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Good News Friday
Author: BobR    Date: 2010-06-05 03:17:51

Between the unending bad news from Gulf, the the Hamas/Israeli flotilla showdown, and N. Korea threatening war, it seems like we could all use a little good news. So this being a Friday, let's try to start the weekend with some happier thoughts...

Despite the horrific environmental nightmare occurring in the Gulf, there is some good environmental news to report. The EPA has set new limits on sulfur dioxide:
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday set a new health standard that coal-fired power plants and other industries will have to meet on sulfur dioxide, a pollutant that triggers asthma attacks and causes other respiratory problems.

The EPA set the new standard within a range that an independent panel of scientists suggested. This marks the first time the standard has been changed since the original one was issued in 1971.

The new rule sets the amount at 75 parts per billion over a one-hour period, a level that's aimed at protecting people who go outdoors from short-term exposures. The EPA said that even brief exposure could create health problems, especially for children, people with asthma and older people.

This shows that everyone claiming the virtues of the oxymoronically-named "clean coal" will have to actually clean up their emissions.

Although it's not legally gay marriage, NYC is offering couples the opportunity to have a city hall gay wedding. It won't be legally recognized in NY state, but should be recognized in other states that allow gay marriages. And - if NY state does move to recognize them, you'll already be set.

Elsewhere in the country, the economy continues to improve:
Data released on Thursday has shown that the US economy is continuing to grow, with both factory output and the services sector still expanding.

US factory orders increased 1.2% in April, said the Commerce Department, led by a big rise in orders for commercial aircraft.

The Institute of Supply Management said service industries grew in May for the fifth month in a row.

US economists are now awaiting Friday's release of May's unemployment data.

This is expected to show that while the US economy added about 500,000 jobs last month, unemployment remained at just under 10%.

The reason for this apparent contradiction is that more people are starting to look for work as the economy continues to recover, thereby boosting the size of the overall labour force.

Finally, one bit of "why is that good news?" - GW Bush admits his administration water boarded suspects. Why is that good news? Because it means he's admitted to committing a war crime and can now be prosecuted. Will he? His Secret Service detail will expire in 2018. Surely some motivated bounty hunter will be willing to deliver him to The Hague to face trial.

It's Friday, ya bastahds. Happy thoughts...

 

47 comments (Latest Comment: 06/04/2010 23:37:26 by Will in Chicago)
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Comment by wickedpam on 06/04/2010 12:34:35
Morning

Comment by Raine on 06/04/2010 12:41:30
good morning!

Comment by BobR on 06/04/2010 13:02:04


Comment by TriSec on 06/04/2010 13:35:49
Hi Bob, You suck.



< Tears up the "Flowers, Bunnies, and Puppies" blog I had planned for tomorrow >



It's OK; I agree with our writer today. It's been a shit week...let's have some good news.



< retreats to work on "plan b" >





Comment by wickedpam on 06/04/2010 13:39:32
rinse and repeat....

Comment by Raine on 06/04/2010 13:40:53
Quote by TriSec:

Hi Bob, You suck.



< Tears up the "Flowers, Bunnies, and Puppies" blog I had planned for tomorrow >



It's OK; I agree with our writer today. It's been a shit week...let's have some good news.



< retreats to work on "plan b" >







Comment by BobR on 06/04/2010 13:48:10
Quote by TriSec:

Hi Bob, You suck.



< Tears up the "Flowers, Bunnies, and Puppies" blog I had planned for tomorrow >



It's OK; I agree with our writer today. It's been a shit week...let's have some good news.



< retreats to work on "plan b" >





"Flowers, Bunnies, and Puppies"??



TriSec - seeing as you are a Bostonian, I submit that you are completely incapabable of writing such a blog. It goes against your DNA.



harumph.



Comment by TriSec on 06/04/2010 14:02:04




What? Listen, Bostonians aren't grumpy and complaining *all* the time. Only during the baseball and political seasons.



Or when the refs clearly robbed the Celtics. Or the fact that they couldn't put a ball in the ocean last night to save unborn babies, or something like that.













Comment by Raine on 06/04/2010 14:13:30
Quote by TriSec:





What? Listen, Bostonians aren't grumpy and complaining *all* the time. Only during the baseball and political seasons.



Or when the refs clearly robbed the Celtics. Or the fact that they couldn't put a ball in the ocean last night to save unborn babies, or something like that.















Comment by Scoopster on 06/04/2010 14:34:06
Morning all & Happy Good News Fridee!



Here's some good news, as we keep on theme today.. a very promising vaccine for breast cancer is now in wide-scale testing..



edit: ew i didn't know GNN was subscription only..

Comment by Scoopster on 06/04/2010 14:36:31
Quote by TriSec:





What? Listen, Bostonians aren't grumpy and complaining *all* the time. Only during the baseball and political seasons.



Or when the refs clearly robbed the Celtics. Or the fact that they couldn't put a ball in the ocean last night to save unborn babies, or something like that.


There's only so much Garnett can do with that lanky giraffe Pao Gasol playing against him.. Even as talented and tough as he is you just can't get by something that large.



Comment by Raine on 06/04/2010 14:42:42
I Laura Flanders!

Comment by Raine on 06/04/2010 14:44:10
Quote by Scoopster:

Morning all & Happy Good News Fridee!



Here's some good news, as we keep on theme today.. a very promising vaccine for breast cancer is now in wide-scale testing..



edit: ew i didn't know GNN was subscription only..
GNN wasn't in the past. THAT is NOT good news.



Comment by Raine on 06/04/2010 14:46:35
BUT, I was able to get to the article, and here is the video that Scoop was talking about:

Comment by Scoopster on 06/04/2010 14:56:42
Well, from what I can tell on the live feed it seems that a good amount of the leaking oil is now going up the capture pipe.. Some of it's still leaking out the sides and making a real annoying cloud so you can't see much.. I think they had some trouble cutting the pipe with as much precision as they would've liked (the oil was probably "blowing" the sawblade around too much).

Comment by Raine on 06/04/2010 15:03:40
Quote by Scoopster:

Well, from what I can tell on the live feed it seems that a good amount of the leaking oil is now going up the capture pipe.. Some of it's still leaking out the sides and making a real annoying cloud so you can't see much.. I think they had some trouble cutting the pipe with as much precision as they would've liked (the oil was probably "blowing" the sawblade around too much).
This is good news -- right?



(I say this thinking that good news is what we have now considering how low the fracking bar was dropped because of BP)



Comment by Raine on 06/04/2010 15:09:32
Please, Read this. and then pass it on to EVERYONE you know.



"Elmer" may lose his job, but he is doing the Lord's work. He is doing the right thing for the Gulf and for OUR planet.

Comment by Raine on 06/04/2010 15:14:08
I hate the RW media.



I hate that the people who are elected to office that have an ® after their name repeat what the RW media says.



Hate.



I hate the Spin. This gulf spew is proof to me of how wretched they really are.

Comment by Scoopster on 06/04/2010 15:19:33
Quote by Raine:

Quote by Scoopster:

Well, from what I can tell on the live feed it seems that a good amount of the leaking oil is now going up the capture pipe.. Some of it's still leaking out the sides and making a real annoying cloud so you can't see much.. I think they had some trouble cutting the pipe with as much precision as they would've liked (the oil was probably "blowing" the sawblade around too much).
This is good news -- right?



(I say this thinking that good news is what we have now considering how low the fracking bar was dropped because of BP)


It's a big step forward to at least containing the spillage, so yes it's good news. The next step will be to start closing the relief vents on the side of the "hat", which will increase the flow going up the pipe. It'll increase the pressure in the pipe as well as the pressure for the hat to get blown off if they do it too fast.



Unfortunately, the speed at which things have been done over this whole crisis really couldn't have been done much faster considering the logistics.. mile-deep waters, incredible amounts of atmospheric pressure and well pressure, etc.



At this point I think it would be a fantastic idea for the Obama Administration to propose a long-term jobs package tied to the cleanup and restoration of the Gulf coastline. These jobs would do wonders for the economy, and BP - not the federal government or the taxpayers - would be paying for the salaries AND job training!

Comment by livingonli on 06/04/2010 15:33:29
Good morning everyone.



Just out of curiosity, what's the forecast in DC this weekend? I'm working the Reds/Nats series this weekend on MASN2 and I was wondering what the chance of thunderstorms (and thus rain delays) will be?

Comment by BobR on 06/04/2010 15:39:16
Quote by Scoopster:

Quote by Raine:

Quote by Scoopster:

Well, from what I can tell on the live feed it seems that a good amount of the leaking oil is now going up the capture pipe.. Some of it's still leaking out the sides and making a real annoying cloud so you can't see much.. I think they had some trouble cutting the pipe with as much precision as they would've liked (the oil was probably "blowing" the sawblade around too much).
This is good news -- right?



(I say this thinking that good news is what we have now considering how low the fracking bar was dropped because of BP)


It's a big step forward to at least containing the spillage, so yes it's good news. The next step will be to start closing the relief vents on the side of the "hat", which will increase the flow going up the pipe. It'll increase the pressure in the pipe as well as the pressure for the hat to get blown off if they do it too fast.



Unfortunately, the speed at which things have been done over this whole crisis really couldn't have been done much faster considering the logistics.. mile-deep waters, incredible amounts of atmospheric pressure and well pressure, etc.



At this point I think it would be a fantastic idea for the Obama Administration to propose a long-term jobs package tied to the cleanup and restoration of the Gulf coastline. These jobs would do wonders for the economy, and BP - not the federal government or the taxpayers - would be paying for the salaries AND job training!


That's a brilliant suggestion Scoop!

Comment by TriSec on 06/04/2010 15:57:31
Something for Bob!



'Gansett --->

Comment by Mondobubba on 06/04/2010 15:59:57
Quote by Raine:

I hate the RW media.



I hate that the people who are elected to office that have an ® after their name repeat what the RW media says.



Hate.



I hate the Spin. This gulf spew is proof to me of how wretched they really are.




You mean they are registered trademarks? That's what the ® means. Mondo, bringing the lame intellectual property geek humor through the hangover. Johnny the Bartender has a heavy pour.

Comment by BobR on 06/04/2010 16:02:09
Quote by Raine:

Please, Read this. and then pass it on to EVERYONE you know.



"Elmer" may lose his job, but he is doing the Lord's work. He is doing the right thing for the Gulf and for OUR planet.


I hope "Elmer" is being careful about his emailing and calling.

Comment by BobR on 06/04/2010 16:05:31
Quote by TriSec:

Something for Bob!



'Gansett --->


oooOOOooo.... yet another reason to visit Boston...

Comment by livingonli on 06/04/2010 16:05:40
Thom Hartmann is at the UN today for the show.

Comment by livingonli on 06/04/2010 16:06:34
Quote by BobR:

Quote by TriSec:

Something for Bob!



'Gansett --->


oooOOOooo.... yet another reason to visit Boston...


Maybe we should do a Boston meet-up.

Comment by BobR on 06/04/2010 16:06:58
Quote by Mondobubba:

Quote by Raine:

I hate the RW media.



I hate that the people who are elected to office that have an ® after their name repeat what the RW media says.



Hate.



I hate the Spin. This gulf spew is proof to me of how wretched they really are.




You mean they are registered trademarks? That's what the ® means. Mondo, bringing the lame intellectual property geek humor through the hangover. Johnny the Bartender has a heavy pour.


Whether or not it was intentional, the blog software automatically converts a "(" + "R" + ")" to that symbol.



Comment by Mondobubba on 06/04/2010 16:09:32
Quote by BobR:

Quote by Mondobubba:

Quote by Raine:

I hate the RW media.



I hate that the people who are elected to office that have an ® after their name repeat what the RW media says.



Hate.



I hate the Spin. This gulf spew is proof to me of how wretched they really are.




You mean they are registered trademarks? That's what the ® means. Mondo, bringing the lame intellectual property geek humor through the hangover. Johnny the Bartender has a heavy pour.


Whether or not it was intentional, the blog software automatically converts a "(" + "R" + ")" to that symbol.







Yeah, I figured it was some kinda code thing, Bobber. It was just a chance for some lame humor. I will shut up now.

Comment by Scoopster on 06/04/2010 16:15:50
Quote by livingonli:

Quote by BobR:

Quote by TriSec:

Something for Bob!



'Gansett --->


oooOOOooo.... yet another reason to visit Boston...


Maybe we should do a Boston meet-up.


I'm in!!

Comment by livingonli on 06/04/2010 16:19:05
Quote by Scoopster:

Quote by livingonli:

Quote by BobR:

Quote by TriSec:

Something for Bob!



'Gansett --->


oooOOOooo.... yet another reason to visit Boston...


Maybe we should do a Boston meet-up.


I'm in!!


If anyone wants to do it this summer. Let's just set the date so I can get the time off.

Comment by Raine on 06/04/2010 16:19:21
Quote by Mondobubba:

Quote by BobR:

Quote by Mondobubba:

Quote by Raine:

I hate the RW media.



I hate that the people who are elected to office that have an ® after their name repeat what the RW media says.



Hate.



I hate the Spin. This gulf spew is proof to me of how wretched they really are.




You mean they are registered trademarks? That's what the ® means. Mondo, bringing the lame intellectual property geek humor through the hangover. Johnny the Bartender has a heavy pour.


Whether or not it was intentional, the blog software automatically converts a "(" + "R" + ")" to that symbol.







Yeah, I figured it was some kinda code thing, Bobber. It was just a chance for some lame humor. I will shut up now.
I personally the ®... it makes perfect sense.



Comment by Mondobubba on 06/04/2010 16:25:18
Quote by Raine:

Quote by Mondobubba:

Quote by BobR:

Quote by Mondobubba:

Quote by Raine:

I hate the RW media.



I hate that the people who are elected to office that have an ® after their name repeat what the RW media says.



Hate.



I hate the Spin. This gulf spew is proof to me of how wretched they really are.




You mean they are registered trademarks? That's what the ® means. Mondo, bringing the lame intellectual property geek humor through the hangover. Johnny the Bartender has a heavy pour.


Whether or not it was intentional, the blog software automatically converts a "(" + "R" + ")" to that symbol.







Yeah, I figured it was some kinda code thing, Bobber. It was just a chance for some lame humor. I will shut up now.
I personally the ®... it makes perfect sense.







Lame IP jokes aside, yes it does make perfect sense. These clowns are the intellectual property of the GOP. :slowly sips Panera sweet ice: :shakes fist in direction of Park Place: Damn you Johnny the Bartender and your heavy handed pouring!

Comment by Raine on 06/04/2010 16:25:32
Quote by Mondobubba:



You mean they are registered trademarks? That's what the ® means. Mondo, bringing the lame intellectual property geek humor through the hangover. Johnny the Bartender has a heavy pour.
c Hangover???



did you go out and get yer Mondo on?



Comment by Mondobubba on 06/04/2010 16:27:24
Oh the bitch goddess of laundry has called. Gotta take the stuff outta the dryer.

Comment by Raine on 06/04/2010 16:27:37
y'all may not realize it, but the ® was done on purpose... I specifically asked for it from Bobber.





Comment by Raine on 06/04/2010 16:29:48
So tell me more about Johnny...

Comment by Scoopster on 06/04/2010 16:38:11
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f104/Kujiness/tumblr_l3h72y2AOl1qa1id2o1_500.gif


Comment by Mondobubba on 06/04/2010 16:46:36
Quote by Raine:

So tell me more about Johnny...






Johnny is very free with the pours when he makes the drinks. I would say each of the G&Ts I had last night was in reality a double. Just enough tonic to make it effervesce. When I mentioned this to my friend Mark he said, "It's a gay bar that is how we do things."





Comment by Mondobubba on 06/04/2010 17:31:08
Rand Paul ordered to stop playing Rush song at rallies. Doesn't he understand that in the eyes of the law, intellectual property right are the same as real property right? So much for that "libertarian" thing. He's just another thieving Republican.

Comment by wickedpam on 06/04/2010 17:56:47
Quote by livingonli:

Good morning everyone.



Just out of curiosity, what's the forecast in DC this weekend? I'm working the Reds/Nats series this weekend on MASN2 and I was wondering what the chance of thunderstorms (and thus rain delays) will be?






Hot - which means every day there is a chance of afternoon thundershowers

Comment by Scoopster on 06/04/2010 18:01:25
http://8.media.dorkly.cvcdn.com/2/4/25dc64b2fd5ebd7bb894931446da8c50.jpg


Comment by livingonli on 06/04/2010 18:11:13
Comment by TriSec on 06/04/2010 19:28:03
As your self-appointed Boston Meetup 2010 Host ™, please work on a date that I can have a fighting chance of attending, too.



July 17 & 18 we'll be upcountry.

August 7,8, & 14 are reserved for birthdays.



Other than that...ye olde summer is mostly open.



Boston is an expensive city to stay in...I'd have to poke around a bit to find a reasonable hotel near a subway stop, if you'd be interested.



Comment by TriSec on 06/04/2010 19:51:42
Mmmm...what happened to the Dow today?



(down 360)



Comment by Mondobubba on 06/04/2010 21:19:38
Quote by TriSec:

Mmmm...what happened to the Dow today?



(down 360)





From Reuters.

Hey! Was that one of them fancy whattya call it, rhetorical questions?

Comment by Will in Chicago on 06/04/2010 23:37:26
BobR, thanks for a great blog.



I hope that everyone is doing well. I am busy studying for a teaching test next Saturday while subbing as much as I can.

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