Open Thread

5 Comments

1. 

   budr on July 31, 2010 at 1:46 pm

   Watching the thermometer.  98 degrees and rising, probably the first of several days of triple digits in the Southern Plains.  That’s peak load territory.  Anybody who works for an electric utility is walking around with their fingers crossed, hoping everything holds together.

2. 

   dada on July 31, 2010 at 1:55 pm

   since the west thread appears to have vanished, here’s what’s happening in the colorado senate primary…bennet vs romanoff

   for any coloradans who are having trouble making a decision, this may help.

   from open left

   How Bennet got rich and teachers lost their pension fund

   from Cherry Creek News:

   Unelected Freshman Senator Michael Bennet was the 8th highest recipient of Wall Street cash in the current election cycle.  As Denver School Superintendent, he entered into a swap deal that provided $3 million in fees to JP Morgan and is now $78 million underwater, forcing teacher layoffs.

   In Congress, Bennet voted against mortgage cramdown, which would have provided bankruptcy protection and relief for homeowners.  He also opposed a 15% cap on credit card interest rates. To cement his pro-Wall Street stance, the appointed politician stood against breaking up the banks……

   it’s a long shot, but really…this one oughta be easy, eh.

3. 

   budr on July 31, 2010 at 2:01 pm

   Thursday I was searching for a John Lee Hooker video for an open thread on Eurotrib. In the process I stumbled on this one.

   It doesn’t get any better than that.

4. 

   Steven D on July 31, 2010 at 7:39 pm

   I’m tired.

   When’s football start anyway?

5. 

   Oui on August 1, 2010 at 8:58 am

   .

   On Taliban and al-Qaeda strongholds in Swat valley, Pakistan

   PESHAWAR, Pakistan (The Guardian) – The death toll from floods in north-west Pakistan has risen to 1,100 people, an official said today.

   Adnan Khan, a disaster management official, said the toll could rise further, as there were areas in Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa province that rescue workers had not been able to access.

   Authorities are struggling to save more than 27,000 people still trapped by flooding after heavy monsoon rains. Khan said more than 20,000 people had been rescued so far.

   Efforts have been aided by an easing of the rains, but as flood waters recede authorities are seeing the full scale of the disaster.

   “Aerial monitoring is being conducted, and it has shown that whole villages have washed away, animals have drowned and grain storages have washed away,” said Latifur Rehman, a spokesman for the Provincial Disaster Management Authority. “The destruction is massive and devastating.”

   Swat residents are still recovering from a battle between the army and the Taliban last spring that drove two million people from their homes. About a million of those people are still displaced. At least 115 people were still reported missing in Swat and Shangla.

   << click for aerial view

   "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."