In this face-to-face I briefly talk about General Patraeus’ promotion to lead the U.S. Central Command, which oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As well as John McCain’s reaction to the promotion. For more detailed information check out the video below.

On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton, beat Barak Obama in the Pennsylvania primary by nearly 10 percentage points, right after a smiliar defeat for Obama in Ohio last month. On Wednesday Hillary’s campaign raised $10 million from 60,000 internet donors, 40,000 of which were first time donors. So I am wondering, do you think the tide could be turning against Barak Obama?

In a follow up to a follow up to a follow up, I talk about the still unsettled Zimbabwe presidential elections. And in a related story, I talk about a shipment of ammunition, rockets and mortar bombs, sent from China to Zimbabwe; how convenient.

Story Links:

• Zimbabwe holds partial recount of March 29 vote
• Zimbabwe Arms Delivery May Turn Back
• Zimbabwe’s neighbors unite to block arms shipment

Seriously, what are you doing or what have you done to help improve the health of the planet? Check out 5 Easy Ways To Save The Planet for some quick ideas.

One interesting thing to point out, thanks to hache, is that it’s not really about saving the planet. It’s about saving the human race; the planet isn’t going anywhere. Where you going planet? Friggin nowhere.

Earlier today I talked about the Merger of Denial, this however should be potentially labeled the Merger of No Choice, as airlines face a competitive environment that currently favors consolidation.

What may not be good for fliers, proves intelligent for Delta and Northwest, as it should lead to cost synergies, pricing power and other competitive advantages, oh and before I forget, it will create the worlds largest airline.

Marinate. -Attributed to Do You Know Clarence?

Blockbuster has made an offer to buy Circuit City. In what I’m calling a merger of denial, Blockbuster believes will create a “global retail enterprise uniquely positioned to capitalize on the growing convergence of media content and electronic devices”.

Ok maybe I’m being a bit to harsh, but can anyone think of any good reason(s), why this merger makes sense? You can respond directly to my video by joining seesmic and posting a reply video to ebloch.

In this face-to-face, I talk about the fact that the Iraq War has been financed with 100% debt [as you can tell from the title of this post] and how this is a departure from past American waged wars. Below is the full blown mini-story covering from Reuters, that covers this fact at about the 2:00 minute mark.

Hillary Clinton has publicly released her and Bill’s joint federal tax returns. They may not have slept in the same bed for years, but they’re filling jointly and rolling in cash.

via. Reuters

President Robert Mugabe fought to survive the biggest crisis of his rule on Wednesday after losing control of Zimbabwe’s parliament for the first time since taking power after independence. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change said Mugabe had also been defeated in a presidential election last Saturday and should concede defeat to avoid embarrassment.

Story links:

• In a Nutshell: Episode 2
• Mugabe loses control of Zimbabwe parliament

Story Links:

• Wall Street Castles Made of Sand
• Lehman to raise $3 billion to quash stability fears
• U.S. Stock Rally Fuels Dow To 8th-biggest Point Leap Ever
• Financial Firms Rally U.S. Stock Markets
• It’s Hard to Thaw a Frozen Market