In the News, September 30, 2008

The Bailout Fails

Constituents made it known to their representatives- they didn't like the $700,000,000,000 bailout of financial institutions who took part in risky practices. The result will most likely a credit problem like most American's could never imagine. American's made it known that they are willing to deal with the credit limits coming their way rather than have to bail out Wall St. fools.

The House rejected the rescue plan and stunned the White House. Sen. Barack Obama blasted Congress for not passing a financial rescue package saying that inaction in Congress and partisanship have made people lose faith in Washington. Sen. John McCain's campaign accused Obama and Democrats of putting "politics ahead of country."

As a result, the Dow plunged a record 777 points, the worst percentage drop since the 1987 crash.

The bill failed by a vote of 205 to 228, with 140 Democrats and 65 Republicans voting in favor and 95 Democrats joining 133 Republicans against.

"This is a moment of national crisis, and today's inaction in Congress as well as the angry and hyper-partisan statement released by the McCain campaign are exactly why the American people are disgusted with Washington," the Obama-Biden campaign said in a statement released shortly after the vote.


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Froze her Children

A mother told police that child-sized human remains uncovered in her basement freezer were those of her two adopted daughters, and police believe that she is responsible for their deaths.

Police were at the woman's home with a search warrant to investigate the treatment of a girl who had run away and "showed signs of extreme abuse and neglect," the sheriff's department said.

She is charged with first-degree child abuse in the beating of the runaway 7-year-old, who was found wandering in the neighborhood wearing only a blood- and feces-soaked T-shirt.

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Round 2- this Thursday

"I'm looking forward to meeting Joe Biden. I've been hearing about him since second grade."

SARAH PALIN, U.S. Republican vice presidential candidate, on the upcoming debate with her Democratic rival

Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin , the vice presidential nominees will debate each other at 8 p.m. (CDT) Oct. 2 in the Washington University in St. Louis Athletic Complex, according to the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD).

ABC News' George Stephanopoulos reports: At Thursday night's vice presidential debate between Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Sen. Joe Biden, D-Dela., in St. Louis, Palin cannot afford to make a mistake.

A major mistake, particularly on foreign policy, would be absolutely fatal to her candidacy.

Palin must also avoid what we've seen from her in recent media interviews: those deer in the headlight moments where it seems like she doesn't know what to say.

Palin's favorability numbers have gone down from 58 percent on Sept. 7 to 52 percent, according to the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll. The number of people who say she's not qualified to be vice president is going up. Almost half the country, 49 percent, say she's not qualified, compared to only 21 percent for Biden, according to the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll.

As for the debate that took place last week, the most recent is the USA Today/Gallup poll released today which shows 46 percent of people though Obama won and 34 said McCain won.

abcnews.com

Man accused of cooking girlfriend on trial

Rosh Hashanah

Jewish people from around the world are observing Rosh Hashanah today.

Rosh Hashanah marks a new year in the Jewish calendar. According to the calendar, today marks the start of the year 5769. 5769 is a rough calculation of the beginning of the world, according to the book of Genesis

Rosh Hashanah is the first of the High Holidays. As part of their journey over the next 10 days, the Jewish people will focus on repentance that will conclude with the holiday of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the holiest holiday of the year.

To the Jewish people, the high holidays is a period of introspection. Followers will have a kind of spiritual stocktaking to review one’s moral failings and to resolve to live a better life.

Also part of the holiday, is the “memorial of blowing” the shofar, the ram’s horn. The shofar is a summons to spiritual re-awakening .

The Bible refers to the holiday as Yom Ha-Zikkaron (the day of remembrance) or Yom Teruah (the day of the sounding of the shofar). The holiday is instituted in Leviticus 23:24-25.

In the News September 29th, 2008

Roses are red...and other Poems by Osama bin Laden

Yale University says that they are processing, preserving and archiving 1,500 audio tapes recorded in bin Laden's Afghanistan headquarters from 1988 through 2000 . The collection includes recordings of everything from celebrations after militant actions to religious sermons to, yes, bin Laden's poetry. The cassettes were found in bin Laden's Afghanistan headquarters in 2001.

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Harvard to nix nutritional information

Harvard University dining services have removed index cards detailing nutritional information from dining halls this after students and parents raised concerns about displayed calorie counts leading to or worsening eating disorders,


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Another Hollywood DUI


This time it was Heather Locklear who was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of a controlled substance. Locklear, 47, was pulled over by a California Highway Patrol officer in the upscale Santa Barbara area according to authorities. A local resident tipped off the cops after seeing the actress leaving a parking lot and "driving erratically," according to a patrol spokesman.

Tina Fey As Palin On SNL

Weatherbonk.com

One of my favorite sites on the internet is Weatherbonk.com.
This is a site that lets you see weather, traffic, and other conditions for pretty much anywhere. My favorite thing to do is check out the webcams from all over.

How does it work?

Weather Bonk is a mashup that lets you view real time weather information on a map. This can provide some very interesting information, particularly in areas with microclimates, such as San Francisco. The data comes from a combination of personal weather stations that are run from homes and schools as well as national weather services. Weather Underground, Weather Bug, Citizen Weather Observer Program, and National Weather Service are four of the major sites that compile this data. By default the map only displays a limited amount of data. Selecting 'All Weather' will display additional points but may take longer.

Much of Weatherbonk is based on Google map technology which must be good because everyone else it using it too.

In the News, September 28, 2008

Hurricane Kyle

Hurricane Kyle is heading toward Nova Scotia and the Gulf of Maine. This marks Maine's first hurricane watch in 17 years. Kyle has passed over the Atlantic off New Jersey on a northward trek that threatened to bring flooding and damaging winds inland.

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Tina Fey Does Sarah Again


Tina Fey reprised her role as Sarah Palin on "Saturday Night Live."

Last night's show brought back the season premiere duoof Fey and Amy Poehler, who opened the season with a memorable sketch featuring Fey as Palin and Poehler as Hillary Clinton.

This time around, Poehler played CBS's Katie Couric, parodying the interview with Palin.

When Poehler's Couric pushed Fey's Palin to specifically discuss how she would help facilitate democracy abroad, Fey gave in: "Katie, I'd like to use one of my lifelines. ... I want to phone a friend."


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A 13 million-digit prime number

This may be over all of our heads but, let's go for it. Mathematicians at UCLA have discovered a 13 million-digit prime number. This discovery makes them eligible for a $100,000 prize.


The group found the 46th known Mersenne prime last month on a network of 75 computers running Windows XP. The number was verified by a different computer system running a different algorithm.

As learned in the 4th grade, primes are numbers like three, seven and 11 that are divisible by only two whole positive numbers: themselves and one. Mersenne primes -- named for their discoverer, 17th-century French mathematician Marin Mersenne -- are expressed as 2P-1, or two to the power of "P" minus one. P is itself a prime number. For the new prime, P is 43,112,609.

The $100,000 prize is being offered by the Electronic Frontier Foundation for finding the first Mersenne prime with more than 10 million digits. The foundation supports individual rights on the Internet and set up the prime number prize to promote cooperative computing using the Web.

Fans react to death of legendary actor Paul Newman

Social Networking Do's and Don'ts

Guest Blogger Ryan Kubrick

For the past week on my sites, I have been focusing on social networking to promote your blog. Social networking has been around forever in some form. Over the past 20 years we have seen it transform over the internet. The reason: by nature, people depend on the interaction .

A big trend over the past year or so is to use social network site to promote your blog.
It takes a bit of time and effort but, the audience can be consistent and productive.

Just as with most anything else in life, social networking comes with it's do's and don'ts. It is important to follow these usually unwritten rules if you want to fit in and thus, have some success.

Here are some suggestions.

Do's

• Market yourself just as you would market a business. Think branding and image. Decide on what kind of image you want to be known as in the social network and follow it.
  
  
• If you are going to use the same persona for more than one social network sites, be sure to stick to the one image. You want your followers to remember you without confusion.
  

• Remember to be personable to a point. That point would be where your integrity in relation to your on-site persona may be questioned. It's important to share a bit of your yourself such as a hobbies or volunteer work as a small part of your profile to make you appear human .

• Always be honest. Like in any other arena, honesty is the best policy. It is a lot easierto be honest than trying to keep mistruths organized.
  
  
• Do go into social networking slowly. Take time to observe how things are done.
  Take time to familiarize yourself with the site and its community.
  
  
• Do remember that courtesy in contagious. Be friendly and cordial with other members. Remember - it is a "social" site.
  
• Do remember to keep the social in networking. A random message or post on a wall can go far.
  
  

DON'T

• Don't skip important details that make you personable. Include your hobbies on your profile.
  
  
• Don't get into religion or politics unless your blog and your network is based on either. You wouldn't want to insult or steer away a potentially good ally.
  

• Don't assume that your network is all about you. On the contrary, if you want to build relationships you must show genuine concern for the other guy.
  

• Don’t advertise using an aggressive or pushy market strategy. People aren't stupid and if they sence that you only want to network with them to benefit yourself they will never trust you.

• Don't forget to update your status daily. It reminds people that you are there.
  

• Don't have a "self promotion" agenda. If your only reason for being there is to promote yourself, you will not be successful.
  
  
• Don't use bad, vulgar or offensive language. Remember to behave yourself.
  
  
• Don't stalk. Give people their space and leave their contacts alone, unless they are mutual from a group or association.
  

It isn't difficult to get acclimated to social networking and make it work for you. It is just a matter of sticking within the norms of the network society.
Ryan

In the News, September 27, 2008

The First Presidential Debate of the Season

Put your gloves on, it's an election season. In their first head-to-head Presidential debate , Barack Obama worked hard to link John McCain to President Bush. He charged that McCain had supported "eight years of failed policies." McCain criticized his rival as a candidate who "doesn't understand" the key issues the country faces. John McCain portrayed himself as a battle-tested elder running against a naive rookie, while Barack Obama suggested the Republican is a hothead who made the wrong choices on the Iraq war, corporate taxes and more.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. says that Fifty-one percent of those polled thought Obama did the better job in the debate, while 38 percent said John McCain did better.

Men were nearly evenly split between the two candidates, with 46 percent giving the win to McCain and 43 percent to Obama. But women voters tended to give Obama higher marks, with 59 percent calling him the night's winner, while just 31 percent said McCain won.
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He's a 71 Year Old Grandfather Who is Pregnant

In Portland, Oregon a 71 year old grandfather treated in a hospital for agonizing abdominal pain.
Upon discharge he received the surprising news in the hospital's paperwork:

"Based on your visit today, we know you are pregnant."

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Man with 83 Birds

• Images: 83 Parakeets Living In Man's Basement (The Boston Channel)
  

More than 80 parakeets have been surrendered to the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals after they were found living in a basement.
Some of the birds were newborns, while others had feathers missing from pecking at each other, MSPCA officials said.

The MSPCA, already caring for 12 parakeets, said it was trying to find other shelters to help with some of birds.

Early polls call Obama winner of debate

Facts about the Presidential Election

National Turnout Trends

72%
Percentage of voting-age citizens who were registered to vote in 2004, compared with the 70 percent of citizens registered in 2000.

126 million
The number of people who voted in the November 2004 election — a record high for a presidential year.

89%
Percentage of registered voters who reported casting ballots in 2004, up from 86 percent in 2000.

65%
Percentage of women who voted in the 2004 presidential election, compared with 62 percent of men.

72%
Percentage of citizens 55 and older who voted in the 2004 presidential election. This compares with 47 percent among 18- to 24-year-olds. Nonetheless, the voting rate for the latter group was up 11 percentage points from 2000.

20%
Percentage of voters who reported voting before Election Day 2004 — either in person or by mail.

24%
Percentage of voters who said they registered at a county or government registration office. This was the most common registration method.

20%
The percentage of registered voters who said the reason they did not vote in 2004 was that they were too busy or had conflicting work or school schedules. This was the most common reason given for not voting.

74%
Percentage of military veterans who cast ballots in 2004, compared with 63 percent of the rest of the population.

80%
The turnout rate in 2004 for citizens with a bachelor’s degree or higher, greater than the rate for citizens whose highest level of educational attainment was a high school diploma (56 percent).

In 2004, turnout rates for citizens were 67 percent for non-Hispanic whites, 60 percent for blacks, 44 percent for Asians and 47 percent for Hispanics (of any race). These rates were higher than the previous presidential election by 5 percentage points for non-Hispanic whites and 3 points for blacks. The voting rates for Asian and Hispanic citizens did not change significantly between elections. These data pertain to those who identified themselves as being of a single race.

Except where otherwise noted, the source for the data is the Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2004 report and detailed tables at <http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/voting.html>.

In the News September 26, 2008

The $700,000,000,000 MESS

The congressional negotiations over the proposed $700 billion bailout of the U.S. financial system are set to restart after negotiations yesterday turned into a mess.

• Rep. Barney Frank, the leading House Democrat on the issue, accused Republicans of refusing to negotiate. "At this point, we have absolutely no participation or cooperation from House Republicans," Frank said.The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee declared Friday that an agreement on legislation to relieve a spreading financial crisis depends on House Republicans "dropping this revolt against President Bush."

• As the debate over a $700 billion bank bailout rages on, one of the nation's largest banks — Washington Mutual Inc. — has collapsed under the weight of its enormous bad bets on the mortgage market. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Inc. came to the rescue of ailing Washington Mutual Inc., buying the ailing thrift's banking assets after WaMu was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. WaMu becomes biggest bank to fail in US history.
  

• Global bank HSBC Holdings is cutting 1,100 jobs in its investment banking operation, or 4 percent of the unit's total, as it weathers the global financial crisis.

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Just when the Atlantic was quiet...

The National Hurricane Center says Tropical Storm Kyle has strengthened as it churns through the open Atlantic, south of Bermuda. The storm's maximum sustained winds have increased to 50 mph Thursday night. Forecasters say the storm could become a hurricane by Saturday as it moves north.

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Why he should have done his to-do list...

In Utah a man is in stable condition after being stabbed by his wife this morning. Police say the two were arguing over a to-do list. Police say this is a domestic dispute that went way too far. Now the man's wife is in jail.

Man sues after penis amputated

We can be the generation that ends poverty.

Musicians will.i.am and Angelique Kidjo, actress Kristin Davis and model Elle Macpherson helped launch a new campaign to cut global poverty in half by 2015.


Kidjo and Black Eyed Peas members will.i.am and apl.de.ap performed a new song written for the Global Call to Action against Poverty called "in my name" outside the United Nations, where world leaders are gathered this week.

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS-- REMARKS FOR THE OXFAM GLOBAL CALL TO ACTION AGAINST POVERTY

--AS DELIVERED--

New York, 25 September 2008

Dear friends and allies in the fight against poverty,

Good morning, everyone. I am proud to have added my name to this pledge wall, a powerful symbol in our mobilization to make poverty history.

In this way, the Global Call to Action Against Poverty is holding Governments to the promises they made in the year 2000.

[I’m just coming out from the opening session of the High level Event on the Millennium Development Goals. We are now going to have all-day long roundtables. I sincerely hope that the leaders of the world will make a bold and generous commitment to eradicating poverty.]

Let me quote from the Millennium Declaration they adopted. They vowed to “spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty”.

This is a profound pledge which will be even more meaningful when we fulfill it.

I sincerely hope that the leaders will keep their promises.

I’m deeply grateful to Oxfam, Save the Children and Comic Relief for their support for the Global Call to Action Against Poverty. We need all of our partners if we hope to succeed.

I signed my name as a citizen of Korea, but above all as a citizen of the world. As Secretary-General, of the United Nations, I will be taking your message back to the many world leaders I am meeting here this week. I am determined to push them to keep the promises their Governments made here eight years ago.

After the meetings are over, we have to continue to press for action. So I welcome this campaign and I pledge my full support, now and in the future, until we reach the Millennium Development Goals, our vision for a better world in the 21st century.

Thank you very much.

//ENDS

We can be the generation that ends poverty.

In September 2000, at the United Nations Millennium Summit, world leaders agreed to the Millennium Development Goals, a set of time-bound and measurable goals for combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women.

The deadline to achieve the Millennium Development Goals is September 2015 -- we must act now if we want to achieve these goals by their deadline.

Upload your video now to join the chorus with Will.i.am, John Legend, Scarlett Johansson and others around the world.

Your simple video message will join thousands of others in the call to end poverty in our lifetime.


PARTICIPATING NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS: Oxfam, GCAP, Save the Children, Comic Relief, Engender Health, March of Dimes, 1Sky, CARE, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation, Global Campaign for Education, Concern, ONE Campaign

In the News, September 25th, 2008

Bush : 'Our entire economy is in danger'

To most of us, it isn't a shock to hear the words as we have been primed for it by living through a housing crisis, high gas prices, a recession and so much more. But now, President Bush is telling Americans that "our entire economy is in danger" and that passage of a $700 billion bailout plan is essential. "Without immediate action by Congress, America could slip into a financial panic," Bush said. Bush has invited presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain to join negotiations on the rescue plan . President Bush is now telling the rest of us, that lawmakers risk a cascade of wiped-out retirement savings, rising home foreclosures, lost jobs and closed businesses if they fail to act on a massive financial rescue plan. "Our entire economy is in danger," he said.

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Man charged with battery for passing gas.

You can't make this stuff up.
A West Virginia man who police said passed gas and fanned it toward a patrolman has been charged with battery on a police officer.

South Charleston Police Department

A man arrested for driving under the influence in West Virginia got himself into a lot more trouble later at the police station.

He was pulled over for driving with his headlights off. He was subsequently arrested after failing a series of sobriety tests, according to WSAZ TV in Charleston.

During fingerprinting, the man then allegedly moved closer to one of the officers and passed gas, the station reported. In the complaint, the investigating officer wrote that police noticed a "very strong" odor.

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Alabama wants Jewish People

Larry Blumberg will put up $1 million to help relocate 20 young Jewish families to Dothan, Alabama.

"If you need a robust Orthodox community, we don't have it," Rabbi Lynne Goldsmith said. "But if you want a community where your neighbors are friendly; where people smile at you in the grocery store even if they don't know you, then Dothan's for you."

Goldsmith is encouraging people to relocate: She'd like to see more Jews in Dothan.

The city of 60,000 sits in the southeastern corner the state near the state's borders with Georgia and Florida. The Jewish community in Dothan at its height, was about 100 families.

"We felt like it needed to be something that had enough sizzle that would get attention, and it really has," temple member Larry Blumberg said.

Blumberg put up $1 million to help relocate 20 young Jewish families to Dothan. The congregation took out ads in Jewish newspapers offering up to $50,000 per family.

Google to pay $10 million for good ideas

One step closer to a credit card bill of rights

Feel like you are getting taken by your credit card company?

You're not the only one.

Thanks to Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Democrat of New York, the House voted for the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights on Tuesday, by a 312-112 margin.

The Maloney bill still has to pass the Senate, and President Bush would have to agree to sign it. The bill sends a message to many including the Federal Reserve, which is considering tough new rules for credit card issuers by the end of the year.

According to the New York Times. the Fed itself has described the credit card companies’ bag of tricks as “deceptive”and “anti-competitive.” When the agency proposed its own news rules some time ago, about 56,000 people answered the call for comments, most of them expressing anger at the way they had been mistreated by their card companies.

House Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) today introduced the “Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2008” (H.R. 5244), comprehensive credit card reform legislation aimed at leveling the playing field between credit card companies and consumers. The balanced bill abolishes major industry abuses that unfairly hurt consumers while fostering fair competition and free market values.

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, describes the bill like this;

“A credit card agreement is supposed to be a contract, but in recent years cardholders have lost the ability to say no to unfair interest rate hikes and fees. This balanced, moderate bill simply levels the playing field between card companies and cardholders while fostering fair competition and free market values. It sets no rate caps, fees, or price controls, nor does it dictate any business models to card companies,” said Rep. Maloney.

“There is no doubt that credit card companies provide a valuable service and deserve to earn a fair profit, but consumers deserve the right to be able to understand their accounts and be empowered to control them. Regrettably, regulators and prior Congresses have dropped the ball on protecting consumers in recent years. My bill would give cardholders the information and rights they deserve to make decisions about their own credit,” Maloney continued.

The Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights:

-Protects cardholders against arbitrary interest rate increases
-Prevents cardholders who pay on time from being unfairly penalized
-Protects cardholders from due date gimmicks
-Shields cardholders from misleading terms
-Empowers cardholders to set limits on their credit
-Requires card companies to fairly credit and allocate payments
-Prohibits card companies from imposing excessive fees on cardholders
-Prevents card companies from giving subprime credit cards to people who can’t afford them
-Requires Congress to provide better oversight of the credit card industry
-Contains NO rate caps, fee setting, or price controls

To read the bill, click here

In the News, September 24, 2008

Pilots Suspended for Falling Asleep

Two pilots for Hawaii's Go airlines fell asleep during their flight's landing procedure. The Federal Aviation Administration has suspended them careless and reckless operation of an aircraft,
One pilot was cited for failing to maintain radio communications and had his license suspended for 60 days. The other was suspended for 45 days.


The National Transportation Safety Board had determined the two pilots fell asleep on the February 13 flight from Honolulu to Hilo. The pilots fell asleep on the brief midmorning flight, which was carrying 40 passengers. The pilots failed to respond to nearly a dozen calls from air traffic controllers over a span of 17 minutes.



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High School Football Hazing

In New Mexico, five coaches from Robertson High School's football staff resigned after weeks of investigation into allegations of hazing. State police said they have been investigating allegations that six freshmen were victims of hazing, including sexual assault with a broomstick, during a four-day preseason camp northwest of Las Vegas in August.The alleged victims said they were sexually assaulted and hazed by older teammates.

According to state police reports, a group of juniors assaulted several younger teammates over two days, holding the victims down while a broomstick was forced into their rectums over their athletic shorts.


The alleged ringleader was expelled from school. The others were suspended through the end of the school year. The six victims returned to the team.

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Filmmaker Michael Moore released his latest documentary for free on the Internet .
Slacker Uprising
According to Moore:

This is it. The time has arrived! At midnight tonight, you can be one of the first people ever to legally download, for FREE, a brand new, feature-length film. It's my new movie, "Slacker Uprising," and I'm giving it to you as a gift of thanks for coming to my films over the 20 years I've been a filmmaker.

It's also one of my contributions to help get out the vote November 4th. That's why I'm giving you my blanket permission to not only download it, but also to email it, burn it, and share it with anyone and everyone (in the U.S. and Canada only). I want you to use "Slacker Uprising" in any way you see fit to help with the election or to do the work that you do in your community. You can show my film in your local theater, your high school classroom, your college auditorium, your church, union hall or community center. You can have your friends and neighbors over to the house for a viewing. You can broadcast it on TV, on cable access, on regular channels or on the web. It's completely free -- I don't want to see a dime from this. And if you want, you can charge admission or ask for a donation if it's to raise money for a candidate, a voter drive, or for any non-profit or educational purpose. In other words -- it's yours!

"Slacker Uprising" chronicles the 62-city tour I did leading up to the 2004 election. It is electrifying to see the tens of thousands of young people who were ready then for the uprising -- and who, this year, are actually making it happen. This is my concert film tribute to the young voters who are going to save this country from four more years of Republican rule.

There are a number of ways, beginning at midnight tonight, that you can download or stream "Slacker Uprising" thanks to our distributor, Brave New Films:

1) Blip.tv will provide standard resolution streaming, free of commercials and advertising.
2) Amazon Video on Demand will provide a high quality version of the above stream.
3) iTunes will make it easy for you to download "Slacker Uprising" on your iTunes, iPod, or Apple TV, and view it there or transmit it to your television. This way, the film can be portable as well as for home viewing.
4) Hypernia is providing bandwidth, servers and management to host "Slacker Uprising" online, so you can download the film and view it at any time or burn it onto a DVD.

I am fortunate to have all these great people bringing you my movie for free. There will be no ads and they have all agreed to supply their services free of charge. All of them wanted to be part of this historic moment when the first major feature-length movie is being released for free on the internet.

(For those of you who don't download, there will be a low-cost DVD available.)

This past Thursday we held the world premiere of "Slacker Uprising" in Ann Arbor (you can read about it here). The response was incredible and I want to encourage you to screen this movie with large groups. I believe it will inspire our get-out-the-vote efforts at a time when we need to get millions registered in the next two weeks.

Thanks again for all your support over the years. I hope you'll like my new film. It's all yours, anytime after midnight tonight. Enjoy!

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
SlackerUprising.com
MichaelMoore.com

P.S. I'll be doing a live chat, tonight at 11:00 PM ET, on Daily Kos, in the hour countdown leading up to the internet release of my film. Hope to see you online!

Study tells colleges to focus less on SATs

Peta asks Ben and Jerry -Breast Milk Ice Cream

Press release from Peta;

Burlington, Vt. - This morning, PETA dispatched a letter to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, cofounders of ice cream icon Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc., urging them to replace the cow's milk in their products with human breast milk. PETA's request comes in the wake of news reports that a Swiss restaurant owner will begin purchasing breast milk from nursing mothers and substituting breast milk for 75 percent of the cow's milk in the food he serves. PETA points out to Cohen and Greenfield that such a move on their part would lessen the suffering of dairy cows and their babies on factory farms and benefit human health at the same time.

"The fact that human adults consume huge quantities of dairy products made from milk that was meant for a baby cow just doesn't make sense," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "Everyone knows that 'the breast is best,' so Ben & Jerry's could do consumers and cows a big favor by making the switch to breast milk."

For more information, please visit PETA's Web site Blog.PETA.org or click here.

PETA's letter to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield follows.

September 23, 2008

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, Cofounders
Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc.

Dear Mr. Cohen and Mr. Greenfield,

On behalf of PETA and our more than 2 million members and supporters, I'd like to bring your attention to an innovative new idea from Switzerland that would bring a unique twist to Ben and Jerry's. Storchen restaurant is set to unveil a menu that includes soups, stews, and sauces made with at least 75 percent breast milk procured from human donors who are paid in exchange for their milk. If Ben and Jerry's replaced the cow's milk in its ice cream with breast milk, your customers--and cows--would reap the benefits.

Using cow's milk for your ice cream is a hazard to your customer's health. Dairy products have been linked to juvenile diabetes, allergies, constipation, obesity, and prostate and ovarian cancer. The late Dr. Benjamin Spock, America's leading authority on child care, spoke out against feeding cow's milk to children, saying it may play a role in anemia, allergies, and juvenile diabetes and in the long term, will set kids up for obesity and heart disease--America's number one cause of death.

Animals will also benefit from the switch to breast milk. Like all mammals, cows only produce milk during and after pregnancy, so to be able to constantly milk them, cows are forcefully impregnated every nine months. After several years of living in filthy conditions and being forced to produce 10 times more milk than they would naturally, their exhausted bodies are turned into hamburgers or ground up for soup.

And of course, the veal industry could not survive without the dairy industry. Because male calves can't produce milk, dairy farmers take them from their mothers immediately after birth and sell them to veal farms, where they endure 14 to17 weeks of torment chained inside a crate so small that they can't even turn around.

The breast is best! Won't you give cows and their babies a break and our health a boost by switching from cow's milk to breast milk in Ben and Jerry's ice cream? Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Tracy Reiman
Executive Vice President

In the News, September 23, 2008

The New Lincoln Penny

The U.S. Mint unveiled the new designs during a ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial. The coin changes are part of the government's commemoration next year of the 20he government's commemoration next year of the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth.
Lincoln's profile will remain on one side of the coin but the Lincoln Memorial will be replaced on the other side by the new images, with a different one being introduced every three months.

The first new design will depict a log cabin, representing the place in Kentucky where Lincoln was born in 1809.

The second design will feature a young Lincoln taking a break from working as a rail splitter in Indiana by reading a book. Lincoln as a young lawyer standing in front of the old state capitol building in Springfield, Ill., will be the design on the third coin.

The final coin in the series will show the half-completed Capitol dome, evoking Lincoln's famous order that construction of the Capitol should continue during the Civil War as a symbol that the Union would continue.

The first new penny is scheduled to go into circulation starting on Feb. 12, Lincoln's birthday, and then every three months after that. United States Mint Unveils New 2009 Penny Designs


The four designs to be featured on the reverse of the Lincoln pennies represent four major aspects of President Lincoln's life: his birth and childhood in Kentucky, his formative years in Indiana, his professional life in Illinois and his Presidency in Washington, D.C. The inscriptions on the reverse of the coins will be "United States of America," "E Pluribus Unum" and "One Cent."

The obverse (heads side) of the one-cent coins will continue to bear Victor David Brenner's likeness of President Lincoln, introduced in 1909, and the motto "In God We Trust." At the end of the 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One Cent Coin Program, the reverse of the penny will feature a design emblematic of President Lincoln's preservation of the United States of America as a single and united country.

A Lincoln commemorative silver dollar also will be released in 2009.

Presidency in DC Reverse

Designer: Susan Gamble
Sculptor: Joseph Menna
Description: This reverse features the half finished United States Capitol dome.

Professional Life in Illinois Reverse

Designer: Joel Iskowitz
Sculptor: Don Everhart
Description: This reverse depicts the young professional Abraham Lincoln in front of the State Capitol in Illinois.

Line Art
Reverse:

2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One Cent Program Birth and Early Childhood in Kentucky Reverse Designer: Richard Masters Sculptor: Jim Licaretz Description: This reverse features a log cabin that represents Lincoln’s humble beginnings in Kentucky. Formative Years in Indiana Reverse Designer: Charles Vickers Sculptor: Charles Vickers Description: This reverse depicts a young Lincoln educating himself while working as a rail splitter in Indiana.

usmint
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She wants that 478 Carat Diamond

Gem Diamonds, a London-listed mining firm, said on Sunday it had recovered a 478 carat diamond from its mine in Lesotho. It is the 20th-largest rough diamond ever found.
T he company said had the potential to become one of the largest round-cut diamonds in the world,.

"Preliminary examination of this remarkable diamond indicates that it will yield a record-breaking polished stone of the very best colour and clarity," the company's Chief Executive Clifford Elphick said in a statement.

The diamond, which has not yet been named, has the potential to yield a 150 carat polished stone, a company spokesman said.


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Stonehenge Revealed

Two British archeologists say that they have uncovered the core reason behind the construction of one of the world's best known and least understood landmarks.

Stonehenge has stood for thousands of years.

Professors Geoffrey Wainwright and Timothy Darvill argued their own explanation for the mysterious monument: Stonehenge, they said, was a kind of primeval Lourdes, drawing prehistoric pilgrims from around Europe.

"We found several reasons to believe that the stones were built as part of a belief in a healing process," Wainwright told journalists assembled at London's Society of Antiquaries.

The bluestones used to form the circular site were dragged or floated on rafts from Pembrokeshire in Wales to Salisbury Plain in southern England, according to the researchers. Thee bluestones were prized for their healing properties .

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