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SEIU Urges Changes In Senate Health Care Bill, Calls Out Obama

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 23:33:51 -0800

The nation's largest union group said Thursday that it will not support the Democratic health-care bill unless "substantial changes" are made to the current Senate version.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a statement to reporters that without a public option for insurance coverage or an employer mandate - and with a tax on high-end insurance plans that some union members get - the health care legislation supported by Senate Democrats falls far short of meeting his group's standards.

BBC News - Boat could explore Saturn moon

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 21:08:01 -0800

A daring proposal to try to put a "boat" down on a sea of Saturn's moon Titan is about to be submitted to Nasa.

The scientific team behind the idea is targeting Ligeia Mare, a vast body of liquid methane sited in the high north of Saturn's largest moon.

The concept will be suggested to the US space agency for one of its future mission opportunities that will test a novel power system.

It would be the first exploration of a planetary sea beyond Earth.

Health Care Reform Is Not Reform If It Denies Women Coverage | Health and Wellness | AlterNet

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:55:06 -0800

From the page: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid continued his health-care-by-the-holidays rush Saturday, and he was having some tactical success.

But Reid and the Democrats weren't winning any friends among the broad base of voters who support reproductive rights.

In order to secure the critical 60th vote needed to advance the compromise legislation he wants to see the Senate pass before Christmas, Reid agreed to amend the legislation to include severe restrictions on access to basic health care for women.

That concession brought Senator Ben Nelson, a socially-conservative Democrat who is closely aligned with the health-insurance industry, on board -- meaning that Reid should have the 60-member Democratic caucus united in time for critical votes that begin early Monday morning.

WATCH: Wielding Gavel, Franken Shuts Lieberman Up

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 08:46:00 -0800

From the page: Joe Lieberman must be wondering if his colleagues' respect for him went out the same window that he tossed the public option and the Medicare buy-in compromise that was to replace it.

He got an answer of sorts Thursday afternoon as he came to the end of a floor speech, and ran out of time.

"I'm sorry. The senator has spoken for ten minutes," Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), as the chamber's presiding officer, told Lieberman. Customarily, when senators ask unanimous consent for a bit more time, consent is always given.

"I wonder if I could ask unanimous consent for just an additional moment," Lieberman said.

"In my capacity as the senator from Minnesota, I object," said Franken, in what appeared to be a dramatic departure from the long and stifling tradition of Senate collegiality.

Mistresses of Tiger Woods March on Washington - Borowitz Report

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:21:39 -0800

From the page: The United States Senate today unveiled details of its health care plan, tentatively called CompromiseCareTM:

-- Under CompromiseCareTM, people with no coverage will be allowed to keep their current plan.

-- Medicare will be extended to 55-year-olds as soon as they turn 65.

-- You will have access to cheap Canadian drugs if you live in Canada.

-- States whose names contain vowels will be allowed to opt out of the plan.

-- You get to choose which doctor you cannot afford to see.

-- You will not have to be pre-certified to qualify for cremation.

-- A patient will be considered "pre-existing" if he or she already exists.

-- You'll be free to choose between medications and heating fuel.

-- Patients can access quality health care if they can prove their name is "Lieberman."

-- You will have access to natural remedies, such as death.

Quantum Rocketry & Blog Archive & thoughts on space battles

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:59:40 -0800

From the page: I had a discussion recently with friends about the various depictions of space combat in science fiction movies, TV shows, and books. We have the fighter-plane engagements of Star Wars, the subdued, two-dimensional naval combat in Star Trek, the Newtonian planes of Battlestar Galactica, the staggeringly furious energy exchanges of the combat wasps in Peter Hamilton's books, and the use of antimatter rocket engines themselves as weapons in other sci-fi. But suppose we get out there, go terraform Mars, and the Martian colonists actually revolt. Or suppose we encounter hostile aliens. How would space combat actually go?

Landrieu And Dean Duel On Hardball | TPM LiveWire

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:51:15 -0800

From the page: "In a heated debate over the Senate health care bill with former DNC chairman Howard Dean on Hardball tonight, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) said, "There are things I don't like about the bill, but this is the closest we've come in 40 years to doing something good for the American people, and we shouldn't get weak-kneed at this moment."

Dean, who's lambasted the current health care bill, argued that the bill put Americans' money in the pockets of the health insurance industry."

Sanders Pulls Single-Payer Amendment, Paves Way For Liebercare | Politics | AlterNet

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:49:55 -0800

From the page: "Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has pulled his single-payer amendment from the floor, thus paving way for easier passage of what's now being touted as Liebercare, due to Joe Lieberman's (I-CT) co-opting of health care "deform."

The amendment seemed like single-payer's last chance for survival at this stage but there was no real support for Sanders' clause, as Democratic leadership caved to Lieberman's demands. As my AlterNet colleague Josh Holland tells me, reconciliation may be the real last chance for single-payer or a public option." very sad, but it looks like this is the reality.

nibor38s favorite websites - StumbleUpon

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:47:06 -0800

a very relaxing, useful blog. worth a look.

BBC News - Herschel space telescope captures birth of stars

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:08:52 -0800

The European Space Agency (Esa) has released stunning new pictures from the recently launched Herschel telescope.

The pictures show star formation, and have been described as among the most important images obtained from space for decades.

Astronomers hope that, by analysing these images, they will be able to answer questions about how stars and galaxies are made.

Herschel is the largest astronomical telescope ever to be put into space.