Roy Orbison on Japanese television
Monday, January 26, 2009
Want to Live Longer? Cut the Pollution
Nobody pretends that polluted air isn't terrible for your health. Clean up the skies over any dirty city, and the people who live there will all but certainly become healthier. That, at least, has been popular wisdom, but until now, no one had ever put it to a statistical test. Now someone has, and the results are striking: according to a study just published in the New England Journal of Medicine, when local governments decide to scrub out the smog, local residents actually live an average of five months longer.
Read the rest here.
News Blurb
The Senate has approved equal pay legislation to fix the moronic Supreme Court ruling in Ledbetter v. Goodyear, which allows companies to get away with pay discrimination against women if they just keep it a secret.
McClatchy Newspapers
Republicans are blocking Hilda Solis's nomination as Labor Secretary, because she's pro-labor.
Associated Press
McClatchy Newspapers
Republicans are blocking Hilda Solis's nomination as Labor Secretary, because she's pro-labor.
Associated Press
Witches Survive Attempt to Cleanse Washington
Starhawk, along with other members of the group Code Pink, held a ritual to “cleanse the Whitehouse” on Bush’s last day in office.
A video of the event: Witches Sweep Clean for Obama.
Of course, much is being made of this on wing-nut blogs. At www.freerepublic.com, the article on the event was accompanied by keywords such as “religiousleft”, “antichristian”, and “dementedwomen”.
Www.vnnforum.com added the commentary:
We knew it would happen: Full bore weirdness! The Messiah ushers in
pagan superstition along with his Czars, totalitarianism and an
incredible uptick in demonic fury—to be vented mindlessly upon all available scapegoats…
Also, added commentary:
Besides invoking witchcraft against the United States, Code Pink also works with state sponsors of terrorism and the terrorists in Iraq to undermine America in the war on terror. And Code Pink works with President Obama.
There is definitely some rage and desperation out there in wing-nut land.
If anyone needs more of a rush than their coffee can provide this morning, www.vnnforum.com has contains some high-test racism, sexism, and some seriously irrational frothing-at-the-mouth ... along with the standard hate, bile and vitrol that one has come to expect from the wing-nuts.
And I Quote
"...It has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom."
~ Barack Obama, President of the United States of America
~ Barack Obama, President of the United States of America
Photos of Antarctic sea creatures
A year ago a team of New Zealand researchers found a slew of interesting species in Antarctic waters.Some of the animals they discovered in the Ross Sea may be entirely new to science.
National Geographic has a slideshow of the beautiful creatures. Seen in the photo, an Antarctic octopus collected 3,280 feet down.
National Geographic
Giant creatures in Antarctic sea
About a year ago ...
Researchers in Antarctic's Ross Sea found huge starfish, sea snails, and jellyfish with tentacles 12-feet long. The exploration of 2,000 miles of New Zealand's Antarctic waters also revealed "meadows of sea lilies" hundreds of yards across and potentially hundreds of new species, including several mollusks.
Researchers in Antarctic's Ross Sea found huge starfish, sea snails, and jellyfish with tentacles 12-feet long. The exploration of 2,000 miles of New Zealand's Antarctic waters also revealed "meadows of sea lilies" hundreds of yards across and potentially hundreds of new species, including several mollusks.
The survey was part of the International Polar Year program involving 23 countries in 11 voyages to survey marine life and habitats around Antarctica. The program hopes to set benchmarks for determining the effects of global warming on Antarctica, researchers said...
Cold temperatures, a small number of predators, high levels of oxygen in the sea water and even longevity could explain the size of some specimens, said (Don) Robertson, a scientist with (the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research).
Book Review
The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss
This Benthocodon jellyfish was spotted near undersea mountains. The photo is in a book titled The Deep that features more than 200 photos of the insanely strange and beautiful denizen of our oceans. It was edited by Claire Nouvian, a French documentary filmmaker. Smithsonian has a feature on the book and a sampling of remarkable photos from it.From the Smithsonian article:
The more than 200 photographs—most taken by scientists from submersibles and ROVs, some shot for the book—show just how head-shakingly bizarre life can be. The scientists who discovered the creatures were apparently as amused as we are, giving them names such as gulper eel, droopy sea pen, squarenose helmetfish, ping-pong tree sponge, Gorgon's head and googly-eyed glass squid.
Nouvian herself made two dives in a submersible, to 3,200 feet. The first thing she noticed, she says, was that "it's very slow. You can tell that all their laws are different."
Science news
New carnivorous sea squirt discoveredThis is a newly discovered sea squirt that, unlike almost all other sea squirt species, eats meat. Its "mouth" is the funnel-shaped structure that traps fish inside. The 20-inch creature was found at a depth of 13,143 feet near southern Tasmania, Australia. It's one of several animals recently discovered in the region by a team Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and the California Institute of Technology.
From National Geographic:
The four-week voyage, which ended on January 17, 2009, found evidence that global warming may be linked to dying coral reefs in the ocean depths, expedition members say.
America's oldest free library needs help!
The Darby Free Library, which was founded in 1743 and is believed to be the oldest continuously operating public library in America, will be forced to close its doors at year's end if they do not have a very generous benefactor or a whole lot of patronage from smaller donors.
It would be a travesty if this old library closed.
Not only is it a vital resource for its community, it is also a symbol, as our oldest known public library, of our nation's commitment to the access to knowledge and education for everyone.
Want to help? Then check out Friends of the Darby Free Library
It would be a travesty if this old library closed.
Not only is it a vital resource for its community, it is also a symbol, as our oldest known public library, of our nation's commitment to the access to knowledge and education for everyone.
Want to help? Then check out Friends of the Darby Free Library
Tiny statue from the third century CE
The archaeologists (from the Israel Antiquities Authority) believe a merchant family from the eastern part of the Roman Empire most likely passed down the "precious object" through the generations until the fourth or fifth century, when an unfortunate family member had it with him at a public building, perhaps a hostel -- and an earthquake struck...
Two tiny holes in the figurine suggest it was used as a suspended weight together with a balance scale, the archaeologists said.
National Take Back Your Time Week
Remember today is the first day of National Take Back Your Time Week.
So ... have taken back your time, yet?!
So ... have taken back your time, yet?!
One Question
The shrub's daddy says his son held to his principles after September 2001.
One question ...
How can one hold to their principles when they have none?
One question ...
How can one hold to their principles when they have none?
Wing-nut Yammering and Flap-Doodle
The third installment in as many days ...
In a case of proving how insane the wing-nuts are ... this certifiable looneytune had this to say about the text and video of Obama's weekly address I posted.
In a case of proving how insane the wing-nuts are ... this certifiable looneytune had this to say about the text and video of Obama's weekly address I posted.
- I went to his profile and 'blog' and read his two posts - literally the only posts on his blog - from last September and they read like the ravings of a incoherent insane rant from a Hollywood script ... having worked with the mentally ill I have seen first-hand the incoherent insane rants they can and do have but every one was more lucid than this fellow even at the height of their dementia.
Belgian child killer suspect linked to other murder
Why?
Why would someone do this to children!?
The suspect who went on a deadly stabbing spree at a Belgian day care center is also thought to have killed an elderly woman 10 days ago and had plans on him to attack two more nurseries, a prosecutor said.
Christian Du Four said police now believe the man they are holding for Friday's day care massacre in Dendermonde may also have stabbed to death a 73-year-old woman who lived nearby on January 16th.
"There are very clear indications of links between the murders in Dendermonde and the death of the elderly woman," said Du Four.
Investigators had been unable to find a motive for woman's slaying.
Last Friday, a knife-wielding man killed two babies and a caregiver at the Fairyland day care center in Dendermonde, a town 18 miles west of Brussels.
He also seriously wounded 12 others, including 10 young children, in a rampage so bloody it left rescue workers shaken.
The suspect Kim De Gelder, aged 20, was arrested the same day when he calmly rode his bike fleeing the scene.
Witnesses said when the elderly woman was murdered the previous Friday, they also saw a man calmly riding away into the night on a bike.
Authorities say the suspect is refusing to cooperate with the investigation.
Belgium is still trying to come grips with the attack.
Day care centers and schools reopened for a new week today but many parents were still anxious and many small students cried when they discussed the tragedy.
Newspapers carried full-page pictures of a thin, longhaired suspect looking straight into the lens with an angelic smile on his face.
Du Four said matters could have gotten a lot worse if police had not caught the suspect shortly afterward at a nearby supermarket.
When he was detained they found a knife, an ax and more makeup, as well as detailed plans of two more daycare centers in Dendermonde with equally innocent names like "Sunshine" and "Toddler's Land.
"The prosecutor's office said although the suspect carefully laid out plans for a murderous rampage involving even more toddlers, a motive for the slayings remains elusive.
The suspect is scheduled to attend a court hearing tomorrow.
He was charged on the basis of identifications by witnesses at the daycare center.
The world mourns with Belgium over it's loss of the innocent and the innocence of those so young as well.
Why would someone do this to children!?
*****
The suspect who went on a deadly stabbing spree at a Belgian day care center is also thought to have killed an elderly woman 10 days ago and had plans on him to attack two more nurseries, a prosecutor said.
Christian Du Four said police now believe the man they are holding for Friday's day care massacre in Dendermonde may also have stabbed to death a 73-year-old woman who lived nearby on January 16th.
"There are very clear indications of links between the murders in Dendermonde and the death of the elderly woman," said Du Four.
Investigators had been unable to find a motive for woman's slaying.
Last Friday, a knife-wielding man killed two babies and a caregiver at the Fairyland day care center in Dendermonde, a town 18 miles west of Brussels.
He also seriously wounded 12 others, including 10 young children, in a rampage so bloody it left rescue workers shaken.
The suspect Kim De Gelder, aged 20, was arrested the same day when he calmly rode his bike fleeing the scene.
Witnesses said when the elderly woman was murdered the previous Friday, they also saw a man calmly riding away into the night on a bike.
Authorities say the suspect is refusing to cooperate with the investigation.
Belgium is still trying to come grips with the attack.
Day care centers and schools reopened for a new week today but many parents were still anxious and many small students cried when they discussed the tragedy.
Newspapers carried full-page pictures of a thin, longhaired suspect looking straight into the lens with an angelic smile on his face.
Du Four said matters could have gotten a lot worse if police had not caught the suspect shortly afterward at a nearby supermarket.
When he was detained they found a knife, an ax and more makeup, as well as detailed plans of two more daycare centers in Dendermonde with equally innocent names like "Sunshine" and "Toddler's Land.
"The prosecutor's office said although the suspect carefully laid out plans for a murderous rampage involving even more toddlers, a motive for the slayings remains elusive.
The suspect is scheduled to attend a court hearing tomorrow.
He was charged on the basis of identifications by witnesses at the daycare center.
*****
The world mourns with Belgium over it's loss of the innocent and the innocence of those so young as well.
Indonesian Muslims banned from practicing yoga
In even further proof that religious nut-jobs are the same regardless their 'religion' ...
Indonesia's top Islamic body banned Muslims from practicing yoga that contains Hindu rituals like chanting, the chairman of the group said, citing concerns it would corrupt their faith.
Cleric Ma'ruf Amin said the Ulema Council issued the ruling following weekend talks attended by hundreds of theological experts in Padang Panjang, a village in West Sumatra province.
Though not legally binding, most devout Muslims will likely adhere to it because they consider ignoring a fatwa, or religious decree, sinful.
The ban, which follows a similar edict in neighboring Malaysia, was passed after investigators visited gyms and private yoga classes across the country to see what effect Hindu rituals like chanting mantras might have on Muslims.
Amin said clerics decided it could weaken their faith.
"Those who perform yoga purely for health reasons or sport will not be affected," he added.
"We only prohibit activities that can corrupt Islamic values."
Indonesia is a secular country of 235 million people, 90 percent of whom are Muslim.
Though most practice a moderate form of the faith, a vocal extremist fringe has gained strength in recent years.
In recent years, yoga - a blend of physical and mental exercises aimed at integrating mind, body and spirit - has been increasingly practiced in gyms and dedicated centers around the world.
In the United States, where it has become so popular that many public schools began offering it in gym classes, yoga has also come under fire.
Some Christian fundamentalists and even secular parents have argued that yoga's Hindu roots conflict with Christian teachings and that using it in school might violate the separation of church and state.
Egypt's highest theological body also banned yoga for Muslims in 2004.
Indonesia's Ulema Council - which wrapped up its annual meeting for the issuing of fatwas late Sunday - decided to investigate the need for a yoga ban after Malaysia's top Islamic body issued its fatwa late last year.
Religious nut-jobs are all the same - clueless! If they had a clue they wouldn't be the nut-jobs they are.
Indonesia's top Islamic body banned Muslims from practicing yoga that contains Hindu rituals like chanting, the chairman of the group said, citing concerns it would corrupt their faith.
Cleric Ma'ruf Amin said the Ulema Council issued the ruling following weekend talks attended by hundreds of theological experts in Padang Panjang, a village in West Sumatra province.
Though not legally binding, most devout Muslims will likely adhere to it because they consider ignoring a fatwa, or religious decree, sinful.
The ban, which follows a similar edict in neighboring Malaysia, was passed after investigators visited gyms and private yoga classes across the country to see what effect Hindu rituals like chanting mantras might have on Muslims.
Amin said clerics decided it could weaken their faith.
"Those who perform yoga purely for health reasons or sport will not be affected," he added.
"We only prohibit activities that can corrupt Islamic values."
Indonesia is a secular country of 235 million people, 90 percent of whom are Muslim.
Though most practice a moderate form of the faith, a vocal extremist fringe has gained strength in recent years.
In recent years, yoga - a blend of physical and mental exercises aimed at integrating mind, body and spirit - has been increasingly practiced in gyms and dedicated centers around the world.
In the United States, where it has become so popular that many public schools began offering it in gym classes, yoga has also come under fire.
Some Christian fundamentalists and even secular parents have argued that yoga's Hindu roots conflict with Christian teachings and that using it in school might violate the separation of church and state.
Egypt's highest theological body also banned yoga for Muslims in 2004.
Indonesia's Ulema Council - which wrapped up its annual meeting for the issuing of fatwas late Sunday - decided to investigate the need for a yoga ban after Malaysia's top Islamic body issued its fatwa late last year.
*****
Religious nut-jobs are all the same - clueless! If they had a clue they wouldn't be the nut-jobs they are.
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have enjoyed reading Carolina Naturally today.
Stockholm, Stockholms Lan, Sweden
Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Chelmsford, England, United Kingdom
have enjoyed reading Carolina Naturally today.
Daily Horoscope
Today's horoscope says:
Hold onto what you have, don't speculate or buy on impulse.
Will do!
Hold onto what you have, don't speculate or buy on impulse.
Will do!
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