w/b 23 November

Good morning lovelies!

Happy?

This weeks’ roundup is likely to consist of lots of little cheering-up things, and affirmations, because that’s what I seem to have come across mostly. Possibly not coincidentally, but serendipitous, much?

“If you hate something, change it“, right? If I’m writing stuff here telling other people not to do things that make them unhappy, I sort of have to practice what I preach, otherwise I’m not buying into my own product! I honestly believe that your own happiness is completely based on you. Here are The 10 Rules of the Power of Positive Thinking to get you started, and in case you were unsure – what is Positive Thinking?

I’m reading Manifesto by The Barefoot Doctor, and its awesome. His website is definitely worth checking out if you’re having a bit of trouble working out what you want from the Universe.

chelseanico on Flickr

They’re making a film of The Secret!! Heehee. I’m not entirely sure how that’s going to work, but cool all the same

I had a dream about goldfish last night, that I had about five goldfish bowls in the flat, with loads of different fish in them and I was moving the fishes about so that they could be in the bowl they liked best. I looked up what dreaming about goldfish means, and Dreamforth says “To dream about goldfish predicts that you will come into prosperity and many wonderful and thrilling escapades”, so that’s exciting. I like that. I want more goldfish dreams

Wish jar

Hairdressers today, and this will determine whether or not it’s a good idea to change my hair from dark purple to white. I’m guessing that it’s going to be ‘not’, but would be awesome (’til the roots sharted showing a week later, at least!)

The Boy is doing a mooting case for his Law degree on Monday, so we need to go shirt-and-tie shopping this weekend. He’s got a lovely charcoal coloured suit, and honestly, that one scrubs up something lovely

This made me laugh

I need to finish off my Christmas shopping today, and get Mum’s birthday present. Lots of things to do!

Am off to get started on my weekend now – Have a super happy week, do lots of things that make you happy, don’t settle for just anything, and eat lots of pancakes

Purely because this makes me happy, and will become clear if you watch the Youtube….

Rah-rah-rah-ah-ah
Ro-ma-ro-ma-ma-ma
Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!! xx

Wednesday roundup: Marlies make it three over MonstersNovember 25, 2009

Wednesday’s AHL Boxscores

TORONTO 4, LAKE ERIE 1
Rookie forward Viktor Stalberg netted a pair of goals as Toronto took a 4-1 win over Lake Erie on Wednesday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum. Troy Bodie scored the game-winner for the Marlies, who beat the Monsters for the third time in six days and improved to 4-0-0-0 against Lake Erie on the season.

Stalberg gave Toronto a 1-0 lead with a power play goal at 10:16 of the opening period, and Bodie made it 2-0 at even strength just 3:42 later.

The Marlies padded their lead on a second-period marker by Alex Berry – his first professional goal – and a third-period power play strike off the stick of Matt Beleskey.

Lake Erie finally got on the board when Chris Durno potted his team-leading ninth goal of the year 7:10 into the third stanza, but the Monsters fell to 1-6-0-1 in their last eight outings.

Darryl Boyce chipped in a pair of assists for the Marlies, and rookie goaltender James Reimer (6-1-1) made 25 saves to earn the victory. Reimer was the winning goaltender in all three Toronto wins over the Monsters during this recent stretch.

ALBANY 4, SYRACUSE 2
Albany scored twice in the first period and twice more in the second to double up visiting Syracuse by a 4-2 count at the Times Union Center.

Jerome Samson notched his team-leading eighth goal of the year for the River Rats, who also received markers from rookie Matthew Pistilli, Chris Terry, and Jamie McBain.

Rob Hennigar chipped in two assists in his Albany debut, and Rats goaltender Mike Murphy earned the victory with 30 saves in net as his club beat the Crunch for the second time in a week.

Bates Battaglia netted his first goal of the season for the Crunch, and second-year pro Maksim Mayorov also found the back of the net. Syracuse dropped to 1-4-0-1 in its last six contests.

MANCHESTER 3, BRIDGEPORT 1
A three-goal first period sent Manchester on its way to a 3-1 road win over Bridgeport at the Arena at Harbor Yard. The Monarchs improved to 2-0-0-0 against the Sound Tigers this year and have outscored them 5-1 in the two contests.

Manchester’s Geoff Walker scored his first career AHL goal just 39 seconds into the contest to put his club on top. Jesse Joensuu responded for the Sound Tigers at 5:50, but Corey Elkins quickly restored the Monarchs’ lead 1:08 later.

Kevin Westgarth registered his first goal of the year for the Monarchs at 13:39, and neither team scored in the second or third period.

Gabe Gauthier chipped in two assists for Manchester, and goaltender Jonathan Bernier (9-5-2) earned the victory with 29 saves in net.

The Monarchs (13-6-1-2) halted their brief two-game losing skid and reclaimed sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division, two points better than Lowell.

WORCESTER 3, SPRINGFIELD 2
Rookie forward Logan Couture broke a 2-2 tie with a power play goal at 3:40 of the third period, sending Worcester to a 3-2 road win over Springfield at the MassMutual Center.

Couture, drafted ninth overall by San Jose in 2007, netted his sixth AHL goal of the season and extended his scoring streak to eight consecutive games (6-8-14).

Ryan Vesce netted a power play goal of his own and assisted on Couture’s game-winner for the Sharks, who also received a marker from Trent Campbell.

Sharks defenseman Mike Moore registered a pair of assists, and rookie goaltender Alex Stalock secured the victory with 25 saves. Worcester has now won three straight games – all by scores of 3-2 – on the heels of a seven-game losing skid.

Colton Fretter notched a pair of power play goals for the Falcons, who suffered their first regulation loss on home ice this season (6-1-2-1).

PROVIDENCE 4, HERSHEY 1
Providence continued its better play of late with a 4-1 road win over East Division-leading Hershey on Wednesday before 9,419 fans at the Giant Center.

The Bruins fell into an early 1-0 hole but then got goals from Kirk MacDonald, Drew Larman, Jamie Arniel, and an empty-netter by Brad Marchand en route to the victory. Providence goaltender Dany Sabourin earned the win with 24 saves in net.

Arniel extended his goal-scoring streak to an AHL season-high six games (6-5-11), while MacDonald now has a goal in four straight contests (4-0-4).

Providence moved to 4-1-0-0 in its last five games and climbed back to the .500 mark overall at 10-10-1-0.

Boyd Kane lit the lamp for the Bears, who are now winless in consecutive contests (0-1-0-1) for the first time since Oct. 23-24.

HARTFORD 4, LOWELL 1
Second-year pro Dale Weise notched a pair of goals as Hartford skated off with a 4-1 road win over Lowell on Wednesday at Tsongas Arena.

Rookie Evgeny Grachev and Jordan Owens also scored for the Wolf Pack, who registered four straight goals after falling into a 1-0 first-period hole.

Defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti and AHL scoring leader Corey Locke each posted two assists in the victory, and Hartford rookie goaltender Chad Johnson earned the win with 22 saves in net.

Patrick Davis originally gave the Devils a 1-0 lead with a power play strike at 9:30 of the opening period.

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 3, NORFOLK 1
Tim Wallace scored twice and was plus-3 on the night as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton dropped visiting Norfolk by a 3-1 count before 6,082 fans at the Wachovia Arena.

Wallace scored his fifth and sixth goals of the season just 1:47 apart in the opening period, with ex-Admiral Wyatt Smith picked up an assist on both.

Juraj Simek brought the Admirals within 2-1 with just 16 seconds to play in the first frame, and it remained a 2-1 contest until Smith extended the Pens’ lead 33 seconds into the third period, capping off a three-point night.

Luca Caputi registered two assists for the Penguins, and goaltender John Curry stopped 20 of 21 shots in the winning effort.

Norfolk dropped its fourth straight game and wrapped up a season-high eight-game road trip at 2-5-1-0.

HOUSTON 1, HAMILTON 0
Jean-Michel Daoust broke a scoreless deadlock at 1:09 of the third period, and Houston went on to a 1-0 road win over Hamilton at Copps Coliseum.

Maxim Noreau and Nathan Smith earned assists on Daoust’s fourth goal of the season, which came on the power play.

Aeros goaltender Anton Khudobin stopped all 26 shots he faced to earn his ninth victory of the campaign (9-4-0) and league-leading fourth shutout.

The Bulldogs, who visit Lake Erie for a pair of games this weekend, suffered their first shutout loss of the year.

CHICAGO 3, GRAND RAPIDS 2
Chicago rallied for a pair of late second-period goals and held on through a scoreless third to post a 3-2 win over visiting Grand Rapids at Allstate Arena on Wednesday.

With the Wolves trailing 2-1 late in the second frame, Jason Krog tallied the equalizer at 17:56 and Brett Sterling put them on top to stay at the 19:34 mark.

Chicago’s Tim Stapleton and Grand Rapids rookie Tomas Tatar traded first-period goals. Stapleton registered his 12th goal of the campaign, moving him into a tie for second in the league.

Goaltender Peter Mannino (3-0-0) stopped 25 of 27 shots in net for the Wolves, who won their third straight game and improved to 10-3-0-0 in their last 13 contests.

The Griffins lost for just the second time in their last 13 outings (11-2-0-0).

ABBOTSFORD 6, PEORIA 2
Abbotsford kicked off a four-game road trip with a 6-2 win over Peoria on Wednesday at Carver Arena. The Heat reached the six-goal plateau for the third time this season and snapped their three-game winless skid (0-2-0-1).

Riley Armstrong netted a pair of goals for the Heat, Carsen Germyn and Garth Murray each posted a goal and a helper, and Abbotsford also received scores from Kris Chucko and defenseman Keith Aulie.

Cam Cunning racked up three assists in the winning effort, and Abbotsford goaltender Leland Irving stopped 38 of 40 shots between the pipes.

Yan Stastny and Cam Paddock scored for the Rivermen, who fell to 2-4-0-0 in their last six contests.

MANITOBA 2, ROCKFORD 1
Matt Pettinger scored twice in the third period as Manitoba rallied for a 2-1 road win over Rockford on Wednesday at the MetroCentre.

The Moose entered the third period trailing by a goal, but Pettinger registered a power play marker to tie it at 8:01 and followed that up with the even-strength game-winner at 11:43.

Dan Sexton and Brian Salcico each picked up single assists on Pettinger’s goals, which helped Manitoba snap a four-game road winless skid (0-3-1-0). The Moose have now earned a point in five straight games overall (4-0-1-0).

Manitoba goaltender Cory Schneider, who has been in net for each of the last five games, earned the win with 39 saves on 40 shots in net.

Kyle Greentree gave the IceHogs a 1-0 second-period lead with his second goal of the season and first since scoring on Oct. 21 at Peoria.

TEXAS 2, MILWAUKEE 1 (SO)
Defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy and forward Warren Peters each scored shootout goals as Texas eked out a 2-1 win over visiting Milwaukee before 5,698 fans at the Cedar Park Center.

Vishnevskiy converted in the third round and Peters in the fourth round for the Stars, who returned from a five-game road swing and improved to 8-1-1-1 on home ice this season.

Texas goaltender Matt Climie earned the victory, stopping 32 of 33 shots through the first 65 minutes before denying Mark Santorelli, Robert Dietrich, Wacey Rabbit, and Jonathan Blum in the shootout.

Raymond Sawada’s first goal of the season gave Texas a 1-0 lead at 8:29 of the second period, but Dave Scatchard secured at least a point for the Admirals with the equalizer 18:52 into the third frame. Scatchard has now registered a single goal in seven of 11 AHL games this year.

Line O’ the Day:

“Of course, someone always has to pee in the Cheerios: in this rambling Salon article, a writer needs SEVEN PARAGRAPHS of talking about herself before she can get to the point of criticizing the show. I’m so pissed at the terrible expository writing that I haven’t even gotten around to disagreeing with her assessment. Apparently Salon is where you take your contrarian BS when it’s not good enough for Slate.” – Matt Ufford, “What’s on Tonight: SAMCRO vs. Racists” [Warming Glow]

Best of the Best:

• Boxer’s Death Creates Life for Others [Deadspin]
• Ole Miss KKK Protest Goes Swimmingly [Deadspin]
• Obama Quietly Backs PATRIOT Act Provisions [Common Dreams]
• “No Right to Know”: A Wall Street Financial Site’s Attack on Congress and Ron Paul [Gary North]

Remains:

• Lacrosse Players Accused of Terrible Things, Media Braces for Impact [Deadspin]
• The Jimmy Clausen Fight: Alternative Histories [Deadspin]
• PA University Students Upset about Fitness Class [AP News]
• TV Puppet Satire Torments Kenyan Elite [The Guardian]
• The Steady Rise of Islamic Finance [BBC News]
• U.S. Fears Iraqi Projects Will Go to Waste [MSNBC]
• The Italian Job – for Life [The Guardian]
• Hot Shots: Basketball Team Photos Raise Questions of Homophobia [Jezebel]
• A-HOLE COACH DIGEST: The Coach Will Watch You Shower Now [Deadspin]
• Yale Football Coach Out-Crazies Bill Belichick [Deadspin]
• Showing the Human Side of Charlie Weis the Week Before He Most Likely Gets Canned [Deadspin]
• Last Night’s Winner: Guy’s Who Like Playing Time [Deadspin]
• Twilight Landed Records, Missed Connection [Gamma Squad]
• The Pot Calls the Kettle Black [Eric Margolis via LRC]
• 7 Sex Tips from Cosmo that Will Put You in the Hospital [Cracked]
• DEA Still Erroneously Citing AMA on Marijuana [Reason]
• 55.7 Million Reasons to Reject Public Funding for Sports Arenas [No Third Solution]
• Venezuela to Get 300 Tanks, Armored Vehicles [MSNBC]
• Wave of Debt Payments Facing U.S. Government [New York Times]
• Government Responds to Economic Woes by Making More Bad Mortgage Loans [The Independent]
• Kangaroo Slashes Man in Dog-Rescue Attempt [MSNBC]
• Sheriff Joe Arpaio Forces Woman to Give Birth While Shackled [Latina]
• Face Off: Peter Schiff Goes Toe-to-Toe with Alan Binder, Jim Bullard [Yahoo!]
• Lawmakers Slam Deceptive Web Marketers [InformationWeek]
• Price Wars Between Amazon and Wal-Mart [Yahoo!]
• What You Do in the Private Sector is Your Own Business [Reason]
• PETA and the Skynet Team Take On U of Georgia [Deadspin]
• Deadspin Readers are Watching You Bone [Deadspin]
• Six Gallons of Spray Tan Liquid [Warming Glow]
• Men Should Not Be Getting Breast Implants [Guyism]
• High Schooler Celebrates Meaningless Block with a Trip to the Gun Show [Deadspin]
• Kicking the Can While Riding the Tiger [Gary North via LRC]

Tomorrow’s turkey day here in the United States. Do you fully expect your trashy neighbor to burn down his house while trying to cook a holiday feast? To see what’s in store for your neighborhood we’ve rounded up a great collection of idiots deep frying turkeys.

Let’s set up the fryer on our wooden deck… now that it’s a flaming pyre what should we do?

“Ow my toes” – Boiling oil v. sandals

Get the extinguisher… wait, I don’t think that’s working.

Let’s learn about liquid displacement.

[Alton Brown], the consummate kitchen hacker, has been kind enough to share the safe method of deep frying turkey. This includes how to measure for liquid displacement, and how to build a derrick (PDF) to lower the turkey into the pot from a safe distance.

This will definitely conjure up some feelings. A lot has happened and this puts it into prospective, but, they needed to elaborate more on Michael Jackson’s death. At any rate, great video.

It’s the Little Things That Count

Ask LSU coach Les Miles if the little details are important in the waning seconds of a college football game and see what he says.  Ole Miss escaped in what was arguably the game of the week in the state this past week because of some bonehead decisions by the LSU coaching staff.  Truth be told Ole Miss dominated the statistical side of things but LSU had the game won if they had really wanted it.  Lucky for Ole Miss, Les Miles was in the giving mood this Thanksgiving season. 

Egg Bowl Week

Throw out all the records when Mississippi State and Ole Miss get together for the annual Egg Bowl.  This year’s edition will be in Starkville and State will try to exact some revenge on the Rebels for last years 45-0 drubbing that ultimately ended the Sylvester Croom era.  Dan Mullen has been a solid coach in his first year at State and I believe he will have his boys ready to go against the Rebels this week.  Ole Miss has a lot to play for as well as a victory likely means a trip to Orlando for the Capitol One Bowl.  This should be a good and entertaining game and I expect it to be a close one.

MC Playoff Run

Mississippi College quietly put together a solid year this year and kept it alive by going on the road last week and pulling an upset against Huntingdon.  With the victory MC was awarded with a trip to Dover, DE to play Wesley this coming Saturday in the 2nd round of the DIII playoffs.

For the Record

I all but wrapped up the victory for the regular season pick’em contest with another strong week at 9-2.  I missed on MC and Georgia, while Brett posted a 6-5 record and missing on Georgia, LSU, JSU, Tulsa and Yale.  The standings as of now have me with a record of 131-39 and Brett at 119-51.  That is a 12 game lead going into this weekend and with only 10 picks this week Brett only has hope to make it respectable.  We will have a bowl pick’em so maybe that will be more up Brett’s alley.

Sunday roundup: Milwaukee sweeps AerosNovember 22, 2009

Sunday’s AHL Boxscores

MILWAUKEE 2, HOUSTON 1 (OT)
Cal O’Reilly scored 2:39 into overtime to lift Milwaukee to a 2-1 road win over Houston at the Toyota Center on Sunday. Admirals rookie goaltender Chet Pickard made 25 saves on 26 shots to pick up the victory, improving to 3-2-0 on the season.

The Admirals grabbed a 1-0 first-period lead when Ryan Jones scored at 4:19, with Dave Scatchard and O’Reilly picking up assists.

Houston’s Petr Kalus tallied the equalizer with just three seconds to play in the second frame, and neither side scored in the third period.

Wacey Rabbit picked up the lone assist on O’Reilly’s overtime winner. O’Reilly registered his fourth goal of the season and has now found the scoresheet in five of his last six outings (4-8-12).

Milwaukee swept a two-game set from the Aeros this weekend and has captured back-to-back victories for just the second time this season.

PROVIDENCE 5, MANCHESTER 4
Providence netted a trio of third-period goals to rally past visiting Manchester by a 5-4 count on Sunday at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.

The Bruins overcame deficits of 3-0 and 4-2 and eventually garnered the game-winning tally off the stick of defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk – his first goal of the season – with just 48 seconds to play in regulation.

Adam McQuaid’s second goal of the game cut Providence’s deficit to 4-3 at 7:43 of the third period, and Kirk MacDonald tied it just 51 seconds later, setting the stage for Bodnarchuk’s game-winner.

Jamie Arniel also scored for the Bruins, and Brad Marchand (0-3-3) and Guillaume Lefebvre (0-2-2) each contributed multiple assists on the night.

Providence goaltender Dany Sabourin emerged with the victory after making 21 saves on 25 shots.

Brandon Segal registered three points for the Monarchs (1-2-3), who also received markers from Bud Holloway and Corey Elkins. Defenseman David Kolomatis chipped in two assists in the loss.

CHICAGO 3, TEXAS 1
Tim Stapleton netted a power play goal at 5:22 of the third period, snapping a 1-1 deadlock and sending Chicago on its way to a 3-1 win over visiting Texas before 7,736 fans at Allstate Arena.

Stapleton, who scored his team-leading 10th goal of the season, converted the Wolves’ lone power play opportunity of the afternoon.

Brett Sterling sealed the victory with an empty-net tally at 17:50 of the third frame, helping the Wolves improve to 9-3-0-0 in their last 12 games.

Texas grabbed a 1-0 first-period lead on a Francis Wathier strike at 7:56, but the Wolves pulled even when Anthony Stewart scored 7:23 into the second period.

Chicago goaltender Drew MacIntyre earned the victory with 14 saves in net. The Stars’ Brent Krahn made 22 saves but saw his personal 10-game winning streak come to an end.

WORCESTER 3, NORFOLK 2
Ex-Admiral Mathieu Curadeau scored his first goal of the season, and it proved to be the game-winner as Worcester edged Norfolk by a 3-2 count on Sunday at the DCU Center.

John McCarthy and Cory Quirk also scored for the Sharks, and goaltender Alex Stalock earned the victory with 28 saves in net. Worcester (10-10-0-1) captured its second 3-2 victory in as many days on the heels of a seven-game losing skid.

Matt Syroczynski and Blair Jones netted goals for the Admirals, and Radek Smolenak assisted on both markers.

Norfolk dropped its third straight game and is now 2-4-1-0 on its eight-game road swing, which concludes on Wednesday at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

TORONTO 3, LAKE ERIE 2 (SO)
Toronto rallied from two goals down in the third period and then prevailed in a shootout over visiting Lake Erie, 3-2, on Sunday at Ricoh Coliseum.

After a scoreless opening period, the Monsters grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second period on goals by Chris Durno and Brian Willsie, the latter on the power play.

But Toronto’s Alex Foster netted a power play marker of his own at 1:17 of the third frame, and Jiri Tlusty followed with the equalizer just 1:35 later.

The game remained scoreless through the remainder of regulation and overtime. Tlusty and Viktor Stalberg converted on the Marlies’ first two shootout tries, and goaltender James Reimer denied all four of Lake Erie’s attempts.

Reimer, a rookie, made 30 saves through the first 65 minutes and improved to 5-1-1 on the campaign.

The Monsters dropped to 1-5-0-2 in their last eight outings.

Thursday roundup: Pirates cool off AmerksCopa del Rey round-up

Some handy links to things that are on my radar at the moment.

- The Invisible Skein is proceeding on pace for launch on Dec 14th.

- Plenty of fun items already available at The Invisible Skein store. They make great Christmas gifts…

- The latest installment of my column, Four Color Memories is live at Hypergeek, and you can find an archive of past columns here.

- I also did a little photo booklet for the Whitechapel board, which you can find here.

- The latest installment of Emma Vieceli’s webcomic Dragon Heir is live, if you’re not reading it, you should be.

- My friend Robin is selling some very nice photo prints at her site, which you can find here. They also make lovely gifts.

- And my friend Elana just posed for a photoshoot with Katie West. You can find them here, if you’re so inclined. Yes, they are nudes, so no, not safe for work.

Forbes: African Diamond up on AK6 project update

Shares in African Diamond rise as much as 20 percent after De Beers sells its entire 71-percent stake in the AK6 Botswana diamond project to Lucara Diamonds, in a move expected to accelerate development of the mine.

FinnCap calls the announcement a crucial turning point, long awaited by African Diamonds.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009/11/11/afx7110994.html

Small Cap News: Oil & Gas Round-Up

Testing of Petroceltic International’s (PCI) INE-2 well, in Algeria, has been declared successful, with a gas test rate of 4 million standard cubic feet per day. The flow rate was achieved without the benefit of the fracture stimulation which proved successful in testing on the AT-1 well.

Afren’s (AFR) Ebok-5 appraisal well, offshore Nigeria, has been completed and the results exceeded expectations. The well encountered a total gross oil column of 266 ft in the D1 and LD-1E reservoir sands, in addition to a further 54 ft of gross oil pay in the D2 and LD1F reservoirs.

http://www.smallcapnews.co.uk/article/Oil_Gas_RoundUp_20_November/7848.aspx

Proactive Investors: Penny shares Europa Oil & Gas and Petroceltic strike gas!

Meanwhile, Petroceltic (ticker: PCI) reports successful well testing in Algeria. Shares in the company were valued at 16.50p – up 112% from a July low of 7.8p.

http://proactiveinvestors.co.uk/columns/investment_insights/553/penny-shares-europa-oil-gas-and-petroceltic-strike-gas-0553.html

Oil Voice: Afren Completes the Ebok-5 Appraisal Well Offshore Nigeria

Afren plc and its partner Oriental Energy Resources (“Oriental”) announce completion of the Ebok-5 appraisal well.

Highlights

• The Ebok- 5 appraisal well has been drilled to a total depth of 3,743’ md
• Ebok-5 has encountered a further 54 ft of gross oil pay in the D2 and LD1F reservoirs
• The oil column is full to base in both reservoirs

http://www.oilvoice.com/n/Afren_Completes_the_Ebok5_Appraisal_Well_Offshore_Nigeria/87f974e53.aspx

Siehe auch “USA: Monsanto unter Druck wegen Roundup” – und die Filmempfehlung zur Arte-Doku “Monsanto: Mit Gift und Genen“.

Gefunden bei fr-online.de:

US-Untersuchung

Gentechnik bringt Pflanzengift ins Essen

Von Stephan Börnecke

Frankfurt a.M. Der Anbau gentechnisch veränderter Pflanzen hat den Verbrauch von Spritzmitteln nicht, wie von den Agrarkonzernen versprochen, gesenkt. Stattdessen hat er – zumindest in den USA – zu einem deutlichen Anstieg der Verwendung von Unkrautvertilgern geführt.

Das behauptet eine von den Nichtregierungsorganisationen Organic Center, Union for Concerned Scientists und Center for Food Safety veröffentlichte Studie des US-Agrarökonomen Charles Benbrook.

Dessen Report basiert auf den offiziellen Zahlen der US-amerikanischen Landwirtschaftsbehörde sowie deren Statistik-Service NASS. Benbrook untersuchte die Veränderung im Pflanzenschutzmittelverbrauch seit der Markteinführung herbizidresistenter Gen-Pflanzen im Jahre 1996. Seither sei die Menge der ausgebrachten Herbizide um 175 Millionen Kilogramm gestiegen.

Während auf konventionell bewirtschafteten Feldern sich der Herbizideinsatz dank verbesserter Wirkstoffe auf 220 Gramm pro Acre (4046 Quadratmeter) mehr als halbierte, verdoppelte er sich im Gen-Soja-Anbau auf 750 Gramm.

Vor allem für die beiden letzten Untersuchungszeiträume, die Jahre 2007 und 2008, verzeichnet die Untersuchung einen Anstieg des Pestizidverbrauchs um 46 Prozent auf den Gen-Äckern. Hauptgrund: Die Unkräuter werden resistent gegen das Herbizid mit dem Wirkstoff Glyphosat (Handelsname: Roundup Ready), das sie eigentlich vernichten sollte. Die Folge: Die Farmer erhöhen die Dosis.

Nach Benbrook haben sich vor allem im Süden der USA inzwischen zahlreiche resistente Unkräuter ausgebreitet. Entdeckt worden waren sie zunächst 2000 in Delaware. Dass auch die Hauptakteure, die Agromultis Monsanto und Syngenta, das Resistenzproblem inzwischen mit Sorge betrachteten, belege der Report anhand der Empfehlungen der Hersteller: So würde Monsanto die Farmer mit eingeräumten Rabatten inzwischen sogar zu anders wirkenden Herbiziden von Konkurrenzfirmen drängen.

Ein Ende der Entwicklung sei nicht abzusehen: Da es sich bei den herbizidresistenten Pflanzen um “Brot-und-Butter-Produkte” handle, würden die Firmen weiter in dieser Richtung investieren, und zwar in Pflanzen, die höheren Dosen von Roundup oder anderer Herbizide standhielten. Benbrook kommentiert denn auch, die Antwort der Industrie auf das Dilemma sei: “Mehr vom selben.”

Während sich Monsanto-Offizielle laut Reuters zu dem Bericht nicht äußern wollten, verwies ein Sprecher der amerikanischen Biotechnology Industry Organization auf die Popularität der Gen-Saaten in den USA. Dies belege, dass der Nutzen der Saaten mögliche Nachteile mehr als ausgleichen würde.

Der Informationsdienst Transgen, geleitet vom Gentechnik-Experten Gerd Spelsberg, verweist allerdings noch auf eine weitere Untersuchung, und zwar auf die des britischen Agrarökonomen Graham Brooks. Dieser war genau zum umgekehrten Resultat gekommen.

Allerdings hatte der Wissenschaftler nicht die USA allein betrachtet, sondern die weltweite Entwicklung und auch einen anderen methodischen Ansatz gewählt: Brooks habe, so Transgen, ermittelt, dass als Folge des Anbaus von Gen-Pflanzen zwischen 1996 und 2007 weltweit der Einsatz von Herbiziden rückläufig war. Danach seien global etwa 200 Millionen Kilogramm weniger ausgebracht worden.

Nach Brooks wurden bei Soja als Folge des Anbaus herbizidresistenter Sorten an dem Niveau von 1996 gemessen 4,6 Prozent weniger aktive Herbizid-Wirkstoffe ausgebracht, bei Baumwolle 15 Prozent, Benbrook hatte – für die USA – genau das Gegenteil ermittelt.

Sowohl die Benbrook-Studie als auch die Brooks-Untersuchung zeigen aber, dass bei Insekten-resistenten Pflanzen wie dem auch in Europa teilweise zugelassenen Bt-Mais, der sein Insektengift permanent selbst produziert, der sonstige Verbrauch von Insektiziden reduziert wurde.

Die Kritiker aus den USA sehen sich dennoch bestätigt. Der Anstieg des Pestizid-Verbrauchs, die “epidemische” Ausbreitung von Unkräutern, die gegen Roundup Ready resistent werden, und die Zunahme von chemischen Resten in der Nahrung zeigt nach Ansicht von Bill Freese, Analyst des Centers for Food Safety: “Das mag für die Biotech-Firmen profitabel sein. Aber das bedeutet schlechte Nachrichten für Farmer, die menschliche Gesundheit und die Umwelt.”

Ähnlich der österreichische Sprecher von Greenpeace, Philipp Strohm: “Der Bericht straft die Biotech-Lobby Lügen” und stelle eine “deutliche Warnung an die EU dar”, sich nicht weiter auf das Gentechnik-Experiment einzulassen.

Gentechnik in den USA

Die Landwirte in den USA setzen unvermindert auf die Grüne Gentechnik. Bei Mais, Soja und Baumwolle sind in diesem Jahr 88 Prozent des in den USA ausgebrachten Saatguts gentechnisch verändert, drei Prozent mehr als im Vorjahr.

Der Anteil an Gen-Sorten ist bei Mais und Baumwolle noch einmal gestiegen, bei Soja ist er leicht auf nunmehr 91 Prozent gesunken. Die Anbauflächen mit Gen-Zuckerrüben haben sich in einem Jahr um etwa ein Drittel vergrößert.

Line O’ the Day:

It’s practically a ritual these days to be skeptical about marriage if you’re a guy. You hear comedians and columnists and God knows who else bitching about being tied to one woman, yearning to be free to drink and ogle ass as they please. Almost all of that is an exaggeration. I may goof on being married from time to time, but I’d rather be chopped in half with a machete than NOT be married to my wife. That would be horrible and shitty.  But women. How many women do you know that rushed into getting married because all their friends were all getting married at the same time, only to later find out that their husband is actually kind of a dipshit? Because all guys are conditioned to be skeptical about marriage, because we’re trained to be reluctant about the whole enterprise, we’re 21% choosier about whom we end up marrying. I just made that stat up. It felt right. All of my wife’s friends are married. Only half of mine are. Sure, I only have two friends, but I’m not letting that stand in the way of my gross generalization. – Ten Questions to Ask a Man Before You Agree to Marry Him [Big Daddy Drew via Deadspin]

Best of the Best:

• IRS Gets Secret Account Data on 14,000 Americans [Bloomberg]
• Army Suicides to Top 2008 but Progress Seen [MSNBC]
• Ten Questions to Ask a Woman Before You Propose to Her [Big Daddy Drew via Deadspin]
• Iraqis Now Using Favre Based-Warfare [Deadspin]
• Japanese Gaming Cards with Photoshopped NBA Players are Disrespectful to Frowns [Deadspin]
• Why, Hello There, Aimee Mullins [With Leather]

Remains:

• Dodgeball Lawsuit Makes Me Fear for the Manliness of Our Youth [Deadspin]
• Nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, Marijuana, Ecstasy, and Alcohol. C-c-c-c-ocaine… [Big Daddy Drew Mailbag via Deadspin]
• The Best TV Series of the ’00s [The Onion A.V. Club]
• China’s Anti-Google Model Endangers 10% Growth [Bloomberg]
• Banking Fix Made Easy with Six Simple Steps [Bloomberg]
• Elizabeth Lambert Comes Full Circle [Deadspin]
• Mark Mangino Has a Bit of a Temper [Deadspin]
• I Will Not be the Team Switchboard [KSK]
• In Which We Interrupt Peter King to Make Fun of Dipshit Boston Fans [KSK]
• Antiracists and Far-Right Youths Battle in Moscow [Yahoo!]
• Katrina Negligence Could Cost Feds [MSNBC]
• Sarah Palin Floats Glenn Beck as Possible Running Mate in 2012 [Politicus USA]
• Amputee Peng Shuilin Opens Bargain Supermarket Called Half-Man Half-Price Store [Daily Telegraph]
• AFLAC Denies Benefits After Daughter was Murdered [Chicago Now]
• How Can You Call Federal Stimulus a Boondoggle? [Disloyal Opposition]
• Police Search New York Newspaper Circulation Offices [CNN Justice]
• Somalia Tops List of Most Corrupt Countries [CNN World]
• Paper Outs “Anonymous” Commenter, Job Loss Ensues [Ars Technica]
• Pre-Thanksgiving, Coke-Pinkies and Nazi Dinsaurs.  Jamboroo, Week 11 [Big Daddy Drew via Deadspin]
• Wrestling Still Real on One Misguided Continent [Deadspin]
• In Which Readers’ Lives Play Out Like Popular Movies: the KSK Sex/Fantasy Football Advice Mailbag [KSK]
• The Basement Tapes: A Compendium of Sportswriters’ Hacky Jokes about Bloggers [Deadspin]
• Ireland Joins the Screwed [Rumors and Rants]
• Gene Therapy Creates Superstrong Monkeys [i09]
• Cheesiest and Most Inappropriate Book Covers of All Time [io9]

Saturday roundup: Devils tie for firstNovember 21, 2009

Saturday’s AHL Boxscores

LOWELL 5, MANCHESTER 3
Rookie Nathan Perkovich stayed hot with a goal and two assists as Lowell beat Manchester by a 5-3 count on Saturday afternoon at Tsongas Arena.

With the win, the Devils pulled into a tie with the Monarchs atop the Atlantic Division. Both clubs have 27 points, although Manchester has played one fewer game.

Perkovich’s three-point afternoon matched a season high and gave him 12 points (6-6-12) in his last eight contests, including four multiple-point efforts over that span.

Vladimir Zharkov and Michael Swift each registered a goal and an assist for the Devils, while Stephen Gionta and Ben Walter also found the back of the net. Lowell finished 3-for-8 on the power play and received a pair of assists from rookie defenseman Matt Taormina.

Goaltender Jeff Frazee earned the win with 17 saves for the Devils, who improved to 7-1-0-0 in their last eight games.

The Monarchs’ Oscar Moller tallied a pair of power play markers in the loss, and rookie Andrei Loktionov also scored.

GRAND RAPIDS 6, TORONTO 3
Grand Rapids continued its sizzling play of late with a 6-3 road win over Toronto on Saturday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum.

The Griffins improved to 2-1-0-0 against the Marlies this season and to 11-1-0-0 in their last 12 games overall since beginning the campaign at 1-4-0-0.

Ex-Marlie and rookie Tomas Tatar each put up a goal and two assists for the Griffins, and Evan McGrath netted a pair of goals in the victory. Grand Rapids also received tallies from Mattias Ritola and Jamie Tardif.

Defenseman Jakub Kindl (0-3-3) and forward Patrick Rissmiller (0-2-2) each contributed multiple assists, and Grand Rapids goaltender Daniel Larsson (7-2-0) made 25 saves to pick up his seventh straight win.

Alex Foster scored twice and Jay Rosehill once for the Marlies, who dropped to 1-4-0-1 in their last six contests.

HAMILTON 5, MANITOBA 4 (OT)
Rookie defenseman P.K. Subban scored 3:53 into overtime to lift Hamilton past Manitoba by a 5-4 count on Saturday before 13,582 fans at the MTS Centre.

Defenseman Mathieu Carle scored twice and added two assists for a game-high four points, helping the Bulldogs jump out to a 3-0 second-period lead.

Sergei Kostitsyn registered a goal and two helpers for the Bulldogs, David Desharnais had a goal and an assist, and J.T. Wyman chipped in two assists on the night.

The Moose played catch-up all night long to secure the one standings point, receiving goals from Erik Christensen, Marty Murray, Sergei Shirokov (1-1-2), and the game-tying power play marker from Marco Rosa (1-1-2) at 10:33 of the third frame.

Eric Walsky and Evan Oberg each posted two assists for Manitoba in the losing effort.

Bulldogs goaltender Curtis Sanford emerged with the victory after making 20 saves, helping his club finish 2-2-0-0 on its four-game road trip to Abbotsford and Winnipeg.

PORTLAND 4, NORFOLK 2
Portland rebounded from an early 1-0 deficit to score three straight goals en route to a 4-2 win over visiting Norfolk on Saturday at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

The Pirates won their third straight game since a 2-1 overtime loss to the Admirals on Tuesday and increased their points streak to six games overall (4-0-2-0).

After Justin Keller gave Norfolk a 1-0 lead 7:50 into the contest, Felix Schutz’s first goal of the season tied it for the Pirates at 12:27.

Portland took control in the middle frame, as defensemen Matt Generous and Drew Schiestel both scored their first goals of the campaign to make it a 3-1 game. Norfolk’s Mitch Fritz brought his club within one score at 14:48 of the second, but the Pirates held on and Cody McCormick sealed the win with an empty-netter late in the third period.

Pirates goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux earned the victory with 23 saves in net.

WORCESTER 3, PROVIDENCE 2
With an eighth straight loss looming just 20 minutes away, Worcester rallied for a pair of third-period goals to take a 3-2 road win over Providence at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.

Dwight Helminen tied the contest at 2-2 for the Sharks 11:35 into the third period, scoring his first goal since Nov. 6, and defenseman Joe Callahan netted the game-winner on a power play with 1:58 to play in regulation. It marked Callahan’s first goal of the season.

Rookie Brandon Mashinter posted a goal and an assist for the Sharks, who had dropped a franchise-record seven straight games entering the night. Goaltender Alex Stalock earned the victory with 31 saves in net.

The Bruins grabbed leads of 1-0 and 2-1 on goals by Jamie Arniel and Kirk MacDonald, but Providence could not hang on and saw its modest two-game winning streak come to an end.

SPRINGFIELD 3, HERSHEY 2 (SO)
Springfield rallied from a pair of one-goal deficits in regulation and prevailed over host Hershey in a shootout, 3-2, before 9,024 fans at the Giant Center.

Falcons forward Chad Wiseman scored the lone shootout goal for either side in the third round, and Springfield goaltender Devan Dubnyk denied all five Bears attempts after making 29 saves through regulation and overtime.

Each side scored once in the second and third periods. Keith Aucoin and Alexandre Giroux gave Hershey leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but the Falcons responded each time on markers by Colton Fretter and Ryan O’Marra.

Springfield improved to 5-1-1-0 in its last seven contests, while the Bears’ five-game winning streak ended. Hershey is still 9-1-0-1 in its last 11 outings.

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 3, ADIRONDACK 1
A trio of second-period goals lifted Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to a 3-1 win over visiting Adirondack before 6,637 fans at the Wachovia Arena.

The Penguins scored a goal of each variety in the middle frame. Luca Caputi kicked it off with a power play tally at 7:28, Eric Tangradi followed at even strength at 11:42, and Wyatt Smith added a shorthanded marker with 1:24 to play in the stanza.

Adirondack got on the board when defenseman Kevin Marshall scored 6:36 into the third period, but the Phantoms could get no closer and fell to 1-4-0-0 in their last five road games.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltender John Curry stopped 29 shots in net to help his club snap a short two-game losing skid.

BINGHAMTON 4, ALBANY 1
Ryan Keller netted two more goals and Josh Hennessy also scored twice to pace Binghamton past visiting Albany by a 4-1 count at the Broome County Arena.

Keller’s two tallies give him a league-leading 13 for the season, and the first-year Senator has found the back of the net in four consecutive games (5-2-7).

Hennessy snapped an 11-game drought with his two goals, both of which came on the power play after Albany had cut the Sens’ lead to 2-1 on a Jamie McBain power play strike midway through the second frame.

It marked the second straight night that the River Rats managed just one goal, both resulting in losses.

Binghamton goaltender Andy Chiodo earned the win with 25 saves, while Albany’s Mike Murphy took the loss despite making 46 saves on the night.

SYRACUSE 2, HARTFORD 1
Syracuse snapped a four-game winless skid (0-3-0-1) with a 2-1 triumph over visiting Hartford on Saturday before 5,416 fans at the Onondaga County War Memorial.

After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, the Crunch grabbed a 2-0 second-period lead on goals by Maksim Mayorov and Kevin Harvey. Mayorov’s tally came shorthanded against a Hartford power play that entered the night ranked first in the AHL this season at 26.5 percent.

It remained a 2-0 Syracuse lead until the Wolf Pack finally got on the board courtesy of a shorthanded goal by defenseman Ilkka Heikkinen with just two seconds to play in regulation.

That marker spoiled the shutout bid for Crunch goaltender Kevin Lalande, who still picked up the victory with 22 saves on 23 shots on net.

Hartford lost in regulation for just the second time in its last 10 contests (7-2-0-1).

BRIDGEPORT 4, ABBOTSFORD 3 (SO)
Bridgeport climbed out of a 3-1 deficit in the third period and then converted all three of its shootout tries to take a 4-3 road win over Abbotsford at the Entertainment & Sports Centre.

The Sound Tigers swept their two-game weekend set with the Heat and improved to 4-0-0-1 in their last five games overall, on the heels of a five-game losing skid.

Sean Bentivoglio netted a pair of regulation goals and converted a shootout attempt for the Sound Tigers. Bentivoglio’s second regulation marker cut Bridgeport’s deficit to 3-2 at 3:39 of the third period, and Jesse Joensuu tallied the equalizer at 11:16. Both goals came on the power play.

Trevor Smith and Greg Moore also registered shootout goals for Bridgeport, and goaltender Scott Munroe denied three of Abbotsford’s four tries after making 41 saves through the first 65 minutes.

Garth Murray notched a pair of regulation goals for the Heat, and Riley Armstrong posted a goal and an assist. Mikael Backlund recorded Abbotsford’s lone shootout tally in the third round.

The Heat are now winless in their last three games, all at home (0-2-0-1), and will begin a four-game road trip on Wednesday in Peoria.

TEXAS 4, ROCKFORD 3 (OT)
Maxime Fortunus’ second goal of the night came 3:52 into overtime as Texas escaped with a 4-3 road win over Rockford at the MetroCentre on Saturday.

Sergei Korostin and defenseman Andrew Hutchinson also scored for the Stars, who built a 2-0 lead late in the second period and held a 3-1 advantage 1:36 into the third.

But Mark Cullen single-handedly knotted it back up for the IceHogs, scoring on the power play at 6:04 and at even strength a little more than 11 minutes later. Defenseman Simon Danis-Pepin also lit the lamp for Rockford, which has alternated wins and losses in its last eight games.

Stars goaltender Brent Krahn extended his personal winning streak to 10 games by making 41 saves on 44 shots in net.

Texas shook off a 4-1 loss in Grand Rapids on Friday and improved to 10-1-2-1 in its last 14 outings.

CHICAGO 3, PEORIA 1
Chicago scored three times in the third period to rally from a 1-0 deficit and skate off with a 3-1 win over visiting Peoria before 11,755 fans at Allstate Arena.

Tim Stapleton tallied the equalizer for the Wolves just 1:14 into the third frame, and Johnny Pohl netted the game-winner 2:06 later. Brett Sterling, who assisted on Stapleton’s marker, added an empty-netter with a minute to play.

Jason Krog chipped in two assists for Chicago, and goaltender Peter Mannino made 40 saves on 41 shots to pick up the win in just his third appearance of the season (2-0-0).

Nicholas Drazenovic gave the Rivermen a 1-0 lead with a power play goal at 10:15 of the opening period. Peoria managed only one goal a night after scoring a season-high seven in a 7-2 win at San Antonio.

Copa del Rey round-upThursday roundup: Pirates cool off Amerks

Friday roundup: Ellerby’s trick powers AmerksNovember 20, 2009

Friday’s AHL Boxscores

ROCHESTER 5, SYRACUSE 2
Defenseman Keaton Ellerby, a former first-round draft pick who entered the night without a goal in his first 16 games this season, netted a hat trick to lead Rochester to a 5-2 win over visiting Syracuse at the Blue Cross Arena.

Ellerby, drafted 10th overall by the Florida Panthers in 2007, scored once in each period and registered a pair of power play markers in that contest. In one night, the second-year pro matched the three goals he scored in 75 games as a rookie for Rochester last season.

Shawn Matthias also put up three points (1-2-3) for the Americans, and Andrew Sweetland rounded out the offense. David Brine and defenseman Clay Wilson each posted two assists on the night.

Amerks rookie goaltender Alexander Salak earned the victory with 16 saves, helping his club move to 14-2-1-0 (29 points) for the campaign.

Dan Fritsche and Trevor Frischmon scored for the Crunch, who are winless in four straight games (0-3-0-1).

TORONTO 7, LAKE ERIE 1
Rookie Christian Hanson tallied three goals and an assist and fired a game-high seven shots on net as Toronto rolled to a 7-1 road win over Lake Erie before 8,116 fans at Quicken Loans Arena.

Hanson, who leads the Marlies with eight goals and 16 points in 16 games this season, completed the troika by scoring at even strength, on the power play, and shorthanded.

Alex Foster tallied a pair of goals in the victory, while Viktor Stalberg (1-1-2) and Ryan Hamilton also found the back of the net.

Jiri Tlusty and rookie Tyler Bozak each chipped in three assists for the Marlies, who entered the night having managed just three goals during a four-game winless skid (0-3-0-1).

Toronto goaltender James Reimer earned the win with 21 saves on 22 shots in net.

Marty Sertich scored the lone goal for the Monsters, who fell to 1-5-0-1 in their last seven contests.

BRIDGEPORT 3, ABBOTSFORD 1
Bridgeport goaltender Nathan Lawson made a season-high 47 saves on 48 shots to lead the Sound Tigers to a 3-1 road win over Abbotsford on Friday at the Entertainment & Sports Centre.

Lawson, an AHL All-Rookie Team member last season, stopped 41 shots over the first two periods alone and improved to 5-4-0 on the campaign.

Trevor Smith posted a goal and an assist for the Sound Tigers, who also received markers from Greg Mauldin and defenseman Mark Flood, who scored his first of the year.

Sean Bentivoglio chipped in two helpers in the victory, which extended Bridgeport’s point streak to four games (3-0-0-1).

Defenseman Matt Pelech registered the Heat’s lone goal with one second to play in the opening period. Abbotsford will seek revenge when it hosts the Sound Tigers in a rematch on Saturday night.

PROVIDENCE 5, SPRINGFIELD 2
Providence tallied three unanswered goals in the third period to skate off with a 5-2 win over visiting Springfield before 8,424 fans at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.

Kirk MacDonald snapped a 2-2 tie for the Bruins at 5:25 of the third frame, Guillaume Lefebvre added insurance at the 12:45 mark, and Jamie Arniel sealed the win with an empty-netter at 19:01.

Arniel and Jeff LoVecchio each finished with a goal and an assist for Providence, and defenseman Andy Wozniewski also found the back of the net.

Providence goaltender Dany Sabourin made 19 saves in the winning effort, as the Bruins improved to 3-1-0-0 in their last four contests.

Ryan O’Marra and Colton Fretter netted goals for the Falcons, whose five-game points streak (4-0-1-0) came to an end.

GRAND RAPIDS 4, TEXAS 1
A three-goal second period vaulted Grand Rapids to a 4-1 win over visiting Texas before 7,087 fans at Van Andel Arena.

Jan Mursak, Patrick Rissmiller (1-1-2), and Kris Newbury tallied second-period goals for the Griffins, and defenseman Jakub Kindl added a marker in the third frame.

Defenseman Doug Janik and rookie Tomas Tatar each posted a pair of assists for Grand Rapids, and goaltender Daniel Larsson earned the victory with 24 saves on 25 shots on net.

The Griffins improved to 10-1-0-0 in their last 11 games and 9-1-0-0 on home ice this season.

Rookie Colton Sceviour netted a power play goal for the Stars, whose 12-game points streak (9-0-2-1) ended. Texas lost in regulation for the first time since a 4-0 setback to Lake Erie on Oct. 20.

LOWELL 2, NORFOLK 1
Lowell scored twice in the first period, and goaltender Mike McKenna made it stand up for a 2-1 win over visiting Norfolk at Tsongas Arena on Friday.

Vladimir Zharkov gave the Devils a 1-0 lead just 24 seconds after the opening face-off, and Michael Swift made it a 2-0 game at the 12:12 mark of the first period.

It remained 2-0 until Norfolk’s Brandon Bochenski tallied his league-leading 12th goal of the season 12:33 into the second period, but the Admirals were unable to get the equalizer.

McKenna (7-3-0) finished with 29 saves on 30 shots, helping the Devils move to 6-1-0-0 in their last seven games.

PORTLAND 3, WORCESTER 1
Portland scored a power play goal in each period to beat reeling Worcester by a 3-1 count on Friday at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Reigning AHL Rookie of the Year Nathan Gerbe posted a goal and an assist for the Pirates, who also received tallies from Jeff Cowan and Philip Gogulla.

Rookie Tyler Ennis registered a pair of assists in the victory, giving him five points (1-4-5) in his last two outings. Goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux earned the win with 32 saves on 33 shots on net.

Torrey Mitchell tallied a power play goal for the Sharks, whose franchise-record losing skid extended to seven games.

HERSHEY 5, BINGHAMTON 2
Alexandre Giroux registered a goal and two assists to lead Hershey to a 5-2 road win over Binghamton before 4,710 fans at the Broome County Arena.

Giroux, who played for the Senators from 2002-04, has now racked up eight points (5-3-8) in three visits to Binghamton this season, all of which have resulted in Bears victories.

Andrew Gordon posted a goal and a helper for Hershey, which also received markers from Boyd Kane and Trevor Bruess, who scored his first as a professional.

Keith Aucoin chipped in two assists, and Bears goaltender Jason Bacashihua earned the victory with 38 saves on 40 shots. Hershey extended its winning streak to five games and moved to 9-1-0-0 in its last 10 outings.

Ryan Keller and Martin St. Pierre netted goals for the Senators in the losing effort.

MANCHESTER 2, ALBANY 1
Bud Holloway’s goal at 11:24 of the third period broke a 1-1 tie and sent Manchester on its way to a 2-1 win over visiting Albany on Friday at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Holloway, who had not scored since Oct. 24 vs. Providence, was assisted on the play by Oscar Moller and defenseman Joe Piskula.

The Monarchs took a 1-0 lead when Gabe Gauthier netted a power play goal at 8:13 of the second period, but the River Rats’ Steven Goertzen tied it just 2:14 into the third frame.

Manchester goaltender Jonathan Bernier earned the victory with 33 saves on 34 shots, improving to 8-4-2 on the campaign.

The Monarchs (12-4-1-2, 27 points) maintained their two-point lead on Lowell for first place in the Atlantic Division.

PEORIA 7, SAN ANTONIO 2
Peoria built a 5-0 lead after the opening period and cruised to a 7-2 road win over San Antonio at the AT&T Center on Friday.

Adam Cracknell led the way with two goals and an assist for the Rivermen, Julian Talbot and defenseman Brendan Bell each posted a goal and a helper, while Nicholas Drazenovic, Chris Porter, and Mitch Love also found the back of the net.

The Rivermen are now 2-2-0-0 in their last four games; they have outscored opponents 12-6 in the two victories and been outscored 7-0 in the two losses.

Peoria goaltender Ben Bishop earned the victory on Friday with 37 saves on 39 shots.

Kevin Porter and Chad Kolarik tallied third-period goals for the Rampage, who are winless in 10 straight games (0-8-1-1) and haven’t won a game since a 7-2 triumph over Grand Rapids on Oct. 18.

ROCKFORD 1, CHICAGO 0
Bracken Kearns tallied the game’s lone goal at 7:31 of the third period as Rockford edged visiting Chicago by a 1-0 count at the MetroCentre on Friday.

Kearns’ third goal of the season – and second game-winner – was assisted by Danny Bois and rookie defenseman Brian Connelly, who now has a point in three straight games (1-3-4).

The IceHogs poured 43 shots on Wolves goaltender Drew MacIntyre, including 23 in the second period alone. MacIntyre took the loss despite making 42 saves on the night.

Rockford goaltender Joe Fallon earned the shutout with 26 saves in net.

Chicago’s three-game winning streak came to an end.

MANITOBA 5, HAMILTON 3
Mario Bliznak and rookie Sergei Shirokov each registered a goal and an assist as Manitoba skated off with a 5-3 win over visiting Hamilton on Friday before 8,415 fans at the MTS Centre.

Erik Christensen also scored in his first game of a conditioning stint with the Moose, who brought a 3-1 lead into the late stages of the third period.

Captain Mike Keane added an empty-net tally at the 18:29, seemingly clinching the victory for Manitoba. But the Bulldogs climbed back into it on goals by Andrew Conboy at 18:41 and defenseman P.K. Subban at 19:19.

Hamilton could not find the equalizer, however, and Keane tallied another empty-net marker to finally seal the victory at 19:39.

Manitoba goaltender Cory Schneider earned the victory with 35 saves in net, helping the Moose to their season-high third straight win.

MILWAUKEE 3, HOUSTON 2
Milwaukee built a 3-0 lead early in the third period and held on for a 3-2 road win over Houston at the Toyota Center.

Robert Dietrich and Mike Santorelli netted first-period goals for the Admirals. After a scoreless middle frame, Ryan Jones, who assisted on Santorelli’s marker, extended the lead to 3-0 just 1:05 into the third frame.

The Aeros attempted a comeback, as Petr Kalus scored unassisted at 7:22 and Chad Rau followed with a power play tally at 15:17. But Houston could not pull even and fell to 1-2-0-0 on its four-game homestand.

Milwaukee goaltender Chet Pickard earned the win with 22 saves on 24 shots, helping the Admirals snap a brief two-game winless skid (0-1-1-0).

After they both enjoy Saturday night off, the teams will square off for a rematch in Houston on Sunday afternoon.

Sunday roundup: Khudobin posts shutoutLlorente pens new contract

Yank

With apologies to Liverpool and Manchester City, the Premier League game we were most interested in this weekend was the potential matchup between Amerks Jozy Altidore and Jonathan Spector at KC Stadium, where Hull City hosted fellow relegation battlers West Ham.

Yank, M.I.A

Unfortunately, the Yanks-Abroad encounter never came to pass, as Spector stayed on the bench the entire game while Altidore started and played 73 minutes. Maybe Zola was resting Spector after his busy week with the U.S. team. But apart from the Spector no-show, the game was a cracker. West Ham put two past Matt Duke inside the first 11 minutes, and it looked like another long day for ‘ull, but the Tigers did not roll over. A Jimmy Bullard free kick (which had been won by Jozy) deflected off Carlton Cole and into the West Ham net in the 26th minute, and then Kamil Zayatte tied it up with a wicked volley in the 43rd. When Bullard scored from the spot in the 45th, it looked like Hull was headed for a very valuable and unexpected three points, but then Bernard Mendy was red-carded in the 53rd and Hull had to try to hang on with 10 men the rest of the way. They couldnt do it, giving up a goal to Manuel Da Costa in the 68th. They did hang on from there for the draw, and the point keeps them hovering just above the drop zone.

The Man City–Liverpool game got off to a snoozy start, but woke up in the second half as goals from Skertl (49th), Adebayor (69), Ireland (76) and Benayoun (77) enlivened the proceedings considerably, and produced a 2-2 draw. In other games, Manchester United blanked Everton 3-0, Birmingham edged Fulham 1-0 (Clint Dempsey went the full 90 and was apparently Fulham’s liveliest attacker in a dull affair), Burnley and Aston Villa drew 1-1, Chelsea routed Wolves 4-0, and in the day’s upset special, Sunderland topped Arsenal 1-0, handing the Gunners their first loss of the season behind a 70th minute strike from Darren Bent.

Although an episode did not come out this week (due to technical difficulties that are being resolved), a few teas were reviewed as well as some things here and there.

Tea

Orange Blossom Oolong (video) – This tea gives a nice dark orange liquor (see picture and video below). Off the nose, I am getting a musky & bitter citrus aroma (the oolong is semi-fermented). This oolong provides a nice medium bodiedtea that has …. (read more)

Temperature: boiling

Duration: 2 minutes

Rating: 76/100

Japan Genmaicha – This is my first time having the Genmaicha. After having many Japanese teas, I finally decided to give it a try. The story of how it started reminds me a lot of the legend of the Lapsang Souchong and its origins (they both were … (read more)

Temperature: 90°C/195°F

Duration: 1 minute

Rating: 76/100

Diplomat’s Tea (video) – As I said in the video, this bright first flush Darjeeling provides a bright and slightly unsettling Muscatel edge. However, accompanied with the woody, wet stone aroma, the appeal is great. Complete with all that you would  … (read more)

Temperature: boiling

Duration: 3 minutes

Rating: 75

Japan Tamaryokucha – This Japanese green tea is pleasantly grassy with creamy, medium weight body that lightly lingers on the top of the palate (cf. umami). Alongside this briny grass-like flavor comes a nuttiness resembling almonds … (read more)

Temperature: 80°C/175°F

Duration: 2 minutes

Rating: 66/100

Notable links

Mandarin Pronunciation Guide for Taiwanese and Chinese Teas

Caffeine and Tea: Myth and Reality

Also, congratulations to Claragh, our 300th Facebook fan. She will be receiving a package sometime next week (still to be decided). If you like to win our next contest,  be our 300th Twitter follower (@teatimetuesday).

This Tuesday (24 November  2009), the TeaGschwendner Early Grey review episode will be released! Keep an eye on this site, Facebook or Twitter for the release. As always, comments, suggestions,  and questions are always welcome (post them on the Facebook fan page wall or [at] reply @teatimetuesday on Twitter as the email is down currently). Every question will be answered and some will even be featured on the show.

Have a great weekend,

Griffin Kelton (@griffinkelton)

w/b 16 November

So there’s month and a half of 2009 left, AND 50 DAYS UNTIL NEW YORK!!! WOOOOOOOO. Ok. On with the roundup

I have continued to be utterly obsessed with Lookbook this week, but I’ve found Chictopia.com now too, which is similar, but actually possible to join. Ch-ch-check it out!

I love Tumblr at the moment. I’ve spent literally hours getting lost and ending up somewhere entirely different to where I was. I loved this post from Hell Bent for Leather. I don’t know where it’s originally a quote from, but it’s cool

I found another one, called what’s in your bag? It’s good if you’re nosy!

The Times have got a really fantastic article on 50 practical tips to save you half a lifetime. It’s got some very good advice, like to always wear black socks, and “never kid yourself you can make something of somebody; instead, find someone who’s making something of themselves, and help them, otherwise years can be expended trying to push the human equivalent of a wet end of spaghetti up a wall.”  Very true that.

Hahaha - Love this

Oprah Winfrey has announced the end of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Who is going to educate us about va-jay-jays now?!?

I have had to just put in that little skully, because I came across him just now on Tumblr, and have sat here giggling for five minutes, then showed The Boy and we giggled some more.  He’s making me smile every time I look at him, and I might have to make him into my background.  Hehe.

Missymelane have got a fantastic list of sarcastic comments. It’s funny. Go and read it.

from Cannibal Cupcake

Kate Moss has broken the fairytale, and revealed that she might actually be human after all, with her comment that “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”.  Way to go, Kate. I think that the percentage of impressionable young girls with eating disorders just shot up. Grr. This comment was also made days after Cindy Crawford tried to convince an interviewer that “(Kate) eats, I’ve seen her eat, and she’s just thin.” Perhaps not though, hm? I can’t see skinny feeling as good as that cupcake there

OOOOOOOOOOOOKAY, I think that’s all the rounding up for this week.  I’m off to watch The Science of Sleep and eat toast xxx

Wednesday roundup: Pirates rally for winNovember 18, 2009

Wednesday’s AHL Boxscores

PORTLAND 5, WORCESTER 3
Portland racked up four unanswered goals – including three in the third period – to rally past Worcester by a 5-3 count at the DCU Center on Wednesday.

Two-time AHL All-Star Mark Mancari scored twice for the Pirates, including the game-winner on the power play with 5:30 left in regulation.

The Sharks built a 3-1 lead by the 1:41 mark of the second period on goals from Ryan Vesce, Dan DaSilva and Benn Ferriero, his first career AHL goal.

Mancari began the Pirates’ rally at 6:24 of the second frame, and Derek Whitmore netted the equalizer 9:23 into the third period. That set the stage for Mancari’s game-winning marker, and Jeff Cowan added an empty-netter in the closing seconds.

Rookie Tyler Ennis put up a game-high three points (1-2-3) for the Pirates, Nathan Gerbe contributed two assists, and goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux earned the victory with 29 saves in net.

Worcester has now dropped six straight games since an 8-3-0-1 start to the season.

SPRINGFIELD 4, LOWELL 3
Springfield rallied for two goals in a 33-second span with less than two minutes left in regulation to stun Lowell, 4-3, at the MassMutual Center.

The Devils had taken a 3-2 lead on a power play goal by defenseman Matt Taormina at 9:44 of the third frame. But Springfield’s Chad Wiseman tied it at the 18:06 mark, and Ryan MacMurchy registered the game-winner at 18:39.

MacMurchy, who spent the previous two seasons in the ECHL, had not tallied an AHL goal since Apr. 3, 2007, with Peoria.

Wiseman, Ryan O’Marra, and Colton Fretter all posted a goal and an assist for the Falcons, who extended their points streak to five games (4-0-1-0) and remained unbeaten-in-regulation at home this season (6-0-2-1).

Charles Linglet posted two assists for Springfield, and goaltender Devan Dubnyk earned the win with 39 saves in net.

Alexander Vasyunov and Louis Robitaille also scored for the Devils, whose five-game winning streak came to an end.

BINGHAMTON 2, HARTFORD 1 (SO)
Ryan Keller scored in both regulation and the shootout as Binghamton skated away with a 2-1 road win over Hartford at the XL Center.

Keller opened the game’s scoring with his team-leading 10th tally of the season – a power-play marker – at 17:26 of the opening period, with Denis Hamel and Martin St. Pierre earning assists.

It remained a 1-0 Senators lead until Wolf Pack forward Paul Crowder knotted it with a power-play goal of his own at 16:38 of the third frame. Dane Byers and Corey Locke picked up helpers on Crowder’s third goal of the year.

Keller converted on Binghamton’s initial shootout attempt, and Hamel followed with a second-round strike against Pack goaltender Chad Johnson. Sens netminder Andy Chiodo denied all four of Hartford’s tries after making 30 saves through the first 65 minutes.

The Senators extended their points streak to a season-high three games (2-0-0-1) and halted Hartford’s modest winning streak at two games.

ADIRONDACK 2, TORONTO 0
Adirondack goaltender Johan Backlund pitched a 25-save shutout as the Phantoms dropped visiting Toronto, 2-0, at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

Backlund (6-4-0) picked up his second shutout of the season, stopping six shots in the first period, nine in the second, and 10 in the third frame.

Jon Matsumoto provided all the offense Adirondack would need with a power play goal just 2:28 into the contest, and Matt Clackson provided insurance with his first tally of the campaign late in the second period.

The Phantoms avenged a 3-0 shutout loss in the teams’ first meeting of the season in Toronto on Oct. 30 and improved to 4-2-0-0 in their last six contests overall.

ALBANY 5, SYRACUSE 2
Rookie Drayson Bowman tallied two goals as Albany built a 4-0 lead en route to a 5-2 win over visiting Syracuse at the Times Union Center on Wednesday.

Nick Dodge, Jerome Samson, and ex-Crunch Steven Goertzen also scored for the River Rats, and rookie Zach Boychuk contributed a pair of assists in the victory.

River Rats goaltender Mike Murphy earned the win with 29 saves on 31 shots, helping his club move back above .500 for the season at 9-8-0-2.

Alexandre Picard and Brock McBride found the back of the net for the Crunch, who are winless in their last three outings (0-2-0-1).

NORFOLK 2, MANCHESTER 1 (SO)
Norfolk continued its strong play of late with a 2-1 shootout win over host Manchester at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Wednesday.

Juraj Simek and Blair Jones netted shootout goals for the Admirals in the third and fourth rounds, respectively, and Norfolk goaltender Riku Helenius stuffed Manchester on four consecutive attempts.

The Admirals’ Justin Keller and the Monarchs’ Brandon Segal – who spent the last season and a half in Norfolk – traded second-period goals.

Helenius (4-2-0) finished with 21 saves through regulation and overtime for Norfolk, which was coming off a 2-1 overtime win at Portland on Tuesday. The Admirals moved to 7-2-1-0 in November after posting a 3-6-0-0 mark in the month of October.

HOUSTON 1, PEORIA 0
Houston scored just one goal for a third consecutive game, but came away with a 1-0 win over visiting Peoria at the Toyota Center on Wednesday.

Jean-Michel Daoust broke a scoreless deadlock with a power play strike at 11:05 of the third period, with assists going to Jon DiSalvatore and Nathan Smith.

It proved to be the only goal of the game, as Aeros goaltender Anton Khudobin (8-3-0) picked up his third shutout of the season with 16 saves in net.

The Rivermen were blanked for the second time in their last three outings and fell to 1-3-0-2 on the road this season.

TEXAS 3, ROCKFORD 1
Warren Peters netted a pair of goals as Texas rallied from a 1-0 deficit to post a 3-1 road win over Rockford on Wednesday at the MetroCentre.

The IceHogs grabbed their 1-0 advantage on a Bracken Kearns goal at 11:45 of the opening period, but Peters tied it for the Stars just 32 seconds later.

Peters put Texas on top to stay at 19:11 of the first period, and Luke Gazdic provided insurance for the Stars by scoring his first career AHL goal three minutes into the middle frame.

Stars goaltender Brent Krahn picked up his ninth consecutive victory in net with 31 saves on 32 shots.

Texas extended its points streak to 12 games (9-0-2-1) and has not suffered a regulation loss since a 4-0 setback to Lake Erie on Oct. 20.

HAMILTON 2, ABBOTSFORD 1
David Desharnais’s goal at 2:35 of the second period proved to be the game-winner as Hamilton edged Abbotsford by a 2-1 score at the Entertainment & Sports Centre, earning a split of the teams’ two-game midweek set.

Desharnais, who has netted a goal in three straight games (3-1-4), was assisted on the play by Mike Glumac and Brock Trotter.

Trotter also picked up a helper on the Bulldogs’ first goal of the night, scored by J.T. Wyman on the power play at 16:46 of the opening period.

The Heat got on the board midway through the second frame on a power play marker by defenseman Keith Seabrook, and neither team scored the rest of the way.

Hamilton goaltender Curtis Sanford earned the win with 32 saves on 33 shots in net.

Copa del Rey round-upWednesday roundup: Phantoms rally past ‘Tigers in third

Earlier on, we posted about the use of Roundup on the Aldea campus. (We had heard reports that it was used in the Mt Sutro Cloud Forest, too; but there were contrary reports at the October 19th meeting. Until we had actual evidence, we did not post anything about it.)

Today we received an e-mail from UCSF, confirming that herbicides had been used both in the forest up to a year ago, and – as we know from a September 09 spraying notice – much more recently at the Aldea Student Housing on the mountain just below the forest.

But importantly, it says that they are halting herbicide use pending investigation of less-toxic alternatives.

To quote:

“Herbicides have not been used in the Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve since 2008, and are not being used at Aldea pending an evaluation of a herbicide commonly known as “Roundup”. UCSF is evaluating Roundup as a result of recent studies on the active ingredient in Roundup and similar glyphosate-based herbicides. What these studies show is that the active ingredient in Roundup is not the toxic concern. The concern, we understand, focuses on the surfactant, which helps the solution absorb into plant material. Recent research, including proposed work in the Marin Municipal Water District watershed, shows that the active ingredient works well with corn-based surfactant. UCSF is presently looking into the effectiveness of utilizing corn-based surfactants.”

Of course, that’s not completely right. The surfactant POEA is the most immediate concern, but glyphosate has been linked to non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, lung damage, and damage to the red blood cells. The e-mail made a reference to “sparing use” of herbicides. We have to say that the spray notice in September 09 didn’t make it sound “sparing.” It covered “pavement and soil” which is just about everything except for actual buildings. Considering that Aldea is family housing, and women living there may be or become pregnant, it’s not clear why the cosmetic look of clean pavement justifies the use of toxic herbicides.

Edited to Add: The UCSF website still talks of the use of herbicides “as necessary.” Well, of course if they use it they must consider it necessary… but we thought they had stopped. We have a query in as of 28 Nov 09, and will update this further.

Carey Gillam   Reuters   Nov 18, 2009

KANSAS CITY – The rapid adoption by U.S. farmers of genetically engineered corn, soybeans and cotton has promoted increased use of pesticides, an epidemic of herbicide-resistant weeds and more chemical residues in foods, according to a report issued Tuesday by health and environmental protection groups.

The groups said research showed that herbicide use grew by 383 million pounds from 1996 to 2008, with 46 percent of the total increase occurring in 2007 and 2008.

The report was released by nonprofits The Organic Center (TOC), the Union for Concerned Scientists (UCS) and the Center for Food Safety (CFS).

The groups said that while herbicide use has climbed, insecticide use has dropped because of biotech crops. They said adoption of genetically engineered corn and cotton that carry traits resistant to insects has led to a reduction in insecticide use by 64 million pounds since 1996.

Still, that leaves a net overall increase on U.S. farm fields of 318 million pounds of pesticides, which includes insecticides and herbicides, over the first 13 years of commercial use.

The rise in herbicide use comes as U.S. farmers increasingly adopt corn, soy and cotton that have been engineered with traits that allow them to tolerate dousings of weed killer. The most popular of these are known as “Roundup Ready” for their ability to sustain treatments with Roundup herbicide and are developed and marketed by world seed industry leader Monsanto Co.

Monsanto rolled out the first biotech crop, Roundup Ready soybeans, in 1996.

Monsanto officials declined to comment on the report. But the Biotechnology Industry Organization, of which Monsanto is a member, said the popularity of herbicide-resistant crops showed their value outweighs any associated detriments.

“Herbicide resistance crops are incredibly popular with farmers. They help them manage their weed problems in ways traditional crops don’t,” said Mike Wach, BIO managing director of science and regulatory affairs.

“If a farmer feels a crop is causing them more trouble than it is worth they will stop using it,” Wach said. “Farmers are continuing to adopt these crops because they provide benefits, not liabilities and problems.”

BIO officials pointed to a report issued earlier this year by PG Economics Ltd that said the volume of herbicides used in biotech soybean crops globally decreased by 161 million pounds, or 4.6 percent, from 1996 to 2007.

The report by the environmental groups states that a key problem resulting from the increase in herbicide use is the emergence of “super weeds,” which are difficult to kill because they have become resistant to the herbicides.

“With glyphosate-resistant weeds now infesting millions of acres, farmers face rising costs coupled with sometimes major yield losses, and the environmental impact of weed management systems will surely rise,” said Charles Benbrook, chief scientist of The Organic Center.

The groups additionally criticized the agricultural biotechnology industry for claiming that higher costs for genetically engineered seeds are justified by multiple benefits to farmers, including decreased spending on pesticides.

The group said biotech corn seed prices in 2010 could be almost three times the cost of conventional seed, while new enhanced biotech soybean seed for 2010 could be 42 percent more than the original biotech version.

“This report confirms what we’ve been saying for years,” said Bill Freese, science policy analyst for the Center for Food Safety. “The most common type of genetically engineered crops promotes increased use of pesticides, an epidemic of resistant weeds, and more chemical residues in our foods. This may be profitable for the biotech/pesticide companies, but it’s bad news for farmers, human health and the environment.”

(Editing by Christian Wiessner)

Line O’ the Day:

There is an entire generation or two of people that are so anesthetized that they condone the invasion and destruction of sovereign third-world countries that couldn’t possibly pose a threat to our national security whatsoever and the killing of innocent men, women, children in the process: Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan and yet practically bring the country to a standstill for the death of 13 U.S. soldiers in Texas. When did we go to war with Pakistan?

We are a society of people who have gone down the rabbit hole with the Mad Hatter and March Hare and believe that somehow contrary to basic mathematical laws like one plus one equals two the economy can be improved by taking money from one person and giving it to another or by dropping it from a helicopter. Given their drunken social state, it makes perfect sense to them.

We live in a society where one’s celebrity equates to ability; where a pretty face, gender or ethnic background means more than character, integrity, ability and courage; where a political man, morally, professionally and personally disgraced, can lecture at Harvard’s school of ethics and a political woman known for lying during campaign trips and elsewhere can be appointed to one of our countries highest posts: secretary of state.

A society in which a man wins an international peace award, not for his peace efforts, but rather for a PowerPoint presentation about a theoretical and controversial environmental condition or by a man who, not only didn’t exhibit any of the required characteristics of the award, but in fact exhibited exactly the opposite by sending American men and women into war zones to do his dirty work. It will be a glorious day when “leaders” have to fight their own battles. I wonder how quick they would be to go to war then.

We live in a society of political figures who are so insecure with who they are that they use fake Las Vegas–type names in an attempt to seem more potent than they really are. Names like: John McCain the maverick, Ted Kennedy the Lion, Sarah Palin the rogue. The rogue? Can anyone think of a word that describes Palin any less? Well considering the “rogue” quit her elected position in order to promote her own celebrity I’d like to describe her with the word quitter. Now that’s a woman we want leading a nation; a woman who exhibits such loyalty and perseverance. What’s going to happen if she breaks a nail as president? Will she invade Thailand? Of course like everyone who is stoned, some might get emotional about my description of the Alaskan mutant, but that’s to be expected from those whose mental state is altered.

- Rabbit Hole, Don Cooper [LRC]

Best of the Best:

• Area Man Passionate Defender of What He Imagines the Constitution to Be [The Onion]
• U.S. Post Office Reports Loss, May Cut Saturday Service [CNN Money]
• Origins of the Federal Reserve [Murray Rothbard via LRC]
• 2009 Best of What’s New [Popular Science]
• Inflation is Worse than You Thought [Mike Rozeff via LRC]
• A-Hole Coach Digest: “Fifty Hot Ones, Comin at Ya!” [Deadspin]
• Fun with…Bill Simmons? [Big Daddy Drew via KSK]

Remains:

• Donating this Year?  Uncle Sam Needs Your Help [CNN Money]
• Aspiring Rabbi Wins Piece of 154 Title [Yahoo!]
• Gates Blocks Abuse Photos Release (Ed. – TRANSPARENCY! CHANGE!) [BBC]
• Adjusting to Life after Death Row [BBC]
• Govt: Medicare Paid $47 Billion in Suspect Claims [Yahoo!]
• Le Fric, C’est Moi: Does Islamic Banking Threaten the French National Identity? [Reason]
• Gun Sales Shoot Amid America’s Fear of Rising Crime and Terrorism [Times Online]
• A Morally Bankrupt Military: When Soldiers and Their Families Become Expendable [Truthout]
• 1o Tales of Pornstar and Celebrity Hookups [Gunaxin]
• Angelina Jolie Photo Gallery (Ed. – Yes, please) [Funtasticus]
• The Best of Disaster Porn: Historical Landmarks Blown to Bits for Our Viewing Pleasure [Moviefone]
• Camden Waterfront-and it’s Woes [Philly.com]
• Is a Bailout for the FHA in the Works? [Fox News Blogs]
• 7 Things “Good Parents” Do (That Screw Kids Up) [Cracked]
• Leviathan’s Orphans [ProLibertate]
• Isiah Thomas Can’t Even Lose Properly [Deadspin]
• Belichick was Right [Deadspin]
• Why Pirates Fans are the Luckiest Fans in the World [Deadspin]
• Some Sports Test for Steroids; Some Only Care if You’re Dealing [Deadspin]
• New York Times: More Douche on TV than Ever Before [Warming Glow]
• Maoist in the White House [Mises Institute]
• Space Hotel Says It’s on Schedule to Open in 2012 [Yahoo!]
• Supernatural Collective Nouns [Wondermark]
• The Unromantic Truth of Why We Kiss–to Spread Germs [Mail Online]
• Monsters from the Old Testament that Want to Eat Your Kishkes [io9]
• A Black Hole that Could Power a Spaceship [io9]
• The Real Psychic Behind the Men Who Stare at Goats [io9]
• The Darko Mythos [io9]
• How Everything Goes to Hell in a Zombie Apocalypse [Oatmeal]
• Money Well Spent [Warming Glow]
• GIANTS SACK!  GIANTS SACK!  GIANTS FACKING SACK! [Big Daddy Drew via KSK]
• I Work the Angles, Sharp and Precise: the KSK Fantasy Football/Sex Mailbag [KSK]
• The Ultimate Space Porn: a 648 Megapixel Image of Our Universe [io9]