CREDIBLE OR NOT?

     To populations that enjoy the technological distractions of handheld gizmos and gadgets that reinforce our playful nature, the growth of the social Web (aka Web 2.0) has given them a new playground to enjoy. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and others like them are akin to the swingsets, slides and teeter-totters for this new play area--but they also give everyone a voice, enabling them to provide substance and opinions on a variety of issues.

     This growth comes just as it did with the original onset of the Web, with explosive and unpredictable results. Conventional publishing and broadcast mediums are becoming edged out by “as it happens” Web reporters and bloggers who are building their own reputations by virtue of their online identities and customizing the content to accommodate (or, alternately, create) niche markets. But many question the reliability of the new sources and the analysis of data. These publishers are everyday non-journalists, so is it just an opinion rather than fact? There is a strong push within the Web community to define contributor credibility and help identify individuals and the merit of what they produce.

What do you think?

ANOTHER EVENTFUL DAY FOR HUMANITY

I have been sitting in my office all morning doing the work that I usually do except for one difference. I am finding myself jumping on the internet from time to time to see what else catastrophic is happening.

We just had another earthquake with the possibility of another Tsunami. This one has leveled a Hospital killing over 1000 people. What is happening? I think the earth is going through some growing pangs and we are about to go for a rough and long ride. I do not think we are exempt here either.

Just now I received an update that a 6.4 earthquake just hit the same area again. Last night one hit in New Mexico. What surprises me is the actual lack of coverage. Something is happening and I am wondering if it is being downplayed, to an extent, to prevent a panic?

I can understand that because panic and just add to the problems that could be coming. I wonder what the rest of the day will bring...

Mother Earth and Father Universe...Getting Upset

I have been listening and reading the reports from all over the world the last few weeks. I wonder if we are really as blind to what is happening as it seems. Something is happening! It my not be in our backyard but it soon will be.

Earthquakes, Tsunamis, disastrous storms and volcanic activity are on the increase. We are at the lowest point of solar activity in our history. Our earth is growling and our people are dieing.

On April 7th of this year it was declared that the world is in a food shortage due to the following major reasons: new food demand by China, the high price of oil, bad weather in important farming areas (particularly Australia, the reduction of farmland available to grow foodstuff — in favor of growing biofuel crops, for the purposes of alternative, (reputedly) environmentally safe energy sources such as ethanol.

We are also seeing a decrease in drinking water but yet we do nothing to replenish or save what we have or divert water from natural paths which can lead to global disaster.

Picture a "ghost ship" sinking into the sand, left to rot on dry land by a receding sea. Then imagine dust storms sweeping up toxic pesticides and chemical fertilizers from the dry seabed and spewing them across towns and villages.

Seem like a scene from a movie about the end of the world? For people living near the Aral Sea in Central Asia, it's all too real. Thirty years ago, government planners diverted the rivers that flow into the sea in order to irrigate (provide water for) farmland. As a result, the sea has shrunk to half its original size, stranding ships on dry land (see photograph above). The seawater has tripled in salt content and become polluted, killing all 24 native species of fish.


Only 2.5% of the water on earth is drinkable. That is not very much for our growing population yet we do what we do and we pollute what is left.

Mother Earth and Father Universe are getting pissed. Unless we take control and do something and the right something we will indeed be living in a Mad max movie before the end of my lifetime...

NAME THAT SHORT STORY NUMBER 1

Lets see how well read you are. Every few days I will post a summary of a classic short story. All you have to do is to give the name and the Author...Here we go;

"One night, Dr. Adams is summoned to help an American Indian woman who has been in painful labor for two days. The doctor takes his young son, Nick, and his brother, George, to the American Indian camp on the other side of a northern Michigan lake. There, the doctor performs impromptu, improvised cesarean with a fishing knife, catgut, and no anesthetic to deliver the baby. Afterward, he discovers that the woman's husband, who was in the bunk above hers, silently cut his throat during the painful ordeal."

Patrick Swayze and the Time of Our Lives

It was 1987 and “Dirty Dancing” loomed large. The Era of Greed and Excess was still in its rising action.

Was Patrick’s life force somehow tied to the Bubble Years? Or was the timing of his sickness and demise coincidental?

Probably…

But it is fun to ponder.

Patrick Swayze R.I.P. The fellow has finally followed his career into the quiet of the grave. I say this not to make light of Mr. Swayze’s passing. The man defined the last summer of my childhood after all.

We were coming off the Reagan Years and still on top of the world. Stocks took a dramatic tumble that year then kept rising toward a happy ever after. Credit was expanding, but home prices hadn’t started to make people feel poor and priced out yet.

Mr. Swayze’s lithe, dancer’s body, affable good looks and ecstatic prancing were as convenient a summarizing metaphor for that happy time as one could want. There were also Michael J. Fox movies, Joe Piscopo, Tom Cruise, Pat Benatar, “Ghostbusters,” “Gremlins,” “Moonstruck,” “The Terminator” and “Aliens”…oh, happy times…

If God gives you a choice of heavenly suites, may I suggest the one where it’s all ‘80s all the time? That’s the one I’d pick.

9/11 Controlled Demolitions of September 11, 2001

9/11 Controlled Demolitions of September 11, 2001: "
This compilation of previously released material shows that the World Trade ...

video.google.com

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9-11 Footage: Ground Zero From Ground Zero

9-11 Footage: Ground Zero From Ground Zero: "
Taken from roguestatus.com, previously unseen 9/11 footage which shows never ...

video.google.com

"

"Paying the Price: Killing the Children of Iraq" by John Pilger

"Paying the Price: Killing the Children of Iraq" by John Pilger: "
After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the United Nations (backed strongly by ...

video.google.com

"

Remarks by the President after Cabinet Meeting

Remarks by the President after Cabinet Meeting: "

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

___________________________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release                                                 September 10, 2009

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT

AFTER CABINET MEETING

Cabinet Room

12:24 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. We just had an excellent and informative Cabinet meeting. Secretaries Clinton and Gates provided an overview of our current national security posture. Secretary Geithner discussed some of the -- both promise and peril of our current economic situation. But we spent a large portion of our time discussing the critical importance of health care reform.

This is an issue that touches on all of the agencies that are represented at this table. Hilda Solis at the Department of Labor understands that it is very difficult for workers to obtain raises of any significance if increased productivity is all going into increased health care costs. Gary Locke at the Department of Commerce is constantly hearing stories from businesses, small and large alike, about ever escalating premiums and the need to get control of our health care costs. Bob Gates -- one of the biggest parts of his budget is -- are his health care costs.

And so we all understand that this is an issue that the country is ready to deal with. As I said last night, I am confident the plan that we put forward is the right plan for the American people. I continue to be open to suggestions and ideas from all quarters -- House members, Senate members, Democrats, Republicans, outside groups. What we cannot do is stand pat. What we can't do is accept a status quo that is bankrupting families, businesses, and our nation.

I will not tolerate us continuing to pay more for less in health care. The time is right, and we are going to move aggressively to get this done. And every member of this Cabinet is invested. And I want to particularly thank Secretary Sebelius and my health care team for the extraordinary work that they've done getting us this far. But this administration understands that this is important for all of our agencies, all of our constituencies. And we are going to make a full-court press in the coming month to make sure that we go ahead and get this done for the American people.

All right?

Q Do you accept Wilson's apology, sir?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I do. I'm a big believer that we all make mistakes. He apologized quickly and without equivocation, and I'm appreciative of that.

I do think that, as I said last night, we have to get to the point where we can have a conversation about big, important issues that matter to the American people without vitriol, without name-calling, without the assumption of the worst in other people's motives.

We are all Americans; we all want to do best for our country. We've got different ideas, but for the most part, we have the same aims, which is to make sure that people who work hard in this country and who act responsibly are able to get good jobs, good wages, raise their families, make sure those kids have a good education; that they are protected from misfortune or accident by having health care and retirement security in place; want to keep people safe -- and that's why our national security team is so important.

Our goals are generally the same, whether we're Democrats or Republicans, and in fact, most Americans don't even think about those labels all that much. They are turned off when they see people using wild accusations, false claims, name-calling, sharply ideological approaches to solve problems. They want pragmatism; they want people to stay focused on the job. And I hope that some of the fever breaks a little bit.

The media can always be helpful by not giving all the attention to the loudest or shrillest voices, and try to stay a little bit more focused on the issues at hand.

Q Will you talk with him if he decides to call you?

THE PRESIDENT: Oh, I talk to everybody.

All right? Thank you very much.

END

12:29 P.M. EDT

"

Is Obama the first president to get heckled during an address to Congress?

Is Obama the first president to get heckled during an address to Congress?: "A Republican representative from South Carolina, Joe Wilson, heckled President Obama during his speech to Congress Wednesday night. In response to Obama's statement that the proposed health care bill would not cover illegal immigrants, Wilson shouted 'You lie!' House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said, 'I have never in my 29 years heard an outburst of that nature with reference to a president of the United States speaking as a guest of the House and Senate,' while White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said, 'No president has ever been treated like that. Ever.' Is Obama really the first president to get heckled during an address to Congress?

[more ...]

"

Good News From the Beige Book

Good News From the Beige Book: "

The Federal Reserve’s latest Beige Book report indicated an improving economy, prompting several papers’ business sections to lead with the encouraging news.

The AP article led with reassuring words:

The recession is ending and the economy is finally growing again.

That's the message implicit in the Federal Reserve's latest survey of businesses around the country, which found economic activity stabilizing or improving in most regions.

In addition, the New York Times touched on specifics of the Federal Reserve’s report:

While many parts of the economy, like retail sales and commercial real estate, remain frail, others are stabilizing or showing signs of improvement. Since the start of the year, the economic reports in the beige book have steadily brightened, from dismal to less bad to tepid, as the stock markets rebounded and the recession began to loosen its grip.

"The economy is making the transition from recession to recovery," said Alan D. Levenson, chief economist at T. Rowe Price, who said he expected the economy to grow at a rate of about 3 percent in the summer, then more modestly in the last months of the year.

The Washington Post reported improvements in several industries, including manufacturing:

There were positive signs from manufacturing, as most of the country reported modest improvements. The San Francisco Fed in particular said orders rose for manufacturers of semiconductors and other information technology products, and several districts reported increases in automobile and pharmaceutical production.

LETTER FROM SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

May 12, 2009

Dear Mr. President,

I wanted to write a few final words to you to express my gratitude for your repeated personal kindnesses to me – and one last time, to salute your leadership in giving our country back its future and its truth.

On a personal level, you and Michelle reached out to Vicki, to our family and me in so many different ways. You helped to make these difficult months a happy time in my life.

You also made it a time of hope for me and for our country.

When I thought of all the years, all the battles, and all the memories of my long public life, I felt confident in these closing days that while I will not be there when it happens, you will be the President who at long last signs into law the health care reform that is the great unfinished business of our society. For me, this cause stretched across decades; it has been disappointed, but never finally defeated. It was the cause of my life. And in the past year, the prospect of victory sustained me-and the work of achieving it summoned my energy and determination.

There will be struggles – there always have been – and they are already underway again. But as we moved forward in these months, I learned that you will not yield to calls to retreat - that you will stay with the cause until it is won. I saw your conviction that the time is now and witnessed your unwavering commitment and understanding that health care is a decisive issue for our future prosperity. But you have also reminded all of us that it concerns more than material things; that what we face is above all a moral issue; that at stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country.

And so because of your vision and resolve, I came to believe that soon, very soon, affordable health coverage will be available to all, in an America where the state of a family’s health will never again depend on the amount of a family’s wealth. And while I will not see the victory, I was able to look forward and know that we will – yes, we will – fulfill the promise of health care in America as a right and not a privilege.

In closing, let me say again how proud I was to be part of your campaign- and proud as well to play a part in the early months of a new era of high purpose and achievement. I entered public life with a young President who inspired a generation and the world. It gives me great hope that as I leave, another young President inspires another generation and once more on America’s behalf inspires the entire world.

So, I wrote this to thank you one last time as a friend- and to stand with you one last time for change and the America we can become.

At the Denver Convention where you were nominated, I said the dream lives on.

And I finished this letter with unshakable faith that the dream will be fulfilled for this generation, and preserved and enlarged for generations to come.


With deep respect and abiding affection,
[Ted]