May 6, 2010 archive

Afternoon Edition

Afternoon Edition is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 BP ‘dome’ carries hopes of averting oil catastrophe

by M.J. Smith, AFP

Wed May 5, 5:51 pm ET

PORT FOURCHON, Louisiana (AFP) – BP dispatched Wednesday a giant “dome” on a high-stakes mission to contain the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, knowing failure would leave crude spewing into the sea for months and magnify the risk of an environmental catastrophe.

A crane lowered the 100-ton dome onto the “Joe Griffin” before the barge embarked on the 12-hour journey from Port Fourchon on the Louisiana coast to the epicenter of the disaster some 50 miles (80 kilometers) offshore.

A white silo with a dome-shaped top that stands five stories high, it carries with it the hopes of coastal communities from Texas to Florida whose very way of life is under threat from the slick.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Okay I admit it. I don’t get it. Sorry.

Show You Care, Send Your Hair

I saw this group get a quick mention on GMA this morning and it seems to be making the rounds, this idea. Spearheaded by matter of trust dot org, they have flyers,posters, and a youtube, along with this announcement:

GULF OIL SPILL HAIR BOOMS

IF YOU WANT TO HELP THE GULF COAST DURING THIS OIL SPILL

Everyone can!

No matter where you are. No matter if you’re a salon or groomer or if you’re a volunteer.

First, please SIGN UP to our Excess Access program. It’s FREE and FAST.

It is our mass donation matching database system.

Apparently its all the rage…

Now at the Gulf Coast, people are stuffing booms. Hair and fur coming in from our thousands of member salons and groomers into recycled nylons coming in from all 50 states and around the world! Salons and beachlovers all over the Gulf Coast are organizing Boom making parties – They’re calling them BOOM B QUE’s – We love the South!

Uhm…. Okay. I’m sorry, I really kinda just don’t get it.

funny cartoon video here

I mean, good on them, I guess, but… huh? In fact, I wondered the same thing this person did:


What do they do with the oil soaked hair

…afterwards?

by {redacted} on Wed May 05, 2010 at 12:27:12 AM CDT

Sen. Sanders reads the RIOT ACT to the Fed on the Senate Floor (Update: WH offers watered down alt)

Where did our 2 TRILLION dollars go, Ben Bernanke?

   Watch Senator Bernie Sanders as he spoke today for almost a half and hour in one of the greatest speeches the Senate has ever seen.

    I will be adding some quotes from this video in updates. I wanted to get this video published fast, because I think this is a matter of utmost importance.

    Are we looking at a Huge Scam?

~ Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

    The American people have a right to know where TRILLIONS of dollars of their tax payer dollars are going!

~ Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

    Why did the Fed argue that this information must be kept secret as a matter of National Security?

~ Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

     Congress required the Treasury Department to disclose who received TARP money, why is it wrong to demand the same of the Federal Reserve?

   

Immigration: it’s simple.

Every once in awhile the media mouthpieces attempt to explain to the public that the immigration issue is “complex.”  Would anyone here like to explain to me in real terms how this is so?  I am not going to name names or point fingers here.

(Crossposted at Orange and at Firedoglake)

Open Tapestry

Photobucket

Fabulous!

HONORING THE FALLEN: US Military KIA, Iraq & Afghanistan/Pakistan – April 2010

Iraq, Rapidly becoming the Forgotten War!!

There have been 4,719 coalition deaths — 4,402 Americans, 2 Australians, 1 Azerbaijani, 179 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, 1 Czech, 7 Danes, 2 Dutch, 2 Estonians, 1 Fijian, 5 Georgians, 1 Hungarian, 33 Italians, 1 Kazakh, 1 South Korean, 3 Latvian, 22 Poles, 3 Romanians, 5 Salvadoran, 4 Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, 2 Thai and 18 Ukrainians — in the war in Iraq as of May 5 2010, according to a CNN count. { Graphical breakdown of casualties }. The list also includes 14 U.S. Defense Department civilian employees. At least 31,790 {31,762 last month} U.S. troops have been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon. View casualties in the war in Afghanistan

All we ask …. Five Percent a Year

Our combined energy and climate challenges and opportunities are incredibly complex and interrelated issues.  Throw in other resource challenges, economic challenges, and a myriad of other factors and, well, the complexity can overwhelm any and all.

In the face of Deepwater Horizon, the political obstacles to climate legislation, etc …, perhaps it is time to look for a straightforward statement as to how we should move forward to address our energy and climate challenges while improving our economic and security systems … Perhaps it is time to turn to

The Five Percent Solution

… a path toward energy security, economic prosperity, and  climate change mitigation.

A Sliver of Good News: CO2 Emissions Drop by over 7%

With as much horrific news that emanates from the Gulf of Mexico and with so many warning signs regarding the climate it was welcome news to see this today.

In 2009, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in the United States saw their largest absolute and percentage decline (405 million metric tons or 7.0 percent) since the start of EIA’s comprehensive record of annual energy data that begins in 1949, more than 60 years ago.  While emissions have declined in three out of the last four years, 2009 was exceptional.  As discussed below, emissions developments in 2009 reflect a combination of factors, including some particular to the economic downturn, other special circumstances during the year, and other factors that may reflect persistent trends in our economy and our energy use.

EIA.gov

New SEIU Ad rebuts Obama on Blanche Lincoln

From The Plum Line

The SEIU is going up with an ad on black radio in Arkansas that directly contradicts President Obama’s claims about Blanche Lincoln on health care and Wall Street reform.

snip

The script features a number of ordinary Arkansans in succession:

“I’m a strong supporter of President Obama.”

“But I’m voting for Bill Halter for Senate.”

“I love President Obama. But I can’t vote for Blanche Lincoln again.”

“She voted to bail out Wall Street.”

“Senator Lincoln says she supported health reform.”

“But we all know she refused to take on the big insurance companies.”

And so on. The spot directly contradicts Obama’s recent claims that Lincoln is “leading the fight to hold Wall Street accountable” and that she “took on big insurance companies by voting to end discrimination against Arkansans with preexisting conditions.” As Chris Good notes, SEIU is one of Obama’s most powerful backers, and now the union’s support for Halter has them on opposite sides.

It is good to see labor standing up to this.  

Yesterday, Presdient Obama entered into the primary with a radio ad claiming Lincoln was a “populist” friend of the worker!  Lincoln voted to end the estate tax and for all of Bush’s tax cuts for the rich.  She helped kill the EFCA and the public option. Some populist.

The odious radio ad itself:

Help Halter: Bill Halter on Act Blue

For Your Consideration: Which Would You Prefer

This morning Glen Greenwald posed this hypothetical question regarding the outrage over Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s citizenship stripping bill and President Barak Obama’s assassination policy:

Outrage over Lieberman’s citizen-stripping bill is odd in light of Obama’s assassination program: which would you rather have done to you?

Neither Lieberman’s bill or Obama’s Policy provide for due process.

Hopefully, Lieberman’s bill stands no chance getting even to the Senate floor but President Obama’s assassination policy is already in place.

Do either of these men, who have sworn to uphold the law and protect the Constitution, believe in its core principles?

On This Day in History: May 6

On this day in 1889, The Eiffel Tower is officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition in Paris. The tower was designed by Gustave Eiffel to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution. It is the tallest structure in Paris at 1,063 ft. and the most visited paid monument in the world. It is locate in the 7th arrondissement on the Champs de mars next to the Seine.

The tower was not without its controversy, a letter of 300 names, including those of Maupassant, Emile Zola, Charles Garnier (architect of the OpĂ©ra Garnier), and Dumas the Younger, protested its construction, calling it an “eye sore”. Eiffel had a 20 year permit for the Tower with dismantling schedules for 1909. The Tower reverted to the City of Paris and was decided that because of its value for radio communications it would remain. During World War 1 the Tower became crucial for communications and played a roll in the capture of the infamous spy Mata Hari.

The Eiffel Tower remains today as the symbol of Paris, the City of Light. It is one of the primary tourist attractions of the city. There are stairs and lifts to the upper levels and observation decks and two restaurants. Recently an ice skating rink opens on the first floor in the winter and in the summer at the street level a swimming pool.  

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