"Game over for climate change"

A chilling op ed in the NYT from the head of NASA Goddard.

If [tar sands] Canada proceeds, and we do nothing, it will be game over for the climate.

Canada’s tar sands, deposits of sand saturated with bitumen, contain twice the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by global oil use in our entire history. If we were to fully exploit this new oil source, and continue to burn our conventional oil, gas and coal supplies, concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere eventually would reach levels higher than in the Pliocene era, more than 2.5 million years ago, when sea level was at least 50 feet higher than it is now. That level of heat-trapping gases would assure that the disintegration of the ice sheets would accelerate out of control. Sea levels would rise and destroy coastal cities. Global temperatures would become intolerable. Twenty to 50 percent of the planet’s species would be driven to extinction. Civilization would be at risk.

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Rupert Murdoch's former MySpace settles privacy violation with FTC

Wow. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp really can't keep its nose clean these days. The violations occurred when MySpace was owned by News Corp as well as with the post-News Corp time period. MySpace will be "watched" by the federal government for twenty years because of this problem.

Myspace social network has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it disclosed personally identifiable information about its users to advertisers, in violation of its privacy policy.

The proposed settlement with the FTC would bar Myspace from future misrepresentations and require the social network to implement a comprehensive privacy program that calls for independent assessments to be conducted over the next 20 years.

Myspace encouraged its 24.7-million users to create online profiles containing substantial personal information — such as a person's age, gender, photograph and name (if they failed to provide one, their real name would be associated with this information).

Anyone else notice the theme of disregard for privacy by News Corp businesses?

(To follow on Twitter: @ChrisInParis) Read the rest of this post...

Limbaugh accuses Obama of waging war on traditional marriage

How much of an idiot do his followers have to be to accept anything that he has to say about marriage? For a guy who has burned through three marriages and is on his fourth, maybe he ought to be more concerned about his own war on traditional marriage.

MediaMatters has more about the same guy who ranted about illegal drugs but was doctor shopping to illegally purchase prescription drugs.

Rush Limbaugh attacked President Obama today over his support for marriage equality, accusing Obama of leading a "war on traditional marriage" and the Catholic Church while accusing same-sex marriage supporters of wanting "to corrupt the institution." However, polls show that public support for same-sex marriage has been trending upwards over the past several years, including in the Catholic community.

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UK bars are now asking for ID & Facebook profile

This is strange and it needs to be shut down immediately. An ID is a legal document so it's hard to see why anything more is required. Modern ID cards are a lot more sophisticated than they were a few decades ago when a fake could be generated easily.

Too much.

According to the BBC, bars in England are worried over fines for admitting underaged drinkers — often as high as $8,000. For U.K. bouncers, checking a patron's Facebook profile is a good way to weed out fake IDs. In a few short moments, the bouncer can verify a person's name and date of birth. It's not a replacement for checking a person's identification, but an extra, optional verification step.

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Study confirms that creepy people give us the chills

After 20+ years of work plus extensive world travel off the beaten path, I'm very sensitive to my instincts. I always go with my gut when I sense a creepy person and make it a point to move on asap. There still has to be more though, but it's a good start to learning more about why we react more to some people.

A friend that I used to work with in DC had once told me a story about a man who she had met on a few occasions at social events. He was of her father's generation and while polite, he always gave her the creeps. A few years later after a regime change in the Middle East, she was back in her birth country and saw a photo of the creepy guy on TV during a report.

According to the TV report, the creepy guy was the official torture director for the ousted regime and they were exposing his full history. Somehow that story never made it (publicly) to the West, where he lived comfortably after the regime change.

It is fascinating to see that researchers are now confirming this type of information.

In one trial, a researcher attempted to be friendly with participants as if they were peers. Sometimes the researcher moved like the subject; if the participant touched his nose, the researcher would gesture similarly, such as scratching her head. But in other cases, the researcher would not mirror the subject’s actions. And this caused the participants’ skin to crawl -- if the researcher did not mimic the right cues, the subjects reported feeling colder. Creepers give us the chills. People believed the room temperature dropped to 68 when it remained at a steady 72.

“In the friendly situation, if you do not mimic, that’s when people’s coldness spikes,” Leander explains. “If you start feeling cold it could be an early warning sign.”

When people violate social norms, our bodies react with chills. Feeling cold is linked to a threat such as being forgotten (think left out in the cold") and the region of the brain that controls goosebumps also regulates feelings of trust and betrayal. The chills warn that something is off about a person who cannot follow social norms.

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TSA removes 18 month baby from plane over no-fly list

What's especially annoying about this latest act of stupidity from the TSA is that they throw the parents in the always enjoyable loop of "it's not us, it's the airline." Back in 2002 while traveling across the US, we had the distinct pleasure of hearing the same garbage. The airline blamed security and security blamed the airline, even when they were right next to each other. Lovely. Who doesn't like being humiliated and then get caught in a ping-pong match where nobody can give an answer?

At this point, both JetBlue and the TSA need to apologize to this family. The TSA also needs to figure out how to inject a few ounces of common sense into one of the most dense organizations. The family ought to also contact their representative in Congress so they can try to live like normal Americans who are only harassed on occasion and not every time they try to take a family vacation.

Once again, the TSA doing what the TSA does.

Eighteen-month-old Riyanna has been called a lot of things: cute, adorable and now ... a suspected terrorist.

She was called that on Tuesday night at the Ft Lauderdale Airport. She and her parents had just boarded a JetBlue flight when an airline employee approached them and asked them to get off the plane, saying representatives from the Transportation Security Agency wanted to speak to them.

"And I said, 'For what?'" Riyanna's mother told only WPBF 25 News on Wednesday. "And he said, 'Well, it's not you or your husband. Your daughter was flagged as no fly.' I said, 'Excuse me?'"

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Former classmate says Romney lying about anti-gay bullying incident

This story seems to have more legs than I'd hoped for.  Romney is even reportedly asking other former prep school classmates to come forward to defend him.  Would those be some of Romney's best friends that are gay?

More from ABC:

One former classmate and old friend of Romney’s – who refused to be identified by name – said there are “a lot of guys” who went to Cranbrook who have “really negative memories” of Romney’s behavior in the dorms, behavior this classmate describes as “evil” and “like Lord of the Flies.”

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Blue States offer best economic mobility

It's almost as though the Red States prefer keeping their population uneducated and in their (economic) place. For all of the griping about "northeast pinko socialist liberals" or whatever other silly remarks the GOP churns out, it's hard to argue against the real world trend of economic mobility there.

Red State socialists and Blue State capitalists. If you want real opportunity to succeed move to the northeast and prosper. If you prefer being stagnant and going nowhere, stick to GOP land. Teabag this, GOP.

Reaching for the American dream? Your best chances are probably in New York, New Jersey or Maryland.

Those states are best at helping Americans move up the income ladder, both in absolute terms and relative to their peers, according to a groundbreaking new study from the Economic Mobility Project at the Pew Center on the States.

Generally speaking, states in New England and the mid-Atlantic had the most upwardly mobile residents, whereas states in the South had the least mobile populations.

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Video: Table juggling

This is actually quite phenomenal:

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TSA breaks life saving insulin pump

Why are so many of these TSA mistakes keep happening only to hear the TSA is reviewing the experience? This poor kid could have died due to their mistake which is ironic since the TSA is supposed to be protecting Americans. Common sense doesn't appear to be a consideration for a job with the TSA. Read the rest of this post...

From disorderly conduct to bullying, even Romney's image is a flip-flop

Buzzfeed brought a story from Mitt Romney's past back yesterday, reminding voters of the candidate's arrest for disorderly conduct in 1981. (This is interesting in the context of John's post on AMERICAblog Gay about Romney having organized a small mob to physically bully a gay student in high school.)

On its face, a rap sheet isn't the worst thing for a candidate like Romney. The multi-millionaire, who's in the process of installing elevators for his cars in his beach house, is struggling to convince America that he's an average guy who isn't afraid to mix it up now and again even if it means an altercation with the boys in blue. But the nature of Romney's arrest deviates so little from his image of, to quote Jon Stewart, someone who looks like they "just stepped off the Monopoly board," that I laughed out loud when I first read the details. From Jackie Koszczuk:

Romney was arrested...for putting his pleasure boat in the water at Lake Chochituate in Massachusetts. The crime unfolded after a park ranger told Romney to cease and desist because his boating license was not properly visible [a violation that would incur a $50 fine]. Romney later told the Boston Globe that he felt that the license was sufficiently visible and that it was worth it to him to be fined $50 in order to enjoy the day on the lake with his family.

Additionally, the charge of disorderly conduct was dropped and sealed after Romney appeared in the local courthouse the next day and threatened to sue.

I'll leave it to the comments section to try and find a more elitist way to get arrested and subsequently let off the hook for disorderly conduct.

Setting aside the fact that the incident highlights Romney's life of luxury, it shows just how little money means to the man. $50 in 1981 is $126.18 in today's terms and, considering how little thought Romney seemed to give to that amount, he was likely willing to pay quite a bit more in order to get the park ranger off his back.

This reminds me of Romney's $10,000 bet with Rick Perry earlier in the campaign and further indicates why Romney is struggling to connect. Plenty of people have a lot of money, but few of them have so little of a clue as to what their money is worth. Read the rest of this post...

Congressional Progressive Caucus backs Pelosi's decision to cut Social Security

I don't know how else to read this. Ryan Grim at the Huffington Post (who is doing yeoman's work in reporting this tussle for the Democratic soul; my yeoman's emphasis):

Leading members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus are coming to the defense of House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California after former Sen. Russ Feingold challenged her commitment to protecting Social Security and Medicare.

"Let's remember that we are on the same team," reads a letter being circulated by progressive House Democrats. "We need to focus our efforts on the true targets, which are the 228 House Republicans who voted to end the Medicare guarantee, reduce benefits and increase costs for seniors."

The letter has so far been signed by Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the progressive caucus co-chairmen, as well as Reps. Jan. Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), who sit on the progressive caucus committee that deals with aging issues.

There's more in Grim's report; it's worth seeing it in full.

But let's parse this:

▪ "Let's remember that we are on the same team":

Party loyalty first, progressive principles somewhere down the list.

▪ "Signed by Reps. Raul Grijalva and Keith Ellison":

Raul Grijalva and Keith Ellison support reducing Social Security benefits. These people are not friends of the safety net.

▪ "Reps. Jan. Schakowsky and Doris Matsui":

Same.

Bottom line — the leaders of the Progressive Statement Caucus has made another statement. In effect:

We, your House Progressives leaders, support Leader Pelosi in her effort to roll back the social safety net. We support the Simpson-Bowles Catfood Plan. Party first, that's us.

Yours in honest self-reporting,

Raul Grijalva
Keith Ellison
Jan Schakowsky
Doris Matsui

I just don't know how else to read this. Do you?

Diogenes looking for an honest man

Previous posts on this (newest first):

• Pete Petersen hosts Bill Clinton, Paul Ryan, Simpson, Van Hollen to discuss Social Security "compromise"
• Would-be Speaker Pelosi's "No I Won't" that means "Yes I Will" cut Soc. Security
• Feingold links Pelosi with Steny Hoyer for supporting Simpson-Bowles "Catfood" proposal
• Obama 2006—"Too many of us have been interested in defending programs as written in 1938"
• Pelosi endorses Obama's safety net cuts (2013 alert)

No real progressive should let this one go, in my opinion. It's potentially the beginning of the end of the New Deal deal.

Thank you, Mr. Feingold and CREDO Action, for standing up — and to Ryan Grim for tenacious reporting.

Staying tuned,

GP

(To follow on Twitter or to send links: @Gaius_Publius)
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Why Obama acted now on gay marriage, and the danger for Republicans

Politico explains that it was Biden's snafu on Sunday, and the White House Press Corps subsequently eating White House spokesman Jay Carney for lunch, that spurred the President to act now:

In the end, people close to the president say, it wasn’t a close call: The core of their argument against Mitt Romney is that he is an untrustworthy politician with no real core of conviction. Obama’s advisers — who are acutely conscious of the media’s criticism despite their professed contempt for the news cycle — simply couldn’t afford to have the president appear like a coward on the front and editorial pages of The New York Times and The Washington Post, according to senior Democrats.

If Biden’s comments were the catalyst for Wednesday’s historic announcement, Jay Carney was the immediate trigger, officials said. The White House press secretary took a serious drubbing on Monday when reporters all but accused the White House of cowardice on the issue.

I have to give the White House Press Corps credit for doing an incredible job on this issue over the last few days, but really over the last year and then some.  They dogged this tenaciously.

AP's Charles Babington says that Obama's move poses a risk for Republicans as well:

Public opinion about gay marriage has changed so rapidly that President Barack Obama's historic embrace of it may pose as many political risks to Republicans as to the president and his fellow Democrats.

The president's dramatic shift on the issue - a watershed moment in U.S. politics, even if many people felt it was inevitable - is the latest sign that Democratic hopes increasingly rest on younger, college-educated and largely urban voters, whose lifestyles are shaped by social mobility more than religious and community traditions. Many young adults find the notion of discriminating against gays and lesbians as incomprehensible as their parents' and grandparents' accounts of living through racial segregation.

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China forcing Big Four audit firms to be run by Chinese

The global audit firms already have a bad reputation for doing whatever the client asks them to do (as long as the money is right - think Enron), so this is just a step in that direction. Time after time, this supposedly conservative and proper industry has glossed over or ignored serious problems on the books of shady businesses. Add this mix to what is widely considered to be one of the most corrupt countries in the world and you have a potentially devastating problem.

It's already dangerous enough for an outsider to invest in China, but this is worse. If I didn't know better, I might think that China wants to guarantee close ties to business so they can be more open to corruption. Surely that's not it, is it?

China released new rules for the world's top four auditing firms on Thursday that include a requirement for their local operations to be led by Chinese citizens within three years.

The rules released by the Finance Ministry said that Chinese operations of the Big Four global audit firms must be "localized" to comply with laws that will set requirements on the ages, experience and training of executives.

China said the four auditors — Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Pricewaterhousecoopers, Ernst & Young and KPMG — must comply with the new rules by the end of 2017.

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