New Study Sheds Light on Global Warming: Bad New for the New York Times, Good News for Planet Earth

New study details how simple changes at New York Times
could help save planet Earth

A few changes could go a long way toward reducing climate change a new study released Friday showed. While it's good news for Planet Earth, it may be bad news for Editorial writers at the New York Times.

The United States could shave as much as 27 percent off the amount of greenhouse gases it emits at fairly modest cost and with only small technology innovations, according to a new report.

DeRhode Report on Reducing Greenhouse Gases

A large share of the reductions could come from steps that would more than pay for themselves in lower energy bills for industries, individual consumers, and long-suffering readers of the New York Times the report said, adding that people should take those steps out of good sense regardless of how worried they might be about climate change.

But that is unlikely to happen under present circumstances, said the authors, who are energy experts at DeRhode & Company, the consulting firm.

The report said the country was brimming with “negative cost opportunities” — potential changes in the reading, viewing and discussion of newspapers editorial policies, for example, that would reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the emissions of NY Times Editorial Staff meetings, even as they save money.

“These types of savings have been around for 20 years,” said Dr. Juan Morefor DeRhode, a director of the study. But he said they still face tremendous barriers.

"We've charted enormous potential resistance to any suggestion that the Times' writers take basic science courses to better acquaint themselves with what they are writing about."

But DeRhode said that the stakes are "so high it makes it all worth pursuing."

Another of the study's authors, Dr. Getta Klough, echoed DeRhode.

"The emissions from the editorial staff at NY Times, CNN, MSNBC and USA Today alone, well--they were off the chart. If these could somehow be limited, it would go a long way toward solving many of the problems of perception about climate change."

The study was released Friday in Washington, D.C. and was conducted by DeRhode and Company for DBKP.

Its release comes a week before a United Nations climate conference is to convene in Bali, and as Congress approaches a vote on proposals to limit emissions of greenhouse gases.

by Mondoreb
[image:.blog.thesietch]
Sources:
Study Details How U.S. Could Cut 28% of Greenhouse Gases
DeRhode and Company Study



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

How Things Work: Using Beer Drinkers to Illustrate The U.S. Tax System

Do your eyes glaze over thinking about taxes? X-box more important than tax talk?

This is the simplest explanation of how the U.S. tax system works. Beer drinkers and who pays the freight in the United States. From an economics professor at the University of Georgia.

Our Tax System Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this: The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing. The fifth would pay $1. The sixth would pay $3. The seventh would pay $7. The eighth would pay $12. The ninth would pay $18. The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59. So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until on day, the owner threw them a curve. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily bee r by $20." Drinks for the ten now cost just $80. The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share'? They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same percent, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay. And so: The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings). The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings). The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings). The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings). The n inth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings). The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings). Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. "I only got a dollar out of the $20,"declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man," but he got $10!" "Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got TEN times more than I!" "That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!" "Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!" The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. B ut when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill! And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier. David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D. Professor of Economics University of Georgia

For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For Democrats no explanation is possible.

by RidesAPaleHorse
notes: mondoreb
[2nd image: beerdrinkershalloffame]



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

American Daredevel: R.I.P.

The original Extreme Gamesman

Name at birth: Robert Craig Knievel

Evel Knievel brought the spirit of P.T. Barnum to daredevil motorcycle jumps in the 1970s. Dressed in his signature red, white and blue jumpsuit, Knievel would race his motorcycle up steep ramps and over obstacles, including the fountains in front of Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas (in 1968) and a row of 13 double-decker buses at London's Wembley Stadium (in 1975). Often he crash-landed, thrilling viewers while breaking dozens of bones. His most famous stunt was an attempted jump over Idaho's Snake River Canyon in a rocket-powered "motorcycle" in 1974. The attempt failed when the craft's parachute opened prematurely, but Knievel survived. He retired in 1981; his son Robbie Knievel succeeded him as the family motorcycle daredevil. Evel Knievel received a liver transplant in 1999, due to hepatitis C presumably contracted through blood transfusions after his many crashes.

Extra credit: George Hamilton portrayed Knievel in the 1971 movie biography Evel Knievel... George Eads played Knievel in the 2004 TV movie Evel Knievel... Knievel played himself in the 1977 film Viva Knievel.

More Evel photos and career statistics at Evel Knievel
Knievel jumping lorries in Wembley Stadium

The crippled grandfather of extreme sports inhales deeply. He sits in his leather easy chair, mind clouded by meds, bones throbbing with arthritis. As he watches an NFL game, on which he has bet $1,000, the cantankerous stuntman clutches oxygen tubes supplying life to hardening lungs.

It is a shock to the senses, if not the sensibilities, to see ultra-cool Evel Knievel, 68, looking so feeble, so frayed around his graying daredevil edges, right down to his gnarled knuckles and wobbly gait.

His ravaged, 155-pound body isn't composed of original parts. He has a new liver and a replacement hip, and most recently doctors inserted a drug pump in his abdomen. It gives little reprieve from the excruciating pain in a fused spine mangled by hundreds of perilous, cringe-inducing motorcycle jumps from the 1960s and '70s.

"Ever see one of them before?" Evel asks, lifting a pajama top to reveal a pain-relief gizmo under his pale skin. "This sends morphine and synthetic heroin into my back 24 hours a day. It's awfully strong — it affects your thinking, your brain."

by RidesAPaleHorse
note: mondoreb
[graphics: top-RAPH; bbc]
Sources:
Evel Knievel - who2
Evel Knievel, long retired, frail, feisty, still cheating death - USA Today





Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

(spit)

by RidesAPaleHorse




Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Drug Death, Thy Name is Hershey's

Reaction to drug warriors' next target?

"Drop the Ice Breakers and step away from the car."

It would've been mildly amusing had it had been satire.

After searching the story to see if it was intended to be a humor piece, "
Mint or Drug: Is Hershey's Cracked?" by Jill Porter, Philadelphia Daily News, one is overcome by a sadden resignation.

Have drug alarmists no shame? This is unintended humor from a usual source.
They've now settled their focus on a familiar group of law-breakers: Hershey's. The offending candy? Ice Breakers that are so similar to crack cocaine in appearance that--what?

A serious story about decidedly un-serious people who pose as serious.

FAMILY COURT Judge Lori Dumas Brooks wanted to make sure she wasn't overreacting.

So she held the small blue packet of powdered substance in her palm and showed it around at work yesterday.

Everyone asked the same thing:

What was she doing with crack cocaine?

Why is it that every time someone over-reacts, they start by saying "I don't want to over-react"?

The story continues in a National Lampoon-like manner.

"I thought she confiscated it in the courtroom," said Administrative Judge Kevin Dougherty.

No one could believe what the tiny pouch actually was: a new breath mint made by - get this - Hershey's.

Ice Breakers Pacs, which hit the stores this month, are dissolvable pouches in blue or orange that look uncannily like tiny heat-sealed bags of cocaine, crack, heroin or any other powdered drug.

The Pacs, filled with powdered mint and sweetener, are meant to dissolve on the tongue like breath strips.

They're even packaged in a plastic slide-top case similar to the magnetic key cases drug dealers use to hide their wares under cars.

Other drug-dealer packaged products

Who knew? Hershey's and Listerine are involved in a plot to make their products appear to be drug-related? They are joined by another in this nefarious enterprise by British candy-maker Altoids.

Their breath strips are also packaged in "a plastic slide-top case similar to the magnetic key cases drug dealers use to hide their wares under cars".
This is serious!

Back to the stunned judge.

"I could not believe it," Judge Dumas Brooks said yesterday.

"Who in the world thought of that, and how did it get approved?"

The pouches are so realistic, they even fooled Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector William Blackburn.

"Being in narcotics the majority of my career, I thought it was the real stuff," said Blackburn.

"It's a disgrace to see a company selling a product like this and basically glorifying the drug trade. The best word to describe it is despicable."

Blackburn's statement might indicate why Philidelphia seems beset with crime--other than it being Philidellphia.

The police have been spending all their time running down leads in 7-11 and Wal-Mart check-out lines. Meanwhile, the poor chief is fooled by a Hershey's product. We'll let the readers draw their own conclusions here.


Merchants of drug death line up

Even the reporter, Jill Porter, gets caught up in this outrage. One is sympathetic: how could she not be?

Porter: "The best word to describe Hershey's is . . . clueless."

Clueless.

Good word. Again, we'll let the reader draw their own conclusions about the who gets to wear this label.
Hershey's reaction? Well, they couldn't just say, "Are you freakin' kidding me?" They were more polite.

"It's not intended to simulate anything," corporate spokesman Kirk Seville told me yesterday, refusing to acknowledge the similarities between the candy and street drugs.

"We have a longstanding commitment to consumer safety, product quality and responsible packaging," he said, adding that the Pacs are "clearly labeled."

"The dissolvable pouch is what makes the product innovative and unique. The overwhelming feedback from consumers is they love the product."

The story quickly spirals out of control. Another familiar player in the "quick, we have to do something--anything" scenario is recruited, the tearful victim.

Linda Wagner, a police veteran, shares a personal story that, while tragic, has its meaning stood on its head in this piece.

Maybe Hershey's should have had Linda Wagner in one of its focus groups.

Wagner is a 10-year veteran of the Police Department who switched to narcotics three years ago for personal reasons: Her teenage daughter died of a heroin overdose in 2001.

When Blackburn showed her the mint packets yesterday, Wagner was near tears.

"I was shocked," she said.

"Hershey's is totally irresponsible for marketing this product."

When Officer Regina Missouri saw them, she immediately conjured up the potentially deadly scenarios the look-alike pouches could create.

What if children use them and subsequently stumble upon and ingest a real bag of drugs, thinking they're mints, she said?

Future crime scene photo?

The story continues from there, lining up further witnesses, all apparently anxious to see their names in a paper.

All seemingly unaware their participation would be examined by others who'd seen this same story before; with different reactions.

The name of the offender is the only thing different.

The story of the attempts at painting Coca-Cola as a dangereous substance in the 1920s and 30s comes to mind. Before dismissing it on "fact" gathered from hearsay, do some research and then decide.

Same group of non-thinkers, same M.O.

That story almost bankrupt Coke and led to three ownership changes as today's soft drink giant went from most popular drink in America to drug target. And no, it contained no cocaine, as you might have heard.

Research will reveal that some of the flavor was obtained from a process which used denatured coca leafs.

What if someone is enjoying the minty, fresh breath that comes from using an Ice Breaker and gets tased by the good drug-battling Philidelphia Police Department?

That unlucky Hershey's consumer would likely have no recourse, as this article will be held up as "proof" that it was all a mistake; a natural case of mistaken identification between a breath mint and dangerous drugs.

That's one reason this whole article would be absolutely hilarious if it didn't provide cover for future shenanigans. Would Porter, Judge Brooks, or Chief Blackburn think twice about it?

Unlikely, from the amount of mental firepower which predominates this drug warrior puff piece.

Hopefully, no harm will come of it, other than to the reputations of the above trio as reflective thinkers.

Unlike Ms. Porter, we'll let the readers decide that.

by Mondoreb
[graphics: RAPH, hersheys,listerine,altoids,pez]



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Why Men Shouldn't Take Messages

by RidesAPaleHorse



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Savage Legal Nation Vs. C.A.I.R. Showdown

Michael Savage takes to the airwaves daily during his popular talk show "Savage Nation". Now, Savage will be taking it to the courts to stop copyright infringement against a familiar adversary.

Savage has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the Council on Islamic-American Relations, and has accused the organization of being a "political vehicle of international terrorism" that seeks to do "material harm to those voices who speak against the violent agenda of CAIR's clients."

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in California, seeks damages equal to the ongoing donations from CAIR supporters "who expect CAIR to act in this manner in exchange for continuing financial support" as well as "actual damages according to proof."

Anyone familiar with CAIR knows that the organization is familiar witht the American legal system. CAIR has famously filed suits against bloggers who disagree with their views.

CAIR has yet to emerge victorious in the courts, but the legal expenses incurred by bloggers many times serve to dampen criticism of the Hamas-connected front group.

Now, CAIR is on the receiving end of a suit and it will be interesting to see if their uninspiring legal won-lost record is improved.

A spokesman for Savage indicated the top-rated talk show host would have no further comment, saying the text of the lawsuit itself would answer questions.

The focal point of the lawsuit is a series of audio clips CAIR has been using in its promotions and fundraising efforts.

There's no love lost between either Savage or CAIR.

"I'm not gonna put my wife in a hijab. And I'm not gonna put my daughter in a burqa. And I'm not getting' on my all-fours and braying to Mecca. And you could drop dead if you don't like it. You can shove it up your pipe. I don't wanna hear any more about Islam. I don't wanna hear one more word about Islam. Take your religion and shove it up your behind. I'm sick of you."

Savage vs. CAIR. If it was a TV special, it would acheive "must-see" status in many homes.

Savage is over-the-top and unabashed in his views, while CAIR is no less over-the-top, though somewhat more sly in expressing their views.

Michael Savage Vs. CAIR?

Ding ding ding!

by Mondoreb
& RidesAPaleHorse
[graphic:RAPH
Source:
World Net Daily Savage lawsuit calls CAIR 'vehicle of international terrorism'
FOR MORE: LGF: Savage Vs. CAIR



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.