"The first step of spiritual life is to have compassion.
A person who is kind and loving never needs to go searching for God.
God rushes toward any heart that beats with compassion - it is God's favorite place."
~ Amma ~
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Office Blogging
Another rainy day today. I should have mowed the lawn yesterday evening while there was a break in the weather as this is supposed to continue for a couple of days and the lawn could have stood to be mowed yesterday even though I had just mowed it last Friday. Lawn food, rain and cool nights make for plush grass. I was too tired yesterday from all the chores and running around I did on Monday and Tuesday so I just chilled out at home and watched the president’s press conference before going to bed. The president actually told us to wash our hands vindicating me in my known roleas the office disease police. Now perhaps they will cut me some slack!
The interstate route I take to work was backed up this morning due to a four car accident so I had to jump onto the outer belt. It’s about of 10 miles more taking the outer belt……I hate to take the outer belt because its so dangerous. People drive like nuts and you always hear of fatal accidents on the outer belt…..BUT I am thankful I had a quick, easy, alternative to jump onto to avoid the traffic mess this morning. Took me 40 mins rather than 25 to get to the office but it was an uneventful trip.
I have gotten HUGE amounts of work done this morning. The boss is out of the office today and tomorrow and the woman I share an office with is out as well. I have completed some of my own required annual training, sent individual reports out to my staff on their productivity, caught up my emails, have even helped the nurses complete their patient load today. I will go home today feeling like I got a lot accomplished but for now, I'm kind of bored.
I am going to lunch in about a half an hour. I was going to go out and fill up my car with some petro, pick up a salad and pick up the office ‘Mega Million’ chances….however, right now it’s pouring down raining so I may have to rethink my plans. I am going out to dinner with my sisters this evening. We are going to a Greek place. That should be fun. I was very surprised that my sister, “2001 ways to make chicken” Sue picked it…..as she usually only eats chicken every place we go and she’s not big on trying new things so I am excited about this break through.
Well, I hope everyone has a great day as I know I will. I am so thankful for the rain which will make my grass green and help my flowers to grow.
The interstate route I take to work was backed up this morning due to a four car accident so I had to jump onto the outer belt. It’s about of 10 miles more taking the outer belt……I hate to take the outer belt because its so dangerous. People drive like nuts and you always hear of fatal accidents on the outer belt…..BUT I am thankful I had a quick, easy, alternative to jump onto to avoid the traffic mess this morning. Took me 40 mins rather than 25 to get to the office but it was an uneventful trip.
I have gotten HUGE amounts of work done this morning. The boss is out of the office today and tomorrow and the woman I share an office with is out as well. I have completed some of my own required annual training, sent individual reports out to my staff on their productivity, caught up my emails, have even helped the nurses complete their patient load today. I will go home today feeling like I got a lot accomplished but for now, I'm kind of bored.
I am going to lunch in about a half an hour. I was going to go out and fill up my car with some petro, pick up a salad and pick up the office ‘Mega Million’ chances….however, right now it’s pouring down raining so I may have to rethink my plans. I am going out to dinner with my sisters this evening. We are going to a Greek place. That should be fun. I was very surprised that my sister, “2001 ways to make chicken” Sue picked it…..as she usually only eats chicken every place we go and she’s not big on trying new things so I am excited about this break through.
Well, I hope everyone has a great day as I know I will. I am so thankful for the rain which will make my grass green and help my flowers to grow.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Alien lionfish swarm N.C. coast
A handful of ravenous, venomous lionfish, a species native to the western Pacific, were spotted off North Carolina in 2000.Turns out they like it here. A lot.
The lionfish population has exploded at a pace unlike anything scientists have ever seen from an invasive fish species in this part of the world. They are appearing in huge numbers from here southward into the Caribbean and are so plentiful that divers off the North Carolina coast routinely find up to 100 on a single shipwreck.
"If you go deeper than 100 feet, they're ubiquitous now," said Paula Whitfield, a researcher with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Beaufort. "They're absolutely everywhere."
Read more
Ordering a pizza in 2010?
This is absolutely hilarious, but the scary part about it is that it's probably not too far away from being reality. Want to know how to order a pizza in 2010? Click the link and see. . turn up the volume. . listen closely. . watch the pointer carefully!
Click here: http://aclu.org/pizza/images/screen.swf
Click here: http://aclu.org/pizza/images/screen.swf
Beating the Fears That Are Holding You Back
Fear of something bad happening in the future is one of the things that make us human.
Animals might fear an immediate danger, that is happening right now, but only we fear something that might happen, that isn’t happening now, that isn’t even showing its ugly face at the moment.
This fear, some might say, is necessary … it stops us from doing something stupid. But I’ve found most of these fears to be unnecessary, to be baseless, to be holding us back from achieving something.
Read more
Animals might fear an immediate danger, that is happening right now, but only we fear something that might happen, that isn’t happening now, that isn’t even showing its ugly face at the moment.
This fear, some might say, is necessary … it stops us from doing something stupid. But I’ve found most of these fears to be unnecessary, to be baseless, to be holding us back from achieving something.
Read more
The Soaring Rate of Abandoned Animals Is the Latest Sign of a Deep Economic Crisis
Abandoned animals and "foreclosure pets" are the innocent victims of our financial downward spiral.
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Join the organ donor list
Nationally blacks make up 37 percent of the people on transplant lists but comprise just 10 percent of donors
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Why airlines might be more afraid of the swine flu than nervous passenger
U.S. airlines are scrambling to calm jittery passengers and investors while addressing growing public health concerns as the swine flu outbreak moves north of the Mexican border.
Travel to Mexico typically tails off this time of the year, a factor that may help officials contain the outbreak within the U.S., where relatively few cases no deaths have been reported, as yet.
But for carriers, the bigger concern is that airline passengers may stop traveling within the U.S. and to other overseas countries if the number of cases reported continues to rise rapidly.
The worst-case scenario? Fearful passengers would stay home droves, prompting a huge drop in air travel similar to the fall-off that surrounded the SARS epidemic in 2003. Offering shades of that earlier crisis, Hong Kong and Taiwan have warned that any passengers arriving with flu-like symptoms would be quarantined.
Read more
Travel to Mexico typically tails off this time of the year, a factor that may help officials contain the outbreak within the U.S., where relatively few cases no deaths have been reported, as yet.
But for carriers, the bigger concern is that airline passengers may stop traveling within the U.S. and to other overseas countries if the number of cases reported continues to rise rapidly.
The worst-case scenario? Fearful passengers would stay home droves, prompting a huge drop in air travel similar to the fall-off that surrounded the SARS epidemic in 2003. Offering shades of that earlier crisis, Hong Kong and Taiwan have warned that any passengers arriving with flu-like symptoms would be quarantined.
Read more
Office Blogging
Whew! It’s only 11:30 and I’ve already attended two meetings – well, three actually if you count the one I had with my staff this morning. That went well. They had no questions or pressing issues. They are a great group of women. Hard workers.
Did you know today is National Shrimp Scampi Day? I didn’t either! Shrimp is low in saturated fat. It is also a good source of Niacin, Iron, Phosphorus and Zinc, and a very good source of Protein, Vitamin B12 and Selenium.
Here’s a recipe to help you celebrate.
Ingredients
* 1 1/2 pound jumbo shrimp, shelled and deveined
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 2 teaspoons minced garlic
* 1/4 cup dry white vermouth
* 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 2 teaspoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
* 1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Directions
Put the shrimp on a large pie pan or plate and pat them completely dry with a paper towel. Arrange the shrimp so they lay flat and are evenly spaced.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add the butter to the skillet. When the foaming subsides, raise the heat to high, and invert the plate of shrimp over the pan so the shrimp fall into the pan all at once. Cook the shrimp, without moving them, for 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Turn the shrimp over and cook for 2 minutes more. Transfer the shrimp to a bowl.
Return the skillet to the heat and pour in the vermouth and lemon juice. Boil the liquid until slightly thickened, about 30 seconds. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir the zest and parsley into the sauce. Pour the sauce over the shrimp, season with salt and pepper to taste and toss to combine.
Was very cool this morning when I left for the office – 50’s. No rain yet but it’s in the forecast. My lunch is at noon today. Think I’m going to run out for a salad and a bunch of flowers for my office. Always love to look at fresh cut flowers.
Have a great day! I will!
Did you know today is National Shrimp Scampi Day? I didn’t either! Shrimp is low in saturated fat. It is also a good source of Niacin, Iron, Phosphorus and Zinc, and a very good source of Protein, Vitamin B12 and Selenium.
Here’s a recipe to help you celebrate.
Ingredients
* 1 1/2 pound jumbo shrimp, shelled and deveined
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 2 teaspoons minced garlic
* 1/4 cup dry white vermouth
* 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 2 teaspoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
* 1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Directions
Put the shrimp on a large pie pan or plate and pat them completely dry with a paper towel. Arrange the shrimp so they lay flat and are evenly spaced.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add the butter to the skillet. When the foaming subsides, raise the heat to high, and invert the plate of shrimp over the pan so the shrimp fall into the pan all at once. Cook the shrimp, without moving them, for 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Turn the shrimp over and cook for 2 minutes more. Transfer the shrimp to a bowl.
Return the skillet to the heat and pour in the vermouth and lemon juice. Boil the liquid until slightly thickened, about 30 seconds. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir the zest and parsley into the sauce. Pour the sauce over the shrimp, season with salt and pepper to taste and toss to combine.
Was very cool this morning when I left for the office – 50’s. No rain yet but it’s in the forecast. My lunch is at noon today. Think I’m going to run out for a salad and a bunch of flowers for my office. Always love to look at fresh cut flowers.
Have a great day! I will!
People
People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centred;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and GOD.
It was never between you and them anyway.
Popularly attributed to Mother Theresa, but actually by Kent M Keith and read by Mother Theresa.
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and GOD.
It was never between you and them anyway.
Popularly attributed to Mother Theresa, but actually by Kent M Keith and read by Mother Theresa.
The Simplest Way to Clear Out Your Email Inbox
In a sentence: Don’t reply or even read most of your emails.
Your inbox can be cleared in minutes with that method.
Here’s how I suggest you do it:
Your inbox can be cleared in minutes with that method.
Here’s how I suggest you do it:
A glimmer of hope?
From The Economist print edition
The worst thing for the world economy would be to assume the worst is over
The worst thing for the world economy would be to assume the worst is over
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Today's Quote
No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.
—Helen Keller
—Helen Keller
Here's The Joke
There were two buddies, one with a Doberman Pinscher and the other with a Chihuahua.
The guy with the Doberman Pinscher says to his friend, "Let's go over to that restaurant and get something to eat."
The guy with the Chihuahua says, "We can't go in there. We've got dogs with us."
The buddy with the Doberman Pinscher says, "Just follow my lead."
They walk over to the restaurant, the guy with the Doberman Pinscher puts on a pair of dark glasses and he starts to walk in. The bouncer at the door says, "Sorry, mac, no pets allowed."
The man with the Doberman Pinscher says, "You don't understand. This is my seeing-eye-dog."
The bouncer says, "A Doberman Pinscher?"
He answers, "Yes, they're using them now; they're very good and protect me from robbers, too."
The man at the door says, "Come on in."
The buddy with the Chihuahua figures, "What the heck," so he puts on a pair of dark glasses and starts to walk in.
Once again the bouncer says, "Sorry, pal, no pets allowed."
The guy with the Chihuahua says, "You don't understand. This is my seeing-eye dog."
The bouncer at the door says, "A Chihuahua?"
The man with the Chihuahua says, "A Chihuahua?????? They gave me a Chihuahua?!"
The guy with the Doberman Pinscher says to his friend, "Let's go over to that restaurant and get something to eat."
The guy with the Chihuahua says, "We can't go in there. We've got dogs with us."
The buddy with the Doberman Pinscher says, "Just follow my lead."
They walk over to the restaurant, the guy with the Doberman Pinscher puts on a pair of dark glasses and he starts to walk in. The bouncer at the door says, "Sorry, mac, no pets allowed."
The man with the Doberman Pinscher says, "You don't understand. This is my seeing-eye-dog."
The bouncer says, "A Doberman Pinscher?"
He answers, "Yes, they're using them now; they're very good and protect me from robbers, too."
The man at the door says, "Come on in."
The buddy with the Chihuahua figures, "What the heck," so he puts on a pair of dark glasses and starts to walk in.
Once again the bouncer says, "Sorry, pal, no pets allowed."
The guy with the Chihuahua says, "You don't understand. This is my seeing-eye dog."
The bouncer at the door says, "A Chihuahua?"
The man with the Chihuahua says, "A Chihuahua?????? They gave me a Chihuahua?!"
Website of the Day
Timetoast.com
Timetoast allows people to create interactive timelines, which they can share anywhere on the web. Anyone can join Timetoast and start creating and sharing their own timelines, all they need is a valid email address. It's completely free!
Timetoast allows people to create interactive timelines, which they can share anywhere on the web. Anyone can join Timetoast and start creating and sharing their own timelines, all they need is a valid email address. It's completely free!
Why the Grateful Dead live on
The Grateful Dead won’t die, in part because their fans --- some of which now work in the White House -- won’t let them.
The band broke up in 1995 when Jerry Garcia, one of the greatest guitarists of his generation and the Papa Bear of Dead-dom, succumbed to a lifetime of excess. Infighting among the survivors made future collaborations highly unlikely. “It’s hard to say goodbye, it’s hard to let go, but the page got turned for us,” drummer Mickey Hart told the Tribune a year after the guitarist’s death.
But the Dead never went away, sustained by hundreds of archival recordings and a community of fans that stretched into every sector of society – including the administration of President Barack Obama. Two of the president’s senior advisers, David Axelrod and Pete Rouse, as well as deputy chief of staff Jim Messina count themselves among the legion of Deadheads.
Read more
The band broke up in 1995 when Jerry Garcia, one of the greatest guitarists of his generation and the Papa Bear of Dead-dom, succumbed to a lifetime of excess. Infighting among the survivors made future collaborations highly unlikely. “It’s hard to say goodbye, it’s hard to let go, but the page got turned for us,” drummer Mickey Hart told the Tribune a year after the guitarist’s death.
But the Dead never went away, sustained by hundreds of archival recordings and a community of fans that stretched into every sector of society – including the administration of President Barack Obama. Two of the president’s senior advisers, David Axelrod and Pete Rouse, as well as deputy chief of staff Jim Messina count themselves among the legion of Deadheads.
Read more
10 Superfoods
The fountain of youth is real, and it might be in your kitchen and pantry right now!
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Landlord demands dead victim’s late rent, fees
When she opened the letter from her dead son’s former landlord this week, Danelle Eckert thought there had to be some mistake.
The letter, addressed to Eckert and to the estate of her son, Colin Byars, was demanding March and April rent, late fees and an “early termination fee” because he had left his apartment before the end of his lease. Byars, a 24-year-old teacher, was killed Feb. 21 when he was punched in the head on a Kenosha street.
“I thought they must not understand that Colin was killed. But no, they understood completely,” Eckert said.
She said the apartment’s property manager told her that they knew Byars had been killed. But the woman told Eckert the management company had been advised by their legal representative that they should go after the rent and fees.
Read more
The letter, addressed to Eckert and to the estate of her son, Colin Byars, was demanding March and April rent, late fees and an “early termination fee” because he had left his apartment before the end of his lease. Byars, a 24-year-old teacher, was killed Feb. 21 when he was punched in the head on a Kenosha street.
“I thought they must not understand that Colin was killed. But no, they understood completely,” Eckert said.
She said the apartment’s property manager told her that they knew Byars had been killed. But the woman told Eckert the management company had been advised by their legal representative that they should go after the rent and fees.
Read more
Are Celebrities Destroying Twitter?
To balance out the inanities of celebs trying to self-promote, you should get on Twitter and talk about what's important to you.
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Exotic Dancer Blitzed By Rival With Stiletto
AKRON, Ohio—Ohio police say a 52-year-old woman was attacked on her first day as an exotic dancer by a jealous co-worker wielding a stiletto heel.
Akron police Lt. Rick Edwards says the woman was assailed Friday night by a co-worker who didn’t think the club needed more dancers. Police say one of the dancers took her stiletto and repeatedly struck the woman in the face as she walked into the basement dressing room.
The woman was treated at a hospital and received seven staples. She has declined to press charges against her assailant.
Police say the woman took the job because she needed the extra money. She has refused to talk to police about what happened.
Akron police Lt. Rick Edwards says the woman was assailed Friday night by a co-worker who didn’t think the club needed more dancers. Police say one of the dancers took her stiletto and repeatedly struck the woman in the face as she walked into the basement dressing room.
The woman was treated at a hospital and received seven staples. She has declined to press charges against her assailant.
Police say the woman took the job because she needed the extra money. She has refused to talk to police about what happened.
Office Blogging
Day is half done and am on the down hill side! Woo Hoo.
I just finished my lunch of cardboard with tomato sauce on it – Healthy Choice frozen bread pizza thingie. At least it’s filling.
Have another 2pm mgt meeting. System seems to be stable today. So far, so good.
I am tired and want to go home
I just finished my lunch of cardboard with tomato sauce on it – Healthy Choice frozen bread pizza thingie. At least it’s filling.
Have another 2pm mgt meeting. System seems to be stable today. So far, so good.
I am tired and want to go home
Office Blogging
Ok………..so I’m here at the office and thought I would try ‘office blogging’ as time permits. Most days I am very busy and can’t think, so we’ll see how this goes.
After two days of mid 80’s temps it’s supposed to be in 70’s today. Thank goodness as I discovered over the weekend my AC is not working. It is also cloudy and showers are supposed to move into the area today. I noted my lawn people did another application of fertilizer yesterday so the rain will be good for the lawn which is greening up nicely. The plants I put into the front bed I put in last year are all coming to life – I just love this time of year!
We have been dealing with major systems issues at work the past two weeks which hampers our ability to get done each day. We were advised to expect these issues to continue for another 30 days. Oh joy!
I have a managers meeting to attend in about 8 mins so am going to wrap this up……..I hope everyone has a joyous day! I plan to.
After two days of mid 80’s temps it’s supposed to be in 70’s today. Thank goodness as I discovered over the weekend my AC is not working. It is also cloudy and showers are supposed to move into the area today. I noted my lawn people did another application of fertilizer yesterday so the rain will be good for the lawn which is greening up nicely. The plants I put into the front bed I put in last year are all coming to life – I just love this time of year!
We have been dealing with major systems issues at work the past two weeks which hampers our ability to get done each day. We were advised to expect these issues to continue for another 30 days. Oh joy!
I have a managers meeting to attend in about 8 mins so am going to wrap this up……..I hope everyone has a joyous day! I plan to.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Here's The Joke
Pauly walks into a bar and says "Bartender, one round for
everyone, on me!" The bartender says, "Well, Pauly, seems
you're in a really good mood tonight, eh?"
Pauly says, "Oh, you can bet on it! I just got hired by the
city to go around and remove all the money from parking
meters. I start on Monday!"
The bartender congratulates the man and proceeds to pour the
round.
Monday evening arrives. Pauly comes back into the bar and
says "Bartender, TWO rounds for everyone, on me!"
The bartender says, "Well now! If you're so happy just over
having this new job, I can just imagine how happy you'll be
when you get your paycheck!"
Pauly looks at the bartender with a confused look on his
face, pulls out quite a handful of quarters from his pocket,
and says "You mean they'll PAY me on top of it?"
everyone, on me!" The bartender says, "Well, Pauly, seems
you're in a really good mood tonight, eh?"
Pauly says, "Oh, you can bet on it! I just got hired by the
city to go around and remove all the money from parking
meters. I start on Monday!"
The bartender congratulates the man and proceeds to pour the
round.
Monday evening arrives. Pauly comes back into the bar and
says "Bartender, TWO rounds for everyone, on me!"
The bartender says, "Well now! If you're so happy just over
having this new job, I can just imagine how happy you'll be
when you get your paycheck!"
Pauly looks at the bartender with a confused look on his
face, pulls out quite a handful of quarters from his pocket,
and says "You mean they'll PAY me on top of it?"
Twelve Major Brands That Will Disappear
A number of well-known brands disappeared in the last year in large part due to economic forces. Many of them were in the retail industry, led by Circuit City. ATA and Aloha airlines are gone. Gateway Computers has effectively disappeared after being bought by Acer. It still has a website, but the brand is no longer marketed.
As the recession deepens and stretches out quarter after quarter, more companies will close or will shut divisions. More brands will disappear because their parents firms fold or can no longer afford to support them. Other brands will be obliterated by mergers.
24/7 Wall St. examined 100 large brands that are facing troubled futures. The analysis included records for those brands that are public companies or part of public companies. We considered sales information, information from industry experts, and brand histories. We also looked at the level of competition in each brand’s market and the extent to which that competition is growing. We examined the likelihood that a brand could be sold or spun off in cases where parent companies are in financial trouble.
We have compiled a list of 12 brands that will we believe will not survive until the end of next year. Each brand and the major reasons for its demise are listed along with some of the public information 24/7 Wall St. examined.
Read more
As the recession deepens and stretches out quarter after quarter, more companies will close or will shut divisions. More brands will disappear because their parents firms fold or can no longer afford to support them. Other brands will be obliterated by mergers.
24/7 Wall St. examined 100 large brands that are facing troubled futures. The analysis included records for those brands that are public companies or part of public companies. We considered sales information, information from industry experts, and brand histories. We also looked at the level of competition in each brand’s market and the extent to which that competition is growing. We examined the likelihood that a brand could be sold or spun off in cases where parent companies are in financial trouble.
We have compiled a list of 12 brands that will we believe will not survive until the end of next year. Each brand and the major reasons for its demise are listed along with some of the public information 24/7 Wall St. examined.
Read more
On Prosecuting War Crimes
Barack Obama is not given the right by our Constitution to be the judge and jury for torturers. I include Bush and Cheney in this category although they committed other war crimes. Mr. Obama and our Congress took oaths to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the land. They must be reminded that they must do this job regardless of whether they think it is divisive or not.
If President Obama and the Congress do their jobs of enforcing the law with respect to torture and other Bush and Cheney war crimes, they will begin unraveling the web of deceit that has supported the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Read more
If President Obama and the Congress do their jobs of enforcing the law with respect to torture and other Bush and Cheney war crimes, they will begin unraveling the web of deceit that has supported the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Read more
Sunday, April 26, 2009
NY Times Op Ed - The Banality of Bush White House Evil
By FRANK RICH
Five years after the Abu Ghraib revelations, we must acknowledge that our government methodically authorized torture and lied about it. But we also must contemplate the possibility that it did so not just out of a sincere, if criminally misguided, desire to “protect” us but also to promote an unnecessary and catastrophic war. Instead of saving us from “another 9/11,” torture was a tool in the campaign to falsify and exploit 9/11 so that fearful Americans would be bamboozled into a mission that had nothing to do with Al Qaeda. The lying about Iraq remains the original sin from which flows much of the Bush White House’s illegality.
Levin suggests — and I agree — that as additional fact-finding plays out, it’s time for the Justice Department to enlist a panel of two or three apolitical outsiders, perhaps retired federal judges, “to review the mass of material” we already have. The fundamental truth is there, as it long has been. The panel can recommend a legal path that will insure accountability for this wholesale betrayal of American values.
President Obama can talk all he wants about not looking back, but this grotesque past is bigger than even he is. It won’t vanish into a memory hole any more than Andersonville, World War II internment camps or My Lai. The White House, Congress and politicians of both parties should get out of the way. We don’t need another commission. We don’t need any Capitol Hill witch hunts. What we must have are fair trials that at long last uphold and reclaim our nation’s commitment to the rule of law.
Read more
Five years after the Abu Ghraib revelations, we must acknowledge that our government methodically authorized torture and lied about it. But we also must contemplate the possibility that it did so not just out of a sincere, if criminally misguided, desire to “protect” us but also to promote an unnecessary and catastrophic war. Instead of saving us from “another 9/11,” torture was a tool in the campaign to falsify and exploit 9/11 so that fearful Americans would be bamboozled into a mission that had nothing to do with Al Qaeda. The lying about Iraq remains the original sin from which flows much of the Bush White House’s illegality.
Levin suggests — and I agree — that as additional fact-finding plays out, it’s time for the Justice Department to enlist a panel of two or three apolitical outsiders, perhaps retired federal judges, “to review the mass of material” we already have. The fundamental truth is there, as it long has been. The panel can recommend a legal path that will insure accountability for this wholesale betrayal of American values.
President Obama can talk all he wants about not looking back, but this grotesque past is bigger than even he is. It won’t vanish into a memory hole any more than Andersonville, World War II internment camps or My Lai. The White House, Congress and politicians of both parties should get out of the way. We don’t need another commission. We don’t need any Capitol Hill witch hunts. What we must have are fair trials that at long last uphold and reclaim our nation’s commitment to the rule of law.
Read more
Britain's Got Talent star Susan Boyle gets a makeover
Britain's Got Talent star Susan Boyle unveiled the dramatic results of her image makeover today.The Scottish spinster, who previously insisted stardom wouldn't change her, left her home in Blackburn, West Lothian, with a spring in her step after undergoing a makeover that cost just £100.
Her frizzy grey hair has been cut and coloured for £35 while her famously bushy eyebrows have been reshaped for £5.
The 47-year-old, who was dubbed the 'hairy angel', also raised her game in the style stakes with a pair of high heels and a rather enthusiastic smothering of make-up.
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Torture
Friday 24 April 2009
by: John Cory, t r u t h o u t | Perspective
On Tuesday evening, I watched Anderson Cooper and Bill O'Reilly utter the same euphemism for torture. "Harsh" techniques, they said. And then, to each of their guests they posed the question of whether or not these "harsh interrogation techniques" worked and shouldn't that be an important part of judging their merit? I felt dirty just listening to them.
Harsh interrogation techniques, coercive tactics, enhanced techniques - These are the rebranding tools for torture. In order to avoid turning our eyes away or burying our heads in the sand, we grab politically acceptable words and terms to diminish the sting and shame of actual torture, so we can brag about being a moral society open to the discussion of stressful questioning of enemy combatants. Sterile words remove us from the very real sins of torturing human beings. And the more we become adept at anesthetic language, the easier it becomes to talk without vomiting when we speak our sins aloud. The easier it becomes to torture. The easier it becomes to maintain the nobility of torture as a tool of patriotism.
The talking heads on television now preen and prep to define reality. Torture is not the issue, they say. The politics of torture is the issue and that is the shiny object we should all be focused on. This is political. Right versus left, not right versus wrong.
The Republicans tell us that torture is legal if the Justice Department and the president say it is. Nixon said if the president does it, it is not illegal. But the ensuing investigations and judgments proved him wrong. This time around, the president generated supportive judicial opinions, so that everyone could wave a paper in America's face and say, "See, it's all legal. The Justice Department says so. It is not torture in the strictest legal definition because there is no organ failure or death. God bless America. Amen."
If torture (harsh interrogation) works - why does it take 183 times to get results? Does it wear off after the first five times? Like a bad inoculation? Or did the prisoner just forget the question while he was choking to death and so you had to keep repeating everything?
Republicans and FOX News tell me that President Obama has disgraced and endangered America by smiling and shaking hands with Hugo Chavez, a particularly despicable character. But incorporating the practices of the KGB and Communist China in our interrogation of enemy combatants is the American thing to do. We hate the Evildoers of the world except for those wonderfully effective torture techniques they use.
They tell us that torture is the only way to avoid another 9/11. Haven't we kept America safe since that awful day? Thanks to torture, no one has attacked us since. Never mind that we didn't pay attention to the threat previously, or that we lost focus because the warnings came from Clinton and he was not a real President. Or that Richard Clarke and others shouted about their hair being on fire over the possibility of an attack. No one could have imagined such a thing. No one. Except of course the people who put it in memos that were ignored.
But that was the past and this is the present. Do not look back in anger. Look to the future. Torture is the only way to protect us, to keep us safe. Torture will teach them not to dare think of another attack. It is revenge for what the Evildoers have wrought upon democracy, but even more importantly, it is the sword of justice that will lay waste to our enemies.
We are all Jack Bauer now. The ticking time bomb is out there and we need torture to save America. The threat is imminent. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
There are voices telling us that "enhanced interrogation techniques" work, that multiple plots and potential attacks have been averted, secret incidents that cannot be revealed for reasons of national security. Voices intone the gravity of having released these memos authorizing torture that now tell the enemy what to expect and how to defend themselves against these "harsh" techniques. But these warnings and complaints come from the same men who willing revealed the identity of a covert CIA agent for political gain, an agent who was protecting America.
For 60 years, America has denounced the torture tactics of our enemies as being criminal. From WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam to the Iraq War, torture was evil. We invaded Iraq and overthrew Saddam because he was evil and tortured his people. We denounced the torture of POWs in Hanoi and pointed out that torture only served a propaganda purpose. And now, we say torture is not torture because we do it humanely. If America tortures, it is not the same as Communists and tyrants and Islamic fundamentalists. There is good torture and bad torture. America defines the difference.
And so, the great talking heads and pundits of the media village will inoculate us against guilt and anger by explaining the game of politics and morality. The game of semantics will numb our indignation if we just listen to their soothing voices in the darkness that has become America. They will calm our troubled hearts. They will ease our pain and whisper the words we so desperately want to hear, "There, there, you are America. You are good. You are special. You do not torture. You simply protect us from the monsters under the bed. Hush now, don't look in the mirror; just close your eyes and everything will be all right."
Original
by: John Cory, t r u t h o u t | Perspective
On Tuesday evening, I watched Anderson Cooper and Bill O'Reilly utter the same euphemism for torture. "Harsh" techniques, they said. And then, to each of their guests they posed the question of whether or not these "harsh interrogation techniques" worked and shouldn't that be an important part of judging their merit? I felt dirty just listening to them.
Harsh interrogation techniques, coercive tactics, enhanced techniques - These are the rebranding tools for torture. In order to avoid turning our eyes away or burying our heads in the sand, we grab politically acceptable words and terms to diminish the sting and shame of actual torture, so we can brag about being a moral society open to the discussion of stressful questioning of enemy combatants. Sterile words remove us from the very real sins of torturing human beings. And the more we become adept at anesthetic language, the easier it becomes to talk without vomiting when we speak our sins aloud. The easier it becomes to torture. The easier it becomes to maintain the nobility of torture as a tool of patriotism.
The talking heads on television now preen and prep to define reality. Torture is not the issue, they say. The politics of torture is the issue and that is the shiny object we should all be focused on. This is political. Right versus left, not right versus wrong.
The Republicans tell us that torture is legal if the Justice Department and the president say it is. Nixon said if the president does it, it is not illegal. But the ensuing investigations and judgments proved him wrong. This time around, the president generated supportive judicial opinions, so that everyone could wave a paper in America's face and say, "See, it's all legal. The Justice Department says so. It is not torture in the strictest legal definition because there is no organ failure or death. God bless America. Amen."
If torture (harsh interrogation) works - why does it take 183 times to get results? Does it wear off after the first five times? Like a bad inoculation? Or did the prisoner just forget the question while he was choking to death and so you had to keep repeating everything?
Republicans and FOX News tell me that President Obama has disgraced and endangered America by smiling and shaking hands with Hugo Chavez, a particularly despicable character. But incorporating the practices of the KGB and Communist China in our interrogation of enemy combatants is the American thing to do. We hate the Evildoers of the world except for those wonderfully effective torture techniques they use.
They tell us that torture is the only way to avoid another 9/11. Haven't we kept America safe since that awful day? Thanks to torture, no one has attacked us since. Never mind that we didn't pay attention to the threat previously, or that we lost focus because the warnings came from Clinton and he was not a real President. Or that Richard Clarke and others shouted about their hair being on fire over the possibility of an attack. No one could have imagined such a thing. No one. Except of course the people who put it in memos that were ignored.
But that was the past and this is the present. Do not look back in anger. Look to the future. Torture is the only way to protect us, to keep us safe. Torture will teach them not to dare think of another attack. It is revenge for what the Evildoers have wrought upon democracy, but even more importantly, it is the sword of justice that will lay waste to our enemies.
We are all Jack Bauer now. The ticking time bomb is out there and we need torture to save America. The threat is imminent. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
There are voices telling us that "enhanced interrogation techniques" work, that multiple plots and potential attacks have been averted, secret incidents that cannot be revealed for reasons of national security. Voices intone the gravity of having released these memos authorizing torture that now tell the enemy what to expect and how to defend themselves against these "harsh" techniques. But these warnings and complaints come from the same men who willing revealed the identity of a covert CIA agent for political gain, an agent who was protecting America.
For 60 years, America has denounced the torture tactics of our enemies as being criminal. From WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam to the Iraq War, torture was evil. We invaded Iraq and overthrew Saddam because he was evil and tortured his people. We denounced the torture of POWs in Hanoi and pointed out that torture only served a propaganda purpose. And now, we say torture is not torture because we do it humanely. If America tortures, it is not the same as Communists and tyrants and Islamic fundamentalists. There is good torture and bad torture. America defines the difference.
And so, the great talking heads and pundits of the media village will inoculate us against guilt and anger by explaining the game of politics and morality. The game of semantics will numb our indignation if we just listen to their soothing voices in the darkness that has become America. They will calm our troubled hearts. They will ease our pain and whisper the words we so desperately want to hear, "There, there, you are America. You are good. You are special. You do not torture. You simply protect us from the monsters under the bed. Hush now, don't look in the mirror; just close your eyes and everything will be all right."
Original
Facing a credit card rate hike? Here's how to talk it down
If your credit card company has hiked your rate and you can't pay it off immediately, one option is to call the issuer and ask for a lower rate, particularly if you've been a longtime customer.
"Say, 'I've been a customer for X amount of time, and I'm looking at competitive offers,' " said Bill Hardekopf, chief executive of LowCards.com, a credit card Web site. " 'I'd like you to roll it back to X rate.' "
Credit card companies don't want to lose customers because "the acquisition cost is too high," he said.
In 2006 the Tribune published a script in a story by Gregory Karp aimed at helping consumers negotiate a lower credit card rate. This reporter successfully used it to bring down the rate on a credit card to 9.99 percent from 24.99 percent.
It goes like this:
"Say, 'I've been a customer for X amount of time, and I'm looking at competitive offers,' " said Bill Hardekopf, chief executive of LowCards.com, a credit card Web site. " 'I'd like you to roll it back to X rate.' "
Credit card companies don't want to lose customers because "the acquisition cost is too high," he said.
In 2006 the Tribune published a script in a story by Gregory Karp aimed at helping consumers negotiate a lower credit card rate. This reporter successfully used it to bring down the rate on a credit card to 9.99 percent from 24.99 percent.
It goes like this:
Brave Afghan Vet Demands Answers from Congress
A former Corporal in the US Marines, Reyes was powerful and truthful as he told Senator John Kerry and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, "I urge you on behalf of truth and patriotism to consider carefully and rethink Afghanistan. More troops, more occupation is not the answer."
Reyes's testimony raises critical concerns that Congress must address before approving a massive supplemental war funding bill in the next few weeks. Let's work to halt this war funding bill by calling our Representatives, and urging them not to vote for it until all the questions raised in these hearings have been answered. If you're not sure who represents you, find out here.
Call your Representatives
Don't know who represents you? Find out here
Reyes's testimony raises critical concerns that Congress must address before approving a massive supplemental war funding bill in the next few weeks. Let's work to halt this war funding bill by calling our Representatives, and urging them not to vote for it until all the questions raised in these hearings have been answered. If you're not sure who represents you, find out here.
Call your Representatives
Don't know who represents you? Find out here
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Today's Quote
"You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight."
— Jim Rohn
— Jim Rohn
Website of the Day - The 50 States Project
The 50 States Project has brought together 50 photographers from across the USA.
Each photographer lives in one of the 50 States and during the year long project each photographer will represent the State where they live. Every two months each photographer will be sent an assignment by e-mail, they then have two months to produce one image in response. The images must represent both their style and the State in which they live.
The first assignment, ("People"), was sent on 2nd January 2009. The second, ("Habitat"), was sent on 1st March 2009. The remaining 4 assignments will be announced on 1st May, 1st July, 1st September and 1st November 2009 respectively.
By the end of the project there will be 300 images which hopefully represent the talent of the photographers involved and have something to say about the USA today.
Each photographer lives in one of the 50 States and during the year long project each photographer will represent the State where they live. Every two months each photographer will be sent an assignment by e-mail, they then have two months to produce one image in response. The images must represent both their style and the State in which they live.
The first assignment, ("People"), was sent on 2nd January 2009. The second, ("Habitat"), was sent on 1st March 2009. The remaining 4 assignments will be announced on 1st May, 1st July, 1st September and 1st November 2009 respectively.
By the end of the project there will be 300 images which hopefully represent the talent of the photographers involved and have something to say about the USA today.
My Call to Arms by Edward M. Kennedy
There’s a new spirit of change in America.
Last November, the American people chose to move forward to a better future together. Old divisions were put aside, and Americans from all walks of life, all parts of the nation, and all beliefs and creeds joined together to say that we can—we must—find a better way.
In few areas is the need for change so great and so urgent as in health care. Countless Americans face each visit to the doctor not just with apprehension about their medical condition but with real fear that an illness could bring financial ruin. The threat of medical bankruptcy is not a reality in other developed countries, where a higher priority is placed on guaranteeing access to health-care coverage. Other developed nations also surpass us in areas such as affordability and quality. Americans spend more than 50 percent more per capita on health care than the next most expensive country, and the United States has the highest number of preventable deaths among developed countries. It’s profoundly wrong that in a nation with the greatest hospitals and the most innovative medical research in the world, millions of our citizens are denied the basic right to quality health care they can afford.
Read more
Last November, the American people chose to move forward to a better future together. Old divisions were put aside, and Americans from all walks of life, all parts of the nation, and all beliefs and creeds joined together to say that we can—we must—find a better way.
In few areas is the need for change so great and so urgent as in health care. Countless Americans face each visit to the doctor not just with apprehension about their medical condition but with real fear that an illness could bring financial ruin. The threat of medical bankruptcy is not a reality in other developed countries, where a higher priority is placed on guaranteeing access to health-care coverage. Other developed nations also surpass us in areas such as affordability and quality. Americans spend more than 50 percent more per capita on health care than the next most expensive country, and the United States has the highest number of preventable deaths among developed countries. It’s profoundly wrong that in a nation with the greatest hospitals and the most innovative medical research in the world, millions of our citizens are denied the basic right to quality health care they can afford.
Read more
Craigslist Killer's Darker Side
The former lab mate of Philip Markoff, the 23-year-old medical student who allegedly murdered a masseuse who advertised on Craigslist, said her old partner had a darker side. Tiffany B. Montgomery says Markoff had profound mood swings, and, at one point, she considered telling school counselors that he might be suicidal. "Everbody's right when they say he was nice," Montgomery told the Boston Globe. "He was nice, but he was definitely strange, and he was strange in a dark way." Investigators have also suggested that Markoff allegedly robbed other women he found through Craigslist because he had a gambling problem. Apparently, he received a ticket in April 2008 while on his way to the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, and his high school friends said he gambled occasionally.
Read more
Read more
Action Item - No Amnesty for Torturers
On April 16, President Obama said he would not prosecute CIA agents who engaged in torture, because George Bush's lawyers told them it was "legal." President Obama also said Attorney General Eric Holder would use taxpayer dollars to defend torturers against lawsuits by torture victims, and to pay all judgments if they lost.
These decisions are intolerable and unacceptable. Torture is utterly immoral and un-American. It produced absolutely no useful intelligence. It recruited terrorists responsible for at least half the U.S. deaths in Iraq. And it endangered every U.S. soldier who may be captured in the future.
And torture is absolutely illegal. The U.S. ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture, which prohibits torture and requires prosecution of torturers. In 1947, the U.S. prosecuted a Japanese officer for waterboarding. No lawyer can "legalize" what is illegal.
Congress must take the following actions:
1. Demand the appointment of a Special Prosecutor by Attorney General Eric Holder for torture, warrantless wiretapping, and other heinous crimes of the Bush Administration. (Thanks to Rep. Jerrold Nadler for leading the way!)
2. Prohibit the use of any taxpayer dollars to defend government officials who committed such crimes against lawsuits, or to pay for judgments against them.
3. Impeach Judge Jay Bybee, the torture memo author who serves on the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California.
4. Protect human rights by restoring Habeas Corpus and the Fourth Amendment (search and seizure), including repeal of the Orwellian-named Protect America Act, U.S.A. Patriot Act, the FISA Amendments, and Military Commissions Act.
5. End secret government by prohibiting use of "State Secrets," "Sovereign Immunity" and "Signing Statements."
As my representative in Congress, I urge you to act immediately.
Sign petition HERE
These decisions are intolerable and unacceptable. Torture is utterly immoral and un-American. It produced absolutely no useful intelligence. It recruited terrorists responsible for at least half the U.S. deaths in Iraq. And it endangered every U.S. soldier who may be captured in the future.
And torture is absolutely illegal. The U.S. ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture, which prohibits torture and requires prosecution of torturers. In 1947, the U.S. prosecuted a Japanese officer for waterboarding. No lawyer can "legalize" what is illegal.
Congress must take the following actions:
1. Demand the appointment of a Special Prosecutor by Attorney General Eric Holder for torture, warrantless wiretapping, and other heinous crimes of the Bush Administration. (Thanks to Rep. Jerrold Nadler for leading the way!)
2. Prohibit the use of any taxpayer dollars to defend government officials who committed such crimes against lawsuits, or to pay for judgments against them.
3. Impeach Judge Jay Bybee, the torture memo author who serves on the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California.
4. Protect human rights by restoring Habeas Corpus and the Fourth Amendment (search and seizure), including repeal of the Orwellian-named Protect America Act, U.S.A. Patriot Act, the FISA Amendments, and Military Commissions Act.
5. End secret government by prohibiting use of "State Secrets," "Sovereign Immunity" and "Signing Statements."
As my representative in Congress, I urge you to act immediately.
Sign petition HERE
Navy SEAL Chases Men Who Killed His Dog
As if saying goodbye to his three Navy SEAL teammates wasn't enough, veteran Marcus Luttrell has now lost his dog Dasy, too.
The yellow Labrador was shot dead on Luttrell's Huntsville, Texas, property on April 1.
The killing resulted in a high-speed car case, as Luttrell hounded the accused killers through four different counties before two of the men were arrested with charges of cruelty to a non-livestock animal.
Dasy wasn't just any household pet -- she was given to Luttrell following his return to the United States in 2006 from Afghanistan. Luttrell was the sole SEAL team member to survive an intense June 2005 firefight with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Read more
The yellow Labrador was shot dead on Luttrell's Huntsville, Texas, property on April 1.
The killing resulted in a high-speed car case, as Luttrell hounded the accused killers through four different counties before two of the men were arrested with charges of cruelty to a non-livestock animal.
Dasy wasn't just any household pet -- she was given to Luttrell following his return to the United States in 2006 from Afghanistan. Luttrell was the sole SEAL team member to survive an intense June 2005 firefight with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Read more
Another Blonde Joke
A contestant on 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?' had reached the
final plateau.
If she answered the next question correctly, she would win
$1,000,000. If she answered incorrectly, she would pocket only the
$25,000 milestone money. And as she suspected it would be, the
million-dollar question was no pushover.
It was, 'Which of the following species of birds does not build its
own nest but instead lays its eggs in the nests of other birds? Is
it:
A) the condor
B) the buzzard
C) the cuckoo
D) the vulture
The woman was on the spot. She did not know the answer. She had used
up her 50/50 Lifeline and her Ask the Audience Lifeline. All that
remained was her Phone-a-Friend Lifeline. She hoped she would not
have to use it because ... Her friend was, well, blonde.
But she had no alternative. She called her friend and gave her the
question and the four choices. The blonde responded unhesitatingly:
'That's easy. The answer is C: the cuckoo.'
The contestant had to make a decision and make it fast.
She considered employing a reverse strategy and giving Meredith any
answer except the one that her friend had given her. And considering
her friend was a blonde that would seem to be the logical thing to
do. But her friend had responded with such confidence, such
certitude, that the contestant could not help but be convinced.
'I need an answer,' said Meredith.
Crossing her fingers, the contestant said, 'C: The cuckoo.'
'Is that your final answer?'
'Yes, that is my final answer.'
And Meredith replied, 'That answer is.... Absolutely correct! You
are now a millionaire!'
Three days later, the contestant hosted a party for her family and
friends, including the blonde who had helped her win the million
dollars.
'Jeni, I just do not know how to thank you, ' said the contestant.
'How did you happen to know the right answer?'
'Oh, come on,' said the blonde... 'Everybody knows that cuckoos
don't build nests. They live in clocks
final plateau.
If she answered the next question correctly, she would win
$1,000,000. If she answered incorrectly, she would pocket only the
$25,000 milestone money. And as she suspected it would be, the
million-dollar question was no pushover.
It was, 'Which of the following species of birds does not build its
own nest but instead lays its eggs in the nests of other birds? Is
it:
A) the condor
B) the buzzard
C) the cuckoo
D) the vulture
The woman was on the spot. She did not know the answer. She had used
up her 50/50 Lifeline and her Ask the Audience Lifeline. All that
remained was her Phone-a-Friend Lifeline. She hoped she would not
have to use it because ... Her friend was, well, blonde.
But she had no alternative. She called her friend and gave her the
question and the four choices. The blonde responded unhesitatingly:
'That's easy. The answer is C: the cuckoo.'
The contestant had to make a decision and make it fast.
She considered employing a reverse strategy and giving Meredith any
answer except the one that her friend had given her. And considering
her friend was a blonde that would seem to be the logical thing to
do. But her friend had responded with such confidence, such
certitude, that the contestant could not help but be convinced.
'I need an answer,' said Meredith.
Crossing her fingers, the contestant said, 'C: The cuckoo.'
'Is that your final answer?'
'Yes, that is my final answer.'
And Meredith replied, 'That answer is.... Absolutely correct! You
are now a millionaire!'
Three days later, the contestant hosted a party for her family and
friends, including the blonde who had helped her win the million
dollars.
'Jeni, I just do not know how to thank you, ' said the contestant.
'How did you happen to know the right answer?'
'Oh, come on,' said the blonde... 'Everybody knows that cuckoos
don't build nests. They live in clocks
Study: Worst warming impacts avoidable if ...
So what would the world's temperatures, and the planet, look like in 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions continued as is? And if they were cut by 70 percent?
Researchers at a well-known climate center asked those questions and used a computer model to conclude that it'd be catastrophic if unchecked, but manageable if the world could reduce gases by that much.
"This research indicates that we can no longer avoid significant warming during this century," Warren Washington, the study's lead author, said in a statement. "But if the world were to implement this level of emission cuts, we could stabilize the threat of climate change and avoid catastrophe.
Read more
Researchers at a well-known climate center asked those questions and used a computer model to conclude that it'd be catastrophic if unchecked, but manageable if the world could reduce gases by that much.
"This research indicates that we can no longer avoid significant warming during this century," Warren Washington, the study's lead author, said in a statement. "But if the world were to implement this level of emission cuts, we could stabilize the threat of climate change and avoid catastrophe.
Read more
How My Friday Started
Yesterday as I was leaving for the office, I opened the garage and saw two teens hiding behind a fence. They were dressed in black and had on black stocking caps. It was obvious they were hiding from someone. I had never seen them before and no teenagers live on my street so I closed the garage door and came inside and watched them through the window. After a few moments they crouched in front of a van parked near the front of my house. This photo was taken with my cell phone from my living room window. I thought it odd and suspicious so I called the police - then called my boss to tell her I'd be a few minutes late. Several minutes later another van pulled up in my neighbors driveway and these two boys went running towards it hurling water balloons. It was a planned prank.....at that point I left for work feeling like an idiot. I do not know if/when the police showed up. I hope that they eventually did and told those boys what a bad idea their plan was.
Comments made in the year 1955
'I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it's
going to be impossible to buy a week's groceries for $20.00.
'Have you seen the new cars coming out next year?
It won't be long before $2, 000.00 will only buy a used one.
'If cigarettes keep going up in price,
I'm going to quit. A quarter a pack is ridiculous.
'Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging a dime just
to mail a letter!.
'If they raise the minimum wage to $1.00,
nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store. '
'When I first started driving,
who would have thought gas would someday cost 29 cents a gallon.
Guess we'd be better off leaving the car in the garage.
'I'm afraid to send my kids to the movies any more.
Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying DAMN in GONE WITH
THE WIND, it seems every new movie has either HELL or DAMN in it.
'I read the other day where some scientist thinks it's possible to put
a man on the moon by the end of the century.
They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down
in Texas .
'Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for
$75,000 a year just to play ball?
It wouldn't surprise me if someday they'll be making more than the President.
'I never thought I'd see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric.
They are even making electric typewriters now.
'It's too bad things are so tough nowadays.
I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet.
'It won't be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone
to watch their kids so they can both work.
'I'm afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole
lot of foreign business.
'Thank goodness I won't live to see the day when the Government takes
half our income in taxes.
I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to congress.
'The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather,
but I seriously doubt they will ever catch on.
'There is no sense going to Lincoln or Omaha anymore for a weekend,
it costs nearly $15.00 a night to stay in a hotel.
'No one can afford to be sick anymore,
at $35.00 a day in the hospital it's too rich for my blood.'
'If they think I'll pay 50 cents for a hair cut, forget it.'
going to be impossible to buy a week's groceries for $20.00.
'Have you seen the new cars coming out next year?
It won't be long before $2, 000.00 will only buy a used one.
'If cigarettes keep going up in price,
I'm going to quit. A quarter a pack is ridiculous.
'Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging a dime just
to mail a letter!.
'If they raise the minimum wage to $1.00,
nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store. '
'When I first started driving,
who would have thought gas would someday cost 29 cents a gallon.
Guess we'd be better off leaving the car in the garage.
'I'm afraid to send my kids to the movies any more.
Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying DAMN in GONE WITH
THE WIND, it seems every new movie has either HELL or DAMN in it.
'I read the other day where some scientist thinks it's possible to put
a man on the moon by the end of the century.
They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down
in Texas .
'Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for
$75,000 a year just to play ball?
It wouldn't surprise me if someday they'll be making more than the President.
'I never thought I'd see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric.
They are even making electric typewriters now.
'It's too bad things are so tough nowadays.
I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet.
'It won't be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone
to watch their kids so they can both work.
'I'm afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole
lot of foreign business.
'Thank goodness I won't live to see the day when the Government takes
half our income in taxes.
I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to congress.
'The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather,
but I seriously doubt they will ever catch on.
'There is no sense going to Lincoln or Omaha anymore for a weekend,
it costs nearly $15.00 a night to stay in a hotel.
'No one can afford to be sick anymore,
at $35.00 a day in the hospital it's too rich for my blood.'
'If they think I'll pay 50 cents for a hair cut, forget it.'
Don't you mess with grandpa, sonny
Ted Mazetier may be a grandfather, but at 84 years old, he's still got his chops.And two men learned that the hard way.
Mazetier was driving down South Proctor Street Wednesday night when he spotted a car on the curb and two guys standing nearby. He thought they needed help, so he stopped.
But as soon as he pulled over, the two men pounced.
"The guy comes over to my car, and unfortunately my window was open, because he cold-cocked me. I mean, just sucker-punched me. Just bam!" Mazetier said.
The punch left quite a shiner on Mazetier.
"It hurts. It hurts right now," he said.
But he wasn't about to take a beating sitting down.
Read more
Court Turns Down Challenge To Jury's Use Of Bible
The Supreme Court has turned away a challenge from a death row inmate in Texas who claimed his constitutional rights were violated by jurors who consulted a Bible during deliberations.
Jurors reviewed a biblical passage relating that a murderer who used an iron object to kill "shall surely be put to death." They were deciding whether to impose a death sentence on Khristian Oliver for fatally shooting and bludgeoning his victim with the barrel of a gun.
The court previously has said that jurors should base their verdicts only on evidence presented in the courtroom.
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Jurors reviewed a biblical passage relating that a murderer who used an iron object to kill "shall surely be put to death." They were deciding whether to impose a death sentence on Khristian Oliver for fatally shooting and bludgeoning his victim with the barrel of a gun.
The court previously has said that jurors should base their verdicts only on evidence presented in the courtroom.
Read more
Fox News' Unhinged
Paranoid anti-government radicals used to have to rely on crude, inefficient methods of communication. Now they have Fox News.
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Friday, April 24, 2009
Today's Quote
"The difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next. The difference between the two is the difference between living fully and just existing."
Michael E. Gerber
Author of The E-Myth Revisited
Michael E. Gerber
Author of The E-Myth Revisited
26-year-old man with body of a two-year-old
Jerly Lyngdoh - who lives with his farmer parents in Meghalaya, northern India - looks like any other tot with his tiny head and delicate 2ft 9ins long body.
But it's only when he opens his mouth to reveal a full set of adult teeth that the truth about the world's oldest baby is revealed.
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Sea Levels Are Rising: It's Time to Decide Which Coastal Cities Are Worth Saving
Ice cubes the size of American states are melting into the ocean; we face frightening scenarios and tough choices for coastal habitation.
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Thursday, April 23, 2009
Randi Rhodes Returns To Talk Radio On Network Home Of Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck
Randi Rhodes, the liberal talk-radio host perhaps best known for her stint on the Air America radio network, is joining Clear Channel Inc.'s Premiere Radio Networks, home to Rush Limbaugh and many of the nation's most conservative voices.
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Here's The Joke
Mo and Jo are sitting in boat fishing, drinking beer and chewing tobacco when out of the blue Mo says, “I think I’m gonn a divorce my wife …… she ain’t spoke to me in over a month.”
Jo sips his beer and says, “Better think over, women like that are hard to find.”
Jo sips his beer and says, “Better think over, women like that are hard to find.”
Why Microsoft made the changes you'll see in Windows 7
As a result, every change or new feature in Windows 7 comes with a back story. Here is a sampling of things you'll see in the next operating system and explanations of how each came about.
— New feature: You decide the left-to-right order of icons in the task bar at the bottom of your screen.
— Back story: Microsoft's research showed Vista users commonly launching a series of programs, then closing and immediately reopening some. Microsoft realized that these people wanted their programs to appear in the same order on the task bar every time.
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— New feature: You decide the left-to-right order of icons in the task bar at the bottom of your screen.
— Back story: Microsoft's research showed Vista users commonly launching a series of programs, then closing and immediately reopening some. Microsoft realized that these people wanted their programs to appear in the same order on the task bar every time.
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Maher's audiences firing off boos when he disses Obama
If you watch "Real Time With Bill Maher" on HBO these days, you may have noticed something odd: the audience booing the host.
It happens almost every week now, usually after Maher says something critical of the president. Of course, six months ago this same audience would have cheered wildly had Maher ripped the then-occupant of the White House. Now, you'd swear from the reaction that he'd violated some taboo too weird even for pay cable.
Maher knows this. And he knows the viewers know it. And he wants to make one thing perfectly clear.
"That"—the stand-up act—"is just an entirely different animal than the television show."
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It happens almost every week now, usually after Maher says something critical of the president. Of course, six months ago this same audience would have cheered wildly had Maher ripped the then-occupant of the White House. Now, you'd swear from the reaction that he'd violated some taboo too weird even for pay cable.
Maher knows this. And he knows the viewers know it. And he wants to make one thing perfectly clear.
"That"—the stand-up act—"is just an entirely different animal than the television show."
Read more
On Prosecuting War Crimes
Barack Obama is not given the right by our Constitution to be the judge and jury for torturers. I include Bush and Cheney in this category although they committed other war crimes. Mr. Obama and our Congress took oaths to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the land. They must be reminded that they must do this job regardless of whether they think it is divisive or not.
If President Obama and the Congress do their jobs of enforcing the law with respect to torture and other Bush and Cheney war crimes, they will begin unraveling the web of deceit that has supported the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
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If President Obama and the Congress do their jobs of enforcing the law with respect to torture and other Bush and Cheney war crimes, they will begin unraveling the web of deceit that has supported the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
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Rachel Maddow: High Crimes
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Today's Quote
"A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs - jolted by every pebble in the road."
Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher
5 Tiny Steps to Quit Being Such a Jerk
I see so many inconsiderate people around me every day — people who only care about what they want and don’t think of others, don’t see things from the perspective of other people. People who cut you off in traffic, who cut in front of you in line, who say rude things, who take your parking spot, who hurt your feelings. I try to brush these things off, but it’s unfortunate that so many people are so inconsiderate.
Thing is, they aren’t trying to be mean or rude … they just aren’t thinking of others. And I don’t think they’re aware of this. I think they think they’re being perfectly fine, and don’t think of themselves as inconsiderate.
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Thing is, they aren’t trying to be mean or rude … they just aren’t thinking of others. And I don’t think they’re aware of this. I think they think they’re being perfectly fine, and don’t think of themselves as inconsiderate.
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Wanted: A new Wolfman at Clark's
The Wolfman, for the uninitiated, is one of Clark's Trading Posts most unique attractions, aside from, of course, the trained bear shows, which celebrate their 60th anniversary this summer.
During the daily steam train rides aboard the White Mountain Central Railroad, it's the Wolfman's job to scare the beejeebees out of the passengers, whom he believes are trying to jump his precious Unobtainium claim. He bursts out of the woods driving an ancient automobile, sets off firecrackers and yells at passengers to go home.
On the return journey, passengers have learned that to send the Wolfman back into the woods, they have to shout back "Scram you old goat!"
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During the daily steam train rides aboard the White Mountain Central Railroad, it's the Wolfman's job to scare the beejeebees out of the passengers, whom he believes are trying to jump his precious Unobtainium claim. He bursts out of the woods driving an ancient automobile, sets off firecrackers and yells at passengers to go home.
On the return journey, passengers have learned that to send the Wolfman back into the woods, they have to shout back "Scram you old goat!"
Read more
10 Environmental Disasters to Remember on Earth Day
Ten tragic lessons in our history that should never be forgotten. And one climate tragedy in the making that needs our urgent help.
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Smart Saving/Spending Ideas for Your Tax Refund
If you expect to receive a tax refund this year, consider the following smart ways to spend, save or invest the money to make the most of your tax return:
Open or add to a traditional or Roth IRA. Both offer tax advantages and help you save for retirement
Pay down your credit card debt. Consider starting with the highest interest-rate card.
Add to or open an emergency account. The size of your fund should be equal to at least six months worth of your living expenses.
Have your own ideas on what to do with your tax return? Register at www.FeedthePig.org and post your tips on the message boards.
Open or add to a traditional or Roth IRA. Both offer tax advantages and help you save for retirement
Pay down your credit card debt. Consider starting with the highest interest-rate card.
Add to or open an emergency account. The size of your fund should be equal to at least six months worth of your living expenses.
Have your own ideas on what to do with your tax return? Register at www.FeedthePig.org and post your tips on the message boards.
Here's The Joke
I was working in a scrap yard during summer vacation at
engineering university. I worked repairing construction
equipment.
One afternoon, I was taking apart a piling hammer that had
some very large bolts holding it together. One of the nuts
had corroded on to the bolt; to free it I started heating
the nut with an oxyacetylene torch. As I was doing this,
one of the dimmest apprentices I have ever known came along.
He asked me what I was doing. I patiently explained that if
I heated the nut it would grow larger and release its grip
on the bolt so I could then remove it.
"So things get larger when they get hot, do they?" he asked.
"Yes," I said, "that's why days are longer in summer and
shorter in winter."
There was a long pause, then his face cleared. "You know, I
always wondered about that," he said.
engineering university. I worked repairing construction
equipment.
One afternoon, I was taking apart a piling hammer that had
some very large bolts holding it together. One of the nuts
had corroded on to the bolt; to free it I started heating
the nut with an oxyacetylene torch. As I was doing this,
one of the dimmest apprentices I have ever known came along.
He asked me what I was doing. I patiently explained that if
I heated the nut it would grow larger and release its grip
on the bolt so I could then remove it.
"So things get larger when they get hot, do they?" he asked.
"Yes," I said, "that's why days are longer in summer and
shorter in winter."
There was a long pause, then his face cleared. "You know, I
always wondered about that," he said.
Most "green" products seen to make false claims
Just 2 percent of the growing number of self-proclaimed green products on store shelves make completely legitimate claims on their labels, a report by consulting firm TerraChoice Environmental Marketing said on Wednesday.
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'A Ton More People Were Wiretapped Than We've Been Led to Believe'
The man who blew the lid off Bush's spying program believes more details on government spying must, and will, come to light.
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Would a bill in Congress require looking into possible reparations for slavery?
Such a bill exists but President Obama has nothing to do with it, contrary to what a chain e-mail implies.
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Study finds plastic 'diet' in leatherback turtles
Leatherback turtles are ancient creatures with a modern problem: Plastic.
A new study looked at necropsy reports of more than 400 leatherbacks that have died since 1885 and found plastic in the digestive systems of more than a third of the animals. Besides plastic bags, the turtles had swallowed fishing lines, balloon fragments, spoons, candy wrappers and more.
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Ways to Celebrate Earth Day
So this year as we celebrate Earth Day let’s remember there are simple yet effective steps we can take to help preserve our world. Here are 4 things you can do right now to honor Earth Day this year:
1.) Replace your light bulbs with energy star bulbs. This simple step can reduce your carbon footprint by 450 pounds per year. And all you need to do is by energy efficient light bulbs and use them! There’s more information here at the official Energy Star web site: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=lighting.pr_lighting
2.) Plant a tree. Trees are Mother Nature’s all-in-one air conditioner and heater. It’s estimated that three properly-planted trees can reduce energy bills by as much as 30% - that’s both heating and cooling. Help out by planting a tree this year on Earth Day.
You can plant one in your yard or donate one to someone. If neither of those options work for you then consider donating a tree to one of our national parks. Find more at the Arbor Day Foundation’s web site: http://www.arborday.org/trees/
3.) Celebrate Earth Day locally. There are lots of events being held on Earth Day so find one and join in!
Whether you’re a student on campus, live in the suburbs or are an urban dweller you’ll find various events going on in your area. Pitch in, lend a hand and promote saving our Earth. Go to Earth Day’s web site to find what’s happening in your town: http://earthday.net/
4.) Buy local, organic food. By some estimates our US-grown produce travels up to 1500 miles before it reaches our neighborhood supermarket. When you calculate one gallon of gas creates 20 pounds of carbon dioxide you can see how much damage produce can do – and that’s for US-grown food.
Buying organic saves the Earth because you aren’t adding harmful chemicals into our eco-system (not to mention they aren’t going into your body).
Check out Local Harvest’s web site for more information: http://www.localharvest.org/buylocal.jsp
1.) Replace your light bulbs with energy star bulbs. This simple step can reduce your carbon footprint by 450 pounds per year. And all you need to do is by energy efficient light bulbs and use them! There’s more information here at the official Energy Star web site: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=lighting.pr_lighting
2.) Plant a tree. Trees are Mother Nature’s all-in-one air conditioner and heater. It’s estimated that three properly-planted trees can reduce energy bills by as much as 30% - that’s both heating and cooling. Help out by planting a tree this year on Earth Day.
You can plant one in your yard or donate one to someone. If neither of those options work for you then consider donating a tree to one of our national parks. Find more at the Arbor Day Foundation’s web site: http://www.arborday.org/trees/
3.) Celebrate Earth Day locally. There are lots of events being held on Earth Day so find one and join in!
Whether you’re a student on campus, live in the suburbs or are an urban dweller you’ll find various events going on in your area. Pitch in, lend a hand and promote saving our Earth. Go to Earth Day’s web site to find what’s happening in your town: http://earthday.net/
4.) Buy local, organic food. By some estimates our US-grown produce travels up to 1500 miles before it reaches our neighborhood supermarket. When you calculate one gallon of gas creates 20 pounds of carbon dioxide you can see how much damage produce can do – and that’s for US-grown food.
Buying organic saves the Earth because you aren’t adding harmful chemicals into our eco-system (not to mention they aren’t going into your body).
Check out Local Harvest’s web site for more information: http://www.localharvest.org/buylocal.jsp
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Today's Quote
"Make each day useful and cheerful and prove that you know the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will be happy, old age without regret and life a beautiful success."
Louisa May Alcott
1832-1888, Author
Louisa May Alcott
1832-1888, Author
Dear Boss
Dear Boss,
I have enjoyed working here these past several years. You have paid me very well, given me benefits beyond belief.
I have 3-4 months off per year and a pension plan that will pay my salary till the day I die and a health plan that most people can only dream about.
Despite this I plan to take the next 12-18 months to find a new position.
During this time I will show up for work when it is convenient.
In addition I fully expect to draw my full salary and all the other perks associated with my current job.
Oh yeah, if my search for this new job proves fruitless, I will be back with no loss in pay or status. Before you say anything,
remember that you have no choice in the matter. I can and will do this.
Sincerely,
Every Senator or Congressman running for President.
[Try that at your job and tell me how it works out.]
I have enjoyed working here these past several years. You have paid me very well, given me benefits beyond belief.
I have 3-4 months off per year and a pension plan that will pay my salary till the day I die and a health plan that most people can only dream about.
Despite this I plan to take the next 12-18 months to find a new position.
During this time I will show up for work when it is convenient.
In addition I fully expect to draw my full salary and all the other perks associated with my current job.
Oh yeah, if my search for this new job proves fruitless, I will be back with no loss in pay or status. Before you say anything,
remember that you have no choice in the matter. I can and will do this.
Sincerely,
Every Senator or Congressman running for President.
[Try that at your job and tell me how it works out.]
New orangutan population found on Borneo
A previously unknown population of rare orangutans has been discovered in the forests of Indonesian Borneo, raising hopes for the species' survival, conservationists said Monday.Up to 5,000 endangered Bornean orangutans are believed to be living in limestone mountains in East Kalimantan province after surveyors in December found 219 orangutan "nests", Nature Conservancy scientist Erik Meijaard told AFP.
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15 things you didn’t know your car and home insurance covers
Your insurance policies probably include coverage you’ve never thought about. In order for you to get the most value from your policy, check out these things that may already be included for your premium payments:
How to Go From Fat To Fit For Good
The journey of transforming your body from out of shape to fit as a fiddle is a long one with many twists and turns. It behooves you to focus on the end result at the onset of that journey because you may lose motivation as results come slowly. But if you can’t visualize the possibility of going from one extreme to another, you won’t be able to stay the course.
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Website of the Day -Nicolerichie.celebuzz.com
It's not what you'd imagine.
From her site:
Please, I urge you to take the time to watch the film “The Greatest Silence” (for info and purchase go to http://thegreatestsilence.org). The crisis in the Congo is fueled by conflict minerals, but I’ve included several steps below that we believe will also help to bring this vicious cycle to an end. By using our power as consumers and activists, we ALL can make an impact!
1. Join the Movement at www.raisehopeforcongo.org.
2. Text “CONGOPLEDGE” (one word, no spaces) to ACTION (228466) or visit www.raisehopeforcongo.org/special-page/conflict-minerals to endorse the Conflict Minerals Pledge.
3. Send emails to the industry leaders and ask them to be a leader on this issue by signing the pledge. Visit www.raisehopeforcongo.org/special-page/conflict-minerals to send your emails now.
4. Call the White House switchboard at 202.456.1414 or write to President Obama at www.whitehouse.gov and ask him to appoint a special envoy for the Great Lakes region.
From her site:
Please, I urge you to take the time to watch the film “The Greatest Silence” (for info and purchase go to http://thegreatestsilence.org). The crisis in the Congo is fueled by conflict minerals, but I’ve included several steps below that we believe will also help to bring this vicious cycle to an end. By using our power as consumers and activists, we ALL can make an impact!
1. Join the Movement at www.raisehopeforcongo.org.
2. Text “CONGOPLEDGE” (one word, no spaces) to ACTION (228466) or visit www.raisehopeforcongo.org/special-page/conflict-minerals to endorse the Conflict Minerals Pledge.
3. Send emails to the industry leaders and ask them to be a leader on this issue by signing the pledge. Visit www.raisehopeforcongo.org/special-page/conflict-minerals to send your emails now.
4. Call the White House switchboard at 202.456.1414 or write to President Obama at www.whitehouse.gov and ask him to appoint a special envoy for the Great Lakes region.
Want to Have Great Sex? Smoke a Joint
Marijuana has been used as an aphrodisiac for thousands of years. So what exactly is it about weed that turns people on?
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Paranoid Right-Wingers See Obama's Volunteer Service Project as Sinister Plot to 'Re-Educate' Americans
Who could be against helping veterans, the elderly, youth and the planet? 168 Congressional Republicans and scores of the lunatic fringe.
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Hopebroken and Hopesick: A Lexicon of Disappointment
by Naomi Klein
All is not well in Obamafanland. It's not clear exactly what accounts for the change of mood. Maybe it was the rancid smell emanating from Treasury's latest bank bailout. Or the news that the president's chief economic adviser, Larry Summers, earned millions from the very Wall Street banks and hedge funds he is protecting from reregulation now. Or perhaps it began earlier, with Obama's silence during Israel's Gaza attack.
Whatever the last straw, a growing number of Obama enthusiasts are starting to entertain the possibility that their man is not, in fact, going to save the world if we all just hope really hard.
Beanie Bo: First puppy (copy) for sale
Introducing: Bo, the Beanie Baby.
From the makers of "Marvelous Malia'' and "Sweet Sasha,'' those Beanie Babies that looked suspiciously like the first daughters at the White House -- a pair since renamed in the aftermath of objections from the First Lady -- comes a playful rendition of the Portuguese water dog that has taken up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
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Do immigrants and refugees get more in benefits than a retired U.S. citizen gets in Social Security?
This is nonsense. The claims propagated by a viral e-mail are not even close to the truth.
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Perfect For The Job
My first job was working in an orange juice factory, but I got canned... couldn't concentrate.
Then I worked in the woods as a lumberjack, but I just couldn't hack it,
so they gave me the ax.
After that I tried to be a tailor, but I just wasn't suited for it ...mainly because it was a so-so job.
Next I tried working in a muffler factory but that was too exhausting.
Then I tried to be a chef -- figured it would add a little spice too my life but I just didn't have the thyme.
I attempted to be a deli worker, but any way I sliced it, I couldn't cut the mustard.
My best job was being a musician, but eventually I found I wasn't noteworthy.
I studied a long time to become a doctor, but I didn't have any patience.
Next was a job in a shoe factory; I tried but I just didn't fit in.
I became a professional fisherman, but discovered that I couldn't live on my net income.
I managed to get a good job working for a pool maintenance company,
but the work was just too draining.
So then I got a job in a workout center, but they said I wasn't fit for the job.
After many years of trying to find steady work I finally got a job as a historian until I realized there was no future in it.
My last job was working at Starbucks, but I had to quit because it was always the same old grind.
SO I RETIRED AND I FOUND I AM PERFECT FOR THE JOB!
Then I worked in the woods as a lumberjack, but I just couldn't hack it,
so they gave me the ax.
After that I tried to be a tailor, but I just wasn't suited for it ...mainly because it was a so-so job.
Next I tried working in a muffler factory but that was too exhausting.
Then I tried to be a chef -- figured it would add a little spice too my life but I just didn't have the thyme.
I attempted to be a deli worker, but any way I sliced it, I couldn't cut the mustard.
My best job was being a musician, but eventually I found I wasn't noteworthy.
I studied a long time to become a doctor, but I didn't have any patience.
Next was a job in a shoe factory; I tried but I just didn't fit in.
I became a professional fisherman, but discovered that I couldn't live on my net income.
I managed to get a good job working for a pool maintenance company,
but the work was just too draining.
So then I got a job in a workout center, but they said I wasn't fit for the job.
After many years of trying to find steady work I finally got a job as a historian until I realized there was no future in it.
My last job was working at Starbucks, but I had to quit because it was always the same old grind.
SO I RETIRED AND I FOUND I AM PERFECT FOR THE JOB!
Red Cross 'gravely concerned' about detainees who 'disappeared'
The Central Intelligence Agency -- under President George W. Bush and now President Barack Obama -- has refused to allow the International Red Cross access to tortured detainees captured in the US war on terror, a new human rights report reveals.
The CIA's refusal, caught by veteran Newsweek correspondent Michael Isikoff and The Public Record, has prevented the group from finding out more information about detainees that were transferred by the Bush Administration after the revelation that they were being held in secret prisons.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a former Bush official told Isikoff that the Red Cross has not been informed of the detainees' whereabouts. Nor has the State Department received assurances that the detainees won't be tortured in their home countries where many of them have been transferred to, the official said. The issue is particularly important to human rights groups because of a recently leaked Red Cross report that concluded the US tortured some terrorist suspects captured under the Bush Administration.
"This issue has been hiding in plain sight—but nobody has connected the dots," the former official is quoted as saying.
"The majority of the people in the CIA program are unaccounted for," John Sifton, a human-rights investigator and lawyer told Isikoff. "We don't know what happened to them."
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The CIA's refusal, caught by veteran Newsweek correspondent Michael Isikoff and The Public Record, has prevented the group from finding out more information about detainees that were transferred by the Bush Administration after the revelation that they were being held in secret prisons.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a former Bush official told Isikoff that the Red Cross has not been informed of the detainees' whereabouts. Nor has the State Department received assurances that the detainees won't be tortured in their home countries where many of them have been transferred to, the official said. The issue is particularly important to human rights groups because of a recently leaked Red Cross report that concluded the US tortured some terrorist suspects captured under the Bush Administration.
"This issue has been hiding in plain sight—but nobody has connected the dots," the former official is quoted as saying.
"The majority of the people in the CIA program are unaccounted for," John Sifton, a human-rights investigator and lawyer told Isikoff. "We don't know what happened to them."
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Monday, April 20, 2009
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