The (Occasional) Weekly Poll Presents...
The Results of the...
The "That Was The Week That Was' Edition...
Which, if any, of these stories piqued your interest the most this past week?
1.) Ah-nuld's 'Living Loving Maid' and 'Love Child'...
2.) The Oprah 'I'll Always Love You' Fan-Fest count-down to her last show...
3.) Saturday's 'Apocalypse Now' fizzle...
4.) Lizzie does Dublin...
5.) Obama lectures Israel - Obama then sings, 'We are Family' to AIPAC...
6.) 'When the Levee Breaks'..or, the Great American Flood, as it were...
7.) The 'Helter Skelter' hilarity of GOP presidential candidates doin' the 'You're Hot and then You're Cold' shuffle
8.) Your pick...
Adam in NoHo (Ol' Reliable, I call him) responded with...
For me it was a toss-up between Ah-nuld and the 'Worst Apocalypse Ever', even though Obama's lecture to Israel and the weather proof-of-global-warming catastrophes were the important stories.
I'm beginning to feel that the UN should rescind whatever agreement that created Israel. Here they were, given everything they wanted at the expense of everyone already living in the region, THEN took more. Palestinians are people, too.
There's a reason the weather is like it is, and by all reasonable projections it's just going to get worse. Unless we stop releasing carbon in to the environment, we better all get used to more people losing their houses and farms in the very near future. (also, who thought they could ever tame the Mississippi River?!?)
But for me, watching Ah-nuld's family life implode and the religious crazies be wrong yet again was popcorn-worthy entertainment.
SallyP returns to the Poll with...
Such a plethora of newsworthy events from which to choose...
Arnold and the maid - another "Family Values" hypocrite revealed... That was a good one.
The big O, gone but not forgotten. Yeah, I did watch the last shows, and I tell you, when all those men entered the stadium, carrying lighted candles - to show Oprah, and the viewers, that they had all received degrees thanks to her financial/emotional help - I cried, and am proud of it too! I LOVE Oprah!
'Apocalypse Not Now' yeah, that was the nighttime comic's delight. I laughed a lot. So sue me...
"Lizzie does Dublin..." Hummmm, missed that one - unless you are referring to Barack's return to the village of his ancestor in Ireland - "Looking for his missing apostrophe in 'Obama'?"
"Obama lectures Israel" or, as I call it, "The President calling out the elephant in the room!" I was so proud of him for showing the world that Israel obviously is not interested in any Peace that includes the loss of even one acre of LAND, and vehemently protests even DISCUSSING it! I detest Benny Netanyahu, he is a lot of what is wrong with the State of Israel today!!
When the levees were deliberately opened to "save" the big guys on the Mississippi, allowing chemical-ridden waters to flood America's farmlands, and destroy people's homes/towns ON PURPOSE - yeah, that caught my attention...
Newt, the guy who served his cancer-stricken wife, in the hospital at the time, divorce papers - all the while persecuting the Big Dog (Bill) for the phoney Lewinsky affair - well that alone sucked, but screw him, another Republican dog, getting his just due!
If I had more time, I would tell you how I really feel, but you know me, B2BB, the diplomat that I am, and all...
Then later added an addendum to "Lizzie Does Dublin" ...
Oh, I just reread the question, and I determined that you are referring to the visit to the Aran Isles (Ireland), by "Her Royal Majesty the Queen!" Please note, we do not, ever, use the words, "Sex Pistols" and Her Majesty, in the same thought!! Just typing these words required me to form a still upper lip... Not so, "Truly yours," SP!
LOL!... No, the Queen did not go there. The 'Aran' Islands actually are a small group to themselves off the west coast of Ireland. My Mom,The Old Nan, endured a very choppy boat ride to get to them during one of her trips to 'The Emerald Isle'. Aran Islands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
DRD chose...
8.) Your pick...
Different pokes for different folks, but I was taken back by the revelation of Bill Clinton and his brief back hallway conversation with Paul Ryan as reported by ABC on the subject of torpedoing Medicare after the surprising victory of the Pro-Medicare gal in the special NY election. Bill has always been a corporate boy as demonstrated by his welfare reform give away to Newt, and his rabid support of NAFTA. Now that he is out of public office and making money like it is going out of style {more power to him} he seems to have taken an even more pro-corporation stance on entitlements as per his words to Ryan. The struggle has never been one on a horizontal Left v Right, but rather on a vertical one, the haves v the have not's. It's hard to believe a person who has millions in reserve when he tells you he is 100% in favor of Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, and other safety-net programs for the Middle class and the Poor when he knows the money will come from his and his corporate friends taxes. I guess they all are, or soon become, two-faced, forked-tongued, what's in it for me politicians.
Well, then, Poll-fans... That's all folks... Thanks to the responders... Yer the Best...
BadToTheBoneBob
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Against Learned Helplessness (New York Times)
As I see it, policy makers are sinking into a condition of learned helplessness on the jobs issue: the more they fail to do anything about the problem, the more they convince themselves that there's nothing they could do. And those of us who know better should be doing all we can to break that vicious circle.
Froma Harrop: In Cyberspace, Everyone's a Critic; Business Laments (Creators Syndicate)
On the prowl for a good dinner in a Florida town we didn't know well, I went on Yelp. Yelp is a social networking website that lets anyone review a business. One Italian restaurant looked promising, with mostly positive reviews and few grumbles. We went there, had a fine meal and told the chef-owner so. But on mentioning that we had seen the reviews on Yelp, a cloud crossed his face.
Jim Hightower: NUTTY LAWMAKERS, ARMED AND DANGEROUS
After a stint in Texas in 1866, U.S. General Phillip Sheridan declared, "If I owned Texas and Hell, I would rent Texas and live in Hell."
Paul Constant: Are They Serious? (The Stranger)
A Look at the Republican Boobs Who Think They Can Beat Barack Obama in 2012.
Meghan Daum: Obama's fast brain vs. slow mouth (Los Angeles Times)
It's not that the president can't speak clearly; he employs the intellectual stammer.
Robert Reich: The Republican Death Wish
Forty Senate Republicans have now joined their colleagues in the House to support Paul Ryan's plan that would turn Medicare into vouchers that funnel money to private health insurers. They thumbed their nose at the special election in upstate New York earlier this week that delivered a victory to Democrat Kathy Hochul, who made the plan the focus of her upset victory.
Mark Shields: Do Special House Elections Mean Anything? (Creators Syndicate)
Occasionally, special elections do indicate a national wave.
Paul Krugman's Blog: Reserve Currency Mysticism (New York Times)
I guess I get kind of annoyed being lectured on economic wisdom by people who are so obviously, glaringly ignorant of the most basic facts.
Nicole Sperling: Judy Moody's mentor is just a big kid (Los Angeles Times)
Megan McDonald is in the midst of her own adventure as her third-grade heroine becomes the star of a movie.
Kevin Smith: Jay & Silent Bob Grow the F*ck Up (Huffington Post)
As human beings, we govern our actions with our deepest fears. But if you name it, you claim it: let enough people into your closet and you'll find there's no more room for skeletons.
David Bruce has 42 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $42 you can buy 10,500 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," "Maximum Cool," and "Resist Psychic Death."
wrote:
answered:
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
BadtotheboneBob
A True Son
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny with a nice breeze.
Hacks PBS Website In WikiLeaks Protest
Lulz Boat
A group of hackers angered by a PBS documentary about WikiLeaks has posted a fake news story on the website of the U.S. public broadcaster PBS claiming that dead rapper Tupac Shakur was alive and well.
The group, Lulz Boat, attacked PBS' servers on Sunday, posting stolen passwords and other sensitive PBS information alongside a story headlined "Tupac still alive in New Zealand." Shakur was murdered in 1996.
PBS took down the story, but Lulz Boat's Twitter page linked to a cached copy. Officials from PBS did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment.
The identity of the people behind Lulz Boat was not known. Somewhat unhelpfully, they described themselves as "a small team of 80-year-old men and people who smoke on webcam." They also proclaimed: "Laughing at your security since 2011!"
Lulz Boat said it was not related to Anonymous, another group of hackers who also consider Assange and Manning to be heroes. Anonymous disrupted the websites of various credit card and online payment companies in December in a protest against Assange's arrest in Britain.
Lulz Boat
Wants Nuclear Exit By 2022
Germany
Germany will shut all its nuclear reactors by 2022, leaders of its ruling coalition agreed on Monday, in a reaction to Japan's Fukushima disaster that marks a drastic policy reversal.
The decision could still face strong opposition from utility companies.
A disputed 2.3 billion euro a year tax on spent fuel rods will not be scrapped even as the coalition plans to go ahead with the shutdown, Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen said early on Monday after late-night talks in the chancellor's office between leaders of the center-right coalition.
"(It's) definite: the latest end for the last three nuclear power plants is 2022," Roettgen said after the meeting and before leaving on his bicycle.
After the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in March, Chancellor Angela Merkel backtracked on an unpopular decision just months earlier to extend the life of aging nuclear stations in Germany, where most voters oppose atomic energy.
Germany
Big Deal Down Under
Carbon Tax
Actress Cate Blanchett and former conservative Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser are among prominent Australians who threw their support Monday behind the unpopular government plan to tax major polluters for the carbon gas they emit.
Blanchett and Fraser were among 140 personalities and organizations who signed a petition distributed to federal lawmakers supporting the center-left government's plan to make polluters pay for every ton of carbon gas they produce in a bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The petition - whose signatories also include a Roman Catholic bishop and a Nobel Laureate scientist - is part of a $1 million national newspaper and television advertising campaign funded by environmental groups and unionists.
The conservative opposition Liberal Party is opposed to making polluters pay. The governing Labor Party wants to tax polluters starting in July 2012, and is locked in negotiations with the minor Greens party and independent lawmakers on how much the tax should be on a ton of carbon.
Opinion polls show that both the tax and Labor are unpopular with voters.
Carbon Tax
Hospital News
Sean Kingston
Hip-hop singer Sean Kingston has been stabilized and moved to the intensive care unit at a hospital after crashing his watercraft into a Miami Beach bridge, his publicist said Monday.
Kingston and a female passenger were injured when the watercraft hit the Palm Island Bridge around 6 p.m. Sunday, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Jorge Pino said.
The Miami Herald reports that a passing boater saw the accident and took the two on board his vessel.
Both were hospitalized early Monday at Ryder Trauma Center, but Pino said he didn't know their conditions.
Sean Kingston
Italy Fender Bender
Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi
Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and a fellow "Jersey Shore" cast member have been involved in a minor traffic accident in Italy.
The popular MTV reality show is filming its fourth season in Florence.
The network said in a statement late Monday that two cast members were involved in a crash. The statement said no alcohol was involved and no one was arrested. It provided no further details.
Photos posted on celebrity gossip website TMZ.com show Polizzi and co-star Deena Nicole Cortese, apparently uninjured, sitting on the sidewalk after the crash.
Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi
How Much Longer Can It Hold On?
Photographic Film
As photography continues its march toward digital dominance, a shrinking number of people are still devoted to shooting on film, the analog ancestor to today's technology.
At the turn of the 21st century, American shutterbugs were buying close to a billion rolls of film annually. This year, the total could be a mere 20 million rolls.
Equally startling has been the plunge in film camera sales. Americans bought 19.7 million film cameras in 2000; that number might dip below 100,000 this year.
Photographic Film
Sued Over Colombian Paramilitary Payments
Chiquita
Each name is next to a number, in black type on a thick legal document. They are the mothers and fathers, spouses, sisters and brothers of thousands of Colombians who were killed or vanished during a bloody civil conflict between leftist guerrillas and right-wing paramilitary groups whose victims have largely been civilians.
The list has at least 4,000 names, each one targeting Chiquita Brands International in U.S. lawsuits, claiming the produce giant's payments and other assistance to the paramilitary groups amounted to supporting terrorists.
Cincinnati-based Chiquita in 2007 pleaded guilty to similar criminal charges brought by the Justice Department and paid a $25 million fine. But if the lawsuits succeed, plaintiffs' lawyers estimate the damages against Chiquita could reach into the billions. The cases filed around the country are being consolidated before a South Florida federal judge who must decide whether to dismiss them or let them proceed.
"A company that pays a terrorist organization that kills thousands of people should get the capital punishment of civil liability and be put out of business by punitive damages," said attorney Terry Collingsworth, who filed one of the first lawsuits on behalf of Colombians.
Chiquita has long maintained it was essentially blackmailed into paying the paramilitary groups - perpetrators of the majority of civilian deaths in Colombia's dirty war - and insists the lawsuits should be dismissed.
Chiquita
Hospitals Hunt Substitutes
Drug Shortages
A growing shortage of medications for a host of illnesses - from cancer to cystic fibrosis to cardiac arrest - has hospitals scrambling for substitutes to avoid patient harm, and sometimes even delaying treatment.
"It's just a matter of time now before we call for a drug that we need to save a patient's life and we find out there isn't any," says Dr. Eric Lavonas of the American College of Emergency Physicians.
The problem of scarce supplies or even completely unavailable medications isn't a new one but it's getting markedly worse. The number listed in short supply has tripled over the past five years, to a record 211 medications last year. While some of those have been resolved, another 89 drug shortages have occurred in the first three months of this year, according to the University of Utah's Drug Information Service. It tracks shortages for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
The vast majority involve injectable medications used mostly by medical centers - in emergency rooms, ICUs and cancer wards. Particular shortages can last for weeks or for many months, and there aren't always good alternatives. Nor is it just a U.S. problem, as other countries report some of the same supply disruptions.
Drug Shortages
Cold Snap Linked To Viking Disappearance
Greenland
A cold snap in Greenland in the 12th century may help explain why Viking settlers vanished from the island, scientists said on Monday.
The report, reconstructing temperatures by examining lake sediment cores in west Greenland dating back 5,600 years, also indicated that earlier, pre-historic settlers also had to contend with vicious swings in climate on icy Greenland.
"Climate played (a) big role in Vikings' disappearance from Greenland," Brown University in the United States said in a statement of a finding that average temperatures plunged 4 degrees Celsius (7F) in 80 years from about 1100.
Such a shift is roughly the equivalent of the current average temperatures in Edinburgh, Scotland, tumbling to match those in Reykjavik, Iceland. It would be a huge setback to crop and livestock production.
Greenland
Burping Cows More Climate FriendlyTthan Thought
Australia
Australia's huge cattle herd in the north might be burping less planet-warming methane emissions than thought, a study released on Friday shows, suggesting the cows are more climate friendly.
Cattle, sheep and other ruminant livestock produce large amounts of methane, which is about 20 times more powerful at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. One cow can produce about 1.5 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year.
Half of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture and most of that is from sheep and cattle. Most of the cattle and sheep emissions are, contrary to popular belief, from burping.
Scientists at Australia's state-backed research body the CSIRO say the amount of methane from cattle fed on tropical grasses in northern Australia could be nearly a third less than thought.
Australia
Weekend Box Office
'Hangover'
"The Hangover Part II" set a new high for comedy debuts with $105.8 million over the long Memorial Day weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The blockbuster sequel also led Hollywood to a new revenue record of around $280 million for the holiday weekend, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.
"The Hangover Part II" raised its domestic haul to $137.4 million since opening Thursday, nearly half the business the 2009 original movie did over its entire run. The sequel has added $60.3 million more in 40 countries overseas.
Opening at No. 2 behind "The Hangover Part II" was another sequel, DreamWorks Animation's "Kung Fu Panda 2," with $62.2 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Monday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Tuesday.
1. "The Hangover Part II," $105.8 million.
2. "Kung Fu Panda 2," $62.2 million.
3. "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," $50.4 million.
4. "Bridesmaids," $21 million.
5. "Thor," $12 million.
6. "Fast Five," $8.2 million.
7. "Midnight in Paris," $2.6 million.
8. "Rio," $2.4 million.
9. "Jumping the Broom," $2.35 million.
10. "Something Borrowed," $2.3 million.
'Hangover'
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