Friday, November 28, 2008

Headlines - Friday

Gee, I wonder why people aren't buying things?

NEW YORK — The holiday shopping season begins Friday with a blitz of early morning specials. For some merchants, though, it's practically over already.

Piles of jewelry, clothing and electric drills are bypassing store shelves and heading straight to liquidators by the caseload as stores try to save as much cash as they can.

Major department stores and mall-based chains have cut prices up to 70 percent to move out mounds of excess inventory stuck in the pipeline since the financial crisis hit in September and people snapped their wallets shut.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/27/holiday-season-may-alread_n_146842.html

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Orwell Lives

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/11/orwell-lives.html

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Bush will miss being Commander Codpiece

The Hill reports:

In his last Thanksgiving address in the White House, President Bush said Thursday that he will miss being the leader of the U.S. armed forces.

"During this holiday season, we give thanks for those who defend our freedom. America's men and women in uniform deserve our highest respect – and so do the families who love and support them," Bush said in his weekly radio address. "Lately, I have been asked what I will miss about the presidency. And my answer is that I will miss being the Commander-in-Chief of these brave warriors."

No surprise that he won't miss ruining the economy, letting New Orleans drown, or ignoring warnings that al Qaeda was going to attack. 

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Mitchell Wade thinks he's ratted out enough Republicrooks so as not to serve a day in jail: http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2008/11/michell-wade-thinks-hes-ratted-out.html

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Real Estate Downfall - funny stuff:                       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNmcf4Y3lGM&eurl=http://casadelogo.typepad.com/factesque/ 

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David Broder feels that it's a really good time to have a super smart president. For years he thought that being smart wasn't very important in a president but now he does because the problems are so severe. He gives no indication that he understands there might be a correlation between having a really stupid president and the problems which we now need a really smart president to fix.

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The Pope warns that technology such as the internet and mobile phones, could be leading people from salvation. That IPhone may be networking with the Devil by reducing your spiritual advancement regardless of how many time you invoke the almighty in OMG text messages.

Story here.

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Iranian justice reached a new low this week with a Sharia court ordering that acid be dropped in the eyes of a man who blinded a woman for spurning his marriage proposals. The man only identified as Majid will be blinded under a system of "qisas" or fair retribution in the medieval system.

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Could you imagine King George the Compassionate Conservative doing this?

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Mumbai: http://xnerg.blogspot.com/2008/11/mumbai.html

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Via Corrente:

The ILO (International Labor Office) found that between 1995 and 2007, real wage growth in the United States was essentially 0 percent, and in 2009 wages will "decline by 0.5 percent in industrial countries and grow by no more than 1.1 per cent globally." The Center for American Progress Action Fund has found that weekly wages were actually 0.3 percent lower in June 2008 than they were in March 2001.

This stagnation — which occurred at the same time that CEO pay steadily increased — has led to severe income inequality. The ILO found that the U.S. is one of the countries in which "the gap between top and bottom wages has increased most rapidly." Indeed, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported recently that "in the United States, the richest 10 percent earn an average of US$93,000 — the highest level in the OECD. The poorest 10 percent earn an average of US$5,800 — about 20 percent lower than the OECD average."

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A recipe too late for Thanksgiving, but Christmas is coming soon:

1 whole Turkey 
1 large lemon, cut into halves
sprig of rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
butter or olive oil, whichever you prefer
Heat oven to 350 degrees
Rub butter or oil over the skin of the Turkey until it is completely coated

Take a knife and gently separate the skin from the breast meat.
Slide lemon halves under the skin with the peel side up. This way the juice from the lemon will coat the breast. Season skin of the Turkey to your preference, and place sprig of rosemary into it. Cover and place in oven for 2 1/2 - 3 hours.

Remove cover and continue to roast until juices run clear, basting every 15-20 minutes. Total roasting time depends on the size of your bird.

If you've followed these steps correctly, your turkey should look like the one in photo below. Bon Appetite
.

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A new book by Dr. Irene Pepperberg, Alex & Me, "describes her three-decades-long relationship with Alex, the African Gray parrot who was smarter than the average U.S. president" and died at the very young age of 31. Damn. I cried just reading the article.

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