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A report I've just received on Twitter claims that there's another Turkish flotilla headed for Gaza (Hat Tip: Earl Peacock via Twitter). Flotilla heading for Gaza today consists of Irish boat MV Saoirse and Canadian vessel 'Tahrir'. 15 people on Irish boat, 12 on Canadian The source of that tweet is Mary Fitzgerald, a foreign correspondent for the Irish Times, who says that this has all been confirmed to her by the organizers.

Recession: A day after purchasing managers reported an "unexpected" slump in manufacturing, another surprise report shows consumer spending falling for the first time in nearly two years. Double dip, anyone? Despite of the largest Keynesian spending splurge in the history of the planet, the economy continues to founder. The last two years' "stimulus" — meant to get consumers and businesses humming again — was in excess of 10% of GDP, an unheard of economic intervention, exceeding even FDR's during the Depression.

A pair of blustery, soaking storms will stream into Northern California beginning Friday, bringing as much as 10 inches of rain south and east of the Bay Area by Christmas Day and setting up potentially difficult travel conditions for those escaping for the holidays. Though computer weather models differ on the exact trajectory and strength of the two separate weather systems, meteorologists are bracing for sizable amounts of rain and the possibility that some rivers might overrun their banks. "No matter how you slice it, it's going to be a significant weather event," said Rob Hartman, lead hydrologist with the...

WASHINGTON – Republican leaders, ever more confident of their chances of winning control of the House and possibly even the Senate, have begun plotting a 2011 agenda topped by a push for more than $100 billion in spending cuts, tax reductions and attempts to undo key parts of President Barack Obama's health care and financial regulation laws. The question is how much of the GOP's government-shrinking, tax-cutting agenda to advance, and how fast. It's certain that Republicans want to capitalize quickly on tea party-fueled anger and the antiestablishment fervor that they believe will provide momentum to accomplish an activist to-do...

U.S. Marines load an oversized floodlight onto a flatbed truck at Camp Taqaddum, Oct. 21. Marines and Sailors with CLR-27 (Fwd) are participating in the responsible drawdown by removing equipment and gear from Iraq. Photo by Gunnery Sgt. Katesha Washington, 2nd Marine Logistic Group Public Affairs. CAMP TAQADDUM — Marine Corps participation in Operation Iraqi Freedom is drawing to a close, and Marines and Sailors are preparing equipment for shipment back home or to other parts of the world. As part of the departure, one of the Marine Corps' largest bases in the country is on its way to being...

PHILADELPHIA – President-elect Barack Obama, tracing the train route Abraham Lincoln took nearly a century and a half earlier, undertook the final leg of his inaugural journey to the nation's capital Saturday, pledging to reclaim America's spirit but also warning of steep challenges facing the country. "Starting now, let's take up in our own lives the work of perfecting our union," he told several hundred people gathered inside a hall at Philadelphia's historic 30th Street train station. "Let's build a government that is responsible to the people and accept our own responsibilities as citizens to hold our government accountable. ......

SACRAMENTO — A frustrated Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger warned Wednesday that California is headed toward "financial Armageddon" if legislators continue their standoff over how to solve the state's ballooning budget deficit. With the recession sending state tax receipts plummeting, Schwarzenegger announced that the state faces a budget shortfall of $14.8 billion in the current fiscal year, up from an earlier estimate of $11.2 billion. Looking ahead to mid-2010, the gap could grow to as much as $40 billion if nothing is done to cut spending or generate new revenue, administration officials said Wednesday. The entire general fund budget this year is...

PARIS (AFP) – Scheduled shifts in Earth's orbit should plunge the planet into an enduring Ice Age thousands of years from now but the event will probably be averted because of man-made greenhouse gases, scientists said Wednesday. They cautioned, though, that this news is not an argument in favour of global warming, which is driving imminent and potentially far-reaching damage to the climate system. Earth has experienced long periods of extreme cold over the billions of years of its history. The big freezes are interspersed with "interglacial" periods of relative warmth, of the kind we have experienced since the end...

Britain is likely to have a scorching summer this year, with a high probability that temperatures will soar above average. The Met Office has also said there is a one in eight chance the UK will swelter in record-breaking heat - as it did in 2006 and 2003. Last year's summer was the warmest extended period on record, while the heatwave in 2003 set a new British high of 38.5C.

UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau has just announced he's creating the new post of vice chancellor for equity and inclusion -- a job that not only has an impressive title, but an equally impressive salary of between $182,000 and $282,000 a year. Plus an office budget in excess of $4 million. The goal isn't so much to recruit more minorities but rather to ensure students, faculty and staff are "fully respected for their individuality and what they represent," Birgeneau said. Birgeneau said the aim is "to prize our diversity and learn from it and to appreciate people for being part...

FORT HUACHUCA — Perhaps the saddest moment Roger Rodriquez remembers from his year tour with an infantry unit in Afghanistan is leading a memorial service for two soldiers killed by an improvised explosive device. “It was hardest for the (soldiers’) platoon. You know soldiers form friendships and when one of their group dies it’s emotional,” the captain chaplain said. Doing a memorial service around incidents in which soldiers are killed in action “is the most difficult thing to do,” the Baptist minister said. During his year in Afghanistan serving with soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division out of Hawaii, five...

TOPEKA, Kan. -- Fifty airmen from the Kansas National Guard have been ordered to go to the U.S.-Mexico border to help with security and curbing the flow of illegal immigrants. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said Wednesday that the airmen heading to Arizona were from the 184th Civil Engineering Squadron, based at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita. It is the first use of Kansas National Guard members to assist with President Bush's plan to secure the border with Mexico. Bush announced in May a plan to deploy up to 6,000 Guard troops along the border for about two years. Sebelius said...

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla., Jan. 27, 2006 – Just one day after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, nations around the world mobilized and formed a military coalition. Their goal: to combat global terrorism. This year marks the fifth anniversary of the coalition, which is headquartered at U.S. Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Fla. Today, CENTCOM officials said, 63 nations are supporting the global war on terror. Since the coalition's inception, 27 nations have deployed more than 22,000 troops to Iraq. In Afghanistan, coalition nations have deployed more than 3,000 troops hailing from 42 nations. These figures exclude U.S. forces....

Bird flu heading towards West, says Turkey By Kate Connolly in Ankara (Filed: 11/01/2006) Officials in Turkey admitted yesterday that the deadly strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus was marching across the country and had infected poultry in 25 cities. The virus appeared to be spreading westwards. Four people were hospitalised in the town of Aydin, near the Aegean coast in the south-west of the country. The area is one of Turkey's biggest tourist magnets and popular with British holidaymakers. A health official struggles to catch a chickens that may be infected Bird flu was detected in fowl in...

BISBEE - Marilyn Jones was tired of sitting at home and crying about what was happening on the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Jones, who has been involved with the Bisbee Animal Shelter, was to leave for Houston today to put her animal skills to work. The Houston chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has reported more than 1,000 cases of pets being separated from their owners. Jones said she will first travel to Houston, and, if possible, then go to Louisiana to care for pets. "I think my particular skill will...