Conflicting Media reports on Swine Flu - is it surging or waning?

SHOOT: Answer? Nobody really knows. This virus is holding all the cards. There's not a helluva lot we can do or say. Official deaths worlwide from H1N1 are at 10,800+.

clipped from health.usnews.com Swine Flu Continues to Wane Whether the H1N1 virus will come back during winter isn't known, CDC says During a press conference Tuesday, he said that, of the experts polled by the agency on the odds of another surge, about 50 percent said there would be one, and about 50 percent said there would not be one -- and one expert said "flip a coin." Frieden noted that during the flu pandemic of 1957-1958, cases surged at the start of the school year and then waned, but surged again from December to February. clipped from www.huffingtonpost.com Record Swine Flu Cases In CA, Just In Time For Free Vaccinations To End However, The LA Times reports that California had it's highest yet number of swine flu related hospitalizations last week, with nearly 800 people being admitted. In addition, health officials are bracing for a possible second wave in coming months, particularly around the holidays. Pandemics are very unpredictable. . . . We cannot turn our back and be complacent.

Bitchy reporter 1 - White House Press Secretary 0 [VIDEO]

INVICTUS: At a press conference to promote the publication of his 1994 memoir, “Long Walk to Freedom,” someone asked Mr. Mandela who should play him in the movie. “And he said he wanted me,” Mr. Freeman recalled.

Mr. Freeman conveys the manipulative charm, the serene confidence, the force of purpose, the hint of mischief and the lonely regret that made Mr. Mandela one of the most fascinating political figures of his time. This is not, as the film’s screenwriter, Anthony Peckham, put it, “Rich Little doing Mandela in Vegas.”
He says “Spring-BAHK” where Mandela would say “Spring-BOHK.”



SHOOT: This is going to be good. I remember the afternoon after the Boks won the world cup we - our family - went for a skydive to celebrate. It was a beautiful day.

clipped from www.nytimes.com Morgan Freeman plays Nelson Mandela in “Invictus,” about a historic rugby match in South Africa in 1995. MORGAN FREEMAN has been cast as God — twice — so he evidently has no trouble projecting moral authority. The challenge of portraying Nelson Mandela, then, was not the size of the halo, but knowing the performance would be measured against the real, familiar Mandela, and his myth. “If we can say any part of acting is hard, then playing someone who is living and everybody knows would be the hardest,” Mr. Freeman said in a phone interview. I found Mr. Freeman’s performance in the film “Invictus,” directed by Clint Eastwood, uncanny — less an impersonation than an incarnation. He gets the rumble and halting rhythm of Mr. Mandela’s speech, the erect posture and stiff gait. There is a striking physical resemblance, enhanced by the fact that Mr. Freeman, 72, is just a few years younger than Mr. Mandela was in the period the film covers.

Finance is South Africa's biggest sector, Agriculture third smallest

SHOOT: You can't eat money. This aberration is due to be reversed. In time, I know it's hard to believe, but agriculture - aka feeding ourselves - will become the #1 industry/activity. That will be a much changed world from the one we apparently live in today.

clipped from www.fin24.com Cape Town - The financial services sector's contribution to the country's GDP in 2008 was 22%, the manufacturing sector's 19%, while government itself added 15%. Last year mining provided 9.5% - its biggest contribution since 1989, when it delivered 9.9%. Agriculture kicked in 3.3%, making it the sector with the third-smallest contribution. The report also shows that Gauteng's contribution to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) measures no less than 34%, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 17% and the Western Cape with 14.5%.

10,658 dead from swine flu

SHOOT: It's not over yet.

clipped from en.wikipedia.org

Adaptation is going to be absolutely crucial for some societies

Cities, states and countries are scrambling to adapt or are at least talking about it and setting aside money for it. Some examples:

• England is strengthening the Thames River flood control barrier at a cost of around half a billion dollars.

• The Netherlands is making its crucial flood control system stronger.

• California is redesigning the gates that move water around the agriculturally vital Sacramento River Delta so that they can work when the sea level rises dramatically there.

• Boston elevated a sewage treatment plant to keep it from being flooded when sea level rises. New York City is looking at similar maneuvers for water plants.

• Chicago has a program to promote rooftop vegetation and reflective roofs that absorb less heat. That could keep the temperature down and ease heat waves.

SHOOT: Adapt or die.

clipped from news.yahoo.com With the world losing the battle against global warming so far, experts are warning that humans need to follow nature's example: Adapt or die. That means elevating buildings, making taller and stronger dams and seawalls, rerouting water systems, restricting certain developments, changing farming practices and ultimately moving people, plants and animals out of harm's way. Some biologists point to how nature has handled the changing climate. The rare Adonis blue butterfly of Britain looked as if it was going to disappear because it couldn't fly far and global warming was making its habitat unbearable. To biologists' surprise, it evolved longer thoraxes and wings, allowing it to fly farther to cooler locales. "Society needs to be changing as much as wildlife is changing," said Texas A&M biologist Camille Parmesan, an expert on how species change with global warming. One difficulty is that climate change is happening rapidly.

Freak weather, record high temperatures in Maine

"It's not right. It's December. It's supposed to be snowing," said Jennifer Sporzynski, who sat on a park bench Thursday in Portland's Old Port. "I like warm weather — but not in December."

SHOOT: The highs are a lot higher than the previous records.

clipped from news.yahoo.com PORTLAND, Maine – A storm packing blustery winds and driving rain knocked out power to thousands of homes and businesses in the Northeast on Thursday before giving way to sunny skies and record high temperatures — all in the same morning. Utility officials reported sporadic power outages from Maine to New Jersey after wind knocked down trees and power lines early Thursday. Winds reached up to 49 mph in Brunswick, Maine, while the Isle of Shoals off the coast of New Hampshire recorded a 61 mph gust. In New Jersey, wind speeds topped out at 45 mph. In Boston, the temperature hit 69 degrees, breaking the old record of 65 set in 1932. In Portland, the temperature climbed to 68 degrees — crushing the old high of 55 for the date. Providence, R.I., had a record high of 66, and Concord, N.H., set a record at 65. In Boston, joggers ran downtown in shorts and T-shirts, while walkers strolled through the city with jackets tied around their waists.

The Cranberries - Ridiculous Thoughts

SHOOT: One of my favorite songs of all time...

One year from now SASOL could be anywhere between R280/share up to R420/share.

SHOOT: Sasol's currently R295.02/share. Tough to call, but I think energy stocks will be firmer than virtually everything else over the medium and long term.

clipped from www.fin24.com Johannesburg - The uptick in the oil price bodes well for the earnings prospects of petrochemical giant Sasol, but analysts have cautioned that correlations drawn between oil and the company's share price may be disjointed in the short term. According to an array of analysts surveyed by Fin24.com, Sasol's share price doesn't track the rand oil price as closely or efficiently over three to six months as over a longer period, for instance a year. In another development, investment banking firm Goldman Sachs lowered its 12-month share price forecast on Sasol from R438/share to R403/share, due to lower earnings expectations on the back of the rand's stronger showing against the dollar. Sasol last traded around the R400/share mark in October 2008, reaching a high earlier that year of R514/share on May 21. In contrast, Lerche said: "R400/share 12 months from now is a little bit heavy but feasible." On Wednesday, the stock traded 0.87% higher at R294.27.

In the last 8 years, CO2 emissions increased by a third. Experts say the threat of a 4°C warming over pre-industrial times is all too plausible.

The good news, virtually all of these experts said, is that there is still time to halt the slide if greenhouse-gas emissions peak soon enough and fall thereafter.

But the window of opportunity is narrowing rapidly.

SHOOT: This ought to be our greatest concern at a time when our concerns are already numerous,and increasing.

clipped from www.news24.com "A 4°C increase in global mean temperatures has the potential to threaten human security and quality of life in a manner unprecedented in recent history," says Arizona State University professor Pamela McElwee. Science fiction? If only. On November 16, an international team of scientists, the Global Carbon Project, said carbon emissions had surged by 29% from 2000 to 2008. This places Earth on track with the worst-case warming scenario put forward by the UN's Nobel-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), it said. Under its so-called "business-as-usual" forecast, voracious use of coal and other fossil fuels would see planetary warming of 4°C to 6.4°C by 2100 compared with 2000. To that, add another 0.74°C of warming that has occurred since the Industrial Revolution. This would spell disaster for Earth's population, 6.7 billion today, on course for nine billion in 2050. "The carrying capacity of the planet could fall to one billion people or less," said John Schellnhuber,

Man recently updated his Facebook relationship status at the alter — right after he got married, and right before he kissed the bride

SHOOT: Facebook's becoming part and parcel of social and cultural currency.

New research shows transition to Ice Age/abrupt shift in climate can take a few months, or a year or two at most.

"That the climate system can turn on and off that quickly is extremely important," said earth system scientist Henry Mullins at Syracuse University, who did not take part in this research. "Once the tipping point is reached, there would be essentially no opportunity for humans to react."

SHOOT: Global warming leads to melting of Greenland ice sheets, disrupts conveyor belt of warm water, leading to Northern Hemisphere turning cold very quickly.

clipped from news.yahoo.com In the film, "The Day After Tomorrow," the world gets gripped in ice within the span of just a few weeks. Now research now suggests an eerily similar event might indeed have occurred in the past. Looking ahead to the future, there is no reason why such a freeze shouldn't happen again - and in ironic fashion it could be precipitated if ongoing changes in climate force the Greenland ice sheet to suddenly melt, scientists say. Starting roughly 12,800 years ago, the Northern Hemisphere was gripped by a chill that lasted some 1,300 years. Known by scientists as the Younger Dryas and nicknamed the "Big Freeze," geological evidence suggests it was brought on when a vast pulse of fresh water - a greater volume than all of North America's Great Lakes combined - poured into the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. "If the Greenland ice sheet melted suddenly it would be catastrophic," he said. "We could say that global warming could lead to a dramatic cooling," Patterson told LiveScience.

Unemployment in US metros continues to rise

SHOOT: But we're in a recovery?

clipped from news.yahoo.com The jobless rate rose in 162 of the 372 metro areas tracked by the Labor Department. The rate was unchanged in 42 areas. It dropped in 168 areas. In September, unemployment had improved in 223 areas and worsened in only 123. The deteriorating trend mirrors the U.S. unemployment rate, which jumped to 10.2 percent in October from 9.8 percent in September. The metro unemployment data isn't seasonally adjusted and is therefore volatile from month-to-month. All 372 areas reported higher unemployment rates in October compared with the previous year.

Dubai's last hurrah

SHOOT: This will be a ghost town in 5 years.

clipped from news.yahoo.com DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – When work began in 2004 to build the world's tallest tower, Dubai's confidence also was sky high with a host of mega-projects on the drawing board or rising from the sands. That swagger seems positively old school these days. It's been tripped up by a debt crunch that has humbled Dubai's leaders and exposed the shaky foundations of the city-state's boom years — leaving the planned Jan. 4 opening of the iconic Burj Dubai with a double significance of hello and goodbye. It will be both a debutante bash for a new architectural landmark and a farewell toast to Dubai's age of excess. The Burj Dubai — a steel-and-glass needle rising more than a half-mile (800 meters) — may be the last completed work from Dubai's time of the giants. Most other of the unfinished super-projects announced in recent years, such as a second palm-shaped island or a tower to surpass the Burj Dubai, are either recession roadkill or being considered on a far smaller scale.

Fed survey finds recovery gaining momentum - what utter bullshit

SHOOT: Someone's going to have a red face for these remarks.

clipped from news.yahoo.com WASHINGTON – The economic recovery gained traction in late fall as shoppers spent a bit more and factories bumped up production. That assessment Wednesday by the Federal Reserve marked its most upbeat view since the economy tumbled into recession two years ago. Eight of the Fed's 12 regions surveyed reported some pickup in activity or improved conditions, the Fed said. Those regions were: Boston, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas and San Francisco. The four other regions — Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond and Atlanta — described conditions as little changed or mixed. The main challenge for Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who will be on Capitol Hill on Thursday seeking confirmation for a second term, is to sustain the fledgling rebound, especially after the benefits of government support fade next year.

Tiger: People are asking if this will cost him millions of endorsements

SHOOT: Depends on whether he keeps on playing, and winning. I have a feeling people generally suffer from ADD. Big splash now, in 6 months will anybody care? Somehow I think they will because it sounds like it's beyond one affair. If there's a divorce that will be another tabloid stream etc. Which brand wants to be associated with that, other than PLAYBOY magazine.

clipped from blogs.villagevoice.com "Economists are saying that so far holiday sales are down, but that doesn't figure in the diamond ring that Tiger Woods is going to have to buy his wife. "Anyway, it doesn't necessarily mean there was any kind of domestic dispute. It's Tiger Woods' house. Golf clubs are everywhere. They do everything with golf clubs -- cook with golf clubs, brush their hair with golf clubs. 'Honey can you pass the meatballs?' (Does a golf swing) 'There you are.' " "People are asking if this will cost him millions of endorsements. I say people who like golf don't give a rat's ass. All people who love golf care about is golf. People who love golf will buy anything he endorses. When he endorses something to do with golf, I'll buy it." If Tiger wins the Masters next year, they'll not only forgive him, his latest girlfriend will be doing endorsements.

A Jewish settler could face criminal charges after he was filmed repeatedly driving his car over a Palestinian man [VIDEO]

SHOOT: Nice people. Not sure what is worse: The Palestinian knifer out on a killing spree, or some rich Jewish dude turning the Palestinian into his own personal driveway. Are those folks EVER going to get along? I mean currently it's not win/win or win/lose but lose/lose, and losing rather a lot. You can watch the Reuters video at the link below.

clipped from www.iol.co.za Jerusalem - A Jewish settler could face criminal charges after he was filmed repeatedly driving his car over a Palestinian man who had stabbed the Israeli's wife in a West Bank settlement, police said Wednesday. The knife and axe-wielding Palestinian stabbed and wounded two people in the settlement of Kiryat Arba last Thursday before being shot and wounded by a civilian security guard and an off-duty Israeli soldier, police said. The amateur video broadcast on Israel's Channel 2 TV showed a silver Mercedes driving over the Palestinian, who was lying on the ground after he was shot. The car ran him over several times and stopped with a tire on top of him. The driver, identified as David Mizrahi, was arrested by police but released while the investigation continues, Israel police spokesman Gil Elhadad said. Mizrahi faces possible charges of attempted murder, Elhadad said.

Tiger, this really sucks dude [Audio message from cellphone]

SHOOT: Conceivably Tiger's sponsors could drop him like a hot potato. He could earn back a lost fortune with a tell-all book: HOW I LOST EVERYTHING.

clipped from buzz.yahoo.com Call it the crash heard 'round the world. Tiger Woods' car accident has led to many stunning revelations and a lot of rumors that won't go away. The golf legend has made his mea culpa — for the rest of the story and gossip tidbits, people are looking online. Below, we take a look at some of the drama's key players in Yahoo! Search and their rumored roles. Elin Nordegren The wife of Tiger Woods has been thrust into the Search spotlight over the past week. While no stranger to gawkers (she was once a model, after all), this level of Search attention has elevated Ms. Nordegren to a whole new level of public scrutiny. Over the past week, Web lookups have soared an astounding 2,832%. Jaimee Grubbs In Tiger's boilerplate apology statement, he mentions "transgressions" that have let his family down. Though Tiger hasn't named names, Jaimee Grubbs has more than volunteered to explain her part in the troublesome situation. Rachel Uchitel Kalika Moquin

Johannesburg, we have a problem

SHOOT: South Africans accuse each other of being moaners, whingers, complainers. Actually, we have a lot to complain about. World leading levels of HIV, crime and soon, electrcity prices. If anything we should be complaing, protesting, shouting, shaking our fists more in the name of higher standards that are not being met.

clipped from www.timeslive.co.za In response to a parliamentary question, it said that between September 14 and November 27, there were 30,650 calls to the hotline of which 9,190 cases were resolved. "The presidential hotline is not able to handle the call load at this stage. Even if we were to scale up the number of call agents, we can only do so up to a certain limit - given that resources are limited." It said Zuma has urged all premiers and ministers to take steps to remedy the situation and "ensure all enquiries transferred to them for investigation are responded to urgently and efficiently". It said the nature of complaints included crime, housing shortages, unfair labour practices, difficulties with banks and insurance companies, breaches of contract by government departments and requests for funding, including bursaries. There were also numerous complaints from political parties "especially the Democratic Alliance", which has been scathing about the quality of service.

Hi, I'm Meredith Baxter and I'm a lesbian

Former "Family Ties" star Meredith Baxter has revealed she is a lesbian.

Meredith, who starred as Michael J. Fox's mother on the hit '80s television show, confirmed the news to Matt Lauer on Wednesday's "Today."

SHOOT: Jeepers, what if I'm gay? Because my last relationship - of 5 years - didn't work out? Meanwhile how about this list of celebrity lesbian couples: Tracy Chapman + Alice Walker, Ellen Degeneres + Anne Heche and Anne Heche + Lindsey Buckingham. By the way Anne is now divorced, living with James Tupper. In Anne's case she suffered sexual abuse from her father as a child. More on Anne here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Heche

clipped from omg.yahoo.com "I guess I wanted to... say that I'm a lesbian," Meredith revealed on the NBC morning program. "It was a later-in-life recognition of that fact." Meredith, 62, has been living life as a lesbian for seven years and confirmed to Matt that she has been involved in a relationship for four years with contractor Nancy Locke. But it was only after becoming involved with another woman that Meredith realized why her three marriages to men didn't work out. "I got involved with someone I never expected to get involved with and it was that kind of awakening and I never fought it because it was like, 'Oh! I understand why I had the issues I had early in my life,'" Meredith said. "I had a great deal of difficulty connecting with men in relationships... Sometimes, I assumed I was a bad picker, which I was indeed, but I also was involved with people who made me think, 'Oh, they're the problem,' because there were problems with the people I chose. It never occurred to me to think, 'Oh, it's me.'"