Saddam Execution Tonite?

Well all the stars seem to be aligned for his hanging tonite:

ABC Feed

Reuters News Alert

A guy who is suing Saddam for crimes against his family filed in US court to stop the execution in Iraq ... Huh? Yeah, he says that since he hasnt had a chance to get a monetary damage verdict against Saddam he doesnt want him dead yet. Michelle Malkin on the same story.

Iraq the Model updates us from Iraq .... No Saddam in 2007!

More in a a couple hours
Looks like he'll be dead by 10 p.m.

Update 9 p.m. Al Arabiya reporting that Saddam is on the execution platform and will be dead in a couple minutes.

Update 9:09 p.m. Al jazeera reports that he is dead! Thank God that's over. Pray for peace in Iraq. American Pundit reports from same source.

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December 27, 2006

Former President Gerald Ford passes away at 93 years old. President Bush praises his years of service to our country. Good lineup of links and photos at Pajamas Media. MSNBC slide show is a good start to get your memory rolling.

He was the 38th and only unelected President in American History.

Day After Christmas

Ethiopian Troops use the policy of Preemption against Islamic Courts in Somalia. African Union leader says they can defend themselves if they feel threatened. Interesting? So if a country feels some trepidation they can attack their neighbors? Who's idea was that?

Turkmenistan announces Presidential elections February 11th, but blogger Registan expresses serious doubts about the legitimacy of the democratic move. Shall we bomb them?

Some news reports suggest that Syria may be willing to open peace talks with Israel. Is this a triangulation to let them gain financial support from the U.S. and Nata and the west against Iran? Are they worried that Iran may cut a deal to align closer to the west and throw out their wacko President? Will they give up support of Hezbollah?

If you design clothes in Second Life can your designs be copied? Or do you own the designs through some intellectual property rights? Now, you may say "who cares" but this is a business and a growing market. The Chinese didn't care about stealing music CD's and DVD's until they wanted to make their own, then they wanted to talk about property rights.

Have a great idea? Are you an innovator looking to file a patent, decent article pointing the right way. Now, if you really want to think situational ethics, try a quick read of Crichton's new book Next. When you're done send me a note on your thoughts about gene patents.

Bethlehem 2007

Do you really know Bethlehem? Where is it? Who controls it?

ABC News feed suggests that we've been duped and should do some more research.

Another feed from last January gives quotes from Christian leaders around the world, but also allows that the Israel's have another perspective. Still searching for a link to their responses last January. I'll try to find and edit this post by Christmas morning.

I'll give me initial impression, without full research albeit, I feel like the Palestinians want their cake and eat it too. They want to let the crazies bomb the Jews, and they want access to the economy that Israel's democracy allows. How about a New Year's Resolution - Shut down the crazies and "Bring down the wall" in 2007.

International Today

Hezbollah is protesting democracy in Lebanon. Frankly that the truth. Now, I will support their right to protest anything they want to protest. If the government of Lebanon shuts down the protests, they are in the wrong. If Hezbollah begins to use violence, they are in the wrong. It's a powderkeg waiting to go off ... What was our called? Oh yeah, The Boston Masacre. And one of our first Presidents, John Adams, represented the British military against the mob in a court of law. Are there politicians or lawyers in Lebanon willing to step up and go against the mob on either side and stand for the rule of law? (Photo showing christmas tree decorating in front of mosque is difficult to comprehend isn't it?)

Watch the whole Yahoo Labanon Slideshow Tell me that isn't global juxtoposition?

First Time Buyers

Wow I came across this excellent post on three steps for a first time buyer online tonight

I can only say that first time buyers are going to find building a world of dreams, I think it may be easier to buy a new home than an existing one. But, this writer is so right to suggest pre-quals and a realtor that isn't too lazy to actually take a buyer out and show them their options ... including buying new.

Mayor Olson Retiring ... Who's Next?

As was rumored a year ago, Mayor Doug Olson of Portage will not seek re-election in 2007.

Times Story

Now the circus begins: Will his chosen replacement be able to win with his endorsement? Will the Republicans steal the office with a Portage councilman like Dave Highlands? Will Dave Reynolds fulfill the long-running rumor that he wants to run for mayor in Portage?

Some additional thoughts: I think this two-term decision is a good one. From what I understand Mayor Olson has been a good mayor and frankly pretty apolitical. Reminds me a lot of Mayor Costas in Valparaiso. Doing the right things even if the "party" hacks aren't all that excited all the time. Two terms is enough for any of these guys. Full time employment is surely not a guarantee nor a good idea for politicians.

Active Rain Site

Working a bit these last couple days on Active Rain real estate network

Try it out, comment sections and forums still need a lot more participation but I can see that there is a lot of possibility there.

http://activerain.com/states/IN/Porter%20County/Valparaiso

Life Quote

From my friends in Naples:

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, totally worn out and screaming,

"WOO HOO what a ride!"

Babon Group Florida Real Estate is HOT AGAIN!

Trying new software

I am having a hard time figuring out Picassa and tagging and geo-tagging, still learning 

New Homes Selling Quickly

I guess I was quoted today in an article for the Post Tribune on housing in Northwest Indiana. I will agree that the market in Porter County especially is down about 20% for new homes. I will agree that costs are up due to commodity pricing and government largess. But ... since I gave that interview over a month ago ... the market has picked up quite a bit for this time of year. Why? Frankly because mortgage interest rates have dipped back down in anticipation of rates going back down starting next spring. The cycle is completing its trough.

Post Article

My worry is that there are those pundits and bloggers who seem to be cheering for a housing bubble burst. Why? I can only guess that they would like to see the market drop so they can buy at the low point. There is no bubble, or bubble burst. This is merely the normal market reaction to interest rates, economic cycle, and government overextending itself at all levels.

Bubble Burst Blog

Home Builders have suffered the most, since REALTORs make money even if sellers are dropping prices. Builders are generallly sitting on too many specs. Why? Again I'll be frank, they need the construction activity to pay for their overhead. A little slowdown is actually good for the market since it encourages builders to drop overhead and move to more efficient trade partners. The most battered this winter will be trades since they got a free pass last winter when too many specs were built. Not this winter.

Market Tour (Election Eve)

Oil down slightly, but Nigerian threats and South American taunts keep oil close to $60. Some experts call for major drop to $45 just after election.

Chinese authorities key on oil and energy production in major investments in Africa. I'll go out on a limb here and say that the US is falling behind on business investment in third world.

Mittal Steel CEO takes over new merged company, even though he suggested otherwise earlier. Watch for closure of western production facilities, including Indiana. Here's the problem, two years ago the Amercian economy including Indiana could have handled the shut down of these plants ... now? I think the purposeful slowdown of the housing economy will make these plant shutdowns a real problem. It's time for the Fed to loosen it's grip and let the economy and especially housing run free again.

Here's my favorite statistic of the week: Unemployment falls to it's lowest level in years and the Democrats are complaining about the economy? Why? They want taxes increased and they want to increase the price of oil with a consumption tax and they want to pull out of Iraq immediately. They don't seem to care for Clinton's old mantra "It's the economy stupid"

Want my prediction on elections tomorrow? Republicans will hold the Senate. Democrats will gain the House by 3 seats, Nancy Pelosi will be voted in as speaker of house setting up a mandate election in 2008 for McCain vs. Hillary. In our own state, Republicans will hold House and Senate and major state jobs. I deal with my county predictions on my porter county politics site.

Take the Daily Tech Tour (Tech Crunch)

Have you tried loading widgets on your blog or website? This site is designed to make widget loading and presentation quite a bit easier.

I have particularly come to enjoy the write ups on Tech Crunch, easy to read, graphic, with lots of feeds on the RSS level.

With newspapers showing an ever-decreasing level of readership, including myself, some have decided to venture out into web-based business models. One such model is Topix.net which uses 10 year old bulletin board technology and 3 year old blog technology but boasts a much wider search draw than even Yahoo or Google News. Try it and draw your own conclusion.

Thinking about a smartphone? Crunch Gear has a blog focused on helping you with your choice. This market changes literally every week, so check often for the newest technologies.

What's Up Today?

The Fed announces what everyone knew already, namely the housing market has undergone a cool-down induced by increased interest rates. The only real issue is whether this data is a quarter old and really needs to be seen as history. Local anecdocatal data would suggest that the cool-down is over and the housing market is back in growth mode.

Goldman Sachs analysts predict that Fed Funds will go down 1.25% percent in 2007 to 4% while JP Morgan Chase predicts the opposite that Fed Funds will go up to 6% in an effort to hold down inflation. I would tend to side with Goldman Sach, though I would prefer that the Fed go neutral for a year, just plain leave the rates alone at 5% ... and see if the market's own liquidity won't be enough.

Terror Update: Tamil Rebel blows up convoy in Sri Lanka. More Moslem Extremists blowing up people so they can keep the world from seeking a level of peace and resolution.

Lebanon wants an aid conference so we can give them a ton of cash. Now a couple problems. Will they agree to continue moving toward a real democracy? Will they make sure the cash goes to those who were displaced or will we be lining the pockets of the mullahs? Will Christians have freedome of expression? Will they even start making Hezbollah's life hard in their country? Or did we just agree to international blackmail?

School Choice the recipe for middle class growth? “Any policy that loosens the ironclad relationship between location-location-location and school-school-school would eliminate the need for parents to pay an inflated price for a home just because in happens to lie within the boundaries of a desirable school district. A well-designed voucher program would fit the bill neatly.” Read full article.

Looks like a crack is widening in the the anti-US sentiment that seems to have dominated Latin America for the last ten years. In Ecuador a possible decent candidate for President looks like he's gained some support against a classic Chavista type wack job. Time to pick up a few more good leaders in Latin America.

Election 2008

Looks like John McCain has signaled his intentions to run for President, and taken the first 2008 campaign shot at Hillary Clinton!

He blamed the North Korean's ability to gain nuclear weaponry on Bill Clinton and his failed policies of appeasement with the rougue state. So much for 2006 and who's going to control Congress, the game is on for 2008.

Prediction: Republicans barely hold House and Senate. Bush's numbers start back up since gas prices are down and interest rates are headed back down after the first of the year. Iraq troops drawn down during 2007 to 50% of current levels. No major accomplishments in Congress for the next two years. McCain v Clinton for President 2008 will be all the talk. One more Supreme Court vacancy will be the biggest fight and Bush will get one more conservative on the court, barely.

Frankly, I'm OK with the whole scenario. It really is better when government is so tied up thinking about themselves that they can't start raising taxes or issuing new regulations.

Mid Day

Amish school attacked by crazy man, kills at least three and is shot dead by state troopers in assault. Bloomberg article You know it does seem like this is happening more these days.

October 2 Roundup

Sorry for the 3 week long delay on posts. Frankly, I have very little excuse save a painful set of attacks on us at Calvary Church that caused us to waste a whole bunch of time and energy. (Mt 5:11-12)

Here are the stories that I'm currently following and thinking about:

Venezuala and others try to restrict oil output and push oil prices back up. Basically they are continuing to try and manipulate the market using their illegal cartel. Time to take OPEC to task and challenge them to drop the pretenses of "protecting" the economy and stop manipulating the markets.

Gaza hooligans throw rocks at government cars and buildings in a protest that their salaries still weren't paid. But, do they really work? What do they do? The size of the entire Gaza Strip is smaller than the state of Rhode Island and they have 10 times the number of government employees per capita ... it's basically a socialist society with no market economy or stable tax system. When they run out of cash they go begging to other countries with the plea "we won't be able to stop the terror attacks if you don't give us cash."

Tax Research Project suggests what supply siders have said for decades, tax cuts benefit all tax payers. In this most recent round the $100-500,000 income earners are paying more of the total tax burden, that should make the class warfare types happy. The economy though is being assisted by more dollars staying in people's own hands. Here's the challenge: How does Congress gain the guts to eliminate the death tax and capital gain tax and simplify the tax code to three tax brackets with less exceptions? Will any Congress ever have the guts?

Blogger suggests that "play" at work is important, strictly speaking he uses a different definition of the word.

I missed this story originally, I guess a couple Americans decided to go over to Afghanistan and do their own search for terrorists and set up a private prison. They were arrested there by local authorities and sentenced to three years, and then released this weekend. Interesting questions, are they terrorists? Are they part of the war on terror? Are they CIA operatives?

An American company was awarded the contract to build the highway connecting Albania and soon to be independant country Kosovo. Is this reverse out-sourcing?

Interesting article that suggests that 15 years after Islamacists take over a country and kill millions of people in civil war and hatred, then democracy and liberty can kick back in. The article spotlights Algeria but suggests the same could happen in Iran soon.

Local county commisioner Bob Harper doesn't like the law ... well maybe it's time he get out of government then.

Today's Roundup

Well written article by my buddy Bob Wichlinski on the subject of 9-11

UN Chief is pressuring Sudanese government, again. This won't work, I was there just 7 months ago and they are laughing all the way to the proverbial bank. Tyrants and fascists and fundamentalists are not changeable.

As oil slips to it's lowest levels this year, inflation measures subside or even move negative, this means interest rate increases can be halted. I'd like to see the Fed just plain stop interest rate manipulation for a year and see if the market itself can't just monitor itself. I'm with Steve Forbes, "use the Fed to control money supply and stay out of interest rates."

NATO says they killed about 100 Taliban in Afghanistan yesterday, making it like 500 in just the last month. How many are there? Are they getting an influx daily? Can we stop the pipeline? How about this, let's kill Bin Laden in October and get the Republicans the House and Senate ... that'll make people scream politics.

National Review articles today on commemoration of 9-11

9-11 Five Years Later

This morning I watched the 9-11 memorial at the former World Trade Center site with my two youngest. They were only 2 and 3 at the time so they only really remember the reruns they can't feel the emotional tug of that specific moment. We talked about fascists and dictators versus freedoms and openess. We talked about real religion and what man can do to religion by changing it into a "tool" of manipulation and control.

Do you remember where you were? Do you remember a feeling that "this is the end."?

Elam Trip Update III

Julie and the team toured the Blue Mosque and Market Bazaar and Haggia Sophie in Istanbul yesterday. I posted pix of the Blue Mosque yesterday. Last night had dinner with a student at the college ... she tells in her email a story that out one window were white dress laden dancers, out the other a Turkish wedding, the muslim call to prayers was sounded and the team decided to sing "I love you Lord" while holding hands. Sounds pretty intense eh?

Here's here email from late last night:

"we had a huge day yesterday on the go all day! we toured the blue mosque and haggaı sophıa whıch was a temple and the muslıms have taken over and etched every cross out ın the place. one of the students prepared dınner for us last nıght Iranıan meal and we heard more testımonıes from them. ı love these people. they have such pure hearts. the excıtemnet for mınısterıng to the lost ıs heartwrenchıng--ıt ıs what they lıve for. they prepared us lunch at the church yesterday also. the same student that paıd for meal the fırst nıght--ıs the one who fıxed our lunch and dınner.

we shopped at the grand bazzar yesterday evenıng and bought many thıngs. baharenk showed us what thıngs represented an evıl spırıt wıthın the moslem relıgıon--thıngs not to purchase. there are many sıgns and restaraunts that have thıs EYE ON ıt.

we went to magnaşs apt. and had dınner and there was a turkısh weddıng goıng on ın one wındow--A TURKISH WHIRLING DANCER IN THE OTHER--THE PRAYER CALL GOING ON AND THEN WE WERE SINGING AND HOLDING HANDS I LOVE YOU LORD. SORRY about the grammar on thıs computer ıt ıs dıfferent than most. ıt was an amazıng tıme of worshıp.

we spent the mornıng havıng breakfast wıth sam who ıs ın charge of elam--he ıs so humble 1 yet ıs on fıre for the lord. he has created a beautıful mınıstry of competent carıng people who make savıng the lost a prıorıty!

we are goıng on a cruıse around the ıslands of ıstanbul wıth the students and sam and wıtnessıng to muslıms today. thıs ıs such an awesome opportunıty! thanks for lettıng me do thıs!"

They travel out at 1 a.m. tonite (8 am tomorrow for them) to Munich for a day and then home to Chicago on Monday.

"we are brıght eyed and bushy taıled thıs am (noT). had a great tıme wıth students and sam (unbelıevable beauty) saıled on the black sea and sea of marmarş called the bosphorous. the studentsa evangelızrd on the boat and had a blat wıth us and each other. they are so precıous! they are always carryıng bıbles. we stopped at a b and b and 2 young men owned and welcomed us to use theır place to sıt by the ocean. They were moslem and we dıdnt realıze that sam was goıng to baptıze one of the students. he baptızed her and the men were watchıng whıch then was a chance to evangelıze to both and then there was a crowd around sam and a few of the students. ı felt lıke thıs ıs how JESUS spent hıs lıfe. very meek and seızıng every opportunıty!

well our rıde to aırport ıs waıtıng so ı better get off of here<. headed to munıch and then home! ı am lookıng forward to seeıng everyone! "

Elam Trip Update II

Julie sent this email late last night, her early morning since they are 7 hours ahead.

"Thıs place ıs beautıful!!!! lookıng out at the sea of marmar and the hıstory ıs amazıng: We are tourıng wıth baharaknk today. Hıs testımony ıs amazıng: The storıes that were told last nıght of the spırıtual warfare and holy spırıt ıs amazıng!!! They have seen demons removed from people. well ı cannot waıt to talk to you! we are tourıng the blue mosque and grand bazaar today. "

I inserted the Blue Mosque pictures so you could all see where she's headed today.

Today's Headlines and LInks - Sept 7

Nato commander says they need more troops in southern Afghanistan to deal a decisive blow to Taliban militants.

Tony Blair will announce he's retiring in May, he's been a good friends an ally to the United States over the last decade. Now the question is will the Brits elect a conservative government and begin the process of rolling back the socialism of the 70's?

I am suggesting over at Synergy Thoughts that the media recession is over, oil is down, rates are down, incomes are up, the Fed is done killing the goose, and it may be one heck of a fall housing market. Scroll down for a reading list for the week too.

Oreilly Radar suggests we'll see a resurgence of short form films and books and poetry and articles and media of all types, this time controlled by the user. Does that affect all of us? How will your business be affected?

There are basically two Somalias, one controlled by the Islamacists and one by gangs of thugs parading and pretending to be democrats but are really puppets of Eritrea. What a mess.

Podcast interview with guy who bought a company on Ebay asks the question "will Ebay like auctions be the investment bank sources for the economy 2.0?"

Recommended Read

I am finishing Alvin Toffler's new book Revolutionary Wealth tonite. I highly recommend the book ... chocked full of challenging ideas and terms, some coined by the authors themselves. The book is focused on where we as a world are headed, especially with regards to wealth and its definition. Will we sell things, make things, service things, donate things, compute, or just plain think?

Try it and throw me some comments, I'll do a full review this weekend.

Amazon.com Link if you want your own copy

Newt says do these 11 things

Want to know how to win the house and senate and governors races and statehouses and eventually the Presidency in 2008? Newt says do these 11 things.

Operation Elam

My wife and her mom and sister left today (Monday)for London and Instanbul to visit and meet those involved in Elam College and ministries to develop leaders for reaching into Iran.

Here's the Elam Ministries site

"Elam was founded in 1988 by senior Iranian church leaders with a view to serving the needs of the church in the Iran Region. From the beginning, Elam's passion was to train and equip Iranian Christians for the ministry. In 1990 the first six students arrived from Iran to begin their fulltime training. They lived in a small 2 bedroom apartment and used the kitchen as the classroom.
An elderly Scottish lady sent a cheque to Elam's leadership for £50, noting the money was for the 'Iranian Bible Training Building Project'. No request had been shared with anyone, and so Elam's leadership believed the Lord was directing them to the next step. In 1992 Elam purchased a disused and semi-derelict Salvation Army eventide home."

Wednesday Update: We did get an email to my father in law that they are safely in London and spent yesterday at Elam College and are in London for sightseeing today. We hear rumors that they may get to go to Mary Poppins!

Interesting article today about Istanbul and Turkey and religious freedom, protected by the Turkish constitution but not really a possibility until this first Christian church in years opens.

This is the hotel they are staying at in Istanbul starting tomorrow, wow!

Wednesday afternoon update: Julie emailed "we leave for istanbul in 6 hours --have been in london all day and night. saw mary poppins tonight and had a really nice day. learning lots here at the bible college and the people are great1 give the kids my love. love ya"

Looks like London was a success ... Now on to Instanbul in 6 hours.

Thursday Update: Found this verbage on Flickr post of some great photos of Istanbul .... try it yourself www.flickr.com and do a search for "Istanbul"

"Istanbul ,one of the great historical cities of the world, is the only city in the world located upon two continents with one arm reaching out to Asia and the other arm to Europe. Through the city's heart runs the sea channel called the Bosphorus which reaches north to The Black Sea and south to the Marmara Sea. Istanbul is located in the Marmara region of Turkey and is a major seaport city as well as an industrial, commercial, educational and financial center and trade center. Manufactures include ship building, glass, textiles, shoes and cement. The city's inhabitants is Officially about twelve million.The city is divided into three parts - the old city , the new city and the Asiatic side. The old town and new town which encompass the greater part of the city are located in Europe. The Asiatic side can be reached from the European side by two bridges, the Bosphorus Bridge, one of the world's longest suspension bridges and Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge. The Old City and the New City are separated by the Golden Horn, an inlet of the Bosphorus. It is a natural channel seven km long and is connected by two bridges, the Galata Bridge and Atatürk Bridge"

I talked to Julie yesterday. They had just landed (our morning, their late afternoon) in Istanbul and were headed to dinner in the market quarter of the city. She said they had a great time in London going to Parliament, Big Ben, attending Mary Poppins, and spending some real quality time with these students at Elam College. Hopefully I'll get a report today on their stories in Istanbul. Remember these students are all being taught in Persian so they can head back to Iran and teach the gospel in a country that isn't too free or tolerant. I asked Julie to send some pictures too, hopefuly she can get them emailed so I can post.

Friday Update: Email from Julie

"Thıs place ıs beautıful!!!! lookıng out at the sea of marmar and the hıstory ıs amazıng: We are tourıng wıth

Housing Tornado ... Too many experts ...

With many experts now predicting disaster for the housing market, the question resumes, why did the government find it necessary to kill the economy? Why can't the market run it's own course without intereference? I for one don't think the housing market will crash, but it will surely be bumpy ... Forbes editors agree with me ... but the truth is the interest rates will go up on their own ... I for one say get the heck out of the market manipulation business. Marketwatch editors predict new home sales numbers to decline today too.

Monday's Overview August 21st

I was plucking my way around the web this morning and trying to get a feel for the direction of the economy in the United States, will be tank and head into a full fledged recession or coast along until everyone agrees it's time to go growth again?

What do you think? I'll hold my expectation prediction a day and see who comments with cogent thoughts.

Tiger picks up number 12 on his charge to 20 or more majors, heard this morning that TV ratings were up 11 percent over last year because Tiger was playing in the final group. Now that's star power.

Yes ... the interest rates can now pause. Maybe they could just plain stay put for the next 6 months? Maybe the market should be allowed to determine rates instead of a quasi-government organization?

Buyer's Market Right Now

OK, so here's a parsing of the market news that affects home buyers this morning.

The non-farm payrolls report released at 7:30 a.m. reported that the United States added 113,000 jobs in July ... and that unemployment jumped from 4.6% to 4.8% matching our highest level of unemployment this year.

So what?

This is actually bad news that will be good news for the next 30 days for home buyers. Huh?

It just so happens that the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates 17 times in the last three years in an attempt to slow the economy down so we don't get a bunch of inflation. This report is actually a poor reflection on the economy, which means that the Fed's actions are working to slow the economy, which should allow them to "pause" on Tuesday when they meet and leave rates alone.

Bad news why? Well a nation of 300 million people should create about 250,000 new jobs each month. This is less than half that amount so we're not creating a lot of jobs because we are all feeling the sluggish economy.

Why buy a home now then right? Because for the next 30 days mortgage interest rates will reflect some downward pressure. I would bet they will drop 1/4 percent just this morning and hold there next week. In anticipation of the Fed leaving rates alone next week, mortgage rates will actually go down! How's that for the wacky world of our integrated economy?

If you are looking to buy a home, do it this weekend. If you are looking to refinance, do it this week. If you are looking to remodel, get that home improvement loan now. Sure, rates will go back down to 5 or 6% in another 18 months, and then you can refinance again and take out your equity. But right now you'll have a "pause" in the rate increases, maybe even a drop, take advantage of it and buy a home.

Prices of new homes will go up another 5-10% just in our market due to oil, lumber, drywall, copper, and land. Lot prices have doubled in the last four years. You aren't going to see prices go down, even in a buyer's market. Today is the time to lock in your price and your rate and get yourself a home.

We Are Pretty Smart - Or

Green goo that can turn exhaust and emissions from a smokestack into oxygen? What will they think of next? Oh yeah, they'll keep inventing and man will keep thinking he is quite a bit like God. Or he'll keep inventing and he'll keep overcoming obstacles only to find there are always more obstacles.

Sunday Images and Thoughts

Stand with Israel rally in London.


Daily Pundit opines on the strength of libertarian thought with regards to Iraq. I would agree that a true "small government" theorist can support the invasion of Iraq as a means of self-defense against a coalition aligned against our country. I would also agree that we have suffered a long "nation building" process. Maybe we should learn something from Israel? Get in, destroy the infrastructure, and then get back out.

Or, maybe not, because we are the world's only leaders. Someone has to care enough to create a government. Someone has to care enough to create an economy. Someone has to care enough to introduce the Iraqi's to Christ. Democracy, Capitalism, Religious Freedom ... those are the beacheads of the Bush Doctrine.

Lebanese protesters video

Scatterchat will allow dissidents in China and North Korea and Venezuala and Cuba to communicate secretly without the government looking over their shoulders.

As gasoline prices creep above $3.00 and make a move to $4.00 over the next six months, who is it that is making all the profits? Exxon? BP? Shell? Not really, they are making a good profit, but the truth is that Islamic countries are making all the big dollars. Do we want that much money in their hands?

Do you find it interesting that all these refugees from Lebanon are going to Cyprus? Just three years ago the nation of Cyprus was wracked with violence and vitriole as east and west argued about who would run the country. Have they changed their ways?

Tiger Woods wins 11th major at 30 years old. 2nd British in a row ... only seven more to match Jack Nicklaus or eight to beat his record. The passing of his father was featured as a prominent motivator.

30 Year Old Floyd Lantis also won the Tour de France today. So does that mean that two 30 year old Americans got confused? Did they both miss the fact that the rest of the world thinks America is on the decline. That the rest of the world has fogotten who the leaders are, who are taking all the chances?

Iraq and Lebanon Connection

Iraq the Model follows a complicated prophesy trail inside the radical Muslim community. Scant on details but an interesting theory that relates well to the Christian versions of same.

Highlights from Saturday

Ran across this quote from a Catholic Bishop "Preaching and baptizing are statutory duties of the Church. For all. Jesus did not command us to preach the gospel to all creatures except for the Muslims, the Jews, and the Dalai Lama." Preach it!

Then a great summation from a former Mosad agent: "This campaign is almost the last chance for the sated and concerned West to deliver a truly powerful blow to the conception of terrorism as a strategic instrument and to one of the most murderous and most dangerous terrorist organizations we have known in the past 30 years. Effectively, the whole Islamic world on one side and the West on the other are sitting in the stands, watching the events and hoping it does not end with penalty shots or with a headbutt, but with a crushing victory, or at least with a small 1-0. That depends on us, on condition that we are able to restrain all thirst for revenge per se. " Or is it that the world is watching because they know this war ... The War on Terror ... is reaching World War status? Photo is Beirut downtown in April of this year.

"There is a vast difference — both moral and legal — between a 2-year-old who is killed by an enemy rocket and a 30-year-old civilian who has allowed his house to be used to store Katyusha rockets. Both are technically civilians, but the former is far more innocent than the latter. There is also a difference between a civilian who merely favors or even votes for a terrorist group and one who provides financial or other material support for terrorism." Alan Dershowitz, ALAN DERSHOWITZ is a professor of law at Harvard. He is the author, most recently, of "Preemption: A Knife that Cuts Both Ways."

Pajamas Media still has one of the best aggregators of media and bloggers reporting from Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon.

Today's Highlights

Quote of the day: U.S. Grant referred to by Tom Peters "The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike at him as hard as you can and as often as you can, and keep moving on."

Chicago Skyline from flickr













Israeli Troops Video

Cool Movie with Music "Shout to the Lord"

Map the Conflict

Terrific map showing areas in the Israeli Hezbollah crisis, with blogger sites mapped

Today's Wave

Ugandan Peace talks between government and rebels broke down this morning when government officials stormed out. Hopefully they will return to the table to continue talks, these are the talks in Juba S. Sudan.

As tensions increase on the Korean penninsula, the North says "no" to reunions for the time. Basically it's time to eliminate North Korea. East Germany was a bad idea, and so is North Korea.

Watch Ukraine, the pro-Russian politicians are trying to run the country back to totalitarianism like Russia and some of the former Soviet satellites. The pro-western president has been relegated to opposition, hopefully another Orange Revolution can help him regain power and push Ukraine back on track.

First Israel moves to enforce discipline in Gaza, then they begin the campaign against the Hezbollah in Lebanon, a couple days ago they stopped a bomber coming into Israel from the West Bank ... it's starting to feel like they are surrounded! They are surrounded. At this point they seemt to feel like they can take "all comers" .... But is that because of implicit approval by the U.S.? Did we know they would raise the ante? Did we encourage this process as a part of our war on terror?

Debka file reports, you'll have to check his sources but they seem on the mark normally, that senior Hezbollah leaders are holed up in northern Lebanon along a trade and transportation route known to be a source of arms and drugs from Lebanon to Syria to Iran to Iraq. According to his information three of the top terrorists in the world are in this area. Let's call this shot nice and simple ... Kill all three!

After some stinging setbacks in Afghanistan, it looks like coalition forces are set to take back one district in the south from the taliban forces. There is always this talk of multiple fronts, can the U.S. and it's allies fight on all these fronts? Well there is also the question of the terrorists, can they continue to fight in Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza, West Bank, Afganistan, Timor, Philipines ...? I think not.

Serbs and Albanians, who are all leaders in Kosovo, get angry and can't come to compromise on protecting Orthodox religious sites in Kosovo. You see, Kosovo will be a new country in 2007, and the Serbs aren't happy and frankly they are the minority. Many of them really just need to head to Serbia until the infantile tribalism that is more reminiscent of Africa than Europe passes.

I love this one, the President of Algeria send a letter to footballer Zidane, a letter of support. Now why the heck would he need support? On his final game of an oustanding soccer career he head-butts a guy in ovetime and gets kicked out. He's basically a bad card. But ... his parents were from Algeria so the President of Algeria thinks he can get some publicity on this guy's back. Talk about cheap antics ... and frankly the guy's a bad apple ... is that what this President wants the world to see when they think of Algeria?

Armenia and Andorra both signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty this week, marking nations 133 and 134 ... but what happens when someone breaks their word? Does the UN send in a force to make them? Does the US become police officer to the world?

China still sending mixed signals on Korea, they want six-party talks, they didn't vote against the Security Council Resolution, but they say "keep the rhetoric down" and pursue peace on the penninsula. What does that mean? Are they going to give any leadership or guidance or let the US do the heavy lifting and then complain later like France and Germany?

Pakistan cracks down, at least for the press, on Taliban living in northern Pakistan. They will be sent to Afghanistan for lack of identity papers.

I think this is a direct reaction to Sec. Rice and Afghan leaders and now Indian leaders suggesting that Pakistan needs to crack down on the terrorists in their midst. But, be aware that this has similarities to Israel's call for Hamas to be ousted from Palestine and Hezbollah to be ousted from Lebanon. This continues the W Doctrine of demanding that all terror organizations be chased all the way to their roots and destroyed.

A well written article suggests that "Greater Albania" may be a new terror problem in Southeast Europe. While the Balkans have settled down recently, militant groups are bored and want to carry the flag of creating a region dominated by Albanians. Why? In a society where tribe and nationality just don't matter a lot ... why do these terror groups want so badly to remake the world into a thousand small tribal wars? Kosovoreport gives a run-down day by day of the events leading up to July 24th meeting in Vienna where the Serbs and Kosovoan authorities meet to talk about independance for Kosovo.

Conspiracy Theory

Do you buy the story that Israel and the U.S. are privately happy that Hezbollah and Hamas have made these huge mistakes? That this was a moment of clarity and opportunity to strike at the head of the snake?

"Hezbollah's cross-border raid that captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others has provided a "unique moment" with a "convergence of interests" among Israel, some Arab regimes and even those in Lebanon who want to rein in the country's last private army, the senior Israeli official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing conflict.
Israel and the United States would like to hold out until Hezbollah is crippled.
"It seems like we will go to the end now," said Israeli Ambassador Daniel Ayalon. "We will not go part way and be held hostage again. We'll have to go for the kill -- Hezbollah neutralization."

MSNBC.Com Story

Ouch that hurt

I have to admit a bit of "excitement" at the events in Israel. Then I run into this blogger's somewhat cynical review of Christianists and their "excitment" about the Rapture. The quotes are embarrasing and frankly gave me some pause to consider.

Yes, Christ's return is emminent. Maybe even in the next couple years.

No, we shouldnt be gleeful about the deaths and war and famine and attacks.

Read the blog for yourself.

If you really want to be freaked out, go to the Rapture Ready site he suggests.

Mideast Crisis

So ... Gateway Pundit suggests that the Lebanese leadership is finally ready to rid itself of Hezbollah ... will the Palestinians follow suit and leave the Hamas world they have occupied so long?

Is it possible that Hamas and Hezbollah played right into Israel's hands? With escalation seemingly defensive, they can destroy many months of military build-ups and push both Palestine and Lebanon away from the militants. Will it work?

I love this quote from a Syrian official "We aren't mercenaries ... We wish Lebanon well but we can't just go in and out."

Does that mean Iran is running the show now?

Today's Headline: Israel Kills Lebanese Civilians! So not only is Israel not allowed to defend themselves for the last 30 years, but now they have to be careful when they do that they don't hurt civilians? Why do the U.S. and Israel have to live up to different rules than every other nation? Did we cede our right to self-defense?

This Publius blogger says that Olmert was put in an untenable position, make a decision quickly to prove that you are in charge.

Houston Newspaper quoted by Austin Bay:

"Israeli officials said a defeat of Hezbollah, a radical Shiite militia with strong ties to Syria and Iran, would send an important message to the region and would help Israel in its efforts to undermine the power of Hamas in the Palestinian Authority. They argued it would also help the weak Lebanese government assert control over the entire country.
…
Israeli officials said that their strategy was to diminish or destroy the power of Hezbollah, which has created “a state within a state” in southern Lebanon, and to ensure that the Lebanese army replaced Hezbollah on the border with Israel, as demanded by the United Nations.
“We’ve decided to put an end to this saga and to change the rules of the game whereby a terrorist organization that is part of the Lebanese government can push the region to the abyss,” said Isaac Herzog, a member of the Israeli security Cabinet.

July 11 is a big day in the world

More Israeli troops and tanks head into Gaza on Wednesday early. Gang I'm telling you, this is no different than a hundred times that Israel has had to defend itself while the rest of the world sits on their hands.

"A senior Mumbai police official, P.S. Pasricha, said the explosions were part of a well-coordinated attack. The country's home minister told Indian television that authorities had information that an attack was coming but did not know the time or place" Hindu News

"In New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tonight reviewed the security situation in the aftermath of blasts in Mumbai and Srinagar after which he expressed the government's resolve to "fight and defeat the evil designs of terrorists". A thought, one person's terrorist is another's Paul Revere.

The Korea Times asks if the North Korean arms crisis will allow Japan and other southeast Asian countries to begin a major arms build-up? Korea Times article

Smoke fills Chicago subway and evacuation is required. No news if it's terrorists or just equipment malfunction, but everyone's a bit jittery today.

Hamas issues a "deadline" to Israel at 11 p.m. tonite that Israel let prisoners go "or else"

Tonite may get even worse in Gaza.

Maybe just maybe Calderon won

All eyes are on Mexico tonight, with the US hoping the conservative candidate chosen by President Fox's party will win. A leftist aligned with Chavez would be a set back indeed.

See Gateway Pundit roundup and photos

Update: Exit polls say the election is too close to call, waiting till 11 for an election commission announcement.

Update2: Now the election commission says that it may take until Wednesday to know who won the election.

Blogs with news: Gateway Pundit has a roundup with photos, Mark in Mexico says the conservative probably won by less than 400,000 votes but we wait for certification

Pork Busted City

I guess a city was going to pay their own way for a bridge. Then they hired a guy who was close to their congressman and they got a quick $50 earmark. One blogger suggests that communities should be embarassed.

Reuters and others report a larger than expected crowd turned out for a pro-democracy rally in Hong Kong. Chinese authorities, of course, also claim that they had a huge rally in favor of the mainland and status quo. Whatever.

I was curious to note that a cardinal from the Catholic church, who is respected as a leader, took part in the rally. Will the Catholic church take a stand against the Chinese, or take part in pushing the Chinese people to embrace democracy? Pope John Paul II stood against the Soviet bloc due to his time in Poland.

Sorry boys, the gig may be up. Afterall, two-thirds of Americans think you ought to be jailed for what you did. If the media is so concerned about truth, publish this fake Mohammad cartoon on the front page! You haven't done that yet. And explain the story on how this fake cartoon was behind the deaths at those cartoon protests. Or, do reports that upset terrorists go against your agenda? Pretty Serious blog that challenges the MSM to post a cartoon, foolish as it seems, that was used by the Islamacists to kill and terrorize.

Saturday's Musings

Have you followed the activities in Gaza and Israel? Some militant Palestinians kidnapped an Israeli soldier and now the Israeli's are doing what they do best, retialiating with equal force.

What are your thoughts about the righteosness of this reponse? Are we looking at the first part of a world action toward peace? Are we looking at decades of more violence and and end to the small peace efforts of the last two decades. Will militant Islamacists ever allow peace in any form?

The Israeli's are playing hardball by taking it to the Palestinian leadership.

Serious Blog about the problem

Is there an alternative to the EU in the works?

The current EU is dominated by France and Germany and they really don't have much of an ability to do much but spend money and frankly they waste most of it.

I would avidly support an alternative open market to the EU, let's start with the new democracies in the Balkans and move in concentric circles from there.

What will happen to steel jobs in USA?

Mittal merger goes thru ... according to Reuters report early this morning from India

Some challenging possibilities for Northwest Indiana. These companies will be heavily leveraged and selling off or closing facilities will be inevitable. I think it is entirely possible that Mittal in Northwest Indiana will be closed entirely within the next three years.

Mittal has excercised a classic "oligopolist" move by consolidating the industry ... next step is to cut back on production world wide so that prices can rise. For those in the resulting industry, probably a boon. For those who lose their jobs in the cutbacks, a serious personal crisis.

Bird Flu Jumps from person to person

I picked this up on digg.com so I was a little sceptical. Looking forward to some additional confirmation. Of course "experts" have been predicting this would happen eventually.

As a student of history, we learn that human to human transmission of animal viruses is nothing new and was a regular part of nation conquering when the New World invaded the Old World.

Albania This Week

So you haven't thought much about Albania lately?

That's OK, me neither, but it only took perhaps 30 minutes to get a little history lesson on this truly crossroads nation. They are at the crossroads of Muslim-Christian juxtoposition. They are at the crossroads of the Socialist-Democracy conflict. They are next door to Kosovo and Montenegro ... one a new country and one a possible new country. This is a hot bed of activity and possible crisis.

The UN will probably allow Kosovo to split from Serbia next year. Most of Kosovo is Albanian, but the Albanians don't want to integrate the two areas, they favor a new nation formation.

Serbia are basically the bad guys of the whole region. Beaten right now, yes. But watch out, haven't we learned from Iran and No. Korea that they may not stay beaten?

U.N. Special Envoy Soeren Jessen-Petersen says the people of Kosovo are growing impatient with the province's uncertain future. As he prepares to leave after two years on the job, Jessen-Petersen told the Security Council that after seven years of U.N. rule, the time has come to finally settle the question of Kosovo's status. "We cannot keep Kosovo in limbo for much longer. And as I leave, this is my biggest hope is that we clarify the status and that all those who have suffered so badly during the conflicts in the region over the last 15 years can finally be the beneficiaries of a settlement," he said.
The envoy expressed fear that people's patience might run out if Kosovo's "limbo status" drags on. "For the last two years, we've been managing stability in Kosovo on the basis of hope - hope given by the launch of the status process. People have been remarkably patient. Remarkably. Because we have a status process that is moving forward. If suddenly the status process either slows down or stops, I think that patience will be running out. This is not a threat, this is not blackmail. It is a simple recognition of reality on the ground. We need to move from a limbo situation to clarity," he said.
Jessen-Petersen's comments came as the Security Council appears increasingly likely to allow Kosovo to break away from Serbia. A vote is expected by the end of the year.

Want to check on this pretty wild region:

http://www.albanian.com/community/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=912

http://www.albanian.com/community/index.php

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/al.html

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/albania.html

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/altoc.html

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

I love this one

These people can't agree on anything! They have different political views and religious views, and many of them would sanction killing each other over their differences. But they agree to go to Washington to tell the US to send more money. That's what they all agree on?

State's Rights vs. Big Government?

Let's dig in and debate this one a bit.

The salient details: Maryland's legislature wants to move people off the public health care rolls. They pass a law requiring larger employers (specifically Wal Mart) to provide a level of health coverage. The governor vetoes the law, the legislature overules his veto.

Now Wal Mart, represented by Supreme Court Justice Scalia's son, says to a judge, "throw it out"

Whay do you think? I have some strong opinions but would like to get some comments first.

Read the article here

Former Vice President Walter Mondale says he would back pre-emptive strike against North Korea. Interesting! So, maybe we should drop some bombs on their missile technology and launchers ... that would get their attention.

Or, did he say this as a favor to the adminstration as a way of getting some attention from North Korea from an "un-official" statement?

Or, is it a set-up by the Dems to try and get the Bushies to get excited about Iraq 2 and let too much of their long term plan out before the mid-term elections?

Which one?

On a local front, we continue to be attacked by those that want "all" new home construction to be halted. Bob Harper and his merry band of "against everythings" have struck down another project becuase the neighbor wants in on the action!

Arrests in Miami, possible terror suspects, details spotty so far.

Ding Dong the #$%^ is Dead

Zarqawi is dead, thank God. It is high time that Iraq be given a chance to enjoy their democracy.

This will take time and we will still be training and mentoring for many years. But I think this is the beginning of the end of the localized war, thought the global war on terror will continue.

A fisking - a term derived from the many times bloggers have dissected the deranged writing of Robert Fisk - is a genre that takes a text by someone else, and responds to it sentence by sentence, point by point

So one blogger decided to take W's speech and tear it apart one point at a time, like Rush does to Clinton often, by do so in an audio sphere and podcast it! Thus he suggests a new term "Pod-fisking" Remember he is definitely a W hater.

Islamo-Fascicism ... New term coined for the Jihadists.

So, the Dems lost the "special election" house seat in California last night? So this landslide of Dems over Republicans that we've been hearing about for November, dead on arrival?

I liked this articles title "Boo Freakin Hoo"

This writer suggests on National Review that the Fed is creating inflation by raising the cost of borrowing.

A group of Palestinian children were sent towards the Gaza Strip border fence holding toy guns on Thursday in order to test the vigilance of the soldiers on duty

Thoughts for Wednesday - Tech

Have you followed Google's "deal" with China? They agreed to create a separate search site that could be watched more closely by the government and censored. CNet article suggests a possible insider plan wherein Google uses this censored site to appease the Chinese but really drives traffic through the real uncesored site. Dangerous game?

"Stepping into a research area marked by controversy and fraud, Harvard University scientists said Tuesday they are trying to clone human embryos to create stem cells they hope can be used one day to help conquer a host of diseases" Better follow the news gang, are we going to create human farms so we can grow disease prevention and health care?

"Google needs to embrace the possibility of failure. They need to stop making all of the same mistakes Microsoft made. They need to build aggressive and visionary products, kill stuff that doesn’t work, muzzle their out-of-control communications team and start telling us what Google 2.0 is going to be. " So Google has released a spreadsheet program and is trying to compete with Yahoo's flickr for photo manangement, good competition is working. Keep the government out and let them battle and innovate.

Here's an "of course" statistic. Higher fuel costs are driving people to want to telecommute instead of go to the big office. Good. The market works. Now, let's raise fuel taxes another 10% and use the money to build new technology and infrastructure, or better yet just balance the federal budget. Further reducing driving and fuel consumption. This should make everyone happy. $5.00 a gallon gas ... a balanced budget ... clean air ... more people working from home ... less corporate overhead from fat employees not really working that hard ...

Publius shows that in Belarus they still haven't figured out that poor leaders are just that, poor leaders. Time for these former Soviet states to throw out the bums.

The SLA, the key rebel group in Sudan, won't sign the peace agreement in Darfur. Maybe it's slanted toward the government in Sudan and the UN and African Union have gone along so they can look "peaceful"? Maybe "peacemaking" is actually a weapon?

No this guy isn't a hero, driving over 130 miles per hour on the toll road. He may be daring, but frankly he ain't that smart!

Check out the before and after pictures of a slum in Zimbabwe, the government decided to raze the entire area. Where do they live now? Did that really fix the problem? 1,000 percent inflation too eh? Can you say fraud and stupid?

Market worries eased with Iran seemingly a little less dangerous. Oil slides a bit, but aren't we getting aweful used to $70 oil? Market eases up to levels from yesterday. Fed just doesn't seem to want to show it's hand. From a housing standpoint, the housing market is down at least 15%.

In Chile the students rioted, for free education, free bus rides, free stuff, more free! What kind of society tells these students that they will get free anything?










Wait a minute!!! I thought green house gases were destroying the ice cap? But now researchers say that the pole used to be much warmer? Is it possible that this is a pretty normal up and down process that swings from cold to warm every couple thousand years? Read up and comment

The government has actually eliminated a tax! Yes, you read that right, they have totally eliminated a tax and will actually refund tax payers.

Read the article and weep ... especially if you're a liberal and think all taxes should go up.

The MarketWatch article even suggests that Treasury Sec Snow is pushing for another one to be eliminated. Now if the next five years saw the elimination of billions in small foolish taxes, businesses could explode in growth.

The government in China wants to slow down the real estate business. So they are imposing higher down payment requirements and requiring developers to give back property that sits idle and basically taking even more government control of everything.

Sound like Bob Harper to you?

Alan Garcia may well win Presidency in Peru. But he says he'll do so by campaigning against Chavez and his "kinglets" philosophy of ruling Central and South America. Now wasn't he the leftist President a decade ago? A new man?

Gateway Pundit suggests that unrest in Iran may change the structure for us. Should we support the unrest?

Jeb Bush for President in 2012 or 2016. I really don't think so. I think the Dems woudl like to say that could happen as a scare tactic to drive Hillary into office.

OK so local politics got wacky for the primary.

Bob Harper won handily, but a little reported statistic shows a challenger who did a terrible job and didn't even talk to the newspapers, got 2,400 votes. That has to show that a lot of people dislike Mr. Harper.

Sexton wins over current assessor, but Dems turn around today and appoint a 74 year old township assessor who was going to retire, but now wants to protect the "lifers' club.

Murphy and Bucko look good.

Council will stay 4-3 Dems, but Bucko will be able to exert some leadership on behalf of growth.

Gensel and Dick and Ayres and Trinkle and Murphy all uncontested as Republicans.

Makes one wonder what the Dem Chair does with his free time?

Isreali Prime Minister suggests he would split Jerusalem?

I don't like it at all.

I guess Chavez has threatened a couple times to blow up his oil wells if the US makes him mad, or something like that. This satirical piece pokes fun of this threat. Quite funny.

So at least Bin Laden tells the truth. The Darfur massacres are all about the Arab government killing non-Arabs so they can take control of the oil wealth in that part of the Sudan. I've been to Sudan and talked to the people, they hate their form of government, they can't stand how they have been manipulated and used to kill their own people.

New Orleans will take a decade to re-build, but right off the bat they are choosing politicians just like the old days. Too bad eh?

World Bank leaders are having a good debate. Is poverty reduction more important that eliminating corruption? Or can you even think about reducing poverty when corruption is so rampant in same countries?

Some European nations complained that the World Bank's president, Paul Wolfowitz, was emphasizing corruption-fighting at the expense of poverty reduction. The former top Pentagon official began his five-year term in June.

I got a lot of responses to my immigration posts last week. Some people wanting to focus on the "sin" issue of the immigrant. Some wanting to focus on the criminal nature of the employer. Others wanting to open our borders completely. Still look forward to your posts and comments.

I am moving toward a more open border stance personally. We need immigrants for jobs in the United States. We need their diversity and thier talents. The law doesn't allow fully open borders so I would suggest responsiblity in allowing more Mexicans and Central Americans to enter the United States legally, while fingerprinting and DNA printing all entrants for security purposes.

Now for the news of the week that I followed:

Iraq finally stopped wrangling and chose a prime minister who needs to form a government. Democracry is working, remember real democracy is hard work.

The trading price for oil topped $75 for the first time ever! It will drop this summer back to $55 but mark my words we will see $100 before the end of the year too! We'll hear a lot of calls for new energy sources and innovation ... it's just the kind of challenge we Americans have been looking for!

Chinese President spends time with Bill Gates and heads of Westcoast businesses. Looks like he may just agree to abide by international law and protect copyrites and begin to slow piracy. Chindia (China and India) are growing so rapidly that they are affecting other parts of the world by limiting supply of materials. Copper at all time high, Gold above $600, Silver up, Platinum up. Watch all commodities as they rise, now how do we innovate enough to hold price levels?

Google posts huge increase in profits from real income on advertising, so the internet does work, but similar to the old world, it has to make money to work

Mortgage rates start up and housing is cooling all over. Look for prices to get soft for new construction, some builders will try and buy market share by dropping prices. Some trades too will look to get aggressive and drop prices to drive some competitors out of the market. Frankly the biggest loser is the first time buyer.

Governor Daniels spent time in Afganistan and Iraq with soldiers, then spent some time in Porter County on Thursday with local republicans. A goverenor that we can be proud of.

Tim Scannell's financial update is interesting read ... read short newsletter

Oil hits $70 for first time since September, gasoline inventories are down again so gasoline is increasing another 5-10 cents a gallon, heating oil is up too, only natural gas is maintaining competitive commodity levels. Yahoo Finance Article

Iran says it will give $50 million to the Palestinians to offset their losses with Europe and US withdrawing support due to Hamas (a terrorist group) not allowing for a government of peace. Iran banding with Hamas and the radical Palestinians will not bode well for peace in the mideast.

Still no agreement on a leader in Iraq. Until this government can be formed, with the legitimacy that comes from democracy, the US will be mired for months to come. Read REUTERS updates

Market moving upward a bit on reports that Citibank earnings were up 4%. This flies in the face of the the "the sky is falling" folks in media. Looks like banks will do well even though rates have been increased too many times. Now it's time for the Fed to get out of the rate business, follow some Steve Forbes advice and use money supply.

With toll roads and bridges and airports being privatized and outsourced worldwide, the business of managing these lease and privatized assets is growing. Now it seems that GE may be interested in the airport operator from the UK that manages the Indy airport. Maybe they'll buy the consortium that just bought the Indiana toll road lease? This does bring up another daltonsbriefs constant complaint ... We really need to get serious about selling the United States Postal Service.

Free Trade is one of the most powerful tactics to overturn tyrants and socialism in the world. Read a well written thesis on why the Bush Administration will be remembered in history as one of the best at the implementation of free trade for the masses.

Opinion of Housing Zone economist, the housing market is fine, but investors who were flipping properties in the last three years have retreated from the market. They may have been as much as 12% of the market in 2005, they aren't going to be anywhere close to that amount this year, which will feel like less buyers are in the market. This is no bubble! Countrywide Home Mortgage reported 10% funding increase in March or last year, no bubble here! Read blogger who suggests that this is good news for develoepers and for financiers.

I guess there is one Iraqi leader who has taken on the jihadists and decided that they are killing more of his people than Americans. This blogger and links suggest we look at this as a turning point of self-responsibility.

Thoughts on Immigration?

A quote to start the conversation:

Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN in 1907.

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

The Katrina construction projects are being called the "gold rush" for immigrants

Hispanic workers have gutted, roofed and painted houses, and hauled away garbage, debris and downed trees. Illegal immigrants have installed trailers to house returning evacuees at New Orleans City Park, their pay coming from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) subcontractors.
"It's all illegals doing this work," said Rey Mendez, a FEMA trailer subcontractor from Honduras. Read Article in Seattle Times

So, before I go on with my thoughts, let's hear some first. Who's willing to venture a comment?