[An Nahar] Footprints left by ancient humans 800,000 years ago have been found in Britain, the earliest evidence of such markings outside Africa, scientists said Friday. "Unless it was a bigfoot. We're still not quite sure..."
Researchers discovered the footprints, which were left by both adults and children, in ancient estuary mud at Happisburgh in Norfolk, eastern England. "You kids stop playing in that estuary mud! Just wait until I tell your father!"
The only older footprints found so far are at Laetoli in Tanzania, at about 3.5 million years old, and at Ileret and Koobi Fora in Kenya at about 1.5 million years, they added. They weren't made by the same guys, though...
"This is an extraordinarily rare discovery," said Nick Ashton of the British Museum, who led the research team, which also involved the National History Museum and Queen Mary University London. "Only two others like it in the world" is kinda defined as "rare," isn't it?
The discovery came at an archaelogical site that has yielded several previous discoveries of stone tools and fossil bones, including mammoth remains. "Mom! Nigel won't let me play with his mammoth!"
The researchers found the prints at low tide when waves washed away much of the beach sand to explose the silt below. "At first we weren't sure what we were seeing but as we removed any remaining beach sand and sponged off the seawater, it was clear that the hollows resembled prints, perhaps human footprints, and that we needed to record the surface as quickly as possible before the sea eroded it away," Ashton said. "Hmmm... They could be bigfeet!"
"What about the small ones?"
"They aren't born large, y'know!"
The group of early humans that left the footprints appeared to have consisted of at least one male and several smaller people believed to be females and youngsters, the researchers said. "They are clearly a family group rather than a hunting party," said Ashton. "Nigel, if you don't start cleaning up after that mammoth he's going to have to go!"
"I'm sorry, Mom! Clive's sabre tooth tiger ate my shovel!"
"You are just nothing but excuses, are you, young man? Get to work on that mess! And clean up your cave!"
Analysis of the prints found that they were were from a "range of adult and juvenile foot sizes" equating to modern shoe sizes of up to British 7 or 8 (U.S. 8 or 9, European 41 or 42). The researchers estimated that the height of the ancient humans who left the prints varied from about 0.9 meters to over 1.7 meters (2 ft 11 in to 5 ft 6 in), not far off the height of modern humans. In so far as a 3 foot human is modern...
They were dated at 800,000 years old partly on the basis of the site's geological position beneath glacial deposits, but also because the fossils there come from now-extinct types of mammoth and horse and early forms of vole that were alive at that time.
But the question of exactly what type of ancient humans left their footprints in the sands of time remains a mystery.
They may have been related to people of a similar period in history found in Atapuerca in Spain, assigned to the species Homo antecessor, or Pioneer Man, said Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum.
"These people were of a similar height to ourselves and were fully bipedal," he said.
Homo antecessor apparently became extinct in Europe 600,000 years ago and was perhaps replaced by the species Homo heidelbergensis, followed by the Neanderthals from about 400,000 years ago, and eventually modern humans some 40,000 years ago.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2014 00:00 ||
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#6
There's nothing like a vacation at the beach. Did they find a fossilized pail and shovel? Beach ball?. Lounge chair?
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
02/09/2014 12:22 Comments ||
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#7
The footprints were likely made by Piltdown man or one of his relatives.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
02/09/2014 12:31 Comments ||
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#8
Looking at the pix @ the link, while the footprints are not pristine, I guess the tree huggers are right about plastic lasting forever; just look how well preserved that lens cover is....
#8
A friend came over with his very large snow-blower and cleared another two feet into the lawn either side of our drive so we'd have more space for clearing the next snowfalls in the forecast.
Hopefully it's enough. We're already piled 2+ feet above our mailbox at the roadside.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
02/09/2014 21:35 Comments ||
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#9
Any more snow, I will excavate my wheel barrow and bring it into the front yard along with some plywood to make a ramp, so I can move new snow over my snow berms. Either that, or I hire a front end loader.
#10
I think I see the problem here. Some Americans are just hanging onto more than their fair share of the snow and ice and cold. We can redress this injustice if we can just find the courage and political resolve to face the facts and build a bazillion dollar network of pipelines to ship slush back up to the Arctic Ocean.
Global warming is always to blame:
Climate change is a zero-sum game.
So what we've got to do
Is to take snow from you,
And go spread it around whence it came.
Appears they used subway cars from the D.C. Metro. Street signs in English? MLK Blvd to be found somewhere? Perhaps there is a message to be found here.
#1
Strange, very strange. All of the [current]Military Operations and Urban Terrain (MOUT) facilities to include modeling and simulations software, look like mock-ups of Middleburg, VA.
#2
Well, they really had none before 9/11. Urban fighting was something that wasn't given a whole lot of attention to because the last big experience, WWII, was rather nasty and intense. Most of the war fighting teaching and training was on maneuver not grinding urban operations. Basically lip service was given to the problem. Then in Iraq they found themselves doing a lot of urban fighting. You need to train as you fight. Given the length of time between asking for funding and delivery, this doesn't strike me as unusual in setting up a major delivery in training facilities.
Using US id's keeps the skanks at State quiet about upsetting foreigners they deal with. Hell, it wasn't till Ronnie's era that DoD could outright use Soviet material as the Opfor, it always had to be Bluefor or Redfor because State had its nickers in a twist about 'offending' someone.
#4
Clearly they can't leave control of vulnerable cluster points in the hands of local SWAT. We saw that in the mall/hostage scenario when the rescue forces were shooting each other.
Pretty easy to imagine a high value target event in a urban scenario with coordinated secondary assaults on the first responders. That happens now.
#5
If you are interested here is a Bird's Eye View of Fort A.P Hill, VA
Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, is an active duty installation of the United States Army, located near the town of Bowling Green, Virginia.
Named for Virginia native and distinguished Confederate Lieutenant General A. P. Hill, Fort A.P. Hill, known as the place "Where America's Military Sharpens Its Combat Edge" is an all-purpose, year-round, military training center located approximately 60 miles south of Washington, D.C. With 76,000 acres (310 km²) of land, including a modern 28,000 acre (110 km²), live-fire range complex featuring more than 100 direct and indirect fire ranges, as well as a helicopter aerial gunnery range; it is one of the largest military installations on the East Coast. Military units can engage in training ranging from small unit operations to major maneuvers with combined arms, live-fire exercises
Posted by: Au Auric ||
02/09/2014 10:33 Comments ||
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#6
Drop this 38.118579,-77.281498 into a Google box and klik on the pic until it goes satellite. Adjust fire from there.
#7
Damn. I still remember this as Camp A.P. Hill. National guard, it's where we trained way back in the day. That's where I first met some people training in civvies that were from Langley. We thought they were boy scouts people who had gotten lost. Boy Scouts used to use it a lot at the state level in the 60s 70s
#8
That's where I first met some people training in civvies that were from Langley. We thought they were boy scouts people who had gotten lost. Posted by OldSpook
An outbreak of sanity in the Texas judicial system that can't last? Long & detailed, RTWT.
On February 5, 2014, the 21st Judicial District Grand Jury returned a No Bill on Capital Murder charges against Henry Goedrick Magee, II, who was the individual who shot and killed Investigator Sergeant Adam Sowders on December 19, 2013 in Burleson County, Texas. Sergeant Sowders was a member of the Burleson County SWAT team that executed a "no-knock" search warrant on Magee's residence. The basic reason for the warrant was suspicion of a marijuana growing, a little more evil thing than failure to pay a credit card bill, but not by a lot.
Deputy Adam Sowders filed for a search warrant, and requested to enter Magee's home without knocking or announcing law enforcement's presence. He gave multiple reasons based on what the informant had told investigators, including the fact that Magee had been overheard saying he wasn't afraid to use his weapons, he may have an aggressive dog, and that Magee could potentially destroy the drugs.
Sowders said he thought giving Magee notice would be, quote, "dangerous, futile, or would inhibit the effective investigation." A Burleson County Judge who shall forever be held blameless since he is incapable of doing wrong approved the warrant on December 18, 2013, and in the early morning hours of December 19, a SWAT team made the entry into Magee's home.
Press Release from the 21st Judicial District Attorney's Office
Burleson County
On February 5, 2014, the 21st Judicial District Grand Jury returned a No Bill on Capital Murder charges against Henry Goedrick Magee, II, who was the individual who shot and killed Investigator Sergeant Adam Sowders on December 19, 2013 in Burleson County, Texas. Sergeant Sowders was a member of the Burleson County SWAT team that executed a "no-knock" search warrant on Magee's residence
Statement from Julie Renken, 21st Judicial District Attorney:
"December 19, 2013 was completely foreseeable and avoidable by anyone capable of pouring urine out of a cowboy boot a tragic day for the Sowders' family and Burleson County, Texas. Investigator Sergeant Adam Sowders was a law enforcement officer who was passionate about serving his community. He was generous, respectful and admired in Burleson County and by our office."
"The events on December 19, 2013 are tragic. In my opinion, the Burleson County Sheriff's Office did nothing illegal by securing and executing a "no knock" search warrant that day. I believe the evidence also shows that an announcement was made. However, there is not enough evidence that Mr. Magee knew that day that Peace Officers were entering his home. The events occurred in a matter of seconds amongst chaos. The self-defense laws in Texas are viewed in the mindset of the actor, not the victim, which allows for tragedies to occur when one party is acting lawfully, but it can be reasonably seen as a threat of deadly force by another. However, the Burleson County Sheriff's Office would not have been there that day if Mr. Magee had not decided to be evil IANAL, but the DA can return to a grand jury as many times as wished to attempt to get a murder indictment. Mr. Magee's life as he once knew it is so over.
#3
The boys must play with their toys. We need to remove this judge from the bench.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
02/09/2014 5:46 Comments ||
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SAM, and we need to remove the toys from the boys.
The idea that "Peace" officers seem to be the ones initiating so much of the violence is as disgusting as it is ironic. The Police State tyrants keep slithering on.
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/09/2014 8:24 Comments ||
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...slightly more difficult than trying to flush a Koran down one. Of course using common sense didn't stop the journalist from making such a claim (and people died as a consequence as well).
#9
SAM, and we need to remove the toys from the boys.
Oh, I agree most definitely, and a lot of other stuff. Like strip the cops, DA's and judges of immunity. Make them have to be responsible for their actions. The ONLY legitimate use for SWAT is an active shooter or a hostage situation. Period.
If you look at Burleson County on G@@gle Maps, you'll see it is a crap podunk little county with only one town of any size. So, they're always looking for a way to raise revenue.
I'm working hard to get my State Rep. reelected, I expect we will succeed. When we do some of us are going to twist his arm real hard to introduce legislation at the State level to make SWAT a county level only capability, and to put some very severe restrictions on when it can be used.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
02/09/2014 15:34 Comments ||
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What's to prevent the home-owner from thinking it is a home invasion in progress? No knock warrants should be used very, very sparingly with considerable supporting intel to validate the right house and right slack-jaw(s). There seems to be too much law enforcement cowboy stuff going on these days. Bad things are likely to happen for one or both sides.
#12
The police in Albuquerque are frequently criticized for shootings they've been involved in (not SWAT stuff). There was a recent 30-minute long shootout and chase through the streets of ABQ, ending with the perp dying from wounds received from 8 officers. 3 officers were wounded. The unusual part of the this story was the release of multiple videos taken by police cameras, soon after the incident.
The irrelevant part of this news is to be expected: handwringing by people objecting to the release of live video of fatal incidents.
ABQ Journal recently stated: Police misconduct lawsuits since 2010 have resulted in a tab of more than $24 million for Albuquerque taxpayers. The number will likely increase as several suits are ongoing and recent officer-involved incidents may result in new lawsuits being filed.
The US DOJ has been investigating the APD for unjustified use of force since 2012.
[An Nahar] A split has blown open within Algeria's ruling party ahead of an April presidential election, after its leader accused the powerful intelligence chief of opposing the ailing incumbent's re-election.
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika ... 10th president of Algeria. He was elected in 1999 and is currently on his third or fourth term, who will probably die in office of old age... , in power for 15 years, has yet to say if his health will permit him to stand for a fourth term following a mini-stroke that confined him to hospital in Gay Paree for three months last year.
But ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) secretary general Amar Saidani has repeatedly backed a fourth term for the 76-year-old incumbent, even though he has not been seen or heard in public since his stroke.
Despite much-vaunted moves by Bouteflika to roll back the prerogatives of the military -- a hallmark of his presidency -- the army and its DRS intelligence agency retain much of the political power they have wielded ever since independence in 1962.
In an interview published this week, Saidani demanded that veteran DRS director Mohammed "Tewfik" Mediene step down, saying that his persistent interference in politics came at the detriment of security in the strategic North African country.
He accused the shadowy general, who has held his post since 1990 but never appears in public, of a string of security failures, including the military's handling of a hostage-taking at a desert gas plant by armed Islamists last year in which nearly 40 foreign workers died.
"Instead of managing the country's security, this department (the DRS) interferes with the activities of political parties, the judiciary and the press," Saidani said, in the first such open criticism of the veteran intelligence chief.
But his tirade drew condemnation from dissident members of the FLN, which has been Algeria's leading party since independence except for a few years when the army dispensed with party politics altogether.
Abderahmane Belayat, who served as FLN interim leader from January last year until Saidani's controversial election in August, said the dissidents would no longer recognise his leadership of the party.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] A fire at a hotel in the Saudi holy city of Medina on Saturday killed 15 pilgrims and injured 130 others, state-run news agency ...and if you can't believe the state-run news agency who can you believe?... SPA reported.
Officials quoted by SPA did not identify the victims but said around 700 pilgrims had been staying at the hotel in the western city of Medina to perform the omra, or minor, pilgrimage.
An earlier toll said 12 people were killed in the blaze.
Television stations in Egypt said Egyptians were among those who perished, and foreign ministry front man Badr Abdelatty said Cairo was "still trying to confirm the numbers" of nationals who died.
The fire broke out in the afternoon and was brought under control a few hours later, with survivors moved to other hotels in the city.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the blaze.
Once a year Mohammedans perform the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Islam's holiest city, but they can make the omra pilgrimage to Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... all year round.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2014 00:00 ||
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Allan is pleased with the sacrifice
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/09/2014 8:26 Comments ||
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What on earth does the man have against toothpaste?
[Bangla Daily Star] Jatiya Sangsad Chief Whip ASM Feroz has asked for money instead of crests from those who want to bring him gifts.
It was on Friday at a reception in Bauphal of Patuakhali on his becoming chief whip. He was elected uncontested from the area in the 10th parliamentary polls.
"I will be in my political office from 9:00am to 3:00pm tomorrow [yesterday]. No crest if anyone wants to give me a gift. I want cash. Cash is what I want," announced Feroz through a loudspeaker.
He used the word "cash" thrice in this brief and sudden announcement he made at one stage of the programme, arranged by the local Awami League and its associate bodies.
"Don't you understand? A lot of money is required for contesting an election," Feroz said. "So, felicitate me with cash. It would be very useful for me. What is the use of these [crests]?" he added.
But still, people came with crests and bouquets to his political office in Bauphal during his stay. Nobody reportedly gave him cash.
Contacted, the chief whip said, "I actually sought the cash for my party, not for myself."
"In the programme, there were hundreds of people who had brought bouquets and crests for me. But I had no time to receive all of these. That is why I urged them to give me money instead of crests. I did this to discourage them from giving me crests," he told The Daily Star over the phone last night.
Feroz also claimed his remark was "a joke, nothing serious".
"Do you think I am such a foolish politician that I will seek money in public?" he said. "You, the journalists, should cooperate with good politicians like me. You should show mercy to me. Otherwise, politics will fall into the wrong hands."
People, however, could not take it as a joke.
"Everybody has been shocked at his remarks," Ahmed Mia, convener of Bauphal Municipality Citizens' Committee, told The Daily Star last night.
To welcome Feroz, hundreds of arches were set up on about 15km road from Boga to Bauphal upazila town. This was his first visit to his constituency after being appointed the chief whip.
Local cable operators telecast the reception.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2014 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Prime Minister the loathesome Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums.. yesterday said the BNP chief does not know any other politics except politics of destruction.
"Begum Zia is a queen of destruction. She knows only destruction. She can only take, but can't give anything to the country except for terrorism and militancy," the PM told a mammoth rally at Charghat High School ground in the afternoon.
The BNP, she said, has been cursed by a humiliating failure as it waged a hollow movement. "This is yet another failure in her [Khaleda's] life after dozens of similar ones in the past, including the failure she had experienced in her matriculation exams," added the premier.
BNP's coming to power means "return of terrorism and militancy" in the country. The party had caused a reign of terror when it was in power from 2001 to 2006, complained Hasina.
"They had created dreadful Bangla Bhai and fomented widespread militancy during that period," she added.
Before the January 5 parliamentary polls, said the PM, the BNP had announced that it would not allow holding the elections, knowing well that people are the owners of their rights of franchise. "The party was out to resist the polls through enforcing hartal ... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ... s and blockades. But the people didn't respond to their movement," she noted.
She accused the BNP of taking a "beastly Dire Revenge™" on people by burning them to death as they did not respond to its movement. The party killed 135 people by enforcing blockades for 34 days, mentioned the PM.
Also the president of Awami League, Hasina referred to a recent survey by the US-based Democracy International. It showed that the AL would have won the January 5 polls by at least a 5.8 percent margin even if the BNP-Jamaat had contested the elections.
"This proves that the BNP would have suffered a sure defeat. Knowing well about its bad luck, this party didn't join the polls race," she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2014 00:00 ||
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The Lysistrata gambit. Does it ever work in real life?
Not too sure about "ever," "no" in this instance.
[An Nahar] Women in Tokyo are threatening a sex boycott against any man who votes for the front-runner in this weekend's gubernatorial election, in protest at his claim that menstruation makes women unfit for government.
A Twitter campaign group based in the capital which bills itself as "The association of women who will not have sex with men who vote for (Yoichi) Masuzoe," has garnered almost 3,000 followers since it launched last week.
Although the founders have not identified themselves, in their profile they said: "We have stood up to prevent Mr. Masuzoe, who makes such insulting remarks against women...We won't have sex with men who will vote for Mr. Masuzoe."
Masuzoe, 65, a former political scientist who became a celebrity through TV talk shows before getting involved in politics in 2001, is widely seen as an establishment figure in a country where gender roles remain very distinct.
In 1989, he told a men's magazine that it would not be proper to have women at the highest level of government because their menstrual cycle makes them irrational.
"Women are not normal when they are having a period... You can't possibly let them make critical decisions about the country (during their period) such as whether or not to go to war," he said.
Masuzoe has the backing of the conservative ruling party of hawkish Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and is seen as likely to pip his nearest rival, former prime minister Moriyoshi Hosokawa who is standing on an anti-nuclear platform.
All 16 candidates in the poll are men, with many of them aged in their 60s or older.
But Masuzoe's comments about women, as well as other controversial remarks on taxing the elderly, have triggered a backlash.
Another website was launched on Wednesday by a group of women also seeking to prevent Masuzoe from becoming Tokyo governor -- that site has drawn 75,000 hits per day and 2,800 people have signed its petition.
"Masuzoe is an enemy of women...He doesn't love Japan. He loves only himself," said one comment on the site, by a woman who identified herself as Etsuko Sato.
On the Twitter campaign feed, a post by manatowar3 said: "I'm an old man. But I cannot tolerate him (Masuzoe) from a man's point of view."
Despite high levels of education, many women in Japan leave career jobs when they have children, and social pressures to play the homemaker remain strong.
There are very few women in senior political positions -- Abe's 19-member cabinet has only two -- and company boards are overwhelmingly male.
Speaking in Davos last month, Abe pledged that by 2020, 30 percent of leading positions would be occupied by women. However, a clean conscience makes a soft pillow... most independent observers suggest this target is unlikely to be met.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2014 00:00 ||
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Sex Strike sounds like it should be a pair of F-111Os Ohmygawdlookatthat
It happened in September, when her boss abruptly changed her job description. She went from doing payroll, which she liked, to working on her boss's schedule, which she loathed. At another time, she might have had to grit her teeth and accept the new position because she needed the health benefits. Or looked for another job that had health benefits. Or gone postal and bumped off her boss.
But with the health-care law soon to take effect, she simply resigned. "It was wonderful. It was very freeing," said Lower, no pun intended 56, of Bourbon, Ind., who is now babysitting her 5-year-old granddaughter full time. With the help of federal subsidies that kicked in Jan. 1, she is paying less than $500 a month for health coverage for herself and her husband. An especially generous subsidy, since she now has no income. Did she thank you and me? It's the least she could do. But no doubt she thinks she's 'earned' this benefit...
The nonpartisan CBO says that workers, taking into consideration the new financial assistance available from the federal government to make insurance more affordable for low- and middle-income people, will scale back their productivity. It contends that the effect on the labor force will be most pronounced among those who qualify for the subsidies. The more money people make, the lower their subsidies. Who would have ever imagined that?
The report cited evidence that government health-insurance programs for the poor discourage work. A study in Tennessee found that the employment rate ticked upward after the state in 2005 kicked 170,000 adults off Medicaid, the state-federal insurance program for the poor. More shocking news!
Economists across the political spectrum agree that workers' decisions will have an effect on the economy. But like other debates about the law, this one divides along ideological lines and hinges on differing opinions about the fundamental role of government in the lives of Americans. Really? Even though Mrs. Bobby no longer receives the WaPo at home (in Texas), I feel obligated to bring you its award-winning prose/news.
The White House and its allies argue that the government has a role in addressing what they defined as a failure of the health-insurance market: the high prices and coverage restrictions that have kept health coverage out of reach for so many people including millions that don't want to pay for it at all. Like Social Security, which provides a safety net so people can retire, the health law may have the effect of leading some Americans to stop working, they say. That's fine, but I object to paying their subsidy so they can loaf. There is enough of that already!
But they called the impact positive, arguing that people have for too long been stuck in jobs that are a poor fit or that they dislike, simply for the benefits, not to mention the salary. Since when is that a problem? Life doesn't care that you don't like your job. You do the job anyway and find 'meaning' to your life outside work. My grandfather could tell you all about that.
While some people may make the calculation to just work less to keep more generous benefits, many will use their time to do something more productive, such as start their own business or take care of family members, advocates of the new law say. How will they start a business when the costs of O-care crush the startups?
Conservatives say that the CBO numbers prove that the health-care law will be a drag on the economy. Moreover, they say, it makes no sense to give people subsidies to encourage them to quit their jobs. Why don't we ALL quit working and take subsidies? Think how liberating that would be. And how stupid...
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/09/2014 09:14 ||
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#1
But, but, but I thought work wuz good for ya.
From the Burg Bulldozer file: Roosevelt's CCC Camp logging photo from the 1930's.
#2
"Conservatives say that the CBO numbers prove that the health-care law will be a drag on the economy."
Putting a drag on the economy was one of the main purposes of the ACA. To Democrats, this is not a bug-- it's a feature.
"Moreover, they say, it makes no sense to give people subsidies to encourage them to quit their jobs."
It makes perfect sense to Democrats: the more people who get lured into chronic dependency on government handouts, the more people who will be inclined to vote Democrat to keep the handouts coming.
The Democratic Party used to be "the working-man's party" (or at least, that's how they billed themselves); anymore, they're the party for the NON-working man.
They've become the Parasite Party-- the party for freeloaders, fools, freaks and f*ckups.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
02/09/2014 18:40 Comments ||
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#3
Remember the talking points -
Unemployment during a Trunk administration - BAD
Unemployment during a Donk administration - GOOD
[BBC.CO.UK] Turkish riot police have fired water cannon and tear gas at hundreds of demonstrators marching in Istanbul in protest at new laws tightening government control of the internet.
Demonstrators threw fireworks and stones at police cordoning off Taksim Square, the city's main square.
The president is under pressure not to ratify the legislation.
It includes powers allowing authorities to block websites for privacy violations without a court decision.
The opposition says it is part of a government attempt to stifle a corruption scandal.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi only they haven't dumped him yet... has denied accusations of censorship, saying the legislation would make the internet "more safe and free". Then his lips fell off.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] BAHAWALPUR: Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Nisar Ahmed handed down on Friday life imprisonment on two counts with a fine of Rs2 million to an acid attack convict.
Ayyaz Ahmed, of Kot Faqiran in Rahim Yar Khan, had inflicted serious burns in an acid attack on Muhammad Mahram, of Sadiqabad, on Aug 20, 2013.
According to the prosecution, Ayyaz suspected that Mahram had an affair with a woman of his family. In the attack, Mahram lost her eyesight and suffered serious burns on his body.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] DERA GHAZI KHAN: Four coppers were killed in an encounter with a gang at Yaroo Khosa in the Kot Mubarik police remit on Friday.
The police higher-ups constituted three teams under the supervision of the Sadar DSP to raid a house where Ladi gang had taken refuge.
The police said Ibrahim Ladi, Rabnawaz Gajni and others opened fire on the raiding team which retaliated.
They said ringleader Haider Esani, who had hidden himself in a metal box, showered the police with bullets as a result of which Irfan and Noor Mohammad of the Elite Force, Kot Mubarik SHO Shafeeq Malghani and Faizul Hasnain of the district police were maimed. The four coppers later gave up the ghost and Haider Esani also was killed in retaliatory fire.
APP adds: Sadar Circle SDPO Malik Ijaz Ali was injured and shifted to District Headquarters Hospital.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
They said ringleader Haider Esani, who had hidden himself in a metal box, showered the police with bullets
I don't think we've heard the last of this. The hiding in a metal box trick is a massive escalation.
[New York Post] Hat tip to Bangkok Billy for providing the link, this is in ref to Israeli monitoring capabilities and the Victoria Nuland cock-up. Note the date.
[An Nahar] Four decades after the Vietnam war ended, US fast-food giant McDonald's opened its first restaurant in the communist country Saturday, aiming to lure a rising middle class away from rice and noodles. "Y'want nuoc mam with that?"
The arrival of one of the most potent symbols of US capitalism in southern Ho Chi Minh City -- known as Saigon when American troops dramatically withdrew in 1975 -- is the result of a partnership with the son-in-law of Vietnam's powerful Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
McDonald's is following US rivals Burger King, KFC and coffee giant Starbucks into Vietnam -- a country many Americans associate more with an unpopular war than a newly wealthy middle class. But with its 90 million-strong population and average per capita income of more than $1,500, "Vietnam is on the radar now" for US franchises, said Sean Ngo, managing director of consulting firm Vietnam Franchises Ltd.
Critics ...and there are always critics...
say that Vietnam's rapid economic growth since "Doi Moi" reforms opened up the country in the early 1990s masks rising inequality and inefficiencies in an economy still dominated by state-owned enterprises.
But every minimum wage graduate of McDonald's front and back lines will have learnt important lessons in becoming a successful capitalist. So that's ok.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Commies
#1
I understand that the Vietnamese Ronald McDonald bares a striking likeness to Ho Chi Minh.
Or is it Colonel Sanders
Posted by: Au Auric ||
02/09/2014 1:09 Comments ||
Top||
#2
But every minimum wage graduate of McDonald's front and back lines will have learnt important lessons in becoming a successful capitalist. So that's ok.
In the the case of the Cong Vietnamese they don't require much in the way of lessons, I think it's genetic or their mother or something.
#4
But every minimum wage graduate of McDonald's front and back lines will have learnt important lessons in becoming a successful capitalist. So that's ok.
#5
My message to any Victor Charlies and Nathanial Victors who stumble by the 'burg:
Is this why you lived in the jungle all those years? So your kids could eat Big Macs and drink Starbucks? You could have had all this without all the napalm or the millions killed! Talk about a waste.
Posted by: Florida Al ||
02/09/2014 13:55 Comments ||
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#6
Does this Capitalist approach indicate we "won"?
#7
Is this why you lived in the jungle all those years? So your kids could eat Big Macs and drink Starbucks? You could have had all this without all the napalm or the millions killed! Talk about a waste.
It wasn't really their choice, most of them were drafted and in the case of VC's extorted ("join us or we come back and kill your kids.")
And really, in this case, they're only slightly less unfree under "Prime Minister's Son-in-Law Capitalism" than they are under Communism.
[Daily Caller] North Carolinians marching to protest voter-ID laws must present a valid photo ID to participate in an NAACP-hosted protest against voter-ID laws in Raleigh on Saturday.
The central claim among the protesters is that the voter-ID laws disenfranchise certain segments of the voting population, particularly minority voters and poor voters. According to official NAACP flyers passed out at the rally, protesters must carry the precise kind of ID that they would be expected to present at the voting booth. Blatant hypocricy or psychological projection.... or both. You decide.
#2
I don't get why the left gets all bunched up about voter ID laws. Push back against such laws makes me suspicious about their desire to commit wrong-doing at the polls. After all, you have to show ID when cashing a check, buying beer, buying cigarettes, obtaining welfare benefits, using a credit card, obtaining a DL, getting a loan, obtaining a library card, and a host of other things.
#3
I'd go for corruption myself. In its latest trick, the NAACP asked the Massachusetts Senate not to expel a member who was convicted of two misdemeanor counts of domestic violence. He beat hi girlfriend because she di not want to have sex with him. The Democratic War on Women proceeds apace.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
02/09/2014 22:54 Comments ||
Top||
People are going to die as a result of Obamacare. But while on one hand the bill was sold as the way to deliver insurance to the deserving uninsured, on the other it was based on the philosophy of medical utilitarianism of President Obama's healthcare policy advisor Ezekiel Emanuel (yes, brother of the current mayor of Chicago, Rahm E.). See here and here for details.
[Rooters] Hundreds of people with HIV/AIDS in Louisiana trying to obtain coverage under President Barack Obama's healthcare reform are in danger of being thrown out of the insurance plan they selected in a dispute over federal subsidies and the interpretation of federal rules about preventing Obamacare fraud.
Some healthcare advocates see discrimination in the move, but Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana says it is not trying to keep people with HIV/AIDS from enrolling in one of its policies under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
The state's largest carrier is rejecting checks from a federal program designed to help these patients pay for AIDS drugs and insurance premiums, and has begun notifying customers that their enrollment in its Obamacare plans will be discontinued.
The carrier says it no longer will accept third-party payments, such as those under the 1990 Ryan White Act, which many people with HIV/AIDS use to pay their premiums.
"In no event will coverage be provided to any subscribers, as of March 1, 2014, unless the premiums are paid by the subscriber (or a relative) unless otherwise required by law," Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana spokesman John Maginnis told Reuters. The LGBT community will soon intervene on this one. Champ had better pull a rabbit out of his hat quickly.
Sen. Claire McCaskill ...Now, why would I pay taxes on my airplane? Send the bill to the taxpayers!... (D-Mo.) this week introduced a bill that would require the military's health insurance program to cover breastfeeding equipment and counseling, just as the Affordable Care Act mandates for most insurance plans.
Under the health law, widely known as Obamacare, insurance companies must cover breast-pump rental or give the equipment to new mothers, in addition to providing lactation counseling and support. But the military's coverage, TRICARE, leaves armed-forces personnel and their spouses to pay the full costs for those services out of pocket unless their children are born prematurely and meet other criteria.
TRICARE is not subject to the Affordable Care Act's mandates affecting private insurance. As a result, the law's provisions on breastfeeding services do not extend to the military program.
The National Military Family Association has backed McCaskill's bill, which the senator introduced on Tuesday.
#1
Camel's nose under tent flap. The goal is to add this and that, and lastly overlay the ACA provider network until the two are one. TRICARE was probably one of the original targets of the ACA architects. I suspect TRICARE, military hospitals, and the VA are doomed.
#2
..actually, I suspect the VA will be the model of healthcare after all this is settled. Enjoy America, you voted for it. Screw the 70 percent in the name of the 20 percent.
#3
It makes sense if you are putting women into combat. They do get pregnant you know and speaking from experience with ex wife number two, those things, breast pumps, are expensive.
If you are going to have women in the military, you have to go all the way with it not just pick and choose what you will provide for them.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
02/09/2014 15:30 Comments ||
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Stung by a string of embarrassing revelations about misconduct in the ranks, the Pentagon will soon appoint a senior officer to promote and enforce a culture of ethical behavior and good moral character, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Friday.
The move marked Hagel's latest attempt to get ahead of a growing list of scandals, including allegations of widespread cheating by military personnel in proficiency tests and recently disclosed reports about misbehaving senior officers.
Hagel said he and Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, would soon announce specific actions that each of the services is taking "to deal with this problem."
The secretary said the department does not have a clear idea of the scope of its ethics problem, saying it could partly be the product of spending a decade focused on two lengthy ground wars.
#1
You don't establish 'Ethical Conduct' through political appointment or by pulling it out of private Joe Snuffies rucksack and pushing it up the chain of command to the Pentagon and White House. Ethical conduct must start at the very top, with the established chain of command, and flow downhill. Not surprisingly, appointing political commissars, czars, or political snoops is this administration's answer to nearly everything.
#2
Golly gee, you mean that annual requirement to read the Standards of Conduct was for naught? CYAWP /sarc off
Maybe, just maybe, if you actually enforced it to begin with, you wouldn't have to deal with the consequences now. Maybe, just maybe, if 'rank has privileges' wasn't tolerated you wouldn't have to deal with this now. Maybe, just maybe, that the unit's honor was tied to actually purging itself of those who tread upon its good name rather than covering something up in its name, you wouldn't have to deal with this now.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Bouteflika
[An Nahar] A fire at a hotel in the Saudi holy city of Medina on Saturday killed 15 pilgrims and injured 130 others, 
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as 
But, but, but I thought work wuz good for ya.
[BBC.CO.UK] Turkish riot police have fired water cannon and tear gas at hundreds of demonstrators marching in Istanbul in protest at new laws tightening government control of the internet.
Stung by a string of embarrassing revelations about misconduct in the ranks, the Pentagon will soon appoint a senior officer to promote and enforce a culture of ethical behavior and good moral character, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Friday.
