2 Sept 2009
VIDEO: Union Flak Instructs People On How To Disrupt Questions At Town Halls
BP Makes 'Giant' Oil Discovery in Gulf of Mexico
Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc, Europe's second-largest oil company, reported a "giant" discovery at the Tiber Prospect in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico that may contain more than 3 billion barrels, after drilling the world's deepest exploration well.
The well is located about 250 miles (400 kilometers) southeast of Houston, the London-based company said today in a statement. It was drilled to approximately 35,055 feet (10,685 meters), greater than the height of Mount Everest.
The latest discovery will help BP, already the biggest producer in the Gulf of Mexico, boost output in the region by 50 percent to 600,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day after 2020. It's equal to about a year's output from Saudi Arabia, the biggest exporter in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, as well as coming close to matching the U.K.'s entire proven reserves...
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a44RUTBIl_3Q
Cops jump on swine-flu power: Shots heard 'round the world
Pandemic bill allows health authorities to enter homes, detain without warrant
September 01, 2009
A "pandemic response bill" currently making its way through the Massachusetts state legislature would allow authorities to forcefully quarantine citizens in the event of a health emergency, compel health providers to vaccinate citizens, authorize forceful entry into private dwellings and destruction of citizen property and impose fines on citizens for noncompliance.
If citizens refuse to comply with isolation or quarantine orders in the event of a health emergency, they may be imprisoned for up to 30 days and fined $1,000 per day that the violation continues.
Massachusetts' pandemic response bill
"Pandemic Response Bill" 2028 was passed by the Massachusetts state Senate on April 28 and is now awaiting approval in the House...
...An individual who is unable or unwilling to submit to vaccination or treatment shall not be required to submit to such procedures but may be isolated or quarantined...
...An individual who is unable or unwilling to submit to vaccination or treatment shall not be required to submit to such procedures but may be isolated or quarantined …
...Line 341 of the bill states, "Law enforcement authorities, upon order of the commissioner or his agent or at the request of a local public health authority pursuant to such order, shall assist emergency medical technicians or other appropriate medical personnel in the involuntary transportation of such person to the tuberculosis treatment center. No law enforcement authority or medical personnel shall be held criminally or civilly liable as a result of an act or omission carried out in good faith in reliance on said order."
...According to the CDC, the following states have implemented legal actions in response to the H1N1 virus:
Florida – the Florida surgeon general suspended distribution permit requirements Florida statutes to allow wholesale distribution of Tamiflu and Relenza. The state has also distributed a series of blank quarantine order forms, including a voluntary home quarantine agreement, a quarantine to residence order, a quarantine to residence order (non-compliance), a quarantine to facility order, quarantine detention order, quarantine of facility order, building quarantine closure order and area quarantine closure order.
Iowa – In addition to the facility quarantine order listed above, Iowa has also made available forms for voluntary home confinement, home quarantine and home isolation.
Massachusetts – Massachusetts lists its own procedures for isolation and quarantine.
North Carolina – The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services released a draft isolation order that would provide for imprisonment for up to two years and pretrial detention without bail for any citizen who fails to comply with an isolation order.
Washington – Washington grants authority to local health officers to issue emergency detention orders causing citizens to be immediately and involuntarily isolated or quarantined for up to 10 days.
In addition, governors and health commissioners in the following states have declared a state of emergency since April following concerns about the H1N1 virus: California, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin...
more at http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=108604
As Obama advisor/puppeteer Rahm Emmanuel says, "never waste a crisis."
The clock is ticking on tax cheat Charlie Rangel
Chief Political Correspondent
September 1, 2009
It hasn't gotten much attention amid news of Ted Kennedy, Obamacare and the worsening outlook in Afghanistan, but an extraordinary situation is developing in the House of Representatives. With each passing day, it's becoming more clear that the powerful committee chairman in charge of writing America's tax laws is a financial wheeler-dealer, a serial asset-hider, and a tax offender...
...Last week, we learned that Rangel filed a grossly misleading financial disclosure report for 2007 -- failing to report at least half a million dollars in assets.
It turns out Rangel had a credit union account worth at least $250,000 and maybe as much as $500,000 -- and didn't report it. He had investment accounts worth about the same, which he also didn't report. Ditto for three pieces of property in New Jersey.
Beyond that, we've learned that Rangel has failed to report assets totaling more than $1 million on legally required financial disclosure forms going back to at least 2001.
The news comes on top of revelations last year that Rangel didn't report -- and didn't pay taxes on -- income from a villa in the Caribbean. In that matter, the Internal Revenue Service gave him sweetheart treatment; Rangel paid about $10,000 in back taxes but was not required to pay any penalty or interest.
Rangel's doings are under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, which so far hasn't taken any action. Democrats are standing behind their chairman, and minority Republicans can't do anything about it.
But they're still trying. In February, the GOP introduced a resolution calling for Rangel to be removed as chairman. It failed, 242 to 157.
The Republican leadership also wrote a letter to Pelosi urging that Rangel "step down from his Ways and Means chairmanship pending an investigation of his ethical lapses." That went nowhere, too.
And then there is H.R. 735, also known as the "Rangel Rule Act of 2009."
The brainchild of Rep. John Carter, a Texas Republican who spent two decades as a judge before coming to the House in 2002, H.R. 735 would require the IRS to give everyone the same kid-glove treatment it gave Rangel...
more at
(MA) Businesses uneasy without Kennedy
Health, tech firms relied on senator
September 1, 2009
The death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy is raising concerns about the future of programs he championed that benefited the state's major employers, particularly in the fields of health care, higher education, and technology.
Hospitals, universities, life sciences companies, and research centers - which together provide hundreds of thousands of jobs in the state - all were accustomed to turning to Kennedy for help...
..."He kind of protected us in a sense,'' said Thomas Glynn, chief operating officer of Partners HealthCare, which includes Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital...
...It's still too early to fully assess how Massachusetts will fare without his clout, experience, and personal connections, business leaders say. Indeed, while he steered federal funding to help Massachusetts industries, he also supported measures, such as higher taxes and additional regulations, that businesses say hurt them. His lifetime ratings on issues important to US business was 24 out of 100, according the US Chamber of Commerce.
Still, business leaders fear his success in advancing the interests of Massachusetts will not be easily replaced...
White House Seeks to Capture and Archive Citizens' Comments on its Facebook, YouTube, MySpace Sites
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Anyone who posts comments on the White House's Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Twitter pages will have their statements captured and permanently archived by the federal government, according to a plan that the White House is now seeking a contractor to carry out...
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/53363
Childhood Obesity Report Calls For Government Regulations to Limit Access to 'Unhealthy' Restaurant Chains
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
(CNSNews.com) - A newly released report by the Institute for Medicine and the National Research Council details strategies for local governments to combat what it calls an epidemic of childhood obesity, including enacting zoning and land-use regulations that would "restrict fast food establishments near school grounds and public playgrounds."
...When asked by CNSNews.com if regulating where restaurants can be built could harm communities by taking away jobs, committee members said the report presents "options" and that studies show that fast food restaurants are disproportionately located in low-income and minority neighborhoods...
...Some of the other strategies listed in the report for "healthy eating" include:
- Mandate and implement strong nutrition standards for foods and beverages available in government-run or regulated after-school programs, recreation centers, parks and child care facilities (which includes limiting access to calorie-dense, nutrient-poor foods).
- Implement a tax strategy to discourage consumption of foods and beverages that have minimal nutritional value, such as sugar-sweetened beverages.
- Promote "breastfeeding friendly communities" and adopt practices in hospitals modeled after those used by the United Nations Children's Fund and the World Health Organization.
- Adopt land use and zoning policies that restrict fast food establishments near school grounds and public playgrounds..
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/53374
Sounds good, but it's not about health but more and more government control of our lives... besides you can eat healthy at fast food restaurants if you want to... And who decides what is unhealthy? I know vegans and I don't want them to decide what is healthy and what is not.
POLITICANS PLAY SOLITARE, WATCH BASEBALL DURING BUDGET DEBATE IN CONNECTICUT...
http://www.courant.com/
House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, far right, speaks while colleagues play solitaire on their computers as the House convenes Monday night to vote on a new budget.
9/1/2009
photo:
http://www.courant.com/media/alternatethumbnails/storylink/2009-09/48993655-01031939.jpg
Examiner Bio Big Brother alert: Sorry, but Obama's planned address to nation's schoolchildren is creepy
Sounds like a good day for kids to call in sick...
David Bennett <><
posted by David Bennett | 3:23 AM
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