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Laura Bush supports gay marriage and abortion rights. Huh. A couple thoughts:*She was politically bound to not voice her opinion until Bush's term of office was up.*She was also bound by marriage. This is not James Carville and Mary Matalin. There will be no public disagreement within the First Family. It isn't fair to say "If she would have said this earlier...," a response I initially had, as it was simply not an option for her.* Is she a Democrat? She's loved by more liberals than you'd think.. * Her views are out there, now.. Where to, next? Will she become more active for her political beliefs? How will the Right respond? Will the last sitting Republican First Lady be unwelcome at future Republican events? She's been forgiven, but she's pissed off the faithful a couple times before..*Just how betrayed will "True Believers" feel? And, more importantly, how will they react?
China children 'hacked to death' in new school attack. This is not the first attack of its kind; it's attack number SIX. Two factors contributing to this weird and grisly new.. trend are Social/Economic revenge, and Copy Cats, both types of crimes committed by the insane. This type of attacker poses a major problem for China both short and long-term.According to one of the links, China has an estimated two percent of their population that is mentally ill. Two percent of 1.3 billion people is 26 million, so that's A Lot. There is also a stigma attached to mental illness and counseling, so not many seek it out and there isn't a system in place to cope with growing numbers of overstressed, less educated, newly poor(er) Chinese. The first attacker claimed revenge against society as his motive, and that, evidently, has resonated within a certain segment of China's populace. And these copycat/revenge killings will likely continue, as the economic circumstances that changed and collectively stressed Chinese society will also likely continue.So, unless the unreported mentally ill and socio-economically disadvantaged classes get bored with the idea of attacking and killing kids or the Chinese government(and the people in general) gets its shit together regarding treatment for(and the outlook for those with) mental illness, there will be a major increase in these attacks. The memories of these attacks, not only the direct victims, but on this entire generation of children, will directly effect their collective psyche with fear that the rest of us will never understand. From almost infancy, this generation of Chinese children will Never Feel Safe, and they'll live their entire life from the shadows of this horrible, dark perspective.Sad, and the global implications for the future are a bit disturbing..
The Interrogation of Lloyd Blankfein. Carl Levin? Who knew?SEN. CARL LEVIN: June 22 is the date of this e-mail. "Boy, that Timberwolf was one shitty deal." How much of that "shitty deal" did you sell to your clients after June 22, 2007?DAN SPARKS: Mr. Chairman, I don't know the answer to that. But the price would have reflected levels that they wanted to invest...SEN. CARL LEVIN: Oh, of course.DAN SPARKS: ... at that time.SEN. CARL LEVIN: But you didn't tell them you thought it was a shitty deal.DAN SPARKS: Well, I didn't say that.SEN. CARL LEVIN: Who did? Your people, internally. You knew it was a shitty deal, and that's what your...DAN SPARKS: I think the context, the message that I took from the e-mail from Mr. Montag, was that my performance on that deal wasn't good.SEN. CARL LEVIN: How about the fact that you sold hundreds of millions of that deal after your people knew it was a shitty deal? Does that bother you at all; you sold the customers something?DAN SPARKS: I don't recall selling hundreds of millions of that deal after that.Levin was just as tough on Blankfein, reiterating the same question over and over again: "Is there not a conflict when you sell something to somebody, and then you bet against that same security, and you don't disclose that to the person you're selling it to? Do you see a problem?"At first, Blankfein acted like he'd never considered the question before, as if "putting himself in his client's shoes" was something that never even entered his mind. His look of utter bewilderment was revealing. Then he launched into the excuses, the evasions, and the elaborate, long-winded ruminations that one expects from schoolboys and hucksters. But Levin never gave and inch. He kept pushing until Blankfein finally gave up and responded."No," he stammered, "In the context of market-making that's not a conflict."Blankfein's answer was a triumph for Levin, and he knew it. To the millions of people watching the sequence on TV, Blankfein's denial was as good as an admission of guilt. It showed that Wall Street kingpins don't share the same morals as everyone else. In fact, Blankfein seemed genuinely confused that morality would even be an issue. After all, it wasn't for him.
Leaked report: Government fears Deepwater Horizon well could become unchecked gusher Excerpts(Italics indicate quote/Colored emphasis mine): A confidential government report on the unfolding spill disaster in the Gulf makes clear the Coast Guard now fears the well could become an unchecked gusher shooting millions of gallons of oil per day into the Gulf."The following is not public," reads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Emergency Response document dated April 28. "Two additional release points were found today in the tangled riser. If the riser pipe deteriorates further, the flow could become unchecked resulting in a release volume an order of magnitude higher than previously thought."And: In scientific circles, an order of magnitude means something is 10 times larger. In this case, an order of magnitude higher would mean the volume of oil coming from the well could be 10 times higher than the 5,000 barrels a day coming out now. That would mean 50,000 barrels a day, or 2.1 million gallons a day. And:Gouget said the loss of a wellhead is totally unprecedented."How bad it could get from that, you will have a tremendous volume of oil that is going to be offgassing on the coast. Depending on how much wind is there, and how those gases build up, that's a significant health concern," he said.Pay attention: This is a big deal. We might be witnessing(potentially) the beginning death throes of a large portion of, or the entire Gulf of Mexico. Due to this spill, a large number of living things on this planet are going to die soon. Think about that for a moment, and get ready to bear witness.
Do you find yourself thinking, "Why isn't there Any News on.. (Insert Corporate Media Network Here)? You're not alone. Sorry CNN.. You did this to yourself.. As much as a Corporate Entity can be considered a "You."
Mysterious, indeed. Relevant excerpts: (Italics indicate Quotes)There is something strange in the cosmic neighbourhood. An unknown object in the nearby galaxy M82 has started sending out radio waves, and the emission does not look like anything seen anywhere in the universe before.AndIt certainly does not fit the pattern of radio emissions from supernovae: they usually get brighter over a few weeks and then fade away over months, with the spectrum of the radiation changing all the while. The new source has hardly changed in brightness over the course of a year, and its spectrum is steady.Yet it does seem to be moving – and fast: its apparent sideways velocity is four times the speed of light. Such apparent “superluminal” motion has been seen before in high-speed jets of material squirted out by some black holes. The stuff in these jets is moving towards us at a slight angle(Me: What is "slight?") and travelling at a fair fraction of the speed of light, and the effects of relativity produce a kind of optical illusion that makes the motion appear superluminal.AndHis best guess is still that the radio source is some kind of dense object accreting surrounding material, perhaps a large black hole or a black hole in an unusual environment. Perhaps the phenomenon also happens occasionally in our galaxy, but is more common in M82 because it is a “starburst” galaxy – a cosmic cauldron where massive stars are forming and exploding at a much higher rate than in the Milky Way, creating a lot of new black holes.First: Radio waves. Next: High speed jets of material squirted out by some black holes(Maybe). That stuff hitting earth sounds fun! Space-themed Doom is so.. Imaginative.
Potentially deadly fungus spreading in US, Canada. Excerpts: A potentially deadly strain of fungus is spreading among animals and people in the northwestern United States and the Canadian province of British Columbia, researchers reported on Thursday.The airborne fungus, called Cryptococcus gattii, usually only infects transplant and AIDS patients and people with otherwise compromised immune systems, but the new strain is genetically different, the researchers said."This novel fungus is worrisome because it appears to be a threat to otherwise healthy people," said Edmond Byrnes of Duke University in North Carolina, who led the study.And:The spore-forming fungus can cause symptoms in people and animals two weeks or more after exposure. They include a cough that lasts for weeks, sharp chest pain, shortness of breath, headache, fever, nighttime sweats and weight loss.And:Freezing can kill the fungus and climate change may be helping it spread, the researchers said.Climate change? Haven't enough billions been thrown at that problem for you to forget about it, already? Awesome. Fake Global Climate Change may be spreading a very real, very deadly fungus.Global Climate Change is not caused entirely by human consumption. Just a HUGE portion of it. HUGE. Really Big. Big, big portion. A Lot caused by humans. I'm not ruling out solar changes, solar system changes(Brown dwarf, binary twin, Supernova 1987 A, Planet X), increased volcanism, etc.. But to deny that almost 7 billion eating, shitting, and consuming entities have neglible effect on the systemic global health of the planet? Apologies to your sensitivities upfront, but You're a Fucking Idiot.
Air Force Launches Secretive Space Plane; ‘We Don’t Know When It’s Coming Back’The Air Force launched a secretive space plane into orbit Thursday night from Cape Canaveral, Florida. And they’re not sure when it’s returning to Earth.Perched atop an Atlas V rocket, the Air Force’s unmanned and reusable X-37B made its first flight after a decade in development shrouded in mystery; most of the mission goals remain unknown to the public.Andperhaps the most intriguing answer came when he was asked by a reporter wanting to cover the landing as to when the X-37B would be making its way back to the planet.“In all honesty, we don’t know when it’s coming back for sure,” Payton said.Independence Day, anyone?
"Sad news today from Pennsylvania. Joe the Plumber not only still harbors resentment toward Senator McCain but now he doesn't like Sarah Palin. It seems that magical Republican trifecta from 2008 has splintered even further."
And
Yeah, but without McCain and Palin, where would Plumber be? That's what Detrow thought too.
"I pointed out he’d just be plain old Sam Wurzelbacher of Ohio — Joe the Plumber wouldn’t exist – without McCain," Detrow writes. "His response was blunt. '...He really screwed my life up, is how I look at it.'"
"McCain was trying to use me," Plumber told Detrow. "I happened to be the face of middle Americans. It was a ploy."
Really? A.. Ploy? What: Your name? Occupation? Your willingness to be used? Your every response? And.. you didn't know that.. Then?
Economic devastation soon! Excerpts: How is deflation possible when crude oil prices have more than doubled since their post-Lehman crash low? Or more broadly, how can there be deflation when the price index of 19 commodities compiled by the Commodity Research Bureau rose 47% during this same period? It cannot of course, which means there is no deflation. The ongoing decline in the purchasing power of the dollar has been masked by wealth destruction as over-priced assets like houses fall back to realistic levels. There is also the problem that the mainstream media broadcasts only the government calculated CPI (Consumer Price Index. GDP is Gross Domestic Product), which is an inaccurate measure of the dollar’s eroding purchasing power. -And- Rothbard provides his usual brilliant insight to explain what happens once the “Havenstein moment’ is reached. There are two alternatives. “If the government tightens its own belt and stops printing (or otherwise creating) new money, then inflationary expectations will eventually be reversed, and prices will fall once more – thus relieving the money shortage by lowering prices. But if government follows its own inherent inclination to counterfeit and appeases the clamor by printing more money so as to allow the public’s cash balances to ‘catch up’ to prices, then the country is off to the races. Money and prices will follow each other upward in an ever-accelerating spiral, until finally prices ‘run away’…[i.e., hyperinflate]” Weimar Germany took the second alternative.And, sadly..The dollar has now reached its ‘Havenstein moment’. Will policymakers follow the prudent advice of Murray Rothbard and ‘tighten its belt’? Or like Herr Havenstein, will Mr. Bernanke continue to ‘print’? No need to ponder these two alternatives. The Federal Reserve must ‘print’, for one reason. Despite the noble goals assigned to it in textbooks and offered in Congressional hearings, the Federal Reserve exists for only one reason – to make sure the federal government gets all the dollars it wants to spend, which consequently has put the dollar on a hyperinflationary course.Bottom line: By following its inherent purpose, the Fed will print us into hyperinflation. We will knowingly follow the failed economic model of the Weimar Republic and expect different results. Things do not look good, even in the short term, here in Universe "B.."
This is late by a few days. Pardon.. Looks like this Retrograde period might be a little heavier than most. From Robert Wilkinson's Aquarius Papers.. Excerpt: "Add the current Yod and Mercury septile Jupiter, and by the end of this period we'll know we've hit a major fork in the road of destiny in at least a third of our existence. Besides all this, one thing is certain: the truth WILL be known by the end of this period 3 weeks from now. Just slooooow down....."Primary message: Just slow down. Retrograde advice is applicable for almost every situation you might encounter. Look again. Just slow down. Finish well.
Our scientific knowledge regarding the Sun is about to grow way past our current comprehension, all thanks to the Solar Dynamics Observatory. Here is their informational video.Some data sets improve from information gathered every 90 minutes per frame to 10 SECONDS. Other close range information improves from three minutes to 10 seconds. Check out this Flare and blast wave. This will change most of what we think regarding the Sun, the rest of the Solar System, and of course, Earth. Science is about to get even more Amazing..
Aussie Cookbook Recalled After Recipe Includes 'Freshly Ground Black People'.. This was not a spellcheck program problem. This was most likely: A. Hacker, B. Prankster - In house, C. Disgruntled employee, or D. Industrial espionage smear campaign. These are not in order, just the strongest options.As an aside, I'd like to show you a journalistic trick, that might have more of an effect on your life than you understand. Here's some text from the story.. "It is a tiny misprint, but an Australian publisher had to pulp a cookbook after one recipe called for "salt and freshly ground black people" to be added to the dish, AFP reported Saturday.Penguin Group Australia pulped and reprinted about 7,000 copies of "Pasta Bible" after the typographical error was found in the ingredients for spelt tagliatelle with sardines and prosciutto, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Now, from that portion of article I could craft the headline "Bible Advocates Murder, Cannibalism." It is the Pasta Bible, and in order to get freshly ground black people for cannibalistic recipes, you must murder them first. Duh. Or I could think of another set of headlines only peripherally connected to the facts for the same type of Wow! Factor response.. It doesn't matter what I'd come up with and how damaging it might be to my targets (never mind how innocent or not they may be), I really can't be held liable, as it isn't against the law to lie when delivering the news. It's important to know that the media can lie about the story and the headline, because even if you didn't read that particular story, you would read the headline to decide to read further. And, whether or not you realized it, that headline effected your worldview consciously for a few seconds, and subconsciously, until further notice.. Your worldview is then steered, shaped, and altered in four to ten word increments, which aren't necessarily true. And this has been happening for awhile now, and it's getting worse.Bottom Line: Discernment is required. Knowledge of the trick diffuses some of the subliminal power. Think about what you read, and what you read over, as it might influence you more than you think.
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