Obama pulls ahead on Pollster’s poll of polls for the first time.

The sniping between the Obama and Clinton is definitely getting a bit pitched. But then, the hard right and libertarians seriously dislike McCain. So there’s plenty of internal squabbling in both parties now. Will both parties unite behind whoever their candidate ends up being? Probably. But predictions and hopes that the general campaign won’t be a mud-slinging barrage of negative attack ads will prove illusory.

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Micro loans come to the USA.

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One of three sewage treatment plants is out of commission, one is working at stuttering capacity while a pipe blockage in the third means sewage is forming a foul lake so large it can be seen “as a big black spot on Google Earth,” said Tahseen Sheikhly, civilian spokesman for the Baghdad security plan.

Plus, water can no longer be pumped at sufficient volumes to supply neighborhoods and there is a shortage of electricity which could take ten years to remedy, this in what once was a world-class, modern city of millions.

By now, most of those with money - the technological elites, middle and upper level managers, the intelligentsia - have probably fled and won’t be coming back any time soon, further complicating any efforts at rebuilding. But before any of that happens, the war needs to end.

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They’re patterning them after ski trail signs; green for families and special assistance needed (beginner), blue for casual travelers (intermediate), and black for expert travelers.

This is a good idea. A family with a baby in a stroller can seriously slow down a line. Me, I can have my laptop out of the bag and personal belongings in the trays in about 20 seconds. Lines based on skill levels make sense.

This is from the TSA blog. It’s been fascinating watching their blog grow, as this behemoth and unwieldy federal agency slowly appears to be getting it that they need to be more responsive with less haphazard, bizarre restrictions that are not applied uniformly. They really do appear to be trying, and a blog is a great way to communicate.

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Privately held FGIC, the third largest bond insurer, has asked the NY Dept. of Insurance to be split in half. One company would get their still safe municipal bonds, the other would be the repository of the toxic financial sludge. This is a desperation move to get the muni bond market moving again and other bond insurers will no doubt be doing the same soon.

This affects all of us directly. With the muni bond market seized up, municipalities are paying more in interest on their bonds. As an example, The Port Authority of NY just had rates go from 4.3% to 20% on existing bonds, thus they are forced to pay 15.7 percentage points more until the markets return to normal and buyers appear again.

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It would seems only fitting to cook roadkill with this attachment to the tailpipe.

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“The technical challenge of selectively removing carbon dioxide has been overcome [by using Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks]. Now we have structures that can be tailored precisely to capture carbon dioxide and store it like a reservoir, as we have demonstrated. No carbon dioxide escapes. Nothing escapes — unless you want it to do so. We believe this to be a turning point in capturing carbon dioxide before it reaches the atmosphere.”

The reservoir is inside the zeolite structure. I’m still unclear how the zeolites would then be stored and how stable they are, ie what’s their “shelf life”?

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This is wonderful. Fun, playful, and it delivers the message.

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