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Post by pegasus on Feb 2, 2012 8:05:59 GMT -7
Happy Groundhog's Day
 Good evening from Tuxy  and me
:)This is the 33rd day of 2012 with 332 days left in the year.
 Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 6:03 p.m., it's cloudy  , temp 29ºF [Feels like 23ºF], winds NNW @ 6 mph, humidity 78%, pressure 30.20 in and rising, dew point 24ºF, chance of precipitation 10%.
 Today in History:
1536--Buenos Aires,, Argentina was founded.
1653--New Amsterdam - now New York City - was incorporated.
1812--Staking a claim to the riches of the Far West, Russians establish Fort Ross on the coast north of San Francisco.
1847--the 1st Donner Party member dies.
1848--the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, ending the Mexican War.
1876--the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs was formed in New York.
1882--James Joyce, the Irish author of Ulysses, was born near Dublin; died 1941 at age 59.
1887--Groundhog Day, featuring a rodent meteorologist, was celebrated for the first time at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa.
1912--Frederick R. Law parachuted from the torch of the Statue of Liberty in a stunt filmed by Pathe News.
1942--a Los Angeles Times column by W.H. Anderson urged security measures against Japanese-Americans, arguing that a Japanese-American "almost inevitably ... grows up to be a Japanese, not an American."
1942--Quisling becomes prime minister of the puppet Nazi regime in Norway.
1943--the remainder of Nazi forces from the Battle of Stalingrad surrendered in a major victory for the Soviets.
1949--the US rejected a proposal for a conference with Stalin.
1961--hijackers of a Portuguese ocean liner, the Santa Maria, allowed the passengers and crew to disembark in Brazil, 11 days after seizing the ship.
1970--Antiwar protestors sued Dow Chamical.
1971--Idi Amin assumed power in Uganda following a coup.
1979--punk rock musician Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols died of a drug overdose at age 21.
1990--South African President F.W. de Klerk lifted a ban on the African National Congress and promised to free Nelson Mandela.
2002--inside the World Economic Forum in New York, foreign economic leaders criticized the United States for protectionist policies while outside, 1000s of protesters demonstrated against global capitalism.
2007--a grim report from the world's leading climate scientists said global warming has begun, is "very likely" caused by humans and will be unstoppable for centuries.
2007--Texas Gov. Rick Perry issued an order making Texas the first state to require that schoolgirls get vaccinated against HPV, a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.
2009--Hillary Rodham Clinton was sworn in as U.S. secretary of state.
2011--supporters of President Hosni Mubarak charged into Cairo's central square on horses and camels brandishing whips while others rained firebombs from rooftops in what appeared to be an orchestrated assault against protesters trying to topple Egypt's leader of 30 years.
 World News Capsules:
1. Taliban captives dispute US view on Afghanistan war.
....A NATO report based on interrogations portrays an insurgency convinced it is winning even as the US and its allies enter what they hope will be the Afghan war's final phase.
2. China considers offering aid in Europe's debt crisis.
 ....Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said China might be willing to help finance Europe’s stabilization by working with the International Monetary Fund.
3. Many Egyptians blame military for the soccer riots that killed more than 70.
....At least 73 people died in a brawl, refocusing attention on the failure of the government to re-establish order and threatening to provoke a new crisis during a political transition.
a. Fury at soccer game deaths drives new clashes.
....Egypt began three days of official mourning after at least 73 people were killed in a soccer brawl that underscored the interim government’s failure to re-establish order.
4. Olympic housing crunch: London landlords evict tenants to gouge tourists.
....Landlords in Britain's capital are evicting tenants so they can cash in on this summer's Olympic Games by charging tourists many times the usual rent. Homes in the east London boroughs where many events are to be held are fetching between five and 15 times their typical rates as properties are rebranded as short-term "Olympic lets." Some landlords are also enforcing expensive "penalty" clauses for tenants who want to remain during the gathering of the world's top athletes.
a. Questions on haking gor Times of London.
....The hacking scandal at Rupert Murdoch’s British newspapers widened on Thursday when a lawmaker said police investigations had spread to the flagship Times of London.
5. A testament from Guatemala's war years.
....As Guatemala brings genocide charges against a former military leader, Jean-Marie Simon prepares to reissue her seminal book of photographs from that country's bloodiest era.
6. Effort to rebrand Arab Spring backfires in Iran.
....Iran invited young activists to Tehran for a conference on the 'Islamic Awakening,” but the fact that no one from Syria’s opposition was invited disrupted the whole script.
7. Israel warns Iranian missiles might threaten US.
....A senior official tried to make the point that the Iranian nuclear program is not a threat only to Israel but, as he put it, “a nightmare for the free world.”
8. North Korea renews demands for improved relations with South.
....North Korea issued a long list of strident demands that it said South Korea should meet before ties could improve between them.
9. Pakistan court to charge prime minister with contempt.
....Pakistan’s highest court said it would charge Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani with contempt of court for refusing to reopen a corruption case against Pres. Asif Ali Zardari.
9. Protesters in Gaza throw shoes and sticks at UN chief.
 ....Demonstrators in the Gaza Strip threw sticks and slippers at a vehicle carrying the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, accusing him of bias, witnesses said.
10. More than 200 rescued after ferry sinks off Papua New Guinea.
 ....It's happened again - another ferry sinking! The vessel, the MV Rabaul Queen, went down off Papua New Guinea’s northeast coast.
11. Philippine officials say raid killed militants.
 ....In an early-morning raid, the government killed a top leader of a regional terror network with links to Al Qaeda, as well as other suspects wanted by the US.
12. For latest anti-Putin rally, fight the cold as well as the Kremlin.
 ....The temperature was expected to drop to 10 degrees below zero, and protest organizers are offering winter fashion advice as well as promising to keep the speeches short.
13. South Korean indicted over twitter posts from North.
 ....South Korean prosecutors indicted Park Jung-geun, a social media and freedom of speech activist this week for reposting messages from the North Korean government’s Twitter account.
14. Open borders and wealth lure thieves to Geneva, Switzerland.
 ....In Geneva, a city known for tranquility and safety, reported cases of property theft rose 23 percent last year, to about 61,000.
125 Diplomats at UN work on revisions to Syria resolution.
....Ambassadors worked on a revised Syria resolution, as bartering focused on the conditions under which Pres. Bashar al-Assad could be asked to step down/
 US News Capsules:
1. Big jobless claims drop reflects improving labor market.
....New claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected in the latest week, showing that the labor market continues to improve, albeit slowly and in fits and starts. "This is certainly a positive in front of non-farm payrolls and further supports the view that the U.S. economy is creating more jobs with the prospect for a lower unemployment rate. Perhaps we can break below 8 percent by year end," BNY Mellon senior currency strategist Michael Woolfolk stated.
2. From founders to decorators, Facebook riches.
....Among the venture capitalists who'll benefit from Facebook's IPO, there's a graffiti artist who took Facebook shares for his painting the walls of the social network's first headquarters.
3. Key Internet operator VeriSign hit by hackers.
....VeriSign Inc, the company in charge of delivering people safely to more than half the world's websites, has been hacked repeatedly by outsiders who stole undisclosed information from the leading Internet infrastructure company.
4. Snow heading for central US, but not areas north.
...One of the few snowy stormfronts so far this winter is about to hit the central U.S., but snow-starved areas in the north -- from Minnesota to New England -- won't be getting any.
5. 550 sexual abuse claims filed against Milwaukee Archdiocese.
....About 550 people are asking for restitution for alleged sexual abuse by clergy in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee — more than in any of the other U.S. dioceses that have filed for bankruptcy protection, according to a lawyer involved in the Milwaukee case.
6. Bloomberg pledges $250,000 donation to Planned Parenthood.
....Billionaire New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg pledged on Thursday to give $250,000 of his own money to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America after breast cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure withdrew funding for the group. "Politics have no place in health care. Breast cancer screening saves lives and hundreds of thousands of women rely on Planned Parenthood for access to care," Bloomberg said in a statement. "We should be helping women access that care, not placing barriers in their way."
7. Path is found for the spread of Alzheimer's.
 ....The discovery in studies of mice solves a mystery surrounding the
disease's grim march and has immediate implications for developing treatments, researchers said.
8. In networks' race for ratings, chicanery is on the schedule.
....Strategies include front-loading national commercials early in a show and extending hit shows a minute or two into the following hour.
9. Brutal crimes grip an Indian reservation.
....On a huge stretch of scrubland in central Wyoming, a two-year federal crime-fighting initiative has made little difference on the rambling stretch of scrub in central Wyoming the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined. Wind River has a crime rate five to seven times the national average and a long history of ghastly homicides.
10. ART: Note to Christo: Don't start hangng te fabric yet.
....Federal land managers have approved a proposal to drape fabric over nearly six miles of the Arkansas river for an art project, but some local residents are not happy.
POLITICS:
1. In the realm of 'who cares'? Sources say Trump to endorse Romney.
....Just what we need - another rich white guy (with his famous hair) who is not concerned about the poorer little people.
2. Committee to Attorney Geneeral Holder - 'Give us the documents'.
....Attorney General Eric Holder squared off with Republicans on a House committee who are demanding that the Justice Department turn over documents about its handling of congressional inquiries into a flawed gun-smuggling investigation known as Operation Fast and Furious.
3. Secrecy shrouds 'Super PAC' funds in latest filings.
....Newly disclosed details of the millions of dollars flowing into political groups highlight not just the scale of donations from corporation and unions but also the secrecy surrounding "super PACs."
4. Mortgage relief plan aims at refinancing.
....Pres. Obama said a new package of legislation would make it easier for millions of homeowners to refinance at today's historically low interest rates.
5. Downturn and upstarts transform Nevada's GOP caucuses.
 ....Economic hardship and the Tea Party have changed the political landscape of a state that Mitt Romney won in 2008.
6. For GOP, pipeline is central to agenda.
 ....Keystone XL, the Canadian pipeline, has become a centerpiece of the Republican economic and political agenda, and the party’s preferred truncheon against Pres. Obama.
7. In Massachusetts, little PAC money for Warren or Brown.
....A report on fourth-quarter donations shows that the two leading Senate candidates in Massachusetts got most of their money from individual donors/
 Today's Headlines of Interest:
Chaotic scenes as injured soccer fans return to Cairo after riot.
The head of Egypt's ruling military council, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, vowed Thursday to track down those behind soccer violence that killed at least 74 people in Port Said, speaking in a rare phone call to an Egyptian TV channel.
"These kind of events can happen anywhere in the world but we will not let those behind this get away," Tantawi said, speaking to the sports television channel owned by Al Ahly, one of the teams playing. He said victims would receive compensation after their cases were examined.
At least 47 people were arrested in connection with the melee, Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said.
Now, isn't that a typical teen? Texting while being transported, by plane, to the hospital.
Obama signals an end to the war in Afghanistan.
Republicans pounce, but Obama could be giving himself a strong talking point ahead of November's vote. There is a growing sentiment within the Obama administration that its approach to Iraq, where the official end of U.S. combat operations came 16 months before the final U.S. troop withdrawal in December, may provide a useful model for winding down operations in Afghanistan.” This is a big deal on a number of fronts. But politically, consider this: It gives President Obama the ability to say -- by his convention speech in early September -- that the two wars he inherited are over or on the road to being mostly over.
Komen CEO denies politics behind cuts to Plnned Parenthood.
Faced with growing criticism, Nancy G. Brinker rejects accusations that the breast cancer research group bowed to political pressure. Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker said that the decision was made to revamp and strengthen the way the organization makes grants.
Her comments were challenged by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who accused Brinker of trying to “change the story,” in which officials first said that Planned Parenthood funds were being cut because of pending investigations. “This is a complete revisionist comment she is making about why suddenly Planned Parenthood lost this funding,” Boxer said.
Planned Parenthood provides abortion, birth control and other health services to women. It had received about $700,000 annually from Komen to provide access to mammograms for low income women. The grants provided screening services to about 170,000 women in the past five years, Senator Boxer said. The Komen foundation, known for its Race for the Cure fundraisers, has collected more than $1.9 billion for breast cancer research and programs. It has affiliates in more than 100 U.S. cities and 50 countries.
 Thought for Today
"Mistakes are the portals of discovery."
—-James Joyce, Irish author (1882-1941)
 Today's flower: Bauhinia blakeana or orchid tree - a tropical tree, with large thick leaves and striking purplish red flowers. The fragrant, orchid-like flowers are usually 4-5 inch across
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Post by pegasus on Feb 3, 2012 12:01:42 GMT -7
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me
:)This is the 34th day of 2012 with 331 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 12:52 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 35ºF [Feels like 29ºF], winds WNW @ 8 mph, humidity 62%, pressure 30.46 in and falling, dew point 21ºF, chance of precipitation 21%.
Today in History:
1783--Spain formally recognized American independence.
1809--Felix Mendelssohn, German composer & pianist was born; died 1847 at age 38.
1865--Pres. Lincoln and Confederate Vice Pres. Alexander H. Stephens held a shipboard peace conference off the Virginia coast; the talks deadlocked over the issue of Southern autonomy.
1874--Gertrude Stein, American expatriate author 7 literary stylist, was born; died 1946 at age 72 in Paris, France.
1809--the territory of Illinois was created.
1913--the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, providing for a federal income tax, was ratified.
1917--the US broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, which had announced a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
1924--Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States, died in Washington, D.C., at age 67.
1930--the chief justice of the US, William Howard Taft, resigned for health reasons. (He died just over a month later.)
1943--the US transport ship Dorchester, which was carrying troops to Greenland, sank after being hit by a German torpedo; of the more than 900 men aboard, only some 230 survived.
1959--rock 'n' roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson died in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.
1959--an American Airlines Lockheed Electra crashed into New York's East River, killing 65 of the 73 people on board.
1966--the Soviet probe Luna 9 became the first manmade object to make a soft landing on the moon.
1971--Apollo 14 astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr. and Edgar D. Mitchell landed on the lunar sufrace during the 3rd successful manned mission to the moon.
1971--New York City police officer Frank Serpico, who had charged there was widespread corruption in the NYPD, was shot and seriously wounded during a drug bust in Brooklyn.
1972--the XI Olympic Winter Games opened in Sapporo, Japan.
1988--the US House of Representatives rejected Pres. Reagan's request for more than $36 million in aid to the Nicaraguan Contras.
1994--the space shuttle Discovery blasted off with a woman, Air Force Lt. Col. Eileen Collins, in the pilot's seat for the first time.
1998--a US Marine plane sliced through the cable of a ski gondola in Italy, sending the car plunging hundreds of feet, killing all 20 people inside.
2002--former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay backed out of testifying before Congress about the collapse of the energy giant.
2002--more than 40 people were killed in an earthquake in Turkey.
2006--an Egyptian passenger ferry sank in the Red Sea during bad weather, killing more than 1,000 passengers.
2007--Pres. Bush designated four central Florida counties disaster areas in the wake of tornadoes that had ripped through the region, leaving 21 dead.
2007--a suicide truck bomber struck a Baghdad market in a predominantly Shiite area, killing 137.
2011--tens of thousands of protesters staged unprecedented demonstrations against Yemen's autocratic president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, a key U.S. ally in battling Islamic militants.
World News Capsules:
1. 3 die in Egypt protests as anger at deadly riot spills into 2nd day; US tourists freed.
....Police in Cairo fired salvos of tear gas and birdshot at rock-throwing protesters on a second day of street violence that left three people dead and more than 1,500 injured, doctors and health officials said.
a. 2 American tourists kidnapped in South Sinai released.
....South Sinai Police Chief Maj. Gen. Mohammed Naguib said that he has sent a car to pick up the two American women after the deal was made following negotiations with Egyptian Bedouin tribesmen. Naguib said earlier the kidnappers wanted the release of fellow tribesmen who were arrested but he isn't releasing details.
2. British hackers: We intercepted FBI - Scotland Yard call.
....a sensitive conference call between the FBI and Scotland Yard was recorded by the very people they were trying to catch, the hacking group known as Anonymous claimed. Anonymous also published an email purportedly sent by an FBI agent which gave details and a password for accessing the call.
3. Mexico's 'super labs' send meth pouring into US.
....The number of methamphetamine “super labs” seized by Mexican authorities has rocketed in the last five years but shipments of the drug across the border have also continued to grow, according to government statistics. The increase highlights how Mexico’s cartels have diversified beyond their traditional focus of exporting cocaine, heroin and marijuana by transforming their operations to also make methamphetamines on an industrial scale.
4. UN: Somali famine over but 2.3 milion still at risk.
....The UN said that conditions have improved enough to downgrade the country's famine, but the world body's Food and Agricultural Organization warned that continued assistance is needed to stop the region from slipping back.
US News Capsules:
1. Komen cancer charity reverses, will fund Planned Parenthood.
....Decision comes after top Komen official resigns in protest over move. "We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives."
2. Jobless rate falls to 8.3%, lowest in almost 3 years.
....The U.S. economy created jobs at the fastest pace in nine months in January and the unemployment rate dropped to a near three-year low, offering a hopeful sign for hiring in the year ahead.
a. Strong job report drives NASDAQ to 11-year high.
....U.S. stocks rose, propelling the NASDAQ index to an 11-year high and sending the Dow Jones industrial average to its highest in nearly five years.
3. Major winter storm pummels Colorado, closing roads.
....A powerful winter storm swept across Colorado on Friday as it headed east, bringing blizzard warnings to eastern Colorado and western Kansas, and winter storm warnings for southeast Wyoming and western Nebraska. The Colorado Department of Transportation closed portions of Interstate 70 and Interstate 25, the two main arteries crisscrossing the state. The National Weather Service said snow was falling at 2 inches an hour on the Eastern Plains, producing blizzard conditions.
4. Too crazy to kill? Supreme Court might decidel.
....Edwin Haart Turner robbed a gas station near Carrolton, Miss. and fatally shot a clerk in the face and a customer in the head, but his lawyers say, it’s almost certain that he was – and still is – mentally unbalanced. For that reason, says Turner’s attorney, Jim Craig of the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center, Turner should not be put to death.
5. No, really: 'Candy Land' game to be movie.
....You remember "Candy Land" the board game. Everyone played it when they were too young to read. We all loved it as a game, but really, a movie? Really? Adam Sandler will star, and his Happy Madison production company will make the film. <And it probably will be a major hit, shudder>
POLITICS:
1. Partisan reaction to jobs data mixes carping and cheering.
.... What’s likely to be a boost to Pres. Obama’s chances of winning a 2nd term, nonfarm payroll employment jumped by 243,000 last month as the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since February of 2009.
2. Congress may OK short-term stimulus to avoid problems, but fiscal train wreck looms.
....The signs look hopeful for a short-term accord in Congress on extending the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits. But right after Election Day, a lame-duck Congress will face a horrific fiscal train wreck: sharp tax increases, combined with automatic spending cuts -- and scanty reserves of political goodwill to help clinch a deal to avert that outcome.
3. House ready to consider Senate-passed insider trader ban.
....With members of Congress convinced their political survival depends on their image, the House is wasting no time in considering a Senate-passed bill that would ban insider trading by lawmakers and thousands of executive branch officials.
4. As Republicans battle, Obama keeps eye on independents.
....The bruising Republican primary battle has allowed President Obama and his campaign to craft and refine their re-election message, tailoring it to win over a bloc with which the president faces his most glaring vulnerability: independents.
Today's Headlines of Interest:
 Where the (good) jobs are coming from.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) this week released a detailed forecast for how it expects the job market to change in the current decade (the '10s?). Among the findings: Jobs that require some sort of postsecondary degree for entry are expected to grow at the fastest clip from 2010 to 2020. The report found that jobs that require a masters’ degree or more are projected to grow by 21.7% over that decade, to a little more than 2.4 million total jobs, compared with just 12.2% growth in jobs that require only a high school diploma.
The number of jobs that require a doctoral or professional degree will grow by 19.9%, to nearly 5.3 million, while the number that require a college degree is expected to grow 16.5% to a total of 25.8 million. The BLS predicts that by 2020 about 69.7 million jobs, or nearly 43% of the total, will only require a high school diploma to get in the door.
Many of the net new jobs to be added in coming years will be in health care and social assistance fields, reflecting our aging population and increased medical needs. Other industries expected to see big job growth will be playing catch-up from the recession. For example, the outlook calls for about 1.8 million new construction jobs to be created in coming years, making it one of the sectors with the highest job growth. But the BLS notes that even if the projections are correct and construction employment reaches nearly 7.4 million, that will be fewer jobs than before the recession began in 2007.
 Cold case: 1940s starlet's death is a mystery.
(Jean Elizabeth Spangler, a television actress, went missing in 1949.)
It was one of those cases that seemed straight out of pulp fiction, a noir mystery written by one of those hard-boiled scribes who liked to surround damsels in distress with mobsters and movie stars. Yet it was real life. And it defied solution. Not because there were no clues. Perhaps because there were too many--all pointing in different directions. "It's absolutely a classic noir mystery," said Denise Hamilton, a former LA Times reporter turned novelist. She reveals that her mystery, The Last Embrace, was inspired by the Spangler case.
The late 1940s was a time when the studios still reigned over Hollywood, the mob ruled the Sunset Strip, and crooked politicians and police brass ran Los Angeles. A divorced mother of a 5-year-old, Spangler was still looking for her big break, and making time for an active social life. "She's a party girl. She goes out with a lot of people: gangsters, movie stars, Hollywood executives. They found her little black book after she disappeared, and there were a lot of prominent names in it," said Hamilton. She was last seen near her Park LaBrea area apartment on the Friday evening of Oct. 7, 1949.
Over that weekend, a Griffith Park Ranger found a purse near the entrance to Ferndell. Inside was Spangler's ID, and also a cryptic note addressed to someone named Kirk. "Kirk: Can't wait any longer," it began. "Going to see Dr. Scott. It will work best this way while mother is away." Perhaps it was written in a hurry. It was not signed. "Well, the supposition was that she was pregnant by this Kirk and that she was going to have an abortion," said Hamilton. One acquaintance said Spangler was coming to the end of the first trimester.
The most famous Kirk then in Hollywood was the actor Kirk Douglas, who had just finished filming, Young Man with a Horn, in which Spangler had a small role. Douglas spoke twice with LAPD investigators, insisting there was no personal relationship. Detectives believed him, and Douglas was cleared. Since abortion was then illegal, it was assumed that Dr. Scott was a phony name, and who he might have been was never pinned down.
Hamilton speculates there may have been a medical complication, perhaps it was fatal, and perhaps Dr. Scott--whoever he was--decided to hide the remains. This was less than three years after the infamous Black Dahlia murder. The remains of victim Elizabeth Short had been surgically severed. The Black Dahlia case has never been solved officially. And the possibility Spangler died during an illegal abortion remains a possibility never proven.
Detectives at the time pursued other leads. Shortly before her disappearance, Spangler had been seen partying in Las Vegas with two hoods named Frank Niccoli and Davey Ogul, henchman for LA mob boss Mickey Cohen. They also disappeared about the same time. Like Spangler, they were never found. Perhaps Spangler got caught in the wrong place with the wrong people at the wrong time. Possible, but never proven.
Spangler had spoken of expecting to come into some money, prompting speculation that perhaps she was planning to blackmail someone. Perhaps that someone responded by killing her. Again, possible, never ruled out, but never proven. Finally, there were ongoing tensions with her ex-husband, Dexter Benner. After their divorce, the child custody dispute over their daughter had been fierce. Benner accused Spangler of being an "unfit mother," and the sensational headlines in the local papers gave her more name recognition than she had gotten for her budding movie career.
Hamilton suspects we may never learn what happened to Spangler. That of course, is part of the enduring fascination. "The Jean Spangler case is a cautionary tale for all of us," Hamilton said. And we're drawn to the darkness like moths to a flame."
 ACLU sues library for not allowing access to online porn
The American Civil Liberties Union is suing a Washington state library district for not offering access to online porn, Seattle's King 5 TV reports. When a user logs on to a computer at the Wenatchee public library, for example, and types "porn" into the search engine, the list of results will appear as if porn doesn't exist, according to King 5.
The search censorship by the North Central Regional Library also means some websites -- such as Google Images and YouTube -- are blocked too. The board decided the filter serves its mission to promote reading and lifelong learning. "We believe having pornography in public places hurts our ability to accomplish our mission," Dan Howard, director of public services, told King 5.
The ACLU is representing three library users and a nonprofit organization, and argues that federally funded libraries should disable their filters upon the request of an adult. “This case is about an overly broad filtering policy that has restricted an adult student from using the Internet for a class assignment and a professional photographer from accessing art galleries online,” ACLU cooperating attorney Duncan Manville said in a statement.
The North Central Regional Library district, which is the largest in the state and represents 28 libraries in the central part of Washington, admits its policy puts it in the minority among the state's libraries. For example, despite repeated complaints from women about men watching porn in full view of their children, the Seattle Public Library held fast to its policy of unrestricted online access for adults, according to the Seattle Post Intelligencer. The paper says the King County Library System has a similar policy: it only filters kids' access on computers. The American Library Association endorses the same stance. "Sometimes, in a library, you're going to see information that's going to make you uncomfortable," Barbara Jones, director of the association's intellectual freedom office, told radio station KUOW Wednesday.
The district won the case in the state Supreme Court two years ago, but the case is now pending in a federal court. As much as I dislike the idea, I have to say that I agree with the practice of adult access to whatever they want and restrictions putting on minor's viewing.
Thought for Today
"The path of civilization is paved with tin cans."
—-Elbert Hubbard, author & publisher (1856-1915).
Today's flower: Ochna thomasiana or bird's eye bush/Mickey Mouse plant - originates in tropical Africa with the Ochna species in Vietnam called "Mai" which is the Spring flower of Vietnam.
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Post by pegasus on Feb 4, 2012 8:52:52 GMT -7
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me
:)This is the 35th day of 2012 with 330 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 10:52 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 35ºF [Feels like 31ºF], winds N @ 6 mph, humidity 71%, pressure 30.30 in and falling, dew point 26ºF, chance of precipitation 10%.
Today in History:
1783--Britain's King George III proclaimed a formal cessation of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War.
1789--electors chose George Washington to be the first president of the US.
1861--delegates from six southern states that had recently seceded from the Union met in Montgomery, Ala., to form the Confederate States of America.
1902--Charles A. Lindbergh, the American aviator who became the first man to fly the Atlantic solo nonstop from the US to Europe, was born; died 1974 at age 72.
1932--New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt opened the Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid, NY.
1938--the Thornton Wilder play Our Town opened on Broadway.
1941--the United Service Organizations (USO) came into existence.
1946--Pres. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin began a wartime conference at Yalta.
1948--the island nation of Ceylon - now Sri Lanka - became an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth.
1962--a rare conjunction of the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn occurred.
1962--St. Jude Children's Research Hospital was founded in Memphis, Tenn., by entertainer Danny Thomas.
1972--Mariner 9, orbiting Mars, transmitted images of the red planet.
1974--newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was kidnapped in Berkeley, Calif., by the Symbionese Liberation Army.
1976--more than 23,000 people died when a severe earthquake struck Guatemala with a magnitude of 7.5.
1977--the album Rumours by Fleetwood Mac was released.
1982--Pres. Reagan announced a plan to eliminate all medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe.
1983--pop singer-musician Karen Carpenter died at age 32 of anorexia in Downey, Calif.
1997--a civil jury found O.J. Simpson liable for the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
1999--four plainclothes New York City police officers fired 41 bullets at West African immigrant Amadou Diallo in front of his Bronx home after mistaking his wallet for a gun and killed him.
2002--Pres. Bush proposed a $2.13 trillion budget, including billions for fighting terrorism.
2002--the World Economic Forum concluded five days of meetings in New York.
2003--Yugoslavia was dissolved and replaced with a loose union of its remaining two republics, Serbia and Montenegro.
2004--the Massachusetts high court declared that gays were entitled to marry.
2004--the social networking website Facebook was launched.
2011-- Pres. Obama appealed to Egyptian Pres. Mubarak to focus on his legacy and begin an orderly process to relinquish the power he'd held for 30 years.
World News Capsules:
1. UN: Afghan civilian deaths in war hit record high.
(Begging for alms during snowstorm)
....3,021 civilians killed last yer, a rise of 8% - 'Behind these numbers is real suffering and loss for families in Afghanistan.
a. Driven away by a war, now stalked by winter's cold.
....In the past month, at least 22 Afghan children under the age of 5 have frozen to death in refugee camps in Kabul, prompting deep concerns among aid workers.
2. In Beijing's building frenzy, even an 'immovable cultural relic' is not safe.
 ....The demolition of a historic house in the imperial city, once home to famous architects who championed historic preservation, is a cruel blow to conservationists.
3. Protests over soccer match riot continue in Egypt.
....By Saturday, at least 11 people had been killed around the country in the clashes, The Associated Press reported.
a. As clashes continue, Egypt socceer riot becomes metaphor for government failure.
 ....Five people were killed on the second day of clashes between protesters and the police as demonstrators questioned the ruling military council’s ability to run the country.
4. Panetta and Clinton seek to reassure Europe on defense.
....Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sought to reassure Europe that the US was not abandoning its partners across the Atlantic.
a. As Europe shivers, Russia and Ukraine point fingers over natural gas supply to the West.
....Low supplies in Western Europe have caused tension to the east during an especially frigid winter.
5. Departure of British official shakes Cameron's coalition.
 ....Chris Huhne, the energy and climate chief, is accused of perverting the course of justice in a 2003 speeding case.
6. Greek premier faces impasse over demand to cut private wages.
 ....Prime Minister Lucas Papademos faces a deadlock over proposed demands by Greece’s foreign lenders to reduce private-sector wages in exchange for aid the country needs to prevent default
7. UN nuclear inspectors' visit to Iran is a failure, West says.
 ....The assessment came as Iran's supreme leader lashed out at the US, vowing to retaliate against oil sanctions and threats of military action.
8. Israeli defense minister implies strike on Iran is near.
....Tensions between Israel and Iran are on the rise after a group of top Israeli leaders engaged in a round of saber-rattling on Thursday and Iran’s Supreme Leader answered on Friday with a pledge to "remove" Israel.
9. In Myanmar, Karen rebels deny signing a cease-fire.
 ....The defiant stance of the rebels’ leadership appears to be a significant setback for the government’s efforts to end ethnic and civil conflicts that have divided the country for decades.
10. Nepal releases 1000s of former fighters as part of peace deal.
....The fate of the Maoist fighters, who had been living in encampments under guard for the past six years, has been a key sticking point in Nepal’s still incomplete peace process.
11. Russia's biggest protesst in 20 years? Vast crowd protests Putin's power.
....'Real Russian patriots should stay at home and make babies... not loiter at demonstrations,' Russia's deputy prime minister said amid continuing anger over disputed elections, as tens of thousands of Russians defied bitter cold in Moscow to demand fair elections.
a. From success at Putin's side to exposing corruption.
 ....Sergei Kolesnikov became a prosperous businessman and part of the crony capitalist web surrounding Vladimir V. Putin. Now he is waging a risky campaign to expose corruption.
12. 'Campaign of killing': UN weighs call for Syria's Assad to step down.
....UN Security Council ambassadors on Saturday debated a draft resolution backing an Arab League call for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down.
a. UN resolution fails as Syrian violence worsens.
....Russia, China veto measure calling for Pres. Assad to step down; activists say more than 200 killed in city of Homs.
b. Damascus avoids blood of uprising, but not pain.
....Life is growing harder in the Syrian capital, President Bashar al-Assad's stronghold, as residents complain about electricity rationing, shortages of food and gas, and soaring prices.
c. Waiting in the wings, a survivor of three decades of Syrian politics.
 ....Farouk al-Shara, 74, vice president and loyal disciple of Pres. Bashar al-Assad, would almost certainly become temporary president under an Arab League peace proposal.
US News Capsules:
1. Struggling for warmth.
 ....In a Maine winter, the need for heating oil is vital, and some families have been unable to sufficiently heat their homes.
2. In fuel oil country, cold that cuts to the heart.
....Cuts in a federal energy-assistance program have left some families struggling to pay for oil to heat their homes.
3. Activists fight green projects, seeing UN plot.
 ....Suspicious of government initiatives, protesters linked to the Tea Party are denouncing all manner of measures they equate with a 1992 United Nations resolution, Agenda 21.
4. Texas drought forces a town to sip from a truck.
 ....The well of Spicewood Beach in central Texas is among 13 public water systems throughout the state that are projected to run out of water in 180 days or less.
5. Tax break increases deficit, but may have sislver lining.
....A tax break added billions to the federal government's current deficit, but the government says it should recoup 80% of the shortfall in the future.
6. Job gains reflect hope a recovery is blooming.
 ....The front wheels have lifted off the runway. Now, Americans are waiting to see if the economy can truly get aloft.
a. Obama's magic number may be 150,000 jobs per month.
....With 243,000 jobs created in January, the economy is starting to look more positive. That might be a plus for the president in the November election.
7. The $1.6 billion woman, staying on message.
....Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s No. 2 executive, considers herself a role model for women. But her call isn’t simply about mentoring and empowering, it’s also a business strategy.
POLITICS:
1. GOP candidates are told, don't use the verses, it's not your song.
....Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are just the latest Republicans to stop using songs at their rallies after songwriters complained that the campaigns had played the pieces without permission.
2. Florida mega-casino bill is withdrawn.
 ....A big-money measure fails its first legislative test and its backers must wait at least until next year to try again.
3. Gingrich's deep ties to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
 ....Newt Gingrich’s record as speaker shows that his ties to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae run deeper and farther back than he has acknowledged.
4. In Las Vegas, making sure the caucuses accommodate.
 ....As the number of Orthodox Jews in Nevada continues to grow, a special Republican caucus has been organized for Saturday night, and is expected to draw a few hundred Sabbath observers.
5. Republican candidates wrangle over Nevada.
 ....With polls showing a double-digit lead over Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney met with business leaders in northern Nevada. Mr. Gingrich, meanwhile, cast himself as the insurgent spoiler at a Las Vegas rally.
6. House approves 4 years of funds for aviation programs.
....After several years of stopgap financing, a longterm plan will help pay for such items as airport expansion
Today's Headlines of Interest:
For mentally ill inmates, health care beind bars is often out of reach.
In an overwhelmed incarceration system, it's often cheaper and easier to just leave detainees untreated, experts say. According to criminal justice experts, many jails and prisons have struggled to adequately handle mentally ill inmates. Few areas of the country, they say, have the money and resources and staff to handle such a challenging population. "The Supreme Court has established that you have a constitutional right to a basic level of adequate health care, which now includes mental health care," Thomas Hafemeister, an associate professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said "They've recognized that there tends to be limited resources in this setting. As long as a qualified professional has examined the inmate and exercised his or her judgment as to what needs to be done, that's all that is required."
Nationwide, prevalence of severe mental illness among inmates is at least 15 %, said Richard Bonnie, director of the University of Virginia’s Institute of Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy. “There are many factors at work here, but many us involved in this field are convinced that diversion from the criminal justice system into mental health services … can alleviate the problem without compromising public safety,” he said, Jail diversion options include drug courts, where a substance abuse program is worked out instead of a jail sentencing; mental health courts, where a behavioral contract including drug tests and treatment appointments is drawn up; and sometimes, assignment to a mental health probation officer who is trained to handle mental issues and knows how to direct someone to health services.
And it doesn't always have to be expensive to divert those with mental issues, added Osher."What many systems are coming to realize is if you provide alternatives, then you can reduce length of stay. You can actually have this be a resource-neutral event. It doesn't necessarily require an infusion of dollars," he said. "We're spending tons of money warehousing, having people in a revolving door without producing good outcomes."
Thought for Today
"The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children."
—-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian (1906-1945).
Today's flower: Calodendrum capense or cape chestnut flowers - It is not only a tree of the Cape, but also a tree of Africa. It occurs along the south and east coast of southern Africa, North West and Northern Province and into tropical Africa as far north as Tanzania and Ethiopia.
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Post by pegasus on Feb 5, 2012 12:54:58 GMT -7
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me
:)This is the 36th day of 2012 with 329 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 2:25 p.m., it's partly cloudy  , temp 33ºF [Feels like 29ºF], winds SW @ 5 mph, humidity 54%, pressure 30.15 in and falling, dew point 19ºF, chance of precipitation 10%.
Today in History:
1631--the co-founder of Rhode Island, Roger Williams, and his wife, Mary, arrived in Boston from England.
1762--an estimated 30,000 Sikhs were slain by Muslims in Punjab in present-day India.
1783--Sweden recognized the independence of the US.
1811--George, the Prince of Wales, was named Prince Regent due to the mental illness of his father, Britain's King George III.
1881--Phoenix, Ariz., was incorporated.
1887-Verdi's opera Otello premiered at La Scala.
1917--the US Congress passed, over Pres. Wilson's veto, a law severely curtailing the influx of Asians.
1914--Mexico's constitution was adopted..
1937--Pres. Roosevelt proposed increasing the number of Supreme Court justices; critics charged Roosevelt was attempting to “pack” the court.
1958--Gamel Abdel Nasser was nominated to become the first president of the new United Arab Republic, a short-lived union of Syria and Egypt.
1971--Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell stepped onto the surface of the moon in the first of two lunar excursions.
1988--the Arizona House of Representatives impeached Gov. Evan Mecham, who was later convicted in the state Senate and removed from office.
1988--Panamanian military leader Gen. Manuel Noriega was indicted on bribery and drug trafficking charges in Florida.
1989--the Soviet Union announced that all but a small rear-guard contingent of its troops had left Afghanistan.
1994--white separatist Byron De La Beckwith was convicted in Jackson, Miss., of murdering civil rights leader Medgar Evers in 1963.
2001--four followers of Osama bin Laden went on trial in New York in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa.
2002--a federal grand jury indicted John Walker Lindh, the so-called "American Taliban," of conspiring with the Taliban to kill Americans.
2007--Pres. Bush unveiled a $2.9 trillion budget which proposed a big spending increase for the Pentagon while pinching domestic programs.
2007--NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak was arrested in Orlando, Fla., accused of trying to kidnap a perceived rival for the affections of a space shuttle pilot.
2011--the leadership of Egypt's ruling party stepped down as the military figures spearheading the transition tried to placate protesters without giving them the one resignation they were demanding, that of Pres. Mubarak.
World News Capsules:
1. US plans shift to elite units as it winds down in Afghanistan.
 ....In ending its combat role in Afghanistan a year earlier than expected, the US will rely more on special forces that hunt insurgent leaders and train local troops, officials say.
a. Afghan suicide attack targets police in Kandahar.
....Sunday’s attack was the fourth such bombing or attempted bombing in Kandahar in almost a month.
2. China fires 7 officials after spill.
....The spill, which affected 200 miles of the Longjiang River in southern China, was caused by two companies that accidentally released tons of cadmium.
a. 3 Tibetan herders self-immolate in anti-Chinese protest.
....The latest cases bring the total self-immolations by ethnic Tibetans over the past year to 19.
3. US pro-democracy workers face trial in Egypt.
....Nineteen Americans, including Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's son, referred for criminal trials in a politically charged dispute over the activities and funding of pro-democracy groups, judicial sources said, deepening a row with the US.
a. Egyptian forces appear to end siege of ministry.
....Security forces erected two walls bisecting streets that had been central battlegrounds between security forces and protesters calling for the end of military rule.
b. Protests over soccer match riot continue in Egypt.
....A standoff between police and protesters ended with stone throwing and tear gassing.
4. Greek talks at a delicate point.
 ....The Greek finance minister said that debt talks on a second rescue deal were “on a razor’s edge,” with major issues unresolved ahead of a crucial deadline.
4. Qaddafi's arms, appropriated by old allies, reinvigorate rebel army in Mali.
....After fighting for Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, 100s of Tuareg rebels helped themselves to some of his weapons and returned to Mali to continue a longstanding rebellion.
6. In biting cold, protesters pack the center of Moscow.
 ....A 3rd huge rally was undeterred by the arctic cold or by the near certainty that Vladimir V. Putin will win a six-year term as Russia's president next month.
7. ANC keeps suspension of a leader.
....A party appeals panel upheld the five-year suspension of the firebrand youth leader Julius Malema from the African National Congress Youth League.
8. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lambastes 'travesty' of UN veto on Syria.
....Clinton called Sunday for "friends of democratic Syria" to unite and rally against President Bashar Assad's regime, previewing the possible formation of a formal group of likeminded nations to coordinate assistance to the Syrian opposition.
US News Capsules:
1. Killers' families left to confront fear and shame.
....In a society where headlines of violence are almost commonplace, the families of the perpetrators are largely unheard from. But now some relatives have decided to share their stories.
a. The murderer's shadow.
....To the family members of his victims, Ronnie Lee Gardner was a violent killer. To Mr. Gardner’s own family, he was a father and soul mate whose destructive personality left deep emotional scars.
2. The upside of dyslexia.
....The condition makes it harder to learn to read. But it also seems to offer visual advantages.
3. Taking more seats on campus, foreigners also pay the freight.
 ....At the University of Washington, 18% of the freshmen are foreigners, and each pays about three times as much as students from Washington State.
4. Pennsylvania schools' financing fight pits district against 'charter on steroids'.
 ....The Chester Upland district's fiscal woes – so severe that it cannot afford to pay teachers past the end of this month – are compounded by a charter school with which it shares its financing.
5. With levees rated 'Unacceptable,' officials along the Mississippi fight back.
 ....Officials and residents in the Mississippi River flood plain known as the American Bottom say the Army Corps of Engineers overreacted after Hurricane Katrina.
6. MUSIC: Jubilees and living histories.
(The Beach Boys)
....The Rolling Stones, the Chieftains, the Beach Boys and El Gran Combo, all 50 years old and still relevant.
7. DANCE: Tharp's new tale, woven in dance.
 ....Twyla Tharp tackled the task of building a narrative ballet from the ground up. The result was a fantastical work based on a story by George MacDonald and set to music by Schubert.
8. A mortgage tornado warning, unheeded.
....Inspired by a personal experience, a businessman began delving into the practices of the mortgage industry, including Fannie Mae. His findings have been prescient.
9. Facebook users ask, "Where's our cut?"
 ....Without the free content created by its 850 million users, Facebook would surely not be on the verge of a multibillion-dollar initial public offering,
10. Do manufacturers need special treatment?
 ....Government manufacturing policies must go beyond the belief that it’s better to produce “real things” than services. People value health care and haircuts as much as washing machines and hair dryers.
11. Take this mitt, and pass me the broadsword.
 ....Curt Schilling, the former Boston Red Sox pitcher, left baseball to start 38 Studios, a video game company, maker of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.
POLITICS:
1. Romney wins Nevada caucus with broad GOP support, solidifying momentum.
....In winning the Nevada Republican caucuses, Mitt Romney added another victory in a campaign built on organization and momentum.
2. Gingrich patron could have a Plan B: Romney.
 ....The casino magnate Sheldon Adelson has relayed assurances that he will donate millions more toward defeating Pres. Obama even if his candidate is not the nominee, associates said.
Today's Headlines of Interest: Not on Sunday.
Thought for Today
"Impatience is the mark of independence, not of bondage."
—-Marianne Moore, poet (1887-1972).
Today's flower: Dillenia indica - native to southeastern Asia, flowers are large, 5-8 inche-diameter, with five white petals and numerous yellow stamens.
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Post by pegasus on Feb 12, 2012 17:40:44 GMT -7
Good evening from Tuxy and me
:)This is the 43rd day of 2012 with 322 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 12:52 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 20ºF [Feels like 20ºF], winds WNW @ 3 mph, humidity 59%, pressure 29.89 in and rising, dew point 10ºF, chance of snow70%.
Today in History:
1554--Lady Jane Grey, who had claimed the throne of England for nine days, and her husband, Guildford Dudley, were beheaded after being condemned for treason.
1733--English colonists led by James Oglethorpe founded Savannah, Ga.
1795--the University of North Carolina became the first US state university to admit students.
1809--Abraham Lincoln, 15th Pres. of the US, was born in present-dy Larue County, Ky.; died 1865 at age 56 (shot by Southern sympathizer John Wilkes Booth).
1809--Charles Darwin, English naturalist who originated the theory of evolution by natural selection, was born in Shrewsbury; died 1882 at age 73.
1818--Chile officially proclaimed its independence, more than seven years after initially renouncing Spanish rule.
1870--women in the Utah Territory gained the right to vote.
1880--John L. Lewis, labor leader who founded the United Mine Workers and the CIO, was born; died 1969 at age 89.
1908--the first round-the-world automobile race began in New York. (It ended in Paris the following July with the drivers of the American car, a Thomas Flyer, declared the winners over teams from Germany and Italy.)
1909--the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded in New York City.
1912--Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, abdicated, marking the end of the Qing Dynasty.
1915--the cornerstone for the Lincoln Memorial was laid in Washington, D.C., a year to the day after groundbreaking.
1940--the radio play The Adventures of Superman debuted with Bud Collyer as the Man of Steel.
1959--the redesigned Lincoln penny — with an image of the Lincoln Memorial replacing two ears of wheat on the reverse side — went into circulation.
1973--Operation Homecoming began as the first release of American prisoners of war from the Vietnam conflict took place.
1999--the US Senate voted to acquit President Bill Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.
2000--Charles M. Schulz, creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip, died at age 77.
2001--the NEAR spacecraft touched down on Eros, completing the first landing on an asteroid.
2002--the war crimes trial of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic began in The Hague.
2002--Pakistan charged three men in connection with the kidnapping of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Karachi (they and a fourth man were later convicted of Pearl's murder). 2002--an Iranian passenger jet crashed, killing all 119 on board.
2004--defying a California law, San Francisco officials began performing weddings for same-sex couples.
2007--teen gunman Sulejman Talovic shot 9 people, killing 5, at a Salt Lake City mall before he was shot and killed by police.
2007--car bombs shattered Baghdad's oldest and largest market, killing at least 78 people.
2009--a commuter plane crashed into a suburban Buffalo, N.Y., home, killing all 49 aboard and a person in the house.
2011--1000s of Algerians defied government warnings and dodged barricades in their capital, demanding democratic reforms.
World News Capsules:
1. Risks of Afghan war shift from soldiers to contactors.
 ....More civilian contractors working for American companies than American soldiers died in Afghanistan last year for the first time, and some survivors are left uncompensated.
a. In Afghanistan, a Soviet past lies in ruins/u].
....Kabul holds many glimpses of its Soviet past hidden in plain sight around its jumbled hillsides - sobering artifacts that now confront the US and its allies as they begin pondering what their own legacy might be.
2. In charged moment, China's political heir tries introducing himself to the US.
 ....Xi Jinping, China's vice president and presumptive next president, will make a cross-country swing and be scrutinized for hints of future stances on crucial issues.
3. Hacking cases focus on memo to a Murdoch.
 ....Discovered just three months ago, an e-mail from June 2008 sent to James Murdoch discussed in frank terms the potentially disastrous scale of phone hacking at News International. Eight arresed on "suspicion of corruption" included five employees of The Sun tabloid.
4. Rioting spreads as Greek lawmakers OK deeply unpopular austerity bill.
....The legislation will allow the country to cut debt; violence breaks out in several cities.
5. Strike ends as Israel and unions reach pact.
....Israel’s first general strike in five years ended with an agreement that improves conditions for nonunionized contract workers used by government agencies.
6. Libya asks Niger to extradite Qaddafi son after remarks.
....During a televised phone interview, Col. Qaddafi’s son Saadi called on Libyans to prepare for a “coming uprising."
7. Arab League wants UN peacekeepers to assist Syria.
....Arab League called for the UN Security Council to create a joint peacekeeping force for Syria, the latest effort by the regional group to end the 11-month old crisis that has killed more than 5,000 people.
US News Capsules:
1. Greece will put stocks' rally to the test tomorrow.
.....Wall Street will debate whether this is beginning or end of eurozone's debt crisis.
2. Even critics of safety net incrasingly depend on it.
....The government safety net was created to keep Americans from abject poverty, but the poorest households no longer receive a majority of government benefits.
3. A newspaper, and a legacy, reordered.
....The Washington Post, shrinking its scope as it looks to a digital future, is undergoing one of the most sweeping reorientations of any newspaper in the country.
4. Struggling cities turn to a crop for cash.
 ....Sometimes lost in the discussion of medical marijuana is the extent to which it has become a small but growing source of new tax revenue to cities and states.
5. European crude drives up US gas prices.
....A sharp increase in the price of North Sea oil helped drive US gasoline prices up about 12 cents a gallon since late January, according to a new nationwide survey.
POLITICS:
1. After three losses, Romeny edges pass Paul in Maine.
....Mitt Romney won 39% of the vote in Maine's nonbinding caucuses, winning a small margin over Ron Paul and averting embarrassment after losses in three states.
a. Romney's path to 'Pro-Life' position on abortion.
 ....After supporting abortion rights early in his political career, Mitt Romney is working to reinforce his credentials among conservatives.
2. For Gingrich, choice between wooing voters or donors.
....Newt Gingrich is making a detour to California this week in search of money to keep his campaign going, but that will limit the time he has to spend with voters
3. Occupy movement regroups, preparing for its next phase
.
 ....With encampments largely gone, the challenge is to keep the Occupy cause alive through methods like strikes and protests, which risk alienating people rather than galvanizing them.
4. Bishops reject White House's new plan on contraception.
....The US Conference of Catholic Bishops said a compromise offered by President Obama on birth control coverage did not go far enough in protecting religious liberty.
a. Lew defends new contraception policy.
....White House Chief of Staff Jacob Lew stood by the administration’s recent policy change on contraception coverage Sunday, arguing the new plan ensures women can keep their “right to preventive care” while religious institutions can respect their principles.
[ibToday's Headlines of Interest[/b][/u]: Thought for Today"Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still." —[/i]Harry S. Truman , 33rd Pres. of the US (1884-1972).
Today's flower: Blueberry candy daylily - A repeat bloomer, it also is heavily budded, with many flowers opening on the stem at once.
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Post by pegasus on Feb 13, 2012 8:32:58 GMT -7
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me
:)This is the 44th day of 2012 with 321 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 12:52 p.m., it's partly cloudy  , temp 27ºF [Feels like 27ºF], winds S @ 3 mph, humidity 61%, pressure 29.86 in and falling, dew point 25ºF, chance of precipitation 10%.
Today in History:
1542--the 5th wife of England's King Henry VIII, Catherine Howard, was executed for adultery.
1635--the Boston Public Latin School, the first public school in what is now the US, was founded.
1741--Andrew Bradford of Pennsylvania published the first American magazine. The American Magazine, or A Monthly View of the Political State of the British Colonies lasted three issues.
1861--Abraham Lincoln was officially declared winner of the 1860 presidential election as electors cast their ballots.
1891--Grant Wood, painter, was born; died 1942 at ge 50.
1914--the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) was founded in New York City.
1920--the League of Nations recognized the perpetual neutrality of Switzerland.
1935--a jury in Flemington, N.J., found Bruno Richard Hauptmann guilty of first-degree murder in the kidnap-death of the infant son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh.
1945--allied planes began bombing the German city of Dresden.
1945--the Soviets captured Budapest, Hungary, from the Germans.
1947--the NCAA's all-time winningest basketball coach, Mike Krzyzewski of Duke, was born.
1960--France exploded its first atomic bomb in the Sahara Desert
1961--the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York announced that three statues in its collection, supposedly Etruscan terra cotta warriors, were, in fact, forgeries.
1980--the 13th Winter Olympics opened in Lake Placid, N.Y
1991--during Operation Desert Storm, allied warplanes destroyed an underground shelter in Baghdad that had been identified as a military command center; Iraqi officials said 500 civilians were killed.
2000--Charles Schulz's final Peanuts comic strip ran in Sunday newspapers, the day after the cartoonist died at age 77.
2002--Britain's Queen Elizabeth II made former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani an honorary knight.
2002--country singer Waylon Jennings died in Chandler, Ariz., at age 64.
2005--Ray Charles won eight posthumous Grammy awards for his final album, Genius Loves Company.
2007--former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney officially entered the 2008 presidential race in Michigan, the place of his birth.
2008--seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens denied having taken performance-enhancing drugs in testimony before Congress.
2011--Egypt's military leaders dissolved parliament, suspended the constitution and promised elections in moves cautiously welcomed by protesters who'd helped topple Pres. Mubarak.
World News Capsules:
1. Bahrain youths and police clash.
....Youths lob gasoline bombs at the police near Manama as violence escalated ahead of the anniversary of the uprising last year.
2. Apple iPads seized by China in name dispute.
....Authorities have seized Apple iPads from retailers in a city in northern China due to a dispute with a domestic company that says it owns the iPad name. The Chinese company said it is asking for similar action in more than 20 other cities. The move threatens to complicate Apple's efforts to sell the iPad in its fastest-growing market.
a. Apple asks outside group to inspect factories.
....Apple said the Fair Labor Association had begun auditing working conditions at Chinese factories where Apple products are made. The first inspections involved a Shenzhen factory known as Foxconn City,
b. Hong Kong, China battle over anchor baby births.
....A growing global phenomenon driven by Chinese with wherewithal and wealth as a China that – even as it continues to grow and open up to the rest of the world – still faces a restrictive enough present and an uncertain enough future that they choose to give birth outside of China.
3. Release near of Islamic preacher held by Britain.
....Abu Qatada, whose real name is Omar Othman, was cleared for release after a judge signed off on harsh bail conditions early Monday.
4. Rage against cuts: Athens rioters burn 45 buildings.
....One in five civil service jobs will be axed and minimum wage will be slashed by more than a fifth.
a. As Greece inches toward bailout, obstacles remain.
....A host of technical, legal and political problems still confront the architects of a rescue that is unpopular both in Greece and in its creditor nations.
5. Indonesia court accuses militant in Bali blast.
....An Indonesian court indicted Umar Patek on charges including premeditated murder for his alleged role in the 2002 terrorist bombings on the resort island of Bali.
6. For Iraqis, aid to rebels in Syria repays a debt.
....Syrians sent money and weapons to Iraq and accepted its refugees just a few years ago; now Iraqis hope to return the favor.
7. Israel accuses Iran of bombings in India, Georgia.
....Israel's prime minister on Monday accused Iran of being behind a pair of car bombings against Israeli diplomatic targets in India and Georgia.
8. Political turmoil threatens archaeological treasures in Maldives.
....Amid the recent political turmoil that has racked the nation, a half dozen men stormed into a museum last Tuesday and ransacked a collection of coral and lime figures.
9. Pakistani leader indicted.
. ...Pakistan's highest court indicts Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on charges of contempt of court.
10. TV in Putin's Russia: Jesters, strivers and a longing for normalcy.
 ....After a decade of Vladimir V. Putin’s rule, Russian television has shed its dispirited past and embraced a more playful self-awareness, with hints of the country’s harsher realities.
11. Arab League steps up pressure on Syria and calls for UN help.
....The Arab League's foreign ministers called on Arab nations to sever diplomatic relations with Syria in an effort to pressure it to end the violence there.
a. UN rights chief deplores inaction over Syrian assault.
....Navi Pillay publicly castigated Syria’s leaders, accusing them of intensifying their deadly crackdown after the Security Council failed to reach a solution.
12. Three executed by militants for helping US in Yemen.
...Islamists in southern Yemen said they beheaded two Saudis and one Yemeni for working with Saudi intelligence services, helping the US to target drone strikes.
US News Capsules:
1. Adele wins big with 6, Whitney is honored at Grammys.
....Late singer's death turns music awards show into bittersweet occasion. Soul singer Adele triumphed in her return to music's stage on Sunday, scooping up six Grammys and winning every category in which she was nominated including album of the year for 21 and best record with "Rolling In the Deep."
2. Winner yet to claim Powerball $336 million jackpot in Rhode Island.
....The winner of Saturday's $336.4 million Powerball jackpot bought the ticket at a Stop & Shop supermarket in Newport, Rhode Island Lottery officials say. The winning numbers were 1-10-37-52-57 and the Powerball was 11 and was the third largest in Powerball history.
3. 'Tragic accident': Pastor's daughter shot at Florida church
.
....Worshpper accidentally fired gun through wall and shot the pastor's daughter in the head at the Grace Connection Church in St Petersburg, Fla. Moises Zambrana was showing his gun in a small closet to another church member interested in buying a firearm. Zambrana reportedly took out the magazine of the Reuger 9mm weapon but did not know there was a bullet in the chamber.
4. Washington governor signs gay marriage bill into law.
....The measure takes effect June 7 to become the 7th state to allow gay couples to wed, but opponents plan challenges on multiple fronts.
5. Police: Houston found unconscious and underwater.
....Los Angeles assistant chief coroner Ed Winter said his office has not discussed with Houston's family whether prescription medications and drowning played a role in in her death. The autopsy began Sunday, but tess to detect thepresence of alcohol or drugs could take several weeks to complete.
6. Admiral seeks freer hand in deployment of elite forces.
....Adm. William H. McRaven, who leads the Special Operations Command, is seeking new authority to move his forces more quickly and outside normal deployment channels.
7. Mooresville's shining example (It's not just about the laptops).
....A North Carolina school district has quietly emerged as a model digital school, with thousands of laptops issued to students and test scores up across the board.
8. Pentagon wants to raise some retirees' health fees.
....Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta proposed nearly quadrupling the health insurance fees of many working-age military retirees to reduce Pentagon spending.
9. With tips from whistle-blowers, more hands on deck on pollution cases.
 ....Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta proposed nearly quadrupling the health insurance fees of many working-age military retirees to reduce Pentagon spending.
POLITICS:
1. Obama budget plan includes big tax increase - on millionaires.
....Obama will propose that millionaires pay a minimum tax rate of 30%t and will project a budget deficit of $901 billion in FY2013, representing 5.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), down from $1.33 trillion, or 8.5% of GDP this year.
a. Republicans see broken promises and gimmicks in Pres. budget.
....Republicans savaged the president’s proposed budget for fiscal 2013 as weak on deficit reduction and strong on gimmicks.
2. Romney survives two weekend challenges.
....Perhaps the best way to view Mitt Romney’s weekend is that he survived - won the Maine caucuses and the CPAC straw poll after his “severely conservative” line.
a. Romney runs as an outsider but makes room for lobbyists
.
 ....Mitt Romney is running against the entrenched interests of Washington with help from some of its most prominent insiders.
3. As stock market rallies, so do the odds of Obama's reelection.
....Pres. Obama’s odds of re-election later this year are growing alongside the Standard & Poor’s 500 index’s biggest rally to start a year since 1991, suggesting that investors are growing more confident in the U.S. economy. The broad stock market gauge has climbed as much as 7.5 percent in 2012, the most in 21 years. At the same time, unemployment is falling and the Federal Reserve has promised to spur growth by keeping interest rates near zero through 2014.
4. Obama to propose community college aid.
....Pres. Obama will propose an $8 billion program with the goal of training two million workers for well-paying jobs in high-demand industries, officials said.
Today's Headlines of Interest:
Super PAC supporting Ron Paul is operated by a 9/11 'truther'.
As libertarian Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul looks for a state he can win, some of his supporters have turned to a new theme: voting fraud. A Super PAC supporting Paul has pledged to monitor the vote in all the remaining states, using an army of exit pollsters to fight what it calls results that are "outrageous, unacceptable and patently un-American."
As with many other so-called "independent" Super PACs, which can receive unlimited donations outside the normal rules of campaign finance, the Revolution PAC is operated by people with close ties to the candidate. The leader of the group, its founder, chairman and treasurer, is Gary Franchi, a promoter of conspiracy theories and sophisticated social-media entrepreneur in the resurgent movement known as the Patriots. The 34-year-old political activist from the Chicago suburbs said that his goal is a "non-violent intellectual revolution, which results in a full restoration of the federal Constitution."
- Franchi has supported the 9/11 Truth Movement, which supports the idea that the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, werean inside job to create a pretext for a reduction in American liberty, or at least involved a cover-up, with the World Trade Center brought down by a planned U.S. demolition, instead of terrorist-controlled airplanes.
- Franchi is one of the leading promoters of a resurgent Patriot conspiracy theory that alleges the government is creating concentration camps for U.S. citizens." In 2009 he co-wrote and co-produced the video "Camp FEMA: American Lockdown," which claims that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is creating concentration camps on air bases and in vacant buildings to house political dissenters when the federal government proclaims martial law.
- Franchi operates Restore the Republic, which opposes the Federal Reserve, the IRS and the income tax, decries the control of the economy by the Rockefellers and the "banking cartel," and warns of government plans to plant RFID microchips into all Americans.
Paul has had a vague and uncertain connection with fringe views and conspiracy peddlers for decades. In several cases he has welcomed their support, neither repudiating their views nor explicitly endorsing them. And this is the man that some otherwise rational people are willing to vote as the potential GOP candidate for president of the United States? As much as I hate to say it, the more I see and read about the various GOP candidates, the better Romney looks as the only one with rtional plans for the country.
'Habitable' planets could become stripped dry.
Alien planets might experience tidal forces powerful enough to remove all their water, leaving behind hot, dry worlds like Venus, researchers said. These findings might significantly affect searches for habitable exoplanets, scientists explained. Although some planets might dwell in regions around their star friendly enough for life as we know it, they could actually be lifelessly dry worlds.
The tides that we experience on Earth are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun. Our tides are nothing compared to what we see elsewhere in the solar system — the gravitational pull Europa experiences from Jupiter leads to tidal forces roughly 1,000 times stronger than what Earth feels from our moon, flexing and heating Europa. Heat is a major factor in how capable a planet might be of supporting life as we know it. What scientists call the habitable zone of a star is defined by whether liquid water can survive on its surface, given that life exists virtually wherever there is liquid water on Earth. Too far from a star, and the lack of light makes a world too cold, freezing all its water; too close to a star, and all that blazing heat makes a world too hot, boiling all of its water off in what is known as a runaway greenhouse effect. Venus is often thought to have experienced a runaway greenhouse effect. Eventually, solar radiation broke up all of Venus's vaporized water into hydrogen and oxygen, which leaked away from the planet entirely.
Now scientists find that stellar heat is not the only thing that can trigger a runaway greenhouse climate catastrophe. Tidal heating can too, for what they call "tidal Venuses." "This has fundamentally changed the concept of a habitable zone," said researcher Rory Barnes, a planetary scientist and astrobiologist at the University of Washington. "We figured out you can actually limit a planet's habitability with an energy source other than starlight." Tidal Venuses could not occur around stars like our sun because the effects of tides fall off rapidly with distance, Barnes noted. However, tidal Venuses could occur around dimmer and much less massive bodies — main-sequence stars less than a third the mass of our sun, for instance, or failed stars known as brown dwarfs, or dead stars such as white dwarfs. These bodies have been of interest to astrobiologists because their dim nature means their habitable zones are theoretically very close. Planets near their stars eclipse them more often, making them easier to detect than planets that are farther away — for that reason, researchers had thought dim, low-mass stars could be ideal places to find habitable worlds,
As terrestrial worlds are found around dim bodies, factoring these findings into searches for habitable exoplanets could result in scientists wasting less time on dry worlds. "As candidates for habitable worlds are found, tidal effects need careful attention," Barnes said. "You don't want to waste time on desiccated planets." Barnes noted that more work needed to be done analyzing how the effects of tidal heating might actually manifest themselves. "We'll have to be careful when assessing objects that are very near dim stars, where the tides are much stronger than we feel on present-day Earth," said planetary scientist Norman Sleep at Stanford University, who did not take part in this research."Even Venus now is not substantially heated by tides, and neither is Mercury." It could be that instead of triggering a runaway greenhouse effect, tidal heating might actually warm otherwise frigid planets enough for them to have liquid water on their surface, Sleep added. "Whether or not something could stay habitable or not through this mechanism is unclear to me," he cautioned. The next step "is to consider how multiplanet systems affect the results," Barnes said. "We've looked at just a single star and a single planet evolving together, but when you have additional planets, you introduce gravitational perturbations, and how will that affect orbits and tidal heating and habitability? They could very well increase the threat of catastrophic tidal heating."
As any reader of my daily bulletins must realize, I'm fascinated by anything having to do with the investigation of our universe. It often puts the specualtion found in science fiction to shame, opening up magnificent vistas for speculation of all manner of things. And, naturally, I have been and will continue to be a strong supporter of NASA or any other comparable space exploration agency.
Where is Uno? What 5 Westminster winners do now.
Westminster Kennel Club Best in Show winners typically bow out of their show careers after taking the prestigious prize and go on to produce puppies, become therapy dogs or just master the art of sofa lounging. Here’s a look at how five past champs now spend their time.
1. 2011 - Hickory the Scottish deerhound has babies and chases bears.
Motherhood was the path taken by GCh. Foxcliffe Hickory Wind, the elegant Scottish Deerhound owned by Dr. R. Scott and Cecilia Dove of Virginia. After becoming the first in her breed to take Best in Show in the history of Westminster, Hickory has since produced nine puppies, who are currently four months old. Also, she runs for miles every day on the family farm, in the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. Although she's normally calm and serene, once outdoors, Hickory turns into a keen coursing dog, who has even been known to drive a bear up a tree.
2. 2010 winner: Sadie the Scottish terrrier kicks back at home[
/b].
As with many champions, the next stage for Sadie involved puppies., giving birth to five pups in March 2011. Since then, Sadie has become more of a homebody, living with handler Gabriel Rangel in Rialto, Calif. It's been reported that Sadie enjoys watching her favorite TV channel — Animal Planet, of course. She also relishes curling up in a dog bed with Rangel’s Chihuahua, Tad, and snacking on her favorite treat: hot dogs.
3. 2009 winner: Stump the Sussex spaniel spends time with friends.
Sussex Spaniel Ch. Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee recently celebrated his thirteenth birthday. At age 10, he was the oldest dog to take the top title at Westminster — and he was the first of his breed to do so. Now he is enjoying a well-deserved retirement with handler Scott Sommer of Texas. In other words, this lucky dog does pretty much whatever he wants, which mainly means hanging out with pal J. R. (Ch. Special Times Just Right), the Bichon Frise who won Best in Show in 2001.
4. 2008 winner: Uno the beagle reflects on past glories.
Uno had one of the busiest post-Westminster lives. Accompanied by Westminster announcer David Frei, Uno crisscrossed the country as an ambassador for his pet cause: canine therapy work. Since then, he has simply lived the life of a dog says co-owner Eddie Dziuk, chief operating officer of the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. “He lives with his co-owner, Caroline Dowell, and he’s a full-time house dog,” says Dziuk. “He sleeps in her bed, and hangs out with other Beagles.”
5. 2007 winner: James the English springer spaniel focused on pet therapy.
James was nearly seven years old when he won Best in Show, making him one of the oldest Springer Spaniels to take top honors at Westminster. After his win, he focused on a career in pet therapy with his owner, Teresa Patton, of Amissville, Va. The duo worked with Angel on a Leash and other pet therapy organizations, as well as raised nearly $15,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association by doing memory walks. “James had been doing pet therapy since he was seven months old, and he and I just picked up where he left off,” says Patton. He finished four rally titles and his first obedience title., but died last May, at age 11, from an aggressive form of lymphoma. His loss is still raw, says Patton, but his memory lives on in her garden, which is planted with purple and gold roses and sprinkled with his ashes. She will soon have a more tangible remembrance in the form of a litter due in March that was accomplished via a surgical implant.
The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show will air February 13 and 14 on the USA Network and CNBC. I'll be watching.
Thought for Today
"An explanation of cause is not a justification by reason."
— [/i]C.S. Lewis , English author (1898-1963).
Today's flower: Eight miles high daylily - mysterious black-red 8-inch blooms with dark eye and white edging above the green throat.   [/color]
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Post by pegasus on Feb 14, 2012 11:32:37 GMT -7
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me
:)This is the 45th day of 2012 with 320 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 1:12 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 36ºF [Feels like 32ºF], winds SSW @ 5 mph, humidity 76%, pressure 29.9 in and falling, dew point 29ºF, chance of precipitation 60%.
Today in History:
278--Valentine, a holy priest in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius, was beheaded.
1778--the American ship Ranger carried the recently adopted Stars and Stripes to a foreign port for the first time as it arrived in France.
1779--Patriots defeated Loyalists at Kettle Creek, Ga.
1779--Capt. James Cook, the great English explorer and navigator, is murdered by natives of Hawaii during his3ird visit.
1859--Oregon was admitted to the Union as the 33rd state.
1862--Confederate Pres. Jefferson Davis signed a proclamation making Arizona a Confederate territory.
1864--Union Gen. Sherman entered Meridian, Miss.
1876--inventors Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray applied separately for patents related to the telephone. (The U.S. Supreme Court eventually ruled Bell the rightful inventor.)
1886--the first trainload of oranges left Los Angeles.
1895--Oscar Wilde's final play, The Importance of Being Earnest, opened at the St. James's Theatre in London.
1903--the Department of Commerce and Labor was established and split into two in 1915.
1912--Arizona became the 48th state of the Union.
1919--Pres. Woodrow Wilson presents the draft of the covenant for the League of Nations
1920--the League of Women Voters was founded in Chicago; its first president was Maud Wood Park.
1929--the "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" took place in a Chicago garage as seven rivals of Al Capone's gang were gunned down.
1929--Sir Alexander Fleming accidentally discovered penicillin.
1943--German Gen. Rommel and his Afrika Korps launched an offensive against an Allied defensive line in Tunisia, North Africa in the battle of the Kasserine Pass.
1949--Israel's Knesset convened for the first time.
1962--first lady Jacqueline Kennedy conducted a televised tour of the White House.
1962--Pres. Kennedy authorized US advisors in Vietnam to fire in self-defense.
1979--Adolph Dubs, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, was kidnapped in Kabul by Muslim extremists and killed in a shootout.
1989--the Ayatollah Khomeini called on Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses, a novel condemned as blasphemous.
1989--In Nicaragua, the Sandinistas agreed to free elections.
2000--a series of tornadoes moves through southern Georgia, wreaking havoc and killing 18 people.
2002--former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic justified his actions as a "struggle against terrorism" and said he was a victim of twisted facts and "terrible fabrication."
2007--ConAgra recalled all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter made at a Georgia plant because of a salmonella outbreak.
2011--protesters took to the streets in Iran, Bahrain and Yemen, inspired by the popular uprising in Egypt that brought down Pres. Mubarak.
World News Capsules:
1. Aiming at Asian competitors, China limits foreign TV.
....A new set of regulations seek to restrict comedies, dramas and movies from abroad, and ban all imported programs during prime time.
a. Critics question record of monitor selected by Apple.
 ....The Fair Labor Association, the firm that Apple has hired to examine worker conditions at the plants of its suppliers, has been criticized by labor groups as ineffective.
2. French candidate assails plan for Greece.
 ....The Socialist candidate for the French presidency, François Hollande, criticized European policy on Greece, saying that mandatory austerity measures were too severe.
3. Athens shaken by riots aftr vote for austerity.
 ....Many buildings burned and stores were looted after the measures passed, and some politicians were expelled from their parties after they broke ranks on the austerity vote.
4. US to meet North Koreans for new talks.
....The meeting in Beijing will be the first since Kim Jong-un assumed power and will see whether negotiations can be resumed on ending the North’s nuclear program.
5. Portugal's debt efforts may be a warning for Greece.
....By the broadest measure of a country’s ability to repay its debts, Portugal is going deeper into the hole, because its economy is shrinking.
6. Russia radio shake-u- follows Putin criticism.
.....The editor of a radio station known for criticizing the Kremlin stepped down from the station’s board after its government-controlled owners removed its only two independent members.
a. On Russian TV, it isn't all about the strongman.
 ....In the prelude to March 4 elections in Russia, newscasts are enjoying unaccustomed freedoms as they mix loyal, often staged reports with coverage of the opposition.
7. Arab nations eye arming Syria rebels as civilians flee Assad's attacks.
....Syrian government forces attacked opponents of President Bashar al-Assad in cities and towns across the country on Tuesday and Arab officials confirmed that regional governments would be ready to arm the resistance if the bloodshed did not cease.
8. Bangkok blasts wound Iranian attacker, 4 others.
....An Iranian man carrying grenades blew off his own legs and wounded four civilians Tuesday after an earlier blast shook his house in Bangkok, Thai authorities said.
a. Explosions in Bangkok add to suspicions about Iran.
....The explosions came a day after bombers attacked Israeli Embassy personnel in the capitals of India and Georgia. Israel accused Iran of being behind the attacks, which the Tehran government denied.
US News Capsules:
1. No public memorial for Whitney Houston, family says.
....Singer Whitney Houston's family has decided against a public memorial for her at a New Jersey sports arena, and will hold an invitation-only service at the church where she first sang publicly, and where her mother, singer Cissy Houston, still attends. services.
2. Obama greets China VP with friendly words, firm stance.
....China’s vice president, Xi Jinping, began a visit to the United States on Tuesday that amounts to a get-to-know-you exercise for the man seen as China’s next leader.
a. Backers of Iran sanctions make an appeal to China.
 ....A group of former national security advisers took the occasion of the Chinese vice president’s visit to the United States to make their case.
3. Let's move, the first lady said - and we have.
....In just two years, Michelle Obama's campaign against childhood obesity has prompted legislation and begun to change how food companies do business.
4. What happens when a 911 emergency call goes silent?
....Open-line calls in which no one speaks are perplexing to 911 dispatchers, as in a recent case in Texas in which the fatal shooting of a family was unfolding.
5. What's New? Exuberance for novelty has benefits.
 ....Novelty-seeking, a personality trait long associated with trouble, turns out to be one of the crucial predictors of emotional and physical well-being.
6. At Volcker rule deadline, a strong pushback from Wall St.
....Regulators in charge of writing the Volcker Rule, which would ban banks from trading with their own money, were inundated with complaints and suggestions from the financial industry.
7. Small-cap stocks surge ahead of the big names.
....The surge in small-cap stocks may indicate that investors' appetite for risk is growing.
8. Michigan militia defended as 'social club' at trial of seven.
....Members of the Hutaree amassed weapons only to defend themselves, not to plot a war against the government, a lawyer for one defendant said.
9. Answering for taking a driller's cash.
....The Sierra Club’s secret acceptance of $26 million in donations from Chesapeake Energy has drawn fierce criticism from some environmental groups on ties to corporations.
10. Rather than flirt with audience, Oscar producers play hard to get.
 ....The producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer are keeping quiet about their plans for this year’s Academy Awards ceremony.
POLITICS:
1. Romney, Santorum tied as splits emerge among voters.
....Support for the leading GOP presidential hopefuls appears to be dividing between genders and between white-collar and blue-collar workers, a new CNN/ORC International Poll shows.
a. Here we go again: Santorum soars in new polls.
....So apparently all it took were wins in the non-binding caucuses of Colorado and Minnesota, as well as the beauty contest of Missouri, to catapult Rick Santorum into a virtual tie with Mitt Romney, according to THREE national polls.
2. California set to send many new faces to Washington.
....Between redistricting and a growing number of retirements, the face of California's 53-member Congressional delegation is set to get younger.
3. House Republicans yield on extending payroll tax cut.
....A surprise announcement called for separating a proposed extension from negotiations over jobless benefits and Medicare reimbursements.
4. Military cuts and tax plan are central to Obama budget.
....Pres. Obama's final budget request of his term amounts to his agenda for a desired second term, with tax increases on the affluent and cuts in spending to reduce deficits and pay for priorities like education.
a. Republicans say President's proposed savings look bigger than they are.
 ....The indignation that greeted the budget seemed to be amplified by the presidential election, debt crises and the sheer size of the additional debt envisioned by the plan.
b. Money urged for colleges to perform job training.
....Pres. Obama proposed an $8 billion program with the goal of training two million workers for well-paying jobs in high-demand industries.
5. Voter rolls are rife with inaccuracies, report finds.
 ....Registration in the US is decentralized, putting the burden on voters, and largely paper based, which makes errors more likely.
Today's Headlines of Interest:
Can a dalmatian win best in show tonight?
More than 101 Dalmatians have tried to become America's most prized pooch and failed, but that could end tonight when a sprightly package of polka dots called Ian takes to the final ring at Madison Square Garden. He'll be joined by a wobblaing, crowd-pleasing Pekingese, a Germn shepherd named Capt. Crunch and a spirited wire-haired dachshund (last night's winners of the toy, herding and hound groups - Ian won the non-sporting group). Tonight the terrier, sporting and working group winners will be chosen. Then comes the Best in Show ring of 7 dogs.
More than 2,000 entries in 185 breeds and varieties were at the 136th Westminster. Still to show early Tuesday: a wire fox terrier who won the National show and a standard poodle who took the Eukanuba event. There's also a black cocker spaniel who was the No. 1 show dog last year — he's named Beckham, maybe a good omen since a 12-story ad featuring soccer star David Beckham posing in his underwear is painted on a building that overlooks the Garden. Beckham the dog, by the way, beat out Malachy the Peke as the country's top-winning show dog in 2011.
The xoloitzcuintli (shoh-loh-eets-KWEEN'-tlee), formerly known as the Mexican hairless, is among six new breeds at this year's show. "Pronounce it!" a couple of fans playfully called out when the name appeared on the scoreboard. Also there was a dog from Norway breed to catch puffins (until they became endangered) on the rocky mountains of Norway. He has 6 toes on each foot to help him get traction while climbing.
So tune in at 8 p.m.to the USA Network to see who wins. I'll be watching every minute. Go Ian!!
Santorum's stone-age view of women.
Taken together with statements made in his 2005 book, It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good, his opposition to contraception (as well as to abortion, even in the case of rape) seems part and parcel of a deep hostility toward efforts to empower women and enhance their status. He has shown nothing but contempt for what his book called the "radical" feminist "pitch" that "men and women be given an equal opportunity to make it to the top in the workplace." So perhaps it's not surprising that at the time of publication he did not list his wife as a co-author or contributor, although when asked last week about this and other comments on working mothers, he now says his wife wrote that part of the book.
The Santorums' apparent hostility to women's educational and professional advancement, as outlined in their book, is insulting and out of touch with today's world. But it is also odd in light of their purported interest in the welfare of children. It turns out that the most powerful single influence on a child's educational success is not the mother's marital status but her own level of education and her educational aspirations for her children, according to education researcher W. Norton Grubb.
Educated parents find more time to spend with their children by reducing time dedicated to home-based activities that involve little interaction with children. They spend less time on sleep and personal grooming, less time doing housework, and less time watching television than their less educated counterparts, regardless of their employment status. Every family must make its own, sometimes difficult, decisions about what best fits their particular needs and preferences. We don't need politicians like Rick Santorum or, as he now somewhat unchivalrously claims, his wife -- making those decisions more painful by suggesting that women who choose to pursue careers are worse mothers than those who do not.
Are Republican women listening to what this man says? And if they are, how can they possibley vote for him?
Thought for Today
"We are effectively destroying ourselves by violence masquerading as love."
— R.D. Laing, Scottish psychiatrist (1927-1989).
Today's flower: hot summer cornflower - starting out yellow, then maturing into orange, this bloom ends in a vibrant shade of red, painting your garden in beautiful shades.
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Post by pegasus on Feb 15, 2012 8:27:15 GMT -7
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me
:)This is the 46th day of 2012 with 319 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 4:02 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 37ºF [Feels like 37ºF], winds WNW @ 3 mph, humidity 65%, pressure 30.20 in and steady, dew point 26ºF, chance of precipitation 30%.
Today in History:
1764--the city of St. Louis, Mo. was established by Pierre Laclede and Auguste Chouteau.
1776--Nova Scotia governor sends word of potential American invasion.
1812--American jeweler Charles Lewis Tiffany, the founder of Tiffany & Co., was born in Killingly, Conn.
1898--the U.S. battleship Maine mysteriously blew up in Havana Harbor, killing more than 260 crew members and bringing the US closer to war with Spain.
1903--the 1st teddy bear goes on sale.
1915--mutiny broke out among Indian soldiers in Singapore.
1933--Pres.-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt escaped an assassination attempt in Miami that mortally wounded Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak; gunman Giuseppe Zangara was executed more than four weeks later.
1942--the British colony Singapore surrendered to Japanese forces.
1952--a funeral was held at Windsor Castle for Britain's King George VI, who had died nine days earlier.
1953--Tenley Albright became the first American woman to win the world figure skating championship, held in Switzerland.
1961--73 people, including an 18-member US figure skating team en route to the World Championships in Czechoslovakia, were killed in the crash of a Sabena Airlines Boeing 707 in Belgium.
1965--Canada's new maple-leaf flag was unfurled in ceremonies in Ottawa.
1982--84 men were killed when a huge oil-drilling rig, the Ocean Ranger, sank off the coast of Newfoundland during a fierce storm.
1992--a Milwaukee jury found that Jeffrey Dahmer was sane when he killed and mutilated 15 men and boys.
1998--Dale Earnhardt finally wins the Daytona 500.
2002--Pres. Bush approved Nevada's Yucca Mountain as the site for long-term disposal of thousands of tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste.
2002--officials awarded Canadian pairs figure skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier a gold medal, while letting the Russian pair, Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, keep their gold medal as a way to resolve a judging controversy that had dominated the Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
2007--National Guardsmen in Humvees ferried food, fuel and baby supplies to 100s of motorists stranded on Interstate 78 in eastern Pennsylvania because of a monster storm.
2011--protesters swarmed Wisconsin's capitol after Gov. Scott Walker proposed cutbacks in benefits and bargaining rights for public employees.
World News Capsules:
1. NATO acknowledges bombing killed eight young Afghans.
....NATO officers described it as a “very sad event,” and vowed to try to help the isolated home village of the boys who were killed.
2. With edge, China's heir apparent is greeted in the US.
....China's vice pres., Xi Jinping, was met with blunt criticism from Vice Pres. Joseph R. Biden Jr., who declared that the US and China could cooperate "only if the game is fair."
a. US to share cautionary tale of trade secret theft with Chinese official.
....China's next leader, Xi Jinping, will hear the case of an American company that saw 70% of its business evaporate after an employee was enticed to sell its technology to China.
b. For China's vice president, afternoon tea and a return to Americana.
....Vice President Xi Jinping returned to Muscatine, Iowa, where 27 years ago he mingled with locals on an agricultural research trip.
c. In China, an instant star and an emerging symbol.
 ....Jeremy Lin’s stunning success with the Knicks over the last week and a half has captured the imagination of China, from Communist Party bosses to the often-persecuted Christian minority.
3. Egyptian official vexes ruling generals and US by pressing investigation.
 ....Fayza Abul Naga, an Egyptian cabinet minister, is pressing the indictment of 16 Americans in a case that is shaking the American-Egyptian alliance.
4. 357 dead in Honduras prison fire, officials say.
....A massive fire swept through a prison in Honduras and killed close to 360 people, including many inmates trapped inside their cells, officials said.
5. Iran claims 2 major moves to nuclear self-sufficiency.
....Iran claimed that it has taken two major steps toward mastering the production of nuclear fuel, a defiant move in response to increasingly tough Western sanctions over its controversial nuclear program.
a. US aircraft carrier has close encounter with Iranian patrol boat.
....An Iranian navy patrol boat came within two miles of the USS Abraham Lincoln, part of the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, as it sailed through the strait with the destroyer Cape St. George and a guided missile cruiser. The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet always has at least one supercarrier at sea accompanied by scores of jets and a fleet of frigates and destroyers.
b. Iran issues threat to oil buyers in Europe.
....Besieged by sanctions over its nuclear program, Iran warned its six largest European buyers that they risked immediate cutoffs in their Iranian oil imports.
6. Israel says Iran's 'acts of terror' are clear.
....Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged nations to draw “red lines against Iranian aggression” following the arrest of Iranians in Bangkok and bombing attempts in India and Georgia.
a. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu claims Iran destablizing the world.
....Security camera images show three men who Thai police suspect were involved in bomb blasts in Bangkok on Tuesday.
b. From overseas visitors, a browing demand to study the HOlocaust.
 ....At Yad Vashem, Israel’s memorial and museum to the Holocaust, educators have found that lessons about individuals help illustrate the Holocaust’s universal lessons to non-Jewish visitors.
7. In Italy, facing the end of the lifetime job.
 ....When Prime Minister Mario Monti remarked that having a job for life in today’s economy was no longer feasible for young people, he laid bare one of the tenets of Italian society that is now at risk.
a. Italy appeal seeks retrial of American in '07 killing.
 ....Italian prosecutors filed an appeal to the country’s Supreme Court four months after Amanda Knox’s 2009 murder conviction was overturned.
8. Mexico says supplier for top drug trafficker is caught.
 ....Jaime Herrera Herrera is accused of being a crucial link in the Sinaloa drug gang led by Joaquín Guzmán, Mexico’s most wanted man.
9. With cities under fire, Assad sets date for Syrian referendum.
 ....Pres. Assad set Feb. 26 for a vote on a new constitution as residents of some Syrian cities said life is ever more unbearable.
US News Capsules:
1. [Westminster's new winner - Malachy a Pekingese.
....Malachy competed in the Best in Show group last year but lost to Hickory the Scottish Deerhound. But the Pekingese rose to the occasion this year, making him the first Pekingese to take the title since 1990. Malachy beat out more than 2,000 dogs from 185 breeds who were entered overall this year, including finalistss Ian the Dalmatian, Emily the Irish Setter, Cinders the Wirehaired Dachshund, Fifi the Doberman, Capi the German Shepherd, and Chelsey the Kerry Blue.. I was rooting for Ian or Chelsey.
2. Amid shortages, strict rules force hopitals to trash scarce drugs.
....Hospital pharmacists say they find themselves caught between following government regulations for storage and safety — or throwing away lifesaving medications.
3. 19 years and £1 Million Later, a Past Catches Up.
....Edward Maher, a suspect in a million-pound robbery in England in 1993, was arrested last week in a mostly rural corner of southwest Missouri.
4. Hip implants US rejected sold overseas.
....Johnson & Johnson recalled the hip device, and a similar one sold in the United States, in 2010 after data showed a disturbingly high failure rate.
5. $5 billion in grants offered to revisit teacher policies.
....The Obama administration’s proposed program would seek to bring together officials, union leaders and educators to address issues such as tenure and salaries.
6. Chess coach to leave Texas Tech with her team's best in tow.
 ....Susan Polgar and her institute are moving to Webster University in St. Louis because of funding issues, she said. The grandmaster’s top 10 players are also switching schools.
7. Yahoo faces stalled deal and fight over board.
 ....The developments raised questions about whether Yahoo would be able to reverse years of missteps and make itself relevant in an Internet landscape now dominated by Google and Facebook.
8. Kellogg to buy Procter & Gamble's Pringles group.
 ....Procter & Gamble has agreed to sell the chip brand for $2.695 billion to Kellogg, after its deal with Diamond Foods fell apart.
POLITICS:
1. Tentative deal reached to preserve cut in payroll tax.
....Republicans and Democrats both claimed a measure of victory as the tax reduction was extended without spending cuts to pay for it.
2. Economic growth gives lift to Obama in NYT/CBS poll.
 ....Pres. Obama's approval rating reached the 50% mark, while Republican voters expressed a desire for more alternatives in their race.
3. Support is found for birth control coverage and gay unions.
....Majorities in the New York Times/CBS News poll backed an insurance requirement for religiously affiliated employers and legal status for same-sex unions.
a. Obama shift on providing contraception splits critics.
....Leaders of several large Catholic organizations have welcomed the president’s plan on birth control coverage, but bishops have continued to voice strong objections.
4. Conservatives sowed idea of health care mandate, only to spurn it later.
 ....The requirement in Pres. Obama’s health care law that individuals buy insurance was first proposed by conservative economists and backed by Republicans, who now shun it.
5. Texas primary must be pushed back.
....A battle over redistricting spills over and affects the Republican presidential primary, which was scheduled for April 3rd.
[
Thought for Today
"Like all dreamers I confuse disenchantment with truth."
—-Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher (1905-1980).
Today's flower: red passion flower - In the South, vine grows year round on fences or pergolas
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Post by pegasus on Feb 16, 2012 15:37:19 GMT -7
Good evening from Tuxy and me
:)This is the 47th day of 2012 with 318 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 8:45 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 38ºF [Feels like 30ºF], winds SSW @ 13 mph, humidity 85%, pressure 29.91 in and steady, dew point 34ºF, chance of precipitation 15%.
Today in History:
1778--John Adams prepares to sail on a diplomatic mission to France.
1804--Lt. Stephen Decatur led a successful raid into Tripoli Harbor to burn the US Navy frigate Philadelphia, which had fallen into the hands of pirates.
1848--Frederick Chopin played his last Paris concert.
1862--the battle of Fort Donelson in Tennessee ended as some 12,000 Confederate soldiers surrendered; Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's victory earned him the nickname "Unconditional Surrender Grant."
1868--the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was organized in New York City.
1918--Lithuania proclaimed its independence from the Russian Empire. (Lithuania, which was occupied by the Soviet Union, then Nazi Germany, then the Soviet Union again, became independent in 1990.)
1923--the burial chamber of King Tutankhamen's tomb was unsealed in Egypt by English archaeologist Howard Carter.
1945--American troops returned to the island of Corregidor in the Philippines.
1959--Fidel Castro became premier of Cuba a month and a-half after the overthrow of dictator Fulgencio Batista.
1968--the nation's first 911 emergency telephone system was inaugurated in Haleyville, Ala.
1983--brush fires ravaged South Australia.
1984--Bill Johnson became the first American to win Olympic gold in downhill skiing.
1987--John Demjanjuk went on trial in Jerusalem, accused of being "Ivan the Terrible," a guard at the Treblinka Nazi concentration camp.
1997--Jeff Gordon became the youngest Daytona 500 winner.
1998--a China Airlines Airbus A300-600R trying to land in fog near Taipei, Taiwan, crashed, killing all 196 people on board.
2002--authorities in Noble, Ga., arrested Ray Brent Marsh, who'd been operating a crematory where 100s of decomposing corpses were found stacked in storage sheds and scattered in the woods behind it.
2007--the Democratic-controlled House issued a symbolic rejection of Pres. Bush's decision to deploy more troops to Iraq, approving the nonbinding resolution by a vote of 246-182.
2007--an Italian judge indicted 25 suspected CIA agents and a U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel in the alleged kidnapping of an Egyptian terror suspect, Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr. (23 Americans were later convicted in absentia along with two Italians.
2011--bookstore chain Borders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said it would close nearly a third of its stores.
World News Capsules:
1. Afghan girls taken to pay price for elders' misdeeds.
....Although baad (also known as baadi) is illegal under Afghan and, most religious scholars say, Islamic law, the taking of girls as payment for misdeeds committed by their elders still appears to be flourishing..
2. Sarkozy will run for 2nd term as French president.
 ....With a restive party pressing him to run in earnest for re-election, Pres. Nicolas Sarkozy of France announced his candidacy. His main challenger, François Hollande, is leading in polls.
3. Cameron details arguments against Scottish independence.
....Prime Minister David Cameron’s address in Edinburgh is seen here as the first, sparring bout of a longer battle over a referendum on Scottish independence.
a. Britain's central bank expects scant economic growth.
....Amid word that the unemployment rate had risen, Mervyn King, the central bank governor, repeated warnings that "the path of recovery is likely to be slow and uncertain."
b. For London youth, down and out is way of life.
....The lack of opportunity is feeding a mounting alienation and anger among young people across Europe, threatening to poison the aspirations of a generation.
4. Doubting Greeks' resolve, Euro Zone may hold back full bailout.
 ....European finance ministers discussed a plan under which they might pay only about $40 billion to help assure that Greece could meet a $19 billion bond payment in late March.
a. Raw feelings as Greece waits for E.U. rescue.
 ....Euro zone finance ministers deferred a decision after receiving pledges from Greece's political leaders to respect the terms of a new bailout.
6. Aggressive cts by Iran signal pressure on its leadership.
....A flurry of actions and statements by Iran this week suggest its leaders are responding frantically, and more unpredictably, to the tightening of sanctions by the West.
7. Italy plans to tax church on commercial property.
....Prime Minister Mario Monti’s government said it would ensure that the church pays property tax on the parts of its buildings used for commercial ends.
8. Russian oil industry set to capitalize on possible Iran sanctions.
....With a grade of oil closely resembling Iran’s, Russia could reap windfalls from European customers willing to pay premium prices.
9. Fighting poverty, armed with violins.
....The Sistema program of Venezuela, which aims to help impoverished young people through classical music, has reached 310,000 children, including Gustavo Dudamel.
US News Capsules:
1. Audit uncovers extensive flaws in foreclosures.
....The findings of San Francisco county officials suggest how pervasive irregularities may be across the nation.
2. Gay marriage a tough sell with blacks in Maryland.
....Supporters of a Maryland same-sex marriage bill are making a broad attempt to win over African-Americans, a demographic that has traditionally been skeptical about marriage equality.
a. NJ lawmkers pass gay marriage bill.
....The New Jersey Assembly on Thursday passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriages, setting the stage for an expected veto by Gov. Chris Christie. The hot-button social issue is gaining prominence in the election year debate.
b. Interracial marriage seen gaining wide acceptance.
 ....Americans are more accepting of the rise in interracial marriage than of same-sex marriage or single mothers, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center.
3. Leak offers glimpse of campaign against climate science.
....Disclosed files from the nonprofit Heartland Institute outline a plan to undermine the teaching of global warming in public schools, and they identify some corporate donors.
4. Ambitions rekindled at public library.
....After a pause because of the economic downturn, the New York Public Library revived its $1 billion plan to overhaul its branches and renovate its Fifth Avenue flagship.
5. Mistaken identity cases at heart of Denver lawsusito ver wrongful arrests.
 ....A lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Colorado cites arrests in which the suspect clearly did not fit the warrant’s descriptions of height, weight or sometimes race.
6.. Carmakers urged to curb dashboard distractions.
....A federal traffic agency called on carmakers to stop installing entertainment and navigation systems that can distract drivers.
7. Judge sentences Nigerian 'underwear bomber' to life without parole.
....In court, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who tried to blow up a Detroit-bound jetliner on Christmas Day 2009, rants against Jews and says Osama bin Laden is still alive.
8. Collection and credit firms facing broad new oversight.
 ....The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed a rule that would allow the agency to supervise two significant corners of the financial industry that until now have largely evaded federal scrutiny.
9. GM reports big profit: Europe lags.
 ....General Motors said it earned $7.6 billion last year, up 62 percent from the year before, but losses in Europe cut into its fourth-quarter earnings.
POLITICS:
1. Members of the House face uphill battle for Senate.
 ....For representatives in both parties who are seeking Senate seats, House membership has become a liability.
2. Both sides eager to take birth control coverage issue to voters.
....Supporters and opponents of Pres. Obama’s health coverage requirement for all employers see it as a potent weapon for the November elections.
a. Self-insured complicate health deal.
....The Obama administration's plan to require insurers to cover the costs of birth control is being complicated by the fact that many religiously affiliated organizations insure themselves.
3. President visits Wisconsin factory to hail 'insourcing' plan
.
 ....To promote an initiative aimed at US manufacturing, the president lauded the Master Lock plant in Milwaukee for bringing jobs back to the US.
4. Conservative pundits find Romney disengaged and say that's puzzling.
....Conservative journalists who say that Mitt Romney has been distant are wondering whether his convictions are as genuine as their own.
a. Romney finds himself ina familiar sopt - a battle.
....As Mitt Romney finds himself in a real battle to win Michigan -- a state where he holds so many advantages -- it raises an inevitable question: How did he get here? How did he get to yet another moment where perhaps his entire candidacy is on the line? It appears to be 1) he gave Santorum an opening in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri and 2) ideology.
5. Santorum levels playing fild on Romney's home turf.
....The former Pennsylvania senator battles millions of dollars in attack ads to surge ahead of the front-runner.
a. Chief Santorum backer's eyebrow-raising comment on contraception.
....Foster Friess -- a prominent Santorum supporter and one of the chief benefactors of a pro-Santorum Super PAC -- today made a statement on contraception that's already raising plenty of eyebrows. He said, "This contraceptive thing, my gosh, it's so inexpensive. Back in my days, they used Bayer aspirin for contraceptives. The gals put it between their knees, and it wasn't that costly." The obvious suggestion by Friess: that women should put an aspirin between their legs so they don’t open them.
6. Ad wars: Super PACs all in in Michigan.
....The pro-Romney Super PAC Restore Our Future just bought up almost another $1 million in ad time in Michigan, bringing its overall buy so far to about $3.2 million. This follows the Santorum campaign pushing more of its own chips in, adding $438,000 in ads in Michigan for the next two weeks, closing the gap with Romney and his allies somewhat.
Today's Headlines of Interest:
High arsenic levels foundin organic foods, baby formula.
High levels of arsenic, a chemical linked to cancer, chronic diseases and developmental effects, have been found in foods that list organic brown rice syrup as a primary ingredient, according to a new study from Dartmouth University. Organic brown rice syrup is often used as a substitute for high fructose corn syrup in prepared organic foods. One of the infant formulas tested contained twice the inorganic arsenic allowed in drinking water, according to Environmental Protection Agency standards. One cereal bar contained 12 times the legal limit for drinking water of 10 parts per billion (ppb). High-energy foods tested had 8 to 17 times the limit.
The researchers tested 17 infant formulas, 29 cereal bars and three types of energy shot drinks. Two infant formulas –- one dairy based and the other soy based – listed organic brown rice syrup as their primary ingredient. They both contained arsenic levels 20 times higher than the other formulas made without organic brown rice syrup. The sweet toxic element also has been discovered in commonly used in cereal bars.
When it comes to the energy shots and cereal bars, “I don’t think there’s a real immediate danger,” said the study's lead author Brian Jackson, a research associate professor. “The only comparison is drinking water and the risk factors are based on lifetime exposure.” Infant formulas with high arsenic levels are more of a concern. “It’s probably not a good thing for an infant to be exposed to those levels of arsenic,” Jackson said. “We don’t know the effects of long-term exposure.”
While organic foods are generally seen as healthier, that doesn’t necessarily mean safe. Even foods that are organic may absorb arsenic through a natural process. In fact, rice takes up arsenic from the soil, Jackson explained. As it turns out arsenic looks very much like silica to the rice plant and “rice takes up silica to help it stand up in water logged soils.” Different varieties of rice take up different amounts of arsenic, Jackson said. Brown rice tends to have particularly high levels of arsenic.
The EPA has set safe drinking water limits for arsenic at 10 parts per billion (ppb). The researchers found inorganic arsenic levels of 8.6 ppb in the dairy based formula and 21.4 ppb in the soy based formula. The arsenic levels in cereal bars tested ranged from 23 to 128 ppb in products that contained rice ingredients. One of the three energy shots tested had 84 ppb arsenic (all of which was inorganic arsenic), while the other two came in at 171 ppb (53 percent of which was inorganic).
Jackson is especially concerned about the infant formulas in light of the fact that the EPA standards for drinking water are set not for tiny babies, but for full grown adults. So the impact of these levels of arsenic might be far greater. Beyond this, he said, some babies are getting formula as their sole source of nutrition. The Darmouth researchers hope that studies like these will spur government agencies to take a closer look at food. “There is a data base for exposure to arsenic in drinking water,” Jackson said. “But there’s nothing out there on food. It’s time we looked at this and ask whether we need guidelines for arsenic exposure in food.”
Thought for Today
"I am content to define history as the past events of which we have knowledge and refrain from worrying about those of which we have none — until, that is, some archaeologist digs them up."
—-Barbara W. Tuchman, historian (1912-1989).
Today's flower: reblooming iris - Although it blooms in late spring, October shows off a rich coat of fall color.
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Post by pegasus on Feb 17, 2012 10:40:37 GMT -7
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me
:)This is the 48th day of 2012 with 317 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 4:39 p.m., it's fair , temp 40ºF [Feels like 33ºF], winds W @ 12 mph, humidity 51%, pressure 29.96 in and rising, dew point 23ºF, chance of precipitation 30%.
Today in History:
1782--the American-allied French navy begins a 14-month-long series of five battles with the British navy in the Indian Ocean.
1801--the U.S. House of Representatives broke an electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, electing Jefferson president; Burr became vice president.
1820--the US Senate passed the Missouri Compromise in an attempt to deal with the dangerously divisive issue of extending slavery into the western territories.
1864-- the Union ship USS Housatonic was rammed and sunk in Charleston Harbor, S.C., by the Confederate hand-cranked submarine HL Hunley, which also sank.
1865--Columbia, SC, burned as the Confederates evacuated and Union forces moved in. (It's not clear which side set the blaze.)
1874--Thomas J. Watson, Sr., the American industrialist who built I.B.M., was born; died 1956 at age 82.
1889--H. L. Hunt, oil tycoon, was born; died 1974 at ge 85.
1897--the forerunner of the National PTA, the National Congress of Mothers, convened its first meeting, in Washington.
1904--the original two-act version of Giacomo Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly was poorly received at its premiere at La Scala in Milan, Italy.
1916--in World War I, the German zepplin L-4 crashed into the North Sea.
1933--Newsweek was first published by Thomas J.C. Martyn under the title News-Week.
1942--Huey P. Newton, civil rights activist who co-founded the Black Panthers, was born; died 1989 at age 47.
1944--US troops landed on Eniwetok atoll in the Pacific.
1957--Andre Gromyko became the Soviet foreign minister.
1959--the US launched Vanguard 2, a satellite which carried meteorological equipment on board.
1964--the US Supreme Court, in Wesberry v. Sanders, ruled that congressional districts within each state had to be roughly equal in population.
1966--Gen. Maxwell Taylor testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Operation Rolling Thunder in Vietnam. 1972--Pres. Nixon departed the White House with his wife, Pat, on a historic trip to China, which he called "a journey for peace."
1972--the VW beetle overtook the Ford Model T as the world's all-time best-selling car.
1986--Johnson & Johnson announced it would no longer sell over-the-counter medications in capsule form, following the death of a woman who had taken a cyanide-laced Tylenol capsule.
1988--Lt. Col. William Higgins, a Marine Corps officer serving with a UN truce monitoring group, was kidnapped in southern Lebanon by Iranian-backed terrorists (he was later slain by his captors.)
1992--serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced in Milwaukee to life in prison.
1993--approximately 900 people drown when a passenger ferry, the Neptune, overturned near Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
1996--Garry Kasparov defeated Deep Blue, IBM's chess-playing computer, winning a six-game match.
2002-- the new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) took over supervision of aviation security from the airline industry and the Federal Aviation Administration.
2007--Senate Republicans foiled a Democratic bid to repudiate Pres. Bush's deployment of 21,500 additional combat troops to Iraq.
2007--at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Marine Lance Cpl. Robert B. Pennington was sentenced to 8 years in military prison for his role in the kidnapping and killing of an Iraqi civilian.
2009--Pres. Obama signed a $757 billion economic stimulus package into law.
2011--a group of Democratic Wisconsin lawmakers blocked passage of a sweeping anti-union bill, refusing to show up for a vote and then abruptly leaving the state in an effort to force Republicans to the negotiating table.
World News Capsules:
1. After scuffle in Afghan embassy, a spotlight on connections.
....An office argument in Washington ended with a staff member — the son of Afghanistan’s attorney general — punching another, but so far there has been no reprimand, an official said.
2. Scandal may topple party official in China.
....Bo Xilai, a Communist Party official in Chongqing, may suffer fallout from a corruption inquiry into his top law enforcement official, with implications for the installation of the next generation of leaders.
3. Dutch Prince Friso in hospital after being buried in Austria ski avalanche.
....An avalanche buried and seriously injured Prince Friso, the 2nd son of Dutch Queen Beatrix, while he skied in Austria and he was rushed to the intensive care unit of an Innsbruck hospital.
4. Egyptian party threatens to review treaty with Israel.
....The Muslim Brotherhood said it would review the 1979 peace treaty with Israel if the US cuts off Egypt’s aid over a crackdown on nonprofit groups.
5. German president resigns in 'favors' scandal.
 ....Germany’s president announced his resignation on Friday after prosecutors asked Parliament to strip him of his immunity from prosecution over suspected improper ties to businessmen.
a. Germany vs. the rest of Europe.
 ....The German economy is faring well during a downturn, and resentment is rising among other euro zone countries.
6. Murdoch offers reassurances to Sun Newsroom.
 ....Rupert Murdoch visited the London headquarters of his British newspaper arm, News International, where reporters and editors at the Sun were in a state of ferment against him.
7. Cries for justice amid the tears in Honduras.
....Among the inmates locked inside Comayagua national prison, where a fire killed at least 350 people, fewer than half had been convicted of a crime.
8. Bank telecommunications group moves closer to expulsion of Iran.
....The network known by its acronym Swift said it was prepared to expel Iranian banks, in what could amount to a potentially crippling sanction of the Iranian banking system.
9. Inquiry widens on suspected Iranian plot on Israel.
....The criminal inquiry into a suspected Iranian plot targeting Israelis overseas with magnetized bombs expanded on Thursday, with police in Thailand and investigators in India getting involved..
10. Brother, can you spare $5 trillion?
....Italy arrested eight people on charges related to the seizure of $6 trillion in fake US Treasury bonds, in a scam that stretched from Hong Kong to Switzerland.
11. Meeting in Pakistan reveals tensions over Afghan peace talks.
 ....The leaders of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan met in Islamabad to begin two days of talks with Taliban peace negotiations leading the agenda. Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan’s foreign minister, described as “preposterous” Afghan demands that her country deliver the insurgent leadership to the negotiating table.
12. US sends drones into skies over Syria, offcials say.
...."A good number" are monitoring the attacks against opposition forces and innocent civilians alike, U.S. officials say
13.Vatican is shaken by leaks.
....The Vatican has become embroiled in an embarrassing scandal that has drawn back the curtains on the Church’s inner workings/
US News Capsules:
1. Mountain man breaks into remote cabins, lives in luxury.
....He's eluded authorities for more than five years, a mountain man who roams the wilderness of southern Utah, breaking into remote cabins in winter, living in luxury off hot food, alcohol and coffee before stealing provisions and vanishing into the woods. In this undated photo provided by the Iron County Sheriff's Office in January, a man is seen walking past a cabin in the remote southern Utah wilderness near Zion National Park. Authorities believe the man in the photo, captured by a motion-triggered surveillance camera sometime in December, is a suspect responsible for more than two dozen cabin burglaries over the past five years.
2. Hospitals sramble for scarce kdis cancer drug.
....Ben Venue Laboratories, an Ohio drugmaker, began releasing limited supplies of a crucial medication to treat childhood leukemia Thursday, sending hospital pharmacists facing life-threatening shortages scrambling for their share.
a. FDA still wary of diet pill's side effects.
....The Food and Drug Administration said it was worried about possible heart problems and birth defects with Qnexa, a weight-loss drug.
3. Man planning to bomb US Capitol arrested in sting operation.
![]() msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Video/__NEW/n_pwi_terror_120217.vembedlarge.jpg![]()
....The FBI and Capitol police arrested a man who thought he was going to carry out a bombing attack on the U.S. Capitol but was in fact dealing with FBI undercover operatives for the past few months, federal officials said.
4. US to review diet treatment once rejected].
 ....The Food and Drug Administration will review a new diet pill consisting of a combination of two pills people are using in California to lose weight.
5. Abuse cases put Los Angeles schools under fire.
....The spate of accusations has put an intense spotlight on the way the Los Angeles Unified School District monitors its employees and responds to reports of abuse.
6. US tentatively approves Shell spill plan for new Arctic drilling.
....The company still needs to cross several additional regulatory barriers before it will be permitted to begin drilling as many as six exploratory wells in the Chukchi Sea starting in July.
7. State web site chronicles drug violence on border farms.
 ....In videos posted on a Web site run by the state of Texas, farmers and ranchers describe a border war in which drug smugglers threaten their lives and livelihoods.
8. 1 dead, 1 hurt in California federal building shooting.
....An immigration agent shot and injured another agent and was then killed by a third colleague in a federal building in Long Beach, the FBI said.
9. Alabama plans to close most hospitals for mentally ill.
....The decision to close four hospitals is a reminder of budget problems but also reflects a national trend toward relocating mentally ill patients to small group homes and private hospitals.
10. Working all day for the IRS.
....Sift through mounds of IRS data and discover something you probably already knew: People who work pay the bulk of the taxes.
11. Time Warner Cable and MSG resolve dispute.
....Time Warner Cable and the MSG Network resolved their dispute and customers will now be able to watch the Knicks and four New York-area N.H.L. teams, including the Buffalo Sabres.
POLITICS:
1. Congress passes aid to jobless and payroll tax cut extension.
....With members of both parties expressing distaste at some of the particulars, Congress voted to extend the payroll tax cut and jobless benefits and sent the bill to Pres. Obama. For a worker earning $50,000, the tax cut boosts take-home pay by $1000;
2. National debate over contraception could backfire on GOP.
....Several GOP strategists conclusions are pretty much the same: Republicans should be talking about the economy, not social issues. Meanwhile, per the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent, Dems Stanley Greenberg and James Carville have issued a polling memo that says, “[V]oters may wonder why the Republicans are consumed with pushing back health coverage for women rather than continuing to focus on the economy, spending and debt.
a. Passions flare as House debates birth control rule.
 ....A House hearing on an Obama administration policy requiring insurers to pay for birth control for religious institutions’ employees was a scene of politics and soul-searching.
b. Religious groups equate some contraceptives with abortion.
....Opponents of the rule mandating insurance coverage for birth control contend that some contraception methods amount to abortion, but experts say the drugs work prior to fertilization.
3. Congress will auction public airwaves to pay for benefits.
 ....The need to finance economic relief has pushed Congress to embrace a shift in the media landscape: the sale of airwaves now used for television to create more wireless Internet systems.
4. The Buffett tax rate is really more of a guideline.
 ....The Buffett Rule, which sets minimum tax rates for millionaires, is not in the president’s budget plan because it would complicate the current tax code, the White House said.
Today's Headlines of Interest:
IRS faces surge in identity theft tax fraud.
The Internal Revenue Service is grappling with a surge in identity theft-based tax fraud as crooks take advantage of web-based resources including electronic filing. Identity theft cases, in which criminals obtain living or deceased people’s names and Social Security numbers to defraud the government, ranked No. 1 on an annual “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams the agency released Thursday. The IRS called ID theft one of the most complex threats it handles.
The IRS estimates 404,000 people were victimized by identity theft tax fraud from mid-2009 to the end of 2011. “We are seeing growth in this area. There’s no way around it,” said Terry Lemons, IRS director of communications. “But I also think that we’ve gotten better at detecting it.” The IRS said it stopped nearly 262,000 fake returns based on identity theft from being processed in 2011, preventing nearly $1.5 billion in refunds from going to criminals. That is more than a fivefold increase from 2010, when the agency stopped about 49,000 fake returns seeking $247 million in fraudulent refunds. The IRS said it has no way of knowing how much in fraudulent refunds made it through the system undetected.
The agency has added new filters to screen for potential identity theft tax fraud and is working harder to help victims get their rightful refunds. In late January, the IRS and Justice Department announced a nationwide sweep of arrests, indictments and other actions against 105 suspected perpetrators of the crime in 23 states. The IRS is under tremendous pressure to get taxpayers their refunds as quickly as possible while also accurately screening for fakes. That’s complex because people's lives are complicated. Many of the things that might flag a return as fraudulent -- such as a change in job, mailing address or name -- are legitimate. The new IRS filters mean that more people’s tax refunds will get extra screening before they go out, Lemons said.
Despite the agency's efforts, Foley, the identity theft expert, expects the problem to get worse before it gets better. That’s because criminals keep finding new ways to evade IRS systems. Still, he thinks the IRS is doing the best it can given its limitations. People want their legitimate tax refunds as fast as possible, but if the IRS doesn’t catch the fraud before the refund goes out, the agency may not even realize fraud has occurred until long after, when the real taxpayer goes to file a return.
Of course, there is one sure-fire way to prevent the ID theft - do things the old-fahioned way - by snail mail.
Thought for Today
"Wounded vanity knows when it is mortally hurt; and limps off the field, piteous, all disguises thrown away. But pride carries its banner to the last; and fast as it is driven from one field unfurls it in another."
—-Helen Hunt Jackson, author (1831-1885
 Today's flower: Asclepias incarnata 'Soulmate' or vanilla butterfly flower - Its sweet vanilla smell draws butterflies and hummingbirds, but this is one tough, versatile plant. Suitable for moist soil, such as next to a pond, but also tolerant of dry conditions.
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Post by pegasus on Feb 18, 2012 11:17:57 GMT -7
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me
:)This is the 49th day of 2012 with 316 days left in the year.
 Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 12:10 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 32ºF [Feels like 26ºF], winds S @ 6 mph, humidity 80%, pressure 29.90 in and falling, dew point 27ºF, chance of precipitation 60%.
Today in History:
1516--Mary Tudor, future Mary I of England, was born to King Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
1546--Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation, died in Eiselben, Germany.
1564--the artist Michelangelo died in Rome
1848--Louis Comfort Tiffany, a craftsman and designer who made significant advancements in the art of glassmaking, was born; died 1933 at age 85
1861--Jefferson Davis was sworn in as president of the Confederate States of America in Montgomery, Ala.
1885--The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain was published.
1930--photographic evidence of Pluto was discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz.
1931--Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison was born.
1970--five of the Chicago Seven were found guilty of intent to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic national convention. (The convictions were later overturned.)
1972--the California Supreme Court struck down the state's death penalty.
1977--the space shuttle Enterprise, sitting atop a Boeing 747, went on its maiden flight above the Mojave Desert.
1984--Italy and the Vatican signed an accord under which Roman Catholicism ceased to be the state religion of Italy.
2001--NAXCAR icon Dale Earnhardt Sr., 49, died from injuries suffered in a crash at the Daytona 500.
2001--FBI agent Robert Hanssen was arrested, accused of spying for Russia for more than 15 years. (Hanssen pleaded guilty and is serving life in prison without parole.)
2002--Andrea Yates went on trial in Houston, charged with two counts of capital murder for the drownings of three of her five children, ages 6 months to 7 years.
2006--American Shani Davis won the men's 1,000-meter speedskating in Turin, becoming the first black athlete to win an individual gold medal in Winter Olympic history.
2006--a Hamas-dominated Palestinian parliament was sworn in in Gaza.
2007--twin car bombs blew up in a mostly Shiite area of Baghdad, killed at least 62 people.
2007--a pair of bombs on a train headed from India to Pakistan killed 68 people.
2010--software engineer A. Joseph Stack III crashed his single-engine plane into a building containing IRS offices in Austin, Texas, killing one person besides himself.
2011--the US vetoed a U.N. resolution that would have condemned Israeli settlements as illegal and called for a halt in all settlement building; the 14 other Security Council members voted in favor of the measure.
World News Capsules:
1. China detains Tibetans after trip to India, rights group says.
....Several hundred Tibetans who had attended teaching sessions overseen by the Dalai Lama were being forced to undergo political re-education, Human Rights Watch said.
a. China's leader in waiting heads home after a little Laker magic.
....Vice Pres. Xi Jinping gets a jersey with his name on it and leaves declaring his visit 'fully successful'.
b. Chinee labor, cheap no more.
....The low-cost labor that has made China's factories nearly unbeatable is not so cheap anymore.
2. Murdoch visits downcast tabloid, with other son in tow.
....Rupert Murdoch visited The Sun with his son Lachlan in a signal that James, the heir apparent until the phone hacking scandal last summer, may have ceded his place.
a. Murdoch to launch new Sun on Sunday paper amid crisis.
....Media magnate Rupert Murdoch seeks to rein in a crisis over alleged misconduct at the embattled Sun newspaper, part of his huge News Corp. empire, telling staffers at The Sun (Britain's best-selling paper) that the company will launch a Sunday edition.
3. Negotiations with Iran over nuclear rogram may resume.
 ....An offer by Iran for talks came as a telecommunications network vital to the global banking industry prepared to expel Iranian banks.
4. Report: Kim Jong II's eldest son falls on hard times.
....Kim Jong Nam, 41, the wayward eldest son of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, has been kicked out of his luxury lodgings in the gambling mecca of Macau after failing to pay $15,000 in arrears, according to a report.
5. Meeting in Pakistan reveals tensions over Afghan talks.
 ....Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan’s foreign minister, described as “preposterous” Afghan demands that her country deliver the insurgent leadership to the negotiating table.
6. Palestinian's trial shines light on military justice.
(Islam Dar Ayyoub was taken from his home, then pressed to inform on his relatives, neighbors and friends. His brother Omar, in the picture above, is in prison[/size]) ....As a grass-roots leader goes on trial, having been incriminated by a teenager, questions are being raised about the legal system Palestinians are placed into. 7. Police raid Moscow bank owned by Putin critic.  ....Federal agents conducted a search of the National Reserve Bank owned by Aleksandr Y. Lebedev, a billionaire tycoon who owns a newspaper critical of the Kremlin. 8. Despite safety worries, work on deadly flue to be released in Switzerland.  ....Most of a group of experts meeting in Geneva felt any risk of a modified bird flu virus's use by terrorists was outweighed by the "real and present danger" of similar viruses in the wild. 9. Syrian forces fire on vast crowd of mourners near Assad's palace.  ....Crowd of up to 30,000 people began protesting at funeral of three young people killed by Assad loyalist troops. a. Momentum builds for Syria action ahea of Tunis conference. ....Backers of an Arab League peace plan said Friday that they were seeking new ways to aid opponents of President Bashar al-Assad and to ensure next week’s conference puts additional pressure on him. b. Times correspondent Anthony Shadid's death puts focus on difficulties of covering a secretive Syria.  ....The uprising in Syria has become, for journalists, one of the most difficult assignments in many years, with reporters sneaking in to bear witness at great personal risk. 10. Islamists' ideas on democracy and faith face test in Tunisia.  ....In an article he wrote before his death from asthma on Thursday, Mr. Shadid examined how a party shaped by repression hopes to act as a regional model after being voted into power in Tunisia. 11. Pope makes NY's Timothy Dolan a cardinal.  ....Pope Benedict, putting his mark on the Catholic Church's future, on Saturday inducted 22 men — including New York's Archbishop Timothy Dolan — into the exclusive club of cardinals who will one day elect one of their own to succeed him, a. Vatican's celebratory mood is dampened by leaks.  ....Letters have exposed the church’s inner workings in a scandal seen as stemming from a power struggle. 12. Music meets Chavez politics, and critics frown.  ....Pres. Hugo Chávez’s embrace of the musical education program El Sistema has angered some of its supporters and provoked rare criticism of two of Venezuela’s most celebrated figures. US News Capsules: 1. 'Heroic' ICE agent praised for saving colleague's life by shooting another. ....ICE director says agent who killed gunman is doing remarkably well under the circumstances' 2. Family, friends, fans gather for Whitney Houston's funeral.  ...A superstar is mourned as Stevie Wonder, R. Kelly, Alicia Keys and gospel greats Kim Burrell and BeBe Winans perform at the funeral. 3. Test run for Mars detects life beneath Chilean desert.  ....Instrument finds salt-loving microbes in Atacama; similar conditions exist on Red Planet 4. Oil price surge could dampen recovery. ....A recent surge in crude oil prices sparked by saber-rattling from Iran could affect consumers, corporate profits and the Federal Reserve. 5. For women under 30, most births occur outside marriage.  ....Motherhood without marriage among younger women across the country is both a symbol of the transforming family and a hint of coming generational change. a. Young mothers describe marriage's fading allure. ....A societal shift is changing life in Lorain, Ohio, where most babies born to women under 30 are outside marriage. 6. Drones set sights on US skies.  ....Authorities are coming to terms with a commercial drone industry that has emerged in recent years. A new law will permit drones of all kinds in American airspace by 2015, which concerns privacy advocates who decry expanding surveillance boundaries. 7. As Mardi Gras nears, watch out for Wookiees. ....In two years, the Star Wars-inspired Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus has become the fastest-growing parade float sponsor at the New Orleans Mardi Gras celebration. 8. Tiny Grand Canyon town has its say on big project.  ....Tusayan, Ariz., a town of only 600 residents near the Grand Canyon, is considering a plan for a massive development of hotels, stores and other amenities. 9. In serial killers' graveyard, a town's wounds reopen.  ....Authorities in Linden, Calif., have dug up more than 1,000 bones from victims of two men known as the “speed freak killers,” who terrorized the area during the 1980s and ’90s. 10. Justice Dept. backs equal benefits for gay couples in military. ....The Justice Department said it would not defend statutes barring same-sex spouses in the military from marriage benefits, saying it shared the view of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit. 11. The message on contracepton, without apology.  ....Other priests may avoid the topic, but not the Rev. Roger J. Landry, who gives his parishioners the Catholic Church’s 80-proof doctrine, straight up. POLITICS: 1. Santorum: Obama makes US 'less safe.'  ....Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum told Ohio voters Friday that President Obama had made the country less secure., accusing Obama of alienating allies and embracing hostile countries The comments came just hours after FBI and Capitol police arrested Amine El Khalifi, a Moroccan authorities say was intent on carrying out a suicide bombing inside the U.S. Capitol, in a sting operation. a. Santorum clarifies birth control stance. ....He said his position has been misconstrued by opponents which have put him on both sides of the issue. "My position is birth control can and should be available," the former senator from Pennsylvania said at a campaign event in Columbus, Ohio, as he works to distinguish between his public policy and personal beliefs. 2. High gas prices give GOP issue to attack Obama.  ....The White House is preparing for Republicans to use consumer angst about the cost of oil and gas to condemn the president’s energy programs and economic policies. 3. In Maryland, House passes bill to let gays wed.  ....Senate passage is considered likely, but the bill’s implementation remains uncertain because its opponents promised to put it on the November ballot. 4. Tax cut extension passes; everyone claims a win.  ....With each party saying it pocketed an election-year victory, Congress voted to extend payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits and sent the legislation to Presi. Obama. 5. Romney: Santorum not fiscal conservative.  ....The former Massachusetts governor told an audience of more than one thousand people that Santorum was not a fiscal conservative, and accused him of contributing to the rising federal deficit during his time in the Senate. Today's Headlines of Interest: Why the GOP looks to federal workers to pay When congressional Republicans try to figure out how to avert cuts in defense spending, or offset the cost of an extension of unemployment insurance, it is often federal workers they look to for the money. A dispute over making federal employees pay a bigger share of their pensions was one snarl that delayed the bipartisan accord announced Wednesday night on a bill to extend the payroll tax cut, continue unemployment benefits for long-term jobless people, and avert a 27 percent cut in payments to doctors serving Medicare patients. For months, Republicans have been pushing bills to reduce the federal workforce through attrition. Republicans point out that since 2007 the federal workforce has grown by 14 %, even as the recession decimated private sector jobs. John McCain, R-Ariz. and a phalanx of other pro-military Republican senators warned of automatic spending cuts looming at the end of the year, they proposed to come up with the money to fend off those cuts by hiring only two workers for every three who leave federal employment. They also wanted to maintain the freeze on cost-of-living wage increases for federal employees until mid-2014. The House voted last month to keep the cost-of-living pay freeze for this year and next year. Even with the freeze, federal workers still do get pay increases based on performance and length of service. Republicans also turn to federal workers for the money because they point out that they’re better compensated than workers with comparable skills and experience in the private sector, according to an analysis released last month by the Congressional Budget Office. The CBO said that overall, the federal government paid 16 percent more in total compensation than it would have if compensation had been comparable with that in private sector firms. The biggest difference is not in pay, but in benefits: “On average for workers at all levels of education, the cost of hourly benefits was 48 percent higher for federal civilian employees than for private-sector employees with certain similar observable characteristics,” the CBO said. And the thing that federal workers have that most private-sector workers do not -- the defined-benefit pension plan – was a bone of contention in the bargaining over the payroll tax package. In the end, instead of increasing the amount all federal workers must pay for their pension benefit, the accord makes only new federal employees pay more. With Maryland having 137,000 executive branch workers, House Budget Committee ranking member Rep. Chris Van Hollen and Senate Finance Committee member Sen. Ben Cardin, both of Maryland, fought hard to limit the damage to those workers in the deal that was announced Wednesday night. They argued that it was "inherently unfair" that the money to offset the cost of extending unemployment insurance came from "additional sacrifice from other middle-class families rather than the very wealthiest Americans who can afford to pay more but continue to pay less." This is just another GOP battle over government workers at all levels of government. Just like that played out in Wisconsin, and other states last year, where Republican Gov. Scott Walker fought to have public-sector workers pay more of their pension and health insurance costs and signed a law curbing their right to collective bargaining. Thought for Today"Opinion is that exercise of the human will which helps us to make a decision without information." —-[/i]John Erskine, author & educator (1879-1951).
Today's flower: Tradescantia Sweet Kate or purple plume astilbe - Extra-large plumes of lavender-purple keep flowering well after other astilbe have stopped. Delicate, lacy foliage turns from glossy green to rich reddish bronze in the cooler months of fall. Looks lovely in dried flower arrangements. A true three-season plant.
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Post by pegasus on Feb 19, 2012 11:38:35 GMT -7
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me
 This is the 50th day of 2012 with 315 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 12:39 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 31ºF [Feels like 23ºF], winds W @ 8 mph, humidity 51%, pressure 30.11 in and falling, dew point 15ºF, chance of precipitation 10%.
Today in History:
1473--the astronomer Copernicus was born in Torun, Poland.; died 1543 at age 70.
1777--the Continental Congress overlooked Benedict Arnold for promotion.
1803--Congress voted to accept Ohio's borders and constitution.
1807--former vice president Aaron Burr was arrested for treason.
1846--the Texas state government was formally installed in Austin, with J. Pinckney Henderson taking the oath of office as governor.
1847--the first rescuers reached surviving members of the Donner Party, emigrants stranded by snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on their way to California.
1878--Thomas Edison received a patent for "an improvement in phonograph or speaking machines."
1881--Kansas became the first state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages.
1884--37 tornadoes swept across the Southeast US, killing 167 people and injured another 1,000.
1912--Stan Kenton, the American bandleader who was an innovator in the progressive jazz style of the 1950's, was born; died 1979 at age 67.
1915--British and French battleships launch a massive attack on Turkish positions at the entrance to the Dardanelles,
1940--R&B singer, songwriter Smokey Robinson was born.
1942--Pres. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which authorized the U.S. military to exclude people from designated areas. (The order was used to relocate and intern American residents of Japanese ancestry, a majority of whom were native-born U.S. citizens.)
1942--Japanese warplanes raided the Australian city of Darwin; at least 243 people were killed.
1945--some 30,000 US Marines landed on the Western Pacific island of Iwo Jima and began a month-long battle to seize control of the island from Japanese forces.
1959--an agreement was signed by Britain, Turkey and Greece granting Cyprus its independence.
1960--Prince Andrew, 2nd son of Queen Elizabeth II, turns 52.
1976--calling the issuing of Executive Order 9066 "a sad day in American history," Presi. Ford issued a proclamation confirming that the order had been terminated with the formal cessation of hostilities of World War II.
1983--13 people were found shot to death at a gambling club in Seattle's Chinatown in what became known as the Wah Mee Massacre.
1984-- Cale Yarborough wins his fourth Daytona 500.
1992--Irish Republican Army member Joseph Doherty was deported from the US to Northern Ireland following a ten-year battle for political asylum. (Doherty was imprisoned for killing a British army commando in 1980; he was freed in 1998 under the Good Friday Agreement.)
1997--Deng Xiaoping, the last of China's major Communist revolutionaries, died in Beijing at age 92.
2002--NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft began mapping the Red Planet.
2004--former Enron Corp. CEO Jeffrey Skilling was charged with fraud, insider trading and other crimes in connection with the energy trader's collapse.
2007--New Jersey became the third state to offer civil unions to gay couples.
2008--an ailing Fidel Castro resigned the Cuban presidency after nearly a half-century in power.
2010--golfer Tiger Woods admitted infidelity and acknowledged receiving therapy.
2010--the FBI concluded that Army scientist Bruce Ivins acted alone in the 2001 anthrax mailings that killed five people, and formally closed the case.
2011--security forces in Libya and Yemen fired on pro-democracy demonstrators as the two hard-line regimes struck back against the wave of protests.
2011--the world's dominant economies struck a watered-down deal on how to smooth out trade and currency imbalances blamed for a global financial crisis.
World News Capsules:
1. In struggle with Taliban, on guard for Charlatans.
....A so-called senator may have been a spy, and an Afghan hailed as a defector has raised suspicions that he is faking.
2. In race to run Hong Kong, scandal taints Beijing's choice.
....The candidate who is favored by Beijing to take Hong Kong’s top government position is facing increased pressure to end his campaign because of a series of missteps.
a. An ambivalent China affirms the charisma of the Dalai Lama
.
 ....China’s efforts to turn the Dalai Lama’s hometown into a tourist attraction highlight the contradictory attitude toward Tibet’s spiritual leader, whom the government has derided as a separatist.
b. Foxconn plans to lift pay sharply at factories in China.
 ....One of the biggest suppliers for Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and other electronics companies said salaries for many workers would immediately jump by 16 to 25%.
b. China takes new step to prime its slowng economy.
....The People's Bank of China lowered the amount of capital banks must keep in reserve in a move to buoy economic growth.
3. Trial of Americans in Egypt shakes ties between the nations.
....A politically charged inquiry into foreign funding of nonprofit groups has plunged relations between Egypt and the US to the lowest point in three decades.
4. As old Francs expire, France makes a small mint.
....The French treasury banked some 550 million euros for doing nothing — simply letting the French franc, created in 1360, finally perish in exchange for the euro.
5. Court in Iran starts trial in bank fraud.
....The trial of 32 defendants in a $2.6 billion bank fraud case, described as the biggest financial swindle in the country’s history, has begun.
6. Car bomber kills 13 in attack on Baghdad police.
....A suicide car bomber struck at the gates of Baghdad’s police academy, leaving 15 dead and 21 wounded.
7. Emperor Akihito of Jpan is stable after bypass surgery.
....The emperor, 78, was expected to leave the hospital within two weeks.
8. Latvians reject Russian as 2nd language.
....The vote defeated a constitutional referendum that underscored ethnic and political tensions that remain.
9. South Africans suffer as graft saps provinces.
4img]http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/02/19/world/SOUTHAFRICA/SOUTHAFRICA-sfSpan.jpg[/img] ....Officials in Limpopo Province overspent their budget by about $250 million, much of it on questionable or fraudulent payments and contracts with businesses linked to the province's politicians. 10. Syria rebels plan Damascus 'day of defiance.' ....Police and militia patrols fanned out in the Merze district of Damascus to try to prevent protests that have threatened President Assad's grip on the capital. a. frustrated protesters fill the streets in Syria's capital.  ....Hundreds of people braved scattered gunfire in the biggest such march near the heart of Damascus since the country's uprising started 11 months ago. b. For Syria, reliant on Russia for weapons and food, old bonds run deep.  ....The Kremlin, seemingly undeterred by an international outcry, has worked frantically to preserve its relationship with the government of Pres. Assad. US News Capsules: 1. Bonds baked by mortgages regain allure. ....Spurred by predictions of profits even in the worst forecasts, big-money investors are returning to the same complex loan pools that nearly washed away the financial system. 2. 60 lives, 30 kidneys, all linked.  ....A record chain of kidney transplants resulted from mix of medical need, pay-it-forward selflessness and lockstep coordination among 17 hospitals over four months. A Good Samaritan kidney donation by a California man began a progression of kidney retrievals and transplants, as 30 donors gave their organs to 30 strangers on behalf of their loved ones. a. Lack of unified systemp hampers kidney transplant efforts. ....More than a decade after the first organ swap in the US, the transplant world remains disjointed, as competing private registries operate with little government regulation. 3. 2 senators suggest helping Syrian rebels. ....Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham laid out proposals that would put the US squarely behind the movement to topple Pres. Bashar al-Assad. 4. For space mess, scientists seek celestial broom.  ....A group has warned that extraterrestrial clutter has reached a point where, if nothing was done, a cascade of collisions would eventually make low-Earth orbit unusable. 5. Justices sit on highest court, but still live without top security.  ....With many American officials blanketed by protection, Supreme Court justices are the unfettered, mostly unrecognized exceptions. 6. Budget woes prompt erosion of public jobs, with a heavy toll in Silicon Valley.  ....San Jose, Calif., a growing city in the heart of Silicon Valley has had to lay off about a fifth of city employees and reduce services sharply. 7. The warmth of winter is casting a chill on ice fishing.  ....The weather is causing officials in Lake Minnetonka, Minn. and other spots nationwide to cancel programs and impose bans on ice fishing. 8. When a county runs off the cliff.  ....For all the talk in Washington about taxes and deficits, Jefferson County, Ala., is a place where government finances, and government itself, have simply broken down. 9. Data collection arms race feeds privacy fears. ....Latest lapses have prompted criticism from privacy advocates and lawmakers, along with apologies from the companies POLITICS: 1. Santorum questions education system; criticizes Obama.  ....His candidacy surging, Rick Santorum said government-run schools were “anachronistic” and waded into what he called the “phony theology” of Pres. Obama’s environmental agenda. 2. Romney Arizona co-chair resigns amid allegation.  ....Paul Babeu stepped down as a co-chairman of Mitt Romney’s Arizona campaign after allegations that he threatened to deport a former boyfriend. Today's Headlines of Interest: Thought for Today"Passion and prejudice govern the world; only under the name of reason." —-[/i]John Wesley , English theologian (1703-1791)
Today's flower: Astilbe simplicifolia or sprite astilbe
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Post by pegasus on Feb 20, 2012 11:04:25 GMT -7
PRESIDENT'S DAY
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me
This is the 51st day of 2012 with 314 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 12:33 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 26ºF [Feels like 18ºF], winds NW @ 8 mph, humidity 70%, pressure 30.22 in and rising, dew point 19ºF, chance of precipitation 10%.
Today in History:
1790--Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II died at age 48.
1792--Pres. Washington signed an act creating the US Post Office.
1809--the US Supreme Court ruled that the power of the federal government is greater than that of any individual state.
1839--the US Congress prohibited dueling in the District of Columbia.
1862--William Wallace Lincoln, the 11-year-old son of Pres. & Mrs. Lincoln, died at the White House, apparently of typhoid fever.
1895--Abolitionist (ex-slave) Frederick Douglass died.
1902--Ansel Adams, the photographer noted for his landscapes of the American West, was born; died 1984 at age 82.
1907--Pres. Theodore Roosevelt signed an immigration act which excluded "idiots, imbeciles, feebleminded persons, epileptics, insane persons" from being admitted to the US.
1938--British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden resigned in protest over Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's decision to negotiate with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
1942--Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), US Senator & Minority Leader, was born.
1944--US bombers began raiding German aircraft manufacturing centers in a series of attacks that became known as "Big Week."
1962--astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth as he flew aboard the Friendship 7 Mercury capsule.
1965--the Ranger 8 spacecraft crashed on the moon after sending back 1000s of pictures of the lunar surface.
1987--a bomb left by Unabomber Ted Kaczynski exploded behind a computer store in Salt Lake City, seriously injuring store owner Gary Wright.
1987--Soviet authorities released Jewish activist Josef Begun.
1998--Tara Lipinski became at age 15 the youngest gold medalist in Winter Olympics history when she won the ladies' figure skating title at Nagano, Japan for the US.
2002--a Cairo-to-Luxor passenger train caught fire, killing some 360 people.
2003---fire broke out during a rock concert at a nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., killing 100 people and injuring about 200 others.
2005--Hunter S. Thompson, gonzo journalist & author, committed suicide at age 67 by shooting himself.
2007--a divided federal appeals court ruled that Guantanamo Bay detainees could not use the US court system to challenge their indefinite imprisonment.
2007--in New Orleans, thousands of hurricane-weary residents joined with rowdy visitors to celebrate the second Mardi Gras since Katrina
2010--Alexander Haig, US Army geneeral and statesman who'd held high posts in three Republican administrations (Reagon Secretary of State) and some of the U.S. military's top jobs (commander of NATO), died at age 85.
2011--security forces loyal to Libya's Moammar Qadhafi unleashed heavy gunfire as 1000s marched in the rebellious eastern city of Benghazi, cutting down mourners trying to bury victims.
World News Capsules:
1. 'All the elements' of new $171 billion Greek bailout in place, French official says.
....European governments are ready to agree to a new bailout package for Greece, France's finance minister said ahead of a meeting with his counterparts in Brussels.
2. US should help Syrian rebels, GOP senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham say.
....Senators cite Iran as a major reason for action in Syria .
US News Capsules:
1. This could be the week stocks' rally comes to end.
....If upcoming earnings from U.S. retailers are as unimpressive as the rest of the profit season has been, Wall Street could face a tough time justifying a stock market at nine-month highs.
2. Remains of runaway girl Nicholle Coppler found in Ohio rapist's home.
....The skeletal remains of 14-year-old Ohio runaway Nicholle Coppler, who went missing in 1999, have been found after the home where she was last seen was demolished, according to police, The home was owned by Glen Fryer, who had been a suspect in Coppler's death. The newspaper reported Fryer was 55 when he killed himself in 2002 while awaiting sentencing for raping a girl.
Today's Headlines of Interest:
Thought for Today
"Life begets life. Energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich."
—-Sarah Bernhardt, French actress (1844-1923).
Today's flower: Phlox divaricata 'Blue Perfume' or wild sweet william - airy blooms shine in periwinkle blue to light lavender that are perfect for brightening shaded woodland settings, borders or rock gardens. Has a light spicy-sweet fragrance.
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Post by pegasus on Feb 21, 2012 10:49:29 GMT -7
FAT TUESDAY
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me
This is the 52nd day of 2012 with 313 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 12:17 p.m., it's fair , temp 30ºF [Feels like 22ºF], winds SSW @ 8 mph, humidity 51%, pressure 30.07 in and falling, dew point 17ºF, chance of precipitation 70%.
Today in History:
1828--the Cherokee received their 1st printing press.
1848--former Pres. John Quincy Adams suffered a stroke on the floor of the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. (He died two days later.)
1848--Karl Marx published his Communist Manifesto in London.
1862--the North and South clashed at the Battle of Valverde near Fort Craig in New Mexico Territory, the 1st major engagement in the Far West.
1862--Nathaniel Gordon, captured at sea with nearly 900 Africans aboard his ship, the Erie, became the first and only American slave-trader to be executed under the U.S. Piracy Law of 1820 as he was hanged in New York.
1878--the 1st telephone directory was issued, by the District Telephone Co. of New Haven, Conn.
1885--the Washington Monument was dedicated.
1893--Andres Segovia, the Spanish musician who established the guitar as an important concert instrument, was born; died 1987 at age 94.
1912--the Great 5th Ward Fire broke out in Houston, Texas with over $3 million in loses, but no lives.
1916--the Battle of Verdun began in France as German forces attacked (the French were able to prevail after 10 months of fighting.)
1925--the New Yorker magazine made its debut.
1926--glamorous, husky-voiced Swedish actress, Greta Garbo's first American film, The Torrent opened.
1944--Hideki Tojo, prime minister of Japan, took over as army chief of staff, giving him direct control of the military.
1945--during the battle of Iwo Jima, the escort carrier USS Bismarck Sea was sunk by kamikazes with the loss of 318 men.
1947--Edwin H. Land publicly demonstrated his Polaroid Land camera, which could produce a black-and-white photograph in 60 seconds.
1948--the National Association for Stock Car Racing (NASCAR) wais officially incorporated, becoming one of America's most popular spectator sports, as well as a multi-billion-dollar industry.
1965--Malcolm X, 39, African American nationalist and religious leader, was assassinated by member of the Nation of Islam as he was about to addresshis Orangization of Afro-American Unity in New York City's Audubon Ballroom in Wasington Heights.
1970--Kissinger began secret negotiations wth North Vietnam.
1972--Pres. Nixon began his historic visit to China.
1973--Israeli fighter planes shot down Libyan Airlines Flight 114 over the Sinai Desert, killing all but five of the 113 on board.
1986--Larry Wu-tai Chin, the first American found guilty of spying for China, killed himself in his Virginia jail cell.
1988--TV evangelist Jimmy Swaggart tearfully confessed to his congregation in Baton Rouge, La., that he was guilty of an unspecified sin, and said he was leaving the pulpit temporarily. (Reports linked Swaggart to a prostitute.)
1989--Pres. Bush called Ayatollah Khomeini's death warrant against Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie "deeply offensive to the norms of civilized behavior.")
1995--Chicago stockbroker Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon, landing in Canada.
2002--the State Department declared that Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was dead, a month after he'd been abducted by Islamic extremists in Pakistan.
2007--Prime Minister Tony Blair announced Britain would withdraw around 1,600 troops from Iraq; Denmark said it would withdraw its 460 troops.
2011--deep cracks opened in Moammar kadhafi's regime, with Libyan government officials at home and abroad resigning, air force pilots defecting and a major government building ablaze after clashes in the capital of Tripoli.
2011--Yemen's embattled leader, Pres. Ali Abdullah Saleh, rejected demands that he step down.
World News Capsules:
1, Afghans rage as NATO apologizes for Koran burning.
....Afghan demonstrators used slingshots and fired guns in the air while U.S. helicopters responded with flares, after thousands of angry people gathered to protest the alleged burning of copies of the Quran at the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan. The NATO commander in Afghanistan issued a fervent apology on Tuesday for foreign troops having “improperly disposed” of Korans and Islamic materials.
2. Dossier details Egypt's case against Democracy groups.
....The Egyptian prosecution’s summary of the case against at least 16 Americans and others from five democracy and human rights groups focuses largely on the testimony of their accusers.
3. Strauss-Kahn held over alleged prostitution links.
....Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was taken in for questioning by police investigating an alleged prostitution ring run out of the northern French city of Lille, Strauss-Kahn can be held for up to 48 hours and may then be placed under formal investigation for benefiting from misappropriated company funds. Investigators are trying to find out whether French executives used corporate expense accounts to fund sex parties with prostitutes.
4. Deal done: Europe seals $170 million Greek bailout to avoid chaotic default.
....After months of tough negotiating, Europe and the International Monetary Fund sealed a deal to hand Greece €130 billion ($170 billion) in additional bailout loans to save it from a default that threatened the viability of the euro, undermining global economic confidence.
a. In latest Greek bailout, warning signs for Erope.
....Greece's €130 billion bailout highlights the weaknesses in Europe's response to the sovereign debt crisis, problems that could flare up and undermine recovery efforts in countries like Italy, Spain, Ireland and Portugal.
5. Iran warns US as Syria intensifies crackdown.
....Two Iranian warships docked in a Syrian port as a senior Iranian lawmaker denounced American calls for arming the opposition.
a. Iranian ships reported to leave Syria.
....Two Iranian warships that docked in a Syrian port were reported to have left, with their cargo and mission still unclear.
6. US in accord with Mexico on drilling.
....The accord along the maritime border in the Gulf of Mexico would potentially open more than a million acres to deepwater drilling
7. Poland leads wave of Communist-Era reckoning.
....After decades of resisting, Poland and many of its neighbors in Central and Eastern Europe have decided the time is right to deal with their Communist past.
8. For Russia, a new kind of presidential candidate; a billionaire
....Mikhail D. Prokhorov, a fresh face in Russian politics, must overcome suspicions about the rich and a powerful opponent, Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin.
9. Saudi Arabia names ambassador to Iraq.
....Saudi Arabia has moved to repair a long-fractured relationship, naming its first envoy to Iraq in more than two decades, Iraq’s foreign minister said.
10. Spike in rhino poaching threaens survival of species.
....In South Africa, home to three quarters of the last remaining rhinos on the planet, conservationists, private game reserve owners and security forces are waging a desperate battle against poachers intent on killing the country’s rhinos for their lucrative horns. “It is an epidemic. It’s a war that right now we’re losing,” Graeme Rushmere said. “It’s not a South African issue as such, it’s really a global issue.”
11. Yemen's President cedes authority with election, but hopes to retain influence.
(A woman shows her ink-stained finger after voting)
....Ali Abdullah Saleh signaled his hope to retain some degree of influence on his country's affairs a day before an election in which his vice president is the only candidate on the ballot.
a. Yemen votes to formally remove president.
....Yemenis voted on Tuesday to remove Pres. Saleh in a rare move for an Arab state where popular dissent unseated a dictator.
US News Capsules:
1. EEK! "Scream" expected to fetch $80 million at Sotheby's auction.
....Version is just one of four known and the last to be held privately and will be auctioned off in New York on May 2nd.
2. Race-based admissions? Supreme Court to hear Texas case.
....The Supreme Court will once again confront the issue of race in university admissions in a case brought by a white student denied a spot at the flagship campus of the University of Texas, A federal appeals court upheld the Texas program at issue.
3. 4.0 earthquake in Missouri shakes 9 states.
....USGS geophysicist says he's heard reports of cracks in sidewalks and walls, some broken windows, and minor household damage.
4. Catolic hospitals expand, religious strings attached.
....Some financially strong Catholic-sponsored medical centers are joining with smaller secular hospitals, in some cases limiting access to treatments like contraception and abortion.
5. HIgher crime, fewer charges on Indian land.
....Violent crimes on Indian reservations, which occur at a higher-than-average rate, are prosecuted at a disproportionately low rate in federal court, new Justice Department data show.
6. Ultrasound abortion bill nears vote in Virginia.
....The controversial bill requiring a woman to get an ultrasound before having an abortion is poised to pass the legislature this week.
7. Settlement talks pick up ahead of BP oil spill trial.
....BP and other defendants are stepping up negotiations in an effort to avoid potential liabilities that some experts have estimated at $40 billion.
8. .
....The deaths of four people in avalanches Sunday are the latest examples of what can happen when backcountry skiing meets high-country snow.
9. New guidelines planned on school vending machines.
....The Obama administration, in a continuation of its efforts to curb childhood obesity, plans to set nationwide guidelines to promote healthy choices in schools.
10. A slow stroll to the Supreme Court.
....An appeals court decision striking down California’s ban on same-sex marriage has scrambled the legal strategies on both sides, especially about whether to seek Supreme Court review.
11. Workouts may not be the best time for a snack.
....There is no end to the crazy foods people will eat at endurance events, but do they actually raise performance?
12. Aging of eyes is blamed for range of health woes.
....New research supports a largely unrecognized culprit in circadian rhythm disturbances: the gradual yellowing of the lens and the narrowing of the pupil that come with age.
THE ARTS:
1. A musician or a Poet? Yes to both.
....Kevin Gordon, a singer-songwriter from the wilds of East Nashville who has a master’s in poetry, just released “Gloryland,” his first album since 2005.
2. Berkeley's artwork loss is a museum's gain.
....A huge carved relief by the African-American sculptor Sargent Johnson, misplaced by the University of California, has become a prized item in the Huntington Library’s collection.
3. In reality and film, a battle for schools.
....As new “parent-trigger” laws seem poised to allow parents to take over failing schools, they’re already the stuff of Hollywood drama.
POLITICS:
1. Coming up: The most important 7 days of Romney's political life.
....With the Michigan and Arizona primaries looming — and fundraising slowing down — the ex-Massachusetts governor faces a crossroads in his campaign.
2. Michigan voters: Santorum connects better than Romney.
....Santorum's growing connection with Michigan conservatives risks embarrassing Romney in his home state. Romney was counting on a strong finish in Michigan's presidential primary on Feb. 28 to carry him into the big, multistate round of voting a week later on Super Tuesday.
3. GOP campaigns grow more dependent on 'Super PAC' aid.
....Intense campaigning in the early-nominating states has left the leading Republican presidential candidates increasingly reliant on millions spent on their behalf by outside groups.
4. Rev. Graham: Obama seen as 'son of Islam.'
....Rev. Franklin Graham, the son of evangelist Billy Graham and a prominent evangelical leader in his own right, waded into contentious waters when asked for his views on the religious beliefs of Pres. Obama and the GOP hopefuls. Graham said he couldn't say for certain the Obama is a Christian. he couldn't "categorically" say Obama wasn't a Muslim, in part, because Islam has gotten a "free pass" under Obama. Graham also said the Muslim world sees Obama as a "son of Islam," because the president's father and grandfather were Muslim. Obama has said again and again that he is a Christian, both as a presidential candidate and as president.
Today's Headlines of Interest:
Santorum defends 'theology' remark, Hitler inference; blames media.
Facing newfound scrutiny as a frontrunner in the Republican presidential race, Rick Santorum today fired back at national media who he says have given undue attention to comments he made this weekend questioning the president's theology. He also defended comments about World War Two that some saw as linking Hitler and President Obama.
Santorum told a Tea Party crowd, "It's not about you. It's not about you. It's not about your quality of life. It's not about your job. It's about some phony ideal, some phony theology. Oh, not a theology based on the Bible, a different theology, but no less a theology. " But in front of a crowd of more than 500 people here on Monday, he said the comments were not meant to question the president's religious beliefs, rather a critique of what he called the "extreme" environmental regulations of the Obama administration. "I referred to it the other day,” he said, “and I got criticized by some of our less than erudite members of the national press corps. You may want to call it a theology; you may want to call it secular values,” Santorum said. “Whatever you want to call it, it’s a different moral values. And the president of the United States is exercising his values and trumping the values of the church.” Today, Santorum did not use the word "theology," instead attacking the president's "ideology."
He was also asked about comments made last night in Georgia that compared America now to Europe during World War Two. Santorum defended the comments today. "It’s a World War Two metaphor,” Santorum said. “It's one I've used 100 times." In response to whether he meant to compare the president to Hitler, Santorum said, "No, of course not."
Those comments were not the only ones from the weekend that the former Pennsylvania senator found himself explaining. In front of the Ohio Christian Alliance, he said the 2010 health-care bill signed by the president encourages aborting children with disabilities by requiring prenatal testing that can detect if a child will not be born healthy. It is an assertion he did not back down from. "I was criticized for making the comment about prenatal testing when it came to amniocentesis,” he said. “Amniocenteses are done by-in-large later in pregnancy whether the child in the womb has a disability.” And he claimed, “s we all know, 90% of Down Syndrome children in this country are aborted once the mother and father find out that that child is going to be less than what they wanted it to be.”
Shoppers find pitfalls with online coupons - not all are honored by merchants.
The online coupon category is getting more crowded daily. Led by giants Groupon and Living Social, there are now 100s of smaller competitors, such as MobileSpinach. But not every email offering a discount is a good deal. "This is a scam of sorts ... or a naive company that thinks they can advertise deals that they have not yet formally acquired," said Edgar Dworsky, a former assistant attorney general in Massachusetts who now runs the consumer advocate website MousePrint.org.
MobileSpinach has previously been accused of selling deals it didn't really have the right to sell. Last August, San Francisco-area foodie magazine Grubstreet wrote two stories about restaurants and consumers getting tripped up by Mobile Spinach group coupons that weren't authorized. In November, a student newspaper at George Washington University reported the same problem in the Washington, D.C., area. The paper said 50 disappointed consumers were turned away from a small restaurant called Crepaway with invalid $10 vouchers they'd purchased from Mobile Spinach for $5.
Vitti, the co-founder of Mobile Spinach, admits that there have been some customer service issues, but blames them on confusion in the coupon marketplace. "This space is getting crowded," he said. "There's just so much confusion. Sometimes merchants don't remember what they've agreed to."
Some deals on MobileSpinach.com weren't arranged directly by the Mobile Spinach sales team, but rather by affiliates in a revenue-sharing arrangement. So as of Feb. 4, he said, Mobile Spinach has stopped dealing with affiliates and will only promote deals sold directly by its sales force. The number of deals being offered dropped from "thousands to about 400" as a result, he said. Consumers who feel they've purchased a bad deal from Mobile Spinach should contact the firm for a refund, he said. "We have a refund-anytime, no-questions-asked policy," he said.
Patients cheer as FDA eases shortages of 2 crucial cnacer drugs.
Ovarian cancer patients whose treatment was interrupted or even stopped entirely because they couldn’t get supplies of the critical chemotherapy drug Doxil applauded news early Tuesday that federal health officials have found a solution to the shortage. Food and Drug Administration officials said they have arranged to import temporarily a replacement drug called Lipodox from an Indian manufacturer, Sun Pharma Global. Availability of the new drug is expected to end the Doxil crisis, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said in a statement released Tuesday.
Last week, officials said they had eased a dire shortage of methotrexate, a chemotherapy drug used to treat childhood leukemia. The FDA also confirmed the agency has granted approval to APP Pharmaceuticals to produce a preservative-free version of the generic drug, the kind most needed to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or A.L.L. In addition, the agency said it has helped manufacturer Hospira to expedite release of an additional 31,000 vials of preservative-free methotrexate, enough for more than one month's worth of demand. FDA officials are also working with other manufacturers to increase production
Doxil and methotrexate were among 287 drugs in shortage in the United States, according to the University of Utah’s Drug Information Service, which has been tracking the problem. Shortages have been mounting in recent years, up from about 74 in 2005, according to the Utah program. The escalating problem has caught the attention of lawmakers, but bills requiring prompt notification of shortages are languishing. Last October, Pres. Obama issued an executive order that led to a rule that now requires drug makers to report promptly shortages of critical drugs.
Now the FDA also issued draft guidance to drugmakers on detailed requirements for both voluntary and mandatory notification of issues that could disrupt the drug supply. Since fall, the FDA has used new information to intervene early with manufacturers to avert shortages of drugs. In 2011, the agency’s efforts avoided 195 shortages, said Erin Fox, who runs the University of Utah drug tracking program. Before the methotrexate and Doxil successes, the FDA already had avoided 18 shortages by the end of January this year.
Obama takes tougher stance on higher education.
There's been a growing debate over whether post-secondary schools should be more transparent about the cost of an education and the success of graduates. Pres. Obama has weighed in with a strong "yes." During his State of the Union address, Obama put the higher education on notice: "If you can't stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down," he said. "Higher education can't be a luxury— it's an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford."
He wants to slightly reduce federal aid for schools that don't control tuition costs and shift it to those that do. He also has proposed an $8 billion program to train community college students for high-growth industries that would provide financial incentives to programs that ensured their trainees find work. Both proposals need congressional approval.
At the same time, the administration is developing both a "scorecard" for use in comparing school statistics such as graduation rates as well as a "shopping sheet" students would receive from schools they applied to with estimates of how much debt they might graduate with and estimated future payments on student loans.
American's higher education system has long been the backbone of much of the nation's success, and there's no doubt that a college degree is valuable. It's now projected that students with a bachelor's degree will earn a million more dollars over their lifetime than students with only a high school diploma, Education Secretary Arne Duncan says. But Obama's statement to Congress jolted the higher education establishment, which believes that college isn't just to create foot soldiers for industry and that the use of measured outcomes would hurt the humanities, meaning fewer students will turn to Shakespeare and instead study engineering, said Anthony Carnevale, director of the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University. The community has already been reeling over an earlier administration decision to require career college programs — many of which are at for-profit institutions — to better prepare students for "gainful employment" or risk losing federal aid. Some fear that Obama might want to apply the "gainful employment" standards to traditional four-year degree programs. Robert Moran, director of federal relations at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, said reporting requires time and resources, and it's even more difficult to gauge the success of a graduate with an English degree than someone with a very specific career certificate.
Obama's administration has expanded the availability of Pell grants, supported a tax credit for tuition costs and is attempting to make it easier for some graduates to pay back loans. But experts say some of the challenges in higher education result from too many students entering the doors without basic math and English skills. There's also the question of how to measure how effective colleges are and whether tuition increases are appropriate — especially for public institutions facing dramatic budget cuts.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who authored a bill on making college costs more transparent, says, "Right now, the information about the potential of various careers, the track records of colleges and the like is essentially strewn all over the countryside." He added, "I think students and their parents are now saying in addition to accessibility, we want to wring the maximum value out of every dollar we're spending on education."
Monaco prince beaten up at late-night brawl in a trendy Manhattan nightsport.
Prince Pierre Casiraghi, grandson of Prince Ranier and Princes Grace of Monaco was beaten up because he was pestering a group of supermodels, his alleged attacker has claimed. Now the man, former bar owner Adam Hock, claims he launched the attack after the prince and his friends became “aggressive” and “belligerent” when they were not given the best table in the club.
But one witness said that Hock was the aggressor, hitting Prince Pierre, 24, and knocking him out, before flattening the other three men. Nima Yamani, a party promoter who is friends with Mr Niachos, claimed that Hock “just went nuts” and attacked the group for no reason. “The prince went down so quick. He was out for the count,” she said, adding that his “face looked broken”.
Sources in the prince’s camp pointed out that the prince’s group at the Double Seven club in New York’s meatpacking district included the Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Jessica Hart, and other top models. Miss Hart is dating Stavros Niarchos III, the shipping heir and ex-boyfriend of heiress Paris Hilton, who was also involved in the brawl.
Prince Pierre whose mother is Princess Caroline of Monaco, and is third in line to the throne of the principality, was left bloody and in pain after the incident, telling friends he thought that his jaw was broken. He was treated at the New York Presbyterian Hospital, but released later the same day.
Hock was arrested and charged with four counts of assaulting the prince, Mr Niachos, 26, and their friends Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld, 27, a French art dealer whose mother Carine was the editor of French Vogue; and Diego Marroquin, 33.
Thought for Today
"There is nothing more horrifying than stupidity in action."
—-[/i]Adlai E. Stevenson , politician &diplomat (1900-1965)
Today's flower: Brunnera macrophylla or baby blues brunnera - a cousin to forget-me-nots, it thrives in naturalized areas, borders, containers, mass plantings and as a ground cover under shrubs.
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Post by pegasus on Feb 22, 2012 12:19:40 GMT -7
ASH WEDNESDAY
Good evening from Tuxy and me
This is the 53rd day of 2012 with 312 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 6:02 p.m., it's c;loudy , temp 42ºF [Feels like 42ºF], winds NNE @ 3 mph, humidity 79%, pressure 29.47 in and falling, dew point 36ºF, chance of precipitation 30%.
Today in History:
1349--Jews are expelled from Zurich, Switzerland.
1495--French King Charles VIII entered Napes to claim the crown.
1630--the Indians introduce the Pilgrims to popcorn.
1656--New Amsterdam (now New York City) was granted a Jewish burial site.
1732--George Washington, Revolutionary War general and 1st Pres. of the US, was born; died 1799 at age 67 at Mount Vernon, Va.
1746--Jacobian troops vacate Aberdeen, Scotland.
1784--a US merchant ship, the Empress of China, left New York for the Far East to trade goods with China.
1821--Spain sold Florida to the US. for $5 million.
1825--Russia and Britain established the Alaska-Canadian boundary.
1847--in the Mexican War, the Battle of Buena Vista began.
1854--the first meeting of the Republican Party was in Michigan.
1862--Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as president of the Confederacy for a 6-year term.
1864--Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest routs a Union force three times the size of his army at the Battle of West Point, Mississippi.
1865--Tennessee adopted a new constitution abolishing slavery.
1876--Johns Hopkins University opened.
1879--Frank Winfield Woolworth opened a five-cent store in Utica, N.Y.
1889--Pres Cleveland signed a bill admitting North and South Dakota, Monatana and Washington to the union.
1862--Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde opened at St James (London).
1900--Hawaii became a US territory.
1903--due to a drought, the US side of Niagara Falls ran out of water.
1909--the Great White Fleet, a naval task force sent on a round-the-world voyage by Pres. Roosevelt, returned after more than a year at sea.
1924--Calvin Coolidge delivered the first presidential radio broadcast from the White House.
1935--it became illegal for airplanes to fly over the White House.
1940--the 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) was enthroned at age 4 in Lhasa, Tibet.
1946--George Kennan, the American charge d'affaires in Moscow, sent an 8,000-word telegram to the Department of State that became one of the most influential underpinnings for America's Cold War policy of containment.
1959--the inaugural Daytona 500 race was held in Daytona Beach, Fla. and although Johnny Beauchamp was initially declared the winner, the victory was later awarded to Lee Petty.
1967--Indonesian Pres. Sukarno surrendered all executive authority to military dictator General Haji Mohammad Suharto.
1968--the Tet Offensive in Vietnam ended.
1973--the US and China agreed to establish liaison offices.
1980--"The Miracle on Ice" - in a stunning upset, the US Olympic hockey team defeated 4-3 the 4-time defending gold-medal-winning Soviets at the XIII Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, N.Y.
2001--a UN crimes tribunal convicted three Bosnian Serbs on charges of rape and torture in the 1st case of wartime sexual enslavement to go before an international court.
2002--San Diego police arrested David Westerfield in connection with the disappearance of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. (Westerfield was later sentenced to death for Danielle's murder.)
2006--a gang of at least six men stole £53 million from the Securitas bank depot in Kent, Great Britain - the largest such theft in British history.
2006--insurgents destroyed the golden dome of one of Iraq's holiest Shiite shrines, the Askariya mosque in Samarra, setting off a spasm of sectarian violence,
2007--Britain's Ministry of Defense announced that Prince Harry, a 2nd lieutenant in the British army, would be deployed to Iraq. 2011--a magnitude-6.1 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, killed 184 people.
2007-- the UN nuclear watchdog agency said Iran had ignored a Security Council ultimatum to freeze uranium enrichment, and instead had expanded its program by setting up hundreds of centrifuges.
2011--Somali pirates shot to death four Americans taken hostage on their yacht several hundred miles south of Oman.
World News Capsules:
1. 49 die, hundreds injured, as Argentine commuter train plows into station.
....More than 600 people are injured, officials say, with reports of some passengers still trapped in carnage at Buenos Aires station after a packed train slammed into the end of the line at the busy Once station.
2. Kevin Rudd resigns as Australia's foreign minister.
....Mr. Rudd resigned amid speculation that he was seeking to topple Prime Minister Julia Gillard and regain the country’s leadership role.
3. US choppers join Balkan winter rescues.
....Two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters arrived in Montenegro Wednesday to join rescue operations in the areas of the tiny Balkan state hit by the heaviest snowfall in 60 years, in response to their urgent appeal to help 1000s of snowbound people.
4. Chinese city severs ties after Japanese mayor denies massacre].
....The Chinese city of Nanjing suspended its sister-city relationship with Nagoya after the Japanese city’s mayor expressed doubts over whether the 1937 Nanjing Massacre happened.
a. Apple defends rights to iPad name in Shanghai court.
....A Chinese firm’s legal challenge threatened to prevent Apple from selling one of its most popular products in one of its fastest growing markets.
5. Relatives seek closure after killings tied to neo-Nazi ring.
....The German government has offered relatives of Turks and a Greek who were killed at least €10,000, and Chancellor Angela Merkel is to speak at an event honoring the victims.
a. In Germany, a limp domestic economy stifled by regulation.
....Alongside Germany’s export success is another, creakier economy that suffers from overregulation and holds back not only the country but the rest of Europe, some economists say.
6. Growing air of concern in Greece over new bailout.
.....Many Greeks said they had begun to feel that the new deal was aimed at saving banks more than the country.
a. For Greece, a bailout; for Europe, perhaps just an illusion.
....The aid package for Greece prevents it from cashing out of the euro zone for now. But what it means as a precedent for other heavily indebted euro zone members is another matter.
7. EU threatens to suspend subsidies to Hungary.
....Once again, Hungary's leader, Viktor Orban, is pitted against the executive arm of the European Union, this time over the state of the country's public finances.
8. American sentenced to death in Iran visied by his mother.
....Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, 28, a former Marine, was convicted of espionage last year in circumstances that remain murky, and sentenced to death.
9. Israel watches Syria, hopefully, but warily.
....The fall of Pres. Assad would be welcome in Jerusalem, but the prospect of chaos across the border worries officials/
10. Guards implicated in Mexico prison's deadly gang attack.
....Officials in the state of Nuevo León said the jailbreak and the massacre had been carried out by the Zetas, a gang of drug enforcers who appeared to have prison authorities under control.
11. Tantalized but cautious, filmmakers capture Myanmar.
....Two new films, a documentary and a biopic about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, portray Myanmar (formerly Burma), a land long isolated from the Wes.
a. Dissidents' new fear in Myanmar: irrelevance.
....The global Burmese-dissident industry may soon be out of business. Funding for seminars is drying up, and foreign diplomats would rather fly into Myanmar than have lunch with exiled dissidents.
12. Fury in Pakistan after US congressman suggests that a province leave.
....A call by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) for the secession of Pakistan’s largest province complicates already strained diplomatic relations between Washington and Islamabad.
13. Palestine Securities Exchange a bright spot in equities.
....Analysts say investor interest in public Palestinian companies has grown over the past two years, a time when initial public offerings have remained at a standstill elsewhere in the Middle East.
14. In Russia, Pres. Medvedev honors controversial Syrian writer.
....Ali Ukla Ursan, who received the Pushkin Medal, has publicly applauded the terror attacks of 9/11, and expressed strong anti-Semitic views.
15. Seoul urges China to not return North Korean refugees.
....Pres. Lee Myung-bak of South Korea urged China on Wednesday to follow “international norms” in its treatment of North Korean refugees..
16. Spain gains access to trove of shipwreck coins.
....Two Spanish Air Force planes left for Florida to recover a treasure weighing about 17 metric tons and with an estimated value of several hundred million euros.
17. Award-winning journalists Marie Colvin, Remi Ochlik killed in Syria, activists and French official say.
....As Homs was shelled for the 19th day by Syrian forces, activists reported the deaths of 80 people, including two award-winning journalists, whose work foiled Syria’s efforts to limit coverage. American Marie Colvin's death from came just hours after she told of the 'sickening' and 'merciless' attacks on civilians by the Assad regime.
a. Refugees from Syria on edge in Lebanon.
....Many residents of the Syria's restive Homs province have increasingly tried to find refuge in Lebanon. Escape involves a short but perilous journey across the border.
18. Cricket match levels the plaing field for laborers in Gulf.
....Laborers in the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf nations exist on the periphery of everyday life, but during the SmartCup cricket tournament at least, they were everyone's equals.
19. Chávez says his cancer shows sign of return.
....Presi. Hugo Chávez of Venezuela said that doctors had found a new lesion that could indicate a return of his cancer, and that he would undergo an operation.
20. Yemen's election ensures leader's exit.
....The vote, in a predetermined election that had one candidate on the ballot for president, was an important transitional moment for Yemen as it ends President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s rule
US News Capsules:
1. Dying to be thing: Young men are the new faces of anorexia.
....For young men and boys suffering from anorexia and other eating disorders, the stigma of having a "girls' disease" often stymies their recovery.
2. Scaredy cat? Dog chases mountain lion up a tree.
....The California Department of Fish and Game responded to a report of a mountain lion 30 to 40 feet up an oak tree at an upscale home on La Barranca and Elena roads Tuesday morning. An 85-pound German Shepherd named Cody apparently was scary enough to cause the mountain lion to retreat.
3. [Bucket brigade gives a lift so salamanders can live to mate/u].
 ....Volunteers have been scooping up the amphibians from the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi and shepherding them to the other side, where ponds serve as mating grounds.
4. Mine superintendent charged in 2010 disaster.
....Gary May is the most senior worker charged and industry observers say that action is an indication that prosecutors are looking up the corporate ladder.
5. Hershey's packer is fined over its safety violations.
....The Labor Department investigation was prompted by complaints from foreign student workers over conditions at the plant in Palmyra, Pa.
6. Tax-cut bill includes updates to jobless benefits system.
....Experts said the little-noticed changes contained in the tax-cut bill passed last Friday would aid the long-term jobless and help hold down the unemployment rate in future recessions.
7. New ruling puts limits on warning to prisoners.
....In a busy day, the US Supreme Court also extended the length of scheduled arguments in the challenges to the 2010 health care overhaul law.
8. Media groups unite on protecting sources.
....A coalition of media organizations has urged a federal appeals court to protect a reporter from being forced to testify about his confidential sources.
9. Genetic maker of men, though diminished, is holding its ground.
....The Y chromosome is just a fraction of its original size, and much smaller than its buxom partner, the X chromosome, but researchers say its gene-shedding days seem to be over.
10. T-Mobile urges US to block Verizon's spectrum purchase.
....In its filing, T-Mobile, the No. 4 cellphone carrier, told the FCC that Verizon’s acquisition with cable companies would place an “excessive concentration” of wireless spectrum in Verizon’s hands,
11. FDA advisory panel backs diet drug.
....A group of outside physicians voted 20 to 2 in favor of the anti-obesity pill Qnexa, which has been plagued by side effects since it was first submitted to the agency in 2010/
POLITICS:
1. Dead heat ahead of Michigan primary.
....Less than a week before Tuesday’s crucial GOP presidential primary in Michigan -- and before tonight’s debate in Arizona -- a new NBC/Marist poll finds Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum locked in a statistical tie in Michigan, while a separate NBC/Marist survey shows Romney comfortably leading in Arizona.
2. Are Latino voters a missed opportunity for GOP?
....Hard-hitting immigration rhetoric is popular with conservative primary voters, but may be costly come November.
3. Romney facing unexpected hurdles in Michigan.
....Mitt Romney’s troubles appear to be linked to the state’s shifting political landscape and a fading emotional bond to his family name.
a. Romney calls for 20% lower taxes, releases no details on how to pay for them.
....The plan would cut all six current tax brackets -- 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35%, depending on a taxpayer's income - by the same proportion of 20%. That would produce this new set of tax brackets: 8%, 12%, 20%, 22.4%, 26.4%, and 28%. For now, at least, Mr. Romney will dodge any potential backlash by avoiding any specifics.
4. In Republican race, a new breed of superdonor.
....An exclusive club in presidential politics includes individuals, couples or corporations that have given $1 million or more to "super PACs."
5. Governor of Virginia calls for changes in abortion bill.
....Gov. Bob McDonnell said he wanted an amendment stipulating that pre-abortion ultrasounds be limited to a non-invasive abdominal scan.
6. Obama offers to cut corporate tax rate to 28%.
....Republicans and business groups complain that the 35 percent corporate tax rate is among the highest in the world, leaving American companies at a disadvantage.
7. 'I misspoke': Franklin Graham clarifies remarks on Obama's faith.
....This wasn't the first time Graham weighed in on the president's faith. The evangelical leader made headlines in 2010 when he said he believed Obama was born a Muslim because of his heritage, but now believes he is a Christian. On Wednesday, Graham repeated that his biggest problem with Obama was the president's position on abortion rights. "I don't question the president's faith. I'm not questioning whether he's a Christian," Graham said on CNN's "Newsroom." "I disagree with his position on abortion."
8. Santorum's Satan defense.
....Rick Santorum offered no apologies Tuesday for a controversial speech he gave in 2008 when he talked about the threat of Satan in America. “I’m a person of faith. I believe in good and evil,” Santorum said in response to questions from CNN.
Today's Headlines of Interest:
Scalpels in the basement: Dirty surgical tools infect 1000s.
A special report on the Today show revealed shocking problems at many hospitals.What NBC found suggests that the handling of the increasingly high-tech instruments can be a weak link in hospitals’ patient safety net.
The departments responsible for cleaning and reassembling surgical instruments -- usually known as “sterile processing” -- are frequently found in hospital basements and sometimes staffed by underpaid hourly laborers. These workers can be a forgotten and neglected part of the team involved in a surgical procedure. As the CPI report indicates, the sterilization workers say they feel more like they’re doing an unrecognized service, with pressure from nurses and surgical staff to make the process as fast as possible. The faster the instruments make it into the operating rooms, the more patients are moving through the surgical suites. But what may seem like a push for efficiency can backfire, with disastrous consequences.
New Jersey is the only state that requires hospital sterilization workers to undergo training.
New research finds that too often, surgical tools are leaving the basements still contaminated with hidden blood, tissue and other debris from previous surgeries. Risk management clinical engineer Jahan Azizi at the University of Michigan ran a video camera through 350 suction instruments and found that all of them contained some kind of debris after they had been sterilized according to protocol. His results were presented to the Food and Drug Administration at meetings this past year.
Although the FDA requires device manufacturers to provide cleaning instructions they don’t require hospitals to report dirty surgical instruments that find their way into operating rooms. And, only 25 states are required to report surgical site infections.
The CPI’s Eaton says that part of the problem is the increasing numbers of minimally invasive surgeries has spurred development of smaller, more complex instruments made from materials like tungsten, plastic and other polymers – not just steel and glass. Experts have pointed out that these new tools are harder to clean and require more detailed instructions from the manufacturers. The FDA requires surgical instrument manufacturers to provide cleaning instructions for each tool. But with rapid advances in surgical procedures over the past few decades some say these cleaning instructions have failed to keep up with the changing landscape of the industry.
“Theoretically, if a device is truly impossible to clean, it should never end up on the marketplace,” said Eaton. Moreover, the testing of these reprocessing procedures are conducted in laboratories, not in the real world. This helps explain Azizi’s results in which 100% of suction tools he looked at were contaminated.
Some experts say the system is flawed and what’s needed is tighter regulation from the government, manufacturers and hospitals -- as well as better communication. In the meantime, patients are left with debilitating and lifelong repercussions.
Stop Keystone pipeline before it's too late.
According to Ted Turner, former owner of CNN. now co-chairman of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, which seeks to reduce the threat of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, the Keystone XL pipeline is not in our national interests.
The purpose of Keystone XL is to bring tar sands crude oil through the United States to Gulf Coast refineries from its origins in Canada. n Canada, extraction of tar sands crude requires clear-cutting 1000s of acres of boreal forests, diverting rivers, strip-mining, and destroying critical habitat for some of the largest populations of woodland caribou left in the world. 30% of North America's songbirds and 40% of its waterfowl rely on the wetlands and waterways of the boreal forest.
Tar sands oil production has already created more than 50 square miles of toxic waste ponds so massive they are visible from space. Even more important, tar sands oil extraction produces three times more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional oil and gas, putting even greater strain on our atmosphere and oceans, which have little absorptive capacity left.
Closer to home, the pipeline presents an immediate threat to drinking water for millions and to the livelihood of farmers and ranchers. To transport via pipeline, the thick tar sands crude must be mixed with toxic chemicals and then pumped at extreme temperature and pressure. This sets the stage for more pipeline failures and spills that create a highly toxic mess. The existing Keystone 1 tar sands pipeline has spilled more than 12 times in its first 12 months of operation. In July 2010, a spill of more than 800,000 gallons of toxic tar sands crude from the Enbridge pipeline contaminated more than 30 miles of water and shoreline along the Kalamazoo River in Michigan. This created public health problems, threats to groundwater, widespread fish kills, and destruction of wildlife habitat, contamination that is still being cleaned up at a cost exceeding $700 million.
The potential for pollution of vital groundwater from the Keystone XL pipeline is even more frightening. Depending on the final route of the pipeline, spills would threaten the Ogallala Aquifer, the largest aquifer in the western North American region, upon which millions of people and agricultural businesses depend for drinking water, irrigation and livestock watering.
Meanwhile, the pro-pipeline lobby is pushing the public to accept Keystone XL with fuzzy promises about jobs and security. But TransCanada's jobs claims have been widely discredited, and there is no guarantee the oil transported by the pipeline would remain in the United States for sale. An attempt in Congress to require the oil to be consumed in the United States was rejected just last week, and it has been widely detailed that Gulf Coast refineries plan to export the finished product to Europe and Latin America. How do we become more energy secure under that scenario? Now Congress, by means of an amendment to the highway bill, is pushing to wrest decision-making control over the project from the administration, bypass final environmental review, and force approval of the pipeline before the final route has even been determined.
Thought for Today
"It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one."
—-George Washington. 1st Pres. of the US (1732-1799).
Today's flower: Pulmonaria saccharata s. officinalis or mixed pulmonaria - Makes an excellent ground cover in woodland areas and among shrubs
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