There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.
– Douglas Adams
– Douglas Adams
Kind of hard to imagine things getting even more bizarre and inexplicable…
is getting annoyed with BushCo: Guardian
Good job, Dick.
Yeah, that’s the way to do it… send Cheney to sneer insults. That’s Bush’s version of diplomacy.
They do only seem to have 2 (okay 3) ways of dealing with problems: the “I-won’t-negotiate-with-you-at-all” approach, or the “I’ll-just-insult-you” approach. And the “We’ll-just-lie-and-start-a war-with-your-country” approach.
And I never ever thought I’d say that until I saw this little brouhaha. It was Bush who was wrong to buddy up to Putin. Cheney isn’t wrong to denounce him (though he’s a bit of a hypocrite, and certainly dead wrong, not to mention pure evil, in pretty much every other stance he takes).
C’mon: let’s not get reflexively pro-Putin because we have to say “black” whenever Cheney says “white” or vice versa!
-Alan
Link
Surely there must be some payoff for big business here. Sponsorhip by Coke?
I’m afraid she’s whoever the big corporate donors want her to be….
I think you’re absolutely right CG. I’m interested in how many people are calling her out these days. Molly Ivins did in a BIG way a few months ago. Markos did in the WaPo last Sunday. And now Richard Cohen. Others??? Wonder if any of her high paid consultants are getting worried? I doubt it, but a girl can dream.
My first reaction to his question was, How do define prostitute?, second thought was Kathleen Turner as Chine Blue in Crimes of Passion: “I’m anyone you want me to be… your teacher, your mother, Mother Theresa….” Anything could be had for a price. Prostitution is the ultimate basic form of role playing.
Now, back to the news…
link
Shortcomings in basic health care, obesity cited for low rank among modern nations
Among 33 industrialized nations, the United States is tied with Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia with a death rate of nearly 5 per 1,000 babies, according to a new report. Latvia’s rate is 6 per 1,000.
“We are the wealthiest country in the world, but there are still pockets of our population who are not getting the health care they need,” said Mary Beth Powers, a reproductive health adviser for the U.S.-based Save the Children, which compiled the rankings based on health data from countries and agencies worldwide.
The U.S. ranking is driven partly by racial and income disparities. Among U.S. blacks, there are 9 deaths per 1,000 live births, closer to rates in developing nations than to those in the industrialized world.
“Every time I see these kinds of statistics, I’m always amazed to see where the United States is because we are a country that prides itself on having such advanced medical care and developing new technology … and new approaches to treating illness. But at the same time not everybody has access to those new technologies,” said Dr. Mark Schuster, a Rand Co. researcher and pediatrician with the University of California, Los Angeles.
The Save the Children report, released Monday, comes just a week after publication of another report humbling to the U.S. health care system. That study showed that white, middle-aged Americans are far less healthy than their peers in England, despite U.S. health care spending that is double that in England.
This article ties in nicely with Ductape Fatwa’s current diary about our health care system. This proves that privatization of our health care has done nothing to improve the state of our health; it just adds to the wealth of those corporations who run it.
shot down as unconstitutional: Kaisernetwork.org
For anyone who might not recognize this, this legislation was similar to another Bushco policy that prohibits NGOs that accept US family planning funds from even talking about abortion; not only do organizations have to agree not to provide abortions, but they cannot refer patients to other abortion providers or counsel patients on the option of abortion, even with non-US funds.
Here we have yet another mystery…;o(
the Washington post
Busy day today, so the science headlines will have to wait until lunchtime. Here’s a little something to tide you over, however:
Maybe he should call it Freedonia.
Mostly space-related news today, for some reason (maybe life on earth is too depressing?)
U.S. scientists in Utah say they have found yet another contributing force to polar warming: haze. Arctic haze — consisting of particulates from mid-latitude cities — mixes with thin clouds, enabling them to become more efficient at trapping heat. The effect makes the Arctic up to 3 degrees Fahrenheit warmer during polluted, cloudy episodes than it would be if the air was clear.
NASA and US aeronautics giant Boeing have denied holding talks with Japan’s space agency to develop a supersonic jet to succeed the defunct Anglo-French Concorde. “It’s my understanding there is no discussion on that at this time with the Japanese,” said Melissa Mathews, a spokeswoman with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Mathews and a Boeing spokeswoman, Debbie Nomaguchi, said separately that they were “not aware of any plan” to discuss a project on a supersonic jet.
The Sun’s Great Conveyor Belt has slowed to a record-low crawl, according to research by NASA solar physicist David Hathaway. “It’s off the bottom of the charts,” he said Wednesday. “This has important repercussions for future solar activity.” The Great Conveyor Belt is a massive circulating current of hot plasma within the Sun. It has two branches, north and south, each taking about 40 years to perform one complete circuit. Researchers think the turning of the belt controls the sunspot cycle, which is why a slowdown is important. “The slowdown we see now means that Solar Cycle 25, peaking around the year 2022, could be one of the weakest in centuries,” Hathaway said. [The effects of sunspots and the sun’s magnetic field not only concern astronauts, but also may have effects on terrestrial weather as well (see last paragraph here) – a period of low sunspot activity would buy us some breathing room in addressing global warming, as it has been correlated with a cooler climate. – K.P.]
Don’t forget – this weekend is prime viewing for the crumbling comet passing by earth.
Finally, a plausible explanation for how Neptune captured its errant moon Triton. About 40 per cent larger than Pluto, Triton moves through its tilted orbit in the opposite direction to Neptune’s rotation. This is the hallmark of a captured body, rather than one formed in situ, but astronomers have never been able to work out how Neptune managed to capture Triton – until now. It seems that Triton was wandering through space locked in the gravitational embrace of a companion when the pair happened to pass by Neptune. The gravity of the giant planet extricated Triton from its partner, flinging one into deep space and keeping the other as a moon.
Physicists struggling to understand how black holes behave in the extra dimensions posited by string theory should turn off their computers and turn on their kitchen faucets, a new study suggests. The objects act just like narrow streams of water that begin to separate into drops. The research suggests relatively simple calculations could shed light on how gravity itself behaves in extra dimensions – a knotty problem that currently relies on complicated numerical solutions to Einstein’s equations of general relativity. I’m not even going to try and describe this in two or three sentences; you’ll just have to go read it for yourself.
NASA will have two scientific instruments on India’s maiden voyage to the moon. Tuesday, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin and his counterpart, Indian Space Research Organization Chairman G. Madhavan Nair, signed two Memoranda of Understanding in Bangalore, India, for cooperation on India’s Chandrayaan-1 mission. [Apparently India isn’t holding a grudge after NASA stiffed them yesterday on the promise to send one of their astronauts up on the shuttle… – K.P.]
The original aim of the UN: peaceful conflict resolution
ElBaradei urges compromise in Iran nuclear row
“Washington on edge over Rove, again… Networks plan
to stake out courthouse Friday… Developing hard….”
I really do love RawStory
OK, I know that I’m wearing my heart on my sleeve but it’s been there all my life… so where else would it go? 😉