Bears

In the wilds of mountainous California. No time to blog as I fend off bears.

Watch Van Jones' speech. Yes, another speech.

WATCH: Van Jones tells Fox News “You’re not America!”�|�Raw Replay

Little less conversation, a little more action baby.

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Feel Wrongly

There's lots domestically to blog about, but it all seems pointless when matched against what is happening in Japan.

Maybe tomorrow I'll break out the bitch machine again....

How are these things failing so easily? How easily would the ancient reactors in the U.S. fail?

Japan Says 2nd Reactor May Have Ruptured With Radioactive Release - NYTimes.com:

"TOKYO — Japan’s nuclear crisis intensified on Wednesday after the authorities announced that a second reactor unit at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant in northeastern Japan may have ruptured and appeared to be releasing radioactive steam."

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This yearly article came a bit early this year. However, it remains true. We are due.

US overdue for huge Pacific quake: experts | The Raw Story:

"A 9.0 quake in this underwater fault that stretches from the northern tip of California all the way to Canada's British Columbia could simultaneously rattle major port cities of Vancouver, Portland and Seattle, unleash a massive tsunami and kill thousands of people."

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Jeez. Paranoid much, Texas? Wonder why.

Again, 'feeling strongly' is not knowledge.

Japan crisis spikes demand for radiation pills - Yahoo! News:

"'I feel strongly there is a high likelihood we will have radiation coming from Japan,' said Tammy Lahutsky as she waited at the Texas Star Pharmacy in Plano, Texas on Tuesday. There's not, but she bought six bottles for herself and a friend, anyway."

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Japan

Awoke in Vancouver to the news and warnings of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Not much can be said. Horrible.

Tide of 1,000 bodies overwhelms quake-hit Japan - Yahoo! News:

"TAKAJO, Japan – A tide of bodies washed up along Japan's coastline, crematoriums were overwhelmed and rescue workers ran out of body bags as the nation faced the grim reality of a mounting humanitarian, economic and nuclear crisis Monday after a calamitous tsunami.

Millions of people were facing a fourth night without water, food or heating in near-freezing temperatures in the northeast devastated by an earthquake and the wave it spawned. Meanwhile, a third reactor at a nuclear power plant lost its cooling capacity and the fuel rods at another were at least briefly fully exposed, raising fears of a meltdown."

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California ‘closely monitoring’ Japan nuclear leak | The Raw Story:

"LOS ANGELES — California is closely monitoring efforts to contain leaks from a quake-damaged Japanese nuclear plant, a spokesman said Saturday, as experts said radiation could be blown out across the Pacific.

While officials downplayed any immediate danger, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission deployed two experts to Japan, where the Fukushima plant, which was rocked by a large explosion earlier in the day in the aftermath of Japan's strongest-ever earthquake."

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Wall of Water Slams Japanese Town

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Tsunami reaches the Bay. Eastern span of the Bay Bridge in the background.

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Photos: Tsunami damage in Hawaii, California | Phoenix News | Arizona News | azfamily.com | Arizona News Headlines

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I snapped this at LAX on Saturday. Much pain on that flight.

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All on the Tit

All on the tit and we are forced to supply the milk.

A Reagan Republican Makes A Case Against The War -- And His Own Party:

"Why, then, have so few other prominent Republicans broken away from the party heterodoxy to publicly oppose the war, like Roberts has?

'They're all on the tit somewhere, aren't they?' Roberts said. 'They all need to be accepted. They're getting grants or they're getting employment. They're getting something and they have to support the line. They're just not independent. I don't know why they can't see the whole thing is a ruse.'"

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Torturing our own on our own soil. Sick.

Daily Kos: Bradley Manning Now "Catatonic"; Obama ENOUGH!

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Heckuva job.

Jerry Cope: NASA Data Strengthens Reports of Toxic Rain on the Gulf Coast From BP Spill

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Hilarious.

Charlie Sheen is not filial - GlobalTimes

Sheen goes on television and boasts that he has two girlfriends, who both sleep in the same bedroom. Is he too poor to set up his wives and mistresses in different houses?

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It's the Inequality

Keep in mind these things never end well for the rich.

It's the Inequality, Stupid | Mother Jones

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Their remedy for everything is 2nd Amendment.

‘Use live ammunition’ against Wisconsin protesters, Indiana official says | The Raw Story

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Yep.

E.J. Dionne Jr. - The Tea Party is winning:

"Take five steps back and consider the nature of the political conversation in our nation's capital. You would never know that it's taking place at a moment when unemployment is still at 9 percent, when wages for so many people are stagnating at best and when the United States faces unprecedented challenges to its economic dominance.

No, Washington is acting as if the only real problem the United States confronts is the budget deficit; the only test of leadership is whether the president is willing to make big cuts in programs that protect the elderly; and the largest threat to our prosperity comes from public employees.

Take five more steps back and you realize how successful the Tea Party has been. No matter how much liberals may poke fun at them, Tea Party partisans can claim victory in fundamentally altering the country's dialogue."

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A fucking shame on the White House.

Infant dolphin deaths spiking in Gulf after oil spill | McClatchy

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Rise Up

Rise up and fight, Americans. Rise up and fight.

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Republicans wish to fundamentally alter our very existence. They detest the constitution (but for the 2nd Amendment) and they give only lip-service to the teachings of Jesus H. Christ.

Republicans and their Democratic enablers-supporters are a cancer on this country.

Wisconsin Power Play - NYTimes.com:

"For what’s happening in Wisconsin isn’t about the state budget, despite Mr. Walker’s pretense that he’s just trying to be fiscally responsible. It is, instead, about power. What Mr. Walker and his backers are trying to do is to make Wisconsin — and eventually, America — less of a functioning democracy and more of a third-world-style oligarchy. And that’s why anyone who believes that we need some counterweight to the political power of big money should be on the demonstrators’ side."

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No fault of the Unions is any of this. None.

Ezra Klein: Unions not to blame for Wisconsin woes:

"WASHINGTON — Let’s be clear: Whatever fiscal problems Wisconsin is -- or is not -- facing at the moment, they’re not caused by labor unions. That’s also true for New Jersey, for Ohio and for the other states. There was no sharp rise in public workers’ wages in 2006 and 2007, no major reforms of the country’s labor laws, no dramatic change in how unions organize. And yet state budgets collapsed. Revenues plummeted. Taxes had to go up, and spending had to go down, all across the country.

Blame the banks. Blame global capital flows. Blame lax regulation of Wall Street. Blame home buyers, or home sellers. But don’t blame the unions. Not for this recession."

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Amazing.

ThinkProgress � Leader Of Egyptian Unions To Wisconsin Protesters: ‘We Stand With You As You Stood With Us’

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God forbid Obama, Inc. bring Reich on board. Little Timmeh is doing OI's bidding just the way they like it.

Robert Reich (Why We Should Raise Taxes on the Super-Rich and Lower Them on the Middle Class)

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The Grand Shaft. Heading towards a butt very near you.

Obama and the Republicans by Elizabeth Drew | The New York Review of Books:

"But despite all the confrontational rhetoric between the two parties about budget priorities, the White House and Republican congressional leaders, in private talks, have agreed on the need to try to reach a bipartisan “grand bargain” over the budget—a sweeping deal that could include entitlements and tax reforms as well as budget reduction. A Senate Republican leadership aide confirmed this, saying, “In fact, for anything to happen, it will require such a White House/congressional leadership bargain.” The preferred idea is that, just as they did late last year on the tax bill, they would reach an agreement and then unveil it to the public."

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Shocking.

Alabama among laziest states; CDC says most not active in free time | al.com:

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No one could have ever predicted...

Scientist finds Gulf bottom still oily, dead - Yahoo! News

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Wall Defeating Technology

Grr.

91,000 Gulf oil spill claims, just 1 final payment - Yahoo! News

Grrrrrrr.

First study of dispersants in Gulf spill suggests a prolonged deepwater fate

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Uhhhh.

Armed services are urged to stock kitchens with Gulf seafood | NOLA.com

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Serious Grrrr.

U.S.: Sick Gulf Residents Beg Officials for Help - IPS ipsnews.net

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Neat. Via Jez.

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Wicked.

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Wait. Someone has developed the technology to defeat a wall?!? Really???!!!

Pot-firing catapult found at Arizona-Mexico border

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Crab Boil

Not so wild kingdom.

Mass bird and fish deaths becoming worldwide phenomenon | Raw Story:

"Update: 40,000 crabs have been found dead on England beaches."

Also, on the same beach a 300 gallon vat of clarified butter along with 3000 empty Corona bottles were discovered.

Seriously, doh, this could be a problem or it could be a bored media connecting dots that don't connect.

Never know these days... until it is too late, then how could anyone have predicted. Lawdy.

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'Chupacabra' Mystery Solved? Strange Animal Identified In Kentucky (VIDEO)

I've seen many a raccoon and this is one ugly raccoon if so, but....

"There's just no way around it.' When Mark Cothern spotted this bizarre creature in his yard, he shot it. Pictures of the animal spread like wildfire, as many fans eagerly thought it could be a chupacabra."

Chupacabra receives cult, mythical status in Mexico.

Chupacabra receives both barrels in Kentucky and almost made it to the stew pot (I'm betting).

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United State of California.

We build big shit, thus employing a lot of people:

The new Bay Bridge tower as seen from the - Media (1 of 22) Bay Bridge's new tower starts to rise

Granted, the steel comes from China because the nobody else does big shit in the U.S. anymore.

We are serious about protecting our environment.

California Cap And Trade Rules: Sweeping Regulations Set To Be Adopted:

"'AB32 was passed primarily to fill the vacuum created by the failure of Congress to pass any kind of climate or energy legislation for many years now,' said Mary Nichols, the air board's chairwoman. 'The goal was to lead by example, and being a leader you have to bring others along with you.'

California's cap-and-trade rules would set up the largest U.S. carbon trading market as the way to enforce the state's gradually tightening cap on emissions."

We are getting out of the damn car, too:

Calif. Amtrak ridership rising on state trains:

"'As I go around the country talking about Amtrak, I say we can't add trains fast enough in California,' said Marc Magliari, a national Amtrak spokesman in Chicago. 'That strikes people who believe California is the land of the car.'"

We also elect real Democrats who run the joint.

Be more like California, the rest of you.

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Suspicious Bagel

Again, thank jeebus for Matt Tiabbi. Our national discourse is flooded with these faux-Democratic 'moderate' pseudo-long-view, clueless-what-pragmatic-actually-means, status quo fluffers.

As long as they got there's, they'll spew any stupid shit imaginable in order to hold onto that shit.

Matt Bai's Post-Partisanship | Rolling Stone Politics | Taibblog | Matt Taibbi on Politics and the Economy:

"Bai is one of those guys -- there are hundreds of them in this business -- who poses as a wonky, Democrat-leaning 'centrist' pundit and then makes a career out of drubbing 'unrealistic' liberals and progressives with cartoonish Jane Fonda and Hugo Chavez caricatures. This career path is so well-worn in our business, it's like a Great Silk Road of pseudoleft punditry. First step: graduate Harvard or Columbia, buy some clothes at Urban Outfitters, shore up your socially liberal cred by marching in a gay rights rally or something, then get a job at some place like the American Prospect. Then once you're in, spend a few years writing wonky editorials gently chiding Jane Fonda liberals for failing to grasp the obvious wisdom of the WTC or whatever Bob Rubin/Pete Peterson Foundation deficit-reduction horseshit the Democratic Party chiefs happen to be pimping at the time. Once you've got that down, you just sit tight and wait for the New York Times or the Washington Post to call. It won't be long."

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If your fellow passengers are a bunch of terrified teabaggers, you might be an American.

Florida Professor Arrested for Having a "Suspicious" Bagel on a Plane | NBC Miami:

"A Florida professor was arrested and removed from a plane Monday after his fellow passengers alerted crew members they thought he had a suspicious package in the overhead compartment.

That 'suspicious package' turned out to be keys, a bagel with cream cheese and a hat.

Ognjen Milatovic, 35, was flying from Boston to Washington D.C. on US Airways when he was escorted off the plane for disorderly conduct following the incident.

Monday's incident is another example of other passengers essentially becoming the authority on terrorist activity on planes."

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Nothing to see here folks, but we should pre-emptively give bailouts to all chemical factories within a 1000 mile radius.

Dead Birds Fall From Sky AGAIN In Louisiana, 300 Miles From Arkansas Incident Days Earlier

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Since we have been discussing dicks today.....

Indiana Snow Penises Given Generous Local News Coverage (VIDEO)

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What we need is more WikiLeaks

And that's the truth, Ron Paul. Assange is a modern day Robin Hood.

Ron Paul: ‘What we need is more WikiLeaks’ | Raw Story:

"“In a free society we're supposed to know the truth,” Paul insisted. “In a society where truth becomes treason, then we're in big trouble. And now, people who are revealing the truth are getting into trouble for it."

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Not sure this is gonna work.... squirrel is scary, though.

Drunken squirrel to scare Russians off vodka : Hot Topics

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Please never let me get in a double-dog-dare situation with one of these.

World’s hottest pepper is ‘hot enough to strip paint’ - Yahoo! News:

"'It numbs your tongue, then burns all the way down,' he told the paper. 'It can last an hour, and you just don't want to talk to anyone or do anything. But it's a marvelous endorphin rush. It makes you feel great.'"

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In another life I would be a storm chaser.

Jaw-dropping image of enormous 'supercell' cloud in Glasgow, Montana | Mail Online

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I Promise, I'll Never Hit You Again, Baby.

Good-fucking-grief. We are so screwed with this President.

Obama promises more outreach to GOP - CNN.com

And the Republicans promise to continue to destroy Obama at every turn. Nice and bipartisan-like.

Can we please just hurry up and get to the Huckabee/Palin reign of terror coming our way in 2013.

Oh, to have a leader that believed in something and fought for anything.

"Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama told GOP leaders behind closed doors Tuesday that he had failed to reach across party lines enough during his first two years in office, a senior administration official told CNN.

He promised to do a better job of bipartisan outreach in the days ahead, the official added.

'The president said he had to do better, and the president is ready to do his part,' the official said."

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Daily Kos: Dear Mr President Let Me Whisper In Your Ear

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Indeed. The entire game is rigged. Rigged and rigged to fail.

C-Span mic catches US Senator’s candor: The Senate ‘is all rigged’ | Raw Story

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CHAAAAAAANGE! Yee-haw!

Obama administration gives billions in stimulus money without environmental safeguards:

"In the name of job creation and clean energy, the Obama administration has doled out about $2 billion in stimulus money to some of the nation's biggest polluters while granting them exemptions from a basic form of environmental oversight, a Center for Public Integrity investigation has found."

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Wanna try this sometime.

DIY: Crab Fishing in San Francisco - Jared Rivera

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Coyote Blue

None of this security raping is keeping anyone a single iota safer.

Not. One. Person. Safer.

Freeeeedooooom! Pfft.

Passenger Chooses Strip-Down Over Pat-Down | NBC San Diego:

"Wolanyk was arrested for refusing to complete the security process. A woman, identified by Harbor police as Danielle Kelli Hayman,39, of San Diego was detained for recording the incident on a phone."

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Speaking of Pffft.

Obama Seeks Approach to Counter Anti-Business Image - BusinessWeek

Because Obama has been so mean to Business at the expense of the poor and middle class.

Every policy OA has implemented has served Big Business at the expense of the poor and middle class. Straight up Republican. Don't kid yourself otherwise.

"Nov. 22 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama is preparing new overtures to business that may start with a walk into the headquarters of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a retreat with corporate chief executive officers, according to people familiar with his plans.

The Obama administration has been at odds with the Chamber, which fought Obama’s health-care and financial regulatory overhauls and committed $75 million to political ads in the midterm congressional elections, mainly directed against Democrats. The CEO summit would be a way to address complaints from some executives that the Democratic administration is anti- business."

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Yes, Obama SO needs to patch things up with Business. Such a cruel communist he's been.

Meanwhile, back in reality: 9.5% counted unemployment with an actual rate more like 20%, while Corps haul in cash and don't hire nary a soul.

We need a Progressive Labor Party.

Business Upset That Under Obama They Have Achieved Only the Highest Profits Ever -- Daily Intel

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Heckavuanother job, OA.

Oil Spill Found On Shrimp Seafood In Newly Opened Gulf Waters (VIDEO):

"Tar Balls. Not quite as appetizing a shrimp side dish as cocktail sauce. But according to FOX 10 News, that's just what the shrimp boat Our Mother caught in its net this past week - enough tar balls to ruin thousands of dollars worth of shrimp.

The boat was trawling in newly re-opened waters north of the Deepwater Horizon well site when it hauled tar balls in with its shrimp."

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The most sensible thing I've read all week. We have wild Coyotes in SF, too.

Let Loose the Coyotes? Chicago Embraces Rat-Hunting Predators | Discoblog | Discover Magazine

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Finger Wag

I'm pretty sure a finger wag isn't going to do the trick.

Only, if only, a law would have been passed to prevent such egregious greed. Oh, yeah.... right.

This is the point where I'm suppose to clap louder.

Health Insurance Profits Soar, Dem Calls For Rebates:

"WASHINGTON -- Health insurance profits are skyrocketing in 2010 compared to last year's returns and the outgoing chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees the companies is calling on them to return the profits to consumers in the form of premium reductions."

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No one could have predicted....

Exclusive: Multiple independent lab tests confirm oil in Gulf shrimp | Raw Story

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Damn cool.

The Abandoned City Hall Subway Stop Now Open To Tourists (PHOTOS)

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You think the coming war over water is going to be bad.

The end of chocolate? : The Thin Green Line:

"Cocoa can only be grown close to the equator, mostly in West Africa, and farmers there lack incentives to replant the trees as they die. Cocoa trees take three years to mature. Small-scale producers of the delicious stuff earn just 80 cents a day selling to the mega-corporations that control the market."

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Thank you, Bobby Cox

Thank you, Bobby Cox. I shed a sports tear for you this morning. We'll always have '95 and 14 divisional title

Class act.

Bobby Cox era closes as Braves lose division series to Giants �| ajc.com

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Speaking of baseball, here's another reason to hate Derek Jeter.

Daddy was a rocker and mama was a stripper. Oh, Minka. You just might be the perfect girl.

Who Is Minka Kelly, Esquire's Sexiest Woman Alive?

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A government holding a corporation accountable... even jailing the manager?!? Does not compute.

Company Head Arrested Over Sludge Torrent in Hungary - NYTimes.com:

"BUDAPEST — The managing director of the company whose reservoir unleashed a lethal torrent of red sludge on three villages last week has been arrested, the Hungarian prime minister announced before Parliament on Monday."

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This does not make for a pretty street fight.

The people who like to be nude are usually the people who should not go nude.

Nudists and swingers at war in France's 'Naked City' - Telegraph:

"To make matters worse, the group has been accused of walking about in their clothes and mocking the 'real' nudists, the paper said."

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A Better Chocolate

I was stoked to see this with all of the Unions bashing by Republicans and the Obama Administration.

Video: Saints and Vikings players show union solidarity - Shutdown Corner - NFL� - Yahoo! Sports:

"Minutes before the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings kicked off the 2010 NFL season, players from both teams stepped on the field and raised one finger into the air in a show of union solidarity.

The move was a public message to owners that players are united in negotiations for the upcoming collective bargaining agreement, which threatens to derail the 2011 season."

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Of course all of the uber rich, announcer assholes got all uppity about it, because in their Taliban like view, Unions are like women and children.... not seen and not heard.

Tiabbi takes them to task. Read the entire article, it is a good.

This country needs much more union protest. Voilent, if need be.

On ESPN and "Replaceable" People -- RollingStone.com

So it seems the whole sports world is abuzz about the decision by the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints players to raise a finger in the air before the season-opening game as an expression of union loyalty -- "We are one" -- in a year in which the players and the owners are negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement. I watched that gesture during the game and knew it was going to inspire the usual sneering (it started almost immediately, with Al Michaels chirping, "There's nothing like starting an NFL season with a labor statement"), as voices from all corners (including, unbelievably, many former NFL players) denouncing the absurdly brief, silent, and inoffensive demonstration as a tasteless interruption of our God-given right to nonstop mindless entertainment.

Forget about people actually supporting unions in a labor disagreement: they apparently don't even want to see them, not if it's going to delay a football game by three whole seconds. There were actually arguments across the media landscape to the effect that NFL players were out of line bringing their labor disagreement into our living rooms, the implication being that any display of union activity is somehow unseemly or ( I love this) selfish. We have a whole reality-show culture celebrating the cause of people eating centipedes and stabbing each other in the back for cash prizes and fame, but football players quietly showing union solidarity is tasteless. If you can explain that one to me, please don't hesitate to write in.

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Here is the anti-union folk's agenda.

This is What Class Warfare Looks Like � Main Street

AMERICAblog News: 64% of US wealth went to top 10% since Reaganomics

Op-Ed Columnist - The Tax-Cut Racket - NYTimes.com:

"How did we get to this point? The proximate answer lies in the tactics the Bush administration used to push through tax cuts. The deeper answer lies in the radicalization of the Republican Party, its transformation into a movement willing to put the economy and the nation at risk for the sake of partisan victory."

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Hows about another vaca down to the Gulf, Obama. Another swim with the daughters, perhaps? Enjoy some of the toxic seafood.

Heckuva job.

Shocking Fish Kill Reported In Plaquemines Parish (PHOTO):

"Over at The Upshot, National Affairs Reporter and Louisiana native Brett Michael Dykes has some shocking photos of a massive fish kill that Plaquemines Parish Billy Nungesser has been distributing to the media. Dykes ably sets the scene: 'What you see above isn't a rural gravel road. It's a Louisiana waterway, its surface completely covered with dead sea life -- a mishmash of species of fish, crabs, stingray and eel.'"

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Why do we not have glass cathedrals honoring science. If there is every an alter I would worship at it is the one that has the power make chocolate even tastier. Water to wine? Fuck that. Give me a chocolate that I can't even imagine.

BBC News - Cacao genome 'may help produce tastier chocolate'

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Lord Ain't Willing

Slow motion travesty of the highest order. I can't believe anyone would believe that anything is the Gulf is edible.

Activist: Gulf fishermen being held responsible for toxic seafood | Raw Story:

But an admission from the federal government that it hasn't been testing Gulf seafood for toxic heavy metals, and news that fishermen are being forced to sign waivers making them liable for toxins in their catch, suggest not everyone is convinced of the safety of Gulf seafood.

Louisiana fishermen's activist Kindra Arnesen says dock owners are asking fishermen to sign waivers that put the full responsibility for toxins found in the catch on the fishermen themselves."

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Nothing to see here, folks. I guess BP will spin this as the fish are now easier to catch.

Thousands of dead fish surface at mouth of Mississippi River:

"He said crabs, sting rays, eel, drum, speckled trout and red fish were among the species that turned up dead.

Taffaro said there was some recoverable oil in the area, and officials from the state's wildlife and fisheries division were sampling the water."

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Watch:

Daily Kos: Gulf Coast Locals, BP Workers, Speaking Out

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No shit.

Major study proves oil plume that's not going away - Yahoo! News

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Selective rage and bigotry.

Muslims Pray Daily 80 Feet From Pentagon's 9/11 Crash Site:

"WASHINGTON — While Americans are bitterly debating the proposed building of a mosque near New York's ground zero, Muslims have been praying for years less than 80 feet from where another hijacked jetliner struck."

Pentagon officials say that no one in the military or the families of the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has ever protested.

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Told ya.

US combat brigades still in Iraq: report

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In AND Out? You are being fucked.

Orwell in charge? Kucinich compares Iraq ‘exit’ to Bush’s ‘Mission Accomplished’

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I love it when a plan comes together:

Halle Berry plans a full-time move to San Francisco : SFGate: Daily Dish

And on a related note (only 6?!):

6 Reasons to Have Casual Sex | Sex & Relationships | AlterNet

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Swim, Eat, Pray You Don't Get Cancer... or Old.

Remember when the air at ground zero was deemed safe to breathe by the government in 2001. Notice all of the cancers and deaths occurring from ground zero workers now.

The government lied then and the government is lying now.

You are fucking crazy if you consume any gulf food for the next 100 years.

Sad day when you realize the black Democrat you supported is just as craven as the white Republican you hated.

Instead of splashing around in the gulf and eating its food for a couple of days, maybe Obama should go all in and move down to the gulf and feed his children gulf sea food everyday for the next 10 years. Let's see how that works out for him. Maybe then he can petition the government for help and have the Republicans that he's enabled prevent passage of any type of bill that might help the various cancers growing in his family members.

Spike Lee: US government lying about oil spill cleanup | Raw Story:

"Filmmaker Spike Lee is calling a 'lie' a U.S. government report that 75 percent of the spilled Gulf Coast oil is gone."

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Louisiana Fishermen Slam Claims that Oil Almost Gone, Seafood Safe | SolveClimate.com:

'The last thing I want to do is scare anyone away from the seafood down here,' said Dawn Nunez, standing at the counter of the shrimp wholesale business and deli she owns in the tiny fishing town of Hopedale. 'But if I’m not eating it or feeding it to my children, I can’t advise anyone else to eat it either.'

On their dock across the street, Dawn's husband Marty Nunez pulls a clump of oil-ridden marsh grass out of a plastic bag."

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Think Progress � DOJ gags scientists studying BP disaster.:

"In an explosive first-hand account, ecosystem biologist Linda Hooper-Bui describes how Obama administration and BP lawyers are making independent scientific analysis of the Gulf region an impossibility. Hooper-Bui has found that only scientists who are part of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process to determine BP’s civil liability get full access to contaminated sites and research data. Pete Tuttle, USFWS environmental contaminant specialist and Department of Interior NRDA coordinator, admitted to The Scientist that “researchers wishing to formally participate in NRDA must sign a contract that includes a confidentiality agreement” that “prevents signees from releasing information from studies and findings until authorized by the Department of Justice at some later and unspecified date.” Hooper-Bui writes:"

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Scientists Find Evidence That Oil And Dispersant Mix Is Making Its Way Into The Foodchain:

"Scientists have found signs of an oil-and-dispersant mix under the shells of tiny blue crab larvae in the Gulf of Mexico, the first clear indication that the unprecedented use of dispersants in the BP oil spill has broken up the oil into toxic droplets so tiny that they can easily enter the foodchain."

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Scientists say up to 79% of oil remains in Gulf | Raw Story:

"A group of scientists have found that up to 79% of the oil in the Gulf of Mexico may still remain, contradicting earlier findings by a U.S. government study that found nearly 75% of the oil had dissipated.

Although the new estimate is based on the same data used by the U.S. government's study, the researchers came to radically different conclusions."

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Crabs provide evidence oil tainting Gulf food web | Raw Story:

'It would suggest the oil has reached a position where it can start moving up the food chain instead of just hanging in the water,' said Bob Thomas, a biologist at Loyola University in New Orleans. 'Something likely will eat those oiled larvae ... and then that animal will be eaten by something bigger and so on.'"

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Scientists: BP dispersants have made spill more toxic | Video Cafe:

"Last week, a group of independent scientists called for an 'immediate halt' to the use of dispersants. In what was called a 'consensus statement,' they warned that dispersants pose 'grave risks to marine life and human health.'"

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He doesn't listen to Democrats, duh.

NYT: Democrats in Congress should remind Obama of his campaign promises | Raw Story:

"'President Obama campaigned for office on an explicit promise to rein in these abuses,' the Times notes, citing a 2008 position paper which promised that 'as president, Barack Obama would revisit the Patriot Act to ensure that there is real and robust oversight of tools like National Security Letters, sneak-and-peek searches, and the use of the material witness provision.'

'But instead of implementing reasonable civil liberties protections, like taking requests for e-mail surveillance before a judge,' the editorial concludes, 'the administration is proposing changes to the law that would allow huge numbers of new electronic communications to be examined with no judicial oversight. Democrats in Congress can remind Mr. Obama of his campaign promises by refusing this request.'"

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Social Security is under its greatest threat from a Democrat and the uber-conservative cat-food commission he put together to develop cover for eliminating SS.

THEN the Democrat makes his regular Saturday morning address last weekend trying to scare voting Dems to the polls by saying that Republicans are trying to destroy SS.

Orwell would be proud, Obama.

Whacking the Old Folks | The Nation:

"What's extraordinary about this assault on Social Security is that a Democratic president is leading it. Obama is arm in arm with GOP conservatives like Wall Street billionaire Pete Peterson, who for decades has demonized Social Security as a grave threat to the Republic and has spread some $12 million among economists, think tanks, foundations and assorted front groups to sell his case. If Obama pulls the deal off, this will be his version of 'Nixon goes to China'—a leader proving his manhood by going against his party's convictions. Even if he fails, the president will get some protective cover on the deficit issue. After all, he is targeting Big Government's most beloved and trusted program—the New Deal's most prominent pillar.

Obama's initiative rests on two falsehoods spread by Peterson's propaganda—the notion that Social Security somehow contributes to the swollen federal deficits and that cutting benefits will address this problem. Obama and his advisers do not say this in so many words, but their rhetoric implies that Social Security is a big source of the deficit problem. Major media promote the same falsehoods."

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Deficit-cutting ax may fall on Social Security - Yahoo! News:

"The Social Security system today faces a threat greater than the drive for partial privatization by George W. Bush.

'That's not hyperbolic,' says Nancy Altman, codirector of Social Security Works, a group dedicated to preserving the system that provides income for 50 million retirees, the disabled, millions of children, and more. Her fear is that President Obama's bipartisan National Com�mis�sion on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform will recommend cuts in Social Security benefits as one means to reduce the burgeoning federal budget deficit. If 14 of 18 commissioners agree on a deficit-cutting plan, it could be passed at a lame-duck session of Congress without the extensive hearings and discussions that normally precede such an important measure.

'There would be little chance for the public to have an influence,' says Ms. Altman."

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Back Off Cody

All y'all better back off Cody. He was 400 lbs when Saban got him and he played every game last year. Plus, he'll eat you if you keep poking at him like this. He's still the most athletic 360 lbs man on the planet.

Terrence Cody deemed too tubby for Ravens training camp - Shutdown Corner - NFL� - Yahoo! Sports

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A thing faster than Cody.

High-Speed Laser Chips Move Data at 50 Gbps | Gadget Lab | Wired.com:

"A new research breakthrough from Intel combines silicon chips and lasers to transmit data at 50 gigabits per second — and someday, maybe as fast as a terabit per second.

The 50-Gbps speed is enough to download an HD movie from iTunes, or up to 100 hours of digital music, in less than a second."

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Another thing faster than Cody

Zero to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds -- White Zombie electric dragster makes believers out of fossil fuel hot-rodders | OregonLive.com:

"John Wayland runs a political machine on 12 lithium polymer batteries.

It's a 1972 Datsun called 'White Zombie,' and it's one of the fastest street legal electric cars in the world. It's been clocked doing zero to 60 mph in 2.95 seconds. It's walloped Corvettes, Camaros and 600-horsepower Vipers in quarter-mile drag races using lead-acid batteries."

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I'm so there:

RUSTIC, Francis's Favorites | Francis Ford Coppola Winery

Francis Ford Coppola chats about his new restaurant, Rustic, due today - Paolo Lucchesi:

"Scoop: What’s the motivation behind Rustic? It’s almost as if the menu tells a story, from film friends to travels to family.

Coppola: Simply a style of food preparation and presentation that I personally love: a more rustic style — French country cooking or Italian country cooking, homemade, where the emphasis is more on the quality of the ingredients and doing as little as possible, rather than a more ‘nouveau’ style, in which the food is in tiny, decoratively arranged portions. I am interested in authentic dishes — the kind you drive an hour out of the city to find little restaurants that make specialties that are only made there."

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Score:

Lawyer: Negatives verified as Ansel Adams' work - Yahoo! News:

"EVERLY HILLS, Calif. – A trove of old glass negatives bought at a garage sale for $45 have been authenticated as the lost work of famed nature photographer Ansel Adams and are worth at least $200 million, an attorney for the owner said Tuesday."

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Climate Leadership FAIL

Stick-to-yer-guns Obama is gonna drive off the same cliff as GW.

Putting A Face To The Cost Of Dem Cowering - TalkLeft: The Politics Of Crime:

"From the inadequate stimulus of 2009, to the deficit 'concerns' (see the catfood commission) of today (among many other issues), the flinching and cowering of the Obama Administration and the Dems has damaged the country and, ironically, the political fortunes of the Dems. The reflexive hippie punching, the constant refrain of not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good, the ever present concern of being labeled a gasp, liberal, has led to great suffering in the nation. Simply put, the Dems have not been up to the job. L'Affaire Sherrod has put a face to the cost of this attitude. I hope that the transcendence of this problem is recognized and addressed."

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Howard Dean in 2012... or 2016.

Howard Dean: No More Apologies -- It's Time to Stand Up for Our Convictions

Obama should be saying this. Obama should also get on his knees and beg Dean's forgiveness and ask him to be Chief of Staff.

Howard Dean tells Fox: Your coverage of Sherrod was racist:

"Appearing alongside Newt Gingrich, Dean was blunt with his accusation. 'I don't think Newt Gingrich is a racist and you're certainly not a racist but Fox News did something that was absolutely racist,' said Dean.

'They had an obligation to find out what was really in the clip. They have been pushing a theme of black racism, phony Black Panther crap and this business and Sotomayor and all this other stuff. The Tea Party called out their racist fringe and I think the Republican Party has got to stop appealing to its racist fringe,' Dean continued."

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Another once in a lifetime opportunity pissed away be O.A. Hell, even Nixon created the EPA when a scant few barrels were spilled.

Sen. Cardin: Dems, Obama Never Connected BP Spill To The Need For Climate Change Legislation

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Where Was Obama When Reid Killed the Climate Bill? | Mother Jones:

"Handled correctly, the BP spill should have been to climate legislation what September 11th was to the Patriot Act, or the financial collapse was to the bank bailout. Disasters drive sweeping legislation, and precedent was on the side of a great leap forward in environmental progress. In 1969, an oil spill in Santa Barbara, California – of only 100,000 barrels, less than the two-day output of the BP gusher – prompted Richard Nixon to create the EPA and sign the Clean Air Act. But the Obama administration let the opportunity slip away.

Early on, Obama failed to challenge blowhards such as Senator Jim Inhofe who distorted the science of global warming. Revkin points out that the president has not invited researchers and climate analysts to the White House (as even Bush did). And after BP's well blew out, Obama's infamously milquetoast address from the Oval Office never connected the disaster with the need for a cap on carbon. All of this wasn't for a lack of pressure from his allies. Nine high-profile environmental groups wrote a letter to the president pleading that 'nothing less than your direct personal involvement' will break the logjam in the Senate. Al Gore ultimately said what Obama wouldn't:"

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Op-Ed Columnist - Who Cooked the Planet? - NYTimes.com:

"So it wasn’t the science, the scientists, or the economics that killed action on climate change. What was it?

The answer is, the usual suspects: greed and cowardice.

If you want to understand opposition to climate action, follow the money. The economy as a whole wouldn’t be significantly hurt if we put a price on carbon, but certain industries — above all, the coal and oil industries — would. And those industries have mounted a huge disinformation campaign to protect their bottom lines."

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We need to speed up the space travel gig.

Deep space probe finds hundreds of new planets | Mail Online:

"Hundreds of new planets have been discovered by Nasa's new space probe, sparking new hope of life outside our solar system.

Up to 140 of the newly-found planets are rocky and Earth-like containing both land and water, conditions which could allow simple lifeforms to develop."

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Chickenshit Hippie Punchers

Goddamn right, Lee Stranaham:

Lee Stranahan: President Obama Listens to the Right Because He Ignores the Left:

"The reason President Obama focuses on the right is because he's ignored the left since the day after the election, and if he wants to save his presidency, that needs to change.

In fact, the only times that President Obama and his gang o' hacks haven't ignored the left is when they've blown off steam by actually attacking progressives. Who called MoveOn.org 'fucking retarded'? Was it Andrew Breitbart? Glenn Beck? Mel Gibson? Of course not -- it was Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

Emanuel's outburst was right in line with the path the Obama administration has taken from the beginning -- side with Big Business in the hopes of building the Democratic war chest through corporate donations. Every watered-down, ginned-up company-approved bit of major legislation that has oozed through Congress and on to the president's desk has helped bail out corporate America at the expense of the middle class."

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Wherein Obama once again shows how much he really doesn't get ir, or, rather his reflex to punch the hippies.

It isn't the 'YouTube/blogger' culture, DA, it is the FAUX News/Right Wing media culture.

Stop blaming the hippies, asshole.

Sherrod gets biggest 'I'm sorry' — from Obama - Yahoo! News:

"'He jumped the gun, partly because we now live in this media culture where something goes up on YouTube or a blog and everybody scrambles,' Obama said."

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Why this SOB still has a job....

The Jester, the Coward, and the Employee | VF Daily | Vanity Fair:

"Andrew Breitbart is a blip on the American screen and only a minor player in this story. The central character in this regrettable drama is agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack, who fired Shirley Sherrod before he got his facts straight. Before he got any facts at all, it seems. Did Vilsack, an adult, even take the time to ask Ms. Sherrod, another adult, any questions? Or was he too preoccupied being terrified by the easily disproved distortions of known laughing stock Andrew Breitbart? That Vilsack acted on the assumption that Breitbart was telling the truth was a huge mistake that shows an astonishing lack of judgment and character. To fire anyone on information that is not carefully and fully verified is grossly irresponsible."

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Nation editor: Obama ‘feeding zealots’ by not standing up to right-wing media | Raw Story:

"The Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel told NBC's Today Show Friday that the Obama administration needs to 'get a spine.'

'This White House needs to institute procedures, as President Obama said, and get a spine because it is feeding the zealots of our system by not standing tall and confronting the forces of hate and fear in a country that has a lot of economic pain,' vanden Heuvel said."

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Daily Kos: Why Does Fox News Have More Power Than Any Progressive in the Country?:

"The idea is that Fox News is more important than any progressive leader or commentator (or even the majority opinion of progressives throughout the country, as evidenced by polls) because liberals have nowhere to go. So, that's why you can abuse them, ignore them and even treat them with disdain -- and they'll still vote for you. What are they going to do -- vote for Republicans?

That's why Rahm Emanuel can call them 'fucking retarded' and derisively dismiss them on almost every issue. They think there's no price to pay. Whereas, if they cross Fox, all of Washington will be talking about it. And they're obsessed with the Washington chatter. And they are under the grossly mistaken impression that the country gives a shit about what Fox says.

In Washington, Fox News is very important and you get judged by how quickly you handle the media maelstroms they create. That's viewed as a barometer of how well you handle 'bad news cycles.' So, the rest of the Washington press corps judges you by how quickly you drop to your knees to end the 'bad news cycle.' Congratulations Obama administration, you're now professionals!"

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At least somebody is calling it like it really is:

Sherrod: I'm a Victim of Breitbart, Fox 'Racism' | Media Matters for America

Rachel Maddow: Fox News Stoking Racial Fears Among Whites (VIDEO)

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Health care should not be subject to the not-very-free market.

Consumer group: Insurers kept surplus while hiking premiums - USATODAY.com:

"Non-profit Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plans stockpiled billions of dollars during the past decade, yet continued to hit consumers with double-digit premium increases, Consumers Union found in an analysis of 10 of the plans' finances.

Insurers must keep surplus money to ensure they can pay policyholders' medical bills if unexpected market conditions develop. Yet seven of the plans examined held more than three times the amount regulators consider the minimum needed to do that, according to a report being released today by the non-profit consumer group.

'Consumers are struggling to afford health coverage,' said report author Sondra Roberto. 'Those funds could be used in some cases to mitigate these rate increases."

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Wait... who's in charge again?

BP trying to legally ‘contaminate’ Gulf scientists: report:

"BP plans to fight a lawsuit to be filed by the Natural Resources Damage Assessment, according to Press-Register's Ben Raines. Putting Gulf scientists on the payroll could mean there are less experts to testify against them.

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow compares the tactic to an episode of The Sopranos where Tony Soprano consults with top lawyers so his wife isn't able to hire them in a divorce case."

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After Oil Spills, Hidden Damage Can Last for Years - NYTimes.com:

"In 1969, a barge hit the rocks off the coast of West Falmouth, Mass., spilling 189,000 gallons of fuel oil into Buzzards Bay. Today, the fiddler crabs at nearby Wild Harbor still act drunk, moving erratically and reacting slowly to predators.

The odd behavior is consistent with a growing body of research showing how oil spills of many types have remarkably persistent effects, often at levels low enough to escape routine notice."

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I'll take a sixer of squirrel, please.

Strongest ever beer served up in dead squirrels

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