Bear vs. bike: Teacher riding to school runs into bruin above Miller Creek
By TRISTAN SCOTT of the Missoulian

Actually, this story is about a guy who ran into a bear, while cycling to work...

I just thought I'd "juice it up" a bit... It's SPIN, you know, like Marketing?

Teacher Assaults Bear in Montana over Rising Gas Prices

I Love Lamp wrote:

The suburban landscape has been marred by foreclosures and half-built communities abandoned in the subprime aftermath. But James Howard Kunstler, author of a dozen books, including The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape, thinks there's a bigger threat to those far-flung neighborhoods: the scarcity of oil. As Kunstler sees it, oil wells are running dry and the era of cheap fuel is over. Given the supply constraints, he says the U.S. will have to rethink suburban sprawl, bringing an end to strip malls, big-box stores, and other trappings of the automotive era. Kunstler, 59, predicts a return to towns and cities centered around a retail hub—not unlike his hometown of Saratoga Springs, N.Y. But the shift to this new paradigm, he says, will be painful. (Kunstler could be off the mark; he predicted technological Armageddon after Y2K.) BusinessWeek writer Mara Der Hovanesian spoke with Kunstler about suburbia, which he calls "the greatest misallocation of resources the world has ever known."

This dude sounds credible...

(Kunstler could be off the mark; he predicted technological Armageddon after Y2K.)

This does have a bit more credibility than y2kdisasterarmageddon2k

As someone who lives in a "far flung suburbia", I plan to adopt a different strategy to cope with the impending $8-10 per gallon gasoline prices. I plan on purchasing a motorcycle, to use for commuting, and use the resources in my local area for all of my needs...

I'm researching carpooling with neighbors, and other group options to lower the cost of getting to work, and I'm also allowed to work from home, when I don't have to be onsite with customers. These are some of the reasons I think that the doom and gloom of "suburbia" are over played, as most of us who live in my area really like the clean air, lower crime rate, lower tax rate, and fiber optic (to the curb) internet connections. (Thanks to Bellsouth...) We enjoy a small town spirit, in an 8yr old Swim/Tennis subdivision, with a median household income of $75K. My family and friends have discussed all of the impending "doom and gloom" already, and we're steadfast, that we are not moving back to the crime, smog, noise, and light polluted cities, regardless of the cost of fuel. It's simply not worth it.

RE: Good-Bye, Cheap Oil. So Long, Suburbia?

`You Will Explode'

Separately, another U.S. defense official said one of the Iranian vessels came within 200 yards (183 meters) of the U.S. ships.

``I am coming at you; you will explode in a couple of minutes,'' the Iranians told the U.S. naval crews, according to the defense official. The U.S. ships were ready to fire when the Iranians turned away, he said.

Yeah, Iran isn't a threat... really, they're just "bluffing" in a game of WWIII.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Someone is going to push a button, and many people are going to die. This is the stuff they write fiction novels about. Read the article and get the idea of how often this "type" of action happens.

Iranian ships try to provoke US Navy in the Straight of Hormuz -- Bloomberg.com: Worldwide

The city has issued a "request for qualifications" from companies interested in supplying "duodote auto injection nerve agent antidotes" needed to increase the "chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive preparedness" for Chicago's first responders. The kits would be used if "nerve agent or other weapons of mass destruction" were used in an attack on the city, the bid documents state.

Kevin Smith, of the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications, refused to say how many antidotes the city was seeking to buy with federal funds. He would only say they'll be an improvement over the current version.

This is just me speculating, but "what does Chicago know that we don't" comes to mind...

It's either they are the "hotbed" of terrorist targets, or some other driver is causing Chicago to run out and spend their taxpayer dollars on Nerve Agent Antidote. (which, by the way, is an oxymoron. Nerve Agent effects are permanent.)

City upgrading stockpile of nerve agent antidote :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Metro & Tri-State

Excerpt
Where Have All the Leaders Gone?

By Lee Iacocca
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Had Enough?

Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less
build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course."

Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!

You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don't need it). The most famous business leaders are
not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?

I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.

My friends tell me to calm down. They say, "Lee, you're eighty-two years old. Leave the rage to the young people." I'd love to-as soon as I can pry them away from their iPods for five seconds and get them to pay attention. I'm going to speak up because it's my patriotic duty. I think people will listen to me. They say I have a reputation as a straight shooter. So I'll tell you how I see it, and it's not pretty, but at least it's real. I'm hoping to strike a nerve in those young folks who say they don't vote because they don't trust politicians to represent their interests. Hey,America, wake up. These guys work for us.

Who Are These Guys, Anyway?

Why are we in this mess? How did we end up with this crowd in Washington? Well, we voted for them-or at least some of us did. But I'll tell you what we didn't do. We didn't agree to suspend the Constitution. We didn't agree to stop asking questions or demanding answers. Some of us are sick and tired of people who call free speech treason. Where I come from that's a dictatorship, not a democracy.

And don't tell me it's all the fault of right-wing Republicans or liberal Democrats. That's an intellectually lazy argument, and it's part of the reason we're in this stew. We're not just a nation... [ Read More (1.9k in body) ]

Where Have All the Leaders Gone?

Efforts to pass an immigration overhaul bill that was the result of months of work by senators, staff and administration officials fell apart Thursday, but party leaders vowed to keep trying.

THANK GOD! (or whatever deity, or other entity, thing, or object you worship)

Instead of vowing to "keep trying", how about we simply ENFORCE those laws and strengthen the laws we have in place?

I (naively I'm sure), thought that the DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY was created to SECURE our HOMELAND. It seems that our Representatives and Senators feel that DHS can't provide that facility, so instead, let's waste more taxpayers $$$ by wasting time on a bill that the American People don't want.

It would seem to me that there is a two pronged approach here, that might actually help solve the problem.
1) Take the $$ from DHS and give it to the Border Patrol, and any other Law Enforcement agency that is willing (if the $$ are available) to police our borders and remove the illegals from our cities
2) Modify the current laws, so that any person/company/organization who uses illegal labor is fined heavily. Channel those funds received from fines directly to those organizations who are dedicated to removing the illegals from the country.

These two simple ideas, IMHO, would start (and only start) the process of removing the illegals from our soil.

If those people who are here illegally wish to come back, they can do it in the same fashion my Great-Grandmother did, when she emigrated from Germany, and how my Mother did, when she emigrated from Canada. Legally.

That's my $0.02, YMMV.

CQ Today - Senate Gives Up on Immigration Bill

Decius wrote:
Hey, I know that bar tender! But, why, WHY is the press still saying things like this:

There are still lingering questions as to what threats they may have posed.

No there aren't you idiots!

If there WERE a threat, would
Ebay allow them to be
sold?

RE: mooninites in atlanta

Dagmar wrote:

Decius wrote:

Bomb units scrambled across Boston and Somerville today to investigate several suspicious devices.

"It's a hoax -- and it's not funny," Gov. Deval Patrick said.

This is an extremely serious situation," former FBI Director Bill Gavin told FOX News during the investigation.

"Whoever did this — whether it be kids or adults — if they think it's funny, I think they'll soon learn it's not that much of a humorous situation."

What a bunch of idiots!

It gets worse. The stupid has spread to other cities now.

I love it...

From one of the articles: "It said the devices have been in place for two to three weeks in 10 cities: Boston; New York; Los Angeles; Chicago; Atlanta; Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Austin, Texas; San Francisco; and Philadelphia."

So, why does boston lose their mind? Because they're STUPID, look at the other cities....

New York = Understand Lights aren't bombs, thowies have been used in NY before.

Los Angeles = They needed the extra lights, so they didn't complain.

Chicago = the wind blew them all away, no one cared...

Atlanta = thought it was part of the rap scene, so it was cool yo'

Seattle = thought they were "floaties" in their eyes from drinking too much coffee

Portland = thought they were cool... and simply tuned into Adult Swim

Austin = thought they were part of the music scene, and played on.

San Fran = didn't even notice them.

Philadelphia = see Los Angeles.

Boston = With all their drinking and lack of thought, leapt to the conclusion that they looked like old IRA bombs, and freaked out.

RE: cbs4boston.com - Hoax Devices Creating Gridlock In Boston

The difference is that even during a full on nuclear exchange at the height of the cold war (1984 I believe), there would still be humans left. The death tolls would be significant, in the hundreds of millions to even a billion, but about half of the population would survive after the exchange, and a half again after the nuclear winter subsided. There were never enough arms to totally wipe out the human race. And a large section of the population didn't live near primary targets.

Wrong. There were enough Nuclear weapons on the planet at the height of the cold war to destroy all human live four times over. And it doesn't matter if a large section of the population didn't live near primary targets (which wasn't true either), because the climatological changes post an all out nuclear war would have destroyed all life on earth.

Now when you're talking about climate change, and many of the models indicate not only intolerable shifts in temperature as well as the atmosphere changing to essentially be poisonous, then I think he has a point. Granted, it would take hundreds of years to get to this state, but it's a lot more deadly consequence than the 90 minutes it would take to get off a nuclear exchange.

See above... those who die in the first 90 minutes would be the lucky ones. I was actually happy that I did grow up in a primary target area, because I wouldn't have to be around to suffer the end of man.

Actually, Nature has a way of controlling the climate. (hint) It's the largest unexplored area of our planet. El Nino is just the beginning. As more polar ice (fresh water) melts, and gets into the circulatory flow of the planet, changes the salinity of the current flows, causing temperatures of waters of all the world to change, effecting the climate directly.

We can continue to pollute the earth, the climate will change, and adjust, and begin eradicating humans. I really DON'T care, because nature will still survive. If it is our destiny to destroy ourselves, who are we to stop it?

RE: AM - Gore warns on climate change

Umm... As I understand it, Rangel's draft maneuverings have more to do with forcing the more hawkish members of congress to go on record as having voted for or against a draft. Part of his point is also that these same elected officials would be less likely to vote for armed conflict if they knew that their children could be called up to serve in the event of said conflict...

Sounds like a case of the man simply having NO BRAINS then...

That's a stupid way of "making a point".

Our Military would be weakened by a forced conscription and draft, as it is today, our Military is ALL VOLUNTEER.

Which means, that each and every person that HASN'T served our country, needs to take a moment, find one who has, and THANK THEM for their commitment and sacrifice. REGARDLESS of the "conflict", war, or action they were/are involved in, these people believe in the "American Way of Life" so strongly, that they are willing to sacrifice their time, and in some cases, their life, to be the strong force of our Government. (Regardless if you feel the particular action is right or wrong.)

Please, take a moment to thank your nearest sailor, airman, soldier, marine, and coast guard. If you don't know any, here are a few links to find a way to say "Thanks".

http://www.uso.org/whatwedo/specialprograms/

http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent1/?file=support_troops

http://www.usocares.org/src/uso_home.htm

Thats my 2¢, YMMV.

dc0de.

RE: Top Democrat: Bring back the draft - CNN.com