2012
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said that the Mars Rover Curiosity used its laser “chemical” camera ChemCam for the first time, which it’ll use to determine the composition of minerals… the first object that it tested was a fist-sized rock called the Coronation.
20 August 2012
RIA-Novosti
2012
Even John Baldoni at Forbes is critical of Todd Akin’s action in refusing to step aside for the good of the greater Republican ticket:
“I’m in this race to win!” With those words, Todd Akin, US Senate candidate for Missouri, struck fear into the hearts of Republicans, cheered Democrats, and insulted women everywhere. Akin’s refusal to quit the race was made as part of his apology for a previous comment that women who endure “legitimate rape” don’t get pregnant. Not only was his science wrong, his comments exhibited a patriarchal view of women’s reproductive rights. Akin also committed the first sin of insincerity… making the apology about himself, and not the people he’s offended.
Misogyny aside, Akin made another mistake… one that’s all too common in today’s “apologise and it will go away” culture. Akin has made himself the focus on his apology, not the millions of women he’d insulted. Akin also attempted to disavow his insult by claiming that he had used a poor choice of words. As Ben Franklin said, “Never ruin an apology with an excuse”. When you watch Akin apologise, you get the feeling that he cares more about his candidacy than he does about anything else. Americans like a fighter, but we also like a realist, one who can admit when he’s erred and make amends. Akins mouthed an apology, but his determination to stay in the senatorial race undermines his sincerity. …
Actions substantiate apologies and underscore sincerity.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnbaldoni/2012/08/21/how-todd-akin-flubbed-his-apology/
This is why the present GOP is bad for the country. Akin not only fails to comprehend that he isn’t the centre of the Republican ticket, he truly fails to understand WHY his party wants him to step aside. Similarly, Mittens refuses to see how his adolescent secrecy harms his chances of election.
Firstly, there was Wafflin’ Willy refusing to match President Obama’s release of twelve years of tax returns to the public. Indeed, Willy demanded that his VP hopefuls release more tax information than he did. Willy doesn’t understand that his wilful and juvenile cover-up has cost him many votes… but, then again, he’s never had to “pay” for his “mistakes” before.
In like manner, Akin doesn’t begin to discern that his choice of words was downright evil. There’s no such thing as “legitimate rape”… indeed, I’ve never heard the term before. The GOP leadership asked him to step aside… the top Republican leadership of Missouri came forward to beg him to see that his pigheaded attitude was simply poisonous… but Akin refused to do his duty. Rather, he childishly stamped his foot and decided to stand for office, even without the support of the national Republican Party.
Is this what you want? A vote for Mittens or Akin is a vote for secrecy, ignorance, and high-handedness. Remember that when you mark your ballot in November…
A Note to Orthodox People:
Doesn’t Akin’s pigheadedness remind you of a certain bishop? Not only are their personalities similar, so are their political and social opinions. That’s why it’s fruitless to argue with the Monomuckos gang… they truly don’t see what’s wrong… and that’s sad.
Barbara-Marie DrezhloTuesday 21 August 2012
Albany NY
Look at the above image… it’s not only an apt one for the global economy, it’s spot-on accurate insofar as your 401k is concerned. Isn’t the enrichment of soulless Wall Street piranhas grand (smile, Mittens is watching you)? After all, they NEED the money for their wetback gardeners and nannies…
On Thursday, President Vladimir Putin said that the Russian economy’s prepared for a possible economic meltdown because of a slowing of global growth and the escalating Euro Zone debt crisis. At a meeting with regional ombudsmen, Putin said the situation was complex in the European and global economies, saying, “In the USA, the engine of the world economy, the situation looks better, but macroeconomic indices that are vital for the economy’s sustainability are no better than in Europe. Their debt [in the USA] is 104 percent [of American GDP]”. He pointed up that aside from this, the American financial system’s burdened with mortgage loans issued against state guarantees. Putin added, “All these factors cause certain alarm. Now, news is coming that China’s economic development rates have slightly slowed and declined, and China is one of the world’s largest consumers. No doubt, these are alarming signals. Let’s hope that these concerns don’t transform into a full-blown crisis. Let’s hope for the better, but prepare for the worst”.
He said that, in 2011, the Russian government started to prepare anti-crisis measures to respond to unfavourable economic developments, saying, “We also agreed to set aside quite a substantial sum for the start of next year in the 2013 budget as the government’s operational reserve, so that we can respond effectively and energetically to crisis factors, if they emerge”, adding the Russian economy was currently demonstrating healthy parameters. The Finance Ministry said its drafting several crisis budget scenarios to cater for low oil prices. Earlier this year, Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Lavrov said, “We’re currently checking the resilience of the federal budget, and holding stress tests to study its exposure to sharp changes in external economic conditions. We’re calculating revenues to estimate their levels at an oil price of 80 USD (2,540 Roubles. 64 Euros. 50 UK Pounds) per barrel or even 60 USD (1,900 Roubles. 48 Euros. 38 UK Pounds) per barrel”.
16 August 2012
RIA-Novosti
Voices from Russia 
Will Big Money Save Mitt Romney and the GOP?
Tags: 2012 US Presidential election, Barack Obama, cartoons, Democratic Party, Democratic Party (United States), editorial cartoons, George W. Bush, GOP, Mitt Romney, New GOP/Tea Party, Paul Ryan, political commentary, politics, Republican, Republican Party, Republican Party (United States), right-wing, Romney, Tea Party, Tea Party movement, Todd Akin, United States, US Republican Party, USA
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With both Republican and Democratic conventions approaching, the American presidential campaign is getting nastier day by day. As it happens, most of the scandals in the campaign circulate around the opposition GOP. In fact, any minor slip on the part of any minimally-noticeable Republican politician causes hell in the media. Whilst on a trip to Israel, a group of GOP lawmakers drank heavily, and they went skinny-dipping in the Red Sea. They weren’t debauched, they weren’t on an official mission… they didn’t even offend anybody nor did they desecrate a holy place. They were enjoying themselves in their leisure time. However, the row following the incident went as far as getting the FBI involved in the investigation in order to determine whether there was any impropriety. As a means of defence, GOP House leaders reprimanded their own members.
Then, Todd Akin, a Republican congressman running for the US Senate in Missouri, made a remark about “legitimate rape” (whatever he meant by that). This blunder gave a pretext to all kinds of feminists and other liberals to launch a massive attack on all the basic principles the GOP stands for… including the issue of abortion, which was the context for Akin’s unfortunate remark. Despite requests for him to step down from prominent Republicans, including Mitt Romney, Todd Akin defended his right to go on with the Senate race, saying, “The good people of Missouri nominated me, and I’m not a quitter”. The fact that the whole Republican campaign, and not only his personal Senate race, can easily be (and already is) pictured as a “war on women” doesn’t seem to bother him.
These are just two of too many examples showing how eager the liberal media community in the US is to grasp on any silly blunder made by the Republicans… and this definitely works. All the recent polls… both on the state and national level… give little grounds for Mitt Romney to hope for election. The choice of Paul Ryan as his running mate only highlights Romney’s predicament Romney. During the primaries, Romney underwent attacks from the right; he had to put up an intense struggle with Tea Party-leaning contenders. This even produced the impression that, in November, Republican right-wingers would lack enthusiasm, and Romney’s feared that they’d simply sit out the election. Obviously, such considerations must have been behind the choice of conservative darling Paul Ryan as the vice-presidential candidate. However, the problem is that, in November, it’s not Tea Partiers that’ll matter, but rather independent voters. To this end, the choice Romney and his team made is hardly helpful. All the polls show that choosing Ryan had little, no, or even a negative impact on Romney’s ratings.
Nevertheless, there’s still one aspect that may seem inexplicable in such circumstances. For a third month in a row, Romney’s outpacing Obama in fund-raising, and, by the time of November elections, is likely to break Obama’s record of 2008. Nevertheless, one must note that Obama was running on a wave of strong anti-Bush sentiment and his own popularity, and his victory was predetermined long before the election. The current situation is far from that of 2008. Obama lost some of his popularity, but not to the extent George W Bush had by the end of his tenure. Romney doesn’t possess even half of Obama’s personal charisma. Therefore, if anything IS predetermined in the current race, it’s Obama’s re-election. Then, why should one invest in the probable loser? One simple explanation, which is hardly an explanation at all, is that Romney’s supported by the richest segment of society; therefore, he’s able to raise more money than his opponent does. However, this is hardly the case… even big business, which generally favours Republicans, wouldn’t spend so much without any hope of getting something in return.
The only plausible explanation is that American presidential campaigns aren’t simply sponsored by big businesses, they’re part of big business, which evolved in full compliance with the Olympic (Olympics, by the way, also have nothing to do with sports, being part of big business, too) motto, l’important c’est de participer (It’s [more] important to participate [than to win]). The very fact of big money’s participation in the campaign is a matter of PR and commercial advertising, therefore, it doesn’t really matter for the sponsors whether the particular candidate wins or not. Their mission is different… it’s to keep him in the spotlight as long as possible, and scandals like the ones surrounding GOP lawmakers in Israel or Todd Akin’s silly remark, whilst ruining Romney’s chances for election, raise the stakes of his campaign’s investors.
21 August 2012
Boris Volkhonsky
Voice of Russia World Service
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_08_21/Will-big-money-save-Mitt-Romney-and-the-GOP/