Completely safe? Lab Tested for Your Safety On Mice!
Condoms aren't that hard to use; any flight attendant would be happy to demonstrate. But for men who just can't seem to learn, here's an infomercial for the Condom-On.
"Using technology developed by NASA for the Mars Lander, the Condom-On
has been aerodynamically optimized in wind tunnels to prevent air drag
and ensure that your condom arrives at its destination ASAP," says the Web site. There. Problem solved.
But Joshua Davis,
who created it, says "I actually think this could be a viable product
but I don't have any background in manufacturing so I decided to just
shoot the commercial and put the site up."
Let's hope he's less serious about the "i-Cut Home Circumcision device" he's also hawking. That really looks dangerous.
Bonus: we're not naming names, but viewers may recognize a certain golden-voiced jazz moonlighter and Wired Magazine senior editor in the ad.
The best thing about Global Warming is it's one beautiful day followed by another, until you die of thirst, (or the poisons that are causing the problem).
WASHINGTON - The nation's top climate scientists are giving "An Inconvenient Truth," Al Gore's documentary on global warming, 5 stars for accuracy.
The
former vice president's movie — replete with the prospect of a flooded
New York City, an inundated Florida, more and nastier hurricanes,
worsening droughts, retreating glaciers and disappearing ice sheets —
mostly got the science right, said all 19 climate scientists who had
seen the movie or read the book and answered questions from The
Associated Press.
The AP contacted more than 100 top climate researchers by e-mail and
phone for their opinion. Among those contacted were vocal skeptics of
climate change theory. Most scientists had not seen the movie, which is
in limited release, or read the book.
But those who have seen it had the same general impression: Gore
conveyed the science correctly; the world is getting hotter and it is a
manmade catastrophe-in-the-making caused by the burning of fossil fuels.
"Excellent," said William Schlesinger, dean of the Nicholas School
of Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University. "He got all the
important material and got it right."
Robert Corell, chairman of the worldwide Arctic Climate Impact
Assessment group of scientists, read the book and saw Gore give the
slideshow presentation that is woven throughout the documentary.
"I sat there and I'm amazed at how thorough and accurate," Corell
said. "After the presentation I said, `Al, I'm absolutely blown away.
There's a lot of details you could get wrong.' ... I could find no
error."
Gore, in an interview with the AP, said he wasn't surprised "because
I took a lot of care to try to make sure the science was right."
The tiny errors scientists found weren't a big deal, "far, far fewer
and less significant than the shortcoming in speeches by the typical
politician explaining an issue," said Michael MacCracken, who used to
be in charge of the nation's global warming effects program and is now
chief scientist at the Climate Institute in Washington.
One concern was about the connection between hurricanes and global
warming. That is a subject of a heated debate in the science community.
Gore cited five recent scientific studies to support his view.
"I thought the use of imagery from Hurricane Katrina was
inappropriate and unnecessary in this regard, as there are plenty of
disturbing impacts associated with global warming for which there is
much greater scientific consensus," said Brian Soden, a University of
Miami professor of meteorology and oceanography.
Some scientists said Gore confused his ice sheets when he said the
effect of the Clean Air Act is noticeable in the Antarctic ice core; it
is the Greenland ice core. Others thought Gore oversimplified the
causal-link between the key greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and rising
temperatures.
While some nonscientists could be depressed by the dire
disaster-laden warmer world scenario that Gore laid out, one top
researcher thought it was too optimistic. Tom Wigley, senior scientist
at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, thought the former
vice president sugarcoated the problem by saying that with
already-available technologies and changes in habit — such as changing
light bulbs — the world could help slow or stop global warming.
While more than 1 million people have seen the movie since it opened
in May, that does not include Washington's top science decision makers.
President Bush said he won't see it. The heads of the Environmental Protection Agency and NASA haven't seen it, and the president's science adviser said the movie is on his to-see list.
"They are quite literally afraid to know the truth," Gore said.
"Because if you accept the truth of what the scientific community is
saying, it gives you a moral imperative to start to rein in the 70
million tons of global warming pollution that human civilization is
putting into the atmosphere every day."
As far as the movie's entertainment value, Scripps Institution
geosciences professor Jeff Severinghaus summed it up: "My wife fell
asleep. Of course, I was on the edge of my chair."
A
new Website devoted to the "lies" of Pennsylvania Democratic
Congressman Jack Murtha went live a few days early in order to post
"hateful" emails sent by readers of liberal blogs that were tipped off
early and had already begun digging into the site's background.
Although the original url for the Website was to be www.murthalied.com, a few days ago, one of the site's founders, retired Navy Captain Larry Bailey, purchased a new url at BootMurtha.com.
Bailey served as president of Vietnam Veterans For The Truth, which
attacked 2004 Democratic Presidential candidate Senator John Kerry's
military record, on the heels of the more well-known Swift Boat
Veterans For Truth.
In 2004, the term "swift boating" entered the modern lexicon, which the online community encyclopedia Wikipedia
defines as "an ad hominem attack against a public figure, coordinated
by an independent or pseudo-independent group, usually resulting in a
benefit to an established political force."
"Specifically, this form of attack is controversial, easily
repeatable, and difficult to verify or disprove because it is generally
based on personal feelings or recollections," Wikipedia continues.
Last November, Murtha authored a resolution to pull the troops out
of Iraq, and the Republican Party quickly turned on the conservative
pro-military Democrat, who retired as a decorated colonel in the
Marines. The Republicans put together their own resolution, which
varied from Murtha's, in order to "embarrass" Democrats into voting for
it.
At the time, Kerry warned those on the right not to attempt to "swift boat" Murtha.
"I won't stand for the swift-boating of Jack Murtha," said Kerry. "There is no sterner stuff than the backbone and courage that defines Jack Murtha's character and conscience."
According to Bailey, "Murtha Lied" will be devoted to recent
statements made by the Congressman regarding Iraq, and, in particular,
the alleged massacre at Haditha.
"At the moment we don't know enough about Murtha's service record to say much of anything about it," Bailey said.
Murtha and Haditha
Murtha upset many on the right when he claimed that there was a
Haditha "cover-up," and some called him a liar since there was an
ongoing investigation. However, a formal military investigation wasn't
launched until March after Time magazine had begun investigating it.
"There was no firefight," Murtha said in a televised news conference
back in May. "There was no IED that killed these innocent people. Our
troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed
innocent civilians in cold blood."
To this day, the official Marine statement on the killings still claims
that a Marine and fifteen civilians were killed by a roadside bomb
blast, even though death certificates, leaked reports and pictures
indicate that most of the victims - close to two dozen and some just
young children - were shot at close range in the head.
Expose those involved
Sean-Paul Kelley, editor of The Agonist, a community blog online
since September of 2002, was one of the first to "track down and
investigate and expose those involved in this enterprise," with the
help of his readers and fellow bloggers.
Kelley's post They're Gonna Swiftboat Murtha
contained an email address and picture for Amanda P. Doss, the site's
manager, along with information about her past work and connections.
"The person who set up the site is one Amanda P. Doss, and a quick google search turns up this site: www.operationstreetcorner.com, which is a wonderful site, as Billy found out, dedicated to: 'The Vietnam Veterans' Grassroots Campaign Against John Kerry and Jane Fonda, traitors to our country,'" wrote Kelley.
Earlier today, Doss fired back by posting some of the emails she
received which she characterized as "hateful and even threatening."
"I would like to share some of hateful and even threatening emails I
have recently received due to these blogs, before this website was even
created," Doss wrote. "Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican,
please feel free to email these 'sweethearts' and let them know how
proud of them you are for the way they represent the Democratic party."
"Interesting that a political whore would pick a name like
streetcorner'. I've wonder who you'll be doing on the corner," wrote
one emailer.
"You vile 'swiftboaters' (translation: idiot cowards and despicable
liars) will get your asses kicked all over the media this time, you are
the lowest form of human beings there could possibly be, and on top of
that YOU are just plain ugly," wrote another. "Please crawl under a
rock and die."
Liberal bloggers respond
"I don't regret putting her email address in my post because her email address was widely available," Sean-Paul Kelley said.
"What I regret was that people used her email to send her nasty
comments instead of trying to engage her in a substantive debate."
In fact, personal information about someone connected to Doss was
posted by one Agonist reader, and Kelley immediately deleted it.
Taylor Marsh, a blogger and author who hosted a radio show called
"The Antidote to Right Wing Talk" ("now on hiatus" according to Marsh's
Website bio), also has done some digging into "Murtha Lied."
"...Republicans like their soldiers serving, silent and standing for photo ops, not talking back," Marsh wrote at her blog. "When a vet speaks out he's targeted. Murtha is just the latest."
Jack Murtha is asking for an exit strategy from this administration.
Something that should have been done *before* we invaded Iraq. Jack
Murtha wants our troops equipped with the best body armor. Jack Murtha
visits the soldiers at Walter Reed every week. The people attacking
this man of honor are fools.
Bring 'em Home! Bruce Springsteen & The Seeger Sessions Band Bring 'em Home
Bush says Bring 'em ON, but we say Bring 'em Home NOW
Giving voice to the majority of Americans who
now support the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, "Bring Them Home
Now!" has created a $.39 cent postage (Real US Postage!).
The stamp
features the symbol of the growing "Bring 'Em Home Now!" movement - a
yellow ribbon transposed over a peace sign - providing millions of
Americans with a unique way to let everyone know where they stand: Love
the troops. Hate the war.
Use the "Bring 'Em Home Now!"stamp to
both mourn the loss of over 2500 US soldiers and help spread the word
that supporting our troops and fighting to bring them home are one and
the same. At the same time you'll be raising money for veterans groups.
The new policy says that AT&T -- not customers -- owns
customers' confidential info and can use it "to protect its legitimate
business interests, safeguard others, or respond to legal process."
The policy also indicates that AT&T will track the viewing
habits of customers of its new video service -- something that cable
and satellite providers are prohibited from doing.
Moreover, AT&T (formerly known as SBC) is requiring customers to
agree to its updated privacy policy as a condition for service -- a new
move that legal experts say will reduce customers' recourse for any
future data sharing with government authorities or others.
All personal data is valuable and routinely sold for marketing
purposes. This just looks like AT&T finally caught on to that fact
and wants to be the one making the money from it. I doubt there's
anything anyone can do to make them stop doing this. It's just too
profitable.
The annoying part about this is it's hard to poison their database.
I routinely misstate my income in various places where it's requested.
Declining to give information isn't as effective as giving corrupt
information. However, if they're tracking what you're watching, it's
hard to have it register something else and not register what you're
watching.
The interesting part is that they're doing something that cable and
satellite companies aren't allowed to do. I have to wonder if there's
some regulatory agency that should be pressured into reviewing
AT&T's circumvention of their rules.
UPDATE:We hear all the time about Hillary's stand on the War. Last week Hillary introduced what I think should be a primary plank of the the Democratic Party: A Privacy Bill Of Rights.
Indeed, I think this is the most fertile territory out there to gain
some disaffected Republican voters and put some of the mountain west in
our electoral quiver. It’s smart politics. We are building a police state and I firmly believe that, politics aside, if you build it they will use it.
That all this has been done by the alleged libertarian small government
Republicans is no surprise to me. They have always been about big bucks
and authoritarianism over all else. Democrats have an opportunity to craft a real message of American
independence if they choose to take it - and it might just be the way
to beat back the fear factor a little bit, which I think people are
getting tired of.
The most terrifying movie of the summer. You owe it to the planet to see the truth. Yes! The most important action we can take to slow
global warming is to reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases.
Governments, individuals, and businesses can all help.
Governments can adopt a range of options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including
increasing energy efficiency standards
encouraging the use of renewable energy sources (such as wind and solar power)
eliminating subsidies that encourage the use of coal and oil by making them artificially cheap
protecting and restoring forests, which serve as important storehouses of carbon
Individuals can reduce the need for fossil fuels and often save money by
driving less and driving more fuel-efficient and less-polluting cars
using energy-efficient appliances
insulating homes
using less electricity in general
Businesses can increase efficiency and save
substantial sums by doing the same things on a larger scale. And
utilities can avoid building expensive new power plants by encouraging
and helping customers to adopt efficiency measures. Do your part.
After 9/11, Vice President Richard Cheney seized the initiative. He
pushed to expand executive power, transform America's intelligence
agencies and bring the war on terror to Iraq. But first he had to take
on George Tenet's CIA for control over intelligence.
If you want to know why the Republicans target PBS's funding, last
night's "The Dark Side" is an example. It's the reason Americans should
thank our lucky stars that we have it. Last night's program is just
another reminder of what can happen when mortal men think they are
above the Constitution and are willing to risk it all to control the
government. We know the story, at least most of it, but it's startling
all the same.
The relationship between Cheney and Rumsfeld started in the Ford
administration. It's a fascinating tale I happened to watch and live
through, but suffice it to say that between the two of them they
changed the face of that Administration, while solidifying their own
power, which they re-enacted during George W. Bush's presidency. They
are joined in philosophy by what FRONTLINE calls a belief in the
"primacy of military power." It's what I believe finally morphed into
Bush’s doctrine of preemption after 9/11. That tragedy became their launching pad for a policy dreamed up long ago.
It's called "The Dark Side," and takes its title from a quote by Vice
President Cheney in the wake of 9/11. Cheney said that the CIA, the
Pentagon and other intelligence-gathering U.S. forces would have to
"work from the dark side" to glean information and combat and defeat
terrorism.
The 90-minute "Dark Side" documentary begins grippingly, with
recordings of a 911 call from the World Trade Center. It then shifts
quickly to detail Cheney's actions and orders on that day. For
instance, Cheney ordered that hijacked commercial airliners be shot
down before reaching the terrorists' targets.
The documentary traces Cheney's political history and background, a
record that goes all the way back to the Nixon administration, where
Cheney worked for Rumsfeld as a young intern. Simply by underlining in
red the names of Cheney loyalists on the organizational flow chart of
the George W. Bush administration, "The Dark Side" shows how deep
Cheney's influence stretches.
According to "Frontline," when Cheney and others in the Bush White
House pushed for an early connection between 9/11 and Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein, they were told bluntly, by the CIA and others, that the
U.S. strike was the work of Afghanistan-based Al Qaeda.
"Colonel Mustard in the library with the candlestick," says one CIA
official, dismissively. Yet when no link to Hussein could be found,
Cheney established a different intelligence-seeking division, run by
old friends at the Pentagon, to keep looking.
From this point on, "Dark Side" touches on lots of familiar, volatile
subjects and names: weapons of mass destruction and Scooter Libby,
yellowcake and Valerie Plame, Curveball and Mohamed Atta.
It's a complicated narrative, but Kirk tells it clearly. He makes it
seem irrefutable that the battle to link 9/11 with Iraq eventually
pitted Rumsfeld and Cheney, who backed that position, against former
CIA Director George Tenet and others, who found no facts to support it.
The book on this subject continues to be written. With "The Dark Side,"
though, we're treated to the latest, and most impressively thorough,
chapter.
What is especially upsetting about the omissions by these white male
members of the corporate state's military industrial complex is that it
comes as congressional member after member, newscast after newscast is
detailing the ever-growing, nonstop, needless horrific violence our
citizen soldiers are suffering in Iraq.
Cut and Run - you bet: we're gonna CUT the crap and RUN this operation like it should have been all along.
An Iraqi defense ministry official said that the bodies of Menchaca
and Tucker showed signs of being tortured and that the men were "killed
in a barbaric way." The Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella
organization of five insurgent groups led by al-Qaida in Iraq,
suggested in a Web statement that the men had been beheaded. The
statement could not be authenticated.
"It's very upsetting to me
that they would give you details of the torture, of the beheading,"
said Mario Vasquez, Menchaca's uncle.
Menchaca's mother, Maria Vasquez, answered her door in Brownsville
early Tuesday sobbing and unable to speak. She issued a statement
written in Spanish that said, "I am against the war and I feel very
hurt by what has happened to my son."
"The news is going to be heartbreaking for my family," Ken MacKenzie,
uncle of Army Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, told NBC's "Today" show. "Because
the U.S. government did not have a plan in place, my nephew has paid
for it with his life," he said. Missing Soldier's Uncle Criticizes U.S.
President Bush said this on Monday: "There will be no early withdrawal as long as we run the Congress and occupy the White House." Got political ego? At least we know the Republicans' priorities. Saving political face.
Stay the Course, or Cut and run - Why not Change the Course, before this Titanic hits the Iceberg?
Republicans want to sit and watch. That's the Republican plan. Sit
and watch (see update) until 2009, but passing the buck won't get the
job done.
"Cut and run" may be cute and catchy, but some slogan to smear Democratic leaders doesn't help our troops or the Iraqi people.
It's time for a referendum on the Republican "leadership" on Iraq. Democratic Senators John Kerry and Russ Feingold have joined together to demand it. Levin and Reed have another way, but all Democrats want a change in course. Even Joe Biden is demanding no permanent bases in Iraq.
Bush and the Republicans say "stay the course," but offer no course
on which we can build. American troops in limbo, living a life of no
way out or through is not a course, it is a suicide mission for
warriors. We've got the dead, the wounded and critically maimed to
prove it.
Kerry's got it right, "lie and die" is how he described Republicans. If you've got a better one, let's hear it.
In terms of domestic politics, this isn't that complicated. President
Bush wants to stay in Iraq for at least three more years. Members of
his party in Congress agree with him. They don't have a plan. That's
where to make this argument because very few people in this country
think we should keep our troops there for another three years with our
current policy.
He doesn't have a plan for what to do in Iraq so he wants to keep
troops there for the rest of his presidency. That's his plan: stay long
enough that it becomes someone else's problem.
We have nothing to gain from staying. Saddam is gone and there are no
WMDs in Iraq. All we're doing now is catching bullets as Shi'ites and
Sunnis kill each other. The story of Iraq may one day have a happy
ending, but it doesn't have anything to do with us anymore. Staying is
the only way to guarantee we keep losing and our soldiers keep dying.
Simple Organic Living Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. ...Leo Tolstoy
I want to 'Tip my Hat' to B. Shilliday Left Of Center for posting this "must see" video by Woody Harrelson. I'm reposting it to include the text of the poem being narrated.
Since I was a kid I felt this need to play a role in helping Mother
Earth. At the age of 12, I wrote a 50-page report (that wasn’t supposed
to be more than 5 pages) on threatened wildlife and realized clearly
that my Mother was being continually and forcibly raped by giant
corporations intent on profit.
It’s ironic that the never-ending quest for wealth has brought such
destruction to Mother Nature because the desire for money is basically
a desire for happiness. But true happiness lies in nature we relax and
unwind and finally realize we are just on a hamster wheel. Just walking
down a tree lined street in a busy city immediately calms me. Let’s
face it peace is the key to happiness. I can’t be peaceful unless I’m
relaxed and I can’t do any of it unless I’m doing yoga, but I digress
(I used to want to change my middle name from Tracy to Tangential
because I can never follow a straight line. I prefer to get lost in
getting lost I tend to have the best experiences. But back to the
thread)
I see the ongoing destruction of all that is natural and want to make a
difference. Our mission at Voice Yourself is to connect you with
others, to share information about alternatives biodiesel, sustainable
clothing companies (i.e. hemp, organic cotton and bamboo) and to get
clean and natural cleansers into your hands and homes this is only the
beginning. Our small, extended family will spread out across the world
like good music. Thank you for contributing to the dream that we know
exists. Our time is now.
Quietly but systematically, the Bush Administration is advancing the
plan to build a huge NAFTA Super Highway, four football-fields-wide,
through the heart of the U.S. along Interstate 35, from the Mexican
border at Laredo, Tex., to the Canadian border north of Duluth, Minn.
Once complete, the new road will allow containers from the Far East to
enter the United States through the Mexican port of Lazaro Cardenas,
bypassing the Longshoreman’s Union in the process. The Mexican trucks,
without the involvement of the Teamsters Union, will drive on what will
be the nation’s most modern highway straight into the heart of America.
The Mexican trucks will cross border in FAST lanes, checked only
electronically by the new “SENTRI” system. The first customs stop will
be a Mexican customs office in Kansas City, their new Smart Port
complex, a facility being built for Mexico at a cost of $3 million to
the U.S. taxpayers in Kansas City.
As incredible as this
plan may seem to some readers, the first Trans-Texas Corridor segment
of the NAFTA Super Highway is ready to begin construction next year.
Various U.S. government agencies, dozens of state agencies, and scores
of private NGOs (non-governmental organizations) have been working
behind the scenes to create the NAFTA Super Highway, despite the lack
of comment on the plan by President Bush. The American public is
largely asleep to this key piece of the coming “North American Union” that government planners in the new trilateral region of United States, Canada and Mexico are about to drive into reality.
Just examine the following websites to get a feel for the magnitude of
NAFTA Super Highway planning that has been going on without any new
congressional legislation directly authorizing the construction of the
planned international corridor through the center of the country.
NASCO, the North America SuperCorridor Coalition Inc.,
is a "non-profit organization dedicated to developing the world's first
international, integrated and secure, multi-modal transportation system
along the International Mid-Continent Trade and Transportation Corridor
to improve both the trade competitiveness and quality of life in North
America." Where does that sentence say anything about the USA? Still,
NASCO has received $2.5 million in earmarks from the U.S. Department of
Transportation to plan the NAFTA Super Highway as a 10-lane
limited-access road (five lanes in each direction) plus passenger and
freight rail lines running alongside pipelines laid for oil and natural
gas. One glance at the map of the NAFTA Super Highway on the front page
of the NASCO website will make clear that the design is to connect Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. into one transportation system.
Kansas City SmartPort Inc.
is an "investor based organization supported by the public and private
sector" to create the key hub on the NAFTA Super Highway. At the Kansas
City SmartPort, the containers from the Far East can be transferred to
trucks going east and west, dramatically reducing the ground
transportation time dropping the containers off in Los Angeles or Long
Beach involves for most of the country. A brochure on the SmartPort website
describes the plan in glowing terms: "For those who live in Kansas
City, the idea of receiving containers nonstop from the Far East by way
of Mexico may sound unlikely, but later this month that seemingly
far-fetched notion will become a reality."
WASHINGTON - The nation's top climate scientists are giving "An Inconvenient Truth," Al Gore's documentary on global warming, 5 stars for accuracy. 
A
new Website devoted to the "lies" of Pennsylvania Democratic
Congressman Jack Murtha went live a few days early in order to post
"hateful" emails sent by readers of liberal blogs that were tipped off
early and had already begun digging into the site's background.
Giving voice to the majority of Americans who
now support the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq,
