UPDATE: The contest is now over, and Ana had a good showing. She may be listed among the “semifinalists” … and we’ll know this in a couple of days. Thanks for all your help!

The original post:

Our own Analiese Miller is looking for some help from you. Ana is an accomplished stage and film actress and is looking for a break in cable TV, and so has entered a contest in which you can vote for her. The winner of the contest gets a walk-on in Mad Men, which is a cable TV production that has been out for some time. Here is the address to vote for Analiese.

And have a look at this photo. Ana is quite accomplished at looking spectacular and also at having very different looks. I could show you photos of her in different roles and you would surely think them to be of different people. The photographer, in this case, is our own Ben Zvan, the official Quiche Moraine photographer and husband of Quiche Moraine editor, Stephanie Zvan. Ben is also partly responsible for the design of this site. He not only photographed the quiche used as our masthead, but he made the quiche itself with his own recipe, and he made the server on which Quiche Moraine is…served. Without Ben, this would be a dark page totally lacking the stunning image of Analiese.

Please click on the link above and vote for Ana, every day, for several days in a row (that is allowed).

Reminiscent of work by Anna Lappé and the Small Planet Institute’s “Take a Bite out of Climate Change” initiative, I stumbled across Food-Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States by Christopher L. Weber and H. Scott Matthews in Environmental Science and Technology. Looking past the fancy equations you see data presented like this snippet of Figure 1, documenting the green house gas emissions associated with household food consumption, allowing for a comparison of impacts between food groups.
Sociological Images

Model and domestic violence survivor sued after death for “failure to maintain a decent image”

This is pretty unbelievable. Choi Jin-sil, a South Korean actress and model who died by apparent suicide in 2008, is being sued posthumously for failing to maintain a decent image while working as a spokesmodel for the Shinhan Engineering and Construction Co, LTD.

What’s worse is that the South Korean Court ruled in their favor. The heirs of Jin-sil are being forced by the courts to repay the damages requested, totaling the equivalent of almost $400,000.
feministing

Break the Banks, for the Good of the People

With all the talk of “green shoots” of economic recovery, America’s banks are resisting efforts to regulate them. While politicians talk about their commitment to regulatory reform to prevent a recurrence of the crisis, this is one area where the devil really is in the details – and the banks will muster what muscle they have left to ensure that they have ample room to continue as they have in the past.

The old system worked well for the banks so why should they embrace change? Indeed, the efforts to rescue them devoted such little thought to the kind of post-crisis financial system we want, that we will end up with a banking system that is less competitive, with the large banks that were “too big to fail” even larger.
Common Dreams

Army Corps orders thousands of trees chopped down

COLUMBIA, La. – The Army Corps of Engineers is on a mission to chop down every tree in the country that grows within 15 feet of a levee — including oaks and sycamores in Louisiana, willows in Oklahoma and cottonwoods in California.

The corps is concerned that the trees’ roots could undermine barriers meant to protect low-lying communities from catastrophic floods like the ones caused by Hurricane Katrina.
yahoo

What Is Killing Chile’s Coastal Wildlife?

First, in late March the bodies of about 1,200 penguins were found on a remote beach in southern Chile. Next came the sardines — millions of them — washed up dead on a nearby stretch of coastline in April, causing a stench so noxious that nearby schools were closed and the army was called in to shovel piles of rotting fish off the sand. Then it was the turn of the rare Andean flamingos. Over the course of approximately three months, thousands of them abandoned their nests on a salt lake in the Atacama Desert in the far north of Chile. Their eggs failed to hatch, and all 2,000 chicks died in their shells. Finally, in late May came the pelicans — nearly 60 of them, found dead on the central Chilean coast.
time

Co-Op Canyon: Ecotopia Inspired by Anasazi Cliff Dwellings

Inspired by the cliff-side villages of Anasazi Indians, Co Op Canyon is a terraced urban oasis full of vertical gardens and lush spaces that aims to create a holistic, community-centered, sustainable city block. Designed by LA-based architecture and design firm, Standard for the Re:Vision Dallas competition, the canyon harvests enough rainwater, solar energy, and agriculture to completely sustain its 1,000 residents.
inhabit

The cloud with no name: Meteorologists campaign to classify unique ‘Asperatus’ clouds seen across the world

Whipped into fantastical shapes, these clouds hang over the darkening landscape like the harbingers of a mighty storm.

But despite their stunning and frequent appearances, the formations have yet to be officially recognised with a name.

They have been seen all over Britain in different forms – from Snowdonia to the Scottish Highlands – and in other parts of the world such as New Zealand, but usually break up without producing a storm.
Mail Online

Tick population spreading in Minnesota

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) — Disease-carrying ticks appear to be on the rise in Minnesota, and spreading to parts of the state that didn’t have the bugs as recently as five years ago, state health officials say.

Melissa Kemperman, state Health Department epidemiologist, said blacklegged ticks and deer ticks — which carry Lyme disease — are spreading north and west, in Stearns, Wright and Todd counties. She said the reason for the increase isn’t clear.
Kare11

Justice Department To Probe Tiller Killing

The Justice Department has announced an investigation into whether federal crimes were committed in connection with the murder of Dr. George Tiller.

In a press release, DOJ writes that it will probe whether there were violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act or other federal statutes in the case.
TPM

Anti-Gay Marriage Pro-Prop 8 Leader Called For Antiabortion Martyrs

On Sunday May 31, 2009 Kansas City late-term abortion doctor George Tiller was allegedly gunned down in the lobby of his church by a man, Scott Roeder, who had ties to the racist wing of the militia movement. The next morning CBS’s Jeff Glor reported, “We did speak with the accused shooters’ ex-wife yesterday. She said she was not surprised this happened and that she believed Roeder wanted to be a martyr for the cause.” The antiabortion, pro-Christian martyrdom of TheCall founder Lou Engle, whose personal website still features a post attacking Tiller, has up until now received little scrutiny.

At Lou Engle’s November 1, 2008 pro-Proposition 8 anti-gay marriage TheCall San Diego event Engle and his disciples called for acts of Christian martyrdom against legalized abortion. In the early 1980’s, KKK and Aryan Nations strategist Louis Beam helped popularize a tactic known as “leaderless resistance” in which high profile propagandists would incite terrorist acts carried out by autonomous individuals and cell groups. Lou Engle’s inflammatory TheCall antiabortion rhetoric conforms with Beam’s tactic; Engle merely incites.
talk to action

National Review’s Wise Latina Caricature Inexplicably Asian

As part of a cover package called “The Wise Latina,” the folks over at the conservative National Review–apparently flummoxed by the very idea of a “wise Latina”–have caricaturized the Puerto Rican-descended Sonia Sotomayor as an Asian Buddhist.

Good times.
National Review

Never Again: It’s Time to Trust Women

More tragic news today. The Tiller family does not have plans to immediately reopen the Women’s Health Care Services Clinic in the wake of George Tiller’s murder. While I am hopeful that they will re-open the clinic quietly, this leaves two clinics that will provide late-term abortions left in the entire United States. Whether you agree or not with late-term abortion practices, it is important to recognize the dangerous scare tactics that are actively preventing this legal medical operation from being performed for women who may need it. And in the words of Dr. Tiller himself, no matter your opinion about abortion, it’s time to “Trust Women.”
change.org

James Von Brunn: A Profile

On December 7, 1981, a man named James W. Von Brunn pulled out a sawed-off shotgun at the Federal Reserve Board headquarters, claiming to have planted a bomb and threatening to take members of the Board hostage. That was 40 years to the day after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, though it’s unclear whether that’s a coincidence or not.

Years later, he’d describe the entire incident somewhat differently.
TPM

Minn. court orders Coleman to pay $95,000 to Franken

Republican Norm Coleman owes Democrat Al Franken $94,783 stemming from his Minnesota Senate election lawsuit, with the amount subject to interest.

A Ramsey County court administrator officially entered the judgment on Wednesday. It’s a holdover from the two-month trial that ended with Franken up by 312 votes.
Star Tribune

Shell to Pay Out $15.5 Million to Settle Landmark Lawsuit over Death of Nigerian Activist Ken Saro-Wiwa

The oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to pay a $15.5 million settlement to avoid a trial over its alleged involvement in human rights violations in the Niger Delta. The case was brought on behalf of ten plaintiffs who accused Shell of complicity in the 1995 executions of Nigerian writer and environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others. We speak to Ken Wiwa, the son of Ken Saro-Wiwa, and attorney Judith Brown Chomsky.
Democracy Now

Action Team Helps Rape Victims

A local woman dealt with the unimaginable when she went to a Mexican resort. She was finally able to overcome her struggles and is now helping other victims.

Darcy is a 40-year-old mother of two who was chaperoning her son’s high school trip, when one night, she left her drink unattended at the bar. She woke up the next morning in her hotel room, feeling disoriented. Darcy had flashes come back to her. She had been drugged and raped by several men. She was sore, with a rash and bruises all over.

She then called her husband in Minnesota, who called authorities. Darcy took the next available flight and rushed to Unity Hospital for STD and pregnancy prevention medication.
Fox9

Coincidence? Another paper links Obama and violence

The “mistakes” are adding up: On May 15 of last year, the Roswell Beacon in Georgia ran a cover photo showing President Barack Obama in a gun’s crosshairs. Early this month, Fox ran a photo of a rifle situated as if taking aim at Obama, followed two weeks ago by an odd item at the Washington Times Web site: the conservative publication used a photo of Obama’s daughters to illustrate a story about Chicago schoolchildren who’ve been murdered.
Minnesota Independent

Government Taps Bailout Contractors With Conflicts of Interest

As the Wall Street bailout nears its first anniversary, the controversy over giving public money to private banks has become public knowledge. But an equally risky aspect of the financial rescue has flown largely under the radar: the government’s reliance on private contractors – many with potentially significant conflicts of interest – to help revive the stalled economy.

The Treasury Department knows that the law firms and investment managers hired to aid its salvage effort could be influenced by their ties to bailed-out banks; in fact, the department released a rule in January aiming to mitigate the problem.
Washington Independent

Hong Kong protest over Tiananmen

Thousands have marched in Hong Kong to mark the forthcoming 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen killings, in one of the few such events on Chinese soil.

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people were killed in China’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

There has been no official inquiry so the exact death toll remains unclear.
BBC

Pakistan city centre ‘destroyed’

The scale of the war damage to the main city in the Swat valley has become clear, as fears are expressed about the humanitarian situation in the region.

Taliban rebels were driven out of Mingora on Saturday by Pakistan government troops.

The defence secretary says operations in the whole Swat valley region should end in the next few days, though military chiefs are more cautious.
BBC

Sexualized Violence in a Lady Gaga Video

In the documentary Dreamworlds 3: Desire, Sex, and Power in Music Video, Sut Jhally investigates how images of sex and violence, and sexualized violence against women, are used in music videos, and how music videos help shape ideas of what is sexy.
Sociological Images

Documentary on Intensive Pig Farming Faces Legal Threat

A documentary about intensive pig farming due to be screened at the Guardian Hay festival on Sunday is facing a legal threat from one of the companies it investigates. Pig Business criticises the practices of the world’s largest pork processor, Smithfield Foods, claiming it is responsible for environmental pollution and health problems among residents near its factories.

The film was due to be broadcast on Channel 4 in February but was cancelled because of legal fears. A planned screening at the Frontline Club in London earlier this year was also called off.
Common Dreams

Randall Terry, the founder of anti-abortion group Operation Rescue who led protests against George Tiller’s clinic in Wichita, Kansas in 1991, issued a statement about today’s killing of the abortion doctor.

In his comments, Terry does not grieve for Tiller or denounce the murder but seems more concerned about President Obama’s reaction and what it bodes for the pro-life movement.
Huffington Post

EPA Mining Decisions Favor Coal Industry

Despite renewed vows to protect Appalachian waterways from the ravages of mountaintop coal mining, the Environmental Protection Agency has recently authorized a number of pending mountaintop permits that will bury dozens of streams in the nation’s oldest mountain range. The move has left mining supporters cheering the federal endorsement of a popular extraction method, environmentalists wondering if the Obama administration truly intends to prioritize water quality concerns above those of the powerful coal industry, and both sides unsure what to expect of mountaintop permitting in the future.
Washington Independent

2008 U.S. Fossil Fuel CO2 Emissions See Biggest Drop in Nearly 30 Years

Sky-high fuel prices, declining energy use and a slumping economy gave the U.S. its largest annual decline in fossil fuel-based carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions since 1982, when emissions fell 5.3 percent.

Energy-related CO2 emissions in 2008 fell 2.8 percent compared to the year before, according to preliminary data released today by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
GreenBiz

Ethanol lobby could kill climate bill

Ethanol producers, who hold sway with a raft of rural Democrats, are taking umbrage with the recent Environmental Protection Agency finding which said that the “indirect land use” involved in ethanol production must be taken into account when calculating the carbon footprint of the gasoline additive. The EPA finding, when indirect land use is taken into account, calls into question the utility of ethanol as a greenhouse-gas-reducing fuel.
The Raw Story

Surprising New Pathway For North Atlantic Circulation

Oceanographers have long known that the 20-year-old paradigm for describing the global ocean circulation- called the Great Ocean Conveyor – was an oversimplification. It’s a useful depiction, but it’s like describing Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony as a catchy tune.
Terra Daily

River restoration: Should we bring back Mississippi’s roaring white-water rapids?

For thousands of years, the Twin Cities had a white-water rapids roaring through it, tumbling and roiling over and around enormous limestone chunks that still litter the Mississippi River’s floor for eight miles from the St. Anthony Falls dam all the way down to Ft. Snelling.

If it were restored to its natural state, the “gorge” would be a kayaking and recreational wonder with hundreds of acres of new parkland, a photographer’s delight and a sportsman’s paradise. Scores of eagles would nest there, drawn by all the fish that would mass in oxygen-rich water and spawn in gravel beds under swirling eddies.
MinnPost

Researchers use remote-controlled sensors to track pollutant loads from storms

The next cup of stale coffee you pour down the drain may end up as evidence. Not in a courtroom, but in a study of how well Twin Cities sewers and waterways handle the loads of pollutants washed into them by storms.
MinnPost

Coleman backers also steer inchoate peace group

Minnesota businessmen Nasser Kazeminy and John Goodman both back Norm Coleman and both serve on the board of Step into World Peace, a curious local nonprofit that Harper’s Ken Silverstein probes this week. Silverstein finds vague goals, a shuttered Web site and no direct ties to Coleman — whose campaigns the pair have funded heavily and whose finances have drawn increasing scrutiny since Silverstein alleged last year that Kazeminy bought Coleman’s suits.

But Silverstein finds plenty to ponder when it comes to SIWP’s finances. The group has little to show for $88,000 it has spent out of the $110,000 it has raised — some $40,000 of which went to unspecified “contract labor” from 2002 to 2004.
Minnesota Independent

How Cheney Turned A Right-Wing Meme Mainstream

It looks like we’ve figured out what Dick Cheney meant when he said President Obama has “reserved unto himself” the right to order enhanced interrogation techniques.
TPM

Pawlenty’s voter-registration vetoes cut new drivers and ex-cons no slack

The words “veto” and “vote” may share the same letters but they’re at odds on Gov. Pawlenty’s desk the last two days. He won’t let Minnesotans get registered automatically as voters when they get licensed as drivers, and he won’t let felons get a letter about it when they get their voting rights back, either.
Minnesota Independent

Facing Progressive Pressure, Obama Backs Off Panama Free Trade Agreement

If you regularly read OpenLeft, you know we’ve been tracking this story, including the AFL-CIO announcement and the announcement today by the Populist Caucus to put major pressure on the White House to stop this NAFTA-style agreement. Indeed, as someone who has been working on this issue for a decade, I never thought I’d actually see the day where we, the progressive movement, could actually make a president back off (even temporarily) the NAFTA trade model.
Open Left

Cheney’s speech ignored some inconvenient truths

Former Vice President Dick Cheney’s defense Thursday of the Bush administration’s policies for interrogating suspected terrorists contained omissions, exaggerations and misstatements.

In his address to the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative policy organization in Washington, Cheney said that the techniques the Bush administration approved, including waterboarding — simulated drowning that’s considered a form of torture — forced nakedness and sleep deprivation, were “legal” and produced information that “prevented the violent death of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of innocent people.”
McClatchy

New Afghan Force Joins Fight Against Taliban

In central Afghanistan, the latest graduates of a new security program targeting the Taliban assumed their duties Thursday on the outskirts of Kabul.

The “Guardians,” as the Afghan force is called by its U.S. Special Forces mentors, are part of the pilot Afghan Public Protection Program that American and Afghan officials hope to re-create across Afghanistan.

The program is similar to the U.S.-backed “Sons of Iraq” movement that turned local tribesmen against al-Qaida in Iraq.
npr

Obama administration sides with Bush officials against outed CIA agent

The Obama administration has decided to oppose the reinstatement of a civil lawsuit filed by outed CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson.

The move represents the first public position by the administration on the issue. Obama’s position mirrors that of President George W. Bush, whose aides found themselves in the cross-fire after the agent, Plame Wilson, was outed by conservative columnist Robert Novak.
The Raw Story

Clinton to Extend Benefits to Gay Partners

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will soon announce that the partners of gay U.S. diplomats are eligible for many benefits currently denied them and allowed to spouses of heterosexual diplomats, according to lawmakers and others advocating the change.

The Bush administration had resisted efforts to treat same-sex partners the same as spouses. Thus those partners were denied a wide array of benefits, such as paid travel to and from overseas posts, shipments of household effects, visas and diplomatic passports, emergency travel to visit ill or injured partners, and evacuation in case of a security emergency or medical necessity.
Washington Post