May 31, 2007

Biofuels can help deal with global environmental threats

Biofuels can help deal with global environmental threats as well as rising fuel prices. Above all, they offer to poor countries the hope of steady economic growth, without putting in jeopardy poverty alleviation and environmental protection policies.

Our use of fuels for transport etc increases every year by several percent, as China and India (and Brazil for that matter) take off demand will increase further. Therefore there is no way that biofuels will ever affect fuel prices because they will never be able to significantly replace petroleum.

Also, as your biodisel industry takes off so will deforestation and the increase in the use of land for producing the carbon, this is inevitable, if biodisel production is profitable it will expand, Malaysian biofuel production has been one of the greatest contributors to deforestation there.

College textbook costs

A federal advisory committee charged with finding ways to contain the rapid rise in college textbook costs recommends overhauling the textbook market to produce long-term results. The committee pointed no fingers and instead blamed a structural flaw in the market because faculty members select the books but students pay for them. Though students are affected most directly, faculty, colleges, bookstores and publishers are also victims of the failure of this market, and blaming them for high textbook prices is not the answer.

Congress directed the committee to focus on textbooks after a Government Accountability Office report in 2005 found that students could spend as much as $900 a year on new textbooks and supplies. It also found that price increases averaged 6% a year, or twice the rate of inflation. Some states have introduced or passed legislation aimed at improving affordability.

Orlando Holiday Villa

For those looking for vacation rentals in Florida, Thinkflorida delivers an extensive online guide to renting. This guide covers everything from the basics of seeking out Florida vacation rentals to frequently asked questions about the renting process to what one needs to know when renting for the first time an Orlando Holiday Villa. Thinkflorida also provides a comprehensive guide to attractions in the state of Florida, focusing on each area in depth with helpful tips and links.

Thinkflorida serve as a valuable resource for those planning trips to Florida and those looking for services like car rentals, online booking, property sales, and recommend books for travelers.

This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

Era of cheap energy is coming to an end

It is entirely possible for us to come up with clean and sustainable energy sources and with more efficient ways to use that energy. But what needs to be faced, and what the public needs to understand, that the era of cheap energy - that provided by fossil fuels - is coming to an end. All of the alternatives, whether you're talking biofuels, wind, solar, geothermal or whatever, are and will continue to be more expensive. Correspondingly, everything that depends on that energy - food, transportation, heating, cooling, etc - will also be more expensive. People need to be told that their lifestyles will be undergoing considerable change in upcoming years, with the emphasis going towards conservation, greater efficiency, and in many cases, doing without. Getting in the car and driving two miles to pick up a bag of chips will _not_ be an option. To put it bluntly, we're all going to be paying more for less and hoping to god that less will be enough.

Funding to fight AIDS

President Bush asked Congress Wednesday to boost funding to fight AIDS and treat up to 2.5 million people with the disease around the world. His proposal for $30 billion over five years would extend an existing AIDS prevention program, which Congress first approved in 2003 and expires next year. The president often has touted the program, which also fights tuberculosis and malaria, as a key piece of his foreign policy.

An estimated 39.5 million people are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, according to the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS. There were 4.3 million new infections in 2006 with 65% occurring in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the U.N. program. United States spends more on AIDS prevention, care and treatment than the rest of the world combined.

Business Sales Leads

This World is full of marketing tools and companies. However, if you want a professional marketing campaign you must use professionals obviously. A good strategy is the Business Sales Leads offered by Martin Worldwide.

Over the years, Martin Worldwide has provided quality lists and innovative marketing solutions to businesses of all sizes. If you visit their website, you will find several tools that allow visitors to connect with their data list experts and the company as a whole, allowing them to provide innovative marketing solutions for their clients. The website provides visitors with information on their consumer and business mailing list product lines, as well as the various marketing services they provide.

This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

US greenhouse gas targets

US greenhouse gas targets haven't even been set. We are more intent on putting pressure on China and India for their emissions than we are on the damage done here in the States. Until we have a president in office who understands that it will require BOTH reduction in energy use AND the oft-mentioned (but rarely specified) advances in technology, the USA's pathetic efforts to control greenhouse gases will continue to shame our nation.

US emissions in 2004, the most recent figures available, totalled 5,799 million tonnes of CO2 from 293 million people, compared to China's 4,732 million tonnes of CO2 between 1,296 million people. According to these figures the U.S. annual per capita emissions are 5 times larger than the Chinese emissions. The US cannot continue stall on curbing emissions because 'China aren't'. Its emissions are still far higher than China's (c20% of the globes).

Museum honoring evangelist Billy Graham

Visitors to the new, presidential-style museum honoring evangelist Billy Graham enter and exit the building through crosses as tall as 40 feet high, a design meant to emphasize that the $27-million complex is an extension of the minister's work. Former Presidents Carter, Clinton and George H.W. Bush met with the Graham family before the formal dedication of the Billy Graham Library, expected to draw 1,500 well-wishers. Billy Graham, 88, suffers from fluid on the brain, prostate cancer and Parkinson's disease, and is largely confined to his home in Montreat. Still, he was scheduled to speak at the ceremony. It will take place in view of his childhood home, which was moved to the library site and restored. His wife Ruth, 86, has degenerative osteoarthritis of the back and neck and is bedridden at their home.

The 40,000-square-foot complex was built on the grounds of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, and among its designers was the ITEC Entertainment Co., of Orlando, Fla., which has done work for Disney and other theme parks. The dairy farm where the preacher grew up is just a few miles from the site and the library reflects his roots. The museum, which reporters toured before the ceremony Thursday, is more heartfelt tribute than scholarly review. Graham's personal papers will be stored at the museum, while documents related to his crusades will remain in an archive at Wheaton College, the prominent evangelical school in Illinois where the minister and his wife met as students. There are photos of Graham with the U.S. presidents he befriended going back six decades, and displays of gifts they gave him, including a golf club and a check that President Nixon had given the preacher as an offering. However, there is no mention of how Graham's close ties with Nixon had cast a shadow on the minister. Old TV sets broadcast clips of the troubled times in America when Graham preached, including the Civil Rights era. Graham has been praised for integrating his crusades starting in 1953, but also criticized for his restrained support for the movement.

Fun site to win COOL stuff

This site lowest bid is running a reverse auction, one of all competitions who texts in with the lowest unique bid win. The prize is quite valuable; I like a 2008 BMW 3 Series but I need to achieve the lowest unique bid. This means that if four persons are bidding $5 for the car but I’m the only person making a bid for $7, I win because of being the UNIQUE lowest bid.

I’m proving this strategy: submitting multiple bids using a few numbers that seem unique. This will raise my probabilities of having the right bid. But I need to calculate the cost versus the winning prize, so, I can bid more for expensive prizes like this car.

Disclousure: This blog receives compensation from PayPerPost advertisers.


Earth is a living organism

It is difficult not to admire Mary Midgley. At 86 and white-haired, she is still going strong: cogent, vigorous and impassioned. Clad in brilliant fuchsia jacket, she shone the beam of her moral philosopher's intellect on how the perception of (her contemporary) James Lovelock's concept of Gaia has evolved. It is no longer, she said, "a Californian fancy", the plaything of well-meaning eco-cranks.

The instrumental idea that, at bottom, only the economy is "real", and the rest of human affairs just window-dressing, has been exploded, she argued. Faced with the evidence of climate change, few people in public life can now maintain that we can go on treating the planet as a bottomless pit of inert resources, rather than a systemic whole of interdependent ecologies and living organisms.

The earth, as a whole, is a self-organizing, self-correcting, vastly interconnected system. As such it is useful to view it in the same way we view other self-organizing, self-correcting, vastly interconnected systems, such as organisms. As such the analogy of the earth as a organism is a good and very useful one. Weather the earth is actually an organism or not depends entirely on your definition of the word "organism" and is really a semantic debate of no really substance.

Ethanol production has put the Chinese government in an unpleasant bind

Ethanol production has put the Chinese government in an unpleasant bind, as fears rise that the environmentally friendly gasoline additive is also fueling politically dangerous increases in the price of food – particularly pork, a key staple. With the ethanol industry gobbling up a growing share of China's corn harvest, authorities have stomped on the brakes to slow what one official report calls "blind" investment in distilleries.

China cannot sacrifice food security for energy. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao offered the latest sign of government concern when he made a highly publicized visit last weekend to a piggery and a meat market in Xi'an, about 750 miles southwest of Beijing. The price of pork has gone up by 29 percent over the past year and the price of live pigs by 71 percent, according to the Agriculture Ministry. In a country where people eat more pork than anywhere else in the world except Germany, that jump in the price of a staple has dominated recent headlines and sparked grumbling. Pushback on Ethanol has been trumpeted as the alternative fuel of the future, offering cleaner energy and new opportunities for farmers in developing countries. China's current Five Year Plan sets the goal of using biofuels for 15 per-cent of the country's transport needs by 2020; already gas stations in a number of provinces mix 10 percent ethanol into the gasoline they sell.

But critics around the world have recently begun to question the unconsidered effects of large-scale ethanol production, such as increasing competition for human or animal food supplies. And in China, where an estimated 30 million people died in a famine less than 50 years ago, many have reservations about using food for fuel. As ethanol factories large and small have sprung up in China's corn producing regions in recent years, they have begun to compete with animal-feed manufacturers for raw materials. The industrial use of corn nearly doubled between 2001 and 2005, to 23 million tons, according to a study released last December by the National Development and Reform Committee, China's chief economic planning agency. That represented 16.5 percent of the corn harvest in 2005. The continuing rise in corn prices since the beginning of this year suggests that the central government is having its usual difficulty in controlling developments in China's provinces. But the crisis has not deterred the authorities from pursuing other ethanol distilling projects and biofuel experiments. A state-owned grain and oils conglomerate will launch a pilot project later this year to process cassava – a starchy tuber that is not considered a food in China – into ethanol. Plans are also under way to plant tens of thousands of acres of jatropha – also inedible and grown in wastelands – by the end of the decade.

May 30, 2007

McCain suggests little government regulation of broadband as possible

Sen. McCain suggests that there should be as little government regulation of broadband as possible. Walt notes that the telecom industry is re-aggregating back into “one unified AT&T.” Sen. McCain says we should let the market and technology solve the Net-neutrality issue: “When you control the pipe you should be able to get profit from your investment.” In general, I'd agree with that assessment by McCain. I believe that most markets should be profitable for the company that is operating it. That being said, the internet glares as an exception for me. It's far too pervasive, all-encompassing to adopt a different pricing approach this late into the game. Ten years ago, they could have set it up this way and no one would have cared.

Russia and the United States differences.

Russia and the United States sparred over Kosovo and U.S. missile shield plans, souring a meeting aimed at preparing the ground for next week's Group of Eight summit on the Baltic coast. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke bluntly on disagreements over Kosovo, a major irritant in Russia's relations with the European Union and the United States. He also traded barbs on Lebanon and the missile shield. Serbia, backed by Russia, opposes a plan proposed by U.N. mediator Martti Ahtisaari offering the Albanian majority province independence under international supervision. Western powers have backed a U.N. resolution that would grant Kosovo effective independence. Lavrov, however, said other world powers should let Serbs and Kosovo Albanians sort out the question of the future status of the province themselves. Rice emphasized Kosovo was an issue of international concern and she wanted agreement as soon as possible.

G8 president Germany hopes to avoid a showdown between the United States and Russia at the Heiligendamm leaders' summit which will focus on climate change and aid to Africa. But U.S.Russia's Vladimir Putin to his family's home in Maine in July. But differences over Kosovo and U.S. plans to install a missile shield in central Europe were difficult to hide. The United States wants to deploy a radar system in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles in Poland by 2011-12. The system would counter threats from rogue states like Iran and North Korea, but Moscow sees it as an encroachment on its former sphere of influence. Lavrov also sniped at U.S. military shipments last week to Lebanon's government and cautioned against such aid further destabilizing the region. Afghanistan and Pakistan, invited by Germany to the meeting, vowed to deepen cooperation between their governments at all levels, particularly in the fight against terrorism and repatriating Afghan refugees. The two, who accuse each other of failing to stop a Taliban insurgency, are seeking ways to seal their long, porous border. officials traveling with Rice said the Russians had sought conflict at every turn. Rice and Lavrov were publicly courteous to each other, mentioning that U.S. President George W. Bush had invited

Maybe you need a stairlift

You may be asking, “What are the benefits of buying a stairlift from www.valuestairlifts.co.uk?” While this is a valid question, the answers will be defined solely by the needs of those who use a one.

In example, you’ve just had major surgery or health problem and have been instructed not to exert yourself by climbing stairs. However, your bedroom is on the second floor of your home and there is no space on the ground floor to accommodate a bed, let alone all of the other items you may need.

Mobility is something we all take for granted. Yet when we are weighed down by an injury, an illness or old age, climbing stairs can be akin to climbing Mount Everest. There is no need for anyone to suffer the pain or even humiliation of not being able to climb stairs in one’s own home. Help is available, and stairlifts can provide that help.

The benefits in buying a stairlift from www.valuestairlifts.co.uk outweigh the cost; especially to those who enjoy life and the freedom it affords.

Note: This is a sponsored review by Smorty.

Gas is high because consumers want it

Gas is high because consumers (all of us) want it, lots of it, and don't really give a damn what it costs. Sure, we'll bitch and moan every time it goes up and say someone in Washington should do something about it, but that's about as far is it goes. Well, aside from those retarded-ass chain emails saying we should boycott Exxon-Mobil ("This plan is different. It'll really work this time, I swear!"), which no one follows through on anyway...

If people really gave a shit, they'd try and conserve by demanding, and then buying, more fuel efficient cars. That means: people need to stop buying more car than they need (mom's of two don't need the Tahoe to drive around town); and making more fuel efficient cars. And it's not like it's that big a leap, either. The technology is there, and it's not all the radical (and I'm not talking hybrids). It's called diesel, people.

For example, let's say someone decided to step down from an SUV to a 4-door sedan. In this case, I'll use two cars that are pretty well representative of their respective classes: the Chevy Tahoe; and the 4-door Honda Accord. First of all, I'd say is fair enough to ask someone to make the jump from the Tahoe to the Accord. An Accord, while certainly smaller than a Tahoe and not a huge sedan like a Mercedes, is fairly roomy, has more than enough room for virtually everything you'll ever do, and sure ain't hell no damn Insight or Civic coupe. That jump from the Tahoe to the Accord will taken your MPG from 15 city/21 highway to 24 city/34 highway (20/30 if you go with the V6).

Now in comes the turbo-diesel. And there's really nothing but benefits: better mileage; better durability; and cheaper fuel. Sure, then engine sounds a little different, but come on. While I'd never agree with the argument, I could maybe understand it if diesels sounded like they did back in the 80s...like in those old Mercedes. But that's simply not the case anymore. Anyway...the same car in the UK, the 4-door Accord, with a turbo-diesel gets 32.5 city/52.5 highway, as opposed to 24/34. Hell of an improvement, no? And yes, that's taking into account the difference between imperial gallons and US liquid gallons.

All in all, you've more than doubled your mileage. Toss in the fact that diesel is cheaper to produce, and thus cheaper at the pump, than gasoline, and you're looking at quite the savings. Going by the EPA standard for combined MPG (average of city and highway, weighted .55 city .45 highway), and assuming you drive about 15,000 miles a year, you'd be burning less than half the fuel (847 gallons vs 361) an are looking at savings of approximately $1660 at the current national average of $3.201 a gallon for regular unleaded gas and $2.911 for diesel. Naturally, as time goes on and fuel prices continue to rise, you save even more money. And all while helping to end our dependence of foreign oil AND helping to save the environment.

Anyway...I just wish people would stop bitching about gas prices and actually do something proactive about it. As I've shown, it doesn't have to be anything radical. It's not (or at least shouldn't be) necessary to drop down to a tiny little hybrid, and spend significantly more on the car itself than you otherwise would to do so. Be somewhat sensible about what you buy, which means don't go for the Tahoe, Hummer or the like, and get (or demand) a car that's more fuel efficient. You'll save money, you'll help curb our dependence of foreign oil, and you'll help protect the environment.

US civilian nuclear technology to China

The sale of US civilian nuclear technology to China has long been a matter of contention. The debate is intensifying now because Westinghouse Electric Co. is expected within weeks to apply for up to $5 billion in loans from the US Export-Import Bank to finance the sale of the reactors to China. When it comes, the application will trigger a review by Congress, where critics of the deal hope to raise enough questions about it to hold it up, perhaps for good. If approved, the deal would be the largest by far in the history of the bank, a taxpayer-supported entity charged with creating and sustaining jobs by financing sales of US goods to international buyers.

Besides security, we need to address the following sensitive topics, as well:

•Financing of the sale. Should US taxpayers be financing a multibillion-dollar loan to China at a time when China is running a massive trade surplus with the US? What do the taxpayers, who by some estimates contributed at least $300 million to Westinghouse Electric's advanced reactor design, get out of the deal – especially considering that a Japanese firm now owns 77 percent of Westinghouse?

•Technology transfer. China reportedly will get most of the new AP1000 technology, the latest US reactor design, as part of the sale. Some nonproliferation experts say the design of the reactor's coolant pump is of particular concern, and that China might be able to reverse-engineer it for use on its nuclear submarines.

Free resource for travelers

I found a website that offers travelers directions around Boston and offers more options than others travelers’ services.

PublicRoutes.com, which offers routes around 15 other American cities as well as in London, is based in New York and allows users to plot a course to points in the city. But unlike other services, which offers travel directions only, PublicRoutes takes a step further.

In addition to travel directions, PublicRoutes offers step-by-step guides to getting around the city by walking or by taking public transportation.

The company is expected to expand their services in more cities soon. And the best is that this is a free and easy to use website.

Disclousure: This blog receives compensation from PayPerPost advertisers.

Hillary Clinton. A good 08 option.

Hillary was a Goldwater Girl in high school who was influenced by her liberal pastor. By the time she got to college, she was a liberal but not a radical. After college and law school, she worked for the committee investigating Watergate. In Arkansas, after marrying Bill, she was active in education reform and moved a bit to the center. Her health care reform in the White House was an unworkable contraption—and politically tone-deaf—but not a lefty single-payer plan. So she has never been that far left. If you read her graduation speech from Wellesley, it is very general, even obscure, but hardly radical.

One of the most crucial qualities of the next president in my view is the ability to create consensus between the parties and return a civil atmosphere of compromise to Congress. Bill Clinton, despite his controversies, seemed very good at this. Given the current climate and her lightning-rod status among many on the right, does Hillary have what it takes to return this atmosphere, and would her husband be an asset or a hindrance in this goal?

Schwarzenegger. Global warming activist

Since he made California the first state to limit greenhouse gases, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been signing agreements with other state and foreign governments to address global warming. He has struck deals with Arizona, Oregon, New Mexico, New York, Utah and Washington. He signed one with the United Kingdom even before the California law came into being. And he has made deals with a state in Australia and a province in Canada, where he travels this week to sign two more.

Schwarzenegger will sign agreements this week with Ontario and British Columbia during a three-day visit to Canada that began Tuesday and includes stops in Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver. He also will promote California products and tourism with the state's second-largest trading partner. Discussing ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will be one of the main topics. The state's global warming law requires industries, such as utilities, oil and gas refineries and cement manufacturers, to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions over the next 13 years to what they were in 1990.

Car insurance payments gone up?

Did you know that most people are not getting the best price for their auto insurance? Perhaps it's easier to stay with the agent you've always known, or you don't want to spend the time calling each agent individually. Whatever the excuse, procrastinating could be costing you hundreds of dollars.

The truth is auto insurance companies are competing for your business, meaning you could easily be offered a better price than what you pay now. Finding what's available for you is easier than you think. The Thrifty Scot specializes in making the process of researching car insurance quick and easy. And their customers save a lot on their auto insurance contract.

The Thrifty Scot is a large online auto insurance agency. The company partners with other leading auto insurance companies to provide instant and accurate rates to its users. Rates come directly from each insurance company, so it's not just an estimate, it's what you really would pay if you had a contract with that particular company.

Sounds interesting, but how much time does it take? Each customer only needs to answer one set of questions to get up to four real quotes. This process is very easy, you can register and request a quote simply.

Disclousure: This blog receives compensation from PayPerPost advertisers.

To Fidel Castro

Free healthcare and education isn't the preserve of communist countries.
After having been to Cuba, where the minimum wage is 11 USD per month (contrast non-communist Brazil, where is more than 100 USD), the squalor and the dilapidation of, say, most of conditions of the general populous and the formerly glorious Spanish colonial architecture was astounding. I am all for anti-imperialist, idealistic leadership and ideology but I am afraid the Cuban people have been badly let down and have been conned. They deserve better, and managed capitalism would be the solution.

This man was allied with a regime that imprisoned and repressed nations and helped send millions to the Gulag, activity which he fundamentally approved. It still denies access to it's country for the red cross and Amnesty and tortures its own. Have you forgotten this?

Amnesty International's 2007 report states that in Castro's Cuba:
"Freedom of expression, association and movement continued to be severely restricted. At least 69 prisoners of conscience remained imprisoned for their political opinions. Political dissidents, independent journalists and human rights activists continued to be harassed, intimidated and detained, some without charge or trial."

If your policies are so great why not let the people vote? Why can't you leave your country? You took money from Russia while Stalin killed millions and millions of people, occupied several countries. You use secret police and control the media.

Fidel Castro free healthcare and education system is the excuses running a dictatorship. For the people around the world that support Castro because they do not support US, think in this: the enemy of my enemy is not my friend.

Several clouds over China’s reputation

No one disputes that China is a rising great power thanks to its tremendous economic growth. But an announcement Tuesday May 29th cast several clouds over China’s reputation. The government says it will execute Zheng Xiaoyu, the former head of its food and drug regulator, for corruption. The news represents a remarkable confluence of bad press for China: that high-level corruption is rampant, that its products have killed people and animals around the world, and that the country advertising its “peaceful rise” is a harsh, execution-happy dictatorship.

China may hope to dominate the world economically; it already does so in terms of the amount of people it executes. The total number is a carefully guarded state secret but Amnesty International, a human-rights watchdog, counted at least 1,770 executions in 2006 and the real amount could be as high as 8,000. The liberal use of the death penalty in China is not a subject of great public concern, partly because the extent of it is little appreciated. The media usually publicise only executions that are deemed by the government to have some wider cautionary value.

Student Loan Consolidation

Your education is the key to launching your future. After you enter the professional world you leave the college years behind to focus on your career goals. But one thing most people can't leave behind are student loans. Don't let this burden continue to weigh you down, make Student Loan Consolidation a priority on your list of resolutions.

There is a myriad of reasons to consolidate your student loans. Most importantly, this process adjusts repayment terms to lower your monthly student loan payments, making it easier for you to manage your educational debt. In addition, it reduces several monthly loan payments to just one, saving you time and effort.

At NextStudent.com you can find a lot of information and offers for loan consolidation. For those who are continuing on in college, NextStudent’s Private Student Loans are the best option if you don’t have Federal help.

Disclousure: This blog receives compensation from PayPerPost advertisers.

Iran is not interested in peace

American and Iranian diplomats are to hold a second meeting next month after spending four hours in Baghdad discussing the future of Iraq. The Iranians have proposed setting up a new body that will bring together Iraqis, Iranians and Americans to study security issues.

Iran is not interested in peace it is just a tactic they are using to delay time and confuse the United States and others to make it look like they are interested in peace while they develop their nuclear weapons to attack Israel and the USA with. If they were interested in peace they wouldn't be calling for the destruction of another U.N country or others or advocating the spread of their religion through force ie terrorism.

Lebanon charged 20 members of Fatah al-Islam with terrorism

Lebanon charged 20 members of Fatah al-Islam with terrorism and Lebanese troops battled jihadists from the militant group at a Palestinian refugee camp in the north for an 11th day. The charges against the 19 Lebanese and one Syrian, all in custody, carried the death penalty and were linked to fighting around the Nahr al-Bared camp that has killed 79 people -- 34 soldiers, 27 militants and 18 civilians. The Lebanese authorities blame the group for starting the confrontations by attacking army positions at the camp and near the northern city of Tripoli on May 20. The fighting, the worst in Lebanon since the 1975-1990 civil war, has continued sporadically. The combatants exchanged artillery shells and mortar bombs for hours overnight in the heaviest fighting in a week. But the clashes tapered off in the early hours of Wednesday.

The Lebanese government has demanded the militants surrender. Fatah al-Islam say they have been acting in self defense and reject the demand to hand over any of their fighters. A 1969 Arab agreement stops the army from entering Lebanon's 12 Palestinian refugee camps, home to 400,000. The government has given Palestinian leaders in Lebanon a chance to find a way out of the stand-off, as it is concerned that the refugees will see more army action at the camp as an attack on their community. More than 25,000 of the camp's 40,000 Palestinians have fled from the fighting. Most of the displaced refugees have flooded the nearby Beddawi camp, where humanitarian organizations have been carrying out relief work. More food supplies, medicine and water were sent to Nahr al-Bared, whose remaining inhabitants have no electricity or running water, witnesses said. The prospect of a decisive military solution to the stand-off has been played down by the government in recent days because it could trigger violence at other refugee camps, even though Fatah al-Islam has little support among Palestinians. Members of Lebanon's anti-Syrian cabinet have described Fatah al-Islam as a tool of Syrian intelligence, although Damascus denies any links to the group. Lebanese authorities say Fatah al-Islam includes Arabs from Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Tunisia, Syria and Lebanon.

Sex education

Let’s put it this way: we start teaching kids about drugs really early, right? The first lesson we teach is “say no”. But we also teach kids what to watch out for, how to avoid things - and in some cases tell older students where to get help in case they did get along the wrong path somewhere.

Why should sex education should be any different? If we really are about protecting our kids, shouldn’t we want to protect ALL of them? Even the ones who won’t listen to the “don’t do it” advice?

I think a good way to start is teaching them the use of condom. And if you are worried about the feeling loss you can try with the new Japan’s Crown condoms. They are the thinnest condoms in the market. This is a great way to prevent unwanted pregnancies and HIV. Maybe is not the best idea on sex education, but realities are stronger than ideals.

This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

May 29, 2007

Universal health care is a bad idea

Universal health care is a bad idea, much like most government programs. As stated before, once the United States institutes a program like this, it will be subject to all the bureaucracy that condemns all other federal welfare programs. Why not institute legislation to cap healthcare costs, trim fat off of government spending, dissolve federal programs, eliminate federal welfare and then go back to a monetary system that means something? People would have the money to pay, hospitals wouldn't suffer because they're essentially at the service of the government (which runs everything into the ground), and in the end people would pay for quality healthcare - at an affordable rate.

While I haven't lived in a country with this program, I have been in the military, where we're covered under one of the worst insurance providers ever, Tricare. We don't pay, but the hospitals and services provided are substandard. I would rather be paid more so that I could pay out of pocket for a better medical plan with access to modern facilities.

If it also falls the way of the military, I would be cautious of substandard providers as well. In the military, if a provider makes an error and injures you, you have no recourse in the way of malpractice. The provider is known as an agent of the government and military personnel are forbidden to sue. Malpractice claims are often unneeded, but some are legitimate. Many times, providers become accustomed to living without the worry of malpractice claims and aren't as thorough or as professional as they should be. This sort of thing breeds apathy and if this is a policy of universal healthcare, I would caution everyone against it. I would also encourage you all to read the libertarian platform and ponder the results of their visions.

Amnesty to three Russian policemen

Women who lost relatives in Russia's Beslan school siege ransacked a courtroom as the judge granted an amnesty to three local policemen accused of failing to stop gunmen seizing the school. The policemen are the only officials put on trial over the 2004 massacre in southern Russian in which 331 people (half of them children) were killed. Some survivors accuse the authorities of a cover-up. As the judge began reading out an order granting the police officers an amnesty, the women began heckling the judge and tried to approach the bench but were stopped by a guard.

A group of about 25 women then smashed courtroom windows, overturned furniture and tore down blinds and a Russian flag. The judge withdrew to a side room and finished reading the order, without members of the public present. Heavily armed gunmen seized Beslan's School No. 1 when about 1,000 pupils and their parents were there for a ceremony to mark the first day of the school year. The gunmen, who were linked to a long-running insurgency in the nearby Chechnya region, killed most of the male hostages, set up booby trap explosives around the school and held hundreds at gunpoint in the school gymnasium. On the third day of the siege, an explosion tore through the gymnasium and there was a furious gunfight between Russian security forces and the gunmen.

Diet Plans

A calorie is a calorie. Eat too many... gain weight. Eat fewer calories... lose weight. Not so complicated, right? Wrong, for those who believe weight loss is more than a calorie equation. Everywhere you turn there are so-called new-and-improved ways to lose weight.

When considering a weight-loss plan, start with this proven formula: Successful weight-loss programs incorporate changes to achieve long-term healthy lifestyle behaviors, including eating practices and daily physical activity. Consult your physician and registered dietitian. They will help design a plan that is safe and meets your needs.

You can visit also www.MyFitnessPal.com to find all information you need on diets and nutritional programs. They have a calorie counter that is fast and easy to use and will teach you the nutritional contents of what you are eating, and how you can make better food choices. This site is 100% free. All their services are free and you don’t need to make any payment never.

Note: This is a sponsored review by Smorty.

Venezuelan crisis

In Venezuela due to the close of the principal TV station RCTV, the situation is critic, the people are in the streets protesting against the government in the entire nation. Thousands of protesters from poorest communities and neighborhoods are fighting against the Venezuela National Guard and police.

The Chavez government is out of the law, violating the human rights and using war weapons against pacific protesters and residential buildings. In this critic moment Chavez is in the Habana (Cuba), protecting himself and his family from the critical situation of Venezuela. Chavez does not trust in the Venezuelan army forces.

The major cities of Venezuela are in completely chaos and anarchy.

President Bush attacked opponents of an immigration deal

President Bush attacked opponents of an immigration deal. He described his proposal, which has been agreed to by a bipartisan group of senators, as one that makes it more likely we can enforce our border and at the same time uphold the great immigrant tradition of the United States of America. Bush spoke at the nation's largest training center for law enforcement. He chose the get-tough setting as conservative critics blast a Senate proposal as being soft on people who break the law. Hoping to blunt that message, Bush emphasized that any new options for immigrants and foreign workers would not start until tougher security is in place.

The presidential stop came during a congressional recess, with senators back home and facing pressure from the left and right on the immigration plan. Bush's aim is to build momentum for the legislation, perhaps his best chance for a signature victory in his second term. The Senate expects to resume debate on it next week.The bill would give temporary legal status to millions of unlawful immigrants, provided they came forward, paid a fine and underwent criminal background checks. To apply for a green card, they would have to pay another fine, learn English, return to their home country and wait in line.

The plan also would create a guest worker program. It would allow foreign laborers to come to the U.S. for temporary stints, yet with no guarantee they can eventually gain citizenship.Both the new visa plan and the temporary worker program are contingent on other steps coming first. Those include fencing and barriers along the Mexico border, the hiring of more Border Patrol agents and the completion of an identification system to verify employees' legal status. The legislation would also reshape future immigration decisions. A new point system would prioritize skills and education over family in deciding who can immigrate.

Stop migraines

The World Health Organization considers migraines to be one of the most debilitating diseases of mankind. One migraine headache can put your life "on hold" for anything from a few hours to a couple of days.

A migraine is a throbbing or pulsating headache and it is often one-sided. It can begin in a specific area on one side of the head. It can then spread and build up in intensity over the next couple of hours. It may well be accompanied by nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light or sound. Hands and feet may feel cold or sweaty. The migraines will then gradually subside.

However, migraine sufferers have a new pain relief option, with the generic drug Codalgin.

Generic Codalgin (tablets) is a strong pain killer, ideal for headaches and other kind of pains. The drug is used to relieve migraine headaches as they occur.


You can find this medication at a low cost visiting www.strandarcadepharmacy.co.nz, where is fully available. They offer Free Worldwide Delivery and No prescription require advantages.

Note: This is a sponsored review by Smorty.

Tehran is making wrong moves

Tehran is making all the wrong moves for a nation that claims to have peaceful intensions... and all the right moves for a country that wants to catch the wrong end of a nuclear barrage. We need to strike them... before they have the technology to strike us.

Why can't the numbskull we have for a president see this? It is as plain as the oil pump in his back yard. We might as well throw gasoline on a glowing coal and get it over with. Anything else he does is just going to waste tax payers’ money. You can't fix stupid... and you aren't going to get everyone in Iraq and Iran together for a group hug unless there are at least two or three suicide bombers in the mix.


The next World Bank president

Robert Zoellick, a nimble negotiator who has crisscrossed the globe as President Bush's trade chief and as the country's No. 2 diplomat, is the White House's choice to be the next World Bank president. He would succeed Paul Wolfowitz, who is stepping down June 30 after findings by a special bank panel that he broke bank rules when he arranged a hefty compensation package in 2005 for his girlfriend, Shaha Riza, a bank employee.

The controversy led to calls from Europeans, the bank's staff, aid groups, Democratic politicians and others for Wolfowitz to resign from the poverty-fighting institution. A seasoned veteran of politics both inside the Beltway and on the international stage, Zoellick, 53, has a knack for mastering intricate subject matter and translating it into policies. He is known for pulling facts and figures off the top of his head. He also has a reputation for being a demanding boss.

Bush's selection of Zoellick must be approved by the World Bank's 24-member board. The White House expects Zoellick to gain the board's acceptance. The senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of Bush's announcement, said so far other nations have had a positive reaction.

Low rate apr credit cards

Two years ago it was easy. You wanted a credit card that was interest-free and you got one. Millions of consumers became fully fledged "rate tarts" as they rode the wave of 0% deals that swept the country as interest rates sank to historically low levels.

But now rates are climbing again and low rate apr credit card look like a thing of the past. However there are some companies with great deals yet. The trick is to explore new offers to take advantage of this competitive market.

Banks are continuously searching for new customers and you can find great opportunities if you are informed.

Disclousure: This blog receives compensation from PayPerPost advertisers.

Less Than 0.01% Of Homeland Security Cases Are Terrorism Related

Records obtained from the immigration courts under the Freedom of Information Act show that only 0.0015 percent of the total number of cases filed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security were terrorism related, despite the fact that the Bush administration has repeatedly asserted that it is the primary focus of the DHS.

I'm certainly not surprised. It's a natural result of unconstrained government, and it's time to examine it. Examine the system that was supposed to protect us from the government.

Ask anyone you know that is in any management position at all, especially accountants. Systems are supposed to prevent things from going wrong. The US system of government did not prevent the creation of the DHS. It did not prevent the war in Iraq when it should have. It did not stop government from growing into a behemoth that consumes >40% of GDP. These are not isolated failures, they've happened many times before. It's endemic.

It's time to re-examine the system, find ways to reduce it to its proper function, and find ways to keep it there. To do that, we need to elect representatives. Not politicians, representatives.

Radicalism in Pakistan

In this valley of orchards near Afghanistan, 90 police hid along the banks of a riverbed in March, preparing to arrest the powerful Pakistani cleric Maualana Fazlullah. Informants said the target, charged with terrorism, would soon appear with a modest contingent of followers. Instead, Mr. Fazlullah rode into sight on a white horse, surrounded by hundreds of people.

When the officers advanced, brandishing tear gas and batons, word flew through the town. Thousands more supporters turned out to further protect Fazlullah. The officers backed off in an incident that shocked the country, exposing as it did the state's powerlessness to apprehend a wanted terrorist.

Such scenes are common in the tribal agencies of Waziristan, where the Taliban hold sway under a controversial truce signed with the government in September. But Swat is not Waziristan: It rests squarely in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), a government-administered area long considered beyond such lawlessness.

The rise of Fazlullah exposes the economic and political failures fanning extremism even in these areas, and hints at the consequences, both for Pakistan and the international community, if the province continues down a path of deprivation. Allow him to persist, many observers say, and others will be emboldened to roll back the state's policies of moderation – small but symbolically important gains in women's empowerment, girls' education, and religious tolerance.

Many are poorFrom the vantage of the cosmopolitan capital, Islamabad, Pakistan is one of the most rapidly growing economies in Asia. But Swat, home to 1.5 million, is a reminder that the frontier has long been deprived of that wealth. The gradual death of an agrarian way of life in Swat, following increased mechanization and a series of land reforms that undercut sharecropping, has promoted the wealth of a few at the expense of thousands. With little local industry, residents of Swat have some of the lowest incomes per day in the province, a formula for discontent.

Refinancing car loans

You have probably heard of auto refinance before. Or simply refinance. The term actually refers to a financial situation wherein a borrower finds financing to pay off a current loan.

For years now, people have refinanced their home equity loans and saved thousands of dollars. However, the practice of refinancing car loans has yet to be indulged by most. Why? Perhaps the reason is that auto loans generally behave differently from home loans and people are naturally skeptical about new methods. Regardless, auto refinance is still a good choice, provided that the situation is right.

The only way for auto refinance to work is if you get it when the interest rates are low. Low rates typically mean low monthly repayments and this is the situation you should aim for.

Disclousure: This blog receives compensation from PayPerPost advertisers.

Umaru Yar'Adua has been sworn in as Nigeria's new president.

The inauguration of Mr Yar'Adua marks the first time in Nigeria's history that one civilian leader has taken over from another but the election in April was described by local and foreign observers as "not credible". Opposition activists have promised to go ahead with demonstrations in Lagos despite a ban on protests.

Mr. Yar'Adua's leadership makes little difference in Nigeria's politics and economy. His presidency is viewed with suspicion because of the deeply flawed elections, and the majority of Nigerians see him as an illegitimate leader. The fractious nation is increasingly becoming unraveled, and I fear that there will soon be widespread violence. Beneath the "civilian" veneer there lurks military machinations and regional and tribal fissures.

New sanctions to Sudan´s government

President Bush ordered new U.S. economic sanctions to pressure Sudan's government to halt the bloodshed in Darfur that the administration has condemned as genocide. The sanctions target government-run companies involved in Sudan's oil industry, and three individuals, including a rebel leader suspected of being involved in the violence in Darfur.

Bush had been prepared to impose the sanctions last month, but held off to give U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon more time to find a diplomatic end to the four-year crisis in Darfur where more than 200,000 people have been killed. Beyond the new U.S. sanctions, Bush directed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to draft a proposed U.N. resolution to strengthen international pressure on the Sudanese government of President Omar al-Bashir.

The new sanctions target 31 companies to be barred from the U.S. banking system. Thirty of the companies are controlled by the government of Sudan; the other one is suspected of shipping arms to Darfur. Nearly 10 years ago, the United States cut off about 130 Sudanese companies from the U.S. system over a different dispute, forcing them to find ways to do business outside the sanctions framework. The U.S. also is targeting three individuals, cutting them off from the U.S. financial system to prevent them, too, from doing business with U.S. companies or individuals.

Bollywood

I like to surf the net searching for interesting new sites. I found this time Aaapka Video. It’s a free website where you can share your videos with others (like youtube). This Indian site has thousands of videos but you can use a search to find what you are looking for.


Remember India has a big film industry. Some people call Bombay the Bollywood due to its huge movies’ production. Bollywood is a strong part of popular culture of not only India, but also of the rest of South Asia.

Take a look on these Indian producers and celebrities work visiting online Aaapka Video.

Disclousure: This blog receives compensation from PayPerPost advertisers.

May 28, 2007

Hugo Chavez: A new south american dictator

Chavez closed other TV Station and took by force its equipment and installations.

Our left wing friends have gone into hiding! No word from the mayor of London, Danny Glover, and Harry Belafonte? Maybe they feel a bit embarassed that their hero, Hugo the slayer of America, has revealed himself to be just another communist dictator. Maybe Prime Minister Zapatero wants to reconsider on the arms deal he made with Mr. Chavez. Where is the human rights brigade? Nowhere to be found?

It's just another obvious evidence that Venezuela is heading towards a communist dictatorship since this is in Chavez's words the punishment for opposing him. And I heard the London Mayor signed contracts with him allowing the import of cheap oil for London. This is a disgraceful action which only helps Chavez in stabbing civil rights in Venezuela. I honestly hope there is an EU-wide ban on Venezuelan oil.

People get so wrapped up in anti-Americanism they propped Chavez up as a hero, and then are shocked that the little south american dictator acts like a south american dictator. The left can’t rule without a dictatorship.

Dedicated energy crops

Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate this week would entice farmers located near ethanol biorefineries to grow dedicated energy crops.

This bill would offer incentives to farmers who plant switchgrass, fast-growing trees and other cellulosic feedstocks and deliver them to the nation's next generation of ethanol plants. Cellulose is the woody material in branches and stems that makes plants hard.

Breaking cellulose into sugar to spin straw into ethanol has been studied for at least 50 years. But the technological hurdles and costs have been so daunting that most ethanol producers instead relied on heavy government subsidies to squeeze fuel from corn.

In February, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $385 million in grants over four years to six companies hoping to build the nation's first large-scale cellulosic ethanol plants. Earlier this month, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman announced plans to invest an additional $200 million over five years to help companies develop smaller biorefineries.

Under the bill introduced Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture would determine the likelihood of construction of a future biorefinery, the local potential for feedstock production, the number of interested farmers and a biorefinery's economic impact.

Once a project is approved, farmers could enroll eligible land in the program. The bill would also authorize matching payments, capped at $45 per ton, to farmers anywhere in the U.S. who sell crop byproducts and residues such as corn stover and wheat straw to ethanol plants.

Low-cost leverage

Mortgage debt is good debt. But why are so many homebuyers having such a bad time with borrowing?

Financial experts often tout the virtues of home loans, arguing mortgages are the cheapest money you will ever borrow. Yet many homeowners are ruing the day they took out a big loan, and some are falling behind on payments and losing their homes to foreclosure.

As these folks have discovered, home equity loans are a double-edged sword. The leverage can magnify your gains but it can also leave you in a nasty bind.

If you need to borrow, you will be hard-pressed to do better than a home loan. Not only are interest rates typically low, but that interest is usually tax deductible. To get a mortgage, you need to own a home or agree to buy one. But once you have that debt, the effect is to leverage all your assets. That can be highly profitable.

Still, prepaying a mortgage can be attractive, especially if the alternative is to purchase bonds or money market funds in a taxable account. The mortgage’s after-tax interest cost is likely higher than the after-tax yield on these conservative investments.

Like the idea of supercharging your returns with low-cost leverage? Before you take out a hefty home loan, make absolutely sure you can handle the monthly payments.

Disclousure: This blog receives compensation from PayPerPost advertisers.

May 26, 2007

I disagree with Gandhi pro Arabs opinions

Gandhi opinions are based on the idea that the Arabs were living in the land of Israel before the Jews. This is not true and it has nothing to do with a justification in ancient religious text, but in contemporary historical evidence. It is a common misperception, that all the Jews were forced into the Diaspora by the Romans after the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the year 70 C.E. and then, 1,800 years later, suddenly returned to Palestine demanding their country back. In reality, the Jewish people have maintained ties to this land for more than 3,700 years. Jews settled this land, they developed this land alongside the Arabs if you will. Mind you, long before there was a Mosque in Jerusalem there was a Jewish Temple -- there is absolutely no analogy that can be drawn between the Jews and the Arabs and the "Americans" to the Native Americans. The Arabs and jews both semitic groups who share a common ancestry that dates back thousands of years, in addition to a religion which the Arabs derived from the Jews. Gandhi was a great man, but that doesn't mean was right about everything, everyone should do their own research and reach their own conclusions.

U.S. and Iranian ambassadors plan to sit down Monday in Baghdad

Iran presents a difficult balancing act for those in power in the U.S and those seeking it. For President Bush, condemnation of Tehran's nuclear efforts must now be mixed with diplomacy. U.S. and Iranian ambassadors plan to sit down Monday in Baghdad in a rare direct meeting to discuss stabilizing Iraq.

Nearly all the 2008 presidential hopefuls want to sound strong in confronting Tehran's growing nuclear capability, its support of militant groups and its hostility to Israel. Yet they want to do so without frightening a war-weary U.S. public with new battle alerts.

One more U.S. military entanglement in the Middle East is not on anyone's political wish list.

The maneuvering comes against a backdrop of rising tensions. The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency last week accused Iran of accelerating its uranium enrichment program in defiance of international demands. President Bush said he would work with allies to toughen penalties against Tehran. Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, pledged there would be retreat.

The U.S. moved two aircraft carrier groups into the Persian Gulf in a show of force. Iran has detained several U.S. citizens, including a 67-year-old Iranian-American scholar who was visiting her ailing 93-year-old mother.

In all, hardly an auspicious prelude to the Baghdad talks that were supposed to offer a late spring thaw after a 27-year freeze in formal U.S.-Iran relations.

Iran is particularly difficult terrain for Democrats, who have made criticism of Bush's handling of the war in Iraq a centerpiece issue in the 2008 campaign and are advocating U.S. troop withdrawals.

Digital frames

Digital photo frames flew off store shelves for Mother’s Day gifts, and the same is expected for graduation and Father’s Day.

The idea of having dozens of photos rotating in a slideshow in a frame for family and friends to see appeals to our egos.

Prices have dropped significantly in the last six months. Frames with 7-inch diagonal displays can be had for less than $200, and less than $100 at some stores such Digitalframez.com.

Lower prices have driven this product to big sales. That has made the digital photo frame more appealing as an impulse purchase for many consumers. Also, newer generations of the frames are being built on the same kinds of platforms for portable media players, such as the iPod or Zune.

That means some digital frames can now play music and video, in some cases, as well as show multiple pictures on the screen at the same time.

Note: This is a sponsored review by Smorty.

May 25, 2007

Texas groups want Mexican border closed

The Berlin Wall???

I still remember the fall of the Berlin Wall as possibly the greatest day of my life. Never have I felt such a universal feeling of excitment and HAPPINESS!. I remember the buzz going from mind to mind and the hope, the excitement of what a wonderful time we were living in. First Israel announced they would be taking a bold step backwards. Now the US. Yes, let us cast of the progress of our recent years and charge blindly into the failures of our past!

Before you cheer in support of this notion, consider what it means. 1) Closing the border will require a wall about 1400 miles long. You know how much that'll cost to build? 2) A wall that long is useless without sufficient guards along it. You know how much that'll cost to staff? 3) A wall that long is innefective at keeping people out - look at the Great Wall of China. That wall has NEVER been successful at truly keeping people out - although you can chase your enemies up against the wall while they're trying to escape. This is not an option when dealing with small groups of illegal entrants. Finally the most inportant:

4) Once you've built your wall, once you've filled it with guards, what do you want those guards to do? Do you want to be like the EAST GERMAN SOVIETS and shoot everyone that tries to cross it???! Do you want the rest of the world to say 'Gee, those Americans are worse than the USSR and EAST GERMANY???!!!' Because this is what will happen if you start shooting people for trying to cross a wall. Do you want to support the thing that finally kills the American Dream and turns it into the USSR? Do you have any idea what THAT will cost your country?

China as a military threat

China is modernizing its military in ways that give it options for launching surprise attacks, potentially far from its borders.

The Chinese are acquiring better missiles, submarines and aircraft and should more fully explain the purpose of a military buildup that has led some to view China as a threat.

Senior Chinese officials have repeatedly assured U.S. defense officials that their "no first use" policy on nuclear weapons remains intact. One reason for doubt is the existence of a debate in military circles over the future of China's nuclear doctrine.

China's short-term focus remains the Taiwan Straits, where it continues to position more short-range ballistic missiles. But more broadly, the People's Liberation Army is pursuing a strategy that appears designed to give China a capability to fight wars farther from its shores and to thwart any U.S. advances.

Last year the new DF-31 long-range nuclear missile became available for use in a military emergency, even though it apparently is not fully integrated into China's strategic nuclear force. The DF-31, which has enough range to reach Alaska but is not the main Chinese missile targeting the United States, is likely to become fully operational in the near future, if it has not already.

Personalize your laptop

There is a way to personalize your laptop or Ipod with SkinIt. This company offers a wide range of removable vinyl skins for protecting and customizing portable devices. These Laptop skins are adhesive technology by 3M, prevents bubbles and allows easy application and clean removal.

SkinIt skin protects your expensive laptop or other portable devices with a durable anti-scratch, anti-UV coating. SkinIt skins are ultra-low profile for flawless compatibility with laptop cases and iPod accessories.

This high quality printed skins are a great way also to cover damaged or stained parts of the laptop, like scratches, fire damage or other superficial imperfections.

This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.

Iran scenarios

Scenario A: Iran succeeds in building a nuke while tying up US in Iraq.

Iran wants this nuke because historically the US has negotiated in an entirely different way with nuclear powers (to whit India, Pakistan, PRC (mainland China), and N. Korea all are treated quit differently than they were before they had nukes). Eisenhower's administration actually discussed nuking the PRC during the Korean war but Eisenhower (bless him), would have none of it. After the PRC had nukes somehow the option was tabled.

In my opinion, the talks with N. Korea only happen because the N. Koreans have nukes. Before the nuke the only card the N. Koreans had were thousands of heavily fortified artillery within range of S. Korea's capital Seoul and a large fraction of the S. Korean population (if the "balloon went up then you could kiss Seoul good bye).

With this nuke the EXISTING theocracy can treat with the US from a position of power. The result would be an end to the embargo, a better economy, and continued theocratic, anti-democratic, control for another generation at least. The Iranians would also have domestic nuclear power for when their oil runs out.

Scenario B: Iran's oil runs out and they have no economy to speak of as they are still under embargo.

The population is furious with the existing theocracy and radicalized enough to embrace any exit. The result is a less-than-velvet revolution with a dictatorship much like Pakistan. My guess is some young officer in the military would probably overthrow the Mullahs.

Scenario C: Iran's ruling class somehow realizes that they care more about their kids than their religion.

The mullahs, under broad social pressure and with the encouragement of the military, yields increasingly more power to the EXISTING elected government. This transition is acknowledge by the West and the embargo drops. Increased world trade brings Iran closer to the world economy much like the PRC has learned to love the Western cash-flow.

How to maximize miles per gallon.

With the price of gasoline hovering at record levels, ideas are proliferating about how to maximize miles per gallon.

The Internet is full of unproven ideas such as adding a few ounces of acetone – yes, nail polish remover – to the fuel tank. Depending on whom you believe, it will either make the family buggy more efficient or potentially do harm.

Almost every consumer-oriented energy organization is counseling drivers to do things such as slow down, organize trips to avoid unnecessary driving, and keep the car tuned up. Such tips are endorsed by the US government as ways to save money and energy.

As the nation gets ready for Memorial Day, the start to the summer driving season, the average price at the pump is $3.24 a gallon.

Probably because of the rising prices, a recent poll by CBS News/New York Times found that 92 percent of Americans are in favor of requiring auto companies to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles. Sales of hybrid vehicles that achieve better fuel economy have now reached an all-time high of 2 percent of the total US automobile fleet.

Accounting Software San Diego

I have been searching the internet for the longest time to find a small business package that is not complicated, and one that will do all of the complicated tasks for me. I have been using other accounting software, and in spite of how they claim that it is easy to use, it is not, it gives me headaches to use it. I have fallen in love with the Sage Software made by DSD Business Systems. When you read the features of the Accounting Software San Diego you feel like it was made just for your small/ medium size business. This software package really does do the work for you, and it is so simple to understand.

This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.