Potash Sector Heating UpAgain

post from Jutia Group on 16 August 2010 04:49:18 PM. © Jutia Group

As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information

Potash producer Agrium (AGU-TSX) just announced earnings of US$506-million in Q2, or US$3.20 a share – a healthy 37% increase over Q2, 2009. AGU’s revenue rose 7% to US$4.37 billion as sales volumes soared 860% year over year (yoy). The company’s share price rose 3.6% after its second quarter earnings sailed past expectations.

"We anticipate North American crop nutrient demand to be strong in the second half at both the grower and retail level, due to firming crop prices, weather-induced constraints on nutrient application this spring … and the current low inventory level of crop nutrients in the U.S. retail system." Agrium Chief Executive Mike Wilson…

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Kicking up our action efforts: email list

post from Daily Kos on 16 August 2010 04:46:05 PM. © Daily Kos

Email activism is a key weapon in a modern activist organization's arsenal, yet Daily Kos has never jumped in. It was less a matter of will, and more a lack of resources and expertise. Managing a big email list is surprisingly complex, and we've been too small and overworked to do something we should've done a long time ago.

Today, I'm excited to announce that we're launching our email list. To manage the effort, we've hired Chris Bowers (of Open Left) -- a friend and colleague in the progressive movement since I first began, back when MyDD spawned this site.

Chris will also be bringing over some of his electoral-focused writings to Daily Kos, but the bulk of his work will be dedicated to building a list with the power to impact policy and elections. I'll let Chris talk about his plans for Open Left over at Open Left.

This marks a new phase for Daily Kos. And with the big DK4 re-engineering project getting ever closer to fruition (the bug squashing is continuing at a furious pace as we continue to expand our beta testing corps), our transformation from a humble blog, to a big community site, to an activist powerhouse is well on track.

Getting Chris aboard (and Mike Lux, as a consultant on several projects), is a big part of that transformation, and I'm thrilled to have them aboard.

So sign up, because I know you've been jonesing for some Daily Kos spam! We'll make it worth your while, I promise.

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-efforts:-email-list

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Pakistan Flooding Threatens Government Stability

post from Firedoglake on 16 August 2010 04:15:32 PM. © Firedoglake

The government's shambling response to floods that have affected a third of the country has some analysts saying that President Asif Ali Zardari could be forced from office, possibly by the military, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half its[...]

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bility/

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Every new beginning

post from Open Left - Front Page on 16 August 2010 04:10:07 PM. © Open Left - Front Page

As you may have already seen at Daily Kos, I have been hired to run their new email action list.[...]

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ing

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Wilting

post from Talking Points Memo on 16 August 2010 04:01:38 PM. © Talking Points Memo

Harry Reid spox says the senator is cool with the First Amendment and all that jazz, but the "Ground Zero Mosque" should be built some place else:The First Amendment protects freedom of religion. Sen. Reid respects that but thinks that the mosque should[...]

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Record Highs Outpace Record Lows

post from Talking Points Memo on 16 August 2010 04:01:38 PM. © Talking Points Memo

An interesting chart showing how the number of record daily high temperatures in the U.S. now far exceeds the number of record daily lows(via NYT):The chart represents weather data for the contiguous 48 states analyzed by the University Corporation for[...]

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tpace_record_lows.php

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Been Here Before

post from Talking Points Memo on 16 August 2010 04:01:38 PM. © Talking Points Memo

TPM Reader DE says the "Ground Zero Mosque" issue is just another replay of Republicans doing to Democrats what Lucy does to Charlie Brown with the football:I can't help but think that this whole mosque controversy is explicable in a lot simpler[...]

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If You ARE Not Going to Vote...Make it a Movement

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 16 August 2010 04:00:07 PM. © Docudharma - Front Page

Simulposted at Daily KosHalf of the eligible voters in America do not vote.More than half of America does not vote in Mid Terms.Not voting does not equal a protest, it equals fading into the wall paper and allowing others to decide your fate....and the[...]

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Senate Majority Leader Reid opposes Obama on
mosque project: Should be built someplace else.

reid Staking an unpopular political position, President Obama voiced his support Friday night for the right of American Muslims to build ?a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan.? The Miami Herald reported today that Democratic candidates in Florida failed to exhibit the same courage. ?Common sense and respect for those who lost their lives and loved ones gives sensible reason to build the mosque someplace else,? argued Senate candidate Jeff Greene. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink said 9/11 families ?are opposed to this project and I share their view.” Today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has joined the ranks of these weak-willed Democrats. Greg Sargent reports:

The First Amendment protects freedom of religion. Senator Reid respects that but thinks that the mosque should be built some place else. If the Republicans are being sincere, they would help us pass this long overdue bill to help the first responders whose health and livelihoods have been devastated because of their bravery on 911, rather than continuing to block this much-needed legislation.

The Wonk Room?s Matt Duss explains why the argument for relocating the mosque is so offensive. Duss writes, ?It asks Muslim Americans to acknowledge the validity of the idea that the presence of a mosque at that location is an affront to those murdered ? including the Muslims murdered ? on 9/11. And while it?s important to understand the deep emotions involved, the idea that Muslims bear collective guilt for 9/11 is simply not valid, no matter how ?thoughtfully? phrased.?

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http://thinkprogress.org/2010/08/16/reid-muslims-collective-guilt/

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Midday open thread

Defense Secretary Robert Gates will retire sometime in 2011. No word on which Republican will replace him to show that Democrats are strong on national defense.

File this under not breaking news:

... as the 2010 midterm elections approach, the Fox messaging machine is ramping up its support for the GOP.

Last week, Media Matters reported that Fox News pundit Dick Morris had been paid $10,000 by the Pennsylvania GOP to speak at its 2010 Lincoln Day Dinner, posing an ethical challenge for the so-called “fair and balanced” news network. This past weekend, Morris — who has said he plans to appear with at least 40 GOP candidates — rolled into a Republican rally in Dover, Delaware organized by Americans for Prosperity. Leveraging the celebrity that has resulted from his frequent appearances on Fox, Morris urged the crowd to vote Republican ...

Fox News economic policy analyst Phil Kerpen, acting as master of ceremonies, told the crowd how the national debt has increased, detailed what he called the failed stimulus bill, as well as the cost of the cap and trade energy tax, and criticized the health care expected under Obama. [...]

Other Fox News paid on-air staff are also engaging in overt electioneering activities, most notably Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, and Newt Gingrich.

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) again sinks to a new low:

KING: I’ve just started to think about what we need to do and I have made this argument for a long time now that I am in the business of seeking to embarrass the administration into enforcing the law, particularly with regard to immigration.

BYSTANDING CONSTITUENT: He won’t do that. He’s a Marxist! He’s a Muslim Marxist.

KING: He’s at least a Marxist. And he surely understands the Muslim culture.

CONSTITUENT: He surely does. That’s where he grew up with, that’s his culture.

KING: He doesn’t have an American experience. He does not have an American experience.

CONSTITUENT: He didn’t grow up in America.

KING: Mmhmm.

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is free to pursue his dancing career:

A lawyer for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay says the Justice Department has ended a probe of the Texas Republican and will not file any criminal charges.

Another conspiracy to silence Orly Taitz:

The Supreme Court has upheld a $20,000 fine against a leader of the movement challenging President Barack Obama's citizenship.

The national force that is the Tea Party -- all 400 of them ---gathered at the U.S.-Mexico border to show they mean business when protesting undocumented workers:

This weekend, hundreds of Tea Party activists gathered at the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona to protest illegal immigration. Speakers and Tea Partiers proposed a number of solutions; they also yelled “Hey, don’t come over here anymore” across the border.

David Petraeus says he has no interest in entering politics.

The crisis in Pakistan grows:

As Pakistan reels from its worst floods in memory, United Nations officials said Monday that 3.5 million children and infants were at a particularly high risk of diseases borne by dirty water.

“Clean water is an urgent need,” said Maurizio Giuliano, a United Nations spokesman, who said the international agencies dealing with children and health were both suffering from shortages of funds. The United Nations, whose secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, flew over flooded areas of Pakistan on Sunday, has appealed for international donations of $460 million, but only one-third of that of that has been provided, Mr. Giuliano said in a telephone interview.

Talk about a bullet having your name on it:

A Boeing 737 jetliner with 131 passengers aboard crashed on landing and broke into three pieces at a Colombian island in the Caribbean early Monday. The region's governor said it was a miracle that only one person died.