(This page initially accompanied the main index page. It was given its own space [03/29/08] to decrease the main index page length.) - D.R.D.
NEW: Video On Depleted Uranium DU - A Must See
http://www.thelastoutpost.com/site/1013/default.aspx
[Based on: OUT THERE TV NEWS DESK link (July 2006) @ http://www.crosswynd.com/outherenews.htm]
[Warning! Video appears to contain very, very, very disturbing content! NOT recommended for children- D.R.D.]
U.S. Debt?
2008 - Outstanding Public Debt / U.S.A. - August 2nd, 2008: "The Outstanding Public Debt [U.S.A.] as of 02 Aug 2008 at 01:40:38 AM GMT is: $9,587,650,191,045.59. The estimated population of the United States is 304,464,803 so each citizen's share of this debt is $31,490.18. The National Debt has continued to increase an average of $1.88 billion per day since September 28, 2007! Concerned? Then tell Congress and the White House! [Based on: http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/] - [T.D. - 08/02/08]
*Trivia: "Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told Congress Wednesday [09/20/07] that the government will hit the current debt ceiling on Oct. 1. [....] The limit is $8.965 trillion. [....] This month, the Senate Finance Committee approved increasing the limit on the debt to $9.82 trillion. That boost of $850 billion would be the fifth since President George W. Bush took office in 2001. [....] The national debt is the total accumulation of annual budget deficits, which must be financed with borrowed money. [....]" [Based on: A.P. article (Treasury chief says debt lid is tightening / He calls on Congress to quickly raise the ceiling beyond $9 trillion.) by Martin Crutsinger, p C2, S.L.P.D., 09/21/07]
2007 - U.S. Savings Rate / Worst Since the Great Depression - February 2nd, 2007: "People are saving at the lowest level since the Great Depression, and that could be a problem for the millions of baby boomers getting ready to retire. [NP] In fact, the Commerce Department reported Thursday [02/01/07] that the nation's personal savings rate for all of 2006 was a negative 1 percent, the worst showing in 73 years. [....] The 1 percent negative savings rate in 2006 came after a 0.4 percent negative rate in 2005. There have been only four years in history that the savings rate has fallen into negative territory. The other two were 1932 and 1933 during the Great Depression, when as many as one in four people were out of work, households were exhausting savings in order to pay the rent and buy food. [....]" [Based on: A.P. article (U.S. savings rate skids to worst showing in 73 years) by Martin Crutsinger, pp. B1 & B3, S.L.P.D., 02/02/07] - [Note: (my brackets text inserted) NP = New paragraph. - D.R.D.]
*Trivia: See article (U.S. Going Bankrupt?) @ http://mirrorh.com/timeline0706.html [entry date - 07/14/06]
2007 - War Costs / U.S.A. - October 25th, 2007: "[....] With the federal government $9.1 trillion in debt, much of the financial cost of the wars is being financed through borrowing that the CBO [Congressional Budget Office] estimates will cost up to $705 billion in interest payments by the year 2017. The projection works out to about $8,000 per American. [NP] In essence, said Levin [Carl Levin, D-Mich.], the war isn't being funded as it's being fought, but will instead be paid for by future taxpayers. [NP] 'My kids, your kids, our grandkids, our great-grandkids,' Levin told a group of reporters. 'I think there's a lot of reasons this war was a mistake, but one of them has been that we haven't paid for it. [....] American taxpayers have already spent $415 billion on interest for the portion of the war costs the government has had to borrow, the budget office estimated. [NP] Between now and 2017, interest costs to finance the wars will amount to between $175 billion and $290 billion, the CBO estimated, depending on the U.S. troop levels maintained in Iraq and Afghanistan." [Based on: Cox News Service article (Future generations facing huge tab for Iraq, Afghan wars / Interest costs could equal $8,000 for each American by 2017, U.S. says.), p A4, S.L.P.D., 10/25/07]
911 Trivia:
"To this day [2005], there has been no independent official inquiry into the attacks of September 11, 2001. The Kean Commission, with which most Americans are familiar, was based on the Bush/PNAC version of events. It was charged with probing the breakdown of intelligence prior to the attacks and making suggestions for improving communications among the competing agencies involved. The Commission, formed after more than a year of opposition by the Bush administration, did not…repeat...did NOT…investigate or report about the causes of the attacks. [....]"
[Based on: Article (Where the Hell Is YOUR Proof?) by Jesse, Editor - TvNewsLIES.org - October 2005]
*Link: http://tvnewslies.org/html/where_the_hell_is_your_9_11_pr.html]
*More Links: http://www.st911.org/
http://mirrorh.com/911trivia.html
http://www.911wasalie.com/phpwebsite/
http://www.viewzone.com/911revisited.html
http://www.ditrianum.org/Artikelen/artikel33en.htm
*Commentary: "Congress authorizes [September (14th?) 2001] use of force for war on terrorism." [D.R.D.]
Lords of War?
"WHILE PRIVATE GUNRUNNERS CONTINUE TO THRIVE, THE WORLD'S BIGGEST ARMS SUPPLIERS ARE THE U.S., U.K., RUSSIA, FRANCE AND CHINA. - THEY ARE ALSO THE FIVE PERMANENT MEMBERS OF THE U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL." [Based on: Widescreen Movie [DVD]: Lord of War [2005], starring Nicolas Cage, etc.]
*Trivia: "No other Country spends the kind of money we [U.S.A.] spend on our military. Last year [2005] Japan spent $42 billion. Italy spent $28 billion, Russia spent only $19 billion. The United States spent $455 billion." [Andy Rooney]
[Based on: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10504.htm]
*Trivia: "Just how much money will the United States spend on defense in the coming year, really? [NP] The official number, contained in the Defense Department budget request President George W. Bush sent Congress on Monday [02/05/07], is $481.4 billion, an 11 percent increase over the current year. [NP] But that doesn't count the supplemental $141.7 billion that the president requested to fight the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2008. Nor does it count the additional $93.4 billion the president has requested for the 'global war on terror' in 2007. Nor does it count the $17.3 billion in nuclear weapons activities, which are part of the Energy Department budget, or the nearly $5.2 billion for defense-related work by other agencies, mainly the FBI. [....] You total everything up, as military analyst Fred Kaplan has at Slate.com, and a fair number for all the new money requested for national defense in 2008 is $739 billion. In constant dollars, that's more than any year since 1952 when the Korean War was raging and the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union was accelerating. It amounts to 5.47 percent of the gross domestic product, the highest percentage of GDP since the 6 percent spent in 1986 at the height of the Reagan-era arms build-up. [NP] Not all of the money will make it through the congressional budget process, nor should it. [....] There is nothing that would trim defense spending like eliminating the $8 billion-a-month being spent on the war in Iraq. Mr. Bush's budget contemplates continued high-level operations there through 2008, and, indeed, into 2009. [....] " [Based on: Opinion Page article (Guns: $739 billion), p. B8, S.L.P.D., 02/07/07] - [NP = New paragraph. My brackets - D.R.D.]
*Trivia: "The US has spent $610 billion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and on protecting its bases worldwide since the Sep 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, a report released by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) said. [NP] The Bush administration spends on an average $12 billion a month on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the report by the CRS, an independent research agency that provides research and analysis to lawmakers. [NP] Ten of the 12 billion dollars was spent for Iraq and nearly two billion for Afghanistan, plus other minor costs. So far Iraq has accounted for $450 billion, and in fiscal year 2007 alone, about $165.8 billion have been spent on Iraq, a rise of 40 percent from last year. [NP] If the administration's war funding requests for fiscal 2008 were granted in full, the total war spending would rise to $758 billion, with $567 billion spent on Iraq, according to the report. [NP] The report forecast a total spending of $1.4 trillion on the war on terrorism by 2017."
[Based on: indianews.com article (US has spent over $600 billion on wars since 9/11) by By Xinhua. Washington, United States, 10:30 AM IST @
http://www.indiaenews.com/america/20070710/59955.htm]
[My brackets text (NP = New Paragraph) - D.R.D.]
Who Has The Bomb?
"Estimated number of nuclear warheads as of 2004: Russia - 16,000 [down from 32,000]; U.S.A - 10,350 [down from 45,000]; China - 400; France - 350; United Kingdom - 200; Israel - 200; Pakistan - 24-48; India - 30-35; North Korea - 6-8? The last four countries on this list [Israel, Pakistan, India & North Korea] are not signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty." [Information based on: N.G.M., August 2005, pp. 104-105]
*Trivia: "Egypt's foreign minister on Saturday [08/27/05] turned down a request from the world's nuclear watchdog to sign a treaty banning the testing of nuclear weapons, saying Israel should first join a separate agreement calling for a halt to the spread of atomic bombs. The refusal by Israel to join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty has also made the Middle East more insecure, Ahmed Aboul Gheit was quoted by Egypt's semiofficial Middle East News Agency as saying. Aboul Gheit's comments came in a letter to Tibor Toth, the new executive secretary of the commission that oversees the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty." [Based on: News Services article, p. A13, S.L.P.D., 08/28/05]
*Trivia: "Nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu was arrested by Israeli police Friday [11/18/05] after visiting the West Bank, authorities said. The former technician at Israel's main nuclear reactor last year completed an 18-year prison sentence for revealing Israel's nuclear capability to a British newspaper in 1986. Based on Vanunu's evidence, including photos, experts said at the time Israel had the world's sixth largest stockpile of nuclear weapons. Israel neither acknowledges nor denies having a nuclear weapons' program, following a policy of nuclear ambiguity. [....]" [Based on: News Services article (Israeli police arrest nuclear whistleblower), p. A32, S.L.P.D., 11/19/05]
2005 - Really Nuke Free - December 30th, 2005:
The dream of freeing the Middle East, in its entirety, of all weapons of mass destruction should not lose its holistic character. Attempts or proposals forwarded by Western and regional powers - or regional parties on behalf of international players - to divide the issue up into separate parts are certain to harm the collective interest of the region in attaining comprehensive security and stability.
During the past few years, Israel has insisted that its nuclear capacity - which remains subject to a policy of ambiguity, even before the world's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency - should only be dealt with in the context of a comprehensive settlement concerning its disputed occupation of Arab territories. Unfortunately, this disingenuous call has received significant international support, especially that Israel is not a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to which all other Middle Eastern states - Iran included - are party.
Moreover, this stipulation was received with little Arab opposition - with the exception of Arab states bordering Israel. Further dividing the collective security issue, Arab countries in North Africa and the Gulf have pursued separate security arrangements, with some involving heavy U.S. participation in the Gulf.
Thus, it was disturbing to hear official statements coming out of the Gulf Cooperation Council summit this week putting clear emphasis on the issue of Iran's nuclear energy aspirations and a less than plain emphasis on Israeli nuclear weapons....
The language ultimately adopted in the final communique of the GCC summit on the need to free the entire Middle East is the right line to pursue but must be pursued comprehensively....[Based on: Other Views page article (Really Nuke Free) by Al-Ahram, Cairo, p. C13, S.L.P.D., 12/30/05]
*Trivia: "Nuclear testing tally - Countries known [Israel is not known?] to have publicly conducted nuclear tests since 1945 - and status with the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty: U.S. - First test: 1945; Last test: 1992; Treaty signed: Yes; Ratified: No; Number of nuclear tests: 1,030. Russia - First test: 1949; Last test: 1990; Treaty signed: Yes; Ratified: Yes; Number of nuclear tests: 715. France - First test: 1960; Last test: 1996; Treaty signed: Yes; Ratified: Yes; Number of nuclear tests: 210. U.K. - First test: 1952; Last test: 1991; Treaty signed: Yes; Ratified: Yes; Number of nuclear tests: 45. China - First test: 1964; Last test: 1996; Treaty signed: Yes; Ratified: No; Number of nuclear tests: 45. India - First test: 1974; Last test: 1998; Treaty signed: No; Ratified: No; Number of nuclear tests: 3. Pakistan - First test: 1998; Last test: 1998; Treaty signed: No; Ratified: No; Number of nuclear tests: 2. N. Korea - First test: 2006; Last test: 2006; Treaty signed: No; Ratified: No; Number of nuclear tests: 1. [....]" [Based on: Article (Joining the nuclear club), p. A5, S.L.P.D., 10/10/06] - [Source: Arms Control Association (U.S.) / MCT]
2007 - Trivia / Nuclear Risk Grows? - June 12th, 2007: "The world's top military powers are gradually dismantling their stockpiles of nuclear arms, but all are developing new missles and warheads with smaller yields that could increase the risk of atomic warfare, a Swedish research institute [Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)] said Monday [06/11/07]. The U.S., Russia, China, France, Britain, Pakistan and India are known to have nuclear weapons, while Israel is thought by most experts to have them. [NP] The report estimated those nations had 11,530 warheads available for delivery by missle or aircraft at the start of this year, with Russia and the United States accounting for more than 90 percent - 5,614 in Russia and 5,045 in the U.S. [....] India, Pakistan and Israel each have dozens of warheads, but their stockpiles are believed to be only partly deployed, the institute [SIPRI] said. [NP] 'India and Pakistan are both thought to be expanding their nuclear strike capabilities, while Israel seems to be waiting to see how the situatiuon in Iran develops,' it said. [....] International arms sales have grown since 2002, with China and India being the biggest importers and the U.S. and Russia the two major exporters, the report said. [NP] Five Middle Eastern countries were among the top 10 importers of weapons." [Based on: A.P. article (Nuclear risk grows with smaller atomic bombs, group says) by Karl Ritter, p. A7, S.L.P.D., 06/12/07] - [My brackets (NP = New Paragraph) - D.R.D.]
*Trivia: "ARMS SPENDING - The U.S., Russia, France, Britain and China held more than 26,000 nuclear warheads at the start of 2007. More than 11,000 are operational. / share of world arms expenditures United States 46%; Britain, France 5%; China, Japan 4%; Russia, Germany, Italy, Saudia Arabia 3%; India 2%. Number of deployed nuclear warheads as of January 2007 (Top five countries) Russia 5,614; United States 5,045; France 348; Britain 160; China 145 [Total: 11,312]." [Based on: Illustrated Graph - SOURCE: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) / AP - for A.P. article (Nuclear risk grows with smaller atomic bombs, group says) by Karl Ritter, p. A7, S.L.P.D., 06/12/07] - [My brackets - D.R.D.]
2005 - Trivia / Directed-Energy Weapons, U.S.A. - December 30th, 2005: "[....] Hyslop [Boeing's airborne laser program manager, Greg Hyslop] said preserving the airborne laser program is vital to developing future directed-energy weapons. 'The real power of having a speed-of-light weapon is that you can't see it and you can't hear it - and it's there at the speed of light,' Hyslop said. 'If the airborne laser is successful, it will open up a lot of other missions for directed energy that we probably have just started to scratch the surface. This really is the next major leap in warfare.' " [Based on: St. Louis Post-Dispatch article (Boeing test-fires anti-ballistic-missle laser) by Tim McLaughlin, p. B1, S.L.P.D., 12/30/05] - [Paragraph indents not transcribed - E.M.]
Misunderstood Words of the Day:
QUOTE - "+mark with numbers or (marginal) references XIV; cite or refer to; +note XVI; repeat (a passage) from a book, etc. XVII. - medL. quotare number, f. quot how many, or quota QUOTA. So quotation +numbering XV; +marginal reference XVI; (typogr.) large quadrat used for filling up blanks (orig. between marginal references); quoting passage quoted XVII; price of stocks, etc. XIX medl. quotatio, -on-." (Based on: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology)
CENSOR - "supervisor of morals, etc. XVI. - L. censor, f. censere pronounce as an opinion, assess, judge. Hence censor vb. XIX So censure +judgement XIV; adverse judgement XVII. - (O)F. - L. censura; see - URE. censure vb. XVI. - F. censurer." (Based on: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology)
WITNESS - "+knowledge, wisdom; attestation of a fact, etc., testimony. OE (ge)witness (ME. iwitnesse), f. WIT + -NESS; cf. OHG. giwiznessi, MDu. wetenisse, ON vitni, vitnis-. Hence witness vb. bear witness to XIII; be a witness of XVI." (Based on: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology)
PURPORT - "tenor or substance of a document, etc. XV. AN., OF. pur-, porport produce, contents, f. purporter :- medL. proportare, f. L. pro PRO + portare carry, bear. so purport vb. state, mean. XVI. - OF. purporter ." (Based on: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology)
Equation of the Day:
1 - 1 = 1 + 0