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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.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

15 December - RSS SnapShot! Pt 2

Greg Palast

  • The Real Wiki Hero
    by Marta Steele from OpEdNews with a Surprise P.S. from Greg Palast Is it not ironic that the same country that contributed Rupert Murdoch to the world has more recently donated Julian Assange, editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks since 2007, when it was founded to "report on and publish important informat ...
  • WIKI-CREEP ASSANGE, THE SCAMPPvt. Bradley, the Cha ...
    by Greg Palast for Truthout/Buzzflash I'm a "hero" and it makes me want to puke.  This week I was voted a "Hero of the Media" in one of those fairly harmless polls that are little more than thermometers of face time on the idiot box. But this Nation Magazine gong is shared with Julian Assange, imp ...
  • Put a Little Palast in Your Stocking
    from Greg Palast For Chanukah, Christmas, Hajj 2010, Kwanzaa or whatever lights your candle, why not give the (tax deductible) gift of Truth? My latest disguise - fooled you? This year we have a few suggestions for Holiday gift-giving from the Palast Investigative Fund store: A Palast Gift Ca ...
  • Debt Vultures Shot for ChanukahLiberia is saved bu ...
    by Greg Palast for In These Times We got’m. I can hardly believe it. Yesterday, the financial vultures, the carcass-chewers who were preying on the dirt-poor African nation of Liberia, gave up. Two shadowy vulture funds, which had won a $43 million court judgment against Liberia, agreed to accept ...
  • The Family JewelsA Veteran’s Story
    by Greg Palast In 1930, when my father was an 8-year-old kid in Chicago, he asked his older brother why people were outside in the cold snow in a long line. His brother Harold said, "It's a bread line. They don't have anything to eat. They're hoping for bread." My father ran to his mother's bedro ...

Telegraph UK - oil

Ian Welsh

  • The Kabuki Congress and Presidency
    Ok, another edition of pointing out the painfully obvious. Most votes in Congress are Kabuki.  There was never any chance that Bush tax cuts weren’t going to be extended, and this was obvious far before the election, for example.  Unions were never going to get the Employee Free Choice Act. Also, ...
  • Why Assange and Wikileaks have won this round
    The odd thing about Wikileaks is that their success has been assured, not by what they leaked, though there is some important information there, but by their enemies. The massive and indiscriminant overreaction by both government and powerful corporate actors has ensured this, and includes but is no ...
  • Why Assange and Wikileaks have won this round
    The odd thing about Wikileaks is that their success has been assured, not by what they leaked, though there is some important information there, but by their enemies. The massive and indiscriminant overreaction by both government and powerful corporate actors has ensured this, and includes but is no ...
  • What is legal and what is just are two different t ...
    Just saying. A lot of people seem to have forgotten that. While we’re at it, you either believe that human rights should be inalienable, or you don’t.  That doesn’t mean they can’t be taken away, it means that any time they are taken away it is automatically unjust. Next: governments exist to serve ...
  • What is legal and what is just are two different t ...
    Just saying. A lot of people seem to have forgotten that. While we’re at it, you either believe that human rights should be inalienable, or you don’t.  That doesn’t mean they can’t be taken away, it means that any time they are taken away it is automatically unjust. Next: governments exist to serve ...

Age of Autism

  • CDC “Stakeholder” Collaborations
    Katie Wright At Wednesday’s Mt. Sinai autism and environmental science conference the audience was subjected to an endless oration about the CDC’s “Learn the Signs” pr campaign as well as a vague discussion of “CDC/ stakeholder collaborations.” What either of...
  • The Anti-Vaxxer Label
    Below is an excerpt from the Autism in New Brunswick blog that we thought deserved your attention. Discussing autism issues on the internet often invites wild and baseless accusations no matter what point is being made. Mention the word vaccine...
  • Yellow Dirt
    By Lee Camp The last time I was at our local library I noticed the book Yellow Dirt, An American Story of a Poisoned Land and a People Betrayed by Judy Pastenak (HERE) in the recently published display. I was...
  • Congrats to The Pilot House in Acoustic4Autism iTu ...
    The Pilot House is a fantastic org offering direct support and services to families in Fairfield County, CT. We are members of The Pilot House and I can't say enough about how important they are in our community in providing...
  • Look Them in the Eyes -- Is Color Change a Clue to ...
    By Teresa Conrick Megan, my daughter born in 1993, came into the world with beautiful BLUE eyes. In the picture here, right before her 5th birthday, you can see just how blue they were. Megan had been diagnosed with autism...

Global BDS Movement

Farm Wars

Open Your Eyes News

  • Switzerland considers repealing incest laws
    Daily Telegraph – Switzerland is considering repealing its incest laws because they are “obsolete”. The upper house of the Swiss parliament has drafted a law decriminalising sex between consenting family members which must now be considered by the government. There have been only three cases of ince ...
  • Beauty sleep concept is not a myth, says study
    BBC – People deprived of sleep for long periods appear less attractive and more unhealthy than those who are well rested, say researchers. Volunteers were photographed after eight hours sleep and again after being kept awake for 31 hours. Read article
  • China police probe Xinjiang ’slave labour&#8 ...
    BBC – Chinese police are investigating reports that a group of people with mental disabilities have been working in slave-like conditions. The 11 workers were apparently sold by an unauthorised charitable organisation to a factory in the country’s north-west. Reports say the workers were unpaid and ...
  • Deadly bomb attack in Iran city of Chabahar
    BBC – A bomb explosion in the south-eastern Iranian city of Chabahar has killed at least 38 people and injured many more, the official Iranian news agency says. The blast, reported to be a suicide attack, took place outside the Imam Hossein Mosque, the Irna agency said. Irna said the governor-genera ...
  • Why do we let this creepy company called Google sp ...
    Daily Mail – To many, the colourful home page of Google is the friendly face of the internet. Indeed, the company, which was created 12 years ago by two American PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, has always prided itself on its quirky presentation. The hallways of the âGoogleplexâ headquarte ...

L.A. Times - Greenspace

  • Columbia River coal export facility challenged on ...
    Plans to open the first major coal export facility on the West Coast are likely to be delayed until next year because of an appeal filed by a coalition of environmental groups, which say shipping coal to Asia throws a...
  • Global warming protesters ramp up with climate tal ...
    The failure of global climate negotiations to slow greenhouse gas emissions is fueling protest movements in the U.S. and other countries, as the effects of sea level rise, longer droughts and stronger storms begin to take a toll. More than...
  • Day Without a Bag targets holiday shoppers
    'Tis the season to go shopping -- and to collect dozens of single-use plastic bags in the process. Now in its fourth year, Day Without a Bag seeks to replace those single-use bags with reusables that can be put to...
  • The key to electric car adoption? Make it simple, ...
    With Nissan delivering its first Leaf this evening and the Chevrolet Volt now in production, the hard work is set to begin: "Getting the blueprint in place for a supportive rollout, so electric vehicles become a sustainable piece of the...
  • 'Revenge of the Electric Car' trailer debuts on Yo ...
    It's been four years since "Who Killed the Electric Car?" riled up greenies with an incendiary documentary about General Motors' EV1 and its ultimate demise in the claws of a car crusher. Now director Chris Paine is back, not so...

water.org

  • Giving the gift of water this holiday season (Wate ...
    Giving the Gift of Clean Water this Holiday Season (WaterWideWeb.org) – What better time than the holidays to rethink the value of a gift? As developed nations prepare their shopping lists, millions of children in under developed nations are still lacking the most essential of the planetâs giftsâ cl ...
  • Teacher provides a wider world view (St.CharlesPat ...
    French Teacher Provides a Wider World View (St. Charles Patch) – Delaney organized a fundraiser in November to benefit Water.org, a charitable organization that provides clean water and sanitation to people in developing nations. “It’s amazing, because I got the students in my French classes involve ...
  • Know your charity (NBC)
    How to know where your money goes when you donate to charities this holiday season (NBC Action News) KANSAS CITY, Missouri – [Keith] Stamm is the chief operator for Water.org . The nonprofit group is based out of Kansas City, but it pushes to give clean drinking water to people all over the world. H ...
  • Holiday gifts that give back (CBS)
    Holiday Shopping for Gifts that Give Back (CBS – WOWKTV) CHARLESTON, WV – For a health or sports nut, a water bottle is a simple gift that can help others as well. Actor Matt Damon is pitching “hope in a bottle,” in which 100 percent of the profits go directly to Water.org, one of the [...]
  • Join a conference call with Damon’s Water.or ...
    Join A Conference Call With Matt Damon’s Water.org (Look to the Stars) – This is your chance to hear first-hand from Matt Damon’s Water.org about their work in Tigray, Ethiopia, the impact their programs are having on peopleâs lives, and their plans for the future in this region. Read full Look to t ...

Before It's News

Energy Probe - Nuclear Power,Utility Reform

  • The Deniers on CBC Radio's 'Ideas'
    The science is settled - is now the mantra of climate change activism? Those who disagree are either in denial or in the pay of an oil company. But long time environmentalist and energy activist Lawrence Solomon says no, the science is not settled on global warming. Ideas producer David Cayley break ...

Margaret's News

  • Israel refuses entry to Palestinian firefighters b ...
    "We did this despite the occupation because it was our humane duty," it added. "We knew the occupation would still be here after our assistance." Submitted by Margaret Mayer to World �|� �Note-it! �|� �Add a Comment
  • Hundreds of rabbis around the world decry anti-Ara ...
    The petition statement added that such proclamations "communicate to our congregants that Israel does not share their values, and they promote feelings of alienation and distancing," as well as provide "justification for anti-Jewish and anti-Israel sentimSubmitted by Margaret Mayer to World �|� �No ...
  • THE FREE BETHLEHEM CAMPAIGN - Sign the Card to Bet ...
    Today, Bethlehem -- and Palestine -- resembles an open-air prison, occupied by Israel's military and encircled by Israel's wall. Sign the Card to Bethlehem (It will be given to the Mayor of Bethlehem and a representative of Bethlehem's City Council )Submitted by Margaret Mayer to World �|� �Note ...
  • Israel may have no military option against Iran
    Let them explain what options Israel has when it says no to any chance for peace and its home front is so vulnerable. What hope does it have if it continues to live only by its sword, which was once strong and threatening, and is now rusting?Submitted by Margaret Mayer to World �|� �Note-it! �|� �A ...
  • World Trade Center Building 7 …. What Really Happe ...
    The rubble of WTC Building 7 lies in front of the Fiterman Hall building. The building has fallen in its own footprint � a sign of controlled demolition? Submitted by Hans Mueller to Society & Culture �|� �Note-it! �|� �Add a Comment

Solar Energy / Energy Boom

News Blaze

Historical Notes

libcom

Free Range International

  • Afghanistan’s Forgotten Province
    There are a couple of recent articles in the flood of coverage about Afghanistan which caught my eye last week.  The first is factually wrong but I understand what the author was saying and he is, in a sense correct.  The second is factually correct, I understand what that reporter was saying too an ...
  • Rules of Engagement
    I have written in the past about night raids and aggressive ISAF convoy tactics causing unnecessary civilian casualties.  I have also written on the importance of not allowing enemy fighters who attack ISAF units to live and fight another day.  Counterinsurgency requires adaptation and my annoyance ...
  • Healing Ulcer
    After only 90 days of fighting to root the Taliban out of a place they have owned for over a decade  Gen McChrystal called Marjah a bleeding ulcer. That was an unbelievably stupid assessment given the nature of the enemy, the rules of engagement placed on the Marines by the General, and the paltry a ...
  • Afghanistan Summary
    This summary comes from Sami the Finn a.k.a Sami Kovanen, the Senior Information Analyst at Indicium Consulting. Sami has been in Afghanistan for over six years now and is one of the best informed analyst working outside of the ISAF security bubble.  He was kind enough to let me post this update and ...
  • On The Border
    The military campaign in Afghanistan is going well apparently.  I read that last Monday here in the Washington Post so it must be true.  But two days ago it took a turn for the worst.  I know that to be a fact too because I read it here in the Washington Post.  The truth is [...]

The Story Behind the Story

  • UTAH SOUND MONEY ACT (Brilliant!!!)
    Today I was introduced to Mr. Larry Hilton, JD, MBA – the author of a brilliant piece of much needed legislation that hopefully will pass the Utah legislature, and then each and every other state in this union. Here is his introduction to me for the “Utah Sound Money Act” —- Click here:  Sound Mone ...
  • Long Live King and Queen Obama!!!!
    Barack Obama enjoys living like a king, so why shouldn’t Michelle Obama live like a queen? The First Lady was photographed last night in Hawaii wearing $635 per pair designer shoes by Maison Martin Margiela. A woman lucky enough to have a job in this economy and working for the federal minimum wage ...
  • Remember November 22, 1963 – The Assassinati ...
    To honor the memory of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, I think it important to post the following correspondence with independent researcher and film-maker John Hankey. This written dialog was first posted on Rense.com by Mr. Hankey back in 2007. A. True Ott, PhD The Reason JFK Jr Was Murdered From John Ha ...
  • COLD FUSION IS HERE!!!
    Understanding Lightning âNeltronsâ is Key to Cold Fusion One manâs study of lightning and itâs effects led to his discovery of the Neltron – tiny negative particles of matter smaller than electrons. The Van Allen Magnetic belts discharges tiny negative particles into the part of the air where helium ...
  • INSIDERS REPORT: OBAMA SUFFERING FROM SEVERE DEPR ...
    So you state that President Obama is depressed?  How did you come by this information?  From a direct source still working within the White House on a daily basis.  As I had stated previously, tensions at the White House have reached a critical stage.  The infighting among staff is off the charts.  ...

du la bab - Now is the Time

  • Downsizing – downscaling? See these tiny hou ...
    Here’s a great company doing inspiring work www.tumbleweedhouses.com The company creator, Jay Shafer started off making a super small mobile home for himself measuring  just 89 square feet! Their video is a testament to less being more – they’re now selling ready made mobile cabins and the plans fo ...
  • Air powered environmentally friendly car being pro ...
    Sounds a little strange right – an air powered car – why isn’t this big news I wonder… There’s a great company in France operated by a former Formula 1 engineer now producing cars running on compressed air. They’re not great to look at, super fast, or I’m guessing really comfortable, but they’re in ...
  • Deforestation – environmental & human effect ...
    There are many types of forest in the world from Temperate Forest to Tropical forest. The one thing all forests have in common is that the trees in them act as the lungs to our planet converting CO2 to Oxygen.  In addition, forests provide a canopy or shading of the earth which helps maintain temper ...
  • Could cancer be Fungus? If so, maybe here’s ...
    Recently I visited a dear friend who has been dealing with breast cancer for over ten years. After a long attempt to avoid surgery and medication, she was forced to have a double mastectomy. She has chosen to avoid the chemo treatments. This takes a lot of courage given that the standard thing to do ...
  • Doctors Warn about GM Food Risks
    It’s barely been a week since I wrote about the dangers of genetically modified (GM) foods and now the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) has released a strongly-worded warning about the health dangers associated with Frankenfoods. Calling for a moratorium on GM foods, the AAEM says t ...

Mansbridge One on One - CBC

  • Michael Ignatieff, Leader of the Opposition (Sept ...
    Sounds like fun - all summer touring the country going from one barbecue to another. But for Michael Ignatieff it had to be more than fun - it had to be redefining moment. This week we find out if it was.
  • Colm Feore (encore)
    His acting career is prolific, his roles varied, his talent immeasurable. Whether on the Shakespearean stage or the big or small screen, he's one of the most recognizable Canadian faces in the business. In this encore broadcast from 2001, Colm Feore discusses "acting is acting is acting".
  • Pervez Musharraf, former President of Pakistan (No ...
    He's been a general and a president, leading Pakistan while wearing those both hats in the tense days following 9-11. Now Pervez Musharraf is out of office and exiled from his country. But that hasn't stopped him from wading into the debate about Pakistan, Afghanistan and how countries like Canad ...
  • Mark B. Salter, Aviation security expert (Nov 13, ...
    The shoe bomber, the underwear bomber, the ink cartridge bomber: those incidents have changed the way we fly. But have the precautions actually worked or are they simply too much? Today we find out with aviation security expert Mark Salter.
  • Tim Cook, War Historian (Nov 6, 2010)
    Another year, another Remembrance Day and another chance to remind ourselves Canada's military past. This week we look back at some of that past that is often forgotten.

Scotts Contracting

  • 12 x Brand New – Discounted Pioneer 25kW Wind Turb ...
    Dec 10, 2010 SAVE OVER $320,000 on 12 Discounted overstock 25kW wind turbines â Brand new with 5 year warranty â West Wind â Pioneer 25kW (50hz or 60hz) for sale â available Q1 & Q2 â 2011. Priced to … Continue reading →
  • 2010 Holiday Light Recycling Drive
    StLouisGreen.com Holiday Light Recycling Drive Happening now through January 31, 2011 People are encouraged to recycle old holiday lights and extension cords. All unworkable holiday lights, whether from your tree or outdoor decoration, can be taken to participating Walmart, Goodwill, … Continue read ...
  • Guest Post: Trash Reduction: A 30-Day Plan for Eve ...
    Trash Reduction: A 30-Day Plan for Every Homeowner by: Gerald Arnolds is a guest blogger for My Dog Ate My Blog and a writer for Accredited Online Colleges. Day 1: Do some necessary homework. Before you can start to reduce … Continue reading →
  • Analysts say ignoring global warming will cost the ...
    Nov 19, 2010 Portsmouth Herald Deborah McDermott Nov. 19, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) — Editor’s note: This is Part 1 of a three-part look at the conference, "Sustainable Future: How Can our Nation Turn the Corner on the Economy and the Environment, and can N.H. Lead ...
  • GLOBE Alliance Will Advocate for Sustainability
    GLOBE Alliance Will Advocate for Sustainability Worldwide The Global Leadership in Our Built Environment Alliance has issued a call for partners to help fight climate change by advancing sustainable design. By:Stephani L. Miller The U.S. Green Building Council and the World Green Building Council (W ...

The View From Abroad

Foreign Policy in Focus - Military (US)

Law.com

Iranian.com

  • Bomb attack in Iran city of Chabahar 'kills dozens ...
    A bomb explosion in the south-eastern Iranian city of Chabahar has killed dozens of people and injured many more, Iranian news sources say. The blast, said to be a suicide attack, took place outside the Imam Hossein Mosque, the Irna news agency said. Irna said the governor-general of Sistan-Baluchis ...
  • The beauty queen activist dating Peter MacKay
    Joanna Smith Ottawa Bureau read more
  • Ahmadinejad faces anger in Iran over firing of FM
    TEHERAN, Iran — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad faced outrage at home Tuesday over the ambush-style dismissal of his longtime foreign minister, more evidence of a growing rift in Iran's conservative leadership just as Teheran reopens talks with world powers on its disputed nuclear program. Iran's lead ...
  • آقای احمدی نژاد از اردوغان یاد بگیرد
    بغل‌گوش خودمان همین آقای اردوغان با برخی از وزرایش مشکل داشت و دارد اما به هر حال همدیگر را تحمل کرده با یکدیگر کار می‌کنند. ما همواره استقبال کننده خوبی بودیم اما بدرقه‌کننده خوبی نبوده‌ایم. بگذارید این بار قاعده فوق را نقض کنیم و نشان دهیم می‌توانیم با وجود اختلاف‌نظرها در کنار read more
  • اولین حضور اردوغان در عزاداری عاشورا
    نخست‌وزير تركيه امسال براي نخستين‌بار در مراسم عاشوراي حسيني شركت مي‌كند.

Most Revolutionary Act

  • Ending the Obesity Epidemic
    At the moment I don’t sense major commitment on the part of either the public or government to end the obesity epidemic. Given society’s unwillingness to address issues that threaten the survival of the human species – namely climate change and water and resource scarcity – it’s unrealistic to expec ...
  • Economic Causes of Obesity
    Epidemiologists have known for decades that rates of obesity are much higher in low income and minority groups. However it's only in the past few years that medical science has understood the mechanisms behind this finding. In my own practice I’ve identified four specific reasons for excessive wei ...
  • The Politics of Obesity
    There is a lot of focus in the mainstream media on the growing epidemic of obesity in western countries. The media pretty universally places the blame on individuals. Overweight adults are guilty of “poor lifestyle choices.” While obesity in children is blamed on the failure of the parents to contro ...
  • Going Non-Corporate
    (from Lyn Webster – www.pigtitsandparsleysauce.co.nz) For me the most interesting part of Lyn's presentation was her wrap-up, where she talked about the strong temptation to resume buying commercial products when she used up her first homemade batch. Not because they are any better than the homema ...
  • Making Non-Corporate Choices
    America's pre-eminent consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader frequently talks about the last two generations growing up "corporate" in their attitudes and lifestyle choices. An important aspect of growing up “corporate” is automatically giving into constant pressure from t ...

Doug's Darkworld

  • Is America on the Road to Fascism?
    “During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.”    — George Orwell   When I was a child and a young man, I lived in a free country. Now the government sticks its hands in my pants and searches my crotch if I want to fly a  plane. And already happening, [...]
  • Ron Paul on Wikileaks: Lying is Not Patriotic
    I normally don’t publish guest articles, but this week I’m on a  roll. The Time Traveller post was just for fun, today’s post is deadly serious. I was writing my own post on Wikileaks, when I came across Congressman Ron Paul’s latest words on the subject. He covers the situation quite nicely, and s ...
  • Wednesday, December 8th: Pretend to be a Time Trav ...
    Yes, it’s that time of year again! International Pretend to be a Time Traveller Day 2010! Yes, all Wednesday, participants  in this event will pretend to be a time traveller visiting the current era. The only “rule” is participants must never tell anyone they are a time traveller.  I’ve more or le ...
  • Random Notes in the Margins
    A couple of topics that I was unable to squeeze a whole blog post out on, but nonetheless wanted to say something. And yes, in some cases below I am simplifying or not adding obvious codicils: 1.  Germany’s Chancellor Merkel claims that “multiculturalism has failed.” She didn’t exactly define her t ...
  • KOREAN NUCLEAR NIGHTMARES
    December 2nd, 2010. During American and South Korean naval manoeuvres in the Yellow Sea near North Korea a nuclear explosion occurs, sinking a dozen major warships including the American carrier USS George Washington. At least ten thousand American and South Korean sailors and servicemen are killed, ...

FourWinds10

Crisis Maven

  • Economic Musings VI: Modern Economies – Dyin ...
    There is a great debate in the history of economics whether there can be under-consumption in any real historic moment of the state of an economy and if so, whether it has detrimental effects and if so, what is to be done about it. And modern economists seem to have found a magic wand with [...]
  • Blogs and Web Sites you may want to follow
    The following is a list of blogs and websites that CrisisMaven has followed and observed over the last few months and that readers may want to check out from time to time. Note: neither the sequence of how the blogs are listed here nor any comments by CrisisMaven are an endorsement nor criticism of ...
  • Economic Musings VII: Marketing doesn’t adve ...
    Have you ever wondered if marketing and advertising are the same, if not, what’s the difference and which is the more important of the two? And why should you care? The most successful economic model is without doubt the market economy. It is the consequence of the wealth effects of the division of ...
  • CrisisMaven’s Blog News 2010-03-07: Over 25,000 We ...
    Yesterday around 16:37 GMT we passed the 25,000 threshold … - next report will probably be posted when we’re past the 50,000 mark. Thanks to all avid readers: on 2010-03-18 at around 19:25 GMT we went past our first 20,000 views on our blog in about eight weeks since we began publishing! After that, ...
  • Economic Musings VIII: Is there a limit to economi ...
    Something which puzzles many thinkers and frightens many young people concerned about waste or the pillaging of our natural resources is the question: can “an economy” (whatever that is – we’ll come to that in a minute) grow indefinitely? How can there be unlimited economic growth if we’ve never hea ...

Capital Flow Analysis

  • Stock buybacks are bad for investors: Further evid ...
    In the working paper “The Buyback Monitor - July 2009: Corporate Stock Buyback Profits of 273 Firms from 2000 into 2009“, published on the Social Sciences Research Network, M.A. Gumport, CFA, provides further evidence that stock buybacks are not as good for investors as often touted. The following ...
  • Why Obama’s healthcare scheme portends stagflatio ...
    The trillion-dollar Obama health care plan increases the odds that US economic recover will be delayed, and that unemployment and inflation will increase. The main thrust of the Obama plan is to increase taxes on individuals earning more than $250,000 a year, while forcing all but the tiniest bus ...
  • How long would it take to work off the US trade de ...
    The rest of the world holds $16.8 trillion in US financial assets, according to Federal Reserve release Z.1, as of Q1 2009. [...]
  • Why Bernanke’s flawed “exit strategy” policy porte ...
    In a lead op-ed editorial in the Wall Street Journal on July 21, 2009, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke revealed the Fed’s exit strategy with regards to the inflationary effects of the Obama “spending is stimulus” packages and other government measure to contain the current crisis. This articl ...
  • Stocks surge on spurious earnings reports: Q2 2009
    No one knows for sure the real earnings of American corporations. In Q1 2009, according to the Federal Reserve flow of funds table F.102, after-tax profits of US non-financial, non-farm corporations, on an annual basis, were about $589.9 billion. However, about 50% of these after-tax earnings were ...

R-Squared Energy Blog

  • Sustainability is the Key to Long-Term Energy Secu ...
    Join the forum discussion on this post Why We Love Trees I don’t often talk about my job, but I am going to today just a bit. I am the Chief Technology Officer for a renewable energy company. Our primary goal is to develop affordable and sustainable energy for a world that we believe will [...]
  • Critical Decisions Looming for Japan’s Nuclear Ind ...
    Join the forum discussion on this post The following guest post was written by the staff of Global Intelligence Report. SITUATION: Japan is advancing with plans to reprocess spent nuclear fuel and boost its external nuclear exports. These decisions will impact the conduct of Japan’s global non-p ...
  • How the RFA Wastes Your Tax Dollars – Part II: Bla ...
    Join the forum discussion on this post In Part I we saw that the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) pays for shoddy studies and then cites them to fear-monger into getting more tax dollars. Hypocritically, when they are challenged with a critical point on ethanol, they attempt to cast doubt by ques ...
  • How the RFA Wastes Your Tax Dollars – Part I: How ...
    Join the forum discussion on this post Over the next two posts, I will examine some of the tactics used by the Renewable Fuels Association to justify keeping the $6 billion ethanol subsidy that was made almost entirely redundant when the the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) was passed into law in  200 ...
  • Book Review: The Impending World Energy Mess
    Join the forum discussion on this post I actually had low expectations for The Impending World Energy Mess by Robert L. Hirsch, Roger H. Bezdek, and Robert M. Wendling. Not because I thought Robert Hirsch and company would put out a sub-par book, but rather I have read so many peak oil books that I ...

Discovery Educator Network

Rodale News

  • Toxic Toys 2010: Is Cadmium This Year's Worst Toy- ...
    RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—It started this spring with jewelry from teen-targeted accessory shops. Necklaces, bracelets, and other trinkets were recalled because they were contaminated with the heavy metal cadmium. A few months later, an Associated Press (AP) investigation revealed high levels of ca ...
  • How to Roast Chestnuts, Plus Great Holiday Nut Rec ...
    RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Though various other nuts make festive appearances in traditional holiday dishes, 'tis definitely the season to cook with delicately sweet chestnuts. If you don't know how to roast chestnuts, there's good reason to learn. The chestnut tree, part of the beech and oak family ...
  • New Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act Doesn’t Ban Bake ...
    RODALE NEWS, WASHINGTON, DC—Monday morning at the Harriet Tubman Elementary School, before an audience that included the first lady, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, other well-known politicians almost too numerous to mention (including one Republican), celebrity chef Tom Coliccio, and children ...
  • UK Reports Swine Flu Deaths; What's in Store for t ...
    RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Reports of 10 H1N1-related deaths in the UK during the last six weeks remind us all that we have entered flu season, even though it's still early in the game (flu season typically peaks between January and February, but can lag on until May). So what's in store for the U.S ...
  • Recall of Lead-Tainted Drinking Glasses Cancelled
    RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Thanks to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which severely restricts the amount of lead used in children's toys, parents are seeing much fewer toy recalls this holiday season. But that doesn't necessarily mean that store shelves are getting safer. Lead is still ...

big think

  • AGU 2010!
    Sorry about the lack of updates - I've had some computer-related issues here at the AGU 2010 meeting, but hopefully tomorrow I can highlight some cool stuff I've learned about Eyjafjallajokull, Chaiten and more. Remember, you can check out my Twitter feed (@eruptionsblog) too for tidbits on the ...R ...
  • How Nouriel Roubini Foresaw the Financial Crisis
    New York University economics professor Nouriel Roubini famously predicted the most recent global financial crisis well before most of his peers did. He says he did this simply by looking at the data and considering it in the context of past bubbles. Roubini recently spoke with Big Think about how . ...
  • It's Not Anti-Science to Worry About Evidence
    One of the frustrations that comes with a new and interesting idea is the large number of people who will tell you that you're actually saying something old and familiar. Most of us heartily dislike changing our minds about anything important, and we're all pretty busy. So a lot of your audience . ...
  • Julian Assange: Sinner Or Saint?
    The beauty – if it can be called that – of the allegations against Wikileaks progenitor, Julian Assange, is that no one, save his accusers and Assange himself, know the truth. Julian Assange has now been granted bail of £200,000 by a London Court, but will be held in custody at least until the ... ...
  • Zoybar: Open-Source Music Hardware Architecture
    The open-source movement's capacity for collaborative innovation on the content and productivity side is a well-established reality, with success stories like Wikipedia, Wordpress and Firefox to show for. But open-source initiatives on the creative side are still a relative rarity. Zoybar is o ...

Information Liberation

  • What the State Fears Most: Information
    History tells a cyclical story of man versus state: man persistently creating new ideas and the state tirelessly laboring to destroy them. Bureaucracy has never been a friend to the ideas that undermine its artificial legitimacy. All too often, hi...
  • N.J. doctor supplied steroids to hundreds of law e ...
    On a rainy August morning in 2007, the news rippled through New Jersey*s law enforcement ranks, officer to officer, department to department. Joseph Colao was dead. The 45-year-old physician had collapsed in his Jersey City apartment, the victi...
  • Long Beach Police Murder Un-armed Man for Watering ...
    KTLA Long Beach "Cops", or "Police" Murder 35 year old Long Beach man for watering lawn in Long Beach upscale neighborhood Belmont Shore....
  • Owners Of Hiphop Blogs Seized By Homeland Security ...
    The saga of the domains seized by Homeland Security's Immigrations & Customs Enforcement (ICE) group continues to get more and more bizarre. We'd already noted that among the domains seized were a bunch of hiphop blogs that artists and record labels...
  • Allen West: Government 'Should Be Censoring The Am ...
    Rep.-elect Allen West (R-Fla.) may have proven himself a prime pupil for fellow Rep. Michele Bachmann's forthcoming constitutional classes, when he recently displayed selective reverence for the Tea Party's most sacred document by calling for America...

Be Responsible - Be Free!

  • Ozboy’s Bar And Grill Is Closed For Repairs
    It’s only temporary. A couple of weeks. But the recent shenanigans round here have forced me to do some thinking about how LibertyGibbert can run better in the future. I’ve spoken to a couple of you about this today, to … Continue reading →
  • The Dragon’s Dissent Part III: Naked Nationa ...
    The emergence of China as the world’s new superpower has raised many questions in the international community and across the blogosphere regarding the longer-range agenda of the Middle Kingdom. In a recent discussion on this forum, the question of Chinese … Continue reading →
  • U.S. Elections: Will Liberty Win?
    Well today’s the day. As just about every other blog in the sphere is covering the elections today, I thought I’d throw the forum open, and we can discuss the results as they come in, in real time. If as … Continue reading →
  • Libertarianism And Drug Liberalization
    G’day everyone, Just arrived back home safe and sound. Sorry there hasn’t been a new post in several days, but just at the moment my family needs me more than the Bar and Grill does. Dr. Dave has graciously stepped … Continue reading →
  • Stealing Democracy?
    G’day everyone, Ozboy here. The United States mid-term elections are just one week away, and the mounting resentment many Americans feel about the way their country is being governed appears certain to be made clear at the polls. One of … Continue reading →

FAS - Secrecy News

  • JASON: Science of Cyber Security Needs More Work
    “Cyber security is now critical to our survival but as a field of research [it] does not have a firm scientific basis,” according to the Department of Defense.  “Our current security approaches have had limited success and have become an arms race with our adversaries.  In order to achieve securit ...
  • How Many People Have Security Clearances?
    How many government employees and contractors hold security clearances for access to classified information?  Remarkably, it is not possible to answer that question today with any precision. But it should be possible by next February, officials said at a House Intelligence Subcommittee hearing on De ...
  • Govt Response to Wikileaks Said to Cause More Dama ...
    The U.S. Government insists that the classification markings on many of the leaked documents being published by Wikileaks and other organizations are still in force, even though the documents are effectively in the public domain, and it has directed federal employees and contractors not to access or ...
  • Treasury Classification Guide, and Other Resources
    The Department of the Treasury has recently produced a consolidated classification guide, detailing exactly what kinds of Treasury information may be classified at what level and for how long.  It is in such agency classification guides, not in high-level government-wide policy statements, that the ...
  • Publishing Classified Info: A Review of Relevant S ...
    “There appears to be no statute that generally proscribes the acquisition or publication of diplomatic cables,” according to a newly updated report (pdf) from the Congressional Research Service, “although government employees who disclose such information without proper authority may be subject to p ...

Sciencebase - Breaking Science News

  • Periodic table of videos at the movies
    Regular Sciencebase followers will by now know only too well the Periodic Table of Videos from Nottingham University and my good friend Martyn Poliakoff. The creators of the video series recently ran a competition for viewers to create a movie-style poster to promote the videos and had an astounding ...
  • A few facts about asbestos
    Today, medical journal The Lancet has publicly criticised the Canadian government for its attitude towards asbestos, saying that although Canada will not expose its own citizens to asbestos, it will continue exporting the deadly substance to developing nations [Canada accused of hypocrisy, Lancet]. ...
  • What is nature worth?
    Each hour 3 species vanish forever, we’ve lost a fifth of the planet’s coral reefs, almost a third of its mangrove forests, and half of the world’s wetlands. But, how do you count the cost? Perhaps a business perspective is needed. If we considered the natural world as providing products and service ...
  • Searching for scientific abbreviations
    Ambiguous abbreviations and acronyms are annoyances when it comes to text search and data mining. As a writer-editor, I was always taught to spell out the long form (LF) of a short form (SF) at first mention in a document so that the reader would know that when I mentioned EBV I was referring to [.. ...
  • Santa Claus Science
    Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicolas, Kris Kringle, Sinterklaas. Call him what you will, at this time of year, for children who celebrate everywhere, many questions of a scientific nature arise and parents squirm in their efforts to answer them. Now, Gregory Mone, a contributing editor at Po ...

RFF Library

  • Getting Back on Track: Climate Change and State Tr ...
    Natural Resources Defense Council http://www.nrdc.org/smartgrowth/statepolicy.asp This analysis evaluates each state based on 17 policy and spending criteria that have been compared by expert analysis to achieve transportation sector greenhouse gas reductions. States can also implement these criteri ...
  • New Deepwater Drilling Requirements: Approval Requ ...
    Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/press/2010/press1213.htm The Obama administration on Monday gave new details (new-drilling-requirements) about the rules for deep- water drilling, responding to oil companies’ complaints th ...
  • A Method for Assessing Carbon Stocks, Carbon Seque ...
    US Geological Survey / by By Zhiliang Zhu (editor), Brian Bergamaschi, Richard Bernknopf, David Clow, Dennis Dye, Stephen Faulkner, William Forney, Robert Gleason, Todd Hawbaker, Jinxun Liu, et al. http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2010/5233/ [From Interior Dept. press release] A new methodology to assess th ...
  • Forest Responses to Increasing Aridity and Warmth ...
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Published online before print: doi: 10.1073/pnas.0914211107)  / by A. Park Williams, Craig D. Allen, Constance I. Millar, Thomas W. Swetnam, Joel Michaelsena, Christopher J. Stilla and Steven W. Leavitt (open access article) http://www.pnas.org/conten ...
  • Evaluating Limits on Markets for Emissions Allowan ...
    Director’s Blog at the Congressional Budget Office / by Douglas Elmendorf http://cboblog.cbo.gov/?p=1719 Congress recently considered creating a nationwide cap-and-trade program that would limit emissions of greenhouse gases below the levels projected under current law and would allow trading of rig ...

Scientific American - News

  • Why Can Some Blind People Process Speech Far Faste ...
    SAN DIEGO--Books fly from the shelf as Superman fans the pages in a blur devouring the information at blinding speed. Superhuman mental powers, including his extraordinary sense of hearing and blazing speed-reading, are as vital to Superman as his bullet-beating velocity and steel-bending strength ...
  • Power Plants: Engineers Mimic Photosynthesis to Ha ...
    Plants take advantage of quantum mechanics to harvest sunlight with near-perfect efficiency--though only roughly 2 percent of that capture sunlight ultimately gets stored as chemical energy. Now scientists are studying how this light-harvesting step of photosynthesis is optimized by nature to lear ...
  • Blocking a Common Sugar Molecule May Be Key to Pre ...
    Most people have one somewhere: a nasty scar from an old injury. It typically causes no serious harm, but can be unsightly. Scar-reducing creams and other dermatological procedures can help, but no one has known how to prevent scarring in the first place. Now scientists have discovered that the ke ...
  • Cancun Talks Yield Climate Compromise
    Elements of last year's Copenhagen Accord moved a step closer to reality as two weeks of talks concluded in Cancun this week with a new consensus on the path forward for international negotiations to combat climate change. Over the objections of Bolivia, the so-called Cancun Agreements text was ...
  • Farming the Future: GM Crops Recommended as Key Pa ...
    Agricultural innovation has long sustained the world's masses with an abundance of low-cost food, thanks to the success of the mid-20th century's Green Revolution, which brought industrialization and high-yield grains to India, Mexico and many other developing countries.A prosperous global populatio ...

RAWA News

  • The Afghan money pit
    Los Angeles Times: A Pentagon report due out this week will probably try to convince us that the war in Afghanistan is on the right track. And yet a poll released this month surveying Afghan public opinion says otherwise. Although the poll results showed some bright spots, after spending hundreds of ...
  • AFGHANISTAN: Humanitarian situation likely to wors ...
    IRIN: The war in Afghanistan shows no sign of abating and conflict-related misery such as internal displacement, lack of access to essential health services and civilian casualties, is set to rise in 2011, aid agencies and analysts warn.
  • Obama/Pentagon Lies to Set the War Narrative and W ...
    RAWA News: Let me begin with the unreported news from the ground in Afghanistan exactly nine years ago, that is on November 30, 2001. The relentless U.S aerial bombing and strafing of the Kandahar area in late November and early December 2001 led to dozens, if not hundreds, of innocent civilians dyi ...
  • WikiLeaks: Afghan MPs and religious scholars &#822 ...
    The Guardian: Iran is financing a range of Afghan religious and political leaders, grooming Afghan religious scholars, training Taliban militants and even seeking to influence MPs, according to cables from the US embassy in Kabul. The dispatches, relating conversations between American and Afghan of ...
  • Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states fund al-Qaeda a ...
    Al Jazeera: Saudi Arabia is a key source of funds for armed groups, including al-Qaeda, the Afghan Taliban and Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Taiba, according to a leaked US state department assessment. In a series of diplomatic cables spanning several years, published by the WikiLeaks whistleblowing website ...

frogblog

  • Sprawling housing not really cheaper
    As promised, some further thoughts  about the way Auckland should or could grow. One of Auckland’s biggest problems is housing affordability and any plan to grow the city must address this.  While housing affordability is a serious issue for all NZers, it’s particularly bad in Auckl ...
  • Cellphone towers, health and democracy
    Hataitai I went to a hastily organised public meeting up the hill from my house last night about a proposed cellphone tower in Hataitai, Wellington. Vodafone want to put a cellphone tower on top of a street light pole among a bunch of houses near the school. Vodafone only notified t ...
  • Get out of Moeraki!
    It is over 35 years since Bob Seger released his classic Get Out of Denver (video below, for those who want to relive it or discover it for the first time). But it seems some things are difficult to change, and there will always be bigots who victimise people they perceive as less w ...
  • Pansy Wong resigns…
    And off she flies into the sunset on a lifetime entitlement of 75% business class airfares.
  • If a Judge ordered… (this stinks)
    If a Judge in preliminary proceedings to  a criminal trial ordered: This judgement is not to be published (including any commentary, summary or description of it) in news media or on internet or other publicly accessible database or otherwise disseminated to the public until fina ...

Patronus Analytical

J Kozy

  • Western Civilization and Classical Economics: The ...
    When a civilization abandons its morality, no rationalization can be devised to justify its continued existence. It is likely that many reasons can be given for this abandonment in the Western world, although I am convinced that one predominatesthe expansion of law. Law once governed various kin ...
  • The Mythical United States of America: Rushing int ...
    The mythical United States of America so highly lauded exists nowhere. It is a Shangri-la. The Preamble of the Constitution makes perfectly clear what kind of nation the United States was meant to be. What exists today fulfills none of those goals. Some have argued that the nation was a fraud fr ...
  • As Western Civilization Lies Dying
    The Western commercial system exists to extract more from consumers than it supplies in products and services. Its goal is profit and has never been the improvement of the human condition but to exploit it. When governments institutionalize this system, they place their nations on suicidal paths, be ...
  • Is Perfect Research Possible
    Some claim that there is no hope of doing perfect research. So, is there hope of doing perfect research? Of course there issometimes! It all depends on the whetherwhether the subject is limited and whether the researcher can write and is intelligent enough to adequately evaluate the evidence. Un ...
  • The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty: Last Gasp of ...
    No civilization in history that collapsed after a period of greatness has ever regained its dominance. Egypt lasted for three millennia; today it is little more than a field for archeological study. The Persian Empire, which lasted for more than three hundred years, became the largest and most p ...

MoJo - Kevin Drum

  • Why Are Bankers So Rich?
    Tyler Cowen has a big piece about income inequality in The American Interest that's well worth reading. However, it's not really about the growth of inequality. It's about Wall Street. In particular, it's about this question: why do financial professionals make so damn much money? The answer, of co ...
  • Two More Weeks
    Greg Sargent reports on the latest maneuvering to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell: The announcement this morning that House Dems will vote on their own stand alone bill to repeal don't ask don't tell catapults the ball back into Harry Reid's court. If repeal is going to have any chance, the Senate Majo ...
  • Fourth Amendment Update
    This is good news and bad news: In a landmark decision issued today in the criminal appeal of U.S. v. Warshak, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the government must have a search warrant before it can secretly seize and search emails stored by email service providers. Closely tracki ...
  • Thinking About Alternate Universes
    Felix Salmon pushes back on the idea that established companies have screwed up repeatedly by not buying startup internet companies that eventually became giants: But how valuable were those opportunities, really? If Blockbuster had spent $50 million on Netflix, then it would just have run out of m ...
  • Enumerated Powers and the Individual Mandate
    Austin Frakt points to the latest figures from Massachusetts, which implemented Mitt Romney's universal healthcare scheme a few years ago, and the news is pretty good. Nearly 98% of Massachusetts residents are now insured, including 97% of working age adults and nearly 100% of children and the elder ...

Insanity Report

  • Jon Stewart Gives the DNC All the Ammo They Need
    Seriously, someone at the DNC needs to take parts of this and run these ads from now until 2012. The fact that Republicans have been leaving 9/11 first responders hanging when it comes Health Care is one of the most despicable things they’ve done in the last 2 years. It’s truly horrible. The Daily S ...
  • IC 216: The Incomplete Show
    Topics for the show: This is a partial show. We lost power in the middle of recording. We didn’t want to lose the 40 minutes we had recorded before so we decided to put what we had up. We talk Redskins, Suing McDonalds, people’s demands at cookouts and the beginning of our discussion on Steve [...] ...
  • IC 215: Popeyes Chicken, STDs and Politics
    Topics for the show: Popeyes chicken buffet Going to the doctor’s sucks Westboro Baptist Church takes their protesting to a new disgusting level Ignoring the attention whore that is Sarah Palin Liberals who whine about the President and nothing else Share with your friends:
  • FacePalm of the Week: Falling For the Palin Trap
    Sarah Palin is an idiot.  This is a well known fact.  We have video, audio and even “literary” (if you can call it that) evidence of this.  She’s now the punch line of any joke.  “Two guys walk into a bar and…..Sarah Palin” BWAHAHAHAHAHA We know this.  She’s not to be taken seriously.  Which is [... ...
  • FacePalm of the Week: Failing For the Palin Trap
    Sarah Palin is an idiot.  This is a well known fact.  We have video, audio and even “literary” (if you can call it that) evidence of this.  She’s now the punch line of any joke.  “Two guys walk into a bar and…..Sarah Palin” BWAHAHAHAHAHA We know this.  She’s not to be taken seriously.  Which is [... ...

Simple Climate

  • Simple Climate poll part 4: The effects of change
    Choose from some eye-opening descriptions - the last seven of 26 scientists' attempts to clearly communicate climate change on my blog this year - of how global warming is affecting our planet to select the one that best conveys the situation.
  • Cloud and plant data raise climate projection conf ...
    The cooling effect of clouds will get weaker as the planet warms, while plants' cooling effect will get stronger, findings published this week show, but despite the apparent contradiction the data provides enhanced confidence in climate models.
  • What can we do about climate change?
    All year on Simple Climate scientists have suggested steps we can take to tackle climate change, so here's a roundup of what we can do, regardless of what happens in Cancún this week.
  • Simple Climate poll part 3: Getting personal
    Choose from explanation 13-20 out of 26 scientists' attempts to clearly communicate climate change on my blog this year, with these efforts focussing on how best to explain the phenomenon to people.
  • Marshland massacre by sea rise is avoidable
    Rate of sea level rise looks more important for wetland survival than the rises themselves – although the fact the world looks set for at least its third warmest year ever in 2010 is not a good omen.

e!Science News

  • UNC scientists discover potential strategy to impr ...
    The promise of vaccines targeted against various types of cancer has raised the hopes of patients and their families. The reality, however, is that these promising treatments are difficult to develop. One of the challenges is identifying a discrete cellular target to stop cancer growth without inact ...
  • Study shows post-9/11 security zones blight landsc ...
    A decade after the 9/11 attacks, significant parts of America's most prominent downtowns remain largely sealed off as `security zones,' but a newly published study by University of Colorado Denver professor Jeremy Németh says this has led to blighted landscapes, limited public access and a need for ...
  • UCI researchers find novel memory-enhancing mechan ...
    UC Irvine researchers have identified a novel mechanism in the brain that boosts memory. read more
  • Tackling the erosion of a special river island
    Locke Island is a small island in a bend of the Columbia River in eastern Washington that plays a special role in the culture of the local Indian tribes. Since the 1970s, however, it has been eroding away at a rate that has alarmed tribal leaders. read more
  • Enhanced brain-machine interface taps into additio ...
    Monkeys moved thought-controlled computer cursors more quickly and accurately when provided with additional sensory feedback, according to a new study in the Dec. 15 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. While most brain-machine technologies rely only on visual feedback, this study demonstrated that ...

unEarthed

  • Monday Reads: The Musk Oxen Edition
    We’ve reached that time of year again. I’m not talking about when the holiday decorations come out in force, or when gift shopping reaches a fevered, frenzied pitch. I’m talking about when it gets cold. When the wisdom of grizzly bears in their dark, quiet caves, and pikas in their cozy, warm burro ...
  • Will Brown Be Green?
    When Jerry Brown became governor of California in 1975, it was, for many of us, a relatively green nirvana. He created the Office of Appropriate Technology. He established a state sustainable energy agency called SolarCal.They w ...
  • A Fine Federal Judge Passes Away
    Roger Beers, a lawyer who worked for Earthjustice and the Natural Resources Defense Council, once said that environmental cases are the most political of all. He meant that in environmental cases, the biases of the judge in a ca ...
  • Editorial: Fate of Gray Wolves - And ESA - In Cong ...
    Based on today's editorial, the gray wolf -- and other creatures defended by the Endangered Species Act -- have no finer friend than The Arizona Republic. Here's what the Republic had to say about attempts in Congress to gut the ...
  • I Brake For Cute Animals
    The classical "great chain of being" as depicted in Didacus Valdes' "Retorica Christiana" in 1579. Rose Eveleth has an interesting piece on the National Resource Defense Council’s OnEarth blog about zoos choosing to house onl ...

Brave New Climate

  • Media reactions to the Energy paper – part 2
    In a previous post (part 1), I described some media reactions to my recent Energy paper (on how carbon pricing changes the relative competitiveness of low-carbon baseload generating technologies). The section of the media I covered in that post is often considered to be ‘progressive’ and environment ...
  • Idea: financing large capital cost electricity pro ...
    Guest post by Dr Gene Preston. Gene has had a long career as a power system engineer, performing generation planning, transmission planning, and distribution planning for Austin Energy. He is currently doing transmission studies for wind developers. He wrote all his own modeling software including t ...
  • Monthly Argument debate: climate change – is ...
    Remember this? Want to see me go head-to-head in a ‘bar room brawl’ with Jim Green and a representative from Friends of the Earth (Cam Walker)? Want to see on what I agree — and disagree — with Arthur Dent (formerly Albert Langer) on energy options for the future and the possibility of nuclear energ ...
  • Media reactions to the Energy paper – part 1
    It’s been fascinating to watch the media reaction to our Energy paper on how carbon pricing changes the relative competitiveness of low-carbon baseload generating technologies. It has certainly stirred a lot of interest, and the timing was admittedly celestial, because two other reports on electrici ...
  • The arithmetic adds up to nuclear
    Yesterday, The Australian newspaper published an Op Ed piece by Nicholson, Biegler & Brook, entitled Emission reductions are not blowin’ in the wind, which discusses our recent paper in Energy. The print (dead tree) version of the article even had the graph shown here included! However, the editor h ...

Indigenist Opinion

  • John John: Narco News: An Exclusive Interview with ...
    Narco News: An Exclusive Interview with Julian Assange on the Eve of His Arrest: "The founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, gave an exclusive interview to Brazilian journalist Natalia Viana of the online publication Opera Mundi on Monday. (Viana, 2004 graduate of Narco News’ School of Authentic Jour ...
  • Georgia Prison Strike Hits Third Day | News One
    Georgia Prison Strike Hits Third Day | News One Georgia — On Thursday morning, December 9, 2010, thousands of Georgia prisoners refused to work, stopped all other activities and locked down in their cells in a peaceful protest for their human rights. The December 9 Strike became the biggest prison ...
  • Attempts to prosecute WikiLeaks endanger press fre ...
    Attempts to prosecute WikiLeaks endanger press freedoms - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com: "During the Bush era, I frequently wrote about escalating attacks by the U.S. Government on press freedoms. The Bush DOJ vowed to prosecute whistleblowers while steadfastly refusing to do the same for the high-le ...
  • James Moore: I am Julian Assange
    James Moore: I am Julian Assange I am Julian Assange. I want information so that I can hold my government accountable. If my country acts improperly and in my name, I want the proof. I want to know if there actually is no evidence proving weapons of mass destruction. I want to know if America is w ...
  • Join EFF in Standing up Against Internet Censorshi ...
    Join EFF in Standing up Against Internet Censorship | Electronic Frontier Foundation Over the past few weeks, we here at EFF have watched as whistleblowing website WikiLeaks has fueled an emotionally charged debate about the secrecy of government information and the people's right to know. We hav ...

Republicans are a Disease

  • Wikileaks Anyone?
    I. F. Stone “To suppress the truth in the name of national security is the surest way to undermine what we claim to be preserving”
  • Obama Just Lost 2012
    Caving this time cost you your job. Extending tax cuts for the filthy rich while giving crumbs to the starving makes me sick to my stomach. Just giving the Republicans everything they want without so much as a whimper. Barry, you are not a Democrat. In fact I want my money back.
  • Republicans, Don’t Listen to David Stockman
    If you are a Republican, you had better not listen to David Stockman, Reagan’s budget director that created the trickle down fantasy. If you accidentally listen to what he says, you would realize that more tax cuts, the main plank in the Republican platform is insane. He is not happy with President ...
  • Raise Taxes or Cut Taxes?
    Raising taxes, and spending the money wisely, and on programs that promote economic fairness, stimulates the economy. Cutting taxes on the filthy rich stimulates hoarding, and not the economy. They should teach this in kindergarten. Every single billionaire makes sure the media that serves him teach ...
  • Economic Treason
    The Republicans plan on retaking the White House by performing endless economic treason. Regardless what the president, and the Democrats do to repair our struggling economy, the Republicans will stand in the way. The can count on a corporate controlled press to never call them out for filibustering ...

Appalachia Rising

  • Day of Action and Conference Vision Statements
    Appalachia Rising: Day of Action September 25 – 27, 2010, Washington DC Appalachia Rising is a mass mobilization in Washington DC on September 27, 2010 calling for the abolition of mountaintop removal and surface mining. It is a culmination of the national movement against surface mining and a found ...
  • Press Conference to be Held on June 15
    Thousands to March in DC Calling for the Abolition of Mountaintop Removal Press Conference June 15 in Charleston, WV Announces Mass Mobilization Appalachia Rising WHEN: June 15, 10:00 AM WHERE: WV State Capitol Back Steps Near Fountain, Charleston, WV CONTACTS: West Virginia Bo Webb – 304-237-2688 o ...
  • Press Inquiries
    All media inquiries should be sent to Bo Webb webb.bo@gmail.com Set up interviews via email. Previous Press Releases and Media Public Launch Press Conference Report Back, with video Press Conference Held on June 15 Announces Appalachia Rising Video June 15 Appalachia Public Launch Press Conference H ...
  • New Flier for Appalachia Rising
  • Appalachia Rising Uniting Celebrities, Appalachian ...
    Appalachia Rising Uniting Celebrities, Appalachians, and Scientists for the Abolition of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining Ashley Judd, Woody Harrelson, Gloria Reuben, Kyra Sedgewick, Kevin Bacon, Ed Begley Jr., Kathy Mattea, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, James Hansen, and Darryl Hannah rallying behind coalfi ...

Amped Status

+972

  • Israel redefines the definition of Chutzpah
    After failing to take an incentive package from the United States in exchange for a freeze on settlement activity, Israel is asking for the incentive package anyway. Israel was reportedly offered 20 advanced war planes from the United States in exchange for a settlement freeze which would lead the w ...
  • Put out our fire and go back to where you came fro ...
    Doesn’t matter how you look at it, or what excuses you come up with. It’s just plain embarrassing So, how embarrassed was I when I read this news item today, about Palestinian firemen who helped put out the fire in the Carmel but were refused entry to Israel to honor their efforts? On a scale of [ ...
  • What “Enlightened Occupation” actually looked like
    Behind the scenes of the First Intifada – and of the occupation’s machinery today In late 1989 I participated, as a very minor cog, in a military campaign which unfortunately did not receive the acclamation it deserved. There is campaign ribbon; no headline mentions it; and its memorial day – if it ...
  • BTS: The birth of tragedy from the spirit of occup ...
    As any cultured person knows, the word “tragedy” originates in the world of theatre. Ancient tragedies were plays, written in dialogue. Contemproray tragedies are also written in dialogue, but they are not always works of poetry. Israeli organization “Breaking the Silence” (Hebrew: “Shovrim Shtika”) ...
  • Israel’s internal security service going aft ...
    Another activist received an invitation to a meeting with Shabak. After refusing, he was warned that it would be in his best interest to come Yesterday, I reported here on two members of the leftwing group Anarchists against the Wall that were invited to a meetings with a Shabak (Israel’s interna ...

Sustainability,water,etc - Oz gov't

Matt Weidner Blog

  • OH DEAR GOD: Regulators exist to ‘serve the banks, ...
    You think things are bad now? You think we’ve gotten a raw deal already?  You think we’ve all been looted and robbed and scammed and taken? “In Washington, the view is that the banks are to be regulated, and my view is that Washington and the regulators are there to serve the banks,” Bachus told [. ...
  • Legal Woes Mount For Foreclosure Kingpin
    The reports and investigations will continue to roll in…but will there be any relief for the homeowner who was victimized by such practices?  How many more families will be thrown into the streets while these investigations play out? The first sign of legal problems for LPS emerged earlier this yea ...
  • Florida’s Chief Justice- Justice is Alive!
    The Chief Justice of Florida’s Supreme Court recently sent very clear and direct orders to each of the Chief Judges in circuits all around this state, reminding them that Due Process and other important Constitutional Rights demands that our courtrooms be open and accessible to all Floridians.  Thi ...
  • Anatomy of Mortgage Fraud, Part I: (Big Time Econo ...
    This is all madness on such a grand scale that the biggest and brightest minds in our country are still struggling to wrap their heads around it.  No one has yet to provide any credible explanations that suggests this is anything other than absolute and complete MADNESS. The article is terrifying… ...
  • You Think You Got It Tough? Read This…and T ...
    We’re all fighting different battles and each one has its own highs and lows…but this one is a tough one….another example of an American that I cannot stand to see suffering….if we can’t figure out a way to keep this guy in his home, what kind of country are we? Naples Daily News Tweet this! [...]

abelard - news

The Parallel Parliament

  • Still Hazy After All These Years
    It took until the latter half of 2010 for the weaknesses of the Conservative government’s new foreign policy to come home to roost. I was in the crowd on Canada Day in front of the Peace Tower three years ago when the Prime Minister stated that “Canada is back” on the world stage as a [...]
  • A Special Group
    Last week I was asked to speak at the special recognition gathering for the maintenance staff on Parliament Hill. What a wonderful group of people, many of whom donated some three decades of service to making sure this place runs properly. I was more than thrilled to share how they had been of assis ...
  • The New War
    It’s not about Afghanistan, or peacekeeping. It doesn’t deal with expensive airplanes, troop numbers or NATO. It’s actually about ourselves and the unravelling of the seams that hold and characterize the many dimensions of this great expansive tapestry called Canada. We are quietly developing our ow ...
  • Christmas Lights at Parliament
    It’s magical and always inspirational. Each year, Parliament does a terrific job of making the buildings and grounds festive and welcoming. It’s obvious that those visiting Ottawa during the Christmas season are in for a real treat, but most don’t think of what a difference it makes to MPs. The few ...
  • Santa Claus Joins Ranks Of The Homeless
    Just in time for the global environment meetings in Cancun, Mexico, this country’s Environment Commissioner delivered a harsh report on the Conservative record in battling climate change. As it was being released, the Harper government was being awarded three “Fossil of the Day” awards. Alas, from b ...

Vaccine Awakening

  • Thousands Of Americans Register for NVIC's New Adv ...
    by Barbara Loe Fisher Thousands of Americans living in all 50 states took action and registered for the new NVIC Advocacy Portal at www.NVICadvocacy.org during Vaccine Awareness Week (Nov. 1-6, 2010) co-sponsored by the National Vaccine Information C ...
  • Vaccine Science: A Search for Truth
    by Barbara Loe Fisher February 2009 turned out to be a month when vaccine science was put on trial in the U.S. Court of Claims in Washington, D.C., in mainstream media and on the internet, in the British Medical Journal and in vaccine safety research initiatives by the U.S. Department of Health and ...
  • Talking Vaccine Science with Government: Why Do It ...
    by Barbara Loe Fisher After the historic election in November that saw Barack Obama elected President, I wondered what he and his Administration would do about addressing the question that is on the minds of many parents: Why are so many vaccinated children today chronically ill, suffering with lea ...
  • Vaccine Bullies & Fighting Back
    By Barbara Loe Fisher During the past decade, families in the United Kingdom, Canada and America have witnessed the demonization of brave doctors and parents of vaccine injured children. It has been both sickening and frightening to watch physicians and some journalists engage in a relentless perse ...
  • Doctor-Heroes Standing For Better Vaccine Science
    by Barbara Loe Fisher The cry that was heard around the world in the early 1980's, when mothers and fathers realized an old, crude pertussis vaccine was killing and damaging the brains of their children, is being echoed today by new generations of parents struggling to raise vaccine injured childre ...

2020 Science

  • Lost in the Maize
    My son Alex (13) and I have had a long-standing head-to-head on video games – should he be allowed to play first-person shooter games?  For those of you not plugged into the the gaming community, these are the games where you play out scenes and scenarios from the first person perspective of someon ...
  • US Nanotechnology Environmental, Health & Safety R ...
    The US National Nanotechnology Initiative’s latest iteration of its Environmental, Health and Safety Research Strategy has just been posted on-line for public comment.  Between now and January 6, anyone who is interested is encouraged to read the draft and comment on the on-line portal – hopefully ...
  • Lost in the Maize
    As you’ll have gathered from last week’s Lost in the Maize, I’ve been on the road this week.  In fact, I am writing this on the plane back to Detroit, looking forward to a quick wash, shave, sleep, and catch-up with family, before heading off to the Society for Risk Analysis annual meeting in Salt [ ...
  • Emerging technologies at the World Economic Forum ...
    In an interconnected world, global issues demand integrative solutions.  It’s a statement that many people would agree with – in systems where associations between cause and effect are complex, you ignore synergistic inter-relationships between factors at your peril. But when it comes to technology ...
  • Risk Science – A personal perspective
    As Director of the University of Michigan Risk Science Center, it’s probably not surprising that I’m constantly being asked “what on earth is risk science?”  What is surprising is how hard it is to come up with a clear and concise answer.  Which is why I decided to spend a good portion of my “inst ...

Reader Supported News

  • House Plans Vote on Military Gay Ban This Week
    The report begins: "In a new showdown on a volatile issue, the House this week will take up a bill that would overturn the military's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy on gays, Democratic leader Steny Hoyer revealed Tuesday." San Francisco: A supporter of same-sex marriage holds American and gay pri ...
  • BREAKING: British Judge Grants Julian Assange Bail
    The Associated Press is reporting that a British judge granted bail to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Tuesday, but he remained in custody pending a possible appeal. Julian Assange arrives in a police vehicle for his court appearance, 12/14/10. (photo: AFP) Sorry, your browser cannot ...
  • Holbrooke's Last Words: End the War in Afghanistan
    Lachlan Carmichael reports: "As he was sedated and going in for surgery, Holbrooke had some stark words: 'You've got to stop this war in Afghanistan,' he told his Pakistani surgeon, The Washington Post reported Tuesday, citing unnamed family members." Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pa ...
  • Julian Assange Makes Statement From Jail
    Article summary: "WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gave a statement through his mother Tuesday that he would stand strong as he made his second court appearance on allegations of sexual misconduct." Julian Assange arrives to hold a press conference at Park Plaza Hotel in London, England, 10/23/10 ...
  • Woman's Foreclosure Nightmare: "Like a Black ...
    The report begins: "State prosecutors from all 50 states are investigating the country's largest banks, to learn whether they have been foreclosing on thousands of Americans improperly. The banks say they do not seize people's houses without justification. But NPR has uncovered a case that might sug ...

War Resisters League

  • Join the Online Demonstration for Peace in Korea - ...
    President Obama is sending the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington (carrying 75 warplanes and a crew of over 6000) and other warships for additional war-games with the South Korean military beginning Sunday, November 28.� This only escalates the already tense situation on the Kore ...
  • IVAW Women’s Retreat this weekend!
    Dear Supporters, My name is Joyce Wagner. I am a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq in 2004 and 2005, and I am a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. This Labor Day, IVAW women will hold our first ever retreat in support of women veterans. Your donation today will help us make [...]
  • Protest nuclear warhead test launch tomorrow!
    Protest September 14, 11:55 pm (midnight) missile launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base: NOTE 09/14/10: THIS LAUNCH AND PROTEST HAVE BEEN CANCELED– More info to come! Join the protest of the test launch of a Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) thermo-nuclear warhead delivery system ...
  • International Days of Action in Solidarity with Br ...
    Support Bradley Manning! Oakland, California, USA Thursday, September 16th, 7-9pm Humanist Hall, 390 27th Street, Oakland CA (Between Telegraph and Broadway) Speakers: DANIEL ELLSBERG, Pentagon Papers whistle-blower COL. ANN WRIGHT (ret.), former US diplomat RAY MCGOVERN, former CIA analyst AIMEE AL ...
  • March for Justice on October 2!
    What: One Nation Working Together Who: A broad-based national coalition of labor, racial and economic justice groups, community organizations, and antiwar organizations. Where: Washington D.C. on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial When: Saturday, October 2 Dear fellow War Resisters, As the U.S. expen ...

Center for a Livable Future

  • Fair Food in Our 21st Century Economy
    Last Wednesday, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) held the last of a series of joint workshops on “Agriculture and Antitrust Enforcement Issues in Our 21st Century Economy.” This particular workshop was held at the USDA in Washington D.C. and focu ...
  • Drug amounts for food animals now reported by FDA: ...
    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a report last Thursday (Dec 9, 2010) that 13.1 million kilograms of antimicrobial drugs were sold or distributed for use in food-producing animals in 2009 in the United States (pdf). Why is this important? It represents the first time the FDA has repo ...
  • Can Organic Farming Feed the World?
    Charles Benbrook, PhD, visiting CLF’s offices earlier this week, sat down with CLF staff to discuss a wide variety of topics, including the future promise of organic farming. Following his keynote lecture at the Polly Walker Ecology Fund, the Livablefutureblog asked the Organic Center’s Chief Scient ...
  • Is There a CAFO in Your Neighborhood?
    National consumer advocacy organization Food & Water Watch (FWW) just released the latest version of its Factory Farm Map, which charts the concentration of factory-farmed animals across the country and their subsequent affect on human health, communities and the environment. As most factory farmer ...
  • CDC responds to CLF on antibiotic resistance testi ...
    The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, confirms that the CDC “feels there is strong scientific evidence of a link between antibiotic use in food animals and antibiotic resistance in humans.” Frieden offered the CDC’s position in his response to a lette ...

A special project of Foreign Policy and the New America Foundation

  • Crazy Like a Fox
    In a fit of anger, Hamid Karzai axes his director of intelligence, Amrullah Saleh. But is there method to his madness?
  • Addicted to Contractors
    The United States is hooked on privatized warfare in Afghanistan. And it's more costly than you think.
  • How to Whip the Afghan Army Into Shape
    Much of President Barack Obama's strategy rests on the creation of a new, more competent Afghan military. Here's what he'll need to know to get the job done.
  • Obama's Indecent Interval
    Despite the U.S. president's pleas to the contrary, the war in Afghanistan looks more like Vietnam than ever.
  • Divide and Conquer
    At an upcoming conference in London, the Afghan government will unveil its plan to bring the Taliban rank and file back into the political fold -- and plead for international assistance for its new initiative. 

Field Notes - Alberta Environment

  • Action Alert: Demand Indigenous Water Rights are p ...
    Sierra Club Prairie 14 Dec 2010 (All day) Tell the Alberta and Canadian Governments to ensure Treaty rights are protected by ensuring Indigenous Baseline Water Flow needs are upheld wi ...
  • Pembina Institute welcomes new executive director
    An avid birder with an MBA plans to continue âtough but fairâ approach Pembina Institute 13 Dec 2010 CALGARY, AB — Starting in ...
  • Moving Forward from Bill 29
    Alberta Wilderness Association Following the withdrawal of the draft Alberta Parks Act, the Alberta Wilderness Association has posted its letter to the Alberta Minister of Tourism, Parks, and Recreation (pdf) in order to "emphasize those cri ...
  • Field Notes: News from AEN Member Groups
    Melissa Gorrie posts on the Ecojustice Canada blog about the Carbon Capture and Storage Statutes Amendment Act and why Albertans… "…should be concerned about the risks the government is taking with their health and the ecosystem and must call on government to amend this legislation before it ...
  • Tailings regulations all bark, no bite
    ERCB says it can exempt oilsands operators from meeting its regulations Ecojustice Pembina Institute Water Matters ...

Stop NATO

  • U.S. Builds Military Alliance With Japan, South Ko ...
    Stop NATO December 14, 2010 U.S. Builds Military Alliance With Japan, South Korea For War In The East Rick Rozoff Last week Secretary of State Hillary Clinton summoned her Japanese and South Korean counterparts, Foreign Ministers Seiji Maehara and Kim Sung-hwan, to Washington for trilateral talks on ...
  • White House Intensifies Military Buildup In Poland
    Stop NATO December 10, 2010 White House Intensifies Military Buildup In Poland Rick Rozoff Immediately on the heels of reports in the Guardian and other Western news media that the U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization has crafted a strategy to intervene with nine army divisions in the Baltic ...
  • NATO Develops Plans For Military Confrontation Wit ...
    Stop NATO December 8, 2010 NATO Develops Plans For Military Confrontation With Russia In Baltic Rick Rozoff This week plans for U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization military intervention in the Baltic Sea region gained attention after information from American State Department cables released ...
  • U.S. And NATO Allies Escalate Military Buildup Aga ...
    Stop NATO December 6, 2010 U.S. And NATO Allies Escalate Military Buildup Against Iran Rick Rozoff The new Strategic Concept adopted by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization at its summit in Lisbon, Portugal on November 19-20 reiterated the U.S.-led military bloc’s determination to expand military ...
  • North Korea As Pretext: U.S. Builds Asian Military ...
    Stop NATO December 3, 2010 North Korea As Pretext: U.S. Builds Asian Military Alliance Against China And Russia Rick Rozoff On December 1 the U.S. and its South Korean military ally completed four days of naval maneuvers in the Yellow Sea where China claims a 200-mile exclusive economic zone. The U. ...

Before It's News

Intel Hub

  • Florida School Board Meeting Shooting Caught On Vi ...
    MK Ultra anyone? (CNN) — Clay Duke sat quietly through the first portion of the Bay District Schools, Florida, school board meeting Tuesday afternoon as local children were honored for their achievements. When it came time for citizens to bring up issues, the 56-year-old resident calmly approached t ...
  • World Aids Day Fraud Special – Joan Shenton ...
    The Intel Hub News Networks World Aids Fraud Special! We had some exciting guests on the show including Robert Scott Bell, Terry Michael, Joan Shenton,and Liam Scheff. With your hosts Bob Tuskin, Shepard Ambellas and more! HIV/AIDS prescribed medicine has killed innocent victims of one the world’s g ...
  • 10 Signs That Confidence In U.S. Treasuries Is Dyi ...
    The Economic Collapse Selling government debt is a gigantic confidence game.  For decades, investors all over the globe have gobbled up massive amounts of U.S. debt at incredibly low interest rates because they believed that it was a certainly that they would be paid back and be able to make a littl ...
  • Global Elites Push to Starve the World and Control ...
    Dr. Laurie Roth NewsWithViews The push by global elitists to control the world’s food supply is collecting dangerous and globalist bed buddies. Monsanto, the globalist Agribusiness giant has now bought Blackwater, a huge, well funded and controversial, mercenary group. Blackwater has recently change ...
  • The Latest Outrage in Tyranny USA — Man Shot ...
    The Intel Hub Murders like this will continue to increase as long as DHS continues its push to label everyday Americans as terrorists. Through fusion centers and other DHS programs, police officers throughout America are being brainwashed into the belief that American citizens are the enemy. On the ...

FRS

  • Women’s movement in Haiti is building and cr ...
    From SF Bay View–National Black Newspaper, December 14, 2010   www.sfbayview.org by Sokari Ekine Rea Dol, director and founder of SOPUDEP, receives an impromtu hug from a passing student. â Photo: Lucas Oleniuk, Toronto Star Thousands of words have been written about Haiti in the past 12 months cov ...
  • Haitians say, ‘Goodbye, UN! Bon voyage!
    From San Francisco Bay View–National Black Newspaper, December 14, 2010       www.sfbayview.org HLLN letter to Edmond Mulet on behalf of the people demonstrating against the UN and the sham elections by Ezili Dantò, HLLN   On election day, the presence of MINUSTAH on every corner of Port au Prin ...
  • Two articles by political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal ...
    From the San Francisco Bay View website    www.sfbayview.com No matter how much you know about Mumia, you’re sure to find something new and exciting here – beginning with an introduction that sets the scene,  then Mumia’s latest essay, “The dirty game (POLITICS)”,  then an open letter he wrote in 19 ...
  • Social isolation prison units for Muslims, in the ...
    CMUs: The Federal Prisons’ Experiment in Social Isolation By the Center for Constitutional Rights   www.ccrjustice.org What is a Communications Management Unit (CMU)? In 2006 and 2008, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP or âBureauâ) secretly created the Communications Management Units (CMUs), priso ...
  • Nepal: Revolutionary Maoist Baidhya describes lead ...
    Revolt is plenum’s mandate: Baidhya HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE 2010-12-13 KATHMANDU: Vice-Chairman of the UCPN-Maoist Mohan Baidhya âKiranâ today said the partyâs sixth extended meeting had mandated it to launch a âpeopleâs revoltâ. Addressing an interaction on âNational Independence and Peopleâs Republ ...

Ken O'Keefe

  • TJP Liberty Report from Gaza ‘Life in Jabaly ...
    My latest video report from Gaza.
  • BBC Panorama ‘Death in the Med’ is 100 ...
    This is a letter from Ted (from Liverpool) who pretty much dismantles BBC; please share. Aloha Ted, An absolute joy to read.  I will be spreading this enthusiastically and look forward to seeing how many of the “journalists” at the BBC manage to report the truth about their disgusting propaganda pi ...
  • TJP Liberty Report from Gaza ‘Story of Areej ...
    Throughout my time in Palestine I am constantly reminded of how I would feel as a parent to endure not being able to provide all that a child needs.  Whether it be proper food on the table, clean drinking water, schools and supplies or that most basic need of loving security, all of these things [.. ...
  • ‘Why I am not writing on Palestine Think Tank anym ...
    Through the fog of deception – By Nahida âWhy I am not writing on Palestine Think Tank anymoreâ PeaceMonger asked ââ¦Nahida, what happened to your article from last year on Palestine Think Tank? â ============================================= In April 2010, after years of association, contribution a ...
  • The Strategy of Recognizing Our Enemies, or Why We ...
    The second category of enemies are those who on the surface would appear to be allies - our esteemed fellow conservationists. Unfortunately, Sea Shepherd is the "Lady of the Night" of the conservation movement. Many of our allies do agree with our objectives in the daytime but they don't want to be ...

StillSmallVoice

Associated Content

  • Richard Holbrooke, Diplomat, Journalist, Businessm ...
    Richard Holbrooke, a longtime State Department official, diplomat in various Democratic administrations, businessman and journalist, has died from the complications of a torn aorta suffered recently. He was 69.Contributor: Mark Whittington Published: Dec 14, 2010
  • Springfield Mayor's Sudden Death Echoes Another Il ...
    The unusual death of Springfield, Ill. Mayor Timothy Davlin has some parallels to that of former Chicago Mayor Harold Washington.Contributor: Ken Green Published: Dec 14, 2010
  • Golden Globe Nominations 2011 (Complete List): 'Th ...
    Nominations for the 2011 Golden Globe Awards (the 68th annual), held to honor the outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry for 2010, were announced in Los Angeles Tuesday morning. The British import "The King's Speech," a movie that...Contributor: Saul Relative Published: Dec 14, 2010
  • Will Prince Charles Step Aside and Allow William t ...
    Two recent polls in Britain reveal that the British public would prefer Prince William to become the country's next king, rather than his father, Prince Charles, who is next in line.Contributor: Angie Mohr Published: Dec 14, 2010
  • Judge Rules Against HCR Requirement for Americans ...
    The requirement for Americans to purchase a medical insurance policy is hotly contested. How long will it take for all of the lawsuits against health care reform to reach decisions?Contributor: Julia Bodeeb Published: Dec 13, 2010

Popsci - Science

  • Via Stem Cell Transplant, German Doctors Say They' ...
    A huge story with implications that aren’t all immediately clear is emerging in Berlin this week: doctors treating an HIV-infected with leukemia believe they have, in a roundabout way, cured his HIV infection via a stem cell transplant containing cells that happened to be impervious to HIV infectio ...
  • Deep Below South Dakota, a Mine Becomes a Physics ...
    For traditional mining culture as well as particle physics, it's a real scientific gold mine A group of former miners’ exhaustive knowledge of the Homestake Gold Mine will aid the search for cosmic particles like dark matter and neutrinos. Homestake, with 370 miles of tunnels that plunge up to 8,00 ...
  • Researchers Genetically Modify Living Cells to Com ...
    Roboticists have put a lot of time and effort into creating machines that function like living things, but what about living things that function like computers? Synthetic biologists at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden have taken a rather large step in that direction by creating genetically m ...
  • The Most Amazing Science Images of 2010
    Launch the gallery below, and enjoy our favorite pictures of the year, all in one place Every issue of Popular Science begins with two amazing, full-page images in a section called Megapixels. Here we have assembled all of those beautiful images from this year's issues and supplemented them with mu ...
  • Gallery: The Most Amazing Science Images of 2010

    Blacklisted News

    The Intelligence Daily

    My AntiWar

    CASMII - Campaign against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran

    • Who is Behind Wikileaks?
      Summary: At the outset in early 2007, Wikileaks acknowledged that the project had been "founded by Chinese dissidents, mathematicians and startup company technologists, from the US, Taiwan, Europe, Australia and South Africa.... [Its advisory board] includes representatives from expat Russian ...
    • AUSTRALIAN INTELLIGENCE FEARED ISRAEL MAY LAUNCH A ...
      Summary: A report in Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald today says that Australia’s intelligence agencies feared that Israel would launch an attack against Iran which might draw both the US and Australia into a potential nuclear war in the Middle East. source: Lataan Blogspotread more
    • Time to Talk (Properly) to Iran
      Summary: So I think the whole issue of nuclear arms in Iran is related to the regime’s insecurity and this may relate to one of your questions earlier about whether the United States should have a dialogue with Iran. I think if they do, it would go a long way toward helping the regime feel comf ...
    • Leaks Suggest Iran Is Now Winning in the Middle Ea ...
      Summary: Iran is winning and Israel is losing. That is the startling conclusion we reach if we consider how things have changed in the Middle East in the two years since most of the WikiLeaks State Department cables about Iran’s regional difficulties were written. source: Truthdigread more
    • The US, Iran, Disney and diplomacy
      Summary: Khouri Her one-way admonition on “restoring confidence” is not convincing, given that Iran and many others in the region are deeply dubious of American sincerity in this process, in view of several instances in recent years when the United States had a chance to break through to an agre ...

    The Daily Galaxy

    • Titan: Saturn's Gigantic Organic-Chemicals Factory ...
      "Titan is just covered in carbon-bearing material -- it's a giant factory of organic chemicals." "We are carbon-based life, and understanding how far along the chain of complexity towards life that chemistry can go in an environment like Titan will...
    • Great Eruption of August 1, 2010: An Entire Hemisp ...
      On August 1, 2010, an entire hemisphere of the sun erupted. Filaments of magnetism snapped and exploded, shock waves raced across the stellar surface, billion-ton clouds of hot gas billowed into space. Astronomers knew they had observed something BIG! And...
    • New Ice Volcano Sighted on Saturn's Moon Titan -Ma ...
      Sotra, a volcano more than 3,000 feet tall surrounded by giant sand dunes, with a one mile deep pit alongside it has been discovered on Titan by scientists using NASA's Cassini spacecraft to map the moon. So far only about...
    • Russia's Soyuz TMA 19 Launches Today: New, Primary ...
      This image shows the launcher carrying the Soyuz TMA spacecraft on its way to today's launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, scheduled for 20:09 CET. The single-use Soyuz will carry NASA astronaut Catherine Coleman, Russian cosmonaut Dmitry Kondratyev...
    • Image of the Day: Monster Stars of the Universe
      A young, glittering collection of stars surrounded by clouds of interstellar gas and dust—the raw material for new star formation. This nebula, located 20,000 light years away, in the constellation Carina, contains a central cluster of huge, hot stars called...

    Natural News

    • Health freedom attorney Jonathan Emord speaks out ...
      (NaturalNews) Following the recent court decision of U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson, who ruled that a key provision of Obama's health care plan is unconstitutional, I spoke with health freedom attorney Jonathan Emord about the implications of this important ruling.Jonathan Emord is currently repre ...
    • Group urges NIH to require public disclosure of me ...
      (NaturalNews) Industry-funded investigators and researchers that are also on the payroll of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) often go unnoticed because no rule exists requiring them to make such information public. But in an effort to increase transparency, honesty, and full disclosure within ...
    • Scans prove that acupuncture induces clear metabol ...
      (NaturalNews) New research adds more evidence proving that acupuncture is effective at reducing and eliminating pain. Presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), the new findings include functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans that clearly show a p ...
    • Pilot faked his way as a prestigious doctor for 20 ...
      (NaturalNews) Dr William Hamman is a prestigious cardiologist with high-ranking posts at universities and hospitals. He led teamwork training sessions at the American College of Cardiology and was recognized and supported by the American Medical Association. He received millions of dollars in medica ...
    • Fight prostate cancer with pomegranates
      (NaturalNews) Researchers from the University of California, Riverside, have identified yet another medicinal use for the pomegranate. According to Manuela Martins-Green, a professor of cell biology and author of the recent study, certain pomegranate compounds work to fight prostate cancer cells and ...

    Threat Level

    • Warrant Needed to Get Your E-Mail, Appeals Court S ...
      The government must obtain a court warrant to require internet service providers to turn over stored e-mail to the authorities, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The decision by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was the first time an appellate court said Americans had that Fourth Amendment ...
    • Court Upholds Ban on World of Warcraft Bot
      A federal appeals panel on Tuesday upheld a lower court’s 2009 injunction barring the distribution of a computer program that automatically plays the lower levels of World of Warcraft, sparing a gamer the tedium of their character’s experience. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the Glider ...
    • WikiLeaks Founder Granted Bail, With Conditions
      WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was granted bail, with conditions, this morning by a London judge, but Swedish prosecutors may block his release. If released, Assange must surrender his passport and agree to travel restrictions, adhere to a curfew and wear an electronic tracking device. He must re ...
    • WikiLeaks Spending Rises Dramatically to $500,000
      WikiLeaks’ expenditures have risen dramatically from a paltry $38,000 between October 2009 and July 2010 to more than $495,000 in the last five months, according to a foundation that manages most of the organization’s donations. The jump in expenses appears to be due to salaries the organization re ...
    • Report: Federal Grand Jury Considering Charges Aga ...
      A U.S. federal grand jury is reportedly meeting to consider possible criminal charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, according to a lawyer for Assange. The grand jury has met secretly in Alexandria, Virginia, according to Mark Stephens, an attorney for Assange. U.S. Attorney General Eric ...

    PERRspectives : Blog

    • Pawlenty, Palin Push GOP War on Public Employees
      Move over, welfare queens, IRS agents and trial lawyers. The Republican Party has a new bogeyman: the public employee. With a sluggish U.S. economy, cash-strapped states and under-funded pension programs, Tim Pawlenty, Sarah Palin and other leading lights of the GOP are scape-goating government wo ...
    • John Boehner's 60 Minutes of Hypocrisy
      On Sunday, incoming House Speaker John Boehner had his prime time debut on CBS 60 Minutes. Proclaiming "I reject the word" compromise, Boehner made clear that past performance would be a guarantee of future results. But even more pathetic was his staggering hypocrisy. After all, Boehner claimed t ...
    • Palin Endorses Medicare Rationing
      Fresh off her pronouncements on the Fed's "quantitative easing" and federal aid to the states, Sarah Palin this week added the deficit and Medicare to her Potemkin façade of policy expertise. A year after she first endorsed converting Medicare into a voucher program, Palin took to the pages of the ...
    • Billionaires, House Dems Spotlight Estate Tax Give ...
      One day before the House Democratic caucus voiced its opposition to President Obama's tax cut deal with Senate Republicans, Speaker Nancy Pelosi focused on the estate tax as adding insult to injury. But Pelosi isn't alone in shining a spotlight on an estate tax proposal that would drain the U.S. Tr ...
    • The Republican War on the States
      For years, American federalism has been characterized by "red state socialism," the one way flow of federal dollars from blue state taxpayers to red state recipients. For example, Sarah Palin's home state of Alaska ranked third in federal tax dollars received per dollar of taxes paid by state resid ...

    Blackspot News Feed

    • The Great Tax Cut Debate - Myths and Facts
      In the lame-duck Congress agenda, perhaps the most substantive debate is over whether to continue tax breaks for the rich. President Obama and most Congressional Democrats want to extend the Bush tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans, everyone making under $250,000. Republicans want to extend the tax ...
    • What Landslide?: A Closer Look at the Midterm Elec ...
      By now, everyone has heard of the conservative "tidal wave" that has overtaken Congress and most gubernatorial seats throughout the U.S. Indeed, anyone who has watched mainstream media coverage probably understands the midterm election results as a "rebuke of Obama's policies," with the "Tea Party m ...
    • INS Targets Community Leaders, Not Criminals
      When people the world over think of Arizona nowadays, they generally think of Governor Jan Brewer, Sheriff Joe Arpaio or state representative Russell Pearce – the poster children of the state's move toward legalized discrimination and racial profiling. If they are closely following the politics of t ...
    • Dancing with Dynamite:How Citizens Can be More Tha ...
      Two years ago, President Obama sailed into the White House on the winds of voters’ desire for widespread social change and their disgust with two wars and a massive recession associated with George W. Bush. Only two years into his presidency and the concurrent Democratic takeover of Congress, howeve ...
    • Pope Says Condoms Acceptable 'In Certain Cases'
      Until now, the Vatican had prohibited the use of any form of contraception -- other than abstinence -- even as a guard against sexually transmitted disease.

    Consortium News

    • 'Giant' Holbrooke Failed on Afghan War
      Eulogies are pouring in for US 'Afghan War' envoy Richard Holbrooke, but is all this praise warranted, asks Ray McGovern. December 14, 2010
    • The War to Silence WikiLeaks
      The US assault on WikiLeaks raises doubts about the nation's commitment to freedom of the press, argues Elliot D. Cohen. December 13, 2010
    • WikiLeaks and the Power of Truth
      The WikiLeaks' disclosures offer detail and context to government actions that strengthen democracy, writes Rory O'Connor. December 13, 2010
    • Bush v. Gore's Dark American Decade
      Ten years ago, five Republican US Supreme Court justices put the country on a path toward disaster, recalls Robert Parry. December 12, 2010
    • How the Right Shapes US 'Reality'
      From global warming to foreign wars, the Right shapes the "reality" of many Americans, observes Lawrence Davidson. December 11, 2010

    CounterPunch

    Institute for Middle East Understanding

    Water - AlterNet

    Public Citizen in Texas

    • Foreign imports of coal could drive energy prices ...
      China and India may increase imports of coal by 78 percent to 337 million metric tons next year, with China buying more than it exports next year.  This would  further drive up prices from the highest in two years as the imports divert supplies from Europe to Asia. China added about 51 gigawatts of ...
    • Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety and Health Act up for a ...
      The explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine killed 29 miners and introduced the country to a caricature of a heartless CEO, Massey Energy’s Don Blankenship (who just last week announced his retirement). If ever there was a moment for forward progress on workplace health and safety, it was in the wake ...
    • Supreme Court set to review CO2 suits
      In an article today by BRENT KENDALL And TENNILLE TRACY of the Washington post, they write that the Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether eight states and other plaintiffs can proceed with lawsuits that seek to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by utilities. Read more about the Supreme Court, inc ...
    • Midwest Academy Training [Flickr]
      Public Citizen Texas posted a photo:
    • Melissa Sanchez at Old Settlers Music Festival 200 ...
      Public Citizen Texas posted a photo: Mellisa enjoys cooking in the rain

    Unexplained Mysteries

    • Potential ice volcanoes found on Titan
      NASA's Cassini spacecraft has spotted what could be ice volcanoes on one of Saturn's moons. Long suspected to exist on ice-rich worlds the possibility...
    • Pompeii skeletons reveal secrets
      The remains of those who died in the volcanic eruption that destroyed Pompeii continue to yield new insights. Scientists examining the skeletons and t...
    • 2000-year-old pills found in Greek shipwreck
      Scientists have analysed 2,000 year-old-pills prepared by the physicians of ancient Greece. Discovered in the wreck of a ship that sunk off the coast ...
    • Dinsdale insists Nessie photos were real
      Simon Dinsdale has insisted that his father's two-minute film of the Loch Ness Monster is genuine. The film originally shot in 1960 by Tim Dinsdale wa...
    • 2,400 year-old soup unearthed in China
      Liquid found inside an ancient bronze cooking pot is believed to be a sample of 2,400 year-old soup. The find was made near the ancient capital of Xia...

    Grassroots

    • Setting the Standard for Global Resource Rights De ...
      4420078955_43729050f0_b.jpg The United Nations designates December 10 as International Human Rights Day. At Grassroots International, we give special recognition to the efforts of our partners and allies around the world—but for them, it’s jus ...
    • "Miami Rice": The Business of Disaster in Haiti
      Outside Author Info Outside Author Bio:� Beverly Bell is the founder and Coordinating Committee Member and Program Coordinator of Other Worlds, which is a Grassroots International ally. She has worked with Haitian social movements for over 30 years. Grassr ...
    • The global forum “For Life, Environmental and Soci ...
      viamarch.jpg By�Cloc/The Via Campesina(Cancún, 5 December 2010) One idea dominated the opening and first working day of the global forum �For Life, Environmental and Social Justice�, organized by La Via Campesina and its allies at their camp i ...
    • New Map Shows Concentration of Factory Farms
      Subheadline:� Food & Water Watch Analysis Finds Livestock on Factory Farms Grew by 20 Percent in 5 Years Outside Author Info Outside Author Bio:� Food & Water Watch (a Grassroots International ...
    • International Solidarity Cools the Planet
      cancuns.jpg by Sara Mersharead more

    Climate

    GreenBiz

    Reuters Global

    • After Holbrooke, chances of political settlement i ...
      U.S. envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke would have come into his own as and when efforts to reach a political settlement began to take shape. His death leaves a big gap.
    • The long and short of it
      With many expecting reasonable growth and favouring stocks, why women's hemlines getting longer?
    • Top 10 from my Nobel night
      The Nobel banquet must be one of the most extravagent annual dinner events on the planet. Every year the organisers allow a few journalists to join the festivities and rub shoulders with prize winners, royalty and other notables. This year, I got to go. The food and wine were certainly fit for a kin ...
    • China’s rebalancing act puts consumer to the ...
      China's consumption has been growing. Quite fast, in fact. Yet it still acounts for just a third of GDP, compared with around 60 percent in Europe and about 70 percentin the United States. But that is starting to fundamentally change. A Reuters Special Report by Alan Wheatley, "The Chinese Consumer ...
    • This year’s Nobel winner on the importance of a go ...
      The most important thing that ever happened to newly minted Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa? It wasn’t the news two months ago that he had won the prize for literature, or the first time he ever published a book. It was, he said, learning how to read.

    Booman Tribune

    • How's This For Job Security?
      Marty Aussenberg is a columnist for the weekly Memphis Flyer, in which an earlier version of this piece appeared. He is a former SEC enforcement official (back when its reputation was still intact), and is currently an attorney in Memphis, Tennessee. Something very rare occurred in Washington, D. ...
    • Why So Complacent?
      I'm not saying it is necessarily a good thing that Italians are occupying trains stations and airport runways because they hate Silvio Berlusconi and don't want him to be their president prime minister anymore. But it does kill one of my theories for why Americans don't go really nuts anymore. Aft ...
    • God is Angry: Stem Cells Cure AIDS
      Somewhere Republican Jesus is crying tonight. Why? Because apparently stem cells have been used to cure a man who was infected with AIDS. "The man received bone marrow from a donor who had natural resistance to HIV infection; this was due to a genetic profile which led to the CCR5 co-receptor ...
    • Tax Compromise Will Go Through
      It looks like Obama won't have any difficulty getting his tax compromise passed. I watched Jon Kyl extolling its virtues on the Senate floor this morning. What really struck me was the sight of Jon Kyl talking up the virtues of a bill that will do as much damage to the budget deficit as the Stimul ...
    • Hey Tea Party! Lookie Here!
      I know what I want to be when I grow up. A bank. A really, really big bank with a Republican Sugar Daddy like -- oh, say -- this guy: Rep. Spencer Bachus House Republicans on Wednes­day promoted Bachus to chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, which has wide juris­diction over banks ...

    European Tribune

    Futurismic

    • Personal Information: episode 24
      Personal Information is a new serial sci-fi webcomic from Sarah “Does Not Equal” Ennals. Follow Futurismic on Twitter for more nuggets of near-future fun and weirdness! Share and Enjoy:Follow Futurismic on Twitter for more nuggets of near-future fun and weirdness!
    • Arguments against life extension
      Via Michael Anissimov, here’s a spectacularly empty diatribe against “deathhackers” by TechCrunch‘s Paul Carr. Carr objects to the idea of radical life extension as advocated by transhumanists, which is fair enough, but as written here most of his objections seem to boil down to personal distate tow ...
    • Daddy, where does innovation come from?
      Plenty of folk have been linking to this excerpt from Matt Ridley’s new book The Rational Optimist, and with good reason – it’s a provocative piece that plays to advocates (and opponents) of free trade, open exchange, copyright reform and much more. The basic thesis? The one persistent factor that h ...
    • Replacement arms: mechanical or biological?
      Prosthetic limbs are still in their infancy, but there’s a lot of progress being made: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory is working with Darpa (who else?), and has a research grant for trying out their mind-controlled modular prosthetic arm on five test subjects over the next couple of years ...
    • How to be a futurist
      The irrepressible Scott “Basic Instructions” Meyer has the lowdown if you’re thinking of a career in futurism: Click through for the whole thing. But take it from me, being a futurist is a lot of work for no money. Or maybe that’s just the way I do it… and I’ve never been featured in a [...]Follow F ...

    Therapy News

    • Revisiting the Money and Happiness Connection
      A GoodTherapy.org News Headline A worldwide poll published earlier this year showed that money only goes so far when it comes to providing happiness and life satisfaction. A new study by famed economist Richard Easterlin and peers looked at the income-happiness relationship with a long-term lens, su ...
    • The Importance of Being Recognized
      By Delyse Ledgard, MA, RCC, Family of Origin Issues Topic Expert Contributor Click here to contact Delyse and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile This article examines the importance of being recognized and validated to our development and sense of self. We know that when we focus on some aspect of ...
    • Body Shame: The Far End of Negative Body Image
      A GoodTherapy.org News Summary Negative body image can be the result of many factors: external criticism, media standards, feelings of failure in other areas of life, social isolation – the list goes on. But when a therapist or counselor works with patients who have poor self-image esteem, some of t ...
    • Overcoming Anxiety in an Anxious Era
      A GoodTherapy.org News Headline Along with depression, anxiety is a very common reason for people to find a therapist or counselor to work with. A combination of stress and worry, anxiety often prevents a person from relaxing and feeling safe. This underlying tendency can be exacerbated when global ...
    • Access to Care Does Not Guarantee the Care Will Wo ...
      A GoodTherapy.org News Headline The new health care bill will expand the number of children who have access to counseling, therapy, and mental and behavioral health care, including treatment for ADHD. But a new report suggests that Medicaid-funded ADHD treatment, though more accessible, has not been ...

    Mountaintop Removal

    • 'Roadmaps to New Power': Interview with Coalfields ...
      'Roadmaps to New Power': Interview with Coalfields Leader Lorelei Scarbro The Indypendent Living on the frontlines of arguably the nation's most important coal mining battle�the battle of mountaintop removal vs. wind energy on ... Minefields, Not Coalfields: Should Big Coal Change For Mountaintop R ...
    • ADEM releases new coal mining permits in central A ...
      ADEM releases new coal mining permits in central Alabama SteelGuru EPA's scrutiny of mining grew out of the controversial practice of mountaintop removal as it is employed in Kentucky and West Virginia. ...
    • Confronting India's Coal Rush: Interview with Jhar ...
      Confronting India's Coal Rush: Interview with Jharkhand Activist Bulu Imam AlterNet (blog) BI: The type of mines is open-cast coal mining or what you call strip mining very similar to mountain top removal in the Appalachians. ... and more��
    • GAO issues report on EPA mining crackdown - Charle ...
      American Rivers (blog) GAO issues report on EPA mining crackdown Charleston Gazette (blog) The US Government Accountability Office just issued a long-awaited review of the Obama administration's crackdown on mountaintop removal coal mining in ... Stand up for Appalachia!American Rivers (blog) all ...
    • New coal mining permits surge in central Alabama, ...
      al.com (blog) New coal mining permits surge in central Alabama, especially in Black Warrior ... al.com (blog) EPA's scrutiny of mining grew out of the controversial practice of "mountaintop removal" as it is employed in Kentucky and West Virginia, Gidiere said. ...

    Memeorandum

    • G.O.P. Panelists Dissent on Cause of Crisis (Sewel ...
      Sewell Chan / New York Times: G.O.P. Panelists Dissent on Cause of Crisis  —  WASHINGTON — The Republican members of the commission appointed by Congress to investigate the causes of the financial crisis plan to release on Wednesday a document that assigns government housing policies substantial bl ...
    • For immediate release - Information received since ...
      Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System: For immediate release  —  Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in November confirms that the economic recovery is continuing, though at a rate that has been insufficient to bring down unemployment.  Household spending is ...
    • Assange's Extremist Employees (Michael C. Moynihan ...
      Michael C. Moynihan / Reason: Assange's Extremist Employees  —  Why is WikiLeaks employing a well-known Holocaust denier and his disgraced son?  —  Last week, I wrote that the widely-linked article positing that the CIA was behind a Swedish woman's accusation of rape against Julian Assange was auth ...
    • Assange spends another night in jail (Guardian)
      Guardian: Assange spends another night in jail  —  Appeal will be heard in the high court this week against decision to free WikiLeaks founder on bail, on grounds that he may flee  —  Sweden has decided to fight a British judge's decision to grant bail to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange …
    • Breaking News on EFF Victory: Appeals Court Holds ...
      Electronic Frontier Foundation: Breaking News on EFF Victory: Appeals Court Holds that Email Privacy Protected by Fourth Amendment  —  In a landmark decision issued today in the criminal appeal of U.S. v. Warshak, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the government must have a search w ...

    Energy & Environment News

    5+ quakes - 7 days

    China Dialogue

    • Riding red tracks
      On an epic journey through China, Andre Vltchek was stunned by the quality of public transport. Here, he argues socialist central planning is to thank – and that other countries should take note.The “Asian Tigers” of the past, now grappling with shambolic infrastructure, are watching with envy and d ...
    • Lights out in a US bulb factory
      As clean-energy rules and high manufacturing costs force GE to close a Virginia plant, the company looks to China. Meanwhile, Americans are asking where the promised green jobs are. Edward Helmore reports.Nestled in the orchards of the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, the city of Winchester has seen i ...
    • The power of public disclosure
      Fixing a nation’s environmental crisis takes more than top-down decrees, writes Ma Jun. Beijing must harness the strength of open information.The most notable aspect of China’s 11th Five-Year Plan was the inclusion for the first time of targets for energy saving and emissions cuts – targets which, a ...
    • “There is no alternative to the UN”
      Robert Orr is assistant secretary-general at the United Nations. As Cancún moves into its final hours, he tells Meng Si and Lu Sicheng there is still everything to play for.Robert Orr is assistant secretary-general for policy planning in the executive office of the secretary-general of the United Na ...
    • In Mali, the growing reality
      As climate change takes hold, the entire debate about Africa and aid will shift from one dominated by charity and post-imperial responsibility to one framed primarily around environmental justice, writes Madeleine Bunting.Ten years ago, I ended up on the mud flats of the Nile delta with a water engi ...

    AlterNet Top Stories

    • Are You Squeamish? Sarah Palin Isn’t.
      On her new TLC live-action show, Sarah Palin’s Alaska, Palin bludgeons a gigantic halibut to death and then displays its still-beating heart triumphantly for the at-home television audience writes New York Times’ David Firestone. During an earlier episode, she gunned down a docile, unresisting femal ...
    • America’s Next Failed Conservative Stimulus
      Unless something drastic happens between now and the vote on President Obama’s tax-cut “compromise” with congressional conservatives, America is headed for its next failed conservative stimulus. Even with the proposed tweaking around the edges, there is nothing in this bill that hasn’t already been ...
    • DREAMers and LGBT Community Both Saw Defeats in th ...
      Many in the LGBT community bristle at any comparison with the struggles of undocumented people. But all of the rights the DREAMers are demanding, gays already have.
    • Michael Moore: Why I Posted Bail for Julian Assang ...
      Yesterday I put up $20,000 of my own money to help bail WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange out of jail. Here's why.
    • Religious right leader admits to using bad researc ...
      If you want the quintessential fact why the Southern Poverty Law Center is correct in calling out certain religious right organizations for their anti-gay bias, check out this portion of an interview between members of two of these groups -  Peter LaBarbera, head of Americans for Truth and Mart ...

    Threat Level

    • Warrant Needed to Get Your E-Mail, Appeals Court S ...
      The government must obtain a court warrant to require internet service providers to turn over stored e-mail to the authorities, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The decision by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was the first time an appellate court said Americans had that Fourth Amendment ...
    • Court Upholds Ban on World of Warcraft Bot
      A federal appeals panel on Tuesday upheld a lower court’s 2009 injunction barring the distribution of a computer program that automatically plays the lower levels of World of Warcraft, sparing a gamer the tedium of their character’s experience. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the Glider ...
    • WikiLeaks Founder Granted Bail, With Conditions
      WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was granted bail, with conditions, this morning by a London judge, but Swedish prosecutors may block his release. If released, Assange must surrender his passport and agree to travel restrictions, adhere to a curfew and wear an electronic tracking device. He must re ...
    • WikiLeaks Spending Rises Dramatically to $500,000
      WikiLeaks’ expenditures have risen dramatically from a paltry $38,000 between October 2009 and July 2010 to more than $495,000 in the last five months, according to a foundation that manages most of the organization’s donations. The jump in expenses appears to be due to salaries the organization re ...
    • Report: Federal Grand Jury Considering Charges Aga ...
      A U.S. federal grand jury is reportedly meeting to consider possible criminal charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, according to a lawyer for Assange. The grand jury has met secretly in Alexandria, Virginia, according to Mark Stephens, an attorney for Assange. U.S. Attorney General Eric ...

    Reuters - Most Popular Articles

    • Dollar up with yields, euro down as Spain on revie ...
      SYDNEY/TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar rose against other major currencies on Wednesday after upbeat U.S. economic data helped to send U.S. Treasury yields higher, while the euro fell after credit rating agency Moody's said it may downgrade Spain's debt.
    • Tax cuts head for Senate approval
      WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's sweeping plan to extend expiring tax cuts for millions of Americans headed for overwhelming passage in the Senate on Wednesday as it moved through Congress.
    • Rare tornado demolishes buildings in Oregon town
      PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - A rare tornado hit tiny Aumsville, Oregon at lunchtime on Tuesday, damaging or destroying half a dozen buildings, but initial reports say there were no injuries from the fluke twister.
    • Intelligence reports offer dim views of Afghan war ...
      WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two new classified intelligence reports on the war in Afghanistan say there is a limited chance of success unless Pakistan hunts down insurgents operating from havens on its Afghan border, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.
    • Moody's says may cut Spain rating, sees no bailout
      MADRID (Reuters) - Ratings agency Moody's put Spain on review for a possible downgrade on Wednesday, highlighting concerns over a looming funding crunch next year and prompting the euro and bank shares to slide.

    IntelNews

    • Largest Afghan narcotrafficker was CIA, DEA inform ...
      The history of operational collision between the Central Intelligence Agency and illicit narcotics traders is both long and largely documented. But new revelations published in The New York Times this week come to add a new chapter in this ever-expanding saga. The revelations this time concern Haji ...
    • German police probe poisoning of ex-KGB colonel
      Police in Berlin are investigating a possible attempt to assassinate a Russian former KGB operative and his wife, through mercury poisoning. Continue reading →
    • Three more Latin American countries recognize Pale ...
      Three more Latin American countries officially recognized the state of Palestine last week, prompting harsh diplomatic responses from Israel and the United States. The recognitions were announced by the governments of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, which make up the majority of Mercosur, a South Ame ...
    • News you may have missed #459 (Russia edition)
      Son of CIA double spy strikes deal with FBI. Moscow warns UK of tit-for-tat expulsions. Kim Philby honored by plaque at Moscow FSB HQ. Continue reading →
    • Even more underreported WikiLeaks revelations
      It appears increasingly likely that Sweden will extradite Julian Assange to the United States, where the WikiLeaks founder will face espionage charges. But the WikiLeaks revelations keep coming, although not all of them receive the worldwide media attention that they deserve. Take for instance the d ...

    War is a Crime.org

    • AFGHANISTAN: Humanitarian situation
      AFGHANISTAN: Humanitarian situation likely to worsen in 2011 – aid agencies Photo: Akmal Dawi/ IRIN Wounded in conflict at an ICRC hospital in Kabul KABUL, 15 December 2010 (IRIN) - The war in Afghanistan shows no sign of abating and conflict-related misery such as internal displacement, lack of acc ...
    • The True Richard Holbrooke Legacy
      The True Richard Holbrooke Legacy - by Stephen Lendman Dead on December 13 at age 69 after two aorta tear surgeries failed to save him, Western media headlines hailed the man London Guardian writers Ed Pilkington and Adam Gabbat called a "giant of US foreign policy," saying his loss leaves "a substa ...
    • DEC 2010/ JAN 2011 WAR CRIMINALS' APPEARANCES
      Heads up, CA, OR & TX fans! Bybee, Rice & Rove will be in your states (and some protests are already in the works)! Send us reports on your demos. www.warcriminalswatch.org Jay Bybee Appearances/Protests December 2010 & January 2011 Dec. 16, 23, 30 - Portland OR - Ongoing weekly protest in Portl ...
    • A SUSTAINER FOR PEACE
      Read about Scott Trent and why he chooses to be a sustainer of World Can't Wait, parent organization of War Criminals Watch. Tell us a fun fact about yourself. I used to play in a political horror punk band that wore makeup and spit fake blood, now I have nightly band practice with my three year ol ...
    • VETERANS FOR PEACE SENDS OBAMA A LETTER
      VETERANS FOR PEACE NATIONAL OFFICE: 216 S. Meramec Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63105 PHONE: (314) 725-6005 FAX: (314) 725-7103 E-MAIL: vfp@veteransforpeace.net December 3, 2010 Dear President Obama, A week ago, I wrote you on this same subject but since I've not yet received a reply either personal or ...

    Grist - News

    • Climate talks make progress as Bolivia demands mor ...
      by Agence France-Presse. CANCUN -- The world's climate negotiators on Thursday inched toward compromise on fighting deforestation and assisting poor nations, even as Bolivia's firebrand leader demanded more aggressive action. With one day left for the U.N.-led talks in Mexico, South African Pres ...
    • Guarded hope at U.N. climate talks
      by Agence France-Presse. CANCUN, Mexico -- Negotiators on climate change were raising their hopes Sunday after signs of modest progress in Mexico, but a dispute over the future of the Kyoto Protocol threatened to derail momentum. The 194-nation talks at the Caribbean resort city of Cancun were ...
    • Cancun climate talks hit bump thanks to Japan and ...
      by Agence France-Presse. CANCUN, Mexico -- World climate talks struck a sour note on their third day Wednesday as Japan was accused of weakening the campaign for a post-2012 treaty by retreating from the landmark Kyoto Protocol. With negotiators laboring to unblock a complex, interlinked two-tr ...
    • Obama extends drilling ban in wake of BP spill
      by Agence France-Presse. WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama has reversed a decision to expand oil exploration off U.S. coasts and, in the wake of the BP spill, will extend a deepwater drilling ban in certain areas through 2017, the administration said on Wednesday. The move, announced by Inter ...
    • Worldchanging’s bright green contribution
      by Jonathan Hiskes. Rumors have been floating around for a while, but on Monday the unfortunate fact became public: the sustainability news and advocacy site Worldchanging is shutting down. The 501c3 non-profit will dissolve by the end of the year, though the hope is to preserve its seven-year o ...

    Popular Bookmarks on Del.icio.us

    Technorati - What's Hot in Blogs

    Time - Top Stories

    Farming Pathogens

    • Farming Pathogens Semifinalist
      Thanks to your votes Farming Pathogens piece ‘The Alan Greenspan Strain’ is a semifinalist in 3 Quarks Daily’s search for best political blog post of the year. Those posts remaining will be judged as early as today by 3 Quarks Daily editors. The final six will then be judged by Harper’s and Lapham’s ...
    • Vote Farming Pathogens
      Farming Pathogens post ‘The Alan Greenspan Strain’ is nominated for a 3 Quarks Daily award for political blogging. Public voting is open today until 11:59pm EST. Vote here. The successful nominations out of the round of public voting will be judged by Lewis Lapham, of Harper’s and Lapham’s Quarterly ...
    • Grainmorrah
      I gave the following presentation Friday night at Give & Take, an interactive show and tell happy hour held monthly at Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis. Both informative and a lot of fun. Even our ancestors, without a smartphone among them, played like kids on the harvest moon. But fair warning: histo ...
    • Help/Harm
      Many of us only reluctantly accept one of life’s toughest lessons. In the course of doing our very best to make a better world–decades all blood, sweat and tears in the face of hideous odds–we may discover ourselves really fouling a few things up. The road to hell, etc., etc. Never realizing our mis ...
    • Virus Dumping
      Man came to shake my hand / and rob me of my farm –Ryan Bingham Dumping grain on another country is a classic maneuver in economic warfare. When a country’s borders are opened by force or by choice, by structural adjustment or by neoliberal trade agreement, when tariffs and other forms of protection ...

    Suzie-Q

    • Does Nigeria Have A Case Against Dick Cheney?
      Does Nigeria Have a Case Against Dick Cheney? Africa Legal Brief Monday, 13 December 2010 20:42 Nigerian officials have indicted former Vice President Dick Cheney for bribing the Nigerian government in the ’90s. The accusation stems from Cheney’s reign as CEO of Halliburton from 1995 to 2000. Last y ...
    • One November’s Dead: The American War Dead Disappe ...
      by Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com, Dec 7, 2010 America’s heroes?  Not so much.  Not anymore.  Not when they’re dead, anyway. Remember as the invasion of Iraq was about to begin, when the Bush administration decided to seriously enforce a Pentagon ban, in existence since the first Gulf War, on media ...
    • Happy Holidays!
      Ray Charles — Merry Christmas Baby, at The Monastery Of Ettal, Germany, 1979.
    • Blowing Billions on War While American Workers Go ...
      by Robert Greenwald and Derrick Crowe, The Huffington Post,  Dec 5, 2010 When asked by USA Today‘s pollsters last week, sixty-eight percent of Americans said we worry that the cost of the Afghanistan War hurts our ability to fix problems here in the U.S. This week, we learned just how right we were ...
    • Noam Chomsky: The Charade of Israeli-Palestinian T ...
      By Noam Chomsky, In These Times, Dec 2, 2010 It is hardly a secret that for 35 years the U.S. and Israel have stood virtually alone in opposition to a consensus on a political settlement that is close to universal. Washington’s pathetic capitulation to Israel while pleading for a meaningless three-m ...

    Solari

    • Tax Issues When Exchanging Precious Metals
      Bron Suchecki of the Perth Mint posted comments and a link to our article on Tax Issues. Bron is one of the “go to guys” globally on complex questions about precious metals. You can read his comments here. Related video: The Perth Mint’s Golden History Dailymotion.
    • Navy Test Fires Electromagnetic Cannon
      The US Navy announced a successful test Friday of an electromagnetic cannon capable of firing a projectile 110 nautical miles (200 kilometers) at five times the speed of sound. “This demonstration moves us one day closer to getting this advanced capability to sea,” said Rear Admiral Nevin Carr, chi ...
    • Why I’m Posting Bail Money for Julian Assang ...
      By Michael Moore Yesterday, in the Westminster Magistrates Court in London, the lawyers for WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange presented to the judge a document from me stating that I have put up $20,000 of my own money to help bail Mr. Assange out of jail. Furthermore, I am publicly offering the ...
    • CBO Recommendation to Munis – Default!
      By Bruce Krasting Continue reading the article . . .
    • Holiday Greetings From Solari
      “A Partridge in a Pear Tree,” is a wonderful symbol for holiday giving. But this year, weâd like to suggest a new symbolânamely, “A White Dove in a Pear-Apple-Peach-Orange-Cherry-Plum-Tomato-Zucchini-Carrot-Squash-Pepper-Grape-and-Nut Tree.” To explain: I spent the last four months crisscrossing ...

    Insurgency Watch - Newswire

    • Times Scare
      ISLAMABAD–The apparent links between Pakistan and Faisal Shahzad are certainly cause for concern, but let’s not lose site of things here. The attack in Times Square was a fizzle. The rush to claim credit is a bit embarassing for the TTP and looks like it was — like the attack itself — a rush job. [. ...
    • Stepping up - University at Buffalo The Spectrum
      Stepping up University at Buffalo The Spectrum The president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, recognized the direness of the situation and began to mobilize military forces to combat the Taliban. ... and more��
    • 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 AfghanistanSri Lanka Gu ...
    • 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��

    AlterNet - Rights and Liberties

    Sideways News

    • Could you be a 10:10 community champion?
      The Guardian Newspaper and Franny Armstrong, through the Guardian 10:10 campaign, challenge organisations and individuals to cut their carbon footprint by 10%.
    • Brit mums strict about eco-chores
      Families in the UK are increasingly likely to be nagged about doing eco-chores, a new study conducted on behalf of the Energy Saving Trust has revealed.
    • UK venue offers rainforest weddings
      Getting married in a luscious rainforest has never been easier or more eco-friendly, according to the Eden Project.
    • Battery recycling 'too difficult'
      The European Recycling Platform (ERP) reports that while only a third of households at present recycle batteries, four out of five said they would do so if it was made easier.
    • 10 green resolutions to save you money
      By taking green steps at home, you can save money and make life easier. Being smart about waste, consumption and resources won't only win you the thanks of forthcoming generations: you'll feel the financial benefit immediately. 1. Make money from old electronics As your electronic goods become obsol ...

    Fabius Maximus

    • Second thoughts by 2 major boosters of the Af-Pak ...
      Summary:   Guest author Bernard Finel discusses yet another think-tank report giving prescriptions for the Af-Pak War.  But this one is a surprise, a serious walk-back by one of the powerful institutional advocates of our foreign wars.  Perhaps they’re cutting their losses and gearing up for t ...
    • The insight that must precede reform of America: t ...
      Summary:  The last few weeks have produced news confirming that the Constitution is dead, the still heart of the Republic.  Realistic planning for reform must start with that grim fact or remain pie-in-the-sky fantasy. From the mailbag:  “There is only one peaceful solution to our great crisis, f ...
    • The story of the early 21st century: the future a ...
      Summary:  This is the first in a series looking at the US and global situations.   Here  we look at one of the large processes ending the post-WWII era — the leveraging and deleveraging of the developed nations.  It’s as much a psychological and political process as an economic one.  It’s a ...
    • The latest jobs news, watching the recovery in act ...
      Summary:   Corporate profits are strong.  Spending by the rich is skyrocketing (look at art prices).  The Republican’s top objective is extending the tax cuts for the rich and cutting social security and medicare benefits for everybody else.  So the economy must be doing fine, with excellent jo ...
    • The home-grown aspect of the jihadist menace
      Summary:  Much of our home-grown terrorism results from the government’s careful nurturing, clearly seen in the many cases since 9-11.  It’s yielded a full harvest:  a fearful and tame public.  Here are some of these stories. Domestic jihadist terrorists since 9-11 comes in several forms.  Mo ...

    Open Your Eyes News

    • Wall Street Set For Best Two Years Ever, Thanks To ...
      Huffington Post – Two agonizing years for the U.S. economy have been some of the best years on record for Wall Street. After first receiving billions in taxpayer aid, and now ultracheap funding from the Federal Reserve, Wall Street banks are on track to wrap up two of their best years ever. Even if ...
    • US drone strike kills four in Pakistan
      AFP – A US drone strike in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal belt on Tuesday has killed four militants, destroying their vehicle, local security officials said. The strike took place in Spalga village, 15 kilometres south of Miranshah, the main town of the North Waziristan tribal district, near the Afg ...
    • WikiLeaks cables name UK banker as middleman in Ka ...
      Guardian – A British tycoon is identified by US diplomats as the man at the centre of one of America’s worst recent corruption scandals, in which large bribes were allegedly handed over in the ex-Soviet state of Kazakhstan. Robert Kissin, a UK banker and commodity trader, is alleged to be the key mi ...
    • Ad networks owned by Google, Microsoft serve malwa ...
      The Register – Two of the world’s biggest ad serving networks â one owned by Google and the other by Microsoft â have been caught delivering booby-trapped banner ads that infect computers with malware without any action required on the part of the end user. The ads on Google’s DoubleClick and Micros ...
    • Vatican Bank mired in laundering scandal
      AP — This is no ordinary bank: The ATMs are in Latin. Priests use a private entrance. A life-size portrait of Pope Benedict XVI hangs on the wall. Nevertheless, the Institute for Religious Works is a bank, and it is under harsh new scrutiny in a case involving money-laundering allegations that led p ...

    The Progressive Realist

    • Hamas Unplugging Opportunity
      I'm one who believes that Hamas must be part of the equation of establishing a new equilibrium in the Middle East. Hamas is not al Qaeda and has evolved into a real, citizen-rooted political order and can't be wished away. That said, some Hamas leaders are not making engagement with it easier giv ...
    • Wikileaks Documents Show Continued Saudi Oppositio ...
      Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has refused to normalize relations with Iraq over fears of Shiite rule and Iranian influence (Britannica Blog) Included in the recent Wikileaks release of U.S. State Department cables were several discussions between American diplomats and Saudi and Iraqi officials about ...
    • The Emerging Consensus on Afghanistan
      Maj. Gen. (ret.) Paul Eaton and DA's own Heather Hurlburt have written an op-ed in Politico laying out eight points of agreement that constitute a growing consensus on the way forward in Afghanistan. Basically, if the think tank community had done an interagency review, here's what it would have lo ...
    • New Evidence of Bombing Campaign in Sudan Border T ...
      KIIR ADEM, Sudan—The heavily militarized border town of Kiir Adem sits on the southern side of one of the few crossings of a river that is the lifeblood of diverse communities on either side. The river—called the Kiir by southerners and the Bahr el Arab by northerners—is the de facto border between ...
    • Right Panics as START to Start Tomorrow—Get Ready ...
      In a last gasp, Frank Gaffney and others on the extreme right held a press conference on Capitol Hill yesterday to urge Senate Republicans to oppose the New START treaty. Their efforts look doomed. Despite throwing gobs of money into an anti-START campaign and having an incredibly favorable politic ...

    TAPPED - The American Prospect

    • Lightning Round: The People Will Believe What I Te ...
      The prospect of having two libertarian candidates in the 2012 Republican presidential primary would, I agree, increase the profile of libertarianism in Republican politics, but I very much doubt it would substantively change the GOP's continuing descent into nationalistic populism. It's easy to co- ...
    • The Little Picture: Romney's States' Rights.
      Former Massachusetts Gov. and probably 2012 Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney today made a states' rights argument to argue that the Massachusetts health-care law he signed, which includes an individual mandate, was just while the federal government's attempt to do the same thing was u ...
    • Saving Private Health Insurance.
      To hear Republicans talk these days, the individual insurance mandate contained within the Affordable Care Act is an act of socialist tyranny so horrific that just thinking about it is almost enough to make blood pour from your ears, which is bad, because some government bureaucrat might say you can ...
    • The Supreme Court Is Political.
      Adam Serwer has done excellent blogging on the court challenges to the Affordable Care Act, and I recommend you read it all, but I wanted to highlight this particular point: My personal belief is that Republicans hate the law and want to see it gone, and so the conservative justices on the court, w ...
    • Public Opinion and the Payroll Tax Cut.
      The public loves the Obama tax deal but of the components, isn't too thrilled about the payroll tax cut: Megan McArdle is baffled by the results, but they seem pretty straightforward: The public is already hostile to Social Security cuts, and when a pollster asks about "Social Security payroll ta ...

    Buzzflash

    • Will America Continue on a Path of Transferring ou ...
      MARK KARLIN, BUZZFLASH EDITOR FOR TRUTHOUT Will America continue on a path of transferring our governance to corporations and the very rich? As a reader of BuzzFlash and Truthout, you are obviously concerned about the preservation of a democracy of the people, by the people and for the people. We ...
    • Forget the Bush "No Follow-up Questions" Follow Up ...
      Body With all the fiery rhetoric in which the political stars of the day are engaged, it may be that none of them are asking the right questions or more likely are not being required to address overriding national issues by a media that talks around topics and doesn’t force politician ...
    • Five Major Governmental/Corporate Media Attacks on ...
      ELAINE SHPUNGIN FOR BUZZFLASH On the 6th of December 2010, I received a message from a friend celebrating the fact that Julian Assange, the controversial founder of WikiLeaks, was leading a Times magazine poll for the next "person of the year." Up to then, I had been somewhat dismissive of the whole ...
    • If You Want to Be a President Who Moves America Fo ...
      MARK KARLIN, BUZZFLASH EDITOR FOR TRUTHOUT I was going to write about the injustice that only 3,500 inheritances a year would be subject to the White House's proposed estate tax. Then I was going to write about how the Obama plan would actually increase taxes on the poor. Then I was going to opin ...
    • Republicans Keep Nope Alive
      TONY PEYSER FOR BUZZFLASH Yes We Can, one may argue, Worked then but oh, we can See the Republican's latest ploy Is winning with No We Can.read more

    Glenn Greenwald - Salon

    The BiPartisan Report

    Sciencebase

    • Periodic table of videos at the movies
      Regular Sciencebase followers will by now know only too well the Periodic Table of Videos from Nottingham University and my good friend Martyn Poliakoff. The creators of the video series recently ran a competition for viewers to create a movie-style poster to promote the videos and had an astounding ...
    • A few facts about asbestos
      Today, medical journal The Lancet has publicly criticised the Canadian government for its attitude towards asbestos, saying that although Canada will not expose its own citizens to asbestos, it will continue exporting the deadly substance to developing nations [Canada accused of hypocrisy, Lancet]. ...
    • What is nature worth?
      Each hour 3 species vanish forever, we’ve lost a fifth of the planet’s coral reefs, almost a third of its mangrove forests, and half of the world’s wetlands. But, how do you count the cost? Perhaps a business perspective is needed. If we considered the natural world as providing products and service ...
    • Searching for scientific abbreviations
      Ambiguous abbreviations and acronyms are annoyances when it comes to text search and data mining. As a writer-editor, I was always taught to spell out the long form (LF) of a short form (SF) at first mention in a document so that the reader would know that when I mentioned EBV I was referring to [.. ...
    • Santa Claus Science
      Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicolas, Kris Kringle, Sinterklaas. Call him what you will, at this time of year, for children who celebrate everywhere, many questions of a scientific nature arise and parents squirm in their efforts to answer them. Now, Gregory Mone, a contributing editor at Po ...

    Common Dreams-Progressive Newswire

    • Senator Mark Leno Introduces FAIR Education Act
      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 13, 2010Equality California (EQCA) and Gay-Straight Alliance NetworkEquality California and Gay-Straight Alliance Network are sponsoring the Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful (FAIR) Education Act, a bill introduced today by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) t ...
    • Public Citizen Condemns Attacks on WikiLeaks, Whic ...
      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 13, 2010Public CitizenWikiLeaks is under attack from powerful government and corporate officials and entities. The attacks are an assault not only on WikiLeaks, but on freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of the Internet.read more
    • Rights Groups Denounce U.S. Decision to Resume Dep ...
      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 13, 2010Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR)The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) announced on December 9 that it has lifted the ban on deportations to Haiti for persons with criminal convictions. Deportations to Haiti have been stayed since shortly ...
    • Health Mandate
      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 13, 2010Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA)AP is reporting: "A federal judge rejected a key provision of the Obama administration's health care law as unconstitutional Monday, ruling the government cannot require people to buy insurance, in a dispute that both sides ag ...
    • SavetheInternet.com ‘Can-You-Hear-Us-Now-a-Thon’ D ...
      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 13, 2010SavetheInternet.comSavetheInternet.com Coalition allies and activists kicked off a marathon of petition deliveries at the Federal Communications Commission on Monday morning - with plans to drop off 50,000 signatures every hour until the public comment perio ...

    Common Dreams-Views

    • ‘Assangination’: From Character Assassination to t ...
      by Amy GoodmanDespite being granted bail, WikiLeaks founder and editor Julian Assange remains imprisoned in London, awaiting extradition proceedings to answer a prosecutor’s questions in Sweden. He hasn’t been formally charged with any crime. His lawyers have heard that a grand jury in the United St ...
    • The True Cost of Your New Christmas Laptop? Ask th ...
      by Madeleine BuntingInside the laptop on which I'm writing this column are tiny quantities of tin used to solder parts on the circuit board. I've used my mobile roughly 20 times in the course of my research, calling the US, the Democratic Republic of Congo and researchers in London; I know it's the ...
    • Domesticated Deities
      by Lewis Lapham Glory is like a circle in the water, Which never ceaseth to enlarge itself, Till by broad spreading it disperse to nought. -- William Shakespeareread more
    • Toxic CEO Pay Story
      by Sarah AndersonAs a critic of runaway CEO pay, I have a lot of scars from debates I've done on cable TV business shows. But my most memorable pummeling was in August 2007, when I nearly got my head bitten off for criticizing Countrywide Financial CEO Angelo Mozilo on the CNBC show Squawk Box. My ...
    • No Act of Rebellion Is Wasted
      by Chris Hedges I stood with hundreds of thousands of rebellious Czechoslovakians in 1989 on a cold winter night in Prague’s Wenceslas Square as the singer Marta Kubišová approached the balcony of the Melantrich building. Kubišová had been banished from the airwaves in 1968 after the Soviet ...

    Newshoggers - AfPak

    • Obama's Afghan Review - The Fix Is In
      By Steve Hynd The six month review of progress in Afghanistan that President Obama promised when he ordered the surge there is due on Thursday. But don't hold your breath for anything radical - the fix is in. Today, Admiral Mullen became just the latest senior official to say that nothing would be c ...
    • Pretending To Have An Afghan Exit Strategy
      By Steve Hynd A key part of the supposed strategy for Western withdrawal from Afghanistan is meant to be training their security forces so that "they can stand up while we stand down". That key component becomes questionable as soon as one realises that the U.S. expects to be footing the bill for th ...
    • Top Analysts Blame American Intransigence In Not T ...
      By Steve Hynd It has long been the conventional wisdom among D.C.'s "very serious people" that the U.S. must use military force to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table "on our terms". It's the whole point of NATO's Lisbon agreement and of Petraeus' strategy in Afghanistan since it's perhaps th ...
    • The partisan tribal war and the war in Afghanistan
      Commentary By Ron Beasley As I have said here more than once the circus in Washington DC is not about ideology but is tribal warfare. Juan Cole takes a look at why the conflict in Afghanistan no longer appears to be news. So here’s the reason the whole bloody Afghanistan war is off the radar: it isn ...
    • For Afghanistan, A Wind Of Change From Washington
      A Guest Post by Keith Boyea The Washington political winds have changed, but unless you closely observed such things, you may not have felt the breeze. Yesterday, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), a well-connected Washington DC think tank, released a report on Afghanistan titled, Respon ...

    Water Wars

    • Non-profit organization to promote water conservat ...
      Conservation along Nebraska streams and rivers has become apriority as the state wages so-called “water wars” with itsneighbors.
    • Water wars: Hearing looms on eminent domain takeov ...
      According to the California Department of Public Health, drinking water being served to Lake Forest Water Company customers exceeded state arsenic levels in 2007, and the problem has not been corrected, despite water company owner Rick Dewante saying it has.
    • GA Governor's Budget Will Hold Money for Water War ...
      New Georgia Governor says state will borrow to build reservoirs
    • [UPDATE] Water Wars
      Gov.-elect Nathan Deal said his state budget proposal will contain borrowing for new reservoirs as Georgia tries to resolve a long-standing three-state water dispute.
    • Water Wars Complicate Matters
      December 13, 2010: Wikileaks revealed that Djibouti believes Eritrea opposes a genuine peace settlement in Somalia. This is not much of a revelation, given Eritrea's proven track record for giving arms to clans and Islamist organizations in the country.

    WordPress | Economics

    Electronic Intifada

    Afghanistan Sun

    • US appoints Frank Ruggiero as new Af-Pak special e ...
      Deputy U.S. Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Frank Ruggiero, has been appointed as the acting US Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan following the death of Richard Holbrooke.
    • Holbrooke's last words were about stopping th ...
      US President Barack Obama's former Special Envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard C. Holbrooke's final thoughts were apparently about the war in Afghanistan and a desire to stop it, his family, close friends and colleagues have revealed.
    • 'Afghan war being hampered due to Pak's ...
      Two classified US intelligence reports have said that the American strategy in Afghanistan has a limited chance of success, unless Pakistan hunts down insurgents operating from havens on its Afghan border.
    • Indian American to assist Holbrooke's success ...
      The White House began a planned Afghan strategy review with Frank Ruggiero, a deputy of tough diplomat Richard Holbrooke who died Monday, taking his place as the new acting head of the Af-Pak envoy's office. He will be assisted by two deputies, one of them an Indian American.
    • Afghan armed groups grow, threaten aid
      KABUL, Afghanistan — The number of different armed groups is growing across Afghanistan, preventing even the Red Cross from accessing much of the country to deliver lifesaving care, an official ...

    Futurismic

    • Personal Information: episode 24
      Personal Information is a new serial sci-fi webcomic from Sarah “Does Not Equal” Ennals. Follow Futurismic on Twitter for more nuggets of near-future fun and weirdness! Share and Enjoy:Follow Futurismic on Twitter for more nuggets of near-future fun and weirdness!
    • Arguments against life extension
      Via Michael Anissimov, here’s a spectacularly empty diatribe against “deathhackers” by TechCrunch‘s Paul Carr. Carr objects to the idea of radical life extension as advocated by transhumanists, which is fair enough, but as written here most of his objections seem to boil down to personal distate tow ...
    • Daddy, where does innovation come from?
      Plenty of folk have been linking to this excerpt from Matt Ridley’s new book The Rational Optimist, and with good reason – it’s a provocative piece that plays to advocates (and opponents) of free trade, open exchange, copyright reform and much more. The basic thesis? The one persistent factor that h ...
    • Replacement arms: mechanical or biological?
      Prosthetic limbs are still in their infancy, but there’s a lot of progress being made: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory is working with Darpa (who else?), and has a research grant for trying out their mind-controlled modular prosthetic arm on five test subjects over the next couple of years ...
    • How to be a futurist
      The irrepressible Scott “Basic Instructions” Meyer has the lowdown if you’re thinking of a career in futurism: Click through for the whole thing. But take it from me, being a futurist is a lot of work for no money. Or maybe that’s just the way I do it… and I’ve never been featured in a [...]Follow F ...
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