Mover Mike

MAP 6.3 2006/12/01 03:58:23 3.490 99.092 215.5 NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA

The record is 38 5.9s or greater since 1900!

Earthquake Indonesia Mover Mike

Update:

What's it like to be in a big earthquake? Take a look at this footage of the 6.7 Hawaiian earthquake of October 15th, 2006:

It's amazing how life just goes on afterward.

Hawaii Earthquake Mover Mike

MAP 6.3 2006/11/30 21:20:13 -53.948 -133.548 10.0 PACIFIC-ANTARCTIC RIDGE

Earthquakes Mover Mike

There was good news in the municipality of Naval

...the rice farmers are already safe because the harvest season for palay has just been over and almost all farmers are over and done with harvesting their rice produce for this planting season.

Corn since 9/15/06 has advanced from $2.225 to $3.747. While it is due for a rest after that run, I don't see any signs of a near term top. Today there is a new high of $3.78 (see chart).

See Mover Mike: Grain stockpiles at lowest for 25 years

Drought Wheat Corn Mover Mike

Gold has broken out above $600, it currently is $645. Next it looks like we challenge the last high of $666.

A one ounce gold coin is now $666 up from $620 in that post and the ETF, GLD, is $63.5. On top of that the USD hit a 15 year low and most expect it to trade at its all time low of 80.5.

Gold USD Mover Mike

That's bearing down on Luzon, Typhoon Durian. Winds are currently 143 mph and is expected to be a Category 5 at landfall.

Typhoon Durian Phillipines Mover Mike

Update:

MAP 6.1 2006/11/29 01:32:22 2.524 128.280 70.4 HALMAHERA, INDONESIA

There were no reports of seismically triggered waves, casualties or damage one hour after the quake struck, said Andi Zulfikar of the local meteorological and geophysics agency.

Indonesia Earthquake Mover Mike

Typhoon Durian formed off the Filipino coast early Sunday at 9.20N-144.40E moving northwesterly at 20kmph, expected to enter the East Sea within the next few days.

[...]

The storm is expected to be packing winds of 250kmph as it hits the Philippines, fanning fears of another super typhoon in the East Sea.

Update:

Update:

This week the U.S. dollar was carved up like a Thanksgiving turkey. Against the Swiss franc, Euro, British pound, and Japanese yen, the dollar lost 3%, 2.2%, 2% and 1.8% of its value respectively. To put those declines into perspective, in terms of the Euro the Dow Jones’s 60 point plus decline this week translates into the equivalent of a 320 point decline when measured in euros.

Oregon Earthquake Mover Mike

Marketwatch is reporting

U.S. stocks opened sharply lower Friday, as investors returned from the Thanksgiving holiday to a steep dollar decline that pushed the euro to its highest level in a year and a half and the British pound to an almost two-year high.

USD Dollar Gold Mover Mike

Syria and Russia discuss cooperation

Iran eyes its summit with Iraq, Syria, Conference seen as bid for larger role in the region

Hugh Hewitt interviewed Victor Davis Hanson and there was this exchange:

HH: Is this an Archduke Ferdinand moment with the assassination of Gemayel?

VDH: I think it may be. I really do. I think that Syria realizes that as soon as they saw that the United States was going to cease pressure on them, it was time to go in and start killing non-Shia politicians, reporters especially. They've killed journalists, they've killed T.V...it's not just this Gemayel. It's not just a Christian politician. They've been doing this for two years, killing, systematically, any critics. And they sense that they get a green light from us when we pull back. And I think it should be a wake up call for the United States, that when you go to war in Afghanistan and Iraq, you don't go to war in a half measure. You either go to war or you don't go to war. And we're in a war in Iraq, and we're in war with, as the President said, Islamic-facism, and autocracy and dictatorship, and there's no better examples than Iran and Syria.

Update:

Now Reuters quotes scientists led by Richard Iverson of the U.S. Geological Survey as saying

these quakes appear to result from the movement of a huge plug of igneous rock known as dacite being shoved out of the volcano.

[...]

"There's really nothing that we've seen over the past two years that would indicate that a major explosive eruption is on the way," Iverson said in an interview.

[...]

(unless we saw) dramatic increases in the amount of gas that was coming out of the volcano or dramatic increases in deformation, then we would revise our forecasts," he said.

Update:

When Sergio first reached tropical storm status on November 13, it broke a record set in 1961, the last time more than one tropical storm formed in the Eastern Pacific in November, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Sergio Tropical +Storm Hurricane Mover Mike

A Spanish scientist, Alvaro Corral, a researcher at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, used statistical physics to analyze data on the distance between consecutive earthquakes. He said his conclusions could lead to support for the idea of long-range earthquake triggering.

Corral also observed earthquakes in a certain region, such as California, could be extrapolated to the whole planet. In other words, the spatiotemporal occurrence of earthquakes in California is a scale model of what happens across Earth.

...small earthquakes, which are much more frequent, are the best model to use for the occurrence of larger earthquakes.

Earthquakes Spanish scientist Alvaro Corral Mover Mike

* The Delinquents (1957) (Altman's big-screen directorial debut)
* The James Dean Story (1957) (documentary) (co-dir: George W. George)
* The Katherine Reed Story (1965) (short documentary)
* Pot au feu (1965) (short)
* Countdown (1968)
* That Cold Day in the Park (1969)
* MASH (1970)
* Brewster McCloud (1970)
* McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
* Images (1972)
* The Long Goodbye (1973)
* Thieves Like Us (1974)
* California Split (1974)
* Nashville (1975) Over the course of a few hectic days, numerous interrelated individuals prepare for a political convention as secrets and lies are surfaced and revealed.

* Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976)
* 3 Women (aka Robert Altman's 3 Women) (1977)
* A Wedding (1978)
* Quintet (1979)
* A Perfect Couple (1979)
* HealtH (1980)
* Popeye (1980)
* Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)
* Streamers (1983)
* Secret Honor (1984)
* O.C. & Stiggs (1984) (released in 1987)
* Fool for Love (1985)
* Beyond Therapy (1987)
* Aria (1987) - segment: Les Boréades
* Vincent & Theo (1990)
* The Player (1992) A studio executive is being blackmailed by a writer whose script he rejected but which one?

* Short Cuts (1993) The everyday lives of a number of Los Angeles residents are the subject of this loosely-knitted collection of short stories

* Prêt-à-Porter aka Ready to Wear (1994) A fashion show in Paris draws the usual bunch of people; designers, reporters, models, magazine editors..

* Kansas City (1996) Robert Altman's jazz-scored film explores themes of love, crime, race, and politics in 1930's Kansas City.

* The Gingerbread Man (1998)
* Cookie's Fortune (1999)
* Dr. T & the Women (2000)
* Gosford Park (2001) Multiple storylined drama set in 1932, showing the lives of upstairs guest and downstairs servants at a party in a country house in England.

* The Company (2003) Ensemble drama centered around a group of ballet dancers, with a focus on one young dancer (Campbell) who's poised to become a principal performer.

* A Prairie Home Companion (2006)

Update:

Last week, two Muslim leaders in Boston were arrested for immigration fraud - illegally filing fraudulent visa documents and obtaining religious workers' visas. The arrests were the culmination of a multi-year investigation in Boston and New York:

The ICE agents arrested Hannan Wednesday along with 32 other people in eight states and the District of Columbia in connection with an alleged nationwide scheme to help many foreigners, mostly from Pakistan, immigrate and remain in the U.S. by filing false applications for religious workers' visas. Most of those taken into custody did not have religious training or experience to qualify for the visas, and held secular jobs here in the U.S., such as working at gas stations and factories or driving trucks, according to the ICE. Others were religious workers but had used fraudulent identity documents to get their visas, the agency said.

The agency claims the petitioners of the visas took substantial cash fees from the foreigners for the false paperwork filed on their behalf.

"All it is is a minor administrative technicality error" in his immigration paperwork, said Vilal Kaleem, associate director of the American Muslim Society's Boston chapter. "It's completely disgraceful in the manner they dealt with it," he said of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

[...]

Kaleem said Hannan was driving his family to an immigration office for an interview for the green-card proceedings on Wednesday when the federal agents arrested him. Hannan's son and daughter were crying following the arrest, Kaleem said.

Meanwhile, the Muslim community in Boston is doing what Muslims do best: seething.

Muslim leaders in the Boston area expressed outrage yesterday over the arrest and jailing of two senior clerics..."It's just so flabbergasting the way they would do this" ..."This seems to be a direct attack at our religion and community"..."it is deeply humiliating when a man of such high religious status in our community is treated as a criminal in front of the world"..."Why do you just arrest some respected members of the community and haul them away?"..."People are attached to the imam. They will be very upset. Everyone loves him."

The Muslim American Society provides contact information to their community so that they can demand a "safe and speedy return" and to demand "fair, speedy, and respectable treatment" of the imams. I'll provide the contact info here for you should you prefer to register thanks that our laws are actually being enforced:

The MAS provides contact information, so folks can insist on "fair, speedy and respectable" treatment of the imams.

Senator Edward Kennedy (617)565 3170 Request to speak to Tom Cohan, (ext. 119)

Senator John Kerry (617) 565-8519 Request to speak to Carmen Velazquez

At a time when Muslim immigration to America is at an all-time high, even more are sneaking into the country illegally than ever before. In July, Homeland Security discovered that more than one-third of religious workers visas were obtained using fraudulent means, and the fraud was particularly rampant among Muslims.

The probe found a particularly high fraud rate among applicants from countries the government deemed to pose a security risk, such as Egypt, Algeria, Pakistan, Syria and Iraq, the report found.

[...]

Some immigration watchdogs say that the program should be seriously curtailed because, even in cases where the applications are legitimate, the visas could bring radical clerics into the country.

Last year, for example, the FBI arrested three Pakistani men associated with a mosque in Lodi, California. All had entered on religious-worker visas. Two were accused of ties to a terrorist training camp in Pakistan before coming to the United States, and the third, an imam, allegedly delivered sermons endorsing violence against non-Muslims before he came to America.

This has been a production of the Guard the Borders Blogburst. It was started by Euphoric Reality, and serves to keep immigration issues in the forefront of our minds as we're going about our daily lives and continuing to fight the war on terror. If you are concerned with the trend of illegal immigration facing our country, join our Blogburst! Just send an email with your blog name and url to admin at guardtheborders dot com.

Iran’s Nuclear Program Still A Clandestine Operation Most importantly going forward is the little recognized factor that the once-secret Somali ore transfers would provide Iran untraceable uranium stores in amounts unknown to the IAEA. While the Iranian nuclear program was exposed in 2003, much of its extent and facilities remain outside the scope of observation. The still-clandestine nuclear program remains under direct military control, not within the ‘civilian’ Iranian nuclear agency.

With a store of uranium unknown to the IAEA, Iran could produce enriched uranium that would not need to be accounted for during IAEA inspections. This would give Iran in the future a plausible appearance of producing only what it needed to fuel reactors while creating weapons in parallel. Indeed, yesterday chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani suggested that Iran would welcome renewed IAEA inspections if the Security Council dropped its drive for sanctions and returned the Iranian dossier to the IAEA, a monitoring agency without an enforcement mechanism beyond reference to the Security Council.

What remains clear is the Iranian desire to still work beyond the observation range of the IAEA and outside the scope of the NPT, just as it did for decades prior to the 2003 exposure of its clandestine nuclear program. That clandestine nature continues to this day, with or without IAEA inspections.

Iran Somalia Uraniume IAEA Mover Mike

Addressing a Harvard University audience Saturday, Army Gen. John Abizaid compared the rise of militant ideologies such as the force driving al Qaeda to the rise of fascism in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s and said: “If we don’t have guts enough to confront this ideology today, we’ll go through World War Three tomorrow.

If not stopped, said the general, “extremists would gain an advantage to gain a safe haven, to develop weapons of mass destruction, to develop a national place from which to operate. And I think that the dangers associated with that are just too great to comprehend.”

U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel - Democrat, renews his call for a draft with these words:

If we're going to challenge Iran and challenge North Korea and then, as some people have asked, to send more troops to Iraq, we can't do that without a draft.

[...]

Rangel said his legislation on the draft would also offer the alternative of a couple of years of public service with educational benefits.

If he has his way will you be smiling like Charlie?

U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel Draft Iran North Korea Mover Mike

I got to wondering, are we experiencing more quakes at 5.9 or above than normal? The USGS has a list of significant quakes since 1556. Taking a look at quakes since 1900. I noticed that almost every year had a significant earthquake. There were 5 in 1905, 2 in 1910 (one was a 6.8 in Oregon), 4 in 1934 and 1946, 6 in 1957, 4 in 1970, 1975, 1979 and 1997. Then something changed!

9 earthquakes in 1998, 13 in 1999, 6 in 2000, 8 in 2001, 24 in 2002, 28 in 2003, 38 in 2003, 36 in 2004, 37 in 2005 and through November 17th of 2006, 34! I will have more to say about this subject in future postings!

USGS Earthquakes Geology Mover Mike

Update:

An international team of scientists reported Thursday that rising temperatures are steadily transforming the Arctic -- warming millions of square miles of permafrost, promoting lush greenery on previously arid tundras and steadily shrinking the annual sea ice.

Yet the researchers also found new patterns of cooling ocean currents and prevailing winds that suggested the Arctic, long considered a bellwether of global warming, may be reverting in some ways to more normal conditions not seen since the 1970s.

Arctic Global Warming Mover Mike

After finding everyone we paddled a local run that meets with the Rio Trancura. It was a smooth III - IV with play features all over. The water was unlike any river I have ever paddled. It was so clear that I could see straight to the bottom at all times, every rock crystal clear through the lens of the eddy water. Stones of yellow, white, and dark basalt lined the riverbed, while the banks were adorned with piles of weathered basalt fields that were deposited by the local volcano. The smoking volcano and mountains have been hiding behind the clouds today.

I learned in further reading that he had taken a digital camera photography class and found these Remy's.

and
Click on the pictures to enlarge

I was transfixed by his capture of the light and the similarity to Edward Hopper's Nighthawks:

Oregon Earthquake Mover Mike

I've lost track. Is this the fourth or fifth major storm that started out aiming directly for the most southern point of Baja, putting beautiful Cabo San Lucas in jeopardy, and then swerving?

In October, Hurricane Paul killed three people in northwestern Mexico. In September, Hurricane Lane took three lives along the Pacific coast and Hurricane John killed at least three people in Baja California.

Hurricane Sergio Cabo San Lucas Mover Mike

You Are Homer Simpson

You're just an ordinary, all-American working Joe... With a special fondness for pork rinds and donuts. You will be remembered for: your little "isms" and philosophies on life Your life philosophy: "Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals ... except the weasel."

Hat Tip to Ogre's Politics and Views

The State Hornet says

Hammersley's research indicated that the volcano in Clearlake, which she said last erupted around 10,000 years ago, may be "actively recharging" for a future eruption for several reasons.

The Earth's crust around the volcano is giving off an usual amount of heat, and is emitting gases that are chemically similar to magma, Hammersley said.

"Gases don't stick around very long . . . so there must be magma in the crust," Hammersley said. She also explained that geologists have observed earthquakes below the Earth's surface in Clearlake, and they "have a fluid signature," which points to the existence of magma below the Earth's surface. Geologists can tell the difference between earthquakes where something solid is breaking and where a liquid is moving, she said.

The city of Clearlake, Calif., is home to an active volcano that may erupt violently within the next 10,000 years...

Clearlake Volcano Geology Mover Mike

Hurricane Sergio Cabo San Lucas Hurrican Mover Mike

MAP 6.5 2006/11/15 11:34:58 46.681 155.278 10.0 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS

MAP 6.2 2006/11/15 11:29:23 46.409 154.486 10.0 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS

MAP 6.0 2006/11/15 11:28:43 46.161 154.073 40.9 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS

MAP 8.3 2006/11/15 11:14:16 46.616 153.224 28.5 KURIL ISLANDS

Earthquake Kuril Islands Mover Mike

Update:

The Kuril Islands stretch from the island of Hokkaido, Japan to the Kamchatka penninsula of Russa and separate the Sea of Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean. There are 56 islands spanning the 1300km/700mile chain.

Update:

Last Tuesday, the Democrats won the majority in both the House and the Senate. Within a day, President Bush was gloating on national TV about how he could now finally pass his Amnesty bill with a Democrat-controlled Congress. This galling statement by the President was reinforced by the White House spokesman:

White House spokesman Tony Snow reacted to the change in House control by allowing they’re disappointed, but that it presents some intriguing opportunities, such as passing comprehensive immigration reform which failed in the previous Republican House.

If George W. Bush has been consistent about anything it is his determination to keep the United States open to the mass migration of Mexicans and other Latin Americans

[...]

George W. Bush is a true believer in amnesty for illegal aliens, at least for Mexicans, and perhaps in some sort of EU-style shotgun marriage of Canada, the United States and Mexico as well.

[...]

That he is sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States, not the welfare of Mexicans, does not faze him. The amnesty/guest worker program is President Bush’s lodestar, the legacy he sincerely wants to leave America. In the teeth of all the evidence, he believes that we would be better for it and it’s just the right thing to do. It is more important to him than Iraq, so important that he jettisoned the GOP’s best chance to hold on to the Congress rather than back away from it.

Here are a few viewpoints I've seen expressed about the powerful new Latino voting bloc:

Any stereotypes of how second, third, and fourth generation Hispanic-Americans have voted in the past need to be discarded. The Latino trends in America prior to amnesty will not apply. There are currently 20-30 million illegal aliens inside our borders that Bush and the Democrats would like to give citizenship to. Among that number, there are exceptions to what I'm about to say, but I won't be discussing those exceptions today. I will be discussing the largest majority of illegals, most if which come from Mexico, Central, and South America - and my experience living in Mexico and observing the Mexican election system.

The vast majority of illegals are, to a very large extent, semi-literate, poorly educated, and unskilled laborers. They come to America to take what they can get, and most really have very little interest in American citizenship, and the duties and responsibilities thereof. Thus, they will not be dashing to the polls in the first election after their amnesty, either to vote Democrat out of gratefulness for their brand-new citizenship (which they don't care much for), or to vote Republican because they have an urgent religious objection to same-sex marriages. They will, in fact, not be too interested in voting at all - unless they can get something out of it. Even then, they will have to be shepherded to the polls by their Latino leaders; at best, lured by promises of freebies, or at worst, covertly paid for their vote.

I lived in Mexico in 2000, the year that Vicente Fox was first elected. The week of the election, the little town that I lived in was a-swarm with poll workers and party volunteers. I'll let you in on the dirty little secret about elections in Mexico: they are bought and paid for at the local level by party workers. Twenty pesos and a cerveza could buy a vote from the day laborers. Those with a little more education were lured by the promise of government programs and hand-outs. Those with the most education believe in Mexican reconquista and will vote for anyone who can stick it to the U.S.

Fox was largely voted for because he actually campaigned on the issue of his access and influence with George W. Bush. There was a lot of talk about how much cooperation and concessions Mexico would be able to squeeze from the U.S., and how much it would benefit Mexico. BINGO - jackpot for Vicente Fox!

Why was the status of Mexican influence over American affairs of such paramount importance to the voters of Mexico? Because a full 20% of Mexico's population is already residing inside America. It is crucial that the billions of dollars of free money flowing into Mexico be safe-guarded, and the promise of more realized.

Once elected, Vicente Fox’s election promises to his people were published in a five year plan called the Plan Nacional de Desarrollo 2001-2006. I need to make something very clear here: this plan is NOT for implementation in Mexico, it is Mexico’s plan for AMERICA. The Mexican government has been implementing this plan for the past five years. They've met many of their goals for forcing concessions from the U.S., and for manipulating and controlling how the issue of illegal immigration is defined and presented to the American people.

Here’s a sampling:

The issue of migration, especially in the United States, needs a new focus over the long term to permit the movement and residence of Mexican nationals to be safe, comfortable, legal and orderly, and the attitude of police persecution of this phenomenon must be abandoned and it must be perceived as a labor and social phenomenon. This requires a complete negotiation that strikes at the structural roots of [migration], its manifestations and consequences, and that considers migration a shared responsibility. (Section 4.8., page 61)

There’s more:

Make Mexican sovereign decisions with respect to migratory flow and movement count, and offer and demand decent treatment for our countrymen who travel or reside abroad.

Encourage a long-term international migration policy …, with other nations and international organizations, that defends the rights of Mexicans abroad and strengthens their sense of belonging [to Mexico]. Play an active role in ensuring the labor rights of our countrymen [abroad], in the context of international competition.

Devise and implement government programs to recognize and value the contributions that migrants make, as much in the societies that receive them as in their societies of origin, insisting on full respect for their rights during their transit to and from Mexico. At the same time, raise the quality and efficiency of migration services. (Section 7.3.1(g), page 132)

Furthermore, Mexico has implemented a plan to create programs - not in Mexico - but in America, that recognize and honor migrants. It also speaks of raising the quality and efficiency of migration services. Thus, we now have train loads of illegals trucked to the border gratis, and the Mexican government has published and distributed pamphlets on how to break into America and remain undetected.

Listen, Mexico’s plan has already been successfully implemented for five years now while we Americans wallowed. But don’t take my word for it. Juan Hernandez is a Mexican official in Fox’s cabinet. He is supremely confident, even cocky, in recent U.S. op-eds and television appearances. On June 7th, in USA Today, he said what is all too obvious to anyone who will pay attention:

“Mexico knows where it wants to go even more clearly than the United States knows where it wants to go.”

“We are betting that the Mexican-American population in the United States … will think Mexico first.”

So please, party pundits, don’t hold out hope that you will woo scads of new voters with your traditional party platforms. You'll have to get busy devising ways to buy the Newly Amnestied Immigrant vote. You Republicans won't recruit millions of Latino voters with family values and tax cuts (they don't pay taxes anyway!). And you Democrats can't just pose as the Enlightened Party of Brown People - you'll have to deliver billions in pork to this very specific demographic in order to buy their vote. We'll see how well that goes over with Real Americans.

Remember, those newly amnestied Mexican voters will NOT loyal to the U.S., and they won’t care what is best for the U.S. economically, politically, or socially. Nor will they be vested in the communities that are supporting them. They won't have any interest in performing the duties and responsibilities of citizenship out of patriotic pride, because their dual-citizenship will ensure that they remain loyal to Mexico.

Last thought: the influx of tens of millions of new "citizens" will be unprecedented in our history and has the potential for breaking our system of government beyond repair. So any politician that naively thinks he will reap a windfall of uneducated voters needs to rethink his strategy. Because unless he's working for Mexico, he'll have little to offer. A canny Azltan politician, on the other hand, acting in the best interests of Mexico, will have a willing base of millions of drone voters. How long do you think the Reconquista will take, considering the projected population explosion due to unchecked illegal and legal immigration? So Mr. Senator and Congressman, you'd better be careful what you ask for. ¿Hay alguien aqui que hable inglés?

MAP 6.0 2006/11/13 16:12:32 -6.415 151.186 29.4 NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

MAP 6.8 2006/11/13 01:26:34 -26.075 -63.291 550.4 SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO, ARGENTINA

MAP 6.2 2006/11/12 18:21:30 -6.229 151.003 35.6 NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Earthquakes Papua New Guinea Argentina Mover Mike

Is this Wonderland? Isn't it Iran that is helping the enemy make IEDs in Iraq and is giving aid and comfort to the Iraqi Shiites? And isn't it Syria that possesses the WMDs that should have been found in Iraq. And isn't it Syria that is guilty of resupplying the Hezbollah so they are back to better strength than before Israel took them on?

Once again we see how appeasement works against our interests!

Iraq Syria Iran Israel Mover Mike

The U.S. Navy has gathered aircraft carriers and troop transports for entry in the central Gulf. Included, officials said, were at least 10 warships that would arrive in the region over the next few days.

"The reason is to intimidate the Iranians," an official said. "There are two crises: Iraq. The second is Iranian efforts to recruit Iraq and Gulf Arab states in an alliance."

[...]

The navy maneuvers were said to have been initiated and ordered by the White House. A source close to the administration said Vice President Richard Cheney has warned against the massive maneuvers.

U.S. Navy Persian Gulf Iran Mover Mike

the new Treasury chief is set to plunge in. Untainted by the harshly partisan rhetoric of the past, he hopes to use his prowess as the former head of Goldman Sachs not just to pursue critical economic deals with China and other American trading partners but — equally important for the weakened administration — to explore deal-making with Democrats in Congress, as well.

Mr. Paulson is a professed neophyte in political and legislative warfare, but is recognized as a master at striking bargains in the business world.

“I’m very impressed,” Mr. Baucus said. “Hank Paulson seems to have very few ideological bones in his body.”

Seems to me, we have too many people in government who see virtue in talking and compromising. Would Reagan have been as successful if he was morally relative on the virtue of the USSR. Reagan called them "The Evil Empire." You have to have some "ideological bones" to make that call.

Perhaps, it is the NYT that wants to give us the false idea that Paulson has no "ideological bones". After all, the Times didn't endorse one Republican and the Dems didn't run on anything but hatred for the "ins".

Treasury Secretary Paulsone Moral Relativism ideological bones Mover Mike

Manila (Philippines): Typhoon 'Chebi' weakened as it sliced through the center of the Philippines' main Philippine island of Luzon today, causing floods, toppling trees and power lines and damaging crops, officials said. The typhoon slammed into the northeastern province of Aurora early today with maximum winds of 195 kilometers per hour and gusts of up 230 kph.

Nicole Parent of Credit Suiss thinks Democrats will concentrate on supporting the 9/11 Commission recommendations:

Companies that will benefit will be General Electric (GE), TYCO, United Technologies (UTX), Emerson (EMR), Cooper Industry (CBE), and SPX Corp. (SPW).

I don't see anything cheap in that list and Republicans should have acted while they had the power.

Defense Spending Democrats GE Tyco UTX UTX EMR SPW CBE Mover Mike

USS Boxer Strike Group,

entered the Persian Gulf Thursday, Nov. 9, the largest US landing force to reach this water in a decade

You cannot solve the nation's fiscal problems without increased revenues," (former Treasury Secretary Robert) Rubin told the Economic Club of Washington, adding that he did not believe U.S. economic activity would suffer if such action was taken.

No mention of lower spending. Those in government or beholden to government always want to spend more! Not once did Bush brandish his "Veto" pen on spending.

Robert Rubin Spending Taxes Mover Mike

Residents in the northern Philippines are bracing themselves for another battering two weeks after super typhoon Cimaron tore through the region leaving a trail of destruction and at least 19 dead.

Update:

From BankNet 360,

Senator Christopher Dodd [D-Conn.] is poised to lead the Senate Banking Committee, now that the Democrats have the majority in the upper house of Congress.

Dodd, 62, has been a member of Congress for 26 years. During this time he has supported the insurance and financial services industries in Connecticut, and such companies as Bear Sterns, Lehman Bros., and Goldman Sachs are on his list of political action committee donors.

Senator Christopher Dodd [D-Conn.] Senate Banking Committee
Goldman Sachs Mover Mike

From Chron.com,

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A new volcanic island has emerged from the ocean near Tonga in recent weeks, according to eyewitness reports from two vessels that traveled through what one called a vast field of floating pumice stone spewed by the same eruption.

The crew of the Maiken, a yacht that sailed out of the northern Tongan islands group of Vava'u in August, reported on their Web log on Aug. 12, that they saw streaks of stone floating in the water before "we sailed into a vast, many miles wide, belt of densely packed pumice."

Nothing more exciting than Mother Nature!

Volcano Tonga Islands Fredrik and Crew on Maiken Mover Mike

Many have suggested that the Plunge Protection Team (PPT) has been holding the price of Gold down prior to the election and the USD up. Something snapped today! Gold is currently at $633.50 +$16.60 and the USD is down to 85 on the verge of breaking to its last major low of 80.

Reasons could be many and Iraq and Rumsfield may be two. Today, the trade deficit was released for the month of September: $-64.30 Billion.

2005: September $-64,968, Jan.- Sep. $-521,957
2006: September $-64,300, Jan.- Sep. $-586,213

For the first nine months, the U.S. deficit is 12.3% higher than last year.

Gold Trade Deficit USD Mover Mike

Dr. Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) could become the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense. President Bush announced on November 8th, 2006 his intention to nominate Gates for the position which requires Senate confirmation. Previous to that office, he served as Director of Central Intelligence from November 6, 1991 until January 20, 1993, capping a 26-year career in the CIA and the National Security Council. Immediately before being nominated to the post of Secretary of Defense, he was the President of Texas A&M University and the National President of the National Eagle Scout Association. He and his wife Becky have two children. He has been mentioned as a potential replacement for outgoing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

Update:

I have driven in Portland for many years and never have I encountered water as high as in the streets today. I was driving west on Columbia this afternoon and around Vancouver Avenue the street was covered by six inches of water. Then, where Columbia goes under the railroad bridge just west of the Columbia Cemetary, there was about a foot of water. One car was parked in the middle of the road with its hazards on. Apparently, the driver had flooded his engine.

After making my run, I came back Columbia going east and there were big standing puddles maybe 100 feet long and six inches deep covering the main roadway. When I went through the standing water I would get splash over the hood of the bus and even on the windshield. I just took it slow and made sure I was seen.

We have had record rainfall today and more is expected tonight. Rhonda Shelby on KATU says another 1 to 3 inches by 1:00AM, 6 to 9 in the Coast Range. Highway 101 has been cut in several places. And to think, it may be June before the rain stops!

Portland Oregon Record Rain Floods Mover Mike

Update:

Why the United States Has Lost So Much in Latin America

By LomaAlta at Linknzona

The facts are not in dispute. During this Administration’s “watch”, the geopolitical situation in Latin America has deteriorated well beyond the tragic losses of any previous Administration. Communist tyrants rise in Venezuela, Bolivia, and now Nicaragua and socialism is on the march in other countries. President Reagan’s successes in spreading democracy and freedom in Latin America appear to have been stopped. Let’s examine some of the possible reasons.

Negligence. This Administration appears to be focused on the war on terrorism, particularly the Middle East and has neglected the problems arising in the countries of our neighbors to the south. Indisputable evidence of Middle Eastern terrorists increasing their presence in Latin America and illegally crossing our southern border with help of Latin American gangs is readily available [1]. These facts have been well known for years but emphasizing them goes against President Bush and his Administration’s open border, pro-illegal immigration policies as well as against most of the Democratic leadership and their Mainstream Media. Thus, little is heard about this growing threat. Even less is heard about its impact in Latin America. This leads directly to the President and his Administration’s relationships with Latin American leaders and through them, its people.

Submission, not Partnership. Latin Americans, and particularly Mexicans, like most people, respect power and its just and successful application. In addition, the cultural implications of power and weakness are viewed through the lens of machismo throughout Latin America and especially in Mexico [2].

The USA, as the world’s undisputed Super Power, must look weak and ineffectual to the rest of the World and downright mariposa-like to our friends south of the border as it panders to Presidente Fox, leaves its borders open during war time, and sacrifices the security and well being of its citizens to foreign invaders. Such weak and foolish behavior engenders disgust and dislike of the USA throughout Latin America in proportion to how much they take advantage of us. Mexico is first in line, of course, but can you imagine a president of any South American country calling our President the devil at the UN in New York? Hugo Chavez, the dictator of Venezuela did exactly that this fall. There were no repercussions. This will embolden other thugs and bullies to spit in our President’s face and regard the USA as a weak, stumbling, and blinded paper tiger.

Bumbling. How unsuited for representing the USA is Secretary Condi Rice? With the exception of John Bolton at the UN, I have yet to see any diplomatic courage and vision from this Administration. It seems Secretary Rice has fallen into the trap of so many of our diplomats. She sees her clients as other diplomats, world opinion is of paramount importance to her, and the national interests of the USA appear to be lost in the swirl of trips, functions, receptions, parties and all types of activities we call “form over substance”. A good example of this is diplomatic meddling in Nicaragua [3].

This is a brief overview of how the Bush Administration has mismanaged USA activities and interests in Latin America. Why is this Administration so much worse than previous ones? Previous administrations have bumbled, submitted to Mexican presidents, and neglected Latin America. But President Bush is the first president to put the interests of a foreign power – Mexico, above the interests of the USA.

How can a foreign leader respect a President who does not put his country first in negotiations? We all grew up with bullies. The vast majority of us learned that the quickest way to stop a bully from attacking or extorting something from us was to resist, and, to fight back if necessary. Sure it was scary and rough to be hit or beaten; but just the knowledge that you would not submit was almost always enough to send the bully in search of weaker victims.

Bullies are cowards and seek out the weakest victims they can find. The weaker you are, the more the cowards bully you, and the less they respect you. This is true on every school ground; and it is true among nations as we have learned over and over. To be weak is to invite attack.

For a nation to submit is for it to surrender its freedom and sovereignty. This is the principal reason our relations with Latin America are so bad and why communism is on the rise again there. The USA, through President Bush and the political leadership of both parties, has submitted to Mexico. Illegal immigration is the occupation of one peoples’ country by another people. President Bush not only submits to Mexico, he encourages and supports their continued bullying.

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[1] For example see: Daniel Sheehy’s 2005 book, “Fighting Immigration Anarchy”, AuthorHouse, Bloomington, IN, 329 pp, and J. D. Hayworth’s 2006 book, “Whatever it Takes”, Regency Publishing, Inc., Washington, DC, 230 pp.

[2] ma•chis•mo Pronunciation: (mä-chēz'mō, -chiz'-, mu-), [key]

—n.

1. a strong or exaggerated sense of manliness; an assumptive attitude that virility, courage, strength, and entitlement to dominate are attributes or concomitants of masculinity.

2. a strong or exaggerated sense of power or the right to dominate: The military campaign was an exercise in national machismo.

[3] More freedom lost in Latin America?

This has been a production of the Guard the Borders Blogburst. It was started by Euphoric Reality, and serves to keep immigration issues in the forefront of our minds as we're going about our daily lives and continuing to fight the war on terror. If you are concerned with the trend of illegal immigration facing our country, join our Blogburst! Just send an email with your blog name and url to admin at guardtheborders dot com.

MAP 2.7 2006/11/06 05:34:35 45.516 -122.680 14.9 3 km ( 2 mi) WSW of Portland, OR

The chart shows the amount of billions injected into the economy by the Treasury. Jesse goes on to explain some major changes that have taken place since 1913.

In order to ADD liquidity the FED goes to its Primary Dealer banks and offers to buy treasuries from them for a specified period of time...The banks agree to buy them back with interest. The banks use these funds for whatever purpose they wish. Before the repeal of Glass-Steagall, banks used the funds to meet cash reserve requirements and to make business loans. Now banks may use the funds for short term loans to their trading departments

Jesse further explains in a footnote that even reserve requirments of 10% can be avoided by overnight "sweeps".

More and more, we resemble a Banana Republic.

JesseGlass-Steagall Repos Mover Mike

Update:

Update:

From Bloomberg,

Gold advanced for a ninth session in London, matching its longest rally in 20 years, on signs of increased investor demand because of declines in the dollar.

Gold USD Mover Mike

Britain looks set to become the first western country to introduce a regulatory regime to support the domestic issuance of sukuk so-called "Islamic bonds", or those which do not pay overt interest.(Emphasis added)

the Swiss investment bank will launch an instrument that claims to be the world’s first sharia-compliant investment product linked to commodity prices.

[...]

...the proposed note will be linked to the copper, nickel and US oil benchmark price, West Texas Intermediate. Or as Peter Ghavami, global head of commodities at UBS, adds: “Commodities is something real and something that is understood very well in the region, so it made a lot of sense to look to develop sharia-compliant products that are linked to commodity prices.”

Sukuk are securitised assets and therefore belong to the category of Asset Backed Securities. Unlike conventional ABS structures, Sukuk need to have an underlying tangible asset transaction either in ownership or in a master lease.

Sukuk Islamic bonds securitised assets Mover Mike

The U.S.’s sanctions against Syria prompted Damascus to start switching its foreign currency surplus from U.S. dollars to euros, the United Press International reported.

One might ask why now, two years since the imposition of sanctions. Syria says it is a preemptive action preventing their assets from getting frozen in case of conflict. The U.S. has been talking tough to Syria about its support of Hezbollah and has considerable military assets in the Persian Gulf. Maybe, someone is getting nervous.

SyriaSanctions USD Mover Mike