Tuesday News Bucket

20 Comments

1. 

   CabinGirl on February 13, 2007 at 7:24 am

   still in the toilet: CBS News

   Two-thirds of Americans say the fighting in Iraq may be beyond the U.S. military’s ability to control, according to the latest CBS News poll. Just 25 percent say the military can be effective in lessening the violence between Iraqis.

   The war continues to take a toll on opinions about President Bush – his approval rating for handling Iraq is just 27 percent, and his overall job approval is just 32 percent – but the public is divided when it comes to what Congress should do about the war.

   So why the hell can’t the Senate even discuss what’s going on there?  That’s what the majority of Americans want…for someone to get us the hell out.  

   And of course, the Bush Administration’s response to his sinking popularity appears to be trying to start another war in Iran, thinking that maybe that ne will work out better for Boy George.

   • 

     AP on February 13, 2007 at 2:13 pm

     So why the hell can’t the Senate even discuss what’s going on there?  That’s what the majority of Americans want…for someone to get us the hell out.

     Amen.

     • 

       CabinGirl on February 13, 2007 at 6:46 pm

       It seems so simple, doesn’t it?  And yet, they refuse to do the right thing.  They won’t even TALK about what to do next.

2. 

   CabinGirl on February 13, 2007 at 7:36 am

   The new W:  AP/Yahoo

   Republican presidential hopeful John McCain  said Monday he fears an offensive by Iraqi insurgents similar to the Tet offensive by the Viet Cong that sent U.S. casualties soaring in Vietnam nearly 40 years ago.

   McCain, a Vietnam war veteran who spent 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war, said in an interview with The Associated Press that it’s not the U.S. presence in
   Iraq that upsets voters but rather the number of casualties and the possibility those numbers could rise.

   The U.S. death toll is more than 3,100 in the nearly four-year-old war.

   In the GOP presidential field, McCain is one of the strongest proponents of President Bush’s plan to increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq by some 21,500.

   If that’s what McCain thinks, why is he such a big proponent of sending more soldiers to Iraq to die?  Isn’t it time to get out?

   Interestingly, the article goes on to say that McCain is sure that Iran is developing nuclear weapons.  McCain is a craven fool who wants to Preznit so much he can’t think straight.

   • 

     michaelmt on February 13, 2007 at 12:17 pm

     You hit it! McCain has an almost psychotic sense of entitlement. He believes he should have been president, deserves to be president, and anything he does to get there is OK. That means speaking at a Creationist convention this evening, and backing/not backing the surge just so he can say “I told you so” in any case. I really don’t think he’s well.

3. 

   CabinGirl on February 13, 2007 at 7:47 am

   on your grilled chees:  here’s the science behind it.

   • 

     Knoxville Progressive on February 13, 2007 at 8:49 am

     Fascinating story.  Loved the photos.

     • 

       AP on February 13, 2007 at 2:26 pm

       …Special Request!

       Can we get an occasional jazz jam every now and again? I miss reading them. I think music calms the savage beast brought on by paying attention to our sucky politics.

       Please, please, please?!?! Just every now and then.

       :<)

       • 

         olivia on February 13, 2007 at 2:53 pm

         Would love to see the fri night jazz jam return … KP? dada? AG?

         • 

           AP on February 13, 2007 at 3:04 pm

           You have a base of support out here!!!

           Just sayin’. No pressure. :<)

     • 

       CabinGirl on February 13, 2007 at 6:47 pm

       I’m going to jump in with olivia and AP on this one.  It was a great series, Knox.

4. 

   Knoxville Progressive on February 13, 2007 at 8:44 am

   Atmospheric carbon dioxide is being pushed deeper into the oceans than previously thought, according to researchers.  The findings mean the oceans may be able to absorb human emissions of the greenhouse gas more rapidly and for longer than currently thought, they say, reducing their impact on global warming. But the research is bad news for the marine organisms that are already suffering from ocean acidification.

   But that’s not all those mollusks will soon have to worry about… International rules allowing the burial of greenhouse gases beneath the seabed have come into force in what could be a step toward fighting global warming, if the costs of the technology is reduced and the risk of leaks can be averted.  The new rules will mean carbon dioxide emitted from power stations and industrial plants can be entombed offshore. This would slow warming while allowing continued use of fossil fuels.  “Storage of CO2 under the seabed will be allowed from 10 February 2007 under amendments to an international agreement governing the dumping of wastes at sea,” said the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) in a statement.

   Just as water helps moderate temperatures of nearby land, large tracts of forests can also help lessen temperature extremes of land in the area.  In the case of large lakes, the water can store a lot of heat without much increase in temperature and release of lot of heat without much decrease in temperature.  Forests play similar roles because the “specific heat capacity” of biomass is several times higher than that of soil and air. Specific heat capacity measures the amount of heat stored or released by a unit of mass for one degree change in temperature.

   Increasingly, Chinese fish are showing up on dinner tables around the world. Concentrations of organic contaminants in many Chinese fish are no higher than those in fish from other parts of the world. However, farmed seawater fish from China contain pollutant levels high enough for researchers to advise limited consumption.  Snubnose pompano and crimson snapper, both cage-cultured seawater fish, fared the worst in the analysis, while freshwater carp and tilapia were relatively low in contaminants. For snubnose pompano, the authors recommend no more than one meal per month, but they say that consumers could safely eat more than 16 meals per month of freshwater farmed fish and wild-caught seawater fish from China.

   • 

     idredit on February 13, 2007 at 10:22 am

     “Absolute Must Read”

     It is an uncomfortable inconvenient scientific truth: we cannot pour into the atmosphere all of the fossil fuels that were buried in the ground over millions of years without creating a different planet, without destroying creation, without being miserable failures in our stewardship of the planet we were blessed with.

     – NASA’s James Hanson

     (H/T: Thinkprogress)

5. 

   olivia on February 13, 2007 at 9:51 am

   via ABC blog (h/t Rawstory): Now It’s Personal: Al Qaeda Calls Bush an Alcoholic Liar

   The latest taped statement from al Qaeda is an unusually personal attack on President Bush, in which al Qaeda’s No. 2 in command, Ayman al Zawahiri, denounces Bush as “an alcoholic, liar and gambler with an addictive personality.”

   • 

     Salunga on February 13, 2007 at 2:19 pm

     Dammit! How did they know? Someone must have leaked that information.

6. 

   idredit on February 13, 2007 at 10:16 am

   (H/T: Thinkprogress) we find what Bush does best: Watch the Video!

   He impersonates and mocks

   and get this: here’s Cheney’s top national security aide, John Hannah contradicting Bush and, Mr. Hannah knows of what he speaks.

   Cheney Aide: 2007 Is `The Year Of Iran,’ U.S. Attack `A Real Possibility’

   These are the diplomatic faces of America to the rest of the world. 22+ months and counting but a lot of time  to live in fear.

7. 

   idredit on February 13, 2007 at 11:03 am

   Geniune Breaking News:

   Iraq says to close borders with Iran and Syria 10:39am ET

   “Iraq says to close its borders with Iran and Syria under new Baghdad security plan, extend hours of night curfew. Details to follow.”  – REUTERS

8. 

   Man Eegee on February 13, 2007 at 11:22 am

   In Gaston County near Charlotte, the imperial wizard of the Mount Holly-based chapter of the Klan says membership is growing faster than he’s seen since joining in the 1960s.

   “People are tired of this mess,” said Virgil Griffin, 62. “The illegal immigrants are taking this country over.”

   Griffin recounted 1960s Klan rallies when dozens, sometimes hundreds, marched through towns such as Mount Holly, Salisbury and Wilmington. “We were strong in the ’60s,” he said. “We’re not that strong now. We’re hoping to get there.”

   The group wants to increase its numbers so it can influence local and national politics. The Klan’s goals include military border enforcement and ending taxpayer-funded services to illegal immigrants.

   linkage

   • 

     AP on February 13, 2007 at 2:20 pm

     I think the jackass is trying to puff himself and his numbers up, but an uptick in membership? I’m not surprised. At all.

9. 

   ask on February 13, 2007 at 2:05 pm

   Russia reclassified as a military threat

   Norwegian defense officials aren’t declaring a new Cold War with Russia, but Norway’s huge neighbour in the northeast is once again being described as a threat, also in the military sense.

   Relations between Russia and Norway have been strained of late, over incidents ranging from illegal fishing in the Barents to collapsed investment prospects in Russian gas fields to Russian restrictions on salmon imports.
   (snip)
   The most revealing was a fresh report from the defense institute FFI (Forsvarets forsvarsinstitutt) that analyzed threats against Norway. In the report, which sets the premises for the Defense Ministry from 2009 to 2012, Russia is identified as a “military threat.” There’s no fear of invasion, but rather a “limited, military action.”

   The report notes that the institute may be criticized for its classification of Russia, but even Defense Minister Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen has altered her word usage of late. She has stressed that Russia isn’t likely to exert power, but notes that its military build-up can’t be overlooked.
   (more)

   (Check link, if only to see Putin playing with toys!)