Google went berserk Saturday

A glitch at Google sent a message, “ message "This site may harm your computer” to anyone doing a Google search on Saturday morning.

Google said it routinely flags any search results with that message if the site is known to install malicious software in the background or otherwise surreptitiously, a practice aimed at protecting its users.

It gets its list of suspicious sites from StopBadware.org, a nonprofit project headed by legal scholars at Harvard and Oxford universities who research consumer complaints.

The Google error only lasted about one hour.

I wonder if this had anything to do with why the Google Adsense “gadgets” on my desktop stopped working.

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Weather Channel founder addresses global warming

John Coleman (pictured) is a climatologist and founder of the Weather Channel. He has a global warming report posted on the website of KUSI News in San Diego where he is an on-camera weathercaster. It can be found at the link below.



John Coleman was a very popular weathercaster, famous for his amusing and irreverent style.

I watched Coleman’s weather reports on Omaha’s KETV when I lived in Lincoln, Nebraska in the 1960’s.

The congenial Coleman referred to his TV audience as “dear hearts.” He made a weathercast entertaining rather than dull and full of the usual climatologist lingo.

Nebraska Furniture Mart was one of the sponsors of John Coleman’s weathercasts on KETV.

Rose Blumkin (known as Mrs. B) was sitting at a desk in the studio giving a live commercial for her Nebraska Furniture Mart stores. In the middle of reading her commercial, Coleman came in, bent down and kissed Rose on the cheek.

To her credit, Blumkin hardly batted an eyelash.

Rose Blumkin lived to be 104 years old. She passed away in 1998 after selling her Nebraska Furniture Mart stores to billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

John Coleman later went on to become the original weathercaster on Good Morning America before founding the Weather Channel.

His current position as a weathercaster at KUSI News in San Diego is described by Coleman as his “retirement job.”

At the link below are Mr. Coleman’s views on global warming which he thinks is bad science and a hoax. He even says it is the “greatest scam in history!”

Mr. Coleman shares the views of the International Climate Science Coalition that global warming is not a global crisis.

Link

Global Warming alarmism illustrated

He wants in to warm up

Don’t make him stay outside all weekend

Obama says don’t listen to Rush Limbaugh

Sarah Palin to meet with McConnell in Washington

The Alaska governor(pictured) who excited the conservative base and incensed die-hard liberals is in Washington this weekend as we reported here.

Palin’s appearance in Washington is starting talk of her possible run for the White House in 2012.

For the most part, Palin shrugged off her new national fame, claiming Alaska remains her first priority.

"I do receive — our office receives — hundreds if not thousands of requests to either speak or participate in something," Palin said. "We turn them down for the most part, we say, ‘No, I'm not going to leave Alaska’ or ‘I'll rarely travel outside of Alaska.’ "

The fact that she formed a PAC (Political Action Committee) is adding fuel to speculation that she plans to run for president in the future.

Political candidates often form PAC’s as a way to boost their national profile and to curry favor with local officials in advance of a national campaign.

"It's helpful to have a PAC so that when I'm invited to things, even like to speak at the Lincoln Day dinner in Fairbanks, to have a PAC pay for that instead of have the state pay for that because that could be considered quasi-political," she said.

"Other governors in the past, they all had a fund to be able to travel for things like that. I do not," Palin added. "But now we'll have an available source of funds so that we're not coming close to any ethical line to be crossed in terms of travel or participation in events that will help Alaska but could be seen perhaps as not worthy of state funding."

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George W. Bush required a coat and tie at all times while in the Oval Office.

Barack Obama is not following the same tradition as shown in the photo below.



According to a New York Times report:

The capital flew into a bit of a tizzy when, on his first full day in the White House, Barack Obama was photographed in the Oval Office without his suit jacket.

The explanation was given that Mr. Obama, who hates the cold, had cranked up the thermostat.

“He’s from Hawaii, O.K.?” said Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, David Axelrod, who occupies the small but strategically located office next door to his boss. “He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there.”

Well, he did promise change didn’t he?

At the second link below we are reminded of a clip from one of the more memorable speeches made by Barack Obama on the campaign trail:

We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times . . . and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK.

Why didn't the New York Times reference his obvious hypocrisy in the story at the first link below? The obvious answer - the Times will not print anything negative regarding the man they helped elect.

Link here and here.

Beware of those store liquidation sales

A Colorado shopper bought TV’s for each of her three daughter’s at a Denver area Circuit City store.

When shoppers hear the word "liquidation," they think they are in for a great deal. But that may not be true.

That’s not what the shopper found when she bought the three TV’s.



One of the TVs, made by SENS, didn't work. She tried to take the non-operating TV back but found that all liquidation sales are final.

She found out that the manufacturer's warranty wasn't honored either, because the sets are made for Circuit City.

Buying liquidation items with a credit card is one of the things experts with the Better Business Bureau suggest.

The BBB also says:

Don't go into the store unless you actually need something. It's easy to get carried away in the excitement of the sale.

Shop around, compare deals.

Be leery of extended warranties.

Remember to spend your gift cards.

Check the product before you walk out.

The price at liquidation sales may not be quite the steal it seems.

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Rod Blagojevich impeached: Quinn now Illinois governor

Illinois Senators voted unanimously to convict Blagojevich (upper photo) and bar him from ever holding political office in the state again.

Lieutenant governor Pat Quinn (lower photo) was sworn in as governor to officially replace Blagojevich.

In a political drama that has dominated Illinois news since early December this was the final act -- or was it?

Don’t expect a cunning fighter like Blagojevich to take this sitting down. He knows where all the political bodies are buried.

Unless he ends up like Vince Foster, Blago will probably have his revenge. Keep the popcorn handy -- this movie ain’t over yet.

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Republicans look to topple Harry Reid in 2010

The move by Republicans to unseat Harry Reid in 2010 seems to be well under way.

Republicans are airing a television ad in Nevada criticizing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (upper picture) as a "super-spending partisan."

Reid's spokesman, Jon Summers, accused Republicans of resorting to insults while Reid works to solve the economic crisis.

The problem for the Nevada GOP is finding a strong candidate to run against Reid who is having image problems and could be vulnerable.

Contributions came in from all over the country in 2004 to help John Thune take away the South Dakota Senate seat from Tom Daschle (lower picture) the former Democratic Senate leader.

Even more contributions will need to come in from other states to help unseat Harry Reid.

Whoever opposes Mr. Reid will need a lot of financial help if ACORN gets heavily involved with their usual voter fraud.

This is not your father’s Democrat Party. They will do nearly anything to keep their leaders in power.

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Sarah Palin and Obama to share stage

Sarah Palin (pictured) and Barack Obama will share a stage together this Saturday night in Washington. Will this be a preview of the 2012 presidential election?

The Alaska governor and former GOP vice presidential nominee, making her first trip to the nation’s capital since the election, will join the president at the Alfalfa Dinner, a venerable gathering of the city’s political elite.

Palin spokesman Bill McAllister said that Palin would be speaking at the dinner. An Alfalfa Club member, however, said that no speech by the Alaska governor was planned.

Any speeches or comments made at the event will not be heard by the general public.

By tradition, the old world gathering, now in its 96th year, bars reporters.

Quotes from the rostrum do, however, tend to find their way out to reporters in the lobby.

The dinner is put on by the Alfalfa Club, an exclusive list of about 200 movers and shakers whose only purpose is to throw the annual dinner on the last Saturday of January.

If Sarah Palin does speak at this event, she will upstage everyone else there including Barack Obama. For that reason alone it is surprising she has been invited because Democrats are terrified of her.

If John McCain had picked anyone else as his running mate, Obama would have won by a record-breaking landslide. As it was, she kept the old walrus in the race most of the way.

The following is a quote from a Lucianne commenter:

Oh, to have an unscripted, teleprompter-free exchange between the boy-king and the mighty queen of the north. She would eat his lunch.

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We were promised change…

...and change is what we got.

Gore made $100 M on losing side of global warming

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) is the ranking member of the Senate's Environment & Public Works Committee.

Yesterday, Inhofe had sharp criticism for the testimony of former Vice President Al Gore (pictured) before the Foreign Relations Committee.

Inhofe called Gore's message "desperate," and noted the irony of it being delivered on such an icy day in D.C. "They almost had to cancel it because of freezing weather, and last year they did cancel it because of cold weather," Inhofe said.

"I'd say he has a real serious problem. But he's already made his $100 million, so I don't think he needs to worry too much about it. But the science and logic are on our side and we are winning.”

Link

High and dry

Kids play in an empty bullet-ridden swimming pool in Kabul, Afghanistan. 2008 photo.

Royal bad hair days

The Duchess of Cornwall has bad hair days quite often. You’d think Prince Charles could afford to buy hair spray for Camilla.

Upgrade your plane ticket

(click on cartoon to enlarge)

Obama learns Oval Office windows are not doors

Barack Obama tries to enter the Oval Office through a window instead of the door which is on the right.

Animal odd couple

(click on picture to see video)

… thanks to Twila for the link

Gore calls for global warming action during snow storm

Neither sleet nor snow nor gloom of night - the snow … er, that is … the show must go on.

It’s Al Gore in town again with his global warming alarmism.

Global warming alarm during snowstorm. Flawless timing.

He is calling for decisive action urging lawmakers not to let the U.S. economic crisis get in the way of addressing global warming.

His urgency may be fueled by a fear that the current economic crisis may slow down his plans to get rich selling carbon credits.

Link

Obama pokes fun at snow reaction in Washington

After the Obama girls were sent home on a school ‘snow day’ Barack told reporters, “When it comes to the weather, folks in Washington don't seem to be able to handle things.”



He also said he wants to see a little bit of "flinty, Chicago toughness" applied locally.

Link

Proposed bill to make camera phones go click

New York Representative Peter King is hoping that the US will soon have a law requiring that all cameraphones make a noise when they snap a picture.

Japan and South Korea already have such laws.

King has re-introduced the so-called "Camera Phone Predator Alert Act," which was actually first introduced in 2007 but went nowhere at the time.

The bill, as the name not-so-subtly suggests, aims to prevent folks from taking cameraphone pictures without others people's knowledge by forcing the phones to make a sound that's "audible within a reasonable radius" and not able to be disabled.

Interestingly, the bill will not apply to digital cameras. Many small digital cameras are just as capable of taking “spy photos” as cameraphones.

Isn’t this a lot like the people who have been saying that silent electric cars should be made to sound like gas powered cars?

Interestingly, if cameras and cars had always been silent this would not be an issue.

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Top Obama aides subject of Blagojevich subpoenas

Sweeping federal subpoenas of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration include requests for records involving several people who could be embarrassed by such a probe.

Among 43 subpoenas released by the Blagojevich administration Friday, one from Dec. 8 seeks notes, calendars, correspondence and any other data that relate to Axelrod, Jarrett and 32 other people and organizations.

Get the popcorn ready - this show could get very interesting.

Gov. Blagojevich will probably be impeached due to current Illinois law. However, he is a fighter and he is shrewd so you can bet he will go down swinging. He will take down or damage as many as he can on his way down.

Don’t ya love the blank, innocent look on his face? He looks a lot like a Cabbage Patch doll.

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China not so bullish about year of the ox

Millions of Chinese welcomed the arrival of the Year of the Ox with fireworks-filled celebrations.

They gave a boisterous farewell to a tumultuous 2008 marked by a massive earthquake, the Olympics and a global economic crisis.

The country's economic worries have cast the new year in a more sober light.



China's finance minister warned that balancing the budget this year would be increasingly difficult.

The Chinese New Year, which marks the start of the Spring Festival, is the country's most important holiday. It is generally celebrated with lavish spending on elaborate meals and exchanges of "hong bao," or red envelopes stuffed with money.

But at the capital's legendary Quanjude Peking Duck Restaurant, marketing manager Yang Jing said the financial downturn is already having an effect on traditional feasting.

The country's economic outlook for 2009 has been dampened by the deepening global financial crisis, with China's 2008 annual growth down to a seven-year low of 9 percent. Thousands of factories have closed in China's export-driven southeast, and estimates of job losses exceed 2 million.

China is not so bullish as the Year of the Ox begins.

Link

Obama’s first media interview was with Al-Arabiya

There is report linked to below telling of the first interview given to the media by Barack Obama -- to the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya Network.

It seems he couldn’t wait to bow to the Palestinian’s - the people who have been striking against Israel in a preemptive manner by shooting poorly guided rockets into Israel killing innocent civilians.

Israelis have in turn attacked the Palestinians also killing innocent civilians. However, the Israeli rockets are accurately guided minimizing damage to innocent people. The problem is the Palestinians place their military installation inside schools, apartment dwellings and even hospitals.

These are the people Obama (pictured) is reaching out to appease telling them he is a Muslim who has lived in Muslim countries!

"I have Muslim members of my family. I have lived in Muslim countries," Obama said, according to a White House transcript. "My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy."

These are the people who danced in the streets when they heard the news that 3,000 Americans perished during the World Trade Center bombings carried out by Muslims.

George Walker Bush told the Muslim world in 2001: "You are either with us, or you are against us." In 2009 Barack Hussein Obama said "I am one of you."

Following are a few paraphrased comments from Lucianne:

Obama previously denied his Muslim ancestry and the adoring media in America believed him.

In Obama’s book, The Audacity of Hope, he said when the political winds blow ill, he would side with the Muslims - another fact largely ignored by the media in their efforts to elect this man.

It seems they were right when they claimed Obama only pretended to be a Christian when he joined a racist church for political reasons.

Someday very soon Americans must look themselves in the mirror and ask why they voted for this man. Well, maybe not all Americans: just the 53% of Americans who voted for him.

He is a new US President casting blame on past American efforts in the Middle East -- efforts that kept America safe.

Joe Biden knew what he was talking about when he guaranteed that if elected, Sen. Barack Obama will be tested by an international crisis within his first six months in power as reported here.

The Al-Arabiya interview story is here. Obama stating he is a Muslim on camera is here.

Iowa woman arrested for unreturned library book

An Independence Iowa woman has been arrested because she failed to return a library book.

Thirty-nine-year-old Shelly Koontz was arrested Thursday night on a fifth-degree theft charge. She is accused of keeping "The Freedom Writers Diary," which she checked out from the public library in nearby Jesup in April.

The book, valued at $13.95, is about a high school teacher's effort to inspire students to write.

Court records show library employees tried repeatedly to contact Koontz by phone and mail. A police officer even visited her home last September.

Officials at the Buchanan County jail say Koontz was released after posting $250 bond.

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Google aims to turn your hard drive into a cloud drive

Computer giant Google is plotting to eliminate personal computers by storing all your data for you on the internet.

In fact, the plan is for Google to make PC’s, as we know them, obsolete. If Google is successful, you will throw away your hard drive and use a Google Drive, or GDrive.



This will allow you to access your computer from any internet connection.

However, if you think this will be wonderful - think again.

Industry critics warn of danger in giving the internet leader more power.

The GDrive concept would give the online behemoth unprecedented control over individuals' personal data.

It is seen as a paradigm shift away from Microsoft's Windows operating system, which runs inside most of the world's computers, in favor of "cloud computing", where the processing and storage is done thousands of miles away in remote data centers.

Many PC users are already using web-based services such as Hotmail and Gmail for e-mail and Flickr and Piasca for digital photo storage.

The loss of a laptop or crash of a hard drive does not jeopardize the data because it is regularly saved in "the cloud" and can be accessed via the web from any machine.

The PC would be a simpler, cheaper device acting as a portal to the web, perhaps via an adaptation of Google's operating system for mobile phones, Android. Users would think of their computer as software rather than hardware.

However, it should matter to you that someone can see all your data!

It also should matter that Google could be subpoenaed at any time to hand over all your data to the United States government and possibly without your knowledge!

The head of product and marketing for Google Enterprise, said: There's a clear direction ... away from people thinking, 'This is my PC, this is my hard drive,' to 'This is how I interact with information, this is how I interact with the web.'

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White House email system crashes

A White House-wide e-mail breakdown had Obama’s aides distributing information on … well … paper. Imagine that!

The press secretary, Robert Gibbs, began his daily briefing by apologizing for the e-mail e-blink.

Did Mr. Obama’s top-secret Blackberry throw a kink into the works? No? Just wondering…

Link

Blagojevich considered Oprah for senate seat

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (pictured) told ABC that he considered appointing Oprah Winfrey to the empty U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama.

He tells “Good Morning America” that the idea of nominating the talk show host came to him as he explored potential candidates for the job that federal prosecutors allege he tried to sell to the highest bidder.

Blagojevich says “she was obviously someone with a much broader bully pulpit than other senators.”

The governor says he worried that the appointment of Winfrey might come across as a gimmick and the talk show host was unlikely to accept.

Mr. Blagojevich was probably right on both counts.

Link

Can we afford the Obama express?

The Obama express is empty bit it will cost trillions!

Promoter killed in Wisconsin monster truck accident

Spectators were horrified as a man walked onto the arena floor and was run over by one of the monster trucks.

The victim was 41-year-old George Eisenhart, Jr., the show's promoter. The driver of the monster truck, a 54-year-old Ohio man, is a 20-year racing veteran. No criminal charges are expected.



The photo above shows the legendary monster truck Bigfoot in action. This truck was not involved in events reported in this posting.

Officials canceled the final monster truck performance scheduled Sunday afternoon. In the midst of tragedy, they said, the show simply could not go on.

It was the second fatality at a monster truck event nine days.

The death in Wisconsin comes just over a week after 6-year-old Sebastian Hizey died at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Wash. He was struck in the head by a Frisbee-sized chunk of metal that tore off a truck

Link here and here.

Obama opening grade matches Eisenhower but less than JFK

Barack Obama gets an opening grade of 68 percent.

Gallup’s initial job approval ratings were President John F. Kennedy, 72 percent; Dwight Eisenhower, 68 percent; Jimmy Carter, 66 percent; Richard Nixon, 59 percent; Bill Clinton, 58 percent; George W. Bush, 57 percent; and Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, 51 percent.

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Starbucks planning more layoffs

The troubled Seattle coffee company slashed more than 2,000 jobs last year.

Another big round of layoffs is expected at Starbucks, possibly 1,000 people — a third of its headquarters employees — and some district managers and field employees.

"The cuts might be next week or in February," wrote Diane Daggatt, a managing director at McAdams Wright Ragen in Seattle.

No barista jobs are in jeopardy which will be a relief to dispirited workers who have begun to question changes at the store level since Howard Schultz reclaimed the CEO spot one year ago this month.

At first inspired by Schultz's return to the helm, they wonder now where Starbucks is headed. Many fear for their jobs as the coffee chain's sales continue to slide, forcing Starbucks to close 616 U.S. stores and trim employees' hours.

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Media overkill or proof of political idolatry?

News photographers take pictures of the pen that will be used by Barack Obama to sign an executive order at the White House.

Reuters photo via Time Magazine

The bailouts were perfect now it's on to socialized medicine

(click on cartoon to enlarge)

Ex Gitmo detainee is number 2 terrorist in Yemen

A Saudi man who was released from Guantánamo after spending six years inside the U.S. prison camp has joined al-Qaida's branch in Yemen and is now the terror group's No. 2 in the country, according to a purported Internet statement from al-Qaida.

The announcement, made this week on a Web site commonly used by militants, came as President Barack Obama ordered the detention facility closed within a year.

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Gov Paterson: underwhelmed with Caroline Kennedy from the start

It was said that New York Governor Dave Paterson (upper picture) was adamant that Caroline Kennedy (lower picture) was never going to be appointed to the Senate seat occupied by Hillary Clinton, even though she was considered the front-runner.

Gov. Paterson was completely underwhelmed with Caroline Kennedy from their first conversation about Hillary Clinton's Senate seat, a source close to the governor said.

Paterson's thinking has become clearer in the two days since Kennedy withdrew her name for the Senate seat that Friday went to upstate Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand

Paterson was turned off when Kennedy first called him and asked if she "could" be considered for the seat.

By asking if she could, rather than saying she wanted to be considered, Paterson immediately felt she wasn't really interested, the source said.

She had no firmly held views and little idea about why she wanted the job, the source said.

This reinforces the opinion held by some that Caroline just thought she might like to have a Senate seat to play with.

In meetings, the governor and his aides decided she had no political depth, the source said.

Link

Newspaper says car thief transformed into a goat

The Vanguard, one of the largest newspapers in Nigeria, reported that police implicated a goat in an attempted automobile theft. The article appeared on the front page.

Two men tried to steal a Mazda car in Kwara State, with one suspect transforming himself into a goat as vigilantes cornered him.

The paper quoted police spokesman Tunde Mohammed as saying that while one suspect escaped, the other transformed into a goat as he was about to be apprehended.

The newspaper reported that police paraded the goat before journalists, and published a picture of the animal.

Police in the state couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Belief in black magic is widespread in Nigeria, particularly in far-flung rural areas.

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Obama’s new ethics rules broken after two days

Barack Obama introduced what he heralded as the most sweeping ethics rules in American history -- rules that would “close the revolving door that lets lobbyists come into government freely.”

That only lasted two days!

Two days after setting down the ethics rules, Obama waived them for his nominee for Deputy Secretary of Defense, William Lynn. Until last fall, Lynn was a registered lobbyist for the defense contractor Raytheon.

The most sweeping ethics rules in American history only lasted two days.

After many contradictions during Obama’s two-year campaign, this should come as no surprise.

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