The place where the world comes together in honesty and mirth. Windmills Tilted, Scared Cows Butchered, Lies Skewered on the Lance of Reality ... or something to that effect.
Wild monkeys in India have grown so out of control that the government is planning to build a school for rogue monkeys.
The problem of rogue monkeys is particularly severe in towns close to India's north-western border with Pakistan. Officials accuse them of a variety of bad behavior from terrorizing children, snatching food from people and destroying property... The proposed new monkey school will take in the "worst offenders" and put them through a crash course in good manners.
Well, imagine that! They are going to build a school for monkeys but they have people starving and the money used to fund the building project could feed a few people, don't you think?!
It's been said that America is no longer a republic, because in reality, those in office do little to represent our interests, and more to represent the interests of those with big pockets. In this case, NPR reports that the pharmaceutical industry has spent $40 million over the past three months lobbying.
Policemen should not be allowed to arrest someone for being an asshole in their own home.
If that was the case, right-wing bloggers would all be doing 10-20. It appears clear, and I guess there may be audio tape to this effect, that the cop came to Gates' house, figured out that he was not a burglar, words were exchanged, and then the cop arrested him for disorderly conduct. That's really over the line of what cops should be allowed to do, regardless of the motivations, racial or otherwise.
Corporate America is turning a profit again, but only by spending less, not making more.
While recent bullish profit reports have fueled the stock market, a true economic revival will depend on consumers opening their wallets. So far, there's little evidence of that.
Photos from US spy satellites declassified by the Obama White House provide the first graphic images of how the polar ice sheets are retreating in the summer. The effects on the world's weather, environments and wildlife could be devastating.
A scene from an animated film shown to visitors at the new Acropolis Museum that depicts Christian priests destroying parts of the Parthenon has been deleted following protests by the Greek Orthodox Church.
A new service allows people to pray at the Western Wall (AKA, the Wailing Wall or The Kotel) remotely, via Twitter. The service's website can be found at Tweet Your Prayers, and its Twitter feed can be found at http://twitter.com/TheKotel. The service itself is free, but the site does accept donations.
Before you reach into your medicine cabinet to take care of a headache, stuffy nose, or upset stomach, you might want to consider treating your everyday ailments with natural remedies.
At a time when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's dismissal of the Holocaust has made the biggest headlines, King Mohammed VI has called the Nazi destruction of the Jews "one of the most tragic chapters of modern history," and has endorsed a Paris-based program aimed at spreading the word among fellow Muslims.
Even in the state of "The Sopranos" and "On the Waterfront," where corruption seems institutionalized, the arrest of a neophyte mayor in office a mere three weeks stands out.
Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama Weekly Address Saturday, July 25th, 2009
I recently heard from a small business owner from New Jersey who wrote that he employs eight people and provides health insurance for all of them. But his policy goes up at least 20 percent each year, and today, it costs almost $1,400 per family per month – his highest business expense besides his employees’ salaries. He’s already had to let two of them go, and he may be forced to eliminate health insurance altogether.
He wrote, simply: "I am not looking for free health care, I would just like to get my premiums reduced enough to be able to afford it."
Day after day, I hear from people just like him. Workers worried they may lose their coverage if they become too sick, or lose their job, or change jobs. Families who fear they may not be able to get insurance, or change insurance, if someone in their family has a pre-existing condition. And small business owners trying to make a living and do right by the people they employ.
These are the mom and pop stores and restaurants, beauty shops and construction companies that support families and sustain communities. They’re the tiny startups with big ideas, hoping to become the next Google or Apple or HP. And, as shown in a new report released today by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, right now they are getting crushed by skyrocketing health care costs.
Because they lack the bargaining power that large businesses have and face higher administrative costs per person, small businesses pay up to 18 percent more for the very same health insurance plans – costs that eat into their profits and get passed on to their employees.
As a result, small businesses are much less likely to offer health insurance. Those that do tend to have less generous plans. In a recent survey, one third of small businesses reported cutting benefits. Many have dropped coverage altogether. And many have shed jobs, or shut their doors entirely.
This is unsustainable, it’s unacceptable, and it’s going to change when I sign health insurance reform into law.
Under the reform plans in Congress, small businesses will be able to purchase health insurance through an "insurance exchange," a marketplace where they can compare the price, quality and services of a wide variety of plans, many of which will provide better coverage at lower costs than the plans they have now. They can then pick the one that works best for them and their employees.
Small businesses that choose to insure their employees will also receive a tax credit to help them pay for it. If a small business chooses not to provide coverage, its employees can purchase high quality, affordable coverage through the insurance exchange on their own. Low-income workers – folks who are more likely to be working at small businesses – will qualify for a subsidy to help them cover the costs.
And no matter how you get your insurance, insurance companies will no longer be allowed to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing condition. They won’t be able to drop your coverage if you get too sick or lose your job or change jobs. And we’ll limit the amount your insurance company can force you to pay out of your own pocket.
To view the new report and learn more about how health insurance reform will help small businesses, go to WhiteHouse.gov, and send us your questions and comments – we’ll answer as many of them as we can later this week.
Over the past few months, I’ve been pushing hard to make sure we finally address the need for health insurance reform, which has been deferred year after year, decade after decade. And today, after a lot of hard work in Congress, we are closer than ever before to finally passing reform that will reduce costs, expand coverage, and provide more choices for our families and businesses.
It has taken months to reach this point, and once this legislation passes, we’ll need to move thoughtfully and deliberately to implement these reforms over a period of several years. That is why I feel such a sense of urgency about moving this process forward.
Now I know there are those who are urging us to delay reform. And some of them have actually admitted that this is a tactic designed to stop any reform at all. Some have even suggested that, regardless of its merits, health care reform should be stopped as a way to inflict political damage on my Administration. I’ll leave it to them to explain that to the American people.
What I’m concerned about is the damage that’s being done right now to the health of our families, the success of our businesses, and the long-term fiscal stability of our government. I’m concerned about hard working folks who want nothing more than the security that comes with knowing they can get the care they need, when they need it. I’m concerned about the small business owners who are asking for nothing more than a chance to seize their piece of the American Dream. I’m concerned about our children and grandchildren who will be saddled with deficits that will continue piling up year after year unless we pass reform.
This debate is not a political game for these Americans, and they cannot afford to keep waiting for reform. We owe it to them to finally get it done – and to get it done this year. Thank you.
Murska, Sobota, Slovenia Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Paris, Ile-De-France, France Sydney, New South Wales, Australia London, England, United Kingdom Stockholm, Stockholms Lan, Sweden London, Ontario, Canada Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia Brussels, Brussels-Hoofdstedelijk Gewest, Belgium Toronto, Ontario, Canada Kortrijk, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil Stockton-On-Tees, England, United Kingdom Berlin, Berlin, Germany
as well as Nigeria, Denmark, Croatia, and the United States
You have a real caretaker's streak in you. Do you take care of business? Of people? Your family? Your friends? Your neurotic coworkers? Be careful not to let your inner caretaker take over; that is, only caretake when it's appropriate. When it's not -- maybe with your neurotic officemate who is an adult and should do their own caretaking -- don't give in to the urge to jump in and fix everything.
Wild monkeys in India have grown so out of control that the government is planning to build a school for rogue monkeys.
