Clipmarks | Geshizar's clips

93-year-old froze to death, owed big utility bill

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 22:24:38 GMT

clipped by: Geshizar
clipper's remarks: Don't these old people realize that not freezing to death in US is a privilege and not a right. Gee what are they going to do about the bill now.

Clip Source: www.pantagraph.com

By Associated Press

BAY CITY, Mich. -- A 93-year-old man froze to death inside his home just days after the municipal power company restricted his use of electricity because of unpaid bills, officials said.

Marvin E. Schur died "a slow, painful death," said Kanu Virani, Oakland County's deputy chief medical examiner, who performed the autopsy.

A city utility worker had installed a "limiter" device to restrict the use of electricity at Schur's home on Jan. 13, Belleman said. The device limits power reaching a home and blows out like a fuse if consumption rises past a set level. Power is not restored until the device is reset.

The limiter was tripped sometime between the time of installation and the discovery of Schur's body, Belleman said. He didn't know if anyone had made personal contact with Schur to explain how the device works.

"His furnace was not running, the insides of his windows were full of ice the morning we found him," Pauwels told the newspaper.

Tags: freezing to death because you old or poor and the

Utility cutoffs fuel carbon monoxide poisonings

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 22:10:33 GMT

clipped by: Geshizar
clipper's remarks: In Iowa some genius determined that as long as it is 20 degrees or above it's OK to shut down the gas or electricity. Evidently in this state natural laws such as freezing occurring at 32 don't apply. Christ most people won't even leave their dogs outside at 20 degrees.

Clip Source: liheap.ncat.org

January 10 — Severe winter weather and a stormy economy could combine to make one of the season’s common killers, carbon monoxide poisoning, even worse this year, public health and safety officials say.

Coast-to-coast snowstorms and power outages, paired with spiking rates of utility shutoffs spurred by record unemployment, are likely to increase the accidental exposures that typically send more than 20,000 people to the emergency room and kill nearly 500 each year.

I’m pretty sure we’re going to see a big bump in carbon monoxide poisonings this winter,” said Dr. Eric J. Lavonas, associate director of the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center in Denver. “This economy is the perfect storm

Across the country, the number of terminated utility accounts among the nation’s 95.6 million residential energy customers is skyrocketing as the economy sinks, said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association.

Tags: utilitiy companies, gas, heat, electricity

The Sheriff Joe Apartheid Show

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:29:53 GMT

clipped by: Geshizar

Clip Source: promigrant.org

In today's episode we see more footage from the 1/09/09, 1/10/09 Buckeye "crime-suppression" sweep by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

The sweep utilized nearly 200 deputies and "volunteer posse" members, many clad in black ski masks and carrying assault rifles, to look for any violation of the law, including traffic and criminal violations.

After two days, Sheriff Arpaio managed to net 14 suspected undocumented immigrants on minor traffic violations in an area he had characterized as a "hotbed of human smuggling traffic."

When asked about possible racial profiling, Joe also sited a rash of unsolved homicides from 2002-2003 that left 11 undocumented migrants dead as another reason for targeting this particular area

So there we have it. Joe claims he unleashed 200 heavily armed, masked deputies and "posse" to see if they could "stumble onto" some killers in a seven year old coldcase by randomly pulling over every Latino they could find.

[Video]

Tags: masked posse

Shocking: Offshore tax havens of the US corporate elite

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:25:14 GMT

clipped by: Geshizar
clipper's remarks: Shocking, not really.

Clip Source: rawstory.com

Tax money for tax cheats.

It's hard to otherwise describe the continuing federal bailouts that major US companies are enjoying in this woeful era of fiscal disaster, especially when--as a scandalous new report reveals--many of the key players aren't paying taxes.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congress' investigative watchdog, has found that "a majority of America's largest publicly traded companies and the U.S. government's largest federal contractors use multiple subsidiaries in offshore tax havens to conduct business and avoid paying U.S. taxes," writes Carol D. Leonnig for The Washington Post.

The culprits include some corporate giants who are receiving countless millions in bailout money, Leonnig notes.

Tags: waste of money

Bush farewell sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:23:13 GMT

clipped by: Geshizar

Clip Source: rawstory.com

You know things are bad when your former spokesman is comparing you with a character on Charlie Brown.

Or if you're a Republican president and they're going on MSNBC's Countdown.

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann grilled former Bush White House press secretary Scott McClellan last night about the president's farewell address to the nation. McClellan, who turned critic after exiting the White House, didn't exactly wax elegantly about his onetime boss.

"It's hard to talk about moral clarity when you have tarnished our government's moral standing in the world," McClellan said. "If you look at the speech it was really a feel-good farewell speech. It was designed one final chance to burnish his legacy by highlighting his humanity, showing his humanity, his compassion, his inner decency and good intentions."

Tags: bush, idiot, douch bag

US military may be “forced to intervene” if Mexico collapses into civil war

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:11:15 GMT

clipped by: Geshizar

Clip Source: aftermathnews.wordpress.com

America may be forced to intervene in Mexico to prevent the country’s “rapid and sudden collapse” at the hands of organised crime and drug cartels, according to the US army.

Mexico in danger of collapse, says US army

By David Blair, Diplomatic Editor

A report on the “Joint Operating Environment”, compiled by the army’s high command, places Mexico alongside Pakistan as a possible failed state of the future. America, which shares a 2,000 mile border with Mexico, would be the obvious destination for massive refugee flows if its neighbour descended into civil war.

President Felipe Calderon has deployed Mexico’s army in a new offensive against organised crime. This battle against four major drug cartels, along with a myriad of local syndicates, claimed the lives of 5,367 members of the security forces or suspected criminals last year alone.

“Two large and important states bear consideration for rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico,” reads the US army’s report.

Tags: us military, interventin, drug war

Wait list started for TV converter box coupons

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 04:38:23 GMT

clipped by: Geshizar
clipper's remarks: Yet another example of piss poor planning.

Clip Source: www.boston.com

Just weeks before the US switches to all-digital television broadcasting, a federal program to help consumers prepare for the transition has run out of money.

Baker also said that there may not be enough converter boxes to go around, at any price. She said that the NTIA warned Congress last year that demand for the boxes could outstrip supply by as many as 2.5 million units.

"It's a mess," said Richard Doherty, research director for the Envisioneering Group, a Seaford, N.Y., consulting firm that has tracked the digital TV transition. "I've seen enterprising kids running Kool-Aid stands who've had a better understanding of economics."

Baker said one reason for the shortfall was a sharp increase in demand for the coupons in recent months. The NTIA sent out 3.5 million coupons a month between January and September, but the number rose to 3.9 million in October, 4.9 million in November, and 7.2 million in December, "a larger number than we ever would have predicted," Baker said.

Tags: dtv, conversion, coupons

Chicago Sheriff Won't Evict in Home Foreclosures

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:18:33 GMT

clipped by: Geshizar

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

CHICAGO — The sheriff here said Wednesday that he's ordering his deputies to stop evicting people from foreclosed properties because many people his office has helped throw out on the street are renters who did nothing wrong.

"We will no longer be a party to something that's so unjust," a visibly angry Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said at a news conference.

"We have to be sure that when we are doing this — and we are destroying some people's lives — we better be darned sure we're talking about the right people," Dart said.

Dart said he believes he's the first sheriff in a major metropolitan area to stop participating in foreclosure evictions, and the publisher of a national foreclosure database said he's probably right.

Tags: homeowners, evicton

Big Brother Approves Housing Restricitions

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:52:55 GMT

clipped by: Geshizar
clipper's remarks: Not just rentals this also applies to homes that you own and occupy.

Clip Source: www.wowt.com

West Des Moines has approved restrictions on how many unrelated adults can live together in the same house. Only three unrelated adults will be allowed to live in a single-family home.

City officials say the restrictions can reduce problems with parking, traffic and noise that is sometimes associated with over-occupied homes.

The ordinance was approved 3 to 1, with Councilman Ted Ohmart the lone no vote. He says the ordinance is needed but is too restrictive. He thinks the limit should be four.

The law is modeled after an Ames ordinance that was upheld last year by the Iowa Supreme Court.
Violators could be fined up to $750 for a first offense and $1,000 for subsequent offenses.

Tags: housing, government, dumb ass laws

Sarah Palin v the polar bear: who will survive?

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:42:08 GMT

clipped by: Geshizar

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Tim Dowling

The Guardian,

Thursday October 2 2008

The financial crisis may be dominating the US presidential campaign, but the season's most intriguing political battle is shaping up as a straightforward fight for survival between two old foes: Sarah Palin and the polar bear. When the US government decided to classify Ursus maritimus as an endangered species earlier in the year, Palin sued in attempt to overturn the ruling, fearing the label would deter oil and gas exploration in Alaska. The case of Palin v Polar bear will be heard in January. Here's how the contenders size up:

Range
Polar bear: Found across the Arctic regions of five countries; the US, Canada, Russia, Norway and Greenland.
Sarah Palin: Not quite as well travelled. Lives within sight of Russia, but has never ventured there, possibly because of diminishing sea ice.

Tags: palin, polar bears

Al-Mashhadani is against US-Iraqi agreement

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:29:27 GMT

clipped by: Geshizar

Clip Source: raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com

In a rare and important interview, conducted by Al-Arabiya, with Dr. Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani, the head of the Iraqi parliament, he explained how the Iraqi parliament is against signing an agreement with the US.

Dr. Al-Mashhadani discussed both the political and procedural aspects of signing the treaty.

Politically, the majority of Iraq's MPs are against singing any agreements with the US as long as the US is occupying Iraq. It's impossible for the Maliki government to get the approval of a simple majority of MPs, let alone 2/3 majority.

I think the US government should consider a different type of agreements with Iraq: an agreement for a complete withdrawal that leaves no troops, no mercenaries, and no permanent bases (and no 5,000 employees embassy either)

Tags: iraq

Italy Bans Pesticides Linked to Bee Devastation

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:13:27 GMT

clipped by: Geshizar
clipper's remarks: Another country added to the list. Better start unloading Bayer stock.

Clip Source: www.enn.com

The Italian government banned the use of several neonicotinoid pesticides that are blamed for the deaths of millions of honeybees. The Ministero del Lavoro della Salute e delle Politiche Sociali issued an immediate suspension of the seed treatment products clothianidin, imidacloprid, fipronil and thiamethoxam used in rapeseed oil, sunflowers and sweetcorn. The Italian government will start a monitoring program to further investigate the reasons of recent bee deaths.

Italy followed Germany and Slovenia which banned sales of clothianidin and imidacloprid in May. In France imidacloprid has been banned on sunflowers already since 1999. In 2003 the substance was also banned as a sweetcorn treatment. Bayer´s application for clothianidin was rejected by French authorities.

The two substances are produced by the German company Bayer CropScience and generated *800 million in 2007. Imidacloprid is Bayer´s best-selling pesticide.

Tags: environment, bees, pesticides

Bush Favors Bankers Over Soldiers

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:05:12 GMT

clipped by: Geshizar

Clip Source: www.truthdig.com

It was a weird week to be in the United States. On Tuesday, secretary of the treasury Henry Paulson told us that “this is all about the American taxpayer – that’s all we care about.” But when I flipped the page on my morning paper, I came across the latest gloomy statistic which Americans should care more about. “As of Wednesday evening, 4,162 U.S. service members and 11 Defence Department civilians had been identified as having died in the Iraq war.” By grotesque mischance, $700bn – the cost of George Bush’s Wall Street rescue cash – is about the same figure as the same President has squandered on his preposterous war in Iraq, the war we have now apparently “won” thanks to the “surge” – for which, read “escalation” – in Baghdad. The fact that the fall in casualties coincides with the near-completion of the Shia ethnic cleansing of Sunni Muslims is not part of the story.

Tags: duh w, war, debt, death, greed the american way

Will the Pentagon Be the Next U.S. Institution to Crash?

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:02:49 GMT

clipped by: Geshizar
clipper's remarks:

Clip Source: www.truthdig.com

The nuclear physicist Leo Szilard once remarked that the fall of the Soviet system would eventually lead to the fall of the American system. He said that in a two-element structure, the interrelationship and interdependence are such that the one cannot survive without the other.

This comment has been relayed by a friend, and as Szilard has passed to his reward I am in no position to explain his reasoning, but it is possible to restate it in political terms, and we are seeing the result in finance and in war. I think that Szilard was implying what a very intelligent opponent of the United States also said when the Cold War ended. Georgi Arbatov, former head of the U.S.A. and Canada Institute of the Soviet Union, said to an American interlocutor: We are about to do something truly terrible to you. We are going to deprive you of your enemy.

Without the enemy, the machinery of power begins to race, with nothing to resist it; megalomania sets in.

Tags: economics, cold war

McCain Steals Another Obama Cliché

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 02:57:54 GMT

clipped by: Geshizar

Clip Source: www.truthdig.com

First John McCain hopped on the change bandwagon, and now he sounds like he gave the keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic convention. The money quote in this new ad is better in the original Barack Obama.

[Video]

Tags: politics as usual