Life in OUR America, Volume 3, The Livyjr Files Options

[Sandra]

Continuing from Volume 2 of this topic, which can be found by following the link below:
http://www.commongroundcommonsense.org/for...showtopic=19049

[Livyjr]

Well!

What a long, strange trip it has been!

But wait, the Beatles or somebody, anyway, already said that, and so, I should "attribute" to them, lest I, like a Harvard man before me, be accused of plagiarizing in here!

SO!

THAT IS NOT AN ORIGINAL SAYING OF MINE, folks, someone has already said it, and I borrowed it, because .....

Because it just seemed apt, at the moment!

And here we are, all over again, in here, at the start of Volume III of Life in OUR America, and for anyone just coming by for the first time, Life in OUR America is exactly that, "life" as it comes along, the way a flowing stream brings things down to the waiting trout at the foot of the riffle!

Some might be food, with a hook in it, some might be food, without a hook in it, and some just might not be food at all, and the only way you can know in the end is to keep observing the trout!

I, Livyjr, like my Roman counterpart, Livy, am simply an observer of life!

So, what I place in here most times is stories of life, in America, things like medicaid fraud and hurricanes and this and that, that is happeneing in OUR times, while we are living, much in the same way that "chronicalers" back in the days of Rome would simply record what happened that day, like, "well, okay, Vesuvius blew it's top this morning, and lava flowed down and covered over Pompeii, and then the price of eggs and milk sky-rocketed in Piraeus, because ...."

In my younger years, in large part because of a research project I was working on, I read through daily newspapers from my local area from the 1850's though maybe the 1870's, or '80's, or so, that period of time, or history, from just before, to just after the American Civil War, and as I do this thread every day, I think about that often, how much things don't really change, as much as they might seem to, and the beauty of this "medium" in here, versus the newspapers that I was reading from, is that in here, by compiling these volumes as I have done, almost instantaneously, I can "zoom" back in time, with that miraculous "search engine" feature that is included in here, and I can "daisey-chain" stroies together, to show trends, in a way that was not impossible before, with the newspapers, but was certainly a lot more cumbersome, because when you have a stack of newspapers before you, it is a real stack, and not a virtual one, as is the case in here.

And what difference does any of this make?

Who can ever tell, is my answer!

Did Livy worry about whether his writings would survive the moment, let alone a thousand years?

Or Marcus Aurelius?

Or anyone who has ever put a thought down on a piece of paper, or papyrus, or on a clay tablet, or a piece of parchment paper?

I do what I do, simply because I do it!

Like the trout, I try to practice panoramic awareness, and like the trout, I know that such things as food with hooks in it can exist, and beyond that, well, the chief concern of the trout, well beyond knowing food with a hook, from food without, is knowing that the pool that you have got yourself placed in is a pool that will have water in it all summer long, and there is the real art to being a trout, as I see it, since being a trout on dry land is difficult living, indeed .......

Where are we headed in here?

Can't tell, don't know!

Why?

Because I'm not in charge of the world, and so, I hopefully do not pretend to be, either in here, or out there, where the reality is a lot less "virtual", and so, can have sharp corners, where in here, well .....

SO!

There is where we are .....

And what a long strange trip it has been, but who cares .....

Stay tuned!

[Livyjr]

Well!

What a long, strange trip it has been!

SO!

THAT IS NOT AN ORIGINAL SAYING OF MINE, folks, someone has already said it, and I borrowed it, because .....

Because it just seemed apt, at the moment!

"War is Fun as Hell"
 
by Sheldon Rampton 
 
Ubisoft, the company contracted to develop the DoD's games, also sponsors the "Frag Dolls," a real-world group of attractive, young women gamers who go by names such as "Eekers," "Valkyrie" and "Jinx" and are paid to promote Ubisoft products.

At a computer gaming conference earlier this year, the Frag Dolls were deployed as booth babes at the America's Army demo, where they played the game and posed for photos and video (now available on the America's Army website).

On the Frag Dolls weblog, "Eekers" described her turn at the "Combat Convoy Experience": "You have this gigantic Hummer in a tent loaded with guns, a rotatable turret, and a huge screen in front of it."

"Jinx took the wheel and drove us around this virtual war zone while shooting people with a pistol, and I switched off from the SAW turret on the top of the vehicle to riding passenger with an M4."

The babes-and-bullets fantasy world celebrated in games contrasts markedly with the experiences that real soldiers are facing in Iraq.

Security concerns slow Iraq reconstruction - Contract excesses also hamper progress"

By Renae Merle and Griff Witte

Updated: 7:18 a.m. ET July 29, 2005

WASHINGTON - Efforts to rebuild water, electricity and health networks in Iraq are being shortchanged by higher-than-expected costs to provide security and by generous financial awards to contractors, according to a series of reports by government investigators released yesterday.

Taken together, the reports seem to run contrary to the Bush administration's upbeat assessment that reconstruction efforts are moving vigorously ahead and that the insurgency is dying down.

The United States, Iraq and international donors have committed more than $60 billion to run Iraq and revive its damaged infrastructure.

But security costs are eating away a substantial share of that total, up to 36 percent on some projects, the Government Accountability Office reported yesterday.

The higher security costs are causing reconstruction authorities to scale back efforts in some areas and abandon projects in others.

"It's quite clear that we've got massive amounts of taxpayer money funneled into Iraq, with very little oversight and a substantial amount of waste and abuse," said Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND).

"These are very discouraging reports."

Dorgan said the high costs associated with providing security are particularly troubling.

The government does not know how much it spends on private security contractors in total, the GAO said.

But it's more than expected.

The Pentagon estimates there are 60 private security firms with as many as 25,000 employees in Iraq.

Some elite personnel make $33,000 a month.

TAY-RIZM!

The BUZZWORD of the 21st Century, if ever there was a BUZZWORD!

And it's a BID-NESS thing, too, of course, because in today's world, running a world-class TAY-RAH ORGANIZATION takes brains and bucks, or so we common Americans are told, and who can dispute them, the TELLERS OF THESE TALES OF WOE, after all, these SECURITY CONTRACTORS, I mean, they would know, wouldn't they?

What is it one of them can earn in a week a really hot zone like Iraq?

More money than McDonald's is paying, and that is a fact, and Iraq doesn't have rules, either; if you don't like to wash your hands, over there, well, you just don't have to!

Live it up, let the good times roll!

"Terrorism Testing U.S., Saudi Relations"

By BARRY SCHWEID, AP Diplomatic Writer

20 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The deadly and frustrating problem of anti-Western terrorism is testing U.S. relations with its old oil ally, Saudi Arabia, which now will be led in name as well as in practice by a pro-U.S. ruler, King Abdullah.

Just hours after the kingdom announced King Fahd's death on Monday, President Bush called Abdullah "my friend" in a statement after telephoning the new king.

Abdullah has in effect been the Saudi leader since 1995, when Fahd suffered a stroke.

"The United States looks forward to continuing the close partnership between our two countries," Bush said.

The State Department, for its part, described U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia as excellent.

The two countries have a "close working relationship" on terrorism, spokesman Tom Casey said.

Meanwhile, the Saudis, who control one-quarter of the world's oil supplies, pledged "to continue King Fahd's legacy of providing the globe with stable and secure energy," in the words of deputy Saudi ambassador Rihad Massoud.

At a news conference, Massoud also said the kingdom stands shoulder-to-shoulder with all peaceful nations and "will not stand for an evil cult using the Islamic faith as an excuse for mass violence."

The statements were made against the backdrop of a relationship that was strained with the advent of potent, anti-Western terrorism, manifested by the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.

Fifteen of the 19 suicide bombers were Saudis.

The kingdom eventually mounted an aggressive anti-terror campaign, with arrests and a clampdown on Saudi contributions to charities that apparently had channeled money to militant groups.

In creating the Homeland Security Department in 2002, Congress stationed security officers in Saudi Arabia for a required review of all visa applications before they could be approved by the State Department.

On Monday, British investigators were looking into whether a suspect in last month's London bombings had telephoned Saudi Arabia, possibly to find the number of a brother in Rome.

"The Saudis were in denial for a long time that they even had a terrorism problem," said James Phillips, Middle East analyst at the Heritage Foundation.

"As long as Osama bin Laden was killing Americans instead of Saudis they weren't that concerned."

After al-Qaida bombings in Saudi Arabia in May 2003, the Saudis improved their policies on terrorism, but "there is still room for improvement," Phillips said in an interview.

"There are still radical clerics that encourage violence and terrorism inside Saudi Arabia," he said.

"The royal family has taken some steps to restrain some of the clerics, but it has not been able to silence them."

Former U.S. diplomats agreed that Abdullah supports both reform and good relations with the United States.

But Geoffrey Kemp of the Nixon Center said several of the new king's brothers, particularly Defense Minister Prince Sultan, who was named crown prince on Monday, gave less support to American policy.

Now that Abdullah is king, the former White House official said in an interview, "he should be freer to crack down on some of the more ambiguous elements of Saudi policy."

Last month, Prince Bandar bin Sultan resigned after 22 years as Saudi ambassador to Washington.

He is being replaced by Prince Turki bin al-Faisal, a former head of Saudi intelligence and current ambassador to Britain.

Bandar, a son of Prince Sultan, is thought to be interested in taking over the security post.

Edward S. Walker Jr., president of the private Middle East Institute, praised Abdullah as being "in the forefront of reform and countering terrorism," adding, "The succession should work well for us."

Walker, a former U.S. deputy ambassador to Saudi Arabia and assistant secretary of state, also called Prince Sultan's ascension good news.

"He long was thought to be the best friend of the United States and is close to American military authorities," Walker said in an interview.

But looking ahead, Walker expressed concern that Interior Minister Prince Nayef could rise in the Saudi hierarchy in the future, saying, "He has been saying he doesn't believe terrorism is a serious problem."

Amr Hamzawy, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said Abdullah has been the key figure in Saudi attempts to combat terrorism and control militant groups.

And the new king has been responsible for initiating constitutional and legal reform, which matches up with the Bush administration's campaign to promote democracy in the Middle East, Hamzawy said in an interview.

"In this regard, the new king matches exactly the objectives and rhetoric of the Bush administration," he said.
___

On the Net:

State Department: http://www.state.gov

CIA factbook on Saudi Arabia: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sa.html

[Snuffysmith]

[Livyjr]

Well, we're a one-world economy now, Snuffysmith, and that's for sure, so that instead of being like everyone else, now, we are going to have to be just like everyone else, which means that America has to "out-Mexico" Mexico, in terms of no rights, no benefits, no environmental or workplace protections, elsewise, in the words of all these experts and pundits and Rhodes scholars that we have down there in Congress, why, we just can't compete!

So that who puts money into the pocket of Congress can make money to keep putting money in the pocket of Congress, Congress has agreed to tear America apart, right on down to the roots, for them!

We're nothing more than a bunch of cattle out in a large feedlot, here, us common folks!

MOOOOOOO!

[Livyjr]

And then, there is the "BUSH AGENDA", the notorious Bush Agenda, and while nobody really knows what exactly it might be, it's all the fad around here, these days, anyway, kind of like the Emporer's new clothes ......

"Bolton's Challenge: Pushing Bush Agenda"

By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer

Tue Aug 2, 2:47 AM ET

UNITED NATIONS - John Bolton's chief challenge as ambassador to the United Nations will be to work with diplomats from 190 nations in a place he's called irrelevant as he tries to advance President Bush's reform agenda.

The 56-year-old arms control expert with a reputation for brilliance, obstinacy and speaking his mind will arrive at the United Nations just weeks before a summit in which world leaders will seek to adopt sweeping changes to enable the U.N. to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Bolton will be thrust into intense negotiations on contentious issues ranging from Security Council reform and poverty alleviation to stepping up the global fight against terrorism and improving U.N. management.

"He will be one of the key players because the United States is the largest contributor and a great power in the Security Council," Germany's U.N. Ambassador Gunter Pleuger said.

"There are conflicting views on nearly every issue that is on our plate for the reform, and the largest player in the U.N., of course, plays a key role."

Many U.N. diplomats say Bolton will be judged on his performance here, not on his past, which features sharp criticism of the world body and resistance to his appointment as U.S. ambassador.

"No one should make prejudgments on reputation," said Chile's U.N. Ambassador Heraldo Munoz.

"One must do it on the merit of the facts, when we see what happens here."

The fact that Bolton failed twice to win Senate confirmation forcing Bush to appoint him Monday after Congress adjourned for the summer, was also unlikely to have an impact, diplomats said.

"He's a colleague like any other and will be received as such," said Denmark's U.N. Ambassador Ellen Margrethe Loj, who noted that in many countries no confirmation of ambassadors is required.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan told reporters Monday he looks forward to working with Bolton, in the same way that he works with ambassadors from the other U.N. member states.

Bolton planned to present his credentials to Annan on Tuesday morning.

The Bush administration says a tough-talking Bolton is ideally suited to lead an effort to overhaul the U.N. bureaucracy and make it more accountable.

But Annan cautioned that negotiation and compromise are the key to success at the United Nations.

"I think it is all right for one ambassador to come and push, but an ambassador always has to remember that there are 190 others who will have to be convinced, or a vast majority of them, for action to take place," Annan said.

Bolton will certainly face antagonism from some countries including North Korea and Iran.

In 2003, he said North Korea was led by a "tyrannical dictator," while he contends Iran is secretly planning to build nuclear weapons.

Bolton's past comments about the United Nations and his intimation that the United States can pull the strings have also not been forgotten, and will likely make some U.N. members wary.

In 1994, Bolton said it wouldn't make a "bit of difference" if the top 10 floors of the United Nations — which include the secretary-general's office — vanished from the 39-story headquarters building.

In the same speech, he said there is "no such thing as the United Nations," just "an international community that occasionally can be led by the only real power left in the world, and that is the United States."

While Bolton has been highly critical of the United Nations, he is no stranger to its inner workings.

He dealt with U.N. affairs in the State Department from 1989-93, and in his latest post as the department's arms control chief he has had frequent contacts with the Chinese and Russians, and will find several familiar faces in their delegations and elsewhere.

"Honestly, I'm looking forward to working with him," said Algeria's U.N. Ambassador Abdallah Baali, whose two-year term on the Security Council ends in December.

"I worked with him several years ago, and I enjoyed working with him."

"He's a very smart guy who can be very constructive, who can be very creative."

"So I think it will be very interesting to spend a few months with him in the Security Council," Baali said.

Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador Konstantin Dolgov said Bolton was well known in Moscow and "as far as I know he is a negotiator with quite some background."

Diplomats said Bolton's first test will come very quickly in whether he plays a positive role in helping make the September summit a success.

With just over six weeks left to produce a final document that all 191 U.N. member states support, negotiations are heating up on contentious many issues: expanding the Security Council, creating a new Peacebuilding Commission, revamping the U.N.'s human rights machinery, defining terrorism, protecting civilians facing war crimes and genocide, and overhauling the U.N. Secretariat.

"I think this is a time when it is make or break as far as the future relevance of the United Nations is concerned," said Germany's Pleuger.

[Snuffysmith]

[Livyjr]

Snuffysmith, it's too bad you can't pan that image back to the right, to show the great huge crack running right through that tip of rock, back behind the image of George W. Bush, so that if a bird feather lands on one of those doors, the whole thing is likely to go right on down, somewhere where Varus and His Legions are, I think!

Ah, Varus!

And the Romans said it could never happen!

[Livyjr]

Ah, Varus!

And the Romans said it could never happen!

The Story of Publius Quinctilius Varus

In September 9 AD an army of three Roman legions with supporting units of cavalry and auxiliaries, around 20,000 men in all, was annihilated in a running battle which lasted for three days.

Lulled into a false sense of security by the Germanic chief Arminius, the Roman governor Publius Quinctilius Varus led his army into a trap that only a handful managed to escape alive.

The loss of the Varian Legions was a massive psychological blow to the Roman Empire and, after 9 AD, the Romans gave up their plans to hold Germania and withdrew to the west bank of the Rhine.

[Livyjr]

The Story of Publius Quinctilius Varus

In September 9 AD an army of three Roman legions with supporting units of cavalry and auxiliaries, around 20,000 men in all, was annihilated in a running battle which lasted for three days. 

Publius Quinctilius Varus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

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

Defeated Varus

Publius Quinctilius Varus (ca.46 BC-9 AD) was a Roman politician and general under Augustus Caesar, mainly remembered for having lost three Roman legions and his own life when attacked by Germanic leader Arminius in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.

Life

Varus was a patrician, born to an aristocratic but long impoverished and unimportant family.

His father was Sextus Quinctilius Varus, a senator aligned with the conservative republicans in the civil war against Julius Caesar.

Sextus survived their defeat and was involved in Caesar's assassination.

He committed suicide after the Battle of Philippi (43 BC).

Despite his father's political choices, Varus became a supporter of Caesar's heir, Octavianus later known as Caesar Augustus.

He was married to Vipsania, daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, and became a personal friend of both Agrippa and Octavian.

When Agrippa died, it was Varus who delivered the funeral eulogy.

Thus, his political career was boosted and his cursus honorum finished as early as 13 BC, when he was elected consul as junior partner of Tiberius, Augustus' step-son and future emperor.

Political Career

Between 8 and 9 BC, following the consulship, Varus was governor of the Africa province, one of the few still outside the control of Octavianus.

After this, Varus went to the important province of Syria, where he had four legions under his command.

By then he was a competent governor and a trusted servant of the emerging Roman Empire.

The Jewish historian Josephus mentions the swift action of Varus against a messianic revolt in Judaea after the death of Rome's client king Herod the Great in 4 BC.

Following the governorship of Syria, Varus returned to Rome and remained there for the next few years.

His political career appeared to reach an end.

During these years, Varus married Claudia Pulchra, a grand-niece of Octavianus, which shows that he still enjoyed political favour.

In the first years of the 1st century Rome's political and military life was concentrated in Germania, the area north of Gaul and east of the Rhine river.

Tiberius, his brother Drusus, and Germanicus conducted a long campaign in the region and subdued several Germanic tribes, such as the Cherusci. I

n 7 AD, the region was pacified and Varus was appointed to govern Germania.

The Battle of Teutoburg Forest

In 9 AD, Varus was stationed in a summer camp near the Weser River with his three legions, the seventeenth, the eighteenth and the nineteenth, when news arrived about a growing revolt in the Rhine area to the west.

Despite several warnings, Varus believed Arminius, the man who appealed for his help because he was a Romanised Germanic prince and commander of an auxiliary cavalry unit.

But this was a mistake.

Arminius was indeed planning an ambush, and he attacked the three legions in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest on September 9 (near modern Osnabrück).

The Romans were slaughtered.

Casualties included the three legions, the cavalry and the camp followers.

The Germans also took the Eagles (battle standards) of the legions, a major insult to Roman pride, since the standards were considered minor deities.

Varus took his own life towards the end of the battle's final day.

His head was cut off and sent to Rome.

Teutoburg was one of Rome's biggest military catastrophes and greatly upset Octavianus.

After the battle, Varus was made the scapegoat for Octavianus' difficulties in Germany.

However, Varus' head was buried in the mausoleum of Octavianus' family, suggesting that the emperor did not hold a grudge against him.

The Roman historian Suetonius, in his The Twelve Caesars, wrote that, upon hearing of Varus' defeat in Germania, Augustus banged his head against a wall and cried, "Quintili Vare, legiones redde!" ('Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions!')

[Livyjr]

Publius Quinctilius Varus

Defeated Varus

Publius Quinctilius Varus (ca.46 BC-9 AD) was a Roman politician and general under Augustus Caesar, mainly remembered for having lost three Roman legions and his own life when attacked by Germanic leader Arminius in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.

Life

Varus was a patrician, born to an aristocratic but long impoverished and unimportant family.

His father was Sextus Quinctilius Varus, a senator aligned with the conservative republicans in the civil war against Julius Caesar.

Sextus survived their defeat and was involved in Caesar's assassination.

And that is at least how far back these Conservative Republicans that we have today in OUR America, or at least in REPUBLICAN-controlled Rensselaer County in the State of New York, trace their lineage, back to the times of Sextus Quinctilius Varus, and the glorious civil war in Rome against Julius Caesar and the plebeian hordes, or democrats of those times, according to one of them in Rensselaer County who had a pair of "eagles" right there on his desk for all the candid world to see!

What a history!

And when one knows that history, one can then appreciate right where Mr. George W. Bush is in that cartoon Snuffysmith has posted right above, here.

"Violent Mobs Surge Through Sudan Capital"

By TANALEE SMITH, Associated Press Writer

2 hours, 14 minutes ago

KHARTOUM, Sudan - Violent mobs surged again into the streets of Sudan's capital Tuesday, a day after 36 people died in riots sparked by the death of Sudanese vice president and former southern rebel leader John Garang.

The initial violence Monday was blamed on Garang supporters from the Christian and animist south who blamed his death in a helicopter crash on Sudan's Muslim-dominated government, but both northerners and southerners reportedly staged attacks Tuesday after a quiet morning.

Arab gangs invaded some neighborhoods heavily populated by southerners on the outskirts of Khartoum and attacked people in the streets and raided homes, said William Ezekiel, managing editor of the Khartoum Monitor.

He said some people had been shot to death.

"The Arabs are attacking them, entering their houses and looking for southerners," said Ezekiel, whose newspaper focuses largely on southern issues.

"It's a reaction to the reaction from yesterday: 'Where is the government?'"

"'Where are the police?'" he said.

A senior U.N. official in Khartoum said angry southerners from camps outside the capital for people displaced by the long war in southern Sudan attacked the Omdurman area.

He said a Muslim imam had been slain.

"The situation is turning religious and that will be even more dangerous," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to journalists.

The reports of deaths Tuesday could not be independently confirmed.

Officials said Monday's riots resulted in 36 people being killed and about 300 injured.

The government renewed the 6 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew first imposed Monday night, and by midafternoon downtown streets were nearly empty.

An occasional siren could be heard.

After Monday's rampage, the government and Garang's own Sudan People's Liberation Movement said his death was an accident and dismissed talk of a plot as they sought to keep alive the fragile north-south peace deal Garang championed.

President Bush said Monday that the United States remained committed to the peace process in Sudan and urged its people to refrain from violence, describing Garang as a "visionary leader and peacemaker."

Two senior State Department officials were heading for Sudan to tell leaders in Khartoum and southern Sudan the peace process must proceed.

Garang and 13 other people died Saturday when a helicopter crashed into a mountain in southern Sudan in bad weather.

Garang, from southern Sudan, became the country's first vice president last month as part of the U.S.-backed peace deal that ended a two-decade-long civil war between his rebel force and the army of Sudan's Islamic-oriented government based in Khartoum.

The charismatic Garang was hailed for helping seal the peace deal, particularly across southern Sudan and among the several million southern refugees living in Khartoum, many of whom took part in Monday's violence.

Three days of national mourning were declared following his death, but it was not immediately clear when or where his funeral will be held.

The SPLM named Garang's longtime deputy, Salva Kiir Mayardit, to succeed him as head of the movement and president of south Sudan.

Kiir will also likely be Sudan's first vice president, according to the January peace agreement that says the SPLM leader will hold that position, said Kenyan Gen. Lazaro Sumbeiywo, a mediator in the peace talks.

Garang was the dominant voice of the south since 1983.

A colonel in Sudan's army, he was sent there to quell a rebellion but deserted to form his own rebel movement in the region's fight for a share of wealth and political power.

More than 2 million people died in the conflict.

The peace deal and Garang's ascension to the national unity government were signs of hope for others who feel marginalized in Sudan.

Many in the east and west, including in Darfur, who are fighting their own battles with Khartoum, considered Garang an advocate.
___

Associated Press writer Mohamed Osman contributed to this report.

[Livyjr]

"Violent Mobs Surge Through Sudan Capital"

By TANALEE SMITH, Associated Press Writer

"It's a reaction to the reaction from yesterday: 'Where is the government?'"

Probably hiding behind some lawyers, like ours does ......

"Pacific Coast Life Concerns Scientists"

By TERENCE CHEA, Associated Press Writer

Mon Aug 1, 8:29 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO - Marine biologists are seeing mysterious and disturbing things along the Pacific Coast this year: higher water temperatures, plummeting catches of fish, lots of dead birds on the beaches, and perhaps most worrisome, very little plankton — the tiny organisms that are a vital link in the ocean food chain.

Is this just one freak year?

Or is this global warming?

Few scientists are willing to blame global warming, the theory that carbon dioxide and other manmade emissions are trapping heat in the Earth's atmosphere and causing a worldwide rise in temperatures.

Yet few are willing to rule it out.

"There are strange things happening, but we don't really understand how all the pieces fit together," said Jane Lubchenco, a zoologist and climate change expert at Oregon State University.

"It's hard to say whether any single event is just an anomaly or a real indication of something serious happening."

Scientists say things could very well swing back to normal next year.

But if the phenomenon proves to be long-lasting, the consequences could be serious for birds, fish and other wildlife.

This much is known: From California to British Columbia, unusual weather patterns have disrupted the marine ecosystem.

Normally, in the spring and summer, winds blow south along the Pacific Coast and push warmer surface waters away from shore.

That allows colder, nutrient-rich water to well up from the bottom of the sea and feed microscopic plants called phytoplankton.

Phytoplankton are then eaten by zooplankton, tiny marine animals that include shrimp-like crustaceans called krill.

Zooplankton, in turn, are eaten by seabirds and by fish and marine mammals ranging from sardines to whales.

But this year, the winds have been unusually weak, failing to generate much upwelling and reducing the amount of phytoplankton.

Off Oregon, for example, the waters near the shore are 5 to 7 degrees warmer than normal and have yielded about one-fourth the usual amount of phytoplankton, said Bill Peterson, an oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Newport, Ore.

"The bottom has fallen out of the coastal food chain, and there's just not enough food out there," said Julia Parrish, a seabird ecologist at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Seabirds are clearly distressed.

On the Farallon Islands west of San Francisco, researchers this spring noted a steep decrease in nesting cormorants and a 90 percent drop in Cassin's auklets — the worst in more than 35 years of monitoring.

On Washington state's Tatoosh Island, common murres — a species so sensitive to disruptions that scientists consider it a harbinger of ecological change — started breeding nearly a month late.

It was the longest delay in 15 years of monitoring.

Researchers have also reported a sharp increase in dead birds washing up in California, Oregon and Washington.

Along Monterey Bay in Central California, there are four times the usual number of dead seabirds, said Hannah Nevins, a scientist at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.

"Basically, they're not finding enough food, and they use up the energy that's stored in their muscles, liver and body fat," Nevins said.

Fish appear to be feeling the effects, too.

NOAA found a 20 percent to 30 percent drop in juvenile salmon off the coasts of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia in June and July, compared with the average over the previous six years.

And researchers counted the lowest number of juvenile rockfish in more than 20 years of monitoring in Central and Northern California.

Fewer than 100 were caught between San Luis Obispo and Fort Bragg this year, compared with several thousand last year.

Scientists have seen some of these strange happenings before during El Nino years, when higher water surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific alter weather patterns worldwide.

But the West Coast has not had El Nino conditions this year.

As for the possibility that this is being caused by global warming, scientists are not so sure, since climate change is believed to be a gradual process, and what is happening this year is relatively sudden.

But "if we did see this next year, the notion that global warming plays a role in this carries more weight," said Nathan Mantua, a climate expert at the University of Washington in Seattle.
___

Associated Press Writer Jeff Barnard in Grants Pass, Ore., contributed to this report.

end quotes

Now, Livyjr, will you please get off this global warming stuff in here!

Don't you know that White House lawyers have determined conclusively, by looking at what each other has done, and said to each other, after finding out what Dick Cheney and the oil industry wanted them to say, that there is no such thing as global warming?

[Livyjr]

"Pacific Coast Life Concerns Scientists"

By TERENCE CHEA, Associated Press Writer

Mon Aug 1, 8:29 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO - Marine biologists are seeing mysterious and disturbing things along the Pacific Coast this year: higher water temperatures, plummeting catches of fish, lots of dead birds on the beaches, and perhaps most worrisome, very little plankton — the tiny organisms that are a vital link in the ocean food chain.

Is this just one freak year?

Or is this global warming?

end quotes

Now, Livyjr, will you please get off this global warming stuff in here!

Don't you know that White House lawyers have determined conclusively, by looking at what each other has done, and said to each other, after finding out what Dick Cheney and the oil industry wanted them to say, that there is no such thing as global warming?

"Storm front: U.S. forecasts more hurricanes - Up to 11 seen in Atlantic this season, two more than initially predicted"

Aug. 2: Millions of Americans along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts were warned that hurricane season is likely to be worse than expected.

MSNBC News Services

Updated: 1:52 p.m. ET Aug. 2, 2005

WASHINGTON - The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season will be worse than previously expected, with 18 to 21 tropical storms and nine to 11 hurricanes through November, the U.S. government forecast on Tuesday.

“Although we have already seen a record-setting seven tropical storms during June and July, much of the season’s activity is still to come,” Gerry Bell, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorologist, told reporters.

In May, NOAA predicted the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season would be above normal, with 12 to 15 tropical storms and seven to nine hurricanes.

The season, which runs from June 1-Nov. 30, already has seen seven named storms, two of them hurricanes.

That means the remainder of the season could see 11 to 14 more storms, including seven to nine more hurricanes, Weather Service Director David Johnson said at a briefing.

"This may well be one of the most active Atlantic hurricane seasons on record,” Johnson said, “and will be the ninth above-normal Atlantic hurricane season in the last 11 years."

The most active hurricane season was in 1933, where there were 21 storms, followed by 1995, where there were 19 storms.

Private forecaster eyes Carolinas

NOAA officials said they could not predict how many of the storms would hit the U.S. coast.

The season typically peaks in August.

However, Joe Bastardi, a meteorologist with private forecasting company AccuWeather, predicted most of the remaining storms this year will take a more easterly path than the June and July storms that entered the Gulf of Mexico.

“The most action will be from Aug. 15 to Oct. 15 along the Eastern Seaboard."

"I’m targeting the Carolinas for the worst,” Bastardi said.

“Also, there will be (landfalls) in New England and the Florida coast.”

Tropical disturbances and storms often form off the west coast of Africa, then move west toward the Caribbean and the United States as they strengthen.

In early July, Hurricane Dennis made landfall near Pensacola, Fla., causing losses estimated as high as $5 billion.

Later in the month, Hurricane Emily made landfall in the Gulf Coast about 75 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border.

In 2004 there were tropical storms, of which nine became hurricanes.

Last year's storms cost 117 lives in Florida and damaged or destroyed one in five Florida homes.

Property losses were estimated at $42 billion.

Factors cited

Bell said a combination of warmer waters, low wind shear and low pressure, as well as the jet stream, favor storm formation.

Hurricanes derive their energy from warm water.

The sea surface is two to three degrees warmer than normal for this time of year, Bell noted.

Wind shear, a change in wind direction with altitude, can suppress these storms and lack of shear allows them to form.

The jet stream is in place to guide disturbances moving off the coast of Africa, he added.

The increased activity is due to cyclical conditions, not global warming, NOAA officials said.

Hurricane activity was low in the 1980s and early 1990s and a more active cycle of hurricanes is now under way, Bell said.

“It’s certainly reasonable to expect above-normal hurricane seasons for the next decade or perhaps even longer,” he said.

“It’s not a matter of if more hurricanes are going to hit the coast, it’s simply a matter of when.”

Global warming debate

A study published Sunday in the science journal Nature said hurricanes have become more destructive during the last 30 years and their intensity could increase as a result of global warming.

NOAA said its detailed hurricane records only date back to 1945, which means it lacks enough data to determine if there is any link to global warming.

“We’re not convinced that global warming is playing an important role yet, or if at all, in this era of increased activity,” Bell said.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Snuffysmith]

Americans anxious about U.S. foreign policy - poll
02 Aug 2005 23:15:44 GMT

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Americans are anxious about the direction of U.S. foreign policy and how the country is perceived overseas and a majority believe the government has been too quick to go to war, a survey released on Tuesday said.

"Contrary to conventional wisdom that the American public doesn't know and doesn't care how it is seen abroad, strong majorities" believe the U.S. image overseas is suffering and "large majorities are worried about it," the survey concluded.

Some 63 percent of Americans say the charge that the United States has been too quick to go to war is justified and three-quarters worry about losing trust abroad and about the growing hatred of the United States in Muslim countries, it said.

"So far, public thinking is a disquieting mix of high anxiety, growing uncertainty about current policy and virtually no consensus about what else the country might do," the survey concluded.

The national survey of 1,004 American adults between June 1 and June 13 was conducted by the Public Agenda, a non-profit organization dedicated to public policy research, in conjunction with Foreign Affairs magazine, which is published by the Council on Foreign Relations.

It was funded by the Ford Foundation and is intended to be the first in a series of surveys designed to produce a "foreign policy index" that measures long-term U.S. thinking on foreign policy.

Dan Yankelovich, Public Agenda's chairman, declined to describe the results as a reprimand of the Bush administration but said "there is definitely dissatisfaction ... a feeling that we're not on the right track."

Although much of the concern focused on Iraq and U.S. relations with Muslim countries, the survey found that the problems of illegal immigration and the outsourcing of American jobs overseas also resonated strongly with the public.

These issues have received less attention from political leaders but the survey found that attitudes "are reaching a point where the public's concerns will be too strong to be ignored."

Some 64 percent of respondents said the U.S. government should put more emphasis on using diplomatic and economic methods to fight terrorism and 72 percent said that showing more respect for the views and needs of other countries would enhance U.S. security.

But the public also believed strongly in the United States as a force for humanitarian good, with 83 percent giving the country high marks for helping other countries during natural disasters, the survey found.

[Livyjr]

"Americans anxious about U.S. foreign policy - poll"

02 Aug 2005 23:15:44 GMT

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Americans are anxious about the direction of U.S. foreign policy and how the country is perceived overseas and a majority believe the government has been too quick to go to war, a survey released on Tuesday said.

"Contrary to conventional wisdom that the American public doesn't know and doesn't care how it is seen abroad, strong majorities" believe the U.S. image overseas is suffering and "large majorities are worried about it," the survey concluded.

Some 63 percent of Americans say the charge that the United States has been too quick to go to war is justified and three-quarters worry about losing trust abroad and about the growing hatred of the United States in Muslim countries, it said.

Some 64 percent of respondents said the U.S. government should put more emphasis on using diplomatic and economic methods to fight terrorism and 72 percent said that showing more respect for the views and needs of other countries would enhance U.S. security.

But the public also believed strongly in the United States as a force for humanitarian good, with 83 percent giving the country high marks for helping other countries during natural disasters, the survey found.

Well, now, there is a post that I am glad to see in here, this one just above from Snuffysmith, especially the part where it says some 64 percent of respondents said the U.S. government should put more emphasis on using diplomatic and economic methods to fight terrorism and 72 percent said that showing more respect for the views and needs of other countries would enhance U.S. security.

Now, there is quite a statement, indeed!

[Livyjr]

"Americans anxious about U.S. foreign policy - poll"

02 Aug 2005 23:15:44 GMT

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Americans are anxious about the direction of U.S. foreign policy and how the country is perceived overseas and a majority believe the government has been too quick to go to war, a survey released on Tuesday said.

"Contrary to conventional wisdom that the American public doesn't know and doesn't care how it is seen abroad, strong majorities" believe the U.S. image overseas is suffering and "large majorities are worried about it," the survey concluded.

Some 63 percent of Americans say the charge that the United States has been too quick to go to war is justified and three-quarters worry about losing trust abroad and about the growing hatred of the United States in Muslim countries, it said.

"Islam: A Call to Life Not a Call to Death"

A Khutba (Sermon) delivered by Dr. Maher Hathout on Friday, July 22, 2005 at the Islamic Center of Southern California ..

"O, our Lord, make us surrender ourselves unto Thee, and make out of our offspring a community that will surrender itself unto Thee, and show us our ways of worship, and accept our repentance: for verily, Thou art the Acceptor of repentance, the Dispenser of Grace, O, our Lord!"

"Raise up from the midst of our offspring a messenger from among themselves, who shall convey unto them Thy messages, and impart unto them revelation as well as wisdom, and cause them to grow in purity: for verily, Thou above art almighty, truly wise." (Quran 2:128:129)

These verses, in the form of a supplication, became our prayer since the days of Prophet Abraham, both for ourselves and our generations to come.

By uttering these words, the worshipper seeks that combination of faith, worship, vision, knowledge, wisdom and purity that is an elixir of guidance and success in this life as well as through the eternal life of the hereafter.

Our need for this supplication and for this awareness was accentuated by the recent flurry of horrific terrorist attacks which have claimed over 130 lives in less than a month.

Two weeks ago, we saw how a group of young Muslims swallowed the bait of fiery rhetoric riddled with out-of-context verses spun in order to serve a nihilistic ideology of anger and despair offered to them disguised as Islam.

Within a short period of time, these young men fell prey to the hate-filled dogma and were transformed into beings capable of blowing themselves up, taking with them innocent lives whom God has also blown in them from his spirit and "conferred dignity on the children of Adam" (Quran 7:70) which cuts through barriers of race, gender and creed.

As they commit the crime against themselves and others, they drag with them the reputation and image of the religion they claim to venerate.

They not only violate its basic teachings, but disfigure the message of "mercy to the worlds" into a justification for cruel, cowardly and repulsive behavior.

In this way, hearts that were supposed to be opened to the word of God got closed and minds that were hoped to have been opened to the light of guidance are shut.

In the face of such a stunning challenge, experts and commentators continue to discuss whether this is a British, American, global, political or security problem.

While they may all be correct, from our prospective as Muslims, we believe that this is our very own challenge to tackle.

We are now talking about our future generation, a generation that has proven in every way how bright, distinguished and capable it is.

If we lose one, just one of them, to this counterfeit Islam it is one too many.

It is our responsibility -- young and old, parents, sons and daughters, teachers and students, leaders and activists -- to rally together to plug the holes through which the distorting predators pass through and push the substances that kill brain cells and fill hearts with despair and hate.

There are certain basic principles of Islam which need to be highlighted, emphasized and shared especially now:

1. This religion of ours is based on thinking.

Those who do not think are not addressed by Islam.

The message is "Li qawmin yaaqiloon," which means "to people who think".

The signs of God are revealed to those who use their brains to reflect, ponder, analyze and contemplate, which are all characteristics mentioned in the Quran as a prerequisite of a believer.

Those who cancel their intellect or relegate their thought process to others are reduced to be like animals or even worse.

It is in the absence of thinking that people can be misled, blinded by emotions, hypnotized by false prophets, brain washed, tunnel-visioned and deprived of wisdom.

Free thinking is an Islamic duty.

2. In this religion of ours, each person is individually responsible, accountable and answerable to God.

We are born individually, we die individually and we will be called for the Day of Judgment individually.

Each is accountable up to his or her own individual capacity to understand.

This ought to protect against mob reactions, herd mentality, and cultist belonging or blind following.

No group, party, association or tribe will protect or speak for a person on that Day except for an individual's intention and deeds.

3. Our religion is a call to life and success, not a call to death and despair.

The Quran says: "O you who have obtained to faith, respond to the call of God, the Apostle, whenever he calls you unto what will give you life..." (Quran 8:24).

Five times a day, the call to prayer calls individuals to success "Hai Al Al Falah", which means "come to success".

Our young people are called to life, a gift from God that is to be cherished and appreciated, not trashed and trivialized.

In this life they should reach the peak of success.

They should master the skills, power of knowledge and enlightenment.

They should be qualified to enjoin what is right and forbid what is bad, evil and unjust, in a constructive guided way that actually and realistically may make a difference.

We are people who love life but are not intoxicated by it.

During our life on this planet, we pursue happiness and we vie with others to capture goodness as the Quran teaches.

We seek life, not death, but if death comes, we hopefully accept it as the will of God who designed the end of the worldly phase.

We practice life, we promote it and celebrate it.

We don't go out seeking to die, and needless to say, we don't deliberately bring death on ourselves or on others who are innocent.

Martyrdom is a concept that has been distorted to mean nihilism, and it ought to be reclaimed to its truth.

A martyr dies against his or her own will.

Dies because death has been either an accident or a crime committed against the martyred, who could not avoid it, or maneuver away from it.

Instead, you should maneuver to a safe position, or to join another protecting group.

"...for whoever on that day (when the enemy attacks) turns his back on them - unless it be in a better maneuver or in an endeavor to join another troop..." (Quran 8:16)

The Prophet, peace be upon him, taught his followers not to wish for facing the enemy in confrontation but if confrontation is inevitable, they ought to be steadfast.

He also said, "Never wish to die!"

It is sad to see the gurus of hate programming young people to blow themselves up while the gurus remain in their homes safe and sound.

4. In our religion, we are taught and sensitized to verify, examine and question the statements that we receive.

The Quran even invites us to think and reflect upon its own statements.

When information is passed to us, we are to pass them through filters of reason, public and private benefit, compliance with the word of Allah, productivity and credibility before we accept them and, needless to say, before we act upon them.

"Oh you who have attained to faith, if anyone gives you news, ascertain the truth, lest you harm people unwittingly, and afterwards repent for what you have done." (Quran 49:6)

Moreover, the Quran warns, "Now there is the kind of man whose speech about this world's life may dazzle thee, and he calls God to witness about what is in his heart; yet he is the most contentious of enemies" (Quran 2:204).

This verse is a lesson to us all but particularly to our youth: never let the dazzling rhetoric of a good orator cloud your good judgment or swerve you away from reason and rationality.

5. We should never forget the main item of our religion, what I called before the "highway" of Islam, not the "side streets".

The main signs are the oneness of God, mercy, justice, human dignity, freedom, and good manners.

In a nutshell, the supremacy of Allah, and the goodness of life.

Of these, we have to notice the emphasis on mercy - the most mentioned word in the Quran and the one that has been described correctly and eloquently by one of the scholars as the mission statement of the prophethood of Muhammad.

It is obvious that these acts we are referring to are truth and justice, which we are ordered to uphold even if the outcome will be against ourselves or the people closest to us.

Justice cannot be violated even if the adversary is unfair and hostile.

Thus, we stand for justice for the friend and the foe alike.

"O ye who believe! stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both."

"Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do." (Quran 4:135)

"O ye who believe!"

"Stand out firmly for Allah, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice."

"Be just: that is next to piety: and fear Allah."

"For Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do." (Quran 5:8)

In summary, what we need is the combination that Abraham and Ismail asked God for.

The surrendering to God alone, the practice of worship, the forgiveness and acceptance from God, the Revelation, the knowledge, the wisdom and the purity.

The points we need to share across generations are:

Thinking is a prerequisite for Islam.

Individuals are responsible and accountable for their actions.

Islam is a call to life and success, not to death and despair.

Muslims have a duty to verify and question, not be dazzled by words and follow blindly.

Our focus is the highway of Islam, marked by the supremacy of good, compassion, justice, and human dignity.

Dr. Maher Hathout is the Senior Advisor for Muslim Public Affairs Council

http://www.islamicity.com/articles/Article...ref=IC0507-2755

[Livyjr]

NEWS ARTICLE

"CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST ALBANY VA RESEARCHERS; SUBSEQUENT TORT CLAIM NOTICE SENT TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT"

The problems at the Stratton VA Medical Center in Albany, NY, have been brewing for several years, but earlier this month they erupted into a potentially precedent-setting lawsuit.

Alan Milstein, JD, of Sherman, Silverstein, Kohl, Rose & Podolsky, in Pennsauken, NJ, and Donald Kinsella, a former federal prosecutor from Albany, filed a class action complaint on behalf of about 100 subjects who were enrolled in trials conducted by investigators James Holland, MD, and Paul Kornak, at the Stratton Veterans Affairs Medical Center, from 1999-2003.

In addition to the class action suit, the attorneys also have filed a tort claims notice of intent to use the U.S. Government/Department of Veterans Affairs.

The government must respond to this notice separately, according to Milstein.

Given the scope of the allegations and the number of possible victims, an award in favor of the plaintiffs could potentially be enormous, Milstein tells CTA.

The lawsuit specifically asks for damages "in excess of $1 million" for each individual in the case; this does not include any potential punitive damages.

Justice Department officials investigating the Stratton VA research program say manslaughter charges could be filed against the investigators if they determine their actions lead to patient deaths.

The problems uncovered at Stratton have triggered a complete review and potential overhaul of the VA oversight system, and have led to suggestions by a congressional panel for a massive restructuring of the VA's two offices.

end quotes

Protect the ones you love who have themselves been disabled serving this country; tell George W. Bush no tort reform to help the victimizers of the disabled veterans in OUR America.

The loved one you protect just may be your own!

And to update this sad story for OUR nation's elderly veterans, in light of Bush co.'s threats to remove from us our right to sue medical malpractice doctors, and pretenders like this Kornack, for the harm that they do to us, before I must once again venture out into the snowy wilds and return home, so I can stoke the fires, and hope to make it through one more wintry night here, before the wolves finally get my skinny bones for their own evening meal:

"Former VA staffer set to plead guilty - Paul H. Kornak to admit homicide, other counts in scandal at Stratton"

By BRENDAN LYONS, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Tuesday, January 18, 2005

ALBANY -- A former cancer specialist at Stratton VA Medical Center is expected to plead guilty today to criminally negligent homicide in connection with a research scandal that triggered nationwide reforms at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals.

Paul H. Kornak, 53, of Haystack Road, Clifton Park, is accused of masquerading as a doctor and systematically falsifying the medical records of ailing veterans to enroll them in experimental drug programs.

Several of the veterans either died prematurely or suffered agonizing deaths as a result of the experiments, according to federal lawsuits filed as a result of the case.

In October 2003, a federal grand jury indicted Kornak on 48 felony counts, including charges of manslaughter and negligent homicide, as U.S. authorities announced they were widening their investigation of Stratton's embattled cancer research program.

Kornak will plead guilty to three felony counts, including fraud charges, in U.S. District Court, according to law enforcement sources.

It's not clear if Kornak's plea agreement would require him to cooperate with authorities in exchange for leniency.

He had faced prison sentences ranging from 5 to 20 years on each count of the indictment, but federal sentencing guidelines recently were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The criminally negligent homicide charge against Kornak was filed in connection with the death of James J. DiGeorgio, a 71-year-old Air Force veteran from Brunswick who died at the hospital in June 2001 while being infused with experimental drugs.

For some widows whose husbands allegedly suffered at the hands of Kornak, a guilty plea today will bring some vindication.

"I say it's the beginning of accountability."

"That's what we're looking for," said Jayne Steubing, whose husband, Carl, died at Stratton VA in 2002, two weeks after being given an experimental breast cancer drug to treat his esophageal cancer.

"A lot of time has passed ... but I have all the time in the world to find out why this kind of thing could possibly take place."

Carl Steubing was a World War II veteran who enlisted in the Army in 1942 and served for three years, fighting in the pivotal Battle of the Bulge.

He was awarded the Bronze Star for bravery after leading his platoon to safety when their commanding officer was shot and a Purple Heart for injuries sustained in combat.

Jayne Steubing is one of several widows who are suing Kornak and his former boss, Dr. James Holland, as well as the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Holland was identified by federal authorities as a target in the criminal investigation last year, but he has not been charged or accused of wrongdoing.

Kornak's attorney, E. Stewart Jones, declined comment on today's scheduled plea hearing, before U.S. District Judge Frederick Scullin in Syracuse.

In November 2003, following Kornak's arraignment, Jones described his client as a research underling who followed orders.

The attorney claimed protocols were often violated in the hospital's research program but that no one did anything without authorization, including Kornak.

"There are a lot of people involved with all of these patients," Jones said at the time.

"He is a simple target."

"... He's a scapegoat."

Jones singled out Holland, who now works as a cancer specialist for a Georgia hospital and who was forced to leave Stratton -- along with Kornak -- in late 2002 as the criminal investigation heated up.

Holland was hired as Stratton's chief oncologist in 1999.

At the time, Kornak already was on Stratton's staff.

He was hired by Dr. William Hrushesky, who left his job as Stratton's chief cancer doctor to join a VA hospital in Dorn, S.C.

Hrushesky has declined comment on the case.

But a Times Union investigation two years ago found that Hrushesky was the target of internal complaints dating back to the mid-1990s.

Anthony Mariano, the hospital's former pharmacy director, said he and Jeffrey Fudin, another Stratton pharmacist, went to the FBI in 1999 out of desperation after their pleas for help were unanswered by federal officials.

As early as 1995, they had warned that patients with cancer and other illnesses had been placed at risk -- or had died -- because of the way experimental drugs were being used.

Patients also were enrolled in drug studies without signing consent forms indicating they had been informed about the risk, they said.

Instead of investigating the allegations, hospital administrators allegedly retaliated against the men and ended the pharmacy's role in monitoring research drugs, according to court records.

Mariano eventually was forced out of his job and Fudin was fired, but later had his job reinstated by a federal court.

Meanwhile, Kornak apparently used false credentials to get a research job at Stratton in 1999.

According to the indictment, Kornak never finished medical school because he was dismissed from St. George's University School of Medicine in Grenada in 1984 for falsifying transcripts.

On his federal employment application, Kornak also allegedly lied about his undergraduate performance at The College of Saint Rose in Albany and stated he had never been convicted of a crime.

In 1992, Kornak was convicted of federal mail fraud in Pennsylvania for falsifying information on a medical license application.

Despite not having a medical license, Kornak went by the title "doctor" at Stratton and carried business cards -- printed by the Department of Veterans Affairs -- that indicated he was a medical doctor.

The revelations about Kornak's past triggered nationwide reforms of VA hiring practices.

In 2002, the alleged corruption at Stratton became public when a Texas drug company that was funding cancer studies questioned whether some patients were qualified to be enrolled in the experiments.

A Food and Drug Administration investigation uncovered widespread fraud and forgery that may have led to as many as five patients deaths, according to the FDA's report.

The VA's inspector general subsequently opened the investigation that led to charges against Kornak.

Still, questions linger about the hospital's research program.

Authorities have refused to say if others are under investigation, or to say exactly what motivated Kornak's actions.

Hospital insiders said Kornak may have benefited personally from having more people enrolled in research programs because he could have been eligible for more overtime pay.

A House Veterans Affairs subcommittee staffer, who asked not to be identified, has said the federal investigation should include an audit of the hundreds of thousands of dollars that flowed into Stratton for drug studies while Kornak was working there.

The money came from drug companies that stood to make huge profits if their drugs received FDA approval.

Steubing and other widows said they filed lawsuits against the VA in order to get answers.

"I want them owning up to it and to say what they're going to do about it, and how they're going to change the system so our next generation of vets don't fall prey to the federal hospital system," Steubing said.

"I think it's systemic and there are an awful lot of changes that have to be made before we will rest."

end quotes

And all of you out there who have veterans as loved ones, go to http://congress.org and tell George W. Bush to fix this mess, pronto!

And to fix it right, to boot!

This one man has left us more messes in OUR America than a flock of Canadian geese leave behind in a city park in a day's worth of wandering around there, and I for one must wonder just what a shambles this place in going to be after four more years of his ineptness and outright mismanagement of OUR government resources, and especially the VA Hospital system, which he is now going to cut back even further, and that likely includes the scrutiny part of the equation, which is his calling card, here in OUR America: NO ACCOUNTABILITY FOR HIM AND HIS!

"Ex-VA staffer details scheme - Former researcher awaiting sentencing told feds that others had roles in altering patient records"

By BRENDAN LYONS, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Wednesday, August 3, 2005

ALBANY -- A former cancer research specialist at Stratton VA Medical Center has outlined for federal authorities how other hospital officials took part in altering the records of patients to enroll them in lucrative drug studies.

The allegations were laid out during four meetings earlier this year, when special agents and federal prosecutors sat down with 54-year-old Paul H. Kornak, who explained that the research program thrived financially when more patients were pushed into studies.

"It was discussed that information was altered in order to qualify patients for studies and that others ordered or requested, participated in or knew what alterations were made and were necessary for the participation of certain patients in these research (studies)," said a memorandum filed in U.S. District Court.

The medical records of dozens of veterans were forged to qualify them for studies of new cancer drugs, and many veterans died or suffered unduly as a result of the fraud, authorities said.

In addition, three drug companies were defrauded of more than $635,000 in research funds.

Despite allegations that other hospital officials took part in the scheme in order to keep the research program bustling, Kornak has not been asked to testify before a federal grand jury.

He is scheduled to be sentenced next week for his role in the crimes, including a single count of criminally negligent homicide for causing the death of an Air Force veteran, James J. DiGeorgio of Brunswick.

Authorities declined to say whether anyone else will be charged in the case, including Kornak's former boss, Dr. James A. Holland, who federal prosecutors identified as a target in the criminal investigation last year.

The meetings between Kornak and federal authorities took place on Jan. 25, a week after he pleaded guilty.

Subsequent meetings took place Feb. 8 and 9, and again on April 15.

Some of the details of the sessions are outlined in pre-sentence memorandums filed by federal prosecutors and Kornak's attorney, E. Stewart Jones of Troy.

Jones declined to comment Tuesday.

But in a memorandum to the court, he argues that Kornak should get consideration for his cooperation and face less time in prison.

Federal authorities have filed their own memorandum asking that Kornak serve up to six years in prison.

They said his cooperation hasn't yielded any other arrests.

"Kornak generally acknowledged his falsification of patient records and described his discussions with a doctor regarding patients and the doctor's instructions to get patients enrolled in studies," prosecutors wrote.

"However, such information has not amounted to substantial assistance to date."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Grant C. Jaquith would not comment on any grand jury action in the case.

However, he said it's not unusual for someone to get credit for testifying before a grand jury after they have been sentenced to prison.

He said there are federal "provisions for credit to be afforded for assistance provided within one year of sentence."

"... It's even possible later, depending on the circumstances."

Kornak, who lives on Haystack Road in Clifton Park, pleaded guilty in January to three felony charges in connection with the research scandal.

He had faced up to 20 years on the most serious charge, mail fraud, but under federal sentencing guidelines might receive a sentence of only 57 to 71 months in prison.

Kornak's case triggered congressional action because he carried the title of "doctor" at Stratton -- including on his VA business card -- but never finished medical school.

He also had a criminal record when Stratton hired him, for forging his credentials in Pennsylvania in 1991 when he tried to obtain a medical license.

Patients and their families, including several widows of veterans who died at Stratton, said Kornak was introduced by Holland as "Dr. Kornak" and treated patients.

Carl Steubing, a decorated World War II Army veteran, died at Stratton VA in 2002, two weeks after being given an experimental breast cancer drug to treat his esophageal cancer.

The mail fraud charge against Kornak stemmed from falsified records he mailed to a drug company regarding Steubing's treatment.

Jayne Steubing is one of several widows suing Kornak, Holland and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

A year ago, Holland was identified by federal authorities in court papers as a target in the criminal investigation.

He was fired from Stratton two years ago and works for a Georgia hospital.

A Times Union investigation found that Stratton's cancer research program was the target of internal complaints dating to the mid-1990s.

Hospital staffers said they were retaliated against for warning hospital administrators as early as 1994 that cancer patients were being placed at risk and being enrolled in drug studies without signing consent forms indicating they knew the risks.

Kornak, who is married and has children, has been free on $50,000 bond until his sentencing, which is scheduled for Aug. 11.

[Livyjr]

Well, now, there is a post that I am glad to see in here, this one just above from Snuffysmith, especially the part where it says some 64 percent of respondents said the U.S. government should put more emphasis on using diplomatic and economic methods to fight terrorism and 72 percent said that showing more respect for the views and needs of other countries would enhance U.S. security.

Now, there is quite a statement, indeed!

"Bush: Iraq Attack a Grim Reminder of War"

By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer

1 hour, 25 minutes ago

GRAPEVINE, Texas - President Bush lamented the deaths of 14 Marines in Iraq Wednesday, calling the deadly attack a "grim reminder" America is still at war.

"These terrorists and insurgents will use brutal tactics because they're trying to shake the will of the United States of America."

"They want us to retreat," Bush told some 2,000 state lawmakers, business leaders and public policy experts gathered here.

The president spoke on a day when a Marine amphibious assault vehicle patrolling during combat operations in the Euphrates River valley hit a roadside bomb, killing 14 Marines from the same Ohio battalion that lost six men two days ago.

"Make no mistake about it," Bush said.

"We are at war."

The latest deaths come as his administration is talking about handing more security responsibility over to the Iraqis and drawing down U.S. forces next year.

At least 1,820 members of the U.S. military have died since the Iraq war began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

Bush reiterated that he will not set a timetable for withdrawal.

He said troops could return home once Iraqi forces have been adequately trained.

"As Iraqis stand up, American and coalition forces will stand down," he said.

He said the families of fallen troops can know that the United States government will "honor their loved ones' sacrifice by completing the mission."

"The violence in recent days in Iraq is a grim reminder of the enemies we face," Bush said.

On the first full day of his more than monthlong stay at his ranch in Crawford, Bush flew aboard Marine One to Grapevine where he addressed The American Legislative Exchange Council.

The council of state legislators was gathered to exchange ideas and work toward what is described as "a limited government that promotes free markets and individual liberties."

Bush boasted about gains in the U.S. economy and his recent legislative victories on issues, including trade and energy.

He encouraged lawmakers, when they return from their August recess, to address the future of Social Security, a centerpiece of his domestic agenda that is languishing.

"My first question to members of Congress is 'How can you go back to your districts, when you look at the facts, and stand up in front of young workers and look 'em in the eye and say the future's bright for you knowing full well somebody's going to be paying payroll taxes in the system that's going broke?'" Bush said.

He also urged the Senate to confirm John Roberts to the Supreme Court because "he will not legislate from the bench."

The Senate needs to conduct its confirmation hearings in a way that brings "dignity" to the process, and seat Roberts on the nation's high court before it reconvenes in early October.

[Livyjr]

"Poll: Support for Space Shuttle Hits Low"

1 hour, 50 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The percentage of Americans who think the space shuttle program is worth continuing has dropped in a CBS News poll to its lowest level in two decades.

About six in 10 people, 59 percent, said the space shuttle program is worth continuing, down from eight in 10 who said that in 1986 and 75 percent in early 2003.

Young adults were more likely than older adults to think the program is worth continuing.

Those with college degrees were more likely than those with a high school education or less to think so.

Just over half, 55 percent, said NASA is doing an excellent or good job, while four in 10 said the space agency is doing a fair or poor job.

In 1999, 70 percent said the agency was doing an excellent or good job.

The poll of 1,222 adults was conducted from July 29 to Aug. 2 — before Wednesday's repair job was performed on the shuttle.

It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

[Snuffysmith]

Every nation has its war party. It is not the party of democracy. It is the party of autocracy. It seeks to dominate absolutely.
– Senator Robert M. La Follette