Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Breaking News Wed. March 21, 2012

hello friends! Here's something cool to start the day off with.

Video: Dutchman Flaps His Arms And Flies
Some people are somewhat skeptical that little motors, shallow flapping, and trotting along a flat field are enough to launch a tall Dutchman into the air. You can watch the video and let us know what you think.
I tried to do that when I was  a little girl and made wings out of newspaper and sticks and clothes pins, I put them on and jumped off the smoke house. I didn't fly needless to say but, maybe someone has finally done it!!!
the link above goes to Popular Science and there are a lot of people that don't believe the video is real.

and this, from the lovely and wise Ozarker.
Telegraph: Rick Santorum under fire over ranting rightwing pastor (video at the link)
Rick Santorum is facing some awkward questions after footage emerged of a radical evangelical preacher opening a campaign rally with calls for all non-Christians to “get out” of America. 
In the footage, filmed at the Greenwell Springs Baptist Church in Louisiana yesterday, Pastor Dennis Terry told a crowd that anyone who doesn’t worship God should leave the country, before calling on people to "stand up" against" gay people, liberals and women who have abortions.
“Listen to me. If you don’t love America, and you don’t like the way we do things, I’ve got one thing to say, get out!,” he said. “We don’t worship Buddha, we don’t worship Mohammed, we don’t worship Allah. We worship God. We worship God’s son Jesus Christ.”

Much thanks to RJ at the Global Glass Onion and the Ozarker at Conflicted Doomer for their help with stories today. Do support their good work and visit their blogs today.
also, check out the forums! I've added Ches's new forum at the bottom of the post.

Japan

Global Conflict
BlacklistedNews: US Mercenary 'Took Part' in Gaddafi Killing; Sent to Assist Syrian opposition
US government officials requested that an American private security firm contact Syrian opposition figures in Turkey to see “how they can help in regime change,” the CEO of one of these firms told Stratfor in a company email obtained by WikiLeaks and Al-Akhbar.
AFP: Iran will produce nuclear weapons if attacked: Russia
Bloomberg: Israelis Grow Confident Strike on Iran's Nukes Can Work  - A widely held assumption about a pre-emptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities is that it would spur Iranian citizens -- many of whom appear to despise their rulers -- to rally around the regime. But Netanyahu, I’m told, believes a successful raid could unclothe the emperor, emboldening Iran’s citizens to overthrow the regime (as they tried to do, unsuccessfully, in 2009). 
ABC: Footage emerges of French school killings 
LAT: French police in standoff with suspect in Jewish school slayings
UPI: Clinton touts steps to isolate Iran - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday 11 countries have become the first to "significantly reduce" imports of oil from Iran.
NYT: French Police Raid Toulouse HouseThree French police were wounded in a standoff with a man claiming Al Qaeda ties who is suspected of killing 4 people at a Jewish school this week.

OWS
 Not just the Chicago police are gearing up for "urban warfare" during the upcoming NATO summits; even their horses will be sporting riot gear, including nose guards, leg shields and visors. For bipeds, check out the Damascus FX1 FlexForce Modular Hard Shell Full Body Crowd Control System - $545.95 - "the ultimate high-threat level riot control, domestic disturbance, and cell extraction suit," providing "substantial protection from blunt force trauma without sacrificing the fit or comfort." Polarization City: We need George Orwell, Martin Luther King, Mandela, Gandhi. We need something.


Domestic Financial News
WashingtonPost: Ryan’s budget: Should the poor pay for deficit reduction? - Here’s the basic outline of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s 2013 budget in one sentence: Ryan’s budget funds trillions of dollars in tax cuts, defense spending and deficit reduction by cutting deeply into health-care programs and income supports for the poor.
MacroMarketMusings: Don't Worry, Be Happy: Treasury Yield Edition - Is it time to start panicking about the recent rise in long-term treasury yields? Are the bond vigilantes finally attacking? Ryan Avent says no. I agree and am quite elated to see long-term yields rising. You should be happy too. Here is the reason why:
CalculatedRisk: LPS: 91,086 completed foreclosures in January 2012
WSJ: Ryan Plan Revives Deficit Duel - Rep. Paul Ryan's budget instantly became the centerpiece of an election-year debate over the size of government on Tuesday, thrusting back into the spotlight a topic—the deficit—that has been largely overlooked by the presidential candidates.
BOTC: Graph of the Day: President Obama, Fiscal Conservative? - A graph that purports to establish Bill Clinton and Barack Obama as the two most fiscally conservative presidents in modern history has been making its way through the blogosphere,
BusinessInsider: Ben Bernanke Murders The Gold Standard: Ben Bernanke just gave the first lecture of his 4-part series on the origins of the Fed. We'll have full transcripts and slides later, but one thing really stood out…. He spent a lot of time talking about the gold standard, and he just murdered it.
BusinessInsider: Warren Buffett Is Still Spanking Two Hedge Funders In A Bet He Made In 2008
LibertySt.Economics: Just Released: January’s Indexes of Coincident Economic Indicators Show Fairly Robust Activity across the Region
Economix: Marital Status and the Recession - Job losses among women during the recent recession exhibit a curious pattern by marital status that is revealing about the importance of labor demand and supply factors. During the 2008-9 recession, job losses were not equitably shared; employment rates fell more for some groups than others. Not surprisingly, employment changes varied by industry, with the greatest percentage job losses in residential construction and large job losses in manufacturing. It is also well known that job losses were greater among men than among women – the so-called mancession – largely because men had been more likely to work in the residential construction and manufacturing industries that were hit hardest.
CapitalGainsAndGames: Pay No Attention To The Latest Paul Ryan Budget
CNBC: Alan Blinder Warns of U.S. Fiscal 2013 Cliff
MSNBC: Bernanke warns of possible European 'contagion'
SeattleTimes: Goldman Sachs fund may lose 11 Seattle, Bellevue office buildings - A Goldman Sachs affiliate is weeks from defaulting on the $896 million loan it took out to buy one of the biggest collections of office buildings in the Seattle area.
Zerohdege: No Housing Recovery On This Chart Either
SFGate: Mets owners settle Madoff case - may avoid paying
MSNBC: US companies lose as sanctions strangle Iran  - Sanctions hold up money for legal exports like medicines and diaper materials
MarketWatch: Q&A with Sheila Bair on the Fed’s stress tests  - Ex-FDIC chief: J.P. Morgan, Goldman take on too much debt in stress
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Some of the biggest banks in the U.S., including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and J.P. Morgan Chase, passed the Federal Reserve’s stress test but would be considered overleveraged if Sheila Bair were running the examinations.
BusinessInsider: BOB JANJUAH: The Whole Market Is Rigged, And The Dow To Gold Ratio Is Headed For 1:1It really is a banner day for analysts taking extremes. You have Goldman calling a generational buying opportunity in stocks.
ETFDaily: Stock Market: Why There Is Now A Second Wall Of Worry 
CrainsDetroit: Moody’s downgrade of debt may force Detroit to pay $350 million to end swap agreements 


Global Financial News
CNBC: Deutsche Bank Sued in US Over Libor
Reuters: UPDATE 2-Deutsche Boerse to sue EU over veto of NYSE deal
DetroitNews: Fiat CEO sees changes for Europe
Portugal's 'core' public deficit tripled in January-Febuary - Portugal's 'core' public deficit tripled in January-Febuary this year, due to a drop in revenues and an increase in expenditure.Businessweek: U.K. Budget Deficit Doubles as Taxes Fall


Peak Oil and Energy News
Oilvoice: BP Gulf oil spill lawsuit settlement reached for $7.8bil
Zerohedge: $4 Gas Average Is Here - Based on Bloomberg's US Average Gasoline price index, we are now back above $4 per gallon for the first time since May 2011. We also note that the average price for a gallon of gas across the EU is inching ever closer to the $10 mark.
NYT: Fuel Expense Is Forecast to Erase 62% of Profit for Airlines
TransitionVoice: Peak oil, keeping reality in mind
SeattleTimes: FACT CHECK: More US drilling didn't drop gas price
It's the political cure-all for high gas prices: Drill here, drill now. But more U.S. drilling has not changed how deeply the gas pump drills into your wallet, math and history show. 
CNBC: Oil Could Rise to ‘Astronomical’ Levels: Pro



McClatchy: No fatalities in strongest quake to hit Mexico City since 1985
ClimateCentral: It’s a Broken Record of Record-Breaking Heat - Another day, another slew of temperature records set, as the extraordinary March heat wave shows no signs of completely abating. Along with the record warmth, Monday brought a line of severe thunderstorms that stretched in a line from the Texas-Mexico border to the U.S.-Canadian border in Minnesota. Thunderstorm wind damage was reported near Minneapolis, a city more accustomed to March snowstorms than thunderstorms. The presence of warm, humid air so far north was extremely unusual for this time of year, but then again, so is nearly everything else about this heat wave. In fact, the broad geographic scope of this heat event, along with the margins by which records are being broken, the time of year this is occurring, and the duration of the event are all indications that this may be an unprecedented event since modern U.S. weather records began in the late 19th century.
ExtinctionProtocol: Mysterious rumblings bring down a barn in Vancouver Island, BC, Canada - March 21, 2012 – CANADA - A barn on the 4000-block of Otter Point Road collapsed after a series of unexplained tremors rumbled through the region.
DesdemonaDespair: Video: Muslims, Jews, Christians link in Jerusalem to save the planet
ArsTechnica: Counting the cost: the hidden price of coal power 
Each year, the US sets off the equivalent of 20-30 atomic bombs worth of explosives, effectively obliterating entire features of its own landscape.
ExtinctionProtocol: Ireland residents tormented by ‘mysterious’ night time ‘helicopter noises’
March 21, 2012 – IRELAND – Roe Valley residents are mystified over strange late night noises high in the sky, which has left them scratching their heads. The late night noise surfaced recently in Drumsurn, according to local Sinn Fein councillor Brenda Chivers. “It’s very annoying. It starts around 7pm and can go on until 2-3am. People have been out searching to see what it is, but they see nothing. There’s no plane, just this constant drone, and nobody seems to know what it is; MSNBC: Recommended: 'Extremely dangerous' flash floods reported in Louisiana, Texas
USAToday: Obama wants southern segment of Keystone XL expedited - President Obama on Thursday will call for expediting construction of the southern segment of the Keystone XL pipeline, according to a White House official. Obama will press for fast-tracking construction of only the southern segment of a pipeline that is part of the larger controversial proposal by TransCanada that would stretch from northwest Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. While the State Department blocked permitting of the entire project earlier this year, the White House late last month expressed support of TransCanada’s plan to move forward with building the southern segment from Cushing, Okla., to the Gulf of Mexico.
TheNation: 90 Degrees in Winter: This Is What Climate Change Looks Like 
(this is a must read article)
 A view of the Runge reservoir in the town of Runge, some thirty-seven miles north of Santiago on February 3, 2012.
The National Weather Service is kind of the anti–Mike Daisey, a just-the-facts operation that grinds on hour after hour, day after day. It’s collected billions of records (I’ve seen the vast vaults where early handwritten weather reports from observers across the country are stored in endless rows of ledgers and files) on countless rainstorms, blizzards and pleasant summer days. So the odds that you could shock the NWS are pretty slim.
Beginning in mid-March, however, its various offices began issuing bulletins that sounded slightly shaken. “There’s extremes in weather, but seeing something like this is impressive and unprecedented,” Chicago NWS meteorologist Richard Castro told the Daily Herald. “It’s extraordinarily rare for climate locations with 100+ year long periods of records to break records day after day after day,” the office added in an official statement.


America in Decline
McClatchy: Have background checks for job candidates gone too far? - WASHINGTON — Justin D'Heilly never saw it coming.
He was working as a Domino's Pizza delivery driver in St. Paul, Minn., in 2009 when he pulled over to take a call from his manager, who told D'Heilly he could no longer drive for the company.
A background check had found some problems with his motor vehicle history, but D'Heilly wasn't told exactly what the trouble was, nor was he given a copy of the damning report.
When he checked with police to see if his license had been revoked, D'Heilly learned that it was valid and that he had only a couple of speeding tickets. He was fired the following month.
Stateline: Jobless in 15 states to lose extended benefits

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/03/20/142546/have-background-checks-for-job.html#storylink=cpy

Food and Water
here's a "Well duh!" moment for you

Internet and Online Privacy News

Science and Technology
ArsTechnica: Sen. Wyden demands vote on American copyright, patent treaties - Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) is a long-time opponent of the secretly negotiated Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
SingularityHub: Raising The Mammoth – Russian And Korean Scientists Set Out To Bring Back The Extinct Giant
Physorg: Indonesian 'Eves' colonised Madagascar 1,200 years ago - Several dozen Indonesian women founded the colonisation of Madagascar 1,200 years ago, scientists said on Wednesday in a probe into one of the strangest episodes in the human odyssey.

Medical and Health
TheChart: Can an aspirin a day keep cancer away? -Aspirin is recognized for its effects in heart-attack prevention. And several studies “have provided evidence that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including aspirin, may hold promise in helping to prevent cancer,” according to the National Cancer Institute.

Doomsteading, Gardening, Urban Farming
ModernSurvival: America’s National Parks Under Seige (just in case you were thinking about bugging out to the national forest near you. )


Other News
TheAtlantic: The White Savior Industrial Complex  - If we are going to interfere in the lives of others, a little due diligence is a minimum requirement.
McClatchy: Renewed Amelia Earhart search sparked by photo clue
CBSNews: Calls grow to arrest gunman in Fla. teen slaying
Spiegel: Ox Carts and No Coffee: Building a Monastery the Medieval Way - Historians, architects, archaeologists and volunteers in Germany are teaming up to build a medieval monastery the old-fashioned way. Working conditions will be strictly 9th-century, without machines, rain jackets or even coffee. It will take decades, but they hope to garner fresh insights into everyday life in the 800s.
ABCNews: Family: Mass. Mother Accused of Slashing Kids Sick

CTMirror: Should a publisher be criminally liable for prostitution ads?


Politics
Guardian: Paul Ryan's deficit-cutting mania: the real agenda  - Tax cuts for corporations and the super-rich; budget cuts for Medicare and Medicaid – how cynical can the congressman be?

RawStory: Pig freaks out after GOP candidate brings it to news conference
NYT: Romney Wins by Wide Margin in Illinois Primary 
The Landmark Legal Foundation, a conservative legal group ran by radio host Mark Levin, called Tuesday for investigations into 29 Wisconsin judges who signed petitions to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
FT: Santorum’s ‘I Don’t Care’ Gaffe - Republican White House hopeful Rick Santorum said on Monday he did not care about the U.S. unemployment rate, perhaps the nation's most closely watched economic indicator, despite being embroiled in a campaign largely focused on the still-sputtering economy.
There are three reasons some Republicans are trying to block the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act: Gays, immigrants, and Native Americans.
TheAtlanticWire: Here's Why the GOP Is Scared of Paul Ryan's Budget Plan


Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)