Creepy: Gov't Alters Pic of Congressional Women

What could possibly go wrong? From Fox News:

Nancy Pelosi's aides took a page out of the fashion world's playbook this week and did some ultra-airbrushing to a congressional class photo -- adding in four lawmakers who were never in the original picture.

The reason was innocuous enough. The Democratic women of the 113th Congress had gathered on the Capitol steps Thursday for a picture, snapped by The Associated Press, marking the start of the session.

Four lawmakers, though, were late to the shoot. So Pelosi's office added their faces after the fact -- then emailed that image around to reporters and posted it on her Flickr page.

Still, the act of digitally altering a quasi-official photo raised questions Friday. Journalism institute Poynter drew attention to the "doctored" photo, pointing out that the White House in 2011 stopped staging photos after a flap over the president re-enacting the announcement of Usama bin Laden's death.

Pelosi defended the changes on Friday.

The picture(s) in question:

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Unemployment Jumps to 7.8%; MSM Pours on the Praise for a 'Strengthening Economy'

So unemployment is up and numbers are somehow doing better? Leave it to the Main Stream Media to spin it.

From the AP via Yahoo:

Robust hiring in manufacturing and construction fueled the December gains. Construction firms added 30,000 jobs, the most in 15 months. That likely reflects additional hiring needed to rebuild after Superstorm Sandy and also solid gains in home building that have contributed to a housing recovery.

Manufacturers gained 25,000, the most in nine months.

Even with the gains, hiring is far from accelerating. Employers added an average of 153,000 jobs a month last year, matching the monthly average in 2011. Employers added 1.84 million jobs in 2012, the same as the previous year.

Still, the stable hiring last month means employers didn't panic during the high-stakes talks between Congress and the White House over tax increases and spending cuts that were not resolved until the new year. That's a good sign for the coming months, since more budget disputes are expected.

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Biden to Senator's Husband: 'Spread Your Legs, You're Gonna be... Frisked'

I... what?
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Mamaroneck Schools on Lockdown After Reports of Man With Gun

From NBC:

Schools in Mamaroneck, N.Y. are locked down after a man with a gun showed up at a middle school and tried to get in, officials said.

The man left without incident, officials said.

He tried to access Hommocks Middle School through a side entrance that was locked, and then went to the main entrance, where he was stopped.

A campus worker asked him why he was there and noticed he had a gun, according to an email sent to parents. The man said he had the gun because he works as a security guard.

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Boehner Loses Speakership... then Doesn't Thanks in Part to Michele Bachmann

What a tangled web people weave. Numerous reports surfaced yesterday that House Republicans would block John Boehner from being reelected as Speaker. Looks like that bluster was all for not.

17 Republicans had to break away from voting for Mr. Boehner. Nine voted against him, including: Justin Amash (R-MI), Jim Bridenstine (R-OK), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Tim Huelskamp (R-KS), Walter Jones (R-NC), Thomas Massie (R-KY), and Ted Yoho (R-FL).

Eight abstained, making it clear that they might vote against Bachmann if the opportunity presented itself, including the famed Michele Bachmann. That's the magic number: 17.

At the last moment, however, Bachmann declared that she was no longer abstaining and... voted for Boehner. This gives Boehner reelection and most certainly, many conservatives will be calling her a RINO.

Large and apparently in charge

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Switzerland: Gunman Kills Three in Daillon in Valais

From the BBC:

A gunman has opened fire in a village in Switzerland, killing three people and wounding two others, police say.

The attack happened on Wednesday at around 21:00 (20:00 GMT) in the village of Daillon in Valais canton, 100km (60 miles) east of Geneva.

Police shot and wounded the suspect after he threatened to turn a gun on them. He has been arrested.

Investigations revealed the man was a known drug addict and former mental health patient, authorities say.

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Al Jazeera Buys Al Gore's Current TV

From a propagandizing nut to propagandizing jihadists. From the New York Times:

Al Jazeera, the pan-Arab news giant, has long tried to convince Americans that it is a legitimate news organization, not a parrot of Middle Eastern propaganda or something more sinister.

It just bought itself 40 million more chances to make its case.

Al Jazeera on Wednesday announced a deal to take over Current TV, the low-rated cable channel that was founded by Al Gore, a former vice president, and his business partners seven years ago. Al Jazeera plans to shut Current and start an English-language channel, which will be available in more than 40 million homes, with newscasts emanating from both New York and Doha, Qatar.

How could they possibly be more trustworthy than this fellow?

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Breaking: Boehner Out as Speaker

Update- Surprise: Michele Bachmann defects from ultra-right wing, hands Boehner reelection.

From CNS News:

I have confirmed with a group of Congressmen that House Speaker John Boehner will not be reelected Speaker tomorrow.

He will either resign or be forced out tomorrow.

Only 17 members are needed to block Speaker Boehner's election tomorrow. A Speaker needs an absolute majority of all votes cast for a specific person.

If no one has a majority, the House is speakerless. I've confirmed these rules with the House Parliamentarian.

Word is he's a little upset

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'Tsunami Bomb' Tested Off New Zealand Coast

From the Telegraph:

The tests were carried out in waters around New Caledonia and Auckland during the Second World War and showed that the weapon was feasible and a series of 10 large offshore blasts could potentially create a 33-foot tsunami capable of inundating a small city.

The top secret operation, code-named "Project Seal", tested the doomsday device as a possible rival to the nuclear bomb. About 3,700 bombs were exploded during the tests, first in New Caledonia and later at Whangaparaoa Peninsula, near Auckland.

The plans came to light during research by a New Zealand author and film-maker, Ray Waru, who examined military files buried in the national archives.

"Presumably if the atomic bomb had not worked as well as it did, we might have been tsunami-ing people," said Mr Waru.

The 2011 tsunami in Japan

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