Dinosaurs may have been wiped out by at least two meteorites

It wasn't that long ago when talking about even one meteorite was controversial. BBC:

The dinosaurs were wiped out 65 million years ago by at least two meteorite impacts, rather than a single strike, a new study suggests.

Previously, scientists had identified a huge impact crater in the Gulf of Mexico as the event that spelled doom for the dinosaurs.

Now evidence for a second impact in the Ukraine has been uncovered.

This raises the possibility that the Earth may have been bombarded by a whole shower of meteorites.

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BP's 'missing oil' found in Florida, more arriving in Louisiana

Sounds like the miracle disappearing act didn't quite work out as advertised. MotherJones:

Well, some cleanup workers in Pensacola, Florida—which is not anywhere near as wrecked as any of the shores in Louisiana—are determined to ruin everyone's fairy-tale ending by talking about how they picked up 4,000 pounds of oil the other night (h/t @LibrlSandlapper). Nevertheless, their crews are being massively scaled down, which should definitely take care of this sort of thing being reported in the future.

Big cleanup cutbacks have also happened in Grand Isle, Louisiana. Sounds like the crisis there is over! Although Drew Wheelan of the American Birding Association sent me these pictures he's taken there over the last 10 days. What a jerk.

Stay tuned for more photos like that: This morning a contractor told me BP has informed cleanup supervisors that a 200-foot-by-2-mile swath of oil is going to make landfall on Grand Isle in the next couple of days.

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Les Maisons d'Alsace

I'm in the French region of Alsace, visiting an old friend from graduate school who I probably haven't seen in twenty years (yikes). He lives in an area that's right near the borders of both Switzerland and Germany, and only about 8 miles west of Basel, Switzerland.

A brief history of Alsace from Wikipedia:

The name "Alsace" derives from the Germanic Ell-sass, meaning "Seated on the Ill",[2] a river in Alsace. The region was historically part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was gradually annexed by France in the 17th century under kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV and made one of the provinces of France. Alsace is frequently mentioned in conjunction with Lorraine, because German possession of parts of these two régions (as the imperial province Alsace-Lorraine, 1871–1918) was contested in the 19th and 20th centuries, during which Alsace changed hands four times between France and Germany in 75 years.

Probably the most striking thing about the region is the homes. To me, at least, they look awfully Germanic and Alpine. A bit like ski chalets. Except not quite. There's an abstract quality to both the colors of the home, and the seemingly random design of the lattice. Have a look.



Oh, another thing you'll notice, everywhere, are the flowers. The small villages around here are flower CRAZY. And it's great. They're everywhere along the roads. My friend Frank says "they" even give out stars to the villages, to denote who has the prettiest flower arrangements, so it's a bit of a cold "flower" war along the Franco-Swiss-German border.



A bit more of the funky home colors:



And finally, a few other styles, mixed with the ubiquitous flower arrangements.

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First-hand report from Beck Rally -- including a personal counter protest

As promised, our friend (and co-conspirator), Brad Luna, ventured down to the Beck rally at the Lincoln Memorial. He sent reports and photos. There was a no sign rule at this rally undoubtedly because of all the racist signage at last September's teabagger rally. The teabaggers are sensitive about being called out as racists. Earlier today, Media Matters documented Beck's "history of racially charged rhetoric."

When Brad first arrived on the mall, he reported:

The crowd stretches from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument. This is why the Democratic Party should be concerned. How many of our base would show up at a rally today? Why does the WH not get the enthusiasm gap is real. I can only imagine what Rahm must be thinking, looking out the window of 1600 Penn today.

Who ever knows what Rahm is thinking, besides how much he hates the liberals in the Democratic Party. He's got that in common with Beck. The DCCC did report that it is doing a "Day of Action" and has volunteers knocking on 200,000 doors in 75 key districts today.

After Beck introduced Alveda King (besides Palin, she was his big "get" today), she started ranting that the institution of marriage is under attack, Brad took part in his own protest:

Today, I performed my act of radical protest for LGBt equality through love. In the middle of the Glenn Beck ridiculousness rally - during Alveda King's bigoted speech where she spoke out about the "attack on the institution of marriage" - I stopped in the crowd. Hundreds standing and marching toget closer to the stage. All of them, blocked by me stopping in the middle of the walkway. To kiss my beautiful partner :-)

And, while there was a "no sign" rule, the Obama bashing was there:
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Wall Street funds GOP - betting on easier treatment

Gee, I wonder if Obama now regrets going so easy on Wall Street. By seeking that middle ground - the middle ground that is actually hunkered down in the middle of Wall Street - he angered the left who believed he could have done much more. Even with minor changes that rescued the exclusive lifestyle of the pampered bums on Wall Street, he infuriated Wall Street who now are throwing cash hand-over-fist to the Republicans. What a wasted opportunity to promote real change and instead, infuriate everyone along the way. If there's anyone outside of the White House that is impressed with the so-called Wall Street reform, they're in deep hiding.

Obama's Wall Street reform was a slap in the face to the rest of the country yet Wall Street continues to feel they are entitled to royal treatment. The Obama economic team really does deserve to be sent packing. NY Times:

Generally Democrats have been favored by Wall Street, getting 70 percent of donations from the securities and investment sector just 18 months ago. But by the time Congress took up the financial regulations legislation this June, Republicans were getting 68 percent of the donations, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group.

In the 2010 election cycle, financial industry donors, from brokers to real estate interests, have contributed $180 million to both Republican and Democratic Congressional candidates, the analysis showed.

Dave Levinthal, a spokesman for the center, said: “What this says is that Wall Street is awfully angry with Democrats and sees Republicans as a better bet. They’re making an investment in the prospect of a Republican-controlled Congress that they perceive to be more favorable toward their bottom line.”

And in case you missed it, Bernanke's announcement on Friday was HUGE news. The Federal Reserve chief confirmed that if the economy softens up (more) again he plans to bail out Wall Street yet again. No, the lessons learned during the crash didn't make it to the inner corridors of power. How is it possible to even consider another bailout of Wall Street after all of this? They wanted capitalism so let them eat it. Read the rest of this post...

Krugman: The paradox of thrift

I'm posting this recent Krugman item because the "problem" of saving during a deflation has come up a lot lately, and the Professor does a great job of explaining it. (One of our examinations is here.)

Please read the whole Times piece (it's not very long); here's Krugman's conclusion:

And what that means is that if people — or the government — try to save more, they only end up depressing the economy. And the weaker economy leads to lower, not higher investment. And this in turn means that attempts to save more don’t help our future prospects. On the contrary, they reduce the economy’s future growth.

That’s why fiscal austerity is such a terrible idea: no only does it raise unemployment, it actually makes us poorer in the long run.

We've talked about this a lot — how in deflationary (or dis-inflationary) times, it's important for individuals to switch from owning "things" to owning cash, and also to reduce debt and monthly expenses as much as possible. Why? Because cash is now king; deflation means the value of cash is constantly rising, the way the value of "things" rises in inflationary times.

Krugman is saying that in times like these, hoarding cash, while good for individuals, is actually deadly for an economic system. Our "switch to cash" advice is another way to say "increase savings", and "reduce debt" is the same, since debt is just "negative savings." Doing this helps us individually, but it also further depresses an economy that's in the sad condition ours is in.

And yet ... I'm not sure I'd personally offer myself up for the cause (and I don't think the Professor is saying I should). Thus, the "paradox of thrift."

GP Read the rest of this post...

Saturday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

47 years ago, Martin Luther King gave his iconic "I have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Today, Glenn Beck will be there to spew his message about dividing America. I'm not going to make it to the Mall for this event, however, one of AMERICAblog's good friends, Brad Luna, will be on the scene taking photos and video. We'll post later.

Five years ago, Katrina was bearing down on New Orleans. What was George Bush doing? He was on vacation. John kept tabs on Bush on August 28, 2005. There was this post, Chickenhawk Watch: Bush still on vacation while deadly hurricane approaches New Orleans, and this one, Bush Vacation Watch Update: Thank God Katrina STILL hasn't ruined Bush's summer vacation. Of course, John was right. Bush wasn't paying attention. The traditional media is starting to rewrite history and soft pedal the catastrophic failures of the Bush administration over this hurricane. (Heckuva job, NBC.) The media never challenged Bush back then. Never. That's how we ended up in Iraq, for example. In fact, on August 28, 2005, John wrote, "It remains to be seen if the media is going to ask what the hell the president is doing remaining on vacation while a major disaster is imminent."

I'm heading out for along run. Fortunately, the weather is cooperating. Read the rest of this post...

Segovia at the Patio de los Arrayanes in the Alhambra

During our summer vacation we ventured over to Granada to see the Alhambra. When I walked into the Patio de los Arrayanes I immediately recognized it from this recording. For anyone who loves gardens, the Alambra is a must-see. The Arabs did an amazing job of integrating water into the environment in places like this. The grounds are stunning with the exception of the massive Carlos V block that was dropped into the middle. It's a real eyesore and doesn't blend into the graceful architecture of the site. The inside of the Moorish buildings reminded us of the mosques in Tunisia who had similar tiles and designs.

It was also on this patio that I discovered the amusing local fixation with posing for photos. To some degree everyone poses for photos but some Spaniards really put on a show like I have never seen before. Hips were held and hair was whipped over the shoulder in dramatic fashion for photos. I later saw the same routine countless times at other tourist destinations in the region. They probably thought our photos were a big bore.

Unlike a lot of tourist sites in other parts of the world, the people of Andalusia were about as friendly as could be. (Maybe I'm just too used to the ultra-reserved nature of the French.) Even in Córdoba, which is packed with tourists, people were shockingly friendly, open and helpful. People always had time to help answer a question or point people in the right direction. What a pleasant experience. Read the rest of this post...

Myanmar military junta leaders stepping down

Unfortunately it has nothing to preparing for democracy. Instead, it appears as though they are stepping down so they can run for top office in the upcoming sham elections. BBC:

Leaders of Burma's junta are reported to have resigned from their military posts, days before the deadline to register candidates in the country's first general election in two decades.

Some reports said junta leader Gen Than Shwe was among those to have stepped down, but other reports denied this.

Observers believe he may want to become civilian president after the election on 7 November.

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Muslims ask to share Cathedral/Great Mosque of Córdoba - Bishop prefers division and refuses

There's nothing quite like the open-minded Catholic church. The local bishop uses Syria as a counter example as to why there should never be sharing. Yes, as if Syria is supposed to set the example of tolerance for the modern world. Having just been in Córdoba last week, Spain where I visited this magnificent site, it's sad to hear of the continuing ignorance. The Great Mosque was built on top of a former Visigoth church and was then constructed as a mosque - a very large one, at that - over a few hundred years. Back in the days of the structure being a mosque it was known as one of the greatest places in Europe for education. Following the Christian reconquest of Spain a cathedral was constructed in the middle of the mosque. (The cathedral is impressive but doesn't quite compare to the elegance of the mosque.)

Imagine the outrageous idea of religions showing tolerance and getting along. What a crazy idea. CNN:

In fact, the site remains significant for Muslims as a symbol of Islam's golden age of learning and religious tolerance. The Mosque of Cordoba was once famed for allowing both Christians and Muslims to pray together under the same roof.

Now, some Muslims are trying to repeat that history. Mansur Escudero, a Spanish convert to Islam, is leading the movement that is pushing for the right of Muslims to pray at the Cordoba Cathedral.

"I don't think it's important for Muslims. I think it's important for humankind," Escudero says. "We think this is a beautiful paradigm of tolerance, knowledge, culture. People of different religions living together."

On a related note, the wingnuts are running hard on the theme of Muslims building mosques over Christian churches. Yes, there are plenty of examples out there. There are also a number of Christian churches built over mosques (Córdoba being only one example) plus countless churches constructed over other temples.

Many of the older Catholic churches in Peru, for example, were constructed over Inca temples. During a visit there a few years back they were discovering solid old Inca walls that were still standing following an earthquake that damaged the church walls. While I hate to spoil a heavy dose of right wing hysteria and hate, building on top of the church of a previous religion is about as old as religion itself. Read the rest of this post...