American Casino

I'm trying to deal with the scope of what I've read of the torture documents and shame has started to sink in. I've never felt shame like this and have no coping mechanism for it.

Thanks for the thread SEDER! -

You folks seem to dig him but he makes my head spin.

Ask a simple question...you get a pageant!

this blog is a casino

now you know how it feels

(asshole)

starring the one & only Harry H. Corbett

and an australian lass by the name of Diane Cilento

and the BARGEE 1964 is a classic, too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrXciDh3U3g

'arry goes from tongue tied dork to silver tongued stud

btw, this post explains the reference in this post...

http://www.samsedershow.com/node/4683#comment-329502

and shut up, zoot, you silly old goat
just watch the movie
(and sorry that you're trapped in a loveless marriage)

Calling out mhappenow -

Submitted by Fernando on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 1:09pm.

I'm trying to deal with the scope of what I've read of the torture documents and shame has started to sink in. I've never felt shame like this and have no coping mechanism for it.

____________

You didn't do it.

You didn't sanction it.

You don't agree w/it.

You can't do more'n you can do to stop it.

No need to feel shame.

That'll be $200.

Do the Mashed Potato!

*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

(I'm assuming this is current.)

VA just stopped doing 2.13 an hour within the past couple years, cent. I remember seeing want ads quite recently. And that had been the rate since the late 80s.

Now, notice they can zero out your base wage in VA if you are making minimum wage in tips.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/state/tipped.htm

Submitted by cent on Thu, 04/23/2009 -1:12pm.
...It is not a typo either... It looks like the $2.65 was the minimum for exempted workers (tip workers, etc). Wow...Can you imaging working for $2.75 /hr? even with tips those are literally slave wages....
----------
Welcome to the Heartland. Read it and weep (for us):

http://www.dolir.mo.gov/Newsreleases/releases/2008NewsReleases/Missouris...

JEFFERSON CITY, MO – Missouri’s Minimum Wage Law, adopted by Missourians in 2007, requires the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DOLIR) Director to, on Sept. 30 of each year, make any required adjustments to the minimum wage earnings based on changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

This requires measuring the increase or decrease in the cost of living percentage increase or decrease as of the preceding July over the level as of July of the immediate preceding year of the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) as published by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) with the amount of the minimum wage increase or decrease rounded to the nearest 5 cents.

The next increase in Missouri’s minimum wage rate will become effective on Jan. 1, 2009. That new rate has been projected to be $7.05 per hour. For tipped employees, the new rate will be a minimum of $3.525 per hour...

1) they did it in your name too.
2) many of your neighbors still defend the practice in denial and we tolerate it in disagreement only
3) I continue to say I'm American
4) The worst offenders actions were made possible by our collective inaction

Submitted by Fernando on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 1:09pm.
I've never felt shame like this and have no coping mechanism for it.
-----
Obviously you've never been propositioned for group sex on a political blog by two older men.

"this machine kills fascists"

have stopped the chaos and malfeasance of the Bush years then who in this country was going to do it?

You can't depend on the military to keep the laws. It's up to the citizens. We are the ones who should have been louder and applied more pressure.

in any consensual sex 60th. Sorry but that's no big deal.

I don't want to hear about wages in the 3rd world until we get our own shit worked out..

I would rather deal crack than work for those wages...anyone would.

dr on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 1:22pm.

Submitted by Fernando on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 1:34pm.

1) they did it in your name too.
2) many of your neighbors still defend the practice in denial and we tolerate it in disagreement only
3) I continue to say I'm American
4) The worst offenders actions were made possible by our collective inaction

______________

Really gotta go, so sorry if I made light when I maybe shouldn'ta, and if this next causes controversy, have to take it up w/my union rep.

Will sez this:

Just cuz the Bush administration tortured folks while representing "us" as the 'Murican government don't make me nor you nor anyone outside of that sphere of action psychologically nor morally responsible for it.

If you remained silent about it, you'd be guilty of what MLK most harshly criticized libs for before the Civil and Voting Rights Acts: i.e. disagreeing w/a transparent wrong but keeping silent about it, i.e. silence grants assent.

Yer 'Murican whether you like it or not, a-course, unless you renounce yer citizenship, but you no more have to account for yerself, imo, when Timothy McVeigh blows the Alfred Murrah bldg. than you can claim credit when "we" win the Olympic gold medal in ice hockey.

I b'lieves you can be proud of or ashamed of 'Murica, by turns, based entirely on its conduct.

We is emerging (I hopes) outta a purty dark period in 'Murican history. But it's difficult for me to say what more you, as a lone individual, might have done apart from organizing.

What other action might we have taken? I went to protests, wrote letters 'n emails, signed petitions, worked on political campaigns, gave money. I assume you did, too.

Fuck, man, I feel purty low about ever'thing that's happent too (as is prolly evident from how worked up I get, specially on this particular issue), but beating yerself up over something you can't do much more about than what you already prolly done is, imo, counterproductive and unhealthy.

(Sez this pot indelicately claiming an unspecified color for the kettle.)

to correct the cause.

Turn it into something else...something positive and motivating...or something negative and motivating, but don't wallow in it....outrage usually works good for me.....

and we failed our country - Wiki

>>and we failed our country

yeah, but...we had a lot of help.

If it wasn't for the whole country been fooled into believing in `liberal media bias' and all the other right-wing distortions for the last how many decades we might have stood a chance getting the word out.

As it was we were marginalized from the get-go.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/noam-chomsky-on-us-war-in-afghanistan-...

whoa! that vid don't mince words

too bad bobby ain't here

he'd a been thrilled

Published on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 by ProPublica
Dozens of Prisoners Held by CIA Still Missing, Fates Unknown

by Dafna Linzer
Last week, we pointed out that one of the newly released Bush-era memos inadvertently confirmed that the CIA held an al-Qaeda suspect [1] named Hassan Ghul in a secret prison and subjected him to what Bush administration lawyers called "enhanced interrogation techniques." The CIA has never acknowledged holding Ghul, and his whereabouts today are secret.

But Ghul is not the only such prisoner who remains missing. At least three dozen others who were held in the CIA's secret prisons overseas appear to be missing as well. Efforts by human rights organizations to track their whereabouts have been unsuccessful, and no foreign governments have acknowledged holding them. (See the full list. [2])

full story: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/04/22-5

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/04/22-1

******************

Howdy AO, How ya been you firecracker you :)

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/04/22-0

Congressman Ed Schrock, Picky Solicitor

Yesterday, someone asked Maron who was the Republican- caught phoning an escort service for gay sex. It was Congressman Ed Schrock. Here's the story:

RAW STORY EXCLUSIVE
Rep. Schrock resigns after 'gay phone sex call' surfaces on web

By John Byrne | RAW STORY EDITOR

—Get the 33-second phone sex clip on our front page.

August 31—Rep. Ed Schrock, a two-term Republican congressman from Virginia, announced that he would resign abruptly today, citing unspecified allegations.
Advertisement

Those allegations were that he was gay, and that several voicemail messages he left on a phone sex service came into the possession of gay activists, who posted one on their blog.

Schrock said only: “In recent weeks, allegations have surfaced that have called into question my ability to represent the citizens of Virginia’s Second Congressional District.” He would not elaborate on the allegations.

Over the past two weeks, a Washington-based Web site has spread claims that Schrock was gay. Rogers said on his Web site that Schrock had been recorded several years ago using a telephone service on which men place ads to arrange liaisons with other men, the Washington Post reported on page 2 Tuesday.

Michael Rogers, who runs the site, told a local paper he posted the allegations because of what he described as Schrock’s anti-gay voting record.

“No one doubts that it’s him,” Rogers said. “It’s pretty clear that he’s trying to hide from people what the truth is. He had no way out of this.”

Rep. Schrock was one of several dozen to cosponsor the Federal Marriage Amendment of July 2004, which aimed to constitutionally prohibit gay marriage.

The alleged tape one of Schrock’s calls is now available on the Internet, at BlogActive.

con't

http://rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/schrock_resigns_gay_phone_sex_tapes...

Do you believe this shit!?!!

WOW, is all I can muster at this point

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/04/22-3

Critics Say Clean Coal Is a Boondoggle; 'Clean Coal Is a Dirty Lie'

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/04/21-8

Abuse

Temazepam is a drug with the potential for misuse. Drug misuse is defined as taking the drug to achieve a high, or continuing to take the drug in the long term against medical advice.[45]

[edit]
North America

In North America, temazepam abuse is not widespread. Other benzodiazepines are more commonly prescribed for insomnia. In the United States, temazepam is the fifth most prescribed benzodiazepine. Individuals abusing benzodiazepines obtain the drug by getting prescriptions from several doctors, forging prescriptions, or buying diverted pharmaceutical products on the illicit market.[46] North America never had a serious problem with temazepam abuse, but is becoming increasingly vulnerable to the illicit trade of temazepam.[47]

[edit]
Australia

Temazepam accounts for most benzodiazepine sought by forgery of prescriptions and through pharmacy burglary in Victoria.[48] Due to intravenous abuse, the Australian government decided to put it under a more restrictive schedule than it previously was,[49] and since March 2004 temazepam capsules have been withdrawn from the Australian market.[50][51] Benzodiazepines are commonly detected by Customs at different ports and airports, arriving by mail, also found occasionally in the baggage of air passengers, mostly small or medium quantities (up to 200–300 tablets) for personal use. From 2003 to 2006 customs detected approximately 500 illegal importations of benzodiazepines per year, most frequently diazepam. Quantities varied from single tablets to 2,000 tablets.[52][53]

[edit]
United Kingdom

In 1987, Temazepam was the most widely-abused legal prescription drug in the United Kingdom. The use of benzodiazepines by street drug abusers was part of a polydrug abuse pattern, but many of those entering treatment facilities were declaring temazepam as their main drug of abuse. Temazepam was the most commonly used benzodiazepine in a study, published 1994, of injecting drug abusers in seven cities and had been injected from preparations of capsules, tablets and syrup.[54] The increase in use of heroin, often mixed with other drugs, which most often included temazepam, diazepam and alcohol, was a major factor in the increase in drug related deaths in Glasgow and Edinburgh 1990-1992.[55]

[edit]
Street terms

Street terms for temazepam include king kong pills (formerly referred to barbiturates, now more commonly refers to temazepam), jellies, jelly, Edinburgh eccies, tams, terms, mazzies, temazies, tammies, temmies, beans, eggs, green eggs, wobbly eggs, knockouts, hardball, norries, oranges (common term in Australia and New Zealand), rugby balls, ruggers, terminators, red and blue, no-gos, blackout, green devils, drunk pills, brainwash, mind erasers, tem-tem's (combined with buprenorphine), mommy's big helper, vitamin T, big T, TZ, on the nod (under the influence of heroin and temazepam together), and others.[56][57]

quiet time, bob

jest a listenin' to the pitter patter of the falling rain and

laughing my tits off...

@ //Schrock resigns after 'gay phone sex call' surfaces on web//

*

ya see, chubbs...

re: //fooled into believing in `liberal media bias'//

once an impression is formed, it's nigh impossible to shake

will the christian fundies budge an inch from their impression that liberals are deviants

(not bloody likely)

Submitted by Bob26003 on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 2:31pm.
Do you believe this shit!?!!
-----

It's the same shit that's been going on for 60 years. I was shocked to hear from a Cspan panel -that since 1948, Israelis killed from terror attacks was under two thousand people. It was something like 1300. It seemed unbelievable! After all of the propaganda we've heard, I thought the victims would be around 50,000 people.

I'm trying to find a link.

http://samsedershow.com/comment/reply/4686#comment-form

[Bait with red pencil work by dr:] "...would not know an overt pun if it [?] him 'em in the kisser..."
--------
FUCK! Fuckity fuck fuck fuck! The "hit" synapse and the "'em" synapse threw some sparks during THAT short circuit; too bad that I wasn't sufficiently aware to witness it. It's probably the onset of dementia. I'm wa-a-ay past my use-by date.

And regarding Limbaugh's humor: I brutishly called it lowbrow and dr refined it to what it really is, hateful lowbrow jokes.

Certainly poop (VERY lowbrow) jokes have their place at the humor table as anyone knows who has appreciated the abject disgust induced by the "turd in a punchbowl" idiom, but a certain attention to finesse is advised before you go wet-farting skid marks all over the page or the airways.

Limbaugh goes for hate and lowbrow all mixed into a single package. Barney Frank always gets a fag reference. Always. Not now and then, which can be done with finesse. "Now and then" is what one might do with a fat joke weaved into a discourse about Edward Kennedy. One could even sneak in a brain trauma joke if one were clever and not using it to be mean. Or a driving underwater joke. Such jokes that push the taste and decorum envelope CAN be done, but they are not supposed to be the foundation on which everything else is built. They are lagniappes which have no monetary value. They are throwaways tossed in for a brief chuckle or grin.

Limbaugh's persistent use of blanket insults "Liberals are [fill pussy-wimp reference in blank]" or "Liberals are [fill commie reference in blank]" is off-putting and artless, which is why his appreciative audience tends to be the artless types.

I have the same problem when Limbaugh's methods are employed by others, on the Right OR the Left. You can cleverly use "Rethuglican" to refer to a Republican who is in the news for beating his wife, but to use it as a blanket insult for all Republicans is firmly in Limbaugh joke territory, in my opinion.

I am not here to tell you (anyone) to stop it. Plenty, if not all, of the church types find my humor to be vulgar, so I'm not much for censorship. I'm merely informing you that you remind me of Limbaugh when you engage in name-calling without some kind of context to give it meaning beyond a hateful insult.

Which brings me back to dr's comments about lowbrow humor and puns and Maddow and Olbermann. God knows that teabagging jokes are about as lowbrow as one can go, but it was not so much a hateful joke (a joke that damned near EVERYONE got, not just the hipsters and Lefties and sex perverts amongst us) as it was a joke about the inept vetting of a carefully planned and staged propaganda campaign, whether it be AstroTurf or a genuine grass roots effort.

There's a reason why discussion is rarely called intercourse by anyone, particularly by people in the public eye. It invites lowbrow giggles so it's easier to avoid it entirely (which is a shame because intercourse is a more direct way of saying "a dialogue" than discourse is). It's not like the teabaggers were unaware of the existence of double-entendres. The joke (on them) is that they didn't do their homework before they printed their placards.

So, yes, I was wrong (or guilty of poorly stating my case) and dr is right: The salient point is not lowbrow humor versus the elegance of a pun per se. It's the use of (primarily) lowbrow humor to promote laughter as a form of hatred and bile.

And if I STILL haven't made myself clear, listen to Limbaugh and decide for yourself if his humor is predicated on insults and meanness, or if his humor is as measured and precise as Maddow (in particular) or Olbermann (when he isn't using a specific and targeted insult in a response which he is wont to do on occasion).

I REALLY thot this was about Green Valley Ranch in Henderson, NV.

Obama Warns Credit Card Companies New Regulations, More Scrutiny Coming
President Barack Obama warned credit-card issuers they will face new regulations and scrutiny to keep consumers from being hit by “unfair” rate increases and abusive fees and penalties.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=azfhp6cu_uq8&refer=p...

U.S. Utilities Should Be Given Free Carbon Credits, Democratic Group Says A group of Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee want to give utilities free permits for all their existing carbon emissions, according to people familiar with a plan sent to the committee’s chairman.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aYYkgNJB0to8&refer=p...

Kids Prank Teachers with Itching Powder, Chaos Ensues
By Roy Edroso in 9/11, Featured, Schools, Terror and War
Friday, Apr. 24 2009 @ 8:33AM

Putting itching powder on teachers' seats -- it sounds like something out of the Our Gang comedies, or Booth Tarkington's Penrod. Well, things have changed, buddy -- when the Shoe Bomber tried to give himself a hotfoot, we sent him away for life! And when somebody, presumably students, pulled this at East New York's P.S. 345 yesterday, the Department of Environmental Protection sent a frickin' hazmat squad and teachers went through a Silkwood decontamination shower. "Somebody could have killed me," a teacher tells the Daily News. "I feel it personally, because I have so many allergies." So far the enviro squads haven't found anything evidence of terrorism. Witnesses say the stuff looks like fiberglass, so it is probably not mucuna pruriens or one of the other traditional components of itching powder. But when these teachers find out that the whole purpose of itching powder is to cause contact dermatitis, you'll need a collating machine to sort out the lawsuits. Voice

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

If they catch these kids they will probably charge them as adults with an "act of terror crime" and completely ruin their lives.....

I wonder if Biden realizes now what all the fuss about his vote on that bankruptcy bill was really all about.....

sounds like they need to do some horse trading. better yet rollback the reagan tax cuts, tighten up the corporate loopholes, and aggressively prosecute offshore tax havens.

the problem here is that cap and trade is trying to do two different unrelated things. the 1st is reduce green house gases, the 2nd is to raise revenue. this proposal to give the utility companys defers the day of reckoning for coal companies and pushes off to the future the development of alternative energy because the costs don't justify it.

what we really need is a space program for alternative energies.

We won't know the results of the bank stress test til May 4.

They're saying there will be leaks but to wait til May 4.

Photos of Bush-era prisoner
abuse in Afghanistan and Iraq to be released

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Obama administration is releasing dozens of photographs depicting prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq being abused by Americans, the Los Angeles Times reports.

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-interrogate24-2009apr24,0,5884388.stor...

Pakistani Taliban said to be withdrawing from key valley

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Pakistani Taliban commander has ordered his men to withdraw from Buner district, a spokesman said on Friday, amid mounting alarm in the United States over the Taliban advance toward the capital of the nuclear-armed Muslim state.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090424/wl_nm/us_pakistan_taliban;_ylt=ApWqK...

President asks networks to make room for primetime address

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials from the Obama administration have asked the major broadcast networks for up to an hour of primetime next Wednesday at 8 pm/edt.

http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/04/president_asks_for_primetime_s.php

Tedisco abandons hope
of winning in NY20

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A GOP source on Capitol Hill said Thursday afternoon that Republican Jim Tedisco’s camp has abandoned hope of winning New York’s 20th district special election

http://www.rollcall.com/news/34241-1.html

Obama calls for credit card reforms
By David Alexander and John Poirier David Alexander And John Poirier
Thu Apr 23, 6:15 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama urged U.S. credit card company executives on Thursday to stop unfair rate increases and be more transparent and accountable, tapping into popular outrage over abusive lending.

"We want to preserve the credit card market but we also want to do so in a way that eliminates some of the abuses and some of the problems that a lot of people are familiar with," Obama told reporters after a White House meeting with 13 executives from top banks and companies that issue the cards.

The credit card issue could be a political winner for Obama, with many Americans saying they are angry over lending practices.

Obama said he wanted new legislation being considered by the U.S. Congress to protect consumers against unfair rate increases and ban "abusive fees and penalties."

"The days of any time, any reason rate hikes and late fees has to end," he said, as he sat at a long table surrounded by the credit card executives.

Obama also wants the legislation to ensure that credit card forms and statements are in plain language. "No more fine print, no more confusing terms and conditions. We want clarity and transparency from here on out," Obama said.

"We need more accountability in the system. That means more effective oversight and more effective enforcement so that people who are issuing credit cards and are violating the law will feel the full weight of the law," he said.

The American Bankers Association trade group said executives carefully listened to Obama during the cordial meeting and agreed to try to address industry practices. They also told Obama that the Federal Reserve's sweeping new rules "directly address" many of the issues raised by the administration and Congress.
More:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090423/ts_nm/us_obama_creditcards/print

Boooooo! I was hoping he would try to drag it out at least another week.

Sammy would have gotten great mileage out of that idiotic ballot challenge...

Auto Workers Fear Deep Cuts in Pensions

As Chrysler and possibly GM head toward bankruptcy court, nearly a million retired workers fear deep cuts to their pensions and health plans, reports the Washington Post. Though the Obama administration is hoping to mitigate cuts, the plans are underfunded by billions of dollars. “I feel betrayed,” says one Chrysler worker. “They offered these incentives for us to take early retirement, and I took one. Now it looks like my fixed income wasn't so fixed.”

Though negotiations to avoid bankruptcy are still ongoing, a move to court looks increasingly likely. In that case, the federally run Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. might have to take over the pension plans. The massive job “would likely strain PBGC's resources,” says a government report.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/23/AR200904...

GOP chief: Sebelius must
answer abortion questions

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The head of the Republican Party called on President Barack Obama to withdraw Kathleen Sebelius' nomination as health secretary unless she answers more questions on abortion.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090424/ap_on_go_co/us_sebelius_hhs

That's the first thing I thught of when I found the article!

You aren't giving Sam time to build on this!

Sam can't catch a break!

Fires Fuel Climate
Change, More Fires

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Climate change calculations have missed the blazingly obvious, according to a new report from a global group of scientists.

http://www.newser.com/story/57058/fires-fuel-climate-change-more-fires.h...

North Korea Indicts 2 US
Journos for 'Hostile Acts'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
North Korea has indicted two US journalists arrested last month for unspecified "hostile acts," reports the BBC.

http://www.newser.com/story/57074/north-korea-indicts-2-us-journos-for-h...

nice touch to handoff the reply to steele to the 3rd string, just to reinforce how unimportant steele is in the big picture:

"This is nothing more than a baseless attack from someone desperate to stake a claim as the leader of the leaderless Republicans and get right with the right-wing of his party," said Reid spokesman Jim Manley.

Suicide bombers kill
25 at Baghdad shrine

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two suicide bombers wearing vests packed with explosives blew themselves up at the gates of a revered Shi'ite Muslim shrine in Baghdad on Friday, killing at least 25 people and wounding 60, police said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090424/ts_nm/us_iraq_violence;_ylt=An8BnGMG...

Scientists have combined spider silk with metal atoms to boost web strands' already-phenomenal strength, reports Ars Technica. The breakthrough experiment advances the science of creating ever-stronger materials, as well discovering a successful method to bond metal to biological material. Experiments are already under way to make chicken eggs stronger.

http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2009/04/metal-enhanced-spider-silk-t...

Spider webs - Okay
Chicken eggs- No

Democrats split on Bush-era interrogation probe

By Randall Mikkelsen
Reuters
Friday, April 24, 2009; 8:59 AM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A debate over how to investigate Bush-era officials who authorized harsh interrogation tactics of terrorism suspects split Washington on Thursday, and Democrats squabbled over how to proceed.

The top Democrats in Congress differed over the creation of a special "truth commission" to investigate whether laws were violated by Bush administration officials whose legal analysis sanctioned waterboarding, a form of simulated drowning, and other methods such as sleep deprivation and forced nudity.

While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for creation of such a commission, her Senate counterpart, Majority Leader Harry Reid, declined to endorse it.
[...]

WaPo

Maybe it's another one of Cranks super duper secret squirrel end around plays by the Obama/Democratic Alliance...

Professor reveals discovery of copies of Benjamin Franklin letters
British Library
This copy of correspondence from Benjamin Franklin was made by an 18th century British literary figure named Thomas Birch.
The UC San Diego political scientist stumbled upon the documents in London in 2007. He says they add nuance to the understanding of the founding father's skill as a negotiator and his role as a milita
By Tony Perry

Reporting from San Diego -- Alan Houston, a political science professor at UC San Diego, had come to the end of a trip to London to research a book about Benjamin Franklin.

He thought he might spend the day having fun with friends, but decided to make one more visit to the British Library.

In his last request for documents, he stumbled on something unexpected: a letter written by Franklin and copied by a British literary figure named Thomas Birch.

Houston had never seen it. Not believing his eyes, he looked for more.

In all, Houston found 47 letters Birch had reproduced that were written by Franklin, to him or about him in 1755, when the French and Indian War was starting to bloody the American continent.

"I couldn't sit still; I couldn't work," Houston said Thursday. "On the last day, on the last document, and I had this incredible discovery. I ran out of the library and called my wife in San Diego."

Once back in the U.S., Houston consulted the definitive collection of Franklin writings. The letters were not in it.

Since discovering the letters in November 2007, Houston has kept the secret to himself and a small coterie of Franklin experts. Now, he has written an article based on the letters for the April edition of the William and Mary Quarterly.

Although the letters will not trigger a reevaluation of Franklin, Houston said, they add nuance to the understanding of his skill as a negotiator and his role as a military strategist.
snip

Houston submitted copies to other scholars for authentication but kept their location to himself, lest another professor scoop him on his discovery.

The letters, Houston said, show Franklin's skill at finding provisions for British Gen. Edward Braddock for his assault on a French fort at what is now Pittsburgh. Braddock had been promised 2,500 horses and 250 wagons.

When he received only 200 horses and 20 wagons, the temperamental Braddock was enraged. Franklin, who was prominent in business and political circles in Philadelphia, interceded and negotiated with Pennsylvania farmers.

In a letter to the state's governor, Franklin gently chided him for letting politics keep him from honoring a promise:

"Being occasionally at the Camp at Frederic a few days since, I found the General and officers of the Army occasionally exasperated on account of their not being supplied with Horses and Carriages, which had been expected from this province; but, thro' the dissensions between our Governor and Assembly, Money hath not been provided nor any taken for that purpose."

Braddock was killed soon after, and his forces lost that battle but continued the war.

More here:

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-ben-franklin24-2009apr24,0,5005958.sto...

I hate page 2 threads.
What a pain in the ass.

In the debate over whether to release the OLC torture memos, President Obama faced "one of the sharpest policy divides of his young administration." On one side was Obama's top counterterrorism adviser and CIA director Leon Panetta; on the other was Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Michael Mullen, White House counsel Gregory Craig, Attorney General Eric Holder, and DNI Dennis Blair.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/23/AR200904...

Obama Resisting Push for Interrogation Panel
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN and CARL HULSE
WASHINGTON — The White House and the Democratic leadership in the Senate signaled on Thursday that they would block for now any effort to establish an independent commission to investigate the Bush administration’s approval of harsh interrogation techniques.

In doing so, they sought to reduce pressure for a full inquiry — from, among others, the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi — that has grown more intense since President Obama suggested on Tuesday that he would be open to such an investigation. While the White House has contended that Mr. Obama never actively supported an inquiry, his firmer opposition to the possibility, communicated to Congressional leaders in meetings on Wednesday night and Thursday, represented a shift in emphasis.

Meeting with the Democratic leadership on Wednesday night, Mr. Obama said a special inquiry would steal time and energy from his policy agenda, and could mushroom into a wider distraction looking back at the Bush years, people briefed on the discussion said. Mr. Obama, they said, repeated much the same message on Thursday at a bipartisan meeting with Congressional leaders.

The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, and other top Senate Democrats endorsed Mr. Obama’s view on Thursday, telling reporters at a news conference at the Capitol that they preferred to wait for the results of an investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee expected late this year

“I think it would be very unwise, from my perspective, to start having commissions, boards, tribunals, until we find out what the facts are,” Mr. Reid said. “And I don’t know a better way of getting the facts than through the Intelligence Committee. I think that’s a pretty good way to do it.”

At the White House, Mr. Obama’s spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said that it was “not a time for retribution” and that “we’re all best suited looking forward.”

Ms. Pelosi, however, renewed her call for an independent panel to investigate the waterboarding and other harsh techniques approved by the Bush administration, a position shared by many of the more liberal Democrats in the House.

“I have always been for a truth commission, because I think this is very important,” Ms. Pelosi said.

She added that her only question was what level of immunity to grant to potential witnesses before such a commission.

Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the House Republican leader, used the White House meeting to push for the release of more memorandums documenting the use of the harsh techniques, suggesting they could show that the interrogation methods were effective, as former Vice President Dick Cheney has claimed.

The president did not foreclose the release of more documents, officials briefed on the session said. But Mr. Obama suggested to Mr. Boehner that the additional information would not be definitive on the value of the information obtained from the detainees, they said.

Although a full-scale independent inquiry now appears unlikely anytime soon, the Bush administration’s use of waterboarding and other techniques that critics say crossed the line into torture could still be examined by a variety of Congressional panels in addition to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Mr. Reid, who repeatedly denounced the use of harsh interrogation techniques when George W. Bush was president, suggested that naming a special panel would signal an intent to exact “retribution,” and he sought to paper over the disagreement with members of his own caucus, like Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, who have joined human rights groups in demanding a commission.

Mr. Reid said it was premature to act without the facts that will be provided by the Intelligence Committee. “They will make a public report,” he said. “I hope that it will come toward the end of this year.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/us/politics/24cong.html?pagewanted=pri...

But he's still allowing more memos and photos out. I think he wants to get his agenda in place first because these damn GOPers are using this to obstruct Obama's agenda.

The GOP are trying hard not to seat Obama's choices for his cabinet.

They want to get rid of Napolitano and they are blocking Sebelius and Johnson.

I'd like to see everything done at once but it ain't going to happen with these obstructionist wingers putting a block on everything.

And notice now it's all women they are blocking! Maybe it's because I'm a woman but I think it goes farther than that with the GOP. I disagree with Pe;osi and some things but I think she's being attacked by the GOP now. Did you watch MOJO this AM? Saying Boehner was looking strong next to Pelosi?

Congressional Democrats are preparing to "deliver a big gift to President Obama on his 100th day in office: a fiscal 2010 budget resolution that makes room for his top domestic policy priorities." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said that "budget negotiators could complete work on a final plan by Monday, clearing a path for House and Senate passage by the middle of next week."

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/04/23/congress_prepping_budget_...

“A Pakistani Taliban commander withdrew his fighters from a key northwestern valley on Friday, amid growing alarm in the United States that the Taliban were creeping closer to the capital of nuclear-armed Pakistan.” Fears for Pakistan’s stability “have heightened in the past week after the Taliban took control of Buner,” a valley just 100 km from Islamabad.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE53N1EM20090424

It looks like the intention here is to control the pace...Obama is going for the slow burn....

More waiting... I am not sure that is going to fly... We may be looking at a split in the Senate on this...It can be interpreted as foot dragging. Leahy seems pretty determined too.

I will be curious to see if Reid can keep the Senate in line.....

Progress on establishing a Palestinian state must go “hand-in-hand” with efforts to stem Iranian influence in the Middle East, Secretary of State Clinton said yesterday, “implicitly rejecting the emerging position of the new Israeli government.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/23/AR200904...

According to new Health Affairs polling, “an individual [health] mandate alone is supported by less than half of the population, [while] a shared-responsibility plan that includes this type of requirement is supported by a majority.”

http://www.standupforhealthcare.org/blog/archives/peanut_butter_jelly_ti...

no way. did mojo start drinking early?

is to let holder do it. maybe he creates a special prosecutor or maybe he keeps it in house.

the important part is to stop the grandstanding by both sides.

Confessions of Steve Schmidt
The Washington Post compiles some more interesting reflections from McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt.

On the Bush-Cheney drag: "The first night of our convention was President Bush and Vice President Cheney. I literally thought by the second night of our convention we could be down 25 points."

On Katie Couric's interview of Sarah Palin: "That is one of the two most consequential interviews that a candidate for national office has given, in a negative way, the other being Roger Mudd's interview of Ted Kennedy . . . when he couldn't answer the question of why he wanted to be president."

On McCain's acceptance of inevitable defeat: "I was waiting for his bus to crash into a CDC truck carrying bubonic plague to release over Cincinnati and Ohio. It was just one thing after another, you know, and never to our benefit."

On the Republican Party: "It is near-extinct in many ways in the Northeast, it is extinct in many ways on the West Coast, and it is endangered in the Mountain West, increasingly endangered in the Southwest... and if you look at the state of the party, it is a shrinking entity."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/23/AR200904...

Obama Meets or Exceeds Expectations
Gallup: "President Obama begins the second 100 days of his presidency with 56% of Americans believing he has done an excellent or good job thus far, and only 20% saying he has done a poor or terrible job; a majority also say Obama has done about as (62%) or better than (24%) they expected."

http://www.gallup.com/poll/117853/First-100-Days-Obama-Meets-Exceeds-Exp...

Americans Think Country Back on Track
A new National Journal/AllState survey is the second national poll in two days to show a plurality of Americans believe the country is on the right track, 47% to 42%.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/nj_20090423_9258.php

The poll also shows that 61% approve of Obama's job performance.

The AP/GfK poll yesterday had similar results.

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2009/04/23/americans_say_obama_is_on_r...

Quote of the Day
"If you read history about Bobby Kennedy's unfinished race in '68, this was, in my view, the unfinished Bobby Kennedy campaign -- the idealism, the passion, the inspiration he gave to people, it was organic and it was real and it wasn't manufactured at a tactical level in the campaign. It was a function of the president's unique skill set and presence, and it was really taken advantage of by a campaign that for the first time using the social networking technology..."

-- McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt, quoted by Politico, speaking with "unabashed admiration" of the Obama campaign.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0409/21647.html

Call it me giving in to my revenge impulse, but I think these people have it coming. My belief is none of them are going to go to jail anyway, so I would at least like to see them shamed in public for their complicity.

The minute we appoint an independent prosecutor things will get all quiet and measured. The public fervor over this will die down and be lost in the dull haze of process while the people will be content to fantasize something is actually being done. Right now, I prefer outrage....JMO

i see your point and have trouble disagreeing with it, but we would be the real losers if the spectacle kills healthcare, education, banking, energy, and infrastructure inititives.

Industry Ignored Its Scientists on Climate
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
For more than a decade the Global Climate Coalition, a group representing industries with profits tied to fossil fuels, led an aggressive lobbying and public relations campaign against the idea that emissions of heat-trapping gases could lead to global warming.

“The role of greenhouse gases in climate change is not well understood,” the coalition said in a scientific “backgrounder” provided to lawmakers and journalists through the early 1990s, adding that “scientists differ” on the issue.

But a document filed in a federal lawsuit demonstrates that even as the coalition worked to sway opinion, its own scientific and technical experts were advising that the science backing the role of greenhouse gases in global warming could not be refuted.

“The scientific basis for the Greenhouse Effect and the potential impact of human emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO2 on climate is well established and cannot be denied,” the experts wrote in an internal report compiled for the coalition in 1995.

The coalition was financed by fees from large corporations and trade groups representing the oil, coal and auto industries, among others. In 1997, the year an international climate agreement that came to be known as the Kyoto Protocol was negotiated, its budget totaled $1.68 million, according to tax records obtained by environmental groups.

Throughout the 1990s, when the coalition conducted a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign challenging the merits of an international agreement, policy makers and pundits were fiercely debating whether humans could dangerously warm the planet. Today, with general agreement on the basics of warming, the debate has largely moved on to the question of how extensively to respond to rising temperatures.

Environmentalists have long maintained that industry knew early on that the scientific evidence supported a human influence on rising temperatures, but that the evidence was ignored for the sake of companies’ fight against curbs on greenhouse gas emissions. Some environmentalists have compared the tactic to that once used by tobacco companies, which for decades insisted that the science linking cigarette smoking to lung cancer was uncertain. By questioning the science on global warming, these environmentalists say, groups like the Global Climate Coalition were able to sow enough doubt to blunt public concern about a consequential issue and delay government action.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/science/earth/24deny.html?hp=&adxnnl=1...

Not happy about it but the OP (other party) will throw obstacles in the way all the time.

If Obama slowly brings out those memos, a bit at a time, it might help to keep interest and the rest of the world will keep it alive.

The British courts are wanting their memos released now as well. Blair will be in trouble too.

Berlusconi will do it to himself with his mouth, eventually.

China has nearly doubled its gold reserves in the last five years as it diversified its enormous foreign exchange reserves away from US dollar assets, the head of the country’s secretive foreign exchange administration said in a rare disclosure on Friday. - FT

Insert plug here.

talking about Climate Change on c-span

The Obama administration will ask the Supreme Court to reconsider a 1986 ruling that police officers cannot question a defendant with representation unless the lawyer is present. In a court brief, the solicitor general said that the decision in Michigan v. Jackson should be overturned because it "serves no real purpose" and defendants should speak to police if they so choose. The judges supporting the ruling say it is especially aimed at poor or developmentally disabled defendants who could be tricked into giving incriminating information to prosecutors without a lawyer present. In the aftermath of the administration's invocation of the "state secrets" privilege, and support for the imprisonment of enemy combatants in Afghanistan, this position has further alienated civil liberties groups. (AP)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20090423/us-obama-defendants--r...

The state of California sued Wells Fargo today for allegedly selling $1.5 billion worth of risky investments while telling clients that the securities were as safe as cash. State Attorney General Jerry Brown told the LA Times that Wells Fargo told customers that they could have investments returned within eight days, but that it "turns out they were not like cash and people can't get their money back after many, many months, and they're mad as hell." Brown's office said the securities implicated in this lawsuit are not connected to the $1.5 billion that the Wells Fargo-owned Wachovia Corp. agreed to repurchase from investors in a settlement with regulators last month. (LA Times)

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-fi-wells-fargo24-2009apr24,0,486244.story...

Randi Rhodes Returns To Talk Radio On Network Home Of Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck - HuffPo

All sense of Randi's objectivity will now be seen through a varnish.

"all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." :)

could actually work in the dems favor though...there are lots of rethugs who were complicit for the 8 years of darkness...many of them are in the leadership now.

I am sure Rahm could apply the right pressure and make the right deals when the time comes if he had an angry mob to help persuade any less than cooperative rethugs....

but alas...the way this is already being neutered, if I had to bet I would say your take on how they will handle this is probably the way they will go.

Al Gore, Newt Gingrich, John Warner To Headline Committee Hearing
The House Energy and Commerce Committee will be holding a hearing on climate change at 10 a.m. ET today, featuring an all-star line-up of guests: Former Vice President Al Gore, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and former Sen. John Warner (R-VA). Gore and Warner support various legislation to limit carbon emissions, while Gingrich was added at the last minute, at the request of Republicans, as an individual who is skeptical of the claimed human contribution to climate change.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2009/04/climate_heavy-hitters_to_a...

Why is Newt there?

Bank Industry To Learn Results Of Stress Tests Today
Federal regulators will begin privately telling banks today about the results of the "stress tests," plus a public announcement of the methodology used, ahead of a public release of the results slated for May 4. This whole situation must be carefully managed in terms of how it affects the market, as explained by Scott Talbott, a lobbyist with the Financial Services Roundtable: "I'm worried about the overreaction -- people selling every bank short and pulling out all their deposits and hiding their money in the mattress."

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2009/04/bank_industry_to_hear_resu...

Assemblyman Jim Tedisco (R) could concede to venture capitalist Scott Murphy (D) as early as Friday afternoon, according to sources. - The Hill

I don't think she could suppress her self if they offered her all the money in the world. She's just not built that way Fern.

I don't think we have too much to worry about there. She will be as wide open as ever...

hep,

just a little gossippy clarification.
when we hosted randi in buffalo I met her manager...

who also manages Glen Beck.

Reconcile that.

ecrasez l'infame

David Gregory suggests Bush 'went out of his way' to follow laws on torture
John Byrne

In a puzzling remark that seems to demonstrate the extent to which the mainstream media tries to "balance" discussions of controversial issues, NBC's David Gregory suggested Thursday that the Bush Administration issued memorandums outlining the torture of detainees out of great respect for the law.

"...Did the Bush administration go out of its way to make sure they were adhering to the law and not crossing over that bridge when it came to getting into torture?" he asked rhetorically.

"At a time when the administration and the President will already be under scrutiny for being tough enough, is this a fight they really want to have?" he remarked earlier. "I would also point you to, if you haven't see this already, the Wall Street Journal editorial page today, which I think raises some really tough points about not only what signal you're sending to the rest of the world, but also to potential terrorists out there, about just what it is that U.S. interrogators would do and not do."

The Journal's editorial page is known as decidedly conservative.

Moreover, in his discussion of the torture memos, Gregory referred to those who'd been tortured as "9/11 prisoners," summarily discounting those who've been captured by the United States, subjected to abusive interrogations and released without charge.

At least one liberal blogger raised eyebrows at Gregory's remarks.

At least one liberal blogger raised eyebrows at Gregory's remarks.

"Can someone tell me what a "9/11 prisoner" is?" wrote constitutional scholar and Salon blogger Glen Greenwald, who first noted Gregory's comments on his blog. "And is there anything less surprising than the fact that Gregory looks to The Wall St. Journal Editorial Page for guidance on such questions?"

Gregory is the moderator of NBC's "Meet The Press."

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/David_Gregory_suggests_Bush_went_out_0424....

Suit: Torture began before Bush administration sanctioned it

Detainee's lawyer claims U.S. interrogators applied pepper spray to prisoner's hemorrhoids

A man imprisoned after Sept. 11, 2001, as a suspected terrorist was tortured in numerous secret CIA prisons before Bush administration memos allowing the practice had even been written, according to a lawsuit filed in a Newark federal court on Thursday.

"Beginning in December 2001, [Rafiq] Alhami was tortured repeatedly, the lawsuit claims," reported the Associated Press.

"The methods were varied: At different times Alhami was stripped naked, threatened with dogs, shackled in painful 'stress' positions for hours, punched, kicked and exposed to extremes of heat and cold. The suit also alleges Alhami's interrogators sprayed pepper spray on his hemorrhoids, causing extreme pain."

The torture continued after Alhami was transferred to the U.S. Naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in January 2003, where he currently is held, according to the suit.

"His lawyer, Joshua Denbeaux, said he believed Alhami is the first person to accuse U.S. officials of torture before the Justice Department issued a 2002 memo approving controversial interrogation tactics," reported the New Jersey Star-Ledger.

"The suit names the Defense Department and more than 20 current and former military officials, including former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. It seeks $10 million in damages."

The suit also names former CIA Director George Tenet and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

"'Rafiq was tortured before the memos authorizing torture were written,' Denbeaux said," according to the Ledger.

"Alhami has denied being a member of a terrorist group, and claims he was arrested based on information provided to the Iranian government by an Iranian citizen seeking a bounty," reported CBS.

"According to the lawsuit, sometime within the last 18 months Alhami was convicted in absentia in Tunisia for violating that country's Patriot Act, despite the act being passed in 2003, two years after he was detained by the U.S."

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Suit_Torture_began_before_Justice_Departme...

I am gone....

c youse later....

I for one, am totally okay with her coming back. :)

It's a damn happy Friday, ya Bastards!

PREMIERE RADIO NETWORKS SYNDICATES THE RANDI RHODES SHOW

LOS ANGELES, April 23, 2009 – Premiere Radio Networks is proud to announce that beginning May 11, The Randi Rhodes Show will join its lineup of nationally syndicated radio programs. Airing weekdays from 3-6pm ET, Rhodes will enlighten and entertain listeners with her trademark candid, incisive opinions, as well as her biting sense of humor, as she discusses everything from news and current events, to politics and hot topics. The Randi Rhodes Show will broadcast live from Washington, D.C., and will be heard on more than 25 affiliates including KTLK-AM/Los Angeles, Green 960 Online and Radio/San Francisco and KPOJ-AM/Portland.

~-~-~

Kent: It's like those penguins are just... insulting us.

Rachel: You know, it makes normal penguin families forcibly dissolve! (TRMS, April 17th)

Scientists have reprogrammed mature skin cells into an embryonic-like state by using proteins instead of genes, a key advance aimed at overcoming safety concerns in one of the hottest areas of biological research.

The stem-cell field has long aimed to harness the master cells of a human embryo, which can be turned into heart, nerve and other types of tissue. The long-term hope is that such tissue could be used to test novel drugs, or be transplanted into patients to treat diseases. But because the cell extraction destroys the embryo, the technique has ignited much ethical controversy.

In the past few years, scientists have found an alternative approach. By introducing several genes into a mature human cell, they have been able to reprogram it to a primitive, embryonic-like state. The approach carries risks, however. The genes are transported with the help of a virus, which can cause cancer. Plus, the DNA of the inserted genes may trigger other unwanted genetic changes in the target cell.

Now, instead of reprogramming the cell with four introduced genes, researchers have achieved the same result by inserting four proteins associated with those genes. This technique is deemed to be safer because it doesn't require genetic manipulation.

"We engineered these four proteins so that they can penetrate the cell" and return it to a primitive state, said Sheng Ding of Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., who led the research, which involved several institutions. The results are published in the online version of the journal Cell Stem Cell.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124052511315450037.html#mod=fox_australi...

Submitted by passiveconsumer on Fri, 04/24/2009 - 11:25am.
when we hosted randi in buffalo I met her manager...
who also manages Glen Beck.
Reconcile that.
ecrasez l'infame
--------
When I met Faust he smelled of sulfure.

Seemed like an odd cologne choice.

Company defends sludge blamed for cancer in Mo.
By MARGARET STAFFORD (Associated Press Writer)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A company whose factory in northwest Missouri gave farmers fertilizer that critics say contained a cancer-causing chemical disputed the claims Thursday and defended its environmental record.

Prime Tanning Corp., of Hartland, Maine, issued a statement in response to a lawsuit filed Wednesday accusing it of knowingly distributing sludge containing hexavalent chromium as free fertilizer to farmers in four counties. The metal, also known as chromium 6, is a known carcinogen.

The company's St. Joseph plant was purchased this year by National Beef Leathers, a subsidiary of Kansas City-based National Beef Packing Co. that also was named in the lawsuit. On Thursday, National Beef Leathers said it would stop distributing the sludge while it conducts its own investigation.

Environmental activist Erin Brockovich told a crowd in Cameron on Wednesday night that hexavalent chromium may be linked to what some area residents believe is a high number of brain tumors in the region.

State and federal agencies have tested several areas in and around Cameron in the last year in response to concerns about brain tumors, but not for chromium 6. The lawsuit and Brockovich's meeting were the first time hexavalent chromium in fertilizer had been publicly identified as a possible cause.

"Based on our preliminary investigation, we believe there is no basis for the claims made in the litigation," said Grover Elliott, vice president and chief financial officer of Prime Tanning Co. "We look forward to cooperating fully with state and federal agencies in their review and investigation."

http://enews.earthlink.net/article/us?guid=20090423/49efe7c0_3ca6_155262...

The U.S. is obligated by a United Nations convention to prosecute Bush administration lawyers who allegedly drafted policies that approved the use of harsh interrogation tactics against terrorism suspects, the U.N.'s top anti-torture envoy said Friday.

Earlier this week, President Barack Obama left the door open to prosecuting Bush administration officials who devised the legal authority for gruesome terror-suspect interrogations. He had previously absolved CIA officers from prosecution.

Manfred Nowak, who serves as a U.N. special rapporteur in Geneva, said Washington is obligated under the U.N. Convention against Torture to prosecute U.S. Justice Department officials who wrote memos that defined torture in the narrowest way in order to justify and legitimize it, and who assured CIA officials that their use of questionable tactics was legal.

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/UN_torture_envoy_US_must_prosecute_0424.ht...

Wonder if mire will pop on with a vid link?

he voiced his frustration with selling podcast subscriptions.

On Malloy's show last night
Submitted by Fernando on Fri, 04/24/2009 - 11:53am.
he voiced his frustration with selling podcast subscriptions.
--------
Faust?

New, deadly swine flu hits Mexico
Reuters - 29 minutes ago

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A deadly strain of swine flu never seen before has broken out in Mexico, killing at least 16 people and raising fears it is spreading across North America.

(and MSNBC saying it's in the US also)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090424/hl_nm/us_flu;_ylt=ApDyPQzjiTR_pBd15F...

On Malloy's show last night
Submitted by Fernando on Fri, 04/24/2009 - 11:53am.
he voiced his frustration with selling podcast subscriptions.
--------
On second thought, maybe you are referring to Ol' Scratch?

hocking podcast subs is like, level 9 of Dante's Inferno.
right before level 8, dressing up like the statue of liberty for Liberty Tax Service.

ecrasez l'infame

Health experts hunt new swine flu after 7 sickened
AP - Fri Apr 24, 7:48 AM ET
ATLANTA - Federal health experts expect to find more cases of a unique new form of swine flu as they check people who had contact with seven California and Texas residents diagnosed with the illness.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090424/ap_on_re_us/med_swine_flu;_ylt=AkB0W...

don't know toni

all i know i am so effing busy these days and barely had time to notice jazz fest is here (tgif!)

have been sick with the flu, working through it all, filling out papers with the banks, walking and driving around to look at houses for sale and all of a sudden bam! jazz fest is here!

this morning i was unable to park in the lot where i have a monthly contract because the place was full; what's going on? i asked the attendant; it must be for jazz fest he said. people parking there and catching the shuttle to the fairgrounds i guess, since we are quite a few miles from where the thing is happening

so i had to find another spot and it was a nightmare i don't wanna bore you with

i am sure there will be vids and cams on the weekend though

we'll see how it goes!

Leah on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 7:47pm.
new
Submitted by Fernando on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 8:42pm.
NO! It is not true.

The reason we don't torture is because it is immoral and inhuman and animal like.
===============================
Where is your proof? Ron Kuby said that the government's opposition to torture is because it does not work. (Hey. I need to locate his proof.) And that if it can be demonstrated that torture used against guilty parties--as Cheney and Admiral Blair claim--the "moral calculus against torture will change. Will legality follow morality? Will torture against "guilty parties" be acceptable if it may saves lives (and property)?

Not that we should put much faith in what Professional Auditors say, but a terrifying new report predicts that a fourth of America’s remaining publicly-traded companies may be gone by the end of the year. - Wonkette

Business leader cries as horses die in his arms

By CHARLES ELMORE

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_ne...

Monday, April 20, 2009

For most of his life, polo team owner Victor Vargas has managed to steer through turbulence as nimbly as one of his private planes. He owns half a dozen homes including a $68.5 million Palm Beach mansion. He calls himself "an intuitive guy."

The Venezuelan banker has managed to thrive despite inflationary gusts in his home country and the declared intent of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to build a classless society. Vargas was reelected this month as president of Venezuela's banking association.

"Either he is incredibly entrepreneurial and politically astute to be able to stay out of the line of fire, or he actively collaborates with the Chavez regime," said Jerry Haar, professor of management and international business at Florida International University in Miami.

-clip-

His horses began dying, one after another. With tears in his eyes, Vargas, 57, tried to comfort them, colleagues said.

Vargas was "devastated" as he held the horses in his arms, said John Wash, president of operations for the International Polo Club Palm Beach.

-clip-

In that interview, he waved off whispers that he is Chavez's "right-hand man," saying he has tried to focus on business and stay out of politics as much as he can.

-clip-

In 2002, the Journal noted, he helped persuade bankers not to join strikes led by business groups that wanted Chavez out.

"I am a socialist in the real sense of the word," Vargas said, speaking in the context of taking care of his employees.

Vargas oversees 6,500 employees and maintains banking and oil holdings in the United States, Venezuela, Panama and Dominican Republic, according to his biography on the polo league Web site. His Banco Occidental de Descuento has flourished by cultivating clients in the oil business.

One rocky patch came when he bought part of New York-based CapitalBanc Corp, only to have banking authorities prosecute other executives in the venture for fraud in the early 1990s. He was fined $1.15 million and agreed not to invest in U.S. banks without permission from authorities, but was not charged, according to published reports. He later told the Journal he had been "naive."

In other instances, he has maneuvered carefully around potential trouble. The son of a doctor and Venezuela's first female Supreme Court justice, Vargas invited senior Chavez officials and opposition leaders to the 2004 marriage of his daughter to the great-grandson of longtime Spanish strongman Francisco Franco, the Journal reported.

Australia's Miss Universe finalist 'dangerously underweight'

I prefer to think of her as a poster child for dark matter.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/austral...

ecrasez l'infame

Submitted by passiveconsumer on Fri, 04/24/2009 - 12:03pm.
hocking podcast subs is like, level 9 of Dante's Inferno.
right before level 8, dressing up like the statue of liberty for Liberty Tax Service.
--------
I'm writing this down but I'll be sure to give one of your aliases attribution when I use it.

Running around looking at houses isn't easy. I know! Used to sell real estate. Good luck with your search! And hope you feel better.

Don't like this one little bit
new
Submitted by Fernando on Fri, 04/24/2009 - 11:20am.

Randi Rhodes Returns To Talk Radio On Network Home Of Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck - HuffPo

All sense of Randi's objectivity will now be seen through a varnish.

I'm not going there with you. You are asking a ridiculous question.

Unless you were born post Vietnam, you have no excuse for asking that. If you were born post Vietnam and are still asking that dumb ass question then I suggest you visit a library and do some research.

“If people cannot rise to the level of applying to ourselves the same standards we apply to others we have no right to talk about right and wrong or good and evil.” –- Noam Chomsky

And no, I will not do the research for you.

Maybe you can find a connection with the golden rule Leah. Almost every culture bases their law on that.

Army: 3 missing disease samples likely destroyed
1 day ago

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) — Army officials say an investigation of three disease samples missing from a Fort Detrick lab found that the samples were likely destroyed.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick said Wednesday that the samples of Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis were discovered missing last year in an inventory of a group of samples left by a departing researcher.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h2adbPm58rqvoQr82LT3Bj...

"Likely" destroyed is for sure what you want to hear your army officials say.

ecrasez l'infame

Oh. That's what that is. I didn't even know cause I feel so bad for the people I just try not to look. I thought it was probably a car wash or something.

How's Everybody?

being evacuated due to air space violation just now on MSNBC

Evidently it was a small plane off course.

Submitted by Crank Bait on Fri, 04/24/2009 - 11:44am.

When I met Faust he smelled of sulfure.

Seemed like an odd cologne choice.

__________________

dr Watson: "This 'sulfure' of which you speak?"

Bait Holmes: "A joke, my dear Watson."

dr Watson: "Yes, but you pride yourself on your grammar and spelling, do you not, Holmes?"

Bait Holmes: "Of course! Only a shambling guttersnipe cares not for expressing himself accurately."

dr Watson: "So, uh, well, drat it all, that extra 'e' in 'sulfure', Holmes. What the devil am I to make of that?"

Bait Holmes: [thinking quickly] "It's, uh, why it's a, uh, French! Yes, why it's a French twist!"

dr Watson: "No shit, Sherlock?"

Bait Holmes: "But of course, my dear Watson. The extra 'e' is just for lagniappe."

A utility in Missouri said Thursday that it was suspending its efforts to build a new nuclear reactor, making its proposed plant, Callaway 2, the first of the so-called nuclear renaissance reactors to fall by the wayside.

The industry has been looking forward to its first construction start in 30 years. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 17 companies have filed applications to build 26 reactors.

The utility, AmerenUE, planned to build a reactor near Fulton, Mo., but was seeking changes in the state law governing the financing of new power plants. In a letter on Thursday, it asked the sponsors of a law now moving through the state legislature to withdraw the measure.

AmerenUE wanted to be allowed to charge its customers for financing costs before the plant was finished.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/business/energy-environment/24nuclear....

GALLIA COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) -- The U.S. Geological Survey reports that a 3.4 magnitude earthquake hit in southeast Ohio Friday morning.

WSAZ.com has received dozens of breaking news reports via web, e-mail, and phone from people in and around Gallia and Jackson counties in Ohio who felt the quake.

According to the USGS Website, a 3.4 magnitude earthquake has been reported about five miles northwest of Oak Hill, Ohio. It appears to have centered between Oak Hill and Jackson. According to government officials, the earthquake centered about 3 miles underground.

The earthquake was first reported at 9:42 a.m. Friday.

Residents living in and around Gallia County have called to report they felt the ground shake, as well as some office and apartment buildings.

http://www.wsaz.com/home/headlines/43618537.html

why don't they reduce their corporate dividend and executive compensation and pay for a capital expense the way every one else does.

http://samsedershow.com/node/4689#comments

southeast ohio is pretty rural, what you call dirt poor. i guess the earthquake would add new meaning to:

don't come knockin if the trailer's rockin.

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http://www.care2.com/causes/civil-rights/blog/if-torture-worked-would-it...