“You don’t have to look far for proof that this country must cut its dependence on fossil fuels and develop cleaner sources of energy. It can be found in the oil-slicked Gulf of Mexico. It can be found in China’s aggressive efforts to win the global competition for green technologies and green jobs. And, most urgently, it can be found in the inexorable math of accumulating greenhouse gas emissions. And where is the Senate? After a year of talking, utterly nowhere. Paralyzed by partisanship, hobbled by indifferent leadership, it is unable to muster a majority (much less a filibuster-proof 60 votes) for even a modest energy and climate bill.” New York Times Editorial
New York Times Editorial: While the Senate Fiddles. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 13, 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/opinion/14fri1.html?th&emc=th
Senate Gets a Climate and Energy Bill, Modified by a Gulf Spill That Still Grows By JOHN M. BRODER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 12, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/science/earth/13climate.html?th&emc=th
Western Senators Propose Ban on Pacific Drilling By JOHN M. BRODER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 13, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/us/14spill.html?th&emc=th
Oil Containment Solution Randomizer http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/309252/may-10-2010/oil-containment-solution-randomizer
‘Junk Shot’ Is Next Step for Leaking Gulf of Mexico Well. By HENRY FOUNTAIN. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: May 14, 2010. Can golf balls save the gulf? That question hangs in the air here at a BP crisis center as hundreds of engineers and scientists work to cap the undersea well that for more than three weeks has spewed oil into the Gulf of Mexico. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/us/15junk.html?th&emc=th
Oil spill investigators find critical problems in blowout preventer By Steven Mufson and David A. Fahrenthold. Copyright by The Washington Post. Thursday, May 13, 2010. A House energy panel investigation has found that the blowout preventer that failed to stop a huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico had a dead battery in its control pod, leaks in its hydraulic system, a "useless" test version of a key component and a cutting tool that wasn't strong enough to shear through steel joints in the well pipe and stop the flow of oil. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/12/AR2010051202190.html?hpid=topnews
New Setback in Attempt to Contain Gulf Oil Spill By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 8, 2010. The latest effort to contain the oil spill that has poured millions of gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico encountered a setback 5,000 feet underwater, officials said Saturday, meaning oil will continue gushing into the ocean for at least several more days, and possibly months. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/us/09rig.html?th&emc=th
There Will Be Blame http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-may-13-2010/there-will-be-blame
Obama Vows End to ‘Cozy’ Oversight of Oil Industry By JOHN M. BRODER and HELENE COOPER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 14, 2010. President Obama on Friday angrily assailed the finger-pointing among the three companies involved in the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as a “ridiculous spectacle,” even as his own administration came under criticism for failing to do enough to prevent an environmental calamity. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/us/politics/15obama.html?th&emc=th
For BP, a History of Spills and Safety Lapses By JAD MOUAWAD. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 8, 2010... Despite those repeated promises to reform, BP continues to lag other oil companies when it comes to safety, according to federal officials and industry analysts. Many problems still afflict its operations in Texas and Alaska, they say. Regulators are investigating a whistle-blower’s allegations of safety violations at the Atlantis, one of BP’s newest offshore drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/business/09bp.html?hp
Oil spill executives face grilling By Ed Crooks in London, Sheila McNulty in Houston, Anna Fifield in Washington and Harvey Morris in Venice, Louisiana. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. Published: May 10 2010 14:03 | Last updated: May 11 2010 01:19. Top officials from BP, Trans ocean and Halliburton are set to point the finger at each other in the first of a series of congressional hearings on Tuesday, as legislators look for answers following last month’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2010/05/oil-spill-executives-face-grilling.html
U.S. Said to Allow Drilling Without Needed Permits By IAN URBINA. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: May 13, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/us/14agency.html?th&emc=th
Independent Inquiry Into Oil Spill Is Urged By MATTHEW L. WALD. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 14, 2010. As the Obama administration moves to end a conflict-of-interest problem in the operation of the Minerals Management Service, a rising chorus of experts is demanding that it rectify a similar conflict and appoint an independent blue-ribbon commission to investigate the gulf spill. The government’s main effort to get at the root causes of the April 20 oil rig explosion and spill is led by a six-member Board of Inquiry that has been holding hearings this week in Kenner, La. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/us/politics/15inquire.html?th&emc=th
Size of Oil Spill Underestimated, Scientists Say By JUSTIN GILLIS. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 13, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/us/14oil.html?th&emc=th
Odd Smells in New Orleans, Thoughts of the Gulf. By SUSAN SAULNY. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 14, 2010... The signature scent around Bourbon Street, after all, is the smell of spilled liquor. But from the French Quarter to New Orleans East, people here have been complaining about a tinge to the air that is unsettling even by local standards. Many suspect that it has something to do with the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, which has already leaked millions of gallons of crude about 50 miles off the Louisiana coast. The authorities involved in the cleanup of the fallen Deepwater Horizon oil rig have been burning oil on the surface of the gulf and using chemical dispersants around the leak. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/us/15smell.html?th&emc=th
International
Clustershag to 10 Downing - Hung Parliament http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-may-10-2010/clustershag-to-10-downing---hung-parliament
Clustershag to 10 Downing - New Prime Minister http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-may-12-2010/clustershag-to-10-downing---new-prime-minister
Financial Times Editorial Comment: Brown makes a mischievous exit Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. Published: May 10 2010 20:30 | Last updated: May 10 2010 20:30. Gordon Brown’s announcement that he will resign as Labour party leader has been cast as an act of selfless statesmanship. The timing, however, suggests otherwise. Coming just as negotations between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats reached a delicate stage, Mr Brown’s move seemed calculated to cause maximum disruption and open the way to a Labour-Lib Dem power-sharing deal. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2010/05/financial-times-editorial-comment-brown.html
Cameron Takes Over as British Premier After Brown Resigns By JOHN F. BURNS. Copyright By THE NEW YORK TIMES. Published: May 11, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/world/europe/12britain.html?hp
Bank of England Keeps Rates Steady By JULIA WERDIGIER and MATTHEW SALTMARSH. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 10, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/11/business/global/11boe.html?hpw
Greece Wither Soon - Scheherazade Rehman http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/309251/may-10-2010/greece-wither-soon---scheherazade-rehman
Euro plunges as growth worries mount By Robert Budden. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. Published: May 14 2010 08:29 | Last updated: May 14 2010 12:23. Fears of deflation in Spain and renewed concerns that tough new austerity measures across Europe would damp growth spooked investors in the region on Friday, sending the euro to new 18-month lows, share markets tumbling and gold to a new high. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2010/05/euro-plunges-as-growth-worries-mount.html
Conservatives in Germany Suffer Defeat at Polls By NICHOLAS KULISH. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 9, 2010. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc lost its grip on the upper house of Germany’s Parliament on Sunday, as voters in an important regional election dealt her party a strong setback seen as the first significant political fallout from the Greece crisis. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/world/europe/10germany.html?th&emc=th
Financial Crisis Tests Germany’s Ability to Lead By NICHOLAS KULISH. Copyright by the Associated Press. Published: May 10, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/11/business/global/11germany.html?th&emc=th
Price falls in Spain revive deflation fears By Mark Mulligan in Madrid. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. Published: May 14 2010 13:04 | Last updated: May 14 2010 13:04. Core annual inflation in Spain fell for the first time since 1986 last month, reviving fears of a damaging deflationary trend in the crisis-hit country. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2010/05/price-falls-in-spain-revive-deflation.html
Thai Forces Move on Protesters as Tension Grows By SETH MYDANS and THOMAS FULLER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 14, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/world/asia/15thai.html?hp
Thai Red Shirt security chief shot in head By THANYARAT DOKSONE. Copyright by The Associated Press. Thursday, May 13, 2010; 9:24 AM. A renegade army officer accused of marshaling a paramilitary force among Thailand's Red Shirt protesters was shot in the head Thursday, apparently by a sniper, an aide said. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/13/AR2010051300487.html?hpid=topnews
Thai Army Cites ‘Live Fire Zone’ as Clashes Continue By THOMAS FULLER and SETH MYDANS. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 15, 2010. The Thai military declared a neighborhood of Bangkok a “live-fire zone” on Saturday and said it was calling in reinforcements as fighting spread to several areas in the city and the death toll in a three-day offensive against anti-government protesters rose to 17. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/world/asia/16thai.html?hp
Aquino set to be Philippine president By Roel Landingin in Manila. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. Published: May 10 2010 09:11 | Last updated: May 11 2010 08:36. Senator Benigno Aquino, the son of former Philippine president Corazon Aquino, was on course to win presidential elections with initial results giving him a healthy lead over his rivals. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2010/05/aquino-set-to-be-philippine-president.html
Jet Crashes in Libya; Boy Is Said to Be Sole Survivor By NICOLA CLARK AND MARK McDONALD. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 12, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/world/middleeast/13libya.html?hp
China
9 Killed in School Attack in China By EDWARD WONG. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 12, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/world/asia/13china.html?hp
China’s Premier Discusses School Attacks By EDWARD WONG. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 14, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/world/asia/15beijing.html?hp
Chinese trade returns to surplus By Geoff Dyer in Beijing. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. Published: May 10 2010 07:18 | Last updated: May 10 2010 07:18. China returned to a modest trade surplus last month after recording a deficit in March. The 87 per cent reduction in the surplus compared with last year could ease some of the pressure on Beijing to appreciate its currency. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2010/05/chinese-trade-returns-to-surplus.html
China consumer price rise picks up pace By Jamil Anderlini in Beijing. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. Published: May 11 2010 05:19 | Last updated: May 11 2010 05:19. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2010/05/china-consumer-price-rise-picks-up-pace.html
Mess-o-potamia
New York Times Editorial: Mr. Obama and Mr. Karzai, Take Two. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 12, 2010. After months of rancor, President Obama made nice to President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan on Wednesday, and Mr. Karzai made nice back. At a White House press conference, the two men painted a sunny, improbable picture of cooperation and mutual respect. There was no mention of the many failings of Mr. Karzai’s government or his resentment of American pressure. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/opinion/13thu1.html?th&emc=th
Karzai’s Warm Reception Reflects New U.S. Approach By HELENE COOPER and MARK LANDLER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 10, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/11/world/asia/11karzai.html?hp
Distrust of Afghan Leaders Threatens U.S. War Strategy By ALISSA J. RUBIN. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 12, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/world/asia/13afghan.html?th&emc=th
Afghanistan appreciates its partnership with the U.S. By Hamid Karzai. Copyright by The Washington Post. Sunday, May 9, 2010 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/07/AR2010050704058.html
Imam’s Path From Condemning Terror to Preaching Jihad By SCOTT SHANE and SOUAD MEKHENNET. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 8, 2010. In the weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, the eloquent 30-year-old imam of a mosque outside Washington became a go-to Muslim cleric for reporters scrambling to explain Islam. He condemned the mass murder, invited television crews to follow him around and patiently explained the rituals of his religion. “We came here to build, not to destroy,” the cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, said in a sermon. “We are the bridge between Americans and one billion Muslims worldwide.” At first glance, it seemed plausible that this lanky, ambitious man, with the scholarly wire-rims and equal command of English and Arabic, could indeed be such a bridge. CD sets of his engaging lectures on the Prophet Muhammad were in thousands of Muslim homes. American-born, he had a sense of humor, loved deep-sea fishing, had dabbled in get-rich-quick investment schemes and dropped references to “Joe Sixpack” into his sermons. A few weeks before the attacks he had preached in the United States Capitol. Nine years later, from his hide-out in Yemen, Mr. Awlaki has declared war on the United States. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/world/09awlaki.html?th&emc=th U.S. Decision to Approve Killing of Cleric Causes Unease By SCOTT SHANE. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: May 13, 2010. he Obama administration’s decision to authorize the killing by the Central Intelligence Agency of a terrorism suspect who is an American citizen has set off a debate over the legal and political limits of drone missile strikes, a mainstay of the campaign against terrorism. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/world/14awlaki.html?th&emc=th
Iraqi Deal to End De-Baathification By ANTHONY SHADID. Copyright by The The New York Times. Published: May 11, 2010. Iraqi politicians have reached an agreement to halt a four-month campaign to bar candidates from politics for ties to the Baath Party, American and Iraqi officials said, papering over the sectarian tensions it unleashed, at least for now, and removing an obstacle in the long-delayed process of forming a new government. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/world/middleeast/12baghdad.html?th&emc=th
Dozens killed in attacks across Iraq By Ernesto Londoño. Copyright by The Washington Post. Monday, May 10, 2010; 9:23 AM http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/10/AR2010051000194.html?hpid=topnews
Palestinians turn to boycott in West Bank By Janine Zacharia. Copyright by The Washington Post. Saturday, May 15, 2010; 10:53 AM. In Mishor Adumim, a bougainvillea-lined industrial zone inside this West Bank Jewish settlement, at least 17 businesses have closed since Palestinians began boycotting its products several months ago. For the Israelis, it's "an insufferable situation," according to Avi Elkayam, who represents the settlement's 300 factory owners. But for Palestinians, it might be the strategy they have been looking for. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/15/AR2010051501492.html?hpid=topnews
National
Colbert Report - Confirming Elena http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/309294/may-13-2010/confirming-elena
Elena Kagan: A smart woman with fewer choices? By Ruth Marcus. Copyright by The Washington Post. Friday, May 14, 2010. She's not gay, okay? Actually, the all-too-public discussion about the ought-to-be private topic of Elena Kagan's sexuality would be easier if the Supreme Court nominee were gay. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/13/AR2010051304685.html
Gaywatch: Law School Friends, Eliot Spitzer Say Kagan is Straight By Max Read. Copyright by Gawker.com. May 12, 2010 http://gawker.com/5536875/gaywatch-law-school-friends-eliot-spitzer-say-kagan-is-straight?skyline=true&s=i
Far-Right Group AFA Demands To Know Kagan’s Sexuality, Since ‘No Lesbian Is Qualified’ To Sit On SCOTUS By Amanda Terkel. May 10th, 2010 at 12:07 pm. Copyright by Think Progress http://thinkprogress.org/2010/05/10/kagan-lesbian/
Release the Kagan http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-may-11-2010/release-the-kagan
Kagan Worship - Dahlia Lithwick http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/309265/may-11-2010/kagan-worship---dahlia-lithwick
Obama Picks Kagan as Justice Nominee By PETER BAKER and JEFF ZELENY. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 10, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/11/us/politics/11court.html?hp
A Climb Marked by Confidence and Canniness By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG, KATHARINE Q. SEELYE and LISA W. FODERARO. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: May 10, 2010. Elena Kagan has been all of these things, charting a careful and, some might say, calculated path — never revealing too much of herself, never going too far out on a political limb — that has led her to the spot she occupies today: the first female solicitor general of the United States, who won confirmation with the support of some important Republicans, and now, at 50, President Obama’s nominee for the United States Supreme Court. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/us/politics/10kagan.html?th&emc=th
New York Times Editorial: Pssst, Over to You. Copyright by the New York Times. Published: May 12, 2010. The United States Senate was supposed to have dropped its insidious tradition that let members put endless secret holds on nominations and other important matters. The abuse continues, more murky than ever. The reform, adopted three years ago, required senators to identify themselves within six days of blocking a nominee, and to state their objection. That stricture has been routinely violated with cheesy gamesmanship. Members — mostly in the Republican minority — pass secret holds among themselves to foil the time limit. Right now there are 52 nominees on secret holds — all noncontroversial in committee debates. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat of Missouri, is so fed up that she is challenging her colleagues from the Senate floor to fess up. “If you’re gonna stall and block, let’s see who you are,” she demanded in one speech. Charles Grassley, a Republican of Iowa, echoed her, urging secret holders to “have the guts to go public.” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/opinion/13thu3.html?th&emc=th
White House video blog offers an inside view By Paul Farhi. Copyright by The Washington Post. Saturday, May 15, 2010....You didn't see it on the networks because the behind-the-scenes video was only available on "West Wing Week," the Obama administration's new video blog. The six- to seven-minute compilations, which appear each week on the White House's Web site (http://www.whitehouse.gov) and on such video-sharing sites as YouTube, offer what a narrator on each segment calls "your guide to everything that's happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/14/AR2010051401316.html?hpid=topnews
Pakistani Taliban Behind Times Sq. Plot, Holder Says By JOSEPH BERGER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 9, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/us/politics/10holder.html?hp
U.S. Urges Action in Pakistan After Failed Bombing By JANE PERLEZ. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 8, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/world/asia/09pstan.html?th&emc=th
Heavy Drone Strikes Pound Western Pakistan By JANE PERLEZ and PIR ZUBAIR SHAH. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 11, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/world/asia/12pstan.html?hp
3 in Custody May Have Supported Bomb Suspect By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM and SCOTT SHANE. Copyright by Reuters. Published: May 13, 2010. Three Pakistani men taken into custody during a series of raids across the Northeast as part of the investigation into the failed Times Square car bombing may have provided money to the man who has admitted carrying out the unsuccessful attack, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said Thursday. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/nyregion/14terror.html?hp
Details Emerge About 3 Men Detained in Bomb Case By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 14, 2010. The three Pakistani men detained by federal authorities who are investigating the failed Times Square car bombing came from varied backgrounds: one was a computer programmer, one a gas station attendant and one a cabdriver. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/nyregion/15terror.html?hpw
Chicagoland
“All the while the state Legislature refuses to put Illinois on a sane budgetary path, state services are breaking down. Most recently comes the news that the North Suburban Library System will shrink into a shell of its former self, shutting down most of its services on May 30 and laying off most of its staff, including executive director Sarah Long.” Chicago Sun Times Editorial
Chicago Sun Times Editorial: Legislature's failure hitting home already. Copyright by The Chicago Sun Times. May 15, 2010 http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/2277174,CST-EDT-edit16.article
Chicago Tribune Editorial: Profiles in failure. Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune. 3:46 p.m. CDT, May 8, 2010. There must be some reason all of us keep paying our legislators. Their record of accomplishment isn't it. For a second year since many of them promised a post-Blagojevich era of responsibility, many of them aren't confronting the three crises that have Illinois — and its jobs-starved economy — circling a drain. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-edit-budget-0509-20100508,0,3279926.story
Chicago Sun Times Editorial: Spineless in Springfield: They can't do right thing. Copyright by The Chicago Sun Times. May 10, 2010. It's a long time between now and the November election -- at least state legislators like to think so. By November, they're hoping their profound incompetence will be long forgotten by voters. Lawmakers left the Capitol on Friday without tackling a $13 billion deficit, a budget hole so large it threatens to irrevocably weaken our schools, universities and social service safety net. http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/2253812,CST-EDT-edit10a.article
Chicago Sun Times Editorial: Daley comes out swinging at press. Copyright by The Chicago Sun Times. May 14, 2010. Is Mayor Daley trying to give the press grief? You bet.
Can we complain? Not much. On Daley's order, City Hall on Thursday began posting online all requests for government documents under the Freedom of Information Act -- the lifeblood of investigative reporters. http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/2271668,CST-EDT-edit14a.article
Metra: Pagano cashed in on unchecked power - Probe reveals executive director was able to take $475,000 because 'no one was willing to tell him no' By Richard Wronski and Erika Slife. Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune. 8:07 p.m. CDT, May 14, 2010. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-metra-pagano-0515-20100514,0,879475.story
Hawks advance to Western Conference finals - 3 goals in 2nd give Hawks lift they need to dump Canucks 5-1 By Chris Kuc. Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune. 12:21 a.m. CDT, May 12, 2010 http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/hockey/blackhawks/ct-spt-0512-blackhawks-canucks-chicag20100511,0,6339399.story
Toyota
Toyota had attack plan against congressional testimony, documents show. By Michael D. Shear and Peter Whoriskey. Copyright by The Washington Post . Saturday, May 15, 2010. Toyota officials sought to develop a public relations campaign to attack the credibility of key witnesses who have testified before Congress about acceleration problems with the company's cars, according to documents provided to the House committee investigating the automaker. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/14/AR2010051405390.html?hpid=topnews
Toyota Posts $2.2 Billion Annual Profit By HIROKO TABUCHI. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 11, 2010. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2010/05/toyota-posts-22-billion-annual-profit.html
GOP Bashing
Back in Black - Glenn Beck's Nazi Tourette's http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-may-12-2010/back-in-black---glenn-beck-s-nazi-tourette-s
Glenn to the Mountaintop http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/309295/may-13-2010/glenn-to-the-mountaintop
Republicans’ Calls for Offshore Drilling Have Grown Quieter By CARL HULSE. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 8, 2010. Two years ago, feisty Republicans commandeered the darkened House chamber during the summer recess to loudly demand that oil companies be allowed to “drill here and drill now.” Now, with an ominous oil slick threatening the Gulf Coast from a deep-well blowout, Republican cries for more offshore oil production have grown quieter. But they have not ceased. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/us/politics/09memo.html?th&emc=th
Tea party wins victory in Utah as incumbent GOP senator loses bid for nomination By Amy Gardner. Copyright by The Washington Post. Sunday, May 9, 2010. The national "tea party" movement toppled its first incumbent Saturday as long-serving Sen. Robert F. Bennett was defeated at the Utah Republican Party's nominating convention, the most powerful demonstration yet of the anti-Washington tide that is altering the nation's political landscape. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/08/AR2010050803430.html?hpid=topnews
Health Care
“The global war on AIDS has racked up enormous successes over the past decade, most notably by providing drugs for millions of infected people in developing countries who would be doomed without this life-prolonging treatment. Now the campaign is faltering. Donations from the United States and other wealthy countries have leveled off while the number of people infected with H.I.V., the AIDS virus, grows by a million a year. By one informed estimate, only $14 billion will be available of some $27 billion needed this year to fight the disease in the developing world. Fewer than 4 million of the 14 million people infected with the AIDS virus are getting drug treatment — far short of the goal of universal access set by the United States and others.” New York Times Editorial
New York Times Editorial: The Wavering War on AIDS. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 13, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/opinion/14fri2.html?th&emc=th
At Front Lines, AIDS War Is Falling Apart By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 9, 2010. On the grounds of Uganda’s biggest AIDS clinic, Dinavance Kamukama sits under a tree and weeps. Her disease is probably quite advanced: her kidneys are failing and she is so weak she can barely walk. Leaving her young daughter with family, she rode a bus four hours to the hospital where her cousin Allen Bamurekye, born infected, both works and gets the drugs that keep her alive. But there are no drugs for Ms. Kamukama. As is happening in other clinics in Kampala, all new patients go on a waiting list. A slot opens when a patient dies. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/world/africa/10aids.html?th&emc=th
Zuma’s Frank Talk Starts AIDS Dialogue in South Africa By CELIA W. DUGGER. Copyright by Reuters. Published: May 14, 2010. In a nation ravaged by AIDS, a disease still hidden in shadows of stigma and shame, President Jacob Zuma of South Africa has begun to engage in an extraordinarily open conversation about sex, AIDS and H.I.V. prevention, one ignited in part by his own recent admission that he had unprotected sex during an extramarital affair. Last month, as he announced a vast expansion of H.I.V. testing and AIDS services, he publicly took an H.I.V. test and disclosed that he had tested negative for the virus. Then in a frank interview on Thursday, Mr. Zuma said that he had been circumcised and had encouraged his sons to undergo the procedure, which can reduce a man’s risk of contracting H.I.V. by more than half. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/world/africa/15zuma.html?th&emc=th
A Spreading Peril for Women’s Privacy and Freedom By DOROTHY SAMUELS. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 9, 2010...But abortion-rights groups are newly anxious about new assaults on women’s reproductive rights, including a fight over abortion that snarled the last days of the health care reform debate. Anti-abortion groups are newly emboldened. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/opinion/10mon4.html?th&emc=th
Premature birth rate declines in U.S. - The numbers are down for the second year in a row, suggesting progress in the effort to fight prematurity – which is linked to a host of developmental problems. By Thomas H. Maugh II. Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times. 6:14 p.m. CDT, May 11, 2010 http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/la-sci-births-20100511,0,6262433.story
Doubt Is Cast on Many Reports of Food Allergies By GINA KOLATA. Copyright by the New York Times. Published: May 11, 2010. Many who think they have food allergies actually do not. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/health/research/12allergies.html?hpw
Health Care Reform
“Health insurers in many states have been seeking double-digit premium increases from people who buy their own policies directly from the companies rather than obtaining group coverage at work. In states where regulators have the power to curb excessive rate hikes, the increases are often rejected or negotiated down. In those where the regulatory laws are weak not much can be done beyond jawboning. This hodgepodge of controls over premiums needs to be backstopped by a national law that would allow the federal government to block unjustified rate increases where state officials lack the authority to do so. Attempts to include such powers in the newly enacted health care reform law failed. And while the reform law does have provisions that should help restrain premiums, they lack the necessary teeth.” New York Times Editorial
New York Times Editorial: The Anthem Saga. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 9, 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/opinion/10mon1.html?th&emc=th
Delivering Better Primary Care By PAULINE W. CHEN, M.D. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 13, 2010. What is clear is this: primary care is hurtling toward a crisis point. Once lauded as health care’s frontline clinicians, primary care practitioners — general internists, family physicians, geriatricians, general pediatricians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants — are instead struggling with growing paperwork demands, inadequate and misaligned reimbursement and dwindling numbers of providers. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/health/13chen.html?hpw
Fight Erupts Over Rules Issued for ‘Mental Health Parity’ Insurance Law By ROBERT PEAR. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 9, 2010. A huge fight has erupted over rules issued by the Obama administration to enforce a 2008 law that requires equal insurance coverage for the treatment of mental and physical illnesses. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/health/policy/10health.html?hpw
Business Group Joins Suit on Health Law By KEVIN SACK. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 14, 2010. With the aim of depoliticizing a largely Republican assault, the leading lobbying group for small businesses has joined officials from 20 states in their legal challenge to the new health care law. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/health/policy/15lawsuit.html?th&emc=th
The Economy
U.S. Retail Sales in April Beat Expectations. Copyright By REUTERS. Published: May 14, 2010. Sales at United States retailers rose more than expected in April, lifted by a surprise gain in motor vehicle purchases, government data showed on Friday. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/business/economy/15econ.html?hpw
US first-time jobless claims ease. By Alan Rappeport in New York. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010.. Published: May 13 2010 14:06 | Last updated: May 13 2010 14:06. The number of Americans making first-time claims for jobless benefits fell for the fourth week running last week, adding to growing evidence that the labour market is recovering. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2010/05/us-first-time-jobless-claims-ease.html
Return of shoppers boosts Macy’s profits By Jonathan Birchall, US Retail Correspondent. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. Published: May 12 2010 14:42 | Last updated: May 12 2010 14:42. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2010/05/return-of-shoppers-boosts-macys-profits.html
Goldman and JPMorgan roar ahead By Francesco Guerrera in New York and Brooke Masters in London. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. Published: May 10 2010 19:56 | Last updated: May 11 2010 00:15. The trading operations of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase made money every single business day in the first quarter, a feat that was a first for the companies and underlines the boom in Wall Street’s investment banking revenues. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2010/05/goldman-and-jpmorgan-roar-ahead.html
A Nightmare on Wall Street http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-may-10-2010/a-nightmare-on-wall-street
Big seller in market drop ID'ed as Waddell & Reed By DAVID PITT. Copyright by the Associated Press. May 14, 2010. Shares of money manager Waddell & Reed Financial Inc. fell Friday as it was identified as the stock trader that sold off a large number of index futures contracts during last Thursday's market collapse. http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/05/14/1474779/big-seller-in-market-drop-ided.html?storylink=mirelated
Computer Trades Are Focus in Wall Street Plunge By GRAHAM BOWLEY and EDWARD WYATT. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 9, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/business/10markets.html?th&emc=th
Fannie Mae Seeks Another $8.4 Billion in Aid. Copyright By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. Published: May 10, 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/11/business/11fannie.html?hpw
Prosecutors Ask if 8 Banks Duped Rating Agencies By LOUISE STORY. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 12, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/business/13street.html?th&emc=th
Apple May Soon Be the Largest U.S. Company by Jack Hough. Copyright by Smart Money. May 14, 2010. Apple (AAPL) is suddenly America's third-largest company by stock market value. Over the past three years, its shares have more than doubled in price, while those of No. 2 Microsoft (MSFT) and No. 1 Exxon Mobil (XOM) have fallen slightly. If that trend continues, Apple will be America's largest company by year's end. http://m.smartmoney.com/Investing/Stocks/apple-may-soon-be-americas-largest-company/?afl=yahoo&mobilesite=1
More roadblocks crop up as Tribune Co. tries to emerge from bankruptcy - Objections to Chapter 11 disclosure statement complicate company's efforts to win judge's approval By Michael Oneal. Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune. 9:06 p.m. CDT, May 13, 2010 http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-0514-tribune--20100513,0,7260707,full.story
Your Money
Debit Fee Cut Is a Rare Loss for Big Banks By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 14, 2010. Retailers have begged Congress for years, in vain, to limit the fees they must pay to banks when customers swipe credit or debit cards. Bills never reached a vote. Amendments were left on the table. The Senate did not even grant the courtesy of a committee hearing. That long record of futility ended in a landslide Thursday night. Sixty-four senators, including 17 Republicans, agreed to impose price controls on debit transactions over the furious objections of the beleaguered banking industry. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/business/15credit.html?th&emc=th
Banks Lobbying Against Derivatives Trading Ban By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM and ERIC LICHTBLAU. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 9, 2010. Cory Strupp, who represents Wall Street in Washington, spent the last six months lobbying for more than two dozen changes in the derivatives chapter of the Senate’s financial legislation. He has spent the last two weeks focused on one: eliminating a new provision that would require banks to leave the lucrative business of derivatives trading. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/business/10lobby.html?th&emc=th
Housing
40% of home sellers a a loss in March. By Mary Ellen Podmolik. Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune. May 10, 2010 8:31 AM...Forty percent of all homes sold in the Chicago area in March sold for less than the seller paid, according to a new report scheduled to be released Monday. http://www.chicagobreakingbusiness.com/2010/05/40-of-home-sellers-took-a-loss-in-march-zillow-reports.html
Commodities
Federal Reserve to test term deposit facility By James Politi in Washington. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. Published: May 11 2010 00:06 | Last updated: May 11 2010 00:06. The Federal Reserve said on Monday it would begin testing its “term deposit facility” – a tool to drain liquidity from the US financial system – as early as mid-June. Fed officials have made clear that the move to press ahead with term deposits should not be considered a sign that it will soon begin raising interest rates. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2010/05/federal-reserve-to-test-term-deposit.html
Travel
36 Hours in Kansas City, Mo. By CHARLY WILDER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 16, 2010 http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/travel/16hours.html?hpw
Religion
Church Crisis Shakes Faith of German Town By NICHOLAS KULISH. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 14, 2010... Villagers were shaken by revelations of past sexual and physical abuse of more than 100 students by some 15 monks at the school of the Ettal Benedictine Monastery, just a few miles down the road. Many, too, are feeling alienated from and angry at the church not only for what some see as an inadequate response to the most recent sexual-abuse crisis, but also for a broader failure to connect with Catholics living in modern Europe. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/world/europe/15germany.html?hpw
A Priest’s Legacy Survives, and Divides, in Mexico By MARC LACEY and ELISABETH MALKIN. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 12, 2010...The Vatican’s decision to take control of the powerful religious order and to label Father Maciel “devoid of scruples and of genuine religious sentiment” because of his long history of sexual abuse is causing particular soul-searching in Mexico, where many of the country’s upper crust helped the Mexican-born priest build his religious empire. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/world/americas/13maciel.html?hpw
Pope Issues Strongest Words to Date on Abuse By RACHEL DONADIO. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 11, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/world/europe/12pope.html?hp
Legal
“THE SUPREME COURT'S ruling in the Citizens United campaign finance case opened a dangerous pathway for corporations to spend money in direct support of -- or in opposition to -- candidates for federal office. Under the decision, corporations -- and labor unions -- still can't give money directly to federal candidates, but they can spend unlimited sums in independent expenditures for or against them. Even more dangerous, because of preexisting gaps in campaign disclosure laws, the money can be spent, in effect, anonymously. The entity spending the money -- say, Americans for Really Good Government (ARGG) -- would have to register with the Federal Election Commission and report its activities, but ARGG would not have to disclose its donors. So Corporation A or Labor Union B could give unlimited sums to ARGG to run ads going after Candidate C -- and the public would have no clue. This troubling situation should be fixed in time for the next election.” Washington Post Editorial
Washington Post Editorial: Corporate money in politics. Copyright by The Washington Post. Sunday, May 9, 2010 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/08/AR2010050803134.html
Holder Backs a Miranda Limit for Terror Suspects By CHARLIE SAVAGE. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: May 9, 2010. The Obama administration said Sunday it would seek a law allowing investigators to interrogate terrorism suspects without informing them of their rights, as Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. flatly asserted that the defendant in the Times Square bombing attempt was trained by the Taliban in Pakistan. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/us/politics/10holder.html?th&emc=th
Immigration
Citing Individualism, Arizona Tries to Rein in Ethnic Studies in School By TAMAR LEWIN. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 13, 2010. Less than a month after signing the nation’s toughest law on illegal immigration, Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona has again upset the state’s large Hispanic population, signing a bill aimed at ending ethnic studies in Tucson schools. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/education/14arizona.html?hpw
In Arizona, just say no to Latino heritage By Eugene Robinson. Copyright by The Washington Post. Friday, May 14, 2010. At least we don't have to pretend anymore. Arizona's passing of that mean-spirited immigration law wasn't about high-minded principle or the need to maintain public order. Apparently, it was all about putting Latinos in their place. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/13/AR2010051304373.html
The GOP's harsh immigration stance will cost it By Michael Gerson. Copyright by The Washington Post. Friday, May 14, 2010. Has the Republican Party become, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid recently charged, the "anti-immigrant party"? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/13/AR2010051303542.html
Student’s Arrest Tests Immigration Policy. By ROBBIE BROWN. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: May 14, 2010. Jessica Colotl, a 21-year-old college student and illegal Mexican immigrant at the center of a contentious immigration case, surrendered to a Georgia sheriff on Friday but continued to deny wrongdoing. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/us/15student.html?th&emc=th
Side by Side, but Divided Over Immigration By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 11, 2010. As the Arizona Legislature steamed ahead with the most stringent immigration enforcement bill in the country this year, this state’s House of Representatives was unanimously passing a resolution recognizing the economic benefits of illegal immigrants. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/us/12newmexico.html?th&emc=th
GLBT
Who Can The LGBT Community Support in 2010! by David Mixner. Copyright by David Mixner. May 10 2010... There is simply no longer any benefit in giving to the national Democratic entities such as the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Fund. Because of their apparent love affair with Blue Dog Democrats, most who oppose LGBT rights, we would only be freeing up money for candidates who will hurt us instead of help us. Even 'special funds' set up inside those committees only help create money for those who oppose us. Second, we don't have to support those committees to be good citizens and to help our community. There are now enough candidates who support full equality, including marriage equality, that we no longer have to accept second best. We can raise money, awareness and support for candidates who believe in us. We don't need to go through Committees to support them, we can write checks directly. http://www.davidmixner.com/2010/05/who-can-the-lgbt-community-support-in-2010.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DavidMixnerCom+%28DavidMixner.com%29
'Glee' creator calls for Newsweek boycott after piece about gay actors. By Patrick Goldstein. Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune. 3:11 p.m. CDT, May 12, 2010 http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-100511-glee-boycott-newsweek-gay,0,2206751.story
Why Do All These Homosexuals Keep Sucking My C**k? By Bruce Heffernan. Copyright by The Onion. October 28, 1998 | ISSUE 34•13. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2010/05/why-do-all-these-homosexuals-keep.html http://www.theonion.com/articles/why-do-all-these-homosexuals-keep-sucking-my-cock,10861/
Technology
Facebook’s open disdain for privacy. By John Gapper. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. Published: May 12 2010 22:05 | Last updated: May 12 2010 22:05... Unfortunately, Mark Zuckerberg, the 25-year-old who founded Facebook as a private social network for Harvard students, has recently been displaying a disregard bordering on disdain for Facebook users’ right to maintain control over personal information. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a967d5e4-5dfa-11df-8153-00144feab49a,s01=1.html
Google Says It Collected Private Data by Mistake By BRAD STONE. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 14, 2010. Google said on Friday that for more than three years it had inadvertently collected snippets of private information that people send over unencrypted wireless networks. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/business/15google.html?th&emc=th
Cars’ Computer Systems Called at Risk to Hackers. By JOHN MARKOFF. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 13, 2010. Automobiles, which will be increasingly connected to the Internet in the near future, could be vulnerable to hackers just as computers are now, two teams of computer scientists are warning in a paper to be presented next week. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/science/14hack.html?hpw
Revamped Microsoft Office Will Be Free on the Web By ASHLEE VANCE. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 11, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/technology/12soft.html?hpw
Entertainment
SNL Betty White Monologue http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/betty-white-monologue/1226076/
Digital Short: Motherlover *Uncensored http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/digital-short-motherlover-uncensored/1103443/ Editorial Note: X – rated
D*** in a Box http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/d-in-a-box/51523/ Editorial Note: X – rated
Little Lord Gaga Greyson Michael Chance's Paparazzi Is A Web Sensation - Video Ga Ga http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yYf4CwyF58
One ‘Law & Order’ Gets a Death Sentence, as Another Joins the Force By BRIAN STELTER and BILL CARTER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: May 14, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/arts/television/15law.html?th&emc=th
Other
WEAKLY HUMERUS NEWS 05-0-10 AIMED AT YOUR FUNNY BONE http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2010/05/weakly-humerus-news-05-15-10.html
Australian Sperm Shortage http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/309266/may-11-2010/australian-sperm-shortage
Sunday Morning Sex http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2010/05/sunday-morning-sex.html
Playing Doctor! http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2010/05/playing-doctor.html
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In Pride (orgullo),
Carlos T. Mock, MD
www.carlostmock.com
Author: Borrowing Time: A Latino Sexual Odyssey - Floricanto Press 2003.
Nominated for a Stonewall Award by the American Library Association GLBT
Round Table.
Author: The Mosaic Virus – Floricanto Press 2007. Nominated for a Stonewall Award by the American Library Association GLBT Round Table, and a Lammie from The Lambda Literary Foundation
Author: Author: Papi Chulo – Floricanto Press 2007. Nominated for a Stonewall Award by the American Library Association GLBT Round Table, and a Lammie from The Lambda Literary Foundation
Author: Cuba Libre, “Mentirita” The book is out. you can buy it at: http://www.carlostmock.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=32&osCsid=a0b517e687814469f8153c5070d69f99
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