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dykeumentary
10-20-2011, 08:00 PM
Lest it be lost, congratulations to the Libyan people for being once and for all done with their dictator. Well done! I hope they create some kind of a republic. I hope that they can keep it.

Cheers
Aj

As a non-violent person who believes in rule of law, I do not see today as a "victory". A regime change maybe for a short while, through killing.

Toughy
10-20-2011, 08:07 PM
As a non-violent person who believes in rule of law, I do not see today as a "victory". A regime change maybe for a short while, through killing.\

the reality of revolution is rarely pretty......death is a common trait....I will only turn the other cheek so far..........then.........mofo......you die and I will deal with my karma

personal responsiblity for my part in some fucking evil bastard's death

Ghandi used ALL tools available to him........just as MLK did in his time

dreadgeek
10-20-2011, 08:26 PM
As a non-violent person who believes in rule of law, I do not see today as a "victory". A regime change maybe for a short while, through killing.

I believe in the rule of law. If Gaddafi could be removed by the rule of law, he wouldn't have been a dictator. It may not be a victory but it isn't a loss either. I understand where you're coming from but I just can't shed a tear for Gaddafi, nor can I blame the Libyan people for rising up and overthrowing him. Whatever comes next and I really hope it is some kind of constitutional republic , it won't be Gaddafi and his sons. Given the circumstances it has turned out pretty well. Gaddafi had already proven, by his own orders to his own military, that he was completely comfortable with killing any number of his own people. I think it's okay to kill the person who is trying to kill you. If people *want* to martyr themselves, that's fine but they shouldn’t' *have* to martyr themselves.

Cheers
Aj

dreadgeek
10-20-2011, 09:52 PM
I dunno.......how about we think about bombing as something different than those big ass possible UFO bombers flying over northern Africa and think about drones that the US military has been using for more years than will make civilians feel comfortable.

You know me, Toughy. I say we continue to think of bombing as bombing so that we know what we're talking about. Look, I agree with you that the media has gigantic blind spots and the strangest idea of what 'news' is. But I also think that the time when we could pretend that words just mean whatever we might want them to for ideological or partisan ends. The other side does it. They do it to our detriment. So job growth isn't job growth when the government has a hand in it. Tax cuts for the rich aren't tax cuts for the rich if we call them something else. The two issues might seem completely unrelated but I think they are linked. If we're going to insist that Republicans are full of it when they claim that there's no global warming or that tax cuts raise revenues then we're going to have to hold ourselves to the same standard. Otherwise we're hypocrites. I don't want us to be hypocrites. It's not particularly convenient but I think that our country is in enough trouble that we need to inject some hard reality into the discussion, even if that means that we can't just make it up as we go along because it's easier to make our ideological point or tip the partisan balance of power.

So bombing is when someone drops ordnance on something else. Shelling is when someone uses artillery to achieve the same ends.

I also think that the historical record counts. Again, the other side is wholesale pulling things out of a hat to boost their ideological and partisan ends. They are claiming that the men who wrote the Constitution were all fundamentalist Christians but they weren't. If we are going to call them out on making up history, I think we have to not make it up ourselves. Otherwise, we have no ground upon which to stand. Oh, I'm sure we could claim that because we're making it up as we go for good and pure ideological and partisan reasons and they are doing it for malevolent ones, I don't think that's going to convince anyone. I pretty certain that they think they're the ones who are doing it for a higher good.

So if we say that, for instance, we bombed Libya for 36 years doesn't that mean we should actually be able to point to incidents--specific incidents? Shouldn't we also recognize that since every *other* navy in the world is going to defend itself if threatened by fighters in international waters, ours is going to do the same? Shouldn't we also recognize that a dogfight is not bombing?


Daddy Bush killed whatshisface's girl child in a tent somewhere in that northern desert.

I think it was Reagan since it was 1986.


Let us who have served, not contribute to the whitewashing of war. Find a US government that has not been involved in trying to get rid of whateveris the spelling of his name since he took power. Please name me a US government ....other than that assfuckingmonkey who occupied the White House for 10 years bedfore Obama......that was not involved in a lone or NATO action that wanted to change the government of Lybia.

Jimmy Carter. Gerald Ford. Bill Clinton.


Don't rely on what the mainstream media tells you is happening.......

Actually, I typically get my information from a variety of sources. You really going to do the "if you weren't listening to the mainstream media" thing with me, my friend? I'm not parroting what one might hear on the mainstream media. Rather, I'm working off of my own readings, my own memories, my library and the sources of information I *do* use. Juan Cole, who is no one's war monger, is one of my favorite sources. The BBC always does a pretty good job as does Al Jazeera.

Cheers
Aj

*Anya*
10-21-2011, 06:31 AM
Red Bank, New Jersey (state of my birth): Jon Bon Jovi and his wife just opened up a gourmet restaurant that is "pay what you can".

No one turned away if they can't pay & those that can, can leave what they can afford in envelopes on the table. Those that can't pay, can wait tables, bus tables-if they can help out but it is not mandatory.

No prices on the menu. The restaurant is a beautifully renovated 1100 sq. Foot building.

Name of restaurant: Soul Kitchen.

If you live near there, please patronize to help support this wonderfully giving concept.

PS: Why don't more people with lots of $$$ do this type of giving back to the community?

Cin
10-21-2011, 12:16 PM
Here’s an article out today about a new climate change study conducted to prove that global warming exists and that scientists are right, have been right, and continue to be right.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shawn-lawrence-otto/another-climate-denial-argument_b_1021171.html

To me the real news here is not in the actual story content, but in the fact that it is a news story at all. The real news is that we are still in a place where we have to deal with global climate warming denial. It’s like refusing to accept evolution or insisting the earth revolves around the sun. But it has much more dire consequence. If you insist the earth is 6000 years old and a white haired dude in the sky created it in 6 days and made woman from man’s rib well it’s just weird and mildly offensive in a misogynistic sort of way, but has no real impact on the rest of us unless you try to get it taught in schools not as bible study but as literal and scientific fact.

Keeping everyone stuck in a place of consistently trying to prove that the earth is one hurting planet as a direct result of our actions instead of putting all of our collective effort into coming up with ways to alleviate some of the pressure on the environment may ultimately lead to the demise of the human race as we know it. That seems serious to me, but it doesn’t get the kind of attention that one would assume impending doom would.

I know I said that believing in literal interpretations of the bible and in a 6000 year old earth and the refusal to accept evolution doesn’t impact the rest of us the way consistent denial of environmental issues does but it is subtly dangerous in that it is part of the mindset that allows relatively intelligent people to sit on the fence about serious issues that have real concrete scientific proof.

It is the reason why I am so upset when I see people rejecting science in favor of spirituality as though they were mutually exclusive.

Anyway reading about this study this morning prompted me to find an old article I had read about why anti-science ideology is bad for America and I thought I would post it here.


Why Anti-Science Ideology is Bad for America

Anti-science ideology isn’t completely new in the U.S. — there is a dismaying history of irrational, pseudoscientific, or downright anti-scientific thinking and political culture here. But it seems to be gaining momentum — even as it runs counter to America’s scientific and technological strengths. Such strengths, in fact, underpin our economic and political strengths.

I’m not talking about honest scientific skepticism and questioning – indeed, that is the very basis of good science. I’m talking about a disturbing combination of two factors: political cowardice hiding behind scientific skepticism; and political pandering to special interests by rejecting science, knowledge, and reason in favor of ideology, religion, or narrow economic self-interest.

Sadly and with few brave exceptions, some politicians are active and aggressive at using false, misleading, or discredited science, or explicitly ignoring good science, in setting public policy to support ideology. History tells us this never leads to a good outcome. The Soviets let Lysenkoist ideology pollute their biological and genetic sciences in the 1930s, and they’ve never recovered. We saw it with the long, successful effort of the tobacco industry and their allies to confuse the public and delay regulations to protect public health, leading to millions of unnecessary cancer deaths. We saw it with the veto by Richard Nixon of the Clean Water Act (overridden with the help of some brave and influential Republican senators). And we see it now, in full flower, on the issue of climate change.

Here is what the science conclusively tells us: climate change is real, it is already underway, and it is largely due to human activities. These findings are acknowledged by every single major scientific organization in the areas of climate, meteorology, geology, physics, chemistry, atmospheric science, and hydrology, as well as every single National Academy of Sciences, including our own, created by Abraham Lincoln as an independent non-governmental organization to provide the best scientific advice to the government.

To quote from an open letter from 255 members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences published in the leading journal Science:

Scientific conclusions derive from an understanding of basic laws supported by laboratory experiments, observations of nature, and mathematical and computer modeling. Like all human beings, scientists make mistakes, but the scientific process is designed to find and correct them. This process is inherently adversarial — scientists build reputations and gain recognition not only for supporting conventional wisdom, but even more so for demonstrating that the scientific consensus is wrong and that there is a better explanation. That’s what Galileo, Pasteur, Darwin, and Einstein did. But when some conclusions have been thoroughly and deeply tested, questioned, and examined, they gain the status of “well-established theories” and are often spoken of as “facts.”

For instance, there is compelling scientific evidence that our planet is about 4.5 billion years old (the theory of the origin of Earth), that our universe was born from a single event about 14 billion years ago (the Big Bang theory), and that today’s organisms evolved from ones living in the past (the theory of evolution). Even as these are overwhelmingly accepted by the scientific community, fame still awaits anyone who could show these theories to be wrong. Climate change now falls into this category: there is compelling, comprehensive, and consistent objective evidence that humans are changing the climate in ways that threaten our societies and the ecosystems on which we depend.

By pretending that the science is bad, some politicians are trying to avoid the truly difficult policy debates that are their responsibility. And they are simultaneously using claims of budget problems to destroy the nation’s climate research capabilities and stop efforts to improve the science. For example, cuts in NOAA’s budget aimed at eliminating anything “climate” related are likely to lead to a gap in satellite coverage of extreme weather events — precisely the satellites that provided the data our meteorologists used to generate advances warnings for the extreme tornadoes and recent Hurricane Irene. For every $1 saved by delaying replacement satellites, society will face an estimated $3 to $5 in higher costs in the form of damages, injuries, deaths, and efforts to obtain data using other approaches — this is a false savings solely due to anti-climate ideology. And because of inaction on climate policy, uncontrolled climate changes are already beginning to impose serious costs on our economies: reductions in crop yields, extra impacts from extreme storm events, drought costs, and more.

Things have gotten so bad that the highly respected scientific journal Nature called these actions “fundamentally anti-science” and an example of “willful ignorance,” and said:

“It is hard to escape the conclusion that the US Congress has entered the intellectual wilderness, a sad state of affairs in a country that has led the world in many scientific arenas for so long.”

The problem is, in part, that acting to reduce the risks of human-caused climate change could lead to policies that are inconvenient for powerful vested economic interests. We thus see a very well-endowed carbon-fuel industry willing to spend vast sums of money to confuse the public, support politicians and organizations whose influence they can buy, malign scientists who speak out, and create alternative “science” that is rejected over and over by independent review and analysis. Rather than have an honest, albeit difficult policy debate about what should be done about climate change, they postpone that debate by trying to discredit the science.

There are some modest signs of a return to rationality and scientific integrity. In recent days, one candidate for President, John Huntsman of Utah, has spoken out on the need for integrity of science. He told ABC’s “This Week”:

“When we take a position that isn’t willing to embrace evolution, when we take a position that basically runs counter to what 98 of 100 climate scientists have said, what the National Academy of Science has said about what is causing climate change and man’s contribution to it, I think we find ourselves on the wrong side of science, and, therefore, in a losing position.”

He went on to call on the Republican Party to stop being antithetical to science: “I’m not sure that’s good for our future and it’s not a winning formula.” Ironically, this shouldn’t be news: Huntsman’s comments are only newsworthy in the context of the extreme anti-science positions taken by his colleagues.

It is time to reassert scientific integrity, logic, reason, and the scientific method in public policy. The public may have disagreements about matters of policy, but our elected representatives must not misuse, hide, or misrepresent science in service of political wars and ideological positions.
Dr. Peter Gleick



Climate Study Does Not Placate Skeptics
By LESLIE KAUFMAN

As we noted on the blog on Thursday, a new study designed to address critiques of climate science by skeptics has confirmed that “global warming is real” and the world’s average land temperature has risen by about 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit since the mid-1950s.
The findings, released by a group of scientists and statisticians at the University of California known as the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project, were welcomed by climate scientists and advocates of climate policy action, who had been hoping that skeptics would finally have to cry uncle.
Not so fast.
At least one of those skeptics, Anthony Watts, had written in March on his climate-themed blog, Watts Up With That, “I’m prepared to accept whatever result they produce, even if it proves my premise wrong.” But neither Mr. Watts nor other longtime critics of climate science reached by The Times seemed satisfied with the report.

dreadgeek
10-21-2011, 02:37 PM
To me the real news here is not in the actual story content, but in the fact that it is a news story at all. The real news is that we are still in a place where we have to deal with global climate warming denial. It’s like refusing to accept evolution or insisting the earth revolves around the sun. But it has much more dire consequence. If you insist the earth is 6000 years old and a white haired dude in the sky created it in 6 days and made woman from man’s rib well it’s just weird and mildly offensive in a misogynistic sort of way, but has no real impact on the rest of us unless you try to get it taught in schools not as bible study but as literal and scientific fact.

Keeping everyone stuck in a place of consistently trying to prove that the earth is one hurting planet as a direct result of our actions instead of putting all of our collective effort into coming up with ways to alleviate some of the pressure on the environment may ultimately lead to the demise of the human race as we know it. That seems serious to me, but it doesn’t get the kind of attention that one would assume impending doom would.

I know I said that believing in literal interpretations of the bible and in a 6000 year old earth and the refusal to accept evolution doesn’t impact the rest of us the way consistent denial of environmental issues does but it is subtly dangerous in that it is part of the mindset that allows relatively intelligent people to sit on the fence about serious issues that have real concrete scientific proof.

It is the reason why I am so upset when I see people rejecting science in favor of spirituality as though they were mutually exclusive.

Anyway reading about this study this morning prompted me to find an old article I had read about why anti-science ideology is bad for America and I thought I would post it here.

Thank you. I hope that people will begin to wake up. Those of us who care about things like climate change, the biological roots of homosexuality, women's health, or any of a number of other issues *need* science. We need it when it's convenient (when we're arguing that humans *are* impacting the climate) and we need it when it's inconvenient (when biologists try to get people to understand that humans are just a large-brained, relatively hairless, African primate). Either climate change is happening or it isn't. If it isn't happening then there's nothing to worry about it. If it *is* happening (and it is) then the discussion should move from 'well, maybe it is and maybe it isn't' to 'since it is happening, what do we do about it?' The climate change deniers, particularly those of a conservative ideological bent, have been stalling. Whether they are stalling knowingly or unknowingly is beyond my ability to discern and doesn't really matter. They're stalling and have been for 20 years now. All the while the clock has been ticking.

If you are, like me, a person on and of the Left, please consider that if you aren't willing to deal with the rules of science when it's inconvenient then you have no leg upon which to stand when you criticize George Bush or the Republican party for being deliberately scientifically ignorant. One thing I would like to impress upon people is that the phrase 'it's only a theory' drives scientists up a wall. Theory doesn't mean guess. A theory is a model. That model is based upon hypothesis which make predictions can be tested or observed or both. So when someone talks about the 'theory of evolution' or the 'theory of gravity' they are not talking about 'the guess that evolution happens' or 'the guess that objects in a gravitational field behave a certain way'. They are talking about 'the model by which we explain why there are rabbits and humans and fruit flies and redwood trees' or 'the model by which we explain *how* objects behave in a gravitational field (Newton's) *and* why objects behave in certain ways in the presence of such a field (Einstein)'. These are not guesses, they are explanatory frameworks.

To me, time is getting short. There's enough simultaneous crisis facing our country any one of which would be a major headache for prior generations of Americans. We have to deal with pretty much all of them in parallel. It is long past time we stopped ceding so much ground to those who would like to hide their heads in the sands, hand wave the dangers away or blame the victims instead of the perpetrators. Long. Past. Time.

Either those of us interested in building a sustainable, more just, more literate society get our act together or our adversaries will get their act together ahead of us. I think that they have made clear what their plans are for the country. I don't want to live in the kind of America envisioned by Rick Perry, Michelle Bachmann or Herman Cain. Do you?


Cheers
Aj

Toughy
10-21-2011, 03:47 PM
I keep looking for that article I read talking about covert and overt military actions in Libya over the last 40 or so years. Haven't found it but will keep looking. Certainly, you can say we did not 'officially' partake in military actions against Libya except on occasion, however I don't believe it. We certainly sanctioned Libya for most of those years in terms of trade. I get my info from a variety of sources also and that's probably why I can't find the article.....laughin...I will keep looking.

It's kind of like how we were enforcing 'no fly zones' in Iraq since the first Iraq War........nobody would admit it yet it was happening.

It's just fascinating to me how the Republicans are reacting to this.

AND Obama says ALL troops will be out of Iraq by the end of the year.

AtLast
10-21-2011, 06:59 PM
I keep looking for that article I read talking about covert and overt military actions in Libya over the last 40 or so years. Haven't found it but will keep looking. Certainly, you can say we did not 'officially' partake in military actions against Libya except on occasion, however I don't believe it. We certainly sanctioned Libya for most of those years in terms of trade. I get my info from a variety of sources also and that's probably why I can't find the article.....laughin...I will keep looking.

It's kind of like how we were enforcing 'no fly zones' in Iraq since the first Iraq War........nobody would admit it yet it was happening.

It's just fascinating to me how the Republicans are reacting to this.

AND Obama says ALL troops will be out of Iraq by the end of the year.

Kind of interesting to consider why this is so-

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2011/10/Obama-wont-keep-troops-in-Iraq-554130/1

Obama won't keep troops in Iraq past 2011
The Associated Press is reporting that the Obama administration is giving up plans to keep a residual force of several thousand U.S. troops in Iraq after the withdrawal deadline at the end of the this year, citing unnamed sources.

"A senior Obama administration official in Washington confirmed Saturday that all American troops will leave Iraq except for about 160 active-duty soldiers attached to the U.S. Embassy," reports the AP.

The United States and Iraq have a signed agreement to withdraw all U.S. troops at the end of 2011.

In recent months, U.S. and Iraqi officials have discussed a revised agreement that would keep some American troops on the ground to train Iraqi forces.

Now that idea appears to be off, reports AP. The deal breaker: Iraq's refusal to grant American troops immunity in Iraqi courts.

"The decision to pull out fully by January will effectively end more than eight years of U.S. involvement in the Iraq war, despite ongoing concerns about its security forces and the potential for instability."



Also from Associated Press:

The decision ends months of hand-wringing by U.S. officials over whether to stick to a Dec. 31 withdrawal deadline that was set in 2008 or negotiate a new security agreement to ensure that gains made and more than 4,400 American military lives lost since March 2003 do not go to waste.

In recent months, Washington has been discussing with Iraqi leaders the possibility of several thousand American troops remaining to continue training Iraqi security forces. A Pentagon spokesman said Saturday that no final decision has been reached about the U.S. training relationship with the Iraqi government.

But a senior Obama administration official in Washington confirmed Saturday that all American troops will leave Iraq except for about 160 active-duty soldiers attached to the U.S. Embassy.

A senior U.S. military official confirmed the departure and said the withdrawal could allow future but limited U.S. military training missions in Iraq if requested.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Throughout the discussions, Iraqi leaders have adamantly refused to give U.S. troops immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts, and the Americans have refused to stay without it. Iraq's leadership has been split on whether it wanted American forces to stay. Some argued the further training and U.S. help was vital, particularly to protect Iraq's airspace and gather security intelligence. But others have deeply opposed any American troop presence, including Shiite militiamen who have threatened attacks on any American forces who remain. ...

The Strategic Framework Agreement allows for other forms of military cooperation besides U.S. troops on the ground. Signed at the same time as the security accord mandating the departure deadlines, it provides outlines for the U.S.-Iraqi relationship in such areas as economic, cultural and security cooperation.

Iraqi lawmakers excel at last-minute agreements. But with little wiggle room on the immunity issue and the U.S. military needing to move equipment out as soon as possible, a last-minute change between now and December 31 seems almost out of the question.

Regardless of whether U.S. troops are here or not, there will be a massive American diplomatic presence.

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is the largest in the world, and the State Department will have offices in Basra, Irbil and Kirkuk as well as other locations around the country where contractors will train Iraqi forces on U.S. military equipment they're purchasing.

About 5,000 security contractors and personnel will be tasked with helping protect American diplomats and facilities around the country, the State Department has said.

The U.S. Embassy will still have a handful of U.S. Marines for protection and 157 U.S. military personnel in charge of facilitating weapons sales to Iraq. Those are standard functions at most American embassies around the world and would be considered part of the regular embassy staff.

Nat
10-21-2011, 08:14 PM
Black Cherokees exercise hard-won right to vote
(http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/19/opinion/stremlau-cherokee-vote/?hpt=us_mid)

Tommi
10-21-2011, 08:29 PM
Black Cherokees exercise hard-won right to vote
(http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/19/opinion/stremlau-cherokee-vote/?hpt=us_mid)

Chief Elected... (http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/10/it%E2%80%99s-official-baker-sworn-in-as-cherokee-nation-principal-chief/)

dreadgeek
10-22-2011, 08:23 AM
I keep looking for that article I read talking about covert and overt military actions in Libya over the last 40 or so years. Haven't found it but will keep looking. Certainly, you can say we did not 'officially' partake in military actions against Libya except on occasion, however I don't believe it. We certainly sanctioned Libya for most of those years in terms of trade. I get my info from a variety of sources also and that's probably why I can't find the article.....laughin...I will keep looking.

Toughy;

So are you saying that we should treat the situation 'as if' it were true that we've been bombing Libya for 36 of the last 42 years because it could be possible that we have been, even though there's no evidence for it? If that's the case then why on Earth should anyone get exercised when someone on the right says something along these lines. "Now, I can't find any evidence that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a biblical literalist and pro-Goldwater Republican who believed that in small government and lower corporate taxes, but let's say that he was. Since he *was* these things, he wouldn't support the Occupy Wall Street movement." Is it true? No. But the Republican party would like to talk about King as if it *were* true and so they assert, for the sake of the discussion, that is *is* true whether there is evidence for it or not. Or, perhaps even closer to what you are saying is this gem from the current Republican party hit parade: "okay, you claim there is ample evidence for climate change. I have no counter evidence. But I reject that what you claim is evidence is actually evidence. Evidence only counts if it shows that climate change isn't happening. Any evidence to the contrary, is just proof that there's no evidence either way, which means that there is evidence that it isn't happening." Because that's pretty close to what you're doing above, my friend.

It may come out, one day, that we were involved in covert actions in Libya but I doubt it. I doubt it for a number of reasons:

1) From 1970 to 1989 Libya was a Soviet client state. While we had conflicts with Libya we did not have conflicts with them that would have provoked the USSR into believing their interests were being challenged. Since Libya was one of the primary suppliers of oil to the Soviet Union, we were going to watch our steps and the Soviets were going to keep a lid on the Libyans. We also had limited trade with ALL Soviet client states because we didn't want to prop them up.

2) If anyone here ever spent time at the CIA I apologize for what comes next. The CIA is and has been pretty incompetent particularly in human intelligence since the late 50s. During the *entire* Cold War the CIA never managed to penetrate the Kremlin. Never. At all. Not even close. Our human intelligence efforts in the Middle East, the Near East and nations surrounding the southern Mediterranean (northern Africa) have never been even as good as what we had in Eastern Europe and we *sucked* in Eastern Europe! We couldn’t develop assets in countries where the CIA had people who had cultural knowledge. We certainly didn't develop any assets in places like Libya. Ever.

3) While the CIA sucked, the KGB was all over the CIA. They managed to put moles high up in the CIA and the FBI and the Brits MI-6. There's a reason why the CIA stopped trying to run covert ops in Europe by the mid-60s and it was because every time they cultivated some spy or dropped some operatives into a country behind the Iron Curtain those people got picked up time and time again because the CIA was leaky like a colander! We couldn't have pulled off a decent operation in a Soviet client state if our lives depending upon it! We certainly didn't have any assets that could have done anything in Libya that would have been at all effective.

Yes, Toughy, we did sanction Libya after they blew up a disco in Germany and then, as an encore, blew up a Pan Am plane while it was 30,000 feet in the air. That seems reasonable to me.


It's kind of like how we were enforcing 'no fly zones' in Iraq since the first Iraq War........nobody would admit it yet it was happening.

What do you mean nobody would admit it was happening? It was all over the news! The only people who didn't know that there was a no-fly zone happening were people who weren't paying attention. Every time the Iraqis locked on to an American aircraft enforcing the no-fly zone, that radar got destroyed and there was a news story on all the networks that night. Every time the Iraqis tried to challenge the no-fly zone and sent up a helicopter or one of their remaining fighters and had it shot down, there was a news article. So who wasn't admitting that the no-fly zone was in effect? I remember constant articles in left-leaning magazines about the no-fly zone throughout the nineties so I'm not sure why you think there was a cover up. The US government admitted that there was a no-fly zone. The United Nations kept reauthorizing the no-fly zone. NATO kept supporting the no-fly zone. The Saudi Arabians kept allowing the US to use air bases in that nation in order to enforce the no-fly zone which, as it turns out, was one of the things that Osama bin Laden mentioned in his 1998 fatwa declaring war against the United States.


AND Obama says ALL troops will be out of Iraq by the end of the year.

Yes, because the Status Of Forces Agreement dictates that it should be so. Once hostilities have ended, we can't be in any country that doesn't consent to have us there. If Iraq will only allow US troops on their land under specific conditions (as is their right) and we reject those conditions (as is our right) then there's no agreement and our troops can't stay. If we try to keep them there despite what the host country has stated it wants, then that is an act of war. Before anyone says anything, there will be Marines at the embassy. These do not count because there are Marines at *every* embassy. These are not 'troops in Iraq' they are 'Marines on embassy duty'. And yes, I know that they're keeping a bunch of contractors in-country. These are not troops, they are mercenaries. When they put the uniform back on, I'll dignify them by counting them amongst our troops but until then, they are mercenaries who are loyal to whomever is signing the cheque.

Cheers
Aj

AtLast
10-23-2011, 12:59 AM
It's Good News that Hawk With Nail in Head Is Eating, Rescue Group Says

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/red-tailed-hawk-nail-head-eating-rescue-group/story?id=14778708

I am so happy to see that this hawk was found and is now getting care! I so hope the jerk that did this caught!

T4Texas
10-23-2011, 05:13 AM
Couple Die Holding Hands
For one Iowa couple, true love lasted until the very end.
Married 72 years, Norma, 90, and Gordon Yeager, 94, died in the hospital holding hands last week, one hour apart.
The couple was hospitalized after a car accident just outside of Marshalltown, Iowa. They were given a shared room in the ICU where they held hands in adjacent beds.
At 3:38 pm last Wednesday, Gordon's breathing stopped. Though he was no longer alive, his heart monitor continued to register a beat.
The nurse told Gordon and Norma's son, Dennis Yeager, that the monitor was beeping "because they're holding hands, and [Norma's heart beat] is going through them," Dennis recalled in an interview with Des Moines' KCCI news station. "Her heart was beating through him."
Norma died at 4:38 pm, exactly one hour later.
Gordon and Norma's children say they're glad the couple passed this way. "They just loved being together," says Dennis. "He always said, 'I can't go first because I have to be there for her, and she would say the same thing.

We should all be so lucky.

Toughy
10-23-2011, 11:35 AM
Aj my sister friend.........

It's hard to have a conversation with you sometimes. I completely understand your need to dissect and your need for exactitude; you are a scientist and that is your nature. Those things serve science, but they make back and forth dialogue between people difficult.

The average American has no idea about US foreign (and domestic) policy, about NATO, about the UN, about any of our treaties and alliances or the importance of those things. Just look at the Tea Party and the Republican debates and your blood should run cold and scared. That was my point about no-fly zones in Iraq. Most Americans did NOT know. Michelle Bachman said recently that it wasn't enough the Obama got us into Libya, he is now taking us to Africa (she said this about Somalia).

I believe that every President (except Bush 43) was involved in some kind of military/civilian/spy covert shenanigans in Libya. Maybe it was not planes dropping bombs, but none the less some kind of crap was going on. Libya has oil.

I am reminded of my time in the military during Vietnam. The US military was not (involved) in Cambodia, Laos or Thailand.........big FAT SNORT.......we were and had been since at least the early 50's.

Companies like Blackwater did not spring up like magic. They have been around a long time and the CIA has used them effectively (sometimes not) for decades. The CIA and drugs and arms are generally unprovable facts, with some exceptions. The CIA gets it's money to operate from somewhere and it's not all the US government. Evidence of the CIA (and it's covert operators) actions is difficult to find....for a reason. You surely know the story of how crack cocaine came to Oakland and the rest of the country? Surely you know the opium trade is linked to them?

As to the KGB.....I figure we (and UK, France, Germany) were up their butt as much as they were up ours. I happen to believe the CIA (and it's friends) are not stupid and have been successful over the years, much in the same way as the KGB has been successful.

The need for proof is how covert operations always have deniablity. No proof, well it didn't happen. Our government also relies on the average american's stupidity and ignorance of our history and current events. Watch this hand while the other one is stealing your chickens.

I would love to talk about these issues. I hinted it would be better served around my firepit with a bowl of good bud, than being dissected line by line, paragraph by paragraph. I look forward to that day my friend.

dreadgeek
10-24-2011, 10:57 AM
Aj my sister friend.........

It's hard to have a conversation with you sometimes. I completely understand your need to dissect and your need for exactitude; you are a scientist and that is your nature. Those things serve science, but they make back and forth dialogue between people difficult.

You're misreading me here, Toughy. My desire for exactitude has less to do with my being a scientist and more with my being a leftist. I grew up raised by liberal people who taught us that poverty was an *empirical* question and that racism was an *empirical* question. We were taught that we had to have our facts in order because they assumed--not without justification--that if white people were going to be moved to change the laws because of some deep love of black people, then there would never have been racial discrimination in the first place. So instead, we had to make an argument that discrimination was *actually* happening in the *actual* world and not just in the minds of black people. Those lessons stuck with me. The right-wing may be able to win based upon myths and lies but the left will get nothing done and make no improvements--and for any foreseeable future it's *us* on the Left, folks we can expect no help from the right-wing for at least another generation--without being on the side of truth.

I think we on the left are in a frustrating box of our own making. No better example can be had than global warming. It's happening. It's clear that it's happening and yet, we have a media and intellectual climate that cannot deal with the fact that ~40% of the American populace believe it isn't. Instead of dealing with the false belief as media, popular and intellectual culture all treat the false beliefs as if they might be true and that there is no way of knowing who might be right. It doesn't matter if that is not true, we act as if it were.

What you are saying about the ignorance of the American people isn't an excuse for us asserting things that aren't true, Toughy. How are we going to stand against the right-wing, which has discovered to our detriment that they can lie, on camera, about the fact that the Sun rises in the East and get away with it now? If we don't speak the truth (because people don't know it or might not know it or because we've been suckered into believing that there's no truth) and the right-wing doesn't speak the truth (because it does not serve their ideological agenda to do so) then who will tell the people the truth? Why should they believe us when we are no more interested in accuracy than those on the other side? Why should they trust us if we don't care enough to get it right even when we're only talking to ourselves?

Do I try to use scientific tools in political contexts? Yes, because the tools are powerful. It is extremely potent to ask form a working hypothesis, ask questions designed to see if the real world agrees, and then base explanations off of those observations. But I'm not doing it for scientific reasons, I'm doing it for purely political ones. Look, if the United States has been doing X for 40 years I want to know about it. I also want to look any right-wing apologist for that action (if one exists) square in the eye and be able to say "dead bodies don't lie" and have them not be able to say "well, maybe they're not dead. Or maybe they died some other way just because a bomb was dropped and they were under it when it exploded doesn't mean that they died because of the bomb". Right now, that's where we are, Toughy. Both sides of the American political body are pretty unconcerned about what is *really* happening. They care about that which is happening which fits their narrative and ideological spin but it doesn't matter if it *actually* happened.

Do right-wingers care if Obama was actually born in the United States? No, they don't. The myth that he was born outside of the US serves an ideological purpose and nothing more. They wouldn't *mind* if it were true but the truth of the statement is beside the point. Does it matter to most people of the Left if the United States was bombing Libya? Probably not. What matters is that saying the US bombed that nation for 40 years fits the ideological preferences of the Left and so whether or not it happened is quite beside the point. Everyone likes being right so no one would object if it turned out they were but it doesn't matter if it actually happened.

Caring about whether or not things actually happened probably makes me a dinosaur but I prefer that than to find myself indulging in behavior I think has caused more damage to the United States than ten thousand Bernie Madoffs. If we were still a culture that cared if something *actually* happened then the Bernie Madoffs wouldn't have so many apologists in our country.


The average American has no idea about US foreign (and domestic) policy, about NATO, about the UN, about any of our treaties and alliances or the importance of those things. Just look at the Tea Party and the Republican debates and your blood should run cold and scared. That was my point about no-fly zones in Iraq. Most Americans did NOT know. Michelle Bachman said recently that it wasn't enough the Obama got us into Libya, he is now taking us to Africa (she said this about Somalia).

Do you think that promoting myths will help that? Do you think that we of the Left should *exploit* ignorance that for our own partisan ends or try to alleviate that ignorance through education? I prefer the latter. I don't trust my side enough to believe that our noble lies are any better than the other side's noble lies. While the right-wing may believe that the ignorance of the average voter is there to be exploited, I think that it is one of the tasks of the left--whether we want it to be our job or not--to alleviate that ignorance. We have a long road back to the day when politicians will once again fear being caught out in either a lie or a gross inaccuracy. We have to take that road, though, my friend because whether or not there is a functioning civilization in one hundred years probably depends upon our ability to do so.


Cheers
Aj

dreadgeek
10-24-2011, 11:46 AM
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/10/republican_new_jersey_mayor_caught_up_in_a_rentboy .php?ref=fpblg

This is getting so common it's hardly news anymore. If news is man-bites-dog, then 'conservative, anti-gay GOP politician caught in gay hypocrisy' is a dog-bites-man story if ever there was one. That said, I do love seeing these headlines. They amuse me.

Cheers
Aj

dreadgeek
10-24-2011, 01:18 PM
So Michelle (no, my husband isn't gay) Bachmann is now claiming that even though she's on camera saying something doesn't mean she actually said it:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/24/michele-bachmann-denies-abortion-comments-_n_1028552.html

It just keeps getting better and better. It used to be that you had to be careful what you said on camera because you couldn't deny it. Now you can say "I hate puppies" and then turn around 2 seconds later and claim "I never said I hate puppies" and get away with it.

Cheers
Aj

dreadgeek
10-25-2011, 12:17 PM
When Pat Robertson thinks you've gone to far to the right, you *know* you've jumped the shark. http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/10/intervention-pat-robertson-thinks-gop-is-too-extreme.php?ref=fpb

Cheers
Aj

dreadgeek
10-25-2011, 01:13 PM
Scientists at DARPA have created a prosthetic arm controlled by a brain-interface computer! The arm has 27 degrees of movement freedom (not quite as good as a natural arm but damn good nevertheless) and has sensors that communicate temperature, pressure, contact and vibration. In other words, it's an *arm*!

cheers
Aj

betenoire
10-25-2011, 01:19 PM
Scientists at DARPA have created a prosthetic arm controlled by a brain-interface computer! The arm has 27 degrees of movement freedom (not quite as good as a natural arm but damn good nevertheless) and has sensors that communicate temperature, pressure, contact and vibration. In other words, it's an *arm*!

cheers
Aj

these guys? (http://www.ryerson.ca/news/media/General_Public/20110329_RN_CairesPr.html)

dreadgeek
10-25-2011, 01:40 PM
these guys? (http://www.ryerson.ca/news/media/General_Public/20110329_RN_CairesPr.html)

Oops, forgot the link. http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/10/john-hopkins-creates-a-mind-controlled-super-limb.php?ref=fpblg

I think these are different folks than the team at Ryerson.

Cheers
Aj

AtLast
10-25-2011, 10:38 PM
Scientists at DARPA have created a prosthetic arm controlled by a brain-interface computer! The arm has 27 degrees of movement freedom (not quite as good as a natural arm but damn good nevertheless) and has sensors that communicate temperature, pressure, contact and vibration. In other words, it's an *arm*!

cheers
Aj

This so RAWKS!!!

dreadgeek
10-26-2011, 04:08 PM
Sometime Monday, somewhere on the Earth, the population of the planet will cross seven billion. If we keep growing just as we are right now (and blessedly the overall planetary birth rate appears to be tapering off and converging toward the replacement rate) we're going to hit 8 billion somewhere between 2025 and 2030 and 9 billion around 2050.

Cheers
Aj

clay
10-29-2011, 04:59 PM
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The unusually early snowstorm bringing heavy, wet snow to the East Coast has knocked out power to more than 1.4 million customers.

Half a million are without power in New Jersey, including Gov. Chris Christie, who declared a state of emergency.

Utilities in Pennsylvania say 428,000 customers have lost power. PPL spokeswoman Lissette Santana said Saturday that 200 crews were working to restore it. The company serves northeast and central Pennsylvania.

More than 160,000 customers lost power in Philadelphia and its suburbs.

In New York, about 88,000 have lost power. In Connecticut, utilities reported more than 370,000 without service.

And spokesman Todd Meyers says Potomac Edison had more than 26,000 outages in western Maryland.

About 19,000 had lost power in Massachusetts.

@yahoonews on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook

clay
10-29-2011, 05:02 PM
Sending love and wishes for safety and being able to stay warm through this crippling snow storm! Please check in to let us know you are all safe. just as soon as you are able to do so..love..Clay
NJ/NY/PA/MASS/CT/MD

betenoire
11-02-2011, 05:34 PM
Judge William Adams is a douchebag.

Judge William Adams (of Texas) beat his 16 year old daughter (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/02/disabled-teens-beating-judge-william-adams_n_1071822.html) for using the internet.

The video is 7 years old, but the daughter just went public with it last night.

If you watch the video - be warned. It's really awful and super triggering.

I've been googling around about the guy, and apparently he's been real lenient in his court decisions around child abuse in the past - even going so far as to say that the testimony of the children who claim to be abused is irrelevant and doesn't count as evidence. I guess now we know what his subtext is.

SoNotHer
11-02-2011, 06:01 PM
Thank you for posting this, AJ. Though it's very unpopular to talk about population and to impose self limitation, better that we do that than have it imposed upon us by famine, water shortages, epidemics and disasters.


Sometime Monday, somewhere on the Earth, the population of the planet will cross seven billion. If we keep growing just as we are right now (and blessedly the overall planetary birth rate appears to be tapering off and converging toward the replacement rate) we're going to hit 8 billion somewhere between 2025 and 2030 and 9 billion around 2050.

Cheers
Aj

Soon
11-02-2011, 06:22 PM
Judge William Adams is a douchebag.

Judge William Adams (of Texas) beat his 16 year old daughter (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/02/disabled-teens-beating-judge-william-adams_n_1071822.html) for using the internet.

The video is 7 years old, but the daughter just went public with it last night.

If you watch the video - be warned. It's really awful and super triggering.

I've been googling around about the guy, and apparently he's been real lenient in his court decisions around child abuse in the past - even going so far as to say that the testimony of the children who claim to be abused is irrelevant and doesn't count as evidence. I guess now we know what his subtext is.

OMG. OMFG. My heart is racing and breaking. WTF! I am so upset.

I want these two to pay. Sadistic fucks. He is completely enjoying beating her into "submission".

Toughy
11-02-2011, 06:47 PM
as a sadist, I kinda hate when folks talk about physical abusers being sadistic and beating someone into submission....

and by the way.......as a sadist I am still considered mentally ill........laughin...

fucker should go to jail........

betenoire
11-02-2011, 06:54 PM
as a sadist, I kinda hate when folks talk about physical abusers being sadistic and beating someone into submission....

the dude really did at one point in the video start shouting that he was going to beat her until she submitted. it really freaked me the hell out. my own subtext put a really stressful spin on what was going on - but my subtext is always running around doing that.

Soon
11-02-2011, 06:55 PM
as a sadist, I kinda hate when folks talk about physical abusers being sadistic and beating someone into submission....

and by the way.......as a sadist I am still considered mentally ill........laughin...

fucker should go to jail........

Toughy,

He said the word "submission" (also says, "TAKE IT LIKE A WOMAN) which was why I placed the word "submission" in quotes.


For the record, I have no issue with consensual adult S/M or D/s.

I consider him a sadistic fuck not in a good way. Of course. FFS.

He ENJOYED beating and abusing her. Perhaps I should have rephrased it but emotions were running high, as I posted while watching.

I presumed people would know I am not commenting on any of us who partake in consensual kink.


ETA: It's the mother who says, ""turn over like a 16-year-old and take it! Like a grown woman!"

SoNotHer
11-04-2011, 12:41 AM
http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/iON1iFEuy81_8upw0461yA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9MjAxNztjcj0xO2N3PTMwMDA7ZHg9MD tkeT0wO2ZpPXVsY3JvcDtoPTEyODtxPTg1O3c9MTkw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/d8909467b8167318fd0e6a70670072a1.jpg

WASHINGTON (AP) — The global output of heat-trapping carbon dioxide jumped by the biggest amount on record, the U.S. Department of Energy calculated, a sign of how feeble the world's efforts are at slowing man-made global warming.

The new figures for 2010 mean that levels of greenhouse gases are higher than the worst case scenario outlined by climate experts just four years ago.

"The more we talk about the need to control emissions, the more they are growing," said John Reilly, co-director of MIT's Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change.

The world pumped about 564 million more tons (512 million metric tons) of carbon into the air in 2010 than it did in 2009. That's an increase of 6 percent. That amount of extra pollution eclipses the individual emissions of all but three countries — China, the United States and India, the world's top producers of greenhouse gases.

It is a "monster" increase that is unheard of, said Gregg Marland, a professor of geology at Appalachian State University, who has helped calculate Department of Energy figures in the past.

Extra pollution in China and the U.S. account for more than half the increase in emissions last year, Marland said.

"It's a big jump," said Tom Boden, director of the Energy Department's Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center at Oak Ridge National Lab. "From an emissions standpoint, the global financial crisis seems to be over."

Boden said that in 2010 people were traveling, and manufacturing was back up worldwide, spurring the use of fossil fuels, the chief contributor of man-made climate change.

India and China are huge users of coal. Burning coal is the biggest carbon source worldwide and emissions from that jumped nearly 8 percent in 2010.

"The good news is that these economies are growing rapidly so everyone ought to be for that, right?" Reilly said Thursday. "Broader economic improvements in poor countries has been bringing living improvements to people. Doing it with increasing reliance on coal is imperiling the world."

In 2007, when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued its last large report on global warming, it used different scenarios for carbon dioxide pollution and said the rate of warming would be based on the rate of pollution. Boden said the latest figures put global emissions higher than the worst case projections from the climate panel. Those forecast global temperatures rising between 4 and 11 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century with the best estimate at 7.5 degrees.

Even though global warming skeptics have attacked the climate change panel as being too alarmist, scientists have generally found their predictions too conservative, Reilly said. He said his university worked on emissions scenarios, their likelihood, and what would happen. The IPCC's worst case scenario was only about in the middle of what MIT calculated are likely scenarios.

Chris Field of Stanford University, head of one of the IPCC's working groups, said the panel's emissions scenarios are intended to be more accurate in the long term and are less so in earlier years. He said the question now among scientists is whether the future is the panel's worst case scenario "or something more extreme."

"Really dismaying," Granger Morgan, head of the engineering and public policy department at Carnegie Mellon University, said of the new figures. "We are building up a horrible legacy for our children and grandchildren."

But Reilly and University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver found something good in recent emissions figures. The developed countries that ratified the 1997 Kyoto Protocol greenhouse gas limiting treaty have reduced their emissions overall since then and have achieved their goals of cutting emissions to about 8 percent below 1990 levels. The U.S. did not ratify the agreement.

In 1990, developed countries produced about 60 percent of the world's greenhouse gases, now it's probably less than 50 percent, Reilly said.

"We really need to get the developing world because if we don't, the problem is going to be running away from us," Weaver said. "And the problem is pretty close from running away from us."

J. Mason
11-04-2011, 01:25 AM
Regarding the video of the Texas judge beating his child, I hope he loses his job, no matter how old the video may be.

J. Mason
11-05-2011, 01:48 AM
Sad moment, the Texas judge won't face any charges for this beating he gave his daughter, it is still up in the air about his job.

betenoire
11-05-2011, 08:03 AM
Sad moment, the Texas judge won't face any charges for this beating he gave his daughter, it is still up in the air about his job.

Yeah, I guess in Texas there is a 5 year limitation on getting charged for that sort of thing.

AtLast
11-05-2011, 08:21 AM
http://hosted2.ap.org/txdam/ec2d8a4c1614477db0610df17d4a39ce/Article_2011-11-05-Obit-Rooney/id-d8858bd4acd84dd1b0e5f9299cad34d4

J. Mason
11-05-2011, 11:46 AM
Yeah, I guess in Texas there is a 5 year limitation on getting charged for that sort of thing.

Yeah I think so, I just pray he loses his job, I mean that sounds bad but he has no need to be in a job where he deals with abuse cases when he himself is an abuser.

Cin
11-05-2011, 12:56 PM
Interesting story.
Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark is a witness for the protestors who are using Nuremberg principles as justification for their actions. The main principle is that citizens have a responsibility to take action when they see crimes being committed by their government. And if they do not they can be held accountable as some were during the Nuremberg Trials.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/4/drones_on_trial_38_protesters_face

video of Amy Goodman on Democracy Now talking to Col Ann Wright and Ed Kinane

Drones on Trial: 38 Protesters Face Charges for Disrupting Syracuse Base Used in Overseas Attacks

A trial is underway in Syracuse, New York, of 38 protesters arrested in April at the New York Air National Guard base at Hancock Field. The defendants were protesting the MQ-9 Reaper drones, which the 174th Fighter Wing of the Guard has remotely flown over Afghanistan from Syracuse since late 2009. "Citizens have a responsibility to take action when they see crimes being committed," said retired Col. Ann Wright, one of the 38 on trial. "And this goes back to World War II, when German government officials knew what other parts of the German government were doing in executing six million Jews in Germany and other places, and that they took no action. And yet—and they were held responsible later, through the Nuremberg trials. And that is the theory on which we are acting, that we see that our government is committing crimes by the use of these drones, and that we, as citizens, have the responsibility to act."

Guests:
Col. Ann Wright (Ret.), one of the "Hancock 38 Drone Resisters" who protested the use of MQ-9 Reaper drones at the Air National Guard base at Hancock Field in Syracuse, New York, last April. Wright is a retired U.S. Army colonel and former U.S. diplomat who spent 29 years in the military and later served as a high-ranking diplomat in the State Department. In 2001, she helped oversee the reopening of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. In 2003, she resigned her State Department post to protest the war in Iraq.

Ed Kinane, one of the "Hancock 38 Drone Resisters" who protested the use of MQ-9 Reaper drones at the Air National Guard base at Hancock Field in Syracuse, New York, last April. He is a member of the Syracuse Peace Council.

clay
11-06-2011, 01:30 AM
Sorry I misspelled name of town..it is SPARKS not Starkes...:(
SPARKS, Oklahoma (AP) — One of the strongest earthquakes in state history rocked central Oklahoma late Saturday after a day of smaller quakes, a 5.6 magnitude temblor that rattled a college football stadium 50 miles (80 kilometers) away, shook buildings, caused cracks and was felt as far away as Tennessee, authorities said.

Emergency authorities had no immediate reports of injuries or major damages. But one county's sheriff's office in the region said it was responding to calls and damages. The reports in the late-night hours were sketchy and the extent of damages remained uncertain early Sunday. The quake was one of several to rattle the state Saturday, including a magnitude 4.7 earthquake that shook the same area early Saturday.

The quake could prove the most powerful on state record if the 5.6 reading reported by the U.S. Geological Survey stands. The seismic monitoring agency said the quake struck at 10:53 p.m. local time Saturday (0353 GMT) and was centered about 44 miles (71 kilometers) east-northeast of Oklahoma City. It had initially reported the temblor as a 5.2 magnitude quake.

It said the quake struck near the community of Sparks — in eastern Oklahoma between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. The temblor shook the stadium at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater just at the end of the school's football game with Kansas State. No. 3 Oklahoma State's players were gathered in the locker room under the Boone Pickens Stadium stands just after a 52-45 win against No. 17 Kansas State when the ground began to shake.

"Coach (Mike) Gundy was talking to me, everybody was looking around and no one had any idea," quarterback Brandon Weeden said. "We thought the people above us were doing something. I've never felt one, so that was a first."

The stands were already clearing out when the quake happened, just a few minutes after the down-to-the-wire game had ended.

If the intensity of the Saturday night quake is confirmed, it would be the state's strongest on record. USGS records show that a 5.5 magnitude earthquake struck El Reno, just west of Oklahoma City, in 1952 and, before Oklahoma became a state in 1907, a quake of similar magnitude 5.5 struck in northeastern Indian Territory in 1882.

The Saturday night quake was felt as far away as Tennessee and Wisconsin, according to reports received by the USGS.

Some in Oklahoma reported cracks appeared after the latest quake.

"There's a crack going from the closet to the ceiling. I've never seen that before. I was in my bedroom grabbing my phone and I happened to notice it," said Todd McKinsey, in the community of Moore, speaking with The Oklahoman.

RockOn
11-06-2011, 02:02 AM
Seems PersonHood has gained Mississippi's support. This christian non-profit org based in Colorado believes conception is the point in the process where we declare a new PERSON on the block. A step backwards for women's rights. :( If interested, google PERSONHOOD MISSISSIPPI.

J. Mason
11-06-2011, 02:05 AM
Sorry I misspelled name of town..it is SPARKS not Starkes...:(
SPARKS, Oklahoma (AP) — One of the strongest earthquakes in state history rocked central Oklahoma late Saturday after a day of smaller quakes, a 5.6 magnitude temblor that rattled a college football stadium 50 miles (80 kilometers) away, shook buildings, caused cracks and was felt as far away as Tennessee, authorities said.

Emergency authorities had no immediate reports of injuries or major damages. But one county's sheriff's office in the region said it was responding to calls and damages. The reports in the late-night hours were sketchy and the extent of damages remained uncertain early Sunday. The quake was one of several to rattle the state Saturday, including a magnitude 4.7 earthquake that shook the same area early Saturday.

The quake could prove the most powerful on state record if the 5.6 reading reported by the U.S. Geological Survey stands. The seismic monitoring agency said the quake struck at 10:53 p.m. local time Saturday (0353 GMT) and was centered about 44 miles (71 kilometers) east-northeast of Oklahoma City. It had initially reported the temblor as a 5.2 magnitude quake.

It said the quake struck near the community of Sparks — in eastern Oklahoma between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. The temblor shook the stadium at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater just at the end of the school's football game with Kansas State. No. 3 Oklahoma State's players were gathered in the locker room under the Boone Pickens Stadium stands just after a 52-45 win against No. 17 Kansas State when the ground began to shake.

"Coach (Mike) Gundy was talking to me, everybody was looking around and no one had any idea," quarterback Brandon Weeden said. "We thought the people above us were doing something. I've never felt one, so that was a first."

The stands were already clearing out when the quake happened, just a few minutes after the down-to-the-wire game had ended.

If the intensity of the Saturday night quake is confirmed, it would be the state's strongest on record. USGS records show that a 5.5 magnitude earthquake struck El Reno, just west of Oklahoma City, in 1952 and, before Oklahoma became a state in 1907, a quake of similar magnitude 5.5 struck in northeastern Indian Territory in 1882.

The Saturday night quake was felt as far away as Tennessee and Wisconsin, according to reports received by the USGS.

Some in Oklahoma reported cracks appeared after the latest quake.

"There's a crack going from the closet to the ceiling. I've never seen that before. I was in my bedroom grabbing my phone and I happened to notice it," said Todd McKinsey, in the community of Moore, speaking with The Oklahoman.

I sooo wanted to be in Oklahoma when this happened, I know it sounds bad but I have never felt an earthquake before but my Okie friends let me know all about it. Thank You for putting this as news!

betenoire
11-06-2011, 09:04 AM
Seems PersonHood has gained Mississippi's support. This christian non-profit org based in Colorado believes conception is the point in the process where we declare a new PERSON on the block. A step backwards for women's rights. :( If interested, google PERSONHOOD MISSISSIPPI.

The Personhood movement bugs me more than any of the other anti-choice movements. They emotionally manipulate by invoking groups of ACTUAL people who were once not considered people by the government. All of the posters of theirs that I've seen have mentioned "women used to not be considered people!" and/or "black people used to not be considered people!" and try to tell us that people being allowed to have abortions is the exact same thing.

Nevermind the fact that if they get their way that WOMEN will no longer be people, but incubators. Stupidness.

WolfyOne
11-06-2011, 09:15 AM
Sadly, I must say, I didn't feel the earthquake or I just didn't realize it was happening. I was up at the time because I had to get in the shower for work. Perhaps that is the reason my kitties were all over me in the bed. I'm disappointed that I didn't know it was happening, so I couldn't feel it, but glad that no one in my mobile home park or surrounding area was hurt from it. Makes me wonder how a storm shelter would fare in this kind of a situation since we're prepared for tornadoes but not the quakes. And yes, I know the shelter would probably crumble before houses since it's under the ground. OK, is so not earthquake proof :blink:

Inuus
11-06-2011, 09:40 AM
I was awake too Wolfy and I didnt notice anything except my dog was actually unusual

macele
11-06-2011, 10:06 AM
Seems PersonHood has gained Mississippi's support. This christian non-profit org based in Colorado believes conception is the point in the process where we declare a new PERSON on the block. A step backwards for women's rights. :( If interested, google PERSONHOOD MISSISSIPPI.

i'm from mississippi. i'm voting no, but i will say that i've struggled with this amendment, ...
its unclear, on purpose. manipulative. they do not want to allow any room for common sense. simply stop all abortions. no matter the case. and all cases are not the same. they don't care if it's rape or incest.

the folks who are voting yes are allowing a set group of people to make them feel guilty. i believe that life begins at conception. but i also know there's more to abortion, birth control, vitro fertilization, and so on. there are exceptions. mental and physical.

i want an amendment called common sense.

DapperButch
11-06-2011, 05:36 PM
http://aol.sportingnews.com/sport/story/2011-11-05/former-heavyweight-champ-joe-frazier-has-cancer?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl6%7Csec3_lnk2%7C110342

AtLast
11-07-2011, 12:26 PM
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2011/11/herman-cain-sex-harassment-new-accuser-/1

SoNotHer
11-07-2011, 03:25 PM
From - http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1981

It's time to add another billion-dollar weather disaster to the growing 2011 total of these costly disasters: the extraordinary early-season Northeast U.S. snowstorm of October 29, which dumped up to 32 inches of snow, brought winds gusts of 70 mph to the coast, and killed at least 22 people. Not since the infamous snow hurricane of 1804 have such prodigious amounts of October snow been recorded in New England and, to a lesser extent, in the mid-Atlantic states. Trees that had not yet lost their leaves suffered tremendous damage from the wet, heavy snow. Snapped branches and falling trees brought down numerous power lines, leaving at least 3 million people without electricity. The damage estimate in Connecticut alone is $3 billion, far more than the damage Hurricane Irene did to the state. Hundreds of thousands still remain without power a week after the storm, with full electricity not expected to be restored until Monday.

Figure 1. Wet, heavy snow from the October 29, 2011 snowstorm weighing down trees still sporting their fall leaves in Winchester, VA. Image credit: wunderphotographer MaddScientist98.

The October 29 snow storm brings the 2011 tally of U.S. billion-dollar weather disasters to fourteen, thoroughly smashing the previous record of nine such disasters, set in 2008. Between 1980 - 2010, the U.S. averaged 3.5 of these weather disasters per year. Through August, the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) estimated that ten weather disasters costing at least $1 billion had hit the U.S., at total cost of up to $45 billion. However, the October 29 snow storm brings us up to eleven billion-dollar disasters, and a new disaster analysis done by global reinsurance company AON Benfield adds three more. Flood damage from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee in the Northeast on September 8 is now estimated at more than $1 billion, and two outbreaks of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes--one in April and one in June--now have damage estimates exceeding $1 billion. A remarkable seven severe thunderstorm/tornado outbreaks did more than $1 billion each in damage in 2011, and an eighth outbreak July 10 - 14 came close, with damages of $900 million. In total, the fourteen billion-dollar disasters killed 675 people. Tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods in these fourteen disasters killed over 600 people, putting 2011 into fourth place since 1940 for most deaths by severe storms. Only 2005, with over 1,000 deaths caused by Katrina, 1969, with over 700 hurricane and flood-related deaths, and 1972, with 676 hurricane and flood-related deaths, were deadlier years for storms, according to NOAA.

http://icons.wxug.com/hurricane/2011/2011_billion.png

The fourteen billion-dollar weather disasters of 2011 caused $53 billion in damage, putting 2011 in fifth place for most damages from billion-dollar weather disasters. The top damage years, according to NCDC in adjusted 2011 dollars, were 2005 (the year of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma), 2008 (Hurricane Ike), 1988 (Midwest drought), and 1980 (Midwest drought). With nearly two months remaining in 2011, the potential exists for more billion-dollar weather disasters this year. Our first opportunity comes Tuesday, when the NOAA Storm Prediction Center is forecasting the possibility of a severe weather outbreak centered over Arkansas and Missouri.

Video 1. Remarkable video of the tornado that hit Tuscaloosa, Alabama during the April 25 - 30, 2011 Super Outbreak. This tornado outbreak was the most expensive U.S. weather-related disaster of 2011, with damages estimated at $9 billion. Fast forward to minute four to see the worst of the storm.

Here are AON Benfield's estimates of the damages and NCDC's estimates of the death tolls from 2011's fourteen billion-dollar weather disasters (a clickable version of this table with information on each disaster is available on our severe weather resource page).

Jeff Masters

UofMfan
11-07-2011, 05:59 PM
Buddy And Pedro, 'Gay' Penguin Couple, To Be Separated By Toronto Zoo, HuffPo (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/07/buddy-and-pedro-gay-penguin-couple-toronto_n_1080194.html)

J. Mason
11-07-2011, 09:52 PM
Oklahoma had another earthquake about 8:56 pm, a 4.7 mag and it was located south south east of Stillwater.

Starbuck
11-07-2011, 10:49 PM
Oklahoma had another earthquake about 8:56 pm, a 4.7 mag and it was located south south east of Stillwater.

That's 3 earthquakes in 4 days!

J. Mason
11-08-2011, 01:07 AM
That's 3 earthquakes in 4 days!

Yes, my cousin was on facebook and told me when it happened.

AtLast
11-08-2011, 06:05 AM
http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/story/boxing-legend-joe-frazier-dies-after-battle-with-liver-cancer-110711?ocid=ansfox11

MissItalianDiva
11-08-2011, 11:34 AM
Hardly Breaking News but....

Surprise surprise...can't say I am shocked but the Duggars are having another child. Really I think this woman might need her head checked.

http://moms.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/07/8684372-20-kids-and-counting-michelle-duggar-announces-shes-pregnant-again

MsTinkerbelly
11-08-2011, 01:53 PM
Appeals Court Upholds "Obamacare"

In a case doubtlessly bound for SCOTUS, today the DC Circuit Court Of Appeals ruled that the Affordable Care Act, AKA "Obamacare," is constitutional. The very long list of losing plaintiffs includes dozens of Republican state Attorneys General. At issue, primarily, was the government's right to impose a fine for failing to purchase health insurance. The Court writes:

“We acknowledge some discomfort with the Government’s failure to advance any clear doctrinal principles limiting congressional mandates that any American purchase any product or service in interstate commerce,” the opinion reads. “But to tell the truth, those limits are not apparent to us, either because the power to require the entry into commerce is symmetrical with the power to prohibit or condition commercial behavior, or because we have not yet perceived a qualitative limitation. That difficulty is troubling, but not fatal, not least because we are interpreting the scope of a long-established constitutional power, not recognizing a new constitutional right."

ruffryder
11-08-2011, 01:56 PM
That's 3 earthquakes in 4 days!

There's actually been about 10 earthquakes since the day of the big one. . There is one today at 14:05 est a 3.6. I hope this doesn't continue for OK. Be safe everyone in that area.

ruffryder
11-08-2011, 02:34 PM
earthquakes and tornadoes all in then same day and place.. eeeek!

DapperButch
11-08-2011, 05:25 PM
Buddy And Pedro, 'Gay' Penguin Couple, To Be Separated By Toronto Zoo, HuffPo (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/07/buddy-and-pedro-gay-penguin-couple-toronto_n_1080194.html)

Well, I am glad that the update is that the guys will be placed back together after they inseminate females.

EnderD_503
11-08-2011, 05:57 PM
Well, I am glad that the update is that the guys will be placed back together after they inseminate females.

I dunno. I think this is where politics and ideology make themselves present in science. Have they explained why they've ruled out artificial insemination? Why do they need these two specific penguins to procreate? From what I've read about penguins and seabirds, long lasting relationships are very important to their social structure and its not uncommon for those relationships to be same-sex. It at least suggests a very close bond that I think is unnecessary to break up. The excuse that they're needed to impregnate females seems odd. Is artificial insemination not practiced on penguins or something? Are there no other male penguins about?

SoNotHer
11-08-2011, 07:06 PM
Australia Passes Carbon Tax

11/08/2011
SustainableBusiness.com News

Australia passed carbon tax legislation today!

The landmark law, passed in the Senate today, makes Australia the first major economy to put a tax on carbon. The lower house passed the law in mid-October. Taxing carbon will greatly increase energy efficiency and provide incentives for polluters to shift to renewable energy and replace outdated technology. It will provide the certainty corporations need to make serious changes and investments, while helping Australia meet its goal of reducing carbon emissions 5% below 2000 levels by 2020 and 80% by 2050.

"Today Australia has a price on carbon as the law of our land. This comes after a quarter of a century of scientific warnings, 37 parliamentary inquiries, and years of bitter debate and division," says Prime Minister Julia Gillard in a press conference. The tax, which affects the country's 500 biggest polluters, starts in July 2012 at $25 per ton. It will be followed by a carbon trading program in 2015, when polluters can buy carbon offsets from projects overseas, such as the Mexico efficient light bulb project we wrote about yesterday.

The carbon market in Australia is projected to reach $15.5 billion by 2015, after which carbon permit sales could raise $27 billion in the first four years.

Details on Carbon Tax Program

Initially, the biggest polluters would be taxed at A$23 (US$25) per ton, but many wouldn't actually pay that. Aluminum and steel manufacturers and other exporters that have intensive emissions would get almost all carbon permits for free for three years. The coal industry would get an injection of A$1.3 billion to help it reduce emissions and the steel industry would get A$300 million. And there's billions of dollars in compensation for business and households in the event that electricity prices rise (expected to rise less than 1%). 90% of workers will get a tax cut, worth an average A$300 a year.

The legislation allows companies to offset a percentage of emissions by purchasing carbon credits under the Carbon Farming Initiative, which rewards farmers for generating tradeable carbon offsets from agricultural projects.

Through actions like planting trees, reducing fertilizer use and cutting methane emissions from livestock, farmers would receive carbon credits to sell into the nation's carbon trading platform. Land use in Australia accounts for roughly 23% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions. The bill also creates an A$10 billion independent Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) to encourage private investment in renewable energy, and a A$3.2 billion Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

CEFC will run for 5 years beginning in 2013. Half the money is allocated for energy efficiency and to support commercialization of low carbon technologies, and half goes to renewable energy. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency will give grants for research and development for promising clean energy technologies, and to help them reach commercial scale.

Major companies across many industries pledged their support for a carbon tax, including GE, Fujitsu, IKEA, Alstom and Pacific Hydro:

"As major Australian and international corporations and representative associations operating across the Australian economy we strongly support the introduction of a well designed carbon price to support the transition to a low-carbon economy. EU's market, which accounts for 97% of carbon trades, has been struggling this year as austerity has greatly reduced the price of carbon. Still, the global carbon market is estimated at $142 billion in 2010, according to the World Bank.

New Zealand has a similar, much smaller program, and Europe has a cap-and-trade program. India has a tax on coal. China, South Korea and South Africa are planning programs that cap carbon, and California is leading the US with a cap-and-trade program that begins in 2013.

Australia is one of the highest greenhouse gas emitters in the world and relies on coal for 80% of electricity. The country is the largest coal exporter in the world.

"We cannot be stranded with a high-pollution economy as the world changes," says Prime Minister Gillard. Putting a price on carbon is "the cheapest, fairest way to cut pollution and build a clean energy economy," says a spokesperson from the prime minister's office. The carbon tax is widely expected to spur multi-billion dollar investments in renewable energy and to lead to the phase-out of aging coal plants.

ruffryder
11-08-2011, 08:58 PM
There will be a nationwide test of the emergency alarm system at 2 pm EST. Nov 9th on the tv. There will be a brief interruption lasting about 30 seconds. Don't be alarmed people. THIS IS ONLY A TEST!

hehe.. < wonder if they are getting ready for 2012 > :P

http://www.fema.gov/emergency/ipaws/eas_info.shtm

AtLast
11-09-2011, 04:46 AM
Ohio Repeals Kasich’s Union Law in Vote That Sets Stage for 2012 Election
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-09/ohio-repeals-union-law-to-set-stage-for-2012.html

Mississippi 'Personhood' Amendment Vote Fails

http://www.blogrunner.com/snapshot/D/1/2/mississippi_personhood_amendment_vote_fails/


Maybe there is hope, afterall....

ruffryder
11-09-2011, 08:31 AM
maybe old news ? Very interesting nonetheless. Massive asteroid 2005 YU55 flew by earth Nov. 8, 6:28 p.m. ET. It was 201,700 miles from our little blue planet,
which is a little less than 8,000 miles in diameter. That's closer than the moon's orbit (239,000 miles on average) ABC News.

Supposedly this is also a UFO


5AdjUH_jDp8



JTZs_RIkgQk

EnderD_503
11-09-2011, 09:09 AM
An openly gay woman has been elected leader of the Scottish Conservatives after the membership rejected her leading rival's radical proposals to create a new centre-right party.

Ruth Davidson, 32, widely seen as David Cameron's favourite, was chosen to lead the Scottish Conservative and Unionist party by a comfortable margin after the most bitterly-fought and divisive leadership campaign in party history.

Officials in London believe that Davidson, a lesbian and the youngest of the four candidates, will be able to freshen up the Tories' faltering appeal to Scottish voters.

She has only been an MSP for six months after working as a senior aide to Annabel Goldie, the departing party leader and campaigned against any significant increases in the Scottish parliament's powers.

Her victory saves the prime minister from the embarrassment of watching the UK party being split by Davidson's rival for the leadership, Murdo Fraser.

In a statement released on her election, Davidson said: "With the radical, generational change that I represent, this is a unique opportunity for us to rebuild the party and to once again become a powerful, meaningful and relevant force in Scottish politics and in Scottish life."

A former Territorial Army officer and kick-boxer, Davidson campaigned vigorously against Fraser's dramatic proposals to scrap the party and replace it with a new "progressive" organisation which would be independent of David Cameron's Tories.

Fraser's proposals, based on his belief that the Tory brand was "toxic" to Scottish voters, won the support of many prominent Scottish figures, including the Tory MEP Struan Stevenson, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Alex Fergusson, the former Holyrood presiding officer, and a clear majority of the 11 MSPs not standing in the leadership election.

He said it would revitalise centre-right politics and enable the rebranded Tories to attract hundreds of thousands of disenchanted voters. Failing to do so would see the party disappear, he said. The proposals instead led to civil war within the party, and were described as "madness" by his critics.

Davidson, who only joined the party in 2009 to fight the Glasgow North East byelection after a career as a BBC journalist, vigorously attacked Fraser's proposition.

Supported by other senior figures such as Lord Forsyth, she accused Fraser of an "existential crisis" and "wringing his hands" about the future of the party, which has repeatedly fared badly in the polls. The party has only succeeded in returning one MP to Westminster in the last three elections, and lost two seats at Holyrood in May.

Her victory now presents the Scottish Tories with the delicate task of reuniting a party left deeply split and in open warfare over Fraser's proposals. She remains the most politically and professionally inexperienced party leader at Holyrood.

She said: "A political party isn't a leader. A political party is its membership and I want to bring our members, at all levels, much closer together and to take our party forward in unity.

"We've had a number of very robust hustings up and down the country. [It] has been lively, it has been energetic but it has really engaged our members. All of us can be proud about how we've increased the debate about Scottish Conservatism going forward, a Scottish Conservatism that will be alive and kicking."

Davidson was quickly congratulated on her victory by her Labour and Liberal Democrat opposite numbers. Iain Gray, acting leader of the Scottish Labour party, said: "She has shown a lot of energy and drive to win her party's election. While I disagree with her fundamentally on politics I look forward to the contribution she will make to the Scottish parliament."

Willie Rennie, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, added: "I am really pleased to congratulate Ruth on her new appointment as leader of the Scottish Conservatives. I look forward to working with her, in her new role, as we strive to hold the SNP government to account."


http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/nov/04/scottish-conservatives-elect-gay-leader

SoNotHer
11-09-2011, 10:30 AM
Thai PM pledges flood relief as fight for Bangkok goes on

From: Alan Raybould and Prapan Chankaew, Reuters, BANGKOK
Published November 9, 2011 07:04 AM
http://www.thaitravelnews.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/thailand_floods_4.jpg

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra pledged more than $4 billion on Wednesday to help Thailand recover from the worst floods in half a century, as workers slowed the flow of water threatening the commercial heart of the capital, Bangkok.

Evacuation orders have spread to a third of Bangkok's districts, mostly in the north of the densely populated city of 12 million people, since late October, as floodwater strewn with trash slowly seeps in from northern and northeastern provinces. Yingluck, a political novice elected this year, said about 120 billion baht ($3.9 billion) had been set aside for a flood recovery effort, a figure that rises to 130 billion baht ($4.2 billion) when local government funds are added.

On the streets of Bangkok, few see an end to the slow-moving disaster that began after tropical storm Nock-ten battered Southeast Asia in late July. Since then, at least 529 people have been killed, many electrocuted or drowned, in floods that have affected 63 of Thailand's 77 provinces.

Some hard-hit regions have started to recover since the end of the August-to-October monsoon season, with only 24 provinces now classified as flooded. But for low-lying Bangkok, the disaster is far from over, as the authorities struggle to keep inner-city neighborhoods and business districts dry.

"I'm concerned about more water reaching Bangkok and I just want to know when it will recede. It's rising and it should recede but when will that be?" said Bangkok resident, Nee Jiranantawat, 53. Others said they feared they may run low on food and other supplies, especially in homes flooded in waist-high water.

Nikom Teo-au, a 56-year-old garage owner, said he was facing difficulty delivering food to his family at his home on a street under up to 1.5 meters (4.9 ft) of water in Bangkok's Din Daeng neighborhood, just 7 km (4.3 miles) from the main Silom business district where buildings are ringed with sand bags.

Yingluck, a 46-year-old former businesswoman and sister of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, said the money would ease the suffering of victims and repair damaged infrastructure.

Credit: REUTERS/Adrees Latif
http://www.asianmirror.lk/english/images/stories/demo/hot_news/thailand_flood__.jpg

SoNotHer
11-10-2011, 01:42 AM
From -

http://news.yahoo.com/two-rhino-species-bite-dust-red-list-002321952.html

Several species of rhino have been poached into extinction or to the point of no return, according to an update of the Red List of Threatened Species, the gold standard for animal and plant conservation. All told, a quarter of all mammal species assessed are at risk of extinction, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which compiles the list, said on Thursday.

http://www.glogster.com/media/4/35/30/81/35308154.jpg

About a third of the 61,900 species now catalogued by the IUCN are classified as "vulnerable," "endangered," "critically endangered," or extinct, with some groups, such as amphibians and reptiles, in particularly rapid decline. Rhinoceros have been hit especially hard in recent years. Their fearsome horns -- prized for dagger handles in the Middle East and traditional medicine in east Asia -- can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars on the black market.

The new assessment shows that a subspecies of the western black rhino (Diceros bicornis longipes) native to western Africa is now extinct, joining a long list of creatures -- from the Tasmanian tiger to the Arabian gazelle -- that no longer stride the planet. Central Africa's northern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) is listed as "possibly extinct in the wild", while the Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus) is making a last stand after the remaining specimen of its Vietnamese counterpart was killed by poachers last year.

"Human beings are stewards of the earth and we are responsible for protecting the species that share our environment," Simon Stuart, head of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, said in a statement. "In the case of both the western black and the northern white rhinos the situation could have had very different results if suggested conservation measures had been implemented." There were a few slivers of good news showing that species can be prevented from slipping into oblivion.

The southern white rhino subspecies (Ceratotherium simum simum) is back from the brink, its numbers up from 100 at the end of the 19th century to some 20,000 today. Central Asia's Przewalski's horse (Equus ferus), meanwhile, has moved from a status of critically endangered to endangered.

"We have the knowledge that conservation works if executed in a timely manner," said Jane Smart, the Global Species Programme director.

The general trend, however, is an acceleration in extinction across a wide spectrum of fauna and flora. Indeed, many scientists say Earth is on the edge of a so-called great extinction event, only the sixth in half-a-billion years. Some groups are especially vulnerable. In Madagascar, home to a dazzlingly rich diversity of life, an alarming 40 percent of reptiles are threatened.

Plant species are disappearing too. Such was the fate of the Chinese water fir (Glyptostrobus pensilis), once common in China but now apparently extinct in the wild due to habitat loss. The new classification also recognises new species, including 26 recently discovered amphibians such as the blessed poison frog (Ranitomeya benedicta) and the summers' poison frog (Ranitomeya summersi).

Both are threatened by habitat loss and harvesting for the international pet trade. "The world is full of marvelous species that are rapidly moving towards becoming things of myth and legend," said the IUCN's Jean-Christophe Vie.

http://test.worldwildlife.org/species/photography/Rhino%20Album/WWFImgFullitem4592.jpg

AtLast
11-10-2011, 12:46 PM
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57322096-504083/joe-paterno-fired-over-penn-state-jerry-sandusky-child-sex-abuse-scandal/

What is bugging the hell out of me is that most of the news is about Paterno's firing instead of the fact that he as well as several key administrators at Penn State did NOTHING to stop this over 15 years!!! Now, students are rioting over Paterno's firing and there are even jokes about being "Sanduskied!!" What the hell is wrong with people?

This is no different than all of the Catholic bishops that did nothing about priests sexually abusing kids for years and covering for them or just moving them to another parish.

What really is awful is that Sandusky used an at-risk youth program he helped start as a means to get to these kids. yeah- at risk, you bet- these kids are number one targets for this kind of manipulation by authority figures.

Police reports should have been made by Penn State officials immediately upon reports and the grad student that saw Sandusky abusing a 10 year old in the shower in the athletic department was 28 years old at the time- he should have called the police immediately.

So, Penn State students only care about Paterno being fired??

Toughy
11-10-2011, 04:34 PM
I hope Paterno and everyone else who found out about this in 2002 gets their ass prosecuted and tossed in prison. I don't give a shit if Paterno completed his school obligation by reporting it to higher ups. He had an ethical mandate to put that coach on administrative leave and to go to the police. I don't know about Penn, but I do believe if this happened in CA, Paterno would be a mandated reporter....meaning if it was reported to him he legally must go to the police.

It makes me sick to my stomach.

Sassy
11-10-2011, 08:47 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/barbara-grier-co-founder-of-lesbian-publishing-company-naiad-press-dies-at-78-in-fla/2011/11/10/gIQA462l9M_story.html


By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, November 10, 8:30 PM

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Barbara Grier, a founder of what once was the world’s largest publishing house of literature about gays and lesbians, has died. She was 78.

Her partner in life and business, Donna McBride, said Grier died of cancer on Thursday at a hospital in Tallahassee, Fla.



Tallahassee-based Naiad Press was best known for publishing “Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence” in 1985. Fifty-one former or current nuns contributed to the book. It described relationships in their religious communities that sometimes turned into love affairs.

“It was her belief that through literature she could make lesbians feel good about themselves and find a happy life,” McBride said from her home in nearby Carrabelle, Fla.

Naiad was publishing 36 books a year before she and Grier sold the company to Bella Books, another publisher of literature about lesbians in Tallahassee, and retired in 2003, McBride said.

Grier was “a savior to isolated lesbians all over the world, many of whom feel intense gratitude,” author Karin Kallmaker told The Associated Press. “I have no doubt that books save lives and Barbara put books into the lesbian universe at a rate no one in that era matched.”

Kallmaker’s first novel was published by Naiad Press in 1989 and she’s now editorial director of Bella Books.

Grier was born on Nov. 4, 1933 in Cincinnati and realized at an early age she was a lesbian, according to the Ohio Historical Society’s Gay Ohio History Initiative. She began writing for The Ladder and later became the editor of the San Francisco-based lesbian magazine.

She met McBride, then a librarian, in 1967 while living in Kansas City, Mo. They launched the publishing house with two other women in 1973 with a $2,000 investment, keeping their regular jobs and working on Naiad from their home after hours. Most of their titles were romances and mysteries, McBride said.

They moved to Florida and had their first big success when they published in 1983 Katherine Forrest’s first novel, “Curious Wine.” It sold more than 400,000 copies.

“It would be hard to imagine a more significant figure in the growth and development of lesbian publishing in the 20th century than Barbara Grier,” Forrest told the AP. “Or a more towering and central figure in lesbian culture.”

Grier explained the reasons for their efforts in a 1993 interview with The Associated Press.

“We’re doing this because of commitment as well as money,” Grier said. “We’re getting to live our lives exactly as we want to — and make a living. We’re getting rich and we’re happy and what more can you ask for?”

McBride said their happiest moment together was on Sept. 5, 2008, when they wed in California after same-sex marriages were legalized there.

Grier’s body was cremated and there will be no funeral service, McBride said. She said she’ll probably scatter her ashes in the Bahamas, Grier’s favorite place.

___

Associated Press writer Karen Sloan contributed to this report from London.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sassy
11-10-2011, 08:53 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/barbara-grier-co-founder-of-lesbian-publishing-company-naiad-press-dies-at-78-in-fla/2011/11/10/gIQA462l9M_story.html


By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, November 10, 8:30 PM

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Barbara Grier, a founder of what once was the world’s largest publishing house of literature about gays and lesbians, has died. She was 78.

Her partner in life and business, Donna McBride, said Grier died of cancer on Thursday at a hospital in Tallahassee, Fla.



Tallahassee-based Naiad Press was best known for publishing “Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence” in 1985. Fifty-one former or current nuns contributed to the book. It described relationships in their religious communities that sometimes turned into love affairs.

“It was her belief that through literature she could make lesbians feel good about themselves and find a happy life,” McBride said from her home in nearby Carrabelle, Fla.

Naiad was publishing 36 books a year before she and Grier sold the company to Bella Books, another publisher of literature about lesbians in Tallahassee, and retired in 2003, McBride said.

Grier was “a savior to isolated lesbians all over the world, many of whom feel intense gratitude,” author Karin Kallmaker told The Associated Press. “I have no doubt that books save lives and Barbara put books into the lesbian universe at a rate no one in that era matched.”

Kallmaker’s first novel was published by Naiad Press in 1989 and she’s now editorial director of Bella Books.

Grier was born on Nov. 4, 1933 in Cincinnati and realized at an early age she was a lesbian, according to the Ohio Historical Society’s Gay Ohio History Initiative. She began writing for The Ladder and later became the editor of the San Francisco-based lesbian magazine.

She met McBride, then a librarian, in 1967 while living in Kansas City, Mo. They launched the publishing house with two other women in 1973 with a $2,000 investment, keeping their regular jobs and working on Naiad from their home after hours. Most of their titles were romances and mysteries, McBride said.

They moved to Florida and had their first big success when they published in 1983 Katherine Forrest’s first novel, “Curious Wine.” It sold more than 400,000 copies.

“It would be hard to imagine a more significant figure in the growth and development of lesbian publishing in the 20th century than Barbara Grier,” Forrest told the AP. “Or a more towering and central figure in lesbian culture.”

Grier explained the reasons for their efforts in a 1993 interview with The Associated Press.

“We’re doing this because of commitment as well as money,” Grier said. “We’re getting to live our lives exactly as we want to — and make a living. We’re getting rich and we’re happy and what more can you ask for?”

McBride said their happiest moment together was on Sept. 5, 2008, when they wed in California after same-sex marriages were legalized there.

Grier’s body was cremated and there will be no funeral service, McBride said. She said she’ll probably scatter her ashes in the Bahamas, Grier’s favorite place.

___

Associated Press writer Karen Sloan contributed to this report from London.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


I'll be interested to see if the newspaper in Tallahassee covers this. It's in our own backyard. Guess we'll see.

SoNotHer
11-11-2011, 09:16 AM
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/10/western-black-rhino-extinct-africa_n_1086226.html

GENEVA -- The Western Black Rhino of Africa has been declared officially extinct, and two other subspecies of rhinoceros are close to meeting the same fate, a leading conservation group said Thursday.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature said a recent reassessment of the Western Black Rhino had led it to declare the species extinct, adding that the Northern White Rhino of central Africa is now "possibly extinct" in the wild and the Javan Rhino is "probably extinct" in Vietnam, after poachers killed the last animal there in 2010. A small but declining population of the Javan Rhino survives on the Indonesian island of Java, it added.

"A lack of political support and willpower for conservation efforts in many rhino habitats, international organized crime groups targeting rhinos and increasing illegal demand for rhino horns and commercial poaching are the main threats faced by rhinos," the group said in a statement accompanying the latest update of its so-called Red List of endangered species.

About a quarter of all mammals are at risk of extinction, IUCN said, adding that some species have been brought back from the brink with successful conservation programs. The Southern White Rhino numbered just 100 animals at the end of the 19th century, but has since flourished and now has a population of over 20,000.

The Przewalski's Horse, a type of wild horse from Central Asia, has come back from extinction after a successful breeding program in captivity. The Red List now contains almost 62,000 species of plants and animals, whose status is constantly monitored by conservationists.

http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2011/10/black-rhino-baby-calf-three.jpg

SoNotHer
11-12-2011, 02:45 AM
http://news.yahoo.com/world-five-years-avoid-severe-warming-iea-170519443.html

The world has just five years to avoid being trapped in a scenario of perilous climate change and extreme weather events, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned on Wednesday. On current trends, "rising fossil energy use will lead to irreversible and potentially catastrophic climate change," the IEA concluded in its annual World Energy Outlook report.

"The door to 2.0 C is closing," it said, referring to the 2.0 Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) cap on global warming widely accepted by scientists and governments as the ceiling for averting unmanageable climate damage.

Without further action, by 2017 the total CO2 emissions compatible with the 2.0 C goal will be "locked in" by power plants, factories and other carbon-emitting sources either built or planned, the IEA said. Global infrastructure already accounts for more than 75 percent of that limit.

To meet energy needs while still averting climate catastrophe, governments must engineer a shift away from carbon-intensive fossil fuels, the agency said bluntly. "As each year passes without clear signals to drive investment in clean energy, the 'lock-in' of high-carbon infrastructure is making it harder and more expensive to meet our energy security and climate goals," said IEA chief economist Fatih Birol.

The report outlines two scenarios for future energy consumption and emissions of greenhouse gases. A "new policies" scenario incorporates existing government promises into a projection up to 2035.

A "450 scenario" lays out a timetable for curbing carbon emissions so that atmospheric concentration of CO2 stays under 450 parts per million (ppm), roughly equivalent to the 2.0 C target. The current level is about 390 ppm.

Even taking into account current commitments, CO2 emitted over the next 25 years will amount to three-quarters of the total emitted since 1900, leading to a 3.5 C (6.3 F) average increase in temperature since that date.
Business-as-usual emissions would put the world "on an even more dangerous track toward an increase of 6.0 C (10.8 F)," the report says.

Scientists who have modelled the impacts on biodiversity, agriculture and human settlement say a 6 C world would be close to unlivable due to violent extremes of drought, flooding, heatwaves and storms. The planet's average temperature has risen by about 1.0 C (1.8 F) over the last century, with forecasts for future warming ranging from an additional 1.0 C to 5.0 C (9.0 F) by 2100.

The report forecasts a one-third jump in primary energy demand by 2035, with 90 percent of this growth in developing economies. Half of that demand will likely be met by increased use of coal, the most carbon-intensive of all major fossil fuels.

China -- already the world's top coal consumer -- is on track to use nearly 70 percent more energy than the United States by that date, it says. Even under the "new policies" scenario progress toward a low-carbon economy will be halting. The share of fossil fuels in global primary energy consumption falls from around 81 percent today to 75 percent in 2035, while renewables increase from 13 percent of the mix today to 18 percent.

This scenario already assumes a huge boost in subsidies for renewables, from $64 billion today to $250 billion in 2035. "One wonders how many more worrying figures the world needs," commented Connie Hedegaard, the European Union's climate commissioner.

The report "shows that the world is heading for a fossil-fuel lock-in. This is another urgent call to move to a low-carbon economy," she said in a statement. Setting a global price on carbon, slashing fossil fuel subsidies, boosting renewable energy and energy efficiency and revised tax codes are all tools for achieving that end, she added.

http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/rDvFvaO4ck7FwFFQLSX3hw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00MjA7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/000_Del521604.jpg

Kobi
11-12-2011, 03:09 AM
I have a thing about statin drugs which I think can be very harmful to adults. I shutter to think about what they do to kids.




CHICAGO (AP) — Every child should be tested for high cholesterol as early as age 9 — surprising new advice from a government panel that suggests screening kids in grade school for a problem more common in middle age.

The idea will come as a shock to most parents. And it's certain to stir debate.

The doctors on the expert panel that announced the new guidelines Friday concede there is little proof that testing now will prevent heart attacks decades later. But many doctors say waiting might be too late for children who have hidden risks.

Fat deposits form in the heart arteries in childhood but don't usually harden them and cause symptoms until later in life. The panel urges cholesterol screening between ages 9 and 11 — before puberty, when cholesterol temporarily dips — and again between ages 17 and 21.

The panel also suggests diabetes screening every two years starting as early as 9 for children who are overweight and have other risks for Type 2 diabetes, including family history.

The new guidelines are from an expert panel appointed by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Some facts everyone agrees on:

— By the fourth grade, 10 to 13 percent of U.S. children have high cholesterol, defined as a score of 200 or more.

— Half of children with high cholesterol will also have it as adults, raising their risk of heart disease.

— One third of U.S. children and teens are obese or overweight, which makes high cholesterol and diabetes more likely.

Until now, cholesterol testing has only been done for kids with a known family history of early heart disease or inherited high cholesterol, or with risk factors such as obesity, diabetes or high blood pressure. That approach misses about 30 percent of kids with high cholesterol.

"If we screen at age 20, it may be already too late," said one of the guideline panel members, Dr. Elaine Urbina, director of preventive cardiology at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. "To me, it's not controversial at all. We should have been doing this for years."

Elizabeth Duruz didn't want to take that chance. Her 10-year-old daughter, Joscelyn Benninghoff, has been on cholesterol-lowering medicines since she was 5 because high cholesterol runs in her family. They live in Cincinnati.

"We decided when she was 5 that we would get her screened early on. She tested really high" despite being active and not overweight, Duruz said. "We're doing what we need to do for her now, and that gives me hope that she'll be healthy."

Dr. Roger Blumenthal, who is preventive cardiology chief at Johns Hopkins Medical Center and had no role in the guidelines, said he thinks his 12-year-old son should be tested because he has a cousin with very high "bad" cholesterol who needed heart bypass surgery for clogged arteries in his 40s.

"I'm very supportive" of universal screening, he said. "The knowledge of their cholesterol numbers as well as their blood sugar levels can be very helpful for the physicians and their families about which patients are headed toward diabetes."

Dr. William Cooper, a pediatrics and preventive medicine professor at Vanderbilt University, said expanding the testing guidelines "would seem to me to make sense."

But he added: "One of the risks would be that we would be treating more kids, potentially, and we don't know yet the implications of what we're treating. Are we treating a number or are we treating a risk factor?"

That's the reason a different group of government advisers, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, concluded in 2007 that not enough is known about the possible benefits and risks to recommend for or against cholesterol screening for children and teens.

One of its leaders, Dr. Michael LeFevre, a family medicine specialist at the University of Missouri, said that for the task force to declare screening beneficial there must be evidence that treatment improves health, such as preventing heart attacks, rather than just nudging down a number — the cholesterol score.

"Some of the argument is that we need to treat children when they're 14 or 15 to keep them from having a heart attack when they're 50, and that's a pretty long lag time," he said.

The guidelines say that cholesterol drugs likely would be recommended for less than 1 percent of kids tested, and they shouldn't be used in children younger than 10 unless they have severe problems.

"We'll also continue to encourage parents and children to make positive lifestyle choices to prevent risk factors from occurring," steps such as diet and exercise, said Dr. Gordan Tomaselli, president of the American Heart Association. The group praised the guidelines and will host a presentation on them Sunday at its annual conference in Florida.

Cholesterol tests cost around $80 and usually are covered by health insurance. Several of the 14 doctors on the guidelines panel have received consulting fees or have had other financial ties to makers of cholesterol medicines.

Typically, cholesterol drugs are used indefinitely but they are generally safe, said Dr. Sarah Blumenschein, director of preventive cardiology at Children's Medical Center in Dallas, who had no role in the guidelines but supports them.

"You have to start early. It's much easier to change children's behavior when they're 5 or 10 or 12" than when they're older, she said.

The guidelines also say doctors should:

— Take yearly blood pressure measurements for children starting at age 3.

— Start routine anti-smoking advice when kids are ages 5 to 9, and counsel parents of infants not to smoke in the home.

— Review infants' family history of obesity and start tracking body mass index, or BMI, a measure of obesity, at age 2.

The panel also suggests using more frank terms for kids who are overweight and obese than some government agencies have used in the past. Children whose BMI is in the 85th to 95th percentile should be called overweight, not "at risk for overweight," and kids whose BMI is in the 95th percentile or higher should be called obese, not "overweight — even kids as young as age 2, the panel said.

"Some might feel that 'obese' is an unacceptable term for children and parents," so doctors should "use descriptive terminology that is appropriate for each child and family," the guidelines recommend.

They were released online Friday by the journal Pediatrics.

__

http://news.yahoo.com/doctors-test-kids-cholesterol-age-11-203530834.html

AtLast
11-12-2011, 01:11 PM
I have a thing about statin drugs which I think can be very harmful to adults. I shutter to think about what they do to kids.




CHICAGO (AP) — Every child should be tested for high cholesterol as early as age 9 — surprising new advice from a government panel that suggests screening kids in grade school for a problem more common in middle age.

The idea will come as a shock to most parents. And it's certain to stir debate.

The doctors on the expert panel that announced the new guidelines Friday concede there is little proof that testing now will prevent heart attacks decades later. But many doctors say waiting might be too late for children who have hidden risks.

Fat deposits form in the heart arteries in childhood but don't usually harden them and cause symptoms until later in life. The panel urges cholesterol screening between ages 9 and 11 — before puberty, when cholesterol temporarily dips — and again between ages 17 and 21.

The panel also suggests diabetes screening every two years starting as early as 9 for children who are overweight and have other risks for Type 2 diabetes, including family history.

The new guidelines are from an expert panel appointed by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Some facts everyone agrees on:

— By the fourth grade, 10 to 13 percent of U.S. children have high cholesterol, defined as a score of 200 or more.

— Half of children with high cholesterol will also have it as adults, raising their risk of heart disease.

— One third of U.S. children and teens are obese or overweight, which makes high cholesterol and diabetes more likely.

Until now, cholesterol testing has only been done for kids with a known family history of early heart disease or inherited high cholesterol, or with risk factors such as obesity, diabetes or high blood pressure. That approach misses about 30 percent of kids with high cholesterol.

"If we screen at age 20, it may be already too late," said one of the guideline panel members, Dr. Elaine Urbina, director of preventive cardiology at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. "To me, it's not controversial at all. We should have been doing this for years."

Elizabeth Duruz didn't want to take that chance. Her 10-year-old daughter, Joscelyn Benninghoff, has been on cholesterol-lowering medicines since she was 5 because high cholesterol runs in her family. They live in Cincinnati.

"We decided when she was 5 that we would get her screened early on. She tested really high" despite being active and not overweight, Duruz said. "We're doing what we need to do for her now, and that gives me hope that she'll be healthy."

Dr. Roger Blumenthal, who is preventive cardiology chief at Johns Hopkins Medical Center and had no role in the guidelines, said he thinks his 12-year-old son should be tested because he has a cousin with very high "bad" cholesterol who needed heart bypass surgery for clogged arteries in his 40s.

"I'm very supportive" of universal screening, he said. "The knowledge of their cholesterol numbers as well as their blood sugar levels can be very helpful for the physicians and their families about which patients are headed toward diabetes."

Dr. William Cooper, a pediatrics and preventive medicine professor at Vanderbilt University, said expanding the testing guidelines "would seem to me to make sense."

But he added: "One of the risks would be that we would be treating more kids, potentially, and we don't know yet the implications of what we're treating. Are we treating a number or are we treating a risk factor?"

That's the reason a different group of government advisers, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, concluded in 2007 that not enough is known about the possible benefits and risks to recommend for or against cholesterol screening for children and teens.

One of its leaders, Dr. Michael LeFevre, a family medicine specialist at the University of Missouri, said that for the task force to declare screening beneficial there must be evidence that treatment improves health, such as preventing heart attacks, rather than just nudging down a number — the cholesterol score.

"Some of the argument is that we need to treat children when they're 14 or 15 to keep them from having a heart attack when they're 50, and that's a pretty long lag time," he said.

The guidelines say that cholesterol drugs likely would be recommended for less than 1 percent of kids tested, and they shouldn't be used in children younger than 10 unless they have severe problems.

"We'll also continue to encourage parents and children to make positive lifestyle choices to prevent risk factors from occurring," steps such as diet and exercise, said Dr. Gordan Tomaselli, president of the American Heart Association. The group praised the guidelines and will host a presentation on them Sunday at its annual conference in Florida.

Cholesterol tests cost around $80 and usually are covered by health insurance. Several of the 14 doctors on the guidelines panel have received consulting fees or have had other financial ties to makers of cholesterol medicines.

Typically, cholesterol drugs are used indefinitely but they are generally safe, said Dr. Sarah Blumenschein, director of preventive cardiology at Children's Medical Center in Dallas, who had no role in the guidelines but supports them.

"You have to start early. It's much easier to change children's behavior when they're 5 or 10 or 12" than when they're older, she said.

The guidelines also say doctors should:

— Take yearly blood pressure measurements for children starting at age 3.

— Start routine anti-smoking advice when kids are ages 5 to 9, and counsel parents of infants not to smoke in the home.

— Review infants' family history of obesity and start tracking body mass index, or BMI, a measure of obesity, at age 2.

The panel also suggests using more frank terms for kids who are overweight and obese than some government agencies have used in the past. Children whose BMI is in the 85th to 95th percentile should be called overweight, not "at risk for overweight," and kids whose BMI is in the 95th percentile or higher should be called obese, not "overweight — even kids as young as age 2, the panel said.

"Some might feel that 'obese' is an unacceptable term for children and parents," so doctors should "use descriptive terminology that is appropriate for each child and family," the guidelines recommend.

They were released online Friday by the journal Pediatrics.

__

http://news.yahoo.com/doctors-test-kids-cholesterol-age-11-203530834.html


I agree- these drugs can cause all kinds of problems. What bothers me the most, however, is our continued denial about what the climbing rates of childhood obesity is playing with the health of our children. We have to combat poverty and educate both kids and parents about not only nutrition but how to cook and prepare foods! And this applies to every economic group.

I don't think we ought to take giving kids any prescription or OTC drug lightly- ever. And shouldn't we be more involved with prevention?

SoNotHer
11-13-2011, 12:03 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/early-sexual-abuse-increases-heart-risks-160823517.html

Early sexual abuse increases heart risks

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Women who were repeatedly sexually abused as girls have a 62 percent higher risk of heart problems later in life compared with women who were not abused, U.S. researchers said on Sunday.

The findings, presented at the American Heart Association meeting in Orlando, Florida, underscored the lasting physical effects of early sexual abuse.

Much of the increased risk was related to coping strategies among abuse survivors such as overeating, alcohol use and smoking.

"The single biggest factor explaining the link between severe child abuse and adult cardiovascular disease was the tendency of abused girls to have gained more weight throughout adolescence and into adulthood," Janet Rich-Edwards of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who led the study, said in a statement.

The team analyzed data from a study of more than 67,000 nurses. Nine percent of these women had reported severe physical abuse and 11 percent reported being raped in their childhood or adolescence.

The team found that repeated episodes of forced sex in childhood or adolescence translated into a 62 percent higher risk of heart attacks and strokes later in life.

Physical abuse also took a toll. Women who had been beaten in their youth had a 45 percent higher risk of heart trouble.

There was no increased heart risk in women who reported mild to moderate physical or sexual abuse.

Much of the effect was related to higher rates of obesity, smoking, alcohol use, high blood pressure and diabetes, which accounted for 41 percent of the increased risk of heart problems among women who had been physically abused and 37 percent of the association with sexual abuse, the team said.

The findings suggest severe physical and sexual abuse are significant risk factors for future heart disease, and women and their doctors need to take steps to reduce this risk.

"We need to learn more about specific psychological, lifestyle, and medical interventions to improve the health of abuse survivors." Rich-Edwards said in a statement.

(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Peter Cooney)

AtLast
11-14-2011, 09:03 AM
http://news.yahoo.com/early-sexual-abuse-increases-heart-risks-160823517.html

Early sexual abuse increases heart risks

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Women who were repeatedly sexually abused as girls have a 62 percent higher risk of heart problems later in life compared with women who were not abused, U.S. researchers said on Sunday.

The findings, presented at the American Heart Association meeting in Orlando, Florida, underscored the lasting physical effects of early sexual abuse.

Much of the increased risk was related to coping strategies among abuse survivors such as overeating, alcohol use and smoking.

"The single biggest factor explaining the link between severe child abuse and adult cardiovascular disease was the tendency of abused girls to have gained more weight throughout adolescence and into adulthood," Janet Rich-Edwards of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who led the study, said in a statement.

The team analyzed data from a study of more than 67,000 nurses. Nine percent of these women had reported severe physical abuse and 11 percent reported being raped in their childhood or adolescence.

The team found that repeated episodes of forced sex in childhood or adolescence translated into a 62 percent higher risk of heart attacks and strokes later in life.

Physical abuse also took a toll. Women who had been beaten in their youth had a 45 percent higher risk of heart trouble.

There was no increased heart risk in women who reported mild to moderate physical or sexual abuse.

Much of the effect was related to higher rates of obesity, smoking, alcohol use, high blood pressure and diabetes, which accounted for 41 percent of the increased risk of heart problems among women who had been physically abused and 37 percent of the association with sexual abuse, the team said.

The findings suggest severe physical and sexual abuse are significant risk factors for future heart disease, and women and their doctors need to take steps to reduce this risk.

"We need to learn more about specific psychological, lifestyle, and medical interventions to improve the health of abuse survivors." Rich-Edwards said in a statement.

(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Peter Cooney)

These results certainly go along with my prior work with teen child sexual abuse- every single patient I worked with developed some type of body weight problem from obesity to severe eating disorders such as bulmia and anorexia. Stats that reflect that nearly 80% of women are either sexually abused or harrassed in the US is startling. Look at this and the rate of obesity among our young people along with the increases of heart problems, diabetes and even stroke in our young people related to obesity. And these rates have risen for boys- and so has our awareness of just how often they are victims of sexual abuse (finally, we are getting this!).

Frankly, US society has been more than a little bit in denail about sex abuse of children (and sexual harrassment in the work place). When are we going to deal with why the hell so many people sexually abuse children? Come on, this indicates some things we need to be dealing with for both girls/women and boys/men. Lets get our heads out of the sand!

A really good area for involvement is Michelle Obama's work and support about childhood obesity in the US. There are recent programs and educational pursuits about this cropping up that might help us combat this problem- and the relationship to it and sexual abuse.

A link for "Let's Move"-

http://www.letsmove.gov/

SoNotHer
11-14-2011, 10:08 AM
Great post and thank you for your good work. Yes, the denial is deep and widespread. I think the Penn State scandal speaks to that.

The numbers and percentages are telling, and anyone living with or working with children and teens should be looking carefully at signals like weight and self mutilation and substance abuse.

These results certainly go along with my prior work with teen child sexual abuse- every single patient I worked with developed some type of body weight problem from obesity to severe eating disorders such as bulmia and anorexia. Stats that reflect that nearly 80% of women are either sexually abused or harrassed in the US is startling. Look at this and the rate of obesity among our young people along with the increases of heart problems, diabetes and even stroke in our young people related to obesity. And these rates have risen for boys- and so has our awareness of just how often they are victims of sexual abuse (finally, we are getting this!).

Frankly, US society has been more than a little bit in denail about sex abuse of children (and sexual harrassment in the work place). When are we going to deal with why the hell so many people sexually abuse children? Come on, this indicates some things we need to be dealing with for both girls/women and boys/men. Lets get our heads out of the sand!

A really good area for involvement is Michelle Obama's work and support about childhood obesity in the US. There are recent programs and educational pursuits about this cropping up that might help us combat this problem- and the relationship to it and sexual abuse.

A link for "Let's Move"-

http://www.letsmove.gov/

SoNotHer
11-14-2011, 11:42 AM
Solar Design From MIT Does Double Duty

MIT researchers say a hybrid solar-thermoelectric system they’re working on would provide a big advantage over conventional solar cells or solar thermal systems, particularly for household use: the ability to produce heat and electricity simultaneously. They propose accomplishing this mean feat through a clever reconfiguration of the standard parabolic trough.

In a typical parabolic system (like the one pictured below), a curved mirror reflects sunlight onto a liquid-filled tube, and the hot water produced in that tube is used either to drive a turbine to produce power, or for heat for industrial uses or space heating. The MIT team – Professor Evelyn Wang and grad student Nenad Miljkovic – is working on hybridizing the system to do both at once by modifing that tube with a series of concentric tubes within it.

http://www.earthtechling.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/parabolic.jpg

Their first tube-within-the-tube would contain the thermoelectric material, which would take advantage of a temperature gradient to produce power. This thermoelectric system would have pretty low efficiency, the researchers say – but that’s OK, because homes generally don’t need too much electricity. They need some, but they need a lot more heat – and the MIT design produces that by using an even narrower tube at the center of their device containing what’s called a thermosiphon. This is a device that “draws heat away from the ‘cold’ part of a thermoelectric system,” according to MIT, “passively transferring heat from the thermoelectric cold side and alleviating the need to pump cooling fluid as in a conventional parabolic-trough system.”

The heat carried away by the thermosiphon could then be used to heat water for, well, hot water, but also space heating and industrial processes.

Abraham Kribus, a professor of mechanical engineering at Tel Aviv University in Israel who was not involved in this research, told MIT that in their paper on their work, Wang and Miljkovic describe a “a fresh approach to solar energy conversion” but that some questions remain – as would be expected. “This is the situation at early stage with every nonconventional idea,” Kribus said. “Overall, the paper shows a nice start and a very capable team behind it.”

http://www.enn.com/energy/article/43548

http://www.matternetwork.com/2011/11/solar-design-from-mit-does.cfm

AtLast
11-14-2011, 01:13 PM
Great post and thank you for your good work. Yes, the denial is deep and widespread. I think the Penn State scandal speaks to that.

The numbers and percentages are telling, and anyone living with or working with children and teens should be looking carefully at signals like weight and self mutilation and substance abuse.

Absolutely! Significant weight changes in kids gets missed often concerning sex abuse along with these other indicators. Plus it can involve serious eating disorders not related to sex abuse that can be deadly. Weight gain often is not looked at as a potential medical condition unless the parents are educated around nutrition and where their kids should be in terms of height. Also, one of the most missed symptoms of clinical depression in teens is irritability- so often explained away by usual teenage hormone fluctuations.

Oh yes, Penn State and denial- and the old boys networks at play with schools in college football where a lot of $ is brought into the school by sports teams. I like athletics, but, there needs to be some big changes in school athletics.
__________________________________________________ _________

I also wanted to post this NYT article for discussion-

The New Progressive Movement

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/opinion/sunday/the-new-progressive-movement.html?src=me&ref=general

SoNotHer
11-15-2011, 01:43 PM
Hearing Loss Far More Common Than Expected
HealthDayHealthDay – 14 hrs ago

MONDAY, Nov. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Hearing loss affects about one-fifth of Americans aged 12 and older, a far higher number than previously believed, researchers report. They examined data from people whose hearing was tested during National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys (NHANES) from 2001 to 2008.

Based on the World Health Organization's definition of hearing loss (unable to hear sounds of 25 decibels or less in the speech frequencies), the NHANES data showed that 12.7 percent (30 million people) of the U.S. population aged 12 and older had hearing loss in both ears and 20.3 percent (48 million people) had hearing loss in at least one ear. Previous estimates put the numbers at 21 million to 29 million.

This new study also found that rates of hearing loss nearly doubled with every decade of age, and that women and blacks were significantly less likely to have hearing loss at any age. It's not clear why women and blacks are less likely to experience hearing loss, study leader Dr. Frank Lin said in a university news release.

Lin is an assistant professor with dual appointments in both the department of otolaryngology-head & neck surgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and in the department of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. It may be that the female hormone estrogen and the melanin pigment in darker skin could have a protective effect on the inner ear, which Lin and colleagues plan to investigate in future studies.

Lin said the findings of this study, published Nov. 14 in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, will help research into hearing loss and its potential consequences such as cognitive decline, dementia and poor physical functioning.

"This gives us the real scope of the problem for the first time and shows us how big of a problem hearing loss really is," Lin said.

http://news.yahoo.com/hearing-loss-far-more-common-expected-210408085.html

AtLast
11-15-2011, 02:47 PM
http://rockcenter.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/14/8804779-jerry-sandusky-to-bob-costas-in-exclusive-rock-center-interview-i-shouldnt-have-showered-with-those-kids?ocid=ansmsnbc11

As I watched this, all of the child-sex abuse offender behavior, narcissism, cunning manipulative personality structures and rationalization for their actions I met via my time as a therapist in a child-sexual abuse diversionary program came back! They were over 70 men (and 2 women) in Sacramento County in the mid-1980's that were physicians, coaches, teachers, dentists, plumbers, administrators in business, etc. that no one would ever "suspect." Every damn one of them could make it look like everything and everyone else was the cause of their abusive behavior.

And the minimization they used when talking about their behavior would make you puke. The only "regret" Sandusky has is taking showers with kids!! He wants us to believe that what went on was just "locker room guy kind of behavior- horse-play!" A man in his 50's takes showers with kids 8-10 years old and the public should not question what went on? That, in and of itself is inappropriate and most coaches, teachers or anyone working with children will tell us in no way would they do something like this. Also, this is reminding me of a 45 year old Michael Jackson thinking that sleeping with young kids is OK (yes, I am sorry for his death, but very much believe he was a pedophile).

if my son told me that his coach (no matter the age) was taking showers with him or any kids, I would be so on finding out what the hell is going on.

It's all horse play and a misunderstanding according to Jerry Sandusky......

Toughy
11-15-2011, 04:07 PM
It was telling when that pedophile took so long to say he was ummm not sexually attracted to boys....

I'm so fucking disgusted with this. Men's Health magazine had an article giving excuses for why 'good men did nothing'. All the reasons disgusted me, but the one that got me the most was 'cognitive dissonance' meaning despite what you see with your own eyes (McQueery witnessed actual anal rape of a 10 yr old and called his daddy, not the police) you don't believe it because he (the pedophile) is such a good and nice guy.

a friend of mine who worked in child sexual abuse field said that the average pedophile rapes/molests 200 children before being caught.... no I don't have a link, that was what she said...

Kobi
11-15-2011, 04:34 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service said Tuesday it has lost $5.1 billion in the past year, pushing it closer to imminent default on a multibillion-dollar payment and to future bankruptcy as the weak economy and increased Internet use drive down mail volume.

The financial losses for the year ended Sept. 30 came despite deep cuts of more than 130,000 jobs in recent years and the closing of some smaller local post offices.

Losses will only accelerate in the coming year, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe warned, citing faster-than-expected declines in first-class mail. He implored Congress to take swift, wide-ranging action to stabilize the ailing agency's finances as it nears a legal deadline Friday to pay $5.5 billion into the U.S. Treasury for future retiree health benefits.

Congress is expected to grant a reprieve, but that will only delay the day of reckoning for an agency struggling for relevance in an electronic age. Based on current losses, the Postal Service says it will run out of money — or come dangerously close — next September, forcing it to halt service.

"We are at a point where we require urgent action," Donahoe said.

In the event of a shutdown, private companies such as FedEx and UPS could handle a small portion of the material the post office moves, but they do not go everywhere. No business has shown interest in delivering letters everywhere in the country for a set rate of 44 cents for a first-class letter.

For the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, the post office had income of $65.7 billion, down $1.4 billion from the previous year. Expenses totaled $70.6 billion.

The loss of $5.1 billion was less than a previous estimate of $10 billion, but only because the $5.5 billion payment — originally due Sept. 30 — was deferred until Nov. 18 with the approval of Congress.

In 2010, losses totaled $8.5 billion.

Mail volume this past year totaled 168 billion pieces, compared with 171 billion in 2010, a decline of 1.7 percent. At the same time volume was declining, the post office was required to begin service to thousands of new addresses to accommodate population growth and new businesses.

The Postal Service, an independent agency of government that does not receive tax money for its operations, is not seeking federal funds.

Instead, postal officials want changes in the way they operate so they can save money. They have asked Congress for permission to reduce mail delivery to five days a week, which many lawmakers oppose, and to eliminate or reduce the annual payments of about $5.5 billion to prefund retiree health benefits. The agency also wants the return of at least $6.9 billion it says was overpaid into federal retirement funds.

The service also seeks more layoffs, which are barred by current contracts with its employee unions, and the authority to negotiate with unions on a possible alternate health care system that would cost less.

Postal Service losses have been mounting over the past few years as more private mail and bill payments have been switched to the Internet, and the recession has hurt returns on advertising and other business mail.

Of particular concern has been the decline in lucrative first-class mail, largely consisting of personal letters and cards, bills, payments and similar items. First-class mail volume fell 5.8 percent in 2011, 6.6 percent in 2010, 8.6 percent in 2009 and 4.8 percent in 2008. Traditionally, this mail has produced more than half of total revenue.

Volume for standard mail — advertising and similar items — improved somewhat, indicating some signs of economic recovery. But it generates less income.

The Postal Service has struggled to find its role in an Internet age but insists it can eventually return to profitability with legislative changes. It recently launched a TV advertising campaign that pokes at the vulnerabilities of email or online payment, noting that documents posted on a refrigerator or cork board won't get "hacked" or attacked by a virus. "Give your customers the added security a printed statement or receipt provides — with mail," the ad says.

A postal default on billions of dollars in federal payments wouldn't cause immediate repercussions. There are no criminal or civil penalties for failure to pay, and the health account already contains more than $40 billion so no retiree's benefits are at near-term risk. In June, the Postal Service defaulted on a separate, legally required payment into an employee retirement fund but now says it will make the $1 billion in accumulated payments following a Justice Department review.

Separate proposals recently passed by House and Senate committees would alter or scrap the annual payment requirement while differing widely on points including financial oversight and a reduction to five-day-a-week delivery. Congress is expected to pass a stop-gap spending measure this week that would extend Friday's payment deadline until mid-December.

The Postal Service has said a short-term delay of the $5.5 billion payment won't change its grim forecast of possible bankruptcy next year. Officials also said Tuesday that the proposed legislation currently falls short in reducing health care costs and authorizing immediate five-day-a-week delivery.

"We're hoping for long-term, comprehensive legislation that will solve the issue and make other changes so the Postal Service can be profitable again — not have more delays that just kick the can down the road," postal spokesman David Partenheimer said.

Last month, the post office said it will increase postage rates on Jan. 22, including a 1-cent increase in the cost of first-class mail, to 45 cents. But the rate increase, which is tied to the rate of overall inflation, will make only a small dent in financial losses. The Postal Service hasn't ruled out the possibility of further stamp price increases based on its dire financial circumstances.

The agency is also considering additional layoffs and reviewing about 3,600 underused post offices around the country for closing, many of them in rural areas.

A recent Quinnipiac poll found that registered voters were broadly in favor of ending Saturday deliveries to help with the agency's financial problems, with 79 percent supporting it. Smaller majorities favored raising stamp prices — 60 percent — or closing local branches, about 53 percent.

"The Postal Service is in a tailspin," said Art Sackler, coordinator of the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service, which represents the private-sector mailing industry. "Without congressional action, there is a strong likelihood the Postal Service will have to shut down sometime next summer, dealing another critical blow to the economy and the 8 million private sector jobs that still depend on the mail."


Catalogue delivery is still thriving tho if the stacks that find my mailbox are any indication.


http://news.yahoo.com/post-office-near-default-losses-mount-5-1b-210808129.html

SoNotHer
11-15-2011, 05:36 PM
The APWU (postal carriers union) have been airing some effective ads. I've seen them at the gym. The USPS hires more veterans than any non-military organization, and there's another ad that states that there's a real reason it is in the red - there's money siphoned off the USPS budget every year for another agency.

But you're right, that doesn't stop the catalogs from coming, even when you've asked to be removed from a list.

6sHCV1Qjwvo

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service said Tuesday it has lost $5.1 billion in the past year, pushing it closer to imminent default on a multibillion-dollar payment and to future bankruptcy as the weak economy and increased Internet use drive down mail volume.

The financial losses for the year ended Sept. 30 came despite deep cuts of more than 130,000 jobs in recent years and the closing of some smaller local post offices.

Losses will only accelerate in the coming year, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe warned, citing faster-than-expected declines in first-class mail. He implored Congress to take swift, wide-ranging action to stabilize the ailing agency's finances as it nears a legal deadline Friday to pay $5.5 billion into the U.S. Treasury for future retiree health benefits.

Congress is expected to grant a reprieve, but that will only delay the day of reckoning for an agency struggling for relevance in an electronic age. Based on current losses, the Postal Service says it will run out of money — or come dangerously close — next September, forcing it to halt service.

"We are at a point where we require urgent action," Donahoe said.

In the event of a shutdown, private companies such as FedEx and UPS could handle a small portion of the material the post office moves, but they do not go everywhere. No business has shown interest in delivering letters everywhere in the country for a set rate of 44 cents for a first-class letter.

For the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, the post office had income of $65.7 billion, down $1.4 billion from the previous year. Expenses totaled $70.6 billion.

The loss of $5.1 billion was less than a previous estimate of $10 billion, but only because the $5.5 billion payment — originally due Sept. 30 — was deferred until Nov. 18 with the approval of Congress.

In 2010, losses totaled $8.5 billion.

Mail volume this past year totaled 168 billion pieces, compared with 171 billion in 2010, a decline of 1.7 percent. At the same time volume was declining, the post office was required to begin service to thousands of new addresses to accommodate population growth and new businesses.

The Postal Service, an independent agency of government that does not receive tax money for its operations, is not seeking federal funds.

Instead, postal officials want changes in the way they operate so they can save money. They have asked Congress for permission to reduce mail delivery to five days a week, which many lawmakers oppose, and to eliminate or reduce the annual payments of about $5.5 billion to prefund retiree health benefits. The agency also wants the return of at least $6.9 billion it says was overpaid into federal retirement funds.

The service also seeks more layoffs, which are barred by current contracts with its employee unions, and the authority to negotiate with unions on a possible alternate health care system that would cost less.

Postal Service losses have been mounting over the past few years as more private mail and bill payments have been switched to the Internet, and the recession has hurt returns on advertising and other business mail.

Of particular concern has been the decline in lucrative first-class mail, largely consisting of personal letters and cards, bills, payments and similar items. First-class mail volume fell 5.8 percent in 2011, 6.6 percent in 2010, 8.6 percent in 2009 and 4.8 percent in 2008. Traditionally, this mail has produced more than half of total revenue.

Volume for standard mail — advertising and similar items — improved somewhat, indicating some signs of economic recovery. But it generates less income.

The Postal Service has struggled to find its role in an Internet age but insists it can eventually return to profitability with legislative changes. It recently launched a TV advertising campaign that pokes at the vulnerabilities of email or online payment, noting that documents posted on a refrigerator or cork board won't get "hacked" or attacked by a virus. "Give your customers the added security a printed statement or receipt provides — with mail," the ad says.

A postal default on billions of dollars in federal payments wouldn't cause immediate repercussions. There are no criminal or civil penalties for failure to pay, and the health account already contains more than $40 billion so no retiree's benefits are at near-term risk. In June, the Postal Service defaulted on a separate, legally required payment into an employee retirement fund but now says it will make the $1 billion in accumulated payments following a Justice Department review.

Separate proposals recently passed by House and Senate committees would alter or scrap the annual payment requirement while differing widely on points including financial oversight and a reduction to five-day-a-week delivery. Congress is expected to pass a stop-gap spending measure this week that would extend Friday's payment deadline until mid-December.

The Postal Service has said a short-term delay of the $5.5 billion payment won't change its grim forecast of possible bankruptcy next year. Officials also said Tuesday that the proposed legislation currently falls short in reducing health care costs and authorizing immediate five-day-a-week delivery.

"We're hoping for long-term, comprehensive legislation that will solve the issue and make other changes so the Postal Service can be profitable again — not have more delays that just kick the can down the road," postal spokesman David Partenheimer said.

Last month, the post office said it will increase postage rates on Jan. 22, including a 1-cent increase in the cost of first-class mail, to 45 cents. But the rate increase, which is tied to the rate of overall inflation, will make only a small dent in financial losses. The Postal Service hasn't ruled out the possibility of further stamp price increases based on its dire financial circumstances.

The agency is also considering additional layoffs and reviewing about 3,600 underused post offices around the country for closing, many of them in rural areas.

A recent Quinnipiac poll found that registered voters were broadly in favor of ending Saturday deliveries to help with the agency's financial problems, with 79 percent supporting it. Smaller majorities favored raising stamp prices — 60 percent — or closing local branches, about 53 percent.

"The Postal Service is in a tailspin," said Art Sackler, coordinator of the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service, which represents the private-sector mailing industry. "Without congressional action, there is a strong likelihood the Postal Service will have to shut down sometime next summer, dealing another critical blow to the economy and the 8 million private sector jobs that still depend on the mail."


Catalogue delivery is still thriving tho if the stacks that find my mailbox are any indication.


http://news.yahoo.com/post-office-near-default-losses-mount-5-1b-210808129.html

Starbuck
11-15-2011, 11:41 PM
Jesse Wells Reporting
KFOR-TV
November 15, 2011

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A big vote by the Oklahoma City council officially bans job discrimination based on sexual orientation. The change to the city's employment policy, protecting gays and lesbians, drew lots of debate Tuesday morning.

The resolution specifically prevents gays and lesbians from being fired based solely on their sexual preference.

After nearly 90 minutes of discussion, the item passed.

Supporters believe that sends a clear message of equality.

"This is a big step forward," Scott Hamilton said.

"What the council did today was simply right. There's nothing wrong with gay people," Robert Lemon said.

Supporters like Robert argue the change is beneficial because on the state and federal levels sexual orientation is not a protected class.

"It sends a powerful message Oklahoma City won't tolerate discrimination. We're protecting all people," Hamilton said.

"The council voted for inclusion," Ed Shadid said.

Shadid, the resolution's author, said the fight for gay and lesbian rights is a no-brainer.

"Everyone deserves to be included. I think this goes a long way to heal wounds of the past," Shadid said.

Critics though point out the city's proposal is pointless because there's no proof city employees have been discriminated against based on sexual preference.

"This will provide specific protection based on behavior and that in itself is wrong," Paul Blair said.

In lieu of federal protections, many cities nationwide have passed similar ordinances, including our neighbors in Tulsa.

The council ordinance does not apply to any other private businesses.

Copyright © 2011, KFOR-TV

Toughy
11-16-2011, 01:16 AM
The APWU (postal carriers union) have been airing some effective ads. I've seen them at the gym. The USPS hires more veterans than any non-military organization, and there's another ad that states that there's a real reason it is in the red - there's money siphoned off the USPS budget every year for another agency.

But you're right, that doesn't stop the catalogs from coming, even when you've asked to be removed from a list.

6sHCV1Qjwvo


Instead, postal officials want changes in the way they operate so they can save money. They have asked Congress for permission to reduce mail delivery to five days a week, which many lawmakers oppose, and to eliminate or reduce the annual payments of about $5.5 billion to prefund retiree health benefits. The agency also wants the return of at least $6.9 billion it says was overpaid into federal retirement funds.

Actually it's my understanding the real budget issue is having to pre-pay, I think it's 10 years, into the employee retirement fund. Think about that....

Midnight
11-16-2011, 02:02 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) —


In the event of a shutdown, private companies such as FedEx and UPS could handle a small portion of the material the post office moves, but they do not go everywhere. No business has shown interest in delivering letters everywhere in the country for a set rate of 44 cents for a first-class letter.



http://news.yahoo.com/post-office-near-default-losses-mount-5-1b-210808129.html

Wow 44cents for a first class letter! We pay 60 cents for standard post. Perhaps they need to up the price of postage

EnderD_503
11-16-2011, 12:43 PM
A 10-year-old Illinois girl has committed suicide after enduring bullying that included being called a boy when she had her hair cut short.

Ashlynn Conner, who lived in the small town of Ridge Farm in eastern Illinois, was found hanged in her closet Friday night, and family members believe she took her own life due to bullying and teasing that had gone on for several years, the Associated Press reports.

“When she started cheering for youth football, we’d gotten her hair cut in a bob,” said Lory Hackney, her grandmother. “The kids started making fun of her then. They started calling her a boy.” She was subsequently called “fat,” “ugly,” and “slut,” relatives said.

Vermilion County sheriff Pat Hartshorn said investigators “are not ruling out bullying, but we don’t have any firm evidence to support bullying,” the AP reports.

However, Ashlynn’s mother, Stacy Conner, said the girl came home from school Thursday complaining about taunting by fellow students and asked if she could be home-schooled. Stacy told Ashlynn, a fifth-grade honor roll student who hoped to become a veterinarian, that she would discuss the teasing with her school principal this week. But Friday, shortly after having a phone conversation with a friend about the problem, Ashlynn was discovered hanging in the closet. Hackney, a retired nurse, tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate her granddaughter.

“I don’t know what was so bad she couldn’t wait,” Hackney told the AP.

Source: http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/11/15/Girl_Takes_Life_After_Gender_Based_Taunting/

This is really disturbing, and just shows how kids can equally reflect society's bigotry. I also don't think law enforcement or her own family should be downplaying the severity of bullying for youth. "I don't know what was so bad she couldn't wait." When you're being tormented every day by your peers, "waiting for it to get better" at the age of 10 isn't something that you often feel you can do. I was bullied a lot as a kid, from about grade 1 to grade 10. I was called everything in the book by my peers, physically and verbally taunted. There was a time when I wasn't planning on making it out of my teen years.

This girl was 10 years old and being called a "slut," "fat," "ugly" and made fun of by her classmates because she had a short hair cut. People don't think it was "bad enough" that she had to find a way out on her own? Adults need to stop expecting kids to be able to deal with bullying alone. That kids need to just "wait it out." Putting up with bullying should not be a prerequisite to making it into adulthood. It's time people stop saying "it gets better," and actually fucking make it better. Stop gendering children so damned much that anyone who presents any variation is pushed to self-hatred. Stop making more and more rigid boxes for kids to be shoved into. Just let them be who they are, and then hopefully other youth will stop bullying their classmates if/when adults decide to stop normalizing bullying, sexism, transphobia and homophobia.

Toughy
11-16-2011, 01:26 PM
http://www.thepostgame.com/features/201111/another-era-and-another-sport-sex-abuse-scandal-still-inflicting-pain-today

From Another Era And Another Sport, A Sex Abuse Scandal Still Inflicting Pain Today
Thursday, November 10, 2011 2:43 pmWritten by: Jeff Passan
<snip>
Before Jerry Sandusky -- before he allegedly used the Penn State football complex to commit sex crimes with young boys and before the university spent more than a decade covering up his sins and before the grand-jury report revealed the appalling details of his abuse and before the campus rioted over legendary coach Joe Paterno losing his job amid it all -- there was Donald Fitzpatrick, the longtime Red Sox clubhouse manager who lured Ogletree and at least a dozen other young, African-American boys into two decades of systemic sexual abuse
<snip>

MissItalianDiva
11-16-2011, 02:35 PM
Source http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/

San Francisco – The California Supreme Court today announced that it will file a written opinion at 10 a.m. on Thursday, November 17, 2011, in Perry v. Brown, S189476, a case that involves whether the official proponents of an initiative measure have standing to defend the constitutionality of the measure when the public officials charged with that duty decline to do so.

At the time of filing, the opinion will be available on the California Courts website at this link: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/opinions.cgi.

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Perry v. Brown on September 6, 2011, in San Francisco.

AtLast
11-16-2011, 03:11 PM
http://www.thepostgame.com/features/201111/another-era-and-another-sport-sex-abuse-scandal-still-inflicting-pain-today

From Another Era And Another Sport, A Sex Abuse Scandal Still Inflicting Pain Today
Thursday, November 10, 2011 2:43 pmWritten by: Jeff Passan
<snip>
Before Jerry Sandusky -- before he allegedly used the Penn State football complex to commit sex crimes with young boys and before the university spent more than a decade covering up his sins and before the grand-jury report revealed the appalling details of his abuse and before the campus rioted over legendary coach Joe Paterno losing his job amid it all -- there was Donald Fitzpatrick, the longtime Red Sox clubhouse manager who lured Ogletree and at least a dozen other young, African-American boys into two decades of systemic sexual abuse
<snip>



Some more about race and the kids assaulted by Sandusky-
http://www.theroot.com/buzz/video-mother-penn-state-victim-speaks-out

Corkey
11-16-2011, 03:13 PM
On MSNBC: Judge in Sandusky case replaced.

Good quite the conflict of interest with the former one.

Toughy
11-16-2011, 06:40 PM
Those of you who loved Franco Harris will not like him anymore......he thinks Paterno should NOT be fired.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Franco-Harris-stands-by-his-old-coach-and-loses?urn=ncaaf-wp9995

AtLast
11-17-2011, 02:45 PM
On MSNBC: Judge in Sandusky case replaced.

Good quite the conflict of interest with the former one.

Yes, it was!

Ugh, though.... the emails Mike McQueary has sent out are now going to possibly cause credability problems for the prosecution- they contradict his Grand Jury testimony!! Maybe the old boys network of protection continues-

http://www.wnep.com/sports/mc-penn-state-mcqueary-email-grand-jury-20111116,0,3580453.story

Corkey
11-17-2011, 02:50 PM
Yes, it was!

Ugh, though.... the emails Mike McQueary has sent out are now going to possibly cause credability problems for the prosecution- they contradict his Grand Jury testimony!! Maybe the old boys network of protection continues-

http://www.wnep.com/sports/mc-penn-state-mcqueary-email-grand-jury-20111116,0,3580453.story

I don't think the case is going to hinge on McQueary, there are more and more survivors coming forward and 2 of the boys are going to testify in open court. Sandusky blew it when he made his remarks to Costas. Instead of looking innocent he looks and sounds guilty as hell. Now it's going to play hell finding a jury for this trial anywhere in PA.

AtLast
11-17-2011, 03:07 PM
I don't think the case is going to hinge on McQueary, there are more and more survivors coming forward and 2 of the boys are going to testify in open court. Sandusky blew it when he made his remarks to Costas. Instead of looking innocent he looks and sounds guilty as hell. Now it's going to play hell finding a jury for this trial anywhere in PA.

I hope you are right. Oh, yes- that interview!

My heart goes out to those boys and any victims that end up testifying. They will be re-victimized and the defense will so everything to dis-credit them. Sandusky's setting up an at risk popukation through Second Chance was the perfect MO of the kind of abuser he is. This is such a text-book case of child sex abuse by a pediphile with power and "social" standing. Sometimes I think that parents ought to just find a way to take these guys out- but that isn't right either- but I know that feeling, just wanting to kill the abuser. But my kid had to testify as an adolescent against a female perp- it was not fun and there was damage to him from this as well as the abuse. Defense attorneys pick at anything the kid may have done to dis-credit him or her. No winning for victims even when a perp is found guilty and sentenced.

In these cases, I just wish the damn abuser would plead guilty so that the victims don't have to go through what they will be facing. No wonder so many victims don't speak up. It makes me sick!!

My main feelings right now are aimed at hope for the victims and their families in getting help and support.

Corkey
11-17-2011, 03:13 PM
I hope you are right. Oh, yes- that interview!

My heart goes out to those boys and any victims that end up testifying. They will be re-victimized and the defense will so everything to dis-credit them. Sandusky's setting up an at risk popukation through Second Chance was the perfect MO of the kind of abuser he is. This is such a text-book case of child sex abuse by a pediphile with power and "social" standing. Sometimes I think that parents ought to just find a way to take these guys out- but that isn't right either- but I know that feeling, just wanting to kill the abuser. But my kid had to testify as an adolescent against a female perp- it was not fun and there was damage to him from this as well as the abuse. Defense attorneys pick at anything the kid may have done to dis-credit him or her. No winning for victims even when a perp is found guilty and sentenced.

In these cases, I just wish the damn abuser would plead guilty so that the victims don't have to go through what they will be facing. No wonder so many victims don't speak up. It makes me sick!!

My main feelings right now are aimed at hope for the victims and their families in getting help and support.

Here's the link.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/17/penn-state-scandal-mother-adopted-foster-gma_n_1099700.html

AtLast
11-17-2011, 03:21 PM
It was telling when that pedophile took so long to say he was ummm not sexually attracted to boys....

I'm so fucking disgusted with this. Men's Health magazine had an article giving excuses for why 'good men did nothing'. All the reasons disgusted me, but the one that got me the most was 'cognitive dissonance' meaning despite what you see with your own eyes (McQueery witnessed actual anal rape of a 10 yr old and called his daddy, not the police) you don't believe it because he (the pedophile) is such a good and nice guy.

a friend of mine who worked in child sexual abuse field said that the average pedophile rapes/molests 200 children before being caught.... no I don't have a link, that was what she said...

There are many very good studies in the field to back up what this friend said. Oh, yes, the old cog-dis crap!! We need to (as a society) begin real work about the fact that these perps are in our families, our schools, in non-profit, "do-good" organizations- they are everywhere! Sad, but true and so much needs to be done in how parents can learn to really check-out programs and identify signs of abuse with their kids. But, the real work is about tearing down power structures and having sound reporting laws.

It is hard to accept that there is so much of this going on, I know, but we have got to combat denial and educate ourselves about how these guys set up ways to get at kids right under our noses.

DapperButch
11-17-2011, 06:14 PM
Wow 44cents for a first class letter! We pay 60 cents for standard post. Perhaps they need to up the price of postage

Ummm...who is "we"? You don't have a location indicated.

EnderD_503
11-17-2011, 06:23 PM
Even though it's from a Canadian newspaper, it's about the sex abuse that occurred at Penn State so figured I'd post it here. It's a pretty good satire showing how the sexual abuse that occurs in sports really needs to be addressed.

I should probably warn that the piece is deeply satirical, and some who don't seem to realise what the author is trying to do found it offensive. I'd just like to say that I think the author is bringing up some very good points. First of all, we are facing something that even today is considered "unspeakable" within mainstream society, to the point where youth are silenced from expressing what they've experienced. Boys silenced because of the heteronormative tendency to victim shame, and silently imply that boys cannot be raped or victimized, and if they are then their masculinity is called into question, forcing them to remain silent. Girls because of the sexism in place which implies some wrong done by the female victim. Young children and teenagers are quite commonly faced with sexual assault within athletic, educational and religious institutions by those in positions of authority. Yet very often among those of evangelical or heavily religious leanings, the problem is not addressed as a problem that occurs within a heteronormative framework, which they push upon everyone around them as the most "moral." It is something that is passed off as "sick" or a "sinister sodomite/homosexual agenda." I think an article like this means to expose the darker underbelly of human society, that often fails to look to itself and the atrocities that it's "sports heroes" and "religious leaders" commit. The dangers of glorifying these leaders, and the dangers of pushing sex/gender stereotypes that often serve to silence victims.

Also, the author is Ontarian and I do see some undertones of him using the arguments used by Ontarian Catholic and evangelist fundamentalists about the Ontario Public School Board "pushing the gay agenda" on students and deceiving "good Christian parents." That much is a little locally biased, but I think applies elsewhere, too. I definitely see this article as holding up a mirror to mainstream society and its moral perception of itself.

Sorry about the long spiel, but I read some negative reactions to the article elsewhere, and I think those reactions really did not fully understand the article's intent. It was not meant at all to make light of the situation, or to take advantage of it, but to raise awareness and force society to think.

Anyways, just wanted to share it hear, because I think it is a really good and thought provoking article on an important current issue.

Meanwhile, in straight . . . Penn State exposes the Heterosexual Agenda

BY ROB SALERNO - Straight people. Lately, they're everywhere. Building hospitals, making movies about famous gay people, even teaching our kids. But are all these good deeds simply a cover for a deeply concerning "heterosexual agenda" that takes as its prime objective the raping of children?

Exhibit A: The long history of alleged sexual abuse at Penn State.

Penn State assistant football coach and openly heterosexual man Jerry Sandusky was charged with more than 40 counts of sexual abuse involving minors. The assaults allegedly took place over a period of nearly 15 years.

Sandusky, who together with his opposite-sex wife adopted and raised six children, allegedly inflicted a pattern of escalating abuse on children that he met at Second Mile, a youth charity he helped found.

The alleged victims were all young boys, a clever ploy to throw investigators off the scent since Sandusky is such a raging heterosexual.

Some straight activists say it's just a coincidence that this alleged child rapist is also a heterosexual. But how then do you explain that several known heterosexuals allegedly aided and abetted this spree of shower-room child anal rape?

Once the charges came to light, it emerged that several people -- all heterosexuals -- at Penn State had been aware of allegations of child rape against Sandusky for nearly a decade. In 2002, a grad student walked into the shower room where he says he saw Sandusky anally raping a boy no older than 10 years old. After a cursory investigation by campus police, Sandusky was simply told not to bring children to the shower room again, presumably because carrying out the heterosexual agenda of raping children right in the middle of heterosexual HQ would arouse suspicion. Nothing else was done; neither the police nor the boy's parents were notified. Two of the heterosexual men involved in the cover-up have also been formally charged.

Well, in a face-saving move, the Penn State board of trustees summarily fired two of the heterosexuals who knew about the allegations, including the beloved head coach, Joe Paterno.

It can be hard for queer readers to understand, but let me try to put the scale of this in perspective. US collegiate football is like the heterosexual equivalent of Pride or the Oscars. More than 100,000 people cram into Penn State's suspiciously named Beaver stadium to watch men in outfits that are both scandalously tight and ridiculously padded parade around a field, tackle and pin each other, and dance flamboyantly in joy. By firing the guy who ran the HeterOscars right before a game, some students thought the event was being put in jeopardy.

Notably, when we fire a heterosexual from running the real Oscars, we have the good sense to do it several months in advance and have Billy Crystal on speed dial.

So the students rioted. Thousands took to the streets of the campus, turning over a news van, knocking over lamp posts and pelting riot cops with rocks. It was like the heterosexual Stonewall, except that while adult gays in 1969 were fighting for the freedom to have consensual sexual and social relations with each other, the Penn State students were basically demonstrating for the right to anally rape children with impunity.

If these heterosexual child rapists are out there marching openly in the streets, it can only mean that this "heterosexual agenda" (I choose not to use the word "straight" at this point because it seems to imply a positive moral value that can never be associated with something as despicable as child rape) is more advanced than we ever suspected. It's time for us to fight back, my queer brothers and sisters, because soon, these heterosexuals could be coming after your own children.


Source: http://www.xtra.ca/blog/national/post/2011/11/12/Meanwhile-in-straight-Pedophile-football.aspx

Midnight
11-17-2011, 07:16 PM
Ummm...who is "we"? You don't have a location indicated.


LOL Sorry Dapper. Australia - where the Aussie dollar is currently worth more than the US dollar.

betenoire
11-17-2011, 08:51 PM
LOL Sorry Dapper. Australia - where the Aussie dollar is currently worth more than the US dollar.

It's 59 cents for a standard letter in Canada.

What I don't understand is why dropping mail delivery down to 5 days a week in the US would be such a giant crisis, especially if it would save money. Canada Post only works Monday through Friday, and to my knowledge no Canadian has ever dropped down dead from not being able to expect mail to arrive on a Saturday.

Toughy
11-17-2011, 10:30 PM
I would entirely support 5 days a week over closing local post office branches..........

the local post office has a long history as a gathering place for the people..

betenoire
11-17-2011, 10:52 PM
And plus, I think your mail carriers deserve Saturdays off.

EnderD_503
11-18-2011, 12:37 AM
I would entirely support 5 days a week over closing local post office branches..........

the local post office has a long history as a gathering place for the people..

Just wondering, do Postal workers there have a strong union?

DapperButch
11-18-2011, 06:20 AM
Just wondering, do Postal workers there have a strong union?

I am pretty certain the answer is yes.

DapperButch
11-18-2011, 06:23 AM
I would entirely support 5 days a week over closing local post office branches..........

the local post office has a long history as a gathering place for the people..

I completely agree and think it is ridiculous that it is even being argued.

However, I would guess that on a regular basis the carriers do not work 6 days a week. Therefore, doesn't this mean that there would have to be some lay offs?

EnderD_503
11-18-2011, 07:30 AM
I am pretty certain the answer is yes.

Ah ok. I'm just wondering because here CUPW played/plays a big role in workers getting proper hours (excepting those who choose to work nights or weekends at the post office itself, not letter carriers evidently). Is a reduction in delivery days something the union over there has tried to push for, or are they happy to continue delivery on weekends? I'm just wondering like if closing branches vs. cutting delivery was something the service itself decided or whether it's something the union has also backed.

Sorry for lack of lucidity.

SoNotHer
11-18-2011, 08:31 AM
Global Solar PV to Rise 24% This Year, to 24 Gigawatts

11/16/2011
SustainableBusiness.com News

Despite a weak start to the year and a tumultuous environment for the world's solar industry, solar PV installations will reach 24 gigawatts (GW) in 2011, a rise of 24% from the previous year.

Solar PV will rise just 3% in Europe, however, and Italy will displace Germany as the world's largest market.

Although installations almost doubled in the second half of 2011, suppliers haven't seen a surge in orders because of high inventory levels, according to IMS Research's Q4'11 PV Demand Database.

Earlier this year, IMS Research found that solar module inventory stood at a huge 10 GW, and inverter inventory was at an unusually high level of 6 GW.

Italy is expected to be the world's largest market for the first time, installing 6.8 GW. But slowing markets in Germany, the Czech Republic and other countries have dragged down Europe's world share - which will fall sharply from 82% in 2010 to 68% in 2011.

While Europe is stagnating, the American and Asian markets are performing well and will generate 85% of the global growth in installations in 2011.

"The PV market continues to diversify in 2011; this will create short-term pain for suppliers that can no longer solely rely on one market to fuel their growth, but creates long-term stability for the industry by helping to balance the effects of a single country's incentive policy and reduce large swings in supply and demand. This diversification is clearly continuing to happen and we have identified 20 markets that will install more than 100 MW in 2011, up from just 14 last year," says Ash Sharma, Senior Research Director for Photovoltaics at IMS Research.

In fact, only four of the top 10 solar PV markets will be in Europe in 2011, and the UK will be one of those.

"Despite installing just 45 MW last year, the UK is set to install more than 500 MW in 2011 and become the 8th largest PV market. The attractive incentive levels helped kick-start the market, but the changes to the tariff during the year to prevent large-scale projects and the sudden cuts proposed for December have created a surge in demand," explained Sharma.
IMS expects the US to be the third largest market this year, and China will be the fourth largest.

"Installation rates in China have rocketed since the introduction of provincial and the national FiTs; as China's government seeks to provide domestic demand for its huge manufacturing base whilst Europe falters. Installations in China could reach as much as 2.5 GW this year, but 1.9 GW is most likely," concludes Sharma.

Toughy
11-18-2011, 11:39 AM
Ah ok. I'm just wondering because here CUPW played/plays a big role in workers getting proper hours (excepting those who choose to work nights or weekends at the post office itself, not letter carriers evidently). Is a reduction in delivery days something the union over there has tried to push for, or are they happy to continue delivery on weekends? I'm just wondering like if closing branches vs. cutting delivery was something the service itself decided or whether it's something the union has also backed.

Sorry for lack of lucidity.

I'm not sure what the Union says about only Mon-Fri delivery days. I do know the Union does support removing the 10 yr advance funding of the retirement fund. That advance funding is really driving the budget problems.

The strongest and largest unions left in the US are government employee unions. Overall union membership is less than 25% of the workforce...I don't remember the exact number but I do think it's closer to 20%. Reagan started busting the unions (starting with the Air Traffic Controllers Union) in the 80's and it has been very successful.

40 hour work weeks are standard (for the entire country) with overtime payed for more than 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. As far as I know Sat/Sun is no different than weekdays. Nothing special about those 2 days. There is holiday pay if you work on certain holidays...but not all of them unless you work for the government.

I'm sure staff would be cut some if Sat delivery is done away with. The question also would be about leaving the branches open for business on Sat. I think branches are open until noon on Saturdays, but are always closed on Sun and federal holidays.

Tommi
11-18-2011, 12:36 PM
Mass. Passes Transgender Rights Bill
By KATIE MOISSE
Nov. 16, 2011

A bill that protects transgender people in Massachusetts from discrimination and hate crimes has been passed in both houses of the state legislature. It's not yet known exactly when Gov. Deval Patrick, who supports the bill, will sign it.

The bill amends the state's nondiscrimination statute and existing hate crime laws to include gender identity and expression. Thirteen other states and Washington, D.C., have passed similar bills.

"Transgender individuals in Massachusetts face unacceptably high levels of violence and discrimination in their daily lives," said state Rep. Carl Sciortino Jr., a Medford Democrat who co-sponsored the bill. "This bill will extend our statutory civil rights and hate crime protections to the transgender community."

The bill, which was first filed in 2007, drew strong opposition from such groups as the Massachusetts Family Institute -- which "strongly opposes any efforts by political activists to normalize homosexual behavior and all attempts to equate homosexuality with immutable characteristics such as skin color," according to its website.

Roughly 33,000 people in Massachusetts identify themselves as transgender.

A 2009 survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force found that 97 percent of transgender people reported they were harassed or mistreated at work because of their gender identity or expression. And 47 percent reported they were denied a job or promotion or fired.

"I think it's very difficult for transgender people to be out as transgender," said Gunner Scott, president of the Transgender Political Coalition, a main proponent of the bill. "They risk losing employment, housing, credit, family support, even the opportunity to go to school."

Fifteen percent of transgender people reported living on $10,000 or less per year and 19 percent said they have been homeless, according to the survey.

"This is a community that his disproportionally high levels of not only discrimination, but poverty," Sciortino said. "It has a broad impact not only for these individuals and their families but also for the tax payer who doesn't even know a transgender person."

Hate crime statistics suggest transgender people are more likely to be victims of violence than other members of the LGBT community. If the bill is passed, perpetrators that target people based on gender identity would face the same penalties as those who target people because of their race, religion, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation.

The vote came in the middle of Transgender Awareness Week, a statewide event hosted by the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition. The week closes Nov. 20 with Transgender Day of Remembrance -- a memorial to victims of anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.

"Internationally, more than one transgender person a month is murdered for who they are," said Scott, adding that 11 such cases have been documented in Massachusetts since 1979.

This is the first time the bill has made it to a vote -- a feat Sciortino credits to increased awareness.

"It's been a challenging issue in part because the transgender community is not as familiar to people as the gay community," Sciortino said. "But with people like Chaz Bono on Dancing With the Stars, people are getting a better sense of who transgender people are and the challenges they face."

Tommi
11-18-2011, 12:38 PM
Mass. Passes Transgender Rights Bill
By KATIE MOISSE
Nov. 16, 2011

A bill that protects transgender people in Massachusetts from discrimination and hate crimes has been passed in both houses of the state legislature. It's not yet known exactly when Gov. Deval Patrick, who supports the bill, will sign it.

The bill amends the state's nondiscrimination statute and existing hate crime laws to include gender identity and expression. Thirteen other states and Washington, D.C., have passed similar bills.

"Transgender individuals in Massachusetts face unacceptably high levels of violence and discrimination in their daily lives," said state Rep. Carl Sciortino Jr., a Medford Democrat who co-sponsored the bill. "This bill will extend our statutory civil rights and hate crime protections to the transgender community."

The bill, which was first filed in 2007, drew strong opposition from such groups as the Massachusetts Family Institute -- which "strongly opposes any efforts by political activists to normalize homosexual behavior and all attempts to equate homosexuality with immutable characteristics such as skin color," according to its website.

A 2009 survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force found that 97 percent of transgender people reported they were harassed or mistreated at work because of their gender identity or expression. And 47 percent reported they were denied a job or promotion or fired.

"I think it's very difficult for transgender people to be out as transgender," said Gunner Scott, president of the Transgender Political Coalition, a main proponent of the bill. "They risk losing employment, housing, credit, family support, even the opportunity to go to school."

Fifteen percent of transgender people reported living on $10,000 or less per year and 19 percent said they have been homeless, according to the survey.

"This is a community that his disproportionally high levels of not only discrimination, but poverty," Sciortino said. "It has a broad impact not only for these individuals and their families but also for the tax payer who doesn't even know a transgender person."

Hate crime statistics suggest transgender people are more likely to be victims of violence than other members of the LGBT community. If the bill is passed, perpetrators that target people based on gender identity would face the same penalties as those who target people because of their race, religion, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation.

The vote came in the middle of Transgender Awareness Week, a statewide event hosted by the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition. The week closes Nov. 20 with Transgender Day of Remembrance -- a memorial to victims of anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.

"Internationally, more than one transgender person a month is murdered for who they are," said Scott, adding that 11 such cases have been documented in Massachusetts since 1979.

This is the first time the bill has made it to a vote -- a feat Sciortino credits to increased awareness.

"It's been a challenging issue in part because the transgender community is not as familiar to people as the gay community," Sciortino said. "But with people like Chaz Bono on Dancing With the Stars, people are getting a better sense of who transgender people are and the challenges they face."

Cin
11-18-2011, 01:09 PM
Published on Friday, November 18, 2011 by Reuters
Extreme Weather Set to Worsen With Climate Change: IPCC
by Elias Biryabarema

KAMPALA - An increase in heat waves is almost certain, while heavier rainfall, more floods, stronger cyclones, landslides and more intense droughts are likely across the globe this century as the Earth's climate warms, U.N. scientists said on Friday.

An increase in heat waves is almost certain, while heavier rainfall, more floods, stronger cyclones, landslides and more intense droughts are likely across the globe this century as the Earth's climate warms, U.N. scientists said on Friday. (AFP Photo/Ethan Miller) The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) urged countries to come up with disaster management plans to adapt to the growing risk of extreme weather events linked to human-induced climate change, in a report released in Uganda on Friday.

The report gives differing probabilities for extreme weather events based on future greenhouse gas emissions scenarios, but the thrust is that extreme weather is likely to increase.

"It is virtually certain that increases in the frequency and magnitude of warm daily temperature extremes ... will occur in the 21st century on the global scale," the IPCC report said.

"It is very likely that the length, frequency and/or intensity of warm spells, or heat waves, will increase," it added.

"A 1-in-20 year hottest day is likely to become a 1-in-2 year event by the end of the 21st century in most regions," under one emissions scenario.

An exception is in very high latitudes, it said. Heat waves would likely get hotter by "1 degrees C to 3 degrees C by mid-21st century and by about 2 degrees C to 5 degrees C by late-21st century, depending on region and emissions scenario."

Delegates from nearly 200 countries will meet in South Africa from Nov. 28 for climate talks with the most likely outcome modest steps towards a broader deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change.

CARBON EMISSIONS UP

The United Nations, the International Energy Agency and others say global pledges to curb emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases are not enough to prevent the planet heating up beyond 2 degrees Celsius, a threshold scientists say risks an unstable climate in which weather extremes become more common and food production more difficult.

Global carbon emissions rose by a record amount last year, rebounding on the heels of recession.

"It is likely that the frequency of heavy precipitation or the proportion of heavy rainfall from heavy falls will increase in the 21st century over many areas of the globe," especially in "high latitudes and tropical regions."

For the IPCC, "likely" means a two-thirds chance or more.

It said there was "medium confidence" that this would lead to "increases in local flooding in some regions", but that this could not be determined for river floods, whose causes are complicated.

The report said tropical cyclones were likely to become less frequent or stay the same, but the ones that do form are expected to be nastier.

"Heavy rainfalls associated with tropical cyclones are likely to increase with continued warming. Average tropical cyclone maximum wind speed is likely," the report said.

That, coupled with rising sea levels were a concern for small island states, the report said.

Droughts, perhaps the biggest worry for a world with a surging population to feed, were also expected to worsen.

The global population reached 7 billion last month and is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, according to U.N. figures.

"There is medium confidence that droughts will intensify in the 21st century ... due to reduced precipitation and/or increased evapotranspiration," including in "southern Europe and the Mediterranean region, central Europe, central North America, Central America and Mexico, northeast Brazil and southern Africa."

There is a high chance that landslides would be triggered by shrinking glaciers and permafrost linked to climate change, it said.

SoNotHer
11-18-2011, 06:35 PM
The Delaware watershed is safe for now

The Delaware River Basin Commission has cancelled their upcoming meeting on Monday, when they could have voted to allow fracking in the Delaware watershed.

That means the Delaware River Basin, and the 15 million people who get their drinking water from it, are safe — for the moment — from the dangers of fracking.

In the last week more than 40,000 CREDO members signed petitions, and made nearly 3,000 phone calls to the Governors of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, and to President Obama.

Cancelling the meeting is a huge indication that this pressure was heard by the Delaware River Basin Governors and President Obama — and that the commission did not have the votes in favor of the plan to allow nearly 20,000 gas wells in the basin. Indeed, the cancellation was announced shortly after Delaware Governor Jack Markell sent a letter yesterday stating that he would oppose the rules.

We don't know yet when or if the commission will reschedule the meeting, or how this fracking plan will now move forward. But for the moment, this is a huge victory for clean water. Our congratulations and thanks go to the many activists that did so much great work over the past months to make this happen. Gasland Director Josh Fox and Save The Delaware, Mark Ruffalo and Water Defense, Food and Water Watch, Frack Action and many others.

Please share this victory now and keep up the pressure on our leaders to stop the rapid expansion of dangerous fracking. Your pressure worked. Thank you for helping to make this happen.

https://act.credoaction.com/pages/drbc_fracking/?r=232037&id=30751-2059182-1P1fn5x

Soon
11-18-2011, 06:56 PM
Clarence Thomas Assailed For Alleged Ethical Lapses By More House Dems
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/18/clarence-thomas-ethics-louise-slaughter-letter_n_1101854.html)

LeftWriteFemme
11-18-2011, 07:13 PM
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/11/16/Texas_Parents_Rally_for_Teacher_Fired_for_Being_a_ Lesbian/

Texas: Parents Rally for Teacher Fired for Being a Lesbian
By Michelle Garcia


Nikki Williams
A high school history teacher and basketball coach was fired last month for what administrators say were "performance issues," but parents at the Life School in Waxahachie, Texas, think it's because the teacher is a lesbian.

Nikki Williams, 26, was replaced by a football coach who resigned in September after a grievance was filed against him. Williams's mother told KDAF News that Life School administrators referred only to the school's code of ethics and standards of excellence as the reason behind Williams's ousting. Administrators have said they will not expunge her firing from her work records.
Dozens of parents are now circulating a petition asking to bring Williams back to school. She was fired October 18.

"I think that her being gay has nothing to do with her coaching skills," parent Tiniqua Smith told KDAF. "She has not tried to push this off on the kids, and I don't feel like that should be a problem."

LeftWriteFemme
11-18-2011, 07:21 PM
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/medical-schools-teach-little-about-gay-health-issues/?ref=health

Medical Schools Neglect Gay and Gender Issues
By PAULINE W. CHEN, M.D.

The middle-aged patient with long dark hair made it very clear that this was not her first urinary tract infection. “It’s because when I urinate,” she said, “I need to use a catheter.” She opened the leather satchel on her lap and, to prove her point, pulled out a thin, red sterile length of tube covered in plastic.

“Just ask one of the older nurses or doctors,” she said, smiling. “They all know me.”

But as I would learn, it was not because of her recurrent infections that so many of my colleagues knew her. Several years earlier, she had come in for a routine operation. The doctor had evaluated her before the operation, learned that she was a homemaker and met her husband. But on the morning of her operation, as he pulled down the sheets to begin inserting the urinary catheter into his now sleeping patient, he was startled to discover that the patient was not exactly who he had assumed she was.

She was transgender, and where he had been expecting to find female genitalia, he found male genitals instead.

The operation had gone well; but years later the doctor’s glaring oversight continued to haunt the rest of us. The patient had obviously not felt comfortable disclosing her transgender identify, and the doctor had clearly not asked the right questions. We knew that any one of us could have made the same mistake. While we had been trained well in treating cancer with the best chemotherapy regimen, curing flesh-eating infections with the most powerful antibiotics or transplanting organs with the greatest of ease, when it came to caring for patients who were transgender, we were lost. For many of us, the same could be said for lesbian, gay and bisexual patients as well. The only thing most of us knew how to do was ask about a single issue: “Whom are you having sex with? Men, women or both?”

A study published recently in The Journal of the American Medical Association shows that the situation has not changed much for young doctors. Researchers from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Medical Education Research Group at Stanford University School of Medicine surveyed medical school deans in the United States and Canada and asked about the curriculum devoted to topics like gender identity, coming out as gay and disparities in health care access for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patients. While nearly all the students were learning to ask patients about the gender of their sexual partners, a majority of medical schools devoted only five hours to teaching anything more than that simple question. Fully one-third of schools allotted no time at all.

“These results should serve as a call to action for the health profession to include L.G.B.T. health as part of the standard curriculum,” said Dr. Desiray Bailey, an anesthesiologist and president of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.

What little training medical students do receive — focusing on sexual behavior or H.I.V. infections — ignores the many other complex health-related issues these patients often deal with. As documented in a report issued this year by the Institute of Medicine, L.G.B.T. patients tend to be more isolated and have higher rates of chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure. And because of the discrimination they face and fear, many also have difficulty gaining access to care and thus face an increased risk of suicide, substance abuse and unaddressed domestic violence.

Just “seeing the doctor” can be fraught with tension, as it entails coming out to one’s physician.

“These patients need to feel that they can tell their doctor they are gay and that their doctor will accept them,” said Dr. Mitchell R. Lunn, senior author of the study and a resident in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

But while the federal government has recently announced several initiatives to address disparities in L.G.B.T. health care access, the study confirms that most medical schools are lagging behind. Those schools that do integrate the material into standing courses, offering electives or inviting outside experts to speak on topics like gay parenthood, lesbians’ health or the use of hormones in transitioning from one gender to the other. At other schools, medical students can discuss sexual identity issues with actors who have been trained to play the part, asking them whether they feel different from the identity assigned by society at birth, for example, which helps the students to eventually discuss these topics with real patients in a nonjudgmental but confident way.

But it’s unlikely that most medical schools will change how they teach medical students anytime soon. Organizations responsible for accrediting medical schools and licensing physicians do not require that prospective doctors know about health care issues for lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender patients. And because research in this area is relatively new, it’s difficult for medical schools to find experts qualified to teach.

Nonetheless, many still view the study results as hopeful because of the level of insight from most of the medical school deans. More than a quarter characterized what their school taught in regards to L.G.B.T. patients as “poor” or “very poor,” and almost half called their offerings only “fair.” “This honest appraisal gives me hope that they might already be making plans to improve what they teach,” Dr. Bailey said.

And those kinds of improvements, the study authors believe, would benefit all patients.

“This is about being a good doctor, because a trusting relationship is not just about a patient’s physical or even mental well-being,” Dr. Lunn said. “It’s about learning who that patient is.”

Soon
11-18-2011, 08:00 PM
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/11/16/Texas_Parents_Rally_for_Teacher_Fired_for_Being_a_ Lesbian/

Texas: Parents Rally for Teacher Fired for Being a Lesbian
By Michelle Garcia


Nikki Williams
A high school history teacher and basketball coach was fired last month for what administrators say were "performance issues," but parents at the Life School in Waxahachie, Texas, think it's because the teacher is a lesbian.

Nikki Williams, 26, was replaced by a football coach who resigned in September after a grievance was filed against him. Williams's mother told KDAF News that Life School administrators referred only to the school's code of ethics and standards of excellence as the reason behind Williams's ousting. Administrators have said they will not expunge her firing from her work records.
Dozens of parents are now circulating a petition asking to bring Williams back to school. She was fired October 18.

"I think that her being gay has nothing to do with her coaching skills," parent Tiniqua Smith told KDAF. "She has not tried to push this off on the kids, and I don't feel like that should be a problem."

Comment:
Just to provide a bit more feedback, (I am Nikki's Williams partner/future spouse). She has been promoted three times in the last three years (from JH to JV to Varsity head coach). She has also been protmoted in the classroom (from JH Texas History to High School AP World Geography). Her TAKS tests scores (state testing scores) were 98% passing, her annual evaluations were all proficient and she received a personal email from the superintendent just a couple months ago commending her leadership and strong coaching skills. She's never been suspended, put on a performance plan or been told anything other than that she's doing a great job. But one month after some players ask her if she is gay and if her girlfriend is the one at the games, she says yes. Two months later, she's terminated. Abysmal. Discrimination at its finest.

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

contact info of school (etc)


http://www.lifeschools.net/administration/central-office Executive Superintendent Brent Wilson brent.wilson@lifeschools.net Principal ena.meyers@lifeschools.net Chief Academic Officer Joseph Mena joseph.mena@lifeschools.net Human Resources Director Charles.pulliam@lifeschools.net Chief Operations Officer Barry West barry.west@lifeschools.net Director of Academics Andrew Barbee andrew.barbee@lifeschools.net

taken from comments section @ http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/11/16/Texas_Parents_Rally_for_Teacher_Fired_for_Being_a_ Lesbian/

LeftWriteFemme
11-18-2011, 08:58 PM
Women driving means prostitution, pornography, homosexuality and divorce: Saudi
Posted by admin on Nov 18th, 2011 and filed under Politics & Foreign. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
Saudi Arabia — Women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to drive, the only country in the world to do so. Two months ago, Saudi Arabian court sentenced a woman to 10 whips because she was caught driving around. The Saudi king however, immediately revoked the sentence few days later amid international embarrassment.
It seems apparently that Saudi Arabia in reality has no appetite to forgive the woman. We will now continue the stories of that woman who was sentenced to 10 lashes for driving that time.
Saudi women who drive, would be whipped 10 times
Six months ago, Shaima Jastaniya drove her car in one of Jeddah’s streets before getting arrested by the police. In September, Jastaniya was sentenced to 10 lashes for challenging the driving ban which sparked outrage across the world, and a few days later, news spread that she received a pardon from the Saudi monarch himself.
When interrogated, Shaima said she drove her car because she had no means of public or private transportation and needed to get to the hospital.
Shaima’s sentence became a cause celebre within the royal family when it emerged two months ago. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a billionaire entrepreneur who is Saudi Arabia’s richest man and his wife, Princess Ameerah, made a personal appeal to the king to spare the young mother. The two have been working and actively taking part in international events to improve Saudi image across the world.
The king agreed, and the royal couple telephoned Shaima to reassure her that the charges would be dropped. But no one seems to have ‘informed’ the court in Jeddah, and it has now notified her that the sentence will stand.

Shaima has appealed against the verdict, but there are fears that the ultra-conservative clerics within the government want to make an example of her to warn all women in the Kingdom not to drive. Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz, the newly appointed Crown Prince, is more conservative than his half-brother the king, and has been adamant in his opposition to granting women greater freedoms. Two female Saudi journalists are now being sued for reporting Shaima’s case, and at least three other women are facing trial for driving.
“Shaima is frightened and very confused,” said a friend and fellow activist in Jeddah. “She thought that this was finished, but apparently not. It was bad enough that she was sentenced, but if she is pardoned and still gets punished it would be ridiculous.”
Saudi Arabia is the only country to deny women the right to drive. But despite renewed protests against the ban this year, resistance to reform and change remains strong among conservative royals and clerics.

Shaima has appealed against the verdict, but there are fears that the ultra-conservative clerics within the government want to make an example of her to warn all women in the Kingdom not to drive. Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz, the newly appointed Crown Prince, is more conservative than his half-brother the king, and has been adamant in his opposition to granting women greater freedoms. Two female Saudi journalists are now being sued for reporting Shaima’s case, and at least three other women are facing trial for driving.
“Shaima is frightened and very confused,” said a friend and fellow activist in Jeddah. “She thought that this was finished, but apparently not. It was bad enough that she was sentenced, but if she is pardoned and still gets punished it would be ridiculous.”
Saudi Arabia is the only country to deny women the right to drive. But despite renewed protests against the ban this year, resistance to reform and change remains strong among conservative royals and clerics.
Saudi ultra-conservative hardline radicals: there would be ‘no more virgins’ in our country within 10 years if we allow women to drive
The Saudi highest religious council, the Majlis al-Ifta’ al-A’ala and conservative professors in King Fahd University, a prestigious university in the kingdom, warned that the country would become a den of evil if the ban on women driving were lifted. In their report, it was stated that allowing women to drive would provoke a surge in prostitution, pornography, homosexuality and divorce. Within 10 years of the ban being lifted, it warned, there would be “no more virgins” in the kingdom.
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Soon
11-18-2011, 09:19 PM
Syracuse associate men's basketball coach Bernie Fine, accused by two former ball boys of molesting them over a 16-year period, strongly denied the allegations Friday in a statement released by his lawyer. (http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/7250770/syracuse-orange-assistant-coach-bernie-fine-investigation-fine-denies-allegations-chancellor-nancy-cantor-vows-find-truth)

Soon
11-18-2011, 09:28 PM
Syracuse associate men's basketball coach Bernie Fine, accused by two former ball boys of molesting them over a 16-year period, strongly denied the allegations Friday in a statement released by his lawyer. (http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/7250770/syracuse-orange-assistant-coach-bernie-fine-investigation-fine-denies-allegations-chancellor-nancy-cantor-vows-find-truth)

http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/11/18/syracuse-police-investigate-molestation-allegations-against-university-assistant-basketball-coach/

ESPN said it first investigated the accusations in 2003, but decided not to run the story because there was no independent evidence to corroborate the allegations. Recently, a second man contacted ESPN, alleging that Fine also molested him. That person said he decided to come forward after seeing the Penn State coverage.

AtLast
11-19-2011, 08:25 AM
http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/11/18/syracuse-police-investigate-molestation-allegations-against-university-assistant-basketball-coach/

ESPN said it first investigated the accusations in 2003, but decided not to run the story because there was no independent evidence to corroborate the allegations. Recently, a second man contacted ESPN, alleging that Fine also molested him. That person said he decided to come forward after seeing the Penn State coverage.

From reports I have seen, the statute of limitations ran out on the first report.

My guess is that we might see more sex abuse charges come out of this and at other schools. So common that victims, especially male victims keep this secret. Very sad. But, this can of worms is long overdue to be opened.

Toughy
11-19-2011, 10:23 AM
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2062885/Warren-Beattys-transgender-son-brands-Chaz-Bono-misogynist.html

'This man doesn't represent our community': Warren Beatty's transgender son brands Chaz Bono a misogynist

Dominique
11-19-2011, 12:37 PM
Warning: Gruesome Reading
http://kstp.com/kstpImages/repository/cs/files/Sandusky-Grand-Jury-Presentment-1.pdf (http://kstp.com/kstpImages/repository/cs/files/Sandusky-Grand-Jury-Presentment-1.pdf)

SoNotHer
11-19-2011, 12:44 PM
Gay soldier shares reaction to GOP debate boos
By LISA LEFF

In this Nov. 16, 2011 photo, Capt. Stephen Hill, left, and his partner, Joshua Snyder, pose for a photo in their home in Columbus, Ohio. Hill, the U.S. Army captain who was booed during a Republican presidential debate when he asked a question about "don't ask, don't tell," just returned from a year-long deployment in Iraq, and says he wasn't trying to score political points, just peace of mind for himself and his husband of four-and-a-half months. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/MXom2KigB.S4FTNwDk8Hag--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9MTYyMDtjcj0xO2N3PTEyMzE7ZHg9MD tkeT0wO2ZpPXVsY3JvcDtoPTI1MTtxPTg1O3c9MTkw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/7bedeb15edcdde19fe0e6a706700bfd1.jpg

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Army Capt. Stephen Hill says he wasn't trying to score political points when he asked the Republican presidential candidates if they would reinstate the ban on gays serving openly in the U.S. military. He wasn't worried that his debate question, posed via a YouTube video recorded in Iraq, would generate boos or reveal his sexual orientation to millions of people, including his superiors and fellow troops. All Hill was thinking about in September was his husband of four-and-a-half months, Joshua Snyder, in Columbus, Ohio.

Now that "don't ask, don't tell" has been lifted, he needed to know if the military would take the next step and recognize his marriage, or if a new president would try to force soldiers like him back into the closet. "I was looking forward to the future and hoping everybody would realize we are soldiers first, always," said Hill, 41, an Army reservist who returned last week from his yearlong deployment. "I was hoping 'don't ask, don't tell' would be a distant memory for everybody."

In an interview with The Associated Press, Hill reflected publicly for the first time on his reasons for submitting the pre-recorded question for the Sept. 22 debate, as well as his reaction to the heckles heard around the world; the answer that former Sen. Rick Santorum gave to thunderous applause; and the outrage expressed on his behalf by, among others, his commander in chief.

With Snyder on the telephone, Hill watched the debate live from Iraq at 4 a.m. And this is what he asked: "In 2010, when I was deployed to Iraq, I had to lie about who I was because I'm a gay soldier and I didn't want to lose my job. My question is, under one of your presidencies, do you intend to circumvent the progress that's been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military?"

Santorum replied that he would reinstitute the ban on open service by gay troops because "any type of sexual activity has absolutely no place in the military." "What we are doing is playing social experimentation with our military right now. That's tragic," he continued. "Leave it alone. Keep it to yourself whether you are heterosexual or homosexual."

Hill says the fact that he just outed himself on national television had barely registered when he absorbed the boos and Santorum's answer followed by applause. "When the actual booing occurred, my gut dropped out, because my first inclination was, did I just do something wrong?" he said. "The answer, obviously, wasn't very supportive of gay people, and there was a lot of fear of how the Army would take the question."

He did not have to wait long to find out. At breakfast later that morning, the segment was playing on the chow hall television. Hill immediately tracked down his commander, who told him she had no problem with what he'd done but that she would need to run it up the chain of command. She later relayed the response.

"She said, 'What the military's most concerned with is that you are OK, because it's a lot of pressure on you and we want to make sure if there is anything we can do to help,'" he recalled.

President Barack Obama, about a week later, chided the Republican contenders for staying silent when several people booed an American soldier. Santorum said he had not heard the booing but condemned the audience members who did it.

What Hill remembers most was that a presidential candidate defined his marriage and military service in terms of sex. He holds that up against the times he hid Snyder's photograph because Army buddies were coming over to play video games, introduced his husband as his roommate or brother, and the legal vows they exchanged at the grave of Air Force Sgt. Leonard Matlovich, who was discharged in 1975 after becoming the first gay service member to challenge the U.S. military's ban on gay troops.

Snyder and Hill last month joined other same-sex military couples in suing the government for the same benefits as straight military couples, which the Pentagon denies them on grounds that federal law defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

"This is not about sex," Hill said. "A special privilege is not hiding pictures in my house or God forbid, taking mortar fire again and not knowing if Josh will be recognized. I'm fighting every day to protect everyone's rights as human beings, and it seems counterintuitive for me to be fighting for those rights and not have them."

Cin
11-19-2011, 02:03 PM
Game Over for Planet Earth: The Month’s Biggest Story You Never Read

While you were paying attention to Herman Cain, the Kardashians and the Penn State child sex abuse scandal, the U.S. Department of Energy administered last rites to the planet.
November 16, 2011
By Tom Engelhardt

What's the biggest story of the last several weeks? Rick Perry’s moment of silence, all 53 seconds' worth? The Penn State riots after revered coach JoePa went down in a child sex abuse scandal? The Kardashian wedding/divorce? The European debt crisis that could throw the world economy into a tailspin? The Cain sexual harassment charges? The trial of Michael Jackson’s doctor?

The answer should be none of the above, even though as a group they’ve dominated the October/November headlines. In fact, the piece of the week, month, and arguably year should have been one that slipped by so quietly, so off front-pages nationwide and out of news leads everywhere that you undoubtedly didn’t even notice. And yet it’s the story that could turn your life and that of your children and grandchildren inside out and upside down.

On the face of it, it wasn’t anything to shout about -- just more stats in a world drowning in numbers. These happen to have been put out by the U.S. Department of Energy and they reflected, as an Associated Press headline put it, the “biggest jump ever seen in global warming gases.” In other words, in 2010, humanity (with a special bow to China, the United States, and onrushing India) managed to pump more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than at any time since the industrial revolution began -- 564 million more tons than in 2009, which represents an increase of 6%.

According to AP’s Seth Borenstein, that’s “higher than the worst case scenario outlined by climate experts just four years ago.” He’s talking about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, which is, if anything, considered "conservative" in its projections of future catastrophe by many climate scientists. Put another way, we’re talking more greenhouse gases than have entered the Earth’s atmosphere in tens of millions of years.

Consider as well the prediction offered by Fatih Birol, chief economist at the International Energy Agency: without an effective international agreement to staunch greenhouse gases within five years, the door will close on preventing a potentially disastrous rise in the planet’s temperature. You’re talking, that is, about the kind of freaky weather that will make October’s bizarre snowstorm in the Northeast look like a walk in the park. (That storm had all the signs of a climate-change-induced bit of extreme weather: New York City hadn’t recorded an October snowfall like it since the Civil War and it managed to hit the region in a period of ongoing warmth when the trees hadn’t yet had the decency to lose their leaves, producing a chaos of downed electrical wires.) And don’t get me started on what this would mean in terms of future planetary hot spells or sea-level rise.

Honestly, if we were sane, if the media had its head in the right place, this would have been screaming headlines. It would have put Rick Perry and Herman Cain and the Kardashians and Italy and Greece and Michael Jackson’s doctor in the shade.

The only good news -- and because it unsettled the politics of the 2012 election, it did garner a few headlines -- was that the movement Bill McKibben and 350.org spearheaded to turn back the tar-sands pipeline from Hades (or its earthly global-warming equivalent, which is Alberta, Canada) gained traction in our Occupy Wall Street moment. Check out McKibben’s account of it, “Puncturing the Pipeline,” and think of it as a harbinger. Mark my words on this one: sooner or later, Americans are going to wake up to climate change, just as they have this year on the issue of inequality, and when they do, watch out. There will be political hell to pay.

SoNotHer
11-19-2011, 03:09 PM
"...In other words, in 2010, humanity (with a special bow to China, the United States, and onrushing India) managed to pump more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than at any time since the industrial revolution began -- 564 million more tons than in 2009, which represents an increase of 6%...

Put another way, we’re talking more greenhouse gases than have entered the Earth’s atmosphere in tens of millions of years...

Honestly, if we were sane, if the media had its head in the right place, this would have been screaming headlines. It would have put Rick Perry and Herman Cain and the Kardashians and Italy and Greece and Michael Jackson’s doctor in the shade."

Game Over for Planet Earth: The Month’s Biggest Story You Never Read

While you were paying attention to Herman Cain, the Kardashians and the Penn State child sex abuse scandal, the U.S. Department of Energy administered last rites to the planet.
November 16, 2011
By Tom Engelhardt

What's the biggest story of the last several weeks? Rick Perry’s moment of silence, all 53 seconds' worth? The Penn State riots after revered coach JoePa went down in a child sex abuse scandal? The Kardashian wedding/divorce? The European debt crisis that could throw the world economy into a tailspin? The Cain sexual harassment charges? The trial of Michael Jackson’s doctor?

The answer should be none of the above, even though as a group they’ve dominated the October/November headlines. In fact, the piece of the week, month, and arguably year should have been one that slipped by so quietly, so off front-pages nationwide and out of news leads everywhere that you undoubtedly didn’t even notice. And yet it’s the story that could turn your life and that of your children and grandchildren inside out and upside down.

On the face of it, it wasn’t anything to shout about -- just more stats in a world drowning in numbers. These happen to have been put out by the U.S. Department of Energy and they reflected, as an Associated Press headline put it, the “biggest jump ever seen in global warming gases.” In other words, in 2010, humanity (with a special bow to China, the United States, and onrushing India) managed to pump more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than at any time since the industrial revolution began -- 564 million more tons than in 2009, which represents an increase of 6%.

According to AP’s Seth Borenstein, that’s “higher than the worst case scenario outlined by climate experts just four years ago.” He’s talking about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, which is, if anything, considered "conservative" in its projections of future catastrophe by many climate scientists. Put another way, we’re talking more greenhouse gases than have entered the Earth’s atmosphere in tens of millions of years.

Consider as well the prediction offered by Fatih Birol, chief economist at the International Energy Agency: without an effective international agreement to staunch greenhouse gases within five years, the door will close on preventing a potentially disastrous rise in the planet’s temperature. You’re talking, that is, about the kind of freaky weather that will make October’s bizarre snowstorm in the Northeast look like a walk in the park. (That storm had all the signs of a climate-change-induced bit of extreme weather: New York City hadn’t recorded an October snowfall like it since the Civil War and it managed to hit the region in a period of ongoing warmth when the trees hadn’t yet had the decency to lose their leaves, producing a chaos of downed electrical wires.) And don’t get me started on what this would mean in terms of future planetary hot spells or sea-level rise.

Honestly, if we were sane, if the media had its head in the right place, this would have been screaming headlines. It would have put Rick Perry and Herman Cain and the Kardashians and Italy and Greece and Michael Jackson’s doctor in the shade.

The only good news -- and because it unsettled the politics of the 2012 election, it did garner a few headlines -- was that the movement Bill McKibben and 350.org spearheaded to turn back the tar-sands pipeline from Hades (or its earthly global-warming equivalent, which is Alberta, Canada) gained traction in our Occupy Wall Street moment. Check out McKibben’s account of it, “Puncturing the Pipeline,” and think of it as a harbinger. Mark my words on this one: sooner or later, Americans are going to wake up to climate change, just as they have this year on the issue of inequality, and when they do, watch out. There will be political hell to pay.

LeftWriteFemme
11-20-2011, 04:57 PM
CA could be first in nation to offer redress to gay vets
NEWS
Published 11/17/2011
by Dan Aiello


Sacramento Valley Veterans Michael D. Williams and President Ty Redhouse joined Assemblyman Dr. Richard Pan and Mario Guerrero, director of government affairs for Equality California, at a press conference last week where Pan announced proposed legislation to give state veterans benefits to LGBT service members discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."


Assemblyman Dr. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) announced last week that he will author legislation that will restore state veterans benefits to gay and lesbian service members who were discharged or court-martialed for being homosexual.

If passed, Pan's legislation will be the first such effort at redress by any state or federal agency.

"I am proposing this legislation to assure that gay and lesbian veterans who would otherwise have qualified for these benefits, see them restored," Pan told the Bay Area Reporter . "We need to correct this past injustice."

Asked if the legislation would include language apologizing for the unwarranted discrimination, Pan said, "Personally I believe an apology is due. They fought to defend our country and our country rejected them. The language is not yet finalized but because you have asked me, I think it's an important question I will certainly look to add to the language an apology."

Brian O'Hara, Pan's media director, told the B.A.R. that the proposed legislation will be introduced January 4, the first day of the legislative session.

Pan estimates there were approximately 3,000 Californians discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The military's 17-year-old anti-gay policy was repealed last year by Congress; the repeal went into effect September 20 after a number of certifications were completed by Defense Department officials and President Barack Obama.

If passed, Pan's law would apply to all service member discharges or court-martials where the only crime the veteran committed was being homosexual.

State benefits that would be restored include home loan assistance, college assistance for state schools for both the veteran and his or her children, business waiver fees, access to health care, and tax breaks for veterans who run small businesses.

"I hope this bill will start a national conversation and lead to other states and the federal government following California's lead," said Pan.

He referred to DADT as "an unfortunate political compromise" and "blatant and unwarranted discrimination."

"Our country is safer when gay and lesbian citizens can serve in the military," Pan told the B.A.R.

Asked if this legislation will address benefits or offer redress to the families of service members who have been killed or committed suicide following torment from other soldiers, Pan said it would not.

"There are some tragic, tragic stories. The whole thing is a blight on our nation's history. I'm under no illusions. This bill is not the end all of addressing every wrong that came with DADT," he said.

Pan, a physician, said health benefits for ousted vets and college assistance for them and their dependents are important first steps.

"As a pediatrician I have had the opportunity to care for youth who are LGBT or questioning. I've heard about the discrimination they face. Hearing about the struggles my patients have made, their issues have for me, made me sensitive," Pan told the B.A.R. "As a minority growing up in this country I have also experienced bullying at times because of my ethnicity, personally, growing up. Not to the extent that I've heard from some of my LGBT patients, but enough that I can appreciate their suffering.

The bill may also lead to a national conversation, Pan's spokesman noted.

"This is an important step to, first of all, send a clear message these vets deserve to be honored by the nation and second, that these benefits are deserved and should be restored," said O'Hara. "We are looking to right these past injustices and to spark a national conversation."

Equality California announced on Veterans Day that it was sponsoring Pan's bill.

"We say a lot that invisibility is inequality. The contributions of these service members made have largely been invisible to the American public and now we have an opportunity to shine a light on that," EQCA spokeswoman Rebekah Orr told the B.A.R.

Orr said the legislation originated with Pan.

"It was an idea that came from Dr. Pan – we were really thrilled to be able to support him with that," she said.

Retired Staff Sergeant Ty Redhouse, president of the other sponsoring organization, Sacramento Valley Vets, explained that denial of benefits differed between those veterans given honorable discharges under DADT and those who were ousted prior to the Clinton administration policy.

"Some veterans discharged before DADT were deemed undesirable," Redhouse told the B.A.R. "I have met veterans whose discharge papers listed them as 'undesirable.'"

Redhouse claimed those veterans who received dishonorable or undesirable discharges were denied all veterans benefits. Redhouse, who worked as an intelligence analyst for the Air Force from 1998 until 2006, served in Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

"I think that the next step is to address the benefits of loved ones of veterans, their partners," Redhouse said. The most important of those benefits would be college tuition, access to health care and to burial benefits. Because it specifically denies benefits to spouses or domestic partners of gay and lesbian vets, Redhouse said his organization sees the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act as a critical next step in redress.

Redhouse's organization, online at www.SacValleyVets.org, provides speakers on the repeal of DOMA, as well as California's pending redress legislation.

"We are very supportive of Dr. Pan and we're glad to be a part of the announcement of this legislation," said Redhouse.

Orr said the background that led to DADT almost 18 years ago was one of homophobia.

"I think that the motivations of DADT were very complicated," stated Orr. "The driver behind every effort to roll back equality, or prevent advances in equality, is to allow our opposition to continue to portray LGBT people as outsiders and not citizens of our country. I think it's more dehumanizing than that. I think it's that their efforts have always been to portray LGBT people as harmful to society. Something like DADT or the visibility of committed LGBT couples, those things sort of fly in the face of the lies they tell of LGBT people."

Pan, a freshman lawmaker, defeated Proposition 8 author Andrew Pugno last year for the 5th Assembly District seat. According to O'Hara, he was the only Democrat in the nation to win a Republican-held seat.

AtLast
11-20-2011, 06:21 PM
Bloomberg to speak in a few about this incident during a Press Conference.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/nyc-terror-press-conference/

EnderD_503
11-21-2011, 09:39 AM
I hate to say "I told you so," but well...I did say it. Many said it. Others just chose to ignore the very real threat that Muslim extremists would use the Arab revolutions to their own advantage. And little by little, in Egypt, in Tunisia, in Libya, it's happening. It's becoming Afghanistan all over again. But of course, that's likely what Western powers wanted. They definitely stand to benefit from this, as far as Western imperialism in the middle east is concerned. Their so-called wish to "spread democracy" is total bull.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/21/us-egypt-election-salafis-idUSTRE7AK0OF20111121

SoNotHer
11-22-2011, 09:54 AM
Texas Drought 2011: Depleted Lakes Expose Ghost Towns, Graves And Prehistoric Bones

AP By MICHAEL GRACZYK and ANGELA K. BROWN

BLUFFTON, Texas -- Johnny C. Parks died two days before his first birthday more than a century ago. His grave slipped from sight along with the rest of the tiny town of Bluffton when Lake Buchanan was filled 55 years later. Now, the cracked marble tombstone engraved with the date Oct. 15, 1882, which is normally covered by 20 to 30 feet of water, has been eerily exposed as a yearlong drought shrinks one of Texas' largest lakes.

Across the state, receding lakes have revealed a prehistoric skull, ancient tools, fossils and a small cemetery that appears to contain the graves of freed slaves. Some of the discoveries have attracted interest from local historians, and looters also have scavenged for pieces of history. More than two dozen looters have been arrested at one site.

"In an odd way, this drought has provided an opportunity to view and document, where appropriate, some of these finds and understand what they consist of," said Pat Mercado-Allinger, the Texas Historical Commission's archeological division director. "Most people in Texas probably didn't realize what was under these lakes." Texas finished its driest 12 months ever with an average of 8.5 inches of rain through September, nearly 13 inches below normal. Water levels in the region's lakes, most of which were manmade, have dropped by more than a dozen feet in many cases.

The vanishing water has revealed the long-submerged building foundations of Woodville, Okla., which was flooded in 1944 when the Red River was dammed to form Lake Texoma. A century-old church has emerged at Falcon Lake, which straddles the Texas-Mexico border on the Rio Grande. Steven Standke and his wife, Carol, drove to the old Bluffton site on a sandy rutted path that GPS devices designate not as a road but the middle of the 22,335-acre lake, normally almost 31 miles long and five miles wide.

"If you don't see it now, you might never see it again," said Carol Standke, of Center Point, as she and her husband inspected the ruins a mile from where concrete seawalls ordinarily would keep the lake from waterfront homes. Old Bluffton has been exposed occasionally during times of drought. The receding waters have revealed concrete foundations of a two-story hotel, scales of an old cotton gin, a rusting tank and concrete slabs from a Texaco station that also served as a general store. The tallest structure is what's left of the town well, an open-topped concrete cube about 4 feet high. Johnny Parks' tombstone is among a few burial sites.

Local historian Alfred Hallmark, whose great-great-great grandfather helped establish Bluffton, said his research showed 389 graves were moved starting in 1931 when dam construction began. That's the same year Bluffton's 40 or 50 residents started moving several miles west to the current Bluffton, which today amounts to a convenience store and post office at a lonely highway intersection serving 200 residents. Residents had to leave their ranches and abandon precious pecan trees, some of which produced more than 1,000 pounds of nuts each year. "It was devastating," said Hallmark, 70, a retired teacher, of the move. "They had no choice."

Other depleted lakes across Texas are revealing much older artifacts. More than two dozen looters have been arrested at Lake Whitney, about 50 miles south of Fort Worth, for removing Native American tools and fossils that experts believe could be thousands of years old. The Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees Lake Whitney, is patrolling a number of areas that contain artifacts, including some rock shelters once filled with water, said Abraham Phillips, natural resources specialist with the agency.

At Lake Georgetown near Austin, fishermen discovered what experts determined was the skull of an American Indian buried for hundreds or thousands of years. It's not clear what will become of the skull, said Kate Spradley, a Texas State University assistant anthropology professor who is keeping it temporarily in a lab. Strict federal laws governing American Indian burial sites bar excavations to search for other remains.

No such restrictions exist for the nearly two dozen unmarked graves discovered this summer in a dried-up section of a Navarro County reservoir. Some coffin lids are visible just under the dirt. Crews plan to excavate the site about 50 miles south of Dallas and move the remains to a cemetery, said Bruce McManus, chairman of the county's historical commission. He said the area of Richland-Chambers Lake is on property formerly owned by a slave owner.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime find ... and maybe the only silver lining in the ongoing drought," McManus said.

http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/198279/slide_198279_487933_large.jpg?1321887017

Daktari
11-22-2011, 02:21 PM
Please sign.

http://www.allout.org/en/actions/russia_silenced

AtLast
11-23-2011, 03:29 PM
Report: one of two new alleged victims of Sandusky was a family member
Posted by Ben Kercheval on November 23, 2011, 2:58 PM EST AP

Ugh.

Yesterday, the Patriot News reported that two new cases of alleged sexual abuse by former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky were being opened by Children and Youth Services of Pennsylvania.

Today, it’s been revealed by Sandusky’s lawyer Joe Amendola that one of those two cases came from allegations made by a member of Sandusky’s family. Both new cases involve individuals who are still under the age of 18 and were reported within the past 60 days.The investigation of these cases are still in their early stages.

The assault with the family member allegedly occurred before Sandusky’s arrest earlier this month, but was not brought to the attention of authorities until after Sandusky was indicted on Nov. 4 with 40 counts of sex crimes against children.

If the allegations are true, the two new cases would be the first to involve victims who are still children; the other alleged victims who have come forward up to this point have been adults, even though the allegations of the sex crimes took place when they were children.



http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/23/report-one-of-two-new-alleged-victims-of-sandusky-was-a-family-member/related

Queerasfck
11-23-2011, 05:46 PM
FBI arrests 7 in Amish haircut attacks in Ohio (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jXKHBNqisluuT8kEznLSkc5Aczyg?docId=2c0860649 2b84498a94d4619ddf4a88b)

I can't help but be fascinated by the Amish haircut attacks.

Corkey
11-24-2011, 12:14 AM
http://news.yahoo.com/fort-sill-apaches-win-reservation-mexico-205642852.html

This warms my cold heart.

DapperButch
11-24-2011, 10:13 AM
FBI arrests 7 in Amish haircut attacks in Ohio (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jXKHBNqisluuT8kEznLSkc5Aczyg?docId=2c0860649 2b84498a94d4619ddf4a88b)

I can't help but be fascinated by the Amish haircut attacks.



I am surprised, yet glad that it is being charged as a hate crime. Cutting an Amish man's beard is akin to being raped, or worse (per CNN last night). The fact that it is being charged as a hate crime tells me that the police really get this. I'm impressed by that.

SoNotHer
11-24-2011, 11:37 AM
Russia: a bill to silence millions

www.allout.org/russia_silenced/taf

x89_x9YxTOY

Watch this video from Polina, our friend from Russia, and share her message with friends.

192,511 People support this campaign. Help us get to 200,000
Political leaders in St. Petersburg are about to vote on law that will make it illegal for any person to write a book, publish an article or speak in public about being gay, lesbian or transgender. The ruling party led by President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin could make millions of people invisible with the stroke of a pen.

Human rights defenders around the country are doing everything they can to stop it. They are risking their freedom to organize flashmobs and protests, but they are afraid that it won't be enough.

Right now, the world needs to speak up and tell Russian authorities to drop the bill. Join this call to leaders around the world to reach out to their counterparts in the Russian government - and ask them to reject this discriminatory and anti-democratic law.

AtLast
11-24-2011, 03:32 PM
I am surprised, yet glad that it is being charged as a hate crime. Cutting an Amish man's beard is akin to being raped, or worse (per CNN last night). The fact that it is being charged as a hate crime tells me that the police really get this. I'm impressed by that.

I agree- hate crimes take many forms. And given the right combination of personality disorder or mental health issues, any group could be targeted for worse such as being beaten or killed.

AtLast
11-24-2011, 03:50 PM
http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/24/9001236-congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-serves-thanksgiving-meal-to-troops-in-arizona

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords serves Thanksgiving meal to troops in Arizona

Amazing recovery!

DapperButch
11-24-2011, 06:24 PM
I am surprised, yet glad that it is being charged as a hate crime. Cutting an Amish man's beard is akin to being raped, or worse (per CNN last night). The fact that it is being charged as a hate crime tells me that the police really get this. I'm impressed by that.

I agree- hate crimes take many forms. And given the right combination of personality disorder or mental health issues, any group could be targeted for worse such as being beaten or killed.

Thanks, AtLast.

Just to clarify...

What I meant to say is that CNN last night indicated that to the Amish having their beard cut is a violation that cuts to their very core, in the same way that a severe trauma (such as rape), does for people. That wasn't a direct quote from an Amish person, however.

I believe that in the link John Shaft posted an Amish man was quoted as saying that he would rather be beaten black and blue than have his beard cut.

Being aware of the above is why this case has created some anger in me and a lot of empathy for the victims.

AtLast
11-24-2011, 10:31 PM
Thanks, AtLast.

Just to clarify...

What I meant to say is that CNN last night indicated that to the Amish having their beard cut is a violation that cuts to their very core, in the same way that a severe trauma (such as rape), does for people. That wasn't a direct quote from an Amish person, however.

I believe that in the link John Shaft posted an Amish man was quoted as saying that he would rather be beaten black and blue than have his beard cut.

Being aware of the above is why this case has created some anger in me and a lot of empathy for the victims.

I see- and what you were thinking.

AtLast
11-25-2011, 11:55 AM
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

Black Friday mayhem: Shootings, pepper spray

Greyson
11-25-2011, 01:29 PM
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

Black Friday mayhem: Shootings, pepper spray


I made the mistake of trying to do this "Black Friday" thing. Never again. People were in some sort of shopping frenzie. I did make it from the line outside into the store, then stood in another two separate lines inside the store.

I watched people cutting lines, sending other members of their posse, crew to strategic areas of the store using cell phones and some just literally yelling across the aisles. One family was using the old "Marco, Pollo" yell. That was the tame stuff.

To those who have the grit for Black Friday, happy hunting. Next year, I will stay in a nice warm place and continue to eat left overs and hang out with the TV, books and loved ones.

P.S. I finally told myself, Why are you here? Is it worth it? NO. I left the store with nothing.

SoNotHer
11-25-2011, 01:30 PM
Yeah, ATLast, wtf indeed. Today is my -

http://previous.presstv.ir/photo/20111124/mehjoo20111124224355590.jpg


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

Black Friday mayhem: Shootings, pepper spray[/QUOTE]

DapperButch
11-25-2011, 06:20 PM
I made the mistake of trying to do this "Black Friday" thing. Never again. People were in some sort of shopping frenzie. I did make it from the line outside into the store, then stood in another two separate lines inside the store.

I watched people cutting lines, sending other members of their posse, crew to strategic areas of the store using cell phones and some just literally yelling across the aisles. One family was using the old "Marco, Pollo" yell. That was the tame stuff.

To those who have the grit for Black Friday, happy hunting. Next year, I will stay in a nice warm place and continue to eat left overs and hang out with the TV, books and loved ones.

P.S. I finally told myself, Why are you here? Is it worth it? NO. I left the store with nothing.

I had never been a Black Friday shopper. Over the last 6 or so years I have done it, I would guess, 3 times (for partner's kids electronics). I enjoyed it. All of those times it was for only a few specific items and I never had a problem in any of the stores (Kmart one year, Best Buy one year, and Target another year...this was before Target did their donation bullshit). Anyway, each time it was kind of fun to stand outside in the cold and talk with people. I was bummed last year when my girlfriend's son did want a large ticket item, so there was no reason to go (same thing this year and she is away, anyway).

My experience was a relatively orderly crowd. People walked quickly, but no one jumped link and/or pushed past each other going into the store. Two of those times the stores handed out numbers for the big items, so you were assured the item prior to going into the store, so that probably helped. On the other hand, not everyone was there for those items, yet people were still calm. Guess I have been lucky.

Greyson
11-27-2011, 11:41 AM
Dapper, thanks for telling us about your experience. I was at a Target Store. I went to try and purchase a T.V. Not one of the TV's that is big enough to cover an entire wall. I was looking for a 32 - 40 inch.

There were two people in the final line in front of me that were very decent. They were also first time Black Friday folks. All of us ended up leaving. There were people who had the Tickets to buy big screen TVs and they were going up and down the line trying to sell the tickets.

I guess it is a mixed bag. It just felt very tense. There were two police cars parked out in front with their lights on, people who came late were blocked off from even being able to get into the line that was wrapped around the store.

Here in the SF East Bay in another city there was an attempted robbery of a family walking back to their car with their purchase made at a Walmart. One person was seriously injured, he was shot, one suspect got away, another did not. Maybe it seemed more crazy because of the economic times we now live in.

One more story, not Black Friday stuff but over this holiday weekend. Julie and I went to Trader Joe's to buy some groceries on Saturday. That store is usally a zoo but people are civil. Anyway, outside of the a few feet away stood a woman holding a sign that she had children and needed to feed them. The woman could not speak very good english and one of her daughters, about 8 years old stood there with her. It was heart breaking to see. I was heartened to see many people giving her money in a respectful way and showing human compassion and kindness.


I had never been a Black Friday shopper. Over the last 6 or so years I have done it, I would guess, 3 times (for partner's kids electronics). I enjoyed it. All of those times it was for only a few specific items and I never had a problem in any of the stores (Kmart one year, Best Buy one year, and Target another year...this was before Target did their donation bullshit). Anyway, each time it was kind of fun to stand outside in the cold and talk with people. I was bummed last year when my girlfriend's son did want a large ticket item, so there was no reason to go (same thing this year and she is away, anyway).

My experience was a relatively orderly crowd. People walked quickly, but no one jumped link and/or pushed past each other going into the store. Two of those times the stores handed out numbers for the big items, so you were assured the item prior to going into the store, so that probably helped. On the other hand, not everyone was there for those items, yet people were still calm. Guess I have been lucky.

SoNotHer
11-27-2011, 12:41 PM
Interesting experiences, Greyson. I'm sure it does feel tense now as we sift through these times of former expectations and present realities.

I hope you and Julie had a good holiday. SNH

Dapper, thanks for telling us about your experience. I was at a Target Store. I went to try and purchase a T.V. Not one of the TV's that is big enough to cover an entire wall. I was looking for a 32 - 40 inch.

There were two people in the final line in front of me that were very decent. They were also first time Black Friday folks. All of us ended up leaving. There were people who had the Tickets to buy big screen TVs and they were going up and down the line trying to sell the tickets.

I guess it is a mixed bag. It just felt very tense. There were two police cars parked out in front with their lights on, people who came late were blocked off from even being able to get into the line that was wrapped around the store.

Here in the SF East Bay in another city there was an attempted robbery of a family walking back to their car with their purchase made at a Walmart. One person was seriously injured, he was shot, one suspect got away, another did not. Maybe it seemed more crazy because of the economic times we now live in.

One more story, not Black Friday stuff but over this holiday weekend. Julie and I went to Trader Joe's to buy some groceries on Saturday. That store is usally a zoo but people are civil. Anyway, outside of the a few feet away stood a woman holding a sign that she had children and needed to feed them. The woman could not speak very good english and one of her daughters, about 8 years old stood there with her. It was heart breaking to see. I was heartened to see many people giving her money in a respectful way and showing human compassion and kindness.

SoNotHer
11-27-2011, 05:32 PM
http://www.enn.com/agriculture/article/43617

Mexican farmers suffer worst drought in 70 years

http://www.enn.com/image_for_articles/43617-1.jpg/medium

Photo shows the sun setting over a dry patch of land in Parras de La Fuente in the state of Coahuila November 24, 2011. Credit: REUTERS/Stringer

Mexico is being battered its worst drought in seven decades, which has devastated farm life and is expected to continue into next year. The lack of rainfall has affected almost 70 percent of the country and northern states like Coahuila, San Luis Potosi, Sonora, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas have suffered the most acute water shortage.

Due to the drought and a cold snap at the start of the year, the government has cut its forecast for corn production two times in 2011. It now expects a harvest of 20 million tonnes compared to a previous estimate of 23 million. Crops that cover tens of thousands of acres have been lost this year and roughly 450,000 cattle have died in arid pastures. Crucial dams, typically full at this time of year, are at 30 to 40 percent of capacity.

"This is very serious," Ignacio Rivera, an official at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, told Reuters. "Statistics on precipitation in the country show us that this year has been the driest in the last 70 years." The country has total arable land of 22 million hectares (54.4 million acres) that can be tilled over two planting seasons while the national cattle herd last year was just over 32.6 million.

Mexico is one of the world's five top corn producers and the government expects output to recover to 25 million tonnes in 2012, aided by reorganization of the cultivated areas. Rivera said that of the 8.1 million hectares of farmland insured by the government against natural disaster, some 600,000 claims have been lodged to recover losses on 3.8 million hectares. The Mexican government has so far set aside some 1.6 billion pesos ($113 million) to cover the losses.

Forecasts do not signal any near-term relief, but rather more losses ahead as the winter season brings damaging frost. "It's a troubling situation, and is more worrisome because the rainy season is over... the hope is that by June it starts to rain," said Felipe Arreguin, deputy director of the National Water Commission (Conagua).



Article continues: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/26/us-mexico-drought-idUSTRE7AO18Q20111126

AtLast
11-28-2011, 04:55 AM
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/22/1039016/-Penn-State-victim-bullied-out-of-school
Tue Nov 22, 2011 at 07:32 AM PST.


Penn State victim bullied out of school
Penn State football needs to go. Maybe all college football needs to go. I like a good football game, but there comes a point where we have to draw the line. According to Pennlive.com, Alleged Jerry Sandusky victim leaves school because of bullying, counselor says:

Victim One, the first known alleged victim of abuse by former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky, had to leave his school in the middle of his senior year because of bullying, his counselor said Sunday.
Officials at Central Mountain High School in Clinton County weren’t providing guidance for fellow students, who were reacting badly about Joe Paterno’s firing and blaming the 17-year-old, said Mike Gillum, the psychologist helping his family. Those officials were unavailable for comment this weekend.

The name-calling and verbal threats were just too much, he said.

The mighty Penn State football program apparently requires the bullying of children to keep its sacred coach in place. Oh, I know, neither Penn State nor the high school sent out a memo, but there was no need. This shit happens because the high school tolerates it and because the weak leadership at Penn State has either done nothing or at least not enough, in the way as working with the high schools of the victims, to help repair the damage caused by their cover up and enabling of the Sandusky crimes.

Anyone who has ever been bullied as a child knows what kind of fear is involved in this situation. The only choice for this child was to withdraw from the school.

I should point out that there was evidence in the grand jury report that witnesses were subjected to what appeared to be pressure and tampering (phone calls by the Sandusky family at odd times, patrolling by Jerry Sandusky in a parking lot, apparently looking for a janitor who'd seen him abusing a child).

A wretched performance by the "adults" in this situation, who are far more concerned about a few wealthy old men and their posts than they are about the children of the commonwealth.


.

SoNotHer
11-28-2011, 10:33 AM
Atlast, have you seen the news on Bernie Fine, assistant basketball coach at Syracuse?

http://espn.go.com/new-york/story/_/id/7288286/bernie-fine-fired-syracuse-orange-amid-molestation-allegations

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/22/1039016/-Penn-State-victim-bullied-out-of-school
Tue Nov 22, 2011 at 07:32 AM PST.


Penn State victim bullied out of school
Penn State football needs to go. Maybe all college football needs to go. I like a good football game, but there comes a point where we have to draw the line. According to Pennlive.com, Alleged Jerry Sandusky victim leaves school because of bullying, counselor says:

Victim One, the first known alleged victim of abuse by former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky, had to leave his school in the middle of his senior year because of bullying, his counselor said Sunday.
Officials at Central Mountain High School in Clinton County weren’t providing guidance for fellow students, who were reacting badly about Joe Paterno’s firing and blaming the 17-year-old, said Mike Gillum, the psychologist helping his family. Those officials were unavailable for comment this weekend.

The name-calling and verbal threats were just too much, he said.

The mighty Penn State football program apparently requires the bullying of children to keep its sacred coach in place. Oh, I know, neither Penn State nor the high school sent out a memo, but there was no need. This shit happens because the high school tolerates it and because the weak leadership at Penn State has either done nothing or at least not enough, in the way as working with the high schools of the victims, to help repair the damage caused by their cover up and enabling of the Sandusky crimes.

Anyone who has ever been bullied as a child knows what kind of fear is involved in this situation. The only choice for this child was to withdraw from the school.

I should point out that there was evidence in the grand jury report that witnesses were subjected to what appeared to be pressure and tampering (phone calls by the Sandusky family at odd times, patrolling by Jerry Sandusky in a parking lot, apparently looking for a janitor who'd seen him abusing a child).

A wretched performance by the "adults" in this situation, who are far more concerned about a few wealthy old men and their posts than they are about the children of the commonwealth.


.

LeftWriteFemme
11-28-2011, 11:41 AM
Barney Frank, one of the most prominent out gay politicians, announced his intentions to retire.


http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kWpe7CFpkxg/TrhHaCZO_hI/AAAAAAAAFF8/Jbyu6j_3Wjw/s1600/barneyfrank.jpg


http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=873342&f=e

BOSTON - Representative Barney Frank, the liberal firebrand who has served in the House of Representatives for 30 years, has decided not to seek re-election in 2012.

Mr. Frank, 71, will hold a news conference at 1 p.m. in Newton, Mass., to discuss the decision, according to his office.

Mr. Frank faced his most competitive re-election contest in decades last year, when Sean Bielat, a Republican and former Marine, put him on the defensive. But Mr. Frank still won a 16th term by about 10 percentage points.

His Fourth District falls mostly in southern Massachusetts but also includes the famously liberal Boston suburbs of Newton and Brookline. Under a new redistricting plan that Gov. Deval Patrick, a fellow Democrat, signed into law last week, Mr. Frank's district would have lost the heavily Democratic city of New Bedford and gained some more conservative towns.

In February, Mr. Frank announced that he would seek re-election in 2012.

Mr. Frank served as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee until Republicans won control of the chamber this year; he remains the ranking Democrat. He co-wrote the Dodd-Frank law overhauling financial regulation; the other author, Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, left the Senate last year.

Possible Democratic contenders for Mr. Frank's seat include Setti Warren, the mayor of Newton, and Alan Khazei, who lives in Brookline and co-founded a national service program. Both men dropped out of the Democratic primary race for the United States Senate this fall after Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard professor and consumer advocate, joined the field.

Although Mr. Frank's district is perceived as heavily Democratic, Senator Scott P. Brown, a Republican, narrowly carried the district in the January 2010 special election for Edward M. Kennedy's longtime seat.

Greyson
11-28-2011, 12:45 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
NY Times
November 28, 2011

Judge Blocks Citigroup Settlement With S.E.C.By EDWARD WYATT

WASHINGTON — A federal judge in New York on Monday threw out a settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Citigroup over a 2007 mortgage derivatives deal, saying that the S.E.C.’s policy of settling cases by allowing a company to neither admit nor deny the agency’s allegations did not satisfy the law.

The judge, Jed S. Rakoff of United States District Court in Manhattan, ruled that the S.E.C.’s $285 million settlement, announced last month, is “neither fair, nor reasonable, nor adequate, nor in the public interest” because it does not provide the court with evidence on which to judge the settlement.

The ruling could throw the S.E.C.’s enforcement efforts into chaos, because a majority of the fraud cases and other actions that the agency brings against Wall Street firms are settled out of court, most often with a condition that the defendant does not admit that it violated the law while also promising not to deny it.

That condition gives a company or individual an advantage in subsequent civil litigation for damages, because cases in which no facts are established cannot be used in evidence in other cases, like shareholder lawsuits seeking recovery of losses or damages. The S.E.C.’s policy — “hallowed by history, but not by reason,” Judge Rakoff wrote — creates substantial potential for abuse, the judge said, because “it asks the court to employ its power and assert its authority when it does not know the facts.”

The S.E.C. did not respond immediately to a request for comment on the judge’s decision, which was released Monday morning. A Citigroup spokesman said the company was studying the decision and had no immediate comment.

Citigroup was charged with negligence in its selling to customers a billion-dollar mortgage securities fund, known as Class V Funding III. The S.E.C. alleged that Citigroup picked the securities to be included in the fund without telling investors, claiming that the securities were being chosen by an independent entity. Citigroup then bet against the investments because it believed that they would lose value, the S.E.C. said.

Investors lost $700 million in the fund, according to the S.E.C., while Citigroup gained about $160 million in profits.

The settlement established none of those allegations as fact, thereby making it impossible for the court to properly judge whether the settlement meets the required standard of being fair, adequate and in the public interest.

“An application of judicial power that does not rest on facts is worse than mindless, it is inherently dangerous,” Judge Rakoff wrote in the case, S.E.C. v. Citigroup Global Markets. “In any case like this that touches on the transparency of financial markets whose gyrations have so depressed our economy and debilitated our lives, there is an overriding public interest in knowing the truth.”

The S.E.C. in particular, he added, “has a duty, inherent in its statutory mission, to see that the truth emerges.”

http://http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/29/business/judge-rejects-sec-accord-with-citi.html?_r=1&emc=na

atomiczombie
11-28-2011, 01:21 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
NY Times
November 28, 2011

Judge Blocks Citigroup Settlement With S.E.C.By EDWARD WYATT

WASHINGTON — A federal judge in New York on Monday threw out a settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Citigroup over a 2007 mortgage derivatives deal, saying that the S.E.C.’s policy of settling cases by allowing a company to neither admit nor deny the agency’s allegations did not satisfy the law.

The judge, Jed S. Rakoff of United States District Court in Manhattan, ruled that the S.E.C.’s $285 million settlement, announced last month, is “neither fair, nor reasonable, nor adequate, nor in the public interest” because it does not provide the court with evidence on which to judge the settlement.

The ruling could throw the S.E.C.’s enforcement efforts into chaos, because a majority of the fraud cases and other actions that the agency brings against Wall Street firms are settled out of court, most often with a condition that the defendant does not admit that it violated the law while also promising not to deny it.

That condition gives a company or individual an advantage in subsequent civil litigation for damages, because cases in which no facts are established cannot be used in evidence in other cases, like shareholder lawsuits seeking recovery of losses or damages. The S.E.C.’s policy — “hallowed by history, but not by reason,” Judge Rakoff wrote — creates substantial potential for abuse, the judge said, because “it asks the court to employ its power and assert its authority when it does not know the facts.”

The S.E.C. did not respond immediately to a request for comment on the judge’s decision, which was released Monday morning. A Citigroup spokesman said the company was studying the decision and had no immediate comment.

Citigroup was charged with negligence in its selling to customers a billion-dollar mortgage securities fund, known as Class V Funding III. The S.E.C. alleged that Citigroup picked the securities to be included in the fund without telling investors, claiming that the securities were being chosen by an independent entity. Citigroup then bet against the investments because it believed that they would lose value, the S.E.C. said.

Investors lost $700 million in the fund, according to the S.E.C., while Citigroup gained about $160 million in profits.

The settlement established none of those allegations as fact, thereby making it impossible for the court to properly judge whether the settlement meets the required standard of being fair, adequate and in the public interest.

“An application of judicial power that does not rest on facts is worse than mindless, it is inherently dangerous,” Judge Rakoff wrote in the case, S.E.C. v. Citigroup Global Markets. “In any case like this that touches on the transparency of financial markets whose gyrations have so depressed our economy and debilitated our lives, there is an overriding public interest in knowing the truth.”

The S.E.C. in particular, he added, “has a duty, inherent in its statutory mission, to see that the truth emerges.”

http://http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/29/business/judge-rejects-sec-accord-with-citi.html?_r=1&emc=na

Right on that's awesome. Hooray for small victories!

AtLast
11-28-2011, 02:13 PM
Atlast, have you seen the news on Bernie Fine, assistant basketball coach at Syracuse?

http://espn.go.com/new-york/story/_/id/7288286/bernie-fine-fired-syracuse-orange-amid-molestation-allegations

There needs to be a BIG clean-up of college sports programs. I think we are going to see many more cases about many schools. Look at the statistics about child sexual abuse and these specific kinds of abusers. These programs and the money and politics in them are fertile grounds for this abuse. The abuser has a double layer of protection with others not wanting to take a program down.

And what the hell is wrong with Fine's wife? Although, more of this kind of keeping quiet will be exposed, I think, including administrations of these schools.

*Anya*
11-28-2011, 02:33 PM
POSTED IN Civil Rights Law (portion of analysis posted here)
November 28, 2011 written by VIKRAM DAVID AMAR AND ALAN E. BROWNSTEIN

The California Supreme Court Rules that Prop. 8’s Proponents Have Standing to Defend the Initiative: What Does That Mean in the Ninth Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court?

The week before last, the California Supreme court held that the official sponsors/proponents of Proposition 8 (Prop. 8) have the authority to defend the initiative in state court on behalf of the voters who passed Prop. 8, now that elected representatives have declined to defend the measure against challenge.

This ruling makes it considerably more likely that the same-sex-marriage controversy will end up in the U.S. Supreme Court sooner rather than later. If the California case does reach the high Court, however, it is still quite unclear, as we explain below, whether the Court will rule on the merits—or instead dismiss the appeal on procedural grounds.

A Summary of the Prop. 8 Litigation Thus Far
Prop. 8, an initiative amending California’s constitution to ban gay/lesbian marriage, was enacted in 2008. In 2009, same-sex couples who sought marriage licenses filed suit in federal court in San Francisco against California officials, alleging that Prop. 8 violated privacy and equality rights under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

After trial, Judge Walker struck down Prop. 8, ruling that it does indeed violate the federal Constitution. The proponents of Prop. 8 (but not the Governor or the Attorney General) then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. At that point, the Ninth Circuit posed a question that had not been adequately analyzed theretofore: Does the dispute present a real “case or controversy” that federal courts are permitted to resolve, given that the only defenders of the measure in court are unelected private proponents? In legal terms, the question is whether the initiative proponents have “standing” under the federal Constitution to defend in federal court.

To decide this question, the Ninth Circuit asked for input from the California Supreme court. Using a process known as “certification,” the Ninth Circuit asked the California Justices whether, at least as a matter of California law, initiative proponents enjoy some special capacity to represent the state’s electorate when public officials decline to defend a law adopted through direct democracy.

On November 17, the California Supreme court unanimously said “yes”—for Prop. 8 and for all other initiatives, proponents can defend when public officials won’t. The essential reasoning was straightforward; it would not make sense for elected officials to have the power to let an initiative die for lack of a defense, when the initiative device itself is supposed to be a check on elected officials. Because elected officials may resent an initiative that has circumvented their roles or limited their power, voters have a “legitimate concern” that such officials will sometime fail to undertake a legal defense of initiatives “with vigor” or with “the objectives and interests of [] voters paramount in mind.”

In addition to answering this state-law question, the court—in a somewhat unusual and ambitious move—also rendered its view that proponents should have standing to defend initiatives in federal court (where the Prop. 8 litigation is taking place) as well as state court. The California Justices acknowledged that standing in federal court is a matter not of state law, but rather federal law, and thus one for the federal courts ultimately to decide.
But the California court offered its own reading of U.S. Supreme Court precedents, and indicated its belief that to the extent the U.S. Supreme Court has been skeptical of initiative-proponent standing in federal court in the past, that was only (or largely) because, in the states involved in prior cases, state law did not authorize proponents to represent the state, whereas in California proponents are authorized to do so.

With this input, the Ninth Circuit will now decide whether the Prop. 8 proponents enjoy standing in federal court. It is likely the Ninth Circuit will answer that question in the affirmative, given the signals it sent in crafting the questions it certified. That means the Ninth Circuit panel will likely address Prop. 8 on the merits.

Then if—as is very possible, given the ideological makeup of the three-judge Ninth Circuit panel—the panel affirms Judge Walker’s ruling and strikes down Prop. 8 (holding that there is a federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage), and if the Ninth Circuit does not revisit the case as a whole (en banc), the U.S. Supreme Court may have no choice but to take up the dispute.

After all, under such a scenario, same-sex marriage would be a federal constitutional right West of the Rockies, but nowhere else. Lack of uniformity as to the scope of such a major federal right could not be tolerated for long.

In this regard, it is worth noting that many analysts believe that the Justices in DC use manipulable standing rules to regulate their docket and avoid tackling substantive issues when they want matters to percolate more in the lower courts—and in society—before a final resolution is reached.

We won’t know how any of this will play out for quite a while. The Ninth Circuit could be expected to issue its ruling sometime in 2012, but it’s hard to see the Supreme Court getting involved until late 2012 or (more likely) 2013, at the earliest.

Greyson
11-28-2011, 05:40 PM
I agree with the notion that reporting on our private life as long as it is between consentual adults is out of bounds. I also can understand why such stories get media attention. If most of these hypocrites did not go around discussing and making laws to criminalize the lives of others, maybe there would not be such a backlash when they are exposed in some of their sexual and romantic liaisons.
__________________________________________________ _____________



Woman Claims She Had 13-Year Affair With Herman Cain
Campaign lawyer says the report is out of bounds, Cain won't comment.

By Josh Voorhees | Posted Monday, Nov. 28, 2011, at 5:36 PM ET

An Atlanta woman is claiming that she had a 13-year-long extramarital affair with Herman Cain.

"It was pretty simple," the woman, Ginger White, told Atlanta's FOX 5 in an exclusive interview that is set to be broadcast Monday evening. "It wasn't complicated. I was aware that he was married. And I was also aware I was involved in a very inappropriate situation, relationship."


FOX 5 published excerpts of the interview shortly after 5 p.m. The full story is set to air on the station's 6 p.m. broadcast.

The reporter who conducted the interview, Dale Russell, began promoting his scoop on his Facebook page Monday afternoon, claiming in the online promo that Cain "denies an affair, but not a relationship." In a statement to the news channel later, however, Cain's lawyer did not deny that alleged affair occurred, instead suggesting that the issue was a private matter and that it was out of bounds in terms of what the media should be focused on.


"No individual, whether a private citizen, a candidate for public office or a public official, should be questioned about his or her private sexual life," Cain lawyer Lin Wood said in a statement to FOX 5. "The public's right to know and the media's right to report has boundaries and most certainly those boundaries end outside of one's bedroom door."


Wood added that Cain "has no obligation" to discuss the latest accusations publicly and that "he will not do so even if his principled position is viewed unfavorably by members of the media."

Wood's response to the latest story that threatens to derail Cain's already embattled White House bid is markedly different from the campaign's handling of the previous allegations of sexual harassment against Cain that surfaced at the end of October. Cain's team initially denied that entire story before later offering an evolving response that eventually conceded that the details of the original Politico report were correct.

Here is Wood's full statement to FOX 5:

"Mr. Cain has been informed today that your television station plans to broadcast a story this evening in which a female will make an accusation that she engaged in a 13-year long physical relationship with Mr. Cain. This is not an accusation of harassment in the workplace – this is not an accusation of an assault - which are subject matters of legitimate inquiry to a political candidate. "Rather, this appears to be an accusation of private, alleged consensual conduct between adults - a subject matter which is not a proper subject of inquiry by the media or the public. No individual, whether a private citizen, a candidate for public office or a public official, should be questioned about his or her private sexual life. The public's right to know and the media's right to report has boundaries and most certainly those boundaries end outside of one's bedroom door.

"Mr. Cain has alerted his wife to this new accusation and discussed it with her. He has no obligation to discuss these types of accusations publicly with the media and he will not do so even if his principled position is viewed unfavorably by members of the media."


http://http://slatest.slate.com/posts/2011/11/28/herman_cain_affair_fox_5_atlanta_reports_gop_conte nder_had_13_year_affair.html?from=rss/&wpisrc=newsletter_slatest

Corkey
11-28-2011, 08:15 PM
http://www.prisonplanet.com/senate-moves-to-allow-military-to-intern-americans-without-trial.html

So much for the Constitution.

Toughy
11-28-2011, 08:19 PM
http://www.prisonplanet.com/senate-moves-to-allow-military-to-intern-americans-without-trial.html

So much for the Constitution.

we lost the Bill of Rights with 'The Patriot Act'. More nails in the coffin

Vlasta
11-28-2011, 11:42 PM
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's daughter, whose defection to the West during the Cold War embarrassed the ruling communists and made her a best-selling author, has died. She was 85.

Lana Peters — who was known internationally by her previous name, Svetlana Alliluyeva — died of colon cancer Nov. 22 in Wisconsin, where she lived off and on after becoming a U.S. citizen, Richland County Coroner Mary Turner said Monday.

Her defection in 1967 — which she said was partly motivated by the poor treatment of her late husband, Brijesh Singh, by Soviet authorities — caused an international furor and was a public relations coup for the U.S. But Peters, who left behind two children, said her identity involved more than just switching from one side to the other in the Cold War. She even moved back to the Soviet Union in the 1980s, only to return to the U.S. more than a year later.

When she left the Soviet Union in 1966 for India, she planned to leave the ashes of her late third husband, an Indian citizen, and return. Instead, she walked unannounced into the U.S. embassy in New Delhi and asked for political asylum. After a brief stay in Switzerland, she flew to the U.S.

Peters carried with her a memoir she had written in 1963 about her life in Russia. "Twenty Letters to a Friend" was published within months of her arrival in the U.S. and became a best-seller.

Upon her arrival in New York City in 1967, the 41-year-old said: "I have come here to seek the self-expression that has been denied me for so long in Russia." She said she had come to doubt the communism she was taught growing up and believed there weren't capitalists or communists, just good and bad human beings. She had also found religion and believed "it was impossible to exist without God in one's heart."

In the book, she recalled her father, who died in 1953 after ruling the nation for 29 years, as a distant and paranoid man.

"He was a very simple man. Very rude. Very cruel," Peters told the Wisconsin State Journal in a rare interview in 2010. "There was nothing in him that was complicated. He was very simple with us. He loved me and he wanted me to be with him and become an educated Marxist."

Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin denounced Peters as a "morally unstable" and "sick person."

"I switched camps from the Marxists to the capitalists," she recalled in a 2007 interview for the documentary "Svetlana About Svetlana." But she said her identity was far more complex than that and never completely understood.

"People say, 'Stalin's daughter, Stalin's daughter,' meaning I'm supposed to walk around with a rifle and shoot the Americans. Or they say, 'No, she came here. She is an American citizen.' That means I'm with a bomb against the others. No, I'm neither one. I'm somewhere in between. That 'somewhere in between' they can't understand."

Peters' defection came at a high personal cost. She left two children behind in Russia — Josef and Yekaterina — from previous marriages. Both were upset by her departure, and she was never close to either again.

Raised by a nanny with whom she grew close after her mother's death in 1932, Peters was Stalin's only daughter. She had two brothers, Vasili and Jacob. Jacob was captured by the Nazis in 1941 and died in a concentration camp. Vasili died an alcoholic at age 40.

Peters graduated from Moscow University in 1949, worked as a teacher and translator and traveled in Moscow's literary circles before leaving the Soviet Union. She was married four times — the last time to William Wesley Peters, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright. They were married from 1970 to 1973 and had one daughter.

Peters wrote three more books, including "Only One Year," an autobiography published in 1969.

Her father's legacy appeared to haunt her throughout her life, though she tried to live outside of the shadow of her father. She denounced his policies, which included sending millions into labor camps, but often said other Communist Party leaders shared the blame.

"I wish people could see what I've seen," Lana Parshina, who interviewed Peters for "Svetlana About Svetlana," said Monday. "She was very gracious and she was a great hostess. She was sensitive and could quote poetry and talk about various subjects. She was interested in what was going on in the world."

Charles E. Townsend, who was on faculty at Princeton University's Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures when Peters arrived in Princeton in 1967, said she wasn't very politically active.

"She was very pleasant," Townsend said. "Unassuming would be the word for her."

After living in Britain for two years, Peters returned to the Soviet Union with Olga in 1984 at age 58, saying she wanted to be reunited with her children. Her Soviet citizenship was restored, and she denounced her time in the U.S. and Britain, saying she never really had freedom. But more than a year later, she asked for and was given permission to leave after feuding with relatives. She returned to the U.S. and vowed never to go back to Russia.

She went into seclusion in the last decades of her life. Her survivors include her daughter Olga, who now goes by Chrese Evans and lives in Portland, Ore. A son, Josef, died in 2008 at age 63 in Moscow, according to media reports in Russia. Yekaterina (born in 1950), who goes by Katya, is a scientist who studies an active volcano in eastern Siberia.

Evans said in an email that her mother died at a Richland Center nursing home surrounded by loved ones, but she declined to comment further. "Please respect my privacy during this sad time," she said.

Tom Stafford, owner of the funeral home in Richland Center, Wis., handling the arrangements, said no services were planned at this time, though one might be scheduled later.

___

Associated Press writer Ryan J. Foley, in Iowa City, Iowa, and Geoff Mulvihill in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

*Anya*
11-29-2011, 07:33 AM
Posted by Chris Anders, Washington Legislative Office at 10:46am 11/23/11
DETENTION
Senators Demand the Military Lock Up American Citizens in a “Battlefield” They Define as Being Right Outside Your Window

While nearly all Americans head to family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving, the Senate is gearing up for a vote on Monday or Tuesday that goes to the very heart of who we are as Americans. The Senate will be voting on a bill that will direct American military resources not at an enemy shooting at our military in a war zone, but at American citizens and other civilians far from any battlefield — even people in the United States itself.

Senators need to hear from you, on whether you think your front yard is part of a “battlefield” and if any president can send the military anywhere in the world to imprison civilians without charge or trial.

The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give this president—and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world. Even Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) raised his concerns about the NDAA detention provisions during last night’s Republican debate. The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself.

The worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial provision is in S. 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which will be on the Senate floor on Monday. The bill was drafted in secret by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) and passed in a closed-door committee meeting, without even a single hearing.

I know it sounds incredible. New powers to use the military worldwide, even within the United States? Hasn’t anyone told the Senate that Osama bin Laden is dead, that the president is pulling all of the combat troops out of Iraq and trying to figure out how to get combat troops out of Afghanistan too? And American citizens and people picked up on American or Canadian or British streets being sent to military prisons indefinitely without even being charged with a crime. Really? Does anyone think this is a good idea? And why now?

The answer on why now is nothing more than election season politics. The White House, the Secretary of Defense, and the Attorney General have all said that the indefinite detention provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act are harmful and counterproductive. The White House has even threatened a veto. But Senate politics has propelled this bad legislation to the Senate floor.

But there is a way to stop this dangerous legislation. Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) is offering the Udall Amendment that will delete the harmful provisions and replace them with a requirement for an orderly Congressional review of detention power. The Udall Amendment will make sure that the bill matches up with American values.

In support of this harmful bill, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) explained that the bill will “basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield” and people can be imprisoned without charge or trial “American citizen or not.” Another supporter, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) also declared that the bill is needed because “America is part of the battlefield.”

The solution is the Udall Amendment; a way for the Senate to say no to indefinite detention without charge or trial anywhere in the world where any president decides to use the military. Instead of simply going along with a bill that was drafted in secret and is being jammed through the Senate, the Udall Amendment deletes the provisions and sets up an orderly review of detention power. It tries to take the politics out and put American values back in.

In response to proponents of the indefinite detention legislation who contend that the bill “applies to American citizens and designates the world as the battlefield,” and that the “heart of the issue is whether or not the United States is part of the battlefield,” Sen. Udall disagrees, and says that we can win this fight without worldwide war and worldwide indefinite detention.

The senators pushing the indefinite detention proposal have made their goals very clear that they want an okay for a worldwide military battlefield, that even extends to your hometown. That is an extreme position that will forever change our country.

Now is the time to stop this bad idea. Please urge your senators to vote YES on the Udall Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.

UPDATE: Don’t be confused by anyone claiming that the indefinite detention legislation does not apply to American citizens. It does. There is an exemption for American citizens from the mandatory detention requirement (section 1032 of the bill), but no exemption for American citizens from the authorization to use the military to indefinitely detain people without charge or trial (section 1013 of the bill). So, the result is that, under the bill, the military has the power to indefinitely imprison American citizens, but it does not have to use its power unless ordered to do so.

But you don’t have to believe us. Instead, read what one of the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Lindsey Graham said about it on the Senate floor: “1031, the statement of authority to detain, does apply to American citizens and it designates the world as the battlefield, including the homeland.”

There you have it — indefinite military detention of American citizens without charge or trial. And the Senate is likely to vote on it Monday or Tuesday 11/29/11!
****************************************
DETENTION
Tags: Carl Levin, detention, indefinite detention, John McCain, Kelly Ayotte, Lindsay Graham, Mark Udall, National Defense Authorization Act, national security, NDAA, Ron Paul

DapperButch
11-29-2011, 11:03 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
NY Times
November 28, 2011

Judge Blocks Citigroup Settlement With S.E.C.By EDWARD WYATT

WASHINGTON — A federal judge in New York on Monday threw out a settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Citigroup over a 2007 mortgage derivatives deal, saying that the S.E.C.’s policy of settling cases by allowing a company to neither admit nor deny the agency’s allegations did not satisfy the law.

The judge, Jed S. Rakoff of United States District Court in Manhattan, ruled that the S.E.C.’s $285 million settlement, announced last month, is “neither fair, nor reasonable, nor adequate, nor in the public interest” because it does not provide the court with evidence on which to judge the settlement.

The ruling could throw the S.E.C.’s enforcement efforts into chaos, because a majority of the fraud cases and other actions that the agency brings against Wall Street firms are settled out of court, most often with a condition that the defendant does not admit that it violated the law while also promising not to deny it.

That condition gives a company or individual an advantage in subsequent civil litigation for damages, because cases in which no facts are established cannot be used in evidence in other cases, like shareholder lawsuits seeking recovery of losses or damages. The S.E.C.’s policy — “hallowed by history, but not by reason,” Judge Rakoff wrote — creates substantial potential for abuse, the judge said, because “it asks the court to employ its power and assert its authority when it does not know the facts.”

The S.E.C. did not respond immediately to a request for comment on the judge’s decision, which was released Monday morning. A Citigroup spokesman said the company was studying the decision and had no immediate comment.

Citigroup was charged with negligence in its selling to customers a billion-dollar mortgage securities fund, known as Class V Funding III. The S.E.C. alleged that Citigroup picked the securities to be included in the fund without telling investors, claiming that the securities were being chosen by an independent entity. Citigroup then bet against the investments because it believed that they would lose value, the S.E.C. said.

Investors lost $700 million in the fund, according to the S.E.C., while Citigroup gained about $160 million in profits.

The settlement established none of those allegations as fact, thereby making it impossible for the court to properly judge whether the settlement meets the required standard of being fair, adequate and in the public interest.

“An application of judicial power that does not rest on facts is worse than mindless, it is inherently dangerous,” Judge Rakoff wrote in the case, S.E.C. v. Citigroup Global Markets. “In any case like this that touches on the transparency of financial markets whose gyrations have so depressed our economy and debilitated our lives, there is an overriding public interest in knowing the truth.”

The S.E.C. in particular, he added, “has a duty, inherent in its statutory mission, to see that the truth emerges.”

http://http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/29/business/judge-rejects-sec-accord-with-citi.html?_r=1&emc=na

Fantastic!

<--- big fan of index investing for a reason...many reasons, actually

AtLast
11-29-2011, 11:13 AM
Posted by Chris Anders, Washington Legislative Office at 10:46am 11/23/11
DETENTION
Senators Demand the Military Lock Up American Citizens in a “Battlefield” They Define as Being Right Outside Your Window

While nearly all Americans head to family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving, the Senate is gearing up for a vote on Monday or Tuesday that goes to the very heart of who we are as Americans. The Senate will be voting on a bill that will direct American military resources not at an enemy shooting at our military in a war zone, but at American citizens and other civilians far from any battlefield — even people in the United States itself.

Senators need to hear from you, on whether you think your front yard is part of a “battlefield” and if any president can send the military anywhere in the world to imprison civilians without charge or trial.

The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give this president—and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world. Even Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) raised his concerns about the NDAA detention provisions during last night’s Republican debate. The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself.

The worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial provision is in S. 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which will be on the Senate floor on Monday. The bill was drafted in secret by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) and passed in a closed-door committee meeting, without even a single hearing.

I know it sounds incredible. New powers to use the military worldwide, even within the United States? Hasn’t anyone told the Senate that Osama bin Laden is dead, that the president is pulling all of the combat troops out of Iraq and trying to figure out how to get combat troops out of Afghanistan too? And American citizens and people picked up on American or Canadian or British streets being sent to military prisons indefinitely without even being charged with a crime. Really? Does anyone think this is a good idea? And why now?

The answer on why now is nothing more than election season politics. The White House, the Secretary of Defense, and the Attorney General have all said that the indefinite detention provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act are harmful and counterproductive. The White House has even threatened a veto. But Senate politics has propelled this bad legislation to the Senate floor.

But there is a way to stop this dangerous legislation. Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) is offering the Udall Amendment that will delete the harmful provisions and replace them with a requirement for an orderly Congressional review of detention power. The Udall Amendment will make sure that the bill matches up with American values.

In support of this harmful bill, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) explained that the bill will “basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield” and people can be imprisoned without charge or trial “American citizen or not.” Another supporter, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) also declared that the bill is needed because “America is part of the battlefield.”

The solution is the Udall Amendment; a way for the Senate to say no to indefinite detention without charge or trial anywhere in the world where any president decides to use the military. Instead of simply going along with a bill that was drafted in secret and is being jammed through the Senate, the Udall Amendment deletes the provisions and sets up an orderly review of detention power. It tries to take the politics out and put American values back in.

In response to proponents of the indefinite detention legislation who contend that the bill “applies to American citizens and designates the world as the battlefield,” and that the “heart of the issue is whether or not the United States is part of the battlefield,” Sen. Udall disagrees, and says that we can win this fight without worldwide war and worldwide indefinite detention.

The senators pushing the indefinite detention proposal have made their goals very clear that they want an okay for a worldwide military battlefield, that even extends to your hometown. That is an extreme position that will forever change our country.

Now is the time to stop this bad idea. Please urge your senators to vote YES on the Udall Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.

UPDATE: Don’t be confused by anyone claiming that the indefinite detention legislation does not apply to American citizens. It does. There is an exemption for American citizens from the mandatory detention requirement (section 1032 of the bill), but no exemption for American citizens from the authorization to use the military to indefinitely detain people without charge or trial (section 1013 of the bill). So, the result is that, under the bill, the military has the power to indefinitely imprison American citizens, but it does not have to use its power unless ordered to do so.

But you don’t have to believe us. Instead, read what one of the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Lindsey Graham said about it on the Senate floor: “1031, the statement of authority to detain, does apply to American citizens and it designates the world as the battlefield, including the homeland.”

There you have it — indefinite military detention of American citizens without charge or trial. And the Senate is likely to vote on it Monday or Tuesday 11/29/11!
****************************************
DETENTION
Tags: Carl Levin, detention, indefinite detention, John McCain, Kelly Ayotte, Lindsay Graham, Mark Udall, National Defense Authorization Act, national security, NDAA, Ron Paul

This is just insane!!! WRITE, CALL, FAX!!

AtLast
11-29-2011, 11:19 AM
I agree with the notion that reporting on our private life as long as it is between consentual adults is out of bounds. I also can understand why such stories get media attention. If most of these hypocrites did not go around discussing and making laws to criminalize the lives of others, maybe there would not be such a backlash when they are exposed in some of their sexual and romantic liaisons.
__________________________________________________ _____________



Woman Claims She Had 13-Year Affair With Herman Cain
Campaign lawyer says the report is out of bounds, Cain won't comment.

By Josh Voorhees | Posted Monday, Nov. 28, 2011, at 5:36 PM ET

An Atlanta woman is claiming that she had a 13-year-long extramarital affair with Herman Cain.

"It was pretty simple," the woman, Ginger White, told Atlanta's FOX 5 in an exclusive interview that is set to be broadcast Monday evening. "It wasn't complicated. I was aware that he was married. And I was also aware I was involved in a very inappropriate situation, relationship."


FOX 5 published excerpts of the interview shortly after 5 p.m. The full story is set to air on the station's 6 p.m. broadcast.

The reporter who conducted the interview, Dale Russell, began promoting his scoop on his Facebook page Monday afternoon, claiming in the online promo that Cain "denies an affair, but not a relationship." In a statement to the news channel later, however, Cain's lawyer did not deny that alleged affair occurred, instead suggesting that the issue was a private matter and that it was out of bounds in terms of what the media should be focused on.


"No individual, whether a private citizen, a candidate for public office or a public official, should be questioned about his or her private sexual life," Cain lawyer Lin Wood said in a statement to FOX 5. "The public's right to know and the media's right to report has boundaries and most certainly those boundaries end outside of one's bedroom door."


Wood added that Cain "has no obligation" to discuss the latest accusations publicly and that "he will not do so even if his principled position is viewed unfavorably by members of the media."

Wood's response to the latest story that threatens to derail Cain's already embattled White House bid is markedly different from the campaign's handling of the previous allegations of sexual harassment against Cain that surfaced at the end of October. Cain's team initially denied that entire story before later offering an evolving response that eventually conceded that the details of the original Politico report were correct.

Here is Wood's full statement to FOX 5:

"Mr. Cain has been informed today that your television station plans to broadcast a story this evening in which a female will make an accusation that she engaged in a 13-year long physical relationship with Mr. Cain. This is not an accusation of harassment in the workplace – this is not an accusation of an assault - which are subject matters of legitimate inquiry to a political candidate. "Rather, this appears to be an accusation of private, alleged consensual conduct between adults - a subject matter which is not a proper subject of inquiry by the media or the public. No individual, whether a private citizen, a candidate for public office or a public official, should be questioned about his or her private sexual life. The public's right to know and the media's right to report has boundaries and most certainly those boundaries end outside of one's bedroom door.

"Mr. Cain has alerted his wife to this new accusation and discussed it with her. He has no obligation to discuss these types of accusations publicly with the media and he will not do so even if his principled position is viewed unfavorably by members of the media."


http://http://slatest.slate.com/posts/2011/11/28/herman_cain_affair_fox_5_atlanta_reports_gop_conte nder_had_13_year_affair.html?from=rss/&wpisrc=newsletter_slatest

It is the hypocracy that makes me angry. All of the family values BS and they are having extra-marital affairs. But, I'm sure like, Newt, Herman has received forgiveness by God..... ARGH!!

principled position ??? Really.

Kobi
11-29-2011, 05:34 PM
This will be hotly debated in higher education. Interesting but certainly not unique ethical dilemma.
-------------------------------------------------------


Ga. counseling student in court over view on gays

By Greg Bluestein and Dorie Turner

Associated Press / November 29, 2011


ATLANTA—An attorney for a graduate school counseling student told federal judges in Atlanta on Tuesday that the student's First Amendment rights were violated when professors at a Georgia university sought to punish her for her biblical views on gay rights.

Augusta State University put Jennifer Keeton on academic probation for saying it would be hard for her to work with gay clients, and threatened to expel her unless she attended events like Augusta's gay pride parade, Keeton's attorney Jeff Shafer told the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"She was told, `You don't have to believe it. You just have to say you do,'" Shafer said.

Augusta State University countered that the counseling program would risk its accreditation if it didn't hold Keeton to a code of ethics. The school has a duty to require students to counsel all segments of the community, including those who are gay or transgender, it said in court papers.

Keeton told other students that she was interested in practicing conversion therapy -- where a therapist tries to "cure" a person from being homosexual -- after graduation, said Cristina Correia with the state Attorney General's office. Correia said Keeton also told her professors she would tell any clients who said they were gay that homosexuality is morally wrong.

University faculty were concerned that Keeton was scheduled to practice counseling in middle and high schools as part of her degree program and could possibly harm young students with her views, Correia said.

"The university has a responsibility when putting students in a practicum and graduating them," Correia said. "When you have that kind of evidence, the faculty could not, under their ethical standards, put that student in a clinical setting without further remediation."

Keeton, who said she's a devout Christian "committed to the truth of the Bible," enrolled in the school's counselor education program in fall 2009 and soon began discussing her views that sexual behavior is a personal choice and that gender identity isn't subject to change.

Faculty members were alarmed after she wrote in a term paper that it would be hard with her to work with gay clients. The school told her that her language was unethical according to guidelines from the American Counseling Association, and she was put on probation and warned she could be expelled.

She was asked in May 2010 to agree to a remediation plan that would require her to attend sensitivity training, read counseling journals and mix with gays at events like the city's gay pride parade.

Keeton refused to comply with the plan, which she said in court papers would require her to "tell clients wanting to hear it that homosexual sex is moral."

She filed a federal lawsuit claiming the school wanted to expel her because she "holds Christian ethical convictions" on human sexuality and gender identity. A judge rejected her challenge, leading to Tuesday's court arguments.

Attorneys for both sides declined comment after the hearing because the case is under a gag order by the court.

The case has drawn national attention from religious groups and gay rights advocates.

Keeton's lawsuit was brought by the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian advocacy group that that presses faith-based cases in court nationwide. It argues that the First Amendment protects Keeton's rights to share her beliefs about gays with others.

The American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal, the national gay rights law firm, took the opposing side. They argued that counselors shouldn't discriminate based on sexual orientation and should avoid imposing their values on clients.

http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2011/11/29/ga_counseling_student_in_court_over_view_on_gays/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Latest+news

DapperButch
11-29-2011, 05:50 PM
This will be hotly debated in higher education. Interesting but certainly not unique ethical dilemma.
-------------------------------------------------------


Ga. counseling student in court over view on gays

By Greg Bluestein and Dorie Turner

Associated Press / November 29, 2011


ATLANTA—An attorney for a graduate school counseling student told federal judges in Atlanta on Tuesday that the student's First Amendment rights were violated when professors at a Georgia university sought to punish her for her biblical views on gay rights.

Augusta State University put Jennifer Keeton on academic probation for saying it would be hard for her to work with gay clients, and threatened to expel her unless she attended events like Augusta's gay pride parade, Keeton's attorney Jeff Shafer told the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"She was told, `You don't have to believe it. You just have to say you do,'" Shafer said.

Augusta State University countered that the counseling program would risk its accreditation if it didn't hold Keeton to a code of ethics. The school has a duty to require students to counsel all segments of the community, including those who are gay or transgender, it said in court papers.

Keeton told other students that she was interested in practicing conversion therapy -- where a therapist tries to "cure" a person from being homosexual -- after graduation, said Cristina Correia with the state Attorney General's office. Correia said Keeton also told her professors she would tell any clients who said they were gay that homosexuality is morally wrong.

University faculty were concerned that Keeton was scheduled to practice counseling in middle and high schools as part of her degree program and could possibly harm young students with her views, Correia said.

"The university has a responsibility when putting students in a practicum and graduating them," Correia said. "When you have that kind of evidence, the faculty could not, under their ethical standards, put that student in a clinical setting without further remediation."

Keeton, who said she's a devout Christian "committed to the truth of the Bible," enrolled in the school's counselor education program in fall 2009 and soon began discussing her views that sexual behavior is a personal choice and that gender identity isn't subject to change.

Faculty members were alarmed after she wrote in a term paper that it would be hard with her to work with gay clients. The school told her that her language was unethical according to guidelines from the American Counseling Association, and she was put on probation and warned she could be expelled.

She was asked in May 2010 to agree to a remediation plan that would require her to attend sensitivity training, read counseling journals and mix with gays at events like the city's gay pride parade.

Keeton refused to comply with the plan, which she said in court papers would require her to "tell clients wanting to hear it that homosexual sex is moral."

She filed a federal lawsuit claiming the school wanted to expel her because she "holds Christian ethical convictions" on human sexuality and gender identity. A judge rejected her challenge, leading to Tuesday's court arguments.

Attorneys for both sides declined comment after the hearing because the case is under a gag order by the court.

The case has drawn national attention from religious groups and gay rights advocates.

Keeton's lawsuit was brought by the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian advocacy group that that presses faith-based cases in court nationwide. It argues that the First Amendment protects Keeton's rights to share her beliefs about gays with others.

The American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal, the national gay rights law firm, took the opposing side. They argued that counselors shouldn't discriminate based on sexual orientation and should avoid imposing their values on clients.

http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2011/11/29/ga_counseling_student_in_court_over_view_on_gays/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Latest+news




The problem for this woman is that she wants to counsel students in school (I am assuming, as the article states it is a school counseling degree).

She should consider getting a Master's in Counseling/Master's in Divinity at a Christian college and then do outpatient "Christian Counseling". Her dilemma would then be solved. How she thought that she could go to a secular school and have the school not see this as being an issue is beyond me. Clearly she did though, or she would have hidden her feelings.

Corkey
11-29-2011, 05:53 PM
The problem for this woman is that she wants to counsel students in school (I am assuming, as the article states it is a school counseling degree).

She should consider getting a Master's in Counseling/Master's in Divinity at a Christian college and then do outpatient "Christian Counseling". Her dilemma would then be solved. How she thought that she could go to a secular school and have the school not see this as being an issue is beyond me. Clearly she did though, or she would have hidden her feelings.

She is trying to fuse church with state. Typical.

DapperButch
11-29-2011, 05:59 PM
The problem for this woman is that she wants to counsel students in school (I am assuming, as the article states it is a school counseling degree).

She should consider getting a Master's in Counseling/Master's in Divinity at a Christian college and then do outpatient "Christian Counseling". Her dilemma would then be solved. How she thought that she could go to a secular school and have the school not see this as being an issue is beyond me. Clearly she did though, or she would have hidden her feelings.

Thank God she did, too. Otherwise, she would have fucked up a lot of kids.

SoNotHer
11-30-2011, 12:07 AM
Atrazine in US Drinking Water Found Widespread

Atrazine is a widely used herbicide. Its use is controversial due to widespread contamination in drinking water and its associations with birth defects and menstrual problems when consumed by humans at concentrations below government standards. Although it has been banned in the European Union, it is still one of the most widely used herbicides in the world. An international team of researchers has reviewed the evidence linking exposure to atrazine — an herbicide widely used in the U.S. and more than 60 other nations — to reproductive problems in animals. The team found consistent patterns of reproductive dysfunction in amphibians, fish, reptiles and mammals exposed to the chemical. The researchers looked at studies linking atrazine exposure to abnormal androgen (male hormone) levels in fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals and studies that found a common association between exposure to the herbicide and the feminization of male gonads in many animals.

Atrazine is used to stop pre- and post-emergence broadleaf and grassy weeds in major crops. The compound is both effective and inexpensive, and thus is well-suited to production systems with very narrow profit margins, as is often the case with maize.

http://www.enn.com/image_for_articles/43632-1.jpg/medium

Its effect on yields has been estimated from 6% to 1%, with 3-4% being the conclusion of one review. In another study looking at combined data from 236 university corn field trials from 1986—2005, atrazine treatments showed an average of 5.7 bushels more per acre than alternative herbicide treatments.

Atrazine was banned in the European Union in 2004 because of its persistent groundwater contamination. In the United States, however, atrazine is one of the most widely used herbicides, with 76 million pounds of it applied each year, in spite of the restriction that used to be imposed. Its endocrine disruptor effects, possible carcinogenic effect, and epidemiological connection to low sperm levels in men has led several researchers to call for banning it in the US.

Beasley’s lab was one of the first to find that male frogs exposed to atrazine in the wild were more likely to have both male and female gonadal tissue than frogs living in an atrazine-free environment. And in a 2010 study, Tyrone Hayes, a professor of integrative biology at the University of California at Berkeley and lead author of the review, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that atrazine exposure in frogs was associated with genetic males becoming females and functioning as females, Beasley said.

The new review describes the disruptions of hormone function and sexual development reported in studies of mammals, frogs, fish, reptiles and human cells exposed to the herbicide. The studies found that atrazine exposure can change the expression of genes involved in hormone signaling, interfere with metamorphosis, inhibit key enzymes that control estrogen and androgen production, skew the sex ratio of wild and laboratory animals (toward female) and otherwise disrupt the normal reproductive development and functioning of males and females.

"One of the things that became clear in writing this paper is that atrazine works through a number of different mechanisms," Hayes said. "It’s been shown that it increases production of (the stress hormone) cortisol. It’s been shown that it inhibits key enzymes in steroid hormone production while increasing others. It’s been shown that it somehow prevents androgen from binding to its receptor."

There also are studies that show no effects — or different effects — in animals exposed to atrazine, Beasley said. "But the studies are not all the same. There are different species, different times of exposure, different stages of development and different strains within a species." All in all, he said, the evidence that atrazine harms animals, particularly amphibians and other creatures that encounter it in the water, is compelling.

For further information: http://news.illinois.edu/news/11/1128atrazine_ValBeasley.html

Photo: http://www.nmenv.state.nm.us/dwb/contaminants/SOCs.htm

betenoire
11-30-2011, 12:23 AM
200 Pound 3rd Grader Put In Foster Care (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/11/obese-child-taken-from-mom-put-in-foster-care.html)

The mother of an obese 8-year-old Ohio boy is denying that she is to blame for her son's weight of more than 200 pounds, which officials cited as a reason for putting him into foster care.

The case became public over the weekend after media in Cleveland reported on it. According to various accounts, the mother, whose identity has been kept private, lost custody of her son in October after case workers in Cuyahoga County said she was not doing enough to control his dangerously high weight.

He should weigh about 60 pounds, based on his height and his age, government workers said.

"This child's problem was so severe that we had to take custody," said Mary Louise Madigan of the county's Department of Children and Family Services. She said county workers had been aware of the problem for more than a year and had been working with the mother in hopes of bringing down the boy's weight.

"We have worked very hard with this family for 20 months before it got to this point," the agency's administrator, Patricia Rideout, said Monday, the Associated Press reported, adding that a judge approved the decision to put the boy into foster care.

Maybe I'm an asshole, but I agree with this 100%. 20 months is a long time, that's nearly 2 years. If in 20 months of working with social workers the family wasn't able to get a handle on this - they never were going to. And apparently since going in to foster care (in October) the kid HAS lost some weight.

For a frame of reference to make clear how big of a deal it is for a 3rd Grade child to weigh 200 pounds: I am 34 years old, a grown woman. I also happen to be considered "obese". And I don't even weigh as much as that 8 year old does. Think about that. If fat Brandy the adult weighs less than 200 pounds - just how much medical trouble IS this 200 pound child in?

Cin
11-30-2011, 08:16 AM
200 Pound 3rd Grader Put In Foster Care (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/11/obese-child-taken-from-mom-put-in-foster-care.html)



Maybe I'm an asshole, but I agree with this 100%. 20 months is a long time, that's nearly 2 years. If in 20 months of working with social workers the family wasn't able to get a handle on this - they never were going to. And apparently since going in to foster care (in October) the kid HAS lost some weight.

For a frame of reference to make clear how big of a deal it is for a 3rd Grade child to weigh 200 pounds: I am 34 years old, a grown woman. I also happen to be considered "obese". And I don't even weigh as much as that 8 year old does. Think about that. If fat Brandy the adult weighs less than 200 pounds - just how much medical trouble IS this 200 pound child in?

When I read this initially I also thought that this was a good thing. But then I thought more about it and I'm on the fence. Imagine what this kind of thing will be like. Fat kids around the country can now, in addition to all the other bull shit they have to deal with, add worrying about losing their family. I can't imagine there really is a plethora of foster parents that are going to take in one child so the fat kid will end up in some kind of group home with a few to a bunch of other kids. Nice experience I'm sure. I can hear the other kids now. Your so fat even your own parents don't want you.

Parents of chubby kids can use this as a threat as well. You better stop eating or the state will come and take you and put you in fat jail. I can't even imagine how many eating disorders overweight kids will face as adults as a direct result of this kind of fear.

Kobi
11-30-2011, 09:31 AM
Posted by Chris Anders, Washington Legislative Office at 10:46am 11/23/11
DETENTION
Senators Demand the Military Lock Up American Citizens in a “Battlefield” They Define as Being Right Outside Your Window

While nearly all Americans head to family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving, the Senate is gearing up for a vote on Monday or Tuesday that goes to the very heart of who we are as Americans. The Senate will be voting on a bill that will direct American military resources not at an enemy shooting at our military in a war zone, but at American citizens and other civilians far from any battlefield — even people in the United States itself.

Senators need to hear from you, on whether you think your front yard is part of a “battlefield” and if any president can send the military anywhere in the world to imprison civilians without charge or trial.

The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give this president—and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world. Even Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) raised his concerns about the NDAA detention provisions during last night’s Republican debate. The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself.

The worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial provision is in S. 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which will be on the Senate floor on Monday. The bill was drafted in secret by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) and passed in a closed-door committee meeting, without even a single hearing.

I know it sounds incredible. New powers to use the military worldwide, even within the United States? Hasn’t anyone told the Senate that Osama bin Laden is dead, that the president is pulling all of the combat troops out of Iraq and trying to figure out how to get combat troops out of Afghanistan too? And American citizens and people picked up on American or Canadian or British streets being sent to military prisons indefinitely without even being charged with a crime. Really? Does anyone think this is a good idea? And why now?

The answer on why now is nothing more than election season politics. The White House, the Secretary of Defense, and the Attorney General have all said that the indefinite detention provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act are harmful and counterproductive. The White House has even threatened a veto. But Senate politics has propelled this bad legislation to the Senate floor.

But there is a way to stop this dangerous legislation. Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) is offering the Udall Amendment that will delete the harmful provisions and replace them with a requirement for an orderly Congressional review of detention power. The Udall Amendment will make sure that the bill matches up with American values.

In support of this harmful bill, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) explained that the bill will “basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield” and people can be imprisoned without charge or trial “American citizen or not.” Another supporter, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) also declared that the bill is needed because “America is part of the battlefield.”

The solution is the Udall Amendment; a way for the Senate to say no to indefinite detention without charge or trial anywhere in the world where any president decides to use the military. Instead of simply going along with a bill that was drafted in secret and is being jammed through the Senate, the Udall Amendment deletes the provisions and sets up an orderly review of detention power. It tries to take the politics out and put American values back in.

In response to proponents of the indefinite detention legislation who contend that the bill “applies to American citizens and designates the world as the battlefield,” and that the “heart of the issue is whether or not the United States is part of the battlefield,” Sen. Udall disagrees, and says that we can win this fight without worldwide war and worldwide indefinite detention.

The senators pushing the indefinite detention proposal have made their goals very clear that they want an okay for a worldwide military battlefield, that even extends to your hometown. That is an extreme position that will forever change our country.

Now is the time to stop this bad idea. Please urge your senators to vote YES on the Udall Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.

UPDATE: Don’t be confused by anyone claiming that the indefinite detention legislation does not apply to American citizens. It does. There is an exemption for American citizens from the mandatory detention requirement (section 1032 of the bill), but no exemption for American citizens from the authorization to use the military to indefinitely detain people without charge or trial (section 1013 of the bill). So, the result is that, under the bill, the military has the power to indefinitely imprison American citizens, but it does not have to use its power unless ordered to do so.

But you don’t have to believe us. Instead, read what one of the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Lindsey Graham said about it on the Senate floor: “1031, the statement of authority to detain, does apply to American citizens and it designates the world as the battlefield, including the homeland.”

There you have it — indefinite military detention of American citizens without charge or trial. And the Senate is likely to vote on it Monday or Tuesday 11/29/11!
****************************************
DETENTION
Tags: Carl Levin, detention, indefinite detention, John McCain, Kelly Ayotte, Lindsay Graham, Mark Udall, National Defense Authorization Act, national security, NDAA, Ron Paul

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


As horrible as this bill sounds, given the strife in the world, it makes sense as a preemptive control strategy. Economics and political bullcrap have lead to rioting and disruptive behavior worldwide. It's only a matter of time before it hits the states with a passion.

Amazing how those in control manage to find ways to guard that control, even if it means going against our very constitution.

George Orwell was just a few decades off eh?

SoNotHer
11-30-2011, 09:38 AM
Orwell was a few decades off, if that. And by the way, we're doing it to ourselves and focusing as usual on the sensationalized effects and not the real causes - causes like our dependence on the use of chemicals and herbicdes like Bisphenol A and atrazine - two things I have posted about here.


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


As horrible as this bill sounds, given the strife in the world, it makes sense as a preemptive control strategy. Economics and political bullcrap have lead to rioting and disruptive behavior worldwide. It's only a matter of time before it hits the states with a passion.

Amazing how those in control manage to find ways to guard that control, even if it means going against our very constitution.

George Orwell was just a few decades off eh?

*Anya*
11-30-2011, 10:30 AM
---------------------------------------------------------


As horrible as this bill sounds, given the strife in the world, it makes sense as a preemptive control strategy. Economics and political bullcrap have lead to rioting and disruptive behavior worldwide. It's only a matter of time before it hits the states with a passion.

Amazing how those in control manage to find ways to guard that control, even if it means going against our very constitution.

George Orwell was just a few decades off eh?


It makes sense only until they are knocking-breaking down- my door and hauling my ass to Gitmo or some equivalent, for being a lesbian or whatever else that makes me different; the next time a Republican is in power.

They won't need a reason with this bill...

LeftWriteFemme
11-30-2011, 09:51 PM
Two Lesbians Raised A Baby



http://front.moveon.org/two-lesbians-raised-a-baby-and-this-is-what-they-got/#.Ttbh-jFvcmz.facebook

SoNotHer
12-01-2011, 11:59 AM
I'm taking a moment today to think of the beautiful souls I've known and lost. I'm grateful for their presence in my life and grateful to the activists, researchers, families and fighters who never forgot and never stopped fighting.

30 years ago the Task Force hired the first lobbyist in the nation to focus on AIDS issues. The Task Force ran the first toll-free AIDS hotline in the world early in the epidemic. In 1984, we secured the first federal funding for community-based AIDS service organizations. Today, the Task Force continues to push the federal government as we have for 30 years to ensure that community AIDS service organizations have the funding they so desperately need. We are pleased that the CDC recently granted 34 community organizations $55 million to be spent over the next five years to increase HIV prevention services for those most at risk, including young men of color, transgender youth, and their partners.

But that is not nearly enough. We must also put an end to the discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS, who are disproportionately transgender women, gay and bisexual men, and people of color.

Results from our National Transgender Discrimination Survey showed that transgender individuals have a rate of HIV/AIDS that is more than FOUR times higher than the general population. And, tragically, the survey also found that 1 in 4 transgender African Americans live with HIV/AIDS.

Discrimination and lack of education is the reason for this tragedy.

You can help to end discrimination against people living with HIV by urging your member of Congress to co-sponsor the REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act which addresses the unfair use of criminal and civil laws against those who test positive for HIV. Today, 34 states have laws that criminalize transmission of HIV. It’s time to repeal these harmful laws that demonize people with HIV. Call 202-684-2468 today and tell your representative that this bill needs their support.

We honor and stand with those who have dedicated their lives to the fight against HIV/AIDS. We mourn everyone we have lost in the past three decades and we vow to continue working toward the end of HIV/AIDS. This World AIDS Day, join us in supporting the REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act to reduce the stigma and fear of living with HIV. Take action now – call 202.684.2468.

RiverBoi
12-01-2011, 12:14 PM
The federal Food and Drug Administration and a leading doctor are refuting claims by television show host Dr. Mehmet Oz that trace amounts of arsenic in many apple juice products pose a health risk.
Oz said on his show on Tuesday that testing by a New Jersey lab has found what he claims are concerning levels of arsenic in many juices.
However, the FDA says the lab methods were not appropriate and that its own tests show much lower arsenic levels. The agency warned the show's producers in advance that their testing was misleading.
Dr. Richard Besser, former acting head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also scolded Oz Thursday on ABC's Good Morning America show for scaring consumers with what Besser called an "extremely irresponsible" report.


I don't understand why the manufacturers don't have a machine to remove the core of the apples prior to processing. This would solve the issue totally. I am assuming that the arsenic is all from the seeds, yes?

*Anya*
12-01-2011, 02:05 PM
The November 17 Capitol Alert issued by the Sacramento Bee reports that one initiative would "repeal Senate Bill 48 mandating Gay Lesbian Bisexual & Transexual history, leaving in place new requirements that students learn about the role of disabled individuals and members of different cultural and ethnic groups."

The other would let parents opt out of GLBT presentations.

sanee66
12-02-2011, 10:27 PM
http://front.moveon.org/two-lesbians-raised-a-baby-and-this-is-what-they-got/#.TtlOcG3Tujw.facebook


if this was my kid i would be soooo damn proud!!!

Hollylane
12-04-2011, 01:48 PM
Obama signs law legalizing horse slaughter in the US (http://our-compass.org/2011/11/29/obama-signs-law-legalizing-horse-slaughter-in-the-us/)

VintageFemme
12-04-2011, 01:55 PM
Obama signs law legalizing horse slaughter in the US (http://our-compass.org/2011/11/29/obama-signs-law-legalizing-horse-slaughter-in-the-us/)

*growl* I haven't read the specifics of this but god, I cannot believe there isn't more to this than meets the eye. My little pea brain can't wrap around something like that. How could this happen? Doesn't it feel sometimes like we're going backwards???

P.s. Signing petitions!

Corkey
12-04-2011, 02:01 PM
Obama signs law legalizing horse slaughter in the US (http://our-compass.org/2011/11/29/obama-signs-law-legalizing-horse-slaughter-in-the-us/)

signed n shared on the FB

Toughy
12-04-2011, 03:49 PM
It always amazes me to see which animals folks get upset about being slaughtered. Slaughter cows, sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys, game hens, deer (yes deer are raised for slaughter) pigs, buffalo in ways that will make you puke.........but hey........shrug.....we like eating those critters in the US

but horses.........oh hell no.........shaking my head....don't be eating my friend Flicka..........

and then there is dogs and cats which are human food in many parts of the world.......

Corkey
12-04-2011, 03:58 PM
They are being killed not for food, just killed, because not many people eat horse willingly here.

Toughy
12-04-2011, 04:26 PM
I will be willing to bet horse will be on the menu of some fancy dancy $$$$$$$$$ restaurant soon. And I would be willing to bet many a farmer/rancher/poor person has eaten horse particularly in those hard hard times.

They are being slaughtered most likely for dog/cat/? food and glue (hooves) and for their hides. At least historically that has been the uses of slaughtered horses.

I think ALL, EVERY slaughter house should be humane and clean. ....many in the country are not.

betenoire
12-04-2011, 04:58 PM
Your American horses were being slaughtered anyway - except they had to endure long trips to Canada or Mexico first.

Toughy
12-04-2011, 07:55 PM
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/health/policy/parting-shot-at-waste-by-key-obama-health-official.html

Health Official Takes Parting Shot at ‘Waste’
By ROBERT PEAR
Published: December 3, 2011

WASHINGTON — The official in charge of Medicare and Medicaid for the last 17 months says that 20 percent to 30 percent of health spending is “waste” that yields no benefit to patients, and that some of the needless spending is a result of onerous, archaic regulations enforced by his agency.
Enlarge This Image
Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg News

Dr. Donald M. Berwick testifying before the Senate Finance Committee in November 2010.

The official, Dr. Donald M. Berwick, listed five reasons for what he described as the “extremely high level of waste.” They are overtreatment of patients, the failure to coordinate care, the administrative complexity of the health care system, burdensome rules and fraud.

“Much is done that does not help patients at all,” Dr. Berwick said, “and many physicians know it.”

Just another reason for single payer health care using the Veterans Administration Model. You never will find this kind of waste (if even half of it is true) in the VA system. The VA provides cost-effective health care with no one but your doctor deciding what treatment, tests, procedures, surgery and drugs you need. There is no waiting for approval of a test, procedure or treatment in the VA system. The VA has the highest rated satisfaction surveys of ALL health care providers/systems in the country. The VA provides the most cost effective care in the country.

The VA negotiates drug prices with drug companies.....medicare/medicaid cannot do this....there is no donut hole....there is no need for supplemental health insurance that only provides profit for big pharma and big for-profit health care.

Single payer financing of health care based on the Veteran's Administration model. If it's good enough for veterans, it's good enough for every person living in this country.

Cin
12-05-2011, 05:32 AM
It always amazes me to see which animals folks get upset about being slaughtered. Slaughter cows, sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys, game hens, deer (yes deer are raised for slaughter) pigs, buffalo in ways that will make you puke.........but hey........shrug.....we like eating those critters in the US

but horses.........oh hell no.........shaking my head....don't be eating my friend Flicka..........

and then there is dogs and cats which are human food in many parts of the world.......

I like my meat. I eat it no more than twice a week because I believe it is a selfish food that should be consumed in extreme moderation. Just the grain alone we use to feed the alarming number of animals raised for consumption would feed (hopefully reach) so many more people than the meat will. The factory ranches and farms are humungous consumers of fossil fuel and prolific producers of poisonous wastes. That is my only reason for lowering my meat consumption as much as I am comfortable doing. What moved me about the article was this "The way it works is that ever since 2005, there has been a section of the Agriculture appropriations bill that de-funds (to wit, bars the expenditure of taxpayers’ dollars on) a program for the USDA to inspect foreign-owned horse plants. Now that the de-funding law has been deleted, supporters...will go back to lobbying Congress for millions of dollars annually to run the inspection program...The simple question is: do we want our tax dollars spent to inspect horses...so foreign owners of slaughter plants can profit? In the midst of a recession when other crucial programs such as Medicare and education are suffering deep cuts, the answer is a resounding, “no.” That's what moved me. But honestly I don't know enough about the horse slaughtering business to judge if it is true or not. I do believe we should consider our meat consumption carefully no matter the type.

SoNotHer
12-05-2011, 09:03 AM
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/426391/thumbs/r-WATER-LEAKS-FROM-CRIPPLED-JAPANESE-NUKE-PLANT-large570.jpg

TOKYO — Japan's crippled nuclear power plant leaked about 45 tons of highly radioactive water from a purification device over the weekend, its operator said, and some may have drained into the ocean. The leak is a reminder of the difficulties facing Tokyo Electric Power Co. as it tries to meet its goal of bringing the tsunami-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant to a cold shutdown by year's end.

A pool of radioactive water was discovered midday Sunday around a decontamination device, TEPCO said in a statement on its website. After the equipment was turned off, the leak appeared to stop. Later, workers found a crack in a concrete barrier leaking the contaminated water into a gutter that leads to the ocean. TEPCO estimated about 300 liters leaked out before the crack was blocked with sandbags.

Officials were checking whether any water had reached the nearby ocean. The leakage of radioactive water from the Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean in the weeks after the March 11 accident caused widespread concern that seafood in the coastal waters would be contaminated.

The pooled water around the purification device was measured Sunday at 16,000 bequerels per liter of cesium-134, and 29,000 bequerels per liter of cesium-137, TEPCO said. That's 270 times and 322 times higher, respectively, than government safety limits, according to the Citizens' Nuclear Information Center in Tokyo.

Cesium-137 is dangerous because it can last for decades in the environment, releasing cancer-causing radiation. The half-life of cesium-134 is about two years, while the half-life of cesium-137 is about 30 years. TEPCO is using the purification devices to decontaminate water that has been cooling the reactors. Three of the plant's reactor cores mostly melted down when the March 11 tsunami knocked out the plant's cooling system.

*Anya*
12-05-2011, 10:20 AM
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/426391/thumbs/r-WATER-LEAKS-FROM-CRIPPLED-JAPANESE-NUKE-PLANT-large570.jpg

TOKYO — Japan's crippled nuclear power plant leaked about 45 tons of highly radioactive water from a purification device over the weekend, its operator said, and some may have drained into the ocean. The leak is a reminder of the difficulties facing Tokyo Electric Power Co. as it tries to meet its goal of bringing the tsunami-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant to a cold shutdown by year's end.

A pool of radioactive water was discovered midday Sunday around a decontamination device, TEPCO said in a statement on its website. After the equipment was turned off, the leak appeared to stop. Later, workers found a crack in a concrete barrier leaking the contaminated water into a gutter that leads to the ocean. TEPCO estimated about 300 liters leaked out before the crack was blocked with sandbags.

Officials were checking whether any water had reached the nearby ocean. The leakage of radioactive water from the Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean in the weeks after the March 11 accident caused widespread concern that seafood in the coastal waters would be contaminated.
The pooled water around the purification device was measured Sunday at 16,000 bequerels per liter of cesium-134, and 29,000 bequerels per liter of cesium-137, TEPCO said. That's 270 times and 322 times higher, respectively, than government safety limits, according to the Citizens' Nuclear Information Center in Tokyo.
Cesium-137 is dangerous because it can last for decades in the environment, releasing cancer-causing radiation. The half-life of cesium-134 is about two years, while the half-life of cesium-137 is about 30 years. TEPCO is using the purification devices to decontaminate water that has been cooling the reactors. Three of the plant's reactor cores mostly melted down when the March 11 tsunami knocked out the plant's cooling system.

As one who had my thyroid removed due to cancer (passed 10-year mark now, so considered cured) I know what to expect in Japan (and perhaps farther away) following this accident. This is a true tragedy. The aftereffects will be felt for years, for everyone.

The US also has caused its fair share of thyroid cancers due to all of the above ground testing that took place in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Obviously, this subject is near and dear to my heart and one I follow fairly regularly.

The US and above ground nuclear weapons testing
The first above-ground nuclear weapon test was conducted by the U.S. in southeastern New Mexico on July 16, 1945. Between 1945 and 1963, hundreds of above-ground blasts took place around the world. The number and size (yield) of blasts increased, particularly in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Following the signing of the Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963 by the U.S., U.S.S.R., and Great Britain, most above-ground blasts ceased. The ambient radiation monitoring systems in place at the time recorded sharp increases in atmospheric radiation as the number and size of the blasts increased (Some above-ground weapons testing by other countries continued until 1980.)

NIH and the Individual Dose and Risk Calculator for Nevada Test Site fallout
This calculator estimates the radiation dose from I-131 absorbed by your thyroid gland from nuclear tests conducted at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The calculator estimates your risk of thyroid cancer from this exposure. This calculator also provides an estimate of probability of causation/assigned share (PC/AS) for individuals who have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

Testing was conducted at the NTS from 1951 through 1992. However, only the above-ground tests conducted from 1951 through 1962, and some of the underground tests conducted from 1961 through 1970, are included in this calculator.

https://ntsi131.nci.nih.gov/

Chernobyl and Thyroid cancer
"For the last two decades, attention has been focused on investigating the association between exposure caused by radionuclides released in the Chernobyl accident and late effects, in particular thyroid cancer in children. Doses to the thyroid received in the first few months after the accident were particularly high in those who were children and adolescents at the time in Belarus, Ukraine and the most affected Russian regions and drank milk with high levels of radioactive iodine. By 2005, more than 6,000 thyroid cancer cases had been diagnosed in this group, and it is most likely that a large fraction of these thyroid cancers is attributable to radioiodine intake. It is expected that the increase in thyroid cancer incidence due to the Chernobyl accident will continue for many more years, although the long-term increase is difficult to quantify precisely."

http://www.unscear.org/unscear/en/chernobyl.html

DapperButch
12-05-2011, 11:43 AM
The US also has caused its fair share of thyroid cancers due to all of the above ground testing that took place in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Obviously, this subject is near and dear to my heart and one I follow fairly regularly.



The U.S. has caused its fair share of most, if not all cancers. The crap in our air, soil/agriculture practices, water. Horrendous.

I'm sorry you experienced this first hand.

<--- had hys own bout with cancer at age 40.

Hollylane
12-05-2011, 12:07 PM
I will be willing to bet horse will be on the menu of some fancy dancy $$$$$$$$$ restaurant soon. And I would be willing to bet many a farmer/rancher/poor person has eaten horse particularly in those hard hard times.

They are being slaughtered most likely for dog/cat/? food and glue (hooves) and for their hides. At least historically that has been the uses of slaughtered horses.

I think ALL, EVERY slaughter house should be humane and clean. ....many in the country are not.

Your American horses were being slaughtered anyway - except they had to endure long trips to Canada or Mexico first.



I agree completely, every slaughter house should be humane and clean. Most are not.

When I posted this link, it was because it was breaking news. Posting this does not mean I am ignorant to the atrocities that are happening to other animals, or the fact that these practices were and are being used with horses and other animals shipped from the U.S to countries with more lenient policies, or that I value the humane treatment of one species over another.

Bottom line... This is just another horrifying practice involving animal abuse for the sake of $$.

Occasionally I lose hope in our ability to evolve. Devolving seems too often the characteristic of modern humans.

atomiczombie
12-05-2011, 12:30 PM
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/426391/thumbs/r-WATER-LEAKS-FROM-CRIPPLED-JAPANESE-NUKE-PLANT-large570.jpg

TOKYO — Japan's crippled nuclear power plant leaked about 45 tons of highly radioactive water from a purification device over the weekend, its operator said, and some may have drained into the ocean. The leak is a reminder of the difficulties facing Tokyo Electric Power Co. as it tries to meet its goal of bringing the tsunami-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant to a cold shutdown by year's end.

A pool of radioactive water was discovered midday Sunday around a decontamination device, TEPCO said in a statement on its website. After the equipment was turned off, the leak appeared to stop. Later, workers found a crack in a concrete barrier leaking the contaminated water into a gutter that leads to the ocean. TEPCO estimated about 300 liters leaked out before the crack was blocked with sandbags.

Officials were checking whether any water had reached the nearby ocean. The leakage of radioactive water from the Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean in the weeks after the March 11 accident caused widespread concern that seafood in the coastal waters would be contaminated.

The pooled water around the purification device was measured Sunday at 16,000 bequerels per liter of cesium-134, and 29,000 bequerels per liter of cesium-137, TEPCO said. That's 270 times and 322 times higher, respectively, than government safety limits, according to the Citizens' Nuclear Information Center in Tokyo.

Cesium-137 is dangerous because it can last for decades in the environment, releasing cancer-causing radiation. The half-life of cesium-134 is about two years, while the half-life of cesium-137 is about 30 years. TEPCO is using the purification devices to decontaminate water that has been cooling the reactors. Three of the plant's reactor cores mostly melted down when the March 11 tsunami knocked out the plant's cooling system.

It's not even close to over, yet there is a media blackout here in the US. No surprise, corporations who build and maintain nuclear power plants here have the means and power to make sure the media stays quiet.

AtLast
12-05-2011, 12:37 PM
The U.S. has caused its fair share of most, if not all cancers. The crap in our air, soil/agriculture practices, water. Horrendous.

I'm sorry you experienced this first hand.

<--- had hys own bout with cancer at age 40.

My cervical cancer was the direct result of DES in vitamins prescribed to pregnany women in the 1950's that had had earlier miscarriages or still births. I'm fine, it has been over 25 years now since dealing with this. Thousands of women of my generations have had to deal with this. Then post the 60's development of oral contraceotion, the levels of breast cancers related to the levels of estrogen in them began (including for my mother).

The problem is that most of the kinds of cancers that arise due to environmental exposure or by prescription and OTC drugs take years to develop. By the time we have evidence of causation, there are generations already in danger.

*Anya*
12-05-2011, 03:01 PM
As one who had my thyroid removed due to cancer (passed 10-year mark now, so considered cured) I know what to expect in Japan (and perhaps farther away) following this accident. This is a true tragedy. The aftereffects will be felt for years, for everyone.

The US also has caused its fair share of thyroid cancers due to all of the above ground testing that took place in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Obviously, this subject is near and dear to my heart and one I follow fairly regularly.

NIH and the Individual Dose and Risk Calculator for Nevada Test Site fallout
This calculator estimates the radiation dose from I-131 absorbed by your thyroid gland from nuclear tests conducted at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The calculator estimates your risk of thyroid cancer from this exposure. This calculator also provides an estimate of probability of causation/assigned share (PC/AS) for individuals who have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

Testing was conducted at the NTS from 1951 through 1992. However, only the above-ground tests conducted from 1951 through 1962, and some of the underground tests conducted from 1961 through 1970, are included in this calculator.

https://ntsi131.nci.nih.gov/



I decided to go to the website and calculate what my risk was based on how many glasses of milk I drank as a kid, raised in New Jersey and this is what it calculated for me:

"Since you reported that you were diagnosed with a thyroid cancer in the year 2000, you may be interested in the likelihood that your exposure and your disease are related.

We estimate that, in a very large population of individuals with your age and sex, with exposure histories similar to yours, about 34% of all thyroid cancers diagnosed in the year 2000 would not have occurred in the absence of exposure.

This percentage represents the individual "share" of the total exposure-related increase. Thus, your "assigned share" of the estimated increase due to exposure (also loosely known as "probability of causation") is 34%."

DapperButch
12-05-2011, 05:43 PM
My cervical cancer was the direct result of DES in vitamins prescribed to pregnany women in the 1950's that had had earlier miscarriages or still births. I'm fine, it has been over 25 years now since dealing with this. Thousands of women of my generations have had to deal with this. Then post the 60's development of oral contraceotion, the levels of breast cancers related to the levels of estrogen in them began (including for my mother).

The problem is that most of the kinds of cancers that arise due to environmental exposure or by prescription and OTC drugs take years to develop. By the time we have evidence of causation, there are generations already in danger.

I agree with what you are saying here when it comes to medication. I strongly disagree that our government doesn't have clear evidence of cancer being caused right now by a slew of environmental situations that they ignore. Every. Single. Day. But that is just my belief.

DapperButch
12-05-2011, 05:55 PM
I agree with what you are saying here when it comes to medication. I strongly disagree that our government doesn't have clear evidence of cancer being caused right now by a slew of environmental situations that they ignore. Every. Single. Day. But that is just my belief.

I would write more if I was not on my iPhone.

LeftWriteFemme
12-05-2011, 10:35 PM
Belgium Becomes The Second Modern Nation With A Gay Leader



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15983739

SoNotHer
12-05-2011, 11:11 PM
I am grateful to all who posted comments on this story. It did me good to see/hear so much vigilance and desire for change.

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Disease a few years ago. I have had a mass on my thyroid, and after a series of FNAs (fine needle aspirations), I was told by an ENT that I should have my thyroid removed because of suspicious-looking cells that he believed were cancerous but couldn't determine the nature of with certainty except in autopsy. After an initial reaction, I threw myself into researching the type of cell found in the latest FNA, the likelihood of a malignancy, and the costs, procedure and effects of a thyroidectomy.

Among the many things I learned, such as that fewer than one percent of the thyroid nodules that add the kind of cell mine has are cancerous, I discovered iodine and began the search for an iodine-literate doctor. I would highly suggest that anyone who is not eating kelp, or any other iodine-saturated foods, on a daily basis look into iodine. It is believed 98% of us are iodine deficient, and this has a number of ramifications in terms of human health.

And, I would suggest that those of us who are already wary of the hideous, pervasive and wasteful nightmare that has been unleashed on this planet and those who have experienced one or more environmentally-related sicknesses continue the fight for detoxified air, water and soil. It does matter.


As one who had my thyroid removed due to cancer (passed 10-year mark now, so considered cured) I know what to expect in Japan (and perhaps farther away) following this accident. This is a true tragedy. The aftereffects will be felt for years, for everyone.

The US also has caused its fair share of thyroid cancers due to all of the above ground testing that took place in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Obviously, this subject is near and dear to my heart and one I follow fairly regularly.

The US and above ground nuclear weapons testing
The first above-ground nuclear weapon test was conducted by the U.S. in southeastern New Mexico on July 16, 1945. Between 1945 and 1963, hundreds of above-ground blasts took place around the world. The number and size (yield) of blasts increased, particularly in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Following the signing of the Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963 by the U.S., U.S.S.R., and Great Britain, most above-ground blasts ceased. The ambient radiation monitoring systems in place at the time recorded sharp increases in atmospheric radiation as the number and size of the blasts increased (Some above-ground weapons testing by other countries continued until 1980.)

NIH and the Individual Dose and Risk Calculator for Nevada Test Site fallout
This calculator estimates the radiation dose from I-131 absorbed by your thyroid gland from nuclear tests conducted at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The calculator estimates your risk of thyroid cancer from this exposure. This calculator also provides an estimate of probability of causation/assigned share (PC/AS) for individuals who have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

Testing was conducted at the NTS from 1951 through 1992. However, only the above-ground tests conducted from 1951 through 1962, and some of the underground tests conducted from 1961 through 1970, are included in this calculator.

https://ntsi131.nci.nih.gov/

Chernobyl and Thyroid cancer
"For the last two decades, attention has been focused on investigating the association between exposure caused by radionuclides released in the Chernobyl accident and late effects, in particular thyroid cancer in children. Doses to the thyroid received in the first few months after the accident were particularly high in those who were children and adolescents at the time in Belarus, Ukraine and the most affected Russian regions and drank milk with high levels of radioactive iodine. By 2005, more than 6,000 thyroid cancer cases had been diagnosed in this group, and it is most likely that a large fraction of these thyroid cancers is attributable to radioiodine intake. It is expected that the increase in thyroid cancer incidence due to the Chernobyl accident will continue for many more years, although the long-term increase is difficult to quantify precisely."

http://www.unscear.org/unscear/en/chernobyl.html

tapu
12-06-2011, 06:59 AM
Smoking can make nipples fall off

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/05/smoking-can-make-your-nipples-fall-off/?hpt=hp_bn10

I wonder if there are smokers who will read that and think, Well, that does it! I go on the patch, starting tomorrow. Maybe I'll be able to avoid that cancer and heart disease and COPD, too. That'd be a plus.

*Anya*
12-06-2011, 08:45 AM
Smoking can make nipples fall off

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/05/smoking-can-make-your-nipples-fall-off/?hpt=hp_bn10

I wonder if there are smokers who will read that and think, Well, that does it! I go on the patch, starting tomorrow. Maybe I'll be able to avoid that cancer and heart disease and COPD, too. That'd be a plus.

tapu, only you would find this! WTF! As an RN I did not even know this. This is some scary shit.

Smoking is extremely addictive. I do not know that this information would assist in smoking cessation but I do hope so.

1-800-nobutts is a free service to assist smokers in quiting.

Toughy
12-06-2011, 09:18 AM
Smoking can make nipples fall off

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/05/smoking-can-make-your-nipples-fall-off/?hpt=hp_bn10

I wonder if there are smokers who will read that and think, Well, that does it! I go on the patch, starting tomorrow. Maybe I'll be able to avoid that cancer and heart disease and COPD, too. That'd be a plus.

How about a little sanity here.........from the article:

I cringe every time I see a patient for a breast lift who is a smoker. I’m deathly afraid that despite my warnings, she will smoke before or after surgery and cause her nipples to turn black and fall off.

Yes. Smokers who undergo breast lifts are at great risk of losing their nipples.


This is about re-positioning nipples post surgery. My guess is this would also apply to folks who undergo chest reconstruction and mastectomy. It is well known among medical folk that ANY post surgery healing is compromised if you smoke.

So.......your nipples are not gonna fall off if you smoke and don't have any kind of breast surgery.

I hate overblown scare/fear tactics.

Cin
12-06-2011, 09:26 AM
I hate overblown scare/fear tactics.

Well you're living in the wrong place and time...

Cin
12-06-2011, 09:28 AM
So.......your nipples are not gonna fall off if you smoke and don't have any kind of breast surgery.


That big whoosh you just heard was a collective sigh from Europe.

Montreal was pretty relieved as well.

Toughy
12-06-2011, 09:28 AM
Well you're living in the wrong place and time...

........ok I snorted coffee out my nose on my keyboard.........thanks ever so much........laughin.....

Cin
12-06-2011, 09:43 AM
Smoking is extremely addictive.


I quit drinking, drugging and smoking and I can say that during the unfolding of an uneventful day i might think about having a cigarette once or twice. Certainly much more often than i ever think about a drink. I rarely think about dope anymore at all. However, once I think about a drink or a drug I have to follow the thought through and give it some attention, that's not necessary with cigarettes. I'm not sure if that's the nature of the various addictions or if I just have more fear surrounding my alcohol and drug addictions.

Sorry for the derail. No breaking news event here.

betenoire
12-06-2011, 11:44 AM
So.......your nipples are not gonna fall off if you smoke and don't have any kind of breast surgery.

Well this sucks because I was totally considering a boob job.

No. I wasn't.

I have no idea what non-smokers do while they're waiting at a bus stop. Do they just STAND there? Ugh.

DapperButch
12-06-2011, 11:49 AM
How about a little sanity here.........from the article:

I cringe every time I see a patient for a breast lift who is a smoker. I’m deathly afraid that despite my warnings, she will smoke before or after surgery and cause her nipples to turn black and fall off.

Yes. Smokers who undergo breast lifts are at great risk of losing their nipples.


This is about re-positioning nipples post surgery. My guess is this would also apply to folks who undergo chest reconstruction and mastectomy. It is well known among medical folk that ANY post surgery healing is compromised if you smoke.

So.......your nipples are not gonna fall off if you smoke and don't have any kind of breast surgery.

I hate overblown scare/fear tactics.

Yes, I have heard from various people (here and IRL), that plastic surgeons warn of this prior to chest reconstruction. Smoking also increases the amount of scaring one has, for the same reasons. I have seen this motivate some transguys to quit prior to surgery, as many don't want their chest surgery to be evident.

tapu
12-06-2011, 01:40 PM
How about a little sanity here.........from the article:

I cringe every time I see a patient for a breast lift who is a smoker. I’m deathly afraid that despite my warnings, she will smoke before or after surgery and cause her nipples to turn black and fall off.

Yes. Smokers who undergo breast lifts are at great risk of losing their nipples.


This is about re-positioning nipples post surgery. My guess is this would also apply to folks who undergo chest reconstruction and mastectomy. It is well known among medical folk that ANY post surgery healing is compromised if you smoke.

So.......your nipples are not gonna fall off if you smoke and don't have any kind of breast surgery.

I hate overblown scare/fear tactics.



Wow, serious buzzkill. :(

AtLast
12-06-2011, 02:28 PM
http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2011/12/gov_scott_walker_says_recall_election_is_likely.ph p

Gov. Scott Walker: Recall election is likely
It's been little more than two weeks since foes of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker began petitioning for a recall, and they've already surpassed 300,000 signatures -- more than half of the 540,000 needed by the January 17 deadline.

If they keep progressing at this pace, a recall election will be inevitable. Even Walker says it's likely.

"My guess is they probably will" collect the necessary signatures, Walker told CNBC yesterday. "If you look at other states, if they pay 10,000 people to come in, which they can legally do, they'll probably get those signatures."

Walker made a lengthy list of enemies before he was even sworn into office. The push for a recall began shortly after he was elected, even though his opponents couldn't begin gathering signatures until November 15 of this year.

The anti-Walker movement hit the 300,000 mark after only 12 days of petitioning, according to its website, United Wisconsin to Recall Walker. From the site:

We are excited to announce that in the first 12 days, volunteers across the state have collected over 300,000 signatures to Recall Scott Walker. Over 300,000 signatures in 12 days-that is over 1,040 per hour!
Our work is not done yet, so to all of the passionate volunteers who have been collecting signatures throughout the state: Keep it up!!!


The anti-Walker movement has until January to collect 540,000 signatures.
​In the CNBC interview, Walker devalues the movement against him by pointing out that even if they do get the necessary signatures, it doesn't amount to the majority of Wisconsin voters.

"Their goal is to get about 670,000," he says. "And remember, that's still just a fraction, that's about 25 percent of all the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. So minority voters will get to force a new election in Wisconsin. And assuming they're legitimate voters...that'll force a new election costing millions of dollars to the taxpayers this spring in Wisconsin."

But if it does come to that, Walker says he's ready. He's even welcoming the chance to brag about what he's done in Wisconsin so far this year.

"I look forward to that," he says. "I'd love to have the chance to talk to the voters of Wisconsin again, to tell that story. "

[HT: Politico]



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

To me, the underpinnings of the OWS movement began in WS's backlash against Walker and other GOP Govenors elected in 2010. Seeing the WS statehouse being under seige by demonstrators and the Democratic senators leaving the state to stop voting on Walker's anti-union legislation had to help move people into the streets all over the country.

Toughy
12-06-2011, 02:49 PM
Wow, serious buzzkill. :(

the truth is a buzzkill??? Good...makes me happy

tapu
12-06-2011, 05:34 PM
The pleasure is all mine. :)

Toughy
12-06-2011, 05:53 PM
The pleasure is all mine. :)

so fear mongering is a pleasure you claim......it is not my pleasure but..in the spirit of idiots can say what they want.....good on ya

tapu
12-06-2011, 06:05 PM
Did she just call me an idiot?

Okay, ya got me. Let's not get June and Medusa in here. Peace.

Toughy
12-06-2011, 07:09 PM
Did she just call me an idiot?

Okay, ya got me. Let's not get June and Medusa in here. Peace.


chicken...........

HoustonHuny
12-06-2011, 07:15 PM
Wow, serious buzzkill. :(

Oh, not at all...I'd rather have my smokes than my nipples, although...purple nipples sound pretty cool. Love this thread! :cheesy:

Corkey
12-06-2011, 07:59 PM
http://peacefreedomprosperity.com/5618/federal-court-rules-videotaping-police-is-a-first-amendment-right/

Federal court rules it is a first amendment right to video tape police in public space.

DapperButch
12-06-2011, 09:19 PM
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/06/obama-administration-gay-rights-foreign-aid-_n_1131564.html?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl12%7Csec3_lnk2%7C118130

MsDemeanor
12-07-2011, 03:41 AM
I thoroughly enjoyed today's banter-fest. My favorites:

I have no idea what non-smokers do while they're waiting at a bus stop. Do they just STAND there? Ugh.

Let's not get June and Medusa in here.

chicken...........
:goodscore:

MsDemeanor
12-07-2011, 03:45 AM
Federal court rules it is a first amendment right to video tape police in public space.[/SIZE]
Not to worry, the Supremes can take care of this pesky little ruling....

tapu
12-07-2011, 08:00 AM
Not to worry, the Supremes can take care of this pesky little ruling....


Stop! In the name of love... Before you break...

MsTinkerbelly
12-07-2011, 08:45 AM
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/06/obama-administration-gay-rights-foreign-aid-_n_1131564.html?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl12%7Csec3_lnk2%7C118130

Secretary Clinton’s speech, and what matters as much or more
By Adam Bink

Like many of you here, I read through Secretary Clinton’s speech today (a top 8 moments can be found here). It certainly made headlines not just in the US around the world, and it was an important gesture and decision to stand up for a minority that often goes voiceless. But many of you thought as I did, which is, okay, great, she made a speech. Speeches educate the public and change minds. But what does that compel other countries to do? What do representatives in, say, Nigeria, whose lawmakers not only have “banned” being gay but are moving to criminalize same-sex marriage with a jail term of up to 14 years, care about a speech?

Then the following memorandum issued by the White House came into my inbox. In it are important measures to be taken by this Administration, including relating to foreign aid. These kinds of things are the ones that make countries listen.

In my opinion, that’s the real positive outcome of today: that this Administration says it will walk the walk, and not just talk to talk. The memorandum can be found below.

December 06, 2011
Presidential Memorandum — International Initiatives to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

SUBJECT: International Initiatives to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons

The struggle to end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons is a global challenge, and one that is central to the United States commitment to promoting human rights. I am deeply concerned by the violence and discrimination targeting LGBT persons around the world whether it is passing laws that criminalize LGBT status, beating citizens simply for joining peaceful LGBT pride celebrations, or killing men, women, and children for their perceived sexual orientation. That is why I declared before heads of state gathered at the United Nations, “no country should deny people their rights because of who they love, which is why we must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere.” Under my Administration, agencies engaged abroad have already begun taking action to promote the fundamental human rights of LGBT persons everywhere. Our deep commitment to advancing the human rights of all people is strengthened when we as the United States bring our tools to bear to vigorously advance this goal.

By this memorandum I am directing all agencies engaged abroad to ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBT persons. Specifically, I direct the following actions, consistent with applicable law:

Section 1. Combating Criminalization of LGBT Status or Conduct Abroad. Agencies engaged abroad are directed to strengthen existing efforts to effectively combat the criminalization by foreign governments of LGBT status or conduct and to expand efforts to combat discrimination, homophobia, and intolerance on the basis of LGBT status or conduct.

Sec. 2. Protecting Vulnerable LGBT Refugees and Asylum Seekers. Those LGBT persons who seek refuge from violence and persecution face daunting challenges. In order to improve protection for LGBT refugees and asylum seekers at all stages of displacement, the Departments of State and Homeland Security shall enhance their ongoing efforts to ensure that LGBT refugees and asylum seekers have equal access to protection and assistance, particularly in countries of first asylum. In addition, the Departments of State, Justice, and Homeland Security shall ensure appropriate training is in place so that relevant Federal Government personnel and key partners can effectively address the protection of LGBT refugees and asylum seekers, including by providing to them adequate assistance and ensuring that the

Federal Government has the ability to identify and expedite resettlement of highly vulnerable persons with urgent protection needs.

Sec. 3. Foreign Assistance to Protect Human Rights and Advance Nondiscrimination. Agencies involved with foreign aid, assistance, and development shall enhance their ongoing efforts to ensure regular Federal Government engagement with governments, citizens, civil society, and the private sector in order to build respect for the human rights of LGBT persons.

Sec. 4. Swift and Meaningful U.S. Responses to Human Rights Abuses of LGBT Persons Abroad. The Department of State shall lead a standing group, with appropriate interagency representation, to help ensure the Federal Government’s swift and meaningful response to serious incidents that threaten the human rights of LGBT persons abroad.

Sec. 5. Engaging International Organizations in the Fight Against LGBT Discrimination. Multilateral fora and international organizations are key vehicles to promote respect for the human rights of LGBT persons and to bring global attention to LGBT issues. Building on the State Department’s leadership in this area, agencies engaged abroad should strengthen the work they have begun and initiate additional efforts in these multilateral fora and organizations to: counter discrimination on the basis of LGBT status; broaden the number of countries willing to support and defend LGBT issues in the multilateral arena; strengthen the role of civil society advocates on behalf of LGBT issues within and through multilateral fora; and strengthen the policies and programming of multilateral institutions on LGBT issues.

Sec. 6. Reporting on Progress. All agencies engaged abroad shall prepare a report within 180 days of the date of this memorandum, and annually thereafter, on their progress toward advancing these initiatives. All such agencies shall submit their reports to the Department of State, which will compile a report on the Federal Government’s progress in advancing these initiatives for transmittal to the President.

Sec. 7. Definitions. (a) For the purposes of this memorandum, agencies engaged abroad include the Departments of State, the Treasury, Defense, Justice, Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Export Import Bank, the United States Trade Representative, and such other agencies as the President may designate.

(b) For the purposes of this memorandum, agencies involved with foreign aid, assistance, and development include the Departments of State, the Treasury, Defense, Justice, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security, the USAID, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Export Import Bank, the United States Trade Representative, and such other agencies as the President may designate.

This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

The Secretary of State is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA

SoNotHer
12-07-2011, 09:48 AM
Thank you for posting this. It is good to see action accompanying the speech. I would encourage those who haven't visited Iamkeri's thread with a video of the speech to do so as well.


Secretary Clinton’s speech, and what matters as much or more
By Adam Bink

Like many of you here, I read through Secretary Clinton’s speech today (a top 8 moments can be found here). It certainly made headlines not just in the US around the world, and it was an important gesture and decision to stand up for a minority that often goes voiceless. But many of you thought as I did, which is, okay, great, she made a speech. Speeches educate the public and change minds. But what does that compel other countries to do? What do representatives in, say, Nigeria, whose lawmakers not only have “banned” being gay but are moving to criminalize same-sex marriage with a jail term of up to 14 years, care about a speech?

Then the following memorandum issued by the White House came into my inbox. In it are important measures to be taken by this Administration, including relating to foreign aid. These kinds of things are the ones that make countries listen.

In my opinion, that’s the real positive outcome of today: that this Administration says it will walk the walk, and not just talk to talk. The memorandum can be found below.

December 06, 2011
Presidential Memorandum — International Initiatives to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

SUBJECT: International Initiatives to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons

The struggle to end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons is a global challenge, and one that is central to the United States commitment to promoting human rights. I am deeply concerned by the violence and discrimination targeting LGBT persons around the world whether it is passing laws that criminalize LGBT status, beating citizens simply for joining peaceful LGBT pride celebrations, or killing men, women, and children for their perceived sexual orientation. That is why I declared before heads of state gathered at the United Nations, “no country should deny people their rights because of who they love, which is why we must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere.” Under my Administration, agencies engaged abroad have already begun taking action to promote the fundamental human rights of LGBT persons everywhere. Our deep commitment to advancing the human rights of all people is strengthened when we as the United States bring our tools to bear to vigorously advance this goal.

By this memorandum I am directing all agencies engaged abroad to ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBT persons. Specifically, I direct the following actions, consistent with applicable law:

Section 1. Combating Criminalization of LGBT Status or Conduct Abroad. Agencies engaged abroad are directed to strengthen existing efforts to effectively combat the criminalization by foreign governments of LGBT status or conduct and to expand efforts to combat discrimination, homophobia, and intolerance on the basis of LGBT status or conduct.

Sec. 2. Protecting Vulnerable LGBT Refugees and Asylum Seekers. Those LGBT persons who seek refuge from violence and persecution face daunting challenges. In order to improve protection for LGBT refugees and asylum seekers at all stages of displacement, the Departments of State and Homeland Security shall enhance their ongoing efforts to ensure that LGBT refugees and asylum seekers have equal access to protection and assistance, particularly in countries of first asylum. In addition, the Departments of State, Justice, and Homeland Security shall ensure appropriate training is in place so that relevant Federal Government personnel and key partners can effectively address the protection of LGBT refugees and asylum seekers, including by providing to them adequate assistance and ensuring that the

Federal Government has the ability to identify and expedite resettlement of highly vulnerable persons with urgent protection needs.

Sec. 3. Foreign Assistance to Protect Human Rights and Advance Nondiscrimination. Agencies involved with foreign aid, assistance, and development shall enhance their ongoing efforts to ensure regular Federal Government engagement with governments, citizens, civil society, and the private sector in order to build respect for the human rights of LGBT persons.

Sec. 4. Swift and Meaningful U.S. Responses to Human Rights Abuses of LGBT Persons Abroad. The Department of State shall lead a standing group, with appropriate interagency representation, to help ensure the Federal Government’s swift and meaningful response to serious incidents that threaten the human rights of LGBT persons abroad.

Sec. 5. Engaging International Organizations in the Fight Against LGBT Discrimination. Multilateral fora and international organizations are key vehicles to promote respect for the human rights of LGBT persons and to bring global attention to LGBT issues. Building on the State Department’s leadership in this area, agencies engaged abroad should strengthen the work they have begun and initiate additional efforts in these multilateral fora and organizations to: counter discrimination on the basis of LGBT status; broaden the number of countries willing to support and defend LGBT issues in the multilateral arena; strengthen the role of civil society advocates on behalf of LGBT issues within and through multilateral fora; and strengthen the policies and programming of multilateral institutions on LGBT issues.

Sec. 6. Reporting on Progress. All agencies engaged abroad shall prepare a report within 180 days of the date of this memorandum, and annually thereafter, on their progress toward advancing these initiatives. All such agencies shall submit their reports to the Department of State, which will compile a report on the Federal Government’s progress in advancing these initiatives for transmittal to the President.

Sec. 7. Definitions. (a) For the purposes of this memorandum, agencies engaged abroad include the Departments of State, the Treasury, Defense, Justice, Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Export Import Bank, the United States Trade Representative, and such other agencies as the President may designate.

(b) For the purposes of this memorandum, agencies involved with foreign aid, assistance, and development include the Departments of State, the Treasury, Defense, Justice, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security, the USAID, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Export Import Bank, the United States Trade Representative, and such other agencies as the President may designate.

This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

The Secretary of State is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA

AtLast
12-07-2011, 01:53 PM
I agree with what you are saying here when it comes to medication. I strongly disagree that our government doesn't have clear evidence of cancer being caused right now by a slew of environmental situations that they ignore. Every. Single. Day. But that is just my belief.

I also think that people are entitled to sound research on prescription medications in order to make informed decisions about taking them. There are situations in which one decides that whatever side effects do not outweigh the benefits for them. We do have to make difficult decisions in life like this, but I don't believe that we get the data from objective researchers in order to really base these decisions on. I don't like that these variables exist, but, sometimes quality of life can outweigh longevity for some people. But they need the best researched data to consider what they want to do.

MissItalianDiva
12-07-2011, 09:58 PM
Just read this and thought this was pretty awesome. Still much to be done but nice to see progression

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A new scorecard compiled by the nation's largest gay rights group shows the number of major U.S. companies covering the cost of gender reassignment surgery for transgender workers has more than doubled in the past year. The Human Rights Campaign says in a report to be published Thursday that 207 of the 636 businesses it surveyed for its annual Corporate Equality Index either are providing transgender-inclusive employee health benefits or plan to at the start of next year. Last year, 85 companies had insurance plans that paid for sex transformation surgeries. Only 49 did in 2009. A decade ago, when the campaign launched the index, none did. Among the corporations that expanded their insurance coverage this year are Apple, Chevron, General Mills, Dow Chemical, American Airlines, Kellogg and Office Depot.

AtLast
12-08-2011, 02:47 AM
I agree with what you are saying here when it comes to medication. I strongly disagree that our government doesn't have clear evidence of cancer being caused right now by a slew of environmental situations that they ignore. Every. Single. Day. But that is just my belief.

Had to come to this- I think the evidence is clear when research is supported by our government and done by unbiased researchers. Like drug studies, far too often environmental research gets farmed outside of the agencies that are responsible to all of us concerning these hazards. The whole conflict of interest investigations. This has happened due to so much due to funding cuts and contracting out to private entities to do studies. It is extremely depressing to see how much research grants to universities have been eliminated and these would most likely bring in the best work.

I see the point you are making, but there is a huge lag in follow-up studies in order to replicate findings which would really get firm conclusions out to the public. Again, due to lack of resources. Think about how so many environmental impact studies not done simply because a loophole is found that gets around having to do them. Even when sound regulations are developed calling for testing, there always seems to be a way around them. This happens often with environmental studies.

I think overall, that there is more fruad and deception in areas like drug studies because the FDA allows the very company developing a drug to do studies in the first place. But also, to cut costs, our own government agencies allow environmental studies to done by research "companies" in the private sector and often further studies of the possible negative outcomes are not done because of weak methodology and what is or isn't considered "significant." Makes me sick how politics ends up rolling over research design and methodology. Also so many talented scientists are wooed to private jobs by huge increases in salaries and leave public research.

SoNotHer
12-08-2011, 08:05 AM
Combining Medical Marijuana with Opiates to Fight Chronic Pain

ENN: Environmental News Network -- Know Your Environment
From: David A Gabel, ENN
Published December 7, 2011 09:43 AM


Scientists have found that patients who suffer from chronic pain can receive greater relief if medical marijuana is combined with their opiate-based pain medicine. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco have conducted a small scale study to see if this combination produces any real benefits. They intended to show that the cannabis, rather than relieving pain itself, actually caused the opiate medicine such as morphine or oxycodone to be more effective. While the cannabis did not bolster the opiates in the blood, the patients all declared that their pain had been significantly decreased.

According to the National Centers for Health Statistics, 76 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, more than diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined. "Pain is a big problem in America and chronic pain is a reason many people utilize the health care system," said the paper's lead author, Dr. Donald Abrams, professor of clinical medicine at UCSF and chief of the Hematology-Oncology Division at San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (SFGH). "And chronic pain is, unfortunately, one of the problems we're least capable of managing effectively."

The study was conducted by administering controlled amounts of cannabinoids, the main ingredient in medical marijuana, via inhalation through a vaporizer. The goal was to see if adding the cannabinoids changed the level of opiates in the blood stream. The researchers measured the opiate levels prior to the cannabis. Then, the 21 patients were subject to vaporized cannabis for four consecutive days. The result was a very slight drop in opiate levels, leading the scientists to believe that the patients would receive less pain relief.

http://www.enn.com/image_for_articles/43672-1.jpg/medium

However, they were surprised to find that the patients actually reported an increase in their overall pain relief. Those who were on morphine reported a 33 percent reduction in pain, and those on oxycodone reported a 34 percent reduction.The results imply that patients may be able to decrease their intake of opiates but receive greater pain relief by also taking medical marijuana. This can be extremely beneficial due to the negative side effects of opiates, which can be highly addictive, suppress the respiratory system, and cause nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite.

The researchers intend to expand their study by examining individual chemicals within marijuana. For example, the main psychoactive ingredient is Delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta-9 THC). Another ingredient which is good at fighting pain, without creating the "high" sensation, is cannabidol (CBD). The next step, according to Dr. Abrams, would be to conduct similar medical trials with each cannabis strain.

The report was published in the journal, Clinical Pharmacology & Therpeutics.

Link to published article: http://www.nature.com/clpt/journal/v90/n6/full/clpt2011188a.html

AtLast
12-08-2011, 12:56 PM
Combining Medical Marijuana with Opiates to Fight Chronic Pain

ENN: Environmental News Network -- Know Your Environment
From: David A Gabel, ENN
Published December 7, 2011 09:43 AM


Scientists have found that patients who suffer from chronic pain can receive greater relief if medical marijuana is combined with their opiate-based pain medicine. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco have conducted a small scale study to see if this combination produces any real benefits. They intended to show that the cannabis, rather than relieving pain itself, actually caused the opiate medicine such as morphine or oxycodone to be more effective. While the cannabis did not bolster the opiates in the blood, the patients all declared that their pain had been significantly decreased.

According to the National Centers for Health Statistics, 76 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, more than diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined. "Pain is a big problem in America and chronic pain is a reason many people utilize the health care system," said the paper's lead author, Dr. Donald Abrams, professor of clinical medicine at UCSF and chief of the Hematology-Oncology Division at San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (SFGH). "And chronic pain is, unfortunately, one of the problems we're least capable of managing effectively."

The study was conducted by administering controlled amounts of cannabinoids, the main ingredient in medical marijuana, via inhalation through a vaporizer. The goal was to see if adding the cannabinoids changed the level of opiates in the blood stream. The researchers measured the opiate levels prior to the cannabis. Then, the 21 patients were subject to vaporized cannabis for four consecutive days. The result was a very slight drop in opiate levels, leading the scientists to believe that the patients would receive less pain relief.

http://www.enn.com/image_for_articles/43672-1.jpg/medium

However, they were surprised to find that the patients actually reported an increase in their overall pain relief. Those who were on morphine reported a 33 percent reduction in pain, and those on oxycodone reported a 34 percent reduction.The results imply that patients may be able to decrease their intake of opiates but receive greater pain relief by also taking medical marijuana. This can be extremely beneficial due to the negative side effects of opiates, which can be highly addictive, suppress the respiratory system, and cause nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite.

The researchers intend to expand their study by examining individual chemicals within marijuana. For example, the main psychoactive ingredient is Delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta-9 THC). Another ingredient which is good at fighting pain, without creating the "high" sensation, is cannabidol (CBD). The next step, according to Dr. Abrams, would be to conduct similar medical trials with each cannabis strain.

The report was published in the journal, Clinical Pharmacology & Therpeutics.

Link to published article: http://www.nature.com/clpt/journal/v90/n6/full/clpt2011188a.html

This is really interesting- especially if results continue to yield what looks like a way to decrease opiates due to their side effects that so often hurt daily quality of life for people with chronic pain (as well as the addiction). So many end up chronically depressed not fully due to the constant pain, but the suppression of neurotransmission and output caused by opiates. This could prove to be a big help!

SoNotHer
12-08-2011, 01:08 PM
Indeed, it would. I think pain is important inasmuch as it's your indication that something is off; nevertheless, I find studies like this promising, especially for folks in chronic pain.

This is really interesting- especially if results continue to yield what looks like a way to decrease opiates due to their side effects that so often hurt daily quality of life for people with chronic pain (as well as the addiction). So many end up chronically depressed not fully due to the constant pain, but the suppression of neurotransmission and output caused by opiates. This could prove to be a big help!

Kobi
12-08-2011, 05:50 PM
The US Air Force dumped the cremated, partial remains of at least 274 troops in a landfill before halting the secretive practice in 2008, the Washington Post reported Thursday.

The procedure was never formally authorized or disclosed to senior Pentagon officials, who conducted a review of the cremation policies of Dover Air Base -- the main point of entry for US war dead -- in 2008, the Post said.

Nor was the dumping ever disclosed to the families of the fallen troops, who had authorized the military to dispose of the remains in a respectful and dignified manner, the Post said, citing Air Force officials.

The newspaper quoted officials as saying that a precise count of the remains disposed of at a Virginia landfill would require searching through the records of 6,300 troops whose remains have passed through Dover since 2001.

An additional group of 1,762 remains -- which could not undergo DNA testing because they were badly damaged or burned -- were also disposed of in this manner, the Post said, citing the Air Force.

Defense officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Last month investigators said they had found "gross mismanagement" at the US Air Force mortuary, with body parts lost and remains mishandled.

After allegations from whistle-blowers, an Air Force probe found that two "portions of the remains" of fallen troops had been lost and uncovered other problems at the morgue.

New procedures have been put in place at the mortuary and the commander at the morgue, a colonel, together with two civilian officials were disciplined over the episode but not sacked.

The Dover affair echoes a scandal that erupted last year at Arlington National Cemetery, the country's hallowed ground for war dead. Investigators there uncovered cases of misidentified remains and mismanagement.

Following an Army probe, the conduct at Arlington is now the subject of a criminal investigation.

http://news.yahoo.com/remains-274-us-troops-dumped-landfill-report-081234306.html

Kobi
12-08-2011, 05:57 PM
Sandusky's wife says he would not harm children

By GENARO C. ARMAS and MARK SCOLFORO | AP – 2 hrs 19 mins ago

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — The wife of ex-Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky said Thursday that her husband is innocent of the child sex abuse allegations against him and that his accusers are making up their stories.

Dottie Sandusky's comments were the first she has made since her husband was arrested last month and accused of molesting boys he met through a charity he founded for troubled youth.

She released the statement through her husband's lawyer a day after a grand jury report said one alleged victim screamed in vain for her to help him while Sandusky attacked him in a basement bedroom.

Dottie Sandusky said she is devastated by the accusations and that no such incident occurred.

"I am so sad anyone would make such a terrible accusation which is absolutely untrue," she said. "We don't know why these young men have made these false accusations, but we want everyone to know they are untrue."

She added that she and her husband love children and have always tried to help and care for them, and would never do anything to hurt them.

Sandusky faces more than 50 charges stemming from what authorities say were assaults on 10 boys in his home, on Penn State property and elsewhere. He has maintained his innocence.

___

http://news.yahoo.com/sanduskys-wife-says-not-harm-children-211724380.html

SoNotHer
12-09-2011, 09:49 AM
Chile glacier in rapid retreat
Thu, Dec 8, 2011

The Jorge Montt glacier is seen in Southern Patagonia, some 1,800 km south of Santiago. The Jorge Montt glacier in southern Chile is melting at a rate of a kilometer (0.6 miles) per year, making it one of the world's most visible milestones of global warming, according to researchers. (AFP Photo/)

The Jorge Montt glacier is seen in Southern Patagonia, some 1,800 km south of Santiago. …

http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/o_3iRT_EgxsWIZu.xK6S4w--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9MTIzODtjcj0xO2N3PTIyMDA7ZHg9MD tkeT0wO2ZpPXVsY3JvcDtoPTEwNztxPTg1O3c9MTkw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/TRMvd6143346.jpg

Chile's Center for Scientific Studies (CECs) said Wednesday that several glaciers in the country's south have shrunk because of global warming but that the 454-square-kilometer Jorge Montt is one of those shrinking the fastest. The withering glacier is part of the 13,000-square-kilometer (5,020 square mile) Southern Ice Field, the third largest frozen landmass after Antarctica and Greenland.

During the 1990s, the glacier retreated some seven kilometers, but its rate of melting has "accelerated," releasing an increasing number of icebergs into the fjord where the glacier lay, according to Andres Rivera, of the CECs. The latest study of the glacier took place between February 2010 and January of this year, during which two stationary cameras timed to shoot four times a day took some 1,445 pictures of the glacier.

Baraer and his colleagues examined satellite views of the Cordillera Blanca glaciers and levels of water discharge, as well as how much the flow varied over time. They found that peak discharge from the glacier is over, Baraer said. That means that less water will reach the Rio Santa Valley during the June to November dry season, when rain is minimal and communities rely on meltwater to supply towns and agricultural fields. If the glaciers disappear completely, Baraer said, water discharge from the mountains during the Rio Santa dry season may shrink by another 30 percent of the current level. Dams could save up wet season precipitation in reservoirs for the dry season, Baraer said, but liquid reservoirs evaporate faster than solid ice glaciers, meaning that the lakes wouldn't be able to provide as much water as the glaciers have traditionally stored.

"Dams, of course, can be seen as a solution for some very particular projects, but we have to know that these dams will never ever replace the hydrological systems that are in place today," he said. Other South American regions in Bolivia, Chile and Ecuador may soon face similar challenges, he said. Peruvian officials expected this day to come, Baraer added, but many expected to have decades to plan for the end of peak water.

"What it means now for the population is that instead of having 10, 20, 30 years' perspective to find some solution for water use and allocation, in fact, these years do not exist," Baraer said.

You can follow LiveScience senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.

http://news.yahoo.com/chile-glacier-rapid-retreat-171225862.html

*Anya*
12-09-2011, 10:41 AM
From Medscape Medical News > Psychiatry

FDA Forced to Rule on Potential BPA Food Packaging Ban

Barbara Boughton

December 8, 2011 (San Francisco, California) — As part of a settlement in a lawsuit brought against the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the agency has agreed to rule on whether the controversial chemical bisphenol A (BPA) should be banned in food and beverage packaging.

The lawsuit was brought by the Natural Resources Defense Council, a national nonprofit environmental advocacy group, which filed a petition with the FDA in 2008 requesting that BPA be banned as a food additive.

When the FDA did not reply in the timeframe required by law — at most 180 days — the NRDC took its case to court. The new settlement announced on Wednesday requires the FDA to decide on BPA use by the end of March 2012.

"There have been hundreds of studies that show that bisphenol A causes harm in many different ways and in many different body systems, including the reproductive system, and it poses a risk for development of cancer. It hasn't been shown to be safe," Sarah Janssen, MD, PhD, senior scientist with the NRDC, told Medscape Medical News.

"We're happy that the FDA will be required to respond to our petition but at the same time we had to go to the courts to get them to do their job," Dr. Janssen added.

Dr. Janssen noted that the FDA could respond in a range of ways to the NRDC petition — by denying it in whole, by revoking approval for BPA in all food-related products, or by revoking approval in certain products named by the NRDC as a particular concern, such as baby food jars.

Because of the controversy surrounding the use of BPA, many baby bottle manufacturers and some plastic water bottle manufacturers have already stopped using BPA in their products.

BPA Ubiquitous

However, the chemical is ubiquitous in modern-day consumer products — it is found in polycarbonate plastic products, such as water bottles; resins used to line metal products, such as canned foods; as well as juice boxes, packaged foods, and even cash register receipts.

Animal studies as well as human epidemiologic studies have linked BPA to increased risk for precancerous growths in the mammary and prostate glands and to such health conditions as heart disease, liver disease, diabetes, and behavior conditions in children (eg, depression, anxiety, and hyperactivity).

Yet the link between BPA and health conditions in humans has been controversial, and in 2008 a report by the US National Toxicology Program expressed some concerns about the chemical's health effects on just fetuses, infants, and children. The report also concluded that the low levels of BPA most people are exposed to as adults were of "negligible concern."

The FDA declined a request by Medscape Medical News for an interview, but in its latest statement on BPA, released in January 2010, the agency noted that recent studies raise some concern about the potential effects of the chemical on the brain; behavior; and the prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children.

Yet the agency's statement also noted that there are "substantial uncertainties with respect to the overall interpretations of these studies and their potential implications for human health."

New scientific studies on humans and animals now underway may provide at least some answers to the questions of how harmful BPA is to infants, children, and adults — if it is harmful at all.

Some Remain Unconvinced

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has earmarked $30 million in funding to study BPA, and it's expected that results from some human and animal studies will be available within the next 6 to 12 months, according to Joe M. Braun, MSPH, PhD, from the Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.

In a study published in Pediatrics in October and reported by Medscape Medical News at that time, Dr. Braun and colleagues found that prenatal exposure to BPA was associated with anxious, depressive, and hyperactive behaviors in female children at age 3 but not in male children of the same age.

"The new study results [of a soon-to-be-released paper] may help resolve some of the inconsistencies we've seen in both human and animal studies regarding BPA," Dr. Braun told Medscape Medical News. "Newer studies may help resolve questions about the potential harm of BPA, but then some people may even then remain unconvinced," he said.

Whatever the FDA ultimately decides, the agency's judgment will be welcomed by both industry and consumers alike, said Gilbert Ross, MD, medical and executive director of the American Council on Science and Health, a nonprofit that receives funding from industry as well as other sources.

"BPA use is widespread in consumer products, and its safety is well-studied," Dr. Ross said. "The consensus of the scientific data is that there is no serious threat to human health," he added. On the basis of the scientific evidence, concern about the health effects of BPA are unjustified, he added.

Canned Goods a Major Source

"If BPA were to be banned from consumer products such as canned goods, in which the chemical keeps metal from leaching into foods, substitutes would have to be found," Dr. Ross noted." And none of the possible substitutes are as well studied as BPA," he said.

Dr. Janssen acknowledged that it's likely that the FDA will revoke approval for use of BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups in response to an industry petition filed several months ago.

"But we know that the major source of exposure isn't baby bottles, but canned foods," Dr. Janssen wrote in the NRDC's blog, Switchboard, after the announcement of the settlement.

"Every day millions of American consumers are exposed to this dangerous chemical...The FDA has an obligation to use scientific evidence to assure us that food additives such as BPA are safe," Dr. Janssen writes.

Dr. Janssen, Dr. Braun, and Dr. Ross have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Medscape Medical News © 2011 WebMD, LLC

AtLast
12-09-2011, 01:44 PM
Sandusky's wife says he would not harm children

By GENARO C. ARMAS and MARK SCOLFORO | AP – 2 hrs 19 mins ago

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — The wife of ex-Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky said Thursday that her husband is innocent of the child sex abuse allegations against him and that his accusers are making up their stories.

Dottie Sandusky's comments were the first she has made since her husband was arrested last month and accused of molesting boys he met through a charity he founded for troubled youth.

She released the statement through her husband's lawyer a day after a grand jury report said one alleged victim screamed in vain for her to help him while Sandusky attacked him in a basement bedroom.

Dottie Sandusky said she is devastated by the accusations and that no such incident occurred.

"I am so sad anyone would make such a terrible accusation which is absolutely untrue," she said. "We don't know why these young men have made these false accusations, but we want everyone to know they are untrue."

She added that she and her husband love children and have always tried to help and care for them, and would never do anything to hurt them.

Sandusky faces more than 50 charges stemming from what authorities say were assaults on 10 boys in his home, on Penn State property and elsewhere. He has maintained his innocence.

___

http://news.yahoo.com/sanduskys-wife-says-not-harm-children-211724380.html

She sure is. This is so common with offending spouse's complete denial over many years. Very common. In fact, this entire case is text book (no pun intended)! And one can see total rationalization in Sandusky's eyes when he is interviewed. And a pet peeve is going on for me with all of the comments from his friends about him being a "big kid." He is a grown man and a sexual predator. How much has that persona projection thwarted his closest associates seeing what he was up to?

Actually, at trial with a DA and team with expertise with child sexual abuse (especially serial offenders), his interviews will be key evidence against him with expert witnesses. His lawyer is an idiot!

Thankfully, he is under house arrest and has to wear a GPS device- just like any other person with these kinds of charges.

RiverBoi
12-09-2011, 02:58 PM
The US Air Force dumped the cremated, partial remains of at least 274 troops in a landfill before halting the secretive practice in 2008, the Washington Post reported Thursday.

The procedure was never formally authorized or disclosed to senior Pentagon officials, who conducted a review of the cremation policies of Dover Air Base -- the main point of entry for US war dead -- in 2008, the Post said.

Nor was the dumping ever disclosed to the families of the fallen troops, who had authorized the military to dispose of the remains in a respectful and dignified manner, the Post said, citing Air Force officials.

The newspaper quoted officials as saying that a precise count of the remains disposed of at a Virginia landfill would require searching through the records of 6,300 troops whose remains have passed through Dover since 2001.

An additional group of 1,762 remains -- which could not undergo DNA testing because they were badly damaged or burned -- were also disposed of in this manner, the Post said, citing the Air Force.

Defense officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Last month investigators said they had found "gross mismanagement" at the US Air Force mortuary, with body parts lost and remains mishandled.

After allegations from whistle-blowers, an Air Force probe found that two "portions of the remains" of fallen troops had been lost and uncovered other problems at the morgue.

New procedures have been put in place at the mortuary and the commander at the morgue, a colonel, together with two civilian officials were disciplined over the episode but not sacked.

The Dover affair echoes a scandal that erupted last year at Arlington National Cemetery, the country's hallowed ground for war dead. Investigators there uncovered cases of misidentified remains and mismanagement.

Following an Army probe, the conduct at Arlington is now the subject of a criminal investigation.

http://news.yahoo.com/remains-274-us-troops-dumped-landfill-report-081234306.html

The fact that this has been going on for a long time is fairly disturbing. I can understand that they have to do something with the bodies of unidentified soldiers or soldiers whose family asked them to dispose of the bodies. A landfill is just not the proper place! I think that, since it is not feasible to bury the cremains of every fallen soldier in time of war, they should at least put the cremains out to sea. Such an injustice to those who die serving our country. I was in the Air Force and Air National Guard for 12 years. Sadly, there are many things that the civilian would would be very aghast over if they were to be informed by our government. This would be a prime example.

AtLast
12-09-2011, 03:42 PM
http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Video/111202/x_30_nn_indian_farming_baze2.vembedlarge.jpg

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43257536/ns/health-diabetes/
Indian tribe turns to tradition to fight diabetes
Arizona's Tohono Nation hopes indigenous foods can help stop skyrocketing disease rate

SoNotHer
12-09-2011, 05:15 PM
Abuse May Alter Child's Brain Activity

FRIDAY, Dec. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Children who are abused or exposed to family violence have changes in brain activity similar to those seen in combat veterans, a new study finds. The brains of these children become increasingly "tuned" for identifying possible sources of danger, said U.K. researchers who used functional imaging to monitor brain activity.

When the study authors showed pictures of angry faces to children with a history of abuse, the children's brains showed increased activity in the anterior insula and amygdala, which are involved in detecting threat and anticipating pain. These changes don't indicate brain damage but are the brain's way of adapting to a challenging or dangerous environment, study author Eamon McCrory, of University College London, explained. The study appears in the Dec. 6 issue of the journal Current Biology.

"Enhanced reactivity to a biologically salient threat cue such as anger may represent an adaptive response for these children in the short term, helping keep them out of danger," McCrory said in a journal news release. "However, it may also constitute an underlying neurobiological risk factor increasing their vulnerability to later mental health problems, and particularly anxiety."

The findings are important because of the large numbers of children who are exposed to family violence. "This underlines the importance of taking seriously the impact for a child of living in a family characterized by violence. Even if such a child is not showing overt signs of anxiety or depression, these experiences still appear to have a measurable effect at the neural level," McCrory said.

More information

The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about child abuse.

This article is available here -

http://news.yahoo.com/abuse-may-alter-childs-brain-activity-170206644.html

DapperButch
12-09-2011, 06:02 PM
Highlighted by me in this color



From Medscape Medical News > Psychiatry

FDA Forced to Rule on Potential BPA Food Packaging Ban

Barbara Boughton

December 8, 2011 (San Francisco, California) — As part of a settlement in a lawsuit brought against the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the agency has agreed to rule on whether the controversial chemical bisphenol A (BPA) should be banned in food and beverage packaging.

The lawsuit was brought by the Natural Resources Defense Council, a national nonprofit environmental advocacy group, which filed a petition with the FDA in 2008 requesting that BPA be banned as a food additive.

When the FDA did not reply in the timeframe required by law — at most 180 days — the NRDC took its case to court. The new settlement announced on Wednesday requires the FDA to decide on BPA use by the end of March 2012.

"There have been hundreds of studies that show that bisphenol A causes harm in many different ways and in many different body systems, including the reproductive system, and it poses a risk for development of cancer. It hasn't been shown to be safe," Sarah Janssen, MD, PhD, senior scientist with the NRDC, told Medscape Medical News.

"We're happy that the FDA will be required to respond to our petition but at the same time we had to go to the courts to get them to do their job," Dr. Janssen added.

Dr. Janssen noted that the FDA could respond in a range of ways to the NRDC petition — by denying it in whole, by revoking approval for BPA in all food-related products, or by revoking approval in certain products named by the NRDC as a particular concern, such as baby food jars.

Because of the controversy surrounding the use of BPA, many baby bottle manufacturers and some plastic water bottle manufacturers have already stopped using BPA in their products.

BPA Ubiquitous

However, the chemical is ubiquitous in modern-day consumer products — it is found in polycarbonate plastic products, such as water bottles; resins used to line metal products, such as canned foods; as well as juice boxes, packaged foods, and even cash register receipts.

Animal studies as well as human epidemiologic studies have linked BPA to increased risk for precancerous growths in the mammary and prostate glands and to such health conditions as heart disease, liver disease, diabetes, and behavior conditions in children (eg, depression, anxiety, and hyperactivity).

Yet the link between BPA and health conditions in humans has been controversial, and in 2008 a report by the US National Toxicology Program expressed some concerns about the chemical's health effects on just fetuses, infants, and children. The report also concluded that the low levels of BPA most people are exposed to as adults were of "negligible concern."

The FDA declined a request by Medscape Medical News for an interview, but in its latest statement on BPA, released in January 2010, the agency noted that recent studies raise some concern about the potential effects of the chemical on the brain; behavior; and the prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children.

Yet the agency's statement also noted that there are "substantial uncertainties with respect to the overall interpretations of these studies and their potential implications for human health."

New scientific studies on humans and animals now underway may provide at least some answers to the questions of how harmful BPA is to infants, children, and adults — if it is harmful at all.

Some Remain Unconvinced

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has earmarked $30 million in funding to study BPA, and it's expected that results from some human and animal studies will be available within the next 6 to 12 months, according to Joe M. Braun, MSPH, PhD, from the Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.

In a study published in Pediatrics in October and reported by Medscape Medical News at that time, Dr. Braun and colleagues found that prenatal exposure to BPA was associated with anxious, depressive, and hyperactive behaviors in female children at age 3 but not in male children of the same age.

"The new study results [of a soon-to-be-released paper] may help resolve some of the inconsistencies we've seen in both human and animal studies regarding BPA," Dr. Braun told Medscape Medical News. "Newer studies may help resolve questions about the potential harm of BPA, but then some people may even then remain unconvinced," he said.

Whatever the FDA ultimately decides, the agency's judgment will be welcomed by both industry and consumers alike, said Gilbert Ross, MD, medical and executive director of the American Council on Science and Health, a nonprofit that receives funding from industry as well as other sources.

"BPA use is widespread in consumer products, and its safety is well-studied," Dr. Ross said. "The consensus of the scientific data is that there is no serious threat to human health," he added. On the basis of the scientific evidence, concern about the health effects of BPA are unjustified, he added.

Canned Goods a Major Source

"If BPA were to be banned from consumer products such as canned goods, in which the chemical keeps metal from leaching into foods, substitutes would have to be found," Dr. Ross noted." And none of the possible substitutes are as well studied as BPA," he said.

Dr. Janssen acknowledged that it's likely that the FDA will revoke approval for use of BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups in response to an industry petition filed several months ago.

"But we know that the major source of exposure isn't baby bottles, but canned foods," Dr. Janssen wrote in the NRDC's blog, Switchboard, after the announcement of the settlement.

"Every day millions of American consumers are exposed to this dangerous chemical...The FDA has an obligation to use scientific evidence to assure us that food additives such as BPA are safe," Dr. Janssen writes.

Dr. Janssen, Dr. Braun, and Dr. Ross have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Medscape Medical News © 2011 WebMD, LLC

Thanks for posting this. It was BPA that I was referring to when I spoke of the water cooler at work (I think it was this thread?). It is still found in hard plastics.

Cin
12-09-2011, 06:10 PM
Abuse May Alter Child's Brain Activity

FRIDAY, Dec. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Children who are abused or exposed to family violence have changes in brain activity similar to those seen in combat veterans, a new study finds. The brains of these children become increasingly "tuned" for identifying possible sources of danger, said U.K. researchers who used functional imaging to monitor brain activity.

When the study authors showed pictures of angry faces to children with a history of abuse, the children's brains showed increased activity in the anterior insula and amygdala, which are involved in detecting threat and anticipating pain. These changes don't indicate brain damage but are the brain's way of adapting to a challenging or dangerous environment, study author Eamon McCrory, of University College London, explained. The study appears in the Dec. 6 issue of the journal Current Biology.

"Enhanced reactivity to a biologically salient threat cue such as anger may represent an adaptive response for these children in the short term, helping keep them out of danger," McCrory said in a journal news release. "However, it may also constitute an underlying neurobiological risk factor increasing their vulnerability to later mental health problems, and particularly anxiety."

The findings are important because of the large numbers of children who are exposed to family violence. "This underlines the importance of taking seriously the impact for a child of living in a family characterized by violence. Even if such a child is not showing overt signs of anxiety or depression, these experiences still appear to have a measurable effect at the neural level," McCrory said.

More information

The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about child abuse.

This article is available here -

http://news.yahoo.com/abuse-may-alter-childs-brain-activity-170206644.html

I could have told them that. Hypervigilant was always added to anything any shrink ever had to say about me. I will tell you though this hyper- vigilance saved my ass more than once. It is so fine tuned I’ve managed to duck before there was any sign something was heading my way. I remember walking out of a bar and even though I never saw anyone I just felt something coming at me; I just knew it somehow and moved just enough that the person just grazed my face. The people I walked out with weren’t as lucky. I guess they weren’t from abusive and violent homes. Who says good stuff doesn’t come from bad.

The good news is I don't have any mental health problems or anxiety issues, at least none I'm aware of. However, addictive behavior is another story. I can pretty much get addicted to anything. I try to focus this in directions that can help me. Like work, exercise, projects around the house, stuff like that. I can be relentless. I never quit.

I get that growing up in abusive and violent homes are not ideal situations. Really it doesn't take Einstein to figure that out. Of course there will be long term effects.

Knowing that always left me feeling there is something wrong with me. And I felt guilty or ashamed and I never understood exactly why. i remember a job I had working at a home for abused kids. The director and I were looking through applications from DYS and he said this one is out because there's too much physical abuse. We won't be able to work with this kid. I remember getting a sick feeling in my stomach and I only tried half-heartedly to talk him out of his opinion. I felt too ashamed to talk about my personal experiences. Like I was defective and just a throw away. You know i'm not sure where I'm going with this LOL. I guess nowhere really. I don't know what I'm trying to say. Reading the article just brought shit up for me. Thanks for posting the article though

SoNotHer
12-09-2011, 09:37 PM
Hyper-vigilance downshifted my adrenals considerably (I'm on hydrocortisone at the moment among other things), but I'm quite sure it saved my ass too. I worked with a really smart, savvy body-centered psychotherapist in recent years who educated me on the brain shift and, most importantly, how to recenter and reshift out of residence in the primal, fear-based center. When you realize you don't have to some part of your guard up at all times and keep awake even while sleeping, it's quite a fine thing.

And speaking of awake, I can only hope the consciousness will continue to grow about how a primordial abuse sets in motion a lifetime of "stuff."

I could have told them that. Hypervigilant was always added to anything any shrink ever had to say about me. I will tell you though this hyper- vigilance saved my ass more than once. It is so fine tuned I’ve managed to duck before there was any sign something was heading my way. I remember walking out of a bar and even though I never saw anyone I just felt something coming at me; I just knew it somehow and moved just enough that the person just grazed my face. The people I walked out with weren’t as lucky. I guess they weren’t from abusive and violent homes. Who says good stuff doesn’t come from bad.

The good news is I don't have any mental health problems or anxiety issues, at least none I'm aware of. However, addictive behavior is another story. I can pretty much get addicted to anything. I try to focus this in directions that can help me. Like work, exercise, projects around the house, stuff like that. I can be relentless. I never quit.

I get that growing up in abusive and violent homes are not ideal situations. Really it doesn't take Einstein to figure that out. Of course there will be long term effects.

Knowing that always left me feeling there is something wrong with me. And I felt guilty or ashamed and I never understood exactly why. i remember a job I had working at a home for abused kids. The director and I were looking through applications from DYS and he said this one is out because there's too much physical abuse. We won't be able to work with this kid. I remember getting a sick feeling in my stomach and I only tried half-heartedly to talk him out of his opinion. I felt too ashamed to talk about my personal experiences. Like I was defective and just a throw away. You know i'm not sure where I'm going with this LOL. I guess nowhere really. I don't know what I'm trying to say. Reading the article just brought shit up for me. Thanks for posting the article though

Sparkle
12-09-2011, 09:46 PM
Secretary Clinton’s speech, and what matters as much or more
By Adam Bink

Like many of you here, I read through Secretary Clinton’s speech today (a top 8 moments can be found here). It certainly made headlines not just in the US around the world, and it was an important gesture and decision to stand up for a minority that often goes voiceless. But many of you thought as I did, which is, okay, great, she made a speech. Speeches educate the public and change minds. But what does that compel other countries to do? What do representatives in, say, Nigeria, whose lawmakers not only have “banned” being gay but are moving to criminalize same-sex marriage with a jail term of up to 14 years, care about a speech?

Then the following memorandum issued by the White House came into my inbox. In it are important measures to be taken by this Administration, including relating to foreign aid. These kinds of things are the ones that make countries listen.

In my opinion, that’s the real positive outcome of today: that this Administration says it will walk the walk, and not just talk to talk. The memorandum can be found below.

December 06, 2011
Presidential Memorandum — International Initiatives to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

SUBJECT: International Initiatives to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons

The struggle to end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons is a global challenge, and one that is central to the United States commitment to promoting human rights. I am deeply concerned by the violence and discrimination targeting LGBT persons around the world whether it is passing laws that criminalize LGBT status, beating citizens simply for joining peaceful LGBT pride celebrations, or killing men, women, and children for their perceived sexual orientation. That is why I declared before heads of state gathered at the United Nations, “no country should deny people their rights because of who they love, which is why we must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere.” Under my Administration, agencies engaged abroad have already begun taking action to promote the fundamental human rights of LGBT persons everywhere. Our deep commitment to advancing the human rights of all people is strengthened when we as the United States bring our tools to bear to vigorously advance this goal.

By this memorandum I am directing all agencies engaged abroad to ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBT persons. Specifically, I direct the following actions, consistent with applicable law:

Section 1. Combating Criminalization of LGBT Status or Conduct Abroad. Agencies engaged abroad are directed to strengthen existing efforts to effectively combat the criminalization by foreign governments of LGBT status or conduct and to expand efforts to combat discrimination, homophobia, and intolerance on the basis of LGBT status or conduct.

Sec. 2. Protecting Vulnerable LGBT Refugees and Asylum Seekers. Those LGBT persons who seek refuge from violence and persecution face daunting challenges. In order to improve protection for LGBT refugees and asylum seekers at all stages of displacement, the Departments of State and Homeland Security shall enhance their ongoing efforts to ensure that LGBT refugees and asylum seekers have equal access to protection and assistance, particularly in countries of first asylum. In addition, the Departments of State, Justice, and Homeland Security shall ensure appropriate training is in place so that relevant Federal Government personnel and key partners can effectively address the protection of LGBT refugees and asylum seekers, including by providing to them adequate assistance and ensuring that the

Federal Government has the ability to identify and expedite resettlement of highly vulnerable persons with urgent protection needs.

Sec. 3. Foreign Assistance to Protect Human Rights and Advance Nondiscrimination. Agencies involved with foreign aid, assistance, and development shall enhance their ongoing efforts to ensure regular Federal Government engagement with governments, citizens, civil society, and the private sector in order to build respect for the human rights of LGBT persons.

Sec. 4. Swift and Meaningful U.S. Responses to Human Rights Abuses of LGBT Persons Abroad. The Department of State shall lead a standing group, with appropriate interagency representation, to help ensure the Federal Government’s swift and meaningful response to serious incidents that threaten the human rights of LGBT persons abroad.

Sec. 5. Engaging International Organizations in the Fight Against LGBT Discrimination. Multilateral fora and international organizations are key vehicles to promote respect for the human rights of LGBT persons and to bring global attention to LGBT issues. Building on the State Department’s leadership in this area, agencies engaged abroad should strengthen the work they have begun and initiate additional efforts in these multilateral fora and organizations to: counter discrimination on the basis of LGBT status; broaden the number of countries willing to support and defend LGBT issues in the multilateral arena; strengthen the role of civil society advocates on behalf of LGBT issues within and through multilateral fora; and strengthen the policies and programming of multilateral institutions on LGBT issues.

Sec. 6. Reporting on Progress. All agencies engaged abroad shall prepare a report within 180 days of the date of this memorandum, and annually thereafter, on their progress toward advancing these initiatives. All such agencies shall submit their reports to the Department of State, which will compile a report on the Federal Government’s progress in advancing these initiatives for transmittal to the President.

Sec. 7. Definitions. (a) For the purposes of this memorandum, agencies engaged abroad include the Departments of State, the Treasury, Defense, Justice, Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Export Import Bank, the United States Trade Representative, and such other agencies as the President may designate.

(b) For the purposes of this memorandum, agencies involved with foreign aid, assistance, and development include the Departments of State, the Treasury, Defense, Justice, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security, the USAID, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Export Import Bank, the United States Trade Representative, and such other agencies as the President may designate.

This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

The Secretary of State is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA

May it be So.
May it be So.

Cin
12-10-2011, 05:47 AM
I don't even know what to say. It's downright depressing. It's not even that they don't get it. It's that frankly Scarlet they don't give a damn.

Romney: Scientists can figure out global warming 50 years from now

When asked about his views on climate change at a campaign event, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney replied that the earth might be getting warmer, but that his top priority as president would be to increase energy production in the United States.

“I’m not a scientist, so I don’t know the answer to these things,” he told the questioner. “I think the earth is getting warmer. May be wrong. I think we probably contribute something to it, but I don’t know if we contribute a little or a lot. And therefore, when I come to the policies I’d put in place, I do not support cap and trade policies, which raise the cost of energy.”

“Scientists will figure that out ten, twenty, fifty years from now,” he concluded. “But the right policy for me is, use our domestic sources of energy — including our renewables, and our gas, and our coal, and our nuclear, and our oil — and that’s the right course for America.”

In sharp contrast with Romney’s suggestion that the question of climate change can be deferred for another fifty years, however, the majority of scientists have already concluded that man-made global warming is real, has already contributed to an unprecedented number of climate disasters, and will be irreversible unless significant changes are made within the next decade.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/12/09/romney-scientists-can-figure-out-global-warming-50-years-from-now/

Kobi
12-10-2011, 08:01 AM
(AP) — Three women who fought injustice, dictatorship and sexual violence in Liberia and Yemen received the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony in the Norwegian capital on Saturday.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, her compatriot Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman of Yemen collected their Nobel diplomas and medals to applause at Oslo's City Hall.

Prize committee Chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said the three women represent the struggle for "human rights in general and of women for equality and peace in particular."

No woman or sub-Saharan African had won the prize since 2004, when the committee honored Wangari Maathai of Kenya, who mobilized poor women to fight deforestation by planting trees.

By selecting Karman the prize committee also recognized the Arab Spring movement championed by often anonymous activists from Tunisia to Syria.

Sirleaf was elected president of Liberia in 2005 and won re-election in October. She is widely credited with helping her country emerge from an especially brutal civil war.

The 39-year-old Gbowee long campaigned for the rights of women and against rape, challenging Liberia's warlords. In 2003, she led hundreds of female protesters through Monrovia to demand swift disarmament of fighters, who continued to prey on women, despite a peace deal that should have ended the 14-year civil war.

Karman, a journalist and member of the Islamic party Islah, is the first Arab woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, and at 32, the youngest peace laureate ever. She also heads the human rights group Women Journalists without Chains.

http://news.yahoo.com/3-women-accept-nobel-peace-prize-124201887.html

SoNotHer
12-10-2011, 01:21 PM
Rick Perry’s ad moves the Web
By czap | The Upshot – 23 hrs ago

Rick Perry's latest ad has divided his campaign and gone viral on the Web.

The TV spot shows Rick Perry wearing a jacket that could have been swiped from the "Brokeback Mountain" set (as former "Star Trek" star and gay activist George Takei has pointed out), as the candidate criticizes Obama for reversing the ban on gays in the military.

In the commercial, titled "Strong," Perry says, "You know there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas."

The spot has even divided top Perry staffers. Terry Fabrizio, a lead pollster for the Perry campaign branded it "nuts" in an email according to Sam Stein of the Huffington Post. The campaign message has definitely sparked public debate, but perhaps not in the way that Perry hoped, serving as instant fodder for late-night comedy shows: Stephen Colbert mounted a mock defense of the spot on his show last night. And a steady viral stream of video spoofs have been making the rounds. The website BuzzFeed has a remix of the ad, in which Perry delivers a message directly opposite of the original script. Buzz on the ad has also caused Yahoo! searches to surge in just one day on "rick perry anti-gay ad," "rick perry brokeback mountain" and "rick perry youtube."

Gay rights groups have circulated a petition asking that the ad on YouTube get the "dislike" button: So far, the video has tallied over 440,000 dislikes.

0PAJNntoRgA

More at -

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/digital-culture/trending-tech/should-rick-perrys-youtube-ad-be-banned-as-hate-speech/article2264918/

AtLast
12-10-2011, 10:00 PM
I don't even know what to say. It's downright depressing. It's not even that they don't get it. It's that frankly Scarlet they don't give a damn.

Romney: Scientists can figure out global warming 50 years from now

When asked about his views on climate change at a campaign event, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney replied that the earth might be getting warmer, but that his top priority as president would be to increase energy production in the United States.

“I’m not a scientist, so I don’t know the answer to these things,” he told the questioner. “I think the earth is getting warmer. May be wrong. I think we probably contribute something to it, but I don’t know if we contribute a little or a lot. And therefore, when I come to the policies I’d put in place, I do not support cap and trade policies, which raise the cost of energy.”

“Scientists will figure that out ten, twenty, fifty years from now,” he concluded. “But the right policy for me is, use our domestic sources of energy — including our renewables, and our gas, and our coal, and our nuclear, and our oil — and that’s the right course for America.”

In sharp contrast with Romney’s suggestion that the question of climate change can be deferred for another fifty years, however, the majority of scientists have already concluded that man-made global warming is real, has already contributed to an unprecedented number of climate disasters, and will be irreversible unless significant changes are made within the next decade.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/12/09/romney-scientists-can-figure-out-global-warming-50-years-from-now/

No, they don't give a damn! They really do not! Sometimes I think these idiots must have huge investments in the private space programs so that their families can just go to another planet to live while the "little people" stay on earth and are chronically ill and then die. The first private flight to the space station is coming up and if it goes well, NASA will be off the hook for paying for and carrying other countries supplies, etc. to the station- it will be a completely private "frieght" liner space industry with a couple of years.

Hummm... yeah, I guess sometimes I can be a conspiracy theorist, but, think about how freaking rich these people are that are putting this private space travel industry together. Who will be their passengers? Certainly not the 98%!!!

SoNotHer
12-12-2011, 12:51 AM
New UN climate deal struck, critics say gains modest
ReutersBy Nina Chestney and Jon Herskovitz | Reuters

DURBAN (Reuters) - Countries from around the globe agreed on Sunday to forge a new deal forcing all the biggest polluters for the first time to limit greenhouse gas emissions, but critics said the plan was too timid to slow global warming.

A package of accords agreed after marathon U.N. talks in South Africa extended the 1997 Kyoto Protocol - the only global pact enforcing carbon cuts - allowing five more years to finalise a wider pact which has so far eluded negotiators. Kyoto's first phase - due to expire at the end of next year but now extended until 2017 - imposed limits only on developed countries, not emerging giants like China and India. The United States never ratified it.

Those three countries and the EU held a last-ditch huddle in the conference centre before finally agreeing to wording that commits them to a pact with legal force, although exactly what form it will take was left vague. Countries also agreed the format of a fund to help poor nations tackle climate change.

But many small island states and developing nations at risk of being swamped by rising sea levels and extreme weather said the deal marked the lowest common denominator possible and lacked the ambition needed to ensure their survival.

Agreement on the package, reached in the early hours of Sunday, avoided a collapse of two weeks of climate talks and spared the blushes of host South Africa, whose stewardship of the fractious negotiations came under fire from rich and poor nations. "We came here with plan A, and we have concluded this meeting with plan A to save one planet for the future of our children and our grandchildren to come," said South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, who chaired the talks.

"We have made history," she said, bringing the hammer down on the Durban conference, the longest in two decades of U.N. climate negotiations. Delegates agreed to start work next year on a new, legally binding accord to cut greenhouse gases, to be decided by 2015 and to come into force by 2020. The process for doing so, called the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, would "develop a new protocol, another legal instrument or agreed outcome with legal force" that would be applicable under the U.N. climate convention.

That phrasing was used by all parties to claim victory. Britain's Energy and Climate Secretary Chris Huhne said the result was "a great success for European diplomacy." "We've managed to bring the major emitters like the U.S., India and China into a roadmap which will secure an overarching global deal," he said.

U.S. climate envoy Todd Stern said Washington was satisfied with the outcome: "We got the kind of symmetry that we had been focused on since the beginning of the Obama administration. This had all the elements that we were looking for."

Yet U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres acknowledged the final wording on the legal form a future deal was ambiguous: "What that means has yet to be decided." Environmentalists said governments wasted valuable time by focusing on a handful of specific words in the negotiating text, and failed to raise emissions cuts to a level high enough to reduce global warming. Sunday's deal follows years of failed attempts to impose legally-binding, international cuts on emerging polluters, such as China and India, as well as rich nations. Poor countries argue they should deserve leeway to catch up in development. Sunday's deal extends Kyoto until the end of 2017, ensuring there is no gap between commitment periods. EU delegates said lawyers would have to reconcile those dates with existing EU legislation.

LEAST-BAD OPTION

India's Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, who gave an impassioned speech to the conference denouncing what she said was unfair pressure on Delhi to compromise, said her country had only reluctantly agreed to the accord. "We've had very intense discussions. We were not happy with reopening the text but in the spirit of flexibility and accommodation shown by all, we have shown our flexibility... we agree to adopt it," she said.

Small island states in the front line of climate change, said they had gone along with a deal but only because a collapse of the talks was of no help to their vulnerable nations. "I would have wanted to get more, but at least we have something to work with. All is not lost yet," said Selwin Hart, chief negotiator on finance for the coalition of small states.

Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu, head of the Africa Group, added: "It's a middle ground, we meet mid-way. Of course we are not completely happy about the outcome, it lacks balance, but we believe it is starting to go into the right direction." U.N. reports released in the last month said delays on a global agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions will make it harder to keep the average rise to within 2 degrees Celsius over the next century.

"It's certainly not the deal the planet needs - such a deal would have delivered much greater ambition on both emissions reductions and finance," said Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "Producing a new treaty by 2015 that is both ambitious and fair will take a mix of tough bargaining and a more collaborative spirit than we saw in the Durban conference centre these past two weeks."

DapperButch
12-12-2011, 06:31 AM
Rick Perry’s ad moves the Web
By czap | The Upshot – 23 hrs ago

Rick Perry's latest ad has divided his campaign and gone viral on the Web.

The TV spot shows Rick Perry wearing a jacket that could have been swiped from the "Brokeback Mountain" set (as former "Star Trek" star and gay activist George Takei has pointed out), as the candidate criticizes Obama for reversing the ban on gays in the military.

In the commercial, titled "Strong," Perry says, "You know there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas."

The spot has even divided top Perry staffers. Terry Fabrizio, a lead pollster for the Perry campaign branded it "nuts" in an email according to Sam Stein of the Huffington Post. The campaign message has definitely sparked public debate, but perhaps not in the way that Perry hoped, serving as instant fodder for late-night comedy shows: Stephen Colbert mounted a mock defense of the spot on his show last night. And a steady viral stream of video spoofs have been making the rounds. The website BuzzFeed has a remix of the ad, in which Perry delivers a message directly opposite of the original script. Buzz on the ad has also caused Yahoo! searches to surge in just one day on "rick perry anti-gay ad," "rick perry brokeback mountain" and "rick perry youtube."

Gay rights groups have circulated a petition asking that the ad on YouTube get the "dislike" button: So far, the video has tallied over 440,000 dislikes.

0PAJNntoRgA

More at -

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/digital-culture/trending-tech/should-rick-perrys-youtube-ad-be-banned-as-hate-speech/article2264918/

GOProud (a gay repub group), OUTed Terry Fabrizio, Perry's lead pollster. They said that they thought he was already OUT, however.

http://metroweekly.com/poliglot/2011/12/the-rick-perry-video-the-tweets.html

The Log Cabin Repubs find it shameful to have done so: http://dclogcabin.wordpress.com/

AtLast
12-12-2011, 12:53 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/decision-could-play-role-2012-election-similar-legislation-155428164.html

betenoire
12-12-2011, 03:00 PM
Anti-Gay Alabama GOP dude secretly donates sperm to Lesbian couples in New Zealand (http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/anti-gay_alabama_goper_secretly_donated_sperm_to_l.php? ref=fpnewsfeed)

(or: I hate the gays but that won't stop me from jerking off into a cup for them)

betenoire
12-12-2011, 03:04 PM
Lowes yanked their adverts from a reality show about Muslims in America (http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-lowes-threatened-with-boycott-for-yanking-ads-from-show-about-muslims-20111212,0,113957.story)