Saturday, February 28, 2009

Patriots News

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP)—Running back Fred Taylor signed with the New England Patriots on Friday after spending 11 seasons with Jacksonville.

Taylor was cut by the Jaguars in a salary-cup move. He joins a Patriots team seeking depth at running back, with Laurence Maroney having been bothered by injuries for most of his career.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have acquired quarterback Matt Cassel and linebacker Mike Vrabel from the New England Patriots in a trade for their second-round draft pick.

Cassel had been the backup in New England when Tom Brady, a two-time Super Bowl MVP, was injured minutes into last season's opener. Cassel hadn't started a game since high school but helped lead the Patriots to an 11-5 record. It wasn't, however, good enough for a playoff berth.

Something tells me that Cassel and Vrabel are worth more than a second-round selection.

Alternative Spring Break

Howard University Radio, WHUR (96.3 FM), is planning "A Helping Hand," a 12-hour radiothon Sunday with the goal of raising $50,000 to send more than 300 Howard University students to Chicago, Detroit and New Orleans, as well as across the D.C. area, to help families dealing issues that include illiteracy and the lingering effects of Hurricane Katrina.

The effort is part of the university's 14-year-old Alternative Spring Break program. Every year, many Howard students give up vacation time to perform public service. For the past three years, hundreds of students have spent spring break helping people devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

This year, some will return to New Orleans to help in the city's legal department. In the Washington area, students will confront homelessness in the District, Maryland and Virginia, and provide mentoring and tutoring to area students. Other Howard students will assist efforts to reduce gun violence by working with churches in Chicago and assist literacy programs for students in Detroit. - Washington Post

If Katrina wasn't so mean, they'd be partying in Cancun. But they're mean there too.

Central Illinois Placenta Mystery

CHICAGO – Someone is disposing of placentas in a central Illinois sewage system and authorities want it to stop. Workers in Urbana on Thursday found a placenta in a filter that keeps large objects out of the sewage treatment plant — the third such find this year. So police have enlisted medical experts. "It was one of the weirdest calls I've ever received," said Julie Pryde, who heads the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District.

Urbana Police Lt. Bryant Seraphin remembered: "She said, 'You found a WHAT in the WHERE?'"

The unprecedented finds have officials wondering if a midwife or veterinarian, stressed by economic woes, has been avoiding the expense of paying for a medical waste disposal service.

Police aren't aiming for an arrest, Seraphin said, and nobody suspects foul play. The umbilical cords, still attached, were cut clean. - Yahoo!

That's just nuts.

Funny Pic of the Day (2/28/09)

Song of the Day (2/28/08)



Maytals - Pressure Drop

Hmm hmm hmm, yeah... [3x]

It is you (oh yeah)
It is you, you (oh yeah)
It is you (oh yeah)

Cause a pressure drop, oh pressure
Oh yeah pressure drop a drop on you
I say a pressure drop, oh pressure
Oh yeah pressure drop a drop on you

I say when it drops, oh you gonna feel it
Know that you were doing wrong.

Hmm hmm hmm, yeah... [3x]
I say a pressure drop, oh pressure
Oh yeah, pressure drop a drop on you [2x]

Chicago Man Arrested For...

A man from President Obama's hometown of Chicago has been arrested for allegedly sending Obama and his staff envelopes containing HIV-infected blood, in the hopes of killing or harming them.

It's only the second time ever that HIV-infected blood has been sent with malicious intent through the U.S. mail system, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said.

In the weeks leading up to Obama's inauguration, Saad Hussein, an Ethiopian refugee in his late 20s, sent an envelope addressed to "Barack Obama" to offices of the Illinois government in Springfield, Ill., according to court documents. - Fox News

Obama has made some silly decisions so far in his Presidency, but this would be tops.

Counter View on CO2 Levels

Award-winning physicist Dr. Will Happer coined the phrase “CO2 famine” and branded claims about man-made global warming as “mistaken” today at a Congressional hearing. Happer, who has published over 200 scientific papers, made his thoughts known during the Environmental and Public Works Full Committee Hearing. Entitled “Update on the Latest Global Warming Science,” the hearing afforded Happer the opportunity to make several eyebrow-raising claims.


“The increase in CO2 is not a cause for alarm and will be good for mankind,” Happer said.“Children should not be force-fed propaganda, masquerading as science.”
Happer is a professor in the Department of Physics at Princeton University. He was also the former Director of Energy Research at the Department of Energy from 1990 to 1993. However, Happer was reportedly fired by former Vice President Al Gore in 1993 for not agreeing with Gore’s scientific views. - Examiner.com

Not surprised by that.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Ron Paul to Bernanke: "What Would It Take?"



Haha. Gotta love Ron at the end there when he says to Barney Rubble, "You used up some of my time, remember?"

$410 Billion Spending Bill Proposed

WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Democrats unveiled a $410 billion spending bill on Monday to keep the government running through the end of the fiscal year, setting up the second political struggle over federal funds in less than a month with Republicans.

The measure includes thousands of earmarks, the pet projects favored by lawmakers but often criticized by the public in opinion polls. There was no official total of the bill's earmarks, which accounted for at least $3.8 billion.

The legislation, which includes an increase of roughly 8 percent over spending in the last fiscal year, is expected to clear the House later in the week.

Democrats defended the spending increases, saying they were needed to make up for cuts enacted in recent years or proposed a year ago by then-President George W. Bush in health, education, energy and other programs. - Yahoo!

Earmarks? Look Obama lied.

A Drink A Day Keeps...Oh Nevermind

For years, many women have been buoyed by the news about one of life's guilty pleasures: That nightly glass of wine may not only take the edge off a day but also improve their health. Now it turns out that sipping pinot noir might not be such a good idea after all.

A new study involving nearly 1.3 million middle-aged British women -- the largest ever to examine alcohol and cancer in women -- found that just one glass of chardonnay, a single beer or any other type of alcoholic drink per day increases the risk of a variety of cancers.

"That's the take-home message," said Naomi E. Allen of the University of Oxford, who led the study being published March 4 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. "If you are regularly drinking even one drink per day, that's increasing your risk for cancer." - Washington Post

I remember reporting an article on here a couple of years ago saying how well and good one alcoholic a drink a day is...but uh...

Listening to Pop Music W/ Sex References...

San Diego, CA, February, 24, 2009 – With sexual activity among adolescents in the United States resulting over 750,000 teenage pregnancies each year and reports of up to 25 percent of all female adolescents in the US having sexually transmitted infections, researchers and public health officials are looking for those factors that might increase sexual activity in teens. In an article published in the April 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers found that teenagers who preferred popular songs with degrading sexual references were more likely to engage in intercourse or in pre-coital activities.

Writing in the article, Brian A. Primack, MD, EdM, MS, Center for Research on Health Care at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, states, “This study demonstrates that, among this sample of young adolescents, high exposure to lyrics describing degrading sex in popular music was independently associated with higher levels of sexual behavior. In fact, exposure to lyrics describing degrading sex was one of the strongest associations with sexual activity...These results provide further support for the need for additional research and educational intervention in this area.” - AJPM-Online.com
Surprising? Not at all.

Cal. Court Strikes Down Video Game Law

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A federal appeals court on Friday struck down a California law that sought to ban the sale or rental of violent video games to minors.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the 2005 law violates minors' rights under the Constitution's First and 14th amendments. The three-judge panel's unanimous ruling upholds an earlier ruling in U.S. District Court.

The law would have prohibited the sale or rental of violent games to anyone under 18. It also would have created strict labeling requirements for video game manufacturers. - Yahoo!
I don't see how the 9th could have possibly erred in this decision.

More Mexican War/Craziness News

Mexico is at war, and the drug violence this month alone has flared all across the country.

More people were killed in Mexico's drug war in 2008 than all the U.S. service members killed in the entire Iraq war. This year, the death rate has more than doubled, and experts say there's no end in sight.

In Cancun, a former army general was abducted, tortured and killed less than a day after becoming the region's top anti-drug officer. And last weekend on the Pacific coast, men hurled grenades at a police station near Acapulco. - NPR

Don't spring break in Cancun.

MN Could Lower Drinking Age

State lawmakers in Minnesota are bringing forward a plan to lower the drinking age from 21 to 18, and even allowing those sixteen and seventeen to drink in bars in accompanied by their parents.

There are at least four state representatives who are backing the plan.

Tom Hackbarth, a Republican from District 48A said, "I think that bars and restaurants are having a difficult time right now with the smoking ban that went into place. I think with economic times the way they are, I've never opposed the drinking age being 18."

He says the proposal could help the tavern industry. However, Mothers Against Drunk Driving opposes this idea. - KSFY.com

MADD would oppose this.

(Pierced) Girl Gone Wild



I apologize for the lack updates. Three days?!

Monday, February 23, 2009

Pitchfork May Have Stole My Content

Just throwing it out there, but I think Pitchfork Media may have "borrowed" a sentence of content from my Black Lip's 200 Million Thousand review. Yours truly was the first to review the album at length. I've seen some other reviews and I'm guessing that other reviewers may have used some of what I said. And that's fine. Like for instance, I only knew that the Kid on LSD was playing at the beginning of "I Saw God" because I've watched that video a few times in the past. I'm not going to doubt that other reviewers were familiar with it, but I really don't know. The principal similarity I noticed:

Me: If an unfamiliar listener stumbled upon 200 Million Thousand, there is no doubt they would recollect memories of 1960's protopunk, garage, and surf rock. That listener probably wouldn't be able to tell you what band they were listening to, thanks to the Black Lips overtly unique sound.
Pitchfork: No one's going to mistake this record for anyone but Black Lips, but they are stretching out as band here, pulling back their own tics in favor of things like style and tone.

Flintstones Loved Smoking


Hahahahaha! This commercial is wrong on so many levels.

The Casue of Sexual Thoughts


For all you AP Government kids out there, when I was reading up on Miller V. California (1973) and the Supreme Court's position, it reminded me of this classic Bill Hicks bit. Enjoy!

Saturday, February 21, 2009

12 Year Old Speaks Out on Abortion



Couldn't have said it better myself.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Man Pulled Over For Anti-Obama Sign

An Oklahoma City police officer wrongly pulled over a man last week and confiscated an anti-President Barack Obama sign the man had on his vehicle.

The officer misinterpreted the sign as threatening, said Capt. Steve McCool, of the Oklahoma City Police Department, and took the sign, which read "Abort Obama, not the unborn."

Chip Harrison said he was driving to work when a police car followed him for several miles and then signaled for him to pull over.

''I pulled over, knowing I hadn't done anything wrong"; Harrison said in a recent phone interview.

When the officer asked Harrison if he knew why he had been pulled over, Harrison said he did not.

''They said, 'It's because of the sign in your window,'" Harrison said.

''It's not meant to be a threat, it's a statement about abortion," Harrison said.

He said he disagrees with the president's position on abortion.

''I asked the officer, 'Do you know what abort means?'" Harrison said. "He said, 'Yeah, it means to kill.' I said, 'No, it means to remove or terminate.'" - Newsok.com
This should be absolutely no issue.

Trans. Secretary LaHood Considering Taxing Mileage

WASHINGTON - Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he wants to consider taxing motorists based on how many miles they drive rather than how much gasoline they burn — an idea that has angered drivers in some states where it has been proposed.

Gasoline taxes that for nearly half a century have paid for the federal share of highway and bridge construction can no longer be counted on to raise enough money to keep the nation's transportation system moving, LaHood said in an interview with The Associated Press.

"We should look at the vehicular miles program where people are actually clocked on the number of miles that they traveled," the former Illinois Republican lawmaker said. - MSNBC
Incompetently silly idea.

Mexican Civil Drug War

Mexico, a country with a nearly 2,000-mile border with the United States, is undergoing a horrifying wave of violence that some are likening to a civil war. Drug traffickers battle fiercely with each other and Mexican authorities. The homicide rate reached a record level in 2008 and indications are that the carnage could be exceeded this year. Video Watch a reporter duck to avoid gunfire »

Every day, newspapers and the airwaves are filled with stories and images of beheadings and other gruesome killings. Wednesday's front page on Mexico City's La Prensa carried a large banner headline that simply said "Hysteria!" The entire page was devoted to photos of bloody bodies and grim-faced soldiers. One photo shows a man with two young children walking across a street with an army vehicle in the background, with a soldier standing at a turret machine gun. - CNN

Screw war on drugs. Here we have a war of drugs.

Questionable Forensic Techniques

Chicago Tribune reports:

In a 2004 series "Forensics Under the Microscope," the Tribune found that a number of forensic disciplines, including some used in police stations and courtrooms every day, relied on flawed science, and their use contributed to the arrests and convictions of innocent people.

Wednesday's National Academy of Sciences report on forensic disciplines mirrors many of the newspaper's findings.

Here is a look at four issues the report considered.

[1. Fingerprint comparisons
2. Bullet-lead analysis
3. Arson indicators
4. Bite-mark comparsions]
Check here for in depth descriptions of the four issues.

Playboy Reports Huge Loss

During a conference call today announcing Playboy’s fourth quarter and year-end 2008 financial results, interim chairman and CEO Jerome Kern was asked by an analyst if, now that longtime CEO Christie Hefner is no longer with the company, it will consider a sale and/or changes in the strategic direction of Playboy magazine.

“Yes, we’re open to discussions,” Kern said.

Playboy reported a year-end net loss of $156.1 million in 2008, compared to a net gain of $4.9 million during 2007. The majority of that loss came during the fourth quarter, which saw a profit loss of $145.7 million due, in part, to $157.2 million in impairment and restructuring charges. - Foliomag.com
Reason is kind of obvious: internet porn. This is the same reason why print journalism is becoming obsolete in general: people are turning to the internet.

Yuri Sucart

Is A-Rod's cousin. That's all.

The Highwayman


Anybody else remember this? 7th grade Ms. Slusarz, where we read the poem? Well, this is Phil Ochs' musical rendition. Enjoy!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Fitzpatrick Found Guilty on Two Counts

WOBURN, Mass. -- A jury has convicted a N.H. man in the 2006 slayings of his ex-lover's husband and another man at a Wakefield business.

A Middlesex Superior Court jury found Sean Fitzpatrick guilty of murder Thursday after deliberating for more than a week.

Fitzpatrick was accused of fatally shooting 39-year-old Michael Zammitti Jr. after Zammitti's wife ended their relationship. Zammitti was the owner of Allstate Concrete Pumping. - WHDH
Justice has been served!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Funny Pic of the Day (2/18/09)



Click the image to enlarge.

Obama Approves Troop Surge in Afghan.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama approved adding some 17,000 U.S. troops for the flagging war in Afghanistan, his first significant move to change the course of a conflict that his closest military advisers have warned the United States is not winning.

"To meet urgent security needs, I approved a request from (Defense) Secretary Gates to deploy a Marine Expeditionary Brigade later this spring and an Army Stryker Brigade and the enabling forces necessary to support them later this summer," Obama said in a statement issued by the White House.

About 8,000 Marines are expected to go in first, followed by about 9,000 Army troops. Some 34,000 U.S. troops are already in Afghanistan. - MSNBC

Obama's already being an aggressor.

Another Auto Bailout Proposed

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Motors and Chrysler LLC asked the government Tuesday for $21.6 billion in additional loans, but the final cost of a bailout of the auto industry could be significantly higher.

The two struggling auto giants have already received a total of $17.4 billion in loans. If they get the new loans they want, the price tag of the bailout would climb to $39 billion.

What's more, $7.5 billion in loans have already been approved for the financing arms of GM and Chrysler. Congress also approved funding last year for $25 billion in loans to help automakers convert their plants to produce more fuel efficient cars.

Just what we need! Actually, we need to stage a peaceful coup d'etat.

Will History Repeat Itself?




Franklin Delano Roosevelt

1. World War II.

2. Needs to fix the disasters that had been left behind by World War I.

3. Attempts to fix the economy by applying the “New Deal”.

4. Stock market crashes before FDR comes into office.

5. Millions lose jobs before FDR comes into office.

6. Millions of homes foreclosed before FDR comes into office.

7. Attempts to fix the banks that are about to go out of business, creates the FDIC.

8. Created new jobs.

9. FDR applied the “New Deal” in his “First 100 Days”. This helped to ease the pains of the Great Depression and gave millions of people work.

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Barack Hussein Obama

1. War on terror and the War in Iraq.

2. Needs to fix the disasters of War in Iraq.

3. Attempts to fix the economy by applying the stimulus package.

4. Stock market crumbles in 2008 before Obama comes into office.

5. Millions lose jobs before Obama comes into office.

6. Millions of homes foreclosed before Obama comes into office.

7. Attempt to fix the banks that are about to go out of business.

8. Will he create new jobs?

9. Attempting as of now to apply the stimulus package in order to help ease the pains of this economic crisis. Will he give millions of American jobs?
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The American people elected Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 because he promised the country that his candidacy would bring change and a promise of hope. When FDR made his inaugural address, he announced that, “[it is] my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance,” this was addressing the issue of the politicians and the economists that were too afraid or too careful to actually make any radical changes to the government. FDR also addresses that the American nation as of then was in a crisis. He addressed to the nation that we were not in a minor from of a crisis, but we were in a serious economic catastrophe.
The American people elected Barack Obama because he promised the country that he would bring change and a promise of a better future. Barack Obama, when he was addressing the nation, said, “we are in the midst of [a] crisis… Our nation is at war... Our economy is badly weakened… Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.” Obama also addresses the nation that the economic crisis we are in now is not such a light deal, and that we have to take it very seriously. Both of these Presidents are/were Democrats and have/had very similar situations tied to their belts. With these similarities, will Obama bring change? Or will history repeat itself and bring about another war? No one will know for sure, but until that time comes, all that we can do is compare and contrast both President Barack Obama and President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

War, economic turmoil, and the millions of people without jobs are few of the situations that Barack Obama, our new president, has to deal with. According to the Employment Situation Summary from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the percentage of unemployed Americans as of this year has been 10.3%, or approximately 15.7 million people. This, however, is not the first time America has gone through these times of serious economic turmoil.
Some 76 years ago, Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the new President of the United States when President Hoover ended his term with the Great Depression. Hoover, much like George W. Bush, had a very low approval rating when he left his seat at the Whitehouse. The times were tough and the Great Depression was taking a huge toll on the American economy. We can surely relate that both the presidents, Roosevelt and Obama, had a tight situation when they began their term(s) in office. President Obama has to deal with both the war in Iraq and the economic troubles in America, while President Roosevelt had to deal with the financial crisis after World War I, the rise of Nazi Germany, World War II, and the ever-endeavoring Great Depression.
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A line for the unemployed. Where the unemployed went daily to get a cup of coffee and some bread.


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Shows a mother and her children suffering through the Great Depression.


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Roosevelt dealt with the Great Depression with his series of plans called the “New Deal”. Some of the programs created, such as the Agricultural Adjustment Act, National Recovery Administration, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, helped to settle the uneasiness in the American homes. President Obama has the same situation and plan when he is dealing with the economy of today. President Obama has promised the country a national stimulus package, in which the government would do whatever it could to revitalize the economy.
World War II had saved the American economy from crashing completely, and maybe the war in Iraq may do the same, but currently all it has been doing is creating a huge gaping hole in the American markets. Both back then and now, the stock markets have been fluctuating and people have lost their homes due to banks foreclosing on their property. When Obama was getting ready to come into office, the American stock market was plummeting, millions of homes were foreclosing, and millions jobs were being lost. As of today, according to USAToday, about 79% of homes in America are being foreclosed.

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Home foreclosure is one of the most devastating things that can happen to a homeowner.


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When Roosevelt was in office, banks were shutdown because thousands of people took out money in a brief period of time, the stock market was failing completely because of large number of margin buying, jobs were being lost because of overproduction of goods, and millions of homes were foreclosing due to unemployment in addition to no money being in the homeowners’ savings accounts. Getting back into the reasons for the stock market crashing, the markets crashed because of margin buying that most of the investors have done. The Republican controlled government that Hoover ran was a laissez-faire style government, which left the businesses to roam free without government restrictions and interventions. Hoover’s Republican ideas also consisted of low interest rates in banks; to one withdrawing money, it almost seemed like getting the money free of charge. This low interest plan is all well and good if the market stayed at the bull market, which is a stock market where the prices were expected to rise steadily. If the market stayed that way, no one would have lost any money, but because the people sold too low and lost money from margin buying, they lost their fortunes and the market fell to a bear market, which is the opposite of a bull market in which the prices are expected to fall. All of these economic problems that Roosevelt had are very distinctly similar to both then and now.

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People gathering in the streets when the stock markets crashed in 1929.


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The New York Stock exchange today
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Roosevelt’s Emergency Banking Relief Act created a four-day banking holiday, which stopped all activities of the Federal Reserve System and other banks, credit unions, and loan associations. Over 5,000 banks reopened within three days. This banking holiday helped to give FDR a huge boost of support from the American people. When the bailout started with the Bush administration, many Americans disagreed, questioning whether it was really necessary. The Bush administration claimed that the companies were too large to fail and this caused billions of U.S. dollars to go into the already huge multi-million dollar corporations. As of today, the credit crisis is not getting much better. The bailout plan was supposed to help the American corporations to recuperate, but it looks like all it has done was temporarily create a safety net for the large companies. Loans and interest keeps going up due to the credit crisis that had started in 2007.

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Graph of Wall Street and credit markets drying up due to the shortage of money and the financial crisis.


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When Roosevelt promised change in his presidency, he created administrations to help the development of jobs in the American society. The Works Progress Administration, or the WPA, helped to give out jobs to unemployed Americans. By the spring of 1936, about 3.5 million Americans were on the WPA. Some of the workers were laborers, writers, musicians, actors, and clerks, whom were all given jobs according to their own work fields. Much like times today, many critics reviewed these actions as pointless and that much of the employment was useless work. However, the WPA built roads and public buildings, which helped to create jobs and renew the American society. The WPA employed about 8.5 million people at the cost of about $11 billion after its initial creation. Will this happen with the Obama administration? We can only find out after the President makes his decisions about the economy and the millions upon millions of jobs and homes lost. Will history repeat itself once again? Or will the new frontier of American economy bring about change without drastic warfare? President Obama announced on Monday, February 09, 2009 that the plan that he came into office with is not set in stone. He mentions that he did not plan on spending billions of dollars to start off his administration, but due to the circumstances, the ideas and the plans that he administrated, he had to change by the ebb and flow in order to fit the situation. We can only hope and demand for change, but in reality it is all up to the President to decide what the needs and desires of the American people are.

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Note: I will update this post as the Obama administration goes on.

Obama's War on Terror Like Bush's

WASHINGTON — Even as it pulls back from harsh interrogations and other sharply debated aspects of George W. Bush’s “war on terrorism,” the Obama administration is quietly signaling continued support for other major elements of its predecessor’s approach to fighting Al Qaeda.

In little-noticed confirmation testimony recently, Obama nominees endorsed continuing the C.I.A.’s program of transferring prisoners to other countries without legal rights, and indefinitely detaining terrorism suspects without trials even if they were arrested far from a war zone.

The administration has also embraced the Bush legal team’s arguments that a lawsuit by former C.I.A. detainees should be shut down based on the “state secrets” doctrine. It has also left the door open to resuming military commission trials.

And earlier this month, after a British court cited pressure by the United States in declining to release information about the alleged torture of a detainee in American custody, the Obama administration issued a statement thanking the British government “for its continued commitment to protect sensitive national security information.” - New York Times
No change.

Fertilized Egg Has Human Rights

A measure approved by the North Dakota House gives a fertilized human egg the legal rights of a human being, a step that would essentially ban abortion in the state.

The bill is a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that extended abortion rights nationwide, supporters of the legislation said.

Representatives voted 51-41 to approve the measure Tuesday. It now moves to the North Dakota Senate for its review.

The bill declares that "any organism with the genome of homo sapiens" is a person protected by rights granted by the North Dakota Constitution and state laws. - Buffalonews.com

This is great!

Favorites: Albums

1)Pink Floyd- Darkside of the Moon (1973)
2)Rage Against the Machine- Rage Against the Machine (1992)
3)Beatles- Revolver (1966)
4)The Velvet Underground-The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)
5)Black Lips- Good Bad Not Evil (2007)
6)Animal Collective- Strawberry Jam (2007)
7)Pixies- Doolittle (1989)
8)Bright Eyes- I'm Wide Awake It's Morning (2005)
9)Radiohead- Ok Computer (1997)
10)Tool- Aenima (1996)
11)Ramones- Rocket to Russia (1977)
12)Replacements- Let It Be (1984)
13)Minutemen- Double Nickels on the Dime (1984)
14)Sonic Youth- Goo (1990)
15)Nirvana- In Utero (1993)
16)Bill Hicks- Rant In E-Minor (1997)
17)Against Me!- Reinventing Axl Rose (2002)
18)The Clash- London Calling (1980)
19)Sex Pistols- Nevermind the Bollocks (1977)
18)Arcade Fire- Neon Bible (2007)
19)No Age- Nouns (2008)
20)Beach Boys- Pet Sounds (1966)
21)Frank Zappa- We're Only In It For the Money (1968)
22)Elliot Smith- Either/ Or (1997_
23)Nick Cave- Tender Prey (1988)
24)Stone Roses- Stone Roses (1989)
25)Jesus and Mary Chain- Psychocandy (1985)
26)N.W.A.- Straight Outta Compton (1988)
27)Wu-Tang Clan- Enter the Wu-Tang (1993)
28)Johnny Cash- At Folsom Prison (1968)
29)Doors- Doors (1967)
30)Who- Tommy (1969)
31)Lou Reed- Transformer (1972)
32)David Bowie-Ziggy Stardust (1972)
33)Simon and Garfunkel-Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966)
34)Misfits- Walk Among Us (1982)
35)Anti-Flag- Die For the Government (1996)
36)Descendents- Liveage (1987)
37)Bad Brains-Rock For Light (1983)
38)Fugazi- Steady Diet of Nothing (1991)
39)Pogues- Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash (1985)
40)Arctic Monkeys-Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not (2006)
41)Ween- Chocolate and Cheese (1994)
42)Weezer- Blue Album (1994)
43)Nightwatchman-One Man Revolution (2007)
44)Primus-Sailing the Seas of Cheese (1991)
45)Black Flag- My War (1984)
46)Dead Kennedys- Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death (1987)
47)Leonard Cohen- Best Of (1974)
48)Meat Puppets- Up On the Sun (1985)
49)Smiths- Meat is Murder (1985)
50)Jane's Addiction-Nothing's Shocking (1988)
51)Faith No More- Angel Dust (1995)
52)Led Zeppelin- Houses of the Holy (1973)
53)Bjork- Post (1995)
54)Black Sabbath- Paranoid (1971)
55)Metalica- Master of Puppets (1986)
56)Slayer- Reign In Blood (1986)
57)Stooges- Stooges (1969)
58)New York Dolls- New York Dolls (1973)
59)Jam- Sound Affects (1980)
60)Buzzcocks- Singles Going Steady (1979)
61)Vaselines- Way of the Vaselines (1992)
62)Daniel Johnston- Continued Story (1985)
63)Kinks- Well Respected Kinks (1974)
64)X- Los Angeles (1980)
65)Mabuses- Mabused (2007)
66)Husker Du- New Day Rising (1985)
67)Big Black- Songs About Fucking (1987)
68)Cure- Disintegration (1989)
69)Joy Division- Closer (1980)
70)KRS-ONE/BDP- Criminal Minded (1987)
71)Pharcyde- Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde (1992)
72)A Tribe Called Quest- The Low End Theory (1991)
73)Smashing Pumpkins- Siamese Dream (1993)
74)Television- Marquee Moon (1977)
75)Minor Threat- Complete Discography (1989)
76)Alice In Chains- Dirt (1992)
77)Incubus- Science (1997)
78)GlassJaw- Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence (2000)
79)Deftones- White Pony (2000)
80)System of A Down- Mesmerize/Hypnotize (2005)
81)Head Automatica- Decadence (2004)
82)Bob Marley- Legend (1984)
83)Jimi Hendrix- Are You Experienced? (1967)
84)Bob Dylan- Bringing It All Back Home (1965)
85)Love- Forever Changes (1967)
86)Page France- Hello, Dear Wind (2005)
87)Beastie Boys- Paul's Boutique (1989)
88)Cypress Hill- Greatest Hits From the Bong (2004)
89)Queen- Greatest Hits Volume 1 (1987)
90)Elvis Costello (1979)
91)Sly and the Family Stone- Stand! (1969)
92)Germs- GI (1979)
93)Mudhoney- My Brother the Cow (1995)
94)Roy Orbison- 16 Biggest Hits
95)George Jones- Pure George Jones
96)Hank Williams- Best of Hank Williams
97)Pavement- Slanted and Enchanted (1992)
98)Dinosaur Jr- You're Living All Over Me (1987)
99)GZA- Liquid Swords (1996)
100)Alice Cooper- Greatest Hits (1974)
101)Editors- Back Room (2005)

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Favorites: Artists

1)Beatles
2)Ramones
3)Rage Against the Machine
4)Pink Floyd
5)Pixies
6)Nirvana
7)Black Lips
8)Tool
9)Sonic Youth
10)Johnny Cash
11)System of A Down
12)Fugazi
13)The Who
14)Velvet Underground
15)Doors
16)Radiohead
17)Animal Collective
18)The Replacements
19)Minutemen
20)The Smiths
21)Frank Zappa
22)Bad Brains
23)Dead Kennedys
24)Black Flag
25)Bright Eyes
26)No Age
27)Meat Puppets
28)Leonard Cohen
29)Page France
30)Against Me!
31)The Pogues
32)The Clash
33)Sex Pistols
34)Arcade Fire
35)Elliot Smith
36)The Nightwatchman
37)Nick Cave
38)Led Zeppelin
39)Simon and Garfunkel
40)David Bowie
41)N.W.A.
42)The Misfits
43)Anti-Flag
44)Alice In Chains
45)Dinosaur Jr
46)Beat Happening
47)Roy Orbison
48)Daniel Johnston
49)The Beach Boys
50)Ween
51)Wu-Tang Clan
52)Bob Marley
53)Jimi Hendrix
54)Bob Dylan
55)The Vaselines
56)Incubus
57)Minor Threat
58)Descendents
59)Faith No More
60)Jesus and Mary Chain
61)Jane's Addiction
62)Primus
63)Arctic Monkeys
64)Bjork
65)Lou Reed
66)Stooges
67)Stone Roses
68)Pavement
69)Black Sabbath
70)New York Dolls
71)Kinks
72)The Jam
73)Buzzcocks
74)R.E.M.
75)Talking Heads
76)Television
77)Smashing Pumpkins
78)X
79)Mabuses
80)Husker Du
81)Big Black
82)Deftones
83)Mudhoney
84)Metalica
85)Slayer
86)Editors
87)Head Automatica
88)KRS-ONE/ BDP
89)Pharcyde
90)A Tribe Called Quest
91)Queen
92)Marvin Gaye
93)Beastie Boys
94)Cypress Hill
95)Germs
96)King Khan
97)Grateful Dead
98)Elivs Presley
99)Elvis Costello
100)George Jones
101)Hank Williams
102)Weezer
103)Flobots
104)Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
105)Eminem
106)De La Soul
107)Love
108)Captain Beefheart
109)Walkmen
110)Stone Temple Pilots
111)Soundgarden
112)Pearl Jam
113)Galaxy 500
114)Foo Fighters
115)Joy Divison
116)Cure
117)Blue Oyster Cult
118)Lynyrd Skynyrd
119)Neil Young
120)Credence Clearwater Revival
121)John Lennon
122)Paul McCartney
123)Elton John
124)Wesley Willis
125)Red Hot Chili Peppers
126)Sublime
127)Modest Mouse
128)Mission of Burma
129)Fall of Troy
130)Chimaira
131)The Used
132)Built To Spill
133)Psychedelic Furs
134)Cranberries
135)Phil Ochs
136)Woody Guthrie
137)Leadbelly
138)Nick Drake
139)Nine Inch Nails
140)Immortal Technique
141)Dead Prez
142)Notorious BIG
143)Nas
144)The Roots
145)Geto Boys
146)Run-DMC
147)Public Enemy
148)Sebadoh
149)Patsy Kline
150)Billie Holiday
151)Patti Smith
152)Janis Joplin
153)40 Below Summer
154)At the Drive-In
155)MC5
156)The Vandals
157)Sam Roberts
158)Cream
159)Peter Bjorn and John
160)Chuck Berry
161)Willie Nelson
162)Eric B. and Rakim
163)Sly and the Family Stone
164)Parliament Funkadelic
165)Necro
166)Dr. Dre
167)Rolling Stones
169)Mewithoutyou
170)Social D
171)Korn
172)Helmet
173)Paul Weller
174)Devo
175)Jefferson Airplane
176)The Shaggs
177)Motorhead
178)Cheap Trick
179)Ray Charles
180)The Shins
181)Sigor Ros
182)Blondie
183)The Carpenters
184)Butthole Surfers
185)Dresden Dolls
186)Beck
187)Strokes
188)Daphne Love Derby
189)Wolftron
190)New Order
191)Grandmaster Flash
192)KISS
193)Van Halen
194)CKY
195)Louis Armstrong
196)John Coltrane
197)Alice Cooper
198)Frank Sinatra
199)Ozzy Osbourne
200)Libertines
201)Morrissey
202)Melvins
203)Fear
204)Sounds of Animals Fighting
205)Allman Brothers
206)Thrice
207)Brand New
208)Stevie Wonder
209)Everly Brothers
210)Peter, Paul, and Mary
211)Gonzales
212)Bikini Kill
213)Green Day
214)Beethoven
215)Sunset Rubdown
216)Wolf Parade
217)Moldy Peaches
218)Mamas and the Papas
219)Al Green
220)Otis Redding
221)James Brown
222)Esham
223)Slipknot
224)Deep Purple
225)Ac/Dc
226)Pantera
227)Sepultura
228)Shellac
229)Yo La Tengo
230)Judy Garland
231)Pat Benetar
232)Abba
233)EPMD
234)Snoop Doggy Dog
235)Slick Rick
236)Vampire Weekend
237)Folk Implosion
238)Number 12 Looks Like You
239)Jesus Lizard
240)Corrosion of Conformity
241)Bad Religion
242)No One's Kind
243)One Day As a Lion
244)Circle Jerks
245)Yardbirds
246)Buddy Holly
247)Steely Dan
248)Jethro Tull
249)Classic Case
250)Louis IXV
Eh, there's probably more, but that's good for now.

Obama Executive Order on Embryonic Stem Cells

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will soon issue an executive order lifting an eight-year ban embryonic stem cell research imposed by his predecessor, President George W. Bush, a senior adviser said on Sunday.

"We're going to be doing something on that soon, I think. The president is considering that right now," Obama adviser David Axelrod said on "Fox News Sunday."

In 2001, Bush limited federal funding for stem cell research only to human embryonic stem cell lines that already existed. It was a gesture to his conservative Christian supporters who regard embryonic stem cell research as destroying potential life, because the cells must be extracted from human embryos.

Something Bush actually did good is going to now be reversed. Not good.

Something Wrong With This Picture?



I see something. Do you?

Obama Signs Stimulus Bill Into Law


DENVER - President Barack Obama signed into law Tuesday one of the most costly pieces of legislation in U.S. history — a $787 billion program to breathe life into the country's failing economy.

Speaking in Denver, the city where he won the Democratic presidential nomination last summer, Obama said the massive government spending and tax cut program opened the road for Americans to begin "laying claim to a destiny of our own making."

The president put his signature to the bill in a highly unusual ceremony away from the partisan tensions still gripping Washington. As he spoke in Denver, he was closing out his first month in office — opening days of a new administration that have seen a relentless storm of economic bad news and public pessimism. - MSNBC


Image Courtesy: Deathby1000papercuts.com


99% of Brazil is "Homophobic"

BRASILIA, February 13, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Brazilian government has determined that 99% of its citizens are "homophobic," and therefore must be reeducated, according to the Brazilian newspaper O Globo.

The results are taken from a study that tested for "homophobia" by asking people to comment on such statements as "God made men and women with different sexes so that they could fulfill their role and have children." The 92% of Brazilians who agreed partially or completely with the statement were labeled "homophobic."

Another test question for "homophobia" was, "Homosexuality is a sin against the laws of God." Fifty-eight percent of Brazilians agreed.

Those who agreed partially or completely that "Homosexuality is an illness that should be treated" (41%) were also labeled "homophobic," as were those who objected to homosexuals kissing and hugging in public (64%).

That's terrible criteria.

Jury in Fitzpatrick Murder Trial Deadlocked

Woburn- The jury in the Sean Fitzpatrick murder retrial has reached a deadlock following four days of deliberations at Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn.

In a note to presiding Judge Kathe Tuttman, the jury of 6 men and 6 women said Friday they were unable to reach a unanimous decision after a careful analysis of all the evidence. After the jury was brought back into the courtroom, Judge Tuttman said she would give further instructions to the jury when they reconvened on Tuesday.

Fitzpatrick, 46 of Freedom, NH is charged with two counts of first degree murder in connection with the March 13, 2006 shooting deaths of Michael Zammitti Jr., 36 and Chester Roberts, 54 at the Allstate Concrete Pumping Company on New Salem Street. The prosecutors allege that SF stole a neighbor’s truck, drove to Wakefield with a 16 gauge shotgun and committed the murders after an affair with Zammitti’s wife, Michele, ended. If convicted, SF faces life in prison without parole. In SF’s first trial in August, a jury was unable to reach a verdict after three days of deliberations and a mistrial was declared. - Juror Thirteen

If the public (or at the very least Étudiant readers) had their say (according to the poll at right), Fitzpatrick would unanimously be put behind bars for life.

CD Review: Horseshoes and Hand Grenades




Comments:
I didn't really know what to expect from Chris Mars, the drummer for Minneapolis rocker legends The Replacements. He kind of sounds like Eddie Money. Take that however you want. There's a lot of average tracks. I'm glad The Replacements didn't go in this direction. I'll throw out The Neighborhoods as another similar kind of band. Like the 'Hoods, Mars plays lots of catchy pop-rock, but not really much else. I'm sure there are some die-hard Replacements fans who love this, but I'm sure there are others who...don't. I'm in the middle.

1. Reverse Status - Grade: 8.3
2. Popular Creeps - Grade: 8.2
3. Outer Limits - Grade: 7.7
4. Before It Began - Grade: 7.1
5. Get Out of My Life - Grade: 7.3
6. Monkey Sees - Grade: 7.5
7. Ego Maniac - Grade: 7.8
8. Midnight Carnival - Grade: 8.2
9. I, Me, We, Us, Them - Grade: 8.0
10. Don't You See It - Grade: 8.1
11. Happy Disconnections - Grade: 8.3
12. Better Days - Grade: 8.5
13. City Lights on Mars - Grade: 7.0
14. Last Drop - Grade: 8.0

Final Grade: 7.8

Bin Laden's Hideout Found?

Fugitive terrorist Osama bin Laden is most likely hiding out in a walled compound in a Pakistani border town, according to a satellite-aided geographic analysis released today. A research team led by geographer Thomas Gillespie of the University of California-Los Angeles used geographic analytical tools that have been successful in locating urban criminals and endangered species.

Basing their conclusion on nighttime satellite images and other techniques, the scientists suggest bin Laden may well be in one of three compounds in Parachinar, a town 12 miles from the Pakistan border. The research incorporates public reports of bin Laden's habits and whereabouts since his flight from the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan in 2001.

The results, reported in the MIT International Review, are being greeted with polite but skeptical interest among people involved in the hunt for bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader behind 9/11. Bin Laden's whereabouts are considered "one of the most important political questions of our time," the study notes.
Go get 'em.

CD Review: This Is Our Music (Galaxie 500)



Comments:
My initial impression of the first song on This is Our Music, "Fourth of July," was one of a worrisome nature. I thought "oh no, not another crappy '80s band." But then I started hearing a dreamy voice (no homo), a cross between Jonathan Richman and Ian Curtis. And it dawned on me that what I was listening to was really good. "Hearing Voices" is a shoe-gazer; Dean Wareham recalls Eugene Kelly (Vaselines) -- maybe because both were signed to Rough Trade? Maybe not. In terms of catchiness, "Hearing Voices" is high ranking. "Spook" is funny, at least in part because Wareham kicks up his pitch a few notches. Heavy mid-song jamming, of course, fades back to Wareham's slow-core high pitch. "Summertime" quickly, but not precisely, resembles something Lou Reed would jam. But then it really really doesn't. What gives? It's still awesome. Seriously. A song like this hasn't left this much of an impression on me an a while. "Way Up Here" isn't anything too special...it's chill. It's got this Transcontinental Railroad kind of whistling. That's always a plus. "Listen, The Snow is Falling" switches gender gears. Yoko Ono sings well. She starts out kind of Bjork-y, given the ambient/minimalist presentation of the song. Add a little bass drum and the song really takes off into space. Then there is like 4 minutes of guitar/drum solos that makes you wonder "how in the hell is this song even possible?" And "can this band please just re-unite if but for only one concert?" "Sorry" would probably fit better on a Replacements or a Faces on Film album, but hey it's on this one, I'm not going to complain! "Melt Away," the second to last track, is not a command...it's a desire. It would kind of suck to melt away (literally), but Wareham doesn't really care. He's determined. His guitar solos prove it. "King of Spain Part 2" is full-on Gregorian-like slowcore. This album is amazing. No wonder why AllMusic gave it a 4.5 out of 5.

Grade: 9.6 out of 10

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Hamas Converts Hospitals Into Prisons

The Palestinian Health Ministry, run by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, accused Hamas' security apparatus Saturday of commandeering a number of hospital wards in the Gaza Strip for the purpose of converting them into interrogation and imprisonment compounds.

According to Palestinian news agency Ma'an, the Palestinian Health Ministry claimed that Hamas members expelled them and full medical teams from hospital wards despite the serious security situation. - Y Net News
Human rights abuses for the loss.

Microsoft To Open Retail Stores

SEATTLE (AP) — Microsoft plans to open its own stores despite the economic downturn that has left many retailers struggling.

The company said Thursday that it had hired David Porter, a 25-year veteran of Wal-Mart Stores, as its corporate vice president for retail stores. Mr. Porter was head of worldwide product distribution at DreamWorks Animation SKG since 2007.

Mr. Porter, who is set to start work on Tuesday, is charged with improving the PC-buying experience. The company said his first task would be to set the timing, locations and design of Microsoft-branded retail stores, which will sell computers installed with Microsoft software as well as other company products.
Unnecessary, but that's just me.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

"What if the American People Learn Truth"

Ron Paul brought his A-game to Congress on Thursday...


24 Soldiers Committed Suicide in January

From therawstory...

The Army's suicide rate is the highest it has been in three decades, and a week-long series of articles at Salon.com has been highlighting what it calls "habitual mistreatment behind the preventable deaths."

Paul Rieckhoff, the founder and executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Thursday, "In January, we lost approximately 24 soldiers in the Army to suicide. That's more folks than we lost in combat. ... We lost more soldiers to suicide than to al Qaeda."

"If we lost that many soldiers to an enemy weapon system, the entire country would be outraged," Rieckhoff continued. "The Pentagon would be scrambling to do something about it. We need the same level of urgency around these suicides."
As Bill Baer said, "Aiming to make anything look like New Jersey is setting the bar very, very low."(You have to read the entire story to get the reference)

Health Care and the Stimulus

From Newsmax.com

...According to Smith, the stimulus bill contains over $100 billion of temporary Medicaid money. In an unprecedented use of Medicaid, that money will go to provide medical coverage for 1.2 million unemployed workers. What happens to those people in two years, when most of the temporary federal funding ends, is a major question. It will eventually lead to huge budget shortfalls when the federal spigot shuts off.

“It’s going to be very serious,” Smith says. “The GAO, the watchdog agency that works for Congress, has already said the current Medicaid program is unsustainable, and that states for the current program have to either cut spending or raise taxes by 7.6 percent every year to stay in balance.”

After the federal money is gone, Smith says, states will have to either drop millions of people from the rolls or face massive shortfalls. That probably means they’ll soon be back at the federal trough pleading for more money.

How does that stimulate the economy???!!!

Dad at 13

The Sun reports...

BOY dad Alfie Patten yesterday admitted he does not know how much nappies cost — but said: “I think it’s a lot.”

Baby-faced Alfie, who is 13 but looks more like eight, became a father four days ago when his girlfriend Chantelle Steadman gave birth to 7lb 3oz Maisie Roxanne.

He told how he and Chantelle, 15, decided against an abortion after discovering she was pregnant.

Just more content for the "What is this world turning into?" section of this site.

Colorado School Opts for Different Approach

Westminster, Colo. – School districts across the US are trying to improve student performance and low test scores. But few have taken as radical an approach as Adams 50.

For starters, when the elementary and middle-school students come back next fall, there won't be any grade levels – or traditional grades, for that matter. And those are only the most visible changes in a district that, striving to reverse dismal test scores and a soaring dropout rate, is opting for a wholesale reinvention of itself, rather than the incremental reforms usually favored by administrators.

The 10,000-student district in the metropolitan Denver area is at the forefront of a new "standards-based" educational approach that has achieved success in individual schools and in some small districts in Alaska, but has yet to be put to the test on such a large scale in an urban district. - Yahoo!

Confusing, but I think it could work.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Selig To Reinstate HR Crown to Aaron?

Is baseball's steroid scandal about to make Hank Aaron the once and future home run king?

Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig reportedly is considering restoring the crown to Aaron, who lost it in 2007 to Barry Bonds.

Bonds is set to go on trial on March 2 on obstruction of justice charges related a federal investigation into the BALCO steroid scandal.

Bonds' trainer was indicted on charges he supplied steroids and other performance-enhancement drugs to baseball players through BALCO, leading to speculation that Bonds also had used steroids, allegations he denies. - Fox News

As one commenter on the issue stated, "Bud Selig practically encouraged the entire steroids era. Seeing him running around demanding apologies and acting pissed off about steroids users is enraging." Another one tied in some humor, "This is like Mark Foley campaigning against child pornography. Oh, wait... it's exactly like it."

Intelligent Design a "Cultural Phenomenon"

The Vatican has admitted that Charles Darwin was on the right track when he claimed that Man descended from apes.

A leading official declared yesterday that Darwin’s theory of evolution was compatible with Christian faith, and could even be traced to St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas. “In fact, what we mean by evolution is the world as created by God,” said Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture. The Vatican also dealt the final blow to speculation that Pope Benedict XVI might be prepared to endorse the theory of Intelligent Design, whose advocates credit a “higher power” for the complexities of life.

Organisers of a papal-backed conference next month marking the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species said that at first it had even been proposed to ban Intelligent Design from the event, as “poor theology and poor science”. Intelligent Design would be discussed at the fringes of the conference at the Pontifical Gregorian University, but merely as a “cultural phenomenon”, rather than a scientific or theological issue, organisers said. - Times Online

This will make many people very happy.

900 Massacred in Congo since Christmas

Rome, Italy, Feb 13, 2009 / 01:53 am (CNA).- Troops of the guerilla Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) have massacred over 900 people since Christmas in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The news reports from missionary media sources, which are not attracting attention in Europe and America, lament the inaction and “impotence” of the United Nations forces in the area.

Fides news agency reports that the LRA is a Ugandan group mainly composed of child soldiers kidnapped and forced into service. For decades the group has ravaged the land in northern Uganda and is active in Congo, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic.

The armies of Uganda, Congo and South Sudan formed a joint military operation in late December 2008 to try to stop the LRA. They moved against the LRA general headquarters in the Garamba Forest in the Congo with the backing of the U.N. and the United States.
How something like this can slip past our mass media...I don't know.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

The WTF Blanket



Hahhhaa

Digital Switch Delayed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About 40 percent of the nation's hundreds of TV stations will be broadcasting completely in digital signals next week, even after regulators delayed a mandatory nationwide switch to "DTV" by months.

The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday said 681 of the nearly 1800 television broadcast stations will have already stopped broadcasting in older, analog signals, or will by next week.

The U.S. House of Representatives last week voted to delay the mandatory change by four months -- to June 12 from February 17. President Barack Obama is expected to sign the bill into law shortly.

Seems like a pretty pointless issue.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

New Poll

Is Sean Fitzpatrick innocent or guilty? A verdict for the re-trial could be reached sometime this week.

-----

From the Boston Herald:

WOBURN — A jury has started deliberating the case of a New Hampshire man charged with killing his ex-lover’s husband and another man at a Wakefield business.

Sean Fitzpatrick is accused of fatally shooting Michael Zammitti Jr. in March 2006 after Zammitti’s wife ended their relationship. Zammitti was the owner of Allstate Concrete Pumping.

Prosecutors say Chester Roberts, an employee of the company, was shot when he happened to enter the room at the wrong time.

Arizona Man Sued By Mexican Nationals

An Arizona man who has waged a 10-year campaign to stop a flood of illegal immigrants from crossing his property is being sued by 16 Mexican nationals who accuse him of conspiring to violate their civil rights when he stopped them at gunpoint on his ranch on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Roger Barnett, 64, began rounding up illegal immigrants in 1998 and turning them over to the U.S. Border Patrol, he said, after they destroyed his property, killed his calves and broke into his home.

His Cross Rail Ranch near Douglas, Ariz., is known by federal and county law enforcement authorities as "the avenue of choice" for immigrants seeking to enter the United States illegally. - The Washington Times

Technically, the illegals don't have civil rights. They have human rights, but not "civil rights" protection under U.S law.

California Prisoner Reduction

Reporting from Sacramento -- A panel of three federal judges, saying overcrowding in state prisons has deprived inmates of their right to adequate healthcare, tentatively ruled Monday that the state must reduce the population in those lockups by as many as 57,000 people.

The judges issued the decision after a trial in two long-running cases brought by inmates to protest the state of medical and mental healthcare in the prisons.

Although their order is not final, U.S. District Court Judges Thelton Henderson and Lawrence Karlton and 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Reinhardt effectively told the state that it had lost the trial and would have to make dramatic changes in its prisons unless it could reach a settlement with inmates' lawyers. - Los Angeles Times
Get the non-violent offenders out!

Poor Performance...Now Stand In Street


How's this for punishment?

Trenton O'Neal stood near a light pole at the intersection of Airline Boulevard and Ahoy Drive in Chesapeake for hours on Saturday, a chest-to-trunk poster board of his bad grades dangling from his neck.

"It sucks," said Trenton, who apparently got the message. "I don't want to be out here again. I know that much."

His parents, fed up by their son's lack of effort, conjured up the idea as a way to get through to the 15-year-old Western Branch High School freshman. - HamptonRoads

What a great punishment! /sarcasm

Frank Zappa

This was just a character sketch assignment we had to do for Creative Writing. Note: I don't actually detest the Carpenters, you'll understand later. Enjoy!

I’m only in it for the Money

People look at me and see Frank Zappa. I have his long, curly, dark brown hair, his legendary mustache, his brown eyes, and most importantly his high and nasal voice. I have virtually no personality, so I just act like Zappa; it helps me survive….literally. You would be surprised actually; I can scrape put a living as a Frank Zappa look alike and impersonator. Boy, my folks are proud of me!
I wasn’t always a loser though. I used to have family, friends, steady income… a life. But, those days ended years ago. In fact, if you want to hear a funny, little tidbit about my pathetic existence, before I leave for my Frank Zappa look a like convention in Fife, Alabama, then I’ll briefly give you the time. Well, here it goes, a few buddies of mine and I were attending a Carpenters Convention in New York City about ten years ago, just for the hell of it. Since, we all know the Carpenters blew and made the cheesiest, sappiest, bubble gummiest, music that the Dark Lord has had to offer, and so we Zappa elitists piss on any music that doesn’t challenge the status quo and break down the barriers of the musical landscape. But, anyway, instead of me ranting and raving, let me get back to the story. So, we’re at this Carpenters Convention and everyone is looking really pitiable and useless, and this Karen Carpenter look alike nervously saunters over to me for no apparent reason. She looked just like Karen all right, brown hair, brown eyes, white suit, skinny body, a little too skinny, not sure if she was trying to capture the anorexic stage of her life or not, but whatever. So, as she approaches me, she inquires, “Great song isn’t it?” “We’ve Only Just Begun” was playing on the loud speaker. Of course, she had to ask twice, because it was so goddamn loud, with everyone singing a long in the place. I’m surrounded my frigging morons. So, I immediately respond, “Oh yeah, of course, it’s a classic.” I felt sick to my stomach, just saying the words. But, I was a charming fella back then, not the witty, arrogant, prick you’ve come to love. So, we sat down and discussed our favorite songs, none of them alike, but that’s ok, and I scratched my mustache as I tend to do when I get nervous. So, as the hours passed, I ditched my friends and headed back to her place. And so long story short, I got Karen Carpenter knocked up and I have only seen the kid twice in ten years. Yeah, things pretty much went down hill from there.
But hey, I gotta make my flight for the next Frank Zappa look alike Convention, so I’ll talk to y’all later. Peace.

Bill Remembered Part 3

Bill Remembered Part 2

Bill Remembered Part 1


It's about time. The video of Hicks' routine has never been seen anywhere since 1993. Unfortunately, Dave does not have the courage to tell the truth as to why he censored it (Pro Life Interests sponsors), but at least he did this.

Notes for the Noteworthy

"Notes for the Noteworthy is a group dedicated to recognizing individuals for being outstanding human beings. We take time to write notes of thanks, using pens and paper, to show our appreciation for these deserving people to show that we care and that they make the school community a better place.
Nominations are welcome and if you have someone special in the Wakefield Public School System in mind (ex. student, teacher, faculty) either email their name and reason for nomination to: notes.for.the.noteworthy@gmail.com or see Ryan Coburn or Mr. Patrick Brennan."

Monday, February 9, 2009

The Debate

Is there such a thing as "American food?"
I would say yes, but you have to be careful what you call "American food." It's a smart idea to research the origin of the foods in question.

____________________________________________________

And yes today was an extremely slow day in terms of posting.

More Summer Heights High

Great show.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

CD Review: 200 Million Thousand



Comments
: 200 Million Thousand is not a departure from the Black Lip's characteristic "flower punk" style of Garage Rock. It's a mere expansion to horizons that we've rarely heard before or could have imagined from the Atlanta quartet. If an unfamiliar listener stumbled upon 200 Million Thousand, there is no doubt they would recollect memories of 1960's protopunk, garage, and surf rock. That listener probably wouldn't be able to tell you what band they were listening to, thanks to the Black Lips overtly unique sound. "Take My Heart" is straight garage, but it's somehow not comparable to anything else in the Black Lips repertoire. It surely draws, at the very least, influence from Iggy Pop and the Stooges. "Drugs" is hilarious with -- as is symptomatic of the Black Lips -- catchy lyrics. A surfy bass plays as Jared Swilley's voice is slightly unintelligible. "Starting Over," the first leak off of 200 Million Thousand, struck a chord with me personally early on and I endeavored to call it my favorite Black Lips song ever -- despite not having heard all of the CD. The chords have a hopeful optimism to them (if that's possible) and an off-beat synesthesia of simply "starting over." Venturing into the psychedelic side of things is "Let it Grow." If it's not obvious from the title what the song is about, Cole Alexander seems delighted to inform you in a scratchy tone what he particularly likes to watch. "Trapped in a Basement" lyrically resembles "Buried Alive," but in no way has a musical semblance to "Buried Alive." This is another psychedelic weird one, but is awesome in featuring a high pitched choir. "Short Fuse" was the second leak and drew nascent positive reception. The beat and lyrics are simply perfect! "I'll Be With You" is such a clone of "Dirty Hands" that I had to stop myself from singing "We'll be together..." Actually the Black Lips do include "we'll be together" but in a manner that is more country/southern rock than what's in the garage-y "Dirty Hands." "Big Black Baby Jesus of Today" conjures up images of the title character marching all over Earth in a domineering and Wild West approach. "Again and Again" is very danceable and if dipsetmuthafucker was still doing his thang on YouTube, he surely would have done his thang to this. "Old Man" is a more intense "Hippie Hippie Hoorah." It's seemingly a parody of cheesy early rock. It works for certain. "The Drop I Hold" is Alexander rapping. First, we hear an unidentified voice speaking of the Jonestown mass suicide. We then hear Alexander rapping before being joined by a Johnny Cash-esque bass-baritone. "Body Combat" sounds and talks like G.G Allin's "Don't Talk to Me," but of course the Black Lips one-up Allin in all regards. "Elijah" could easily have been a doo-wop hit; we are lucky for it to be released in our generation. "I Saw God" starts with the kid on LSD. It's a reflection of Alexander's past. Also included are a few bleeps (cover your right ear if the volume is high). Talk about an ethereal album closer. It's out of this world. The hidden track must be awesome live. The random screams are a plus. Overall, this is easily a candidate for album of the year. That should be no surprise considering the Black Lips are one of today's most prolific rock bands.

Grade:
9.6 out of 10

How to Understand Trillion Dollar Debt

Actually, the deficit is on track to hit $1.2 trillion this year, but what's $200 billion among friends?

Seriously, what is it? To the average person, a number that big probably doesn't mean much. At some point long before the hundred-billion-dollar mark, large numbers simply become figures on the page, well beyond human scale and intuitive understanding. And yet as discussion about the economy and the impressive numbers that come along with it continue to dominate the news, it may be more important than ever to try to understand. Is a $700 billion financial-industry bailout a lot? Is a $775 billion economic-stimulus package enough? (See the worst business deals of 2008.)

Unfortunately, our puny human brains aren't particularly up to the task. Go back thousands of years and think about the simpler times of human existence.
Interesting article. Check it out here: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1870699,00.html?xid=feed-yahoo-biztech

Funny Pic of the Day (2/8/09)



Ryan Coburn appearing to stand in snow as seen on WHS's main website page.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

A-Rod Tested Positive in 2003

In 2003, when he won the American League home run title and the AL Most Valuable Player award as a shortstop for the Texas Rangers, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for two anabolic steroids, four sources have independently told Sports Illustrated.

Rodriguez's name appears on a list of 104 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball's '03 survey testing, SI's sources say. As part of a joint agreement with the MLB Players Association, the testing was conducted to determine if it was necessary to impose mandatory random drug testing across the major leagues in 2004.

When approached by an SI reporter on Thursday at a gym in Miami, Rodriguez declined to discuss his 2003 test results. "You'll have to talk to the union," said Rodriguez, the Yankees' third baseman since his trade to New York in February 2004. When asked if there was an explanation for his positive test, he said, "I'm not saying anything." - Sports Illustrated

Sucks for you, A-Rod!