November 22, 2008

  • by buying General Motors and Chrysler -


    A Chinese company?

    In The Truth About Cars website, Bertel Schmitt says that China's daily business newspaper, the 21st Century Business Herald, has reported that a "senior official of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology" has hinted that "the auto manufacturing giants in China…have the capability and intention to buy some assets of the two crisis-plagued American automakers."

November 16, 2008

November 15, 2008

  • A RAGING bushfire sent thousands of Californians including Hollywood celebrities running for their lives as it swept through the luxury coastal town of Santa Barbara, destroying more than 100 homes.

    Firefighters from across the state struggled to control the fire yesterday, which was powered by 113km/h winds and charred at least 1000ha in the coastal foothills.

    Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in the region as residents waited anxiously for word on their homes.

    Many residents, including actor Rob Lowe, fled flames in the mansion-filled neighborhood.

    Lowe, who revealed there was no warning until his wife rang to tell him about the blaze nearing their home, said he and his children drove away as flames shot 60m in the air.

    "I was watching the football game with my son and my wife called and said 'Montecito's on fire -- get out'," Lowe said.

    "I thought she was kidding, because there was no indication that there would be any problem whatsoever.

    "But we got in the car, pulled out of the driveway and the entire mountain behind us was flames.

    "It was just like Armageddon. This thing came on so fast, you just can't believe it."

    At least 5400 homes were evacuated and other residents opted to leave nearby areas due to fire warnings.

    The charred remains of luxury homes dotted the hillsides of the ritzy Mediterranean-style town, which is a hideaway for the super-rich and runs along the scenic Los Padres National Forest.

    Officials were assessing the extent of the damage to the area, which is tucked between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains.

    Lowe was among residents breathing a sigh of relief after finding out their homes had managed to emerge unscathed.

    Television mogul Oprah Winfrey, who owns a $77 million, 17ha estate in the upmarket Montecito neighbourhood, revealed the flames came within 3km of her mansion.

    Winfrey said the blaze had destroyed the homes of her friends and neighbours.

    "Some of my friends left their homes with only their dogs last night," she said.

    Winfrey's biggest concern was evacuating her pets.

    "I don't have kids, so the most important thing for me is my dogs," Winfrey said.

    "And so we already had a plan for getting the dogs out and going to the Four Seasons in Westlake because they take dogs.

    "From now on I'll have so much more empathy and compassion for people who are going through it."

    Other well-known residents of the area, where the median price of homes is $3 million, include Paul Hogan, director Ivan Reitman and actors Michael Douglas and Jeff Bridges.

    Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, Australian actor Portia de Rossi, own an estate in the area.

    Governor Schwarzenegger and wife, Maria Shriver, recently bought a 10ha plot for $7.3 million.

    Australian actor Cate Blanchett has also called Santa Barbara home when working in Hollywood.

    Evening winds, known locally as "sundowners", gusting up to 110km/h from land to sea, pushed the fire with frightening speed the night before - destroying mansions, exploding eucalyptus trees and turning rolling hills into a glowing landscape.

    The area has a long history of devastating bushfires, with a major blaze in 1977 destroying more than 200 homes and one in 1964 burning 27,000ha and damaging 150 houses and buildings.

    Aerial TV footage of Montecito yesterday showed the smouldering wreckage in neighbourhoods that include some of the most expensive homes in the US.

    Real estate developer Andrew Bermant found out his two properties on the millionaire's row of Coyote Rd - one of the worst hit areas where many homes burned to the ground after residents evacuated - had been razed.

    Mr Bermant was philosophical about the destruction after expressing relief that he had able to safely evacuate his family at dusk.

    "You can lose your photos, but your memories are still in your heart," he said.

    "The bottom line is we know the risk of living here.

    "We're glad it didn't happen at two in the morning when everyone was asleep."

    Helicopter pilots worked through the night, using night vision goggles to drop water on the flames.

    About 20 helicopters and air tankers were fighting the fire.

  • UFO Explodes ?

    Calls flooded dispatch centers and 6News from people concerned that what they had seen and heard might have been a crashing plane, a meteorite or something else.Many said the light display was followed by an explosion -- a boom that shook their homes. A slight metallic smell was reported in Kokomo shortly after the incident.Crews scoured a field near U.S. 31 and County Road 300 North in Tipton County, but found nothing, 6News' Derrik Thomas reported."I had heard the boom. It kind of woke me up," said veterinarian Dr. Jack Hughes. "It was louder than anything I'd heard before. You would think a sonic boom from a jet, or something like that. This was big."Hughes' clinic is near the area crews searched for any sign of debris. Indiana State Police and local sheriff's departments dispatched at least 50 emergency responders to the scene."We had civilians report things falling from the sky, almost consistent with something like flares or sparks," said ISP Sgt. Jeremy Kelly. "Also, very consistent with a meteor shower. If we had to guess what it was, that's what we would say."David McDonald said he was startled by what he thought was someone shooting a gun behind his house."It was totally eerie. What could make that kind of a noise and justify that kind of a response?" McDonald said.The Federal Aviation Administration said early Thursday that there were no reports of missing planes. No debris was found.

November 11, 2008

  • Bail Out ???

    Should the automotive industry be bailed out ?   Hell no, let them sell off some of their assets and run off companies to bail them out, they have had years and years to develop a fuel efficient auto and they continued to sell trucks & suv's the high profit vehicles without putting money on the side.  

    Auto workers make 30% more then the average worker and has the best health care and benefits of any worker out there-   General Motors (aka) Generous Motors build a product that cost an arm & leg and lasts 4 years at the most.  Then we wonder why people buy foreign -

    Unions are the worse thing that can happen to a company.. Yes, at one time they were needed, but now they work against the people;   Let the Unions bail them out !! 

    I'm for a bail out for the people losing their homes and going into foreclosure - Give them the money to get out of foreclosure, and keep the roof over their heads.  That is who we should bail out -





  • WHITE HOUSE

    Construction

    Construction of the White House began with the laying of the cornerstone on October 13, 1792, with no formal ceremony.[8] The main residence, as well as foundations of the house, were built largely by enslaved and free African-American laborers, as well as employed Europeans.[9] Much of the other work on the house was performed by immigrants, many not yet with citizenship. The sandstone walls were erected by Scottish immigrants, employed by Hoban,[10] as were the high relief rose and garland decorations above the north entrance and the "fish scale" pattern beneath the pediments of the window hoods. Much of the brick and plaster work was produced by Irish and Italian immigrants. The initial construction took place over a period of eight years, at a reported cost of $232,371.83 ($2.4 million in 2005 dollars). Although not yet completed, the White House was ready for occupancy on or circa November 1, 1800.[11]

    Shortages, including material and labor, forced alterations to the earlier plan developed by French engineer Pierre Charles L'Enfant for a "palace" that was five times larger than the house that was eventually built.[10] The finished home would contain only two main floors instead of the planned three, and a less costly brick served as a lining for the stone façades. When construction was finished the porous sandstone walls were coated with a mixture of lime, rice glue, casein, and lead, giving the house its familiar color and name.[10]

    The West Wing

    Main article: West Wing

    The West Wing houses the President's office (the Oval Office) and offices of his senior staff, with room for about 50 employees. It also includes the Cabinet Room, where the president conducts business meetings and where the United States Cabinet meets,[36] as well as the White House Situation Room, James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, and Roosevelt Room.[37] Some members of the President's staff are located in the adjacent Old Executive Office Building, formerly the State War and Navy building, and sometimes known as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

    This portion of the building was used as the setting for the popular television show The West Wing.

    The East Wing

    Main article: East Wing

    The East Wing, which contains additional office space, was added to the White House in 1942. Among its uses, the East Wing has intermittently housed the offices and staff of the First Lady, and the White House Social Office. Rosalynn Carter, in 1977, was the first to place her personal office in the East Wing and to formally call it the "Office of the First Lady." The East Wing was built during World War II in order to hide the construction of an underground bunker to be used in emergency situations. The bunker has come to be known as the Presidential Emergency Operations Center.

November 9, 2008

  • Is it dangerous? -


    Real or Fake?

    We are all afraid of products from China (and rightfully so!), but is the FDA doing anything about this problem? It turns out that some popular drug and food items, such as generic aspirin, are not manufactured in the US anymore, so they can ONLY be imported from China.

    In Star News.com, Gardiner Harris writes: "China now produces about two-thirds of all aspirin and is poised to become the world’s sole global supplier in the not-too-distant future. But are the Chinese factories safe? Who knows? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the European Medicines Agency and other competent government regulators rarely, if ever, inspect them."

November 8, 2008

November 4, 2008