Bank donates Carinalli house to homeless agency

By GUY KOVNER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 1:59 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 1:59 p.m.


An aging, two-bedroom ranch house at the west edge of Santa Rosa, seized in foreclosure proceedings from bankrupt financier Clem Carinalli, will soon become a housing complex for people who have lost their homes.

The house, which sits on two acres and is valued at $290,000, was donated by Luther Burbank Savings to Community Housing Sonoma County, a nonprofit that has helped create 179 units of low-income housing since 2003.

The donation of the foreclosure property is unprecedented in Sonoma County and possibly nationwide, housing advocates and bankers involved in the deal said.

“For us, it's a godsend,” said Georgia Berland, executive director of the Sonoma County Task Force for the Homeless, who brokered the deal between the bank and the community housing organization.

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http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20111...

Today’s word is CORPORATOCRACY

The Top 10 Everything of 2011
In 54 wide-ranging lists, TIME surveys the highs and lows, the good and the bad, of the past 12 months

By ISHAAN THAROOR Wednesday, Dec. 07, 2011

Top 10 U.S.-News Stories

1. Occupy Wall Street Protests Spread

On Sept. 17, a couple hundred protesters demonstrating against the excesses of corporate execs and the pervasive influence of high finance in U.S. politics set up camp in Lower Manhattan's Zuccotti Park and refused to leave. It was an unlikely occupation, one without leaders, agendas or even a clear sense of goals, but it soon was echoed in myriad cities across the U.S. and the world. To some, Occupy Wall Street is the left-wing iteration of the Tea Party, directing their rage not at big government but at the big banks that gutted the world economy and took billions in bailouts from the U.S. government while awarding themselves hefty bonuses.

But many in the movement see their cause as part of a more global zeitgeist, in keeping with the anti-austerity demonstrations in Europe and the leaderless uprisings of the Arab Spring. The Occupy movement has remained leaderless, amorphous and spontaneous — demonstrators carry signs advocating everything from financial reform to healthcare reform to a ban on fracking — it's still unclear what sort of real lasting political effect the movement can have. But the sheer persistence of the occupations, galvanized by incidents of heavy-handed policing in New York and California that shocked the nation, have given the protesters' appeals for economic justice a weight that may play a real role in the upcoming presidential election.


Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages... #ixzz1fuAGz54P

I Polar Bears! Happy Birthday Walker!



Walker, a 58 stone (368 kg) polar bear, chases a plastic helmet in a pond on his third birthday at the Highland Wildlife Park in Kincraig, Scotland December 7, 2011. Walker was born in Rhenen Zoo in Holland and came to live at the Highland Wildlife Park after his aunt, Freedom, became pregnant and needed space to retire to her cubbing den. Winds of up to 70mph are expected to hit Scotland today, and snow in the Highlands is expected to be deeper than 10cm in places.






















KINGUSSIE, SCOTLAND - DECEMBER 07: Walker the polar bear shows off a missing tooth on his third birthday at the Highland Wildlife Park on December 7, 2011 in Kingussie, Scotland. Walker was born in Rhenen Zoo in Holland on 7th December 2008. He came to live at the Highland Wildlife Park after his aunt, Freedom, became pregnant and needed to retire to her cubbing den,his mother was also due to come on heat and be reintroduced back to the Zoo's adult male, Walker's dad.



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District teens disagree with Newt Gingrich: They are ready to work
By David Montgomery and Lonnae O’Neal Parker, Monday, December 5, 5:28 PM


When Nickaro Young, Khalid Bullock and Rian Hayes heard what the GOP presidential candidate was saying about young people like them and their peers in the Congress Heights neighborhood of the District, they bristled, briefly. Then they went back to their responsibilities.

Which for Young, 16, includes walking to the IHOP on Alabama Avenue SE, where he is a host on weekends. Bullock, 17, helps out at his father’s store, Shar Retailers on Martin Luther King Boulevard SE, and last month he co-founded a nonprofit to help young people put their talent to work in the community.

Hayes, 17, is studying hard to become a lawyer, after a successful internship this past summer at the downtown law firm of Alston & Bird.

“He’s got it way wrong,” says Young, a junior at Ballou High School, who has applied for weekday work at other stores and restaurants, so far with no luck. “How would he know if he’s not where we’re at?”

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/st...

Photos: biologists surprised by world's biggest leopard in Afghanistan
Jeremy Hance
mongabay.com
December 05, 2011



When biologists with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) reviewed recent photos from camera traps in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan they were shocked to find a snarling image of the world's largest leopard: the Persian leopard (Panthera pardus ciscaucasica). Listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List, the subspecies was thought long-vanished from the Hindu Kush. Photos from the camera traps—automated cameras that use an infrared trigger to catch wildlife—also showed lynx (Lynx lynx), wild cat (Felis silvestris), Eurasian wolf (Canis lupus lupus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), and stone marten (Martes foina).

"The presence of leopards and lynxes in Afghanistan tells us that these big cats are finding enough prey to survive," said Ghani Ghuriani, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock. "This means that the rangelands can still support ibex, urial, and other species, which is a good sign for both wildlife and the people of this region who also depend on these grasslands for grazing."

Though WCS says it is thrilled with the discovery it also notes that the photos show one of the primary threats to Persian leopards, also known as Caucasian leopards.

"We were sobered by the fact that the cameras also took photographs of local people walking past with guns. Poaching is still a very real threat, and WCS is committed to helping the Afghan government and local communities protect these rare and beautiful animals," Peter Zahler, deputy director of WCS's Asia Program explains.

Read more: http://news.mongabay.com/2011/1205-hance_p...

New York City police officers block a sidewalk to prevent protestors with Occupy Wall Street from approaching the entrance to the Union League Club in New York, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011, where Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was attending a fundraiser inside.








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Gingrich Unveils New Child Labor Plan: Make Them Work As ‘Apprenti’ For Trump
By Alex Seitz-Wald on Dec 5, 2011 at 12:45 pm

GOP front-runner Newt Gingrich sat down with real estate mogul Donald Trump this morning, becoming the latest in a parade of GOP presidential candidates looking for Trump’s endorsement. “I’m a big fan of him,” Gingrich said after the meeting. He’s also the only candidate so far to agree to participate in an upcoming debate Trump is moderating.

Why anyone would want Trump’s endorsement is a bit of a mystery, as only 6 percent of voters said they would be more likely to support Trump-approved candid, while a full 31 percent said Trump’s endorsement would make them less likely to support a candidate. But Gingrich and Trump had a PR strategy for the confab.

The former House speaker has taken flak in recent days for calling child labor laws “truly stupid” and saying that poor kids should clean the bathrooms in their school to learn legal work habits. “Newt Gingrich has reached a new low, and that is hard for him to do,” New York Times columnist Charles Blow wrote Friday. “You clearly know little,” actress Eva Longoria scolded Gingrich on Twitter.

After the summit today, Gignrich and Trump announced a joint plan to select 10 “apprenti,” as Trump put it (the actual plural of “apprentice” is “apprentices”) from New York City’s schools to work for the reality TV star. “It was Newt’s idea and I thought it was a great idea,” Trump said at a joint press conference. Watch it:

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http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/12/... /

Morale Murals




Check out these amazing living murals created by U.S. soldiers during World War I! Each picture was created using more than 15,000 men but took only 30 minutes to get everyone into position.

more murals here...
http://news.icanhascheezburger.com/2011/11... /

Posted at 02:00 PM ET, 12/02/2011
Smokey Bear up in smoke? House GOP takes aim
By Emily Heil

Is nothing sacred? We get that House Republicans are dead serious in their efforts to trim federal spending and cut the national debt, but we had no idea how far they were willing to go...until now.

They may be proposing giving the axe to none other than the beloved icons Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl. Yes, that’s Smokey of “only you can prevent forest fires” fame and Woodsy, who charmingly warns schoolchildren to “give a hoot, don’t pollute.”

Why, Smokey and Woodsy are national treasures! There’s even a law protecting Smokey’s integrity and an adorable brochure dedicated to making sure that he’s portrayed properly.

The cuddly creatures are among the children’s education programs run by the Forest Service, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor put such programs on the chopping block in the latest installment of his “YouCut” contest in which he invites the public to identify federal spending to whack in the name of budget-balancing.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/in-the...

The World’s Biggest Insect Is So Freaking Huge It Can Eat a Carrot
BY CASEY CHAN DEC 1, 2011 1:00 PM



Say hello to the spine tingling Giant Weta. What is a Giant Weta, you ask? Well, it's a gigantic cricket-like insect that's also the largest insect in the world. It's as heavy as three mice and even bigger than some birds. BE AFRAID LITTLE HUMANS.

The wingspan of this insect (I don't feel like the word insect does this thing justice) is only 7 inches but look at the thing on a human's hands, it's alien, it's not right, I get queasy looking at it. Luckily, the Giant Weta is only found on Little Barrier Island in New Zealand so I'll just avoid that area for the rest of my life and live in peace. The island actually helps the Giant Weta grow so monstrously large because there are fewer predators in its habitat. Not cool.

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http://gizmodo.com/5864195/the-worlds-bigg...

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, center, visits with former President George H.W. Bush, his wife Barbara and their dogs Mimi and Bibi, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, at their home in Houston.




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US Embassy in Iran? Michele Bachmann’s ‘Oops’ Moment
By Molly Hunter
Nov 30, 2011 7:19pm

Did Michelle Bachmann have her “oops” moment?

In light of the British Foreign Ministry pulling all U.K. nationals out of the British embassy in Tehran after students stormed the building in protest, GOP presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann told a crowd in Waverly, Iowa, today that she would close the U.S. embassy in Iran.

One small, tiny note: The U.S. hasn’t had an embassy in Tehran since 1980. Following the Iranian Hostage Crisis, where 52 Americans were held for 444 days, the United States cut all diplomatic ties.

According to reports, Bachmann applauded the U.K.’s move, adding, “That’s exactly what I would do . We wouldn’t have an embassy in Iran. I wouldn’t allow that to be there.”

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http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/... /

via twitter...
thinkprogress ThinkProgress
No, this is not a mediocre middle school civics project. This is Herman Cain's foreign policy platform. yfrog.com/kkmj25j

http://yfrog.com/kkmj25j





http://www.hermancain.com/issue/foreign_po...

First Lady Michelle Obama (R) decorates Christmas cookies with children of active duty military personnel during the press preview of the White House Christmas decorations in Washington, DC, November 29, 2011. The White House chose a theme of 'Shine, Give, Share' celebrating the countless ways we can lift up those around us.
















First Lady Michelle Obama (C) pets a 'Bo'(Obama's dog) decoration as she talks with children of active duty military personnel during the press preview of the White House Christmas decorations in Washington, DC, November 29, 2011. The White House chose a theme of 'Shine, Give, Share' celebrating the countless ways we can lift up those around us.


First Lady Michelle Obama shows her dog Bo to children of active duty military personnel during the press preview of the White House Christmas decorations in Washington, DC, November 29, 2011. The White House chose a theme of 'Shine, Give, Share' celebrating the countless ways we can lift up those around us.


US First Lady Michelle Obama hugs the child of an active military parent during the press preview of the White House Christmas decorations in Washington, DC, November 30, 2011. The White House chose a theme of 'Shine, Give, Share' celebrating the countless ways we can lift up those around us.


pics from news.daylife.com