Tuesday News Bucket

38 Comments

1. 

   CabinGirl on April 25, 2006 at 7:28 am

   Wait till you hear this idea:  NYT

   The airlines have come up with a new answer to an old question: How many passengers can be squeezed into economy class?

   A lot more, it turns out, especially if an idea still in the early stage should catch on: standing-room-only “seats.”

   Airbus has been quietly pitching the standing-room-only option to Asian carriers, though none have agreed to it yet. Passengers in the standing section would be propped against a padded backboard, held in place with a harness, according to experts who have seen a proposal.

   Almost sounds like a torture chamber…

   • 

     Knoxville Progressive on April 25, 2006 at 9:13 am

     Mooooove along, please, moooove over.

2. 

   CabinGirl on April 25, 2006 at 7:30 am

   will be taking the press secretary job: CNN

   Sources close to the White House said Monday that Fox anchor Tony Snow is likely to accept the job as White House press secretary, succeeding Scott McClellan.

   The sources said they expect him to announce his decision within the next few days.

   And who is this guy?  According to CNN:

   Snow serves as a political analyst for Fox News Channel, which he joined in 1996.

   He was a nationally syndicated columnist with The Detroit News in Detroit, Michigan, from 1993 to 2001 and was a columnist for USA Today from 1994 to 2000.

   Before that, he was an editorial writer at The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia; editorial page editor of The Daily Press in Newport News, Virginia; deputy editorial page editor of The Detroit News; and editorial page editor of The Washington Times.

   The conservative radio talk show host, who was born in 1955, served as a speech writer for President Bush’s father in 1991.

   Funny how they leave out his role in introducing Lucianne Goldberg and Linda Tripp and how that resulted in the taping of the conversations with Monica…

   Why don’t they just clear the rest of the press out of the WH and turn it into a Fox studio?  And why are my taxes going to be paying Tony’s salary, instead of Rupert Murdoch?

   • 

     BooMan on April 25, 2006 at 11:54 am

     we are gonna destroy Snow.  This is going to be sweet payback for l’affair Lewinsky.  Snow is going to preside over the downfall of a Presidency.  Should be sweet to watch Tony come in with his arrogant dismissive swagger and go out without a shred of dignity or self-respect left.

3. 

   CabinGirl on April 25, 2006 at 7:37 am

   Teenager suing the Pentagon: Reuters/Yahoo

   Six New York teen-agers sued
   Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld on Monday, alleging the U.S.
   Department of Defense broke the law by keeping an extensive database on potential recruits.
   ADVERTISEMENT

   The suit in federal court in Manhattan follows a series of allegations last year of misconduct by recruiters, who have experienced difficulty meeting targets because of the war in
   Iraq.

   The Pentagon last year acknowledged it had created a database of 12 million Americans, full of personal data such as grades and
   Social Security numbers, to help find potential military recruits.

   The Pentagon has defended the practice as critical to the success of the all-volunteer U.S. military, and said it was sensitive to privacy concerns.

   But the suit alleges the Pentagon improperly collected data on people as young as 16 and kept it beyond a three-year limit, and said that the law does not allow for keeping records on race, ethnicity, gender or social security numbers.

   Kids these days…you gotta love them.

   • 

     Knoxville Progressive on April 25, 2006 at 9:11 am

     Must have been listening to satanic rock music, like maybe Pink Floyd:

     Us, and them
     And after all we’re only ordinary men.
     Me, and you.
     God only knows it’s noz what we would choose to do.
     Forward he cried from the rear
     And the front rank died.
     And the general sat and the lines on the map
     Moved from side to side.

     Black and blue
     And who knows which is which and who is who.
     Up and down.
     But in the end it’s only round and round.
     Haven’t you heard it’s a battle of words
     The poster bearer cried.
     Listen son, said the man with the gun
     There’s room for you inside.

     I mean, they’re not gunna kill ya, so if you give ’em a quick short,
     Sharp, shock, they won’t do it again. dig it? I mean he get off
     Lightly, ‘cos I would’ve given him a thrashing – I only hit him once!
     It was only a difference of opinion, but really…I mean good manners
     Don’t cost nothing do they, eh?

     Down and out
     It can’t be helped but there’s a lot of it about.
     With, without.
     And who’ll deny it’s what the fighting’s all about?
     Out of the way, it’s a busy day
     I’ve got things on my mind.
     For the want of the price of tea and a slice
     The old man died.

   • 

     Militarytracy on April 25, 2006 at 10:42 am

     inviting her to apply to West Point.  BAWAHAHAHA….they obviously have never met the peace nic picnic clothes for carpeting monster!

4. 

   ask on April 25, 2006 at 7:57 am

   Tens of thousands crowd Nepal king’s palace

   KATHMANDU (Reuters) – Hundreds of thousands of people held a victory rally in Nepal’s capital on Tuesday after King Gyanendra announced he was reinstating parliament, but tens of thousands crowded near the palace, demanding he leave the country.

   Rows of riot police blocked the demonstrators less than 500 metres (550 yards) from Kathmandu’s Narayanhity Palace, but there was no violence.

   The crowds made no attempt to break through but tore down metal signboards carrying excerpts from the king’s speeches and shouted “Gyanendra, thief, leave the country.”

   Maoist rebels, who control large swathes of the countryside, denounced the king’s speech as a sham.

   The seven parties which have led the almost three weeks of a crippling anti-monarchy campaign named former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, 84, as the new head of government and said the first job would be to ensure the Maoists, fighting a decade-long rebellion, joined the political mainstream.

5. 

   ask on April 25, 2006 at 8:00 am

   Bomb attack on Sri Lanka army HQ

   At least five people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack on the headquarters of the Sri Lankan army in the capital Colombo, officials say.

   The head of the army, Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka, has been seriously hurt.

   “A suicide bomb went off near the army hospital aimed at the army commander’s vehicle,” an army spokesman was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.

   The army has blamed the Tamil Tigers for the attack. There has been no word from the rebels.

6. 

   CabinGirl on April 25, 2006 at 8:43 am

   Does the Pope wear Prada? WSJ Online

   Pope Benedict XVI is appealing to a new group of admirers: marketers seeking not blessings but pontifical product placements.

   Since his election last year, the pope has been spotted wearing Serengeti-branded sunglasses and brown walking shoes donated by Geox. He owns a specially engraved white Apple iPod, and he recently stirred much publicity with a pair of stylish red loafers that may or may not be from Prada.

   The raft of designer labels floating around the new pontiff is one of the odder consequences of last year’s long-awaited papal transition. For the marketing world, the change at the helm of the Holy See is presenting an unprecedented opportunity, but also an ethical dilemma over how far to exploit religion for hyping a product.

   Okay.

   • 

     Knoxville Progressive on April 25, 2006 at 9:05 am

     You must have missed the picture, LOL!

     • 

       CabinGirl on April 25, 2006 at 9:31 am

       OMG…

       • 

         Militarytracy on April 25, 2006 at 11:33 am

         that would be sexy.

         • 

           BooMan on April 25, 2006 at 11:51 am

           pontiff sex?  I dunno…

7. 

   olivia on April 25, 2006 at 8:51 am

   U.S. border watchdogs look north, Against ‘illegals’. Grandmother, 73, is proud member

   Critics call them ignorant fear-mongers at best, racist gun nuts at worst. The Minutemen maintain they’re nothing more than the neighbourhood watch transplanted to the U.S. frontier.

   Either way, one thing is certain: Canadians had better get used to their presence along “the world’s longest undefended border.”

   (…)

   Peeking out from under a blue FDNY hat, Johnston explains why he drove over from Vermont to take part in the patrol.

   “I’ve been real concerned about illegal immigration for a long time, going back to the ’60s,” he says. “Another thing, I don’t like to see the working man’s wages lowered by the illegals coming in that’ll work for so much less.”

   Johnston, who has family in Ontario and Quebec, says the threat isn’t from Canadians, but the fact that the country “lets in just about anybody.” He argues immigration should be curtailed almost completely.

   “I think North America has enough population right now,” he says.

   Nice.

   • 

     Knoxville Progressive on April 25, 2006 at 9:03 am

     And they can also serve, once deputized, to keep Americans in.

     • 

       olivia on April 25, 2006 at 10:04 am

       “For the first time in all history, a great nation must go on arming itself more and more, not for conquest–not for jealousy–not for war–but for peace! Pray God it may never be necessary, but if foreign nations don’t sharply heed our warning, there will, as when the proverbial dragon’s teeth were sowed, spring up an armed and fearless warrior upon every square foot of these United States, so arduously cultivated and defended by our pioneer fathers, whose sword-girded images we must be . . . or we shall perish!”

       • 

         Knoxville Progressive on April 25, 2006 at 2:09 pm

         IIRC, one of the plot lines involved “undergound railroad” activities of liberals trying to make it into Canada.

   • 

     Nag on April 25, 2006 at 9:16 am

     Nutjobs add sinister side to debate

     This Denver Post article tells how anti-immigration crazies are threatening anyone who disagrees with them. This is insane:

     Sen. Ken Salazar’s office notified the police when a white supremacist website rallied anti-immigrant activists to attack lawmakers who support any path toward citizenship for illegal immigrants.

     Among the tactics suggested: “Fire-bomb their district offices as a warning, then their private homes if they go ahead with the plan;” “park several Timothy McVeigh-type truck bombs next to the House and Senate office buildings and detonate them;” and “pull a fire alarm in the U.S. Capitol and machine gun them to death as they evacuate.”

     That is just a small sample of the hatred these people are capable of… the article is good and worth a quick read.

     • 

       olivia on April 25, 2006 at 9:57 am

       And these are the people roaming around looking official — wearing NYPD hats, camo, driving hummers, carrying weapons, what is that? Seriously, if I came across them I be scared out of my mind. From my article …

       It goes without saying that those who are armed (there are two) must keep their weapons holstered, unless they face a life-threatening situation.

       ???

     • 

       CabinGirl on April 25, 2006 at 10:05 am

       That was worth the read.

       My son has been coming home complaining about his whacko social studies teacher again…this time, she’s spouting off about sending all the Mexicans back home, they don’t belong here, etc.  And when he tries to point out that we’re talking about people who come here and work hard at jobs many Amercans don’t even want, she refuses to call him anymore.

       How can you be a social studies teacher and never watch anything but Fox news?

       • 

         Knoxville Progressive on April 25, 2006 at 3:26 pm

         I had a social studies teacher in high school (1974-77) for three years (!) who was a member of the John Birch society, a 2nd amendment extremist, and who told us that the apartheid regime in South Africa was “misunderstood.”  

         He called me his “technocrat” because I insisted on arguing that protecting the environment was a government responsibility because once you died of cancer, a lawsuit by your heirs was cold comfort.  (He insisted the courts were the only remedy needed for pollution.)

         And this was in the days before Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, etc.  He must have been in heaven for the last decade or so.  Hope he enjoyed it (heh heh heh).

     • 

       Cali Scribe on April 25, 2006 at 12:04 pm

       There have been death threats reported against Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and Los Angeles Mayor Villagriosa (apologies for the mangled spelling) — to his credit, Governor Ahnold S. (too lazy to type his whole last name) has instructed the Attorney General to conduct a full investigation and come down hard on the perpetrators. I still ain’t votin’ for him come November, but I can give him some grudging respect…

       • 

         Arcturus on April 25, 2006 at 1:31 pm

         here:

         Schwarzenegger told reporters Monday about the threats against Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, both Democrats, during a news conference in his office Monday.

         “There’s something very important that I need to speak to my fellow Californians about,” he said. “It has come to my attention that our Lieutenant Gov. Bustamante and our Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa and other elected officials of Mexican heritage have received disturbing and hateful death threats.”

         Schwarzenegger said he also was disturbed to learn that vandals had torched and spray-painted ethnic insults on a Mexican-owned restaurant in San Diego County earlier this month.   [snip]

         “That is not what California stands for,” Schwarzenegger said. “I’ve asked the district attorneys throughout our state to be vigilant and swift in their actions against those who practice hate against our fellow citizens.”   [snip]

         “We got one postcard from Pasadena that said words to the effect, ‘All you dirty Mexicans should go back to Mexico. The only good Mexican is a dead Mexican,'” [Bustamante spokesman Steve Green] said.    [snip]

         Villaraigosa told the Spanish newspaper La Opinion he wasn’t concerned about the threats.”The important thing is that I have a responsibility to represent everybody in Los Angeles, including immigrants, and I am not going to abandon that responsibility because of the extremists who are making threats,” the mayor said in the paper’s April 14 edition.   [snip]

         On Sunday, Schwarzenegger gave his most detailed comments to date on a proposal to build a 700-mile wall along the border with Mexico to deter illegal immigration, which was included in legislation enacted in the U.S. House of Representatives.

         During an interview on ABC’s “This Week,” the Republican governor said the wall would amount to “going back to the Stone ages.” He also urged the federal government to use high-tech gear and more patrols to secure the nation’s southern boundary.

8. 

   olivia on April 25, 2006 at 8:51 am

   Terror suspects moved to ‘Guantanamo north’, Ottawa’s Mohamed Harkat, 3 others swept away to new Kingston facility

   The $3.5-million federal facility is housed in a renovated building on the grounds of Millhaven Penitentiary. It will be primarily used to house suspected terrorists being held on controversial security certificates. The certificates are issued for non-citizens who authorities feel pose a security threat and allows the government to detain suspects indefinitely while the Federal Court decides their fate.

   CBSA officials said yesterday’s move to the six-cell, maximum security facility was done in the best interest of the suspected terrorists. “They are going to have better access and contact with families,” said CBSA spokeswoman Cara Prest.

   wtf?

   • 

     Knoxville Progressive on April 25, 2006 at 9:00 am

     “They are going to have better access and contact with families,”

     The story left off the second half of the sentence:

     “…than if we turn them over to the Americans for a trip to Guantanamo.”

     I think I’d prefer a Canadian jailer, all things considered…

9. 

   Knoxville Progressive on April 25, 2006 at 8:56 am

   Researchers have found that orbital characteristics of the recently discovered planetoid, “Sedna”, demonstrate the possibility that our sun might be part of a binary star system.  A binary star system consists of two stars gravitationally bound orbiting a common center of mass.  Once thought to be highly unusual, such systems are now considered to be common in the Milky Way galaxy. Sedna moves in a highly unusual elliptical orbit, in resonance with previously published orbital data for a hypothetical companion star.

   The World Bank on Sunday unveiled a new project to promote the use of clean energy in developing countries, where it said 10 to 40 billion dollars a year would be needed to cover the costs of adapting to projected climate change.  And today, on the eve of Africa Malaria Day, the World Bank announced a pledge of $62 million toward fighting malaria in four countries — although critics maintain the international lending institution is incompetent and has failed to deliver on its promises.

   Data gathered from last year’s NASA hurricane research mission and a NASA satellite have improved tropical storm landfall and storm strength forecasts.  The record Atlantic hurricane season last year can be attributed to global warming, several top experts, including a leading United States government storm researcher, said on Monday.

   Scientists at the National institutes of Health have engineered a powerful inhibitor of anthrax toxin that worked well in small-scale animal tests.  If additional testing pans out, they plan in future research to develop similar inhibitors for other diseases.

   Experimental evidence reveals that an invasive species in North America–garlic mustard–negatively impacts the growth of native tree seedlings by disrupting the mutually beneficial relationship of the tree seedlings and fungi on their roots.

   The U.S. will not meet the terms of a treaty to destroy stockpiles of chemical weapons.  The original treaty deadline is April 29, 2007.  But the U.S. has conceded that even with the extension, it will be in noncompliance because it will likely destroy only 66% of its stockpile by 2012 and will probably not eliminate it entirely until 2017 or beyond.  Meeting the 2017 target will depend both on the willingness of Congress to continue funding the chemical demilitarization program despite increasing costs and on cooperation from the affected states and localities.

   With oil costing more than ever before, The Chinese firm Global Bio-Chem Technology Group Co. Ltd., the world’s third-largest corn processor, is pinning its hopes on turning the grain into polyester and plastics.  Meanwhile, China’s largest coal producer Shenhua Group Corp. Ltd. and South Africa’s Sasol Ltd. say their coal-to-liquids technology is worthwhile for generating vehicle fuel if oil stays above US$30 or US$35 a barrel, half its current price. New York oil futures for December 2012 delivery are above US$66.  

   Hmmm…  No global warming rant du jour.  Well, this will have to do:

   Now here’s some real homeland security:  At least 225 industrial plants in this country have switched to using less dangerous chemicals since the 2001 terrorist attacks, lowering the risk that people nearby would be injured or killed by toxic plumes.  While these plants represent only a tiny fraction of the estimated 14,000 nationwide that store or use large quantities of extremely hazardous substances, environmentalists nonetheless cite their efforts as proof that companies and utilities can and should make the switch.  “It demonstrates what is possible with a concerted national effort,” said Paul Orum, the author of the report, “Preventing Toxic Terrorism” which is being published Tuesday by the Center for American Progress, a liberal research and advocacy group.

   Food for thought:  Scientific Illiteracy and the Partisan Takeover of Biology at PLoS Biology.  A snippet:  “…Since 1979, the proportion of scientifically literate adults has doubled – to a paltry 17%…”  Well, I guess I’ll be posting “Science Headlines” for some time to come, LOL.

10. 

    boran2 on April 25, 2006 at 9:17 am

    Link

    Oil Price Pressure Driving Global Switch to Biofuels

    ROME, Italy, April 25, 2006 (ENS) – Worldwide momentum is gathering for a major international switch from fossil fuels to renewable bioenergy, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today. The move is driven in part by record high oil prices, as oil jumped to an all-time high above $75 a barrel last week.

    “The gradual move away from oil has begun. Over the next 15 to 20 years we may see biofuels providing a full 25 percent of the world’s energy needs,” Alexander Müller, the new assistant director-general for the FAO’s Sustainable Development Department, said here.

    Factors pushing for such a momentous change in the world energy market include environmental constraints – increased global warming and the Kyoto Protocol’s curbs on emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases – and a growing perception by governments of the risks of dependence on oil.

    “Oil at more than 70 dollars a barrel makes bioenergy potentially more competitive,” Müller said. “Also, in the last decade global environmental concerns and energy consumption patterns have built up pressure to introduce more renewable energy into national energy plans and to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.”

11. 

    BrendaStewart on April 25, 2006 at 9:50 am

    just my little bit for the gold mine of news

    Love all the articles today you all have brought to us.  I just want to thank you all for your wonderful array of things to read.  I so enjoy it.  Am so glad you all decided to do this for us here.  hugs and have a great day.

    • 

      Militarytracy on April 25, 2006 at 10:58 am

      if he and Bob Casey Jr were roommates in college or something.

12. 

    BrendaStewart on April 25, 2006 at 9:57 am

    from war and piece

13. 

    Militarytracy on April 25, 2006 at 10:57 am

    Notorious Army Wife MilitaryTracy completely, utterly miserably failed today to destroy her husband’s military career when at 7:00 a.m. eastern time the list of W4’s being promoted this year included her spouses name!  I gotta admit that I was sweating it a little bit.  I got so pissed off a few months back when some Fighting Keyboardist Special Forces Wanna Be posted that I had destroyed my husband’s military career and I couldn’t help posting back that the Army was so short handed right now that I could push Rummy down and fart in his face and my husband would still be getting promoted……. but in the dark of the night though sometimes I shuddered to think that I was wrong though and they were going to get me!  Rush Limbaugh, and Rick Santorum, and the Boogeyman were going to get me and my little dog too!

    

    • 

      CabinGirl on April 25, 2006 at 11:03 am

      Woo-hoo!  Does his head still fit through the front door?  🙂

      • 

        Militarytracy on April 25, 2006 at 11:07 am

        home this morning from PT and I was yacking to you joyously about it on the phone, so something about him is noticably different to them.  I haven’t asked them yet though what they noticed perhaps “larger” about him this morning.

    • 

      Second Nature on April 25, 2006 at 1:07 pm

      Yay!  Congrats. 🙂

      • 

        Militarytracy on April 25, 2006 at 1:37 pm

        Taking good care of yourself and your youngsters??….I don’t see you much right now around here as I have been trying to focus some energy on my family right now.  I was so afraid before that Iraq would find no ending and I remember sitting here at this computer reading and writing for hours.  I have been taking some time to live a little again now, knowing that November doesn’t guarantee me anything……but if the roots of my flower dies then I have no garden to tend.

        • 

          Cali Scribe on April 25, 2006 at 7:12 pm

          in his diary, but it bears repeating — we have to take care of our own health (physical, mental, emotional, whatever) to have the strength to fight the Powers-That-Be.

          You take care of yourself and those close to you — we’ll muddle through somehow… 🙂

14. 

    Cali Scribe on April 25, 2006 at 12:08 pm

    of colleges to sneak into your kids’ plans — 23 of the top rated 101 liberal arts colleges do not use SAT or ACT scores in determining admissions…

    WaPo article