it's a very selective world you live in

...

You were funny on WTF the other week...

I heard Sam was great 2 ;)
kewl ;)

good show?

(Too bad both were shows.)

REALLY GOOD SHOW THOUGH!!!

Who wants to meld/compromise/homogenize/spoon with these Regressives?

http://www.hoffmania.com/

[excerpt]

Mar 07, 2010
"I AM ANGRY" - Guest Post by John Cory
[John Cory is a frequent contributor to Hoffmania and many other well-read sites. You can read his other work at john-cory.com]

...

Republicans want the country backwards. They champion superstition over science because it entrenches ignorance and bigotry and captures the easily frightened.

Republicans treat the Constitution the way they treat the Bible, with selective interpretation and selective application to others while exempting themselves from judgment and accountability.

Republicans preach the gospel of fear because fear is darkness and darkness covers their theft of civil liberties and Constitutional principles.

For thirty years the Republican Party has claimed the mantel of law and order but now quake in dread of the American judicial system when putting terrorists on trial. How criminal is that?

Torture is illegal. Period. John Wayne and Jack Bauer were not our Founding Fathers – only in the make-believe world of Republican drugstore-patriots.

DADT needs to be repealed. Now. It is unconscionable, immoral, and disgusting.

Empathy, compassion and equality are not pejoratives. They are American values proven again and again throughout our history.

Republicans believe that bake-sales and cookies for chemotherapy best determine the value of life and healthcare because life is a pre-existing condition and the “free market” should not have to take on such a high risk – after all, no one gets out alive, so why should the corporation be left holding the bag? Unless of course the price is right.

Republicans believe that government should keep its hands off healthcare but should put its hands inside a woman’s body.

Republicans believe in small government – small enough to hold the “right” people and small enough to be owned and operated by the “right” people. And who are the “right” people? Them. Not you.

Democratic Party, DNC, DLCC, DSCC or whatever your acronym – I have only one question for you: Really?

You can’t win against these guys? You can’t get your message out against these guys? You can’t give America leadership against these guys?

Really?

[end excerpt]

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

Listening to Cory and Jeff Farias at
http://jefffarias.podbean.com/

"Politics and government are not entertainment...." --John Cory

Are Homo sapiens incapable of evolving out of their predation and killing?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/07/extinction-species-evo...

[excerpt]

Humans driving extinction faster than species can evolve, say expertsConservationists say rate of new species slower than diversity loss caused by the destruction of habitats and climate change

For the first time since the dinosaurs disappeared, humans are driving animals and plants to extinction faster than new species can evolve, one of the world's experts on biodiversity has warned.

Conservation experts have already signalled that the world is in the grip of the "sixth great extinction" of species, driven by the destruction of natural habitats, hunting, the spread of alien predators and disease, and climate change.

However until recently it has been hoped that the rate at which new species were evolving could keep pace with the loss of diversity of life.

Speaking in advance of two reports next week on the state of wildlife in Britain and Europe, Simon Stuart, chair of the Species Survival Commission for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature – the body which officially declares species threatened and extinct – said that point had now "almost certainly" been crossed.

"Measuring the rate at which new species evolve is difficult, but there's no question that the current extinction rates are faster than that; I think it's inevitable," said Stuart.

The IUCN created shock waves with its major assessment of the world's biodiversity in 2004, which calculated that the rate of extinction had reached 100-1,000 times that suggested by the fossil records before humans.

No formal calculations have been published since, but conservationists agree the rate of loss has increased since then, and Stuart said it was possible that the dramatic predictions of experts like the renowned Harvard biologist E O Wilson, that the rate of loss could reach 10,000 times the background rate in two decades, could be correct.

"All the evidence is he's right," said Stuart. "Some people claim it already is that ... things can only have deteriorated because of the drivers of the losses, such as habitat loss and climate change, all getting worse. But we haven't measured extinction rates again since 2004 and because our current estimates contain a tenfold range there has to be a very big deterioration or improvement to pick up a change."

Extinction is part of the constant evolution of life, and only 2-4% of the species that have ever lived on Earth are thought to be alive today. However fossil records suggest that for most of the planet's 3.5bn year history the steady rate of loss of species is thought to be about one in every million species each year.

Only 869 extinctions have been formally recorded since 1500, however, because scientists have only "described" nearly 2m of an estimated 5-30m species around the world, and only assessed the conservation status of 3% of those, the global rate of extinction is extrapolated from the rate of loss among species which are known. In this way the IUCN calculated in 2004 that the rate of loss had risen to 100-1,000 per millions species annually – a situation comparable to the five previous "mass extinctions" – the last of which was when the dinosaurs were wiped out about 65m years ago.

Critics, including The Skeptical Environmentalist author, Bjørn Lomborg, have argued that because such figures rely on so many estimates of the number of underlying species and the past rate of extinctions based on fossil records of marine animals, the huge margins for error make these figures too unreliable to form the basis of expensive conservation actions.

However Stuart said that the IUCN figure was likely to be an underestimate of the problem, because scientists are very reluctant to declare species extinct even when they have sometimes not been seen for decades, and because few of the world's plants, fungi and invertebrates have yet been formally recorded and assessed.

The calculated increase in the extinction rate should also be compared to another study of thresholds of resilience for the natural world by Swedish scientists, who warned that anything over 10 times the background rate of extinction – 10 species in every million per year – was above the limit that could be tolerated if the world was to be safe for humans, said Stuart.

"No one's claiming it's as small as 10 times," he said. "There are uncertainties all the way down; the only thing we're certain about is the extent is way beyond what's natural and it's getting worse."

Many more species are "discovered" every year around the world, than are recorded extinct, but these "new" plants and animals are existing species found by humans for the first time, not newly evolved species.

In addition to extinctions, the IUCN has listed 208 species as "possibly extinct", some of which have not been seen for decades. Nearly 17,300 species are considered under threat, some in such small populations that only successful conservation action can stop them from becoming extinct in future. This includes one-in-five mammals assessed, one-in-eight birds, one-in-three amphibians, and one-in-four corals.

Later this year the Convention on Biological Diversity is expected to formally declare that the pledge by world leaders in 2002 to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010 has not been met, and to agree new, stronger targets.

Despite the worsening problem, and the increasing threat of climate change, experts stress that understanding of the problems which drive plants and animals to extinction has improved greatly, and that targeted conservation can be successful in saving species from likely extinction in the wild.

This year has been declared the International Year of Biodiversity and it is also hoped that a major UN report this summer, on the economics of ecosystems and biodiversity, will encourage governments to devote more funds to conservation.
...

[end excerpt]

http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/03/05/1848488/mystery-problem-again-hits-b...

[excerpt]

Mystery problem again hits bee colonies
Almond growers report some shortages of the insects.
Posted at 11:23 PM on Friday, Mar. 05, 2010
By Robert Rodriguez / The Fresno Bee

A mysterious problem that causes bee colonies to decline is once again taking its toll on the state's beekeepers.

The problem known as colony collapse disorder is characterized by a sudden drop in a bee colony's population and the inexplicable absence of dead bees.

The disorder has no known cure and appears to be cyclical. After several mild years, it has resurfaced with a vengeance, said Eric Mussen, apiculturist with the University of California at Davis.

"It never went away, but this year a substantial number of beekeepers got walloped again," said Mussen, the state's leading bee expert. "And worse than they had been hit before."

Although Mussen said it is too early to tell exactly how many bees have been lost, a bee industry official said losses in the state vary from 30% to 80%.

Roger Everett, a Tulare County beekeeper and president of the California State Beekeepers Association, lost 50% of his nearly 6,000 bee colonies.

"And I consider myself lucky," Everett said. "We thought the worst was over, but for whatever reason, it has reared its ugly head again. It is kind of scary."

Fortunately for Everett and other beekeepers, the healthy bee colonies that remain are busy pollinating thousands of almond acres.

Each year, about 1 million bee colonies are needed to pollinate the state's more than 650,000 acres of almonds. About 500,000 colonies are from California; the remainder come from out of state.

And while almond growers have reported some shortages of bees, industry officials said it appears that most growers will have enough bees to pollinate their trees.

"In the areas that I have looked at, the bees are flying strong," said Dave Baker, director of member relations at Sacramento-based Blue Diamond Growers.

Baker said it is too soon to say whether the decline in bee colonies will have any effect on yield.

At this stage of bloom development, growers also are concerned about the potential for freezing temperatures and continued rain.

Growers already have had to apply fungicides to combat moisture-caused problems such as bloom rot.

"There some growers who are applying their third spray, when normally this time of year they may only make two," said David Doll, a UC Cooperative Extension farm adviser in Merced.

[end excerpt]

..and it shows he monopolized the interview. I'll guess word for word he beat Stewart at least 3:1.

Any takers?

it seems like a sad day for america when the only person fighting the fascists is a comedian

but the stanley fish article that claims people actually miss bush ran in this mornings paper.

its apparent to anyone watching the tape that thiessen dominated the interview and that stewart was bending over backwards to accomodate him and yet thiessen knew right away that just the few words stewart spoke blew his arguments and talking points out of the water.

March 10, 2010

DAVID ROEDER

When produce dealer Peter Testa decided to spend millions
of dollars extra so his new distribution center would be
an example for energy conservation, he didn't have to
convince investors and a corporate board.

The president of Testa Produce Inc. runs a company
that's been in Chicago since 1912. He believes
businesses are too focused on short-term returns to
worry about responsibility to the environment.
"We have to step it up a little more," he said.
So when he decided to build his distribution center,
he chose a "green" design that would elevate costs by
20 percent and delay any return on the investment
until six to eight years from now.

"I figured, 'I'm not going anywhere,' " he said.
"I'm a family business. All I had to do was
convince myself and that was a short conversation."

The result is a $20 million project under construction
at 4555 S. Racine in the Stockyards Industrial Park.
It will be connected to a 167-foot wind turbine that
Testa said would be the first of its kind in the city.
The turbine and solar panels should allow the building
to generate half of its power, he said, an achievement
for a business that requires constant refrigeration.

Continued... on page 21 of the hard copy,
or

Exec gladly going green
_ _ _ _
brr

...and people in Iraq miss Sadam...people in Russia still miss Stalin too...I imagine in some sad dark corner of Germany there is still some old Nazi praying for a Hitler farewell tour...

seems Amerika doesn't corner the market on teabagger "Daddy State" types...

:( :( :( !!!!!

toniD's Ya Think?

Our Worldfocus broadcast will go off the air after April 2
new
Submitted by smcgee43 on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 8:41am.

Because of fundraising difficulties, Worldfocus will be going off the air after the April 2 broadcast.

During our nearly 18 months in production, we’ve sought to inform viewers about life around the world — as we said in our very first broadcast, to give you a better idea how the other 6.5 billion live.

Anchor Daljit Dhaliwal explains our decision to go off the air and thanks our many partners, experts and viewers.

http://worldfocus.org/blog/2010/03/08/our-worldfocus-broadcast-will-go-o...

Hey Stanley...

(and here I quote my favorite PARAGRAPH from the above excerpted essay from my new favorite writer, John Corey.)

"Bite me."

That has needed to be a paragraph for so long.

going green
Submitted by Jmach1JP on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 7:58am.

if I would of known there was a new thread
I would of told ya - I didn't know either.

;)

http://www.centerforinquiry.net/isis
http://www.amazon.com/Why-I-Am-Not-Muslim/dp/0879759844

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/87198637.html

This post in no way endorses any violence towards believers of different systems of introspection. I am pissed at the settlements in Israel. I am pissed at "Onward Christian soldiers".
I AM PISSED AT THE RELGION OF CORPORATE MEISTS

China's exports up 46% in
Submitted by toniD on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 8:23am.

China's exports up 46% in February

Source: BBC News

China's exports jumped by 46% in February compared with a year ago, raising hopes of a strong recovery in global trade.

The increase was higher than analysts' expectations of a rise of between 35% and 40%.

It is likely to increase pressure on the Chinese government to raise the value of the yuan, which the US in particular complains is undervalued.

China's imports also rose strongly, increasing by 44.7% last month.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8559088.stm

toniD's Ya Think?

43 Percent Of Americans Have
Submitted by toniD on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 7:44am.

43 Percent Of Americans Have Less Than $10K For Retirement: Survey

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The percentage of American workers with virtually no retirement savings grew for the third straight year, according to a survey released Tuesday.

The percentage of workers who said they have less than $10,000 in savings grew to 43% in 2010, from 39% in 2009, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute's annual Retirement Confidence Survey. That excludes the value of primary homes and defined-benefit pension plans.

Workers who said they had less than $1,000 jumped to 27%, from 20% in 2009.

Confidence in ability to save enough for a comfortable retirement hovered at 16% of respondents, the second lowest point in the 20-year history of the survey.
A drop in the bucket

"Americans' attitudes toward retirement have clearly tracked the economy the last couple of years, and that seems to be the case in 2010," said Jack VanDerhei, EBRI's research director and co-author of the survey, in a statement.

The percentage of workers who said they have saved for retirement fell to 69%, from 75% in 2009.

While VanDerhei attributed the decline in current savings rates to job losses, mortgage problems and the suspension of corporate 401(k) matches in 2009, he said the economy isn't entirely to blame.

"In previous years, there were a whole lot of people who had nothing to begin with," said VanDerhei.

The gap between what Americans have saved and what they'd need for retirement is forcing workers to prolong their working years.
The ultimate guide to retirement

According to the survey, 24% of workers said they have postponed their planned retirement age in the past year, up from 14% in 2008.

But even as fears over health care costs and job prospects mount, the survey found that only 46% of workers have tried to calculate what they need for a comfortable standard of living in their golden years.

"People just don't want to think about this," said VanDerhei. "Everybody thinks they're too young to think about it, until suddenly they're too old to do anything about it."

In general, financial planners say that retirement savings, including Social Security benefits and pension, should be large enough to provide about 80% of pre-retirement income.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/09/pf/retirement_confidence/index.htm

toniD's Ya Think?

Jobless Aid, Tax Breaks Set To Pass Senate

WASHINGTON — Legislation blending help for the jobless with popular tax breaks for businesses and individuals is slated to pass the Senate Wednesday over protests from conservatives who say it adds too much to the $12.5 trillion national debt.

But compassion for the jobless and the political power of an annual package of tax breaks is likely to produce a bipartisan vote to pass the measure, even though it would add more than $130 billion to the budget deficit over the next year and a half.

The bill would provide unemployment benefits of up to 99 months in many states for people mired in joblessness as the economy slowly recovers from the worst recession in decades. The measure easily cleared a procedural hurdle Tuesday by a 66-34 vote, with eight Republicans voting with Democrats to break a GOP filibuster.

The measure illustrates the great extent to which direct help for the jobless and the poor makes up a large portion of Democrats' election-year agenda on jobs – and threatens to squeeze out other items amid concerns about a budget deficit projected at a record $1.6 trillion this year.

The sweeping bill cleans up a host of unfinished congressional business from last year that languished as the Senate focused on health care. It would also prevent doctors from absorbing a 21 percent cut in Medicare payments and extends through December a generous 65 percent subsidy of health insurance premiums for the unemployed under the COBRA program, at a cost of $10 billion.

Democrats also hope to finish work this week on a far smaller job-creation measure blending additional highway spending with new tax breaks for companies that hire the unemployed. The Senate could clear the measure for President Barack Obama's signature by Friday.

Wednesday's larger bill also provides the annual extension of $26 billion worth of tax breaks for businesses and individuals that are popular with senators in both parties.

The $66 billion cost of providing additional months of unemployment checks – the core benefit is 26 weeks – is added directly to a budget deficit expected to hit $1.6 trillion this year. Federal cash to help states with Medicaid adds about $25 billion more.

"Even though these programs may be good for your state, a senator has an obligation to stand up and say 'no more,'" said freshman GOP Sen. George Lemieux of Florida. "No more spending our kids' future. No more bankrupting the promise of this country."
Story continues below

But Democrats said it would be heartless to cut off unemployment benefits to the long-term jobless and contended that the benefits inject demand into the economy, helping to lift it.

"This is not just some technical bill," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. "This bill helps real people. Failure to enact this bill would cause real hardship. Failure to enact this bill would cost jobs."

The tax breaks include a property tax deduction for people who don't itemize, lucrative credits that help businesses finance research and development and a sales tax deduction that mainly helps people in the nine states without income taxes.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/10/jobless-aid-tax-breaks-se_n_492...

toniD's Ya Think?

RE: CA BEE INFO...
u probably already know but in case ya don't...
;) also Tea Cheers 00xx00xx

...i hope i am on the current thread

well, that massa interview should took a turn.

do you suppose its like the scene in the godfather, where rahm was in the audience with a relative from the old country...

Larry King: Are You Gay? Congressman Massa "I'm Not Gonna Answer That!"

toniD's Ya Think?

You're blowing my whole thesis out of the water in 25 words or less and if I can't control 95% of the available time I'll be proven to be a lying sack of shit.

huh!?
you must have watched a different interview, dan
first, kudos to stewart for correcting the schmuck
but it was a messy interview

stewart was continually butting in
which allowed the schmuck to butted back in & whine that he was being prevented from spewing his talking points
which prevented stewart from dismantling the bullshit
& wasting valuable time in the process
then stewart was overly apologetic
oh sorry
oh sorry
then he commenced butting in again...
it was ring-a-ring a rosie
whereas he should have given the schmuck some time to finish
then pounced to dismantle the bullshit

in conclusion...
stewart delivered the knockout punch when he pointed out to the schmuck that he lives in a selective world

He's had treatment for cancer and from what he says the doctor wants him to step back a bit. He said himself that he was giving 100% and the doctor said he can't do that any more.
These cancer treatments might have caused his personality to change. I feel sorry for him and wish he would step back so people won't make fun any more. I am sure his family would want that also.

toniD's Ya Think?

and sandy...
don't get me excited and keep me up all night again, ok
that goes for you too, ms_a

: )

Israeli minister apologizes to Biden over homes plan
By Adam Entous and Jeffrey Heller
Reuters
Wednesday, March 10, 2010; 3:43 AM

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli cabinet minister apologized on Wednesday after Israel embarrassed visiting Vice President Joe Biden by announcing plans to build 1,600 more homes for Jewish settlers.

Biden condemned the project, whose announcement clouded a mission to Israel that had been focused on reassuring Israelis that President Barack Obama was committed to their security in the face of a possible Iranian nuclear threat.

"This should not have happened during a visit by the U.S. vice president," Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog said on Army Radio. "This is a real embarrassment and now we have to express our apologies for this serious blunder."

Palestinian officials said the planned construction near Jerusalem could kill any chance of reviving peace talks, which Israel and the Palestinians had agreed this week to restart through U.S. mediation of indirect negotiations.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/10/AR201003...

toniD's Ya Think?

The Real Climategate
Conservation Groups Align with World’s Worst Polluters
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/9/the_real_climategate_conservation_g...
March 09, 2010

Major environmental groups are coming under criticism from within their own ranks for taking positions that some say are antithetical to their stated missions of saving the planet. In the latest issue of The Nation magazine, the British journalist Johann Hari writes, “As we confront the biggest ecological crisis in human history, many of the green organizations meant to be leading the fight are busy shoveling up hard cash from the world’s worst polluters—and burying science-based environmentalism in return…In the middle of a swirl of bogus climate scandals trumped up by deniers, here is the real Climategate.”

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100322/hari

(warning: viewer discretion recommended)

RADICAL JIHAD,
BROTHER

WASHINGTON – Americans have come to detest Congress ever more deeply as it nears the end of a nasty fight over health care. But more than half still back President Barack Obama, a bright spot for a Democratic Party counting on its leader to help stave off expected losses in elections this fall.

The latest Associated Press-GfK poll found that fewer people approve of Congress than at any point in Obama's presidency. Support has dropped significantly since January to a dismal 22 percent as the health care debate has roiled Capitol Hill. Neither Republicans nor Democrats are safe; half of all people say they want to fire their congressman.

Conversely, Obama's job-performance standing is holding fairly steady at 53 percent. And over the past two months, the Democrat has gained ground on national security issues, specifically the subsiding Iraq war and the escalating Afghanistan war, as he has spent most of his time — at least publicly — on domestic matters like the economy and health care. On those issues, he still has the support of about half the people.

"I agree with what Obama is trying to do, but nobody is listening to him," said Grace Pope of Waterville, Maine. But this 75-year-old Democrat added, "I don't think that the Congress is doing anything."

Such sentiments and the survey's results make clear that Obama remains far more popular than House and Senate members as he leads a Democratic Party facing a volatile election-year environment that, so far, seems to be trending in Republicans' favor. Judging by his standing at this point, Obama seems to be an asset for his rank and file.

But, given the fickleness of this electorate, the uncertainty of the health care debate and the stubbornly high unemployment rate, the president could just as quickly turn into a liability. His own clout will be on the line in the first midterm elections of his presidency. And the outcome is certain to shape the remainder of his first term, if not his likely re-election bid in 2012.

For now, it's unclear just how much Obama can do to prevent midterm election shellackings. Democrats lost recent statewide elections in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia even though he campaigned for them. Presidents typically lose House and Senate seats in their first midterm elections. And the party in power usually bears the brunt of voters' ire when the country is in turmoil.

Thus, another of the poll's findings may not bode well for Obama and his Democrats: A clear majority of Americans — 56 percent — now say the country is headed in the wrong direction.

Democrat Benny Newman of Tulsa, Okla., laid the blame for the nation's ills on both Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress.

"Just bundle them in the same bag," said Newman, who at 79 just lost a job with a local public school district because of budget woes. "I don't think either one of them is interested in the general public. ... They're always stalling, playing politics, trying to jockey for a better position for their own re-election." more...

LINK

toniD's Ya Think?

on the sincerity geiger counter
you score a zero, mr. minister

yokahama!...
bring me the chopsticks

it's always a pleasure to have u here, I hope that
u can stay as long as possible love ;)

a lot of news today ~
Ms_Anthrope tea cheers 2 U -will b sending some
more kitty photos to u soon.

Shoddy and dangerous: More
attacks against Liz Cheney
Former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal Wednesday attacking Liz Cheney's "Al-Qaida 7" logic as "shoddy and dangerous."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/10/michael-mukasey-slams-liz_n_492...

toniD's Ya Think?

many of the green organizations meant to be leading the fight are busy shoveling up hard cash from the world’s worst polluters—and burying science-based environmentalism in return

Dickey Durbin is on the Senate floor now

New senator bucks party
to end filibusters
Barely a month in office, Sen. Scott Brown, R-Massachusetts, is putting some muscle behind his independent image by twice voting against his own party and questioning the use of the filibuster.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/09/new-senator-bucks-party-...

toniD's Ya Think?

Listening to Steph Miller, Getting drunk,

How are you Ono

does the guy owe you money or something...
oh, sorry
i forgot
this is america
and haiti has fallen off the edge of the earth
(bummer)

and it's lights out...
plus, sam's blog is having trouble loading

howya, bobby

WXRT welcomes An Evening with...
Rickie Lee Jones ~ March 25th

FCC considers free
wireless internet for US
The United States could soon offer an enticing perk: free Wi-Fi.

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/fcc-considers-free-wireless-intern...

toniD's Ya
Think?

this senator said this
that senator proposed that
another senator is against it
obama's approval rating falls
but is more popular congress

fuck me
just another day

Vatican faces widening
sex abuse scandals
As the pope's brother apologizes for boxing pupils' ears, far graver allegations face the Catholic Church in many countries.

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/vatican-faces-widening-clerical-sex...

But it's a sin to have an abortion!

toniD's Ya Think?

PETA's euthanasia rates
have critics fuming
The animal rights group defends the high number of dogs and cats put down at its Virginia headquarters.

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/petas-euthanasia-rates-have-critic...

toniD's Ya Think?

has had trouble's loading for awhile,
& it's probably because of the pictures
& the video's, twitter & such. That is
the only thing I can think of. Once he
put Twitttster on the blog it kinda
started to load slower. (just my opinion)

fuck me
just another day

Carnahan Avoids Obama Visit Today
After President Obama's speech in St. Louis this afternoon, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports he will attend a fundraiser for Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) who isn't up for re-election until 2012.

Meanwhile, Robin Carnahan (D) -- who is running for U.S. Senate this year from Missouri -- will actually be in Washington, D.C.

Carnahan "has kept a political arm's length from the president, careful not to appear in lockstep with the White House on key issues."

http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzone/political-fix/political-fix/2010/0...

toniD's Ya Think?

Markets Defy GOP Rhetoric About Obama
Bloomberg: "One year after U.S stocks hit their post-financial-crisis low on March 9, 2009, the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 Index has risen more than 68 percent, and it's up more than 41 percent since Obama took office. Credit spreads have narrowed. Commodity prices have surged. Housing prices have stabilized."

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aeSenIUvpSK0#

toniD's Ya Think?

Spay or neuter all of your pets and any outdoor cats you are feeding.

Adopt a pet from a shelter or rescue group instead of buying from a pet store.NEVER BUY A KITTEN or a PUPPY from a PET STORE.

Join a network in your community that supports TNR.

it is also called "Keep it simple stupid"

http://www.anera.org/index.php

Money for children not for expansion or arms

tanks for the bee update.

just getting a few flakes of snow this morning, the second time i've seen them this year. that's spooky.

my mason bees are still in their nests but the trees are starting to bud.

love y'all.

But it's a sin to have an abortion!

but unfortunately you gotta keep abreast of all the bullshit
or else you'll fall prey to the talking points & the disinformation
and won't be able to seperate fact from fiction

The Hump is reported to have been caught selling illegal whale meat to its customers. Who went after them with hidden cameras? The guys behind the dolphin slaughter documentary The Cove.

Image above: Ric O'Barry, right after The Cove won an oscar, during the Academy Awards. BB pal Ehrich Blackhound emailed in the image and says, "I love it when winners hijack the broadcast, and for a txting campaign!"

=========Remember the Dolphin sign at the oscars?=====

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/03/09/totally-righteous-co.html?utm_sourc...

why in the world there r a bunch of old WHITE
MEN in the south who r in the senate - when
the south has a lot of folks who r a majority
of people of color????
Did I make sense?

Hello Sunshine _ I have been thinking bout u & burgl
hope ya all r well - give everyone a hug even the pups.
love ya xoxoxox

any news from the bubbster

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/181675.php

Some anti-depressant drugs are associated with an increased chance of developing cataracts, according to a new statistical study by researchers at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and McGill University.

The study, based on a database of more than 200,000 Quebec residents aged 65 and older, showed statistical relationships between a diagnosis of cataracts or cataract surgery and the class of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), as well as between cataracts and specific drugs within that class.

Published online in the journal Ophthalmology, the study does not prove causation but only reveals an association between the use of SSRIs and the development of cataracts. The study could not account for the possibility of smoking - which is a risk factor for cataracts - and additional population-based studies are needed to confirm these findings, the researchers say.

This study of statistical relationships is the first to establish a link between this class of drugs and cataracts in humans. Previous studies in animal models had demonstrated that SSRIs could increase the likelihood of developing the condition.

"When you look at the trade-offs of these drugs, the benefits of treating depression - which can be life-threatening - still outweigh the risk of developing cataracts, which are treatable and relatively benign," says Dr. Mahyar Etminan, lead author of the article, a scientist and clinical pharmacist at the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology at Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and an assistant professor in the Dept. of Medicine at UBC.

Researchers found patients taking SSRIs were overall 15 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with cataracts or to have cataract surgery.

The degree of risk among specific and different types of SSRIs varied considerably. Taking fluvoxamine (Luvox) led to a 51 per cent higher chance of having cataract surgery, and venlafaxine (Effexor) carried a 34 per cent higher risk. No connection could be made between fluoxetine (Prozac), citalopram (Celexa), and sertraline (Zoloft) and having cataract surgery.

Co-author Dr. Frederick S. Mikelberg, professor and head of the Dept. of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at UBC and head of the Dept. of Ophthalmology at Vancouver General Hospital, notes that the average time to develop cataracts while taking SSRIs was almost two years.

"While these results are surprising, and might inform the choices of psychiatrists when prescribing SSRIs for their patients, they should not be cause for alarm among people taking these medications," Mikelberg says.

SSRIs, the third most prescribed class of drugs in the world, block the uptake of the neurotransmitter serotonin by neurons in the brain, thereby stimulating more impulses between neurons. Cataracts, a clouding of the eye's lens that usually occurs in older people, are routinely treated through surgery. More than 1.5 million people undergo surgery for the condition every year in North America, according to the Canadian Ophthalmological Society.

Co-author Dr. James M. Brophy, of the McGill University Dept. of Medicine, provided the database used for the study. The research was supported in part by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, with Dr. Brophy receiving financial support from the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec.

Durbin, Schumer Jockey For Filibuster Reform With Junior Senators
The Hill reports that both Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have been talking to freshman Democratic Senators about reforming the filibuster: "For the two ambitious leaders, the exercise could serve another purpose: building stronger ties with junior colleagues as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's future is in doubt. If Reid (D-Nev.) loses reelection, Durbin and Schumer are expected to run against each other to fill his spot. Democrats elected in 2006 and 2008, who are among the strongest proponents of Senate rules reform, represent a trove of votes."

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/85783-senate-leaders-probe-ideas-to-r...

toniD's Ya Think?

it's...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utD0Ow_44gw

no news from CB, i think he's been kidnapped by aliens.

again...

hugs and kisses reciprocated and delivered.

sold some of my Triumph basket cases all i have left is my 1950 Thunderbird parts collection. Dotter is going to have a challenging summer working 40 hours a week for free doing her hospital internship and is going to need some loot.

we have a new roof, the car paid for and brought up to snuff and a new upright freezer. we're recovering but have a tendency to twinge at every mechanical squeek in the household.

(u ol snortbutt!)

life is good!

(not perfect, but what is?

(snip

As long as the fundamental divide between adherents to the numerous world faiths and those who adhere to none remains irreconcilable, the area where we all can—and must—converge is on how we go about actually having the conversation. Violence or terror, most obviously, are unacceptable. But the milder form so often practiced by believers—a puerile refusal to allow one’s ideas to be criticized at all—can be just as prohibitive to the conversation. Atheist Agenda’s jab was at a few ancient texts, not at any person. If ideas and sources are not open for criticism, then nothing is.

Some nonbelievers, surely, can go too far when ridiculing religion, and there is plenty of room to censure them in this regard. But they do it because they rightfully can. When the religious response moves from condemning a rhetorical tactic to condemning the very act of criticism—as if the notion of faith falls under some arbitrary plafond of immunity—fair discourse is effectively blocked. This subtle but monumental distinction has remained far more pronounced elsewhere around the world, especially in predominantly Islamic states, but whiffs of it can always be sensed here as well when groups like the Atheist Agenda stir the pot.

In a free society, shrill reactions to religious criticism will invite only more of the same. Religious believers should develop a sense of humor with which to respond to secular ridicule. Up till this point, many are still just asking for it.

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_fat_line_between_free_speech_and...

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3&link=...

I still don't understand

Why Duke Energy isn't paying reparations.
Maybe I can find the answer in Pine Ridge.

Me to! I have that site on my favorites.

Say Hey to Bgurl for me.

toniD's Ya Think?

thanks 4 the update's on the antidepressant's
my thoughts have been for the last few years that
maybe my health issue's have something to do with
long term effects of the medicine's I have been on.
Some of my symptoms I have had, had developed over a
span of probably 4 years. I have always had this in
the back of my mind. That's not to say this may not have anything to do to with what's going on. But, I WILL be
bringing it up to the next Dr. I'm going to be seeing
in @ Northwestern. If these medications deal with
chemical imbalances - then who is to say that after
being on them for years that they don't fuck up your
brain chemicals anyways. ????
Has anyone done any study on LONG TERM EFFECTS???

Frank wants reform conference televised on C-SPAN -- Corker blocks payday lender oversight -- Banks to pay fee for 'resolution authority' -- BofA dropping overdraft fees
By: BEN WHITE & VICTORIA MCGRANE & EAMON JAVERS & MIKE ALLEN on March 10, 2010 @ 5:49 AM

THE REVOLUTION WILL BE TELEVISED – Or at least the House-Senate conference on financial reform may be, according to POLITICO’s Victoria McGrane, who spoke with House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.): “Republicans who moaned about President Barack Obama’s broken C-SPAN promises on health care negotiations, beware: Barney Frank plans to demand an old-school conference on financial reform. ‘Remember this, ‘Let’s do it all on C-SPAN? … Clear your calendar,’ Frank told POLITICO, adding that he has spoken to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and personally with Majority Leader Steny Hoyer about his intentions. … House and Senate negotiators would debate the points of disagreement between the two chambers, voting point-by-point in open session – an open session that Frank would like broadcast on C-SPAN for all the world to see. The move is a clear signal that Frank will not let Senate Republicans water-down key elements of the legislation without a public brawl. There would still be plenty of behind-the-scenes arm-twisting and deal-cutting for votes, but Frank’s plan would force Senate lawmakers to go on the record as choosing weaker proposals on the consumer protection piece and others.”

AMONG THE EXPECTED DIFFERENCES: Frank has expressed extreme displeasure with a Senate deal, developing at the committee level, to create a consumer protection division within the Federal Reserve, rather than the stand-alone Consumer Financial Protection Agency in the House-passed bill. Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd conceded to a scaled-back consumer body in order to win Republican votes. Frank clearly thinks the politics of the financial reform debate are on his side. "Maybe Senate Republicans want to sit there on C-SPAN in a full public conference and take that position; I don’t think so," Frank said of the consumer protection issue. "We’re going to thrash this out in conference. And I think, frankly, these issues fully debated in public may have a somewhat different outcome."

Good Wednesday morning. Georgetown tips off vs. South Florida at Noon at the Garden, so don’t be surprised if hoop junkies in your office take a little longer for lunch.

DRIVING THE DAY: As if the tension wasn’t high enough as the Senate Banking Committee debates financial reform, Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Carl Levin (D-Mich.) plan to hold a news conference today to say they are pushing legislation that would expand the proposed Volcker Rule to limit propriety trading and other risk-taking activities to include nonbank financial institutions. The proposal may not get anywhere, but Reuters notes that the move “underscores concern among some Senate Democrats with the drift in the banking committee.” So Dodd is now under pressure from members of his own party in both chambers … Forbes will release its latest billionaires rich list with bridge buddies Bill Gates and Warren Buffett expected to be numbers one and two … Keep an eye on Citigroup’s expected $2 billion bond sale. Demand for the offering is expected to be high, a remarkable sign both of Citi’s improved fortunes and the resurgence of a banking sector not so long ago on the verge of meltdown … It may not come today, but Bank of America’s big move to drop overdraft fees on debit cards – which got them out of head of Washington – is certain to pressure other big banks to follow suit. … Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testifies at 2:00 p.m. before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services on Treasury’s fiscal 2011 budget.

http://www.politico.com/morningmoney/0310/morningmoney100.html

** Sensible and effective financial regulatory reform will bring much needed certainty to our markets and help grow jobs and fuel our economy. www.financialservicesforum.org. **

toniD's Ya Think?

-long term effects of the medicine's I have been on-

Those sorts of drugs disguised as medicines scare me more than illegal drugs....unbelievable what they will allow citizens to consume legally...

If they haven't even put WHOLEistic medicine in the list of DERRRRRRRR....how can they approve such biologically altering things on the market...? I don't get it.

Asked at a news conference with Karzai about Gates' comments, Ahmadinejad responded: "The question is what are you [Gates and troops] doing here in this region?

"You are 12,000km away on the other side the of the world. What are you doing here? This is a serious question.

"They are not successful in their fight against terrorists, because they are playing a double game. They themselves created this excuse of terrorism themselves, and now they say that they want to stop them. It is not possible.

"The fight against terrorism is not a military one it requires the work of intelligence, through respecting nations and to separate people from terrorists."

Iran attacks US Afghan role
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, has accused the US of playing a "double game" in Afghanistan, following talks in the country with his counterpart Hamid Karzai.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/03/20103101046294574.html

i've been thinking about biden's trip to the mideast. with absolutely no facts to support it, i'm thinking that he's giving israel the signoff to attack iran. given the way the administrations approval rates are floundering, its utter failure to pass meaningful progressive reforms, what better way to run to the right than to start a proxy war.

of course you have the kabuki part of it where israel announces they are building more settlements and biden condemns them with a wink wink. that should serve to provide plausible deniability.

toss in all the effort that was put into assassinating a palestenian who's been on the run for 20 years and its clear that the current conservative government in israel has no interest in peace.

like i said, no facts to base it on, just a roll of tin foil.

Recovery emerging from U.S. factories
Manufacturing booms, but its importance to the overall economy has diminished.

Reporting from Washington - Improbable as it seems, the brightest spot so far in the nation's spotty economic recovery is a sector long considered all but dead -- good-old-fashioned manufacturing.

Factories are churning. Exports are up. Even though jobs are the bleakest aspect of the overall economy these days, factory payrolls have turned positive.

"We could have a renaissance here," said Ron Bloom, President Obama's manufacturing czar. "Indeed," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke declared late last month, "manufacturing has been leading the recovery so far."

The basis for that optimism is emerging companies such as Nanosolar Inc. in San Jose, which is riding a wave of demand for "green energy" equipment, as well as established firms such as Intel Corp. and Boeing Co. that are investing billions in U.S. production facilities.

Even old-line manufacturers such as Caterpillar Inc. and General Motors Co. are calling back workers.

But after years of losses to foreign competition, can U.S. manufacturing really turn around and power the nation back to long-term prosperity? Just replacing the 2 million-plus factory jobs lost in the last two years would be noteworthy.

The United States' industrial might has been declining for decades. From shoes and socks and televisions in past years to flat panel displays, advanced ceramics and robotics in more recent times, one product after another has been transformed from "Made in the USA" to "Made Overseas."

Manufacturing's share of the economy, meanwhile, dropped to 11.5% in 2008 from 21% in 1979.

The result has been the loss of what historically has been the foundation of modern economies -- making things people want to buy.

"I don't know where we go when we don't make anything and send our dollars elsewhere," laments Robert Gates, senior vice president at Clipper Windpower of Carpinteria, Calif. His company has little choice but to buy wind-turbine components from abroad, mainly Asia.

In the wake of the Great Recession that was rooted partly in Americans' heavy borrowing and purchases of foreign-made goods, President Obama is trying to lay the foundations of a new U.S. economy, one built more on savings and producing, not spending and importing.

He wants to double exports in five years and increase research and development investment to more than 3% of the nation's economic output, which would be the highest since the Kennedy administration.

Obama wants to make tax credits for private investment in research and experimentation permanent. And he has promised to get tough with trading partners who don't play fair and open their markets.

Many manufacturers like what they're hearing but remain skeptical. The massive federal budget deficits will hamper spending on economic development for years, and many business leaders doubt the government can play a major role.

Optimists point to the nation's abundance of private capital and its history of turning creative ideas into commercial products.

They point to continued U.S. leadership in such key industries as aerospace, biotech, optical communications and memory chips. Intel's $2.5-billion retooling of its wafer plant in New Mexico, for example, will soon make a 32-nanometer processor, two generations ahead of the chip that Intel's new China factory will churn out this year.

But planting green shoots such as Intel's wafer plant or the cluster of high-tech research labs and production plants established by IBM and others along the Hudson River in New York is one thing. Rebuilding manufacturing on the scale that once undergirded U.S. prosperity is another.

The problem goes far beyond the oft-cited factor of lower labor costs overseas, already a diminishing factor in world trade.

For one thing, as manufacturing declined, so did the supply chains, support firms, capital investment and, perhaps most important, research and development. In the United States, government policies have tended to be neutral or even negative when it came to the manufacturing base. China, by contrast, invests heavily in R&D and subsidizes manufacturing.

Without industrial clusters, in which production lines, labs and suppliers feed off one another, the U.S. risks losing more of the wealth generated from making higher-value goods, said Willy Shih, a Harvard Business School professor.
More on page 2

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-fi-manufacturing10-2010mar10,0,6358139.st...

toniD's Ya Think?

-i'm thinking that he's giving israel the signoff to attack iran-

maybe it was yesterdays blog or somewhere else but have you read about the anti depressant they are using to treat soldiers with ptsd which is killing them?

alice - the answer to your question about putting questionable drugs out there without considering the holistic ones is real simple. $$$$ by way of patents and royalties.

Remember when I went to Gatlinberg, TN...? Now I have to tell the things I learned that I implemented in the lib.....It was the Job Search Apll Check Off list which tells a person what documents they need to fill-out an online app...and JING the screencast freeware...and the online typing test website...Other than that I learned to keep up on the lib's social networking or don't do it at all...which I kinda knew anyway...

Have a nice day, Blog...!

March 10, 2010
By now, it should be clear to Israeli leaders that no matter how much flexibility they exhibit in efforts to elicit the approval and support of the international community, Israel must place its faith regarding Yerushalayim [and the remainder of the country] in HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and this is once again abundantly clear by the statements heard around the world over the past day. Yes, we must do due diligence and we may not sit idly back and rely on miracles, but we must also openly declare out G-d given right to Yerushalayim and all of Eretz Yisrael, and not hide behind excuses of security, demographics and other non-relevant realities.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon has joined in with the White House and the PA (Palestinian Authority), providing us with his view regarding planned construction of additional housing units in Ramat Shlomo. He explained “settlements are illegal under international law”.

It appears that the international community has indeed adopted the mantra of Israel’ radical left-wing and any areas of the country that it chooses not to recognize are labeled a “settlement”. On that same note, any area of Yerushalayim that it wishes not to place under Israeli sovereignty is referred to as “occupied East Jerusalem”, preferring to ignore the Jordanian occupation of areas from 1948-1967, and label Israel the “occupier”, not Jordan.

In fact, one cannot really blame the goyim, since the labels affixed to these areas are the result of tenacious efforts of Peace Now and its supporters in Israel and today, around the world. It is the likes of [former Meretz Party Minister of Education] Yossi Sarid who amend school text books to teach our young that Israel ousted Arabs from their homes and they are simply trying to exercise their right under international law, the so-called ‘right of return’.

As top man in the UN, Moon is actually filling his role in true fashion, opting to accept the anti-Israel position when one is available.

http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/General+News/50748/UN-Chief-Calls-Je...

Senate Said to Weigh Setting Up $50 Billion Fund to Wind Down Failed Firms Senate negotiators are closing in on a deal to create a $50 billion trust fund from fees on large financial firms that may include Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. and be used to wind down failing institutions, said a Senate aide and two people familiar with the talks.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aBUWOrMbmxFQ

toniD's Ya Think?

That's why I don't think it's weird to say ABOLISH MONEY. It's a false standard for life and everything it entails....

An indictment against a woman from suburban Philadelphia accused of recruiting jihadist fighters online and moving to Europe to try to kill a Swedish artist is a rare case of an American woman aiding foreign terrorists, authorities say, and shows the evolution of the threat of terrorism.

Colleen LaRose agreed to murder the artist, marry a terrorism suspect so he could move to Europe and martyr herself if necessary, the indictment filed yesterday said.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/jihad-jane-held-in-plot...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli cabinet minister apologized on Wednesday after Israel embarrassed visiting Vice President Joe Biden by announcing plans to build 1,600 more homes for Jewish settlers.

Biden condemned the project, whose announcement clouded a mission to Israel that had been focused on reassuring Israelis that President Barack Obama was committed to their security in the face of a possible Iranian nuclear threat.

"This should not have happened during a visit by the U.S. vice president," Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog said on Army Radio. "This is a real embarrassment and now we have to express our apologies for this serious blunder."
=================================
To avoid embarrassment Israel should announce new settlements in the occupied East Jerusalem when the US vice president is not visiting. That makes sense.

Actually, Biden is crying crocodile tears. If he so desired, he could stop all illegal settlement activities by demanding that Israel end all building and begin withdrawing from the occupied territory, under the precepts of international law.

http://www.samsedershow.com/comment/reply/5705#comment-form

What the hell is that supposed to mean? A country isn't a damn job. Do you know how hard it is for the average person (i.e, not engineering/computer genius or rich person) to switch citizenship? Even if they wanted to?

If I could pick a country for its perks, I'd pick one with a damn medical plan, thanks all the same.

If we had that, more people could take care of their own wifi.

(I'm not saying it's not a good thing ultimately. BUT COME ON...)

Anyhow why so generous here? To pave the way for NBC/Comcast charging on a per-program basis for their streaming (largely anesthetizing) content? Or charging rates comparable for what they do now for digital cable?

My brain is still fried, so I perhaps I AM speculating wildly. And again I quote:

"Bite me."

(That's really one for the ages.)

Markos Moulitsas To Kucinich: You'll Be Primaried If You Kill Reform
=====
I am glad to see that this blog called Chairman Markos on his centrist, power-sucking attack on Kucinich. Has Kucinich responded to Markos?

Former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed announced Wednesday that he has decided not to run for Congress in Georgia.

Reed considered seeking the Republican nomination for Georgia's 7th Congressional District northeast of Atlanta, but said Wednesday on the social networking site Twitter and his Web site that he won't.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8983030

(Hey, kids!)

...and if i had the time to start the transcript myself. I hope someone with more time will provide, though. Again and again it took him hundreds of words to express an illogical talking point that Jon would thoroughly destroy in a moment. After that closing excuse, i really wanna see the word count.

On the other hand, it gave me an excuse to actually say something here again, and let you all know i'm still around. I've still been lurking here on and off for the last year, but by now i don't even remember what my sig-pic looks like....

Cheers, my friends!!