UA-9726592-1

Friday, July 31, 2009

Milbank's suggestion for Hillary: 'Mad Bitch' beer

July 31, 2009

Update: The Washington Post has pulled the "Mouthpiece Theater" video. The Washington Post removed the video from its Web site. Kris Coratti, Director of Communications at the Post said, "The video was a satirical piece that lampooned people of all stripes. There was a section of the video that went too far, so we have removed the piece from our website."

But Media Matters cleverly archived a copy, now embedded below.

The Washington Post's Dana Milbank is already getting some heat for the latest edition of "Mouthpiece Theater," his online feature with colleague Chris Cillizza.

In the "Ménage à Stella Artois" episode -- panned by the Columbia Journalism Review's blog -- the Post reporters discuss the "beer summit," offering suggestions on what beers leading political figures would probably drink.

While Milbank and Cillizza mock figures on both sides of the aisle their beer suggestion for the Secretary of State could prompt charges of sexism.

When Hillary Clinton's face is on the screen, while Milbank says, "we won't tell you who's getting a bottle of 'Mad Bitch' beer."



http://www.politico.com/blogs/michaelcalderone/0709/Milbanks_suggestion_for_HRC_Mad_Bitch_beer.html

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US GDP contraction slows

The Economic Stimulus appears to be working. Congress approved US$2 billion more for the Cash for Clunkers program (CARS)  that is working well beyond expectations. Now the GDP contraction has dropped to one per cent. Just remember that Republicans opposed both the Stimulus and CARS.

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Another heart warming American health care story

This story happened close to home. My wife has a close friend who works for a medical doctor in a small practice. The doctor is very right wing 'in the box' type who has an attitude toward minorities. He also lacks patience with children and special needs kids.

The doctor offered health care to his associates who asked for it. My wife's friend who in nearly 60 was paying more than $500 per month for what was probably 'individual health insurance.'

My wife's friend broke a leg at work and called the insurance company for assistance. They advised her she had a $10,000 co-pay that would have to be met before the insurance would kick in. Also, her 'insurance' did not cover visits to specialists.

Essentially she has paid this insurance company $4000 in premiums already for the year and would have to rack up another $10,000 in medical expenses before the policy would pay any benefits.

The doctor had changed the policy without advising her. What she now has what appears to be a catastrophic coverage medical policy. I advised my wife to tell her friend to apply for Workman's Compensation because she was injured on the job. If she doesn't do this, she is out of luck.

The poor woman's private insurance is worthless.This is a common problem is small businesses.

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Four dirtballs about to lose their Second Amendment rights

One Defendant Claims to be Local Operative for a Mexican Drug Cartel. An investigation into guns being trafficked from Arizona to California has led to the arrest of four individuals, one of whom sold several machine guns to a undercover operative and claimed to be tied to a Mexican drug cartel.

The four defendants were arrested early this morning by special agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and investigators with the Los Angeles Police Department.

During the course of the 10-month investigation, authorities purchased or seized 50 firearms, including 17 guns that were discovered during the execution of search warrants this morning.

During the investigation, an undercover operative made a series of gun purchases from three of the defendants. The purchases included guns similar to AK-47s, Uzis and AR-15s, some of which were fully automatic weapons.

Those arrested today are:

Edgardo Prado Casteneda, aka "Primo," 26, of Azusa, who claimed to be a
Southern California operative of the La Familia drug cartel based in Michoacan,
Mexico

Vicente Garcia Jr., aka "Chevy," 38, of Azusa

Steven Scott Blanks, 47, of Norco; and

Victor Velasquez, aka "Fingers," 34, of El Monte, who is accused of delivering a
quarter-pound of methamphetamine that was purchased by the undercover
operative.

The four defendants are scheduled to make their initial appearances this afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles.


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Economist: Torture more acceptable in the US than in China

Yesterday, The Economist posted poll numbers on global attitudes towards torture. This was based on 2008 research conducted by World Public Opinion.  

The Economist notes: "Surprisingly, democracies are not necessarily more hostile to the practice than non-democracies.

According to the polls, Americans are more willing to tolerate the use of torture than are Chinese." US attitudes about torture are very similar to the Egyptians and Russians.



See the rest of the story at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/31/ieconomisti-us-more-permi_n_248811.html

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Russia's 76th Airborne Divison

31 July, 2009, 10:51

Editor's Note: This unit is equivalent to the 82d Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC. There have been few successful airborne operations and airborne units suffer heavy causalities in combat because they are more lightly armed than a standard infantry division. Logistics is crucial because airborne units are inserted behind enemy lines.

The Pskov region, located around 600 kilometers from Moscow, is not only a place of rich history and natural beauty. The area is home to one of the most respected and elite forces in the Russian army.

In the 76th Airborne Division they train for combat, not for show. Over the past 70 years, the division has been in most of Russia's armed conflicts: from Stalingrad to South Ossetia.

Being the country's first fully-professional division, it is staffed by men who the entire army looks up to. To be selected for the division is an honor, as Major Ruslan Kompanets, Assistant to the Division Commander explains:

“It's the men who were, and are part of this division who have made it what it is – famous in all of Russia, and maybe the world.”

But away from the order of the military base is the messy reality of war. Any unit's history is not just about military glory, it is about the loss of human life. Due to its status, this division has suffered more than most.

It is March 2000, and the Russian army is forcing Chechen militants to retreat into the mountains. The army’s commander insists that the war has been won.

Meanwhile, at the front lines, a small troop is sent ahead to set up camp on a key mountain position. Before they have a chance, they are ambushed by the bulk of the remaining militant force. The troop resists until they run out of ammunition. Eighty four men from the division died that day.

Lance Corporal Aleksandr Lebedev was one of them. He'd just bought a house, had a fiancée and was planning to leave the front-line.

“We didn't manage to do our job as parents,” Raisa Lebedeva, the corporal’s stepmother says.

“We should have stopped him from going on this final mission. He was such a good person, he really loved life.”

Unlike most soldiers in the Russian army, these paratroopers are professional soldiers. They receive salaries of around $400 a month.



They are supplied with superior army food and live in small rooms instead of barracks with bunk beds. And death, as part of their job, is something these men just learn to live with.

“Of course, the first time somebody was killed in our troop it was scary,” Roman Rubenov, a paratrooper, recalls.

“But I like to be a soldier: I have an excellent relationship with other people here. And I am good at shooting.”

If Russia's recent history is any guide, this skill may be needed for more than aiming at cardboard cut outs.

And the 76th Division's men will once again be called upon to prove their bravery. Carlo Disieno, a former American paratrooper who now lives in Pskov, explains that regardless of nationality, it is ultimately the desire to be the best of the best that leads these soldiers on.

The training process is grueling, both physically and psychologically and sacrifice is an important part of the paratroopers’ lives:

“You have to be willing to sacrifice,” Carlo Disieno explains. “And to sacrifice your life.”

The next video shows what an example of a large scale airborne operation using IL-76 Candid aircraft that are similar to the US C141, but larger. The airdrop starts with drops of BMP assault vehicles.




United by common ground

Local residents say that the military and civil populations of the city live have learned to live as a united community.

Svetlana Vyalkovskaya’s family has strong ties with the military: both her father and brother serve in the 76th Division.


“Everything is okay, people communicate,” she says. “I guess it’s normal for military people to live together with civilians.”



Centuries ago


But, it is not just recently that Pskov has won military glory for itself. Its battle history goes many centuries back.
"The walls of the Pskov Fortress were most severely tested in 1581, when the army of Polish king Stefan Batory laid siege to this citadel as part of the Livonian war between Ivan the Terrible and his western neighbors, "says Professor William Brumfield, an expert on Russian architecture from US-based Tulane University.

source: http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Programmes/Russia_Close_Up/announcements/495529.html

http://www.russiatoday.com/Top_News/2009-07-31/pskov-ready-battle.html?fullstory#

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Glen Beck's Radical left Wing Conspiracy

Glen Beck wants to be talked out of the 'crazy tree' on the Apollo Alliance.



Overview of the Apollo Alliance

Apollo News Service 

The New Apollo Program is a comprehensive economic investment strategy to build America’s 21st century clean energy economy and dramatically cut energy bills for families and businesses.

It will generate and invest $500 billion over the next ten years and create more than five million high quality green-collar jobs. It will accelerate the development of the nation’s vast clean energy resources and move us toward energy security, climate stability, and economic prosperity. And it will transform America into the global leader of the new green economy.

For Americans, this is a time of daunting challenges and boundless opportunities. We have become ever more dependent on foreign oil, putting our national security and economic future at risk. We have seen the price of gas and energy skyrocket as American families struggle to make ends meet. We have seen the growing threat of global warming and all its economic, environmental and human costs.

And we watched that threat become a reality as Hurricane Katrina pounded our shores, providing a stark reminder that America faces not only a climate crisis, but a crisis of economic inequality as well.

“Building a new energy economy requires a new way of doing business in America, one that takes the cost of global warming into account, ”The New Apollo Program says. “It also requires visionary new investments in our industries, our communities, and our workers.”

source: http://apolloalliance.org/

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FBI agents and analysts can examine connections visually in three dimensions.

07/31/09                                                             
  
Finding patterns among enormous amounts of related data exchanged among suspects is a huge challenge. But instead of wading through vast lists of such data in a traditional text-based way, such as in a spreadsheet, Special Technologies & Applications Office (STAO) created a cutting-edge visual solution called FANTOM that allows agents and analysts to examine connections visually in three dimensions.

When our agents are on the trail of suspected terrorists, with appropriate legal approval they can gain access to suspects’ e-mail, telephone calls, text messages, and even computer hard drives.

But after we collect what can amount to millions of pieces of digital data, what happens next? How can all that raw intelligence be organized, analyzed, and shared to help stop a terrorist plot before it’s too late?

The answer to those questions can be found within our STAO. In the high stakes arena of national security, STAO is one of our most technologically advanced players.

Using custom-designed tools and applications that are so innovative they are sometimes beyond state of the art, STAO’s specialty is teasing out critical information—a hidden video file on a hard drive, a key connection among tens of thousands of e-mails—from almost any form of electronic media.

Where digital evidence is concerned, STAO Section Chief Christopher “Todd” Doss explained, “we find the needle in the haystack.”

Created in the late 1990s and dramatically enhanced as a result of 9/11, the office consists of more than 200 people with expertise in various digital disciplines. And in addition to Bureau personnel, the team collaborates with some of the brightest computer scientists from private industry, academia, and other government agencies.

The primary goal of STAO is to provide investigators with tools to manage and analyze large volumes of digital intelligence, and to “cross-correlate” that information so it’s available not only to FBI personnel all over the world but also to our partners in the law enforcement and intelligence communities.

Is a piece of data from a cell phone in Southeast Asia linked to a terrorism case in Seattle? STAO applications can help connect the dots.

Some of STAO’s capabilities include:


Visual Analysis. Finding patterns among enormous amounts of related data exchanged among suspects is a huge challenge. Instead of wading through vast lists of such data in a traditional text-based way, such as in a spreadsheet, STAO created a visual solution called FANTOM that allows agents and analysts to examine connections visually in three dimensions.

Each data relationship of a suspect is represented on a large computer monitor by a single point, or "node." Lines, or "edges," between nodes indicate one or more communications made between suspects using a particular method. Using FANTOM, agents can easily find answers to important questions—“Which nodes were most active and most central to all the communications?"

"What communications were made at a particular date and time?" Or, "If two suspects exchanged text messages before planting an IED, who else were they texting?" This cutting-edge visual application enables the kind of interactive computing that can provide vital intelligence to investigators.

Malicious code analysis. STAO’s experts on malicious software—malware—work closely with our Cyber Division on matters including computer intrusions.

These experts are often called upon to testify in child pornography cases when defendants claim that a computer virus was responsible for downloading child porn on their computers. “We can tell if that was indeed the case,” an agent explained.

Data management. STAO maintains powerful, easy-to-use systems that can store seized digital files including text, audio, video, and photos. Approved users can search, filter, and share case information with others in the intelligence community—an invaluable tool in our fight against terrorism.

“The bottom line,” said one STAO official, “is that our office helps the Bureau and others do their jobs. And whenever we can help catch the bad guy on the criminal side, or provide intelligence on the counterterrorism side, that’s what we’re here for.”

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Newsmax trying to hang recession on Obama

Obama is now in his seventh month as president and conservatives are tying to blame the recession on him. The second Bush recession started in 2008. The first one started in March 2001 and only lasted a few months

This sort of conservative hypocrisy proves the Rightardia contention that conservatives live in a gated community on Fantasy Island.


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Bill Maher on the 'Way too Early Willie Geist Show'


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Computrace LoJack for latops can be cracked

LAS VEGAS — A popular laptop theft-recovery service that ships on notebooks made by big name laptop manufactures is actually a dangerous BIOS rootkit that can be hijacked and controlled by malicious crackers.

The service — called Computrace LoJack for Laptops — contains design vulnerabilities and a lack of strong authentication  that can lead to “a complete and persistent compromise of an affected system,” according to Black Hat conference presentation by researchers Alfredo Ortega and Anibal Sacco from Core Security Technologies.

The product is made by Absolute Software needs to be redesigned to make it 'cracker resistant.' 

See the complete story at http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=3828&tag=nl.e539

http://www.absolute.com/

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Time to ignore the Birthers

The Birther's are a racist group that originated in the anemic Tea Bag movement. There fundamental message is that Obama was illegitimately elected the President of the US and therefore he is not really the president. 


These people are ignorant and in denial of huge electoral and popular victory of the Obama campaign. There is overwhelming evidence that Obama was born in Hawaii. The Birthers' deserve nothing less than ridicule.



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Post 9/11 GI Bill Education Benefits Calculator

If you are leaving the Armed Forces, it would be smart to get into school and wait out the recession. Use the Military.com calculator to estimate veteran's educational benefits.

Visit the link:  http://www.military.com/apps/reg/gi-bill-calc-reg?valve_redirect=http://www.military.com/gi-bill-calculator/&ESRC=090801SOL_airforce_v.se

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Top Ten Things Overheard At The White House Beer Summit



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John Stuart Mill: It is true that most stupid people are conservative



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US military spending 2008


The estimated defense budget for 2009 including DOD, Homeland Security and Veteran Affairs is estimated to be US$745 billion. The US almost spends as much on defense as the rest of the world combined.

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Darwinism is an athiest lie


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America's Affordable Health Choices Act is making a comeback

click graphic to enlarge
America's Affordable Health Choices Act is making a comeback after a big drop during the week. This is good news for Americans held hostage by their private health insurance.

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ISI again targets Mumbai for terror?


30 Jul 2009, 1736 hrs IST
Pakistan may have finally admitted to the role of their men in 26/11 on the Taj Hotel, but TIMES NOW has accessed fresh evidence that indicates a new Mumbai attack has been planned. The Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS)  to the Mumbai police suggests that the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and the Indian Mujahideen are already preparing for the next assault- on behalf of Inter-Services Intelligence, the largest intelligence service in Pakistan.

TIMES NOW has accessed the ATS' warning delivered to the Mumbai Police which clearly mentions that the ISI has ordered the LeT to begin fresh recruitment and training of terrorists. The LeT in turn contacting the Indian Mujahideen- the Indian front of the terrorist organisation responsible for at least 3 bombings in the country last year.

In the letter- dated July 6-2009, the ATS has briefed Deputy Commissioner of the Special branch of Mumbai Police about the ISI's new plan.

The ISI has directed LeT to start recruiting young Muslims from India and convince them to undergo training in terror camps in Pakistan. This alert is on the basis of the intercepts of emails between 11 key Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives, who are currently absconding.

Singh goes on to convey that it is very likely that the absconding IM operatives are in Maharashtra.


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ClamAV is a finalist for the Sourceforge Community Choice Awards

June 23rd, 2009 Posted by - webmaster
Clam AntiVirus is an open source (GPL) anti-virus toolkit for UNIX and Linux, designed especially for e-mail scanning on mail gateways.

It provides a number of utilities including a flexible and scalable multi-threaded daemon, a command line scanner and advanced tool for automatic database updates. The core of the package is an anti-virus engine available in a form of shared library.

It works on both Desktop PCs and servers. There is a similar product for Windows called Clamwin that also can be installed on both desktops and servers.


Vote for us!

Yesterday Sourceforge announced the finalists for Community Choice Awards 2009. We are glad to let you know that ClamAV was among the 10 projects that collected more nominations in the Best tool for sysadmin category!


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source: http://www.clamav.net/

http://www.clamwin.com/

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Thursday, July 30, 2009

Chinese Abortion statistics cause for concern

By Shan Juan in Beijing and Qian Yanfeng in Shanghai (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-30 06:45


Inadequate knowledge about contraception is a major factor in the 13 million abortions performed in China every year, research shows.

This is an unfortunate - and avoidable - situation, experts said, and improvements need to be made.

Li Ying, a professor at Peking University, said Wednesday that young people need more knowledge about sex.

A survey done by 411 Hospital of PLA (People's Liberation Army) in Shanghai, for example, found that less than 30 percent of callers to a hotline knew how to avoid pregnancy, and only 17 percent were aware of venereal diseases.

More than 70 percent said they did not know sexual transmission is the major contributor to the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Li said Chinese parents are reluctant to teach their children about sex, so more needs to be done on sex education. "Sex education needs to be strengthened, with universities and our society giving more guidance," she said.Wu Shangchun, a division director of the National Population and Family Planning Commission's technology research center.

Wu told China Daily that research shows nearly half of the women who had abortions had not used any form of contraception.

"The challenge of reducing (the number) of women seeking abortions in China is tough," Wu said.

Yu Dongyan, a hospital gynecologist, said new mores have changed the social setting.

"Sex is no longer considered taboo among young people today, and they believe they can learn everything they need from the Internet. But it doesn't mean they've developed a proper understanding or attitude toward it," Yu said.

Government statistics show that about 62 percent of the women who have abortions are between 20 and 29 years old, and most are single.

Wu said the real number of abortions is much higher than reported, because the figures are collected only from registered medical institutions.

Many abortions, Wu said, are performed in unregistered clinics.
Also, about 10 million abortion-inducing pills, used in hospitals for early-stage abortions, are sold every year in the country, she said.

The Shanghai hotline, which offers help for pregnant women, has reported an increase in calls, mostly from women 18 and under.

Figures from 411 Hospital show that as many as 30 calls were received on its hotline some days this month, compared with about 10 per day in previous months.

Most callers had questions about what to do after becoming pregnant or how to get an abortion, said Yu.

Wu said birth control information mainly reaches young married couples.
The morning-after pill, which can be used within 120 hours of intercourse to prevent pregnancy, has been widely sold as emergency contraception since 1998, she said.

Wu said the pills have sold well, but she added that incorrect use is a problem.
Wu also said much information on the Internet about sex frequently is incorrect.

Sun Xiaohong, of the educational center of Shanghai's Population and Family Planning Commission, said she found it difficult to promote sex education in schools because some teachers and parents believe it will encourage sex.

Sun Aijun, a leading gynecologist at Beijing Union Hospital, said there also is a misconception among some women that the contraceptive pill is unsafe.

Sun said many unmarried couples choose to use condoms, but that this can be problematic because some women find it difficult to turn down requests from a partner not to use them.

Abortions cost about 600 yuan ($88). Since the 1990s, doctors have not asked for a woman's marital status when an abortion is performed.
There are about 20 million births in the country each year, Wu said.

source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-07/30/content_8489656.htm

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Lets's just ignore hate radio and Republican racism for a while

I don't know about you, but America needs to get America's Affordable Health Choices Act passed. Let's all pull together and get this landmark legislation passed.

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Ex-KGB Chief on Sexpionage

by The Major

The Russians wanted to get rid of an Army major who spoke Russian so fluently that locals could not tell he was not a native speaker. An attractive hotel maid who worked for the KGB got him into the sack in a room that was being monitored. The Russians immediately tried to blackmail him. He turned himself in and was removed from the old Soviet Union. The major was married, but I never heard how the event affected his marriage.

British Diplomat James Hudson, 37, resigned from his posting to the Urals over a sex video, which is thought to have been secretly shot by Russian spies. Footage posted on Russia Today showed Mr Hudson kissing the two semi-naked girls in a brothel.

The film, which could have left him open to blackmail, is believed to have been shot in a brothel in the city of Ekaterinberg, where Mr Hudson was Deputy Consul General. Today the KGB is called the FSB.

The four-minute, 18-second video was posted on Russia Today. Rightardia reported on this story and posted the video.



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CNN Data Doctor on using free v. commercial antivirus software

The data doctor makes some good points, but there are other issues. Most viruses and malware are developed to attack the Microsoft Windows operating system (OS). If you are using Linux or a Macintosh OS, you are less likely to get a virus, malware or a Trojan.



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Cash for Clunkers is huge success

The Republicans were wrong again. More than 100 knee-jerk obstructionist Republicans-- kooks and extremists like Michele Bachmann (MN), Mean Jean Schmidt (OH), Patrick McHenry (NC), Virginia Foxx (NC) and John Shadegg (AZ) stuck with the lockstep anti-progress leadership of John Boehner (OH), Eric Cantor (VA), Mike Pence (IN) and Paul Ryan (WI) to vote against the Cash for Clunkers bill in the House.

However, 59 Republicans of all stripes abandoned their party's leadership to vote with the Democrats-- from right-wing extremists like Steve King (IA), David Dreier (CA), Phil Gingrey (GA) and Gary Miller (CA) to mainstream conservatives like Frank LoBiondo (NJ), Mike Castle (DE) and Chris Smith (NJ). Good for them

Cash for Clunkers will be suspended tonight as funds run out. The federal cash for clunkers program is close to running out of the $1 billion allocated by Congress. The U.S. Department of Transportation has told Senators that the program will be temporarily suspended at midnight tonight.


The program, officially called the Car Allowance Rebate System or CARS, went live less than a week ago, on July 24.

Some dealers said they will stop accepting cars for trade-in under the program until they are sure funds are available. The autodealers are hoping the government will provide more federal funds for the program.

In a statement, the National Automobile Dealers Association, said, "We do not have confirmation yet of DOT suspending the clunkers program, but if the program is indeed suspended, NADA will continue to work with the Department of Transportation to emphasize the importance that every dealer is reimbursed for a valid deal.

We will also work with the Obama Administration and members of Congress to meet the demonstrated consumer interest in the cash-for-clunkers program."


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Subversive Chinese radio controlled (RC) aircraft


(Mumbai) The Customs has seized thousands of radio-controlled (RC) aircraft imported from China, Taiwan, and Korea, which they say pose a serious threat to the city.

These model planes, especially the ones imported from China, are violating regional wireless norms set by the ministry of communication and IT, thereby threatening to intercept and jam frequency bands used by Indian security agencies, said Custom officials.

The radio communication frequency used by the city's various security and intelligence agencies ranges from 400 to 500 Mhz.

After denying NoCs to several consignments at the Mumbai Port Trust — as many as three in last couple of months — the Customs have decided to destroy around 3,000 RC planes. "These aircraft may come in handy for subversive activities. We have issued orders to destroy them," said an official.

The government rules allow flying of RC models on an Amplitude Modulation (AM) radio band, which comprises of many kilohertz or thousands of cycles per second of electromagnetic energy.

But many aircraft, especially those imported from China and assembled here, not only violate the AM bandwidth, but are also being flown on frequency modulation (FM), which is in direct violation of the state's laws, said officials.

According to the national frequency allocation table , the frequency spots 27004 kilohertz (KHz), 27116KHz, 27148KHz, 27156KHz, 27228KHz, are earmarked for aeromodelling.

A recent test by wireless experts revealed most aircraft violated state-appointed frequencies. "The Chinese ones show a frequency bandwidth of 27000KHz, but are actually capable of not only violating Indian bandwidth, they can be flown on FM," said an expert from the regional wireless office.

To restrict the flight range, the battery strength of these planes is fixed at 5W.

Another reason for officials to get worried is the high range of RC helicopters and their ability to carry five to 10kg of load (11-22 lbs).

"We have received intelligence inputs that explosive-laden toy planes can be used for subversive activities, said Custom officials. The engines are powered either by a battery or fuel, and the aircraft need just a small runway to take off.

RC helicopters can take off from the palm of a hand. Parts of the planes — remote control, body and engine — are imported from different countries and can be assembled by experts in Mumbai. Cheaper, ready-to-fly Chinese versions are available for enthusiasts in the local market. "These are the ones we are most worried about as they don't follow any fixed frequency," said officials.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/3000-Chinese-radio-planes-to-be-destroyed/articleshow/4839884.cms

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Obama the peacemaker at Beer Summit


Who else would invite a famous scholar, Henry Louis Gates, and the a policeman, Sgt. James Crowley, to the White House to defuse a potential racial incident? Can you imagine Chimpoleon doing this? Think about it.



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source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-beer-summit30-2009jul30,0,640587.story


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Right to Lifer Freak Out

The official China Daily newspaper reported Thursday that about 13 million surgical abortions are performed in Chinese hospitals and 10 million abortion pills are sold every year.

The pills can induce an abortion very early in pregnancy, and are commonly referred to as the morning-after pill.

The report said the real number of abortions is believed to be even higher since many abortions are perfomed in local clinics that the government has no statistics for.

The China Daily News site is down when this bulletin was picked up. 

Source: www.chinadaily.com.cn/

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Wish The President a happy birthday!

Barack Obama will turn 48 on August 4th, and while some folks don't like creeping toward 50, we're pretty sure being in the top five youngest presidents bracket makes it ok.  

The Huffington Post has teamed up with the folks at someecards.com to collect your messages to the birthday boy in chief, whether they be come-ons, put-downs, or heartfelt pleas to meet Michelle's stylist.

Here's what you do: Send any of the pre-existing ecards here with your OWN PERSONAL MESSAGE ATTACHED to obamasbday@someecards.com and we'll handle the rest. Once the folks their choose the best cards, we'll post them here and you can vote on your favorite! A sample card follows:

Obama birthday card link: http://www.someecards.com/obamas-birthday-cards/newest  
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Are you a secular humanist, athtiest, agnostic or just don't care about religion?

by Secular Human

Rightardia found a great source of secular humanist posters called the 'Unapologetics.'

We will be featuring these posters regulary to counter the absurd notion that the US is a Christian nation. We have pointed out that the Article 11 of the Treaty of Tripoli that was written shortly after this nation was founded states "the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion."

Unapologetics are sarcastic, critical posters that take popular theological beliefs and counter them to point out just how absurd and ridiculous they really are. Maybe it feels more intellectual to use sophisticated arguments, but sometimes an image and short phrase are sufficient to unmask the pretensions behind religious pablum.

It's may be more productive to laugh at silly arguments than to take them seriously. There is a time for philosophical, atheological arguments and there is a time for laughter, humor, and sarcasm.

Of interest, Jeb Bush's dragon lady, Katherine Harris, has a new crusade. She wants to tell Americans about the 'great lie' that the US is not a Christian nation. This is the same old conservative story similar to another that the US was founded by white people.

http://atheism.about.com/od/liberationatheology/ig/Unapologetics-Posters/

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US trying to extradite UK hacker with Asperger's

Asperger's is a form of autism. Apparently the young man was looking for information on UFOs, but claims he did no malicious 'cracking.'

Gary McKinnon lost his appeal to the European Court of Human Rights on Thursday, and is expected to be on a plane to Virginia within three weeks. But — surprise! — he’s now been diagnosed at 42 with Asperger’s syndrome, and his lawyers are asking Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to keep him in London for medical reasons.

The US claims that he breached more than 90 unclassified Pentagon and NASA systems in 2001 and 2002, and crashed some of them, causing $900,000 in damage.



Read the complete story at http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2008/08/uk-hacker-gary/

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Dumb Republican health care arguments

What we really need is a "bipartisan" health-reform bill. This is unrealistic because the GOP wants the status quo and it ideologically opposed to any changes to the private health care model that is only used in one other industrial nation , South Africa. There was no interest in bi-partisanship when Republican Tom DeLay was the Speaker of the House either

Whatever we do, we shouldn't ruin "the best health-care system in the world." This is just an outright lie and the GOP knows this statement is false. We are last in the 23 industrial nations of the world in health care and 37th overall according to the World Health Organisation. Who is first, none other than the 'cheese eating surrender monkeys, France!

This health reform is moving too fast. We already know the GOP strategy is to slow down legislation to destroy a public health care option.

If we can find an anecdote about a Canadian or Brit who had an unhappy medical experience, that means we shouldn't reform our own system. Let's look at the tree through the forest. This is a favorite of Rush Limbaugh. Find one dissatisfied Canadian and denounce the entire Canadian health care system based on that person's opinion. According to the WHO, Canadian health care is ranked 30th and the US--37th, a fact the right never discuses.

If this health reform passes, some bureaucrat might be able to dictate what care you can get, standing between you and your doctor. Who do you want a health care bureaucrat or a government worker? One is driven by profit and the other by service. Military retirees will tell you that their health care needs are better met by a government worker. 

Reform is all well and good, but we need to make sure it doesn't increase the deficit or the national debt. Since when did the GOP care about running the government in the black? Bush doubled the national debt while he was in office by virtue of supply side economics that cut taxes for the most affluent Americans  and also started an $800 billion dollar war. Public health care should cut costs by 30 to 40 per cent less. American health care costs twice as much as the other industrial nations of the world.

If you can make a flow chart with lots of boxes and arrows on it, that means health reform will be terrible. As a group, Republican representatives are not well known for their intelligence or dignity. They made themselves a confusing chart purporting to show how complex the Democrats' health plan will be. The Democrats countered with a GOP chart that contained a lot of question marks.  The GOP chart looked like it was put together by a group of fifth-graders.

If we could only make it illegal for people to sue when their surgeon when he amputates the wrong leg, we could get costs under control. You can sympathize with doctors who are afraid of being sued by patients who didn't like the outcome of their cases.

In Atul Gawande's justly celebrated New Yorker article, he relates how he asked a group of doctors in the now-notorious city of McAllen, Texas, why medical costs there are higher than anywhere else in the country. They began to complain about lawsuits, until Gawande pointed out, "Several years ago, Texas passed a tough malpractice law that capped pain-and-suffering awards at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars which eliminated law suits. Medical costs also rose after the law was passed.

Reform might make me lose my current health coverage. This already happens. if you lose your job or leave your job for a different one, you may lose your health insurance. Your employer may decide to cut or eliminate benefits. If you try to start your own small business, you won't be able to afford health insurance. If a family member gets a recurring serious illness, you health insurance may not cover it because of the 'pre-existing condition ' clause.

There are people who have absolutely no need to worry about losing their coverage? Talk to a senior on Medicare, a veteran who gets his care from the V.A or a retiree from the Armed Forces. Those 'socialist' government programs don't kick people off.

Health-care reform will literally kill you. The examples are amazing. Here is one to give you the gist.

Louie Gohmert of Texas delivered a bizarre rant on the House floor in which he claimed, "One in five people have to die because they went to socialized medicine! Now I've got three daughters and a wife. I would hate to think that among five women, one of them is going to die because we go to socialized care."

This is just part of the idiocy the administration must struggle through if it is to pass health-care reform.

There are some very good reasons to remain optimistic about the odds of reform succeeding. On the other hand, if in our national debate you always bet that the side offering the most dim-witted, disingenuous arguments may triumph. We have 13,500 million people who believe the Rush Limbaugh rants and even more who watch Fox News.

Source: http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_ten_dumbest_arguments_against_health_care_reform

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Intrade Update: Sotomayor confirmation and 2012 Republican nominee

Sonia Sotomayor Confirmation  

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Tuesday to approve Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court. The 13-6 vote, largely along party lines, clears the way for a full Senate vote and her likely confirmation.    

How many Senators will vote to confirm Sotomayor? Our market shows a 95.0% chance she will receive at least 65 votes and a 20.0% chance of receiving 70 or more votes.  

2012 Republican Nominee   

The resignation of Sarah Palin as Governor of Alaska has ignited speculation she intends to run for president in 2012. There has been no official announcement from last year's Republican vice-presidential nominee but she remains the most traded potential candidate in our market for the 2012 Republican nominee. 


Palin is given a 15.5% probability of securing the nomination, some distance behind market leader Mitt Romney on 33.9%. Other current contenders include Bobby Jindal (15.9%), Newt Gingrich (14.4%), Mike Huckabee (13.9%) and Tim Pawlenty (12.1%).

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Is the US ready to go big time with soccer?

Sepp Blatter, the President of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA),  discusses soccer with the  Wall Street Journal.

If the US wants to be an international player and  enhance international diplomacy, soccer is an excellent way to do it. Soccer is a true international sport unlike baseball and American football.



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