Saddam Hussein is Dead, Executed Saturday Morning December 30, 2006

Saddam Hussein was executed early Saturday morning on December 30, 2006, just a short while before this article was published.  He was 69 years old and executed along with others convicted including his half-brother Barzan Ilbrahim. 

Before his execution he provided his last will to family members allowed to visit him in his cell.  US forces maintained custody of Hussein before the execution to prevent humiliation of Hussein as many others executed have been subjected to just prior to the many public hangings that take place in Baghdad.  These hangings are not televised and not regularly picked up by Western press, but are said to execute dozens of people each week.

US forces are believed to have taken custody of his body after the execution as well to again prevent desecration of the corpse.

His execution brings closes the chapter on one dark chapter of Iraq's history in the midst of a new dark chapter that appears to be starting.  The Iraq war succeeded in removing Saddam from power, but the cost of that war in dollars, lives and blood will be questioned for many years to come.

Saddam Hussein Faces his last Hour?

Its being reported that Saddam Hussein could be living his last hour.  Reports indicate that he could face his executioner as he wakes up this morning.

It would appear that no one is protesting or acting on his death.  The truth might even be that Saddam is better off dead for everyone from the new Iraqi Government, to the US even to terrorists and resistance fighters in Iraq that would prefer a martyr in Saddam as opposed to a living power broker to get in their way.

Saddam's lawyer in Rome had not received any prior notice of the execution time and date.  He appears to be hiding outside of Iraq for his own safety for obvious reasons.

Questions still loom as to whether or not Hussein's body will be put on some type of public display after the execution.  Hussein is in American custody and will be executed immediately upon his release to Iraqi forces.  American troops may literally walk him to the gallows where he will be hanged.

Technorati tags: Death of Saddam, death penalty in Iraq, Iraqi justice, final hours for Saddam

Edwards Officially Announces and Pegs Boinor to Run Campaign

Edwards made an honest woman of his Presidential Campaign today just as everyone thought he would by announcing his official intention to run for President of the United States.

Possibly more news worthy was his selection of former Democratic Congressman David Boinor of Michigan a staunch support of labor and the environment further reinforcing Edwards own support for those areas.

The announcement sometimes referred to as Campaign 2.008 was also made available on YouTube and you can see that message below.  The pre-announcement made the front page of YouTube, but only rated two and a half stars as of the publishing of this article.

 

Technorati tags: John Edwards, presidential nominee, 2008 presidential race, Boinor, Campaign 2.008

Press Release for Charles Brown DDS pc of Hayfield Dental Care

* Sponsored Article *

Hayfield Dental Care of Alexandria, Virginia provided a press release regarding one of their dentists charles brown dds pc, who has served Hayfield Dental Care for over a decade with an excellent record and no complaints.

Hayfield Dental Care is a new sponsor for Gridlock on Rye and we welcome their addition and support.  We are proud to help  Hayfield Dental Care of Alexandria, Virginia get the message and buzz out about their practice and one of their dentists.

Charles Brown has received multiple awards over his tenure and is listed as one of Washington's top dentists by the Washington Area Consumer Council. He has performed thousands of surgical procedures, root canals and crowns and Hayfield Dental Care hopes Washington residents will consider their services in the future.  He is also a member of the American Dental Association. 

Hayfield Dental Care has many dentists involved in their practice.  Most of their team covers many specialized areas of dental medicine, which enables Hayfield Dental to provide onsite services to their patients so that outside referrals to other practices are not required.

Here They Come to Save the Day! . . . yeah Right

Senator Joe Biden through his name officially into the ring for Presidential Candidate for the Democratic Party in 2008.  Ex-Senator John Edwards has pre-announced that he will announce his decision to run also this Thursday from New Orleans.

Current polls show Edwards tied for first as a likely Presidential nominee if the elections were held today, but technically its still 2006 and there is a long way to go between now and then.

Edwards has been a strong voice standing up for inequity in class struggles and so people seem to understand what he is about even though he seems to be riding a one trick pony.  Between now and the election he needs to come up with the perception that he can handle foreign policy, a war or two, a massive national debt and much much more.  He's popular and more tested than today's other top contender Barak Obama, but no one can claim that he is overflowing with lots of experience.

Biden and Hillary Clinton seem to be lagging today, but often times the early announcers do not always hold their momentum, while the parties big money grabbers go about a more secretive campaign of raising money and exploring their options.  This gives them a nice way out if things fizzle and more latitude to do what they want under election rules that are already very very broken.

Absent from either parties line up is anyone that seems like a true winner or a serious problem solver, so there may be under dogs in the race but its doubtful that we will see an election where a true Underdog will Save the Day.

After Christmas Shopping Online

Christmas sales this year were strong but not as strong in growth as they were last year.  This means that many merchants have products that they need to sell and the discounts for after Christmas sales are starting to hit.  For many people this year, they are shopping online more than ever as the holidays hit in the middle of the week and so everyone is back at work shopping on their lunch hour.

For our hard working reader, we are passing along this very useful site that offers codes for coupons to major retailers and web e-tailers.  Since our readers are so hard working, you might even check out this code for Staples Coupon Codes so that you can pass on the good deal to your employer and start the new year off right!

This article has been sponsored by Coupon Chief.

Schwarzeneger Films Commercial for California Skiing-Breaks leg skiing in Idaho

I like Arnold Schwarzeneger, and I wish him no ill will.  However, I find it very ironic that just a week or two after I saw his commercial promoting snow skiing in Califorinia's mountains, he breaks his own leg while skiing in Idaho.

I don't know if its funny that he went to Idaho to go skiing and was punished by nature with a leg break or not, but as a political figure and one who did what seemed like a very smart thing by promoting his state for something that is not very well known its rather odd that he would opt not for California's mountains but those of Idaho.

Over the last decade many Californians have moved East to Idaho and Montana to capitalize on the increase in home values and by where it used to be cheaper and less crowded.  The governor following in the footsteps of so many Californian settlers moving East now finds the East a little less hospitable maybe.

Here's to a better New Year and speedy recovery and possibly a little more care or forethought by Arnie . . .

Technorati tags: California Governor promotes Californian Skiing and breaks leg skiing in Idaho, California skiing, idaho skiing, Schwarzeneger

FAFSA Applications Information

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Currently the fall semester is coming to a close at many colleges and universities and a new year is starting.  For incoming students that did not attend school last fall, now is the time to apply for FAFSA assistance.  You can get more information about Federally backed financial aid and student loans at FAFSA online.

They provide information and tips and the links you will need to navigate FAFSA on the Web via the Governments ed.gov website.

You can even find the right forms or links to the right pages to sign up for a Federal Pin to register for aid through their links to the FAFSA form. 

Please remember to never provide your social security number on the web that you do not know or trust.

Technorati tags: FAFSA, FAFSA form, FAFSA online

Kofi Annan's Farewell seen as critical of US Unilateralist Actions of recent Years

In Kofi Annan's farewell speech last week he attempted to convey a vision to those that would listen and to his incoming replacement.  His vision is that the world needs to work more closely together in a democratic organization and that power needs to be rebalanced from the strong towards the weak and from the rich towards the poor.

His comments were seen by some as a rebuke towards the White House.

He stated,

"When the United States works with multilateral partners we do extremely well.  We require the natural leadership role the United States played in the past and can play today. So, an appeal for leadership should never be seen as an attack."

Kofi Annan is like so many of his partners a politician and to pick apart his words as would be his political goal, he states, "We require the natural leadership role the United States played in the past . . ."  There is little to quibble over in this phrase but the zinger is in the final part where he finishes, " . . . and can play today."  This can only be seen as an indication that he does not feel the United States is providing multilateral leadership today.

Make no mistake his goals are to create a global democracy of United Nations.  Many groups debate the necessity for this, but as the planet continues to fill up with people the day and time will come when it will be necessary. 

However, it does not appear that the world is ready for this advance at this stage in our global development and the United Nations and even its leadership have often proven grossly inadequate for the job.  Even Kofi Annan tried to clean up some of the corruption, only to be caught up in scandals and abuse by members of his own family including his son.

Avoiding Postal Gridlock with Placement Exam Preparation

I worked for the United States Postal Service for four years, while I worked my way through college.  I learned a number of great lessons from the postal service which is often ridiculed for inefficiency and work place meltdowns ending in violence.

The first thing I learned is that most of the Postal Service is an extremely well run and very efficient organization dedicated to continuous improvement at levels that even Baldridge award winning Motorola another former employer could not emulate on a good day.

Some of the bad press and reputation the USPS has comes from a handful of postal facilities that have not adapted with the times or have not been able to keep up with population growth.  The Postal service employs over 1 million people and is the largest employer in the United States.

With that many people working there, they have to utilize many systems to place people and their key metric is postal exam scores.  Temporary and Permanent hire employees must take, pass and do well on Postal Exams.  I've taken the test twice.  I took it the first time to get hired, and the second time more seriously to get moved into a permanent position and later promoted.

Our sponsors today at AceYourPostalExam work to provide people with practice and help at passing the postal exams.

These tests are not hard if you have practice and preparation and know what to expect, but you might not get the result you desire if you try and attempt them without any preparation. I have always been great at taking tests of all types, but this is a test like none I had seen from the SAT's to the ACT's to Military tests or anything in college.

If you want a position in the postal service, you need to work and prepare for the test. It can definitely help you launch a new career or even improve on your odds of getting a promotion by improving your test score.

Technorati tags: Postal exam Prep course, Postal Service Careers

Should Seneca Reject Developers and Saving the White Deer

There is a rarity in Seneca county New York, a hurd of White (all white) deer raised from two white farms on a former military base. The base is fenced off keeping the deer in and safe, but developers want to redevelop a large area of the base, which could threaten the protections that the deer currently enjoy.

Should these deer be protected or should the developers be allowed in to harvest the natural resources?

this is the question that is taking place all around the country with many types of living and non-living creatures. Should every person in the world be allowed their own swath of acreage for a homestead or will we learn to work with what we have?

Technorati tags: White deer, seneca county white deer, how many acres does every person on the planet really require

Gridlock on Gold

Many collectors and investors over the millennia have relied on Gold.  Our modern day economic system is no longer backed by a gold standard, currencies typically float on their own value.  In times of turmoil many people buy gold as a form of an insurance policy.

History shows that this has some merit, even though there are many practical decisions that must be made including where to store the gold, how to keep and more.  A recent release from our sponsor the Monex Deposit company covers their options for selling and storing various forms of gold.  They sell gold as a metal and they also sell artistically rendered gold in shapes reminiscent of historic forms of money. 

Anyone buying gold or precious metals as an investment should solely base their purchase on market prices and from that perspective follow the market closely.  The market is currently down from all time highs reached last spring, but the prices are still high. 

Technorati tags: A message from our sponsors

DPRK to US-Let's talk After You Give us Money

North Korea closed five days of talks with another ultimatum.  They will not talk about or consider halting their nuclear program until the US ends financial sanctions and provides some aid. 

In a negotiating spirit reminiscent of Hitler's Nazi campaign, North Korea continues to take and ask for more without giving an inch.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants the United Nations to implement sanctions as he feels the DPRK has not been serious about the six party talks so far.

DPRK's envoy indicated that they took a strategic approach to the talks of utilizing dialogue and a shield, acknowledging that they did not enter into the talks to do anything other than deflect progress.

Its obvious that North Korea is stalling and only hoping to develop their nuclear program further so that they might perform a more successful nuclear test for the world to see after their previous test fizzled.

Technorati tags: North Korea, DPRK, Shinzo Abe, Nuclear talks, Six party talks, United Nations Sanctions Requests

Absence of Net Neutrality creating Internet Bottle Neck to take Money from the Poor

The internet has been under attack all year and this political activism video portrays the perspective of the group SaveTheInternet.com. If net neutrality fails to take hold in the new Democratically controlled Congress, many people will be disenfranchised from the internet just as millions of citizens in less free countries around the world have already been disenfranchised.

There is no reason why Chinese Citizens should end up with more freedom than American citizens on the internet. They should be coming up to our level of freedom and not us dropping down below their level just in order to put more money in a lobbyist pocket.

 

Technorati tags: net neutrality, save the internet.com, YouTube Activists

Belisi Fashions Start in Palm Beach

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Peter Belisi was a bartender in Palm Beach serving Palm Beach serving the rich and famous on holiday away from the cold winters.  He created a reputation by building a tie collection paid for with his extra earnings.  He grew the reputation by never wearing the same tie twice.

He developed the concept of launching an accessory clothing collection called Belisi.com.  Belisi Fashions serviced the sophisticated helping them polish off their look with great accessories including ties, handbags and scarves.  His ties are made neck-ties are hand made from some of the finest silks.

Peter Belisi has moved out of the bars and into high fashion with his ties, where can they take you?

Technorati tags: Peter Belisi, Belisi Fashions, clothing accessories, tie collections, Palm Beach Bar Tender ascensions

Lethal Injection Gets Lethal Dosage in Florida

The legal state of Lethal Injection may have received a lethal dosage in the state of Florida and it may not require another unlike the recently executed Angel Diaz of Puerto Rico. 

Angel Diaz lived for over thirty minutes after receiving what was supposed to be a lethal dosage.  He was given a second dosage after witnesses saw Mr. Diaz squint and grimace multiple times. 

The following day doctors initially commented that Mr. Diaz had a liver condition that prevented the drugs from killing him faster.  Later a different explanation offered that the first injection had missed his veins and did not fully hit his system, hence the need for a second injection to kill him and end his witnessed suffering.

Florida had previously suspended the use of the electric chair after an inmate caught fire while being put to death.  That evidence of suffering was the end of the electric chair in Florida, replaced by lethal injection.

Similarly, the Governor of Florida has called a moratorium on lethal injection until a board can review the procedure and issue a report in March 2007.  Today, a federal judge ruled that California's protocol for exercising the death penalty violated the constitution which prohibits the use of cruel and unusual punishment as defined by the Supreme Court.

Many legal analysts feel that these two developments will force the Supreme Court to make a new decision on the use of the death penalty before another year has passed.

Technorati tags: death penalty last gasp, death of death penalty

UK Loan Shopping Options

These days when people look online for a loan they often utilize the services of a site to help them source loans and get multiple quotes.  Like shopping on Yahoo or Froogle you can find more options through sites that specialize in aggregating loan offers.

The UK Personal Loan Store only requires some basic information to get you started on your search.  your name, surname, home owning or renting status, the amount of the loan you are looking for and the purpose of the loan, like a Mortgages or Personal loans.

They also offer many articles on loan and credit topics and many rate comparisons prior to providing a more customize solution for your request.

Two Years in Iraq is not Enough for Reservists According to Army Chief of Staff

General Peter Schoomaker, the Army chief of Staff, told a Congressional commission that currently the regular army would need more flexibility in calling up reservists to avoid breaking the active-duty force.

Under emergency laws enacted by President Bush in 2001, Reservists can be called up for no more than 24 months from Reservists.  Apparently the Army needs more than 24 months to keep the best trained troops available and/or deployed in Iraq.  Its possible that the Army may not need to keep reservists deployed in Iraq for the full two years or even longer, but may need the reservists to backfill active duty positions at home and abroad before and after reserve deployments in Iraq.  His comments may leave more questions unanswered than they actually answered.  No mention of a new draft was mentioned.

Put Some Gridlock Over Your Appetite

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This holiday season instead of taking an 'all natural' supplement in the form of a pill or capsule to curb your holiday cravings, you might want to investigate the options of utilizing a patch.

Curb Your Cravings Hoodia Patches

These patches help you to absorb the supplement through your skin and claims to minimize your cravings for sweets and other weight inducing foods.

Before undergoing any weight loss or prevention regime, you should always check with your physician first.

Civil Union Christmas Present in New Jersey

After the New Jersey State Supreme Courts decided that gay couples were entitled to the same rights as married couples, they then punted on the terminology leaving it up to the legislature to determine whether or not the rights of gay couples would be deemed a marriage or a civil union.

The New Jersey legislature was quick to respond and in rapid fire fashion pushed out a bill that will call the newly approved rights a Civil Union.  The rush to name the rights after the courts required them left advocates for marriage without gay marriage hamstrung in their campaign to thwart the naming and reverse the ruling.

New Jersey now joins the ranks of Vermont and Connecticut as the only states that allow 'Civil Unions' while Massachusetts does them one better by allowing gay couples to marry.

Elements Protection Technology - Keeping us safe from the Storm

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We have all witnessed that in the event of a natural disaster such as Hurricane Katrina, we can not rely on the government planners, politicians or FEMA rescuers to protect us before its too late. We have to make plans and accommodations to be ready for disasters before the strike.

FamilySafeShelterms.com recently provided a press release describing how they have been working for many years to provide some of the terrific storm shelters made out of steal construction. In a tornado, the main thing we need is a place to go for emergency shelter.

FamilySafeShelterms.com's goal is not to provide the lowest price at any cost but to provide the safest product and protection. Investigate your options, review your plans, take action to be sure that you know what to do and have the means to do it if a disaster touches to close to home.

Technorati tags: personal natural disaster preparedness, preparing for natural disasters, emergency shelters

Don't get to Conspiratorial About Sen Johnson just yet

Democratic Senator Johnson of South Dakota's recent illness and surgery today sparked off a firestorm of political speculation about the balance of power in Washington.  Democrats hold a Senate majority of 51 to 49 (plus 1 Cheney vote).  If Senator Johnson were to die or resign the Republican Governor of South Dakota could choose a replacement and that replacement would be a Republican.

Fortunately latest reports indicated that the Senator is responding after brain surgery 24 hours earlier.  he listed in critical but stable condition.  The surgery appears to be a success and the Senator is responding to touch and voice.  Hopefully, now that he is responding and seems to be through the toughest hurdle, he can be left to recovery in peace and continue his work in congress with out any further speculation or hints of conspiracy.  It was initially thought that the Senator had a stroke, but subsequently doctor's have indicated that he suffered from a congenital malformation present since birth that resulted in bleeding into the brain.

Technorati tags: Senator Johnson, congenital malformation, control of Congress

Kevorkian says Prison No Place to Live-To be released in June 07

Coming to a lecture circuit near you soon, will be Jack Kevorkian a former doctor who has been serving in prison for the last 8 years part of a 10-25 year sentence for second degree murder.

He will be released on two years of parole in June of 2007.

He has told the parole board that he will not assist in any suicides after his release and that he will not counsel anyone on suicide either.  He says he will do nothing that will jeopardize his parole as prison is no place to live.

He will be able to speak on the topic of Assisted suicide giving lectures, but does not expect to command the same voice that he did prior to his conviction.

Technorati tags: parole jack kevorkian, assisted suicide, prison is no place to live says suicide doctor

Twelve Days Of Christmas Remain

Today is the thirteenth and the commencement of the twelve days of Christmas.  You may not know where to find a partridge in a pear tree, but you can send your true love flowers!

Dot Flowers recently provide a release describing their large selection of great gift ideas.  These included many different types of flowers, flower baskets, and flower arrangements.

They can provide fresh flower delivery direct from your local florist to your true love's front door in not time and you will not have to worry about the holiday shipping rush or whether or not the order will make it there in time.

So you have your first day of Christmas figured out, what are you going to do for an encore each day until Christmas itself?

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Will Princess Diana Ever Rest in Peace?

Its been almost 3 years since the death of Princess Diana and police are expected to publicly release a report of their findings soon.  This report comes on the heals of press speculation in the United Kingdom that the US CIA was monitoring phone calls at the Princess' hotel room and not disclosing their monitoring to British Secret Service agents that also were watching the princess.

Al Fayed the father fo Dodi Fayed who perished in the accident as well claims that there is a cover up going on and the Princess' trusted butler provided information that the Princess had indicated to him that she thought her ex-husband, Prince Charles had made plans to have her die of a head injury in a car accident.

Much like the murder of John F Kennedy the death of Princess Diana may never let her rest in peace whether a small fiat caused her chauffer to swerve and crash or massive amounts of alcohol caused him to crash.  The world may never agree upon the truth.

Presidential Candidate Interviewed In Virtual World Second Life

The Economist reports this month that Ex Virginian Governor and a possible Democratic candidate for president in 2008, Mike Warner recently flew into Second Life using a virtual reality avatar body to visit with Hamlet Au a full time Second Life reporter. 

Second Life is a virtual reality world where more and more people, businesses and now presidential candidates are meeting and working together in an online fantasy world.  Second Life was created as a virtual real estate web service and the company leases virtual reality space to people and companies that wish to develop a building, house, or even a floating island in the sky.  Thus far that has been no indication that a virtual presidential debate might be in the making, but Presidential Candidates should be warned that they should get ready for this new communication medium before they get Nixoned out of a Presidential race by a younger hipper opponent skilled at communicating in the new environment, like Kennedy was on TV during the 1960 race.

Getting Your Political Message Out

USWeb has recently issued a new press release about their strategic internet service.  USWeb was founded in 1995 and offers a broad range of internet marketing services.

They design and develop custom web systems and more so marketing solutions to help promote a companies products, services, or messages.  USWeb understands how to maximize the results from search engine marketing.  They can help your political organization, company or non-profit group get a message out and generate a high level of buzz in a short amount of time.  Any organization that regularly releases press information should consider their services.  Too often groups complain that the press ignores their releases and their message gets lost in the shuffle, USWeb can help companies move beyond this obstacle rapidly.

Can a video Game promote Prayer?

Every Christian teenager is likely to ask the same question right away, can I get better cheat codes if I pray?

Well A new PC strategy game "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" is hoping that it will inspire teenagers to pray more, but probably not for cheat codes.

The video game takes place in NYC shortly after millions of people have been called up to heaven in the rapture.  The game objective is to convert followers into a holy war against the anti-christ and his army in the US (as opposed to what those evil doers in the Middle East do when they convert real life followers into a holy war against infidels in the US).

Here is a trailer for the game :

The game has created controversy and a Pro-Constitution group has asked Wal-Mart to pull the game from shelves as they feel it is intolerant of other religions.  Wal-Mart is holding fast and keeping the game on shelves wherever they think they can sell it.

The game makers say that the game will perpetuate prayer and worship, but detractors call it a game of faith-based violence.

Comparing India and China is like comparing Apples and Sand

India and China are an excellent contrast in point v counterpoint.  The countries share simple characteristics in occupying large masses of land, having enormous populations, and having a population that is very very poor.

That's pretty much where the similarities end.

The Australian does an excellent job of comparing their dissimilarities.  Guy De Jonquieres calls them out in his article China, India like chalk and cheese and twain may never meet as follows:

In most ways, the two countries are polar opposites. China is a communist autocracy that has instituted sweeping economic reforms, opened its economy to the world and mobilised vast resources for development. India is an unwieldy democracy whose last big economic reforms were forced on it by a financial crisis in 1991, since when political gridlock has frustrated liberalisation. China has thrived because of government policies; India has prospered in spite of them.

China's rise has broadly followed a well trodden east Asian path, being investment and export-driven and fuelled by abundant domestic savings. India, with a more closed economy and far lower savings rate, depends heavily on domestic consumption to sustain growth. China struggles to control excessive fixed asset investment, while India is constrained by scarce capital and woefully inadequate infrastructure spending.

Low-cost production is the engine of China's real economy. Indian manufacturing still generates a small share of national output - as do its much-vaunted software and services industries. India has a reasonably sound banking system and a long-established stock exchange. China's shaky banks have yet to learn how to price risk and lend prudently, and its equity market is primitive.

It seems to me to beg the question, 'How long will it be before India stands up and takes its place in the world as the newest source of cheep labor following a long tradition of developing countries to have done that from Mexico, Japan, Korea, Mexico and most recently China.

India has the stability necessary and the banking system, all they lack is the ability to open their doors to trade and mobilize their work force.  Imagine an Indian economy with two cylinders Technology services and Manufacturing.

Chartplotting Devices for Marine Vessels

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Northeast Marine just provided a press release from  describing their product line of chartplotters available for use in Marine vessels.  Chartplotters are the marine equivalent of a GPS system and route optimization tool packed into one device. 

Northeast Marine offers chartplotters of multiple varieties with prices starting at $499 and going up to approximately $1600 in price.  They offer brand names such as Cobra and Standard Horizon units with color screens and some devices with internal or external antennas.

They offer a wide assortment of other Marine devices from fish finders, to GPS systems to depth finders, binoculars, batteries and accessories, radar systems  and compasses.

 

Technorati tags: chartplotter, chartplotters, chartplotter for boats, chartplotter is gps equivalent for boats

Lame Ducks Plant Time Bomb for 11oth Congress

Not since the Clinton Administration left the White House with reports of vandalism and nasty pranks left behind for the incoming Bush Administration have we seen the true down in the trenchs fight that is being waged between Democrats and Republicans.

It would appear that the Republican leadership has planted something of a fiscal time bomb set to go off three to six months into 2007 after Democrats have taken control with the 110th congress.

Even before the election the Republican leadership saw the writing on the wall and not only started acting like lame ducks but started to exagerate the act.  They have dumped $460 billion in unfinished business onto the 110th congress by not finishing the job this year before closing the 109th congress.

This mess is a political strategic move that could slow the new Congress down trying to untie the knot of financial problems or take the path of least resistance and  acquiesce to President Bush's big spending initiatives.  There will not be much time for reform in the first three months and to be dogged by a half a trillion handicap before they start will not help.

This unfinished business is almost the equivalent of planting a time bomb set to go off and stop any possible momentum that the 110th might gain, just as its mounting.  Not only does it show the unrestrained poor financial management that has become the hallmark of Republican leadership over the last six years, but it borders on down right negligence.

Crazy Puppet Fraude in Mexico

New President Felipe Calderón has his work cut out for him.  Not only does he have to deal with a historical legacy of years of gridlock, but coming into office he is met by protesters contending the legitimacy of his election.

Outgoing President Fox had shortcomings, but unlike many Mexican presidents over saw a period of economic stability and did not result to violence to quell protesters.

The new president comes in with protesters out in full force offering up signs calling him a puppet and fraud.  There is much discontent in Mexico, but much of that frustration is not entirely directed at a government for going the wrong direction but for not bringing progress and growth to the people fast enough.  This will likely present the major challenge for Calderón, How can he deliver more growth more reform than his predecessor did when his predecessor is seen as having failed on many fronts despite a contextual better run at governing the people successfully as compared to the context of decades of poor Mexican leaders in office. 

Next to economic reform one of the major questions that many people are concerned about is the question, 'Will Calderón result to violence to stem the flow of protesters breaking from Fox's no violence attempts to do the same?'

Taking a Sword to the Gridlock

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You may not be able to cut through political gridlock with a sword, however for collectors and martial arts practicioners they do make great Christmas presents.  KarateDepot recently provided a web release indicating that time is running out to place orders and receive shipments in time for the holidays. Today, December 13th is also the last day to order from Karate Depot and receive their discounted holiday shipping of $2.95. 

Karate Depot has an extensive supply of swords ranging from Samurai swords, to Kung Fu swords to Kendo weapons and Tai Chi Swords.  Some of their products are intended for collectible purpose and some are intended for martial arts training devotees.  All of their swords are elegant and high quality made in Japan and Asia.  They carry close to 100 different swords and sets and products to help you maintain and care for the blades of these weapons.

Lessons from the 2006 Elections

Here are some excellent excerpts that hint at some of the lessons to be learned from the 2006 elections based on the way people have moved their voting affiliations.  These excerpts come from the article by Jim Malone at News VOA.com

1. "Regionally, the Democrats won a majority in the Midwest for the first time in a decade.  Of the four regions, the Republicans held only the South.  A majority in the all-important suburbs, representing about 47 percent of the electorate, voted for Democrats, the first time this has happened since 1992.  Rural voters, an important Republican group, looked Republican once again, but just barely," says Bowman.
2. Republicans remain strong in the South, an area of the country where Democrats have had limited success in recent years.
3. But Democrats are encouraged by the gains they made in the Rocky Mountain West, an area of the country that is growing rapidly thanks in part to a large influx of Hispanic immigrants.
4. Moderate Roles Increasing in importance
5. In November, self-described moderates and independents voted for Democratic candidates over Republicans by about a two-to-one margin.

Geopolitics of Other People's Money: Total Spending Power Begets Unilateralism

As Americans we strive for independence, independence from tyranny and oppression, independence in our finances and our personal lives and independence sometimes from the rest of the world too.

This goal and ideology can be our greatest strength and at times in our history our greatest weakness. 

Teenager strives to gain independence from their parents, getting a car and some money in their pocket so that they can do whatever they want to do.  They equate mobility and money with independence and sometimes make the mistake of believing that this absolves them from responsibility for anyone other than themselves.

Politicians sometimes fall into this trap and we have seen it played out recently under the Republican leadership.  For years Republicans have sought independence from Democrats so that they could do what ever they wanted.  They wanted control of money and of the mobility vector of the country.  When they received that control, they preceded to stop doing all of the things that had earned them that power.

They stopped negotiating and working with people in other parties within the United States and with other governments around the world.  They stopped because they had the money and control to stop.

A political party in full control over a government's finances does not need to work with the rest of the world in the short term, because they feel like they have money to burn.  By contrast Bill Clinton became a recognized international collaborator with many countries working with them out of necessity, he didn't control the purse strings in Washington and if he wanted something done, he had to get some help.

For six years George Bush and the Republican led Congress had a blank check to spend with no accountability and as such no motivation to work with any other countries that didn't agree with their perspective.  The leadership of the last six years did not have the wisdom nor the experience to wield the power they were granted effectively.

It could be possible that in this modern day and age no single party can control themselves with that much power.  This recent election may mark the early beginning of a shift in politics that will always be highlighted by the Iraq War.  The legacy of the Bush Administration may be that in the future we will come to the conclusion that no single party should ever receive total control again. 

With a two party system it is impossible to prevent this from occurring, however as the country grows in population and diversity we may see a trend towards empowering more third party movements.  With a three party system, the odds of a single party taking and keeping total power for six years through multiple years of misdirection and false starts would be greatly reduced.  Maybe like an atom that has Protons, Electrons and Neutrons to remain in balance we need a third party, called the Moderates to serve as the balancing Neutron in our political system in essence the party that will ensure balance as opposed to imbalance on one side and Gridlock on the other.

Cutting through Gridlock with Gold

Sponsored Article

Since the dawn of civilization man has known that there is one way to slice through gridlock and that is with gold.  This rule has been tested and proven even by science when Sir Isaac Newton himself managed the mint for the British empire.

The Monex Deposit Company (MDC) recently provided a press release describing their services in the precious metals business.  MDC provides precious metal investment options throughout America.  Gold has an unnerving impact on man, and for investors this makes it all the more important to insure that their precious metal investment decisions are based on the solid facts of gold as a commodity as opposed to the perception of beauty in artwork made with gold.  If you plan to invest in gold, invest in it for what it is a precious metal, and do not venture into the artistic investment of jewelry and molded coins designed to be put on display. 

Who would have thought that Lawyerly words would Create Gridlock in Florida of all places?

Indian River County, Florida is looking at a lose lose situation.  They have established requirements on residential real estate developments that appeared air tight on paper, but where the rubber hits the road air is leaking out.

A developer named Divosta Homes was charged for a development to create improvements in road capacity, however the county's assessment came in low and now the county would like to go back and bill more.  Divosta claims that this is not fair as they paid up front.

The County is confronted on the one hand with covering the road expenses themselves charging tax payers in essence or fighting a court battle that could go to the supreme court and would again be covered by taxpayer money to pay the legal bills.

In Maine Wal-Mart is forced to Upgrade Roads Before Supercenter Can be Opened for Business

You can't say that Bangorians don't learn from the past.  Local city officials and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection have required that Wal-Mart must complete road improvements prior to being allowed to open their doors for business as scheduled in 2008. 

Bangor learned from their mistakes apparently.  In 2005 Bangor allowed another shopping center to open before road improvements were completed and the gridlock resulting from the new traffic redirected to the shops was a price to high to pay again.

As a person that is surrounded by Wal-Mart Supercenters on 3 sides within a 5 mile radius, I know what a Supercenter can do to create new gridlock in an area.  Personally, I have only one way out of my community now and that's in the direction away from the three existing Wal-Mart Supercenters. 

Don't let Wal-Mart coral you in!

Belisi Fashions Product Line Marketing Efforts

Peter Belisi began building a design and fashion empire while working as a bartender in Palm Beach serving Palm Beach, Florida where the old money power brokers come to play and relax. 

He developed and maintained a reputation with his friends, coworkers and customers by amassing a large collection of ties.   The personal collection was so large that he never wore the same tie twice and thus began his reputation.

Peter Belisi launched Belisi Fashions a clothing accessory line and recently released the creation of a company blog to help generate more buzz about his products.  Belisi Fashions targets customers with sophisticated tastes.  His goals were to help people polish off their attire with the best looking quality accessories possible knowing that polish is only possible with good accessories.

Sponsored Article

Technorati tags: Peter Belisi, Belisi Fashions, clothing accessories, tie collections, Palm Beach Bar Tender ascensions

Weekday Gridlock Avoided as Protesters in Manilla plan weekend Protest

In the Phillipines a demonstration of hundreds of thousands of people is expected, however the event will occur on the weekend instead of during the week as was the case in Beirut and India this week.

Political and religious leaders in the Catholic church are pulling together their supporters to oppose President Gloria Arroyo's campaign to change the countries constition ot a unicameral parliamentary style system.  A weekend demonstration may be smart for many reasons.

1. It will allow more working class people to attend without harming their own incomes.
2. Businesses will not be harmed during the week from a fall off or blockade of business thus enabling the potential for businesses to ally themselves with the President's opposition and still vote their pocket book.
3. More headlines will likely to be garnished from events on the weekend when high profile news stories around the world are less likely to compete.

New York City in Gridlock over Congestion Pricing and Commuter Tax Potential

Mayor Bloomberg came under some fire after a recent radio show with John Gambling.  The discussion came around to the concept of commuter pricing a strategy where discounts are given to people that live in the city and others commuting from a growing radius outside of the city get less of a discount.

Bloomberg showed himself to be on the fence on the topic but the argument will continue.  A commuter tax existed in NY for almost 33 years and ended in 1999.  Many similar taxes exist in other areas including Atlanta and London as examples.  Some are established by the city, or the county but Bloomberg argues that this would have to be imposed by the state.

He came under fire for avoiding obvious disparities in some of his other arguments.  He would argue for mass transit to be used by people in the city, however with a 100% commuter discount in place for city residents they have no incentive to take mass transit.

Penetrating through the Internet Gridlock of Blogs to put Buzz in Your Message

In this day and age its important for businesses, political parties and even individuals to know how to get a message across.  With 500 channels and nothing on and a bazillion websites out there, its hard to get noticed.

USWeb has a solution that can help put some buzz behind your message.  Their recent web release talks about how the message on a website can penetrate through the search engines by increasing the link popularity of a given web page.  USWeb uses tools and provides services that enable people to build more links pointing back to their message in context with that message and in a manner that will drive better scores in Google's search algorithm and many other search engines.  The concept is simple they use the power of the masses to move your message and generate buzz and systematically improve your PageRankings and other important indexes.

India Business Worry over perception of Gridlock created from Bandh's and Strikes

Beirut was not the only city on December 11, shut down with Gridlock.  Kolkata, India saw a shut down from gridlock also.  The city has seen three bandhs in 15 days.

A bandh is a protest or mobilization common in India that includes not just a strike but also a blockade preventing economic activity.

Meanwhile government and business leaders worry that such practices will provide the wrong message to business interested in doing business in India, not to mention the lost work days can not be recovered and the GDP suffers accordingly.

Technorati tags: bandh, gridlock derived from bandh, India gridlock, Kolkata bandh

Masses Protest with Gridlock in Beirut

Beirut has been in a political crisis since December 1 and some might easily argue that timeline out even longer.  On the 11th a political rally downtown brought Beirut, the capital, to a stand still of gridlock as up to 1 million people showed up in an anti-government rally.

Hezbolla is using its political strength to attempt to push out the Prime Minister Fuad Saniora even offering Saniora an ultimatum of resigning in a "few days" or else. 

Saniora is not backing down.  If he steps down it will set a new precedent in the Middle East that mass protests can bring about the downfall of a government and powerful governments like Saudi Arabia and Egypt do not want this type of precedent set.  In fact outside of protests in Israel which is atypical, nothing like this has been seen really since the late 1970's when Iranian protests toppled the Shaw of Iran. 

This gridlock as a weapon has been used by the Palestinian movement in Israel, but there it may have done more harm to the Palestinian people than it hurt other Israeli's.

Technorati tags: beirut gridlock, weaponized gridlock, gridlock as a protest tool, hezbolla ultimatum

Measuring the Cost of The Fast and The Furious

For many of us we will never get the chance to drive in traffic like the car chases we see in movies like 'The Fast and The Furious.'  No amount of driving skills can let a person move a vehicle down 8 lanes of traffic and 2 shoulders when all 8 lanes and 2 shoulders are jam packed with cars.

However, its nice to dream.  A recent release on behalf of CarInsurance.com, an online car insurance rate marketplace,  points out that there is a special extra capability on some of the DVD versions of the latest installment, Tokyo Drift that keeps a dollar tally of the cost of all the bent fenders, broken glass and accident costs that add up in the movie, just like a game on XBox, this unique tool was provided by Progressive and can also be seen at progressivefastandfurious.com.

At the end of the day moving with a car in this fashion is not just for fiction because of the crazy driving but almost because the driving capability exists at all.

Technorati tags: Progressive, Fast and Furious destruction tally by insurance company, gridlock absense makes fast and furious possible in Tokyo

Dow Jones Charts San Francisco Gridlock

The San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Commission has tried and failed to chart gridlock in the bay area for many years until recently when it identified a direct correlation to traffic congestion. 

It was simple really, they just measured the correlation to the rise and fall and rise of the Dow Jones Industrial average compared to the number of drivers on the Bay Area Freeway and found exactly what they were looking for in the form of a Gridlock Correlation!

The Gridlock Marathon Blogging Event

Over the course of the next 24 hours, I am going to go on a Gridlock Marathon. 

The reason, my office is in a state of gridlock.  I have news papers and magazines stacked up everywhere, things that I have been meaning to get to and write about for days and weeks and months.

I'm cleaning up my gridlocked house in preparation for a new year of gridlock complete with a new years resolution on gridlock, which will be to stay one step ahead of the gridlock!

That said, I don't want to miss anything either and so I'm going to blast out a large series of articles covering the topics in brief and hitting the major sources of the articles as rapidly as I can.  This is the age of the internet and the articles will always be out there for Google purposes if I have to go back to them.

To my readers you may find it amusing to watch me clean house, clean my desk and recycle some interesting articles of note into a Gridlock Marathon!

Technorati tags: gridlock marathon, gridlock house cleaning, gridlock office cleaning, gridlock on gridlock, gridlock is gridlocked

Epocrates Goes Online

Epocrates is a great software solution that has been used by doctors and medical practitioners for years on handheld devices and PDA's.  Recently Epocrates provided a release indicating that they are taking their solution online and providing even more tools for doctors, pharmacists, nurses and others to benefit from.

For example, if a doctor wanted to prescribe Zithromax they could look up the dosage requirements through Epocrates online and determine how much to prescribe based on a patients various characteristics.  They could also find generic equivalents and print off some general information on the product to provide or mention to their patient such as usage instructions warnings about side effects.

Sponsored Article

KKK Travels to Iran to Increase the air of Illegitimacy surrounding Holocaust Existence Debate

Whether it is needed or not apparently the Middle East is going to have the unique pleasure of experiencing a visit from the Klu Klux Klan.  David Duke the former head of the Klu Klux Klan is off to Iran to hob nob with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad where Duke will present a paper during the Iranian sponsored debate over the existence of the Holocaust during WWII.

The laws of physics may indicate that opposites attract but apparently when racism, hate and craziness is involved the exception makes the rule as Duke and Ahmadinejad are two peas in a pod.  Personally, I think they are both crack pots and deserve each other, but I would have spared that meeting for some nice level of hell (their religion not mine).

Its blatantly obvious that this is propaganda pure and simple on the part of the Iranian leader.  The more he stirs things up the more he looks like a hero to the polarized and disaffected areas of the world. 

Jayme Blackmon's Blog

A fellow blogger,Jayme Blackmon,  is working to try and get additional people to sign up for a 2 day conference with Webdirection in Vancouver, Canada in early February.    If you are interested in learning more about the proper use of CSS and XHTML and can make it to Vancouver between Feb 6-10, this might be a good chance to learn some interesting information and help a fellow blogger in return.

Jayme Blackmon also runs an additional Slicing service, where he will help people reformat their website designs from the older tabular format into a nice clean fast loading CSS design.  His current blog, jaymeblackmon.com  also focuses on CSS and web design and several other topics from movies, to politics, sports and travel.  We wish Jayme lots of luck and hope he makes it to the show!

Is Barak Obama the George Bush of the Democratic Party?

There's something about Barak Obama that reminds me of George Bush.  Actually there are a lot of things that are very similar.

George Bush started campaigning for the Presidency very very early.  He travelled the country raising funds and making lots of paid speeches, but never came out and said anything just like Obama is starting to do now.

George didn't side with the established Republican elites of the time but instead pushed to mobilize the Christian right to get his vote out.  Obama is not siding with Democratic elites like Hillary Clinton over issues like the Iraq war.

The press had very little bad to say about George Bush prior to the 2000 election just like they have very little to say about Obama.  Actually they have less to say about Obama, because he appears to have done even less than Bush did.

Both politicians speak in a language that resonates with their base:  Bush-Perot like good ol' boy catch phrases, Obama-Idealistic intelligenestia styled phrases.

Bush was offered up like a golden child, son of a former president and Obama is offered up like a golden child product of the Democratic party.

In short, they are both long on mobilizing their base with words and very short on actual results.  Many people have been asking if Obama has staying power to keep his public appeal up.  He appears to be following the Bush model for presidential elections.

He is pitched as the once in a generation leader like Kennedy, but unlike Jack Kennedy what has Obama done?

He just got elected to the Senate, he did not serve in the military and definitely was not a war hero.  He does not herald from a familiy with 60-80 years of politics in the blood lines that stretch over continents like the Kennedy's and doesn't appear to share the Kennedy's fascination with the underworld even though one of his advisers recently resigned under the spectacle of corruption.

Bush was well liked by his base and moral.  Obama is inspiring which is the Democratic equivalent for his base.  Obama may be able to inspire, but an inspirational leader is not necessarily a leader that can get things done.

I for one would much rather see someone that can get things done.  Bush has shown us the results of ineffectualism at the helm.  Obama stated in New Hampshire this weekend, "I think what's going on is people are very hungry for something new; they are interested in being called to something larger. "   Sure American's want something new, they want a leader that can get things done as opposed to a new flavor as the last thing we need is inspired ineffectualism.

Gridlock Management and Avoidance

To compete in the world today, to lead in the world today and to manage, navigate and avoid Gridlock when necessary it is more important than ever for people to continue their educational journey and learn how to become life long learners.

Gridlock on Rye's sponsor Capella University as described in their recent press release provides bachelor's degree, MBA programs, Master's and PHd programs plus continuing education that can help all of us refine, define and improve our knowledge of the world and the processes that make it go around.

Capella offers many programs and courses online.  Their online course structure can enable students to attend classes from anywhere at anytime of the day.  It should be noted that online programs do not reduce the work load, only reduce the commuting time and stricture of certain class hourse.  A sizable effort is still required and many hours in front of your computer (aka your classroom) will be necessary to complete the course of study.  We recommend highly that our readers continue on the path of self improvement and continued education through out your lives.  There's no better way to keep your mind young and in good shape!

Technorati tags: online courses, continuing education, life long learners

Arab Sale of US Ports

After much blustering and little action from Congress, one of America's largest insurance companies anounced that it will purchase six US ports from the Dubai Ports World company.

The purchase of the ports by the Dubai based company and owners created a political maelstorm earlier this year with questions of security and good old fashion patriotism boiling up.  No one in Congress has done anything to address the real question of port security.  Fortunately now that the ports are going to be moved back into American ownership hands (by a multi-national company at least) so now if there is an attack on our ports that are just as unsafe as they ever were, we will have no one to blame but ourselves, Congress and AIG.

Technorati tags: US port sale, Dubai selling US ports, AIG buying US ports

Gridlock on Conspiracy Carols

Lest we forget that the holiday season is among us and that this is a time to relax a bit and enjoy life, I wanted to share with you this great little tool that helps expose the secret messages that can be heard in the song Jingle Bells.

Apparently when you play it backwards, a conspiracy message can be heard. This message calls on people and instructs them 'Do Not Vote and we will control you'. ;)

Actually, this is a joking creation of my own on a site that lets you make your own conspiracy Christmas carols. My original version of the version went with my base instinct, "Buy me Chocolate," but I retailored it to keep it within the context of this blog. You can make your own message and share with your friends by blog or email.

This is part of a great series of tools for the holiday season. There are a bunch of other great little games and things at the site also.

This fun little holiday site is brought to you on behalf of our sponsor OfficeMax.

Technorati tags: conspiracy carols, christmas songs have hidden messages in them when played backwards, jingle bells conspiracy 101, start your own conspiracy carol

The Big Sleazy Votes in Jefferson-Still Target of Federal Investigation for $90k in Freezer

It takes a certain amount of moxie to run for re-election after the FBI raids your place and finds ninety thousand dollars in cash in your freezer. The FBI claims that he was filmed taking the cash.

Rep. William Jefferson a Louisiana Democrat won re-election in a run off election against State Representative Karen Carter. Most analysts believed that his challengers would unite to defeat him.

But that was not to be the way of things. Jefferson's re-election is likely to embarrass Democrats as they ascend to control Congress. Jefferson has stated that he expects to be indicted after his alleged co-conspirators plead guilty already.

Guilty or not and even in an innocent until proven guilty land like our own, it doesn't look good, we have to wonder why did he choose to stash the money in his freezer? I mean he could have put it in a safe or something, but the freezer? Who would that really fool at the end of the day?

I mean if he's innocent aren't there better ways to protect his money. There's the obvious choice, he could put it into the bank. He could invest it in the stock market. He could follow the path of Hillary Clinton and invest $100k in futures and make a million dollars. If futures are too exotic he could invest in gold and bury it in the back yard, well maybe not in New Orleans since he and the rest of the Federal Government did such a poor job of saving that city, but I'm sure he has a nice safe place in Washington.

His ludicrous effort to stash money in the freezer sounds to much like a college or high school attempt to hide a playboy or marijuana or something.

Who taught this man how to save money?

Technorati tags: william jefferson, ninety thousand dollars in freezer, run off election, louisiana

Syria Our New Best Friend - Not Likely

The Bush Administration appears to be spinning in a raft floating down turbulent white water with no leader at the helm.  Since the November election failures of the Republican party the Republican leadership seems to be coming undone before our ideas. 

Many of the myths and jokes about Cheney and Rumsfeld secretly leading the country as CEO and COO to Bush's Chairman role seemed like a nice description or analogy, but even the most cynical hope that it wasn't true.  Rumsfeld is now departed and it doesn't appear that either Bush or Cheney are leading.

After several weeks of taking advice from a bipartisan team the Bush team is publicly allowing for the possibility of opening up talks to Iran and Syria and at the same time rejecting the calls of all parties to reduce the troop presence and instead providing a plan to send more troops to Iraq.

In finance this is referred to as putting good money in after bad.  Sending more troops should have been the solution years ago.  There is a plan developing to place Syria in a position of leadership in the Middle East.  The straw that is flashing just out of reach of US leadership is a straw where Syria can magically re-unite Iraq, heal Lebanon and all for the price of the Golan Heights, economic assistance, and a new friend in the US.

Basically, all the plans sound ludicrous.  Befriending Syria for no reason and offering an ally as a sacrifice at their alter will not win the US any additional support, respect and definitely not any peace in the world.  Sending more troops with no plan to do anything, with no strategic nor tactical objectives is basically just a base relocation.

Troops need a mission.  They are a highly adaptable resource that has been poorly utilized.  Its like a person on a beach that finds a bottle with a genie in it.

Ask the right question and your wishes will come true.  Ask the question poorly, deploy your resource in the wrong direction and you will not be able to anticipate what you will receive.  That's exactly what we received in Iraq, a genie delivered our wish, but we wished without wisdom.

We have moved past wishing and on into fishing.  Now we are using Israel as bait and sending our troops to Iraq like shark hunters - I won't even say it.  Its disgraceful. 

This administration may not be prepared to do the job.  The may not have leadership qualities, but they need to pull their heads out of their rhetoric and start getting something done.  They need to get to work and come up with some answers.

In the military we say, lead, follow or get the hell out of the way.  This team has shown that they can't lead.  Their is no provision for them to follow and there is no way other than resignation or impeachment that they can get the hell out of the way.

Its amazing how far they have self destructed in 30 days since the election.  If this were a fiction novel or movie it would be painful but entertaining to watch how far they will go by 1/7/07, but its reality and we are not casual bystanders.   Things need to start happening and they need to start soon.

Flying Noodle Gift Baskets

Its getting close to the holidays and regardless of your politics or concerns for the world, there are a few things that you can do to cheer up the people, friends, and family closest to you in the world.

You can send them Coffee Gift Baskets from Flying Noodle.  Flying Noodle specializes in providing gift baskets with an Italian theme from a Beverage Bonanza with specialty coffees,  biscotti, hot chocolates and gourmet teas, to the Mama Mia, that comes with a basket that closes like a brief case and includes 4 varieties of gourmet pastas, three gourmet sauces and pesto.

That not only looks like a great gift, but just staring at those sauces makes me want to go crank up my kitchen and cook up some Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo. . . . Actually what am I waiting for . . .

From the team here at Gridlock on Rye we'd like to say Happy Holidays to all of our readers, our subscribers and our sponsors.  Its been a great year and we look forward to serving you going into 2007!

Technorati tags: Flying noodle, gift baskets, italian gift baskets, Gridlock On Rye

Bush Shoots Cheney's Daughter in Face over Pregnancy -

Makes Plan to Kiss new Baby in front of Cameras at first Opportunity!

That's what you are not going to read in the headlines!  

 Following the 2006 elections the Republican lovefest with the Christian Coalition seems to be rapidly breaking down.  Many people speculated that Republicans were only getting cozy with Christian leaders and communities in order to stir up their base and get out the vote, breaking from the long political strategy of moving to the center to capture swing voters.  In 2004 the strategy worked great Republicans retreated from the center further and mobilized their base and they squeaked out their second squeaky victory in a row.

However, in mobilizing that base Republicans had to present themselves as moral leaders concerned about religion.  Politicians have long been able to talk out of two sides of their mouths and this appears to be even easier for a politician to do when they can talk politics out one side and religion out the other.  Politicians are rarely held accountable by voters and even less frequently by their Maker in Chief.

Following the Democratic victories, Republicans are rapidly abandoning the Carl Rove strategies that now appear to have lost them the Congress and might lose them the White House after what now feels like 6 very short years in total power.  The fastest way for Republicans to retrench is to kick organized political religion to the curb like a rattle snake in a Yugo.

The Cheney's are going to stand by their daughter, who stood by them through two elections even when Dick's administration and party were set to roast same sex marriages and their children over spits.  She campaigned for them through thick and thin and they will support her now. 

Similarly, Bush despite his affected good ol' boy good ol' Christian persona will not attack the couple either.  Politically, the Republicans have attacked couples over same sex marriages because its easy to mobilize their base when the key word is 'sex'.  However, its a lot more difficult for Republicans to carry off an attack against the family and after all that's what Mary Cheney and her 15 year partner Heather Poe have and what they are growing with a baby. 

There is no political victory to be had by Republicans under the rules of fire bombing the center to mobilize the right when it calls for the fire bombing of a baby.  Politicians may have religious morals but those morals can not win out against the political necessity to kiss babies in the public eye at every possible opportunity.

This proves to be a good analogy for the current Republican dilemma.  They have used the Christian Coalition to achieve power, but they have learned along the way that:

1. They are too morally bankrupt as a party to govern morally and,

 2. Christian Morals do not make for a political platform that can keep them in power.

There is only one political motivation aside from kissing babies in public that runs even deeper in that mysterious breed of homosapien called the politician, and that motivation is to maintain and gain power.

Technorati tags: bush shoots cheney's daughter in face over pregnancy, politicians kiss babies, total power corrupts, republicans abandoning Christian Base

Boris, Those Immigrants are coming here and taking all of our Jobs!

In a strange twisted parody of America's labor issues and its relations with its southern neighbor Mexico, Russia has emerged to suffer some similar but backwards problems with China.  China may have a very large and rapidly growing economy, but that economy pales in comparison to its readily available and cheap labor force.

Russia has been experiencing some growing pains as farmers import workers from China to work their farms for them.  Apparently Chinese workers according to the Wall Street Journal, are willing to do the jobs that many ordinary Russians don't want to do.  Not because Russians have better paying jobs and don't want to work the land. 

No according to the farm owners, the Russian work force is too busy getting drunk or just plain too old to work at all.  Now, they are importing Chinese workers and many Russians of a military mind see it as a beachhead in Asia that could bring on subsequent waves of Chinese invaders.

That may sound harsh, but it may not be too far off the mark.  Russian and Chinese relations were close during the days of communism, but Russia has something that China needs and will need even more in the years to come.

Russia has land, resources and most importantly, Russia has oil.  Russia may not be the most stable country in the world, but its a lot more stable than the middle east.

A deal might be brokered between these old allies despite their eminent distrust of each other.  If that fails China might be more prepared to leak people across the border and squatting the land initially.  It could be easier to mount this type of invasion on Russia than say a similar invasion in neighboring India where the population matches China and the need for resources is almost as great.

Technorati tags: Russian invasion from China, Chinese farm workers on Russian farms, Asia land grab

Energy Prices Sting US- Cripple Poor Countries

Many Americans my self included have felt the painful sting of energy prices over the last couple years.  It was over a year ago that I purchased a small motorcycle for commutting and later sold my gas guzzling Mazda 3 (guzzling at 27 MPG).

We have seen our heating bills, air conditioning bills, fuel bills, even prices for food and other goods have increased as a result of fuel stipends and transportation kickers.

That's nothing compared to the impact higher energy prices have had on poor nations around the world.

The Wall Street Journal ran a weekend edition report titled "As Fuel Prices Soar, a country Unravels" detailing the problems that have hit Africa's Guinea, a small and very poor on the Western (Atlantic) Coast of Africa.

To bring this home the article details how nurses at a hospital have to regularly pull premature babies out of the incubators and rouse resting mothers to hold the babies covered in extra blankets while the hospital and surrounding city experiences the regularly occurring power blackouts.

In poor countries energy prices are hitting the part of the population that could have been the most upwardly mobile.  City workers and people that are poor, but not still cooking on open fires suffer the most.  They rely on the city infrastructure and jobs in the community, but when those fail they fail.  As the nations cities go, so goes industry and the potential for the economies of these countries to support themselves.

This is rapidly becoming a serious problem for these countries that were already over burdoned with serious problems.

Consider how far Iraq has fallen and how its people were severely agitated by rolling blackouts and the collapse of government support structures.  Consider that many of these countries were not even as well off as Iraq and they are now failing too.

This is a world problem.  The people are suffering now, but as they suffer their anger will increase and this will increase the amount of instability throughout these regions.  We may have an unstable middle east and a civil war in Iraq.  The world will suffer many more problems if problems grow and more countries follow in Iraq's wake and start to fail and break down into civil war also.

Technorati tags: Energy Prices threaten civil war, African countries hit hard by energy prices, civil war, energy prices, oil, rolling blackouts

Gwinnett County Public Schools Outed by WhistleBlower Blog

As a whistleblower myself, I found this story rather interesting.  The local school board has been allegedly in a very round about way outed by its former CFO, who was forced to resign, after it was suggested by the school board that the CFO might be having some kind of relationship with a person that reported to him either directly or indirectly.  Now either the CFO or the person whom he may or may not have had a relationship with and or other persons un-named but that might be related to that person, have established a blog to point out conflict of interest issues and other skeletons in the Gwinnett County Public Schools system.

The blog in question is the Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) Insider and its been up and running for about a month and a half or since about October of 2006.  The blog appears to be running without any advertisements, so the blog owners are not currently receiving any financial benefit from their whistleblowing activities.

The Gwinnett Daily Post ran a front page top of the page story about the Blog as it has caught the attention of the local District Attorney Danny Porter.  He indicated that he had spoken with some of the blog contributors but had not as yet launched an investigation.  He also indicated that an investigation could commence in the future.

Three of the accusations include claims that the school system donated tax funds to the retirement of a pastor, that the county failed to bid out a computer and technology contract, and that a consulting contract was sourced to a member of the Board of Education.

The blog calls for more checks and balances of GCPS and the adoption of benchmarks found in Sorbanes Oxley but not required of school boards.  The argument for greater transparency to educate tax payers such that they can keep direct oversight of their tax dollars at work seems to be the theme.

Technorati tags: gwinnett county public schools, GCPS, GCPS Blog exposing potential misconduct or conflict of interest