09/02/2012 archive

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour a cup of your favorite morning beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

Find the past “On This Day in History” here.

September 2 is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 120 days remaining until the end of the year.

On this day in 1969, America’s first automatic teller machine (ATM) makes its public debut, dispensing cash to customers at Chemical Bank in Rockville Center, New York. ATMs went on to revolutionize the banking industry, eliminating the need to visit a bank to conduct basic financial transactions. By the 1980s, these money machines had become widely popular and handled many of the functions previously performed by human tellers, such as check deposits and money transfers between accounts. Today, ATMs are as indispensable to most people as cell phones and e-mail.

Several inventors worked on early versions of a cash-dispensing machine, but Don Wetzel, an executive at Docutel, a Dallas company that developed automated baggage-handling equipment, is generally credited as coming up with the idea for the modern ATM. Wetzel reportedly conceived of the concept while waiting on line at a bank. The ATM that debuted in New York in 1969 was only able to give out cash, but in 1971, an ATM that could handle multiple functions, including providing customers’ account balances, was introduced.

ATMs eventually expanded beyond the confines of banks and today can be found everywhere from gas stations to convenience stores to cruise ships. There is even an ATM at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Non-banks lease the machines (so-called “off premise” ATMs) or own them outright.

Oh how the mighty have fallen, which would be just about everyone after Jenson Button on pole.  Webber and Rosberg (both on Renault) had gearbox problems that dropped them 5 positions and Maldonado had a mix up with Hulkenberg that put him back 3.

Lewis Hamilton put on the wrong wing yesterday and now he’s stuck with it, Vettel and Massa were just slooow.

Tires today are Hards and Mediums.  Button has a set of unused Mediums in the bag over the rest of the field.  The weather is expected to be dry and perfect.  At 4.35 miles it is the longest circuit in Formula One and is considered twisty, hilly, and fast.

• Formula One Official Site
• Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
• Belgian Gran Prix
• Guardian Interactive Circuit Guide
• Speed Racecast
• F1 2012: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps Qualifying

Speed coverage starts at 8 am.  Repeat at 12:30 am.  Pretty tables below.

“Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

Thanks to ek hornbeck, click on the link and you can access all the past “Punting the Pundits”.

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The Sunday Talking Heads:

Up with Chris Hayes: Joining Chris at 8 AM ET will be: Van Jones (@vanjones68), the former special adviser for green jobs in the Obama White House and co-founder of Rebuild the Dream; Rob Zerban (@robzerban), the Democratic candidate challenging Rep. Paul Ryan in Wisconsin’s first congressional district; Cynthia Dill (@dillesquire), a state senator from Maine and Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Olympia Snowe (R); New York State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (@TeamJeffries), Democratic congressional candidate in New York’s 8th district; Arizona State Senator Kyrsten Sinema (@kyrstensinema), Democratic congressional candidate in Arizona’s 9th district; Nate Shinagawa (@nateshinagawa), the vice chair of the Tompkins County Legislature in New York and Democratic congressional candidate in New York’s 23rd district; Robert Wolf, former president of UBS Bank, member of President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, and host of the weekly webcast “Impact Players” on the Reuters YouTube channel; John Nichols (@nicholsuprising), Washington correspondent for The Nation and associate editor for The Capital Times in Madison, Wisconsin; Neera Tanden (@neeratanden), president of the Center for American Progress; and Rose Aguilar (@roseaguilar) radio host of “Your Call” on KALW radio in San Francisco and op-ed contributor to Al Jazeera English.

This Week with George Stephanopolis: This Week’s guests is White House senior adviser David Plouffe.

The roundtable debates the Republican and Democratic conventions, with ABC News’ George Will; Priorities USA co-founder Bill Burton; Romney campaign senior adviser and former Massachusetts Lt. Governor Kerry Healey; Democratic strategist and ABC News contributor Donna Brazile; and political strategist and ABC News political analyst Matthew Dowd.

Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer: Mr. Schieffer sits down with key voices for the Democrats, Gov. Martin O’Malley, former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Obama Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter.

Then, a roundtable with the Washington Post‘s Dan Balz, Bloomberg Television’s Trish Regan, Georgetown University’s Michael Eric Dyson and CBS News political director John Dickerson.

The Chris Matthews Show: This week’s guests are Helene Cooper The New York Times White House Correspondent; Kelly O’Donnell NBC News Capitol Hill Correspondent; Sam Donaldson ABC Reporter; and John Heilemann New York Magazine National Political Correspondent

Meet the Press with David Gregory: MTP’s exclusive guest is former Obama Chief of Staff Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The roundtable guests are former GOP presidential contender Newt Gingrich; former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and Vice Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee Carly Fiorina; presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin; NY Times columnist Tom Friedman; and NBC’s Tom Brokaw.

State of the Union with Candy Crowley: Ms Crowley’s guests are Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue, and Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley; Obama Senior Campaign Adviser Robert Gibbs; CNN’s Chief White House Correspondent Jessica Yellin and The Washington Post‘s Dan Balz.

Training suspended for new Afghan recruits

　

 By Greg Jaffe and Kevin Sieff, Sunday, September 2

KABUL – The senior commander for Special Operations forces in Afghanistan has suspended training for all new Afghan recruits until the more than 27,000 Afghan troops working with his command can be re-vetted for ties to the insurgency.

The move comes as NATO officials struggle to stem the tide of attacks on NATO forces by their Afghan colleagues. The attacks, which have killed 45 troops this year, have forced NATO officials to acknowledge a painful truth: Many of the incidents might have been prevented if existing security measures had been applied correctly.

But numerous military guidelines were not followed – by Afghans or Americans – because of concerns that they might slow the growth of the Afghan army and police, according to NATO officials.

Special Operations officials said that the current process for vetting recruits is effective but that a lack of follow-up has allowed Afghan troops who fell under the sway of the insurgency or grew disillusioned with the Afghan government to remain in the force.

It’s the last holiday weekend of Summer and what better way to celebrate than with a backyard Clambake. So what’s for desert? S’mores are passe but who doesn’t love chocolate and peanut butter. Peanut Butter & Chocolate Lover’s Trifle is really easy to put together with a minimum amount of cooking. It does require a large serving bowl, preferably glass so guests can see the luscious layers.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Lover’s Trifle

Ingredients:

Either a box of brownie mix, or a homemade batch of brownies. You can also use chocolate cake. Store made is a quick substitute

Whipped cream, about two cups. Canned (use the heavy cream version) or homemade.

Peanut butter sauce (melt one 10 ounce package of peanut butter chips with 1/4 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of heavy cream and 1/4 tsp of vanilla over low heat until combined, let cool).

Reese’s peanut butter cups, chopped

Kit Kat bars, chopped or Reese’s Pieces

2 packages of instant vanilla pudding made according to their directions.

Directions:

Layer the bottom with broken up brownies or cake. Top with vanilla pudding, peanut butter sauce, Reese’s peanut butter cups & Kit Kat bars or Reese’s Pieces, and a layer of whipped cream. Continue building your trifle with these layers until you’ve run out of ingredients or room 🙂

Kari Goodwin who created this recipe for her blog, Minute on the Lips didn’t post how many chocolate lovers this recipe would serve but there was plenty for 8 guests with left overs. As for calories per serving, if you need to ask you probably shouldn’t be eating this. But hey, it’s a holiday, take an extra lap around the track for the next week.