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Source: http://twitter.com/gilliandick/statuses/218845996002721792
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Saturday, June 30, 2012
Reward offered for Montana truck stop dinosaur
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) ? The folks at Hi-Noon Petroleum in Montana have a new way to turn a dinosaur into gasoline.
They're offering a $250 gas card for information leading to the safe return of Dino, a 12-foot-long fiberglass Sinclair dinosaur that disappeared June 21 from the Crossroads Travel Center west of Missoula.
"We just wonder what happened to him," Hi-Noon marketing manager Earl Allen said Friday. "It's a little odd for him to just walk away."
The 6-foot tall green dinosaur sat on a hill overlooking Interstate 90 for at least five years, Allen said, with occasional appearances in University of Montana Homecoming parades.
"That was his home for a number of years," Allen said.
Allen said taking the prehistoric icon would have been a bit of a project.
"It's not like you can just throw him in the back of a pickup," he said.
Anyone with information on Dino's whereabouts is asked to call Hi-Noon.
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High court gives GOP new weapon on taxes
Republicans have seized on the Supreme Court's decision that the health insurance mandate is a tax, believing it will help them argue a second term for President Obama would be devastating for the economy.
Presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney employed the line of attack shortly after the ruling came down, asserting that ?ObamaCare raises taxes on the American people by approximately $500 billion.??
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a top contender to be Romney?s running mate, drove home the point, arguing Obama has been freed to unleash an army of tax collectors on the public.
?If you do not buy health insurance, the IRS is going to be on your back and chasing you,? Rubio said.
The tactic of hitting Obama as a tax-raising liberal was used in the wake of an otherwise stinging defeat for conservatives at the hands of Chief Justice John Roberts and the court?s liberal wing.
In a 5-4 decision, Roberts ruled the mandate is a permissible use of Congress?s powers of taxation, upholding a law that conservatives fought as a breathtaking expansion of the federal government.?But the ruling on the mandate also provided support for Republicans, who had long argued that the mandate was a tax increase in disguise.
Asserting that the mandate amounts to a tax hike is ?the most effective argument Republicans now have,? according to GOP strategist Ron Bonjean.
?[Obama] said, ?This is not a tax increase? and now, lo and behold, it is a tax increase. It is forcing you to buy insurance; otherwise your taxes will be raised.?
Bonjean said the taxation argument could help Romney ?win over independent voters in battleground states.??
Obama pushed back strongly against claims that the mandate constituted a tax back in 2009, when the passage of healthcare reform was fraught with political landmines for his party.?
?For us to say that you?ve got to take a responsibility to get health insurance is absolutely not a tax increase,? Obama said then.
Now the Supreme Court has validated his signature domestic achievement on the grounds that its core provision is, in fact, a tax.?
Republicans said the court?s ruling shows the healthcare law was rammed through Congress under false pretenses.
?Ironically, the Supreme Court has decided to be far more honest about ObamaCare than Obama was,? said Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R). ?They rightly have called it a tax.?
Supporters of the health law strongly dispute that it imposes a new tax burden on individuals. They say the $500 billion figure cited by Romney and others is composed almost entirely of other measures that are separate from the penalty that will be levied against most people who don?t buy insurance.
Democrats also note that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has projected that the law will reduce the federal deficit by more than $100 billion over the next decade.
Bob Shrum, who has worked at a high level of several Democratic presidential campaigns, dismissed the GOP tax argument as ?silly.??
?That?s the same thing they always say. It?s a tax increase only for those people who choose not to have health insurance. If you can?t afford health insurance, you will be subsidized.?
Obama himself made a similar argument Thursday when he addressed the Supreme Court decision from the East Room of the White House. He included a jab at Romney, who signed a state-level law with numerous similarities to the healthcare law while serving as governor of Massachusetts.?
Obama said that the mandate in question ?has enjoyed support from members of both parties, including the current Republican nominee for president.?
In a background briefing with a small group of reporters on Thursday, senior administration officials argued that the penalty was not a tax as the term is commonly understood, in part because they project that it will be levied on only about 1 percent of the population.?
One official also insisted that the system of tax credits built into the law would provide a tax break for most people.
But Republican strategist Ed Rollins maintained that Republicans needed to make the debate over the law ?a tax issue rather than a healthcare issue? if they are going to use it to their advantage this fall.
?It is a more sophisticated argument to make, but ultimately it will have some effect.?
Rollins said Democrats would face steep hurdles trying to push back against the ?new tax? argument.
?My sense is that when you raise the word ?tax? anywhere, it has an impact,? Rollins said.
Democratic pollster Mark Mellman disagreed. He said the Republican position was ?a ridiculous argument, and they know it. The only people who will pay [the penalty] are those who refuse to buy health insurance even at a subsidized rate.?
?It is surprising to find Republicans standing up for personal irresponsibility,? added Mellman, a columnist for The Hill.
Source: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/235543-high-court-gives-gop-new-weapon-on-taxes
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Friday, June 29, 2012
Palestinian: US supports 'an apartheid system'
BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK ? At the Aida Refugee Camp, a few blocks from Israel?s separation wall, is the Al Rowwad Cultural and Theater Center founded by Dr. Abdelfattah Abusrour in 1998 with the philosophy of ?beautiful resistance? against the Israeli power over their land.
Abusrour is part of the first generation of children born to refugee parents in the Aida Refugee Camp, which was established in 1950 between the towns of Bethlehem and Beit Jala. It is now home to around 5,000 inhabitants all descendants from the 1948 expulsion from Palestine.
Abusrour considers himself ?fortunate? to have gotten a scholarship to study in France, where he stayed for nine years and got his master?s and Ph.D in biological and medical engineering. But his heart was always also with theater, painting and photography. He came home with the dream of working with children to help shape the future of a Palestinian state.
The center started working with children in refugee camps in the area of Bethlehem and Bet-Jala, but then spread all over the West Bank with mobile ?beautiful resistance? programs in theater, dance and music training.
He explained the center?s philosophy: ?Resistance, because we are under occupation still until today and we have this right to resist the occupation; and beautiful, to reflect all this beauty, this humanity, this culture, this heritage, this beautiful heritage of unarmed struggle that the Palestinians have carried over the years even before Gandhi and Martin Luther King.?
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U.S. is ?supportive of an apartheid system that is suffocating us?
The center takes some of the children to tour and perform internationally.
?We go internationally to give the children the possibility to see real, free and peaceful countries without checkpoints, without tear gas, without occupation soldiers,? said Abusrour.
Children have toured in the United States, among many other countries.?
Abusrour says he was very eager to tour with the children in the U.S. because it is the richest, most powerful democracy in the world. But he also wanted to show them that even in the biggest democracy, injustice can be found.?
NBC News speaks with citizens from around the globe, asking the question, 'What Does America Mean to You?'
?We took our children to poor areas like Afro-American neighborhoods because it was important for me to show them as Palestinians that there are equal injustices in other places of the world,? he said.
While he appreciates the power of the U.S., Abusrour believes that as a country, it is not living up to its ideals. ?
?The United States of America is a country like any other country. It has its beauty and faults," said Abusrour. He added that it is "the land of free and the brave, apparently, and they are violating the values that they pretend defending.?
For many Palestinians, it is hard to ignore the long-term support the U.S. has given and continues to give Israel for its security. ?Many find it hard to understand how a country like the U.S., which plays a leading role in shaping the policies of other countries, can help Israel?s continuous violation of the Palestinian?s rights.
?As a Palestinian I see that [the U.S.] is supportive of an apartheid system that is suffocating us, that is continuing a violation of human rights and human values that we share as Palestinians,? said Abusrour. ?I see the governments of the United States of America, one after the other, supporting this illegal occupation.??
This story is part of a series by msnbc.com and NBC News?"What the World Thinks of US". The series aims to check the pulse on current perceptions of America's global stature during the election year and ahead of our annual Independence Day.
Share your thoughts about this story and our series on Twitter using?#AmericaMeans?
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London welcomes world again for Olympics
LONDON (AP) ? Sammy Lee remembers it vividly: food rationing, bombed-out buildings, rubble.
The year was 1948, and London was hosting the Olympics amid severe austerity in the aftermath of World War II. Lee, an American diver, and fellow amateur athletes slept on cots at local air bases and schools, brought their own towels and were ferried to events in old London buses.
"We didn't mind," said Lee, who won a gold and bronze medal in the Empire Pool. "It was the spirit of the Olympics. We were there to compete against the best."
Sixty-four years later, Lee will return as a spectator next month when London welcomes the world again.
Saying these 2012 Olympics will be much different is in itself a gold-medal understatement. This will be a $14.5 billion extravaganza featuring multimillionaire professionals and global stars like Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps, shiny new purpose-built venues and a revitalized east London.
Britain's biggest peacetime project also entails a massive security operation. To guard the games from terrorist attack, the country is deploying 35,000 safety, police and military personnel, surface-to-air missiles on rooftops, fighter jets, helicopters and two warships on the River Thames.
Yet, put aside worries about trouble and whether the city's stretched public transportation network can transport millions of extra riders, and this should be London's finest hour. A chance to throw a rousing five-ring celebration, a global bear hug that restores the festive atmosphere lacking at the past two Olympics, in Athens and Beijing.
"London this summer is going to be the place to have a party," Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson said.
The city will provide a stunning mix of old and new:
? Beach volleyball players diving across the sand in Horse Guards Parade, practically on the doorstep of the prime minister's 10 Downing Street residence.
? Marathon runners and road cyclists winding past Buckingham Palace.
? Tennis stars dueling on the Centre Court grass at Wimbledon.
? Archers firing their arrows at the hallowed Lord's cricket ground.
? Sprinters and swimmers competing in brand new arenas erected in a once-derelict area of east London brought back to life as the Olympic Park.
Headlining the show will be 10,000 athletes from more than 200 countries ? none bigger than ? who else? ? Bolt and Phelps. What can Bolt possibly do for an encore after his jaw-dropping three gold medals and three world records on the track in Beijing? Can 14-time gold medalist Phelps ? winner of a record eight golds in the pool in Beijing ? hold off American rival Ryan Lochte in what Phelps says will be his final Olympics?
Also at stake will be the top spot in the medals table between the world's two sporting superpowers: the United States and China. The U.S. won the most medals (110) in Beijing, but China took the most golds (51). Expect a tight race on both fronts this time.
Away from the playing fields, the city is dressing up, from the giant Olympic rings on Tower Bridge, to the party venues and giant screens in Hyde Park, to the landscaped gardens inside the 560-acre Olympic Park.
Four years ago, China used the Beijing Olympics as a coming-out spectacle to underscore its presence as a world power. It spent $40 billion on the games, erecting iconic venues like the Bird's Nest stadium and the Water Cube natatorium and staging a grandiose opening ceremony.
But London never tried to compete with the epic scale of Beijing, largely because of a global economic crisis that triggered bailouts, mounting debt and political turmoil across Europe.
Still, the Olympic budget of 9.3 billion pounds ($14.5 billion) is more than triple the estimated cost when London secured the games in 2005. The government says the games are expected to come in about 500 million pounds ($778 million) under budget. The local organizing committee's separate privately financed operating budget of 2 billion pounds ($3.1 billion) is on course to be met through sponsorships, TV rights, merchandising and ticket sales.
"This is the first time London got the games with no particular crisis around, but then they marched right into the worst financial crisis since before World War II," senior International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound of Canada said. "But they have succeeded remarkably well in spite of that."
London organizers look more closely to the 2000 Sydney Games as their model, hoping to channel the same vibrant energy, passionate crowds and Olympic buzz.
While Beijing suffered from empty seats at some venues and a disconnected public, London promises full arenas and knowledgeable spectators. The capital has residents of countless nationalities and cultures, providing a "home" crowd for teams from Namibia to Nepal. Live sites, music concerts and other attractions should keep visitors entertained day and night.
The tone will be set at the opening ceremony on July 27 at the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium, a three-hour spectacle directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Danny Boyle of "Slumdog Millionaire" fame. Inspired by William Shakespeare's "The Tempest," the ceremony will include a segment involving Daniel Craig's James Bond and a closing act by former Beatle Paul McCartney.
Boyle has revealed that the opening sequence will feature an idyllic British countryside setting complete with live farm animals ? 70 sheep, 12 horses, 10 chickens and nine geese to be precise. He's even promising a cloud that produces rain ? in case there isn't enough of the real stuff around.
The Economist magazine couldn't resist a little zinger: "Opening ceremonies are a country's opportunity to sell itself to the world. Britain appears to be selling irony."
Queen Elizabeth II, fresh off a round of Jubilee celebrations marking her 60 years on the throne, will formally open the games. The big question: Who will light the cauldron that burns until the closing of the games on Aug. 12? Britain's five-time rowing gold medalist, Steve Redgrave, is the bookies' favorite, followed by soccer star David Beckham ? the global icon who was bypassed for Britain's Olympic soccer team despite playing a key role in bringing the games to his hometown.
Roger Bannister ? the first runner to break the 4-minute barrier for the mile in 1954 ? is another possibility for lighting the flame. But who's to say the honor won't go to an unknown? A young athlete from one of the poor boroughs surrounding the Olympic Park, a symbol of youth and the future generation that was the central theme of London's winning bid?
The queen won't be the only royal in the Olympic spotlight. Her 31-year-old granddaughter, Zara Phillips, will be competing for the British equestrian team. Prince William and wife Kate are sure to be spotted around town, providing a dash of stately glamour to the proceedings.
And there are plenty of bold-face names at the venues: Bolt running in the 100 and 200 meters and 4x100 relay, Phelps swimming in multiple events again and going head-to-head with Lochte, who beat him twice at last year's world championships.
The star-studded U.S. basketball team features new NBA champion LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant. Just three weeks after chasing a Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova will be back at the All England Club vying for gold medals instead of trophies ? wearing colorful team outfits instead of the all-white dress code.
Women boxers will be competing in the Olympics for the first time, and the IOC is negotiating with Saudi Arabia to send its first female athletes to the games.
Others to watch include South African double-amputee Oscar Pistorius, still hoping to qualify as the first amputee runner to compete in the Olympics; China's Lin Dan, widely considered the greatest badminton player of all-time going for a second Olympic gold medal; Brazilian goal-scoring star Neymar in men's soccer; and Hiroshi Hoketsu, competing for Japan in equestrian at the age of 71.
The locals should have plenty to cheer about as Britain seeks to equal its surprising fourth-place medals table finish in Beijing. Among the contenders from Team GB are diver Tom Daley, heptathlete Jessica Ennis, swimmer Rebecca Adlington, three-time gold medalists Chris Hoy (track cycling) and Ben Ainslie (sailing), and a powerful team of rowers.
Despite 6.5 billion pounds ($10 billion) of improvements, serious concerns remain over whether the Underground system can cope with the millions of extra passenger journeys. Officials have warned of expected overcrowding and long delays at some key stations and urged Londoners to work from home or change their travel habits.
As for driving, the message has been: Don't even think about it. Many locals have complained that they are being inconvenienced while miles of dedicated Olympic roads and lanes are reserved for Olympic officials, athletes, media and VIPs.
The games will be protected by 12,000 police officers during peak times and 23,700 security staffers ? a number that includes 7,500 troops. A no-fly zone will be established over Olympic venues.
London knows the threats all too well. Homegrown suicide bombers attacked the city's public transport system, killing 56 people, on July 7, 2005, the day after London was awarded the games.
"The games present an attractive target for our enemies," said Jonathan Evans, head of Britain's domestic spy agency MI5. "But the games are not an easy target, and the fact that we have disrupted multiple terrorist plots here and abroad in recent years demonstrates that the U.K. as a whole is not an easy target for terrorism."
No one has more riding on these games than Sebastian Coe, the two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 1,500 meters who led London's winning bid and has spearheaded the seven years of preparations. This project, he said, tops anything he accomplished on the track.
"It doesn't get any bigger," Coe said. "I remember the feeling I had 40 minutes before setting out on the track in front of 100,000 people. Now I wonder how I will measure that against the 40 minutes before the opening ceremony."
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Follow Stephen Wilson on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/stevewilsonap
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Coffee And How To Buy Related Products And Goods
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Coffee has been with us forever and dates back for as long as mankind can remember, it is a social beverage and something that most of us simply could not do without during our daily routines. Now if you are a lover of Coffee you will be aware that there are lots of products that are connected with it and all of them can help us enjoy this great drink, the secret is to know where to find them and how to get the best price for them.
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A coffee specialist will supply anyone with better information than say a general food and drink directory, specialists know coffee goods inside out will be able to give you better information on merchandise like coffee making machines or even insulated coffee pots.
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Also when browsing for a coffee you should think about this, if you purchased a bunn stainless steel coffee blender but was not happy with the item would the coffee vendor be happy to part exchange the merchandise for a barista coffee maker or make a mutually acceptable arrangement? you must select a coffee company you have some confidence in or a coffee vendor that looks professional.
When you start checking out coffee products ensure you make a note of the merchandise you are actually interested in obtaining, for example coffee grinders, gourmet coffee makers, blended coffee packs, be precise as this will be particularly useful later on, then once you have done this you should check out these products by using some of the many beverage websites, by making the list you will save a ton of time because you can easily get lost in a mass of food and drink and coffee connected reviews and write ups.
As with many things in life you should not rush when buying coffee and should take notice of who the real experts are, hopefully now you are armed with the correct information you are ready to hit the net and get some great coffee bargains.
Source: http://digg3.com/coffee-and-how-to-buy-related-products-and-goods/
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