Reader Tips
♫ They’re red, they’re white, they’re brown / They get that way underground… ♫
The comments are open, as always, for your Reader Tips.
If Europe Were a House… It’d Be Condemned
“corruption that has become endemic to the political and financial elites of the world. When we refer to corruption we are referring to insider deals, cronyism, lies and fraud. Since the Great Crisis began in 2008, these have become the four pillars of the financial system replacing the pillars of trust, transparency, truth and reality that are the true foundation of capitalism and wealth generation.
Corruption only works as long as the benefits of being “on the take” outweigh the consequences of getting caught. As soon as the consequences become real (namely someone gets in major trouble), then everyone starts to talk.”
This process has now begun..”
Benghazi: “Do you care whether four Americans died?”
Things You’ll Never See On The CBC
This Day in History: February 17, 1998
Calling All Men Named “Earl”
I have a project I need your help with.
The Sound Of Settled Science
For decades, mice have been the species of choice in the study of human diseases. But now, researchers report evidence that the mouse model has been totally misleading for at least three major killers — sepsis, burns and trauma. As a result, years and billions of dollars have been wasted following false leads[…]
The paper, published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, helps explain why every one of nearly 150 drugs tested at a huge expense in patients with sepsis has failed. The drug tests all were based on studies in mice. And mice, it turns out, can have something that looks like sepsis in humans, but is very different from the condition in humans.
Medical experts not associated with the study said that the findings should change the course of research worldwide for a deadly and frustrating condition. Sepsis, a potentially deadly reaction that occurs as the body tries to fight an infection, afflicts 750,000 patients a year in the United States, kills one-fourth to one-half of them, and costs the nation $17 billion a year. It is the leading cause of death in intensive-care units.
“This is a game changer,” said Dr. Mitchell Fink, a sepsis expert at the University of California, Los Angeles, of the new study.
[…]
The study’s investigators tried for more than a year to publish their paper, which showed that there was no relationship between the genetic responses of mice and those of humans. They submitted it to the publications Science and Nature, hoping to reach a wide audience. It was rejected from both.
Science and Nature said it was their policy not to comment on the fate of a rejected paper, or whether it had even been submitted to them. But, Ginger Pinholster of Science said, the journal accepts only about 7 percent of the nearly 13,000 papers submitted each year, so it is not uncommon for a paper to make the rounds.
Still, Dr. Davis said, reviewers did not point out scientific errors. Instead, he said, “the most common response was, ‘It has to be wrong. I don’t know why it is wrong, but it has to be wrong.’ ”
h/t Carol
Honey, I Finished The Internet
Reader Tips
Whoops! Nearly forgot. Your tips thread is open. Here’s Youtube, choose your own musical selection!
Howie Chong Is President Of Sierra Club Of Canada
There are over 130 buses bringing people into Washington DC for the #ForwardOnClimate march.
— Howie Chong (@howiechong) February 17, 2013
Oh, Shiny Pony!
CTV: Heated exchange ends in Trudeau walking off stage
And oddly enough, it wasn’t about this.
Altogether, Justin Trudeau raked in $966,500 from private clients after he pressed start on his political career.
Some of his speaking clients, like the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, paid him $20,000 for one speech in 2010. It’s illegal for unions (and corporations) to give a dime to Trudeau’s political campaign. They just gave it to him personally, and called it a “speaking fee.”
Dear Leader Admits He’s Human
Responding to a question about immigration, President Barack Obama made a stunning remark:
“This is something I’ve struggled with throughout my presidency,” said Obama. “The problem is that I’m the president of the United States, I’m not the emperor of the United States.”
We Don’t Need No Stinking French Fry Grease
Twenty-First Century Snake Oil: Why the United States Should Reject Biofuels as Part of a Rational National Security Energy Strategy (pdf)
Current military and national energy policy and strategy need to be informed by a better understanding of the physical limitations and negative consequences of large-scale biofuels cultivation and consumption that are only now starting to receive due attention. This paper presents a physical evaluation of key characteristics of liquid transportation fuels and highlights the deficiencies that preclude biomass from becoming a primary energy source and biofuels from replacing petroleum as a national-scale transportation fuel. These factors include petroleum-dependence, energy return on investment (EROI), energy density, power density, water footprint, food competition, environmental damage, land confiscation, and lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This paper argues that biofuels do more to harm the causes of national and global security than to help them.
It’s an 86 page report, so grab a coffee.
h/t Ron
Some Props Are More Exotic Than Others
In stark contrast to the nearly naked girls…
…some of the [Sports Illustrated] models are featured standing next to people allegedly representing the various countries–an editorial decision that makes the “native people” tantamount to exotic props.
It’s Not Her Fault
Had your parents named you “VJD”, you’d have issues, too.
Reader Tips
She won the 2009 Kentucky Oaks by over 20 lengths and two weeks later became the first filly to win the Preakness in 85 years. 2009 Horse of the Year, Rachel Alexandra is currently fighting for her life after complications suffered during foaling. We wish her and her connections the best, and take a look back at her historic campaign.
Your tips in the comments.
I Amuse Myself
4000 people floated for 5 days on the #carnivalpooship and nobody thought to throw their crap overboard.
— katewerk (@katewerk) February 16, 2013
Honey, I Finished The Internet
The abandoned Hotel del Salto.
h/t Joan of Argghh!
Guns Are Not The Problem
Moronic apparatchiks in positions of power, who have floated to the top like pond scum, are.
” Is it time to buy all other Goldman “Sells” on imminent Buffet takeovers?”
Guess Who Was Buying Heinz Stock From Its Clients?
Update:
Acting just one day after the surprise announcement that H.J. Heinz would be acquired by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and Brazil-based 3G Capital for $23.3 billion, the SEC has gone to court to freeze assets associated with what it calls “highly suspicious options trading.”