XIAM007 - Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World: 06/01/11

Wednesday, 1 June 2011

More than 1,600 people central Florida's Atlantic beaches have been stung in the past week by jellyfish "Mauve Stingers" -

More than 1,600 people within a 10-mile stretch of central Florida's Atlantic beaches have been stung in the past week by a distinctive species of jellyfish not indigenous to North America, a rescue official said Tuesday.
Brevard County Ocean Rescue officials said they began flying warning flags at beaches from Cocoa Beach to Cape Canaveral last Tuesday, indicating either a medium or high hazard, along with another flag indicating dangerous marine life.
"From last Wednesday to Friday, we got about 600 reports. Saturday to (Tuesday), we got another thousand," Chief Jeff Scabarozi said.
Monty Graham, a scientist at Alabama's Dauphin Island Sea Lab, said the jellyfish appear to be what are known as mauve stingers, a species that often blooms in response to small climate cycles like El Niño.
"The interesting thing about these jellyfish is that they're very sporadic. They occur in heavy numbers, but not every year," he said.
Graham said the last time he had seen such a widespread outbreak in the United States was more than a decade ago. "They're much more common in the Mediterranean," he said. "Probably what we're seeing is a large population bloom in the Gulf of Mexico transported by the Gulf Stream wrapping around the coast of Florida."
All weekend long, countless numbers of jellyfish washed up on shores, standing out against the sand due to their characteristic purplish-reddish hue.
Graham said that although mauve stingers are smaller and much less familiar than the Portuguese man o' war and cannonball jellyfish that often wash up on Florida shores, the ruddy-colored animal can pack a punch.
"While they might be small, they're actually pretty potent. And unlike the others, these animals actually have stinging cells up on the top of their bells in addition to the stingers on their tentacles, which is uncommon."
When stung, mauve stinger victims may see a discoloration on their skin where contact was made, Graham said. "These guys will leave actual marks on you sometimes.

Read more - http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/05/31/florida.jellyfish/

18 Signs Life In U.S. Public Schools Now Equivalent To Life In U.S. Prisons -

In the United States today, our public schools are not very good at educating our students, but they sure are great training grounds for learning how to live in a Big Brother police state control grid. Sadly, life in many U.S. public schools is now essentially equivalent to life in U.S. prisons. Most parents don't realize this, but our students have very few rights when they are in school. Our public school students are being watched, tracked, recorded, searched and controlled like never before. Back when I was in high school, it was unheard of for a police officer to come to school, but today our public school students are being handcuffed and arrested in staggering numbers. When I was young we would joke that going to school was like going to prison, but today that is actually true.
The following are 18 signs that life in our public schools is now very similar to life in our prisons....
#1 Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has announced that school officials can search the cell phones and laptops of public school students if there are "reasonable grounds for suspecting that the search will turn up evidence that the student has violated or is violating either the law or the rules of the school."
#2 It came out in court that one school district in Pennsylvania secretly recorded more than 66,000 images of students using webcams that were embedded in school-issued laptops that the students were using at home.
#3 If you can believe it, a "certified TSA official" was recently brought in to oversee student searches at the Santa Fe High School prom.
#4 A few years ago a class of 3rd grade students at one Kentucky elementary school were searched by a group of teachers after 5 dollars went missing. During the search the students were actually required to remove their shoes and their socks.
#5 At one public school in the Chicago area, children have been banned from bringing their lunches from home. Yes, you read that correctly. Students at that particular school are absolutely prohibited from bringing lunches from home. Instead, it is mandatory that they eat the food that the school cafeteria serves.
#6 The U.S. Department of Agriculture is spending huge amounts of money to install surveillance cameras in the cafeterias of public schools so that government control freaks can closely monitor what our children are eating.
#7 A teenager in suburban Dallas was recently forced to take on a part-time job after being ticketed for using bad language in one high school classroom. The original ticket was for $340, but additional fees have raised the total bill to $637.
#8 It is not just high school kids that are being ticketed by police. In Texas the crackdown extends all the way down to elementary school students. In fact, it has been reported that Texas police gave "1,000 tickets" to elementary school kids over a recent six year period.
#9 A few months ago, a 17 year-old honor student in North Carolina named Ashley Smithwick accidentally took her father's lunch with her to school. It contained a small paring knife which he would use to slice up apples. So what happened to this standout student when the school discovered this? The school suspended her for the rest of the year and the police charged her with a misdemeanor.
#10 A little over a year ago, a 6 year old girl in Florida was handcuffed and sent to a mental facility after throwing temper tantrums at her elementary school.
#11 In early 2010, a 12 year old girl in New York was arrested by police and marched out of her school in handcuffs just because she doodled on her desk. "I love my friends Abby and Faith" was what she reportedly wrote on her desk.
#12 There are actually some public schools in the United States that are so paranoid that they have actually installed cameras in student bathrooms.
#13 Down in Florida, students have actually been arrested by police for bringing a plastic butter knife to school, for throwing an eraser, and for drawing a picture of a gun.
#14 The Florida State Department of Juvenile Justice has announced that it will begin using analysis software to predict crime by young delinquents and will place "potential offenders" in specific prevention and education programs.
#15 A group of high school students made national headlines a while back when they revealed that they were ordered by a security guard to stop singing the national anthem during a visit to the Lincoln Memorial.
#16 In some U.S. schools, armed cops accompanied by police dogs actually conduct surprise raids with their guns drawn. In this video, you can actually see police officers aiming their guns at school children as the students are lined up facing the wall.
#17 Back in 2009, one 8 year old boy in Massachusetts was sent home from school and was forced to undergo a psychological evaluation because he drew a picture of Jesus on the cross.
#18 This year, 13 parents in Duncan, South Carolina were actually arrested for cheering during a high school graduation.
For many more signs that life in U.S. public schools is now essentially equivalent to life in U.S. prisons

Read more - http://www.blacklistednews.com/18_Signs_Life_In_U.S._Public_Schools_Now_Equivalent_To_Life_In_U.S._Prisons_/14116/0/0/0/Y/M.html

Twitter Use Climbs to 13% of U.S. Adults Online - up from 8 percent in November -

Twitter Inc., the social-networking site that lets people share 140-character messages, is now used by 13 percent of U.S. adults online, up from 8 percent in November, as more older Americans embrace the service.

Among Twitter users who own cell phones, 54 percent have used the mobile devices to access the social-media service, according to areport today by the Pew Research Center. Additionally, Twitter use has more than doubled since late 2010 among people ages 25 to 34, to 19 percent from 9 percent, and increased among adults ages 35 to 44, to 14 percent from 8 percent. Usage for those ages 55 to 64 doubled to 8 percent.

“It’s more in the public consciousness than it was probably six months ago,” Aaron Smith, an analyst with Pew in Washington, D.C., said in an interview. “Older people are kind of jumping in, taking a look at what’s going on. In general, it seems that Twitter is less confusing, for lack of a better word, than it was, say, this time last year.”

Twitter, competing with social-networking service Facebook Inc., is trying to improve its products amid management changes designed to attract more users and advertisers. In March, co- founder Jack Dorsey, who stepped down as chief executive officer in 2008, became executive chairman and head of product development. Dick Costolo, who helped introduce a new advertising service for companies on Twitter last year, became CEO in October, replacing co-founder Evan Williams.

“This is a good sign for Twitter; this is what Twitter needs,” said Debra Aho Williamson, a Seattle-based analyst for EMarketer Inc. “We’ve been saying for some time now that Twitter’s biggest problem is that it hasn’t grown as quickly in usage as Facebook has.”

More than 77,000 Federal employees throughout country earned more than the governors of the states in which they work -

More than 77,000 federal government employees throughout the country — including computer operators, more than 5,000 air traffic controllers, 22 librarians and one interior designer — earned more than the governors of the states in which they work.

The findings, from a Congressional Research Service report requested by Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican, were released at a time when public workers’ salaries and benefits are under scrutiny across the country as governments try to streamline.

CRS reviewed 2009 salary figures, the most recent available, and found 77,057 employees who earned more in annual pay than their respective governors. Of those workers, 18,351 were doctors — the highest percentage. The second-highest total was for 5,170 air traffic controllers — likely both front-line controllers and their supervisors.

In Maryland, 7,283 federal employees — about 7 percent of all full-time federal employees in the state — earned more than Gov. Martin O'Malley’s $150,000 salary. Maryland was topped by Colorado, which in 2009 had 10,875 employees who made more than the $90,000 salary of the governor, Bill Ritter.

“Across America, governors are being asked to do more with less, often at lower pay than federal employees in their states. The pay gap between governors and federal employees should prompt Congress to take a closer look at federal salaries,” Mr. Coburn said. “With our debt and deficits spiraling out of control, now is the time to ask agencies — not just governors — to do more with less.”

Government workers’ salaries and benefit packages have come under fire at the local, state and national levels as agencies seek places to cut.

The workers have disputed charges that they earn, on average, more than their private-sector counterparts, but critics point out total compensation, including health care and pensions.

On average, the age of the federal work force is older, and thus likely to be higher paid, than those in the private sector. A higher percentage of federal workers than private-sector employees hold management jobs.

Nearly 1/3 of Washington DC's basic life support ambulances are out of service for repairs -

Nearly a third of the District's basic life support ambulances are out of service for repairs, a situation that couldn't come at a worse time, union officials said.

The shortage of transport units comes as a heat advisory has been issued and the fire department is reporting an unusually high number of calls.

The downed ambulances mean longer transport times for patients and could be the difference between life and death, said Ed Smith, head of the D.C. fire and emergency medical services labor union.

"The welfare of the public is at risk," Smith said.

As of Tuesday morning, seven of the 25 basic life support units were out of service because of mechanical problems, Smith said. He was told that most of the units were out because of the air conditioner in the patient compartment.

City rules prohibit the use of an ambulance if the air conditioner unit is broken in the patient area.

D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman Lon Walls said the downed units would be replaced by Tuesday evening.

"We will be back up to speed," Walls said.

Smith said he warned District leaders that the fleet was in disrepair during a budget oversight hearing last month.

"Now that the summer is here, it's come to fruition," Smith said.

The problem is that the city no longer has a healthy reserve of transport units to use when a front-line vehicle goes down, he said.

Walls said four of the replacement units brought in Tuesday came from the department's reserve. The three others were repaired and put back in use.

Smith said the city got into this problem when it stopped buying new units several years ago.

"Now we're playing catch-up," Smith said.

According to department's budget, the District has ordered 10 new ambulances, with plans to buy 20 more over the next two years.

Number of limos owned by Uncle Sam increased by 73 percent during the first two years of the Obama administration -

Limousines, the very symbol of wealth and excess, are usually the domain of corporate executives and the rich. But the number of limos owned by Uncle Sam increased by 73 percent during the first two years of the Obama administration, according to an analysis of records by iWatch News.

Most of the increase was recorded in Hillary Clinton’s State Department.

Obama administration officials said most of the increase reflects an enhanced effort to protect diplomats and other government officials in a dangerous world. But a watchdog group says the abundance of limos sends the wrong message in the midst of a budget crisis. The increase in limos comes to light on the heels of an executive order from President Obama last week that charges agencies to increase the fuel efficiency of their fleets.

According to General Services Administration data , the number of limousines in the federal fleet increased from 238 in fiscal 2008, the last year of the George W. Bush administration, to 412 in 2010. Much of the 73 percent increase—111 of the 174 additional limos—took place in fiscal 2009, more than eight months of which corresponded with Obama’s first year in office. However, some of those purchases could reflect requests made by the Bush administration during an appropriations process that would have begun in the spring of 2008.

The GSA said its limousine numbers are not reliable, even though the federal fleet numbers are officially recorded every year. In a statement, GSA spokeswoman Sara Merriam said, “The categories in the Fleet Report are overly broad, and the term 'limousine' is not defined,” adding that “vehicles represented as limousines can range from protective duty vehicles to sedans.” Asked whether the GSA actually knows how many limos it has in its fleet, Merriam responded that GSA “cannot say that its report accurately reflects the number of limousines.”

GM Admits that Dealerships are Taking Chevy Volt Tax Credits - and reselling them as used vehicles -

Automobilemag.com reports that General Motors has responded to my report questioning whether dealerships are gaming Chevy Volt tax credits. Chevy Volt spokesperson, Rob Peterson, states that "NLPC is confused." He then goes on to confirm that the dealerships purchasing Chevy Volts and reselling them as used vehicles are entitled to the $7,500 tax credit. Clearly, it is GM that is confused, considering that this was the main point of my report.

GM does not deny that Chevy dealerships are selling Chevy Volts to other dealerships, including a KIA dealership, for resale. At the same time, Peterson also touts the high demand for Volts claiming, "we don't sell Volts at the moment - it's almost like we deliver them." By this statement, you wouldn't know that sales for the Volt averaged a dismally low 425 per month for the first four months of the year. GM recently stated that they had the capacity to build at a pace of 17,000 per year. So, here's a question for GM and Mr. Peterson: If demand is so high for the Chevy Volt, why would a Chevy dealership sell the vehicle to other dealerships, particularly when there are supposedly customers lined up to pay full price? The answer seems clear to me. GM is exaggerating the "high demand" for the Volt. And allowing dealerships to take the tax credit intended for consumers is just wrong.