Needs repeating

 1 Samuel 8


1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.

 4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”

 6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.”

 10 Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.”

 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

 21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.”

   Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Everyone go back to his town.”

AAAARRGH

It's like Carter times eleventy.

And this hostage crisis has gone on for 1335 days.

Hostage America, Day 1257

Independence Day comes early next week.  Many don't feel like celebrating this year, after the open tyranny this administration has displayed.

May I suggest that instead of getting drunk on a lake somewhere, you gather with your friends and family and declare your independence?

Read the Declaration.  Remember that the Founders were not freed from Britain's yoke by this document -- the DoI simply declared that we are free, and if a government shows, repeatedly, that it will not honor that, we have not only a right, but a DUTY to get rid of it.

Actually gaining a government that respected liberty required bloodshed.

Remember that tyranny itself is very bloody.  The last three and a half years have given us a body count already-- two border agents, murders and overdoses at Occupy encampments, and God alone knows how many foreigners dead by F&F guns and drone strikes.  That's not counting the rapes, assaults, vandalism, theft from Occupies, flash mobs, and union thuggery.

America has put the decision off too long for an easy way forward.  Every path we could take will be ugly, and painful, whether it be austerity, or collapse, or reform, or civil disobedience, or withdrawal.  All our options suck. 

Choose this day.  Draw a line in the sand, and mark it well.  What will you do when that line is crossed?  Has it been crossed already?

Stop wringing your hands.  Stop lying to yourself.

Flip a coin, if you must.

But make a stand.

Screw you, Roberts.

I am a free woman.

My body is not the property of the United States Government.

I will not comply.

And those of you who persist in chasing 'how this benefits my team' rather than facing the ramifications of this ruling,  then crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.

Doom has burst forth...

...the rod has budded, arrogance has blossomed!

Most people don't understand it yet. I swear, normalcy bias has been the death of us all.

I've tried talking to people about it; most of them are more worried about next year's election and how "we gotta get somebody in there who can save America."


Oh, honey. It's gone already.


It was killed October 3, 2008 when the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (TARP) was passed and signed into law over the objections of the American people. The election of Barack Hussein Obama merely cut off the life support.

They're still upset over Obamacare, but they're not even thinking about the stimulus, or the auto bailouts, or the proliferation of czars, or the vote fraud, or the cronyism... It was, as the media love to say, unprecedented.

But now there is precedent. History cannot be undone. We may take actions that reverse the results, but what is done is done. And once a thing has been done and accepted, it is far more likely to be accepted again.

"But we didn't accept it!"

Oh, really? What have you done about it?

"We're awake now! We have the Tea Party! We voted in a Republican House last year!"

Very nice. What has that done, exactly? There was the summer budget fight, when they told us they were going to slash spending. But it turned out they just slowed the increase, like they always do. And most of that was ten years out, when God alone knows who'll be in charge. Remember how the Tea Party was out in force, holding them accountable?

Oh, wait. That didn't happen.

"One-half of one-third of government! Wait til 2012 when we take it all back!"

Dude. Do you still not see how doomed we are?

Even if we put in zombie Coolidge, who goes on a rampage undoing all this crap, there's nothing to stop the next president from doing it all over again. The system has been damaged beyond what mere tinkering can overcome; it would take a total overhaul just to get us back to early 2008, never mind what the Founders intended.

And there is no political will to do so. Too many of the same people shrieking about big government are angry at the suggestion of doing something about Social Security and Medicare. Even when you're not talking about theirs, but their grandkids'. "I want mine, cut someone else's cheese!" Even if zombie Coolidge were running, he couldn't get elected.


And oh, hey, by the way, we'll be lucky to even make it to the election.


Europe is on the brink. Yes, they've been there since 2008. And they've come back every time.

But the down times keep getting shorter and shorter. They're safe for a year. Then a half year. A few months. Weeks. Days. Germany was going to ride to the rescue and help bail out Greece, but then no one wanted to buy their bonds. They will have to either go to a true United States of Europe or dissolve the union; it cannot continue in its present form. Nations are being downgraded left and right; bailouts will have to come from China and the IMF--which means us. (BTW, China's not the major buyer of our debt anymore--it's the Fed, which means they're already printing money. Notice prices going up?) Europe, as always during financial distress, is turning to nationalism--keep watching for ethnic skirmishes. There was an actual pitchfork mob against the gypsies in Bulgaria this summer.


We do not have rule of law in this country anymore. Consider MF Global, Solyndra, Fast and Furious. You know as well as I do that if anyone goes to prison for any of these, it will likely be a fall guy for political expedience. I mean, my God, $1.2 billion dollars missing, Corzine? You just lost it somewhere? That's felony-grade stupid, under SOX, no? 300 dead Mexicans and a US federal agent, and Eric Holder is still walking around free. The worst anyone has even mentioned is impeachment, when he should be frogmarched away in a snazzy jumper.

This is not rule of law; it is rule of men. Rule of men erodes trust, and without trust, everything fall down go boom. You can't invest without trust that you will get what you paid for. You can't run a business without trust that your debtors will pay their bills.


People are angry. Disaffected, directionless, digusted. Lost. The Occupy movement has largely petered out, but the leftists who organized it want political violence, and they are likely to have it next summer. Remember the Discovery hostage taker last fall, and the Tuscon shooter this spring? Unbalanced people, influenced by lefty paranoia. Two murders at Occupy camps, aside from the rapes, assaults, and overdoses. How about the flash mobs this summer? Shut down the beach in Chicago, attacked Wisconsin State Fairgoers. You think the left won't use that? The London Riots in August, think that'll never happen here?


Terrorism. Not Al Qaida, I mean the really dangerous ones, like Tea Partiers and returning military. You know, the ones the DOJ has repeatedly warned us about. You're supposed to forget all that when the bill passed allowing the military to detain US citizens in this country as terrorism suspects without trial. Gulag? What gulag, comrade? Come with us, don't make any noise, it will all be over in a little while. Of course this bill was not aimed at you, now get on the train, comrade.

Also this friendly DOJ is giving weapons to the Mexican cartels. To what ends? There is no innocent explanantion. The guns were not microchipped, not followed--indeed, agents were told NOT to follow when they tried. The Mexican government was not involved. All at the time the state department was repeating the lie about 90% of guns coming from the US, and the Stuttering Charliefoxtrot of a Miserable Failure was working on gun control "under the radar", and we now have emails showing they tried to use the stats from F&F to push gun control.

Oh, sure, if it comes to it I'm sure they can drum up some actual muslim terrorism, too, if it's necessary. Because...

The Middle East is on fire. "Arab Spring", huh? Looks more like a long, islamic winter. A judge has just ruled that Iran had some involvement in 9/11, supporting the terrorists, so it's a safe bet we'll be going into Iran, now that we've left Iraq. (Out of the frying pan into the fire.) Rally the homefront, kick up the economy, distract from the mess at home. And Syria, don't forget Syria. We'd have the backing of the Arab League, there; they're already going to the UN. Damascus will fall sometime, perhaps soon.

In Israel the right-wing is fighting back with "price-tag" attacks--they've even gone after the military. Israelis turning on each other even as Jordan is offering Hamas a new home so the palestinian government can be unified. (They still want the UN seat, too.) And while Egypt is turning islamist and threatening the peace treaty. And Hizb'allah is attacking.


But please, let's just keep bickering over the latest poll and who's the most "electable." Because the world's gonna stay the same while we jabber.

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers. He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.



¹⁸ Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. ¹⁹ As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. ²⁰ For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart. -Ecclesiastes 5

¹⁰ The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to
nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.
¹¹ The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans
of His heart to all generations. ¹² Blessed is the nation
whose God is the LORD, The people He has chosen as
His own inheritance. ¹³ The LORD looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men. ¹⁴ From the place of His
dwelling He looks On all the inhabitants of the earth;
¹⁵ He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all
their works. ¹⁶ No king is saved by the multitude of an
army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
¹⁷ A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver
any by its great strength. --Psalm 33

Osama bin Laden is dead. Long live the United States of America.

All praise to the God of Israel, who avenges His enemies.

Is "moral imagination" anything like "conscience dreaming?"

Inquiring minds want to know.

Psalm 7

A shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjamite.

1 O LORD my God, I take refuge in you;
save and deliver me from all who pursue me,
2 or they will tear me like a lion
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.

3 O LORD my God, if I have done this
and there is guilt on my hands—
4 if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me
or without cause have robbed my foe—
5 then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;
let him trample my life to the ground
and make me sleep in the dust.
Selah

6 Arise, O LORD, in your anger;
rise up against the rage of my enemies.
Awake, my God; decree justice.
7 Let the assembled peoples gather around you.
Rule over them from on high;
8 let the LORD judge the peoples.
Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness,
according to my integrity, O Most High.
9 O righteous God,
who searches minds and hearts,
bring to an end the violence of the wicked
and make the righteous secure.

10 My shield is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
a God who expresses his wrath every day.
12 If he does not relent,
he will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and string his bow.
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he makes ready his flaming arrows.

14 He who is pregnant with evil
and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment.
15 He who digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit he has made.
16 The trouble he causes recoils on himself;
his violence comes down on his own head.

17 I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness
and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

September. Aaaarrgh!

Oy. This is such a disorganized mess, it's pretty much for my benefit only.


Nine US soldiers killed in Afghan chopper crash

30 insurgents killed in Afghanistan ahead of vote

Tajikistan launches huge al-Qaeda manhunt

Troops kill 40 militants east of Afghan capital

Afghan captors release Japanese reporter

Paramilitary force is key for CIA

IRAN: In false report of captured American soldiers, a warning to Ahmadinejad?

Report: Iran Paying Taliban to Kill U.S. Troops

Afghan asylum seekers stage breakout protest in Australia

US deaths in Afghanistan hit record in 2010

2 killed in Afghan anti-Quran-burning protest

Members of Stryker Combat Brigade in Afghanistan accused of killing civilians for sport



African peacekeepers open 9 more bases in Somalia

American Jihadi Killed In Somalia Shootout

At least 43 killed in violence in Sudan's Darfur

Chinese hostage fled Chadian captors by 'undoing chains'

Crew foils Somali pirates

Gold-Mining Companies Drawn to Northeast Africa - WSJ.com

Insurgents kill at least nine at airport in Somalia

Kenya could be punished for welcoming Sudan's leader

Somali refugees tell of hellish scene in Mogadishu

Sudan 'too slow' on referendum: Norway

Australia - An HIV-positive man accused of endangering the lives of five women by having unprotected sex may be allowed to travel to Sudan ahead of his trial.

On the Nile, Egypt cuts water use as Ethiopia dams for power

Death toll rises to 13 in Mozambique protests

Mozambique police kill 6 in food price protest

Egypt journalist faces trial over foreign minister 'insult'

Muslim protesters accuse Egypt's Coptic Church of abducting woman who converted to Islam

Egypt reactor failed in April says nuclear chief

Egypt: Barge leaks 100 tons of gasoline into Nile

Egypt releases top Hamas security official

Egypt TV show stirs debate over Muslim Brotherhood - Critics say the show is historically inaccurate, and leading Brotherhood members allege that the script expresses the views and policies of Egypt's powerful security apparatus, which regards the group as a breeding ground for extremists.

Egyptian police crack down on anti-Mubarak protest

Protests in Egypt against Gamal Mubarak succession plans

Egypt hit by power cuts amid Ramadan heat wave

Spain aims to turn Somali pirates into fishermen

France suspects al-Qaeda behind Niger kidnappings of nuclear workers

Libya apologises for shooting Sicilian trawler

Spain arrests American 'who funded al-Qaeda'

Kenyan Christians abducted, tortured and raped

CIA training Sudan's spies as Obama officials fight over policy

Obama to meet with Sudan leaders in effort to save peace plan

Sudan rejects U.S. referendum incentives

Sudan's spy agency acknowledges cooperation with CIA

Floods displace thousands more in Ethiopia

Niger flooding displaces nearly 200,000, UN says

South Sudan's Aweil region swamped by floods

Pirates hijack cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden

Marines seize ship from pirates

Somali pirates free Bulgarian-owned ship

150 arrested in Mozambique following deadly protests

Dependence on oil revenue will cripple South Sudan’s economy: W. Bank

Report: Egypt seizes anti-aircraft missiles, explosives in Sinai

Egypt FM: Palestinians could get $50 billion in compensation under peace deal


Mutilated bodies found in river near Burundi capital

120 prisoners freed by Boko Haram return

283 inmates return after Nigeria prison break, though Muslim sect members at large

Nigeria: 721 inmates freed in Islamist jailbreak

US plans to train security forces in Nigeria, a major source of crude oil Agency denies opened dams caused Nigeria floods

Flooding in Nigeria displaces 2 million people

Nigeria: Flood ruins crops as food remains scarce

Nigeria: Fire strikes ruling party headquarters

UN peacekeepers failed to stop 500 Dr Congo rapes

UN reports 28 victims of mass rape in eastern Congo are minors



Rethinking American Options on Iran

Palaeolithic funeral feast unearthed in Northern Israel

1,500-year-old Samaritan synagogue found by Beit Shean

Israel researchers find ancient disposable cutlery

Amateur search group claims grave of Russia's 'man in iron mask' found



Kyrgyzstan election could be cancelled: President

Documentary shows dramatic shrinking of the Aral Sea

Report: At least 20 dead in Tajikistan shelling

Tajikistan clashes raise fears central Asia could be new target for Islamist militants

Uzbekistan bans 'pompous' breaking of Ramadan fast

China and Russia drive mineral-rich Mongolia to join the mining elite

Kazakhstan proposes diversion of Siberian rivers to help drought-hit Central Asia

Russia helps fight fatal Kazakh forest fires

Kazakhstan Renews Push For Global Currency Under UN Auspices

Kyrgyzstan plans joint company with Russia that would supply fuel to US air base

Pakistan likely to cancel wheat export plans after floods

Pakistan flood survivors now face threat of malaria

Pak floods affected 20 million people, damaged 1.9 million houses: UN

Bombing in Pakistan kills 65, prompting fears of rising sectarian violence

Death toll rises to 65 in attack on Pakistanis

Gen Musharraf warns of Pakistan coup after crisis meeting in London

Pakistan bombing: At least 14 killed in bombing

Pakistan's army pushes for government shake-up

U.S. adds Pakistan Taliban to terror list

Militants set fire to NATO supply tankers in Pakistan

Moscow Offers Arms To Pay For Military Installations In Kyrgyzstan

Russia expands military presence in Kyrgyzstan



Huge Support for South Korea's Nuke Energy Ambitions--The South Korean industry aims to be 100 percent self-sufficient by 2012, with no residual intellectual property constraints. Following the UAE sale, it is marketing to Turkey, Jordan, Romania and Ukraine, as well as South East Asian countries.

Piracy attacks surge in South China Sea

Pirates Attack Japan Ship in Indonesian Waters

Pirates rob tanker as attacks rise in S.China Sea

China postpones talks with Japan after boat collision

China threatens action on Japan

China to lend Russia $6 bln for coal supplies

China to build $2bn railway for Iran

China says 5 people in Tibet with deadly pneumonic plague, 1 dead

Typhoon leaves scores dead in North Korea

Indonesian volcano erupts again: strongest yet

Two powerful earthquakes hit eastern Indonesia

Volcano on Reunion Island could erupt shortly, officials say

Warning Status Raised as Indonesian Volcano Heats Up

N.Korea beefs up arsenal near border with South: report

South Korea sends rice aid to North Korea

S.Korean firm wins major Saudi water deal--world's biggest desalination plant

Typhoon Kompasu hits South Korea capital Seoul

Typhoon Kompasu killed 'dozens'

Eleven Indonesian police arrested over riot deaths

Indonesian police kill five in riot



Christchurch, New Zealand earthquakes approaching 800 in 19 days

Living on shaky ground

Weather Watch: 'Earthquake lightning' - Christchurch earthquake

Aircraft warned to avoid flying in locust plague areas

Locust bands found in northwest NSW

Locust plague threatens Australia's Melbourne Cup race - Worst locust plague in 75 years

The locusts are coming

Climate protestors stall Australia's largest coal terminal

Rudd tells UN to up its game



Alien Minors Act could boost U.S. military ranks

Arizonas inclusion in a United Nations human rights report

Car loaded with explosives disabled in Mexico

Mexican officers hunt 85 prison escapees around Reynosa

Clad in riot gear, LAPD summoned to quell angry protest over fatal police shooting of day laborer


Brazil oil find may be among largest

Statoil Seeks to Acquire Assets in Brazil, U.S. Shale Gas

Bulgaria: Bulgaria 'Present' at Russian Pipeline Meeting Unbeknownst to Govt

Earthquake in Bulgaria Capital Rattles Homes and Nerves

G20 'secret law' to undergo independent review

Guarding the grid Hurricane Igor lashes eastern Canada



BP sinking cash into Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania Sign Gas Deal

Azerbaijan Gov't Hassles Unregistered Evangelical Church

Expert: Charities sent money to Islamic fighters

Hundreds protest after deadly Caucasus blast

14 militants, 1 policeman killed in Russia

Gazprom to double gas imports from Azerbaijan

Georgia Slams Russia Over Cease-Fire 'Breaches'

Georgia urges UN to hear 'ethnic cleansing' case

Suicide bomber kills five in southern Russia

Suicide car bombing in southern Russia kills 17

Armenia Church To Boycott Landmark Mass In Turkey



Mao's Great Famine by Frank Dikötter | Book review | Books | The Observer

Mao's Great Leap Forward 'killed 45 million in four years'

Progress anything but smooth on China's ambitious, and costly, water plan

China-Russia crude oil pipeline begins operations

Ukraine signs $950 mln China loan for railway link

Two missing after China oil rig accident

China's UN diplomat in drunken rant against Americans


First snowmen of 2010 spotted in shivering Scotland


American Thinker Blog: Halal to the Queen? Britain's Stealth Halal-ization



Drought shrinks Amazon River to lowest level in 47 years

Drought Curbs Cattle Numbers In Argentina

Syria droughts devastate crops, livestock: UN

Gulf of Mexico 'fish kill' discovered but culprit is not who you might think
Second big fish kill in less than week reported in Plaquemines Parish
State officials to test latest fish kill (fourth)
Third fish kill reported in Plaquemines Parish
News archives indicate big fish kills are pretty common in late summer/early fall, but the oil spill has people noticing it more.


New Russia wildfires kill 2 and consume homes

Six dead as fires flare again in southern Russia

Alabama - Drought conditions dangerous

Drought warning issued - Pennsylvania

Dry conditions causing problems for cattle, homes in Miss.

Dry Summer Becoming Fall Drought - Maryland

More N.C. counties reporting drought conditions

State: Recent rains had no effect on W.Va. drought

Texarkana - Region suffers from extended dryness

Twenty-two forest fires reported in north Alabama today

Twitchell Canyon Fire, Utah : Natural Hazards

Water Crisis Hits Western Cities and States


GDF Sells 5% of Gas Natural for 540 Million Euros

EU Parliament OKs financial supervision law

Ireland Moves to Split Up Troubled Anglo Irish Bank

French trains grind to a halt as millions join pension strike

German bank sanctioned for ties to Iran

Protesters take to Europe’s streets as anger grows over austerity measures

Hundreds protest in Romania against wage cuts and austerity measures

Romania passes more fiscal austerity measures

Romanian finance minister's sacking raises fears for reform

Spain loses AAA status, stands firm on austerity

Doomsday warnings of US apocalypse gain ground

Capital controls eyed as global currency wars escalate


Angry police throw Ecuador into chaos

Ecuador's president attacked by police

Ecuador's security forces attempt coup

Ecuador army rescues captive President Rafael Correa


EU parliament wants better gas supply cooperation

Major oil companies in Europe pledge to end Iran investments

EU worried over Russia-Poland gas deal

Ukraine Calls Gazprom Pipe ‘Wasteful,’ Defending Transit Route

Turkey connects to EU electric grid via GE's "smart grid"

Pipeline Bypassing Hormuz to Be Finished This Year, U.A.E. Says

Up to 10 killed in Iran pipeline blast: Report

Iraq, Syria Agree to Build Cross-Border Oil, Gas Pipelines, Official Says

Italian police seize explosives bound for Syria

Fire breaks out at refinery pier in Venezuela

Gas pipeline in Yemen damaged in attack

Vladimir Putin calls for calm in battle for Arctic energy reserves

San Bruno fire: Investigators comb scene of fatal gas pipeline blast



Basque armed group ETA must disarm forever - Spain's Zapatero

Basque separatists want peace talks with Spain

Continent of Fear: The Rise of Europe's Right-Wing Populists

Experts: Belfast militants killed man, broke truce

Man held after 'suicide' blast at hotel in Copenhagen

Spain's Basque Separatists Declare Cease-Fire

Obama State Dept coaching future politicians in Muslim enclaves of Paris « Creeping Sharia

Former Polish PM denies existence of CIA prison

Barmaid, 21, feared dead after riverbanks burst to engulf Italian coastal village

France’s National Front steadily gaining strength, polls show

French 'anti-Gypsy policy' denounced by European parliament

In France, an Evangelical Gypsy group shakes up the immigration debate

Iran state media call French first lady prostitute

Fidel Castro says French President Nicolas Sarkozy cannot be 'trusted with the launch codes of nuclear bombs'

France 'carrying out racial holocaust' claims Castro

US lawmaker urges France not to arm Lebanon army

With his roof caving in, Sarkozy seeks role in Mideast talks

Romanian leader 'asked Sarkozy to stop deporting Roma'

Despair in Gypsy ghetto town in eastern Romania

France Steps Up Roma Deportation Despite E.U. Criticism

Protest over French gypsy crackdown

France defends possible warship sale to Russia

Iceland's Bárðarbunga volcano shows more activity lately

Magnitude 4.6 earthquake hits eastern Romania; felt in capital Bucharest

Next Iceland eruption will likely cause less havoc: experts

Geologists to drill 13,000 feet hole into side of volcano to try and find out when it might erupt

More than 50,000 protest German railway project, a day after 130 demonstrators were injured

Greece: Fur farms raided, 50,000 minks set loose

West Nile virus kills 14 in Greece

Berlusconi jokes about Hitler at youth rally

Italy's Roma wonder about 'legal' camps

In power to 120 years old: Putin, Berlusconi joke at summit

Russia, Norway sign Arctic border pact

15 killed by West Nile virus in Greece: Report

Austerity protests break out across Romania as health workers, police, civil servants protest

Romanian minister resigns over Police protest

Many in Romania miss Ceausescu regime

Romania politicians afraid to tax fortune tellers, witches

Yanukovych denies government pressure on media

Germany Charges Austrian With Spying for Russia

Poles critical of Russian plane crash probe: Survey

Russia Quietly Takes Over Ukraine

Ukraine Court Studies Moves To Boost Presidential Powers

Ukraine's New Direction

Irish terror attack a 'strong possibility'



New gay Army: Top general calls Christian soldiers 'bigots'

Iran Arrests 9 Christians for Evangelism, Reports State Media

Historic mass marks new beginning for Turkey's Christians

The last Orthodox patriarch in Turkey?

Montana woman targeted art in Loveland
She hurt no one and willingly paid the price. Civil disobedience. Good for her.



Blackwater created shell firms to win contracts, says NYT

Obama, Petraeus achieve a solid partnership

There Really Is Something Rotten in the Justice Department

Barack Obama: 'It is time to turn the page on Iraq'

U.S. message leaves Iraqis confused

Surprising Report: Netanyahu will Head to Washington Sunday 9-17-10

Barack Obama 'to visit Jerusalem and Ramallah to press for peace'

Bill Clinton: Russian immigrants 'obstacle to peace'

Jerusalem on edge as Obama tells UN peace is a year away

Obama makes rare church appearance on same day as pro-Palestinian teaching?

Obama calls on Israel to extend freeze in UN speech

Hillary Clinton sparks Mexico row after comparing drug wars with Colombia's nadir

U.S. arrests couple for trying to sell nuke secrets to Venezuela

US plans massive arms sale to Saudi to counter Iran threat

About 100 arrested in mountaintop mining protest

Glonass To Unlink Russia From GPS Dependence

Gates, Russian minister meet after military relations hit 'low point'

Pentagon: 2 Russian aircraft buzzed U.S. warship

Flying Car News in the Army - The Pentagon's Flying Car - Popular Mechanics

Engineers Slam Internet 'Censorship' Bill Ahead of Key Senate Panel Vote

FBI Drive for Encryption Backdoors Is Déjà Vu for Security Experts

Senators Propose Changes to Website Takedown Bill

Cyberterrorism: Cyberterrorism should give Obama authority to shut down the Internet

Houston voting irregularities could impact general election

Appeal court dismisses CIA torture lawsuit

Citizens' Group Helps Uncover Alleged Rampant Voter Fraud in Houston

FBI: Man plotted to bomb Wrigleyville night spots

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Witness to Bostick comments - Washington Times

Pajamas Media » It’s Time to Worry About Houston UPDATED - voter fraud and a suspicious fire

Pentagon destroys thousands of copies of Army officer's memoir

Pentagon nominates new Africa Command leader

Risk of gap between US military and society: Gates

The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : ACORN Is Very Much Alive; Funding Ban Dies This Week

YouTube - Obama Omits God
This clip gives me the screaming heebie-jeebies.

At the U.N. Obama Promotes Human Wrongs Against Israel Instead of Human Rights



Dozens still missing as Guatemala landslides kill 22

Estimated 30 dead in Colombia landslide

Landslide kills 5 in flood-stricken Mexico

Death toll in southern Mexico mudslides up to 32 Mexican

Landslide Kills at Least Seven; 100 Missing

Mexico landslide kills 16 in Chiapas

Rains Trigger Landslide In Turkey, 12 Killed

Heavy rains spark deadly floods in Mexico, Central America

Floods leave tens of thousands homeless in Mexico

After the storm, Veracruz faces crocs and robbers

Hurricane Karl kills 2, remnants drench C Mexico

No rest for flood-ravaged Mexico as new storm hits

Thousands affected by flooding in southern Mexico

Death toll 56 in Yemen flooding

Flooding in Sioux Falls area prompts sandbagging

Officials say levee fails near Wis. park


Breaking: New Zealand shaken by 7.2 quake

Strong 7.2 magnitude earthquake hits New Zealand

Magnitude 6.1 earthquake kills 1 in south Iran

Central America taps volcanoes for electricity

Turrialba Volcano Remains Closed To The Public

Area of Saudi Arabia Unexpectedly Volcanically Active

3.1 Earthquake Shakes Homes In New Hampshire

Earthquake: Earthquake hits Nebraska

Hump day: Oregon firefighters rescue camel from sinkhole

Mount Cleveland Volcano Shows Increased Activity



Israel rewards nanny who saved boy in Mumbai attacks

Thousands attend Eid protests in Kashmir - video

Thousands march in Indian Kashmir; police attacked


Possible Israeli Cyber Attack Sabotaged Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Reactor

Report: Castro blasts Ahmadinejad as anti-Semitic

Bahrain hints at Iranian involvement in plot to overthrow government

Iran opposition leader's offices raided

SALHANI: Is Iran behind an attempted coup in Bahrain?

Russia Abandons Sale of Anti-Aircraft Missiles to Iran

World powers seek 'early negotiated solution' with Iran

Car-bomb triple strike breaks Baghdad calm

Iraq: Four Al Qaeda in Iraq militants escape from U.S. custody

Iraq: British 'abandoned Basra to terror'



A new spat in Israel: What time is it?

Fayyad storms out of New York meeting with Ayalon

Israel to have its own 'Air Force One'

Israeli police storm Jerusalem mosque compound

Palestinian kills 4 Israelis on eve of peace talks

PM hints at placing IDF forces in PA state after any deal

Police announce calm after riots erupt in east Jerusalem

Jordan's king warns of war by year's end

Israel: Explosions occurred at Hezbollah depot

Next Israel-Hezbollah war will be worse, says U.S. analyst

PM’s associates: He’ll never give up Western Wall

Russia, Israel Sign Military Cooperation Agreement

Israel 'planning strike on Hezbollah sites in Syria

Syria arms ‘institute’ must be stopped, Israeli official says

ADL: Time magazine Israel cover story rehashes anti-Semitic lies



Castro says misinterpreted on Cuban model not working

16 Killed in Riot at Venezuelan Prison

Gunmen burst into factory in Honduras, kill 18

Honduras Warns Mexico on Diplomatic Security

Chavez: Foes sabotaging Venezuela's power grid


10 held over Beirut clash as government mulls arms control

Fear and loathing in the Levant - The war against the international tribunal set up to investigate the assassination of Rafik Hariri is heating up.

Hezbollah plotting a coup?

Our World: Sa'ad Hariri’s cautionary tale

Syrian influence in Lebanon on the rise

Hezbollah ups pressure to torpedo UN Hariri tribunal



Bomb Wounds 20 in Mexican Resort City

3 suspects in Mexico migrant massacre found dead

Bodies of Mexico massacre investigators may have been found

Eight police officers found dead in southern Mexico

Former teacher becomes Mexico's 11th murdered mayor

Mexico arrests suspected drug kingpin

Mexico drug war: Mexico fires 3,200 federal police officers

Mexico: Gun battle in northeastern Mexico leaves 25 dead

Mexico's war on drugs: optimism has turned to depression



Bahrain bomb damages police cars

Thousands protest over power cuts in Yemen's south

Russia to defy US by selling anti-ship missiles to Syria

Russian General goes missing in Syria, turns up dead in Turkey

Saudi Arabia shuts down websites violating Fatwa orders

10 killed, 3 hurt in Turkey minibus blast

Fears for Turkey's Future Roil Vote on Constitution

Turks believe focus should be on Middle East and away from Europe

Vote foils Ataturk's vision

Ten intelligence agents wounded in Yemen ambush


Oil Rig Incident A Fire, Not Explosion: Mariner Energy

Second oil rig fire in Gulf of Mexico extinguished

BP completes relief well in Gulf of Mexico

Enbridge oil pipeline leaking in Illinois


Stink Bugs Taking Area by Swarm -Washington

Stink Bugs: An infestation of "Biblical Proportions"?

Stinkbugs on the March

Food crisis: what's happened to the price of rice, wheat and maize?


Russian police arrest 20 people during anti-government protest

Riot police tackle missiles at English Defence League protest in Bradford



New 'patriotic' textbook justifies Stalin rule in Russia

Vladimir Putin considers Russia presidency bid

Medvedev sacks Moscow mayor

Moscow police detain 150 after breaking up pro-democracy march

Russian protesters defy Putin warning – and meet tough response

Vladimir Putin’s obsession with Roosevelt is more than a little sinister

Blogs Who really wields power in Russia

Russia Submits `Breakthrough' Carbon Emissions Reduction Project, UN Says

UFO Centre for Russia

FAO Calls ‘Extraordinary’ Meeting Amid Fears of Wheat Shortage, Russia extends export ban

Sunspots could soon disappear for decades: study

G20 death: Third post-mortem withheld from coroner

Pope visit: Six men held over papal terror alert



2 shot dead at Kraft cookie plant in Pa., 1 hurt
Before Kraft shooting rampage, growing alarm over suspect's behavior

19-year-old UT student opens fire on UT campus

Discovery Channel gunman James Lee shot dead by cops, all hostages unharmed after standoff
4 more devices linked to Discovery gunman
911 calls describe Discovery Channel gunman, IED
Anti-Abortion Group Says It Was Confronted by Discovery Gunman at 2009 Protest
Why Is the Media Ignoring Discovery Channel Gunman's Radical Views?

Hundreds protest police shooting of Native American carver

Police: Fla. gunman kills self, 1 other, wounds 5

Why assassination attempt goes unreported


Twitchell Canyon fire flamed by wind
Utah fire evacuees may return home briefly
Firefighters in Utah race to beat wildfire, winds

Weather service to probe whether tornado hit NYC


Number of hungry drops below 1 billion -- a 10 per cent drop

Countries welcome new Assembly President’s focus on global governance

After a Year of Setbacks, U.N. Looks to Take Charge of World's Agenda

Global Governance 2025 | Atlantic Council