Floatin' Powa News Service: Livin' in Oymerika.....

Until I recognize my nation again I hereby decree

that henceforth and forthwith
I shall refer to it only as Oymerika.

So let it be written!
So let it be done!

Let God arise,
let his enemies be scattered:
let them that hate him
flee before him.
~Psalm 68:1


James Brown
Livin' in America

More than a coincidence: Minarets, geography and power

The building of new mosques has become an issue throughout European cities, from Munich to London. In some places, such as Italy, Switzerland and Greece, governments have struggled to prevent their erection. Yet while there is controversy over their very construction, there is usually very little questioning about why they are built where they are built.

Pakistan army: Taliban holding town hostage

"The people of Sultanwas are in great distress," Abbas said at a news conference. "Nobody is being allowed to move out of Sultanwas."

He also said militants killed a police officer and threw his body into a river in Swat, but said the peace deal centered on the valley remained "intact."

A spokesman for the Taliban in Swat insisted they were sticking to the peace process. The militants in Buner were all local Taliban, Muslim Khan said.

'Israel's response to drill with Syria doesn't concern us'

"Are we going to get approval from Israel?" Gen. Ilker Basbug told reporters. "Israel's response does not concern us."

DIMMAH CARTER: US and Syria close to restoring full diplomatic ties

"Syrian President Bashar Assad is very eager to restore full ties with Washington," Carter said. "I wouldn't be surprised if it happens this year," Carter said in a telephone interview from Quito, Ecuador, at the start of a four-nation South American trip. He plans to meet Assad in Syria in early June after attending elections in Lebanon.

Hamas to Reject New Palestinian Government

Israeli Arabs held on 'bomb plot'

TIME MAGAZINE ASKS:
Has Ahmadinejad Softened His Position on Israel?
MFers.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warns Iran, Hizbullah
Egypt can be redeemed, but Babylon must be destroyed.
~ Floatin' P

Khatami: Arab states moves on Persian Gulf, political action

ARABS VERSUS IRAN
I'll hit you with my sandal again you Persian Shoe!

Scholars hotly debate treatment of apostates
Blow them up! No, Behead them one at a time! No, Blow them up!

Obama "Confident" Of Secure Pakistan Nuclear Arsenal
Yah OK I feel much more secure now.

Torture tape delays US-UAE nuclear deal, say US officials
awwwww aint that a shame.

A videotape of a heinous torture session is delaying the ratification of a civil nuclear deal between the United Arab Emirates and the United States, senior U.S. officials familiar with the case said. In the tape, an Afghan grain dealer is seen being tortured by a member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi, one of the UAE's seven emirates.

US Gulf envoy makes first visit

US President Barack Obama's envoy to the Gulf states, Dennis Ross, has begun his first trip to the region. He is due to visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Egypt. The State Department said Mr Ross would hold talks on "issues of mutual and regional concern".

2 Nobel Prize winners to address Dubai forum

Nobel Peace Prize winners Al Gore and Desmond Tutu will be key speakers at Leaders in Dubai Business Forum 2009 which will be held from October 26 to 28.

Among them will be President Barack Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, who the new US leader called the unsung hero of the 2008 election race

Iranian oil minister to hold gas talks in Germany

Turkey Set to Improve Trade with Iran

Strengthening Relations: Int'l conference on investment in Tehran

The 3rd International Conference on Investment and Privatisation organised by Iran Chamber of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry will begin at Tehran today (Wednesday).

The objective of the event is to explore intra-OIC investment opportunities and to share country experiences on privatisation as a tool for economic growth. Chairman of Pak-Iran Business Council, Tariq Sayeed will address the session on reform, issues and experience of investment process in OIC countries.

Game taken offline after OIC commands it:

In the game "Faith Fighter," caricatures of Jesus, the Prophet Muhammad, Buddha, God and the Hindu god Ganesh fight each other against a backdrop of burning buildings. God attacks with bolts of lighting and pillars of fire while the turbaned Muhammad can summon a burning black meteorite.

The Saudi-based Organization of the Islamic Conference, which represents most Muslim nations, said it should be removed from the Internet.

And so it was.

Durban Diary, Closing Day - Another undignified spectacle

The UN conference, known as Durban II, ended on Friday with the UN scrambling to spin it as something other than what it was - an allegedly anti-racism forum that provided the world's leading racist and genocidal maniac a global soapbox. While Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the world "the word 'Zionism' personifies racism" - the UN was busy translating his speech into six languages with Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon remaining fixed to his chair immediately behind him.

But UN High Commissioner and Secretary General of the Conference Navi Pillay remembers things differently. She told a news conference Friday that Durban II was "a celebration of tolerance and dignity for all."

Huh?

AMERICAN MUSLIM MAGAZINE SEZ:
A Second American Revolution: President Obama's Opportunity?

UN CHRONICLE: Losing 25000 to Hunger Every Day
DIG THE LANGUAGE IN THIS THING.
Behold the seizure of your food sources:

In response to this food crisis, the United Nations established a High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis, under the leadership of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. It brought together the Heads of the United Nations specialized agencies, funds and programmes, the Bretton Woods institutions and relevant parts of the United Nations Secretariat.

(If that don't scare ya nothing will! -bz)

The aim of the task force was to create a plan of action in response to the crisis and coordinate its implementation. The result is the Comprehensive Framework for Action, which proposes ways and means to respond to threats and opportunities resulting from high food prices; create policy changes to avoid future food crises; and contribute to national, regional and international food and nutrition security.

They Seek to Control Your Water Too:
Tajik, Kyrgyz Leaders Meet At Central Asian Water Summit

Central Asian Leaders Fail To Overcome Differences At Water Summit

AMERICAN PRAVDA SEZ:
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran Call for Greater Cooperation

Iran, Venezuela review ways to expand defense ties

Russia Bans US Meat Amid Swine Flu Outbreak
[Insert your own jokes here]

US slams Russian moves to block meat imports

US to seek new cooperation in thawing Arctic
Yeah? Cooperation? No shit.
Vlad is only sending half his friggin' army there.

The United States will seek cooperation with Russia and other Arctic states as global warming thaws the polar region, Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said on Tuesday.

Russia to axe about 36,000 officers in 2009
Literally? S'alotta heads to clean up. VIVA LA PARTY PURGE!

Russia Launches Purge Of Army Officers

NATO and Russia formally resume dialogue

NATO expels 2 Russian envoys, raps pact on Georgia

"Loner" shoots 13 dead at Azerbaijan college

The gunman, a Georgian citizen of Azeri origin described as a loner by local media, was among the dead.

The government said it did not see a political motive behind the shooting at the prestigious State Oil Academy in Baku, capital of the mainly Muslim former Soviet republic which exports oil and gas to Europe from the Caspian Sea.

National school for political state employees to be created in Kazakhstan

RUSSIA: SCO military exercises to be held in 2010 in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan Expands Its Uranium Industry

Kazakhstan participated in "Bologna process 2009” conference
Hahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaa. How to be full of baloney, Kazakh style.

Japanese archaeologists explore Scythian kurgan in western Kazakhstan

THE SCYTHIANS

India and Kazakhstan - true allies and partners

India proposes international gas pipeline from Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan allows UN controlling fullfilment of convention

Uzbeks Deny Consul's Effort To Visit Detained Kazakhs

Uzbekistan, Tajikistan hold border talks in Tashkent

Construction of ESPO China branch launched in Russia

CNPC, Gazprom may sign gas agreement in October

Kiev Lets Gazprom Upgrade Pipelines

Gazprom waives Ukraine gas fines
The Ukraine will fall without a shot fired.

Gazprom, Shell May Expand Venture

US Goes Neutral on Eastern Gas Pipelines

Medvedev Proposes a New "Energy Balance" in Europe

Shaw Group signs Chinese nuclear power contract

CNPC to expand oil, gas reserves

CNPC to offer 1st USD-denominated bonds in China

China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the largest oil and gas producer and supplier in China, has successfully registered an issue of mid-term notes totaling three billion U.S. dollars, according to a publication by the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investor.

snip

Moreover, the insider cautioned that the bond would face a single group of investors, such as the state-owned commercial banks or joint stock banks that boast rich foreign currency funds.

China's New Power Couple

A husband-and-wife team is leading China's financial and trade disputes with the United States. Her husband, China's central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan, may have dominated headlines with his call for a global de-pegging from the dollar. But Li Ling is extremely powerful too and will find herself in the spotlight more in the coming years.

Zhou Xiaochuan's wife, Li, runs the Treaty and Laws department of China's Ministry Of Commerce, which has played a central role in handling China's trade disputes with the United States under the World Trade Organization. China is becoming increasingly aggressive about both fighting and launching WTO suits against the U.S. (See "China's Coming Of Age In The WTO War"), as the global economic slump has prompted a surge in protectionist measures by many foreign governments.

Together, Zhou and Li are playing key roles in running China's powerful financial and trade relationships with the U.S. and the rest of the world. As the U.S. tries to defend its position in the world economic pecking order, U.S. officials will be encountering much more of this husband-and-wife team.

Barack Obama aglow after 100-day honeymoon - just like Carter

Advisers who publicly mock the theme of 100 days have been discreetly parcelling out made-to-order anecdotes to the press, each one designed to show how decisive, far-thinking or cool under pressure he is.

100 days: Half-truths and contradictions
MFing Enchanting!

Obama: State's Secrets Privilege Too Broad. I Know! I've Used It

Scherer asked the President to reconcile that contradiction. And Obama's answer was...a bit disingenuous. "I actually think that the state secrets doctrine should be modified," he said. "I think right now it's overbroad."

So why has he been hiding behind its breadth? "We're in for a week, and suddenly we've got a court filing that's coming up...and we don't have the time to think up what an overarching form that doctrine should take."

But it's hard to square that with what the administration's actually done. DOJ lawyers haven't asked the courts for more time, or to withhold key pieces of information. Rather, they've argued that these cases--Jewel v NSA, Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation v Obama, and Mohammed v Jeppesen Dataplan--be tossed out entirely. And they've done that by invoking the state secrets privilege. In fact, in Jewel, the administration went so far as to claim "sovereign immunity" for the government from just about any lawsuit involving wiretapping. That position is even more radical than Bush's was.

JEWEL VS NSA

Obama's Enchanting Prime-time Presser

FEMA's 9/11 Coloring Book

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Attorney General Eric Holder

The following remarks as prepared for delivery for Attorney General Eric Holder were released today by the U.S. Department of Justice:

It is my distinct honor to join you at the Hans Arnhold Center of the American Academy of Berlin.

The Academy is a fitting caretaker for a building that holds a special place in history as a safe harbor for freedom and a catalyst for cultural exchange.

OHIO: Arrest may have sparked riot

An underage drinking arrest in Kent may have prompted thousands of people who erupted into a riot on East College Avenue Saturday to hurl bottles, rocks and other debris at police. Kent Police Chief James Peach said at a press conference Monday morning officers patrolled the street on foot throughout the day Saturday as students participated in “College Fest,” an unofficial block party celebrating the near-end of the school year.

Peach said five arrests were made between 3:30 and 7 p.m. without incident until approximately 7:54 p.m., when officers attempted to arrest a girl for underage drinking and she began screaming in protest.

Economy shrinks 6.1% in first quarter

GM plan includes partial nationalization
I should go dig out the post from September where I say the auto industry will be first to be nationalized after the banks.... but you'll still think I'm crazy, so why bother?
In the meantime... this one turns out to be pretty damn good too

Back-Door Nationalization?

Resolution Pitch from FDIC Chief

Though she has appeared neutral on the subject in the past, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair pointedly argued Monday that her agency should gain the power to step in when any systemically important company gets into trouble.

Appearing at the Economic Club of New York, Bair said the FDIC has more expertise and experience than any current or future agency at cleaning up gigantic nonbanks, and even offered hints on how she might do it.

"The FDIC is up to the task, and whether alone or in conjunction with other agencies, the FDIC is central to the solution," she said.

Fed's future role at issue on Hill

Fed Questions Citi, Bank of America on Capital

Geithner supports credit card bill

Fury over European hedge fund directive
The Hedge Fund Community!

Almost universal condemnation from the hedge fund community greeted the announcement of the European Commission's draft directive on alternative investment fund mangers. The draft directive for alternative investment fund managers from Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has raised a storm of protest. Although a full draft has not yet been published, concern was raised from an early morning press conference and release of a frequently asked questions sheet outlining the EU's intensions towards the hedge fund industry.

Goldman Sachs sells $2 bln in 5-yr notes

Goldman plans 5-yr senior dollar global bond

Execs Predict "New World Order" for Financial Services
Whoops.... they said it again.

“The three trends – toward specialization, client orientation and improved efficiency – are triggering a restructuring wave on a greater scale than ever before, eroding margins and forcing all firms to reconsider their value propositions and their core business models,” said Shanker Ramamurthy, global managing partner for banking and financial markets at IBM Global Business Services.

“The new industry will not only lack some of the great brand names of the past, but will also lack many of its past characteristics – from excessive risk taking, opacity and leverage, to massively high returns.”

In the future, executives predicted, firms will continuously assess their risks and returns across each line of business and adjust their business mix accordingly. At the same time, these systems will also enable firms to refine client service through improved understanding of profitability by business line and product, as well as by individual client.

Executives also expect growth to remain sluggish through 2012.

At the OIC:
A Call For: "An economics revolution grounded in Islamic economics"

Sidek said this while opening the International Conference on Islamic Economies and Economies of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) Countries here today.

His speech was read out by the International Islamic University (IIU) rector, Prof Datuk Seri Dr Syed Arabi Idid.

The event, also attended by OIC secretary general Prof Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, was organised by the IIU and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).

According to Sidek, who is also IIU president, the faith of the world in the dominant paradigm of economics has been shaken by the current crisis and some "very serious questions are being raised about its fundamental tenets."

"As the world's leading economies, which preach laissez-faire capitalism, embrace wider government intervention and over-arching regulations, there are many of the opinion that socialism is making a comeback.

"So, is it time to think of the possibility of an economics revolution grounded in Islamic economics?," Sidek asked.

WOE UNTO THE POPES OF LAODICEA!

Q: Most books on Islam make me paranoid. Your book gave me hope.

A: Many of them breed more fear than anything else. There’s enough fear going around these days: finances, terrorism, Obama. I didn’t think we need another book about Islam and the coming Jihad. But they sell pretty well. They do. That’s why I’m surprised at how well this book is selling. People love sensationalism and what makes news are negative stories, not “Muslims are nicer than you think.” But I think it’s the message the church needs to hear. I believe it reflects the heart of Jesus.

Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) warned us to look to history for the examples of two-tiered systems of justice:

“The foundational essence of America is that we are all created equal, and that word ‘created’ is pretty important because it means we are all God’s children,” Franks said. “The danger whenever we elevate one group for special protection over another is that we inevitably in every sense of the word diminish the protection of others in society… the very thing that was behind the ideas centuries and decades ago when we said that the Jew was untermensch in the high tribunal of Germany and we said that the black man was property. When we begin to make distinctions between God’s children we step into very dangerous territory.

"This legislation does exactly that. It not only makes distinctions between God’s children, it also does something that is unique: it criminalizes thought processes, it criminalizes motivations, and whenever we do that, we go and strike at the very heart of freedom itself.”

The Rev. Anthony Evans of the National Black Church Initiative warned of the danger to the pulpit of opening this Pandora’s Box: “I believe that the black church knows what is unequal. We don’t need to be taught what is unequal. I am here to represent 34,000 African American churches and preachers around this country and I’m here to protect the divine right to speak the word of God and to not have our sermons censored by the Human Rights Campaign. Fundamentally, here, [Rep. John] Conyers is a good man, I’m a Democrat… but on this issue I prayerfully disagree on the definition of hate. I do not believe that this is the way you pay your political friends back, by muting God’s men and women for preaching the Gospel.”

The hate crimes legislation is expected to reach the House floor today.

$3.55 Trillion Budget Passes; Hate Crime Bill Slides through House

In yet another Democrat move toward the doubleplusungood Orwellian state, the House voted to pass federal hate crimes legislation yesterday that elevates one class of victims of crime for higher federal protections than everyone else based on any one of 30 definitions of sexual orientation including pedophiles, exhibitionists, necrophiliacs and those who choose bestiality as their sexual identity. While the bill was in committee, Democrats refused amendments to limit the scope of eligible sexual orientations for these claims, including the rejection of a bill specifically crafted to exclude a protected status for pedophiles.

“This bill designates in particular gender identity for federally protected status,” said Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), chairman of the House Republican caucus. “Without, I might add, any evidence of any hate crimes occurring against individuals for gender identity.”

As HUMAN EVENTS reported yesterday, the hate crimes legislation creates many other horrors in addition to this new class of federally-protected crime victim.

The bill next moves to the Senate for consideration.

The vote in the House broke down 249-187 with 18 Republicans crossing over to vote with Democrats, while 17 Democrats voted against passage with 10 members not voting.

Camp Godless

After all, surely everyone has the right to toast marshmallows around the fire, even if they don't really believe in it.

Is Richard Dawkins Britain's biggest bigot?
OOO loooook I see a light hovering right over this dude's head.
Bingo, Poppy. Go Gettum.

How deeply ironic then that Dawkins turns out to be just as stridently intolerant and bigoted as the religious fundamentalists he is always ranting about.

Truth, and Religion Masquerading as ‘Science'

Consider for a moment this statement made by one of the world’s foremost evolutionists, Richard Dawkins. In his book titled “The Blind Watchmaker”, Mr. Dawkins states: Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose.” Mr. Dawkins is saying that he knows that biological systems appear to have been designed for a purpose. But then rejects this by stating that all biological systems “have no designer or purpose, they randomly evolved.”

Sir Francis Crick, the co-discoverer of DNA also states: “Biologists must constantly keep in mind that what they see was not designed, but rather evolved.” (Science & Design)

So here we have two of the greatest evolution scientists in the world today making the claim that biological systems appear to have been designed, but they weren’t.

Chilean Who Refused to Leave Active Volcano Area Dies

One of the almost 70 people who refused to leave the southern Chilean town of Chaiten, devastated by the eruption of the like-named volcano, has been found in his home dead of hypothermia, the press said on Tuesday.

Jose Alberto Paredes, 35, lived in a house near the Blanco River in Chaiten at some 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) south of Santiago, and was known for his absolute refusal to leave the town after the volcano erupted.

The victim was one of the Chaiten "rebels," who survive without basic services and with the permanent risk of explosions and outpourings of lava and ash.

Hey! Whaatayoo rebelling against?
Whattayoo got?
Volcanoes.
Faggetaboutit.

Colombia: Orange Alert in Galeras Volcano

Redoubt volcano remains restless
Yeah, me too.

OREGON: Earthquake and Tsunami Emergency Drill

Millions still homeless a year after Sichuan earthquake
VIVA LA COMMUNIST SYSTEM IN ACTION

4.5 in Indian-controlled Kashmir

5.2 jolts southeastern Iran

The global politics of swine flu

Swine Flu Case in Spain May Point to Global Pandemic, WHO Says
What's on second. I dunno? THIRD BASE!

Swine flu? A panic stoked in order to posture and spend

Asking for More Funding, US Steps Up Flu Response

US Senate Finance Panel Holds Closed-Door Meeting On Health

Republicans on Wednesday suggested that a budget resolution agreed to by House and Senate Democrats could have a chilling effect on negotiations because it includes language allowing Democrats to use a legislative tactic known as reconciliation.

Newly confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary
Toldja the Republicrats would give her the votes she needed...

Nineteen Catholic Senators Voted To Confirm Pro-Abortion HHS

Forced abortions shake up China wombs-for-rent industry

Californian Says Father Was Zodiac Killer (and She Played a Role, Too)

David Plouffe On What Technology Can Do for You

The "new media" team, which eventually consisted of about 70 people and reported directly to Plouffe, constantly monitored, managed and tweaked the system. It was also "maniacal" about collected metrics, to the point that it was able to predict with about 97 percent accuracy how a person would vote.

Raytheon Provides Boston Marathon with Enhanced Situational Awareness

Raytheon reveals new plan for dealing with toxic plume

Lockheed /Raytheon team to develop surveillance radar

Raytheon Names Roketsan (TURKEY) Key Supplier for Patriot Missile

US Needs to Clarify Cyberwar Plans, Panel Says
Faggetaboutit.
They are in LEAUGE with them... they are using the technology not on them, they are using it ON US. So they can't spell it out for you or tell you their "plans" and they won't.
Raytheon Narus Akbar, we are screwed.
Give your heart to GOD cause your asses belong to Homo Stultus the Hapmonger and his Magic Machines.

Randy Newman
Sail Away

In America you'll get food to eat
Won't have to run through the jungle
And scuff up your feet
You'll just sing about Jesus and drink wine all day
It's great to be an American

Ain't no lions or tigers
Ain't no mamba snake
Just the sweet watermelon and the buckwheat cake
Ev'rybody is as happy as a man can be
Climb aboard, little wog
Sail away with me

Sail away
Sail away
We will cross the mighty ocean into Charleston Bay
Sail away
Sail away
We will cross the mighty ocean into Charleston Bay

In America every man is free
To take care of his home and his family
You'll be as happy as a monkey in a monkey tree
You're all gonna be an American

Sail away
Sail away
We will cross the mighty ocean into Charleston Bay
Sail away
Sail away
We will cross the mighty ocean into Charleston Bay