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Thomas Paine

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

Saturday, December 25, 2010

25 December - RSS SnapShot! Pt 2

L.A. Times - Greenspace

water.org

  • Matt Damon in DoSomething.org top 10 for charity ( ...
    DoSomething.org announces its 2010 ‘Celebs Gone Good’ roundup (MTV) – DoSomething.org listed their top 20 most charitable celebrities of 2010. Matt Damon placed #7 for his Water.org organization. Read full MTV article.
  • Teen to swim 10 miles for Water.org (ABC – W ...
    Teen to swim 10 miles to raise money for clean water (ABC – WJRT) FLINT TOWNSHIP – Erick Skaff has loved the water since he was very young and is now a long distance swimmer for the Carman-Ainsworth swim team. When he learned last summer that finding clean water is a global problem, he decided [...]
  • Matt Damon talks Water.org on CBS Sunday Morning
    Matt Damon Wants to “Fit In” after Finding Fame (CBS News Sunday Morning – December 19, 2010) – Matt Damon is one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars. But when he’s not acting, Damon says he simply wants to live a “normal” life and fit into his community. So what’s life like being Matt Damon? Harry [ ...
  • Matt Damon talks Water.org on Letterman (CBS)
    Matt Damon talks True Grit, Water.org on David Letterman (CBS – December 16, 2010) Matt Damon talks about Water.org starting at 4:30 in the video.
  • Water.org on YouTube’s Project4Awesome (YouT ...
    Water.org on YouTube’s Project4Awesome (YouTube P4A)  P4A: John & Hank Green Discuss Poverty & Water.org   P4A: Water.org with John and Hank Green (Part 1) P4A: Water.org with Mike McCamon, John and Hank Green (Part 2) Project for Awesome : WATER.org (Alex in the Shower) More Project for Awe ...

Before It's News

Energy Probe - Nuclear Power,Utility Reform

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

Margaret's News

  • Citing anti-settlement pressure, Multilock to clos ...
    Maariv and the financial paper The Marker report that the Israeli company Multilock is leaving the West Bank because of human rights organizations' pressure. The locks company will move from the Barkan industrial zone, located on the road to Ariel, to a sSubmitted by Margaret Mayer to World �|� �No ...
  • Wiki cable says Wilders foments Islamophobic hatre ...
    As for how the U.S. government regards Wilders, a recently leaked cable from the State Department in the Netherlands was unequivocal: "Wilders is no friend of the U.S."; "he foments fear and hatred of immigrants."Submitted by Margaret Mayer to US Politics & Gov't �|� �Note-it! �|� �Add a Comment
  • Maybe Americans are ready to see childrens pictu ...
    A picture is worth a thousand words, and this video goes beyond that. It contains powerful drawings, created by children in Gaza, expressing the horrors they experienced during Operation Cast Lead, which of course began nearly two years ago.Submitted by Margaret Mayer to World �|� �Note-it! �|� �Ad ...
  • KHIRBET TANA School demolished third time
    The school was razed by Israeli troops last week for the third time in six years as Israel asserted control over the area - part of the 62 percent of the West Bank that remains exclusively in Israeli hands.Submitted by Margaret Mayer to World �|� �Note-it! �|� �Add a Comment
  • Seattle buses to carry ads about 'Israel war crime ...
    According to a report on Seattle's KING5 TV, a group calling itself the Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign has paid more than $1,794 so that twelve buses circulating the city's downtown area will carry an ad reading "Israeli War Crimes: Your tax dollars aSubmitted by Margaret Mayer to World �|� �No ...

Solar Energy / Energy Boom

News Blaze

  • Olymp Africa Centre in Somalia to Complete Constr ...
    The center which is the first of its kind ever built in Somalia is being constructed in the town of Garowe, the capital of the north-eastern semiautonomous Somali state of Puntland. It is where the regional soccer tournament is currently also taking
  • Hairstylist Daniel DiCriscio and the O.J. Simpson ...
    Daniel DiCriscio, a celebrity hairstylist, takes a look back at his now infamous clients - major role players in the highly publicized O.J. Simpson murder trial.
  • Convention Breaks New Ground in The Fight Against ...
    The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which was adopted by the General Assembly in 2006, took effect 30 days after Iraq became the 20th State to ratify it.
  • UN to Probe Reports of 173 Cases of Killings in Co ...
    The West African country plunged into turmoil after incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo refused to stand down after he lost the presidential election to his rival, Alassane Ouattara, who has been recognized by the international community, including t
  • So Where is The Clash of Civilizations?
    For Mr. Coelho, who is also a Special Counsellor for Intercultural Dialogues and Spiritual Convergences at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and a member of the UN 'Network of Men Leaders' bringing together politica

Historical Notes

libcom

  • Interview with an anarchist Royal Holloway student ...
    Increase-in-tuition-fees-008[1].jpg Recently, the UK has seen the rise of a mass student movement in opposition to huge increases in course fees across British universities, combined with cuts to researc ...
  • Rabat: Unemployed Teachers' Demo Attacked by Polic ...
    Unemployed teachers beaten at protest, Today a group of several hundred unemployed people, mostly teachers, from the ANDCM (National Association of Unemployed Graduates in Morocco) held a protest in front of the Moroccan parliament in R ...
  • Cloth dyed in blood
    Bangladesh_min-wage_protest-12-Dec-2010-Chittagong.jpg Recent worker deaths in the Bangladeshi garment industry from police repression and from a factory fire. After lengthy negotia ...
  • WE’VE GOT THE RAGE! Nationwide report from the Gen ...
    15-peaceful_1786024i1.jpg No doubt remains, not even for the most naive, that the State – in close cooperation with all its supporters and mechanisms – has decided to wage a full-scale war against societ ...
  • The Tea Party: How the right is using them, and wh ...
    3966997161_eb5f4903e4.jpg For the full, original article, feel free to visit the Trial by Fire. The American conservative movement known as the Tea Party has caused quite a stir since its first protests ...

Free Range International

  • You Can’t Handle the Truth
    The efforts of the international community to bring aid to Afghanistan, help develop the infrastructure with the goal of allowing Afghanistan a chance at self sufficiency are failing dismally.  That should not be a surprise to anyone with more than a passing knowledge of the international aid racket ...
  • Afghanistan’s Forgotten Province
    There are a couple of recent articles in the flood of coverage about Afghanistan which caught my eye last week.  The first is factually wrong but I understand what the author was saying and he is, in a sense correct.  The second is factually correct, I understand what that reporter was saying too an ...
  • Rules of Engagement
    I have written in the past about night raids and aggressive ISAF convoy tactics causing unnecessary civilian casualties.  I have also written on the importance of not allowing enemy fighters who attack ISAF units to live and fight another day.  Counterinsurgency requires adaptation and my annoyance ...
  • Healing Ulcer
    After only 90 days of fighting to root the Taliban out of a place they have owned for over a decade  Gen McChrystal called Marjah a bleeding ulcer. That was an unbelievably stupid assessment given the nature of the enemy, the rules of engagement placed on the Marines by the General, and the paltry a ...
  • Afghanistan Summary
    This summary comes from Sami the Finn a.k.a Sami Kovanen, the Senior Information Analyst at Indicium Consulting. Sami has been in Afghanistan for over six years now and is one of the best informed analyst working outside of the ISAF security bubble.  He was kind enough to let me post this update and ...

The Story Behind the Story

  • Is there hidden messaging in The Simpson’s c ...
    Today, a friend named Alex sent me this post: Watch this video to understand how hollywood has given us early indications of foreknowledge of falseflag events including 9/11 and Katrina.  Consider the series “V” coming up on Jan 4 such predictive programming, and liken the “red rain” to chemtrails.  ...
  • The Bursting Debt Bubble – Power Point
    To see Dr. Ott’s newest power point – and to follow along with his radio broadcast, click here:   The Bursting Debt Bubble This is clearly THE BIGGEST STORY in American History. Spread the word — and Merry Christmas – (no thanks to the treasonous traitors at Goldman Sachs.)  
  • UTAH SOUND MONEY ACT (Brilliant!!!)
    Today I was introduced to Mr. Larry Hilton, JD, MBA – the author of a brilliant piece of much needed legislation that hopefully will pass the Utah legislature, and then each and every other state in this union. Here is his introduction to me for the “Utah Sound Money Act” —- Click here:  Sound Mone ...
  • Long Live King and Queen Obama!!!!
    Barack Obama enjoys living like a king, so why shouldn’t Michelle Obama live like a queen? The First Lady was photographed last night in Hawaii wearing $635 per pair designer shoes by Maison Martin Margiela. A woman lucky enough to have a job in this economy and working for the federal minimum wage ...
  • Remember November 22, 1963 – The Assassinati ...
    To honor the memory of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, I think it important to post the following correspondence with independent researcher and film-maker John Hankey. This written dialog was first posted on Rense.com by Mr. Hankey back in 2007. A. True Ott, PhD The Reason JFK Jr Was Murdered From John Ha ...

du la bab - Now is the Time

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

Mansbridge One on One - CBC

  • Tim Cook, War Historian (Nov 6, 2010)
    Another year, another Remembrance Day and another chance to remind ourselves Canada's military past. This week we look back at some of that past that is often forgotten.
  • Malalai Joya, Afghan activist (October 30, 2010)
    She is a hard core activist in Afghanistan and has paid the price for it. Her life constantly threatened, banished from her seat in the Afghan parliament, Malalai Joya never stops. She wants foreign troops, including Canada's, out of her country and warlords out of government. This week she's our ...
  • Naheed Nenshi, Calgary Mayor (October 23, 2010)
    He's made the news in countries around the world - the main reason? He's Canada's first major city Muslim mayor. Does that matter? We'll ask Calgary's new mayor himself.
  • Lyndsay Greene, Author -- encore (Oct 19, 2010)
    Peter talks about planning and preparation for the retirement years with the author of "You Could Live a Long Time: Are You Ready?"
  • Governor General David Johnston (Oct 9, 2010)
    Peter talks about the role of the GG -- plus technology and hockey -- in Johnston's first interview as the Queen's representative in Canada

Scotts Contracting

  • Green tech and the household energy gluttons- Gues ...
    - How to keep your home as Green as you can. Going Green is now the generational movement for manufacturers and consumers alike. The old energy guzzlers are on the way out, and good riddance. New Green technology is obliterating … Continue reading →
  • Space Saving Cabinet Corner Units
    Available at: Scott’s Contracting scottscontracting http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com http://scottscontracting.wordpress.com
  • DOE-Loan Guarantee 1.3 billion for Oregon Wind Far ...
    Department of Energy Finalizes Loan Guarantee to Support World’s Largest Wind Project Caithness Shepherds Flat project 845-Megawatt Wind Facility Will Create Hundreds of Jobs and Avoid Over 1.2 Million Tons of Carbon Dioxide Annually. Washington D.C. — U.S. Energy Secretary … Continue reading →
  • Oil News:No New Drilling in East Coast Waters 7 Yr ...
    On Sat, Dec 18, 2010 at 10:34 AM, Scott’s Contracting wrote: The Obama administration announced Wednesday that it would not propose any new oil drilling in waters off the East Coast of the United States for at least the … Continue reading →
  • Solar= Hot Spot for U.S. Exports- Creates JOBS
    On Sat, Dec 18, 2010 at 10:37 AM, Scott’s Contracting wrote: Another study released this week shows that solar jobs in the U.S. are responsible for some very positive export news. The report, U.S. Solar Energy Trade Assessment 2010, … Continue reading →

The View From Abroad

Foreign Policy in Focus - Military (US)

Law.com

Iranian.com

  • فاجعه امروز باید حدس زده می شد
    برای مرور این شماره نخستین گفتگوی رادیویی سردبیر راه توده با یکی از رادیوهای فارسی زبان سوئد را برگزیده ایم که بر محور دلایل شرکت راه توده در انتخابات و دشواری‌های مقابل محمد خاتمی قرار دارد. این گفتگو چند روز پس از اعلام پیروزی محمد خاتمی و چند ماه پیش از تشكیل دولت رسمی وی انجام شد.
  • در انتظار روزی هستیم که فتنه گران واقعی محاکمه شون ...
    میرحسین موسوی با هدف دیدار نوبتی و مذاکره پیرامون اوضاع روز کشور به دیدار مهدی کروبی رفت. این دیدار در خانه مهدی کروبی انجام شد و در آن، مهم ترین موضوعی که مورد بررسی قرار گرفت اجرای طرح هدفمند کردن یارانه ها بود
  • تفاوت اتهام و جرم را یکنفر به دادستان یاد بدهد!
    شیخ محسنی اژه‌ای دادستان کل جمهوری اسلامی و سخنگوی قوه قضائیه، که خود از متهمین بزرگ در جمهوری اسلامی است که در اولین چرخش قدرت در جمهوری اسلامی باتهام انواع جنایات و از جمله عضویت در ستاد کودتای 22 خرداد محاکمه خواهد شد، در یک نشست خبری درباره باصطلاح رهبران فتنه و همچنین معاون اول احمدی نژاد اظهار ...
  • آخرین آجرها از زیر پای روحانیت شیعه کشیده میشود
    اگر یک تیر احمدی نژاد و مافیائی که پشت سر او قرار دارد، به هدف نشسته باشد، همان تیری است که بنام رحیم مشائی شلیک کرده است. و رحیم مشائی که بیش از هر عضو دیگر کابینه احمدی نژاد سنگ امام زمان را به سینه می زند، اگر یک تیزهوشی در این چند سال به خرج داده باشد همان طرح "اسلام ایرانی" و " لوح کوروش" و "دف ...
  • 'Pakistan arrests Rigi's successor'
    Pakistan has reportedly arrested Abdulrauf Rigi, the successor of executed ringleader of the terrorist group Jundullah. Local Pakistani officials confirmed on Thursday that the current ringleader of the Jundallah terrorist group has been arrested by Pakistani security forces, IRNA reported. On Dec ...

Most Revolutionary Act

  • Media Coverage: the Role of Violence
    Won't You Please Come to Chicago (Cosby, Stills and Nash) Click to Play: ">iframe> Lyrics: Won’t you Please Come to Chicago by Graham Nash Though your brother’s bound and gagged And they’ve chained him to a chair Won’t you please come to Chicago Just to sing In a land that’s known as freed ...
  • 1968
    I have just read a fascinating book by British author Mark Kurlansky regarding the global liberation struggles that occurred in 1968. For progressives of my generation, this was a year of great hope and inspiration – one that saw millions of students and workers protesting in the streets. I bought ...
  • Britain: Coldest December in 100 years
    Record Cold Predicted Back in June There was a massive blizzard in Britain yesterday, closing both London airports. I find it very intriguing that the UK is experiencing its coldest December in 100 years  especially as this is what Dr Gianluigi Zangari predicted in July, when he first reported that ...
  • The Politics of Traffic Taming
    Street reclaiming is a global, bottom-up movement to reclaim our neighborhoods from the automobile. David Engwicht, inventor of the Walking School Bus and author of Mental Speed Bumps: the Smarter Way to Tame Traffic, views traffic as a social problem, not a design problem. Instead of looking to ...
  • Reclaiming Our Streets: A Model for Social Change
    I have recently joined a growing worldwide initiative to reclaim neighborhood streets from the automobile. It’s a movement driven both by climate change activists seeking to reduce carbon emissions – and by social change advocates seeking to reverse the steep drop-off in civic engagement. The aliena ...

Doug's Darkworld

  • Another Symptom of the Colonial Mind Set: Internat ...
    Last week the “International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act” failed in the House of Representatives, despite passing unanimously in the Senate. This was a “bipartisan” bill ostensibly designed to “require the federal government to develop a plan to combat child marriage with the g ...
  • 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 ...

FourWinds10

Crisis Maven

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

Capital Flow Analysis

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

R-Squared Energy Blog

  • Who’s Been Naughty? Ethanol Interests
    Join the forum discussion on this post The previous essay spoke of the selfishness of many of today’s political leaders in spending tax dollars for votes, while compromising the economic opportunities for the next generation. In this essay, I want to focus on the selfishness of a particular group: ...
  • Borrowing For the Present at Our Children’s Expens ...
    Join the forum discussion on this post Dreams of a Child This past week my youngest son told me that he wanted to be president when he grows up. I still remember when I felt that way. As a child, I thought “I would make a good president.” I thought I had the qualities that you [...]
  • 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 ...

Discovery Educator Network

  • I Need My Teacher To Learn
    Tags: songs, web2.0by: Kyle Schutt
  • The World Clock – Time Zones
    Comments:Find out what time it is in that part of the globe your wanting to communicate with from school. - Dean MantzTags: worldclock, time, timezonesby: Dean Mantz
  • 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

Rodale News

  • 5 Great Last-Minute Fitness Gifts
    Stuck for last-minute gift ideas? No problem: Just give the gift of fitness. After all, besides being good for your body, exercise boosts your mood, and it can protect your brain. Plus, it feels great! Whether the people on your list exercise a lot, a little, or not nearly as much as they should ...
  • 4 Organic Cocktails for Your Holiday Celebration
    RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—There's no denying it. Despite a still-shaky economy, people are investing more and more in organic food. And naturally, that quest for pesticide-free fare is spilling over into the cocktail glass, too. "With more people wanting in their glass what's on their plates, it's ...
  • Pet Products Containing Toxic Chemicals to Get War ...
    RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—The American Pet Products Association estimates that 84 million homes in this country house dogs, cats, or both. That's just over half of U.S. households. So it should be concerning that all those homes could be harboring toxic pesticides that the Environmental Protection ...
  • 5 Healthy, Lucky Foods for Your New Year's Day Din ...
    RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Thanksgiving and Christmas grab all the glory when it comes to holidays devoted to food. But across the world, food plays a big role on New Year's Day too. In many traditions, the phrase "you are what you eat" takes special meaning at the beginning of the year, as people s ...
  • The Nickel Pincher: How to Season Your Cast-Iron S ...
    RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—We're right in the midst of prime gift-giving season, and with just two days left until Christmas, we're also right in the midst of prime last-minute-gift-giving season. If you need ideas, homemade goodies or make-your-own-food kits are some of my favorite Christmas gift i ...

big think

  • Essential Holiday Reading on Economics
    Happy holidays! Every year as I range across the web in search of news and ideas I come across a few articles that stand out as exceptionally worth reading. Today I want to share some of the articles on economic issues I personally found most interesting. As the debate over whether to extend the . ...
  • Getting Smart on Smart Cities
    Over half the world’s population lives in cities, with millions more pouring in every year. Countries like China, India and South Korea are investing heavily in new so-called “smart cities” which are being outfitted with pervasive networks. Cities like Songdo, Lavasa and PlanetIT herald a new era of ...
  • Three Cheers for Failure!
    Last week I vowed to pay more attention to replication in psychology experiments. Repeated experiments are an important test of whether a finding is "really out there" or an accident, so, as a number of psychologists have been saying lately to the public, it is kind of a problem that many ...Read Mo ...
  • Jelloware: Biodegradable, Vegan, Edible Cups
    Last month, we looked at Meltware – an ingenious line of DIY tableware made out of palm tree wax. Now, a similar and even more playful project is applying the same sensibility to a different, unorthodox material: Jello. Jelloware is a line of biodegradable, vegan, edible cups conceived by crea ...
  • War and Peace: The Origins of the American Santa
    Like Satan, he is known by many names—Sinterklaas, Père Noël, Tomte—but we Americans call him Santa Claus. The long white beard, red outfit, reindeer, etc., all seem like givens to us in the U.S., but the concept of the Christmas figure so ubiquitous in Christian countries is anything but uniform in ...

Information Liberation

  • Homeland Security Trolling We Won't Fly Blog
    This is not the first time we have been trolled by individuals connected to the TSA. I was about to delete an offensive comment on this blog -- one of the very few we get -- and thought, hmm, I wonder where this guy is posting from? Because, r...
  • Jurors revolt: Refuse to convict defendant on mari ...
    A funny thing happened on the way to a trial in Missoula County District Court last week. Jurors * well, potential jurors * staged a revolt. They took the law into their own hands, as it were, and made it clear they weren*t about to convict any...
  • Austin Woman Thrown to Floor, Arrested for Refusin ...
    Early Wednesday morning, a computer glitch shut down a security checkpoint for a couple of hours at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The line snaked out the door as many travelers waited for more than an hour and some missed their flights. O...
  • Passengers in Revolt Over Metro Random Baggage Che ...
    WASHINGTON (WUSA) -- There's more fallout from Metro's plan to randomly screen passenger's bags for explosives. [...] But the plan is already close to provoking a passenger revolt. "I think it's ridiculous, all this stuff," said one rider. Anot...
  • Privacy, Piracy, and the New Internet
    The Federal Trade Commission*s campaign to abolish the internet in its present form and replace it with a Depression-era model of government cartels protecting politically connected incumbent firms is predicated on a single word -- privacy. Internet ...

Be Responsible - Be Free!

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

FAS - Secrecy News

  • 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 ...

Sciencebase - Breaking Science News

  • A lethal Christmas star
    There was an ugly rumour that the giant red star, Betelgeuse, that is the right shoulder (on the left as you look at it) of the constellation Orion is “about to” go supernova. The rumours seemed to have started earlier in the year when observations suggested that Betelgeuse had changed shape, a sure ...
  • Sciencebase person of the year 2010
    Anyone can pick someone famous, a Zuckerberg, a Jobs, a Gaga, and call them their person of the year. But, how about a personal person of the year? Here’s my pick of the people who have had the biggest impact on me this year, whether through their retweet efforts on Twitter, their comments on my [.. ...
  • 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 ...

RFF Library

  • Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Litigation Database
    Environmental Law Institute http://tinyurl.com/23eraeh The myriad consequences of the spill have already spurred an onslaught of litigation, with allegations ranging from personal injury and property damages to violations of RICO and securities law. As more damages are discovered, plaintiffs will li ...
  • A High-Resolution Human Contact Network for Infect ...
    PNAS /Marcel Salathe, Maria Kazandjieva, Jung Woo Lee, Philip Levis, Marcus W. Feldman, and James H. Jones http://www.pnas.org/content/107/51/22020.full.pdf+html [Abstract] The most frequent infectious diseases in humans—and those with the highest potential for rapid pandemic spread—are usually tran ...
  • A Framework to Diagnose Barriers to Climate Change ...
    PNAS /Susanne C. Moser and Julia A. Ekstrom http://www.pnas.org/content/107/51/22026.full.pdf+html [Abstract] This article presents a systematic framework to identify barriers that may impede the process of adaptation to climate change. The framework targets the process of planned adaptation and foc ...
  • Reducing Nitrogen Fertilizer Use to Mitigate Negat ...
    Baker Institute, Rice University / Yao Huang, Ronald L. Sass, Wenjuan Sun, Wen Zhang, and Yongqiang Yu http://tinyurl.com/25wpzpc [Introduction] Although agriculture in China utilizes only 7% of the world’s arable land area, it feeds some 22% of the global population. Substantial growth in the use o ...
  • Do Public Subsidies Sell Green Cars? Evidence from ...
    Belfer Center, Kennedy School / C. Edward Huang http://tinyurl.com/2cldnsk [From Introduction] The efficacy of [Cash for Clunkers] has been at the center of public interest. In particular, there is concern that consumers may have been taken advantage of the subsidies and purchased vehicles they woul ...

Scientific American - News

  • Rules of the Road: Electric Currents Move Racetrac ...
    What will replace today's hard drives and flash memory devices? The former tend to be slow, the latter unsuited to long-term use. Then there is RAM, many forms of which are volatile--turn off the power, lose your data. These shortcomings, as well as the same demands that drive most technological inn ...
  • EPA Plans Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards for Po ...
    New standards for climate change-causing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and oil refineries were announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday. Collectively the nation's roughly 500 fossil fuel-fired power plants and 150 oil refineries emit some 2.4 billion metric to ...
  • World's Largest Neutrino Detector Completed at Sou ...
    Thousands of meters below the ice near the South Pole lies one of the most unusual observatories ever constructed. The instrument's nervous system comprises 86 strands of light detectors, stretching down into the ice sheet like oversize strings of pearls. Each strand features 60 basketball-size dete ...
  • Dawn of the Deed: the Origin of Sex
    Scientists used to think that, among backboned animals, internal fertilization and carrying the young inside the mother's body originated in sharks and their kin some 350 million years ago. Before then, sexual reproduction in fish consisted of spawning, wherein females deposit eggs in the water, the ...
  • Science of TRON : Getting Up to Speed with Telepo ...
    LOS ANGELES--When Steven Lisberger made the original 1982 cult film TRON , he was ineligible for an Academy Award for visual effects, because he'd used computers--and believe it or not, that was considered a form of cheating at that time. [More]

RAWA News

  • Child labor helps war-torn Afghan families survive
    Reuters: Afghan Abdul Wahab swings a heavy sledgehammer down onto a red hot piece of metal to mold it into a truck part, sweat dripping down a face marked with grime and soot from the fire, and with a focus rare for an 11-year-old. Wahab is one of about 1.2 million Afghan children in part or full ti ...
  • The Afghan money pit
    Los Angeles Times: A Pentagon report due out this week will probably try to convince us that the war in Afghanistan is on the right track. And yet a poll released this month surveying Afghan public opinion says otherwise. Although the poll results showed some bright spots, after spending hundreds of ...
  • Afghans fearful of their protectors
    IWPR: A NATO plan to arm local militias so that they can protect villages appears to be backfiring, with these commanders harassing, robbing and even killing local residents. The idea of recruiting villagers into local defense programs is a key part of the U.S. military strategy in Afghanistan. But ...
  • AFGHANISTAN: Humanitarian situation likely to wors ...
    IRIN: The war in Afghanistan shows no sign of abating and conflict-related misery such as internal displacement, lack of access to essential health services and civilian casualties, is set to rise in 2011, aid agencies and analysts warn.
  • Obama/Pentagon Lies to Set the War Narrative and W ...
    RAWA News: Let me begin with the unreported news from the ground in Afghanistan exactly nine years ago, that is on November 30, 2001. The relentless U.S aerial bombing and strafing of the Kandahar area in late November and early December 2001 led to dozens, if not hundreds, of innocent civilians dyi ...

frogblog

  • Must be the season…
    Merry Christmas, everyone! Have a good one!  Whatever you believe in.
  • Before the holiday season ends send a submission o ...
    It’s almost Christmas time and I’m sure most of you are ready for a holiday. But before you go, if you live in Auckland, Rodney, Whangarei, or anywhere else and want smart transport decisions please take a few minutes to make a submission on the New Zealand Transport Agency’s lates ...
  • ACC privatisation: Let the fightback begin
    I’ve run the “ACC: undermine, cut privatise” banner on a few posts on ACC over the last couple of years, and now we’re seeing the third leg of the trifecta emerging with the announcement yesterday that ACC’s work account is to be partially privatised. This may be good news for some ...
  • Why NZ sent army engineers to Iraq in 2003
    There has been outrage from Helen Clark, Phil Goff and Jim Anderton over a claim by a US Embassy official (in the Wikileaks documents) that: “Senior MOD officials (strictly protect) tell us it was not until Finance Minister Michael Cullen pointed out in a subsequent Cabinet meeting ...
  • General debate, December 22, 2010
    Happy summer solstice.

Patronus Analytical

J Kozy

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

MoJo - Kevin Drum

  • Christmas Cat Blogging - 24 December 2010
    Painting of the blog communications hub did not go as smoothly as hoped. In fact, it didn't happen, for reasons too complicated to spell out. So it'll happen on Monday and Tuesday instead, and there's a pretty good chance I'll be disconnected from the outside world both days. Then again, maybe not! ...
  • Housekeeping Note
    This is a real housekeeping note. The communications hub of this blog is being painted today, and it turns out they can't paint around me. So I have to disconnect and let them get on with things. I'll be back tomorrow, though possibly with not much more than cat blogging. See you then.Comments | Pos ...
  • Your Morning Joe
    Michael O'Hare marvels at a fabulous new espresso machine that works only with coffee pods from the manufacturer at a price of (he figures) about $66 per pound: What I can’t understand is how these geniuses were so dumb as to market a machine that uses tap water. How hard could it be to design a ...
  • Weird Science
    This is from a small study which might turn out to be wrong, so take it with a grain of salt. (Or sugar.) But apparently the placebo effect might work even if patients know they're getting fake medicine: Half the patients were given a bottle with the word "placebo" printed on it. The pills it hel ...
  • A Congress That Works! Huzzah!
    Jon Chait on the flurry of congressional activity that closed out the year: I strongly approve of the ends of the lame duck Congress, but as a small-d democrat, I don't approve of the means. Why should Congress have a period of time to act in which many members enjoy zero accountability before th ...

Insanity Report

  • Sometimes NOW Needs to STFU
    The National Organization for Women filed complaints against local Hooters restaurants Thursday, but not for exploiting its scantily clad waitresses by subjecting them to leering and groping customers. The subject this time was Hooters’ catering to children. The restaurants in San Francisco, San Bru ...
  • FacePalm of the Week: Rep. Peter King To Hold Hea ...
    I’ll keep this short:  Peter King….Go fuck yourself. NEW YORK â The incoming chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security said Sunday that he will hold hearings on the “radicalization of the American Muslim community.” In an op-ed piece in Newsday, Rep. Peter King said such hearings are cri ...
  • IC 217: Ain’t Shit
    Topics for the show: Redskins and their stupid management decisions Mike Vick “wants” a dog Dog lovers can’t kiss Mike Vick’s ass and go fuck themselves Steve Harvey’s new book about “ain’t shit niggas” DADT passes and the President gets a win Share with your friends:
  • 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 ...

Simple Climate

  • A picture of climate change is worth 1,000 words
    Global warming illustrated: one simple diagram of the basic science that I made, along with a host of images from scientific institutions allow me to shut up for once, and let the pictures talk for themselves.
  • Choose the ultimate Simple Climate explanation
    Vote for previous poll-winners in the final poll to choose the best explanation of climate change given to me by scientists I've interviewed for my blog this year.
  • 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.

e!Science News

  • Movement and threat of RNA viruses widespread in p ...
    Penn State researchers have found that native pollinators, like wild bees and wasps, are infected by the same viral diseases as honey bees and that these viruses are transmitted via pollen. Their research published on December 22nd in PLoS ONE, an online open-access journal for the communication of ...
  • Some brain tumors mimic the genetic program of ger ...
    Scientists at IRB Barcelona have discovered that some brain tumours in larvae of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster use the genetic programme of germline cells to grow. The removal of some of these genes leads to healthy brains. This finding demonstrates that these genes are crucial for tumour de ...
  • Texas A&M professor helps develop first high-temp ...
    An international team of researchers featuring Texas A&M University physicist Jairo Sinova has announced a breakthrough that gives a new spin to semiconductor nanoelectronics and the world of information technology. read more
  • Protein involved in early steps of melanoma develo ...
    Melanoma is one of the least common types of skin cancer, but it is also the most deadly. Melanocytes (pigment-producing skin cells) lose the genetic regulatory mechanisms that normally limit their number, allowing them to divide and proliferate out of control. One such regulator, called MITF, contr ...
  • How cells running on empty trigger fuel recycling
    Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered how AMPK, a metabolic master switch that springs into gear when cells run low on energy, revs up a cellular recycling program to free up essential molecular building blocks in times of need. read more

unEarthed

Brave New Climate

  • Open Thread 8 – BNC Christmas and New Year 2 ...
    So, the year that was — 2010 — comes to a close, with 115 more BraveNewClimate blog posts in the archives, 13,500 more comments and 430,000 extra hits. Thanks to all the many BNC guest posters (Gene Preston, Geoff Russell, Peter Lang, John Morgan, DV82XL, Marion Brook, Tony Kevin, John Rolls, Paul ...
  • Energy and climate books I read in 2010
    Here is a selection of sustainable energy and climate change books I read in 2010. I’ve provided a few sentence summary of each book (from my perspective) and a Rating out of 5. Some books have been reviewed in more detail on BNC already — enter from the title of the book in this website’s search bo ...
  • 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 ...

Indigenist Opinion

  • Haiti, Cholera and Colonialsm: Gerald and Maas Sup ...
    Gerald and Maas Suppressed News December 22, 2010 Haiti: according to the World Health Organization the cholera death toll has exceeded 2500 people, and the epidemic continues to spread. U.N. health efforts are limited by concerns for their own security. Cuba has 1200 medical staff on the ...
  • U.S. to apologize for STD experiments in Guatemala
    U.S. to apologize for STD experiments in Guatemala | Happily Natural x Black August Weekend U.S. government medical researchers intentionally infected hundreds of people in Guatemala, including institutionalized mental patients, with gonorrhea and syphilis without their knowledge or permission more ...
  • Michael Moore: Why I'm Posting Bail Money for Juli ...
    Michael Moore: Why I'm Posting Bail Money for Julian Assange For those of you who think it's wrong to support Julian Assange because of the sexual assault allegations he's being held for, all I ask is that you not be naive about how the government works when it decides to go after its prey. Please - ...
  • Viola Wilkins: Indymedia London | Articles | Show ...
    Indymedia London | Articles | Show | Catholic Workers "close" Dalston "Arcade of Death": "A merry band of London Catholic Workers and friends, fresh from shooting remakes of videos for John Lennon's anti-war classics 'Merry Christmas (War is Over)' and 'Give Peace a Chance' (watch this space for the ...
  • International: United Nations Approves Two More Re ...
    International: United Nations Approves Two More Resolutions By Bolivia: Harmony With Nature And Indigenous Issues - Indigenous Peoples Issues and Resources Earlier this week, the General Assembly of the United Nations approved by consensus two resolutions presented by Bolivia. The first, entitled “ ...

Republicans are a Disease

  • Finally Rachel Maddow Agrees
    Republicans are trying to sabotage the economy for political gain. She just came out and said it. Well, it is obvious to anyone with a working brain. Helping the rich, and kicking the unemployed, and making fun of them won’t exactly make things better ya know….
  • Coming Soon – Reagan, America’s Greate ...
    The damage Ronald Reagan did to our nation is staggering. Coming soon…
  • 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.

Appalachia Rising

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

Amped Status

+972

  • Netanyahu comes out on side of racists
    The Prime Minister returns to his hate-mongering roots A strange dialogue took this place between grassroots rightwing activists and the government. A demonstration was held in Bat Yam under the slogan of fighting the Arabs, with an emphasis on the fear of “assimilation”, or, to use the more accurat ...
  • Suddenly, it’s Netanyahu that needs Obama, n ...
    With challenges to the Israeli PM around the corner, the White House finally has some leverage over Jerusalem. But will the administration use it? The main problem the White House faced in its attempts to renew the settlements moratorium was the lack of political leverage over Jerusalem. The admin ...
  • Soldiers raid house of Beit Ummar popular committe ...
    Soldiers from the Karmei Tzur settlement/military base invaded a civilian house this afternoon in Beit Ummar using live ammunition and sound bombs. During the raid, woman and children were injured as the soldiers harassed one of the Popular Committee leaders of the village. At 3 pm, soldiers came f ...
  • French solidarity worker denied entry to Israel
    Olivia Zemor, a French solidarity worker with the Euro Palestine organization, was denied entry to Israel at Ben Gurion International Airport this week. According to her statement released on their website this morning (French), she was detained and interrogated for over thirty hours at the airport. ...
  • Honorary PhD in victimhood for Alan Dershowitz
    by Eyal Clyne | Translation: Hava Oz Earlier this year, Harvard’s Professor Alan Dershowitz  received an honorory doctorate from Tel-Aviv University. Dershowitz, who is a staunch defender of civil rights in the US, shows a bit more flexibility when it comes to Palestinian rights. In his book, “The ...

Sustainability,water,etc - Oz gov't

Matt Weidner Blog

  • The Foreclosure Mess- Florida Courts Must Do Bette ...
    The national and even international press are on red alert and are reporting the tragedies that are played out in “our” foreclosure courtrooms.  The press will continue to do their jobs because we’re only scratching the surface of the fraud, the deceit and the con that continues to play out….the fu ...
  • My Client on Fox News Nationwide- BANK BREAK INS C ...
    Please click on the link to see a story about my client Nancy Jacobini whose home was broken into….THIS HAS GOT TO STOP! NANCY JACOBINI ON FOX Tweet this! Share and Enjoy: Scridb filter
  • Another BOMBSHELL piece of Reporting- Wash Post On ...
    Hat tip to my old friend attorney Claude Walker for “breaking” the Stern story ELEVEN YEARS AGO!  Click on the attachment below for a dusty old deposition taken from that case a long, long, long time ago.  There’s much more to the story that is reported here in the Washington Post.  Among the mos ...
  • Nancy Jacobini, Jack Booted Thugs and Bank Break I ...
    The conduct of the banks is out of control.  What happened to Nancy Jacobini and what’s happening to millions of Americans from Bank Break ins and other abuses has got to stop. STAND UP PEOPLE, TELL YOUR STORIES, FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT. Tweet this! Share and Enjoy: Scridb filter
  • How Merril Lynch Helped Blow Up Their Own Firm- TH ...
    I appreciate the site that referred to my “delusional conspiracy theories”, then referenced some quotes that have been attributed to me in international news media.  As I responded to that site, I of all people respect your right to broadcast your opinion about me. My conspiracy theories are borne ...

abelard - news

The Parallel Parliament

  • Your Turn As Santa
    What do you do when Santa turns into Scrooge? In what is surely the tip of the iceberg, the federal government quietly cut $53 million from settlement agencies in the GTA. Speaking with a number of agencies in Toronto today gave the unmistakable impression that a government bent on providing corpora ...
  • Credit Due
    Just in time for Christmas, Stephen Harper and the UN Secretary General have opted to give the world a gift that has some goodness and purpose in it. Last week, Ban Ki-moon announced the establishment of a special commission designed to push those nations that made commitments to child and women’s h ...
  • Parliament’s Castle
    Each and every day the Chateau Laurier looms into view as I work my way to and from Parliament. It remains one of my favourite sites. Born and raised in Calgary, the Banff Springs Hotel has remained the most memorable hotel in the world for me. It was constructed and designed to match a string [...]
  • 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 [...]

Vaccine Awakening

  • 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 ...

2020 Science

  • Lost in the Maize
    Hegswarm – what a great word!  Far more elegant and versatile than the “Gray Goo” that has nibbled at the heels of nanotechnology for the past decade. Over the holiday break, I’ve escaped academia for the relative sanity of family reunions and mince pies, and have been catching up on some reading. ...
  • The geopolitics of nanotechnology – an ideaologica ...
    Getting an unbiased perspective on nanotechnology is probably as close to impossible as you can get.  Governments invest in nanotech because they believe in its ability to inspire new research and stimulate economies and social change.  Corporations invest in nanotech because they think it will give ...
  • 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 ...

Reader Supported News

  • EPA Goes Around Congress to Limit Greenhouse Gases
    The Associated Press reports: "Stymied in Congress, the Obama administration is moving unilaterally to clamp down on greenhouse emissions, announcing plans for new power plants and oil refinery emission standards over the next year." Emissions from a power plant. (photo: file, unspecified) ...
  • EPA Goes Around Congress to Limit Greenhouse Gases
    The Associated Press reports: "Stymied in Congress, the Obama administration is moving unilaterally to clamp down on greenhouse emissions, announcing plans for new power plants and oil refinery emission standards over the next year." Emissions from a power plant. (photo: file, unspecified) ...
  • CIA Launches "WTF" - A WikiLeaks Inquiry ...
    Excerpt: "Officially, the panel is called the WikiLeaks Task Force. But at CIA headquarters, it's mainly known by its all-too-apt acronym: WTF ..." WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, attends a news conference in London with Kristin Hrafnsson, Phil Shiner and John Sloboda, 10/23/10. (photo: Reuter ...
  • Senate Passes Scaled-Down 9/11 Health Bill
    Intro: "The Senate on Wednesday approved a bill to cover the cost of medical care for rescue workers and others who became sick from breathing in toxic fumes, dust and smoke after the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center." Firefighters make their way over the ruins of the World Trade Center thr ...
  • Banks Accused of Illegally Breaking Into Homes
    Andrew Martin reports: "In an era when millions of homes have received foreclosure notices nationwide, lawsuits detailing bank break-ins like the one at Ms. Ash's house keep surfacing. And in the wake of the scandal involving shoddy, sometimes illegal paperwork that has buffeted the nation's biggest ...

War Resisters League

  • 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 ...

Center for a Livable Future

  • New FDA Numbers Reveal Food Animals Consume Lion’s ...
    Antibiotics, one of world’s greatest medical discoveries, are slowly losing their effectiveness in fighting bacterial infections and the massive use of the drugs in food animals may be the biggest culprit. The growing threat of antibiotic resistance is largely due to the misuse and overuse of antibi ...
  • Yakima Valley Releases Draft Air Quality Policy fo ...
    Unlike agricultural water discharges which are regulated for large farms defined as CAFO by the EPA and the Clean Water Act, most agricultural air emissions are not regulated. Water discharges and air emissions that are related to industrial scale agricultural operations in rural areas are big conce ...
  • No title
    By Julia DeBruicker Valliant On the front porch, boots stamp away snow, and then the farmer steps inside.  The glasses fog up.  Off comes the jacket, the cap, and out goes the hand in greeting.  After a season spent grazing cows and sheep and pasturing pigs, hens and turkeys, meat producers from ar ...
  • Happy Holidays from the Johns Hopkins Center for a ...
  • 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 [...]

A special project of Foreign Policy and the New America Foundation

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

Field Notes - Alberta Environment

Stop NATO

  • 2011: U.S. And NATO To Extend And Expand Afghan Wa ...
    Stop NATO December 24, 2010 2011: U.S. And NATO To Extend And Expand Afghan War Rick Rozoff The war being waged by the United States and the Western military alliance it controls, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is well into its tenth year and is already the longest war in the history of the ...
  • Pentagon’s Christmas Present: Largest Milita ...
    Stop NATO December 23, 2010 Pentagon’s Christmas Present: Largest Military Budget Since World War II Rick Rozoff On December 22 both houses of the U.S. Congress unanimously passed a bill authorizing $725 billion for next year’s Defense Department budget. The bill, the National Defense Authorization ...
  • NATO Trains Afghan Army To Guard Asian Pipeline
    Stop NATO December 19, 2010 NATO Trains Afghan Army To Guard Asian Pipeline Rick Rozoff On December 11 the presidents of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan and the energy minister of India met in the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat to bring to fruition fifteen years of planning by interests in the U ...
  • 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 ...

Before It's News

Intel Hub

  • Feds Sneaking Around Congress to Regulate Firearms
    World Net Daily By Jeff Knox The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, or ATF, has a long history of excess and overreaching ⦠and they’re at it again. Using exaggerated reports of gun smuggling from the U.S. into Mexico as their justification, the agency has filed for an emergency ...
  • ‘Turkey Probes US Nukes At Airbase’
    Press TV Turkish parliamentarians are discussing a report revealing that the United States has deployed 90 nuclear bombs at Turkey’s Incirlik Air Force base, a report says. The report, called the “US nuclear weapons in Europe,” indicates that Washington currently has 90 nuclear bombs of the “B 61″ v ...
  • Communist China to “Bailout” Cartel Ca ...
    Howard Beale Activist Post Communist China, with all of its resources gained through slave labor and favorable trade agreements, has announced that it will bailout debt-weakened European nations with its vast foreign investment fund. On the ground, China appears to have a very capitalistic system of ...
  • United States Department Of Agriculture GMO Policy
    ‘Food & Depopulation’ Links: The Rockefeller Family/ Part 1 http://morphcity.com/home/65-food-and… Monsanto’s Monopoly/ Part 2 http://morphcity.com/home/71-food-and… International Takeover by the UN/ Part 3 http://morphcity.com/home/73-food-and… Scams & Solutions/ Part 4 http://morphcity.com/home/75 ...
  • Osama Bin Dead Awhile
    Keith Johnson Revolt of the Plebs The next time the CIA comes up with another Osama bin Laden videotape, you might want to compare their images of the alleged al-Qaeda leader to the photograph I’ve provided here.  If he looks any healthier than that, then you’re probably looking at an imposter. Yeah ...

FRS

  • Puerto Rico: University student protest wins broad ...
    UPR supporters swell the ranks of fee protest December 24, 2010 by Juan A. Hernandez University of Puerto Rico students  once again received the support of thousands of people in their struggle to avert the imposition next semester of the $800 Special Fiscal Stabilization Fee. A crowd of several tho ...
  • India: Court sentences Dr Binayak Sen, tribal clin ...
    Binayak Sen held guilty, supporters cry foul December 24, 2010 – Dr Sen to appeal against the Raipur court verdict which holds him guilty of sedition. By Sujeet Kumar RAIPUR | Fri Dec 24, 2010 (Reuters) – A court sentenced a doctor accused of links with Maoist rebels to life in prison on Friday, a [ ...
  • “Standing together against US government wit ...
    22 December 2010 As The Electronic Intifada reported in November, international solidarity and anti-war activists are facing a new wave of repression in the United States. Since 24 September, two dozen activists in Minneapolis, Chicago and other cities across the country have been handed subpoenas b ...
  • US: The political police in a world where all are ...
    [New structures of repressive power are fashioned every day, built on tissues of lies, fabrications, suppositions, and profiles fed by cultural fears, contempt and hostility.  The words are familiar:  "illegals", "terrorists", "gangs", "outsiders", "Muslims"--because they have drummed them until the ...
  • US targets Palestine Solidarity: More Grand Jury s ...
    [The news today reveals that the Electronic Intifada (see it at http://electronicintifada.net) is  yet another target of repressive government moves against the Palestine and other internationalist solidarity movements.  Active defense of our movement and further development of our international sol ...

Ken O'Keefe

  • TJP Liberty Report Gaza – Collecting Rocks & ...
    Since March 2010 Israel has shot 97 Palestinians who were collecting rocks or tending to their crops. In the last three weeks 22 Palestinians have been shot. What makes this all the more disgusting is that these people are doing this work simply to survive. In the case of collecting rocks they are d ...
  • The little town of Bethlehem
  • TJP Liberty Report from Gaza ‘Life in Jabaly ...
    My latest video report from Gaza.
  • BBC Panorama ‘Death in the Med’ is 100 ...
    This is a letter from Ted (from Liverpool) who pretty much dismantles BBC; please share. Aloha Ted, An absolute joy to read.  I will be spreading this enthusiastically and look forward to seeing how many of the “journalists” at the BBC manage to report the truth about their disgusting propaganda pi ...
  • TJP Liberty Report from Gaza ‘Story of Areej ...
    Throughout my time in Palestine I am constantly reminded of how I would feel as a parent to endure not being able to provide all that a child needs.  Whether it be proper food on the table, clean drinking water, schools and supplies or that most basic need of loving security, all of these things [.. ...

StillSmallVoice

  • Merry Christmas
  • Oh, and if you're tracking Santa?
    Sharon has the source for you: NORAD.
  • Take THAT, flash mobs everywhere!
    We had our very own here in West Hartford, Connecticut! It was last night, and just listen to the cheers. And thanks, Shawn, for passing this on. Merry Christmas.
  • And so we enter the Christmas season
    Most people probably entered the season a while ago, but I jus got here. The tree's decorated/watered/loaded with gifts. At this moment, I have�a trunkload of food waiting to be unloaded from the trunk of my car, and I'm wondering if�the cold is affecting the oranges. I would unload the food, but t ...
  • This is a must-read
    Rudy Favard, Sammy Parker, and a simple act of kindness, right here.

Associated Content

  • Gas Prices Top $3 for First Time in Two Years
    AAA reports, despite a rise in gas prices, more people are traveling this holiday season.Contributor: William Browning Published: Dec 24, 2010
  • Swiss, Chilean Embassies in Rome Bombed: Could Thi ...
    The bombings in Rome of the Swiss and Chilean embassies is a tragedy that might have been avoided had security been tighter. What can we learn from the first ever US terrorist bombings?Contributor: JC Torpey Published: Dec 24, 2010
  • NORAD Santa Tracker 2010 Now Following St. Nick
    NORAD's Santa tracker is now fully back in place, as Santa Claus finally begins his route. Kids are now able to see that he's starting off in the South Pacific, as he inches his way toward America in the next 12+ hours.Contributor: Robert Dougherty Published: Dec 24, 2010
  • Christmas Toys that Caused Parents to Act Insanely
    Christmas is a time for giving, but for many parents getting that one special toy becomes an obsession. This article highlights three toys that caused chaos in malls and made nice parents turn into violent and mean-spirited individuals.Contributor: T.A.W. Published: Dec 24, 2010
  • Embassy Bomb Explosions in Rome May Be Linked
    At noon local time, a package bomb exploded in the hands of a Swiss embassy worker, seriously injuring him. A second mail bomb detonated shorted afterward at the Chilean embassy.Contributor: Angie Mohr Published: Dec 23, 2010

Popsci - Science

  • Video: Smartest Dog Ever Can Pick Out 1,022 Toys B ...
    Bet your Christmas puppy won’t be able to do this. Actually, you’d better hope it can’t, because your dog-toy needs might break the bank. A border collie named Chaser has learned the names of 1,022 individual items — more than any other animal, even the legendary Alex the parrot. Psychologists All ...
  • FYI: What Is the Evolutionary Purpose of Tickling?
    You probably know that you can't tickle yourself. And although you might be able to tickle a total stranger, your brain also strongly discourages you from doing something so socially awkward. These facts offer insight into tickling’s evolutionary purpose, says Robert R. Provine, a neuroscientist at ...
  • FYI: What Is the Evolutionary Purpose of Tickling?
    You probably know that you can't tickle yourself. And although you might be able to tickle a total stranger, your brain also strongly discourages you from doing something so socially awkward. These facts offer insight into tickling’s evolutionary purpose, says Robert R. Provine, a neuroscientist at ...
  • Japanese Create A Mutant Mouse That Tweets Like a ...
    A laboratory at the University of Osaka running an ongoing study on evolution has revealed that they’ve produced a genetically engineered mouse that tweets like a bird. They’ve produced more than 100 of them actually, as well as a mouse with short limbs and one with a tail like a dachshund. It’s al ...
  • Total Lunar Eclipse Visible From North America Ton ...
    And it's the first lunar eclipse to fall on the winter solstice in 372 years For the first time since 1638, a total lunar eclipse will be visible from North America on the longest night of the year. That night just happens to be tonight, starting at 1:32 AM, so all you moon-oglers will have to stay ...

Veterans Today

  • Assange Sex Case Is The New OJ Trial
    Stuart Bramhall, author of “The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee” writes this about Wikileaks in response to my latest article, “An Intel Front -  The Case Against Wikileaks, Part III” Iâm afraid this whole media storm around Assange reminds me of the whole O.J. Simpson circus ...
  • Marine’s dying wish was to save his dog
    Marine Lance Cpl. William H. Crouse IV had one of the most dangerous jobs in Afghanistan but he did it anyway. Searching for bombs that could blow up his friends must have seemed worth it to him and his dog but in his last thoughts here on earth, he wanted to make sure his dog [...]
  • KEITH JOHNSON: OSAMA BIN DEAD AWHILE
    Osama bin Dead awhile Please Visit Our New Website @ www.revoltoftheplebs.com by Keith Johnson The next time the CIA comes up with another Osama bin Laden videotape, you might want to compare their images of the alleged al-Qaeda leader to the photograph I’ve provided here.  If he looks any healthier ...
  • ALLEN L ROLAND: THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS
      The true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of the birth of a love that unites and binds the universe but also exists deepest within each one of us: Allen L Roland To me, now more than ever, the true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of a never ending love. Not the love [...]
  • March Forward! – 15 Dec Afghan War Protest
    Veterans lead dramatic act of civil resistance at White House – Over 130 arrested protesting the wars. This statement was sent into Veterans Today via Facebook on December 21, 2010 from the young Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans’ group March Forward and is closer to the reality of war than the sanitize ...

War is Business

  • Is The Pentagon The World’s Biggest Sucker?
    The Pentagon demonstrated an astonishingly naïve level of trust with a company run from a hotel suite and registered at a mail drop in the tropics.
  • Security Firms Shake Down Oil Companies In Iraq
    “Halliburton often receives…’questionable’ reports of vulnerability of employees to kidnapping and ransom. [Halliburton's manager for Iraq] recently saw an internal memo from their security company which tasked its employees to emphasize the persistent danger faced by IOCs [international oil compani ...
  • Now That’s Charity: Bill Exempts Nonprofits ...
    There’s some curious language in the annual Pentagon budget bill that passed the US House of Representatives last Friday, and awaits Senate approval. Section 832 of the fiscal year 2011 National Defense Authorization Act is titled “extension of regulations on contractors performing private security ...
  • Gracias
    Last week, War Is Business had an item picked up by Wired magazine’s Danger Room blog. Even better, the site got a really nice write-up at the website of Mother Jones magazine. Thanks to them for the recognition, thanks to the readers who’ve aided our research efforts through the DIY WIB form, and t ...
  • Defense Sector Proves, Accountability Is For Sucke ...
    Tricare officials have worried in private meetings about the high cost of cognitive rehabilitation, which can cost $15,000 to $50,000 per soldier. â¢â¢â¢ In public, the US military insurance program cites bogus “studies,” not cost, to justify its failure to cover brain injury treatment for “nearly 4 ...

Hudson's Weather & Climate

  • Is the perceived rise in flooding real?
    It was claimed by experts following the floods of Autumn 2000 that such rainfall events were a taste of things to come, with increased autumn and winter rainfall a central projection of climate models. In fact, current forecasts for later this century suggest that parts of Yorkshire will see an inc ...
  • Winter's on its way
    Winter looks set to come early to the UK with very cold air expected to sweep southwards across most areas by the end of the week and into next weekend. By Saturday, the air will be unusually cold for November and with still relatively warm seas, all the ingredients are there for some heavy falls ...
  • Snow showers and Ice for many tonight
    The first wintry night of the season may pose problems for some commuters across parts of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in the morning. Showers already running down the North Sea and into coastal areas will gradually move inland through tonight as the steering flow veers more to the Northeast. Most o ...
  • Winter to continue well into next week
    It has been the earliest spell of cold weather and snow to envelop the whole of the UK since 1993. But it hasn't been the earliest snow locally; in fact here in Yorkshire we have had snow in November on several occasions since 1993. And spare a thought for Spain and Portugal. The jet stream will st ...
  • Records tumble as winter tightens its grip
    UPDATE AT 10pm on Monday 29th Nov Bradford Lister park recorded minus 7.5C; the coldest November night since records began in 1908. Linton on Ouse recorded its coldest November night too with minus 11.2C. Remarkably on November 4th the same station recorded its highest daytime November temperatur ...

Internat'l Political Economy

  • 'Indonesian & Filipino Corruption Compared'
    With Christmas a few hours away, here's more lighthearted fare for you all. A few weeks ago, I attended an LSE event held by our colleagues here at the Asia Research Centre intriguingly titled "Where Have all the Bad Guys Gone? Governance in Indonesia Today." Since Southeast Asia is my area of inter ...
  • Indecent Financial Proposal: IMF Lending to Irelan ...
    No, no, I'm not talking about further dalliances by IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss Kahn with his underlings which have spawned a bestseller in France on his alleged penchant for indecent proposals. However, I am still talking about Europeans abusing power at the international lender of last ...
  • Al Gore, the Green Movement & Civil Disobedience
    The FT's Simon Kuper is best known as a sportswriter for the Financial Times, but he often writes about much else. In a recent column, he spoke to the South African head of Greenpeace, Kumi Naidoo, who draws a comparison between the green and civil rights movements. Aside from the former not really ...
  • Cancun Climate Conference: An Incremental Solution
    [NOTE: I've been rather silent on environmental issues these past few weeks, so I hope this post and the one before it rectify this imbalance ahead of the Climate Change Conference in Cancun which starts later today.] While I remain ambivalent about the idea of civil disobedience as a spur to public ...
  • Hillary "Internet Freedom" Clinton's WikiLeaks Iss ...
    Face it: we all have issues. However, it seems Missus Clinton's foibles are more high-profile than those of the rest of us. Here's yet another case in point. Just a few months removed from making a grandiose speech on the virtues of "Internet freedom" [picture above] in the wake of those dastardly C ...

    Blacklisted News

    The Intelligence Daily

    My AntiWar

    CASMII - Campaign against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran

    • Iran: End the Deadlock by Restarting with Common I ...
      Summary: Nabi SonboliIran and the transatlantic partners have many common interests which should be built upon: Peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan as well as stability in the greater Middle East. The nuclear issue should be separated from these in order to build trust. source: Atlantic-Communit ...
    • US Announces Yet More Iran Sanctions
      Summary: US signs Iran sanctions The last round of talks in Geneva was lauded by officials as progress entirely because it netted this upcoming set of talks in Turkey, but the administration also said the fact that Iran agreed to the second round of talks proved they were “stalling,” meaning th ...
    • Is a US-Iran Nuclear Deal in the Works?
      Summary: Between now and January the United States is going to have to engage in some spirited, behind-the-scenes talks with Iran to make the negotiations work. source: The Nationread more
    • Former US Senator Gravel: 'Israeli lobby behind Ir ...
      Summary: The United States has imposed fresh unilateral sanctions on several Iranian companies ahead of the upcoming multifaceted talks between Iran and the P5+1. The following is the transcript of Press TV's interview with former US senator Mike Gravel on the issue. source: Press TVread mor ...
    • Lula Strongly Criticized Obama for His Dishonest A ...
      Summary: Lula Brazil’s President after several months past the Tehran Nuclear Declaration strongly criticized US President Barack Obama for turning his back on efforts made by Brazil and Turkey over peaceful resumption of a nuclear fuel swap dea with Iran. source: Hamsayehread more

    The Daily Galaxy

    • Genome of Mystery Human Relative Revealed by 30,00 ...
      A 30,000-year-old finger bone found in a cave in southern Siberia came from a young girl who was neither an early modern human nor a Neanderthal, but belonged to a previously unknown group of human relatives, called "Denisovans" after the...
    • Do Supernova Explosions Impact Earth Every Few Hun ...
      A University of Kansas research team is exploring the energy of cosmic rays and a possible link to massive prehistoric extinction events. Fossils and cosmic rays appear to have nothing in common. But Adrian Melott, a professor at the University...
    • Cambrian Challenge: Revising the Origin of Multice ...
      While studying the ancient microcontinents that make up the geography of central Kazakhstan in Asia, geological sciences professor Joe Meert and colleagues uncovered evidence that multi-cellular organisms may have evolved 100 million years earlier than previously thought, well before the...
    • 'The Daily Galaxy' Holiday Classics - The Best of ...
      During the coming Christmas and New Year's holidays, we'll be posting several of 2010's most popular Daily Galaxy posts that were featured on NASA, Twitter, Facebook, Huffington Post, and other news sites.
    • The Daily Galaxy 'Holiday' Contest -Win a Free $50 ...
      Use it towards a purchase of an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Hundreds of Other Apple Products and Accessories. Users of Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Reddit, and StumbleUpon are invited to discover, review and share Daily Galaxy posts you love on...

    Natural News

    • Wikileaks cable reveals U.S. conspired to retaliat ...
      (NaturalNews) Wikileaks continues to prove its value in the world by shedding light on conspiracies, corruption and cover-ups. The latest batch of diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks reveals what can only be characterized as a U.S.-led conspiracy to force GMOs onto European countries by making t ...
    • Vermont drafts food sovereignty resolution to prot ...
      (NaturalNews) In response to the recent passage of "food safety" bills S. 510 and corresponding H.R. 2751, the Vermont Coalition for Food Sovereignty has drafted its own resolution called "The Vermont Resolution for Food Sovereignty." Crafted to declare and protect the food and health freedom rights ...
    • Hershey's brings non-GMO confections to Europe, bu ...
      (NaturalNews) The Hershey Company is expanding its confectionery market to Europe. And the company plans to reformulate its Europe-destined products to be free of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) in order to meet demand and to comply with the non-GMO requirements of Asda, the U.K. subsidiary of ...
    • Children around the world benefit from Consumer We ...
      (NaturalNews) The Consumer Wellness Center (CWC), a nonprofit organization devoted to empowering consumers with information on health and wellness issues, today announced the winners of its 2010 Nutritional Education Grant program. Seven organizations from around the world will receive $1,000 grants ...
    • US Surgeon General lies by omission: Smoking one c ...
      (NaturalNews) In what can only be called a bizarre leap of pseudoscience, U.S. Surgeon General Dr Regina M. Benjamin recently announced that smoking one cigarette can kill you. In fact, she says, just breathing in the smoke from someone else cigarette can kill you, she claims. It's all part of a jus ...

    Threat Level

    • Feds Say Airport Body Scanners are ‘Minimally Intr ...
      The government said late Thursday the full-body imaging scanners being deployed to airports nationwide are “reasonable,” “minimally intrusive,” and their “interference with individual liberty is limited.” The Justice Department’s remarks (.pdf) were the first publicly explaining the scanners to the ...
    • Porn Site Says Revealing Takedown Notices Infringe ...
      Perfect 10, the porn website that bills itself as displaying “the world’s most beautiful natural women,” claims that disclosing its copyright takedown notices is a little too revealing. The copyright-infringement allegations are part of Perfect 10’s ongoing lawsuit against Google, a suit with a tor ...
    • Judge Slaps Government’s Wrist For Illegal Wiretap
      A federal judge on Tuesday awarded $20,400 each to two American lawyers illegally wiretapped by the George W. Bush administration, and granted their counsel $2.5 million for the costs litigating the case for more than four years. It was the first and likely only lawsuit in which there was a ruling a ...
    • Apple Bans Lame WikiLeaks App
      Apple on Monday banned an iPhone and iPad app designed to facilitate access to WikiLeaks’ unfolding cache of leaked U.S. diplomatic cables, putting the company on the growing list of U.S. corporations aligned against the secret-spilling site. “We removed the WikiLeaks app from the App Store because ...
    • Newspaper Lawsuit Factory Sues Over ‘Death Ray’ Im ...
      Righthaven, the Las Vegas copyright troll formed this spring, has moved beyond lawsuits over newspaper articles and begun targeting websites for the unauthorized reposting of images. First up, more than a dozen infringement lawsuits concerning the so-called Vdara “death ray.” The Vdara “death ray” d ...

    PERRspectives : Blog

    • Sarah Palin Gets Ironic on Iran
      If nothing else, Sarah Palin is an irony producing machine. Just last week, the propagator-in-chief of the 2009 death panels "Lie of the Year" endorsed Medicare rationing. Now, the ironies are double in her new get-tough-on-Iran op-ed. After all, she not only cites leaked diplomatic cables publis ...
    • This Just In: Red State Health Care Still Dismal
      This week's release of the 2010 U.S. Census produced gloating from conservatives ecstatic about new Congressional seats in Republican, low-tax states. But as even as they celebrate their added political clout, GOP cheerleaders remain predictably silent about another recent study. The UnitedHealth ...
    • Haley Barbour and the GOP Confederacy of Dunces
      of the Jim Crow era is that the Mississippi Governor and would-have-been 2012 White House hopeful has plenty of company among the leading lights of the Republican Party. From flying the Confederate flag to talking up secession and nullification, Republicans for years have been casually trafficking ...
    • Studies Refute Justice Kennedy on Post-Abortion Sy ...
      In one of the most condescending and paternalistic Supreme Court opinions in recent memory, Justice Anthony Kennedy in April 2007 upheld a federal late term abortion ban on the grounds that "some women come to regret their choice." 18 months later, an exhaustive study of 20 years of research conclu ...
    • The Final Fury of John McCain
      Over the last several weeks, John McCain's rapid descent into furious incoherence has spawned a cottage industry of McCainologists. But his open scorn and seething rage over Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the DREAM Act, the START Treaty and even aid to 9/11 responders is hardly McCain's first performance o ...

    Blackspot News Feed

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

    Consortium News

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

    CounterPunch

    Institute for Middle East Understanding

    Water - AlterNet

    Public Citizen in Texas

    • Pecan Grower’s Lament
      As the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission’s hearing on TxDOT, TxRRC and TCEQ continues, visiting citizens have been sharing their stories with us.  Many of them are here to testify about issues they have had with TCEQ, and we hope the commission will move the hearing along so that those who have tr ...
    • Texas Blog Roundup for Monday, Dec 13, 2010
      The Texas Progressive Alliance is stocking up on figgy pudding as it brings you this week’s blog roundup. Off the Kuff covered a shoddy attempt by new Harris County Tax Assessor Don Sumners to disallow voter registration efforts at naturalization ceremonies. Letters From Texas projected out the grim ...
    • Texas Appliance rebate part II (don’t miss out on ...
      Need a new refrigerator, washing machine, dish washer, water heater, air conditioner or heat pump? The the state has a deal for you. Texas has started another round of its energy efficient appliance rebate program. As we covered in a previous blog post this is a big, sweet deal of a rebate for new e ...
    • Texas will get new 4 Congressional seats – redistr ...
      Well, it’s official– and let the bloodbath begin. Texas has been growing (this we knew), but by enough to mean that we will get 4 new Congressional seats.  Much of our growth has been occurring in suburbs and exurbs, and we’ve been losing relative population in rural areas, so it will be interestin ...
    • E.P.A. delaying tougher rules on emissions. Are g ...
      In the face of the changes in the political dynamic in Washington, the Obama administration is retreating on long-delayed environmental regulations.  The new rules were set to take effect over the next several weeks, but this move will leave in place policies set by President George W. Bush while it ...

    Unexplained Mysteries

    • The printed future of Christmas dinner
      In something akin to the replicators in Star Trek scientists are working on a food "printer". Cornell University's Computational Synthesis Lab are wor...
    • The world's weirdest Christmas traditions
      A look at some of the more unusual things used in Christmas traditions in countries all over the world. From the Catalonian "defacating log" to the Ve...
    • Reindeer help Christmas trees grow
      New studies have shown that reindeer directly benefit the scotch pine and other trees sold at Christmas. Normally reindeer are associated with Christm...
    • Pluto may be home to a liquid ocean
      Move over Europa - new computer models suggest Pluto may also hide a hidden ocean under its surface. The claim is based on the idea that ice beneath t...
    • World's smallest Christmas card produced
      Scientists at the University of Glasgow have produced the world's smallest Christmas card. At this festive time of the year millions of people are sen...

    Grassroots

    • Petitioning the Israeli High Court for Justice
      cast.jpg Our partner, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), works to protect human rights and promote the rule of law. They have been recognized as an effective voice of the Palestinian people through awards such as the Human Rights ...
    • Building food sovereignty and economic justice
      2010_brazil_site_visit_026.jpg �read more
    • Traveling with The Vía Campesina’s Caravans for Li ...
      soberania_ya.jpg ��¡La Tierra No Se Vende � Se Ama y Se Defiende!� (English translation: �The Land is Not for Sale � It must be Loved and Defended!�) � A change from woman fighting against a large dam in Alpuyeca, Mexico read more
    • 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 ...

    Climate

    • House Lawmakers Call for Approval of Massive Oil S ...
      Source:� The Hill More than 30 House lawmakers called on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday to approve a permit for a massive pipeline that will transport oil from Canada to Texas.
    • Arrangement with Firms Taints Probe of Deepwater O ...
      Source:� Washington Post Th effort to determine what caused the BP spill has been tainted because companies with a stake in the outcome have been allowed to participate in an examination of the blowout.
    • Climate Change and 'Balanced' Coverage
      Source:� NYT Green Some climate scientists are critical of a false sense of balance in press coverage of how much the planet will warm as a result of rising carbon dioxide levels.
    • Big Leap for Scotland's Renewables
      Source:� BBC News The amount of renewable power in Scotland increased by a fifth last year, while the total power generated in Scotland went up by 3 percent.
    • For Egypt, New Sudan State Threat to Nile
      Source:� UPI The expected emergence of a new state in Sudan is causing alarm in Cairo because the signs are the state will join other countries battling Egypt for a share of the Nile River's waters.

    GreenBiz

    • Nordstrom Opens New Chapter in Its Sustainability ...
      For years, Nordstrom has had a commitment to social and environmental responsibility. But until recently the firm had been so low key in telling its sustainability story that it was a challenge to find.
    • 12 Energy Efficiency Tips from EDF 'Elves'
      In the spirit of the holiday season, EDF's Climate Corps team shares tips to help businesses be more energy efficient all year long.
    • UL Environment's EPD Program Offers Greater Produc ...
      Amid increasing demands for verified information about products' impact on the planet, UL Environment will launch an environmental product declaration program in January. Building materials, lighting and textile makers are among the businesses that have already expressed interest in such a service.
    • Why It's Time to Rethink Recycling in the US
      Traditional plastic bottle recycling bills in the U.S. often leave out other types of packaging that end up in landfills, but a new hybrid recycling program in the Canadian province of Manitoba may demonstrate how industry can take successfully take sole responsibility for its product packaging wast ...
    • Energy Management Not a Priority for Many CFOs
      Early research results suggest that energy management is far from a top priority for many chief financial officers, yet this area represents a rich area of cost savings at a time when revenue growth for many companies has stagnated.

    Reuters Global

    • The best reads of 2010
      Reuters Editor Toni Reinhold chooses the best Reuters reads of 2010. Stories that are interesting, informative, eye opening and enlightening.
    • UN victory for gay rights supporters
      Suporters of rights for gays and lesbians worldwide secured a major victory at the United Nations this week. The 192-nation U.N. General Assembly voted to restore a reference to killings due to sexual orientation that had been deleted from a resolution condemning unjustified slayings.
    • Africa’s trying tradition of sit-tight leade ...
      As a new president takes office in Africa with a vow to follow Nelson Mandela's example in unifying his country, he might also remember Mandela's willingness to step down rather than become another sit-tight ruler.
    • Pakistan:the unintended consequences of U.S. press ...
      U.S. pressure on Pakistan to do more to fight Islamist militants is having dangerously unpredictable consequences. Pakistan is pushing back and calling for a political settlement in Afghanistan.
    • China’s South Asia tour: win-win meets zero ...
      Just over a year ago, President Barack Obama suggested during a visit to Beijing that China and the United States could cooperate on bringing stability to Afghanistan and Pakistan. As I wrote at the time, China — Islamabad’s most loyal partner — was an obvious country to turn to for help in working ...

    Booman Tribune

    • Merry Christmas
      As is our Christmas tradition: Feliz Navidad. Discuss
    • Have a Happy Krauthammer Christmas
      Here's a pleasant Christmas thought. Why does Charles Krauthammer love nuclear weapons so much? Obama's difficulty in overcoming the missile defense objection will serve to temper the rest of his nuclear agenda, including U.S. entry into the test-ban treaty, and place Obama's ultimate goal of ...
    • Here's Something Ugly
      Somehow, when it rains Yazoo City, it pours Yazoo City. After learning from Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour that race relations in Yazoo City were not that big of a deal during the Jim Crow era, I come to realize that former Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy was raised on the other side of the ...
    • People Hate Congress
      It is noteworthy that the best Congress in forty-five years has a record low approval rating from the country. I wonder if Congress will ever be popular again. In difficult economic times it is understandable that people are not happy with their government, but I don't think the economy really exp ...
    • Time To Give Props
      At this point in his presidency I think it is fair to say that Obama is already in the conversation as best president since Abraham Lincoln. His only real competition is FDR and LBJ, and I think it's a safe bet that Obama will neither beat the Nazis nor start an unwinnable war in Vietnam. In other ...

    European Tribune

    Futurismic

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

    Therapy News

    • Repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” Alleviates Mental ...
      A GoodTherapy.org News Headline This week, Congress repealed the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy prohibiting openly gay service members in the armed forces. From a counseling and therapy perspective, this is especially heartening news. The repeal alleviates the psychological burden carried by ...
    • Nurturing Yourself during the Holidaze
      By Ondina Nandine Hatvany, MFT, Eating & Food Issues Topic Expert Contributor Click here to contact Ondina and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile Holidaze is not a misspelling. I use it because it is so indicative of what the holidays can feel like—a holy daze! As we run around buying gifts and pre ...
    • Chicago Clinic Reaches Out, Provides Care for Body ...
      A GoodTherapy.org News Headline People struggling with serious mental illness face numerous hurdles, many resulting directly from their mental health needs. Not least among these hurdles is a life expectancy that can be decades shorter than that of the general public; then there are the social and e ...
    • The Whole Picture of Sleep Disorders
      A GoodTherapy.org News Headline There’s still a lot we don’t know about the causes of sleep disorders, although the disorders themselves are becoming more widely recognized as legitimate conditions people face. In some cases, frequent fatigue and regular napping may be a sign of depression, which te ...
    • 7 Tips for Coping with Loneliness
      By Marta Rocha, MHCI Click here to contact Marta and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile The holiday season is here. You see people decorating their houses, wrapping gifts and placing them under the Christmas the tree and you feel the warmth and the joy of having your family and friends close to you ...

    Mountaintop Removal

    • Book Review | 'Wendell Berry and Religion: Heaven' ...
      Book Review | 'Wendell Berry and Religion: Heaven's Earthly Life' Louisville Courier-Journal In an effective essay, Scott Williams writes about mountaintop-removal coal mining. As a West Virginian, he has known about the mine wars of decades ago, ... and more��
    • Sierra Club outlook dimmed for coal in 2010 - Stee ...
      Sierra Club outlook dimmed for coal in 2010 SteelGuru Most new mountaintop removal coal mining permits are on hold while EPA determines if they meet clean water protection standards. ... and more��
    • Eco-Friendly Jewelry From Figs and Ginger - Feelgo ...
      Feelgood Style Eco-Friendly Jewelry From Figs and Ginger Feelgood Style ... contributes to soil erosion, and often is not much better than the strip mining or mountaintop removal we associate with dirty coal. ...
    • West Virginia's Senators Fight For Mega Coal Mine ...
      Change.org (blog) West Virginia's Senators Fight For Mega Coal Mine Approval Change.org (blog) 1, the largest and most robust mountaintop removal operation that has ever been proposed in the state of West Virginia. Their request competes with the ...
    • Crede Haskins Calhoun: Mountaintop removal is dest ...
      Crede Haskins Calhoun: Mountaintop removal is destroying state Charleston Gazette The original federal lawsuit in West Virginia where the honorable Judge Hayden ruled that the mining practice of mountaintop removal violated the Clean ...

    Memeorandum

    • Hawaii's Governor Takes On 'Birthers' (Sheryl Gay ...
      Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times: Hawaii's Governor Takes On ‘Birthers’  —  HONOLULU — Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who befriended President Obama's parents when they were university students here, has been in office for less than three weeks.  But he is so incensed over the “birthers” — cons ...
    • North Korea blasts incoming Foreign Affairs chairw ...
      Bridget Johnson / The Hill: North Korea blasts incoming Foreign Affairs chairwoman as ‘human scum’  —  North Korea's official news agency blasted the incoming chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee — while mistaking her for a chairman.  —  Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), a Cuban immig ...
    • Kamala Harris: Democrats' anti-Palin (Ben Smith/Th ...
      Ben Smith / The Politico: Kamala Harris: Democrats' anti-Palin  —  It's easy to understand why Kamala Harris, California's next attorney general, is being called the future of the Democratic Party, a rising political star in the mold of one of her big supporters — President Barack Obama.
    • Grande Conservative Blogress Diva 2011 (B. Daniel ...
      B. Daniel Blatt / GayPatriot: Grande Conservative Blogress Diva 2011  —  After extensive consultations with our committee, we have determined that the following blogresses, divas all, are the nominees for the coveted honor of Grande Conservative Blogress Diva 2011, the tiara commonly known as the “ ...
    • 'We the people' to open next Congress (Stephen Din ...
      Stephen Dinan / Washington Times: ‘We the people’ to open next Congress  —  House to read Constitution  —  The Constitution frequently gets lip service in Congress, but House Republicans next year will make sure it gets a lot more than that - the new rules the incoming majority party proposed this ...

    Energy & Environment News

    5+ quakes - 7 days

    China Dialogue

    • Brazil’s highway to China
      A huge new port along the Rio coast highlights the Chinese drive into South America, writes Tom Phillips. Investments will guarantee China access to soy, oil and other resources.Blades slicing through the morning heat, the helicopter rose from the tarmac and swept into a cobalt sky, high above Rio d ...
    • Screw caps’ environmental cost
      Wine-bottle corks have been steadily usurped by cleaner, more convenient caps and the impact of this shift is massive, writes Lucy Siegle. Have traditional cork-growers left their fight-back too late?There is a strong Asterix vibe to the annual cork oak harvest of the Alentejo in Portugal. Deep into ...
    • Too little to waste
      Boosting supply won’t solve Beijing’s chronic water shortage unless the government also tackles the careless habits of city dwellers, Yin Mingwan tells Jiang Hongtao. “We’ve been using it for over a decade, how can it just run out?” Mrs Wang lives in the Tianxin Jiayuan complex in the Beijing subu ...
    • Development with identity
      Forest conservation projects in China transformed livelihoods but also brought an end to traditional agriculture, threatening crop and animal species and, Andreas Wilkes explains, culture too.A township government in Gongshan county, in south-west China's Yunnan province, appointed Bingdang (a pseud ...
    • After the flood
      Half a year on, scientists are starting to understand the ecological impact of Pakistan’s devastating floods – and it’s a mixed bag. Zofeen T Ebrahim reports.Five months ago, floods triggered by torrential rains submerged one-fifth of Pakistan, killing 2,000 people and destroying the property, livel ...

    AlterNet Top Stories

    Threat Level

    • Feds Say Airport Body Scanners are ‘Minimally Intr ...
      The government said late Thursday the full-body imaging scanners being deployed to airports nationwide are “reasonable,” “minimally intrusive,” and their “interference with individual liberty is limited.” The Justice Department’s remarks (.pdf) were the first publicly explaining the scanners to the ...
    • Porn Site Says Revealing Takedown Notices Infringe ...
      Perfect 10, the porn website that bills itself as displaying “the world’s most beautiful natural women,” claims that disclosing its copyright takedown notices is a little too revealing. The copyright-infringement allegations are part of Perfect 10’s ongoing lawsuit against Google, a suit with a tor ...
    • Judge Slaps Government’s Wrist For Illegal Wiretap
      A federal judge on Tuesday awarded $20,400 each to two American lawyers illegally wiretapped by the George W. Bush administration, and granted their counsel $2.5 million for the costs litigating the case for more than four years. It was the first and likely only lawsuit in which there was a ruling a ...
    • Apple Bans Lame WikiLeaks App
      Apple on Monday banned an iPhone and iPad app designed to facilitate access to WikiLeaks’ unfolding cache of leaked U.S. diplomatic cables, putting the company on the growing list of U.S. corporations aligned against the secret-spilling site. “We removed the WikiLeaks app from the App Store because ...
    • Newspaper Lawsuit Factory Sues Over ‘Death Ray’ Im ...
      Righthaven, the Las Vegas copyright troll formed this spring, has moved beyond lawsuits over newspaper articles and begun targeting websites for the unauthorized reposting of images. First up, more than a dozen infringement lawsuits concerning the so-called Vdara “death ray.” The Vdara “death ray” d ...

    Reuters - Most Popular Articles

    • Kids tracking Santa get Michelle Obama surprise
      HONOLULU (Reuters) - Eight-year-old Juliana-Rose Hatcher had tracked Santa Claus all of Friday with the aid of NORAD's Santa hotline, before she got some unexpected help from Michelle Obama.
    • West African bloc threatens force in Ivorian crisi ...
      ABIDJAN/ABUJA (Reuters) - West African heads of state threatened on Friday to use force to oust incumbent Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo unless he cedes power to a rival widely credited with having won a presidential election.
    • At least 40 killed in suicide bombing in Pakistan ...
      PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Dec 25 (Reuters) - A suicide bomber attacked a gathering of people receiving aid in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, killing at least 40 dead, a hospital official said.
    • Kabul raid kills two after U.S. embassy threat: IS ...
      KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan and foreign troops killed two men during a raid in downtown Kabul after receiving a "credible threat" to attack the U.S. Embassy in the capital, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said on Saturday.
    • Radio host gets 33-months prison for threatening j ...
      NEW YORK (Reuters) - A right-wing Internet radio host was sentenced on Tuesday to 33 months in prison for threatening the lives of three Chicago federal appeals court judges after they upheld a local gun control law.

    IntelNews

    • Comment: Russian Espionage Steals 2010 Limelight
      As the first decade of the 21st century is coming to an end, few would dispute that Israeli and American spy agencies have been among the most talked-about intelligence organizations of 2010. The reasons for this are equally undeniable: the United States tops the list because of its political promin ...
    • News you may have missed #461
      London expels Russian diplomat for spying. Syria saw Israel behind aide's assassination, leaked cables show. Israel to publicly press for release of spy held in US. Continue reading →
    • WikiLeaks revelations keep coming, but few pay att ...
      Most Western news outlets are now focusing almost exclusively on the fate of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Few are paying attention to the details of Assangeâs rape allegations in Sweden, which have sparked an interesting âthough limitedâ debate about possible links between Assangeâs accusers an ...
    • Israel silent on alleged Mossad spy ring uncovered ...
      Israeli government officials have refused comment on charges announced yesterday against an alleged Mossad spy ring in neighboring Egypt. Less than a week after the discovery of what appear to be Israeli surveillance devices hidden in the mountains around Lebanese capital Beirut, two Israelis have b ...
    • Mystery ‘spy devices’ found in Lebanon mountains
      A statement issued by the Lebanese armed forces last week details the discovery of at least two mysterious spy devices located in mountain ranges around the Lebanese capital Beirut. The discovery, which was apparently made early last week, concerns two allegedly Israeli-made electronic devices hidde ...

    War is a Crime.org

    • Rising Poverty in America and Israel
      Rising Poverty in America and Israel - by Stephen Lendman The Working Poor Families Project (WPFP) "is a national initiative focused on state workforce development policies involving: (1) education and skills training for adults; (2) economic development; and (3) income and work supports." Its newes ...
    • ‘Muslim terrorist’ ????
      ‘Muslim terrorist’ on Air Malta plane turns out to be Caribbean Christian 24 December 2010 - The story that made the rounds of the world that a Muslim man was apprehended on an Air Malta plane when he persisted in praying out aloud in the aisle just as the plane was taxying to take off at London’s H ...
    • Japans Investigation into Iraq War
      Japanese Politician Wants to Accelerate Investigation into Iraq War December 24, 2010 - TOKYO- (PanOrient News) A group of lawmakers from all of Japan's political parties – with the notable exception of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party and its former government allies New Komeito – have est ...
    • VIDEO: Hollywood War Makers
      read more
    • The Real News .com Video of White House Arrests

    Grist - News

    • 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 ...

    Popular Bookmarks on Del.icio.us

    Technorati - What's Hot in Blogs

    Time - Top Stories

    Farming Pathogens

    • 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 ...

    Suzie-Q

    • Please Mr. President! Some Truth About Afghanistan
      Eric Margolis, The Huffington Post, Dec 20, 2010 After nine years of war in Afghanistan, costing over $100 billion in taxpayer money and 700 American lives, the full truth about this murky conflict remains elusive. The government and media have colluded to paint the picture of a noble, heroic, flag- ...
    • Lunar Eclipse 2010 PHOTOS
      Lunar Eclipse 2010 PHOTOS: Images Of December’s Rare Full Moon Event From Around The World The Huffington Post |  Travis Walter Donovan First Posted: 12-21-10 10:20 AM   |   Updated: 12-21-10 10:20 AM Last Monday night or early Tuesday morning, depending on your location, many around the wor ...
    • 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 ...

    Solari

    • In Hoc Anno Domini
      Vermont Royster’s Christmas message of 1949 has been republished by the Wall Street Journal every Christmas since. As I can not think of a more beautiful way to celebrate the birth and life of Christ, it is reprinted here in its entirety, as it was in 2007, 2008 and 2009. ~Catherine Austin Fitts W ...
    • Happy Birthday with Georgie!
      Here is Georgie and me celebrating my birthday at the Rainbow Room in New York in 1989. I will be celebrating today with her in Philadelphia. She has promised me a REALLY BIG HUG!
    • Internet Gets New Rules of the Road
      By Amy Schatz and Shayndi Raice Consumers for the first time got federally approved rules guaranteeing their right to view what they want on the Internet. The new framework could also result in tiered charges for web access and alter how companies profit from the network. The Federal Communications ...
    • Right on time…
      By Paul Ferguson Gold bounced off of trendline support this morning.  Trading in the gold shares looked particularly encouraging, with stocks opening at their lows and working their way higher.  Volume on the pullbacks the past few days has been significantly lighter than volume on the preceding mo ...
    • Xmas Choral for You!
      The Solari Report’s very own Mike Linton, who when he is not lining up our favorite people for interviews on the Solari Report, is Professor of Music, teaching and composing the most beautiful music. He sends us his Christmas offerings as a gift to the Solari network: The Angel Gabriel Why Do You ...

    Insurgency Watch - Newswire

    • Times Scare
      ISLAMABAD–The apparent links between Pakistan and Faisal Shahzad are certainly cause for concern, but let’s not lose site of things here. The attack in Times Square was a fizzle. The rush to claim credit is a bit embarassing for the TTP and looks like it was — like the attack itself — a rush job. [. ...
    • Stepping up - University at Buffalo The Spectrum
      Stepping up University at Buffalo The Spectrum The president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, recognized the direness of the situation and began to mobilize military forces to combat the Taliban. ... and more��
    • Obama, us leaders should contemplate future of Afg ...
      BBC News Obama, us leaders should contemplate future of Afghan women Chicago Tribune Would nuclear-armed Pakistan become even more vulnerable to its own Taliban insurgency? Will a defeat embolden America's enemies? That line of thinking must ... Vietnam syndrome has begun in AfghanistanSri Lanka Gu ...
    • Officials: Campus blasts perplexing - United Press ...
      Officials: Campus blasts perplexing United Press International ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- The International Islamic University, where bomb blasts killed at least six people, is a unique Pakistani institution ... and more��
    • Schools closed in Pakistan after bombing - GMA new ...
      Schools closed in Pakistan after bombing GMA news.tv An Associated Press reporter met three Taliban fighters Tuesday traveling in a car with darkened windows at Shaktoi, a town close to the border between ... and more��

    AlterNet - Rights and Liberties

    Sideways News

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

    Fabius Maximus

    • We were participants in one of the great battles o ...
      Summary:  Some of the “great battles” were nothing of the kind.  This is easily seen by comparing them with a truly great battle, one that looks to have decisive effects:  9-11. For centuries western historians described the Battle of Tours (aka Poitiers) as one of the world’s decisive battles. ...
    • For the holiday season, here are some comforting t ...
      Summary:  As the sky darkens over America we find comfort in logical but incorrect beliefs, ignoring the horrifying nature of our core problem.  Here are two comforting examples. (1)  Our leaders have bad advisors In both national security and economics we have well-funded think-tanks advocating ...
    • 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 ...

    Open Your Eyes News

    • Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: A Promotional Gimm ...
      Discovery News – Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer first appeared in 1939 when the Montgomery Ward department store asked one of its copywriters, 34-year-old Robert L. May, to create a Christmas story the store could give away to shoppers as a promotional gimmick. The retailer had been buying and givin ...
    • NY Premiere Zeitgeist Moving Forward
      NY Premiere ZMF Trailer from Jacqueline Carboni on Vimeo. Coming to Tribeca Cinemas January 16th – 21st, 2011 54 Varick Street NY, NY 10013 Online Ticketing Now Available: tzmnystate.com/?index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=280&Itemid=36 The System. The Culture. The Failure….. The Solution.
    • USA Banks accused of illegally looting homes
      NY Times – ‘When a burglar goes in, they don’t take your photos and your husband’s ashes,’ says alleged victim of wrongful foreclosure. When Mimi Ash arrived at her mountain chalet here for a weekend ski trip, she discovered that someone had broken into the home and changed the locks. When she final ...
    • Climate Fact Of The Day – Changes in frequency of ...
      Summary: Have heat records increased and record low temperatures decreased as suggested by the IPCC greenhouse driven models? Reference Meehl, G.A., Byun, H.R., Tebaldi, C., Walton, G., Easterling, T., McDaniel, L., 2009, The relative increase of record high maximum temperatures compared to record l ...
    • Beijing’s housing price fury goes viral
      Financial Times – The anger harboured by Beijingers about sky-high housing prices has been captured in a sardonic e-mail spreading in Chinese cyberspace calculating how long it would take peasants, thieves and prostitutes to buy a home. With consumer inflation in China topping 5.1 per cent in Novemb ...

    The Progressive Realist

    • Security Theater for Christmas, in Europe and DC
      Last month postal authorities in Japan said that parcels bound for America and weighing more than a pound would have to go by sea rather than air, because of new U.S. security rules. Previous discussion here and here. A reader with relatives in Europe (Germany, I am guessing, from his name) reports ...
    • START Ratification Exposes Heritage’s Impotence
      The hard right Heritage Foundation, one of the pillars of the conservative movement, made defeating START one of its top institutional priorities. Yet 13 Republican Senators ended up bucking Heritage and voted to ratify the START treaty. Heritage ended up so far to the right that it was unable to co ...
    • Palin Beats War Drums, but Other ‘Tea Partiers’ Ma ...
      Sarah Palin—former governor of Alaska and Senator John McCain’s running mate in the 2008 U.S. presidential election—published an Op Ed in USA Today, see here, that takes the most fanciful neoconservative myths about the Islamic Republic and turns them into a tortured argument for “truly ‘crippling’ ...
    • Did Giuliani And Co. Provide ‘Material Support’ To ...
      The Washington Post reports that four prominent Republicans — former New York mayor Rudy Guiliani, former Bush administration homeland security adviser Fran Townsend, former homeland security secretary Tom Ridge, and former Attorney General Michael Mukasey — told “a forum of cheering Iranian exiles” ...
    • Sensationalizing CBRN Terrorism
      If you wonder why more than 40% of the American public believes the chance of a successful terrorist attack on the homeland is about the same as it was on 9/11, maybe it's because of the Mainstream Media's eagerness to sensationalize any possibility, any rumor that terrorists - preferably foreign- ...

    TAPPED - The American Prospect

    • Racially Conscious Parenting.
      At ColorLines, Terry Keleher writes about his efforts to become more consciously engaged with issues of race after adopting a black child. His white privilege has become visible to him now, he says, when he sees people react differently in the presence of his son. Keleher also provides tips on how t ...
    • Liberal Media Manipulation.
      Progressives often lament the right's ability to move its preferred stories from the fringe into the mainstream. Got something you want to get on the agenda? Just let Rush Limbaugh and the folks at Fox know, and they can generate a tornado of outrage that quickly draws the attention of more legitima ...
    • TAP Takes A Holiday.
      We're taking some needed rest here at the Prospect. Posting will be light until we return from our various holidays on Jan. 3. If you just can't stay away, we'll be rolling out a series of posts looking at the past year in major progressive issues and staff picks for the best article we've publishe ...
    • Senate Dems Sign On For Filibuster Reform.
      Every returning Democratic Senator has signed on to a letter in support of filibuster reform: While it does not urge a specific solution, Democrats said it demonstrates increased backing in the majority for a proposal, championed by Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and others, weaken the minority’s ability ...
    • Lightning Round: I Think We Can All Agree that thi ...
      Normally, there wouldn't be much to say about Think Progress' compilation of conservatives freaking out about the FCC's enforcement of Net Neutrality rules. What haven't conservatives called a "government takeover" in the past two years? But in this case, it's an especially dense critique, and spea ...

    Buzzflash

    • WikiLeaks Reveals US Government's Cynical View Tow ...
      NIKOLAS KOZLOFF FOR BUZZFLASH As more and more Wikileaks cables become available, a portrait of the U.S. attitude toward climate change is emerging and it is not flattering.  In a previous article, I discussed American diplomats' dismissive views toward Bolivia, a country which has done much to adva ...
    • Crying for the Recent Repeal of DADT on Christmas ...
      MARK KARLIN, BUZZFLASH EDITOR FOR TRUTHOUT It's 6:30 AM Chicago time on the morning of Christmas Eve, and I'm crying like John Boehner after getting a large donation from the tobacco lobby. No, it's not a packet of 6 figure checks (no one who is in the Internet progressive news mission field i ...
    • Dr. J.'s BF Commentary No. 162: "Peace in Our Time ...
      STEVEN JONAS FOR BUZZFLASH We have examined what really happened at the famous Munich meeting between the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler that concluded on September 30, 1938.  We then reviewed the parallels between what Chamberlain was really aft ...
    • The Tracks of John Boehner's Tears Lead Back to Hi ...
      PETER MICHAELSON FOR BUZZFLASH What makes John Boehner cry? The soon-to-be Speaker of the House's crying jags are psychoanalytically intriguing. Boehner cries a lot in public, even when debating bills in the House. He cries when he talks about his humble past. Son of a bar owner, he grew up with ...
    • Nothing is Creepier Than Mitch McConnell Smiling
      TONY PEYSER FOR BUZZFLASH Nothing is creepier than Mitch McConnell smiling --- Why should I make a fuss? One look at his face & I know he screwed somebody And I'm pretty sure it's us.read more

    Glenn Greenwald - Salon

    The BiPartisan Report

    Sciencebase

    • A lethal Christmas star
      There was an ugly rumour that the giant red star, Betelgeuse, that is the right shoulder (on the left as you look at it) of the constellation Orion is “about to” go supernova. The rumours seemed to have started earlier in the year when observations suggested that Betelgeuse had changed shape, a sure ...
    • Sciencebase person of the year 2010
      Anyone can pick someone famous, a Zuckerberg, a Jobs, a Gaga, and call them their person of the year. But, how about a personal person of the year? Here’s my pick of the people who have had the biggest impact on me this year, whether through their retweet efforts on Twitter, their comments on my [.. ...
    • 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 ...

    Common Dreams-Progressive Newswire

    • Science Transparency Policy Swathed In Secrecy
      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 22, 2010PEERThe White House has decided to withhold the vast majority of documents explaining why its science integrity and transparency policies are more than 18 months behind schedule and why the final four-page guidance to agencies failed to address or clarify a ...
    • NWLC Deplores Congress' Failure to Repeal Military ...
      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 22, 2010National Women's Law CenterToday the Senate and House approved the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2011 without the Burris Amendment, which would have repealed the law that forbids servicewomen and female military dependents from usin ...
    • Supporters Call for End to Inhumane Treatment of B ...
      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 22, 2010Bradley Manning Support NetworkAfter trying other avenues of recourse, the Bradley Manning Support Network is urging supporters to engage in direct protest in order to halt the punitive conditions of the soldier's detention. Bradley Manning, 23, has been held i ...
    • CREW Applauds Decision to Keep Office of Congressi ...
      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 22, 2010CREWToday House Republicans unveiled a new rules package that, among other things, leaves intact the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) applauds the decision of incoming House Speaker John Boehner ...
    • UN: End ‘Disappearances’ Worldwide
      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 22, 2010Human Rights Watch (HRW) The Convention against Enforced Disappearance, which takes effect on December 23, 2010, should strengthen international efforts to end this horrific practice, Human Rights Watch said today. The treaty should advance justice for victims ...

    Common Dreams-Views

    • DREAM's on the Rise Now, and Nothing Can Kill It
      by Jessica RitterThink youth activism in the U.S. is dead? Think again.Many Americans who are committed to issues of social and economic justice bemoan the current state of activism among young adults. They are often portrayed as apathetic and uninformed young people who would rather spend hours on ...
    • Obama Walks Back on Guantánamo
      by Karen GreenbergThe Obama administration, ProPublica's Dafna Linzer first reported, is about to issue an executive order that gives shape, contour and future life to indefinite detention for Guantánamo detainees. The order will provide for the continual detention of several dozen detainees – who w ...
    • The Rise of ‘British’ People Power
      by Adam ParsonsThis weekend in central London, amidst the falling snow and crowds of Christmas shoppers, British protesters carried out their biggest day of mass action this year - the targeting of major high street retailers to highlight the issue of corporate tax dodging. read more
    • Iñupiaq People Ask: “Will We Be the Victims of the ...
      by Harvard Ayers and Chie Sakakibara The BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico that began on April 20, 2010, was a wakeup call for all of us as Americans as we weigh our country's energy future. In what way? It's because we Americans have consumed most of our "easy" oil. Like a drug addict who despe ...
    • Color-Coded Terrorism Alerts Fade to Black
      by Jim HightowerOkay, boys and girls, pull out your crayons, and let's see if you can do a better job of coloring than the Department of Homeland Security.read more

    Newshoggers - AfPak

    • 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

    WordPress | Economics

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