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Category Archives: Information Systems

March for Science April 14 2018

05 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by CricketDiane in Activism, Activism, Human Rights, Civil Rights, Learning, How To, Online Resourcing, New Technology, Air Quality, America - USA, Creating Solutions for America, Creating Solutions for Real-life, Creating Solutions That Work, cricket diane, Cricket Diane C Phillips, Cricket Diane C Sparky Phillips, Cricket House Studios, cricketdiane, CricketHouseStudios, diane c phillips, Ecology, Energy Solutions, Engineering, Extreme Engineering, Freedom of Thought, Genius At Work, Global Warming, Hybrid Vehicles, Information Systems, innovation, Integrated Thinking Processes, Intelligence, Inventing Solutions For America, invention, inventiveness, John F. Kennedy, Leadership Skills, LITERACY, living in America, Logic, New Boston Tea Party Actions, New Technology, Physics of Change, Principles of Economics, Reality-based Analysis, Reasoning, resourcing, Rocket Science, Save The Sea, science, Solutions, Solving Difficult Problems in Real Life Real World Real, Sovereignty of the People, Statistical Analysis, Systems Analysis, Thinking Skills, Twenty-first Century, United States of America, US At Home - Domestic Policy, US Bill of Rights, US Constitution, US Declaration of Independence, US Government, US Government, US budget, US and State budget deficits, budget cuts, Constitutional issues, US economic crisis, US debt, USA -1, Very Nifty - Music - Carnival - Photos - Art - Nifty Science Stuff - Buildings and Architecture - Conventions and Conferences - Physics - Astronomy - NASA - European Space Agency - JAXA - Japan Aerosp, Workable Solutions

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cricketdiane, education, Engineering, evidence based facts, facts matter, march for science, science, science matters, STEM, stem march, support education, support science, supporting engineering, supporting science, US government war on science, war on science

The March for Science is going to be on April 14 this year. It is important this year more than ever to stand up for Science and for STEM in the United States as it is all under attack daily throughout our government in its current iteration.

At a time when America needs science and technology to make significant leaps forward to catch up with the rest of the world who has been supporting education, higher education, science, math, technology and engineering with massive efforts, our nation’s leaders have chosen to make war on science at every opportunity and in every agency, every policy, every possible way.

We need education to support STEM now more than ever and to support education for our children and adults to be competitive in a global playing field where we have fallen behind. Now, rather than supporting our nation to be in a leadership role in science, technology, innovation and education, it is being de-funded, demeaned, derided, discredited, dismantled and destroyed.

These actions will set our nation behind by years upon years against other nations’ efforts supporting STEM, higher education and science, in particular. Please join the March for Science – whether you are a scientist or not to show America’s business leaders and political decision-makers that we stand together supporting fact-based and evidence-based decision making, scientific reason and educated thinking.

  • cricketdiane, 04-05-2018

**

The website for the March for Science

https://www.marchforscience.com/

Tweets by ScienceMarchDC
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ahumanright.org plans to buy satellite and provide free Internet access for entire world

11 Friday Feb 2011

Posted by CricketDiane in Creating Solutions for Real-life, Creating Solutions That Work, Cricket Diane C Sparky Phillips, cricketdiane, Democracy, Freedom, Freedom of Thought, Human Rights, Information Systems, innovation, Integrated Thinking Processes, Intelligence, International Concerns, invention, inventiveness, Liberty, LITERACY, Logic, Make It Work, Making It All Work Quickly, Physics of Change

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communications, cricketdiane, free internet service, global citizenship, global economic crisis, Human Rights, innovation, internet technology, social responsibility, Solutions, US economic crisis solutions

ahumanright.org plans to buy satellite and provide free Internet access for entire world.

That works – he is a quarter of the way to raising the amount of money that it will take to lease or purchase the first satellite for it. Very interesting approach to it.

Absolutely brilliant.

– cricketdiane

***

 

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Comment about – House Fails to Extend Patriot Act Spy Powers | Threat Level | Wired.com

09 Wednesday Feb 2011

Posted by CricketDiane in Civil Rights, Cricket Diane C Sparky Phillips, cricketdiane, Democracy, Dwight D Eisenhower, Freedom, Freedom of Thought, Human Rights, Information Systems, Liberty, Sovereignty of the People, US At Home - Domestic Policy, US Bill of Rights, US Constitution, US Declaration of Independence, US Government

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Civil Rights, cricketdiane, extension of the Patriot Act in 2011, federal legislation and laws, Homeland Security, House of Representatives, individual liberties, individual rights, Patriot Act, President Bush Republican enacted laws, rights of citizebs, spying, unwarranted government eavesdropping and wiretapping United States, unwarranted search and seizure, US Bill of Rights, US Congress, US Constitution, US government domestic spying, wiretapping

from – House Fails to Extend Patriot Act Spy Powers | Threat Level | Wired.com

The three expiring Patriot Act provisions are:

• The “roving wiretap” provision allows the FBI to obtain wiretaps from a secret intelligence court, known as the FISA court, without identifying what method of communication is to be tapped.

• The “lone wolf” measure allows FISA court warrants for the electronic monitoring of a person for whatever reason — even without showing that the suspect is an agent of a foreign power or a terrorist. The government has said it has never invoked that provision, but the Obama administration said it wanted to retain the authority to do so.

• The “business records” provision allows FISA court warrants for any type of record, from banking to library to medical, without the government having to declare that the information sought is connected to a terrorism or espionage investigation.

via House Fails to Extend Patriot Act Spy Powers | Threat Level | Wired.com.

My Note –

We’ve had these in place since 2001 / 2002 – and they didn’t stop the Fort Hood shooting, the recent shooting Loughner did, but in the meantime, the government for ten years has certainly used these provisions when they wanted.

I’m glad that it has not received the votes, but there are other choices that the House and Senate will be voting on to replace these provisions. Not to be a thing of panic, there are a multitude of cases in which the government has over the last thirty plus years, used its powers to spy on people with or without the Patriot Act and its provisions.

During the Nixon years, there was quite a to do about it, and yet, it didn’t necessarily stop there as a result. As an example, finding out what I’ve read at the library probably isn’t going to indicate what stupid choices I might make today – I would guess the same thing is true for other people.

And, most unfortunately, when a bomb was placed in a car on Times’ Square – it wasn’t any of the things in the Patriot Act’s spying tools that were allowed to be used against Americans, that made a difference at all – it was the awareness of the immediate surroundings by an individual who noticed it and called about it. Nothing stopped it from being done in the first place, as we would have hoped.

There is no telling what the next version of those provisions will be, once the House and Senate have finished mucking about with it. The chances are, it could be worse than the Patriot Act was in the first place because of the contests of will that are going on in the Legislature right now. It is hard to tell which is worse, when they work together to trade off with one another whatever is best for us in order to “make a deal” and thereby selling us all down the river, or when the two sides in our political arena square off against one another and play war while making sure neither side can win, consequently costing all of us, both immediately and down the road.

– cricketdiane

***

 

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In a place and time where organized and coordinated earthquake relief efforts mean life or death or horrific suffering – why would ineptitude be excused by blaming Haiti, her people and her nation? Aren’t emergency coordinators and the UN responsible for getting it right?

21 Thursday Jan 2010

Posted by CricketDiane in Activism, Human Rights, Civil Rights, Learning, How To, Online Resourcing, New Technology, America - USA, Building Materials Science, New Building Materials, Hurricane Earthquake Resistant Building Materials Processes, Architecture, Civil Engineering, Society of Civil and Architectural Engineers, Dams, Le, cricket diane, Cricket Diane C Sparky Phillips, cricketdiane, Democracy, Earthquakes - Tornadoes - Floods - Mudslides - Wildfires - Hurricanes - Natural Disasters - Haiti - Sichuan - L'Aquila - Christchurch - UN disaster relief - housing - aid - funding - natural disaster, Extreme Engineering, Information Systems, Intelligence, International Concerns, Money, real life experiences, Real Time Crises, Real-World, Reality-based Analysis, US At Home - Domestic Policy

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cricketdiane, Haiti, Haiti earthquake, relief effort Haiti, UN, USAID

BLITZER: We’re just getting word of a major earthquake in Haiti. 7.3. A 7:00 p.m. Eastern earthquake in Haiti, only about 22 miles west of the capital, Port-au-Prince. We’re watching this story. This was a large earthquake. The damage potential is significant. We’re getting new information and we’ll bring it to you as soon as we get it.

Also, a tsunami warning is in effect in the area. 7.3 — that’s the preliminary magnitude. We’re expecting an update in the next few minutes. Once again, not very far from Port-au-Prince and that very heavy — heavily populated area of Haiti. A very disturbing story. We’ll get more and share it with you.

[ . . . ]

BLITZER: This is a country that’s populated — about nine million people, Deb, live in Haiti. And we’re told most of them, about 60 percent — people from the ages of 15 to 64, a large, very young population. Nearly 40 percent of the people of Haiti are 14 years or younger.

[ . . . ]

RAYMOND JOSEPH, HAITIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.:

BLITZER: I want to point out, Mr. Ambassador, you know this well, Haiti is the most densely populated country in the western hemisphere, one of the most densely populated countries in the world. 9 million people in one third of this island that’s Haiti.  . . . It’s just a very crowded place, Mr. Ambassador. Is that right?

JOSEPH: Not only very crowded, but especially Port-au-Prince, a city that was built for about 50,000 people today house is 2 million. And the government was just in the process of doing some projects outside of Port-au-Prince to try to decentralize the capital.

[ . . . ]

BLITZER: I think you’ve got to do more than that, you’ve got to pray, but you also have to start making sure that the world comes to the aid of Haiti. Haiti is in deep trouble right now. You have 9 million people there, potentially others in the Dominican Republic and in the Caribbean area that are going to be looking for the entire world’s help, especially the United States. I want you to stay with us, Mr. Ambassador, because Chris Lawrence is over at the pentagon. He’s getting new indication on what the U.S. military might be able to do to come to your aid. I want to bring Chris in for a moment. Mr. Ambassador, stick with us.

JOSEPH: Thank you.

BLITZER: Chris, go ahead. CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes Wolf. We’ve been talking to officials here at the Pentagon. They tell us right now the United States doesn’t have any troops stationed there in Haiti. No troops in Haiti, but sometimes the U.S. military will do some joint exercises as part of the United Nations missions there, so they’re checking to make sure if any U.S. troops may be attached to any sort of mission there.

In regards to helping Haiti, we’ve been in touch with southern command, that’s the part of the U.S. military in charge of that part of the world. They say not only have they been alert to do this earthquake, they say they are ready, willing and able to help if need. That request would have to go through the state department, and then to southern command add the U.S. military.

[ . . . ]

BLITZER: All right. Stand by, Chris. The ambassador is still with us. Ambassador Raymond Joseph, are you there with us?

JOSEPH: I am still there.

BLITZER: I assume you know that right now we are being simulcast on CNN and CNN international, so that the entire world is watching CNN right now. This is a moment for you without going through normal diplomatic channels to make your appeal for help. What would you like to tell the state department and other foreign ministries around the world right now?

JOSEPH: Well, what I would like to say is that Haiti has been portrayed all of the time the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and now has been hit by the worst catastrophe, so I’m calling on all friends of Haiti and people who are listening to me to please come to our aid, because Haiti having been the first black republic in the world did help many others in the beginning to gain independence, and even helped the United States by fighting in the war of independence of the United States and by defeating the French in helping the United States get the Louisiana purchase. So, we did help in the beginning. So, today as Haiti is going through the worst day in its history I am calling for all others who got help from us in the beginning to help in support.
(RAYMOND JOSEPH, HAITIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.)


BLITZER: I am sure, Mr. Ambassador, the U.S. government and the Canadian government, governments all over the world and the Mexican government and all of those who are listening to your appeal will come to Haiti’s assistance as quickly as possible.

http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1001/12/sitroom.02.html

THE SITUATION ROOM

Earthquake in Haiti

Aired January 12, 2010 – 17:00   ET

***

JOSEPH: Well, as I said before, this first time I was able to talk to an official of the government. The secretary-general, he was on the street walking. He, himself, was not able to be in contact with any official, not with the president, not with the prime minister. So, right now, I’m in no position to know how they are going to do anything. What I want to do is to get off of this phone now, and be able to try to reach either the chief of police, some of the people that I have phones I have, and see what can be done, and also to get in touch with the state department and ask them to come to our rescue right now.

BLITZER: I think that the State Department is hearing every word, Mr. Ambassador, that you are saying right now, while you are here on CNN. I will let you go hang up the phone, and we will stay in close touch with you, and needless to say, our heart goes out to all of the people of Haiti, and we wish only, only the best under these awful, awful circumstances.

Raymond Joseph is Haiti’s ambassador here in the United States. He has been kind enough to share some information with us. We are going to continue to check back with him. Mr. Ambassador, I am sure that the State Department and other foreign ministries around the world have been listening to your appeals and getting other information as well, and the entire world will be coming back to try to assist Haiti during this awful, awful time. We only know that people are screaming on the streets of Port-au-Prince, and other towns and villages in Haiti right now, and we will continue to follow what is going on.

I want everyone to stand by. Our continuing coverage of the breaking news, an earthquake in Haiti, resumes after this little animation.

Transcript of the Show – during the earthquake and when it was first announced on CNN –

01-12-10 around 5 pmET ( earthquake occurred at 4.53 pm local time Haiti)

http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1001/12/sitroom.02.html

***

http://www.un.org/en/humanitarian/

***

Social, Humanitarian & Cultural

Third Committee

Year after year, the General Assembly allocates to its Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs Committee, commonly referred to as the “Third Committee”, agenda items relating to a range of social, humanitarian affairs and human rights issues that affect peoples all over the world.

An important part of the Committee’s work focuses on the examination of human rights questions, including reports of the special procedures of the newly established Human Rights Council.  In October 2009, the Committee will hear and interact with 25 such special rapporteurs, independent experts, and chairpersons of workings groups of the Human Rights Council.

The Committee also discusses the advancement of women, the protection of children, indigenous issues, the treatment of refugees, the promotion of fundamental freedoms through the elimination of racism and racial discrimination, and the promotion of the right to self- determination.  The Committee also addresses important social development questions such as issues related to youth, family, ageing, persons with disabilities, crime prevention, criminal justice, and drug control.

At the sixty-third session of the General Assembly, the Third Committee considered 67 draft resolutions, more than half of which were submitted under the human rights agenda item alone.  These included a number of so-called country-specific resolutions on human rights situations.

Under the chairmanship of  H.E. Mr. Normans Penke, the Permanent Representative of Latvia to the United Nations, the Third Committee is expected to consider in 2009 a similar number of draft resolutions.

http://www.un.org/ga/third/index.shtml

Third Committee

Secretariat

  • Mr. Moncef Khane (Secretary)
    Tel: 1 (212) 963-2322

    • Assisted by Ms. Nancy Beteta
      Tel: 1 (212) 963-5722
  • Mr. Otto Gustafik (Deputy Secretary)
    Tel: 1 (212) 963-9963

    • Assisted by Ms. Maureen Otto
      Tel: 1(212) 963-7855
  • Ms. Meena Sur (Assistant Secretary)
    Tel: 1 (917) 367-2454

    • Assisted by Ms. Lorna Fidler
      Tel: 1-(212) 963-2319

[15 September 2009 ]

http://www.un.org/ga/third/secretariat.shtml

***

From 01-13-10  (the day after the earthquake toppled Haiti and its people)

UN rushing aid to Haiti following deadly tremors

A survivor is pulled out of the rubble following the deadly Haiti earthquake

13 January 2010 – The United Nations is mobilizing its resources in the wake of the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti yesterday, sending its experts and supplies to the Caribbean nation, while stressing the urgent need for food, water, search-and-rescue teams and medical help.

The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) reported that the 7.0 magnitude earthquake has caused major damage in the capital, Port-au-Prince, with the National Palace, the Ministry of Justice and other Government offices having been destroyed.

“We are still struggling to learn the full extent of the devastation from yesterday’s earthquake,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told an emergency informal meeting of the General Assembly, accompanied by former United States president Bill Clinton, who serves as UN Special Envoy for Haiti.

“Casualties can not yet be estimated but they are certain to be heavy,” Mr. Ban noted, adding that initial reports suggest that roughly a third of Haiti’s nine million people may be affected.

Mr. Clinton stressed there is a great desire around the world to help the Haitian people and he encouraged people to donate money for the relief effort. “The most important thing individuals can do, who care, is to send cash – even if it’s a dollar, or two dollars.”

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes identified search-and-rescue efforts as an immediate priority in Haiti, one of the world’s poorest countries. “Every hour counts in this kind of situation when people are trapped under rubble and desperately need to be rescued.

A Chinese team has already touched down in Port-au-Prince, with two teams from the US expected later today with heavy equipment and dogs to aid their operation.

**

“The situation on the ground is very difficult,” said Under-Secretary-General for Field Support Susana Malcorra, with heavy equipment desperately needed to detect movement under the debris and to move large pieces of rubble.

MINUSTAH troops have been working since Tuesday night to reach those trapped under the rubble, including their fellow UN colleagues. Some 150 UN staff members – including the top UN envoy in Haiti, Hédi Annabi – remain unaccounted for following the collapse of the Christopher Hotel, which houses the UN’s headquarters, and other buildings used by the world body.

As of Wednesday evening, 16 UN peacekeepers have been confirmed dead – 1 Argentinean, 11 Brazilians, 1 Chadian and 3 Jordanians – but officials believe this number is likely to rise in the coming days.

Mr. Holmes also stressed the need for medical help, as hospitals are overwhelmed. “We expect those needs to increase and are making a major effort in the UN system” to swiftly provide as much help as possible, he emphasized.

The UN has a head-start in the relief operation since it has humanitarian bodies – including the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) – on the ground, he said.

A flash appeal will be launched in the next few days, with $10 million having been released from the UN Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) to jump-start the operation in Haiti today, with the possibility of more funds being made available as the situation requires.

It was also announced today that the UN is pre-positioning an airplane, to be operational by Friday, to shuttle UN and humanitarian agency staff between Miami and Port-au-Prince.

Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of WFP, said that the agency is already deploying its resources in Haiti and is airlifting an additional 86 metric tons of food – enough for half a million emergency meals – from its emergency hub in El Salvador.

Additionally, WFP will provide ready-to-eat food and high-energy biscuits for those who cannot access cooking facilities following the tremors.

“We will work with the Haitian Government, with our humanitarian partners on the ground, and with governments across the world as part of a coordinated international rescue and recovery effort,” Ms. Sheeran said in a statement.

For its part, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) is spearheading the health response to the earthquake. Immediate health priorities include finding survivors pinned under rubble, treating people with major injuries and the provision of clean water and sanitation, the agency noted.

WHO is helping to collect data on the health impact of the earthquake and is also deploying a 12-member team comprising experts in mass casualty management, coordination of emergency health response and the management of dead bodies.

UNICEF, whose offices have been badly damaged, said it will help children continue their schooling and provide safe play areas while their caretakers rebuild their lives.

Meanwhile, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) cautioned that thousands of women at risk from complications and death related to pregnancy and childbirth are in danger due to the earthquake.

Haiti has the highest maternal mortality rates in the region, with 670 deaths per 100,000 live births, and this figure is set to skyrocket due to yesterday’s powerful tremors.

With buildings and infrastructure in Port-au-Prince having suffered extensive damage, “there is no doubt that we are facing a major humanitarian emergency and that a major relief effort will be required,” Mr. Ban told reporters this morning in New York.

Expressing gratitude to nations rushing aid to the earthquake’s victims, he called for the world to “come to Haiti’s aid in this hour of need.”


http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33471&Cr=haiti&Cr1=

***

[Excerpt from above article – ]

Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of WFP, said that the agency is already deploying its resources in Haiti and is airlifting an additional 86 metric tons of food – enough for half a million emergency meals – from its emergency hub in El Salvador.

Additionally, WFP will provide ready-to-eat food and high-energy biscuits for those who cannot access cooking facilities following the tremors.

My Note –

as of yesterday eight days after the earthquake in Haiti, the World  Food Program official on the news was bragging about having distributed a million meals and 70,000 bottles of water during the eight days to the 6 million people in the area of earthquake devastation in a total Haitian population of 9 million. How is that something even close to the numbers that are needed? The number of meals, protein biscuits and MREs being distributed aren’t even enough to cover the population in even one single day, let alone across the last eight (and now nine) days. There are no coordinated efforts to let people know where staging areas are that distribute food and / or water, no basic medical supplies – and the priorities of the Haitian President, Prime Minister and 18 Cabinet Members seem more intent on genocide than humanitarian relief. But then, maybe if they can just make sure Carnival Cruise ships can continue to dock at Port au Prince – they don’t care if the population survives.

***

Another couple things I found –

On the day of the earthquake in Haiti, there was a UN Assistant Secretary for International Aid or some similar office who appeared on a news broadcast within a short time ( less than two hours after the earthquake 01-12-20), who spoke to one of the news anchors saying that they would not be sending any help until the next day and that they (at the UN – NY) would be assessing the event the next day. The CNN news crews have reported that an Israeli team and a number of other teams from around the world arrived in Haiti, the same evening as the earthquake 01-12-20 and many left for Haiti during that first night. The Ambassador to the US from Haiti asked for help from the UN, from the US and from the State Department on the same day as the earthquake, both live on CNN publicly and by phone to them directly. So why did the USNS Comfort not leave port to go to Haiti until Saturday (four days after the earthquake) and the USS Vinson arrived three days later but with all its helicopters and supplies onboard didn’t airdrop food and medical supplies to the Haitian people until a couple days ago?

***

USS Carl Vinson Arrives in Haiti to Support Humanitarian Operations

Story Number: NNS100115-03 Release Date: 1/15/2010 7:38:00 AM 4 Comments Rate this story!
// <![CDATA[// Email this story to a friend Print this story Font Size: A A A 27 0

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jason Thompson, USS Carl Vinson Public Affairs

USS CARL VINSON, At sea (NNS) — The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) arrived off the coast of Port-Au-Prince, Haiti Jan. 15 to commence humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

Carl Vinson received orders from U.S. Southern Command to deliver assistance to the Caribbean nation following a 7.3 magnitude earthquake which caused catastrophic damage within the capital city Jan. 12. The aircraft carrier’s speed, flexibility and sustainability make it an ideal platform to carry out relief operations.

“Our initial focus is to concentrate on saving lives while providing first responder support to the people of Haiti. Our assistance here reflects our nation’s compassion and commitment to those impacted by this tragedy,” said Rear. Adm. Ted Branch, commander of the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group and the U.S. Navy’s sea-based humanitarian support mission of Haiti.

The carrier arrived on station with a robust airlift capability, picking up extra helicopters while in transit that will prove essential during the mission.

Carl Vinson commanding officer Capt. Bruce H. Lindsey said, “When tasked to support humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in Haiti, we immediately headed to Mayport, Fla., at more than 30 knots and loaded 19 helicopters, personnel and support equipment from five different East Coast Navy squadrons in less than eight hours. There is no other platform that can do all of that so quickly.”

U.S. Southern Command is well-versed in providing humanitarian assistance to the region. Since 2005, the command has led U.S. military support to 14 major relief missions, including assistance to Haiti in September 2008. During that mission, U.S. military forces airlifted 3.3 million pounds of aid to communities that were devastated by a succession of major storms.

For more news from Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/cusns/.

The crew of a U.S. Navy MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) unload food and supplies at the airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Previous Photo View Larger Download HiRes View All Photos Next Photo
100115-N-4774B-506 PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Jan 15, 2010) The crew of a U.S. Navy MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) unload food and supplies at the airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The U.S. military is conducting humanitarian and disaster relief operations after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused severe damage near Port-au-Prince on Jan 12, 2010.(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel Barker/Released)
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(From: )

http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=50545


“Now, just a little background information here from White House aides, the president found out about the situation in Haiti, was informed at 5:52 p.m. He asked staff members make sure that all embassy staff were OK and to make sure that any humanitarian assistance that needed to go to them would be coordinated. Also top aides saying that the State Department, USAID, and the United States Southern Command began working to assess the situation there, and to figure out whether or not any assistance will be given there.”

– DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT

(during CNN Broadcast on 01-12-20, in the Situation Room / Wolf Blitzer show at 6 pmET – 18:00)

THE SITUATION ROOM

Devastating Earthquake Strikes Haiti

Aired January 12, 2010 – 18:00   ET

http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1001/12/sitroom.03.html

***

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We have had 13 aftershocks above 4.5 just in the past three hours, and seven above 5.

Now, and one of them 5.9. And 5.9 is a big earthquake all by itself. We call it an aftershock because the main shock was 7.0. Otherwise, we’d be calling it an earthquake because it’s the same.

It’s rupturing right along the same fault line as the first earthquake happened, but we call them aftershocks because after the big earthquake moves, then the earth tries to settle itself back down because it’s almost moved too far. And that’s what’s happening now.

Port-au-Prince about 12 miles to the west/southwest where the earthquake was. A densely populated packed area here, two million people. Many of them living on cliff sides literally along the cliffs of the city where the rest of the population and the commercial centers down here in the flats where this big, big area here of topography, especially to the south of the city, is where it really, really ruptured and that’s where the earthquake’s center right was at 7.0.

And, Campbell, the problem is only six miles deep. You get a 200-mile-deep earthquake it kind of muffles itself. Six miles deep, or at six miles shallow, there’s no muffling at all. That earthquake is a jolt, and a 7.0 is a major earthquake. And this is a big time damaging earthquake — Campbell.

http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1001/12/ec.01.html

From –
CAMPBELL BROWN

Earthquake Hits Haiti

Aired January 12, 2010 – 20:00   ET

***

BROWN: Again, that was an eyewitness who was on the scene, obviously.

The State Department working on providing enormous assistance. The Haitian ambassador was on CNN earlier tonight saying that they are going to need a lot of help.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke and talked about what a disaster this is, releasing a statement a short time ago, and saying that they are working to put together a package to help people as quickly as possible.

We want to go now to Mike Godfrey, who is the director of the U.S. Agency for International Development. He lives in a suburb of Port-au-Prince and was at home when the earthquake struck just over three hours ago. When we spoke to him on the phone just a little while ago, he reported the capital city mostly blacked out and appears to have been severely damaged. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE GODFREY, U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: It was a very severe jolting. The entire apartment building shook. Things began to come down off the walls.

I ran out into the courtyard and began to cry out to other members of the apartment building to come into the courtyard. The shaking was severe and it went on for what I thought was quite a long time, but I guess it’s about 15, 20 seconds.

It delivered one heck of a jolt. I’m at an apartment building in Petionville, which is above the central city of Port-au-Prince. My view affords me down the mountain a complete view of the city across the entire downtown area and out to the sea.

I wanted to tell you specifically that prior to my making this call that I actually witnessed a takeoff at the international airport. The international airport appears to be functioning. I saw a plane, a large plane, depart at about 6:50 this evening. It may have been the delayed American Airlines. It’s dark. I could only see the lights going up, but it was a significant airplane. So the international airport, I don’t know about damage to the facilities, but the runway, at least, is open and functioning.

I am frustrated trying to find colleagues and staff, because the phone network is not functioning in Port-au-Prince. I see some traffic, limited traffic on a couple of the routes that are visible from my location. I saw a helicopter go up at about 10 minutes after the quake. I thought it was a U.N. helicopter. I could not see because of the lighting. It was a fairly large helicopter, so I’m assuming it was the U.N. that put it up in the air.

I don’t know about the — any emergency efforts. I cannot see that from my locations. What I did see was within about a minute of the quake, a huge pall of dust and smoke rose up over the city, a blanket the completely covered city and obscured it for about 20 minutes until the atmosphere dissipated the dust. It just was an amazing sight to see dust come over that big of a city area.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: You heard there communication problems obviously a huge issue right now, as we’re trying to get more information from Haiti at this hour.

I should tell you that we just got a statement from the White House. The president was told about the quake a little before 6:00 tonight, asking his staff to make sure that embassy personnel are safe, to begin preparations in the event that humanitarian assistance is needed. Obviously, it will be.

The State Department, USAID and the United States Southern Command are working on coordinating an assessment and whatever assistance is needed. We are going to have more on that. Jill Dougherty is over is at the State Department for us and we will be talking to her in just a minute.

First, though, we want to go to Drew Sachs. Here is a former FEMA official who is an expert on disaster preparedness. And Haiti, he works with Clinton Global Initiative and he is joining us right now.

And, Drew, I know you have been working very closely with the Haitian government to plan for a disaster like this. Give us an idea of what, if any, resources they really have to be able to respond.

[ . . . ]

SACHS: Yes, I think that’s exactly what you’re talking about. There is a lot of concrete construction in Haiti. None of it is done with any code in mind. In most cases, if you’re talking about single- story structures, there is no rebar or any support in the structure to protect it from the type of shocks you’re talking about.

And even having seen a lot of the construction there, including buildings under construction over the last six or eight months in Haiti, the construction that is multistory is not being built even close to anything that we in the United States would call seismically- resistant standards.

When I first heard about this earthquake, my first thought was the fact that the vast majority of these structures in unreinforced concrete are probably going to be just crumbling to the ground. And my guess would that once we get some additional intelligence on the ground from in these neighborhoods, that big cloud of dust that was reported in one of your previous caller’s discussions, it’s probably going to be you’re going to find that was buildings, these buildings just falling down and the concrete turning to dust.

– ANDREW SACHS, FORMER FEMA OFFICIAL

BROWN: A short time ago, Secretary Hillary Clinton spoke out about this. She had just left the United States. She was on in Hawaii on her way to a tour of the Pacific. And she made some assurances to the people of Haiti that U.S. help is on the way. Let’s listen to what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I want to just say a few words about developments in Haiti. We are still gathering information about this catastrophic earthquake, the point of impact, its effect on the people of Haiti. The United States is offering our full assistance to Haiti and to others in the region. We will be providing both civilian and military disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, and our prayers are with the people who have suffered, their families and their loved ones.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Jill Dougherty, our foreign affairs correspondent, standing by for us right now at the State Department with the latest.

And I know you just came out of a briefing, Jill. What did they tell you?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

Well, it was by P.J. Crowley, who is a spokesman for the State Department, and he said that they have activated what they call their disaster response plan, also that Secretary Clinton — she is now traveling — she was in Hawaii, as you just said — she had a direct phone call with the DCM, the deputy chief of mission, whose name is David Lindwall, got some basic information from him, and also some personal views of what he had seen.

He was actually returning home after work. He saw significant damage, structures collapsed, people injured and killed. And, in fact, P.J. Crowley was saying that they expect serious loss of life.

Communications are a big problem. The State Department has tried to reach out to the government of Haiti, but they haven’t been able to, at least as of that briefing that we had a short time ago. So, they are trying to continue to get in touch, and that’s one of the real problems, Campbell.

[ . . . ]

And then the other thing is that the communications between here, Washington, the State Department, and the embassy are good, because they have what are called tie lines. But for average who are down, American citizens who are in Haiti right now, trying to get in touch with the embassy, it could be difficult because landlines care down and cell phones are extremely spotty. So, the one thing they’re trying to do now is get in touch with those U.S. citizens and the staff of the embassy.

– JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (in response to – BROWN: Jill Dougherty, our foreign affairs correspondent, standing by for us right now at the State Department with the latest.

And I know you just came out of a briefing, Jill. What did they tell you?)

***

(also during the same show- )

NAN BUZARD, AMERICAN RED CROSS: Well, thanks, Campbell, for having us on.

It took us about 2.5 hours after the earthquake struck this afternoon to get in touch with our staff working in Port-au-Prince. We finally got in touch with them through very difficult means. We had go through VHF radio and then to mobile phones. Our staff are accounted for, which is a great relief for us, but they also describe very, very devastating conditions.

BUZARD: Well, I’m sure that the staff that we have on the ground are already out there working as much as they can with the volunteers of the Haitian Red Cross and the staff of the Haitian Red Cross. Right now, they will be working with search-and-rescue. They will be trying to identify if the staff and the volunteers of the Haitian Red Cross are safe and accounted for and available, and then trying to organize people.

The first 24 hours is going to be primarily search-and-rescue. And that can go on for days more. But following that search-and- rescue period, there is going to be shelters set up, temporary shelters. That’s going to be very difficult just to find physical space in a very dense, urban area where you can safely put groups of people to get them clean water and food and medical attention.

From –

http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1001/12/ec.01.html

***

KING: Thanks, Patrice. Let’s go now to Tamar Hahn. She is a representative of Unicef. What is your title, Tamar?

TAMAR HAHN, UNICEF: I’m the regional communications officer.

KING: And where are you located?

HAHN: I’m in Panama City, Panama.

KING: That’s about how far from Haiti?

HAHN: Yes, and we’ll get —

KING: How far from Haiti?

HAHN: Two hours by plane.

KING: What is — Can Unicef do anything at this early hour?

HAHN: At this early hour, no, because we’re still trying to gather all the information that we need. It’s dark in Haiti. We have suffered substantial damage to our own building, as have many other UN agencies. So right now people are just trying to gather information.

However, we are on the ground. We have been on the ground in Haiti since 1949. And we have prepositioned supplies, which we have ready for the hurricane season, which strikes the Caribbean every year. Luckily, this year was very quiet, as opposed to 2008, which was a devastating hurricane season for Haiti.

But this comes as a big surprise for everybody. And the situation of children and women in Haiti was already one of great vulnerability before the earthquake hit the island, as this is one of the poorest countries on Earth.

Far too many Haitian women and children are engaged in a struggle for their rights, basic necessities like nutrition, clean water, education, and protection from violence. It’s also important to know that Haiti has the second highest population density in the western hemisphere, with four out of ten children living in homes with mud floors, or in severely overcrowded conditions, and with more than five people living in each room.

KING: And that’s Unicef’s number one concern in the world, is children.

HAHN: Absolutely.

KING: What do you immediately do when you can get in there?

HAHN: This first line of action is water and sanitation, because that will prevent the spread of disease. At the same time, you know, we try to tackle it from all different angles, nutrition, obviously, shelter and education. We provide something called school in a box to enable children to go to some sort of semblance of kind of quiet and healthy environment as soon as possible after a disaster. Those are our first lines of action.

KING: Tamar, we’ll be calling on you again. Don’t go away. Congressman Kendrick Meek from Florida has been to Haiti 12 times. His office is getting constant updates. And he joins us now from our Washington bureau. Congressman, what can you tell us? What’s the latest from your perspective?

REP. KENDRICK MEEK (D), FLORIDA: Larry, there is a lot going on on the ground now in Haiti. Unfortunately, we have reports coming in from individuals. My district office received a number of calls. I’ve been in contact with the White House, also with Southern Command, which is the military arm that covers Haiti. It’s had to respond at the recent hurricane.

You have to understand that there are people that are trapped right now. There is a search and rescue effort to the best of the (INAUDIBLE) and the UN that’s on the ground now. They’re trying to help, as well as individual family members. But search and rescue teams must make it to Haiti as soon as possible. Their structures are not as solid as structures in the US. And I know that the crumbling and the dust that individuals have experienced today, we will see that for days to come, because the buildings are so fragile.

KING: What area do you represent in Florida?

MEEK: I represent Miami Dade County, that has Little Haiti in that particular district, the 17th Congressional District, and Broward County. But there are Haitian Americans in New York, Boston, LA, Central Florida, a number of places. So all of them are very, very concerned. I know the State Department has received quite a few calls. The Haitian government is definitely in need, once again, because of the lack of resources that are there already.

But I think it’s very, very important for folks to understand there are a lot of Americans also in Haiti that are carrying out humanitarian work. I know the Southern Baptists have many missions that are there, building and feeding children that are there. So this is a real issue that has a serious connection to the United States of America.

KING: The congressman is going to stay with us. The State Department Operations Center has set up the following number for Americans seeking information about family members in Haiti. The number is 1-888-407-4747. I’ll repeat it; 1-888-4… for information — there you see it on the screen — about family members in Haiti. The congressman remains. We’ll be right back.

From –

Larry King – the same day as the earthquake, later in the evening –

CNN LARRY KING LIVE

Catastrophic Quake in Haiti; Conan to NBC: ‘I’m Not Moving’

Aired January 12, 2010 – 21:00   ET

http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1001/12/lkl.01.html

***

UN Bodies

  • General Assembly Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural)
    Documents, press releases, related links.
  • Economic and Social Council
    Strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations (ECOSOC Resolution 2008/36). (pdf)
  • United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
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  • Interagency Standing Committee (IASC)
    Unique inter-agency forum for coordination, policy development and decision- making involving key UN and non-UN humanitarian partners.
  • Executive Committee on Humanitarian Affairs (ECHA)
    Enhancing coordination among UN agencies.
  • <!–

  • United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
    News, resources, press releases, documents.
  • United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
    Overview, mandate, news, multimedia, publications, speeches.
  • World Food Programme (WFP)
    Overview, news, current operations.
  • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
    Country information, appeals and funding, resources, links and documents.
  • –>

Thematic Issues

  • Climate Change
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  • Question of Palestine
    Overview, latest news, programmes, publications, statistics.

Other Resources

    <!–

  • OCHA Online
    News, funding and finance, tools and services.
  • –>

  • ReliefWeb
    Map Centre, countries and emergencies, latest natural disasters, policy and issues.
  • Humanitarian News and Analysis (IRIN)
  • Central Emergency Response Fund
  • Consolidated Appeal Process
  • Financial Tracking Service (FTS)
  • United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC)
  • Coordination of Humanitarian Response
  • The Virtual On-site Operations Coordination Centre
  • Civil  Military Coordination
  • Central Register of Disaster Management Capacities
  • International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG)
  • Emergency Cash Grants
  • International Early Warning Programme (IEWP)
  • Geographic Information Support Teams (GIST)
  • The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS)
  • Information Tools and Services
  • Humanitarian Information Centres

(From:)

http://www.un.org/en/humanitarian/

  • Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
  • High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
  • International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR)

***

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010rta7.php#details

Earthquake Details

Magnitude 4.0
Date-Time
  • Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 00:09:15 UTC
  • Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 07:09:15 PM at epicenter
  • Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 18.427°N, 72.822°W
Depth 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region HAITI REGION
Distances 55 km (35 miles) WSW of PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti
100 km (65 miles) E of Les Cayes, Haiti
160 km (100 miles) SSW of Cap-Haitien, Haiti
1110 km (690 miles) SE of Miami, Florida
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 10.2 km (6.3 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters NST= 10, Nph= 10, Dmin=173.1 km, Rmss=0.88 sec, Gp= 83°,
M-type=body wave magnitude (Mb), Version=6
Source
  • USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID us2010rta7

Earthquake Maps

  • Earthquake Location
    Earthquake Location
  • Earthquake Location Maps
    Location Maps
  • Did You Feel It?
    Did You Feel It?
    Tell Us
  • Historical Seismicity
    Historical Seismicity
  • Seismic Hazard Map
    Seismic Hazard Map
  • EQ Density Map
    EQ Density Map
  • Google Map
    Google Map
  • Google Earth KML
    Google Earth KML

    (Requires Google Earth)

Scientific & Technical Information

  • Historic Moment Tensor Solutions
  • Phase Data
  • Theoretical P-Wave Travel Times

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010rta7.php#maps

USGS – US Geological Survey

U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey

***

My Note –

Also mentioned in the news coverage within the last week, is that there were 10,000 NGOs (non-government organizations) in Haiti before the earthquake, each of whom have been funneling millions upon millions of dollars into the country not including the hundreds of millions given during hurricane relief. There have also been several mentions of the 4.5 Billion plus dollars that have been pouring into Haiti over some fairly short period of time from US and International Economic Development funds. How is it that you can’t see any evidence of it nor any evidence that this money has fixed any of the problems in Haiti?

The population has obviously not been given any suitable education with these monies. They are 80% unemployed so therefore economic development, charitable aid and NGO / UN money has not given any economic opportunity or progress to the people of Haiti despite the billions upon billions of dollars and despite the incredible efforts of a multitude of volunteers (most of whom haven’t been paid to be there.)

What happened to the money and who happened to it?

Before we send some more, we ought to find out.

– cricketdiane, 01-21-20

***

Also – since many supplies of food, water, medical equipment, shelter, tents and medicines were prepositioned in Haiti before this event – why hasn’t every single person been fed, given water, clothed, given adequate medical care and antibiotics / medicines as needed, sheltered and received daily aid of food and water? It isn’t 500,000 meals needed daily. It is 6 – 9 million meals or more needed daily and twice that much water rations or bottled water. How could any of it still be sitting on the tarmac in the hot sun? Can’t they deliver food, water and medicines / medical supplies at the same time? Can’t they mark out a route with available security personnel using a Google map and facilitate along that route branching out from there like a tree of life? Aren’t they able to use bullhorns along the course of the route to tell people where the staging areas will be and at what general times of day, like morning or afternoon? Are cluster f_ck group meetings really more important than distributing the aid that the emergency aid cluster meetings are designed to facilitate? And are the cabinet members of Haiti simply trying to get the cruise ships into Port au Prince to continue getting the per head port fees that line their pockets while diverting resources that would otherwise be delivering humanitarian aid using the available gasoline, trucks, manpower and other scarce resources?

And which hedge funds are ending up with all the donated and allocated monies that are being donated and pledged to Haiti? I just wanna know . . .

– cricketdiane

***

Earthquake Details

Magnitude 7.0
Date-Time
  • Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 21:53:10 UTC
  • Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 04:53:10 PM at epicenter
  • Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 18.457°N, 72.533°W
Depth 13 km (8.1 miles) set by location program
Region HAITI REGION
Distances 25 km (15 miles) WSW of PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti
130 km (80 miles) E of Les Cayes, Haiti
150 km (95 miles) S of Cap-Haitien, Haiti
1125 km (700 miles) SE of Miami, Florida
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 3.4 km (2.1 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters NST=312, Nph=312, Dmin=143.7 km, Rmss=0.93 sec, Gp= 25°,
M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=9
Source
  • USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID us2010rja6

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2010/us2010rja6/

Earthquake Maps

  • Earthquake Location
    Earthquake Location
  • Earthquake Location Maps
    Location Maps
  • Did You Feel It?
    Did You Feel It?
    Tell Us
  • ShakeMap
    ShakeMap
  • PAGER Population Exposure
    PAGER Population Exposure
  • Historical Seismicity
    Historical Seismicity
  • Seismic Hazard Map
    Seismic Hazard Map
  • EQ Density Map
    EQ Density Map
  • Google Map
    Google Map
  • Google Earth KML
    Google Earth KML

    (Requires Google Earth)
  • Earthquake Aftershock Map
    Aftershock Map
  • Google Earth/KMZ file for aftershock locations

***

Quick Facts

Membership: 192 Member States

Established: 24 October 1945

Secretariat staffing as of 30 June 2009 (Secretary-General’s report “Composition of the Secretariat” [A/64/352] ): about 40,000

Current UN peacekeeping operations: 16

Budget for 2008-2009: USD 4.171 billion (peacekeeping operations not included)

Official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish.
Information about the UN in other languages

UN Observances – The first day approved by the UN General Assembly was United Nations Day, 24 October (by resolution 168 (II) of 31 October 1947).

Overview

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights. Due to its unique international character, and the powers vested in its founding Charter, the Organization can take action on a wide range of issues, and provide a forum for its 192 Member States to express their views, through the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and other bodies and committees.

The work of the United Nations reaches every corner of the globe. Although best known for peacekeeping, peacebuilding, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance, there are many other ways the United Nations and its System (specialized agencies, funds and programmes) affect our lives and make the world a better place. The Organization works on a broad range of fundamental issues, from sustainable development, environment and refugees protection, disaster relief, counter terrorism, disarmament and non-proliferation, to promoting democracy, human rights, governance, economic and social development and international health, clearing landmines, expanding food production, and more, in order to achieve its goals and coordinate efforts for a safer world for this and future generations.

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Staff Services

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  • <!–

  • Association of Former International Civil Servants
  • –>

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Mailing Address
(Read Security Notice)
UN Headquarters
First Avenue at 46th Street
New York, NY 10017
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http://www.un.org/en/aboutun/index.shtml

***

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Start Your Own Business Stuff – Tools, Resources, Money, Grants and Mentoring Resources – Applied Solutions and Innovation / Invention

26 Saturday Sep 2009

Posted by CricketDiane in Business Methods, Creating Solutions for America, Creating Solutions for Real-life, Creating Solutions That Work, cricket diane, Cricket Diane C Phillips, Cricket Diane Designs, Cricket House Studios, cricketdiane, CricketHouseStudios, Democracy, diane c phillips, Ecology, Economics, Economy, Extreme Engineering, Global Warming, got no money living, How-to, Human Rights, Information Systems, innovation, Intelligence, International Concerns, Inventing Solutions For America, invention, inventiveness, macro-economics, Money, New Boston Tea Party Actions, Physics of Change, Principles of Economics, Real Time Crises, Real-World, Reality-based Analysis, Reasoning, resourcing, Solutions

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Thursday, September 24, 2009

202-482-4883

Commerce Secretary Locke Announces New Commerce Initiatives to Foster Innovation and Entrepreneurship

WASHINGTON—U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced today his plans to create a new Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship within the Department of Commerce and launch a National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Both substantial new initiatives will help leverage the entire federal government on behalf of promoting entrepreneurship in America. The new office is expected to announce additional initiatives in the coming months.

The new Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which will answer directly to the secretary, will be geared toward the first step in the business cycle: moving an idea from someone’s imagination, or from a research lab, into a business plan.

“We’re not lacking for groundbreaking ideas in this country; nor are we short on smart entrepreneurs willing to take risks,” Locke said at the Inc. 500/5000 Conference today. “What we need to do is get better at connecting the great ideas to the great company builders. And I think The Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship is a big step in the right direction.”

The National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship will advise the Commerce Department on policy relating to building small businesses and help to keep the department engaged in a regular dialogue with the entrepreneurship and small business communities. The council is expected to be comprised of successful entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, non-profit leaders and other experts.

The Obama Administration is committed to helping America’s entrepreneurs succeed, evidenced by its efforts to free up credit markets, unprecedented investments in America’s physical and intellectual infrastructure, and variety of tax credits and other incentives to help foster promising industries like renewable energy and smart grid technologies.

Working toward the Obama Administration’s vision, the Department of Commerce will lead the effort to encourage high-growth entrepreneurship through these new initiatives, among others.

Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The mission of the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship is to unleash and maximize the economic potential of new ideas by removing barriers to entrepreneurship and the development of high-growth and innovation-based businesses. The office will report directly to Locke and focus specifically on identifying issues and programs most important to entrepreneurs. Working closely with the White House and other federal agencies, this new office will drive policies that help entrepreneurs translate new ideas, products and services into economic growth. The office will focus on the following areas:

  • Encouraging Entrepreneurs through Education, Training, and Mentoring
  • Improving Access to Capital
  • Accelerating Technology Commercialization of Federal R&D
  • Strengthening Interagency Collaboration and Coordination
  • Providing Data, Research, and Technical Resources for Entrepreneurs
  • Exploring Policy Incentives to Support Entrepreneurs and Investors

National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship will advise Locke and the administration on key issues relating to innovation and entrepreneurship. The council will include successful entrepreneurs, innovators, angel investors, venture capitalists, non-profit leaders and other experts who will identify and recommend solutions to issues critical to the creation and development of entrepreneurship ecosystems that will generate new businesses and jobs. It will also serve as a vehicle for ongoing dialogue with the entrepreneurship community and other stakeholders.

http://www.commerce.gov/NewsRoom/PressReleases_FactSheets/PROD01_008444

***

Locke to Lead U.S. Delegation to Chile for the Americas Competitiveness Forum

Washington (Sept. 25)—U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke will travel to Santiago, Chile, September 27-29, to participate in the third Americas Competitiveness Forum (ACF). The ACF brings together representatives from the public and private sectors to discuss ways to spark innovation, create jobs and expand trade among the countries of the Western Hemisphere. The U.S. Department of Commerce hosted the first two ACFs in Atlanta in 2007 and 2008. Secretary Locke will be joined by the Presidents of Chile and Guatemala, as well as ministers of trade and economy from throughout the region and senior representatives from business and academia. (More) (ACF Web site)

***

Grants

Department of Commerce (DOC)

  • Grants Management

Economic Development Administration (EDA)

  • Grant Requirements


International Trade Administration (ITA)

  • Market Development Cooperator Program
  • Special American Business Internship Training Program (SABIT). A technical assistance initiative of the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, SABIT offers organizations competitive grants and an opportunity to host industry-specific delegations. SABIT serves as an initial entry point for U.S. businesses seeking funding to establish long-term relationships with potential customers, distributors, or partners in the former Soviet Union. The program trains Eurasian managers and scientists in commonly accepted business practices as a means of facilitating cross border relationships. In turn, these personal relationships serve as a basis for business development and reduce market access barriers for U.S. businesses

National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST)

  • Funding Opportunities

National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA)

  • Telecommunications Grants

National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

  • Coastal Ocean Program Grant Information
  • Fisheries Saltonstall Kennedy Grant Program
  • National Undersea Research Program Funding Opportunities
  • Grants Management Division
  • Fisheries Grants Program
  • National Sea Grant
  • Office of Global Programs

[from – ]

http://www.commerce.gov/Grants/index.htm

***

http://www.mbda.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=rls.search

Resource Locator – interactive

Resource and Capital Locator (Guests)

[from – ]

http://www.mbda.gov/

Minority Business Development Agency, Department of Commerce

***

For Atlanta –

Resource Name City State Zip Code Service Type
[Advanced Technology Development Center] Atlanta GA 30318 Multiple Services
[ATDC – Georgia Center for Advanced Telecommunications] Atlanta GA 30318 Multiple Services
[Atlanta Business League] Atlanta GA 30314 Multiple Services
[Atlanta Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce] Atlanta GA 30309 All Types of Services
[Atlanta Public Schools Office of Contract Compliance] Atlanta GA 30303 Multiple Services
[Atlanta Regional Electronic Commerce Research Ctr] Atlanta GA 30332 Multiple Services
[Atlanta U.S. Export Assistance Center] Atlanta GA 30303 Multiple Services
[Business Information Center (BIC)] Atlanta GA 30303 Multiple Services
[BusinessNow] Atlanta GA 30316 Multiple Services
[Center for International Business Education and Research] Atlanta GA 30332 Multiple Services
[Center of International Standards and Quality] Atlanta GA 30332 International Trade Services
[Cobb Chamber of Commerce] Atlanta GA 30009 Multiple Services
[Consumer Protection Division] Atlanta GA 30334 Administrative Management
[Contract Compliance Office] Atlanta GA 30307 Multiple Services
[Department of Revenue] Atlanta GA 30345 Administrative Management
[Economic Development Center] Atlanta GA 30314 All Types of Services
[Enterprise Funding Corporation] Atlanta GA 30303 All Types of Services
[First Stop Business Information Center] Atlanta GA 30334 Multiple Services
[French- American Chamber of Commerce] Atlanta GA 30338 Multiple Services
[Georgia Center for Nonprofits] Atlanta GA 30303 Multiple Services
[Georgia Child Care Council] Atlanta GA 30329 Administrative Management
[Georgia Department of Agriculture] Atlanta GA 30334 Administrative Management
[Georgia Department of Community Affairs] Atlanta GA 30329 All Types of Services
[Georgia Department of Industry Trade and Tourism] Atlanta GA 30303 International Trade Services
[Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce] Atlanta GA 30329 Multiple Services
[Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership] Atlanta GA 30332 Multiple Services
[Georgia Micro Enterprise Network] Atlanta GA 30331 All Types of Services
[Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council] Atlanta GA 30303 Multiple Services
[Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education] Atlanta GA 30303 Marketing Development
[Georgia Small Business Technical Assistance Program] Atlanta GA 30354 All Types of Services
[Georgia State University SBDC] Atlanta GA 30303 Multiple Services
[Georgia Statewide MBEC] Atlanta GA 30332 Multiple Services
[Georgia Tech Electronic Commerce Resource Center] Atlanta GA 30332 Technology/Electronic Commerce
[MBDA Atlanta Regional Office] Atlanta GA 30308 Multiple Services
[NAACP] Atlanta GA 30310 Multiple Services
[National 8(a) and Small Disadvantaged Business Association, Inc] Atlanta GA 30303 Administrative Management
[National Association of Minority Contractors] Atlanta GA 30303 All Types of Services
[Office of Regulatory Services] Atlanta GA 30303 Administrative Management
[Office of Small and Minority Business] Atlanta GA 30334 Marketing Development
[Quick Start] Atlanta GA 30345 Multiple Services
[Secretary of State, Corporations Division] Atlanta GA 30334 Administrative Management
[Service Corps of Retired Executives] Atlanta GA 30339 All Types of Services
[Service Corps of Retired Executives] Atlanta GA 30303 Multiple Services
[Southern Economic Development Council] Atlanta GA 30303 Multiple Services
[Southern United States Trade Association] Atlanta GA 30334 International Trade Services
[The Alliance for Work-Life Progress] Atlanta GA 30328 All Types of Services
[The Business Growth Corporation of Georgia] Atlanta GA 30339 Multiple Services
[The Business Growth Corporation of Georgia] Atlanta GA 30319 Financial Packaging
[The Georgia Women’s Business Council (GWBC)] Atlanta GA 30303 Multiple Services
[The Governor’s Small Business Center] Atlanta GA 30334 All Types of Services
[The Resource Institute] Atlanta GA 30329 All Types of Services
[Trademarks Section, Secretary of State] Atlanta GA 30334 Administrative Management
[Women’s Economic Development Agency] Atlanta GA 30308 Multiple Services
[World Trade Center Atlanta] Atlanta GA 30308 International Trade Services

[from Resource Locator – Atlanta, GA – 2009 ]

http://www.mbda.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=rls.results&set_v=UmVxdWVzdFRpbWVvdXQ9NTAwJmNpdHk9MTExOCZzdGF0ZT1HQSZzZXJ2aWNlX2NhdF9jb2RlPUFMTCZuZXh0PU5leHQgPiZmcm9tX21vbnRoPTAmZnJvbV95ZWFyPTAmdG9fbW9udGg9MCZ0b195ZWFyPTAmcmVnaW9uY29kZT0wJnZpZXdfbW9kZT0w

***

The DoD SBIR & STTR Programs

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The Department of Defense (DoD) SBIR and STTR programs fund a billion dollars each year in early-stage R&D projects at small technology companies — projects that serve a DoD need and have commercial applications.

  • The SBIR Program provides up to $850,000 in early-stage R&D funding directly to small technology companies (or individual entrepreneurs who form a company).
  • The STTR Program provides up to $850,000 in early-stage R&D funding directly to small companies working cooperatively with researchers at universities and other research institutions.
  • Small companies retain the intellectual property rights to technologies they develop under these programs.
  • Funding is awarded competitively, but the process is streamlined and user-friendly.
  • Learn more by going to Overview and other sections. Also visit our Resource Center at www.dodsbir.net.

  • August 3 , 2009: DoD SBIR National Beyond Phase II invitation from Undersecretary Carter.
  • <!–

  • SBIR 2009.3 Solicitation is in pre-release. The solicitation will be open to proposal submission from August 24, 2009 at 6AM ET through September 23, 2009 6AM ET.
  • –><!–

  • STTR 2009.B Solicitation is in pre-release. The solicitation will be open to proposal submission from August 24, 2009 at 6AM ET through September 23, 2009 6AM ET.
  • –><!–

  • SBIR 2009.3 Solicitation is open to proposal submission. The solicitation will close to proposal submission on September 23, 2009 at 6AM ET.
  • –><!–

  • STTR 2009.B Solicitation is open to proposal submission. The solicitation will close to proposal submission on September 23, 2009 at 6AM EST.
  • –>

  • SBIR 2009.3 Solicitation closed to proposal submission on September 23, 2009 at 6AM ET.
  • STTR 2009.B Solicitation closed to proposal submission on September 23, 2009 at 6AM ET.
  • P.L. 111-43, SBIR Program extended through September 30, 2009 (link to Public Law not yet available)
  • News Release – Small Business Director Looks to Speed Innovation to the Warfighter
  • Abstracts of Phase I proposals selected for award from SBIR solicitations
  • Abstracts of Phase I proposals selected for award from STTR solicitations
  • SBIR Tutorial introduces you to the DoD SBIR/STTR programs and shows you step-by-step how to prepare and submit a proposal.

Questions?

Contact the SBIR/STTR Help Desk by telephone 866-SBIRHLP (866-72…) or Email.

Comments/Suggestions:

If you have suggest for improving these programs? Email us.

Join our Listserv:

If you wish to be notified via email of future DoD SBIR/STTR solicitations and events, subscribe to our listserv.

[from -]

http://www.acq.osd.mil/osbp/sbir/

***

New Kauffman Foundation Study Offers Insights Into the Earliest Years of a New Business

<!—->

Contacts:
Barbara Pruitt, 816-932-1288, bpruitt@kauffman.org, Kauffman Foundation
Tom Phillips, 212-935-4655, comptwp@aol.com, Communication Partners

Kauffman Firm Survey findings provide insights for policymakers interested in encouraging new business development and growth

(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) March 12, 2008 — Understanding the characteristics of new business formation and sustainability can help lead to policies that encourage entrepreneurial businesses, which are a major driver of economic growth.

A new report released today by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation fills a gap in the study of entrepreneurship. As the largest longitudinal study of new businesses ever conducted, the Kauffman Firm Survey (KFS) follows nearly 5,000 businesses founded in 2004 and tracks them over their early years of operation.

“New businesses play an important but not-well-understood role in our dynamic economy,” said Robert Litan, vice president of Research and Policy at the Kauffman Foundation. “These insights into the earliest years of a firm’s existence are essential for creating public and private programs that encourage new business development, innovation and sustainability.”

According to Kauffman researchers, the data provide a unique opportunity to study a panel of new businesses from start-up to sustainability or closure. Data are being collected annually from the same firms, centering on the topics of debt and equity financing, employee benefits, business innovations and outcomes such as sales and profits. In addition, detailed data are collected on the characteristics of business owners.

Following are some of the highlights:

  • A little more than 2 percent of businesses reported owning patents during their first year of operation, while nearly 9 percent reported having copyrights. The percent of businesses with patents and copyrights was much higher for businesses that were considered to be high tech, at 4 percent and 11 percent, respectively. About the same percentage of businesses had trademarks (13.5 percent), regardless of their tech status.
  • Nearly 60 percent of the businesses had no employees in their first year. Just under three-quarters of businesses had one employee or less, while about one-quarter of businesses had two or more employees. Very few businesses (less than 4 percent) had more than 10 employees.
  • More than a third of businesses (37 percent) had no revenue in their first year of operation. About 45 percent of businesses in the KFS experienced a profit during their first year, compared with about 55 percent of businesses that experienced a loss in their first year. About 17 percent of businesses had profits in excess of $100,000.
  • Nearly 44 percent of new businesses had no debt financing during their first year of operation. Many businesses were started with very little debt financing: 17 percent of businesses started with $5,000 or less; nearly 11 percent started with $100,000 or more.
  • About 80 percent of businesses had some positive equity investment in their business in the first year. Nearly 10 percent invested $100,000 of equity into their business, while another 33 percent invested between $10,001 and $100,000. About one-quarter of businesses invested some amount less than $5,000.
  • The vast majority of equity invested came from the business owners themselves. Just 10 percent of the businesses in the KFS used external equity sources in their first year. Parents were the most common source of external equity (3.4 percent), while spouses provided equity to 1.6 percent of businesses. Non-family informal investors and venture capitalists were used very infrequently (2.7 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively).
  • Nearly 70 percent of businesses in the KFS data were owned by men and just over 30 percent were owned by women. Whites owned more than 81 percent of the businesses, while blacks owned 9 percent, Asians owned 4 percent, and the remaining 5 percent were owned by Native Americans, Pacific Islanders and individuals of other racial groups. About 6.6 percent of the businesses were owned by Hispanics.
  • Just under 9 percent of firms closed in calendar year 2005, and the survival rates vary by owner demographics. For example, 88 percent of black-owned businesses survived, compared with 92 percent of white-owned businesses and 91 percent of Asian-owned businesses. Women-owned businesses had a survival rate of 89 percent, about three percentage points lower than businesses owned by men.

According to Alicia Robb, principal investigator on the KFS, as additional years are added to the study, the data will allow researchers to investigate ongoing financial infusions, changes in strategy and innovation, and survival and growth. “Many important topics can be investigated, including the determinants of business growth and survival, as well as the roles that financial and human capital play in business outcomes,” said Robb.

[from -]

http://www.kauffman.org/Details.aspx?id=1090
***

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Info portal of satellite images including archived images at USGS from Landsat satellite program

02 Wednesday Sep 2009

Posted by CricketDiane in Air Quality, America - USA, ancient sea, Creating Solutions That Work, cricket diane, Cricket Diane C Phillips, Cricket Diane C Sparky Phillips, Cricket House Studios, cricketdiane, CricketHouseStudios, diane c phillips, Ecology, Extreme Engineering, Genius At Work, Global Warming, How-to, Information Systems, innovation, Integrated Thinking Processes, Intelligence, International Concerns, Inventing Solutions For America, invention, inventiveness, LITERACY, Logic, Ocean Pictures, Oceanography, Physics of Change, Real-World, Reality-based Analysis, Reasoning, resourcing, Save The Sea, Sea Waves, Solutions, Sovereignty of the People, Sparky Phillips, Statistical Analysis, Systems Analysis, Thinking Skills, Thoughts, Twenty-first Century, Uncategorized, United States of America, US Government, USA -1, Workable Solutions, XI-1

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air pollution, Air Quality, climate change, Cricket House Studios, cricketdiane, Global Warming, information portals sources, maps, Reality-based Analysis, satellite photos, science stuff portals, USGS, water pollution, water quality, weather maps, where to find satellite pictures of places on earth

Free Landsat Scenes Go Public by the Million
Released: 8/20/2009 3:26:01 PM

Contact Information:
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
Office of Communication
119 National Center
Reston, VA 20192
Ron Beck 1-click interview
Phone: 605-594-6550

Joan Moody 1-click interview
Phone: 202-208-3280


//

On August 17, someone who wanted to see how the Earth looks from 440 miles away in space downloaded the one-millionth Landsat satellite image scene from a U.S. Geological Survey web site at its Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Since the USGS opened its full Landsat archive to user access at no charge last October, the response from across the nation and around the globe has grown exponentially.

“USGS satellite operations and its data archives at EROS enable experts, or any interested member of the public, to see the land objectively with unbiased, consistently calibrated data,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “The historical depth and reliability of these earth observations are vital to scientists and land managers across the country and across the Department of the Interior in projects that range from climate change studies and invasive species surveys to the monitoring of drought and assessment of wildfire damage.”

One development of particular note is that the very oldest data in the archive, dating to over three decades ago, is being downloaded at unprecedented levels – with land-surface change detection emerging as a primary use of Landsat data.

“The opening of the Landsat archive to free, web-based access is like giving a library card for the world’s best library of Earth conditions to everyone in the world,” said Adam Gerrand, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Landsat 1 was launched on July 23, 1972, and subsequent Landsat missions have continually acquired land-image data across the globe. Scientists, educators, and the general public use these data for a wide array of activities ranging from supporting disaster relief efforts to making agricultural crop assessments to identifying sites for cell phone towers.

Landsat scenes can be previewed and downloaded through the USGS Global Visualization Viewer or USGS EarthExplorer.

Additional information on satellites, sensors, data, and the Landsat Program, which is managed by the USGS in partnership with NASA, can be found at the Landsat Missions Web site.


USGS provides science for a changing world. For more information, visit www.usgs.gov.

Subscribe to USGS News Releases via our electronic mailing list or RSS feed.

**** http://www.usgs.gov ****

[from]

http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2293&from=rss_home

***

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US – Republican Administration Policies continue unabated, unhindered, and without regard, using their “conservative thinktank” policies to impose and define America with Abuses of Human Rights, Violations of Civil Rights, Oppression of the Disadvantaged and Disabled – These Bush, Reagan and even, Nixon era bureaucrats are still using their Gestapo tactics of unbridled cruelty, senseless unmerciful viciousness and psychotic sadistic whims on citizens lives while causing egregious harms against mankind – Here is what their efforts are using our money and resources to do this time – (leftover evils from previous Republican bureaucratic policies) – http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/5949202/40-MPs-in-plea-to-Barack-Obama-over-computer-hacker-Gary-McKinnon.html – These Republican right wing policies continue to be imposed on our society by using the Conservative Caucus choices that were enacted throughout the US agencies, state legislatures and under the guise of US states’ rights from the last twenty years, which inflict their abuses of power, intolerance of Human Rights and degradations of people upon every person it touches – now to include Gary McKinnon, UK citizen for hacking into US databases to find out about UFOs . . .

01 Saturday Aug 2009

Posted by CricketDiane in Albert Einstein, Alexander Hamilton, America - USA, American Civil War Facts, American Revolutionary War, Benjamin Franklin, Civil Rights, Creating Solutions for Real-life, Creating Solutions That Work, Cricket D, cricket diane, Cricket Diane C Phillips, Cricket Diane C Sparky Phillips, Cricket House Studios, cricketdiane, CricketHouseStudios, Democracy, diane c phillips, Dwight D Eisenhower, Freedom, Freedom of Thought, Genius At Work, George Washington, George Washington-Carver, Human Rights, Information Systems, innovation, Integrated Thinking Processes, Intelligence, International Concerns, Inventing Solutions For America, invention, inventiveness, John Adams, John F. Kennedy, Leadership Skills, Liberty, Life In The USA - Rotterdam Club, LITERACY, Logic, Lyndon Johnson, New Boston Tea Party Actions, Paul Revere, personal stories, Physics of Change, real life experiences, Real Time Crises, Real-World, Reality-based Analysis, Reasoning, resourcing, Rocket Science, Samuel Adams, Sociology, Solutions, Sovereignty of the People, Sparky Phillips, stories of war, Sword of Truth, Thinking Skills, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Thomas Payne, Thoughts, Twenty-first Century, Uncategorized, United States of America, US At Home - Domestic Policy, US Bill of Rights, US Constitution, US Declaration of Independence, US Government, USA -1, walking dead men club, War Stories, Workable Solutions, XI-1

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conservative Republicans legacy, Gary McKinnon, Homeland Security actions, human rights violations in the United States, Patriot Act, Republican policies in action, UK, US Bill of Rights, US Constitution, US extradition of UK man who hacked into government databases looking for UFO information, US government policies, US human rights, US oppression (of diversity - differences and disabled individuals - elderly - poor - disadvantaged - homeless - destitute - nonconformist ) continues along conservative christian values of intoleranc, US oppression of diversity difference and disabled individuals continues along conservative christian values of intolerance and shameful cruel sadism same as the Bush administration CIA and domestic p

My Note – A little about this year’s poisoning of horses (real life in America, and I should’ve put the story about the Holocaust survivor that was strangled, beat and killed in his home – 90 years old, survived horrors of prison camps in Hitler’s version of Germany, and this is what America gives him in his final years, unbelievable) and below that, what the current uses of the “Patriot Act” and Homeland Security are doing to a 43-year old UK man who has a form of autism and is brilliant in spite of it –

– cricketdiane

****

* At least 20 horses were deliberately poisoned on farm, authorities say
* Toxic oleander leaves were found with apples, carrots in horses’ stalls
* No word yet on possible motive or sickened horses’ prognosis

updated 8:00 a.m. EDT, Sat August 1, 2009

(CNN) — More than 20 horses became ill when they were intentionally poisoned with toxic leaves in southern California this week, authorities said Friday.
These oleander bush leaves, toxic to horses, were found in a San Diego, California, stable.

[etc.]

An exact number of horses sickened was unclear, but officials believe they were more than 20. The animals, whose prognosis was not known, were under the care of veterinarians.

An investigation is under way.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/08/01/california.horses/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

***

[And from April of this year – ]


Polo horses may have been poisoned

Twenty-one ponies who mysteriously died as they were being prepared for a major match in Florida are likely to have been poisoned, vets believe.

By Tom Leonard in New York
Published: 6:38PM BST 20 Apr 2009

A horrified crowd at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington watched in silence on Sunday as vets tried desperately to save the animals after they collapsed or became dizzy as they were led out of their trailers.

The team is owned by Victor Vargas, a Venezuelan businessman, close confidant of Hugo Chavez and one of the richest men in South America.

Vets at the scene, who inserted intravenous tubes and tried to cool them down with fans and water, said the horses suffered pulmonary edema, an accumulation of fluid in their lungs, and heart failure.

They had high temperatures and were disoriented but felt no pain.

The as yet unidentified toxin could have been in tainted food, vitamins or dietary supplements, or some combination of all three that caused a toxic reaction, said Scott Swerdin, a vet who treated the horses.

James Belden, a local vet who worked for the team, Lechuza Caracas, said it was a clear case of “some sort of poison” and played down the possibity of steroid abuse.

[ . . . ]

John Wash, president of club operations for the International Polo Club Palm Beach, said the polo teams were told by veterinary officials that whatever killed the horses wasn’t airborne or contagious.

“It won’t just be the polo scene in Wellington, I think it will affect the polo scene worldwide,” Mr Wash said.

“In polo’s history there’s never been an incident like this that anybody can remember. This was a tragic issue on the magnitude of losing a basketball team in an aeroplane crash.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/5189672/Polo-horses-may-have-been-poisoned.html
***

40 MPs in plea to Barack Obama over computer hacker Gary McKinnon


More than 40 MPs have issued a highly unusual direct plea to the Barack Obama urging him to halt the “shameful” extradition of a British computer hacker to the United States.

By John Bingham and Christopher Hope
Published: 8:00AM BST 01 Aug 2009
Gary McKinnon: British judges agree to more extraditions than US counterparts British computer hacker Gary McKinnon suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism Photo: AP

David Cameron, the Conservative leader, also threw his weight behind a campaign against plans to send Gary McKinnon, who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism, for trial in the US accused of breaking into sensitive military networks.

It came as the 43-year-old lost an eleventh hour High Court challenge to the move claiming that it would worsen his condition and represent “inhuman” treatment.

In a letter, seen by The Daily Telegraph, a group of MPs urged Mr Obama to halt the extradition arguing that “most reasonable individuals” would view it as disproportionate given his mental state.

[ . . . ]

Mr McKinnon, described by his own legal team as an eccentric, claims that he was merely searching for evidence of UFOs when he hacked into almost 100 US government computers from his bedroom in north London shortly after the September 11 attacks of 2001.

Although his extradition has already been agreed after a lengthy legal process, he launched a last-minute High Court challenge attempting to force the Home Secretary to block the move earlier this year.

His lawyers also challenged the decision by Keir Starmer QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions, not to sanction a trial in this country – something which would preclude extradition.

The lawyers argued that sending him for trial in the US, despite his mental condition and with the prospect of up to 60 years in prison if found guilty, would breach his human rights.

But despite accepting that extradition to the US could cause Mr McKinnon’s mental health to deteriorate and even worsen the risk of suicide, two senior judges ruled that it did not represent a “inhuman or degrading treatment”.

[ . . . ]

Forty MPs including Michael Ancram, Sir Patrick Cormack and Peter Bottomley signed the letter, organised by the Conservative member Angela Browning who is Vice President of the National Autistic Society.

Sir Menzies Campbell, the former Former Liberal Democrat leader, Chris Grayling, the shadow Home Secretary, and Keith Vaz, the Labour chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, also spoke out against the extradition.

Karen Todner, Mr McKinnon’s solicitor, said: “I have today sent a letter to President Barack Obama signed by 40 members of a cross parliamentary group of MPs asking him to step in to bring this shameful episode to an end. It is a sad state of affairs if this Government cannot protect our most vulnerable citizens.”

Any Supreme Court case is not thought likely to be heard until next spring, in the run-up to the expected general election.

[ . . . ]

Mr Cameron said: “Gary McKinnon is a vulnerable young man and I see no compassion in sending him thousands of miles away from his home and loved ones to face trial.”

Speaking on the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice Mrs Sharp described the attempt to extradite her son as a “disgrace”.

“I’m desperately trying to get through to Obama,” she said. “This is from the Bush era … it is not of Obama, he would not want this to happen.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/5949202/40-MPs-in-plea-to-Barack-Obama-over-computer-hacker-Gary-McKinnon.html

***

My Note –

Is That the best they can do with our money – to process and prosecute someone who is obviously not a terrorist, didn’t intend harm and was capable of getting into secure computer databases of our government. They ought to be hiring him instead of prosecuting and persecuting Gary McKinnon – he’s obviously brilliant and we need his expertise, and so does the government of the UK and Interpol and the European Parliaments’ cybersecurity forces.

What are they thinking to bring this man to the United States away from all that he knows and subject him to sitting in a jail cell through the fall and Christmas, locked away from everyone he knows in the abusive environments of our prison system? Why in the hell would anybody do such a thing given that what he did hacking into the government agency computer networks took a brilliant ability that we so desperately need?

How dare anyone destroy that brilliance, genius and level of knowledge when it caused no harm, was not intended to cause harm and was in no way related to terrorism, nor to a terrorist act? Then, to sit him in our jails until Spring of whenever without a due recourse because the bureaucracy of the Republican Party’s Bush Administration is still in unfettered tyranny? Are you kidding me – what kind of people would do this and get it so backwards when we are desperate to have people exactly like this man help us in our intelligence and cyber security fields? If they do this to him, there is nothing worth saving in America because there is apparently too much wrong with it to fix . . .

The United States of America has no business acting like a senseless bunch of Gestapo bastards without the insight or good judgment of a rock. It is a waste of time, effort and resources along with the fact that no good comes of it and it undermines the very foundation of our nation’s premise.

– cricketdiane, 08-01-09

***

Title – (this is not a sentence, it is a paragraph for a title – sorry about that),

US – Republican Administration Policies continue unabated, unhindered, and without regard, using their “conservative thinktank” policies to impose and define America with Abuses of Human Rights, Violations of Civil Rights, Oppression of the Disadvantaged and Disabled – These Bush, Reagan and even, Nixon era bureaucrats are still using their Gestapo tactics of unbridled cruelty, senseless unmerciful viciousness and psychotic sadistic whims on citizens lives while causing egregious harms against mankind – Here is what their efforts are using our money and resources to do this time – (leftover evils from previous Republican bureaucratic policies) –

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/5949202/40-MPs-in-plea-to-Barack-Obama-over-computer-hacker-Gary-McKinnon.html – These Republican right wing policies continue to be imposed on our society by using the Conservative Caucus choices that were enacted throughout the US agencies, state legislatures and under the guise of US states’ rights from the last twenty years, which inflict their abuses of power, intolerance of Human Rights and degradations of people upon every person it touches – now to include Gary McKinnon, UK citizen for hacking into US databases to find out about UFOs . . .

***

I still say – they ought to be hiring this guy, Gary McKinnon instead of giving him hell across two countries and using countless manhours, resources, administrative efforts, prosecution funds and costs to both countries, as well as the mental stress, inconvenience and difficulties it has caused him and his family (and in his community) – it is an insane waste of resources and a complete waste of his talents when we most need them available to us in both countries and in the European Parliament facilities, as well.

– my note

***

US oppression (of diversity – differences and disabled individuals – elderly – poor – disadvantaged – homeless – destitute – nonconformist – creative – gifted – intelligent – genius – brilliant – talented – unusual) continues along conservative christian values of intolerance and shameful cruelty / sadistic games with human lives – the same as the Bush administration CIA, NSA, police brutality and domestic policies of castes and oppression.

In the words of our Chinese counterparts – “Don’t try to catch a falling knife.” I saw it on the bloomberg ticker one night last fall and nearly fell out of my chair considering its implications. It might be correct – it may be that the United States who has demanded that every other nation abide by certain human rights protections for citizens, cannot do the same at home nor in any policies or action it takes. That would be a shame for it to continue that way.

****

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A Note to the Republicans who keep putting their feet in the ground to stop any progress, any change and any solutions from occurring in America –

29 Wednesday Jul 2009

Posted by CricketDiane in America - USA, ancient sea, Apples and Oranges, Business Methods, Civil Rights, cricket diane, Cricket Diane C Phillips, Cricket Diane C Sparky Phillips, Cricket House Studios, cricketdiane, CricketHouseStudios, Democracy, diane c phillips, Ecology, Economics, Economy, Energy Solutions, Freedom, Freedom of Thought, Global Warming, How-to, Human Rights, Information Systems, innovation, Intelligence, International Concerns, Inventing Solutions For America, invention, inventiveness, John Adams, John F. Kennedy, Leadership Skills, Liberty, Life In The USA - Rotterdam Club, LITERACY, Logic, macro-economics, Macro-economics future forecasting, Making It All Work Quickly, Money, New Boston Tea Party Actions, New Music, personal stories, Principles of Economics, real life experiences, Real Time Crises, Real-World, Reality-based Analysis, Rocket Science, Sociology, Solutions, Solving Impossible Problems, Sovereignty of the People, Sparky Phillips, Start Your Own Business / Creating Your Own Business, States Rights, Statistical Analysis, stories of war, Sword of Truth, Systems Analysis, Tangible from the Impossible, Thinking Skills, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Thomas Payne, Thoughts, Twenty-first Century, Uncategorized, United States of America, US At Home - Domestic Policy, US Bill of Rights, US Constitution, US Declaration of Independence, US Government, USA -1, Workable Solutions, XI-1

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GOP near-unity on Sotomayor sends message
Published: July 29, 2009 at 7:46 AM

WASHINGTON, July 29 (UPI) — U.S. Republicans have sent a message to President Barack Obama that even moderate Supreme Court candidates he nominates will be opposed, analysts say.

Only one Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Tuesday voted to confirm the nomination of the nation’s first Hispanic high court nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, despite her mainstream legal credentials in a show of party solidarity, the Los Angeles Times reported.

[etc.]

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/07/29/GOP-near-unity-on-Sotomayor-sends-message/UPI-47691248867978/

***

As An American Citizen –

I didn’t vote for none of yah – I didn’t get to do that, due to events in my own life, but I guarantee you that I couldn’t have begun to have done as crappy a job as y’all have with it.

And, I know better than what you are doing right now with the opportunities you have in Washington – because I know this –

As American Citizens, we didn’t hire you to read off the damn opinion of some backroom Republican crony who told you what you are to think about something – whether its the Sotomayor nomination or health care or climate change legislation or anything else.

We did not cast a vote that ever elected some Republican or conservative crony in a backroom somewhere to think for you. Most people in America don’t even know who they are and certainly weren’t given the chance to vote for them to think everything through that would be in front of you. They are not the ones sitting in those seats to legislate and make decisions.

We elected you to represent our interests as Americans. Even though I didn’t get to vote for you or against you, I know beyond a shadow of doubt that you are given that seat to represent my interests as an American citizen. Every dime of my money and everybody else’s money is at your hand, every intelligent resource is available to you and paid for by us and every last opportunity available to the United States is sitting right there at your side within your hand’s reach. Do not tell me that you are there to represent the Republican Party instead of me and my fellow citizens.

We sent you to Washington to think through whatever was in front of you and represent our interests in the matter. If you can’t do that and think through some of this stuff for yourself with the staff you have and resources available to you, then you don’t need to bed warming that chair up in Washington. And, you sure don’t need to be using it to provide a “united front” for the conservative caucus, the Republican Party, the US Chamber of Commerce which is being run by bankers, nor for the other cronies backing your breakfast. They didn’t elect you and believe it or not – you don’t represent them unless you work in their corporation. That is not your job as an elected official and decision-maker in the United States government.

You are there in Washington to represent me and the people of the United States – the interests of the citizens and the interests of our nation, along with our futures. Without that, there is no reason for you to be there. Using that seat to get in the way of anything constructive being accomplished, is a waste of everyone’s time, effort, money, goodwill and trust. You sure don’t need to warm a seat where decisions must be made for the good of us all and the good of our country, if stalemating, blockading, undermining, and bastardizing are the only things you are there to do.

Not one of us put you up there in Washington to have the Republican Party, conservative caucus, bankers, oil companies, big businesses, Wall Street junkies nor anybody else think for you. We didn’t elect you to do that, not this time and in fact, not ever. We didn’t hire you to be a good little soldier for the Republicans and tote the party line – this isn’t Stalin’s USSR where you’re sitting.

This is the United States of America and in case you haven’t noticed, your perverse follies, previous decisions and Republican policies have left us in an economic war zone where America used to be and we are all losing. You’ve taken America from the first class world leader status that we had enjoyed right up until the reign of the Republican conservative takeover, and torn it to shreds. You’ve left the United States in a position that resembles third world underdeveloped or undeveloped economic conditions, and where crime, violence and oppressive state and local government corruption is rampant and common.

If the Republican Party and business leaders haven’t noticed, where the America we have before us is now because of their “leadership” –

there is pervasive poverty, homelessness, decimated communities, foreclosures, unemployment, destitution, families in crisis, pervasively common domestic violence and death without ever leaving home, massive sickness and death from food poisoning because of FDA and Dept. of Agriculture failure to regulate, staggering numbers of bankruptcies, staggering numbers of commercial bankruptcies, inflation in the basic commodities for everyday life, empty community halls and gymnasiums, crumbling infrastructures in every town and county in America, failing schools and children who cannot read despite our “no child left behind” programs, staggering numbers of commercial and industrial “accidents”, cities and suburbs filled with violent crimes, massive ponzi schemes that defrauded huge numbers of citizens and generally very expensive, massively incompetent government systems doing none of the things they were designed or intended to do.

And that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

You’ve done a real bang ’em up job up there in Washington for the past thirty years of letting somebody else do your thinking for you and even I couldn’t have mucked it up worse than you’ve managed to do. How dare you waste our time now with stalemating tactics and a bunch of strategic Republican Party nonsense. Who the hell do you think you are and who do you think you are going to have to deal with when they’re done with you? We put you into office, we pay your salaries, we pay for your taxi rides, limousines and plane trips, we are paying for you to live in nice houses and sit your shitty asses in $6,000 chairs. We are paying for your staff members and the research you have done to make decisions where you sit. What the hell do you think is going to happen to the United States if you keep on doing it the way you’ve been doing it?

It’s time to stop dicking around, get off your dead Republican asses and get with the others we’ve elected up there in Washington to get something done. Get in there, use your brains and fix this mess. Eventually you will have to notice that you aren’t the ones cooking your own dinners, mowing your grass, cleaning your houses, shining your shoes, washing your clothes, fixing your toilets, driving your family where they go, filling the car with gas or in fact, doing any of the number of other things that are required for you to wipe your hairy ass.

Personally, I wouldn’t trust any of you to lead me from one side of the street to the other safely – but since, you have been elected by my fellow citizens to positions of leadership you need to know this –

Whether you know it or not – every one of you up there in Washington is a member of a team and it isn’t the Republican Party, Democratic Party nor conservatives nor big businesses nor liberals. You are either on our team USA to serve the interests of the citizens of the United States and the interests of our national concerns or you are nothing that serves the United States and you don’t belong there wasting time, energy and resources that could be used to the good of us all.

And, right now considering the economic and social crises that we all face, when you use your positions to antagonize, undermine, stalemate, block, and degrade the efforts of others – you are acting as an anathema and an enemy to all that is good and that could be done while you are there.

– cricketdiane, 07-29-09

***

And by the way, whether you know it or not – every one of you up there in Washington is a member of a team and it isn’t the Republican Party, Democratic Party nor conservatives nor big businesses nor liberals. You are either on our team USA to serve the interests of the citizens of the United States and the interests of our national concerns or you are nothing that serves the United States and you don’t belong there wasting time, energy and resources that could be used to the good of us all.

***

Another note –

Whatever marketing genius convinced you as a politician and legislator that you must serve the Republican “brand” – failed to note the unique capacity and position in which you serve and its broader implications.

The actions you take or fail to take, the decisions you make or decide against supporting will last long after the Republican Party ceases to exist and will have lasting effects far beyond the ability of any narrowly focused conservative thinktank, party, or group to perceive.

– cricketdiane

***

“But McConnell said Friday, in an appearance at the National Press Club, that, “The normal constituencies must be widened,” signaling a likely strategy for Republicans in the months ahead.” – from article below (FoxNews – January 2009)

**

Republicans Craft Careful ‘Resistance’ in Congress


Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says his party will pose a “principled resistance” when appropriate, but will also try to work with the Obama administration.

FOXNews.com
Friday, January 23, 2009

Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. gestures as he answers questions at the National Press Club in Washington, Friday, Jan. 23, 2008. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Rest assured, Republicans in Congress will put up a “strong, principled resistance” to the Democratic majority when called for, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Friday.

But with Republicans’ numbers diminished in the Senate and virtually weightless in the House of Representatives, mounting that resistance will be no easy task.

The GOP, wounded badly in the 2006 and 2008 elections, is still trying to rally and redefine itself, not only to make gains in 2010 but to put its stamp on policy.

To do so, McConnell and other Republican leaders plan to strike a fine balance between bipartisan cooperation and thorn-in-the-side politics.

“Stylistically, it is somewhere between cooperation and confrontation,” said Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report. “It took them eight years to get in this hole. It’s going to take a while to get out.”

On the other hand, he said, “The nature of the opposition is they’re supposed to oppose.”

Among those leading that opposition in the early stages are Georgia Rep. Tom Price, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, and Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who is heading up re-election efforts in the Senate.

Cornyn, one of former President Bush’s top defenders, is already biting at the ankles of Democrats at every turn and could play the prickly counterpart to his more bipartisan colleagues.

Cornyn was the lone senator who prevented Clinton from being confirmed on Inauguration Day by raising concern about donations to her husband’s foundation. (He later dropped his opposition after a talk with Sen. John McCain.)

Plus Cornyn raised critical questions about Eric Holder, Obama’s nominee for attorney general, contributing to a delay in his confirmation vote before the full Senate.

And he warned Democrats not to seat Al Franken as Minnesota’s next senator until his Republican rival, Norm Coleman, exhausted all legal options.

Most recently, on Wednesday, Cornyn’s committee took on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in a news release for inviting lobbyists to an inaugural brunch two days earlier. Spokesman Brian Walsh said in the statement that in order for President Obama to change the culture in Washington, he’d first have to change Reid.

“I didn’t come to the Senate to be a wallflower, and the only tools you really have available in the Senate are your voice and your vote,” Cornyn said.

Meanwhile, Price vigorously opposed the release of the second half of the $700 billion financial bailout. And he, along with Cornyn, blasted Obama for ordering the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility Thursday. “It’s unfortunate that national security has taken a back seat to political appeasement,” Price said in a statement.

Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh told FOX News’ Sean Hannity that leaning moderate is the wrong way to go for the Republican Party. He said the moderate wing got their candidate in McCain and lost.

[My Note – Rush Limbaugh is the Republican Party in America. To have that thinking to run the United States into the ground, who needs enemies . . . ]

“The blueprint for landslide electoral victory is right there, and the Republican Party and conservative movement has just washed it away,” Limbaugh said. “The people that are running our party now have such a defeatist inferiority complex. … They want to be accepted by people that hate them.”

But McConnell said Friday, in an appearance at the National Press Club, that, “The normal constituencies must be widened,” signaling a likely strategy for Republicans in the months ahead.

John Feehery, a Republican strategist and one-time aide to former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, said the GOP only hurts itself by ignoring the center.

To appeal to more Americans, he advised Republicans to target Democrats in Congress instead of Obama, and to use the president’s “change rhetoric” against hyperpartisan members. He said Republicans can regain the moral high ground by exposing hypocrisy and corruption in the rival party.

[etc.]

A string of corruption cases led to huge Republican losses in the 2006 congressional elections, and now the GOP is trying to shine a light on Democrats improprieties.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, for instance, lambasted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for keeping Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee despite the fact he’s being investigated for tax problems.

House Republicans are now so outnumbered that they have few options for pushing through their agenda in Congress. They can try to partner on some issues with the conservative Blue Dog Democrats, but they may be more successful just making noise in the media.

In the Senate, however, Democrats still do not have a filibuster-proof majority, so Republican senators are in a position to carry more weight and squeeze concessions out of Democrats.

Moderates in particular have a chance to hold clout. Maine Sen. Susan Collins, for instance, just got a coveted seat on the Appropriations Committee, and Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe is a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee. Rothenberg said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., are two rising stars to watch. Alexander is Republican Conference chairman and Thune has moved into the ranks of leadership as a lead deputy to Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. Thune has been a quiet voice of compromise on energy issues but a tough fiscal conservative.

[ . . . ]

Conservatives have long criticized the financial bailout package, charging that the distribution of funds was irresponsible.
And in the upcoming stimulus package, Republicans are pushing against Democratic spending proposals and pushing for items like tax cuts. House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio and Republican Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia on Friday presented Obama with proposals that rely exclusively on tax cuts and envision none of the federal spending backed by Democrats and the White House.

Some of the GOP resistance is symbolic, though it provides political cover. For instance, Republicans in the House — along with Democrats — voted on Thursday to withhold the second half of the $700 billion stimulus package, even though a prior Senate vote in favor of releasing the money trumped any action from the House.

But Republicans caused headaches for Democrats earlier in the week when they waved around a report that showed the Democrats’ economic stimulus proposal could take as long as 10 years to work its way into the economy.

[ etc.]

In response to the study, Peter Orszag, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, sent a letter to Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., late Thursday pledging that at least 75 percent of the stimulus package would be spent in 2009 and 2010.

[ . . . ]

Analysts suggested Republicans should also reach out to friendly think tanks to bolster their agendas.

Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan, who is running for another term, is doing that with his newly created Center for Republican Renewal, a think tank he says will help the GOP “reclaim the mantle as the party of ideas.”

FOXNews.com’s Judson Berger and FOX News’ Trish Turner and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/23/republicans-craft-careful-resistance-congress/

***

Blaise Hazelwood, who served as the political director of the Republican National Committee and spearheaded the famed “72 Hour Project,” proved her mettle again last week — shepherding Steele to his unexpected victory in the race for RNC chairman. Hazelwood, who worked with a team of political pros including the Anderson brothers (Wes and Curt), Brad Todd and Jim Dyke on Steele’s behalf, is now in line for a plum position at the RNC if she wants it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/01/AR2009020102112_pf.html

Hazelwood’s whole life has been politics. She is a fifth-generation Arizonan whose grandfather was close to former senator Barry M. Goldwater. She was president of Teen Republicans in Arizona as well as an intern on Capitol Hill and at the White House.[8]

Despite her Arizona lineage, however, she was born in Washington because her father was working at the Interior Department during the Nixon administration.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaise_Hazelwood

(see wikipedia entry below – )

My Note –

Why is it that everyone in the Republican Party and Conservative Groups that hijacked it over the past thirty years has some relationship to Barry M. Goldwater and Richard M. Nixon? That includes the unbelievable number of people appointed to cabinet positions in the Republican administrations over the last thirty-six years, the agency heads, the decision-makers, the policy makers, and in the thinktanks that have diverted charitable money intended for community supports and programs for the poor into their own coffers.

Why is it that the conservative fundamentalist right-wing political parties and groups are some of the most vice-ridden, vile, vicious, cruel, intolerant, greedy, corrupt, sexually immoral, criminal and malicious groups that have ever walked the earth regardless of where they are operating? What makes it like that? They have perpetrated the most violent anti-social psychotic police and military policies and practices, they’ve tortured with cruelty and disregard – both in the US and around the world, they’ve encouraged their friends, children and authorities in their command to beat the homeless, poor and disadvantaged to death.

They’ve incited intolerance, removed personal rights and freedoms, undermined the Constitution of the United States and lawful Constitutional rights given to citizens around the world, practiced religious, social, economic and cultural / racial intolerance across the United States and generally, instituted a caste system in a country where democracy, freedom and individual rights used to be. Who are these vile slags of humanity and why do they get away with it just because they dress better than I do?

– cricketdiane

***

Blaise Hazelwood

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Blaise Hazelwood
Born Washington, DC
United States
Occupation Political Consultant
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Dan Hazelwood

Blaise Hazelwood (born 1972), a Republican strategist and consultant in the United States, is the owner of Grassroots Targeting, LLC, a microtargeting company, and iWeb Strategies, LLC, which provides campaigns and other organizations with a comprehensive online program.[1]

Hazelwood first came to prominence as the driver behind the “72-Hour Task Force” in 2001, the party’s last major revision to its tactical campaign playbook which is credited with revolutionizing the Get Out the Vote efforts.[2] Hazelwood has led and managed political operations, high-profile grassroots programs and political campaigns.[3] She received a lot of praise for her work as Political Director at the Republican National Committee in 2002 and 2004, spearheading their successful online Team Leader program and the construction of Voter Vault, the RNC’s voter file database.[4] She went on to serve as the Director of Media and Political operations for the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the 2006 cycle under Senator Elizabeth Dole.[5]

Beginning in November 2008, Hazelwood managed Michael Steele‘s campaign for Chairman of the Republican National Committee.[6] Steele was elected as the new RNC Chairman on January 30, 2009.[7] Hazelwood followed the new Chairman to the RNC and served as his Chief of Staff through the transition until March 2009. She then returned full-time to her companies in Alexandria, Virginia but continues consulting as a top advisor to Chairman Steele and the RNC.

Content

  • 1 Early Years
    • 1.1 Arizona Campaigning
  • 2 Career
    • 2.1 Early career
    • 2.2 Republican National Committee
      • 2.2.1 72 Hour Program
      • 2.2.2 Voter Vault
    • 2.3 National Republican Senatorial Committee
    • 2.4 Consulting
      • 2.4.1 Grassroots Targeting
        • 2.4.1.1 Microtargeting for Bobby Jindal
      • 2.4.2 iWeb Strategies
    • 2.5 Steele Campaign
      • 2.5.1 RNC Transition Chief of Staff
  • 3 References

// <![CDATA[
//

Early Years

Hazelwood’s whole life has been politics. She is a fifth-generation Arizonan whose grandfather was close to former senator Barry M. Goldwater. She was president of Teen Republicans in Arizona as well as an intern on Capitol Hill and at the White House.[8]

Despite her Arizona lineage, however, she was born in Washington because her father was working at the Interior Department during the Nixon administration. She was named for St. Blaise. The name was chosen by her mother, who wrote a dissertation on the Roman Catholic saint while studying for a doctorate in early Christian art at Georgetown University. Hazelwood has admitted that being named after a little-known male saint caused confusion when she was younger.[9]

Arizona Campaigning

Hazelwood began door-to-door canvassing as a 10-year-old in Arizona when her father was running for precinct committeeman, and she learned firsthand the value of human contact, meticulous organization and volunteer muscle in political campaigns. Her grandmother was a campaign volunteer in the days before computers, when voter files were kept on index cards. She told the Washington Post in 2003, “I always heard stories about my grandmother. It was all personal contact, and it obviously worked.”[10]

Career

Early career

After graduation from Vassar College, Hazelwood’s first job was staff assistant at the RNC, but shortly after the 1994 GOP landslide, her days appeared numbered. The new political director, Curt Anderson, was planning to clean house, and told Hazelwood and others they should start looking for work somewhere else.[11]

“I didn’t like that answer,” she told the Washington Post. “I decided that I wanted to stay here, that I wasn’t done at the RNC, so I started getting there at like six o’clock in the morning. He was a very early person, too. I would read the papers and brief him as he came in, do whatever I could to get his attention, and so he finally decided to keep me.”[12]

Her career since has been a succession of campaigns and grassroots organizing across the country, often anchored by positions at the Republican National Committee. She worked for Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign and for James S. Gilmore III’s successful 1997 gubernatorial campaign in Virginia.[13]

After those campaigns, she joined Curt Anderson’s political consulting firm. Then, in the summer of 2001, moved back to the RNC to help the Bush team manage its outreach to parts of the conservative coalition.[14]

Republican National Committee

“Blaise Hazelwood is credited with bringing back the culture of grassroots campaigns into the Republican Party.”[15]

Hazelwood worked as Political Director at the RNC in 2002 & 2004. Matthew Dowd, Senior Advisor at the time said, “She’s got good intuition, and she’s exceptionally well organized. She’ll do whatever it takes to get the job finished. She’s not concerned about being the last person to leave the office or getting on an airplane to get the job done.”[16]

72 Hour Program

“When the history of the Republican Party’s midterm election victories of 2002 is written, President Bush will get the headline and much of the credit, but a large footnote will go to a young political operative named Blaise Hazelwood.”[17] -The Washington Post, 2003

Hazelwood, only 31 at the time, was serving as political director of the Republican National Committee (RNC), and it was her responsibility to coordinate the party’s “72-Hour Program,” an 18-month effort designed to put shoe leather back into politics and beat the Democrats in turning out the vote, especially in the final three days, 72 hours, of the campaign. The 72-Hour Project was born of necessity after the 2000 election, when Republicans discovered that Democrats had done a better job of getting their voters to the polls in one of the tightest presidential races in history.[18]

With prodding from White House senior adviser Karl Rove, White House political director Ken Mehlman and RNC Deputy Chairman Jack Oliver, the party undertook a top-to-bottom review of its get-out-the-vote operation, poured more than $1 million into more than 50 experiments to test how best to reach out to voters and then methodically set about implementing their findings in the midterm campaigns.[19]

“I’m confident from the testing and from human life experience that making a volunteer telephone call or knocking on someone’s door makes much more impact than just doing it paid,” Hazelwood said.[20]

Her weekend routine was a mind-numbing series of conference calls consuming as much as 16 hours in which she updated her checklists state by state: how many volunteers signed up; how many people on the streets; how much literature distributed; how many voters identified. The overall goal was to flood precincts in competitive states with GOP volunteers going door to door in the final 72 hours of the campaign. Three weeks before the election all the planning and execution began to converge. She told the Washington Post, “All of a sudden this one weekend, everything started clicking. All of the work that everyone had put into this for the past year and a half started happening.”[21]

Her work paid big dividends on Election Day, when a surge of Republican voters in states such as Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Missouri overwhelmed the Democrats and turned what many had called one of the most competitive midterm campaigns in history into a substantial Republican victory.[22]

Voter Vault

In addition to implementing the 72 hour program, Hazelwood is also credited with creating Voter Vault, the Republican Party’s voter file database which is used by campaigns all over the country.[23]

National Republican Senatorial Committee

In 2005, Hazelwood moved over to become Elizabeth Dole’s right-hand-woman, serving as campaign and media director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) through the 2006 election cycle.[24]

Consulting

Grassroots Targeting

Hazelwood founded Grassroots Targeting in 2005, turning her expertise in the practice of microtargeting into a business. In 2004, few top campaign staff knew what to do with raw microtargeting data. The young staffers who had time to play with the data were the ones in the remote field offices. In 2008, they’re now running the show and want to be able to get their hands on the data. Grassroots Targeting is the first firm to create its own software, called GT InAction, so campaigns can do just that. It lets a campaign manager select the voters he’d like to reach, such as married men who are regular churchgoers who make above $100,000. Since the software is web-enabled, direct mail and phone vendors can go in and use the data as well. Hazelwood believes, “if you’re spending this much time and money to put this together, people should actually use the data.” She also adds that she tries “to empower the campaigns as much as possible, because they know their campaigns the best.”[25]

With respect to the 2008 Presidential race, she recently explained,

“With Bush, our targeting efforts focused on turning out the base. Now with McCain, it’s about convincing the swing voters. It’s a different audience we’re going after, and we’re able to find those swing universes much better than we would have in the past. But sometimes microtargeting isn’t user-friendly enough — a lot of campaigns get a book that explains it, and then that book goes on the shelf. I’ve built software that allows campaigns to understand their microtargeting data more easily. They can pull their own email and phone universes. The software will tell you, ‘These are the swing groups, these are the people who are most likely to turn out.’ All the end users have to do is pick what groups they want to target. If you have the budget to mail to only 40,000 people, you can decide which group you want and enter into the calculator exactly what you want your numbers to be.”

Microtargeting for Bobby Jindal

One of Grassroots Targeting’s most notable clients is Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal who has been talked about as a future presidential candidate.[26] Most microtargeting models focus on issues and likelihood to vote Democrat or Republican. However, that wasn’t necessarily going to help Bobby Jindal win his 2007 gubernatorial race in Louisiana, where most voters are registered Democrats who typically vote Republican. Strategists realized that to avoid a run-off, Jindal needed 42 percent of culturally conservative Democrats to vote for him on Election Day.[27]

Hazelwood built her model around that core group. She said, “usually when you build models, you are building them on everyone [in a district], but the cultural conservatives were our target universe. We actually did survey work and tracked them all summer long.” Using that research, Jindal talked to voters in each segment of this custom universe. And on Election Day, he hit the magical 42 percent and won the race.[28]

iWeb Strategies

In 2007, Hazelwood cofounding iWeb Strategies with Brian Lyle. Lyle has been working in technology for over a decade and with Hazelwood since 2003. He served as the Deputy Director for the RNC’s Team Leader online program in the 2004 election cycle. In 2006, he worked with Hazelwood at the NRSC as eCampaign Director before joining her to found iWeb. He designed and managed one of the “Top 5 Mold Breaking Websites” of the 2002 election cycle according to Campaigns and Elections magazine.[29]

Steele Campaign

In November 2008, Hazelwood signed on to lead Michael Steele’s campaign to become the next RNC Chairman in the first open race since 1997. The telegenic former Maryland Lieutenant Governor had developed a national following with his Fox News commentary. Also, those who saw Steele behind-the-scenes of his 2006 Senate race knew him as a free spirit whose first instinct is to rethink campaign conventions. An insurgent campaign in a time of internal party unrest fit his personality well.[30]

That Steele won the chairman’s race didn’t surprise many Republican activists across the country; however, Steele’s Jan. 30 win did shock the old bulls of the Republican establishment. The core of Steele’s winning coalition were the RNC’s newer members. In fact, half of Steele’s 21-person “whip team” on the committee rose to their current Party leadership roles after the election of 2006. Steele made sure his campaign screamed “change.” Under Hazelwood’s leadership in what looked like a sleepy Christmas-time race, Republicans responded in ways few inside the Beltway press corps noticed. Though the race is decided by the 168 party insiders, Steele asked Republican activists around the country to sign up to support his bid for chairman. In the two months after Obama’s victory, his website enlisted 42,000 such activists.[31]

Hazelwood put the 42,000 to work with the same innovative thinking that led to the 72 Hour Program. She asked those online supporters to email their national committee members. While urging a vote for Steele, the supporters pledged a specific donation of volunteer hours to their state parties which caught the eye of hungry state chairmen.[32]

With Hazelwood, Steele built a leadership team, and a winning campaign, with tactics, ideas, and coalitions rarely before used in the GOP. Steele promised to shake things up at party headquarters, and to the old guard’s surprise, the new RNC was in a mood to shake.[33]

[edit] RNC Transition Chief of Staff

Following Chairman Steele’s election, Hazelwood went with him to the RNC and served as Chief of Staff through the transition period. During this time, Steele brought in RNC Members from around the country to assist him in assessing each division within the RNC and make recommendations for improvements.

In a press release, the RNC announced that “the transition team will help implement the sweeping changes Steele proposed during his campaign for chairman. Under Chairman Steele’s leadership, the RNC will focus on recruiting a new cadre of top-notch candidates and operatives, build new volunteer networks, and forge new working relationships with state and local parties. The team will also immediately begin preparing for the gubernatorial and local elections later this year in Virginia and New Jersey.” Hazelwood was integral to these transition efforts and also to supporting the Chairman in beginning to fulfill his mission to “bring this Party to every corner of the country and ask people to join us and work with us.” The Chairman added that “by standing on our principles, we can expand and grow. My transition team will take a fresh look at everything with an eye toward preparing to win the campaigns of the future.”[34]

Having overseen the first two months of the Steele administration at the RNC, Hazelwood, in an e-mail to Republicans around Washington on March 12, announced veteran GOP strategist Ken McKay would take over as the RNC’s chief of staff.[35]

Hazelwood is now working full time at Grassroots Targeting and iWeb Strategies based in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia while staying very involved in an advisory role with the RNC and Chairman Steele.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://iwebstrategies.com/
  2. ^ http://www.politicsmagazine.com/magazine-issues/february-2009/plan-of-steele/
  3. ^ http://iwebstrategies.com/
  4. ^ http://townhall.com/blog/g/4f09823f-757c-4bdc-b228-a1ab3dd40985
  5. ^ http://iwebstrategies.com/
  6. ^ http://townhall.com/blog/g/4f09823f-757c-4bdc-b228-a1ab3dd40985
  7. ^ http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000003021842&cpage=1
  8. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61061-2002Dec31.html
  9. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61061-2002Dec31.html
  10. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61061-2002Dec31.html
  11. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61061-2002Dec31.html
  12. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61061-2002Dec31.html
  13. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61061-2002Dec31.html
  14. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61061-2002Dec31.html
  15. ^ http://pipl.com/directory/people/Blaise/Hazelwood
  16. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61061-2002Dec31.html
  17. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61061-2002Dec31.html
  18. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61061-2002Dec31.html
  19. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61061-2002Dec31.html
  20. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61061-2002Dec31.html
  21. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61061-2002Dec31.html
  22. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61061-2002Dec31.html
  23. ^ http://townhall.com/blog/g/4f09823f-757c-4bdc-b228-a1ab3dd40985
  24. ^ http://townhall.com/blog/g/4f09823f-757c-4bdc-b228-a1ab3dd40985
  25. ^ http://www.spotlightanalysis.com/articles/0608politicsmag.html
  26. ^ http://www.usnews.com/blogs/god-and-country/2009/04/21/2012-republican-front-runners-all-christian-conservatives.html
  27. ^ http://www.spotlightanalysis.com/articles/0608politicsmag.html
  28. ^ http://www.spotlightanalysis.com/articles/0608politicsmag.html
  29. ^ http://iwebstrategies.com/
  30. ^ http://www.politicsmagazine.com/magazine-issues/february-2009/plan-of-steele/
  31. ^ http://www.politicsmagazine.com/magazine-issues/february-2009/plan-of-steele/
  32. ^ http://www.politicsmagazine.com/magazine-issues/february-2009/plan-of-steele/
  33. ^ http://www.politicsmagazine.com/magazine-issues/february-2009/plan-of-steele/
  34. ^ http://www.gop.com/News/NewsRead.aspx?Guid=47948a5d-1121-46dd-81a5-67ebd7ff2737
  35. ^ http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/steele-names-ken-mckay-new-chief-of-staff-2009-03-12.html

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaise_Hazelwood“
Categories: American political consultants | Living people
[From-]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaise_Hazelwood
***
Gee, let me think –
*
Who was running the show when the World Trade Towers had two planes run up their asses, bringing the city of NY to a standstill and killing thousands of people? Who was at the helm when umpteen different terrorist acts occurred across the free world and the United States without hindrance despite all the money we’ve been paying for specialists and resources to take care of it?
*
Who was running the states and federal government when thousands of people were sickened and hundreds died from E.Coli in hamburgers they bought at restaurants or ate at school lunches? And, who was running the country when thousands were poisoned and hundreds died from peanut butter sold to nursing homes and schools and meals on wheels programs?
*
Who was running the United States when thousands of American children died at the hands of bad judgments made by social service workers either because they were taken from homes where they shouldn’t have been and put into the homes of foster care and mental health institutions that killed them or were returned to people that were abusing them in the first place?
*
Who was it that had the reins of power when the CEOs, bankers and Wall Streeters were being given hundreds of millions of dollars in salaries, perks and bonuses while running their companies into the ground and laying off hundreds of thousands of workers who actually did do their jobs?
*
And, who was the group in power while this country created the greatest impoverished landscape that has ever existed in this nation since the Great Depression which as a matter of fact, was also created by the hands of greed in the same party who were also running things at that time?
*
Who was it that diverted money from every program intended to help people get on their feet and demanded that faith-based organizations take on that job while stealing those charitable funds to underwrite their own conservative thinktanks, lobbyists and pet projects for the rich?
*
Weren’t the Republicans in power? Weren’t the conservatives getting things done the way they wanted when all this resulted? Wasn’t it the big business interests which were running the show that were served over everyone else’s interests? Wasn’t it the right wing fundamentalists that had their way with all of it? Is it now to be believed that they had nothing to do with it? And, that the way they didn’t do it or did do it resulted in something other than what we see, what the facts indicate and what we have experienced? Are they kidding?
*
And, just for note – the prosperity which they created for themselves did not extend to the rest of us and as it turns out, wasn’t real anyway. It was a pretense without foundation which is exactly why our economy is mucked up to the extent it is today without much recourse to stabilize it in any due measure, let alone to rebuild it.
*
– cricketdiane, 07 – 09
*
(Tell me something, why should anybody want to innovate , invent or create solutions for a bunch of bastards that can’t do anything but put their feet in the ground and make nothing possible.)
*
***

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Economic Reality and the Reliable Facts in America is that we are living in an economic and often violent war zone where America used to be – between domestic violence, men killing their wives, daughters, children and themselves – who stands a chance? And don’t tell me that the oil speculating and Wall Street bankers games don’t hurt anyone – they’ve caused massive unemployment, layoffs, shitty loans nobody can pay off, gambled with other people’s money and generally laid our economy into a wasteland where human lives cannot thrive – the bankers and Wall Street games have definitely hurt somebody – all of us have been hurt by it

29 Wednesday Jul 2009

Posted by CricketDiane in America - USA, Business Methods, Creating Solutions for America, Creating Solutions for Real-life, Creating Solutions That Work, cricket diane, Cricket Diane C Phillips, Cricket Diane C Sparky Phillips, Cricket House Studios, cricketdiane, CricketHouseStudios, Democracy, diane c phillips, Economics, Economy, Eye of Enlightenment, Freedom, Freedom of Thought, Genius At Work, Global Warming, Human Rights, Information Systems, Intelligence, International Concerns, Inventing Solutions For America, invention, inventiveness, John Adams, Leadership Skills, Liberty, Life In The USA - Rotterdam Club, LITERACY, Logic, macro-economics, Macro-economics future forecasting, Money, New Boston Tea Party Actions, personal stories, Physics of Change, Principles of Economics, Real Time Crises, Real-World, Reality-based Analysis, Reasoning, Solutions, Sovereignty of the People, Sparky Phillips, Statistical Analysis, stories of war, Systems Analysis, Thinking Skills, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Thomas Payne, Thoughts, Twenty-first Century, Uncategorized, United States of America, US At Home - Domestic Policy, US Bill of Rights, US Constitution, US Declaration of Independence, US Government, USA -1

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

bank bailouts, business bankruptcies, foreclosures, global economic crisis, macro-economics, macroeconomic future forecasting, unemployment, US economic crisis

My Note –
Why do experts and news commentators / producers tell the public that everything is fine (macro-economically) when all the numbers say something else? Durable goods orders are down because? Unemployment, layoffs and underemployed numbers are still up and possibly even rising, if we were able to see the true numbers. Companies are going out of business and bankruptcy courts are filled with filings across a broad spectrum of businesses. Commercial real estate loans are an accident waiting to happen and foreclosures of people’s homes continue to be in the stratosphere with many loans still expected to reset through the end of this year and next.

The number of homeless have increased to the point of devastation in communities across the US and everybody is watching to see if the durn stock market numbers mean something about a “rebound” – those numbers aren’t real. The shifts in value among stocks, commodities and financial derivatives are coming from huge players managing other people’s money – what do they know besides a guess considering they make their money whether they win or lose?

We have a population who does not know how to survive unless all the conditions are known quantities arranged in a certain order and progress along a recipe which doesn’t now exist for them. Wouldn’t it be more helpful to engage that with the real facts, some measure of truth, candid honest appraisals of where things stand now and a set of skills for “thinking on your feet,” resourcefulness and “flying by the seat of the pants” successfully?

Thanks, Ali – for your efforts and for all of the CNN team, but we really are getting to the hardest part now, when everyone is tired of the bad news and no jobs and it isn’t going to get better soon nor go back to the old way that it was, regardless.

– cricketdiane, 07-29-09

A Note to Ali Velshi – CNN Financial Reporting and Economics

***

CNNRADIO
Ask Ali Velshi
E-mail Ali Velshi with your questions about the economy or call him live on CNNRadio, at 11 a.m. ET

http://www.cnn.com/ireport/ireports/topics/forms/2008/05/ask.cnn.radio.velshi.html

***

Send your questions to CNNRadio

Are you a CNNRadio fan? E-mail us with your questions ahead of time and listen for the answers during the show, or call us at (877) 266-4189 to ask your questions on the air.

http://www.cnn.com/ireport/ireports/topics/forms/2008/05/ask.cnn.radio.velshi.html

***

New York gives homeless one-way tickets
Published: July 29, 2009 at 10:35 AM

[ . . . ]

City officials say there is no limit to where a family can be sent.

So far, the program has provided flights to 54 states and five continents, most often to Puerto Rico, Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

One family with 10 children accepted an offer to go to Puerto Rico while another family moved to France with their three children.

New York spends $500,000 a year on the program which employs a local travel agency to book the one-way flights. (for more than 550 families)

“We want to divert as many families as we can that need assistance,” says Vida Chavez-Downes, who heads the program.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/07/29/New-York-gives-homeless-one-way-tickets/UPI-42541248878119/

****

The Republican / Bush Legacy –

LOS ANGELES, July 29 (UPI) — Seven percent of U.S. fifth-graders and their families have experienced homelessness — 11 percent for blacks — and it takes a toll, researchers say. (from 2004 – 2006)

[ . . . ]

Dr. Tumaini R. Coker of Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA and the Rand Corp. and colleagues analyzed data from a study of 5,147 fifth-grade students. Interviews of students and parents were conducted during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 school years and included children from Birmingham, Ala.; Houston and Los Angeles.

“It was unexpected to see such a high prevalence of family homelessness in this sample of fifth-grade students, were literally homeless — staying in places like shelters, cars or on the streets,” Coker, the lead author, said in a statement.

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2009/07/29/Seven-percent-of-fifth-graders-homeless/UPI-86521248842509/

***

Economic Outlook: Knocking on closed doors

By ANTHONY HALL, United Press International Published: July 29, 2009 at 8:18 AM

U.S. home prices and mortgage news have crept back into the headlines, as government officials took another swipe at helping homeowners Tuesday.

Officials from the Treasury Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development sat down with bank executives in Washington to review the Make Homes Affordable program, which aims to help troubled homeowners with loan modifications.

It is a program with a goal of helping 4 million homeowners avoid foreclosure that has, to date, been frequently touted as underwhelming at best. Only 200,000 loans have been modified since March, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

[ . . . ]

The problem, in a nutshell, is profits. After weeding out homeowners behind on their payments who may be able to catch up on their own, without assistance, and those who would fail to keep up payments even with a modified loan, there are few well-intended homeowners left, the Boston Federal Reserve Bank said in a study of the nation’s housing predicament.

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2009/07/29/Economic-Outlook-Knocking-on-closed-doors/UPI-82771248869922/

***

Alan White, a professor at Valparaiso University School of Law in Indiana, said lenders could cut down on the number of borrowers who end up defaulting again by giving them more help in the first place. He said too many modified loans don’t result in low enough payments. Also, he said, there may be fewer borrowers who can get out of trouble on their own because of continuing difficulties in the economy.

“The servicers are making assumptions that are much too anti-modification,’’ White said. “The servicers have the authority’’ to help borrowers, “they just don’t want to use it.’’

The study, coauthored by Manuel Adelino and Kristopher Gerardi, also rebuts a widely held suspicion that the holdup in modifying loans is because of investors who control them through mortgage-backed securities. The Fed found no difference in the rate of aid between investor-controlled loans and those that lenders own directly.

[ . . . ]

The number of foreclosure proceedings increased to 844,389 during the first quarter of 2009, up 73 percent from the first quarter of 2008, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

“You have more money going to the banks and the servicers than you do to the homeowners,’’ he said. “It would make more sense to just give money to the borrowers.’’

Jenifer McKim can be reached at jmckim@globe.com.

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/07/07/lenders_avoid_redoing_loans_fed_concludes/

***

Durable goods orders drop 2.5 percent in June
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP
2 hours ago

WASHINGTON — Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket durable goods plunged in June by the largest amount in five months, reflecting the continuing troubles in the auto industry and a steep drop in demand for commercial aircraft.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that orders for durable goods fell 2.5 percent last month, much larger than the 0.6 percent decline that economists had expected. It was the biggest setback since a 7.8 percent fall in January.

[etc.]

http://www.comcast.net/articles/finance/20090728/US.Economy/

***

This is life in America –

Mass. woman killed, fetus removed from womb
2 hours ago

WORCESTER, Mass. — A pregnant woman was found dead in her apartment with her fetus cut from her womb, and police on Wednesday were trying to find the missing baby, which they said could have survived.

Authorities said 23-year-old Darlene Haynes was about eight months pregnant and the child would have needed immediate medical attention to survive.

Officials say Haynes also has a 1-year-old daughter who is safe with relatives.

Police said Tuesday that they had interviewed the father of Haynes daughter, Roberto Rodriguez.

Haynes had a restraining order against Rodriguez, who allegedly pushed her into a glass table in June and cut her arm, then grabbed her by the throat and slapped her, the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester reported, citing court records.

Court records also showed Rodriguez was charged with hitting Haynes in 2008 in a case that was continued without a finding.

[ . . . ]

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20090729/US.Cut.From.Womb/

My Note –

That is the life experiences of America which awaits our daughters, our women, our children, our day-to-day living with what really happens in the United States for women every single day, every moment of every year . . .

And, from one of the UPI articles above, a hidden set of information about the oil speculators (it shouldn’t have been buried in another article, if they wanted anybody to read about it – )

Regulators also took a first swipe at curbing speculation in the oil market Tuesday with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission holding the first of three hearings to explore moves to limit large bets that could manipulate prices.

Oil prices rose sharply in the summer of 2008, provoking concern that speculators were making fast gains at the public’s expense. Following a humbling fall in prices last fall, prices moved forward again this year, gaining about 50 percent since January.

In August, the CFTC will issue a report documenting the size of oil positions and the number of firms participating, which could shed light on the speculative nature of oil investments, the Post reported.

Asian markets were mixed Wednesday. The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.26 percent, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 2.37 percent. The Singapore Straits Times index dropped 0.76 percent. The S&P/ASX in Australia dropped 0.64 percent.

In midday trading in Europe, the FTSE 100 index rose 0.81 percent. The DAX 30 in Frankfurt rose 1.79 percent. In France, the CAC 40 gained 1.43 percent, while the broader DJStoxx600 rose 0.76 percent.

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2009/07/29/Economic-Outlook-Knocking-on-closed-doors/UPI-82771248869922/

***
Lenders avoid redoing loans, Fed concludes
Study cites lack of profit in aiding the distressed

By Jenifer B. McKim
Globe Staff / July 7, 2009

Mortgage lenders don’t try to rework most home loans held by borrowers facing foreclosure because it would probably mean losing money, a study released yesterday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston concludes.

[etc.]

Officials from Hope Now, the private-sector alliance of mortgage servicers and investors, were unavailable for comment yesterday.

The Fed’s study found that only 3 percent of seriously delinquent borrowers – those more than 60 days behind – had their loans modified to lower monthly payments; about 5.5 percent received loan modifications that did not result in lower payments.

[ . .  .]

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/07/07/lenders_avoid_redoing_loans_fed_concludes/

***

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Legislators and Analysts – What Recession?

16 Thursday Jul 2009

Posted by CricketDiane in Cricket Diane C Sparky Phillips, cricketdiane, Economics, Economy, Information Systems, International Concerns, macro-economics, Macro-economics future forecasting, United States of America, US At Home - Domestic Policy, US Government

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Congressional Salaries, credit default swaps, cricketdiane, Money, recession, stock market, US and Global economic crisis, US dollar currency value, US Government, where to find expense finance travel expenses sponsors for US Legislators

BANKS AFFECTED BY THE GLOBAL CRISIS – 2008

Giants of the business world, such as Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, have crumbled or been bought out.

Bank Date Status Website
Fannie Mae 07 Sep Nationalised Fannie Mae
Freddie Mac 07 Sep Nationalised Freddie Mac
Lehman Bros 15 Sep Collapsed Lehman Bros
Merrill Lynch 15 Sep Taken over Merrill Lynch
AIG 16 Sep Part-nationalised AIG
HBOS 17 Sep Taken over HBOS
WaMu 25 Sep Collapsed and sold WaMu
Fortis 28 Sep Nationalised Fortis
Bradford & Bingley 29 Sep Nationalised Bradford & Bingley
Wachovia 29 Sep Taken over Wachovia
Glitnir 29 Sep Nationalised Glitnir
Hypo Real Estate 06 Oct Rescue package Hypo Real Estate
RBS 13 Oct Part-nationalised RBS
Lloyds TSB 13 Oct Part-nationalised Lloyds TSB

http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/ukfs_news/hi/newsid_7640000/newsid_7644200/7644238.stm

Page last updated at 08:39 GMT, Monday, 3 November 2008

BBC

Finance crisis: In graphics

***

London shares slip early on; BoE rate caution, miners weigh; …

Forbes – May 10, 2007
The Dow Jones industrials rose to another record close. The Dow Jones closed up 53.8 points at 13362.9, while the Nasdaq Composite took on 4.59 at 2576.34 and the S&P 500 index added 4.9 at 1,512.6.

Meanwhile, in Asia this morning, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index closed down 11.16 points at 17,736.961, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was 72.51 points lower at 20,772.27 by midday.

***

February 5 2008: 11:35 AM EST

Selloff accelerates on recession fears
Investors are spooked by a report that feeds into worries that the economic downturn may be intensifying.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The stock selloff quickened Tuesday morning, after a surprisingly weak service sector reading exacerbated bets that the economy is in a recession.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 1.9% nearly 2 hours into the session, the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 (SPX) index lost 2% and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) fell 1.7%.

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers trounced winners three to one on volume of 480 million shares. On the Nasdaq, losers beat winners two to one on volume of 770 million shares.

Stocks retreated Monday as well, following last week’s big rally, as investors continued to worry that the credit and housing market crises will send the economy into recession, if it isn’t there already. Tuesday’s news added to such worries.

Economic doom and gloom. The ISM services index, a survey of services sector executives, showed business activity falling in January for the first time in five years. The report was released nearly an hour ahead of schedule, unnerving investors at the start of trade. The report countered last week’s reading on the manufacturing sector, which showed expansion. (Full Story).

“This is the most unequivocal sign we’ve had that the economy is weakening,” said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at RBS Greenwich Capital. “We’ve had data pointing in that direction, but they’ve been all over the map and it always seemed like there was a silver lining in the weak reports.”

[etc.]

http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/05/markets/markets_morning/?postversion=2008020511

***

Compensation

    • Congressional Quarterly’s Guide to Congress, 5th edition (Doc. Cen. JK 1021 .C75 2000)
      • Carries a history of Congressional salaries in vol. 2, p. 776
      • 2000 salary was $141,300 for both Senators and Representatives
    • Legistorm
      • Database of trips made by Members of Congress with price, destination, and who paid for it
      • Salaries for Senators and Representatives in 2008 were $169,300
    • Power Trips (American Radioworks)
      • Travel expenses, 2000-2005, by individual Congressmen and Senators
      • Travel money spent by the political parties
      • Most expensive trips and groups contributing the most to Congressional travel
    • Senate Ledger, 1790-1881
      • Digitized record of compensation and mileage reimbursements paid to Senators

Congressional Districts

District Maps

    • Congressional District Maps: 111th Congress (Chris Chubb)
      • Choose name of state; then either pan or choose city or district number to view
      • Map displays county and city names in a district as well as the representative
      • Coloring is by political party of current office holder

http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/fedlegis.html#compensation

***

  • Congressional Staff Employment Surveys (Congressional Management Organization)
    • Typical salaries of Congressional staff members by position, average age, and years of experience
    • Taken biennially for the House and Senate
    • Only the Senate Study, 1991-2001 is still free on the web
  • Legistorm
    • Salaries of Congressional staff members, including interns
    • Searchable by name, Member of Congress, and committee

Legislative Histories

    • Detailed guide to tracing legislation
    • Includes committee, member, and political information

Policy Agendas Project (University of Washington)

    • Determine the amount of attention government gave to 19 major topics, 220 subtopics, or a section of the budget, 1946-2002
    • Filters allow you to choose topics and the type of material (budget, Congressional hearings, Presidential executive orders, laws, New York Times articles, CQ Almanac articles, and the Gallup Most Important Problem Index
    • Results yield data and graphs
    • Additional dataset tools available

***

http://www.legistorm.com/trip.html

The congressional trips in our database were funded by private organizations. By searching our data you can learn details of each trip taken by a member of Congress or their staff, and who paid for the travel. Read more about Congressional Travel.

Senate expected to post expense records online

Posted by LegiStorm on Monday, July 06, 2009

The Senate is expected to follow the House of Representative’s lead and post all member expenses online, the Associated Press reports.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) proposed the measure, which was approved and added to an appropriations bill allocating funds for the congressional budget. A final compromise version of the appropriations bill will need to be approved by the House and Senate before the measure will go into effect.

This follows last month’s announcement by the House that it would post the House’s Statement of Disbursements “at the earliest date.” Originally, that was expected to be the end of August. But The Hill reported last week that the House was going to delay the release until October to plan for the expected increase in online traffic.

The Associated Press quoted LegiStorm founder Jock Friedly to show the possible positive effect of adding transparency to the legislative expenses.

“There’s no question about it that any time you make records more accessible it’s much harder to get away with abuses,” said Friedly. “A little bit of embarrassment will go a long way to fixing some of the problems.”

Previously, the expense reports have only been released as printed volumes, running to thousands of pages covered in small type each quarter. The volumes are now made available to the public in basement offices House and Senate office buildings.

Until now, LegiStorm’s database of congressional salaries was the only online source for any of this data. But the salaries in our database represent only a fraction of the total disbursements made by Congress. The full disbursements also include everything from taxi cab fares to television purchases and rent payments. Members of Congress are required to spend taxpayer funds only on official business and not to pay for personal expenses.

LegiStorm hopes to add the full expense records to our database once the House and Senate post the information online.

posted in disbursements, House, Member’s Representational Allowance, Senate, The Hill, Associated Press
http://www.legistorm.com/blog/senate-expected-to-post-expense-records-online.html
***

Congressional Travel by Approver

http://www.legistorm.com/trip_browse_by_approver/index/sort/number/type/desc.html

Most Traveled Members of Congress and who paid for it – chart across several pages

*click on name of legislator to see specific info on trips and sponsors for it – & top traveling staffer, as well.

***

  • Congressional Trip Statistics by Year
  • Most-Traveled Members
  • Most-Traveled Staffers
  • Most-Active Sponsors
  • Most-Expensive Trips
  • Most-Popular Countries
  • 2008 Presidential Candidates
  • Trip Cost Over Time
  • Scandal Sheet
  • Trips Coinciding with Events

Info

  • About Congressional Travel
  • Trips FAQs

http://www.legistorm.com/trip.html

***

RL30240
Congressional Oversight Manual
May 01, 2007

Download Locations:

Federation of American Scientists
WikiLeaks

Summary:

The Congressional Oversight Manual was developed about 30 years ago following a three-day December 1978 Workshop on Congressional Oversight and Investigations. The workshop was organized by a group of House and Senate committee aides from both parties and the Congressional Research Service (CRS) at the request of the bipartisan House leadership. The Manual was produced by CRS with the assistance of a number of House committee staffers. In subsequent years, CRS sponsored and conducted various oversight seminars for House and Senate staff and updated the Manual as circumstances warranted. The last revision occurred in 2004. Worth noting is the bipartisan recommendation of the House members of the 1993 Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress (Rept. No. 103-413, Vol. I):

XML

Available Versions:

May 01, 2007
January 03, 2007
October 21, 2004

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http://opencrs.com/document/RL30240

***

American taxpayers spend over $100 million a year to fund the Congressional Research Service, a “think tank” that provides reports to members of Congress on a variety of topics relevant to current political events. Yet, these reports are not made available to the public in a way that they can be easily obtained. A project of the Center for Democracy & Technology through the cooperation of several organizations and collectors of CRS Reports, Open CRS provides citizens access to CRS Reports already in the public domain and encourages Congress to provide public access to all CRS Reports. (More)

Featured Report Collections

National Council for Science and the Environment (1661)
Federation of American Scientists (1444)
Thurgood Marshall Law Library/University of Maryland School of Law (598)
National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (135)
Center for Democracy & Technology (42)

[from-]

http://opencrs.com/

***

Featured Collections

Listed below are some of the largest collections of CRS reports available on the web. Inclusion on this list does not imply that the organization responsible for the collection is joining CDT in calling for Congress to make all reports directly available to the public.

National Council for Science and the Environmen/National Library for the EnvironmentThe National Library for the Environment currently posts over 1000 CRS Reports on environmental and related topics. NCSE is committed to expanding, maintaining and updating its database of reports, making them available and searchable for the public.

NCSE Collection
NCSE Web Site
Recent NCSE Reports [RSS]
Recently Added NCSE Reports [RSS]

Thurgood Marshall Law Library/University of Maryland School of LawThe CRS Reports collection of the Thurgood Marshall Law Library of the University of Maryland School of Law has been developed with an emphasis on the areas of Health Law and Policy and Terrorism and Homeland Security.

TMLL Collection
TMLL Web Site
Recent TMLL Reports [RSS]
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Web Site

Federation of American ScientistsThe Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy works to promote public access to government information. The FAS CRS collection focuses on national security, intelligence, foreign policy and homeland security.

FAS Collection
Web Site
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Recently Added FAS Reports [RSS]

IP Mall at Franklin Pierce Law CenterThe collection reports from the IP Mall at Franklin Pierce Law Center is focused on topics concerning intellectual property, telecommunications and technology.

IP Mall Collection
IP Mall Web Site
Recent IP Mall Reports [RSS]
Recently Added IP Mall Reports [RSS]

National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of TerrorismThe National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT) is a federally funded, non-profit, non-partisan organization located in Oklahoma City. MIPT is the third component of the Oklahoma City National Memorial and is dedicated to preventing terrorism or mitigating its effects. MIPT focuses on first responders and strives to be a one-stop shop for information by providing a broad spectrum of resources on terrorism and homeland security, including Congressional Research Service reports.

MIPT Collection
MIPT Web Site
Recent MIPT Reports [RSS]
Recently Added MIPT Reports [RSS]

Center for Democracy & TechnologyThe Center for Democracy & Technology is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest organization dedicated to developing and implementing public policies to protect and advance civil liberties and democratic values on the Internet. Among the issues found in reports housed by CDT are speech, privacy, copyright, and open government.

CDT Collection
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http://opencrs.com/collections/

***


Agriculture
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Transportation
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New & Updated

The NLE currently posts 2137 CRS Reports on environmental and related topics.

New & Updated
Reports

The Congressional Research Service (CRS), part of the Library of Congress, prepares its reports for the U.S. Congress. CRS products undergo review for accuracy and objectivity and contain nontechnical information that can be very useful to people interested in environmental policy. CRS does not itself provide these documents to the general public. Although CRS documents are prepared specifically for Congress and not widely distributed, their distribution is not protected by law or copyright. NCSE is committed to expanding, maintaining and updating its database of reports, making them available and searchable for the public. To browse report titles and abstracts for a specific topic, choose one from from the list to the left. Alternatively, search with a keyword using the quick search above the topic list or try a more selective search with the following advancd search form.

[from-]

http://ncseonline.org/NLE/CRS/

***

The Plum Book (United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions): Main Page

Cover of the 2008 edition of the Plum Book.Every four years, just after the Presidential election, the United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions, commonly known as the Plum Book, is published, alternately, by the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Government Reform. The Plum Book is used to identify presidentially appointed positions within the Federal Government. More.

Browse the Plum Book

  • November 2008 Plum Book

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/plumbook/

***

The Plum Book (United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions): 2008 Edition

The United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions (Plum Book) (1.26 MB, 210 pages) has been made available in its entirety, as a single PDF file. GPO has refined the 2008 Plum Book by adding bookmarks to it and optimizing it for the web. In addition, the entire report is also available in TEXT format (1.91 MB).

The report is also available as a collection of smaller PDFs arranged in the browse table below based on the Plum Book’s table of contents. You can download entire chapters (such as the Legislative Branch or Executive Branch Departments), or just information on individual commissions, councils,corporations, departments, offices, etc… The majority of the PDF files in the browse table are between 30 KB and 90 KB; the PDFs of the whole chapters range from 40 KB to 900 KB.

You can purchase an official print copy of the 2008 Plum Book through the U.S. Government Online Bookstore.

United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions (2008 Edition)
Committee on Governmental Reform, U.S. House of Representatives
110th Congress, 2d Session
Legislative Branch | Executive Branch | Departments
Independent Agencies and Government Corporations | Appendices
Document Title File Format
COVER PDF
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS PDF
FOREWORD PDF
LEGEND PDF
CONTENTS PDF
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH PDF
Architect of the Capitol PDF
Government Accountability Office PDF
Government Printing Office PDF
Library of Congress PDF
United States Tax Court PDF
EXECUTIVE BRANCH – EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT PDF
White House Office PDF
Office of Policy Development PDF
Office of Administration PDF
Office of Management and Budget PDF
Council of Economic Advisors PDF
Council on Environmental Quality PDF
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative PDF
Office of Science and Technology Policy PDF
Office of National Drug Control Policy PDF
National Security Council PDF
EXECUTIVE BRANCH – DEPARTMENTS PDF
Department of Agriculture PDF
Department of Commerce PDF
Department of Defense PDF
Office of the Secretary
PDF
Air Force
PDF
Army
PDF
Navy
PDF
Department of Education PDF
Department of Energy PDF
Department of Health and Human Services PDF
Department of Homeland Security PDF
Department of Housing and Urban Development PDF
Department of the Interior PDF
Department of Justice PDF
Department of Labor PDF
Department of State PDF
Department of Transportation PDF
Department of Treasury PDF
Department of Veterans Affairs PDF
INDEPENDENT AGENCIES AND GOVERNMENT CORPORATIONS PDF
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation PDF
American Battle Monuments Commission PDF
Appalachian Regional Commission PDF
Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (United States Access Board) PDF
Arctic Research Commission PDF
Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation PDF
Broadcasting Board of Governors PDF
Central Intelligence Agency PDF
Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board PDF
Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation PDF
Commission on Civil Rights PDF
Commission of Fine Arts PDF
Committee for Purchase from People Who are Blind or Severely Disabled PDF
Commodity Futures Trading Commission PDF
Consumer Product Safety Commission PDF
Corporation for National and Community Service PDF
Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia PDF
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board PDF
Delta Regional Authority PDF
Environmental Protection Agency PDF
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission PDF
Export-Import Bank of the United States PDF
Farm Credit Administration PDF
Federal Communications Commission PDF
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation PDF
Federal Election Commission PDF
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission PDF
Federal Housing Finance Board PDF
Federal Labor Relations Authorities PDF
Federal Maritime Commission PDF
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service PDF
Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission PDF
Federal Reserve System PDF
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board PDF
Federal Trade Commission PDF
General Services Administration PDF
Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation PDF
Interagency Council on the Homeless PDF
Inter-American Foundation PDF
International Boundary and Water Commission PDF
Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin PDF
James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation PDF
Japan-United States Friendship Commission PDF
Marine Mammal Commission PDF
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission PDF
Merit Systems Protection Board PDF
Millennium Challenge Corporation PDF
National Aeronautics and Space Administration PDF
National Archives and Records Administration PDF
National Capital Planning Commission PDF
National Council on Disability PDF
National Credit Union Administration PDF
National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities PDF
National Labor Relations Board PDF
National Mediation Board PDF
National Science Foundation PDF
National Transportation Safety Board PDF
Nuclear Regulatory Commission PDF
Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board PDF
Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission PDF
Office of Government Ethics PDF
Office of the Federal Coordinator Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects PDF
Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation PDF
Office of Personnel Management PDF
Office of Special Counsel PDF
Overseas Private Investment Corporation PDF
Peace Corps PDF
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation PDF
Postal Regulatory Commission PDF
President’s Commission on White House Fellowships PDF
Presidio Trust PDF
Railroad Retirement Board PDF
Securities and Exchange Commission PDF
Selective Service System PDF
Small Business Administration PDF
Smithsonian Institution PDF
Social Security Administration PDF
Tennessee Valley Authority PDF
Trade and Development Agency PDF
United States Agency for International Development PDF
United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission PDF
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom PDF
United States Election Assistance Commission PDF
United States Holocaust Memorial Council PDF
United States Institute of Peace PDF
United States International Trade Commission PDF
United States Postal Service PDF
Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission PDF
Vietnam Education Foundation PDF
APPENDICES PDF
1.  Summary of Positions Subject to Noncompetitive Appointment PDF
2.  Senior Executive Service PDF
3.  Schedule C Positions PDF
4.  Federal Salary Schedules for 2008 PDF
5. Office of the Vice President PDF
ONLINE ADDENDUM – February 13, 2009
U.S. Commission of Fine Arts
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
PDF

A service of the U.S. Government Printing Office.

Last updated: April 1, 2009
Page Name: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/plumbook/2008/index.html

[from – ]

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/plumbook/2008/index.html

***

APPENDIX NO. 4
FEDERAL SALARY SCHEDULES FOR 2008
The information in the body of this report reflects grades or salaries in effect on the first pay
period on or after January 1, 2008.
EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE (EX)
Level I ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. $191,300
Level II …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 172,200
Level III …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 158,500
Level IV ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 149,000
Level V …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 139,600
SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE SCHEDULE (ES)
Pay ranges for the Senior Executive Service (SES) are established by law. The minimum is 120
percent of the rate of basic pay for GS–15, step 1. For agencies without a certified SES performance
appraisal system, SES members’ pay may not exceed the rate payable for level III of the Executive
Schedule. For agencies with a certified SES performance appraisal system, SES members’ pay may
not exceed the rate payable for level II of the Executive Schedule. SES members are not entitled
to locality-based comparability payments.
Structure of the SES Pay System Minimum Maximum
Agencies with a Certified SES Performance Appraisal System ……………………………………………………………. $114,468 $172,200
Agencies without a Certified SES Performance Appraisal System ……………………………………………………….. 114,468 158,500

[Etc.]

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/plumbook/2008/p203-209_appendix4.pdf

***

My Note –

Between what the states are paying legislators and their staff members, their teams of lawyers to write laws and to cover their asses in various departments, along with the salaries of the staffs and agency heads, legislators and executive branch leadership, it is no wonder that there are economic problems. And it is no wonder that they don’t know there is a problem with the rest of America’s economy. They don’t have a problem . . .

They’re all making money without showing up the entire year, among other things from cab rides to trips around the world, per diems and every other little thing they might need.

– cricketdiane, 07-16-09

****



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