Monday blues

Methane danger.

It seems that the entire west coast of the US is on fire.

And if you aren't on fire, you're melting from the heat.

Market crash tied to China?  Paul Krugman: ..."what we’re seeing is what happens when too much money is chasing too few investment opportunities".

Bed bugs.

Or you could just have police crash through your door at 5 in the morning, not let you cover your naked body, and tell you to shut up.... before they realize they have the wrong apartment.

From tests to fires and all things in between

John Oliver takes on standardized testing.

A renowned antiquities scholar, Khaled al-Asaad, has been beheaded because he wouldn't tell ISIS where antique artifacts were hidden.  We own this brave man much for saving human history from these ugly vandals.

People killed by US police this year alone.

Buy ugly vegetables and save the world.

The plunder of black life.

Pharmaceuticals in the environment:

All indications are that we're just at the beginning when it comes to understanding the presence and importance of pharmaceuticals in the environment, let alone what to do about them. Even as scientists investigate what's actually out there, pharmaceutical companies work to make drugs and drug production more environmentally benign, wastewater treatment professionals develop better ways to remove pharmaceuticals, and environmental and public health advocates work on campaigns to change practices, studies finding pharmaceuticals in the environment keep coming. 

In fact, Kolpin says, hundreds are published each year. And although the amounts of pharmaceuticals being measured are exceptionally small, he says this information is important because it provides a base line for future comparison. 

"What we think today is safe, we may find 10 years from now there is some effect, that we didn't realize at the time was important," he says. "We're not trying to say the sky is falling. We're trying to put out the science saying there are some things that are of concern."

How much climate change will cost us.

World’s Second Largest Source of Electricity Is Now Renewables

Dog that helps sniff out foul brood disease in bee colonies.

California is on fire.  So is Alaska...

Would Mark Twain recognize the US today? I think he would....

Said almost one hundred and fifty years ago but still applicable: Some men worship rank, some worship heroes, some worship power, some worship God, and over these ideals they dispute and cannot unite -- but they all worship money.    Mark Twain

Larry Wilmore Had the Best 2 Minutes on the Confederate Flag You'll See  And some people can't understand what the word slavery actually means.

Is fracking killing babies in Vernal, Utah?

Amazon tribe creates 500-page traditional medicine encyclopedia

Anti-intellectualism is killing the US.

Alaska is going up in smoke.

Why rape victims often don't fight or scream.

Delayed drowning involving children.  This can happen after the child seems ok after choking in the pool and pulled to safety.

*Gasp* A woman scientist who agrees with Tim Hunt....

A little late but a nicely drawn comic explaining the TPP and  how trade works.

Right.

Things that are trying to kill you

Besides clowns...



Fireplaces

Those who are sure Climate Change is FALSE!

6 Life Saving Techniques From the Movies (That Can Kill You)

People who don't like electric cars.

And adding insult to injury...AFTER you are dead.

A reason to throw out that tree

As soon as is possible:



Update 12/26 Watch out for cheap knockoff Christmas lights as well. Often made in China.

About 3 minutes in

Is the best part....



Happy Tryptophan Day! Or Tofu Day...

As the world burns

Fascinating and scary sequence of fires around the globe from 2000 to present day.

And amazing video taken from the International Space Station of Sarychev Peak exploding.

Tis the season

For Southern California fires.

I could see this one building, first a grey puff behind the far southern ridge, then throughout the next few hours, increasingly heavier billows of smoke mixing dark purple with the grey as it spread along the ridges. The smoke and ash rose up higher on the horizon until it hit a different current of air, then spread out, orange, purple and brown into the sky. A friend closer to the fire reported it was snowing ash all over his car and driveway.

Driving at night, we could see the sharp orange flames glowing along the ridges and smell the pungent odors. Fire is something so feral and primal that I can see why pyromaniacs start twitching and drooling at this kind of weather: high winds, extremely low humidity, and drought conditions.

Welcome to what global warming will be bringing to a hillside near you.

Blackwater in California

An overview:



And:



And how helpful they were after the San Diego fires:



Randi Rhodes tries to puzzle it out:



But just remember:

Oh, tell us how wonderful and mighty you are, FEMA

Because your manly muscles make us feel so safe....

Steve Bates of The Yellow Doggerel Democrat pops the bubble. FEMA employees disguise themselves as reporters to interview.... FEMA.

How odd. I wonder why they are so scared of answering questions....

Oh, it's just California, Dick.

Take your nap. I'll bet you'd be awake if it was Wyoming going up in flames:

During a cabinet meeting yesterday, Vice President Cheney fell asleep on camera while President Bush was discussing wildfires in California. A Cheney spokeswoman “laughed it off,” telling CNN that the vice president was “practicing meditation.” CNN’s chyron reported that Cheney was seen “meditating” — rather than sleeping — during the cabinet meeting.

The sun is tinted red and all the sky is filled with smoke

As California is ablaze.



It is the fire season because we've been in our drought season, soon to be followed by the flood season, where scorched and barren hills melt into mud flows during our brief rainy season. At any time we may suddenly celebrate earthquake season.

At least we don't have hurricanes....

Gropenator Ahnold

Is doing at least one thing right, pushing California to be green. The recent California fires:

...to Linda Adams, who heads California's Environmental Protection Agency, it is only a sign of things to come.

"We can expect a lot more of this. More fires, more drought. This is global warming," says Ms Adams.

While the administration of President George W Bush has been accused of wilfully ignoring climate change, the State of California has already taken unilateral action.

[snip]

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has charged Ms Adams with implementing what she calls "the most comprehensive law in the world to reduce greenhouse gas emissions".

She is referring to Assembly Bill 32 (AB32), or the Global Warming Solutions Act, passed last year by California's Democratic-led assembly, with the backing of the governor, a Republican.

[snip]

The legislation obliges California to cut emissions back to 1990 levels by 2020. Work has begun on quantifying the level of emissions, after which a cap will be enforced, and industries will be able to buy and sell permits allowing a certain amount of pollution.

[snip]

While California's law has yet to be implemented fully, it is already being used as a template for nationwide action that American environmentalists hope will turn their country from a laggard on climate change, to a leader.

Fabian Nunez, the speaker of California's state parliament, says that was exactly the intention.

"If you look at Congress and the White House you would think that climate change is not a big issue with Americans, but that is false. The growing awareness about climate change across America has been incredible," he says.

"The intent for us when we passed AB32 was not only our commitment to California; there is a sense of state activism.

"When you look around and see that our president has essentially turned a blind eye to the issue of climate change, it raises a lot of concerns. So we wanted to help put the pressure on the federal government, and we think that's worked quite well thus far.

Update: Other things Ahnold is not doing so well.

Cookie Jill from skippy the bush kangaroo:

gov. seeks to cut mental services for homeless

a nationally lauded program that has helped thousands of mentally ill homeless men and women break the cycle of psychiatric hospitalization, jail time and street life is now on gov. arnold schwarzenegger's list of budget cuts.

Um... oops?

A massive wildfire that has already burned thousands of acres in the Pinelands and forced the evacuation of residents in two towns likely started this afternoon when an F-16 fighter jet dropped flares as part of a maneuver over a gunnery range, New Jersey National Guard officials said tonight.

In the comments:

Simple.

The military should withdraw from New Jersey. It never attacked America and doesn't want us there.

Posted by: End the occupation of NJ at May 16, 2007 1:11 PM

Bull Biscuits. We need to attack NJ there, so they dont attack us here. They hate us for our freedoms. They all worship the Jersey Devil. Plus most are Flyers fans. And no Timetables - they'll just wait for us to leave, then attack. We should build military bases there. at least bush should be able to find NJ on a map.

Posted by: Attack NJ at May 16, 2007 1:30 PM

.....

John Kerry voted for bombing New Jersey, before voting against it.

Posted by: flip flop at May 16, 2007 6:32 PM

Bush was right....we are safer with our military and national guards fighting in Iraq.

Posted by: misterbone at May 16, 2007 6:39 PM