Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:30am (ET) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.
This Day in History
Chuck Yeager breaks sound barrier; Britain’s Battle of Hastings takes place; Martin Luther King, Jr. wins Nobel Peace Prize; Former President Theodore Roosevelt shot; Singer Bing Crosby dies.
Breakfast Chuckle
Breakfast News
Investigation Into Missing Iraqi Cash Ended in Lebanon Bunker
Not long after American forces defeated the Iraqi
government of Saddam Hussein in 2003, caravans of trucks began to
arrive at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington on a regular basis,
unloading an unusual cargo – pallets of shrink-wrapped $100 bills. The
cash, withdrawn from Iraqi government accounts held in the United
States, was loaded onto Air Force C-17 transport planes bound for
Baghdad, where the Bush administration hoped it would provide a quick
financial infusion for Iraq's new government and the country's battered
economy.Over the next year and a half, $12 billion to $14 billion was sent to
Iraq in the airlift, and an additional $5 billion was sent by
electronic transfer. Exactly what happened to that money after it
arrived in Baghdad became one of the many unanswered questions from the
chaotic days of the American occupation, when billions were flowing into
the country from the United States and corruption was rampant.Finding the answer became first the job and then the obsession of
Stuart W. Bowen Jr., a friend from Texas of President George W. Bush
who in 2004 was appointed to serve as a special inspector general to
investigate corruption and waste in Iraq. Before his office was finally
shut down last year, Mr. Bowen believed he might have succeeded – but
only partly – in that mission.
C.D.C. Rethinking Methods to Stop Spread of Ebola
The transmission of the Ebola virus to a nurse
here forced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday to
reconsider its approach to containing the disease, with state and
federal officials re-examining whether equipment and procedures were
adequate or too loosely followed, and whether more decontamination steps
are necessary when health workers leave isolation units."We have to rethink the way we address Ebola infection control,
because even a single infection is unacceptable," Dr. Thomas R. Frieden,
director of the C.D.C., told reporters. [..]A team of C.D.C. officials – reinforcements sent to Dallas in the
aftermath of the second Ebola case diagnosed in the United States –
worked through the night at the hospital to identify what was described
as a "large group" of health care workers who might be at risk of
infection because they treated the original Ebola victim, Thomas Eric
Duncan, 42, at the hospital from the time he was admitted on Sept. 28
until he died last Wednesday.And they are now watching hospital personnel as they put on and
take off their protective garb, retraining the staff and evaluating the
type of protective equipment being used. They were considering using
cleaning products that kill the virus to spray down workers who come out
of the isolation unit where the nurse is being treated.
CDC chief urges US 'rethink' of Ebola strategy after second diagnosis
CDC chief says hospitals need to be prepared to diagnose patients after officials confirm first case contracted in the US
Federal health officials are imploring hospitals to "think Ebola" as
officials in Texas scramble to identify all staff involved in the care
of America's patient zero in the wake of the diagnosis of a female nurse
who is the first person to contract the disease in the US."We have to rethink the way we address Ebola infection and
control because even a single infection is unacceptable," Tom Frieden,
director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said
at a press conference on Monday. [..]"If this one individual was infected and we don't know how,
within the isolation unit, then it is possible that other individuals
could have been infected as well," Frieden said. "So we consider them to
potentially be at risk."
Highway Guardrail May Be Deadly, States Say
By last month, state transportation officials in Missouri said they had seen enough.
Federal highway officials had long insisted that guardrails
throughout the state were safe. But some guardrail heads had apparently
malfunctioned, in essence turning the rails into spears when cars hit
them and injuring people instead of cushioning the blow, Missouri
officials said."The device is not always performing as it is designed and
intended," a Missouri transportation official wrote of the problematic
rail heads in an internal communication.Because of its safety concerns, Missouri banned further
installation of the rail heads on Sept. 24. It joined Nevada, which
prohibited further purchases in January, and was followed six days later
by Massachusetts. Lawsuits say the guardrails were to blame for five
deaths, and many more injuries, in at least 14 accidents nationwide.
Major supermarket chains changed how they label meat, surprising customers and USDA
In recent weeks, Giant stores nationwide changed
their labeling procedures, making it difficult for customers to know the
quality of meat. Rather than providing different options, the company
labeled meat simply as "USDA graded" – a description that applies to all
but a tiny amount of meat approved for sale in the United States.Larry Meadows, a Department of Agriculture official who is one of the
people charged with overseeing the nation's meat supply, said in an
interview that the action was problematic. "We've never seen anyone use
anything like the 'USDA graded' label before," said Meadows, associate
deputy administrator of the USDA's livestock, poultry and feed program.
"The label is truthful, but it's also misleading."Meadows said one reason a company might use a more generic label
is to save money, or to blur the impact of introducing an unusually high
amount of lower-quality beef.Giant's corporate parent, Ahold USA, which was ordered to stop
the practice, acknowledged the change in labeling at its stores, which
include Martin's, Stop 'N Shop and the grocery delivery service Peapod.
Sea level rise over past century unmatched in 6,000 years, says study
Research finds 20cm rise since start of 20th century, caused by global warming and the melting of polar ice, is unprecedented
The rise in sea levels seen over the past century is unmatched by any
period in the past 6,000 years, according to a lengthy analysis of
historical sea level trends.The reconstruction of 35,000 years of sea level fluctuations
finds that there is no evidence that levels changed by more than 20cm in
a relatively steady period that lasted between 6,000 years ago and
about 150 years ago.This makes the past century extremely unusual in the historical
record, with about a 20cm rise in global sea levels since the start of
the 20th century. Scientists have identified rising temperatures, which
have caused polar ice to melt and thermal expansion of the sea, as a
primary cause of the sea level increase.
Pentagon: global warming will change how US military trains and goes to war
Climate change to become immediate factor for all strategic, operational and planning decisions
Global warming is changing the way the US trains for and goes to war –
affecting war games, weapons systems, training exercises, and military
installations – according to the Pentagon.The defence secretary, Chuck Hagel, will tell a high-level
meeting of military leaders on Monday that the Pentagon is undertaking
sweeping changes to operation systems and installations to keep up with a
growing threat of rising seas, droughts, and natural disasters caused
by climate change."A changing climate will have real impacts on our military and
the way it executes its missions," Hagel wrote in his introduction to a
Pentagon report out today. "We are considering the impacts of climate
change in our war games and defence planning scenarios."Global warming
is changing the way the US trains for and goes to war – affecting war
games, weapons systems, training exercises, and military installations –
according to the Pentagon.The defence secretary, Chuck Hagel, will tell a high-level
meeting of military leaders on Monday that the Pentagon is undertaking
sweeping changes to operation systems and installations to keep up with a
growing threat of rising seas, droughts, and natural disasters caused
by climate change."A changing climate will have real impacts on our military and
the way it executes its missions," Hagel wrote in his introduction to a
Pentagon report out today. "We are considering the impacts of climate
change in our war games and defence planning scenarios."
'Global Frackdown' Aims to Slay Myths and Force End to Fracking Bonanza
'Across the globe a powerful movement is
emerging that rejects policies incentivizing fracked natural gas as a
bridge fuel to as sustainable future.'Anti-fracking activists all over the world turned up their megaphones
and took to the streets of their communities on Saturday to partipate
in the "Global Frackdown" as they demanded an end to the destructive
practice of hydraulic-fracture drilling that the oil and gas industries
are aggressively trying to expand in regions across the planet."Across the globe a powerful movement is emerging that rejects
policies incentivizing fracked natural gas as a bridge fuel to as
sustainable future. Any initiative claiming to promote sustainable
energy for all must stimulate energy efficiency and renewable energy
programs, not foster fracking for oil and gas," said Wenonah Hauter, the
executive director of U.S.-based Food & Water Watch, which
spear-headed the day of action.Across the world, other events were being tracked via Twitter under the hashtag GlobalFrackdown
Clergy among dozens arrested on final day of 'Ferguson October' protests
Hundreds marched on Ferguson police station in 'Weekend of Resistance' to protest killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown
Ferguson police arrested about 20 clergy members and the radical
intellectual and activist Cornel West during civil disobedience protests
on Monday over the killing of an unarmed 18-year-old African American
man, Michael Brown, by a white police officer two months ago.Several hundred people marched on Ferguson police station for a
"Moral Monday" protest on the final day of a "Weekend of Resistance"
that brought activists from across the US to demand that Darren Wilson,
the officer who shot Brown, be put on trial and to protest over broader
issues of racial profiling and use of excessive force by police officers
in other places.About 100 members of the clergy joined the march which began at a local church up the street.
Must Read Blog Posts
Elizabeth Warren Says Obama Administration 'Protected Wall Street Not Families' DSWright, FDL New Desk
Jim Comey Lied When He Claimed FBI Needs a Judge to Read Your Email Marcy Wheeler, emptywheel
The No Fly List and DOJ's Notice Concessions Marcy Wheeler, emptywheel
Is Someone Funding Saudi's Oil Flood? Marcy Wheeler, emptywheel
Attention deniers: Earth just had its hottest September ever recorded Lindsay Abrams, Salon
Freaky Weird Prescience (Ebola Post) riverdaughter. The Confluence
Why Africa Can't Handle Ebola: the Destruction of the 3rd World Ian Welsh
For-Profit Education Profits Everyone… Except Students, Teachers, Taxpayers And America Down with Tyranny
Snowden: I Probably Wouldn't Have Revealed Quite As Much As Reporters Did Mike Masnick, Techdirt
What Atrios said
I don't expect the church to have views on gender and sexuality that
I'd totally embrace any time soon. My problem has long been with the
emphasis. Think homosexual "acts" are a sin? Abortion and birth control
are wrong? Okay, fine, go ahead. It's your church. But these weren't
exactly things that Jesus dude spent much time focusing on, at least
according to that little book that's in my hotel nightstand. Even if
basic doctrine doesn't change radically, one would hope the emphasis does.
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