skippy the bush kangaroo

Labels: movies, pop culture

scientists studying dolphin behavior have suggested they could be the most intelligent creatures on earth after humans, saying the size of their brains in relation to body size is larger than that of our closest relatives, the chimpanzees, and their behaviors suggest complex intelligence. one scientist said they should therefore be treated as "non-human persons" and granted rights as individuals. - physorg

Labels: animals, japan

• a hard way to die. - though it attracted little attention in a country that had moved on from the vietnam war, the health news about veterans and agent orange kept getting worse. why have they been made to suffer without va health care? - washington monthly
• dirty secret. - according to a chicago reporter analysis, residents within a half mile of the cicero and other chicago area rail yards could suffer a cancer risk more than 10 times higher on average than people four miles away. some scientists say cardiac disease is an even bigger concern than cancer. - chicago reporter
• missed vaccines weaken "herd immunity" in children. -brendalee flint did everything she could to keep her baby safe. she nourished her with breast milk; she gave her all the routine vaccines. but flint never realized how much her daughter's health would depend on the actions of her friends, neighbors and even strangers. - us toady

Labels: chicago, environment, healthcare, terrorists, veterans

"The home was littered throughout with empty beer bottles, trash, dog feces and urine and other unmentionables," according to Brian Dubois of American Holdings & Land, a company hired by Dykstra’s bankruptcy trustee to maintain the property.

"The house was left by Mr. Dykstra in an unshowable state, with raw sewage escaping from the main drain line left undone," Dubois said in court papers.

No wonder Jim Cramer liked him so much.

Labels: bankruptcy, baseball, sports

just a reminder that if you are visiting central florida during cold snaps,
you will want to wear a sturdy hat and watch the trees for falling iguanas.

Labels: blogtopia, florida, weather

the rapid introduction of full body scanners at british airports threatens to breach child protection laws which ban the creation of indecent images of children, the guardian has learned. - the guardian.

Labels: homeland security, lawlessness

All but one of the Washington staffers for Rep. Parker Griffith resigned on Monday in protest of the Alabama congressman's decision to switch from the Democratic to the Republican Party.

In a sharply worded statement, Griffith's former chief of staff, Sharon Wheeler, called the freshman congressman's switch a "mistake" that goes against the interests of his district, which relies heavily on federal funding for defense and aerospace jobs....

Griffith's legislative aides, interns and other junior staffers also quit, joining his former spokesman, Sean Magers, who had already announced he was leaving. The resignations left Griffith with just one staffer in his Washington office, a scheduler.

Labels: music, politics

"the extent to which he can recover seems to me depends on his faith," hume said. "he is said to be a buddhist. i don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the christian faith. so, my message to tiger is, 'tiger, turn to the christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world." - washington monthly

Labels: buddhist, faux news, religion

Labels: animals, california, china, climate change, drought, ecology, environment, epa, food, food shortages, global warming, katrina, ocean, religion, south america, south carolina, technology, tiger, toxins

the republican base generally does not recognize the corporate class as an enemy, unless certain elements, such as the hollywood entertainment industry, are demonized as cultural elitists. thus there is no conflict between the right-wing electoral base and the party’s corporate funders. but the democrats, on the other hand, are split between their corporate funders, who are fundamentally conservative, and their electoral base, which tends to be more liberal on both domestic and foreign issues. so they try to placate their electoral base in certain ways, while being careful not to rock the corporate boat. their passivity in the face of republican attacks is not due to their fear of republicans, but their fear of the corporate class and the national security apparatus that supports it.

liberals who advocate accommodation in order to get things done are wedded to a very narrow idea of what is possible. since the political make-up of washington is what it is, they counsel resignation to that fact. but the possible isn't some inert fact. you influence what is possible by taking chances. to not take chances is to relegate the party to minority status even when it has congressional majorities and the white house. we’ve seen exactly that during obama’s first year. he and rahm emanuel, his chief of staff, don’t take progressives seriously. they don’t fear what progressives can do because we haven’t proven we can do anything.

i am convinced that accommodation is a failed strategy, both politically and in terms of successful policy. you can accommodate with eisenhower republicans, with reasonable men. but they don't exist any more. reaching out to fascists is naïve. but because of corporate dominance of the process, obama and the democrats will continue to put on this dumb show of bipartisan reasonableness unless progressives find ways to flex political muscle. this constant scurrying to the right, a repeat of clinton’s failures, won't stop until progressives develop strength and resolve to confront, challenge, and put their foot down, not just to republicans (although that would be a good start) but to the so-called centrists, the corporate shills who stand in the way of change.

[G]iven the number of students who have to be in Pasadena, Calif., to represent The University of Alabama on Jan. 7 and the number of faculty, staff and students who want to be there, we are dismissing classes on Jan. 6-8.

(cross-posted, without video, from Snark of the Day)

Labels: education, football, sports

Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Sherry Shepherd, Gabourney Sidibe

Labels: holiday, muic, pop culture

Labels: music

Labels: music