They sit on lawn chairs perched on hilltops or in the brush, armed with night-vision goggles, walkie-talkies and guns. Mercer’s is a .45-caliber Colt. She holsters it in a custom gun belt with leather loops to hold bullets, like a bandoleer.
But it has become harder to find time for patrolling. Mercer is vice president, chief fundraiser and national recruiter for Minuteman, as well as director of the Tucson chapter. The group started less than a year ago with 400 members. Now, she estimated, they have signed up 8,000.
She said that part of the solution would be a tall, concrete wall erected along the entire 2,000-mile Mexican border between California and Texas.
“All they have to do is secure the borders,” she said. “We won’t have fear of terrorists coming across. We won’t have fear of the sex-slave trade. We won’t have criminals crossing.”
Read the entire article…but here’s the kicker about this racist Nazi:
Mercer moved to Tombstone in 1992 after a divorce from a soldier ended the migration from base to base — Florida, North Carolina, New Mexico, Germany and Arizona — so common to military life.
They’d met when he was stationed in Germany, where Mercer was born and raised in a small town near Cologne.
She might never have become a U.S. citizen had she not been kicked off a local planning and zoning committee in Arizona when it was discovered she was not. In 1999, almost a quarter-century after coming to the United States, she was naturalized.
That’s right, the VP of the Minutemen, dedicated to keeping people from entering the US, was an immigrant herself. Hypocrisy rules.
Republican congresswoman calls for wiretap inquiry: NYT
A House Republican whose subcommittee oversees the National Security Agency broke ranks with the White House on Tuesday and called for a full Congressional inquiry into the Bush administration’s domestic eavesdropping program.
The lawmaker, Representative Heather A. Wilson of New Mexico, chairwoman of the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence, said in an interview that she had “serious concerns” about the surveillance program. By withholding information about its operations from many lawmakers, she said, the administration has deepened her apprehension about whom the agency is monitoring and why.
Ms. Wilson, who was a National Security Council aide in the administration of President Bush’s father, is the first Republican on either the House’s Intelligence Committee or the Senate’s to call for a full Congressional investigation into the program, in which the N.S.A. has been eavesdropping without warrants on the international communications of people inside the United States believed to have links with terrorists.
The congresswoman’s discomfort with the operation appears to reflect deepening fissures among Republicans over the program’s legal basis and political liabilities…
Sill, I’m not holding my breath for the rest to jump ship with her, are you?
Nice grab, and yes, I think the ship of state is listing hard. Last night the veep claimed briefed members of Congress were satisfied – all eight of them.
Study Finds Low-Fat Diet Won’t Stop Cancer or Heart Disease
The largest study ever to ask whether a low-fat diet reduces the risk of getting cancer or heart disease has found that the diet has no effect.
The $415 million federal study involved nearly 49,000 women ages 50 to 79 who were followed for eight years. In the end, those assigned to a low-fat diet had the same rates of breast cancer, colon cancer, heart attacks and strokes as those who ate whatever they pleased, researchers are reporting today.
“These studies are revolutionary,” said Dr. Jules Hirsch, physician in chief emeritus at Rockefeller University in New York City, who has spent a lifetime studying the effects of diets on weight and health. “They should put a stop to this era of thinking that we have all the information we need to change the whole national diet and make everybody healthy.”
The study, published in today’s issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, was not just an ordinary study, said Dr. Michael Thun, who directs epidemiological research for the American Cancer Society. It was so large and so expensive, Dr. Thun said, that it was “the Rolls-Royce of studies.” As such, he added, it is likely to be the final word.
[snip]
Not everyone was convinced. Some, like Dr. Dean Ornish, a longtime promoter of low-fat diets and president of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, Calif., said that the women did not reduce their fat to low enough levels or eat enough fruits and vegetables, and that the study, even at eight years, did not give the diets enough time.
So do you agree with Ornish, or the big study? I’m not a fan of extremely low-fat diets, since fat is one of the things that tells you you’re full and that it’s time to stop eating.
Since I’m not about to give up using with olive oil and peanut oil, my enlightened self-interest says go for the big study. To be honest, so many of these studies on foods are contradictory that I just try to be sensible and well-rounded about what I eat.
I know for a fact that genetics is the determining factor on the cholesterol issue for me. I have a genetic anomoly and don’t really make cholesterol. It doesn’t matter how many eggs I eat, my total cholesterol has never come close to 100.
I’m with you, Andi…Study schmudy… I’m not giving up my olive and canola oils either. It’s not fats, it’s the KIND of fats. It’s the whole diet, not just the fats. What a waste of money and time.
I’m just the opposite of KatieBird, my body produces lots of cholesterol. Runs in my family. I’ve been a vegetarian for years thinking that I can beat the odds, but nope. Why I couldn’t have inherited a villa in Italy and a big bank account I’ll never know. Instead, I got the high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and bunions. Even with the bunions, I would have liked that villa. 😉
The impossibility of managing self-help diseases effectively is so apparent when you read articles like this.
For years people at risk for heart-disease (pretty much everyone unless you can see the future) are told that a low fat diet will absolutely help reduce the risk of heart disease .
And diabetics are told that because of the diabetes they are at risk for heart disease. So, you’d think they should eat a low fat diet (before this “landmark study, I mean), right? But wait!
Diabetics absolutely have to watch and limit carbohydrates, because they turn into sugar in the blood — and that’s very dangerous to diabetics who don’t process and control blood-sugar.
So, should diabetics (who are limiting fats & carbohydrates) eat proteins. Nope, too much protein overloads your kidney with protein and it turns out that’s just about as hard, maybe harder on the kidney than sugar is.
So what, exactly is a diabetic supposed to eat? And don’t say “everything in moderation” There’s nothing moderate about Dean Ornish’s diet (for one example). He’d cut fats out completely. And he’s always quoted in these stories like he’s the last word (and don’t take that for disrespect — I think the world of the guy).
And now, major stories all over the country are saying eating fat doesn’t matter to your chances of getting heart-disease or breast cancer.
OK, here’s my question. Hardly anyone dealing with these self-help diseases (diabetes, hypertension, obesity, high cholesterol) has a background in nutrition or internal medicine. How are we supposed to know what to do? We all know that whatever we’re reading about that study, it isn’t the whole story. But, what’s the whole story? In what ways is it inaccurate? And how are all of us idiots struggling with these very real health problems supposed to “manage” them on our own when the very information we’re supposed to use changes from month to month?
This is my rant, and I’ll leave it at that. My blog’s down so you guys got to hear it. Thank you.
(In the voice of the soup nazi from seinfeld): “No food for you!”
I never really thought about it in quite those terms before (about the protein limitations, especially), but you’re right, if you’re a diabetic, you have really limited choices about what to eat. I’d rant too.
I’m not an Ornish fan. Life is too short to eat bland food.
I have to make seafood when my non-seafood eaters aren’t home, so it was just me and Ben and he loved it too. It’s pretty low fat if you don’t load up on the angel hair pasta, which I of course did!
The thing I hate is that these studies are never reported in the broader context of diet (by that I mean what we are eating, not “reduction” diets) management.
There should be a little bit in there about low fat diets continuing to show promise in controlling obesity, which also contributes to heart disease. But, the implication for speed-readers and idiots (which most of us are, one way or another) is that a low fat diet won’t help you.
But, there is never any context in any news story.
And I agree with what you said about Ornish. I like him, not his diet. I like having a diet superstar around. He gets things talked about that wouldn’t without him.
Sponsored by the BIL Charitable Trust to recognize and reward the best in student writing and thinking.
We’re looking for original, thoughtful, provocative student voices to tell us what issue is of most concern to their generation. Essays should not exceed 800 words and should be original, unpublished work that demonstrates fresh, clear thinking and superior quality of expression and craftsmanship. We’ll select five finalists and one winner, who will be awarded a $500 cash prize and a Nation subscription. The winning essay will be published in the magazine and featured on our website. The five finalists will be awarded $100 each and subscriptions, and their entries will be published online. The contest is open to students at American high schools and to undergraduates at American colleges and universities. Entries (only one per student) will be accepted through March 31. A winner will be announced by May 31. Please send entries to studentprize@thenation.com.
TRABZON (ABC Australian News) Feb. 7 — An Italian Catholic priest Andrea Santoro, 61, was shot and killed at the Santa Maria Church in Trabzon on Sunday, raising fears that the murder may be linked to the Muslim uproar over the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in European newspapers.
The Turkish government said the murder appeared to be the work of a lone gunman with no links to illegal organisations. Local officials and Catholic authorities in Turkey suggested that the cartoon row, which has so far triggered no more than peaceful demonstrations in Turkey, could have led to the killing.
VATICAN NEWSPAPER OSSERVATORE ROMANO
The killing of Don Santoro by all means fits into the climate of tension of recent days. Faced with such acts, we are shocked and saddened, but we must also recognise a sign of irrepressible hope: some of our brothers are willing to spend their lives trying to build bridges between two shores which are still far apart. Father Santoro was one of them.
BBC News just reported, the first interrogation indicates the Danish caricatures of the prophet Mohammed, was given as motive for the murder.
ANKARA Feb. 8 — Comez, a doctor by profession, told parliament in an address late yesterday that Novo Nordisk controls 60 pct of the insulin market in Turkey, which amounts to some 50 mln eur. “In a democratic reaction, many of my colleagues are preparing to prescribe insulin produced by another company. I think the health ministry should review contracts with Novo Nordisk,” he said, according to the Anatolia news agency.
He called the cartoons the product of the “racist mentality in Denmark“.
Any government involvement in a boycott would risk breaching WTO accords, which say all trading partners must get equal treatment.
Another AKP MP, Vahit Kiler, said he has ordered a boycott of Danish and Norwegian goods from his Kiler chain of supermarkets.
other than Turkey, though. Turkey is one of the nations that has been very helpful to US when they wish “intensive interrogations” performed on individuals either to send a message, or in the case of persons who might have information that could be embarrassing to US and its allies.
And the Turkish government has some agenda items of its own, I know they are very anxious to please Europe.
It sounds strange to say, but I would feel better about this if the murder had been somehow publicly and unequivocally and openly associated with the cartoons, as opposed to the source for that information being Turkish “interrogators.”
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These items often are breaking news for a few hours, and can disappear or be delayed for further announcements. Turkey and Spain want to mediate in cartoon saga between EU countries and the Islamic nations.
Most nations are now seeking attempts to de-escalate the fury in the War of Words. Several European nations unite the freedom of religion with the freedom of speech for all. Hint, hint.
So the famous Turkish “interrogators” ply their trade on a 16 year old kid and run to the press, tongues hanging out like little lapdogs, to announce that they have seized this child who has killed a priest because of these cartoons because Turkey will not tolerate this kind of thing. And as you say, it will probably not help them in their quest to join the White Kids Club. But I guess people get a little ditsy when their goals get that warped.
And in all of the demonstrations in nations with populations in much more “volatile” mood, and with reason, the only deaths have been protesters murdered by puppet police of the client states, and one idiot who jumped from the third floor of a building. The building was on fire, and I guess it is possible he did not know that, or that it was about to be set on fire when he climbed up there, but still.
I jumped down somebody’s throat last night who made some post with a headline about killing people over cartoons, and until this very suspicious story there has not been a single instance of anybody killing a Dane or anybody else over the cartoons. And I hope there is not, and whoever killed the priest, for whatever reason, I am very sorry, and my prayers are with all those who loved him.
security forces arrested a high school pupil on Tuesday for the killing of an Italian Roman Catholic priest, and Turkish television said the teenager had confessed to a crime which has shocked this Muslim nation.
The pupil had told the police he had been influenced by cartoons lampooning the Prophet Muhammad, NTV commercial television said. The report could not be immediately confirmed.
The state Anatolian news agency said the pupil, 16, had been carrying a 9mm pistol when he had been captured in the Black Sea city of Trabzon, where Andrea Santoro, 61, was gunned down on Sunday while praying.
Seeking more money from Washington for hurricane relief, Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco entered uncharted legal territory with a threat on Monday to block oil and gas leases worth hundreds of millions to the federal treasury unless the state received its “fair share” of the revenues.
“It’s time to play hardball, as I believe that’s the only game Washington understands,” Ms. Blanco said Monday night as she opened the second special legislative session she has called since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Oil and gas companies pay for the right to extract natural resources from the Gulf of Mexico. Louisiana collects royalties, as well as severance taxes on resources extracted within three miles of its border. Those programs add hundreds of millions of dollars a year to the state treasury. Louisiana receives no share of the leasing fees on oil and gas reserves beyond the three miles, which are in federal waters.
The federal government negotiates those leases, which give more influential states like Florida and Texas extended state waters, effective every August.
Ms. Blanco, a Democrat, said Monday that she sought to split the leasing fees 50-50. “If no effort is made to guarantee our fair share of royalties,” she said, “I have warned the federal government that we will be forced to block the August sale of offshore oil and gas leases.”
I hope this is the start of a trend in my Red State (and in others): link
Missouri Democrats captured two out of three legislative seats in special elections on Tuesday’s ballots, including one in solid Republican territory in southwest Missouri.
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In the first two races the Democrat and the Republican victors were expected to win and eked out there victories, but in the third race — SURPRISE.
That wasn’t the case in southwest Missouri, where both parties were caught off guard by the strong showing of Democrat Charles Dake, a livestock veterinarian from Miller, Mo., who captured almost 56 percent of the vote against Republican Eric Seifried, an insurance agent who had been the favorite.
State Democratic Party spokesman Jack Cardetti contended that Dake’s victory, as well as the party’s 2-1 success in Tuesday’s results, signaled “a stinging rebuke of Gov. Matt Blunt’s leadership.” He pointed out that 71 percent of the 132nd’s voters in November 2004 had favored Blunt and President George W. Bush.
Republican Party spokesman John Hancock noted that the GOP retains a huge 97-66 edge in the state House. “This shows that, despite the Democrats’ rhetoric and money, they have been unable to gain ground,” Hancock said.
Well, I guess the GOP had to come up with SOMETHING to say, even the obvious.
I’m not sure exactly where this district IS yet but southwest Missouri is the HEART of John Ashcroft territory. This is a victory to celebrate.
Cool, Mary! Good to hear that things might be “bluing up” down south of my stompin grounds! Thanks for posting, because otherwise I’d never have heard this. What’s that old saying? “Long trips start when you put on one shoe?” or some such thing? LOL. At least it’s a small start toward tipping the balance down there. Will be interesting to see how our state elections go this fall with our House and Senate pretty much divided 50/50. Consequently, things get a bit contentious up here… and I like it that way! At least Nutsack will be out of here and on his fantasy quest for the presidential nomination. I just need to make sure that whoever ends up getting the Dem nomination wins over Jim Nussle (likely rethug nominee, currently in congress).
In fact, here’s the statement on the Missouri Democratic Party website
In a stunning victory, Charlie Dake won one of the most conservative districts in rural Southwest Missouri, the 132nd in Lawrence County. To put things in perspective, John Kerry only received 28.5% of the vote in 2004, and Matt Blunt [our current governor] got OVER 71%. This district is right in Matt Blunt’s backyard, and it just goes to show that the people that know Matt Blunt the most, voted for the Republicans the least.
This statement is of course geared toward the state party’s goal of defeating the governor this fall. But it can’t hurt Claire McCaskill who is running neck and neck with Jim Talent for the US Senate seat.
<rant>Ok, I’ve finally had it. For anyone who has a subscription to a news service and/or media outlet, if you’re going to link to one with a login please have the courtesy to note the requirement. Here’s the syntax: [sub. req’d]. If it’s too much to type, just put “S/R”, and at least here in the pond we’ll know.
I don’t even bother with (among many, many others) the NYT anymore, because they have no clue how much propagation of a good story relates to paid subscriptions. Making my morning rounds I find stories linked at some of the better-known blogs around making the same damn mistake. (No, I don’t “do” Agent Orange).
So please, I know the editors are assholes, the print media in general is clueless, and the f*cking idiot savants in marketing are barely out of diapers, but if it requires a login, SAY SO. </rant>
Part of the problem — at least for me — is that I don’t remember which sites require logins because I allow cookies and so don’t have to login when I go to those sites. So if you wouldn’t mind adding a comment on a specific article where I do this, I’ll be able build a list of sites where login is required. Thanks.
To both of you: it’s primarily the oft-quoted NYT & WSJ. WaPo seems to be open. Personally use the wire services and aggregators, who generally have the same story, albeit with different reporters.
I don’t usually have the problem, because as you’ve noted your login cookies should take care of it. Must be specific to certain outlets. ThinkProgress and Echaton suffered the same fate this morning with the Heather Wilson story.
PARIS – A “highly pathogenic” strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in poultry stocks in Nigeria — the first reported case of the disease in Africa, the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health said Wednesday.
Nigeria reported the outbreak in Jaji, a village in the northern Kaduna state, according to the organization known by the acronym OIE. OIE spokeswoman Maria Zampaglione said the outbreak was the first reported case of H5N1 in Africa. Nigerian authorities officially notified the OIE on Wednesday about the outbreak, the agency said in a statement. The outbreak affected commercial, battery-cage poultry.
«« click to enlarge A chicken roams amongst shacks
on the streets of Abuja.
REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde
After being off-line at work for two days due to internet problems, I’m back. And checking through the backlog, I’m hit with a string of outrages from the US, and some of the more interesting and inspiring stuff from abroad. But hey, no news there, move along, move along…
The “I’m Feeling Really Outraged Today” Domestic Stuff:
The Cost of Truth in an Unfree Society: The federal government has abruptly suspended funding for Oregon State University research that concluded federally sponsored logging after the 2002 Biscuit fire in southwest Oregon set back the recovery of forests. The action came after a team of scientists from OSU and the U.S. Forest Service published their results last month in Science, the nation’s leading scientific journal. It escalated the controversy surrounding the findings, which undercut Bush administration-backed arguments for logging after wildfires. The research, led by a 29-year-old graduate student, already had come under attack within OSU’s College of Forestry by professors who contend that logging and replanting speed recovery of burned forests.
Anyone wanna take a bet on the outcome? A federal judge heard arguments Monday over whether a vast irrigation project intended to help farmers in eastern Arkansas will harm the rare ivory-billed woodpecker [yeah, that one that was thought to be extinct]. U.S. District Judge William R. Wilson was asked by environmentalists to temporarily stop the Grand Prairie Irrigation Project and order the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct more environmental studies on the bird’s habitat.
From the Sacramento Bee, via Grist: “U.S. EPA chief Stephen Johnson “twisted” and “misrepresented” recommendations on regulating soot and dust pollution from the agency’s own air-quality experts, according to, um, the agency’s own air-quality experts. In an unprecedented move, the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee is urging Johnson to change course on the pollution proposals he announced in December, which ignore the scientists’ haze-reduction advice, significantly weaken their recommendations on controlling the smallest, most health-hazardous particles of soot, and — most controversially — propose entirely eliminating regulation of dust in the agriculture and mining industries in rural areas. Several panel members say Johnson misleadingly credited the committee with supporting these exemptions. Bart Ostro of the California EPA says the White House Office of Management and Budget, along with industry trade associations, played major roles in gutting the particulate controls.”
Under the budget the president just sent to congress, NASA is removing $2 billion from the science budget over the next five years to help cover projected cost overruns of $3 billion to $5 billion to fly the shuttles safely until they are retired in 2010. Redistributing NASA’s budget this way represents a turnaround for NASA Director Griffin, who in September 2005 specifically vowed not to take “one thin dime” from the science budget to pay for human spaceflight. When asked about his earlier statement, Griffin stunned reporters by admitting he had to go back on his word. “I wish we hadn’t had to do it; I didn’t want to. But that’s what we needed to do,” he said. “One plain fact is NASA can simply not afford to do everything our many constituencies would like us to do.”
The science programs affected include: * Delayed indefinitely – the Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF), a mission to detect and study Earth-like planets * Delayed by about three years – the Space Interferometry Mission (SIM), designed to map stars with unprecedented accuracy and search for planets slightly larger than Earth will now launch no earlier than 2015 * Cancelled – four to six 1.8-metre “outrigger” telescopes designed to bolster the twin 10-metre Keck telescopes in Hawaii. The outriggers would have searched for planets and imaged newborn stars * Delayed indefinitely – the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a 2.5-metre infrared telescope built into a Boeing 747 plane, will be put under “review” because it is behind schedule. It has been given no funding for the foreseeable future * Delayed indefinitely – NASA’s cosmology programme, “Beyond Einstein”, is under review. Two of its missions – LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna), to search for ripples in space-time called gravitational waves, and Constellation-X, to study black holes – will be delayed indefinitely * Cancelled – Delayed indefinitely – Mars research has been cut by $243.3 million to $700.2 million. This reflects the cancellation or indefinite postponement of missions such as the Mars Sample Return Mission and the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter * Cut – solar system research, largely in astrobiology, has been cut by $96.5 million to $273.6 million.
WTO ruling backs biotech crops: The World Trade Organization ruled yesterday that a six-year European ban on genetically engineered crops violates international trade rules, siding with the US, Canada and Argentina. Don’t expect the Europeans to go quietly into the night – this may be the tipping point that eventually brings down the WTO rules in favor of a structure that respects the environment, worker’s rights, and the will of the citizens to buy or not buy what the hell they want.
From MSNBC, via Grist: Ocean advocates are urging the Bush administration to wake up and smell the marine decay. The Joint Ocean Commission — a collaboration of two expert panels — has given the U.S. a D+ for efforts to reverse the deterioration of the world’s oceans, and warned that this failure of federal will is putting the American economy at serious risk. Former energy secretary and retired Adm. James Watkins, chair of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy created by President Bush, says the administration has failed to invest in vital marine science. And former Clinton chief of staff Leon Panetta, chair of the Pew Oceans Commission, criticizes Congress for draining the funding allocated to ocean issues into earmarks — pet projects in their home districts and states. In 2004, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy made more than 200 recommendations for turning the oceans around, including improved fisheries management and increased research funding — and most have been ignored.
Hey Dr. Dobson – Here’s your voice of Satan: The United States will always rely on foreign imports of oil to feed its energy needs and should stop trying to become energy independent, a top Exxon Mobil Corp. executive said on Tuesday. “Realistically, it is simply not feasible in any time period relevant to our discussion today,” Exxon Mobil Senior Vice President Stuart McGill said, referring to what he called the “misperception” that the United States can achieve energy independence. The comments, in a speech at an energy conference in Houston, come a few days after US President George W Bush declared America was addicted to Middle Eastern oil and promised to help the country kick the habit.
And, to leave you with a bit of hope and inspiration for the day, the Foreign Stuff:
Science team finds ‘lost world’ An international team of scientists says it has found a “lost world” in the Indonesian jungle that is home to dozens of new animal and plant species. “It’s as close to the Garden of Eden as you’re going to find on Earth,” said Bruce Beehler, co-leader of the group. The team recorded new butterflies, frogs, and a series of remarkable plants that included five new palms and a giant rhododendron flower. The survey also found a honeyeater bird that was previously unknown to science.
Meteorite reopens life on Mars debate: A carbon-rich substance found filling tiny cracks within a Martian meteorite could boost the idea that life once existed on the Red Planet. The material resembles that found in fractures, or “veins”, apparently etched by microbes in volcanic glass from the Earth’s ocean floor. The evidence comes from a meteorite held in London’s Natural History Museum that was cracked open by curators. But not all experts are convinced the carbon in Martian meteorites is indigenous – and not contamination from Earth. Determining this is crucial to answering the question of whether life once arose on the Red Planet.
Should efforts to control climate change fail and the Gulf Stream shut down, triggering a new ice age in Europe, researchers at the University of Alberta have developed a scheme that could be used to ward off the ice age by strengthening the downward currents that drive the Gulf Stream:
… one way was far more cost effective than the others: making thicker sea ice by pumping salty ocean water on top of ice sheets. They envisioned more than 8,000 barges moving into the northern ocean in the fall, speeding the initial formation of sea ice by pumping a spray of water into the air, and then, once the ice is formed, pumping ocean water on top of it, trapping the salt in the ice and reaching a thickness of seven meters. In the spring, water would continue to be pumped over the ice to melt it, forming a vast amount of cold, salty water that sinks and adds to the down-welling current to re-strengthen it. The estimated cost is about $50 billion. But faced with glaciers, Europe might swallow that bullet.
Sweden is to take the biggest energy step of any advanced western economy by trying to wean itself off oil completely within 15 years – without building a new generation of nuclear power stations.
What a coincidence! In a pleasing symmetry, the amount of wheat required to reach the British government’s bioethanol goal would be around 3 million tons, roughly equal to the excess produced each year that is unwanted by the domestic market.
Environmentalists and Canada’s timber industry said Tuesday they had put an end to their long-running battle over a region of Pacific Coast wilderness often referred to as the Great Bear Rainforest. The deal governing a region of about 2 million hectares (7,700 square miles) — about the size of El Salvador — bans logging in some areas to protect wildlife and requires more environmentally friendly logging in other portions, according to groups involved in the deal.
Blair says the right things; let’s see some follow-through: The world has seven years to take vital decisions and implement measures to curb greenhouse gas emissions or it could be too late, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Tuesday. Blair said the battle against global warming would only be won if the United States, India and China were part of a framework that included targets and that succeeded the 1992 Kyoto Protocol climate pact. “If we don’t get the right agreement internationally for the period after which the Kyoto protocol will expire — that’s in 2012 — if we don’t do that then I think we are in serious trouble,” he told a parliamentary committee. Asked if the world had seven years to implement measures on climate change before the problem reached “tipping point”, Blair answered: “Yes”. And lets see, for three more of those years we’re stuck with Bush/Cheney – doesn’t leave much time to spare, does it…
Some days, I really do feel like I’m living in the friggin’ USSR. 😛
The fight for marriage equality moves into New York State’s highest court (which is not called the Supreme Court, because New Yawkers are difficult), and it’s only the first of several.
In legal arguments filed Tuesday with New York State’s highest court, the Court of Appeal, Lambda Legal argues that limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples is unconstitutional. The court is expected to hear oral arguments in the case later this year.
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Lambda, and other LGBT rights groups have filed similar cases seeking marriage for same-sex couples in California, Washington, New Jersey and Iowa. A decision from the Washington Supreme Court is imminent, and oral arguments for the New Jersey case will take place on February 15.
The City Council has approved sexual orientation as a protected class under the city’s human rights ordinance. The council took less than minute to approve an amendment to the ordinance Monday night. The amendment had been rejected three times by the council since the 1980s. It provides legal recourse for anyone denied housing, employment, credit, education or service because of sexual orientation.
Sweden is to take the biggest energy step of any advanced western economy by trying to wean itself off oil completely within 15 years – without building a new generation of nuclear power stations.
The attempt by the country of 9 million people to become the world’s first practically oil-free economy is being planned by a committee of industrialists, academics, farmers, car makers, civil servants and others, who will report to parliament in several months.
The intention, the Swedish government said yesterday, is to replace all fossil fuels with renewables before climate change destroys economies and growing oil scarcity leads to huge new price rises.
You know how Ford and GM laughed at Totota about 10 years ago when they began research on hybrid cars? Well, I wonder if 10 years from now Sweden will emerge as a new superpower. I love those Swedes.
“The two U.S. senators from Oregon, Democrat Ron Wyden and Republican Gordon Smith, have announced White House approval of a proposed Oregon nanotechnology center–and $8 million in funding over three years–in the President’s 2007 budget.
The $8 million in federal funding will go to the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI) to oversee the center, which is expected to develop nanotechnologies for enhancing the performance of microelectronics for military applications.
ONAMI is a collaborative effort among the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Portland State University, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the state of Oregon, and the high-technology industry cluster of Oregon and southwest Washington.”
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NOW, check out the new technology that ONAMI is developing:
(From their website: http://www.onami.us/mr_reov.html )
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“Nano and Micro enabling Bio:
For many reasons, an important emerging area of nano/bio research is the interaction between functional nanoparticles and living cells. One example of this is that cell-based biosensors for homeland security and drug discovery applications could be made more robust and manufacturable by using nanoparticles to extend the range of cells (e.g. to non-chromatophoric cells) that will exhibit a broadband visible and/or electrical response to biologically active agents.
Nano and Bio enabling Micro:
Moore’s law of advancing complexity in integrated electronics (doubling of devices/chip every 18 months) is progressing through the 90nm technology “node” today, but is expected to encounter a manufacturing discontinuity (from top-down subtractive processing to bottoms-up self assembly) somewhere around the 22nm node, c. 2016. Self-assembly is the basis of biological systems, so a reasonable line of inquiry is to build-up electronic systems by attaching nanoparticles to bio-molecules, e.g. DNA.”
Dick Cheney will be there. So will Rick Santorum…Phyllis Schlafly…Newt Gingrich…Ann Coulter…Republican Party Chairman Ken Mehlman…and Grover Norquist, a figure at the center of the Jack Abramoff Republican lobbying scandal.
Tomorrow, at 9:30 a.m., the gavel will drop on CPAC 2006 – the Conservative Political Action Conference. Soon a parade of Bush administration and Republican Party leaders will trek over to kiss the rings of the right-wing political operatives who work so hard to push the reckless Bush agenda through Congress – and of the right-wing agitators that stop at nothing to keep Bush-backing candidates in power.
Sounds like quite a fun little get-together. I’d rather have drug-free oral surgery.
The response initiated by Kerry’s office is the ‘Break Their Grip On Power’ campaign, apparently a grassroots/media/GOTV initiative in support of embattled Democrats & with funds earmarked specifically for this initiative.
Guardian of the Green card? WashPo
Read the entire article…but here’s the kicker about this racist Nazi:
That’s right, the VP of the Minutemen, dedicated to keeping people from entering the US, was an immigrant herself. Hypocrisy rules.
and some us miss him I guess.
Republican congresswoman calls for wiretap inquiry: NYT
Sill, I’m not holding my breath for the rest to jump ship with her, are you?
Nice grab, and yes, I think the ship of state is listing hard. Last night the veep claimed briefed members of Congress were satisfied – all eight of them.
I wonder if her tune will change after Rove threatens to break her kneecaps.
Rove will be leaking in his pants over the revelation of Abramoff’s emails on Bush. So Bush didn’t know him huh?
read my diary. Yea, call it pimping. It’s now all over the internet after it was posted here and not a bite.
http://www.boomantribune.com/?op=displaystory;sid=2006/2/8/16813/55531
more to come
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Excellent diary on topic freedom of speech versus responsibility, has a breaking story on Denmark’s editor Fleming Rose and JT.
● Thor Thunderbolts @dKos
● FS Extremist DTF :: Thank You
● Something is Rotten in the State of Denmark’s Free Speech ::
Twelve Despicable Danish Cartoons of Islam’s Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) ::
By Mohamed Khodr – 09 December 2005
In Afghanistan 10 persons have died so far.“But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”
▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
Full Article at the NYT
So do you agree with Ornish, or the big study? I’m not a fan of extremely low-fat diets, since fat is one of the things that tells you you’re full and that it’s time to stop eating.
Interesting, about fat being a “full” indicator. I never stopped eating it because fat is one of the things that tells me life is worth living. 🙂
mmmm hmmm
Especially if it comes in a Ben and Jerry’s container… 🙂
Since I’m not about to give up using with olive oil and peanut oil, my enlightened self-interest says go for the big study. To be honest, so many of these studies on foods are contradictory that I just try to be sensible and well-rounded about what I eat.
Personally think genetics is more important, but it might be how we get our minerals in our diets.
I know for a fact that genetics is the determining factor on the cholesterol issue for me. I have a genetic anomoly and don’t really make cholesterol. It doesn’t matter how many eggs I eat, my total cholesterol has never come close to 100.
I’m with you, Andi…Study schmudy… I’m not giving up my olive and canola oils either. It’s not fats, it’s the KIND of fats. It’s the whole diet, not just the fats. What a waste of money and time.
I’m just the opposite of KatieBird, my body produces lots of cholesterol. Runs in my family. I’ve been a vegetarian for years thinking that I can beat the odds, but nope. Why I couldn’t have inherited a villa in Italy and a big bank account I’ll never know. Instead, I got the high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and bunions. Even with the bunions, I would have liked that villa. 😉
The impossibility of managing self-help diseases effectively is so apparent when you read articles like this.
For years people at risk for heart-disease (pretty much everyone unless you can see the future) are told that a low fat diet will absolutely help reduce the risk of heart disease .
And diabetics are told that because of the diabetes they are at risk for heart disease. So, you’d think they should eat a low fat diet (before this “landmark study, I mean), right? But wait!
Diabetics absolutely have to watch and limit carbohydrates, because they turn into sugar in the blood — and that’s very dangerous to diabetics who don’t process and control blood-sugar.
So, should diabetics (who are limiting fats & carbohydrates) eat proteins. Nope, too much protein overloads your kidney with protein and it turns out that’s just about as hard, maybe harder on the kidney than sugar is.
So what, exactly is a diabetic supposed to eat? And don’t say “everything in moderation” There’s nothing moderate about Dean Ornish’s diet (for one example). He’d cut fats out completely. And he’s always quoted in these stories like he’s the last word (and don’t take that for disrespect — I think the world of the guy).
And now, major stories all over the country are saying eating fat doesn’t matter to your chances of getting heart-disease or breast cancer.
OK, here’s my question. Hardly anyone dealing with these self-help diseases (diabetes, hypertension, obesity, high cholesterol) has a background in nutrition or internal medicine. How are we supposed to know what to do? We all know that whatever we’re reading about that study, it isn’t the whole story. But, what’s the whole story? In what ways is it inaccurate? And how are all of us idiots struggling with these very real health problems supposed to “manage” them on our own when the very information we’re supposed to use changes from month to month?
This is my rant, and I’ll leave it at that. My blog’s down so you guys got to hear it. Thank you.
I was going to ask if you had seen this, but you have.
good rant
(In the voice of the soup nazi from seinfeld): “No food for you!”
I never really thought about it in quite those terms before (about the protein limitations, especially), but you’re right, if you’re a diabetic, you have really limited choices about what to eat. I’d rant too.
I’m not an Ornish fan. Life is too short to eat bland food.
On a related note, I made the shrimp with feta cheese recipe for dinner last night. Yum.
I’m so glad you made it! Did everybody like it? That’s one of our all-time favorites.
I have to make seafood when my non-seafood eaters aren’t home, so it was just me and Ben and he loved it too. It’s pretty low fat if you don’t load up on the angel hair pasta, which I of course did!
The thing I hate is that these studies are never reported in the broader context of diet (by that I mean what we are eating, not “reduction” diets) management.
There should be a little bit in there about low fat diets continuing to show promise in controlling obesity, which also contributes to heart disease. But, the implication for speed-readers and idiots (which most of us are, one way or another) is that a low fat diet won’t help you.
But, there is never any context in any news story.
And I agree with what you said about Ornish. I like him, not his diet. I like having a diet superstar around. He gets things talked about that wouldn’t without him.
Great rant. As soon as we get the site back up, you should post it at E4T.
The Nation Magazine is having a student writing contest. Full information here.
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TRABZON (ABC Australian News) Feb. 7 — An Italian Catholic priest Andrea Santoro, 61, was shot and killed at the Santa Maria Church in Trabzon on Sunday, raising fears that the murder may be linked to the Muslim uproar over the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in European newspapers.
The Turkish government said the murder appeared to be the work of a lone gunman with no links to illegal organisations. Local officials and Catholic authorities in Turkey suggested that the cartoon row, which has so far triggered no more than peaceful demonstrations in Turkey, could have led to the killing.
VATICAN NEWSPAPER OSSERVATORE ROMANO
The killing of Don Santoro by all means fits into the climate of tension of recent days. Faced with such acts, we are shocked and saddened, but we must also recognise a sign of irrepressible hope: some of our brothers are willing to spend their lives trying to build bridges between two shores which are still far apart. Father Santoro was one of them.
BBC News just reported, the first interrogation indicates the Danish caricatures of the prophet Mohammed, was given as motive for the murder.
● Priest’s Murder Sparks Press Anguish
ANKARA Feb. 8 — Comez, a doctor by profession, told parliament in an address late yesterday that Novo Nordisk controls 60 pct of the insulin market in Turkey, which amounts to some 50 mln eur. “In a democratic reaction, many of my colleagues are preparing to prescribe insulin produced by another company. I think the health ministry should review contracts with Novo Nordisk,” he said, according to the Anatolia news agency.
He called the cartoons the product of the “racist mentality in Denmark“.
Any government involvement in a boycott would risk breaching WTO accords, which say all trading partners must get equal treatment.
Another AKP MP, Vahit Kiler, said he has ordered a boycott of Danish and Norwegian goods from his Kiler chain of supermarkets.
“But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”
▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
There’s nothing in the link about any “interrogations” indicating anything about the cartoons.
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BBC World Radio report from Turkey just an hour ago!
“But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”
▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
other than Turkey, though. Turkey is one of the nations that has been very helpful to US when they wish “intensive interrogations” performed on individuals either to send a message, or in the case of persons who might have information that could be embarrassing to US and its allies.
And the Turkish government has some agenda items of its own, I know they are very anxious to please Europe.
It sounds strange to say, but I would feel better about this if the murder had been somehow publicly and unequivocally and openly associated with the cartoons, as opposed to the source for that information being Turkish “interrogators.”
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These items often are breaking news for a few hours, and can disappear or be delayed for further announcements. Turkey and Spain want to mediate in cartoon saga between EU countries and the Islamic nations.
Joint press release from UN – EU – Org. Islamic Conf. (OIC)
Most nations are now seeking attempts to de-escalate the fury in the War of Words. Several European nations unite the freedom of religion with the freedom of speech for all. Hint, hint.
● Murder of priest ‘religious revenge’
“But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”
▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
So the famous Turkish “interrogators” ply their trade on a 16 year old kid and run to the press, tongues hanging out like little lapdogs, to announce that they have seized this child who has killed a priest because of these cartoons because Turkey will not tolerate this kind of thing. And as you say, it will probably not help them in their quest to join the White Kids Club. But I guess people get a little ditsy when their goals get that warped.
And in all of the demonstrations in nations with populations in much more “volatile” mood, and with reason, the only deaths have been protesters murdered by puppet police of the client states, and one idiot who jumped from the third floor of a building. The building was on fire, and I guess it is possible he did not know that, or that it was about to be set on fire when he climbed up there, but still.
I jumped down somebody’s throat last night who made some post with a headline about killing people over cartoons, and until this very suspicious story there has not been a single instance of anybody killing a Dane or anybody else over the cartoons. And I hope there is not, and whoever killed the priest, for whatever reason, I am very sorry, and my prayers are with all those who loved him.
Broadcast leads as of 8pm EST:
ABC on the Alabama church fires; CBS: Alabama church fires; CNN: Protestors try to storm U.S. Base; (MS)NBC: Protests.
Bit of a religious theme there, huh?
You go, girl! NYT
I hope this is the start of a trend in my Red State (and in others): link
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In the first two races the Democrat and the Republican victors were expected to win and eked out there victories, but in the third race — SURPRISE.
Well, I guess the GOP had to come up with SOMETHING to say, even the obvious.
I’m not sure exactly where this district IS yet but southwest Missouri is the HEART of John Ashcroft territory. This is a victory to celebrate.
Cool, Mary! Good to hear that things might be “bluing up” down south of my stompin grounds! Thanks for posting, because otherwise I’d never have heard this. What’s that old saying? “Long trips start when you put on one shoe?” or some such thing? LOL. At least it’s a small start toward tipping the balance down there. Will be interesting to see how our state elections go this fall with our House and Senate pretty much divided 50/50. Consequently, things get a bit contentious up here… and I like it that way! At least Nutsack will be out of here and on his fantasy quest for the presidential nomination. I just need to make sure that whoever ends up getting the Dem nomination wins over Jim Nussle (likely rethug nominee, currently in congress).
It is good news. I’m not sure people realize what incredibly BIG news this is.
Althoug Kos did front page it today I was happy to see.link
In fact, here’s the statement on the Missouri Democratic Party website
This statement is of course geared toward the state party’s goal of defeating the governor this fall. But it can’t hurt Claire McCaskill who is running neck and neck with Jim Talent for the US Senate seat.
That is excellent news maryb!
<rant>Ok, I’ve finally had it. For anyone who has a subscription to a news service and/or media outlet, if you’re going to link to one with a login please have the courtesy to note the requirement. Here’s the syntax: [sub. req’d]. If it’s too much to type, just put “S/R”, and at least here in the pond we’ll know.
I don’t even bother with (among many, many others) the NYT anymore, because they have no clue how much propagation of a good story relates to paid subscriptions. Making my morning rounds I find stories linked at some of the better-known blogs around making the same damn mistake. (No, I don’t “do” Agent Orange).
So please, I know the editors are assholes, the print media in general is clueless, and the f*cking idiot savants in marketing are barely out of diapers, but if it requires a login, SAY SO. </rant>
Did I do that? If I did, it was an accident, because some of these sites “recognize me” automatically with the dkos login…
Part of the problem — at least for me — is that I don’t remember which sites require logins because I allow cookies and so don’t have to login when I go to those sites. So if you wouldn’t mind adding a comment on a specific article where I do this, I’ll be able build a list of sites where login is required. Thanks.
To both of you: it’s primarily the oft-quoted NYT & WSJ. WaPo seems to be open. Personally use the wire services and aggregators, who generally have the same story, albeit with different reporters.
I don’t usually have the problem, because as you’ve noted your login cookies should take care of it. Must be specific to certain outlets. ThinkProgress and Echaton suffered the same fate this morning with the Heather Wilson story.
Hmm….maybe it is just the NYT.
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PARIS – A “highly pathogenic” strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in poultry stocks in Nigeria — the first reported case of the disease in Africa, the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health said Wednesday.
Nigeria reported the outbreak in Jaji, a village in the northern Kaduna state, according to the organization known by the acronym OIE. OIE spokeswoman Maria Zampaglione said the outbreak was the first reported case of H5N1 in Africa. Nigerian authorities officially notified the OIE on Wednesday about the outbreak, the agency said in a statement. The outbreak affected commercial, battery-cage poultry.
A chicken roams amongst shackson the streets of Abuja.
REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde
“But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”
▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
After being off-line at work for two days due to internet problems, I’m back. And checking through the backlog, I’m hit with a string of outrages from the US, and some of the more interesting and inspiring stuff from abroad. But hey, no news there, move along, move along…
The “I’m Feeling Really Outraged Today” Domestic Stuff:
The Cost of Truth in an Unfree Society: The federal government has abruptly suspended funding for Oregon State University research that concluded federally sponsored logging after the 2002 Biscuit fire in southwest Oregon set back the recovery of forests. The action came after a team of scientists from OSU and the U.S. Forest Service published their results last month in Science, the nation’s leading scientific journal. It escalated the controversy surrounding the findings, which undercut Bush administration-backed arguments for logging after wildfires. The research, led by a 29-year-old graduate student, already had come under attack within OSU’s College of Forestry by professors who contend that logging and replanting speed recovery of burned forests.
Anyone wanna take a bet on the outcome? A federal judge heard arguments Monday over whether a vast irrigation project intended to help farmers in eastern Arkansas will harm the rare ivory-billed woodpecker [yeah, that one that was thought to be extinct]. U.S. District Judge William R. Wilson was asked by environmentalists to temporarily stop the Grand Prairie Irrigation Project and order the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct more environmental studies on the bird’s habitat.
From the Sacramento Bee, via Grist: “U.S. EPA chief Stephen Johnson “twisted” and “misrepresented” recommendations on regulating soot and dust pollution from the agency’s own air-quality experts, according to, um, the agency’s own air-quality experts. In an unprecedented move, the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee is urging Johnson to change course on the pollution proposals he announced in December, which ignore the scientists’ haze-reduction advice, significantly weaken their recommendations on controlling the smallest, most health-hazardous particles of soot, and — most controversially — propose entirely eliminating regulation of dust in the agriculture and mining industries in rural areas. Several panel members say Johnson misleadingly credited the committee with supporting these exemptions. Bart Ostro of the California EPA says the White House Office of Management and Budget, along with industry trade associations, played major roles in gutting the particulate controls.”
WTO ruling backs biotech crops: The World Trade Organization ruled yesterday that a six-year European ban on genetically engineered crops violates international trade rules, siding with the US, Canada and Argentina. Don’t expect the Europeans to go quietly into the night – this may be the tipping point that eventually brings down the WTO rules in favor of a structure that respects the environment, worker’s rights, and the will of the citizens to buy or not buy what the hell they want.
From MSNBC, via Grist: Ocean advocates are urging the Bush administration to wake up and smell the marine decay. The Joint Ocean Commission — a collaboration of two expert panels — has given the U.S. a D+ for efforts to reverse the deterioration of the world’s oceans, and warned that this failure of federal will is putting the American economy at serious risk. Former energy secretary and retired Adm. James Watkins, chair of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy created by President Bush, says the administration has failed to invest in vital marine science. And former Clinton chief of staff Leon Panetta, chair of the Pew Oceans Commission, criticizes Congress for draining the funding allocated to ocean issues into earmarks — pet projects in their home districts and states. In 2004, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy made more than 200 recommendations for turning the oceans around, including improved fisheries management and increased research funding — and most have been ignored.
Hey Dr. Dobson – Here’s your voice of Satan: The United States will always rely on foreign imports of oil to feed its energy needs and should stop trying to become energy independent, a top Exxon Mobil Corp. executive said on Tuesday. “Realistically, it is simply not feasible in any time period relevant to our discussion today,” Exxon Mobil Senior Vice President Stuart McGill said, referring to what he called the “misperception” that the United States can achieve energy independence. The comments, in a speech at an energy conference in Houston, come a few days after US President George W Bush declared America was addicted to Middle Eastern oil and promised to help the country kick the habit.
And, to leave you with a bit of hope and inspiration for the day, the Foreign Stuff:
Science team finds ‘lost world’ An international team of scientists says it has found a “lost world” in the Indonesian jungle that is home to dozens of new animal and plant species. “It’s as close to the Garden of Eden as you’re going to find on Earth,” said Bruce Beehler, co-leader of the group. The team recorded new butterflies, frogs, and a series of remarkable plants that included five new palms and a giant rhododendron flower. The survey also found a honeyeater bird that was previously unknown to science.
Meteorite reopens life on Mars debate: A carbon-rich substance found filling tiny cracks within a Martian meteorite could boost the idea that life once existed on the Red Planet. The material resembles that found in fractures, or “veins”, apparently etched by microbes in volcanic glass from the Earth’s ocean floor. The evidence comes from a meteorite held in London’s Natural History Museum that was cracked open by curators. But not all experts are convinced the carbon in Martian meteorites is indigenous – and not contamination from Earth. Determining this is crucial to answering the question of whether life once arose on the Red Planet.
Sweden is to take the biggest energy step of any advanced western economy by trying to wean itself off oil completely within 15 years – without building a new generation of nuclear power stations.
What a coincidence! In a pleasing symmetry, the amount of wheat required to reach the British government’s bioethanol goal would be around 3 million tons, roughly equal to the excess produced each year that is unwanted by the domestic market.
Environmentalists and Canada’s timber industry said Tuesday they had put an end to their long-running battle over a region of Pacific Coast wilderness often referred to as the Great Bear Rainforest. The deal governing a region of about 2 million hectares (7,700 square miles) — about the size of El Salvador — bans logging in some areas to protect wildlife and requires more environmentally friendly logging in other portions, according to groups involved in the deal.
Blair says the right things; let’s see some follow-through: The world has seven years to take vital decisions and implement measures to curb greenhouse gas emissions or it could be too late, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Tuesday. Blair said the battle against global warming would only be won if the United States, India and China were part of a framework that included targets and that succeeded the 1992 Kyoto Protocol climate pact. “If we don’t get the right agreement internationally for the period after which the Kyoto protocol will expire — that’s in 2012 — if we don’t do that then I think we are in serious trouble,” he told a parliamentary committee. Asked if the world had seven years to implement measures on climate change before the problem reached “tipping point”, Blair answered: “Yes”. And lets see, for three more of those years we’re stuck with Bush/Cheney – doesn’t leave much time to spare, does it…
Some days, I really do feel like I’m living in the friggin’ USSR. 😛
Sounds like they are upset they didn’t kill it off the first time.
The fight for marriage equality moves into New York State’s highest court (which is not called the Supreme Court, because New Yawkers are difficult), and it’s only the first of several.
…
Lambda, and other LGBT rights groups have filed similar cases seeking marriage for same-sex couples in California, Washington, New Jersey and Iowa. A decision from the Washington Supreme Court is imminent, and oral arguments for the New Jersey case will take place on February 15.
And a round of applause goes out to the Dubuque Iowa City Council on their decision to stop being assholes:
The attempt by the country of 9 million people to become the world’s first practically oil-free economy is being planned by a committee of industrialists, academics, farmers, car makers, civil servants and others, who will report to parliament in several months.
The intention, the Swedish government said yesterday, is to replace all fossil fuels with renewables before climate change destroys economies and growing oil scarcity leads to huge new price rises.
You know how Ford and GM laughed at Totota about 10 years ago when they began research on hybrid cars? Well, I wonder if 10 years from now Sweden will emerge as a new superpower. I love those Swedes.
Sweden plans to be world’s first oil-free economy link to the Guardian.
Portland Indy
“The two U.S. senators from Oregon, Democrat Ron Wyden and Republican Gordon Smith, have announced White House approval of a proposed Oregon nanotechnology center–and $8 million in funding over three years–in the President’s 2007 budget.
The $8 million in federal funding will go to the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI) to oversee the center, which is expected to develop nanotechnologies for enhancing the performance of microelectronics for military applications.
ONAMI is a collaborative effort among the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Portland State University, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the state of Oregon, and the high-technology industry cluster of Oregon and southwest Washington.”
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NOW, check out the new technology that ONAMI is developing:
(From their website: http://www.onami.us/mr_reov.html )
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“Nano and Micro enabling Bio:
For many reasons, an important emerging area of nano/bio research is the interaction between functional nanoparticles and living cells. One example of this is that cell-based biosensors for homeland security and drug discovery applications could be made more robust and manufacturable by using nanoparticles to extend the range of cells (e.g. to non-chromatophoric cells) that will exhibit a broadband visible and/or electrical response to biologically active agents.
Nano and Bio enabling Micro:
Moore’s law of advancing complexity in integrated electronics (doubling of devices/chip every 18 months) is progressing through the 90nm technology “node” today, but is expected to encounter a manufacturing discontinuity (from top-down subtractive processing to bottoms-up self assembly) somewhere around the 22nm node, c. 2016. Self-assembly is the basis of biological systems, so a reasonable line of inquiry is to build-up electronic systems by attaching nanoparticles to bio-molecules, e.g. DNA.”
be afraid, be very afraid – Janet
Hope it stays that way.
Years ago Stanislaw Lem, a science-fiction writer, outlined the potential of nanotech for crypto-war (war by unseen or undetectable agents).
He described how it would make peace impossible, and finally, irrelevant.
Some techniques–attack your own people and blame it on the enemy–are already in use, but nanotech would provide the ultimate forensic camoflage.
From today’s inbox (via Kerry’s office):
Sounds like quite a fun little get-together. I’d rather have drug-free oral surgery.
The response initiated by Kerry’s office is the ‘Break Their Grip On Power’ campaign, apparently a grassroots/media/GOTV initiative in support of embattled Democrats & with funds earmarked specifically for this initiative.
Too bad we can’t also spike the CPAC punch ..