The chicken and pork industries have wrought unprecedented changes in bird and swine flu. Billions could die in a deadly flu pandemic, the likes of which we have never seen.
The risks to personal privacy inherent in mind-reading technologies should concern the public about abuse of their rights.
Fox News’ Shameless Christian Crusade At Fox News, religion is easy: Christianity is right and good and must be defended from its relentless persecutors, and other faiths are dangerous, inadequate, or a joke.
At Fox News, religion is easy: Christianity is right and good and must be defended from its relentless persecutors, and other faiths are dangerous, inadequate, or a joke.
Is Whole Foods Bad for the Planet? CEO John Mackey is a climate change denier. Meanwhile, companies scorned by Whole Foods’ main customer base have stepped up efforts to deal with climate change.
CEO John Mackey is a climate change denier. Meanwhile, companies scorned by Whole Foods' main customer base have stepped up efforts to deal with climate change.
Todos recordamos cuando a Romain Grosjean se le anunció que iva a sustituir a Nelsinho Piquet en Renault F1. Recordemos que el piloto ocupó un asiento titular sin haber realizado unos tests para comprobar su estado actual. Después de unas carreras, todos nos dimos cuenta que por el momento la Fórmula 1 le queda un poco alto a Grosjean.
Tras esto, son diversos los rumores que apuntan a que el piloto francés vuelva a la GP2 y sea sustituido por otro piloto. De momento, el nombre que suena con más fuerza es el de Jaime Alguersuari.
El nuevo director de Renault ha reconocido que el segundo piloto saldrá de uno de los pilotos de la empresa luxemburguesa. Por el momento, los nombres que toman más fuerza son Ho-Pin Tung o Jerome d’Ambrosio aunque incluso el hombre de todas las quinielas, Nick Heidfeld, suena para ese asiento.
For those interested in Tina’s lentil soup recipe, here it is:
1/8 cup of extra virgin olive oil 1/2 onion finely chopped 2 cups of dried lentils 2 cloves of garlic chopped and crushed 1 cup whole, peeled tomatoes (preferrably those tomatoes you canned last summer at the peak of their tastiness) 1 cup of tomato juice 6 cups of your favorite vegetable stock
Dump it all in a pot and, after it comes to a boil, simmer it , partially covered for 45 minutes. Before serving, I like to mash about 1/2 of the lentils with a potato masher, for texture.
You can download the podcast at these links: (iTunes / XML feed / MP3).
Native-American GOP Congressman Calls Steele?s ?Honest Injun? Comments ?Unacceptable? On Monday, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele attracted considerable attention for a controversial term he used on Fox News: STEELE:Our platform is one of the best political documents that’s been written in the last 25 years. Honest Injun on that. It speaks to some core conservative principles on the value of family, faith, life, economics. […]
STEELE:Our platform is one of the best political documents that’s been written in the last 25 years. Honest Injun on that. It speaks to some core conservative principles on the value of family, faith, life, economics. Those principles don’t change.
Watch it:
Today, ThinkProgress received a statement from Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) in response to Steele’s remarks:
It’s unacceptable. And while I’m certain Chairman Steele didn’t intend it that way, it’s an offensive phrase in the Native American community.
Cole’s condemnation of Steele is significant, not only because he is a fellow Republican, but also because he is an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation and the only Native American serving in the House. Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI), co-chairman of the Congressional Native American Caucus, has also demanded that Steele apologize: “His insensitive comment undermines and threatens to reverse the progress we have made to correct those wrongs.”
Leeanne Root of Indian Country Today writes that a public apology from Steele — who has been blanketing the media to promote his book — is “well overdue.” “Steele’s use of this racist phrase — on a widely viewed national program, no less — disrespects a community that works hard to educate about the true history of the United States and wants to participate in its productive future,” she writes.
A Self-Described ?Wiser Lou Dobbs? Supports Legalizing Undocumented Immigrants Former CNN anchor and anti-immigration reform crusader Lou Dobbs appeared on the O’Reilly Factor last night with an interesting announcement. Dobbs told host O’Reilly that he supports immigration reform with a path to citizenship and also lamented his “combative nature” during the 2007 immigration debate. Dobbs continued insisting that his position on immigration […]
Former CNN anchor and anti-immigration reform crusader Lou Dobbs appeared on the O’Reilly Factor last night with an interesting announcement. Dobbs told host O’Reilly that he supports immigration reform with a path to citizenship and also lamented his “combative nature” during the 2007 immigration debate. Dobbs continued insisting that his position on immigration hasn’t changed, explaining that he simply overemphasized border security in the past to the exclusion of legalization and that a “wiser Lou Dobbs” has emerged who is committed to promoting both:
DOBBS: I think the essence of the legislation of 2007 is right: pay a fine, learn English, commit to assimilation in the United States, and begin a path to citizenship…there should also be another guest worker program. […]
O’REILLY: You sound very moderate. As you said, “I’m the tougher guy here.” Why do you think Hispanics come after you so hard?
DOBBS: I think in part — one thing is my own stupidity. I put forward a statement: rational, effective, humane policy…the emphasis became in the debate of my combative nature the issue of border security first and foremost, versus reforming immigration policy. I’m saying the same thing, but I’m keeping it absolutely combined.
O’REILLY: So you’re a kinder, gentler Lou Dobbs.
DOBBS: I’m a wiser Lou Dobbs.
Watch it:
Politifact found “no point-blank case” in which Dobbs has explicitly opposed legalizing undocumented immigrants, however he did repeatedly refer to the immigration legislation he praised last night as an “amnesty bill” during the 2007 debate. Dobbs also slammed Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and President Obama during the 2008 presidential race for supporting “[guest worker] programs that bring in cheap foreign labor at the expense of American workers.” Last month, the anti-immigrant group Americans for Legal Immigration PAC announced it was dropping its support of Dobbs, citing a perceived change of views that “deeply offended his base.”
Despite his new proclaimed emphasis on border security and legalization, during the beginning of the segment a supposedly “wiser” Dobbs told O’Reilly that a recent bill introduced by Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) is nothing but a “a list of what the open-borders amnesty crowd wants.” Gutierrez’s bill would establish an earned legalization program with requirements similar to those proposed by Dobbs and also includes several provisions aimed at beefing up border security.
Justices may rule soon on campaign-finance case After a holiday break, the Supreme Court returned to work Friday with unfinished business at hand, some of its toughest cases ahead and a looming decision that could rock the national political landscape in this year of midterm congressional elections.
Steele’s book release, fiery rhetoric fuel dissatisfaction within GOP Michael S. Steele’s already turbulent tenure as Republican Party chairman grew even more so this week as comments he made while releasing a new book sparked a messy feud over whether he is promoting himself at the expense of the party.
Airliner plot being prosecuted ‘in wrong place,’ Giuliani says Prominent conservatives again hit the airwaves Friday to decry the Obama administration for forsaking valuable intelligence by prosecuting terrorism suspects. Yet a review of four recent criminal cases suggests that old-school law enforcement tools have succeeded in unlocking some terrorists’ sec…
Educators await Obama’s mark on No Child Left Behind Eight years after President George W. Bush signed the bill that branded an era of school reform, the education world is wondering when President Obama will seek to rewrite the No Child Left Behind law .
As global warming alarmists get more desperate, they’re turning to allies in the mainstream media to help promote increasingly strident protests that the world really is warming.
Nobody is happier to oblige than ABC News. On Jan. 8, “World News” anchor Diane Sawyer and weatherman Sam Champion worried that the cold weather engulfing much of the world just may be the result of climate change.
Then there’s ABC’s Bill Blakemore. The title of his Jan. 8 ABC News.com article – which could only be a mislabeled op-ed – pretty much summed up his take: “No, the Cold Doesn’t Mean No Global Warming.”
Identifying Source of Terror Threat is Key Frank Beckmann, Detroit News All of us in Metro Detroit are thankful that accused terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was unable to detonate the explosives in his undershorts on the Christmas journey of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit. But with such a call so close to home, it raises concerns that another effort could succeed if there is a more capable attacker. President Barack Obama has brainstormed with his national security team and is instituting new safety measures for our air industry, but I'm afraid these reactionary plans don't address the root problem of the threat, which he…
We Need Fewer Dots to Connect Eugene Robinson, Washington Post “Connecting the dots” is a lousy metaphor that creates unrealistic expectations. The phrase suggests that the only thing our intelligence analysts have to do is draw a line from the point labeled “1″ to the point labeled “2″ and so on, and soon they're looking at the unmistakable outline of a terrorist plot. In reality, though, the page is so crowded with dots that they almost touch. Most are irrelevant, and not a single one is numbered.The clues that would have alerted authorities to the Christmas Day underwear bomber were buried under mountains of…
First we had the NEDC (North of England Development Corporation) then we had the NDC (Northern Development Company) and now we have ONE NorthEast.
OK, I may have missed some out there, not sure?
I left the UDC (Urban Development Corporation) called Tyne & Wear Development Corporation, out on purpose, as that was something specific, temporary and different.
BUT, do these ‘Regional Development Agencies’ really do any good? What have any of them achieved for us?
This thread has been prompted by the article in todays (9th January 2010) Newcastle Journal . . .
Tories reveal plans to break up agency
Jan 9 2010 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal
CONSERVATIVE plans to scrap development agencies could see the North East split into three parts.
The Tories have told the region’s council chiefs they will allow them to get together with business and decide whether or not to scrap the £250m-a-year regeneration body One North East. While many councillors attending yesterday’s Association of North East Councils summit in Gateshead have publicly supported the agency, behind the scenes there are rumours some would be greatly tempted by the Tory offer.
Shadow local government minister Bob Neill told the summit his party was of the opinion that the cash behind the agency would be put to better use if it was handed to groups of authorities built around smaller economic areas such as Tyneside and Teesside.
Council chiefs could potentially come together and be handed control of millions of pounds for major projects, an option which would make it easy for an elected councillor to show voters how he or she had brought jobs to their patch.
Tyneside and Teesside could form two easy economic areas, with city leaders aware of suggestions that Sunderland and Durham could also form their own partnership.
Between them they account for two of the region’s biggest authorities.
Speaking to The Journal, Mr Neill said “natural economic areas” such as these deserved to have a greater say over jobs funds and warned quango bosses a new era of accountability would follow a Conservative election victory.
He added: “We will give local authorities the chance to have their say on whether the agency goes, and we would want to give those councils the chance to bid to take over the funding, so the money will stay local.
“The areas that the money is handed to will have to be decided locally, but I think that is a much more accountable way of dealing with this.
“I think people here do want to see that happen, that they have a much greater say over where the money is spent. If in the North East they think the agency works well for this region – and in a region of this size it might – then they can put that case to the Department for Business, but at least they will have the option.”
Under current funding rules a council bidding for cash from One North East for a jobs project in Alnwick would have to compete for the funds against projects from as far south as Redcar in Teesside.
Minister for the North East Nick Brown last night said the Tory plans would spell disaster for the region.
He said: “They are preparing to make a terrible mistake. We have a proven track record of working together on the key economic issues that matter and seeing the benefits for all. I don’t think breaking up that partnership into several sites will help anyone.”
Do those deeply patronising BBC science correspondents who try to explain to us (as if we were backward children), that “weather” and “climate” are very different things – and therefore we should not assume that the current Arctic conditions cast doubt on the global warming thesis – actually think that they are doing their bit for “objective coverage” of climate change?
Presumably even allowing five seconds of airtime for the question (”Why are we having the coldest winter in thirty years if the planet is becoming dangerously warmer?”) before rubbishing it, counts as fair and balanced coverage. Yes, Miss, I do understand that the words “climate” and “weather” have different definitions, but surely climate change must be expected at some point to have a palpable effect on the weather. (If not, what are we worrying about?)
Unfortunately, there is one categoryof simpletons who seem to have been seriously misled by the weather/climate confusion. Surely the under-supply of grit and rock salt for de-icing Britain’s roads is not unconnected to the fact that the municipal authorities actually believed the global warming propaganda and thought that we would never again be likely to have the sort of winter we are enduring now.
Design team Chimera has conceived of an incredible series of spiraling skyscrapers for London modeled after the complex ecosystems created by the mangrove tree. Dubbed Mangal City, the project is an “urban ecological system” composed of modular pod capsules that shift to adapt to environmental and contextual conditions. A beautiful example of biomimicry and certainly a flight of fancy, the plan proposes a futuristic building system based upon flexibility.
Featuring a twisting latticed frame reminiscent of Eric Vergne’s Manhattan skyscraper farms, Mangal City harnesses biomimetic principles borrowed from a range of sources. The skyscraper’s structure is modeled after mangrove trees, spiraling plant growth patterns, and the interaction of natural ecosystems.
Britain’s wildlife is being pushed to “the brink of a crisis” as sub-zero temperatures continue to grip the nation, according to conservationists.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is organising emergency feeding of several threatened species, including bitterns and cirl buntings.
The RSPB is also asking people to feed garden birds, which are struggling to find food in the freezing weather.
The harsh winter could hit bird numbers “for many years to come”, they warn.
The UK’s Met Office recorded the winter’s coldest day on Friday, when temperatures plunged to -22.3C (-8.1F) in Scotland’s Highlands.
Producing all electric cars has become a must for a lot of important automaker, so Volvo got in line and came out with its own all electric C30. At the moment, the Swedish are testing their Battery Electric Vehicle.
"The Volvo C30 is the first model we will try out with electric power. This car’s excellent properties in city traffic and its relatively low weight make it particularly suitable, since electric cars are primarily expected to be used in and around cities and for d… (read more)
From a total of 30 candidates İTV selected six candidates to take part in a semi-final on 2 February after being assessed by local and foreign specialists. It is unknown when the final will be held, or how many people will qualify.[6][7][8]
Innovalight, a company exploring the ability to print extremely thin solar cell materials on top of conducting substrates, has brought in $18 million in fourth-round venture capital, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in Sunnyvale, Calif., it is backed by EDB Investments, Vertex Venture Holdings, Apax Partners, ARCH Venture Partners, Convexa Capital, Harris & Harris Group, Sevin Rosen Funds and Triton Ventures.
Just because promises don’t happen in 2010 doesn’t mean they won’t happen ever. But, for what it’s worth, here are 10 of the most interesting developments in our estimation to watch for in 2010, in no particular order:
1. EEStor’s ultracapacitors: 2010 is thought to be the make-it-or-break-it year for the partnership between Toronto-based electric vehicle maker Zenn Motor and super-stealthy EEStor. At last count, Texas-based EEStor promised to deliver its potentially breakthrough ultracapacitors to Zenn before the end of 2009. …
2. Big win for desalination: Poseidon Resources plans to begin construction in the first quarter of next year on a desalination facility to process 50 million gallons of seawater per day in Carlsbad, Calif. The ground-breaking is a long time coming for Poseidon, which faced delays of more than 10 years because of added scrutiny and lawsuits by environmental groups. …
3. Ambitious targets: California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard calls for 20 percent energy demand to come from renewables by 2010. The state’s two big utilities have already said this isn’t likely to happen. As of November, Pacific Gas & Electric was getting 13 percent from renewables, while San Diego Gas & Electric gets only about 10 percent of its energy from renewables. The next big target is 33 percent by 2020.
4. Japan’s new EV infrastructure: Shai Agassi’s startup Better Place aims to install its first battery swapping station in Tokyo in January, a preview of what’s being developed in Denmark and Israel for mass deployment in 2011 (see Better Place’s battery-swap stations for Tokyo taxis get investor approval). …
5. Greener bricks: Just as Serious Materials is aiming to overhaul the energy-intensive drywall industry, Newark, Calif.-based CalStar Products wants to improve brick-making. The startup expects is first factory for low-carbon bricks in Caledonia, Wis., to begin full-scale manufacturing in January. …
6. Space solar: Solaren might be the best-known startup in this space, but its contract with Pacific Gas & Electric doesn’t start until mid-June 2016. Everett, Wash.-based PowerSat has more immediate plans: It wants to build a 10-kilowatt Earth-based demonstration project early next year. …
7. Baby steps for cellulosic ethanol and biofuel: Watch for a number of biofuel developers to announce the opening or ground-breaking at new facilities in 2010. Range Fuels said it plans to complete a 10 million-gallons-per-year ethanol and methanol plant in Soperton, Ga., in the first quarter of 2010, with volume production to begin in Q2. LS9 plans to develop a demonstration facility in the first quarter of 2010, with production slated for that year using a tank of 50,000 to 100,000 liters. …
8. Large-scale solar: Tempe, Ariz.-based First Solar says it expects development for the $1 billion, 550-MW thin-film solar plant under a power-purchase agreement with California utility Pacific Gas & Electric to begin on-schedule in 2010. First Solar bought the development rights from OptiSolar (see First Solar buys OptiSolar’s pipeline of projects for $400M).
9. Big auto embraces electric: 2010 is expected to see the debut of two hotly anticipated electric vehicles in the U.S. market. The latest word on the Chevrolet Volt, which is supposed to drive up to 40 miles without gasoline, is that production could start in late 2010 …
10. Small auto gets up to speed: Irvine, Calif.-based Fisker Automotive said its $87,900 luxury sports sedan Karma is due in showrooms in summer 2010 (see $529M DOE loan clears path for Fisker’s new $39,000 hybrid), while Norway’s Think Global said it plans to produce 2,500 cars in the U.S. starting in mid-2010, about a year later than first anticipated …
Though for a few years now most automakers have been struggling to save the Earth, not many decided to take an approach as direct as Audi’s: the German automaker plants 36,000 oak trees to fight CO2 emissions.
This year, Audi is taking matters into its own hands as it’s going to fund the planting of 36,00 oak trees, forming the basis of the Oak Forest CO2 Reservoir project. As you might imagine, the forest will be located in Kosching, near Inglostadt, Germany, where Audi has a bi… (read more)
We don’t generally run around plucking wireless headphones off their stands, but the CES Innovation Award here drew us in for a quick test job. In spite of the almighty din around us, these RS170 headphones delivered terrific noise insulation. They don’t feature any sort of active noise cancellation, but just popping the sealed cans atop our noggin was sufficient to neutralize a vast proportion of the mayhem around us. The sound too was impressive — certainly nothing unexpected given Sennheiser’s reputation. What was pleasantly surprising, though, was the $300 asking price and since these are already available we’ve been able to find them online for as little as $250. For that you also get bass boost and surround sound functions, but from our limited time with the set we’d say you’ll be getting some pretty awesome audio straight out of the box.
Producing all electric cars has become a must for a lot of important automaker, so Volvo got in line and came out with its own all electric C30. At the moment, the Swedish are testing their Battery Electric Vehicle.
Though for a few years now most automakers have been struggling to save the Earth, not many decided to take an approach as direct as Audi’s: the German automaker plants 36,000 oak trees to fight CO2 emissions.
