesman Robert Wood said he hasn't seen the report. But he said there have been a number of successes in recent years, including negotiations to dismantle North Korea's nuclear program and Libya's agreement to end its nuclear and chemical weapons program.
"We have been engaged multilaterally with a number of countries to deal with this issue of weapons of mass destruction," Wood said.
Wood said he also has not seen the Democrats' report. "I fundamentally reject the charge that the administration has made the world less safe from terrorism," he said.
House Democrats also blasted Bush policy in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia as damaging to national security. U.S. efforts to combat terrorists in Pakistan have suffered because of "unyielding support for a military dictator"; Iraq has drained resources from the fight in Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia continues to serve "as a major source of terrorist activity," the Democrats' report states.
The independent study, however, did credit the Bush administration with progress in a number of areas. It cited improved U.S. port security, reduction of military chemical stockpiles, increased U.S. funding for securing nuclear weapons sites in Russia and new international programs aimed at preventing crimes involving biological weapons.
___
On the Net:
Partnership for a Secure America: http://www.psaonline.org/
House Committee on Homeland Security: http://homeland.house.gov/
House Committee on Foreign Affairs: http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/
http://wtop.com/?nid=251&sid=1474711

How can America in general be this stupid?
The ECOnetic will go on sale in Europe in November
by David Kiley September 15, 2008
If ever there was a car made for the times, this would seem to be it: a sporty subcompact that seats five, offers a navigation system, and gets a whopping 65 miles to the gallon. Oh yes, and the car is made by Ford Motor (F), known widely for lumbering gas hogs.
Ford's 2009 Fiesta ECOnetic goes on sale in November. But here's the catch: Despite the car's potential to transform Ford's image and help it compete with Toyota Motor (TM) and Honda Motor (HMC) in its home market, the company will sell the little fuel sipper only in Europe. "We know it's an awesome vehicle," says Ford America President Mark Fields. "But there are business reasons why we can't sell it in the U.S." The main one: The Fiesta ECOnetic runs on diesel.
Automakers such as Volkswagen (VLKAY) and Mercedes-Benz (DAI) have predicted for years that a technology called "clean diesel" would overcome many Americans' antipathy to a fuel still often thought of as the smelly stuff that powers tractor trailers. Diesel vehicles now hitting the market with pollution-fighting technology are as clean or cleaner than gasoline and at least 30% more fuel-efficient.
Yet while half of all cars sold in Europe last year ran on diesel, the U.S. market remains relatively unfriendly to the fuel. Taxes aimed at commercial trucks mean diesel costs anywhere from 40 cents to $1 more per gallon than gasoline. Add to this the success of the Toyota Prius, and you can see why only 3% of cars in the U.S. use diesel. "Americans see hybrids as the darling," says Global Insight auto analyst Philip Gott, "and diesel as old-tech."
None of this is stopping European and Japanese automakers, which are betting they can jump-start the U.S. market with new diesel models. Mercedes-Benz by next year will have three cars it markets as "BlueTec." Even Nissan (NSANY) and Honda, which long opposed building diesel cars in Europe, plan to introduce them in the U.S. in 2010. But Ford, whose Fiesta ECOnetic compares favorably with European diesels, can't make a business case for bringing the car to the U.S.
TOO PRICEY TO IMPORT
First of all, the engines are built in Britain, so labor costs are high. Plus the pound remains stronger than the greenback. At prevailing exchange rates, the Fiesta ECOnetic would sell for about $25,700 in the U.S. By contrast, the Prius typically goes for about $24,000. A $1,300 tax deduction available to buyers of new diesel cars could bring the price of the Fiesta to around $24,400. But Ford doesn't believe it could charge enough to make money on an imported ECOnetic.
Ford plans to make a gas-powered version of the Fiesta in Mexico for the U.S. So why not manufacture diesel engines there, too? Building a plant would cost at least $350 million at a time when Ford has been burning through more than $1 billion a month in cash reserves. Besides, the automaker would have to produce at least 350,000 engines a year to make such a venture profitable. "We just don't think North and South America would buy that many diesel cars," says Fields.
The question, of course, is whether the U.S. ever will embrace diesel fuel and allow automakers to achieve sufficient scale to make money on such vehicles. California certified VW and Mercedes diesel cars earlier this year, after a four-year ban. James N. Hall, of auto researcher 293 Analysts, says that bellwether state and the Northeast remain "hostile to diesel." But the risk to Ford is that the fuel takes off, and the carmaker finds itself playing catch-up—despite having a serious diesel contender in its arsenal.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_37/b4099060491065.htm?chan=autos_autos+--+lifestyle+subindex+page_top+stories

Don't fall for this fake email, opening it will mess up your system.
***Job-Vacancy Apply With-In*** Payments Managers Needed For New Quarter 2008 Union Food Company Limited 154 Acre Lane Brixton, London Greater London SW2 5UT United Kingdom Phone: +44(0)703 194 9037 Fax: +44(0)870 974 3450 Att: Prospective Candidate, It is my pleasure to write you in respect of Union Food Company.We import and export all kinds of food and farm materials and equipment into various countries. We are searching for reliable representatives who can help us establish a medium of getting to our customers in USA and CANADA and as well as legally receiving cash and all forms of payment on our behalf from our customers as our Representative In your area.. Your Job Description is as follows: 1) You would receive payments on our behalf from any of our Various Customers through courier service or postal service, which would come in the form of, Money orders,Travelers Checks, and Official checks. 2) You then get the Payments Deposited and Cashed at your Bank. 3) You deduct a commission of 10% of each Payment you would be receiving on our behalf. 4) You then send the Remaining Funds back via Western Union to the details you would be given later. Therefore the following details would be needed from you via Email, so as for you to start working for the Company. Withdraw 10% of the total amount on these payment instruments as your commission and then send the rest back to the company through Western Union. Please, bear it in mind that we would be dealing with quite a handful of cash and you could be making up to $5000 just working with the company in a short period of time within 2-3 weeks. If interested get back with these information below... Full Name: Address: City: State: Zip Code/postal code: Contact Number: Previous/Present occupation: Position at work: We are well registered by the appropriate authorities and we are licensed to operate under legal and licensed organization of the better business bureau of the United Kingdom, Working with our company guarantee's you a safe relationship and licensed Establishment.. To apply, forward your applications to our: UNITED KINGDOM OFFICE: Payments Processing Unit Contact Person: John Hughes E-mail:johnhunionfood@aol.com Time: 24 Hours daily by e-mail +44(0)703 194 9037 Best Regards, Job Processing Unit.

Thomas says Constitution forbids racial preference
AP - 9/9/2008 4:35:00 PM

WASHINGTON - Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said Tuesday that African-Americans are better served by colorblind programs than affirmative action.

Thomas, addressing leaders of historically black colleges, said affirmative action "has become this mantra and there almost has become this secular religiosity about it. I think it almost trumps thinking."

A longtime opponent of race-based preferences in hiring and school admissions, Thomas said, "Just from a constitutional standpoint, I think we're going to run into problems if we say the Constitution says we can consider race sometimes."

Thomas, 60, has voted on the court to outlaw the use of race in college admissions and in determining which public schools students will attend. He wrote with evident resentment in his autobiography "My Grandfather's Son" that he felt he was allowed to attend Yale Law School in the 1970s because of his race and took a tough course load to prove he was as able as his white classmates.

"My suggestion would be to stop the buzz words and to focus more on the practical effect of what we're doing," he said Tuesday.

"I can tell you when you have fudge words, it leaves a lot of room for mischief," he said. "People have a tendency to read their personal opinions into fudge words. You want, when it comes to the issue of race, absolute words."

Thomas also reminisced about his childhood in Savannah, Ga., when his sports heroes played at the historically black institutions because the flagship state universities in the South _ with their big-time athletic programs _ remained segregated.

He recalled as a seminal moment the night in 1966 when five black starters led Texas Western to the NCAA basketball championship over an all-white Kentucky team. "I remember sitting alone at the end of that game and saying something has changed dramatically in society," he said.

The coach of the winning team, Don Haskins, died Sunday.

Never Forget

Never Forget 9-11-2001

Eeyore's Important News and Views

It is a start, that is all they want, then they will continue to sue for more and more, then they will try to gain Sharia Courts over any dispute involving a Muslim. It is coming my friends
First UK Sharia court up and running in Warwickshire
Sep 9 2008 By Les Reid
A MUSLIM college in Warwickshire is running the UK's first official sharia law court.
The Muslim Arbitration Tribunal has used sharia law to settle more than 100 civil disputes between Muslims across the UK since it opened last December.
The tribunal, which runs along side the British legal system, was set up by scholars and lawyers at Hijaz College Islamic University in Watling Street, Nuneaton.
The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips, recently said there was no reason why sharia law, derived from several sources including the Koran, could not be used for contractual agreements and marital disputes.
Cases already heard in Nuneaton include an inheritance dispute between three sisters and their two brothers, a divorce and a neighbour dispute.
In the inheritance case, the men were given double their sisters' inheritance.
The divorce hearing ruled that a Somalian woman should be granted an Islamic khula (annulment) despite her husband's strong objections.
And in the neighbourhood dispute, the tribunal ruled that the losing party - a group of young Muslim graduates - should teach the winning party, who had young children.
Faisal Aqtab Siddiqi, a commercial law barrister and head of Hijaz College, has sat in judgment at a number of the tribunals.
He said it was not the same as unofficial sharia courts reported to be in operation across the country.
He said: "We are trying to supplement English law by helping the British citizen not to be forced into or coerced into marriage."
The Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Dr Michael NazirAli, who was born in Pakistan and has both a Christian and Muslim family background, said he was concerned that people might feel coerced into accepting sharia arbitration.
Dr Nazir-Ali, who converted from Islam to Christianity, warned that recognising the tribunals could lead to discrimination, particularly against Muslim women.
The Muslim Arbitration Tribunal operates in tandem with the British legal system, and decisions challenged by the losing party will be upheld by a county court bailiff or high court sheriff.
The Nuneaton tribunal cannot force anyone to come within its jurisdiction. But once someone agrees to settle a dispute at the tribunal, he or she is bound in English law to abide by the court's decision.
Mr Siddiqi said: "As long as the parties have submitted to the tribunal's jurisdiction, a county court bailiff or high court sheriff can enforce our decisions.
"If the losing party objects, the winning one has to apply to the county court or high court who will enforce the tribunals' decisions, as long as they are reasonable.
"What we decide will be upheld by the British courts as long as both parties agree to submit to our jurisdiction in the first place."
The only exception in which both parties must submit to the court's jurisdiction is divorce cases.
"The tribunal can grant a Muslim woman an annulment irrespective of the husband's wishes.
"This is to enable her to marry again without being considered to be living in sin.
The college is at Higham Hall, a former stately home. A £5 million expansion aims to to raise student accommodation capacity from 125 to 750.
http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/north-warwickshire-news/2008/09/09/first-uk-sharia-court-up-and-running-in-warwickshire-92746-21708478/

Russia to send squadron to Venezuela
MOSCOW (AP) – Russia said Monday it will send a naval squadron and anti-submarine patrol planes to Venezuela this year for a joint military exercise in the Caribbean, a deployment that comes amid increasingly tense relations with the United States.
Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said the exercise was planned before Russia's war last month with Georgia "and it's unrelated to the current political situation and the developments in the Caucasus."
"If this exercise takes place, it won't be directed against interests of any third party," Nesterenko said at a briefing.
The announcement was made just a week after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned that Russia would mount an unspecified response to recent U.S. aid shipments to Georgia.
Nesterenko said the Peter the Great missile cruiser and three other Russian navy ships would visit Venezuela before the year's end, and would be joined by a unit of long-range anti-submarine patrol aircraft.

In this photo released by Miraflores Press Office, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez speaks during his weekly radio and television show "Hello President" in Mantecal, Venezuela, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. Chavez said Sunday that Venezuelan and Russian ships could soon hold joint naval exercises in the Caribbean. (AP Photo/Miraflores Press Office)
He did not say how many planes would be sent, but said they would be "temporarily based at one of Venezuela's air bases."
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had announced the maneuvers in his Sunday television and radio program, saying the Russian vessels would call on Venezuelan ports in late November or December.
Chavez, who has cultivated close ties with Moscow and placed big orders for Russian jets, helicopters and other weapons, has repeatedly warned that the U.S. Navy poses a threat to Venezuela.
Diplomatic relations between Caracas and Washington have been tense for years. U.S. officials have warned that Chavez poses a threat to democracy, while Chavez has emerged as Latin America's most outspoken critic of U.S. foreign policy.
The socialist leader ridiculed any U.S. concerns over the joint exercise with the Russian forces, saying, "Go ahead and squeal, Yankees."
Nesterenko said the joint exercise would not be directed against any third country.
Russia has been angered, however, over the recent deployment of U.S. Navy ships to the Black Sea to deliver humanitarian aid to Georgia, which was ravaged by a five-day war with Russia last month.
Russian officials said past U.S. military assistance for Georgia had encouraged the Caucasus country to launch its offensive in South Ossetia, and argued that the new shipments could be a cover for weapons deliveries.
U.S. officials have dismissed those accusations, saying the ships are carrying only humanitarian supplies such as blankets and powered milk.
Putin last week warned that Russia would respond to the U.S. aid shipments to Georgia, but he did not say how.
"We don't understand what American ships are doing on the Georgian shores, but this is a question of taste, it's a decision by our American colleagues," Putin said. "The second question is why the humanitarian aid is being delivered on naval vessels armed with the newest rocket systems."
Russia's reaction to the U.S. deployment to the Black Sea "will be calm, without any sort of hysteria. But of course, there will be an answer," Putin said.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/sep/08/russia-to-send-squadron-to-venezuela/
Russia says to send nuclear warship to Caribbean
By Conor Sweeney Mon Sep 8, 10:06 AM ET
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Monday it would send a heavily-armed nuclear-powered cruiser to the Caribbean for a joint naval exercise with Venezuela, its first major maneuvers on the United States' doorstep since the Cold War.
Russian officials denied the mission was in any way linked to a naval standoff with U.S warships in the Black Sea, but it will take place at a time of high tension between Moscow and Washington over the conflict in Georgia.
(you can read the rest here if you want) http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080908/ts_nm/russia_venezuela_navy_dc

Russia can not make up her mind, a big switch in policy n just 24 hours, i wondering if there is some infighting and power struggle going on?

Medvedev: European monitors to deploy to Georgia September 9, 2008 - 3:18am
Russian President dmitry Medvedev, left, listens to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, at the presidential residence, outside Moscow, Monday, Sept. 8, 2008. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana began the difficult mission on Monday of trying to persuade Russia to honor its pledge to withdraw troops from Georgia. (AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Dmitry Astakhov, Presidential Press Service)
By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's president pledged to withdraw his troops to areas where they had been before fighting erupted in Georgia last month but only after 200 European Union monitors deploy later this month as part of a revised cease-fire agreement.
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili cautiously endorsed the deal on Monday, but insisted any final settlement with Russia must respect his country's territorial integrity. He made clear he still considers the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia part of his country.
"There is no way Georgia will ever give up a piece of its sovereignty, a piece of its territory," Saakashvili said after meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who brokered the latest deal.
The short war between Georgia and Russia _ which began when Georgian forces attacked South Ossetia followed by Russia invading and routing Georgia's military _ has turned into a critical event in the post-Cold War world as Russia asserts its new economic and military clout and the West struggles to respond.
Georgia and Western nations have complained Russia failed to withdraw troops and follow through on other earlier pledges in an Aug. 12 cease-fire agreement.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said 200 European Union monitors would deploy to regions surrounding South Ossetia and Abkhazia by next month. After that, Russian troops would pull out of those regions by Oct. 11 to a line that preceded last month's fighting.
He said Russian troops would pull out of the Black Sea port of Poti and nearby areas in the next seven days, but only if Georgia signed a pledge to not use force against Abkhazia. Georgia had complained that the presence of Russian troops in Poti _ located dozens of miles away from the fighting in South Ossetia _ was a blatant violation of the cease-fire.
Sarkozy acknowledged that one of the sticking points of the talks was Russia's recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent from Georgia. Both areas have had de facto independence since breaking away from Georgian government control in the early 1990s.
"It is not up to Russia to recognize unilaterally the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. There are international rules. These should be respected," Sarkozy said.
Nicaragua was the only other country aside from Russia to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia's independence.
Medvedev said Russia would not revisit its decision.
"Our decision is irrevocable. Two new states have come into existence," Medvedev said. "This is a reality which all our partners, including our EU partners, will have to reckon with."
Sarkozy flew to the Georgian capital Tbilisi and met Saakashvili after conferring for more than four hours with Medvedev in Moscow in an effort to salvage the Aug. 12 cease-fire.
Russian troops on Monday blocked international aid convoys and several European ambassadors from traveling to villages beyond Russian checkpoints in Georgia.
Still, Russia's pledge of troop withdrawal appeared to be a concession to international demands to fulfill promises made as part of the cease-fire deal last month.
Following the announcement of the agreement, Medvedev lashed out at Saakashvili, a U.S. ally, saying he had received "a blessing, either in the form of a direct order or silent approval" from the United States to launch an "idiotic action" against South Ossetia.
"People died and now all of Georgia must pay for that," Medvedev said.
Adding to the uncertainty of the situation was the stipulation that any Georgian forces remaining near the separatist regions return to their bases and barracks by Oct. 1 before a full Russian withdrawal could happen.
The deal calls for international talks on refugees and the region's stability as a whole to be held beginning Oct. 15 in Geneva.
"I believe this accord is an accord that represents a maximum of what we could have done," Sarkozy told reporters.
____http://wtop.com/?nid=105&sid=1372087


Medvedev says Russia 'nation to be reckoned with' September 9, 2008 - 7:12am
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addresses the press in Moscow, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008. Lavrov said Tuesday that Russian troops will stay in Georgia's breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia for a long time, adding that the Russian military presence is necessary to avert Georgian attempts to regain control. (AP Photo/ Mikhail Metzel)
By DAVID NOWAK Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW (AP) - Russia said Tuesday that it will station troops in two Georgian breakaway provinces for the foreseeable future, reaffirming its plans less than 24 hours after agreeing to pull forces from Georgian areas around Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that a Russian military presence was necessary to prevent Georgian attempts to regain control of the separatist regions.
"Russian troops will remain on the territory of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on request of their leaders in parliament," he said at a briefing. "They will remain there for a long time. Their presence there will be needed at least for the foreseeable future to prevent any relapses of aggressive actions."
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and other officials previously have said that Moscow will maintain a military presence in the region, but Lavrov's statement was the most specific affirmation of Moscow's intention.
Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov told Medvedev at a public meeting that about 3,800 Russian troops will be based in South Ossetia, with the same number in Abkhazia.
Lavrov said Russia plans to sign formal agreements with both regions on the troops' presence in the next few days.
Russia has recognized both provinces as independent states and was also expected to sign a deal to establish diplomatic relations with them later Tuesday.
Lavrov spoke less than a day after French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev announced a revised version of a European Union-brokered peace deal that envisaged the deployment of at least 200 EU monitors in the area surrounding the two breakaway regions by next month. The deal obliges Russia to pull out of those regions in 10 days following the deployment of EU monitors.
Lavrov cast the deal, accompanied by the EU guarantees of non-aggression against the two breakaway provinces, as a victory for Russia.
"This document is based on an approach Russia has been defending since the start of the crisis," he said.
He said that Abkhazia and South Ossetia will be represented at an international conference on security in the region set to open in Geneva next month.
War erupted between Georgia and Russia erupted on Aug. 7 when Georgia launched an attack to regain control over South Ossetia. Russia sent in troops who quickly routed the Georgian forces and pushed deep into Georgia.
http://wtop.com/?nid=105&sid=1367816

And then look at this one

Serbia ratifies EU, Russia deals September 9, 2008 - 6:21am
By JOVANA GEC Associated Press Writer
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) - Serbian lawmakers on Tuesday ratified a pre-membership agreement with the European Union and an oil and gas deal with Russia after months of heated debate over the direction of the country's policies.
The agreements, both considered crucial for the Balkan nation's future, were signed earlier this year but needed parliamentary approval before they could be implemented.
The Stabilization and Association agreement with the EU will give Serbia access to EU funds and will ease trade with EU countries.
The pro-Western government supports this first step toward eventual membership in the 27-nation bloc, but the nationalist opposition rejects it because most EU member states support the independence of Kosovo.
The EU agreement had been blocked for years because of Serbia's failure to arrest top war crimes suspects sought by a U.N. war crimes court. But the capture in July of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic is considered a major boost for Serbia's EU bid.
The 250-seat parliament approved the agreement with 140 votes in favor and 28 against. Some members were absent.
The deal with Russia envisages part of a pan-European pipeline running through Serbia and that the Russians will buy Serbia's state oil monopoly, NIS.
Government officials have described the deal as "historic," but the liberal opposition has warned that it will give Russia full control over Serbia's energy sector. They also said that the price of euro400 million ($568 million) for NIS is too low.
Russia has been Serbia's ally in its efforts to maintain claim on Kosovo, despite Western support for the province's declaration of independence from Serbia in February.
The Russian deal won support from 212 deputies; 22 were against.
http://wtop.com/?nid=105&sid=1474838

Pretty neat Wesite, for watching the many Hurricanse this year
http://www.stormpulse.com/

UN says eat less meat to curb global warming
Climate expert urges radical shift in diet· Industry unfairly targeted - farmers
Juliette Jowit, environment editor
The Observer,
Sunday September 7 2008
People should have one meat-free day a week if they want to make a personal and effective sacrifice that would help tackle climate change, the world's leading authority on global warming has told The Observer
Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which last year earned a joint share of the Nobel Peace Prize, said that people should then go on to reduce their meat consumption even further.
His comments are the most controversial advice yet provided by the panel on how individuals can help tackle global warning.
Pachauri, who was re-elected the panel's chairman for a second six-year term last week, said diet change was important because of the huge greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental problems - including habitat destruction - associated with rearing cattle and other animals. It was relatively easy to change eating habits compared to changing means of transport, he said.
The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation has estimated that meat production accounts for nearly a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. These are generated during the production of animal feeds, for example, while ruminants, particularly cows, emit methane, which is 23 times more effective as a global warming agent than carbon dioxide. The agency has also warned that meat consumption is set to double by the middle of the century.
'In terms of immediacy of action and the feasibility of bringing about reductions in a short period of time, it clearly is the most attractive opportunity,' said Pachauri. 'Give up meat for one day [a week] initially, and decrease it from there,' said the Indian economist, who is a vegetarian.
However, he also stressed other changes in lifestyle would help to combat climate change. 'That's what I want to emphasise: we really have to bring about reductions in every sector of the economy.'
Pachauri can expect some vociferous responses from the food industry to his advice, though last night he was given unexpected support by Masterchef presenter and restaurateur John Torode, who is about to publish a new book, John Torode's Beef. 'I have a little bit and enjoy it,' said Torode. 'Too much for any person becomes gluttony. But there's a bigger issue here: where [the meat] comes from. If we all bought British and stopped buying imported food we'd save a huge amount of carbon emissions.'
Tomorrow, Pachauri will speak at an event hosted by animal welfare group Compassion in World Farming, which has calculated that if the average UK household halved meat consumption that would cut emissions more than if car use was cut in half.
The group has called for governments to lead campaigns to reduce meat consumption by 60 per cent by 2020. Campaigners have also pointed out the health benefits of eating less meat. The average person in the UK eats 50g of protein from meat a day, equivalent to a chicken breast and a lamb chop - a relatively low level for rich nations but 25-50 per cent more than World Heath Organisation guidelines.
Professor Robert Watson, the chief scientific adviser for the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, who will also speak at tomorrow's event in London, said government could help educate people about the benefits of eating less meat, but it should not 'regulate'. 'Eating less meat would help, there's no question about that, but there are other things,' Watson said.
However, Chris Lamb, head of marketing for pig industry group BPEX, said the meat industry had been unfairly targeted and was working hard to find out which activities had the biggest environmental impact and reduce those. Some ideas were contradictory, he said - for example, one solution to emissions from livestock was to keep them indoors, but this would damage animal welfare. 'Climate change is a very young science and our view is there are a lot of simplistic solutions being proposed,' he said.
Last year a major report into the environmental impact of meat eating by the Food Climate Research Network at Surrey University claimed livestock generated 8 per cent of UK emissions - but eating some meat was good for the planet because some habitats benefited from grazing. It also said vegetarian diets that included lots of milk, butter and cheese would probably not noticeably reduce emissions because dairy cows are a major source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas released through flatulence.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/07/food.foodanddrink