THAT'S RIGHT: NO REAL WAGE INCREASES SINCE 1974

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When it comes to wages, the basic story of recent decades is redolent of Scrooge. Real average hourly earnings (excluding fringe benefits) now stand roughly at 1974 levels. Yes, that's right, no real increase in over 35 years. That is an astounding, dismaying and profoundly ahistorical development. The American story for two centuries was one of real wages advancing more or less in line with productivity. But not lately. Since 1978, productivity in the nonfarm business sector is up 86%, but real compensation per hour (which includes fringe benefits) is up just 37%. Does that seem fair?

DELAYED JUSTICE

Gay Belgian Couple Reunite with Son Stranded for Two Years in Ukrainian Orphanage
Laurent Ghilain and Peter Meurrens, a Belgian couple living in Southern France, had been separated from their son Samuel, whom they had through a surrogate, for two years and three months because the Belgian embassy in Kiev refused to issue Samuel a passport due to restrictive surrogacy laws and anti-gay officials in Belgium. Samuel had been living in a Ukrainian orphanage while they fought for his release.
The couple was reunited with their son at the Brussels airport on Saturday.

WHO WOULD JESUS STAB?

http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2011/02/who-would-jesus-stab.html

ASTONISHING BOOKMATCHED BURL

 Spectacular Antique French Louis Philippe Burled Walnut Buffet

France

circa 1860's

Absolutely breathtaking, one of a kind original antique French book-matched burled walnut 2 drawer over 4 door Louis Philippe buffet. Exotic eye candy, is what you first notice about this exquisitely crafted buffet, noting that it is not only utilitarian but, is also a fabulous work of art. As beautiful as this buffet is, it is also constructed to the highest standards and will store a plethora of goodies, too. Utilize this unique buffet most anywhere, in the dining room storing extra china and linens, in the master bedroom hiding clothes and necessities, or as a killer console in the entry foyer or family room. This phenomenal buffet will not only amaze your friends but it will make your senses smile every-time you see it.

Price

$28,500

Condition*

In very nice, fully restored condition.

Measurements

height: 42 in.

depth: 20.25 in.

width/length: 7 ft. 7.3 in.

Specifications

Number of items: 1

Materials/Techniques: Book-matched burled walnut.

Creator: unknown

Photography

provided by Antiques on Old Plank Road

Location

Antiques on Old Plank Road, 1750 N. Springfield Ave., 60647 USA

Dealer Ref. : j1255

Ref. : U11021782433042

FINAL FRONTIER?

Rising on twin columns of fire and creating rolling clouds of smoke and steam, space shuttle Discovery lifted off Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a picturesque, warm, late February afternoon. Launch of the STS-133 mission was at 4:53 p.m. EST on Feb. 24. Discovery and its six-member crew are on a mission to deliver the Permanent Multipurpose Module, packed with supplies and critical spare parts, as well as Robonaut 2, the dexterous humanoid astronaut helper, to the International Space Station. Discovery is making its 39th mission and is scheduled to be retired following STS-133. This is the 133rd Space Shuttle Program mission and the 35th shuttle voyage to the space station.
Image Credit: NASA

SO PROUD TO MEET A REAL WARRIOR!

I felt pride and good fortune running into Lieutenant Dan Choi at the 17th St. Plaza in San Francisco's Castro district today. He is the famous Iraq War Army veteran who came out as a gay man on Rachel Maddow's show and publicly challenging "Don't Ask Don't Tell" was discharged. He even handcuffed himself to the White House fence in protest and was arrested along with officer Capt Jim Pietrangelo. He also gave Harry Reid his West Point ring insisting it could only be returned when the offensive law was repealed. I didn't thing to ask if he had it back yet.  My friend Elliott, a straight man learning about our community, who was getting my informal tour of the area, thought to get these photos. We chatted about the importance of not only coming out personally but also as a community. I told him I thought it was great that the historic Muni Streetcars were bringing tourist to our neighborhood and letting them see us, not as the monsters and child molesters they were led to believe we were by the religous bigots. I thanked him for all the leadership he's done and he said there was more good news this morning both from the President and locally about marriage equality. Then he was on his way.  There's a good bio of him on Wikipedia here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Choi

My friend Elliott Isenberg

TABLES TURNED! MY FORMER BANK FORECLOSED

A Philadelphia homeowner started foreclosure proceedings on a Wells Fargo mortgage office after winning a rather strange legal judgement against the bank.

After Patrick Rodgers got no reply to three letters asking why he was being forced to pay a home insurance premium for a $1 million house when he bought his 3-story Victorian home for $180,000, he decided to force his mortgagecompany to pay attention, ABC News reported.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Rodgers discovered theReal Estate Settlement Procedures Act, which requires mortgage companies to acknowledge written requests within 20 business days or face penalties. He took Wells Fargo to court, winning a default judgement because the bank didn't show up in court.

Passed in 1974 to protect borrowers, RESPA stipulates a standard complain letter that can be sent to lenders. (For more information on RESPA, check out the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's website here.)

Rodgers won a $1,173 judgment against the bank, and when they still failed to reply to his letters, he started foreclosure proceedings.

The contents of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage's offices at 1341 North Delaware Avenue are reportedly still scheduled for a March 4 sherif's sale.

The homeowner placed a sheriffs levy against Well's Fargo's local mortgage office, to cover the $1,173 judgment, plus tax. The bank paid up in January, but still had not responded to his letters, so he started a foreclosure sale on the Wells Fargo office.
Read the full piece at the Philadelphia Inquirer here. And check out ABC's report here.

MAJESTIC DISK OF STARS

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The Hubble Space Telescope revealed this majestic disk of stars and dust lanes in this view of the spiral galaxy NGC 2841.

A bright cusp of starlight marks the galaxy's center. Spiraling outward are dust lanes that are silhouetted against the population of whitish middle-aged stars. Much younger blue stars trace the spiral arms.

Notably missing are pinkish emission nebulae indicative of new star birth. It is likely that the radiation and supersonic winds from fiery, super-hot, young blue stars cleared out the remaining gas (which glows pink), and hence shut down further star formation in the regions in which they were born. NGC 2841 currently has a relatively low star formation rate compared to other spirals that are ablaze with emission nebulae.

NGC 2841 lies 46 million light-years away in the constellation of Ursa Major (The Great Bear). This image was taken in 2010 through four different filters on Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3. Wavelengths range from ultraviolet light through visible light to near-infrared light.
NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration; Acknowledgment: M. Crockett and S. Kaviraj (Oxford University, UK), R. O’Connell (University of Virginia), B. Whitmore (STScI), and the WFC3 Scientific Oversight Committee

AAAAAAAH!

GIANT RING OF BLACK HOLES

Just in time for Valentine's Day comes a new image of a ring -- not of jewels -- but of black holes. This composite image of Arp 147, a pair of interacting galaxies located about 430 million light years from Earth, shows X-rays from the NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory (pink) and optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope (red, green, blue) produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute, or STScI. 

Arp 147 contains the remnant of a spiral galaxy (right) that collided with the elliptical galaxy on the left. This collision has produced an expanding wave of star formation that shows up as a blue ring containing in abundance of massive young stars. These stars race through their evolution in a few million years or less and explode as supernovas, leaving behind neutron stars and black holes. 

A fraction of the neutron stars and black holes will have companion stars, and may become bright X-ray sources as they pull in matter from their companions. The nine X-ray sources scattered around the ring in Arp 147 are so bright that they must be black holes, with masses that are likely ten to twenty times that of the sun. 



An X-ray source is also detected in the nucleus of the red galaxy on the left and may be powered by a poorly-fed supermassive black hole. This source is not obvious in the composite image but can easily be seen in the X-ray image. Other objects unrelated to Arp 147 are also visible: a foreground star in the lower left of the image and a background quasar as the pink source above and to the left of the red galaxy.

Infrared observations with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and ultraviolet observations with NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) have allowed estimates of the rate of star formation in the ring. These estimates, combined with the use of models for the evolution of binary stars have allowed the authors to conclude that the most intense star formation may have ended some 15 million years ago, in Earth's time frame. 

These results were published in the October 1st, 2010 issue of The Astrophysical Journal. The authors were Saul Rappaport and Alan Levine from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, David Pooley from Eureka Scientific and Benjamin Steinhorn, also from MIT.

Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/MIT/S .Rappaport et al., Optical: 

'SMILE' GREATEST LOST MASTERPIECE OF ALL TIME

The original album cover for SMILE, unreleased for 45 yearsCredit: Frank Holmes / Capitol Records

L to R: Dennis Wilson, Al Jardine, Brian Wilson, Mike Love, and Carl Wilson, Hawaii, late August 1967; Bruce Johnston missed the trip as Brian decided to go. Credit: Michael Ochs Archives / Corbis Images


In 2004, Brian Wilson presented Smile. Now, in 2011, Capitol Records presents the real thing. One of the most important developments in The Beach Boys’ history was announced by one Al Jardine, a founding member of the most popular American band of all time.

Continue reading on Examiner.com: The Beach Boys set to release 'Smile,' the greatest lost masterpiece of all time - National Pop Culture | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/pop-culture-in-national/the-beach-boys-set-to-release-smile-the-greatest-lost-masterpiece-of-all-time#ixzz1DoRSqkFW

SATURDAY NIGHT GREEN FEVER

Electrified Plexiglas and Mirrored Glass Low Table by Ron Ferri

USA
c. 1970
There are few designers who captured the essence of the Studio 54 era as well as Ron Ferri did. The Emerald green Plexiglas base is illuminated from within and rests on a sleek mirrored glass top. Pure disco chic.

From the original Jay Spectre designed interior for R. Roberts.
documented in Point of View: Design by Jay Spectre by J. Spectre and G. Bradfield; page 46

Price
contact dealer

Condition*
original condition

Measurements
height: 14 in.
depth: 30 in.
width/length: 45 in.

Specifications
Number of items: 1
Materials/Techniques: Plexiglas, mirror
Creator: Ron Ferri

Photography
provided by Todd Merrill Antiques

Location
Todd Merrill Antiques
65 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10012
USA

Phone: 212-673-0531

E-Mail: tnmerrill@att.net

Dealer Ref. : TMF1060
Ref. : U08021280081030

HOW TIME FLIES!

THE DEVIL NEEDS TO SIT DOWN TOO

A pair of devil headed arm chairs from a Portuguese fasienda. Brazil 1920's This beautifully carved pair of devil or gargoyle chairs was acquired from a Portuguese estate/farm). These chairs are believed to be Gothic Revival from the early 1900's. We would think they were made even earlier but for the fact they are made of distinct exotic Brasilian hardwood typical of the region of Sao Paolo. They are extremely heavy over 200 lbs. each. 

Price $12,000 Condition* Excellent

Measurements

height: 42" second height: 17"depth: 33" 

Seat depth: 22"width/length: 38"

Specifications

Number of items: 2

Materials/Techniques: Exotic Brasilian hardwood, red leather, bronze studs. They have been hand rubbed with a light french polish and then waxed. the sides have been carved out of single pieces of wood. Note: this is the natural color of the wood and no stain has been used to enhance color.

Creator: unknown

Photography

provided by Thomas Hayes Gallery

Location

Thomas Hayes Gallery

6162 Santa Monica blvd

Hollywood, CA 90038

USA

Phone: 323.463.4434

E-Mail:  info@thomashayesgallery.com

Ref. : U08102180691561

PROUD PRESERVATION

AND WHAT ABOUT BULLET RIGHTS?

COMPLETE IMAGES OF OUR REAL POWER SOURCE

AMERICA'S LONG ECONOMIC NIGHTMARE BEGINS

YEAH! HAPPY HE'S GONE

White House Press Conference 1982:

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Laughter about dead queers. At the White House. It was five long horrifying and desperate years later before Reagan finally personally addressed the AIDS epidemic, when he came out against a public prevention campaign, saying, "Let's be honest with ourselves, AIDS information can not be what some call 'value neutral.' After all, when it comes to preventing AIDS, don't medicine and morality teach the same lessons?" By then, tens of thousands had died.

SHE'S PROBABLY A MUSLIM SOCIALIST TOO!

1960'S GAS PRICE

Authorities say they had to block vehicles from entering a gas station near Santa Rosa Ca. after a computer problem had gas there on sale for 39 cents a gallon.
Sonoma County sheriff's deputies and the California Highway Patrol responded to a traffic jam at the 76 station in Roseland around 8 p.m. Thursday.
Sheriff's Sgt. Kevin Scanlon described the scene as a "blockade" as drivers tried to get in on the cheap gas. Gas in Santa Rosa is averaging about $3.36 a gallon.
Scanlon told the Press Democrat of Santa Rosa the station planned to close for the night, so the computer problem could be fixed.
A station employee declined to comment on how much gas was sold at the 39-cent price.
___
Information from: The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, www.pressdemocrat.com


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?

AMISH CRIMINALS?

by Conor Friedersdorf FROM ANDREW SULLIVAN'S DISH
The first story that I came across from Rupert Murdoch's new iPad publication, is quite interesting:

Samuel is part of a shadowy community of outlaw Amish and Mennonite dairy farmers who risk fines, loss of equipment and product, and even imprisonment to transport raw milk across state lines and satisfy a burgeoning appetite for illegal raw milk in places like New York.

Says  Mark Frauenfelder: "Two people have died in the last 10 years from drinking unpasteurized milk. Twelve states have banned it. By comparison, between two and twelve children die every year playing high school football. When will high school football be banned?"

THE MAGIC OF NET NEUTRALITY

AUTO, DEMO, THEO?

RHYMEN SIMON

 

Paul Simon's new albumn " So Beautiful, So What" is to be released April 12th 2011. Listen to a free cut here of The Afterlife, which you can also download.
http://stereogum.com/632822/paul-simon-the-afterlife-stereogum-premiere/mp3s/