The American Audacity

Gadhafi Captured and Killed(Supposadly)

2011-10-26T18:59:00.000-07:00

Was Gaddafi's Son Mutassim 'Captured In Sirte'

2011-10-13T19:11:00.000-07:00

Gaddafi loyalists fight back in Sirte

2011-10-13T19:04:00.000-07:00

How Anwar al-Awlaki Was Located & Targeted--Al Qaeda Leaks

2011-10-01T10:10:00.000-07:00

US Naval and Djibouti based Reapers and Predators Hunter Killers are also now Flown from New Secret US Bases in Ethiopia and another base has been installed in the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean

The Once Rising Al Qaeda Mastermind Anwar al-Awlaki

Samir Khan, another American member of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and two passengers were also killed. But Awlaki was the main target. He had narrowly escaped an earlier drone strike the week after the Bin Laden raid, and this time the U.S. was taking no chances.

His hideout in a remote Yemeni town was under continuous surveillance and the pattern of his daily routine monitored.

Harrier jets flying from an amphibious carrier off the coast were ready to take a shot if the CIA drone missed. There was even an option for sending in Marine Ospreys with Special Operations Forces to collect any intelligence left after the strike, but that was never used. It was all part of a secret buildup which has occurred in and around Yemen as that country emerged as home to one of al Qaeda's most active branches

The tip-off which enabled two American drone-borne Hellfire missiles to kill the US-born Anwar al-Awkali by locating his convoy in the Khashef in the Jawf province of Yemen, 140 kilometers east of the capital Sanaa, reached US intelligence as a result of a power struggle within Al Qaeda's leadership in Yemen.

Killed too was a second US-born al Qaeda operative. The internal strife which led to their deaths was sharpened by the recent arrival in Yemen of the new Al Qaeda leader Ayman Zuwahiri.

US Intel found Anwar al-Awlaki by locating his convoy in the Khashef in the Jawf province of Yemen

Exactly when he arrived and by what route is not known. Zuwahiri is thought to have come to check out Yemen as his next permanent base in view of his plans for transposing al Qaeda's center of operations from the Pakistani-Afghan arena to the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahara.
Al Qaeda has seized large parts of Abyan Province in the south and is fighting in sections of the Red Sea port of Aden.

Al Qaeda leader Ayman Zuwahiri Is In Yemen

If Yemen's central government in Sanaa continues to disintegrate, there will be nothing to stop Al Qaeda from grabbing all of Aden Port as well as Abyan and Hadramauth. Even without control of the big port city, the jihadis are within easy reach of anchorages along the Gulf of Aden coast with free access to the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf.

Intelligence experts suspect Zuwahiri may have been spirited into Yemen through one of those anchorages from a boat which brought him from Pakistan.

He arrived with big plans and new ambitions: One is to expand Al Qaeda's control of South Yemen in conformity with his quest for new strongholds with access to the sea. Its bastions in Afghanistan and Pakistani Waziristan were landlocked and without an airfield.

US AV-8B Harriers Were Used From US Assault Ships Off Yemen

But over and above this strategic push, neither Zawahiri nor Osama Bin Laden, who was killed by US commandos in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 2, ever completely trusted Anwar al Awlaki.

Neither was ready to countenance an American whom they didn't entirely trust in a position of high command in their organization.

He was linked to the US Major Nidal Malik Hassan's murder of 13 US military and security personnel at Ford Hood in November 2009. The second American who died in the US drone-borne missile strike Friday was Samir Khan, editor of Al Qaeda's English-language Inspire Magazine.

From the point of view of the West, Al Qaeda has lost two senior operatives. But to hardline Zuwahiri, Al Qaeda in Yemen has been purged of its American module.

Republican Guard, led by President Ali Abdullah Saleh's son, in fierce clashes with soldiers loyal to dissident General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar

2011-09-29T07:56:00.000-07:00

President Ali Abdullah Saleh

Today the elite Republican Guard, led by President Ali Abdullah Saleh's son, engaged in fierce clashes with soldiers loyal to dissident Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who once served as the "iron fist" of Mr. Saleh's regime but is now one of his most powerful rivas.

The fighting has broken a three-day period of calm that provided some hope that Saleh would return to a peace plan designed by other Gulf nations. Diplomats had urged Saleh to stay in Saudi Arabia where he spent three months recuperating after a rocket attack, but he returned on Sept. 23, triggering much unrest.

Elite Yemeni Republican Guard Armored Forces

The entrance of Mohsen's troops into the fray since Saleh's return has significantly changed the dynamic of fighting in Sanaa, and could transform what has until now been a largely peace uprising into true civil war. Mohsen’s troops are now fully intermixed with the protesters; cruising through the camp in the back of armored vehicles, chewing qat in protester’s tents, even being treated alongside injured protesters in the nearby field hospital. Initial doubt over whether the renegade troops would aid their cause has largely been replaced by the prevailing attitude that they are the “heroes and vanguards” of the revolution.

The Main Stream Media Is Right....President Obama Is Losing Badly...His Poll Numbers Are Indicative of His Demise...

2011-09-25T13:43:00.000-07:00

General Election: Perry vs. Obama

Poll	Date	Sample	Obama (D)	Perry (R)	Spread
RCP Average	9/8 - 9/18	--	49.5	41.3	Obama +8.2
USA Today/Gallup	9/15 - 9/18	889 RV	50	45	Obama +5
Rasmussen Reports	9/14 - 9/15	1000 LV	46	39	Obama +7
McClatchy/Marist	9/13 - 9/14	825 RV	50	41	Obama +9
Bloomberg	9/9 - 9/12	997 A	49	40	Obama +9
Reuters/Ipsos	9/8 - 9/12	932 RV	50	42	Obama +8
PPP (D)	9/8 - 9/11	665 RV	52	41	Obama +11

General Election: Romney vs. Obama

Poll	Date	Sample	Obama (D)	Romney (R)	Spread
RCP Average	9/8 - 9/19	--	47.2	44.2	Obama +3.0
Rasmussen Reports	9/18 - 9/19	1000 LV	44	41	Obama +3
USA Today/Gallup	9/15 - 9/18	889 RV	47	49	Romney +2
McClatchy/Marist	9/13 - 9/14	825 RV	46	44	Obama +2
Bloomberg	9/9 - 9/12	997 A	48	43	Obama +5
Reuters/Ipsos	9/8 - 9/12	932 RV	49	43	Obama +6
PPP (D)	9/8 - 9/11	665 RV	49	45	Obama +4

Who's Afraid of Mittens In 2012? This Guy?

2011-09-25T13:39:00.000-07:00

Republican Economic Debt Terror On America

2011-09-25T13:25:00.001-07:00

Bruce Bartlett: Obama's Tax Plan Makes Sense

2011-09-25T13:21:00.000-07:00

By Bruce Bartlett

Barack Obama last week put forward a package of tax increases to pay for a proposed $447bn jobs programme. The most controversial proposal is that no one making more than $1m a year should pay a smaller share of his income in taxes than a middle class family pays. This is popularly called the Buffett Rule, after the billionaire Warren Buffett, who has long complained that he pays a lower tax rate than his secretary, and famously came out in public recently asking to pay more.

Republicans were quick to denounce the proposal as “class warfare”, and to argue that low taxes on the wealthy are essential to boost the economy in these difficult times. This echoes the debate in Britain where 20 prominent economists from the left and right sparked a nationwide debate after writing to the Financial Times suggesting that the top 50 per cent rate of tax, introduced in the 2010 tax year, should be lowered to encourage investment and hiring.

But polls show wide public support. A Gallup poll found that two-thirds of Americans favour raising taxes on those making more than $250,000 a year. While I spent many years working for Republican administrations, one of whose core principles was low taxes, I believe Mr Obama is on solid ground asking the rich to pay more.
Mr Buffett said publicly that he had an effective federal income tax rate of 17.4 per cent in 2010. This low rate undoubtedly reflects the fact that the bulk of his income consists of dividends and capital gains, which have been taxed at a maximum rate of 15 per cent since 2003. His secretary, however, probably gets the bulk of her income in the form of wages, which are taxed at a higher income tax rate and also covered by taxes for the giant US entitlement programmes, Social Security and Medicare, the healthcare scheme for the elderly.
Calculations by the Tax Policy Center indicate that about a quarter of those with incomes as low as $30,000 to $40,000 pay a higher combined tax rate than Mr Buffett does. Assuming that his secretary is pretty well paid and falls into the $75,000 to $100,000 group, the median taxpayer in that income range pays about the same as Mr Buffett, with 40 per cent of them paying considerably more – between 18.3 per ent and 23.8 per cent of their income to the federal government.
Strikingly, the tax rate on the wealthy has fallen sharply over the past 25 years, according to the Internal Revenue Service. The top 1 per cent of taxpayers – those with incomes above $380,354 in 2008 – had an effective income tax rate of 33 per cent in 1985 and 29 per cent in the mid-1990s. During George W. Bush’s administration, it fell to just 23 per cent.
The Republican party position argues that low tax rates on the wealthy are essential for economic growth. But growth was much more robust in the 1980s and 1990s, when both their average and marginal rates were higher. There is no evidence whatsoever that lower rates on the wealthy stimulated growth in the 2000s. Indeed when the Congressional Research Service examined the economic consequences of allowing all the Bush era tax cuts to expire at the end of 2010, it concluded that the impact was likely to be slight because their effect on growth was virtually non-existent.
Reducing the budget deficit by cutting spending alone, as Republicans insist, means that the burden of adjustment will fall almost entirely on those with low and middle incomes, since those with high incomes do not benefit much from federal programmes. Raising taxes is the only way of ensuring that the cost of deficit reduction is shared among all income groups.
Also, it is unrealistic to think that the deficit can be reduced significantly without higher revenues, which are at a historical low of 15.3 per cent of the gross domestic product, compared with a postwar average of 18.5 per cent. As a matter of practicality, the well-to-do will have to pay more because they have a greater capacity for doing so. And because of various deductions and credits, many enacted by Republicans, close to half of all tax filers pay no federal income taxes.
While it is unrealistic to think that very many rich people are going to follow Mr Buffett and call for higher taxes on themselves, there are a few. On September 19, Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, wrote on his personal blog that people like himself ought to be paying more.
In France, where the tax burden is far higher than in the US, a group of wealthy people, including Christophe de Margerie and Maurice Lévy, have signed a petition calling on the nation’s richest citizens to make an “exceptional contribution” to the public finances. Traditionally that would have been seen in the US as another sign of the ruinous socialist ethos of western Europe. But polls in the US say that Mr Obama is on solid ground, politically.
The September 20 Gallup poll found 2-to-1 support for higher taxes on those making more than $200,000 a year to pay for his proposed jobs bill. This might seem improbable in a country which has always prided itself on its commitment to low taxes and the purer form of free market capitalism. But these are exceptional times – and they require exceptional measures.

The writer served in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. His latest book on tax reform, ‘The Benefit and the Burden’, will be published in January

Who Is Rick Perry Anyways?

2011-09-09T06:57:00.000-07:00

Rick Perry has taken positions so radical that it's difficult to imagine how he could compete in the general election if nominated. In fact, it is hard to think of a single first-tier, major-party candidate in history whose positions have been so consistently radical.

He called Social Security anti-American.

Perry blasted Social Security in his 2010 book, "Fed Up," saying it was created "at the expense of respect for the Constitution and limited government" and was a "violent" assault on American values. He also compared the program to "an illegal Ponzi scheme," in which there won't be enough money later on to support the workers who are paying into the system now.

He vacillates between rhetoric that implies he wants to dismantle Social Security and rhetoric that implies he wants to reform and fix it, and it has never been clear exactly what he would do as president. While it is undeniable that Social Security is in bad shape financially and many people support reforming it, the program itself is very popular. If voters believe Perry would cut Social Security or reform it in undesirable ways, they will be less likely to vote for him. Politico noted that this will probably be a key factor in Florida, which has a large elderly population and whose 29 electoral votes could decide the 2012 election.

He doesn't believe in evolution or climate change.

He told a child at a campaign stop in New Hampshire last month that evolution was "a theory that's out there. It's got some gaps in it. In Texas we teach both creationism and evolution." And in July, before he announced his candidacy, he said there were "clear indications from our people who have amazing intellectual capability that this didn't happen by accident and a creator put this in place." He did not specify who those intellectuals were or what gaps he saw in the theory of evolution.

A Threatening Brute

He supports nullification and once suggested that Texas secede from the Union.

The doctrine of nullification, in which a state claims the right to reject and refuse to enforce a federal law, was discredited a long time ago -- in 1832, specifically, when South Carolina declared the federal tariffs of 1828 and 1832 unconstitutional. Congress responded by authorizing President Andrew Jackson to deploy the military, and after a new tariff was negotiated, South Carolina abandoned its nullification attempt in March 1833.

But in June, more than 170 years after the Nullification Crisis, the Texas legislature passed a bill to let "any incandescent light bulb manufactured in Texas and sold in this state avoid the authority of the federal government or the repeal of the 2007 energy independence act that starts phasing out some incandescent light bulbs next year," the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported -- and Perry signed it into law. With this bill, the state is outright refusing to enforce a federal law. Defending states' rights under the 10^th Amendment is one thing, but using a rejected, pre-Civil War tactic is not going to get Perry many votes.

In 2009, he also implied that Texas would consider seceding if the Obama administration kept pursuing policies he found objectionable. "There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it," he said of the United States, "but if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that." Many commentators and voters have noted how incongruous it seems for Perry to be running for president of a nation from which he suggested, even in passing, that his state might secede.

A Gun Carrying Governor

Rick Perry has suggested repealing the 16^th and 17^th Amendments.

Perry supports several changes to the Constitution, some of which -- like an amendment banning same-sex marriage -- are fairly common among conservatives. But others are extreme from any angle. He said in his book that he wanted to repeal the 16^th Amendment, which permits a federal income tax, calling it "a milestone on the road to serfdom." Tax cuts are standard Republican fare, but it is unusual to hear a front-running candidate for a major office advocate eliminating the income tax entirely.
He also opposes the 17^th Amendment, which provides for the popular election of senators. (Before it was ratified, senators were elected by the state legislatures, as per Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution.) In a 2010 interview with Andrew Romano of The Daily Beast, Perry claimed that direct election transferred power from the states to the federal government. "The states were historically more in control when they decided who those senators were going to be," he said. "So that's the historic concept of checks and balances, when you had the concept of the federal government and the states. The 17^th Amendment is when the states started getting out of balance with the federal government, is my belief."

Never mind that "checks and balances" refers to the division of power among the executive, legislative and judicial branches, not to the division of power between the federal and state governments, which is properly referred to as federalism. In any case, the logic behind Perry's argument is difficult to understand -- what real power does the federal government gain if individuals in each state elect their senators rather than the state legislatures electing them? -- and it is such a radical position, even among conservatives, that it is likely to alienate many voters.

Yeeeeeeeee Haw!

He wants Congress to override Supreme Court decisions.

Even more controversially, Perry suggested allowing Congress to override Supreme Court decisions by a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate. To his credit, he did acknowledge that this could result in "increased politicization of judicial decisions," but he concluded that it was worth it because it would "stop the court from unilaterally deciding policy." This seems like a real political nonstarter, even and perhaps especially among Perry's fellow Republicans, who have long excoriated "activist judges" for politically charged decisions.

Teahadist Commander-In-Chief

New videos point to atrocities by Syrian forces

2011-09-08T20:58:00.000-07:00

Let The Race Begin For the US Presidency....

2011-09-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

GOP Debates.....Past & Present...Obama's Work Ahead

2011-09-08T19:55:00.000-07:00

My Fav New Yorker Memory From September 2001

2011-09-08T19:19:00.001-07:00

Rick Perry: A Teahadist Gun Loving Nut (Video)

2011-09-08T10:43:00.000-07:00

Perry's Execution Record Greeted by GOP Wild Cheers

2011-09-08T10:15:00.000-07:00

PERRY VS. ROMNEY AT GOP DEBATE

2011-09-08T09:32:00.000-07:00

Obama Can Win In 2012: Here's How

2011-09-08T09:29:00.000-07:00

Larry Sabato breaks down his Electoral College Scenarios For Obama To Win in 2012, and it certainly looks good.

Obama squeaks it out

Scenario One: The Fickle Five Defect. Obama’s five closest victories in 2008 came in states George W. Bush carried twice: North Carolina, Indiana, Florida, Ohio and Virginia, which he won by margins ranging from 0.3% (NC) to 6.3% (VA). Obama is currently thought to be trailing in these “fickle five” — yet he could lose them all in 2012, plus the extra electoral vote he gained from Nebraska (which is assumed in all scenarios), and still win with 272 electoral votes.

Scenario Two: Obama as Gore, Plus a Little. It’s back to the future, as Obama sheds his 2008 Western and Southern gains (CO, IA, NV, NM, NC, VA) but captures all the core Democratic states in the Northeast (though not NH), Midwest and West Coast, precisely as Al Gore did in 2000. He loses the Gore states of New Mexico and Iowa, but he finds the extra 537 +1 votes in Florida that eluded Gore. Obama triumphs with 271.

Scenario Three: Kerry Plus Ohio and Iowa. Obama misses in Florida, loses his newfound 2008 gains in the South and the West, but adds just two Midwestern states (OH, IA) to the map won by John Kerry in 2004. Obama’s Electoral College total: 270.

Narrow Republican Takeover

Scenario One: Turn the Fickle Five Red Plus Any Other State. To win, the GOP nominee probably has to capture six 2008 Obama states. Unless Republicans can flip a big, usually Democratic state such as Pennsylvania, Michigan or New Jersey, they’d have to switch the Fickle Five plus one other small or medium-sized Obama state, such as New Hampshire or Iowa (in the scenario illustrated below, NH goes Red, putting the GOP at exactly 270 votes).

Scenario Two: Mix & Match, West and South. Republicans can retrieve Indiana and North Carolina (the most likely two of the Fickle Five to return home) plus the three previously GOP Western states they lost in 2008 (CO, NM, NV), and add a hodgepodge of others (IA, NH, WI, VA and the electoral vote from Maine’s more conservative Second Congressional District) plus one modest shocker — Minnesota — that is home to GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann. Republican total: 270.

House Rules

The Tie Scenario: You knew this was coming. We always talk about it though the chances are minuscule. If Obama loses IN, OH, NC, NH, NV, FL and IA, while keeping Virginia and his other 2008 states, it is 269-269, and the House of Representatives picks the new president, with each state’s delegation having one vote and 26 votes needed for election. In today’s House, the Republican would win by a vote of 33 to 16. One state, Minnesota, has a tied delegation and presumably would not cast a vote.

New LRO Images Offer Sharper Views of Apollo Sites

2011-09-08T06:12:00.000-07:00

Glenn Beck Interviews Texas Gov Rick Perry. FUNNY!

2011-09-07T13:07:00.000-07:00

GOP Debate Video: Tonight's Sneak Peek Perry Debate Preview Style

2011-09-07T13:05:00.000-07:00

Syria General and Soldiers Defect - Announce Rebel Army to Fight Assad 7...

2011-09-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

Syria Tank Crews Defect rather than Shoot Unarmed Protesters ! - Hama - ...

2011-09-06T11:19:00.000-07:00

'Scores dead' as Syrian tanks storm Hama

2011-09-06T11:18:00.000-07:00

The Notorious & Elite Syrian 4th Armored Division or Saraya ad-Difa (Defense Companies)

2011-09-06T11:16:00.000-07:00

Syrian 4th Armored Mech. Vehicles Firing On Civilians In Hama

The Defense Companies (Saraya ad-Difa) is a 20,000 strong Praetorian Guard paramilitary force in Syria that is controlled by Rifaat al-Assad. Their task is to defend the Assad government, and Damascus, from internal and external attack. They merged into the Syrian Army as the 4th Armoured division.

An Elite Saraya ad-Difa Unit

The 4th Syrian Armored Divion includes T-72 M tanks, SAMs, and Hind-D attack helicopters. The soldiers are predominantly Alawites, the ethnic community of the Assad family.

Syrian 4th Armored Unit In House To House Fighting

Maher Assad the brother of the Syrian leader is the commander of Syria’s Republican Guard and the Fourth Armored Division. Maher Assad is largely to be behind the three-month old violent crackdown on anti-regime protesters.

Maher Assad (to the left of his brother)

GOP Debt Hypocrisy. Charts & Data Don't Lie

2011-09-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

Bush & GOP Policies Added $5.07 Trillion to US Debt (still paying today in Obama budgets)

GOP Admins Have Been Seen The Most Debt Increases In Modern US History

GOP Debt Orgies Demonstrated By This Chart

Bill Clinton on Rick Perry (extended)

2011-09-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

Michele Bachmann Says The Darndest Things

2011-09-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

The Next President? Rick Perry In Editorial Cartoons.

2011-09-06T07:13:00.000-07:00

Canada's Navy Has No Operational Subs On Active Duty

2011-09-06T07:04:00.000-07:00

The Ultra Quiet Victoria Class Diesel Sub HMCS Corner Brook

The Canadian navy’s last operational submarine is now sidelined until 2016, leaving the service without an underwater capability and potentially throwing into question the future of the submarine fleet.
The submarine program, which has already cost around $900 million, has been plagued with various maintenance issues that have prevented the boats from being available for operations on a regular basis.
A media report in July noted that one of the subs, HMCS Windsor, arrived in Canada in the fall of 2001 but since then it has operated at sea for just 332 days.

The British built the Upholders (now Victoria Class in Canadian hands) to provide the Royal Navy with a diesel boat for the Greenland-Iceland-UK Gap. The design was based on their private scheme for a 2400 tonne submarine for export sales. This combined with lessons learnt from the Oberons and the design of the Trafalgar-class fleet submarines. They were built with teardrop hulls and the fin was built from glass fibre to keep weight down. The submarines are packed with technology generally found only on nuclear-powered submarines and are still widely regarded as being among the best diesel-electric submarines in the world.

HMCS Victoria

HMCS Corner Brook, damaged when it hit the ocean floor during a training accident in June on the West Coast, is now dockside. It will be repaired and overhauled during a planned maintenance period now underway.

Fire Damaged HMCS Chicoutimi

But it is not scheduled to return to sea until 2016. HMCS Chicoutimi, damaged by a fire in 2004 that killed one officer, still remains sidelined. That leaves HMCS Windsor and HMCS Victoria, which are also not available for duty at sea.

HMCS Windsor Under Repair

Canada purchased the ultra quiet world class subs second-hand from Britain and took delivery of the boats between 2000 and 2004. The navy said it did a thorough examination of the vessels to ensure they meet Canadian needs, but problems with the Victoria-class subs started materializing almost immediately.
High-pressure welds had to be replaced and cracks were found in some of the valves on the four subs. Steel piping also needed to be replaced as the submarines were put into storage in Britain with water in their fuel tanks. HMCS Victoria also underwent repairs after a dent was discovered in her hull.
In addition, there have been delays in installing Canadian equipment, such as the weapons fire control and communications gear. The subs are still not capable of firing Canadian torpedoes.

Emoprog Keith Olbermann Savages President Obama

2011-09-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

Emoprog Defeatist Glenn Greenwald Explains How Obama Is A Third Term For George W Bush (Oh Really?!)

2011-09-05T19:58:00.000-07:00

Ed Schultz & Firebagger Queen Jane Hamsher Have A Tense Discussion

2011-09-05T19:56:00.000-07:00

Olbermann whines and cries about Obama 12.7.10 (Part 1)

2011-09-05T19:52:00.000-07:00

Emoprogs Will Teach Obama A Lesson....Again...

2011-09-05T19:50:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of @AngryBlackLady on Twitter

Courtesy of @TheReidReport on Twitter

My Editorial Cartoons of The Week

2011-09-05T17:49:00.000-07:00

China's Skyscraper Domination

2011-09-05T17:26:00.000-07:00

The 121-story Shanghai Tower is more than China's next record-setting building: It's an economic lifeline for the elite club of skyscraper builders.

Super-tall, 128-story Shanghai Tower

Financial gloom has derailed plans for new towers in Chicago, Moscow, Dubai and other cities. But in China, work on the 2,074-foot Shanghai Tower, due to be completed in 2014, and dozens of other tall buildings is rushing ahead, powered by a buoyant economy and providing a steady stream of work to architects and engineers.
China has six of the world's 15 tallest buildings — compared with three in the United States, the skyscraper's birthplace — and is constructing more at a furious pace, defying worries about a possible real-estate boom and bust.
It is on track to pass the U.S. as the country with the most buildings among the 100 tallest by a wide margin.

The International Commerce Centre, or ICC Tower, in Hong Kong, has 118 floors and stands 1,590 feet

China is leading a wave of skyscraper building in developing countries that is shifting the field's center of gravity away from the United States and Europe.
India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia have ultra-tall towers under construction or on the drawing board. In the Gulf, Doha in Qatar and Dubai — site of the current record holder, the 163-story Burj Khalifa — each has three buildings among the 20 tallest under construction, though work on all but one of those has been suspended.

The shift is so drastic that North America's share of the 100 tallest buildings will fall from 80 percent in 1990 to 18 percent by 2012. By then, 45 of the tallest will be in Asia, with 34 of those in China alone.

So 34 percent of the 100 tallest buildings will be in a single country. That has only happened once before, and that was with the USA.
China's edifice complex is driven by a mix of demand for space in a crowded country with economic growth forecast at 10 percent this year and local leaders who want architectural eye candy to promote their cities as commercial centers.

Jin Mao Tower 1,381 Feet

China has four of the 10 tallest buildings under construction, versus two for the United States — and work on one of those, the 2,000-foot Chicago Spire, has stopped.

The Shanghai Tower will be China's tallest office tower, surpassing the neighboring Shanghai World Financial Center in Pudong. The 2-year-old center passed the Jinmao Tower, also in Pudong, for the title.
Shenzhen's Ping An tower was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox; the New York firm's other projects include the 116-story East Tower of the Chow Tai Fook Center in Guangzhou, also near Hong Kong.

Greenland Square Zifeng Tower, the Nanjing Greenland Financial Center in Nanjing, China, is 1,480ft

Chicago-based Skidmore Owings & Merrill designed Beijing's tallest building, the 75-story China World Tower III, and the 76-story Tianjin World Financial Center in Tianjin east of Beijing, due to be completed next year.

Tianjin, a port and oil-refining center with ambitions to be a finance and tech hub, is building four towers of at least 75 stories. One of them, the Goldin Finance 117, will be 117 stories and nearly 2,000 feet tall.

President Obama Labor Day speech video 2011 in Detroit Live Stream

2011-09-05T11:57:00.000-07:00

Raw Video: Rebels Wait for Final Attack

2011-09-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

Raw Video: Obama Tours Storm Destruction in N.J.

2011-09-05T07:23:00.000-07:00

GOP Congress "You Lie" Joe Wilson SNL

2011-09-04T20:53:00.000-07:00

Syria: Assad's Govt. Forces Shoot Democracy Protesters Dead

2011-09-04T19:33:00.000-07:00

Al Jazeera's Andrew Simmons reports from outside Bani Walid

2011-09-04T19:30:00.000-07:00

2008 CNN - Breaking News: Barack Obama Elected President

2011-09-04T18:14:00.000-07:00

Republicans Close DMV Offices to Suppress the Vote

2011-09-04T18:12:00.000-07:00

Gaddafi Mercenaries from Chad, Niger, Mali, and Sudan Captured in Zliten, Libya,...

2011-08-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

The Underground City Underneath Matassim Gaddafi's Palace, Tripoli (Liby...

2011-08-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

Hannibal Gaddafi's Sadistic Lebanese Wife Aline Skaf Boils Her Nanny, Tr...

2011-08-30T09:43:00.000-07:00

U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford being assaulted by a President Bashar al-Assad Goon

2011-08-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

Syria -Tanks and Artillery attack Deir Ez Zour -

2011-08-30T09:34:00.000-07:00

Syrian Army Coming Apart: Alarming Rise In Defections Reported

2011-08-30T09:29:00.000-07:00

Dozens of Syrian units have defected in recent weeks after refusing to fire on their own people.
The defecting units are from the majority Sunni population but are commanded by Alawite officers who remain loyal to Mr Assad.

In the city of Homs, the mass defection of an army unit prompted a firefight which left at least one woman dead.

The Syrian National Human Rights Organisation claims 3,100 civilians have been killed by the security forces and their loyalist militias since the protests began in March.

President Obama Still In The Driver's Seat For 2012

2011-08-29T19:15:00.000-07:00

Limbaugh accused the President of using the mainstream media to stir up fear about Irene because he wanted a huge disaster to take all of our minds off his presidential blunders. Limbaugh has proven himself an impossibly stupid windbag time and again, but really this takes the cake. Deepak Chopra writes a brilliant piece today about Obama's 2nd term chances so easily written off by the likes of Chuck Todd, Jake Tapper and the defeatist progressive Emoprogs at Salon.

Chopra clearly sees through this hurricane of Jimmy Carter comparison one term hubris in the Huff. He writes:

"President Barack Obama is already pulling a bit of a hat trick, managing to sustain higher popularity than either George Bush or Ronald Reagan when they were stuck in economic doldrums. The bad economy pulls down his ratings on job performance, and this reflects the frustration of the public and widespread discouragement about the future. With the Republican House effectively blocking any potential stimulus, and the entire Republican Party bent on being the party of "No" -- after all, it swept them into office last November, even if the country as a whole was damaged -- many commentators have jumped on a new bandwagon."

"Whereas the presidential prospects for the Republicans looked dim a few months ago, now we are told that the party is energized, thinks it can beat Obama, and only needs a stand-up candidate. With the recession nowhere near a robust turn-around, the president looks vulnerable to any serious challenge. So the conventional wisdom holds.

I doubt it.

The pundits have left leadership out of the equation, and specifically, they've ignored what a leader needs to do. Anger on the left is calling for Obama to pull a Gary Cooper in High Noon and run the bad guys out of town by standing up to them. But real leaders aren't sheriffs, and the right wing doesn't see itself as bad guys. From the beginning of his administration, facing very tough times ahead, Obama has seen, quite rightly, that a leader fulfills the needs of his followers. There are three needs that serve as the foundation of a healthy society, as they do for a healthy individual."

Real Clear Politics Poll Average still has Obama leading the clear GOP front runner, Rick Perry by 6.6% Avg., in the last 5 polls since August 4th. President Obama leads Bachmann by 7.8% in the same RCP poll averages, and Palin by 16.2%. The best Republicans in a match up with the President is Romney (now way back of Perry by 10-13% in last 3 polls), who trails Obama by 2.4% Avg., and Ron Paul by 4.3% Avg. Clearly the President has a 300 Plus Electoral College shot at a 2nd term, even without Ohio and Florida.

Concern over Syria's WMD's

2011-08-29T16:14:00.000-07:00

Murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher - Libyan Embassy - 17th April 1984

2011-08-29T16:09:00.000-07:00

80s Libyan Murder of British Officer Yvonne Fletcher suspect named

2011-08-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

Inside Story - Why won't the Pro-Gaddafi AU back the Libyan rebels?

2011-08-29T16:01:00.000-07:00

Noda is surprise choice to lead Japan

2011-08-29T15:57:00.000-07:00

Raw Video: Rebels Capture Gadhafi Loyalists

2011-08-29T15:54:00.000-07:00

Talitha von Zon, former Mutassim Gaddafi girlfriend, arrives in Malta القذافي صديقة

2011-08-29T07:21:00.000-07:00

Democracy Rebels Close in on Gaddafi Home Tribal City of Sirte المتمردون الديمقراطية وثيق في التحرك على القبائل الرئيسية القذافي مدينة سرت

2011-08-29T07:13:00.000-07:00

DRILL BABY DRILL! Bachmann Says She'd Drain The Everglades!

2011-08-29T06:26:00.000-07:00

President Obama Has Al Qaeda On The Run. Al-Qaeda's number two Killed in Pakistan

2011-08-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

Young Boy Tortured To Death By Assad's Syrian Security Forces

2011-08-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

Libya rebels storm Tripoli's Abu Salim district

2011-08-26T09:52:00.000-07:00

Libyan Democracy Rebels storm & Capture Pro-Gaddafi Abu Salim District

2011-08-26T09:49:00.000-07:00

Tehran has filed a lawsuit against Russia for Moscow's refusal to supply Iran with the S-300 missile systems

2011-08-24T20:29:00.000-07:00

The Highly Advanced S-300 In Action

Tehran has filed a lawsuit against Russia to the International Court for Moscow's refusal to supply Iran with the S-300 missile systems, Iranian ambassador to Moscow Mahmoud Reza Sajjadi told a news conference.

Sajjadi insisted that the S-300 shipment does not fall under the UN Security Council's resolution 1929, which embargoed supplying Iran with conventional weapons, including missiles, tanks, military helicopters, warplanes and warships.

S-300 Battery

The Iranian diplomat said they sent the lawsuit with the hope that the court would rule in favor of Iran and thus help Russia carry out such supplies.
Iran and Russia signed the S-300 contract in 2007. In September 2010 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree banning shipments to Iran of the weapons and equipment listed in the UN resolution.

S-300 air defense missiles (NATO- SA-10 Grumble)

2011-08-24T20:28:00.000-07:00

Plans to unfreeze billions in Libyan assets

2011-08-24T20:04:00.000-07:00

World reacts to the fall of Col Gaddafi's regime

2011-08-24T20:01:00.000-07:00

Libyan Rebels' Secret Canadian Surveillance Drone

2011-08-24T19:11:00.000-07:00

Canada's Advanced Aeryon Scout Drone. Two were purchased and brought to Libyan NTC Commanders by Canadian Special Forces a month ago.

A drone created by Canadian University of Waterloo graduates and Aeryon Corp. is being used in the fight against Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The robot, called the Aeryon Scout, flies up to 500 metres off the ground to take pictures and stream video. Rebel forces use the drone to find Gadhafi forces without risking human life. The battery-powered unarmed drone is worth about $100,000 and fits in a suitcase-sized case.

Aeryon CEO Dave Kroetsch said his company was contacted by federal officials who knew through NTC representatives in Canada that the rebels were looking to purchase their own drones. “We were approached by the Canadian government. They were very much aware of our technology.”

The American Predator drones flying over Libya are armed aircraft with 17-metre wingspans that are controlled by operators based in the United States. The rebels, however, needed something of their own, smaller, cheaper and able to give them video images in real time.

Two years ago, Aeryon had developed the Scout, a micro-drone. Shaped like a spider and electrically powered, the Scout weights only 1.3 kilograms and is about the size of an open umbrella. The rebels could use its cameras to observe enemy positions and plan tactical moves.

At the same time, the Scout is unarmed and classified as a consumer good so that it is not bound by the more restrictive export rules for military products, Mr. Kroetsch said.

Each device retails for $100,000 to $150,000. Mr. Kroetsch would not say how much the council paid but it is believed that only one or two were sent to the rebels.The council paid upfront for the drones, Mr. Barlow said.

Canada GDP Growth Rate

2011-08-24T13:11:00.000-07:00

Canada GDP Growth Rate

FINAL VICTORY IN LIBYA: Bab al-Azizya Gaddafi headquarters in Tripoli Has Fallen

2011-08-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

Rebels overran Moamer Kadhafi's fortified Bab al-Azizya headquarters in Tripoli after heavy fighting Tuesday and immediately hoisted their flag to mark the symbolic end to the strongman's 42-year rule.
As rebel leaders proclaimed they had "won the battle" in Tripoli, fighters celebrated by firing automatic weapons into the air.

The defenders had fled, and there was no immediate word on the whereabouts of Gaddafi or his family after the insurgents late afternoon breached the defences as part of a massive assault that began in the morning.

"We have won the battle," Abdel Hakim Belhaj, the insurgents' Tripoli commander told Al-Jazeera television from inside the complex.

Rick Perry Brags About Texas Secession From The American Union

2011-08-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

Future Technology President!! TWEEEETER! Gov Rick Perry -- To twit or tweet

2011-08-22T17:21:00.000-07:00

Tenuous security situation in Libyan capital

2011-08-22T07:53:00.000-07:00

Democracy Rebels Celebrate in Tripoli

2011-08-22T07:49:00.000-07:00

Tripoli Green Square Liberated 22 8 11

2011-08-21T21:21:00.000-07:00

Turkish Helicopter Gunships & Fighter-Bombers Strike PKK Units in Iraq

2011-08-21T21:02:00.000-07:00

IDF Kill 5 Egyptian Troops. Egypt to withdraw envoy in Israel over shootings

2011-08-21T20:59:00.000-07:00

Major Engine Problems For Russian Stealth Sukhoi PAK-FA T-50 Fighter debut at MAKS 2011

2011-08-21T20:31:00.000-07:00

Russia's Sukhoi T-50 stealth fighter jet had to quit a show flight Sunday, after it failed to take off due to technical reasons at the MAKS 2011 international air show near Moscow.

The fighter, which has just made its public debut on the second day of the week-long air show, was planned to have an exhibition flight at the closure of MAKS.

However, the pilot of the fifth-generation fighter opened the brake parachute when the plane was already at about 100 kilometers an hour.

A spokesman of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) told local media that the pilot decided to stop takeoff after finding engine malfunction during acceleration.

North Korea's Great Leader Kim Jong-il arrives in Russia Looking For Weapons, Free Food & Hookers

2011-08-21T20:27:00.000-07:00

GADDAFI's ELDEST SON CAPTURED IN TRIPOLI. CITY FALLS. COLONEL GADDAFI ON THE RUN IN ALGERIA

2011-08-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

Libyan rebels raced into Tripoli and met little resistance as Gadhafi’s defenders melted away and his 42-year rule rapidly crumbled. The euphoric fighters celebrated with residents of the capital in Green Square, the symbolic heart of the fading regime.

Opposition fighters captured his son and one-time heir apparent, Seif al-Islam, who along with his father faces charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands. Another son was in contact with rebels about surrendering, the opposition said.

By the early hours of Monday, rebels controlled large parts of the capital. They set up checkpoints alongside residents — many of them secretly armed by rebel smugglers in recent weeks.

The sweep into the capital came after the rebel fighters advanced 20 miles from the west in a matter of hours. They took town after town and overwhelmed a major military base meant to defend Tripoli, 16 miles from the city. All the way, they met little resistance and residents poured out on the streets to welcome them.

But it appeared that Gadhafi’s military was abandoning him quickly.
The rebels’ way into Tripoli was opened when the military unit in charge of protecting Gadhafi and the capital surrendered, ordering his troops to drop their weapons, the rebel information minister Mahmoud Shammam said.

In a sign of the co-ordination among rebels, as the main force moved into the city from the west, a second force of 200 opposition fighters from the city of Misrata further east landed by boat in the capital. They brought weapons and ammunition for Tripoli residents who join the rebellion, said Munir Ramzi of the rebels’ military council in Misrata.

President Barack Obama said the way to prevent more bloodshed was for Gadhafi “to relinquish power once and for all.” Obama said the rebel leaders must pursue a peaceful transition to democracy.

Tripoli has Fallen! Gaddafi Regime Is Defeated

2011-08-21T19:59:00.000-07:00

Gaddafi son in Libyan rebel custody

2011-08-21T19:48:00.000-07:00

Rebels enter Tripoli as Gaddafi urges Libyans to take up arms

2011-08-21T19:44:00.000-07:00

China-US Tensions

2011-08-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

South Korean Response to China's 1st Aircraft Carrier

2011-08-18T16:39:00.000-07:00

The ship is rumored to be called the Shi Lang, after a Qing Dynasty admiral who in 1681 conquered the Kingdom of Tungning — a territory better known today as Taiwan.

The U.S., Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam have bristled at the test voyage of China's first aircraft carrier, showing off their own weapons and threatening to bolster their nuclear arsenals, but neighbor Korea has yet to respond. There are calls from within the military that strategies and plans to cut troops must be reassessed.

Military officers fear that the deployment on the West Sea of carrier-based aircraft and escort vessels would make it more difficult for the Korean Navy's ships to operate in the region, and affect airborne capabilities as well. Korea's entire airspace would fall within the operational reach of fighter planes on the Chinese carrier.

U.S. aircraft carriers have an operating area of more than 1,000 km, but the Chinese carrier, which has been converted from an old Soviet Varyag, is believed to have a range of between 500 km to 800 km. The SU-33 fighter jets, which are the most likely to be based aboard the ship, have a range of around 800 km.

SS-N-22 Sunburn Mach 2.5 Supersonic anti-ship cruise missile (Best world)

Military officers believe there is a possibility that China will deploy the carrier around islands that are under territorial dispute in order to flex its muscle rather than in the West Sea, which has a rather limited operational area. Fighter planes on the carrier could be equipped with anti-ship missiles. The SU-33 can be loaded with Kh-31 or 41 (SS-N-22 Sunburn) supersonic air-to-ship missiles with a maximum speed of Mach 2.5 to 3.5 and a range of between 110 km to 120 km. Experts say that the Korean Navy must boost its supersonic anti-ship cruise missile capabilities so that they can attack carrier aircraft and submarines.

Supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles are considered highly effective against aircraft carriers. China's Russian-made SS-N-22 Sunburn anti-ship cruise missiles can reach speeds of more than Mach 2.5 and are feared by U.S. aircraft carrier groups. The Korean Navy has U.S.-made Harpoon missiles and homegrown Haesung missiles, but they cannot reach supersonic speeds and can be shot down in flight.

Some experts suggest introducing a greater range of submarines. Park Chang-kwon, a researcher at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, said, "China's anti-submarine capabilities are still weak, so submarines should be the most effective response to the aircraft carrier." The West Sea has an average depth of just 40 m, which makes it more suitable for small subs weighing between 300 to 500 tons, rather than larger submarines. "We should look into operating nuclear-powered submarines as well, since they are effective in the East Sea and other areas including the high seas where the waters are deep," an officer said on condition of anonymity.

South Korean Destroyer

Chungmugong Yi Sunshin class (DDH)

Gorbachev calls for new Russian leadership

2011-08-18T07:37:00.000-07:00

20 Years Since Yeltsin Defied KGB & Military Coup in Russia

2011-08-18T07:36:00.000-07:00

Libyan rebels tighten grip around Tripoli

2011-08-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

LIBYA BATTLE MAP UPDATE: August 18, 2011 Freedom Fighters Close In on Tripoli On All Fronts.

2011-08-18T07:06:00.000-07:00

Click For Larger View

The road to Tunisia, for months Tripoli's main conduit for smuggled petrol, food and other necessities, has been essentially cut off since Saturday, when rebels entered the coastal city of Zawiyah, just 50 km west of Tripoli.

Rebels have also captured areas to the south, leaving Tripoli hemmed in on three sides on land and by the Mediterranean to the north.

Libyan forces loyal to Gaddafi are reported to have abandoned a coastal oil refinery in Zawiya. Rebel fighters, who have been engaged in fighting in and around Zawiya for several days, are now said to control the site.

Losing the refinery complex, which supplies oil and gas to the Libyan capital, would be a psychological blow for the Libyan leader and his supporters.

In addition to gaining a foothold in Az-Zawiyah, rebels said they had taken two towns near Tripoli on key supply roads Gharyan, 80km south of the capital and Surman, less than 16km west of Az-Zawiyah.

Homer Simpson tries to vote for Obama

2011-08-17T19:29:00.000-07:00

Palin's RGA Press Conference. Watch Perry Manhandle her like a doll.

2011-08-17T19:20:00.000-07:00

Karl Rove Piles On Rick Perry

2011-08-17T19:17:00.000-07:00

Sean Hannity defends Texas Secession idea

2011-08-17T18:58:00.000-07:00

Rick Perry's American Secession Remarks

2011-08-17T18:56:00.000-07:00

Battle for Libya: On Brega's frontline

2011-08-17T18:54:00.000-07:00

Libyan rebels advance in Zawiyah

2011-08-17T18:53:00.000-07:00

Canadian Troops Fight Taliban In Big Gun Fight

2011-08-17T18:43:00.000-07:00

China PLA Navy Propaganda.

2011-08-17T18:38:00.000-07:00