Thursday, May 31, 2007

Fire crew 'slept in wrong place'

quote[Firefighters in Greater Manchester are facing disciplinary action over claims they slept on a station floor instead of their new reclining chairs.

Three men, based in Bury, are being investigated for "involvement in the use of unauthorised rest facilities".

It is claimed they broke regulations by using sleeping bags on the floor rather than the £400 chairs.

The chairs were installed as part of modernisation programme to replace all beds in the region's 41 fire stations.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said the men were all asleep as a team of inspectors from the fire service carried out a spot check early one morning.]


WTF??? This is pure insanity!

Time To Vote

quote[ Vote a maximum of 25 times. Voting ends at 11:59 PM ET on Thursday, June 28, 2007.

From Sunday, July 1 to Thursday, July 5, be sure to return to MLB.com and cast your Monster.com 2007 All-Star Game Final Vote for the final position player for each League's 32-man roster.

Finally, on Tuesday, July 10, watch the 2007 All-Star Game live on FOX and come to MLB.com to submit your choice for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player via the Monster.com 2007 All-Star Game]


I love Papi, but I really think Youk should get my write in vote.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Connecticut's War Dead

From MyLeftNutmegger.

Click to play:

Cindy Sheehan quits anti-war movement

quote[I have endured a lot of smear and hatred since Casey was killed and especially since I became the so-called "Face" of the American anti-war movement. Especially since I renounced any tie I have remaining with the Democratic Party, I have been further trashed on such "liberal blogs" as the Democratic Underground. Being called an "attention whore" and being told "good riddance" are some of the more milder rebukes.]

She'll be back. Click here to hear her explain her feelings on The Ed Schultz Show.

Blog: Goodling statement points to White House involvement

quote[A former Justice Department attorney suggested in a blog post that the prepared statement of Alberto Gonzales's ex-White House liaison implied White House involvement in the firing of eight US Attorneys for political reasons. Further examination of Monica Goodling's testimony may point to possible political interference or retaliation of which she was aware, or actions she was at least concerned with enough as to be careful to avoid perjuring herself.]

Friday, May 25, 2007

Good God!!! ABC Has GOT To Hire Better Talent!!!

National Bingo Night????

What the hell are they smoking?

Have they just thrown in the towel???

And now, form the fucktard in chief...

quote[There is a race currently underway between different flanks of the administration to determine the future course of US-Iran policy.

On one flank are the diplomats, and on the other is Vice President Cheney's team and acolytes -- who populate quite a wide swath throughout the American national security bureaucracy.

The Pentagon and the intelligence establishment are providing support to add muscle and nuance to the diplomatic effort led by Condi Rice, her deputy John Negroponte, Under Secretary of State R. Nicholas Burns, and Legal Adviser John Bellinger. The support that Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and CIA Director Michael Hayden are providing Rice's efforts are a complete, 180 degree contrast to the dysfunction that characterized relations between these institutions before the recent reshuffle of top personnel.

However, the Department of Defense and national intelligence sector are also preparing for hot conflict. They believe that they need to in order to convince Iran's various power centers that the military option does exist.]


Hey, whatever gives more money to the oil companies is okay!!!

House OKs 'outrageous gas prices' bill

quote[ The U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday passed legislation authorizing the Federal Trade Commission to investigate and punish gasoline price gouging.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said the legislation would help stop "the truly outrageous prices we are seeing at the gas pump," The Detroit News reported.

"Today, every member has a choice," said Stupak. "Side with big oil or side with the consumers who are being ripped off at the gas pump."

House Republicans said the legislation would result in price controls and long lines at gas pumps, the newspaper said. They argued instead for more drilling and construction of more refineries.

The White House said President George W. Bush would likely veto Stupak's bill if it reached his desk.

Governors of 22 U.S. states -- 15 Democrats and seven Republicans -- asked Congress to investigate whether oil companies are intentionally raising gas prices to record highs by shutting down refineries, Stateline.org reported Wednesday.

"We are angry," said Connecticut Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell. "We want answers as to why prices at the pump continue to escalate in the absence of new seasonal, weather or world events."

"Myself and 21 other governors have asked the Congress to investigate these oil companies and why it is, when they're making record profits -- I mean, Exxon alone made over $9 billion in the first quarter of this year, yet they're charging record prices? It doesn't make sense for the people of our state and our country," Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, also a Republican, told CBS News.]


And Bush threatens another veto. We can't hurt our good friends in the oil industry, can we??

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Former lawmaker accused of raping two girls; one was former legislative page

quote[Former state lawmaker Ted Klaudt is facing criminal charges including eight counts of rape and additional charges of stalking and sexual contact with a child.

One of the victims was a former legislative page who was reportedly assaulted while staying with Klaudt in his Pierre hotel room during the 2006 legislative session.

Klaudt, 49, of Walker, was arrested this morning.

The charges, which involve two girls, were filed this morning in two South Dakota counties.

He's accused of performing "ovary checks" and "breast exams" on one of the girls under the guise that he was helping her to donate her eggs, according to court records.]


Ovary checks??? What a sick fucko!!!

Of course, he's a republican...

Goodling fails to turn over documents subpoenaed by House committee

quote[Former top Justice Department aide Monica Goodling was chided by the House Judiciary Committee for failing to turn over documents that had been subpoenaed as part of the investigation into the firing of 8 US Attorneys. Goodling is set to testify before the Committee on Wednesday.

"I am concerned, however, about your statement that Ms. Goodling is going to refuse to produce documents in her possession that are responsive to the subpoena," Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), the committee's chairman, wrote to Goodling's attorney John Dowd.]


Isn't this illegal???

Bush could double force by Christmas

quote[The Bush administration is quietly on track to nearly double the number of combat troops in Iraq this year, an analysis of Pentagon deployment orders showed Monday.

The little-noticed second surge, designed to reinforce U.S. troops in Iraq, is being executed by sending more combat brigades and extending tours of duty for troops already there.

The actions could boost the number of combat soldiers from 52,500 in early January to as many as 98,000 by the end of this year if the Pentagon overlaps arriving and departing combat brigades.]


This A-hole just doesn't get it it.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Exotic World Said to Harbor 'Hot Ice'

quote[A Neptune-sized world in a distant solar system orbits very close to its star and might be covered with exotic forms of water not naturally found on Earth, scientists say.

The bizarre world is being called a "hot ice planet."

The finding, to be detailed in an upcoming issue of the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, marks the first time relatively small planets similar to the ice giants Uranus and Neptune in our solar system have been found orbiting very close to their stars.

Prior to this discovery, only gaseous giants known as "hot Jupiters" were known to inhabit such close stellar quarters.]


Way cool!

NIH funding crisis that you do not know about

quote[The "stagnated" budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), now entering its 4th straight year of flat-funding, is creating a "looming crisis" that is forcing scientists to downsize labs and abandon innovative work, and alienating the next generation of young researchers, a panel of university officials and senior researchers told Congress yesterday (March 19).

"Promising research is now being slowed or halted," said Edward Miller, dean of Johns Hopkins Medicine. "We are seeing veteran scientists spending time not in labs but on the fundraising circuit. We are seeing young researchers quitting academic research in frustration, having concluded that their chances of having innovative research funded by NIH are slim to none," Miller told a Capitol Hill news conference yesterday.

The scientists released a report prepared by 20 leading researchers from a consortium of nine academic institutions and universities, that outlines the benefits of increased NIH funding on biomedical innovations, and warns of the negative implications should the present budget be left unaddressed. The report cited threats from unexpected new diseases, such as SARS and pandemic influenza, as well as obesity, HIV, and bioterrorism.]


Actually, you may know about this, but it's important to get the word out.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Wolfowitz to Resign This Afternoon?

quote[World Bank officials say the bank's board is completing an "exit strategy" that will allow World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz to resign this afternoon and "still save some face" over the issue of his efforts to seek a promotion and pay raise for his girlfriend at the bank.

The officials say the bank's board will accept Wolfowitz's resignation but will also acknowledge that the World Bank's Ethics Committee bears "some responsibility" for giving him bad advice on the issue of his girlfriend.

The decision is likely today, officials say, because Wolfowitz had been scheduled to leave tonight for a European trip.]


It's about time.

Sad Reality: Our national Priorities

Just go to the link...

Larry Flynt Statement On Death Of Jerry Falwell

quote[The Reverend Jerry Falwell and I were arch enemies for fifteen years. We became involved in a lawsuit concerning First Amendment rights and Hustler magazine. Without question, this was my most important battle - the l988 Hustler Magazine, Inc., v. Jerry Falwell case,where after millions of dollars and much deliberation, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in my favor.

My mother always told me that no matter how much you dislike a person, when you meet them face to face you will find characteristics about them that you like. Jerry Falwell was a perfect example of that. I hated everything he stood for, but after meeting him in person, years after the trial, Jerry Falwell and I became good friends. He would visit me in California and we would debate together on college campuses. I always appreciated his sincerity even though I knew what he was selling and he knew what I was selling.

The most important result of our relationship was the landmark decision from the Supreme Court that made parody protected speech, and the fact that much of what we see on television and hear on the radio today is a direct result of my having won that now famous case which Falwell played such an important role in.

- Larry Flynt]


This made me wishing that he had said more.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Rell Seeks Halt In Gas Tax

quote["We can't do these quick fixes that don't fix anything," Scully said. "We cannot force oil or gas companies to pass along savings to us."]

I am mixed on this. On the one hand, I'd love to see prices drop by 25 cents. On the other, I don't believe that we'll actually see a decrease and that this will just turn into another tax break for big oil.

Galactic merger to 'evict' Sun and Earth

quote[It's hard to know where you'll be in five years' time, never mind 5 billion. But astronomers have it all figured out. In 5 billion years, they say, the Sun and Earth – along with our atomic remains and any living Earthlings – will inhabit "Milkomeda", the wreckage of a violent collision between the Milky Way and the giant Andromeda galaxy.

Now a new study has simulated the crash and asked: where will the Sun end up in this mammoth galactic union? "We're living in the suburbs of the Milky Way right now, but we're likely to move much farther out after the coming cosmic smash-up," concludes T J Cox from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US.]


Well, it's not like we've been the greatest tenants...

God Issues A Veto

quote[ Evangelist Jerry Falwell died Tuesday after he was found unresponsive in his office, an official at Liberty University told CNN.

Falwell, 73, was rushed to a Lynchburg, Virginia, hospital, where he was given CPR.

Falwell founded the Moral Majority in 1979 and is a nationally known voice for conservative Christian views. (Watch Jerry Falwell's rise to fame Video)

In 1956, the 22-year-old minister started Thomas Road Baptist Church with just 35 members, according to his Web site. The church now has more than 24,000 members.

Shortly after starting the Lynchburg church, Falwell began broadcasting the "Old Time Gospel Hour" radio and television ministries.

He founded Liberty University in 1971.]


I have nothing nice to say...

And Now A Little Sports...

quote[It’s now more than a decade later, and Wakefield is having his best season since 1995, baffling the opposition to the tune of a .189 batting average against. His 1.79 ERA is second only to Dan Haren in the American League, and every evening he steps on the mound, he shows no signs to make anybody believe he’s not about to go on another one of those special runs as he did in ’95.

It could be argued, should the Red Sox go on to win the division crown, that the team MVP isn’t anybody named David Ortiz, Curt Schilling, Daisuke Matsuzaka, or Jonathan Papelbon, but rather the only guy who was with the Sox the last time they won the East.]


A tribute to my favorite pitcher. I hope he can keep it up!

Monday, May 14, 2007

Report: Microsoft says open source violates 235 patents

quote[In an interview with Fortune, Microsoft top lawyer Brad Smith alleges that the Linux kernel violates 42 Microsoft patents, while its user interface and other design elements infringe on a further 65. OpenOffice.org is accused of infringing 45, along with 83 more in other free and open-source programs, according to Fortune.

It is not entirely clear how Microsoft might proceed in enforcing these patents, but the company has been encouraging large tech companies that depend on Linux to ink patent deals, starting with its controversial pact with Novell last November. Microsoft has also cited Linux protection playing a role in recent patent swap deals with Samsung and Fuji Xerox. Microsoft has also had discussions but not reached a deal with Red Hat, as noted in the Fortune article.]


Typical Bullying by Micrsloth.

Friday, May 04, 2007

Send In The Clones...


quote[A pocket-sized device that runs on two AA batteries and copies DNA as accurately as expensive lab equipment has been developed by researchers in the US.

The device has no moving parts and costs just $10 to make. It runs polymerase chain reactions (PCRs), to generate billions of identical copies of a DNA strand, in as little as 20 minutes. This is much faster than the machines currently in use, which take several hours.

"I hope this will make PCR more available," says Victor Ugaz of Texas A&M University in Texas, US, whose group made the new device. He says the system could enable DNA-based tests to be carried out in the field or in developing countries, where large, expensive laboratory equipment is neither practical nor affordable.]


I thought this was pretty cool.

For Karen...

Pandering To The Phelps' Agenda

quote[The White House has threatened to veto a bill passed by the House of Representatives on Thursday that expands hate-crime laws to include attacks based on sexual orientation or gender.]

WTF???

Thursday, May 03, 2007

A Look Back at the “Mission” We’ve “Accomplished”

quote[Keith takes a critical look back at all the "progress" Bush has cited over the past four years. If the "mission" was "bringing democracy to the people of Iraq," haven't we already "accomplished" that?]

Another C&L clip, but this is must see!

"All You Have To Do Is Air My Innacurate Statements"

quote["I'm sorry. Feith is right. I did say "manipulated" when I should have said quote "produced alternative intelligence assessments" in a manner that was quote "inappropriate." HUGE DIFFERENCE!"]

This was great!

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

The Man With 9 Lives

quote[Ali al-Dabbagh, spokesman for Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, said the government won't be able to confirm al-Masri's death until it makes an identification of the body.

"Iraqi security forces do not have the body," al-Dabbagh said on Iraqi state TV. "Iraqi security forces and Multi-National Forces are trying to retrieve the body for visual identification and DNA tests."]


How many times will we get reports of his death???

A delicious blend of sugar, wax, and condom lube.

quote[Water
It's the main ingredient. But like any whipped product, Cool Whip contains a high percentage of air. At 41 cents per ounce, you're buying mostly water and air for just over twice what it would cost to whip real cream yourself.]


Gross...

When Will This Fucking End???

quote[Who knows what kind of shit is adulterating our imported and domestic food supply? But whatever it is, it’s about to hit the fan.

Months after dogs and cats started dropping dead of renal failure from melamine-tainted pet food, American consumers are beginning to learn how long and how wide this contaminant has also poisoned the human food supply. Last week, as California officials revealed that at least 45 people are known to have eaten tainted pork, the USDA announced that it would pay farmers millions of dollars to destroy and dispose of thousands of hogs fed “salvaged” pet food.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Through the salvaging practice, melamine-tainted pet food has likely contaminated America’s livestock for as long as it has been killing and sickening America’s pets — as far back as August of 2006, or even earlier. And while it may seem alarmist to suggest without absolute proof that Americans have been eating melamine-tainted pork, chicken and farm-raised fish for the better part of a year, the FDA and USDA seem to be preparing to brace Americans for the worst. In an unusual, Saturday afternoon joint press release, the regulators tasked with protecting the safety of our nation’s food supply go to convoluted lengths to reassure the public that eating melamine-tainted pork is perfectly safe.]


Definitely READ the link. It has links to many sources and stories; everything is backed up.

FDA limits Chinese food additive imports

quote[Melamine's effects on humans, if ingested, is unclear. In fact, the chemical has not been found in earlier tests to be highly toxic, a fact that has scientists looking for second chemical agent that could be increasing its toxicity.

The agency for the first time also said it has received reports, which it has yet to confirm, that approximately 1,950 cats and 2,200 dogs died after eating contaminated food. The only number of pet deaths that the FDA has confirmed thus far is 14.]


I'm guessing that it's even worse than this...