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US space shuttle Endeavour lifts off...

Nov. 15 - U.S. space shuttle Endeavour soared off its seaside launch pad on Friday (November 14) on a mission to upgrade the International Space Station for an expanded six-person crew.

The shuttle carries two new sleeping compartments and a water recycling system so station crew members can purify urine and other waste water for drinking. Endeavour also carries the station's first refrigerator, new exercise gear, and perhaps most important for a growing crew -- a second toilet.

It was NASA's first launch in nearly six months and the 124th in shuttle program history.

Just nine more launches remain before NASA is scheduled to mothball the shuttles so it can develop safer and less expensive spaceships that will return astronauts to the moon.

Influenza, commonly known as the flu.flu trends, google flu trends, google flu, flu, flu tracker google

is an infectious disease of birds and mammals caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae (the influenza viruses). The name influenza comes from the Italian: influenza, meaning "influence", (Latin: influentia). In humans, common symptoms of the disease are chills and fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, weakness and general discomfort.[1] In more serious cases, influenza causes pneumonia, which can be fatal, particularly in young children and the elderly. Although it is sometimes confused with the common cold, influenza is a much more severe disease and is caused by a different type of virus.[2] Influenza can produce nausea and vomiting, especially in children,[1] but these symptoms are more characteristic of the unrelated gastroenteritis, which is sometimes called "stomach flu" or "24-hour flu".[3]

Typically, influenza is transmitted from infected mammals through the air by coughs or sneezes, creating aerosols containing the virus, and from infected birds through their droppings. Influenza can also be transmitted by saliva, nasal secretions, feces and blood. Infections also occur through contact with these body fluids or with contaminated surfaces. Flu viruses can remain infectious for about one week at human body temperature, over 30 days at 0 °C (32 °F), and for much longer periods at very low temperatures.[4][5] Most influenza strains can be inactivated easily by disinfectants and detergents.[6][7][8]

Flu spreads around the world in seasonal epidemics, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands annually — millions in pandemic years . Three influenza pandemics occurred in the 20th century and killed tens of millions of people, with each of these pandemics being caused by the appearance of a new strain of the virus in humans. Often, these new strains result from the spread of an existing flu virus to humans from other animal species. A deadly avian strain named H5N1 has posed the greatest risk for a new influenza pandemic since it first killed humans in Asia in the 1990s. Fortunately, this virus has not mutated to a form that spreads easily between people.[9]

Vaccinations against influenza are usually given to people in developed countries with a high risk of contracting the disease[10] and to farmed poultry.[11] The most common human vaccine is the trivalent influenza vaccine that contains purified and inactivated material from three viral strains. Typically, this vaccine includes material from two influenza A virus subtypes and one influenza B virus strain.[12] A vaccine formulated for one year may be ineffective in the following year, since the influenza virus changes rapidly over time, and different strains become dominant. Antiviral drugs can be used to treat influenza, with neuraminidase inhibitors being particularly effective

U.S. missile shield row heats up,Iran test-fires new missile.act scores act student actstudent.org flu tracker act.org american humanist association

Nov 12 - Iran tests its Sejil missile as Russia firms its stance still further over the proposed U.S. defence shield.

The Iranian missile test came as Moscow rejected U.S. proposals to ease its concerns over a planned missile shield in Europe but said it would try again to resolve the row when Barack Obama takes over at the White House.

VIDEOS OF call of duty 5 world at war review

Call of Duty: World at War thrusts players into the ruthless and gritty chaos of WWII combat and challenges them to survive the most harrowing and climactic battles of WWII that led to the demise of the Axis powers.

call of duty 5 world at war review

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Peak:

The psychology behind minimum payments to avoid credit card bailout..

Researchers in Coventry, England, are saying a small segment of the population who, when presented with the option of making only the minimum payment instead of more, choose to do so. Earth-shattering, right?

According to University of Warwick psychology researcher Dr. Neil Stewart, whose research will be published in "Psychological Science," "the mere presence of a minimum payment is enough to reduce the actual amount many people choose to pay on their bills, leading to further interest payments." In a nutshell, Dr. Stewart is saying that some people don't understand the long-term implications of not paying off their credit card balances in larger chunks. Stewart calls this psychological phenomenon "anchoring."

An anchor, as Stewart's research implies, is an element that discourages rather than encourages higher payments on outstanding balances. When conducting studies to support his research, Stewart's team found that when some participants were presented with credit card bills with no minimum payment information and others were presented credit card bills with minimum payment information, the participants paid more on the bills with no minimum payment information.

The good news is that more than half of the study participants (55 percent) chose to pay off their credit card balances in full. Unfortunately, however, there appeared to be no consideration of the participants' current financial situation, which would, it seems, have some influence over how much was paid. Stewart's conclusion was that while minimum payments protect the small number of people who would choose to make no repayment on their credit card debt, they have an adverse effect on those who only pay a portion of the balance. In essence, "helping people understand how much different possible repayments will cost them in the long term should help protect them from anchoring on minimum payments," says Stewart. That is exactly what the U.S. Federal Reserve proposes in its Regulation Z revisions, which seek to require installment credit issuers to include disclosures warning consumers of the implications of only making minimum payments on their accounts -- namely, it will result in you paying more interest over a longer period of time.

In an article about the study, Stewart says, "These results should be of real concern to credit card companies. Virtually all credit card statements include minimum payments. But this consumer safeguard has an unexpected negative consequence: Minimum payments distort the behavior of many customers in a way that increases interest charges and increases the duration of their debt."

Not to make light of Dr. Stewarts research, but I think credit card companies have been privy to this anchoring phenomenon for a long time, and they most likely appreciate this bit of reaffirmation.

Paloma becomes Category 4 storm, heads toward Cuba.

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands – Paloma became an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 hurricane early Saturday, dumping wind and rain on the Cayman Islands and threatening to strike hurricane-ravaged Cuba as a major storm, forecasters said.

The late-season storm had top sustained winds of near 140 mph (225 kph) and was expected to bring total rainfall accumulations of 5 to 10 inches over the Cayman Islands as well as central and eastern Cuba.

The new forecast from the National Hurricane Center in Miami called for Paloma to make landfall in Cuba as a major hurricane late Saturday or early Sunday with maximum-sustained winds of at least 111 mph (178 kph).

Cuba already is suffering from Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, which struck the island earlier this season and together caused an estimated $9.4 billion in damage.

"It's not like it's new to them, unfortunately," said Dave Roberts, a U.S. Navy hurricane specialist.

Cuban official newspaper Granma, recalling past late-season hurricanes such as a 1932 storm that killed about 3,000 people, said Paloma poses "a potential danger for the island."

At 7 a.m. EST, the center of Paloma was just southeast of Cayman Brac and moving toward the northeast near 8 mph (11 kph). The storm's center was expected to move away from Little Cayman and Cayman Brac on Saturday morning and was about 165 miles (265 kilometers) southwest of Camaguey, Cuba.

The Cayman Islands government asked all hotels to remove guests from the ground and first floors. Nearly 40 people were already staying in the islands' seven shelters.

Water service across Grand Cayman was turned off, and power would likely will be cut as the storm neared, hazard management director Barbara Carby said.

"We have asked everybody to come off the streets and to be home and safe right now," she said.

Earlier, stranded tourists watched dark clouds gather and saw the storm whip up 10-foot (3-meter) waves from their hotels or beachfront restaurants.

"It was a real surprise," said Rick Douglas, 50, of Toronto, who checked weather Web sites before flying to the Caribbean. "It just said there was a tropical depression starting, but I didn't think it would turn into anything serious."

His wife, Susan Douglas, was confident they would be safe as long as they follow orders.

"Grand Cayman has been there and done that, so they are prepared," she said.

Havana's communist government activated the early stages of its highly organized civil defense system. In central and eastern Cuba, people were advised to stay tuned to state media for news of Paloma's progress and be ready to evacuate.

Paloma was aiming toward the central-eastern city of Camaguey, which was particularly hard-hit by Hurricane Ike in September.

Ike and Hurricane Gustav, which struck the island in late August, together caused an estimated $9.4 billion in damage. Nearly a third of Cuba's crops were destroyed, causing widespread shortages of fresh produce and prompting authorities to order the planting of vegetable greens and other short-term vegetables.

Forecasters expect Paloma to weaken into a tropical storm after striking Cuba and then steer south of Florida through the Bahamas and into the Atlantic.

Cayman Islands Gov. Stuart Jack said Friday that a British Royal Navy ship was on the way and would be available to provide humanitarian assistance if needed.

The airport closed Friday morning after extra flights were added to fly out some people late Thursday.

Muniran Charran, a construction worker from Guyana, said he first heard about the storm Thursday night over the radio.

"We didn't really have any time to prepare because the banks and the stores all closed so early today," he said.

He was drinking beers with friends in the downstairs lobby of their beachfront apartment complex.

"What we've been seeing all day is just a lot of rain and strong winds," Guyana native Shik Khan said. "We hope that when we wake up, everything is fine."

Steelers' Roethlisberger practices; Parker likely out vs. Colts.

PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger practiced Friday despite being limited by his slightly separated right shoulder and may be able to play Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said earlier in the week it might be a game-time decision whether Roethlisberger or backup Byron Leftwich starts against the Colts (4-4), but Roethlisberger is listed as probable.
Ben Roethlisberger, QB
Pittsburgh Steelers

2008 Statistics:
Touchdowns: 10
Interceptions: 8
Yards: 1,402

Roethlisberger sat out the second half of the Steelers' 23-6 victory in Washington on Monday night after aggravating the injury on a 1-yard touchdown run. The injury occurred in the Steelers' opener on Sept. 7 and has bothered him since. Leftwich played the second half, throwing a touchdown pass while leading two TD drives.

Roethlisberger sat out practice Wednesday and Thursday before working out Friday.

Running back Willie Parker may miss the game with a shoulder injury, the fifth game he would miss in the Steelers' last six. Parker returned from a four-game layoff with a sprained knee to rush for 71 yards against the Redskins, but did not practice all week and is listed as doubtful.

The Steelers (6-2) also may be without linebacker LaMarr Woodley, who injured his calf against the New York Giants on Oct. 26, but was able to play against Washington. He is listed as questionable.

Woodley, third in the AFC with 9.5 sacks, was fined $10,000 on Friday for slamming Washington quarterback Jason Campbell to the ground. Campbell struck his head on the turf when hit.

UNDER BAY OF BENGAL the Ram setu(lord ram's bridge called as adam's bridge).

Ram setu Bridge starts as chain of shoals from the Dhanuskodi tip of India's Rameswaram Island ..... "NASA had been taking pictures of these shoals for years . ...the bridge situated under bay of bengal...

NFL Teams and Schedule for sunday nov 9...nfl network online, nfl network schedule, cleveland browns, nfl, cleveland vs denver

1:00 PM Baltimore Ravens @ Houston Texans


1:00 PM Seattle Seahawks @ Miami Dolphins


1:00 PM Jacksonville Jaguars @ Detroit Lions


1:00 PM New Orleans Saints @ Atlanta Falcons


1:00 PM St. Louis Rams @ New York Jets 130


1:00 PM Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots


1:00 PM Green Bay Packers @ Minnesota Vikings


1:00 PM Tennessee Titans @ Chicago Bears


4:05 PM Carolina Panthers @ Oakland Raiders


4:15 PM Kansas City Chiefs @ San Diego Chargers


4:15 PM Indianapolis Colts @ Pittsburgh


8:00 PM New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles


8:15 PM New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles

U.S. jobs data,U.S. non-farm payrolls data..

U.S. non-farm payrolls data, will provide a further gauge of the health of the world's largest economy. Economists polled by Reuters expected a loss of 200,000 jobs in October.

For the Republicans It Could Have Been Worse.(rahm emanuel freddie mac america olivo american spectator burnette texas board )

Mitch McConnell, left, and Michelle Bachmann..Election night was miserable for Republicans. They lost the presidency, at least five seats in the Senate and about 20 seats in the House. They are officially out of power. But for those of us who considered Barack Obama a shoo-in and a Democratic wave inevitable, the Republican showing seems almost impressive.Looking back at our "Races to Watch" series, just about all the conservative Republicans in traditionally red territory held seats needed by the GOP to avoid a blowout: Senators Roger Wicker in Mississippi, Mitch McConnell in Kentucky and, probably, Saxby Chambliss in Georgia, along with House members John Shadegg in Arizona, Cynthia Lummis in Wyoming and the Diaz-Balart brothers in Florida. It looks like graft-convicted Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska will somehow retain his seat long enough to get expelled, and his ethically and temperamentally challenged porkmate, Don Young, was re-elected as well; Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota survived her McCarthyite rant on Hardball, and Ohio's similarly obnoxious Jean Schmidt once again avoided a well-deserved early retirement. Republicans even ousted four first-term Democrats before they could get entrenched in deep-red districts — not only the clearly doomed Casanova Tim Mahoney of Florida, but Nancy Boyda of Kansas, Dan Cazayoux of Louisiana and Nick Lampson of Texas. (See the Top 10 video campaign moments.)

Democrats did knock off a few fire-breathing right-wing targets: wacky Bill Sali of Idaho, who protested a minimum-wage hike by introducing a bill to repeal the law of gravity; Marilyn Musgrave of Colorado, who once declared gay marriage the greatest threat to America; Tom Feeney of Florida, an escapee from the Abramoff scandal; and Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, who ran ads calling her Christian opponent "godless." They also defeated some impressive Republicans who could have helped lead the party out of the wilderness, like moderate Congressman Christopher Shays of Connecticut, conservative Senator John Sununu of New Hampshire and pragmatic Charlotte mayor Pat McCrory, who had hoped to swim upstream into the governor's office. (See pictures of 60 years of election-night drama.)

Still, it could have been worse. After eight ugly years of AIG, WMDs, Abu Ghraib, Enron, Blackwater, freedom fries, yellowcake, record deficits, Fannie and Freddie and Brownie, Mark Foley and Duke Cunningham and Tom DeLay, the Republican Party should qualify for a bailout. Retiring GOP Congressman Tom Davis memorably declared that if Republicans were a dog food, they'd be pulled off the shelves. Their usually well-funded candidates were badly outspent this cycle, but they've survived to fight for more kibble in the future. (See the screwups of Campaign '08.)

Here are a few of the races that might help determine that future:

Minnesota and Oregon Senators: The Chameleons
The two most important seats that were up for grabs were the Senate battles in Minnesota and Oregon, where Republicans Norm Coleman and Gordon Smith tried to run away from Bush just six years after running on his coattails. Though the Oregon race has been called in favor of Democrat Jeff Merkley, it says something about the endurance of the GOP that both of these races were so close. Obama won double-digit victories in both states, and Coleman and Smith are both milquetoast pols who did much less than McCain ever did to distance themselves from the President until his low approval ratings began to threaten their re-elections. Smith was so desperate to distance himself from the GOP that he ran ads touting his cooperation with Obama. And now Coleman has a better-than-even chance of returning to Washington, where he will surely rediscover his old party identification. It's an uninspiring but potentially effective political model for back-bench Republican Senators: follow the leaders for five years, then scramble back to the middle before re-election.

Kansas District 2: How Republicans Can Come Back
In 2006, Democratic centrist Nancy Boyda upset GOP conservative Jim Ryun in this reliably Republican district, portraying Ryun as an extremist in a Democratic year. This year, Ryun tried to reclaim his seat — but lost in the Republican primary to state treasurer Lynn Jenkins, who's a lot closer to the political center. Now Jenkins has ousted Boyda in another Democratic year, and has probably assured herself a safe seat. America has plenty of conservatives, but there are only so many places where Republicans can win by appealing exclusively to their base. (See pictures of Sarah Palin.)

Michigan District 7, Maryland District 1: How Republicans Can Disappear
This is the flip side to the Jenkins story. In 2006, conservative Republican Tim Walberg upended moderate Republican incumbent Joe Schwarz in a primary with help from the anti-tax Club for Growth, then claimed his seat in another reliable GOP district. But in 2008, Schwarz endorsed Walberg's Democratic opponent, Mark Schauer, who portrayed Walberg as an extremist and is now heading to Washington. The same thing may happen on Maryland's Eastern Shore, where Club for Growth conservative Andy Harris successfully primaried moderate Republican incumbent Wayne Gilchrist, who then endorsed Frank Kratovil, the Democrat who appears to be headed for victory. Gilchrist is a national environmental leader, a true maverick and an extremely likable guy who was always a good fit for his district; if the Republican base isn't going to tolerate deviation from right-wing talking points, it's not going to have a lot of power in places like Michigan and Maryland.

Indiana Governor: The Future of the Party
Mitch Daniels was a somewhat tragic figure as President Bush's budget director, a policy-wonk, small-government conservative who found himself carrying water for a politics-driven, big-government budget buster. His aides almost had to strap him down to get him to sign a White House–directed letter supporting the corporate-welfare farm bill of 2002. But as Indiana's governor, he's gotten to do things his own way, privatizing roads, expanding health coverage, even supporting tax increases to get his state's fiscal house in order. His tough-love measures were unpopular for a while, but after he cruised to re-election while Obama won his state, he's got to be part of the conversation about future Republican leaders — especially as he's a former Reagan aide and drug-company executive who cares about policy and knows what he's doing. (See the Top 10 ballot measures.)

California Proposition 8, Florida Amendment 2: The Last Gasp
It looks like California's gay-marriage ban is going to pass by a slim margin, which means that after 18 years of love, my pals Jed and Eric might have to settle for a week-and-a-half of wedded bliss. My home state of Florida already has a gay-marriage ban, but just to be safe, the electorate added it to the state constitution — and not by a slim margin. It's going to be harder for the next generation to repeal these bans. But the next generation will repeal them because the mainstream is shifting as Americans get more comfortable with homosexuality every year. A July poll found that a shocking 75% of Americans believe gays should be able to serve openly in the military, up from 44% in 1993. Republicans already have a long-term demographic problem, with the country getting browner and minorities flocking to the Democrats. The GOP will be able to gin up its base with gay-marriage peril for only so long before they have a tolerance problem too.

Dow Tumbles 450 Points as Economic Woes Mount.(rahm emanuel freddie mac america olivo american spectator palin africa buck burnette texas board ).

Wall Street recoiled again Thursday, sending stocks sharply lower for a second day after Cisco Systems Inc. reported slumping demand and retailers turned in generally weak sales for October. Concerns about widespread economic weakness weighed heavily on the major stock indexes.

Bush sets Oval Office meeting with Obama.(biography of rahm emanuel robert gibbs american spectator america olivo mo vaughn rahm emanuel)

WASHINGTON – President Bush and Barack Obama on Monday will hold their first substantive talks about the nation's daunting priorities as the transition to a Democratic administration accelerates.

Bush, soon to return to Texas after two terms in office, ordered employees on Thursday to ensure a smooth transfer of power to Obama. The transition is a delicate dance in which the White House keeps the president-elect in the loop, and even solicits his input, but the decisions remain solely the president's.

On Monday's discussion list for the current and future presidents: the financial crisis and the war in Iraq.

"We face economic challenges that will not pause to let a new president settle in," Bush told a gathering of hundreds of employees from the presidential bureaucracy, gathered on the back lawn of the White House.

"This will also be America's first wartime presidential transition in four decades," he said. "We're in a struggle against violent extremists determined to attack us, and they would like nothing more than to exploit this period of change to harm the American people."

That sobering depiction came as Bush and Obama firmed up plans for their first meeting since Obama defeated Republican John McCain in Tuesday's election.

Bush and first lady Laura Bush will greet Obama and his wife, Michelle, at the White House on Monday afternoon. Bush and the president-elect will meet in the Oval Office while the first lady gives Mrs. Obama a private tour of the White House residence.

"I thank him for reaching out in the spirit of bipartisanship," the president-elect said of Bush in a statement.

The Obamas' two children won't be there, but White House press secretary Dana Perino said, "We very much look forward to meeting them."

Bush's comments to his staff, under a gray sky on the South Lawn, also had the feel of an early goodbye with 75 days left in office.

He stood with the Cabinet, the first lady, and the vice president and his wife by his side. By the time he finished speaking and offered a wave to the crowd, Bush grew emotional. Laura Bush leaned in to give him a hug.

The White House signaled that after months of staying out of the politics of the 2008 election — often enduring a pummeling from Obama — it would soon start speaking up to defend Bush's record on education, energy, the economy and other issues. The focus will be a natural turn to Bush's legacy.

Meanwhile, the shift from one White House to the next is fully under way, with Bush setting a serious tone and expectations for his staff.

The Bush administration has already arranged security clearances for key Obama transition staffers and is providing work space and policy briefings as well. Career employees, who keep their jobs even when administrations change, have taken on extra work to prevent any disruption in essential services.

"We must keep our attention on the task at hand, because the American people expect no less," Bush directed the executive employees.

Officials at the Department of Homeland Security caution that the U.S. is in a heightened state of alert against terrorism. The fear is that enemies could exploit the transition period to test the country's defenses, as Bush himself warned. No specific threat has been presented to the public.

Preparation for the complex transfer of power has quietly been unfolding for about a year. It accelerated with the landslide election of Obama, the Democratic senator from Illinois, over McCain.

Obama on Thursday got the first of what will become regular briefings on highly classified information from top intelligence officials.

World leaders are seeking out Obama by calling Bush's government. Perino said officials are working with Obama's team to make the connections.

Bush also suggested there will be no tolerance of pranks during the transition.

When he took office in 2001, some aides found their computer keyboards were missing the W key — a nod to the middle initial in George W. Bush. Staff members of outgoing President Bill Clinton were suspected and criticized for acting immaturely.

Bush told the big gathering of employees on Thursday: "I know that you will continue to conduct yourselves with the decency and professionalism you have shown throughout my time in office."

During the campaign, Obama relentlessly blistered the Bush administration for what he called failed, tired policies that have harmed the country. The White House has sought to make clear that politics will not affect the transition in any way.

Bush sounded wistful as he looked out at a lot of familiar faces, including some people he's seen at work each day for nearly eight years.

The president recalled that before his 2001 inauguration, he said that he and his wife would never quite settle in Washington.

"While the honor is great," Bush said, "the work is temporary."

Deflation Anxiety: The Rising Threat of Falling Prices.(biography of rahm emanuel robert gibbs american spectator america olivo mo vaughn rahm emanuel

Gas prices below $2.00 per gallon are posted at a Marathon station in Brownsburg, Indiana.Of all the financial challenges the next administration may face, perhaps the most dangerous — and least appreciated — is deflation. The stunning decline in the price of oil gets the business headlines — and has a good-news feel as it helps cash-strapped American consumers the most — but the cost of an entire range of commodities has also plunged in the last quarter: copper, gold, nickel, steel have all fallen as global demand weakens. One popular gauge of commodity prices, the Reuters CRB Index, tumbled 22.3% in October, the biggest drop in the index's 48-year history.

Now, with the economy in the United States "contracting significantly" in the fourth quarter, as San Francisco Fed president Janet Yellen recently put it, an issue that was practically unthinkable three months ago is now, for the Fed, front and center: the possibility of the U.S. entering a phase of deflation, or protracted declines in the general price level. In its statement accompanying the most recent interest rate cut, the Fed said, "in light of the declines in the prices of energy and other commodities and weaker prospects for economic activity, [the fed] expects inflation to moderate."

That's the optimistic view — and, for now, the dominant view on the Fed, most economists believe. But lurking not far from the surface of economic policymakers deliberations these days is the dreaded D word: deflation. "Sure, we're very cognizant of it," one source familiar with Fed thinking on the matter told TIME this week. "We don't think we're there yet, but we're very aware of the possibility." So is Wall Street. At Merrill Lynch, chief investment strategist Richard Bernstein issued a report within hours of Barack Obama's election listing three developments for investors to monitor closely: fiscal stimulus, taxes and deflation.

Much of today's deflation anxiety results from keen awareness of the Japan experience of the 1990s. Indeed, New York Federal Reserve Governor and Vice Chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee Timothy Geithner was Treasury attaché in the Tokyo embassy for the first half of that decade. That's when a widespread banking crisis led to a credit crunch, an economic slump, and eventually interest rates that were lowered to zero by the Bank of Japan. Even so, Japan's banks, which were in the process of repairing their balance sheets, were extremely reluctant to lend. Thus, even though interest rates were low, the economy weakened. Prices for pretty much everything declined, following a bust in the real estate and stock markets in Japan. The country entered a decade of stagnation.

Some economists — for now a minority, to be sure — believe the U.S. is at serious risk of a deflationary spiral, even if just a quarter ago inflation was above the Fed's comfort zone of 2 to 3%. "Compared to Japan's problem a decade ago, this crisis is unfolding much faster and spreading wider due to financial globalization," says Shanghai-based independent economist Andy Xie. A financial system unable or unwilling to lend, a tapped out U.S. consumer, and business now retrenching — and laying people off — all are a formula for possible deflation. What's so wrong with declining prices? For one thing, it makes the real cost of paying off debt that much higher — and for American consumers in hock to the tune of $14 trillion, anything that makes that debt burden more onerous is anything but helpful.

The good news is that in the U.S. now, as Richard Berner, chief US economist for Morgan Stanley writes, "the ultimate bastion of defense against deflation is a Fed committed to avoid it at all costs." And that's what we have. Study of the Japanese experience became something of a cottage industry for Fed researchers over the past eight years, and it has responded accordingly: directly lending to banks, backstopping the commercial paper market (which companies use to raise short-term money), trying to bring yields on both long and short-term maturities down. Further, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke went out of his way recently not to object to the possibility of further fiscal stimulus from Congress. In other words, the Fed is throwing everything but the kitchen sink at avoiding a deflationary spiral, and doing so more quickly than their counterparts in Tokyo did a decade ago. Disinflation — diminishing inflationary pressure across the board — is healthy for the U.S. economy. Deflation is something the U.S. doesn't want to see — and the Fed knows that better than anyone.

Gay couples disappointed by Calif. marriage ban.(biography of rahm emanuel robert gibbs american spectator america olivo mo vaughn rahm emanuel leann

LOS ANGELES – Actor George Takei and longtime partner Brad Altman were the first to receive a marriage license in West Hollywood when a court cleared the way for gay marriage earlier this year.

Best known for his role as Mr. Sulu on "Star Trek," Takei on Wednesday was disappointed but philosophical about California voters' decision to yank that right by passing a constitutional amendment restricting marriage to heterosexual couples.

"There are going to be heartbreaks, setbacks and sacrifices to be made," he said, "but we will soldier on."

The passage of Proposition 8 stirred anger, protests, lawsuits and a deep sense of loss among gays in California. At least three legal challenges were filed by Wednesday night and others were being prepared, ban opponents said.

More than 1,000 people took to the streets against the ban in Los Angeles and West Hollywood, blocking traffic. Police said at least four people were detained.

Hundreds also gathered on the steps of San Francisco's City Hall. Some held candles and carried signs that read, "We all deserve the freedom to marry."

It was unclear what would happen to the estimated 18,000 gay and lesbian couples, many from other states, who married after same-sex marriage was legalized in California in June. California will still allow same-sex civil unions, which offer many of the legal trappings of marriage.

On the other side of the issue, supporters of the ban hailed the outcome of the vote.

"Government did not create marriage, and neither politicians nor legislators have the right to redefine its basic meaning," said Brian Brown, executive director of the National Organization for Marriage California.

"Common sense, and concern for the common good, trumped ideology, bigotry and power politics here in California," he said in a statement.

Andrew Pugno, attorney for the coalition of religious and social conservative groups that sponsored the proposition, said they planned to defend the measure, saying the legal action is "an insult to California voters and an attack on the initiative process itself."

Among those voting for the ban was Denise Fernandez, 57, of Sacramento. "I believe a Christian is held accountable, and we have to make a difference."

Many gay marriage supporters had hoped that a strong Democratic turnout for presidential winner Barack Obama would cement the right to marry extended by the state Supreme Court in May.

But the success of Obama, who does not support same-sex marriage but had opposed the gay marriage ban, did not translate into a win for gay marriage. Amendments to ban gay marriage also were approved in Arizona and Florida.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting Wednesday night, 52 percent of those voting in California favored the ban versus 48 percent against. It was the first time a state took away gay marriage after it had been legalized.

In the Castro, San Francisco's gay neighborhood, the marriage ban's success squelched what had been a boisterous celebration Tuesday night.

A crowd swarmed from the neighborhood's many bars into the streets immediately after Obama was declared the presidential winner. Police cordoned off a block in the heart of the district as disco music coursed through giant speakers.

But the party was over a few hours later.

"It's very disappointing," Michael Walker said outside the Moby Dick bar, resigned that the measure was going to win. "It's discrimination."

In downtown San Francisco, a city where a majority of residents voted against the ban, residents were disappointed by its success.

"I feel sad," said Venkaf Mannava, 30, a computer programmer who is married with three children. "It's a personal decision and we should not say how other people should live their lives. They should be free to love and marry who they want."

Despite intense disappointment, some newlyweds took comfort in the fact that millions of Californians had voted to validate their relationships.

"I'm really OK," said Diana Correia, of Berkeley, who married her partner of 18 years, Cynthia Correia, on Sunday in front of the couple's two children and 80 relatives and friends. "I hope the marriage holds, but we are already married in our hearts, so nobody can take that away."

In Los Angeles, Altman said having the state recognize his marriage to Takei was "extremely meaningful to me, but our relationship will continue and we will live long and prosper no matter what happens on the legal front."

TOP STORY-Beyonce gushes with pride after Obama election...(robert gibbs leanna creel compaq cq 50 139wm america olivo lisa rinna america olivo way)

NEW YORK – Attention, Mr. president-elect: Come Inauguration Day, Beyonce is at your service.

"I'm there. I can't wait. I feel like all of us, we're ready to do whatever we have to do. Whatever they want — if they need me to volunteer, they need me to sing, I'm there, and I'm ready," a giddy Beyonce said in an interview the day after Barack Obama made history in becoming the nation's first elected black president.

The singer couldn't stop beaming after Obama's win over Republican John McCain on Tuesday. In fact, she was so inspired, she wore a blue suit and tie in honor of Obama — with stiletto heels that were red, white and blue.

"I've never been so patriotic!" she laughed. "I'm just beyond excited."

Beyonce was supposed to be in Japan on Election Night to promote her upcoming album, "I Am ... Sasha Fierce," but decided to postpone it at the last minute.

"I said, 'What am I doing? I'm completely making a bad decision. I have to go home, I'm gonna kill myself if I'm not home in America,'" she said. "I knew I needed to be here."

After going with hubby Jay-Z, Diddy, Mary J. Blige and others to states like Pennsylvania, Florida, and Ohio just before the election, she watched the returns Tuesday night with family and friends in her home. She was not only inspired by Obama, but McCain's concession as well: "McCain's speech was so classy."

The 27-year-old said the win was particularly important for the inspiration it gave to African-Americans.

"My nephew, who is 4, when we say, 'You can do whatever, you can be whatever,' it's not cliche. You have no doubt that it's not true," she said.

The election even brought Beyonce to tears, though she says it was the good kind: "I fell asleep crying and smiling at the same time," she laughed. I woke up with mascara running and a smile on my face!"

Emanuel accepts job as White House chief of staff..top story.(robert gibbs leanna creel compaq cq 50 139wm america olivo lisa rinna america olivo way)

CHICAGO – Barack Obama's fellow Chicagoan Rahm Emanuel, the hard-charging No. 3 Democrat in the House, has accepted the job of White House chief of staff, Democratic officials said Thursday.

One of Obama's first decisions as president-elect was to ask the Illinois congressman to run his White House staff. The selection of the fiery Democrat marked a shift in tone for Obama, who chose more low-key leadership for his presidential campaign.

Emanuel, who served as a political and policy aide in the Clinton White House before running for Congress, weighed the family and political considerations before accepting. He will have to resign his seat, relinquish his position in the House Democratic leadership and put aside hopes of becoming House speaker.

Democratic officials who disclosed Emanuel's acceptance did so on the condition of anonymity to avoid angering Obama's team; it had not planned to announce the chief of staff position on Thursday.

In offering the White House post to Emanuel, Obama turned to a fellow Chicago politician with a far different style from his own, a man known for his bluntness as well as his single-minded determination.

House GOP leader John Boehner of Ohio called Emanuel "an ironic choice for a president-elect who has promised to change Washington, make politics more civil, and govern from the center."

Before accepting the job, Emanuel told Chicago's WLS-TV that he was honored to be considered but needed to weigh the impact on his family.

"I have a lot to weigh: the basis of public service, which I've given my life to, a career choice. And most importantly, what I want to do as a parent," Emanuel said in an interview aired Wednesday. "And I know something about the White House. That, I assume, is one of the reasons that President-elect Obama would like me to serve. But I also know something about what it means to a family."

As word of Emanuel's acceptance spread Thursday, Obama was meeting privately in Chicago with U.S. intelligence officials preparing him to be commander in chief and transition team leaders tasked with building his entire administration in 10 short weeks.

The president-elect planned his first public appearances since his victory for Friday.

Aides said he will meet with economic advisers to discuss the nation's financial woes — Americans listed the economy as their top concern on Election Day — and then talk to the news media. Aides also said that Obama and his wife, Michelle, will visit the White House on Monday at President Bush's invitation.

"Michelle and I look forward to meeting with President Bush and the first lady on Monday to begin the process of a smooth, effective transition," Obama said in a statement. "I thank him for reaching out in the spirit of bipartisanship that will be required to meet the many challenges we face as a nation."

Obama advisers said he was selecting the leaders of the new government with a sense of care over speed, with no plans to announce Cabinet positions this week.

Aside from Emanuel, several Obama aides said other White House officials were being lined up, including Robert Gibbs as the likely pick for press secretary. Gibbs has been Obama's longtime spokesman and confidant and was at Obama's side from his 2004 Senate campaign through the long days on the presidential campaign trail.

Obama planned to stay home through the weekend, with a blackout on news announcements so that he and his staff can get some rest after a grueling campaign and the rush of their win Tuesday night. He is planning a trip to Hawaii in December to get away with his family before their move to the White House — and to honor his grandmother, who died Sunday at her home there.

Obama began Thursday as he usually does, with a workout. Later, he planned to visit with the transition team he officially announced Wednesday but had been under way for weeks. Officials had kept deliberations under wraps to avoid the appearance of overconfidence in the weeks leading to Tuesday's election.

He also spent time at the FBI office in Chicago, a secure location for him to receive his first president's daily brief. The document is mostly written by the Central Intelligence Agency and includes the most critical overnight intelligence. It is accompanied by a briefing from top intelligence officials that typically lasts 45 minutes to an hour, although Obama's first is expected to be longer.

Obama adds symbolic NC victory to White House win.........(robert gibbs leanna creel compaq cq 50 139wm america olivo lisa rinna america olivo

RALEIGH, N.C. – President-elect Obama won North Carolina on Thursday, a symbolic triumph that underscored his political strength as he turned nine states that President Bush won in 2004 to Democratic blue.

The Associated Press declared Obama the winner after canvassing counties in North Carolina to determine the number of outstanding provisional ballots. That survey found that there are not enough remaining ballots for Republican John McCain to close a 13,693-vote deficit.

North Carolina's 15 electoral votes brings Obama's total to 364 — nearly 100 more than necessary to win the White House — to McCain's 162. Missouri is the only state that remains too close to call, with McCain leading by several thousand votes.

Obama's win in North Carolina was the first for a Democratic presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter won the state in 1976.

Of Bush's 2004 states, Obama captured Virginia, Florida and North Carolina in the South, Ohio, Indiana and Iowa in the Midwest and Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico in the West.

Obama ran an aggressive general election campaign in North Carolina after his wide primary victory in the state over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton suggested he could win a trove of electoral votes that most assumed would belong to McCain.

McCain spent months watching North Carolina from afar during the summer as Obama visited regularly, but the GOP nominee returned to the state in the campaign's final few weeks as polls suggested an Obama victory was possible.

Obama spent millions of televisions ads that were buttressed by hundreds of staff members in dozens of offices to take advantage of North Carolina's rapidly changing demographics and a large bloc of black voters galvanized by his bid to become the first African-American president.

North Carolina's growing population includes a booming urban corridor from Charlotte to Raleigh along Interstate 85, while retirees from northern states — who are more willing to vote for Democrats — are filling the state's coast and mountains.

Exit polls also showed that some 30 percent of voters considered race a factor in their decision, with the numbers split evenly among voters who backed McCain and Obama. Nearly one in five voters considered race an important factor.

The economy also played a role — with 60 percent of voters considering it the top issue, with those voters breaking slightly to Obama. The state's manufacturing industry has been devastated by competitive imports, and the state's banking economy centered in Charlotte was struck by economic turmoil that led to the downfall of Wachovia Corp., in the weeks before Election Day.

Obama's win completed the party's sweep at the top of the North Carolina ticket. Beverly Perdue was elected the state's first female governor, while Kay Hagan unseated one of the GOP's most respected figures in Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

Nokia 500 4.3 Touch Screen Auto Navigation GPS and Google T-Mobile G1 Feature..

Nokia 500 GPS Auto 4.3" Car Navigation System with Bluetooth the perfect fit for your car...and videos of google t-mobile g1..

exit polls 2008

obama is going to win this time by any means he is the one choosen by american people who belive that the shrinking economy was rescued by the new president

presidential exit polls 2008..

America Votes 2008

The longest campaign in U.S. history has been building up to this - the Tuesday Nov 4 election. All Day - for complete coverage; results from 2300 GMT.

poll shows Barack Obama holds a 7-point edge over John McCain among likely U.S. voters.

Obama heads into Tuesday's voting in a comfortable position, with McCain struggling to overtake Obama's lead in every national opinion poll. Jon Decker reports.

SOUNDBITES:
John McCain, presidential candidate
Barack Obama, presidential candidate

VIDEO OF Lil Wayne DEAD BBC News Broadcast official.

Lil Wayne Dwayne Carter Die When He Was Shot And Killed Dead On BBC News in a Gang Fight? YES HE DID.

saddam hussein s luxury yacht.

Saddam Hussein’s luxury yacht for 20 million dollars..did lil wayne die see the video of death of lil wayne in official bbc broadcast news...

A Long Campaign, And a Changed Barack Obama

Almost two years ago, in the first months of Barack Obama's campaign for the presidency, whenever the Illinois senator would get crowds going he would intentionally dial it down a notch. I remember seeing him in Columbia on his first trip to South Carolina in February 2007, six days after announcing his candidacy. When the crowd started chanting, "Yes, we can," to his riff on Civil Rights, Obama abruptly changed the subject to labor's right to organize. It was clear he was making a conscious effort not to be perceived (or pigeonholed) as the same inspirational speaker they saw at the 2004 convention; he wanted to introduce himself and tell his story, but most of all he wanted people to realize that there was substance underneath all the style. Indeed, what he wanted was the reaction he often ended up getting from many who came to see him on the stump during the primaries: "He wasn't what I expected."

ING NEW YORK CITY MARATHON

In a day of repeating champions, Paula Radcliffe of England has once again won the ING New York City Marathon, dominating in a wire-to-wire victory. Ludmila Petrova and Kara Goucher were second and third, respectively. Stay tuned for our complete coverage later today

ING NEW YORK CITY MARATHON

New York, November 1, 2008—Today’s Continental Airlines® International Friendship Run united more than 15,000 runners from around the world in a celebration of the power of sport. Flags representing scores of countries fluttered in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza near the United Nations, where the 2.5-mile fun run began. For most of the participants, it was a relaxed warm-up to tomorrow’s ING New York City Marathon.

The runners waved their countries’ colors, dressed in international costumes, and jogged side by side with other athletes from near and far. More than half of the marathon’s entrants are international runners, and like New York City itself, the race has always welcomed them with open arms. Today’s event included Australian runners hoisting a large plastic kangaroo, Japanese participants with mock sushi platters on their heads, and Spanish marathoners impersonating matadors. The run ended in Central Park just steps from the marathon finish line.

Before the run, Jeff Jones, the manager of sponsorship marketing for Continental Airlines, addressed the crowd. His welcome was followed by remarks from United Nations officials, and then the stirring introduction of several dozen flag-bearers. Each individual acknowledged the crowd’s cheers by lifting his country’s flag toward a brilliant morning sky. The spangling array of colors and the echo of cheering in the cool canyons of Midtown Manhattan were nothing short of breathtaking.

Mary Wittenberg, the president and CEO of NYRR and the marathon’s race director, welcomed the crowd with a reminder of the power of sport to unite people from diverse backgrounds. “New York City is where the world comes to run,” she said. “We celebrate you this year more than ever. Celebrate each other!”

Wittenberg then presented the Abebe Bikila Award to Lornah Kiplagat of the Netherlands. The award is given annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the sport of distance running, and is named for Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia, a two-time Olympic marathon champion (1960, 1964). Past winners of the award include Ted Corbitt, Paula Radcliffe, Grete Waitz, Bill Rodgers, Alberto Salazar, Tegla Loroupe, and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

Kiplagat, who was born in Kenya and became a Dutch citizen in 2003, has been a major force in distance running for more than a decade. She has set world records on the road at 5K, 10 miles, 20K, and the half-marathon, and she has won two gold medals and two silver medals in IAAF World Championships events—including a gold in the half-marathon. She is a four-time winner of the NYRR New York Mini 10K, and she won both the Peachtree Road Race 10K and the Falmouth Road Race three years running (2000-2002).

In 1999, Kiplagat opened a training center in Kenya for girls and young women who aspire to run at the world-class level. Last year she established the Lornah Kiplagat Foundation, to increase public consciousness about the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS in Kenya. She is raising funds to build a sports academy and boarding school that will provide educational opportunities and training in Olympic sports for 250 Kenyan girls. She also helped raised $400,000 toward her goal of $15 million to build a children’s hospital in Kenya. Kiplagat was third in the ING New York City Marathon 2003; she is not running this year, but she hopes to return in 2009 for the race’s 40th running.

“Let’s be proud of all of us,” said Kiplagat as she accepted the award. “We are doing good for the sport and for the marathon.”

And with a rousing cheer and the fluttering of flags from around the world, the crowd of runners followed Kiplagat on their short but meaningful journey to the finish.

AP poll shows Obama backers gleeful, McCain's glum

WASHINGTON – That smiling guy walking down the street? Odds are he's a Barack Obama backer. The grouchy looking one? Don't ask, and don't necessarily count on him to vote next week, either.

More John McCain supporters feel glum about the presidential campaign while more of Obama's are charged up over it, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll released Saturday.

The survey shows McCain backers have become increasingly upset in recent weeks, a period that has seen Obama take a firm lead in many polls. One expert says the contrasting moods could affect how likely the two candidates' supporters are to vote on Election Day, possibly dampening McCain's turnout while boosting Obama's.

While 43 percent of the Democrat Obama's backers said they are excited over the campaign, just 13 percent of McCain's said so, according to the survey of adults, conducted by Knowledge Networks. Six in 10 Obama supporters said the race interests them, compared to four in 10 backing McCain, the Republican senator from Arizona.

On the flip side, 52 percent of McCain supporters said the campaign has left them frustrated, compared to 30 percent of Obama's. A quarter of McCain backers say they feel helpless, double the rate of those preferring Obama, the Illinois senator.

More McCain supporters also feel angry and bored, while Obama's are likelier to say they are proud and hopeful.

All of this is a bad sign for McCain, according to George E. Marcus, a political scientist from Williams College who has studied the role emotion plays in politics. Negative feelings about a campaign can discourage voters by making them less likely to go through what can be a painful process: Voting for someone who will lose.

"If I'm getting my head handed to me by a tennis player, my brain is saying, 'Do I want a second match? No,'" Marcus said. "Why do something that's going to lead to failure?"

Marcus said such emotions can be overcome by outside events, such as a campaign or neighbor urging a person to vote. There's also the danger exuberant Obama backers might decide not to vote because of overconfidence. The Obama and McCain organizations combined have spent hundreds of millions of dollars for those very reasons.

Obama leads McCain among likely voters in the AP-Yahoo News poll, 51 percent to 43 percent.

Supporters of McCain cite a dislike for Obama, dissatisfaction with the campaign's tone and frustration with how news organizations have treated their candidate.

"Flat disgusted, how's that?" said Billie Hart, 80, a Houston Republican backing McCain. "Because that's the way I feel about it. I don't like the individual."

Many Democrats say they're energized by a candidate they perceive as different from most politicians and who can make a real difference.

"Elections have always been so ho-hum," said Kathleen Rockwell, 61, an Obama supporter from Redmond, Wash. This time, "I feel connected. And that feels good."

The AP-Yahoo News poll, which has followed the same group of 2,000 people since last November, underscores how individuals have reacted to the campaign's currents. For many McCain supporters, it's not been a happy period.

Three in 10 McCain backers who report being frustrated now said in September they weren't. That is quadruple the number who became less frustrated.

At the same time, one in five McCain supporters are not interested in the campaign now who said they were in September. Half that number gained interest. By similar margins, McCain backers report becoming more angry, bored, overwhelmed and helpless and have become less excited, proud and hopeful.

"I'm real interested in having it over," said Michele Roos, 64, a McCain supporter from Newport News, Va.

Enthusiasm by Obama backers has largely stayed steady since September, though slightly more of them — 31 percent — now say the campaign makes them feel proud.

"I didn't like the candidates before," said Angelique Sims, 38, an Obama supporter from Shawnee, Okla. "I like his character. I like the things he represents. He represents my views."

A closer look at the numbers show how that emotions are playing out to Obama's advantage in several pivotal groups of voters.

Forty-eight percent of those under age 30 who support Obama say they are excited over the race, compared to just 21 percent of those young voters who back McCain. That age group has been a reservoir of strong support for the Democrat.

Just 44 percent of whites supporting the Republican say the campaign interests them, compared to 58 percent of whites and 72 percent of blacks supporting Obama.

At the same time, half of McCain supporters age 65 and up say they're frustrated, compared to three in 10 of Obama's older voters. Also saying they're frustrated are 53 percent of whites backing McCain — compared to 40 percent of whites and 12 percent of blacks behind Obama.

The AP-Yahoo News poll of 1,753 adults was conducted Oct. 17-27 and had an overall margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points. Included were interviews with 803 Obama supporters and 703 McCain supporters, with error margins of plus or minus 3.5 and 3.7 points respectively.

The poll was conducted over the Internet by Knowledge Networks, which initially contacted people using traditional telephone polling methods and followed with online interviews. People chosen for the study who had no Internet access were given it for free.

AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius and AP writer Christine Simmons contributed to this report.

Barack Obama’s campaign has confirmed that a illegally woman living in a South Boston housing project is indeed the senator’s aunt

On 01-nov-08..Barack Obama’s campaign has confirmed that a woman living illegally in a South Boston housing project is indeed the senator’s aunt Obama spokesman Reid Cherlin confirmed to the Herald this morning that Zeituni Onyango, 56, who lives on Flaherty Way, is Obama’s aunt on Obama’s father’s side.

Onyango, a Kenyan native is believed to be the “Aunti Zeituni” in Obama’s memoir, “Dreams From My Father.”


Onyango received a small stipend over the past year working six hours a week as a volunteer resident health advocate for the BHA complex she lives in, said BHA deputy director Bill McGonagle.

McGonagle said Onyango has lived in Boston public housing for five years.

“She has been an exemplary resident,” McGonagle said.

He said that Onyango had conversations with several BHA employees in recent days indicating that she is the presidential-contender’s aunt.

She proudly displays photos of Obama, including some that appear 25 years old or older, inside her first-floor apartment, McGonagle said.

McGonagle said BHA employees were caught off guard when they learned of the connection.

“We were as surprised as anyone,” he said. “We were a little bit flabbergasted.”

A message left at Onyango’s apartment this morning was not returned.

McGonagle said that Onyango has been overwhelmed by the media attention since the news of her relationship with Obama was broken yesterday by The Times of London.

“Miss Onyango has asked that we respect her privacy and she be left alone,” he said. “She’s feeling very put upon. We are asking the press to back off because she is feeling a little bit oppressed.”

The Times of London reported that Onyango is actually Obama’s half aunt. She is the half sister of Obama’s father, Barack Obama Sr.

In an interview outside her rundown apartment building on Flaherty Way, Onyango told The Times of London that she didn’t want to say much before the Nov. 4 election.

“I can’t talk about it, I just pray for him, that’s all,” she said, adding: “After the 4th, I can talk to anyone.”

New story that building up in Wednesday's vandalism.phillies parade, nbc10, 6abcnews, 6abc, 6 abc news

Police are hoping to get help from the public in finding some of the people responsible for Wednesday's vandalism.

Ted Passon's car is a mangled mess of shattered glass and dents. He, like thousands of other Phillies fans, was celebrating on Broad Street Wednesday night.

Drunk revelers left a path of destruction along Broad.

Marble planters were turned over, bus stop shelters destroyed, and storefront windows smashed.
Story continues below
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Robinson's Luggage was one of several stores looted.

happy halloween

I love Halloween. I was bummed that I didn’t get to celebrate it as festively as I wanted to this year. I was really interested in executing this awesome jack-o-latern idea (it involved the carving of a backwards B, that’s all I’m gonna say). But alas, I’ve got some time-consuming things going on right now that I will actually relate to you all tomorrow (probably).

Anyway, one of my favorite Halloween past-times is dusting off some of my old tapes, turning out the lights, and scaring myself. In the spirit of the holiday, instead of my usual smattering of psych rock and other insane music, I wanted to share some choice insane recordings.

rock band beatles........

Beatles Game Confirmed
Like this, but with computers!
T
his morning, MTV and Apple Corps confirmed pretty much exactly what everyone guessed yesterday: they're making a game that will feature the music of The Beatles. While the product in question hasn't been named specifically, it sounds like it will be a full, standalone game, and that it will be available sometime in 2009.

The Beatles are indisputably one of the most popular and influential musical acts of the 20th century, and Apple Corps has been fiercely protective of the catalog, so this is a pretty significant win for MTV and Harmonix. As one of the first big "TV bands," there's no shortage of iconic footage of the Beatles performing that could be a ton of fun to see in a game. Also, I'll be severely disappointed if there isn't a recreation of The Yellow Submarine's art style somewhere in there. As an aside, here's the five Beatles songs I'd like to see in, well, whatever the hell they end up calling this game:

Norwegian Wood
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Birthday
Helter Skelter
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

OK, so that's six. Believe me, it was hard enough to whittle that list down that far. This game's going to need a deep track list.

hillbuzz article about obama bribe for $10,000..hill buzz.

The article below is from last year. It’s a story that was never picked up by the media (since when have they ever picked up anything about Obama?) and the Clinton campaign did not know what to do with this — people we’ve spoken to said that, in retrospect, they realize what a mistake this was because what Obama did here is actually a prosecutable crime. We were told, specifically, that the bribe Obama took as a state senator is the thing David Axelrod has lived in terror of this whole campaign — he has been praying this does not get out.

One reason this never came back to bite Obama is that the article below is overly long — and the part about the bribe is buried in the middle — it’s no coincidence this story appeared in the LA Times. The article’s author, Dan Morain, tried to bring this bribe up in the primaries, but never had any support in the media to go anywhere with it.

One of the greatest advantages Obama has is that he’s surrounded by so many crooked deals, kooks, loons, and criminals that it’s hard for the public to understand most of what’s going on. Here in Chicago, Team Hillary kept trying to bring up Obama’s connections to Tony Rezko and the land deal for Obama’s Mansion — but people couldn’t understand what the Rezko dealings were all about. They still don’t understand it. And they won’t read a long article like the one below about the rest of Obama’s dirty dealings.

In short, Obama had massive campaign debt coming off of his failed bid to challenge Bobby Rush for a seat in Congress. Smarting from that loss, Obama needed money, so he turned to Yesse Yehudah. What’s so strange about this is that Yehudah is a Republican — so why would he raise money for Obama? What the article below does not say is that, magically, 10 people who work for Yehudah and have never given money to any elected official before - AND WHO COULD NOT AFFORD TO MAKE $1,000 donations - all made $1,000 donations to Obama simultaneously. As if someone else made the donations for all of them, in their names, with money that came from somewhere else.

The quid pro quo on this is simple: Obama took a $10,000 bribe from Yehudah for using his position in the state senate to throw a $75,000 grant to Yehudah’s nonprofit organization. People here in Chicago say this was obvious politics in Illinois: where Obama agreed to get Yehudah a grant, but Obama’s fee for this transaction was $10,000 to pay off his campaign debt.

Yehudah’s nonproft later came under investigation, and Obama panicked: he dumped $5,000 of the bribe money he took over to Yehudah as fast as he could after that.

Read the story below from Dan Morain. We know this one is tough because it’s not easy for most people to understand Illinois politics — but what Obama did here with this grant is illegal, and it’s the kind of things politicians in Illinois go to jail for all the time — including our last governor George Ryan, and most likely our current governor Rod Blagojevich too.

Bribes like this are what people mean when they refer to “dirty Chicago politics”

Hill Buzz. Obama accepted a bribe? by hillbuzz..

Obama accepted a bribe as a state senator when he arranged a grant for Yesse Yehudah so he could take a $10,000 cut

Original washington monument, presidential seal, whitehouse.com, obama

A dedication service was held at noon. The volunteers gathered for a cold lunch, and then work was resumed and continued until 4 o'clock, when the monument stood 15 feet high on a base 54 feet in circumference. The day's program ended with the reading of the Declaration of Independence, followed by a three-round salute fired from atop the tower by three Revolutionary War veterans. Plans were made to complete the tower to a height of 30 feet "after the busy season," and in the fall of that year this was done.

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama blanketed the airwaves with an unprecedented 30-minute prime-time political advertisement.

Obama's big ad buy
Oct. 30 - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama blanketed the airwaves with an unprecedented 30-minute prime-time political advertisement.

The campaign "infomercial" forced a 15-minute delay in the FOX network's broadcast of Game 5 of the World Series, and was estimated to cost nearly $1 million for each major network. Katharine Jackson reports.

Bill Clinton rallies for Obama

Oct 30 - Barack Obama and Bill Clinton make first joint campaign appearance before more than 30,000 in late-night Miami rally.

With Obama at his side, former president Clinton heaped praise on the Democratic nominee for what he said was a calm, reasoned response to the financial crisis, saying that showed he would be a good manager in the White House.

A Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll showed Obama with a 5-point national lead on McCain. A blizzard of recent national polls gave Obama a national lead ranging from 2 points to 15 points.

Federal Reserve cuts rate by 50-basis point to 1.00%...

The worst financial crisis in 70 years has forced the Federal Reserve to employ all the weapons in its arsenal — including cutting interest rates to near historic lows — to 1.25% and try to keep the country from plunging into a deep recession. A deep rate cut from the Federal Reserve and other central banks Wednesday will have little immediate impact on consumer borrowing rates, but sends a clear signal that central bankers are working together to quell an intensifying financial panic threatening the world economy.

The Fed slashed its target for short-term rates a .25 percentage point to 1.25%, the lowest in more than four years. Fed policymakers voted unanimously during an emergency meeting Tuesday night to approve the cut.

"The pace of economic activity has slowed markedly in recent months," the Fed said in a statement. "Moreover, the intensification of financial market turmoil is likely to exert additional restraint on spending, partly by further reducing the ability of households and businesses to obtain credit."

The move lowers the target for the federal funds rate, what banks charge each other for overnight loans. The rate is a benchmark used by lenders in setting rates for consumer and business loans.


Some economists said the Fed's action wasn't enough to rescue the United States from recession, but called it one of a series of drastic steps to prevent the downturn from becoming much more serious.

"The playbook to avoid depressions says rates need to be as close to zero as possible, banks have to be rescued, public spending has to rise," said Ian Shepherdson, economist at High Frequency Economics. "The U.S. is making progress on all fronts, though the economy is still condemned to immediate recession followed by a long period of slow growth."

In the short run, the Fed's action is expected to have only limited impact on borrowing costs, given that credit markets are constricted for even the worthiest of borrowers, no matter what the price.

Credit card rates are already hitting floors that are set in agreements with customers, and issuers are being cautious about who gets the benefit of the lower rates. Rates on home-equity lines of credit will fall, but many homeowners have seen their credit lines frozen or reduced, so there won't be a big boost to consumer spending, Bankrate.com senior analyst Greg McBride says.

The move will likely not have an impact on fixed-rate mortgage rates and may not help those with adjustable-rate mortgages, depending how their rates are set, McBride says. "Savers will be thrown further under the bus as their interest income declines," he says.READ THE FULLSTORY

Fed rate cuts of 50 basis points to 1.00%....

The worst financial crisis in 70 years has forced the Federal Reserve to employ all the weapons in its arsenal — including cutting interest rates to near historic lows — to 1.25% and try to keep the country from plunging into a deep recession. A deep rate cut from the Federal Reserve and other central banks Wednesday will have little immediate impact on consumer borrowing rates, but sends a clear signal that central bankers are working together to quell an intensifying financial panic threatening the world economy.

The Fed slashed its target for short-term rates a .50 percentage point to 1.25%, the lowest in more than four years. Fed policymakers voted unanimously during an emergency meeting Tuesday night to approve the cut.

"The pace of economic activity has slowed markedly in recent months," the Fed said in a statement. "Moreover, the intensification of financial market turmoil is likely to exert additional restraint on spending, partly by further reducing the ability of households and businesses to obtain credit."

The move lowers the target for the federal funds rate, what banks charge each other for overnight loans. The rate is a benchmark used by lenders in setting rates for consumer and business loans.


Some economists said the Fed's action wasn't enough to rescue the United States from recession, but called it one of a series of drastic steps to prevent the downturn from becoming much more serious.

"The playbook to avoid depressions says rates need to be as close to zero as possible, banks have to be rescued, public spending has to rise," said Ian Shepherdson, economist at High Frequency Economics. "The U.S. is making progress on all fronts, though the economy is still condemned to immediate recession followed by a long period of slow growth."

In the short run, the Fed's action is expected to have only limited impact on borrowing costs, given that credit markets are constricted for even the worthiest of borrowers, no matter what the price.

Credit card rates are already hitting floors that are set in agreements with customers, and issuers are being cautious about who gets the benefit of the lower rates. Rates on home-equity lines of credit will fall, but many homeowners have seen their credit lines frozen or reduced, so there won't be a big boost to consumer spending, Bankrate.com senior analyst Greg McBride says.

The move will likely not have an impact on fixed-rate mortgage rates and may not help those with adjustable-rate mortgages, depending how their rates are set, McBride says. "Savers will be thrown further under the bus as their interest income declines," he says.

Hang Sarah Palin Noose......

I know why Drudge has this image of an effigy of Palin hanging in a noose plastered all over his webpage. It's a very transparent attempt to suggest a double standard at work in the MSM since this hasn't garnered the attention a comparable image of a certain someone on the Democratic ticket would have. I know that. But you know what? He's right.

I think Palin has shown herself to woefully inadequate for the office she is seeking. Her policy positions are so pitiful and poorly explained that one doesn't know whether to laugh or cry when listening to her attempts to explain them. Considering Senator McCain's health history and age, her qualifications are a serious concern. However, this type of distasteful stuff has no place in our national political discourse. None. I don't find the humor or 'it's Halloween season!' arguments compelling. It's an explicit and public demonstration of the potential murder of one of the candidates for Vice Presidency. Our country has a history of political violence. As such, such public demonstrations should be denounced by all as way out of bounds. Just as there are limits on free speech such as the proverbial screaming 'fire' in a crowded theater, public demonstrations depicting violence against our political leaders should fall into the same category.

I know that there will be many on the left who don't agree with me on this but I'd put this question to them (although I know this is the reason Drudge is trying to make this an issue, it doesn't mean he isn't right on this one): would you feel the same if it was Senator Obama?

As a further example, I felt the same way when some of the more extreme anti-war folks were doing violent acts to effigies of Bush and Cheney.

I think one of the biggest lessons of this political campaign has been the necessity to elevate our level of political discourse in this country. I think placing such things outside the bounds of acceptable discourse would be a proper step in that direction.

I'm sure there are many who will strongly disagree with me and I would welcome your comments since I think it's an important topic to discuss. Considering the history of actual violence against political figures in our country I think it very reasonable to set firm boundaries on the depiction of fictional violence against them and the concept of double standards simply shouldn't play any role in that determination at all.