Image via Wikipedia suzie-q ★ 41 
The Invisible Army
More than seventy thousand “third-country nationals” work for the American military in war zones; many report being held in conditions resembling indentured servitude by subcontractors who operate outside the law. Photographs by Peter Van Agtmael. Read more http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/06/06/110606fa_fact_stillman#ixzz1Q1MvrrLM The Invisible Army For foreign workers on U.S. bases in Ira
Christ Rice: Ca$hing in on Hard Times
Click pic to enlarge A coleague just resently recieved this in the mail from the future CEO of this company. We’re excited about moving forward on this and anticipate putting food on the table on a global basis. and as far as promotion goes, all options will be on the table. When the times get tough, the Oregonians get tougher. This is a sure candidate for a small business loan because
Why Bilderberg Is Important
A lot of wack rumors have sprung up around what is happening at the Bilderberg Summit every year. I don’t put a lot of stock in a lot of those rumors; I don’t think, for instance, that they meet to divide up the slaves, and I don’t think that they meet to form instruction sheets for the world’s politicians. But I don’t know exactly what it is they do there, and nobody else who doesn’t get an invi
Why did Weiner resign, while Gingrich is running for POTUS
by geezerpower June 18, 2011 This video is compliments of Ask Anthony Weiner on his Youtube channel. Unlike many Youtube sites, Anthony asks for your questions and allows open comments. I just commented there and, so far the comments are not moderated. Needless to mention there are some derogatory messages from Faux New$ types, but overall, a lot of the comments are from folks that understand wha
(title unknown) ★ 6
Father’s Day Medley
1. Far Better Men Than I: My Vision for My Sons 2. My Contribution to Society 3. We Were Once Kings 4. Sunday Chat with Dad 5. Call to Fatherhood 6. Rebirth of a Cool Dad 7. The Trials of Single Fatherhood
The Struggle for Dignity
One of the most arduous struggle one can go through, is the struggle to safeguard one’s human dignity, as well as the right to safeguard the integrity of one’s own body. These go hand in hand. This struggle is more intense than the struggle for food, shelter, clothing, political rights, religious rights, civil rights, gay rights, women’s rights, etc. This is not a matter of comparing or ranking th
Kola Boof: “Cultural Blackness without Physical Blackness is a Fraud”
I read a lot of commentators and there are currently 3 people I would love to meet. These are people I respect for their opinions, not that I agree with all that they believe, but I applaud them for not being slaves to the groupthink of their respective communities. I would considerate it a privilege to be able to sit with them and exchange ideas about a variety of topics. These 3 are David Brooks
amygdala ★ 1
A Good Copyediting Job, And A Big Favor To Me
A GOOD COPYEDITING JOB, AND A BIG FAVOR TO MEA very important to me friend of mine -- not me -- with solid copyediting experience is looking for immediate freelance or permanent or temporary copyediting or proofreading work of any sort, either by mail/shipping, or locally in the Bay Area. CV upon request.She's also available at present for any sort of office work in the Bay Area, or other work su
afro-netizen ★ 1
Want an Equitable Economy? Start Building One Based on Abundance
By Chris Rabb Guest Contributor Colorlines.com Something’s gone horribly wrong economically in this country, so highly regarded across the globe for its spirit of enterprise and golden opportunity. And while it’s true that from the greatest challenges arise the greatest opportunities, it is also true that things are getting objectively worse for already struggling communities, who for generat
phronesisaical ★ 34
Another Way To Look At Community Organizing
From Ezra Klein: When presidents succeed in presiding over great change, they do so by recognizing an existing opportunity, not squeezing one from the stone of existing opposition. The way I've been saying it is that Obama is trying to get the rest of us energized and moving toward whatever it is we want. We are the people, after all, and he can't and shouldn't be doing it alone.Add in something I
Reworking Paradigms
Perry Link writes about his disillusionment, as a convinced Marxist, with the China he actually saw. Pure ideology usually doesn't stand up to reality. I keep hoping that the Republicans will experience something like this, but I can't think just now of a country that practices pure whatever it is that they seem to believe in. One of the ways to hang on to an ideology is to make it abstract or cha
Bits and Pieces - June 21, 2011
It's hard to be cheerful these days. The Republicans have abdicated any pretense of being a responsible political party and want to destroy the country in order to get elected. I think that they would change that last infinitive to "to save it," but that gets harder and harder to believe. Balloon Juice front-pagers keep using the metaphor of the circus clown car for the Republican presidential fie
Nuclear Misinformation Followup
This is what smoke looks like. Not at all like that video. This picture is of the Pacheco Canyon Fire, northeast of Santa Fe, last night. The smoke is way down today. The tankers have been overhead yesterday until dark and all day today. Sorry the image is blurry. For some reason, the camera was very uncooperative.Update: Unfortunately, the wind has whipped the fire up again. Here's a better pictu
Truth, Fact, and Misinformation
Something else is bothering me about that post with the fraudulent Fukushima video. I’m seeing misinformation swaying people I respect, and there seems to be a feeling that misinformation is all right in “a good cause.” You can see some of this in the comment thread here, but I have experienced it in other venues. At a speech by Helen Caldicott, a friend said, “Don’t fact-check it, but she’s good.
obsolete ★ 23
All aboard the Lulz boat.
The media, just in case you haven't noticed, is a strange beast. The people behind it get terribly excited about sexy, new things like "hacking", even if they have even only a very rudimentary knowledge of the subject; then they suddenly remember that the people behind it are mostly bedroom or basement dwelling virgins with greasy hair and bad teeth, qualities they share with a fair few bloggers
And yet again, the tabloids win.
Who could possibly have wanted to be Ken Clarke over the past few weeks? At least when John Reid, David Blunkett or Jacqui Smith found themselves in the temporary eye of a tabloid storm over crime it was primarily a result of their failing to live up to the very image they had courted of themselves as common sense, salt of the earth hard liners, in tune with what the editors of the Daily Mail and
How to put a crack in Cameron's façade.
As someone who at least attempts to try and understand politics, albeit badly as this blog's archives palpably demonstrate, it's slightly embarrassing to admit that I simply don't understand the appeal of David Cameron. Having rid ourselves of a messianic, slick, smarmy centrist authoritarian from a public school, we've now given power to a slick, smarmy Eton-educated self-described liberal Conse
What they said.
I think we've reached the stage where we can all agree that, rather than launching a War on Terror, it would've been cheaper and more conducive to enhanced national security if we'd just put those squaddies to work in Aldershot burning two billion quid a week with flamethrowers.I wonder what Eisenhower would make of today's US, with a military grown from 3.5 million people to 5 million. The wester
5 ways to stay out of trouble on Facebook.
1. Don't ever join Facebook.2. Err...3. That's it.Coming next: 5 ways to avoid annoying the fuck out of everyone by constantly going on about social networking sites.Coming even sooner: The 5 most hilarious "Weiner" puns.
hatewatch | southern poverty law center ★ 46
News Roundup for June 22, 2011
The Associated Press today has an in-depth story about the revival of the Inland Northwest as a haven for anti-government extremists and white supremacists. The small town of Kalispell, Montana, has recently seen some new and infamous arrivals, including white supremacist stage mother April Gaede, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, and Randy Weaver of Ruby [...]
‘Sovereign Citizen’ Killed in Altercation with Police in Arizona
An antigovernment “sovereign citizen” who was shot dead Sunday night by police in Arizona appears to have been involved with a major sovereign group called the Republic of the united States of America (RuSA). William Foust, 50, of Page, Ariz., was shot by Officer Shawn Wilson during a fight in which Foust allegedly attempted to wrest [...]
Nativists Focus Attacks on Religious Denominations
In the wake of two recent religious gatherings, anti-immigrant hard-liners are focusing their fire on two major religious faith groups: the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Southern Baptist Convention. The duo’s shared offense? In the past week, both have publicly opposed legislation that would require businesses to participate in E-Verify, a federal government [...]
Anti-Muslim Activist Geller Attacks Latest SPLC Intelligence Report Issue
It didn’t take long, following Tuesday’s release of the Spring 2011 edition of our Intelligence Report magazine, for one of the principal figures profiled in it – professional Muslim hater Pamela Geller – to “warn” the SPLC that she and her allies will continue their efforts to panic Americans into believing that an Islamic caliphate [...]
News Roundup for June 21, 2011
The anti-Muslim hate group Stop the Islamization of America has announced its first “Trans-Atlantic Conference” to be held in Strasbourg, France, on July 2. Participants include representatives of various far-right groups, including Stop the Islamisation of Europe, the English Defence League and the German-based Pax Europa. A Kansas City couple will serve 13 months in prison [...]
Pittsburgh Jury Won’t Hear Alleged Cop-Killer’s Racial Slurs
A Pennsylvania man was yelling racial epithets as he fatally shot three Pittsburgh police officers, but a jury hearing the case won’t be allowed to listen to those slurs, a judge ruled today, the second day of trial. Richard Poplawski, who faces the death penalty if convicted, is accused of murdering officers Eric Kelly, Paul Sciullo [...]
ips inter press service earth alert: confronting climate change ★ 43
U.N. Chief Quashes Reports of Run for President of Korea
Ban Ki-moon, who has been re-elected Secretary-General of the United Nations for a second five-year term beginning next January, dismissed longstanding speculation that he plans to run for the office of president in his home country, South Korea.
Poor Countries Host Vastly More Displaced People Than Wealthier Nations
The hardest part of Jan Egeland's job is coming home at the end of the day. He is the Director of the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs and the former U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator, and has travelled to the farthest reaches of the world to help protect refugees and displaced people.
Carbon Markets Are Not Cooling the Planet
Carbon markets have been widely promoted as the only way to generate enough money to enable industries and countries to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions, which are largely responsible for global warming. The only problem is that nearly 20 years after their conception, they have failed to work, and have also been subject to fraud and other financial crimes.
Burkina Faso Losing Thousands of Hectares of Forests Each Year
The Burkina Faso authorities have sounded the alarm over the increased rate of degradation of forests in this Sahelian country.
OP-ED: Growing Goat Herds Signal Global Grassland Decline
After the earth was created, soil formed slowly over geological time from the weathering of rocks. It began to support early plant life, which protected and enriched it until it became the topsoil that sustains the diversity of plants and animals we know today. Now the world's ever-growing herds of cattle, sheep, and goats are converting vast stretches of grassland to desert.
Postponing Emissions Cuts Carries Steep Price-tag
If we're lucky, by the time a tough but fair international treaty to meet the climate change challenge is finalised, it will be largely unnecessary. The snail's pace of negotiations certainly gives countries plenty of time to understand the financial, social and environmental advantages of kicking their dangerous addiction to fossil fuels.
infowarsnews at yahoo! groups ★ 30
Rasmussen: NATO Will Continue Slaughter in Libya
Rasmussen: NATO Will Continue Slaughter in Libya Protecting civilians by killing civilians, but don't call it a war Paul Joseph Watson Prison Planet.com
Obama: The Baby Silencer
Obama: The Baby Silencer Dead toddlers cannot be dismissed as another Gaddafi propaganda stunt Paul Joseph Watson Prison Planet.com Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Texas Senator Compares TSA Fight To Revolutionary War
Texas Senator Compares TSA Fight To Revolutionary War Stand-off over TSA grope-down bill another "come and take it" moment for Texas Paul Joseph Watson Prison
TSA Showdown a Watershed Moment in Battle For Freedom
TSA Showdown a Watershed Moment in Battle For Freedom Federal response to likely passage of anti-pat down bill could provoke massive states' rights backlash
One Nation Under....The Military-Industrial Complex
One Nation Under....The Military-Industrial Complex NBC edits out "under God" from pledge of allegiance during US Open coverage, replaces it with worship of
Bilderberg-Approved Perry Set to Become Presidential Frontrunner
Bilderberg-Approved Perry Set to Become Presidential Frontrunner Establishment to insert George W. Bush 2.0 as spoiler for Ron Paul Revolution Paul Joseph
syria comment ★ 26
wwf - latest news ★ 26
Arrests made in Uganda mountain gorilla death
Three men have been arrested for killing a critically endangered mountain gorilla in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, according to Ugandan officials. The male gorilla was discovered dead by Uganda Wildlife Authority trackers on June 17. Officials say the gorilla was speared through the neck and shoulder by the suspects who encountered it in the park while illegally poaching antelopes. Autho
Sweet news for environment as sustainable sugar comes to market
Sao Paulo, Brazil: A mill in Sao Paulo, Brazil has become the first to have its sugar cane production certified under the new Bonsucro sustainability standard. “This will change the sugar cane industry forever,” said Kevin Ogorzalek, WWF-US programme officer and Chairman of the Bonsucro Board. “Sugar is everywhere, on our tables, in our drinks, and in the food we eat. Increasingly sugar cane is
Brazilians reject axing of forest protections
Brasilia, Brazil: Nearly 80 percent of Brazilians want President Dilma Rousseff to veto proposed changes to the country’s Forest Law that would dramatically slash forest protection measures and offer wide-ranging amnesties for illegal deforestation. The finding was contained in poll results carried out by the Datafolha polling institute in early June at the request of environmental organizations
Massive destruction of “Europe’s Amazon” planned ahead of Croatia’s accession to the EU
Osijek, Croatia – 111 kilometres of "Europe’s Amazon”, comprising parts of the natural meandering river stretches of the Danube, Drava and Mura rivers in Croatia could be channelled in a way that would destroy Europe’s largest river protected area without bringing any real economic benefit to the region. What is more, this old fashioned way of river management is being enforced ahead of the coun
Soy meet ends on high note
Buenos Aires, Argentina - The Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS) concluded its annual conference on Thursday with a note of optimism about its progress, buoyed by the announcement earlier this month of the first RTRS certified farms and the renewed commitment expressed by buyers and funders for certified soy. The meeting, June 15-16, focused on sharing lessons learned by RTRS producers, and t
Murders in the Amazon to be added to hundreds of unsolved crimes
As deforestation escalates in the Amazon, so is murder - with five rural workers killed in the last three weeks. But the assassinations, which appear linked to opposition to illegal logging, are likely to join hundreds of other unsolved cases. The first murders in the current spate of violence took place on May 24 - the day the Brazilian National Congress was voting on proposed changes of Br
centauri dreams ★ 20
altmuslim ★ 14
Osama bin Laden: Pepsi, pot, porn… and politics
News sources have recently reported on an interesting assortment of materials at Osama bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound. Not only was bin Laden living far from any cave on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, his house apparently had a large supply of Pepsi and Coke (inexplicably, Pakola wasn’t good enough), a significant stash of pornography, and marijuana plants on the property. On the one hand, thes
Muslim identity: How Islamic is “Islamic”?
A Malaysian political leader has asked political parties in his country to stop using the word “Islam” in their names so that, “nobody can make use of the religion for their political gains.” This progressive thought is ironically closer to the classical understanding of Islam’s sacred texts. For in the early century of Islam, use of the word “Islamic” (Islamiyyah in Arabic) was limited in its sco
Nuclear Pakistan: Curse of the bomb
It is said that Pakistan was born on Aug 14, 1947. But like other hazy snapshots in the tampered-with album of our wishful history, this fact, nurtured through rote and repetition, has faltered under the weight of reality. If the fervor of homage and sacrifice is a reason to reconfigure Pakistan’s creation story, then the country was actually born on May 28, 1998. On that day, Pakistan announced
Finance: What if the IMF head was a Muslim?
The inflation adjusted billion dollar question has become, ‘what nationality should lead the International Monetary Fund (IMF)?’ It used to be the $64,000 question, and then became the million dollar question. This says something about the ‘naked’ dollar or US influence or both. The tradition has been the Managing Director of the IMF was European. The tradition and traditional thinking has gotten
Afghanistan & Pakistan: Going beyond victim narratives
There’s a reason they say that people who live in glass houses should not throw stones. Eventually, someone throws a few rocks your way. And you suddenly find yourself surrounded by shards of broken glass, wondering what hit you. The question then becomes whether you have it in you to pick up the pieces. This metaphorical ramble was inspired by my recent participation in a seminar on South Asian s
Muslims in the public square: Can a Muslim ever become president?
I was talking to my 4-year old the other day, and asked him a simple question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” His innocent, yet ambitious response was: “A baseball player, soccer player, doctor, hafiz (one who memorizes the entire Quran) and an elevator-man” – He is obsessed with pressing the buttons on elevators, so much that he has apparently made this his lifelong dream – so wh
craig murray ★ 22
Christian Values
Nadira has been refused the hire of our local church hall in Ramsgate for rehearsal because Medea is “Greek” and “Pagan”. I had thought that the Church of England had come fully to terms with the classical world since before Gibbon. And we are talking the church hall, not the church. It is a tremendous mistake for the Church of England to start taking an interest in religion. Promoting intolera
Lib Dem Foreign Policy
It has been pointed out to me that there has been a reply to my Independent on Sunday article on our illiberal foreign policy, by the obscure and evidently untalented Baroness Falkner. Craig Murray’s polemic against the Liberal Democrats gives examples which are inaccurate, ill-informed or at best unknowing (“The biggest threat to Clegg lies overseas”, 5 June). On Trident, Mr Murray says we have g
Persian Speakers Wanted
At least I think it is Persian. I have found a transliteration but not a translation of the poem on Shah Shuja’s coinage, and the parody of it by Kabul wits popular in 1840. It is from the Afghan historian Ghulam, recorded in Christine Noelle’s State and Tribe in Nineteenth Century Afghanistan. She transliterates it thus: sikka zad bar sim o zar raushantar az khurshed o mah nuur-i-chasm-i durr-
Illegal Blockades
A new Gaza freedom convoy is preparing to sail, this time including a US flagged vessel. My friends Ann Wright and Ray McGovern are going to be on it. Ray tells me the ship, which is registered in Delaware, has been renamed “The Audacity of Hope”. I am not quite sure if he is joking. I hope it is true as the irony is delicious. The boarding of a US flagged ship on the High Seas is something wh
World Weary
A couple of interesting articles in today’s Independent. Yet more evidence of the terrible human rights violations in Bahrain, with a report from Medecins sans Frontieres. And the Americans are fed up with Karzai for sometimes telling the truth about the occupation. Last week a report cited in the Guardian named Afghanistan as the worst country in the world for women. We do seem to have come t
Nigeria on Volga
I was struck during the Great Hispano-German Cucumber Scare to learn from the BBC that Russia had banned EU vegetables, and this was difficult as Russia imported 40% of its vegetables from the EU. I suspect that figure excludes Russian vegetables grown and consumed in the informal rural sector, but it is nonetheless astonishing that Russia, which has a greater area of unforested potential arable
pickled politics ★ 28
Crowing over Brian Haw’s death
You may have heard that peace campaigner Brian Haw died last week. Haw wasn’t a perfect man by any stretch of the imagination. But he had good ideals, he was campaigning for peace and he stuck by his mission. I deeply respect him for that. LBC radio regularly called me for a comment on why Haw should have the right to occupy that space and I resolutely defended his right every time. Far from showi
EDL’s Guramit Singh on BBC West Midlands Radio
The English Defence League’s “Sikh” spokesman Guramit “Singh”, who recently posted a message on Facebook publicly announcing his resignation, was interviewed by BBC West Midlands radio a few days ago. The issue of Guramit’s potential excommunication was one of the subjects mentioned during his radio interview; it was subsequently discussed in detail by a number of other programme participants, and
Open Source Water Clarification Technology
This is a guest post by Jeremy Fordham. Jeremy is an engineer and advocate of process optimization and renewable energy. The developing world occupies an often- misunderstood and scary place in the grand scheme of global progress. It harbours connotations of rampant disease, economic stagnation, even death. If we strip this term of its comparative fabric and Western bias, however, we can see that
Getting more disabled people into work
Recently the Conservative MP Philip Davies argued that disabled people should be allowed to work for less than the minimum wage, as they face greater barriers to employment: The people who are most disadvantaged by the national minimum wage are the most vulnerable in society. My concern about it is it prevents those people from being given the opportunity to get the first rung on the employment la
Benefit fraud statistics contradict political rhetoric
Attacking ‘scrounging’ and ‘fraudulent’ benefit claimants has become a favourite pastime of politicians recently, with both Labour and Conservative ones competing to bash them. On this basis, one would assume that there is a high level of benefit fraud, with many claimants getting money that they are not entitled to. Yesterday the DWP released its own estimates of benefit fraud. It found that arou
Nice work if you can get it
Glad to see that neurosurgeons and researchers are being kept busy in Germany: Academics have carried out a detailed analysis of the 700 head injuries suffered by characters in the Asterix comic books, in a paper published by a respected medical journal… The researchers, led by Marcel Kamp at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, conclude: “The favourable outcome is astonishing, since outcome o
pesticide action network ★ 17
Tell Obama: Good food = fair food
This morning, while my boys are eating breakfast, I’m going to take a moment to mentally thank our local dairy farmers for the milk on our table and our chicken farmers for our eggs. Then I’m going to pick up the phone and call the President. It won’t take long, and it’s really important. Family farmers and ranchers' livelihoods are on the line. read more
U.S. Pesticide law is broken - and industry knows it
Right now, behind closed doors in DC, pesticide industry lobbyists are maneuvering to strip critical pesticide protections from federal law. This week it's the Clean Water Act, next week it may very well be the Endangered Species Act. And they think nobody’s watching.read more
Pesticide residues: From fork to farm
Apples and celery this week. Cilantro a couple back. Stories about pesticide residues on food are making the rounds again. After my umpteenth media call, a blog seemed in order. As I told the LA Times, here's my basic response: "It’s the farmers, farmworkers and residents of rural communities who are really most at risk" from pesticides, not consumers. While these folks are expos
It's the (political) economy, stupid!
A New York Times Environment reporter has been pumping out a series of attention-getting blogs on agriculture, climate change and the environment. So far, so good. But, while glad to see serious attention given to this intersection, I was disappointed by the author’s apparent infatuation with the promise of technological miracle cures to increase yields, evident in his near-reverential regard fo
Dispelling the 'Borlaug hypothesis'
Climate change, environment and agriculture are inextricably linked. Many would have us believe that protecting the environment means feeding fewer people. Can we somehow feed the world and save rare and endangered species from extinction? A scientific review published this month by my colleague, Michael Jahi Chappell and his co-author, Liliana Lavalle, tackles just this question. Asking “Food
Chemical Trespass! RoundingUp Birth Defects
Two weeks ago I wrote about genetic trespass. This week it’s chemical trespass. Monsanto makes news again. An international team of highly respected scientists has just released a stunning report, Roundup and Birth Defects, proving that Monsanto and industry regulators have known for decades that Monsanto’s top-selling weedkiller, Roundup, causes birth defects in laboratory animals. These find
texas liberal ★ 43
Escape Hatch
I’ve got a busy day ahead. So please allow me the escape hatch of telling you that this brief entry is all I have time for today at the blog. The escape hatch is from one of the Bolivar ferry boats that travel from Galveston Island to Bolivar Peninsula. I’ll be back on-board tomorrow with all the blogging action you’ve come to expect. Thanks for reading Texas Liberal.
Why Is It Hot In The Summer?—What Lessons Can We Draw From The Heat Of Summer?
Today is the first day of summer. (Above–Summer. Photo by Kwanesum) Why does it get hot in the summer and colder in the winter? Here is why from the Library of Congress— “It is all about the tilt of the Earth’s axis. Many people believe that the temperature changes because the Earth is closer to the sun in summer and farther from the sun in winter. In fact, the Earth is farthest from the sun in
Where Should You Go For Summer Vacation?—Buffalo, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Detroit, & Galveston
(Blogger’s Note—This is a post I run each year. It merits another go-round because the places I list here are good places to go.) Where should you and your family take a summer vacation this year? Where should you go by yourself or with that someone special for an excellent summer trip? The answer is clear enough. Buffalo, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Galveston, Texas are the pl
Everybody Has A Story And Everybody Has Accomplishments
Here are excerpts from an obituary that recently appeared in The Cincinnati Enquirer for Frank Williams Sr.— “At the funeral service this afternoon for Frank Williams Sr., (Above) the eulogy will take mourners back to the 1940s and ’50s, when Mr. Williams was a Cincinnati boxer. ”The minister’s going to say he fought the good fight,” said Williams’ daughter, Donna Wells of Bond Hill. “God had mad
Texas Progressive Alliance Round-Up—The Work Of Freedom Is Up To Each Of Us
Here is the weekly round-up of the Texas Progressive Alliance. The TPA is a confederation of the best political bloggers in Texas. TPA members are citizen-bloggers who are working hard for a better Texas. Every Texan has the ability has the ability to attend a public meeting, attend or organize a protest, write or call an elected official, talk to friends and family, start a blog, donate money, wr
Houston Red Light Camera Ban Rejected In Federal Court—Let’s Accept The Voter’s Will With Both The Red Light Cameras And The Storm Water Fee
A federal judge has ruled that the successful ballot issue that prohibited the City of Houston’s use of red light cameras is invalid. (Above–A red light in Houston.) From the Houston Chronicle— “U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes ruled the city can not reverse an ordinance except by a referendum of voters held within 30 days of the passage of the ordinance. Opponents to the red light camera ordina
american leftist ★ 10
Taking Care of My Mother
So, I probably won't be posting anything until early next week. But I do anticipate getting back in the regular routine soon. I have, however, had enough time to notice that the Greek situation is getting more and more turbulent, with the US, through the IMF, trying to muscle through a full bailout of European lenders. Can the Greeks on the street stop it? Can they pull down the edifice of the
Blockade of Greek Parliament Planned for Tomorrow
My mother is ill, and I am visiting her to assist with some medical issues. Meanwhile, there is a blockade of the Greek parliament planned for tomorrow to prevent it from approving yet another, more severe austerity plan imposed by the IMF, the EU, and the European Central Bank. For an anti-authoritarian perspective as events unfold, go here. While protesters are about to engage in a massive di
The Perpetual Warfare State
The leadership of the United States is bent upon proving that the truth of the old anarchist maxims about the relationship of the state to violence, as concisely articulated by Randolph Borne: War is essentially the health of the state. One cannot access any news source in the US without being confronted with stories about US military actions in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Libya, with articl
Zionist Food Coop of Sacramento
The saga continues. For those of you who read the linked article, you will discover that it describes activities reminscent of what transpired in regard to the attempted takeover of KPFA in the late 1990s. In both instances, the governing boards acted to concentrate power in themselves so as to render them unaccountable to anyone else. At KPFA, the Pacifica Board wanted to prepare the ground fo
Zionist Food Coop of Sacramento
Faced with the competitive peril of the direct delivery of organic produce by local farmers, it is hard to imagine how the embrace of Zionism by the Sacramento Natural Foods Coop is going to help.
GeneSharpTaughtMe
I don't recall if I have posted about it here, but I have ascerbically commented elsewhere upon the ethnocentrism associated with the belief that American radical pacifist Gene Sharp played a promiment inspirational role in regard to the Egyptian protests that brought down Mubarak, as reported in the New York Times in February: Few Americans have heard of Mr. Sharp. But for decades, his practical
armscontrolwonk ★ 19
Reflections of A Nuclear Weaponeer
Most readers probably know how much I love books and that I have amassed a formidable library of rare books relating to nuclear weapons. There are some holes in the collection, though and Frank Shelton’s privately printed memoir, Reflections of a Nuclear Weaponeer, is one of them. A copy of Reflections of a Nuclear Weaponeer is available for sale on Amazon. At $1,745, this one is way out of my l
Hunting, Muting, and Filtering
Why do television ads use males acting stupidly to sell products? Why do so many people drink Bud Lite? Or worse yet, lite beers with lime flavoring? Is advertising making us dumber, not to mention unhealthy, obese, attention deficit disordered, and prone to recreational shopping? And how can I possibly connect these stray thoughts to arms control? My favorite invention of the modern age, besi
B61 Mod 12 Revisited
video Question: What’s a national lab to do when the GAO releases a report warning that a major effort, the B61 Lifetime Extension Program, is headed for trouble? Answer: Write an article about how essential the B61 LEP is to “21st Century Deterrence” with a seriously creepy patch that shows a Genie going bowling. I can’t make this stuff up. Actually the article, 21st Century Deterrence by Dan Borovi
More on the Gerdab Nuke Test Story
Well, we finally have some clarity on that very strange post on an IRGC website about the day after Iran’s first nuclear test. It appears that the website in question, Gerdab.ir, reposted content from an Iranian blog. The blogger-in-question appears to have contacted Julian Borger, who wrote the original story for The Guardian. He also (it appears) left a comment on this site. As I thought, it
Day After Iran’s First Nuclear Test
If you don’t own Michael Light’s 100 Suns, you should. I keep seeing references to this story, posted on an IRGC website, entitled The Day After the First Iranian Nuclear Test: A Normal Day. It is a very strange story — a satirical look at the day after an Iranian nuclear test — that is definitely attention getting. I am not sure, however, that it means anything. There are a couple of things that
Hubert Horatio Humphrey
On the 100th year anniversary of his birth, recognition is due for Hubert Humphrey’s many accomplishments, one of which was to spur the creation of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. Humphrey bore great resentment for being LBJ’s Vice President and spear carrier during the Vietnam War. In the 1968 presidential campaign, he had the monumental task of pulling together enough Democrats
obsidian wings ★ 14
How to tell harassment from the P Game
by Doctor Science Now that Anthony Weiner has made a noise like a hoop and rolled away, I've been able to get someone to tell me, coherently, what he *did*. During the melee last week it was impossible for me to get information about the most important issue, because it was so hard to find anyone who would talk about it. I felt as though the entire news media was playing a game which I'm told is
Your Friday rainy season thread
Japan, my students tell me dutifully, is a country with 4 seasons, but I have never figured out which one they take out to make room for the rainy season. Fortunately, I was prepared for the whole concept by these torrential downpours we used to have in Southern Mississippi, but other places in the US would have had me less prepared. I still have that Pacific Northwest habit of never using an umbr
The Trauma of War: Going or Staying Behind
by Doctor Science An absolutely not-to-be-missed discussion is taking place in the comments to Ta-Nehesi Coates' post, "The Great Trauma Of Your Generation". TNC front-pages a comment on Shelby Foote:While other celebrated [the Japanese surrender] in the streets, Foote was devastated that World War II was over. According to Tony Horowitz, he had "missed the great trauma of his own generation's ad
The distance to the past
by Doctor Science While I'm working on something longer and more solid, a few sidenotes on historical topics. Yesterday's Metropolitan Museum Image of the Day was this picture: The Met's page on the picture (where you can do all kinds of fancy zooming) gives the date only as "1940s", but in the spirit of Andrew Sullivan's View from Your Window Contest, I wondered if I could narrow it down muc
talking with leo...
by russell Back in February, my wife and I went to NOLA to visit some friends, eat some good food, and listen to music. We stayed with our friend Leo and his family. Leo's not his real name, his real name is not important. We'll just call him Leo. Leo is a former colleague of my wife's. He's a marketing consultant, works a lot with entrepreneurs who are trying to bootstrap thei
Tactician, Plan Thyself
by Eric Martin Given my oft-stated concern about what a potential post-Qaddafi period will look like (would there be purges/an insurgency, would it require a peacekeeping/nation building mission, overseen by which groups/nations, etc.), these paragraphs from a recent New York Times piece on the conflict in Libya stood out: ...Britain’s foreign secretary, William Hague, returning from a brief vis
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