Fox News Says Poor Are Really Rich – Colbert Explains
Also, here's probably my favorite bizarre story for today.
LAT: Funeral homes offering webcasts of memorial services
The $12-billion funeral industry is increasingly making online-video streaming available to customers. The option enables friends and relatives of the deceased to tune in to services on the Internet if they can't attend in person.So now, when grandma or grandpa passes away, and you just can't make yourself go to the funeral because your hate your inlaws, have no fear! Technology is here! And now you can watch the funeral in the peace and quite of your own living room! And have a beer too!
Much thanks to everyone for their help and encouragement and donations. Waiting now to hear when date for surgery is and Pam is ready to go! woo hoo!
also, thank you to our link angels the Ozarker at Conflicted Doomer and RJ at Global Glass Onion.
And special thanks to RJ for taking time last night to try and explain this debt ceiling situation to me!
If something gets passed on the budget later this afternoon, I'll update the post.
Japan
RawStory: Fukushima protesters urge end to nuclear power
Bloomberg: Tepco Says Highest Radiation Yet Is Detected at Fukushima Dai-Ichi
CBSNews: Syrian crackdown leaves 62 dead, activists say
NYT: Japanese, in Shortage, Willingly Ration Watts
DesdemonaDespair: Fukushima: 50,000 tons of radioactive sludge with no disposal plan – 1,500 tons too toxic to be buried
NYT: Honda’s Quarterly Profit Plunges on Disaster
Global Conflict
LegitGov: Attack on a Patrol in Afghanistan Kills Seven
TheAtlantic: The Ramadan Massacre in Syria
AlJazeera: Fighting back against the CIA drone war
Human rights lawyers and activists in the UK and Pakistan are on a quest for justice and transparency.
DailyMail: Guantanamo Bay prisoners to be interviewed by Scotland Yard in explosive new twist to MI6 torture enquiry
TruthOut: Air Force Pulls Christian-Themed Ethics Training for Nuclear Missile Officers After Publication of Truthout Report
The Air Force, in response to an exclusive report published by Truthout earlier this week, has withdrawn materials used in a training session that relied upon passages from the New and Old Testament and a quote from an ex-Nazi SS officer to teach missile officers about the morals and ethics of launching nuclear weapons.
Telegraph: Iran 'public hanging' video emerges
Video footage of what appears to be a public hanging in Iran in which a group of men are standing on buses with ropes draped round their neck fixed to a bridge before they drive away has emerged.
RawStory: Only 10 of 129 Saudis ‘still in Guantanamo’
BBC: Somalia famine: On the frontline of the aid battle (Video)
(the little child clutching a blankie...heartbreaking)
BBC: Syria unrest: Barack Obama condemns 'brutal' Hama raid
US President Barack Obama has condemned the Syrian authorities crackdown on protesters on Sunday, which activists say has left more than 130 dead.
Sanders.Senate: Legislation to Phase Out Private Military Contractors is Filed in Senate and House
Guardian: Gaddafi is stronger than ever in Libya
The fact Gaddafi has survived the rebellions and Nato bombing undermines the simplistic view of a hated tyrant clinging on
CNN: NATO airstrike kills four Afghan police officers
ActivistPost: Pakistan restricts US diplomats' travel
ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan has imposed new travel restrictions on US diplomats living in the country, a source told AFP Sunday, in the latest sign of ties worsening since the killing of Osama bin Laden.
TulsaWorld: Iraq says it will buy 36 US fighter jets
VancouverSun: Syria army kills 80 people in storming of Hama
CNN: Unrest in Middle East, Africa cast pall over Ramadan for Muslims
Financial News
WashingtonPost: U.S. default could deliver swift hit to consumers
ZeroHedge: On Your Mark, Get Set, (Bank) Run! The Dominoes of Serial Lehman 2.0 (x 4) In The EU Are Falling Into Pace At A Quickening Pace
Salon: President Obama's surrender A bad weekend for the White House: The Tea Party wins, Democrats lose, and the carnage will be even worse next year
UPI: Study: Chance favors wealth concentration (can you say propaganda?)
WSJ: A Tea Party Triumph
The debt deal is a rare bipartisan victory for the forces of smaller government.
WashingtonPost: Why are we in this debt fix? It’s the elderly, stupid.
Time: Bulldoze: The New Way To Foreclose
DailyKos: Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus: 'This is a shady bill'
Guardian: Syria, Libya and Middle East unrest - Monday 1 August Live Blog
MotherJones: Major Study Links Decline of Unions to Rising of Income InequalityThe loss of labor unions explains a full third of the growth of inequality for male workers
CBSMoneyWatch: Entitlement Spending: the Problem the Debt Deal Won’t Fix (I'm going to interject something here that I try not to do, but, there's that "E" word again. Ask youself this question, are you "entitled" to your paycheck at the end of a week of work? Or, are you "entitled" to the money in your saving's account in the bank? Then you are "entitled" to the money you have paid into Socicial Security or Mecidare too.
It drills my tooth to hear the word used as a perjoritive, as though these were some kinds of free hand outs.)
SSA.Gov: Investment Holdings July 31, 2011 Reuters: Goldman's new money machine: warehouses
(Reuters) - In a rundown patch of Detroit, enclosed by a cyclone fence and barbed wire, stands an unremarkable warehouse that investment bank Goldman Sachs has transformed into a money-making machine.
ThinkProgress: The BEA Underestimates Recessions
CNN: Congress set to vote on debt ceiling deal
Spiegel: Interview with Tea Party Co-Founder Mark Meckler
'We Have Compromised Our Way Into Disaster'
Politico: Tea party ready for letdown, prepares payback
Tea party activists braced for disappointment as negotiations on the debt ceiling finally resulted in a deal Sunday, but sent a clear signal to congressional Republicans that they are in no mood to tolerate compromise and will seek retribution against anyone who has not fully supported their agenda.Bloomberg: Manufacturing Weakens From China to U.K.
NYT: Debt Crisis? Bankruptcy Fears? See Jefferson County, Ala.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A few hundred miles north of here, politicians are fighting over debt. It is a spirited debate, full of discussions about what kind of country will be left for future generations and pledges not to kick the can down the road.SeekingAlpha: Judge threatens to sanction CEO of HSBC for 'robo-signing'
But one does not have to go far to see that possible future. Welcome to Jefferson County. This is the end of the road, where the can cannot be kicked any farther.
LAT: Could Apple pull a J.P. Morgan and bail out the U.S. government?
BusinessInsider: The Truth About Chinese Threats To Dump US Debt
CNNOpinion: Wake up GOP: Smashing system doesn't fix it
CNNMoney: Debt ceiling: It's not over until the vote
BusinessInsider: 10 signs the double-dip recession has begun
Many Americans believe that the 2008-2009 downturn never ended
OilPrice.com: GDP is Another Bucket of Cold Water
CapitalGainsandGames: Former Fed General Counsel Supports Constitutional Option on Debt Limit
CapitalGainsandGames: Legal Scholars Support Ignoring the Debt Limit If Congress Fails Its Constitutional Responsibility
WSJ: Leaders Agree on Debt Deal Plan to Cut $2.4 Trillion in Spending, Avoid Default Fails to Resolve Fraught Issues
TheGlobeandMail: U.S.: In state of denial over taxes?
WSJ: White House Issues Fact Sheet on Debt Deal
CNBC: 'Band Aid’ Deal May Pressure S&P to Slash US Rating
CreditWritedowns: Staring into the eye of recession
PoliticalCalculations: The U.S. Enters Into Microrecession
SeattleTimes: US debt limit really doesn't limit debt
NYT: In World’s Eyes, Much Damage Is Already Done
WSJ: U.S. may still face debt downgrade: Buchholz
WashingtonPost: GOP on verge of huge, unprecedented political victory
MSNBC: Highlights of budget and debt limit pact
Reuters: UPDATE 3-Govts welcome U.S. debt deal, still worry about ratings
McClatchy: Experts: Debt deal avoids tackling hard questions
IBTimes: Europe, Asian factory growth stalls in July
BusinessInsider: More And More People Are Betting On An Italian Default
MSNBC: Banking giant HSBC posts $11.5 billion profit, announces plan to slash 25,000 more jobs
Cuts equate to roughly 10 percent of total workforce
Spiegel: For Richer, For Poorer
Europe on the Verge of Becoming a Transfer Union
NYT: Deal May Avert Default, but Some Ask, ‘Is That Good?’
CEPR: Robert Samuelson Redefines "Wealthy"
The Washington Post once ran a front page piece questioning whether people who earned $250,000 a year, President Obama's cutoff for his no tax hike pledge, were really rich. However, it also features Robert Samuelson on its opinion page telling readers that seniors with income of $30,000 a year are wealthy. I'm not kidding.SocialSecurityOnline: Average monthly Social Security benefit for a retired worker
What is the average monthly Social Security benefit for a retired worker?FinancialArmageddon: Not the Only Debt Mess
The average monthly Social Security benefit for a retired worker was about $1,177 at the beginning of 2011. This amount changes monthly based upon the total amount of all benefits paid and the total number of people receiving benefits.
If you want to keep up-to-date tabs on how much cash the U.S. Treasury has (left), click here:
Are We Broke Yet?
But if you want a (scary) picture of another big debt mess, look here:
ZeroHedge: Guest Post: Q2 GDP - The Numbers Don't Add Up
TheTelegraph: US debt crisis: investors fear 'end of empire'
America looks poised to suffer a major blow to its economic dominance despite leaders in Washington trying to thrash out a last-ditch deal on Sunday night to avoid a default.
SFGate: China manufacturing slows further in July
GlobeandMail: Spending cuts may salvage U.S. credit rating
WashingtonPost: In wake of debt deal, Asian and European markets surge
CNNMoney: Manufacturing recovery slows
Peak oil and Energy News
ClimateProgress: The Future of Coal: The “Dead Island of Hashima”
TheOilDrum: Tech Talk - Gulf of Mexico production and hurricanes
PeakOil: Peak oil - are we sleepwalking into disaster?
HuffingtonPost: Big Oil Companies Post Huge Profits On High Gas Prices
Guardian: BP 'has gained stranglehold over Iraq' after oilfield deal is rewritten
New terms mean company will be paid even when production is disrupted, critics claimCrash-Watcher: The relationship between hunger and petroleum consumption-Part 5
BP has been accused of taking a "stranglehold" on the Iraqi economy after the Baghdad government agreed to pay the British firm even when oil is not being produced by the Rumaila field, confidential documents reveal.
The original deal for operating Iraq's largest field – half as big as the entire North Sea – has been rewritten so that BP will be immediately compensated for civil disruption or government decisions to cut production.
Here, I summarize parts 1-4 and put my results into the context of the broader ideas of peak oil, food production and population decline.
HeatingOil: Keystone Pipeline a Step Closer to Fruition
NYT: Data Centers’ Power Use Less Than Was Expected
SAN FRANCISCO — Data centers’ unquenchable thirst for electricity has been slaked by the global recession and by a combination of new power-saving technologies, according to an independent report on data center power use from 2005 to 2010.
Commodities/Metals
Mineweb: Sell U.S. gold reserves to pay bills: gold to reach $16,000 by 2020 - NIA
Pressure group presents damning indictment of U.S. political system vis-a-vis debt ceiling impasse, advocates selling U.S. gold reserves to mitigate debt - if they exist - and sees gold hitting $16,000 or higher by end of decade.
Environmental News
USAToday: New Mount Etna eruption puts on dazzling display
ScientificAmerican: Presidential Commission Seeks Volunteers to Store U.S. Nuclear Waste
In deciding what to do with nuclear waste and where to put it, a blue ribbon commission recommends a consent-based approach rather than congressional fiat
AccuWEather: Terrifying... video of last week's deadly landslide in Seoul, Korea
IBTimes: 250-500 Million MW of Extra Energy Now Roiling the Earth’s Climate System
As extreme weather events multiply, scientists are still in the early stages of understanding how more energy is influencing complex weather phenomenaColumbiaTribune: Nuclear plant will wait to reopen Officials plan an inspection after waters recede.
Despite America's intense political polarization over climate change, the scientific measurement of global warming is not in dispute. Since 1900, the earth as a whole has warmed by 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit, an empirical fact that has become an official U.S. government statistic of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
AccuWeather: Tropical Low to Become Emily Soon
NYT: In the Flood Zone, but Astonished by High Water
DAKOTA DUNES, S.D. — Some skeptical locals offered a warning when developers transformed this mostly barren peninsula at the intersection of two rivers into an exclusive planned community, complete with million-dollar homes and a private golf course designed by Arnold Palmer.IrishWeatherOnline: Mount Etna In Sicily Erupts, Seventh Eruption This Year
WashingtonPost: Legislative riders target environmental protections
ClimateProgress: Steve Milloy, Anti-Science Tobacco Apologist, Now Denies Coal Plant Pollution Kills People
RawStory: EPA proposes new rules on fracking
Prohibited from regulating hydraulic fracturing under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the EPA took to the air, proposing federal regulations to reduce smog-forming pollutants released by the fast-spreading approach to gas drilling.Hat tip to Chesire at Hubberts-Arms for the following story
Xinhuanet: Foxconn to replace workers with 1 million robots in 3 years
TreeHugger: So they struck a deal in Washington last night, cutting back spending on just about everything. Goodbye rail network, investment in green tech and infrastructure, green jobs. Hello 1937, where similar cutbacks put America right back into the Depression. And while they are at it, the Republican House is packing 39 anti-environment riders into legislation.
MSNBC: Drought is damaging Texas' oyster fisheries
Cumulative effects of oil spill, flood have affected entire Gulf Coast
BBC: Pollinators lured away by farmland, study shows
EarthQuake.USGS: Magnitude 6.8 - NEAR NORTH COAST OF NEW GUINEA, P.N.G.
350.org: We're small but we matter
There are few places more remote or expensive to get to than the Republic of the Marshall Islands. As a nation of atolls in the central Pacific ocean, there's little ground between the population of 68,000 and the ocean. Like Kiribait and Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change impacts - such as drought, water scarcity, increased intensity of cyclones and of course sea-level rise.PeakOil: UN: Global Population To Hit 10 Billion
The world’s population is likely to reach 10.1 billion people by the end of the century up from 7 billion this year. It will reach 9.3 billion along the way–probably in 2050.
MSNBC: Severe thunderstorms forecast as heat continues
Northeast and northern Plains, upper Midwest at risk from storms
WashingtonPost: July heat in Washington was unprecedented
TimesDaily: After tornadoes, TVA will replace emergency sirens
A Tennessee Valley Authority official said Wednesday the authority plans to correct a problem that left only 12 of Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant’s required 100 emergency sirens working after the April 27 tornadoes.
America in Decline
DailyBail: Hilarious NASCAR Prayer - Pastor Joe Nelms Gives Thanks For 'Smokin' Hot Wife And The Dodges, Toyotas And Fords'
LVRJ: Police inquiry reveals violations in arrest, beating of videographer
CommonDreams: None Dare Call It Privatization
Dispatch from a high-powered conference spelling out a new strategy for raiding the commons
ActivistPost: Cancer-stricken WTC worker gets $0 settlement check
BlackListedNews: Chinese rush to buy US land
One Chinese office worker paid $8,800 through an online auction by chance and bought 1,000 square meters of land in Miami of US, the Guangzhou Daily reported on Wednesday.AlterNet: $230,000 For a Guard Dog: Why the Wealthy Are Afraid Of Violence From Below
The Florida-based seller, United Solutions of American LLC, said the land belonged to a company near bankruptcy.
Zhuang Nuo, the auction host from Chinese property agency Soufun International, said the land seller also put 100 pieces of 1,000 sq m land up for auction and will offer 30 US investment immigration application forms for the Chinese group buyers who spend more than $200,000.
The 100 pieces of land sold out on July 22 from 73 Chinese buyers. One of them bought 20 pieces.
AlterNet: Debunking the Big Lie Right-Wingers Use to Justify Black Poverty and Unemployment
Economic factors and changes in public policies, not manifestations of "black culture," explain African Americans' relatively poorer economic outcomes.
TruthOut: Congressional Republicans Hack Away at Medicaid While the Rich Hollow It Out From the Inside
NationWires: Medicare cuts nursing home payments by 11 percent WASHINGTON -- Medicare says it will cut payments to nursing homes to correct for an unintended windfall this year, and the industry is warning that quality will be compromised.
Food and Water
FarmWars: Incompetence Sets A Precedent – GE Alfalfa
Xinhuanet: 290,000 people short of drinking water amid ongoing drought in C China province
YONGZHOU, Hunan, July 31(Xinhua) -- Some 290,000 people are short of drinking water and 876,000 more are affected as drought persists in the central province of Hunan, according to local drought relief authorities Sunday.
PeakOil: Food crisis in Asia As the global population rises, farmers, particularly in developing countries, are coming under pressure to increase their crop yields to meet growing demand. D J Clark looks at the problems facing farmers and consumers in different parts of Asia, and examines some of the possible solutions.
Science and Technology
(magnificent!)
HouseofGene: Linux and Other Free Software
BlackListedNews: The Scientific Dictatorship Explained
IBTimes: AT&T to Throttle Heavy Data Users, is T-Mobile Merger the Only Solution?
NASA.GOV: The launch of open.nasa.gov
[July 28, 2011] We are very excited to launch open.nasa.gov - a collaborative platform for the open government community to share success stories and projects they are working on. The content on this site is written by NASA employees and contractors.
Discovery: Genetically Modified Beagle Glows
"Tegon" glows bright green under ultraviolet light in a feat that could eventually help scientists track diseases.
Medical and Health
ScientificAmerican: Gout on the Rise as Americans Gain Weight
Many researchers are proposing a link between the increasing number of gout sufferers in the U.S. and the expanding waistlines of adults
TheTelegraph: Drinking wine could help to stop sunburn
Drinking wine or eating grapes could protect you from sunburn, according to a new study that found a chemical in the fruit can limit cell damage.
Yahoo: Five deaths from Joplin tornado linked to fungal infection
KANSAS CITY, Mo (Reuters) - Injuries sustained from wood splinters or other materials triggered a rare fungal infection that may have contributed to the deaths of five people in the May 22 tornado in Joplin, Mo., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined.
RawStory: Lab-on-a-chip a game-changer in disease detection
CNN: Colon cleansing: Not so healthy, analysis says It has been touted as a natural way to improve your heath and cleanse the soul. But doctors are now finding the procedure known as colon cleansing can cause dangerous side effects.
Mainichi: Nuclear plant workers developed cancer despite lower radiation exposure than legal limit
StateLine: Health law cost study fuels competing claims
New projections show that health care spending will grow faster than the nation’s GDP over the next decade. But the increase will be only slightly more than would be the case without the new national health law.WishTV: West Nile Virus reported in Indianapolis
http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?
Time: One Shot Wonder? Progress on a Universal Flu Vaccine
Doomsteading, Gardening, Urban Farming
Not entirely sure what to make of the video at the following link. It certainly is a big facility though.
newsbad: Safe Zone: Ozarks - Preparing For Years?
Underground Food Storage Facility in Missouri
ModernSurvivalOnline: Survival Tool: Gloves
MotherEarthNews: Forest Gardening: Choosing Smaller Trees & Shrubs
ModernSurvivalBlog: Survival Preparedness for $100 dollars
TransitionVoice: Growing food in even the smallest spaces
Other News
RawReplay: Hugo Chavez releases exercise video
BeforeItsNews: Deadly Horse Virus Found In Dog
NYT: Snacks of the Great Scribblers
Telegraph: Iranian man who blinded student saved from 'eye for an eye' justice
An Iranian man convicted of throwing acid in the face of a female student who was to have been blinded himself on Sunday in retribution was pardoned by his victim, the state-run television website said.
Guardian: 9/11 Ground Zero: why has its rebirth turned sour?
Ten years on from the 9/11 attacks, the project to rebuild New York's World Trade Centre site is still riven by political and professional infighting
USAToday: FBI has 'credible' lead in 'D.B. Cooper' skyjacking case
NYT: Drug Kingpin Wanted in U.S. Is Held in Mexico
The Forums
TinfoilPalace:US on 'brink of default' - senator
TinfoilPalace:Sudden Increased Dream Activity
TheOilAge:The (energy) silver bullet men
TheOilAge:Aftermath: The World Without Oil
Hubberts-Arms:Decline of the Empire: Have You Had Enough Yet?
Hubberts-Arms:Apple has more cash than Uncle Sam
SilentCountry:Lock and load with ammo made from yer loved ones
SilentCountry:Black Swan Event???????
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