tagged w/ Editor's Picks
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NEW YORK (CNN) -- A 26-foot-long dying shark washed ashore Tuesday on a Long Island beach, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation said.
The basking shark that washed ashore on Long Island, New York, on Tuesday was 26 feet, 6 inches long.
The male basking shark, which weighed an estimated 5,000 pounds and was measured at 26 feet, 6 inches, died shortly after authorities arrived on the scene, according to marine educator Tracy Marcus of the Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Video at link. YowzaNEW YORK (CNN) -- A 26-foot-long dying shark washed ashore Tuesday on a Long Island... more
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larock
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If you’re allergic to black mold, living in a house that has black mold hidden in the walls could actually kill you.
Lead paint, still found in old houses built and painted before the 1970s era law that removed lead from paint, can cause brain damage and learning disabilities in kids.
But what do you do about the thousands of houses that were former methamphetamine labs? According to a story in the New York Times, home buyers who purchase houses formerly used as meth labs could find their health and wealth damaged by leftover drug residue that has seeped into the walls and floors
Read the full article on my CBS Money Watch blog by clicking here.
Going forward, what happens to former meth lab houses that become part of a new wave of foreclosures? Will it be the bank’s responsibility to let buyers know that the house comes with its own unique set of problems?If you’re allergic to black mold, living in a house that has black mold hidden... more
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During the Iranian protests GlobalPost's correspondent on the ground was arrested and jailed for over 3 weeks on suspicion of "collecting information for enemies" by the ever paranoid Iranian government.
Iran is now reported to be one of the most dangerous destinations for journalists.
Iason Athanasiadis who reports from Iran is now speaking out as he writes of those friends and colleagues who are still incarceratedDuring the Iranian protests GlobalPost's correspondent on the ground was arrested... more
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Good morning everyone - some stories we're tracking here at Current News. A plane crash in Iran kills all 168 on board - are economic sanctions partly responsible? A ceasefire is announced between Nigeria and the MEND rebels - but will it last - will it last the length of today?
And President Obama announces $12 billion for community colleges across the US. What do you think? Is it a good strategy? Would you want to see that money elsewhere in education?
As always, if you see something out there that's not getting covered - let us know!Good morning everyone - some stories we're tracking here at Current News. A plane... more
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At least 168 passengers and crew are feared dead after a Caspian Airlines plane crashed in the north of Iran, state media says.
Wreckage was spread over a large area in a field in Jannatabad village, Qazvin province, about 75 miles (120km) north-west of Tehran, state TV said.
The Tupolev aircraft was flying from the Iranian capital to Yerevan in Armenia, Iranian media said.
The cause of the crash, which happened soon after take-off, was not known.
"The 7908 Caspian flight crashed 16 minutes after its take-off from the International Imam Khomeini Airport," Iran's Aviation Organisation spokesman, Reza Jafarzadeh, was quoted by Iranian Press TV as saying.At least 168 passengers and crew are feared dead after a Caspian Airlines plane... more
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China just delivered a stunning, real-world demonstration of the changes rocking -- and transforming -- modern journalism.
When deadly riots broke out in the western province of Xinjiang last week, the Chinese government sprang into message control mode. It choked off the Internet and mobile phone service, blocked Twitter and Fanfou (its Chinese equivalent), deleted updates and videos from social networking sites, and scrubbed search engines of links to coverage of the unrest. At the same time, it invited foreign journalists to take a tour of the area.
That's right, it slammed the door in the face of new media -- and offered traditional reporters a front row seat.
China's leaders realized that it's one thing to try to spin the on-the-ground views of bused-in reporters ("To help foreign media to do more objective, fair and friendly reports," in the words of the government's PR agency), but quite another to try to spin the accounts and uploaded images of tens of thousands of Twittering and cell-phone camera-wielding citizens.
The Chinese have clearly learned the lessons of Iran.
The same can't be said about New York Times columnist Roger Cohen who, writing about covering the Iran uprising, recently claimed:
To bear witness means being there -- and that's not free. No search engine gives you the smell of a crime, the tremor in the air, the eyes that smolder, or the cadence of a scream.
No news aggregator tells of the ravaged city exhaling in the dusk, nor summons the defiant cries that rise into the night. No miracle of technology renders the lip-drying taste of fear. No algorithm captures the hush of dignity, nor evokes the adrenalin rush of courage coalescing, nor traces the fresh raw line of a welt.
How bizarre is it that Cohen chooses to attack the tools of new-media-fueled reporting by citing the very event that highlights the power of those tools -- and the weakness of his argument?
Indeed, search engines, news aggregation, live-blogging, and "miracles of technology" such as Twitter, Facebook, and real-time video delivered via camera phones, played an indispensable part in allowing millions of people around the world to "bear witness" to what was happening in Iran.
The truth is, you don't have to "be there" to bear witness. And you can be there and fail to bear witness.
Obviously, there is tremendous value in being an eyewitness. But we have to always keep in mind that the conclusions drawn by eyewitnesses are greatly influenced by the eyes doing the witnessing.
Malcolm Muggeridge famously called this "the eyewitness fallacy" -- the tendency of people to see, in eyewitness accounts, what they want to see.
[more at link]China just delivered a stunning, real-world demonstration of the changes rocking --... more
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asherp
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Today was second day of hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senators questioned Sotomayor, President Obama's first nominee to the high court, about a range of topics including a controversial comment she made in 2001.
For more news video by Current TV visit http://current.com/Today was second day of hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor in front of... more
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"Lost in Democracy" has been nominated for an Emmy! Congratulations to producers Christof Putzel and Mike Shen. Here's a clip from the show.
Hidden near the Himalayas between India and Tibet, the kingdom of Bhutan has long been shrouded in mystery. Sometimes called "the last Shangri-La," it's a lushly forested land where people wear traditional robes, where policy is guided by "Gross National Happiness," and where Tantric Buddhist saints are celebrated with paintings of gigantic penises. But Bhutan is on the verge of change. This year, it will transform itself from an absolute monarchy to a parliamentary democracy -- a move that leaves many young Bhutanese puzzled and uneasy. "When His Majesty first informed us he was going to change the government, there were lots of people who couldn't speak," says one activist. "They wished it was just a dream." Vanguard Correspondent Christof Putzel travels to Bhutan to find out how young people are dealing with democracy, westernization, and other challenges to their unique national culture."Lost in Democracy" has been nominated for an Emmy! Congratulations to... more
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The new state law permitting gun carry permit holders to bring firearms into Tennessee bars and restaurants goes into effect at midnight Monday, after a group of restaurateurs failed to convince a judge to stop it. However, another hearing on the issue has been granted.
Monday afternoon, Randy Rayburn, owner of Sunset Grill, Cabana and Midtown Cafe, asked Davidson County Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman for an injunction against the law, which was vetoed by Gov. Phil Bredesen but affirmed by the Legislature in a veto override. Rayburn contends the new law, which allows carry permit holders to bring handguns into places that serve alcohol, puts his customers and employees at risk.
Bonnyman refused to issue an injunction, saying Rayburn and others who disagree with the law may place signs on their doors prohibiting guns. Rayburn has argued that places him in an uncertain liability position should an incident occur. He has already posted such signs on his restaurants.
Despite the disappointing verdict, another hearing has been granted after 90 days, Rayburn spokeswoman Jayne Rogovin says. "We live to fight another day," she says.
Proponents of the law say patrons will be safer if trained gun owners with carry permits can easily access their guns to defend them in case of a robbery or other crime.
But law enforcement officials including Nashville Police Chief Ronal Serpas also have spoken out against the new law, saying they don’t believe that people who bring guns into bars will refrain from drinking, even though the law says they are not supposed to. They fear the prospect of inebriated customers deciding to settle a dispute with guns.The new state law permitting gun carry permit holders to bring firearms into Tennessee... more
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This is my favorite moment of the hearings so far. Sen. Jeff Sessions cites another judge in contrast to Sotomayor's positions and then Sotomayor pulls the old Annie Hall, "Why I happen to have Marshall McLuhan right here!" with Cedarbaum in the audience.
Anyone else watching? Do you have a favorite moment so far?
(Via TalkingPointsMemo)This is my favorite moment of the hearings so far. Sen. Jeff Sessions cites another... more
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Information on the recent developments from both companies. What has been happening, what is going to happen, and where they are going from here.
Clipping from Article (Much more after the jump):
In less than a week, Google announced an operating system to compete with Windows, while Microsoft said that Office 10 will include free, online versions of its four most popular software programs — a shot at Google’s suite of web-based office applications.
And not more than a month and a half ago, Microsoft unveiled its new search engine, Bing, which it hopes will steal market share from Google and finally make it real money online.
From the news of it, it’s a full-blown tech battle, complete with behind-the-scenes machinations to sic government regulators on each other.
It is, however, not a death match — it’s more of a fight to see who will be the King of Technology, since both companies pull in their billions through completely different siphons and are unlikely to severely wound one another any time soon.
Google pulled in $22 billion in revenue in 2008, 97 percent of which came from tiny text ads bought by the keyword and placed next to search results or on pages around the web. Google makes a negligible amount of money bundling its online apps for businesses, charging $50 a head annually — but mostly it just gives its online text editor, e-mail and spreadsheet programs away.
By contrast, Microsoft sold $14.3 billion worth of Microsoft Word and PowerPoint and other business applications over the last nine months, making a profit of $9.3 billion. It made a further $16 billion in revenue in 2008 through sales of its operating systems, which range from XP installations on netbooks, to Vista, to Windows Mobile to its server software.Information on the recent developments from both companies. What has been happening,... more
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What do you think? Turkey's Prime Minister says they are...
From the blog:
"Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Friday: “‘The incidents in China are, simply put, a genocide. There’s no point in interpreting this otherwise….’” Pretty plain language.
A little background: The Uighurs who have been fighting with the Han Chinese in the Xinjiang province are Muslims. Additionally, the Uighurs are originally of Turkic descent as is their language. So, many in Turkey feel a particular kinship with the embattled Uighurs of China’s West.
But genocide is a big and complicated charge to level (especially at a country of such economic and political weight as China)...."What do you think? Turkey's Prime Minister says they are...
From the blog:... more
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WASHINGTON — President Obama plans to head to hard-hit Michigan on Tuesday afternoon to announce a $12 billion infusion for the nation’s community college system, part of his efforts to ease the considerable pain of the still-sagging economy.
In a conference call with reporters Monday, education officials said $2.5 billion of the new funds would go toward new community college facilities, with the rest going to an assortment of grants designed to boost graduation rates and encourage the teaching of skills that will better prepare students for jobs in a changing economy that is increasingly demanding a more highly educated workforce.
Mr. Obama will make his announcement in Warren, Michigan, a hub of the auto industry that has been hit hard by the economic slow down and the administration-sponsored overhauls of General Motors and Chryslers, which have brought heavy layoffs from plant and dealership closings.
Ongoing job losses across the nation have exceeded the Obama administration’s earlier projections, adding urgency to the president’s efforts to show that his far-reaching economic recovery programs — which Republicans have portrayed as intrusive and obscenely expensive — are working.
Having spent last week visiting Russia, Italy (for the summit of the Group of 8 powers), and Ghana, and with hearings taking place on Capitol Hill for his Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, Mr. Obama has had little chance in recent days to show he is tending to economic concerns.
Discussing the new community college program on Monday evening in a telephone conference call with reporters, administration officials said that $9 billion of the program would go to programs enticing community colleges to do more to boost graduation rates and to better prepare students for real-world jobs upon graduation.
end of excerpt
Source: The New York times OnlineWASHINGTON — President Obama plans to head to hard-hit Michigan on Tuesday... more
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From tech stocks to high gas prices, Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression - and they're about to do it again.
The first thing you need to know about Goldman Sachs is that it's everywhere. The world's most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money. In fact, the history of the recent financial crisis, which doubles as a history of the rapid decline and fall of the suddenly swindleddry American empire, reads like a Who's Who of Goldman Sachs graduates.
[more of the excellent peice of reporting by Matt Taibbi at the link]From tech stocks to high gas prices, Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market... more
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asherp
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Good morning everyone.
First and foremost - I am getting a new microphone for my webcam - I know the audio is pretty low in these videos so I am trying to fix that.
In the meantime we've got a story out of Iraq that the Euphrates River is drying up - a purported sign of the endtimes. (Is it the endtimes?)
And an update to the story posted yesterday by WakeUpPeople - of the 14 people set to be executed in Iran - 13 of them have reportedly been hung - an article with that information below.
As always - if you see anything out there that no one else is reporting on - let me know.Good morning everyone.
First and foremost - I am getting a new microphone for my... more
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As Japan's population slowly shrinks, the island nation has come to rely more and more on its mechanized labor force. Sounds like a movie, but it's totally true.
This weekend a report came out showing that Japan's economy has been shrinking as well, to the point that it was necessary to start laying off *robot* laborers.
Vanguard's Adam Yamaguchi produced an episode of Vanguard called "Robot Nation" exploring Japan, it's population decline and its reliance on a robotic labor force. This is a segment from that show in which Adam spends some time with two different robots: Asimo and TwendyOne.As Japan's population slowly shrinks, the island nation has come to rely more and... more
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The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled pharmacists in Washington state must dispense the morning after pill (Plan B emergency contraception). Pharmacists can no longer withhold the pill from customers. The court ruled Pharmacists are obligated to dispense the Plan B pill, even if they are personally opposed to the "morning after" contraceptive on religious grounds. Personal conviction fails to trump a patent's right to timely medication.
In a case that could affect policy across the western U.S., the court ruled against a supermarket pharmacy owner in Olympia, Wash. The lawsuit was an attempt to block 2007 regulations that required all Washington pharmacies to stock and dispense the pills. The lawsuit claimed religious beliefs should allow pharmacists to refuse to stock and provide emergency contraception to their customers. The suit asserted that Christian beliefs prevented some pharmacists from dispensing the pills, which can prevent implantation of a recently fertilized egg.The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled pharmacists in Washington state must... more
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Love your ales, pilsners, weissbeers and stouts, but worried about all that fermented grain waste?
Thanks to German researcher Wolfgang Bengel, brew lovers can help create cleaner energy every time they down a pint.
Bengel, the technical director at German biomass company BMP Biomasse Projekt, has developed steam boilers that safely burn the spent grain left over from brewing beer. In the process, Bengel and his partners created a system for effective anaerobic (oxygen-free) treatment of waste water from breweries as well.
The combined systems offer breweries a comprehensive way to reduce their environmental footprints, as well as cut operating costs: recycling their brewing waste into a biofuel source; slashing the amount of grain waste trucked out of their facilities; and ultimately using less energy overall.
"Beer making is energy intensive - you boil stuff, use hot water and steam and then use electric energy for cooling - so if you recover more than 50 percent of your own energy costs from the spent grain that's a big saving," says Bengel in a statement.
Bengel based his beer waste burning process on work he has done in the past to produce energy in China and Thailand. There, he successfully treated the residue from rice and sugar cane in boilers with atmospheric fluidized bed combustion systems, which involve burning fuel particles suspended in an air stream.
To create this beer-backed biofuel, first water is removed from the grain waste. Then it is dried to become fuel for the boilers.
Much of the effort in perfecting the system went into developing the cleaning and filtering system that brings the combustion process up to Germany's high environmental standard. The project involved several companies: BMP; fellow German firms Innovas, a biogas plant specialist, and engineering firm Bisanz; and a Slovakian industrial machinery firm, Adato.
"By chance, Bisanz had been working on a boiler plant for a waste management company which entered bankruptcy, with assets being sold," according to ScienceDaily. "The partners decided to buy the unwanted plant and to adapt the equipment to the process of burning spent grain."Love your ales, pilsners, weissbeers and stouts, but worried about all that fermented... more
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16-year-old German pop star wannabe is Kim Petras, born Tim Petras. Kim says she has felt like a girl her entire life, and her parents say their baby boy always insisted on being called a 'she.' Kim made headlines when she went under the knife just days after turning sixteen, making her the youngest person to have undergone a sex change.16-year-old German pop star wannabe is Kim Petras, born Tim Petras. Kim says she has... more
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“My woman went home. My woman went back. Brother, I’m just desperate,” croons Pape Diouf in the opening bars of the new single by fellow Senegalese pop star, Youssou N'Dour.
But, this is no ordinary ballad of heartbreak.
The song tells the story of a man whose girlfriend left him because he got malaria. As he seeks sympathy, members of the community tell him it's all his fault. He should have been sleeping under a treated mosquito net.
The song, whose title, "Xeex Sibburu," means "Fight Malaria," is the result of a collaboration between the Youssou N'Dour Foundation and the U.S.-based nonprofit organization Malaria No More. It is part of Malaria No More's mission to use “marketing muscle” from the private sector to end malaria deaths worldwide.
The nonprofit has already teamed up with celebrities like Sean Combs, Ashton Kutcher and David Beckham. If star power and effective marketing can sell digital cameras and tennis shoes, then why can't they also get people to donate mosquito nets, or in the case of “Xeex Sibburu,” sleep under one?
“Our strategy here in Senegal is to take some of those techniques and some of those resources and put them behind some of the best local marketers,” said Martin Edlund, the group's Senegal Project Director. “There's a strong case to be made that Youssou N'Dour is the best local marketer here in West Africa.”
No More Excuses
Though preventable and treatable, malaria kills one million people a year, 90 percent of them Africans. Malaria kills more African children than any other disease, one every 30 seconds.
Senegal’s health ministry and National Malaria Control Program are already waging an impressive offensive against the disease. Senegal reported a dramatic drop in cases earlier this year, largely due to rapid diagnostic testing and improved treatment. In some regions, no cases were reported in 2008.
Yet, many Senegalese still accept the disease as a fact of life, and it continues to be a leading cause of death and developmental problems in children.
“Hey, take it easy, remember that God’s will prevails,” the song’s protagonist says as people chide him.
“No, talk is cheap,” the woman responds.
“You’re teasing,” he says.
“No, I’m not,” she says. “You have not been careful. Didn’t you get a mosquito net? You, my boy, what this woman is saying is the absolute truth. Had you protected yourself, you would have been malaria free.”“My woman went home. My woman went back. Brother, I’m just... more
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xiola
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