GOP attendee ejected for throwing nuts at African American CNN camera woman + saying "This is how we feed animals."@TakeActionNews #TAN
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Report on Putin: Life as a Galley Slave
It's not nearly as easy as you might think to be a modern
tsar in Russia. The mansions, the yachts, the helicopters, the $75,000
toilets. It's rough. What's especially difficult is pretending that
you're a simple guy, with simple tastes while so many struggle to reach
even the middle class.
According to the report (which includes photos of the alleged mansions, yachts and jets) by his former deputy prime minister, Putin has amassed wealth far beyond what most even imagine. His greatest fear of giving up his leadership position is losing access to his luxurious lifestyle. (Accessing the report is not easy though this article includes photos of some of his properties.)
As Russians do join the middle class, will they continue to support Putin? For years my Russian friends and colleagues (who eventually all left Russia) tolerated it because there was a general movement upward for many. Now there is more frustration and a general realization that things may be about as good as it gets in Russia. Will that be enough for Putin?
According to the report (which includes photos of the alleged mansions, yachts and jets) by his former deputy prime minister, Putin has amassed wealth far beyond what most even imagine. His greatest fear of giving up his leadership position is losing access to his luxurious lifestyle. (Accessing the report is not easy though this article includes photos of some of his properties.)
As Russians do join the middle class, will they continue to support Putin? For years my Russian friends and colleagues (who eventually all left Russia) tolerated it because there was a general movement upward for many. Now there is more frustration and a general realization that things may be about as good as it gets in Russia. Will that be enough for Putin?
There are the columned facades of palaces outside Moscow, in the southern resort of Sochi, and dozens more around the country. On an island in the center of Lake Valdai, stands a 930 hectare estate serviced by a 1,000-strong staff that includes a "presidential church, swimming pool, two restaurants, movie theater, bowling alley and concrete helipad".Yes indeed. Just a simple galley slave, as Putin calls himself.
The authors compare Putin's nearly two dozen official residences to the number held by other state rulers – two for the leaders of the United States and Germany, and three for the president of Italy. Nine of the villas were built while Putin was at the helm of the country, they note.
The leader has long attempted to present an image of average Russian machismo, staging regular photo ops with factory workers and bikers. Images of his stark home life stand in contrast to the meetings he holds in the Kremlin's gilded halls. During a televised meeting of his participation in Russia's nationwide census in 2010, Putin appeared on a drab beige sofa in one of the two modest flats he is officially registered as owning.
Sri Lanka begins interviews for hangman and assistant
Sri Lanka's Prison Department yesterday began conducting interviews to
select a new hangman. The interviews are being held at the main Welikada
Prison in Colombo by a three-member panel, the Prisons Department said.
The Department are looking to fill two posts - the hangman and an assistant- out of 178 eligible candidates selected from the vast number of applications the department received .
Sri Lanka judiciary imposes capital punishment but has not implemented the death penalty since 1976. The government reinstated the death penalty in 2004 for murder, rape and drug trafficking following the murder of a high court judge.
Since 2000 there are 1,164 death row inmates languishing in jails waiting for execution or a final decision for commutation for execution. Some prisoners on death row at the moment have served over 15 years while waiting for their sentences to be carried out.
The Department are looking to fill two posts - the hangman and an assistant- out of 178 eligible candidates selected from the vast number of applications the department received .
Sri Lanka judiciary imposes capital punishment but has not implemented the death penalty since 1976. The government reinstated the death penalty in 2004 for murder, rape and drug trafficking following the murder of a high court judge.
Since 2000 there are 1,164 death row inmates languishing in jails waiting for execution or a final decision for commutation for execution. Some prisoners on death row at the moment have served over 15 years while waiting for their sentences to be carried out.
Spain's Ugliest Face Competition
Hey, you. Yes, you, dear reader. There's an annual competition in Bilbao, Spain called the Concurso de Feos. There's something about you that makes me think you've got a great chance of winning.Men and women, old and young, take the stage to contort their faces into the ugliest grimace possible -- and the grosser, the better.You can view a slideshow of contestants here.
If you watch the competitors closely enough, you can discern some clear trends and classic faces. For example, one of the more popular faces involves rolling one's eyes until only the whites are visible. This is frequently combined with extended tongues or a mouth that is pulled as wide as possible.
The World's Longest Bus Can Hold 256 People
You'd
think that this whopper, at 98 feet long, would be hard to maneuver.
But the drivers of this new bus in Dresden, Germany won't need any extra
training:Said to be as easily maneuverable as a commonly sized bus, the Autotram Extra Grand makes use of a computer system to aid its driver with turning. The system's primary purpose is to ensure that the rear section of the bus precisely follows the front and middle sections at all times. In addition to the sophisticated guidance system, the bus incorporates green technology in the form of a hybrid gas and electric engine that can travel five miles operating purely on battery power.More
Flight attendant's career breaks record
Ron Akana, 83, worked his last route over the weekend on a United
Airlines flight from Denver to Kauai, ending his career in the state
where it began.
A 128-year-old man denied free medical insurance cover for being too old for computer system
He is among the world’s oldest men, but cannot get what he needs most —
medical insurance cover. Computers are frustrating Mzee Julius Wanyondu
Gatonga’s efforts at getting the cover under the Kenyan National
Hospital Insurance Fund. He is deemed too old for the system, since his
ID indicates he was born in 1884; the computers only accept birth dates
from 1890. For this reason, efforts by his family to have him covered
under the NHIF hit a snag; his age is beyond the NHIF computer system,
so his application to be a member was rejected due to his age.
Mzee Wanyondu from Mihuti village, Mukurwe-ini District in Nyeri County has had his name rejected several times once entered to be registered as a beneficiary of NHIF. Family members cannot understand the circumstances under which this was happening. “Unbelievable,” said 70-year-old John Nguru Wanyondu, the fourth child of Mzee Wanyondu. He said as a family they felt embarrassed by the feedback that their father was too old to be registered. “Our father is too old, and looking at his age, we don’t know what will happen next, so we are urging the authorities to consider his case and do something,” he said.
He says it is also embarrassing for the family as the system is insinuating that their father is supposed to be dead by now. Mr John Macharia, an agent of NHIF based in Mukurwe-ini, said the family members of Mzee Wanyondu visited his office seeking medical cover for their ageing parents. Mr Macharia said the family first sought to register their parents in March this year, but the old man’s name was rejected by the NHIF computer system. “The man has been regarded as being too old for the computer, despite the NHIF claim that there is no age limit with the fund,” said Mr Macharia.
He says they now use his 89-year old wife Beth Wanjiru as the contributor, because he has completely been rejected by the system. Mr Macharia says efforts to get help from the Nyeri NHIF Branch manager have hit a snag as he says he does not understand the error. “We tried all means to register Mzee, even through his wife’s details, but it still it declined to register him citing age,” added Mr Macharia. The NHIF systems only accept details of persons born after 1890, but for Mzee Wanyondu, the system fails to detect his age because he is older than the stipulated age limit. The family now regards this as an issue of age discrimination and an embarrassing computer glitch which needs to be fixed quickly before the medication for Wanyondu becomes urgent.
Mzee Wanyondu from Mihuti village, Mukurwe-ini District in Nyeri County has had his name rejected several times once entered to be registered as a beneficiary of NHIF. Family members cannot understand the circumstances under which this was happening. “Unbelievable,” said 70-year-old John Nguru Wanyondu, the fourth child of Mzee Wanyondu. He said as a family they felt embarrassed by the feedback that their father was too old to be registered. “Our father is too old, and looking at his age, we don’t know what will happen next, so we are urging the authorities to consider his case and do something,” he said.
He says it is also embarrassing for the family as the system is insinuating that their father is supposed to be dead by now. Mr John Macharia, an agent of NHIF based in Mukurwe-ini, said the family members of Mzee Wanyondu visited his office seeking medical cover for their ageing parents. Mr Macharia said the family first sought to register their parents in March this year, but the old man’s name was rejected by the NHIF computer system. “The man has been regarded as being too old for the computer, despite the NHIF claim that there is no age limit with the fund,” said Mr Macharia.
He says they now use his 89-year old wife Beth Wanjiru as the contributor, because he has completely been rejected by the system. Mr Macharia says efforts to get help from the Nyeri NHIF Branch manager have hit a snag as he says he does not understand the error. “We tried all means to register Mzee, even through his wife’s details, but it still it declined to register him citing age,” added Mr Macharia. The NHIF systems only accept details of persons born after 1890, but for Mzee Wanyondu, the system fails to detect his age because he is older than the stipulated age limit. The family now regards this as an issue of age discrimination and an embarrassing computer glitch which needs to be fixed quickly before the medication for Wanyondu becomes urgent.
Can you prevent Autism?
By Valerie Isakova
Scientists recommend a variety of preventative measures for autism. For
the past few decades, autism has been one of the scariest mysteries of
parenting, with debate swirling around its definition, how rapidly the
epidemic is growing, and most urgently, what causes it.
That's why we
were surprised to read a claim this weekend by science writer Moises Velasquez-Manoff in the opinion section of The New York Times that scientists have figured it out: In at least a third of cases, autism is an auto-immune disorder that starts in the womb.
"The mother's attempt to repel invaders - her inflammatory response - seems at fault," the story says. A range of maternal issues from disorders like celiac disease, asthma and arthritis to getting sick during pregnancy in the most common ways--flu, urinary tract infections--have been shown to be significant risk factors for autism.
The story is a science-writer's synthesis (informed by a wide and reputable body of science) but has far-reaching implications for all pregnant women. Most surprisingly, it includes a twist on the autism-and-vaccines story, which is that the mother being vaccinated, even for common things like the flu, could be a risk factor for autism.
Current CDC guidelines and most obstetricians recommend routine vaccination during pregnancy.
Yahoo! Shine talked to a variety of experts and scientists whose research was quoted in the Times story, and found that the takeaways for pregnant women seem to be twofold. The first is that women with conditions like celiac disease, asthma, arthritis, metabolic syndrome or other auto-immune disorders should be aware that they are at a higher risk for having an autistic child.
The second is that all women may want to take sickness and infection during pregnancy more seriously, as a safety precaution.
"Everyone gets sick when they're pregnant and they don't all have autistic outcomes," Dr. Judy Van De Water told Yahoo! Shine. Dr. Van De Water is an immunologist who studies the immunobiology of autism in children at the MIND Institute at University of California, Davis. However, she says, "If you are exposed to something [while you are pregnant] and you respond very strongly to it, that could change factors that come from the immune system that affect neuro-development."
"Not every vaccination or flu episode is going to result in an autistic outcome," says Dr. Paul Patterson, a professor of biological science at CalTech whose research was also quoted in the Times story. "The factors involved are probably the genetics of the woman or the genetics of the fetus. Another factor would be the severity of the infection or the severity of the mother's response. The timing of the infection (first, second or third trimester). Not every infection results in an autistic outcome! One doesn't have to be scared to death, but it is a risk factor."
Dr Patterson's book Infectious Behavior: Brain-Immune Connections in Autism, Schizophrenia and Depression and his blog go into more detail about his thinking on autism, inflammation and what women can do. He told Yahoo! Shine that his research has shown in animals that "activating the mother's immune system artificially has the same effect on the offspring as the actual flu infection," a finding which implies questions about the safety of vaccination during pregnancy. "Getting a flu shot is controversial." Dr. Van De Water confirms.
Dr Van De Water recommends that women get their flu shot before they become pregnant. Dr Patterson suggests that women who decide not to get a flu shot while pregnant take "common-sense preventative measures that everyone already knows about but we don't do." These include: "Washing your hands constantly, especially when you have been out in public like going to the grocery store or putting gas in the car. Using anti-bacterial wipes on your hands. Avoiding people who are sick, like friends and relatives. Not eating raw meat, or don't change the cat litter."
As of yet, doctors do not have a universal screening method to predict which women are at risk to have autistic outcomes if they get sick during pregnancy. However, about 15 percent of mothers with autistic children have auto-antibodies in their blood. Auto-antibodies guarantee that the child will be an autistic, Dr Van De Water says, "100 percent of the time." An auto-antibody test for widespread usage is under development.
Though pregnant women want to take every precaution not to get sick, ironically, Moises Velasquez-Manoff's argument locates the source of the modern increase in auto-immune disorders to people not getting sick often enough. It's what's known as "the hygiene theory," which posits that the human immune system evolved to cope with the filthy and disease-ridden conditions of a previous era. Without microbes and parasites as a foil, it is more likely to function improperly, causing all kinds of health consequences including autism.
It's all in the Genes
Gene predicts happiness in women
A new study has found a gene that appears to make women happy, but it doesn’t work for men.
Malaysian tribe could help find East Asian skin color genes
Genetic investigation of a Malaysian tribe may tell scientists why East Asians have light skin but lower skin cancer rates ...
Alice's Bucket List
When
British teenager Alice Pyne found she had terminal cancer, she made a
"bucket list" of things she wanted to do before she died. That was four
years ago. One year ago, she started a blog and posted her list, but
acknowledged that "some are possible, some will remain a dream." She quickly became something of an Internet sensation – the hashtag #alicebucketlist began trending on Twitter, attracting the attention of celebrities from David Cameron, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, and Johnny Depp, according to the Huffington Post. The hashtag even became the top trending term one morning in June, The Guardian reported.And just recently, a company in Vancouver arranged for Alice to accomplish the last thing on her original list.
Through her Internet stardom, Pyne has managed to get 40,000 people to join the Bone Marrow Register, according to ITV News. But Pyne, cognizant of her terminal illness, hopes the trend will continue far into the future. “It’s really good that I’m getting so many people to join the register, but what about when I’m not here?” she wrote in 2011. “I don’t want it all to stop.” Pyne then explained her next mission: to have large card companies such as Hallmark, Camden, and Phoenix become involved in spreading the word as well.
Whale watching was probably one of the main things on my bucket list and I've wanted to go for as long as I can remember but I'd kind of accepted that I would never get to do this one. I wanted to see Orca whales in their natural habitat and without me knowing, Mum had been chatting to Nicole at Mackay Whale Watching to set things up. I first chatted to Nicole about a year ago cos she sent me a You Tube video that she'd made of whale watching. At the beginning, it has her dad saying "welcome aboard Alice" and I can't tell you how amazing it was to hear him say that to my face! Yes, it was a bit mad as we couldn't get full insurance but mum and dad had decided that they needed to get me there regardless and as I was on what we call 'a good spell', they just took me!Congratulations, Alice! Link to story. Link to blog
Artist Explores the Sea in Her Wheelchair
Sue Austin, an artist in the UK, can see the wonders of the ocean without leaving her wheelchair:
To move through oceanic depths, the wheelchair uses a propeller and fins positioned at the back of Austin’s legs that allow her to steer via an acrylic strip attached to her feet. According toSmartPlanet, the design originally proved challenging since most propeller models rely on hand movements, but Austin lacks the strength to maneuver them properly. Instead, the team worked to make her wheelchair more buoyant by modifying the heel plates into fins and tweaking the seat to cope better with underwater pressure.At the link, you can watch a mesmerizing video of Ms. Austin moving easily through the water.
More | Artist's Website
Nine Substances That Only Exist In Sci-Fi
Soaring through space at warp speed, traveling through time, and being
indestructible are, unfortunately, all out of the reach of present-day
science. The technologies we need to achieve wondrous feats such as
these remain a mystery to us.
Luckily, science-fiction creators are not bound by the known and can use their imagination to fill in the gaps in current understanding, creating marvelous substances that can achieve the seemingly impossible. Here follows a summary of some of the most famous substances that only exist in our collective imagination.
Luckily, science-fiction creators are not bound by the known and can use their imagination to fill in the gaps in current understanding, creating marvelous substances that can achieve the seemingly impossible. Here follows a summary of some of the most famous substances that only exist in our collective imagination.
The Fastest Winda and Category 6 Hurricanes
Fastest Wind: Hurricane Isaac vs. Mt. Washington
Hurricane Isaac may pack some fast winds, but a Mount Washington gust still holds the U.S. wind speed record. Read more
Will Hurricanes Ever Reach Category 6?
Scientists predict an increase in strong hurricanes with global warming. Will we have to revise the rating scale? Read more
Hurricane Risks: Surprising Map Shows Vulnerable Areas
- More than 60 percent of hurricane-related deaths occur inland and away from the ocean.
Read more
A waterspout whips across the Adriatic Sea
While out for a walk one humid day, a photographer and his friend
suddenly spotted a waterspout offshore. This amazing sequence of
pictures captures what happened. More
Blood Red Camargue River Delta
Russian photographer Sam Dobson was passing through Southern France when
he noticed something unusual: the river delta Camargue has turned blood
red due to its high salt content.
With every small branch encrusted with salt crystals and all flora and forna encased in white and set against the dark red background, the pictures could have been taken from the stills of a science fiction film.The Daily Mail has more: here.
Mr Dobson said: 'Every small branch is covered with crystals and with the red water as a background it looks like something extra-terrestrial.
Tweleve Water Castles
The first written words of the English language
The earliest known example of written words of the English language are preserved not in a book or manuscript, but in a medallion - the Undley Bracteate, which dates to the 5th century:
Believed to have been made in southern Denmark and brought to England by some of the earliest Germanic-speaking settlers, the Bracteate features a helmeted head, a she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus and a runic inscription…It was found by a farmer plowing a field.
It says "maegae medu" – the word "medu" is well known in old English, it means reward or gift. "Maga" certainly means kinsman or colleague or chief or something like that. The thing that nobody knows is another word from the inscription – gaegogae. What on earth does that mean? The a and e are actually a symbol – it’s pronounced ga-go-ga. The Library are guessing that it might mean she-wolf or it might just be some sort of magical incantation – it sounds a bit like that...
The Goddess Temples of Malta
The island of Malta was inhabited in approximately 5200 BC, by a highly developed neolithic people. The great temples of Malta, are some of the oldest free standing structures known, and are part of the UNESCO World Heritage sites. The temples themselves date to about 3000 BC. There have been remains of about 50 temples on the island of Malta. In these temples, artifacts of pottery, bones, figurines of women and signs of fire have been discovered. At some point, it is said that red ochre covered some of the walls in these temples. The well known "Sleeping Goddess of Malta" figure, was found in the temple Hal Saflien. It is also said, that at the Mnajdra temple complex, some of the stones are aligned with the sunrise on the winter and summer solstices , and also the spring and autumn equinoxes.
Find out more about Malta neolithic Temples here.
Fossils That Witnessed Creation of the World
We aren't going to bother you with plenty of scientific information. It's the interest of geochronology specialists. We'll just say that the river of Taimyr - Kotuikan has shredded Anabarskoye plateau and exposed the geological strata that had formed three and a half billion years ago. The former bottom of the Archean sea turned into sedimentary rock and having destroyed under the impact of water and wind it reveals fossilized lamellar stomatolithic formations. Their shapes are rather weird: some resemble a football, others - a tortoise shell... Nature is still the best artist... More
Science News from a British perspective
Chimp grooming postcode lottery
Chimpanzee grooming habits are influenced more by where they
live than by genetic or ecological influences, according to research
published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Double-star system hosts planets
A new study shows that planetary systems can form and survive in the chaotic environment around pairs of stars.
Wild Nature of Russia 2012
"National Geographic Russia" magazine and the Russian geographic community have held a photo contest "Wild Nature of Russia 2012". The photos must be taken all over Russia and feature landscapes, wild animals in natural habitat, underwater shots etc. Only Russians can participate in the contest. Below are some photos from the contest held last year. More
Some Sweets For a Bear
Runaway Jack Russell took 50-mile train trip to London
Footage has emerged of Frankie the dog catching a busy commuter train
from Gravesend to London in the middle of the morning rush hour. The
clip shows Jack Russell Frankie, six, darting through the legs of busy
commuters before hopping onto a carriage at Gravesend Station, Kent last
week. Once on-board the Southeastern service to London King's Cross,
Frankie quickly found a window seat - much to the surprise of his fellow
commuters.
The intrepid hound had already made his way 1.6 miles to the train station after sneaking out of his front door as his owner left for work. However, after half-an-hour as a stowaway, Frankie's freedom was eventually cut short when he was scooped up just minutes from King's Cross by train manager Richard Cheeseman.
The Jack Russell was eventually reunited with his worried owner Jane Abbott, 47, after a member of the train staff rang the contact number on his collar. Mrs Abbott had been searching her home and neighbourhood for hours and was shocked when Frankie eventually turned up 50 miles away in London. "What we don't understand is why Frankie chose rail. He's never been on a train before," she said.
Mrs Abbott and her daughter Stephanie spent £59 to buy tickets to collect their beloved pet. Frankie was excused from paying the £17.80 usually needed to buy a ticket for his journey. In a statement Southeastern rail said: "We're pleased we were able to help reunite Frankie and his owners."
Photo from SWNS.
The intrepid hound had already made his way 1.6 miles to the train station after sneaking out of his front door as his owner left for work. However, after half-an-hour as a stowaway, Frankie's freedom was eventually cut short when he was scooped up just minutes from King's Cross by train manager Richard Cheeseman.
The Jack Russell was eventually reunited with his worried owner Jane Abbott, 47, after a member of the train staff rang the contact number on his collar. Mrs Abbott had been searching her home and neighbourhood for hours and was shocked when Frankie eventually turned up 50 miles away in London. "What we don't understand is why Frankie chose rail. He's never been on a train before," she said.
Mrs Abbott and her daughter Stephanie spent £59 to buy tickets to collect their beloved pet. Frankie was excused from paying the £17.80 usually needed to buy a ticket for his journey. In a statement Southeastern rail said: "We're pleased we were able to help reunite Frankie and his owners."
The Burrowing Owl
The Smallest Species Of Owl
The Mystery of the Monster Larva Solved
Photo: Darryl L. Felder
"It's very exciting to have solved a nearly 200-year-old conundrum," Keith Crandall, a biology professor at George Washington University, said in a statement.LiveScience has the story: here.
Drawing from genetic evidence, Crandall reported in the journal Ecology and Evolution this month that the larva, Cerataspis monstrosa, is actually a baby version of the deep-water aristeid shrimp known as Plesiopenaeus armatus.
Making this match-up between the baby and adult forms was not as easy as finding a larger version of the larva. In fact, the two couldn't look more different, the researchers said. C. monstrosa has a thick body covered in armor with "exceptional horn ornamentation," the researchers write. Yellowfin and blackfin tuna and dolphins prefer this "monstrous and misshapen animal," as the larva was called, for prey — and it was in these predators' gut contents that scientists had encountered the monster larvae.
Deep-Sea Anglerfish Filmed For the First Time in Its Native Habitat
Scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute has filmed
for the first time a deep-sea anglerfish in its native habitat off the
ocast of California, at depths of 7,800 to 10,800 feet below the ocean's
surface.
From the BBC:
From the BBC:
Using a remote-operated vehicle, biologists observed the fish "walking" with its fins and using its namesake lure.Like Nancy Sinatra once said, these fins are made for walking: Hit play or go to Link [YouTube]
Scientists suggest the footage also shows that the fish change colour as they age. [...]
"[Our results] reveal a little more information about an animal that lives 3200 metres below the ocean's surface that no one has ever seen before," said Senior Research Technician at MBARI Lonny Lundsten, "and we've got gorgeous HD video of it!"
Flesh Eating Seagulls Devour Whales Alive
- Right whales off the coast of Argentina face the gruesome threat of being slowly eaten alive by birds every time they take a breath. Read more
Why Are Dalmatians Linked to Firefighters?
These days any fire stations that actually have dalmatians just keep them around for the sake of appearances, but if you've ever wondered why they chose the spotted dogs in the first place, there's actually a good reason:
In the 1800s, fire engines were horse-driven carriages. Unfortunately, horses and much of the other equipment found in a fire station were a prime target for thieves...Eventually the solution became clear: a watchdog...Horses are not solitary animals...Left alone too long, they grow restless and neurotic. Dalmatians, it was discovered, more than any other breed of dog, formed an amazingly close bond with horses once they were introduced. They also became quite protective and possessive of their equine friends, so it became impossible for anyone to try to spirit away a horse under cover of the night.More
A Grizzly Encounter
The grizzly bear stares at the camera with a look that appears ominous in the last photograph snapped by Richard White just before the animal mauled him to death in Alaska's Denali National Park.
The photo is among 26 snapshots of the male bear taken in an eight-minute time frame by the 49-year-old San Diego backpacker on Friday afternoon. National Park Service investigators are scrutinizing the images, hoping to gain a better understanding of the attack as well as confirm estimates based on the photos that the bear was between 35 and 45 meters from White.
"Definitely way too close," chief park ranger Pete Webster said on Monday.
The Largest Moth in the World
The Atlas Moth, Attacus atlas, is the world's biggest moth by wing area. Find out where and how it lives. More
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
The Daily Drift
Remember the Blue Moon is this weekend!
Some of or readers today have been in:
Islamabad, Pakistan
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Cebu City, Philippines
Panama City, Panama
Addia Ababa, Ethiopia
Manila, Philippines
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
Orleans, France
Kuching, Malaysia
Erbil, Iraq
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Cape Town, South Africa
San Jose, Costa Rica
Kuantan, Malaysia
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Kajang, Malaysia
Lahore, Pakistan
Kluang, Malaysia
Makati, Philippines
Puchong, Malaysia
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Athens, Greece
Jakarta, Indonesia
Port-Of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Vienna, Austria
Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Don't forget to visit our sister blog!
Today in History
| 70 | The Temple of Jerusalem burns after a nine-month Roman siege. | |
| 1526 | Ottoman Suleiman the Magnificent crushes a Hungarian army under Lewis II at the Battle of Mohacs. | |
| 1533 | In Peru, the Inca chief Atahualpa is executed by orders of Francisco Pizarro, although the chief had already paid his ransom. | |
| 1776 | General George Washington retreats during the night from Long Island to New York City. | |
| 1793 | Slavery is abolished in Santo Domingo. | |
| 1862 | Union General John Pope's army is defeated by a smaller Confederate force at the Second Battle of Bull Run. | |
| 1882 | Australia defeats England in cricket for the first time. The following day a obituary appears in the Sporting Times addressed to the British team. | |
| 1942 | The American Red Cross announces that Japan has refused to allow safe conduct for the passage of ships with supplies for American prisoners of war. | |
| 1945 | U.S. airborne troops are landed in transport planes at Atsugi airfield, southwest of Tokyo, beginning the occupation of Japan. | |
| 1952 | In the largest bombing raid of the Korean War, 1,403 planes of the Far East Air Force bomb Pyongyang, North Korea. | |
| 1992 | Thousands of Germans demonstrate against a wave of racist attacks aimed at immigrants. |
Two more Tibetan teens die in self-immolations, protesting Chinese rule
Woman took part in search for herself
A tourist in Iceland who was declared missing and the subject of an
intense police search had no idea she was missing, and in fact took part
in the search itself.
The story began on Saturday when the woman, who was described as "of Asian origin, aged 20-30, about 160cm, wearing dark clothing and speaks fluent English" was declared missing somewhere in the vicinity of Eldgjá, in south Iceland. The search found no sign of her.
However, on Sunday morning, she was reported found - and had no idea she was missing in the first place. This was apparently the result of a misunderstanding regarding her appearance. While it was initially reported that she had stepped off the bus at Eldgjá and never returned, in fact she changed clothing before getting back on the bus.
It appears she had even taken part in the search, without realising that she was the woman being searched for. Eventually, it occurred to her that she could very well be the "missing person" being described, and reported the matter to the police. The search was called off shortly thereafter.
The story began on Saturday when the woman, who was described as "of Asian origin, aged 20-30, about 160cm, wearing dark clothing and speaks fluent English" was declared missing somewhere in the vicinity of Eldgjá, in south Iceland. The search found no sign of her.
However, on Sunday morning, she was reported found - and had no idea she was missing in the first place. This was apparently the result of a misunderstanding regarding her appearance. While it was initially reported that she had stepped off the bus at Eldgjá and never returned, in fact she changed clothing before getting back on the bus.
It appears she had even taken part in the search, without realising that she was the woman being searched for. Eventually, it occurred to her that she could very well be the "missing person" being described, and reported the matter to the police. The search was called off shortly thereafter.
Comrade Jindal complains Obama isn't giving him enough taxpayer socialism for hurricane damage
That crazy socialist governor from the People's Republic of Louisiana,
Bobby Jindal, and the rest of the teabagging repugicans are such
complete frauds but can't admit it.
They're always glad to complain about handouts - such as when Jindal turned down $90m in stimulus monies meant to help 24,000 unemployed in Louisiana, or when Jindal turned down $300m for high speed rail - but then, when it's politically popular (like during a hurricane) suddenly Jindal is Chairman Mao begging at the people's teat, like Jindal is now doing over federal disaster monies for Hurricane Isaac.
The repugicans like Jindal believe that the bible has all the answers, not science and of course not the government - but the only thing they're praying for right now is more money from Uncle Sam. You know, the kind of handouts and money that they dismiss and blast when it's for others.
Jindal should quit complaining and join the modern world. Or figure out how to raise his own money. CBS News:
Let's also not forget that it has been the repugicans who have been chopping the FEMA budget, so Governor Jindal ought to be talking with his repugican friends instead of complaining about the president.
They're always glad to complain about handouts - such as when Jindal turned down $90m in stimulus monies meant to help 24,000 unemployed in Louisiana, or when Jindal turned down $300m for high speed rail - but then, when it's politically popular (like during a hurricane) suddenly Jindal is Chairman Mao begging at the people's teat, like Jindal is now doing over federal disaster monies for Hurricane Isaac.
The repugicans like Jindal believe that the bible has all the answers, not science and of course not the government - but the only thing they're praying for right now is more money from Uncle Sam. You know, the kind of handouts and money that they dismiss and blast when it's for others.
Jindal should quit complaining and join the modern world. Or figure out how to raise his own money. CBS News:
The White House said Obama informed Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal of the emergency declaration in a phone call. The declaration makes federal support available to save lives, protect public health and safety and preserve property in coastal areas.One day someone in Washington needs to call out the crazies like Jindal. If you're going to make a name for yourself ripping science and government taxes they don't ask for them and don't accept them. Why should Jindal dirty his hands with socialist tax dollars that probably came from the Blue States who pay much more into the federal government than they receive. What does the bible have to say about that?
Jindal, a repugican, shot back late Monday in a letter to the Obama administration that the declaration fell short of the help he was requesting.
"We appreciate your response to our request and your approval," Jindal wrote. "However, the state's original request for federal assistance .... included a request for reimbursement for all emergency protective measures. The federal declaration of emergency only provides for direct federal assistance."
Let's also not forget that it has been the repugicans who have been chopping the FEMA budget, so Governor Jindal ought to be talking with his repugican friends instead of complaining about the president.
Comrade Jindal now demanding MORE fed disaster aid than states normally get
We know what you are, Comrade Jindal, we're simply haggling over the price.
We wrote above about "conservative" Governor Bobby Jindal of the People's Republic of Louisiana complaining that he wanted the Obama administration to give him more federal disaster aid than he was already getting.
We noted that it was, well, odd that proud red-stater Jindal, who famously turned down stimulus funds for unemployed Louisianans and for a high-speed rail, is now such a fan of all that tainted socialist "welfare" from Washington.
But now we learn that Jinda is even a bigger hypocrite than we thought.
You see, Comrade Jindal is now demanding more from the federal teet than states normally get during these "disasters."
He wants the federal government to reimburse him for state money spent on preparing for the hurricane. That's not something FEMA normally covers because, you know, this is America, not the Soviet Union, and states like Louisiana, and governors like Jindal, are supposed to prepare for things like bad storms on their own.
Oh but it gets even better: Jindal had no such complaint when the shrub didn't offer to pay state preparations for a hurricane in 2008. So either Jindal is playing politics with his state's impending hurricane, or he blew off the welfare of his own state in 2008 so as not to embarrass a repugican pretender.
Which one is it, tovarisch?
From Brian Beutler:
Asked today to respond to Jindal’s push for further assistance, FEMA administrator Craig Fugate explained, “primary responsibility for evacuations really [falls to] state and local governments and when it’s extraordinary the federal government can support that with financial assistance. What the President said yesterday was if you have a request for specific federal assistance, we’re ready to provide that life safety issues. We’re not going to hold anything up. But we’ll look at the impacts and determine, does this really exceed the state’s capability that require federal tax dollars to support that response and particularly if they start having damages. So, early on the request was direct federal assistance. If the financial impacts are greater than the state of Louisiana can manage, we assess that and we’ll make recommendations again looking at what the governor has requested.”
That’s the same approach the shrub cabal took when Gustav was bearing down on Louisiana in 2008.
According to the Louisiana Times-Picayune, “Though Jindal called on the federal government to shoulder the full cost of the federal, state and local efforts, he did not publicly make the same criticisms when former pretender the shrub issued a similar declaration that included a cost ceiling as Hurricane Gustav approached the state…though as the storm was trailing off, the state and the shrub cabal fought over exactly who would pay for what portion of the federal response.”
Romney aide: We won't let our ads be dictated by facts
A Romney aide just admitted that their campaign ads aren't true. That they know they're not true. And they don't care." From Ben Smith at Buzzfeed:
Mitt Romney's aides explained with unusual political bluntness today why they are spending heavily — and ignoring media criticism — to air an add accusing President Barack Obama of "gutting" the work requirement for welfare, a marginal political issue since the mid-1990s that Romney pushed back to center stage.It's not just fact checkers like:
"Fact checkers come to this with their own sets of thoughts and beliefs, and we’re not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers," he said. The fact-checkers — whose institutional rise has been a feature of the cycle — have "jumped the shark," he added after the panel.
* The Washington Post ("Four pinocchios");Even MSNBC's wingnut host Joe Scarborough, who was a former uber-repugican congressman, concluded: "I've been looking for a week-and-a-half to try to figure out the basis of this welfare reform ad," Scarborough said. "I've scoured the Wall Street Journal editorial pages … the ad's completely false. It's just completely false."
* CNN ("Fact check: Romney's welfare claims wrong");
* FactCheck.org ("It's simply not true"); and
* Politifact ("The ad’s claim is not accurate, and it inflames old resentments about able-bodied adults sitting around collecting public assistance. Pants on Fire!").
What does it say about your candidate when his entire campaign is based up on a lie? Not just the welfare ad - but the candidate himself?
Mitt Romney isn't running for president. Some guy, who isn't Mitt Romney at all, is running.
The guy who's running is a social conservative who's against the Massachusetts health care reform law, who isn't more pro-gay and pro-abortion than Ted Kennedy, who loves guns and Ronald Reagan, and who now is apparently very concerned that President Obama "gutted" welfare reform when everyone agrees that President Obama did no such thing.
What does it say about Mitt Romney when his team admits that "Our most effective ad is our welfare ad"? It means that the truth about Mitt Romney must be pretty bad, and the truth about President Obama must be darn good, if the best argument Team Romney has for why Mitt should be president is a lie.
Buzzfeed on how it became okay for the repugican cabal to be openly racist towards Obama
Interesting analysis.
Though in simpler terms, if you give an inch they take a mile. From
the first repugicans getting away with calling Obama a socialist four
or five years ago, the repugicans were given the clear go-ahead that it
was open season on Obama and nobody was going to fight back. And now,
even the repugican presidential candidate is making birther comments, while the head of the rnc is insinuating that the President is a socialist, or a foreigner, or something.
Here's an excerpt from Buzzfeed:
Here's an excerpt from Buzzfeed:
The Overton Window, a theory named for the late think tank executive who developed it, postulates that there’s a finite range of policies or statements a politician can put forward, that are considered acceptable to the “mainstream” of that particular zeitgeist. If an idea is deemed politically and publicly acceptable, it is considered within the Window -- and, if it is not, proponents will seek to shift the window so that the statement no longer seems controversial.
Consider the effect of events like these on the Overton Window. In mainstreaming pronouncements of Obama’s otherness and displays of disrespect for his presidential legitimacy, federal and statewide elected officials steadily moved the border of publicly acceptable discourse crosswise. In so doing, they have served to normalize the kinds of messages – Obama isn’t working, Obama is in over his head, Obama is angry – that Romney has personally delivered for much of this campaign. After all, if questioning the president’s very legitimacy is now in bounds, Romney questioning his intelligence or work ethic hardly seems extraordinary in that context.
And it’s this same new climate that regularizes jokes that Obama is so inept he must rely on a teleprompter in order to speak, and which makes us almost immune to shock when a reporter barks at the president during a press conference in the Rose Garden.
Which brings us back to Romney’s remarks on Friday. Four years ago, describing Obama’s election as a risk was met with public disapproval. Today, questioning his very legitimacy has become a mainstream position pushed by some prominent elected officials in the repugican cabal.
The repugican "We Built It" speaker got millions from feds, gives speeches on fed aid
In other words, she didn't build it, WE BUILT IT. We,
the taxpayers who subsidized yet another repugican small business
that's now out there dissing the very government help she got to put her
on the map.
Seriously, this is getting embarrassing at this point.
Andrew Kaczynski at Buzzfeed has her powerpoint on how to get rich at the government trough, here's a sample image:
Media Matters has another presentation
she also gave on feeding at the government trough, including the fact
that her company received millions in federal loans and contracts.
Seriously, this is getting embarrassing at this point.
Andrew Kaczynski at Buzzfeed has her powerpoint on how to get rich at the government trough, here's a sample image:
The experience of a small business owner who will be promoted at the repugican national cabal sharply diverges from the right-wing media myth her speech is intended to promote.But the rnc isn't lying. When it comes to Valenzuela's company, in fact, we the taxpayers did built it.
On the day that the repugican cabal will tout Faux-fueled myth "We Built It" as its primary theme, Delaware Lt. Gov. candidate and small business owner Sher Valenzuela is slated to deliver a speech about small business issues. But contrary to the evening's theme, Valenzuela's company, First State Manufacturing, has received millions of dollars in federal loans and contracts. Valenzuela has not only attributed her success in part to this outside assistance, but urged other small business owners to follow the same strategy of seeking government funds.
Coal miners required to attend Romney rally, give up day's pay
What do you expect from a guy who likes being able to fire people?
From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
You'll be surprised to hear that the coal company has contributed $900,000 to repugican candidates over the past few years.
Then there's this, from the king of flip-flops himself:
From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
When repugican presidential candidate Mitt Romney visited an Ohio coal mine this month to promote jobs in the coal industry, workers who appeared with him at the rally lost pay because their mine was shut down.And this was priceless from the coal company CFO Rob Moore:
The Pepper Pike company that owns the Century Mine told workers that attending the Aug. 14 Romney event would be both mandatory and unpaid, a top company official said Monday morning in a West Virginia radio interview.
Moore told Blomquist that managers "communicated to our workforce that the attendance at the Romney event was mandatory, but no one was forced to attend."Ha! If that wasn't a perfect Romneyism: Your attendance is mandatory, says your boss, but no one is forcing you to attend.
You'll be surprised to hear that the coal company has contributed $900,000 to repugican candidates over the past few years.
Then there's this, from the king of flip-flops himself:
Romney used his appearance at the coal mine to blast what he called a "war on coal" by the Obama administration that he said was costing jobs in the coal industry.You know what else costs jobs in the coal industry? Not paying coal miners because their attendance is required at a Soviet-style Romney rally.
Paul Ryan blames Obama for GM plant closed in 2008 under the shrub
Ryan told a crowd in North Canton, Ohio yesterday that the president's energy policies had led to the factory's closure in 2009. Ryan delivered the attack in personal terms, saying he had high school buddies who worked at the factory. "A lot of my high school buddies worked at that GM plant," Ryan said. "One of the reasons that plant got shut down is $4 gasoline. You see, this costs jobs. The president's terrible energy policies are costing us jobs."
But despite Ryan's emotional story, GM announced the plant's closure in June of 2008. In October of 2008, the date was accelerated from 2010 to the end of the year. And on December 23, 2008 the last SUV rolled off the line.
Ryan said the factory closed because gas prices had climbed to $4 per gallon. Gas prices were that high, but that was in June of 2008, when the shrub was the pretender president. Gas prices today are lower than they were then, though they do remain high.
Ryan also claimed the President Obama had promised to keep the factory open—but that's not true according to The Detroit News, USA Today, and TPM.
Bottom line: Without the benefit of facts, Ryan's story sounded compelling, but once you learn what really happened, you quickly realize Ryan was telling a tall tale that was just too perfect to be true. And with that kind of thing starting to become a pattern with Ryan, it's no wonder that Mitt Romney likes him so much.
To add—Ryan is INSISTENT that the plant closed because of bad energy policy. Hence, it was shrub's energy policy that closed down that plant. So how is Mitt Romney's energy policy any different?
Can We Learn as We Sleep?
- Studies show it's possible -- at least when it comes to learning smells.
Read more
Did you know ...
About the reasons illegal immigrants are more patriotic than corporations
Do beavers mate for life? not these 4
That the IMF admits: Iceland was right to throw out the banksters
And here's the most brilliant palindrome of all time
Do beavers mate for life? not these 4
That the IMF admits: Iceland was right to throw out the banksters
And here's the most brilliant palindrome of all time
More: Did you know ...
About long-term joblessness: the quiet monster
That birtherism is no laughing matter
That 40% of American workers live paycheck to paycheck
About the poll that finds majority of NYC thinks police favor whites
That birtherism is no laughing matter
That 40% of American workers live paycheck to paycheck
About the poll that finds majority of NYC thinks police favor whites
Exploiting the Fine Print
Lawyer
and financial planner Joseph Caramadre has made a career out of reading
the fine print and exploiting loopholes. He's under fire now for a
scheme in which he sold variable annuities with life insurance. The
catch he found is that Rhode Island doesn't specifically state that you
have to have some kind of relationship with a person in order to insure
their life. And during the latest economic boom, insurance companies
were very eager to sell policies. So Caramadre sold variable annuities
to investors, tagged the attached life insurance policy on someone else
who was close to death, and made himself and/or his investors the
beneficiary of their insurance policy. There is something morally unsettling about this. Put simply: Caramadre was setting himself and his clients up to profit from the demise of strangers. While the macabre aspect of his scheme offends many, it did not make Caramadre squeamish. He rationalized that a lot of people — funeral homes, hospitals and cemeteries — make money from the dead and dying, why not him?Insurance companies have sued Caramadre left and right, and he is also being investigated for criminal conspiracy. The question is not whether the scheme was despicable; the question is whether it was strictly illegal. More
Caramadre's insight might have remained a curiosity were it not for something called "the arms race." As competition intensified in the mid-2000s, many life insurance companies launched an unprecedented war for customers, offering benefits they now acknowledge were far, far too favorable.
The insurance companies' contracts provided little defense against Caramadre's approach. For policies under a million dollars, they didn't check the health status of people receiving variable annuities. Instead, they limited the ages of annuitants or the amount that could be invested. All that the companies required for persons to serve as a measuring life was their signature, birthdate and Social Security number. Some didn't even require the signature.
There was usually only a single line that touched on insurable interest in the contract. Companies would ask if a relationship existed between the investor and the annuitant. Caramadre and the men with whom he worked would either leave the answer blank or type in "none." The companies, eager for business, took the policy anyway.
Bank left unlocked over weekend
The Royal Bank of Scotland has launched an investigation after the main
doors to one of its branches were left unlocked over a weekend.
The problem at the branch in Carnoustie near Dundee was only discovered when a member of the public leaned against them setting off the alarm. The bank said the internal doors were locked.
A spokeswoman added that they were "pleased the alarm system worked as planned". The member of the public is understood to have lent on the wooden front doors at the bank, pushing them open, as she waited for a bus.
Tayside Police were called to the scene when the alarm activated. The Royal Bank of Scotland spokesman said: "We are investigating why these doors could have opened."
The problem at the branch in Carnoustie near Dundee was only discovered when a member of the public leaned against them setting off the alarm. The bank said the internal doors were locked.
A spokeswoman added that they were "pleased the alarm system worked as planned". The member of the public is understood to have lent on the wooden front doors at the bank, pushing them open, as she waited for a bus.
Tayside Police were called to the scene when the alarm activated. The Royal Bank of Scotland spokesman said: "We are investigating why these doors could have opened."
School demands that boy must change his name from Hunter because it violates its weapons policy
In the interest of safety, a preschool is insisting that
a deaf boy named Hunter change his name at school so people don't
accidentally shoot and kill someone with their finger when they use sign
language to say his name.
Three-year-old
Hunter Spanjer is deaf and talks with his hands. In the S.E.E. (Signing
Exact English) language, the gesture that means his name violates his
school's weapons policy. Grand Island Public School wants Hunter to
change his name so he won't have to use the sign.
Better safe than sorry!
Oh, for the love of Pete grow some gonads people!
Three-year-old
Hunter Spanjer is deaf and talks with his hands. In the S.E.E. (Signing
Exact English) language, the gesture that means his name violates his
school's weapons policy. Grand Island Public School wants Hunter to
change his name so he won't have to use the sign. Grand Island's "Weapons in Schools" Board Policy 8470 forbids "any instrument...that looks like a weapon," But a three year-old's hands?The sign may look a little bit like a gun, but Hunter's name is a slightly modified sign to designate it as his name, in which he crosses his fingers. His fingers still look too much like a gun for school authorities. The National Association of the Deaf has been notified, and is expected to send lawyers to talk to officials from the school.
"Anybody that I have talked to thinks this is absolutely ridiculous. This is not threatening in any way," said Hunter's grandmother Janet Logue.
"It's a symbol. It's an actual sign, a registered sign, through S.E.E.," Brian Spanjer said.
Better safe than sorry!
Oh, for the love of Pete grow some gonads people!
More Infants Born Addicted to Prescription Drugs
- The national rate of newborns suffering from withdrawal rose 330 percent from 2000 to 2009. Read more
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