That's Commitment

July 10 (UPI) - Connecticut Man Donates 18 Gallons of Blood

Gov. Christie Addresses Image of Jersey Shore as Loud Obnoxious Jerks

July 6 (New York Times) -- Here is a video of Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey in a verbal altercation with a constituent, apparently filmed on Thursday night at the Jersey Shore and posted on Friday by TMZ.com, the celebrity gossip Web site.

Christie, who clutches an ice cream cone during the video, was with his family on the boardwalk, TMZ reported. The Governor, 49, at one point marches toward the critic as an entourage follows him.

Citizens May Not Portray Police in Negative Way or Be Labeled Public Agitators

“Be aware that above subjects are known professional agitators,” read the flyer, warning cops that the “subjects’ MO” is to videotape officers “performing routine stops and post on YouTube.”

“Subjects’ purpose is to portray officers in a negative way,” the poster reads.

This is What Global Warming Looks Like

"What we're seeing really is a window into what global warming really looks like," said Princeton University geosciences and international affairs professor Michael Oppenheimer. "It looks like heat. It looks like fires. It looks like this kind of environmental disasters."

Since Jan. 1, the United States has set more than 40,000 hot temperature records, but fewer than 6,000 cold temperature records, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

While at least 15 climate scientists told The Associated Press that this long hot U.S. summer is consistent with what is to be expected in global warming, history is full of such extremes, said John Christy at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He's a global warming skeptic who says, "The guilty party in my view is Mother Nature."

But the vast majority of mainstream climate scientists, such as Meehl, disagree: "This is what global warming is like, and we'll see more of this as we go into the future."

I Can Haz Higgs Boson?

Fabiola Gianotti, of CERN and spokeswoman for the Atlas team, said one on point, “Why are you applauding, I’m not done yet. This is just beginning, there is more to come.” She noted that the mass of the putative Higgs made it easy to study its many behaviors and channels, “So,” she said, “thanks, nature.”

Gerald Guralnik, one of the founders of the Higgs theory, said he was glad to be at a physics meeting “where there is applause like a football game.”

Asked to comment after the announcements, Dr. Higgs seemed overwhelmed, saying, “For me, its really an incredible thing that’s happened in my lifetime.”

Fairy Wasp is Smaller Than an Amoeba

It’s pictured next to a Paramecium and an amoeba at the same scale. Even though both these creatures are made up of a single cell, the wasp – complete with eyes, brain, wings, muscles, guts and genitals – is actually smaller. At just 200 micrometres (a fifth of a millimetre), this wasp is the third smallest insect alive and a miracle of miniaturisation.

It has no heart, neurons without a nucleus, and only lives an action-packed 5 days. Enough to lay its eggs and move on.

Which Pet Pirhana?

"An 18-month-old girl is recovering at an Illinois hospital after the tip of her finger was bitten off by one of the family's pet piranhas."

Journalism fail. Which one?

Absence Excused!

Please Excuse Tyler... He Was With Me!

Hoodies and Thug Life

The Washington Post:

Trayvon Martin’s Death Raises the Question: Where Is the American Black Family?

Rep. Bobbie Rush and others shouldn't be spending time wearing hoodies on the floor of the United States House of Representatives, reinforcing negative stereotypes of the thug life (drug dealers with pit bulls, jailhouse fashion, women described derogatorily and illegitimate babies in tow).

Next Week in the Washington Post:

Nicole Brown Simpson's Death Raises the Question: Why Do White People Commit Insider Trading?

U.S. Economy Entering Sweet Spot

Economy of U.S. Enters Sweet Spot as China’s Growth Slows

April 3 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. once again may be emerging as a main engine for global growth -- and at an opportune time, as Europe slides into recession and China’s economy decelerates. An improving job market, rising stock prices and easier credit are combining to lift U.S. consumer confidence and spending, with optimism measured by the Bloomberg Comfort Index near a four-year high.

"We’re entering a sweet spot for the economy," said Allen Sinai, president of Decision Economics Inc. in New York. "We’re in a self-reinforcing cycle,” where faster employment growth leads to higher household income and increased consumer spending.

Son of BOSS

Mitt Romney joined Marriott's Board of Directors in 1993, and has served on it for 11 of the past 19 years, including six years as Chairman of the Audit committee. In 1994, while he was head of the audit committee, Marriott used a tax shelter called “Son of BOSS.”

A federal appellate court ruled "Son of BOSS" illegal, agreeing with the U.S. Department of Justice, which called Marriott’s the attempt to avoid taxes using the shelter “fictitious,” “artificial,” “spectral,” an “illusion” and a “scheme.”

At the same time Marriott also avoided hundreds of millions of dollars in income taxes using a federal tax-credit program John McCain called a "hoax" and a "scam."

Marriott also dodged taxes by shifting its profits to a shell company in Luxembourg with one employee.

Prime Minister Cameron Sick of Anti-Business Snobbery

Cameron criticized the idea “that wealth creation is somehow anti social,” arguing that “business is not just about making money, as vital as that is; it’s also the most powerful force for social progress the world has ever known.”

"Frankly I am sick of this anti-business snobbery.”

Gingrich: I Will Take on the Big Boys on Wall Street

And that pesky political correctness.

"People are just sick and tired of being told what they’re allowed to think, what they’re allowed to say"

Should Journalists Tell the Truth?

New York Times: Should The Times Be a Truth Vigilante?

I’m looking for reader input on whether and when New York Times news reporters should challenge “facts” that are asserted by newsmakers they write about.


Jay Rosen

Something happened in our press over the last 40 years or so that never got acknowledged and to this day would be denied by a majority of newsroom professionals. Somewhere along the way, truthtelling was surpassed by other priorities the mainstream press felt a stronger duty to. These include such things as “maintaining objectivity,” “not imposing a judgment,” “refusing to take sides” and sticking to what I have called the View from Nowhere."

Gingrich Threatens to Sue TV Stations For Airing Romney Ad

Newt Gingrich has threatened to sue TV stations airing ads by a group backing Mitt Romney claiming he was fined for ethics violations. In letters sent to TV stations in Florida and South Carolina, the Gingrich campaign, said ads asserting the Georgia Republican was "fined" for violating House ethics rules are false and represent "a defamatory communication, which exposes this station to potential civil liability," NBC News reported Thursday.

"In turn, we do hereby DEMAND that your station immediately REFUSE, and if started, CEASE airing any such advertisements," the letter said.

Unemployment Falls to 8.5%

Dollar Rises Against Euro, Yen

Jobless Rate Falls to 8.5%

U.S. Jobless Rate Drops to Lowest Level Since February 2009

200,000 Jobs Added in December

Jobs

Since Start of Recession (Dec. 2007) - MINUS 6,083,000

Since President Obama Took Office - MINUS 937,000

Jan - Dec. 2011 - PLUS 1,640,000

What Happened to Reuters?

And why would they hire Gregg Easterbrook?

The Most Indebted Country In The World

Dealbook: A Call for a Write-Down on Irish Debt

Oct. 14 (New York Times) -- DUBLIN -- A major write-down on Greek debt appears to be inevitable. But what about Ireland?

Bailed-out Irish banks continue to pay interest to their bondholders on 75 billion euros in debt -- about half the country's gross domestic product -- and despite Ireland's improved economic performance over the past year, many here believe that these institutions should suffer the same haircut that the banks holding Greek debt are expected to absorb.

"We need to write this stuff off," said Peter Mathews, a voluble banking and real estate consultant who was recently elected to the Irish Parliament on a robust bank-bashing platform.

Mr. Mathews estimates that if you include household and nonfinancial corporate debt, Ireland's total debt burden is a shocking 490 percent of its G.D.P. -- which, he claims, makes Ireland the most indebted country in the world.

No Dumpster Diving!

NOGENT, France, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- The mayor of an affluent Paris suburb says as a result of recent incidents citizens are being banned from digging through other people's trash.