Medary.com

That would be the credit rating of the U.S. Government - - you know, that one with all of the "rock-solid, guaranteed Treasury Bonds?"

Why is that, you ask?

Because we're mindlessly pouring money down the trough of entitlement programs, according to the report in Financial Times:

In its annual report on the US, Moody’s signalled increased concern that rapid rises in Medicare and Medicaid – the government-funded healthcare programmes for the old and the poor – would “cause major fiscal pressures” in years to come.

Unlike Moody’s previous assessment of US government debt in 2005, Thursday’s report specifically links rises in healthcare and social security spending to the credit rating.

“The combination of the medical programmes and social security is the most important threat to the triple-A rating over the long term,” it said.

Steven Hess, Moody’s lead analyst for the US, told the Financial Times that in order to protect the country’s top rating, future administrations would have to rein in healthcare and social security costs.

“If no policy changes are made, in 10 years from now we would have to look very seriously at whether the US is still a triple-A credit,” he said.

That we're going to turn Anbar Province over to the Iraqis in March.

In a telephone interview from Iraq, Marine Maj. Gen. Walter E. Gaskin, commander of the roughly 35,000 Marine and Army forces in Anbar, said levels of violence have dropped so significantly—coupled with the growth and development of Iraqi security forces in the province—that Anbar is ready to be handed back to the Iraqis.

Thus far, nine of 18 Iraqi provinces have reverted to Iraqi control, most recently the southern province of Basra in December. The process has gone substantially slower than the Bush Administration once hoped, mainly because of obstacles to developing sufficient Iraqi police and army forces. But Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday that he expects the process to continue.

This, to some people, constitutes "losing in Iraq."  You know who you are . . .

Culture-jamming for our generation:

My goal as a political opinion poll dancer is to take up as much of his time as possible by giving misleading, long-winded and totally inaccurate answers to survey questions in hopes of one day producing an outcome — not a Hillary Clinton victory, per se, just a result that defies the pollsters — like the one produced last night in the “Live Free or Die” state. And, while I would like to take sole credit for the results in New Hampshire, I know I must share credit with others like me.

Not sure I approve.  Pretty sure I don't disapprove.

In India, that is, from Tata Motors, the big dog in India for carmaking.
Yahoo News:

Tata planned the car years ago as a safer and more affordable alternative for the millions who often ferry families of four, plus baggage, on motorbikes and scooters.

"It's a dream come true," Ashok Singh, a constable with the Delhi Police, said at the show. "I look forward to buying that car. My wife will be really happy."

New cars are preferable to buyers in India, where the absence of an organized market for second-hand cars makes buying them a tedious and sometimes risky process.

Hmm.

From ScienceDaily:

“One possible explanation is through cholesterol’s important role in the inflammation process,” he noted.

“As you exercise, your muscles can become sore because they are rebuilding muscle mass. More cholesterol may result in a more robust inflammatory response. We know that inflammation in some areas, such as near the heart, is not good, but for building muscles it may be beneficial, and cholesterol appears to aid in this process.”

Riechman said that subjects who were taking cholesterol-lowering drugs while participating in the study showed lower muscle gain totals than those who were not.

“Needless to say, these findings caught us totally off guard,” he explains.

It appears that we know about as much as the human body's actual biochemistry as we do about the Earth's climate.

ScienceDaily:

By looking at how chimpanzees prepare their food, the research team discovered that one colony used stone tools to crack nuts, whereas another colony used wooden tools as well as stone. They found these methods of preparing food have spread 4000km from East to West Africa over the more than 100,000 years. The team also found this true of other techniques, such as grooming. The research suggests that behavioural variety is due to how chimpanzees socialise rather than genetics as previously thought.

Hmm.  Culture is not determined by biology.  What could it possibly mean?

Well.  Maybe.  In fruit flies.  (Pun/slur not intended. Really.)
Science Daily:

Among the team's discoveries is that male fruit flies, which typically court females, also actively court males when they are given a daily dose of ethanol. "We identified three molecules that are crucial for "ethanol-induced courtship disinhibition," Han said.

Another reason not to drink a six-pack a day.  Or, maybe a reason to drink that six-pack every day.  I'm trying to be open-minded and diversity-oriented, here.

And, anyone who's spent much time in a bar knows all about "ethanol-induced courtship disinhibition."  This, of course usually but does not always result in being "shot down," which is a major factor in "disappointment-induced ethanol disinhibition".

Who knew?

Kansas City Star:  Levee breaks in Nevada, 3,500 stranded

A canal levee ruptured early Saturday after heavy rainfall, pouring more than 3 feet of near-freezing water into about 800 homes and stranding about 3,500 people in their agricultural desert town, authorities said.

A 30-foot-long section of the Truckee Canal broke around 4 a.m. in Fernley, about 33 miles east of Reno, officials said. No injuries were reported.

Truckee River water flowing into the canal was diverted upstream and water in the canal was receding, said Ernie Schank, president of the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District.

The area had gotten snow plus heavy rain on Friday as a storm pummeled the West Coast, raising a threat of mud slides and flooding in California, blacking out thousands of customers and blanketing the Sierra Nevada range with deep snow.

Yes, via Fark, and this one, from the U.K.'s Telegraph.  A story about bread bowls.  Yeah, bread bowls.

A Birmingham food firm has started making bowls and plates out of dough. The idea is that diners enjoy a soup, chilli or curry, then eat the bowl too.

David Williams, the managing director of Butt Foods, which has developed the idea, admits: "Our banks, our investors all thought we were crackers. But we've now proved them wrong."

No, not crackers, Mr. Williams, bowls.  And plates. Maybe . . . BUNS!  Ha-HAH!!!  Oh-ho!  Hee-hee-hee!!!!

BBC News (via Fark):

The Agent . . . They operate like a footballer's agent: fixing deals, arranging contracts, smoothing out local difficulties. . .

The Banker Accessible online, face-to-face or via a personal hotline, the Banker is unique in the world of financial services for charging no APR, asking few if any questions. . .

The White Knight . . . the White Knight parent appears at little to no notice to resolve awkward situations. . .

The Bodyguard The primary function of the Bodyguard is to protect the client from a range of embarrassing social situations . . .

The Black Hawk . . . unique among helicopter parents due to their willingness to go to any lengths - legal or illegal - to give their offspring a positional advantage over any competition. . .

Go to the link above to read the entire taxonomy.