Saturday, June 12, 2010

Bambi and the Brits on diplomatic tensions over oil spill



Jun 12, 2:04 PM EDT

Obama, Britain's Cameron try to smooth diplomatic waters as tensions rise over BP oil spill


AP Photo
AP Photo/Stefan Rousseau
Watch Related Video

New Oil Spill Estimates Anger Gulf Residents

Watch Related Video

Coast Guard: Exact Spill Figures Hard to Get


Advertisement
Buy AP Photo Reprints

Multimedia
An interactive look at the business impact of the oil spill.
A look at the environmental impact of the Gulf oil spill.
Tracking the Gulf Oil Spill
Oil Spill Poll
Your Questions Answered
AP answers your questions on the news, from tennis seeding to using explosives on the oil leak

Interactives
Producers Tap Old Wells in Search of Oil

LONDON (AP) -- President Barack Obama reassured Prime Minister David Cameron Saturday that his frustration over the mammoth oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is not an attack on Britain, Cameron's office said, as the two leaders tried to soothe trans-Atlantic tensions over the disaster.

Cameron's Downing St. office said the two leaders held a "warm and constructive" telephone conversation for more than 30 minutes.

Obama has recently sharpened his criticism of BP PLC as the company struggles to stop millions of gallons of oil gushing from its ruptured deep-sea well. Cameron is under pressure to get Obama to tone down the rhetoric against of a major British company, fearing it will hurt millions of Britons - as well as many Americans - who hold BP stock in investments and pension plans.

Cameron's office said the prime minister "expressed his sadness at the ongoing human and environmental catastrophe," but stressed BP's economic importance to Britain, the U.S. and other countries.

It said Obama recognized that BP - which he has pointedly referred to in public by its former name, British Petroleum - is a multinational company, "and that frustrations about the oil spill had nothing to do with national identity." Obama said he had no interest in undermining BP's value. The company's stock has lost 40 percent of its value since the oil rig fire on April 20 that unleashed the United States' worst oil spill.

Downing Street said the two men agreed that BP should continue "to work intensively to ensure that all sensible and reasonable steps are taken as rapidly as practicable to deal with the consequences of this catastrophe."

The White House offered much briefer comments, saying the two men had discussed the impact of the spill and reiterated "that BP must do all it can to respond effectively to the situation.

BP has been ordered by the U.S. Coast Guard to speed up its efforts to stop oil gushing into the sea off the coast of Louisiana.

U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. James A. Watson sent a letter to BP officials on Friday expressing frustration with the overall pace of the effort and ordered the company to identify ways to expedite the process in the next 48 hours.

Downing Street also said Cameron and Obama reaffirmed their belief in "the unique strength of the U.S.-UK relationship." It announced that Cameron will visit Washington July 20, his first trip there since taking office in May.

The warm words come after vocal criticism of BP by Obama, who has said he would have fired BP's top executive, if he were in charge, and has supported the idea that the oil company suspend its quarterly dividend.

In a sign the company feels the pressure, BP said Saturday that its board would meet Monday to discuss deferring its second-quarter dividend and putting the money into escrow until the company's liabilities from the spill are known. BP said no decision had yet been made.

Obama also has reproached BP for spending money on a public relations campaign and occasionally refers to "British Petroleum," although the company years ago began using only its initials and is a far-reaching international corporation with extensive holdings in the United States, including a Texas refinery and a share of the Alaska oil pipeline.

This past week, the usually measured Obama said in a television interview, "I don't sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar; we talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers - so I know whose ass to kick."

The angry words from Washington have produced a backlash in Britain, where BP is a corporate pillar. Millions of British retirees depend on BP dividends since pension funds are heavily invested in the oil company, the world's third-largest.

British officials began taking a more hands-on approach Friday, when Treasury chief George Osborne met BP's chairman, Carl-Henric Svanberg, and Cameron spoke to Svanberg by phone.

Svanberg, who has faced criticism for not being more visible in BP's response to the Gulf spill, is to meet with Obama at the White House on Wednesday. Probably joining him will be CEO Tony Hayward and other BP executives. It will be the first time Obama has met with BP officials since the crisis began.

Hayward will testify at a U.S. House of Representatives hearing on Thursday.

---

Associated Press Writer H. Josef Hebert in Washington contributed to this report.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

And this same group passed a bill giving $400 million to the Palestinians in Gaza!!

Good to see they have their priorities in order!!


Obama faces rare defeat on health help for jobless


WASHINGTON (AP) -- If Chuck Lacasse had gotten his pink slip four days earlier, Uncle Sam would have covered most of his family's health insurance while he looked for a new job.

But Congress allowed emergency health care assistance for unemployed workers to expire May 31, and seems unwilling to renew it despite pleas from President Barack Obama.

Not three months after lawmakers passed his $1 trillion insurance overhaul, Obama is facing a rare defeat on health care at the hands of his own divided Democrats. Moderates have rebelled against adding billions more to the deficit in a treacherous election year.

"The same Congress that spent all this political capital trying to get people health insurance is going to take a crucial benefit away from unemployed people," said Andrew Stettner, deputy director of the National Employment Law Project, which advocates for the unemployed.

On June 4, Lacasse lost his job as advertising director for a company that makes nutritional supplements. He'll soon have to pay the entire $1,500 monthly premium to keep his family covered under his former employer's health insurance plan.

Until May 31, under Obama's economic stimulus law, the government provided a 65 percent subsidy. That would have lowered his cost to $525.

"This really isn't about welfare," said Lacasse, 40. "It's about buying people some time. In a position as specialized as mine, it would have been nice to know that I had some time to look for the right job." He lives near Green Bay, Wis., with his wife and two children.

Democratic Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Sherrod Brown of Ohio have introduced a measure that would allow the program to continue helping people who get laid off through Nov. 30. That would cover Lacasse.

The lawmakers, who are seeking a vote this coming week, want to attach their nearly $7 billion provision to must-pass legislation that would extend unemployment benefits and make changes in dozens of federal programs. But a similar proposal was dropped from the House-passed bill, and Senate Democratic leaders also omitted it from their version.

"I'm concerned about it," said Washington Sen. Patty Murray, a member of the Democratic leadership. "There will be people who fall through the cracks."

Under a 1980s law known as COBRA, laid-off workers generally can stay on their former employers health plan for up to 18 months, provided they pay the full premium plus a small administrative charge. But with family premiums averaging about $13,500, the cost is prohibitive for most people.

That changed under the 2009 stimulus bill and subsequent expansions, which provided a 65 percent federal subsidy for up to 15 months. Workers laid off through May 31 can qualify for the benefit through their former employer.

"It has been a significant program and it has helped many middle-class families to keep their health insurance at a time when maintaining health insurance was difficult because of the high rate of job loss," said Alan Krueger, the Treasury Department's chief economist. Official statistics on how many people were helped have yet to be compiled, but Krueger estimates that as many as one-third of eligible unemployed workers enrolled in subsidized coverage.

Melanie Miller, 34, who suffers from debilitating neurological problems, said the COBRA program allowed her to maintain her independence after losing her ad agency job. "Without the subsidy, I probably would have had to move back and live in my mother's house in the basement," said Miller, an artist who lives in Philadelphia.

With the unemployment rate hovering just under 10 percent and with 15 million people looking for work, advocates say it's premature to withdraw assistance.

"We're recovering, but we haven't recovered fully," said Casey. "Now is not the time to pull up the ladder on people who are hanging on, in some cases to the last rung."

Some conservative Democrats, however, say they don't understand why the government should subsidize workers who lose jobs with employer coverage and not others who are equally deserving - for example self-employed people priced out of the private market.

"You're paying 65 percent of (one) family's health care costs, but the neighbor next door, there's no help for," said Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Calif. "So we're picking and choosing. There's an inequality there between our constituents." Not to mention that Congress has treated the program as emergency spending, adding its cost to the deficit.

In Marietta, Ohio, boiler operator Neil Davis is facing the loss of his job as the coal-burning power plant he works at prepares to shut down for good. Davis, 33, has marketable skills but he's unsure how quickly he'll be able to find comparable work. His wife is a stay-at-home mom raising two elementary-age children.

"Being able to have coverage at an affordable rate, we wouldn't be afraid to take the kids to the doctor if they get sick," said Davis. "The economy might be getting better some place, but I don't know where at."

---

Associated Press writer Andrew Taylor contributed to this report.

---

Online:

Background on COBRA: http://tinyurl.com/4shcf

National Employment Law Project: http://www.nelp.org/

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.




Follow up article on the census in small towns

  • Today's News / Local / 10 / 06 / 12 / What to expect from a census taker / Mount Vernon News
  • What to expect from a census taker

  • June 12, 2010 7:21 am EDT

MOUNT VERNON — While census takers are in the process of visiting over 8,200 households in Knox County, the U.S. Census Bureau is reminding citizens what to expect from their encounter with legitimate census employees, called enumerators.

related

Census complicated in small towns

June 11, 2010

If a 2010 Census worker knocks on the door, here are some ways to verify that person is a legitimate census taker:

•The census taker must present an ID badge that contains a Department of Commerce watermark and expiration date. The census taker may also be carrying a black canvas bag with a Census Bureau logo.

•The census taker will provide supervisor contact information and/or the local census office phone number for verification, if asked.

•The census taker will only ask the questions that appear on the 2010 Census form.

The 2010 Census taker will not ask for Social Security number, bank account number or credit card number, and will never solicit donations or make contact by e-mail.

Did not know this much about farming - really changing from when my cousin farmed 650 acres back when I was a kid

http://www.mountvernonnews.com/local/10/06/12/technology-increasing-farm-production

--
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum

* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.

**JP** Nadaan Insan


Today is Friday !!! must recite SURA E KAHAF before maghrib.... then Duaa for all

Music Filled 4 GB Kingston USB

Ad by Connect Marketing Services (202,815 corporate emails)
 
 
This email is Broadcasted by a marketing company "Connect Marketing Services". If you no longer
 wish to receive promotion emails, please click to unsubscribe. For customer service inquiry please email or call us.
We are not responsible for any commitment made by the advertiser. Connect Marketing Services will be fully responsible for this activity only.
 
©2010 Connect Marketing Services -All rights reserved. Terms and Prices are subject to change.

Summer Holidays in Dubai UAE

Ad by Connect Marketing Services (202,815 corporate emails)
 
 
 This email is Broadcasted by a marketing company "Connect Marketing Services". If you no longer
 wish to receive promotion emails, please click to unsubscribe. For customer service inquiry please email or call us.
We are not responsible for any commitment made by the advertiser. Connect Marketing Services will be fully responsible for this activity only.
 
©2010 Connect Marketing Services -All rights reserved. Terms and Prices are subject to change.

Electrician's Tool Kit

Ad by Connect Marketing Services (202,815 corporate emails)
 
 
This email is Broadcasted by a marketing company "Connect Marketing Services". If you no longer
 wish to receive promotion emails, please click to unsubscribe. For customer service inquiry please email or call us.
We are not responsible for any commitment made by the advertiser. Connect Marketing Services will be fully responsible for this activity only.
 
©2010 Connect Marketing Services -All rights reserved. Terms and Prices are subject to change.

A man's got to have his priorities

http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/06/obama-skipped-gulf-memorial-service-to-hold-fundraiser-for-babs-boxer/


Guess the Gulf oil spill doesn't match up to raising bucks for Babs -
wonder if he passed on to her how to take credit cards without
verification - that was one of his biggies - that way he wouldn't have
to prove that the bucks were legit.

--
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum

* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.

Another "you can't really make this up" ruling from our boy president Obama

The illegal immigrant detainees get treated better than our own citizens!!

June 11, 2010

Obama Orders Dance Classes, Movie Nights, and Bingo for Illegal Detainees

Chris Banescu
The Houston Chronicle reports that the Obama administration has ordered the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) department to implement multiple modifications to their facilities to make life easier, more comfortable, and pleasant for the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants (approximately 400,000) it detains annually.  An internal ICE email highlights 28 different changes the organization will have to make to soften the look of its facilities, present a friendlier environment, offer better entertainment, organize fun activities, and provide illegal immigrant detainees with free access to email and phone services, as well as better dining and training classes.

According to ICE officials all of these changes are part of broader efforts supported by Obama "to make the immigration detention system less penal and more humane."  In reality, these changes are akin to "creating an all-inclusive resort for immigration detainees."

Some of the changes the White House is ordering include:

  • § dance classes
  • § movie nights
  • § art classes
  • § cooking classes
  • § tutoring and computer training
  • § free and unmonitored phone service
  • § free email access
  • § bingo
  • § arts and crafts
  • § more variety in dining options
  • § self-serve beverage stations
  • § fresh vegetable bars
  • § fresh carrot sticks
  • § hanging plants
  • § recreation in natural setting
  • § robust aerobic exercise

Also, ICE is expected to eliminate pat-down searches, lockdowns, and light-out for low-risk detainees, as well as provide vastly expanded visitation rights (up to 12 hours per visit) in its facilities.

The changes listed in the ICE e-mail are planned for nine different detention centers owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) across the country.  According to the Chronicle, some of the changes "will be implemented within 30 days; others may take up to six months"

Illegal immigrant advocates are thrilled at the required changes.  They have been advocating these transformations for years.  Lory Rosenberg, policy and advocacy director for Refugee and Migrants' Rights for Amnesty International was delighted with the promised improvements: "Many of these points are very important to changing the system from a penal system, which is inappropriate in an immigration context, to a civil detention system."

However, ICE union leaders are appalled at the cavalier attitude towards the illegal immigrants they oversee and warn of the inherent dangers of such misguided policies.  The officials are concerned the mandates will jeopardize the safety of their guards and agents, increase the potential for harm to other detainees, and cost the taxpayers more money in order to transform detention centers into an "all-inclusive resort" for immigration detainees.

"Our biggest concern is that someone is going to get hurt," he said, taking particular issue with plans to relax restrictions on the movement of low-risk detainees and efforts to reduce and eliminate pat-down searches.

ICE leadership also expressed concerns about safety issues inherent in lowering security standards for almost half million detainees, many of which are violent and have gang affiliations.  Tre Rebstock, president for Local 3332, the ICE union in Houston explains:

some detainees may be classified as low-risk because they have no serious criminal history but still may be gang members that "haven't been caught doing anything wrong yet."


He also said eliminating lockdowns will make it more difficult to protect detainees from one another.

He said reducing or eliminating pat-down searches could allow contraband into the facilities, including weapons.

These concerns are justified.  According to ICE's own report, as of September 9, 2009, 51% of the detained aliens were felons and 11% of the illegals had committed violent crimes.  The report confirms that most common crimes committed by criminal aliens are those involving dangerous drugs, traffic offenses, simple assault, and larceny.

None of this matters to the ivory-tower elitist Obama.  He condemned the people of Arizona for passing the SB1070 law that mirrors the US federal law on immigration calling it "misguided" and "irresponsible."  He has refused to listen to the American people, 73% of whom agree with Arizona and its stance on illegal immigration.  He stood beside Mexican president Felipe Calderon as he bashed Arizona and its people.  He then applauded Calderon's defamation of America, while Democrats in Congress cheered and shouted their approval.  He has refused to enforce our immigration laws and secure our borders.  He has continued to push for amnesty while a vast majority of the American people are against it. 

President Obama wants millions more voters who support his radical leftist ideals.  Pandering to illegal immigrants, blaming America, and continually playing the racist card is how he can get there.  This is the Democrat's best chance to overwhelm the American electorate and they're going for it.  Damn the American people, full amnesty ahead!

Chris Banescu is an attorney, entrepreneur, and university professor.  He regularly blogs at chrisbanescu.com.
| Email | | 60 Comments | Share Share

**JP** Jobs of the week.

Hi,

Jobs of the week, Kindly fined the attached job list. These jobs are available in Karachi Kindly forward these jobs to those people who are needy for job and help them to finding right job.





Thanks.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "JoinPakistan" group.
You all are invited to come and share your information with other group members.
To post to this group, send email to joinpakistan@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com.pk/group/joinpakistan?hl=en?hl=en
You can also visit our blog site : www.joinpakistan.blogspot.com

**JP** FW: Wake up for Fajr - A Short story

 

 


cid:1.127488624@web113207.mail.gq1.yahoo.com

 

 

Wake up for Fajr - A Short story

 

 

Wake up for Fajr Salaah

 

A man wake up early in order to Pray the Fajr Prayer in the masjid.

He got dressed, made his ablution and was on his way to the masjid.

On his way to the masjid, the man fell and his clothes got dirty. 


He got up, brushed himself off, and headed home. At home,

He changed His Clothes, made his ablution, and was, again,

on his way to the masjid. 


On his way to the masjid, HFell again and at the Same Spot!

He, again, got up, brushed himself off and headed home.

At home he, once again, Changed His Clothes,

made his ablution and was on his way to the masjid.


On his way to the masjid, HMet a Man Holding a Lamp.

He asked the man of his identity and the man replied 'I Saw You Fall Twice

on your way to the masjid,

So I Brought a Lamp so I can Light Your Way.'

The first man thanked him profusively and the

two where on their way to the masjid. 



Once at the masjid, the first man asked the man with

the lamp to come in and pray Fajr with him.

The second man refused.

The first man asked him a couple more times and,

again, the answer was the same.

The first man asked him why he did not wish to come in and pray.

He man replied

 

I am Shetaan(devil/ evil)


The man was shocked at this reply.

Shetan went on to explain,

'I saw you on your way to the masjid

and it was I who made you fall. When you went home,

cleaned yourself and went back on your way to the masjid,

Allah forgave all of your sins.

I made you fall a second time, and even that

did not encourage you to stay home,

but rather, you went back on your way to the masjid.



Because of that, Allah forgave all the sins

of the people of your household .

I was AFRAID if i made you fall one more time,

then Allah will forgive the sins of the people of your village,

so I made sure that you reached the masjid safely..'

So do not let Shetan benefit from his actions.

Do not put off a good that you intended to do as

you never know how much reward

you might receive from the hardships you encounter

while trying to achieve that good.

If forwarding this message will bother you, or take

too much time from you, then don't do it, but you will not

get the reward of it, which is great. Imagine,

that when you forward this, you receive 240 good deeds,

and so will I for sending it to you! Wouldn't it be easy just to

Press Forward ' and receive this Reward?

May Allah (Subhana Ho Wataallah) grant us perfect Muslim Heart n

we all do Prayers with our Heart and Soul....

............... ......... ......Ameen ............... ......... ......

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 


Shaikh Sajid Ahmed Qamruddin

Electrical Designer, SS - DMD - E&PM

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation

P.O. Box 10053

Jubail Industrial City 31961
Saudi Arabia

T +966 (3) 357 1100 EXT- 2293

F +966 (3) 358 9896

E qamruddinssa@SABIC.com