wo members of the Senate Finance Committee plan to put their Democratic colleagues on the spot on Tuesday by offering amendments on whether to give uninsured Americans the opportunity to join a government insurance program.

Interestingly the two Democrats are Rockefeller of WV (a backwater state to many) and Schumer (usually considered a corporate tool).

At least 38% of Indians live in extreme poverty, according to a new report by a government committee.

To be fair, a good number of Indians have dropped off the billionaire list in 2008/2009, so save some tears for them as well.

A meat-eater driving a Prius contributes more to climate change than a vegan driving a Hummer

This should get some attention! ;-) Let me add: it took a lot of maturity to avoid a punchier headline ;-).

A treasured piece at the Dutch national museum – a supposed moon rock from the first manned lunar landing – is nothing more than petrified wood, curators say.

It is a commentary on the state of popularisation of science (and the sway of the sci-fi, Star Wars and NASA constituencies) that something as fascinating as a piece of petrified wood is considered worthless in comparison to a “treasured” bit of stone from the moon.

“My heart is broken because a coyote took my precious Daisy right in front of our eyes. HORROR!” she Tweeted.

Too bad for the poor dog that had the bad fortune of being “owned” by this woman (seen here apparently sporting a fur coat of some sort) who once proudly wore a t-shirt with the words “Real Girls Eat Meat”.

In the recession, the nation’s poverty rate climbed to 13.2 percent last year, up from 12.5 percent in 2007, according to an annual report released Thursday by the Census Bureau. The report also documented a decline in employer-provided health insurance and in coverage for adults.

The rise in the poverty rate, to the highest level since 1997, portends even larger increases this year, which has registered far higher unemployment than in 2008, economists said.

The bureau said 39.8 million residents last year lived below the poverty line, defined as an income of $22,025 for a family of four.

In another sign of both the recession and the long-term stagnation of middle-class wages, median family incomes in 2008 fell to $50,300, compared with $52,200 the year before. This wiped out the income gains of the previous three years, the report said.

Adjusted for inflation, in fact, median family incomes were lower in 2008 than a decade earlier.

Gordon Brown has said he is sorry for the “appalling” way World War II code-breaker Alan Turing was treated for being gay.

A petition on the No 10 website had called for a posthumous government apology to the computer pioneer.

In 1952 Turing was prosecuted for gross indecency after admitting a sexual relationship with a man. Two years later he killed himself.

A nit: calling Turing a “code-breaker” is like calling Einstein a University professor.