1/ There's no doubt the US is an incredibly violent country, and the killings in Arizona should be a wake up call for our Congress to do some measure of control of assault rifles, extended magazines for pistols etc. But as Bob Herbert points out nothing will be done....it's hopeless.....the NRA own Congress.....
Excluding the people killed in the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, more than 150,000 Americans have been murdered since the beginning of the 21st century. This endlessly proliferating parade of death, which does not spare women or children, ought to make our knees go weak. But we never even notice most of the killings. Homicide is white noise in this society.
The overwhelming majority of the people who claim to be so outraged by last weekend’s shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords and 19 others — six of them fatally — will take absolutely no steps, none whatsoever, to prevent a similar tragedy in the future. And similar tragedies are coming as surely as the sun makes its daily appearance over the eastern horizon because this is an American ritual: the mowing down of the innocents.
On Saturday, the victims happened to be a respected congresswoman, a 9-year-old girl, a federal judge and a number of others gathered at the kind of civic event that is supposed to define a successful democracy. But there are endless horror stories.
2/ The contrast between the huge corporations and the struggling middle class is stark - the rich are getting richer, but on the backs of the underclass beneath them......the oligarchy is cementing it's dominance of this country......
To gaze upon the world of American corporations is to see a sunny place of terrific profits and princely bonuses. American businesses reported that third-quarter profits in 2010 rose at an annual rate of $1.659 trillion, the steepest annual surge since officials began tracking such matters 60 years ago. It was the seventh consecutive quarter in which corporate profits climbed.
More so than in the past, many American-based corporations earn a great portion of their profits overseas. And thanks to porous tax laws, these companies return fewer of those profits to American shores than in the past.
“The big American companies are really global,” said Robert Reich, former labor secretary for President Clinton. “They can show big profits from foreign sales. G.M. is making more Buicks overseas than in the United States. There’s no special pop for the United States worker.”
Key corporate sectors, too, have undergone a Darwinian pruning during the last three years. In the financial arena, a few hyperprofitable firms now stand where many more once stood.
“If you’re Goldman and Morgan Chase, and you once had to compete against Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch, well, of course it’s easier now to show a profit,” said Daniel Alpert, managing partner of Westwood Capital L.L.C., an investment banking firm. “If you have a modest reduction in expenses, and an industry consolidation at the same time, that translates into a massive increase in earnings.”
3/ Ladies - one for you....having trouble keeping a relationship? The problem might be the men you are dating are shapeshifters...Onion News has the story.......2 minutes.....
4/ There are websites where you can track the sex offenders in your neighborhood, and there are severe restrictions where sex offenders can live and work.....these laws were brought in to protect children from the worst kind of predators, the unspeakable scum that prey on little kids......
The problem is all crimes even vaguely connected with morals are labelled sex crimes, so for a 16 year old boy who sleeps with a 15 year old girl and ends up in court, he is deemed to be a sex offender, and carries this label for the rest of his life.....
So if you ever end up on a jury and the case is to do with "morality" laws, ask the Judge if the guy is found guilty will he be a sex offender, and then ask yourself if this "life sentence" would be a fair and appropriate punishment....
Here's an interesting case - a man in Virginia is a sex offender for something that isn't even a crime....
William S. MacDonald has been living in a homeless shelter and in his truck in Asheville, N.C. He would rather be with his wife, Carolynn, who has a place nearby, but the couple says he has been hounded from their last several homes because he is a registered sex offender.
It is often hard for sex offenders to find a place to live. But Mr. MacDonald, 54, says his case is particularly galling.
“I was charged with a crime that is not on the books anymore,” he said.
Mr. MacDonald’s crime was having oral sex, which is a violation of a Virginialaw forbidding “crimes against nature.” Such statutes, which criminalize oral and anal sex, are also called sodomy laws.
The Supreme Court struck down Texas’s sodomy law in 2003 in Lawrence v. Texas, and most people understood that ruling to apply to the 12 other states, including Virginia, that still had sodomy laws on their books.
5/ British comedy that techno-dweebs can relate to.....subtle, but amusing.....from Ronnie Corbett......my Blackberry is broken......
6/ Ah Florida....populated with really, really low information voters, governed by crooks......
The new face of Central Florida....people in need....food stamps have tripled in the last three years.....
About one in every six Central Floridians now relies on food stamps to subsist — a rate that has ballooned by nearly 185 percent since the start of the recession.
The Florida Department of Children and Families, which released the figures Friday, called the increase "staggering."
"These are unprecedented numbers," said John Cooper, director of DCF's 16-county central region, which runs from Ocala to Hobe Sound. "And what's most shocking is that these are largely people who haven't applied for food stamps in the past. This is the new face of public assistance."
In April 2007, before widespread layoffs and record unemployment levels, about 272,000 Central Florida residents received food stamps. By Dec. 2010, the number had swelled by half a million to 772,000.
The water war is about to start......Lake Okeechobee is running low again....
Declining Lake Okeechobee water levels once again threaten to generate water-supply ripple effects that spread throughout South Florida, leaving less water for thirsty crops and lawns as well as an ecosystem trying to rebound from years of abuse.
The big lake is South Florida's backup water supply, relied on to replenish drinking water supplies for some communities and tapped for irrigation by sugar cane growers and other farmers.
During droughts, the lake also is a barometer for water conditions across the region. Low lake levels are one of the big factors that can result in emergency watering restrictions, which could further cut back on the watering days allowed for homes and businesses across South Florida.
The South Florida Water Management District projects that by the end of this month the lake could drop low enough to trigger tougher watering restrictions.
The always wonderful Carl Hiassen on the plan to ask for public funds to renovate Dolphins Stadium in Miami.....now they are planning to go straight to the boys in Tallahassee.....
For obvious reasons, the Dolphins’ lobbyists would rather go straight to the Legislature than let a bed-tax grab appear on a public ballot, where it would be drop-kicked into oblivion. South Floridians are fed up with tax dollars being diverted as a welfare stream for wealthy owners of sports franchises.
The roster of multimillion-dollar giveaways is long and shameful — the Panthers hockey arena, the Homestead speedway, the Grand Prix at Bicentennial Park, and two (count ’em) basketball arenas for the Miami Heat. The football stadium itself already enjoys hefty tax exemptions secured by former owner Wayne Huizenga.
Every time, the argument for special treatment is the same: Sinking public funds into private sports facilities is good for the community.
Not one reputable research study has backed up this assertion, and scores have contradicted it. Time and again, financial analysts have concluded that public monies invested in stadiums and arenas produce zero or even negative economic benefits, except to team owners.
Gone into default on your Florida house? You may not know the bank can go after other assets.....this might be a time bomb on your credit.....
Worried that your bank might go after your other assets if you're late on the mortgage or lose your home to foreclosure?
It can happen in Florida, especially if a bank sells your foreclosed house and doesn't recoup the full loan amount and if you're a big-dollar borrower.
With nearly half of all mortgages under water in South Florida, plenty of residents may wonder if their home lender can garnish their wages or suddenly lock down their deposit accounts.
Florida banks usually don't target other assets after foreclosure if they don't see much to tap. "Collecting on judgments is time-consuming and costly," said real estate attorney Shari Olefson, a partner at Fowler White Boggs in Fort Lauderdale and author of "Foreclosure Nation: Mortgaging the American Dream."
But banks pay more attention to borrowers with multimillion-dollar homes or businesses that default on big commercial properties. The lender can check if the customer has other accounts with the same bank. Depending on the terms of those savings or checking accounts, they may move to freeze, sweep, garnish or otherwise tap those accounts to collect money owed, Olefson said.
There's another risk for smaller borrowers later. Banks may sell their deficiency judgments to a collection agency. The judgments are valid for up to 20 years. That leaves an agency focused on collections ample time to come after you for the balance still due, she said.
7/ NASA - The Frontier is Everywhere
A filmaker became so frustrated with NASA's inept media he decided to make his own video about the challenge facing us and the world....it's beautiful, inspiring and wonderfully shot....and will make you think. Make sure you see it in 720.....an excellent 3 minutes....
8/ NPR - about the last radio or TV outlet in the country with any kind of integrity is under attack by the right wing for the firing of Juan Williams, so the NPR management had to make a human sacrifice to assuage the BeckGod....
The skirmish over a single employee would seem quaint for an outfit that, to paraphrase Jon Stewart, brought a tote bag to a knife fight, except for the fact that NPR, despite its laid-back reputation, is a programming and news powerhouse in this country, with 17 foreign bureaus and 15 in the United States and over 27 million listeners a week (over half of whom identify as conservative or moderate, by the way).
Particularly now that TV network news ratings have tumbled to earth and cable news has atomized along political lines, NPR is increasingly the resource of choice for Americans, in red and blue states alike, who are interested in serious news.
Make no mistake, NPR created a real problem with Mr. Williams’s firing.
9/ Bruno Mars with 'Grenade", a fascinating music video of Bruno dragging a piano all across Manhattan....this young singer has a great future....wonderful voice and presence......
10/ Chinese Honey
On Saturday Jan. 8th I wrote about the disturbing news most of our honey is Chinese and has toxic chemicals in it.....
So how do you protect yourself? We have a bottle of Publix Organic honey in our pantry, and I am in process of finding out from Publix and the manufacturer where it's from......so watch this space, I'll follow up on this. In the meantime I think the local honey's are OK, if it specifically says "from Florida" or similar. But any of the big brand names like "SueBee" and the cheaper honeys are almost certainly Chinese......
This is the original article.....
So I sent an email off to the manufacturer of the Publix honey......
Having recently read an article that says a lot of the honey sold in the US is from China, can your company state that this jar of honey from Publix, certified organic from the USDA, has no Chinese honey in it please?
Many thanks
David Stanley
Many thanks
David Stanley
And they replied......
Thank you for contacting Golden Heritage Foods and inquire about the country of origin of the 16 oz container of Publix Greenwise Organic Honey. We are pleased to hear that you are an informed consumer and want to know the source of your honey. Golden Heritage Foods resolutely does not purchase honey from China or honey that may have originated in China but has been rerouted and mislabeled as coming from another country.
Golden Heritage Foods takes a great deal of pride being a transparent company who fully discloses information to our consumers so they know exactly what honey they are purchasing and where it is from. We want you to have total confidence in Golden Heritage Foods and know that when purchasing honey we've packaged, you are receiving the absolute best 100% pure unadulterated honey available that has been stringently tested and has cleared all tests.
When a honey label say U.S. Grade A, this represents the grade of quality of the product as set forth by the guidelines from the U.S. Department of Ag, This grade statement on the bottle is not to be confused with the country of origin statement. For example, when a honey label says U.S. Grade A or Grade A is means you are receiving a honey that is graded and falls into the highest quality category but it does not mean that the honey is from the U.S.
There are rules and regulations that we must follow according the U.S. Department of Agriculture. According to the Department of Agriculture. Farm Bill, (7 CFR Part 52) "if foreign or domestic honey were labeled U.S. Grade A, then it would have to identify its country or countries of origin. Conversely, if the honey is not officially grade labeled, the country of origin labeling is not necessary whether the honey is domestic or foreign."
Because we always want the consumer to be aware of what they are purchasing, we have chosen to provide the grade of honey on the label and therefore with following the law, the country of origin is ink-jetted onto the bottle. The country of origin location on the Publix 16 oz Organic honey is on the back below the label in ink-jetted black letters. There will be a lot code first and then the country of origin. You may need to tilt the bottle a bit to see it - especially if the honey is darker. The reason it is ink-jetted directly onto the bottle as opposed to on the label is because the countries of origin may vary depending upon availability and market conditions. Therefore, one batch may be from Brazil and another may be a blend from two countries such as Brazil and Canada. The countries of origin are not pre-printed directly on the labels because of label space requirements and the countries of origin may vary from time to time.
The organic honey we package is certified and overseen by the Global Organic Alliance (GOA). In that there are relatively few areas in the world that can meet the criteria for organic honey as set forth by the GOA, all organic honey packaged by Golden Heritage Foods is foreign in its origin. Please see attached our Frequently Asked Questions & Answers documents which goes into greater detail on the subject of organic honey.
Thank you again for inquiring and if you should have any additional questions, please let me know. We want you to alway be a happy consumer at Publix!
Sincerely,
Roxann Ewert
Specialist, Foodservice Sales
Golden Heritage Foods, LLC
Corporate Office
120 Santa Fe Street
Hillsboro, KS 67063
And the Publix Organic honey has an ink jet label in black letters that says it's from Brazil and Canada, just like she said......phew.....
So, informed consumer and DDD reader, make sure the product you buy is from somewhere decent like Canada, so you don't accidentally buy Chinese honey.....
11/ There's some remarkable weather in the world......
US - Every state except one [yes Florida] has snow on the ground right now....amazing.....
From the southern snow storm heading north, which is affecting air travel, to the storm in New York City, and flurries out west, there's plenty of white stuff going around.
The lone state without a flake? It's the Sunshine State...Florida. Locals are celebrating the fact, though interestingly, parts of the state saw snow just days ago.
Even Hawaii has snow, in Mauna Kea on the Big Island.
Have a look at the map for yourself:
Australia - severe floods threaten Australia's third largest city.....massive damage is expected....
SYDNEY, Australia — Brisbane, Australia’s third-largest city, braced for its worst flooding in 35 years early Wednesday, as flash floods from devastating rains that have been sweeping vast areas of the country’s northeast for weeks raced toward it. Officials urged many of Brisbane’s two million residents to flee to higher ground.
Germany - after incredibly heavy snow in December, an unseasonal mild spell is melting the snow and causing major flooding.....
BERLIN (AP) -- Mild temperatures melted record December snowfalls across Germany, causing rivers from the Rhine in the west to the Oder in the east to burst their banks, flooding fields and towns, turning streets into waterways, and leaving one person feared dead. (Scroll down for devastating photos)
Officials were watching flood levels on the Rhine river in the city of Koblenz on Monday that were expected to peak at 25 feet,
Brazil - heavy rains causing floods, mudslides, deaths....
Sao Paulo state civil defense officials say 11 people died when their houses collapsed because of mudslides and two were killed in flash floods.
Heavy rains have been pummeling the region and at least 12 landslides were reported across the state.
Sao Paulo nearly came to halt on Tuesday as flooding blocked traffic in some of the city's main thoroughfares.
Brazil has been severely affected by the rains this year and authorities say the number of people left homeless by flooding has surpassed 100,000 in four southeastern states. More than 30 deaths have been reported.
Thought the weather was strange in 2010? - a new report says for global weather it was the hottest and most extreme year on record....
The new figures confirm that 2010 will go down as one of the more remarkable years in the annals of climatology. It featured prodigious snowstorms that broke seasonal records in the United States and Europe; a record-shattering summer heat wave that scorched Russia; strong floods that drove people from their homes in places like Pakistan, Australia, California and Tennessee; a severe die-off of coral reefs; and a continuation in the global trend of a warming climate.
Two agencies, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, reported Wednesday that the global average surface temperature for 2010 had tied the record set in 2005. The analyses differ slightly; in the NOAA version, the 2010 temperature was 1.12 degrees Fahrenheit above the average for the 20th century, which is 57 degrees.
It was the 34th year running that global temperatures have been above the 20th-century average; the last below-average year was 1976. The new figures show that 9 of the 10 warmest years on record have occurred since the beginning of 2001.
The earth has been warming in fits and starts for decades, and a large majority of climatologists say that is because humans are releasing heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Fox News - there's no climate change....
12/ The Times travel section has a weekly feature "36 hours in xxx", and this week it was "36 Hours in Key West"....good article.....even though we all know Key West, there are some fun places in the story......
KEY WEST, haven to artists and writers, chefs and hippies, is somehow more Caribbean than Floridian. The indie-minded transplants work hard to keep it that way. One-speed bicycles weave their way through colorful village streets, crammed with as many chickens as cars. Happy hour blends into dinner. And everything is oriented around the ocean, from the fish market-driven menus and the nautical-inspired art, to the sunrise worshipers who gather each dawn and the tipplers who wave goodbye at sunset. Be careful or you might just catch what islanders call “Keys disease” — a sudden desire to cut ties with home and move there.
Todays video - Gesto de Amor......bet you can't watch this twice without tearing up......
Todays alcohol-related joke
An older gentleman is stopped by the police around 1 a.m. and is asked where he is going at this time of night.
The man replies, “I am going to a lecture about alcohol abuse and the effects it has on the human body”.
The officer then asks, “Really? Who is giving that lecture at this time of night?”</fo
The man replies, “I am going to a lecture about alcohol abuse and the effects it has on the human body”.
The officer then asks, “Really? Who is giving that lecture at this time of night?”</fo
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