Clipmarks | tabsey's Comments

Panel calls for new War Powers Act

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:57:50 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: "The current War Powers Resolution is 'ineffective at best and unconstitutional at worst,' and should be scrapped"

Clip Source: cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com

Panel calls for new War Powers Act

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The United States needs a new law requiring that the president consult with Congress before going to war, a blue-ribbon panel led by two former secretaries of state will say Tuesday.

The current War Powers Resolution is “ineffective at best and unconstitutional at worst,” and should be scrapped, James A. Baker III and Warren Christopher write in Tuesday’s New York Times, previewing the conclusion of the year-long study they led.

The recommendation follows failed efforts by Democrats in Congress to put a stop to the war in Iraq or to put conditions on President Bush’s conduct of it. Congress passed a joint resolution to authorize armed force against in Iraq in 2002, but some Bush opponents say it should not have been interpreted as a blank check for the United States to invade and occupy the Gulf nation.

Tags: foreign policy, politics

President Bush Edits Thomas Jefferson

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:14:36 GMT

clipped by: dulios
clipper's remarks: Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law.
-Thomas Jefferson, letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper, February 10, 1814

Clip Source: scienceblogs.com

Bush Edits Out Jefferson's Religious Views

President Bush was at Monticello for a 4th of July celebration and he delivered an address. But it's quite telling that his speechwriters, in quoting Jefferson, cut out an anti-religious statement from a long and famous quote. Here's the way Bush put it:

"May it be to the world, what I believe it will be -- to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all -- the Signal of arousing men to burst the chains, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government."

Now let's look at the full quote

May it be to the world, what I believe it will be, (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all,) the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government.

Tags: bush, jefferson, independence day, religion

Australia's Climate Change Report Reads "Like a Disaster Novel"

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:39:42 GMT

clipped by: Socratoad

Clip Source: www.socialmedian.com

Australia's Climate Change Report Reads "Like a Disaster Novel"

The conclusions of a new report written by Australia's top climate scientists are grim: Heatwaves are expected to increase 10-fold while droughts will almost double in number and become more widespread -- possibly impacting an area twice as large as now. Rainfall is also projected to continue its long decline throughout the country.
The report's release prompted agriculture minister Tony Burke to compare the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO's (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) findings to "a disaster novel," according to Read the full article

The World's First Flying Saucer: Made Right Here on Earth

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:04:44 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: Using an onboard source of energy (such as a battery, ultracapacitor, solar panel or any combination thereof), the electrodes will send an electrical current into the plasma, causing the plasma to push against the neutral (noncharged) air surrounding the craft, theoretically generating enough force for liftoff and movement in different directions (depending on where on the craft's surface you direct the electrical current).
The concept sounds far-fetched, but U.F. mechanical and aerospace engineering associate professor Subrata Roy plans to have a mini model ready to demonstrate his theory within the next year.

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

If a professor at the University of Florida (U.F.) has his way, the first flying saucer to grace Planet Earth's skies isn't likely to come from outer space but rather from Gainesville, where the faculty member is drawing up plans to build a circular aircraft that can hover in the air like a helicopter without any moving parts or fuel.

In other words, it will look like a UFO, but will actually be more of an IFO—an identified flying object.

The saucer will hover and propel itself using electrodes that cover its surface to ionize the surrounding air into plasma. Gases (such as air, which has an equal number of positive and negative charges) become plasma when energy (such as heat or electricity) causes some of the gas's atoms to lose their negatively charged electrons, creating atoms with a positive charge, or positive ions, surrounded by the newly detached electrons.

Tags: ufo, flight, technology, aircraft

A Little Welcome Home from the Torture Masters

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 03:45:31 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: "As they ridiculed me, they took delight most in mocking letters I had received from readers in England. I had now been without food and water and the toilet for 12 hours, and having been made to stand, my legs buckled. I vomited and passed out. All I remember is one of them gouging, scraping and clawing with his nails at the tender flesh beneath my eyes. He scooped my head and dug his fingers in near the auditory nerves between my head and eardrum. The pain became sharper as he dug in two fingers at a time. Another man had his combat boot on my neck, pressing into the hard floor. I lay there for over an hour. The room became a menagerie of pain, sound and terror."

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

From triumph to torture

Clip Source: www.ukzn.ac.za

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

I presented a young Palestinian, Mohammed Omer, with the 2008 Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism

shares the prize of £5,000 with Dahr Jamail. At 24, he is the youngest winner

Clip Source: www.ips.org

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

An Israeli bulldozer crushed his home while the family were inside, seriously injuring his mother

Clip Source: www.peaceworkmagazine.org

Clip Source: www.september11news.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Dutch ambassador, Jan Wijenberg, "he is a moderating voice,

seized by Shin Bet,

call his embassy escort and was told forcefully he could not

"Where's the money?"

"Where is the English pound you have?"

surrounded by eight Shin Bet officers, all armed

I stripped down to my underwear

Avi put his hand on his gun. I began to cry: 'Why are you treating me this way?

'This is nothing

gun out, pressing it to my head and with his full body weight pinning me on my side, he forcibly removed my underwear

dance

I vomited and passed out

gouging, scraping and clawing with his nails at the tender flesh beneath my eyes

combat boot on my neck

ambulance

a hospital

signed a statement indemnifying the Israelis

medic refused

Clip Source: www.pbsguide.org

Clip Source: www.palestinechronicle.com

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Dutch embas

Tags: israel, torture, journalist, award, prize, theft, shinbet

Victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:18:58 GMT

clipped by: Socratoad
clipper's remarks: This over the top display of greed and corruption makes me physically ill

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

BILOXI, Mississippi (CNN) -- Prisons in Mississippi got coffee makers, pillowcases and dinnerware -- all intended for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

The state's Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks took more coffee makers, cleaning supplies and other items.

People check out the second story of a home sitting on the ground in Biloxi, Mississippi, after Katrina in 2005.

Plastic containers ended up with the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration.

Colleges, volunteer fire departments and other agencies received even more.

But the Mississippi hurricane victims who originally were intended to receive the supplies got nothing, a CNN investigation has found. Watch victims tell why they need the items »

Muslims as Jews?

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 08:29:51 GMT

clipped by: Charlie Martel 732AD

Clip Source: jihadwatch.org

Muslims as Jews?

Some Muslims don't feel like the Jews of Europe

Fraught with contradictions: “British Muslims 'feel like the Jews of Europe,'” by Murray Wardrop for the Telegraph, July 4:

Shahid Malik, the UK's first Muslim minister, said it has become legitimate to target Muslims in the media and society in a way that would be unacceptable for any other minority.

Fair enough. To this observation, however, the following question springs to mind: Why are Muslims, specifically, being targeted in the first place? It can’t be because Brits simply like to target ethnic or religious minorities, since, according to Shahid’s own statement, Hindus, Buddhists, and blacks are not being similarly targeted. Why is it always only Muslims?

The MP for Dewsbury, West Yorks, said many British Muslims now feel like "aliens in their own country" as society turns a "blind eye" to their persecution.

Tags: islam, muslims, islamofascism, jews

State of emergrncy for crumbling Pompeii

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:59:49 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: 13,000 people once lived in Pompeii, which is now being visited by around 2.5 million tourists each year, while the 1/3 that remains uncovered has become a Naples garbage dump.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Silvia Aloisi

The Italian government has declared a state of emergency at Pompeii in an effort to rescue one of the world's most important cultural treasures.

A Italian cabinet statement says it will appoint a special commissioner for Pompeii, the ancient Roman city buried by an eruption of the Vesuvius volcano in 79 AD and now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Bogus tour guides, illegal parking attendants and stray dogs also plague visitors.

2.5 million tourists visit Pompeii each year, making it one of Italy's most popular attractions, and many have expressed shock at the site's decay

"Every year at least 150 square metres of fresco and plaster work are lost for lack of maintenance," says Antonio Irlando, a regional councillor responsible for artistic heritage

"The same goes for stones: at least 3000 pieces every year end up disintegrating," he says.

Two-thirds of the 66 hectare town, home to some 13,000 people in the Roman era, have been uncovered since serious excavations began 260 years ago.

Physics of the Impossible

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:16:31 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: 'If this all sounds like pie in the sky, think again. After all, how would physicists 200 years ago have reacted if you'd told them about the internet, the atomic bomb or the moon landings? What would they have made of Einstein's theory of relativity?"

Clip Source: www.bryanchristiedesign.com

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

Precognition may not be possible, but a speculative physicist can predict a future of teleportation and starships

Michio Kaku doesn't know the meaning of the word "impossible".

for those of us not au fait with the process of speculating on the future of physics, he's split his impossibilities into three categories. Class I impossibilities are technologies which are impossible today, but don't violate the known laws of physics. Kaku reckons that these impossibilities – including things such as teleportation and psychokinesis – might be possible in some reduced form sometime within the next couple of hundred years.

Class II impossibilities such as time machines and hyperspace travel are at the very edge of our scientific understanding, and may take millions of years to become possible.

Class III impossibilities, are technologies which break the laws of physics as we know them.

Top 5000 Surnames in the US - Census Listing

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:31:05 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Smith remains the most common surname in the United States, according to a new analysis released yesterday by the Census Bureau. But for the first time, two Hispanic surnames — Garcia and Rodriguez — are among the top 10 most common in the nation, and Martinez nearly edged out Wilson for 10th place.

Garcia moved to No. 8 in 2000, up from No. 18, and Rodriguez jumped to No. 9 from 22nd place. The number of Hispanic surnames among the top 25 doubled, to 6.

Compiling the rankings is a cumbersome task, in part because of confidentiality and accuracy issues, according to the Census Bureau, and it is only the second time it has prepared such a list. While the historical record is sketchy, several demographers said it was probably the first time that any non-Anglo name was among the 10 most common in the nation.

Altogether, the census found six million surnames in the United States. Among those, 151,000 were shared by a hundred or more Americans. Four million were held by only one person.

Canada best to escape climate change

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 05:19:57 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: "Canada is the best country to move to if you want to escape the dangers of climate change."

Clip Source: www.bryanchristiedesign.com

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Canada is the best country to move to if you want to escape the dangers of climate change.

A new study by UK global risk advisory firm Maplecroft of nations’ vulnerability to the impacts of global warming found Canada was the most secure, while the Comoros Islands, off the coast of Africa, are least equipped to deal with future dangers.

The Climate Change Risk Report examined how well equipped countries are to deal with the threats posed by global warming, from increased droughts to rising sea levels.

Developed nations scored best in the ranking with Canada top, followed by Ireland, Norway and Denmark. Britain came 12th, just behind the United States.

The map shows worldwide vulnerability to the effects of climate change

Dr Andy Thow, one of the authors of the study, said: "Canada is extremely well equipped to adapt to changes in climate.

couple let thier lawn die to save water!

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 02:49:34 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane
clipper's remarks: they should write to schwarzennegger as he was the one that declared the drought!

Clip Source: www.redorbit.com

The husband and wife bought a home in east Sacramento for easy biking to work and shopping. They installed solar panels and efficient appliances. Their laundry dries on a clothesline.

So when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought June 4, Hartridge decided it was only right to let her front lawn die to save water.

But that ethic didn't agree with her neighbors, or with the city.

Before Hartridge could plan new landscaping, a neighbor complained to the city about her brown lawn, and the Code Enforcement Department slapped the family with a citation.

Their small brick home was declared a "public nuisance" in violation of city code section 17.68.010, which states that front yards "shall be irrigated, landscaped and maintained."

A $746 fine will be next unless they correct the violation.

Neighbor Lois Guy, a retiree, thinks the situation is "crazy."

She also called her city councilman, Steve Cohn, who did not respond. Cohn also didn't return a call from The Bee on Tuesday.

McCain campaign: special treatment for compliant media

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:59:23 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: VIP section on airplane for media who never challenge the Senator. I guess this is like "embedded" reporting.

Clip Source: www.dailykos.com

This week, the media continued to bend over backwards to repeat whatever narrative McCain wants them to. He even refurnished his airplane with a VIP section for the most obedient reporters.

Top McCain aide Mark Salter said "‘only the good reporters’ would get to sit in the specially-configured section for interviews. ‘You’ll have to earn it,’ he said." So how can these reporters "earn" a seat? Never challenge the Senator

Tags: mccain, politics

Solar powered Prius!!

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 02:55:31 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: Now this is exciting news! This type of innovation is exactly what the world needs to help us lose our dependency on oil. It is also the type of progress that i believe will spur the economy out of its very nasty funk.

Clip Source: www.marketwatch.com

The move will make Toyota the first major automaker to install a popular model with solar panels. The redesigned Prius will have solar panels on the roof, which will supply part of the two to five kilowatts needed to power the air-conditioning unit, the Nikkei business daily reported.

Tags: alternative energy, oil, prius, solar

The Subway

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 17:05:56 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: Is it just boys?

Clip Source: niemann.blogs.nytimes.com

My sons Arthur, 5, and Gustav, 3, are obsessed with the New York City subway system.

They can barely sit through an episode of “Sesame Street.” But when we go for aimless subway joy rides on the weekends, they sit like little angels, devoutly calling out the names of every station for hours.

People often ask me for directions in the subway. Even though I know my way around rather well, I still have to defer to Arthur very often. Yet it seems people don’t trust the advice of a preschooler. They should.

Arthur knows the map so well that when he got his first pair of subway-map socks, he pointed out with a chuckle that it had the Q still running as an orange line.

The two happiest words Arthur and Gustav can hope to hear are “service changes.”

However, the other passengers in the car gave me warm smiles. I guess they hadn’t seen that many 3-year-olds sobbing, “Local…I want the local.”

a little gap between some bushes, from which you can see the Franklin Avenue shuttle train go by