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What products were made with vermiculite from the mine in Libby? Much of the Libby vermiculite was used to produce attic insulation products, often sold under the brand name Zonolite. Vermiculite was commonly sold in gardening and hardware stores. It was used as a soil amendment (conditioner to improve soil quality), fertilizer carrier, and it was an ingredient in many potting soil mixes. Vermiculite was also used in fireproofing materials, gypsum wallboard, and as a lightweight aggregate in construction materials. It's asbestos. Nightline is on it. And it's in millions of homes. Bush falters, concern grows, story explodes.
comment posted at 8:36 AM on Nov-17-05
comment posted at 8:42 AM on Nov-17-05
comment posted at 9:21 AM on Nov-17-05
comment posted at 10:20 AM on Nov-17-05

The hunting of American Bison got a renewal today. The first hunt of the buffalo, in 15 years, began with a Belgrade, MT, boy killing a bull with 4 shots, shortly after the hunt began. The 15 year hiatus on hunting Bison in Montana was contentious, if not downright nasty, but that's over now. Montana has allowed Bison hunting outside Yellowstone park, and it's been a media show. Of course, this really pisses some folks off, to which hunters claim, "It's like the hunter's become the hunted". The mountain west of the US has become a battle ground of flowing ideas, with man against nature, and man against man. The Endangered Species Act, the very thing that has lead us to this event, is under siege. People begin to notice when critters die. Welcome to Bison Hunt, 101.
comment posted at 4:36 PM on Nov-16-05
comment posted at 5:03 PM on Nov-16-05

The US Fed wants the Yellowstone Grizzly Bears taken off the list of threatened species. (No, not those Grizzlies, heh.) Through very serious recovery efforts the Grizzly bear population in the area around Yellowstone National Park is being considered "recovered", such that they can be removed from the protection of the endangered species act. Some fear that this move doesn't address the issue of where the bears actually live, though it needs to be pointed out that hunting and killing bears in the Park is prohibited. Some are celebrating this as a great move by the DoI. Some of America's friends overseas don't appear to be any too happy about this. The proposal only covers those bears in and around Yellowstone, but the Grizzly recovery in other areas remains slowed by illegal killing, and stupidity. Can we call this a success for the Endangered Species Act? Or is the ESA itself endangered? Of course, this post wouldn't be complete without the headcase who blames environmentalists for keeping him from baiting the bears.
comment posted at 3:47 PM on Nov-15-05
comment posted at 4:01 PM on Nov-15-05
comment posted at 2:40 PM on Nov-16-05

Harriet Miers, Ben Barnes, and an "eye-popping amount of money." Harriet Miers may have given "Bush skipped out on the TexANG"-accuser Ben Barnes a golden parachute in an effort to keep him close...and quiet.
comment posted at 11:39 AM on Oct-21-05

Fitzmas is coming!... isn't it? Can you stand the anticipation? Could this major holiday turn out to be a big letdown? (Remember, "Fantasies of Cheney being indicted and Bush as unindicted coconspirator are just that at this point--fantasies.") But that doesn't mean we can't be ready with Fitzmas carols or Indictment Bingo, which Wonkette proposed and BackupBrain has now rendered as an actual randomized Fitzmas Bingo card for playing along at home.
comment posted at 10:52 AM on Oct-21-05

Were these the original mountian bikers? Forget about Marin County in the late 70's. The real pioneers were members of the 25th Infantry Regiment who did a little riding in Montana. They are also the subject of a book titled Iron Riders and a PBS documentary called The Bicycle Corps.
comment posted at 2:26 PM on Oct-20-05

U.S. soldiers videotaped desecrating Taliban corpses. The bodies were positioned to face Mecca and burned -- an act of desecration that violates Islamic burial rites and the Geneva Conventions. A U.S. PsyOps specialist broadcast an inflammatory message to the nearby town in order to incite an attack. "Attention, Taliban, you are all cowardly dogs. You allowed your fighters to be laid down facing west and burned. You are too scared to come down and retrieve their bodies. This just proves you are the lady boys we always believed you to be."
The video aired last night in Australia, but hasn't surfaced yet in the U.S. It won't be long, though.. "Wow, look at the blood coming out of the mouth on that one, fucking straight death metal."
comment posted at 10:55 AM on Oct-20-05

Katrina Victims Win Against Gun-grabbing NO Superintendent of Police. The United States District Court for the Eastern District in Louisiana today sided with the National Rifle Association (NRA) and issued a restraining order to bar further gun confiscations from peaceable and law-abiding victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
comment posted at 8:23 PM on Sep-24-05
comment posted at 8:36 PM on Sep-24-05

The laugh judgement our competition to find the funniest and most offensive religious jokes, in response to the British government's proposed anti-religious hatred legislation, is finally over. And we have two winners. Our funniest religious joke is about sectarianism gone mad, while our most offensive is a sick tale of tragedy on a clifftop – as voted for by Ship of Fools readers. Read on for the jokes.
comment posted at 12:13 PM on Sep-12-05

The Red Cross has been ordered to stay out of New Orleans. Critical firefighting equipment is being left untouched. Chicago's offer of manpower and equipment is "snubbed" by FEMA, according to the Mayor. FEMA "forgets" to tell the military to airdrop food and water to the survivors. Northern Command has been ready for days, just waiting for the President to give the orders. Feds delayed paperwork giving permission for National Guard to act. Louisiana begged for federal help on Sunday in a formal request, but the Bush administration says they didn't know anything about problems until Wednesday. Meanwhile, reporters apparently grow weary of the spin doctors.
comment posted at 5:44 PM on Sep-3-05
comment posted at 6:03 PM on Sep-3-05
comment posted at 6:21 PM on Sep-3-05
comment posted at 6:26 PM on Sep-3-05
comment posted at 7:00 PM on Sep-3-05

Scamdy - Is it fraud or not? Andy Stephenson, former Democratic candidate for the Secretary of State of Washington, former associate director of the Black Box Voting non-profit organization and currently a self-proclaimed "Voting Rights Activist" and "Online Investigator," is alleged to have defrauded hundreds and possibly thousands of people involved in the progressive movement throughout the US and abroad by perpetrating a complicated online hoax and fundraising scheme to pay for alleged medical treatment for what he claims is a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. This website asks three simple questions before filing a complaint to the FBI... (a more concise story laid out here)
comment posted at 2:34 PM on Jun-17-05

"It's a moral argument. How morally right is it for our Democratic nominee for president to tell 60 million people, 'You don't matter to me'?" An interview with Dave "Mudcat" Saunders on how Democrats can get the Bubba vote. (via the revealer)
comment posted at 1:12 PM on Jun-16-05
comment posted at 2:29 PM on Jun-16-05
comment posted at 2:47 PM on Jun-16-05
comment posted at 3:00 PM on Jun-16-05
comment posted at 3:24 PM on Jun-16-05

And here's to you, Mrs Robinson! RIP
comment posted at 5:14 PM on Jun-7-05

Judge orders Abu Ghraib videos, pictures released. ... and all hell's gonna break loose.

To quote Sy Hersh:
"The boys were sodomized with the cameras rolling. And the worst above all of that is the soundtrack the boys shrieking that your government has. They are in total terror. It's going to come out."
comment posted at 3:45 PM on Jun-3-05

The Ten Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Centuries from Human Events Online, a weekly conservative journal. [more inside]
comment posted at 11:11 AM on Jun-1-05
comment posted at 11:57 AM on Jun-1-05
comment posted at 12:00 PM on Jun-1-05

More mass graves unearthed in Iraq | Investigators have discovered several mass graves in southern Iraq that are believed to contain the bodies of people killed by Saddam Hussein's government, including one estimated to hold 5,000 bodies, Iraqi officials say. If the estimated body counts prove correct, the new graves would be among the largest in the grim tally of mass killings that have gradually come to light since the fall of Saddam's government two years ago. At least 290 grave sites containing the remains of 300,000 people have been found since the U.S. invasion two years ago, Iraqi officials say. In the aftermath of Saddam's fall, thousands of Iraqis overran mass-grave sites, digging for their relatives' remains with backhoes, shovels, even their bare hands. More evidence of genocide was discovered in Spring 2003, and though the numbers were disputed, the number of buried bodies discovered has continued to rise.
comment posted at 5:43 PM on Apr-18-05

The US house majority leader, a long-time supporter of an armed citizenry, jokes about weapons as the great equalizer in his battles with critics. “When a man is in trouble or in a good fight, he wants all of his friends around him, particularly armed,' said Delay to the NRA convention.
comment posted at 8:59 PM on Apr-17-05

"The Auditor", an amazing dog, lived a long life in one of the harshest environments, the Berkeley Pit in Butte, Montana. The mine site has no vegetation, the water in the pit is full of heavy metals and very acidic (pH 2.5) and yet the Auditor held on long after mining operations halted. He has inspired a web site and even an art project.
comment posted at 3:58 PM on Apr-14-05

Novelist Saul Bellow is dead. "Goodness is achieved not in a vacuum, but in the company of other men, attended by love." Interviews: 1965, 1982, 1987. Partial bibliography. Saul Bellow Society. Wikipedia entry.
comment posted at 5:17 PM on Apr-5-05

Olives have a taste that is older than wine.
A stand-alone appetizer, these drupes are fine.
One of the first accomplishments of civilized man,
Now they are harvested in many a land.
This fruit of the tree that feeds the child,
Are oft' sour and tangy, definitely not mild.
Olives are known to make you look and feel great.
While those who don't love them are prone to debate.
They're artsy and craftsy, some virginal, some not.
And you can stuff 'em with just about anything you've got.
comment posted at 1:58 PM on Apr-5-05

"Hanoi Jane" Fonda: the traitor stands in worse case of woe. "… sitting on an enemy aircraft gun was a betrayal," she said.
Treason or higher loyalty: her country right or wrong? Each man must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, which course is patriotic and which isn't. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide against your conviction is to be an unqualified and excusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may. --Mark Twain
comment posted at 7:31 PM on Apr-3-05

Fake name. Fake reporter. Fake news agency....Fake Marine ! Latest tasty research treat from Propagannon Group : Guckert lied re military service. Whips 'n chains and web based military theme escort services ? Whatever. Hey, I'm a social libertarian. But lying about being in the marines? - Tacky.
comment posted at 11:43 AM on Mar-24-05

Blogger analysis of Terri Schiavo's CAT Scan. Healthy brain. Terri Schiavo's brain.
comment posted at 5:09 PM on Mar-24-05

Federal Intervention in Schiavo Case Prompts Broad Public Disapproval Blowback? "The public, by 63 percent-28 percent, supports the removal of Schiavo's feeding tube, and by a 25-point margin opposes a law mandating federal review of her case. Congress passed such legislation and President Bush signed it early today...."
comment posted at 4:10 PM on Mar-21-05
comment posted at 4:35 PM on Mar-21-05
comment posted at 3:28 PM on Mar-22-05
comment posted at 4:26 PM on Mar-22-05

Whoa! I'm not a big fan of GWB or the Iraq debacle but that might be going a bit far. (found here) It does make me think how odd it is to have nuts on what you consider the correct side of an issue. Pedantic idiocy aside, it seems that in a broader sense the left and the right have to deal with their own nuts. At what point do the fringes sabotoge the main message?
comment posted at 11:48 AM on Mar-19-05
comment posted at 12:21 PM on Mar-19-05
comment posted at 12:24 PM on Mar-19-05

Potato bugs. The most universally feared, hated and disgusting creatures on the planet.
comment posted at 11:53 AM on Mar-19-05
comment posted at 12:26 PM on Mar-19-05

9 year old Jessica Lunsford's body has been found. A registered sex offender has confessed to the kidnapping and murder.
comment posted at 10:57 AM on Mar-19-05