Renewable energies could supply 80 percent of world’s demand by 2050: UN report

If the Oil Companies didn’t own our government, we would be moving faster to recognize this and prepare for the future….

Our oil dependency is rapidly making us a third world country….

Think of all the jobs we could create if we really dedicated ourselves to oil independence and clean energy…

Governments approved on Monday a U.N. report projecting that renewable energies such as solar, wind or hydropower could leap to supply almost 80 percent of the world’s demand by 2050, with the right policies.

The study broadly matched a draft written by scientists before the meeting, but environmental group Greenpeace said some findings were watered down due to opposition by OPEC heavyweight Saudi Arabia and also by Brazil.

The report by the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also said that a shift to cleaner energies would help cut greenhouse gas emissions, which it blamed for climate change including floods, droughts, heat waves and rising sea levels.

“Close to 80 percent of the world energy supply could be met by renewables by mid-century if backed by the right enabling public policies,” it said in a statement after government delegates approved a special report at talks in Abu Dhabi.

“This will be the standard book for renewables,” said Sven Teske of Greenpeace, one of the authors.

He said he was happy with the overall report but that the summary for policymakers had toned down, for instance, formerly clear statements that renewable energies were often already cost effective.

“Parts have been watered down,” he said of the report, which was agreed at the IPCC meeting in Abu Dhabi which began on May 5. The final session lasted through the night.

via Renewable energies could supply 80 percent of world’s demand by 2050: UN report | The Raw Story.

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Don’t Mess with Elly May….

I’ve seen recent pictures….

She is one scary woman….

And she’s still playing Elly May on the road….

They really should just cut her a check…

The actress who played buxom hayseed Elly May Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies believes Mattel (MAT) done her wrong over a doll.

Donna Douglas, who appeared as Elly May in every episode of the TV comedy from 1962 to 1971, is suing the toy giant for marketing its Elly May Barbie and a photo of Douglas in the packaging without her endorsement. The suit seeks compensation for illegal usage of her name and likeness, according to a Associated Press story in The Los Angeles Times. Mattel didn’t comment in the article.

Douglas, now 77, joins an odd list of other celebrities who toyed with legal action after a doll ticked them off.

via She Ain’t Playing: ‘Hillbillies’ Actress Sues Mattel Over Doll – DailyFinance.

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Love Will Keep Us Together: Toni Tennille is 71 Today

I’m in shock…

Toni Tennille, who is still married to The Captain, was born May 8, 1940 in Montgomery, Alabama…

I can’t believe she’s 71 !!!

Here is a video of their big hit….

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Leona Helmsley’s Trust Will Not Go to the Dogs

Sad news…

Her last chance to redeem herself is being thwarted by the Courts and her heirs…

No surprise, but just not right….

From The Examiner:

Say what you want about Leona Helmsley, dubbed the “Queen of Mean,” but the woman who managed the most prestigious addresses in New York City, including the Empire State Building had a real soft spot in her heart for animals. In fact, when Helmsley died in 2007, the Helmsley Foundation provided for a part of her $450 million estate to benefit animal welfare. To date, only $100,000 has been distributed to animal welfare organizations.

Helmsley’s mission statement directed funds to be given “to purposes related to the care of dogs.” The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Humane Society of the United States, Maddie’s Fund, and other groups say the low amount is against the wishes of Helmsley’s mission statement and what she would have wanted. Wayne Pacelle, president of the HSUS stated the money distributed so far was “a trifling amount and contrary to Leona Helmsley’s personal intentions.”

Maddie’s Fund president, Rich Aranzino stated, “The money has the potential to change everything for man’s best friend.”

Manhattan Surrogate Court Judge Nora Anderson struck down the requests of the animal organizations to be involved in the distribution of the funds, and said they had no standing to intervene in the estate’s decision as to how the money was distributed, and that the trustees have sole discretion. Judge Anderson ruled that Helmsley didn’t designate a specific amount and technically the trustees have not violated any of the provisions.

When Helmsley died in 2007, the 87 year-old left her troubled white Maltese dog, labeled by the media as “rich bitch” a trust fund of $12 million and directed that the notoriously nasty little dog be cared for by two of her relatives. A judge reduced the trust fund to $2 million and both relatives refused to take custody of the dog. The dog, named Trouble now lives in Florida with one of Helmsley’s past employees.

The animal welfare organizations have stated they will continue to fight.

via Leona Helmsley’s trust will not go to the dogs – National Pet Rescue | Examiner.com.

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Sales Of DVD, Blu-ray Plummet, Causing Consternation In Hollywood : The Two-Way : NPR

It’s all going digital….

I’m starting to suspect there may have been previous civilizations we will never know about because all their records were digital and disappeared into the air…

In any event, this is why I’m selling off our DVD’s on eBay while someone still wants them…

Of course, I have to keep a couple of hundred I can’t bear to part with…

The Financial Times has some troubling news for Hollywood: “Sales of new DVDs have collapsed, falling 20 percent [below the year-ag quarter] and presenting a significant challenge for Hollywood film studios, according to figures released on Monday.”

The drop is attributed to consumers favoring streaming online, buying a digital copy on iTunes or watching them through subscription services like NetFlix.

via Sales Of DVD, Blu-ray Plummet, Causing Consternation In Hollywood : The Two-Way : NPR.

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Could John Krasinski Be the Next George Clooney?

George Clooney turned 50 last week, so they have to start pushing him off to the graveyard…

Sorry, but this is a little premature.

He’s one of the few genuine Stars still out there.

He looks better now than he did when he was younger, he’s smart, he’s an excellent Director and a damn fine Actor.

He is going to be around for a while…

That said, I like John Krasinski a lot, too.  He’s a standout in today’s bland world of interchangeable young actors.

I think he’s going to be around for a while also….

I agree with some later observations in the attached article:  He’s much more of a Jack Lemon/Tom Hanks type…

I’ve never seen his TV show, but I found him very endearing in “It’s Complicated”….

John Krasinski isn’t the lead character of “Something Borrowed”, but you wouldn’t know that from the recent barrage of TV ads, all of which lean heavily on his presence to sell a story with an eyebrow-raising plot: Ginnifer Goodwin’s character sleeps with the fiancé of her best friend, played by Kate Hudson, but you’re still supposed to root for her. Meanwhile, Krasinski is the platonic fourth lead who occasionally comments on the action, but it’s a testament to his natural likability — and, perhaps, his big-screen potential — that the studio is putting its marketing campaign on his shoulders. As he continues to topline The Office after the departure of Steve Carell, it may even be a sign that he could follow in the footsteps of another refugee from NBC Thursday nights who made it big in the movies: George Clooney. To find out, we spoke to industry insiders to answer the question: If John Krasinski were a stock, would you buy, sell, or hold?

via The Star Market: Could Movie Hopeful John Krasinski Be the Next George Clooney? — Vulture.

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Happy Mother’s Day

I can’t help myself….

I just have to do it….

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Navy SEALs Forgot to Bring a Tape Measure

I love the President’s comment….

The odds that Osama bin Laden was the mysterious figure seen walking around the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan were estimated by U.S. intelligence at between 60 and 80 percent. When the Navy SEALs shot the tall figure on the upper floor of the compound, fatally hitting him in the chest and near his right eye, the next step was to get a positive ID. They planned to use several reference points, including facial recognition and eventually DNA when the body was transported back to Bagram airbasein Afghanistan.

Another measurement was to determine the height of the corpse. Bin Laden is listed on his FBI most wanted poster as being between 6-feet 4-inches and 6-feet 6-inches and weighing about 160 pounds.

However, the heavily-armed, electronically wired SEALs didn’t come with a tape measure to get an accurate height reading. According to reports, a Navy SEAL of about 6-feet laid out next to bin Laden’s corpse to gauge the Al Qaeda leader’s height. The corpse was several inches taller.

The Washington Post’s legendary reporter Bob Woodward came up with some inside the Situation Room conversation while the raid was underway and the president and his team were watching a muted feed of the action.

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, along with with members of the national security team, receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden, in the Situation Room of the White House (Credit: AP Photo/The White House, Pete Souza)

After Mr. Obama learned of the improvised height measurement technique, he reportedly said, “We donated a $60 million helicopter to this operation. Could we not afford to buy a tape measure?”

The helicopter in his remark was the stealth technology-outfitted bird that crash-landed as the raid began and had to be destroyed by the SEALs.

via Navy SEALs forgot to bring a tape measure – World Watch – CBS News.

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The Cost of bin Laden: $3 Trillion Over 15 Years

This is something to think about…

The most expensive public enemy in American history died Sunday from two bullets.

As we mark Osama bin Laden’s death, what’s striking is how much he cost our nation—and how little we’ve gained from our fight against him. By conservative estimates, bin Laden cost the United States at least $3 trillion over the past 15 years, counting the disruptions he wrought on the domestic economy, the wars and heightened security triggered by the terrorist attacks he engineered, and the direct efforts to hunt him down.

What do we have to show for that tab? Two wars that continue to occupy 150,000 troops and tie up a quarter of our defense budget; a bloated homeland-security apparatus that has at times pushed the bounds of civil liberty; soaring oil prices partially attributable to the global war on bin Laden’s terrorist network; and a chunk of our mounting national debt, which threatens to hobble the economy unless lawmakers compromise on an unprecedented deficit-reduction deal.

All of that has not given us, at least not yet, anything close to the social or economic advancements produced by the battles against America’s costliest past enemies. Defeating the Confederate army brought the end of slavery and a wave of standardization—in railroad gauges and shoe sizes, for example—that paved the way for a truly national economy. Vanquishing Adolf Hitler ended the Great Depression and ushered in a period of booming prosperity and hegemony. Even the massive military escalation that marked the Cold War standoff against Joseph Stalin and his Russian successors produced landmark technological breakthroughs that revolutionized the economy.

via The cost of bin Laden: $3 trillion over 15 years – Yahoo! News.

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Don’t Leave Me This Way

Diva Thelma Houston gets her first Social Security check this month…

Happy 65th Birthday, today, to the Disco Diva!

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