The untapped gold mine of buillshit detectors

Perhaps The media should invest

Agreed. Currently Stewart, Colbert, and Olbermann have a monopoly, and monopolies are bad for competition. Why do I think that the conservative version of the daily show coming on fox news will quite get it... who knows?

The single impact scenario

"To put it mildly, it was a bad day to live on Earth"

Are we prepared?

File under: tell me something I didn't already know

Bush nuts

Lohse, a social work master’s student at Southern Connecticut State University, says he has proven what many progressives have probably suspected for years: a direct link between mental illness and support for President Bush.

Lohse says his study is no joke. The thesis draws on a survey of 69 psychiatric outpatients in three Connecticut locations during the 2004 presidential election. Lohse’s study, backed by SCSU Psychology professor Jaak Rakfeldt and statistician Misty Ginacola, found a correlation between the severity of a person’s psychosis and their preferences for president: The more psychotic the voter, the more likely they were to vote for Bush.

Baaah

Acephalous: Measuring The Speed of Meme: An Experiment in which You Will Participate, Or Else...

Don't follow the link, I'm just doing my part.

Environment on the radio

The environment and related issues are every 4th story on the CBC right now. The amount of coverage is quite amazing, actually. How often do they show up on NPR? I see they have a story on the Supreme court case. Anyone listen? What are you hearing?

A nice gesture

EPA scientists file mass petition for action on global warming

Washington, DC — In an unprecedented action, representatives for more than 10,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency scientists are calling on Congress to take immediate action against global warming, according to a petition released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The petition also calls for an end to censorship of agency scientists and other specialists on topics of climate change and the effects of air pollution.

Didn't they see the memo? "Stay the course". Methinks they need to wait two more years.

Interestingly,

The filing of this petition coincides with today’s oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on a case (Massachusetts v. EPA, Case No. 05-1120) brought by states seeking to force the Bush administration to regulate greenhouse gases that fuel global warming under the Clean Air Act.

This should be a huge priority for the new congress. If you frame it right then it could be bad for republicans if Bush vetos environment legislation also. He got killed on his stem cell veto, and perhaps this could be another on. What do the polls say about American's position on climate change? Btw, of Canadians, 77% (or something like that) believe that their government should meet or beat Kyoto targets. Of course, Canada has a new conservative PM who launched a pathetic "clean air" bill that does absolutely nothing. Happily, however, he is getting uniformly criticized for it.

My mind is flat

Friedman offers a new solution: Re-occupy Iraq.

Friedman: …To have a proper civil war you need to have two sides —-you have about thirty sides—It's beyond a civil war there.

Vieira: So what does that mean in terms of our role there then, Thom?

Friedman: Um, Obviously when you're dealing now with something broken up into so many little pieces–it's hard to believe that anything other than re-occupying the country–um, and establishing the very coherent order we failed to do from the beginning is really the only serious option left.

Vieira (stunned) But, is that really a serious option—to reoccupy the country?

Friedman: Well, I'm simply saying if you actually want to actually bring order there—the idea that you're going to train the Iraqi army and police to this kind of fragmented society is ludicrous. Who's training the insurgents? Nobody is training them and they seem to be doing just fine. This is not about the way–it's about the will. Do you have a will to be a country? If you don't have that then there's not much training is going to do..

So Friedman 1) offers a solution that is a totally incoherent non-starter, re-occupy Iraq? Who will do it? With what troops? Don't we have 120+K already there? and then 2) blames it on the Iraqis (no will). At the end of the day, it sounds like he has given up hope for establishing any control. There will be no more more Friedman units [one Freidman unit = 6 months].

Name	Occupation	Description	Units	Begin date	End date
Thomas Friedman	opinion columnist	"The next six months in Iraq... are the most important six months in U.S. foreign policy in a long, long time"	1	November 30, 2003	May 30, 2004
Thomas Friedman	opinion columnist	"What we're gonna find out... in the next six to nine months is whether we have liberated a country or uncorked a civil war."	1	October 3, 2004	April 3, 2005
Thomas Friedman	opinion columnist	"I think we're in the end game now.... I think we're in a six-month window here where it's going to become very clear"	1	September 25, 2005	March 25, 2006
Thomas Friedman	opinion columnist	"I think the next six months really are going to determine whether this country is going to collapse"	1	December 18, 2005	June 18, 2006
Thomas Friedman	opinion columnist	"I think that we're going to know after six to nine months whether this project has any chance of succeeding"	1	January 23, 2006	July 23, 2006
Thomas Friedman	opinion columnist	"I think we are in the end game. The next six to nine months are going to tell whether we can produce a decent outcome in Iraq."	1	March 2, 2006	September 2, 2006
Thomas Friedman	opinion columnist	"we're going to find out... in the next year to six months - probably sooner - whether a decent outcome is possible"	1	May 11, 2006	November 11, 2006

To be fair, there were plenty of other people making the same types of predictions, and at some point he was probably right, in the same way a stopped clock is right twice a day.

The professor of pigging out

We eat with our eyes, not with our stomach

. One experiment we've done in this realm is with a refillable soup bowl. We found that people eating from the refillable bowl ate 73 percent more soup.

Refillable soup bowls, thats super cool! The moral? Buy smaller plates:

We find that people eat 92 percent of all the food that they serve themselves. You're likely to eat, if not all of it, most of it. So anything that causes you to take more than you otherwise would is going to cause you to eat more. Six ounces of pasta on an 8-inch plate looks like a pretty good portion. But that same 6 ounces of pasta on a 12-inch plate would look like barely an appetizer.

And studies say if you eat less (25% less) you will live longer. So I guess we should by plates 25% smaller and all will be well.

Oh also important to live long and healthy ;
1. Nice guys die last
3. Get the giggles
4. Eat whole grains
5. Floss (!?)
6. Veg out - go vegetarian!!
7. Eat tuna (and salmon and other oily fish)
8. Drink tea (green better than black)
9. Believe in something
10. Eat berries ...
and it goes on... do yoga, olive oil, live yoghurt, have a pet (?), optimism, fall in love good friends, stay married, reduce salts, keep using your mind, enjoy a glass of red wine, and get enough sleep to name a few...

Depressing... So unbelievably depressing

On McCain

What people need to know

YOU CAN READ 1,000 profiles of GOP presidential front-runner John McCain without encountering a single paragraph examining his core ideological philosophy...

Lott v. Rove

Lott's wants Rove out - I didn't know this, but apparently Rove helped to oust Lott a few years ago after his Strom Thurman comments, and now Lott is back in power...

Buddha on the brain

Contemplative Science: Where Buddhism and Neuroscience Converge

High court to hear global warming case

there is always hope

The Supreme Court hears arguments this week in a case that could determine whether the Bush administration must change course in how it deals with the threat of global warming.

A dozen states as well as environmental groups and large cities are trying to convince the court that the Environmental Protection Agency must regulate, as a matter of public health, the amount of carbon dioxide that comes from vehicles.

Carbon dioxide is produced when fossil fuels are burned. It is the principal "greenhouse" gas that many scientists believe is flowing into the atmosphere at an unprecedented rate, leading to a warming of the earth and widespread ecological changes.

The Bush administration intends to argue before the court on Wednesday that the EPA lacks the power under the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant. The agency contends that even if it did have such authority, it would have discretion under the law on how to address the problem without imposing emissions controls.

The states and more than a dozen environmental groups insist the 1970 law makes clear that carbon dioxide is a pollutant that is subject to regulation because its poses a threat to public health.

A sharply divided federal appeals court ruled in favor of the government in 2005. But last June, the Supreme Court decided to take up the case.

The ruling next year is expected to be one of the court's most important ever involving the environment.

Fuel is cool!

Science a la Joe Camel

At hundreds of screenings this year of "An Inconvenient Truth," the first thing many viewers said after the lights came up was that every student in every school in the United States needed to see this movie.

The producers of former vice president Al Gore's film about global warming, myself included, certainly agreed. So the company that made the documentary decided to offer 50,000 free DVDs to the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) for educators to use in their classrooms. It seemed like a no-brainer.

The teachers had a different idea: Thanks but no thanks, they said.

In their e-mail rejection, they expressed concern that other "special interests" might ask to distribute materials, too; they said they didn't want to offer "political" endorsement of the film; and they saw "little, if any, benefit to NSTA or its members" in accepting the free DVDs.

Gore, however, is not running for office, and the film's theatrical run is long since over. As for classroom benefits, the movie has been enthusiastically endorsed by leading climate scientists worldwide, and is required viewing for all students in Norway and Sweden.

Still, maybe the NSTA just being extra cautious. But there was one more curious argument in the e-mail: Accepting the DVDs, they wrote, would place "unnecessary risk upon the [NSTA] capital campaign, especially certain targeted supporters." One of those supporters, it turns out, is the Exxon Mobil Corp.

That's the same Exxon Mobil that for more than a decade has done everything possible to muddle public understanding of global warming and stifle any serious effort to solve it. It has run ads in leading newspapers (including this one) questioning the role of manmade emissions in global warming, and financed the work of a small band of scientific skeptics who have tried to challenge the consensus that heat-trapping pollution is drastically altering our atmosphere. The company spends millions to support groups such as the Competitive Enterprise Institute that aggressively pressure lawmakers to oppose emission limits.

It's bad enough when a company tries to sell junk science to a bunch of grown-ups. But, like a tobacco company using cartoons to peddle cigarettes, Exxon Mobil is going after our kids, too.

And it has been doing so for longer than you may think. NSTA says it has received $6 million from the company since 1996, mostly for the association's "Building a Presence for Science" program, an electronic networking initiative intended to "bring standards-based teaching and learning" into schools, according to the NSTA Web site. Exxon Mobil has a representative on the group's corporate advisory board. And in 2003, NSTA gave the company an award for its commitment to science education.

So much for special interests and implicit endorsements.

In the past year alone, according to its Web site, Exxon Mobil's foundation gave $42 million to key organizations that influence the way children learn about science, from kindergarten until they graduate from high school.

Makes me think of that great movie, "thank you for smoking".

Energy Firms Come to Terms With Climate Change

And are gearing up to lobby

Chuck Hagel - on leaving Iraq and trying to save face

With no victory or defeat

There will be no victory or defeat for the United States in Iraq. These terms do not reflect the reality of what is going to happen there. The future of Iraq was always going to be determined by the Iraqis -- not the Americans.

Iraq is not a prize to be won or lost. It is part of the ongoing global struggle against instability, brutality, intolerance, extremism and terrorism. There will be no military victory or military solution for Iraq. Former secretary of state Henry Kissinger made this point last weekend.

The time for more U.S. troops in Iraq has passed. We do not have more troops to send and, even if we did, they would not bring a resolution to Iraq. Militaries are built to fight and win wars, not bind together failing nations. We are once again learning a very hard lesson in foreign affairs: America cannot impose a democracy on any nation -- regardless of our noble purpose.

We have misunderstood, misread, misplanned and mismanaged our honorable intentions in Iraq with an arrogant self-delusion reminiscent of Vietnam. Honorable intentions are not policies and plans. Iraq belongs to the 25 million Iraqis who live there. They will decide their fate and form of government.
...
merica finds itself in a dangerous and isolated position in the world. We are perceived as a nation at war with Muslims. Unfortunately, that perception is gaining credibility in the Muslim world and for many years will complicate America's global credibility, purpose and leadership. This debilitating and dangerous perception must be reversed as the world seeks a new geopolitical, trade and economic center that will accommodate the interests of billions of people over the next 25 years. The world will continue to require realistic, clear-headed American leadership -- not an American divine mission.

Good news Friday

Jubilation over Nepal peace pact

Vatican may allow use of condoms to combat Aids

Strong hints have emerged that the Vatican is preparing to change its policy on the use of condoms in the fight against Aids, after a 200-page study on the question, commissioned by the Pope, was passed to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for consideration.

"This is something that worries the Pope a lot," said Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, the head of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, which compiled the study.

The report's completion coincides with the news that 2.9 million people died of Aids-related illnesses this year and 4.3 million more became infected. By next February, when it is predicted that Pope Benedict XVI will pronounce on the question, another 806,000 people will have become infected.

In MayThe Independent reported that the Catholic Church was on the brink of a historic U-turn. It is believed that the study urges a subtle but important change of tack. Condom use will be permitted if a man with HIV insists on having sex with his non-infected wife, as a "lesser evil".

Well, its a good start.

Iraq to the US: Get out

Says a new poll

PIPA has released a new poll of Iraqi attitudes toward the U.S. occupation, and the takeaway is very, very clear: they want us to leave. 74% of Shiites and 91% of Sunnis want us to leave within a year (the number is 80% for Shiites in Baghdad). By wide margins, both groups believe U.S. forces are provoking more violence than they're preventing, and both groups believe that day-to-day security would improve if we left. Support for attacks on U.S. forces now commands majority support among both Shiites and Sunnis. And none of this is because of successful al-Qaeda propaganda: 94% of Iraqis continue to disapprove of al-Qaeda.

No principles

GOP leaving spending bills to Democrats

Republicans vacating the Capitol are dumping a big spring cleaning job on Democrats moving in. GOP leaders have opted to leave behind almost a half-trillion-dollar clutter of unfinished spending bills.

There's also no guarantee that Republicans will pass a multibillion-dollar measure to prevent a cut in fees to doctors treating Medicare patients.

The bulging workload that a Republican-led Congress was supposed to complete this year but is instead punting to 2007 promises to consume time and energy that Democrats had hoped to devote to their own agenda upon taking control of Congress in January for the first time in a dozen years.

It was always all about the power.

Reno 9-11

Reno Files Challenge to Terror Law

Former Attorney General Janet Reno and seven other former Justice Department officials filed court papers Monday arguing that the Bush administration is setting a dangerous precedent by trying a suspected terrorist outside the court system.

It was the first time that Reno, attorney general in the Clinton administration, has spoken out against the administration's policies on terrorism detainees, underscoring how contentious the court fight over the nation's new military commissions law has become. Former attorneys general rarely file court papers challenging administration policy.

Another Olbermann special comment

On Vietnam

Global Orgasm for Peace

Those crazy Californians...

Ken Adelman: A Rat Abandons a Ship of Fools

A cakewalk indeed

in the first 100 hours

Democrats to quickly target oil industry tax breaks

An interesting proposal

Democratic congressman says he will introduce bill to reinstate military draft

WASHINGTON: Americans would have to sign up for a new military draft after turning 18 under a bill the incoming chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee says he will introduce next year.

Representative Charles Rangel, a New York Democrat, said Sunday he sees his idea as a way to deter politicians from launching wars.

"There's no question in my mind that this president and this administration would never have invaded Iraq, especially on the flimsy evidence that was presented to the Congress, if indeed we had a draft and members of Congress and the administration thought that their kids from their communities would be placed in harm's way," Rangel said.

I agree. And if you don't want to serve in the military, then there should be a mandatory year of national community service.

Same ol' same ol'

Embittered Insiders Turn Against Bush

Good riddance to bad rubbish

GOP 'Chess Club' Ruled The House For 12 Years And Won't Be Missed - CBS News

Finally calling a duck a duck. Man.

Speaking of ducks, is Rove outta there?

Bastards

McCain: Bush Admin Breaks Laws to Hide Global Warming Data

Of course it is no surprise when you have jerks like this as the chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Unfriggin' believable.

Getting Waterboarded

Meanwhile, in related news, Senate Dems plan overhaul of military tribunals bill

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who is running for president and who, come January, will be the second ranking Democrat on the International Relations Committee, introduced legislation today that would amend the existing law.

Dodd said he’s expecting the legislation to be taken up early next year.

"The bill goes back and undoes what was done," Dodd told The Hill. Dodd was one of the top critics of the military tribunal bill the GOP hashed out with the White House and was signed into law last month.

Dodd’s bill, which currently has no co-sponsors, seeks to give habeas corpus protections to military detainees; bar information that was gained through coercion from being used in trials and empower military judges to exclude hearsay evidence they deem to be unreliable.

Dodd’s bill also narrows the definition of "unlawful enemy combatant" to individuals who directly participate in hostilities against the United States who are not lawful combatants. The legislation would also authorize the U.S. Court of Appeals for the armed forces to review decisions made by the military commissions.

Moreover, Dodd seeks to have an expedited judicial review of the new law to determine the constitutionality of its provisions.

Dodd is the first Democrat to take aim at the controversial military tribunals bill. But Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the incoming Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, also said that he is in the process of drafting "major changes" to the legislation.

Among the planned changes are instituting habeas corpus rights for detainees and looking into the current practice of extraordinary rendition.

Leahy is among several other Democrats, including incoming Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who are concerned about the practice of sending suspected terrorists to countries other than the United States for imprisonment and interrogation.

Btw, I never heard anyone question the fact that we send suspected terrorists to Syria. Aren't they a state sponsor of terror? Bolton puts them in the "Beyond the axis of evil" category. And please, John, Cuba? Are they really that evil? They export doctors for gosh darn sake.

Report: Sony losing hundreds on each PS3 - News at GameSpot

iSuppli breakdown pegs cost of manufacturing $499 20GB console [Playstation 3] at $805, $599 60GB console at $840.

When the Xbox 360 went on sale last year, BusinessWeek commissioned tech researcher iSuppli to take apart the console and estimate how much it cost to manufacture. The firm concluded that, including all pack-in accessories (hard drive, controller, cables, and so on), each premium 360 set Microsoft back some $126. Before labor, just the parts it took to make the console cost $470--$71 more than the full-fledged system's $399 price tag.

This week, iSuppli conducted a similar cost-analysis study of the PlayStation 3--with even more shocking results. According to the study, the hardware for the 20-gigabyte PS3 costs $805.85 alone--$306.85 more than the stated list price of $499. The 60GB model hardware costs $840.35, $241.35 more than the $599 sticker price Sony announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo earlier this year. (Note: Sony did not announce price points of $499.99 and $599.99 at E3, although some retailers list the consoles' prices as such.)

I might have to buy one just to save the money.

Unleash the Shiites?

The U.S. may be forced to choose sides in Iraq's civil strife

AS SECTARIAN violence rises in Iraq and the White House comes under increasing pressure to revamp its strategy there, a debate is emerging inside the Bush administration: Should the U.S. abandon its efforts to act as a neutral referee in the ongoing civil war and, instead, throw its lot in with the Shiites?

A U.S. tilt toward the Shiites is a risky strategy, one that could further alienate Iraq's Sunni neighbors and that could backfire by driving its Sunni population into common cause with foreign jihadists and Al Qaeda cells. But elements of the administration, including some members of the intelligence community, believe that such a tilt could lead to stability more quickly than the current policy of trying to police the ongoing sectarian conflict evenhandedly, with little success and at great cost.

dancin

The best part is the last 4 seconds.

Will China clean up the U.S.'s mess?

Somebody has to

Thomas Friedman tells us in Wednesday's New York Times that, after his most recent visit, "for the first time, it's starting to feel to me like China is reaching its environmental limits." That's kind of like observing, after the recent kidnapping of Iraqi government officials directly from their Baghdad offices, that the situation in Iraq is beginning to get ugly. But far be it from us to carp at Friedman's recommendation that China "radically change to greener, more sustainable modes of design, transport, production and power generation," if it wants to avoid an "eco-nightmare." Not only is this true, but as Friedman concedes, China's leaders are well aware of the problem, and working to address it.

fun with interactive maps

2006 Election Results: U.S. House

More Schecter Fun

Cuz I'm too lazy to blog for real.

Need read

Here's an inspiring story about somebody who won election to the House without having to suck-up to party leadership or beg for gobs of money and favors to fund an election. This person had no prior political experience before running for Congress:

A win from the blue

Recipe

No-Knead Bread

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

Going from blue to green

Boxer pledges shift on global warming policy with new Senate role

Ok, I know I said I wasn't going to post - but I saw this and was just too damn giddy...

Sen. Barbara Boxer on Thursday promised major policy shifts on global warming, air quality and toxic-waste cleanup as she prepares to head the U.S. Senate's environmental committee.

''Time is running out, and we need to move forward on this,'' Boxer said of global warming during a conference call with reporters. ''The states are beginning to take steps, and we need to take steps as well.''

Boxer's elevation to chairwoman of the Senate Environmental Public Works Committee comes as the Democrats return to power in the Senate. It also marks a dramatic shift in ideology for the panel.

The California Democrat is one of the Senate's most liberal members and replaces one of the most conservative senators, Republican James Inhofe of Oklahoma. Inhofe had blocked bills seeking to cut the greenhouse gases contributing to global warming, calling the issue ''the greatest hoax perpetrated on the American people.''

Environmentalists were overjoyed at the change.

''That's like a tsunami hit the committee,'' said Karen Steuer, who heads government affairs at the National Environmental Trust, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. ''You can't find two members or people more ideologically different.''

Boxer said she intends to introduce legislation to curb greenhouse gases, strengthen environmental laws regarding public health and hold oversight hearings on federal plans to clean up Superfund sites across the country.

On global warming, Boxer said she would model federal legislation after a California law signed this summer by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. That law imposes the first statewide cap on greenhouse gases and seeks to cut California's emissions by 25 percent, dropping them to 1990 levels by 2020.

A top environmental aide at the White House signaled Thursday that the administration would work with Boxer.

Maybe Arnie made going green 'cool' enough for the rest of us. Nobody can call him a tree hugging wimp. Lets get Bush in a flightsuit posing with Arnie fighting the war on global warming terror. The press would eat it up.

Human Development Report 2006

This year's human development report, Beyond Scarcity: Power, politics and the global water crisis, focuses on the fact

that we are in the midst of a crisis in water and sanitation that overwhelmingly affects the poor. ‘Crisis’ means here that too many people do not have access to enough water under the right conditions to live. This crisis, the HDR suggests, is not about scarcity – the world is ultimately not running out of water. People do not have water because they are locked out by poverty, inequality and government failure.

This reminds me of Amartya Sen's argument that famines are not caused by a lack of food, rather by a lack of access to food - due to economic and social factors (like a rise in the price of food, job losses, distribution problems etc). The HDR 2006, for example, points out that the poor pay far more for water than we do...

in the slums of Nairobi the poor pay five to 10 times more per litre of water than wealthy people living in the same city. The poorest households of El Salvador, Nicaragua and Jamaica spend on average over 10 percent of their income on water; in the United Kingdom, by contrast, spending more than three percent of family income on water is considered an economic hardship.

The report says that effective water delivery in countries has been stagnated by the debate on public-versus-private delivery...

The debate over the relative merits of public and private-sector performance has been a distraction from the inadequate performance of both public and private water providers in overcoming the global water deficit,” says the Report. A new, more strategic approach that puts the poor at the centre of the solution is essential to reach the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, stress the authors.

Appreciate your life - the HDR also reports annually on 'quality of life' among countries (based on the HDI indicator) - this year Norway's # 1, followed by Iceland and Australia. See rankings.

Short break

I have a deadline looming so I am going to avoid all the news and fun until the 16th. So, play nice all 2 of you.

And I leave you with the following interesting tidbits

Rumsfeld a German war criminal?

Though he is now the former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld is expected to be accused of war crimes in a lawsuit to be filed next week in Germany.

The Center for Constitutional Rights will file the suit on behalf of a group of Iraqi detainees as well as the so-called 20th hijacker, who is currently being held at Guantanamo Bay.

"The former secretary actually authorized a series of interrogation techniques," said Michael Ratner, President of CCR. "They included the use of dogs, stripping, hooding, stressed positions, chaining to the floor, sexual humiliation and those types of activities."

Those techniques, he says, amount to torture and violate the Geneva Conventions. Ratner will be traveling to Berlin next week and plans to file the suit on Tuesday.

Another US official who won't be able to travel freely through the EU.

and apparently some in the GOP are pissed off about the timing of Rumsfeld exit... as they should be.

"The White House said keeping the majority was a priority, but they failed to do the one thing that could have made a difference," one House GOP leadership aide said Thursday. "For them to toss Rumsfeld one day after the election was a slap in the face to everyone who worked hard to protect the majority."

Exit polling suggested that an overwhelming majority of voters disapproved of the administration's handling of the war in Iraq, and members and aides were frustrated with the timing of the announcement because an earlier resignation could have given them a boost on the campaign trail, they believe.

"They did this to protect themselves, but they couldn't protect us?" another Republican aide said yesterday.

and finally Ken Mehlman to step down from RNC post.

See you in a few days!

Chafeeleaving GOP?

Chafee unsure of staying with GOP after losing election

Hispanic vote

7 of 10 voted democratic

That is an 11% increase from 2002 midterm!

Young democrats

Youth turnout in election biggest in 20 years

Rock the Vote, a youth-and-civics group, said young voters favored Democrats by a 22-point margin, nearly three times the margin Democrats earned among other age groups and dealing a potentially decisive blow to Republicans in tight races.

And they say that once you are a democrat in your 20s you generally stay a democrat. This could be good news for the future!

More Cliff

he is looking like a regular, and he consistently outperforms his GOP counterpart.

The benefits of the Senate

Looks like Allen will concede today around 3PM EST, so the Democrats have the Senate. Besides being able to stymie judicial appointments, there is another great benefit that I had forgot about... Bolton will be gone form the UN

Joseph Biden of Delaware is expected to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee if Democratic control of the US Senate is formally confirmed.

"I never saw a real enthusiasm (for Bolton's nomination) on the Republican side to begin with. There's none on our side. And I think John Bolton's going nowhere," he said.

Mr Bolton, the controversial former undersecretary of state in charge of non-proliferation, was nominated by President George W Bush to be UN envoy in March 2005.

But after his confirmation was blocked in the Republican-led Senate, Mr Bush made a recess appointment, which will last until the new Congress convenes in January 2007.

Sweet.

Credibility

Liars

I'm sorry I don't feel great sympathy for the legions of conservative commentators who kept drinking and spewing the Bush Kool-Aid, knowing full well it had nothing to do with conservatism, until they are now forced to reveal the truth. Here's an amazing quote from Rush Limbaugh yesterday Limbaugh yesterday:

"There have been a bunch of things going on in Congress, some of this legislation coming out of there that I have just cringed at, and it has been difficult coming in here, trying to make the case for it when the people who are supposedly in favor of it can't even make the case themselves - and to have to come in here and try to do their jobs."

No wonder he was driven to pain-killers. The GOP has way to many members who suffer from self-loathing.

In the same vein, Bill Maher says Ken Mehlman [and then later CNN edits it out - I actually saw the edited version, they did such a good job, you can't tell.]

GOP entitlement program bankrupt

Out-of-Work GOP Aides Face Tough Road Ahead

The hundreds of Republican staffers — not to mention more than a few Members — who will lose their jobs in the next few weeks are going to face a hostile marketplace on K Street as unemployed Republicans flood the market.

Tuesday’s election results sent at least 20 incumbents in the House and Senate packing and flipped control of the House to Democrats. It also flipped a decade-long trend of Republicans as the darlings of the lobbying sector. While GOP aides are flooding the town with their résumés, it’s now plugged-in Democratic aides whom companies and firms really have an eye for.

MMM bread

The Secret of Great Bread: Let Time Do the Work

The economics of occupation

Some inconvenient truths: Quitting Iraq won't undo the real damage of the war

An older article with, unfortunately, no answers, but interesting nonetheless.

Good things

Democrats with the House and the Senate.

Bush seen as diminished world leader, as if that was really possible. Blair sweating potential House inquiries.

[Oh, and screw you Bush for saying that the terrorists should not celebrate. Bi-partisanship my donkey.]

Rummy gone.

Hastert Will Step Down from Republican leadership

And in really stupid news reporting: Stock futures fall on election results. yes, I'm sure there is a direct correlation there. Which party in the WH is better for investors? The Democrats

Boneless Bush

Its fun!

American democracy still works

so far, at least

The basic mechanics of American democracy, imperfect and defective though they may be, still function. Chronic defeatists and conspiracy theorists — well-intentioned though they may be — need to re-evaluate their defeatism and conspiracy theories in light of this rather compelling evidence which undermines them (a refusal to re-evaluate one's beliefs in light of conflicting evidence is a defining attribute of the Bush movement that shouldn't be replicated).

Karl Rove isn't all-powerful; he is a rejected loser. Republicans don't possess the power to dictate the outcome of elections with secret Diebold software. They can't magically produce Osama bin Laden the day before the election. They don't have the power to snap their fingers and hypnotize zombified Americans by exploiting a New Jersey court ruling on civil unions, or a John Kerry comment, or moronic buzzphrases and slogans designed to hide the truth (Americans heard all about how Democrats would bring their 'San Francisco values' and their love of The Terrorists to Washington, and that moved nobody). It simply isn't the case that we are doomed and destined to lose at the hands of all-powerful, evil forces.

All of the hurdles and problems that are unquestionably present and serious — a dysfunctional and corrupt national media, apathy on the part of Americans, the potent use of propaganda by the Bush administration, voter suppression and election fraud tactics, gerrymandering and fundraising games — can all be overcome. They just were.

Bush opponents haven't been losing because the deck is hopelessly stacked against them. They were losing because they hadn't figured out a way to convey to their fellow citizens just how radical and dangerous this political movement has become. Now they have, and as a result, Americans see this movement for what it is and have begun the process of smashing it.

That work is far from over, but it can be achieved — unquestionably – by those willing to fight for that result and who figure out how to perusade a majority of American of the rightness of their views. That's exactly how our democracy is supposed to work.

Its a good day.

I'm going to be doing this all day, me thinks! I must admit, it has all gone better than I had thought. I was thinking that they'd take about 20 in the House and 3-4 in the Senate. I had no idea that there would be such a high turnout and it looks as if the Dems GOTV effort was very good!

And it is also great that S. Dakota does the sane thing and vots against the ban of almost all abortions.

How love conquered marriage, and what to do about it

Too Close for Comfort

Instead, we should raise our expectations for, and commitment to, other relationships, especially since so many people now live so much of their lives outside marriage. Paradoxically, we can strengthen our marriages the most by not expecting them to be our sole refuge from the pressures of the modern work force. Instead we need to restructure both work and social life so we can reach out and build ties with others, including people who are single or divorced. That indeed would be a return to marital tradition — not the 1950s model, but the pre-20th-century model that has a much more enduring pedi-gree.

Yeah, where we marry for economic reasons, women don't work outside the home and men have all the power! Wahee!

What the money says

Tradesport predictions and other election matters

Senate seats to watch:

Arizona - turning Democratic - 7.9%
Connecticut - remaining Democratic (Lamont) - 4.0%
Connecticut - remaining 'Democratic' (Lieberman)- 94.7%
Maryland - remaining Democratic - 65.3%
Michigan - remaining Democratic - 94.9%
Minnesota - remaining Democratic - 92.9%
Missouri - turning Democratic - 60.0%
Montana - turning Democratic - 69.0%
New Jersey - remaining Democratic - 94.2%
Ohio - turning Democratic - 96.2%
Pennsylvania - turning Democratic - 94.2%
Rhode Island - turning Democratic - 68.0%
Tennessee - turning Democratic - 22.0%
Virginia - turning Democratic - 66.0%
Washington - remaining Democratic - 92.2%

The Dems are a lock to win back the House, but still on the losing end of picking up the Senate - not much margin for error there, they'd have to win all 6 seats that are vulnerable. However - interestingly, the 6 most contested Senate seats all predict Dem victory (unfortunately, Lieberman wins also.).

The Simpsons on the Iraq War

More pick up the robocall scam

Olbermann does something on the story. "It could be some kind of glitch" a spokesperson for the NRCC says...

NYTS: Repeat Calls Spur a Debate Over Tactics

I hope the last line is common:

David Kaplan, a registered Republican in Connecticut who has received more than two dozen of the calls, said he was so annoyed the Republicans might “have shot themselves in the leg” in terms of winning his vote.

Shot themselves in the leg? Anyways, there are more, but they get lamer. ABC news puts out a story saying both sides do it, even though only the Republicans really are. Apparently a pretty weak article in the WaPo coming out about it. And elsewhere you get this type of pathetic drivel.

What will really be interesting is if and how the local papers pick up on it.

Meanwhile Senior Dems call for a probe of GOP robocalls.

More pick up the robocall scam

Olbermann does something on the story. "It could be some kind of glitch" a spokesperson for the NRCC says...

NYTS: Repeat Calls Spur a Debate Over Tactics

I hope the last line is common:

David Kaplan, a registered Republican in Connecticut who has received more than two dozen of the calls, said he was so annoyed the Republicans might “have shot themselves in the leg” in terms of winning his vote.

Shot themselves in the leg? Anyways, there are more, but they get lamer. ABC news puts out a story saying both sides do it, even though only the Republicans really are. Apparently a pretty weak article in the WaPo coming out about it. And elsewhere you get this type of pathetic drivel.

What will really be interesting is if and how the local papers pick up on it.

Meanwhile Senior Dems call for a probe of GOP robocalls.

CNN Gives Coverage To The Robocall Scam

Gives TPM credit

They got an audio clip and have run with it. Watch the video. Interestingly they point out that FCC regulations state that the automated calls must state who is making the calls at the beginning and the phone number (which the example does not do) - so they do not comply...

Protect Our Votes

Protect Our Votes: "Problems? Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE"

Video the vote

VTV

In 2000 and 2004, problems plagued the polls in different parts of the country: long lines, eligible voters turned away, voter intimidation, misallocation and malfunctioning of voting equipment. They were underreported on Election Day. Days and weeks later, a more complete picture of voter disenfranchisement emerged—but it was too late. The elections were over and the media had moved on. Starting this election, citizen journalists—people like you and me—will document problems as they occur. We'll play them online, spread word through blogs and partner websites, doing our part to make sure the full story of our elections is told.

speaking of voter suppression, these incidents with robo-calls really make me feel ill. These people have no scruples whatsoever. Here's hoping it gets mainstream play, although I doubt it will.

Snap

Cliff is a very entertaining fellow, and is the best I have seen at responding to distortions and calls them out for what they are. I am generally not a fan of this style, but if you ask me, wisdom is not always letting people walk over you out of politeness, wisdom is knowing when to hit back with the appropriate force when it is needed.

You guys have more sex scandals that accomplishments!

Dawkins Questions Evangelical Pastor

Haggard just recently admitted, I am a deceiver and a liar.

Liberty at the price of freedom

We're All Prisoners, Now: US Citizens to be Required ''Clearance'' to Leave USA

Forget no-fly lists. If Uncle Sam gets its way, beginning on Jan. 14, 2007, we'll all be on no-fly lists, unless the government gives us permission to leave-or re-enter-the United States.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (HSA) has proposed that all airlines, cruise lines-even fishing boats-be required to obtain clearance for each passenger they propose taking into or out of the United States.

It doesn't matter if you have a U.S. Passport - a "travel document" that now, absent a court order to the contrary, gives you a virtually unqualified right to enter or leave the United States, any time you want. When the DHS system comes into effect next January, if the agency says "no" to a clearance request, or doesn't answer the request at all, you won't be permitted to enter-or leave-the United States.

Besides the obvious heinousness of this, logistically, this would be a nightmare. How many people travel to and from the US on a daily basis? Of course, there is no oversight either.

Why might the HSA deny you permission to leave-or enter-the United States? No one knows, because the entire clearance procedure would be an administrative determination made secretly, with no right of appeal. Naturally, the decision would be made without a warrant, without probable cause and without even any particular degree of suspicion. Basically, if the HSA decides it doesn't like you, you're a prisoner - either outside, or inside, the United States, whether or not you hold a U.S. passport.

The U.S. Supreme Court has long recognized there is a constitutional right to travel internationally. Indeed, it has declared that the right to travel is "a virtually unconditional personal right." The United States has also signed treaties guaranteeing "freedom of travel." So if these regulations do go into effect, you can expect a lengthy court battle, both nationally and internationally.

Think this can't happen? Think again. It's ALREADY happening. Earlier this year, HSA forbade airlines from transporting an 18-year-old a native-born U.S. citizen, back to the United States. The prohibition lasted nearly six months until it was finally lifted a few weeks ago. Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union are two countries in recent history that didn't allow their citizens to travel abroad without permission. If these regulations go into effect, you can add the United States to this list.

Predictions

1999 war games foresaw problems in Iraq

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. government conducted a series of secret war games in 1999 that anticipated an invasion of Iraq would require 400,000 troops, and even then chaos might ensue.

In its 'Desert Crossing' games, 70 military, diplomatic and intelligence officials assumed the high troop levels would be needed to keep order, seal borders and take care of other security needs.

The documents came to light Saturday through a Freedom of Information Act request by the George Washington University's National Security Archive, an independent research institute and library.

'The conventional wisdom is the U.S. mistake in Iraq was not enough troops,' said Thomas Blanton, the archive's director. 'But the Desert Crossing war game in 1999 suggests we would have ended up with a failed state even with 400,000 troops on the ground.'

Freedom

Dare to dream

The Rothenberg Political Report: 2006 Senate Ratings

Scientists and Engineers for America

The GOP's dwindling anti-gay parade

Polls show Americans turning their backs on the divisive politics of homosexuality. Will hard-liners in the heartland, like Colorado's Marilyn Musgrave, be forced to follow?

Frankly the politics of gay bashing only fires up the religious base and is only effective when there is a confluence of other issues that keeps the republican coalition together, and the country is split right down the middle. Most people care about other issues.

'Only 50 years left' for sea fish

The last century of wild sea food

1. Experiments show that reducing the diversity of an ecosystem lowers the abundance of fish

2. Historical records show extensive loss of biodiversity along coasts since 1800, with the collapse of about 40% of species. About one-third of once viable coastal fisheries are now useless

3. Catch records from the open ocean show widespread decline of fisheries since 1950 with the rate of decline increasing. In 2003, 29% of fisheries were collapsed. Biodiverse regions' stocks fare better

4. Marine reserves and no-catch zones bring an average 23% improvement in biodiversity and an increase in fish stocks around the protected area

Resvertrol

Substance in Red Wine Extends Life of Mice

Researchers at the Harvard Medical School and the National Institute on Aging report that a natural substance found in red wine, known as resveratrol, offsets the bad effects of a high-calorie diet in mice and significantly extends their lifespan.

Their report, published electronically today in Nature, implies that very large daily doses of resveratrol could offset the unhealthy, high-calorie diet thought to underlie the rising toll of obesity in the United States and elsewhere, should people respond to the drug as mice do.

Fishy chips

Britain is becoming 'Big Brother' society

Britain is ranked bottom of the democratic Western world and alongside Russia for its record on protecting individual privacy in a table published Thursday by Privacy International, a human rights watchdog.

The nation has up to 4.2 million CCTV (closed-circuit television) cameras, or about one for every 14 people.

The government is pushing ahead with controversial plans to introduce biometric identity cards, while Prime Minister Tony Blair has said he wants an expansion of the police's DNA database to cover even people released without charge.

The identity cards is a disaster of a plan, btw.

Death and taxes

Check out the budget graph