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Post by pegasus on Sept 27, 2011 7:24:56 GMT -7
Good morning from Tuxy and me :)This is the 270th day of 2011 with 95 days left in the year. Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 8:31 a.m., it's cloudy , temp 63ºF [Feels like 63ºF], winds calm, humidity 97%, pressure 29.92 in and steady, dew point 62ºF, chance of rain 10%. Today - Mostly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms mainly in the afternoon. High temp 75ºF, winds SSE @ 5-10 mph, humidity 83%, 50% chance of rain, Tonight - Showers and thunderstorms likely . Low around 63ºF, winds SSE @ 5-10 mph, humidity 96%, chance of rain 60%. Today in History: 1540--Pope Paul III issued a papal bull establishing the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits. 1779--John Adams was named to negotiate the Revolutionary War's pace terms with Britain. 1825--the 1st locomotive to haul a passenger train was operated by George Stephenson in England. 1854--the first great disaster involving an Atlantic Ocean passenger vessel occurred when the steamship SS Arcticsank off Newfoundland; only 86 out of 400 people survived. 1939--Warsaw, Poland surrendered to Nazi German and the Soviet Union. 1954-- Tonight, hosted by Steve Allen, debuted on NBC-TV. 1964--the Warren Commission issued a report concluding that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone in assassinating Pres. Kennedy. 1991--the Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked, 7-7, on the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. 1994--more than 350 Republican congressional candidates signed the "Contract with America," a 10-point platform they pledged to enact if voters sent a GOP majority to the U.S. House. 2001--an armed man went on a shooting rampage in the local parliament of Zug, Switzerland, killing 14 people before taking his own life. 2006--a gunman took six girls hostage at a high school in Bailey, Colo.; he molested some of them and killed one girl before committing suicide. 2010--Southwest Airlines announced the $1.4 billion purchase of AirTran. 2010--temperatures reached 113ºF in downtown Los Angeles, the highest in records kept since 1877. World News Capsules: 1. In riddle of Mideast upheaval, Turkey offers itself as an answer. ....Turkish officials are assertively laying out a policy for the realignment of power in the region, with Istanbul anchoring a new era of political stability and economic integration. 2. Four Syrian soldiers reported killed in escape attempt. ....Syrian security forces killed four soldiers and the army tightened its grip on towns across the country to quell dissent against the government, activists said. 3. Fighters enter Qaddafi stronghold city as toll rises. ....The latest strike into the coastal city of Surt follows a number of recent attacks that have been beaten back by Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's loyalists. 4. Pakistanis tied to 2007 border ambush on Americans. ....Details of an ambush indicate that Americans officials were aware of Pakistan's sometimes duplicitous role long before its intelligence service was linked to an attack last week on the US Empassy in Kabul. US News Capsules: 1. More gloom lies ahead for cities, report says. ....Officials are faced with laying off workers, delaying infrastructure projects and raising fees, the National League of Cities says. 2. Reading, Pa., knw it was poor, now it knows just how poor. ....Reading, a struggling city of 88,000, has the country's largest share of residents living in poverty, barely edging out Flint, Mich. 3. Can I get one sheet of the Lady Gagas.... ....The US Postal Service is tossing out its rule that its stamps honor only dead individuals. 4. Deep reession shrply altered US jobless map. ....The South, which entered the recession with the lowest jobless rate in the nation, is now struggling with some of the highet rates, according to recent data. Today's Headlines of Interest: Fighting cervical cancer, the No. 1 cancer killer of women, with vinegar and ingenuity. A simple, short and inexpensive procedure holds the promise of preventing amny cases of cervical cancer, saving the lives of 1000s of women worldwide. Medical practitioners have found a remarkably simple, brief and inexpensive procedure with the potential to do for poor countries what the Pap smear did for the rich ones. Nurses using the new procedure, developed by experts at the Johns Hopkins medical school in the 1990s and endorsed last year by the World Health Organization, brush vinegar on a woman’s cervix. It makes precancerous spots turn white. (They resemble warts, and are caused by the human papillomavirus.) They can then be immediately frozen off with a metal probe cooled by a tank of carbon dioxide, available from any Coca-Cola bottling plant. The procedure, known as VIA/cryo for visualization of the cervix with acetic acid (vinegar) and treatment with cryotherapy, can be done by a nurse, and only one visit is needed to detect and kill an incipient cancer. The procedure is one of a wide array of inexpensive but effective medical advances being tested in developing countries. New cheap diagnostic and surgical techniques, insecticides, drug regimens and prostheses are already beginning to save lives. And why can't we do the same test here? I know I'd much prefer being swabbed by vinegar over having a Pap smear done. Australia will allow women to serve in frontline combat. Australia's women soldiers will soon be able to serve in all frontline combat roles, becoing one of a handful countries allowing women in some of the most dangerous roles in modern warfare, including Special Forces units in Afghanistan. It marks the biggest shakeup of the country's armed forces in more than a decade. Women already play a significant role in the Australian military, which sent more than 2,000 troops to fight in Iraq and currently makes up the largest contingent of any non-NATO member fighting in Afghanistan. As of August 335 women were serving on overseas operations, accounting for more than 10 percent of Australia’s fighting forces deployed overseas, according to the military. Australia will now join Canada, New Zealand and Israel as the only developed countries with no restrictions on women serving in frontline capacities. Women make up 14 percent of the United States armed forces, yet they are barred from serving in certain combat roles, including in the infantry and Special Forces, a sore point for many female soldiers who are often attached to combat units in noncombat roles. This is one issue that I am ambivalent about. Intellectually I agree but having served in the Air Force, I'm not sure I'd want to be on the frontline. Is Christie the anti-Perry or the anti-Romney? It’s hard to know whether Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey is really reconsidering making a late entry into the presidential race — or whether it’s wishful thinking on the part of Republicans who are dissatisfied with their current choices. Recently, Mr. Christie’s name has more often been floated in the context of dissatisfaction with Mr. Perry. Of course, there is already an alternative to Mr. Perry — Mr. Romney — and the fact that Republican insiders are still agitating for a new candidate rather than rallying around Mr. Romney is an indictment of his candidacy as well. Mr. Christie’s ideology is somewhat hard to pin down. On the one hand, he has his share of support from the conservative wing of the Republican Party. His fans include Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, and at various points in the past, he’s won informal surveys at Tea Party gatherings and among conservative bloggers. On the other hand, Mr. Christie is the governor of a liberal-to-moderate state, and he ran to the left of his main opponent, Steven M. Lonegan, in the Republican primary for governor in 2009. His record probably reads as being closer to that of Mr. Romney than Mr. Perry. And Mr. Christie could threaten Mr. Romney in another way: by performing strongly in the Northeast, possibly including New Hampshire, a part of the country where Mr. Romney would otherwise hope to rack up momentum and delegates. Mr. Romney could still win under this view if several candidates split the conservative vote and he has the moderate vote to himself. But the entry of Mr. Christie would complicate his equation and lower his odds, while posing less threat to Mr. Perry’s campaign. Thought for Today"I have lived in this world just long enough to look carefully the second time into things that I am most certain of the first time." — Josh Billings (aka Henry Wheeler Shaw), humorist (1818-1885). Today's flower: Koelreuteria paniculata 'September' or golden rain tree
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Post by pegasus on Sept 28, 2011 8:10:57 GMT -7
Good morning from Tuxy and me :)This is the 271st day of 2011 with 94 days left in the year. Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 8:52 a.m., it's light rain , temp 66ºF [Feels like 66ºF], winds SSW @ 3 mph, humidity 88%, pressure 29.92 in and steady, dew point 63ºF, chance of rain 85%. Today - Rain with a few thunderstorms this a.m. , then variable clouds in the afternoon with still a chance of showers. High temp 73ºF and winds SE @ 10-15 mph, humidity 87%, 70% chance of rainfall near a half inch. Tonight - Periods of rain with a few thunderstorms likely. Low around 60ºF, winds SSE @ 5-10 mph, humidity 94%, chance of rain 100% near a half inch. Today in History: 1066--William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, invaded England to claim the English throne. 1542--Portuguese navigator Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo arrived in present-day San Diego. 1781--the American army backed by a French fleet began the siege of Yorktown Heights, Va. 1787--the Congress of the Confederation voted to send the newly-written Constitution to the states for approval. 1850--Flogging was abolished by the US Navy as punishment. 1961-- Dr. Kildare, starring Richard Chamberlain and Raymond Massey, and Hazel starring Shirley Booth, premiered on NBC-TV. 1972--Japan and Communist China agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations. 1991--jazz trumpeter great Miles Davis died at age 65 in Santa Monica, Calif. 2000--the FDA approved the use of RU-486, a pill that allows a woman to terminate a pregnancy days or weeks after conception. 2001--the U.N. Security Council approved a sweeping resolution sponsored by the US requiring all 189 U.N. member nations to deny money, support and sanctuary to terrorists. 2009--Iran tested its longest-range missiles and warned they could reach any place that threatened Iran. 2010--Kim Jong Un, the youngest son of North Korea's Kim Jong II, was selected for his first leadership post that put him on the path to succeed his father as president. World News Capsules: 1. Europe's oil embargo leaves Syria urgently seeking new customers and fearing change, many Syrian Christians back Assad. ....The tightening grip of a European embargo has severely impeded Syrian oil sales, a vital source of earnings for the Damascus regime. With chaos growing, many Syrian Christians said they feared a change of power could deprive them of the semblance of protection the Assad family has provided. 2. Anti-Qaddafi fighters edge closer to taking Surt. ....Fighters for Libya's new goverment claimed to have seized a port in Col. Qaddafi's tribal hometown, Surt. 3. As thousands leave Libya, and jobs, Niger feels impact. ....100s of Nigerians who have fled Libya are now destitute, hungry and dependent on a government that admits it cannot help them. 4. Tribesmen bring down military plane in Yemen. ....The plane, a Soviet-era military aircraft, crashed roughly 30 miles north of the capital. 5. After official is ouosted, Kremlin adds a warning. ....Aleksei L. Kudrin was tossed out of his office and told he would have to leave his government country house in what appeared to be swift retribution for defying Pres. Dmitri Medvedev. 6. Shanghai subway acciden tinjures hundreds. ....Hundreds of people were injured when a subway train slammed into the rear of another train in a sprawling transit line that opened just last year. 7. Bomber aims at merchant used by police in Afghanistan. ....The clear message of a bombing in souther Afghanisatn was to discourage anyone who dared to do business, much less work for, the Afghan security forces. US News Capsules: 1. Looking after the soldier, back home and damaged. ....The physical and emotional injuries suffered by those who served in Afghanistan and Iraq take a painful toll on spouses, parents and other family members. 2. Even those cleared of crimes can stay on FBI's Watch Listl. ....A got-guilty verdict or dropped charges may not always be enough to get someone off the list, files show. 3/ Report details wide abuse in Los Angeles jail system. ....Inmates are beaten and wrongly accused of crimes, according to a report by the Southern California ACLU. 4. UPDATE; Deaths from cantaloupe listeria rise. ....At least 13 people, most elderly, have died after eating cantaloupe contaminated with listeria in the deadliest outbreak of food-borne illness in the US in more than a decade. 5. Where Washington needs fixing, way up there. ....Engineers will rappel the Wasington Monument to inspect damage from last month's earthquake. 6. Short-term fixes that take time and resolve little. ....Lawmakers' temporary deals have led into the public's disinterest and criticism about the process. Today's Headlines of Interest: Health insurers push premiums sharply higher. Mjor health insurance companies have been charging sharply higher premiums, outstripping any growth in workers' wages and creating more uncertainty for the Obama administration and employers who are struggling to drive down an unrelenting rise in medical costs. The average annual premium for family coverage through an employer reached $15,073 in 2011 - 9% higher than 2010. And even higher premiums could be on the way, especially in New York, where some are asking for double-digidt increases for about 1.3 million New Yorkers in individual or small-group plans. The higher premiums are particularly unwelcome at a time when the economy is sputtering and unemployment is hovering at 9%. Many busniess cite the cost of coverage as a factor in their decision not to hire and health insurance has become increasingly unaffordable for more American. The cost of family coverage has baout doubled since 2001. How much the new federal health care legislation pushed by President Obama is affecting rates remains a point of debate, with some consumer advocates and others suggesting that insurers have raised prices in anticipation of new rules that would, in 2012, require them to justify any increase of more than 10 percent. Kaiser pointed out that the increase this year could be an anomaly, after several years of 3 percent to 5 percent increases during the recession. Consumer advocates contend that the latest request exceed any documented rise in costs, with some companies enjoying three years of record profits and paying millions of dollars in dividends and executive compensation. "The Cuomo administration has to decide, will the Department of Insurance stand up for the little guy, or let the insurance companies get away with this nonsense?", asked Elisabeth Benjamin of Health Care for All New York. Since last year the Insurance Department has posted more than 4,000 policyholder objectinos online and the messages are not lost on Benjamin M. Lawsky, who oversees the department. "We get it," he said. "There increases are often hitting people who just can't afford it." Just remember, if the health care law furvives legal challenges and goes into full effect in 2014, increased competition will make it tougher for companies to charge more. What scares me is this Supreme Court is so conservative. What will happen if they declare the health care law unconstitutional? 'Voting is worhless'? Global protests share contempt for democracyFrom India to Israel to Spain, and even on Wall Street, demonstrators appear to have little faith in the ballot box. Hundreds of thousands of disillusioned Indians cheered a rural activist on a hunger strike. Israel reeled before the largest street demonstrations in its history. Enraged young people in Spain and Greece took over public squares across their countries. Their complainst range from corruption to lack of affordable housing and joblessness, common grievances the world over. But from South Asia to the heartland of Europe, they share a warniness, even contempt, toward traditional politicians and the democratic political process. They take to the streets because they have little faith in the ballot box. “Our parents are grateful because they’re voting,” said Marta Solanas, 27, referring to older Spaniards’ decades spent under the Franco dictatorship. “We’re the first generation to say that voting is worthless.” Economics have been one driving force, with growing income inequality, high unemployment and recession-driven cuts in social spending breeding widespread malaise. Alienation runs especially deep in Europe, with boycotts and strikes that, in London and Athens, erupted into violence. And in India and Israel, where growth remains robust, protesters say they so distrust their country’s political class and its pandering to established interest groups that they feel only an assault on the system itself can bring about real change. Young Israeli organizers repeatedly turned out gigantic crowds insisting that their political leaders, regardless of party, had been so thoroughly captured by security concerns, ultra-Orthodox groups and other special interests that they could no longer respond to the country’s middle class. The critical mass of wiki and mapping tools, video and social networking sites, the communal news wire of Twitter and the ease of donations afforded by sites like PayPal makes coalitions of like-minded individuals instantly viable. “You’re looking at a generation of 20- and 30-year-olds who are used to self-organizing,” said Yochai Benkler, a director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. “They believe life can be more participatory, more decentralized, less dependent on the traditional models of organization, either in the state or the big company. Those were the dominant ways of doing things in the industrial economy, and they aren’t anymore.” The entrenched political players of the post-cold-war old guard are struggling. In Japan, six prime ministers have stepped down in five years, as political paralysis deepens. The two major parties in Germany, the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats, have seen tremendous declines in membership as the Greens have made major gains, while Chancellor Angela Merkel has watched her authority erode over unpopular bailouts. In many European countries the disappointment is twofold: in heavily indebted federal governments pulling back from social spending and in a European Union viewed as distant and undemocratic. Europeans leaders have dictated harsh austerity measures in the name of stability for the euro, the region’s common currency, rubber-stamped by captive and corrupt national politicians, protesters say. “The biggest crisis is a crisis of legitimacy,” Ms. Solanas, an unemployed online journalist said. “We don’t think they are doing anything for us.” They believe that hte political system has abandoned its citizens and that they have lost responsibility for one another. And the performance of our government has done nothing to counter such feelings. It seems that the lobbyists are more in control in Washington than the needs of the country. And the military-industrial complex is a major figure in that. And so the millionaires in the House and Senate pass legislation that has no beneficial effect on the average American citizen. They could care less what we think as long as they keep their Wall Street friends happy and the money coming in to fill their political pockets. Thought for Today"A great truth is a truth whose opposite is also a truth." — Thomas Mann, German novelist (1875-1955). Today's flower: Phlox paniculata 'David' or garden phlox
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Post by pegasus on Sept 29, 2011 7:28:45 GMT -7
Good morning from Tuxy and me :)This is the 272nd day of 2011 with 93 days left in the year. Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 10:29 a.m., it's light rain , temp 60ºF [Feels like 60ºF], winds SSW @ 6 mph, humidity 93%, pressure 29.75 in and steady, dew point 58ºF, chance of rain 50%. Today - Showers and thunderstorms . High temp 65ºF and winds SW @ 5-10 mph, humidity 84%, 60% chance of rain, Tonight - Partly cloudy followed by increasing clouds with showers after midnight. Low around 54ºF, winds SSW @ 10-15 mpn, humidity 90%, chance of rain 60%. Today in History: 1789--the US War Department extablished a regular army with a strength of several hundred men. 1829--London's reorganized police forece, now called Scotland Yard, went on duty. 1907--the foundation stone was laid for the Washington National Catedral, construction completed 29 Sept 1990. 1918--allied forces scored a decisive breakthrough on the Hindenburg Line in World War I. 1938--Britain, France, Germany and Italy signed the Munich Agreement that allowed Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudentenland for "peace in our time." 1957--the NY Giants played their last game at the Polo Grounds in NYC, losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-1 and moved to San Francisco, Calif. 1978--Pope John Paul I was found dead in his Vatican apartment just one month after beoming head of the Roman Catholic Church. 1982--Extra-Strength Tylenol laced with cyanide claimed the first of seven victims. (The case remains unsolved.) 2000--Israeli riot police stormed a major Jerusalem shrine and opened fire on stone-throwing Muslim worshippers, killing four and wounding 175. 2001--Pres. Bush condemned Afghanistan's Taliban rulers for harboring al-Qaida as the US pressed its military and diplomatic campaign against terror. 2005--John G. Roberts Jr. was sworn in as the 17th chief justice of the Unitied States. 2006--a Gol Airlines flight crashed in the Brazilian jungle after clipping a private jet, killing all 154 people aboard (the private jet landed safely). 2010--anti-austerity protests erupted across Europe; Greek doctors and railway employees walked off the job, Spanish workers shut down trains and buses, and one man rammed a cement truck into the Irish parliament to protest the country's enormous bank bailouts. World News Capsules: 1. Quiet for years, Italian church blasts behavior of the nation's political elite. ....The Catholic Church is issuing its strongest reprimands yet of Italy's ruling class, deploring 'behavior that not only goes counter to public decorum but is intrinsically sad and hollow." 2. Help Wanted: busybodies with cameras. ....More South Koreans are joining the growing ranks of camera-toting bounty hunters, secretly videotaping fellow citizens breaking the law and collecting the rewards. 3. Stop the conspiracy theories, Al-Qaida tells Iranian leader. ....Al-Qaida lashed out at Pres. Ahmadinejad in the latest issue of its English-language magazine for claiming the US - and not the terrorist group - was responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks. 4. Companies use immigration crackdown to turn a profit. The Woomera Detention Center in Australia. ....Private security companies have turned the detention of unwanted immigrants into a multinational industry with a history of abuse. 5. Bahrain court hands down harsh sentences to doctors and protesters. ....A security court sentenced a protester to death for killing a police officer and issued harsh prison terms to medical workers who treated protesters wounded during months of unrest. US News Capsules: 1. States putting hopes in 'Bottoms Up' to help the bottom line. ....With cities across the country facing their 5th straight year of declining revenues, raising money from people who enjoy a cocktail is becoming an incrasingly attractive option. 2. A pipeline divides along old lines: job vs. the Environment, ....Hearings over a $7 billion Canadian oil pipeline have pitched supporters who crave jobs against critics who fear a spill would be an environmental disaster. 3. Alabama wins in ruling on its immigration law. ....A federal judge's decision leaves Alabama with the strictest immigration law in the country. 4. Hispanic children in poverty exceed whites, study finds. ....The number of poor Hispanic children jumped by 36% from 2007 to 2010, in part because the overall population increased, according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center. Today's Headlines of Interest: 'One of the greatest days in baseball history'It was a frenzied finish all over the majors last night, more than any fan could've asked for. And it's not even October yet. Rays overcome 7-run deficit vs. Yankees, Braves, Red Sox collapse--all within minutes of each other when a startling rally by the Rays, a season saved by a guy hitting only .108, a Red Sox colpase on one more ball that just got away. Another big win (2-hitter) by Chris Carpentr and the Cards - another near miss for Chipper Jones and the Braves. Wild-card Wednesday lived up to its billing, and then some. Fans needed three TVs, and maybe a few cups of joe to see how it all turned out for Joe Maddon, Joe Girardi and Chipper Jones. "One of the greatest days in baseball history," New York Yankees star 1st baseman Mark Teixeira said. Minute by minute, inning by inning, the races took shape. One out to go, one strike to go. Then, it all fell apart. Startling comebacks, historic collapses. And when Evan Longoria (above) hit his 2nd home run of the game, connecting after midnight at Tropicana Field in the 12th inning to lift the Rays over the Yankees 8-7, everything was all set. The playoffs start Friday, and a marquee matchup is already on deck at Yankee Stadium. Justin Verlander, having won the pitchers' Triple Crown by leading the AL in wins, ERA and strikeouts, starts for Detroit against New York ace C.C. Sabathia at 8:37 p.m. EDT. It's not even October yet. So get ready, no rest for the bleary eyed. US Supreme Court is asked to rule on health care. The Obama administration asked the Supreme Court to hear a case concerning the 2010 health care overhaul law. The development, which came unexpectedly fast, makes it all but certain that the court will soon agree to hear one or more cases involving challenges to the law, with arguments by the spring and a decision by June, in time to land in the middle of the 2012 presidential campaign. The Justice Department said the justices should hear its appeal of a decision by a 3-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, in Atlanta, that struck down the centerpiece of the law by a 2-to-1 vote. “The department has consistently and successfully defended this law in several courts of appeals, and only the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled it unconstitutional,” the Justice Department said. The 11th Circuit, in a decision issued in August, ruled that a part of law requiring the purchase of insurance — the so-called individual mandate — was an unconstitutional exercise of Congressional power. A decision striking down President Obama’s signature legislative achievement only months before the election would doubtless be a blow. But a decision from a court divided along ideological lines could further energize voters already critical of last year’s 5-to-4 campaign finance decision, Citizens United. The 11th Circuit ruled against the 26 states and the other plaintiffs on two points. It said its ruling on the individual mandate did not require “wholesale invalidation” of the law, and it upheld the law’s expansion of the Medicaid program. Almost all of the usual signs indicate that the court will agree to hear at least one challenge to the law: a federal appeals court has struck down a major piece of federal legislation, the lower courts are divided about its constitutionality, and all sides, including the federal government itself, agree that review is warranted. Whatever happens, it will be a decided victory for the side that wins. If the law is struck down, it will be a long time before any administration will care to come to grips with health care in this country. The loser - the American public, of course. The people in Washington really have no personal stakes in this game. They HAVE a splendid insurance program and no money worries. Thought for Today"Nobody knows enough, but many know too much." — Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, Austrian author (1830-1916). Today's flower: Clematis terniflora or sweet autumn clematis
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Post by pegasus on Sept 30, 2011 8:54:10 GMT -7
Good morning from Tuxy and me :)This is the 273rd day of 2011 with 92 days left in the year. Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 11:01 a.m., it's cloudy , temp 63ºF [Feels like 63ºF], winds SSW @ 13 mph, humidity 63%, pressure 29.61 in and teady, dew point 50ºF, chance of rain 10%. Today: Cloudy with a few showers . High near 62ºF, winds SSW @ 10-20 mph, humidity 74%, chance of rain 30%. Tonight: Cloudy skies with a few showers . Low 47ºF, winds W @ 5-10 mph, humidity 87%, chance of rain 30% Today in History: 1788--the Pennsylvania Legislature elected the first two members of the U.S. Senate - William Maclay of Harrisburg and Robert Morris of Philadelphia. 1791--Mozart's opera The Magic Flute premiered in Vienna, Austria. 1846--Boston dentist William Morton used ether as an anesthetic for the first time. 1927--Babe Ruth hit his 60th home run of the season to break hisown record. 1938--after co-signing the Munich Agreement with Nazi Germany, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain said, "I believe it is peace for our time." 1948--an international military tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany, found 22 top Nazi leaders guilty of war crimes. 1949--the Berlin Airlift ended. 1955--James Dean, actor, was killed in a 2-car collision at age 24 near Cholame, Calif. 1962--black student James Meredith was escorted by federal marshals in registering for classes at the University of Mississippi. 1982--the situation comedy Cheers premiered on NBC-TV. 1993--a magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck southern India, killing an estimated 10,000 people. 1997--France's Roman Catholic Church apologized for its silence during the systematic persecution and deportation of Jews by the pro-Nazi Vichy regime. 2001--Afghanistan's hard-line Taliban rulers said explicitly for the first time that Osama bin Laden was still in the country and that they knew where his hideout was located. 2004--Merck & Co. pulled Vioxx, its heavily promoted arthritis drug from the market after a study found it doubled the risk of heart attacks and strokes. 2005--cartoons featuring the Prophet Muhammad were published in a Danish newspaper, offending many Muslims worldwide. 2010--Secretary of State Clinton called Guatemalan leaders to apologize for 1940s U.S.-led experiments that infected occupants of a Guatemala mental hospital with syphilis, apparently to test the effectiveness of penicillin. 2010--Ecuador decalred a state of siege when rebellious police plunged the small nation into chaos protesting a law that cut their benefits. World News Capsules: 1. Pro-Assad protest temporarily trapped US ambassador. ....Protesters in Syria trapped Robert S. Ford, an American diplomat, who is an outspoken critic of Pres. Bashar al-Assad, for 90 minutes until security forces dispersed the crowd. 2. A year on, North Korea's "Dear Young General" has made his mark. ....A year after Kim Jong-un made his public debut as North Korea's leader-in-waiting, scenes of the party elite bowing to him have become a staple of the country's propagandist media. 3. Traveling tellers, with electronic gear, take banking to rural India. ....Indian banks serve clients in small villages by sendng out roving tellers with a hand-held ATM machine, helping the rural poor save and protect their money. 4. Germany approves bailout expansion, leaving Slovakia as main hurdle. ....With a bailout fund expansion measure passing eaily through the German Parliament, the front in the European debt crisis is now shifting to the tiny impoverished nation of Slovakia. In the best case, a bailout of troubled banks and gvernments could keep the financial system from experiencing a major shock, though easing the huge debt could take years. 5. Myanmar suspends construction of controversial dam. ....Bowing to public pressure, Myanmar's government ordered the suspension of a controversial hydroelectric project led by a state-owned Chinese company. 6. Afghanistan's leaders sour on Pakistan and peace talks. ....Afghanistan's leaders said they were rethinking relations with Pakistan and negotiations with the Taliban because talks had yielded so little. 7. After online campaign, Chinese dog meat festival was canceled. ....The Jihnua Huton Dog Meat Festival was abruptly canceled last week after local officials were shamed by an online campaign begun by animal rights advocates. US News Capsules: 1. Fatal accident puts focus on deportation program. ....A death that the police say involved an illegal immigrant driving drunk has stirred outrage in Massachusetts. 2. Prisoner protest restarts in California. ....Corrections officials said that they would discipline inmates who participated in a renewed hunger strike to protest conditions in California's highest-security prisons. 3. Some common ground for legal adversaries on health care. ....The federal government and 26 states are heading into the US Supreme Court disputing the means of the health care law, not so much the ends. 4. Outsize severance continues for executives, even after failed tenures. ....Eye-popping severance packages thrive in spite of the measures put in place in the wake of the financial crisis to crack down on executive pay (Hewlitt-Packard fired CEO received $3 million severance package.) 5. Csah-short, US weighs asset sales. ....The White House figurs that selling spare land, buildings and airwaves could rasie up to $22 billion over the next decade. 6. House approves stopgap spending bill. ....Legislation will finance the government for the first four days of October, until lawmakers return and can vote on a more ambitious 7-week spending bill. 7. After arrest, a wider inquiry on SAT cheating. ....Testing officials said a Long Island case involving seven students was an isolated event, while others argued that the problem was widespread and emphasized the need for better security at the test. 8 EPA is longtime favorite target for Perry. ....Officials from the Environmental Protection Agency say that Gov. Rick Perry of Texas has claimed credit for improvements in air quality brought in large part by the very federal laws he has criticized. Sports: Strong 2nd half lands Tigers at Yankees' door. ....Since July 16th, the Tigers have gone 46-22, surging to the American League Centraltitle with a deep roster that fatures mroe than Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera. Today's Headlines of Interest: Radical US-born Qaida leader killed in Yemen. A US drone attack killed Anwar al-Awlaki, a preacher and leading figure in al-Qaida's outpost in Yemen, a senior American official in Washington, DC, confirmed. Pres. Obama says the strike was a 'major blow' to al-Qaida's most active operational affiliate. Anwar al-Awlaki played a 'significant role' n plotting and inspiring attacks on the US, as US officials justified the killing of a US citizen. Hewas killed early Friday in a strike on his convoy carried out by a joint operation of the CIA and the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command (actually the same unit that killed bin Laden), after being under observations for three weeks while they waited for the right opportunity to strike. A U.S. official outlined new details of al-Awlaki's involvement in anti-U.S. operations, including the attempted "underwear" bombing on Dec. 25, 2009, of a U.S.-bound aircraft. The official said al-Awlaki specifically directed the man accused of trying to bomb the Detroit-bound plane to detonate an explosive device over U.S. airspace to maximize casualties. He also said al-Awlaki had a direct role in supervising and directing a failed attempt to bring down two U.S. cargo aircraft by detonating explosives concealed inside two packages containing copier ink cartridges mailed to the U.S. The U.S. also believes Awlaki had sought to use poisons, including cyanide and ricin, to attack Westerners. A second American, Samir Khan, who edited the slick Western-style Internet publication Inspire Magazine that attracted many readers, was also killed. the online magazine published articles on making crude bombs and how to fire AK-47 assault rifles. U.S. intelligence officials have said that Khan — who was from North Carolina — was not directly responsible for targeting Americans. "Awlaki's death won't hurt al-Qaida's operations because he didn't have a leadership role. But the organization has lost an important figure for recruiting people from afar," said Said Obeid, a Yemeni analyst on al-Qaida. However, the killing raises questions that the death of other al-Qaida leaders, including bin Laden, did not. Al-Awlaki was a U.S. citizen, born in New Mexico to Yemeni parents, who had not been charged with any crime. Civil liberties groups have questioned the government's authority to kill an American, even one based abroad and with stated anti-American aims, without trial. I don't know the ins and outs of civil liberty cases, but as far as I'm concerned, he had renounced all claim to US citizenship and no one should expect him to be treated as one. Majority of states lining up to ditch No Child Left Behind. Educators say Bush-era law leads to counterproductive 'teaching to the test'. Since Pres. Obama announced last month that he would sign an executive order allowing states to request waivers from mandatory participation in the program, at least 27 have signaled that they will ask to opt out, and most others are reviewing their options. Obama said states could seek waivers as long as they adopt higher standards than those mandated under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as No Child Left Behind is formally titled. The Education Department said most states had already done that, presumably making them eligible for waivers. Education Secretary Arne Duncan — who himself had to follow No Child Left Behind when he was chief executive of the Chicago Public Schools from 2001 to 2008 — isn't just offering the waivers. He's actively encouraging education officials to apply for them, he said, because "It's far too punitive, far too prescriptive." Duncan said the 2002 law "led to a narrowing of the curriculum. None of those things are good for children, for education or, ultimately, for our country." Critics — including many educators — have long said No Child Left Behind locked states into inflexible standards focused solely on reading and math, neglecting subjects like social studies, the arts, health, science and physical education. By doing away with the federal Adequate Yearly Progress standard, "You would not have one disaggregated group dragging an entire school down, which is what happened in No Child Left Behind," said Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., who has unsuccessfully sought to pass legislation to do away with the test standards. "Instead, the school would be evaluated in its totality," he said. In a Gallup poll in January, 53 percent of respondents said No Child Left Behind needed "major revisions," and 21 percent said it should be eliminated completely. Those results were distributed fairly evenly across respondents who identified themselves as Democrats, Republicans and independents. (The poll of 1,032 adults reported a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.) Something had to be done and Congress under both parties had failed to do something in the past four years. So the president acted. Thank you. Now let's see if things get better. UPDATE: Romaine lettuce recalled for listeria fears. California-based True Leaf Farms is recalling 90 cartons of chopped romaine lettuce as it may be contaminated with listeria, though no related illnesses have been reported. There is no connectin between the lettuce recall and the cantaloupe outbreak, the FDA spokesman Douglas Karas said. It is the fourth listeria-related food recall since Colorado's Jensen Farms voluntarily recalled cantaloupes linked to the outbreak on Sept. 14. Only one of the four subsequent recalls -- of cantaloupes by Kansas food processor Carol's Cuts LLC -- was related to the outbreak. True Leaf Farms, a processing arm of Salinas, California-based Church Brothers LLC, is voluntarily recalling romaine that was shipped between Sept. 12 and 13 to a food service distributor in Oregon, who further sent it to at least two other states, Washington and Idaho, the company said in a release posted on the FDA website. All I can say, it's better to be safe than sorry. Disney World at 40 - what hath Walt wrought? Lordy, lordy, look who's 40! Tomorrow Disney World will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its opening on 1 Oct 1971. There'll be a character parade, fireworks and, probably, much discussion of the founder's vision and hopes. Now, 40 years on, the company is embarking on new projects — the recently opened Aulani resort in Hawaii, a new “Avatar land” at Animal Kingdom in Orlando, a new Disneyland in Shanghai and its second new cruise ship in just over a year — and hoping to make an even larger mark on the great American vacation. Opening five years after its founder’s death, Walt Disney World debuted with a single park — Magic Kingdom — and just two hotels. Yet its impact was hard to miss. “One of the biggest things it changed was where we vacationed,” said Chad Emerson, author of the 2010 book Project Future: The Inside Story Behind the Creation of Disney World. "Back then, when people went to Florida, they went to the beach,” said Emerson. “Disney World proved that if you build something and make it compelling enough, people will go just about anywhere.” Disney World also offered something its predecessor in Anaheim couldn’t — adjacent space for hotels, restaurants and other ancillary offerings. Disneyland is surrounded by urban sprawl that provides marginal value (and zero revenue) to the company. They have proved that “If you can license an existing character, you have a quicker, built-in audience for merchandising and food and beverage,” said Emerson. Whether merchandising opportunities exist for Avatar is unknown, although the smart money says the two proposed movie sequels will be written with such things in mind. And when it comes to merchandising, no one beats the mouse. Thought for Today"I don't know whether war is an interlude during peace, or peace an interlude during war." — Georges Clemenceau, French statesman (1841-1929). Today's flower: Hibiscus coccineus or scarlet rose mallow TGIF everyone!!
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Post by pegasus on Oct 1, 2011 8:54:31 GMT -7
Good morning from Tuxy and me ;)This is the 274th day of 2011 with 91 days left in the year. Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 12:25 p.m., it's lightly raining , temp 47ºF [Feels like 47ºF], winds N @ 9 mph, humidity 93%, pressure 29.88 in and rising, dew point 45ºF, chance of rain 50% Today in History: 1861--the Confederate navy captured the Union steamer Fanny in North Carolina's Pamlico Sound. 1903--the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Boston Americans 7-3 in the first ever World Series game. 1908--Henry Ford introduced the Model T automobile at the cost of $825 per car. 1938--Gen. Francisco Franco was proclaimed the head of an insurgent Spanish state. 1940--the first section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, 160 miles in length, was opened to the public. 1949--a 42-day strike by the United Steelworkers of America began over the issue of retirement benefits. 1949--Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China during a ceremony in Beijing. 1962--Johnny Carson debuted as regular host of NBC's Tonight show. 1971--Walt Disney World opened in Orlando, Fla. 1983--Polly Klaus, age 12, was abducted from her Petaluma, Calif., home during a slumber party and murdered. (Her case inspired California's three-strikes law.) 2001--a Pakistan-based militant group attacked the state legislature in Indian-ruled Kashmir, killing 38 people. 2006--the Israeli army completed its withdrawal from Lebanon, clearing the way for a U.N. peacekeeping force. 2007--the summer melt of Arctic sea ice was the greatest on record, the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center reported. 2008--the Bush administration's $700 billion financial industry bailout won lopsided passage in the Senate, 74-25, after it was loaded with tax breaks and other sweeteners. 2010--CNN fired anchor Rick Sanchez a day after he called Jon Stewart a bigot during a radio interview in which he also questioned whether Jews should be considered a minority, World News Capsules: 1. Yemenis say they have bigger problems than al-Qaida. ....Most Yemenis had only a faint sense of why the US considered Anwar al-Awlaki a highly significant target. If anything, Yemenis thought his death would only increase their woe. 2. Fighting Erupts on Somalia's border with Kenya. ....Shabab militants tried to take back territory from militias allied with the Somali goverment (?) and were breaking up camps set up for famine victim. ....a. Somali gunmen abduct elderly tourist in Kenya. A group apparently dragged a wheelchair-bound French woman out of bed before speeding away in their boat. 3. NATO claims to have captured high-ranking member of Haqqani network. ....NATO-led forces called Haji Mali Khan one of the highest ranking members of the Haqqani network in Afghanistan and a revered elder of the Haqqani clan. 4. Battered by economic crisis, Greeks turn to barter networks. ....Greeks squeezed by wage cuts, tax increases and growing fears about the euro have looked for creative ways to cope with a radically changing economic landscape. 5. Putin's eye for power leads some in Russia to ponder life abroad. ....Russians dismayed by Vladimir Putin's plans to keep a grip on power are declaring their non-allegiance to a nation where, they say, corruption cuts off options for change. 6. Political intrigue confounds a wise man's inspiration in China. ....China announced that the Confucius Peace Prize would be cancelled and the group offering it disbanded, but the Culture Ministry is supporting a similar one. [Yeah, right.] US News Capsules: 1. Judging a long, deadly reach. ....Some civil libertarians have questioned how the government could take an American citizen's life based on murky intelligence and without an investigation or trial. < a non issue as far as I'm concerned. He was a traitor to the US.> 2. Remedy is elusive as metallic hips fail at a fast rate[.i]. ....As greater numbers of a popular hip implant are beginning to fail, doctors and patients are grappling with how to detect and repair potential damage. 3 The money may be lacking, but a library refuses to go quietly ....As Central Falls, R.I. fought bankruptcy, a state-appointed receiver closed the library. But residents decided it was something they couldn't do without. 4. Gains made in equality of incomes in downturn. ....The disparity between men's and women's wages shrank, but only because men earned less, according to a study of Census Bureau data. 5. The political pulpit. ....This weekend, 100s of minister will speak up for presidential candidates they favor, flouting a law that prohibits tax-exempt organizations from campaigning on political issues. <easy solution - remove their tax-exempt status and then they can expound on any political issue they want.> 6. Bellying up to the time when America went dry. ....Ken Burns and Lynn Novick tackle the story of Prohibition and its repeal in his latest PBS documentary, starting Sunday. 7 Judge stops Florida's plan to privatize state prisons. ....A state judge ruled that the Legislature could not include a proposal to privatize 29 prisons in an appropriation bill. <So he isn't actually stop he privatization, just it can't be part of appropriations bills>
Today's Headlines of Interest:
The threats to a crucial canopy.
Trees, natrual carbon sponges, help keep heat-trapping carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. But insect and human threats are taking a heavy toll on them. The trees spanning many of the mountainsides of Colorado and Montana glow an earthy red, like a broadleaf forest at the beginning of autumn. BUT evergreens aren's supposed to turn red! These evergreens are victims to beetles that used to be controlled in part by bitterly cold winters. As the climate warms, that control is no longer happening. Across millions of acres,the pine fo northern and central Rockies are dying, just one among many types of forests that are showing signs of distress. From the mountainous Southwest deep into Texas, wildfires raced across parched landscapes this summer, burning millions more acres. In Colorado, at least 15 percent of that state’s spectacular aspen forests have gone into decline because of a lack of water. The devastation extends worldwide. The great euphorbia trees of southern Africa are succumbing to heat and water stress. So are the Atlas cedars of northern Algeria. Fires fed by hot, dry weather are killing enormous stretches of Siberian forest. Eucalyptus trees are succumbing on a large scale to a heat blast in Australia, and the Amazon recently suffered two “once a century” droughts just five years apart, killing many large trees. Scientists have figured out — with the precise numbers deduced only recently — that forests have been absorbing more than a quarter of the carbon dioxide that people are putting into the air by burning fossil fuels and other activities. It is an amount so large that trees are effectively absorbing the emissions from all the world’s cars and trucks. Without that disposal service, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would be rising faster. The gas traps heat from the sun, and human emissions are causing the planet to warm. And some scientists are increasingly worried that as the warming accelerates, trees themselves could become climate-change victims on a massive scale. It is clear that the point of no return has not been reached yet — and it may never be. Despite the troubles of recent years, forests continue to take up a large amount of carbon, with some regions, including the Eastern United States, being especially important as global carbon absorbers. Many scientists say that ensuring the health of the world’s forests requires slowing human emissions of greenhouse gases. Most nations committed to doing so in a global environmental treaty in 1992, yet two decades of negotiations have yielded scant progress. At the moment, the most severe problems in the nation’s forests are being seen in the Southwestern United States, in states like Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The region has been so dry that huge, explosive fires consumed millions of acres of vegetation and thousands of homes and other buildings this summer. The role of climate change in causing the drought itself is unclear — the more immediate cause is an intermittent weather pattern called La Niña, and research is still under way on whether that cycle is being altered or intensified by global warming, as some researchers suspect. Because of the continuing climatic change, experts say some areas that are burning this year may never return as forest — they are more likely to grow back as heat-tolerant grass or shrub lands, storing far less carbon than the forests they replace. “A lot of ecologists like me are starting to think all these agents, like insects and fires, are just the proximate cause, and the real culprit is water stress caused by climate change,” said Robert L. Crabtree, head of a center studying the Yellowstone region. “It doesn’t really matter what kills the trees — they’re on their way out. The big question is, Are they going to regrow? If they don’t, we could very well catastrophically lose our forests.” Yet, scientists emphasize that in the end, programs meant to conserve forests — or to render them more fire-resistant, as in the Western United States, or to plant new ones, as in China — are only partial measures. To ensure that forests are preserved for future generations, they say, society needs to limit the fossil-fuel burning that is altering the climate of the world. In other words, go green in everyway you can, including cars and trucks. And how about financing the high-speed trains throughout the states, replacing regional airplanes. I wish we had a Green Party as vocal and insistent as the Tea Party. I'd join it in a "NY-minute."
Thought for Today "Everybody favors free speech in the slack moments when no axes are being ground." — Heywood C. Broun, American journalist (1888-1939).
Today's flower: Lotus Nelumbo nucifera 'Baimudan'
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Post by pegasus on Oct 2, 2011 10:50:24 GMT -7
Good afternoon from Tuxy and me ;)This is the 275th day of 2011 with 90 days left in the year. Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 1:25 p.m., it's lightly raining , temp 48ºF [Feels like 48ºF], winds N @ 5 mph, humidity 83%, pressure 29.86 in and steady, dew point 43ºF, chance of rain 70% Today in History: 1780--British spy John Andre was hanged in Tappan, NY, during the Revolutionary War. 1835--the 1st battle of the Texas Revolution took place as American settlers fought Mexican soldiers near the Gaudalupe River - the Mexicans ended by withdrawing. 1919--Pres. Wilson suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed on his left side.. 1941--Nazi troops crushed the 2-month-old Warsaw Uprising - 250,000 people (Jews) were killed. 1950--the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz was published in seven newspapers. 1959-- The Twilight Zone debuted on CBS-TV. 1961--the TV game show Password premiered on CBS-TV with host Allan Ludden. 1967--Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as associate justice of the US Supreme Court, the first African-American appointed to the nation's highest court. 1970--one of two chartered planes flying the Wichita State football team to Utah crashed into a mountain near Silver Plume, Colo., killing 31 of the 40 on board. 1971--the music program Soul Train made its debut in national syndication. 1985--Rock Hudson, actor ( The Magnificent Obsession), died at age 59 at home in Beverly Hills, Calif. after a battle with AIDS. 2000--the International Space Station got its first residents as an US astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts arrived a board a Russian Soyuz capsule for a 4-month stay. 2001--NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson said the US had provided "clear and conclusive" evidence of Osama bin Laden's involvement in the attacks on New York and Washington. 2002--a man was shot and killed in a grocery store parking lot in Wheaton, Md., the first in a series of sniper attacks in the capital area that left 10 dead. 2006--Charles Carl Roberts VI, an armed milk truck driver, took a group of girls hostage in an Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pa., killing five and wounding five others before committing suicide. 2008--searchers found the wreckage of millionaire Steve Fossett's plane more than a year after he disappeared on a solo flight over California's Sierra Nevada mountains. World News Capsules: 1. Key Syrian city takes on the tone of a civil war. ....Across the political spectrum, residents of Homs, Syria, speak of a recent shift from a largely peaceful uprising to a struggle that has made the city violent, fearful and determined. 2. Strike reflects US shift to drones in terror ffight. ....Huge costs and uncertain outcomes in two wars have led the US to embrace drones, like those used in the strike that killed Anwar al-Awlaki, in the fight against terrorsim. 3. As the West celebrates a cleric's death, the Midest shrugs. ....In a regon transfixed by the drama of its revolts and revolutions, the voice of the American-born Anwar al-Awlaki has had almost no resonance. A Yemeni goverment spokesman said that the US should show more appreciation to Yemen's embattled president for his assistance in finding Awlaki. 4. At least 59 dead as back-to-back typhoons batter Philippines. ....Typhoon Nalga forced orders for 1000s to evacuate a region, including Manila, still reeling from Typhoon Nesat. Villagers cling to rooftops for days because of flooding, winds trigger rockslide. 5. NATO says it caught a Haqqani clan leader. ....NATO forces said Haji Mali Khan was a 'revered elder' in the brutal Pakistan-based clan and an uncle of two of its top leaders. 6. Kurdish protesters enter newspaper's office in London. ....Nearly a dozen Kurdish nationalists burst into the London office of The Guardian on Friday, demanding greater coverage of Kurdish issues. 7. Thai leader's Twitter account hijacked by computer hacker. ....Recently elected prime minister taunted: If she can't protect tweets, 'how can she protect the country?' US News Capsules: 1. Wild ride not over; all eyes on September jobs report. ....The specter of a contagious euro zone recession looms, consumer confidence flat and personal incomes dropping as Americans are spending more of their earnings on essentials - not a good combo as companies head into the all-important holiday shopping season. And then there is the September jobs report on Oct. 7th. 2. Seeking taxes, Romney went after business. ....The Romney adiministration in Massachusetts scoured the tax code for more loopholes, extracting hundreds of millions of corporate dollars to help close budget gaps in his state. 3. Calling the nurse 'Doctor,' a title physicians oppose. ....Patti McCarver, a nurse whose doctor of nursing practice entitiles her to call herself "doctor" meeting a patient. As nurses, pharmacists and others seek degrees beyond the B.S.'s and M.S.'s, physicians fear encroachment on their turf. 4. Long-secret fallout shelter was a Cold War Camelot. ....Few even knew it existed, but some people believe a bunker built for Pres. Kennedy could put Peanut Island, Fla., on the map. 5. Extending the miseries from a storm. ....Three years after the damage from Hurricane Ike, the affected Texas homeowners are angry at state bureaucracy that has paid out less than 10% of the $3.1 billion in federal aid it has received. 6. In new term, US Supreme Court shifts focus to crime and 1st Amendment. ....As the court returns to the bench, it faces a docket with fewer big civil rights cases and a challenge to the health care overhaul. 7. Profits, but no joy, for Merrill[/img]. ....Merrill Lynch was a weight when it first collapsed into the arms of Bank of America in 2008. Now the tables have turned. 8. Cain: Perry family's camp sign 'Just Plain Insensitive'. ....Hunting camp once leased by Perry's family and once frequented by Texas governor included racial epithet in its name, 'Niggerhead' . Today's Headlines of Interest: None on Sunday Thought for Today"It's a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it." — W. Somerset Maugham, English writer (1874-1965). Today's flower: Peony Paeonia 'Harvest'
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Post by pegasus on Oct 3, 2011 7:43:47 GMT -7
Good morning from Tuxy and me :)This is the 276th day of 2011 with 89 days left in the year. Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 11:02 p.m., it's partly cloudy , temp 54.5ºF [Feels like 54ºF], winds NNE @ 3 mph, humidity 87%, pressure 29.99 in and rising, dew point 54ºF, chance of rain 40%. Today in History: 1789--Pres. Washington declared 26 Nov 1789 a day of Thanksgiving to express gratitude for the creation of the US. 1863--Pres. Lincoln declared the last Thursday in Novemeber Thanksgivng Day. 1929--the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes changed its name to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. 1951--Bobby Thomson hit the "shot heard 'round he world" - a 3-4un homer in the bottom of the 9th inning of a playoff game with the Brooklyn Dodgers to send the NY Giants to the World Series. 1955-- Captain Kangaroo premiered on CBS-TV and The Mickey Mouse Club premiered on ABC-TV. 1960-- The Andy Griffith Show premiered on CBS-TV. 1961-- The Dick Van Dyke Show, also starring Mary Tyler Moore, debuted on CBS-TV. 1974--the Cleveland Indians hired Frank Robinson as their manager, the first black manager in the major leagues. 1981--Irish nationalists at the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland ended a 7 month hunger strike that had claimed 10 lives. 1990--East and West Germany ended 45 years of postwar division, declaring the creation of a new unified country. 1995--O.J. Simpson was found not guilty of murdering his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. 2001--the US Senate approved an agreement normalizing trade between the United States and Vietnam. 2008--O.J. Simpson was found guilty of robbing two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in Las Vegas. (He was sentenced to 33 years in prison.) 2010--ruling-party candidate Dilma Rousseff, trying to become Brazil's first female leader, fell short of getting a majority of votes in presidential elections. (Rousseff prevailed in a runoff against her centrist rival, Jose Serra.) World News Capsules: 1. Americans raid byways of Haqqani insurgents in Afghanistan. ....The Pentagon plans to pull most forces from Afghanistan by 2014. As they try to prepare for that exit, US units are focusing on the Haqqani insurgent network. 2. Toil and Trouble over the Caldron that is Greece. ....A bailout deal is just one of the economic challenges facing the EU as it works to contain any damage. 3. Greeks move to slash state jobs for 30,000. ....The Greek government also finalized a draft budget for 2012 and conceded that it would iss a deficit-reduction target. 4. Crossing over, and over. ....Migrant shelers along the Mexican border are filled with seasoned crossers braving ever-greater risks to get back to their families in the US - the country they consider home. 5. In Egypt, concessions by military on politics[.i]. ....The concessions come as the military rulers seek to shore up public support, amid mounting criticism that their management of the transition has been opaque and inconsistent. 6. Anti-Assad dissidents from Syrian National Council. ....A newly established council designed to overthrow Pres. Assad's government includes representatives of several opposition factions. 7. Israel supports proposal to restart Mideast talks. ....Any immediate resumption of peace negotiations with the Palestinians appeared unlikely as the Israelis and Palestinians differed sharply over the terms. A mosque in an Arab village in the Galilee was set on fire early Monday in what police said as an arson attack, and its walls were defaced with Hebrew graffiti. 8. Signing off in Baghdad. ....The voices have gone silent on Freedom Radio, the Armed Forces Network station that for eight years entertained soldiers and delivered the grim news of troops deaths.
US News Capsules: 1. Now earthbound, after years of fighting wind and fire. ....For 38 years, Dale Longanecker has parachuted into Western wildfires, but at age 57 and after 896 jumps, he is being forced to retire. 2. Incentives for advanced work let pupils and teachers cash in. ....An initiative's success is refueling a debate over whether cash bonuses can coax improved performance from teachers and students. 3. A US-backed geothermal plant in Nevada struggles. ....Like Loyndra, the now-famous California solar energy company, Nevada Geothermal Power is facing financial trouble after encountering problems at its only operating plant. 4. New state rules raising hurdles at voting booth. Gov. Walker of Wisconsin signed a law requiring voters to show photo ID. ....Republicans say they want to prevent voter fraud, but some groups say they worry that the new restrictions may discourage people from going to vote. 5. For politics in South, race divide is defining. ....In Mississippi, Democrats ponder the prospect of becoming, definitively, the permanent minority party--in borth senses of the world. 6. In debt talks, divide on what tax breaks are worth keeping. Brooklyn Brewery ....Talk of cutting tax breaks to raise money and reduce the debt has become a mantra in Washington, but it threatens a favorite political tool of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle - rewarding supporters and economic interests in their home states. 7. House sets up battle on funding social programs. ....A Republican bill would curtail spending on the health care law, Planned Parenthood, Pell grants and Race to theTop educatin incentives.
Today's Headlines of Interest: The US Supreme Court won't review gun rights outside of home. The US Supreme Court in Charles Williams v. Maryland, No. 10-1207 refused to consider whether an individual's right to own guns includes carrying a firearm outside the home, staying out of one of the nation's most divisive social, political and legal issues. The court turned down the opportunity to define the reach of its landmark 2008 ruling that the constitutional right to keep and bear arms applies to individuals and allows them to use guns for lawful purposes such as self-defense in the home. The court's rulings in the gun cases have been closely divided, by 5-4 votes and split along conservative and liberal lines. They let stand the Maryland's highest court ruling upholding a law prohibiting the carrying of a handgun without a permit outside of one's home. Well, what do you know? Finally, a ruling that I can agree with.
700 arrested after protest on NY's Brooklyn Bridge. Protesters speaking out against corporate greed and other grievances remained in Manhattan's financial district even after more that 700 of them were arrested in a tense confrontation with police during a march on the Brooklyn Bridge. The group Occupy Wall Street has been camped out in a plaza on Wall Street for nearly two weeks staging various marches, including a trek to Brooklyn. They walked in thick rows on the sidewalk up to the bridge where some spilled onto the roadway after being told to stay on the sidewalk. The march shut down traffic for several hours and the majority of those arrested were given citations for disorderly conduct and released. Erin Larkins, a Columbia University graduate student at who says she and her boyfriend have significant student loan debt, was among the thousands of protesters on the bridge. "I don't think we're asking for much, just to wake up every morning not worrying whether we can pay the rent, or whether our next meal will be rice and beans again," Larkins wrote in an email to The Associated Press. "No one is expecting immediate change. I think everyone is just hopeful that people will wake up a bit and realize that the more we speak up, the more the people that do have the authority to make changes in this world listen." Elsewhere in the U.S. on Saturday, protesters assembled in Albuquerque, N.M., Boston and Los Angeles to express their solidarity with the movement in New York, though their demands remain unclear. Mostly, the protests have been peaceful, and the movement has shown no signs of losing steam. Celebrities including Michael Moore and Susan Sarandon made recent stops to encourage the Occupy Wall Street group. A real estate firm that owns Zuccotti Park has expressed concerns about conditions there, saying in a statement that it hopes to work with the city to restore the park "to its intended purpose." But it's not clear whether legal action will be taken, and police say there are no plans to try to remove anyone. Seasoned activists said the ad-hoc protest could prove to be a training ground for future organizers of larger and more cohesive demonstrations, or motivate those on the sidelines to speak out against injustices. But with all of this, I'm still not clear on just what they are protesting beyond the "Corporate greed" mantra. Until their demands become more concrete, it's hard to get worked up over this.
Thought for Today "It is cruel to discover one's mediocrity only when it is too late." --W. Somerset Maugham, British writer (1874-1965)
Today's flower: Ludwigia Ludwigia sedoides
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Post by pegasus on Oct 3, 2011 17:58:41 GMT -7
UPDATE: Amanda Knox leaves prison after jury overturns convictionAmanda Knox, the 24-year-old American found guilty in 2009 of murdering her roommate Meredith Kercher, was a free woman after an appeals court jury on Monday acquitted her and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito. Knox, 24, collapsed in tears as the jury's verdict was read. The jury had two options to acquit: determining there wasn't enough evidence to uphold the conviction or that the pair simply didn't commit the crime. The jury determined the latter, clearing Knox and Sollecito completely. After briefly returning to prison for a formal discharge, Knox was seen being driven away in a convoy. Rocco Girlanda, an Italian lawmaker who is close to the Knox family, said she planned to leave Italy on Tuesday.
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Post by pegasus on Oct 4, 2011 6:08:59 GMT -7
Good morning from Tuxy and me :)This is the 277th day of 2011 with 88 days left in the year. Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 8:25 p.m., it's cloudy , temp 53ºF [Feels like 53ºF], winds WNW @ 4 mph, humidity 93%, pressure 30.10 in and steady, dew point 51ºF, chance of rain 100%. Today in History: 1777--Gen. Washington launched an assault on the British at Germantown, Pa., resulting in heavy American casualties. 1861--the US Navy authorized construction of the 1st ironclad ship, the USS Monitor. 1895--the 1st US Open golf tournament was held at the Newport Country Club in Rhode Island. 1931--the comic strip Dick Tracy by Chester Gould made its debut. 1951--the MGM musical An American in Paris, starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron, premiered in New York City. 1957--the Space Age began as the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the 1st man-made satellite, into orbit. 1957-- Leave It to Beaver premiered on CBS. 1970--rock singer Janis Joplin was found dead in her Hollywood hotel room. 1991--26 nations, including the US, signed the Madrid Protocol that imposed a 50-year ban on oil exploration and mining in Antarctica. 2001--Rickey Henderson homered to pass Ty Cobb and become baseball's career leader in runs scored with 2,246 during San Diego's 6-3 win over Los Angeles. 2001--a Russian airliner flying from Israel to Siberia was accidentally downed by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile over the Black Sea, killing all 78 people aboard. 2002--John Walker Lindh, the so-called "American Taliban," was sentenced to 20 years in prison in federal court in Alexandria, Va. 2002--Richard Reid pled guilty in a federal court to trying to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with explosives hidden in his shoes. 2006--ousted Hewlett-Packard Chairwoman Patricia Dunn, a company officer and three investigators were charged with violating California privacy laws in a corporate spying scandal. (The charges were later dropped--weren't actual crimes.) 2010--the US Supreme Court began a new era with three women serving together for the first time as Elena Kagan took her place at the end of the bench. World News Capsules: 1. Contraceptive used in Africa may double risk of HIV. ....A new study suggests that an injectable, hormonal contraceptive popular with African women has biologicl properites that may make women and men more vulnerable to HIV infection. 2. Interim Tunisian leader with ties to old ruler defends a gradual path. ....Tunisia's transitional prime minister, Beji Caid Essebsi, who has a record of pressing for changes from within, says frredom cannot be granted all at once. 3. Truck bomb kills dozens in Somalia's capital. ....A massive bomb exploded on a busy street in central Mogadishu, killing more than 30 people and possibly signaling a comeback for the Shabab militant group. 4. Cooling problem shuts nuclear reactor in Japan. ....In a fresh blow to public confidence, a reactor in southern Japan went into automatic shutodwn on Tuesday because of problems with its cooling system. 5. A leader's death exposes disarrray in the Afghan peace process. ....The assassination of Burhanuddin Rabbani has laid bare the lack of a national consensus on what shape a reconciliation process and peace deal should take. 6. Gunmen attack Shiites in southweat Pakistan. ....Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a bus in southwest Pakistan Tuesday, killing at least 13 Shiite Muslims and wounding another seven, officials said. 7. A significant ozone hole was reported over the Arctic. ....Atmospheric scientists described the depletion as a striking example of how sudden anomalies can occur as a result of human activity that occurred years ago. 8. Rock stars won't play for Putin. ....Two popular Russian rock musicians, disillusioned with the presidency of Dmitri A. Medvedev, have said they will not play next March's presidential election as they did nearly four years ago. 9. Rescue aid to Greece delayed as pressure rises for reforms, ....Euro zone finance ministers made it clear that Greece was unlikely to receive 8 billion euros, which it says it badly need to avoid default, before November. US News Capsules: 1. One of 3 chosen for Nobel in medicine died days ago. ....The Nobel Prize committee said it would stick with its decision to award a Nobel in medicine to Dr. Ralph M. Steinman for advances in immunology, even though he died Friday. 2. Foreign aid set to take a hit in US budget crisis. ....American efforts to wield "smart power" amid natural disasters and political upheaval would be hurt as lawmakes propose slashing funding for the State Department. 3. After ruling, Hispanics flee an Alabama town. ...On the same day that a federal judge upheld most provisions of a strict immigration-enforcement law in Alabama, frightened Hispanics began moving out of Albertville in the northern part of the state. 4. Anti-Wall Street protests spreading to cities large and small. ....Demonstrations similar to the one that began in Lower Manhattan last month are popping up across the country, aided by social media and fueled by anger at financial institutions. 5. Group urges research into aggressive efforts to fight climate change. ....With political action on curbing greenhouse gases stalled, a bipartisan panel is recommending a radical fix: directly manipulating the Earth's climate to lower temperatures. 6. For justices' first day back, a knotty case involving medicaid cutbacks.. ....The court heard a dispute over whether Medicaid providers and recipients can file suit over a decision by state officials to lower payments. 7. Report on Medicare cites prescription drug abuse. ....Investigators from the Government Accountability Office said Medicare officials had been slow to recognize and act on the evidence of abuse, which is to be presented at a Senate hearing today. 8. Before latst phone debut, Apple has harsher competition. ....Despite all the hoopla surrounding the Apple announcement, more people buy smartphones running Google's Android operating system than buy Apple phones. Today's Headlines of Interest: Tea Party leaders grapple with 'Occupy Wall Street'. The “Occupy Wall Street” protest movement, based in New York City and inspiring similar protests across the country, has been described as the left’s response to the tea party. But do the two movements share any common ground? According to Tea Party Patriots National Chairman Mark Meckler, the answer is an emphatic “no.” “These are law breaking people,” Meckler told The Daily Caller. “We have nothing in common with them other than we are all American citizens. My read on the news is that they do not even know what they are protesting.” “The protesters are upset about bailouts but they want to see that money used on more social programs, where the tea party objects to the government bailing out businesses,” Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips explained. “The tea party thinks that money should go back to the people as tax refunds or should never be taxed in the first place.” According to Phillips, “The ultimate goal of the tea party is a reduction in the size of government and a return to constitutional bounds. The goal of these people is ultimately a socialist revolution.” Tea Party Express co-founder Sal Russo, however, offered a more nuanced assessment of the protesters. The tea party movement, according to Russo, can trace its roots to the Ross Perot campaign of the early 1990s, which he said contained “a strong dose of opposition to crony capitalism.” “I think you find that the left and the right come together on that, kind of for different reasons, but come to the same conclusion that government ought not to be picking winners and losers,” Russo told TheDC. I don't know why people are unsure of what the complaints of the Occupy Wall Street protesters are -- corporate greed and shady financial manipulations of the housing market and other areas by the big Wall Street investment banks. I cannot see these people being members of the Tea Party or Republicans who are strongly backed by the very forces they are protesting. Universities in Scotland to charge other Britons. ....Scots and other European students will have virtually free university education in Scotland, but students from the rest of ritain will have to pay up to $14,000 a year. Starting next September, those students are to pay the same tuition as the new rates going into effect in England, up to $14,000 a year. An editorial in The Daily Telegraph complained that the Scottish treatment of other British students was an “injustice” — “especially galling” since all British taxpayers contribute to Scotland’s treasury. “After all,” it asked, “if Scotland was independent and relied solely on its own taxes would it be able to continue a policy that is no longer affordable south of the border?” The sting was sharpened by the fact that under European Union law, Scotland cannot charge students from other European Union countries more than it charges its own. The plan is likely to be challenged in both British and European courts, where the cases will be closely watched both for what they say about the relationship between the parts of the United Kingdom and for the measures that European countries can take in these lean times. They may be willing to recognize students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland as European Union students, entitled to the same benefits as Bulgarian or Finnish ones when it comes to tuition. “This cannot be right,” Mr. Jim Duffy of Public INterest Lawyers said. “If you are from Bucharest, it’s free. But if you live just over the border in Carlisle, it could cost 36,000 pounds. That cannot be right.” Education experts say the increase in Britain pushed its university system much closer to the American model, where education is seen as an individual benefit that should be paid for. But Scotland is trying to adhere to a different principle, more aligned with the rest of Europe: that education is a public good, like highways or bridges, and is worthy of public investment. Still, virtually free education may be hard to sustain in the coming years, experts say, in part because more and more European students are seeking university degrees. I'm sure that they will find it very difficult to maintain a free college education to any and every student in Europe and will be forced to charge all a tuition. Irene's rain makes for long New England fall colors. The pageantry of fall may be particularly lovely in New England this year, and thanks in part to a source that has otherwise brought nothing but heartache to many in the Northeast: Hurricane Irene. The massive storm, which swept across New England at the end of August, caused devastating flooding and millions of dollars of damage. But aside from knocking over individual trees, the hurricane left forests and wooded areas fairly intact. One reason the region's trees escaped relatively unscathed, Kevin T. Smith, a plant physiologist with the US Forest Service, said, is because the storm happened early enough in the season that leaves were still firmly attached, and able to hang on in spite of Irene's winds. In addition, the storm dumped a huge amount of rain on the region — and moisture is one of the key ingredients required for a spectacular show as the seasons change. It helps leaves hang on to the trees, allowing for a longer-lived display. Though the annual show of color is a visual treat for us humans, it serves a very practical purpose. As trees prepare for the onset of winter, they leech the sugars and nutrients from their leaves, in essence moving valuable sustenance to their protected insides so they can stay alive through the cold and dark of the coming season. As nutrients are sucked out, the leaves gradually lose their rich green color, fading to the familiar fall colors of yellow and gold. However, the rich reds on display in autumn are a different story. As summer wanes, some tree species manufacture a substance called anthocyanin, which helps them winterize. Anthocyanin is the same substance that lends red cabbage its purplish hue, and turns leaves crimson and scarlet. In addition to moisture, temperature is also one of the drivers of fall color — specifically, variation in temperature, Smith said. "Ideal conditions for bright displays would be sunny, warm days, and cold nights — it's that alternating that promotes the production of the anthocyanin pigment," he said. He added that the leaves in his neck of the woods in New Hampshire have already begun to change, unrolling a tapestry of fall color. "It's very pretty," Smith said, "and it's just beginning." Thai floods kill 224, swamp World Heritage site. ....At least 224 people have died in flooding in Thailand since mid-July and water has inundated the 400-year-old Chai Wattanaram temple in the ancient city of Ayutthaya, a World Heritage Site, officials said Tuesday. The temple is by the Chao Phraya river, which flows down to the capital, Bangkok, around 65 miles to the south. "The water level is now up to 1.5 meters and 150 soldiers are deployed in the area to fix the embankment," said Wittaya Pewpong, governor of Ayutthaya province. He said more than 200 of the 500 ancient temples in the province had been affected by floods. Thailand has been hit by massive flooding caused by a tropical storm followed by seasonal monsoon rains, which usually fall from August to October. Flooding has also affected Bangkok, which sits only two meters above sea level. The Chao Phraya river has overflowed into roads in some areas, although the authorities have reinforced its banks to prevent serious flooding. Nearly 3 million acres of farmland was under water and the Meteorological Department has warned of more heavy rain in many parts of the country over the next few days. The government has approved at least $256 million in compensation for farmers and other people affected by floods. We sometimes get so involved in our own weather disasters that we forget that there are many other parts of the world suffering also. It's good to be reminded that we aren't the only country faced with these problems. Thought for Today"Trying to determine what is going on in the world by reading newspapers is like trying to tell the time by watching the second hand of a clock." — Ben Hecht, screenwriter (1894-1964). Today's flower: Lobelia cardinalis in water
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Post by pegasus on Oct 5, 2011 8:01:09 GMT -7
Good morning from Tuxy and me :)This is the 278th day of 2011 with 87 days left in the year. Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 11:05 a.m., it's fair , temp 51ºF [Feels like 51ºF], winds SW @ 3 mph, humidity 83%, pressure 30.18 in and rising, dew point 46ºF, 10% chance of rain. Today in History: 1892--the Dalton Gang, known for train robberies, was practically wiped out attempting to rob a bank in Coffeyville, Kan. 1910--Portugal was proclaimed a republic after King Manuel II abdicated in the face of a coup d'etat. 1921--the World Series was broadcast on radio for the 1st time. 1931--Clyde Pandgborn and Hugh Herndon completed the 1st non-stop flight across the Pacific Ocean in 41 hours, landing in Washington state. 1941--former Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis, the first Jewish member of the nation's highest court, died at age 84. 1953--Earl Warren was sworn in as the 14th chief justice of the US. 1962--the Beatles first hit, "Love Me Do", was released in the UK. 1969-- Monty Python's Flying Circus debuted on BBC-TV. 1983--Solidarity founder Lech Walesa was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. 1988--Democrat Lloyd Bentsen lambasted Republican Dan Quayle during their vice presidential debate, telling Quayle, "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." 1989-- a jury in Charlotte, N.C., convicted former PTL evangelist Jim Bakker of using his TV show to defraud followers. 2000--Yugoslav leader Siobodan Milosevic, who had refused to accept defeat in the country's presidential election, was ousted when huge mobs rampaged through Belgrade. 2001--tabloid photo editor Robert Stevens died from inhaled anthrax, the first of a series of anthrax cases in Florida, New York, New Jersey and Washington. 2001--Barry Bonds set a new mark for home runs in a single season, hitting numbers 71 and 72, 2005--defying the Bush White House, the Senate voted 90-9 to approve an amendment that would prohibit the use of "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment" against anyone in US government custody. 2006--NATO took over eastern Afghanistan from U.S.-led forces, assuming control of 12,000 American troops and extending its military role to the entire country. 2007--US track star Marian Jones pled guilty to lying when she said that she hadn't taken steroids. 2010--Faisal Shahzad), the Pakistani immigrant who'd tried to detonate a car bomb in Times Square, accepted a life sentence from a federal judge in New York with a smirk and warned that Americans could expect more bloodshed at the hands of Muslims. World News Capsules: 1. Taliban using modern means to add to sway. ....Insurgents in Afghanistan use tactics like controlling the hours of cellphone use, in addition to selected attacks and some new flexibililty on maters like education. 2. Back to school in Libya, and struggling to adjust. ....Weeks after rebels took over Libya's capital, schools there are struggling with politically divided student bodies, attendance problems and outdated textbooks. 3. Facing backlash, Syria revokes week-old ban on imports of consumer goods. ....A decision in Syria to ban imports of consumer goods sent prices soaring and provoked outrage among a business elite that has until now backed the leadership of Pres. Bashar al-Assad. a. UN resolution on Syria blocked by Russia and China. ....A resolution demanded the immediate end to all violence in Syria. European members of the Security Council had weakened references to sanctions in an attempt to prevent a veto, to no avail. 4. Making empty homes less inviting to the uninvited. ....The British government plans to tighten anti-squatting laws to make it easier for property owners to evict uninvited tenants. 5. Panetta exhorts European NATO members to share defense spending. ....Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said the example of the Libya War showed the need to cooperate on defense spending in order not to 'hollow out' the NATO alliance. 6. Greek workers strike to protest austerity program. ....1000s of Greeks walked off the job today to protest a relentless austerity drive bya government that is struggling to avert default. 7. Hamid Karzai tries to soothe Pakistan over warmer relations with India. ....A day after signing agreements to step up security cooperation with India, Afghanistan’s president sought to reassure Pakistan that warming ties with India, Pakistan’s archrival, would not sour their relationship. a. Plot to kill Afghan Pres. Karzai is foiled. ....Afghan security officials announced that they had arrested six suspects in an attempted assassination plot, including a security guard at the gates of the presidential palace. 8. Turkey detains 140 in inquiry on Kurds. ....Activists were held in a nationwide sweep tied to an investigation of insurgent attacks. US News Capsules: 1. Opting out of race, Christie says, 'Now is not my time'. ....Ending a late flurry of indecision, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey announced that he had decided not to seek the presidencyy. 2. Hiring locally for farm work is no cure-all. ....Many US farmers are finding that the more they try to do something concrete to address immigration and joblessness, theo worse off they find themselves. “Farmers have to bear almost all the labor market risk because they must prove no one really was available, qualified or willing to work,” said Dawn D. Thilmany, a professor of agricultural economics at Colorado State University. “But the only way to offer proof is to literally have a field left unharvested.” 3. Puerto Rico prodded to get tough on police. ....After decades of public mistrust, steps are being taken to combat dysfunction outlined in a Justice Department report. 4. Jury sought for Nigerian held in bid to bomb jet. ....The defendant was captured on a plane bound for Detroit from Amsterdan in 2009 and accused of trying to ignite a bomb hidden in his underwear. 4. IPhone gets its upgrade, all under the hood. ....Although the new phone is virtually indistinguishable from its predecessor on the outside, the company says the iPhone 4S is packed with better technical innards, including a more advanced camera. 5. Hope rising, stores hire for holidays. ....Many major retailers plan to hire more workers during the lucrative holiday season, a reflection of statistics that show consumers just keep shopping despite the troubled economy. 6. In Arizona bull run, danger, yes, liability, no. ....The event, based on the running of the bulls in Spain, comes with a waiver that says “you, your neighbor, your cousin and your cousin’s brother can’t sue anybody about any of this.” 7. Democrat wins West Virginia governor's race. ....Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s defense of his post was closely watched as an indicator of voter mood ahead of the 2012 presidential election. 8. An appeal gone astray catches the Supreme Court's attention. ....The unusual circumstances under which a convicted killer lost his right to appeal are the subject of a Supreme Court hearing. Today's Headlines of Interest: In Europe, signs of 2nd recession with wide reach. "We are the epicenter of this globaal crisis," Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central BAnk,said at the European Parliament today. The European debt problems that have roiled global financial markets for the last 18 months are showing signs of turning into a far deeper challenge: Europe's 2nd recession in three years. Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain are already in downturns fighting high unemployment and austerity belt-tightening take their toll. Even prosperous Germany and France (Europe's powerhouses) have started to be dragged down, hurt by ebbing orders from indebted countries. And it's not just Europe's problem. The US, a major banking and trading partner, is stuck in its own rut with Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke to war that "the recovery is clsoe to faltering." He added that the economy could fall into a new recession unless the government acted. A downturn in Europe, if it happens, could help tip America back into recession and would undoubtedly ricochet around the world. Europe’s banks are among the most interconnected in the world, and the euro is the world’s second-largest reserve currency after the dollar. The crisis started in American real estate and crossed over to Europe and nobody has any idea where this will go next or for how long. Studies of universe's expansion win Physics Nobel Prize. Three American-born astronomers won the prize for their studies of exploding stars that revealed that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. The astronomers are Saul Perlmutter, 52, of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley; Brian P. Schmidt, 44, of the Australian National University in Canberra; and Adam G. Riess, 41, of the Space Telescope Science Institute and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The three men led two competing teams of astronomers who were trying to use the exploding stars known as Type 1a supernovae as cosmic lighthouses to limn the expansion of the universe. Dr. Perlmutter, who led the Supernova Cosmology Project out of Berkeley, will get half of the prize of 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.4 million). The other half will go to Dr. Schmidt, leader of the rival High-Z Supernova Search Team, and Dr. Riess, who was the lead author of the 1998 paper in The Astronomical Journal, in which the dark energy result was first published. The goal of both groups was to measure how fast the cosmos, which has been expanding since its fiery birth in the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago, was slowing down, and thus to find out if its ultimate fate was to fall back together in what is called a Big Crunch or to drift apart into the darkness. Instead, the two groups found in 1998 that the expansion of the universe was actually speeding up, a conclusion that nobody would have believed if not for the fact that both sets of scientists wound up with the same answer. It was as if, when you tossed your car keys in the air, instead of coming down, they flew faster and faster to the ceiling. Subsequent cosmological measurements have confirmed that roughly 70% of the universe by mass or energy consists of anti-gravitational dark energy that is pushing the galaxies apart, though astronomers and physicists have no conclusive evidence of what it is. The most likely explanation for this bizarre behavior is a fudge factor that Albert Einstein introduced into his equations in 1917 to stabilize the universe against collapse and then abandoned as his greatest blunder. “Every test we have made has come out perfectly in line with Einstein’s original cosmological constant in 1917,” Dr. Schmidt said. If the universe continues accelerating, astronomers say, rather than coasting gently into the night, distant galaxies will eventually be moving apart so quickly that they cannot communicate with one another and all the energy will be sucked out of the universe. But not in the near future - so everyone can breathe easy. Thought for Today"I do not think there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature." -- John D. Rockefeller, oil magnate/philanthropist (1839-1937) Today's flower: Fuschia Fuschia 'Rocket Fire'
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Post by pegasus on Oct 6, 2011 10:42:08 GMT -7
Good morning from Tuxy and me :)This is the 279th day of 2011 with 86 days left in the year. Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 1:10 p.m., it's sunny , temp 63ºF [Feels like 63ºF], winds NW @ 5 mph, humidity 37%, pressure 30.41 in and falling, dew point 35ºF, 10% chance of rain. Today in History: 1539--English theologian/scholar William Tyndale, first to translate the Bibel into Early Modern English, was executed for heresy. 1683--13 German families arrived in Philadelphia to found Germantown, one of America's older settlements. 1884--the US Naval War College was established in Newport, R.I. 1889--the Moulin Rouge cabaret opened in Paris. 1927--talking pictures began with the opeining of The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson. 1958--the nuclear submarine USS Seawolf surfaced after spending 60 days submerged. 1973--Egypt and Syria attacked Israel during the Yom Kippur holiday. 1979--Pope John Paul II became the first pontiff to visit the White House, where he was received by Pres. Carter. 1987--the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 9-5 against the nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. 2004--US arms imspector Charles Duelfer reported that he found no evidence of Saddam Hussein's regime having produced weapons of mass destruction since 1991. 2006--the UN Security Council adopted a statement warning North Korea of unspecified consequences if it carried out a nuclear test. 2010--the Phillies' Roy Halladay pitched the 2nd no-hitter in postseason history, beating Cincinnati 4-0 in Game 1 of the NLCS. (Don Laarson pitched the 1st - perfect game in the World Series.) World News Capsules: 1. Greeks protest cutbacks amid growing weariness. ....1000s of Greeks walked off the job to protest a relentless austerity drive by a government that is struggling to avert a default. 2. With rare double UN Veto on Syria, Russia and China try to shield friend. ....A double veto at the UN was driven by cncerns in Moscow and Beijing about losing influence in the Arab world as authoritarian governments built on th now-faded Soviety model collapse. a. Syria uprising deaths exceed 2,900, UN says. ....The new tally of Syrian deaths in the seven-month-old uprising comes as the Human Rights Council is to review Syria's record. 3. Europe tries to stave off a reckoning. ....Many around the world are worried that Europe is about to face a Lehman Brothers moment, a big bankruptcy or sudden default that sets off a new phase of panic in Europe and beyond. 4. NATO not yet willing to declare end to Libya operations. ....The consensus among NATO defense ministers is that a significant threat remains from forces loyal to Col. Moammar el-Qaddafi, and that civilians are at risk. 5. Bahrain orders retrials for medical workers. ....Judicial authorities nullified the convictions and prison terms given to 20 medical workers last week by a ocurt prosecuting cases arising from civil unrest in the country. 6. No presidential candidate from Egypt military, officer says. ....Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi said that the mililtary would not offer a candidate to be Egypt's next president. 7. Harvesting cease-fire offers respite in Afghanistan[.i], ....Militants in Paktika Province declared a cease-fire during pinenut season, underscoring a pair of siple facts: Waging war requires labor, and when local labor is busy, fighting can subside. 8. BBC cuts to lead to a 'Radically Reshaped' broadcast service. ....The BBC announced that it would eliminate 2,000 jobs,cut its sports budget, show more reruns and broadcast fewer talk shows and game shows. 9. Palestinians win a vote on bid to join UNESCO. ....The Palestinians gained initial approval for full membership in UNESCO, the final approval of which could result in a withdrawal of aid to the UN by the US. 10. Anglican leader to seek meeting with Mugabe. ....The archbishop of Canterbury begins his visit to Africa by seeking to heal rift within the Anglican congregation in Zimbabwe.
US News Capsules: 1. For US, a tricky path in dealing with Afghan nsurgents.
The Obama administration is pursuing seemingly contradictory politicies in Afghanistan and Pakistan as it struggles to end th conflict in Afghanistan and salvage a security relationship with Pakistan. 2. Patient data landedonline after a series of missteps. ....A series of missteps led to the posting of personal data about nearly 20,000 Stanford Hospital patients on the Web, the hospital and private contractors say. 3. A tough balancing act remains ahead for Apple. ....Apple's executives will have to figureout how to follow the lessons Steven P. Jobs imparted prior to his death without being trapped by his legacy and unable to adapt to future changes. 4. A candidate writing his own campaign rules. ....After winning a recent straw poll in Florida, it would seem that it is Herman Cain's moment, but his public appearances have focused on his nwly released book. 5. Race-based names dot the landscape/i].
....The one-time name of Gov. Rick Perry's Texas hunting camp is currently the most famous example of an egregious race-based palce name, but it is not the only one. Above visitors can walk along the marsh which leads to what navigational charts call Runaway Negro Creek, a tidal creek that bordrs Skidaway Island State Park in Savannah, Ga. 6. Pres. Obama would accept surtax on incomes over $1 million. ....Pres. Obama said that he was "comfortable" with a Senate proposal to pay for his jobs plans with a tax surcharge on income above $1 million. a. Democrats seek tax on 'Richest,' aiming gauntlet at G.O.P.. ....The 5% levy on incomes of more than $1 million has little chance of passing, but Democratic leaders hope it draws a contrast with Republicans who have opposed the tax. 7. Relligous groups and bias get the Justices' attention, ....Supreme Court justices struggled to strike the right balance between avoiding government interference in religious groups while protecting employees from discrimination.
Today's Headlines of Interest:
A changed Russia arches an eyebrow aat Putin's staged antics.. Russians are increasingly immune from the persuasive effects of social programs and government-controlled TV, including a contrived video of Prime Minister Vladimire Puting on a scuba-dive.
It was just a typical summer outing for Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin: Clad in a wet suit and fitted with an oxygen tank, he dived to the bottom of a bay and retrieved two ceramic jugs that dated to the sixth century A.D. The scene, captured by a camera crew and broadcast on the nightly news, cast Mr. Putin as a broad-chested Renaissance man, just the thing for his listless approval ratings. Scenes of Mr. Putin braving the elements — tranquilizing a tigress, tenderly feeding sugar to his horse or shooting a dart at a whale from a rubber dinghy — are a staple of political life in Russia. The Kremlin has navigated between two audiences (Moscow and the rest of Russia) for more than a century. Lenin dismissed Moscow’s intelligentsia as “not the brain of the nation,” but “the feces of the nation,” whereas others have argued that Russia cannot be ruled without the consent of Moscow’s elite. Mr. Putin chose one thesis over the other in displacing Pres. Dmitri A. Medvedev, who had soothed Moscow’s liberals with the hope that their ideas would take hold. The editors of Gazeta.ru, an online newspaper frequently critical of the government, said they would be on the lookout for glowing television retrospectives on Brezhnev, whose leadership, they wrote, would be associated not with turgid ideology but with “stable, peaceful, gradual growth.” “Putin returns to power as president of an essentially Soviet majority, living within commercial and political coordinates which differ little from the Brezhnev days,” they wrote in an unsigned editorial. “For this apolitical, paternalistically oriented post-Soviet crowd, the general secretary, president or leader of the nation (this must be underlined) — is the single hope and buttress.” <sigh> A classic case of the more things change the more they stay the same. Putin has never relinquished power and anyone who thinks otherwise is only kidding himself.
Surgery rate late in life surprises researchers. Nearly one in three Medicare recipients had an operation in their last year, nearly one in five in their last month and nearly one in 10 in their last week, proving the surgery is surprisingly common in older people during the last year of their life - a finding likely to stoke, but not resolve, the debate over whether medical care is overused and needlessly driving up medical costs. However, by looking only at people who died, researchers can get a skewed picture of what is taking place, critics say. “Because the patient died, you can’t assume that the treatment and therapies were not of value,” said Dr. Peter B. Bach of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. “Although in that individual, things may not have worked out, you have no insight into whether the decision to operate was appropriate.” Nor is it known how many similar patients who had that same surgery did not die. The researchers said their study — done from public records and with no financing — probably pointed to a real problem in American medicine: surgery, which can be painful, expensive and debilitating, is tempting for doctors and patients alike. Dr. Mark McClellan, a former commissioner of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who directs the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution, said, “Evidence like this — and a lot of previous evidence, directly from patients and their families — shows that we need much better support for patients and their families when they have serious illnesses and may need intensive treatments.” Dr. Ashish Jha, an associate professor of health policy at Harvard and lead author of the study, said he and his colleagues were continuing to study the causes and consequences of surgery at the end of life, adding, “It is hard to take these data and make clear policy recommendations about what is appropriate and what is not.” But he said he had no doubt that the difficult conversations that should precede a decision to operate all too often never occurred. We should give patients time to have the conversations they want with their families. You can do that when you're in pain from surgery, groggy from anesthesia.
Thought for Today "The greater man the greater courtesy." --Alfred Lord Tennyson, English poet laureate (1809-1892)
Today's flower: Rudbeckia hirta 'Prairie Sun'
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Post by pegasus on Oct 7, 2011 8:14:31 GMT -7
Good morning from Tuxy and me :)This is the 280th day of 2011 with 85 days left in the year. Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 11:12 a.m., it's fair , temp 61ºF [Feels like 61ºF], winds SW @ 6 mph, humidity 71%, pressure 30.45 in and rising, dew point 44ºF, chance of rain 10%. Today in History: 1765--the Stamp Act Congress convened in New York to draw up colonial grievances against England. 1777--the 2nd Battle of Saratoga began. (Gen John Burgoyne surrendered ten days later.) 1849--Edgar Allan Poe, author, died at age 40. 1868--Cornell University was established in Ithaca, NY. 1910--a major wildfire devastated the northern Minnesota towns of Spooner and Baudette, charring 300,000 acres and claiming 40 deaths. 1949--The People's Republic of East Germany was formed. 1954--Marian Anderson became the first black singer hired by New York's Metropolitan Opera. 1968--the Motion Picture Association of America adopted a film-rating system. 1981--Vice Pres. Hosni Mubarak was named to succeed the assassinated Anwar Sadat. 1982--the musical Cats opened on Broadway to begin a record run of 7,485 performances. 1985--Palestinian gunmen hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro in the Mediterranean with more than 400 passengers. 1996--Fox News Channel made its debut. 1998--Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was beaten, robbed and left tied to a wooden fence post outside Laramie, Wy. (He died five days later. Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney are serving life sentences for the murder.) 2001--the war in Afghanistan began with air attacks against al-Qaida training camps by the US and Great Britain. 2003--California voters recalled Gov. Gray Davis and elected actor Arnold Schwarzenegger to replace him. 2006--Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist who had chronicled Russian military abuses against civilians in Chechnya, was found shot to death in Moscow. 2008--the Federal Reserve announced a radical plan to buy massive amounts of sort-term debt, known a commercial paper, to get credit markets moving. 2010--a toxic red sludge that had burst out of a Hungarian factory's reservoir reached the mighty Danube after wreaking havoc on smaller rivers and creeks. World News Capsules: 1. Detecting a thaw in Myanmar, US aims to encourage change. ....The thaw in relations with the US follows a political transition in Myanmar that has raised the possibility that the new government will ease restrictions on basic freedoms. 2. Qaddafi urges followers to 'Rise Up' and fill the streets. ....Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the deposed Libyan leader, broke more than a week of public silence with a recorded message to his followers, denouncing the provisional government that ousted him. 3. Russia defended its veto of UN resolution on Syria. ....Pres. Dmitry Medvedev defended Russia's decision to veto a European-backed UN Security Council resolution on Syria, saying it would have opened the door to possible military action. a. Putin urges choice on admitting Russia to World Trade Organization. ....Russia's principal trading partners should decide soon whether to admit Russia to the World Trade Organization (WTO), and not leave the decision to Georgia, Prime Minister Putin said. a. Syria uprising deaths exceed 2,900, UN says. ....The new tally of Syrian deaths in the 7-month-old uprising comes as the Human Rights Council is to review Syria's record. 4. Coordinated attacks in Afghanistan hit US sites. ....Coordinated strikes on outposts near the Pakistan border, timed apparently to mark the 10th anniversary of the start of the Afghan war, cause minimal damage, officers said. a. Afghan deal with I.M.F. will revive flow of aid. ....A deal with the International Monetary Fund will end a period of uncertainty for donors and the Afghan government about whether small development projects and salary support programs will go forward. 6. Iraqi dispute about US troops reflects clashing emotions. ....Iraq's desire to keep some American troops but not give them legal immunity encapsulates the nation's ambivalence about the American invasion. 7. Pakistan pulls closer to a reluctant China. ....With relations frayed with Washington, Pakistan has been trying to shore up its ties with China, which, though a benefactor, has its own set of concerns. a. Pres. Obama warns Pakistanis on militants. ....Pres. Obama said his administration was concerned about Pakistan's commitment to American interests, citing ties between anti-American militants and Pakistan's intelligence agents. 8. Swedish poet wins Nobel Prize for literature. ....Tomas Transtromer is acclaimed as one of the most important Scandinavian writers since World War II, who is known for his sophisticated simplicity and turbulent stillness. http://smileys.emoticonsonly.c om/emoticons/h/hmm-1367.gif[/img] US News Capsules: 1. US panel says no to prostate screening for healthy men. ....Giving healthy men P.S.A. blood tests for prostate cancer does not save lives and often leads to treatment that can cause needless pain and side effects, a government panel said. 2. Making case for jobs bill, Pres. Obama cites Europe's woes. ....Pres. Obama said that the weakening economy posed an 'emergency' and urged passage of his $447 billion package. 3. Protests offer Obama opportunity to gain, and room for pitfalls. ....Some see the start of a populist movement on the left that counterbalances the Tea Party, but that assumes the president is able to win the support of the protesters. 4. Some unemployed find fault in extension of jobless benefits. ....As the president urges Congress to act on renewing an extension to unemployment benefits, some are arguing that it's a hindrance to the economy and discourages workers. 5. Romney rounds up backing among key GOP donors. ....Sought-after uncommitted donors, Bush administration veterans and other stalwarts of the Republican establishment are backing the former Massachusetts governor. 6. White House orders new computer security rules. ....After a review of policies that led to the WikiLeaks document disclosures, the White House plans to issue an executive order to set new rules on handling classified information. 7. Amid Solyndra controversy, head of federal loan program resigns. ....The head of the Energy Department's embattled loan program announced that he was stepping down amid an expanding probe of the agency's $535 million loan to a now-shattered solar company. 8. At the movies: a. Estranged Bedfellows. ....In The Ides of March, George Clooney, as the Governor of Pennsylvania, keeps his cool while inflaming the passions of Democratic primary voters. b. Bare-knuckle bots, showing their mettle in the boxing ring. ....In Real Steel, a robot boxing movie starring Hugh Jackman, machines replace humans as prizefighting combatants. c. A stream of work that defies visual uniformity. ....Views from the Avant-Garde, part of the New York Film Festival, has expanded its presentation of single and multi-artist programs, short and long works, films and digital videos. Today's Headlines of Interest: 3 Women share the Nobel Peace Prize. A Liberian women's rights peace activist, Liberia's president and Yemen's "Mother of the Revolution" A Liberian peace activist (Leymah Gbowee), Africa's first democratically elected female president (Ellen Johnson Sirleaf) and a woman who stood up to Yemen's authoritarian regime (Tawakkul Karman - the first Arab woman to win the prize) won the Nobel Peace Prize for their work to secure women's rights, which the prize committee described as fundamental to advancing world peace. "We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men," Thorbjoern Jagland, the committee chairman said. :)By citing Karman, the committee also appeared to be acknowledging the effects of the Arab Spring, which has challenged authoritarian regimes across the region. "I am very very happy about this prize," said Karman, a 32-year-old mother of three who heads the human rights group Women Journalists without Chains. She has been a leading figure in organizing protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh that began in late January as part of a wave of anti-authoritarian revolts that have convulsed the Arab world. "I give the prize to the youth of revolution in Yemen and the Yemeni people," Karman told The Associated Press. :)Sirleaf, age 72, became Africa's first democratically elected female president in 2005. She has a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University and has held top regional jobs at the World Bank, the United Nations and within the Liberian government. Sirleaf said Friday the award was recognition of the West African state's "many years of struggle for justice, peace, and promotion of development" since a brutal civil war, Reuters reported. Sirleaf was seen as a reformer and peacemaker in Liberia when she took office. She is running for re-election Tuesday and opponents in the presidential campaign have accused her of buying votes and using government funds to campaign. Her camp denies the charges. The committee cited Sirleaf's efforts to secure peace in her country, promote economic and social development and strengthen the position of women. :)Gbowee organized a group of Christian and Muslim women to challenge Liberia's warlords. In 2009 she won a Profile in Courage Award, an honor named for a 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book written by John F. Kennedy, for her work in emboldening women in Liberia. Gbowee was honored for mobilizing women "across ethnic and religious dividing lines to bring an end to the long war in Liberia, and to ensure women's participation in elections." Gbowee works in Ghana's capital as the director of Women Peace and Security Network Africa. The group's website says she also won a 2007 Blue Ribbon Award from Harvard University and was the central character of an award-winning documentary called Pray the Devil Back to Hell. www.msnhiddenemoticons.com/Library/extra_large/large_mix/default/clap.gif [/img]Bravo to three remarkable women and to the Nobel Peace Prize committee for recognizing their efforts in the world. Three women who can serve as very definite role models for women the world over. Obama challenges Republicans to explain opposition to jobs billAfter crisscrossing the country for weeks pushing his jobs plan directly to the American people. Pres. Obama turned his attention to congressional Republicans, promising to target them in 2012 if they stand in the way of his economic agenda. "If Congress does something, then I can't run against a do-nothing Congress," Obama said in response to a question at a morning news conference. "If Congress does nothing, then it's not a matter of me running against hem. I think the American people will run them out of town, because they are frustrated, and they know we need to do something big and something bold." Cantor says he's concerned by 'mobs' at 'Occupy Wall street'. The 2nd-ranking House Republican castigated "Occupy Wall Street" protesters, just a Democrats begin cozying up to the weeks-old demonstrations. Eric Cantor decried the protests that started several weeks ago in New York City and have spread to major cities across the country, saying at the Values Voters Summit in Washington that he is "increasingly concerned" about the "growing mobs" represented at the protests. "Some in Washington have actualaly condoned the pitting of Americans against Americans," he said after accusing the Obama administration's policies of being an " assault on many of our nation's bedrock princples." Other political leaders have been more coy in their approach toward the demonstrations; Pres. Obama nodded toward the protests as a sign of broader frustration over the state of the economy. As for Republicans, Mitt Romney accused the protesters of engaging in "class warfare," but has otherwise stayed silent about the demonstrations. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called them the "Obama demonstrations," while Texas Rep. Ron Paul encouraged the protests. "If they were demonstrating peacefully ... and making a point, and arguing our case, and drawing attention to the Fed–I would say, good!" he told the libertarian magazine Reason. Mr Cantor, one of those bedrock principles that you refer to is the right to assembly to protest aspects of American society one does not like and thinks are wrong. So far all violence has been on the side of law enforcement. The protesters have been non-violent. I think Mr. Cantor needs to read the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution to which he so often fondly refers. It gives all Americans the right to assemble for peaceful protests, not just for protests of which you and your fellow millionaires approve. From death row to freedom: Woman gets second chance. A Memphis woman who spent 26 years on death row and came within two months of being executed for hiring a stranger to kill her husband was freed Friday from a Tennessee prison. Gaile Owens, 58, was greeted by a small group of supporters outside Tennessee's Prison for Women. Owens was all smiles as she pushed a yellow laundry cart containing her belongings past the prison's razor-wire fence to freedom. Owens was sentenced to die in 1985, but her death sentence was commuted to life in prison last year and she won parole last week. she issued a statement before leaving. She said she feels a "responsibility to give back to those who have given so much to me. I'm looking forward to leading a quiet, private, but productive life," Owens said. "But more than anything, I'm looking forward to being a mother and a grandmother. I can't wait to see my grandchildren, and to fulfill my dream of walking in the park with my family." Supporters had urged her release, claiming she was a battered wife who didn't use that defense because she didn't want her young sons to know about the physical and sexual abuse. Owens' sentence was commuted to life in prison in July 2010 by former Gov. Phil Bredesen. He acknowledged the abuse claims but gave a different reason for his decision to spare her life. Bredesen said prosecutors had agreed not to seek the death penalty if Owens pleaded guilty but then put her on trial when her co-defendant wouldn't accept the deal. At the time Owens was imprisoned, a life sentence meant serving 30 years and she was eligible to be released now because of good conduct. Thought for Today"The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one." -- George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright (1856-1950) Today's flower: Chrysanthemum 'Cecilia' & Salvia leucantha 'Santa Barbara' or chrysanthemum and Mexican bush sage
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Post by pegasus on Oct 8, 2011 11:26:18 GMT -7
Good morning from Tuxy and me :)This is the 281st day of 2011 with 84 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 2:36 p.m., it's partly sunny , temp 78° F [Feels like 78° F], winds NE @ 3 mph, humidity 42%, pressure 30.44 in and steady, dew point 49° F, 10% chance of rain.
Today in History: 1871--the Great Chicago Fire erupted; fires also broke out in Peshtigo, Wis. and several communities in Michigan. 1918--Sgt Alvin York, US Army, almost single-handedly killed 25 German soldiers and captured 132 in the Argonne Forest, France. (He received the Congressional Medal of Honor for this.) 1956--Don Larson pitched theonly perfect game in a World Series as the NY Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 2-0 in Game 5. 1957--the Brooklyn Dodgers announced they were moving to Los Angeles, Calif. 1970--Soviet author Alexander Solzhenitsyn was named the winner of the Nobel Prize for literature. 1982--all Polish labor organizations, including Solidarity, were banned. 1985--the hijackers of the Achille Lauro killed American passenger Leon Klinghoffer and dumped his body and wheelchair overboard. 2001--former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge was sworn in as the director of the new Office of Homeland Security. 2001--a SAS airliner taking off from Milan, Italy, hit a private jet, careened into an airport building and exploded, killing 118 people. 2004--kifestyle guru Martha Stewart reported to prison to begin serving a sentence for lying about a stock sale. 2005--a major earthquake flattened villages on the Pakistan-India border, killing an estimated 86,000 people. 2006--word reached the US of North Korea's claim that it had conducted its first nuclear weapons test (because of the time difference, it was Oct. 9 in North Korea). 2010--British aid worker Linda Norgrove, who'd been taken captive in Afghanistan, was killed during a U.S. special forces rescue attempt, apparently by a U.S. grenade. 2010--imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, prompting a furious response from China.
World News Capsules: 1. 10 years into Afghan war, a thunderous duel. ....Coordinated strikes on outposts near the Pakistan border, timed apparently to mark the 10th anniversary of the start of the war, caused minimal damage, officers said. 2. Slovaks love and hate euro; bailout may lie between. ....Bailouts for Greece and other European countries have touched a nerve in Slovakia, which is threatening to derail a rescue plan. A junior Slovak government party wants the country out of the euro zone's planned permanent bailout mechanism in return for supporting a plan to give more firepower to a temporary rescue fund, a demand unlikely to win support at home and abroad 3. Bahrain protesters clash with police near capital after teenager's funeral.
The rally followed the funeral of a teenager who activists said was killed by the police the day before. 4. Killing of opposition leader in Syria provokes Kurds. ....The crowds attending the funeral of Mashaal Tammo constituted some of the biggest gatherings in weeks in the nearly 7-month uprising in Syria. 5. Vacuum is feared as US quits Iraq, but Iran's deep influence may not fill it.
....Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki?s renewed grasp on power has been brought about by the Middle East?s most powerful Shia player - Iran, but its reach has not extended to ordinary people. 6. Chechnya's costs stir anger as Russia approaches elections.
....Resaentment over the lavish federal subsidies paid to Chechnya and other regions in the North Caucasus could become a liability for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. 7. 3 are held over attacks in Indonesia.
....The predominantly Muslim country has been struggling with a new, homegrown terror threat in which lone militants and small groups wage attacks against police and minority religious groups.
US News Capsules: 1. Adding jobs, but not many, US economy seems to idle. ....American employers added 103,000 jobs last month, indicating that the economy is at least not weakening. The jobless rate held steady at 9.1%. 2. E-mail shows senior energy official pushed Solyndra loan. ....A senior Energy Department official inquired frequently about the progress of the loan even though his wife's law firm represented the company and he promised to recuse himself. 3. In the G.O.P. race, foreign policy is a footnote. ....So far, the Republican presidential candidates have been prone to occsional blunders when delving into foreign policy - that is, when they have had anything to say about the topic at all. 4. Panel's advice on prostate test sets up battle. ....A finding that a blood test to screen for prostate cancer does not save lives, but results in needless medical procedures, is being contested. 5. Pipeline review is faced with question of conflict. ....The State Department assigned an important environmental impact study of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline to a company with financial ties to the pipeline operator. 6. US Attorneys in California set crackdown on marijuana. ....Prosecutors said they would concentrate on large, for profit-operations that use the medical law as a cover for large-scale drug operations, with marijuana being sent across state lines. 7. Checking account wars, behind the scenes. ....As the battle is joined over fees, the big banks want to make you pay, and the most aggressive of the little banks and credit unions want to pay you for using debit cards. 8. Where Post Office is the town's heart, fears of closings. .....The deficit-plagued Postal Service has warned 3,700 communitie, most rural, that it may shutter the post offices that many residents rely on to pick up their mail and keep up with area news. 9. For Romney, social issues pose new test.
....Republican presidential candidate Mitt ROmney is again being forced to explain his Mormon faith and his stance on social issues to his party's base. 10. In Iowa, ethanol can still trip up a candidate. . ...Gov. rick Perry, once an outspoken opponent of federal backing of corn-based fuel, found it better to dodge the issue in Iowa. A flip-flop may yet follow.
Today's Headlines of Interest:
It's like Sharks vs. Jets as Senate wrangles over voe, but without music. Senate Democrats blocked a Republican move to bring up the jobs bill, and sides quickly formed. Partisan anger hit a boiling point in the chamber this week after Republicans refused to allow final passage of a China currency bill unless Democrats voted on President Obama’s jobs package, as originally drafted. Triggering what has come to be known as the chamber’s “nuclear option,” Reid overturned Senate precedent that allowed Republicans to force votes to proceed to non-germane amendments. He did so by voting with 50 of his Democratic colleagues to overturn a ruling by the Senate parliamentarian. The controversial procedural tactic hasn’t been used in years. In a chamber where it requires the consent of all 100 senators to dispense with the reading of a bill, changing the rules unilaterally is considered bad form. Reid and McConnell entered into a gentlemen’s agreement at the beginning of the year to allow the Senate’s business to proceed more smoothly. Reid promised to give Republicans opportunities to offer amendments, and McConnell pledged not to filibuster motions to proceed to legislation, unless the legislation is highly controversial. Sen. Schumer and Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) also worked out an agreement to allow hundreds of mid-level administration nominees to be appointed without Senate confirmation. Senate aides say the gentlemen’s agreement and spirit of bipartisan cooperation that existed in January are now dead. <sigh>
Thought for Today "Doing nothing is very hard to do ... you never know when you're finished." --Leslie Nielson, actor (1926-2010)
Today's flower: Clematis 'Will Goodwin'
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Post by pegasus on Oct 9, 2011 11:33:30 GMT -7
I just received an interesting e-mail from Messy. Moving documentary of 9/11 evacuation by boat shows resilience of cities | SmartPlanet I was unaware that this had occurred. It was quite a feat - 500,000 evacuated by boat from lower Manhattan on 9/11 in nine hours. All types of boats - tug boats, excursion boats, the Staten Island ferry and privately-owned boats. I think it is something that should be more widely publicized. These "watermen" were also heroes on 9/11. At the time, no one knew the attack was over and so they performed their rescue mission under a cloud of possble danger.
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Post by pegasus on Oct 9, 2011 13:45:09 GMT -7
Good afternoon from Tuxy #cat# and me. Happy Leif Erikson day (1011 years since discovery of the New World) :)This is the 282nd day of 2011 with 83 days left in the year.
Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 4:50 p.m., it's fair , temp 79ºF [Feels like 78ºF], winds E @ 5 mph, humidity 40%, pressure 30.36 in and falling, dew point 53ºF, chance of rain 0%.
Today in History: 1635--religious dissident Roger Williams was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 1701--the Collegiate School of Connecticut (Yale University) was chartered in New Haven. 1776--a group of Spanish missionaries settled in present-day San Francisco. 1888--the public was first admitted to the Washington Monument. 1936--the first generator at Boulder (later Hoover) Dam began transmitting electricity to Los Angeles. 1946--the Eugene O'Neill drama The Iceman Cometh opened at the Martin Beck theater on Broadway. 1948--rock singer Jackson Browne turns 63 years old. 1967--guerrilla leader Che Guevara was executed in Bolivia while attempting to incite revolution. 1975--Soviet clear physicist Andrei Sakharov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. 2001--letters postmarked in Trenton, N.J., that later tested positive for anthrax spores were mailed to Sens. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt). 2006--North Korea announced that it had conducted its first nuclear weapons test. 2006--Google Inc. announced it was snapping up YouTube Inc. for $1.65 billion in a stock deal. 2008--the Dow Jones industrials fell below 9,000 – to 8,579.19 – for the first time in five years. 2009--Pres. Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on expectations. 2010--Chile's 33 trapped miners cheered and embraced each other as a drill punched into their underground chamber where they had been stuck for an agonizing 66 days.
World News Capsules: 1. Coming soon: the drone arms race.
....The hazard on the horizon is the political and legal challenge posed when another country follows the American example of using pilotless aircraft. 2. Yemen's leader says he'll 'Reject power,' as forces cast doubt. ....Not for the first time, Pres. Ali Abdullah Saleh made vague comments indicating that he was willing to leave office. 3. Daughter of 'Dirty War,' raised by man who killed her parents. ....A trial could finally prove that top military rulers in Argentina engaged in a systematic plan to steal babies from perceived enemies of the government. 4. Vote in Poland leaning toward Centrist Party. ....Prime Minister Donald Tusk appeared to have a strong lead over his conservative rival, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, in the race to lead Poland. 5. Syria warns countries not to recognize opposition. ....Syria warned foreign countries not to recognize a newly formed opposition group, the Syrian National Council, and threatened to take “strict measures” against any country that does. 6. In rare rally, Somalis protest Shabab. ....1000s packed into a stadium to denounce the group for a suicide bombing last week that killed scores of people. 7. Domestic workers convention may be landmark. ....Governments have signed a pact intended to help protect domestic workers who seek employment abroad. 8. After a year in economic overdrive, Brazil hopes to elude pitfalls. ....Brazil is faced with rising inflation, an overvalued currency and an industrial sector losing competitiveness to cheap Chinese imports.
US News Capsules: 1. Secret US memo made legal case to kill a citizen.
....A secret memo offers a glimpse into the legal debate that led to the Obama administration's decision to kill Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen, in Yemen. 2. Clamping down on rapid trades in stock market. ....Regulators are weighing rules to rein in high-speed, computerized trading, and Europe, Canada and the US are considering fees aimed at limiting trading volume. 3. California begins moving prison inmates. ....In what could be a far-reaching change, the state is shifting inmates to county jails and probation officers. 4. Inflating the software report card. ....Debate continues to rage over the effectiveness of technology in learning, and how best to measure it. But it is difficult to tell that from technology companies' promotional materials. t. Protest spurs online dialogue on inequity.
....The Occupy Wall Street movement has evolved into a conversation spreading across the country on social media platforms.
Thought for Today "Never let your senseof morals get in the way of doing what's right." --Isaac Asimov, sci-fi author (1920-1992(
Today's flower: Geranium Pelargonium 'Rosa Mini-cascade'
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