Amazing segment as always by Jon Stewart highlight the atrocity of the true sum of money that the US Federal Reserve lent to banks ($7.7Trillion! of liquidity) at 0.01% interest and then let banks pay out big time bonuses to its employees for turning a profit since it was effectively getting treasuries at 97 cents on the dollar (spread lending after getting free money)
Friday, December 2, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Curiosity: A trip to Mars
My second post on finding extraterrestrial life. Today, Curiosity, NASA's $2.5B project to Mars for a two year mission, launched and I really am curious to find out what it discovers
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Finding Life We Can't Imagine
Here is an additional link to the Immortal Jellyfish referenced in the beginning of the video
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turritopsis_nutricula
Friday, September 16, 2011
Marine saves dozens of soldiers, gets Medal of Honor
A truly inspiring story. Sgt. Dakota Meyer is the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam war.
Getty Images
Sgt. Meyer was recognized for his actions on Sept. 8, 2009, when he repeatedly braved enemy fire to rescue members of a Marine patrol ambushed by 50 Taliban in the eastern Afghanistan village of Ganjgal.
"Today we pay tribute to an American who placed himself in the thick of the fight again and again and again," Mr. Obama said.
Including Sgt. Meyer, six service members—three living and three deceased—have received the Medal of Honor for actions in Afghanistan. Four service members have been recognized, all posthumously, for bravery during the Iraq war.
The 2009 ambush leading to Sgt. Meyer's recognition remains controversial. Despite the large Taliban force, U.S. artillery support was denied and helicopter support was late in arriving, as commanders worried they might violate a tactical directive to limit the use of air power when civilians could be injured or killed.
As a result, the patrol was pinned down for hours. Leading the contingent were members of a team that trained Afghan soldiers, of which Sgt. Meyer—who was a corporal at the time—belonged.
As the fighting raged, he and Staff Sgt. Juan Rodriguez-Chavez were ordered to remain with a Humvee outside the battle zone.
"We requested a few times and were denied to come in," Sgt. Meyer said in a statement released by the Marine Corps. "Finally, we knew what we needed to do and decided we were going to go on in on our own."
During the White House ceremony, Mr. Obama said that what Sgt. Meyer did next would be told "for generations."
"They were defying orders but they were doing what they thought was right," the president said.
The two Marines entered the ambush area with Sgt. Meyer manning the machine gun on the Humvee turret and Sgt. Rodriguez-Chavez at the wheel. The enemy began shooting rifles, firing rockets and launching mortars at their vehicle.
Sgt. Meyer began evacuating the wounded and dead from the ambush zone. But he was unable to find the members of his training team.
As they pressed deeper into the ambush area, Sgt. Rodriguez-Chavez warned of the risk that the Humvee could get stuck in the rough terrain. "I guess we'll die with them," Sgt. Meyer responded, according to the military's account of the raid.
On a fifth and final run into the fighting area, Sgt. Meyer led two other officers in search of the missing training-team members.
A UH-60 helicopter, which by then had arrived to aid the Marines, spotted four bodies.
Ignoring the continuing small-arms fire and a wound to his arm, Sgt. Meyer ran to the fallen Marines. With the help of the others, he retrieved their remains and brought them out.
Mr. Obama said Sgt. Meyer grappled with the grief of the day, because he was ultimately unable to save some of his other team members. But, the president said, "You did your duty and you kept your faith with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps that you love."
Mr. Obama credited Sgt. Meyer not only with retrieving the bodies of his fallen team members, but also saving the lives of 13 Marines and 23 Afghan soldiers.
Sgt. Meyer, who is 23 years old, left active duty in 2010 and joined the Marine reserves.
Marine Who Saved Dozens Gets Medal of Honor
By JULIAN E. BARNES
WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama presented the nation's highest military award Thursday to Sgt. Dakota Meyer, the first living Marine to earn the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War.Getty Images
Sgt. Meyer was recognized for his actions on Sept. 8, 2009, when he repeatedly braved enemy fire to rescue members of a Marine patrol ambushed by 50 Taliban in the eastern Afghanistan village of Ganjgal.
"Today we pay tribute to an American who placed himself in the thick of the fight again and again and again," Mr. Obama said.
Including Sgt. Meyer, six service members—three living and three deceased—have received the Medal of Honor for actions in Afghanistan. Four service members have been recognized, all posthumously, for bravery during the Iraq war.
The 2009 ambush leading to Sgt. Meyer's recognition remains controversial. Despite the large Taliban force, U.S. artillery support was denied and helicopter support was late in arriving, as commanders worried they might violate a tactical directive to limit the use of air power when civilians could be injured or killed.
As a result, the patrol was pinned down for hours. Leading the contingent were members of a team that trained Afghan soldiers, of which Sgt. Meyer—who was a corporal at the time—belonged.
As the fighting raged, he and Staff Sgt. Juan Rodriguez-Chavez were ordered to remain with a Humvee outside the battle zone.
"We requested a few times and were denied to come in," Sgt. Meyer said in a statement released by the Marine Corps. "Finally, we knew what we needed to do and decided we were going to go on in on our own."
During the White House ceremony, Mr. Obama said that what Sgt. Meyer did next would be told "for generations."
"They were defying orders but they were doing what they thought was right," the president said.
The two Marines entered the ambush area with Sgt. Meyer manning the machine gun on the Humvee turret and Sgt. Rodriguez-Chavez at the wheel. The enemy began shooting rifles, firing rockets and launching mortars at their vehicle.
Sgt. Meyer began evacuating the wounded and dead from the ambush zone. But he was unable to find the members of his training team.
As they pressed deeper into the ambush area, Sgt. Rodriguez-Chavez warned of the risk that the Humvee could get stuck in the rough terrain. "I guess we'll die with them," Sgt. Meyer responded, according to the military's account of the raid.
On a fifth and final run into the fighting area, Sgt. Meyer led two other officers in search of the missing training-team members.
A UH-60 helicopter, which by then had arrived to aid the Marines, spotted four bodies.
Ignoring the continuing small-arms fire and a wound to his arm, Sgt. Meyer ran to the fallen Marines. With the help of the others, he retrieved their remains and brought them out.
Mr. Obama said Sgt. Meyer grappled with the grief of the day, because he was ultimately unable to save some of his other team members. But, the president said, "You did your duty and you kept your faith with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps that you love."
Mr. Obama credited Sgt. Meyer not only with retrieving the bodies of his fallen team members, but also saving the lives of 13 Marines and 23 Afghan soldiers.
Sgt. Meyer, who is 23 years old, left active duty in 2010 and joined the Marine reserves.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
The Other Climate Theory
The following is an interesting video segment done by the WSJ on another theory that is looking to explain long term climate trends on earth. For the record, I don't deny the negative effects of human industry and man-made pollution on the planet, but I, as well as several reputable scientific instutions, am not fully certain that we are the greatest factor in long term weather trends, as Al Gore and several of his followers would like you to all believe. There are several disputed and inconsistencies in his famous "An Inconvenient Truth" that in the UK, schools can only show this film in classrooms with 30+ qualifiers that aim to correct some of the disputed and false information reported in his documentary. Enjoy the clip!
Friday, August 5, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
The Big Wang Theory
Can't pass up an opportunity when Jon Stewart references wang theory on this site
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