posted by schmuckraker @ 7/25/2009 11:25:00 PM
Links to this post
All the news unfit to print for Saturday, July 25, 2009
NEWSWEEK magazine will announce on newstands next week and later tonight on its website that the recession has ended..
The cover story features a balloon with a happy font proclaiming of how life is going to look in the post recession era..
The declaration may be a little premature.. even if the recession has truly "ended," joblessness will be steady if not increase over the next several months// shock doctrine economics may be shocked at the NEWSWEEK cover this week.. Developing..
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/25/2009 11:00:00 PM
Links to this post
"The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry confirmed in August 2008 that a statistically significant number of people living around the area of Ben Titus Road in Rush Township between Hazleton and Tamaqua have been diagnosed with polycythemia vera, or PV, a disorder that causes bone marrow to produce too many red blood cells.
Because the same study identified two smaller, but still statistically significant, clusters of the disorder - one south of Frackville and one near Jim Thorpe - anyone living within the "greater hot zone area" is urged to participate in the blood sample testing.
The hot zones, according to Joseph Murphy, a native of the Carbon County village of Hauto and a member of the study's Community Action Group, do not have absolute boundaries. The zones are general areas radiating 10 to 20 miles or more from the center of the confirmed cluster areas"
Nice to know.. I'm in the 'hot zone' ..
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/25/2009 02:00:00 PM
Links to this post
Random news from random places that can leave the head spinning..
Must read: Bush contemplated sending troops into Buffalo New York in 2002 -- unprecedented use of military power was mulled!
20th century dying: Last UK World War I vet dies at 111..
Fear factor: Health officials claim 40 percent of Americans could get swine flu this year and next and several hundred thousand could die without a successful vaccine campaign and other measures...
Now the swine flu, but the regular one: May have problems just in time for dispersement in the fall!
Year without the summer takes off a day: Summer hits Northeast with 80s and 90s widespread..
Minimum wage increases--except for waiters and waitresses..
Study: 52% of U.S. soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan are diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries ..
United States prepares for major terrorism readiness exercise..
More and more restaurants taking active role in "critter" craze.. eating bugs and insects on the rise..
White House blocks Twitter.com on computers..
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/25/2009 12:04:00 PM
Links to this post
All the news unfit to print for Friday, July 24, 2009
SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY: HUNDREDS OF CALLS COMING IN TO VOLUNTEER FOR SWINE FLU SHOT
University spokeswoman says more than 500 calls have come in to the University since the government picked them to help test the swine flu vaccine..
"We haven't gotten this many calls on a study since our smallpox vaccine research post-Sept. 11," said Nancy Solomon
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/24/2009 10:01:00 PM
Links to this post
# # # #
CDC: VACCINATE ALL KIDS AGES 6 MONTHS TO 18 YEARS OLD!
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/24/2009 09:00:00 PM
Links to this post
12,000 KIDS NATIONWIDE TO BE TESTED WITH SWINE FLU VACCINE -- AS MANY AS 200 KIDS AGES 3 TO 8
MORE FROM THE OKLAHOMAN ..
* * Federal government will test the swine flu vaccine on up to 12,000 children..
* * "Fast-tracked studies" * *
"The trials will test the vaccine's effectiveness and whether or not it has negative side effects in patients"
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/24/2009 07:23:00 PM
Links to this post
GOVERNMENT LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD ARMS: CALLS FOR VOLUNTEERS TO TEST SWINE FLU VACCINES
AP reporting: The NIH's main study sites:More..
_University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.
_University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
_St. Louis University, St. Louis, Mo.
_Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.
_Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati.
_Emory University, Atlanta.
_Group Health Cooperative, Seattle.
_Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.
Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City and Duke University Medical Center partner with two of those hospitals and also will participate in part of the research.
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/24/2009 04:15:00 PM
Links to this post
GOODBYE F-22
SLATE'S FRED KAPLAN WRITES WHY IT'S A BIG DEAL:
"Not only is this a major victory for Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who lobbied strenuously (something he rarely does) to kill this program, and for President Barack Obama, who pledged to veto the defense bill if it contained a nickel for more F-22s. The vote might also mark the beginning of a new phase in defense politics, a scaling-back of the influence that defense contractors have over budgets and policies."
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/24/2009 01:13:00 PM
Links to this post
Must read TIME mag on final days of Bush Administration
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/24/2009 11:47:00 AM
Links to this post
High energy in war over high fructose corn syrup
Research!ers at Georgia State University have found that diets high in fructose — a type of sugar found in most processed foods and beverages — impaired the spatial memory of adult rats..
Starbucks announced plans to dump high-fructose corn syrup along with artificial flavors and dyes from about 90 percent of its baked goods...
Makers of high fructose fighting back..
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/24/2009 10:34:00 AM
Links to this post
All the news unfit to print for Thursday, July 23, 2009
SWINE FEARS
ACCORDING TO LONDON DAILY MAIL: One in three fatal victims of the swine flu had no serious underlying health problems..
Halloween: Swine flu vaccines will be ready in the fall..
In vaccine trials, the dosage is key..
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/23/2009 11:58:00 PM
Links to this post
LATE NIGHT RANDOM RAKINGS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Massive FED bust in New Jersey .. corruption inquiry nets 44, including some mayors!
Michael Jackson's doctor the possible target of manslaughter investigation..
Report: Osama Bin Laden's son may have been killed in United States missile strike..
PETA claims new video that shows abuse of elephants at Ringling Bros. Circus shows// more: Circus denies PETA's claims of abuse..
Johnny Depp and Tim Burton preview ALICE IN WONDERLAND at Comic-Con..
Claim: Clouds are thinning due to global warming..
Chinese authorities probe iPhone worker's suicide..
Update: "Incredible" new scar on Jupiter...
Minimum wage increases..
Prediction: Articifial brain is only 10 years away..
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/23/2009 11:01:00 PM
Links to this post
SENATE PANEL WARNED: GLOBAL WARMING COULD LEAD TO MILITARY ACTION!
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/23/2009 10:30:00 PM
Links to this post
No joke: Earthquake moves New Zealand west!
The AP reporting:
" Southern New Zealand has moved slightly closer to the east coast of neighboring Australia as a result of a massive earthquake last week off the country's South Island, a scientist said Wednesday. The magnitude 7.8 quake, centered in the ocean near Resolution Island in the country's Fiordland region, twisted South Island out of shape and moved its southern tip 12 inches (30 centimeters) closer to Australia, seismologist Ken Gledhill said. "
Last Wednesday's quake was New Zealand's biggest in 80 years..
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/23/2009 09:45:00 PM
Links to this post
SUMMER HEAT, OBAMA LOSING THE "COOL" .. "THE CAMBRIDGE POLICE ACTED STUPIDLY"
THE STATEMENT THAT OBAMA IS GROWING TO REGRET..
* * THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS CONFERENCE LAST NIGHT UPSTAGED BY LAST MINUTE QUESTION TO PRESIDENT OBAMA ABOUT THE CASE OF SGT JAMES CROWLEY ARRESTING CAMBRIDGE PROFESSOR GATES * *
THE WAR OVER WHAT HAPPENED CONTINUES// NEWS THAT THERE WAS A PREVIOUS ATTEMPT TO BREAK INTO GATES' HOME//
CROWLEY IS ALSO AN EXPERT ON RACIAL PROFILING AND HOW NOT TO DO IT..
NBC is reporting that President Obama is staying firm on his original words at last night's press conference// Today was supposed to be the 11th day that Obama was to push health care--but now the Senate is not going to get a bill out of the Senate by August recess and the controversy swirling over the Cambridge arrest is taking precedence..
MORE:
Cambridge police commissioner says he is "deeply pained" by Obama's Wednesday night statements..
Officer who arrested Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. says Obama "way off base" ..
Cambridge cops say its not racism..
White House defends..
REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES HEALTH POLITICS
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/23/2009 06:32:00 PM
Links to this post
All the news unfit to print for Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Summer sale: Obama says health care bill key to economy
Prime time news conference to sell the plan ..
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32088107/ns/politics-white_house/
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/22/2009 11:30:00 PM
Links to this post
Conrad Murray's house being searched for evidence of manslaughter,
according to his attorney...
Murray was Michael Jackson's doctor..
Developing..
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/22/2009 03:51:00 PM
Links to this post
Lights out, Asia: Solar eclipse leaves continent in daytime darkness
Millions watch as others fear it is a bad omen for earth...
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/22/2009 12:19:00 PM
Links to this post
All the news unfit to print for Tuesday, July 21, 2009
LATE NIGHT RANDOM RAKINGS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Obama demanding that health care get voted on by Congress before summer recess .. he may not get his wish. But he did get his demand on the F-22 fighter jet: The Senate voted to terminate further production of the Air Force's topline F-22 fighter jets Tuesday..
Update: Giant scar spotted on Jupiter by stargazer// an impact site the size of Earth!// but what was it?
Reality setting in: The great hope that Obama would storm to Washington D.C. and change the world is fading.. Polls are down for the president, fewer people support his health care goals.. And a new USA TODAY GALLUP POLL shows Obama's ratings lower than Jimmy Carter!
Pittsburgh Steelers star Roethlisberger accused of sexual harrassment..
According to the WHO: he H1N1 virus has killed more than 700 people worldwide since emerging in April...
Yahoo! takes the Schmuckraker lead .. They are revealing the "most significant redesign ever" .. of all time. really. yea..
After 60 years, Jimmy Carter announces he is at odds with Southern Baptist Church..
Brooks: Liberals on a "suicide march" ..
Australian man in critical condition after being hit with taser and bursting into flames!
Claim: Pig born with the face of a monkey..
The longest eclipse of the century Wednesday .. plunging Asia into darkness..
Update: Remember those flesh eating military robots? They suddenly went vegan..
That's love: A man plotted to kill his adoptive parents with the help of a friend he met on the internet--and for the friend to bite off his penis..
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/21/2009 11:50:00 PM
Links to this post
SARAH'S REAL REASON?
The strange saga of Sarah Palin continues -- getting stranger as it goes.
Palin announced in June that she would not run for reelection, and would step down.. She Twittered her anger about modern politics, though past presidential candidates' illegitimate children were used as campaign weapons.. She railed against the media, even though she rarely had a press appearance in 2008 to defend herself//
Now new revelations late tonight that Palin's legal defense fund may be in violation of ethics rules..
The AP, the source of the report, says Palin's lawyer has not returned a call for comment//
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/21/2009 09:30:00 PM
Links to this post
*UPDATE: CALIFORNIA MAY REDUCE INMATE POPULATION BY 27,000
..AS A RESULT OF THE BUDGET DEAL..
LA TIMES reporting
The state budget deal negotiated by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders would reduce the population of California prisons by nearly 27,000 inmates in the current fiscal year.
That would be done with a combination of new measures, including allowing some inmates to finish their sentences on home detention, creating new incentives for completion of rehabilitation programs and scaling back parole supervision for the least serious offenders.
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/21/2009 09:06:00 PM
Links to this post
HARD HITTING INTERVIEW ON NBC: OBAMA LOSING HIS "COOL" .. DEFENDS MOM JEANS DURING FIRST PITCH
Images seen around the world show President Barack Obama giddily walking out to throw the first pitch at the All-Star Game in St Louis last week .. since then eyebrows raised at Obama's style-less appearance. The normally "cool" and "JFK-like" president marched onto the pitcher's mound with baggy 'mom's jeans' embrace his presidential legs..
Now, in an interview at the Today Show, President Obama defended his mom jeans!
The President said he looked "frumpy" But.. "For people who want a president to look great in tight jeans, I'm sorry"
The hard hitting media interview on NBC may be on to something, though: The term "Obama mom jeans" has soared on Google Trends//
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/21/2009 07:33:00 PM
Links to this post
GOVERNATOR'S REVENGE: CALIFORNIA NIGHTMARES: BUDGET CRASH AVERTED WITH BUDGET BY PUTTING CALIFORNIA DREAM ON HOLD
A deal was finally reached in the long California nightmare called the annual budget (though other states are still in the same mess) .. In the end, the state of California is about to institute deep cuts into programs, sell off state property.. and some of it will even include autographs of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger!The multibillion dollar deal will feature $30 billion in cuts in schools, colleges, health care, welfare, corrections, recreation, and much more..
While the breakthrough has solved the long fiscal nightmare, Dan Balz of the Washington POST asks if the California programs are a lesson for all of us..
The bill also has no increases in taxes// but the deep cuts are worrying some advocates of government programs..
AP reporting that the cuts will "hit the elderly and poor" more than others// The AP also reporting a frightful fact:
"But it won't solve the state's budget problem. Most analysts and top lawmakers expect that California will face multibillion-dollar deficits into the foreseeable future as the economy struggles to recover and tax revenue lags far behind the level of the boom years"# # #
Meanwhile across the continent, Pennsylvania continues to face budget battle as state House and Senate continues to reject each other's proposals..
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/21/2009 06:49:00 PM
Links to this post
Business decision: Excavation for Sam's Club at Native American burial site angers preservationists>
Alabama city plows beneath Indian site for Sam's Club
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/21/2009 11:28:00 AM
Links to this post
New NASA Images Indicate Object Hits Jupiter
Dark scar appears on planet..
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/21/2009 06:24:00 AM
Links to this post
All the news unfit to print for Monday, July 20, 2009
READER BLASTS SCHMUCKRAKER: STOP CHANGING LAYOUT!!
It's my site. .But I understand.. a little too many layout shifts//
And moreover, if you haven't noticed, I at least recycle all of my past themes (including this one) .. When I have a boring day, I change the design // what more can I say?
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/20/2009 07:00:00 PM
Links to this post
STRUGGLING RETAILERS BANK THEIR HOPES ON CHRISTMAS--IN JULYSEARS wants you to shop for the holiday season.. so does Toys R Us..
Stores online are attempting to create a buzz and business during the bleak economic summer of discontent. They are banking hopes on Christmas in July stunts online as a moneymaker.
Toys R Us said, "Everyone needs a little Christmas, right this very minute" ..
Whether it works is yet to be seen .. Big chain retailers have had some of their darkest days in recent memory .. Christmas 2008 was less than great for major companies like Bon Ton, Sears, and others.. Their hopes are being waged during the hot summer months .. their hopes that Christmas will come early for their struggling profits//
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/20/2009 04:03:00 PM
Links to this post
TEST: BERGDAHL HOSTAGE TAPE BECOMES OBAMA'S FIRST AFGHAN CRISIS
The hostage video of Bowe Bergdahl promises to be the first real Afghanistan test for President Obama, who campaigned on a more intense fight against the Taliban in 2008.. Since becoming President, he increased the war in the country.. Recently Defense Secretary Gates said he wanted to increase the size of the army and possibly send more troops to Afghanistan than originally predicted..The LONDON DAILY MAIL predicting that Obama will be tested by the latest events. The DAILY MAIL writes, "The video comes as Americans are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the progress of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."
AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/20/2009 12:30:00 PM
Links to this post
GERMANY PLANS MASS SWINE FLU VACCINATION PROGRAM
..It will begin in September .. Germany is planning to give the injection to 22mil health care workers and public workers.. then chronically ill..
According to the report in Deutsche Welle, "Health state ministers late on Thursday agreed that chronically ill patients, health care workers, police officers, fire fighters, public workers and pregnant women can receive the injections first. Two shots are needed for the vaccination to be effective against the (A)H1N1 virus"
Berlin is now saying when the rest of the population will be vaccinated..
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/20/2009 12:00:00 PM
Links to this post
AIRLINES TO TURN AWAY "SWINE FLU" PASSENGERS
TIMES ONLINE from UK reporting that passengers who are suspected of having the swine flu will be turned away and now permitted to fly on the British and Virgin aways..
TIMES reporting, "Peter Holden, the British Medical Association’s lead representative on pandemic flu, told The Times that he was advising doctors not to issue the notes because they would not be worth the paper they were written on"
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/20/2009 10:23:00 AM
Links to this post
All the news unfit to print for Sunday, July 19, 2009
Red Rabbit: I absolutely love this video
Red Rabbit from Egmont Mayer on Vimeo.
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/19/2009 09:40:00 PM
Links to this post
ASTRONAUTS DEALING WITH FLOODED TOILET IN SPACE..
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/19/2009 08:29:00 PM
Links to this post
PETER SINGER IN NEW YORK TIMES: "WHY WE MUST RATION HEALTH CARE"
MORE//
MUST READ QUOTE:
"The death of a teenager is a greater tragedy than the death of an 85-year-old, and this should be reflected in our priorities. We can accommodate that difference by calculating the number of life-years saved, rather than simply the number of lives saved. If a teenager can be expected to live another 70 years, saving her life counts as a gain of 70 life-years, whereas if a person of 85 can be expected to live another 5 years, then saving the 85-year-old will count as a gain of only 5 life-years. That suggests that saving one teenager is equivalent to saving 14 85-year-olds. These are, of course, generic teenagers and generic 85-year-olds. It’s easy to say, “What if the teenager is a violent criminal and the 85-year-old is still working productively?” But just as emergency rooms should leave criminal justice to the courts and treat assailants and victims alike, so decisions about the allocation of health care resources should be kept separate from judgments about the moral character or social value of individuals"THE HEALTH CARE DEBATE: NOW WE'RE PUTTING PRICES ON WHOSE LIFE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANOTHER//
NEXT WE MAY STOP PUTTING A VALUE ON SOME LIFE// After all, is someone with mental retardation really worth keeping healthy? Is someone with Alzheimer's really worth concern..? Does cancer really warrant a fight? .. the march to eugenics is back and better than ever.. Rationed health care will put price tags on the heads of our sick -- and the illusion so many people believe is that those price tags are moral and ethical..
You may be the next Terry Schiavo ...
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/19/2009 08:28:00 PM
Links to this post
Family dead in Detroit after energy company cuts off their power
More from The Detroit FREE PRESS// DTE Energy cut off electricity after family's nonpayment.. Generator that was hooked up after the cutoff sent carbon monoxide into the home..
Detroit has been hit hard during the nation's current Great Recession. Jobless rates are 16% officially, according to the Bureau of Labor Standards.. The city is also struggling as red foxes are moving into downtown Detroit in big numbers in weeds of abandoned factories..
More people are expected to flee Detroit due to lack of job creation..
The plight of hundreds of thousands of people getting worse, not better.. Many more families may see energy cutoffs as bills go unpaid into the winter months// Developing//
posted by schmuckraker @ 7/19/2009 07:00:00 PM
Links to this post
