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Thomas Paine

To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.

Friday, October 30, 2009

30 Oct - RSS SnapShot!

Øresundsbroen, Aerial PhotoImage via Wikipedia
Feeds at Opit's LinkFest! on My Opera

IPS - Inter Press Services

  • CLIMATE CHANGE: Set That Limit of 110
    BERLIN, Oct 30 (IPS) - Every single person should set a cap of a total of 110 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the next four decades to avoid irreversible and uncontrollable consequences of climate change, under a new proposal.

  • MIDEAST: Harvesting in Death Zone, With a Song
    BEIT HANOUN, Gaza, Oct 30 (IPS) - On a quiet October morning, Fida Zaneen, 19, sings a traditional love song as she pulls olives from trees in Beit Hanoun's border region during the annual olive harvest.

  • MIDEAST: Palestinians File Lawsuits Over Gaza War
    RAMALLAH, Oct 30 (IPS) - As the legal and moral implications of the UN Goldstone report on Israel's military assault on Gaza continue to mount, Gazans are taking matters into their own hands and preparing civil lawsuits.

  • Q&A: EU to Sri Lanka on GSP Plus Probe: ‘No ...
    COLOMBO, Oct 30 (IPS) - Despite acrimonious exchanges between Sri Lanka and the European Union (EU) over human rights violations on which rests the fate of continued tax-free exports to Europe, development assistance continues unhindered to the Indian Ocean island, according to Europe’s top di ...

  • AFGHANISTAN: NATO Supporting Insurgents? Not Exac ...
    KABUL, Oct 30 (IPS) - The U.S. and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) have spent billions of dollars, sacrificed hundreds of lives and worked for years to fight insurgents and foster democracy in Afghanistan.

Scoop - NZ

  • September Clues : 911 - Evidence of Media Complici ...
    Evidence Of faked video and Media Complicity in 911.  »  PLIGG_Visual_RSS_OriginalNews

  • Scheer: Obama's Meaningless War
    True, he doesn't seem a bit like Lyndon Johnson, but the way he's headed on Afghanistan, Barack Obama is threatened with a quagmire that could bog down his presidency. LBJ also had a progressive agenda in mind, beginning with his war on poverty, but it was soon overwhelmed by the cost and divisivene ...

  • Farrell: Death of the 'Soul of Capitalism'
    Jack Bogle published "The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism" four years ago. The battle's over. The sequel should be titled: "Capitalism Died a Lost Soul." Worse, we've lost "America's Soul." And, worldwide, the consequences will be catastrophic.That's why a man like Hong Kong contrarian economist M ...

  • Foreclosures clogging US county's civil courts
    Most everyone involved in a foreclosure says they never wanted to go through the process in the first place: Not the homeowners at risk of losing their houses, not the banks that loaned them the money, not the judges who must rule on the cases.Still, court clerks say more than 135,000 foreclosures c ...

  • Baker: Won't You Please Come to Chicago?
    The elites hate to acknowledge it, but when large numbers of ordinary people are moved to action, it changes the narrow political world where the elites call the shots. Inside accounts reveal the extent to which Johnson and Nixon's conduct of the Vietnam War was constrained by the huge anti-war move ...

Independent ( London )

CASMII - Campaign against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran

  • US trying to gauge Iran nuclear response: Clinton
    Summary: WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday the United States was still trying to determine the extent of Iran's response to a UN-brokered plan on nuclear cooperation with major powers. source: AFP read more

  • Ill winds over Iran's nuclear draft
    Summary: After a five-day delay, Iran has furnished an "informal oral counter-offer" to the fuel-for-fuel deal proposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that has been endorsed by the United States, Russia and France. Details of the answer have not been revealed, but it has alread ...

  • Iran Deal on Brink of Collapse as West Condemns Co ...
    Summary: Europeans Uninterested in Deal Unless Iran Exports Most of Its Uranium source: Anti-War.com read more

  • Why Obama’s Iran Policy Will Fail
    Summary: While the tone of the Obama administration is different from that of its predecessor, and some of its foreign policies diverge from those of George W. Bush, at their core both administrations subscribe to the same doctrine: Whatever the White House perceives as a threat -- whether it be ...

  • Iran ready to co-operate on nuclear programme, sa ...
    Summary: The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, today said the country was ready to co-operate internationally over its nuclear programme but insisted it had an "undeniable right" to carry out atomic work. source: The Guardian read more

The Daily Galaxy

  • Russia Proposes Nuclear Spaceship for Manned Mars ...
    Anatoly Perminov, Russia's space chief, in a replay of the early 1960's NASA Orion Project, proposes building a nuclear-powered ship with a megawatt-class nuclear reactor at a government meeting Wednesday but didn't explain its purpose. President Dmitry Medvedev backed the...

  • BioHacking: The Plot for the Next Realife Blockbus ...
    Solitary citizens are toiling over test-tubes, sacrificing their time and money to create brand new lifeforms - but this isn't a science fiction movie, it's a hobby. "DIY Biochemistry" sees private citizens converting their dining rooms into DNA labs. It's...

  • MIT, Volkswagen's In-Car Personal Robot Says "Make ...
    MIT researchers and designers are developing the Affective Intelligent Driving Agent (AIDA) - a new in-car personal robot that aims to forever change the way we interact with our car. The project is a collaboration between the Personal Robots Group...

  • The Quasar-Based, Black-Hole-Powered NexGen GPS
    A collection of remote quasars, whose positions in the sky are precisely known, form a map of celestial landmarks in which to orient the Earth. The first such map, called the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF), was completed in 1995....

  • Image of the Day: The Ghostly "Skull Nebula"
    The haunting "Skull Nebula", planetary nebula (NGC 246) surrounds a dying star some 1,600 light-years away in the constellation Cetus. Expanding over a period of thousands of years, nebula is the outer atmosphere of a once sun-like star. The expanding...

Natural News

  • Swine flu vaccine shots eliminate wrinkles, bad br ...
    (NaturalNews) The propaganda push for flu vaccines has reached a level of absurdity that's just begging to be made fun of. Today, a flu vaccine story appearing in Reuters claimed that injecting pregnant women with flu shots would increase the birth weight of their babies by half a pound. That same s ...

  • US government report recommends blocking popular w ...
    (NaturalNews) The US government has issued a new report that recommends blocking access to popular websites during a pandemic outbreak in order to preserve internet bandwidth for investors, day traders and securities clearing house operations. The concern is that a pandemic would cause too many peop ...

  • Profit Driven Swine Flu Propaganda - Pump Up the V ...
    (NaturalNews) This article is part five in a six-part series. Be sure to read part four at http://www.naturalnews.com/027336_swine_flu_health_propaganda.html In the video commentary titled, Mild Swine Flu and Over-Hyped Vaccine , on the website for the National Vaccine Information Center, the group' ...

  • Mercury-Free Flu Shots Available: But Vitamin D an ...
    (NaturalNews) Because of the outcry against mercury in the swine flu vaccine, six thousand doses of mercury-free flu shots are being made available. With 160 million doses of the regular flu shot being shipped, the mercury-free flu vaccine will go fast. Those who feel a need to be vaccinated, can as ...

  • Breakthrough documentary "House of Numbers" challe ...
    (NaturalNews) Canadian filmmaker Brent Leung isn't winning any friends in the pharmaceutical industry these days. His breakthrough documentary "House of Numbers" features jaw-dropping interviews with doctors, researchers and even the co-discoverer of HIV himself (Luc Montagnier), all of whom reveal ...

TheGallopingBeaver

  • "National Toast" or "So Long and Thanks for All th ...
    It looks like curtains for the Canada's most right wing national rag . As much as I bleed ink and hate the thought of another newspaper closing down, I will not shed a tear for the National Post - I only hope the courts refuse to allow the Aspers to tie this anchor around the collective neck of thei ...

  • Climate Action on Cambie Bridge . . . .
    Vancouver turned out in force for climate action today. Yours truly was there with thousands of others. We looked for you, Lady Alison and RossK - Hope you made it. Some pics in case you didn't make it: How embarrassing! For a moment there I thought I was in Mississippi or Arkansas . . . . ...

  • Our head spook isn't happy
    CSIS DIRECTOR RICHARD FADDEN isn't happy with you and me. He feels like Rodney Dangerfield — just can't get no respect . According to Ian Macleod of the OTTAWA CITIZEN, Ricky believes "Almost any attempt to fight terrorism by the government is portrayed as an overreaction or an assault on libe ...

  • YIKES!
    CHINA HUSH is a site devoted to stories of China. The author proclaims Most of the posts are selected from Chinese websites, blogs and BBS sites. We translate them into English so friends who cannot read Chinese, but are interested in the stories, can enjoy them. Some of the selected stories are c ...

  • But seriously, folks . . .
    A CNN journalist heard about a very old Jewish man who had been going to the Western Wall to pray, twice a day, every day, for a long, long time. So she went to check it out. She went to the Western Wall and there he was, walking slowly up to the holy site. She watched him pray and after about 45 ...

Media Matters for America

  • Limbaugh doesn't let "damn convoluted language" s ...
    Rush Limbaugh falsely claimed that a section of the version of the health care reform bill unveiled by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi will cause small businesses to "lose their tax breaks for health coverage" and asserted that "it's hard to tell from the damn convoluted language." In fact, t ...

  • Fox News' flag desecration hypocrisy
    Expressing outrage that a video showing a "defaced flag" with "graffiti splattered all over it" is a finalist in a Democratic National Committee contest, Fox News and Sean Hannity ignored desecration of the flag by Fox News' own Glenn Beck, with Fox News contributor Michelle Malkin declaring t ...

  • Media advance GOP's deceptive claims of partisans ...
    In the wake of the Senate Finance Committee's October 13 passage of a health care reform bill, the fifth such bill passed out of congressional committees this year, numerous media figures have advanced the claim that the bill and the process of crafting health reform more generally was overly p ...

  • Limbaugh still advancing false claims about NY ...
    Rush Limbaugh falsely claimed that New York Times environmental writer Andrew Revkin was "thinking seriously about capping families at one child to reduce carbon emissions." Limbaugh has previously advanced a similar falsehood while suggesting that Revkin "just go kill" himself; in fact, Revkin mad ...

  • Wash. Times defense of "traditional marr ...
    A Washington Times editorial -- being promoted on the Fox Nation -- claimed that "[a] large number of studies show children raised in a family with a mother and a father perform much better in everything in life"; in fact, studies show that children raised by gay or lesbian parents suffer no ad ...

Global Research.ca

TPM Cafe

  • Itchy Fingers on the Iran Sanctions Trigger
    After taking part in discussions of several excellent foreign policy books over at TPMCafe Book Club, I'm grateful to the editors here for letting me join the fun as a regular blogger in the Cafe. I should quickly add a... Sponsored Topics: Iran - TPMCafe - Middle East - Society and Culture - Ru ...

  • Jon Stewart Creates Sea Change on Middle East Cove ...
    Not long ago, no mainstream media personality would ever allow himself to be associated with anyone who suggests that diplomacy, not war, is the way to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Being thought of as not 100% down with the government... Sponsored Topics: Middle East - Israeli–Pales ...

  • Presented By:
  • Scorching. Max Blumenthal Eviscerates The Lobby's ...
    This is a must read and a must watch, especially now that AIPAC and its friends are struggling to deal with the J Street phenomenon which, following its blockbuster of a conference, is now a force they must reckon with.... Sponsored Topics: J Street - American Israel Public Affairs Committee - U ...

  • People Power Matters: The Public Option Lives!
    In spite of the best efforts of the insurance industry and their followers in Congress and the media, it is still very possible that the health reform bill passed by Congress will include a robust public plan. This is... Sponsored Topics: Insurance - Healthcare reform - Senate - United States Co ...

TruthOut

  • Secrets Claim Faces Another Review in Torture Case
    The long road to the proverbial "day in court" just got longer for five men who claim they were "disappeared" and tortured by the US Central Intelligence Agency. The men, who say they were victims of the "extraordinary rendition" program conducted during the administration of President Geor ...

  • Pelosi Unveils Historic Health Care Reform Bill, T ...
    House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled an $894 billion health-care reform bill Thursday that includes a government-run insurance program, otherwise known as a "public option," that is far stronger than the public plan unveiled earlier this week by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. read more

  • Ceremony Is More Than a Self-Help Session
    When I first read about the deaths in a hotel parking lot sweat lodge in Arizona a couple of weeks ago I was saddened, but not surprised. I was dismayed over the abuse of a Native American sacred ceremony in such a dreadful and destructive way. As a Diné raised to respect and participate i ...

  • Why Obama's Iran Policy Will Fail: Stuck in Bush M ...
    While the tone of the Obama administration is different from that of its predecessor, and some of its foreign policies diverge from those of George W. Bush, at their core both administrations subscribe to the same doctrine: Whatever the White House perceives as a threat - whether it be Iran ...

  • Significant Changes to Bush-Era Military Commissio ...
    President Barack Obama signed a Defense Department spending bill into law Wednesday, which includes a provision that will change the way military commissions are structured. Human rights organizations and legal advocacy groups believe these controversial Bush-Era commissions primarily deny ...

Planetsave

  • Study Suggests Insecticide Causes Lupus and Arthri ...
    New research out of Philadelphia suggests a link between women’s exposure to household insecticides (including roach and mosquito killers) and the autoimmune disorders rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Previous research has shown a link of agricultural pesticides to higher risk of rheumatoid arthr ...

  • An Ocean of Effort
    Ocean trash is one of the problems photographed by Christopher Swain on his 1,000-mile ocean advocacy and education journey. As the Obama Administration’s Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force moves into its sixth public meeting on an interim report in Cleveland this week, one determined ocean adv ...

  • Neighborly Solar From 1Bog Could Raise Phoenix Pro ...
    This week The Bogman heads to Phoenix to offer 1 Block off the Grid solar discounts for neighbors who go solar together. And what better city to go to! Phoenix was super hard-hit by the housing crisis. It has had 54% drops in property values , some of the worst in the nation. So this may not seem ...

  • Google to Fight Deforestation from Space
    Google Inc. is joining forces with space agencies around the world and the conservation organization Group on Earth Observations (GEO) to monitor deforestation rates using satellite imagery. Among the space agencies working on the program are NASA, the ESA, and the national space agencies of Japan ...

  • Global Warming: Last Month was the Second Hottest ...
    This week The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) revealed that last month was the second hottest land and ocean temperature on record for the month of September. NOAA’s records date back to 1880. In the 100 plus year history, only Septembe ...

Water Quality - WordPress

Public Citizen in Texas

  • Spooky Fun Rallies in 5 Texas Cities on Saturday, ...
    Texans Concerned about Clean Air and Building the new Green Jobs Economy ROLL BEYOND COAL across Texas this Halloween — Fun Events on Saturday, October 31 WHO: Public Officials, Businesses, Sierra Club and their Environmental Partners such as Public Citizen, and Bicycling Communities across Tex ...

  • Nuclear cost estimate balloons by $4 Billion, San ...
    With just two days before San Antonio City Council was to vote to approve $400 million in bonds to move forward with the South Texas Nuclear Project two reactor expansion, officials announced yesterday that the cost estimate for the project had ballooned by up to $4 BILLION.  That means that the ne ...

  • Texas Progressive Alliance Weekly Round Up
    The Texas Progressive Alliance is ready for the start of the World Series, and it presents to you its weekly highlight reel as we await the first pitch. quizas of South Texas Chisme wonders about the US detaining a Mexican human rights activist. WWJD on Carter Avenue? TXsharon wants to know if Chesa ...

  • Austin City Council Coal Action Success
    Many thanks to everyone that made it to the Austin City Council meeting yesterday for an anti-coal demonstration! Twenty five to thirty concerned citizens stood up in City Council chambers, dressed in black to represent the yearly moralities from our Fayette Coal Plant, as Ryan Rittenhouse addresse ...

  • Come out tomorrow (Oct 24th) for the International ...
    Tomorrow – October 24, 2009 – will be the largest day of climate action in the history of the world, and something you don’t want to miss. If you do not yet have anything planned for 350.org’s International Day of Climate Action, please join one of the 4641 events happening around the ...

Press TV

Axis of Logic

They Gave Us a Republic

  • "A Gentleman's Agreement"?: your silence means con ...
    This is the eleventh post in an ongoing series as we file Missouri Sunshine Law (RSMo 610) requests and investigate the non-renewal of the contract of University of Central Missouri President Aaron Podolefsky. Links to previous coverage are below the fold. BG A gift from Benoit Wesly and his family ...

  • Unemployed? Mitch McConnell Says Tough Shit
    Senate repugs are stopping Democrats from extending unemployment benefits for people run over by the Great Recession. For decades, extending unemployment benefits has been a bipartisan achievement, mostly because there is no downside.  It saves people from destitution, allows workers to survive unti ...

  • The Nightowl Newswrap
    Yet another unforeseen consequence of "winning" the Cold War.  EU leaders have begun a summit in Brussels deeply divided over how much money to offer developing nations to cope with climate change. Polish Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski told the BBC Eastern European nations were prepared to block a ...

  • Opponents of Public Option Flunk Math
    Just like they flunk science, and history, and health, and civics, and public speaking, and playground etiquette .... Scarecrow at Firedoglake explains: CBO estimated that a Public Option available only to the uninsured, self-insured and small businesses (less than 20 employees) would have saved the ...

  • It's about freedom, and liberty, and freedom, and ...
    And don't you get it??? Obama is trying to take that all away!!! You don't believe me? Well, my friend Brad went to the kick-off of the Son of Tea Party Express, or whatever the fuck they're calling it, and interviewed some tea partiers. First you'll laugh, and then you'll cry. And when it's over yo ...

Care 2

  • SAVE THE FROGS! in Scientific American - Weekly Ne ...
    We hope you have had a great week. There is plenty of good news to announce in this week's newsletter: from being written up in Scientific American to producing new educational posters for schools, new webpages and more...read on! Submitted by Tierney G. to Animals  |   Note-it!  |   Add a Comment ...

  • Help Protect the Endangered Australian Sea Lion-Ta ...
    Did you know that a piece of flake bought from the local fish 'n' chip shop could have been responsible for the death of an endangered Australian Sea Lion? Each year, to supply flake for Australian tables, SA's shark fishery sets enough gillnets to Submitted by Tierney G. to Animals  |   Note-i ...

  • Canadian Singer Taylor Mitchell Dies After Brutal ...
    Taylor Mitchell, an up-and-coming Canadian singer-songwriter, died after being brutally attacked by coyotes earlier this week. The talented 19-year-old musician was performing at several locations in the Canadian Maritimes. In between gigs on Tuesday, Submitted by Cher C. to Animals  |   Note-it! ...

  • $800,000 in Grants Awarded to Research Deadly Whit ...
    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has awarded 6 grants totaling $800,000 to determine the cause and stop the spread of deadly white-nose syndrome that has killed over a million bats in the Northeast. Submitted by Cher C. to Animals  |   Note-it!  |   Add a Comment

  • CANCELLATION PROCESS FOR CARBOFURAN IN US AND CANA ...
    Kenya Pest Control Products Board has not been supportive and indeed states that there is no evidence that the product is dangerous. Submitted by Gorilly Girl to Animals  |   Note-it!  |   Add a Comment

GreenBiz

  • Sodexo Drives Down Waste and Water Use at Cox and ...
    Sodexo helped National Geographic cut water consumption in its cafeteria by 18 percent between 2006 and 2009, it said in its latest citizenship report. Meanwhile, Sodexo cut waste at Communications by 80 percent by recycling or composting all paper, cardboard, food products and plastics used in the ...

  • Chemical Management Industry Grows Revenue With Wa ...
    The new report shows that the chemical management services industry has steadily grown its revenue and its reach within and outside of North America over the past three years. Chemical suppliers are now seeing more profit from services related to managing chemical lifecycles, reducing chemical use a ...

  • Tips for Greener Travels
    Business has taken me to San Francisco and environs several times in the last few months. Here's my field report on greener lodging and eco-travel options for those of you who are San Francisco bound.   

  • UL Environment Validates Eco Claims of LG SteamWas ...
    UL Environment has validated the energy and water-savings claims of a popular washer and LCD TV by LG Electronics USA, the first consumer electronics and appliance manufacturer to have some of its products reviewed by by the program.

  • Sustainable Minds Releases New, Web-Based Life Cyc ...
    Software and information services company Sustainable Minds has released a new life cycle assessment (LCA) program to help companies design greener products and understand the impacts of new and existing products. The Web-based software doesn't require any previous LCA training and provides sustaina ...

Reuters Global

  • Pakistan’s slow path to salvation in Waziris ...
    Pakistan's military offensive in South Waziristan is maming slow and deliberate progress, despite the militants launching a wave of attacks in towns across the clountry.

  • A day with a hyperactive leftist leader, Bolivia&# ...
    Spending a whole day with Bolivian leftist president Evo Morales requires a great deal of stamina. Morales, an Aymara Indian who has introduced a battery of controversial reforms to give Bolivian Indians more power and has put the state in the driving seat of the economy, is hyperactive, to ...

  • Choppers, the Achilles heel in the Afghan war
    Two helicopter crashes in Afghanistan in which 14 Americans were killed highlight the risks facing U.S. military as it relies on air power to supply troops.

  • Death-Defying Doha
    Just as the World Trade Organisation is organizing an intensive push to complete the Doha round trade talks, the atmosphere among negotiators is as pessimistic as it ever has been.

  • Merkel’s 2nd term off to a bumpy start
    Merkel reacts after her re-election on Wednesday by a narrower than expected margin in parliament. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

Ezra Klein

  • Tab dump
    1) A pessimistic look at the details of the Kerry-Boxer cap-and-trade bill. 2) A somewhat more optimistic look at the politics of the Kerry-Boxer cap-and-trade bill. 3) "Claiming that the president was preying on the public's fear of contracting a fatal disease last week when he declared the H1N1 ...

  • CBO scores the House bill
    According to the budget wonks, the House's health-care reform bill costs a bit less than $900 billion, cuts the deficit by more than $100 billion, and covers 96 percent of legal residents by 2019. Not too shabby. Full analysis here (pdf).

  • An interview with Rep. George Miller
    Rep. George Miller is chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, which was one of the three committees that reported out a health-care reform bill. As such, he was one of the key players in merging the three bills together. We spoke today about the process that led to this bill, what com ...

  • Reid: 'Obama [has] faced twice as many filibusters ...
    Harry Reid takes aim at Republicans for blocking so many of Barack Obama's nominees: Right now we have no permanent Surgeon General in place. And the reason is as simple as it is mind-boggling: Republicans in the Senate refuse to confirm President Obama’s exceptionally qualified nominee for this ...

  • Communism is rice, but dictatorship is caviar
    From an interview with Barbara Demwick, author of the new book “ Nothing to Envy ,” a look at everyday life in North Korea. It was Kim Il Sung who used to say, “Communism is rice,” meaning the system would succeed by giving the people enough to eat. The famine was caused by mismanagement an ...

Booman Tribune

  • Why France is better than US
    France may actually prosecute one of its former heads of state for criminal actions while in office. What a concept! PARIS, Oct 30 (Reuters) - A French magistrate has ordered former President Jacques Chirac to stand trial on embezzlement charges dating back to his time as mayor of Paris, in an u ...

  • World Series Thread
    It was interesting last night that the only Yankees to get hits were players that had been in a World Series before. Maybe the newcomers' nerves will be better tonight. The Phillies definitely looked like the more relaxed team. If there are going to be any slugfests in this series, I expect them ...

  • Good Question
    Steve Benen raises a good question. Has South Carolina surpassed Florida as our most ridiculous state? I'll pose another. How's Alaska doing?

  • Open Thread
    Matt Browner-Hamlin has a useful write-up of the cloture/filibuster procedure in the Senate and how it will impact the debate over health care reform.

  • Revisiting the Party Within a Party Strategy
    I don't know, and don't much care, who will win the special election in New York's Twenty-Third District, but the dynamics of the race are interesting. New York is unusual because they allow candidates to run on multiple party slates and add up all their numbers collectively. So, a candidate on th ...

European Tribune

Futurismic

  • The Uncanny Valley kicks you in the ass: freaky-we ...
    A brief scan of the intertubes shows that I’m pretty much the last person to see this, but just in case you haven’t seen it either here’s footage of Petman, a walking robot prototype from Boston Dynamics [via grinding.be, and loads of other places]: That’s just… hell, I don’t know what ...

  • Machine-making machines making more machine-making ...
    Via Michael Anissimov we hear that the second generation of the RepRap self-replication machine, codenamed “Mendel”, is nearly ready for public release. Meaning that you could buy one (if you found someone who’d sell you one), but you could also build your own from the free open-source plans f ...

  • Private security forces on the rise in Detroit
    Detroit is arguably the reluctant poster-child for the bleeding edge of economic decline in the US, and as such it’s the place to watch to see how things might begin developing elsewhere. Which means that as the police – stretched by underfunding and escalating workload – concentrate their att ...

  • What happens to the internet if there’s a viral ...
    Our beloved internet could suffer badly at the hands of a pandemic virus. And not just computer viruses, either: a pandemic attack of an illness like swine flu might have knock-on effects in the digital domain, and the US General Accountability Office isn’t pleased that no one appears to making an ...

  • The Facebook graveyard
    This week’s big social network story is Facebook’s announcement that they now allow the user profiles of people who’ve died to be “memorialised” – frozen in perpetuity (one presumes) so that you can still visit them, like some digital tombstone or memorial bench. [image by moggs oceanlan ...

Therapy News

  • NAMI Wants Greater Funding for NIH Studies
    A GoodTherapy.org News Headline The National Alliance on Mental Illness has provided support and advocacy for scores of efforts in the prevention and treatment of mental health concerns, and its counsel is highly respected among many in the mental health professions as well as lawmakers and other of ...

  • New Research Suggests Anti-Depressant Meds Treat W ...
    A GoodTherapy.org News Headline The use of anti-depressant medications is steeply on the rise, with many mental health professionals concerned about the frequency with which people experiencing mental health difficulties rely entirely on pharmaceuticals to relieve symptoms. Part of this concern stem ...

  • Relationships - Shame on You
    By Barbi Pecenco Kolski, MA The most damaging thing we can do to our partner is to shame them. What does shaming sound like? It is most often a statement made with a tone that conveys disgust and gives our partner the message that they aren’t OK or are somehow bad or wrong. Here are some [...]

  • Relationships - Shame on You
    By Barbi Pecenco Kolski, MA The most damaging thing we can do to our partner is to shame them. What does shaming sound like? It is most often a statement made with a tone that conveys disgust and gives our partner the message that they aren’t OK or are somehow bad or wrong. Here are some [...]

  • Risk Factors Refined for Substance Abuse Disorders ...
    A GoodTherapy.org News Headline Substance abuse disorders, including difficulties with the regulation of alcohol intake and retaled behaviors, affect many people at different stages of life, though a significant portion of those who grapple with these issues are in their mid to late years. It may se ...

Mountaintop Removal

Memeorandum

  • Seven members of House defense subcommittee scruti ...
    Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post : Seven members of House defense subcommittee scrutinized by ethics investigators   —  Separate probes focus on ties to lobbying firm founded by Hill aide  —  Nearly half the members of a powerful House subcommittee in control of Pentagon spending are unde ...

  • BREAKING: Comprehensive List of Taxes In House Dem ...
    Ryan Ellis / Americans for Tax Reform RSS : BREAKING: Comprehensive List of Taxes In House Democrat Health Bill   —  H.R. 3962, the “Affordable Health Care for America Act” has been introduced—all 1990 pages of it.  This gargantuan beast contains thirteen new tax hikes.  Here they all a ...

  • Ethics to investigate Reps. Richardson, Waters; Gr ...
    Susan Crabtree / The Hill : Ethics to investigate Reps. Richardson, Waters; Graves criticizes the OCE   —  The House ethics panel voted Thursday to launch investigative subcommittees into separate charges against California Democratic Reps. Maxine Waters and Laura Richardson.  —  The moves ...

  • How Democrats can say the bill costs less than $1 ...
    Chris Frates / The Politico : How Democrats can say the bill costs less than $1 trillion   —  There was a lot of confusion this afternoon when the CBO released its cost estimate for the House bill.  Democrats had said earlier in the day that the bill would cost $894 billion — just under the ...

  • Iran response to proposed nuclear deal called inad ...
    Los Angeles Times : Iran response to proposed nuclear deal called inadequate   —  A Western diplomat says Tehran seeks to send its uranium abroad for enrichment in smaller batches and over a longer timetable than foreseen by the U.S.-backed proposal.  —  Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinej ...

Energy & Environment News

5+ quakes - 7 days

  • M 5.4, offshore Veracruz, Mexico
    Thursday, October 29, 2009 10:52:57 UTC Thursday, October 29, 2009 04:52:57 AM at epicenter Depth : 10.00 km (6.21 mi)

  • M 5.3, Santa Cruz Islands
    Tuesday, October 27, 2009 14:10:01 UTC Wednesday, October 28, 2009 01:10:01 AM at epicenter Depth : 35.00 km (21.75 mi)

  • M 5.2, Santa Cruz Islands
    Tuesday, October 27, 2009 03:56:34 UTC Tuesday, October 27, 2009 02:56:34 PM at epicenter Depth : 35.00 km (21.75 mi)

  • M 5.6, Mindanao, Philippines
    Tuesday, October 27, 2009 00:05:55 UTC Tuesday, October 27, 2009 08:05:55 AM at epicenter Depth : 35.00 km (21.75 mi)

  • M 6.0, Drake Passage
    Tuesday, October 27, 2009 00:04:46 UTC Monday, October 26, 2009 08:04:46 PM at epicenter Depth : 10.00 km (6.21 mi)

China Dialogue

  • Cutting the costs of clean energy
    Addressing energy scarcity and climate change means adopting new energy sources. This poses different challenges for rich than for poor nations, writes Lin Boqiang. Developing nations are crucial to cutting carbon dioxide emissions. For this reason, their mode of growth and energy structure must mov ...

  • Packaging: no gift to the earth
    Traditional festivals have lost their cultural significance and become excuses for giving presents that come with too much wrapping, writes Huo Weiya. Such excess is not good for the environment. Early this year, I attended a China-Europe civil society conference. Before the meeting ended, the Europ ...

  • New order from ashes of crisis
    China, India and other developing countries will benefit from the economic turmoil at the expense of the US – and the World Bank is optimistic, writes Larry Elliott. The wrenching financial crisis of the past two years will provide the catalyst for a profound change in the global economy – which ...

  • Outlook and obstacles for CCS (2)
    In the final segment of his two-part report, He Gang sets out his technical and policy recommendations for China's adoption of an important technology. Considering China’s circumstances and strategic requirements on the energy front, discussed in the previous section of this article , there are th ...

  • Outlook and obstacles for CCS (1)
    China needs carbon capture and storage technology to decrease its emissions from coal power, but the transition will be costly and difficult. In the first section of a two-part report, He Gang surveys an energy dilemma. Carbon capture and storage (CCS), a technology that stops carbon dioxide produce ...

AlterNet Top Stories

Threat Level

  • Trick or Tweet? Malware Abundant in Twitter URLs
    As many as one in every 500 web addresses posted on Twitter lead to sites hosting malware, according to researchers at Kaspersky Labs who have deployed a tool that examines URLs circulating in tweets. The spread of malware is aided by the popular use of shortened URLs on Twitter, which generally hi ...

  • FDIC to Banks: Watch for ‘Money Mules’ Duped b ...
    Bank customers are increasingly being duped into acting as “money mules” for hackers, unwittingly laundering cash stolen from business bank accounts, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation warned the nation’s financial institutions on Thursday. Using specialized Trojan horse malware, cyber ...

  • Appeals Court Says Swearing In Text Messages Isn†...
    A 16-year-old California boy dumped by his high school girlfriend didn’t violate a state obscenity law by using four-letter words in anguished text messages to his ex, an appellate court ruled this week. The boy, identified by his initials in the ruling, was convicted by a juvenile court judge i ...

  • Feds’ Smart Grid Race Leaves Cybersecurity in th ...
    Amid the government-funded rush to upgrade America’s aging electric system to a “smart grid,” Threat Level is pondering a strange confluence of press releases this week by the White House and the University of Illinois. Tuesday morning President Obama, speaking at Florida Power and Light (FPL ...

  • Schwarzenegger Flips Off Lawmakers in Hidden Messa ...
    California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is ticked off. He’s tired of signing bills that don’t address the pet causes he deems important. So when another unworthy bill crossed his desk recently for signing — addressing funding issues for the Port of San Francisco — the guv vetoed it and se ...

Reuters - Most Popular Articles

  • "Boondock Saints" back for over-the-top crime spre ...
    LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Troy Duffy, director of the Quentin Tarantino-tinted "Boondock Saints" -- and the rise-and-fall subject of the arguably more entertaining 2003 documentary "Overnight" -- returns to the scene of his 1999 debut with "The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day."

  • European Factors -- Shares set to extend sharp ral ...
    LONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - European equities were set to rise on Friday, adding to the previous session's sharp rally spurred by stronger-than-expected U.S. GDP figures, as investors braced for more corporate results from both European and U.S. companies.

  • U.S. economy stabilized but risks remain: Geithner
    CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. economy's return to growth during the third quarter shows stability has been regained but recovery is fragile and needs nurturing, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Thursday.

  • UPDATE 3-Las Vegas Sands loss widens, but shares r ...
    * Shares rise 9 percent (Recasts, adds company comment, updates share price)

  • As many as 5 million Americans infected with H1N1
    CHICAGO (Reuters) - As many as 5.7 million Americans were infected with the H1N1 virus between April and late July, U.S. researchers said on Thursday, offering the clearest picture yet of how quickly and widely swine flu can spread.

Pine River World News

  • SPECIAL REPORT: Taliban deny role in Peshawar bomb ...
    Pine River World News / IntelTrends October 30, 2009 One of the fastest ways for an insurgency to lose public support is to target the civilian population - this is because they depend upon civilian goodwill to provide information, to "turn a blind eye" to their operatives' comings and goings, to l ...

  • North Korea media blasts U.S. "human rights" finge ...
    The following article is reprinted with permission from Korea News Service (KNS), Tokyo, quoting North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang. Actions for Frustrating U.S. "Human Rights" Offensive Called for ©   KCNA October 28, 2009 Pyongyang, October 28 (KCNA) -- The imperialists a ...

  • Eva Golinger: U.S. Congress members attempt to pla ...
    [The following article is reprinted with permission from Eva Golinger. She is the author of "The Chávez Code: Cracking U.S. Intervention in Venezuela" (2006 Olive Branch Press) and "Bush vs. Chávez: Washington's War on Venezuela" (2007, Monthly Review Press).] U.S. Congress members attempt to place ...

  • Islamabad police arrest, release four Americans dr ...
    IntelTrends - The following article is from the Daily Times, Lahore, Pakistan. Islamabad police arrest, release four Americans ©   Daily Times Staff report October 28, 2009 ISLAMABAD: Islamabad police arrested and then released four U.S. citizens in the city's F-8/3 area early on Tuesday. Source ...

  • Afghanistan: What is going on?
    The following commentary is from Pravda.ru, Moscow. Afghanistan:  What is going on? Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey, Pravda.ru Source:  Mohamed Qasir, Pakistan October 27, 2009 PRAVDA.Ru sources in Pakistan state that the U.S. military forces are pulling back from the border posts between Afghanistan and ...

    PDA AMERICA


  • Winograd and PDA Santa Monica Chapter Go 350
    By Candidate Marcy Winograd Participating in 350 Day, October 24, 2009, members of Progressive Democrats of the Santa Monica Mountains and Los Angeles spelled out 3-5-0 with their bicycles before riding from Santa Monica to ...

  • Crunch Time and a Grassroots View of the ‘Robust ...
    Crunch Time and a Grassroots View of the ‘Robust’ Public Option By PDA-Chicago Steering Committee: Bill Bianchi, Lorin Klugman, Arlene Gloria Hirsch, Allan Nowakowski, and Jim Rhodes The PDA-Chicago steering Committee wants to weigh in on ...

  • IOT: Healthcare for All October Call
    PDA’s monthly Healthcare for All Issue Organizing Team (IOT) conference call had four guests who have pivotal roles in the single-payer movement. Donna Smith updated the group about progress in the House and Senate; ...

  • Ted Turner Would Fire Lou Dobbs
    By Linda Milazzo | PDA Blog Contributor Ted Turner would fire Lou Dobbs. How do I know? Because Ted Turner said so: This excerpt from Ted Turner’s April 1, 2008 interview on PBS, in which ...

  • Fight the Freeze. Save Social Security!
    By Marcy Winograd | PDA Blog Contributor Fight the Freeze - No Diet COLA for Seniors! Let’s thank Congressman Anthony Weiner, our single payer champ, for taking to the streets of New York again, this time to ...

Marler Blog

  • E. coli O157 Update - With 1,039 Pounds of Hamburg ...
    At midnight Crocetti's Oakdale Packing Co., doing business as, South Shore Meats, Inc., a Brockton, Massachusetts establishment, "voluntarily" recalled approximately 1,039 pounds of fresh ground beef patties derived from bench trim as well as mechanically tenderized beef cuts that may be contaminate ...

  • Crocetti's Oakdale Packing Company dba South Shore ...
    Crocetti's Oakdale Packing Co., doing business as, South Shore Meats, Inc., a Brockton, Mass., establishment, is voluntarily recalling approximately 1,039 pounds of fresh ground beef patties derived from bench trim as well as mechanically tenderized beef cuts that may be contaminated with E. coli O1 ...

  • Rhode Island Department of Health Recalls Ground B ...
    The Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH) advises Rhode Islanders that the South Shore Meat packing plant in Brockton has initiated a voluntary recall on certain ground beef products based on confirmed laboratory evidence of the presence of E. coli O157:H7 in leftover ground beef samples obtain ...

  • Senator Harry Reid (D) and Senator John Ensign (R) ...
    Below - Linda Rivera and the Rivera family a few months before Linda was stricken with E. coli O157:H7 . Below - Linda Rivera and her husband, Richard, in the hospital where Linda has been since May 1, 2009 struggling for her life.  To date, medical bills at over $1,500,000.  She has lost her job ...

  • 41,411,465 Pounds of E. coli Tainted Beef Recalled ...
    Although recalls of beef have fallen off a bit in 2009 (only 571,922 pounds) from 2008 (7,083,399 pounds) and 2007 (33,756,142 pounds) ( PDF) , 2006 was the best year we had seen awhile - 181,900 pounds.  Of course this does not account for the over 143,000,000 pounds of beef product recalled due t ...

AutoblogGreen

  • AutoblogGreen for 10.30.09
    Greenlings: How does weight affect a vehicle's efficiency? How much is that junk in your trunk costing you? Vroom for everyone: Local Motors unveiling crowdsourced Rally Fighter at SEMA The ...

  • AutoblogGreen for 10.29.09
    Joe Biden reveals Fisker's future plans: sedan, coupe and crossover in the works Project Nina just got a lot more interesting. GM-Volt founder stranded, learns why EVs take so long to bring to market ...

  • AutoblogGreen for 10.28.09
    Production Aptera 2e leaked again on forum Still immediately recognizable, but more refined now. Tesla Roadster runs 313 miles on a charge in Global Green Challenge It wasnt' fast, but it was ...

  • AutoblogGreen for 10.27.09
    REPORT: Detroit ignored voices who called for fuel efficient vehicles, says GM insider Thanks a lot, Detroit. Is Chrysler's ENVI electric vehicle program dead or just working quietly? ...

  • AutoblogGreen for 10.26.09
    Quick Spin: GGT Cozmo NEV - rickety things come in pricey packages Giving low-speed electric vehicles a bad name. Quick Spin: Myers Motors NmG - redefining fast and small for the future If th ...

Rafe's Radar

  • Let's kill the OS upgrade disc
    I love upgrades. But I hate upgrade discs and upgrade pricing. Let's find a way to do away with both, or at least make the upgrade transaction a bit cleaner. Operating system upgrades The reason I'm writing this column won't be a surprise to anyone one who ...

  • Stalqer mobile social app finds friends in new way ...
    Stalqer locates even friends who don't use the service. (Credit: Stalqer) The developers of the iPhone app GasBag, which helps iPhone users find the cheapest gas for their cars, are working on a new mobile friend locator service, Stalqer . This clever and aptly named service has two technologies ...

  • AARP aims to increase ranks through software
    The American Association of Retired Persons , or AARP, an organization with the stated mission of helping "people 50 and over improve the quality of their lives as they age," has launched a Web site for whippersnappers, people not old enough to be members, called LifeTuner . The consumer pitc ...

  • Reporters' Roundtable: The Dangers of cloud comput ...
    This week we are covering the dangers of cloud computing. Get it? With the major loss of consumer data for the Sidekick smartphone users -- the Sidekick is made by Danger, a Microsoft company -- the whole idea of "cloud" safety was brought front and center for consumers. Businesses, likewise, are ...

  • Tech advice from Tim Berners-Lee
    Tim Berners-Lee at the Web 2.0 Summit. (Credit: Rafe Needleman/CNET) SAN FRANCISCO--When Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, entered the room for the final interview at the Web 2.0 Summit, the audience stood up for him. Appropriately so, since most of those present here Thursday ...

Camera Obscura

  • Pathos and pathology: the cinema of Todd Haynes.
    http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-126935025/pathos-and-pathology-cinema.html September 1, 2004... Because infinity--for the eye--begins just a few meters away from the retina.... --Roger Caillois, "The Image" There are at least two shots in Todd Haynes's work that recur so frequ ...

  • The incredible shrinking star: Todd Haynes and the ...
    http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-126935026/incredible-shrinking-star-todd.html September 1, 2004... Critics have consistently characterized the films of Todd Haynes within the terms of what B. Ruby Rich described in 1992 as the "new queer cinema"--films whose style displayed traces of ...

  • Written on the screen: mediation and immersion in ...
    http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-126935031/written-screen-mediation-and.html September 1, 2004... Recently, while engaging in one of my favorite forms of procrastination--using my computer to search for mid-century modern bargains on eBay rather than using it to engage in more rigorous ...

  • Traumatic postmodern histories: Velvet Goldmine's ...
    http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-126935030/traumatic-postmodern-histories-velvet.html September 1, 2004... If modernity was characterized by and imagined itself in terms of a particular awareness of time and history--the unfolding of social, political, and technological projects of pro ...

  • Dangerous spaces: Safe.
    http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-126935029/dangerous-spaces-safe.html September 1, 2004... For me, the problem is always in content; we want to define the perspective of a film solely through its content, and not through its form. --Todd Haynes No matter how much we desire, wit ...

Democracy Now!

  • The Late Clarence Kailin in his Own Words: "We've ...
    Clarence Kailin was one of the last survivors of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, a group of American volunteers who fought against fascism in the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. Kailin fought in defense of Spain’s democratically elected government against a military coup led by Gen. Francisco F ...

  • Trick or Treat for Climate Change
    Halloween is around the corner, and children will soon be dressing up and chanting “trick or treat,” their demand for candy backed up by the threat of a prank. Climate-change activists, from pranksters to presidents, are doing the same. Read More Listen to this Column

  • Lt. Choi Won’t Lie for His Country
    Lt. Dan Choi doesn’t want to lie. Choi, an Iraq war veteran and a graduate of West Point, declared last March 19 on “The Rachel Maddow Show,” “I am gay.” Under the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” regulations, those three words are enough to get Choi kicked out of the military ...

  • Watch What You Tweet
    A social worker from New York City was arrested last week while in Pittsburgh for the G-20 protests, then subjected to an FBI raid this week at home—all for using Twitter. Elliot Madison faces charges of hindering apprehension or prosecution, criminal use of a communication facility and possessio ...

  • Nomi Prins on "It Takes a Pillage: Behind the Bail ...
    Nomi Prins is a former investment banker turned journalist. She worked at Goldman Sachs and Bear Stearns. She is the author of several books; her latest, just out, is called It Takes a Pillage: Behind the Bonuses, Bailouts, and Backroom Deals from Washington to Wall Street . She spoke on the them ...

Farming Pathogens

  • A Visitation of the Influenza
    In seeping through the world’s every nook and cranny, pandemics have a way of forcing themselves into our lives as a lurking presence. Even the most insular of functionaries, who typically makes his living solving problems by ignoring them, straightens up and takes notice.    As an epidemic ...

  • I Do Like Green Eggs and Ham
    Much of what we’ve addressed on this blog has focused on the epidemiological failures of industrial farming. But what of the alternatives? Can we farm in another way? Is another world possible?    It’s only since I’ve moved to the Midwest that I’ve learned that not only is that world p ...

  • Heart of Modeling
    Greed is often mistaken for humanity’s heart of darkness. Look instead to the rationalization that transforms the most rapacious pillaging into an act of benevolence. A one-ton bomb dropped on a peasant wedding party is dissembled into regret without responsibility or, baser yet, a tough love offe ...

  • Bird Flu’s Industrial Revolution
    Public talks can be private affairs. In sharing our work we bare the triumphs and limits of a thinking born in long hours alone or with a few fellow conspirators sworn to secrecy. But in breaking our oaths we are able to take the next step.   In talking bird flu twice this past month I learned [... ...

  • The Agro-Industrial Roots of Swine Flu H1N1
    Mexico appears ground zero for an outbreak of deadly human-specific H1N1.   Of the over 1400 people that have been reportedly infected there so far, 86 have died. Short chains of transmission of the virus have also been reported in California, Texas, Kansas, Ohio, New York City, Canada and New Zeal ...

Digg Green

  • National Geographic 2009 International Photo Conte ...
    A stunning collection of some of the best entries so far in the National Geographic 2009 international photo competition.

  • Retired Indian Engineer Builds Glaciers To slow gl ...
    Chewang Norphel, 76, has already proved his technology by building 12 new glaciers and is trying to build five more before he dies. Chewang is also training new people to continue his work and save the world’s glaciers from being transformed into rivers. The engineer, popularly known as the “Ice ...

  • Concerned about your carbon footprint, think birth ...
    Environmentalists tend to avoid the topic of population control. Too touchy. But the politically incorrect issue is becoming unavoidable as the global population lurches toward a predicted 9 billion people by mid-century.

  • How to Stop America's Creeping Water Crisis
    California has its share of problems these days; the state carries billions of dollars in debt, drug cartels have made their way in from Mexico and the wild fire season came and went with great force. As if the governor didn't have enough on his plate, California is also in the midst of one of the b ...

  • Europe Offers to Cut Emissions 95% by 2050
    Europe attempted to reassert its international leadership in the fight against global warming today, offering to slash its greenhouse gas emissions by up to 95% by 2050 and by 30% by 2020 if a climate change pact is sealed in Copenhagen in six weeks' time.

Invisible Opportunity

  • Video :: GEORGE SOROS : CHINA MUST BE PART OF THE ...
    How many times can you refer to the new world order in the first minute of an interview? Mr. Soros may hold the record here.  

  • Why Doesn’t Hillary Clinton Fire Blackwater?
    As a candidate, Clinton pledged to ban Blackwater. She now has the power to do it, but continues to use them “indefinitely” By Jeremy Scahill As a candidate for president, Hillary Clinton pledged to ban Blackwater. In February 2008, she announced that she would sign on as the co-sponsor of a lit ...

  • 911 reasons why 9/11 was (probably) an inside job
    By Robert Bridge, RT Before attempting to identify “nine hundred and eleven reasons why 9/11 was an inside job” (which will start tomorrow as part of an investigative, four-part report), I would like to briefly mention my own “where-were-you-on-9/11-moment” since it has a lot to do with my r ...

  • French Journalists Interview Cynthia McKinney and ...
    By JFRanger This is something you have not yet seen in any US media. French independent media La Télé Libre interviews two of the most prominent 9/11 truth activists, Cynthia McKinney and Niels Harrit. To understand the context of the interview, you need to know what is happening in France right n ...

  • Just Say No to Nist, a review of David Ray Griffin ...
    By Jerry Mazza A review of The Mysterious Collapse of World Trade Center 7: Why the Official Report about 9/11 is Unscientific and False A book by David Ray Griffin The headline, “Just Say No to NIST” (the National Institute of Standards and Technology) is purposely patterned after Nancy Reaganâ ...

    Care2 Picks


  • Green Energy Act could create $4.5 billion in valu ...
    A detailed analysis of the business case for power generators, transmitters and local distribution companies following the introduction and enactment of Ontario's Green Energy Act, finds the act has the potential to create significant value. Submitted by David Meiser to Green Lifestyle  |   Note-it ...

  • Battle at Coal River Mountain Explodes
    Start of the destruction of the range slated for wind project, blasting and forest clearing reported : mining involves hazard of release of reservoirs of toxic ash deposits threatening flood of death and groundwater poisoninghttp://opitslinkfest.blogspot. Submitted by John Farnham to Environment  | ...

  • THE TRUTH | Gather
    This gentleman is amazing, and I would highly recommend that you not only read this particular post by him but, also, further explore his portfolio to read other ones of his writings. Submitted by Ainsley Jo Phillips to Society & Culture  |   Note-it!  |   Add a Comment

  • Israel in Canada: Promised Lands
    On the occasion of filmmakers withdrawing last month from the Toronto Film Festival in protest of Israeli involvement in the event, Eric Walberg takes a radical look at Israel's cultural and political connections in Canada Submitted by Eric W. to World  |   Note-it!  |   Add a Comment

  • War is peace, ignorance is strength
    Barack Obama, winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, is planning another war to add to his impressive record. In Afghanistan, his agents routinely extinguish wedding parties.... Submitted by Eleanor B. to US Politics & Gov't  |   Note-it!  |   Add a Comment

Insurgency Watch - Newswire

  • Obama, us leaders should contemplate future of Afg ...
    BBC News Obama, us leaders should contemplate future of Afghan women Chicago Tribune Would nuclear-armed Pakistan become even more vulnerable to its own Taliban insurgency ? Will a defeat embolden America's enemies? That line of thinking must ... Vietnam syndrome has begun in Afghanistan Sri Lanka ...

  • Officials: Campus blasts perplexing - United Press ...
    Officials: Campus blasts perplexing United Press International ISLAMABAD, Pakistan , Oct. 21 (UPI) -- The International Islamic University, where bomb blasts killed at least six people, is a unique Pakistani institution ... and more »

  • Schools closed in Pakistan after bombing - GMA new ...
    Schools closed in Pakistan after bombing GMA news.tv An Associated Press reporter met three Taliban fighters Tuesday traveling in a car with darkened windows at Shaktoi, a town close to the border between ... and more »

  • An Evolving Afghan Policy - American Chronicle
    An Evolving Afghan Policy American Chronicle ... triumph for the forces of Islamic extremism, al-Qaeda would once again gain a foothold, and the return of the Taliban would likely destabilize Pakistan . ...

  • Schools close in Pakistan following university bom ...
    Schools close in Pakistan following university bombings Emirates Business 24/7 ... in Pakistan after suspected militants bombed a university close to the capital, sowing fear across the country as the army presses a major anti- Taliban ... and more »

AlterNet - Rights and Liberties

Sideways News

  • Simple changes 'can cut global warming'
    We can all help in the fight against global warming by making simple changes to our lifestyles, according to new research.

  • Global event encourages thrifty habits
    Everybody would like to bolster their savings a bit and there is no better time to do so than on World Thrift Day which is currently taking place across the globe. First held in 1924 in Milan following the inaugural International Thrift Congress, World Thrift Day is held on 30 October each year and ...

  • Margaret Atwood goes green on tour
    Margaret Atwood , the Booker prize winner, is attempting a book tour with a difference for her latest novel The Year of the Flood .

  • Banks to provide tuition fee support?
    Students in the UK should be protected from a rise in university tuition fees by high street banks, it has been claimed.

  • Recycle tweets for charity
    Calling all Twitter fans: do you find yourself annoyed by tweets verging on the meaningless or the mundane? Such as when someone you're following feels the need to share how many cups of tea they have had to drink, what colour shoes they are wearing, or worse, hits you with corporate spam?

Fabius Maximus

  • Update to posts past on the FM website
    Here are articles about subects discussed in past posts on the FM website. (A)  About The Fate of Israel, 28 July 2007 “The Changing Face of Israel“, Richard Cincotta and Eric Kaufmann, Foreign Policy, June 2009 — “As minority groups swell in numbers, the country’s political m ...

  • Another crack in the foundation: the maturity of ...
    There are so many fractures in America’s foundations it’s easy to lose track.  One is subtle, not like to cause problems — but in a crisis it could became a major or even terminal factor:  the maturity structure of the Treasury’s debt. To save money as the debt has more than doubled ...

  • Interesting articles about our changing world
    I found these of interest.  You might also. (1)  China has overinvested and now has too much of almost everything: “CHINA: Too Many Graduates, Very Few Jobs“, Inter Press Service (IPS), 21 October 2009 — Excerpt: An explosive report released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences ...

  • Must the old media die for the new media to flouri ...
    An update to the series of posts about our changing news media, and how this will shape America. “A New Horizon for the News“, Michael Massing (contributing editor of the Columbia Journalism Review), New York Review of Books, 24 September 2009 Massing illustrates the deep roots of the crisis f ...

  • Reading recommendations
    An assortment of articles I found interesting to read.  Perhaps you will too. “Capitalism, Socialism or Fascism?“, George Washington, 25 October 2009 — What’s America’s new economic system? “Recessional“, The New Republic, Jason Zengerle, 24 October 2009 — Bio of Rory Stewart, †...

sibeledmonds - tweets

WIRED Magazine | Science

  • Don’t Tell Geico: You May Be a Natural Born Bad ...
    Next time you get cut off by a another driver, consider giving the offender a break: One-third of Americans might be genetically predisposed to crappy driving. No, really, it’s not just your imagination. In a new study of college undergraduates, those with a common genetic variation scored 20 per ...

  • Share Your Stars: New Wired Science DIY Astronomy ...
    We have been amazed by the astrophotos our readers and followers have been sharing with us. So to facilitate our ongoing amazement, and in keeping with our belief that there can never be too many space photos, we have created a new Flickr group for you to upload your favorite shots. We’ll run the ...

  • Hubble Captures Sparkling Jewel Box Star Cluster
    This stunning image of the Kappis Crucis Cluster, nicknamed the “Jewel Box,” was one of the last gifts from a retiring camera on the Hubble Space Telescope. Just before NASA brought the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 back to Earth in mid-2009, it snapped this photo of the core of the NGC 4755 st ...

  • Humans, Shmumans: What Mars Needs Is an Armada of ...
    Airships may be the key component in a new robotic system for exploring the celestial bodies most likely to harbor life like Mars and Jupiter’s moon, Titan. The dirigibles would provide regional observations and autonomous command for ground-based vehicles, while maintaining contact with orbiters ...

  • Birds Use Light, Not Magnetic Field, to Migrate
    A cell in the eye may be worth two in the beak, at least when it comes to a migratory bird’s magnetic compass. In European robins, a visual center in the brain and light-sensing cells in the eye — not magnetic sensing cells in the beak — allow the songbirds to sense which direction is [...]

The Progressive Realist

  • Obama's Europe Neglect Could Bring Bush Nostalgia
    U.S. President Barack Obama is so beloved in Europe that he was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize (which he later won) just 12 days after taking office for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples." A Pew survey this summer found that 93 per ...

  • Obama and Honduras: Principled Stance Leads to Pra ...
    Reports indicate the Obama administration will be sending high level officials as envoys this week to meet with both factions in the continuing drama of the Honduran coup. The crisis started when President Manuel Zelaya was removed from office, to be replaced by Honduran congressman and interim Pres ...

  • Afghanistan’s Heroin Problem
    It seems to me that the link between the poppy trade and the Taliban in Afghanistan is often discussed in the US in a somewhat confused way. Just because the opium trade is a major source of funding for the Taliban doesn’t mean that cracking down on “the opium trade” hurts the Taliban. If I de ...

  • The "Enclave" Strategy Moves to the Fore in Afghan ...
    In an effort to limit the number of additional troops sent to Afghanistan, it looks like the Obama administration has moved toward an "enclave" strategy , protecting 10 population centers, or, “ McChrystal for the city, Biden for the country." Part of the reason for this logic is the understanding ...

  • Is Congress Trying To Torpedo US-Iran Engagement?
    Today the House Committee on Foreign Affairs is marking up H.R. 2194, the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act of 2009 . Rep. Steny Hoyer has “ committed to moving the bill quickly to a vote once it is passed out of the committee.â€� The American Enterprise Institute’s Iran Tracker website ...

TAPPED - The American Prospect

  • Lightning Round: Eagerly Awaiting the Link to Free ...
    Seems George Soros is dumping millions into an "Institute for New Economic Thinking" that will "take back the economics profession from the champions of free-market zealotry who have dominated it for decades." That ought to keep the economic right-wing busy for a while. It's worth repeating that it ...

  • Fewer Foreign-Born Technologists, Fewer Patents?
    Whether or not to raise the congressionally-mandated cap on H1-B visas for specialized workers (including internationally-known fashion models, but this isn't the place to get into that that) is tricky question. It's fairly inarguable that technologists from lands abroad have been a key component ...

  • On That House Health-Care Bill.
    It's been a busy day on the Hill, with the House of Representatives releasing its combined health-care reform bill with an emotional press conference led by Rep. John Dingell (above), the longest-serving Member of the House whose efforts on reform -- including his yearly introduction of a Medicare ...

  • The Right Litigation at the Wrong Time.
    Although I don't actually disagree with the bottom line of Adam Liptak 's account of the lawsuit filed by David Boies and Theodore Olson arguing that California's odious Proposition 8 is unconstitutional, the structure of the article is atypically odd. It begins by describing the lawyer defending Ca ...

  • Trick or Treat ...
    From our October issue : What will Dick Cheney give trick-or-treaters this year? "A playful waterboarding, followed by threats, if they don't tell him which house is handing out the fun-size Snickers." -- Megan Carpentier , Air America "An unexpectedly warm and firm hug." -- Baratunde Thurston , T ...

Andy Worthington

  • 83 Human Rights Groups Tell Congress, “Take Acti ...
    Today, 83 human rights groups and leaders sent the following petition to Congress calling for specific actions to end torture: A Call for US Congress to Take Action on Torture Whereas over seven years have passed since President George W. Bush fraudulently induced the US Congress, the American peopl ...

  • The Guantánamo Files: Andy Worthington’s radio ...
    Last week I recorded an hour-long interview with France Kassing, the producer and host of the public affairs show “It’s about You!â€� on KDVS in UC Davis, California. The show was broadcast on Monday October 26, and is available here as an MP3. France was a great host, asking me to guide l ...

  • Senate Finally Allows Guantánamo Trials In US, Bu ...
    After railing against Senators and Representatives for their cowardly, uninformed and unacceptable attempts to prevent President Obama from bringing any Guantánamo prisoner to the US mainland for any reason — even for trials — which I wrote about most recently in an article entitled, “On ...

  • Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo – ...
    Andy Worthington, author of The Guantánamo Files and co-director (with filmmaker Polly Nash) of the new Guantánamo documentary, “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo,” will be visiting the US in November to show the film in New York, Virginia, Washington D.C., Berkeley and San Francisco. ...

  • New Book: The Guantánamo Lawyers – and a ta ...
    Published on November 9 by NYU Press (and available from Amazon), The Guantánamo Lawyers: Inside a Prison, Outside the Law, is edited by Mark Denbeaux (Seton Hall Law School) and Jonathan Hafetz (ACLU) and “contains over one hundred personal narratives from attorneys who have represented detainee ...

Buzzflash

  • A Closer Look At The Republican Party -- Verse-Cas ...
    The right-wing game plan is easy to see: "BILL AYERS ! ACORN ! THE AARP !" Day after day and then week after week The same old daily double of doublespeak VERSE CASE SCENARIO read more

  • Systemic Fault Lines
    Body   The witless chatter that consumes so much media and congressional air time is never-ending. No matter how often health-care reform is defined, for example, Republicans keep repeating the same talking points about a government takeover that will destroy the doctor-patient relations ...

  • CNN Fails a Second Time to Disclose Alex Castellan ...
    BUZZFLASH MEDIA PUTZ OF THE WEEK CNN For reporting that is an embarrassment to the profession of journalism, and for being beholden to corporate paymasters rather than the citizens of America. Not to kick a cable news channel when it's down, but the news this week that CNN is running fourth in key ...

  • Senate Committee Hears Agreement on Climate Change ...
    GREEN IS GOOD by Margaret Smith Hearings began yesterday on the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733) in the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. As the second day got under way, witnesses put their best foot forward and passionately spoke on job creation, national security ...

  • Modern American, in a polarized funk
    Body According to at least two recent polls, the American public is in a funk -- or perhaps I should say, is still in a funk, or is back in a funk, or worse, is maybe showing signs of fixed and permanent funkdom. Although, says USA Today/Gallup , 6 in 10 Americans assume "the country wil ...

Glenn Greenwald - Salon

  • Joe Lieberman, Evan Bayh and Afghanistan
    Ongoing travel will make writing difficult today, so I'll post several television segments I did this morning and last night.  First is a debate over Afghanistan and U.S. foreign policy with former Bush official and standard neocon Dan Senor, on Dylan Ratigan's MSNBC program from this morning: ...

  • The unversality of war propaganda
    I'm traveling still today, but I wanted to note an amazing Op-Ed that was referenced in a book I'm reading:  the Op-Ed is by Nikolai Lanine, published in The Toronto Globe and Mail in November, 2006.  Lanine was drafted into the Russian Army at the age of 18 and spent several years as part ...

  • Former Marine Captain resigns in protest of Afghan ...
    (updated below) Matthew Hoh, a former Marine captain with combat experience in Iraq, resigned last month from his position with the Foreign Service, where he was the the senior U.S. civilian in the Taliban-dominated Southern Afghanistan province of Zabul, because he became convinced that our ...

  • Calling for greater religious strife with Islam
    (updated below - Update II) The New York Times today, in the form of Ross Douthat's column , has published what could fairly be described as a call for a Christian religious war -- certainly metaphorical and perhaps literal -- against Islam.  Douthat praises recent efforts by Pope Benedic ...

  • NYT condemns what it calls "Obama's cover-up"
    (updated below) The New York Times Editorial Page has long been one of the most reliable and vocal pro-Obama outlets in the nation.  When they endorsed him for President , they praised his "strength of will, character and intellect, sober judgment and a cool, steady hand," attributes they ...

The BiPartisan Report

  • How the future of the GOP is being decided in New ...
    It’s kinda odd when you think about it. The future of the Republican Party is being played out in two places that look very different at first glance: liberal New York and conservative... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Time to boycott Rush Limbaugh sponsors
    The boycott of Glenn Beck’s sponsors seems to be effective. Last I heard the man was running out of advertising options. CNN, after getting rid of Beck, is now looking to dump Lou Dobbs for... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Bipartisanship: The Eulogy
    A pretty ironic title for a post on a site called Bipartisan Report, isn’t it? Back in January I joined this site with a strong belief that it is possible to have a conversation around issues... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • #WeLovetheNHS
    The astroturf organization, Conservatives for Patients' Rights (CPR), started a backlash across the Pond yesterday. As reported by the Daily Times the Brits didn't take too kindly to have their... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Conservatives and “The Big Lie”
    It was GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss who pushed me over the edge. Not that I should be surprised that Chambliss would make up a lie out of whole cloth about health care. The only way that he got elected... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Sciencebase

  • Food Chemistry News
    On the menu today, why red wine is a no-no when it comes to fishy cuisine, how chemists can help you improve your gravy, and a whole platter of food chemistry to tempt your taste buds: “Red wine with red meat, white wine with fish.” But, have you ever wondered why? Japanese chemists have discove ...

  • Don’t be such a scientist!
    Don’t be such a scientist! It’s the kind of thing I’d expect my sister to say to my face if I’ve gone off on one of my lecture mode conversations about some great discovery, or something some of my artier friends might whisper about me behind my back. Sometimes it’s a personal wish…but t ...

  • A month with an electricity monitor
    Right, the kettle is on for a morning brew and apparently our household is using 3.07 kilowatts. That will include the chest freezer in the garage, the refrigerator in the kitchen, the electric kettle, my laptop and wireless network, oh and a little device sitting on my desk right now that’s monit ...

  • Breast Cancer, Plankton, Tellurides
    My latest contributions to SpectroscopyNOW.com and my current Alchemist column on ChemWeb.com are now live: Sweetening breast cancer risk – Experimental and epidemiological evidence previously suggested that circulating glucose and insulin may play a role in the emergence of breast cancer. Now a s ...

  • Climate Change Action
    It’s Blog Action Day 2009 and the subject this year is Climate Change. So, here are a few resources for readers seeking out climate information: IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – The IPCC assesses the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant for the unders ...

change: org.

  • Smart on Crime in North Carolina
    A few years ago, the West End neighborhood of High Point, North Carolina, had a serious crime problem. Drug dealers controlled entire blocks, gun shots rang out at night. But now the streets are safer. Violence is down. And locals say a targeted, community-based approach to drugs and crime brought t ...

  • The Tiniest Rescues and the Building of Compassion
    I have a habit of not only rescuing the insects and arachnids I encounter but also, if there's a camera handy, obsessively photographing them (one of many reasons that getting a good camera and learning how to use it is high on my to-do-when-I-have-money list), and this post and the images in it ste ...

  • 8 Things You Need to Know About the New House Heal ...
    Nancy Pelosi couldn’t have announced the new House healthcare reform bill, the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962), with any more pomp and circumstance. It was certainly more impressive than the Senate’s mouse-like rollout, apparently intended to avoid rubbing salt in the Baucus ...

  • Cooling Rumor Debunked: The World Is In Fact Still ...
    We've been over this before. The climate change debate often seems like one big roller coaster of public opinion. The globe is warming, no it's not, yes it is, what about the natural cycle of ice ages?, this is different, no it's not, yes?, no?, and finally . . . okay, maybe we can agree, yes it is. ...

  • GM Food Fight
    In the debate over genetically modified food, one thing is clear: we can't agree. And not only do we disagree but we disagree passionately and intransigently. Statistics are hurled back and forth, each one seemingly contradicting the last, until everyone has pie in their face and no one knows what's ...

Common Dreams-Progressive Newswire

  • National Parks Conservation Association Urges Sena ...
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 28, 2009 National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) Today, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources National Parks Subcommittee will hear testimony on the greatest challenge facing our national parks: disruptions due to climate change. The National Parks Conservation ...

  • Task Force: Signing of Hate Crimes Measure Is Hist ...
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 28, 2009 National Gay and Lesbian Task Force President Obama today signed federal hate crimes legislation into law. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act will help protect people against violence based on sexual orientation, gender identity, ...

  • Kucinich to Receive Thomas Merton Award for Social ...
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 28, 2009 Congressman Dennis Kucinich Washington D.C. (October 28, 2009) - Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) will receive the 2009 Thomas Merton Award for his work in social justice this Sunday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The award is granted annually by the Thomas Me ...

  • Equality California Hails Signing of Federal Hate ...
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 28, 2009 EQCA Equality California hailed the signing today of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a federal law combating hate crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals. read more

  • Obama Signs Hate Crimes Legislation into Law
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 28, 2009 PFAW Today, President Obama signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.  The legislation will extend important protections to victims of violent hate crimes committed based on a person's actual or perceived sexual orient ...

Common Dreams-Views

  • TARP-Loving Joe Loves Bailing Out Banks but Not Pr ...
    by Donna Smith Are we to believe Senator Joe Lieberman objects to a public health insurance plan because he's a raging believer in the free market or in protecting taxpayers funds? That's just not true Joe. You're a TARP-lover, aren't you? Come on, tell the truth. Joe loved voting for the Trouble ...

  • Joe Lieberman and the Opt-Out Revolution
    by Lindsay Beyerstein Progressives rejoiced when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced this week that the final Senate health care bill would include a public option. The announcement was a major victory for left-wing Democrats. Better yet, it would be a public option without a trigger. Earlie ...

  • Latin America's Economic Rebels
    by Mark Weisbrot Among the conventional wisdom that we hear everyday in the business press is that developing countries should bend over backwards to create a friendly climate for foreign corporations, follow orthodox (neoliberal) macroeconomic policy advice, and strive to achieve an investment-grad ...

  • Cuban Embargo: Nothing Succeeds Like Failure
    by Saul Landau Once again, Cuba has asked the United Nations to help end the U.S. economic, financial and trade embargo. Havana says this blockade cost it more than $242 million last year. The embargo also stymies Cuban access to foreign capital from other nations, because investors face possible U. ...

  • No Such Thing as Clean Coal
    by Shawn Dell Joyce We are enduring a $45 million advertising campaign touting "clean coal" as the solution to America's energy crisis. This is an attempt by "Big Coal" lobbyists (the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, in this case) to "greenwash" Americans into believing a lie that coal ...

Karl Burkart

Water Privatization

Guardian

  • Blair hopes for EU presidency sinking fast
    Ex-PM's chances of winning role slide as Sarkozy and Merkel fail to back him Tony Blair's hopes of becoming Europe's first sitting president were receding fast last night as Britain admitted his chances of success were "fading" after the continent's centre-right leaders made it clear one of their ow ...

  • Chirac ordered to stand trial
    Former French president vows to fight allegations that as mayor of Paris he paid cronies for non-existent jobs Jacques Chirac, the former French president, has been ordered to stand trial on embezzlement charges over accusations he rewarded cronies with payments for non-existent jobs while mayor of ...

  • Tories plan to sell off Royal Mail
    The Conservatives are backing the total privatisation of Royal Mail and believe bidders will be more willing to come forward if the dispute ends with the union forced to accept modernisation. The move risks further inflaming the increasingly bitter dispute as the second wave of national strikes kick ...

  • Sustainable sisters
    Riazat Butt visits the nuns who left a Victorian abbey for an environmentally friendly home Riazat Butt Hildegunn Soldal

  • Somali man, 112, marries girl of 17
    He is old enough to be her great-great-grandfather. But Ahmed Muhamed Dhore, a Somalian who claims he is 112 years old, said he had realised a "dream" by marrying a 17-year-old bride. Dhore – who says he was born in 1897, the year that Queen Victoria celebrated her diamond jubilee – already has ...

Diigo | Green Community

  • Will U.S. go empty-handed to world climate talks?
    Without a new law requiring cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, the U.S. could end up going empty-handed to the international climate talks in December. Comments: Without a new law requiring cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, the U.S. could end up going empty-handed to the international climate talks i ...

  • Multiyear Arctic Ice Is Effectively Gone: Expert
    The multiyear ice covering the Arctic Ocean has effectively vanished, a startling development that will make it easier to open up polar shipping routes, an Arctic expert said on Thursday. Comments: The multiyear ice covering the Arctic Ocean has effectively vanished, a startling development that wil ...

  • Pesticides: Easier Detection of Pollution and Impa ...
    The long-term effects of pesticides on living organisms in rivers and on water quality can now be assessed more easily. Researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) have developed a tool that can estimate the harmful effect of pesticides, such as those flushed into rivers a ...

  • EU Opens Way to Treaty to Increase Global Influenc ...
    The European Union reached a deal on Thursday that opens the way to ratification of a treaty to increase its influence in world affairs, but failed to agree on funding for a pact to combat climate change. Comments: The European Union reached a deal on Thursday that opens the way to ratification of a ...

  • Arctic Sediments Show That 20th Century Warming Is ...
    The possibility that climate change might simply be a natural variation like others that have occurred throughout geologic time is dimming, according to evidence in a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper published October 19. Comments: The possibility that climate change might simpl ...

Electronic Intifada

  • Another breach in Israel's wall of impunity
    It may be too early to hope that the Goldstone report will result directly in Israeli leaders facing trial in international courts; there are still too many opportunities for Israel and its backers to ...

  • Human rights defender's detention without charge e ...
    On Monday 19 October 2009, a court hearing at Salem military court, in the northern West Bank, extended Mohammad Othman's detention period for another 11 days. It has been 29 days now since hum ...

  • Don't conflate liberalism with leftism
    I felt the need to point out a rather significant confusion of terms to be found in Joseph Shahadi's review of Steven Salaita's The Uncultured Wars: Arabs, Muslims and the Poverty of Liberal Th ...

  • Israeli blockade strangling Gaza agriculture
    Recently, Israel announced that it would import palm fronds from the Gaza Strip for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Initially, the decision to allow Gaza to export palm fronds seemed like an easing, how ...

  • Book review: The timeless work of Naji al-Ali
    Cartoonist Naji al-Ali was a towering figure in the Palestinian cultural and political scene. His daily political drawings were a knife-twisting, gut-wrenching journey into how Palestinians per ...

CS Monitor - News

  • October 16, 2009
    The UN Human Rights Council votes to adopt the Goldstone Report on Israel's military incursion into Gaza.

  • October 19, 2009
    Saudi Arabia is wary of terrorists, especially from neighboring states.

  • October 20, 2009
    How some TV insiders view parents and children on reality television.

  • October 21, 2009
    How African Anglicans might respond to the Vatican's offer.

  • October 23, 2009
    US-China economic relations, Microsoft and Wall Street, and September home sales.

The Wonk Room

The Intelligence Daily

My AntiWar

Innovation Canada

  • Fear factor
    Let’s say you’re wandering through a deserted alley late one foggy October night. You turn a corner, and lo and behold, you’re surrounded by a crowd of brain-thirsty zombies. Your pulse quickens, your amygdala fires, your respiration is off the charts. You try to run, but you trip and fall. As ...

  • Fuels of the future?
    A recession-related dip in flight demand might actually be considered a green blessing. Just a small one, mind you. The David Suzuki Foundation estimates that aviation is responsible for up to nine percent of the total global climate-change  impact of human activity, so it would take a huge drop to ...

  • i2eye with Bif Naked
    The last few years have been a roller-coaster ride for Bif Naked. After two years of touring, TV work and datelessness following her 2005 album Superbeautifulmonster, the Vancouver-based alt-rock singer-songwriter — whose real name is Beth Walker — met and married her husband, sportswriter Ian W ...

  • Cultural evolution
    When Jane Goodall reported her observations of tools use by chimps to famed anthropologist Louis Leakey, he responded by saying, “Now we must redefine tool, redefine man or accept chimpanzees as humans.” Leakey would have likely had a similar reaction to the current work of University of Calgary ...

  • Faces of aggression
    Even if you can’t distinguish NHL enforcers Todd Bertuzzi and Chris Neil from a referee, you’d probably know at first sight not to mess with them. And not just because of their physical size. The men employed to intimidate the opposition tend to have wide faces, and that, Brock University’s Ch ...

Signs of the times

  • Study shows hormone replacement therapy decreases ...
    Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to treat menopausal estrogen deficiency has been in widespread use for over 60 years. Several observational studies over the years showed that HRT use by younger postmenopausal women was associated with a significant reduction in total mortality; available evidence ...

  • Study: depression can lead to inflated reports of ...
    New research shows people who feel depressed tend to recall having more physical symptoms than they actually experienced. The study indicates that depression -- not neuroticism -- is the cause of such over-reporting. Psychologist Jerry Suls, professor and collegiate fellow in the University of Iowa ...

  • Shrimp Eyes May Lead to Ultra-Quality DVDs
    The amazing eyes of a giant shrimp living on Australia's Great Barrier Reef could hold the key to developing a new type of super high-quality DVD player, British scientists said on Sunday. Mantis shrimps, dubbed "thumb splitters" by divers because of their vicious claws, have the most complex eyes ...

  • Extinct bison body could rewrite Canadian archaeol ...
    The carcass of an extinct steppe bison, discovered two years ago melting out of a cliff in a remote village in the Northwest Territories, is shedding new light on the Ice Age species - and could rewrite the history of human migration in Canada as glaciers began retreating in the region nearly 14,0 ...

  • Seventh foot washes ashore in British Columbia
    A right foot has been found inside a running shoe on a beach in Richmond, the seventh foot found along B.C.'s coast in two years, RCMP said Wednesday. Two men walking on the beach Tuesday evening found the foot in a white size 8.5 Nike running shoe on the beach at No. 6 Road and Triangle Road, the ...

Threat Level

  • Trick or Tweet? Malware Abundant in Twitter URLs
    As many as one in every 500 web addresses posted on Twitter lead to sites hosting malware, according to researchers at Kaspersky Labs who have deployed a tool that examines URLs circulating in tweets. The spread of malware is aided by the popular use of shortened URLs on Twitter, which generally hi ...

  • FDIC to Banks: Watch for ‘Money Mules’ Duped b ...
    Bank customers are increasingly being duped into acting as “money mules” for hackers, unwittingly laundering cash stolen from business bank accounts, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation warned the nation’s financial institutions on Thursday. Using specialized Trojan horse malware, cyber ...

  • Appeals Court Says Swearing In Text Messages Isn†...
    A 16-year-old California boy dumped by his high school girlfriend didn’t violate a state obscenity law by using four-letter words in anguished text messages to his ex, an appellate court ruled this week. The boy, identified by his initials in the ruling, was convicted by a juvenile court judge i ...

  • Feds’ Smart Grid Race Leaves Cybersecurity in th ...
    Amid the government-funded rush to upgrade America’s aging electric system to a “smart grid,” Threat Level is pondering a strange confluence of press releases this week by the White House and the University of Illinois. Tuesday morning President Obama, speaking at Florida Power and Light (FPL ...

  • Schwarzenegger Flips Off Lawmakers in Hidden Messa ...
    California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is ticked off. He’s tired of signing bills that don’t address the pet causes he deems important. So when another unworthy bill crossed his desk recently for signing — addressing funding issues for the Port of San Francisco — the guv vetoed it and se ...

PERRspectives : Blog

  • Media Lament Recession's Impact on the Tragically ...
    One week after its devastating documentary ("The Warning") on federal regulator Brooksley Born's unheeded warning in the 1990's about the potential disaster in the offing for the U.S. financial system, on Tuesday the PBS program Frontline aired an episode which...

  • Republican Malpractice Myths
    In recent days, Republican leaders have scored a series of political victories in their eternal quest for tort reform. Last week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) told Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) that an onerous package of malpractice curbs he championed...

  • Strong GDP Growth Doesn't Calm Stimulus Fight
    On Thursday, the Commerce Department announced that the U.S. economy expanded at a surprisingly strong 3.5% rate. But despite Q3 GDP growth which exceeded consensus estimates, the outsized impact of one-time programs including the Cash for Clunkers incentives and the...

  • Bush to "Replenish the Ol' Coffers" as Motivationa ...
    Back in September 2007, George W. Bush revealed his plans for life after the White House. First, Mr. Bush said, "I'll give some speeches, just to replenish the ol' coffers." The following July, Kathryn Jean Lopez, one of his bath...

  • South Carolina Edges Oklahoma to Top BCS Standings
    In a surprise to many, South Carolina narrowly topped Oklahoma in the first BCS standings released this week. Not, that is, in college football's Bowl Championship Series, but in the Battle of Crazy States. Oklahoma dropped to the #2 spot...

Blackspot News Feed

Consortium News

CounterPunch

Institute for Middle East Understanding

Water - AlterNet

TruthHugger

  • Barbara Ann Radnofsky Launches New Campaign Websit ...
    For Immediate Release [...]

  • Arrogant Health Care Insurers make Public Option n ...
    Uninsured human beings are the greatest threat to Public Health. Healthy conservatives just don't get it.

  • Sabotage Experts: US Coast Guard Exercise on 9/11, ...
    Coast Guard to review exercise after Potomac security scare Security incident on Potomac River prompted by “training exercise,” two police sources say Coast Guard told them. With the nation already on edge and somewhat paranoid on September 11 each year, what is the LAST thing you want to do? ...

  • Texas Progressive Alliance August 31, 2009
    It’s the week before Labor Day, and the Texas Progressive Alliance is hard at work bringing you the best of the Texas blogosphere. Here are this week’s highlights. The Texas Cloverleaf wonders why only one person showed up to a budget meeting where taxes are being increased in Denton County. No ...

  • Who Will Carry The Kennedy Torch? Op Ed
    The passing of Ted Kennedy may have dealt a blow to progressive humanitarian warriors.  The Senate is missing the most effective voice for the disenfranchised.  From his perch atop the mountain of comfort built by his family, Ted Kennedy used his position to battle legislative discrepancies that ...

Dandelion Salad - Featured Writers' Posts

Unexplained Mysteries

  • Has the original Labyrinth been found ?
    An elaborate network of underground tunnels found in a disused quarry on the Greek island of Crete is now thought to be the site of the original m...

  • Woman swallows 78 items of cutlery
    A 52-year-old woman with an obsession for swallowing cutlery had to undergo an operation after she consumed a whopping 78 spoons and forks, when a...

  • Giant pumpkin breaks record
    Just in time for Halloween, a school teacher in Ohio has grown a record breaking giant pumpkin that's so large it weighs more than the average cow...

  • Exploding star from 13 billion years ago
    A new world record has been set for the most distant astronomical object ever observed, astronomers have viewed light from a star that exploded 13...

  • Triangular UFO spotted over Russia
    Earlier this month residents of Saint Petersburg sighted a triangular object hovering over apartment buildings, the object had three glowing neon ...

Grassroots

  • 350 or Toast! "There is no Planet B"
    And, the answer is... 350 . That is 350 parts per million of Carbon Dioxide in our atmosphere, the upper limit for sustainability of life, human life anyway. The question is why are more -- not less -- Americans not convinced about the dangers of global warming and climate change in 2009 than in 200 ...

  • Grassroots International Partner receives prize
    Via-prize-small.jpg At a gathering of food and trade activists from arounnd the world, Grassroots International's partner, the Via Campesina, receieved the 2009 Food Sovereignty Prize for its relentless struggle for people of the world and aga ...

  • Towards Food Sovereignty: Reclaiming Autonomous Fo ...
    TowardsFoodSovereignty-smallcover.jpg The International Institute for Environment and Development ( IIED ), an independent international research and development organization, recently published a book that should be of interest to Grassroots ...

  • Land + Water + Food = Resource Rights = Human Righ ...
    October 17th is marked as by the United Nations as the  International Day for the Eradication of Poverty . At Grassroots International, we have been working with our partners for over 25 years towards achieving that goal. Clearly, a lot needs to be done to get us there. read more

  • Family farmers feed Brazil
    brazil200907-078.jpg The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) recently published a report on the country’s agricultural sector. The last report had been published in 1996. The new document supports several points raised by ...

Climate

  • October 29, 2009
    Sen. Graham Working on Compromise Bill with More Drilling (The Hill) Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he is working on a compromise that would allow for new regulations on carbon-based pollutants in exchange for new permission to explore for oil and gas offshore as well as build new nuclear po ...

  • October 28, 2009
    No Climate Deal Expected During Obama’s China Visit (Reuters) The United States does not expect to reach an agreement on climate change with China during President Obama's visit to Beijing next month, a senior envoy said. US Seeks More Clean Energy Market Access in China (Reuters) Comme ...

  • October 27, 2009
    UN Lowers Expectations for Copenhagen Climate Deal (Reuters) UN climate adviser Janos Pasztor made clear that the secretary-general is planning for "post-Copenhagen" talks. Officials and diplomats say privately that a binding deal is unlikely and they most that could be expected was a nonbindin ...

  • October 26, 2009
    Senate's Climate Bill a Bit More Ambitious (Washington Post) Climate legislation took a small step forward as Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer released a version that includes big benefits for farmers, provisions for deficit reduction and a ceiling on carbon ...

  • October 24-25, 2009
    Global Events Mark Magic Number on Climate Change (AP) Activists held events around the world Saturday to mark the number they say the world needs to hit to prevent catastrophic climate change: 350 parts per million of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. Senate Global Warming Bill Is Seeking to C ...

TomDispatch

  • Tomgram: Dilip Hiro, Is Obama's Iran Policy Doome ...
    [ Note to TomDispatch Readers: Recently, I launched one of this website's little campaigns to get more subscribers. Thanks to so many of you who, in response to my pleas, urged others to sign up for the email notice that goes out every time TD posts a piece, we got hundreds of new subscribers. O ...

  • Tomgram: Michael Klare, The Great Superpower Melt ...
    Think of us as just having passed through the failed era of "must" in Washington. For almost eight years, George W. Bush made speeches and appearances in which he hectored this or that country, or enemy, or people about what they "must" do. Never, I suspect, has an American president lectured mo ...

  • Tomgram: Nick Turse, What the U.S. Military Can't ...
    [ Note to Tomdispatch Readers: The other day, I appealed to you to consider writing your friends, neighbors, colleagues, and workmates to suggest that they go to the "sign up" window at the upper right of the Tomdispatch main screen, put in their email addresses, and sign on for an notification wh ...

  • Tomgram: Jo Comerford, Three Cheers for the War D ...
    [ Note to TomDispatch Readers: I'll be on the road for the next week with limited email access. I may not be answering letters and requests. Be patient. For those of you living in the Santa Fe, New Mexico area, this Wednesday night (October 21st) at 7 pm at the Lensic Performing Arts Center I' ...

  • Tomgram: Will Today's U.S.-Armed Ally Be Tomorrow ...
    [ Note for TomDispatch Readers: In the past weeks, you could catch original pieces by Barbara Ehrenreich , Arundhati Roy , Pepe Escobar , Michael Klare , Ann Jones , and Rebecca Solnit , among others, at this website. It's the sort of line-up you might otherwise find at a top-notch magazine. Every ...

Smirking Chimp

  • The Iron Cheer of Empire: No free tortillas in the ...
    Ajijic, Mexico | Every afternoon when I knock off from writing, after I suck down a Modelo beer and take an hour nap, I step out onto the 400-year-old cobbled street, with its hap-scatter string of vendors lining both sides. All sorts of vendors -- vegetable vendors, vendors of tacos, chicharrones, ...

  • Koch Family & The Tea Bagger Loonies 1961-2009: JF ...
    Gen. Walker in Mississippi trawling for pro-segregationist cock While wasting time yesterday I looked up that bizarro rightwing “patriot” General Edwin A. Walker, who was fired by Kennedy for insubordination, and who was later allegedly nearly shot by Oswald in Texas, and who was tied to the n ...

  • Motivation
    "I can tell you that one of the most amazing surprises of the presidency was the fact that people's prayers affected me. I can't prove it to you. But I can tell you some days were great, some days not so great. But every day was joyous." -- George W. Bush, motivational speaker, 26 October 2009 Geor ...

  • Elie Wiesel's Shocking Stage Appearance with Mad P ...
    On October 25, while an overflow crowd of 1,500 poured into the first convention of the progressive-leaning Israel-oriented lobbying organization J Street , Elie Wiesel addressed a crowd of 6,000 Christian Zionists at Pastor John Hagee's " Night To Honor Israel ." According to the San Antonio Expres ...

  • The Moment's "Why" Questions
    This confounding moment in American history is raising a lot of important "why" questions for us all. Here's a few that are particularly on my mind right now: Why is the "sanctity of contracts" only an inviolable axiom when it comes to contracts that ensure Wall Street bonuses, but not union worke ...

Ten Percent

  • Malalai Joya on Democracy Now
    Read/watch/hear.

  • Eloquent Protest IV
    Cyrus Thatcher was a teenager from Reading who joked that his atrocious spelling was typical of a young infantryman. Yet this Remembrance Sunday his words will echo out across a West End theatre alongside those of the noted poet Wilfred Owen – another soldier who died in battle. Actor Jason Isaacs ...

  • Domestic Extremists
    I think the essence of the current expose of our police state is in Mark Thomas’ piece- The Metropolitan police circulated the card specifically for the Docklands biannual arms fair in London to help its officers identify “people at specific events who may instigate offences or disorder”. Whic ...

  • Halloween Carnival of Socialism!
    I will be hosting a Halloween Special Carnival of Socialism here on Saturday the 31st. So please send links to anything you would like to be included to askHAL at gmail.com or leave them in comments. Feel free to enjoy yourself, perhaps ask what would zombie Lenin make of people still arguing over h ...

  • My Offer To Naiara Amselem, Lewis W. Amselem’s D ...
    On Friday evening I got three comments on this post about Lewis Amselem purporting to be from one Naiara Amselem, Lewis W. Amselem’s daughter. They were silly and insulting and not a little entertaining, perhaps alcohol or other drugs were involved, just a little drunk trolling. However, given ind ...

Paul Krugman

  • Growth and jobs
    At this rate, we wouldn't reach anything that feels like full employment until well into the second Palin administration.

  • Peter Orszag is disingenuous
    Fred Hiatt won't accept any version of fiscal responsibility that doesn't involve gutting Social Security and Medicare.

  • Fixed rates and protectionism, 2009 edition
    Yhe problems that faced nations on the gold-standard in the 1930s are being replicated in countries pegged to the euro or the dollar today.

  • Adjustment and the dollar
    Killing a zombie fallacy about exchange rates.

  • How the other 75 percent lives
    The idea that the typical American's retirement basically depends on the stock market is utterly wrong; that's only true for a small elite.

No Quarter

  • Outrage At What Happened At A High School Dance - ...
    (Bumped up from Thursday evening.) I must warn you, this is a difficult story to read. Honestly, I had to stop a few times to compose myself. My comments will be limited as the horrific nature of this story is overwhelming. I will bold aspects of particular importance. And I know this [...]

  • “Barry Potter” + His Not-So-Open Thread
    This toon has been borrowed from The Nose On Your Face. In this open thread, you may only praise The One. Otherwise, he’ll cast a spell on you and shun you! Since Barry probably doesn’t read No Quarter, say what the hell you want. Enjoy free speech while you can. Thanks to Larry Johnson for ...

  • Fall Classic - Game 2 - Phillies v. Yankees
    On the strength of an impressive outing by pitcher Cliff Lee, who threw a complete game, and Chase Utley’s hitting, the Phillies took Game 1 of the World Series 6-1 in their drive for back to back World Series championships. It was a masterful performance by Lee, even if his cocky fielding aggrav ...

  • Is Hillary “Out-Out”?
    Reprinted from my group’s blog at The New Agenda. …………………………………….. Just like Whoopi’s: It wasn’t “rape-rape”. And Rep Alan Grayson: She’s not a “whore-whore”. I’m starting to get the feeling that Hillary Clinton isn’t “out-out“. Yesterday, RealCle ...

  • Outrage At What Happened At A High School Dance
    I must warn you, this is a difficult story to read. Honestly, I had to stop a few times to compose myself. My comments will be limited as the horrific nature of this story is overwhelming. I will bold aspects of particular importance. And I know this introduction is a bit [...]

Environmental Graffiti

Foreign Policy in Focus

Global Elite

Al Jazeera

Green Inc. - NYT

Dot Earth News

Doug Feith : Hong Pong

  • Collapse, conspiracy, concern trolling, commidifie ...
    "I have heard much of the nefarious, and dangerous plan, and doctrines of the Illuminati, but never saw the Book until you were pleased to send it to me." "It was not my intention to doubt that, the Doctrines of the Illuminati, and principles of Jacobinism had not spread in the United States. On t ...

  • The new Boiling Frogs Post/Sibel Edmonds site; Joh ...
    Sibel Edmonds & co have set up a new website called Boiling Frogs Post and they're going to be looking at a lot of shady stuff. The podcasts that have been going for a while have been really good & detailed material from whistleblowers and journalists about what's going on. [BTW here is a good recen ...

  • Ooky spooky Soviet bioscience: 1940 Soviet Zombie ...
    In all likelihood this Soviet propaganda video is fake, but it has a Zombie Dog head. I gotta say they should have had a better angle at the dog head, but it does kinda look real. Via this list of 25 scariest scientific experiments on io9.com. Tuskegee, Mengele and Unit 731 are all noted in the rund ...

  • A time for truth: New York Times reports Brother K ...
    I was a bit surprised to see the New York Times report this evening that embattled Afghan President Hamid Karzai's brother has been taking mad CIA cash for some time. [Or rather, the three journalists who did the story are oddly emphasized, 'compartmentalized' on this risky exposure.] Earlier Willia ...

  • A quick hit from the G20: Democracy 101 by Indymed ...
    I was proud to help contribute some footage to this video - soon enough there will be more video out from what happened at the G20. For now please just check this out. It's certainly a "rough cut" and needs some help in the narrative & so forth, but it's a great intro to the widespread police abuse ...

Daily Censored

  • Medical Insurance Fat Cats Working to Fleece Regul ...
    Glenn Ford of the “Black Agenda Report” says that President Obama is waging a phony fight for public relations purposes in the media verse the insurance agencies. Ford says it’s really a sham battle and the issue has in actuality already been decided. The insurance companies gained the biggest ...

  • Church and State
    Yesterday I discussed briefly the concept of “the Separation of Church and State.”  It was over a situation that arose in Fort Oglethorpe, GA, a town about one hundred miles from Atlanta and less than 10 miles from Chattanooga, TN.  The people in Fort Oglethorpe are bringing signs and b ...

  • THE EMBARGO: NOTHING SUCCEEDS LIKE FAILURE
    [caption id="attachment_9948" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Cuban Flag"][/caption] The UN General Assembly voted  overwhelmingly to end the US Economic, Financial and Commercial Embargo of Cuba. The Cubans claim the embargo cost them over $242 million in 2008 alone. The embargo, Cuba cl ...

  • Angry About the Handling of H1N1? Consider This&# ...
    As a person who is over 65 and at some risk due to a health condition, I was initially angry when I was told that kids and pregnant women were given priority.  I said to my self, “Is this is the best we can do when we know something is ...

  • CIA Supports Drug Kingpins
    Pretend to be surprised! http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/world/asia/28intel.html I want to skip right to my favorite part: "The CIA's practices also suggest the United States is not doing everything in its power to stamp out the lucrative Afghan drug trade, a major source of revenue for the T ...

AlterNet's Breaking News

Institute for Policy Studies

Godspace

  • Last Day in Australia – My Concerns About Ho ...
    Tom & I are in the midst of our last day in Sydney.  Tonight we will have dinner with Matt Stone and some of his cronies.  Then tomorrow last trip up to the local shops for a cappuccino or mocha with Mum – hate to admit it but cappuccinos here are much better than in [...]

  • How Rich Are You
    Here is another great resource that I learned about here in Adelaide.  So often we feel that we do not have enough financial resources for all that we need.  Here is a great site that helps put our incomes into perspective with the rest of the world. Global Rich List [...]

  • Reflections from the Week
    Those of you who have been following my posts this week know that there has been quite a bit of diversity – some reflections on our time here at Tabor, some looking forward to the end of the month and our celebration of All Saints and Halloween, some sharing the resources that I have come [...]

  • Getting Ready For Halloween
    One of the things that really surprised and horrified me when I first came to the US was the huge emphasis on Halloween.  Even churches organized Halloween celebrations with kids dressed as witches and no one thought twice about feeding the monsters that came to their doors trick or treating. Today ...

  • Do You Believe in the Corporation?
    This morning we have been talking about the challenges of the global economy and how it seduces us into its values.  We also talked about how easily we buy into the values of our secular culture – its work rhythms, its suburban lifestyles, its consumer patterns – and then living our Christian ...

Equality Trust

IntelNews

After Downing Street.org

Grist - News

  • Grass people invade Congress as Senate hearings wr ...
    by Jonathan Hiskes The third and final day of the hearings on the Kerry-Boxer climate bill wrapped up in the Senate Environment and Public Works committee today. We’ve been collecting the best reactions and analysis on our aggregation page . Here’s a quick rundown of where things stand. The wra ...

  • Sen. Kerry to youth on climate bill: We’re g ...
    by Ashley Braun When John Kerry speaks, the kids listen up.Photo: Cliff1066 via Flickr Creative CommonsOn a conference call Tuesday night with young climate activists, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) served up several newsy tidbits, starting with his hint that sort-of climate news will come out of Presid ...

  • Who’s who on the EPW: Senate committee begin ...
    by Brad Johnson Cross-posted from the Wonk Room . John Kerry testifying.This week, hearings begin in the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733). This comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation ,co-sponsored by Sens. John Ke ...

  • UN chief will pressure senators on climate bill
    by Jonathan Hiskes UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at a press conference in Seattle (Oct. 26, 2009).Jon Hiskes / GristAs the U.S. Senate begins work on a climate and energy bill this week, senators shouldn't be surprised if they get a phone call from the guy who counts every person on Earth as a m ...

  • Simple lifestyle tweaks key in climate change figh ...
    by Agence France-Presse Clotheslines: A simple step to reduce carbon emissions. Photo courtesy DGHdeeo via Flickr WASHINGTON -- The United States could cut greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of France's total annual emissions by getting Americans to make simple lifestyle changes, like regul ...

Popular Bookmarks on Del.icio.us

Technorati - What's Hot in Blogs

  • Yanks Fans Never Give Up! Right Mayor? Mayor?
    Mayor Michael Bloomberg last night at Yankees-Phillies: ( Source ) They could’ve just given the tickets to Gov. Patterson if he was going to do that. Share This

  • Asus rumored to sell cheaper ultra-thin laptop nex ...
    Apple’s MacBook Air will soon be challenged on its super-slimness, by Windows-powered computers from Asus, Acer and MSI that may lack Apple’s aluminum-cased pizazz, but will cost a lot less. Digitimes reports that Asus, maker of the low-cost Eee PC netbook, will begin selling two ultra-slim n ...

  • Birthday cannon
    Happy birthday, here's your cannon ... @ Dailymail Mike Daugherty asked his 11-year-old son Logan what he wanted for his birthday. The boy said, "I want a cannon." Dad didn't scoff at Logan's request by saying, "How about a hippopotamus instead," as a Christmas song from another era lamented. No ...

  • I-Swarm, real micro-sized robots!
    These tiny I-Swarm (Intelligent Small-World Autonomous Robots for Micro-manipulation) robots are incredibly neat! They move by using a piezoelectric transducer to vibrate across a surface in a manner similar to a bristlebot, only controllable. Because they are vibrating at audible frequencies, ...

  • Home-haircut indicator: In the footsteps of the un ...
    Filed under: Columns , Economic data , Recession , Comic Relief So, who out there cuts their own hair? I do, mainly because it is fading fast and it is a lot easier to have my wife take the clippers and then razor to my head rather than paying to go get my hair cut professionally. Now that I ...

Time - Top Stories

Washington Independent

  • Band of Dems Blast Geithner Plan
    “Mr. Secretary, I'm not a man that fears this administration or you,” Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Penn.) told Geithner. “But I do fear the accumulation of power exercised by someone in the future that can be extraordinary.”

  • More Torture Docs Could Be Released Friday
    Nick Baumann at Mother Jones reminds us that the Obama administration promised earlier this month to do its best to review about 224 more documents that might be responsive to the American Civil Liberties Union’s Freedom of Information Act longstanding requests for documents relating to the tortur ...

  • House Resolution to Condemn U.N. Investigator&#821 ...
    TWI has acquired the text of a congressional resolution that may be introduced in the next few days condemning the findings of U.N. investigator Richard Goldstone’s report into war crimes during Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza this past winter. The resolution — drafted by Reps. Ileana Ros-Leht ...

  • Vote on Unemployment Insurance Pushed to Monday
    The Senate will vote Monday evening on legislation extending unemployment benefits — a procedural vote that could clear the way for final passage as early as late Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) just announced. The bill has been held up for weeks as party leaders have tangled o ...

  • Obama Signs Law Authorizing Suppression of Torture ...
    Among other things in the Homeland Security appropriations bill President Obama signed into law yesterday is a provision that authorizes the Defense Department to continue to conceal photos of the torture and abuse of detainees by U.S. forces. The American Civil Liberties Union had specifically soug ...

CowBoss' Brain Food

  • Veal, cast in a kinder light
    Eating veal -- or not eating it, to be more accurate -- is one thing many carnivores and vegetarians can agree on. For most, the methods used to produce tender, milky-colored meat aren't a worthwhile trade-off. But what if eating veal were no less ethical Submitted by cowboss at wscc to Society & Cu ...

  • Hens 'more eco-friendly' than pet dogs
    Want to do your bit for the environment? Then swap your German shepherd for an edible pet. Two Kiwi professors have delivered the glum news that the eco-pawprint of a pet dog is twice that of a 4.6-litre Land Cruiser driven 10,000 kilometres a year. Submitted by cowboss at wscc to Society & Cultur ...

  • Mapping climate impacts
    A new map illustrating the global consequences of failing to keep temperature change to under 2 °C was launched today by the UK Government, in partnership with the Met Office. Submitted by cowboss at wscc to Environment  |   Note-it!  |   Add a Comment

  • Last Time Carbon Dioxide Levels Were This High: 15 ...
    You would have to go back at least 15 million years to find carbon dioxide levels on Earth as high as they are today, a UCLA scientist and colleagues report Oct. 8 in the online edition of the journal Science. Submitted by cowboss at wscc to Environment  |   Note-it!  |   Add a Comment

  • High Rates Of Childhood Exposure To Violence And A ...
    A new study from the University of New Hampshire finds that U.S. children are routinely exposed to even more violence and abuse than has been previously recognized, with nearly half experiencing a physical assault in the study year. Submitted by cowboss at wscc to Society & Culture  |   Note-it!  | ...

Suzie-Q

  • Is Lieberman Afraid To Debate Maddow On Health Car ...
    Joe Lieberman is afraid to debate Rachel Maddow on health reform. Think Progress- By Faiz Shakir at 10:40 am For the past couple of nights on her MSNBC show, Rachel Maddow has skewered Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) for his stated willingness to filibuster health reform. Decrying his “demonstrably and ...

  • Matthew Hoh: A Great American Patriot
    Malou Innocent, cato-at-liberty.com, Oct 28, 2009 Former Marine captain Matthew Hoh became the first U.S. official known to resign in protest over the Afghan war. His letter of resignation echoes some arguments I have made earlier this year, namely, that what we are witnessing is a local and regio ...

  • If We Reform Health Care- We Need To Reform Our Fo ...
    If and when health care reform finally passes, we will have successfully ameliorated only half of the crisis. The treatment half. The next step has to be focused upon doing something about the poisoned filth we’ve collectively nicknamed “food.” Without any real changes in how our food is produ ...

  • Fox News Routinely Breaks The Code Of Ethics??
    30 Reasons Fox News Is Not Legit By Eric Boehlert, Media Matters for America. Posted October 28, 2009. Fox News routinely, and blatantly, breaks the code to which ethical journalists are supposed to aspire. Why the Beltway press has invested so much time and energy in recent weeks defending F ...

  • US Diplomat Resigns in Protest over Afghan War
      Foreign Service officer and former Marine captain says he no longer knows why his nation is fighting by Karen DeYoung, The Washington Post, October 27, 2009 When Matthew Hoh joined the Foreign Service early this year, he was exactly the kind of smart civil-military hybrid the administration was l ...

Solari

  • Money & Markets ~ Charts 10.29.09
    View this week’s chart comparisons of gold against fiat currencies, oil and the Dow. Stay tuned for our next Money & Markets segment of The Solari Report, Thursday, November 5, 2009. Click here to view all charts as a pdf file. Previous Money & Markets Charts blog posts: Oct 2009 (1) (2) (3) (3) ...

  • Liftoff
    Mission managers watch as NASA’s Ares I-X rocket launches from Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. The flight test will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operat ...

  • JP Morgan Chase Takes Over the ‘Hood
    Dear Ms. Fitts: I listen to you on Coast to Coast AM. I have noticed the number of Chase Banks that have popped up all over the place. When a Washington Mutual is taken over by Chase, it is given a fresh Chase Bank sign and the bank is open for business despite there being another Chase bank [...]

  • Russia Delays Gold Sales
    By Polina Devitt The Russian government said on Tuesday it had postponed its plans to sell up to 50 tonnes of gold this year, after information about the sale was leaked to the market, but the gold market failed to react. “Due to the leak of the information the sale in the reported period and in ...

  • UK: Is Your Safe Deposit Box Safe?
    By Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark The Finchley Road is one of the busiest thoroughfares heading out of London. It leads traffic north past Lord’s Cricket Ground and the multimillion-pound houses of some of the country’s richest hedge-fund managers all the way to the M1. At three in the after ...

Global Insights

  • Less Than a Week Away
    We encourage you to register for Awake and Aware. George Green will be a featured speaker. September 19th & 20th • Burbank, CA Click here for Tickets & Reservations  

  • The Georgia Guidestones
    On one of the highest hilltops in Elbert County, Georgia stands a huge granite monument. Engraved in eight different languages on the four giant stones that support the common capstone are 10 Guides, or commandments. That monument is alternately referred to as The Georgia Guidestones, or the Ame ...

  • The Creation
    THE CREATION (A recent message given to George Green from the "guys upstairs") We are pleased to bring understanding and clarification on what is the Creation. This is a challenge because your language of communication has not the words for describing this conception of Creation. So as not to put an ...

  • The Long Emergency: Surviving the Converging Catas ...
    In his previous books, James Kunstler focused on the shortsighted vision of suburban planning; now he expands that view to the country's urban growth challenges and the need to drastically change our current course of auto and oil dependency. The Long Emergency is filled with history plus eye-openin ...

  • About George Green
    Dear Friends, Thank you for your interest in our catalog of unusual and informative materials. The knowledge gained will give you choices in the days ahead and lessons of discernment as the chaos increases. It is necessary for those of you who are now in the "know" so to speak, to begin to focus ...

Insurgency Watch - Posts

  • InsurgencyWatch moving to True/Slant
    In the coming days, InsurgencyWatch will be moving to True/Slant, “an original content news network tailored to both the ‘Entrepreneurial Journalist’ and marketers who want a more effective way to engage with digital audiences.” (That’s what the official about page says.) It’s not a deci ...

  • Kerry-Lugar’s First Victim
    If true, this is total bullshit: After strong criticism on the Kerry-Lugar bill in Pakistan, the government has decided to replace Pakistan’s ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani and the announcement in this respect is expected within the next two days. There’s nothing in the bill reasonable Pa ...

  • Pakistan’s Civil War Heating Up
    In the aftermath of this weekend’s assault on the Pakistani General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, the Taliban hit again in Alpuri, in the Shangla district east of Mingora in Swat. According to military sources who asked to remain anonymous because they weren’t authorized to talk to the press, a 1 ...

  • At Home with a Swat Lashkar
    I just finished up a few days in Swat and while I’m working on a story about it, I thought you might like to see a few pictures I took while there. Enjoy. Share/Save

  • FACTBOX: Uzbek militant leader killed in Pakistan ...
    Washington PostFACTBOX: Uzbek militant leader killed in PakistanReutersBy this time he is thought to have fled the region for the safe haven of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. * Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader ...Pakistan to Target Taliba...

AlterNet - DrugReporter

Twilight Earth

  • NASA Arctic Satellite About to Die? Here Comes Ope ...
    NASA, and the world, have a problem. It’s ICESAT-I (Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite) which provides critical data on rapidly changing ice volume and thickness, is going to go offline this year. The launch of its replacement, the ICESat-II, isnt schedualed until 2014-15. This creates a lar ...

  • Planet Green Announces New Green Materials Guide
    Planet Green, those eco-people who bring us Planet Green TV and Treehugger.com among other eco-wonderful sites, has done it again. This time they’re making our building and renovating choices easier. Related posts: Goodbye Green Trend – Hello Sustainable Common Sense What’s Greener than G ...

  • Twilight Earth Joins the MWW Pulse Panel
    Twilight Earth is proud to be on the panel of Public Relations giant MWW's new Pulse panel. Related posts: Twilight Earth at SXSW? Help Vote us Onto a Conference Panel! Twilight Earth News Twilight Earth Celebrates its 1 Year Anniversary

  • Top 10 Climate Change Commercials (Videos)
    Twilight Earth brings you our list of the Top 10 Climate Change Commercials. We chose these based on their ability to make us think. Related posts: White House Follow-up on Global Climate Change Impacts 2009 Global Climate Change Impact Report Released The Proof versus Belief Conundrum in Referenc ...

  • EPA Names Top 20 Green Powered Schools
    The Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership announces the 20 schools nationwide using the most power from renewable energy. Related posts: National Healthy Schools Day EPA Helps God go Green with an Energy Star Label Wind Powered Electric Car Charging Stations Available in Au ...

Inhabitat

  • Shipping Container Health Clinics For Developing C ...
    Good design has the potential to provide better education, access to safe water and improved health care. Take for instance our very own Emily Pilloton of Project H Design, whose design projects are bringing vast improvements to their surrounding communities. Along the same line, a new non-profit ...

  • Habitat for Humanity and PG&E Support Green Neighb ...
    Recently we took the trip to Oakland, CA to visit a Habitat for Humanity East Bay Project of particular interest for its pairing of energy-efficient homes with families in need of housing. What was once a deemed by the EPA and the Department of Toxic Substances as a blighted property due to its his ...

  • Design Green Awards Elevate Sustainable Architectu ...
    The Architectural Foundation of Los Angeles recently announced the winners of the Design Green awards at a recent ceremony hosted by the AIA/LA to recognize outstanding work built or conceived by Los Angeles architects. Citation, Merit, and Honor Awards were given to six projects that ranged in siz ...

  • Fabulous Flatpack Furniture
    Over at TreeHugger we are saps for furniture that can slide under your door; flatpack isn’t just made by IKEA. Designers like Eric Ku are doing it with humor, inventing a flatpack alphabet – his Flatpack Chair is pretty self-explanatory. In Japan, Keiji Ashizawa channels Marcel Breuer with a ste ...

  • Savior Bud Device Produces Drinking Water from Tre ...
    Drinking water is all around us — if we know where to look. The Giving Tree-inspired Savior Bud designed by Seol Ah Sun and Kim Hyo Jin is a portable device that attaches to tree leaves and slowly collects water. After four hours, a full cup of water is ready for drinking.Just turn the handle [... ...

Pogue's Posts

Open Your Eyes News

  • Oily protesters in bikinis oppose Montara spill
    Brisbane Times – Protesters in Perth’s CBD have smeared oil over their bikini-clad bodies to protest against the oil spill in the Timor Sea, leaking for more than two months. The spill started on August 21 at PTTEP Australasia’s Montara oilfield more than 200km off Western Australia’s Kim ...

  • Photos From Today’s Protest In Perth Over The 10 ...
    Photos Courtesy of Tim Nicol

  • Dozens in Congress under ethics inquiry
    Washington Post – House ethics investigators have been scrutinizing the activities of more than 30 lawmakers and several aides in inquiries about issues including defense lobbying and corporate influence peddling, according to a confidential House ethics committee report prepared in July. Read Art ...

  • Catholic church hit with another abuse claim
    ABC – The Roman Catholic clergy is under fire over a Victorian woman’s accusation that a Catholic priest in Ballarat sexually abused her when she was seven years old. Her lawyers sent a letter outlining the woman’s claims to every parish in Victoria, asking that it be read to all Victorian co ...

  • Barack Obama accused of ’selling’ access to th ...
    Daily Telegraph – President Barack Obama has been accused of betraying his campaign promise to change the culture of Washington by “selling” access to the White House to prominent donors. Read Article

Monkey Smashes Heaven

  • Revisionists in China and Amerikkkans want stronge ...
    Revisionists in China and Amerikkkans want stronger military ties (monkeysmashesheaven.wordpress.com) Both the US and Chinese long for closer military ties. This feeling was expressed at a recent meeting attended by high ranking administration and military personnel from both countries. Both US Sec ...

  • Czy socjalizm polepszy życie ludzi w Pierwszym Ś ...
    Czy socjalizm polepszy życie ludzi w Pierwszym Świecie? (monkeysmashesheaven.wordpress.com, Will First Worlders benefit from socialism? translated into Polish by the NKP(M)) Socjalizm doprowadzi do pogorszenia się standardu materialnego mieszkańców Pierwszego Świata. Pierwszoświatowcy zarabi ...

  • Comprador Indian State Gears Up for Massive War on ...
    Comprador Indian State Gears Up for Massive War on its Own People (monkeysmashesheaven.wordpress.com) For some months now the comprador Indian state, already up to its neck in extreme and bloody paramilitary and pig repression – police as well as government-backed Salwa Judum death squads have be ...

  • Palestinians should have nukes says Gaddafi
    Palestinians should have nukes says Gaddafi (monkeysmashesheaven.wordpress.com) Gaddafi has recently said that Palestinians and others in the Arab world should be armed with nuclear weapons. “If the Israelis have the nuclear weapons and the nuclear capabilities, then it is the right of the Egypt ...

  • A Speech by a RAIM Comrade on the 8th Anniversary ...
    A Speech by a RAIM Comrade on the 8th Anniversary of the Invasion of Afghanistan (raimd.wordpress.com) The following was delivered by a RAIM comrade on October 7th, 2009, the 8th anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan. In the speech, the RAIM comrade tells the audience of anti-war and police br ...

PakAlert

  • Recovery? More Than 100 Bank Failures in 2009, Job ...
    New York – Two more banks were taken over late Friday by US regulators, bring to 101 the number of bank failures so far this year. The latest financial institutions to fall amid the longest recession since the 1930s were regional banks in Florida and Georgia. After the highly publicized failure of ...

  • Where Is The Mourning, Mr. Zardari?
    To Our Elite And Not Just The President: Was a reception for a foreign guest more important than sharing the grief of your people? More than one hundred innocent Pakistanis killed in one day, more than two hundred in less than a month. Attacks linked to our own and America’s failed Afghan policy. ...

  • Video: Merry Satanic Xmas from MTV
    This video was playing on MTV a couple of years ago during the holidays. I guess its supposed to be a bunch of funny random events. But if you scrutinize each scene in this short video, many dark occult elements come out. I did not make this video and, from my research, “Masonic” doesn’t auto ...

  • The Hidden Hand that Shaped History
    By Vigilant Has the course of History been directed by a small group of people with common interests? The paintings and pictures of the great men of the past centuries reveal a common thread which links them together. Is it a coincidence that many of them hid one of their hands when posing for a por ...

  • Russia To Build Nuclear Powered Spaceship by 2012
    Russian president backs nuclear spaceship Space chief tells government preliminary design could be ready by 2012 Russia laid out its ambition to gain an edge in the space race by building a nuclear-powered spaceship. But the plan outlined to a government meeting Wednesday left key questions unanswe ...

ecogeek

  • Solar Projects Battling for Water
    Construction of renewable energy projects has revealed some serious environmental issues that will have to be dealt with as we speed toward a clean energy future.  We recently wrote about the conflict between land conservation efforts and renewable energy projects in deserts out west.  Land that ...

  • Bright Doling Out Advice to Army, Automakers
    Bright Automotive, best known for its 100-mpg IDEA plug-in utility van, announced a new $1.4 million contract with the U.S. Army to build a plug-in hybrid for non-combat use.  The PHEV will be designed to cut Army fuel consumption as well as to demonstrate how an EV could potentially feed power ba ...

  • Dell Plants Solar Trees in the Parking Lot
    Dell is doing it again, this time on-site, with a series of solar trees that will not only help power it's headquarters in Round Rock, Texas, but also serve to charge electric vehicles parked there. Of course, there aren't currently any electric vehicles parking in the Dell lot, but hopefully that w ...

  • Let's Make This Clear: Vertical Farms Don't Make S ...
    The inside of a skyscraper is, literally, the most expensive "land" in the world. So it probably isn't the best place to grow our food. The idea of vertical farming (growing food in high-rise buildings in the middle of cities instead of out on farms) has been gaining a lot of interest lately. Mos ...

  • Need to Measure Wind Speed? There's an App for Th ...
    The potential of small-scale wind power is starting to be discussed more.  Soon, like small-scale solar installations, wind turbines will be springing up in backyards and on rooftops.  If you're thinking that you'd like to be one of the people with a turbine out back , you'll need to assess the w ...

Times Online - Science

Environment _ National Geographic

drinking liberally in new milford ( with beersphere feeds )

  • Gov. Rell: "The Computer Ate My Homework!"
    When you read stuff like this you really don't have to wonder if Dautrich focus group tested this message before she sent it out: A review of documents provided by the university to The Day also shows that the governor's office did not fully comply with previous requests for public records, leaving ...

  • If you are like most Single Payer supporters...
    I think you'll find the following links are the bomb! Weiner Amendment || Kucinich Amendment || Public Option || Healthcare Reform || Republican Healthcare Plan || Democratic Healthcare Plan || Doctors on Healthcare Reform || Nurses on Healthcare Reform Don't be shy to click on them and feel free ...

  • Flushing Out the Ongoing Bank Fraud and Financial ...
    The number of foreclosure filings hit a record high in the 3rd quarter: "Despite signs of broader economic recovery, number of foreclosure filings hit a record high in the third quarter - a sign the plague is still spreading." And banks are keeping losses off the books as they ignore the people t ...

  • Shorter Erick Erickson: "It's because he's black!"
    And he is Jimmy Carter too! "I did not realize the Nobel Peace Prize had an affirmative action quota for it, but that is the only thing I can think of for this news. There is no way Barack Obama earned it in the nominations period." Per usual, Red State's Trike Force always keepin' it classy ... A ...

  • The only thing between us and the terrorists?
    Is the neoconservative echo-chamber between Joe Lieberman's ears : "I don't think anybody who has any fairness or is in their right mind would think the president or the secretary of homeland security would raise an alert level and scare people for political reasons... That's outrageous." - Joe Lieb ...

SPL Center

  • Paranoia: Now It’s a Game
    Conspiracy theorists and aspiring domestic terrorists now have their very own online game. It’s called “Obama’s Coup Fails,” and it is the centerpiece of a new online site called United States of Earth. The year is 2011. President Obama has outlawed private gun ownership, dissolved the Cons ...

  • Aha! Extremist Crowd Uncovers Another Sinister Gov ...
    Holy cow! Another sinister plot by our government to enslave citizens has been unearthed by fans of radio talk show conspiracist Alex Jones. This one entails livestock. The Austin, Texas-based Jones posted a short news item on his Infowars.com website on Sunday about plans by officials in Oklahoma a ...

  • Neo-Nazi Turner Sprung From Jail, But Muzzled
    Neo-Nazi talk show host Hal Turner, arrested four months ago on charges of threatening to assault and murder three federal judges, was released on bail today in Newark, N.J. Turner’s attorney, Michael A. Orozco, told the Hudson Reporter that his client will be under house arrest at his home in No ...

  • A Night at the Ritz: White Supremacists, a Knife F ...
    In what may be the latest sign of simmering tensions in Florida between two prominent racist skinhead groups, two men suffered knife wounds this week during a speech by Holocaust denying historian David Irving at a luxury Palm Beach County hotel. Irving spoke to about three dozen invited guests in ...

  • In Christian vs. Atheist Documentary, a Bizarre Ad ...
    In a new documentary pitting atheism against faith, contrarian critic Christopher Hitchens debates evangelical pastor Douglas Wilson on the merits of Christianity. “Collision,” released today, has already generated buzz: Hitchens and Wilson have appeared on National Public Radio’s “All Th ...

Gringo Times - Rio

  • Gringo, What’s in a Word?
    By Juliana Tafur, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO - “A-tok-a” is the term used to refer to foreigner in Taiwanese. Curiously, the word’s approximate translation is “big nose”. In Haitian Creole, “blan” is synonymous for white person, derived from the french word “blanc”. Ask a ...

  • Outrage Over Afroreggae Evandro João da Silva’s ...
    By Lindsay Spratt, Sub Editor RIO DE JANEIRO - Evandro João da Silva, coordinator of Afroreggae, one of Rio de Janeiro’s largest non-profit organizations, was shot to death after being mugged on Sunday morning, October 18.  Evandro was on his way to the nightclub Dito e Feito in Rio ...

  • Lula’s PMDB Party Backs Dilma
    By Jaylan Boyle, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO - President Lula’s chosen successor Dilma Rousseff has received a significant boost to her campaign to succeed the enormously popular Luis Inácio Lula da Silva. Rousseff officially gained the support of the nation’s largest political ...

  • Brazilian Drivers Reject Biofuel
    By Bruno De Nicola, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO - The price of biofuel has risen by more than twelve percent over the past two months. A liter of alcohol, that had an average cost for fuelers of R$1.55 (US$ 0.80), now stands at around R$1.75. The strong rise is forcing drivers to ditch biof ...

  • Record Production for Petrobras
    By Jaylan Boyle, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian government-managed oil giant Petrobras reported in a recent press release record production levels for the month of September. Domestic output increased by 1.2 percent in August. The record figures translate to two million barrels pe ...

change: org.

  • Smart on Crime in North Carolina
    A few years ago, the West End neighborhood of High Point, North Carolina, had a serious crime problem. Drug dealers controlled entire blocks, gun shots rang out at night. But now the streets are safer. Violence is down. And locals say a targeted, community-based approach to drugs and crime brought t ...

  • The Tiniest Rescues and the Building of Compassion
    I have a habit of not only rescuing the insects and arachnids I encounter but also, if there's a camera handy, obsessively photographing them (one of many reasons that getting a good camera and learning how to use it is high on my to-do-when-I-have-money list), and this post and the images in it ste ...

  • 8 Things You Need to Know About the New House Heal ...
    Nancy Pelosi couldn’t have announced the new House healthcare reform bill, the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962), with any more pomp and circumstance. It was certainly more impressive than the Senate’s mouse-like rollout, apparently intended to avoid rubbing salt in the Baucus ...

  • Cooling Rumor Debunked: The World Is In Fact Still ...
    We've been over this before. The climate change debate often seems like one big roller coaster of public opinion. The globe is warming, no it's not, yes it is, what about the natural cycle of ice ages?, this is different, no it's not, yes?, no?, and finally . . . okay, maybe we can agree, yes it is. ...

  • GM Food Fight
    In the debate over genetically modified food, one thing is clear: we can't agree. And not only do we disagree but we disagree passionately and intransigently. Statistics are hurled back and forth, each one seemingly contradicting the last, until everyone has pie in their face and no one knows what's ...

Common Dreams -News

  • UN Can’t Account for Millions Sent to Afghan Ele ...
    by T. Christian Miller and Dafna Linzer The United Nations cannot account for tens of millions of dollars provided to the troubled Afghan election commission, according to two confidential U.N. audits and interviews with current and former senior diplomats. ( Read both [1] audits [2].) read more

  • Analysis: Taleban Attack is Bid to Force UN Out of ...
    by Jeremy Page in Kabul The Taleban attack on an international guesthouse in Kabul today is its bloodiest assault yet on the United Nations in Afghanistan - and represents a major escalation of its campaign to disrupt next week's presidential election run-off. The attack, which killed 12 peopl ...

  • Focus of Gay-Marriage Fight Is Maine
    by Abby Goodnough Less than a week before Maine voters decide whether to repeal the state's new same-sex marriage law, donations and volunteers are pouring in to sway what both sides call a nationally significant fight. read more

  • Thousands March in 3-Day Showdown with Banking Ind ...
    by Kari Lydersen Workers gave pink slips to the country's top bankers Tuesday morning to culminate three days of protests, billed as the Showdown in Chicago, during the American Bankers' Association's annual meeting. Bbefore a jeering and cheering crowd of 5,000 union members and activists, Armando ...

  • US, NATO Forces Rely on Afghan Warlords for Securi ...
    by Gareth Porter WASHINGTON - The revelation by the New York Times Wednesday that Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, has long been on the payroll of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency is only the tip of a much bigger iceberg of heavy dependence by U.S. and NATO counte ...

Lifehacker

  • The Multi-Purpose Living Room [Featured Workspace ...
    Just because you don't have the space for a dedicated office doesn't mean you're out of luck. Today's featured workspace is a multi-purpose space that covers everything from cocktails to spreadsheets. Lifehacker reader mdparaiso lived in a pretty cool but very tiny apartment. How tiny? In the follow ...

  • Netflix Streaming Now on Its Way to the Wii [Stre ...
    Earlier this week we learned that Netflix streaming was coming to the PS3 ; it already works with your Xbox 360 , so it's only natural that Netflix streaming is on its way to the Wii gaming console in short order. Looks like the Wii should be good for more than just hacking for homebrew very soon. [ ...

  • Taskbar Meters Monitor Your Windows 7 Hardware in ...
    Windows 7 only: If you're not into Windows desktop gadgets, there is another way to easily monitor your computer's CPU and RAM: Taskbar Meters puts simple, attractive resource monitors right on your Windows 7 Taskbar. Taskbar Meters contains two programs that you can pin to your taskbar—one that m ...

  • Twitter Officially Rolls Out Lists [Communication ...
    Earlier this month we learned that Twitter was working on a Lists feature designed to make following and suggesting groups of tweeters easier, and today they appear to be tackling the big rollout. Twitter's taking the Google approach and slowly rolling out the new feature bits at a time, so if you d ...

  • Gadget and Gear Deals of the Day [Dealhacker]
    Computers, HDTVs, universal remotes, and even a deeply discounted Bluetooth keyboard, await inside today's deal roundup. We know, we know, you're here for the free loot. Enjoy your free MP3s and all natural granola bars and gummy snacks. Computer Gear! Dell Vostro 220s Desktop with 24" Samsung LCD ...

Newshoggers - AfPak

  • The Defense Minister's Son, The CIA Guy, And Their ...
    By Steve Hynd I was interested to see Gareth Porter mention Hamid Wardak, the son of Defence Minister Rahim Wardak, as allegedly running an unregistered security force with a U.S. military contract in his piece I cited earlier today. I'd come across the younger Wardak in a rather different context r ...

  • When You Lie Down With Warlords...
    By Steve Hynd Investigative journalist Gareth Porter today draws attention to the large number of private warlords doing deals with the U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan. The revelation by the New York Times Wednesday that Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, has long be ...

  • CATO on Afghanistan
    Commentary By Ron Beasley Eight years ago, a small number of U.S. personnel, working in tandem with local Afghan leaders, entered Afghanistan with a defined aim: to punish al-Qaida and overthrow the Taliban regime that harbored them. Over the past year, that mission has morphed into the much broader ...

  • More Voting Stations Mean More Fraud In Afghanista ...
    By Steve Hynd It's got to the point where Afghanistan's Independent Electoral Commission isn't even pretending to be other than shills for a Karzai victory. Observers and U.N. advisers attributed much of the cheating to so-called ghost polling stations that never opened but returned results or to st ...

  • Afghanistan - Losing the Village People
    By Ron Beasley While it makes little difference what the people think about the war in Afghanistan for some reason it does matter what the village pundits think. It was not much of a surprise when George Will said it was time to get out - but Thomas Friedman has always been a war happy hegemonist bu ...

Water Wars

WordPress | Economics

McClatchey

BBC - Richard Black's Earth Watch

  • A forest of issues
    An innovative proposal recently emerged from the foliage that aims to keep fossil fuels in the ground while preserving some of South America's most startling biodiversity and securing the traditional territories of indigenous peoples. About one-third of the Ecuadorian government's income now derive ...

  • Copenhagen countdown - 45 days
    I don't think it's just my imagination; diplomatic moves and announcements and challenges on climate change really are coming thicker and faster now than at any time since it first became an issue of political note 20 years ago. And no wonder, with the start of the UN climate summit just 45 days aw ...

  • Hopping mad about money
    For some things, half a billion dollars might be a hefty sum to pay. But for the survival of the world's threatened amphibian species? Cheap at the price, you might think; but almost no-one, as yet, is paying. It was almost exactly four years ago that the Amphibian Conservation Summit , held in a ...

  • Africa re(de)fines the climate dialogue
    The African Union's 10-country meeting attempting to establish a united front on climate change marks a potentially intriguing step along what has become a forgotten avenue of the UN climate process. It's a circuitous route; but hop on board, and I'll tell you why. Back in 1992, at the Rio de Jane ...

  • Plan B for Planet Earth
    "Geo-engineering is not an alternative to emissions reduction." So not Plan A, then. "Do we need it? Maybe." So perhaps not Plan B either. The words are John Shepherd's, spoken at the launch of the Royal Society's report into whether technical fixes such as painting roofs white, putting giant pa ...

Afghanistan Sun

  • Taliban charges US security firm Blackwater for ...
    Islamabad, Oct.30 : The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has once again denied its hand in the devastating Peshawar blast, which killed over 100 people, mostly women and children, and blamed the private US security firm Blackwater for the blast.

  • 'US should consider toughening stance with P ...
    Lahore, Oct. 29 : Matthew Hoh, the first US official to resign in protest over the Afghan war, has said that Washington should consider toughening stance with Pakistan in order to achieve its goals in South Asia.

  • Clinton says US can find way out of Afghanistan
    This feature lets you search our site for stories with related terms. Just click on one of the related terms atop a news story and you'll get a page listing all the stories featuring that term. See...

  • Obama Consults Military Leaders, Nears Afghan Troo ...
    U.S. President Barack Obama is consulting with top military officials Friday as he considers whether to send additional forces to Afghanistan.Mr. Obama will meet at the White House with the Joint Chie...

  • Taliban charges US security firm Blackwater for &# ...
    Islamabad, Oct.30 : The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has once again denied its hand in the devastating Peshawar blast, which killed over 100 people, mostly women and children, and blamed the priva...

Futurismic

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