Nathan

USNews.com: The planet is warming; we may just have to adapt: "residents here worry that the 'good years' are becoming increasingly rare. According to scientists at the University of Washington, the Pacific Northwest has gotten warmer by 1.5 degrees since 1900, about a half-degree higher than the global average. That might not seem like much, but the effects are being noticed here, particularly in the amount of snow in the Cascades. Since 1949, snowpack in the lower mountain range, a primary source of water for the area, has declined 50 percent, raising the odd specter of water shortages in the rainy Pacific Northwest."

They should move just down the coast to see where their weather has gone... The shifts are happening and what does it all mean?

Science: Animals and Awareness - Newsweek Periscope - MSNBC.com: "The trouble is, increasingly, scientists are finding that the theory doesn't always match the data. Creatures that don't have brains built for self-awareness (at least as we know it) have recently passed the mirror test. Other animals that strike out show signs of self-awareness in the wild. And still others seem to be 'semi-self-aware' they don't quite pass, but they don't quite fail, either. 'People have always looked at self-awareness as very black and white, something you either have or you don't,' says primatologist Franz de Waal. 'But it's incredibly hard to define.'"

No shit sherlock. It is like trying to judge how smart someone is: impossible in reality.

Think Progress: Bush Caught In Lie About Snow Resignation

Ok, so I just read this and was thinking about this: what if you hooked a lie detector machine up to this guy? Now of course you really couldn't do that actually, but you could get voice print analysis and do a thorough analysis of a few of his speeches and now you have, without a doubt, a controlled lie that you could refer to. My question on this would be: would he be telling the truth or lying more often? Whats the ratio? I am tabbing it at 80% bs and 20% truth. I like the 80/20 rule when it comes to presidents.

``Almost all the benefits of productivity growth have gone to firms, and very little to workers,'' says Harvard University economist Jeffrey Frankel, a member of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Bill Clinton, whose adviser James Carville used the slogan, ``It's the economy, stupid,'' to stress the importance of the issue in the 1992 election.
One explanation for the public malaise may be the distribution of prosperity. Total compensation for Americans fell to 65.4 percent of national income in 2005, down from 66.2 percent in 2001, Federal Reserve figures show. At the same time, corporate profits rose to 12.3 percent of national income, up from 8.5 percent in the year Bush took office.
``From middle incomes down, there has been very little gain,'' says Robert Solow, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who won the 1987 Nobel Prize in economics. ``No wonder they feel they're not sharing in this prosperity.'' "

This is a story I am sure anyone besides fat bastard could have told anyone else. Good for bloomberg to promote this fact though.

ESPN.com: Page 2 : Mailbag in da house: "While in Vegas, my buddies and I invented a drink called 'The Bonds.' It's a beer that's 90 percent head. In fact, I am drinking one now."

Humanity faces 'revenge of Gaia' - 17 Jan 2006 - World News

The genius that dictated that you expend precious energy and water during peeing to help plants grow and thrive (through the nitrogen emitted) thus helping yourself get oxygen also fossillized plants and trees to keep our earth unnaturally cool. That genius was foiled by this bacterium known as homeo sapiens.

Apocalypse now Salon.com: "But I understand now what Thomas Jefferson meant back in 1789 when he wrote: 'I am not a Federalist because I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men, whether in religion, in philosophy, in politics, or anything else. If I could not go to Heaven but with a party, I would not go there at all.'"

Almost want to change the quote at the top, but later in the speech he gets to that too, in a different way.

'Thank you for your recent email.We understand your concern and want to stress that we vigorously protect our customers' privacy.There has been a lot of speculation in the news media. The fact is, AT&T does not allow wiretapping or give customer information to law enforcement authorities or government agencies without legal authorization.We have an obligation to assist law enforcement and other government agencies responsible for protecting the public welfare, whether it be an individual or the security interests of the entire nation.We prize the trust our customers place in us. If and when AT&T is asked by government agencies for help, we do so strictly within the law and under the most stringent conditions.Beyond that, we can't comment on matters of national security. This is a national security issue and needs to be addressed on a national level.We do appreciate hearing from you and we value your business.Thank you for choosing the new AT&T - the culmination of AT&T's passion to invent and SBC's drive to deliver. We appreciate your business and continued loyalty. Check out the new AT&T at www.att.com.'


What does it say to you? Get on your government, leave us alone?

Rising Ocean Temperatures Threaten Florida's Coral Reef - New York Times

The Blog Jean Rohe: Why I Spoke Up The Huffington Post: "If all the world were peaceful now and forever more,
Peaceful at the surface and peaceful at the core,
All the joy within my heart would be so free to soar,
And we're living on a living planet, circling a living star.
Don't know where we're going but I know we're going far.
We can change the universe by being who we are,
And we're living on a living planet, circling a living star. "

Al Gore issues global warming wake-up call - Yahoo! News: "'One can only attempt to create one's own reality for so long. Reality proper has a way of insisting itself upon you.'"

Bush's Base Betrayal: "At the very least, conservatives must stop funding the Republican National Committee and other party groups. (Let Big Business take care of that!) Instead, conservatives should dedicate their money and volunteer efforts toward conservative groups and conservative candidates. They should redirect their anger into building a third force -- not a third party, but a movement independent of any party. They should lay the groundwork for a rebirth of the conservative movement and for the 2008 campaign, when, perhaps, a new generation of conservative leaders will step forward."

Big business is uniting everyone. Let us instead unite against big business together for now... then worry about the liberal versus conservative debate.

Al Gore, movie star, talks of climate role - Grist Magazine - MSNBC.com: "I'm not planning to be a candidate again."

:(

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall May 19, 2006 12:55 PM

Good points here, don't miss.

: : We Will Not Be Silenced : :

Via metafilter.

The Blotter: "A senior federal law enforcement official tells ABC News the government is tracking the phone numbers we call in an effort to root out confidential sources.
'It's time for you to get some new cell phones, quick,' the source told us in an in-person conversation."

This is the other shoe dropping Josh.

Chicago Reader Online Features: "'Stephen Colbert's remarks were so scathing,' said one contributor, 'that none of the sycophants amongst the assembled would have dared to laugh for fear of being demoted or marginalized. The comedic tension he created simply blew the room away. It wasn't a high score on the laff-o-meter he sought. Nope, he had a loftier ambition. (TO TELL THE TRUTH.)'"

Thank You Stephen Colbert.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/008371.php

It seems those tied up with Duke Cunningham (the disgraced rep from California) including the defense contractors Brent Wilkes, etc. were having parties at the Watergate hotel and elsewhere where they hired hookers for congress reps to enjoy yet what do we hear most about? Another Kennedy having drug/alcohol problems (which is important, but like Josh mentions: not especially important to the nation in comparison).

This should tell you almost all you need to know about that $50 tank you just filled up. New energy sources anyone?

Commentary: Lakers-Suns has fire thanks to Kobe-Raja feud - NBA - MSNBC.com: "'He got all ball,' D'Antoni joked."

HAHAHAHAHA, that is a good one coach.

Hirsh: World Faces Devastating Energy Wars - Newsweek Politics - MSNBC.com: "because multinational corporations like ExxonMobil (despite its record profits) now own just 6 percent of supplies, versus a whopping 77 percent that's now owned by state-owned entities, according to the Petroleum Finance Corp., a Washington-based consulting group" we are in for some fucking interesting times. Get your windmill/solar panels up now.

Rolling Stone : Eddie Vedder: Addicted to Rock: "I've still got them. I listened to them a lot. In a way, music for me was fucking heroin. It was something I needed. "

Global warming weakens trade winds - LiveScience - MSNBC.com

Just another day, another story taking us into Day after Tomorrow territory.

This movie is getting old - can we start doing something to change things?

Global warming weakens trade winds - LiveScience - MSNBC.com

Just another day, another story taking us into Day after Tomorrow territory.

This movie is getting old - can we start doing something to change things?

Amnesty: U.S. torture 'widespread' - International Terrorism - MSNBC.com: "Torture and inhumane treatment are 'widespread' in U.S.-run prisons in Afghanistan, Iraq, Cuba and elsewhere despite Washington's denials, Amnesty International said on Wednesday."

16,000 Species Said to Face Extinction - Yahoo! News: "Polar bears and hippos are among more than 16,000 species of animals and plants threatened with global extinction, the World Conservation Union said Tuesday."

As we move towards the 10 billion mark more and more life is getting squeezed out around us.

16,000 Species Said to Face Extinction - Yahoo! News: "Polar bears and hippos are among more than 16,000 species of animals and plants threatened with global extinction, the World Conservation Union said Tuesday."

As we move towards the 10 billion mark more and more life is getting squeezed out around us.

Daily Kos: Re-Improved Colbert transcript (now with complete text of Colbert-Thomas video!): "STEPHEN COLBERT: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Before I begin, I've been asked to make an announcement. Whoever parked 14 black bulletproof S.U.V.'s out front, could you please move them? They are blocking in 14 other black bulletproof S.U.V.'s and they need to get out.
Wow. Wow, what an honor. The White House correspondents' dinner. To actually sit here, at the same table with my hero, George W. Bush, to be this close to the man. I feel like I'm dreaming. Somebody pinch me. You know what? I'm a pretty sound sleeper -- that may not be enough. Somebody shoot me in the face. Is he really not here tonight? Dammit. The one guy who could have helped. "

-THE CUNNING REALIST-: Sunlight: "Of course, the current administration will say or do literally anything to prevent disaster in the midterms. But it's not just the administration. Some very powerful private sector interests have a vested stake not only in maintaining the status quo, but in preventing any real accounting of the last few years from taking place."

Duly noted.