Let us be grateful to people who make us happy: They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
– Marcel Proust
– Marcel Proust
Recent Posts
- Day 14: Louisiana Senator Approvingly Compares Trump to Stalin
- Day 13: Elon Musk Flexes His Muscles
- Day 12: While Elon Musk Takes Over, We Podcast With Driftglass and Blue Gal
- Day 11: Harm of Fascist Regime’s Foreign Aid Freeze Comes Into View
- Day 10: The Fascist Regime Blames a Plane Crash on Nonwhite People
in grave condition: WashPo
I’m surprised he’s lasted this long…it seems like it was a long time ago that he handed the governement over to his brother, doesn’t it?
take credit for Castro’s eroding health by saying it’s all that pressure from witnessing the war on terror and bringing Democracy to oppressed people.
now the majority: NYT
So does this mean that some of the negative bias against single mothers will be going away? You know, that stereotype where they’re all frazzled and bitter harridans, scrounging up milk money, raising juvenile delinquents?
Yeah, I doubt it too.
When I was an IST(Instructional Support Teacher), I often dealt with single parents, mostly single Moms. Those old stereotypes are laughable. I often found that single Moms have to be smart with their time, and were good at scheduling time for strategies to improve things such as homework habits or behavioral issues.
Our culture seems to thrive on stereotypes, and boy do they die hard.
harridan sluts scrounging up milk money. Just giving it away and luring many a good and sometimes lying married man astray!
Ah… no wonder you want more shoes… all stiletto heels, no doubt. (ooo, my bunions hurt just to type that) Harridan sluts in heels, every last one of you!.
If I’m going to be a harridan slut (and how on earth could I have left slut out of my list?), I’m wearing my Chaco sandals!
Doctors said Monday their analysis of 31 scientific papers found that human growth hormone — oft-touted as an anti-aging wonder — does nothing to help a person live longer. However, the papers do show that use of the expensive therapy has the potential to create adverse side effects, including such problems as joint swelling and pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and a trend toward increased new diagnoses or pre-diabetes.
The Center for Biological Diversity today filed notice of intent to sue the EPA for violations of the Endangered Species Act, in order to protect 11 San Francisco Bay Area endangered and threatened species and their habitats that are jeopardized by pesticides.
Strong winds of 9,000 mph may gust on three “gas giant” planets outside our Solar System, astronomers have told a US science meeting. Each planet orbits very close to its “Sun”; one side of each world always faces the star, while the other side remains in permanent darkness. Despite this, temperatures across these planets are uniform – and blazing hot. The team believes these winds are mixing the atmospheres, balancing temperatures across the planets. [Maybe it’s because I’m old enough to remember when it was a big deal when we safely landed an unmanned probe on the moon, but the fact that we can even discover things like this – within the same lifetime (and I expect to be here a while yet, LOL) – just blows my mind away.]
An international group of researchers has succeeded in identifying a previously unknown group of algae. As currently reported in the scientific journal Science, the newly discovered algae are found among the smallest members of photosynthetic plankton – the picoplankton. Approximately 50 percent of global photosynthesis is conducted in the world’s oceans where it is dominated by microscopic algae, the so-called phytoplankton. Scientists estimate that up to 90 percent of phytoplanktonic species are currently unidentified. In the present study, scientists used molecular techniques to investigate the smallest members of the plankton, the picoplankton. Because picoplankton algae are so extremely small, they are almost impossible to study by means of microscopy.
A study sheds new light on the neural basis of autism and may pave the way to early diagnosis and potential therapies, such as biofeedback, the authors said. The study provides evidence of a dysfunctional mirror neuron system that may contribute to many impairments, particularly those involving comprehending and responding to the behavior of others, said researchers.
Climate change update: Leading scientists and evangelical Christian leaders have agreed to put aside passionate differences over the origin of life and work together to curb alarming levels of global warming that threaten the survival of life on Earth (public statement / press event is scheduled for tomorrow)… The Economist has a feature on climate engineering to solve global warming, under the title “Dr. Strangelove Saves the Earth.” …Add Lake Chad to the list of disappearing bodies of water: Blaming global warming and human activity, experts are warning that Lake Chad, once Africa’s third largest inland water body, could shrink to a mere pond in two decades.
Finally, since we haven’t had a volcano story in a long time, there’s this: About a dozen new tremors shook the Comoros after the weekend eruption of the Mount Karthala volcano but the threat to residents appeared to be receding, emergency services said Monday. The latest tremors were felt in different areas of Grande Comore, the main island in the Indian Ocean archipelago where the volcano is located, but of lower magnitude than those Saturday and Sunday, they said.
That news on autism is really wonderful. I once tried to pin down a school psychologist (who I really respected) on the nature of autism. He said it was a number of perceptual problems under the “umbrella” of autism. That’s as close as he would come to defining it. No wonder there’s so much confusion about it. An identified neural connection could eventually lead to better ways of dealing with it, if not an actual cure.
If human growth hormone is so bad, imagine what all that bovine growth hormone in our milk and meat is doing.
And that’s why I pay 6 bucks a gallon for organic milk without complaining…
Link
A little-noticed change in federal law packs an important change in who is in charge the next time a state is devastated by a disaster such as Hurricane Katrina.
To the dismay of the nation’s governors, the White House now will be empowered to go over a governor’s head and call up National Guard troops to aid a state in time of natural disasters or other public emergencies. Up to now, governors were the sole commanders in chief of citizen soldiers in local Guard units during emergencies within the state. [snip]
Over objections from all 50 governors, Congress in October tweaked the 200-year-old Insurrection Act to empower the hand of the president in future stateside emergencies. In a letter to Congress, the governors called the change “a dramatic expansion of federal authority during natural disasters that could cause confusion in the command-and-control of the National Guard and interfere with states’ ability to respond to natural disasters within their borders.”
The change adds to tensions between governors and the White House after more than four years of heavy federal deployment of state-based Guard forces to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, four out of five guardsmen have been sent overseas in the largest deployment of the National Guard since World War II. Shortage of the Guard’s military equipment – such as helicopters to drop hay to snow-stranded cattle in Colorado – also is a nagging issue as much of units’ heavy equipment is left overseas and unavailable in case of a natural disaster at home.
In his never ending grab for power, Bush has put the homeland in danger in countless ways.
In W’s hands I’m sure he wants the power to call the NG out to coral, control, arrest and punish or shoot demonstrators against his war, his policies, his insanity. . .without the need to consult with the governor for any reason. He’s the megalomaniac decider, you know. Besides, he will need them all when he attacks Iran and Syria.
And we saw the impact of having no National Guard (or their equipment) available because it was overseas during Hurricane Katrina.
No longer tin-foil: Animal Tags for People?
“Two cousin companies bet the fast-expanding market for animal RFID chips will extend to humans before long.”
Low cholesterol levels linked with higher risk of Parkinson’s disease. Fears that statins could cause increase in illness
“Scientists are to investigate why people with low cholesterol levels appear to be more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease, following concerns that statins – given to control cholesterol – could cause an increase in the numbers of people with the illness.”
On the Menu: from cloned meat and milk, GM chickens to produce ‘Anti-cancer eggs’
“UK scientists have developed genetically modified chickens capable of laying eggs containing proteins needed to make cancer-fighting drugs.
The breakthrough has been announced by the same research centre that created the cloned sheep, Dolly.”
Nice to see that we’re so afraid of heart disease that we’re willing to create bigger neurological problems in the pursuit of lower cholesterol levels.
Why don’t we all just eat less and be more active?
Those statins shut down the liver’s production of cholesterol both HDL and LDL. Not a good idea to hut down any aspect of the liver function – leads to serious trouble. There are natural food alternatives.
I predicted that about the chips ever since I saw the first ad to chip your pet.
Then the government can truly track you, night and day, everywhere you go.
Has anyone checked the fascism clock? We’re just seconds from midnight and no one seems to care.
That was hysterical. And the look on Condi’s face at the end! She knows she’s a vile evil bitch…
She talks on and on and on and Dodd didn’t even want to hear about Iran but he was going to whether he wanted to or not. So she talked right over Dodd’s request like he didn’t even matter, just like my daughter does when I don’t want to hear the new story why she’s an hour late getting home….then the guy in the back with his signs is just precious.
Some breaking welcomed news out of Israel. Ha’aretz reporting,
Israeli, Syrian representatives reach secret understandings
In a series of secret meetings in Europe between September 2004 and July 2006, Syrians and Israelis formulated understandings for a peace agreement between Israel and Syria. The main points of the understandings are as follows:
# An agreement of principles will be signed between the two countries, and following the fulfillment of all commitments, a peace agreement will be signed.
#As part of the agreement on principles, Israel will withdraw from the Golan Heights to the lines of 4 June, 1967. The timetable for the withdrawal remained open: Syria demanded the pullout be carried out over a five-year period, while Israel asked for the withdrawal to be spread out over 15 years.# Israel will retain control over the use of the waters of the Jordan River and Lake Kinneret.
# The border area will be demilitarized along a 1:4 ratio (in terms of territory) in Israel’s favor.
# According to the terms, Syria will also agree to end its support for Hezbollah and Hamas and will distance itself from Iran.
And naturally, since we won’t talk with Syria,we are left to asked What’s going On? The Syrian Foreign Ministry denies the report but obviously talks did happen because
PM Olmert denies any of his government officials involved in secret Syria talks.
“It was a private initiative.”
Imho, it’s a start.
all that crap on SUnday night about the troops supporting the BushCo splurge: WSJ
When will the mainstream media start callingthis surge thing what it is: the crazy man in the White House thumbing his nose at all of America and the world?
Hot News day. Just in from Reuters.
Prosecutor orders criminal probe of Israel’s Olmert