December 2, 2013

Metro-North Train In Fatal Crash Going 82 mph As it Approached 30 mph Zone

Source: Huff Post, AP

YONKERS, N.Y. (AP) -- A commuter train that derailed over the weekend, killing four passengers, was hurtling at 82 mph as it entered a 30 mph curve, a federal investigator said Monday. But whether the wreck was the result of human error or brake trouble was still unclear, he said.

Asked why the train was going so fast, National Transportation Safety Board member Earl Weener said: "That's the question we need to answer."

Weener said the information on the locomotive's speed was preliminary and extracted from the Metro-North train's two data recorders, taken from the wreckage after the Sunday morning accident in the Bronx.

He also said investigators had begun interviewing the crew members, but he would not disclose what the engineer had told them.

Weener said the throttle went to idle six seconds before the derailed train came to a complete stop - "very late in the game" for a train going that fast" - and the brakes were fully engaged five seconds before the train stopped


Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/02/metro-north-data-box_n_4373804.html

December 2, 2013

Long Version of the Serenity Prayer..You may know it, but...

here it is for anyone to consider..


God grant me the serenity

To accept the things I cannot change

Courage to change the things I can

And the Wisdom to Know the Difference.



Grant me the Patience for the Changes that Take Time

Appreciation for all that I have

Tolerance for Those With Different Struggles,

And the Strength and Hope To Try Again,

One Day at A Time..

November 29, 2013

Lifting the smoke over the stigma of lung cancer: Chicago Tribune

The leading cause of cancer deaths receives little buzz because of its link to tobacco


By Bonnie Miller Rubin, Chicago Tribune reporter
November 26, 2013



http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-lung-cancer-met-1126-20131126,0,7237595.story

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, but you'd never know it. Consumers aren't bombarded by products in blue, the color designated by some to raise the profile of the disease. Not a single building in the city's majestic skyline is illuminated in blue. No NFL players or coaches are wearing blue-ribboned apparel, despite donning pink just a month earlier for breast cancer.

"It just doesn't seem fair," said Meghan O'Brien, 31, a nonsmoker diagnosed with stage 4 of the disease last year. There is no stage 5.

The lack of buzz is especially perplexing because lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, claiming more lives than breast, prostate, colon and pancreatic cancers combined. The five-year survival rate is just 16 percent — a statistic that has barely budged since 1975, according to the American Cancer Society.

But lung cancer is seen as a tobacco-related illness that patients somehow bring upon themselves.

About 10 to 15 percent of the roughly 228,000 people diagnosed with the disease each year were never smokers, according to the LUNGevity Foundation, a Chicago-based support organization. .

Stigma negatively affects everything from emotional support to the anemic November awareness campaign. Even in obituaries, family members feel compelled to include the "nonsmoker" status, lest the deceased be unfairly judged.




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My girlfriend, who I loved deeply, died last year of stage 4 lung cancer. She had quit smoking 25 years earlier. I was there in the doctor's office when they told her that she had stage 4 lung cancer, and that why she had trouble with her horse throat. It was one of the most devastating moments I had ever experienced. She died four and a half months later. This story spreads some light on a very dark subject for me.

November 27, 2013

Ford Escapes Recalled over Fire Concerns: Autoweek....(7th recall, brackets mine )

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20131126/CARNEWS/131129848


By: Nick Bunkley, Automotive News on 11/26/2013


Ford Motor Co. today said it is issuing two additional recalls of its 2013 Escape crossover after receiving reports of fires in 13 more vehicles.


They bring the total number of recalls of the 2013 Escape to seven, five of which involve fire risks on models equipped with a 1.6-liter engine. One of the new recalls is to inspect repairs done to 11,821 vehicles as part of a previous campaign, after Ford discovered that service technicians installed some fuel lines incorrectly.


The larger of the recalls cover 161,334 vehicles globally, including 139,917 in the United States. Ford said the engine cylinder head in those vehicles could overheat, causing cracking and oil leaks that could result in a fire under the hood. The company said no one was injured in the reported fires.


All of the vehicles involved in the smaller recall, 9,469 of which are in the United States, also are covered by the larger one.

November 26, 2013

That cartoon is called, "What's Opera Doc"...here is a link:

It is considered one of the greatest toons ever produced by Warner's..It really is worth watching for about 6:45 .

Not a you tube link, but it works. and it is a wonderful cartoon...

http://vimeo.com/70265237.

November 25, 2013

The "Equalization Factor" is behind the absurd media overcoverage of " Obamacare Rollout"

As has been pointed out many times by many people here, the mainstream media attempts to show that "they are all alike" Democrats and Republicans, "all the same crooks" ..as they say. In this way, the mainstream media helps the Republicans to draw in those who would normally fall in the Democratic camp. There are many uninformed and totally biased people who vote against their own best interests. Something happened recently which may have tipped many of those into thinking seriously about forgetting that nonsense and becoming Democrats . That was the "Government Shutdown." That gave incredible coverage to the utter stupidity of the Republican talking points. Incredible numbers of people saw through that rhetoric to the truth, which is the Republicans only care about themselves and those they hold allegiance to: the rich and powerful who couldn't care less about those workers laid off, and those programs stopped. Self centered bastards. True definition of Republicans.

What was the mainstream media to do? How could it recreate that feeling that all of them are equal? The shutdown stood all by itself as a horrendous action by the Republicans. Now the mainstream media also holds allegiance to the rich and powerful. It wants a so called " equal playing field" which glorifies their reporting and ultimately supports their view point. Republicans are over represented and the mainstream media knows it, and wants to keep it that way. Why? Because the mainstream media is a "big business" protected by Republicans. (Disney, Comcast, Paramount Pictures..)

Therefore, that is the answer as to the absurd "over coverage" of the "Obamacare Rollout" It is an attempt by the mainstream media to remove the stigma of the "Government Shutdown" and return the electorate to the so called: "they are all incompetent crooks position. That is why David Gregory got the orders to compare the rollout to the beginning of the "Iraq War. " Anything that will trick the uninformed to believe that "the rollout" is equal to the "shutdown" is very important.

Equalization is very important giving the Republicans a chance to control one branch of government. There are many in that 70 percent that viewed the "shutdown" as "awful" that would change parties. Those would come to us, and the Republicans would disintegrate if it happened for good. It is no mistake that the mainstream media has overcovered a mistake by Obama. Just like it is no mistake that it under covered the very small increase in health care costs the last few years. Anything to keep the "equalization factor" in place. They are, "all incompetent crooks" is the mantra that the mainstream media will present to keep it going to protect itself and the Republicans. It does not matter if in the process the mainstream media looses all sense of honesty and fairness in news coverage or anything else. The mainstream media is Republican and wants to keep the Republicans in . It makes a lot of sense to me. That "shutdown" threatened the existence of the Republicans, and this "rollout coverage" is an attempt to save them. It an ugly lie, , but what else is new?

November 20, 2013

Who is the biggest whore among U.S corporations?

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2013/full_list/index.html?iid=F500_sp_full


Hit that link and you will see. Now, for me, it isn't necessarily the amount of profit, it is the percent of revenues that profit is. You must pull down the window on the right side of the chart, and (more data) you can see the profit as a percent of revenues . Most of us would not be surprised as to who makes the highest per cent profit in the first 100, but later on, there are surprises. They are all bad, but some have a higher percent profit than others. Might interest some people . Have a look...(it also shows who lost money last year...if anyone wants to know)

November 19, 2013

Question about security.

Let us suppose I send an email to a fellow DU person within the site. I clicked on that mail letter and sent a short note.
So, how secure is that email within that persons mail box? I guess, I should ask, how secure is my mail box? I doubt it matters, since we are being watched , but I had to ask. Thanks for any answers. Stuart G.

November 18, 2013

Quitting the NFL, For John Moffitte the Money Wasnt Worth It: New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/19/sports/football/quitting-the-nfl-for-john-moffitt-the-money-wasnt-worth-it.html?hp&_r=0


"John Moffitt said he gave up the rest of his $625,000 salary this year and could have made $750,000 in 2014. "

By KEN BELSON


SEATTLE — John Moffitt chugged mugs of black coffee and talked almost giddily about how, the week before, he called John Elway, the head of football operations for the Denver Broncos, to tell him he was quitting the National Football League, leaving behind the money and the fame, but also the constant pain and the danger.

In parts of three seasons as a guard with the Seattle Seahawks and the Broncos, Moffitt, 27, blew out his knee, had elbow surgery and hurt his shoulders. Sleep apnea left him exhausted. Floaters cross his vision from all the hits to the head he absorbed in his nearly 20 years of playing football.

“I don’t want to risk health for money,” said Moffitt, who walked away from about $1 million in salary, various benefits for retirees who play at least three seasons and quite possibly a trip to the Super Bowl with the 9-1 Broncos. “I’m happy, and I don’t need the N.F.L.”
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Short easy read, and very interesting. Someone who gives up the money, and fame realizing there is something else. I wonder how many understand that what he is doing is probably the most important thing he may ever do.

November 11, 2013

13 Healthy Foods That Can Make You Fat..Cosmopolitan..

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/advice/health/healthy-foods-that-make-you-fat#slide-1

Slide show...I don't know about all of this, but a very interesting read...worth a few minutes..Stuart