May 07, 2008
Ex-Gitmo Prisoner Carries Out Suicide Attack....
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The U.S. military confirmed Wednesday that a former Guantanamo detainee from Kuwait carried out a recent suicide attack in northern Iraq.
A spokesman for U.S. military's Central Command told The Associated Press that Abdallah Salih al-Ajmi took part in an attack in Mosul.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24504862/
**NOOO! Not an ex-Gitmo prisoner! Gee - I wouldn't have seen that one coming! Seeing as how they're all SUCH innocent people who have been locked up under petty suspision! Right....**
April 03, 2008
Comcast offers super-fast Internet speeds
Being a heavy gamer myself I found this funny, what gamer has the need for 50mb connection? Let alone afford it?
Now the "movie download" person, you can put money on is getting his bits and bytes from other users, and not by paying a online movie rental/seller.
February 04, 2008
Clinton Health Plan: Garnish Wages to force Universal Health Care
The New York senator has criticized presidential rival Barack Obama for pushing a health plan that would not require universal coverage. Clinton has not always specified the enforcement measures she would embrace, but when pressed on ABC's "This Week," she said: "I think there are a number of mechanisms" that are possible, including "going after people's wages, automatic enrollment."
Clinton said such measures would apply only to workers who can afford health coverage but refuse to buy it, which puts undue pressure on hospitals and emergency rooms. With her proposals for subsidies, she said, "it will be affordable for everyone."
Clinton also suggested that Obama would be more susceptible to Republican attack ads in a general election because he has not been scrutinized for years as she has.
One word.
Frightening
In other words, this crazy ***** scares the **** out of me!
December 21, 2007
Oldest U.S. WWI Vet Dies In Ohio At 109....
TOLEDO, Ohio - J. Russell Coffey, the oldest known surviving U.S. veteran of World War I, has died. The retired teacher, one of only three U.S. veterans from the "war to end all wars," was 109.
Coffey died Thursday at the Briar Hill Health Campus in North Baltimore, where he had lived for the past four or five years, said Gaye Boggs, nursing director at the nursing home. No cause of death has been determined, she said Friday. His health began failing in October.
"We're sure going to miss him," Boggs said. "He was our most famous resident, that's for sure."
More than 4.7 million Americans joined the military from 1917-1918. Coffey never saw combat because he was still in basic training when the war ended.
The two remaining U.S. veterans are Frank Buckles, 106, of Charles Town, W.Va.; and Harry Richard Landis, 108, of Sun City Center, Fla., according to the Veterans Affairs Department. In addition, John Babcock, 107, of Spokane, Wash., served in the Canadian army and is the last known Canadian veteran of the war.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071221/ap_on_re_us/obit_coffey
**First off - thanks to all these men listed for their service. Especially J. Russell Coffey....may you rest in peace.
Secondly - and I don't mean this to sound disrespectful but where it says "No cause of death has been determined"....now, I'm no expert on these matters but I think it's pretty safe to assume that the fact that he was 109 years of age was most likely a contributing factor to his demise. But hey, that's just my thought. God bless 'em.**
December 07, 2007
Pearl Harbor Memories: Billings Man Had Full View Of Infamous Day....
Ed Chlapowski can still see the white smoke rise into the sky right before the USS Arizona exploded.
On that infamous day of Dec. 7, 1941, Chlapowski realized his best friend, Brutus West, was on that ship.
"It hurt terrifically when it happened. You never recover from it," he said.
As the years grow longer and the number of survivors of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor becomes smaller, there's urgency to preserve those memories.
For Chlapowski, 85, the chronology of that Sunday morning 66 years ago may sometimes get the better of him, but the events have never left him.
"Brutus West is still on the Arizona as far as I'm concerned," he said.
As a 19-year-old radioman, Chlapowski had a year of Navy life behind him when the Japanese launched their surprise air attack on the naval base in Hawaii.
He had been stationed at Pearl Harbor for just more than two months under the command of Adm. Husband E. Kimmel, commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet. But Chlapowski had been stationed on the Arizona before that, a fact that makes the loss of the ship even more powerful to him.
The morning of the attack, Chlapowski had been on watch from 4 to 7 a.m., when he took his breakfast break in the submarine base cafeteria.
"I saw the roof blow off at Hickam (Field), and I saw the planes flying in," Chlapowski said. "The plane turned, and I saw the 'meatballs' on the wings and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. It still does. I knew it was the Japs."
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/12/07/news/local/
18-pearlharbor_v.txt
**I realize I just posted two stories on Pearl Harbor but I did that because I really love putting a face (or two) onto history. Besides, I couldn't decide between the two.**
Pearl Harbor Lives In Hearts Of Its Vets....
After 66 years, some survivors wonder if they are the last reminders of the attack that led the U.S. into war.
Their ranks thinned by age, Pearl Harbor veterans today are commemorating the 66th anniversary of the Japanese attack and wondering whether Americans will remember one of the most defining moments in history after they die.
"When we're gone, we're gone," said 87-year-old Jack Ray Hammett. "We're already just a paragraph in the history books. Will even that disappear when the last one of us dies?"
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in a speech to Congress, immortalized the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and other military installations on Oahu, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941, as a "date which will live in infamy." Today, those words are remembered mostly by the generation that lived through World War II.
It is a generation in steady decline. About 16 million Americans served in uniform during the war. The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates 2.7 million are living, but they are dying at the rate of about 1,000 per day.
The exact number of Pearl Harbor survivors, though unknown, is smaller, and they are older than the average WWII veteran. Hammett, a former Costa Mesa mayor, said he liked to think of his buddies as "walking, living history."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pearl7dec07,0,4471368.story?
coll=la-home-local
December 01, 2007
CBS Seeking 'Irreverent,' 'Hip' Journalist for Eco-Beat (No Knowledge Required)
The network has posted an ad seeking a reporter to cover the “eco beat” – with some interesting requirements.
“CBS is expanding its coverage of the environment,” the ad reads. “We seek a talented reporter/host for Internet video broadcast. We are looking for smart, creative, hard working up and comers, who can bring great energy, creativity and a dash of humor to our coverage. A deep interest in the environment and sustainability issues will serve you well.”
So you would think such a job would require a science background or years of covering environmental news? Not exactly.
lol
November 30, 2007
Overnight shift to be classified as 'probable' cancer cause
Next month, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the cancer arm of the World Health Organization, will add overnight shift work as a probable carcinogen.
I can see night sift making even more money now, shift diff + hazard pay.
November 26, 2007
Rolling in cash
All Linda Katz had to do was step outside of her house to make thousands on the Internet. Now the Midwestern entrepreneur is building a business selling a piece of the old west online: tumbleweeds.
By KEVIN SITES
Linda started her online business, the Prairie Tumbleweed Farm, as a joke. It was 1994 and she wanted to teach herself how to design a website. Since she lived on the prairie in southwest Kansas, where rolling tumbleweeds are sometimes the only dynamic feature of an endless flat horizon, she invented a farm that sold tumbleweeds, listing prices at $15 for a small one, $20 for a medium and $25 for large.
http://potw.news.yahoo.com/
**This was too funny NOT to post. Kuddos to her! It's amazing how a joke can turn into some pretty decent cash! Be sure to check out her website at the prairietumbleweedfarm. Unfortunately my computer won't connect to it right now (Gee, there's news) but I'm going to try again later. I've got to see this website.:-)**
November 07, 2007
Cancer Patient Denied ‘Wonder Drug’
A man given 12 months to live is at the centre of Oxfordshire's latest health postcode lottery' case after being denied drugs which could prolong his life.
Kidney cancer sufferer Stephen Dallison, of Iffley Road, East Oxford, has been told that more clinical evidence is needed to support his case, before he can receive Sunitinib, which costs £2,500 a month.
The 33-year-old said: "I've been given approximately a year to live and this drug has been shown to extend life.
"It's not a cure, but it can prolong your life by months, even years, and you can have a much better quality of life while using it."
http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/headlines/
display.var.1780901.0.cancer_patient_denied_wonder_drug.php
**My sister sent me this link yesterday. This is simply appalling! Yes, I understand that according to this article, this drug may only give him a few extra months. BUT it could also give him extra YEARS! By THAT time (a few months OR years) - no telling WHAT other treatments may be on the market to help him better. As a Christian, I value ALL life. Born and the unborn - man and animal alike....but come on! We treat DOGS better than we're treating this man and others like him. This is not the first time someone has basically got down on their hands and knees *begging* their government for medication/medical help so that they may live and unfortunatley, it won't be the last. Please pray for this man and others like him so they may recieve the help they need to just live. Btw....I believe (though not sure) that his appeal has been denied so if you're in England please contact whoever you can (if you can) to help further this man's fight.**
October 31, 2007
Army tests James Bond style tank that is 'invisible'
In secret trials last week, the Army said it had made a vehicle completely disappear and predicted that an invisible tank would be ready for service by 2012.
The new technology uses cameras and projectors to beam images of the surrounding landscape onto a tank.
Hrmm... Interesting.
October 25, 2007
California Fires May Be At Turning Point....
SAN DIEGO - A massive aerial assault and a break in harsh winds helped firefighters make their first major progress against Southern California's firestorm, raising evacuees' hopes of returning home for good. But flames were still drawing perilously toward thousands of homes.
The hot, dry Santa Ana winds that have whipped the blazes into a destructive, indiscriminate fury since the weekend were expected to all but disappear Thursday.
"That will certainly aid in firefighting efforts," National Weather Service meteorologist Jamie Meier said.
The record high temperatures of recent days began succumbing to cooling sea breezes, and two fires that burned 21 homes in northern Los Angeles County were fully contained.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071025/ap_on_re_us/
california_wildfires_292
**The updated news is that these fires have claimed two more lives. Let's pray that ALL of the fires are put out soon and that if there truely was any criminal act behind the start of them that the person(s) will be found and brought to justice. In the mean time, I hope Mooseboy and Keven (I was under the impression that both are from California though I have no idea from what area) are ok and that their homes are still intact.**
October 23, 2007
Sharp Drop Seen in US Deaths in Iraq
Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch points to what the military calls "Concerned Citizens" — both Shiites and Sunnis who have joined the American fight. He says he's signed up 20,000 of them in the past four months.
"I've never been more optimistic than I am right now with the progress we've made in Iraq. The only people who are going to win this counterinsurgency project are the people of Iraq. We've said that all along. And now they're coming forward in masses," Lynch said in a recent interview at a U.S. base deep in hostile territory south of Baghdad. Outgoing artillery thundered as he spoke.
Good News indeed, I only wish Bush had thought about listening to the Generals before and finished this long ago.
Catholic Condom Ban Helping AIDS Spread In Latin America: U.N.
TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - The rapid spread in Latin America of the virus that causes AIDS is made worse by the Roman Catholic Church's stand against using condoms, a U.N. official said on Monday.
Some 1.7 million people across Latin America are infected with the HIV virus or full-blown AIDS, and the epidemic is spreading swiftly with up to 410,000 new cases in 2006, up from as many as 320,000 new cases in 2004, according the UN AIDS program, UNAIDS.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071023/hl_nm/honduras_aids_dc
**It pains me ANY day when I have to agree with ANYONE from the UN (I think I may need to lie down). The thing that *totally* pisses me off though is this: I don't care WHAT denomination you come from. Whether it's the catholic, methodist, baptist, nazarene - *whatever*! WHY would you and why ARE you listening AND following with*out* question to what the church and/or any MAN tells you to do?
You know....why don't we believers and followers of Christ try walking on "the wild side of life" for a change. Why don't we READ the Bible for OURSELVES, pray and ask God how HE wants us to live our lives as well as asking Him how HE wants us to interpret His word for our own spiritual lives. So if AFTER you read the word and seek God's answers, if you feel God is telling you through His word that premarital sex, and the use of any and all contraceptives are wrong - EVEN inside of marriage – fine. Then once we find ourselves in church listening to the pastor, preacher - or whatever name you give to your clergy - Why don't we try comparing what THEY say to scripture and continue to ask GOD (NOT man) if it's the road HE wants us to travel. I'm telling you....it sounds crazy BUT it just might work!**
End of rant
October 12, 2007
Shortage of Intelligence in general public creates knee jerk drug recall
Novartis (NOVN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) and Prestige Brands Holdings (PBH.N: Quote, Profile, Research) are recalling their oral infant cough and cold medicines, as well, because data show that when the medicines are misused, it can lead to overdose, especially in children under 2 years old.
At least three chain stores said they are pulling over-the counter infant cold and cough medicines from their shelves: CVS Pharmacy, the retail unit of CVS Caremark Corp (CVS.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Stop & Shop Supermarket Co LLC and Giant Food LLC.
I'm really hoping there is something evil about these drugs and it was discovered, and they are using this lame excuse to pull the drugs... really hoping.
Democratic staffers to get vaccinated for hepatitis for NASCAR Visit
GOP: NASCAR is contagious, but its fans are not
WASHINGTON — Being around NASCAR fans requires no inoculation.
That was the word Thursday from Republican officials after they learned that a congressional committee's Democratic staffers had advised aides to get vaccinated for hepatitis and other diseases before visiting NASCAR events in Concord, N.C., and Talladega, Ala.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said his committee aides were visiting health-care centers, detention facilities and other operations where they could be exposed to communicable diseases. He said the immunizations were routine for health-care workers.
I don't care who you are, this is funny. =P
October 10, 2007
Microsoft Scrambling to Explain Ballmer Comment on Red Hat Linux
But one spokesperson acknowledged late this afternoon that multiple sources have yet to come to an agreement over what the company should say.
People use Red Hat, at least with respect to our intellectual property in a sense have an obligation to eventually to compensate us. [emphasis ours]
October 05, 2007
Beef: It's what is poisioning you for dinner
Burger Maker Topps Closes After Big Recall
The second-largest beef recall in U.S. history caused Topps Meat Co. LLC to close Friday.
"This is tragic for all concerned," said Chief Operating Officer Anthony D'Urso. "In one week we have gone from the largest U.S. manufacturer of frozen hamburgers to a company that cannot overcome the economic reality of a recall this large."
Topps on Saturday expanded its recall of frozen hamburger patties because of possible E. coli bacteria contamination that sickened more than a dozen people in eight states to 21.7 million pounds from 332,000.
It's a great time to go vegetarian! (or just stop eating beef)
October 01, 2007
Illegal Alien Welfare Costs Exceed $35 Million
“Illegal immigration continues to have a devastating impact on Los Angeles County taxpayers,”said Antonovich. “In addition to $220 million for public safety and $400 million for healthcare, the $440 million in welfare allocations bring the total cost to County taxpayers that exceeds $1 billion a year -- this does not include the skyrocketing cost of education.”
Hrmm...
I'm sure those bleeding hearts in D.C. see nothing wrong with this, after all they are the kings of pork.
September 22, 2007
Columbia University to be added to sponsor of terrorism watch list
Or it should be...
It seems they are welcoming with open arms the Highlord of hate and intollerance President Mahmoud AhImANeedAJob.
Perhaps the government should look into ways of cutting any funding and support it gives them.
Just a thought.
August 20, 2007
Russia orders long-range bomber patrols
Putin reviewed the first Russian-Chinese joint exercise on Russian soil before announcing that 20 strategic bombers had been sent far over the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans; showing off Moscow's muscular new posture and its growing military ties with Beijing.
"Starting today, such tours of duty will be conducted regularly and on the strategic scale," Putin said. "Our pilots have been grounded for too long. They are happy to start a new life."
Putin said halting long-range bombers after the Soviet collapse had hurt Russia's security because other nations, an oblique reference to the United States, had continued such missions.
"I have made a decision to resume regular flights of Russian strategic aviation," Putin said in nationally televised remarks. "We proceed from the assumption that our partners will view the resumption of flights of Russia's strategic aviation with understanding."
One big cup of crazy for Mr. Putin, with a side order of world domination. (hold the mayo)
Anyone else think the Russian people gave up on a democratic society too soon?
Scientists hail ‘frozen smoke’ as material that will change world
Aerogel, one of the world’s lightest solids, can withstand a direct blast of 1kg of dynamite and protect against heat from a blowtorch at more than 1,300C.
Scientists are working to discover new applications for the substance, ranging from the next generation of tennis rackets to super-insulated space suits for a manned mission to Mars.
It is expected to rank alongside wonder products from previous generations such as Bakelite in the 1930s, carbon fibre in the 1980s and silicone in the 1990s. Mercouri Kanatzidis, a chemistry professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, said: “It is an amazing material. It has the lowest density of any product known to man, yet at the same time it can do so much. I can see aerogel being used for everything from filtering polluted water to insulating against extreme temperatures and even for jewellery.”
Aerogel is nicknamed “frozen smoke” and is made by extracting water from a silica gel, then replacing it with gas such as carbon dioxide. The result is a substance that is capable of insulating against extreme temperatures and of absorbing pollutants such as crude oil.
I found this utterly fascinating myself.
Finally a wonder product NOT made from crude oil. :)
August 08, 2007
Indonesia's West Java hit by strong earthquake
JAKARTA (Reuters) - A powerful undersea earthquake has hit Indonesia's West Java island, a telephone text message from the country's Meteorological agency said on Thursday.
The agency did not give a tsunami warning and there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, but the quake caused panic in parts of the densely inhabited Java island.
Let's all pray the coffee crops are ok. (said the coffee addict)
July 05, 2007
New Chinese Ballistic Missile Submarine Spotted
The new submarine was photographed by the commercial Quickbird satellite in late 2006 and the image is freely available on the Google Earth web site
Can we stop with the nuclear build out already?
Need the CIA to arrange an accident aboard all of these in the middle of the ocean.
Oh, side note .. nice work Google ;)
I actually agree with Castro, how strange
For once I agree with Fidel Castro.
Food based biofuels may not be the answer, but another problem.
Take the declining number of farms in America and the explosion of people in third world countries and toss in the food based biofuel industry, now we have something to be concerned with.
I see food based biofuels as cheap bandage for the wound that is the worlds oil consumption.
The real alternative would be something like hydrogen or a water based design.
You can read more from the article below and the rest via the link at the bottom.
The head of the U.N. Environment Program said on Wednesday Cuban leader Fidel Castro and others are justified in raising concern about the potential for ethanol production to threaten food supplies for the poor.
But UNEP director Achim Steiner said the jury is still out on whether risks outweigh the benefits when using food crops to produce ethanol as an alternative fuel.
Castro, who has taken to writing articles since he was sidelined from power last year by intestinal surgery, has attacked U.S. plans to increase biofuels output using crops such as corn, saying this will increase food prices and global hunger.
"What President Castro points to is something the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization has also raised recently: That there is significant potential and risk for competition between food production and production for a global biofuels market," Steiner told Reuters during a environmental meeting in Havana.
June 25, 2007
Iwo Jima flag raiser Lindberg dies at 86
RICHFIELD, Minn. - Charles W. Lindberg, one of the U.S. Marines who raised the first American flag over Iwo Jima during World War II, has died. He was 86.
Lindberg died Sunday at Fairview Southdale hospital in the Minneapolis suburb of Edina, said John Pose, director of the Morris Nilsen Funeral Home in Richfield, which is handling Lindberg's funeral.
Lindberg spent decades explaining that it was his patrol, not the one captured in the famous Associated Press photograph by Joe Rosenthal, that raised the first flag as U.S. forces fought to take the Japanese island.
In the late morning of Feb. 23, 1945, Lindberg fired his flame-thrower into enemy pillboxes at the base of Mount Suribachi and then joined five other Marines fighting their way to the top. He was awarded the Silver Star for bravery.
"Two of our men found this big, long pipe there," he said in an interview with The Associated Press in 2003. "We tied the flag to it, took it to the highest spot we could find and we raised it.
"Down below, the troops started to cheer, the ship's whistles went off, it was just something that you would never forget," he said. "It didn't last too long, because the enemy started coming out of the caves."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070625/ap_on_re_us/obit_lindberg
June 14, 2007
Baby monitor picks up video from NASA....
Strange but apparently true according to the news article found here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070614/ap_on_fe_st/baby_monitor_space
PALATINE, Ill. - A mother of two in this suburb of Chicago doesn't have to turn on the news for an update on
NASA's space mission. She just flips on her baby monitor. Since Sunday, Natalie Meilinger's baby monitor has been picking up black-and-white video from inside the space shuttle Atlantis.
"Whoever has a baby monitor knows what you'll usually see," said the elementary school science teacher. "No one would ever expect this."
**I couldn't pass this up. I think it's totally hysterical (though logical once you think about it)! However I must say I feel completely cheated. Muddy and I bought a speaker monitor for our last kid some years ago. We *barely* used it and we NEVER got anything like this. Some people have all the luck.:-)**
June 06, 2007
D-Day Soldier's Dog Tag Found in Sand
HUNTINGDON, Tenn. -- The family of Pvt. William Bernice Clark never had a funeral for him, never got to say goodbye and never really accepted his fate among the fallen during the Normandy D-Day landings in World War II. That was until his dog tag was discovered in the sands of Omaha Beach.
On Wednesday -- exactly 63 years after that tragic day -- the aged tag was returned to his native Tennessee.
Click here to find out more!
"This feels like an ending," said the soldier's first cousin, 79-year-old Lota Park, who along with another cousin accepted the dog tag at a ceremony in the small town of Huntingdon, about 90 miles west of Nashville.
The tag has blackened with age, but his name, identification number, religion (Protestant) and blood type (Type O) are all clearly visible.
It remained out of sight for more than five decades until a collector from England found it five years ago on the beach, likely near the very spot where the 20-year-old Clark was killed. The collector gave the dog tag to a World War II buff from New Jersey, who turned it over to the National D-Day Memorial.
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/
ats-ap_us17jun06,0,3167950.story?coll=ny-leadnationalnews-headlines
June 05, 2007
Iran Happy to start WWIII
“God willing, in the near future we will witness the destruction of the corrupt occupier regime,” Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said to a number of foreign guests at a ceremony marking the 18th death anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution leader, Ayatollah Khomeini.
Citing last year’s Lebanon war, he said, “With God’s help, the countdown button for the destruction of the Zionist regime has been pushed by the hands of the children of Lebanon and Palestine.”
Ahmadinejad went on to note that “If you make a mistake and create another war against the oppressed Lebanese nation, this time the angry ocean of the nations of the region will remove your rotten roots from the region.”
First let's get this straight, President Imaneedajob does not give a hoot about the Lebanese people.
He only cares about power, if he can use them to gain power in the middle east, then so be it.
He is, highly motivated, intelligent and flat out crazy.
This is the same man who wants to bring about WWIII so he can dispose of all those who do not believe as he does.
The same man who took a union leader in Iran who was putting together a protest and took him out in the center of town and slowly cut his tounge out so he would shut up, and silence any others wanting to protest his government.
Sounds to me like it's time to start putting a dent in his plans. (or his head)
June 03, 2007
They call this a consensus?
Here is yet another article that debates the so called concensus on global warming.
Here is a cherry picked excerp;
Does any remember the global cooling warning in the 70's? I do and I wonder how many of the scientists then are the same scientists today? I wonder what will be the 'end of the world' doomsday scenario that they will be trying to sell us in another 30 years.
That is if we make it that long! LOL. Not that I dont think that it is good to be much less wasteful and take care of our planet (not to mention getting off our depency on fossil fules) just dont tell me that we are all going to die if we dont.
If the left was smart about it, they would be telling the right that their 401k will be in jepordy if we dont go green. Then something would be done about it. Just dont say 'were all going to die' because everyone is sceptical about those scenario's, yes even the scientific community.
This whole global warming thing has backfired. Now instead of going green because its the right thing to do, everyone is trying to figure out if the myth is true and doing nothing. Again the should have just told everyone that their retirement money would be gone.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_cooling
June 02, 2007
FDA Says Avoid Toothpaste Made In China....
WASHINGTON - The government warned consumers on Friday to avoid using toothpaste made in China because it may contain a poisonous chemical used in antifreeze. Out of caution, the
Food and Drug Administration said, people should throw away toothpaste with labeling that says it was made in China. The FDA is concerned that these products may contain diethylene glycol.
The agency is not aware of any poisoning from toothpaste in the United States, but it did find the antifreeze ingredient in a shipment at the U.S. border and at two retail stores: a Dollar Plus store in Miami and a Todo A Peso store in Puerto Rico.
Officials said they are primarily concerned about toothpaste sold at bargain retail outlets. The ingredient in question, called DEG, is used as a lower-cost sweetener and thickening agent. The highest concentration of the chemical found in toothpaste so far was between 3 percent and 4 percent of the product's overall weight.
"It does not belong in toothpaste even in small concentrations," said the FDA's Deborah M. Autor.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070601/ap_on_he_me/chinese_toothpaste
****....and some people have considered me "goofy" in the past because I have gone out of my way - for years now (not always to the degree of success that I'd like) - to avoid buying anything "made in China". Maybe those same people wouldn't consider me "goofy" now.****
May 16, 2007
Microsoft running scared from Linux
This is not the first time that Linux has been under attack for alleged patent infringements.
"We've heard all this before with the SCO (Unix) case," says Steven D'Aprano, operations manager for Windows-Linux integration consultant Cybersource. "We know that Microsoft had been funding SCO, tossing them a few million here and there to keep the case alive.
"SCO did their best to show that there was supposed patent and copyright violations in the Linux kernel. While the case hasn't completely finished yet, it has lost steam because SCO has got no evidence to support their claims.
"Until Microsoft start to actually point at particular bits that they claim are in patent violation then talk is cheap."
According to D'Aprano, an open source advocate, if Microsoft actually does put on the gloves against Linux, it will have a tough time deciding who to go after.
May 10, 2007
Disney condemns Hamas Mickey Mouse
Diane Disney Miller said she was disgusted that a copy of the famous cartoon character was being used on a new Hamas TV show to encourage Palestinian children to fight against Israel and America.
Ms Miller, 73, claimed it went "against the grain of humanity", before saying: "Of course I feel personal about Mickey Mouse, but it could be Barney as well.
"It's not just Mickey, it's indoctrinating children like this, teaching them to be evil. The world loves children and this is just going against the grain of humanity."
Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV station began to show the children's series, Tomorrow's Pioneers, last month. It features a life-size lookalike of Mickey Mouse called Farfur, who sings about children arming themselves with AK-47s and aspiring for world domination "under Islamic leadership".
Ms Miller said: "What we're dealing with here is pure evil and you can't ignore that."
After CNN's Glenn Beck blew the whistle on this new tactic by Islamic Extremists to indoctrinate children to kill Americans and Israelis, the media are finally covering it.
Now they are claiming to be taking it off the air, why do I not believe it will change very much?
CNN article here
May 06, 2007
Royal's Defeat leaves socialists searching for scapegoats
It is the party’s third consecutive presidential defeat. The Socialists now face the question of whether they can ever regain power without ditching their anti-capitalist rhetoric, as the mainstream left has done across almost all of Europe.
Ms Royal can argue that she did better than Lionel Jospin, who in 2002 led the Socialists to a humiliating third place behind Jacques Chirac and far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. But France’s main opposition party still faces a wrenching crisis.
”The left is not credible on so many issues, from the 35-hour working week to immigration and law and order,” says Dominique Reynié, professor at Sciences Po university.
From the little I know of this campaign and the content in this article I'd say I have hope for the people of France yet. Here's hoping that Sarkozy can bring the country together and make positive long term change.
May 02, 2007
Home invasion gone wrong for illegal aliens
It seems the two crooks never learned two things, they were in Montana and Patricia had been a clay shooting champion since she was nine. Patricia was in her upstairs room when the two men broke through the front door of the house. She quickly ran to her father's room and grabbed his 12 gauge Mossberg 500 shotgun.
Resindez was the first to get up to the second floor only to be the first to catch a near point blank blast of buck shot from the 11 year olds knee crouch aim. He suffered fatal wounds to his abdomen and genitals. When Garza ran to the foot of the stairs, he took a blast to the left shoulder and staggered out into the street where he bled to death before medical help could arrive.
It was found out later that Resindez was armed with a stolen 45 caliber handgun he took from another home invasion robbery. The victim, 50 year old David Burien, was not so lucky as he died from stab wounds to the chest.
Three words,
You Go Girl!
:-)
*edit*
I have been trying to confirm this but I'm not able to so for now it's a news story with the emphasis on story until I can confirm it.
March 24, 2007
Illegal immigrants allowed at least five strikes
A heavily redacted Department of Justice memo from late 2005 disclosed the prosecution guidelines for immigration offenses, numbers the federal government tries to keep classified. DOJ officials would not say Thursday whether it has adjusted the number since the memo was written, citing "law enforcement reasons."
The prosecution guidelines have been a source of frustration for years among the ranks of U.S. Border Patrol agents, said T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council. Smugglers can figure out the criteria by trial and error, he said, and can exploit it to avoid prosecution.
"It's devastating on morale," Bonner said. "Our agents are risking their lives out there, and then they're told, 'Sorry, that doesn't meet the criteria.' "
I know there are people that want Bush's head because of Iraq. However I think there is something more sinister happening here. The complete and total lack of protection our boarder has. Bush and his buddies are planning the total destruction of America for one thing, m-o-n-e-y.
March 15, 2007
Food safety scrutiny is forcing changes on Ohio Amish bakers
State regulators are stopping by for another reason.
The country kitchen and other home bakers in an Amish enclave in northwest Ohio have come under scrutiny for selling meats and cheeses without a license and cream pies and pumpkin rolls without the refrigeration required to thwart foodborne stomach illnesses.
I'm curious if the fools in the government have ever had Amish food?
We're talking about real food made with whole ingredients normally organic and massively better for you than the processed crap the regulators are probably eating.
If I'm going to an Amish store and buying goods it's assumed they don't have a fridge or any electric, you'd be a moron to expect to see rows of freezers and refrigeration units.
Of course it's well known you have to give up common sense and good judgment to be in government. :-P
February 26, 2007
Al Gore’s Personal Energy Use Is His Own “Inconvenient Truth”
Read More @ Tennessee Center for Policy Research
Nice.
I'm sitting in the dark typing this by candle with the heat off wrapped in blankets and he's sucking up the power.
February 24, 2007
Mexican anger over US 'trespass'
Legislators say workers and equipment building a section of the barrier have gone 10 metres (yards) into Mexico.
The alleged border violation comes ahead of a high-level meeting in the Canadian capital Ottawa.
US, Mexican and Canadian foreign ministers are to discuss border security and trade issues.
Mexican legislators said they had photographs and video, taken on Monday, of the workers and heavy-duty construction equipment that showed them about 10 metres inside Mexico near the border city of Agua Prieta and the town of Douglas, Arizona.
I almost soiled myself laughing when I read this.
February 07, 2007
Harvard: In-Opinion & Feelings & Out-Facts & Understanding
The curriculum at the oldest U.S. university has been criticized as focusing too narrowly on academic topics instead of real-life issues, or for being antagonistic to organized religion. Efforts to revise it have been in the works for three years.
One of the eight new required subject areas -- "societies of the world" -- aims to help students overcome U.S. "parochialism" by "acquainting them with the values, customs and institutions that differ from their own," said a 34-page Harvard report on the changes.
I'm not sure who these parents are that are sending their kids to this establishment, but they need their pulse checked.
As a parent myself I really, really don't get the appeal of sending your kids off to be taught everything wrong, and pay out the nose for it.
January 30, 2007
Intel builds 80-core prototype
The prototype was built so that the chip giant's researchers could investigate the best way to make such a large number of processing cores communicate with each other. This was in addition to researching new architectural techniques and core designs.
The chip, dubbed the Tera-Scale Teraflop Prototype, is just for research purposes and lacks a lot of necessary functionality at the moment. However, R&D Technology Strategist Manny Vara said that the company will be able to produce 80-core chips en masse in five to eight years.
Holy multiprocessors batman!
With an 80 Core processor you could render games with lifelike quality.
Sweeettttt.
January 29, 2007
Global Warming = Ice Falling from Sky
But it happened on Hilldrop Court in Town 'n Country around 9:30 Sunday morning.
Neighbors woke up to something they never thought they’d see.
“Came out to find a large piece of ice sitting on the car, and ice all over the place,” said neighbor John Young.
The damaged car, a Ford Mustang, belongs to Carlos Javage’s son.
I sure wish the weather would cooperate with the nut job scientists that now have to change their story, it's going to be global cooling and "the coming ice age" in a few years. Then it will be global warming again, I sure hope they figure out it's all part of the Earth's natural cycle.
*sigh*
January 24, 2007
'Fossil' Shark appears off coast of Japan
A species of shark rarely seen alive because its natural habitat is 600 metres or more under the sea was captured on film by staff at a Japanese marine park this week.
The Awashima Marine Park in Shizuoka, south of Tokyo, was alerted by a fisherman at a nearby port on Sunday that he had spotted an odd-looking eel-like creature with a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth.
Marine park staff caught the 1.6-metre-long creature, which they identified as a female frilled shark, sometimes referred to as a "living fossil" because it is a primitive species that has changed little since prehistoric times.
The shark appeared to be in poor condition when park staff moved it to a seawater pool where they filmed it swimming and opening its jaws.
Looks fierce.
Is it possible that since it lives 2000 feet down normally that it being close enough for man to see and caputre it, could it's sickness be the bends?
Just thinking.
Oh, you can also see some video here
January 19, 2007
Why China's Missile Test Is Troubling
Protests and expressions of concern were lodged over the test by the U.S., Japan, Canada, South Korea and Australia, but Beijing has so far refused to comment on the issue or even confirm the test took place. "The brazenness of this is a bit frightening," says Mike Green, former senior Bush Administration Asia adviser. "It shows that the Peoples Liberation Army has considerable leeway — a great deal of influence if not autonomy — to increase their capacity even at considerable diplomatic cost."
The reason for all the fuss is simple: the test potentially marks a major step forward in China's ability to nullify the huge technological advantage of the U.S. in any clash over Taiwan. While Western intelligence agencies have long been aware that the People's Liberation Army was attempting to develop an anti-satellite system, the successful targeting of a single satellite in high orbit marks a significant milestone. When the Pentagon issued its annual report to Congress on China's Military Power last summer it stated that "China can currently destroy or disable satellites only by launching a ballistic missile or space-launch vehicle armed with a nuclear weapon." All that has now changed.
Yikes, anyone think China lets North Korea do their crazy act to keep our attention elsewhere?
December 31, 2006
Swiss Pioneer flys like a bird
And even after the dream was realised, first with hot-air balloons and later with heavier-than-air aeroplanes, the dream remained unfulfilled.
Because being truly at one with the air, able to swoop and soar like a falcon or an albatross, remained an impossibility. And in legends where the dream became real, as in the myth of the Ancient Greek birdman Icarus, the price was a heavy one; an ignominious crashing to Earth.
But for one brave Swiss pioneer, a former military pilot called Yves Rossy, the dream has become reality.
If anyone is looking to get me a late Christmas present, this would be nice.
December 22, 2006
'Truthiness' is the word of the year
The word -- if one can call it that -- best summed up 2006, according to an online survey by dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster.
"Truthiness" was credited to Comedy Central satirist Stephen Colbert, who defined it as "truth that comes from the gut, not books."
Stephen is so proud, one man can make a difference. :-)
December 10, 2006
The Arrogance of Man
Scientists apparently can't figure out why the "Bird Flu" virus which had most of the world bracing for a pandemic a few months ago, has mostly disappeared. It may come back of course, disease typically does. For instance, malaria, once on the verge of being irradicated, made a comeback. Smallpox has begun to appear in some third world countries. But for the time being, it is gone.
This is more evidence of the arrogance we display when we attempt to predict the course of nature. Whether it be the hunting patterns of wolves in yellow stone, temperature or disease, we simply are not omniscient. We can, at best, make reasonable assumptions or guesses. But in the end, we only know the present. History isn't even a certainty in this day and age of revisionist historians and scientists using "evidence" to support a predetermined conclusions.
Read more at Yahoo!/AP
December 08, 2006
4 -year-old Accused of Improperly Touching Teacher
Damarcus Blackwell's four-year-old son was lining-up to get on the bus after school last month, when he was accused of rubbing his face in the chest of a female employee.
The prinicipal of La Vega Primary School sent a letter to the Blackwells that said the pre-kindergartener demonstrated "inappropriate physical behavior interpreted as sexual contact and/or sexual harassment."
Blackwell says it's ridiculous that the aide would misread a hug from a four-year-old. Blackwell wrote to administrators demanding that the whole incident be expunged from his son's academic file because his son is too young to know what it means to act sexually.
*scratches head*
Just wondering what kind of hate monger teachers aid freak they have working at that school??
Who gave her the job interview?? They should be fired along with the wack job aid.
Sheessshh!
December 07, 2006
Pearl Harbor survivors meet for last time
This will be their last visit to this watery grave to share stories, exchange smiles, find peace and salute their fallen friends. This, they say, will be their final farewell.
"This will be one to remember," said Mal Middlesworth, president of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. "It's going to be something that we'll cherish forever."
Hero Mother of the day
The boy was charged with petty larceny, but because he is a juvenile, he did not have to spend time in jail.
Good news today, there are still good parents in America. When your kid is on the brink of becoming a life long resident of the pen you do what you must to save them. I applaud this mother for loving her son enough to do what it takes to set him on the right path.
November 30, 2006
AP: CENTCOM to Call Out Fake "Burned Alive" Source Tomorrow
Via Pajamas Media, LGF has word that CENTCOM and Iraqis are planning to address the Capt. Jamil Hussein matter tomorrow:
Sir:
I have just learned from Mr. Costlow, mentioned below, that Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, the official Ministry of Interior spokesmen, will begin his regularly scheduled press conference at noon tomorrow with a statement that Capt. Jamil Hussein, is not a Baghdad police officer or an MOI employee.
See Dub points out that the AP, in its rewritten "burned alive" story, implied that the blog storm set off by questions about Hussein might have been, umm, encouraged by a P.R. company paid to represent the American military.
The dispute comes at a time when the military is taking a more active role in dealing with the media.
The AP reported on Sept. 26 that a Washington-based firm, the Lincoln Group, had won a two-year contract to monitor reporting on the Iraq conflict in English-language and Arabic media outlets.
That contract succeeded one held by another Washington firm, The Rendon Group. Controversy had arisen around the Lincoln Group in 2005 when it was disclosed that it was part of a U.S. military operation to pay Iraqi newspapers to run positive stories about U.S. military activities.
Interesting, fake anti-U.S. news in the media?
Hrmmm...
November 14, 2006
Oil, Terror & Environmental Pipedreams
(AXcess News) S. Orange, NJ - In late October I attended a luncheon briefing in New York sponsored by the Middle East Forum. The speaker was R. James Woolsey, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and currently a vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton. The room was filled with men who represent a class of citizenry known as "influential." Woolsey's topic was "Energy Alternatives and the War on Terror."
Normally, I give men like Woolsey a lot of respect because they've earned it. However, it didn't take long before I began to hear views that made me begin to question, not just the wisdom of what Woolsey was saying, but why he was saying it.
"The way strategically over the long run to weaken the enemies of Israel, such as Ahmadinejad, is to weaken the role of oil," said Woolsey. "Oil makes it harder to avoid genocide in Darfur because the Sudanese have a deal with China, and it makes it harder to deal with Iran, because China and Iran have an oil deal."
Say what? Weaken the role of oil? Genocide in Darfur has something to do with China? Iran will not pursue its lunatic Islamic apocalypse because it has an oil deal with China?
Found this interesting read, sad you don't read much truth in the media today, nice to find some sensibility from Mr. Caruba.
November 10, 2006
Yacht crew happens upon island birth
View Pics @ Fredrik and Crew on Maiken
Wow, this is intense.
Also there is an interesting bit on it Here
November 09, 2006
Is Microsoft really giving Linux its blessing?
Absolutely not! The deal that Microsoft's chief executive Steve Ballmer has announced with Novell will involve Microsoft handing out thousands of vouchers for what he called "Novell's version of Linux" running on Windows servers. But as Ballmer said in San Francisco: "We're still competitors," and: "The right answer is Windows, Windows, Windows."
For the past four years, Microsoft has been trying to resolve its conflicts with other companies. It has already done deals with Sun, AOL and Real Networks, and the Novell agreement is another step forward, though it doesn't end the anti-trust suit that Novell filed in 2004 alleging anticompetitive practices that hurt its WordPerfect Office business.
Well it seems to me Microsoft is still doing what it can to destroy Linux, only this time It's the old if you can't beat em', buy em', line of thinking.
Yes, I realize nobody can 'buy' Linux, however creating deals like this with all the major players will put their dirty little mitts into more slices of the pie, so to speak.
If these companies really want virtual, they should just use vmware, that is where the smart money is, imho.
October 04, 2006
Welcome Back DDT!
DDT is back. 30 years after a baseless book and rich white enviromentalists managed to achieve a ban, not to mention millions of deaths in th 3rd world, DDT is back.
Read John Stossel's Column
October 02, 2006
Good Job U.S. Government
Way to protect us from ourselves, kill jobs and a portion of the economy. Afterall, only the scum of the earth would ever gamble on the internet.
Read the story at Yahoo!/Reuters
September 06, 2006
Birth of your child or Steelers??
Beth Gardner’s neighbors helped deliver her baby on the Parkway West.
State police got a call around 9:30 p.m. last night that a woman was in labor near the Green Tree exit.
Gardner’s neighbors were driving her to the hospital because her husband was watching the Steelers game last night.(
Considering my beautiful daughter made me miss my beloved Steelers in Super Bowl XXX when Neil O'Dufus was paid off to throw the ball to the defense and loose the game for us, I think this guy needs help.
I mean, he missed his kids birth for a meaningless preseason game! 80% of the players in that game were cut less than a week later.
One word, LOSER.
Micro$oft Vista takes price to new levels
The Redmond-based company also confirmed again its commitment to releasing the OS in January, after distributing it to business customers in November.
The upgrade price for those with older versions of Windows is set at between $100 to $259, depending on which version required. The most expensive will be the “ultimate” edition, designed for business users.
The standalone products will cost from $199 to $399.
*** NEWS FLASH ***
Linux is still 100x more secure & stable.
Linux is also still FREE!.
(Vista buyers = suckers) *snicker*
September 04, 2006
Irwin 'never feared death'
But he said although Mr Irwin got into plenty of “close shaves” with his antics involving various dangerous animals over the years, his star charge never feared death.
The larger than life Mr Irwin was killed today by a stingray barb off Port Douglas in far north Queensland while filming for his daughter Bindi's TV series.
Mr Stainton admitted he “always” feared that this day would come during their 20-year association.
“You think about all the documentaries we've made and all the dangerous situations that we have been in, you always think 'Is this it, is this a day that maybe is his demise?',” he said in Cairns today.
“We've been in some pretty close shaves.
“(But) nothing would ever scare Steve or would worry him. He didn't have a fear of death at all.”
September 01, 2006
Mexico Govt. Sets up border crossing training camp
Gunshots pierced the night air. Sirens wailed. Then came a voice, sounding like the U.S. Border Patrol. "Don't cross the river!" someone yelled in a heavy accent. "Go back to Mexico where you belong!"
Welcome to one of Mexico's strangest tourist attractions: A park where visitors pay the equivalent of $16 to hike across fields and through treacherous ravines, a gruelling experience aimed at simulating an illegal journey across the U.S.-Mexico border.
"We want this to be an exercise in awareness," said Alfonso Martinez, who acts as the chief smuggler at EcoAlberto park in central Mexico. "It's in honour of all the people who have gone in search of the American Dream."
The park, funded in part by the Mexican government, compares crossing the border to an "extreme sport" and tells participants that they, too, can "trick the migra," slang for the Border Patrol.
Considering the comic book they already produced, this is not a shock.
August 25, 2006
Ray, think before you speak, please
Ray sits in his office, the phone line is quiet, the staff have gone home.
He needs 'Chocolate Town' to be in the news again, but what can he do?
Katrina?
No he has played that to death.
Racism?
No, that also is losing it's charm.
Absurd, moronic and outlandish statements?
Bingo! That always draws attention.
'You guys in New York can't get a hole in the ground fixed'
NEW YORK (AP) -- New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin criticized efforts to redevelop the World Trade Center site when confronted in a television interview about delays in rebuilding his city after Hurricane Katrina.
During the CBS "60 minutes" interview, a correspondent pointed out flood-damaged cars still on the streets of New Orleans' devastated Ninth Ward. Nagin replied, "You guys in New York can't get a hole in the ground fixed, and it's five years later. So let's be fair," according to CBS.
The program is scheduled to air Sunday night. Text and a video clip from the Nagin piece were posted on CBS' Web site Thursday.
Ray, can I speak freely here?
How about you stop pushing blame around, stand up say "I screwed up and now it's time to fix this mess".
Can you do that Ray, can you?
Your citizens deserve you, the morons who voted for you in N.O. and who keep voting for you and living 'under water' deserve whatever you come up with next.
Shuttle Astronauts Arrive To Prepare For Sunday Launch
"We have a saying back in Texas, 'It's time to walk the walk,"' said Brent Jett, Atlantis' commander, after arriving from Houston by training jet. "We are ready for the challenge ... All we need is a little good weather on Sunday and we'll be out of here."
This mission is the start of a renewed effort to finish building the international space station before the cargo-carrying shuttles are retired in 2010.
I wonder how much this is costing us? How many kevlar vests, humvee armor upgrades and such could we have bought instead?
August 23, 2006
U.S. Stop Screwing With our Food!
The U.S. agriculture secretary Mike Johanns had notified the European Commission last week that trace elements of an unauthorized, genetically modified rice were detected in long grain rice samples that were meant for commercial use. While the U.S. authorities have assured Brussels there is no environmental or human health risk by using the rice by humans or animals, the commission is seeking information, which may be indicative of its indication in imposing curbs on imports.
A commission spokesperson, Antonia Mochan, told a news conference that the commission is seeking information that it needs to make a decision from the U.S. authorities as well as Bayer.
As a staunch supporter or organic farming and fair trade food this sickens me. Why we feel the need to screw with the perfect things God made and man has been happily using for thousands of years is beyond me. Rice, so simple so perfect, so let's jack with it so we can make it hold up under the shower of dangerous chemicals we want to spray on it.
Are the buffoons at Bayer AG retarded??
I think I'm starting my own country, organistan. :-P
Dutch F-16's Escort Airliner back to Amsterdam
A Dutch air traffic control spokeswoman said the plane was in German airspace when it turned back. A spokeswoman for Schiphol said the pilot had taken the decision to turn back but could give no further details.
Security has been increased at airports worldwide after British police said on Aug. 10 they had foiled a plot to blow up planes in the mid-Atlantic using liquid explosives disguised as drinks.
Dutch news agency ANP quoted police as saying a number of people had been taken off the Northwest plane and were being questioned.
Ah, Islamic extremists. During an election year there is one group we can take everything they say they will do as a promise. Unlike our politicians who make loads of claims, threats and 'campaign promises' that we know they will never keep.
August 22, 2006
Pilotless F-35 breaks cover
"Two to three years ago we started looking at what could be done with the F-35," says Frank Mauro, deputy director unmanned aeronautical systems. The Skunk Works has taken both the optionally piloted and dedicated unmanned JSFs through concept design, he says, and is waiting until all three manned variants have flown before pursuing the idea.
It makes you wonder, if they are making this public, what technology beyond this is still being hidden. :-)
I still think the XF-23 beat the pants off the F-22 in it's head to head testing where it lost in the end. If we're spending hundreds of millions on one plane shouldn't we demand the best?
Just my two cents.
August 15, 2006
Terrorism charges dropped in cell-phone case
Washington County Prosecutor James Schneider said yesterday that he didn't have enough evidence to present the felony terrorism charges to a grand jury. He said in a news release that he needs more information to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
"At this time we didn't see a link that we could prove," Schneider said in a phone interview, adding he was referring to both terrorism in general and any specific group.
They are still being charged with a misdemeanor for lying to police. I'm not sure if that involves a fine for what. It's a double edged sword of sorts, you arrest two suspicious men who begin their relationship with police by lying. Then after a few days let them go and now you have angered the already angry muslim community in America. Typical catch twenty two.
August 14, 2006
Cyclops Baby Born in India
The report, from Kasturba Gandhi Hospital for Women and Children in Chennai, cites two potential causes for the birth defect: Either it was the result of an undetected chromosomal disorder or the mother was exposed to Cyclopamine, a drug that is being researched by a number of U.S. pharmaceutical companies as a potential cancer treatment.
There is no reference in the report on how Cyclopamine became listed as a possible cause.
Wow, if you need any evidence that we should be testing on animals THIS is it.
Screw the monkeys, test away i say.
Whoever the pharmaceutical company is that did this needs to fund this girls medical expenses for the rest of her (likely short) life.
August 13, 2006
Dearborn, MI: Battlefront America
NPR has a two part series concerning Dearborn, MI. It's a surprisinglys straight look at the growing war brewing right here in America.
Bazzi left Lebanon in 1976; his parents stayed behind. Last week, Bazzi lost his elderly mother, Amina, in the southern Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil. She was too old to leave when fighting broke out.
From NPR
Honestly I'm shocked NPR would play the audio from the protests, how will they survive the outrage from the kook fringe that wants America to be the evil in every news report.
Only time will tell.
August 07, 2006
US Senate Ratifies Cybercrime Treaty
The U.S. Senate today ratified the Convention on Cybercrime Treaty.
The purpose is to allow greater cooperation between the U.S. and Europe dealing with cybercrimes, however it's very, very broad language could lead to some questionable applications.
Article 1 section C is an example.
i any public or private entity that provides to users of its service the ability to communicate by means of a computer system, and
According to this definition, it does not even have to be the internet. Just providing a null modem cable to direct connect two computers together, or a cat5 crossover cable. Seems to broad to me, I'm all for fighting cybercrime, but let's be logical about this.
Oh crap, I said logical when speaking about government, there goes any credibility I had.
:-/
Full Story @ Yahoo!
August 02, 2006
Marine Names Murtha in Defamation Suit
Attorneys for Frank D. Wuterich, 26, argue in court papers that Murtha tarnished the Marine's reputation by telling news organizations in May that the Marine unit cracked after a roadside bomb killed one of its members and that the troops "killed innocent civilians in cold blood." Murtha also said repeatedly that the incident was covered up.
From Washington Post
Nice to see someone making politicians be accountable for the trash they spew. I have no idea if SSGT Wuterich is guilty or not. However that is not the point.
July 28, 2006
Top Shi'ite backs anti-militia calls
Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri), commanded a mass rally of his followers "to support the government to solve the issue of militias, and to spread the implementation of law and order."
Sciri is allied with the Badr Organization, one of the most feared militias in Iraq, but is also a key member of the two-month-old government of national unity, led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
From tvnz.co.nz
While it would be foolish to deny Iraq is full of violence and problems, this is a very positive event.
July 27, 2006
Gaza groups ready to deal on cease-fire, release of Shalit
Ibrahim Al-Naja said the factions were ready to stop the Qassam rocket fire if Israel's ceased all military moves against the Palestinian factions in Gaza. They are also ready to release Shalit in exchange for guaranteeing the future release of Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas leaders did not confirm this report on Monday, but if it is true, then this is the first time that Hamas has indicated its acceptance of the Egyptian proposal to solve the crisis.
Is this a Trojan horse or real? Interesting, we'll take the old wait and see approach on this one.
Execution of a teenage girl
A television documentary team has pieced together details surrounding the case of a 16-year-old girl, executed two years ago in Iran.
Her death sentence was imposed for "crimes against chastity".
The state-run newspaper accused her of adultery and described her as 22 years old.
But she was not married - and she was just 16.
From BBC NEWS
This is only one example, this sounds to me like these dirt bags are going to be great negotiating partners, loads of reasons to believe a single word they say.
Hezbollah to launch "rain of terror"
"The nose cones will contain spent nuclear rods from Iran's nuclear programme. The rods are wrapped with conventional explosives. The dirty bombs are primarily intended to create increased panic across an already nervous population in northern Israel," claimed a senior intelligence officer in London.
Meantime, Mossad undercover agents are desperately trying to locate where the "dirty bomb" arsenal is located. It is believed to be in the Bekaa Valley.
The Israeli intelligence service has also told MI6 that it believes Hezbollah now has "up to a thousand" other rockets poised for launch.
From G2 Bulletin
Keep an eye on this one kids, it will be interesting to see how much press this gets once it starts happening.
July 26, 2006
All is not lost: Logic still can win in America
Eminent domain abused
Ohio Supreme Court overrules Norwood home-taking
In holding parts of Ohio’s eminent domain law unconstitutional, the state’s highest court set a different course than the U.S. Supreme Court did in its landmark Kelo v. New London decision last year.
There, the Supreme Court ruled that a Connecticut city’s taking of property for economic development was constitutional – but made clear that state constitutions could set different standards for property rights.
The Norwood case is expected to be closely watched around the country. It was the first major eminent domain case to reach a state Supreme Court since Kelo.
The case was brought by property owners Joseph Horney, Carl and Joy Gamble and Matthew F. Burton, who argued that the city should not be able to take their properties and deed them over to Rookwood Partners for a $125 million shopping and office complex.
From The Enquirer
I'm shocked to see this kind of logical ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court, maybe my state has hope after all. ;-P
July 19, 2006
US government helped sink The Pirate Bay; goes after other sites
Justice Minister Thomas Bodstrom denied allegations in a Swedish television report that the government ordered the crackdown on a U.S. request. "I have never acted individually or spoken about how the police and prosecutors should act, nor will I do it," Bodstrom was quoted as saying by Sweden news agency TT. Sweden's constitution bars ministers from directing police investigations.
It turns out that the minister was choosing his words carefully. While he may not have personally ordered the raid, a new report in the Washington Post claims that US authorities were involved in alerting their Swedish counterparts to the existence of The Pirate Bay. At an April meeting, the US delegation expressed its displeasure at the site.
From Ars Technica
Got to love the RIAA and MPAA's deep pockets, wish I could buy my own politicians so I could force other countries to do my bidding. Bastards.
July 17, 2006
Advertising invading your egg tray
IN September, CBS plans to start using a new place to advertise its fall television lineup: your breakfast.
The network plans to announce today that it will place laser imprints of its trademark eye insignia, as well as logos for some of its shows, on eggs — 35 million of them in September and October. CBS’s copywriters are referring to the medium as “egg-vertising,” hinting at the wordplay they have in store. Some of their planned slogans: “CSI” (“Crack the Case on CBS”); “The Amazing Race” (“Scramble to Win on CBS”); and “Shark” (“Hard-Boiled Drama.”). Variations on the ad for its Monday night lineup of comedy shows include “Shelling Out Laughs,” “Funny Side Up” and “Leave the Yolks to Us.”
George Schweitzer, president of the CBS marketing group, said he was hoping to generate some laughter in American kitchens. “We’ve gone through every possible sad takeoff on shelling and scrambling and frying,” he said, adding, “It’s a great way to reach people in an unexpected form.”
Newspapers, magazines and Web sites are so crowded with ads for entertainment programming that CBS was ready to try something different, Mr. Schweitzer said. The best thing about the egg concept was its intrusiveness.
Full Story @ New York Times
This is going to be a massive failure, most Americans will get pissed off and leave the eggs that have 'ads' on them on the shelf in favor of eggs without ads. -Ed
July 14, 2006
Talk about your "slanted" point of view
Just a quick note, this is more propaganda imho, than it is news.
Each point in the timeline is "look how evil Israel is and how innocent Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran are." Oh give me a freakin' break.
Aljazeera.Net - Timeline: Israel and Lebanon
BBC: Israel Evil, Terrorists Good
Watching the BBC News this morning you would think that Israel was pure evil and that the terrorists (including Syria) were gentle angels. With exception of the short interview with Sami Khiyami the Syrian Ambassador to England when they asked him why they are supporting Hezbollah, to which he replied "we need to support freedom fighters", huh?
Later (much) they talked to Benjamin Netanyahu (very briefly) and he said what sensible people are saying. "We made an agreement with the Lebanese government that they would dismantle Hezbollah and police their own territory and we would pull out giving them full control, we held up our end of the agreement, they have not."
Thus, anyone bitching about Israel and NOT about Hezbollah, Lebanon and Syria should check their facts.
(note, never did I say Israel were without fault ever, I'm only speaking of this current battle)
I love this line: "But some experts warn that the Bush administration's diplomatic options may be stretched too thin to mediate effectively and prevent major bloodletting." from the sfgate.com
They just don't get it, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran DO NOT GIVE A FLYING CRAP about talking!!, their goal is to kill Americans, Israelis and everyone else who is NOT their version of a muslim. Wake up stupid people of the world. You cannot negotiate with terrorists, it, does, not, work. (ever)
Sensible people who are willing to negotiate don't become terrorists (or Muslim extremists), sensible people also do not abandon their own people and then use them as pawns to create hate, anger and war (cough, cough, Syria).
OK, I'm done ranting.
Need to go to work now. :-)