- GIANT GAMMA RAY EMITTING BUBBLES DISCOVERED NEAR M ...
Yes, it’s true, scientists have discovered two huge gamma ray emitting bubbles emerging from the Milky Way. The above image is what they look like … if the viewer is considerably outside the galaxy and can see gamma rays. People can’t see gamma rays, so the above image is “false colour” so to speak. ...
- George Armstrong Custer meets Buffalo Calf Road Wo ...
Ah, the Battle of the Greasy Grass. Or the Battle on the Greasy Grass. Or the Battle of Greasy Grass Creek. Or as us white people call it, the Battle of the Little Bighorn or Custer’s Last Stand. It’s in the news lately, because a military flag that was carried into the battle by Custer’s [...]
- 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 ...
- 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 ...
- 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 ...
- Guest Post: Roof Shingles Meet Solar Panels
Join the forum discussion on this post The following guest post was written by Daniel Fielding, a freelance writer who focuses on gadgets and the environment. He is the lead editor for Shades of Green, a Green Technology Blog. Roof Shingles Meet Solar Panels By Daniel Fielding “We have the te ...
- 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 ...
- LEGO Digital Designer : Virtual Building Software
Comments:You can download for free software for PC or Mac to create your own Lego creations. - Dean MantzTags: lego, software, design, education, freewareby: Dean Mantz
- Social bookmarking sites - Google Docs
Comments:Here is a global collaborative Google doc with alternative ideas to replace Yahoo's removal of Delicious. - Dean MantzTags: socialbookmarking, googledoc, deliciousby: Dean Mantz
- psdtechPD - Cell Phones
Comments:Parkland School Division provides resources for successful integration/use of mobile devices. - Dean MantzTags: phones, cell, cellphones, psdtechpd, mobile, ipod, iPad, iPhoneby: Dean Mantz
- Body Browser - Google Labs
Comments:To use Body Browser, you'll need a Web browser with WebGL support. Click here to get the new Google Chrome beta, or visit khronos.org for more choices. - Fred DelventhalTags: google, body, anatomy, science, educationby: Fred Delventhal
- Chemistry: It's "Element"-ary!!!: My Physics Blog
Comments:Great example of a student blog. - Dean MantzTags: chemistry, physics, blog, education, 10thgradeby: Dean Mantz
- Food Safety Bill Likely Dead
- Wikileaks Memos Reveal U.S. Gov't Pushing Gene-Alt ...
RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Wikileaks has so far released just a fraction of the total 251,287 United States embassy cables in its possession, but the documents currently available provide interesting insights into how aggressively the U.S. State Department is pushing genetically modified organisms ( ...
- 10 Organic Farming Trends that Can Make Your Life ...
RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Despite a stagnant economy, consumers are saying "Yes!" to organic more than ever. In fact, a recent Organic Trade Association report found that compared to last year, 41 percent more people are opting for organic rather than chemical food, even in this cash-strapped econo ...
- How to Live with a Fussy Eater
RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Good news for parents of fussy eaters: You didn't create them. In an effort to find out what drives unhealthy eating patterns among children, researchers from University College London compared children's eating behaviors to their mothers' reactions to said behaviors and f ...
- The Nickel Pincher: Preserve Delicious, Delectable ...
RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Chances are, the words "fermented foods" don't exactly make you salivate in anticipation of culinary goodness. But the traditional process of preserving food through fermentation is enjoying something of a comeback as more people get interested in canning and other forms o ...
- Rare Cosmic Event to Transpire Tuesday Morning
You have two options: Stay up Late or Get up Early!It's been over thirty months since the continental United States in it's entirety has been able to view a total lunar eclipse. Keep your eyes on the sky next Tuesday morning, December 21st. The moon will hit a particular point in its orbiting cycle ...
- How the Tax Cut Deal Led to the Repeal of 'Don't A ...
Congress finally repealed the military’s 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell' policy today. After 17 years, gay and lesbian troops will be allowed to serve their country without having to lie about who they are. By a vote of 65-31, the Senate passed a stand-alone repeal bill that had already passed the House ...
- Help Rick Smith Help The Homeless and Hungry this ...
My friends at the Rick Smith Show ("Where Working People Come to Talk") are camping out in a supermarket parking lot in sub-zero temperatures to collect food and donations for needy people in their community. Please help them out: Homelessness and poverty continues to plague the region. That' ...
- X Factor Talent Queen Heads For The US - A Nation ...
“Will she, or won’t she?” Here is a question that has dominated the tabloid newspapers in Britain these past few weeks, as Cheryl Cole, a presenter of the ‘X Factor’ talent show and formerly of girl band, ‘Girls Aloud’, decides whether to leave the show and seek her fortune in the United ... ...
- TerraCycle Turns Waste into Useful Eco-Products, D ...
Playing into the established "reuse is better than recycle" eco-sensibility, TerraCycle takes trash and transforms it into useful eco-products. TerraCycle runs a series of free national brigades, inviting people to send their garbage in exchange for cash to be donated to schools and nonprofits ...
- 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 →
- Shrink the Classification System
Faced with release of hundreds of thousands of classified records by Wikileaks in recent months, what should the government do? The best answer might be to release hundreds of millions of such records! By stripping away the accretions of decades of overclassification, a wholesale reduction in clas ...
- Classified Information Policy, and More from CRS
Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf). “Classified Information Policy and Executive Order 13526,” December 10, 2010. “Screening and Securing Air Cargo: Background and Issues for Congress, ...
- Goodbye, Mr. Bond
Last year, Senator Christopher Bond (R-MO) told reporters that there is “a far Left-wing fringe group that wants to disclose all our vulnerabilities. I don’t know what their motives are but I think they are very dangerous to our security.” More hating on Wikileaks? No, Senator Bond was actually ta ...
- Support Secrecy News
Many thanks to those readers who have already made contributions to help support Secrecy News. If you are able and willing to join them, tax-deductible contributions can be made here (select “Government Secrecy” from the drop-down menu to direct your donation to Secrecy News). You can also write a ...
- 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 ...
- 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 ...
- Summary Report for Sub-Sea and Sub-Surface Oil and ...
Operational Science Advisory Team, Unified Area Command; prepared for Paul F. Zukunft, RADM, U. S. Coast Guard Federal On-Scene Coordinator http://www.restorethegulf.gov/sites/default/files/documents/pdf/OSAT_Report_FINAL_17DEC.pdf [From The Hill's E2 Wire by Andrew Restruccia] A report released Thu ...
- S. 303: America’s Great Outdoors Act of 2010
Introduced by Sen. Harry Reid America’s Great Outdoors Act of 2010 [From Politico] As if Democrats did not have enough on their plates in the lame-duck session, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced Friday that he has introduced yet another piece of legislation â a lands bill that would design ...
- Firms Operating Under Infrastructure and Credit Co ...
World Bank / by Philippe Alby, Jean-Jacques Dethier, and Stephane Straub http://vx.worldbank.org/t/2937183/5471042/13023/0/ Many developing countries are unable to provide their industrial sector with reliable power and many enterprises have to contend with electricity that is insufficient and of po ...
- The Full Economic Cost of Groundwater Extraction
World Bank / by Jopn Strand http://vx.worldbank.org/t/2937183/5471042/13020/0/ When a groundwater basin is exploited by a large number of farmers, acting independently, each farmer has little incentive to practice conservation that would primarily benefit other farmers. This can lead to excessive gr ...
- Natural Disasters and Household Welfare : Evidence ...
World Bank / by Timothy Thomas, Luc Christiaensen, Quy Toan Do and Le Dang Trung http://vx.worldbank.org/t/2937183/5471042/13017/0/ As natural disasters hit with increasing frequency, especially in coastal areas, it is imperative to better understand how much natural disasters affect economies and t ...
- Mobile Phones for Women: A New Approach for Social ...
Enas Salameh, a 24-year-old college graduate living in the Palestinian West Bank city of Jenin, needed a job this summer. But her family finds it unacceptable for a woman to venture alone into the city without a male companion or an appointment. Fortunately, it's fine to use a mobile phone. In fact, ...
- New Tool Tracks Culture Through the Centuries via ...
Can culture be decoded like a genome? A team from Harvard has teamed up with Google to crack the spines of 5,195,769 digitized books that span five centuries of the printed word with the hopes of giving the humanities a more quantitative research tool. [More]
- Cosmos Incognita: Voyager 1 Spacecraft Arrives at ...
In 1972 a young professor at the California Institute of Technology was asked to work part-time at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as chief scientist for a new space mission , one that would probe the limits of the solar system and eventually enter interstellar space. Edward Stone accepted the ass ...
- Titan Spews: Discovery of Cold Volcanoes on Saturn ...
SAN FRANCISCO--Radar surveys of the surface of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, have found the most compelling evidence yet for "cold" volcanoes on a celestial body other than Earth. The discovery may help solve a long-standing mystery concerning the presence of methane in that body's atmosphere, and s ...
- Mass Migration: Chemists Revise Atomic Weights of ...
An international governing body has adopted a new definition of atomic mass (aka atomic weight) changing from specific values to intervals of masses to resolve 15 years of debate on one of the most fundamental of scientific concepts. In a list that only singer-comedian Tom Lehrer could love, hydro ...
- 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 ...
- The Descent of John McCain
Joe Klein on John McCain, who led the charge this weekend against both the DREAM Act and the repeal of DADT: I used to know a different John McCain, the guy who proposed comprehensive immigration reform with Ted Kennedy, the guy — a conservative, to be sure, but an honorable one — who refused to in ...
- DADT is Dead
DADT repeal won today's cloture vote in the Senate 63-33. Actual debate followed by actual voting will now commence, but this was the vote that mattered. DADT is dead. So: Good work, White House and congressional Democrats — and kudos as well to the few Republicans who stood on the right side of hi ...
- Friday Cat Blogging - 17 December 2010
It's been a dispiriting week for me, the weekend promises to be pretty disagreeable too, and next week I might have jury duty. Blecch. But at least we have cats! As you recall, a couple of weeks I wanted to do a "Cats From Your Window" feature, but only Inkblot cooperated. This week I've finally com ...
- Debit Cards and Capitalism
Over at The Corner, Katrina Trinko is not a fan of the Fed's proposed new caps on debit card swipe fees: The idea behind the legislation was that the banking industry had these fees set too high. If the Fed forced them to lower the fees, retailers would save — and give their customers lower price ...
- The Digital Fog
Dan Gillmor: Yahoo has decided to close its Web bookmarking service, Delicious, a move that is sparking angst to outrage around the intertubes. One result is a frenzied search for a new social bookmarking service to replace what many people, including me, have used over the years to stockpile and ...
- Senate Democrats Show Their Frustrations with the ...
I wrote a piece last week about the incessant whining of liberals over the President’s tax cut deal with Republicans. As expected, some people thought the basis of my article was my “Undying Support” as an Obama Stan. Not at all. My major problem with the whining is that it’s always focused at th ...
- 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 [... ...
- Polar bears offer beacon of climate hope
There is unlikely to be a tipping point beyond which we cannot prevent Arctic ice disappearing, US researchers find this week, although to keep enough to allow a sustainable polar bear population temperatures must stay less than 1.25ºC above pre-industrial revolution levels.
- What could climate change cost us?
In 2006 the Stern report estimated the costs of stabilising atmospheric CO2 concentrations at 1 percent of world GDP, while the costs of not stabilising could reach 10 percent. Why then are finance-obsessed countries still struggling to agree what to do?
- 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.
- Novel drug offers hope for early intervention in c ...
Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with normal to mildly impaired lung function may benefit from a new investigational drug designed to help prevent formation of the sticky mucus that is a hallmark of the disease, according to researchers involved in a phase 3 clinical trial of the drug. Called denufosol ...
- Electric current moves magnetic vortices
One of the requirements to keep trends in computer technology on track – to be ever faster, smaller, and more energy-efficient – is faster writing and processing of data. In the Dec. 17 issue of the journal Science, physicists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) and the Universitaet zu Koe ...
- Samples of vital human tumor tissue irradiated wit ...
Cancer treatment with ion beams developed at GSI is characterized by an excellent cure rate and only minor side effects. The therapy has been routinely in use for a little over one year. The effectiveness of the ion beams not only depends on the tumor type, but also on the genetic disposition and th ...
- Breakthrough in worm research has implications for ...
It's just a worm, a tiny soil-dwelling nematode worm – but the implications are big for biomedicine and circadian biology as shown in a recent study authored by University of Nevada, Reno researcher Alexander van der Linden. The article on the circadian clock of the Caenorhabditis elegans worm was p ...
- A total lunar eclipse and winter solstice coincide ...
With frigid temperatures already blanketing much of the United States, the arrival of the winter solstice on December 21 may not be an occasion many people feel like celebrating. But a dazzling total lunar eclipse to start the day might just raise a few chilled spirits. read more
- White House Girds for Battles With Congress Over S ...
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson �The Hill, a beltway website, carried a piece�Dec. 17, reporting on a memo�issued by the White House science advisor, John Holdren, ordering all federal agencies, in no uncertain terms, to use s ...
- EPA Limits Mercury Pollution From Gold Mine Facili ...
It's pretty to look at, but not to mine Amid all those delays on important air rules, the EPA is doing a few things right: today they issued standards for toxic pollution emitted by gold mining companies with ore processing f ...
- Friday Finds: Fox News Email Reveals “Shocking” Cl ...
Wolverines will have to wait for the protection they deserve. Photo courtesy of Lory Joly at http://oas.visitsweden.com Leaked email reveals Fox News' climate change bias Nonprofit media research center Media Matters recent ...
- Restoring The Smelt And The Bay-Delta Ecosystem
This week, following a challenge from California water districts, the state and corporate agribusiness, a federal judge ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to revise its plan to protect the delta smelt, a fish tha ...
- Our Holiday Wish: Mr. President, Please Protect Ou ...
Photo: BLM What do Dasher, Dancer, Prancer and Vixen, turtle doves, geese a-laying, calling birds, partridges in pear trees, and holly trees all have in common? They all make their home in the forest, of course. This holiday ...
- OzEA – The second story
The Oz-Energy-Analysis.org project continues to hum away in the background, building momentum. For those who don’t recall what OzEA is, read these two posts from earlier in the year on BNC: OZ-ENERGY-ANALYSIS.ORG â open science for the new millennium OzEA modelling â large-scale wind power using a b ...
- 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 ...
- White supremacists urge Thor boycott over casting ...
White supremacists urge Thor boycott over casting of black actor as Norse god | Film | guardian.co.uk: "'It [is] well known that Marvel is a company that advocates for leftwing ideologies and causes,' the site reads. 'Marvel frontman Stan 'Lee' Lieber boasts of being a major financier of leftwing ...
- Stating the Obvious: WikiLeaks Indicts and Vindica ...
Stating the Obvious: WikiLeaks Indicts and Vindicates U.S. Diplomats | FPJ: "The WikiLeaks vs. the US government saga started in July, when 77,000 secret US documents directly relating to Afghanistan were made available to major media organizations. Many of us shook our heads with a mixture of disgu ...
- Misión Milagro: una operación de ojos a cambio de ...
Misi�n Milagro: una operaci�n de ojos a cambio de adoctrinamiento � ELPA�S.com: El Gobierno de Venezuela, con la ayuda de médicos cubanos, puso en marcha a finales de 2005 un proyecto llamado Misión Milagro. Su objetivo consistía en recoger por toda América Latina a personas de bajos recursos con pr ...
- Bryce Edwards : Foreign meddling laid bare - Natio ...
Bryce Edwards : Foreign meddling laid bare - National - NZ Herald News: "The Wikileaks US Embassy cables given to the Herald on Sunday provide a fantastic insight into the governance of New Zealand and the role of foreign diplomats here. Political scientists and historians will pore over these cabl ...
- Who is worthy of ‘self determination’ in Iraq :: w ...
Who is worthy of ‘self determination’ in Iraq :: www.uruknet.info :: informazione dal medio oriente :: information from middle east :: [vs-1]: "Suddenly, the term 'self-determination’ surfaces in the Iraqi political scene. Personally, I am very much impressed by the term in a country in the midst of ...
- Peter Johnson Rails Against “Congress” ...
Of course he forgot to mention it was only Republicans in congress that voted “No”. An innocent mistake, I am sure. Peter, you pathetic pile of human feces. You left out the word Republican before the word Senators over and over and over. REPUBLICAN SENATORS kept the bill from coming up for a vote. ...
- 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 ...
- 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 ...
- Introducing the no state solution
While I was growing up, my father served as one of Yitzhak Rabin’s chief advisors. This being the case, I learned to think of the two-state-solution to the question of this country as unquestionable. In the early 80s the discourse common around the house involved “returning the territories” Â to Jor ...
- Occupression: oppressive elements in the occupatio ...
By Louis Frankenthaler Occupression. No, it is not a spelling mistake. Rather it is an attempt to get past the all too frequent rhetorical discussions that go nowhere. The Occupation, more than 43 years in the making of a grotesque state of oppressive violations of human rights and humanitarian law ...
- Demonstrator suffers head injury from tear gas pro ...
Army stops ambulance carrying injured demonstrators three times before letting it continue to a Ramallah hospital. Clashes between army and demonstrators continue into the night as the army used tear gas, rubber bullets, sound bombs and live ammunition while taking over civilian houses. Before the ...
- Bil’in veiled by tear gas
Soldiers reacted aggressively to this week’s demonstration with a barrage of tear-gas projectiles directed at the demonstrators from behind the barrier. The weekly protest started as planned after the Friday midday prayers with a march from the village center towards the lands sequestered behind ...
- Abdallah who?
Spokesmen for the US State Department dodging questions about the imprisoned Palestinian protest organizer, Abdallah Abu Rahmah:
- Congratulations Graduates- We’ve Destroyed T ...
Earlier today I attended a graduation ceremony at a highly respected private college. As with almost everything I do or think about these days, when I sat and looked around me, I started to get anxious and angry. Here were hundreds of highly motivated and dedicated young men and women who had worke ...
- HOLY MOSES- WE’VE HIT THE PROMISED LAND!? ON ...
I cannot verify the accuracy of this, and given the magnitude of the issue presented, I’m not going to stick my head out to much, but this Order appears to cancel ALL FORECLOSURE SALES IN AT LEAST ONE DIVISION IN ONE OF FLORIDA’S BIGGEST COUNTIES. Now I know it’s only for a short period of [...]
- DISMISSING CASES FOR FRAUD ON THE COURT…IT I ...
There is a growing awareness, a sickening realization out there that fraud is being committed in our courtrooms…just how pervasive the fraud is remains an open question….but I predict the real truth is not going to be pretty. Some judges are taking the initiative and dismissing cases when they unc ...
- America’s Economic Apocolypse
I wish someone could offer me some suggestion or whiff of hope that the things I’m so desperately concerned about could be corrected…or that we were at least heading in the right direction…but the more I read, the more concerned I become… The national unemployment rate stands at a horrifying 9.8%. B ...
- Bloomberg Reports on Foreclosure Hell
Their most recent lender, American Brokers Conduit, transferred custody of the loan to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, a digital database owned by huge lenders such as Bank of America (BAC). When the Hassells defaulted in 2008, MERS kicked the debt to American Home Mortgage Servicing, a co ...
- It’s Over
The fall session of Parliament ended yesterday not so much with a whimper but with mockery. At the end of months of activity, little resulted in the way of meaningful legislation. While MPs milled about offering holiday wishes, you could sense an emptiness and loss of purpose. The great questions co ...
- 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 ...
- Counting Blessings, Remembering the Children
by Barbara Loe Fisher Every Christmas and New Year, when I give thanks for the people who have blessed my life, I remember the mothers and fathers of severely vaccine injured children, who have taught me the most about love and courage. I know that my son, Chris, who developed brain inflammation ...
- 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 ...
- The art of risk science
I’m feeling a little lazy today, so this is a cross-posting from the University of Michigan Risk Science Center newsletter. It draws in part on the talk I gave at the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center this past weekend as part of their “where do we go from here?” series. The whole setup at CAC ...
- 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 ...
- Obama to Sign Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal
Excerpt, Obama quote: "It is time to close this chapter in our history ... It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed." San Francisco: A supporter of same-sex marriage holds American and ...
- Julian Assange Says His Life Is 'Under Threat'
The report begins: "Julian Assange said today his life and the lives of his colleagues at the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks are under threat." WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrives back at Ellingham Hall, Norfolk, on Saturday, 12/18/10. (photo: Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images) Sorry, yo ...
- Two States Sue Bank of America on Mortgage Servici ...
The report begins: "The states of Arizona and Nevada sued Bank of America Corp on Friday, accusing the largest US bank of routinely misleading consumers about home loan modifications." File photo, Worcester, Massachusetts, residents protest Bank of America foreclosures, 09/18/09. (photo: Boston I ...
- Officials: CIA Gave Waterboarders $5 Million Legal ...
The Associated Press reports: "When the CIA decided to waterboard suspected terror detainees in overseas prisons, the agency turned to a pair of contractors. The men designed the CIA's interrogation program and also personally took part in the waterboarding sessions." (illustration: Matt Mahurin) ...
- CNN and Tea Party Express to Host 2012 Debate
Kenneth P. Vogel reports: "CNN said Friday that it is joining forces with the Tea Party Express - a political action committee that played a key role in the 2010 midterm elections - to co-host a Republican presidential debate." A Tea Party member wrapped in an American flag, 12/07/09. (photo: Get ...
- The other “Afghanistan Report”
Whose stories are we telling about the war in Afghanistan? On the day following the White House report on the war in Afghanistan that names the war as a qualified success and calls for the U.S. to “stay the course,” we must lift up the alternative stories and reports of this near-decade of occupatio ...
- 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 ...
- Looking at Food System Issues through a ‘Food Just ...
I first came upon the term “food justice” from an organization in Oakland called People’s Grocery led by Brahm Ahmadi and others who were fighting against an unjust food system in the “food desert” of West Oakland. At the time, it was an area that left residents with liquor stores and [...]
- 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 ...
- U.S. Prepares For New Decade Of War In Asia
Stop NATO December 16, 2010 U.S. Prepares For New Decade Of War In Asia Rick Rozoff The United States is engaged in the longest war in its 234-year history in Afghanistan, one that will begin its eleventh calendar year in two weeks. Like the war that had been America’s longest before now, that in In ...
- 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 ...
- The Intel Hub Radio with Special Guests Bob Chapma ...
The Intel Hub Radio with Shepard Ambellas. The show is live Sunday at 5pm est with special guests Bob Chapman and James Walbert on secret RFID implants. Is the economy about to collapse? Are American citizens being secretly implanted with RFID Chips? You can Listen Here http://theintelhubradio.com O ...
- Tensions Rise In Korea As South Puts Planes On Sta ...
The Intel Hub Tensions are rising in Korea has the South prepares for live fire drills in the same area that the North attacked weeks ago. The United Nations is expected to convene an emergency meeting due to the expected violence in Korea. Bloomberg is reporting that Russia asked for the emergency ...
- World Economic Crisis & Secret RFID Implants
The Intel Hub Radio Sunday a 5 pm eastern time we are welcoming Bob Chapman of The International Forecaster to the show. We will be talking with Bob about the current status of the economy worldwide and taking calls. Top of the second hour we will have Intel Hub Associate & Contributor George Hemmin ...
- Senate Votes To Repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don ...
The Washington Post By Ed O’Keefe Saturday, December 18, 2010; 4:36 PM The Senate voted decisively Saturday to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law, beginning the process of ending a 17-year ban on gays serving openly in the military and reversing decades of official military policy. In the end, t ...
- UK: Millions Facing Fuel Rationing Over Christmas ...
The Telegraph By Rosa Prince An estimated two million homes, schools and hospitals face fuel rationing over Christmas after MPs warned that supplies of heating oil would hit “crisis” point during the cold snap. As snow began falling again across the country, the Government confirmed that the situati ...
- Philippines: New People’s Army carries out m ...
Posted on Maoist Revolution, December 17, 2010 Press Release: Information Bureau, Communist Party of the Philippines No treachery, truce violation in NPA ambush of operating Philippine Army troops in Samar The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today declared that “there was neither treachery ...
- Petition to Obama: WE WANT YOU OUT! Time to listen ...
Global Day of Listening – “We want you out” petition To all the leaders of our world, the leaders of the US-led coalition, the Afghan government, the ‘Taliban/Al-Qaeda’ and regional countries: We are intolerably angry. All our senses are hurting. Our women, our men and yes shame on you, our childre ...
- Sunday, December 19: Global Day of Listening to Af ...
http://www.thepeoplesjourney.org/ Inspired by the Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers and Afghans For Peace, this GLOBAL DAY of LISTENING will allow everyone to listen to the stories told by the Afghan People of what it is like to live now in Afghanistan. Anyone interested in talking with those gathered i ...
- Israel Now Builds Separation Wall With Africa
[Through much of history, Palestine was a meeting place of world's peoples and histories. Since the Zionist establishment of the exclusivist Jewish state of Israel, it is a land marked by its exclusions--ethnic cleansing, apartheid systems, brutal racist profiling and criminalizations, and walls to ...
- Daniel Ellsberg Among Anti-War Protesters Arrested ...
NPR News December 16, 2010 by Wright Bryan [Daniel Ellsberg flashes two peace signs behind his back while being arrested during a snowy anti-war protest in front of the White House.] On the same day that President Obama and his advisors declared that the United States is “on track” in Afghanistan, ...
- A little more reading with Sunday's column...
To read about Ray Oldenburg's notion of third places, go here. To read more about third places, go here. To read more about General Growth Properties, go here. To read about their bankruptcy, go here. And enjoy the portraits of some of the WEBWARRIORZ, courtesy of Mike Cusanelli.
- That's right. It's Elvis Weekend!
Enjoy.
- Christmas in Vegas
Well, not really. I'm only in Vegas for a few days. Are you jealous? Don't be. I'm flying out to meet my next-to-the-oldest brother, the impulsive one, the one who thinks it'd be a gas to spend time in the climate-controlled�bubble�of Sin City right before Jesus' birthday. (As circumspect as I am ...
- This is Jac's idea, and it's a good one:
In the middle of the holiday rush, Jac suggests we each think up some kind of random act of kindness, and then go out and do it. If you think of something particularly creative, feel free to add it here.
- Quick! Name your favorite subversive book!
Mine's the Bible. Sharon sends this, a Religion Dispatches report on a New Hampshire couple concerned that Barbara Ehrenreich's book, "Nickel and Dimed, On (Not) Getting By In America," is disrespectful to Jesus. That is strange to me. I found that book to be spot-on -- but I don't remember much in ...
- Unemployment Extensions Pass House, Restoring Life ...
For those jobless workers whose only source of income for the past several months has been an unemployment benefits check, the news out of Washington on Thursday night must have been a relief. Extension benefits expired at the end of November...Contributor: Saul Relative Published: Dec 17, 2010
- Bernie Madoff Ponzi Victims Will Recover $7.2 Bill ...
Barbara Picower, the widow of Madoff investor Jeffry Picower, agreed to voluntarily return all the investment income received from Madoff over a 35-year period.Contributor: Angie Mohr Published: Dec 17, 2010
- Tony Romo Engaged to Candice Crawford; '40-Year-Ol ...
Just as talk about Jessica Simpson's quickie engagement started to calm down, it has picked back up again. Not because of anything Jessica did, but because of the engagement of her ex Tony Romo to girlfriend Candice Crawford.Contributor: Sarah F. Sullivan Published: Dec 17, 2010
- Pulled Pork: Omnibus Spending Bill Withdrawn in th ...
Late Thursday night, Senate Majority Leady Harry Reid was forced to pull the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill from consideration. Reid was forced to admit that he did not have the votes to pass it.Contributor: Mark Whittington Published: Dec 17, 2010
- Omnibus Spending Bill Gridlocked in Senate
The gigantic Omnibus spending bill that funds the government for fiscal year 2011 is being gridlocked in the Senate over the practice of earmarks, and charges of hypocrisy are being leveled. What does a shutdown mean for you and me?Contributor: R. D. Lamont Published: Dec 16, 2010
- This Week in the Future, December 13-17, 2010
What is ... bonjour? A clearly French robot is playing Jeopardy, but that's not all. This week's vision of the future illustrates a whopping 9 stories from the last 5 days on PopSci.com. As ever, if you are the first to correctly identify all of them in the comments section, you can win this week ...
- Formerly Common Little Brown Bat May Be Headed For ...
Biologists are asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine whether the little brown bat — formerly one of the most common mammals in North America — should be added to the endangered species list, bat conservationists said Thursday. “The little brown bat is in imminent danger of extinct ...
- In Tiniest Computer Memory Ever, Researchers Succe ...
Physicists have stored information for nearly two minutes inside the magnetic spins of atomic nuclei, producing the longest-lasting spintronic device yet and what could be the world’s tiniest computer memory. There’s just one problem: the computer operates at -454 F (about 3.2 degrees K) and requir ...
- White House Commission: Biologists Can Engineer Cu ...
Green light for synthetic biology Back in May, J. Craig Venter thrust synthetic biology into the spotlight when he announced that his institute had created the first self-replicating bacteria cell with a synthetic genome. Among those taking notice was President Barack Obama, who asked the President ...
- Google's Body Browser is a Google Earth for Human ...
Google has mapped just about every traffic artery you could ever want to locate on Google Maps, but what if the thruway you’re looking for isn’t on any road atlas? To help you tell your axillary artery from your common carotid, Google has created a G-Maps-like search-able guide for the human body t ...
- Senate Repeals ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Saturday struck down the ban on gay men and lesbians serving openly in the military, bringing to a close a 17-year struggle over a policy that forced thousands of Americans from the ranks and caused others to keep secret their sexual orientation. By Cark Hulse in the NYT B ...
- Herzl was an Anti-Semite in Disguise.
“The wealthy Jews control the world, in their hands lies the fate of governments and nations. They set governments one against the other. When the wealthy jews play, the nations and the rulers dance. One way or the other, they get rich” ..Theodor Herzl
- OBAMA’S AFGHAN STRATEGY: SURGE, BRIBE AND FA ...
President Obama’s outrageous and blatant sellout on the Bush Tax Cuts is minor compared to his Afghan strategy of surge, bribe and fabricate the truth at the expense of the growing reality on the ground. This is a man who increasingly cannot be believed and most certainly does not deserve a ...
- JEFF GATES: WIKILEAKS–WHOSE AGENDA?
WikiLeaks — Whose Agenda? By Jeff Gates Those tracking the agenda now advancing behind the WikiLeaks façade should check for the undisclosed bias among editors at the four newspapers chosen to select what was leaked. And when it was leaked. The pro-Israeli bias of The New York Times needs no citati ...
- JEFF GATES: DEFLATION, INFLATION-TAKE YOUR PICK
Deflation, Inflation – Take Your Pick By Jeff Gates U.S. stock markets rallied to recent highs on news that the U.S. Federal Reserve planned to pump up to $900 billion more cash into the economy. Financial markets reflect today’s appraisal of tomorrow’s cash flows. More cash means more flows. Fed Ch ...
- ‘Pentagon To Withhold Budget Figures Out Of ...
Pictures and video from the pro-Assange protest outside London metro court, brought to you by the @warisbusiness Twitter feed.
- Even Philip K. Dick Didn’t See This Coming: ...
A helpful new public service announcement via Public Intelligence: Homeland Security has an important new mission: “loss prevention.” From the National Retail Federation: In October, during the NRFâs Loss Prevention Senior Executive Summit, Andrea Schultz from DHS to shared the program and encourage ...
- Raytheon: A Cash-Seeking Missile
I’m trying a cleaner look for the WarCorp Dossiers. This post also marks the first official test of the revamped DIY ⢠WIB form, a unique crowdsourcing project on military contractors and arms dealers. If you haven’t tried it yet, please do. Why not start by looking up a Pentagon contractor in your ...
- Exposed: The Full List Of Newly ‘Blacklisted ...
From the Wall Street Journal: The U.S. military began the process of blacklisting a major Afghan company owned by relatives of President Hamid Karzai, a move U.S. officials describe as a significant step to stop American funds from fueling corruption and bankrolling the Taliban. The company is Watan ...
- Former Bush Admin. Lawyer Will Keep Tabs On Blackw ...
This woman, Wendy Wysong, is now responsible for making sure that Blackwater doesn’t continue to illegally export weapons, under a $42 million settlement agreement between the infamous mercenary company and the US State Department. Wysong is a partner at a top-flight Washington, DC law firm, and an ...
- 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 ...
- EcoAlert: Ancient 2-8 Million Year-Old Forest Disc ...
Ohio State University researchers and their colleagues have discovered the remains of the northermost forest buried by a landslide that lived on the island two to eight million years ago, when the Arctic was cooling. The remains could offer clues...
- 'You Couldn't Make This Stuff Up' Dept: UFOs turn ...
Those strange bright lights residents saw in the night sky earlier this month over Santa Monica Bay turned out not to be UFOs after all, but rather two daredevils from the Red Bull Air Force who decided to jump out...
- Is DNA a Fossil of the Origin of Life? (Today's Mo ...
"In some sense, the genetic code is a fossil or perhaps an echo of the origin of life, just as the cosmic microwave background is a sort of echo of the Big Bang. And its form points to a process...
- A Gigantic Lost Moon Created Saturn's Rings -New F ...
One of the solar system's most evocative mysteries — the origin of Saturn's rings — may have been created by an unnamed moon of Saturn that disappeared about 4.5 billion years ago in a forced plunge into Saturn leaving behind...
- Image of the Day: A Globular Cluster 'Metropolis' ...
This stunning new image of Messier 107 -one of 150 globular clusters that orbit the Milky Way-was captured by the Wide Field Imager on the 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. Messier 107, also known as NGC...
- UK non-profits end era of sunlight ignorance and v ...
(NaturalNews) Seven leading health groups in the UK have announced a "definitive statement" that reverses decades of ignorant opposition to sunlight exposure. This statement admits what NaturalNews has been teaching for years: That sunlight exposure is good for you and that people should seek to exp ...
- TSA screenings miss loaded handguns, bombs, says r ...
(NaturalNews) Getting through the airport security line with dangerous weapons is far easier than most people might think, according to a recent ABC News report. Undercover government agents testing the effectiveness of common U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) airport security protoc ...
- Beet juice provides incredible cardiovascular bene ...
(NaturalNews) Beetroots, also known as beets, are packed with blood pressure-reducing, heart disease-preventing nutrients that help maintain healthy active function and boost overall endurance levels in those that consume them. And a new study out of the University of Exeter (UofE) has found that no ...
- Vision breakthrough: eye exercises improve elders' ...
(NaturalNews) For decades, some natural health advocates have claimed you could actually enhance and improve vision (and sometimes get rid of your glasses) by "training" your eyes to see better. Sound like impossible pie-in-the-sky promises or even quackery? Now there's mainstream scientific evidenc ...
- More than a million Europeans sign petition to sto ...
(NaturalNews) The European Union (EU) has typically been far slower than the U.S. to approve the plantings and use of genetically-modified organisms (GMO). But even the few crops that it has sanctioned have been met with opposition from many concerned Europeans. According to a recent Reuters report, ...
- Details of Sex Crime Allegations Against WikiLeaks ...
Leaked police reports from Sweden are providing the most detailed account to date of the rape and molestation allegations circling WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Assange was freed from a London jail on $300,000 bail on Thursday, after being held for nine days on an arrest warrant issued from Swed ...
- Congress Hears WikiLeaks Is ‘Fundamentally Differe ...
The Justice Department would have no problem distinguishing WikiLeaks from traditional media outlets, should it decide to charge WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with violating the Espionage Act, a former federal prosecutor told lawmakers Thursday. “By clearly showing how WikiLeaks is fundamentally ...
- Assange Freed On $300,000 Bail After 9 Days in a B ...
After nine days in jail, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was freed on bail Thursday in London after an appeal by British authorities failed. Assange was granted bail on Tuesday but was remanded in custody pending the outcome of the appeal. Assange can remain free while he fights extradition to Swe ...
- U.S. Trying to Build Conspiracy Case Against WikiL ...
U.S. federal prosecutors are looking for evidence that would help them bring conspiracy charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, according to the New York Times. Prosecutors are looking for anything that would suggest Assange encouraged or helped Manning leak classified information by givi ...
- WikiLeaks Contender ‘Promising,’ Analysts Say
A new transparency site being launched by WikiLeaks defectors is a promising alternative, according to media and government transparency analysts, but its true value will depend on whether it can garner the trust and interest of sources with valuable documents to leak. The new site, OpenLeaks, is s ...
- Sarah Palin's Double Standard on Double Standards
Like a broken clock, even Sarah Palin is occasionally right. So it is with her suggestion that the perpetually weepy incoming House Speaker John Boehner is getting a free pass for theatrical water works a woman could never survive politically. As it turns out, the half-term governor is speaking fr ...
- Your Tax Dollars at Work
On Friday, the House approved the $801 billion "compromise" tax bill, sending it on to the White House for President Obama's signature. Over the next two years, that budget-busting, gilded class giveaway will cost the Treasury $70 billion in revenue lost from the top 2% of taxpayers and another $25 ...
- GOP Commissioners Blame Economic Meltdown on Gover ...
Republican politics are now defined by necessary lies, untruths like "tax cuts pay for themselves" which GOP orthodoxy requires be true. So it should come as no surprise that the Republican members of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission are dissenting from the panel's upcoming report to falsely ...
- 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 ...
- 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.
- '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
- Abbas: Ecuador Next to Recognize Palestinian State ...
Bolivia is the latest country to recognize the State of Palestine after it officially announced yesterday that it recognized a sovereign Palestinian State along its 1967 borders. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday welcomed Bolivia’s recognition of a Palestinian state and praised the ...
- Testimonies reveal IDF campaign to dismantle Pales ...
IDF soldier testimonies, collected by Breaking the Silence, and published exclusively on +972, confirm that the intent of the IDF during the Second Intifada was to undermine the ability of Palestinian society to politically challenge Israel, by destroying its capacity to function as an integrated wh ...
- Demonstrators Scale the Separation Wall in Ni’ilin ...
Roughly thirty demonstrators including Israeli and international supporters marched peacefully to the Separation Wall as part of the weekly unarmed protest in Ni'ilin. Protesters were attacked with tear gas and soldiers entered Ni'ilin's agricultural lands, chasing the demonstration back to the vill ...
- The Devil's in the Discourse (Nadia Hijab, Huffin ...
The U.S. is now on the wrong side of the discourse in more ways than one. The letter sent this month by 26 former European Union leaders to top EU officials and member states challenged t ...
- IDF destroys numerous water cisterns across South ...
I was surprised to see that Haaretz's leading story in the Hebrew print edition on Thursday covered the fact that the Civil Administration (the Israel Defense Force ...
- UFO shot down over Israeli nuclear plant
An unidentified object was shot down in Israel after it was spotted over a nuclear power plant. The Israeli Air Force was alerted when the mystery obj...
- Lord Jesus Christ hit by car
A man whose legal name is "Lord Jesus Christ" has been knocked down by a car in Massachusetts. The 50-year-old's background had to be checked by polic...
- Billy the Kid considered for a pardon
The notorious Wild West outlaw Billy the Kid who killed 21 men is being considered for a pardon. The governor of New Mexico has been reviewing the cas...
- Woman with rare condition knows no fear
A woman in the US has a rare medical condition that results in her having no sense of fear whatsoever. The part of her brain responsible for fear reac...
- Baboon god statue found in Egyptian ruins
The remains of statues including those of a pharoah and an Egyptian baboon god have been unearthed. The find was made during an excavation at Amenhote...
- Brazilian referendum seeks limits to land concentr ...
plebiscito_popular_logo.jpg Members of the Brazilian National Forum for Agrarian Reform and Justice announced this week the results of a non-binding referendum about whether the Brazilian government should limit the concentration of land held ...
- Development Volunteer
Grassroots International has an opportunity for someone interested in assisting our Development team on an ongoing, on-line research project to identify possible funding sources, including from foundations and ally organizations. We are looking for someone to start immediately, working flexible dayt ...
- 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 ...
- Senator to Seek Vote Stopping EPA Carbon Rules
Source:� Reuters Sen. John Rockefeller of West Virginia said he would seek a vote before the end of the congressional session on his bill to postpone EPA regulation of CO2 emissions for two years.
- Government Pushes Solar Power in Six Western State ...
Source:� Reuters The Obama administration on Thursday proposed special energy zones on public lands in six western states deemed good locations to build utility-scale solar facilities. �
- Records Show Concerns About Another BP Rig
Source:� New York Times In newly disclosed documents from before the spill in the Gulf of Mexico, some Congressional officials pressed regulators about offshore drilling safety, but complained they were rebuffed.
- DOE Sees Rapid Growth in Natural Gas
Source:� Politico The Energy Department foresees a rapid growth in natural gas production over the next 25 years, according to a report from its statistical arm Thursday.
- EIA: Coal Will Be the ‘Dominant Fuel’ for Generati ...
Source:� The Hill Coal will continue to be the "dominant fuel" used to generate electricity in the U.S. through 2035, according to new projections released Thursday by the EIA.
- Economy, Better Management Cited for Fewer Toxic E ...
The 3.37 billion pounds of toxic chemicals released in 2009 represents of 40 percent drop compared to 2001, the EPA said in its analysis of the 2009 Toxic Release Inventory unveiled Thursday.
- Using LEED as the Starting Point for Greater Susta ...
Congratulations. You’ve been LEED certified. Now what? That is the question facing the owners and operators of over one billion square feet of commercial space that have obtained LEED status under the U.S. Green Building Council’s green building rating system.
- Nintendo Wii Ranked Most Energy Efficient Game Sys ...
A study by the Electric Power Research Institute tested the three most popular home gaming consoles and found a wide range of difference, with the Nintendo Wii using one-sixth the energy of the Microsoft Xbox 360.
- Echotect Turns Stone, Recycled Plastic into Counte ...
�A company created by Shell and its venture capital arm has developed a way to turned recycled plastic and crushed minerals into alternatives to natural stone surfacing.
- GBEST: Best Buy, Starbucks Share Ideas for Saving ...
"Nothing says energy efficiency like 'off',' " said Best Buy's Hugh Cherne, one of several speakers at the GreenBiz Environmental Sustainability Tools Virtual Conference, the company's first online trade show which was presented with Groom Energy.
- From Thuggees to fake WikiLeaks
Does the thinking which once whipped up the fear of a cult of highway robbers in colonial India live on in fake WikiLeaks?
- Polar bears, sure. But grolar bears?
More than the climate is changing above the Arctic Circle. Meet the grolar bear.
- Perilous predictions for 2011
It's a perilous business making predictions about politics and world affairs. But the costs of being taken by surprise are so large that it's worth trying to pick the trouble spots. Here's our forecast for the top 10 political roadblocks the world will face in 2011
- 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?
- DADT No More
I spent today with the family (parents, brothers, wives, and kids) having our Christmas celebration, and I am pleased to see that we've finally repealed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. (This is the roll call despite being labeled as a Small Business bill amendment). Surprise supporters were John ...
- Who Needs Safe Food? Or Health Care?
According to Senate Republicans, Americans don't need to improve the safety of our food supply by increasing the number of food inspections, despite recent outbreaks of food borne diseases and warnings by the USDA about food safety? What's surprising about this particular action by Senate Republica ...
- Disengaging Pakistan
So the ISI decided to blow the cover of our CIA Station Chief in Islamabad, causing his recall from Pakistan. The two obvious motivators for this? Obama's speech was followed Friday with fresh evidence that the United States will continue pounding militant groups when Pakistan can't or won't. Th ...
- Our Government is Making Me Go Insane
On and off today I watched the Senate debate on the New START Treaty, and I have to admit that I found the whole spectacle deeply depressing. I wasn't encouraged through monitoring Twitter, my email lists, and the blogosphere, and thereby coming to the realization that somehow progressives have bec ...
- Christmas Time is Here Again
What do you have? Discuss
- 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 ...
- Depression Impacts Men and Women Differently
A GoodTherapy.org News Headline Look past the simple numbers of how many people need to find a therapist or counselor to address depression or anxiety. Beyond those numbers, how are people impacted, on an every day level, because of their mental health? Despite common perceptions, more men than wome ...
- Psychotherapy News Weekly Round-Up
A GoodTherapy.org Psychotherapy News Weekly Round-Up We hope you all are taking care of yourselves in this final rush of the holiday season. Hopefully reading these articles can give you some time to yourself and some new and interesting things to talk about during this season of sharing, loving, an ...
- The Psychology of Heroism
A GoodTherapy.org News Headline It’s easy to imagine that those who stand out as ‘heroes’ have some sort of ability, bravery, or internal force that sets them apart from the rest of us. After all, ‘regular people’ struggle with depression and anxiety. Some of us need to find a therapist or counselor ...
- Alaska Natives Speak Out About Depression and Suic ...
A GoodTherapy.org News Headline Nationwide, the suicide rate among young indigenous Americans is double the national average. It’s even higher in Alaska. At a recent conference, Alaska Natives spoke out about the depression, substance abuse, and suicide that they saw going untreated in their familie ...
- 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 ...
- Educating Rand: “Deep Down” Film Brings Kentucky's ...
Educating Rand: �Deep Down� Film Brings Kentucky's Mountaintop Removal Battle ... AlterNet (blog) While national media attention on mountaintop removal mining has largely been focused on West Virginia, the PBS Independent Lens series will air �Deep Down� ... �Deep Down�: A community battle over pro ...
- Review of feds' handling of mine permit sought - W ...
Review of feds' handling of mine permit sought WYMT (AP) - Nine members of Congress want President Barack Obama to review the federal government's handling of a permit for a mountaintop removal mine. ...
- Midday open thread - Daily Kos
Midday open thread Daily Kos ... scientific work and limited access to information on a variety of issues ranging from climate change to lead poisoning and mountaintop removal mining. ... and more��
- W.Va. delegation asks White House to review EPA ov ...
W.Va. delegation asks White House to review EPA over Spruce Mine Charleston Gazette The potential EPA veto is part of an Obama administration crackdown on mountaintop removal, in which agency officials say they are taking "unprecedented ... Rep. Rahall demands White House review of EPA's handling o ...
- White House issues plan to protect science from go ...
White House issues plan to protect science from government MiamiHerald.com ... scientific work and limited access to information on a variety of issues ranging from climate change to lead poisoning and mountaintop removal mining. ... and more��
- John McCain at his fieriest before 'don't ask, don ...
Dana Milbank / Washington Post: John McCain at his fieriest before 'don't ask, don't tell' vote — If John McCain gets any more hostile toward his Senate colleagues, they might consider having him go through the metal detector before he enters the Capitol. — Saturday's debate on the repeal of th ...
- A Typical Day for PFC Bradley Manning (Army Court- ...
Army Court-Martial Defense Specialist / The Law Office …: A Typical Day for PFC Bradley Manning — PFC Manning is currently being held in maximum custody. Since arriving at the Quantico Confinement Facility in July of 2010, he has been held under Prevention of Injury (POI) watch. — His cell is ...
- Benedict Arnold Republicans destroy military and o ...
Bryan Fischer / afa.net: Benedict Arnold Republicans destroy military and our national security — We are now stuck with sexual deviants serving openly in the U.S. military because of turncoat Republican senators. — (Dictionary definition of “deviant”: “departing from usual or accepted standards ...
- Senate votes to repeal 'don't ask, don't tell' (Ed ...
Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post: Senate votes to repeal 'don't ask, don't tell' — The Senate voted 65 to 31 Saturday to repeal the “don't ask, don't tell” law, beginning the process of ending a 17-year ban on gays serving openly in the military and reversing decades of official military policy.
- As DREAM Act Fails, Graham Tells Undocumented Yout ...
Andrea Nill / ThinkProgress: As DREAM Act Fails, Graham Tells Undocumented Youth They Wasted Their Time — Today, the Senate failed to invoke cloture on the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. Fourty-one mostly Republican senators voted against a bill which would have ...
- M 5.1, Ethiopia
Sunday, December 19, 2010 12:14:24 UTCSunday, December 19, 2010 03:14:24 PM at epicenterDepth: 9.80 km (6.09 mi)
- M 5.1, Pacific-Antarctic Ridge
Sunday, December 19, 2010 09:48:57 UTCSunday, December 19, 2010 12:48:57 AM at epicenterDepth: 10.00 km (6.21 mi)
- M 5.2, Seram, Indonesia
Thursday, December 16, 2010 21:43:00 UTCFriday, December 17, 2010 06:43:00 AM at epicenterDepth: 60.90 km (37.84 mi)
- M 5.4, Kermadec Islands, New Zealand
Thursday, December 16, 2010 02:10:25 UTCThursday, December 16, 2010 02:10:25 PM at epicenterDepth: 37.50 km (23.30 mi)
- M 5.0, Mid-Indian Ridge
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 04:23:03 UTCWednesday, December 15, 2010 09:23:03 AM at epicenterDepth: 10.00 km (6.21 mi)
- Living on the edge
Low-lying deltas are home to half the world’s population and much of its wealth, but they are also on the frontlines of climate change. Olivia Boyd looks at the challenges.This year, officials in Jakarta realised they had a serious problem: rain – and more rain. Indonesia’s wet months are famously s ...
- Relic of a planned economy
Chinese business is paying the price for inefficient and unfair green policies. It’s time for the government to re-think its role in environmental protection, writes Tang Hao.2010 is the final year of China’s 11th Five-Year Plan. In the first four years, the energy-intensity of the Chinese economy f ...
- Relic of a planned economy
Chinese business is paying the price for inefficient and unfair green policies. It’s time for the government to re-think its role in environmental protection, writes Tang Hao.2010 is the final year of China’s 11th Five-Year Plan. In the first four years, the energy-intensity of the Chinese economy ...
- Apology
chinadialogue has received a complaint from Mr Cheng Guoqiang about a recently published article. Although the article was prepared and published in good faith, chinadialogue's editors accept that errors were made in the preparation and publication of this article and we apologise unreservedly for ...
- 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 ...
- DADT Officially Repealed!
- GOP Kills Bonds Program: Secret Plan to Bankrupt S ...
The tax deal that passed Congress doesn’t just cost the federal government $850 billion in lost revenues. It also pushes state governments closer to defaulting on loans by failing to extend a federal subsidy program for states that has allowed them to raise billions and avoid bankruptcy. Cash- ...
- The Witch Hunt Against Assange Is Turning into an ...
The Obama admin's reported plan to indict Julian Assange strikes at the heart of investigative journalism on national security scandals.
- Solar Energy Zones Identified in Six Western State ...
A detailed study just released names 24 "solar energy zones" that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said are "best suited for large-scale solar development."
- Obama: A Tale of Betrayal
Crossposted on Tikkun Daily by Harold Jacobs There recently has been a wave of commentary in the established media depicting Obama as being concerned more with appearance than specific substantive accomplishments, craving acceptance by the economic and political establishment, and unwilling to fi ...
- Details of Sex Crime Allegations Against WikiLeaks ...
Leaked police reports from Sweden are providing the most detailed account to date of the rape and molestation allegations circling WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Assange was freed from a London jail on $300,000 bail on Thursday, after being held for nine days on an arrest warrant issued from Swed ...
- Congress Hears WikiLeaks Is ‘Fundamentally Differe ...
The Justice Department would have no problem distinguishing WikiLeaks from traditional media outlets, should it decide to charge WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with violating the Espionage Act, a former federal prosecutor told lawmakers Thursday. “By clearly showing how WikiLeaks is fundamentally ...
- Assange Freed On $300,000 Bail After 9 Days in a B ...
After nine days in jail, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was freed on bail Thursday in London after an appeal by British authorities failed. Assange was granted bail on Tuesday but was remanded in custody pending the outcome of the appeal. Assange can remain free while he fights extradition to Swe ...
- U.S. Trying to Build Conspiracy Case Against WikiL ...
U.S. federal prosecutors are looking for evidence that would help them bring conspiracy charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, according to the New York Times. Prosecutors are looking for anything that would suggest Assange encouraged or helped Manning leak classified information by givi ...
- WikiLeaks Contender ‘Promising,’ Analysts Say
A new transparency site being launched by WikiLeaks defectors is a promising alternative, according to media and government transparency analysts, but its true value will depend on whether it can garner the trust and interest of sources with valuable documents to leak. The new site, OpenLeaks, is s ...
- Ivory Coast's Gbagbo tells U.N. to leave, Ban refu ...
ABIDJAN/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo on Saturday ordered U.N. and French troops to leave the country, but U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon rejected the demand, saying his blue helmets would not budge.
- Security Council to meet over Korea crisis
YEONPYEONG, South Korea (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency session on Sunday in bid to cool tensions on the Korean peninsula, as bad weather delayed Seoul's planned firing drill at a disputed border that has enraged Pyongyang.
- Pro-WikiLeaks hackers may be hard for U.S. to purs ...
NEW YORK, Dec 17 (Reuters Legal) - Legal hurdles could make it tough for U.S. prosecutors to go after pro-WikiLeaks hackers who waged cyber attacks last week on Visa, MasterCard, PayPal and other companies.
- Foreign troop 2010 toll hits 700 in Afghanistan
KABUL/KUNDUZ, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Taliban insurgents launched attacks in Kabul and a major northern city on Sunday as the death toll for foreign troops in Afghanistan hit 700 in 2010, by far the deadliest year of the near decade-long war.
- Analysis: "Dream Act" failure kills immigration re ...
PHOENIX (Reuters) - Defeat of a bill that would have created a pathway to citizenship for some young illegal immigrants dashes President Barack Obama's hopes of passing broad immigration reform in the new Congress, but his popularity among Hispanics is undiminished, analysts said.
- News you may have missed #460
Deported Russian spy gets Rosneft oil job. WikiLeaks defectors to launch OpenLeaks alternative. Former spies see benefits in WikiLeaks disclosures. Continue reading →
- Leaked cable confirms end of US-NZ spy quarrel
To regular readers of this blog, this is not so much a revelation, as it is a confirmation. Back in October of 2009, we wrote about a peculiar comment made Hillary Clinton. The United States Secretary of State had told a press conference that âwe [the US] are resuming our intelligence-sharing cooper ...
- 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 ...
- Lynne Stewart Transferred to Texas
Lynne Stewart Transferred to Texas - by Stephen Lendman Seven previous articles discussed her case and status, explaining the gross injustice against a heroic human rights lawyer who devoted her career to defending society's poor, unwanted, and unfairly persecuted - defendants deprived of due proces ...
- Israel's Sham Democracy
Israel's Sham Democracy - by Stephen Lendman Numerous previous articles exposed it, highlighting policies affording rights solely to Jews, including a January 2010 Israeli Democracy or Hypocrisy one accessed through the following link: http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/01/israeli-democracy-or-hypoc ...
- WikiLeaks Reveals U.S. Twisted Ethiopia's Arm to I ...
By Rob Prince, FPIF By mid 2007,�the 50,000 Ethiopian troops that invaded Somalia in late 2006 found themselves increasingly bogged down, facing much fiercer resistance than they had bargained for as Somalis of all stripes temporarily put aside their differences to stand together against the outs ...
- VIDEO: David Swanson on War Lies in Berkeley
OPENING REMARKS MUSICAL INTERLUDE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS read more
- California Cities Told They Cannot Punish Military ...
Apparently a toothless statement of the sense of the population would have been acceptable, but a locality enforcing a law against members of the imperial army is not. North Coast towns can't ban military recruiters By Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, 12/17/10
- California approves first broad U.S. climate plan
by Agence France-Presse. SAN FRANCISCO -- California has approved the most sweeping U.S. plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, acting on its own against climate change as proposed nationwide plans flounder in Washington. The largest U.S. state, which would be the world's eighth largest econom ...
- U.S. sues BP, nine others over Gulf oil spill
by Agence France-Presse. WASHINGTON -- The United States filed suit Wednesday against BP and nine other companies for damages stemming from this year's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the worst in U.S. history. The complaint was filed by the Justice Department with a federal court in New Orlean ...
- 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 ...
- That’s the Thicke
The logistics of a just, equitable and healthy agricultural landscape here in the United States would remain a problem if Michael Pollan himself, Wendell Berry, or better yet Fred Magdoff were appointed Secretary of Agriculture. Decades-long efforts pealing back agribusiness both as paradigm and inf ...
- 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 ...
- Ray Mcgovern, Daniel Ellsberg, and other senior de ...
The Indypendent 131 Arrested at Veteran-Led Civil Resistance to Wars at the White House Dec. 16 By Ellen Davidson December 16, 2010 | Posted in Ellen Davidson , IndyBlog , War | Email this article Veterans For Peace board member Elliott Adams chained himself to the White House fence with a bicycle l ...
- In the Mideast, The US is a Helpless Giant
Eric Margolis, Information Clearing House, Dec 13, 2010 In 1956, Britain, France and Israel colluded to invade Egypt to overthrow its hugely popular nationalist leader, Gamal Abdel Nasser. Israel provoked border clashes and quickly captured the Sinai Peninsula. The British and French landed at Suez. ...
- Study Confirms That Fox News Makes You Stupid
Study Confirms That Fox News Makes You Stupid News Corpse / By Mark Howard A new survey of American voters shows that Fox News viewers are significantly more misinformed than consumers of news from other sources. December 15, 2010 | Yet another study has been released proving that watching Fox News ...
- 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 ...
- The Solari Investment Model
By Catherine Austin Fitts In response to several questions regarding my unique approach to investment and portfolio strategy, I am posting related links of some of the descriptions I have posted on this topic. Every investment - whether it be of our time, our attention or our resources - has an impa ...
- Tax Cut Revolt
Rep. Peter DeFazio: President Obama is telling lawmakers it would be “the end” of his presidency if tax cut deal fails. View Video . . . Related reading: Congress Sends Tax Cut Extension Bill to President Journal of Accountancy (17 Dec 10)
- Note to a Reader
From a Reader This Morning: 60% of Americans now believe the war in Afghanistan was a mistakeâ¦the other 40% have been found to be 100% brain deadâ¦. Dear Friend: There is “Life and death in the power of the tongue.” I am an American - I would appreciate your not sending me e-mails that attack ordin ...
- My New Home is Runner Up in Tennessee!
Best place to raise kids in Tennessee: Clinton Nearby city: Knoxville Population: 9,224 Median family income: $55,421 Runner-up: Hohenwald Clinton is the county seat of Anderson County and is part of the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located on the Clinch River, where plans are in ...
- New Worries for 401(k) Investors
By Sarah Morgan Retirement savers have already learned how much damage the markets can do to a nest egg. But for anyone with a 401(k) plan, stock market performance may be overshadowed by other worries: fraud and theft. In the last three months, the Labor Department has launched 191 investigations ...
- 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��
- 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 ...
- 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 ...
- Christians flee central Iraq in thousands, UN repo ...
BBC – The UN refugee agency says thousands of Iraqi Christians are fleeing from central provinces of the country. They are seeking refuge in the relatively safe Kurdish-controlled region in the north. The UN High Commission for Refugees said about 1,000 families have left Baghdad and Mosul province ...
- Worms eat into GM crop myth
The Telegraph India-Insects expected to drop dead after feeding on genetically modified cotton plants have instead been found for the first time in India to be thriving and even successfully breeding on the plants. Government entomologists have detected natural bollworms — pests of cotton — capable ...
- Taliban attack leaves NATO soldier dead in E. Afgh ...
Xinhua — Taliban-linked activities claimed the life of another NATO soldier in Afghanistan on Saturday, brining the alliance’s casualties to four over the past two days, a press release of NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said. Read Article
- Sidestepping the U.S. Dollar, a Russian Exchange W ...
NY Times – Russia and China are poised to take a small but symbolic step in their expanding economic relationship, a move that in the long term could make the dollar less relevant to business between the two nations. On Wednesday, a Moscow securities exchange is scheduled to open direct trading betw ...
- Large Vitamin D Doses May Not Reduce Frailty Risk ...
Live Science – Taking large doses of vitamin D supplements may not reduce women’s risk of frailty later in life, according to a new study. In fact, the study found that both low and high levels of vitamin D in the blood were associated with an increased likelihood of frailty among older women. The r ...
- Americans are Making History Today
There has been so much not going well in America as of late that this success in repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell that will happen with a historic vote in the Senate today is a tremendous lift. Senators Harry Reid, Joseph Lieberman, Carl Levin, and many others deserve enormous credit in shaking this ...
- Merkel Wins Again
Even as Angela Merkel continues to suffer defeats within her own governing coalition in Germany, she has once again imposed her will on the EU, forcing austerity rather than additional bailouts to deal with the ongoing fiscal crisis in the eurozone. FT's Peter Spiegel calls, "The amendment, whic ...
- The Symbolic Power of Nuclear Deterrents
I once made a French diplomat really angry by suggesting that the persistence of the modest-sized British and French nuclear arsenals sent a really bad message about nuclear proliferation to regional powers all around the world. This interesting WikiLeaked cable from London about British thinking o ...
- The Short Life and Timely Death of Pop-Centric COI ...
Over at the Nation, I have a new piece looking at the evolution of counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan - from McChrystal-esque hearts and minds to Petraeus-style, kinetic action: What is happening in Afghanistan is an embrace of the aggressive approach to counterinsurgency once publicly di ...
- Where Is US Foreign Aid Going?
Most Americans believe the United States gives much more in foreign aid than it actually does. Â In reality, the United States spends around $37 billion on foreign aid, which is roughly 1% of the federal budget. That’s from the brand new ForeignAssistance.Gov, which you could spend hours perusing. T ...
- Lightning Round: America, We Hardly Knew Ye.
A couple of reactions to the defeat of the omnibus spending bill: "It’s a new day in Washington," says Rich Lowry. "President George W. Bush won this evening," says Kathryn Jean Lopez. I single these two out because they imply some era of renewed American greatness is to follow. But I don't see it. ...
- Friday Nerd Blogging.
Via Ta-Nehisi Coates is an...interesting new AMC series: AMC has officially given a 10-episode series order to Hell On Wheels, the post-Civil War drama (which we previously told you about) set during the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad and those uncertain years immediately following ...
- Do We Need More Laws for Sex Offense?
A new Government Accountability Office report finds that some sexual offenders have found jobs in some schools: In eleven cases, GAO investigators found, the teachers or staff members had targeted children before, and in six of the cases they were in new positions where they abused children again.T ...
- The Little Picture: White House Concert.
(White House/Samantha Appleton) President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama pretend to sing with an a cappella group in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House during a holiday reception.
- Anti-Anti-Racism.
Political correctness and people who call things racist are the greatest threats to free speech, says Andrew Breitbart in this video from Reason (zoom ahead to 1:35): This is a nearly pure expression of conservative anti-anti-racism, or the idea that accusations of racism (against white people) ...
- The Case Against Sticking with Obama
KEN BONETTI FOR BUZZFLASH BuzzFlash is posting two successive commentaries: the case for sticking with Obama and the case against sticking with Obama. Ken Bonnetti of Colorado makes the against sticking with Obama. Obama's tax compromise with the Republicans is a betrayal beyond measure. First an ...
- The Case for Sticking with Obama
BOB KOEHLER FOR BUZZFLASH BuzzFlash is posting two successive commentaries: the case for sticking with Obama and the case against sticking with Obama. Syndicated columnist Bob Koehler makes the case for sticking with Obama. "Barack Obama was never a progressive or anything other than a closet Repub ...
- Is Obama Confusing Compromising With Surrender?
TONY PEYSER FOR BUZZFLASH I was openly for the longest time a Barack Obama defender But lately he seems to be confusing Compromise with surrender.read more
- Bernie Sanders: Block the Comcast Takeover of NBC ...
BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT The following is a December 14th news release from the office of Senator Bernie Sanders: Warning that a huge media monopoly would drive up cable television prices and stifle the free flow of information, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today urged the Department of Justice to blo ...
- Will the Republicans Overplay Their Hand?
TONY PEYSER FOR BUZZFLASH Despite a resurgence & Every way They've planned, I expect them all soon to Overplay Their hand. read more
- 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 ...
- Senate Votes Against DREAMs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 18, 2010America's Voice This morning, in a procedural vote requiring 60 votes to advance the legislation, the U.S. Senate voted against the DREAM Act by a 55-41 margin, effectively shutting the doors of opportunity to thousands of bright and talented young people w ...
- CCR Sends Letter to Obama Raising Concerns Over Im ...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 16, 2010Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) Today the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) wrote to President Barack Obama outlining concerns that deporting people with criminal convictions to Haiti amounts to a death sentence for many. The letter underlines th ...
- Kansas Issues Permit for New, Massive Sunflower Co ...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 16, 2010EarthjusticeToday, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) issued a permit for the highly controversial coal plant Sunflower Electric seeks to construct near Holcomb. The coal plant has been the subject of a multi-year controversy after being ...
- UN Security Council: A Step Toward Justice for Wom ...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 16, 2010Human Rights Watch (HRW)The UN Security Council's decision on December 16, 2010, to shame publicly the armed groups that target women for sexual abuse is a tremendous step toward ending this horrendous practice, Human Rights Watch said today. As it started a da ...
- New Human Rights Report Condemns Rise of Immigrati ...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 16, 2010National Network for Immigrant and Refugee RightsThe Obama Administration and Congress need to shift away from the immigration policing regime that the government has been building over the past decade, according to a new report issued within days of Intern ...
- Seeding Small Business: 5 Ideas from Detroit
by Stacy MitchellA couple of weeks ago I was invited to spend a day in Detroit meeting with local entrepreneurs and sharing ideas for spurring small business development.read more
- Record Levels of Violence in Afghanistan Do Not Eq ...
by Eric StonerGreetings from Afghanistan. I arrived here now almost a week ago and there is so much to share about this experience that it’s hard to know where to start. I’d like to offer a few random observations about Kabul that I’m sure will make more sense upon reflection.read more
- Bloody Trophies
by Linh DinhWe have an unprecedented capacity to absorb scandals. Wikileaks or no, Americans wake up each day to a new set of outrages, yet nothing changes. With hundreds of channel at our fingertip and a billion songs sloshing in our skulls, no crime against country, man or earth can linger lon ...
- Our Gay Commander-in-Chief
by Harvey WassermanAs "conservatives" scream and yell about gays in the military, they might remember that in all likelihood we have already had a gay Commander-in-Chief. His name was James Buchanan. He was the 15th President of the United States. A Democrat from Pennsylvania, Buchanan is discre ...
- Joe Biden v. Joe Biden on WikiLeaks
by Glenn GreenwaldIt's really not an overstatement to say that WikiLeaks and Julian Assange are the new Iraqi WMDs because the government and establishment media are jointly manufacturing and disseminating an endless stream of fear-mongering falsehoods designed to depict them as scary villains ...
- Demolishing Afghanistan To Save It
By Steve Hynd Our friend Gareth Porter has an important new piece in which he describes how General Petraeus, supposed COIN guru, has thrown out "population centric" anything in an attempt to show some short-term success for the occupation in Afghanistan. The military offensive in Kandahar, which ha ...
- Revisiting the Clauswitzian disconnect in Afghanis ...
By Dave Anderson: Counterinsurgency (COIN) is expensive, time consuming, and often practiced in areas of secondary or tertiary interests. These attributes often lead to a Clauswitzian disconnect between real political constraints and the operational doctrine of COIN, as COIN demands much more than t ...
- Failure, Not Progress, in Afghanistan
By Derrick Crowe and Robert Greenwald On Thursday, December 16, 2010, the White House will use its December review to try to spin the disastrous Afghanistan War plan by citing "progress" in the military campaign, but the available facts paint a picture of a war that's not making us safer and th ...
- The Pentagon's Credibility Cage Match
By Steve Hynd In the red corner! The Pentagon and Saint General David Petraeus, who claim that things are getting better in Afghanistan because Petraeus has thrown out the COIN book he wrote the foreword to, escalating airstrikes and unpopular night raids. Wait another Friedman Unit - six months - t ...
- 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 ...
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- "We will continue to sing": DAM's Suhell Nafar int ...
DAM is a Palestinian hip hop trio from Lod, a mixed Palestinian and Jewish town about 20 kilometers from Jerusalem. The Electronic Intifada contributor Hira Nabi spoke with ...
- Israel's new wall
CAIRO (IPS) - After building a wall in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Israel has begun construction on a new wall, this one to keep migrants from Africa out. The ...
- Resisting an ideology of inequality: Jody McIntyre ...
Over the past month, journalist and activist Jody McIntyre has joined a growing number of students, workers, activists and others in the UK protesting a government decision to cut ...
- A Bethlehem Christmas wish
More than 2,000 years ago, a miracle happened in Bethlehem and the prophet of peace, love and forgiveness was born. Now Bethlehem, as well as every other Palestinian city, ...
- Outcry in Denmark over firm's involvement in occup ...
The Danish-British security firm G4S has come under scrutiny after it was revealed last month that it supplies equipment and services to Israel for use at checkpoints and s ...
- 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 ...
- New Insourcing Rules Go Down with Withdrawn Approp ...
Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) was forced to pull the $1.1 trillion fiscal 2011 Appropriations Omnibus bill off the Senate calendar. The bill’s demise not only takes more than $8 billion in earmarks, over $1 billion in healthcare...
- Timeline of Former Interior Secretary's Transition ...
Earlier this week the Department of the Interior (DOI) Inspector General (IG) released their report investigating whether former Interior Secretary Gale Norton's involvement in the oil shale program while at Interior and continued involvement as general counsel for Shell presented...
- Morning Smoke: Army Overturns Own Findings On Ospr ...
Where there's smoke, there's fire. POGO's Morning Smoke is a collection of the previous day's investigations, scoops, and opinions related to the world of government oversight. Have a story you'd like to see included? Contact POGO's blog editor. Findings on...
- POGO's Danielle Brian Talks Secrecy in Journalism ...
POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian is up in Cambridge today for a one-day conference on secrecy in journalism. The conference is entitled "From Watergate to WikiLeaks: Journalism and Secrecy in the New Media Age." At 11:30 a.m. EST, she'll be...
- Morning Smoke: At the Crossroads of a Breakthrough ...
Where there's smoke, there's fire. POGO's Morning Smoke is a collection of the previous day's investigations, scoops, and opinions related to the world of government oversight. Have a story you'd like to see included? Contact POGO's blog editor. Tell your...
- Mississippi Launches Plan To End Child Homelessnes ...
Fulfilling the wishes and happiness of children is at the heart of the holiday season. So, now seems particularly timely for Mississippi to launch a new plan to end child homelessness (pdf) in the state. What better way to set the season of giving in motion than by committing to finding safe and st ...
- Thanksgiving 2.0: Food, Poverty and Telling the Tr ...
This Thanksgiving, most of us around the country shared a bountiful harvest feast with friends and family. We celebrated all that we are thankful for by gorging ourselves right into a food coma. It's the American way. Unfortunately, it's also the American way to be thankful for all that we have whil ...
- Homeless People Wanted: Must Be Open to Demeaning, ...
What are they thinking? People obviously don't see the homeless as human or they wouldn't attempt to hire them to do most of the insane, demeaning and illegal jobs out there. Here's a small sampling: Rob dead bodies. The Aokigahara forest at the base of Mt. Fuji in Japan is the site of 50 to 100 su ...
- LA Plans to Make Homelessness Go the Way of the Do ...
Instead of pretending homelessness doesn't exist, creating new laws to make it illegal to sit or sleep in public, or sending homeless residents on a one-way trip out of town, Los Angeles County may attempt to actually do something about ending homelessness. And the county is setting the bar high; it ...
- Don't Let Violence Against the Homeless Go Unpunis ...
Despite its economic troubles, Detroit is not known for being kind to the homeless. That's too bad, since there are nearly 10,000 homeless people living there. In October, police say that Steven James Diponio, 54, became so enraged at Charles Duncan, 42, who was homeless and sleeping behind a school ...
- Canadians split on Afghan extension
Canadians are split on the Harper government’s plan to extend Canada’s military mission in Afghanistan reports an Angus Reid Poll released on Monday (Jill Mahoney, “Canadians divided on Afghan training mission: poll,” Globe and Mail, 13 December 2010). According to the poll, 48% of Canadians support ...
- Pugliese on the F-35 fighter
Recent coverage by reporter David Pugliese on the F-35 and Canada: “Can the F-35 win a charm offensive?” Ottawa Citizen, 13 December 2010 “Peter Mackay in F-35 Attack Mode,” Ottawa Citizen, 13 December 2010 “Selling Canada on the need for fighters,” Ottawa Citizen, 12 December 2010 “The untold story ...
- Ottawa off course on jets
Tamara Lorincz and Steven Staples comment on the government’s plan to purchase F-35 stealth fighters (Tamara Lorincz & Steven Staples, “Ottawa off course on jets,” Chronicle-Herald, 11 December 2010): Representatives from the Department of National Defence were in Halifax recently to promote the con ...
- Canadians “may underestimate security threat”
The Harper government is worried about Canadian opposition to its plans to more closely integrate Canadian and U.S. border security efforts (Steven Chase, “Ottawa crafts plan to ward off criticism over U.S. border deal,” Globe and Mail, 10 December 2010). As the Globe and Mail reports, the Departmen ...
- Commons supports nuclear disarmament
The House of Commons gave its unanimous consent to a motion in support of nuclear disarmament on December 7th. New Democrat MP Bill Siksay moved: That the House of Commons: (a) recognize the danger posed by the proliferation of nuclear materials and technology to peace and security; (b) endorse the ...
- Panel Wants FDA to Examine Mercury Dental Fillings
December 16th, 2010 CNN By: Val Willingham A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee said Wednesday that the agency should look at updated data on mercury amalgam dental fillings that may indicate possible medical problems for patients. The panel — after hearing two days of testimony from ex ...
- 10 Foods You Should NEVER Eat!
I know I’ve posted this before, but as the new year approaches us, I feel that you may need to be reminded. I have this framed in all of my offices, so I would suggest you do the same! 1. Microwaved Food 2. Excitotoxins (MSG – monosodium glutamate, aspartame) and anything you can’t pronounce 3. Hom ...
- The Kevin Trudeau Show: 12-9-10
Today, Kevin reveals exactly why he does this radio show and why he will never give up the fight! Plus, find out what the banks are doing this time to take your hard-earned money from you! Self Help: Diabetes Cure Show Your Support Invest Your Money Protect You & Your Family Health: Turn Off The Lig ...
- Using Cell Phones While Pregnant Can Cause Behavio ...
December 8th, 2010 Daily Mail By: Jenny Hope Pregnant women who regularly use mobile phones could increase the risk of their children behaving badly, claims a startling survey. If their offspring then start using the devices at an early age, the chance of problems climbs to 50 per cent, according to ...
- How WikiLeaks Altered The Way We See The World In ...
December 8th, 2010 The Guardian By: Robert Booth and Haroon Siddique Shortly before 6.30pm on Sunday night, the first cracks appeared in the dam. The largest ever leak of US government classified documents streamed out online, revealing never publicly seen details about Iran, North Korea, Afghanista ...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Image by Getty Images via @daylifeLos 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 ...
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