Famous baseball pitcher has Morgellons

When Oakland "A"s Pitcher, Billy Koch
and his family became afflicted with
Morgellons disease he was forced to
quit sports at 29.

Their doctors avow that strange filaments
emerge from their skin and that their
bouts of muscle twitching can last for weeks.

As of three years ago, when this report
was taken, there were 3,000 families in
the US complaining of this condition, which
is being described as a "highly unusual
newly-emerging infectious disease" and
has been long associated with Chemtrails.

Video (about 5 mins):

Famous Baseball Player Gets Morgellons   Also watch ABC's NIGHTLINE video on Morgellons at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsiJpuARHcE

Most doctors have not believed the people who have Morgellons -- even with the evidence staring them right in the face (blue/red threads emerging from the skin --you can see this online at many sites re. Morgellons. The threads are unidentifiable with any known materials, natural or synthetic). People who are experiencing this painful itching lesions disease have been labeled as delusional.  Remember how Agent Orange patients and Iraq veterans affected by depleted uranium have been labeled in exactly the same way?  I had an e-mail yesterday from a friend who described her own bout with Morgellons in this way:

My doctor absolutely believes that there is such a thing as Morgellons. He did some research and printed 8 pages of material downloaded from Oklahoma State University where they are doing serious research on the disease. So are UCLA and a CDC affiliate in Maryland. But the last time I saw him, he told me that he really knew nothing more about the disease and I should find a physician who had the time to learn more about it and find a workable treatment for it. Most other doctors who haven't done any research on Morgellons consider it "a delusional disease". My doctor warned me not to argue with such a doctor, but simply to hand them the material from Oklahoma St. Univ. and ask them to read it. I'm still looking for a doctor who is open to even doing that. 

It is a shame that many doctors don't have the time or curiosity to research a heretofore unrecognized disease when it is presented to them--and would rather blame the victim for being "delusional."  These poor people are suffering from symptoms that are clearly visible.  See videos of their skin lesions at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmCf4f0RnSw

Morgellons is a multi-symptom disease that is just now starting to be researched and understood. It has a number of primary symptoms:

• Physical
  • Spontaneously Erupting Skin lesions
  • Sensation of crawling, biting on and under the skin
  • Appearance of blue, black or red fibers and granules beneath and/or extruding from the skin
  • Fatigue
    
    
• Mental
  • Short-term memory loss
  • Attention Deficit, Bipolar or Obsessive-Compulsive disorders
  • Impaired thought processing (brain fog)
  • Depression and feelings of isolation

It is frequently misdiagnosed as Delusional Parasitosis or an Obsessive Picking Disorder.

Who

• Adults and Children are equally affected by the disease.
  

• Individuals in families can experience symptoms of the disease while other members are unaffected.  So it is not known, at this point, if the disease is contagious or inherited.

• Multiple members of a family can have symptoms.

Where

• Most cases in the United States are from specific geographic regions of California, Texas and Florida, though all 50 states have had reported cases. 

• Oklahoma has reported numerous probable cases.

• It has been reported worldwide in places such as Europe, South Africa, Japan, The Philippines, Indonesia and Australia

The following is from a site online, whose writer has done a great deal of research into Morgellons:

All of the health professionals who I know personally have been harassed and discredited for even trying to help Morgellons sufferers.  Why would that be?   What evil deed is so protected that they persecute people like my friend Dr. Edward Spencer?

Ed purchased a dermatoscope and offered to looked at the skin of Morgellons patients.  Even worse he saw fibers.  He later learned that vaccines could be a source of health problems to humans. He mentioned these possible problems to other Doctors.

In the end this graduate of Stanford and Yale with 30+ years of medical experience as a neurologist was ostracized and ridiculed by his own profession.  In all those years of practice Dr. Ed Spencer never had a patient who complained.

Personal Note:

In the end, a number of people with Morgellons have died recently.  Included among those was a dear friend of mine named Karen Whitledge.  She is greatly missed by all who knew her.   See her Dark Shurikin page to see the startling nano device removed from her body.

Many others are very ill and suffering.  This includes family pets, and infants.  How do you explain a delusional infant or pet? 

'

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The Third Rail Topic for Politicians: Climate Change

Climate Change is the topic avoided by all our politicians in Washington, D.C. and by the major media (except for Bill Moyers).  Yet, it is the most important issue the entire planet faces. When will we get real about it?????!!!!!

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/01/05/geographer-tells-moyers-climate-change-does-not-care-if-youre-republican-or-democrat/ 

Bill Moyers returned to the issue of climate change on his show Friday, decrying not only politicians, but a fellow journalist for avoiding the topic at their peril.

“As the clock ticks away and warnings mount, official Washington irresponsibly continues to look the other way,” Moyers said in a commentary.

He then showed a clip of CNN anchor Candy Crowley explaining her decision to ask both President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney economy-related questions instead of addressing climate issues when she moderated the Oct. 16 presidential debate between them.

“And so she veered away, avoiding the issue as if global warming is of concern only to a small clique of elites instead of every one of us,” he said, pointedly. “And so for the first time since 1984 there was no mention of climate change in any of the presidential debates. No mention as that clock ticks away and the warnings mount.”

Those warnings, said his guest, geographer Anthony Leiserowitz, should be heeded and addressed at the national level by Obama, given that the impact of superstorms like Hurricane Sandy are decidedly bipartisan.

“This issue has to stop being a partisan issue,” said Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication. “The earth’s climate does not care whether you are a Democrat or a Republican. It doesn’t care whether you’re liberal or conservative. Sandy did not only destroy the homes of Democrats and not Republicans.”

Ideally, Leiserowitz said, Obama would reaffirm to the nation in a State of the Union address that the findings of groups like the National Academy of Sciences confirm that global warming does in fact exist, and is a man-made phenomenon, while reassuring Americans that the tools are also in hand to solve it.

Watch Moyer’s interview with Leiserowitz at: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/01/05/geographer-tells-moyers-climate-change-does-not-care-if-youre-republican-or-democrat/

Raw Story (http://s.tt/1y0Yv)

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Best TED talk ever! Less than 20 minutes long but its impact lasts forever

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-jill-bolte-taylor/neuroscience_b_2404554.html

At the same time that it educates us about the working of the brain, it also speaks essential truth to the heart of us all. I could watch it over and over and never tire of seeing and hearing this neuroscientist joyfully tell of the most meaningful experience of her life.  I hope this video's message will stay with you for a lifetime. Understood deeply, it could change our world for the better in an instant!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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7-Up British documentary series

Passing along an educational entertainment tip:

Did you ever watch the Brit documentary series called "7 Up"?   Starting when the kids were 7 years old, every 7 years the documentarian filmed several kids from different parts of the British social strata -- those kids are now 56 years old and the latest in the series was just released as a DVD, called 56 Up.  Every 7 years the kids would talk about their hopes and dreams....you see them grow up and get married (or not) -- and all the life travails and successes they have experienced each 7 years.

If  you  haven't seen it, I think you might enjoy it.

Much of it can be viewed online at: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8A53AD4228E99928

Read all about the latest in the series at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2144082/56-Up-7-Up-boy-Peter-Davies-returns-documentary-28-years.html

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Oh NO! Mysterious report says fracking in NY's Southern Tier is just fine!

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/01/03/mysteriously-sourced-report-claims-hyrofracking-safe-in-new-york-state/

The greed and power forces are winning over common sense and human/planetary protection.  Watch the dolcumentary GASLAND to get a better understanding of what the Southern Tier (and MANY other places in our country, including Pennsylvania and central California) are in for!  See PBS 20-minute presentation online at:  http://video.pbs.org/video/1452296560/
and then see maps of widespread drilling all across the United States at: http://www.youtube.com/user/Gaslandmovie

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Wonderful! Low-cost Lamp powered by sand and gravity

GravityLight: the low-cost lamp powered by sand and gravity

Two London designers have developed a gravity-powered lamp that could sell for as little as £3, bringing light to remote regions in developing countries

•  
• 
  

GravityLight … the lamp powered by sand and gravity. Photograph: GravityLight

The problem of bringing light to remote parts of the developing world has been tackled in the past with everything from solar-powered lamps to wind-up devices and rechargeable batteries – all of which require relatively expensive kit or physical effort by the user.

But two London-based designers have now developed a light source that operates on the stuff that surrounds you – earth, rocks or sand – with the helping hand of gravity.

Developed by Martin Riddiford and Jim Reeves over the last four years, the GravityLight is simply charged by a bag that is filled with around 9kg of material and hung from a cord below the light. As the bag descends, a series of gears inside the device translates this weight into energy, providing 30 minutes of light. The light strength can be adjusted, from strong task lighting to a longer-lasting low-level glow, and two terminals on the front allow it to be used as a generator so it can recharge other devices including radios and batteries.

The project originally emerged from a brief by charity Solar Aid to come up with a low-cost light source as an alternative to the ubiquitous kerosene lamps that provide the main source of light across the developing world – but which come with their own set of health problems.

The World Bank estimates that 780 million women and children around the world inhale a volume of smoke equivalent to smoking two packets of cigarettes a day – leading to the statistic that 60% of female lung-cancer victims in developing nations are non-smokers. The fumes also cause eye infections and cataracts, while 2.5 million people per year suffer severe burns from kerosene lamps in India alone. It also comes with a huge financial burden: the cost of kerosene for lighting alone can account for 20% of household income.

The GravityLight is currently at prototype stage on crowdfunding site Indiegogo, but the target retail cost is aimed to be less than $5 (around £3).

"The villagers' investment is returned within three months of being freed from the cost of kerosene," says Jim Reeves. "From then on, it saves them money."

While there have been other attempts at creating battery-free light sources in the past, there has often been a surprising reluctance to adopt them.

"With hand-cranked devices, it might require three minutes of turning a handle for half-an-hour's return," says Reeves. "With this amount of effort required from the consumer, it's often not seen as a particularly attractive trade-off. The GravityLight just needs three seconds of lifting for 30 minutes' return."

Since the project's inception there has been much interest from development charities, but the main question has always been when the device will be able to charge mobile phones.

The GravityLight comes in a durable bag, which is then filled with sand or rocks to be used as the weight. Photograph: GravityLight

"Sometimes the hierarchy of need in these markets sets mobile phones higher than requirement for light, because business and trade are so often done through text messages," says Reeves. "But all of our phones are currently designed and optimised for an on-grid scenario. With colour screens, video and web browsing, the richness of these devices has increased, intensifying the demand on the battery – you plug it in for 30 minutes and expect it to last for a week."

Reeves and Riddiford both work for design and innovation company Therefore, which is pushing the thinking around low-power devices for off-grid scenarios in its Deciwatt research initiative.

"We need to turn the question on its head: if this is the lowest power source, what are the lowest requirements to power a phone? We need to start developing products for off-grid users, optimising devices for the market they will actually be used in."

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Chris Christie is obviously in the wrong party--hope he soon realizes it

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/02/chris-christie-sandy_n_2396537.html

WASHINGTON -- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) lit into House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Republicans Wednesday for not holding a vote on a Hurricane Sandy relief bill.

"There is only one group to blame for the continued suffering of these innocent victims: the House majority and their speaker, John Boehner," he said. "This is not a Republican or Democratic issue. Natural disasters happen in red states and blue states and states with Democratic governors and Republican governors. We respond to innocent victims of natural disasters, not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans. Or at least we did until last night. Last night, politics was placed before oaths to serve our citizens. For me, it was disappointing and disgusting to watch."

House Republicans declined to schedule a vote for Sandy aid Tuesday night, after voting to pass a fiscal cliff deal. If the House does not pass a disaster relif bill before noon on Thursday, when the new session of Congress begins, lawmakers will have to start over.

"Last night the House of Representatives failed that most basic test of public service, and they did so with callous indifference to the suffering of the people of my state," said Christie. "Sixty-six days and counting -- shame on you. Shame on Congress. Despite my anger and disappointment, my hope is that the good people in Congress -- and there are good people in Congress -- will prevail upon their colleagues to finally, finally put aside the politics and help our people now."

The Senate has approved a $60.4 billion aid package to help New York and New Jersey recover from the storm, while the House Appropriations Committee has approved a $27 billion measure. Christie said at the conference that he would not accept the smaller package.

Christie said he was not given an explanation as to why the vote did not take place Tuesday. He added that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) placed a call to him at 11:20 p.m. to inform him that the speaker had decided not to schedule one. Christie then called Boehner four times, and Boehner did not call him back.

"There is no reason for me to believe anything they tell me," he said, referring to the House GOP.

A House Democratic aide told The Huffington Post the decision not to vote on Sandy relief came as a "complete surprise." Members were expecting there to be a vote and neither Republicans nor Democrats were given any advance word that Boehner had changed his plans.

The decision drew bipartisan outrage from New York and New Jersey lawmakers. When it became clear there would be no vote Tuesday night, Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.) was seen heatedly confronting Boehner about the issue. A furious Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) on Wednesday said residents of the states should not donate to House Republicans. "I'm saying right now, anyone from New York or New Jersey who contributes one penny to congressional Republicans is out of their minds," he said.

“I am angry because we were this close to getting this done,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters on Capitol Hill Wednesday. “And the rug was pulled out from under us by the leadership in the House. The bottom line is very simple. Now we’re gonna have to start all over.”

Boehner is to meet with New York and New Jersey lawmakers at 3:00 p.m. Wednesday. Boehner spokesman Michael Steel told The Huffington Post that the speaker is "committed to getting this bill passed this month."

In a statement, President Barack Obama called on the House GOP to pass the bill "without delay for our fellow Americans." The president spoke with Christie Wednesday about Sandy aid, a senior administration official said.

A Boehner spokesman did not immediately respond to Christie's remarks.

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Obama will go down in history as The Ungreat Compromiser

We can only pray the Republicans will reject the deal -- they are crazy enough to do that.  But Obama will compromise again and again and again.  Even when he has all the cards and is sure of winning, he gives away his hand and goes begging.  WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS MAN????? After making big promises he doesn't intend to keep, he always deserts his base!!!

http://www.tnr.com/blog/plank/111521/the-cliff-compromise-bad-the-strategic-consequences-are-disastrous


EXCERPT:  Obama could afford to be unyielding because the economic consequences of going over the cliff for a few days or weeks would be relatively minimal and almost entirely reversible. And doing so would immediately demonstrate to the GOP that public opinion was emphatically not on its side—polls showed that the public reaction to going over the cliff would be both intense and heavily trained on Republicans. Throw in Obama’s post-election bump in approval ratings, and there was never a better time to hold out.

Instead, the emerging deal will reinforce the convictions that have made the GOP such a toxic presence in Washington. If Obama will cave even when he’s got all the leverage, when won’t he cave? Never, the Republicans will assume. If Obama’s too scared to stop bargaining and let the public decide who’s right in this instance, when the polls appear to back him, then he must think our position is more popular than he lets on. Suffice it to say, these are not sentiments you want at the front of Republicans’ mind as they prepare to shake him down over the debt limit in another two months. The White House continues to maintain that it simply won't negotiate over the limit. After this deal, why would any Republican ever believe this? I certainly don’t, and I desperately want to.

As in previous rounds of Obama-GOP negotiations, a lot of liberals are surely hoping that the lunacy of the House Republicans will save us from Obama’s overly generous offers. And, it’s true, House Republicans can normally be relied upon to reject a deal that’s absurdly generous by any objective measure but falls short of their virtue-police standard of purity. They may well do so again tonight, inshallah. But that doesn’t solve the broader strategic problem. Obama has already shown his cards on the parameters that will define his negotiations with Republicans throughout his second term. And there’s no one to save us from that.

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Right wingers don't understand they have been totally misled by FOX

Judging by the e-mails I get from right wingers, they walk in lockstep with Fox and Limbaugh and will never allow truth to enter their world. It's useless to try to educate them. They will stick with Roger Ailes for their news source and will believe whatever he wants them to believe.  Even when it is proven to be oh so wrong (Dick Morris telling Repugs it will be a landslide victory for Romney), the Limbaugh/Fox "dittoheads" keep on believing what they are told. I have to laugh at some of the tall tales they spin out, hoping against hope that others will believe them, too.

THE GOP'S LOST YEAR IN THE FOX NEWS BUBBLE
By Eric Boehlert

Suffering an election hangover after having been told by Fox News that Mitt Romney's victory was a sure thing (a "landslide" predicted by Dick Morris), some Republicans have promised to break their addiction to the right-wing news channel in the coming year. Vowing to venture beyond the comforts of the Fox News bubble, strategists insist it's crucial that the party address its "choir-preaching problem."

Good luck.

This grand experiment of marrying a political movement around a cable TV channel was a grand failure in 2012. But there's little indication that enough Republicans will have the courage, or even the desire, to break free from Fox's firm grip on branding the party.

For Fox News chief Roger Ailes, the network's slash-and-burn formula worked wonders in terms of catering a hardcore, hard-right audience of several million viewers. (Fox News is poised to post $1 billion in profits this year.) But in terms of supporting a national campaign and hosting a nationwide conversation about the country's future, Fox's work this year was a marked failure.

And that failure helped sink any hopes the GOP had of winning the White House.

From the farcical, underwhelming GOP primary that Fox News sponsored, through the general election campaign, it seemed that at every juncture where Romney suffered a major misstep, Fox misinformation hovered nearby. Again and again, Romney damaged his presidential hopes when he embraced the Fox News rhetoric; when he ran as the Fox News candidate.

Whether it was botching the facts surrounding the terrorist raid on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, parroting the Fox talking point about lazy, shiftless voters who make up "47 percent" of the electorate, or Romney's baffling embrace of reality TV show host-turned Fox News pontificator Donald Trump, the Republican candidate did damage to his chances whenever he let Fox News act as his chief campaign adviser.

Fox viewers didn't fare much better. Fed a year's worth of misinformation about the candidates, and completely misled about the state of the race (all the polls are skewed!), Fox faithful were left crushed on Election Night when Romney's fictitious landslide failed to materialize.

"On the biggest political story of the year," wrote Conor Friedersdorf at The Atlantic, "the conservative media just got its ass handed to it by the mainstream media."

Indeed, Fox's coverage of the campaign has been widely panned as an editorial and political fiasco. The coverage failed to move the needle in the direction of its favored Republican candidate, and the coverage remained detached from campaign reality for months at a time. (Megyn Kelly in July: The Obama campaign is "starting to panic." That was false.)

Following another lopsided loss to Obama, Republican strategist Mike Murphy urged Republicans to embrace a view of America that's not lifted from "Rush Limbaugh's dream journal." (The Fox News dream journal looks nearly identical to Limbaugh's.)

And San Francisco Chronicle columnist Jon Carroll wondered if Romney's defeat marked the end of a Fox News era:

You had to wonder about Fox. This is the third presidential election in which Fox has been a major player, and the Democrats have won two of them. A combination of big money and big propaganda was supposed to carry the day for Romney and the Republicans, but it didn't. Could it be that the Fox model has played out?

Is the Fox model of a cable paranoia played out in terms of ratings? It is not. Is the Fox model of cable paranoia played out as an electoral blueprint? It sure looks that way.

Of course, conservatives should have thought that through before handing over the control of a political movement to Ailes and his misinformation minions. They should have thought twice about the long-term implication of having irresponsible media outlets like Fox supersede leadership within the Republican Party, and should have figured out first if Fox News had an off switch to use in case of emergencies.

It doesn't.

Yet as Fox News segued into the de facto leader of the Republican Party, becoming the driving electoral force, and with Ailes entrenched in his kingmaker role, candidates had to bow down to Fox in search of votes and the channel's coveted free airtime.

And Andrew Sullivan noted in January:

The Republican Establishment is Rush Limbaugh, Roger Ailes, Karl Rove, and their mainfold products, from Hannity to Levin. They rule on the talk radio airwaves and on the GOP's own "news" channel, Fox.

There's a reason New York magazine labeled Ailes "the head of the Republican Party." And that's why a GOP source told the magazine, "You can't run for the Republican nomination without talking to Roger Every single candidate has consulted with Roger."

That meant campaigns were forced to become part of the channel's culture of personal destruction, as well as to blanket itself in Fox's signature self-pity. (Here was Mitt Romney adopting the right-wing whine that the conspiratorial press was out to sink his campaign.)

Still, the right-wing bubble was a comfortable place to inhabit if you thought of Obama as an historic monster, or if you required to be reminded of that fact many time a day, every day of the year. The bubble is the place where followers for four years were fed the feel-good GOP narrative about how Obama's presidency was a fiasco, that the Americans suffered a severe case of 2008 buyer's remorse, and that the president's re-election defeat was all but pre-ordained.

The one-part-panic, one-part-denial message may have cheered obsessive Obama-haters, but it didn't prepare conservatives for the reality of the campaign season. And it cost the GOP a lost year in the Fox News bubble.

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Two books on fracking: NY Times review

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/mar/08/why-not-frack/?pagination=false

EXCERPT:  the industry’s biggest excitement has come in the East, where a boom has been underway for several years in the so-called Marcellus Shale that runs from West Virginia into upstate New York. This gas-trapping shale formation has been estimated to hold as much gas as the whole United States consumes in a century. (The estimates are highly contested; some analysts are insisting that new data show them to be considerably smaller, though still vast, and indeed at the end of January the federal government slashed its earlier predictions in half.)

The gas is also ideally situated along the route of many existing natural gas pipelines and near the heavy-consumption eastern megalopolis. If you’re an energy company, it’s about the best place on the planet to find a huge pool of gas—it’s like discovering an underground deposit of beer directly beneath Yankee Stadium. Because of the potential profits, the agents of various companies have fanned out across the back roads of the region in a remarkable land rush, seeking to lock up drilling rights on the hitherto not-very-valuable acreage of marginal dairy farms and cut-over woodlots.

The two books under review tell the story of that land rush. In fact, they manage to tell exactly the same story, with exactly the same set of characters—a few neighbors along a rural road in Dimock, Pennyslvania. Pennsylvania has been the very epicenter of this boom, less for geological than for political reasons: the powers that be in Harrisburg have been remarkably congenial hosts to the new fracking industry, rolling out the red carpet. (They’re so generous that, unlike Louisiana or Texas, they don’t even charge a severance tax on the gas that’s generated in the state. In fact, they’ve even offered up official state forests for use as drill sites.)

That means that some people have come into unexpected riches, including McGraw’s mother, who leased her land for a large sum—for some farmers looking for an easier retirement it’s been a blessing. But the money has also divided communities in painful ways, since those who don’t reap a bonanza suffer the side effects: the noise and squalor of an industrialized countryside, the danger of quiet roads now overrun with trucks. And even the fortunate run the risk that something will go wrong with the wells on their land.

For example, Victoria Switzer and Ken Ely, neighbors who leased their land to Cabot Oil and Gas in the early days of the boom, then turned into adversaries of the company that did the drilling. They had good reason: before long, drinking water from their wells had turned brown. A neighbor’s well exploded, apparently because of “methane migration” from the fracking operations. Cabot insisted it wasn’t at fault; for a while it bought bottled water for the neighborhood, but eventually it stopped doing even that. It was, in other words, a kind of horror show, the sort of tragedy that usually accompanies largely unregulated booms. (And this one has been largely unregulated—the Pittsburgh newspaper reported in January that the state doesn’t even know where many of the wells in the state have been drilled, because companies, which are supposed to report on their operations, often don’t bother.)

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PROMISED LAND -- new Matt Damon movie about fracking

http://movies.nytimes.com/2012/12/28/movies/promised-land-with-matt-damon-directed-by-gus-van-sant.html    (Everyone should see the documentary GASLAND -- available on streaming Netflix.  If you live in Pennsylvania, upstate New York or central California, Gasland is especially important to view.)

READERS' COMMENTS
I live in a fracking area

I live in Binghamton NY, epicenter of the fracking debate in New York State, and when I drive 10 miles into Pennsylvania, I can see the results of fracking very vividly there: roads crumbling from heavy trucks, 100 feet blue flames shooting out of the tracking sites to burn off the excess gas, and hill tops leveled for drilling derricks. Since Binghamton's water comes from the Susquehanna river that flows through Pennsylvania before coming into New York, the city is now testing the water quality regularly--at taxpayer expense. My mayor is advocating that New York State seek out clean industries such as solar panel companies to help with our depressed economy rather than the terrible economic promise that fracking offers.

– Richard Stoner, Binghamton New York

GOOD EFFORT

Gasland was the sledgehammer. If you've seen Gasland, this movie will serve as a very well intentioned followup that doesn't preach too heavy. Which is why Matt Damon deserves so much credit for trying in almost gentle way to keep this subject up front and in everybody's face. Gasland is 3 years old, and not everyone has seen it, so there's a better chance that this movie will introduce people to the subject, in an almost balanced way. I live in NY, and I've spent 3 years trying to alert everyone I can reach about the dangerous 50,000 wells they want to drill in the upstate watershed, and the threat it poses to NYC's water supply. The best tap water in the country.

– Michael M, New York, NY

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Matt Damon gives up on politics

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/12/28/matt-damon-laments-u-s-politics-were-genuinely-fcked-on-long-term-issues/

Who can blame him? 

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Fracking in California in mainstream news

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/24/california-fracking_n_2360902.html

Lots of info. here for the general public and for anyone wanting to inform themselves about what is taking place in our state, just as it is in New York and Pennsylvania -- and MANY other states across our nation. 

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Sadly, this author is correct

Obama has proven over and over again that he is not interested in the opinions of his base. He wants us to vote for him, but then forgets us after the election.
OBAMA WILL RIDE TO THE RESCUE....FOR REPUBLICANS
By Cenk Uygur

The Republicans have put themselves in a holy mess with this Plan B debacle. They now have less than zero leverage. They are a national laughingstock. A majority of the country now thinks they are "too extreme." They just got walloped in the election. And with the tax cuts set to expire the laws are rigged against them as well.

There is only one person who can rescue the Republican Party now -- Barack Obama. And he will. I have been saying for over two years now that President Obama is dying to do the Grand Bargain. He will do it at any cost. In fact, he actively wants to cut Social Security and Medicare. He can't wait for that pat on the back from the establishment when they finally call him post-partisan, above party politics, and a statesman for screwing over his own voters. This is by far his greatest wish.

I couldn't believe that people couldn't believe that President Obama offered to cut Social Security again in this round of negotiations. What are you still surprised at? The man has offered to cut these so-called entitlements every time. When are you going to get it through your head -- he wants to cut them!

Ok, I'm raining on everyone's parade here because this is the moment when the partisans are supposed to be reveling in Republican failure. The Republican Party is split and in tatters. Yes, but to what end? In order for that to be relevant, the Democrats would now have to offer a very different deal where the terms are changed in our favor. If they do and they get a deal where taxes are actually raised on people making above $250,000 and Social Security and Medicare are protected, then I will be dead wrong. I will be wrong now and I will have been wrong for all of these years. You can rub my face in it. And since the Democratic partisans are now feeling triumphant, get that crow ready for me to eat.

But it's not going to happen. I'm telling you this even in the Republican Party's darkest hour, the president will still give them most of what they want. My guess is that liberals will be stunned at the concessions President Obama makes even when he had the Republicans in a corner and totally defeated. Here's what you have to understand -- it's because he doesn't want to "win." Winning is different for him than it is for me and you. To us, winning is passing progressive priorities. To him, it's passing a deal where he seems like he is above party politics. In order to do that, he must cut entitlements (and corporate taxes, too, by the way).

We're going to find out who is right soon enough. I just wanted to make sure you knew what was coming ahead of time, so that you understand President Obama's real motivation. Understand that next time around, and remember he's still here for another four years, asking the president politely doesn't get you anything. He isn't a progressive in his heart, he is an establishment pleaser. The only way he acts like a progressive is if you make him. Next time, instead of applauding so much, put all of the pressure on the world on him. That's what Republicans do all of the time and it is what will allow them snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Mark my words.

I think we can all at least agree that if ever there was a time to press progressive priorities this would be it. So, this will be a true test of who he is and what he believes. Let's see what he does. You shall know him by his works.

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How it is in our country -- living and dying here

TO LIVE AND DIE IN AMERICA

3 Shot And Killed In Mich... 18-Year-Old Shot Multiple Times, Dies... Man Kills Wife, Teen, Himself... Man Shoots, Kills Own Son... Cops Shoot Teen Dead... Man Gunned Down In Parking Lot... 5 Dead In Spate Of Shootings... 2 Murdered In Philly... 2 Kansas Cops Shot Dead... Shooter Killed... 4 Die In Apparent Murder-Suicide... Ga. Cop Dies From Gunshot... Argument Leads Teen To Shoot Friend... Man Shot To Death... Teen Dies After Being Tied Up, Shot... Man Shot Dead In Street... Drug Deal Leads To Shooting Death... Mother Of 2 Killed In Road Rage Shooting... Man Shoots, Kills Intruder... 1 Killed In Coney Island... Man Dies From Gunshot Wounds... Cops Investigate Gun Death... Shooting Victim's Body Found On Bike Trail... Man Charged With Shooting Own Brother Dead... Man Dies After Being Shot In Chest... Body Of Shooting Victim Found In Pickup... Teen Arrested For Robbery Shooting Death... Man Carrying 2-Year-Old Son Shot Dead... Man Fatally Shot Near Home... Parolee Dies In Shooting... 1 Killed In Buffalo Shooting... Man Shot Dead In Apartment Complex... Street Gun Battle Kills Grandma Bystander... Man, Woman Dead In Apparent Murder-Suicide... Woman Shot Dead By Intruder... 14-Year-Old Arrested Over Fatal Gun Attack... Man Found Shot Dead In Parking Lot... Woman Shot In Face By Ex-Boyfriend... 1 Woman, 3 Men Shot Dead... 2 Die In Attempted Robbery... Army Reservist Shot To Death In Alley... Man Shot To Death In Bodega... 2 Shot Dead In Burned House... Man Shot During Break-In... Man Fatally Shot... 20-Year-Old Gunned Down... Man Shoots Self During Police Pursuit... 1 Killed In Baltimore Shooting... Cops ID Shooting Victim... 60-Year-Old Man Shot Dead... Shot Man's Body Found In Vacant House.... Woman Shot And Killed Outside Her Home... Shooting Victim Was 'Trying To Turn Life Around'... Slain Shooting Victim Found In Street.... Driving Altercation Leads To Shooting, 1 Dies... 3-Year-Old Dies In Accidental Shooting... Man Turns Self In After Allegedly Shooting Wife... Man Shot Dead Outside Home... 3 Slain In Separate New Orleans Shootings... Cops Investigate Shooting Death... Man Shot Dead In Ohio... Teen Shot To Death... Man Dies After Being Shot Multiple Times... Man Charged Over Son's Shooting Death... Cops Find 2 Men Shot Dead... 1 Dies In Shooting... Man Charged Over Gun Killing... 1 Shot Dead In Confrontation... Man Charged With Murder Over Shooting... Motel-Owner Shot And Killed... Husband Shoots Estranged Wife Dead... Suspect Arrested Over Deputy's Shooting Death... Police Probe Fatal Shooting... Cops Kill 2 Suspects In 3 Shooting Deaths... Man Killed Fighting Back Against Robber... Man Killed In Home Invasion.... Nightclub Shooting Kills 1... Child Brain Dead After Drive By Shooting... Man Charged Over Shooting Of Ex-Wife... Body Found In Vacant House... Teen Fatally Shot...


And the NRA says, "HEYI WHAT WE NEED IS MORE GUNS!"  And the Tea Party nuts clap their hands and yell, YES, YES, YES!!!!

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Oops -- asteroid pass too close for comfort

Asteroids Toutatis and XE54 give Earth
a close flyby last week. Toutatis passes
by Earth every 4 years at a distance of
4 million miles and it's clearly visible
with a telescope.

The new asteroid, XE54 discovered just
last week, came "a little too close for comfort,"
within 140,000 miles of our planet. It came
"about as close to crashing into Earth as an
asteroid possibly can, without actually doing so,"
according to The Washington Post. Astronomers
say that XE54 was small enough that most of it
would have burned up in the atmosphere but
Space.com noted that the fact that it was not
spotted until it was basically upon us is a
"troubling sign."

It is estimated that there are over 4,000 Near
Earth Objects (NEOs), which are big enough to
take out a chunk of land the size of a state, that
routinely pass close to the Earth, of which only
30% have been identified.

Video (about 1 and a half mins):

Asteroids Toutatis and XE54 Pass Close to Earth

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