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U.S. unemployment rate soars to 6.1%
The unemployment rate soared to a nearly five-year high in August as employers trimmed jobs for the eighth straight month, the government reported Friday.
The unemployment rate rose to 6.1%, the highest level since September 2003. That's up from 5.7% in July and 4.7% a year ago.
In addition, the economy suffered a net loss of 84,000 jobs in August, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, compared to a revised reading of a 60,000 job loss in July.
The U.S. economy has lost 605,000 jobs so far this year. The unemployment rate soared to a nearly five-year high in August as employers trimmed jobs for the eighth straight month, the governm... more -
Palin won't talk to media during campaign
No Questions, Please. We'll Tell You What You Need To Know.
According to Nicole Wallace of the McCain campaign, the American people don't care whether Sarah Palin can answer specific questions about foreign and domestic policy. According to Wallace -- in an appearance I did with her this morning on Joe Scarborough's show -- the American people will learn all they need to know (and all they deserve to know) from Palin's scripted speeches and choreographed appearances on the campaign trail and in campaign ads.
They are betting that Americans are too Stupid, Ignorant, and Lazy to ask why. No Questions, Please. We'll Tell You What You Need To Know. ... more -
Campaign Update 09/04/08
Sarah Palin talks, John McCain gets ready to talk, and we talk about whether when we talk about something we're really talking about it.
CAMPAIGN UPDATE knows that election news and weird jokes go together like a popped-collar meathead and a vacant-eyed blonde. Created by Mark Ganek and Brett Erlich, Campaign Update strives to be the dumbest smart show on television.
Bookmark us and check us out every weekday at current.com/campaignupdate. Sarah Palin talks, John McCain gets ready to talk, and we talk about whether when we talk about something we're really talking ab... more -
McCain/Palin Have No Heart
The vintage rock group Heart formally tells the McCain campaign to cease and desist from using their music in any way.
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The Real John McCain Vietnam Story
Don't believe the hype..John McCain was a war criminal not a war hero
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Who do you call when the police are the problem?
Censorship at it's worst!
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U.S. Spies on Our Alies
From the man that brought us Watergate comes the latest government scandal. Apparently we've been spying on the new Iraqi government and some of the intelligence gained was more instrumental in the reduction of violence than the surge actually was. From the man that brought us Watergate comes the latest government scandal. Apparently we've been spying on the new Iraqi governm... more
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396 RNC arrests on Thursday
Antiwar March Ends In Tense Standoff, 396 Arrests
The final night of the convention led to confrontations between police and protesters. At least 396 people were arrested, an official said this morning.
Police arrested scores more people Thursday night after another series of tense showdowns with protesters on the final night of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.
Sweeping into the State Capitol grounds in riot gear, police used snowplows, horses and dump trucks to seal off downtown from antiwar demonstrators attempting a march to the Xcel Energy Center.
"They chose not to leave when told to do so and now everyone's paying the price," said one officer on the scene.
This morning, the Joint Information Center said 396 people were arrested during Thursday's demonstrations, and a total of 818 people were arrested during the four-day convention. The numbers are preliminary; an official count will be released later today, said a spokeswoman for the center, which has been providing information about arrests and security during the convention.
by Curt Brown, Terry Collins, Randy Furst and Heron Marquez Estrada Antiwar March Ends In Tense Standoff, 396 Arrests ... more -
'Code Pink' Flies Its Colors at Conventions
Two women clad in pink stole a moment of Sarah Palin's oratorical thunder Wednesday night.
As the GOP vice presidential candidate energized the crowd with a diatribe against the Democratic nominee alongside praise for running mate Sen. John McCain, Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans, co-founders of the theatrical Code Pink anti-war group for women, moved toward the stage.
But as they were on Palin's right side, officers lifted them up and pulled them away, escorting them outside one at a time. The women's exposed dress slips bore the message: "Palin is not a women's choice."
The two women were taken outside and held until the end of the speech. They were told they'd face arrest if they tried to re-enter the convention.
Two other group members, Elizabeth Hourican and Nancy Mancias, were able to interrupt John McCain's speech Thursday night before they were both removed from the convention.
These women join a roster of protesters in a city where more than 300 have been arrested while demonstrating during the Republican National Convention.
By Thursday morning, Code Pink's national media coordinator, Jean Stevens, was already publicizing Benjamin and Evans' attempt to upstage Palin.
Five Code Pink members have been arrested this week at the dozen or so events it has organized.
Evans said that policing in St. Paul has been more forceful than at the Democratic National Convention the previous week in Denver. There, she said, members were escorted by their elbows from a symposium while criticizing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for not using her power to end the war. But they were allowed to continue chanting with signs outside the building.
Here in St. Paul, Evans said, "They herd you with horses. It's really insane."
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The name Code Pink is a play on the Bush administration's color-coded stages of national security alerts. They say the "Code Pink" alert is a "feisty call to wage peace."
"The whole idea of Code Pink is to disarm," said co-founder Evans. But while some police officers smile at their singsong chants--"We are marching for a peaceful world," they sing repeatedly--Evans notes that some also go ahead and arrest members, who often stage protests without official permits and have engaged in acts of civil disobedience.
From the start the group has used their gender and the color scheme to mock and create satirical events.
"Can we get all the Miss Americas lined up please?"
***Read More*** Two women clad in pink stole a moment of Sarah Palin's oratorical thunder Wednesday night. ... more -
How will you and your state cast ballots in November?
This year, as a result of a lot of changes in voting machines around the country, numerous voting districts across many states will be using new voting equipment that has either never been used in an election or has never been used in a national election involving millions of voters.
When new systems are used, problems often arise either with the equipment itself or with election officials and voters who are unfamiliar with it.
To see what equipment you and your state will be using in November and to familiarize yourself with it before the election, VerifiedVoting.org, an election integrity group that led the movement to get voter-verified paper audit trails added to touch-screen voting machines, has produced a comprehensive interactive map identifying the voting systems being used in election districts across the country. As far as I know, this is the most up-to-date list of voting equipment that exists.
The map offers several options for viewing. You can look at systems at a statewide macro level or click on a state to get a micro view of the various systems being used in each county or voting district, including the accessible equipment being offered for disabled voters. At the district level, you'll also find information about the maker of the voting machines and contact information for the election office.
The voting machine landscape has changed a lot since the 2000 presidential election when punch-card voting systems and dangling chads spawned a heated national debate and Supreme Court battle.
As a result of the 2000 debacle, the Help America Vote Act was passed in 2002 allocating federal funds to replace antiquated punch-card and lever machines with newer election technologies. Election officials quickly spent millions of dollars to buy paperless touch-screen voting machines -- also known as Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) machines -- that were touted by their makers as faster, more accurate and easier to use than punch-card machines.
But in 2003, technical reports began surfacing about serious security issues with the machines as well as reports about breakdowns and other problems. Public opinion has forced some voting districts to back away from the equipment since then. In some cases entire states -- such as California and Florida -- have outlawed DRE machines for use by anyone other than disabled voters and have recently replaced their touch-screen systems with new optical-scan machines.
In the last two years, 131 counties across 9 states -- California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia -- have abandoned their DRE machines in favor of paper ballot voting systems, according to statistics collected by VerifiedVoting.
While some states like Nevada and Utah have added paper trails to their DRE machines, the District of Columbia and six states -- Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey and South Carolina -- still use DRE's without paper trails statewide. A handful of other states use mixed systems -- paperless DREs in some districts and paper-based voting systems in other districts. This year, as a result of a lot of changes in voting machines around the country, numerous voting districts across many states will be... more -
Robert Redford hopes coal movie inspires citizen groups
Robert Redford was so struck by a story of Texas mayors, ranchers and other citizens who stood up against plans for a batch of new coal-fired power plants that he narrated a film about it.
The actor and founder of the Sundance Film Festival is lending his voice to a 34-minute documentary called "Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars." The film is being shown in seven cities in Utah and Nevada next week.
Redford's hoping the story inspires others to face off against the "mythology" of nonrenewable resources and consider renewable energy alternatives.
"It makes no sense going in a direction that represents yesterday," Redford said in an interview with The Associated Press this week.
The story centers on a fight that started in 2006 over 19 proposed coal-fired power plants in central and east Texas. The plans galvanized a diverse group of citizens who might otherwise have divergent political viewpoints: ranchers, environmentalists, business leaders, legislators, lawyers and more than a dozen local mayors.
Redford, who has been involved with environmental causes for decades, said he was inspired by the group's unifying interests around clean air and a healthy environment. The coalition opposing the plans grew to include 36 cities, counties and school districts.
"To me, that was a sign of changing times," said Redford, who spends about six months a year in Utah.
Eventually, the company that proposed 11 of the new plants agreed to build only three.
The film, produced by The Redford Center at the Sundance Preserve and Austin, Texas-based Alpheus Media, has already been shown in Texas. Supporters are bringing it to Utah and Nevada where several new coal-fired plants are being proposed.
"It's very relevant to what's going on not only in Utah but the rest of the country," said Tim Wagner, director of the Utah Smart Energy Campaign. "We want people to understand when they see this film that they can get involved, they too can make a difference."
Redford said he sees what happened in Texas as an indication that a tipping point has been reached in how the public perceives coal-fired plants.
"That's breaking apart now because the reality is seeping through like grass coming through the sidewalk," he said.
The screenings next week will be followed by panel discussions about pollution, global warming, renewable energy in the West, ways to minimize energy use and "economic opportunities of the clean energy economy."
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Robert Redford is an environmental icon whose work has brought great change in understanding and in perceiving the problems we face regarding it. Lending his voice to this movie will hopefully inspire other citizen groups to do what politicians will not: stand up to dirty big coal. That is where we will see the most change... right out here, bringing it there. Robert Redford was so struck by a story of Texas mayors, ranchers and other citizens who stood up against plans for a batch of new coa... more -
Defiant Cheney vows Georgia will join Nato
The US vice-president, Dick Cheney, yesterday issued a direct challenge to Moscow's sway over Georgia, pledging Washington's support for its eventual membership of Nato, while denouncing Russia's "illegitimate" invasion. "Georgia will be in our alliance," Cheney said after talks with President Mikheil Saakashvili.
Cheney used his one-day visit to Georgia to reinforce battle lines in the increasingly direct struggle between Washington and Moscow for the upper hand along Russia's southern border. His visit to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine was aimed at stressing America's "deep, abiding interest" in the region, in response to the claim by Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev, that Moscow had "privileged interests" in former Soviet states.
The US challenge was undermined by the collapse of Ukraine's pro-western coalition on the eve of Cheney's arrival in Kiev at the end of his three-country trip yesterday. The crisis threatened to derail President Viktor Yushchenko's efforts to win Ukraine Nato and EU membership.
Cheney made clear however that it would not shake Washington's deep involvement in the region, now focused on Georgia after last month's conflict with Russia over South Ossetia.
Shrugging off Russian recognition of the breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, he declared the Bush administration's "strong commitment to Georgia's territorial integrity". The US would stand with Georgia, he said, "as you work to overcome an invasion of your sovereign territory and an illegitimate attempt to change your country's borders by force".
He also made a point of reaffirming US support for Saakashvili, who Moscow has derided as "a political corpse". In pointed contrast, Cheney told the Georgian leader: "You have been fearless in response to the occupation of your country and steadfast in your principles. We respect you."
The two men made a joint appearance near an aircraft factory destroyed by Russian bombing, to watch a US military transport plane unload blankets, part of the $1bn in emergency aid the US has offered Georgia to help the country rebuild. The package makes Georgia the biggest recipient of US aid after Israel, Egypt and Iraq.
US officials stressed the package did not include aid to rebuild Georgia's military. That will be decided later this year.
Georgian membership of Nato is due to be discussed at an alliance ministerial meeting in December. Russia insisted yesterday that such a move remained a red line in east-west relations. Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's representative to Nato, said Moscow would respond by halting co-operation with Nato over Afghanistan.
Cheney's trip coincided with the collapse of Ukraine's government after a split between Yushchenko and the prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko. Their coalition collapsed over Russia's invasion of Georgia - with Tymoshenko positioning herself as a rival candidate to Yushchenko in Ukraine's presidential election next year. Yushchenko has lambasted Russia's occupation of Georgia, while Tymoshenko has refused to criticise the Kremlin directly. The US vice-president, Dick Cheney, yesterday issued a direct challenge to Moscow's sway over Georgia, pledging Washington's... more -
Cyclist cleared in Times Square shove
A judge has dismissed criminal charges against the bicyclist who was body-checked by a New York City policeman in a widely viewed YouTube video. A judge has dismissed criminal charges against the bicyclist who was body-checked by a New York City policeman in a widely viewed YouT... more
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Jon Stewart calls out Republican Hypocrisy
He knows how to make a dirty game like politics kinda funny.
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Microbes in dirt provide electricity for African villagers
Providing electricity to people in countries where either the grid is not reliable, or nonexistent and unlikely ever to be built, can make a huge difference in people’s quality of life in very practical ways. We’ve written before about companies such as D.Light Design which have solar-powered replacements for kerosene lanterns , and efforts to bring small-scale solar panels to off-grid villages in Laos. Hand cranked cell phone chargers, radios and flashlights are other proven options that have received attention.
Microbial Fuel Cells Provide Enough Power for Small Devices
One option which is being investigated in a pilot project by Cambridge, Massachusetts company Lebônê Solutions is using microbial fuel cells to provide electricity to villagers in Tanzania. While the power produced by microbial fuel cells isn’t great, it does provide enough electricity for the small DC powered devices that the villagers want to run, Lebônê co-founder Hugo Van Vuuren told Technology Review. Compared to other renewable energy options such as solar panels or small-scale wind turbines they are also less expensive to produce and easier to set up.
A What Type of Fuel Cell?
Lebônê gives us a very basic rundown on how microbial fuel cells work:
These inexpensive fuel cells run on animal and plant waste and naturally occurring soil microbes, and are framed around a flexible substrate (wood, steel, etc) that can vary by geographic availability. This is truly electricity right out of the ground. These fuel cells are used to charge a battery or cheap supercapacitor, which in turn will be used to power a high-efficiency efficient LED or PLED lamp.
And Technology Review gives us a bit more detail:
To make the fuel cell, the team put graphite cloth--the anode--in the bottom of a bucket along with chicken wire--the cathode--and microbe-laden waste, either mud, cow manure, or residue from coffee crops. A layer of sand acts as an ion barrier while salt water helps the protons travel more easily. The team adds a power management board (the only device that the villagers will most likely have to import, says [Lebônê co-founder Aviva] Presser) to regulate the power and send it to a battery. Such a fuel cell can run a cheap, efficient light-emitting diode (LED) for four to five hours per evening. "We're hoping the entire system will be around $10 when we're ready," says Presser.
Namibia Next Up For Fuel Cell Trial
After Tanzania, Lebônê’s second trial, funded by a $200,000 grant from the World Bank, will be an 18-month pilot project in Namibia where the the firm will couple their fuel cell design with the the next generation of LEDs. Providing electricity to people in countries where either the grid is not reliable, or nonexistent and unlikely ever to be built, can ... more -
Heart is not pleased that RNC used "Barracuda"
You go, girls. Tell 'em.
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Insects in morning dew
Slightly older blog post this, but seriously worth a look. Martin Amm brings us an amazing gallery of hyper-close-up photos of insects covered in morning dew. Even the mantis has that towselled, just woken up look... Slightly older blog post this, but seriously worth a look. Martin Amm brings us an amazing gallery of hyper-close-up photos of insect... more
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10 speech backgrounds designed to make McCain look less pale
Best Week Ever gives us the top 10 backgrounds that could help McCain look a little more colorful.
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Medical marijuana's eco boomtown
It's estimated that $143 million in medical marijuana sales have netted $11.4 million in state and local taxes annually, based on registered businesses, California State Board of Equalization spokesperson Anita Gore said. And those estimates are small compared to a 2006 report co-authored by California NORML state coordinator Dale Gieringer, which said that Californians consumed between $870 million and $2 billion worth of medical marijuana per year.[more] It's estimated that $143 million in medical marijuana sales have netted $11.4 million in state and local taxes annually, based on... more
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RNC: Giuliani
Former New York City Mayor, Rudy Giuliani addresses the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.
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American Pedestrians and Cyclists are more likely to get killed than German or Net...
Photo Source:
http://www.pedbikeimages.org/imageDetail.cfm
Location : Long Beach, CA
photographer : Dan Burden
Article by:
John Pucher, PhD, Lewis Dijkstra, PhD
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Objectives: We examined the public health consequences of unsafe and inconvenient walking and bicycling conditions in American cities to suggest improvements based on successful policies in The Netherlands and Germany.
Methods: Secondary data from national travel and crash surveys were used to compute fatality trends from 1975 to 2001 and fatality and injury rates for pedestrians and cyclists in The Netherlands, Germany, and the United States in 2000.
Results: American pedestrians and cyclists were much more likely to be killed or injured than were Dutch and German pedestrians and cyclists, both on a per-trip and on a per-kilometer basis.
Conclusions: A wide range of measures are available to improve the safety of walking and cycling in American cities, both to reduce fatalities and injuries and to encourage walking and cycling.
Introduction
Improving conditions for walking and bicycling in our cities is vital for America's public health. The measures described in this article would not only reduce pedestrian and cycling fatalities and injuries but also allow millions of people, many of them dangerously overweight, to bike or walk for some of their short trips and thus obtain healthful exercise in the course of daily life. More walking and cycling would yield further public health benefits by reducing the use of automobiles, thus diminishing air and noise pollution and the overall level of traffic danger.
This article has a total of 6 pages with reputable research and safety tips;
Introduction:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/461679_1
Data and Methods:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/461679_2
Variation Among Countries in Levels of Walking and Cycling:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/461679_3
Dangers of Walking and Cycling in the United States:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/461679_4
How to Make Walking and Cycling Safer:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/461679_5
Conclusions:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/461679_6 Photo Source: http://www.pedbikeimages.org/imageDetail.cfm Location : Long Beach, CA photographer : Dan Burden Article by: ... more -
Lohan turns down $700,000 from Playboy
LOS ANGELES - To mark Playboy's 55th anniversary in January, the magazine has approached Lindsay Lohan about doing a nude pictorial, Access Hollywood has confirmed.
But it appears even an offer of $700,000 couldn’t persuade the actress to bare her breasts.
And while Lohan has been photographed sans top before — in last year’s tribute to Marilyn Monroe in New York magazine — she is now done posing for naked pictures. LOS ANGELES - To mark Playboy's 55th anniversary in January, the magazine has approached Lindsay Lohan about doing a nude pictori... more
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The 4th Dimension explained.TheRealEdwin added this
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