Still no sign of a bottom. Don't hold your breath----prices yet have
a long way to go:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

April 30, 2008
Confidence Falls as Home Prices Decline
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
Americans’ confidence in the economy plunged again this month, and
their homes lost value at the fastest rate in two decades, according
to two reports released on Tuesday.

The data ratcheted up pressure on the Federal Reserve to take further
steps to stave off a prolonged slowdown, even as inflation remains a
threat. The central bank is widely expected to lower its benchmark
interest rate by a quarter-point when it concludes its policy-setting
meeting on Wednesday.

Most economists said the consumer confidence and housing reports were
consistent with a recession, although some maintain that the economy
is growing, albeit at a very slow pace. In a news conference on
Tuesday, President Bush sided with the optimists although he said the
economy was facing “a tough time.”

[Zeppnote: Sir David, you wanted a bad example of trash
programming...?]

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/arts/entertainment-cbs.html

CBS Honcho Rips Network's Extreme Fight Plan

Article Tools Sponsored By
By REUTERS
Published: May 1, 2008

BEVERLY HILLS (Hollywood Reporter) - That ringing in your ears, Les
Moonves, was your boss taking you to task for your plan to bring
extreme fighting to CBS.

"Les usually asks my opinion," CBS Corp. executive chairman Sumner
Redstone said Wednesday when asked about the four mixed-martial arts
fights that will begin airing soon on the co-called "Tiffany network."

This time, Redstone said, the CBS president and CEO did not.

Redstone said the deal, struck with Elite Xtreme Combat, probably was
a mistake, not because CBS won't turn a profit from it but because it
is not "socially responsible" to air the typically bloody bouts on
free, broadcast TV.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/may/01/bbc.television

[Zeppnote: All Sir David really needed to do was produce copies of
the progamming guide for American television and intone, "This is what
becomes of countries that don't value knowledge or education"]

Attenborough delivers warning to BBC

· Lifestyle shows flooding schedules, says grandee
· Public service television 'being squeezed out'
Close
This article appeared in the Guardian on Thursday May 01 2008 on p9 of
the UK news section. It was last updated at 00:39 on May 01 2008.

Broadcasting grandee Sir David Attenborough last night warned the BBC
against squeezing out public service television by flooding the
schedules with lifestyle shows and celebrity chefs.

In a heartfelt plea to regulators and the government to ignore
proposals to "top slice" the BBC licence fee, he nevertheless
admonished the broadcaster for chasing ratings and overloading the
schedule with too many similar programmes.

Please see this site of East Harlem's great congressman Vito
Marcantonio. He fought for the Rights of Puerto Rican, Black, and
Italian constituents with great fervor.

http://www.veryusefulwebsites.com/vito_marcantonio/

thanks!

"Who were the patriots, those who said yes, and those who followed, or
were the real patriots those who refused to follow and faced the
firing squads and were placed in concentration camps?"

-- Congressman Vito Marcantonio

This site is devoted to continuing the work of the Vito Marcantonio
Memorial, "to keep alive and ever-present among the people of his
community and of this country, the meaning and the memory of the life
and activities of Vito Marcantonio", especially considering the
current political climate in the United States.

This site currently contains the full text of the original book,
though there is still further work to be done on the index and general
formatting. Please send all comments, concerns, and corrections to
info@veryusefulwebsites.com.

BEIJING, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Soaring oil prices have not slowed
China's consumption of oil as statistics show that China's apparent
consumption of crude oil and refined oil products both hit record
highs in the first quarter of the year.

According to statistics released Tuesday by the China Petroleum and
Chemical Industry Association (CPCIA), China's apparent consumption of
oil products composed of gasoline, diesel and kerosene rose by 16.5
percent year on year to 52.73 million tonnes in the first three
months, and crude oil, rose by eight percent to91.8 million tonnes.

The "apparent consumption" represents the sum of net imports and
output and could be taken as an index for the real oil consumption
excluding inventory.

The growth of oil products consumption was a record high and much
higher than the same period of last year, which was only 3.6 percent,
said Shu Zhaoxia, professor of the Economics and Development Research
Institute of China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group). Sinopec
Group is China's top oil refiner.

The growth of crude oil consumption was 2.5 percentage points higher
than a year ago.

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/White_House_Blacklist_Breakthrough_Online_media_0430...

[Zeppnote: this admin is in trouble when even Whirled Nuts Daily is
turning against them]

White House Blacklist Breakthrough: Online media team up for free
press victory
Eric Brewer

I thought it was shameful that 10 days after David Barstow's NY Times
article about how the establishment media colluded with the Pentagon
to sell the war in Iraq and the "war on terror" to the American people
by hiring the Pentagon's "message force multipliers" as military
analysts, no one had asked the White House about it.

I'd been trying, but I'd been on Dana Perino's 'blacklist' during my
last six visits to the briefing room.

Today she again ignored me (I was sitting in the front row) until the
very end of the briefing, when she was forced to call on me thanks to
the intervention of Les Kinsolving of WorldNetDaily. Les had noticed
at previous briefings that I was being singled out, and he thought it
wasn't fair. Today he put Dana on the spot.

A video of this exchange is now available here.

White House admits fault on 'Mission Accomplished' banner

By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent

WASHINGTON - The White House said Wednesday that President Bush has paid a
price for the "Mission Accomplished" banner that was flown in triumph five
years ago but later became a symbol of U.S. misjudgments and mistakes in the
long and costly war in Iraq.

Thursday is the fifth anniversary of Bush's dramatic landing in a Navy jet
on an aircraft carrier homebound from the war. The USS Abraham Lincoln had
launched thousands of airstrikes on Iraq.

"Major combat operations in Iraq have ended," Bush said at the time. "The
battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on Sept. 11,
2001, and still goes on." The "Mission Accomplished" banner was prominently
displayed above him - a move the White House came to regret as the display
was mocked and became a source of controversy.

The RAND Corporation study estimated the cost of treating soldiers diagnosed
with PTSD or depression in the first two years following their return from
Iraq or Afghanistan at up to 6.2 billion dollars.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080430/hl_afp/ushealthmilitary_080430203040;_ylt=A...

Fearing stigma, US soldiers hide mental problems: study

Wed Apr 30, 4:30 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A majority of US soldiers who have done tours of duty in
Iraq or Afghanistan say they suffer from stress-related troubles linked to
their deployments, a study showed Wednesday.

But most keep their psychological problems to themselves for fear of being
stigmatized or seeing their careers take a nose-dive, the study conducted by
Harris Interactive for the American Psychiatric Association (APA) showed.

Nearly six in 10 US military members said their deployment in a war zone has
caused them to suffer from "negative experiences" associated with stress.

But a mere 10 percent have sought treatment for mental health concerns,
according to the study, which surveyed 347 members of the US military and
their spouses.

Will we ever get past race in this country?

Tha AUTHOR sez: While both Democratic presidential candidates have
been jockeying for the rural, working-class white voters who make up
much of Indiana's electorate, they have been largely absent from
predominantly black neighborhoods that have historically been among
the party's strongholds.

Click on: 'News Stories' at the top, scroll to Indiana Black Voters
Ignored?