Watch MSNBC’s hard core leftists trash Obama’s speech

There is a video at the link below showing MSNBC’s hard-core leftists saying what they thought of Barack Obama’s speech. They had nothing but criticism and sarcasm as they thoroughly trashed the speech.

Below are a few of the highlights listed at the link below:

Keith Olbermann: "It was a great speech if you were on another planet for the last 57 days."

Chris Matthews compared Obama to Carter.

Keith Olbermann: "Nothing specific at all was said."

Chris Matthews: "No direction."

Howard Fineman: "He wasn't specific enough."

Keith Olbermann: "I don't think he aimed low, I don't think he aimed at all. It's startling."

Howard Fineman: Obama should be acting like a "commander-in-chief."

Chris Matthews: Ludicrous that he keeps saying [Secretary of Energy] Chu has a Nobel prize. "I'll barf if he does it one more time."

Chris Matthews: "A lot of meritocracy, a lot of blue ribbon talk."

Chris Matthews: "I don't sense executive command."

All three have been staunch Obama loyalists -- until now.

They have all been quick with alibis and excuses for Obama’s shortcomings whether perceived or real -- until now.

Look for more liberals to criticize Obama’s indecisiveness.

Link

Defining the oil slick

Xbox to release new controller-free game device

Move over Wii - make way for the new Xbox motion-sensing, controller-free game system to be released by Microsoft in December.

During development it was called Project Natal. Now it is simply called “Kinect.”

The games will rely on a device the size of a stapler that perches on top of a living room TV to recognize faces, obey voice commands and track body movements.

No more pushing 14 different buttons in endless sequences. In fact, there are no buttons at all as the video below shows.



Link

Taylor Ware at age 12 yodeling on America’s Got Talent

Taylor Ware was 12-years-old when this America’s Got Talent video was made. She also plays the violin.

She was born in 1994 and lives in Franklin, Tennessee.

Pelosi pays $18K a month for office in SF

From a report in Roll Call:

Last fall, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (pictured) moved her district office into the new federal building in San Francisco. The move quadrupled the rent she pays, and her new $18,736 monthly bill is almost double the next-highest rental paid by a Member of the House.

Members from large urban districts with the highest property values are paying the most for district office rental, particularly New York–area Members.

But even in these high-rent districts, Pelosi’s new digs blow away the competition.

Link

Concern growing on Capitol Hill about Obama’s war

A Washington Post report (see link below) is under the heading “Obama's War” and titled, “Concern on Capitol Hill about Afghanistan war grows.”

A series of political and military setbacks in Afghanistan has fed anxiety over the war effort in the past few weeks, shaking supporters of President Obama's counterinsurgency strategy and confirming the pessimism of those who had doubts about it from the start.

More here.

Photo from scenic remote NW Colorado

Northwest corner of Colorado and the picturesque Yampa and Green River canyons in Dinosaur National Monument. Breathtaking

Prince Charles bores Oxford students

Prince Charles urged environmentalists to follow the Islamic way to save the world.

The outspoken Prince Charles, not known for his intellect, spoke to Islamic studies scholars at Oxford. He told them man's destruction of the world was particularly contrary to Islam.


However, as the photo shows, not everyone in the audience was as interested in the subject as Prince Charles.

Link

Obama says seafood from Gulf safe to eat despite fishing ban

Barack Obama announced that seafood from the gulf was safe.

“I had some of that seafood for lunch, and it was delicious,” Obama said, “We want to make sure that the food industry down here, as much as possible, is getting the protection and certification that they need to continue their businesses.”

Two weeks ago the gulf fishing ban was extended as reported in the second link below.

US officials Monday expanded a fishing ban in the Gulf of Mexico by more than 1,000 square miles (2,600 square kilometers) amid a spreading oil slick.

The extended fishing ban was reported two weeks ago. Since then oil contamination in the gulf has increased.

The photo below shows gulf fishing boats idled by the fishing ban.

Link here and here.

Whaling activist facing jail time in Japan

Peter Bethune (pictured) is facing time in a Japanese jail for assault

Japanese prosecutors have demanded a two-year prison sentence for Sea Shepherd activist Peter Bethune over an assault charge stemming from his boarding of a Japanese whaling ship in the Southern Ocean.

The Sea Shepherd flagship Steve Irwin is shown below.

New Zealander Peter Bethune has been detained since his arrest over the boarding in February, during which Japanese prosecutors allege he injured a crewman on board the Shonan Maru 2 by throwing a bottle of rancid butter at him.

Prosecutors told Tokyo District Court that chemical burns to the face of a 24-year-old whaler were "clearly caused by rancid butter fired by the defendant".

The 45-year-old Bethune may have two years in a Japanese jail to ponder the difference between protest and assault.

Will he get the usual fish heads and rice or will they give him his preferred vegan diet?

Link

Flag Day began on May 14, 1777

The Second Continental Congress adopted the flag of the United States on this day in 1777.

Brochure advertises black sand beaches

Sound of the World Cup

Do you find yourself turning the sound off while watching the World Cup games? If so, you’re not alone.

The sound of World Cup soccer this year is difficult to bear. Many watching the games in South Africa are worried about permanent damage to their hearing as reported in an article at the link below.

The din emitting from the tuneless plastic horns is louder than that from a drum or a chainsaw, according to the survey by hearing aid manufacturer Phonak.

It said tests had shown the sound emitted by a vuvuzela was the equivalent to 127 decibels. The sound from a drum was put at 122 decibels while the sound from a referee's whistle registered 121.8 decibels.

How distracting is it for the players on the field? Will the noise from thousands of tuneless plastic vuvuzela horns change the outcome of some of the matches?


The humble vuvuzela has become very controversial, with many fans and players wanting it banned. But many more say that this plastic stadium horn, or blowing horn, has come to symbolize football (soccer) in South Africa.

Fans in South Africa cannot imagine the game without the sound of the vuvuzelas and argue that the instrument adds to a unique African atmosphere. The vuvuzela is described as “the noise-making trumpet of South Africa football (soccer) fans.”

Spectators use it to encourage their teams, express their joy (or disappointment) or just to show their excitement.

Link

Cameras trip up Joran van der Sloot story

Mug shot below taken by Peruvian police shows van der Sloot is about 6’ 6” tall.

Governor Schwarzenegger’s voting mishap

In the photo above Arnold Schwarzenegger receives instruction from a voting precinct inspector as he casts his vote in the California Primary Elections last week.

Schwarzenegger voted wrong anyway and had to recast his ballot because he selected two candidates instead of one.

A scanning machine rejected Schwarzenegger's first ballot last Tuesday because he selected two Senate candidates, instead of one.

Schwarzenegger was given the choice of filling out a new ballot or not having his Senate choice count.

He cast a fresh ballot.

Link

The 65th Anniversary of VE Day in London

The photos below were taken last week during the 65th Anniversary of VE Day in London.



Prince Charles wife Camilla laughs while hiding under her umbrella as politician Bob Ainsworth struggles with his umbrella. Somehow the scene fits since current politics in the UK is about as ǝpısdn uʍop as Ainsworth’s umbrella.


Acting as if they can’t stand each other -- British Prime Minister David Cameron in the center is flanked by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on the left and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown on the right as they celebrate the 65th Anniversary of VE Day.

You just can’t make this stuff up!

Tiger at US Open: a decade of difference

A report at the link below is titled, “Expectations have fallen as Woods flounders.”

As Tiger Woods returns to the United States Open this week at Pebble Beach, the site of his still-stunning victory in 2000, he is facing some uncomfortable truths and difficult barriers. Four days before the tournament begins, Woods is trying to find a game that will hold up under major championship pressure.

In fact, with significant gaps in his game apparent in the four tournaments he has played in the run-up to the Open, Woods, 34, barely resembles the carefree, unfettered young man who won here by record 15 strokes a decade ago.

Since returning to the pro tour for the Masters last April, Woods has not come close to a win. The report says his average score in 13 rounds is 71.07, which would rank him 83rd on the PGA Tour.

The old confidence and swagger is gone. Can he bring it back?

Link

Report: Environmentalists give Obama a pass on oil spill

As the public grows frustrated with Obama's oil spill response, environmental groups have remained quiet.

As the greatest environmental catastrophe in U.S. history has played out on Obama’s watch, the environmental movement has essentially given him a pass — all but refusing to unleash any vocal criticism against the president even as the public has grown more frustrated by Obama’s performance.

Instead of faulting Obama for his non-response to the disaster in the gulf, environmentalists are praising him!

About a dozen environmental groups took out a full page ad in the Washington Post Tuesday — not to fault Obama over the ecological catastrophe but to thank him for putting on hold an Alaska drilling project. “We deeply appreciate your decision. ...” the ad says to Obama.

The report goes on to say what would have happened if the oil spill would have been while George W. Bush was in the White House:

There’s little doubt that if a spill like the one in the Gulf took place on former President George W. Bush’s watch, environmental groups would have unleashed an unsparing fury on the Republican in the White House. For their liberal ally, Obama, they seem willing to hold their tongues.

Link

Unicab: the New York City concept cab?

For the past two years the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) has been hunting for the so-called “taxi of tomorrow” -- a cab that integrates safety, comfort, energy efficiency, and superior design.




Will the TLC choose an EV (electric vehicle) such as the Unicab shown here?

It looks like a cross between an artist’s conception of a UFO and a lunar rover. At first glance, it’s hard to tell if the vehicle is coming or going.

Parents of teen sailor face sea of criticism

As a 16-year-old girl sat adrift and alone in the frigid southern Indian Ocean, her ship's mast dashed along with her around-the-world sailing effort, many people were asking “what were her parents thinking?”

Abby Sunderland's ship was rolling in 20- to 30-foot waves as she waited to be rescued by a boat that was expected to arrive early Saturday morning Pacific time.

She set off a distress signal Thursday after rough seas disabled her ship and her satellite phone reception. There were 20 hours of tense silence before a search plane launched from Australia's west coast made brief radio contact with Sunderland and found her alive and well.

Wild Eyes is equipped with 5 air-tight bulkheads to keep her buoyant in the event of major hull damage. It is built to Category 0 standards and is designed to self-right in the event of capsize.

More here.

Photo above shows Abby leaving Marina del Ray for her nonstop round-the-world trip aboard her sailboat Wild Eyes.



The photos below show Abby’s parents Marianne and Laurence Sunderland on the left and Abby sailing Wild Eyes on the right.