More Good News!

Image courtesy of an Artist's rendering for AFP.

Earth and Venus May Collide:

A force known as orbital chaos may cause our solar system to go haywire, leading to a possible collision between earth and Venus or Mars, according to a study released on Wednesday.

The good news is that the likelihood of such a smash-up is small, around one-in-2500.

And even if the planets did careen into one another, it would not happen before another 3.5 billion years.

Indeed, there is a 99 per cent chance that the sun's posse of planets will continue to circle in an orderly pattern throughout the expected life span of our life-giving star, another five billion years, the study found.

After that, the sun will likely expand into a red giant, engulfing earth and its other inner planets - Mercury, Venus and Mars - in the process.

Astronomers and meterologists are all so cheery lately, aren't they? Of course we'll all be dead due to natural causes before any of their predictions gambles come 'round for payment, so what's the point of any of this?

le jeu de la désinformation

I guess "we have found no evidence of terrorism" doesn't translate to the French language. Or they just have a different way of doing things over there: like confronting possible ISLAMIC terrorism head-on.

Two passengers with names linked to Islamic terrorism were on the Air France flight which crashed with the loss of 228 lives, it has emerged:

agents working for the DGSE (Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure), the French equivalent of MI6, were dispatched to Brazil.

It was there that they established that two names on the passenger list are also on highly-classified documents listing the names of radical Muslims considered a threat to the French Republic.

A source working for the French security services told Paris weekly L'Express that the link was "highly significant".

Agents are now trying to establish dates of birth for the two dead passengers, and family connections.

I hope and pray that the agents and investigators of this tragedy are able to determine what led to the plane's demise and the deaths of 228 people.

So many stories have come out pointing to possible terrorism that I am reminded of the ill-fated TWA 800:

• A bomb threat had been phoned in 4 days before the crash


• Pilots report seeing fire/ several orange spots on the ocean


• A pilot reports an intense white flash

Whether the cause is determined to be from terrorism... er, excuse me, a "man-made disaster"... or weather-related or caused by a computer malfunction, I hope that the truth even if politically incorrect is made public. Unfortunately too many people read the headlines and don't follow the story. Too often, when the news is so far afoot from the morning's regime of Starbucks, the recommended daily diet pill and Facebook, people lose interest. May truth prevail.

What Moms want

Not sure about the ingredients in those pancakes, but it's the thought that counts.

Tall Tales with Uncle Joe

Never one to disappoint for those who shirk boring politicians, Joe Biden is adding to his impressive gaffe collection. Today the VP spoke to multiple law enforcement groups and made the following pronouncement mid-speech to those in attendance: know that Judge Sotomayor has your back as well.

In Joe Biden's world Lady Justice is neither blind nor unbiased. In his world, She gets it". Though it's not completely opposed to his boss' statement that he was seeing a seat for empathy on the high court.

He Who Has A Much Higher IQ Than You! sure doesn't know when to stop talking let alone know how branches of our government work (including his own). I wonder if he can navigate the expansive reaches of his own mind without reliable gps systems?

No matter. Every time Joe is yearning for the taste of shoe leather the media (if they even acknowledge the gaffes) are learning the best way to handle these ubiquitous stories: nod, wink, chuckle and give good ole Joe a noogie. He's slowly becoming that great uncle that every family has and laughs fondly about come Thanksgiving: good ole Uncle Joe.

Hope and Change prevail!

HOPE: Hollywood's largest actors union strongly endorsed a new film and TV contract, closing the chapter on a yearlong dispute with the major studios:

The two-year contract was patterned after similar agreements negotiated last year with three other talent unions.

It includes an immediate pay increase of 3% and, for the first time, gives actors residual pay for shows that stream on websites such as Hulu that enable viewers to watch them free of charge.

and

CHANGE: Chrysler set to close 789 of its dealerships:

a bankruptcy judge approved Chrysler's plan to terminate 789 of its dealer franchises.

U.S. Judge Arthur Gonzalez's order says the franchises, which represent about 25 percent of the company's dealer base, can no longer act as authorized Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealers, effective immediately. A written ruling explaining the decision was expected to be filed later.

Earlier in the day, more than 25 attorneys representing hundreds of dealers from across the country argued in court that little would be gained by terminating the franchises, while Chrysler maintained that the move is a necessary part of its plan to cut costs and quickly emerge from Chapter 11.

Many of the dealers were trying to sell the last cars on their lots and preparing to shut their doors for good at the end of the day, while others planned to sell used cars or other brands after severing ties with Chrysler.

At Tuesday's hearing, Chrysler attorneys also said the automaker would extend until Monday its program to help the affected dealers send any unsold vehicles to other dealers.

Doesn't matter if said dealerships were purchased and owned by private citizens. They will lose their stake, without reimbursement, while their dealership is given to another party. No hope here, but plenty of change. The full list of change can be found here:


Chrysler Dealer Closing List -

Hundreds of Chrysler dealerships are closing their doors today but at least Hollywood rewrote its contract. Doesn't mean anything of quality or substance will be coming out of there, but hey, that's entertainment!

In _________ We Trust?

Image courtesy: Editorial Cartoonist Zeg

Sometimes your faith in humanity is restored, just a little.

Rasmussen: GOP More Trusted on Economy, more...:

Voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats on six out of 10 key issues, including the top issue of the economy.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 45% now trust the GOP more to handle economic issues, while 39% trust Democrats more.

This is the first time in over two years of polling that the GOP has held the advantage on this issue.

I'm not entirely on board with Republicans as a party per se, but this was a nice change while we taxpayers watch the Congress as a whole act like dotcommers with a limitless credit line and the ubiquitous Total Merchant Services raid the piggy banks of our children. What does a $10 an hour job translate to under the burden of the ever-growing national debt?

And today we have the new brain-child of the O-admin: "Cash for Clunkers." Billions more down the drain to incentivize us all to go out and buy new cars.

Even if you don't need one, they're sweetening the pot with a tax break: something we're all going to want next April under this new regime.

Remembering: the Unknown Rebel & the Tiananmen Square Massacre

If you were alive 10 years ago today, this image is one you have surely never forgotten: "The Unknown Rebel" facing a line of Chinese tanks in what the world came to know as the Tiananmen Square Massacre. The photo was taken by AP photographer Jeff Widener and to this day is firmly ingrained as one of the lasting pictures of our times as a symbol of man's struggle for freedom and democracy.

Reports vary as to exactly how many pro-democracy students and protesters were killed by the violence, which the Chinese government describes as "the June 4th Incident." Was it hundreds or thousands murdered by the government? Accusations of censorship and coverups of human rights abuses still cloud the annals of history regarding the events even as rubber stamps of approval are tacitly given by fellow governments not wanting to dirty their hands in someone else's business. We all know the end result. The protesters were shut down, communism prevailed in the land.

Remember the victims today by revisiting the news broadcasts: