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Aug. 1st, 2012
The news that one usually hears coming out of India is one of growth and new dynamism, but apparently they have their own infrastructural issues to overcome.
_ _ _
NEW DELHI (AP) — India's energy crisis cascaded over half the country Tuesday when three of its regional grids collapsed, leaving 620 million people without government-supplied electricity for several hours in, by far, the world's biggest blackout.
Hundreds of trains stalled across the country and traffic lights went out, causing widespread traffic jams in New Delhi. Electric crematoria stopped operating, some with bodies half burnt, power officials said. Emergency workers rushed generators to coal mines to rescue miners trapped underground.
The massive failure - a day after a similar, but smaller power failure - has raised serious concerns about India's outdated infrastructure and the government's inability to meet its huge appetite for energy as the country aspires to become a regional economic superpower.
-- LJ-News
_ _ _
NEW DELHI (AP) — India's energy crisis cascaded over half the country Tuesday when three of its regional grids collapsed, leaving 620 million people without government-supplied electricity for several hours in, by far, the world's biggest blackout.
Hundreds of trains stalled across the country and traffic lights went out, causing widespread traffic jams in New Delhi. Electric crematoria stopped operating, some with bodies half burnt, power officials said. Emergency workers rushed generators to coal mines to rescue miners trapped underground.
The massive failure - a day after a similar, but smaller power failure - has raised serious concerns about India's outdated infrastructure and the government's inability to meet its huge appetite for energy as the country aspires to become a regional economic superpower.
-- LJ-News
The news that one usually hears coming out of India is one of growth and new dynamism, but apparently they have their own infrastructural issues to overcome.
_ _ _
NEW DELHI (AP) — India's energy crisis cascaded over half the country Tuesday when three of its regional grids collapsed, leaving 620 million people without government-supplied electricity for several hours in, by far, the world's biggest blackout.
Hundreds of trains stalled across the country and traffic lights went out, causing widespread traffic jams in New Delhi. Electric crematoria stopped operating, some with bodies half burnt, power officials said. Emergency workers rushed generators to coal mines to rescue miners trapped underground.
The massive failure - a day after a similar, but smaller power failure - has raised serious concerns about India's outdated infrastructure and the government's inability to meet its huge appetite for energy as the country aspires to become a regional economic superpower.
-- LJ-News
_ _ _
NEW DELHI (AP) — India's energy crisis cascaded over half the country Tuesday when three of its regional grids collapsed, leaving 620 million people without government-supplied electricity for several hours in, by far, the world's biggest blackout.
Hundreds of trains stalled across the country and traffic lights went out, causing widespread traffic jams in New Delhi. Electric crematoria stopped operating, some with bodies half burnt, power officials said. Emergency workers rushed generators to coal mines to rescue miners trapped underground.
The massive failure - a day after a similar, but smaller power failure - has raised serious concerns about India's outdated infrastructure and the government's inability to meet its huge appetite for energy as the country aspires to become a regional economic superpower.
-- LJ-News
Obama: Descended From Slaves
Aug. 1st, 2012 06:00 amIt has been discovered that Obama is actually descended from slaves, and this is through his white mother. It sounds like a convoluted story, and I'm not going to strain my brain to make sense of it. I'm only keeping an excerpt from the article. I feel skeptical about the story (as one Washington Post commenter put it, "By about October 28 they will determine that Obama is also related to King David, Moses, Sun Tzu, Confucius, Peter the Apostle, and the Prophet Muhammad. He is also a distant cousin of Osiris and of Genghis Khan."), but the mainstream press is reporting it. It greatly enriches Obama's American story - from slavery to the White House.
_ _ _
President Obama’s extraordinary family story gained a new layer this week as a team of genealogists found evidence that he is most likely a descendant of one of the first documented African slaves in this country.
The link to slavery, which scholars of genealogy and race in the United States called remarkable, was found to have existed approximately 400 years back in the lineage of Obama’s mother, Stanley Ann Dunham. It was discovered by a team of four genealogists from Ancestry.com whose findings from two years of work were released in a report Monday.
Using property and tax records, the team uncovered “a lot of context and circumstantial evidence” that points to an enslaved black man named John Punch being Obama’s ancestor, said Joseph Shumway, one of the genealogists who worked on the report.
Because his father immigrated from Kenya and his mother, who was born in Kansas, was white, Obama was thought to have no direct ancestral links to slaves.
-- Washington Post/LJ
_ _ _
President Obama’s extraordinary family story gained a new layer this week as a team of genealogists found evidence that he is most likely a descendant of one of the first documented African slaves in this country.
The link to slavery, which scholars of genealogy and race in the United States called remarkable, was found to have existed approximately 400 years back in the lineage of Obama’s mother, Stanley Ann Dunham. It was discovered by a team of four genealogists from Ancestry.com whose findings from two years of work were released in a report Monday.
Using property and tax records, the team uncovered “a lot of context and circumstantial evidence” that points to an enslaved black man named John Punch being Obama’s ancestor, said Joseph Shumway, one of the genealogists who worked on the report.
Because his father immigrated from Kenya and his mother, who was born in Kansas, was white, Obama was thought to have no direct ancestral links to slaves.
-- Washington Post/LJ
Obama: Descended From Slaves
Aug. 1st, 2012 06:00 amIt has been discovered that Obama is actually descended from slaves, and this is through his white mother. It sounds like a convoluted story, and I'm not going to strain my brain to make sense of it. I'm only keeping an excerpt from the article. I feel skeptical about the story (as one Washington Post commenter put it, "By about October 28 they will determine that Obama is also related to King David, Moses, Sun Tzu, Confucius, Peter the Apostle, and the Prophet Muhammad. He is also a distant cousin of Osiris and of Genghis Khan."), but the mainstream press is reporting it. It greatly enriches Obama's American story - from slavery to the White House.
_ _ _
President Obama’s extraordinary family story gained a new layer this week as a team of genealogists found evidence that he is most likely a descendant of one of the first documented African slaves in this country.
The link to slavery, which scholars of genealogy and race in the United States called remarkable, was found to have existed approximately 400 years back in the lineage of Obama’s mother, Stanley Ann Dunham. It was discovered by a team of four genealogists from Ancestry.com whose findings from two years of work were released in a report Monday.
Using property and tax records, the team uncovered “a lot of context and circumstantial evidence” that points to an enslaved black man named John Punch being Obama’s ancestor, said Joseph Shumway, one of the genealogists who worked on the report.
Because his father immigrated from Kenya and his mother, who was born in Kansas, was white, Obama was thought to have no direct ancestral links to slaves.
-- Washington Post/LJ
_ _ _
President Obama’s extraordinary family story gained a new layer this week as a team of genealogists found evidence that he is most likely a descendant of one of the first documented African slaves in this country.
The link to slavery, which scholars of genealogy and race in the United States called remarkable, was found to have existed approximately 400 years back in the lineage of Obama’s mother, Stanley Ann Dunham. It was discovered by a team of four genealogists from Ancestry.com whose findings from two years of work were released in a report Monday.
Using property and tax records, the team uncovered “a lot of context and circumstantial evidence” that points to an enslaved black man named John Punch being Obama’s ancestor, said Joseph Shumway, one of the genealogists who worked on the report.
Because his father immigrated from Kenya and his mother, who was born in Kansas, was white, Obama was thought to have no direct ancestral links to slaves.
-- Washington Post/LJ
Mitt Romney's international tour was again hit by a gaffe after his spokesman told journalists to “kiss my ass” after being quizzed over a series of blunders by the Republican presidential candidate.
-- Telegraph/LJ
It is encouraging to see things going so swimmingly for the Romney camp. They seem to be a little stressed. I guess it's not enough to keep on saying in so many ways, "Obama is not a real American, and I am a great businessman!"
And the news gets better for Democrats, as there is some heavy speculation that one big reason why the Romney camp is virulently resistant to releasing more tax returns is that the millionaire may not have paid any taxes for a number of years. If that is true, what a mindset it reveals: to be running for president, and at the same time, to do everything you can to keep from paying any money to the government, doing everything that one possibly can to avoid paying taxes. That seems boldly pathological.
Romney has also been selling himself as a normal guy who is just wildly successful - the gift of brilliance! You gotta love this takedown by Jed Lewison:
The ad opens with Mitt Romney talking about his business background and saying that he knows what it's like to start a business and create jobs and "to wonder whether you're going to be able to make ends meet." If you're the Harvard-educated son of an auto industry CEO who is worth hundreds of millions of dollars and has bank accounts in the Caymans, a secretive Bermuda shell corporation, and, until recently, a Swiss bank account, those are words that should never escape your lips. And that's doubly true if you've made millions while firing workers and bankrupting companies.
Considering how badly the economy continues to drag, the Republicans were probably the favorite to win the White House, and we may only be lucky that the Republicans have gone so far-out extreme, that Obama may yet pull out a victory.
-- Telegraph/LJ
It is encouraging to see things going so swimmingly for the Romney camp. They seem to be a little stressed. I guess it's not enough to keep on saying in so many ways, "Obama is not a real American, and I am a great businessman!"
And the news gets better for Democrats, as there is some heavy speculation that one big reason why the Romney camp is virulently resistant to releasing more tax returns is that the millionaire may not have paid any taxes for a number of years. If that is true, what a mindset it reveals: to be running for president, and at the same time, to do everything you can to keep from paying any money to the government, doing everything that one possibly can to avoid paying taxes. That seems boldly pathological.
Romney has also been selling himself as a normal guy who is just wildly successful - the gift of brilliance! You gotta love this takedown by Jed Lewison:
The ad opens with Mitt Romney talking about his business background and saying that he knows what it's like to start a business and create jobs and "to wonder whether you're going to be able to make ends meet." If you're the Harvard-educated son of an auto industry CEO who is worth hundreds of millions of dollars and has bank accounts in the Caymans, a secretive Bermuda shell corporation, and, until recently, a Swiss bank account, those are words that should never escape your lips. And that's doubly true if you've made millions while firing workers and bankrupting companies.
Considering how badly the economy continues to drag, the Republicans were probably the favorite to win the White House, and we may only be lucky that the Republicans have gone so far-out extreme, that Obama may yet pull out a victory.
Mitt Romney's international tour was again hit by a gaffe after his spokesman told journalists to “kiss my ass” after being quizzed over a series of blunders by the Republican presidential candidate.
-- Telegraph/LJ
It is encouraging to see things going so swimmingly for the Romney camp. They seem to be a little stressed. I guess it's not enough to keep on saying in so many ways, "Obama is not a real American, and I am a great businessman!"
And the news gets better for Democrats, as there is some heavy speculation that one big reason why the Romney camp is virulently resistant to releasing more tax returns is that the millionaire may not have paid any taxes for a number of years. If that is true, what a mindset it reveals: to be running for president, and at the same time, to do everything you can to keep from paying any money to the government, doing everything that one possibly can to avoid paying taxes. That seems boldly pathological.
Romney has also been selling himself as a normal guy who is just wildly successful - the gift of brilliance! You gotta love this takedown by Jed Lewison:
The ad opens with Mitt Romney talking about his business background and saying that he knows what it's like to start a business and create jobs and "to wonder whether you're going to be able to make ends meet." If you're the Harvard-educated son of an auto industry CEO who is worth hundreds of millions of dollars and has bank accounts in the Caymans, a secretive Bermuda shell corporation, and, until recently, a Swiss bank account, those are words that should never escape your lips. And that's doubly true if you've made millions while firing workers and bankrupting companies.
Considering how badly the economy continues to drag, the Republicans were probably the favorite to win the White House, and we may only be lucky that the Republicans have gone so far-out extreme, that Obama may yet pull out a victory.
-- Telegraph/LJ
It is encouraging to see things going so swimmingly for the Romney camp. They seem to be a little stressed. I guess it's not enough to keep on saying in so many ways, "Obama is not a real American, and I am a great businessman!"
And the news gets better for Democrats, as there is some heavy speculation that one big reason why the Romney camp is virulently resistant to releasing more tax returns is that the millionaire may not have paid any taxes for a number of years. If that is true, what a mindset it reveals: to be running for president, and at the same time, to do everything you can to keep from paying any money to the government, doing everything that one possibly can to avoid paying taxes. That seems boldly pathological.
Romney has also been selling himself as a normal guy who is just wildly successful - the gift of brilliance! You gotta love this takedown by Jed Lewison:
The ad opens with Mitt Romney talking about his business background and saying that he knows what it's like to start a business and create jobs and "to wonder whether you're going to be able to make ends meet." If you're the Harvard-educated son of an auto industry CEO who is worth hundreds of millions of dollars and has bank accounts in the Caymans, a secretive Bermuda shell corporation, and, until recently, a Swiss bank account, those are words that should never escape your lips. And that's doubly true if you've made millions while firing workers and bankrupting companies.
Considering how badly the economy continues to drag, the Republicans were probably the favorite to win the White House, and we may only be lucky that the Republicans have gone so far-out extreme, that Obama may yet pull out a victory.
Gore Vidal, 86
Aug. 1st, 2012 04:30 pmGore Vidal, the elegant, acerbic all-around man of letters who presided with a certain relish over what he declared to be the end of American civilization, died on Tuesday at his home in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles, where he moved in 2003, after years of living in Ravello, Italy. He was 86.
-- New York Times
“There is not one human problem that could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise.”
-- Gore Vidal
I didn't really know the man and his work, but for a vague understanding that he was an intellectual warrior for the liberals and progressives. I first developed a fondness when I came across a quote of his during the pornography debates of decades past on whether porn causes men to go out and rape. As best as I can recall his quote, he said, "The only thing that pornography ever provoked is masturbation." It was then that I knew he was on my side, at least for a lot of issues. As with Noam Chomsky, after 9/11, I feel that he went too hard on the anti-American line.
I also recall the connection between him and the late Christopher Hitchens. For a time, Mr. Vidal was looking toward Hitchens as his protege, but I suppose Hitchens developed enough of a reputation on his own and did not really rely on Vidal, which churned up some ill feelings. Though, considering Vidal's prolific novels, it does occur to me that this is one measure in which it could be said that Hitchens fell short. That is, he never wrote a novel. This does not diminish his work and his reputation, I suppose, but it is a significant limitation, and maybe it was this that kept Hitchens a little humble about his accomplishments, not having any "1984s" behind his name, something that could better endear his memory to the masses and the future.
-- New York Times
“There is not one human problem that could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise.”
-- Gore Vidal
I didn't really know the man and his work, but for a vague understanding that he was an intellectual warrior for the liberals and progressives. I first developed a fondness when I came across a quote of his during the pornography debates of decades past on whether porn causes men to go out and rape. As best as I can recall his quote, he said, "The only thing that pornography ever provoked is masturbation." It was then that I knew he was on my side, at least for a lot of issues. As with Noam Chomsky, after 9/11, I feel that he went too hard on the anti-American line.
I also recall the connection between him and the late Christopher Hitchens. For a time, Mr. Vidal was looking toward Hitchens as his protege, but I suppose Hitchens developed enough of a reputation on his own and did not really rely on Vidal, which churned up some ill feelings. Though, considering Vidal's prolific novels, it does occur to me that this is one measure in which it could be said that Hitchens fell short. That is, he never wrote a novel. This does not diminish his work and his reputation, I suppose, but it is a significant limitation, and maybe it was this that kept Hitchens a little humble about his accomplishments, not having any "1984s" behind his name, something that could better endear his memory to the masses and the future.
Gore Vidal, 86
Aug. 1st, 2012 04:30 pmGore Vidal, the elegant, acerbic all-around man of letters who presided with a certain relish over what he declared to be the end of American civilization, died on Tuesday at his home in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles, where he moved in 2003, after years of living in Ravello, Italy. He was 86.
-- New York Times
“There is not one human problem that could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise.”
-- Gore Vidal
I didn't really know the man and his work, but for a vague understanding that he was an intellectual warrior for the liberals and progressives. I first developed a fondness when I came across a quote of his during the pornography debates of decades past on whether porn causes men to go out and rape. As best as I can recall his quote, he said, "The only thing that pornography ever provoked is masturbation." It was then that I knew he was on my side, at least for a lot of issues. As with Noam Chomsky, after 9/11, I feel that he went too hard on the anti-American line.
I also recall the connection between him and the late Christopher Hitchens. For a time, Mr. Vidal was looking toward Hitchens as his protege, but I suppose Hitchens developed enough of a reputation on his own and did not really rely on Vidal, which churned up some ill feelings. Though, considering Vidal's prolific novels, it does occur to me that this is one measure in which it could be said that Hitchens fell short. That is, he never wrote a novel. This does not diminish his work and his reputation, I suppose, but it is a significant limitation, and maybe it was this that kept Hitchens a little humble about his accomplishments, not having any "1984s" behind his name, something that could better endear his memory to the masses and the future.
-- New York Times
“There is not one human problem that could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise.”
-- Gore Vidal
I didn't really know the man and his work, but for a vague understanding that he was an intellectual warrior for the liberals and progressives. I first developed a fondness when I came across a quote of his during the pornography debates of decades past on whether porn causes men to go out and rape. As best as I can recall his quote, he said, "The only thing that pornography ever provoked is masturbation." It was then that I knew he was on my side, at least for a lot of issues. As with Noam Chomsky, after 9/11, I feel that he went too hard on the anti-American line.
I also recall the connection between him and the late Christopher Hitchens. For a time, Mr. Vidal was looking toward Hitchens as his protege, but I suppose Hitchens developed enough of a reputation on his own and did not really rely on Vidal, which churned up some ill feelings. Though, considering Vidal's prolific novels, it does occur to me that this is one measure in which it could be said that Hitchens fell short. That is, he never wrote a novel. This does not diminish his work and his reputation, I suppose, but it is a significant limitation, and maybe it was this that kept Hitchens a little humble about his accomplishments, not having any "1984s" behind his name, something that could better endear his memory to the masses and the future.
Fifty Shades of Grey
Aug. 1st, 2012 06:00 pmI don't think I have posted anything about the publishing sensation "Fifty Shades of Grey" by Ms. E. L. James. You would think this might be up my alley: about a woman who learns to love submitting to her boss's dominant sexuality. I certainly enjoyed the classic "Secretary" starring James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal. But this new item has also been called 'mommy porn', and it somehow originated in Young Adult fiction. I don't know; it doens't make sense to me. All I know is that my curiosity is not really piqued. Maybe I figure if so many people love it, then it must be too soft or silly.
Anyway. there is a lot of buzz about the movie adaptation, a lot of talk about who will do the starring turn in this submissive role. Elizabeth Olsen was mentioned as a possible. That isn't going to happen, but I like her comment about the project:
“But it’s had a huge impact on society. Apparently rope sales have skyrocketed because women who’ve read the book are really getting into bondage, which is kind of great. It’s such a taboo for women to actually discuss sexuality without the help of Cosmopolitan. All of a sudden, this book has become a sensation because the women reading it haven’t had access to this kind of thing before. I was talking to a guy who was making a joke about it, saying, ‘Clearly these women just need to watch porn.’ In a way, he’s right.”
Now this is my kind of feminism!
(Source: ONTD)
Anyway. there is a lot of buzz about the movie adaptation, a lot of talk about who will do the starring turn in this submissive role. Elizabeth Olsen was mentioned as a possible. That isn't going to happen, but I like her comment about the project:
“But it’s had a huge impact on society. Apparently rope sales have skyrocketed because women who’ve read the book are really getting into bondage, which is kind of great. It’s such a taboo for women to actually discuss sexuality without the help of Cosmopolitan. All of a sudden, this book has become a sensation because the women reading it haven’t had access to this kind of thing before. I was talking to a guy who was making a joke about it, saying, ‘Clearly these women just need to watch porn.’ In a way, he’s right.”
Now this is my kind of feminism!
(Source: ONTD)
Fifty Shades of Grey
Aug. 1st, 2012 06:00 pmI don't think I have posted anything about the publishing sensation "Fifty Shades of Grey" by Ms. E. L. James. You would think this might be up my alley: about a woman who learns to love submitting to her boss's dominant sexuality. I certainly enjoyed the classic "Secretary" starring James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal. But this new item has also been called 'mommy porn', and it somehow originated in Young Adult fiction. I don't know; it doens't make sense to me. All I know is that my curiosity is not really piqued. Maybe I figure if so many people love it, then it must be too soft or silly.
Anyway. there is a lot of buzz about the movie adaptation, a lot of talk about who will do the starring turn in this submissive role. Elizabeth Olsen was mentioned as a possible. That isn't going to happen, but I like her comment about the project:
“But it’s had a huge impact on society. Apparently rope sales have skyrocketed because women who’ve read the book are really getting into bondage, which is kind of great. It’s such a taboo for women to actually discuss sexuality without the help of Cosmopolitan. All of a sudden, this book has become a sensation because the women reading it haven’t had access to this kind of thing before. I was talking to a guy who was making a joke about it, saying, ‘Clearly these women just need to watch porn.’ In a way, he’s right.”
Now this is my kind of feminism!
(Source: ONTD)
Anyway. there is a lot of buzz about the movie adaptation, a lot of talk about who will do the starring turn in this submissive role. Elizabeth Olsen was mentioned as a possible. That isn't going to happen, but I like her comment about the project:
“But it’s had a huge impact on society. Apparently rope sales have skyrocketed because women who’ve read the book are really getting into bondage, which is kind of great. It’s such a taboo for women to actually discuss sexuality without the help of Cosmopolitan. All of a sudden, this book has become a sensation because the women reading it haven’t had access to this kind of thing before. I was talking to a guy who was making a joke about it, saying, ‘Clearly these women just need to watch porn.’ In a way, he’s right.”
Now this is my kind of feminism!
(Source: ONTD)
The Debate Over the Banks
Aug. 1st, 2012 09:00 pmThere is some more stirring of the pot to bring our megabanks down to size. We're still a long way from anything happening along these lines, but it's encouraging to hear the call becoming louder, and from establishment people themselves.
_ _ _
Last week, former Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill — the guy who created the megabank model — said he’d been wrong, that the big banks should be broken up. But what really unnerved the leaders of the nation’s Too Big To Fail institutions was that the markets reacted with a strong rally in bank stocks.
In other words, the most important constituency in the bank-size debate — the investor — thinks smaller is actually better.
-- Charles Gasparino at The New York Post
_ _ _
Last week, former Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill — the guy who created the megabank model — said he’d been wrong, that the big banks should be broken up. But what really unnerved the leaders of the nation’s Too Big To Fail institutions was that the markets reacted with a strong rally in bank stocks.
In other words, the most important constituency in the bank-size debate — the investor — thinks smaller is actually better.
-- Charles Gasparino at The New York Post
The Debate Over the Banks
Aug. 1st, 2012 09:00 pmThere is some more stirring of the pot to bring our megabanks down to size. We're still a long way from anything happening along these lines, but it's encouraging to hear the call becoming louder, and from establishment people themselves.
_ _ _
Last week, former Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill — the guy who created the megabank model — said he’d been wrong, that the big banks should be broken up. But what really unnerved the leaders of the nation’s Too Big To Fail institutions was that the markets reacted with a strong rally in bank stocks.
In other words, the most important constituency in the bank-size debate — the investor — thinks smaller is actually better.
-- Charles Gasparino at The New York Post
_ _ _
Last week, former Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill — the guy who created the megabank model — said he’d been wrong, that the big banks should be broken up. But what really unnerved the leaders of the nation’s Too Big To Fail institutions was that the markets reacted with a strong rally in bank stocks.
In other words, the most important constituency in the bank-size debate — the investor — thinks smaller is actually better.
-- Charles Gasparino at The New York Post