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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.

Monday, December 27, 2010

27 December - RSS SnapShot! Pt 2

Honey Nut Cheerios from Quebec, CanadaImage via Wikipedia

Fooducate

  • Boxed Milk, Safe as Refrigerated?
    Longtime reader Justine wanted to know about Horizon Boxed Milk: I buy these for my daughter (just the regular 2% milk) and have always wondered why they don’t need/are never refrigerated. Is there some weird ingredient they are sneaking in that I should know about? Good question! What you need t ...
  • How to Advertise to Kids While Pretending Not to [ ...
    OK, the above is a bit extreme, but how about commercials for junk food while your child is watching American Idol with you? There is no shortage of means for junk brands to get to your kids if they really want to. Get Fooducated: iPhone App RSS Subscription or Email Subscription Follow us ...
  • Merry Christmas!
    Happy holidays from all of us here at Fooducate! What tasty dishes are you preparing for the holiday? Are there any cool kitchen and cooking gadgets Santa will be bringing you? Please let us know! Get Fooducated: iPhone App RSS Subscription or Email Subscription Follow us on twitter: twitter.com/f ...
  • What is “Natural” Food?
    One in four new products launched in 2010 had a label claiming it was “Natural”. But did you know that there is no regulatory definition for “Natural” foods? While there are strict standards for Organic labeling, it’s pretty much a wild west when it comes to the use of the word Natural. Hence you c ...
  • Why Does Michelle Obama Think Honey Nut Cheerios i ...
    Last week,  First Lady Michelle Obama held a holiday reception with children, parents and staff at the Childrenâs National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Chit-chating with the kids, the subject of healthy breakfast came up. From the transcript: CHILD:  What’s your favorite thing to eat for br ...

Traffikd

  • How to Find Great Communities, Forums, and Blogs i ...
    To market your company effectively, you need to find out where your target audience is. In this post I’ll show you how you can do this. I like using examples, so in this case, I’ll assume you sell Star Wars merchandise.
  • Blogging Event Ideas to Spice Up Your Blog
    If you've ever gone to an industry conference, film festival, grand opening, or author signing, then you can appreciate the energy such events can create. Industry conferences gather together the best and brightest minds in order to share ideas and plan for the future. Film festivals celebrate great ...
  • Increasing Your Blog’s Interactivity: 10 Tips for ...
    Guest post by Alexis Bonari Success in attracting and retaining readers is often influenced by a blog’s level of interactivity. Many readers are more active than passive and want to feel like they have a role in affecting a blog’s content, design, structure, and overall ongoing conversation. Posts ...
  • 5 Facebook Apps That Really Make Money
    Guest post by Alexis Bonari If you aren't on Facebook by now, you are probably the only one who isn't. My grandmother has a Facebook page and anyone who can type, is able to start their own page with no problem. Most everyone uses Facebook as a social meeting place, but did you know that you coul ...
  • Online Profits Re-Opens (and now it’s free)!
    Daniel Scocco of Daily Blog Tips started a membership site, Online Profits, last year to help people learn about making money online. Daniel has just re-launched and re-vamped Online Profits, and this time there is no charge to get all of the valuable content. The only requirement is that you open a ...

Survival International

  • WikiLeaks: US renewed Indonesia military ties afte ...
    Footage of Indonesian soldiers torturing two Papuans caused widespread outrage and revulsion. © Survival US government cables released by WikiLeaks have revealed that Indonesia threatened to derail President Obama’s visit to Jakarta this year unless America reversed its ban on military assistan ...
  • Nukak’s desperate plea to return home
    Many Nukak have been forced to flee their forest homes, and now live in refugee camps outside the forest. © Arnau Blanch/Survival A leader of the Nukak tribe from the Colombian Amazon has made a desperate appeal for his people’s survival before the country’s top human rights committee. ’We wan ...
  • Borneo tribes under threat from massive palm oil e ...
    Penan mother and child, Sarawak, Borneo. © Survival International The hunter-gatherer Penan and other tribes are under threat from new plans to expand palm oil plantations massively in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The Sarawak government has announced plans to double the area used for palm ...
  • Tribe reveals new evidence of uncontacted Indians ...
    Kayapó Indians dance at a protest against the Belo Monte dam © T Turner A tribe in the Brazilian Amazon has revealed new evidence showing that there are uncontacted Indians living in the area of the planned Belo Monte mega-dam, and has warned that these Indians are seriously threatened by the p ...
  • Success! USA is final country to support tribal ri ...
    All countries that opposed the Declaration, including Australia, now support it. It is a small step in creating real change for tribal people like this Aboriginal boy. © John Miles/Survival The United States has formally endorsed the UN Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, meaning t ...

Greg Palast

  • Palast ArrestedBusted by BP in Azerbaijan
    by Greg Palast BP's Azeri police arresting Palast for filming BP oil rig - Baku, Azerbaijan, December 2010"Here in Azerbaijan we believe in human rights. PLEASE GIVE US YOUR FILM." Oh, no, no, not good. The enforcers here come in three colors:  the military police still wearing their old Russian ...
  • The Real Wiki Hero
    by Marta Steele from OpEdNews with a Surprise P.S. from Greg Palast Is it not ironic that the same country that contributed Rupert Murdoch to the world has more recently donated Julian Assange, editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks since 2007, when it was founded to "report on and publish important informat ...
  • WIKI-CREEP ASSANGE, THE SCAMPPvt. Bradley, the Cha ...
    by Greg Palast for Truthout/Buzzflash I'm a "hero" and it makes me want to puke.  This week I was voted a "Hero of the Media" in one of those fairly harmless polls that are little more than thermometers of face time on the idiot box. But this Nation Magazine gong is shared with Julian Assange, imp ...
  • Put a Little Palast in Your Stocking
    from Greg Palast For Chanukah, Christmas, Hajj 2010, Kwanzaa or whatever lights your candle, why not give the (tax deductible) gift of Truth? My latest disguise - fooled you? This year we have a few suggestions for Holiday gift-giving from the Palast Investigative Fund store: A Palast Gift Ca ...
  • Debt Vultures Shot for ChanukahLiberia is saved bu ...
    by Greg Palast for In These Times We got’m. I can hardly believe it. Yesterday, the financial vultures, the carcass-chewers who were preying on the dirt-poor African nation of Liberia, gave up. Two shadowy vulture funds, which had won a $43 million court judgment against Liberia, agreed to accept ...

Telegraph UK - oil

Ian Welsh

  • To all a Merry Christmas
    and peace on earth for all.
  • To all a Merry Christmas
    and peace on earth for all.
  • I am now an American Express Cardholder because of ...
    Since Mastercard and Visa, in cutting off Wikileaks from donations, decided that they knew better than me who I should be able to give money to, I applied for and have now received an American Express card.  Granted, American Express isn’t always a good actor, but at least they are willing to allow ...
  • I am now an American Express Cardholder because of ...
    Since Mastercard and Visa, in cutting off Wikileaks from donations, decided that they knew better than me who I should be able to give money to, I applied for and have now received an American Express card.  Granted, American Express isn’t always a good actor, but at least they are willing to allow ...
  • Because a lot of so-called Liberals don’t se ...
    Governments and individuals are different types of entities.   The presumption for government is that its proceedings and actions should be transparent to its citizens because it exists to serve its citizens, and they can only know that it is doing so, and doing so in ways they would approve of, if ...

Age of Autism

  • AOA Awards: Lisa Ackerman, Person of the Year
    From the Editors: Today we kick off the Age of Autism Awards 2010 on a real high note by honoring Lisa Ackerman and TACA. As we've traveled around the country this year, we've seen first-hand the energy, experience and expertise...
  • Support Age of Autism!
    Thank you for your readership and comments throughout 2010. If you're making year end donations to your favorite organizations, we hope you'll consider each of our sponsors, who are having a measureable impact on families facing the challenges of autism...
  • Why Is Whooping Cough Returning? From KPBS
    KPBS in San Diego is following the Whooping Cough outbreaks and reporting on how and why the disease may be making a return, particularly among the previously vaccinated. Click HERE to view a video and read the series. ...We interviewed...
  • Man with Autism Beats Mother: We Can Not Remain Si ...
    Managing Editor's Note: For countless families whose kids are getting older, autism may be the norm in their household, as it is in my own, but it is hardly normal when you live in fear of violence at the hand...
  • Ben Goldacre Challenged on Wakefield and the GMC o ...
    By John Stone “It is troubling that people would be prepared to sit back and watch a serious injustice being committed because of a disagreement with those being falsely accused of improprieties. I think we need an explanation.” The anomalies...

Global BDS Movement

Farm Wars

  • USDA GMO Policy
    Monsanto, Vilsack, and the USDA GMO juggernaut.
  • The Vote Is In: Congressional Mafia Rams Food Safe ...
    Food Safety legislation passes! Codex, here we come...
  • Bribery and Graft abound as Reid attaches S.510 to ...
    S.510 Fake Food Safety bill was passed quickly late Sunday afternoon; a vote taken when the Senate could be assured few were watching or even aware that the vote on the criminalization of independent and family agriculture was taking place.
  • Food Safety Sneak Attack! Passed by Unanimous Cons ...
    As reported above, the Senate on Sunday night simply took the revised food safety language that was approved by the House in the CR, substituted it to the language of HR 2751, one of the original "Cash for Clunkers" bills from last year, and approved it by unanimous consent.
  • Conservation Easements (CEs)*:Read the fine print ...
    A basic Constitutional tenet of private property ownership in America is the landowner’s right to determine the use and disposition of his or her land. This ownership gives the property owner the right to occupy, use, lease, sell, develop, and deny public access to his or her land. Today, lando ...

Open Your Eyes News

  • U.S., Canadian and Mexican Workers call for a sing ...
    Mexidata – The United Steelworkers (USW) and the National Union of Mine, Metal, Steel, and Allied Workers of the Mexican Republic (SNTMMSRM, or âMinerosâ) met December 10, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada to move forward on their joint commitment to, as they agreed in June of this year, âpropose immediate ...
  • Up to 17 dead in Iraq suicide bombings
    ABC – Two suicide car bombers targeting a government compound in the western Iraqi town of Ramadi have killed at least seven people and injured more than 40, a police official said.Some media reports put the death toll as high as 17.Most of the dead are police officers, said the official, who was sp ...
  • US More full body scanners on the way
    UPI – U.S. officials say they will keep introducing full-body scanners at the nation’s airports with more than 1,000 in operation by the end of next year. That will account for about half of the country’s 2,000 security checkpoint lanes, The Washington Post reported Sunday. Federal officials say the ...
  • Barack Obama detractors, the birthers, face challe ...
    The Guardian – Among the disparate groups of Barack Obama’s detractors, the conspiracy theorists known as the ‘birthers’, who claim he is an alien interloper trying to destroy America from within, are among the most tenacious. Now the new governor of Hawaii has vowed to take them on and end the spec ...
  • Exercise, vitamin D help prevent falls
    UPI – Exercise and vitamin D supplements top the list of primary care interventions that help prevent falls in older adults, a U.S. researcher says. Yvonne L. Michael of Drexel University School of Public Health in Philadelphia and colleagues at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research condu ...

L.A. Times - Greenspace

  • Obama administration files WTO complaint against C ...
    The Obama administration on Wednesday backed the United Steelworkers union in its accusation that China is giving an illegal boost to wind power manufacturers there. By filing a case with the World Trade Organization, the U.S. is challenging the Asian...
  • Obama decision on polar bear status closely watche ...
    A long-simmering dispute about government protection of the polar bear has drawn in leading environmental law groups and the country’s most powerful business organizations. Both sides are concerned about the effect that a decision on the bear's status might have...
  • Alternative mobility tops list of 2011 green trend ...
    Luxury green vehicles and alternative mobility, such as peer-to-peer car-sharing, top the list of "Green Things to Watch in 2011," a new report from the global market research firm JWT. "A lot of people have been wondering if the recession...
  • Chromium-tainted drinking water: Time for a federa ...
    A type of chromium linked to cancer is turning up in tap water in more than two dozen cities, including Riverside, according to a study that urges federal regulators to adopt tougher standards. Even though scientists at the U.S. Environmental...
  • Treasury grant program for renewable energy projec ...
    The 1603 Treasury grant program -– a popular government incentive for renewable energy projects -– was extended Thursday night as Congress passed a major tax cut deal. The measure, which covers up to 30% of the cost of solar, wind...

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

  • Mr. Prime Minister, douse the flames of racism
    On the other hand, a law may be passed that allows membership committees to disqualify candidates from living in small locales on the basis of "the candidate's lack of suitability for the social-cultural fabric of the community." Submitted by Margaret Mayer to World �|� �Note-it! �|� �Add a Comment ...
  • America's self-loving Jews aren't helping Israel
    The dominant view among the centrist group of the Jewish community - that "we support every Israeli government, right or wrong" - reminds one of a situation in which a parent finds out that his child is addicted to drugs and hands him his credit card. Submitted by Margaret Mayer to World �|� �Note- ...
  • Record Levels of Violence in Afghanistan Do Not Eq ...
    While President Obama plans to tell the country today that we are on the right track in Afghanistan, the truth is that there is more violence and death here than at any point since the US invasion. Submitted by Judy C. to World �|� �Note-it! �|� �Add a Comment
  • Say it ain't so: Zakaria, Huffington and Tom Fried ...
    "It is a matter of grave concern that Israeli authorities are continuing to treat the Islamic religious sites and cultural heritage in the Holy City of Jerusalem in a manner that amounts to further desecration." Submitted by Margaret Mayer to World �|� �Note-it! �|� �Add a Comment
  • S. African politicians 'beaten up by IDF'
    South African parliament members, who visited the West Bank city of Ramallah last week, say they were attacked by Israeli security forces during a protest in a Palestinian village near Bethlehem. Submitted by Margaret Mayer to World �|� �Note-it! �|� �Add a Comment

Solar Energy / Energy Boom

News Blaze

  • Hindus Want Diwali as School Holiday in Cambridge
    Rajan Zed further said that it is very important for Hindu families to celebrate Diwali day together at home with their children. He stressed that they don't want their children to be deprived of any privileges if they will be absent to celebrate t
  • Humanitarian Aid Runs Out as More Ivorians Flee In ...
    Staff are also reporting that host community houses are full and congested. In addition, they are seeing more malnourished children and people suffering from malaria, respiratory infections and diarrhea.
  • UN Deplores The Deadly Violence in Nigeria
    Bombings struck near the city of Jos in the central state of Plateau on Friday, according to media reports. These have been followed by further clashes in the city, which has been the scene of past violence between Christians and Muslims, including
  • Gaza Solidarity Caravan Grows In Number
    The members of caravan were promised that they would be given a Syrian visa upon arrival. The process was smooth. The visa fees for 81 members from 9 countries was waived.
  • UN Condemns 'Heinous' Terrorist Attack Outside Foo ...
    According to media reports, a female suicide bomber was responsible for the attack on a large crowd that was receiving food aid in Khar in the Bajaur region.

Historical Notes

libcom

  • Australia: Wharfies strike over conditions at Patr ...
    freo.jpg Maritime Union of Australia members in Patrick Stevedoring facilities at Fremantle, Albany, Melbourne's Webb Dock, and Geelong have voted overwhelmingly to take protected action after a secret b ...
  • 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 ...

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

  • Anne Murray, Singer and Author, "All of Me" (Oct 2 ...
    She will always be Canada's Snowbird - the girl next door who sang her way to international stardom. It all looked so easy. But as her new book reveals, it was nothing like that. This week she tells us all about it.
  • Dr. Shana Kelley, University of Toronto (October 3 ...
    Research labs around the world are on the constant hunt for new ways of fighting one of the world's great killers - cancer. In one lab in Toronto, exciting promise on a new technique for early detection. The possibilities are endless: for fighting cancer, and other diseases, both here in our world, ...
  • Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of Canada (Sept ...
    We know it was a recession, but do we know if it's really a recovery? And what about that huge deficit? A dollar again approaching parity with its US counterpart? And the unemployment rate -- could it soon be in double digits? Difficult questions for this week's guest, the man who has to consider th ...
  • Antony Beevor, War Historian (Nov 7, 2009)
    At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of eleventh month we pause, and remember those who have sacrificed in times of war. And there were millions in the last century. One author who has studied some of the 20th century's most historic battles has a new book, and this week he's our guest in what h ...
  • Danielle Smith, Leader of the Wildrose Alliance Pa ...
    She's been around Alberta politics since she was pretty young, and she's made her mark. Now she's being talked of as a potential Premier. All this with a party that didn't even exist two years ago. What's her story - and what does it mean for the rest of the country? This week we find out.

Scotts Contracting

  • Happy Holiday
    Happy Holiday!!!
  • 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 →

The View From Abroad

Foreign Policy in Focus - Military (US)

Law.com

Iranian.com

  • Detained German journalists denied Christmas visit ...
    The German Foreign Ministry said Sunday that the families of two German journalists detained in Iran have been denied Christmas visits with their relatives. "Despite several affirmations by Iran, it was not possible for them to meet during the Christmas period," a spokesman said.read more
  • Habibollah Latifi’s Family Arrested; Concern Over ...
    Following news of postponement of Habibollah Latifi’s execution, an informed source in Sanandaj told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that several members of the prisoner of conscience’s family were arrested by security forces on Saturday night. Additional information indicates th ...
  • Relatives fear 97 refugees have died at sea
    FEARS are mounting that 97 missing asylum seekers from Iraq and Iran may have died at sea, en route to Australia from Indonesia. Relatives of 14 of the missing have told welfare workers they last had contact with them on November 13. They said their relatives had been in Jakarta and planned to le ...
  • احمدی‌نژاد وزارت‌خارجه را منحل كرده است
    5سال منتظر عزل رسمی متكی بودیم، متكی سخنگوی سیاست‌خارجی ایران حساب نمی‌شد،مقامات خارجی در مذاكراتشان با آقای متكی از ایشان سوال می‌كردند این موضوعی كه مطرح می‌كنید نظر خودتان است یا نظر رئیس‌جمهور؟ اشتباه متكی آن بود كه این شرایط را قبول كرد،حق این بود كه همان سال اول كنار می‌رفت.read more
  • پیشنهاد شمقدری به جشنواره برلین: شورجه بجای پناهی ...
    جواد شمقدری، معاون سینمایی وزارت ارشاداسلامی طی نامه ای از برگزارکنندگان برلیناله خواست بجای جعفر پناهی از دیگر سینماگران ایرانی برای حضور در هیئت داوران شصت و یکمین دوره این جشنواره دعوت کنند.read more

Most Revolutionary Act

  • BRIC is Now BRICS
    South Africa has now been formally accepted into the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) economic alliance. The term BRIC was coined by Goldman Sachs in 2001 to describe the growing influence of large resource-rich emerging economies, which between 2000 and 2008 have accounted for half of global eco ...
  • Prague Spring: Implications for 2010
    For me the section on Prague spring and the student/intellectual uprising in Czechoslovakia is one of the most valuable sections of Mark Kurlansky’s 1968: the Year that Rocked the World. With the distressing level of FBI and police repression occurring in the US, I find it heartening to learn that o ...
  • 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 ...

Doug's Darkworld

  • The 1914 Christmas Truce Revisited
    The people in the above photograph are all dead. Most of them have been dead for decades, some of them more than likely were dead within a few years or less of the date when this photograph was taken. They are German and British troops on Christmas day, 1914. In the two years since I [...]
  • 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, [...]

FourWinds10

  • The Oil Slick BP Tried To Hide Has Been Discovered
    In Thick Layers On the Sea Floor Over An Area of Several Thousand Square Miles � BP and the government famously declared that most of the oil had disappeared. But as I've noted, as much as 98% of the oil is still in the ocean. I have repeatedly pointed out that BP and the government applied massive ...
  • SeaFood....Anyone? Who Do You Believe Now?
    80-square mile kill zone Gulf of Mexico - "It looks like everything's dead" http://hoodooed.blogspot.com/. � Take the time to watch Diane Sawyers, CBS News! It's in the news. The watch the video that follows.
  • Exclusive: Submarine Dive Finds Oil, Dead Sea Life ...
    A mile below the surface in the Gulf of Mexico, there is little sign of life. "It looks like everything's dead," University of Georgia professor Samantha Joye said. In an exclusive trip aboard the U.S. Navy's deep-ocean research submersible Alvin, ABC News was given the chance to observe the impact ...
  • While the Gulf of Mexico Weeps
    Please do not forget what BP has done to our Gulf in 2010. VIEW VIDEO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ5yqRhb3ms Nov. 11, 2010
  • Florida DEP finds Corexit ingredient in 50 PERCENT ...

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

  • SearchReSearch: Five golden rings--5 tips for teac ...
    Comments:"a list of 5 golden rings--5 great tips that everyone should know (but are especially useful for teachers and librarians to know about). " - Fred DelventhalTags: tips, google, search, education, teachers, searchingby: Fred Delventhal
  • 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

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

  • Picturing Christmas in Haiti
    I got an email from on Christmas Day from Emily Troutman describing Christmas in Haiti. In a hidden alleyway, a half-dozen children gather around. They live in Village de Dieu, a small slum, which is not, in any way, godly. It is surrounded on all sides by canals of garbage. It is cholera ...Re ...
  • Essential Holiday Reading on Domestic Politics
    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—as I did already once here earlier in earlier in the year—some of the articles on domestic politics I personally found .. ...
  • Some Postmodern and Conservative Reflections About ...
    1.� So this�was the first significantly white Christmas in Georgia during my�31 years here.� If I were a libertarian "conservative," I would add: some global warming!� But we postmodern conservatives would never say that.� We are skeptical both about Al Gore's inconvenient truth and all that and ... ...
  • A Mobile Sensor for Air Pollution
    There is increasing concern about pollution levels in the world's most ubiquitous and essential substance – air – and a new pilot project from Intel is aiming to address it via the developed world's second most ubiquitous thing: The mobile device. The Common Sense Project has developed a proto ...
  • What Your Social Network Says About You
    Here are some odd questions: do you spend more time on the calls you make than on the calls you receive? When you leave a message for someone, do they quickly call you back? Does calling people late at night not bother you at all? If people are at a party or event, do they tend to give you a call .. ...

Information Liberation

  • It's a Climategate Christmas
    ...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • 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...

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

  • Kandahar gains came with “brutal” tact ...
    Inter Press Service: The Barack Obama administration’s claim of “progress” in its war strategy is based on the military seizure of three rural districts outside Kandahar City in October. But those tactical gains came at the price of further exacerbating the basic US strategic weakness in Afghanistan ...
  • Waste in US Afghan aid seen at billions of dollars
    Reuters: Waste and fraud in U.S. efforts to rebuild Afghanistan while fighting al Qaeda and the Taliban may have cost taxpayers billions of dollars, a special investigator said on Monday. Arnold Fields, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, said the cost of U.S. assistance fundin ...
  • Contractors Behaving Badly A US Headache
    The Associated Press: At two in the morning on Sept. 9, 2005, five DynCorp International security guards assigned to Afghan President Hamid Karzai's protective detail returned to their compound drunk, with a prostitute in tow. Less than a week later, three of these same guards got drunk again, this ...
  • NATO air strike kills 4 Afghan soldiers: ministry
    AFP: Four Afghan soldiers were killed in an overnight NATO airstrike in a Taliban flashpoint of southern Afghanistan, the country’s defence ministry said Thursday. “Initial reports we have indicate that an air strike last night killed four Afghan National Army soldiers who were on a patrol mission i ...
  • Jailed Afghan Drug Lord Was Informer on U.S. Payro ...
    The New York Times: When Hajji Juma Khan was arrested and transported to New York to face charges under a new American narco-terrorism law in 2008, federal prosecutors described him as perhaps the biggest and most dangerous drug lord in Afghanistan, a shadowy figure who had helped keep the Taliban i ...

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

  • Housekeeping Note
    We're going to take another crack at painting my underground lair study on Monday, and that means I have to unplug everything, including my cable modem and thus my internet connection. At least, that's what I think I'll have to do. If I get desperate, I may find some local WiFi spot and do a bit of ...
  • The Priorities of the Left
    My post earlier today about the decline of organized labor and the rise of rights-based activism within the post-60s liberal community provokes an obvious question: was this a good thing? Obviously it was good for African-Americans and women and gays and others who benefited from it. But it wasn't ...
  • The World's Real Oil Problem
    Paul Krugman writes about the rising global price of commodities: Oil is back above $90 a barrel. Copper and cotton have hit record highs. Wheat and corn prices are way up. Over all, world commodity prices have risen by a quarter in the past six months. ....Today, as in 2007-2008, the primary dr ...
  • Democrats and Their Interest Groups
    Neal Gabler thinks modern Democrats are a bunch of milksops: In the days of FDR, the Democratic Party, despite its factions and disagreements, coalesced around one overriding tenet: muscular government action, especially in behalf of the powerless....Belief in the efficacy of government was a pre ...
  • 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! ...

Insanity Report

  • IC 218: F@#ck You Skype
    Topics for the show: Technical difficulties with Skype cause some problems DMV weathermen get it wrong again Rex Ryan has a foot fetish? Hugh Hefner gets engaged to a 24 year old President Obama ends the year on a good note Share with your friends:
  • 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 ...

Simple Climate

  • Effluent entering streams also soils the atmospher ...
    People are causing chemicals containing nitrogen to enter rivers and streams where, besides having other effects, they're turned into the especially potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide.
  • 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?

e!Science News

  • Not all infant formulas are alike: Differential ef ...
    New findings from the Monell Center reveal that weight gain of formula-fed infants is influenced by the type of formula the infant is consuming. The findings have implications related to the infant's risk for the development of obesity, diabetes and other diseases later in life. read more
  • Newborns with low vitamin D levels at increased ri ...
    The vitamin D levels of newborn babies appear to predict their risk of respiratory infections during infancy and the occurrence of wheezing during early childhood, but not the risk of developing asthma. Results of a study in the January 2011 issue of Pediatrics support the theory that widespread vi ...
  • Microfluidic device rapidly orients hundreds of em ...
    Researchers have developed a microfluidic device that automatically orients hundreds of fruit fly and other embryos to prepare them for research. The device could facilitate the study of such issues as how organisms develop their complex structures from single cells -- one of the most fascinating as ...
  • OSU helps decode strawberry genome in bid to impro ...
    Researchers at Oregon State University have helped sequence the genome of a wild strawberry, laying the groundwork for genetic improvements to related fruits like apples, peaches and pears. read more
  • Structure deep within the brain may contribute to ...
    Scientists have discovered that the amygdala, a small almond shaped structure deep within the temporal lobe, is important to a rich and varied social life among humans. The finding was published this week in a new study in Nature Neuroscience and is similar to previous findings in other primate spe ...

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

  • John John: The View From Occupied Canada #334
    B.C. Indian bands give thumbs-down to Enbridge pipeline - The Globe and Mail Several B.C. Indian bands have rejected Enbridge ENB-T offer of a stake in its controversial Northern Gateway pipeline, throwing new hurdles before the project that would ship oil sands bitumen to Pacific Rim markets. WikiL ...
  • Maan News Agency: Jesus was Palestinian and why it ...
    Maan News Agency: Jesus was Palestinian and why it matters - Jehanzeb Dar: "Because of modern alarmist reactions to the word “Palestine,” many non-Arabs and non-Muslims take offense when it is argued that Jesus was a Palestinian (peace be upon him). Jesus’ ethnicity, skin color, and culture often a ...
  • MIDEAST: Racist Jews to the Fore - IPS ipsnews.net
    MIDEAST: Racist Jews to the Fore - IPS ipsnews.net: "BAT YAM, Dec 25, 2010 (IPS) - Emotions are running high in this working class town on the Mediterranean adjacent to Tel Aviv, the Israeli metropolis that has long been the symbol of liberal laissez-faire Israel. Principally, anti-Arab emotions: Ra ...
  • Black Folks' Guide to Understanding Christmas
    Black Folks' Guide to Understanding Christmas�(FinalCall.com) - It's Christmas, but where's Jesus? When did they kick Him out of His own birthday party, and how did St. Nick, Kris Kringle, and the Grinch who stole Christmas get invitations? And why are many Blacks still dreaming of a white Christmas ...
  • 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 ...

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

  • Israeli activist to judge: “I won’t as ...
    Tel Aviv, 27 December 2010. On the day that marks the second anniversary of Israel’s three-week war on Gaza, an Israeli activist was sentenced to three months in jail for protesting the assault, which the Israeli ministry of defense named Operation Cast Lead. Jonathan Pollak, a political activist w ...
  • Israeli activist sentenced to 3 months in prison f ...
    Of all the criminals involved with the 2008 Gaza war, an Israeli leftist will be going to jail for riding his bike in Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv Magistrates court judge Yitzhak Yitzhak convicted Popular Struggle Media Coordination Jonathan Pollak of illegal assembly for his participation in a January 2008 ...
  • T-shirts against absurdity: In support of our stri ...
    There’s been some noise at the annual convention of Israeli ambassadors in Jerusalem. The entire professional staff of the Foreign Ministry joined in protest over the financial conditions of diplomats. Instead of arriving to the convention in suits, the ambassadors and their colleagues wore black t- ...
  • Delegitimizing Israel: the dictionary
    The debate about the “delegitimizing” of Israel is often shallow, and fraught with vague and circular definitions. An examination of  a series of statements that are often labeled as “delegitimizing” Israel raises serious questions about this high-profile campaign   James Besser, in the “Jewish W ...
  • How Bibi hurt our greatest treasure: Hebrew letter ...
    It makes plenty of sense to call Lior Ashkenazi Israel’s current greatest movie star. He stars in “Rabies”, the first Hebrew horror film, and in many high profile cinema works of the past two decades, among them “Walk on Water” and “A Late Marriage” both of which won international praise. Lior Ashk ...

Sustainability,water,etc - Oz gov't

Matt Weidner Blog

  • ST. PETERSBURG TIMES SAYS- YOUR FIGHT IS TOP 10 ST ...
    Today’s edition of the St. Petersburg Times recognized the top ten people who made a difference in 2010, and make no mistake about it… if you’re reading this blog…you are one of those who made a difference! In 2010, Florida’s economy struggled with a growing housing crisis and historically high unem ...
  • An Abundant Life is a Thriving Garden!
    A few seasons ago, I noticed a few square feet of open ground on my patio and wondered what potential lay there?  I threw a few tomato and carrot seeds onto that ground, then stood back to see what would happen.  After just a few short weeks, the seeds sprouted and within a couple months [...]
  • Happy Birthday Jesus!
    For all of us celebrating Christmas here stateside, please stop for a moment and think about all the men and women that are serving abroad or who have ever served abroad.  From the beginning of our nation’s history, there have been brave men and women who were willing to fight and die for what we [ ...
  • 88% Decline in NY Foreclosures- WOW!
    Who knows exactly what the numbers are in Florida, but I expect we should see a similar percentage of declines in foreclosures….check on the article here. Tweet this! Share and Enjoy: Scridb filter
  • 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 ...

abelard - news

The Parallel Parliament

  • A Bridge Too Far
    A very subtle line in journalism was crossed in the past few weeks that needs to experience some push back. Journalist Andrew Cohen and pundit Norman Spector both provided observations that Stephen Harper and his wife Laureen are experiencing anything but marital bliss. In doing so, they journeyed a ...
  • 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 ...

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

  • Biden Says Gay Marriage 'Inevitable'
    Laurie Kellman reports: "Vice President Joe Biden is predicting that the evolution in thinking that will permit gays to soon serve openly in the military eventually will bring about a national consensus for same-sex marriage." Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a ceremony in Washington, DC, 1 ...
  • In Congress, a Harder Line on Illegal Immigrants
    The report begins: "In a matter of weeks, Congress will go from trying to help young, illegal immigrants become legal to debating whether children born to parents who are in the country illegally should continue to enjoy automatic US citizenship." Julieta Garibay, one of the original 'Dreamers' w ...
  • White House: No End Soon for Guantanamo
    Agence France-Presse reports: "The White House admitted Sunday it would be unable to shut Guantanamo Bay in the near future, even as it acknowledged the US naval prison camp is a rallying cry for Islamic extremists." With attempts by the Obama administration to close Guantanamo stalled, some 170 ...
  • WikiLeaks Suspect Bradley Manning's Health 'Declin ...
    BBC News reports: "The only person to visit WikiLeaks suspect Pfc Bradley Manning in custody other than his lawyer says his health has declined in the past four months." US Army Pfc. Bradley Manning. (photo: Unknown) Sorry, your browser cannot display frames!
  • White House Acts Unilaterally on Climate
    The Associated Press reports: "The Obama administration took separate actions last week to protect clean air and federal wilderness areas, reaffirming the White House can pursue its goals without depending on help from an increasingly combative Congress." BP smokestacks at Grangemouth, Scotland. ...

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

  • City of Houston Shuts Down Two Radioactive Water W ...
    KHOU.com HOUSTON — A radioactive water well that is controlled by the City of Houston, and that serves residents of Jersey Village, is no longer being used, according to the communications director for Houston Mayor Annise Parker.    On Monday, a KHOU-TV investigation revealed Jersey Village wate ...
  • Adrian Salbuchi – The Coming World Governmen ...
    The Intel Hub Radio Today on The Intel Hub Radio with Shepard Ambellas, famed NWO researcher Adrian Salbuchi was our guest. Adrian has just released his first book in English, The Coming World Government: Tragedy and Hope. Adrian breaks down the documented connections between the CFR, Trilateral Com ...
  • State Of Emergency in North Carolina, NJ and Mass. ...
    NC Leaders Declare State Of Emergency As Snow Approaches RALEIGH, N.C. — NBC North Carolina leaders have declared a State of Emergency for the entire state as winter weather is expected to bring significant snowfall to the Triangle region. A State of Emergency declaration enables the governor or lie ...
  • TSA and Big Sis Coming to a Mall Or Hotel Near You ...
    The Intel Hub Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano (Big Sis) announced today that security will be tightened at so called “soft targets” around the country. Unfortunately for law abiding Americans, this means that low IQ security officials will not only bother and sometimes mol ...
  • See Something, Say Something — Unless It’s About T ...
    Mac Slavo SHTF Plan While Department of Homeland Security is ramping up the Nation’s See something, say Something program, expanding into Walmarts and other venues, we warn our readers to be cautious of what you see, what you say, and to whom you say it, as evidenced by recent backlash from the gove ...

FRS

  • Philippines: Caraga communist rebels celebrate CP ...
    By Trini Velasco, ABS-CBN News Northern Mindanao | 12/26/2010 SURIGAO, Philippines – Members and supporters of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in the Caraga region celebrated their 42nd founding anniversary in Surigao del Sur province on Sunday. Thousands of communist rebels and their s ...
  • India goverrnment prepares larger war on the peopl ...
    Indian Army Base in Abujhmad, Bastar to become operational soon Supriya Sharma, TNN, Dec 14, 2010   RAIPUR:  The Indian army is moving into the conflict theatre of Bastar, arriving at the doorsteps of what is arguably the strongest military base of the CPI Maoist – not for combat, as yet, but osten ...
  • WikiLeaks reveals US drug agency’s intelligence ro ...
    [The DEA has, as revealed and documented in the last Wikileaks release, become one important method of maintaining US hegemonic controls throughout the world.  Cultivating corrupt relations as well as ensuring privileged investment and trade over entire economies or selected industries, requires a b ...
  • MSNBC on “Bradley Manning Held as ‘Pol ...
    Dylan Ratigan Show, MSNBCâ Dec. 23, 2010–Julian Assange calls Bradley Manning a political prisoner. United Nations to investigate. Bradley’s friend discusses on Dylan Ratigan Show. ——————————————————————- Bradley Manning Speaks About His Conditions By: David House Thursday December 23, 2010 Stop the ...
  • 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 ...

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

  • The link between consumerism and ageism
    Lynn Casteel Harper has more at Huffington Post. Flickr photo
  • The naughty list
    The Washington Post has assembled a list of people who behaved badly this year, and they're calling it "The People We Hated in 2010." Seems harsh, but here it is, the naughty list. (As a point of reference, BP's Tony Hayward, who said he was demonized after the historic oil spill in the Gulf, r ...
  • Jesus was anything but middle class
    So says David Platt, author of "Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream," at CNN. Platt writes: Like many other large American churches, we had a multimillion-dollar campus and plans to make it even larger to house programs that would cater to our own desires. But then we started ...
  • Hartford's Kwanzaa celebration is postponed
    The snow is making travel hazardous, but stay tuned for rescheduling. Photo courtsey of Sankofa Kuumba
  • A little more reading with Sunday's column
    To read the column, go here. To read more about Bev's Corner, go here�(and scroll down). Flickr photo

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

  • The US Arrogance: CONFLICT OF GEOGRAPHY
    By Brig Samson S Sharaf The message being sent to Pakistan in the post Wikileaks scenario is ominous and bereft of diplomatic dignity. “We will continue to insist to Pakistani leaders that terrorist safe havens within their borders must be dealt with,” said President Obama. Retired Gen. Jack Keane, ...
  • GORDON DUFF: WHY ATTACKING HELEN THOMAS IS ANTISE ...
    “LUCY, YOU GOT SOME ‘SPLAININ TO DO..” By Gordon Duff STAFF WRITER/Senior Editor Part of our continuing series, “Everything You Think You Know You Learned From A Liar,” we are going to talk a bit, a short talk as it is the holiday season, about Semites.  Semites are people from the Middle East,  n ...
  • ALLEN L ROLAND: THE KING’S SPEECH OSCAR BOUN ...
        The King’s Speech is Oscar bound with incredible performances by Colin Firth as King George VI along with Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter, as the queen mother. This is movie making at its best and Director Tom  Hooper weaves this historic event of a King and his speech therapist into a fl ...
  • Soldier committed suicide outside Fayetteville PD
    There is a hidden war going on in this country that few are talking about. While news reports finally spread the growing crisis of veterans returning home with PTSD, seeing their lives fall apart, these cases are usually attributed to combat operations. A few days ago Dana Morgan, President of Point ...
  • Obama’s Liberty Problem: Why Indefinite Dete ...
    President Obama proposal to create a special new legal system by Executive Order is an extremely dangerous end run around Congress and the Judiciary. By Vince Warren and Bill Quigley at AlterNet The right to liberty is one of the foundation rights of a free people. The idea that any US President can ...

War is Business

  • CIA Pays Nuclear Smugglers; Just Another Day At Th ...
    Prince Andrew is a Special Trade Representative for Britain. He travels the world at massive expense to the taxpayer. Part of his work is to push arms sales, often to authoritarian and corrupt regimes. â¢â¢â¢ There’s a campaign to have the Duke of York sacked for all this. The U.S. military now has ...
  • 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 ...

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

  • Philippines' Economics of Excessive Vacation
    Is too much vacation bad? Working in academia right now, I must unreservedly state that one of its perks is having more free time once the semester is out. However, for the clock puncher / office slave classes, things are not as straightforward. Take the example of the Philippines. Inheriting a "hec ...
  • '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 ...

Economic Collapse Blog

  • The Working Poor
    As the middle class in America continues to be slowly wiped out, the number of working poor continues to increase. Today, nearly one out of every three families in the United States is considered to be "low income". Millions of American families are finding that they can barely ma ...
  • Christmas Stories
    If you and your family are blessed and prosperous this holiday season, you should consider yourself to be very fortunate, because there are tens of millions of other Americans that are desperately hanging on by their fingernails.  The Christmas stories that you are going to read bel ...
  • Why Democrats And Republicans Are Both Wrong About ...
    All over the Internet, Republican pundits are declaring that extending the Bush tax cuts will save the economy and Democrat pundits are declaring that ending the Bush tax cuts will save the economy. Well, you know what? Nothing will save the U.S. economy. The U.S. government is g ...
  • Has The Financial Collapse Of Europe Now Become In ...
    What in the world is happening over in Europe?  Well, it is actually quite simple.  We are witnessing the slow motion collapse of the euro and of the European financial system.  At this point, many analysts are convinced that a full-blown financial implosion in Europe has become ine ...
  • Say What? 30 Ben Bernanke Quotes That Are So Stupi ...
    Did you see Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on 60 Minutes the other night?  Bernanke portrayed the Federal Reserve as the great protector of the U.S. economy, he claimed that unemployment would be 15 percent higher if the Federal Reserve had sat back and done nothing during th ...

    Blacklisted News

    The Intelligence Daily

    My AntiWar

    CASMII - Campaign against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran

    • Iran, a victim of state-sponsored terrorism
      Summary: Shahriari's funeralThose who mischievously called Iran a part of the so-called "Axis of Evil" and put its name in their fabricated list of the state sponsors of terrorism - the list from which the name of Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime was removed in 1982 so that the United States and ...
    • Riggi may be handed over to Iran soon
      Summary: Abdul Rauf Riggi had actually succeeded his elder brother Abdolmalek Riggi as the Jundallah chief following his arrest and subsequent execution in Iran. The elder Riggi was captured in February 2010 in a dramatic operation by the Iranian authorities while he was spotted on a flight fro ...
    • 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

    The Daily Galaxy

    • Ghost of a Supermassive Black Hole Equal to a Bill ...
      NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory located a cosmic "ghost" that scientists think is evidence of a huge eruption produced by a supermassive black hole equal in power to a billion supernovas. The source, HDF 130, is over 10 billion light years...
    • "Dead Zones" of the Universe
      New findings from diverse fields are are being brought to bear of the central question of the 21st century: How common is life in the universe? Where can it survive, Will it leave a fossil record, How complex us it....
    • Image of the Day: A Red Giant Exploding at 3 Milli ...
      This composite X-ray (blue)/optical (red and green) image reveals dramatic details of a portion of the Crescent Nebula, a giant gaseous shell created by powerful winds blowing from the massive star HD 192163 (a.k.a. WR 136, the star is out...
    • Death Stars of the Rosette Nebula
      We've known for a while that large astronomical events can spell bad news for life: supernovae unleash unimaginable levels radiation, asteroids can kick up climate-killing clouds, and black holes can suck things out of existence altogether. Now it seems that...
    • "Darwin's Secret Island": A Model for Transforming ...
      Two hundred years ago, Ascension Island, one of a number of volcanic islands in the middle of the South Atlantic, located 1,600km (1,000 miles) from the coast of Africa and 2,250km (1,400 miles) from South America was a barren volcanic...

    Natural News

    • Swine flu pandemic outbreak sweeping through Brita ...
      (NaturalNews) A swine flu pandemic is sweeping through Britain despite the fact that 70 percent of Britain's over-65 population was vaccinated against swine flu last year. This year, that number is nearly the same -- 68.5% -- but flu vaccine proponents insist that until everyone is vaccinated, the f ...
    • Feds target airline pilot for exposing TSA securit ...
      (NaturalNews) A Sacramento-based airline pilot is the subject of a federal investigation for exposing what he says are serious flaws in the U.S. Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) airport security protocols. According to ABC News10 in Sacramento, the 50-year-old pilot who requested to re ...
    • Iron, folic acid supplementation during pregnancy ...
      (NaturalNews) A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association highlights the importance of getting plenty of the right vitamins, minerals and nutrients during pregnancy. The study showed that Indian women who supplemented with prenatal iron, folic acid and vitamin A produced ...
    • Crops absorb pharmaceuticals from sewage sludge sp ...
      (NaturalNews) Agricultural crops can absorb pharmaceuticals found in the water used to irrigate them or the sewage sludge used to fertilize them, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Toledo-Ohio and published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.When hu ...
    • Most patients believe their doctors are in league ...
      (NaturalNews) A new Consumer Reports survey has found that the vast majority of patients on prescription drug medications believe that drug companies have too much influence over their doctors. Roughly half of those interviewed believe that their doctors are so influenced by Big Pharma that they wou ...

    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

    • GOP White House Hopefuls Skip Hispanic Forum. Agai ...
      In January, the new Hispanic Leadership Network is hosting a forum to showcase the 2012 Republican presidential field. But while the event is well funded by the conservative American Action Network, it is lacking for one thing: the GOP White House hopefuls themselves. If this slap in the face of A ...
    • 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 ...

    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

    • Far from the madding crowd
      It’s well after 10pm and the crowd at the Sunset Advisory Commission hearing has dwindled, including the commisioners.  Of the 12 commissioners, I’m only seeing five still on the dias and as the camera periodically pans the audience, one can see that it has thinned considerably since this morning. ...
    • Sunset Commission hearing keeps going and going an ...
      Here I am at the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar people watching Christmas shoppers (for those readers not  from Austin, the Armadillo Bazaar is an annual artist Christmas venue which has been happening in our fair city for 30+ years and runs every day the two weeks before Christmas – yes they are he ...
    • Texas, home to Big Oil, takes shine to solar power ...
      Reuters carried a good story with this headline Texas, home to Big Oil takes a shine to solar power that describes the solar potential that exists, along with industry involvement and how it could be expanded here if we could just develop some statewide policy that supports it. Too bad the commissio ...
    • 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 ...

    Unexplained Mysteries

    • Mysterious creature found in Nelson County
      An unusual animal with no hair and wrinkly skin has been shot and killed in Kentucky this month. Mark Cothren encountered the creature on December 18t...
    • "Anger gene" discovered
      A gene responsible for bouts of extreme anger while drunk has been identified by scientists. It was found that excessive alcohol consumption can block...
    • 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...

    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

    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

    • Suicide bombings in Pakistan: the bloodiest year
      The number of people killed in suicide attacks in Pakistan has risen to the highest level this year since the U.S.-led war began in Afghanistan in 2001.
    • 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.

    Booman Tribune

    • Idle Thoughts
      Martha Stewart's Mac and Cheese really is pretty awesome. We have enough ingredients to make a second dish of it, but we may all have coronaries before the New Year. They postponed the Eagles-Vikings game tonight to Tuesday, which strikes me as odd. It has started to snow very hard here thoug ...
    • Sunday News Bucket
      Books to the ceiling, Books to the sky, My pile of books is a mile high. How I love them! How I need them! I'll have a long beard by the time I read them. Arnold Lobel What are you reading? feel free to post it in the comments, along with your news bits! Discuss
    • A Christmas Thank You to the Reids
      I've been frustrated and disappointed and generally unhappy with Harry Reid over the years, but readng this on Christmas morning made me stop and reflect: The majority leader, who was re-elected after a hard-fought campaign in November, also reflected on the serious car accident his wife Linda su ...
    • 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 ...

    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

    • “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”: A Positivit ...
      A GoodTherapy.org News Summary With increases in cheerfulness paralleled by increases in stress, there’s no way to definitively call the holidays (or any other season) the “most wonderful” of all—at least, not for everybody. However, any time that you incorporate a bit of positive thinking into your ...
    • Mapping the Musical Experience Proves Value of the ...
      A GoodTherapy.org News Headline A new study on emotional responses to music draws insight that may have meaning across a number of disciplines. In the study, participants listened to two recordings of a Chopin piano etude: one played expressively by a concert pianist (with dynamic changes in tempo, ...
    • 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 ...
    • 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 ...

    Mountaintop Removal

    • What's in a name? 'Mountaintop removal' vs. 'mount ...
      What's in a name? 'Mountaintop removal' vs. 'mountaintop development' Beckley Register-Herald �In my mind, mountaintop 'removal' implies the site is mined and then left barren, lifeless and flattened. This couldn't be further from the truth,� said ... Deeper could be safer for minersBeckley Registe ...
    • It's sad to see Beshear shilling for coal industry ...
      It's sad to see Beshear shilling for coal industry Lexington Herald Leader How can anyone who has seen an active mountaintop removal mine say that? Has Beshear seen the precious headwater streams that are being buried by valley ...
    • Deeper could be safer for miners - Beckley Registe ...
      Deeper could be safer for miners Beckley Register-Herald ... actions by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of Surface Mining, and widespread opposition to the process of mountaintop removal. ... and more��
    • EPA won't release Spruce Mine alternatives study - ...
      Charleston Gazette (blog) EPA won't release Spruce Mine alternatives study Charleston Gazette (blog) And we've also noted the promise of EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson (above) that her agency's handling of mountaintop removal issues would be a model of ... and more��
    • Santa keeps it green - Buffalo News
      Buffalo News Santa keeps it green Buffalo News It's made from vegetable waste meaning no worries about mountaintop-removal mining. Plus it's edible. (National Wildlife Federation) Do you have a backyard ... and more��

    Memeorandum

    • Bailed-Out Banks Slip Toward Failure (Michael Rapo ...
      Michael Rapoport / Wall Street Journal: Bailed-Out Banks Slip Toward Failure  —  Number of Shaky Lenders Rises to 98 as Bad Loans Pile Up; Smaller Institutions Hit Hardest  —  Nearly 100 U.S. banks that got bailout funds from the federal government show signs they are in jeopardy of failing.  —  T ...
    • The Finite World - Oil is back above $90 a barrel. ...
      Paul Krugman / New York Times: The Finite World  —  Oil is back above $90 a barrel.  Copper and cotton have hit record highs.  Wheat and corn prices are way up.  Over all, world commodity prices have risen by a quarter in the past six months.  —  So what's the meaning of this surge?  —  Is it specu ...
    • WikiLeaks founder baffled by sex assault claims (M ...
      Marie Colvin / TheAustralian: WikiLeaks founder baffled by sex assault claims  —  ONE of the women claiming she was sexually assaulted by Julian Assange took a “trophy photo” of him lying naked in her bed, he says.  —  The white-haired computer impresario had been invited to stay in her empty flat ...
    • Juan Williams: Palin not on same 'intellectual sta ...
      Aaron Blake / Washington Post: Juan Williams: Palin not on same ‘intellectual stage’ as Obama  —  Fox News contributor Juan Williams said Sunday that Sarah Palin “can't stand on the intellectual stage” with President Obama.  —  Williams, in his role as an analyst on Fox News Sunday, was breaking d ...
    • Coded American Civil War message in bottle deciphe ...
      BBC: Coded American Civil War message in bottle deciphered  —  A message in a bottle delivered to a Confederate general during the American Civil War has been deciphered, 147 years after it was written.  —  In the encrypted message, a commander tells Gen John Pemberton that no reinforcements …

    Energy & Environment News

    5+ quakes - 7 days

    China Dialogue

    • On the Mekong, a better way (1)
      Dam-building in south-west China has provoked fury downstream. In the first instalment of a three-part article, historian Qin Hui criticises Beijing’s response.The Cambodian prime minister is in China’s good books. In a recent – and friendly – speech, Hun Sen said that this year’srecord low water le ...
    • 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 ...

    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

    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

    • Top Ten Myths about Afghanistan, 2010
      Juan Cole debunks the ideas that maintain support for war on Afghanistan. Sadly, these have all been debunked for quite some time, and a majority of Americans has opposed this war for a while. Here's another myth that endures even more tenaciously: There is representative government in Washington, ...
    • UNWELCOMING BUSH TO CHARLOTTE, VA
    • UNWELCOMING BUSH TO CHARLOTTE, VA
      By John Heuer Mimi and I comprised the Unwelcome Party when George W. Bush came to the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, NC for a book signing. We displayed signs that read: ARREST BUSH and THERE IS NOTHING CHRISTIAN ABOUT WAR CRIMES. The sun was bright, and it was difficult to tell what expre ...
    • WHITE HOUSE DRAFTS EXECUTIVE ORDER FOR INDEFINTE D ...
      By Dafna Linzer From TPM | Original Article The White House is preparing an Executive Order on indefinite detention that will provide periodic reviews of evidence against dozens of prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, according to several administration officials. The draft order, a version of which w ...
    • COLUMBIA JOURNALISM SCHOOL STAFF STATES THAT WIKIL ...
      By Jim Romenesko From Poynter | Original Article Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism faculty and officers tell President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder that “while we hold varying opinions of Wikileaks’ methods and decisions, we all believe that in publishing diplomatic cables ...

    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 ...

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    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

    • Pentagon’s Christmas Present: Largest Military Bud ...
      By Rick Rozoff, opednews.com, Dec 23, 2010 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 Act for Fiscal Year 2011, was approved by all 100 senators as required ...
    • Twas The Night Before Christmas Poem: Original Lyr ...
      Twas The Night Before Christmas Poem: Original Lyrics (TEXT) Huffington Post First Posted: 12-25-10 12:46 AM   |   Updated: 12-25-10 01:19 AM One of the oldest and most popular Christmas poems ever, commonly referred to as “Twas The Night Before Christmas,” was written in the early 19th centur ...
    • 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 ...

    Solari

    • Money & Markets - Week of 12.26.10
      More Pain at the Pump: Gas Prices High and Going Higher DailyFinance (25 Dec 10) Corn Prices ‘To Set Record in 2011 - By A Margin’ Agrimoney.com (24 Dec 10) 16 U.S. Cities That Could Face Bankruptcy in 2011 Yahoo Finance (21 Dec 10) The Rich Are Much Richer Than You And Me CNN Money (23 Dec 10)
    • Geopolitical - Week of 12.26.10
      No Congress Since ’60s Makes as Much Law as 111th Affecting Most Americans Bloomberg (22 Dec 10) Totally Busted: The Truth About Goldman’s Bailout by the Fed EconomicPolicyJournal.com (15 Dec 10) Still WikiLeaking Urban Survival (24 Dec 10) A Good Bankruptcy Law The New York Times (23 Dec 10) U.S. ...
    • Food & Health - Week of 12.26.10
      YouTube Cell Phones and Brain Cancer: The Real Story The Huffington Post (25 Dec 10) Edible Future Grays Anatomy (2010)
    • Life - Week of 12.26.10
      Smart Meter Boycott Update TURN Consumer Advocates
    • Science & Technology - Week of 12.26.10
      Imaging Gear Would Give Soldiers ‘Terminator’-like Vision CNN Tech (23 Dec 10)

    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

    • U.S., Canadian and Mexican Workers call for a sing ...
      Mexidata – The United Steelworkers (USW) and the National Union of Mine, Metal, Steel, and Allied Workers of the Mexican Republic (SNTMMSRM, or âMinerosâ) met December 10, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada to move forward on their joint commitment to, as they agreed in June of this year, âpropose immediate ...
    • Up to 17 dead in Iraq suicide bombings
      ABC – Two suicide car bombers targeting a government compound in the western Iraqi town of Ramadi have killed at least seven people and injured more than 40, a police official said.Some media reports put the death toll as high as 17.Most of the dead are police officers, said the official, who was sp ...
    • US More full body scanners on the way
      UPI – U.S. officials say they will keep introducing full-body scanners at the nation’s airports with more than 1,000 in operation by the end of next year. That will account for about half of the country’s 2,000 security checkpoint lanes, The Washington Post reported Sunday. Federal officials say the ...
    • Barack Obama detractors, the birthers, face challe ...
      The Guardian – Among the disparate groups of Barack Obama’s detractors, the conspiracy theorists known as the ‘birthers’, who claim he is an alien interloper trying to destroy America from within, are among the most tenacious. Now the new governor of Hawaii has vowed to take them on and end the spec ...
    • Exercise, vitamin D help prevent falls
      UPI – Exercise and vitamin D supplements top the list of primary care interventions that help prevent falls in older adults, a U.S. researcher says. Yvonne L. Michael of Drexel University School of Public Health in Philadelphia and colleagues at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research condu ...

    The Progressive Realist

    • Behind the Scenes of Yeonpyeong Island Exercise
      A really interesting report from the Korea JoongAng Daily (English JoongAng Ilbo) describing some of the behind the scenes activities leading up to and during the Yeonpyeong Island exercise. First some interesting diplomacy. A diplomatic source in Seoul believes that North Korea did not go any furt ...
    • New START: Heritage Lost… This Time
      While I would like to believe the argument made here by Max Bergman, I’m afraid I’m a good deal less optimistic regarding the influence of Heritage: The hard right Heritage Foundation, one of the pillars of the conservative movement, made defeating START one of its top institutional priorities. Yet ...
    • Moderation, Pragmatism and the Iraqi Sadrists
      An article in Monday's New York Times made me wonder about the effect of political inclusion on the views and attitudes of Iraq's Sadrists. Political scientists often talk about the idea that radical groups, when included in the political process, tend to moderate (I've heard this referred to as the ...
    • Tactical Nukes and the Strategic Balance
      The Times reports that, with the recent ratification of the New Start treaty (as an aside, it was nice to see that American leaders retain a modicum of sanity and maturity, even if it isn't always manifest), the Obama Administration will next seek a deal with the Russians to reduce tactical nuclear ...
    • The Opposition to New START and the Short-Term Fut ...
      Rob Farley notes the existence of long-standing conservative opposition to arms control.�While the hacks at the Heritage Foundation lost this battle, Rob argues, their influence on Republican international thought is waxing rather than waning.�Thus, more of opposition to New START was principled tha ...
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