Open Thread 12 December, 2012

Tired from my travels.  pl

Comments

[William R. Cumming]

Showing its inability to be adaptable, the Administration continues to see a flow of those outward bound without nominees or replacements! I have always advocated for Continuity of Government purposes that all PAS [Presidential Appointed Senate confirmed] personnel unless fired for cause or whatever (disloyalty?] be required to serve until the Senate confirmed replacement is available. Thus lessening the margin for error in many ways.

[William R. Cumming]

PAS positions by CRS as of 11/15/2012 most codified in US Code in Title 5!

Presidential Appointee Positions Requiring Senate Confirmation and Committees Handling Nominations, November 15, 2012

[Hard Hearted Empath]

On Whether The Catholic Church Reognizes Baptism by Beer

"There is a response of Pope Gregory IX to the Archbishop of Trondhjem in Norway where beer (or mead) had been employed for baptism. The pontiff says: “Since according to the Gospel teaching, a man must be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, those are not to be considered validly baptized who have been baptized with beer” (cervisia). It is true that a statement declaring wine to be valid matter of baptism is attributed to Pope Stephen II, but the document is void of all authority (Labbe, Conc., VI).

Source: Fanning, William. “Baptism.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 1 Dec. 2012 Nihil Obstat. 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.

[Charles I]

CIA’s request to keep torture details secret in Guantanamo trial granted

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1301338--cia-s-request-to-keep-torture-details-secret-in-guantanamo-trial-granted.

Yes the details would be a red level magnitude national security threat I'm sure.

We can now rest with precedent establishing that the American public is under attack by domestic terroris, er, facts, and needs protection from them by the CIA and military tribunals.

[Charles I]

US Fed projects high unemployment for next 3 years

- and promises not raise rates until its below 6.5% , earliest, gulp, the end of 2015.

WASHINGTON: The Federal Reserve predicts the unemployment rate will stay elevated until late 2015, suggesting it will keep short-term interest rates low for the next three years.

The latest economic projections released Wednesday from the Fed were little changed from September. The central bankBSE 0.25 % still expects economic growth to be no stronger than 3 percent next year. Growth could improve to 3.5 percent in 2014 and 3.7 percent in 2015.

The Fed sees unemployment no lower than 7.4 percent next year and 6.8 percent by the end of 2014. The earliest the Fed sees unemployment dropping below 6.5 percent is the end of 2015.

The Fed said Wednesday that it plans to keep its key short-term interest rate near zero at least until the unemployment rate is below 6.5 percent.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/us-fed-projects-high-unemployment-for-next-3-years/articleshow/17591342.cms

Some recovery.

[Charles I]

and for my doomsday file:

Insecticide regulators ignoring risk to bees, say MPs

A parliamentary inquiry has uncovered evidence that links widespread use of neonicotinoid pesticides to decline in bees

. . . A growing body of scientific evidence has linked the widespread use of neonicotinoid pesticides on crops to a serious decline in the bees and other pollinators, which are vital in producing a third of all food. The inquiry has uncovered evidence, apparently ignored by regulators, that the toxic insecticide can build up in soil to levels likely to be lethal to most insects, including the bees that overwinter in soil. . .

Evidence submitted to parliament cites a long list of failings in current regulations. They include that it is only the effects on honeybees that are considered, despite 90% of pollination being performed by different species, such as solitary or bumblebees, hoverflies, butterflies, moths and others. Another is that the regime was set up for pesticide sprays, not systemic chemicals like neonicitinoids that are used to treat seeds. Even the National Farmers Union (NFU), which argues that there is no need for a change of approach to neonicitinoids, told MPs: "It is very well known that the current pesticide risk assessment systems for bees were not developed to assess systemic pesticides."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/dec/12/mps-insecticide-regulators-bees

Systemic pesticides - like those used in GMOS and other monocrops.

So between this, the bat white nose problem, and this year's droughts and storms we're about due for locusts.

[Fred]

Well we couldn't beat the Iraqi insurgents, aren't beating the Afghan insurgents and are about to go 3 for 3 in Syria. But thank goodness the USA beat the crap out of these people:

http://www.wired.com/opinion/2012/12/a-eulogy-for-occupy/all/