n2doc
n2doc's JournalWe Are Not Stupid
By CHARLES M. BLOW
It’s still about Mitt Romney, and we’re not stupid.
After his primary wins on Tuesday, Mitt Romney delivered a nice speech with some punchy lines, and the pundits jumped and flipped like a troupe from Cirque du Soleil.
But it was all about framing an argument. It was tactical.
I don’t give two cents about tactics at the moment. I prefer to keep my eyes squarely trained on the issues and where the parties and their candidates have either demonstrated or indicated that they plan to take the country.
That reveals their values. That reveals a contrast so stark that no theatrical triumph or failure can disguise or ameliorate it.
more
http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/25/we-are-not-stupid/
on the other hand...
10 dead dogs found in Savannah home
By Savannah Morning News
Animal control officers have filed charges against a Savannah man after finding 19 dogs abandoned in his home.
Gena Sullivan, Savannah-Chatham police spokeswoman, said officers were sent to a house on 6902 Howard Foss Drive after a neighbor called Animal Control. She walked in the neighborhood and had noticed a bad smell and did not think anyone had lived in the house for some time, but could hear dogs barking.
Over a span of a week or two police officers had responded to the home a couple of times. They discovered a dead animal in a wood line near the residence and assumed the smell the neighbor was complaining about was coming from it. On Tuesday, Animal Control officers responded to the residence and could see the conditions inside of the house because the dogs had ripped the curtains down.
It was obvious to them nobody was living there.
more
http://savannahnow.com/latest-news/2012-04-26/10-dead-dogs-found-savannah-home#.T5mIYe2XJgs
Stick him in jail and let him starve for a while. He looks like he could use it.
Hold cops personally liable for camera arrests? Connecticut bill says yes
By Timothy B. Lee
he Connecticut state Senate passed legislation last week that would hold police officers in the state personally liable for violating a citizen's First Amendment right to videotape their actions. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Eric Coleman (D-Bloomfield).
According to The Day, a Connecticut newspaper, Coleman cited the 1991 Rodney King beating as an inspiration for the legislation. The proposal was also prompted by a 2009 incident in which "a Catholic priest was arrested by East Haven police while recording officers harassing Latino business owners." A federal investigation resulted in charges being filed against four police officers.
"Sometimes we become aware of incidents where police officers have been overzealous or abusive and not act in a very complimentary way towards the citizens who deserve to be served and protected," Coleman said.
The Connecticut bill, which still must pass the state's House of Representatives, is part of a trend toward increased legal protection for citizens filming police officers in the line of duty. At least one appeals court has recognized that citizens have a First Amendment right to record the actions of on-duty police officers in public places. But police officers often enjoy "qualified immunity," meaning that liability for police misconduct falls on the city (e.g. taxpayers) rather than on individual officers. Sen. Coleman's proposal would change that, giving police officers a stronger incentive to respect the constitutional rights of Connecticut citizens.
The proposal includes several broad exemptions. Officers are not liable if they have a reasonable belief that their actions are necessary to enforce the law, protect public safety, preserve the integrity of a crime scene, or protect the privacy of crime victims or others.
more
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/04/hold-cops-personally-liable-for-camera-arrests-connecticut-bill-says-yes.ars
Bugs pick up pesticide resistance from pesticide-eating bacteria
By John Timmer |
The indiscriminate spraying of pesticides has probably caused as many problems as it has solved, but here's one that was not expected: some bacteria have decided that one insecticide is a very tasty meal. Unfortunately for us, one of the strains of bacteria that has evolved the ability to digest the toxin happens to be able to find a home in an insect's gut. When it does so, it provides the insect with resistance.
Several factors had to come together for this to take place, but one was the heavy use of fenitrothion, which is described as "one of the most popular organophosphorus insecticides used worldwide" by the authors of a study of these insects. It has apparently been so widely deployed that a variety of bacteria have evolved the ability to use it as a food source. Most of these simply inhabit the soil in the fields where it is used and, at worst, cut down on the level of insecticide present and thereby make life a bit easier for the insects.
One of the bacterial species, Burkholderia has a rather unusual ability. Not only can the strain make a living in the soil, but it can also take up residence inside the gut of insects, acting as what's called a "endosymbiont." In most cases, insects transfer endosymbionts as contaminants on the egg, which take up residence in the offspring as they hatch—these bacteria never have to spend any time living outside an insect. Burkholderia, then, is rather unusual, in that the bugs seem to pick up an infection from the environment. It's still a symbiont, though, as animals that carry these bacteria tend to live longer and grow larger than their peers that don't have any in their guts.
The researchers describe a series of fairly straightforward experiments that make their case. When they took a pot of soil and treated it weekly with fenitrothion, they found that it actually boosted the bacterial population, and that 80 percent of the bacteria that grew out were able to digest the toxin. (Conveniently, an intermediate in the digestion process is yellow, while the original compound is completely colorless.) This confirmed that the pesticide could be a useful food source.
more
http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2012/04/bugs-pick-up-pesticide-resistance-from-pesticide-eating-bacteria.ars
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