Say Anything Blog

http://www.wired.com/medtech/genetics/news/2006/09/71817?currentPage=all

With many soldiers returning home from Iraq and Iran with missing limbs, DARPA is funding research to regrow those limbs.

The basis for the research was discovered by accident.

Ellen Heber-Katz, a professor at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, was working with mice that had been genetically engineered to develop lupus when she noticed that some of their ears looked weird. She had punched holes in them so she could separate her control from her treatment groups in an experiment. But the holes quickly grew shut without a trace—not even a hint of a scar.

They were able to make the mice grow tails, heal spinal injuries and eye injuries.  DARPA has called on scientist from many different disciplines to conduct the research.

“It’s an interdisciplinary team of people who would never otherwise work together,” Badylak said. “That’s what Darpa does.”

Hans Georg-Simon has been studying salamanders for 15 years. As part of the Darpa project, he’s identifying genes that control regeneration in salamanders. If those same genes are active in the MRL mouse, he’ll have a lead on which genes in humans might be manipulated to allow regeneration.

At some point during evolution, humans seem to have lost the ability to regenerate, Simon said.

“There are actually more species on this globe that can replace lost structures during regeneration than there are animals who can’t,” he said. “From a human perspective, we always think we are the masters; we know everything. But no, it is not so. We belong to the species that have secondarily lost the ability to regrow lost tissues.”

I hope this works!  It will be good for Soldiers and for all of mankind.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-rutten14-2009mar14,0,144897.column

Rep. Maxine Waters, the Democratic congresswoman who has represented a swath of South Los Angeles and surrounding communities such as Inglewood and Hawthorne for nearly 20 years, is one of Southern California’s toughest and most influential lawmakers.

Dating back to her days in the Assembly, where she was an early champion of the anti-apartheid Sullivan Principles, Waters has an admirable record of championing issues important to working men and women and, especially, to people of color. But she also has shown a disturbing inability to adequately distinguish her family’s interests from those of the public.

This week, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times reported that Waters used her access as a senior member of the latter committee to arrange two meetings between officials of the Treasury Department and a group of banks owned by African Americans.

Ostensibly, the bankers wanted to talk because their institutions had been hard hit by the implosion of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. According to the New York Times, though, Kevin Cohee—chief executive of OneUnited Bank—took the opportunity to plead for a $50-million bailout of his institution.

“Here you had a tiny community bank that comes in and they are not proposing a broader policy—they were asking for help for themselves,” former Treasury aide Stephen Lineberry told the Times. “I don’t remember that ever happening before.”

Officials told both papers that they were even more taken aback when they discovered that Waters’ husband, Sidney Williams—a U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas under President Clinton—was a former director of One- United Bank, that she herself had once owned as much as $500,000 worth of its stock and that her husband still holds two blocks of its securities, each valued somewhere between $250,000 and $500,000. Waters had arranged the meetings without disclosing any of these facts.

This isn’t the first time Waters has done something questionable.

This isn’t the first time Waters has run into this sort of family trouble. In 2004, an investigation by this paper showed that her husband, son and daughter had made more than $1 million trading on their relationship to the congresswoman. Their “businesses” included a golf course franchise obtained from L.A. County and at least $500,000 in commissions Williams earned consulting for a bond underwriting firm seeking business from public agencies in Waters’ district. Williams had no previous experience in the bond business.

The article points out that none of these activities are illegal. But it is sleazy, why does she go things like this?

A dead parrot could win there if it had “Democrat” after its name. Waters has won at least 80% of the vote in every election for 20 years, except for 2002, when she got 78%...t’s a heady legacy, but somehow in the 70-year-old Waters’ case, it’s faded into a tawdry sense of entitlement—a sense that it’s OK to do well out of doing right, even though it’s not.

I used this story as a springboard to discuss something that has bothered me for some time, our gerrymandered district practically insure that representatives will be re-elected.  This lack of competition causes our Reps to be arrogant and unresponsive to the people that they are representing.  Often, our Representatives look at their office as a way to enrich themselves or their family.  I think that it is high time to turn the task of drawing districts to a non-partisan committee or a computer program.  This will introduce a little competition to elections.  Hopefully, competition or turnover will stimulate the Congress.  What do you guy’s think?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/12/AR2009031203264.html

The US Navy has assigned the USS Chung-Hoon to escort USS Impeccable as it continues its mission in the South China Sea.

A very appropriate response to the Chinese actions.  It shows we mean business but its not as threatening as a Carrier Group.  Nice response Obama.

http://www.vce.com/humor/stranger_than_fiction.html

As an amateur historian I like odd facts.  Go read some, they are good for a laugh.

Highlights…

. The first German serviceman killed in the war was killed by the Japanese
(China, 1937), the first American serviceman killed was killed by the Russians
(Finland 1940), the highest ranking American killed was LtGen. Lesley McNair,
killed by the US Army Air Corps. So much for allies.

3. At the time of Pearl Harbor the top US Navy command was called CINCUS
(pronounced “sink us”), the shoulder patch of the US Army’s 45th.
Infantry division was the Swastika, and Hitler’s private train was named
“Amerika”. All three were soon changed for PR purposes.

 

4. More US servicemen died in the Air Corps than the Marine Corps. While
completing the required 30 missions your chance of being killed was 71%.

7.  Generally speaking there was no such thing as an average fighter pilot.  You
were either an ace or a target.  For instance Japanese ace Hiroyoshi Nishizawa
shot down over 80 planes. He died while a passenger on a cargo plane.
13. The US Army had more ships than the US Navy.

 

14. The German Air Force had 22 infantry divisions, 2 armor divisions, and 11
paratroop divisions. None of them were capable of airborne operations. The
German Army had paratroops who WERE capable of airborne operations. Go figure.

 

15. When the US Army landed in North Africa, among the equipment brought ashore
was 3 complete Coca Cola bottling plants.

20. Following a massive naval bombardment 35,000 US and Canadian troops stormed
ashore at Kiska.  21 troops were killed in the firefight. It would have been
worse if there had been Japanese on the island.

25. Nuclear physicist Niels Bohr was rescued in the nick of time from German
occupied Denmark.  While Danish resistance fighters provided covering fire he
ran out the back door of his home stopping momentarily to grab a beer bottle
full of precious “Heavy Water”. He finally reached England still
clutching the bottle. Which contained beer. I suppose some German drank the
Heavy Water.[\quote]

War, its a strange business.

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/could-obama-be-just-too-awesome/2/

Go read it if you need a laugh.  Here are some highlights.

Obama’s overwhelming magnificence could also be a problem with Iran. After eight years of the caveman Bush screaming gibberish at Iran and shaking a rock at them threateningly, it is natural that Iran is still quite easily startled. So Obama, much unlike the previous leader who would order military strikes against loud thunderstorms, wanted to be delicate and try a thing called diplomacy. Thus he wrote a letter to Russia to try and help. That was a mistake, for once again the inability of another country to comprehend Obama resulted in trouble.

First off, Russia was quite startled to receive a letter from the American president, as they were used to the leader of America being illiterate and scared of the mail (since he believed it was transported by black magic). Thus it is no wonder the Russians would be suspicious and a bit confused. Not understanding Obama, they thought the letter outlined a quid pro quo where Obama would scrap missile defense in Europe in exchange for help with Iran, not only against actual missiles but also the much deadlier missiles of hate and ignorance. In fact, the letter was expressing how Obama now is our missile defense

As a Soldier its my duty to give the Marines grief, but truth be told its the kind of ribbing you give a beloved brother.  Watch the difference between the reaction to Bush and Obama.  Respect is given to Obama, but the effection and respect was earned by Bush.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/4953523/Barack-Obama-too-tired-to-give-proper-welcome-to-Gordon-Brown.html

God help us all!

British officials, meanwhile, admit that the White House and US State Department staff were utterly bemused by complaints that the Prime Minister should have been granted full-blown press conference and a formal dinner, as has been customary. They concede that Obama aides seemed unfamiliar with the expectations that surround a major visit by a British prime minister.

Amateur hour continues.  They don’t even have the brains to ask the State Department what to do.

Allies of Mr Obama say his weary appearance in the Oval Office with Mr Brown illustrates the strain he is now under, and the president’s surprise at the sheer volume of business that crosses his desk.

Obama is finding out that its easy to criticize and tear down, leadership is hard. 

A well-connected Washington figure, who is close to members of Mr Obama’s inner circle, expressed concern that Mr Obama had failed so far to “even fake an interest in foreign policy”.

We are at war and Obama has no interest in foreign policy?  What did he think the President does? 

I pity our country.  Two months in and Obama is “overwhelmed”.  This is the honey moon period.  The hard part is coming and so far Obama is not up to the challenge.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123604419092515347.html

Americans have welcomed the Obama era in the same spirit of hope the President campaigned on. But after five weeks in office, it’s become clear that Mr. Obama’s policies are slowing, if not stopping, what would otherwise be the normal process of economic recovery. From punishing business to squandering scarce national public resources, Team Obama is creating more uncertainty and less confidence—and thus a longer period of recession or subpar growth.

Talking down the economy to get your stimulus bill passed creates uncertainty and a loss of confidence, resulting in subpar growth?  Who knew?

Already 15 months old, the current recession will soon match the average length—and average job loss—of the last three postwar downturns. What goes down will come up—unless destructive policies interfere with the sources of potential recovery.

And those sources have been forming for some time. The price of oil and other commodities have fallen by two-thirds since their 2008 summer peak, which has the effect of a major tax cut. The world is awash in liquidity, thanks to monetary ease by the Federal Reserve and other central banks. Monetary policy operates with a lag, but last year’s easing will eventually stir economic activity.

Housing prices have fallen 27% from their Case-Shiller peak, or some two-thirds of the way back to their historical trend. While still high, credit spreads are far from their peaks during the panic, and corporate borrowers are again able to tap the credit markets. As equities were signaling with their late 2008 rally and January top, growth should under normal circumstances begin to appear in the second half of this year.

So what has happened in the last two months? The economy has received no great new outside shock. Exchange rates and other prices have been stable, and there are no security crises of note. The reality of a sharp recession has been known and built into stock prices since last year’s fourth quarter.

What is new is the unveiling of Mr. Obama’s agenda and his approach to governance. Every new President has a finite stock of capital—financial and political—to deploy, and amid recession Mr. Obama has more than most. But one negative revelation has been the way he has chosen to spend his scarce resources on income transfers rather than growth promotion. Most of his “stimulus” spending was devoted to social programs, rather than public works, and nearly all of the tax cuts were devoted to income maintenance rather than to improving incentives to work or invest.

High taxes remove the incentive for people to work and invest and that hurts the economy more than loss of revenue by individuals.  The stock prices have plunged 2800 points since Obama was elected, ask yourself why?  Here is one answer…

The market has notably plunged since Mr. Obama introduced his budget last week, and that should be no surprise. The document was a declaration of hostility toward capitalists across the economy. Health-care stocks have dived on fears of new government mandates and price controls. Private lenders to students have been told they’re no longer wanted. Anyone who uses carbon energy has been warned to expect a huge tax increase from cap and trade. And every risk-taker and investor now knows that another tax increase will slam the economy in 2011, unless Mr. Obama lets Speaker Nancy Pelosi impose one even earlier.

Obama has declared himself hostile to capitalism and promised a new cap and trade scheme for manufacturing.  Make no mistake, this is huge tax increase on business and you the individual.  Its also a good way to “save” union jobs, wait did I say that, it will be a good way to move more manufacturing jobs offshore and put more people out of work.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/story?id=6975547&page=1

This is why high taxes lower revenue and hurt the economy.

A 63-year-old attorney based in Lafayette, La., who asked not to be named, told ABCNews.com that she plans to cut back on her business to get her annual income under the quarter million mark should the Obama tax plan be passed by Congress and become law…“We are going to try to figure out how to make our income $249,999.00,” she said.

“We have to find a way out where we can make just what we need to just under the line so we can benefit from Obama’s tax plan,” she added. “Why kill yourself working if you’re going to give it all away to people who aren’t working as hard?”

She’s not the only one.

Dr. Sharon Poczatek, who runs her own dental practice in Boulder, Colo., said that she too is trying to figure out ways to get out of paying the taxes proposed in Obama’s plan.

“I’ve put thought into how to get under $250,000,” said Poczatek. “It would mean working fewer days which means having fewer employees, seeing fewer patients and taking time off.”

“Generally it means being less productive,” she said.

Productivity is lost.  People are laid off,fired or have their hours reduced.  Small businesses are the heart of our economy.  Over 60% of American’s work for a small business.  The owners of these businesses are not going to kill themselves if government is going to seize the fruits of that labor.  So the business owner cuts hours, staff and stays home.  Everyone loses because income goes down and the economy stalls resulting in a vicious circle of unemployment and a stagnant economy.  Change you can believe in!

http://www.nasdaq.com/

The Nasdaq is down 32.31
Dow Jones is down 150.94
The S&P is down 15.98

Hope and change we can believe in!  Carbon caps for manufacturing, that will help keep those plants in the US and ensure the union workers keep their jobs!
God, what an idiot!

The story is here

I was reading a story about New York man Muzzammil Hassan.  This man beheaded his wife after she filed for divorce.  The story I was reading had a link to another site so I clicked on that and almost fell out of my chair when I saw the title to the story.
I don’t know if I’m a bad man because I laughed but it caught me off guard. The military left me with a sick sense of humor and the ability to laugh at the most horrible of circumstances. Do not click below the fold if you do not have a sick sense of humor. (more...)

Mash Here

Remember when Obama’s election was going to make the world love us?  The stimulus is doing the exact opposite.  In fact it looks like we are moving for towards a trade war with Europe and China.  Its the U.S. Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act all over again except this time the Democrats have passed it not Republicans.

Other links

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123380102867150621.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7868631.stm

Read the speech here

Putin delivers a warning in a speech at Davos. 

In the 20th century, the Soviet Union made the state’s role absolute. In the long run, this made the Soviet economy totally uncompetitive. This lesson cost us dearly. I am sure nobody wants to see it repeated.

Nor should we turn a blind eye to the fact that the spirit of free enterprise, including the principle of personal responsibility of businesspeople, investors and shareholders for their decisions, is being eroded in the last few months. There is no reason to believe that we can achieve better results by shifting responsibility onto the state.

And one more point: anti-crisis measures should not escalate into financial populism and a refusal to implement responsible macroeconomic policies. The unjustified swelling of the budgetary deficit and the accumulation of public debts are just as destructive as adventurous stock-jobbing…Nor should we turn a blind eye to the fact that the spirit of free enterprise, including the principle of personal responsibility of businesspeople, investors, and shareholders for their decisions, is being eroded in the last few months. There is no reason to believe that we can achieve better results by shifting responsibility onto the state.

I’m not a Putin fan but I have admit speaks with the voice of experience.

Read about it here

“The disclosure by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, marked the first time a U.S. official had publicly commented on where the Predator aircraft patrolling Pakistan take off and land.”

Dianne Feinstein let slip during a press conference that the CIA has a top secret base in Pakistan that they are using to run Predator patrols. 

“The basing of the pilotless aircraft in Pakistan suggests a much deeper relationship with the United States on counterterrorism matters than has been publicly acknowledged. Such an arrangement would be at odds with protests lodged by officials in Islamabad and could inflame anti-American sentiment in the country.”

America often allows her allies to say one thing and do another in secret if it will help them politically at home.  Feinstein’s words will hurt our efforts against the Taliban and harm the new government of Pakistan.  This could cause them to refuse to help the US fight the Taliban in the future.

CNN at its finest!

They have given up being “fair”.