political ambiguity: 11/2008

Sunday

Awesome! (sarcasm applies)

PepsiCo Pursues Ancient Leaf as Cola 'Breakthrough' (Update1)

By Matthew Craze and Duane D. Stanford

Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- A leaf the Guarani Indians of Paraguay's jungles used to sweeten drinks for centuries may helpCoca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. revive flagging sales in the $320 billion-a-year global soft-drink industry.

The Food and Drug Administration is poised to act on allowing a zero-calorie sweetener derived from the stevia plant grown in Paraguay and China. Approval may allow the world's two largest soda makers to reverse three years of U.S. soft-drink sales declines with beverages containing the natural extract, according to Mariann Montagne, an analyst at Minneapolis-based Thrivent Asset Management.

"They are really desperate for something to pick up colas," said Montagne, whose firm owns Coca-Cola and PepsiCo among the $70 billion it oversees. "There is definitely a need, and people will respond if they have this natural sweetener."

ps. this .

(part one of something...)

pictures of pirates

http://imovienews.blogspot.com/2007/05/new-pirates-of-caribbean-at-worlds-end.html

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/10/31/world/20081031PIRATES_index.html

Saturday

good thing, too.

After Black Friday death, shoppers back at Wal-Mart

BY ALFONSO A. CASTILLO AND MATTHEW CHAYES |alfonso.castillo@newsday.com and matthew.chayes@newsday.com

12:31 PM EST, November 29, 2008

Other than glaziers out front fixing the doors broken off their hinges by a throng of impatient shoppers, there were no outward signs Saturday at the Valley Stream Wal-Mart of the chaos that turned this year's Black Friday into a day of death and mayhem.

Shoppers at the store, located near the Green Acres Mall, wheeled carts stuffed with big holiday gifts beginning shortly after the store opened at 7 a.m. A Salvation Army bell ringer solicited Christmastime donations.

But the specter of the stampede that killed Wal-Mart seasonal worker Jdimytai Damour, 34, Friday morning hung over the morning.

Shoppers echoed the sentiments of the Nassau County police detective supervising the investigation, who told reporters in the aftermath of Damour's death that the store could have and should have better prepared for the large crowds that camped out as early as 9 p.m. the night before for the post-Thanksgiving bargains.

Bibi Raffik of Jamaica, Queens, a frequent Wal-Mart shopper, said she always feels safe at the store.

Friday

retailers hope to set tone for holiday season.....

Retailers hope to set tone for holiday season

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Outside Minneapolis at the Mall of America, the biggest shopping center in the United States, more than 5,000 shoppers had lined up outside of the 520-store complex for free gifts and "door-buster" specials by the time all the mall's stores opened at 6 a.m.

"We let them in at 4 a.m.," said Maureen Bausch, Mall of America's vice president. "It's the busiest we've seen. People are making purchases." It was the first time all the stores had opened so early.

2 dead after shots fired in SoCal Toys 'R' Us

PALM DESERT, Calif. (AP) — Two people were shot to death in a crowded toy store on Black Friday in a confrontation apparently involving rival groups, city officials said.

Palm Desert Councilman Jim Ferguson said police told him two men with handguns shot and killed each other. Ferguson said he asked police whether the incident was a dispute over a toy or whether it was gang-related. He said police told him they were not going to release further details until the victims' relatives were notified.

"I think the obvious question everyone has is who takes loaded weapons into a Toys "R" Us?" he said. "I doubt it was the casual holiday shopper."

Wal-Mart Worker Dies in Stampede at New York Store (Update1)

If it is possible, I suggest for people to 'pick up' the philip glass Dracula soundtrack. It seems like I become 'heavily involved' with him, and then depart for a year or so, only to find him again and realize what i've been missing. i could also be afraid of what a constant listening of his stuff would do to me.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aySPPfb8T8GU&refer=home

It wasn’t immediately clear if any shoppers or workers have been killed during similar incidents during sales on the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally known as Black Friday.

“We do not know of an incident such as what happened today,” Ellen Davis, a spokeswoman for the Washington-based National Retail Federation, said in an e-mail. “It is a horribly tragic situation. Retailers are reminded of the importance of employee safety.”

At least four shoppers were hurt in the melee at the store in the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream, about 13 miles (20 kilometers) east of New York City,Nassau County Police said in a statement. A 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital for observation, and three people suffered minor injuries, police said.

The 34-year-old worker, who wasn’t identified by police, was knocked down by the crowd shortly after 5 a.m. local time and taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:03 a.m., the police said. The county medical examiner will determine the cause of death.

NGO Warns Economic Crisis Could Re-Ignite AIDS Epidemic

our economy is based upon consumer spending. as a consumer, I feel I have some sort of responsibility to help the economy. If I don't earn money and am forced to save the little i have... what will that do?

Tuesday

Lincoln

Sunday

twilight zone

the shitty thing is, they have commercials... and my internet sucks

http://www.cbs.com/classics/the_twilight_zone/video/video.php?cid=621774886&pid=T201UEKSVko24O7YTrf5qpKoVz4he8UO&play=true

health garbage

Exercise cuts cancer risk – new study

McDonald's Sued Over Woman's Naked Buns

(google news had a link to tmz, i didn't know that ahead of time)

sales

browsing around craiglist.... i found this intriguing

re: a salesman - w4m (the truth)

Reply to: pers-929007196@craigslist.org ^[?]
Date: 2008-11-21, 6:21PM CST

You misunderstand human nature.
A person is a liar and deceiver FIRST, then he takes a job as a salesman
because the job is a natural fit for his demeanor and personality -
NOT the other way around.

Location: the truth
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 929007196

vatican forgives lennon

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27857596/?GT1=43001

Newman's will includes wife, foundation; cars sold

PETA activists cover a fur-wearing Lindsay Lohan with flour in Paris (Nov. 15, 2008).

this sort of pisses me off, since, this is kinda what i'm trying to do.
http://view.playlist.com/user/39746036

meat = cancer

http://www.naturalnews.com/024887.html

(NaturalNews) Diets high in red and processed meats have long been associated with cancer of the large intestine. Now, however, for the first time scientists have looked at whether eating meat and other animal fats is also linked to cancers of the small intestine. Their findings show yet again what natural health advocates have said for years: red meat and diets high in animal fats are a good way to promote cancer, not wellness.