Best Buy “demoting” 8,000 senior sales associates

This is not a repeat of Circuit City yet, but Best Buy is starting to head down the same road with the job eliminations and wage slashes.

Thousands of Best Buy store employees will see their pay slashed or their positions eliminated.

Best Buy would not disclose the number of people affected, but New York investment firm Sanford Bernstein said in a research note Wednesday that as many as 1,000 assistant store managers would have their positions cut. Up to another 8,000 senior sales associates would be demoted to regular sales positions that would pay 25 percent to 50 percent less than their previous jobs.

It’s torture — prosecution is not optional

All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Paul Jamiol, Jamiol’s World

Britain: First Stem Cell Therapy To Cure The Blind

An incredible breakthrough in stem cell therapy, by British Scientist, that promises to cure age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of blindness.

Surgeons predict it will become a routine, one-hour procedure that will be generally available in six or seven years’ time.

The treatment involves replacing a layer of degenerated cells with new ones created from embryonic stem cells. It was pioneered by scientists and surgeons from the Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London and Moorfields eye hospital.

This week Pfizer, the world’s largest pharmaceutical research company, will announce its financial backing to bring the therapy to patients.

Pfizer’s is playing a major role in the clinical trials and they have agreed to manufacture the membranes.

The team is applying for regulatory approval for trials from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the Human Tissue Authority and the gene therapy advisory committee.

Obama stumbles…

All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
John Cole, Scranton, PA Times-Tribune

American Sterling Bank – 24th Bank Failure This Year

By February 9th, this year, we had nine banks that had failed across the United States. Here is the list :

FirstBank Financial Services, McDonough, Georgia. Deposits here will now be held at Regions Bank, based in Birmingham, Alabama, and FirstBank’s branches will reopen as Regions branches.

Alliance Bank, Culver City, California. Deposits here will now be held at California Bank & Trust, based in San Diego, California, and Alliance’s branches will reopen as California B&T branches.

County Bank, Merced, California. Deposits here have been transferred to Westamerica Bank, based in San Rafael, California, and County’s branches are reopening today as Westamerica branches.

MagnetBank, Salt Lake City, Utah does not have a receiving bank, so the FDIC will be mailing checks to customers for their insured amounts.

Suburban Federal Savings Bank, Crofton, MD has transferred its deposits to Bank of Essex, Tappahannock, VA.

BYOFS (Bring your own flop sweat)

All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Steve Sack, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Republican John Boehner Notes Cow Flatulence To Downplay Global Warming

Republican Minority Leader makes a joke about Global Warming.  He states, “that it is almost comical that carbon dioxide would be consider harmful.”

Monday open thread

Dianthus

Good morning, all!

It’s a gorgeous spring morning in Idaho.  We’re supposed to get up to 73 degrees today!

Does anyone have garden plans?  The pots on my little deck are lookingready for tomato plants.

What’s on your mind today?

Sunday’s Watcha Reading?

This topic, as suggested by TheZoo’s dbadass…

Fantastic book by the way. I read it recently.

What book do you have your nose in today? I am diving into a book I haven’t read seen I was about 20 years old. Mary Stewart’s “Nine Coaches Waiting”. Great book, and a nice diversion.

How about you? What’s your book about?

On my reading table next is “The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy”. Thanks Wayne for the suggestion. Can’t wait to read it!

Are you shitreous?

Definition of ‘shitreous‘:

A phrase that comes from the mixture of the emphatic expressions “no shit!” and “are you serious?” It is normally used in response to some surprising or shocking news or information. When said fast is indistinguishable from saying “are you serious?”

Learn something new every day…

All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Jen Sorensen, Slowpoke Comics

Democracy Now: “Little Guantanamo,” Secretive “CMU” Prisons

YouTube:

There were two secretive prisons opened under the Bush Administration, one in Indiana and the other is located in Illinois.  They are called “CMU” Prisons, which means communications management units.  These units are designed to severely restrict communications between the prisoners, their family members, the media and the outside world.

Dozens of muslim men are still being held at these “CMU’s”, along with animal rights activists, and environmental rights activists also.  The government has supplied very little information about these prison units.   The search on the Bureau of Prison website yields just one document even mentioning the program.  Only a handful of news articles have covered what has been described as a “Little Guantanamo,” by some of the prisoners.

Welcome to the new “New World Order”

This is a two part series from TheRealNews Network. Very interesting..

TheRealNews Network does some really excellent reporting, and really good interviewing of solid, knowledgeable people on hard-hitting subjects. They approach issues in a very intelligent, responsible, direct way, and they are independent of government subsidies, and have no corporate sponsorship. They ask tough questions. Pretty much what you would expect and hope for from REAL news reports. Much of what they discuss won’t be found in the MSM. I learn a lot by watching their interviews.

You can subscribe to their video reports on YouTube.

Pepe Escobar Pt.1: A tsunami of hype around another “new world order”

(This is an aside): Pepe Escobar touches on the recent, disturbing interview on Bill Moyers Journal with author and former banking regulator William Black. Chilling. Everyone should watch this. Mr. Black is the author of “The Best Way To Rob A Bank Is To Own One“, and he teaches economics and law at the University of Missouri.
Video and transcript of the Bill Moyers Journal segment.

Pepe Escobar Pt.2: There will be class war, there will be blood

Hate, fear, *sob*

Created for TheZoo by Paul Jamiol
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Paul Jamiol, Jamiol’s World

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Olive Oil Protects Your Heart

Recipes for salad dressing and a marinade made with olive oil.

According to new research olive oil surpasses all the other oils in protecting your heart from failing and arteries from hardening.  One of the reasons it is the healthy choice:

Olive oil contains monounsaturated fat, which can lower your risk of heart disease by reducing the total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or “bad”) cholesterol levels in your blood.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), consuming about 2 tablespoons (23 grams) of olive oil a day may reduce your risk of heart disease.

There are many different types of olive oil, the most recommend is “extra-virgin” or “virgin” these are the least processed and have the highest levels of polyphenols, a powerful antioxidant.

Independence, Mo.: Lawsuit Accuses Police of Negligence

The City of Independence, its police department, and a major ambulance provider in the metro face a lawsuit. They’re accused of allowing a teenager, hit by a suspect fleeing police, to bleed to death.

Maybe most disturbing is the comment an officer made on tape.  ”They’re like roaches, man,” said the unidentified Independence police officer. “They don’t die.”

That comment is at the heart of a new lawsuit filed Monday.

Last November, during a police chase, Wilfredo Pujols ran over Christopher Cooper, 17, who was crossing Noland Road on a bicycle. Pujuols pled guilty for his role in criminal court. But Cooper’s family believes “a cowboy atmosphere” within the police department makes them just as liable.

Sunday Open Thread

It’s a long way from father to son. The father starring in the wonderful movie M*A*S*H* , the son’s violence worship in “24″. Both productions are characteristic for the time in which they originate. I, for my part, would like to rewind to the 70′s. What’s your favourite era, that you’ve lived in?

My hero…

My hero was making way too much sense for this crowd. 

Saturday Night Humor With John Cleese & Rowan Atkinson

John Cleese and Rowan Atkinson performing the hilarious sketch called Beekeeping.

You have… the Grim.

All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
John Cole, Scranton, PA Times-Tribune

Lynx

Stefan Sobotta shot these scenes at Harz Mountain National Park in Northern Germany where they have a very successful Lynx reintroduction program. The Lynx in this video live in an enclosure to show park visitors what they look like and how they live. The enclosure is the public relations part of the reintroduction program.

Working out with the critters…

All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Jen Sorensen, Slowpoke Comics

Schmidt Ex-McCain Aide: “Urges GOP To Drop Opposition to Gay Marriage”

Steve Schmidt, a key architect of John McCain’s presidential campaign, is making his first public return to Washington a bold one.

Schmidt will use a speech Friday to Log Cabin Republicans, a gay rights group, to urge conservative Republicans to drop their opposition to same-sex marriage, CNN has learned.

“There is a sound conservative argument to be made for same-sex marriage,” Schmidt will say, according to speech excerpts obtained by CNN. “I believe conservatives, more than liberals, insist that rights come with responsibilities. No other exercise of one’s liberty comes with greater responsibilities than marriage.”

It’s About Time: EPA Finds Global Warming Is Dangerous

CommonDreams

Even with all the evidence out there at our fingertips to find; there are still many people who do not believe.  This particular post is an example:

Some dastardly scientists with environmental and political motives manipulated long term scientific data to create an illusion of rapid global warming. Other scientists of the same environmental whacko type jumped into the circle to support and broaden the “research” to further enhance the totally slanted, bogus global warming claims. Their friends in government steered huge research grants their way to keep the movement going.

I guess no amount of scientific data will ever be enough for some folks. Better late than never though, the EPA has admitted global warming is unsafe. Greenpeace has issued a press release about the change of heart at the EPA.

“EPA’s endangerment finding is a welcome sign that the Obama Administration is ready, willing and-more importantly-able to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act if Congress fails to act.

“But today’s announcement is also a testament to the success of industry in delaying real action to stop climate change. It took eleven states, ten years, two IPCC reports, two changes of presidency and one Supreme Court decision to reach the obvious conclusion that global warming endangers human health and welfare and EPA has a duty to do something about it.

Secessionist…

All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Nick Anderson, Houston Chronicle Editorial Cartoonist and Animation Artist.
For Nick’s animations, visit Nick Anderson: Animation Archives.
For Nick’s cartoons, visit Nick Anderson.

U.S. Journalist Sentenced To 8 Years In Prison In Iran

Obama, Clinton and others speak out against the prison term.

Analysts say the journalist, who grew up in North Dakota, may be seen as a political bargaining chip to use against the West.  An Iranian American journalist accused of spying for the U.S. was sentenced by an Iranian court Saturday to eight years in prison, a move likely to strain the Obama administration’s recent overtures to improve relations with Tehran.

Roxana Saberi, 31, who had reported for the BBC and National Public Radio, had faced espionage charges during a trial Monday before Iran’s Revolutionary Court.