Meat is murder on the environment.
"A kilogram of beef is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution than driving for 3 hours while leaving all the lights on back home."
Twenty-three Americans were tonight convicted of kidnapping by an Italian court at the end of the first trial anywhere in the world involving the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" programme for abducting terrorist suspects.
The former head of the CIA in Milan Robert Lady was given an eight-year jail sentence for his part in the seizure of Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, known as Abu Omar, who claimed that he was subsequently tortured in Egypt. Lady's superior, Jeff Castelli, the then head of the CIA in Italy, and two other Americans were acquitted on the grounds that they enjoyed diplomatic immunity.
Governor Schwarzenegger has signed a bill preventing insurance companies from charging women, for the same coverage, up to 39% more - purely for being women. Was this a common sense move? After all, isn't it true that having a va-jay-jay is a pre-existing condition worthy of financial penileties?
To get a sense of just how (choose one) bizarre/misogynistic/laughable/perverse/flaky/itchy this insurance cost-gouging is for women, try using the same pseudo-logic with any other demographic subgroup. Justifying the act requires the kind of slippery argument that makes a contortionist look like the Tin Man (and similarly heartless). Don't believe me? Try these similar bits of profiteering contortion on for size: a) all men between the ages of 18-50 should be charged twice as much as anyone else for coverage, every month, due to disproportionately higher rates of societal violence and trauma, b) all African Americans should be charged three times as much - not for the pigment of their skin, no - but because, hey, we all know they get worse diseases at younger ages, right? or c) old people, well, don't even get me started with old people - when it comes to that group, we're talking a cash-sucking vortex that no surcharge can possibly offset. Death panels, anyone? In other words, pick your racial/ethnic/age or gender bias of choice and you could stick it to any subgroup of people.
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Will be interesting to see if Obama folds on this:
The nation's top military officer said Wednesday that he expected the Pentagon to ask Congress in the next few months for emergency financing to support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, even though President Obama has pledged to end the Bush administration practice of paying for the conflicts with so-called supplemental funds that are outside the normal Defense Department budget.The financing would be on top of the $130 billion that Congress authorized for the wars just last month.
Personally, I think it would be supremely irresponsible to act on this legislation without seeing the CBO score. I'm hoping Max Baucus and the blue dogs will get on that, because I'd like to know how this legislation will pay for itself. I suggest we put this off a few months to talk about the costs and how we are robbing future generations.
Oh, wait. This is for the military. Never mind.
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I think this illustrates the point nicely
Remember the other day when Hillary Clinton asserted that she did not think drone attacks killing civilians could be viewed as a form of terrorism by the Pakastani populace? This cracked me up:
A letter about healthcare reform to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), apparently from former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, triggered a security scare that briefly shut down much of the Senate on Wednesday.The typed letter, tucked inside a hand-written business envelope, appeared in Reid's office without postage, in an outgoing mailbox bin. A Senate postal clerk noticed the envelope and alerted a Reid staffer, who in turn notified Capitol Police about 2 p.m.
A small swarm of officers responded, first shutting down the hallway outside Reid's office and then taking the even rarer step of shutting down the wide Ohio Clock corridor that senators use for press conferences outside the Senate's main entrance. Mindful of the ricin and anthrax attacks in 2001, teams of hazardous materials technicians were called and tested the envelope before opening it and discovering Koop's letter.
"The staff in the Capitol in particular and on the Hill in general are very sensitive to mail that ends up in an office and hasn't been cleared," said Senate Sergeant at Arms Terry Gainer.
So, to review. When Pakistani citizens watch their friends and neighbors blown up by missile strikes, it is the position of this administration that they should not view it as terrorism. On the other hand, when we receive a letter without a stamp, we shut down a portion of the most powerful government in the world out of a general hysteria over terrorism.
I'm even going to go out on a limb and wager that more Af/Pak citizens have been killed by missiles than Americans have been by unstamped letters.
Also, this is excellent news for conservatives and really puts the health care reform agenda in a bad spot.
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Carrie Prejean gets to keep her (fake) boobs.
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So this is why Obama wouldn't release details. Via Boing Boing, some shocking details.
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You know what would probably fix this? Tax cuts for the wealthy!
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The number of Americans filing personal bankruptcies surged 9% in October and were on target for the highest annual total in four years, according to a report issued Wednesday.
The American Bankruptcy Institute, an industry research firm that relies on data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center, said 135,914 consumers filed for bankruptcy last month. Almost a third of the bankruptcies were filed under Chapter 13, in which consumers are put on a repayment plan of up to five years.
"The nearly 9% increase in consumer bankruptcy filings in October, together with a 7% jump reported in business cases, demonstrates the sustained stress on the U.S. economy," said ABI executive director Samuel Gerdano.
The group forecasts total bankruptcies to exceed 1.4 million in 2009, which would be the highest since 2005. It would also be an increase of at least 30% from last year.
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Republicans demonstrate bipartisanship once again....
Republicans boycott climate change hearings.
Conservatives mock 72 hour window that they requested to review health care reform legislation.
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) called on protesters to "scare" members of Congress into killing health care reform. "Republican organizers are planning for activists to go into the House office buildings and the U.S. Capitol and confront members directly."
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Nothing for the self-employed, but ......
UNEMPLOYED WILL SOON BE THE RICHEST OF ALL! The Senate just passed a procedural motion to bring a bill extending unemployment benefits to a floor vote, finally, after weeks of terrible Republican ACORN amendment obstruction. Just stave off the starvation a little bit longer, welfare queens, because soon enough you'll be able to eat those fine mink coats that you'll buy with your unemployment money! The procedural motion passed 97 to 1. Try to guess the asshole before clicking. CQ
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ACORN!
Teabagging wingnuts go all gaaaaaah over the anti-American Democratic bottle that slashed a Republican tire
Earlier today, the Hoffman campaign and conservative bloggers threw a fit over a very nefarious accusation: That somebody had slashed the tire of a Hoffman poll-watcher's pickup truck.
"Hoffman Poll Watcher Has Tires Slashed," blared Red State, with photos of the truck and its flat tire.
However, the Wall Street Journal reports that the local police captain said there's another explanation: "This was not a tire slashing--this was some guy who drove over a bottle and cut his tire."
In related news, local police were also not willing to confirm that Doug Hoffman had a threesome with Glenn Beck and a bisexual goat.
After hearing that his company paid a $29.5 million settlement for forcing workers to work off the clock, a Lowes employee found this sign hanging in his store's break room. That, my friends, is the kind of righteous arrogance that's made our beloved corporate board rooms the most powerful forces in politics today.
