IF THAT'S YOUR GIRLFRIEND SHE WASN'T LAST NIGHT

WONKETTE
by Rebecca Schoenkopf | 2:23 pm July 31, 2012



FACEBOOK. And MITT ROMNEY. There they go again, putting people in JAIL. And all because the nice young man to the (above) left did not like seeing tall, dark, and handsome Mitt Romney smiling his suave smile from the young man’s girlfriend’s Facebook page. So he smashed her computer into the wall and punched her in the face. As one does when one’s girlfriend is mooning over a mysterious stranger (MITT ROMNEY).

Lowell Turpin, 40, (of Tennessee) “angrily demanded to know who the male was,” reported Anderson County Sheriff’s Department investigators.

Crystal Gray, 38, “replied that it was a picture of Mitt Romney.”

Despite being informed that the man on Gray’s wall was the presumptive Republican presidential candidate (and not some hunky, severely conservative sidepiece), Turpin apparently was not placated.

Indeed not. Because it was probably this picture, don’t you think?



RROWR!

{TheSmokingGun, via Fark}

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Harvard Study Finds Fluoride Lowers IQ - Published in Federal Gov't Journal

Tue Jul 24, 2012 8:45am EDT
PR Newswire

NEW YORK, July 24, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Harvard University researchers' review of fluoride/brain studies concludes "our results support the possibility of adverse effects of fluoride exposures on children's neurodevelopment." It was published online July 20 in Environmental Health Perspectives, a US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences' journal (1), reports the NYS Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc. (NYSCOF)

"The children in high fluoride areas had significantly lower IQ than those who lived in low fluoride areas," write Choi et al. Further, the EPA says fluoride is a chemical "with substantial evidence of developmental neurotoxicity." Fluoride (fluosilicic acid) is added to US water supplies at approximately 1 part per million attempting to reduce tooth decay.

Water was the only fluoride source in the studies reviewed and was based on high water fluoride levels. However, they point out research by Ding (2011) suggested that low water fluoride levels had significant negative associations with children's intelligence.

Choi et al. write, "Although fluoride may cause neurotoxicity in animal models and acute fluoride poisoning causes neurotoxicity in adults, very little is known of its effects on children's neurodevelopment. They recommend more brain/fluoride research on children and at individual-level doses.

"It's senseless to keep subjecting our children to this ongoing fluoridation experiment to satisfy the political agenda of special-interest groups," says attorney Paul Beeber, NYSCOF President. "Even if fluoridation reduced cavities, is tooth health more important than brain health? It's time to put politics aside and stop artificial fluoridation everywhere," says Beeber.

Article link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/24/idUS127920+24-Jul-2012+PRN20120724

Study Abstract:



Developmental Fluoride Neurotoxicity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Anna L. Choi, Guifan Sun, Ying Zhang, Philippe Grandjean

Background: Although fluoride may cause neurotoxicity in animal models and acute fluoride poisoning causes neurotoxicity in adults, very little is known of its effects on children’s neurodevelopment.

Objective: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies to investigate the effects of increased fluoride exposure and delayed neurobehavioral development.

Methods: We searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, Water Resources Abstracts, and TOXNET databases through 2011 for eligible studies. We also searched the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database, as many studies on fluoride neurotoxicity have been published in Chinese journals only. In total, we identified 27 eligible epidemiological studies with high and reference exposures, endpoints of IQ scores or related cognitive function measures with means and variances for the two exposure groups. We estimated the standardized mean difference (SMD) between exposed and reference groups across all studies using random effects models. We conducted sensitivity analyses restricted to studies using the same outcome assessment and having drinking water fluoride as the only exposure. Cochran test for heterogeneity between studies, Begg’s funnel plot and Egger test to assess publication bias were performed. Meta-regressions to explore sources of variation in mean differences among the studies were conducted.

Results: The standardized weighted mean difference in IQ score between exposed and reference populations was -0.45 (95% CI -0.56 to -0.35) using a random-effects model. Thus, children in high fluoride areas had significantly lower IQ scores than those who lived in low fluoride areas. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses also indicated inverse associations, although the substantial heterogeneity did not appear to decrease.

Conclusions: The results support the possibility of an adverse effect of high fluoride exposure on children’s neurodevelopment. Future research should include detailed individual-level information on prenatal exposure, neurobehavioral performance, and covariates for adjustment.

Citation: Choi AL, Sun G, Zhang Y, Grandjean P 2012. Developmental Fluoride Neurotoxicity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Environ Health Perspect :-. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1104912

Received: 30 December 2011; Accepted: 20 July 2012; Online: 20 July 2012


Article link: http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action;jsessionid=5C98A897B69464FD44D98698EE9FC4A1?articleURI=info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.1104912

SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP

WONKETTE
6:30 pm July 27, 2012
by Kris E. Benson


Romney rocks his mom jeans

When we were in high school we had a friend who claimed his family was really tight with Morgan Freeman’s, and he’d tell us all kinds of hilarious stories about the good times he’d had, just hanging out with Morgan Freeman and having all kinds of deep talks wherein Morgan would generously give him sage advice on how to handle the various challenges in his life. Except THEN it turned out that he had been lying the whole time and he was super embarrassed. See, this is why our friend from high school is a better person than Mitt Romney, who tells similarly ridiculous lies all the time and then doesn’t even pretend to be embarrassed. Like how he’s been running around saying that he was really good friends with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyatu. But then Vanity Fair ASKED Binyamin Netanyahu about his good friend Mittens, and Bibi was all like “who? Oh THAT guy.”

ROMNEY: “We can almost speak in shorthand. We share common experiences and have a
perspective and underpinning which is similar.”

~Mitt Romney, April 2012 in the New York Times.

Yeah…We’re sure that Mitt Romney, a draft dodger whose pastimes include playing dress up, making fun of the blind, firing people who provide services to him, and firing people who provide services to you, has a lot in common with Binyamin Netanyahu, a officer in an elite unit of special forces in the IDF who fought in the October War.

NETANYAHU: “I remember him for sure, but I don’t think we had any particular connections,
I knew him and he knew me, I suppose.”

~Bibi Netanyahu, July 2012 in Vanity Fair Interview, (middle of Page 4)

MAJOR diss. Maybe Romney will get back at him by ruining our diplomatic relationship with Israel in much the same way he has managed to ruin it with the U.K.. Or by tying him to the roof of his car. Not sure which. We’ll keep you informed.

via (DailyKos)

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Don Young Endorses Dem. What the… ?

· The Mudflats · Posted by Jeanne Devon · Thursday, July 26, 2012 ·



Ever have one of those moments where you literally can’t believe your eyes? Well, here’s one for you. Imagine my surprise when I clicked on the Daily News headline ''Young blasted for endorsing Democrat in Senate race.'' Then my eye fell on the word “Hawaii.” At first, my mind went to Hawaiian Democratic Senator Daniel Inouye. He was a great friend of the late Senator Ted Stevens, who called Stevens “brother” and even came to Anchorage for his funeral and delivered a very moving eulogy. “Why would they blast Don Young for endorsing Inouye?” I thought to myself. And while the page was loading, I wondered, “…and why is he endorsing Inouye when he’s not up for re-election until 2016?”

So, imagine my surprise when his endorsement turned out to be for Democratic candidate Mazie Hirono. You can’t imagine my surprise, because it is unimaginable. I’d seen her speak recently at the Netroots convention in Providence, Rhode Island. I attended a luncheon panel where she appeared with Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and House candidate Darcy Burner of Washington.


Hirono, Burner, and Warren on stage at Netroots 2012 in Providence
When she was only 8 years old, she and her mother fled an abusive father, and sailed to America in steerage, from Japan. She spoke about how grateful she was for her mother’s courage, and the risk she took in starting a new life. Neither knew a word of English, and when her mother got a job, she worried that if she ever got sick and couldn’t work, there would be no more money, and she would be alone in a strange new land.

“I know what it’s like for struggling families, and I know about strong women,” she said. I believe the Senate could stand more diversity and I bring quadruple diversity – I am a woman, I would be the first Asian woman ever, I am an immigrant, I am a Buddhist. People say, ‘yes, but are you gay?’ and I say, ‘Nobody’s perfect.’” The audience erupted in laughter.

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Tampa Bay Online
Published: July 20, 2012


2001 Odyssey

Strip clubs may not be the most politically correct venue for those attending the Republican National Convention, but that doesn't mean Tampa's well-known adult hot spots won't be ready for the influx of visitors. One place is bringing in a stripper who looks like former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

There are major renovations taking place. And some nude clubs have already been giving potential customers a taste of the talent online. "Not only can you see the dancers on the stage and in the dressing room, you can also talk to them in an online chat room," said Don Kleinhans, owner of the 2001 Odyssey on North Dale Mabry Highway.

By the time the RNC begins in late August, Kleinhans hopes out-of-towners will have already formed attachments to his dancers from watching them online through the Club Cam System, which the 2001 Odyssey developed. Customers pay $4 a minute to chat on top of the monthly $19.95 membership.

"Basically, what you see in a bricks-and-mortar strip club you can now see live on the Internet," Kleinhans said. One of the dancers, known as Go Go, hopes the software will lead to a profitable August. She chats a few times a week. "Guys I meet online feel like we have a relationship," she said. "If someone came to town, you only had them the short amount of time … and had to part ways. Now you can still make money off them."

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Business Insider | Adam Taylor | Jul. 19, 2012, 10:10 AM


Heathrow Airport (AP)

UK Border Agency Staff have voted to strike a day before the Olympic opening ceremony. ITV News' Lucy Manning tweets that border staff will be striking 26th July and will not work overtime between 27 July to 20 August.

The Border Agency provides key services visa and immigration services at airports, and their strike could cause chaos at airports during the Olympic Games. Given that state resources are already overstretched due to the disastrous G4S private security situation, this could be a big problem.

Reuters also reports that hundreds of train drivers in Central England are threatening a three-day strike during the Olympics.

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Wonkette
by Doktor Zoom
5:00 pm July 19, 2012



Syndicated columnist and Elite Media Figure Connie Schultz presents us with an object lesson in how to cleverly avoid answering pointed questions from citizen-journalists who tell you that they have the goods on you. (Above. It is right there above. Did you not see it?)

But a couple of Tips to the best journalist of his (or her!) generation:

1) Make sure you spell your target’s name right.
2) Do not announce to your target that you are “doing an exposé” on them. Instead, use more subtle terminology, such as “We are investigating your corrupt practices for a hit piece that will destroy you and your ilk for all time. Thank you so much for your cooperation, and have a great day!”
3) Make use of reliable inside-journalism sources like Wikipedia or an Ouija board to do basic fact checking.

Reader Supported News
By Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic
19, July 2012


A federal investigation alleged Enrique Prado's involvement
in seven murders, yet he was in charge when America
outsourced covert killing to a private company.(photo:Reuters)

It was one of the biggest secrets of the post-9/11 era: soon after the attacks, President Bush gave the CIA permission to create a top secret assassination unit to find and kill Al Qaeda operatives. The program was kept from Congress for seven years. And when Leon Panetta told legislators about it in 2009, he revealed that the CIA had hired the private security firm Blackwater to help run it. "The move was historic," says Evan Wright, the two-time National Magazine Award-winning journalist who wrote Generation Kill. "It seems to have marked the first time the U.S. government outsourced a covert assassination service to private enterprise."

The quote is from his e-book How to Get Away With Murder in America, which goes on to note that "in the past, the CIA was subject to oversight, however tenuous, from the president and Congress," but that "President Bush's 2001 executive order severed this line by transferring to the CIA his unique authority to approve assassinations. By removing himself from the decision-making cycle, the president shielded himself -- and all elected authority -- from responsibility should a mission go wrong or be found illegal. When the CIA transferred the assassination unit to Blackwater, it continued the trend. CIA officers would no longer participate in the agency's most violent operations, or witness them. If it practiced any oversight at all, the CIA would rely on Blackwater's self-reporting about missions it conducted. Running operations through Blackwater gave the CIA the power to have people abducted, or killed, with no one in the government being exactly responsible." None of this is new information, though I imagine that many people reading this item are hearing about it for the first time.

Isn't that bizarre?

The bulk of Wright's e-book (full disclosure: I help edit the website of Byliner, publisher of the e-book) tells the story of Enrique Prado, a high-ranking CIA-officer-turned-Blackwater-employee who oversaw assassination units for both the CIA and the contractor. To whom was this awesome responsibility entrusted? According to Wright's investigation, a federal organized crime squad run out of the Miami-Dade Police Department produced an investigation allegedly tying Prado to seven murders carried out while he worked as a bodyguard for a narco crime boss. At the time, the CIA declared him unavailable for questioning; the investigation was shut down before he was arrested or tried.

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