Larry Craig now claiming bathroom bust was ‘business trip’

There's no do-overs at the Glory Hole, buster.  Raw Story.  Excerpts:

Former Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) is attempting to have his infamous public bathroom arrest for soliciting sex from an undercover police officer reclassified as having occurred on an official Senate business trip. According to the Fox News website, the disgraced lawmaker is trying to avoid a fine from the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) for misuse of electoral funds in his legal defense.



The FEC sued Craig and his treasurer Kaye O’Riordan in June, alleging that Craig used some $217,000 in campaign funds for personal use, paying it to the attorneys who managed to arrange a plea deal stemming from the his arrest on July 17, 2007 in a bathroom of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Thanks to his legal team, charges of lewd conduct against Craig were dropped in favor of a guilty plea to charges of disorderly conduct.


Craig and his attorneys argue that the money was used neither for personal use nor campaign use, but for reimbursable travel expenses incurred while traveling home from the Senate(Via a bathroom stall..). He cited a Senate provision that sanctions repayment to senators all per diem expenses related to travel to and from Washington, including meals, lodging, cleaning and pressing of business clothes and, apparently, any fees related to bathroom use.


A member of Craig’s defense team, D.C. attorney Andrew Herman, wrote, “Not only was the trip itself constitutionally required, but Senate rules sanction reimbursement for any cost relating to a senator’s use of a bathroom while on official travel.” (Whatever that "use" may be, eh?)

Way to go, ass:  Everybody forgot who you were!  Hopefully, you'll get some more recognition for being a skeevy hypocrite trying to wiggle out of paying your fine..  Your family must be sooo proud of you!  You truly are the face of "family values," GOP-style..  Enjoy your renewed media attention!

Goro Has Yet Another Post

Two public posts in a year is Goro's average standard output.  Two in less than two weeks?  Dude's on fire!  Read it here..

Let’s Be Friends

Animals being friends.  Very cool.  Washington's Blog. 

Europe's Largest Insurer Allianz Not Amused That Central Banks Are Involved In Liborgate

According to Zero Hedge, Allianz might be mad because people found out, not the rigging itself..  Blerg..

What a difference a revisionist market rally makes. Remember when everyone was involved in Libor manipulation? No? Curious what a few hundred DJIA points will do especially when the corporate revenues and supporting them simply are not there, and one goes all in on multiple expansion. One entity which, however, has not forgotten about Lieborgate is Pimco parent and Europe's largest insurance firm, Allianz. And they are not happy: "Europe's biggest insurer, Allianz, is worried about the role central banks may have played in an interest rate rigging scandal that has enveloped some leading international lenders, the insurer's chief financial officer said on Friday. "We do not find it funny, what has happened, in particular the arising implication that it is not just the banks but central banks being involved in this," Oliver Baete told a conference call with analysts. "That really gives us cause for concern," Baete added." Of course, neither the ECB nor the FED could care much, considering that Allianz would be immediately insolvent if the same central banks who manipulated Libor stopped manipulating interest rates... which is implicitly what Allianz is unhappy about.


Bitches!  How dare you get caught!  You said muppets and auditors were stupid!

electric you...

Full text without comment.  Clif High / halfpasthuman:

We live inside an electric universe.



The sun is electric at the core of all its activities, not nuclear as suggested in last century. It must also be acknowledged that even nuclear radioactivity is but a difference in expression of electricity, rather than a difference of kind of energy.


The earth is electric, and produces and interacts with vast numbers of electromagnetic grids naturally occurring.


Humans are electric, and take great delight in playing with the essence of their very nature, electricity. Humans also produce and interact with vast numbers of electromagnetic grids, many not natural, nor native to earth.


You are electric, and as such are also an electricity sensor array of great and subtle power. When the little hairs on the back of your neck go straight up and quiver like a conehead at moons alignment as you pass that dark alley, you are registering the electric potential (voltage) of the bastard deep in the shadows waiting to jack the next fellow walking by. Of course, he was hoping that you were so inebriated (intoxicated) as to have shut down your electrical sensors for danger.
Since we are all electric in an all electric universe, it makes sense (pun intended) that we are sensors to all things electric.....including the future.


In an electric universe, where all motion (expression of time), is electrically powered at the most fundamental level, future manifestations have a form of pre-expression that has been demonstrated by humans (and animals) forever. This pre-manifestation future, is also pre-electric, but so are we, thus our ability to sense it. Western science places such expressions under the category of 'psychic' occurrences. This is merely a label, and an attempt at control of a segment of reality that frequently defies such control efforts of the mainstream mindset.


In an electric universe, energy matters. It is this key element. Energy IS universe. Therefore, in the continuous creation-destruction model of universe that i favor, the idea that there is everything (past, present, future) all expressing themselves in all possible variations (timelines), is wrong. Such is just too wasteful of energy, and does not fit the expressed fractal patterns of how energy is manifest within the material universe.


In the continuous creation-destruction model of universe, there are not multiple timelines. Rather there is a 'reality manifestation membrane' (yes, similar to how string theory represents their idea of 'branes') through which reality is expressed. This 'membrane' is interactive with our consciousness, both individually and collectively. Please note, this includes all beings in universe, not merely humans. As we all (planets, aliens, worms, sea cucumbers, orangoutans, et al) interact individually with the 'reality manifestation membrane', we are also, at too many levels to track, interacting with each other through the membrane. The complexity of these interactions are so vast that our minds place a filter on how we perceive the whole thing, and thus the illusion of solidity and matter are created.


While universe powers us (all beings) individually, we, collectively, power the 'variation' in universe. Because we are all, in our vast numbers, interacting with the reality manifestation membrane, individually, we all make changes in the membrane that affect all other beings in their interactions with the membrane. Thus we have the practical appearance of an infinite level of variation. And that should be clear as this side of the moon during an eclipse.


The reason that this is pertinent has to do with the Farsight.org 2012 experiment. This experiment was ingeniously designed to actively involve universe at a non human level within the results. It worked. It does not, in my opinion, prove the idea of multiple timelines as i have an alternate view of how universe chooses to express itself. However, it does, in my opinion, prove the effectiveness (next year) of remote viewing as a tool for decision making.


In the continuous creation-destruction model, the Farsight 2012 experiment validates many of the 'irrevocable process' descriptions of time provided by Kozyrev in his work (yes, some of his stuff was measuring hyperdimensional effects, but he also nailed the temporal interactive field (membrane)).


In the view of the 'irrevocable process', the up coming 2012/2013 disruptions on earth are even now 'building up' on the 'other side' of the membrane, and that is how the remote viewers in the Farsight experiment picked them up. As well as how our own work described the 'global coastal event' some years back.


In the view of the multiple timelines concept of reality, there are an infinite variation of everything happening all at once. This idea works against demonstrable energy flows in the material universe, but it is a convenient method of thinking about possibilities. However, it has some flaws that are inherent in the lack of complexity being considered, and (in my opinion) makes for potential errors in thinking.


In the view of multiple timelines, some events are so large that 'all timelines must go through them'. In this view of multiple timelines of the 'now', infinitely expressing simultaneously, there is the erroneous idea that one could 'shift timelines'. Even in within this understanding of universe this would not be possible, as your local consciousness could not 'shift' itself out of any temporal 'river' in which it was placed. Not without huge amounts of energy...the energy required to rip your atoms from that stream....so consciousness will not affect your timeline, under this model.


In the 'shifting your timeline theory', you could 'decide' to make certain decisions certain ways, but the argument that any action thus taken would alter your timeline is spurious. Rather it is much easier to conceive of it as being mere determinism forced upon you by the particular timeline (in this model) in which you happen to reside. In this idea you were forced by the timeline you are in to make those decisions that way, even as you think you are changing your timeline by so doing. The 'proof' offered is that you never end up with exactly the timeline viewed by the future forecasters (prophets, remote viewers, all of us nutters). You could just as easily say that the reason that the future never works out as viewed is that you were 'seeing' the other timeline.


Of course it is all very complex (the multiple timelines model) as your consciousness must necessarily be spread across your identity in multiple timelines. This is what is cited as evidence for the theory (self referential so must be discounted) of multiple timelines, as well as being the mechanism, under this model, whereby remote viewers can foresee the future...sometimes. This 'sometimes' qualifier is pertinent as, when they are inaccurate, the 'other timeline being seen' is cited as the reason. As an aside, those in law enforcement will recognize this as the SODDI defense (some other dude did it). In this case, it is some other timeline that was seen, and thus that is the reason for inaccuracy of future forecasts in this multiple timeline model of reality.


It never occurred to me to consider universe in this light in my own work (or i could have claimed to never been wrong...some other time line did it)....rather i use the continuous creation/destruction model in my thinking and our work here at HPH. So in our model, the reality expression membrane is what the remote viewers are feeling up to get their views of things non local. It is also this reality expression membrane that exerts pressure (electrical) on you and all other humans, thus causing y'all to leak out changes in your language that i picked up in my work for our future forecasts.


Now note that my view does not diminish the importance of the Farsight work. It still has universe intruding through their experiment to warn of devastation just ahead......but in my opinion it does not prove multiple timelines. The deviation in viewing in their experiment has to do with how it was structured. In the structure of the experiment a key element is whether or not mainstream academia admits to remote viewing and extra terrestrial life. So, inadvertently, what has been captured, has been a particular layer of interaction between all of us humans, and the reality manifesting membrane.


It does not matter, by the way, whether i am correct in my view, or if the multiple timelines model is a more accurate expression of how universe is organized. We still have the Farsight.org experiment results slapping us in the face and yelling "Yo, humanity, wake up!"


July 31,2012

Report: Macaulay Culkin’s Heroin Habit is ‘Killing Him’ [UPDATE]

This totally bums me out.  Gawker. 


Macaulay Culkin nearly overdosed on heroin and has a $6,000-a-month oxycodone habit, the National Enquirer reports.



According to the tabloid — which sports the breathless hed (headline)"6 Months to Live!" — the world's most famous former child actor has been combining the two drugs for the past 18 months and friends believe the addiction might end his life.


"Macaulay Culkin is hooked on drugs and it's killing him!" one insider told the Enquirer. "He's been hooked for a year and a half, and his drug of choice is either heroin or oxycodone. Mac is surrounding himself with junkies and lowlifes. It's a real tragedy."


The Culkin moles claim that the Party Monster star started using hard drugs on a regular basis following his split from girlfriend Mila Kunis, most recently linked romantically with Ashton Kutcher.


"Macaulay Culkin is surely dying," said another "close friend," who alleges that Culkin is also addicted to Percocet and Vicodin. "I have witnessed his drug taking," said the unnamed source, "which has escalated over the past year and a half to the point where he needs serious help."


Concern over the actor's health was raised earlier this year after Culkin was spotted looking strikingly emaciated. His rep said at the time that his client was "in perfectly good health."


UPDATE: Culkin's rep has released a statement to TMZ, calling the Enquirer's report "categorically without merit" as well as "impossibly and ridiculously fictitious." The rep continues: "We beseech the responsible media to consider the source and its reputation and to please not perpetuate this destructive and insulting story by pursuing it any further."


I feel very badly for Macaulay Culkin.  I think he lost his trust in others at a very young age,  and, as a result,  has never fully recovered from that loss.  I can't imagine what it must be like to have parasites and handlers (Some of them your own flesh and blood)taking your money and stealing your essence before you even reach puberty.  At least when you're a junkie, there's fewer people around to steal what's left, right?

I will say my version of a prayer for you, Macaulay.  I'm sorry your life has spiraled.  I hope you find a way to make the pain manageable, and by living through this, you can exit the tunnel, triumphant.

Li(e)bor: The Cartel Emerges

Huge.  Zero Hedge.  Excerpts:

Just when you thought the Li(e)bor scandal had jumped the shark, Germany's Spiegel brings it back front-and-center with a detailed and critical insight into the 'organized fraud' and emergence of the cartel of 'bottom of the food chain' money market traders. "The trick is that you can't do it alone" one of the 'chosen' pointed out, but regulators have now spoken "mechanisms are now taking effect that I only knew of from mafia films." RICO anyone? "This is a real zinger," says an insider. In the past, bank manager lapses resulted from their stupidity for having bought securities without understanding them. "Now that was bad enough. But manipulating a market rate is criminal." A portion of the industry, adds the insider, apparently doesn't realize that the writing is on the wall.



There have been plenty of banking scandals, but none quite like this: Investigators and political leaders believe that the manipulation of the Libor benchmark interest rate was the result of organized fraud. Institutions that participated could face billions in fines and penalties.
And:

What the Banks Could Now Face



German banks must have pricked up their ears when BaFin President Elke König recently spoke about the Libor scandal. "Basically, banks must establish suitable reserves for possible losses," König concluded.


Investors, like Vienna hedge fund FTC Capital, have made it clear that they do not intend to let up. They feel obligated to their customers to file claims for damages, explains FTC executive Majcen...


There are already 20 lawsuits in the United States, some of which have been combined into class action suits. The plaintiffs range from the City of Baltimore to police and firefighter's pension funds, the City of Dania Beach, Florida, and Russian oligarch Vladimir Gusinsky.


They feel encouraged by the actions of regulators. "Both the American CFTC and the FSA have done excellent investigative work," says Majcen. Bank analysts expect that other institutions could face fines similar to the one imposed on Barclays. In fact, it ought to be in the banks' best interest to quickly settle their cases. "But they're afraid, because since Barclays, they know that it isn't just about money, but also about making heads roll," says a major shareholder of Deutsche Bank.


German attorneys are also lining up to represent potential clients. "A few institutional investors have already contacted us," says Marc Schiefer of the law firm TILP in the southern German city of Tübingen.


Years could go by before damage suits are ruled on...


Possible Libor-related liabilities would cause serious problems at WestLB, or its successor company Portigon. The once-proud state-owned bank is in the process of being liquidated, at a cost of billions to its former owners, the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and savings banks. The Libor scandal could further increase the burden on taxpayers.
...
The call for stricter regulation is also getting louder in politics once again... "cheap populism."


"This is a real zinger," says an insider. In the past, bank manager lapses resulted from their stupidity for having bought securities without understanding them. "Now that was bad enough. But manipulating a market rate is criminal." A portion of the industry, adds the insider, apparently doesn't realize that the writing is on the wall.


The parties involved, including Deutsche Bank and its new co-CEO Jain, cannot expect leniency when charges are investigated. "We can't make any allowances for high-profile names," say officials in the capital.

The vast inter-connectedness of these institutions presents a huge problem for regulators and investigators(Think thousands of strings of Christmas lights tangled together), but the main players are known, and those players have got to be freaking out.  Who will be branded "The First Example?"

Couple thoughts:  The public will never understand this scandal until the media finds a way to explain it clearly and succinctly.  But the media first must start actually covering this scandal.

What a glorious time to be an honest, independent Auditor!  Welcome to your Golden Age, nerds!

Prominent climate-change denier now admits he was wrong

One down, legions of bozos to go..  McClatchy.  Excerpts:

The verdict is in: Global warming is real and greenhouse-gas emissions from human activity are the main cause.



This, according to Richard A. Muller, professor of physics at the University of California, Berkely, a MacArthur fellow and co-founder of the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project.


The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and hundreds of other climatologists around the world came to such conclusions years ago, but the difference now is the source: Muller is a long-standing, colorful critic of prevailing climate science, and the Berkeley project was heavily funded by the Charles Koch Charitable Foundation, which, along with its libertarian petrochemical billionaire founder Charles G. Koch, has a considerable history of backing groups that deny climate change.


In an opinion piece in Saturday's New York Times titled "The Conversion of a Climate-Change Skeptic," Muller writes:


"Three years ago I identified problems in previous climate studies that, in my mind, threw doubt on the very existence of global warming. Last year, following an intensive research effort involving a dozen scientists, I concluded that global warming was real and that the prior estimates of the rate of warming were correct. I'm now going a step further: Humans are almost entirely the cause."


The Berkeley project's research has shown, Muller says, "that the average temperature of the earth's land has risen by 21/2 degrees Fahrenheit over the past 250 years, including an increase of 11/2 degrees over the most recent 50 years. Moreover, it appears likely that essentially all of this increase results from the human emission of greenhouse gases."


He calls his current stance "a total turnaround."


Tonya Mullins, a spokeswoman for the Koch Foundation, said the support her foundation provided, along with others, has no bearing on results of the research.


"Our grants are designed to promote independent research; as such, recipients hold full control over their findings," Mullins said in an email. "In this support, we strive to benefit society by promoting discovery and informing public policy."


Some leading climate scientists said Muller's comments show that the science is so strong that even those inclined to reject it cannot once they examine it carefully.


Michael E. Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, said Muller's conversion might help shape the thinking of the "reasonable middle" of the population "who are genuinely confused and have been honestly taken in" by attacks on climate science.


On his Facebook page, Mann wrote: "There is a certain ironic satisfaction in seeing a study funded by the Koch Brothers - the greatest funders of climate change denial and disinformation on the planet - demonstrate what scientists have known with some degree of confidence for nearly two decades: that the globe is indeed warming, and that this warming can only be explained by human-caused increases in greenhouse gas concentrations. I applaud Muller and his colleagues for acting as any good scientists would, following where their analyses led them, without regard for the possible political repercussions."


Muller's conclusions, however, did not sway the most ardent climate contrarians, like Marc Morano, a former producer for Rush Limbaugh(!!) and former communications director for the Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.


"Muller will be remembered as a befuddled professor who has yet to figure out how to separate climate science from his media antics. His latest claims provide no new insight into the climate science debate," Morano said in an email.

Global Warming must be a hoax if Rush Limbaugh's former producer says it is!  You know what your problem is, buster?  Too much Oxycontin; that's what!  It rots your brain, ya know..  Some of my batshit friends and relatives still deny Climate Change, too.  How about quoting them?  I guess some people won't leave their seats until they can actually see the theater on fire.  Or until Fox News tells them so..

Oldest Poison Pushes Back Ancient Civilization 20,000 Years

Huh..  This poison tastes old;  Really old!  Yahoo News.  Excerpts:

The late Stone Age may have had an earlier start in Africa than previously thought — by some 20,000 years.
A new analysis of artifacts from a cave in South Africa reveals that the residents were carving bone tools, using pigments, making beads and even using poison 44,000 years ago. These sorts of artifacts had previously been linked to the San culture, which was thought to have emerged around 20,000 years ago.


"Our research proves that the Later Stone Age emerged in South Africa far earlier than has been believed and occurred at about the same time as the arrival of modern humans in Europe," study researcher Paola Villa, a curator at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, said in a statement.


The Later Stone Age in Africa occurred at the same time as Europe's Upper Paleolithic Period, when modern humans moved into Europe from Africa and met the Neanderthals about 45,000 years ago.


"[T]he differences in technology and culture between the two areas are very strong, showing the people of the two regions chose very different paths to the evolution of technology and society," Villa said.

Like I've said before, if we don't kill ourselves first, the next 50 years promises so many history changing discoveries here on earth..  If we don't kill ourselves first.

Fukushima’s Melted Reactors 500 Days On

The ongoing nuclear emergency continues to surpass Worst Case Scenarios.  Just what we need:  A relentless, overachieving catastrophe.  Veterans Today.  Excerpts:

Dr. Paolo Scampa, PhD, a well-known physicist in the European Union, has prepared a radioactive inventory of Fukushima Daiichi’s destroyed nuclear power plants 500 days after the meltdown of three disemboweled, mangled reactors.



The violent extinction level event occurred Mar 11, 2011. The deadly meltdown and dispersion of radioactive fuel throughout the world is on-going to this day.


Because of the nature of long-lived and short-lived radioactivity, this summation of the radioactive Fukushima inventory is valid for many years. Dr. Scampa’s inventory is current as of Friday, June 29, 2012.


There are 1,946 radioactive products produced by nuclear weapons and atomic reactors according to the Oak Ridge Nuclear Weapons Lab in America.


Fifty-five are considered to be long-lived; 898 are considered to be short-lived but last more than eight days. These nine hundred fifty-three radioactive isotopes are included in this analysis.


Nine hundred ninety-three (993) radioactive isotopes are considered dangerous and undergo radioactive decay within eight days; they are not included in this analysis.

Scampa's analysis is dry, and yet, terrifying.  Here ya go..

The three melted reactors combined in Fukushima Daichi contained 257 tons of nuclear fuel enriched to 3.7% Uranium 235 and divided into 1,496 assemblies, each about 172 kg.



Reactor No. 3 also housed 32 MOX assemblies, reportedly enriched to 6% or 330 kg of Pu239.


In addition, the storage pools of these reactors have at least 239 tonnes of fuel residing there for who knows how long (1,390 assemblies) and 31 tonnes of fresh fuel (180 assemblies).
..
The day of the earthquake their fuel was consumed according to the article cited at an average of 23.35 GWd/t at a rate of 24.07 kg/t for a total of 6.186 tonnes of fuel fissioned.

..
Overall, 9 tonnes of fuel was subjected to atomic fission or activation transformation occasioning a prodigious explosion of radioactivity and radiotoxicity which over time, is several times the amount needed to kill by internal contamination the whole human race.

..
The most remarkable of the volatile elements (elements of which the boiling point is inferior to 1,500 degrees Centigrade and escape above all the first coriums). 37,921 PBq; 1 billion Ci; 18 billion potential inhaled lethal doses.



The official report of the Japanese government to the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Association] contains a hypothesis that the emanations of nuclear fuel from Fukushima Daiichi are equivalent to the ones observed at Chernobyl.

We can see by comparing the subsets of figures below that the radioactive particle emission through the air from Fukushima is not only 3.7 times higher than Chernobyl; but, more importantly, 28.3 times more radiotoxic with every breath you take.

So we got that goin' for us; which is nice..  I still can't believe no one talks about Fukushima.  The level of global denial is..  Beyond words.

Enceladus: home of alien lifeforms?

Tiny little moon; Enormous possibilities!  The Guardian.  Excerpts:

Enceladus is little bigger than a lump of rock and has appeared, until recently, as a mere pinprick of light in astronomers' telescopes. Yet Saturn's tiny moon has suddenly become a major attraction for scientists. Many now believe it offers the best hope we have of discovering life on another world inside our solar system.



The idea that a moon a mere 310 miles in diameter, orbiting in deep, cold space, 1bn miles from the sun, could provide a home for alien lifeforms may seem extraordinary. Nevertheless, a growing number of researchers consider this is a real prospect and argue that Enceladus should be rated a top priority for future space missions.


This point is endorsed by astrobiologist Professor Charles Cockell of Edinburgh University. "If someone gave me several billion dollars to build whatever space probe I wanted, I would have no hesitation," he says. "I would construct one that could fly to Saturn and collect samples from Enceladus. I would go there rather than Mars or the icy moons of Jupiter, such as Europa, despite encouraging signs that they could support life. Primitive, bacteria-like lifeforms may indeed exist on these worlds but they are probably buried deep below their surfaces and will be difficult to access. On Enceladus, if there are lifeforms, they will be easy to pick up. They will be pouring into space."


The cause of this unexpected interest in Enceladus – first observed by William Herschel in 1789 and named after one of the children of the Earth goddess Gaia – stems from a discovery made by the robot spacecraft Cassini, which has been in orbit of Saturn for the past eight years. The $3bn probe has shown that the little moon not only has an atmosphere, but that geysers of water are erupting from its surface into space. Even more astonishing has been its most recent discovery, which has shown that these geysers contain complex organic compounds, including propane, ethane, and acetylene.


"It just about ticks every box you have when it comes to looking for life on another world," says Nasa astrobiologist Chris McKay. "It has got liquid water, organic material and a source of heat. It is hard to think of anything more enticing short of receiving a radio signal from aliens on Enceladus telling us to come and get them."



Cassini's observations suggest Enceladus possesses a subterranean ocean that is kept liquid by the moon's internal heat. "We are not sure where that energy is coming from," McKay admits. "The source is producing around 16 gigawatts of power and looks very like the geothermal energy sources we have on Earth – like the deep vents we see in our ocean beds and which bubble up hot gases."


At the moon's south pole, Enceladus's underground ocean appears to rise close to the surface. At a few sites, cracks have developed and water is bubbling to the surface before being vented into space, along with complex organic chemicals that also appear to have built up in its sea.


Equally remarkable is the impact of this water on Saturn. The planet is famed for its complex system of rings, made of bands of small particles in orbit round the planet. There are seven main rings: A, B, C, D, E, F and G, and the giant E-ring is linked directly with Enceladus. The water the moon vents into space turns into ice crystals and these feed the planet's E-ring. "If you turned off the geysers of Enceladus, the great E-ring of Saturn would disappear within a few years," says McKay. "For a little moon, Enceladus has quite an impact."

Panic grips Uganda, as Ebola outbreak kills 14

Here's hoping this is as big as it gets.  Reuters, via The Extinction Protocol:

An outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus has killed 13 people in Uganda and efforts are under way to contain the hemorrhagic fever, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday. There is no treatment and no vaccine against Ebola, which is transmitted by close personal contact and, depending on the strain, kills up to 90 percent of those who contract the virus. Joaquim Saweka, WHO’s representative in Uganda, said that although suspected Ebola infections emerged in early July in Kibale district, about 170 km (100 miles) west of the capital Kampala, the outbreak was not confirmed until Friday. “There are a total of 20 people suspected to have contracted Ebola and 13 of them have died,” Saweka said. “A team of experts from the government, WHO and CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control) are in the field and following up on all suspected cases and those who got into contact with patients.” Saweka said the origin of the outbreak had not yet been confirmed, but 18 of the 20 cases are understood to be linked to one family. Kibale is near the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where the virus emerged in 1976, taking its name from the Ebola River. The symptoms include sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat, followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rashes, impaired kidney and liver function and both internal and external bleeding. Ebola was last reported in Uganda in May last year when it killed a 12-year-old girl. The country’s most devastating outbreak was in 2000 when 425 people were infected, more than half of whom died.

Every once in awhile, Ebola rears its ugly head, reminding us it is A Monster, then retreats back into dormancy.  I'm hoping for a repeat scenario this time, also.  Maybe this will be it.

Dick Cheney Says What We’re All Thinking: Picking Sarah Palin Was a Mistake

Heh..  Yeah..  Gawker:

Vice presidential expert Dick Cheney has offered his perspective on selecting a running mate to Mitt Romney and Beth Myers, who is heading Romney's search. While Cheney wouldn't divulge what he told the Republican candidate, he did offer one clear message: don't pick another Sarah Palin.



When asked by ABC News about John McCain's decision to pick Palin in 2008, Cheney was direct — "That one, I don't think was well handled."
To many, this seems like common sense, but few Republicans have been willing to publicly speak ill of Palin. McCain even said Sarah Palin was a better choice than Mitt Romney.


As Cheney explained, "The test to get on that small list has to be, 'Is this person capable of being president of the United States?'" Palin's lack of foreign policy knowledge and her limited experience were two major strikes against her during the 2008 election.


It's not personal, Cheney insisted.

I like Governor Palin. I've met her. I know her. She [is an] attractive candidate. But based on her background, she'd only been governor for, what, two years. I don't think she passed that test … of being ready to take over. And I think that was a mistake.

The interview will air tomorrow on ABC.

The Establishment and Neocons have spoken:  Much more real political experience, or no national Palin.  By running around the country jabbering without the benefit of political office only insures that she won't be ready for any higher office until her "I'd hit that" looks have faded and people actually have to listen to her!  So..  Probably no more national Palin.  Don't worry, though;  There's always Tina Fey!

Activist: Calif. plant could be next Fukushima

Video from CNN, via You Tube.

Lest we forget this is a real possibility, as the plant is already hobbled, and the area is more earthquake prone than first believed.  And yeah, just because San Onofre is offline, doesn't mean a Reactor 4 situation isn't still possible, what with all that spent fuel just laying around..  All to boil water.. Enjoy your Sunday!

Ex-Fukushima Daiichi Worker: “There are leaks everywhere” — Tepco portraying situation in best possible light

Tepco's motto:  We may be small, but we're slow!  And overly optimistic.  ENENEWS:


Title: In Japan, a nuclear ghost town stirs to life

Source: NBC News
Author: Kyle Drubek
Date: July 26, 2012


[...]

Takahashi Kei, a former cooling system worker at the plant now working as a radiation survey volunteer, said [Tepco's] executives are portraying the situation in the best possible light.


“There are leaks everywhere, wreckage too. It’s not as simple as they portray,” he said.
[...]
TEPCO acknowledges that three reactors at the plant remain full of melted and re-solidified fuel that must be removed and that spent fuel pools elsewhere on the grounds must be kept cool to prevent them from releasing radiation again. It estimates it will take about 40 years to completely decommission the site.
[...]
40 years?  Again with the optimism..