Saturday, May 29, 2010

Glenn Beck on Michelle Obama's Attire: Calling All Boobs

Glenn Beck on Michelle Obama's Attire: Calling All Boobs

Glenn Beck did just that on his radio show last week when he discussed Michelle Obama's breasts in her shimmery, sapphire-colored gown at the state dinner for Mexican President Felipe Calderon and his wife, Margarita Zavala.

Beck said first that the economy is in flames, and that Julius Caesar (aka Barack Obama) is in the White House. He followed that by saying Michelle was "dolled up" in her Peter Soronen creation, and asked listeners if they saw her picture on the Drudge Report with its headline, "Sex in the City."

"She looks positively like she's trying to be some Greek statue," he said. "I don't think I've ever seen the first lady with her, excuse the expression, but with her breasts all smushed up. What is that? Did you even see that picture? I mean that, that's . . . what is that?"

Analysis: Spain government is struggling in crisis

Analysis: Spain government is struggling in crisis


Spain's Socialist government is seeing its political power erode as it struggles to chart a path out of deep financial trouble, failing so far to satisfy conflicting demands to cut its budget and stimulate job creation.

The coming months could bring far more problems as Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero reforms the country's labor market, risking national strikes and the loss of support from trade unions, a core source of his center-left party's strength.

Zapatero's minority government is already running into serious trouble, although there appears to be no immediate threat of it falling.

A package of austerity measures passed by only one vote in parliament's lower chamber Thursday and the Fitch Ratings agency downgraded Spanish debt on Friday. Opposition parties have called for new elections.

Military couples balance raising children, warfare

Military couples balance raising children, warfare

Honoring the dead: US saves war memorials in Iraq

Honoring the dead: US saves war memorials in Iraq

Drilling Permits Continue to be given Despite Moratorium

Drilling Permits Continue to be given despite Moratorium

Despite a federal moratorium on offshore oil drilling, new permits and controversial environmental waivers for oil rigs continue to be granted, sparking criticism from policymakers and environmentalists.

On Thursday, President Barack Obama issued a six-month extension of the moratorium on permits and environmental waivers for the drilling of new deepwater wells. The original moratorium was ordered following the Apr. 20 explosion of the BP oil rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, which has become the worst oil spill disaster in U.S. history.

However, records show that since the original moratorium was issued, new permits and environmental waivers on existing drilling projects continue to be granted regularly. It is not clear whether the moratorium extension applies to new drilling on existing wells or merely new operations.

Poll Finds Anger Over Country's Leaders

Are 2/3s of you voting against your incumbent politician? Here's your chance. If the problem is entrenched politicians (which it is) then you have an opportunity to vote them out. If you have concerns just vote those that have been in office for 10 years or more. You did it with Specter and Bennett. Now you have a chance to clean house - and Senate. But the last time you were angry (in 1990s) you still re-elected most incumbents. This time it must be different. Your country's very survival is at stake. So when November 2nd comes along vote everyone except your career politician incumbent. If you don't do this then you'll have no one to blame but yourself:

Americans are increasingly optimistic about the economy, but that brightening outlook hasn't softened their outrage over the country's direction and its political leadership, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds.

Two-thirds of those surveyed this week describe themselves as "angry" about the way things are going in the USA, the highest percentage in the decade the question has been asked. By nearly 2-1, they would rather vote for a candidate who has never served in Congress over one with experience.

"We're just going to have to clean house and get people in who really care about the country," says Stephen Besz, 63, of Hokendauqua, Penn., who was among those called in the poll. He worries about the future for his son, an electrical engineer who has been looking for a job for 18 months.

On Memorial Day weekend, incumbents in general and Democrats in particular face a hot summer.

Report: US Preparing for Retaliatory Strike if Terror Attack Traced to Pakistan

Report: US Preparing for Retaliatory Strike if Terror Attack Traced to Pakistan

Friday, May 28, 2010

Transcript: President Obama News Conference (5-27-10)

Complete Transcript. Excerpt below:

Q You say that everything that could be done is being done. But there are those in the region and those industry experts who say that's not true. Governor Jindal obviously had this proposal for a barrier. They say that if that had been approved when they first asked for it, they would have 10 miles up already. There are fishermen down there who want to work, who want to help, haven't been trained, haven't been told to go do so. There are industry experts who say that they're surprised that tankers haven't been sent out there to vacuum, as was done in '93 outside Saudi Arabia. And then, of course, there's the fact that there are 17 countries that have offered to help, and the -- it's only been accepted from two countries, Norway and Mexico.

How can you say that everything that can be done is being done, with all these experts and all these officials saying that's not true?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, let me distinguish between -- if the question is, Jake, are we doing everything perfectly out there, then the answer is, absolutely not.

We can always do better. If the question is, are we, each time there is an idea, evaluating it and making a decision is this the best option that we have right now based on how quickly we can stop this leak and how much damage can we mitigate, then the answer is yes.

So let's take the example of Governor Jindal's barrier islands idea. When I met with him when I was down there two weeks ago, I said I will make sure that our team immediately reviews this idea, that the Army Corps of Engineers is looking at the feasibility of it; and if they think -- if they tell me that this is the best approach to dealing with this problem, then we're going to move quickly to execute. If they have a disagreement with Governor Jindal's experts as to whether this would be effective or not, whether it was going to be cost-effective given the other things that needed to be done, then we'll sit down and try to figure that out.

And that essentially is what happened, which is why today you saw an announcement where, from the Army Corps' perspective, there were some areas where this might work, but there are some areas where it would be counterproductive and not a good use of resources.

So the point is, on each of these points that you just mentioned, that the job of our response team is to say, okay, if 17 countries have offered equipment and help, let's evaluate what they've offered, how fast can it get here, is it actually going to be redundant or will it actually add to the overall effort -- because in some cases more may not actually be better; and decisions have been made, based on the best information available, that says here's what we need right now; it may be that a week from now or two weeks from now or a month from now, the offers from some of those countries might be more effectively utilized.

Now, it's going to be entirely possible in a operation this large that mistakes are made, judgments prove to be wrong; that people say in retrospect, you know, if we could have done that or we did that, this might have turned out differently -- although in a lot of cases, it may be speculation.

But the point that I was addressing from Jennifer was, does this administration maintain a constant sense of urgency about this? And are we examining every recommendation, and every idea is out there, and making our best judgment as to whether these are the right steps to take, based on the best experts that we know of?

And on that answer, the answer is yes. Or on that question, the answer is yes.

Chuck Todd.

Q I just want to follow up on the question, as it has to do with the relationship between the government and BP. It seems that you've made the case on the technical issues.

But onshore, Admiral Allen admitted the other day in a White House briefing that they needed to be pushed harder. Senator Mary Landrieu this morning said, it's not clear who's in charge, that the government should be in charge.

Why not ask BP to simply step aside on the onshore stuff, make it an entirely government thing? Obviously BP pays for it. But why not ask them to just completely step aside on that front?

And then also can you respond to all the comparisons that people are making about this with yourself?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, the -- I'll take your second question first.

I'll leave it to you guys to make those comparisons and make -- and make -- and make judgments on it, because -- because what I'm spending my time thinking about is, how do we solve the problem?

And when the problem is solved and people look back and do an assessment of all the various decisions that were made, I think people can make a historical judgment. And I'm confident that people are going to look back and say that this administration was on top of what was an unprecedented crisis.

In terms of shoreline protection, the way this thing has been set up, under the oil spill act of 1990 -- Oil Pollution Act -- is that BP has contracts with a whole bunch of contractors on file, in the event that there's an oil spill. And as soon as the Deep Horizon (sic) well went down, then their job is to activate those and start paying them. So a big chunk of the 20,000 who are already down there are being paid by BP.

The Coast Guard's job is to approve and authorize whatever BP is doing. Now, what Admiral Allen said today, and the reason he's down there today, is that if BP's contractors are not moving as nimbly, as effectively, as they need to be, then it is already the power of the federal government to redirect those resources; I guess the point being that the Coast Guard and our military are potentially already in charge, as long as we've got good information and we are making the right decisions. And if there are mistakes that are being made right now, we've got the power to correct those decisions.

We don't have to necessarily reconfigure the setup down there. What we do have to make sure of is, is that on each and every one of the decisions that are being made about what beaches to protect, what's going to happen with these marshes, if we build a barrier island how's this going to have an impact on the ecology of the area over the long term -- in each of those decisions, we've got to get it right.

Donor Assistance To Fight AIDS in Africa is Being Cut

Donor Assistance To Fight AIDS in Africa is Being Cut

US Senate Funds $60 billion Surge in Afghanistan

US Senate Funds $60 billion Surge in Afghanistan

Terror Attack Derails Train killing at least 65 in India

Terror Attack Derails Train killing at least 65 in India

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Countdown Video: Scientist on the Oil Spill: Lack of a Plan B is "Inexcusable"

A well know Physics professor, Michio Kaku, blasted the effort to stop the Gulf oil spill as "pathetic". He says if the 'top kill' fails it would be months before the next step would be taken. He says it could possibly take years before they could stop the leak completely. He called the lack of a plan b "inexcusable." We are the "Guinea pigs" since it's never been done before.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

$23 Billion Education Bailout Falters in Congress

$23 Billion Education Bailout Falters in Congress

A $23 billion payout to save thousands of educators' jobs faltered Thursday -- perhaps for good -- to election-year jitters among moderate Democrats over deficit spending and only lukewarm support from the White House.

The proposal's chief advocate in the House abruptly canceled a committee meeting to put the money in a war spending bill. Its lead sponsor in the Senate gave up trying to do it, acknowledging he lacked the necessary votes.

Al-Qa'ida 'running out of suicide bombers in Iraq'

Al-Qa'ida 'running out of suicide bombers in Iraq'

Aid Convoy Heads for Palestinians

On the road to World War III (5-27-10): This has the potential of being catastrophic in it's implications. If the Israelis kill dozens of people on those aid ships, there would be such an outcry that it could lead to war between and muslim country and Israel. And that would necessarily involve the U.S.

in reference to:

"Pro-Palestinian activists vowed to press ahead and break an Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip yesterday by sending a convoy of aid ships despite Israeli threats to stop it. Eight ships, including four cargo vessels and a Turkish passenger ferry carrying 600 people, were heading towards Gaza in defiance of a three-year Israeli closure."
- Aid convoy heads for Palestinians - Middle East, World - The Independent (view on Google Sidewiki)

Poll: Americans say GOP can better handle threats to U.S.

My response to that: 9-11/Iraq/Afghanistan/Pakistan. All those messes happened under Bush/Republican control. Both parties are inept in protecting America.

in reference to:

"Americans are increasingly optimistic about the economy, but that brightening outlook hasn't softened their outrage over the country's direction and its political leadership, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds. Two-thirds of those surveyed this week describe themselves as "angry" about the way things are going in the USA, the highest percentage in the decade the question has been asked. By nearly 2-1, they would rather vote for a candidate who has never served in Congress over one with experience."
- Poll: Americans say GOP can better handle threats to U.S. - USATODAY.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

US fires head of agency that oversees oil drilling

US fires head of agency that oversees oil drilling

- Got have a scapegoat. Obama is showing himself to be a real politician.

Craig Crawford: "Obama's Katrina"

Craig Crawford writes in CQ Politics:

He blew it. Obama faces a meltdown akin to the unraveling of his predecessor, George W. Bush. A press conference and a visit to the region are simply too little too late. It doesn't matter whether government could do any better than the oil companies. The political fallout has taken hold. Obama failed to manage a massive crisis. There's no fixing this failure. His only hope now is changing the subject. Good Luck.
And he's no Conservative:

Video: ABC Report on President Obama's Response to the Oil Spill

Jake Tapper sounds sympathetic to the President's dilemna:

Transcript: 'Glenn Beck': Who's Laying the Framework for Global Governance?

Complete Transcript. Excerpt below:

GLENN BECK, HOST: All right. I want to talk to you a little bit about what could possibly be in our future. And I don't think there is really much speculation on this, but I want you to know the attacks are going to come fast and furious from the left. Some of them will be deserved if you take this and you go down a tinfoil hat road.

I mean, you don't need to go to the build-a-burgers. I mean, it's as useful as going to the Whatta Burgers. You don't have to do that. But like every time — every time, we will use their words to prove a point, but progressives will go nuts when they hear the term "global governance."

They hear it used. They'll tell you you're crazy. Here's an example from left wing blog, "Seriously for a moment," they write, "We have are going to have to address the paranoia at global takeover at some point probably in easy to comprehend Dick-and-Jane language for the tea party."

Well, that's good. But apparently this blogger, while sitting in his underpants in his parents' basement, failed to notice that Gustave Speth, he is the former head of the World's Resource Institute, an institute that Al Gore is part of, said back in 1997 this, "Global governance is here, here to stay. And driven by economic and environmental globalization, global governance will inevitably expand."

Oh, well, if that's all it is. A U.N. development report in 1999 — the U.N. wrote — this is important, "Governance is not government. It is the framework of rules, institutions and practices that set limits on behavior of individuals, organizations, and companies."

Oh, well, if it's only setting limits on you, but it's not a government, oh, I'm fine with it. That's all this is. It's framework — framework. It's not government. It's important for them to say those things.

All of these financial regulations that are being put into place — it's bogus and it leads to this. The bailouts — bogus. It leads to this. Climate change leads to this. It is a framework for global governance.

Europe says they want it. We'll show you what they said in a minute. The IMF is implementing it in Europe. They are telling now sovereign nations what to do right now.

But we're not moving towards it here in the U.S., are we? Well, let me show you what the U.N. said about land use, "Private landownership is also a principal instrument of accumulation and concentration of wealth, therefore contributes to social injustice. If unchecked it may become a major obstacle in the planning and implementation of development schemes."

Document says Number of Attempted Attacks on U.S. is at All-time High

Eventually some of these attacks will be successful. Unless, we create a agency dedicated to fighting terrorism (domestic and abroad). Currently, our intelligence gathering within the U.S. is woeful. The CIA is not allowed to spy domestically. And the FBI is not cut out for dealing with the al Qaeda threat. The 9-11/anthrax attacks are perfect proof of that.

Just weeks after the failed car bombing of New York's Times Square, the Department of Homeland Security says "the number and pace of attempted attacks against the United States over the past nine months have surpassed the number of attempts during any other previous one-year period."

That grim assessment is contained in an unclassified DHS intelligence memo prepared for various law enforcement groups, which says terror groups are expected to try attacks inside the United States with "increased frequency."

CNN obtained a copy of the document, dated May 21, which goes on to warn, "we have to operate under the premise that other operatives are in the country and could advance plotting with little or no warning."

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

U.S. Spending on Food Stamps at All-Time High, Sparking Debate Over Welfare

U.S. Spending on Food Stamps at All-Time High, Sparking Debate Over Welfare

The U.S. is now spending more on food assistance than at any time in its history, sparking a debate over whether the roughly 40 million people now receiving the latest version of food stamps at a cost of $73 billion a year are a symptom of a weak economy or are part of a long-term expansion in welfare and related programs.

James Carville: Obama needs to tell BP ‘I’m your daddy’

Carville: Obama needs to tell BP ‘I’m your daddy’

Asked by King whether the disaster response has become a question of presidential accountability, Carville suggested that Washington lobbyists hired by BP were influencing the administration's response to the spill. "They've [BP] hired everything that walks in Washington," the Louisiana native said.

Watchdog: Nations getting away with murder

Watchdog: Nations getting away with murder

- I'm afraid it's only going to get worse as economic turmoil leads to instability and chaos. We are seeing a return of the madness of the 1920s, 30s.

Sending Troops to the Border is a Political Stunt


 US troops won't be used to stop illegal immigration: US 

What is the point of sending troops to the border with Mexico if they aren't going to be used to prevent drug gangs from invading American soil. We have a war going on. We need our troops to defend America. That was the main reason for creating the National Guard in the first place. Why should they only be fighting in Afghanistan. It almost seems that Obama gets his ideas from the Bush playback.

GOP Depicts N.C. Tea Party Candidate as Pot-Smoker Who Claimed to Be Messiah

GOP Depicts N.C. Tea Party Candidate as Pot-Smoker Who Claimed to Be Messiah

Mexico arrests Cancun mayor on drug charges

Mexico arrests Cancun mayor on drug charges

New Teen Drinking Fad Could Cause Blindness

New Teen Drinking Fad Could Cause Blindness

Obama Goes to Fundraiser While Oil Continues to Spill Unabated

This President is at his best when he is campaigning. Not so good when it comes to governing. His indifferent style is starting to look like George W. Bush:

President Obama, facing criticism that his administration has failed to respond aggressively to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, assured supporters in San Francisco on Tuesday that "the situation in the gulf is heartbreaking, and we're doing everything we can."

...As the BP oil spill blights miles of delicate marshland, well-known Democrats including analyst Donna Brazile and strategist James Carville have publicly criticized the federal government's failure to take a stronger role in stemming the disaster.

Obama said Tuesday he will make his second visit to the gulf region Friday, but his decision to make the cross-country trip to raise money for Democrats in San Francisco as the disaster raged handed partisan critics some potent ammunition.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina accused Obama of "misplaced priorities," saying, "Our nation faces a terrible economic, environmental and human tragedy in the gulf. ... Meanwhile, President Obama is on a rescue mission not in the gulf but instead in California, to save Barbara Boxer's 18-year political career."
In fact, this administration is starting to look as incompetently as the previous:
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson, scheduled to headline a fundraiser for Senate Democrats next week in Manhattan, cancelled her appearance Tuesday afternoon, hours after a POLITICO story about the event sparked Republican criticism that it was inappropriate in the midst of the ongoing environmental crisis along the Louisiana coast.

An EPA spokesman said Jackson was cancelling her appearance at the June 4th breakfast sponsored by the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee because she's focused on the clean-up of the BP oil spill.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Scandal Rattles Politics in South Carolina, Again

House GOP Asks Public To Weigh In Via Website

This is a cheap Republican stunt.

in reference to:

"House Republican leaders launched a new website, AmericaSpeakingOut.com, on Tuesday, saying it will offer Americans an opportunity to participate in government. "This is an open community and a debate of ideas; you submit the idea, you debate the idea, you put it into your network and you'll continue to have that dialogue," said project chairman and Chief Deputy Minority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif."
- House GOP Asks Public To Weigh In Via Website - Yahoo! News (view on Google Sidewiki)

Video: Planet-eating Star Discovered

Video: Somali boys Become al Qaida's new Recruits

While we fight in Afghanistan al Qaeda has taken control of Somalia.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy


And our worthless government is too inept to do anything about it. Remember "Black Hawk Down"?:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Video: Republican Congressional Candidate Plagiarizes Barack Obama

This is too funny. A Republican candidate, endorsed by Sarah Palin, who plagiarizes Barack Obama:

Idaho Republican Vaughn Ward has already come under fire for mimicking other candidates’ policy language on his website, but now the congressional candidate is facing accusations of plagiarizing from another source: President Barack Obama.

In a kickoff speech for his campaign in January, Ward used language that closely followed Obama’s 2004 speech to the Democratic National Convention, and a conservative Idaho blog spliced together the two sets of remarks to show their similarities, accusing Ward of cribbing from Obama’s remarks.

Here’s what Obama said in 2004: “As we stand at the crossroads of history, we can make the right choices and meet the challenges that face us. If you feel the same urgency that I do, if you feel the same passion that I do, then I have no doubt the people will rise up in November and this country will reclaim its promise and out of this long political darkness, a brighter day will come.”

And here’s what Ward said in January: “As we stand on the crossroads of history, I know we can make the right choice and meet the challenges that lay before us. If you feel the same urgency and the same passion that I do, then I have no doubt that our voices will be heard in November. And our country will reclaim its promise and out of this darkness, a better day is on the horizon.”

CBS Poll: 70% Say BP Handling Oil Spill Badly

CBS Poll: 70% Say BP Handling Oil Spill Badly

Gunmen rob gold shops in Iraqi capital, kill 15

Gunmen rob gold shops in Iraqi capital, kill 15

- Sounds like chaos has taken over in Iraq. Will Obama decide to send the troops back again?

Exclusive: FBI details surge in death threats against lawmakers

Exclusive: FBI details surge in death threats against lawmakers - Erika Lovley - POLITICO.com

Beijing tries to push beyond 'Made in China' status to find name-brand innovation

Beijing tries to push beyond 'Made in China' status to find name-brand innovation

Mortgage Rates at New Lows, Thanks to Europe's Debt Crisis

Mortgage Rates at New Lows, Thanks to Europe's Debt Crisis - Yahoo! Finance

U.S. Is Said to Expand Secret Military Acts in Mideast Region

This sounds like an attempt to look for trouble. Maybe an attempt to start another war when are already in a mess in Afghanistan and Iraq. No good will come of it. It's just another foolish step leading eventually to another World War in the Middle East. If you think that's an exaggeration let me ask this: Did you predict a near economic collapse in 2008?

The top American commander in the Middle East has ordered a broad expansion of clandestine military activity in an effort to disrupt militant groups or counter threats in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and other countries in the region, according to defense officials and military documents.

The secret directive, signed in September by Gen. David H. Petraeus, authorizes the sending of American Special Operations troops to both friendly and hostile nations in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Horn of Africa to gather intelligence and build ties with local forces. Officials said the order also permits reconnaissance that could pave the way for possible military strikes in Iran if tensions over its nuclear ambitions escalate.

While the Bush administration had approved some clandestine military activities far from designated war zones, the new order is intended to make such efforts more systematic and long term, officials said. Its goals are to build networks that could “penetrate, disrupt, defeat or destroy” Al Qaeda and other militant groups, as well as to “prepare the environment” for future attacks by American or local military forces, the document said. The order, however, does not appear to authorize offensive strikes in any specific countries.

In broadening its secret activities, the United States military has also sought in recent years to break its dependence on the Central Intelligence Agency and other spy agencies for information in countries without a significant American troop presence.

General Petraeus’s order is meant for small teams of American troops to fill intelligence gaps about terror organizations and other threats in the Middle East and beyond, especially emerging groups plotting attacks against the United States.

But some Pentagon officials worry that the expanded role carries risks. The authorized activities could strain relationships with friendly governments like Saudi Arabia or Yemen — which might allow the operations but be loath to acknowledge their cooperation — or incite the anger of hostile nations like Iran and Syria. Many in the military are also concerned that as American troops assume roles far from traditional combat, they would be at risk of being treated as spies if captured and denied the Geneva Convention protections afforded military detainees.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Govt: About 45 million Americans don't buckle up

Govt: About 45 million Americans don't buckle up - Yahoo! News

- Foolish.

North Korea puts military on alert: report

North Korea puts military on alert: report - Yahoo! News

- This is very dangerous.

Miners: W.Va. Blast Site Was Ticking Time Bomb


 CBS News Mobile: Story 

Just like the BP oil spill was a timebomb. In both cases lobbyists made sure that government regulators weren't willing to do their job and enforce the rules intended to protect workers. The fact that in both cases you had energy interests in question is NO coincidence. And both parties are equally to blame.

Pure Heroin from Mexico Killing Drug Users in US


 CBS News Mobile: Story 

FOXNews.com - Obama Call for 'International Order' Raises Questions About U.S. Sovereignty

What logic - the Conservatives want to turn the economy over to the Chinese but are upset if we cooperate internationally to keep the peace.
FOXNews.com - Obama Call for 'International Order' Raises Questions About U.S. Sovereignty

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'Morning Joe' Blasts Obama's Lack of Response to BP Oil Spill

The hosts and guests on 'Morning Joe' today blasted President Obama's "lackadaisical" response to the horrific oil spill in the gulf. Clips were shown of Obama sympathizers criticizing the President:

UK bans doctor who linked autism to vaccine

UK bans doctor who linked autism to vaccine - msnbc.com

Sunday, May 23, 2010

GOP hopeful Rand Paul rapped by RNC chairman Michael Steele over 'misplaced' civil rights remarks

GOP hopeful Rand Paul rapped by RNC chairman Michael Steele over 'misplaced' civil rights remarks

One false move in Europe could set off global chain reaction

One false move in Europe could set off global chain reaction

The New Poor - Lack of Aid for Child Care Pushes Some to Welfare

The New Poor - Lack of Aid for Child Care Pushes Some to Welfare - NYTimes.com

"The Perfect Storm: Six Trends Converging on Collapse"

This writer sounds a little too bleak. But you'll get the point. The years ahead will be very difficult. And we are not prepared. We are acting like the problems we face are only temporary and will somehow resolve themselves. Either way we are too complacent or apathetic. We need to start acting like we are facing a serious crisis. The politicians won't tell us the truth because they don't want to be bearers of bad news. They will only tell you what you want to hear. We need to start thinking and acting for ourselves, and stop waiting on some savior to get us out of this mess. Barack Obama has shown himself to be a fraud. We bought into that garbage about "change." He is just another politician. The press isn't telling us the truth because that requires commitment to truth. They are only committed to selling a product. And for that they have to keep us dumb-downed. Democracy requires participation and critical thinking. We are doing neither. That's why we face dark days ahead.

There are dark clouds gathering on the horizon. They are the clouds of six hugely troubling global trends, climate change being just one of the six. Individually, each of these trends is a potential civilization buster. Collectively, they are converging to form the perfect storm--a storm of such magnitude that it will dwarf anything that mankind has ever seen. If we are unsuccessful in our attempts to calm this storm, without a doubt it will destroy life as we know it on Planet Earth!

There is a popular saying that "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result." If we keep doing business in the same way as we have for the past century, each of these six trends will continue their steep rates of decline, collapsing the natural systems that form the foundation for our civilization and the lifeblood of the global economy. Perhaps the current Gulf oil spill is the wake up call that mankind needs to snap us out of our complacency, realize that we are soiling our nest and that continuation of "business as usual" will destroy the world as we know it? Time will tell whether we heed this warning, go back sleep once the oil spill is contained, or simply tire of the endless media coverage, numb ourselves, and set these critical issues to the side.

We already have the technology and the means to turn this dark tide, but we lack the commitment to make the hard choices and sweeping changes that are necessary for shifting the future of our world from its current course of collapse to a new course of sustainability.

57 ancient tombs with mummies unearthed in Egypt

57 ancient tombs with mummies unearthed in Egypt - Yahoo! News

Bad cement work now found in many offshore rigs, contributed to BP oil spill

Bad cement work now found in many offshore rigs, contributed to BP oil spill - CSMonitor.com

Safety groups warn parents of pool dangers

Safety groups warn parents of pool dangers - KansasCity.com

US Wants Australia to Fill the Void in Afghanistan

Why isn't this an admission of failure in Afghanistan? Sounds like defeat to me:

A report in US Defence publication Stars and Stripes has detailed plans for the US military to focus on 121 key districts in Afghanistan, even though NATO has enough forces to operate in only 48 districts. The report says the US military will rely on "foreign partner troops" to cover those 121 districts.

The Kandahar offensive is set for June. The Dutch are pulling troops out by the end of 2011. The US, understandably, is searching for troop numbers, particularly as their casualties from this conflict have hit 1000 according to website icasualties. Where will these "foreign partner troops" come from?

The US seems intent — at least publicly — on gently coaxing us in.javascript:void(0) This month General David Petraeus said Australian troops have punched above their weight in Afghanistan and he would welcome a larger deployment. This week it was Marine Lieutenant-Colonel Dave Bellon: "I love working with them. I think that they are a tier one force in the world right now. Your military is capable. Your officers and your enlisted leadership are fantastic. We enjoy working with them and they get tremendous results."
Just recently our top commander in Afghanistan said the war is a "draw." That translates to mean we are losing:
The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan says the war is a draw.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal says the momentum of the resurgent Taliban militants has been stopped. But for now, the general says, nobody is winning.

In an interview Thursday on PBS' "NewsHour," McChrystal says he sees significant progress for the allies fighting the Taliban this year.

McChrystal says the insurgency remains serious, with a reach that spans the country and a large number of fighters.

Transcript: Meet The Press (5-23-10)

Complete transcript. Excerpt below:

MR. GREGORY: Senator Cornyn, Rand Paul's spokesman sent a statement to MEET THE PRESS this morning indicating that he didn't want to be on the program because he wanted to avoid the liberal bias of the media, and I wonder what your view is, whether you think this is liberal bias that's ensnared him this week or whether it's the articulation of his own views about the limited scope of government that had senior Republicans in the party telling him to avoid the national spotlight?

SEN. CORNYN: Well, Dr. Paul's new to running for public office, and I think it's Bob's experience, I'm sure my experience, that you see novice candidates occasionally stumble on questions. I think he's clarified his position. But I think he's done the right thing. As much fun as this is, David, to be here with you, I think he needs to be talking to the voters back in Kentucky, the people who actually will be able to cast a ballot on whether he's elected as the next United States senator or not.

MR. GREGORY: Well, I--obviously being here is not as important as the larger point, which is don't you think this is fair game, questions about his views about the limit and the scope of government?

SEN. CORNYN: Well, I do think that's a, a fair topic, and I'm sure you'll be hearing extensively from him and all the candidates over the next six months. But the fact of the matter is Rand Paul's leading his opponent in the, in the general election by 25 points.

MR. GREGORY: You don't think he's a weaker candidate today than he was Tuesday?

SEN. CORNYN: He's leading by 25 points; I have to let the numbers speak for themselves. But I think we will have a, a discussion about the role of government in our lives. There are too many Americans, or many Americans, I should say, who believe that government has simply gotten too aggressive, it spends too much, it borrows too much, and we've had too many government takeovers. I think he will speak directly to that, and I think people will respond favorably.

MR. GREGORY: Do his views concern you?

SEN. CORNYN: I don't know what all his views are. I've watched this exchange, but the fact of the matter is I think he's doing the right thing by talking to the people of Kentucky and...

6-Year-Old Shot During Road Rage

Too many damn guns on streets of America:

Detroit police are investigating a possible case of road rage that wounded a 6-year-old girl on Detroit's West side.

Police said the girls mother was driving near the intersection of Schaefer and Puritan roads when she blew her horn at a nearby car.

The mother said she heard gunshots moments later and then realized her daughter was struck in her leg by a bullet.

Face The Nation Video (5-23-10): Lamar Alexander Defends Rand Paul


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Gibbs: Palin Should Get More Informed About Drilling

Maybe Mr.Obama needs to learn about drilling also:

Sarah Palin says she is still a "big supporter of offshore drilling" despite the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill that is threatening the environment and the economy, though she adds that oil companies should be held accountable for their actions.

On Fox News Sunday, the former Alaska governor drew a link between the Obama administration's response to the spill and what she cast as President Obama's cozy relationship with oil companies tied to their support for his presidential campaign.
Both parties are guilty of hypocrisy here. When is the last time you heard the Republicans shout, 'drill, baby, drill':
President Barack Obama launched an ambitious plan on Wednesday to lift a decades-long moratorium on offshore oil drilling along the East Coast from Delaware to Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska.

“This is not a decision that I’ve made lightly,” he said in remarks at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. “But the bottom line is this: given our energy needs, in order to sustain economic growth and produce jobs and keep our businesses competitive, we are going to need to harness traditional sources of fuel, even as we ramp up production of new sources of renewable, homegrown energy.”

...Obama is proposing the first new offshore oil and gas sales in the Atlantic in two decades. The decision modifies a 20-year-old ban that limited new drilling, confining most to the seas off the Gulf of Mexico. The government will continue lease sales in the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Right Wing Reacts With Rage To First Muslim American Miss USA: ‘An Odd Form Of Affirmative Action’

Think Progress » Right Wing Reacts With Rage To First Muslim American Miss USA: ‘An Odd Form Of Affirmative Action’ (Updated)

Video: Congress Funds Jet Engine the Military Doesn't Want

This is a perfect example of why we are bankrupt as a Nation. The Congress spends your money to buy your votes. Pork barrel is how incumbents stay in power in Washington. Are you for sale? If not, term limit those members of Congress who vote for such wasteful programs.

Video: Texas Text Book Controversy - The Rewriting of History

Cuomo Video Announces Campaign for Governor

Cuomo Video Announces Campaign for Governor - NYTimes.com

Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced his campaign for governor with a video released early Saturday morning, finally making official his entrance into the race for governor this fall.

...Mr. Cuomo has no competition for the Democratic nomination and has been moving to assert control over the state party, and the 2010 ticket, for several months.

Hundreds Flock to Nigeria in Search of Food

This is indictment of the capitalist system, and the international community. Despite all the world organizations, charities, and big words nothing is done. And don't expect Barack Obama to do anything about it. He hasn't spoken out on the mess in Chicago.

Hundreds of Niger nationals, mostly women and children, have flooded into neighbouring Nigeria in search of food, officials and residents said on Friday.

"We are aware of the recent influx of people from Niger into some parts of (southern) Katsina State," Sani Makana, the state agriculture commissioner told AFP by phone from the state capital Katsina.

The number of of Niger nationals in northern Katsina state, which shares a land border with Nigeria, has soared in the past two months, residents said.

Makana said some were so desperate they had been forced to beg door-to-door.

"It is a pathetic sight. They just have nothing to live on and have to beg to eat," said Katsina resident, Abubakar Shehu.

"When you ask them why they came here they tell you that they were starving in Niger... and would die if they stayed," Shehu said.

According to the United Nations around 7.8 million Nigeriens are in need of food, out of the around 10 million affected by a crisis in the Sahel region.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Corporate PACs betting on Republicans to regain control of Congress

All this points to is the fact that big business supports whoever does their bidding. And both parties have taken turns serving their corporate masters:

Corporate America is gambling on the minority in its political giving this year, assuming that Republicans will win big in the November midterm elections, an analysis of campaign finance reports shows.

The pattern represents a distinct change from a year ago, when President Obama was sworn into office. Back then, corporate political action committees made a shift to the Democrats, giving 58 percent of their donations to the party. So far this year, only 48 percent of the contributions from big business are going to the Democrats.

The shift in political giving represents a calculated gamble that Republicans may regain control of Congress, GOP fundraisers and political consultants say. It also breaks a recent pattern in which lobbyists and executives overseeing corporate largesse gave more tothe party in power.

Many other political winds have shifted behind Republicans in recent months, but the swing in money from corporate PACs is unusual. Corporations often give campaign contributions while seeking access and favor with incumbent lawmakers in position to shape legislation -- meaning they gravitate to the party in power.

Elizabeth Smart Kidnapper Barzee Gets 15 Years

She deserves to spend the rest of her life in prison:

A federal judge on Friday ordered a woman who pleaded guilty to kidnapping then-teen Elizabeth Smart of Utah to spend 15 years in prison, with credit for about seven years she's already served.

Smart, whose abduction captured the attention of Americans, was 14 in 2002 when she was kidnapped at knifepoint from her bedroom. She was found nine months later, in March 2003, walking the streets of a Salt Lake City suburb with her captors.

U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball said Wanda Barzee will serve the sentence at the Federal Medical Center, Carswell, in Fort Worth, Texas.

Barzee, 64, pleaded guilty in November to federal charges of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines in Smart's abduction. She also faces sentencing Friday in state court, where in February she pleaded guilty, but mentally ill, in the attempted kidnapping of Smart's cousin, Olivia Wright, about six weeks after Smart's abduction.

Chicago Mayor Regrets "Up Your Butt" Comment

This guy is worthless as a Mayor. His city is a mess and all he can do mouth insults at reporters. But this is what incumbency does. He is mayor because his father was mayor. That's all. And he remain in office until he dies. It is no wonder that Chicago/Illinois is so corrupt. The only that can turn around that city/State is term limits:

Mayor Richard M. Daley said Friday that he regrets his choice of words when he suggested he'd stick a rifle with a bayonet up a reporter's "butt," but he said he was trying to "shock" the media into exposing gun manufacturers who flood the streets with firearms.

"I want to shock you, maybe scare you, to realize this is serious," he said.

Asked if he was sorry for how he went about illustrating his point, Daley said, "Sure I'll be sorry... I'm not going to sing the song 'I'm Sorry' now, but sure, you can write it. But I hope I shocked you that you can write about now the gun manufacturers."

The mayor said the focus should not be on his remarks, but about the impact of gun violence in urban America.

The mayor was talking about his controversial remarks on Thursday during a news conference on the city's handgun ban and what the city plans to do if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the ban this summer.

At that news conference, Chicago Reader reporter Mick Dumke asked Daley if the ban has been effective, given how many people are shot in the city every year. The mayor responded by picking up a rifle with a bayonet from among several seized guns that Chicago police had put on display.

"It's been very effective," Daley said as he held the rifle. "If I put this up your butt, you'll find out how effective it is. Let me put a round up your, you know."

US Rifles not Suited to Warfare in Afghan Hills

If it weren't bad enough, now we learn that the weapons used by troops in increasingly fruitless war are less than adequate. Apparently, the lessons of Vietnam and Iraq have not been learned. When it comes to guerrilla warfare we must adapt and not use traditional weapons and tactics:

The U.S. military's workhorse rifle -- used in battle for the last 40 years -- is proving less effective in Afghanistan against the Taliban's more primitive but longer range weapons.

As a result, the U.S. is reevaluating the performance of its standard M-4 rifle and considering a switch to weapons that fire a larger round largely discarded in the 1960s.

The M-4 is an updated version of the M-16, which was designed for close quarters combat in Vietnam. It worked well in Iraq, where much of the fighting was in cities such as Baghdad, Ramadi and Fallujah.

But a U.S. Army study found that the 5.56 mm bullets fired from M-4s don't retain enough velocity at distances greater than 1,000 feet (300 meters) to kill an adversary. In hilly regions of Afghanistan, NATO and insurgent forces are often 2,000 to 2,500 feet (600-800 meters) apart.

Afghans have a tradition of long-range ambushes against foreign forces. During the 1832-1842 British-Afghan war, the British found that their Brown Bess muskets could not reach insurgent sharpshooters firing higher-caliber Jezzail flintlocks.

Soviet soldiers in the 1980s found that their AK-47 rifles could not match the World War II-era bolt-action Lee-Enfield and Mauser rifles used by mujahedeen rebels.

"These are important considerations in Afghanistan, where NATO forces are frequently attacked by insurgents using ... sharpshooter's rifles, which are all chambered for a full-powered cartridge which dates back to the 1890s," said Paul Cornish, curator of firearms at the Imperial War Museum in London.

The heavier bullets enable Taliban militants to shoot at U.S. and NATO soldiers from positions well beyond the effective range of the coalition's rifles.

N.Y. Movie Theater to Charge $20 a Ticket for New 'Shrek" Movie

N.Y. Movie Theater to Charge $20 a Ticket for New 'Shrek" Movie

For the first time, a major Hollywood film will hit the $20 threshold at the box office, as movie-theater owners test the public's ability to absorb ever higher ticket prices.

Several theaters will charge $20 per adult ticket to IMAX showings of the animated 3-D family film "Shrek Forever After," the fourth "Shrek" installment from DreamWorks Animation. The theaters include the AMC theater in Manhattan's Kips Bay neighborhood, AMC Loews 34, AMC Loews Lincoln Square and AMC Empire 42nd Street.


And you're going to pay it.

Hussain Abdul-Hussain: As Non-Violence Takes Root, So May a Palestinian State

Finally. I've been arguing for sometime that the Palestinians should adopt non-violent, civil disobedience to achieve their goal of creating their own State. Hopefully they will finally get the message:

Palestinians, hard-headed realists that they are, have never much bought the idea of non-violence. The state of Israel was partly born out of violence and has been sustained mainly through violence. Turning the other cheek to people whose anatomical focus was your knees - and keeping you on them - never seemed especially wise, let alone effective.

This might now be changing. The "growing non-violent movement among Palestinians is simultaneously emerging spontaneously from the grassroots and being encouraged by the leadership," Ziad Asali, the president of the American Task Force for Palestine (ATFP), wrote recently in the Guardian newspaper in the UK.

The question is why after so much suffering and the spilling of so much blood, non-violence seems to be catching on. One answer is simply that it has taken Palestinians this long to recognise the futility of using violence against a population determined after the Holocaust to never be so victimised by violence again.

CBS' 'Shit My Dad Says' Angers Parents Group

Vulgarity in the media is the rule. And it will continue to get worse as long as the media thinks they can profit from it. It requires the public speaking out and boycotting such filth:

A parents group is threatening CBS affiliates with challenges to their broadcast licenses if they air the network's new comedy with a title that alludes to an obscenity.

The Parents Television Council, which monitors decency issues, criticized CBS for picking up a comedy series called "(Bleep) My Dad Says" that is based on a popular Twitter feed. Instead of the word, the CBS title uses a series of symbols.

The group says it will challenge the broadcast license of any CBS affiliate that airs the series or promotions for it before 10 p.m. CBS has scheduled the comedy for Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. It stars William Shatner as the father whose politically incorrect musings are put out on Twitter by his son.

Tim Winter, president of the Los Angeles-based organization, said he was aware that CBS was developing a series based on the Twitter sensation, but "we couldn't imagine that a network would actually name a program either with an expletive or with the expletive ostensibly bleeped out.

Taliban in Secret Talks at Mystery Location

If true, this will only succeed in encouraging the Taliban. It would be an admission of weakness from the Afghan government and the U.S. war presence:

The Taliban are holding secret unofficial talks at an undisclosed location in the Maldives, officials said today.
Troop numbers will swell to 100,000 by September.

The government of Maldives, a tiny island nation in the India Ocean, issued a statement confirming the meeting.

...U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said, "The Afghan government has told us that it is aware of the unofficial talks being reported today... and according to the Afghan government these talks do not include official representatives of the government of Afghanistan."

Thursday, May 20, 2010

No alert for U.S. troops in Korea, Pentagon says

This is no small matter. Any miscalculation could lead to devastating war between the Korea's. The U.S. and South Korea must international help on this matter. They should take their case to the UN and world community. The Chinese should be smoked out on this. They support North Korea and have some influence over them. The innocent people killed must get justice. This matter can be pursued without it leading to a major war.

U.S. troops based in South Korea have not been put on a heightened state of alert in the wake of that country's announcement that North Korea was behind the sinking of one of its warships in March, the Pentagon said Thursday.

At a Pentagon press briefing, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the United States supports the findings of the investigation -- that the ship was sunk by a North Korean torpedo -- but he would not say what the United States is prepared to do, if anything, militarily.

"We are in close consultations with the South Koreans," Gates said. "The attack was against one of their ships and, naturally, they will have the lead in laying out the path forward and we will be consulting with them very closely as we move ahead."

China Aims to Stifle Tibet’s Photocopiers

China Aims to Stifle Tibet’s Photocopiers - NYTimes.com

The authorities have identified a new threat to political stability in the restive region of Tibet: photocopiers. Fearful that Tibetans might mass-copy incendiary material, public security officials intend to more tightly control printing and photocopying shops, according to reports from the Tibetan capital, Lhasa.

A regulation now in the works will require the operators of printing and photocopying shops to obtain a new permit from the government, the Lhasa Evening News reported this month. They will also be required to take down identifying information about their clients and the specific documents printed or copied, the newspaper said.

A public security official in Lhasa, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the regulation “is being implemented right now,” but on a preliminary basis. The official hung up the phone without providing further details.

A Step to artificial life: Manmade DNA powers cell

A step to artificial life: Manmade DNA powers cell

Scientists announced a bold step Thursday in the enduring quest to create artificial life. They've produced a living cell powered by manmade DNA. While such work can evoke images of Frankenstein-like scientific tinkering, it also is exciting hopes that it could eventually lead to new fuels, better ways to clean polluted water, faster vaccine production and more.

Is it really an artificial life form?

The inventors call it the world's first synthetic cell, although this initial step is more a re-creation of existing life — changing one simple type of bacterium into another — than a built-from-scratch kind.

But Maryland genome-mapping pioneer J. Craig Venter said his team's project paves the way for the ultimate, much harder goal: designing organisms that work differently from the way nature intended for a wide range of uses. Already he's working with ExxonMobil in hopes of turning algae into fuel.

"This is the first self-replicating species we've had on the planet whose parent is a computer," Venter told reporters.

Obama's Top Intelligence Adviser Resigns

I will repeat: we need an intelligence agency that is specifically set up to fight terrorism, domestic and foreign. Until that happens we will have more terrorist attacks on Americans in the U.S.:

The president's top intelligence adviser, Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair, has announced his resignation, effective Friday.

Blair, a retired four-star Navy admiral, has served in the post since January 29, 2009. His office oversees 17 federal agencies of the U.S. intelligence community, including the CIA, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.

Word of Blair's resignation comes two days after the Senate Intelligence Committee released a report that sharply criticized the National Counterterrorism Center, overseen by Blair's office, for failing to properly coordinate intelligence activities to detect the alleged attempted Christmas Day airline bombing in advance.

The report said the center, created after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to coordinate U.S. intelligence efforts, was "not organized adequately to fulfill its missions."

Rand Paul Feeds Suspicions About Tea Party Racism

http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thegaggle/archive/2010/05/20/rand-paul-feeds-suspicions-about-tea-party-racism.aspx

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

Video: Rand Paul: Businesses Should be Allowed to Discriminate

Rand Paul was the candidate of the Tea Party. He also represents their racially insensitive attitudes. Paul appeared on the Rachel Maddow Program and tried to explain his views. Judge for yourself whether you think he explained himself adequately:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Senate Fails to end Debate on Bank Reform bill

More proof that the Wall St./banks own the Congress. The Democrats promised results because they had a filibuster-proof majority. Just another promised not kept. Along with Obama's promise of change:

In a setback for the Obama administration, Senate Democrats failed to muster enough votes on Wednesday to end debate on the biggest overhaul of financial regulation since the 1930s, delaying a vote on passage.

But analysts still expect the legislation eventually to pass. More debate on amendments was likely, with banks on alert for changes that could threaten their profits.

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid scheduled another vote for 2:30 p.m. EDT Thursday.

In the 57 to 42 vote, two Democrats sided against invoking "cloture" to limit debate and move toward final passage. Sixty votes are needed to end debate in the Senate. Two Republicans voted with a majority of Democrats for cloture.

The loss seemed to come as a surprise to Democrats on a measure that enjoys widespread public support.

As backers of the bill scrambled for votes, Democratic Senator Arlen Specter was nowhere to be found one day after he lost a primary challenge in his home state of Pennsylvania.

"I don't have a sense on when he will be back," an aide said.

Reid said one lawmaker had gone back on his word to support the bill. He declined to name the lawmaker, but a Democratic aide said it was Republican Scott Brown, who has backed Democrats on other tight votes.

Video: Newt Gingrich Compares Obama to NAZIs, Stalin's Russia

More Republican demonization of Barack Obama. What is frightening is that this is a major figure in the Republican Party. It further proves that the GOP has become the party of hate.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Land Activist Killed by Gunmen in Colombia

Injustice still rules in Latin America. Will they never know democracy? It looked so promising for a while:

A leader of families displaced by Colombia's violence was shot dead in what human rights groups said Wednesday is the latest attack on activists seeking the return of land stolen by far-right paramilitary groups.
Rogelio Martinez, 51, was riding on a mototaxi near his residence in San Onofre, Sucre province when gunmen intercepted the vehicle and shot him at least three times Tuesday, police Col. Hugo Javier Agudelo said.
No arrests had been made and police didn't offer a motive. Human rights groups said Martinez had been receiving death threats since December 2008.

Most Americans say country has negative image: poll

We can thank our wonderful political establishment for this fact:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100519/us_nm/us_usa_perception_2

The Term-inator: Congressman Mark Souder Forced to Step Down After Sex Scandal

The Term-inator: Congressman Mark Souder Forced to Step Down After Sex Scandal

MSNBC Video: Study: Life gets Better with Age, Study says

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Men doing the Housework Reduces Divorce risk: Study

Makes sense:

Divorce rates are lower in families where husbands help out with the housework, shopping and childcare, according to a study of 3,500 British couples published Tuesday.

The research by the London School of Economics (LSE), entitled "Men's Unpaid Work and Divorce", found that the more husbands helped out, the lower the incidence of divorce.

The study said its conclusions blew open the theory running since the 1960s that marriages were most stable when men focused on paid work and women were responsible for housework.

"The lowest-risk combination is one in which the mother does not work and the father engages in the highest level of housework and childcare," the study found.

BP withholds oil spill facts — and Government lets it

It is clear that government (including the Obama administration) is in bed with the oil industry:

BP, the company in charge of the rig that exploded last month in the Gulf of Mexico, hasn't publicly divulged the results of tests on the extent of workers' exposure to evaporating oil or from the burning of crude over the gulf, even though researchers say that data is crucial in determining whether the conditions are safe.

Moreover, the company isn't monitoring the extent of the spill and only reluctantly released videos of the spill site that could give scientists a clue to the amount of the oil in gulf.

BP's role as the primary source of information has raised questions about whether the government should intervene to gather such data and to publicize it and whether an adequate cleanup can be accomplished without the details of crude oil spreading across the gulf.

10 Reasons not to Vote for Arlen Specter

The Term-inator: 10 Reasons not to Vote for Arlen Specter

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Video: Top Senate Republican: Kagan Broke Law

Video: Top Senate Republican: Kagan Broke Law

Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told ABC News' "This Week" that Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan "violated the law" by not allowing military recruiting on the Harvard Law School campus when she was dean there, and added the issue is "no little-bitty matter."

Video: Meet The Press (5-16-10)

Video: Meet The Press (5-16-10)

Transcript: CNN's State of the Union (5-16-10)

Transcript: CNN's State of the Union (5-16-10)

Candy Crowley Interviews Senate candidates Joe Sestak and Arlen Specter:

Incumbent Arlen Specter Cannot be Trusted

Incumbent Arlen Specter Cannot be Trusted

Why vote for someone who will do anything and say anything to get re-elected. He's violated the term limit rule: 10 and out!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Video: Jon Stewart Spoofs Politicians Response to the Oil Spill in Louisiana

Video: Jon Stewart Spoofs Politicians Response to the Oil Spill in Louisiana

- Jon Stewart, The Daily Show, makes fun of the politicians, including Obama, for their false promises and hypocritical response to the oil spill in Louisiana.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Poll: Majority Backs Arizona Immigration Bill

Poll: Majority Backs Arizona Immigration Bill

Despite their expectation that it will burden police departments and disproportionately affect certain ethnic groups, a slim majority of Americans believe the controversial illegal immigration measure recently signed into law in Arizona is "about right" in its approach, according to a newly-released CBS News/New York Times poll.

Fifty-one percent of those surveyed say the law, which critics say essentially mandates racial profiling, takes the right approach, and nine percent say it should go even further.

Thirty-six percent say the law goes too far.

Two in three Republicans say the law takes the right approach, along with roughly half of independents. Among Democrats, support for the law stands at 38 percent. Americans living in the South and Midwest are more likely than those in the East or West to support the measure.

One in two Americans say it is "very likely" that the law "will lead to police officers detaining people of certain racial or ethnic groups more frequently than other racial or ethnic groups." Another 32 percent say that prospect is "somewhat likely." Just 15 percent do not expect some racial or ethnic groups to be affected more than others.

Video: Suspect in Times Square Bomb Scare

Video: Suspect in Times Square Bomb Scare