Human

Ya know, If I were in the defense industry? I WOULD develop this technology to its fullest. I figure that Our government should have a working prototype with in What? 10 years at the most. I remember when I was first introduced to the internet; It was a modem, a printer, and a calculator, and that was it. So to think that this tech would not be developed would be premature. And you never know people, because I never thought that the internet would be what it is today.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/...70829090146.htm Physicists Have Found The Formula For A Spiderman Suit Science Daily — Physicists have found the formula for a Spiderman suit. Only recently has man come to understand how spiders and geckos effortlessly scuttle up walls and hang from ceilings but it was doubted that this natural form of adhesion would ever be strong enough to hold the weight of real life Peter Parkers. Recent research concluded that van der Waals forces -- the weak attraction that molecules have for each other when they are brought very close together - are responsible for creepy crawlies' amazing sticking power. It is the tiny hairs on spiders' feet that attract to the molecules of surfaces, even glass, and keep them steady. This discovery however has been taken one step further by research published Thursday, 30 August, 2007 in the Institute of Physics' Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter to make sticky human suits. Professor Nicola Pugno, engineer and physicist at Polytechnic of Turin, Italy, has formulated a hierarchy of adhesive forces that will be strong enough to suspend a person's full body weight against a wall or on a ceiling, while also being easy to detach. Carbon nanotube-based technology could be used to develop nano-molecular hooks and loops that would function like microscopic Velcro. This detachable, adhesive force could be used in conjunction with van der Waals forces and capillary adhesion. Pugno said, "There are many interesting applications for our theory, from space exploration and defense, to designing gloves and shoes for window cleaners of big skyscrapers." The theory is all the more significant because, as with spiders' and geckos' feet, the hooks and hairs are self-cleaning and water-resistant. This means that they will not wear or get clogged by bad weather or dirty surfaces and will be able to withstand some of the harshest habitats on earth, including the deep sea. Pugno continued, "With the idea for the adhesion now in place, there are a number of other mechanics that need addressing before the Spiderman suit can become a reality. Size-effects on the adhesion strength require further research. Moreover, man's muscles, for example, are different to those of a gecko. We would suffer great muscle fatigue if we tried to stick to a wall for many hours. "However now that we are this step closer, it may not be long before we are seeing people climbing up the Empire State Building with nothing but sticky shoes and gloves to support them." Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Institute of Physics.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/techbeat/tb2007_0720.htm Evaluations Aim to Advance Translation Technology Wartime military patrols and civilian encounters can be especially dangerous if neither group understands the other’s language. To help American forces secure critical information and communicate with the local population, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers are evaluating prototype, real-time, two-way translation systems for the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The DARPA program called TRANSTAC (Spoken Language Communication and Translation System for Tactical Use) currently focuses on English and Iraqi Arabic. From July 16 to 20, NIST ran a series of laboratory and outdoor evaluation tests on prototype systems with English-speaking U.S. Marines and Iraqi Arabic speakers at its Gaithersburg, Md. campus. In each of the exercises NIST measured system capabilities in speech recognition, machine translation, noise robustness, user interface design and efficient performance on limited hardware platforms. “Effective two-way translation devices would represent a major advance in field translators,” according to Craig Schlenoff, project leader of the NIST evaluation project . “Although American forces in Iraq currently have the use of phrase-based translators, the devices can only translate English into pre-recorded Arabic phrases. They cannot translate Iraqi Arabic into English,” he said. During the NIST laboratory and field tests the Marines and Iraqi Arabic speakers acted out 10 different scenarios—ranging from traffic checkpoints to neighborhood surveys—that required verbal communication. Individuals in the laboratory tests looked directly at each other during the question and answer sessions. Although their audible conversation was recorded on a laptop, neither party could see the screen. Iraqi Arabic speakers, who understood English, also wore earphones that blocked out the English language query and, instead, relayed only the system’s Arabic interpretation of the question. Background sounds were tightly controlled, so that the systems could be evaluated in a predictable environment. The outdoor evaluations included background noises, such as other speakers, generators, opening garage doors, running vehicles and radio broadcasts, simulated more realistic conditions. The military personnel also carried the translator devices in back packs or in another hands-free manner, approximating future hardware developments that should provide American forces with small, even palm-sized translators that would not require attention or interfere with their ability to stay alert and vigilant. “NIST evaluations provide DARPA with statistically significant data that shows the relative improvements of the TRANSTAC systems over time," said Schlenoff. “Armed with this information DARPA is better able to make program decisions about which technologies are showing the most promise.” Once the technology is fully developed, DARPA hopes to be able to develop an automatic translator system in a new language within 90 days of receiving a request for that language

Also for further information, this is still the best link out there. Ya know, cause you can still call, and toll free to boot. AND I JUST USED MY CAN OF COCACOLA AS MY ASH TRAY "BLEEP". http://www.health.gov/nhic/pubs/tollfree.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Soft Drinks Linked To Heart Disease Via Metabolic Syndrome http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/77616.php ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0708/S00288.htm Food Safety Authority Shoots the Messenger Wednesday, 22 August 2007, 10:33 am Press Release: Soil and Health Association Food Safety Authority Continues to Shoot the Messenger The Soil & Health Association is very concerned that New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) staff are hell-bent on ignoring scientific research that clearly shows the links between aspartame and cancer, especially in children when the mother consumes aspartame during pregnancy. Aspartame converts to formaldehyde when ingested. Not only that but Food Safety calling the Soil & Health spokesperson a scaremonger is again shooting the messenger instead of attending to the health concerns of the New Zealand community. "Evidence from award-winning scientific researchers and the increasing local evidence is being studiously ignored by the agency. Why?" asks Soil & Health spokesperson, Steffan Browning. "The agency has nothing original in its material and is trotting out the same old industry pap. Why? Who are they beholden to? Is it commercial and trade imperatives, philosophical, attitudinal and institutional blindness and deafness? What ever it is, it needs to change very quickly. The information that substantiates the rising list of aspartame victims concerns exists, but the precautionary approach is not even considered unless it is for trade protection." "Although the NZFSA toxicologist is touted as an expert, with over 30 years experience, including serving on international expert consultations, he is ignoring mounting research from the international scientific community, such as the following: "These are indeed extremely high levels for adducts of formaldehyde, a substance responsible for chronic deleterious effects that has also been considered carcinogenic..... "It is concluded that aspartame consumption may constitute a hazard because of its contribution to the formation of formaldehyde adducts." (Trocho 1998) "It was a very interesting paper, that demonstrates that formaldehyde formation from aspartame ingestion is very common and does indeed accumulate within the cell, reacting with cellular proteins (mostly enzymes) and DNA (both mitochondrial and nuclear). The fact that it accumulates with each dose, indicates grave consequences among those who consume diet drinks and foodstuffs on a daily basis." (Blaylock 1998) Methanol from aspartame is released in the small intestine when the methyl group of aspartame encounters the enzyme chymotrypsin (Stegink 1984, page 143). A relatively small amount of aspartame (e.g., one can of soda ingested by a child) can significantly increase plasma methanol levels (Davoli 1986a). Clinically, chronic, low-level exposure to methanol has been seen to cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, ear buzzing, GI disturbances, weakness, vertigo, chills, memory lapses, numbness & shooting pains, behavioral disturbances, neuritis, misty vision, vision tunneling, blurring of vision, conjunctivitis, insomnia, vision loss, depression, heart problems (including disease of the heart muscle), and pancreatic inflammation (Kavet 1990, Monte 1984, Posner 1975). The methanol from aspartame is converted to formaldehyde and then formic acid (DHHS 1993, Liesivuori 1991), although some of the formaldehyde appears to accumulate in the body as discussed above. Chronic formaldehyde exposure at very low doses has been shown to cause immune system and nervous system changes and damage as well as headaches, general poor health, irreversible genetic damage, and a number of other serious health problems (Fujimaki 1992, He 1998, John 1994, Liu 1993, Main 1983, Molhave 1986, National Research Council 1981, Shaham 1996, Srivastava 1992, Vojdani 1992, Wantke 1996). One experiment (Wantke 1996) showed that chronic exposure to formaldehyde caused systemic health problems (i.e., poor health) in children at an air concentration of only 0.043 - 0.070 parts per million! "Methanol is a metabolic poison which, in the absence of ethanol (such as in fruits) is unstable and breaks down into formaldehyde, a poison and carcinogen, and formic acid, also a poison and carcinogen," said Browning. "The NZFSA "expert" toxicologist quotes formaldehyde in fruit digestion as some sort of equivalent, yet in fruit the methanol does not break down at the same rate into formaldehyde, when bound by natural pectin and is balanced by the proportionately much greater ethanol." "Fruit has protective factors which help prevent chronic poisoning from methanol metabolites such as formaldehyde. A dose of aspartame is significantly different than that of a mouthful of fruit which has a range of enzymes and compounds in balance." "Some NZFSA staff are also choosing to ignore the very real experiences of New Zealanders who thanks to Abby Cormack, Betty Martini, Safe Food Campaign and Soil & Health have quit aspartame and have recovered from serious life altering health effects," said Browning. "For the NZFSA toxicologist to suggest that Soil & Health encouraging people away from a carcinogenic neurotoxic synthetic sweetener is in any way inappropriate because of obesity or diabetes, shows a lack of objectivity. Yes we are taken seriously and the Obesity Action Coalition Executive Director has changed her televised pro-aspartame view since meeting anti-aspartame campaigners Abby Cormack and Betty Martini, and hearing of the corruption and spin, and having the independent research produced in a public forum." "Soil & Health will produce research papers substantiating any of its aspartame claims and the supportive information has all been available to NZFSA. It is a matter of will to acknowledge that people in the community are being harmed by aspartame and then actually do something about it." "Soil & Health is committed along with Safe Food Campaign, ADHD Society, Mission Possible, many scientists and doctors, consumers and producers to have the toxic aspartame and its stablemates out of the food chain." ends

And to think of it, I am a heavy soft drink drinker. This has been most educational. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/benzqa.html Questions and Answers on the Occurrence of Benzene in Soft Drinks and Other Beverages What is benzene? Benzene is a chemical that is released into the air from emissions from automobiles and burning coal and oil. It is also used in the manufacture of a wide range of industrial products, including chemicals, dyes, detergents, and some plastics. Why is benzene a concern? Benzene is a carcinogen that can cause cancer in humans. It has caused cancer in workers exposed to high levels from workplace air. Based on results from a Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) survey of almost 200 samples of soft drinks and other beverages tested for benzene conducted from 2005 through May 2007, a small number of products sampled contained more than 5 parts per billion (ppb) of benzene. The manufacturers have reformulated products, if still manufactured, which were identified in the survey as containing greater than 5 ppb benzene. CFSAN tested samples of these reformulated products and found that benzene levels were less than 1.5 ppb. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a maximum allowable level (MCL) for benzene in drinking water of 5 ppb. FDA has adopted EPA’s MCL for drinking water as an allowable level for bottled water. Do the levels of benzene in beverages pose a risk to public health? The results of CFSAN's survey indicate that the levels of benzene found in beverages to date do not pose a safety concern for consumers. Almost all samples analyzed in our survey contained either no benzene or levels below 5 ppb. Furthermore, benzene levels in hundreds of samples tested by national and international government agencies and the beverage industry are consistent with those found in our survey. How does benzene get into beverages? Benzene can form at very low levels (ppb level) in some beverages that contain both benzoate salts and ascorbic acid (vitamin C) or erythorbic acid (a closely related substance (isomer) also known as d-ascorbic acid). Exposure to heat and light can stimulate the formation of benzene in some beverages that contain benzoate salts and ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Sodium or potassium benzoate may be added to beverages to inhibit the growth of bacteria, yeasts, and molds. Benzoate salts also are naturally present in some fruits and their juices, such as cranberries, for example. Vitamin C may be present naturally in beverages or added to prevent spoilage or to provide additional nutrients. What steps are being taken to reduce or eliminate benzene in beverages? FDA is working with the beverage industry to minimize benzene formation in products. For example, FDA has met with industry to determine the factors contributing to benzene formation. FDA has directly contacted those firms whose products were tested and found to contain more than 5 ppb benzene in our survey. Manufacturers have reformulated products to ensure benzene levels are minimized or eliminated. The International Council of Beverages Associations and the American Beverage Association have developed guidance for all beverage manufacturers on ways to minimize benzene formation. FDA will continue its testing program for benzene in soft drinks and other beverages to monitor levels and will inform the public and manufacturers as new data become available. How was the problem identified? FDA first became aware that benzene was present in some soft drinks in 1990. At that time, the soft drink industry informed the agency that benzene could form at low levels in some beverages that contained both benzoate salts and ascorbic acid. FDA and the beverage industry initiated research at that time to identify factors contributing to benzene formation. This research found that elevated temperature and light can stimulate benzene formation in the presence of benzoate salts and ascorbic acid. As a result of these findings, many manufacturers reformulated their products to reduce or eliminate benzene formation. In November 2005, FDA received reports that benzene had been detected at low levels in some soft drinks containing benzoate salts and ascorbic acid. CFSAN immediately initiated a survey of benzene levels in soft drinks and other beverages. The vast majority of the beverages sampled to date (including those containing both benzoate salts and ascorbic acid) contained either no detectable benzene or levels well below the 5 ppb EPA MCL for benzene in drinking water. How many and what products were found to have excessive levels of benzene? To date, FDA has tested almost 200 soft drink and other beverages in the CFSAN survey. Benzene above 5 ppb was found in a total of ten products. Benzene above 5 ppb was found in nine of the beverage products that contain both added benzoate salts and ascorbic acid. FDA also found benzene above 5 ppb in one cranberry juice beverage with added ascorbic acid but no added benzoates (cranberries contain natural benzoates). The manufacturers have reformulated products, if still manufactured, which were identified in the survey as containing greater than 5 ppb benzene. CFSAN tested samples of these reformulated products and found that benzene levels were less than 1.5 ppb. See also Data on Benzene in Soft Drinks and Other Beverages, including product names and benzene levels. What about results for benzene in beverages reported in FDA's Total Diet Study (TDS)? FDA's TDS is an ongoing FDA program that determines levels of various contaminants and nutrients in a broad variety of foods. As was previously reported by the press, FDA's TDS results from 1995 to 2001 included benzene levels in some beverages that were elevated compared with results from CFSAN's survey and other recent domestic and international studies. In 2006, the FDA conducted an evaluation1 of the reliability of the TDS benzene results. This evaluation concluded that the TDS procedure used to analyze benzene levels can generate benzene in beverages containing benzoate preservatives. There was also evidence of a source of benzene contamination in the TDS laboratory. Although the FDA evaluation focused on benzene in beverages, these findings also raise questions about the reliability of the method for benzene in solid foods. Because the TDS benzene results appeared to be unreliable, FDA scientists recommend that the benzene data be viewed with great caution while FDA considers removing TDS benzene data from the TDS website. There is no evidence of problems with other TDS data. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1Summary of an Investigation of the Reliability of Benzene Results from the Total Diet Study, FDA, December 8, 2006. Available from Judith Kidwell, CFSAN/Office of Food Additive Safety, E-mail: Judith Kidwell.

I posted the link which Luke has highlighted for all of you, just so you know what's going on with in your own community, and armed with the information you have now? On how best the businesses, community, and the D.C. government CAN work TOGETHER to minimize the current problem. It's not going to be minimized by the government alone, THEY NEED EVERYONES HELP.

http://www.cesar.umd.edu/cesar/pubs/20070315.pdf

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.2424milk.com/drinks_finding.php What America Drinks1, a new comprehensive analysis of U.S. beverage consumption, suggests that making healthier beverage choices could play a key role in the battle against Americans' widening waistlines. Below are key findings from the report. Beverage choice may be compromising the nutrition and health of Americans. On average, beverages supplied nearly a quarter (22%) of calories to the diet, with nutrient-poor, sweetened beverages -- such as soft drinks, fruit-flavored drinks and presweetened teas -- as the largest contributor. Choice of beverage appears to be related to body weight and the overall quality of the diets of Americans. Teenagers and adults (ages 14-49) who consumed large amounts of sweetened beverages and little milk tended to weigh more than those who drank more milk and fewer sweetened beverages. Women and teen girls (ages 14-49) who consumed higher amounts of milk (including flavored milk) and lower amounts of nutrient-poor, sugar-sweetened beverages tended to weigh significantly less than their peers who consumed higher amounts of sweetened beverages and low amounts of milk -- regardless of total calorie intake. This suggests that sweetened beverage consumption may be associated with an increased weight due to factors other than the increased calorie intake. Teenagers and adults (ages 14-49) drank two to three times the amount of sweetened beverages as they did milk. On average, teen boys consumed 32 ounces of sweetened beverages a day (387 calories - 13% of total daily calories); teen girls drank 22 ounces, which contributed an average of 12% of total daily calories or 267 calories a day to their diets (which extrapolating, would translate to about 8,000 calories over the course of a month). On average, teen boys drank only 12 ounces of milk a day and teen girls averaged less than one serving (7 ounces). Teen boys consumed about one out of every 10 calories in the form of a soft drink. Adult women (ages 19-49) consumed the least amount of milk - an average of 6 ounces a day. They drank three times as many sweetened beverages, 18 ounces a day or 10% of daily calories. Drinking milk may help improve the overall quality of the diet. Milk was the primary beverage source of calcium, vitamin A, protein, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc in the diets of Americans ages 4 and older. Children, teenagers and adults who consumed lower amounts of milk and higher amounts of sweetened beverages had diets that were significantly lower in several essential nutrients, particularly calcium. Only those with high milk intakes and low intakes of sweetened beverages met their calcium recommendations. 1 What America Drinks is based on a comprehensive study conducted by ENVIRON International Corporation. The report analyzed data from more than 10,000 Americans ages 4 and older who participated in the government's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 and provided reasonable dietary reports of food/beverage intakes

http://www.jaxa.jp/countdown/f13/index_e.html New Launch day of "KAGUYA" The launch of the Lunar Orbit Explorer "KAGUYA" (SELENE) by H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 13 (H-IIA F13) was rescheduled for 10:35:47 a.m. on September 13 (THU), 2007 (Japan Standard Time) after replacement work of parts in the two onboard baby satellites of the "KAGUYA" was successfully completed. Once the "KAGUYA" is launched, it will go around the Earth twice and then toward the Moon, before entering into a lunar orbit. The Main Orbiter of the "KAGUYA" will then separate the Relay Satellite and VRAD Satellite and observe the Moon's surface over a one-year period while it goes around the circular orbit 100 kilometers above the Moon passing over both poles. Each of the small satellites will circulate on different elliptic orbits to observe the Moon. Science Mission; The KAGUYA will carry out more precise research on the Moon than any other previous exploration mission. 1. Science of the Moon There is always volcanic activity on earth and mantle convection takes place under the ground, so the earth is constantly changing. Thus we can not understand the original figure of the earth. If we understand details of the Moon through observations by the KAGUYA (SELENE), we can resolve the mystery about when and how the Moon was formed. 2. Science on the Moon There is an atmosphere around the earth, but not around the Moon. Thus sunlight directly hits the surface of the Moon. The "KAGUYA" will circulate around the Moon for about a year and conduct research on what influences the Sun is having on the Moon. 3. Science from the Moon The KAGUYA is also equipped with devices that observe things other than the Moon. The space environment is suitable to observe electromagnetic waves in space, because no artificial electromagnetic waves such as from TV and cell phones exist there. In addition, the KAGUYA will be able to study the impact of the Sun on the Earth by observing both auroras of the North and South Poles at the same time from the Moon.

And I hope he Enjoys his retirement, or what ever he will go into next.

http://www.ocp.dcgov.org/ocp/site/default.asp Now a link Like this is particle. This link is definitely a MUST SAVE for everyone.

http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,2348...6-27977,00.html Lake Titicaca strangled by pollution By Jose Luis Varela in Cohana, Bolivia NESTLED high in the Bolivian Andes, the famed Lake Titicaca is being strangled by city-fed pollution that is driving away locals who depend on its mythical waters for their livelihoods. At a breathtaking 3800m above sea level, at Titicaca's Cohana Bay, the Katari, Seco, Seque, Pallina and Jalaqueri rivers deposit the rubbish and contaminants they pick up from cities along their banks. On the shores of the bay sits Cohana, a small village of 350 families whose livelihood - and water supply - is suffering under the pollution onslaught. Titicaca, the world's highest navigable lake, which straddles the border between Bolivia and Peru, is a place venerated by the ancient Incans who ruled throughout South America from the 13th to the mid-16th centuries. Tradition has it that the lake was created during a great flood, brought on by Apu Qullana Auki, the god who created the universe, to punish mankind. After the rains stopped, Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo, the "Incan Adam and Eve", were created there and sent out to repopulate the world. But Cohana Bay is far from a Garden of Eden when, during the dry season, the waters recede to reveal tonnes upon tonnes of bottles, cans, plastic bags, medical refuse, tattered clothes and a host of unmentionables that litter the shores. In June 2006, a health ministry-appointed committee of experts sent to the area found "the potential presence of pathogens such as bacteria, viruses or parasites'' in the bay, making it the most polluted sector in Titicaca. "Biological activity is directly affected by the water's lack of oxygen: fish that generally were everywhere now are dead,'' the study said. "The reality comes home when you no longer see the schools of fish that should normally swim among the reeds'' of the lake waters, it said. Rosendo Mendoza, a senior local figure who represents the Aymara-speaking villagers to the Spanish-speaking authorities, remembers seeing several teams come and go investigating the pollution in Titicaca. Some were regional, others were national and there was even one group of experts from Peru. But nothing ever came of it, he said. Mr Mendoza gets his boat ready to pole it across the lake to an offshore island meadow of grass where, like his fellow villagers, he tends a herd of cows that provide Cohana with its primary source of income: a white and salty cheese known as Queso Casero. A few hectares of the island are being tilled for farming, while on the rest, men and women are busy milking cows. On shore, others are processing the cheese that sells in La Paz, about 80km away, at 35-55 cents (37-64 Australian cents) per portion. A flock of pink flamingos breaks into flight. There were many more in the old days, Mr Mendoza said. Modest and peaceful, the lifestyle of the people of Cohana is changing. Pollution has filtered into the ground and the water. Fifteen years ago, people drank straight from the lagoon, but now they draw water from two wells. "The problem is that because of the pollution our cows are coming down with liver fluke, a very dangerous liver parasite,'' Mr Mendoza said. He is well acquainted with the disease: the animals are infected with the parasite which makes their livers swell. They do not die but they lose weight and give less milk, which means less cheese and less money for the villagers. "My cows have been producing less milk in the past few years, because they are eating badly,'' said local resident Mariagualpa Mamani. The people of Cohana seem resigned to their fate, and as the ground dries up and the cows get thinner, they have begun to look elsewhere for their livelihood. Hundreds have already left the village on foot for Buenos Aires, 2250km to the southeast, to look for work.

Okay, I just did a google search on it, and found that the list CANNOT BE VERIFIED. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.ryze.com/posttopic.php?topicid=...&confid=298 BPO stands for Business Process Outsourcing. Many companies outsource various functions, from manufacturing and distribution, to customer service and accounting, and everything in between. China is the big player right now for manufacturing outsourcing, and India is the big player for software and back office functions, but many other countries are utilized, and quite a bit of outsourcing remains in the U.S. I consult in the area of Business Operations, and outsourcing is part of that. I won't go on about that (though I could go on quite a bit) here. I don't know why this list is posted here, or what the source of the list is. Steve Novak PPR Management Services Improving Profits by Improving Performance www.pprmanagementservices.com

Are you going to run again for D.C. office?

I did some work for one of the republican groups out there in the past, and I created a really good database for them. I was replaced because one of their contributors made a large donation to their group. That's part, and parcel of politics in this town. I never took any offence to it because I know that, that is how it works in this town. Politics really is a very dirty business, look I've known people as well who were replaced because Political person A needs help from political person d, and political person d got his, or her daughter in a job that was way over their heads a job position that they could not handle. It's normal, it's politics.

Maybe you can concentrate on dc out sourcing its services instead. It might surprise you on how much dc really outsources? Rees I bet that it would really inflame the district residents. Just a thought. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...7022702115.html Parking Meter Outsourcing Costs City, Report Says By Paul Duggan Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, February 28, 2007; Page B05 A D.C. government report issued yesterday describes the private management of parking meters in the city as a financial waste, saying the outsourcing not only failed to save money but drove up costs by nearly $9 million from 1999 to 2005. The system is riddled with other problems as well, the report says. Among the findings: The city improperly issued almost 7,000 tickets to vehicles parked at broken meters in that seven-year span, while residents' complaints about meters jumped from 3,652 in 1997, shortly before privatization, to 89,840 in 2005. The report, by the Office of the D.C. Auditor, cites an array of alleged inefficiencies by Affiliated Computer Services, the company hired to install and maintain 16,500 parking meters in the city. The auditors found that the D.C. Department of Transportation, which is responsible for keeping tabs on ACS, "generally was uninformed and disengaged from the details and quality of the contractor's performance." ACS, which is paid based on parking meter revenue, sometimes got more than it was entitled to, according to the auditor's findings, first reported yesterday by the Washington Examiner. When meters along streets are "bagged" with hoods because of construction, parades, funerals or other events, the people or companies involved pay the city a fee. ACS is not supposed to share in that money. However, from 1999 to 2005, the report says, "ACS billed, and the District inexplicably paid ACS, $644,952 in fees for bagged meter revenue." In a written response to the audit, the Transportation Department said the increase in complaints came about because it has become easier for people to register complaints via the Web and because record-keeping today has improved since 1997. The department also used a different formula in calculating the cost of parking-meter management under privatization and disputed the assertion that the city has not saved money by outsourcing the work. As for the complaints, the report found "no evidence that DDOT management ever investigated" the reasons for the increase. One reason for the surge in complaints: "The auditor found that although ACS failed repeatedly to repair parking meters within the 72-hour period specified in the privatization contract, the District continued issuing tickets for overtime or expired meter violations to vehicles parked at meters that were at the time inoperable." An examination of meter maintenance records, along with 734,578 parking tickets from 1999 to 2005, found that 6,888 tickets were issued to vehicles parked at meters that had been broken for at least three days, the report says. The fines totaled $159,975. ACS, which signed a 7 1/2 -year contract with the city in 1998, was paid $26.4 million from 1999 to 2005. The contract was extended for a year, then renewed in October for five more years, the Transportation Department said. A spokesman for ACS referred questions about the audit to the D.C. government. Acting transportation chief Emeka C. Moneme, who has been nominated by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) to head the department, told D.C. Council members at his confirmation hearing yesterday that the agency will be rigorous in keeping tabs on meters in the city. "One of the great things about our new contract is that we did make it performance-based," he said. For example, he said, under the new deal, 97 percent of the meters must be operable. After Sept. 11, 2001, the report says, federal officials asked the District to remove 2,278 meters around federal buildings for security reasons. The Transportation Department did so without negotiating compensation agreements with federal agencies, probably costing the city several million dollars in revenue, the audit found. When the auditors examined paperwork related to meters along seven sample traffic routes, ACS records showed that there were 1,906 meters on those routes. But the auditors found only 1,236, of which 197 were "completely inoperative." As for the 670 missing meters, "DDOT management had no clue . . . how many had been removed from service, the revenue implications of these removals, the reason for the removals or how long the meters had been removed." The report states that in 1993, the most profitable parking-meter year of the decade before privatization, the city took in $13.2 million in revenue against $1.1 million in expenses, for a net gain of $12.1 million -- a return of about $11 for each dollar spent. In the best year under privatization, 2003, the return was $2.63 per dollar spent. Based on the 1993 expenses of $1.1 million, adjusted for inflation, it would have cost the city $17.6 million to manage parking meters from 1999 to 2005, the report concludes. Instead, it paid ACS $26.4 million. Staff writer Nikita Stewart contributed to this report.

Maybe you should try to do your home work a little bit better. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nancy McLernon, senior vice president of the Organization for International Investment, a Washington trade association of overseas companies with US subsidiaries, said the legislation would abrogate tax treaties. "Treaties that are negotiated by our Treasury and approved by the Senate would be thrown in the trash," she said. Doggett's measure also drew criticism from Louisiana Representative Jim McCrery, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee. "This proposal will raise taxes on many businesses operating in the United States," McCrery said on Wednesday. "It will hurt our competitiveness and our standing in the world by carelessly violating a host of treaties." -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,143758,00.html New Camera Minimizes Danger in Iraq Army News Service | July 26, 2007 Fort Belvoir, Va. - A new surveillance system that minimizes Soldiers' exposure to harm while providing continual observation in operating areas has been fielded in Iraq after just three weeks of design and manufacturing. The Army's Rapid Equipping Force developed the Rapid Deployment Integrated Surveillance System, or RDISS, to improve situational awareness for Soldiers at joint security stations and combat outposts throughout Iraq. "There are a lot of areas, especially obscured areas, around the combat outposts and we needed a way to cut down on exposing the troops to this broad danger," said Sgt. 1st Class Mark Henderson, REF operations NCO. The REF partnered with Exponent Inc., an engineering and scientific consulting firm, to develop the RDISS, which can be installed quickly and with minimal training. "In this environment, where a potential sniper lurks around every corner, having the capability to maintain persistent surveillance while minimizing the risk to the Soldiers is a must," said Lt. Col. Daniel Shea, REF team leader in Iraq. REF staff trained more than 100 Soldiers, Marines and Civilians from twenty brigades in the last two months to install, troubleshoot and maintain the system. "It's a very simple system to install and monitor yet the benefits are priceless. I know of a few occasions in which using RDISS has averted dangerous situations downrange. It's already proven its worth." REF plans to deploy hundreds of systems to Iraq and Afghanistan by year's end. "RDISS is a definitive asset when it comes to persistent surveillance, and as long as joint security stations and combat outposts remain targets of opportunity for enemy forces, RDISS will be there to help the Soldiers," Lt. Col. Shea said.

Blingbling; I honestly can't believe that even you believe what you are typing about. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cut, and Run. Great Idea there. Because of your politics, the middle east WILL go nuclear, and so WILL Latin America. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ya mean that the democrat web site that has been trying for years now to find government waste, and abuse, and hasn't found any. That they are barking up the wrong tree? "Even though they are trying to git journalist's, as well as federal employee's to find the abuse" -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So nancy pelosi is pulling out all of the stops on this. Since this bill is so near, and dear to her heart. Ya see people; In order for her to get the BILL through, Nancy Pelosi has to bring out the moderates on this because THIS farm bill is actually a fight within the democrat party. People; I can't make this stuff up. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...ORIAL/107250011 Pelosi's farm boondoggle Amid the most prosperous farm economy in decades, as crop prices and farm incomes approach or exceed record levels, President Bush this year requested Congress to limit taxpayer-financed agriculture subsidies to farmers whose annual adjusted gross income was less than $200,000. In a mockery of reform in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Democrat-controlled chamber, the House Agriculture Committee has produced a farm-policy reauthorization bill that would dole out subsidies over the next five years to farmers with annual incomes as high as $1 million. That's not all. The bill would also increase by 50 percent the annual maximum direct payment to qualifying farmers from $40,000 to $60,000. This, mind you, is in a country where the median household income in 2005 was $46,376, which is 3 percent below its 1999 inflation-adjusted level. The direct payment would double if the farmer's wife also tilled the soil. That brings it to $120,000, more than two-and-a-half times median household income. The bill would also remove the $75,000 cap for "marketing loan payments." Overall, the big winners would continue to be the five major commodity programs — cotton, rice, wheat, corn and soybeans, whose farmers pocketed about $17 billion of the $19 billion in 2006 subsidies. Today, fewer than 10 percent of the nation's farms collect nearly 60 percent of the subsidy payments, while nearly 60 percent of farmers receive nothing. This will not change over the next five years if the House approves this travesty of a bill, which it will consider this week. To ensure Mrs. Pelosi's embrace of its flawed bill, the House Agriculture Committee approved $1.8 billion in new payments over the next five years for the fruit and vegetable industry. Particularly galling is the continuation of the direct payments, which were introduced in 1996 under the revolutionary free-market-oriented Freedom to Farm Act. To wean the major-commodity farmers off the welfare dole to which they had become addicted since the New Deal era, the 1996 bill sought to replace traditional farm subsidies with a system of fixed, declining annual direct payments. These "transition payments" would cease after seven years. However, "emergency" supplemental appropriations during the late 1990s routinely raised the welfare payments to farmers. The 2002 farm reauthorization bill reinstated the traditional subsidies and also renewed the direct payments, which had been established in 1996 to wean farmers from their subsidies. In this era of "Democratic reform," the new bill would retain both forms of welfare.

Hummmmm!! This might be a great opportunity for all of us here online to meet in person. Makes you wonder? Which one will be the more Interesting? The Movie or All of us in ONE ROOM "LIVE"??? And Remember? NO POLITICS, because I will sound like a hardcore Republican if we start talking About it.

And in the Clinton ERA, they cut off funding to Latin America and right into the hands of the Arab nations. Look on the bright side; there are several Latin American Countries instructing their people to learn Arabic. The Clinton policy we are all still feeling to date. I'm sure that the democrats will try to put a spin on the politics of the war, Iran, and because of their politics They "The Democrats" have started a new Nuclear Proliferation, and not just in the Middle East, but also in Latin America. AND ALL IN THE NAME OF POLITICS. Ya know some thing People? I really wished that I could bury my head in the sand. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It would be a fun ticket, it would leave the far left AND the far right out of the loop and hopefully some common sense can return to American Politics. Less of "My way or the Highway". -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------