Missing Children and The Technology That May Find Them

Some solutions for protecting your kids. [This post is not an endorsement of any particular company or technology.]

in reference to:

"The VeriChip Company makes VeriKid, used in Mexico where they put scanners in public places kidnapped children may be. VeriChip was primarily developed to hold a patient’s medical information and it does not contain a transmitter and is not satellite-enabled.
Wherify GPS Personal Locator combines GPS and digital wireless technologies to pinpoint a wearers position within a few feet. Parents can view satellite or street map or call an 800 number. Cost is $800 and $30 a month to monitor. Parents lock the bracelet onto the child’s wrist, which could be removed by a perpetrator."
- Missing Children and The Technology That May Find Them | InjuryBoard Jacksonville (view on Google Sidewiki)

UN Food Agency Says 200 Million More People Hungry

With not much hope in site. The collapse of the global economic system has, and will, leave many casualties. It did very little to solve world hunger when international capitalism was "thriving" over the last 2 decades. So you can imagine what will happen now.

in reference to:

"Most of the developing world is paying more for food despite drops in commodity market prices during the global economic slowdown, with 200 million people joining the ranks of the hungry in the past two years, the U.N. World Food Program said Monday.

The agency's executive director Josette Sheeran blamed climate change, escalating fuel costs and falling incomes. She said the number of "urgently hungry" had now reached its highest ever — 1.02 billion.

"One out of six people in humanity will wake up not sure that they can even fill a cup of food," Sheeran told reporters. "We have to make no mistake that hunger is on the march.""
- UN Food Agency Says 200 Million More People Hungry - ABC News (view on Google Sidewiki)

Report: Meteorite-like object falls in Latvia

It isn't just in the movies. Meteors are a reality. And there exists a potential for a massive one to hit the earth and kill many people. Meteors are believed to have killed off the dinosaurs.

in reference to:

"A meteorite-like object has created a crater after landing near a farm in northern Latvia, the nation's official news agency reported. The object fell Sunday in Mazsalaca, leaving a hole of about 65 feet (20 meters) wide and 32 feet (10 meters) deep, Latvian emergency officials told the LETA news agency."
- Report: Meteorite-like object falls in Latvia - CNN.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Saudi king scraps flogging for woman journalist

It gives you hope and teaches a lesson. If pressure is put on dictatorships positive things can happen. And it looks like it was not governments that led to the decision to stop the beatings. World public opinion does matter, and should.

in reference to:

"The Saudi king has waived a 60 lashes punishment for a female journalist charged with involvement in a TV show in which a Saudi man publicly talked about sex, a government official said Monday.
King Abdullah's decision followed intense media attention sparked by Saturday's sentencing of journalist Rozanna al-Yami, who was ordered flogged by a judge in the western city of Jiddah.
Al-Yami had been charged with involvement in the preparation of a sex talk show and advertising the segment on the Internet."
- Saudi king scraps flogging for woman journalist - Yahoo! News (view on Google Sidewiki)

'60 Minutes' Transcript: Medicare Fraud: A $60 Billion Crime

Medicare is no model for health care reform as some Democrats are arguing. That's why real reform would mean replacing it with something that does work. Neither party will do that. The Medicare program is too popular, even if we can't pay for it.

President Obama says rising costs are driving huge federal budget deficits that imperil our future, and that there is enough waste and fraud in the system to pay for health care reform if it was eliminated.

At the center of both issues is Medicare, the government insurance program that provides health care to 46 million elderly and disabled Americans. But it also provides a rich and steady income stream for criminals who are constantly finding new ways to steal a sizable chunk of the half trillion dollars that are paid out each year in Medicare benefits.

In fact, Medicare fraud - estimated now to total about $60 billion a year - has become one of, if not the most profitable, crimes in America.

This story may raise your blood pressure, along with some troubling questions about our government's ability to manage a medical bureaucracy.

'FOX News Sunday' Transcript (10-25-09): Abdullah Abdullah

Read the complete transcript. Excerpt below:

Earlier we spoke with one of the two candidates in the Afghan presidential runoff, challenger and former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: Dr. Abdullah, there have been reports that in order to avoid a runoff with the possibility of more violence and more fraud that you and President Karzai might agree to share power, to a coalition government.

Is that a possibility? Or have you ruled that out?

ABDULLAH: No, I think I should rule it out, because I am ready to go for a runoff. I -- and what I am focusing at this stage -- to -- to provide the relevant institutions which sets off recommendations and sometimes conditions to ensure the transparency of the Afghani elections.

WALLACE: Let's turn to the runoff, which is scheduled for November 7th. There was rampant fraud in Afghanistan. Your supporters now say that unless there are changes in the election commission, which is run by Karzai supporters, that you may, in fact, boycott the runoff.

Is that a real possibility, sir?

ABDULLAH: So I'm not talking about boycott at this stage, though my supporters are pressing on that point, that if the state machinery a fraud, as well as election commission, which was unfortunately involved in fraud -- both are in place, and then both are working in collaboration with one another, perhaps we might have to go through the same sort of saga.

And that -- I am under a lot of pressure. But at the same time, I'm working with the international community on sets of conditions which have to be met. These are not conditions in favor of one candidate against another.

WALLACE: And if those conditions are not met, will you go ahead with the runoff?

ABDULLAH: No, I think some of -- some of the things which we will be putting forward are very serious issues. Without it, without considering it, we will not have a transparent, credible process, and it will be very difficult to convince the people to turn out and to show up, because the people are taking risk. And they are taking risk in the first round elections.

So it will -- it will make the situation very difficult if those conditions and recommendations are not met.

WALLACE: So does that mean that a boycott by you of the runoff, if there are no reforms, if there are no changes, is a possibility?

ABDULLAH: I don't want to give a message to our people so that momentum for campaign will be lost. So by that, that shows my commitment to the process.

But at the same time, I would say that it will be a very serious situation if we are up against the same sorts of conditions that we went through in the first round elections.

WALLACE: Dr. Abdullah, even with so many of President Karzai's votes thrown out, he still led you 49 percent to 32 percent. With him so close to a majority, do you really have any chance to win?

ABDULLAH: I'm sure that with the -- with the fate of the people (inaudible) on the process, there will be higher turnout and the people do want change in this country.

The reason that there was lesser turnout, apart from -- from the security situations -- it was also because of lack of faith on the process.

WALLACE: If Karzai wins, can he be a credible partner for the U.S. going forward?

ABDULLAH: I think there is a -- there is a record -- there is a record in the past few years. I think so far one of the problems for the United States and the international community has been the fact that the Afghan side has not been able to deliver, and the Afghan side has been led by Mr. Karzai in the past few years.

WALLACE: There is a big controversy here in the U.S., Dr. Abdullah, about when President Obama should announce the result of his policy review on strategy and troop levels.

Would you like to see him announce his decision as soon as possible? Or would you like to see him perhaps delay till after the election because whatever the U.S. decides could be disruptive to the campaign?

ABDULLAH: There is a need for more troops. There is no doubt about it. There are need in Afghanistan. And that's based on military analysis and especially by General McChrystal.

At the same time, when is the best time? Of course, even if the decision is made today doesn't mean tomorrow we will have troops -- boots on the ground. It will take time.

WALLACE: If President Obama decides to scale back on U.S. strategy and the number of troops that he sends, what is the danger that the Taliban will overrun the country?

ABDULLAH: The need for more troops is there in order to reverse the situation. If the situation is not reversed from deteriorating further the security situation, so the future of this country will be at risk, and the future of the engagement of the international community will be at risk.

So this situation requires a sort of dramatic increase in the number of troops in order to stop -- stop it from further deteriorating and reversing it. The permanent solution is in a road map that Afghanistan stands on its own feet in a few years down the road, troops -- number of troops could be decreased in Afghanistan, finally, and eventually will stand on its own feet. WALLACE: You talk about a few years down the road, which brings me to my final question, Dr. Abdullah. If the president commits to a full-scale counterinsurgency, how many more years will U.S. troops have to stay in Afghanistan?

ABDULLAH: I think this is -- this is very difficult to give a sort of time table for anybody, I think. But as long as you can see through a clear strategy that the situation in Afghanistan will be stabilized, as long as you can see that in that strategy, you know, with a sort of realistic analysis, so the issue of one or two more years, more or less, will not be the main matter.

Pediatricians Fault Media Violence and Sex

I've been making this argument for years. The have many studies that show the correlation between media and societal violence. This is only the latest. Unfortunately, this report will be ignored like all the rest. The usual platitudes about parents being responsible for keeping kids away from the TV. We are all responsible, including the amoral entertainment industry.

in reference to:

"Violence and sex in music, movies, television and video games pose such a serious threat to children and teenagers that the nation's chief organization of pediatricians wants doctors to do something about it.

A new study shows link between infants watching TV and language development.
"The evidence is now clear and convincing: media violence is one of the causal factors of real-life violence and aggression," the American Academy of Pediatrics' council on communications and the media concluded in one of two statements published in the November issue of Pediatrics."
- Media Violence, Sex Threaten Kids, Pediatricians Say - ABC News (view on Google Sidewiki)

15-Year-Old Charged With Murder of Mo. Girl

Killers are getting younger all the time. That is a product of a violent culture and easy availability of guns.

in reference to:

"Juvenile authorities said Saturday that a 15-year-old has been charged with first-degree murder for the death of a 9-year-old central Missouri girl found in the woods two days after she went missing.

Police did not release the teen's gender or name and provided few other details about the person suspected of killing Elizabeth Olten. Cole County Sheriff Greg White has said the teenage suspect is not related to Elizabeth but was acquainted with her and is from the same area just west of Jefferson City."
- 15-Year-Old Charged With Murder of Mo. Girl - ABC News (view on Google Sidewiki)

Gunmen Kill Prominent Russian Activist

We are seeing the final days of democracy in Russia.

in reference to:

"A prominent opposition activist in the Russian southern province of Ingushetia was shot and killed Sunday by unidentified gunmen, officials said.

Regional Police spokeswoman Madina Khadziyeva says Maksharip Aushev died when several assailants sprayed his vehicle with automatic gunfire from a passing car. Khadziyeva said the attack occurred on a road in the neighboring province of Kabardino-Balkariya.

Aushev had worked with Magomed Yevloyev, a journalist, lawyer and opposition activist who was detained and killed by police in August 2008. Police said at the time that Yevloyev was shot and killed after he tried to grab a weapon from one of the officers.

Following Yevloyev's killing, Aushev took over his Web site which was critical of regional authorities and reported on abuses, abductions and killings plaguing the southern province."
- Gunmen Kill Prominent Russian Activist - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News - FOXNews.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Byrd's Wise Warning: Afghanistan is the Grave of Foreigners

Byrd might close to senility. But he is right on this issue. He opposed the Iraq War from the start. The President should take the Senators words very seriously.

in reference to:

"Mr. President, what is really at stake for the United States in Afghanistan? We all know that Afghanistan is not a threat to us militarily. The Taliban is not a threat to us militarily. Al Qaeda, however, is a demonstrated threat to us with ambitions and a philosophy that must keep us vigilant. But the link between al Qaeda and Afghanistan is a tenuous one, based only on the temporary expediency of location, an expediency that has already been replaced as the al Qaeda leadership has moved, and may move again.

Building a Western-style democratic state in an Afghanistan equipped with a large military and police force and a functioning economy based on something other than opium poppies may or may not deny al Qaeda a safe haven there again. It will guarantee that the United States must invest large numbers of troops and many billions of dollars in Afghanistan for many years to come, energy and funds that might otherwise go toward fueling our own economic recovery, better educating our children or expanding access to health care for more of our own people. And yet there are many here in this body -- the Senate -- who believe we should proceed with such a folly in Afghanistan. During a time of record deficits, some actually continue to suggest that the United States should sink hundreds of billions of borrowed dollars into Afghanistan effectively turning our backs on our own substantial domestic needs -- all the while deferring the costs and the problems for future generations to address.

Our national security interests lie in defeating -- no, in destroying -- al Qaeda. Until we take that, and only that, mission seriously, we risk adding the United States to the long, long, long list of nations whose best laid plans have died on the cold, barren rocky slopes of that far off country of Afghanistan."
- Byrd's Wise Warning: Afghanistan is the Grave of Foreigners - Yahoo! News (view on Google Sidewiki)

Baghdad car bombs near government offices kill 106

Sounds like the good ole days. So now we have a mess in 3 places in where we were involved heavily. This has serious implications in the future. And we have a government without a clue.

in reference to:

"Two powerful car bombs exploded in downtown Baghdad Sunday, killing at least 92 people in a powerful blow to the heart of the fragile city's government, Iraqi medical officials and authorities said."
- Baghdad car bombs near government offices kill 106 (view on Google Sidewiki)

Church janitor charged in slaying of NJ priest

What have we come too when priests start getting murdered.

in reference to:

"A janitor was charged with murder Saturday in the slaying of priest whose body was found in the rectory of his northern New Jersey church. Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi said that 64-year-old Jose Feliciano stabbed the Rev. Ed Hinds 32 times on Thursday after the pair argued."
- Church janitor charged in slaying of NJ priest (view on Google Sidewiki)

Obama Declares National Emergency for H1N1

This is getting more serious all of a sudden. Obviously the authorities don't want to create panic. But we have to be vigilant. I personally don't trust the government to protect the American people. Do you?

in reference to:

"President Barack Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency and empowered his health secretary to suspend federal requirements and speed treatment for thousands of infected people.

The declaration that Obama signed late Friday authorized Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to bypass federal rules so health officials can respond more quickly to the outbreak, which has killed more than 1,000 people in the United States."
- Obama Declares National Emergency for H1N1 - CBS News (view on Google Sidewiki)

Who Murdered 7-year-old Somer Thompson

Another little girl abducted and then murdered. When will we get outraged that this continues to happen.
in reference to:

""Detectives searching for a 7-year-old's killer have interviewed more than 100 sex offenders living nearby, sifted through tons of garbage and combed the well-kept neighborhood where Somer Thompson disappeared.Missing child posters featuring the slain girl's face, framed by her thick brown bangs, still plaster nearly every utility pole along the mile-long route from her elementary school to her suburban Jacksonville home."

World's Most Expensive Embassy in Baghdad Needs $130M of Repairs

This one of Bush's most obscene non-achievements. It was intended for the permanent occupation of Iraq. But like everything done by the previous administration, it was a fiasco.

in reference to:

"It is the world’s most expensive embassy, costing more than $700 million and designed to withstand earthquakes and insurgents. Yet only nine months after being opened, the U.S. Embassy in Iraq is riddled with problems expected to cost more than $130 million to fix.

Nobody praised its architecture when it was inaugurated in January — think Milton Keynes on the Moon. The cube-like structure, topped with razor wire, is the size of Vatican City and features a supermarket and swimming pool. But the 2,000 or so Americans moving in believed, at least, that it would keep them safe and comfortable.

Not so. A report by a U.S. Government inspector-general yesterday pointed to staggering State Department incompetence. The structure, measuring more than 100 acres, and supposedly self- sufficient, is facing an enormous repair bill. Plumbing mistakes, for example, mean that the deputy ambassador has sewage-scented air blown into his residence."
- World's Most Expensive Embassy in Baghdad Needs $130M of Repairs - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News - FOXNews.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Saudi female journalist gets 60 lashes for TV show

Is it any wonder this country is the home of 9-11?

in reference to:

"A Saudi lawyer says a female journalist has been sentenced to 60 lashes for her involvement in a TV show in which a Saudi man publicly talked about sex.
Rozanna al-Yami is believed to be the first Saudi woman journalist to be given such a punishment. The charges against her include involvement in the preparation of the program and advertising the segment on the Internet."
- Saudi female journalist gets 60 lashes for TV show - Yahoo! News (view on Google Sidewiki)

- Related Link:
Saudi Man Jailed for Sex Talk on TV

FOXNews, O'Reilly Transcript (10-22-09): Rove Accuses Obama of "Winging it All the Time"

Read the complete transcript of Bill O'Reilly's interview of Karl Rove. Rove responds to Gibbs criticism of Cheney criticism of the White House:

O'REILLY: The other -- you may be right. It's impossible to know that, but the other alternative would be that President Obama is just not up to making these kinds of decisions. He just can't make them for some reason. Is that possible?

ROVE: Well, it could be, but he made a very good decision on March 27th. I went back and reread that speech. It's available at the White House website. It's a pretty good speech. He makes a very specific case as to why we cannot allow a failed state to re-emerge in Afghanistan. Why support of the effort to defeat the Taliban in al Qaeda is absolutely essential. And America's security interests are bound up in it.

So you would think that he would then follow logically on with making the tactical decision to deploy the additional troops his commander says are necessary to achieve those...

O'REILLY: Well, he will. He will. It's a matter of when.

ROVE: But these guys are winging on. You know, I wrote a column earlier this year saying this White House wings it all the time.

Poll: US belief in global warming is cooling

We can thank FOXNews, the recession, and a campaign of disinformation for these numbers. The evidence of global warming is growing. Only ignorance and sinister corporate interests would account for conclusions.

in reference to:

"Just 57 percent think there is solid evidence the world is getting warmer, down 20 points in just three years, a new poll says. And the share of people who believe pollution caused by humans is causing temperatures to rise has also taken a dip, even as the U.S. and world forums gear up for possible action against climate change."
- Poll: US belief in global warming is cooling  | ajc.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Man shot on New Brunswick street after asking for cigarette

This is the kind of jungle created by dysfunctional individuals walking around with guns. And to think they want to allow people to walk into bars with loaded guns - legally. The worst of all worlds.

in reference to:

"A 56-year-old man told New Brunswick police he stopped another man on a city street to ask for a cigarette, but instead the man shot him."
- Man shot on New Brunswick street after asking for cigarette | New Jersey Real-Time News - - NJ.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

'Another Pre-Existing Condition: Rape'

Christina Turner feared that she might have been sexually assaulted after two men slipped her a knockout drug. She thought she was taking proper precautions when her doctor prescribed a month's worth of anti-AIDS medicine.

Only later did she learn that she had made herself all but uninsurable.
- source: http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/E1-DO7UtkKs/-Another-Pre-Existing-Condition:-Rape