Image by Ken Lund via FlickrWhat is liberalism?
The core goal of liberalism is to maximize the freedom of everyone. This requires both limiting the excesses of the powerful and ensuring that the powerless are not denied the tools by which they may achieve their full human potential. Governments are instituted and laws are passed not to grant, but to serve and protect fundamental human rights. They must be as small as possible to achieve those goals, but large enough and independent enough to confront the powerful. Fundamental human rights cannot be enumerated, but are recognizable as whatever actions are required to act to keep us alive, free, and able to follow our hearts.
Shield Act Targets First Amendment Freedoms in United States of America
For decades, America's freedoms have eroded, notably post-9/11 with:
- -- a president declaring unconstitutional unitary executive powers to rule unilaterally;
- -- his successor embracing the doctrine;
- -- checks and balances and separation of powers virtually ended;
- -- passage of the USA Patriot Act;
- -- Homeland Security Act;
- -- other repressive laws;
Senator John Ensign's (R. NV) web site headlined, "Bipartisan Ensign Legislation Goes after WikiLeaks by Amending Espionage Act
Also at issue is whether information gotten and published relates to lawless government actions that create "clear and present danger(s)" for everyone. Public interest/self-defense/criminal act disclosure arguments are reasons enough for disseminating such information.
We are aware of no case in which a publisher of information obtained through unauthorized disclosure by a government employee has been prosecuted for publishing it
Wikileaks: GMO conspiracy reaches highest levels of US Government
Wikileaks cables leaked information regarding global food policy as it relates to U.S. officials — in the highest levels of government — that involves a conspiracy with Monsanto to force the global sale and use of genetically-modified foods.
Norquist Decries Lack Of Conservative Debate On Afghanistan
He pointed out that Reagan's response to the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Lebanon, which cost 241 American lives, was not to occupy Lebanon.
"His reaction to the Lebanon bombing was not to stay, it was to leave," Norquist said. "Ronald Reagan didn't decide to fix Lebanon. I think that's helpful in getting the conversation going on the right."Norquist said conservatives recognize the weakness of the arguments for the war, which is why they don't often make them.
He scoffed at the notion that fighting two wars was making American stronger. "Being tied up there does not advance American power," he said. "If you've got a fist in the tar baby Iraq and you've got a fist in the tar baby Afghanistan, then who's afraid of you?"
U.S. Cables from Australia Reveal: The US and China Joined Forces Against Europe
Last year's climate summit in Copenhagen was a political disaster. Leaked US diplomatic cables now show why the summit failed so spectacularly. The dispatches reveal that the US and China, the world's top two polluters, joined forces to stymie every attempt by European nations to reach agreement.
( Not that I'm going to cry the blues. If the promoters of 'global warming' don't take the 'threat' seriously...maybe you should check out 'Climate in Contention' to see just how much 'common sense' is used to cry 'deniers' and 'science-denying corporate tools' about people who have reservations about the positioning and reason behind the Global Tax on the Use of Fire. Not that I would dare consider that definitive when applied to the people raping the planet irrespective of any sense of caution whatsoever. )The Intelligence Community and Climate Change
The endeavors of the intelligence community to understand the security risks of climate change have been hampered over the years by partisan politics and climate change skeptics, miring almost all efforts by the intelligence community to assess the dangers of climate change.
If there is to be a continued serious consideration of security risks posed by climate change, the national security community and our leaders in Congress and the White House must do a better job at articulating just how grave those security risks are.( Note then, that 'the mission' stands inviolate...'project the propaganda'. Unfair ? O.K. How much feedback do you expect when publishing a web journal without comments being enabled ? )
7 Must-Read Green Books for Your E-Reader
Will the Obama Admin Put Arctic Drilling on Ice?
The plan to expand offshore drilling that the Obama administration laid out last March opened more areas of the Arctic for drilling. While the administration later walked back its plans to expand drilling following the Deepwater spill, the Arctic is still on the table; Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in Deember he plans to take a "cautious" approach to issuing new leases there, after completing a new environmental review and evaluating spill response capabilities. The administration also signaled that it plans to move forward with the permitting process that would eventually allow Shell to begin drilling on its lease in the Beaufort, though an exact timeline for decisions is not clear. A new environmental assessment on that application is currently underway.Environmental groups have been fighting to halt Arctic exploration for some time, arguing that the areas under consideration for drilling would be particularly vulnerable should a spill occur; the Interior Department, they say, has so far done an inadequate job of evaluating the potential environmental threats drilling there poses.
While acknowledging that there the Arctic is an "important area for future oil and gas development," the commission advised that much more research and investigation should be conducted before it moves forward. Geological and environmental information about the region is lacking, as are the industry and government institutions that would be needed to ensure it is done safely, the commission noted. Exploration there should be undertaken with "the utmost care."
Image via WikipediaThe Antibiotics Crisis
The Tragic State of the Gulf of Mexico: Sampling Reveals Oil and Dispersants on Mississippi Coast
Many of the chemicals present in the oil and dispersants are known to cause headaches; nausea; vomiting; kidney damage; altered renal functions; irritation of the digestive tract; lung damage; burning pain in the nose and throat; coughing; pulmonary edema; cancer; lack of muscle coordination; dizziness; confusion; irritation of the skin, eyes, nose, and throat; difficulty breathing; delayed reaction time; memory difficulties; stomach discomfort; liver and kidney damage; unconsciousness; tiredness/lethargy; irritation of the upper respiratory tract; and hematological disorders.
On January 7, federal and Louisiana officials took a boat tour of an area in southern Louisiana that remains fouled with oil from the BP disaster. They found areas in Barataria Bay where oil continued to eat away at the fragile marshland, where no protective boom nor cleanup workers could be found. Affected areas were up to 100 feet wide in some sections.
"The wetlands and ecosystem soil/sediment from Atchafalaya Bay eastward to the Louisiana/Mississippi state line contained 6 to 89 individual Alkylated Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Oil Range Organic Petroleum Hydrocarbons (ORO) up to 11,600 mg/kg [ppm] (1.16%) which corresponded to the fingerprint of the BP Louisiana Sweet Crude."
"Alkylated PAHs were and continue to be detected in aquatic seafood species from the wetlands and estuaries along the Louisiana coast from Atchafalaya Bay eastward to the Louisiana/Mississippi border."
Goldstream's Green River 
Image by DVIDSHUB via Flickr
Mass Animal Deaths Tracked By Google Maps
Flying drunk proves fatal for bird flock
Queensland: Brisbane Braces for Flash Floods
The Brisbane River has broken its banks and evacuations are under way in the heart of the city.
Wivenhoe dam, built after the 1974 floods to protect Brisbane, was full, and dam managers had no choice but to continue with increased, controlled releases.
"It's going to come down the river to the city of Brisbane and there's not much dam managers can do about that.''
Residents in the upper Somerset townships of Kilcoy, Jimna and Linville are being urged to conserve water due to the impacts of local flooding on water infrastructure.
Water Grid spokesperson Dan Spiller said vital water infrastructure in those areas had been damaged by flood waters, cutting off the raw water supply.
"We have a limited supply in local reservoirs that is expected to last one to three days.
The Great Cholesterol Deception
While there are many exaggerated claims and a lot of hype about the benefits of statins, there are also many studies showing no benefits at all. The pro-statin hype is based on the misuse and abuse of statistics.Various independent studies in prestigious, peer-reviewed journals have shown that statin use in primary prevention – that is, to save lives – has minimal or no value in reducing mortality and certainly nothing that is considered anywhere near clinically significant to warrant their widespread use. It does not matter how one manipulates the statistics, the results just aren’t there.
Busy medical professionals don’t have time to review the statistics; few of them may be aware of the different ways the statistics are manipulated. So if the experienced professionals don’t understand the results of these studies, how do we expect the media or public to understand?
Karl Rove Seizing Control Of GOP May 2010
The Supreme Court, in its recent decision in Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission, opened the floodgates for unlimited political spending by corporations and individuals. But the court left in place strict limits on contributions to party committees – and it preserved the legal firewall that bars campaigns from coordinating directly with the outside groups now empowered to spend millions on their behalf. That’s where Rove and Gillespie come in. As free-agent strategists, they are in a unique position to skirt such prohibitions and coordinate all parts of the GOP – both inside and outside the official party structure – because they’re not officially in charge of any of it.
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Few Foreclosures, No Bank Failures: Canada Offers Lessons
One of our CEOs has said we are in the business of making loans to people who will pay them back .
Permanent Debt Bondage from America`s Student Loan Racket
The Project Student Debt web site (http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org) has a wealth of information on student loans and debt. Using US Department of Education data for the 2007/08 academic year (the most recent available), it said two-thirds (or 1.4 million) of 2008 college graduates had student loan debt, a 27% increase from 2004, breaking down as follows:
- -- at public universities, it was 62%;
- -- for private nonprofit ones, 72%; and
- -- at private for-profit institutions, 96% were debt entrapped.
- little is reported on the scope of the student loan racket.
- The web site Student Loan Justice explains it (http://studentloanjustice.org/argument.htm), saying:
"The federal student loan system has become predatory due to the Congressional removal of standard consumer protections and....sanctioned collection powers that are stronger than those for all other loan instruments in our nation's history."
As a result, student borrowers are greatly harmed by unmanageable loan demands. Along with inflation and annual tuition/fee hikes, most graduates face an enormous burden, with no consumer protections, even in default. Once entrapped, escape is impossible. Debt bondage is permanent, and future lives and careers are impaired.
NOAA Media Registration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Office of Communications
Washington, D.C.
Members of the media who wish to receive news releases from NOAA may fill out our online media form and fax it to us at 1-202-482-3154. You should receive an e-mail acknowledgment of your registration within 48 hours.
This survey is for members of the media ONLY.
If you are using a whitelist for your e-mail, please make sure to allow e-mail from noaa.gov and, specifically, from press.releases@noaa.gov through. Because of government firewall issues, we usually CANNOT respond to spam filter or authentication requests.
Download the media registration form here.
( Some haven't realized that email filling an inbox is not the wave of the future. An RSS feed would work just fine...but wouldn't give them a handle on who could read PR 'approved news' )
American Security Project Welcomes Accomplished Writer and Blogger Joshua Foust as Newest Research Fellow
The American Security Project (ASP) today announced the appointment of Joshua Foust as a Fellow who will focus on expeditionary economics and strategic security in Afghanistan.
The Intelligence Community and Climate Change
If there is to be a continued serious consideration of security risks posed by climate change, the national security community and our leaders in Congress and the White House must do a better job at articulating just how grave those security risks are.
( 'Projecting the Propaganda' is covered. Impartial Assessment : not so much.
This is a weblog wanting more 'coverage'...and Comments are not enabled ! Participation is not encouraged, obviously. )
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