From the AP:

The activist whose complaint prompted a Pentagon probe into officers’ participation in a Christian group’s fundraising video is calling for congressional hearings.

Mikey Weinstein, president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, says it isn’t enough that seven military officers, including four generals, were found to have violated ethics rules by appearing in uniform in the Christian Embassy video.

While the Army and Air Force are considering disciplinary action, Weinstein says Congress should hold oversight hearings into the Defense Department’s failure to separate church and state.

Weinstein says the Pentagon inspector general’s report reveals a “long and deep collusion with a fundamentalist, religious missionary organization.”

From UPI:

Members of the U.S. Congress have received a request from the Pentagon for nearly $750 million in funds for an emergency airlift to Iraq.

USA Today reported Wednesday the Pentagon has made the emergency funding request to send armored vehicles to the war-torn region immediately to aid U.S. troops in handling roadside bombs.

Pentagon officials want to airlift the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles to Iraq rather than delay their arrival by sending them by ship.

The emergency funds would fall under the Pentagon’s $5.3 billion request to Congress for support of the MRAP program for the next fiscal year.

USA Today said military analyst Michael O-Hanlon criticized the Pentagon’s emergency request this week, accusing Pentagon officials of mishandling the troop’supporting endeavor.

“It’s ridiculous that it took this long to send MRAPs,” he said. “It’s an example of wishfulness and politics getting in the way of protection for troops. It’s a bad mistake verging on the unconscionable.”

By Mike Whitney

The quality of Pentagon-propaganda is really deteriorating.

The War Dept.’s latest fraud appeared in this week’s newspapers under the ominous’sounding headline:

“US Kills Mastermind of Iraq Shrine”

The article is similar to hundreds of other stories we-ve seen in the passed few years boasting of the murder of an “alleged” terrorist kingpin whose evil deeds have prevented democracy from flourishing in Iraq.

Oh, please.

CNN: “Coalition troops killed the al Qaeda terrorist who masterminded the February 2006 attack on Samarra’s al-Askariya mosque and set off continuing violence and reprisal killings between Sunnis and Shiites, the U.S. military said Sunday.” Snip “Haitham Sabah al-Baderi, the al Qaeda emir of greater Samarra, was killed Thursday east of Samarra, said Rear Adm. Mark Fox during a news conference”. snip “Eliminating al-Baderi is another step in breaking the cycle of violence instigated by the attack on the holy shrine in Samarra,” Fox said. “We will continue to hunt down the brutal terrorists who are intent on creating a Taliban-like state in Iraq.” (CNN)

In truth, CNN has no idea who al-Baderi really was or whether he belonged to Al Qaida or not. They just jot down whatever the Pentagon spokesman tells them and then pass it off later as news. It’s the same with the rest of the media. They don-t care. They build their stories on statements from government officials and don-t bother looking for evidence. All they know is that al-Baderi is another unlucky victim in Bush’s war on terror who has been subsumed into the Pentagon’s propaganda war against the American people. That’s it.

More at Information Clearing House

From the NASA site, where you can watch the liftoff.

The Closeout crew is continuing to prepare Endeavour’s crew module for closeout for flight. The hatch is closed and cabin leak checks will be conducted. The astronauts continue to go through final checks inside the orbiter to prepare for their journey to the International Space Station.

There is only a 10 percent chance of weather prohibiting a liftoff at 6:36 p.m. EDT.

Mission STS-118 will be the first for Mission Specialist Barbara Morgan, the teacher-turned-astronaut whose association with NASA began more than 20 years ago. First Lady Laura Bush called Morgan Tuesday morning to offer congratulations “one schoolteacher to another,” and to thank her for her commitment to the space program and to education.

WASHINGTON - President Bush was unsuccessfully treated for Lying disease nearly a year ago, the White House announced Wednesday.

The condition had never been revealed until the White House on Wednesday made public the results of his annual physical exam. They said that he was treated for what they called “early, localized Lying disease” last August after developing the characteristic bullshit rash, and that it did not recur.

Lying disease is a common RED tick-borne infection that if left untreated can cause a person to become a habitual liar who believes his own lies….. and other problems. The president’s main form of exercise and recreational activity is building mountains of bullshit, which could bring him in contact with RED ticks.

Ohhhhhh wait…..you said Lyme disease? Nevahmind……

Let me get this straight. They vote to approve a program they know nothing about, and then they subpoena information about it? Is that right?

Though Congress is on vacation, majority Democrats are keeping alive various fights with the White House with one common thread: Congress’ access to administration documents and testimony to which President Bush has claimed executive privilege.

Smack in the middle of the August break, the White House faces a new deadline for producing subpoenaed information about the legal justification for the president’s secretive eavesdropping program.

And aides in both chambers are considering a selection of ways to deal with Bush’s refusal to let current and former advisers testify publicly about their roles in the firings of federal prosecutors. Contempt proceedings could begin in the House as early as September.

Still other officials are considering ways to, in the words of one Republican, “end the tenure of Attorney General Gonzales.” That would be Alberto Gonzales, longtime presidential friend and embattled head of the Justice Department whose congressional testimony has drawn quiet, if any, defense from White House allies on Capitol Hill.

More at Forbes

By ROBIN McDOWELL
Associated Press

JAKARTA, Indonesia - A powerful earthquake under the Java Sea rattled Indonesia’s capital early Thursday, violently shaking tall buildings and sending panicked residents into the streets.

There were no immediate reports of damage, and geophysicists said there was little risk of a tsunami.

The quake, which struck at 12:04 a.m. (1:04 p.m. EDT Wednesday) had a preliminary magnitude of 7.5 and was centered about 65 miles east of Jakarta at a depth in the Earth of 180 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Residents said tall buildings and single story homes shook violently in the city of 9 million people, and water sloshed from swimming pools.

Many people were awakened by the quake and some people screamed “Allah akbar!” or “God is great!” as they ran outside.

El-Shinta radio reported that the quake could be felt from Sumatra island in the west to Bali to the east, but that there were no immediate reports of damage.

The quake also was felt in parts of Malaysia, said Don Blakeman, a geophysicist at the USGS National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo.

United Press International

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (UPI) — The U.S. housing market likely will stay near its current level for the next few months, the latest National Association of Realtors forecast said Wednesday.

Sales of existing homes should experience a modest upturn toward the end of the year, Lawrence Yun, NAR senior economist, said in a news release.

The new-home market is expected to improve by the middle of 2008, Yun said.

Existing-home sales are forecast at 6.04 million in 2007 and 6.38 million next year, below the 6.48 million recorded in 2006, NAR reported. New-home sales are expected to total 852,000 this year and 848,000 in 2008, down from 1.05 million in 2006.

Housing starts likely will total 1.43 million in 2007 and 1.4 million in 2008, again below the 1.8 million units started in 2006, the Washington association said.

“With the population growing, the demand for homes isn’t going away — it’s just being delayed,” Yun said. “More buyers, and cutbacks in new construction, will eventually draw down the inventory levels and support future price appreciation, but general gains will be modest next year.”

By GRAHAM BOWLEY and JOHN HOLUSHA
from The New York Times

Powerful thunderstorms swept through the New York metropolitan area this morning, tearing up trees and damaging cars and homes, and creating havoc during the morning commute.

Subway stations were flooded, forcing commuters out onto the streets and into taxis and buses, and bringing traffic in many areas to a standstill. The region’s three major airports - La Guardia, Kennedy and Newark - all reported flight cancellations and delays.

No subway line was unaffected by the heavy rains and winds, according to the M.T.A. For the time being, the M.T.A. was advising commuters to stay at home.

Train delays and cancellations were reported on the Long Island Railroad and Metro-North, and train and bus delays and cancellations were reported on New Jersey transit. As the storm knocked down power lines, thousands of homes were without power.

An M.T.A. spokesman said train and bus services were expected to return to normal by about noon.

Meteorologist Brian Ciemnecki of the National Weather Service said an investigator would be sent to the scene to determine if a tornado was responsible, The Associated Press reported.

But Jeff Warner, a meteorologist at Penn State University, said no tornados formed or touched down. He said 1.7 inches of rain fell in Central Park between 6 and 7 a.m., and recent hot, humid weather powered clusters of thunderstorms over Pennsylvania and lower New York State that moved through the metropolitan area.

read more HERE

By James C. May
USA TODAY

Record airline load factors and the growing number of flights are testimony to the strength of consumer demand for competitively priced air transportation. Airlines are in the business of responding to these market signals to meet the public’s expectations for services. In short, just as anticipated, airline deregulation has produced a variety of airline services and vigorous price competition.

Unfortunately, there are some who would prefer to respond to the challenges of this marketplace success by scaling back consumer benefits.

They would impose fees and regulatory constraints that simply mask the government’s failure to provide the essential air traffic control (ATC) services we all pay for. Adding $50 to a passenger ticket through congestion pricing or reducing service to small communities that rely on regional jet service, they say, is the only solution to market demands. That is the wrong approach.

It is indisputable that demand at the New York area airports is exceptionally strong, and that customer demand is contributing to air traffic delays. The easy solution is, as noted, to slap a congestion price on passengers. The problem with this approach is that it doesn’t fix the problem; it only makes it more expensive to fly. Our response? Fix the problem, don’t hide it.

HOW?

read more HERE

from various sources

Stocks rise on Cisco, financials

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks shot up on Wednesday on technology bellwether Cisco Systems Inc.’s (CSCO.O) stronger-than-expected profit while investors snapped up beaten down financial company shares.

The Nasdaq composite index (.IXIC) rose more than 2 percent, led by Cisco, the world’s largest maker of computer networking equipment. Nasdaq was on track for its biggest three-day percentage advance in a year.

Sprint profit beats Street

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sprint Nextel Corp (S.N) posted a quarterly profit on Wednesday that beat Wall Street forecasts, but its shares turned lower after the No. 3 U.S. mobile phone service said customer cancellations could hurt current quarter growth.

Shares of Sprint fell 35 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $19.87 on the New York Stock Exchange after rising as much as 3 percent earlier in the day. The stock has risen about 14 percent since January in anticipation of growth improvements.

Ford sees 2009 profit, deal with UAW

TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co. (F.N) Chief Executive Alan Mulally said on Wednesday the No. 2 U.S. automaker was on track to return to profitability in 2009 despite a forecast for weaker industrywide U.S. sales this year.

Mulally, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference, also said he was “cautiously optimistic” about reaching a deal on wages and benefits with the United Auto Workers union.

Fed again leaves key rate unchanged

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve left a key short-term interest rate unchanged Tuesday at 5.25%, acknowledging tighter credit conditions and growing volatility in financial markets but reiterating that inflation is the main economic threat.

A statement by the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee gave little hint the central bank would budge on interest rates soon, despite mortgage, stock and bond market turmoil that has led to tougher credit terms. It acknowledged that “downside risks to growth have increased somewhat” but still predicted modest expansion.

By Julie Steenhuysen
Reuters

CHICAGO (Reuters) - An ancient skull and upper jawbone from two early branches of the human family tree — Homo erectus and Homo habilis — suggest the early human ancestors may have lived close together for half a million years, researchers said on Wednesday.

The fossils, discovered in eastern Africa, challenge the understanding that humans evolved one after another like a line of dominoes, from ancient Homo habilis to Homo erectus and eventually to Homo sapiens, or modern people.

“There has been a view that has suggested habilis very slowly evolved into erectus,” said Susan Anton, a professor of anthropology at New York University. “Now we have the two cohabitating, so that can no longer be the case.”

The research, published in the journal Nature, was conducted by nine scientists including Anton, paleontologist Meave Leakey and her daughter Louise Leakey, both explorers in residence at the National Geographic Society, and Fred Spoor of University College London.

Both fossils were found in 2000 east of Lake Turkana in Kenya as part of the Koobi Fora Research Project, which is affiliated with the National Museums of Kenya.

Their proximity suggests the two species used different food sources and behaviors to live so closely without becoming extinct.

read more HERE

This law allows the Kurdish government to control its own oil resources and select its own foreign investors. This should be interesting………

Iraq’s largely autonomous Kurdish region passed its own oil law today, despite Iraq’s parliament having failed to pass a national law after months of negotiations by the country’s main political blocs.

Kurdish officials stressed that it had been drawn up in line with the national constitution and did not contradict the federal law, which Iraq’s leaders agreed on 3 July but has not yet been sent to parliament.

The draft federal oil law is now in limbo while the national parliament is on its summer break for the month of August. No date has been set to debate it.

Iraq has the world’s third-largest oil reserves, which are mainly in the north and the south of the country.

The national hydrocarbon law is seen as pivotal by Washington to reconciling warring Iraqis, rebuilding Iraq’s shattered economy and attracting foreign investment.

After a week-long debate, Kurdish lawmakers passed the Petroleum Law of the Kurdistan Region unanimously.

“We have freedom and now we have a law that enables us to make new projects and sign new contracts for the benefit of our people,” Kurdistan’s Minister for Natural Resources Ashti Hawrami told Reuters afterwards.

“There is no problem with the previous contracts that we signed already before issuing this law, but we will review them to persuade all of them that these contracts are legal.”

The Kurdistan region has signed several agreements with foreign companies.

The Kurdish law provides for the establishment of the Kurdistan National Oil Company and says “the regional government shall share revenue derived from petroleum with all the people of Iraq.”

Kurdistan forced renegotiation of the national hydrocarbon law, fearing that it gave the federal government too much control over oil exploration, revenue sharing and negotiating contracts with foreign companies.

Source

Why would they not put on any evidence or have any witnesses?

Throughout 53 days of trial, Jose Padilla’s defense lawyers contended that prosecutors had not proven that their client was part of a conspiracy to support terrorist groups.

On Tuesday, they rested their case, without calling a witness or putting on evidence for Padilla. They cleared the way for closing arguments to begin Monday and then jury deliberations.

“Your honor, on behalf of Mr. Padilla, we rest,” Padilla attorney Michael Caruso told U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke.

Most of the testimony that began May 14 focused on co-defendants Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi, accused of being part of a network providing recruits, supplies and financing for terror groups.

More at the Guardian