Quote

ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports:

What does it take to get a wavering senator to vote for health care reform?

Here’s a case study.

On page 432 of the Reid bill, there is a section increasing federal Medicaid subsidies for “certain states recovering from a major disaster.”

The section spends two pages defining which “states” would qualify, saying, among other things, that it would be states that “during the preceding 7 fiscal years” have been declared a “major disaster area.”

I am told the section applies to exactly one state: Louisiana, the home of moderate Democrat Mary Landrieu, who has been playing hard to get on the health care bill.

In other words, the bill spends two pages describing would could be written with a single world: Louisiana. (This may also help explain why the bill is long.)

Senator Harry Reid, who drafted the bill, cannot pass it without the support of Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu.

How much does it cost? According to the Congressional Budget Office: $100 million.

Quote

The Hadley University of East Anglia CRU director admits the emails seem to be genuine:

The director of Britain’s leading Climate Research Unit, Phil Jones, has told Investigate magazine’s TGIF Edition tonight ..."It was a hacker. We were aware of this about three or four days ago that someone had hacked into our system and taken and copied loads of data files and emails."…

So the 1079 emails and 72 documents seem indeed evidence of a scandal involving most of the most prominent scientists pushing the man-made warming theory - a scandal that is one of the greatest in modern science. I’ve been adding some of the most astonishing in updates below - emails suggesting conspiracy, collusion in exaggerating warming data, possibly illegal destruction of embarrassing information, organised resistance to disclosure, manipulation of data, private admissions of flaws in their public claims and much more.

Quote

I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (ie from 1981 onwards) amd from 1961 for Keith’s to hide the decline. Mike’s series got the annual land and marine values while the other two got April-Sept for NH land N of 20N. The latter two are real for 1999, while the estimate for 1999 for NH combined is +0.44C wrt 61-90. The Global estimate for 1999 with data through Oct is +0.35C cf. 0.57 for 1998.

Quote

Phil,
Here are some speculations on correcting SSTs to partly explain the 1940s warming blip. If you look at the attached plot you will see that theland also shows the 1940s blip (as I’m sure you know).
So, if we could reduce the ocean blip by, say, 0.15 degC, then this would be significant for the global mean – but we’d still have to explain the land blip. I’ve chosen 0.15 here deliberately. This still leaves an ocean blip, and i think one needs to have some form of ocean blip to explain the land blip (via either some common forcing, or ocean forcing land, or vice versa, or all of these). When you look at other blips, the land blips are 1.5 to 2 times (roughly) the ocean blips—higher sensitivity plus thermal inertia effects. My 0.15 adjustment leaves things consistent with this, so you can see where I am coming from.
Removing ENSO does not affect this.

Quote

Phil and I have recently submitted a paper using about a dozen NH records that fit this category, and many of which are available nearly 2K back–I think that trying to adopt a timeframe of 2K, rather than the usual 1K, addresses a good earlier point that Peck made w/ regard to the memo, that it would be nice to try to “contain” the putative “MWP” (Medieval Warm Period), even if we don’t yet have a hemispheric mean reconstruction available that far back

Quote

Barbara Ann Radnofsky, a Houston lawyer and Democratic candidate for attorney general, says that a 22-word clause in a 2005 constitutional amendment designed to ban gay marriages erroneously endangers the legal status of all marriages in the state.

The amendment, approved by the Legislature and overwhelmingly ratified by voters, declares that "marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman." But the troublemaking phrase, as Radnofsky sees it, is Subsection B, which declares:

"This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage."

Quote

This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to the union of one man and one woman.

Quote

A former soldier who handed a discarded shotgun in to police faces at least five years imprisonment for "doing his duty".

Paul Clarke, 27, was found guilty of possessing a firearm at Guildford Crown Court on Tuesday – after finding the gun and handing it personally to police officers on March 20 this year.

The jury took 20 minutes to make its conviction, and Mr Clarke now faces a minimum of five year's imprisonment for handing in the weapon.

In a statement read out in court, Mr Clarke said: "I didn't think for one moment I would be arrested.

"I thought it was my duty to hand it in and get it off the streets."

The court heard how Mr Clarke was on the balcony of his home in Nailsworth Crescent, Merstham, when he spotted a black bin liner at the bottom of his garden.

In his statement, he said: "I took it indoors and inside found a shorn-off shotgun and two cartridges.

"I didn't know what to do, so the next morning I rang the Chief Superintendent, Adrian Harper, and asked if I could pop in and see him.

"At the police station, I took the gun out of the bag and placed it on the table so it was pointing towards the wall."

Mr Clarke was then arrested immediately for possession of a firearm at Reigate police station, and taken to the cells.

Defending, Lionel Blackman told the jury Mr Clarke's garden backs onto a public green field, and his garden wall is significantly lower than his neighbours.

He also showed jurors a leaflet printed by Surrey Police explaining to citizens what they can do at a police station, which included "reporting found firearms".

Quizzing officer Garnett, who arrested Mr Clarke, he asked: "Are you aware of any notice issued by Surrey Police, or any publicity given to, telling citizens that if they find a firearm the only thing they should do is not touch it, report it by telephone, and not take it into a police station?"

To which, Mr Garnett replied: "No, I don't believe so."

Prosecuting, Brian Stalk, explained to the jury that possession of a firearm was a "strict liability" charge – therefore Mr Clarke's allegedly honest intent was irrelevant.

Just by having the gun in his possession he was guilty of the charge, and has no defence in law against it, he added.

But despite this, Mr Blackman urged members of the jury to consider how they would respond if they found a gun.

He said: "This is a very small case with a very big principle.

"You could be walking to a railway station on the way to work and find a firearm in a bin in the park.

"Is it unreasonable to take it to the police station?"

Paul Clarke will be sentenced on December 11.

Judge Christopher Critchlow said: "This is an unusual case, but in law there is no dispute that Mr Clarke has no defence to this charge.

"The intention of anybody possessing a firearm is irrelevant."

Quote

"Some people love how CNN employs Twitter to engage its audience. Not Steve Dahl. 'I am not interested in the take of @stinky on the Fort Hood shootings or any other current events,' complains Dahl of the access the media gives to Internet know-it-alls. 'I am watching CNN because I expect them to gather the news, not act as a clearinghouse for any bonehead with a computer, a cable modem and a half-baked opinion.'"

Quote

Microsoft confirmed that it had banned a "small percentage" of the 20 million Xbox Live users worldwide.

Quote

The United Nations (UN) has said political corruption costs governments about $1.6tn (£951bn) every year.

The money is lost in public assets moved across borders via money-laundering or undeclared holdings.

The figure comes as the UN, World Bank and other watchdog meet in Doha, Qatar, to try to give a four-year-old anti-corruption agreement some teeth.

But hopes are low of countries agreeing to independent reviews into countries' finances to look for missing money.

Countries such as China, Iran and Russia are resisting such measures.

Two previous summits have failed to expand the powers of the UN's anti-corruption convention.

"We hope to have a commitment to action," said Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former Nigerian finance minister who is now managing director of the World Bank. "We've had a lot of talk. Now we'd like to see some action."

Quote, Originally Posted by CNN

The sight of {the dead guy} alive shocked relatives, some of whom tried to jump out of the windows of the funeral home ...

Quote

By Baruch Stone
September 2009

My name is Baruch Stone. I am 29 years old and I currently live in Cambridge, MA. I am also suffer from a chronic neurological condition and am officially classified as disabled by the United States Social Security Administration. I have a neurological condition that makes it very difficult for me to spent long periods of time sitting up or standing without suffering from extreme dizziness and extreme pain in my head. It is very debilitating. However, I was not always in this position.

In April 2007 I was sitting in the library at school studying for an exam when I suddenly felt very dizzy. I felt as if I was on a boat that was being tossed around in heavy waves. Thinking I was simply overtired I left and began to walk home. I called my doctor on the way and explain my symptoms. I was told to immediately go to the emergency room at the Cambridge Hospital, which I did. After several hours I was discharged with an “ear infection” and told to follow-up with an ear-nose and throat doctor.

It took until March 2008 before I was finally diagnosed and began treatment. In the interim I suffered, untreated, from extreme dizziness and extreme head pain. There is no cure for my condition. It is chronic.

Permit me for a minute to paint you a picture of my financial life, before and after.

In 2007 I was working for the Spherion Corporation as a full-time employee and going to school in the evening. I was a computer and systems engineer, with a contract to the Harvard University Art Museum. While there I was known for my high technical expertise, especially in the area of Macintosh computers. My boss at the museum, Esmond, liked me so much that he wanted to buy me out of my contract. We were in the last stages of salary negotiation when I got so sick to the point of being unable to work any longer. I was still a full-time employee of Spherion. At this time I was making over $50,000 a year and the negotiations were for quite a bit more.

Spherion provided me with an Aetna PPO and I had elected to pay into both Short Term and Long Term Disability policies. These premiums were faithfully deducted from my weekly paychecks and the money sent to Aetna and MetLife, the disability company.

When I still felt very sick in August 2007 I went to my Internist at the Harvard Vanguard Medical Associated. I was immediately referred for a brain MRI with contrast and to a neurologist. As the results of tests kept coming back with bad results my symptoms only got worse and worse. Then I had to stop working. I provided my disability forms to my internist, who filled them out.

I then went home to Chicago to live with my parents. This is around when the financial horror began.

I received a series of correspondences from MetLife, phone and letters, in which they indicated I had a “pre-existing condition” and thus my disability policy was void. After consulting with an attorney who specialized in disability law it turns out I went to my internist five days too early. I had not cleared the extremely long (and very unpublished) period of time between beginning to pay for the disability policies and actually being covered. Had I gone to my Internist five days later I would have cleared this time limit. As well, my condition began after I had begun working for this company and after I had started paying into the disability policies.

I simply assumed that since I was being given health insurance and that my premiums were paid on time and in full I would have nothing to worry about. The health insurance didn’t have a grace period, and it even covered pre-existing conditions. Of course this condition began AFTER I had begun paying into the disability policy. Somehow, using legalese and lawyers, MetLife still considered this pre-existing.

Due to losing the claim for disability I also lost my company health insurance. At that point I went from being someone with good health insurance and a monthly income to someone with no health insurance and no monthly income. If not for my parents I would have become completely homeless with no access to health care.

Just imagine for a minute the effect this would have on someone with a chronic, severe neurological condition.

My father, G-d bless him, had made a very wise choice back in 2004. He had purchased an individual PPO policy for me and had been faithfully paying my premiums since. I still had insurance- a PPO even. Thank G-d.

Upon the advice of my disability lawyer, I filed for Social Security Disability. After 15 months and a denial that required a written appeal and two visits to SSD’s doctors, I was finally approved. I began receiving a monthly income 1/5 of my previous income.

My PPO, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, is highly ranked by Consumer Reports. However the plan has somewhat large deductibles, co-insurances, co-pays and don’t forget the monthly premiums. $1000 deductible, $1000 co-insurance, $20 co-pays (per office visit).

For someone who only has SSD as their only source of income paying all of this is a lot of money. I have calculated it to be between 3-4 months of income. Add to this the cost of my rent, food and the other basics in life.

To add insult to injury BCBS has been denying pre-approval for some medications. I am required to pay the hospital’s pharmacy up front and then I get to file this bill with BCBS. They then get to decide if and when they will reimburse me, and at what cost. This is a medication which my neurologist feels I may need to have for some time. It is an IV medication that takes 6 hours to infuse into my blood stream. I don’t understand why my doctor, a board-certified neurologist and the Chief of Neurology at his large university-based hospital, is being told “no” by my insurance company. This medication is fully FDA approved and the literature exists to demonstrate it helps people with my condition.

When I called BCBS to ask about setting up billing for this medication ahead of time I was told that this is not possible. I will only ever be allowed to pay for it out of pocket and then bill it to BCBS, hoping they reimburse me. This costs BCBS more money than simply paying the hospital directly. It’s a waste of time and money.

For someone who is officially classified disabled by the government (it was a long and lengthy process) it seems to me that I should be exempt from all co-pays, deductibles, co-insurances and out-of-pocket costs. I simply do not have the income to afford all of this. I have a very cheap rent and I never buy anything. I live very frugally and I buy food only with coupons.

So, to all the people out there who feel that there is no need for healthcare reform and the government needs to stay out of healthcare issues, I simply ask- is the status quo acceptable? I was a productive member of society who had every imaginable insurance. I did my utmost to ensure I would be covered if the worst happened. The worst happened and I was completely screwed over by a huge corporation.

Legislation needs to be put into place that would eliminate the co-pays, co-insurances, deductibles and out-of-pocked expenses for the disabled. As well, the legislation need to make certain that we cannot be dropped by our insurance companies and that there is no maximum dollar cap for treatment. Ever. In addition, the legislation needs to make certain that any treatments, tests or other medically necessary things ordered by our physicians cannot be denied by the insurance company. Especially FDA approved drugs.

This is not mind blowing or earth shattering in any way. It is sane, it is reasonable and it is the right thing to do.

None of this needs to be accomplished by the government setting up its own public-option. I am not opposed to this, but I’ll let the politicians work out setting up a parallel system.

As well we need to automatically be granted food stamps, rental vouchers and reduced fare for public transportation.

This is my personal situation and my personal thoughts of health care.


I am Baruch Stone. I am wishing you good health. May you have a blessed 5770 and a happy new year. Shana tovah umetukah.

Quote

In a statement, a Microsoft representative said the show--a variety show to be done by Alex Borstein and Seth MacFarlane--was not "a fit with the Windows brand." Microsoft had hoped to use the show to tout its just-released Windows 7 operating system.

Quote

In a report, the human rights group says Israeli water restrictions discriminate against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

It says that in Gaza, Israel's blockade has pushed the already ailing water and sewage system to "crisis point".

Israel says the report is flawed and the Palestinians get more water than was agreed under the 1990s peace deal.

'Basic need'

In the 112-page report, Amnesty says that on average Palestinian daily water consumption reaches 70 litres a day, compared with 300 litres for the Israelis.

It says that some Palestinians barely get 20 litres a day - the minimum recommended even in humanitarian emergencies.

While Israeli settlers in the West Bank enjoy lush gardens and swimming pools, Amnesty describes a series of Israeli measures it says are discriminating against Palestinians:

* Israel has "entirely appropriated the Palestinians' share of the Jordan river" and uses 80% of a key shared aquifer
* West Bank Palestinians are not allowed to drill wells without Israeli permits, which are "often impossible" to obtain
* Rainwater harvesting cisterns are "often destroyed by the Israeli army"


# Israeli soldiers confiscated a water tanker from villagers who were trying to remain in land Israel had declared a "closed military area"
# An unnamed Israeli soldier says rooftop Palestinian household water tanks are "good for target practice"
# Much of the land cut off by the West Bank barrier is land with good access to a major aquifer
# Israeli military operations have damaged Palestinian water infrastructure, including $6m worth during the Cast Lead operation in Gaza last winter
# The Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza has "exacerbated what was already a dire situation" by denying many building materials needed for water and sewage projects.

The report also noted that the Palestinian water authorities have been criticised for bad management, quoting one audit that described the sector as in "total chaos".

"Water is a basic need and a right, but for many Palestinians obtaining even poor-quality, subsistence-level quantities of water has become a luxury that they can barely afford," Amnesty's Donatella Rovera said.

"Israel must end its discriminatory policies, immediately lift all the restrictions it imposes on Palestinians' access to water."

'Fair share'

Ms Rovera also urged Israel to "take responsibility for addressing the problems it created by allowing Palestinians a fair share of the shared water resources".

Quote

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Iowa City police are investigating an early morning assault in which a man accused another of being a zombie, then punched him twice. Police said the assault occurred at 1:17 a.m. Sunday at an Iowa City restaurant south of the University of Iowa campus.

A man was ordering food when he was approached by another man who called him a zombie, then hit him in the eye. When the victim tried to call police on his cell phone, the man punched him again, breaking his nose.

The man then ran out a back door.

The victim was taken by ambulance to a hospital.