A Repost of Mother Teresa's "Do It Anyway"

To You and The World ...

DO IT ANYWAY

DO IT ANYWAY
Written By Mother Teresa

People are often unreasonable,
illogical and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind,
people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful,
you will win some false friends and true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank,
people may cheat you;
Be honest anyway.

What you spend years building,
someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis,
it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

A Repost of "Proud to Be"

As I import my blogs from MySpace one by one (since MySpace is so primitive, there is no available program out there that allows me to effeciently and effectively export blogs to another location ... not that I know of anyway), I got a chance to re-read many of the entries I wrote through the years past (since 2005). The highs and the lows and everything in between make me appreciative of every moment I get to learn about Life.

Tonight, I stumbled on to the following. I felt that it is a worthy to repost for the third time.

A very very long time ago (perhaps two and a half years ago, and I call that a long time because so much has happened since), my good friend, Ashley, who I have been friends with since the 8th grade, sent me an e-mail that, still to this day, I think of often. No, it's not because of how elegant or eloquent the language is, not becuase of how it envoked any sort of pathos in me, but because of the way it reminded me of how I want to live my future.

The 20s aren't easy. This is a period of change, of transformation, of knowledge and growth, of exploration, and of understanding. Through our most tragic times, we emerge as the people that we become -- hopefully the people that we want to become. The decision that we make now will be with us for the rest of our time. They will shape our stories, which I hope will be stories that we will be proud to tell.

In light of this spirit, I would like to share with my friends (you know who you are) and all of you, women AND men, out there, the following. And with this, I send to you all my best wishes.

Blog entry title: PROUD TO BE

EVERY WOMAN

A woman should have
enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of her own even if she never wants to or needs to.

A woman should have
something perfect to wear if the employer or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour.

A woman should have
a youth she's content to leave behind.

A woman should have
a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age.

A woman should have
a set of screw drivers, cordless drill and a black lace bra.

A woman should have
one friend who always makes her laugh and one who lets her cry.

A woman should have
a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family.

A woman should have
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored.

A woman should have
a feeling of control over her destiny.

Every woman should know
how to fall in love without losing herself.

Every woman should know
how to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without ruining the friendship …

and, of course, how to change a tire.

Every woman should know
when to try harder and when to walk away.

Every woman should know that
she can't change the length of her calves, the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents.

Every woman should know that
her childhood may not have been perfect, but it's over.

Every woman should know
what she would and wouldn't do for love or more.

Every woman should know
how to live alone, even if she doesn't like it.

Every woman should know
who she can trust, who she can't, and why she shouldn't take it personally.

Every woman should know
where to go, be it her best friend's kitchen table, or a charming inn in the woods, when her should needs soothing.

Every woman should know
what she can and can't accomplish in a day, a month and a year.

The Final Days of Bush

Even as an Obama supporter, there are still times when I think about the burdens and pressures of being George W. Bush. It's one thing to walk the line, but it's another to swim in blurred gray areas -- and we know how they say life is never so defined.

Although the past 8 years have not been this country's best -- and I am sure most of these years has not been Bush's best either -- I am certainly impressed by how tightly the president has held on. Politics aside, the gritty tenacity he's shown, the simple, but rigid principles he relies on have been interesting to watch.

Honestly, how can you wholeheartedly believe the man to be evil, if you allowed yourself to understand that Bush firmly and adamantly believes that he has been doing the "right" thing?

And his idea of leadership and heroism is to keep going on even while everything else falls apart, even while the world turns on you.

I cannot imagine how many counts of betrayal he's had to face.

And still, here he is, doing what he set out to do -- for better or for worse, ill-advised or not.

Despite what I disagree with, I still have to give him that kudos for hanging on.

"The Final Days" is a great article from The New York Times magazine by its first-time contributor, Pete Baker, on the Bush Legacy. Also, listen to the Back Story podcast to the left of the article to hear what Baker has to say.

The American Self

In today's New York Times, Joyce Carol Oates opened her review on Curtis Sittenfeld's newest book, "American Wife," with a discussion on what it means to describe something as "American." What makes an ordinary something "extraordinary," being that it has "American characteristics?"

This is the perfect topic in light of so much "patriotism talk" in this season's elections, so much talk of "the American promise," "the American legacy," "American values," and "the American spirit."

But what exactly do they mean? How do we identify ourselves? How are we distinct from the "Chinese something," or "French something," or "English something?"

More importantly how do YOU identify yourself? And what do you think "American" means?

Before you answer, here is what Oates wrote:

"Is there a distinctly American experience? "The American," by Henry James; "An American Tragedy," by Theodore Dreiser; "The Quiet American," by Graham Greene; "The Ugly American," by William Lederer and Eugene Burdick; Philip Roth's "American Pastoral" and Bret Easton Ellis's "American Psycho" — each suggests, in its very title, a mythic dimension in which fictitious characters are intended to represent national types or predilections. Our greatest 19th-century prose writers from Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville through Henry James and Mark Twain took it for granted that "American" is an identity fraught with ambiguity, as in those allegorical parables by Hawthorne in which "good" and "evil" are mysteriously conjoined; to be an "American" is to be a kind of pilgrim, an archetypal seeker after truth. Though destined to be thwarted, even defeated, the pilgrim is our deepest and purest American self."

Please feel free to leave a comment, whether you are American or not.

Like I Always Say ...

My friend, DeEtte, sent me this funny one.
Yeah, like I always say (I do say this often, don't I?), kids are some of the smartest people ever.

Enjoy.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A 1st grade school teacher had twenty-six students in her class. She presented each child in her classroom the 1st half of a well-known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It's hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you. While reading, keep in mind that these are first-graders, 6-year-olds, because the last one is a classic!

1. Don't change horses ...
... until they stop running.

2.Strike while the ...
... bug is close.

3. It's always darkest before ...
... Daylight Saving Time.

4. Never underestimate the power of ...
... termites.

5. You can lead a horse to water but ...
... How?

6. Don't bite the hand that ...
... looks dirty.

7. No news is ...
... impossible

8. A miss is as good as a ...
... Mr.

9. You can't teach an old dog new ...
... Math

10. If you lie down with dogs, you'll ...
... stink in the morning.

11. Love all, trust ...
... Me.

12. The pen is mightier than the ...
... pigs.

13. An idle mind is ...
... the best way to relax.

14. Where there's smoke there's ...
... pollution.

15. Happy the bride who ...
... gets all the presents.

16. A penny saved is ...
... not much.

17. Two's company, three's ...
... the Musketeers.

18. Don't put off till tomorrow what ...
... you put on to go to bed.

19. Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and ...
... You have to blow your nose.

20. There are none so blind as ...
... Stevie Wonder.

21. Children should be seen and not ...
... spanked or grounded.

22. If at first you don't succeed ...
... get new batteries.

23. You get out of something only what you ...
... See in the picture on the box

24. When the blind lead the blind ...
... get out of the way.

25. A bird in the hand ...
... is going to poop on you.

And the WINNER and last one!

26. Better late than ...
... Pregnant

The Hardest Part is the Beginning

I'm finally watching the speeches from DNC.

You know, something struck me: if Obama gets elected, he will find that the general election campaign that got him elected will not be the toughest fight. The toughest fight will be his second campaign to be re-elected. The American people will be tempted to give up on the hard-won chance to endure more chaos. They will forget that, this time, it will no longer be the chaos of the darkness. This time, it will be the chaos of change.

In the first four years under Obama's leadership, there will be hope. And along with hope, there will be much chaos, as renewal always goes. The key to the next chapter in the United States of America, and in the rest of the world, is for Americans, along with the rest of the world's global citizens, to bear the burden and responsibilities of change so that we can all see the light of a better future.

Let's not forget that change comes at a price. Let's not forget that the darkest night comes before dawn. Let's not forget that we must endure.

Let's be mindful and present for the hardest part of this journey, which is the beginning. And let's be strong for each other and our future.

McMansion-PalinBunny's First Campaign

e-Bomb's News Daily McMansion, PalinBunny Start Campaign as Running Mates by e-Bomb Herself August 29, 2008 11:17am PST Photos courtesy Google BEND, Oregon -- SHE was the mayor of Will ... uh ... Willllsssa ... uh ... a big town of 6000 in Alaska. HE started his long career as a senator when dinosaurs roamed. He is the most powerful penis in the world, and she is his dynamite side-kick bunny. Together, they are the lethal McMansion and PalinBunny! Together, they will again reign over the rest, rally up values voters and restore faith! Their rap sheet is long, and definitely longer than Obama-Biden's. Even though Biden has lots of foreign policy experience, McMansion and PalinBunny believe they can "take them on." Just check out their glorious foreign relations experience in Alaska: Since Alaska is next to Russia, PalinBunny has the foreign policy experience that only Condi Rice can match. Her intimidation tactics are not to be reckoned with. There is record of a face-off only several months ago between PalinBunny and the Putin-Medvedev duo, who attempted to take over Alaska. But they were stopped by a tough yet sultry PalinBunny, with McMansion standing behind her as strongly and as upright as his thousand-year-old spine could support. PalinBunny Miss Willsssa ... Wissala ... Uh ... 1984 McMansion, circa 600 million BC The duo ran away in fear, chanting the famous saying from the sages, Monty Python: "Run away! Run Away! The rabbit's dynamite!" Dynamite, indeed. McMansion also respects PalinBunny's unwavering faith in God. She believes that science is bogus and that God created everything, including the dinosuars that McMansion worked with many moons before. "We are all God's children," said she. But it is unclear if the same sentiment is extended to Darwin, who, she says, is "the devil's spawn," and "God definitely trumps him." When McMansion says he'll "follow Bin Laden to the gates of hell, PalinBunny, visibly excited to be on board, declared, "That is also where Darwin lives. I will follow Darwin to the gates of hell!" This is where her side-kick acceptance speech started to slur and made you wonder if she was ready to be nationally televised. Watch this. I got goosebumps from PalinBunny's speech. Ladies and gentlemen, McMansion and PalinBunny for 2008!

"What exactly does the VP do everyday?"

Myyy goodness!

From The Caucus: Convention Edition
August 29, 2008, 1:40 pm
McCain V.P.: It's Palin

By The New York Times

2:29 p.m. | On the Other Hand… Mrs. Palin was fairly unenthusiastic about the vice presidency when she was asked about it during an Aug. 1 interview with Larry Kudlow on CNBC.

I'll tell you, I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the V.P. does everyday? I'm used to being very productive and working real hard in an administration. We want to make sure that that V.P. slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans and for the things that we're trying to accomplish up here for the rest of the U.S., before I can even start addressing that question.

1:40 | Ethics Probe: An independent investigator is looking into whether Mrs. Palin dismissed a top law enforcement official in her administration because he failed to fire a state trooper, Mike Wooten, who went through a messy divorce with Mrs. Palin's sister. Michael Luo has more on that.

To read more of New York Times' The Caucus real time correspondence and analysis, please go to this blog's comments section.

PalinBunny, American Folk Hero, Not Qualified for VP?

Commentary: Is McCain out of his mind?

By Paul Begala
CNN Contributor

Editor's note: Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist and CNN political contributor, was a political consultant for Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1992 and was counselor to Clinton in the White House. Begala is not a paid political consultant for any politicians or candidates. Click here for a rival view

(CNN) -- John McCain needs what Kinky Friedman calls "a checkup from the neck up."

In choosing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate he is not thinking "outside the box," as some have said. More like out of his mind.

Palin a first-term governor of a state with more reindeer than people, will have to put on a few pounds just to be a lightweight. Her personal story is impressive: former fisherman, mother of five. But that hardly qualifies her to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

For a man who is 72 years old and has had four bouts with cancer to have chosen someone so completely unqualified to become president is shockingly irresponsible. Suddenly, McCain's age and health become central issues in the campaign, as does his judgment.

In choosing this featherweight, McCain passed over Tom Ridge, a decorated combat hero, a Cabinet secretary and the former two-term governor of the large, complex state of Pennsylvania. iReport.com: 'McCain pick might be a gimmick'

He passed over Mitt Romney, who ran a big state, Massachusetts; a big company, Bain Capital; and a big event, the Olympics.

He passed over Kay Bailey Hutchison, the Texas senator who is knowledgeable about the military, good on television, and -- obviously -- a woman.

He passed over Joe Lieberman, his best friend in the Senate and fellow Iraq Kool-Aid drinker.

He passed over former congressman, trade negotiator and budget director Rob Portman.

And he also passed over Mike Huckabee, the governor of Arkansas.

For months, the McCainiacs have said they will run on his judgment and experience. In his first presidential decision, John McCain has shown he is willing to endanger his country, potentially leaving it in the hands of someone who simply has no business being a heartbeat away from the most powerful, complicated, difficult job in human history.

Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/29/begala.palin/?iref=mpstoryview

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.

China’s Wild West

From Vanguard news at Current.com, Laura Ling brings us a story from afar.

"Unlike their Hollywood friendly brethren, the Tibetans, the Uighurs of northwestern China, claim to be an oppressed minority group that no one has ever heard of. That is, unless the Chinese government publicizes an attack by Uighur insurgents, such as the one that killed 16 Chinese police officers on the eve of the Beijing Olympics. In this Vanguard report, Laura Ling travels to the wild-west frontier in China's Gobi Desert, an area the Chinese named Xinjiang, or New Land, but a place many Uighurs believe should be an independent Uighur nation."

Mysteries of the Universe

In this episode, Kent Coleslaw tries to answer some of the deepest mysteries of the universe, such as "Why are we here?" and "Where do hats come from?"

Mainstream Media

"So much terror ... you'll be TERRIFIED! Brought to you by people more powerful than you to make the world a better place ... for us."

Breathe!

"It's safe! It's affordable! It's great for your sex life!"

You want sommadis?

A great commercial explaining what to do when ... I forget ... something about the lever and a beaver ....

High as F%@k?

Is this really how it feels?
Well, it doesn't matter. It sounds good enough.

Are YOU an Everyday Normal Guy?

Jon says he is. What about you?

Un complot pour assassiner Barack Obama

From Le Monde, one of France's major newspapers.

It's in French, I know, but it talks about how there was a plot (obviously a stupid one, if they got caught so easily) to assassinate Obama in Denver.

Totally crazy, I know. Brings back MLK's legacy. But that also means he's doing his job right when people are so eager to kill. (look at Dubya ... as dumb as he is, no one's attempted to get him yet.)

LEMONDE.FR avec AFP et AP | 26.08.08 | 09h56 • Mis à jour le 26.08.08 | 09h59

lusieurs personnes ont été arrêtées à Denver, dans l'ouest des Etats-Unis, et sont soupçonnées d'avoir voulu tuer le candidat démocrate à la Maison Blanche, a indiqué une chaîne de télévision américaine lundi 25 août, dans la soirée. Barack Obama est attendu dans cette ville du Colorado en milieu de semaine pour y prononcer son discours d'acceptation de l'investiture à la présidentielle devant les délégués de la convention démocrate. Une porte-parole du FBI, Kathy Wright, a confirmé l'ouverture d'une enquête par le Bureau fédéral mais s'est refusée à donner plus de précisions.

..tr>..table>Tharin Gartrell, 28 ans, a été arrêté dimanche dans une banlieue est de Denver. Dans son camion, les policiers ont retrouvé deux fusils dont un avec une lunette, un gilet pare-balles, des boîtes de munition, des talkie-walkies et de la drogue, a précisé un porte-parole de la police. Un autre homme – Shawn Robert Adolph – a été interpellé, selon la chaîne. Il était en possession d'une croix gammée et pourrait avoir des liens avec les groupes suprématistes et racistes blancs. L'un des deux hommes a indiqué aux autorités qu'ils "allaient tirer sur Obama depuis une position très favorable, avec un fusil à une distance de 750 yards [un peu plus de 680 mètres]", selon la chaîne CBS4Denver. Un troisième homme – Nathan Johnson – a aussi été arrêté. Il a affirmé aux services de police que les deux hommes prévoyaient de tuer Barack Obama lors de son discours d'acceptation. Nathan Johnson et son amie, Natasha Gromek, sont aussi inculpés pour possession de drogue.

Le bureau du procureur de Denver a prévu une conférence de presse mardi 26 août. Cependant, le procureur Troy Eid a déclaré aux médias locaux qu'il ne pensait pas que la vie d'Obama était véritablement menacée. Le complot présumé fait l'objet d'une enquête du "Secret Service", une agence fédérale mandatée par le Congrès qui coordonne la sécurité à l'occasion de la convention démocrate ouverte depuis lundi à Denver, en collaboration avec 55 agences gouvernementales incluant le FBI et la CIA.

"Nous avons été informés de cette question ce soir par les services de police d'Aurora. Les agences fédérales travaillent main dans la main avec la police de Aurora. Comme le cas fait encore l'objet d'investigations, il n'y a pas grand chose que nous puissions dire à ce stade", a déclaré le procureur Eid dans un communiqué cité par le journal local Rocky Mountain News. "Nous pouvons dire ceci : nous sommes absolument confiants dans le fait qu'il n'y a pas de menace crédible contre le candidat, la convention démocrate ou la population du Colorado", a affirmé le procureur.

So it goes for "our" time

And this is why I like Thomas Friedman.

August 27, 2008

Op-Ed Columnist

A Biblical Seven Years

By Thomas Friedman
Beijing

After attending the spectacular closing ceremony at the Beijing Olympics and feeling the vibrations from hundreds of Chinese drummers pulsating in my own chest, I was tempted to conclude two things: "Holy mackerel, the energy coming out of this country is unrivaled." And, two: "We are so cooked. Start teaching your kids Mandarin."

However, I've learned over the years not to over-interpret any two-week event. Olympics don't change history. They are mere snapshots — a country posing in its Sunday bests for all the world too see. But, as snapshots go, the one China presented through the Olympics was enormously powerful — and it's one that Americans need to reflect upon this election season.

China did not build the magnificent $43 billion infrastructure for these games, or put on the unparalleled opening and closing ceremonies, simply by the dumb luck of discovering oil. No, it was the culmination of seven years of national investment, planning, concentrated state power, national mobilization and hard work.

Seven years ... Seven years ... Oh, that's right. China was awarded these Olympic Games on July 13, 2001 — just two months before 9/11.

As I sat in my seat at the Bird's Nest, watching thousands of Chinese dancers, drummers, singers and acrobats on stilts perform their magic at the closing ceremony, I couldn't help but reflect on how China and America have spent the last seven years: China has been preparing for the Olympics; we've been preparing for Al Qaeda. They've been building better stadiums, subways, airports, roads and parks. And we've been building better metal detectors, armored Humvees and pilotless drones.

The difference is starting to show. Just compare arriving at La Guardia's dumpy terminal in New York City and driving through the crumbling infrastructure into Manhattan with arriving at Shanghai's sleek airport and taking the 220-mile-per-hour magnetic levitation train, which uses electromagnetic propulsion instead of steel wheels and tracks, to get to town in a blink.

Then ask yourself: Who is living in the third world country?

Yes, if you drive an hour out of Beijing, you meet the vast dirt-poor third world of China. But here's what's new: The rich parts of China, the modern parts of Beijing or Shanghai or Dalian, are now more state of the art than rich America. The buildings are architecturally more interesting, the wireless networks more sophisticated, the roads and trains more efficient and nicer. And, I repeat, they did not get all this by discovering oil. They got it by digging inside themselves.

I realize the differences: We were attacked on 9/11; they were not. We have real enemies; theirs are small and mostly domestic. We had to respond to 9/11 at least by eliminating the Al Qaeda base in Afghanistan and investing in tighter homeland security. They could avoid foreign entanglements. Trying to build democracy in Iraq, though, which I supported, was a war of choice and is unlikely to ever produce anything equal to its huge price tag.

But the first rule of holes is that when you're in one, stop digging. When you see how much modern infrastructure has been built in China since 2001, under the banner of the Olympics, and you see how much infrastructure has been postponed in America since 2001, under the banner of the war on terrorism, it's clear that the next seven years need to be devoted to nation-building in America.

We need to finish our business in Iraq and Afghanistan as quickly as possible, which is why it is a travesty that the Iraqi Parliament has gone on vacation while 130,000 U.S. troops are standing guard. We can no longer afford to postpone our nation-building while Iraqis squabble over whether to do theirs.

A lot of people are now advising Barack Obama to get dirty with John McCain. Sure, fight fire with fire. That's necessary, but it is not sufficient.

Obama got this far because many voters projected onto him that he could be the leader of an American renewal. They know we need nation-building at home now — not in Iraq, not in Afghanistan, not in Georgia, but in America. Obama cannot lose that theme.

He cannot let Republicans make this election about who is tough enough to stand up to Russia or bin Laden. It has to be about who is strong enough, focused enough, creative enough and unifying enough to get Americans to rebuild America. The next president can have all the foreign affairs experience in the world, but it will be useless, utterly useless, if we, as a country, are weak.

Obama is more right than he knows when he proclaims that this is "our" moment, this is "our" time. But it is our time to get back to work on the only home we have, our time for nation-building in America. I never want to tell my girls — and I'm sure Obama feels the same about his — that they have to go to China to see the future.

For The Duckworth

Awww! He was an icon for Oregon's pro basketball. He even lived in Tigard, where I lived, though I never bumped into him.

And now he's dead.

August 27, 2008
Kevin Duckworth, 44, Former N.B.A. All-Star Center, Is Dead

By BLOOMBERG NEWS

Kevin Duckworth, a two-time National Basketball Association All-Star who played most of his career for the Portland Trail Blazers, died Monday in Kernville, Ore. He was 44.

Duckworth was in Kernville to host a free basketball clinic for children, the Trail Blazers said in a statement. The cause of death is unknown and will be determined by the Lincoln County Medical Examiner, the team said.

Duckworth was born April 11, 1964, in Harvey, Ill. He played college basketball at Eastern Illinois University and was a second-round draft pick of the San Antonio Spurs in 1986. He was traded later that season to Portland, for which he was named the league's most improved player for the 1987-88 season. He played in the N.B.A. All-Star Game in 1989 and 1991.

Duckworth, a 7-footer whose weight often exceeded 280 pounds, was the starting center for the Trail Blazers when they won the Western Conference title in 1990 and 1992. But he became disgruntled in 1993 when he was made a reserve, and he was traded to the Washington Bullets. He also played for the Milwaukee Bucks before ending his career in 1997 with the Los Angeles Clippers.

He is the Trail Blazers' 10th-leading career scorer, with 7,188 points, and rebounder, with 3,327. He compiled averages of 13.6 points and 6.3 rebounds in 527 games with Portland, the team said.

Duckworth remained in the Portland area after his playing career, living in Tigard, Ore., with his fiancée and two children.

Headline Clues

Something is not right when the most widely-read newspaper in a country that calls itself "leader of the free world" tells you these things in headlines:

- Clinton delivers emphatic plea for unity
(if unity must be plead when the opponent is a senile old man, who is President Dubya's new best bud, then it's gotta be really bad)

- U.S. officers executed Iraqis, statement say
(so this is where the case leaves off: "Three U.S. soldiers are expected to be charged for murder in connection with the killing of four Iraqi prisoners." oh good, when will they be set on parole with no bail?)

- Russia backs independence of Georgian enclaves
(guess the ole iron fist just never softens; Thatcher would have been so proud. just when we think we can tell our grandchildren about The Cold War like a bedtime story, here we are again)

- Golf tour's rule: speak English to stay in play
(why is it necessary for it to be a rule? so inhospitable. so arrogant. so fucking American. if you MUST, you really could have just not provided any non-English services, and everyone would have gotten the idea eventually. we call it SOCIAL NORMS.)

- F.A.A. computer trouble causes flight delays at several big airports
(only means Y2K has yet to come)

- Agency's head expects banking crisis to worsen
(uh, need I say more?)

- Wind energy bumps into power grid's limits
(isn't the good of relatively-clean energy a moot point if we can't support it?)

- Taliban gain new foothold in Afghan city
(oh, it goes hand-in-hand with THIS headline: "U.S. Killed 90 in Afghan Village, Including 60 Children, U.N. Finds." now, doesn't everything just kind of make sense? we really really don't need an other-worldly sage -- let alone a McCain/Bush -- to explain this one. I ALSO love that Afghan issues are lumped into the Asia Pacific category of World News, instead of South Asia, like how every other foreign newspaper does. oh, and it's supposed to be Asia/Pacific because Asia and the Pacific are not the same, you idiot.)

- THE WAY OF THE WORLD: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism, By Ron Suskind, 415 pages. Harper. $27.95.
(and then, they go and publish books like THIS one to tell you how things should/could be ... as if it isn't plain to see already. are they just being funny?)

Political Brouhaha

Hillary talked about her stance at the DNC like an involuntary spinster talking about marriage.

Sarcasm, single-minded wit, self-declared honesty (not without a dash of vindictiveness), self-proclaimed martyrdom, unfashionable cattiness are just SOME words that sprang to mind.

... As opposed to what came up in my register to describe the crowd:

Idiots.

That's it; that's the ONLY word to describe them appropriately.

People who are lamenting about the waning "hoopla" of Hillary's also-ran status (woohoo, time share? is that the idea?), worrying about Obama's age, appearance, strength, ideas, "intensity," fame/celebrity status, color, background, intelligence, resume length, "tie-lessness," his wife's fashion sense, his wife's personality, his wife's ideas/celebrity status/intensity, his children's cuteness, (need I say more?) ...

... are idiots.
Worrying about this, afraid of that ... especially when it's just the opposite of "opportune moment." That's what makes a failure of a party.


August 27, 2008
High Anxiety in the Mile High City
By MAUREEN DOWD

DENVER

I've been to a lot of conventions, and there's always something gratifyingly weird that happens.

Dan Quayle acting like a Dancing Hamster. Teresa Heinz Kerry reprising Blanche DuBois. Dick Morris getting nabbed triangulating between a hooker and toes.

But this Democratic convention has a vibe so weird and jittery, so at odds with the early thrilling, fairy dust feel of the Obama revolution, that I had to consult Mike Murphy, the peppery Republican strategist and former McCain guru.

"What is that feeling in the air?" I asked him.

"Submerged hate," he promptly replied.

There were a lot of bitter Clinton associates, fund-raisers and supporters wandering the halls, spewing vindictiveness, complaining of slights, scheming about Hillary's roll call and plotting trouble, with some in the Clinton coterie dissing Obama by planning early departures, before the nominee even speaks.

At a press conference with New York reporters on Monday, Hillary looked as if she were straining at the bit to announce her 2012 exploratory committee.

"Remember, 18 million people voted for me, 18 million people, give or take, voted for Barack," she said, while making a faux pro-Obama point. She keeps acting as if her delegates are out of her control, when she's been privately egging on people to keep her dream alive as long as possible, no matter what the cost to Obama.

Hillary also said she was happy about the choice of Joe Biden because he added "intensity" to the ticket. Ouch.

She added insult to injury by coming out Tuesday night looking great in a blazing orange pantsuit and teaching the precocious pup Obama something about intensity and message. She thanked her "sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits," and slyly noted that Obama would enact her health care plan rather than his.

She offered the electrifying fight that the limpid Obama has not — setting off paranoia among some Democrats that they had chosen the wrong nominee or that Obama had chosen the wrong running mate. "It makes perfect sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together in the Twin Cities because these days they are awfully hard to tell apart," she said.

Afterward, some of her supporters began crying, as they were interviewed by reporters, saying that her speech had proved that she would make a better president than Obama. And, as one said, she would only give him "two months" to prove himself.

Ed Rendell, the governor of Pennsylvania, compared Obama to the passive-aggressive Adlai Stevenson and told The Washington Post that Obama gives six-minute answers and "is not exactly the easiest guy in the world to identify with."

At a meeting of the Democratic women's caucus Tuesday, 74-year-old Carol Anderson of Vancouver, Wash., a former Hillary volunteer, stood in the back of the room in a Hillary T-shirt and hat signed by Hillary and "Nobama" button and booed every time any of the women speakers mentioned Obama's name.

She's voting for McCain and had nothing nice to say about the Obamas. What about the kids, I asked. "Adorable," she agreed. Well, I said, Michelle raised them.

"I think her mother does," Anderson shot back, adding: "I wonder if Michelle would give the Queen one of her little knuckle punches?"

Bill's pals said he was still gnawing at his many grievances against the younger version of himself he has to praise Wednesday night; the latest one being that the Obama folks, like all winners, wanted control over Bill's speech, so that he did not give a paean to himself and his economic record, which is what he wanted to do, because he was incensed that Obama said a couple critical things about his administration during a heated campaign.

Finally, Obama had to give in on Monday and say he would allow the ex-president to do exactly as he likes, which is what he usually does anyhow.

Obama's pacification of Bill made his supporters depressed and anxious that he was going to be a weaker candidate than they had hoped and fearful that, as in Obama's favorite movie, "The Godfather," every time Democrats try to get away, the Clintons pull them back in.

And Democrats have begun internalizing the criticisms of Hillary and John McCain about Obama's rock-star prowess, worrying that the Invesco Field extravaganza Thursday, with Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi, will just add to the celebrity cachet that Democrats have somehow been shamed into seeing as a negative.

So that added to the weird mood at the convention, with some Democrats nitpicking Obama's appearance, after Michelle's knock-out speech and the fabulously cute girls, with a reassuring white family in a town he couldn't remember at one point. They wondered why he wasn't wearing a tie, fearing he looked too young, and second-guessed Michelle's green dress, wondering if it clashed with the blue stage, and fretted that there wasn't a speaker Monday night attacking McCain and yelling about gas prices.

"I'm telling you, man," said one top Democrat, "it's something about our party, the shtetl mentality."

-----------

PS. If McCain wins, I will either start a new political party or make plans to move away from the US. Anyone wanna join me? We could form our own country!

Not So Much a Dichotomy

Just because there are problems in my life doesn't mean I'm not happy; just because I am happy doesn't mean I don't have problems in my life.

Life isn't always so defined.

The Bouquet Nailed Me in the Eye

Well, so THIS is how it feels to catch the bride's bouquet.

Announcer: All the single ladies here, please come to the dance floor.
Elaine: [murmurs to herself] Oh boy ....
Nora: Get up there get up there get up there get up there [pokes my arm with her finger -- and why does she have to poke me so goddamn hard?]
Elena (some Romanian lady sitting at our table): You should go up there!
Elaine: Eh, I don't know. [awkward chuckle]

Nora continues to poke me.

Elaine: [sighs] Fine!

I walk up to the dance floor, looked around and noticed that most of the crowd except for about 7-8 girls (out of something like 40 married women) moved uncomfortably and somewhat gingerly shifted in their seats. I guess at that point, all 8 or 9 of us just got a first-hand understanding of what it means to be minority.

Finally, the troupe of brave young single women lined up to cast their insecurities and hesitations aside to receive the throwing of the bouquet. After all, we are all in the boat of "yes, I want to be in a relationship, but, no, I don't want to be in a relationship." Yes, I understand, ladies.

I stepped back to allow all the other more hopeful girls step in front of me. No, I'm not on the market to find my "other half." I don't even have a stuffed animal I sleep with at night. Not even a plant. Let alone some guy. Yep, have it ladies. I'll hang back here.

Just as I stepped back though, I stepped ON someone's foot instead. A tall blond girl looked down to me as I looked up.

"Oh, sorry," I said. We exchanged a subtle, but mutual smile ... something along the awkward lines of "Yeah, I'm single, too."

As I turned my head back to view the front, I saw, out of the corner of my eye, a flash of color coming at me.

I thought, "Oh, no, this isn't happ ..."

And that's when it hit me in the right eye. It, as in the bouquet.

When I opened my eye, I saw the pretty bunch of flowers fall in slow motion, and I heard the envying "Oh!" of all the ladies around me. (Singledom is better? Right, don't even try to kid me. You all wanted it; I know.)

"Addamnit. Wasn't I just telling you NOT to catch it? Now, you possibly just jinxed yourself from going through training, learning what you need to learn, so that you could travel the world!"

Yes, all of that sparked through my mind -- all of it in that very short moment.

As I watched the bouquet fall, I had no choice but to catch it. How rude would it be to just watch it fall, when it obviously has chosen to hit ME in the face?

So I picked it up. But right when I looked back up, I noticed all the other ladies have already dispersed or were well on their way.

I suppose they all really secretly wanted what I didn't want to have ANYTHING to do with. Or maybe I've wanted to have it, but I was just too chicken-shit to take it all this time.

One way or another, I still got nailed in the eye with a bouquet, as if it was determined to get me.

Oh, so THIS is how it feels to catch a bouquet (... or literally to have a bouquet "catch my eye" -- hahaha!).

I have a plan

It seems just like that.
Every time someone leaves from my life
is a period of cleansing.

I feel pain.
My heart suffers.

But I re-group.

I contain my chaos.
I find sources of strength.
I medicate myself with the wisdom of others.
I calm myself, find balance.
I reach for new things, uncertain things,
and I find my future.

See,
My life goes on to shine.

Make the most of your time on Earth

Driving
Biking
Swimming
Climbing
Snowboarding
Getting stronger
Fixing my feet
Adventuring
Living healthier
Traveling
Pay off debt
Seeing places, people, nature

Bend is my training ground.
I want to learn to do many things before I set off to go elsewhere.
I will be light.
I will roam.
I will see the world.
I will learn.
And the world will greet me for the way I am.

Hunger Maps for Free Summer Meals

There needs to be better ideas contributing from all sectors to eliminate hungry, poverty and wastefulness of resources.

The idea below comes from Google, using its maps to offer wider accessibility for social services.


August 22, 2008, 3:23 pm
Hunger Maps for Free Summer Meals

By Jennifer 8. Lee


Can you fight hunger through a Google maps mashup?

The New York City Coalition Against Hunger believes that, in part, you can, which is why it has rolled out maps of the five boroughs showing where kids can get free summer meals. Last year, the city began an aggressive program to offer free breakfast and lunch in housing projects, libraries, day camps and church groups. Only about one-fifth of the children who get free school meals during the academic year nationwide also get access to the summer meals.

"This is one of the biggest problems with summer meals — it's completely federally funded but drastically underutilized because there is a lack of outreach," said J. C. Dwyer, who helped organize the project while at the coalition.

The plotting of food resources was sparked by a 2006 project that mapped the city's soup kitchens and pantries. That technology drew wide interest from the social services community. "We started getting phone calls from people around the nation asking how to do it," said Mr. Dwyer, who now works in Texas.

Mr. Dwyer, along with a Eamon Johnson, a management consultant, and Brody Berg, a former Microsoft programmer, started Hungermaps.org. "I think there is large number of software developers out there who would want to do something more meaningful with their time," Mr. Dwyer said.

So far their software has been used to map soup kitchens in Anchorage; food stamp offices in Minnesota; summer meals in Boston; and urban food recovery in Seattle.

"With this we tried to hone in on a specific issue, one that I had a background in and one that is imminently mappable. You are talking about physical resources that exist," he said. "It's a logistical problem."

So far, they have 95 registered users on Hungermaps.org who have made some 250 maps.

"It does seem obvious. but the non-profit realm tends to be five years behind the technology curve," Mr. Dwyer said. "I think it speaks to tack of technology adoption by nonprofits. They are really risk adverse. They don't have a lot of money to throw around and make mistakes with."

The coalition said it has encountered skepticism about whether or not it makes sense to invest the resources in technology for low-income families.

Joel Berg, the executive director of the coalition, argues that indeed it is. "One pantry director told me that his clients actually now have more access to Internet than food," he said.

I Walk for a While

Mark and Leslyn,

I have been thinking about you both since the last you wrote me. But I wasn't sure how to respond because, as I read about your travels, I was already distracted by the dealings of, well, life (many other things related to work and family, but one major thing, which is what this letter is about). Of course, your lack of prospect for a job stuck in my mind and caused me a few moments of worry here and there (I didn't worry much more, though, because you didn't sound too worried yourself). But I will say that, even though I am not replying directly to your letter about your travels or lack of job prospect, I want you to know that one thing Mark wrote in the last e-mail did sneak into my mind and stayed there: (funny enough) it's when he mentioned the "other world" that lives under water. Mark, you told me you found peace scuba diving and felt good seeing the world under water that we commonly don't see. Your experience sprung into my head during a time of confusion, when I needed to find some peace. So, what did I do? I went to visit the Deschutes River and let its song calm me down. So thank you. Perhaps you had an inner knowing to send your water, transcending through time and space, over to me.

The following is a LONG story -- I didn't think you'd mind, but I still wanted to apologize. However, I'll say that you will have a good time reading it, just as I had a good time writing it. Enjoy!

------------------
Tonight, Jeremy, the brother of, Josh, my roommate, irritated me. I felt that he just didn't listen to me at all. Soooo lame. He asked a question and cut me off just when I started to answer. For the rest of the conversation, he decided to ignore me and discuss it with Josh instead. It sounded so much like he just wanted to hear himself talk and to hear Josh agree with him on the point that the only conclusion available tonight is "I don't know." I was irritated that he didn't take the time to listen to me because I firmly believed that I had an inkling of what the answer might be -- or at least I wanted to get closer to it by having a discussion.

I even e-mailed Nora about it -- a lengthy e-mail about just how rude and silly he had acted.

Except in just a few hours (now), I realized that, while Jeremy had acted irritatingly and even rudely, I also had my problems. For one, I used the "big" word "dipthong" as part of my answer to his question. Of course not everyone knows what that means! But why did I use it? And why did he cut me off and ignored me soon after I used that word?

You know, I have a short temper when it comes to people just being the way they are (pleasant or not) when I'm out of balance (especially). I think this episode with Jeremy and Josh is just an indication of it. When I am out of balance, I find that I'd start to read more, so to acquire knowledge mostly for the sake of knowledge, not for understanding. Then, I'd use that knowledge for the sake of using it, again, not for understanding. I cease to accept people for the way they are, for better or for worse, because I'm unhappy about the Current, about my life as it is.

The last time I felt this way was when Tom, my last roommate that I started a romantic relationship with, left for a fishing trip in Portland soon after he had to take care of Tara, his ex-girlfriend and the pregnancy. I remember feeling angry during that time. As a way of letting it out, I liked to point out how wrong everyone and everything was (also why I used the big word with Jeremy) -- my way of ... well, "therapy" by breaking dishes, by throwing them at a wall one by one full-strength with my spiral-throwing arm (I throw a very nice, tight spiral in American football -- haha!). But I believe that my anger at the time was just a by-product; something else caused my anger. Perhaps, I was angry because I felt couldn't stop from feeling sad.

But things changed and days passed on. Like the desert changing its landscape with the coming of the wind, Tom came back from the fishing trip, and I didn't deal with the matter in its entirety. So, without memorizing the image of the landscape hard enough and quick enough, I could not find my way back to put those problems to rest.

That was several months ago.

Today, I realize that I have started to feel the same way for the past week and a half, two weeks. It's good. I see it this time. I saw the coming of it, and I see that it is here. Now, I need to see where it came from and see to its leaving.

But where did the sadness come from, the sadness that brought restlessness and anger? I keep wondering. I am trying to listen, observe and understand.

For support, I decided to re-read something spiritually powerful to me. Since Sunday, I've been reading the panther's description. I also read the leopard's description, since I feel that's what I am ... a black leopard. I read that I am here in this life to learn about self-reliance and about reclaiming my power. I had forgotten that ... almost. It made me feel better reading it because I was reassured that I am here for a certain purpose, an assignment. But it didn't make me feel good enough. So I looked in my little collection of books to find something that might help calm me down. At first, nothing looked good. But I looked again. And there it was, a small book hidden between larger and more important-looking books.

I found The Alchemist.

I bought this book several months ago when I was still living with Tom, struggling to find balance and a sense of reassurance and direction. I had only read the preface of the book, but I plunged in and bought it -- a small voice inside told me I should take it home because I will want to read it one day. See, the even more interesting thing about my encounter with this book is that last winter, while I was in a lot of pain still, trying to pick myself up from my last relationship (even worse than how sad I was about 2 months after this point, which was when you first met me), I wandered through a winter bazaar in Portland -- where I was still living with my parents and working at a miserable job -- and met a very spiritual woman perchance. Somehow, it seemed her booth called me to it. We started talking, and she told me about intuition, about knowing, and about her encounters in The Philippines (where my old nanny is from -- lost contact, sadly; would like to find her).

The woman also told me about The Alchemist, which, for the next many months, I had almost forgotten.

When I walked through Barnes & Noble's the day I bought the book, somehow, it was on display. I walked past it, but it caught my eye, so I backtracked (literally walking backward) to look at it. I believe it was calling for me, just as it was calling for me from amongst other books on my bookshelf the other day, just when I needed something nourishing to read. And I felt like I needed to understand why this book's call felt so calming to me.

So, I brought The Alchemist down by the river yesterday. I read half of it while listening intensely ... to the river, to the scratching and small footsteps of rodents (chipmunks?) running around trying to approach me (funny that there was this ONE that came less than a foot in front of me several times, wondered whether it should come any closer, but then decided not to), and also to the voice of the book's wisdom.

Today, I finished the book. Though I teared at a few sentences, I honestly did not learn as much as I would have liked about Personal Legends (the heart's purpose), Language of the World, Soul of the World and the Hand that writes Life. I am happy that many people (like my roommate) appreciated that book so much, they'd claim it has "changed their lives." But it hasn't yet for me. No, the secrets of the world is not what I am after. In fact, even though I don't understand completely, I feel that I am already familiar with them somehow. What I have been looking for is the secret of my heart. I wanted to know what is making my heart feel dis-ease all these years.

Impressed but not satisfied from reading The Alchemist, I started reading The Tao of Pooh.

Yes, you're right. Pooh as in Winnie-the-Pooh, the stuffed bear.


Another interesting fact here is that The Tao of Pooh was given to me by a friend in school about a year and a half ago. I was having a very tough time at that point, and I had to mask a lot of things to get by. That friend was Aaron, who later did me another kind deed by literally rescuing me when my old boyfriend kicked me out. I didn't read it for so long because I just wasn't ready. At that time, I wasn't looking the Path; I was trying to figure out how to heal. But I knew I would read it one day, the day when I wanted to understand where I'm heading.

I believe that day was today.

Only 1/3 into the book, I stopped and started writing this ... not because I've suddenly been enlightened about the Path, but because the book reminded me that I have been short-tempered for a reason (referring back to the beginning of this letter), a reminder I didn't have before I read The Alchemist. It was from reading the simplest thing -- a book about Pooh Bear to illustrate the Path -- that reminded me people's behavior may be silly and irritating, but they are silly and irritating only because I feel disconnected, uncomfortable and out of balance. Indeed, things seem as they are in one's heart; things look nice because they reflect how you feel in your heart, and vice versa. The first place to contemplate is not the problems of others, as they will be solved with the passing of time. I feel I ought to check the problems of the self (not to say I caused other people's problems and transgressions;t I'm saying my attitude towards their problems and transgressions).

So what is it?

While writing the paragraph earlier about how I hadn't learned as much as I wanted from The Alchemist, I suddenly asked myself, "Really? You sure nothing touched your heart? Don't you remember your heart throbbed and you teared as you read about Love, about departure and waiting? You remembered how your heart suffered all those times before -- scorned, misunderstood and misinterpreted, bent, abused, ignored, trampled -- and this time now with Tom and your unrequited feelings for him. It touched you where you did not want to be touched, didn't it?"

So, really, through the many steps, many passages of words, time and many voices of my heart-mind, I have come to feel that my sadness comes from departure and abandonment, from being broken-hearted. I know it affects me so not because I am weak and others who are stronger get over it. The reason could be many: perhaps it affects me this strongly because I came to this life with the burden of the last. Or maybe it is because I was raised a certain way (I've tried reading and understanding the physical brain's working -- fascinating and insightful, but it didn't give me the answer that fills the entire void). Or maybe -- just maybe -- this is my Lesson, the black panther's lesson: self-reliance and reclamation of power ... a power that lies in loving myself, the power I need to acquire before realizing my Personal Legend ... my purpose and role in this world.

I've been feeling lonely for the past week, and I have been trying to explain to Nora (and myself) why I'm still single. Not that I'm in a hurry to marry, but I was trying to explain away my loneliness. All of this ... from the beginning of this letter to the end ... is the REAL reason why I haven't found a boyfriend yet. It isn't just because the boys I've encountered aren't mature enough or ready enough or interesting enough (but mark my words, these DO make part of the reason!). The truth is my life has its own course and its own timing to reach my purpose, my Legend (which I am starting to believe is Love, not just love for myself, but also beyond that) that no one can help. Others may find their way to their Personal Legends (purposes/roles) in this life through first finding love. In other words, love will be an instrument that helps them reach their challenges and their Legends. But I feel that it'll be almost the opposite for me: I will be challenged to realize my powers and knowing myself before I can reach my Personal Legend, which is to love myself so to truly give myself to others.

I am still sad. Understanding what is happening does not heal my wounds and take away my sadness. But it reassures me that change is coming. If I withstand this, I can go on to withstanding the next and the next and the next ... until I reach a point when Life is satisfied.

After all, that is what we are all here to do, isn't it -- to reach each of our purposes and potentials, so to fulfill Life's longing for itself, and to nourish and satisfy Life as a universal whole?

Please send me blessings with your thoughts of me wherever you are. I believe I am setting off on this journey to some place far away.

Missing you.

Love,

Lum Lum

Lack-Luster Wonder

So my roommate and his brother were downstairs trying to make a reggae song. Yes, you read me right ... a reggae song. At the end of the night, they decided to listen to a song by a girl named Jem.

Suddenly, the brother, said, "How come she sings like an American?"
"What?" I asked.
"Listen to her. She sings like she has an American accent," said Jeremy. "It's like everybody sings like Americans. Why is that? What did people sing like before the American accent?"

I proceeded on to giving my ideas after he offered his ("Well, Americans talk with a lot of dipthongs. In the time 'before American accents,' people didn't sing like that. ..."). But he cut me, off, apparently irritated because my explanation (barely even got to really explaining) didn't support what he was trying to say, which I was really fuzzy about.

What exact was he trying to say? He started explaining away, yet not to me, but to my roommate. They then started trying to "figure it out" between themselves (even citing Ozzy Osborne!!), completely ignoring me while I stood aside, bewildered: "What? Didn't I just try to contribute with at least some sort of educated guess? I'd think my two cents in classical singing, diction and some linguistics would make for good contribution that spawn intellectual discussion on a good topic. Hmm."

See this is when I feel being shut down. I don't feel sorry for myself. I just find it silly of someone to pose a legitimate question to try to find an answer, but when he doesn't understand a certain point of view or when someone disagrees, he dismisses you. Though, I didn't find it necessary for me to defend myself (against silliness? ha!); I also didn't find the need to correct him. In the end, it's he who won't learn anything. (And usually, these are the people that tell me they don't read and don't care to know what is going on in the world because they feel it's not relevant to their lives.)

So, after some discussion between themselves, they came to the conclusion of no conclusion: "I don't know." By that time, I was not as bewildered as I had been because I realized something:
sometimes, people pose intellectual conversation topics, but they are not interested in having intellectual conversations. What those people like to do is to hear themselves talk, hear other people agree with them, even at the expense of barring other people from having something valuable to say (or ignoring them), robbing the dialogue of every ounce of substance and respect. These discussions about substantial topics of wonder end up having no wonder at all.
And don't get me wrong. I LOVE silly conversations, but this isn't silly or amusing at all; it's just stupid and boring to me.

I think maybe this is the reason why I haven't found a boyfriend yet. I haven't found a guy who is boyfriend material, who I am attracted to and have a good connection with, who knows to be silly when it's good to be silly, but is also creative and interesting enough to have something to offer in conversations and has a good attitude about learning from others. (Tom's good with good conversations. Sadly, he's just not boyfriend material.) Hmm. I think I'm going to be single for a while.

After the Fact

The wisdom you gather from each heartbreak is not meant to prevent you from going through the next heartbreak or the one after that.

Instead, it helps you with the more important stuff -- the aftermath.

As the world turns, oil giants lose influence

Is it really? I mean, the "supermajors" of oil producing companies have been straining in oil production rate to catch up with increasing demands, thus, creating the staggering oil prices as of late? It looks like each "supermajor" has its own oil reserve that are more than adequate to lower oil prices. So I guess all of it adds up to oil companies would rather sacrifice the public's pocket books and allow oil production to slow instead of cutting into their own private reserves.

But I think we all knew that already, which is why we have the following going on:

August 19, 2008
As Oil Giants Lose Influence, Supply Drops
By JAD MOUAWAD

Oil production has begun falling at all of the major Western oil companies, and they are finding it harder than ever to find new prospects even though they are awash in profits and eager to expand.

Part of the reason is political. From the Caspian Sea to South America, Western oil companies are being squeezed out of resource-rich provinces. They are being forced to renegotiate contracts on less-favorable terms and are fighting losing battles with assertive state-owned oil companies.

And much of their production is in mature regions that are declining, like the North Sea.

The reality, experts say, is that the oil giants that once dominated the global market have lost much of their influence — and with it, their ability to increase supplies.

"This is an industry in crisis," said Amy Myers Jaffe, the associate director of Rice University's energy program in Houston. "It's a crisis of leadership, a crisis of strategy and a crisis of what the future looks like for the supermajors," a term often applied to the biggest oil companies. "They are like a deer caught in headlights. They know they have to move, but they can't decide where to go."

The sharp retreat in all of the commodities' prices over the last month, about 20 percent, reflects slowing global growth and with it reduced demand for more oil in the short term. But over the next decade, the world will need more oil to satisfy developing Asian economies like China. The oil companies' difficulties suggest that these much-needed future supplies may be hard to come by.

Oil production has failed to catch up with surging consumption in recent years, a disparity that propelled oil prices to records this year. Despite the recent decline, oil remains above $100 a barrel, unimaginable a few years ago, causing pain throughout the economy, like higher prices at the gas pump and automakers posting sizable losses.

The scope of the supply problem became more clear in the latest quarter when the five biggest publicly traded oil companies, including Exxon Mobil, said their oil output had declined by a total of 614,000 barrels a day, even as they posted $44 billion in profits. It was the steepest of five consecutive quarters of declines.

While that drop might not sound like much in a world that consumes 86 million barrels of oil each day, today's markets are so tight that the slightest shortfalls can push up prices.

Along with mature fields, the companies have contracts with producing countries whose governments allocate fewer barrels to oil companies as prices rise.

"It has become really, really difficult to grow production," said Paul Horsnell, an analyst at Barclays Capital. "International companies have a portfolio of assets in areas of significant decline and no frontier discoveries to make up for that."

As a result of the industry's troubles, energy experts do not expect oil supplies to grow this year in countries outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Global demand for oil is expected to expand by 800,000 barrels a day, mostly because of rising demand in China and the Middle East, despite lower consumption in developing countries.

This imbalance between supplies and demand will be one thing that OPEC ministers will consider when they meet next month to decide whether or not to increase their production. OPEC has about 2 million barrels a day in untapped capacity that its members control.

The new oil order has been emerging for a few decades.

As late as the 1970s, Western corporations controlled well over half of the world's oil production. These companies — Exxon Mobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Total of France and Eni of Italy — now produce just 13 percent.

Today's 10 largest holders of petroleum reserves are state-owned companies, like Russia's Gazprom and Iran's national oil company.

Sluggish supplies have prompted a cottage industry of doomsday predictions that the world's oil production has reached a peak. But many energy experts say these "peak oil" theories are misplaced. They say the world is not running out of oil — rather, the companies that know the most about how to produce oil are running out of places to drill.

"There is still a lot of oil to develop out there, which is why we don't call this geological peak oil, especially in places like Venezuela, Russia, Iran and Iraq," said Arjun Murti, an energy analyst at Goldman Sachs. "What we have now is geopolitical peak oil."

Western companies are far better than most national oil companies at finding and extracting petroleum, experts say. They have developed advanced exploration technologies and can muster significant financing to develop new fields. Many of the world's exporting states, however, have spurned their expertise.

Oil company executives see a straightforward explanation: a trend known as resource nationalism. They contend that they have been shut out of promising regions by a rising assertiveness in the Middle East, in Russia, in South America and elsewhere by governments determined to keep full control of their oil.

Even in places where they are allowed to operate, the Western oil companies face growing problems. Countries like Russia, Algeria, Nigeria and Angola have recently sought to renegotiate their contracts with foreign investors to capture a bigger share of the profits.

"The problem with the supply side of the equation is a problem of accessing the resources in the ground so they can be explored and developed," Rex W. Tillerson, the chairman of Exxon, said in a recent interview. "That's a political question where governments have made choices."

This sense of being hemmed in helps explain why the Western oil companies want more offshore drilling in the United States. They see it as one of their few options.

These companies have also tried to diversify. They have turned to natural gas as a profitable source of growth. They are tackling hydrocarbon resources, like deep-water reserves, heavy oil or tar sands. And some companies, like Shell and BP, are investing in renewable fuels.

Unquestionably, the oil companies could have done more. They failed to invest heavily in exploration after the oil-price collapse of the mid-1980s, which lasted through the 1990s.

In 1994, the top five oil companies spent 3 percent of their free cash on share buybacks and 15 percent on exploration. By 2007, they were spending 34 percent of their free cash on buybacks — in effect, propping up their share prices — and a mere 6 percent on exploration, according to figures compiled by a team led by Ms. Jaffe and Ronald Soligo of Rice University. As a result, some experts warn that supplies will fall short of the demand over the next decade, perhaps sending prices well above today's levels.

At a recent conference in Madrid, Christophe de Margerie, the chief executive of the French company Total, said the world would be hard-pressed to raise supplies beyond 95 million barrels a day by 2020. Only a few years ago, forecasters expected 120 million barrels a day by 2030, a level many analysts now view as unrealistic.

The major companies picked up their capital spending around 2005, although much of the increase has been offset by the soaring cost of development. Exxon, for example, expects to spend about $25 billion annually for the next three years to expand its business, compared with $15 billion a year from 2002 through 2006.

"It's amazing the difference from the 1970s, where a lot of money went into exploration, development and production of new resources," said Paul Stevens, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, a London policy research organization. "It is happening a little bit now, but it is not going to be enough."

As the power and clout of Western companies erode, the world may become increasingly dependent on government-controlled entities for oil.

While some may be up to the task, like Saudi Aramco, others, like Petróleos de Venezuela, suffer from bureaucratic inefficiencies and political interference.

"We are going to depend on the Venezuelan, the Nigerian or the Iranian oil companies for the future of our oil supplies," said Bruce Bullock, the director of the energy institute at Southern Methodist University. "This is a troubling trend."

Where It Is

It doesn't matter where I am,
home is where my heart is,
which is in a dream I bring around right here, right now.

Du Toit Spirit

One of Olympics' first amputee in an able-bodied swim race has this posted above her bed:

The tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goals;
The tragedy of life lies in not having goals to reach for.

This is about her:
August 18, 2008
South Africa's du Toit Fulfills a Dream Derailed
By JERÉ LONGMAN

BEIJING — Natalie du Toit carried the flag for South Africa at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Games. She wore a prosthetic leg, but few likely noticed. She has long awaited this moment, when she can stop being a disabled swimmer and start being just a swimmer again.

Wednesday, du Toit will participate in the Olympic marathon swim with no lower left leg or prosthetic assistance to help her kick through 6.2 miles of open water, competing as the first female amputee in an able-bodied Olympics.

Unlike her countryman Oscar Pistorius, who sprints on a pair of carbon-fiber legs, du Toit has provoked no debate about whether she has a competitive advantage in her event. There is no benefit to a lack of kicking power, symmetry and buoyancy when you make your living as a swimmer.

"This is something I've dreamed about since I was 12 or 13," du Toit, 24, said of competing in an Olympics. "I didn't dream of having a motorbike accident and losing my leg so I could go to the Paralympics."

She will participate here, then stay for the Paralympics in September. So will Natalia Partyka, a table tennis player from Poland who was born without a right forearm. Pistorius cleared a legal hurdle en route to the Games, but fell a second shy of the eligibility standard to run the 400 meters.

Du Toit qualified with a fourth-place finish at the open-water world championships in May. She and Partyka represent another sign that the Olympic movement, once insensitively restrictive, now more seriously embraces the ideal of equal opportunity and inclusiveness.

Women, once prohibited, now account for more than 40 percent of Olympic athletes. Disabled athletes have begun to participate regularly, even if the numbers remain small, long after George Eyser, an American, won three gold medals in gymnastics with a wooden leg at the 1904 St. Louis Games.

Neroli Fairhall, a paraplegic from New Zealand, competed in archery at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. Marla Runyan, a legally blind runner from the United States, made the final of the 1,500 meters at the 2000 Sydney Games and participated in the 5,000 meters at the 2004 Athens Games.

"We should be about getting as many people involved as possible," said Donna de Varona, who won two gold medals in swimming at the 1964 Tokyo Games and later helped to found the Women's Sports Foundation.

At 16, du Toit nearly qualified for the 2000 Sydney Games in three events. On Feb. 25, 2001, as she aimed for the 2004 Athens Olympics, du Toit left training one morning in Cape Town, headed for school on a motorbike, when she was struck by a car that pulled out of a parking lot.

"I've lost my leg, I've lost my leg," she began screaming.

Her left leg was still attached, but the bones were splintered, the muscles ruptured. "Burst like a tomato dropped to the ground," du Toit said.

A titanium rod was inserted to stabilize the femur in her injured leg. An artery was transplanted from the right leg to the left and she was given 24 units of blood. The leg was placed in a hyperbaric chamber in a desperate attempt to spur some knitting of the shattered bones.

Doctors considered harvesting muscle from her back and hips to try to refashion the leg. After a week, they surrendered to the inevitable. Du Toit's left leg was amputated at the knee.

Five months later, she jumped back in the pool. Her first workout exhausted her after 25 meters, but at least she was swimming again, more out of curiosity than determination.

"I just wanted to see what would happen," du Toit said.

She felt somewhat rudderless, especially in the breaststroke, which requires a snapping of the legs for propulsion. "I ended up more or less swimming in circles," she said.

Eventually, du Toit learned to compensate. Essentially, her left arm became her left leg.

In 2002, du Toit qualified against able-bodied swimmers for the final of the 800-meter freestyle at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England. This had never before happened in the modern era. Du Toit was named athlete of the meet ahead of Ian Thorpe. A year later, again against able-bodied swimmers, she won the 800 freestyle at the African Games.

A poem, hung on her wall, provided du Toit with laminated inspiration:

The tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goals;

The tragedy of life lies in not having goals to reach for.

Once, du Toit said, people seemed to notice her disability before they noticed her. Now that has begun to change. Still, there are bad days, sure. Du Toit can no longer run. In the pool, her times are much slower than they once were. Her upper left leg is about seven inches in diameter smaller than the right. It floats behind her in the water, withered, useless power.

Her right leg works overtime, cramping in long races. Exhaustion drops her hips low into the water. A chiropractor must balance her body, as if it were a checkbook.

"There are a lot of dark moments," du Toit said. "Everybody goes through flashbacks. Obviously, there are some days when I cry. But I try to remember that better days are ahead. You just go on. If you want to get there, you go on."

Open-water swimming requires less insistent kicking, though it does not adhere to the niceties of swimming in a pool. For one thing, there are no lanes. The close-quarter thrashing, like the water, can get rough. Group turns around marker buoys can resemble aqua-Nascar.

"In the water, I'm just like everybody else," du Toit said. "They wouldn't hold back, saying, 'There's a disabled athlete, I'll go slower.' "

That is all she has wanted. To be just like everybody else.

Debauchery

So today, I'm lamenting that the world remembers autocratic regimes and Cold War-style conflict fondly. Even more welcoming are thoughtless plans to take over former Soviet territories by both sides.

Well, it's not to say that things are falling back into the Cold War era, and it's not to say that autocratic regimes, as bad as they sound, have no reason to exist.

I'm saying that the US media has certainly enjoyed the fact that Russia "got in trouble" and is now on the spot for the defense. In fact, the US media has been enjoying it so much that, for the most part, it forgot to mention it was Georgia who invaded South Ossetia to begin with, and Russia was there to "protect" its peacekeeping force. Of course, Russia far overdid its "peacekeeping mission" -- even though the Russian government had announced its move into South Ossetia and Georgia is not an invasion, but, hey, they pretty much still made it into one. Come on. Protecting Russian peacekeeping force and protecting Russian interest in South Ossetia doesn't mean bombing Georgia, does it? Not the same thing in most the world's book. But this still shouldn't overshadow Georgia's part in the debauchery ... let alone allow Georgia to cry foul with tears and snot down its face like it's done nothing wrong.

If yerrr teach’n in Texas, y’all might wanna buy a big ole guuuun fer schooool

Thanks for posting this, Damon.


Wow. What a situation! This is going to be the start to a terribly slippery slope for all kinds of other things in the education system.

This is not to mention the inherent danger in always having the presence of firearm in schools which may already have pre-existing behavioral problems.

Come on. If there weren't pre-existing problems that they can't figure out, then they wouldn't be calling for guns, would they? And if they have pre-existing problems, that also means there are inherent danger for a student stealing guns or SOMETHING happening.

Not good.


Texas school district to let teachers carry guns
Reuters
Fri Aug 15, 3:32 PM ET

A Texas school district will let teachers bring guns to class this fall, the district's superintendent said on Friday, in what experts said appeared to be a first in the United States.

The board of the small rural Harrold Independent School District unanimously approved the plan and parents have not objected, said the district's superintendent, David Thweatt.

School experts backed Thweatt's claim that Harrold, a system of about 110 students 150 miles northwest of Fort Worth, may be the first to let teachers bring guns to the classroom.

Thweatt said it is a matter of safety.

"We have a lock-down situation, we have cameras, but the question we had to answer is, 'What if somebody gets in? What are we going to do?" he said. "It's just common sense."

Teachers who wish to bring guns will have to be certified to carry a concealed handgun in Texas and get crisis training and permission from school officials, he said.

Recent school shootings in the United States have prompted some calls for school officials to allow students and teachers to carry legally concealed weapons into classrooms.

The U.S. Congress once barred guns at schools nationwide, but the U.S. Supreme Court struck the law down, although state and local communities could adopt their own laws. Texas bars guns at schools without the school's permission.

(Reporting by Jim Forsyth in San Antonio; writing by Bruce Nichols in Houston, editing by Vicki Allen)

This is F’n Crazy, and Frankly, I’m Uneasy about It

Let me just say that Georgia is freak'n done-sy.

Looks like no matter what other nations call for Russia to do, they're still going to do whatever the hell they want. The truth is, Russia (in its government policies, not necessarily the people because, well, I just don't know what everyone's thinking) has not changed that much in terms of its mentality in the former Soviet neighborhood: it sees itself as "above" these former eastern bloc countries and are "well-deserved" to be the patrimonial overseer over the former Soviet neighborhood. Well, guess Russia's just doing what they have always done and ... just being themselves, always strong in personality ... blunt rebuttals and "waving the finger," mostly to the West. At the same time, what the hell was Georgia thinking -- taking over Russian-backed South Ossetia to "come into the West?" Fallacy in this thinking: 1) Even with all the military training they've been reinforcing before taking on South Ossetia, they wanted to challenge RUSSIA? Oh, so over-estimated themselves; 2) Did they actually think breaking away from Russia and coming into the West would be that easy? Did they forget Russia never lets go easily? Did they forget that the West is an exclusive gentlemen's club?

Do people think before they act anymore?



And, speaking of blunt, this is a blunt reminder that the 20th century hasn't left us for some far-away island oasis for vacation yet. It's still here. It still dictates our politics ... especially that of the Northern Hemisphere and former Soviet bloc.

And seems like Bush has issued his strongest warning yet, sending troops to oversee "humanitarian efforts," and wagging his finger at Russia, demanding them to abide by the cease-fire and withdraw its forces or risk its place in "the diplomatic, political, economic and security structures of the 21st century." In face of a huge bully of the former eastern bloc, I wonder if that would really work. Reminds me of trying to control bullies in grade school classrooms ....

What I am curious about is what Obama would do in the same situation. What do you think? Maybe we should write him. Hahaha!



August 15, 2008
Russia Vows to Support Two Enclaves, in Retort to Bush
By ELLEN BARRY and C.J. CHIVERS

MOSCOW — President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia said Thursday that Russia would act as an international guarantor of the two pro-Russian enclaves at the center of the crisis with Georgia, and Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov said that Georgia could "forget about" territorial integrity because of the war.

The comments did not stake out a new position, but together, they offered a sharp retort to President Bush's insistence a day earlier that "the sovereign and territorial integrity of Georgia be respected."

The Russian rebuke came as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice headed to the region to work for a settlement and to show support for the Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili.

Speaking in France after meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy, she urged Russia to honor the truce and withdraw all of its troops.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, speaking in Washington, ruled out the use of American military force in connection with the conflict, but said that relations between the United States and Russia may have suffered long-lasting damage as a result of Russia's actions.

"I don't see any prospect for the use of military force by the United States in this situation," Mr. Gates said at a Pentagon briefing. "Clear enough?"Meanwhile, in Georgia, Russian forces briefly allowed the Georgian police to return to the city of Gori on Thursday morning as the Russian troops appeared to prepare to pull out. But joint patrols were canceled three hours later and the city returned to full Russian control.

In a further sign that Russian forces remained in control of key parts of Georgian territory, Russian tanks patrolled the city of Poti, a Black Sea port farther west.

Mr. Medvedev said he would support the independence aspirations of South Ossetians and Abkhazians in accordance with the United Nations Charter, international conventions of 1966 and the Helsinki Act on Security and Cooperation in European.

"You have been defending your land, and the right is on your side," Mr. Medvedev said at a meeting with leaders of the two breakaway regions.

"Russia's position is unchanged: we will support any decisions taken by the peoples of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in accordance with the U.N. Charter," he said, adding that "not only do we support but we will guarantee them."

As Ms. Rice traveled to Georgia, she stopped in France for discussions with Mr. Sarkozy, who brokered the cease-fire accord between Russia and Georgia.

Speaking after the two-hour meeting, at the president's summer residence in southeast France, Ms. Rice said: "The provisional cease-fire that was agreed to really must go into place. And that means that military activities have to cease."

Ms. Rice was due later to travel to Tbilisi, the Georgian capital.On Wednesday, the United States and Georgia called the Russian advances into Gori and another strategic Georgian city a violation of the cease-fire agreement struck only hours earlier.

In response, Mr. Bush sent American troops to Georgia to oversee a "vigorous and ongoing" humanitarian mission, in a direct challenge to Russia's display of military dominance over the region. Mr. Bush demanded that Russia abide by the cease-fire and withdraw its forces or risk its place in "the diplomatic, political, economic and security structures of the 21st century." It was his strongest warning yet of potential retaliation against Russia over the conflict.

In his briefing, Mr. Gates said the American military's mission was to deliver supplies, provide shelter and take other steps of a strictly humanitarian nature.

However, he said "the entire premise" of relations between the United States and Russia had been called into question by Russia's conduct over the last week, and that the relationship between Washington and Moscow could be affected "for years to come" if Russia did not quickly withdraw its forces from Georgia.

"My personal view is, there needs to be some consequences" for Russia's behavior, he said. He did not suggest what those consequences should be, other than a lowering of Russia's image in the world.

Asked whether the curtain might be rising on "another cold war," Mr. Gates said that was "certainly not our desire." That question will be decided in "the days and months to come," he added, making it clear that he thinks Moscow holds the answer. "I think, frankly, that we have been pretty restrained," he said.

Russia's goal was not really peacekeeping and the protection of pro-Russian inhabitants of South Ossetia, he suggested. Rather, he said, it was to send a message to Georgia and other former Soviet states that they should think twice before "daring to try to integrate with the West."In Gori, which was the focus of international protest after Russia shelled it and occupied it on Wednesday, the attempt at joint patrols on Thursday suggested a cooling of tensions there.

Gori is just 40 miles from Tbilisi, and rumors had circulated on Wednesday of a possible advance on the city.

It was not clear why the joint patrols failed, but it appeared that personnel on the ground were in conflict. Around 10 a.m. Thursday, a Russian Army major ordered Georgian and Russian police officers to patrol in pairs. But this clearly did not last. "We had to go or there would have been shooting," said a Georgian officer, who would not give his name.

More than 30 Georgian police officers left Gori and returned to a post outside the city; shortly afterward Russian troops fired three artillery rounds. Their target was not clear.

In Poti, three Russian tanks were seen patrolling the city. Villagers there said the Russian tanks frequently made the 30-minute drive from their base just northeast in Senaki to Poti to perform exercises on an abandoned military base, with troops jumping off their tanks and sweeping the area around them.

A Georgian state television reporter was shot, but not seriously hurt, on Thursday afternoon while broadcasting live from the side of the road between Tbilisi and Gori. The reporter, Tamara Urushadze, wearing a flak jacket marked "TV," was speaking when muffled pops could be heard. She looked over her shoulder, then stepped sideways and fell in front of the camera. A bullet grazed her left wrist, and Ms. Urushadze continued broadcasting live as she held her bleeding arm.

In an interview on a liberal radio station, Ekho Moskvy, Mr. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said that Georgia's territorial integrity was "de facto limited" and that any agreement suggesting otherwise would be "deeply insulting" to the people of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

He also said he was not worried about the threat of international isolation, the Interfax news agency reported.

"I don't know how they are going to isolate us," he said.

The decision on Wednesday to send the American military, even on a humanitarian mission, deepened the United States' commitment to Georgia and American allies in the former Soviet sphere, just as Russia has been determined to reassert its control in the area.

A senior Pentagon official said Wednesday that the relief effort was intended "to show to Russia that we can come to the aid of a European ally, and that we can do it at will, whenever and wherever we want."

At a minimum, American forces in Georgia will test Russia's pledge to allow relief supplies into the country; they could also deter further Russian attacks, though at the risk of a potential military confrontation.

"We expect Russia to ensure that all lines of communication and transport, including seaports, airports, roads and airspace, remain open for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and for civilian transit," Mr. Bush said. "We expect Russia to meet its commitment to cease all military activities in Georgia, and we expect all Russian forces that entered Georgia in recent days to withdraw from that country."

Mr. Saakashvili, who had sharply criticized what he called a failure of the West to offer support, declared the United States relief operation a "turning point" in the conflict, which began last Thursday when Georgian forces tried to establish control in the breakaway region of South Ossetia, only to be routed by the Russians.

Mr. Saakashvili interpreted the aid operation as a decision to defend Georgia's ports and airports, though Bush administration and Pentagon officials quickly made it clear that would not be the case. A senior administration official said, "We won't be protecting the airport or seaport, but we'll certainly protect our assets if we need to."

Mr. Bush spoke in the Rose Garden of the White House on Wednesday, flanked by Ms. Rice and the secretary of defense, Robert M. Gates. He announced Ms. Rice's plans to fly to France and Georgia, but State Department officials said there were no plans for her to go to Moscow.

Mr. Bush's remarks, like the military operation he ordered, reflected a growing apprehension within the White House over Russia's offensive, as well as mounting frustration that Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, whom Mr. Bush often calls a friend, was unmoved by appeals for moderation. Underscoring the urgency, Mr. Bush, who had remained at the Olympics in Beijing while the conflict erupted, postponed a planned trip to his ranch in Crawford, Tex., which was to have begun on Thursday.

The first relief aircraft, a C-17 transporter carrying medical supplies and materials for shelter for thousands displaced by the fighting, arrived in Tbilisi on Wednesday; a second was due Thursday.

Ms. Rice called Mr. Lavrov, and informed him about the relief operation. The presence of American troops to help the aid mission will also allow the United States to monitor whether Russia was honoring the cease-fire.

At a news conference at the State Department on Wednesday, Ms. Rice evoked some of the darkest memories of the cold war, though she stopped well short of promises of direct military support to Georgia.

"This is not 1968, and the invasion of Czechoslovakia, where Russia can invade its neighbor, occupy a capital, overthrow a government and get away with it," she said. "Things have changed."

She and Mr. Bush gave credence to Georgia's accusations that Russian forces continued to operate in violation of the cease-fire. Russia insisted that all of its operations were permitted under the agreement.

The cease-fire included a provision that required Russian forces to withdraw to their "normal bases of encampment" but also allowed them to "implement additional security measures."

A senior American official said the vague language "would allow the Russians to do almost anything."

Only hours after the agreement was reached early Wednesday, a Russian tank battalion occupied parts of Gori, a strategic city in central Georgia. Hundreds of additional Russian soldiers also poured over the border from Russia into South Ossetia, accompanied by fuel trucks and attack helicopters.

The presence of Russian forces in Gori frayed nerves as rumors circulated of an attack on Tbilisi itself. A Russian battalion commander, at a checkpoint on the highway from Gori to the capital, spoke menacingly of Mr. Saakashvili.

"If he doesn't understand the situation, we'll have to go further," the commander said on the condition of anonymity. "He doesn't seem to understand that the Russian Army is much stronger than the Georgian Army. His tanks remain in their places. His air force is dead. His navy is also. His army is demoralized."

Ellen Barry reported from Moscow and C.J. Chivers from Gori, Georgia. Reporting was contributed by Steven Lee Myers, Thom Shanker and Helene Cooper from Washington, Sabrina Tavernise from Gori, Andrew Kramer from Tbilisi, Georgia, and Katrin Bennhold from Paris..